Tykis Frontline, Thargora Thoraga, March 2, 2193.
Despite the many setbacks the Pioneers are facing as well as the risky time extensions, Operation Dark Blue is looking to be somewhat successful. It was late at night when Kuril and Victus sat in an observation post on a hill situated a few dozen meters behind the trenchlines.
"I still can hardly believe you made it through that mess alive, and came back to fight again." Victus commented.
"You're telling me." Kuril replied as he tinkered with his cybernetic arm. "I still find it hard to believe that the doctor thought things would've been much worse. 'An inch lower, and your head would've been the one to go.' She said."
Victus shuddered at that.
They were among the last few units still holding onto the now defunct trench line. Within a few hours, they would be moved back to the now operational 'Glatisant Line'. Their items had already been packed, and they were simply waiting for the transports to arrive and take them out of there.
Suddenly, the emergency alarm began to ring. The two officers quickly picked up their weapons and rushed out towards the trenches itself.
"Sergeant, report!" Victus ordered.
"Sir!" The soldier replied. "Council forces are advancing as we speak! They've got new armored vehicles to boot!"
Kuril took a pair of binoculars and looked down to No Man's Land.
"She's right." He said. "Hovering armor, fighting vehicles and transports it seems. Looks like an Asari build." The captain continued, passing the binoculars to the Colonel.
"It's moving fast... Sergeant! Are the troops at their posts?" Victus asked.
"The boots are scrambling as we speak. We'll be just about ready for them!" She answered.
Artillery boomed behind them. The self propelled artillery pieces, though weaker than the usual emplaced ones, are good enough to begin a suppressive barrage on no man's land. The Asari hovertanks bobbed and weaved around the arcing projectiles, deftly dodging incoming fire.
The Asari hover-transports touched down on defilade positions all around the area, offloading troops left, right, and center. Turian weapon emplacements opened fire at these troops, but they were shielded by the hover-tanks.
"Dammit! They must've figured out we were emptying out these trench lines!" Victus shouted out through the sounds of battle. "Order a withdrawal to the second line!"
Kuril nodded and did so through his helmet's built in radio.
"We should also call Glatisant, request heavy artillery to fire on this position!" Kuril suggested.
Victus nodded, and Kuril shouted at the radio for heavy fire support.
As Turian soldiers quickly emptied out the first line to the second, 340mm artillery pounded on the Council forces. The very ground shook as the massive shells smashed into the ground and threw bodies into the air.
"Where the fuck are our transports?!" Victus shouted out as he slid into a trench.
"Last I checked, they were an hour and a half out!" Kuril answered.
"And how long ago was that?"
"Can't be more than a few minutes ago." Kuril answered again.
The Colonel cursed under his breath.
"Tell them that they need to be here in under one!" He ordered.
Returning fire from the now Council held trenches intensified as the Allied troops poured in and solidified their positions. The extremely tough Turian entrenchments were used against their builders even as the Turian heavy artillery bombarded them. It would seem that the Pioneers did too good of a job reinforcing the trenches.
"Tell the Pioneers to blow the first line!" Victus shouted out.
Kuril complied and barked orders into his helmet radio. When the Captain turned back to the Colonel with a worried look, Victus expected the worst.
"I can't get through to them! We have to assume their all dead!" Kuril reported.
"Dammit... we need to retrieve the detonator! Where were they last located?"
"They were on the south section of the trenchlines! From the chatter, I reckon that's where fighting's the thickest!"
"Then that's where we are headed."
Kuril looked to a group of soldiers hunkered down in the trench and pointed at them.
"The lot of you, you're coming with us!"
They all nodded and scrambled up to join the two officers. The group traversed the line towards where all the commotion was going on. It would seem that a large chunk of the Allied forces are concentrating their attack on this position.
Victus took cover beside a Turian who was drenched in blue blood and viscera. Under all that mess, the Colonel recognized the soldier to be wearing Pioneer armor.
"Soldier, where's Major Vasta?" The Colonel asked.
"You're looking at what's left of him, Sir! He took a rocket to the chest, didn't make it!"
"Spirits fucking dammit!" Kuril cussed.
