NOTE1: "Am dat sange si soldati / Pentru o patrie de frati." La multi ani Romania si tuturor romanilor, in special cei care cititi acest fanfic!

NOTE2: Apologies for the rather late update. Some of you may have read this on my profile, but I had a two weeks delay due to midterms. I hope to get out a chapter every two weeks or so now. Please enjoy! And make sure to read NOTE3 at the end.

Chapter 11: Ceasefire

Although we have very recently learned about the wider galactic community, although very recently we have fought a war against the three dominant species, many would not be so fast to draw conclusions like I'm doing right now. In our brief presence on the galactic scene I became convinced of the fact that Humanity will dominate the other species.

It may be a fanatic, die hard Alliance officer's opinion, but we're the best and the worst rolled into one flesh. We are bright creatures with determination and a fire inside us that is unmatched by the other species. And then there's the things we always used to shame ourselves along our long history – violence.

They said that we should be ashamed of ourselves for being so violent, for waging so many wars, for turning war into an art. I say: let them preach their ignorance and stupidity. All our previous wars and strife created the apex soldier that we are today; the sons of Mars and Ares, and daughters of Athena. I will never be ashamed of our violent past. It sounds wrong and sick, but that is the truth. Let us not look down upon ourselves but hold high and mighty our ingrained predisposition towards conflict. It was that same warlike nature that stood between the alien aggressions and Humanity: between the Turians and Shanxi, between the Batarians and Mindoir, between the Collector hordes and the free colonies, and, God help us, between the Reapers and Humanity. This universe is cruel and unforgiving.

Why not the Krogan? Because they lack in the fields of diplomacy and constraint. We have all it takes to become the race on top of the food chain. Our evolution on Earth didn't only make us the apex species of our homeworld, but also prepared us in every way necessary for when we would leave our home and wander the stars.

(Extract from Rear Admiral Leonard Averescu's memoirs)

Tuchanka, Clan Urdnot

Urdnot Wrex

While the galaxy was playing the games of war and diplomacy, the inhabitants of Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld, were slowly rising and standing on their feet as the clan leaders played the same games.

One notable clan leader was Urdnot Wrex. His latest actions got the STG's attention in more than one way. He was the subject of attempted assassination at least two times, and, while there was no proof for the matter, the old battlemaster knew that it was the STG behind it all.

First they tried to get rid of him with the help of a rather hostile clan. Under the guise of diplomacy, they tried to sneak a bomb into one of Urdnot's camps but were busted and swiftly disposed of. The bomb wasn't anything fancy on the outside – just regular chemicals and materials one could find on Tuchanka to fabricate it. The insides were more intricate, with a modern Eezo plant that was similar to a ship's core to amplify its deadly potential. If the blast wasn't enough, he would have died from severe Eezo poisoning.

The second time it happened on Omega when Wrex was trying to get the Blood Pack on his side, a mercenary organization lead by a visionary Krogan battlemaster named Ganar Wrang. Wrex wanted to unite the Krogan clans on Tuchanka in a dire attempt to save his species from extinction. The Blood Pack would give Clan Urdnot enough strength to force the more uncooperative clans into the union, since Urdnot didn't have enough manpower and resources to deal with troublemaking clans all over the place.

But Ganar dismissed Wrex, stating that he doesn't make charity or work for free nor cheap. When Wrex was leaving Omega, a ship conveniently rammed his own after undocking. The former mercenary escaped with a few others by the skin of their teeth before the core went critical. They eventually found a ride back to Tuchanka from Warlord Okeer with whom Wrex had a great deal of trouble later on. But the meeting with Okeer earned Clan Urdnot a great warrior by the name of Grunt, a genetically tank-bred Krogan.

Later on, Wrex found out the truth about Okeer. The warlord wanted to use Wrex's progress to create a Krogan army that would bring the galaxy down to its knees. To that effect, he covertly sold Krogans to the Collectors and got his hands on some fancy tech. When Wrex found out about his intentions, he personally hunted him down and killed him. The next thing to do was destroy his laboratory and most of his twisted work before saving the few Krogans that could be saved. While the old battlemaster liked the idea of such an army, he didn't like the means Okeer resorted to, nor did he have any intention to wage war against the galaxy and totally seal the fate of his people.

