NOTE1: As some of you may have noticed, I referenced the song "Vode An" from the Republic Commando OST. I recommend you go listen to the video music called "Republic Commando Suite" on YouTube for a more canon version, sung in Mando'a.

NOTE2: I'm not as educated as a decent officer in military tactics, strategy and the sort. I do my best to come up with something decent. So please, don't bash at me for stupid tactics and stupid strategy if you're better educated than me in said matters.

Chapter 10: The Art of War

"Orbital bombardments? Yes, they did happen. The Alliance was thorough in its task of cleaning Council planets of military targets. If you ask the soldier in me, then I say it was a sound strategy to adopt early in the war. The Turian in me will always hold some of it against the Humans. But their methods proved very efficient later on in the Reaper War. I think nobody but the Batarians have shed tears when it came to 'sanitizing' the Batarian planets. That is the term coined by us, veterans of the Reaper War.

[…] Yes, I did fight in the Reaper like any Turian did. It was many years ago, but I remember everything well enough. About that war I'll tell you on another occasion. I fought in it… I came to respect the Humans, the Krogans and the Quarians. War has a way of bringing people together. […]

As a closing note for this interview… to summarize the end… The Terran Blitz was the Alliance's response to the unfortunate events that took place at Shanxi. The tactics used were exotic to the doctrine employed by us and were definitely very effective against our military. It broke the status quo the Council was so keen on maintaining. It was a revelation to everybody that… no, it was a wakeup call from the illusion of invincibility.

No longer were the Turian fleets seen as invincible. No longer was the STG all so effective and secretive. No longer were the Asari matriarchs as arrogant as before and had their way with what they wanted. Of course, the sour taste left behind by the Blitz still holds back the relations between the Alliance and the Asari. I don't see them ever seeing eye to eye, not even during the Reaper invasion were they very friendly to each other government-wise.

Humanity's entrance on the galactic scene was one of the most important events in Council history, and dare I say, the best thing that happened to us. It was Alliance members who foiled Saren's plan – or the Reapers' – and by proxy spared the Hierarchy of what could have been a disaster; it was an Alliance team that saved the galaxy at first, with help from other species' members; it was the Alliance's logistical fleet that saved billions of civilians; it was Alliance technology and protocols that kept us in the fight; it was the Alliance the one who was the pillar around which we built later on.

I am glad our peoples were able to come to a peaceful resolution. And I will quote Fleet Admiral Hackett, or this man Sun Tzu who he was so fond of, as a piece of wisdom and insight into the Alliance as I came to know it: "Invincibility lies in defense, victory in attack."

(Extract from Planus Photius' interview, historian and director of Palaven Military History Museum, The Shanxi Meat Grinder)

SSV Normandy, Sickbay

Over the Turian outpost

Cortez landed the Kodiak in the Normandy's hangar/cargo bay and the doors immediately spun open and Shepard jumped out of it with Alex in his arms. There was Chakwas and an assistant of hers with a stretcher waiting for them.

"Major, put her here!" Chakwas ordered.

Shepard didn't even bother stopping as he ran past her, the heavy armor on him plus the weight of Alex in her own armor made loud noises as metal hit metal from his footsteps.

"No damn time with the elevator! I'm taking the stairs! Hurry, doc!" he said.

Chakwas wasn't pleased with this but she rushed to the sickbay behind Shepard. All this while Alex's left side face was bleeding. She had metal and glass fragments in her face and eye, flesh was torn in a few spots. The grenade exploding so close to her face had dislodged small fragments of glass and metal from the helmet. Her shields would have prevented that, had they not been depleted by two other grenades earlier.

Shepard ran into the sickbay and put her on the surgery table, only helmet discarded. Kaidan was already by his side with disinfectant. He applied it to her injuries. Now he was working to get the armor off her. Maybe she was lucky she was knocked out.

"Let me see her!" Chakwas ordered and everybody stepped aside. She had a two seconds long look at Alex and knew what she had to do. "Lieutenant Alenko, you didn't apply medigel, right?"

"No. It would have closed the wounds with those metal fragments still inside her face. Just applied disinfectant to avoid some nasty complications afterwards," Kaidan said.

"Good. I will have to replace her eye with an artificial one. Her natural one's barely holding in her eye socket. The contact lenses have dug into her eyeball… Let me and my two assistants handle this," Chakwas said as she was preparing the necessary tools.

"Doctor, do everything you can for her. Please…" Shepard said with a look on his face as if he was a kid.

Chakwas turned to face him. "I'll do everything I can, Major. Nobody's dying on my watch," she assured him. "Please let me do my job. I'll keep you updated."

Shepard and Kaidan left the sickbay with their hopes up. And they came face to face with Captain Anderson.

"What the hell happened there, Marines?" he asked.

The two snapped straight at first. "Sir, Sergeant Major Wyatt was injured by a grenade detonating inches from her face!" Shepard reported.

"How the hell did that Turian sneak a grenade so close to her?" Anderson questioned.