"Do you know where the trench detonator is? Was he holding onto it when he died?" Victus asked again.
"No sir! The Major handed off the detonator to Quartermaster Nyx before he headed off to direct the troops!"
"Nyx? What the hell is she still doing here?! Wasn't she already transferred to the Glatisant Line?" Kuril asked.
"The Quartermaster insisted on organizing the munitions bunker herself following the delays!"
"Is that where she is now?" Victus followed through
"It's got to be, she said something about rigging the bunkers to blow with the rest of the explosives."
"She WHAT!?" Kuril asked, before rocket landed dangerously close to them, rudely cutting him off.
"Alright then, I need you and what men you have to back us up! We need to get to that detonator before the enemy do!" The Colonel ordered.
"Yes sir!" The Pioneer replied.
The large group of Turians qucikly made their way towards the south munitions bunker. A sizable contingent of Council forces stood between them and the entrance to the bunker. The Turians holding the bunker entrance saw Victus and Kuril's group approaching and threw a smoke grenade at their foes. Being blinded and attacked from two sides, the Council troops decided to withdraw and return to their newly captured trenchline. A short respite was had for the defending Turian troops, enough for Kuril and Victus to figure out just what the hell they needed to do.
The two officers entered the munition bunker where regulars, Pioneers, and Logisticorps workers alike were rushing to salvage what they can, and rig what they can't to be destroyed.
"Quartermaster! Quartermaster Nyx!" Victus called out.
In the midst of all this chaos, the Colonel's calls were left unanswered. Before he could call again, Kuril took a shot at it.
"Nyx, Nyx where are you?" The Captain called out. "Quilla, for the love of..."
"Over here!" The Quartermaster answered, waving her hand from the other side of the room behind a whole host of other Turians, and a couple Drells.
The two officers walked over to her.
"Quilla, huh?" Victus asked raising his browplate, but didn't press any further. Kuril ran ahead of the Colonel, and accosted the Quartermaster.
"Nyx, are you out of your damned mind? Playing around with explosives in the middle of a firefight, are you trying to get everyone killed?!"
"Well what was I supposed to do, sit with my finger up my sphincter? Somebody needed to help coordinate setting up all these explosives if we didn't want to delay any more." She replied.
"And here I was thinking that Kuril was the crazy one." Victus commented as he was catching up. "I assume you've sealed the tunnel bulkheads?"
"Not yet. We're using them to speed up moving the jury rigged explosives to where they're needed. We're also hoping for the western tunnel to channel a part of the blast towards the first line, hopefully collapsing both it and the tunnel in the process." She reported.
"That's not going to work." Kuril argued. "I just saw our own big guns bombard the first line with barely a scratch to show for it. We underestimated our own defenses, built them too well. We'll kill everything within sight, sure, but these trenches probably are still going to be here by the end of it."
"Dammit. That was the only thing I figured we could have done. If you have any other bright ideas, I'm listening." She told him.
"Best case scenario, the Pioneers wipe out all the Council troops still on these lines while some of the fortifications survive." Victus told them. "Worst case, we all turn into a blue smear on a wall, and the enemy still takes our lines. Either way, do what you must, Quartermaster. Captain Kuril will assume control of the troops here. I need to be back at the rear line to coordinate with the rest of our troops."
The two of them saluted the Colonel, who then took the tunnels towards the rear line.
"It's up to you and me then." Nyx told Kuril.
"You, me, and every other soul still standing on this fucking deathtrap." The Captain added. "How long until you have everything set up?"
"Another thirty minutes, at least." She answered.
Kuril checked on to the chronometer in his helmet's HUD, then shook his head.
"Transports are going to be here in twenty. Ready or not, you need to be out of here in less than that."
Nyx sighed heavily.
"Alright then, let's not waste anymore time."
If the Pioneers were rushing around earlier, they were moving at breakneck speed now. Explosives were moved from place to place so quickly, Kuril could feel himself get whiplash just looking at them go back and forth. Despite the pace they were moving, time moved excruciatingly slowly for the Captain, who was anticipating and waiting for every single second to pass.
"It's time. Wrap everything up now, we need to evacuate immediately." Kuril finally ordered.