"Old man," Wrex heard Grunt's voice in the ruined room of his clan's ancestral seat. "Have you heard the news about the Council?"

Wrex was taken out of his thoughts and turned his attention to Grunt. Wreav was with him. "What happened? Bastards got another plan to bring us down now that their assassins are miserably failing?"

Grunt chuckled in his deep voice before bringing his omnitool up. "One of our ships got some news out of that old comm buoy near the Mass Relay."

"The Council is at war as of two weeks or so," Wreav said.

"At war?" Wrex questioned. "Who are those pyjacks fighting? Some Batarian pirates raided them and the Council blows it out of proportion?"

"A new race by the looks of it. Trashed at least 500 Turian warships somewhere past Relay 314, occupied a Turian colony and is wreaking havoc in Salarian and Asari space."

Wrex lightly chuckled. "What's this new race?"

"They look squashy enough. As if they're a long lost relative of the Asari whores. Take a look," Wreav said and brought up Montgomery's speech to the Council and whole of Citadel space actually. Wrex followed the vid with great interest.

"They surely know how to make threats, but can they live up to those?" Wrex asked. He glanced over the short news reports and read about the raids on Thessia and Sur'Kesh, about Magna going dark, about an Asari colony reportedly falling to the enemy. Wrex smiled viciously. "About time somebody put them Citadel bastards in their place. Grunt! Wreav! Get in touch with our contacts on the Citadel, see if they can pull out more on the aliens. I want to talk to these new aliens if we get the chance."

Wrex was effectively building his own small network of informants and sympathizers on the Citadel. With no real allies and a hostile galactic government, he knew he needed an ace up his sleeve. And if he never found that ace, he was building it. Now it might just be his lucky find if the Human's speech was any indication.

SSV Spirit of Fire, Conference room

Task Force Sirius

Fleet Admiral Ahern of the Alliance Third Fleet and Admiral Gerrel of the Quarian Republic Heavy Fleet were waiting for Averescu to escort the Turian diplomat, Ambassador Quentius, to the conference room where they'd hear him out and work on a ceasefire. And from there lay the grounds for peace negotiations.

"It is very important that we sign a peace treaty soon, Fleet Admiral," Gerrel pointed out. "I don't know if we can hold without heavy losses against the Hierarchy's naval forces."

"I share your concerns, Admiral. If it was up to FLEETCOM we would have steamrolled through Turian space by now, catch them off guard and deal heavy damage. We would be knocking at Palaven's door. But our blitz lost most of its steam and they had plenty of time to shore up defenses. At least we know that the Asari won't give them any sort of aid. Not so sure about the Salarians," Ahern spoke as he let himself sink in the comfy leather chair.

"The STG knew that your forces were on their way to initiate hostilities with the Salarian military. That gave them some time, but how much? With frigate and destroyer packs constantly harassing their shipping lanes and military installations… What news do we have from Admiral Radovid?" Gerrel asked.

Ahern used his left hand to rub his chin covered in a short dark orange beard. "The false attack is going according to the plan. The Asari are so tied down in this one that they won't render any aid to the real fighters. Not militarily and, most certainly not economically. They could invest their money in their own colonies and for military training, too arrogant to let the Turians do the fighting for them."

"Well, then the Turians would have some leverage over the Asari and could further improve public opinion of them. The Asari most certainly don't want anyone to be seen above them," Gerrel commented.

"Well, according to Radovid's reports, their tactics are not effective at countering our own. Their strategies revolve around the defense of Mass Relays and this… almost innocent attitude towards war. He caught them with the bulk of their military wrapped up in docks or in barracks on their merry peace time state of readiness. If we employ shock and awe with a large enough fleet and ground forces operating in Asari space, we'd bring them under the heel… agh…

You know, for once I'm glad Hackett didn't send the First Heavy Recon Fleet there as part of Task Force Kraken. Averescu would have beaten them into a bloody pulp every time he had the chance and lose every hope for a peaceful resolution," Ahern said, half smiling.

This piqued Gerrel's curiosity. "Why is that?"

