So, I've tried to focus on some small things here, which can show the difficulties of first contact and integrating a new species. We also have some advancement with our robotic character.
RR
EffervescentNova: Happy to oblige with Ava, from a slightly different perspective though. Enjoy
Zippy Saboteur, I half deliver this chapter. Day 1 of 2 down.
Ralmon: Once again I have to thank you for the time you are taking to write the in depth constructive reviews - and not just criticize like some do. I will be going back to fix things you've mentioned in the next few days. Also, just for you, almost 0 Human POV. Only a few lines at the very end to give some development in other areas.
Scarease:
Cheers.
The Prime Cronos: Yeah, I'm going to try and stick with the aliens alot more now. Thanks.
IHateGenericCereal: Yeah, one thing I've noticed is a lot of first contact stories focus a lot on the war, and then very little on the actual meaty details of how in the hell do you do a first contact? You can't have a 'first contact package' like in most scifi movies/ series as your computers are not going to be able to communicate with an aliens due to differences in technology and protocols, and the whole communicator I find is lazy, and a means to just speed things up without looking at the actual problem of differences in speech. Arrivals was very good at this concept, but ruined it at the end imo.
George Cristian810
We only have relatively basic concept theories of FTL methods at the moment, we don't even have proof or evidence it is possible, not even on a micro scale. Just because we are advancing at a fast rate now, it does not mean we are going to crack it any time soon.
The evening meal was not what Tevos or any of her away team expected, instead of being served portions of various food, and having the origins of said food explained to them, which typically happens at a meal like this on First Contact, the Humans had instead provided a buffet for them, where they could choose what they please and leave what they did not like. Large trays of food had been put out on numerous tables, and she was told she could come and go to the trays as she pleases, and Tevos is quietly grateful for this, knowing in the back of her head she is not truly hungry having just eaten before heading for this world. It is also wise of the Humans, Tevos thinks because without actually putting food in front of them, they are reducing the pressure on her to eat food she may not like, or even consuming items which may be inedible to her own biology.
The effort which went into the buffet was a little surprising to Tevos if she was honest, the number of various foods available was astonishing for one restaurant to provide, but if anything it is a good sign that the humans are putting in the effort; she does wonder though as to how much of this food was made with their technology. With her omni-tool in hand, Tevos moves around the room till she finds something she likes the look of, and with a wave of her hand she scans the food item, allowing her omni-tool to determine its genetic base. If the food is Levo based, Tevos knows that it is safe to consume, but if its Dextro based, then the food will pass right through her, and she knows she will get little from it. Unlike what some old sci-fi books may say, Tevos knows that consuming a little Dextro based food will not kill her, in fact she would be unlucky if she had any side effects past feeling a little bloated. After a second to compute its findings, Tevos's omni-tool beeps and displays something she has rarely seen before, instead of just finding Dextro based amino acids or levo based acids, the food item is rich in both. With a frown Tevos scans another item, and then another, and all the results come back the same, and it appears to Tevos like Humans do not care about the genetic construct of their foods. This is not the first time a species has been discovered where they can eat both types of amino-acids, but it is a little rare, most species stick to one or another.
As Tevos sets her omni-tool to study another item Captain Corvinus moves to a tray of food by her left and scans it, and as he scans, he says, "How sensitive do you think the human nose is?"
Tevos spares the Turian a knowing glance, whereas she might get a little bloated from ingesting incorrect food types, Turians have a more embarrassing problem, which is why they tend to avoid levo based food like the plague when in public. Tevos replies to the Turian as she scans another food item, "I would not advise testing it... However, you are in luck, this is almost entirely Dextro based." Tevos looks down from her omni-tool and to the food she has scanned, and she is a little repulsed by what she sees, the 'food' looks to be a cooked creature of some kind, it has long thin twig-like legs, small beady black eyes and a hard pinkish shell around it - she knows this will not repulse a typical Turian though - a species which most popular snack could be best described as raw meat still on the bone. Come to think of it, Tevos realises that Turians are probably the most carnivorous of the advanced species in the galaxy, with not even a Krogan eating more meat than the average Turian. Tevos knows that it will quickly spread that some dextro food has been found, so she moves to another table, knowing that her last location is about to get swarmed with 4 Turians.
As she scans the various foods, she finds she bumps into Benezzia, who like every other Asari, Salarian and Turian, is scanning their food. "It would seem," Benezzia says as she scans, "That this species is very carnivorous. Everything I have scanned so far has animal products of some kind."