"Alright everyone, take only the essentials. Everything else is going up with this bunker." Nyx echoed the captain.
The soldiers and staff still in the bunker wrapped up their work and took the tunnels to the third line. Once the bunker was sufficiently empty, the defending troops sealed the bunker entrance and evacuated as well.
At the last line, they met up with Victus, who was coordinating the evacuation with the transports.
"You're just about on time." The Colonel told them. "Most of the boots are already on their way to Glatisant."
"Good. The blast is likely going to kill everything within a three kilometer radius." Nyx told Victus.
"Better not delay any further then. Let's all get out of here and let our guests discover our... surprise gift." Kuril tried to lighten the mood.
They troops began huddling into armored transports, with each vehicle leaving as soon as it was filled to the brim. The three officers were the last to board, and as the rear hatch began to close, Kuril could see a glimpse of even more Council forces arrive on the forward trenchline.
Victus banged his fist on the transport, signaling the driver that they were ready to depart. The transport's engines whirred to life and the passengers inside could feel the vehicle lift itself slightly off the ground. The last few transports moved in an armored column, flanked by four armored fighting vehicles on each side. Minutes pass by in silence as the column whirred along the relatively undamaged road. After a while longer, Nyx broke the silence.
"Driver, how far are we from the forward trenches?" She asked.
"Just over three kilometers, ma'am."
"Alright. We're out of the projected danger zone. I'm detonating the bomb." She said.
The driver quickly notified the other transports as everyone in the passenger compartment braced themselves.
The Quartermaster silently counted down, then pressed the detonator.
At first, there was nothing. But then, a bright flash glared through the tiny view slits on the transport's rear hatch. Immediately afterwards, a massive wave of force and heat washed upon the armored column, throwing the passengers around and violently shaking the transports. Kuril shut his eyes, clenched his jaws, and instinctively held on and covered the Turian beside him as he did his best to protect his fellow soldier. The violent shaking slowly subsided, the Turians in the transport slowly regained their bearings.
"Captain... Octavis, not that I mind much, but you can let go now." Nyx told him.
Kuril slowly opened his eyes to see the that he was holding the Quartermaster in a vice grip. Realizing this, he hastily let go and retreated into his seat.
"Right, got carried away there." He said sheepishly.
"Got carried away with what?" Victus said as he picked himself up from the transport's floor. It would seem that the violent jostling had thrown the Colonel straight down.
"Eh, nothing you need to worry about right now." Kuril brushed off. "You need help?"
The Captain extended his hand, and the Colonel took it. Kuril pulled his friend and superior up and helped him settle back down. Victus took a peek through the view slits on the rear hatch, and saw a plume of smoke, dirt, and fire kicked up from where the trenches were supposed to be. The smoke around the blast was pulled back into the vacuum left by the explosion. Air rushed back in and took all the smoke and dust with it. As the particles collided in the center, it was ejected upwards into the sky where only then did it begin to slowly descend. As the transports traveled further and further, only then could Victus notice that the smoke and dust had began to form a menacing mushroom cloud in the wake of the blast.
The Colonel shook his head and sighed to himself.
"That had better do the job."
-000-
Jarrod and Okeer coughed and tried to wave away all the dust that had began to descend upon them. A massive explosion just rocked them to their very cores, and that was not an easy feat to do. Okeer looked up and saw the giant mushroom cloud forming before him and became slackjawed.
"Did they just... Was that nuclear?" Okeer asked, still dazed by the explosion.
Jarrod checked his omni tool and then shook his head.
"My Geiger counter isn't detecting any fallout. They must have used conventional explosives." The Urdnot Battlemaster informed his colleague.
"If they're willing to go to this length just to spite us in a desperate retreat, just imagine what they would do if they were desperate to win..." Okeer felt a chill run through his spine as said thought popped up in his head.
"We'll have to worry about that later. Right now, we have to reestablish contact with the troops caught in the blast. Vaul only knows how many troops we lost on the explosion alone." Jarrod replied to his friend.
"And what of our plans? With whatever's left of the Turian trenches to control, it's not even certain we can continue with our plans."
"Send in the engineers and make do with what's left. Get our troops back first, deal with the Turians later."