"We… don't know, sir…"

Anderson sighed. "Major, orders were clear – no prisoners. I don't mean to be an ass, Shepard. But you just let one of your subordinates get injured by not following a straight order. Now come on, don't worry. Doctor Chakwas is one of the best. Sergeant Wyatt is on good hands. What about those memory banks?"

This time it was Kaidan who answered. "We recovered some of them successfully. Two got damaged beforehand or during the fight. Edi's preliminary tests on them are promising. We might have gotten our hands on military contingency plans and various protocols, including communications, some patrol fleet deployments and other log entries."

Anderson nodded and seemed to think. "Alright Immortals. Good job on that one. Debriefing is in 15. Go get that armor off first."

"Aye, sir!"

SSV Spirit of Fire, CIC

Guarding the Magna Mass Relay

"The Turian colony of Magna is under our blockade, all surface targets have been eliminated. The shipyard has been hauled out of system by a Prometheus packer ship… I think we can safely say that we've got this. Oh, and we've just finished resupplying on nuclear ordnance," Evelyn, the AI of the Spirit of Fire, reported to the Rear Admiral.

Averescu didn't smile. He didn't frown. His face was unchanging – the same cold and distant poker face, the calculating one. Even his voice wasn't betraying any warm emotion at the moment. He was in the CIC of the battleship, now on Relay defense duty along with the fleet Han'Gerrel brought with him from New Rannoch.

"Thank you, Evelyn. We've been sitting here for five days already doing nothing. And that blasted Ahern still won't move an inch. I bet the Turians are amassing ships and troops on the other side of the Relay, waiting to hit us. The loss of Magna will be a big blow to either side."

"We will win this war, even if it drags on, sir," Evelyn encouraged him from her holographic projection on the tactical table.

"And where does all that confidence come from?" he asked her on a very demanding tone out of a sudden.

"We, as Humans, never backed down. We always pushed forward and persevered. It will be a cold day in hell before the spirit of mankind fails us. I always considered Humanity special… no matter what's out there, we will never lose. Maybe we lose a fight today and another one tomorrow, but we will win the war and come out of any long night this Universe might cast upon us," she answered.

"Quite the poetic and uplifting image you have of us, Evelyn. We can have a long talk on this topic when off duty. Suffice for me to say that I believe that we're stubborn bastards, in agreement to what you said. According to the Quarian numbers, the Salarians and Asari have a similar number of ships to us. The Turians outnumber us thrice if not more. They have more resources than we do. If Magna falls, Shanxi will follow. From there it is a rather short journey to Arcturus and Earth. I would still much like Earth as the capital of Humanity, not see it destroyed and see Reach as the new capital."

"Reach?" Evelyn asked with a quizzical expression.

"Earth, and by extension Sol System, is the best defended place in Human space. Reach is the second best defended, and is the military capital of the Alliance. It would only be common sense to have it as our second capital."

A sudden blipping got Averescu's attention. Evelyn didn't waste time to tell him what it was. "The Relay shows signs of activity. We have incoming!"

A red light and an alarm filled the ship to prompt the crew to their action stations.

"Is the battle network up?" Averescu asked.

"Yes, sir. We are coordinating with the Quarian ships. Anything that comes through the Relay will be in our kill zone. Charging up the ion cannon and the MAC. Secondary armament is online. Defensive grid is active," the AI reported.

A single ship jumped through the Mass Relay and held position. The tactical table brought up another holographic projection of the ship, alongside the tactical map. It was small, less than 150 meters long. It had the same angular forms of the Turian warships minus the 'wings', but it lacked weapons. Then it started to broadcast a message in the open for all to hear. On its sides was the emblem of the Turian Hierarchy. Definitely a state-owned vessel.

"The ship is holding position and broadcasting a message," Evelyn reported. "It looks like they want to talk to us. And you have an incoming call from the Quarian Admiral who accepted their hails."

Magna's solar system, Turian diplomatic ship

Ambassador Quentius

Quentius had his mouth open when he saw the number of ships their sensors were picking up. 'This must be a quarter of the Spirits damn Heavy Fleet of the Quarians,' he thought to himself. Then there were ships of an unknown design. 'The aliens really know how to build their ships impressive.'

"Ambassador! We're being targeted by that dreadnought!" one of the pilots reported. "Spirits, the second alien dreadnought is turning about!"

"Are we broadcasting?" Quentius demanded.

"We are, Ambassador. On every channel, every frequency, tight beam… we are like a varren crying after its cubs right now."

Quentius switched his eyes to one of the displays on the bridge. It was displaying live video footage of one of the alien dreadnoughts. The fact that this was a diplomatic ship didn't mean they won't use it to gather information on the enemy. They couldn't risk active scanners and be considered hostile, so the Turians were using passive sensors and a multitude of hull-mounted cameras.

The vessel was angular and sleek at times. It was truly a beauty of a warship, with its royal blue paint scheme with white strips here and there. There was writing on the side of the dreadnought, Quentius barely caught it as the ship fully turned to aim at their ship. It was written in the aliens' language SSV MINERVA. 'Must be the name of the vessel,' he concluded. What gave him pause was the fact that this dreadnought had two spinal weapons. One looked like it would fire projectiles, but the other one… it was strange. It had a very small opening as opposed to the first one who was a rather HUGE caliber main cannon.