"Well," Tevos begins to reply before adding something to her plate which is mostly levo based, "Evidence would suggest to them being predators. Eyes in the front of the head with a rather narrow field of vision, sharp teeth at the front for tearing through meats, ears which seem to have evolved to be more efficient at hearing sounds from the front and sides. It would not surprise me the slightest to find that these are the apex predators of their homeworld."
"We share many similarities." Benezzia points out as she also puts a scoop of food onto her plate, "But we made the conscious decision to reduce our intake of animal products. This species does not seem to have made that step."
"But we do not have the technology they do to produce food from seemingly thin air." Returns Tevos, "If this technology were introduced to the masses in Asari space, I would not be surprised if Haifi, Plaio or Vaavi meat becomes widespread once more." While some may consider Asari to be almost vegan, it would be an inaccurate description as most Asari have no issues eating meat, they just believe most eat too much of the substance.
"If this technology were introduced without thought of the consequences, the farming industries would collapse." Benezzia states before sniffing a tray of some sweet-smelling food. "And as good as it is, it is dangerous to not only the Asari economy but the Citadel economy." Benezzia knows the largest argument against the technology will run along the lines of 'it will never be as good as the real thing', but Benezzia also knows the convenience of it will make many prefer it over the real stuff- it is for this very reason why fast food restaurants have taken off in Citadel space.
"But these people must feed their machines something to create this food," Tevos ponders aloud to Benezzia, "They can not create something from nothing; it is a basic universal principle. Whatever this 'something' is, that would be the new farming. But, I do agree, this technology would have to be introduced slowly, and what is its limits? Can it create technology itself, would I be able to create weapons with it? While it is very fascinating, it does worry me."
"Hmm," Benezzia replies as they wander back to a table to try the food they have put on their plates. In the centre of the table they are to eat from is their next problem, the humans have placed a dozen different type of drinks for her people to try. The lead human has taken to sipping some dark red substance, so Tevos reaches for the bottle containing this liquid first, and a quick scan from her omni-tool proves it to be safe to consume; the omni-tool also beeps to warn her that the drink is alcoholic. After passing the sniff test Tevos begins to pour the liquid into her own glass, and as she does, she says, "It always amuses me that alcohol is a universal constant, every species known is effected by it."
"It is a curiosity." Benezzia agrees before pouring herself some of the substance, "Maybe it is the goddesses way of bringing us all together, or maybe it is the universes form of a joke."
With the drinks poured, Tevos and Benezzia come to their next problem, looking down to the sides of their plates they see their eating utensils; and only one of the utensils is familiar to them. The knife both Tevos and Benezzia know how to use and are familiar with, but the other item that is in place of a 'Dinner Utensil' she is unsure of. She is used to using a tool which is designed a little like a spade, but this item has four prongs, and from watching the lead human, he seems to stab his food with it instead of shovelling it. With a shrug, the Asari councillor picks up the unusual utensil and begins using it, and the knack of the utensil comes quickly to her.
The next problem came as a complete surprise, her first few mouthfuls of food went well, with nothing to report on, however when she tries a slightly different food Tevos quickly realises something is wrong. First, she feels a slight discomfort on her tongue, and then it feels like she is eating and breathing pure fire. Tevos puts her eating utensils down and quickly takes a drink, but it only seems to make things worse. Feeling her blood rush to the surface of her skin, making her feel hot, Tevos calmly places down her eating utensils and scans the food again, running a more thorough test to see what is the cause of such a burning sensation.
"Tevos, are you well?" Benezzia asks her with a concerned frown on her face when she notices her friends change in demeanour.
Tevos does not look up but instead calmly replies, saying, "I am not certain, one of these food products is causing some discomfort. I would advise you to stop eating momentarily until I find the cause."
The scan takes maybe three or four times as long as a typical scan, and the longer Tevos waits the more the burning seems to intensify, her skin feels hot, her nose has begun to run and her eyes want to water. Eventually, a human waiter places a glass filled with a white substance in front of her, while giving her an encouraging gesture for her to consume it, and looking to the President he seems most encouraging for her to drink the item. Tevos does not jump into consuming the liquid, however, because whatever is causing the burning sensation could be in this liquid too. "Please scan that," Tevos asks from Benezzia as she begins to read over a more thorough scan of the food, but there are many unknown substances in the food that could all be a cause of the unexpected heat.
By the time Tevos has read the report, she is informed by the T'soni that the white drink is safe so the Councillor tries a little of the substance, and as if magic acts upon her the burning sensation dies down a little. Another gulp of the substance helps some more, and so Tevos takes to almost constantly sipping the white substance. "The good news," Tevos hears Benezzia say, "Is that the President has been watching you with concern. I do not think they expected your reaction. I've also tried to scan you, but you're not showing any unusual symptoms outside of increased outer skin temperature." Tevos blinks her slightly watering eyes, acknowledging the comment.