Okeer nodded and went off to organize his reserve troops. Jarrod stood there watching the mushroom cloud slowly dissipate, thinking about the words that his friend just spoke. Surely, nobody would stoop to such insanity as nuclear weapons, right?
The Urdnot Patriarch could only hope for the best.
-000-
Aegis Military Base, New Harbor City, Elysium, March 2, 2193.
"Alright everyone, settle down." Harper said over the holographic projector.
The soldiers of the 404th Airborne Assault Company quieted down to listen to their handler. Being a penal volunteer unit, they were not only attached to a regular military formation, but also often received special assignments from their handler at the ACI.
"As many of you have probably heard by now, our war with the Batarians is for all intents and purposes, over." Harper started. The soldiers cheered at the announcement, and quieted down again when the ACI agent held his hand up to calm them down.
"Unfortunately, our mission is not." He then delivered the bad news.
"What!?"
"You're shitting us right?"
"Fuck you man!"
"Let the spook finish his talk!" Zaeed shouted out.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Massani." Harper corteously said. "As I have said, our mission isn't over yet. There's still tens of thousands of our people out there yet to be accounted for. None of our contacts in the Free Republic has been able to locate any of them within Batarian territory. The only thing they can tell us is that our people were carted off out into Terminus space."
"That's bandit territory ain't it?" A soldier from the back asked.
"It is. The ACI is putting together an expedition force, a flotilla with ground detachment." He told them. "Despite some mishaps on the previous operation, you all performed admirably considering the circumstances. This is why I'm assigning you to this expedition." A lot of grumbling and murmurs were heard from the soldiers, but no outright protests.
"As soon as this mission is finished, your prison sentences will be over, effective immediate." Harper added.
"Now you're shitting us." Vido said.
"No, not at all." Harper defended himself. "I've already spoken to the Department of Justice, as well as the Department of Defense. They've approved of it, and are ready to sign the papers as soon as the expedition is finished."
"We're getting full veteran's benefits right?" Zaeed asked now.
"We're... still negotiating that with Veteran's Affairs." The agent told them. The soldiers protested this, but it's not like they could really do anything about it.
"A shuttle convoy will arrive in a few days time to take you to Count Lazlow Airbase. There they'll transfer you to the flotilla where you'll receiver further orders and information."
With that, Harper dismissed them and ended the conference. The soldiers made their way back towards their bunks, and Vido approached Zaeed as they moved along.
"Man, you believe that guy?" The younger soldier asked.
"Honestly? He's a dick, but he's done right by us so far..." The Lieutenant answered.
"I'm telling you, the son of a bitch is probably going to throw us back behind bars as soon as we get back from this 'expedition'."
"So, what're you going to do about it then?" Zaeed then asked.
"Well, I managed to talk to a couple of those alien folks who signed in to work with us. The Terminus is a big place... big enough for a lot of us to go, uh... missing."
"Whoa there... that's trouble talk you got there." Zaeed hushed his colleague. "We're in big enough trouble as it is."
"And we're not getting out of it nearly fast enough. I say a bunch of us accidentally get into and 'get killed'... It's not like anyone's going to miss us." Vido replied. "I've talked to a lot of the guys, and a lot of them agree with me."
"Then what's stopping you?"
"Oh come on boss. We've known each other for how long now? I don't want to pull this off without you." He told the Lieutenant.
"I... guess I will keep an open mind about it."
"I suppose that'll be enough. See you tomorrow boss." the younger soldier bid his superior farewell before heading off to his own bunk.
'I'm going to have to keep an eye on this situation...' Zaeed thought to himself.
-000-
Embassy Quarters, The Presidium, The Citadel, March 3, 2193
Councilor Toraph finished reviewing several intelligence reports from his insiders in the STG. He had been especially worried as to how the Turians had been able to elude them so much in the past few years and months, and requested his colleagues still in the secretive military organization to run several independent investigations of their own.
The results were perplexing.
The best that they can figure out is that this all happened some time after a massive security breach in the STG 8 years ago. It wasn't certain exactly what information Blackwatch took off with, but with the raid on Sur'kesh and the massive misdirection campaign the Hierarchy undertook prior to their offensive, it was becoming quite likely that a lot of stealth and cryptographic technology was stolen.