"A Quarian ship accepted our hails," somebody reported. "We have both visual and audio. Putting it on your terminal, Ambassador."

Quentius changed his attention to the screen on his own terminal. The masked face of a Quarian appeared on the right side. Then, two seconds later the left side was replaced with an Asari-like figure. He guessed this must be either the alien commanding officer or one of the senior officers. He was wearing a royal blue uniform with golden markings on his shoulders, collar and chest. He had a silvery one star on golden epaulets and on the cap that was covering his head. The head covering was also adorned with symbols and writing. Three stars under two arching arms were in the center and more fancy lines of golden color. There was also writing above the three stars with the two arches symbol, in the same alien language was written SPIRIT OF FIRE. Most ships had custom made parts of uniform, and the first ship of the battleship class wasn't an exception from this one.

"This is Admiral Han'Gerrel of the QRBV Neema to the Turian envoy. State your intentions."

"Yes. Plead your case before I pass judgment on you," the alien said, much to Quentius' frustration. His ego wanted to lash out at him for the choice of words. But the soldier and diplomat in him kept all in check. He assumed they are rather violent if this is the way they greet envoys.

"I'm Ambassador Quentius. I'm here to negotiate a ceasefire and stop this war, a war nobody wanted," Quentius said.

"Convenient. 'A war nobody wanted'… Tell me, Ambassador Quentius, is this your synonym for 'oh shit, we're getting our arrogant asses kicked after we attacked a people we shouldn't have'?" Averescu asked.

"No! If you are open to dialogue we will be able to clarify this whole mess."

Averescu was about to say something else but Gerrel got ahead of him. "In whose name are you speaking, Ambassador? The Hierarchy's or the Council's?" he asked.

Now that was something he wasn't expecting to be asked. He was sent here by Fedorian and Vakarian at Palaven Command. But all he was told was to end this madness, not specifically instructed to speak in the name of the Hierarchy. What Sparatus didn't know was the fact that the Union and the Republics had just been hit less than a day ago and were under continuous harassment attacks.

"I'm speaking in the name of the Turian Hierarchy and, by extension, Citadel Council," he replied. Gerrel and Averescu were conversing between each other privately. Quentius figured there must be a third person they were talking to. After what looked like an hour to him, in reality just two minutes, he got an answer.

"Ambassador, you will be received aboard the Alliance battleship Spirit of Fire. You will take a single shuttle, no more than 4 guards. Your ship will hold position and stay there without as much as fidgeting. Any deviation from these conditions will be met with deadly force without any prejudice. Did I make myself clear, Ambassador?" Averescu asked him.

"Yes. I'm on my way to your ship, …" Quentius waited for a name from him.

Averescu caught on that. "Rear Admiral Averescu."

"…Rear Admiral. Expect me within two hours."

Earth, Parliament Palace

President's Office

President Montgomery had a tough time since the sparking of hostilities between the Citadel on one side, and the Alliance and the Quarian Republic on the other. He and Alliance Government did their best to keep the civilian population from panicking. He did a good job at that, but it was taking a toll on him. Plus the fear and uncertainty brought by war. A war with aliens, at that. An inter-human conflict wouldn't be as scary since you know what to expect from your fellow man and woman. But aliens? They're a different matter. And the president, just like any human being, was scared by the unknown. Everybody is scared by the unknown to some degree.

He regained his focus and looked again at the screen that was put in his office. Battlespace was showing images of the destroyed Turian fleet in orbit of Shanxi. Hulks of white, gray and red colored hull parts were floating, slowly falling towards the surface due to the gravity or being towed away by Alliance cleaning ships. The occasional body of a Turian part of the crews drifted by in the debris. Their bodies were frozen, burned, mutilated, or even dismembered.

Montgomery then checked the time and date. It read July 13th 2180, 21:32 in the evening. He sipped again from the whiskey glass he had almost forgotten about in his own hands. The TV kept going on about what moves the military was making at Shanxi and outwards. The Battlespace show on the Alliance News Network became the most followed show in recent history since the Insurrection.

"…reported victorious engagements with Asari forces in what is known as the Athena Nebula. Admiral Radovid's forces dealt a major blow to the enemy war capability. The Navy refused to comment more on the ongoing offensive against the aliens. Suffice to say that we're having the upper hand so far.

On another note, elements of the Reach 4th Army have been seen embarking on troop transports, the 16th Reach Infantry Division to be precise. Word among the soldiers has it that they're being redeployed for an invasion of an Asari colony…"

And the anchor kept talking. Montgomery knew what that attack on an Asari colony was about. It was a lightning attack on the colony world of Usmenia on the Asari frontier. Again, the purpose wasn't to conquer it and seize it for the duration of the war, but to dislodge Asari military assets to the frontier and leave the inner space less defended.

As Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: "If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."

Montgomery wasn't a military man. He served in his youth in the Army. But he never went beyond. But he was a smart man, and a smart man learns a lot. Especially when talking to other smart people and reading. He could see the pattern of the Alliance's Armed Forces strategy so far: they were following the teachings of Sun Tzu.