/.../
The rest of the meal was rather uneventful, not much was said, but it did not feel overly forced, and allowed Tevos to get an understanding of the Human habits when dining. It is not much to write home about, but right now, Tevos does not know what is truly important, the simple act of accepting the food and eating at the table could have a large impact on future relations, or it could have none at all, but when dealing with absolute unknowns, you must treat all factors as unknowns. After retiring from the evening meal, Tevos finds herself back in Benezzia's room and has turned the entertainment device back on, and after a moment of watching the device, she frowns a little. The program being broadcasted is currently displaying something she would expect to find on any 'good' Turian owned entertainment channel, and that is a recruitment advert. What worries Tevos is not the fact that the Humans are pushing a recruitment advert, she would expect anyone else to do the same in their shoes, but it was how evidently they were pushing for recruitment in response to her own people. "I do not know about you," Benezzia says to Tevos after a second of watching some of the recruitment advert, "But I did not come all this way to watch an obvious military video. Shall we visit this holo-suite or Gym?"
Tevos blinks and soon she finds herself walking into a room where this supposed holo-suite is located, but inside she finds a mostly empty room with a large ring in the middle. Around the ring is a few of the human soldiers, they all appear to be cheering a person in the middle who is exchanging blows with an unusually dressed human in maroon plated armour that features a helmet supporting a grotesque faceplate. It is an odd sight to the Asari as the armour looks like it would be suitable in pre-gunpowder warfare. The humans cheer on the unarmoured person who must be one of their own for a few moments till the armour-clad human has their comrade on the floor and in a yield position.
Tevos and Benezzia share a look before blinking to one another, while Asari may not like fighting, they do actually enjoy sparring, and believe it or not but sparring with short swords, albeit blunted swords, is a large sport on Asari worlds, and to be a champion in the sport would make you a hero to many Asari. After the defeated human removes themselves from the ring another steps in, but once more the unarmoured human is quickly incapacitated. Yet another figure steps into the ring, but instead of quickly sub coming to the armoured entity, this match lasts considerably longer, but once more the armoured figure prevails, and Tevos begins to suspect that maybe this armoured figure is not actually a Human, because the other humans are visibly exhausting themselves, but this armoured one does not seem to be affected by exhaustion at all.
The next contender in the ring, however, is victorious and Tevos watches with some amazement as the armoured warrior bows to the human and then vanishes into thin air, all to be replaced by a different warrior. Tevos is particularly impressed by the holographic technology - it is not that the Citadel does not have it, to the contrary, the Citadel does have some particularly advanced and impressive holo technology, but, what the Citadel lacks is the hard light technology that allows these humans to spar as they are doing so now. The next warrior to appear in the ring is different to the first plated armour warrior, this one has brass body armour over their torso, which outlines their muscular features, metal greeves, and an intricately designed helmet featuring some red feathers on the top. In one hand is a large circular shield, and in the other is a large spear.
"Shall we move on?" Benezzia asks, and Tevos blinks as she makes sure she has saved some footage of the human sparring. With some footage safely stored in her omni-tool, Tevos takes the lead in leaving the room, and it does not take long for the Asari duo to find their way to the bar, because as they got close, they could hear some gentle music being played on what could be a mix of brass and stringed instruments, and the sounds guided them without the need for directions. Arriving at the bar Tevos and Benezzia poke their head through the door, and Tevos witnesses a group of five people on a stage, dressed in white, and playing an array of instruments, two of the people are playing prominent brass instruments, one is playing a basic stringed instrument, its design has been found in most advanced civilisations, her own included, and one is singing, but one is playing a large instrument neither Benezzia or Tevos have seen before. "Shall we?" Tevos asks and Benezzia blinks, so Tevos leads the way to a table at the back of the room, where they could observe, but not be in the spotlight themselves.
The smooth music type is known to Tevos, but it is not a type that is played much in Citadel or Asari space, although Tevos does not complain, it is the type of music which allows your foot to get a mind of its own and tap along with the melodic beat; with this in mind Tevos begins to set her omni-tool to record, this is some local culture she could 'sell' to her people to advertise the humans and help them be accepted into the wider galactic community. As the band do their thing Tevos looks around the room, at the opposite side of the room, and in an equally dark corner to her own is the President, he seems to be in his own world as he works on some sort of contraption, typing away on what Tevos must assume is a keyboard, he seems oblivious that she is even there. Along the back wall, there is what can only be a bar, it has many bottled drinks displayed behind it, and a man impeccably dressed waiting to serve. In the centre of the room, and sat before the band, is a few different personnel, the first is a green-haired marine - she is sat on a table by her own, and with a mostly empty drink, then there are a few others sat on a circular table, a vast array of drinks are on the table, another table has the Safari Expert on.