Ahern fixed his counterpart's visor with his own eyes. "Do you know what the Alliance Armed Forces' articles stipulate?"

Gerrel shook his head. "That any alien aggression against Humanity is to be treated as an extinction level threat," Ahern continued. "And we have a saying: if faced with extinction… every other option is preferable." Behind his visor, Gerrel's eyes grew wide only thinking of the implications. "And Rear Admiral Leonard Averescu isn't the kind of person you want to give much freedom to when it comes to this. He takes this kind of stuff extremely seriously. And we like to kill before we are killed by the enemy."

"You wouldn't go that far…"

"Every alternative is preferable to the death of our race, Admiral Gerrel. That is something every man and woman who serves in the Armed Forces keeps in mind. We're holding back only because you told us that they can be negotiated with. If we were in the dark about it and they attacked us again, judging by how they bombed civilians with shipboard weapons and how they shot defenseless civilians and prisoners on Shanxi… what do you think we would've done to them if we took the fight to them?" Ahern pressed.

"It's true, we would have had to scout the space beyond and find their planets. But you were kind enough to share navigational data and star charts with us. Otherwise they'd have had time to gear up for war and go toe to toe against us. And people like the man in charge of this ship wouldn't have held back anything. Imagine Magna as a nuclear wasteland…"

"Nobody but the Krogans used nukes in war, against the Rachni AND themselves!"

Ahern simply shrugs that one off. Even if he read about the Krogans and the Rachni from disclosed information he still didn't know much. One needs to see them face to face to start learning about the alien. Then he gave Gerrel an apologetic smile.

"Anyway, let's resume everything to the fact that if you really hate somebody or something and want it gone… send the Rear Admiral to deal with it."

A moment after Ahern left Gerrel to guess, Evelyn made an appearance on the holo projector mounted in the conference table.

"Admirals, the Turian diplomat, Ambassador Quentius, will come in in a few moments. Please keep in mind that his guards are pissed off that the Rear Admiral had them halted on the corridor," she stated. Apparently she switched to her Navy uniform as well.

Ahern and Gerrel stood up from their seats and stood next to each other at the end of the table, the one closer to the door. They heard some commotion on the other side of the door as they straightened themselves. Then the doors sweep open and in come Averescu with two Marines and the Turian. Evelyn had disengaged from her holographic form and was listening to what was going to unfold.

Gerrel scoured his form with disgust to some degree. He remembered every time the Council interfered with the Migrant Fleet when it came to finding a place of their own. Or of the times he heard about the blatant racism many Quarians faced during their Pilgrimage in Council space.

Ahern on the other hand, was much more calculating with his thoughts. He had a thing or two against the Turians and their friends – the Asari and Salarians – as the three kids on the Council for attacking the colony of Shanxi and causing the chain of battles in a war that took so many lives in such a short amount of time. In just over two weeks.

Quentius himself analyzed the two new men. Gerrel wasn't an unusual sight since he was used to seeing Quarians. But the Admiral had a very proud posture for someone who not many months ago was commanding a 'sink by themselves' fleet in Hierarchy naval opinion.

And although he was getting used to seeing Humans, Ahern was standing out yet again. Unlike Averescu, he had more ribbons hanging on his uniform's left side. There was more golden color too. He was most likely dressed in his formal attire, not the regular on duty one. Quentius saw the four stars indicating the rank of Fleet Admiral in the Alliance Navy; not that he knew the rank indicated, he guessed it must be a high rank. Golden stripes covered his shoulders in nice contrast to the royal blue and black of the uniform.

"Ambassador Quentius," Ahern spoke first. "It is good to meet you. I'm Fleet Admiral Ahern, Alliance Navy. This gentleman here," he said as he gestured towards Gerrel, "is Admiral Han'Gerrel."

"Admiral Han'Gerrel of the Quarian Republic's Heavy Fleet," the suited native of Rannoch added.

"Pleased to meet you, Admirals. As you already know, I'm Ambassador Quentius, representative of the Turian Hierarchy and the Citadel Council," he said. "Shall we get to the matter at hand, Admirals?"