He didn't understand well why his words were always taken to heart by the highest ranking officials in the Armed Forces. But Hackett gave him the answer shortly after being appointed the Chief of Naval Operations by Montgomery, effectively making him the leader of the Navy, second only to the President's office who was more than happy not to interfere.

"Mister President," Montgomery remembered Hackett saying. "The reason why I believe Sun Tzu will always remain of actuality, no matter the time and technology employed in a conflict, is because of the way he formulated his teachings. The mild ambiguity, short, synthesized and to the point lessons will always be open to interpretation as one sees fit in the given context. One only needs to understand the essence of these lessons and quotes, and he can implement them in any given situation.

Like all sciences, Sun Tzu's strategy for comparing positions simplifies the natural world with a set of principles. Even mastering a few of these principles makes it easier for us to understand how to improve our strategic position. Throughout history, people have rediscovered these principles through trial and error. Many are familiar from military history, others from sports, and still others from business.

Sun Tzu is this successful due to this, to its interpretability. I firmly believe that we will always be able to rely on the Art of War."

Hackett liked to quote the ancient general when forwarding reports to Montgomery on the ongoing operations. He saw how he and Harper were using Sun Tzu against the enemy. "All warfare is based on deception."

Task Force Kraken was feinting a massed attack on the borders of the Asari Republics. They allowed themselves to be seen by early warning systems on their borders to make sure the enemy knows about their presence. Then the ground attack on the colony of Usmenia will further consolidate the impression of a full scale invasion against the Republics. If the Asari military would act as predicted, they would seek to stop the Human invasion dead in its tracks as soon as possible. If that happens, Task Force Kraken would fight a delaying action against the Asari Fleets, give the 16th Division enough time to bugger out and then retreat before hitting Asari vital locations in another set of raids. A sound strategy, if the enemy fell for it. Not to forget about another objective the two task forces were accomplishing: "If you are near the enemy, make him believe you are far from him. If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near."

Then there was Harper's idea of publicly broadcasting that message on the Citadel with the help of a dumb AI specialized in hacking extranet security protocols. With this, the AIC was achieving a most vital objective: "If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them." It was simple. The Citadel Council, followed by the three major governments, is the sovereign here. The subject is the civilian population. With the population actively hindering your military through strikes, protests, unrest and various other methods, the Alliance earns another advantage. And Harper was fully expecting this to happen, by making the Council look like a warmongering and tyrannical body.

But for how long? This was the question that bothered Montgomery. How long until there's going to be peace? By all accounts and reports from captured prisoners, this was a blatant act of aggression against the Alliance and the Quarian Republic condoned and endorsed by the Citadel Council. And Humanity couldn't go and ask for peace from them. That'd make them look weak and prone to further aggressions, be those diplomatic, economic, covert or open military aggression. They defended their turf, but suing for peace immediately wouldn't be a sound idea. No, the Alliance knew that the Council needed to sue for peace on this one. Even more so after that broadcast on the Citadel itself. Plus the Alliance had the full backing of the population.

"…has been buried with military honors," Montgomery heard again from the TV as he came back to reality and out of his own mind. The screen showed a military funeral. Several Marines were conducting the 21 gun salute in honor of the fallen. But Montgomery didn't catch the name. Then the screen split in two and showed on the other side the image of a male Marine in his 50s holding the flag of the Alliance in his left hand as he charged forward with the rifle blazing away. To his side was another Marine carrying the banner of the regiment, a smiling skull face with the numbers 501 and Special Marine Regiment on the upper side of the skull. On the bottom side was written The Devil's Specials.

"As you can see in this image taken from one of the Marines' helmet mounted recorder and released by the Corps to the press, this is Colonel Ray Carley carrying the flag of the Alliance into battle at Shanxi. The Marine next to him carrying the banner of the 501st was identified as Lance Corporal Yeldos Kemhebekev. Both fell in the same attack on the third day of fighting on Shanxi.

Colonel Ray Carley was an enlisted man, serving with distinction in the Corps for 31 years. Veteran of the Insurrection, he took part in the first campaign on Kharak against rebel forces, fought in the cities of Eternium where he became the commanding NCO of the then freshly formed 501st, he commanded his troops in routing out the resistance in the Carriatta Valley and the pacification of Eternium.

He was awarded multiple medals, among which the Distinguished Service Cross, the Knight's Cross, and is now pending a Star of Terra awarded post mortem. In the images from what has now become known as the Shanxi Military Cemetery, we can see Brigadier General Dietrich, the CO of the Shanxi garrison, Colonel Hakey, and various surviving officers, NCOs and simple soldiers who survived the battle and are here to pay their respects to what they came to call a hero of Humanity."

Montgomery shook his head. Another good officer fell in the line of duty. A part of him was telling him that he failed all those people who lost their lives at Shanxi. He knew that there wasn't much he could do, but he still felt guilty. He was the elected president and felt like he had to protect the citizens. Maybe this feeling has arisen from the revelation that they were now fighting aliens.