As the jazz band continues to play, Tevos turns to Benezzia, "I was thinking, today could have ended incredibly differently had the Humans not worked out I was suffering and provided the white drink."
"Yes," Benezzia concurs, "I have also been thinking of this, but I think it must be worse for the humans, they invited us here and as it turns out, one of their food items is not palatable to ourselves. Had they not worked out the issue, and you reported ill, it could have easily caused a diplomatic incident."
"Yes," Tevos blinks, "I could imagine Quirinus would have been quick to demand our immediate return."
"Hmm," Benezzia humms in response. "First Contacts are infamous for small things going wrong, and I believe we truly did dodge a bullet today."
As the band begins to play another song Tevos is distracted as a man approaches with a tray of drinks, and looking at the man Tevos quickly realises that it is the President. The man says a few words to Benezzia before placing the drinks down and leaving, allowing Tevos to inquire, "What did he say?"
"Something about it being on the building, and to enjoy. I believe he must have used a colloquialism."
"Hmm," Tevos humms to herself before scanning the drinks and then picking up a glass of water, not wanting a foggy head for tomorrow. After maybe half a dozen songs the band eventually steps down from the stage, their instruments, however, are still on stands, making Tevos believe they may be back. "Shall we have a look at the boxy instrument?" Benezzia asks of Tevos, because just like Tevos, the T'soni has been listening to the sounds it has been producing and has come most interested in it.
Tevos blinks and stands with Benezzia to approach the instrument, and it would seem to the Asari that despite its boxy design, it is, in fact, a stringed instrument. The sheer amount of sounds it must be able to produce slightly bewilders Tevos, making her think she has underestimated the skills of the human that was playing it earlier. As Tevos begins to take a scan of the large device she hears the presidents voice and turns to see him talking with Benezzia. The two exchange a few words, with the President quite often gesturing towards the unknown instrument, but just as quickly as the President arrived, he seemed to finish the conversation and dissapear, leaving Benezzia to say, "Apparently, this device is called a Piano."
Sitting back down a short while later, Tevos predictions that the band is not finished is proven correct when the band returns, and they play a suspicious amount of songs that are piano-heavy, no doubt the President has had something to do with that, Tevos thinks.
/.../
The next morning started with breakfast just after sunrise, the food was not as extravagant as the previous night, but this surprises next to no one in the away team, mostly because breakfast to all known species is a light, and usually, an easy to prepare meal that sets them up for the day ahead.
After consuming her breakfast, which was once more heavy in animal products, Tevos is ushered outside with the rest of her people to find three open-air cars are waiting for them, resulting in Tevos musing to herself that she hopes it does not rain because she has not packed any rain-resistant clothing. Tevos quickly finds herself climbing into the first car with Benezzia and Corvinus, along with the Tour Guide, the President and the green-haired human. After a quick explanation from the tour guide that the entire area they are in is currently a wildlife reserve, meaning some animal sightings are not guaranteed, the cars begin to move, and from the sound of the car's engine, Tevos must conclude that they are using electric motors.
As they drive, Benezzia and the guide exchange a good amount of words before Benezzia turns to Tevos and Corvinus, "Our guide was just explaining that the first animals we are going to see are 'monkeys'. They are known to be mischevious and steal items from people." Tevos subconsciously feels for her omni-tool and feels some relief knowing that it is still there.
It is not long after the explanation that the cars slowly come to a stop near a lone tree, and a quick look at the branches allows Tevos to see the creatures they have come for, they are small Vorak like creatures, but they have far more dense coats of fur over them. It takes no more than 20 seconds after the car has come to a stop for one of the 'monkeys' to position itself on top of the car and peer inside to see what its occupants have brought for it. The guide slowly reaches out for the monkey, but it quickly comes clear that the guide is not reaching for the monkey, but rather offering the creature something, as it tentatively pinches something from out of his open hand and begins to eat from it. The guide smiles before turning to Benezzia and offering her some food items that look like nuts of some sort.
It is not long till the cars are swarmed with a dozen of the creatures, all of them taking food from people's hands, and heaving a comotion from the car behind Tevos turns just in time to see a Turian with one of these monkeys on his shoulder. The Turian appears stiff and uncertain, but thankfully, it is not looking like it is about to tear the monkey apart. As Tevos continues to look away she hears Benezzia call her name quitely, and looking towards the Matriarch, Tevos notices that she too has found one of these monkeys climbing over her, the creature is clinging to her right arm with one of its arms and both its legs, and with its other arm it is taking the food from her hand.