This would explain how they got the STG to chase their own tail in the months leading up to the Tor offensive, as well as how a Turian frigate managed to sneak it's way to the Salarian capital.
It still didn't explain how the security breach that threw them into this rut happened in the first place though.
Toraph took a deep breath and rubbed the gap between his horns. Logging out of his terminal, he got up from his desk and went to leave his office. The next meeting with the Humans was going to start soon, and it'd be best if he went on his way now. As the sliding door opened, Toraph found his Volus colleague standing right in front of him.
"Councilor Toraph *wheeze* I was wondering if you were in your office." Councilor Bola greeted.
"I am. I was busy reviewing some intelligence documents, Councilor Bola."
"Are these so important that you'd ignore several of my vidcalls?" Bola asked as the two of them began walking towards the Council Tower.
Toraph was surprised by this, and checked his omnitool. True to his friend's words, half a dozen missed calls from Bola were on his notification list.
"Apologies, friend. I was far too engrossed in my work." Toraph apologized to his senior.
"It is understandable. *wheeze* The attack in Sur'kesh and the failures of STG intelligence weighs on you heavily. I'd surprised if you didn't throw yourself into your work trying to solve it."
Toraph nodded and smiled slightly. Despite being considered as a part of a 'lesser' species, Toraph usually found that Bola had a certain edge in him which aren't present in the other Councilors. Perhaps it was because the Volus were so often treated as a joke that they have to put in that extra effort of work to be taken seriously. Nonetheless, Toraph appreciated the care Bola gave him.
"*wheeze* Your predecessor worked herself to death trying to keep us ahead of the Turians. I appreciate the work you put into the war effort, *wheeze* but a quick Councilor turnover rate is anything but beneficial to us."
Toraph nodded as the two Councilors entered the elevator that will take them to the Council Chamber.
"I think it's good you brought it up though, I could use a second opinion." The Salarian said. He activated his omnitool and sent the reports to Bola. It was a long ride up, so he might as well as talk about it to his friend. "With the revelation that the Batarians have been fighting a whole war right under our noses, I'm having second thoughts on the loyalties of 'The Most Elite Espionage Force in the Galaxy' as crazy as it sounds."
"*wheeze* Why doubt their loyalties, and not their competence?" Bola now asked.
"Performance reports shows only a drop some 6 to 7 years ago... it matches the timeline Admiral Grissom gave me regarding the Batarian attack on the Humans."
"So you think that they're connected somehow?"
"It's certainly not impossible." Toraph answered.
Bola was quiet for a while... longer than Toraph thought was usual for the Volus councilor. It was clear he was in thought, but the enclosed suits that the stout species wore made it difficult for the Salarian to guess what was going on.
Perhaps asking directly would answer his question.
"My friend, what's wrong?" The Salarian asked.
"Some time back, after the raid on Sur'kesh, *wheeze* some SPECTRE agents approached me with findings that they've omitted from their official reports."
This immediately caught the Salarian Councilor's attention.
"What was so dangerous that they had to omit it from highly classified SPECTRE reports?"
"The Blacksite was used for extra-legal bioweapons research, we know that much. *wheeze* What we didn't realize until further investigation was the connections the blacksite operators have to... very powerful people."
"Which people? Bola, how long have you known this?!"
"Longer than I felt was comfortable. *wheeze* There was a paper trail leading to various places, chief among them are Armali, Turian occupied Irune, and a yet to be identified site in Terminus space. It was barely noticeable, but if one pays attention to it long enough, it's simple enough to find"
Toraph's knees nearly buckled at this. He completely understood the implications of connections in Armali, as well as the former Galactic Bank HQ in Irune. Some of, if not THE most powerful individuals in the galaxy are tied to this in one way or another. Nothing happens in Armali without the T'sonis knowing, and Tevos is closely related to the T'sonis, who are close friends with Clan Gatatog.
Some things were beginning to make sense, but these just gave him new uncertainties.
"Do we know for sure that... they're involved in this?" Toraph asked.
"That, my dear friend, *wheeze* is the million credit question."
The elevator door opened, meaning that they've finally reached the Chamber lobby.