And the Shanxi Military Cemetery. It was the burial grounds for the thousands of Alliance Marines and soldiers who fell in battle, for the civilians as well, and for the Turians. While every Human and Quarian soul got its own grave, the Turians and Asari were buried in mass graves. Nobody bothered to give them a separate grave and inscribe "A TURIAN SOLDIER" as given to unknown soldiers who died. No, there were mass graves with a small stone plaque which read "HERE LIE X TURIAN SOLDIERS", a number instead of an actual X. There was a single mass grave for the Asari mercenaries, roughly 230 souls resting there with more than 20 bodies never recovered. Some had been blown to smithereens by explosions, others had been made a poster on the ground from tanks running over them, others had been buried alive in trenches and never dug out afterwards, their unmarked graves lost and to be found when somebody would dig there to build the foundation for a new building.

A Marine of similar age to the deceased Colonel was now grabbing his attention. He was talking to the crowd of soldiers who were attending.

"I'm Sergeant Major Massani. Some of you Marines know me. Most do not," Zaeed said, clad in his more formal black colored uniform. "The philosophers of antiquity said that the man's life is tied with a fragile string. They didn't know what they were saying! They didn't know the Colonel! His life was tied to ours by four colors!

And you, the boys of the 501st… remember this for the remainder of your days: many… few… you can't even be sure during times of peace, but in war… Remember! That Colonel Carley died while he himself was leading the attack carrying the flag! He didn't lead like other officers do, shouting orders from cover."

Montgomery had to give it to this Sergeant. He knew how to speak from the heart and how to get to the folks' heart. For Zaeed, this was one of the extremely few moments like this in his life. Zaeed knelt, took some dirt in his palm and felt it with his fingers.

"May the earth be gentle on him. 'Cause for his Human earth he gave his life…" and then threw the dirt in the grave before tightening his hand into a fist.

Montgomery was about to shut down the TV and get some sleep. Maybe a few hours. But all his hopes of getting some sleep were shattered when an aide knocked at the door.

"Come in!"

"Mister President, we've just been informed by FLEETCOM. A Turian envoy just reached Magna and started preliminary negotiations for a ceasefire with Admiral Han'Gerrel, Rear Admiral Averescu and Fleet Admiral Ahern."

Suddenly, all fatigue was gone from the president's body and mind. He jumped to his feet and made his way to the nearest QEC.

"Go get Representative Koris. I want to talk to him about this."

Citadel, Presidium

Council Chambers

While word had reached President Montgomery regarding the arrival of a Turian envoy at Magna, the Citadel officials were overwhelmed by the situation – by the war that reached their shores.

"This is terrible…" Tevos complained. She just came from a briefing with the Armali Council – Thessia's and, subsequently, the Republics' overarching body. All around the councilors were aides and other employees trying to get a hold on everything. Reports were flooding through the comm channels from Asari and Salarian space, followed up by reports of unrest in the Hierarchy and on the Citadel.

"Indeed is bad. The war started by Desolas has spilled into Council space. The Union is under constant attacks from these Humans. They keep destroying merchant ships, further cause for trouble in the form of recession in the very near future," Valern said.

"Cowards… they attack mostly unprotected vessels instead of facing our military," Sparatus said with a curse under his breath.

"Actually good tactic. They attack what they can and avoid confrontations with our fleets. Strategy to deal with a superior enemy. I also want to inform you that we had a case when a Salarian cruiser was hit by a nuclear warhead when defending a merchant ship."

Nukes. Nuclear. Nuclear warhead. Nuclear weapons. These were so much frowned upon by the civilized galaxy due to their destructive potential. Not so much as the initial blast, but the nuclear fallout and the extremely negative effects it'll have on the biosphere. The only known case when nuclear weapons were used was during the Krogan civil war when they nuked Tuchanka, and when the Krogans used nukes to destroy Rachni nests.

"How did they even manage to get that far into our territory without being detected? How is it possible?" Sparatus asked.

"Insufficient data to draw conclusion. STG noticed a trail of military outposts going dark along the Traverse border. Alerted the military and we prepared. Rumors have it that the Asari Republics are facing a more precarious situation," Valern answered.

Tevos seemed to remember something when Valern mentioned the Republics. "What's the situation in the Turian Hierarchy?" the Asari councilor asked.

Sparatus scoffed at first. "Mass mobilization is the order of the day. There's quite the unrest too. Primarch Fedorian said that he will contact us in a very short time to discuss the situation. What is the situation on your end, Tevos?"

"Thessia's defenses have been hit by a Human force. They caught our defenses by surprise and inflicted quite some damage. Their ships are enormous. One was even reported to be larger than the Destiny Ascension. Preliminary reports indicate that we have lost one dreadnought, a second one was crippled, a score of cruisers was either damaged or destroyed, and three dozen frigates lost with most of their crews," Tevos said with a heavy heart. A part of her came to develop a sentiment of antipathy for Humanity.

"They didn't move past Magna in Hierarchy space for now. They seem content to just sit there behind the Relay. All the while they attack Asari and Salarian space. They secured the obvious way in and out of their space but they are using a less known way to infiltrate further in our own space…" Sparatus thought aloud.