Hearing the guide say something, Benezzia then quietly says to Tevos, "Picture, picture." Getting the hint, Tevos pulls her omni-tool up, with the aim of getting a picture, but before she could take the photo the monkey has moved on, this time it is climbing on Corvinus. The Turian does not look happy to have become a climbing frame for the animal, but with a little persuasion from Tevos, the man smiles for a photo. By the time they come to move on and see the next animals the humans want to show them, almost everyone from the away team has had a photo taken with a monkey. In a few of the photos, there are humans and people from her away team, and Tevos knows for certain that these photos can be used to help show the humans off to the rest of the galaxy. Sure, the picture will show nothing more than her own people and the unknown humans bonding over something as simple as a monkey crawling over them in an attempt to reach food, but this type of content sells.
Soon, the small convoy roll to a stop at a new location, where the guide speaks with a hushed voice as he points out over a plain of mostly barren land. Looking with squinted eyes Tevos at first thinks the humans are pointing to some horned creatures but the Asari is quickly amazed as she watches a pack of varren like creatures emerge from some long grass and act as a pack to hunt the horned creatures. Tevos notes to herself that she does not like these 'Hyena' creatures so much.
The next animal on the agenda is apparently the largest land creature on this planet, and soon Tevos is looking down a 'Elephant', and Tevos is certain it is the largest land creature she has seen off Dekuuna, but what scares her the most is not its size, rather it is how quickly these land leviathans can apparently move. Should it decide to charge her, Tevos does not think she could survive its wrath without a healthy dose of biotics to back her. To Tevos's slight horror she is offered a ride on the creatures, where she spends approximately 20 minutes on the back of one, and Tevos can not help but think they seem far larger when you are sitting on their back. Fortunately, riding the creatures does provide for a good photo opportunity, however, so Tevos takes some rejoice in this fact.
After riding the elephants to a peaceful spot overlooking a river came lunch in the form of a 'barbeque', which was primarily meat products once more, before the adventure started again. The first stop was an indoor pen area, where Tevos comes face to face with a dozen birds, the one which stands out to her the most has large claws, a powerful looking beak, a large wingspan, and white feathers on its head. After a few moments to gawk at the bird, the group are taken outside, where a display shows the various birds swooping down to collect some prey. At the end of the demonstration, there is an oppotunity for a photoshoot, and Tevos is slightly amused by how the Turians are far more interested with the birds than any other creature they have come across yet - she is sure the Higherarchy will be getting a full report on them shortly - after all the logo for the Turian Hierarchy is a bird with a planet in each of its three claws.
The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, with horses, Lions, Meerkats, Otters, Panda's, Lizards and Hippos all making an appearance, but Tevos begins to suspect that the most important creatures are yet to come, she does not know why she suspects this, but something in her stomach tells her that it is true. Eventually, as the day nears an end, they are taken back to the hotel, where they are ushered into another room. The guide stands near the centre of the small room and tells Benezzia about some creatures, and Benezzia relays it on to the rest of the group. The name of the first creature, Tevos is told, is "Man's best friend," or "Dog," for short. After the brief introduction, a small handful of dogs are introduced to the room and a few humans begin to play with them, throwing balls, and physically touching them. As they play Benezzia speaks again, having been talking to the guide. "These creatures are supposed to be incredibly important to humans. They are said to become family when adopted. There is a lot of emphasis on their importance to humanity."
Tevos is not overly surprised by this, other species are known to keep pets, mostly the Krogan and their varren, and these dogs, despite coming in many shapes and sizes if the small selection of dogs in this room is anything to go by, look similar to varren in many aspects. What Tevos is glad to see, however, is how the dogs seem to be far more friendly, and far easier on the eyes - varren lack the fur and their skin is often crisscrossed with scars from battles they have been in. After a few moments Tevos is offered with the rest of her team to play with the creatures, and Tevos is more than glad for the opportunity to try interacting with the creatures if they are as important as the humans say they are. She also realises that if they are as important as the humans say, then she needs to try her best to make a good impression with the creatures. For her own part, playing with the dogs was an easy task, a few words of command got the dogs to drop their toys, and the dogs didn't seem to need any other instruction. They did, Tevos notes, seem to have an uncanny ability to read her thoughts, and act on it, they seemed incredibly capable of knowing when she was going to pick up the ball, where she was going to throw it, and when to back off. The Turians and Salarians did not seem to have as much luck, however, and the dogs were more apprehensive of them, maybe, Tevos thinks, this is in part due to how similar her own species is to the Humans.