"Of course. Let us do so," Ahern said and invited the Turian to take a seat. Quentius found the leather chair quite comfortable, considering that it wasn't built for Turian physiology. As soon as the three officers and the diplomat were seated and facing each other, they began the talks.

"Let me begin by thanking you for giving me a chance here. This conflict is a misunderstanding, one the Council and the Hierarchy never wished for. Me and my superiors wish to sign a ceasefire as soon as possible before more lives are lost," Quentius said.

"That guy, Desolas Arterius, seemed pretty convinced that he was acting within the parameters imposed by the Council during his… attempted subjugation of the Quarians at Shanxi," Averescu said. "Don't lie to us, Ambassador," he said on a very serious tone. Then in a colder and devoid of any life he said, "But most of all, don't fuck with me. Last guys who tried that got a nuke rammed up their arses."

Quentius' plates shifted just so slightly when the more aggressive interlocutor mentioned usage of nuclear ordnance.

"Rear Admiral, please. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, according to the latest report we got from the AIC and Foreign Affairs this might have been an overzealous commander's doing," Ahern tried to calm things down. He knew that his subordinate would play the bad cop. Well, he was the bad cop like 90% of the time. "Ambassador, your case may not be dead yet. Do you know anybody called Kaevus Eudorian? And Atelas Razea?"

Quentius felt some measure of relief when Ahern mentioned the two names. "Of course. They are notable senior officers who were in command of the two fleets."

"Well, it just so happens that after the naval engagement at Shanxi, our SAR teams were able to rescue roughly 2,000 Turian sailors, most of those were part of your… dreadnought's crew. Kaevus Eudorian is one of the survivors and he's ranking Admiral. Atelas Razea was taken into custody with her whole crew shortly after at Relay 314. Their testimonies during interrogation did mention the fact that General Arterius was overzealous and in violation of some Citadel regulations…" Ahern left it hanging only for Gerrel to pick it up.

"Does the Hierarchy allow overzealous commanders, almost to the point of going rogue, to be in charge of such important operations? Like… say, the subjugation of my people?"

Quentius had to consider his words carefully. While he wasn't really speaking in the name of the whole Council, Fedorian told him to get a ceasefire signed on behalf of all three species so things wouldn't get bogged down in the Council's bureaucratic procedures and all that. He also didn't need to show the friction that was recently developing between the Hierarchy and the Council.

"Admirals, I'm not in possession of the reasoning the Council had in mind at the time, neither am I able to see why the General took that course of action. We can investigate the matter in the near future. I believe my government will be more than happy to look into it. Turians don't undertake dishonorable acts such as attacking a people like it happened," Quentius tried to placate them.

"Yes, but neither will they disobey an unjust order given by their CO, will they?" Gerrel asked.

To that, the diplomat did not respond. He knew he was cornered on the matter. So he just avoided debating it further on. "All I can promise you is an internal investigation, find the elements that lead to this tragedy and correct them."

"The Alliance wants to be part of that investigation," Ahern calmly stated.

Quentius fixed him with his piercing eyes. "You are a very new species to the Citadel races, Admiral. I highly doubt that Hierarchy officials will allow you to interfere with an internal Hierarchy military investigation. Further talks will be required for this to happen and I'm not qualified to accept or decline that request at the moment."

"Then a Quarian will oversee it if the Humans are new to you. We will not interfere but observe the way the investigation goes and make sure the elements that lead to this conflict and the deaths of more than a hundred thousand are fairly punished and… corrected, as you put it," Gerrel stated.

"Again, I can't make any decisions on the matter. I'm sorry," Quentius apologized.

"Fairness…" Averescu scoffed. "Let's get to the ceasefire agreements."

"Right," Ahern said and brought up a holographic projection that was blank at the moment. It was separated in three sections for each language, sections that will be filled with the conditions agreed upon. "Tell me again, Ambassador. In whose name are you talking?"

A peculiar question; Gerrel asked him the same thing when he jumped into the system. "The Hierarchy and, by extension, the Council."

Ahern then pressed a button or something for his earpiece that acted as translator and said something Quentius didn't understand. Gerrel seemed to understand what they were saying but refrained from talking. Averescu, who had deactivated his translator too, and Ahern were debating something. And then they pressed the same button and Quentius could understand them.