"Their fleet must be small. They focus the bulk of their naval forces at Magna and Relay 314 while token forces are leading incursions and raids on us," Valern said.

"Those token forces inflicted significant damage on the Parnitha System and destroyed a dreadnought, Councilor Valern," Tevos said, frustrated at the situation at hand. "A good part of the solar system is off limits due to the dangers of eezo overdose poisoning. Let us not forget that our state intelligence services spotted a growing enemy force on our borders. The Armali Council is even considering pulling back the Destiny Ascension to defend Asari colonies and Thessia from a possible large scale invasion."

"You want to pull out the flagship of the joint Citadel fleets?" Sparatus questioned.

"Before she was the flagship of the joint fleets, the Destiny was Asari first," Tevos reminded him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tevos. They had the upper hand due to catching us unprepared. Now that we're aware of the threat we can prepare accordingly. They obviously want to take your people out of this conflict first. Your military might as well be inexistent if it isn't able to deal with a threat long after it lost the element of surprise," the Turian said.

"This was and still keeps being, the greatest military disaster since the Krogan Rebellions," Valern jumped in between the two. "Arguing between us will only help the enemy. C-Sec's hands are full of unrest on the Citadel. We must stand together. Protect the citizens."

They all nodded to each other. It was then that they were notified that they had a pending call from Primarch Fedorian. The Council went ahead to meet him. In a holographic projector stood the stature of Fedorian in his uniform.

"Primarch Fedorian," Tevos began. "It's good to see you. What is it that you wanted to share with us?"

Fedorian went straight to the point. "Please Councilor Tevos, spare me the gentle words. I'm here to notify you that the Hierarchy is calling for a military summit regarding the alien threat, should the negotiations fail."

"A military summit? Negotiations? But Primarch, Ambassador Irissa is barely halfway on her journey to Relay 314," Sparatus pointed out.

"I'm not talking about Ambassador Irissa, Councilor. I'm talking about Quentius, the Hierarchy's envoy. He is already at Magna. We hope to hear something from him within a galactic day. I hope he will be successful and salvage this disaster you brought unto our collective of species," Fedorian said.

Tevos suppressed the urge of raising an eyebrow. Instead, she calmly tried to clarify. "This Council hasn't issued orders to General Desolas to initiate hostilities. And conducting diplomatic operations falls under the jurisdiction of the Asari due to our expertise in the field. The Hierarchy has sent an envoy without even notifying us."

"So that's the reason Quentius left in a hurry. Why didn't Palaven Command inform us, sir?" the Turian councilor asked.

"I vehemently opposed that operation of sending a joint military force against the Quarians," Fedorian said. He wasn't afraid of giving the Council a piece of his mind. "Would you have listened and let them be…" and he fixed Sparatus with his eyes, "a Turian colony wouldn't have gone dark, Asari space wouldn't be under a constant assault, and the Salarians wouldn't go chasing frigate packs or lose valuable goods to attacks on merchant ships.

And you, Councilor Sparatus, you will do your best to obtain peace. The Hierarchy does not go around attacking a species and a sovereign power at that as it just happened. I'm not going to send good Turians to die in a stupid conflict that could have been averted from the very beginning. If peace fails, we will have to deal with the aliens the hard way, though I much prefer words would work."

"They're attacking us! It's our duty to subjugate them and eliminate this threat!" Sparatus growled.

"I'm questioning your position as a Councilor right now, Sparatus. You do what's right for the Hierarchy and the galaxy at large and you will see more days in your current office. We take back Magna, either by diplomacy, or through the force of arms if the former fails us."

Valern didn't let this go without making a note in his mind. He didn't remember Sparatus and Fedorian being this cold to each other. Sure, they were political opponents to each other early in Fedorian's time as Primarch. But they worked together since Sparatus was appointed Councilor for the Hierarchy. They worked for the betterment of their species' status on the galactic scene. But it seemed that the two were at odds now.

"Back onto my purpose for calling you. The military summit will be held on Palaven. I hope the STG is doing its best to obtain intel on these aliens. I'm mobilizing the entirety of Turian military and fortifying positions close to Magna. I suggest the commanders of the Citadel forces work with Hierarchy advisors and admirals to reform the joint Citadel defense forces into a quick reaction force to counter enemy offensives. I'll get soon in touch with the Asari and Salarian governing bodies. Please pass along the word and help me defend a galaxy if worst comes to fruition."

And Fedorian disappeared from the projector. Valern didn't notice that he had a notification on his omnitool with an unread message. It was on the encrypted channel reserved for Salarian important matters. As he wanted to get in touch with the Salarian Embassy to relay Fedorian's plan, he saw it and opened it.

COUNCILOR VALERN,

I have investigated as you requested the matter of faulty high priority message channels for the Council. My findings were worrisome. Possible implications are catastrophic.

Citadel Security has hostile elements within it. The message that only you have received from Asari Admiral Atelas was purposefully blocked. I and two STG agents have infiltrated C-Sec servers. Sabotage signs are present. Extremely subtle, but present. Also discovered a leak of Turian military patrols in the Traverse and the schedule of Frigate-07 that was attacked by pirates.