After a while Tevos has to admit to herself that the creatures are playful, and she can see why the humans would want to keep them around, but the door to the room opens and Tevos quickly concludes that dogs will come a common pet across the galaxy, the puppies will provide many photo opportunities that she is sure will make the Asari crave them.
The second creature introduced once all the dogs are removed from the room are 'Cats', and while Tevos does admit they have an appeal to them, she quietly prefers the dogs.
/.../
Meanwhile
Maiden Rhea steadies herself as the lift comes to a halt on the top floor of the building and then prepares herself for the inevitable shove from the Krogan behind her when it wants her to move, and sure enough, the shove comes, forcing Rhea to follow the Drell that has captured her out of the lift and into a grand room. Rhea quickly glances around the room, and within a single glance, Rhea feels some dread enter her stomach. The room is grand, it has high ceilings, gold plated ornaments, a view across the entire city they have landed in and many fancy entertainment devices - and this can only mean one thing. Rhea quickly comes to a conclusion that whoever this room belongs to, it is probably a part of the Batarian aristocracy - which should not surprise her, the Batarian aristocracy are known for their purchase of rare slaves; something Rhea is sure the unknown alien behind her will be. This is terrible news to Rhea as the richer a slave owner, the more sophisticated is the technology which prevents slaves from escaping. As they come to a halt in the middle of the room, the Batarian offers the Drell a seat in a fancy green lounge chair, but Rhea is not afforded such luxury and instead finds herself forced down onto her knees with the unknown, not that she suspected any less from Slavers.
Whoever they are here to meet, it is obviously not the Batarian that lead them to their current location as a silence quickly forms between him and the Drell till a Krogan from behind says, "I can never remember security being this tight. Was it like this last time you were here?" The comment is aimed at the other Krogan.
The Batarian who is sitting with the Drell must have heard this so interrupts the Krogans to say, "With the approaching fleet, all hands have been called into service."
"Approaching fleet?" A Krogan replies back, "Who and how large are we talking?"
"A full Citadel battlegroup, commanded by the war criminal Caredeus Fannus. At last count, there are 7 dreadnoughts, including the Destiny Ascension." Rhea's eyes widen at the announcement, she knows the Primarch's Chosen is only sent on critical missions, and the Asari's pride vessel, the Destiny Ascension rarely leaves Citadel or Asari space. Whatever the Citadel are planning, it has certainly got a conflict of some kind in mind, and it plans on 'overkill'.
Rhea continues to silently listen as the Krogan releases a deep rumble, something aking to a sound of astonishment, "Been a long time since something that large was mustered. Where it heading?"
"You will find the correct terminology is 'Where is it heading' to which the answer is this region," The Batarian replies, "In response, the Hegemony is said to be sending a fleet."
"Nothing stopping that coalition battlegroup." The Krogan retorts, knowing the Batarian fleets are not as good as the Batarians like to think they are. "But I doubt..." The Krogan stops speaking as another Batarian that is finely dressed and surrounded by two guards enters the room; the Krogan Rhea thinks, probably knows he will be silenced if he keeps speaking.
The first Batarian who has brought them to this grand room stands before quickly gesturing for the Drell to follow suit, and then the first Batarian says, "Caretaker Tlalok, may I present Free Lancer Cadmael; he has brought a unique specimen for your consideration."
The second Batarian quickly flashes the unknown a curious look before turning to the Drell, "I do not recognise this species. Where did you find it?"
The Drell gives it a moment before saying, "We chased a Citadel vessel near relay 315. We found this in a gas giant on some sort of mining station." Rhea furiously thinks, and comes to the quick realisation that the Drell is not telling the truth, Relay 315 is in rather dull space with only a few barren rocks that barely classify as planets; meaning there are no gas giants near relay 315.
"Fascinating." The Batarian Caretaker says before approaching the unknown where it grabs it under the neck and forces it to look him in the eyes. "Very unique eyes, almost Quarian with how they dimly glow, but very pretty." Rhea must admit the unknown does have beautiful eyes, as do most Quarians, but the fact it glows purple is very unique; Quarians eyes, however, do not glow as bright as their masks make it seem, the masks amplifies the glow to help Quarians show their expressions. "Can it speak?"
"It can, but it is an unknown language."
"I see, I see," Muses the Batarian before dropping the unknown alien and turning his head to Rhea, "This one was pretty. What happened to its nose?"
The Drell takes a small pause before saying, "It required some extra encouragement in realising that escape is not an option."
The Batarian nods its head, "A Common story." The Batarian stops talking to the Drell and turns its attention back to Rhea to say, "You, Citizen code."