The two Councilors inside stepped out and walked towards the chamber proper. The entire time, thoughts and conflict were swirling in Toraph's mind. Could he trust what the two other Councilors say? Would he have to second guess their every move?
"Councilor Toraph, is something bothering you?" An Asari voice came almost out of nowhere.
Councilor Tevos, speak of the devil.
"Just... worried about talks with these Humans." he partly deflected. With these new revelations, he really, truly worried about their talks with the Humans.
"It'll be no worry." The Krogan Councilor interjected. "With all of us on the same team, there isn't much we can't accomplish."
'Are we on the same team though?' Toraph thought to himself. A quick glance at his Volus colleague seems to confirm that his friend had the same thought.
"Yes, of course... Councilors." Toraph replied.
-000-
Goyle and her colleagues entered the Chamber shortly after the Councilors did. She thought she might be seeing things, but it would seem that the Salarian councilor looked distracted. She shook her head and brushed it off. He's probably stressed out dealing with the war and first contact. Can't exactly blame him, can she?
"Greetings Councilors. I trust you've deliberated the propositions we've provided yesterday?" Goyle said.
"Indeed, we have." Tevos answered.
"Many of the trade proposals will benefit us as much as it will benefit you. *wheeze* Unfortunately, before we continue..."
"We must speak of terms." The Krogan picked up from where the Volus left off.
"What terms could we be speaking of? Have my proposals not been detailed enough?" Hislop now asked.
"They are as detailed as one could wish it to be. *wheeze*"
"But to ensure the security of our people, we must ask you to become a member state of the Citadel Allied Races."
And that was the sucker punch that Goyle should have expected, yet did not. Grissom was about to give them a whole sailor's vocabulary worth of replies, but Goyle beat him to the punch with a more diplomatic approach.
"What would membership status entail?" She asked, investigating the full extent of what they'd be getting into.
"Membership makes you one of us." The Salarian Councilor said now. "Our borders will become your borders, our power becomes your power, your burdens our burdens, your enemies ours."
"That sounds all well and good." Grissom then replied to them. "But these things always come at a price. So what do we loose for becoming an Allied Race?"
The Councilors looked at each other. They probably should have expected the Humans to be as defensive as they were, yet they still got ahead of themselves.
Yorgal answered the Admiral's question.
"We require all members to abide by Citadel Common Law, as well as to levy in resources to a certain amount and value, relative to each race's economic strength."
"So we're getting taxed." Hislop stated more than asked. "What rights and representation do we get?"
Classic Ben. Asking that would be a no brainer, his inner self wouldn't let him go on otherwise.
"As a member, you are exempt from all non-member tariffs. *wheeze* You will be given a slot in the Embassy Quarters, where a permanent diplomatic presence can be established. That is when you will be allowed to influence the future of our legislation." Bola explained. "We must prioritize the welfare of the Citadel's own after all. *wheeze* I'm sure you can understand."
"Just how much influence in legislation will we have?" Grissom now pressed. "If it all amounts to surveys and opinions and nothing else, I can understand why the Turians decided not to join."
"Now now, Admiral. No need to jump to conclusions just yet." Goyle tried to get the Admiral to at least not be so stand off-ish. Her two colleagues are starting to become agitated by the Council. She needs to keep things on track.
Grissom grit his teeth, understanding exactly what the Ambassador meant by her warning. As much as he distrusted these Aliens... He's still going to have to let the politicians run the show. For now at least.
"Certainly." Tevos told the Humans. "A small circle of legislators are voted in every 500 Citadel days. To my understanding, this is about every two and a half years on your home world. The larger Council will consult with the circle, taking in advice from the people who are voted in to represent each client race."
"So we're not the ones who'll be writing laws? It's just the four of you." Hislop accused.
"You make it sound as though you'll be left powerless and without influence." Yorgal interjected. "The opposite could not be truer. The Turian Dominions have no power over the larger empire. Every law they have that is passed must be approved by a Turian Primarch. Not a single one of the lesser races have a say in what Palaven dictates. Their ambassadors are a joke, mere puppets to the regime in Cipritine." The Krogan said rather angrily. Clearly he didn't think too highly of the Turians Hierarchy, or it's sympathizers.