"Why hasn't the Council sent an Asari to speak in their name? From the… codex the Quarian people gave us we've learned that it is their specialty to engage in diplomatic affairs. Or send a representative of each of the three species," Averescu said. "So..? What's the play?"

"There is no play here. I was the closest available diplomat," Quentius answered hoping that they'd buy it.

"The vessel you came with didn't have the Citadel Council's seal on its hull but the Hierarchy's. So we will take the most logical course of action here, considering the rather unconventional and weird… delegation," Gerrel concluded.

"That means that the Asari Republics and the Salarian Union will have to send their representatives to sign a ceasefire from where we'll begin a full fledged negotiation for the peace terms," Ahern clarified. "You will sign the ceasefire for the Turian people with both the Human Systems Alliance and the Quarian Republic."

Quentius felt disappointed by the sudden turn of actions. But he had a job to do.

"Alright. Let us get to the clauses of the ceasefire. You mentioned Admirals Eudorian and Razea. What is their situation? What's the situation of the prisoners?" Quentius inquired.

"They are alive and well. Eudorian had its wounds treated and will be released to you as soon as the ceasefire is signed as a sign of good faith. The other prisoners of war will have to wait until peace talks are over," Ahern clarified. Quentius was pleased to hear that. "As for the Asari officer, she will be held in custody and be treated as a prisoner along with the Asari and Salarian crews taken prisoner during the capture of her forces at Relay 314. They will be released to their governments if peace is achieved."

"Wait. You said 'the capture of her forces'. What exactly happened?" Quentius inquired.

"What happened is that their ships are confined near Relay 314 and they act as prisons to their own crews. Most of them anyway. How it happened is none of your immediate concern," Averescu answered. Quentius didn't particularly like this semi hostility the Rear Admiral radiated.

"Fair enough. How many soldiers that were part of Desolas' command survived?"

"Just below 5,000 in numbers. Add to that the 2,000 recovered from the wrecks of the warships and you get close to 7,000 Turian prisoners of war. Not counting the ones that were part of the second fleet at Relay 314 and weren't destroyed."

"We'd also like to send home another Turian as soon as possible," Averescu said and got the attention of the diplomat. "His name is Garrus Vakarian, rescued from a ship after it was attacked by pirates. Only survivor we could get out."

Garrus Vakarian. Quentius knew that name. Same as Flavian Vakarian, advisor in political and military matters at Palaven Command, former C-Sec detective and officer in the Hierarchy's military. He heard that the man's son followed him in his steps and was working at C-Sec but not a lot more.

"Vakarian?" Quentius asked to make sure he didn't hear it wrong.

"Yes. He'll return with Admiral Eudorian. He was a guest well before you even heard about Shanxi."

"And… what of the deceased soldiers? What happened to them?"

"Buried in mass graves," Averescu flatly stated. The look on Quentius' alien face was rather amusing to the man. "There were too many dead to try and sort out their names and all that. The dead who were recovered were buried in mass graves. The Turian soldiers have plenty of those while the Asari got only one."

"The Asari? I don't remember the Council delegating Asari ground forces to Desolas' command."

"The few survivors have been interrogated and they were mercenaries, or security contractors as they put it, hired by the SPECTRE attaché from the organization known as Eclipse."

'Now this will have some repercussions on the Council,' Quentius thought. A SPECTRE hiring mercenaries to fight against a species after a Turian General who was acting commander of the Citadel forces in a Council issued operation failed to comply with first contact protocols?

"I… I see. It is good to know they received burial, even if not in a more traditional manner."

A short lived silence befell on the conference room as the four men thought of the souls consumed by war – by intelligent violence. This is what war is. War's intelligent violence while the regular street fight or bullying is the primitive and brutish violence that occurs when the two sides get too close to each other. Organized slaughter when the two opposing sides get bogged down, especially in engagements of attrition.

"If – and only if – " Ahern broke the silence, "we achieve peace… the Alliance will formally invite Hierarchy officials to Shanxi for a ceremony for the fallen. As for the terms of the ceasefire, they are quite simple. The Alliance puts forward the following clauses," the Fleet Admiral says and raises one finger.