Rhea knows that revealing her Citadel Citizen Code could work for her, and against her, if she tells the truth then the Batarian will research her and then it is just as likely to sell her back to her mother for an extortionate price as he is to simply kill her, but after a moment to consider Rhea says "A537910X." She knows the Batarians will beat it out of her at some point, and she has no other code to give.
The first Batarian types this code into his omni tool before visibly grimacing and saying to the second Batarian, "Her mother is Matriarch Alena T'Vos."
Rhea watches as the second Batarian becomes very stiff before seemingly losing whatever fright he had, and the Drell momentarily seems to be a little surprised by the announcement. "Fascinating." The Batarian turns to another in the room to say, "Validate it." Without waiting for anything to be done the Batarian then turns to the Drell, and says, "Two very unique specimens indeed, so let us talk business."
The Drell does not dither, "250 Thousand for the Asari, and 10 Million for the unknown."
The Batarian nods its head a few times before replying, saying, "You know, the Citadel has released a bounty for information on a small fleet of vessels which matches your own fleets description, and checking your flight logs puts you in the vicinity of the dead Prothean planet where you were said to be operating."
Rhea watches as the Drell narrows his eyes, "Does the law in Batarian space not decree that we have immunity from such prosecutions when trading such items? If you failed to live up to such a saying, I suspect you would lose a lot of custom to rival trading establishments."
"Very true," The Batarian concedes, "However," The Batarian claps his hands twice, and a dozen armed Batarians enter the room from the elevator, "I noticed your unique product the moment you left the airlock, so I got curious some more and studied your flight logs in further depth. You have been through an uncharted Relay. Our laws do not protect you against this, and thus you have two options. Option one is you leave this room without a single credit, and find out how nasty a vortex filled with unpaid Krogan can be, or you can take your chances against my finest."
After a long heated discussion in which Rhea expected the Krogan immediately behind her to rip a Batarian in half at on point, Rhea's captors leave the room with nothing, leaving Rhea, the unknown and a few Batarians in the room. After the doors to the lift shut with Rhea's captors inside the first Batarian says, "I can confirm that the Asari is who she says she is. Apparently, she ran away from home young, and you know who has been searching for her since."
The second Batarian walks back and forth a little before saying, "Induct and glove her, and send a demand for 1 Million credits."
"Caretaker," The first Batarian says slowly, "Is it wise to anger the woman who dropped a dirty bomb on a run-away Turian colony so she could watch them die slowly of radiation sickness all because they disrespected her offer of protection? The same woman who fed Hanar to Varren because she was bored? The Asari is as cruel as God Niwitih himself."
"We are not a run away colony." The second Batarian dismisses with a waft of his hand, "And we have the defences of the Hegemony and her armies behind us, and for now, we are still a Citadel affiliated species. She wouldn't dare attack us, it would cause the Citadel to go to war with the Terminus systems."
"How long do you suspect we will be a part of the Citadel Coalition?" Asks the first Batarian, "Their fleet is almost upon us."
"Their fleet isn't here for us," The second Batarian replies as he approaches the unknown alien and looks in its eyes, "It is here for them; the Citadel has a first contact situation, and I will wager they have found something they do not like. I will let my cousin know on Khar'shan, and we can play the game." Batarian stocks are currently through the floor due to people expecting an invasion from the Citadel, so with this in mind people could easily gain a lot from the current situation. As war is not likely on the agenda anymore, Tlalok fears that once this information is known by the wider galaxies, many Batarian companies could have vast stakes bought up by stronger alien economies.
"As you wish," Rhea hears the first Batarian reply to the Caretaker, "I will prepare the long-range communications room for your imminent conversation."
"Yes yes," The second responds, "But first, have these seen to, have them taken to the appropriate wing."
The first Batarian brings his hands in front of him and displays them to the Caretaker, a Batarian show of respect, before issuing an order to some Batarians behind Rhea. Soon Rhea finds she is being forced onto her feet with the unknown and they are being marched through the room to a small wooden door. After unlocking the door Rhea is pushed through, as is the unknown, and looking around inside Rhea finds yet another Asari, a female Quarian, and a Salarian, all of who have stood by the bottom of their beds at attention and looking towards the door she entered. On top of the sentient beings, there is also a wide variety of exercise machines and a few wardrobes. "You," A Batarian says while pointing to the other Asari in the room, "Induct them."
"Without delay," The Asari who is potentially a Matriarch says before breaking her stance and moving towards Rhea as the Batarians leave the room. "Please come," The Asari says to Rhea while reaching out for a hand, "And I will fix your nose."
Rhea had almost forgotten about the dull ache in her nose and reluctantly blinks as she walks with the Asari who sits her down on an empty bed, for now, the unknown has been left alone, it seems content enough to just look around - which considering its situation amazes Rhea, the thing should be terrified. "What is the other thing?" The Asari asks Rhea, "We do not get the news often, so its discovery is new to me."