The three Human delegates were slightly taken aback by the Councilor's venom. Perhaps Grissom and Hislop may have been a little bit too aggressive in their negotiations.
"Certainly, we do not approve of how the Turians run their empire." Goyle stepped in. "And even though I do think my colleagues may have taken a step to far in their delivery, I also believe that there may be some merit in what they say."
The Ambassador side eyed her to colleagues before continuing again.
"There are genuine critiques of the current Citadel system to be made, as well as genuine advantages to it. However, I do not believe that the Systems Alliance knows enough of the Citadel Allied Races and their structure to truly make a decision today. This will have to be something that we decide on later down the line."
Goyle thought that her little speech came out rather nice. The more conservative elements in parliament would never agree to joining the Citadel so soon. Hell, she wasn't even sure if the more open minded ones were either. This is why had to decline the offer and take it up with the President and Parliament later on. She just hoped that the Councilors would understand her position.
"You realize the situation you'd put both us and yourself in? *wheeze* You would be in an economic disadvantage. Heavy tariffs will make your goods all the more expensive to sell. People will be dissuaded from doing business with you. *wheeze* If you join us, we can help resuscitate your battered economy. Repair the damage done by the Hegemony."
Well, at least she tried.
"A tempting offer." Hislop answered. "But as the good Ambassador said, we'll have to take this back to Arcturus."
"Then we must secure our borders." Yorgal told them. "You have collaborated with the Turians against a Client race. By all precedent and reason, we are at war and..."
"But these events come without precedent." Toraph cut off his Krogan colleague. "What my friend is saying is that we cannot be certain of your intentions into the future. When word goes into the public that you were aligned with the Turians, no matter how short the occasion was, suspicion of your people will be unavoidable and..."
"We cannot guarantee the tenuous peace we hold today will last for long." Yorgal returned the favor to his Salarian colleague.
The Human delegates looked each other. They seemed to have unconsciously come to a consensus together. Goyle felt that Grissom was best suited to answer.
"We'll take our chances." He said. "We've weathered out the worst we've thrown at ourselves."
Everyone in the chamber seemed to agree that this was the end of first contact.
"If that is all... then all participants are dismissed and this meeting is concluded." Tevos said.
The three Humans nodded and turned to leave, but before going out one more step, The Admiral turned around and addressed the Council one last time.
"If, at the end, war does break out between our people, I must warn you all... The survivors will write of what happened in this room for as long as our people exist."
With that, the Admiral stepped away along with his colleagues, back to their shuttles and back into their ship.
The future is more uncertain now than it was when they entered the chamber. For better or worse, this is the path they chose.
And this is the path they must tread.
-000-
A/N:
In a perfect world... Authors like me would update regularly.
B̨̛҉ut͝ ̕͝th̨̡i̡s ͡ís̨͢͢ ņ̴̕oţ͟҉ ̷͘a̴ ͠per̶͘f̡͟͝e͝c̀͟͟t̕͟ ̧w̸o̕rl͘͠d̶̛̀.̀̕
Memes aside, this was supposed to be finished a week ago at the end of July. I'm kind of aiming for a once a month update right now, but hot damn if Minecraft isn't a fun game.
Like, seriously.
It is.
I mean, I admit that I'm only getting back into it because PewDiePie is playing it, but damn it I'm enjoying it unironically.
Anyways, this month marks my 1st year anniversary of going to University. I've got to say, time sure does fly when you're taking two naps a day in between all the work. Actually picked up a friend there who's also interested in writing fanfiction and Mass Effect. He throws me his opinion every once in a while, it's nice.
I've got plenty of time to work this between the date of finishing this (which would be August 3) and August 19 which is when my three week break ends. It's all a matter of my will to finish the next chapter over anything else.
Anyways, that's enough rambling from me. As always thanks for reading this chapter, especially to that one guy in Ireland who read the whole story in the past three days (you know who you are). Little shit like that keeps me going. Pop in by my PMs every once in a while, there might be shit you can tell me that didn't occur to me. 2nd opinions on this kind of stuff can go a long way.
Again, thanks for reading, Good luck, and Godspeed.