It is the opinion of this SPECTRE and his two STG coworkers that C-Sec has been compromised by hostile and/or mutinous elements. Will investigate further, but leads are nonexistent from this point on. Who is responsible has covered its tracks.

Jondum Bau

'I see how all these recent incidents might link to each other…' Valern thought to himself. He made a copy of the message and attached evidence. He forwarded it to Kirrahe, good friend from his days in STG. Kirrahe will know what to do, with a few more instructions from Valern.

Asari colony Usmenia, Asari space

Task Force Kraken

The false en-masse invasion of the Republics was going according to plan so far. Unaware that the future was being decided at Magna, Task Force Kraken was proceeding with its part of Operation Guderian.

They had successfully raided major Asari systems, including Parnitha System, and had inflicted damage on their navy and morale. In charge of Kraken was Admiral Radovid, a Navy man with 40 years of service under his belt who's fast on his track for a promotion to Fleet Admiral.

He had done exactly as instructed. He started to mass ships on the Asari border and in stellar proximity to one of their colonies. And make it in broad daylight, for everybody to see. One would need to be blind and stupid to miss the kind of fuss the Alliance warships were making here. And the Asari Military Intelligence sure did pick on that one.

Orders were clear: look like you're preparing to invade them and do just that for a short time, then pull back and fight a delaying action. The 16th Reach Infantry Division was already here aboard three large troop transports, with one hospital ship and one resupply ship for ground operations. Everything was set. Time to put things in motion.

Majority of his fleet jumped in system close to the Mass Relay to give the impression that they were dependent on the FTL devices as well. Another objective accomplished by jumping so far from the planet Usmenia was to give the defenders plenty of time to get out distress messages and lure the Asari naval forces to this sector of the galaxy.

The fleet advanced gently on the colony. Leading the warships was the Olympus-Class carrier Kuznetsov escorted by the battleships Korolev, Kirov and Frunze, Russian namesakes all four of them, the latter being diverted from Task Force Sirius to Kraken. There were the attending cruisers, destroyers and frigates with the capital ships.

For a colony on the frontier, the defenses were rather lacking. There were two cruisers with a pack of frigates to fend off any pirate attacks. They had reinforcements on the way to bolster their ranks as soon as the Asari commanders got word of heavy enemy presence in the area. But there was a cruiser pack left behind to intercept any fast reaction force, so those reinforcements would either be destroyed or tied down in their own battle and unable to support the colony.

The Kuznetsov launched Typhoon and Thunderbolt wings in preparation for the ground attack, Radovid not even bothering to send them against the heavily outgunned and outnumbered defending ships. When the Frunze and Kirov got in range of their ion cannon they opened fire; the Korolev was staying close to the carrier to protect it from anything unexpected.

Two ion beams lanced through the void and barely missed the ships who dodged, engaging in evasive maneuvers as soon as they detected the energy output from the battleships. The Alliance battleships fire a salvo of Chimera missiles against the defenders while they close the gap between them. The few Ares cruisers are rapidly advancing on the defenders to pressure them.

The numerous Chimera and Dummy missiles reach the line of frigates first. The numerous attending Dummy rockets simply fool the GUARDIAN targeting VIs who are shooting at everything incoming, thus giving the Chimeras a higher chance of survivability. The Dummy rockets simply hit the hull of the frigates and shatter at impact. The Chimeras on the other hand deal tremendous damage.

One frigate was so severely damaged that it went off in a luminous fireball with a blue hue due to the eezo core, killing the whole crew in flames hotter than a star's surface. Another frigate had its structural integrity compromised and had been broken in two hulks of metal, the rear end wildly rotating due to some maneuvering engines still functioning.

The defenders' response was laughable but admirable for trying. The cruisers opened fire on the closer Ares cruisers. Their mass accelerators had a fast rate of fire and were able to deplete the frontal shielding of the cruiser Death Quartet with concentrated fire, and start hitting the armor who was holding for the moment.

A lucky shot damaged its ion cannon and the cruiser fell to the rear of the formation to engage with missiles until a mobile repair logistic vessel would arrive to fix the damage. The other Ares cruisers fired simultaneously against the defenders. The kinetic barriers didn't hold for long against the onslaught. They gave up and the ship was damaged. Another salvo of ion beams added to the missiles fired by the Death Quartet inflicted two more casualties on the Asari naval forces.

The fighters and bombers raced toward the planet. The Typhoons engaged in battle the severely outnumbered Asari fighters and cleared the skies for the Thunderbolts. The bombers bombed what was identified as military bases, unaware to the fact that they had dropped incendiary munitions on a local law enforcement post misidentified as a military building due to the number of armed people spotted. The population was panicking and rushing for cover. All around the capital city fires were raging and bombs were going off.

The Typhoons engaged in strafing runs against aerial defenses and groups of armed Asari. The ironic thing about giving the defenders time to get out a distress signal was that they had time to prepare some defenses. But these defenses were being obliterated by the Humans who were outnumbering and outgunning the Asari defense forces.