"I do not know." Rhea confesses, "It is new to me too, the Batarians were talking about a potential first contact."
"Can we communicate with it?" She then asks Rhea, to which Rhea clenches her fists slightly, "Well, that will make things complicated. Anyhow, I realise I have not introduced myself, I am Aesop, the Quarian is Nema Vas Ruire eil-Liux, the daughter of an Admiral in the Migrant fleet, and the Salarian is Adilynn, the daughter of a Salarian aristocrat."
Rhea thinks for a moment, a female Quarian is rare, they rarely go on their pilgrimage in order to help populate the species, and the daughter of a Salarain aristocrat is also going to be a 'trophy' slave, so what is so special about the Asari, "The Salarian and Quarian are worth something, either for being rare or who they are, and the unknown is very rare, so why are you here?"
The Asari smiles for a few seconds before holding her gloved hand out, "I am a grade 5 Ardat-Yakshi, I could ask the same question of yourself..."
Rhea gulps, realising that she is sitting next to a very dangerous, and very powerful Ardat-Yakshi. Level 5 Ardat-Yakshi's are almost unheard of, some even think they are myth, they are supposed to be able to kill with a mere brush of a hand, and have biotics powerful enough to make the most stalwart of Matriarchs tremble in their boots, but worse still is the supposed addiction these Asari have with melding. Eventually, Rhea replies, "Rhea, Rhea T'vos, daughter of Alena T'vos."
"Oh," Aesop replies with some surprise, "I was not expecting that." The Asari looks away momentarily to see the unknown test a bed out before sitting down on it. "I suspect our Master will try and sell you for an extortionate price."
Rhea blinks, "Yes, I overheard 1 million. My mother will .Not. pay it."
"I am sorry to hear it." Aesop then looks to the Salarain and says, "Adilynn, please see to our other new fellow."
Once Aesop finishes speaking to the Salarian and turns her attention back to herself, Rhea blinks, "I fear it will bring excessive violence to this place. I have been running away from my mother for the last decade, and she has moved many rocks searching for me."
Aesop looks around before whispering, "Then I can hope." Aesop then slowly reaches up to Rhea's nose, "This will hurt for a second." The Asari does not give any delay in pulling Rhea's nose down, causing a hot pain to form in Rhea's nose, but true to Aesop's words the pain quickly dissipates. Aesop gives Rhea a few moments to fight the pain before saying, "Now, you need to know a few rules of this Jire place," Jire in Asari mythology is a hellish place. "First of all, and most importantly, as an Asari you will need to wear a pair of gloves that come past your elbow at all times, Master is very adamant about this rule, he has an unfounded fear that we will try to manipulate him with our touch. If we leave this room, we are to adhere to a strict dress code, no exception, and you are to never look the Master in the eyes, he will beat you severely for this. If you try to use your biotics, you will also be severely beaten, if not killed, but I suspect Master will be arranging a biotic dampener for you, especially if you are who you say you are."
"Unfortunately I am," Rhea replies with a sigh, "But may I ask, you are a grade 5 Ardat, don't you need to meld?"
Aesop reluctantly blinks her eyes, "Master sees to my needs, meaning you are safe in my presence if that is your fear. Now please, you must put these gloves on for your own well being." Aesop reaches into a nearby wardrobe and takes some gloves out to hand to Rhea. Rhea looks down at the plain white gloves for a few moments before reluctantly pulling the gloves on and up past her elbow.
"You will get used to them," Aesop says with some sorrow in her voice, "But I must go on with the other rules, of which there are many." Rhea mentally prepares herself for the list, and by the end, she has no clue on how she will follow them all, never mind the unknown who can't speak a single communicable word.
/.../
Earth - UNSC
"Sir, UDP is waiting for your authorisation."
A Colonel looks to a vast array of screens that display dozens of different types of data and video feeds from an Ultron Defense Platform. Currently, the device is sat looking at the large construct that the aliens have used to enter the solar system. With a small nod, the Colonel says, "Let's do it."
The plan is simple, one of Ultrons platforms will perform a strafing pass, in an attempt to find a weakness in the structure, so that if push comes to shove, Ultron knows how to destroy the object.
"Sir, Ultron is caught in a gravity well."
"How?" A scientist says who is sat nearby, "We took the devices gravity well into consideration."
"Well I'm..." The people in the room go silent as the structure lashes out with what seems to be an arc of electricity, and before anyone can react Ultron's defence platform is going on a journey through something that will have scientists scratching their head for years to come
Cheers