"First – the Turian Hierarchy will not set foot or send any military ships to the colony of Magna or any locations of Alliance or Quarian interest until a formal peace treaty is agreed upon. The only ships allowed will be diplomatic vessels. We will hail once any Turian ship that trespasses and open fire if it fails to respond. We will show the same courtesy."

Quentius nodded. This was acceptable. Ahern lifted a second finger. "Second – the Turian Hierarchy will not interfere with the ongoing conflict between the Human Systems Alliance and the Quarian Republic on one side and the Asari Republics and Salarian Union on the other. Any aid given to the latter two will be considered as a hostile intent on behalf of the Hierarchy for the duration of the ceasefire. Aid that could result in bettering the military of your fellow Council species will not be tolerated, should they fail to engage in peaceful relations with us."

Again, reasonable. Quentius highly doubted the Asari or the Salarians would keep the fight going. The Salarians knew too little about their adversary. It was 100% against their doctrine. They'd end a threat before it strikes. The Asari are dealing with unrest on the Citadel and in the colonies, even on Thessia, after the public declaration of war was delivered through the breached extranet. And everything spilled to the population. The peace loving blue aliens didn't have the support of the masses for this one. The Council and the matriarchs were doing their best to turn the PR disaster around, but they had little success. And even if one of the two other Council species kept fighting, the Hierarchy would have more than enough 'volunteers' to send as aid, all masked as every individual's desire to fight for the Republics as a volunteer.

"Third – the Alliance will release Admiral Eudorian as a sign of good faith. Unfortunately, General Desolas has met an early end on Shanxi." Totally untrue. This is what the AIC had him say. Desolas was now on Tartarus Station, a secret base of the AIC operated by the Cerberus Division. Harper wouldn't let all his sources of intelligence go to waste. Montgomery allowed him to take Desolas and some of the few officers who survived for interrogation and who knows what else happens behind the scenes. They took good care to confine him in a separate sector of the prison on Alcatraz and fake his death at Shanxi. Turian and Asari witnesses had been deliberately disposed of.

"As for the Quarian Republic," Gerrel spoke, "we put forward the same two clauses the Fleet Admiral mentioned. We also want the establishment of a buffer zone between the colony of Magna and the rest of Council space. Relay 130's solar system that links Magna to the rest of the network will be devoid of military assets for the duration of the ceasefire, until a peace treaty is signed."

"As the Hierarchy's representative, I accept these terms. The clauses I would like to forward are the following. First, I want the freedom to use the Mass Relay to report any progress, or lack of progress, regarding the diplomatic meetings to the Hierarchy. That means that my ship cannot be quarantined if I am to do so."

Quentius' counterparts considered it and then agreed on that. With this, the Turian made sure that everything his ship's sensors and hull mounted cameras and telescopes logged and recorded would make their way to Palaven Command. And inform the Primarch of the successful ceasefire.

"Secondly, all offensive operations against the Hierarchy will be halted. We will show the same courtesy; although this is the point of the ceasefire I still want it to be written down. Third, cease any offensive operations against our allies as a sign of good will towards them and us; it will help your cause. Fourth, I want an assurance that Magna will be returned to the Turian Hierarchy's control."

After a few murmurs between them, the three turned again to the Turian. The list updates itself with the three clauses forwarded by Quentius.

"Don't worry. If everything goes well at the peace talks you will have your colony back," Ahern assured him. "Well then, shall we print this and sign it?"

SDSV Ocean Princess, Guest Quarters

Departing from Arcturus Station

The Systems Alliance Diplomatic Space Vehicle Ocean Princess has just undocked from Arcturus Station and is clearing for a hyperspace jump to Magna. The vessel was steering and making its way to the outer traffic lanes that will take her to the safe range for FTL. Two escorting destroyers, the Fretensis and Aratta, were waiting for her.

Aboard the relative small size ship was Anita Goyle, Alliance representative to the Turian Hierarchy and the other species if they show up for any sort of negotiation. She was sent as soon as possible her higher-ups got word from Task Force Sirius that the aliens wanted to engage in diplomacy. She was considered the most experienced for the matter since she spent a lot of time with the Quarians at Arcturus and with Garrus.