When the Alliance troop drop ships and Kodiak shuttles had been spotted, the defenders rushed to form a defensive line near the LZ. They were predominantly landing in the city outskirts, with some Kodiak shuttles landing inside the city to deploy two N7 teams, Fireteams Melody and Savage, accompanied by regular soldiers. They would raise hell behind enemy lines. Not that the lines would hold anyway.

Once enough troops landed and secured the LZ, the men and women of the 16th advanced. They made contact soon with what could be laughably passed off as a severely underequipped militia. With air support, the 16th immediately broke through the defenses and engaged in urban combat with the better trained Commando squads who gave them hell. The Commandos were the only thing that put up a real fight against the Alliance. These elite squads had retreated into the city to conduct a guerilla warfare. Better said, what survived of those squads.

Some were foolish enough to hunker down in the colony's Council of Matriarchs building and put up a fierce resistance. When it was clear that an assault of the building would be too costly, and with a stubborn defense that refused to surrender, the 16th called in the big guns. From lower orbit it came, carrying enough kinetic energy and antimatter payload to level the building and those around it in the blink of an eye. It was a low caliber shell fired by a cruiser's secondary MAC turret. And so, Usmenia's Council of Matriarchs lay dead under meters of rubble or totally vaporized along with their armed bodyguards.

Now that the colony was rapidly falling to the 16th Division, Admiral Radovid waited. Either for an update from home or for the enemy forces to attempt to retake the colony, fool them into believing that they're withdrawing and then hit again the inner Asari colonies and Thessia who must've sent some of their ships to repulse the invaders.

SSV Spirit of Fire, Hangar bay

Task Force Sirius

Averescu found himself again in the hangar of his battleship, greeting again for the first time an alien representative of a species they met only in the field of battle so far. He had left his XO, Commander Novitska, in charge of the CIC. Fleet Admiral Ahern and Admiral Gerrel were already in the conference room of the ship. They had been in touch with FLEETCOM and with the Turian ship. The Alliance empowered Ahern with negotiating a ceasefire and signing it if it came to fruition. Gerrel was in a similar situation.

The Alliance's paranoia forced Quentius and his shuttle to go through multiple scans and checkups. They thoroughly scoured the small craft and its inhabitants for anything that could pose a threat to the admirals and the crew of the Spirit of Fire. They confiscated multiple items, much to the protests of the Turians. They were only allowed a handful of firearms which they wouldn't take inside the conference room. They even put the occupants through scans to see if they had bombs planted in their bodies.

Alas, the shuttle has landed in the hangar bay with the assistance of the ship's flight supervisor. A line of Marines formed around the craft and two small lines of Marines at the ramp. In the very same place where Rael'Zorah first set foot on the Human vessel at first contact. The door opened and revealed two Turian guards, Quentius and two more guards. They were the Turian equivalent of Marines, or naval infantry for a better choice of words.

The first thing Quentius took notice of was the emblem of a fiery bird on the hangar's wall, and the writing that accompanied it. Then he saw Averescu, he recognized him from the previous discussions they had. He was more physically imposing than what Quentius first imagined. He was flanked on either side by two Humans in full body armor and armed with rifles. The path to the officer was defined by two short lines of Marines in armor and rifles standing at ease.

Quentius nodded to his guards and they slowly walked down the ramp onto the hangar's floor. As soon as they set foot on the ship, the Humans snapped straight, rifles over their chests and pointing slightly over their shoulders. This was accompanied by somebody shouting "PRESENT ARMS!". Quentius' bodyguards tensed and formed a square around the diplomat. Averescu's own bodyguards had taken position to faster aim their weapons at the Turians and cover the officer.

Averescu sighed. This would go down as a shootout if things kept as they were.

"Marines! At ease!" he shouted and prompted the men to take relaxed stances. He walked over to the Turians until he was a meter from them. Quentius pushed his way between his two leading guards. The two stared each other down. Turians transmit unspoken language through their eyes, since their faces aren't capable of showing much emotion.

Averescu didn't falter at those small and piercing eyes the Turian possessed. He kept a straight face, only his eyes betraying an obvious displeasure.

"Ambassador…" he finally spoke.

"Rear Admiral, thank you welcoming me aboard your ship. Quite the vessel you have. A marvel of engineering," Quentius complimented.

Averescu smiled. He remembered the quote Hackett put in his transmission to the task force: "When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce."

"Thank you. The old girl is a beauty with claws. Now, will you please follow me to the conference room, my superior is waiting there."

As the Human officer turned, Quentius observed the holster of a pistol. It wasn't there before. Perhaps he was hiding it until he was sure of the Turians' intentions. Averescu didn't make any effort in hiding it from this point but make it as obvious as possible to see.

The Turian focused back and followed him. The next hour would be the longest in his life.

NOTE3: And finally I bring it to you. I wanted to add more scenes, but I cut it short and will leave anything else for the next chapter. Also, an Internet downtime didn't allow me to post this earlier. I hope you enjoyed it and will leave some feedback :D

NOTE4: Lots of Sun Tzu stuff here. And he will be back later on in future chapters. I think. Again, please let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm constantly learning to write.