Along with her was Garrus Vakarian. He wasn't specifically told but he knew he was going home. Sure, he will have to go through a lot of interviews and debriefings, even if he wasn't an active military cadre. But it was inevitable and he didn't mind it. He was going home. But what he was looking forward to the most was to bring the traitors at C-Sec to justice. He knew they had been sold out, sent to die so they can be rid of a few bad beans.

Another person present was Rael'Zorah. The Conclave and Representative Koris have selected him to represent his people in the negotiations. He'd do a better job at it than Gerrel. Rael knew he had to get as beast a deal as possible from the meetings. The Quarian Republic was still weak. It needed to get its hands on resources that would be invested in New Rannoch for them to become fully independent. Living on a planet was very much different than on space ships. They had some debts to the Alliance already, even if the terms were very long term. But at least the stolen – or not stolen since it was claimed as a spoil of war – small Turian dry dock that was in orbit of Magna was a very good start in this direction.

They would meet with Ambassador Quentius and others at Magna to lay out the groundwork for a real treaty. Kaevus Eudorian would get there aboard a cruiser and not via civilian vessels.

Palaven, Cipritine

Palaven Command HQ

To say that Flavian was a happy Turian wouldn't make it justice. He finished reading the report he was supposed to forward to Fedorian, a report compiled by the other employees here based on the information sent by Quentius. First thing after he gets some free time will be to get in touch with his wife and daughter to tell them about Garrus.

Flavian made his way through the uniformed and work-suited Turians in the hallways of the building and reached the closed doors of a meeting room. Two guards in armor and with rifles in hands were stationed on either side of the door. They recognized Flavian and allowed him to join the ongoing session. Fedorian was talking with multiple officers and aides.

"What about the countermeasures to the communications buoy network? We can't have these aliens hacking into those at their will," Fedorian said.

"Our best electronic and cybernetic warfare specialists have been working around the clock to safeguard them from hacking. We're currently trying to exploit a design flaw of the buoys to our advantage by flooding the channels when an incursion is detected. Now that we have analyzed the files you have forwarded us, and that we have a generic trace for the alien algorithms, we're working on something more long term," a Turian in nonmilitary clothing answered.

"The Vol Protectorate is mobilizing its own fleet. They are converging on the Aethon Node in the Aethon Cluster," somebody else said.

"Good. I hope we won't have to call on their ships, though."

"Further enemy presence spotted in Asari space. Preliminary reports intercepted by Hierarchy Intelligence indicates that a large Human force has occupied the border colony of Usmenia, all Asari forces in that sector gone dark. They are slowly pushing towards the galactic northwest. Predictions put them on a steady course towards the Athena Nebula," an intelligence guy reported. "The Asari are assembling a naval force to counterattack if they push further into their territory. I think the colony of Lessus will be left to its fate."

'They are attacking the Asari hard. But why? We're the only ones who haven't had our home systems raided, unlike the Salarians and Asari. What are they after? If they want to isolate us of any aid they surely did it. But they're still pressuring them harder than I would. No, the Humans must be after something related to the Asari,' Fedorian thought. He found it really curious that despite the fact that it was a Turian fleet and army at Shanxi, the Humans were seemingly contempt in sitting at Magna and not do a lot more.

"Sir, we have all the forces required for the retake of Magna on standby. General Victus' forces have arrived at Relay 130 and one of his escorting vessels intercepted an Asari cruiser that was trying to use the Relay," an officer told the Primarch.

"Have they been halted?" Fedorian asked.

"Yes sir. The Hierarchy vessels present there have told the Asari captain that the Relay was off limits due to the enemy's presence on the other side. One Ambassador Irissa of the Republics threatened us with economic sanctions if we continue to interfere with official Council operations."

Fedorian sighed in Turian. The Council was again trying to mangle itself with Hierarchy military operations that shouldn't concern them as much. But he deduced the fact that the ship was there to broker peace with the Humans and Quarians. Just that Fedorian interdicted any ship to go through the Relay while Quentius was there. He didn't want the enemy to think that they're threatened while his own man tries to broker a ceasefire. He checked the countdown until Quentius' given deadline. If they got no word until 9 more hours passed, then they'd assume the worst case scenario happened and go in with military force to retake the colony with the sword.

Just then, Fedorian noticed Flavian in the room. He wasn't there at the beginning. So he addressed him.

"Vakarian, any input on this?"

Flavian approached the table after he had listened to the reports. "I find it strange that they are not pressuring us as they are doing it to the Republics. And we know too little at best to draw a conclusion. I'd advise we proceed with caution and don't underestimate them. Who knows what might be their purpose?"

A General present scoffed at that. "I bet they're too scared to pick a fight with us. Primarch, let us strike now and bring them down! We can't allow a new species to run rampant like they are now. We're the protectors of the galaxy and we must do everything in our power to subdue galactic threats."

"Don't be so sure, General," Flavian said. "Least we throw our forces into the meat grinder hidden in a well thought out trap and plan by our foe. None of our probes sent to Magna have returned. We are in the dark. Or we were. We have news from Ambassador Quentius."

Fedorian stood straight from the galactic map. "Spit it out, Vakarian. Is it good or bad?" he inquired.

"It's good. Ambassador Quentius was partially successful. But partially in a good way. A ceasefire is in effect between the Hierarchy and the… Quarian Republic and the Human Systems Alliance," Flavian answered. "Here is the digital format of the treaty. A paper support one will be in our hands as soon as Quentius returns. And the data from the sensors is still processed. It will take a few more hours before a report is compiled."

"Are there any terms to the ceasefire?" Fedorian asked.

To that, Flavian used his omnitool to bring a larger holographic projection of the treaty in digital format. It was written in the standard Turian dialect. On the left side were the seals of the Alliance and of the Republic. On the right side was the seal of the Turian Hierarchy.

…

CEASEFIRE

This document represents a formal declaration for a ceasefire between the Turian Hierarchy on one side, and the Human Systems Alliance and the Quarian Republic on the other, on the date of July 15th 2180 Standard Earth Calendar.

The terms of the ceasefire are as follows:

Neither side will send warships in the other's claimed space; only diplomatic vessels will be allowed. Failure to respond to hails and warnings issued by the offended side is grounds to lethal reaction.

The Turian Hierarchy will not aid the Salarian Union or Asari Republics for the duration of the ceasefire. Any aid that will result in the betterment of the military of the aforementioned governments will nullify the ceasefire between the Hierarchy, and the Alliance and Republic. Humanitarian aid for the refugees is accepted.

The Human Systems Alliance will unconditionally release Admiral Kaevus Eudorian to the Turian Hierarchy as soon as possible.

The solar system that contains Relay 130 will be treated as a buffer zone and be devoid of military assets for the duration of the ceasefire.

The Hierachy's diplomats' ships will be allowed safe passage between Magna and the rest of Turian space.

All offensive operations against the Hierarchy or against the Alliance and the Republic by either side will be halted.

The Human Systems Alliance and the Quarian Republic will cease offensive operations against the Asari Republics and Salarian Union for the duration of the ceasefire.

The Human Systems Alliance guarantees the rights of Turian citizens on the colony world of Magna for the duration of the ceasefire; within reason.

The Turian Hierarchy takes it upon itself to open diplomatic channels between the Citadel Council, Humanity and the Quarian people in order to facilitate and accelerate the signing of a ceasefire between the two belligerent sides.

The ceasefire comes under effect on the date of 16th July 2180 Standard Earth Calendar, 0000 hours GMT, for an unlimited amount of time – presumably until a formal peace treaty is agreed upon; subject to rectification by either sides.

Signatories of the document:

Representing the Human Systems Alliance with the Alliance Government's and Presidential blessing, FLEET ADMIRAL TADIUS AHERN

Representing the Quarian Republic with the Conclave's and Representative Koris' blessing, ADMIRAL HAN'GERREL

Representing the Turian Hierarchy with the Primarch's blessing, AMBASSADOR OCTAVIUS QUENTIUS

…

"Who are they to interdict us to aid our allies?" somebody offended asked.

"Calm down. It's a rather insignificant term," Fedorian said.

"Well, at least we get Admiral Eudorian back, sir."

"Indeed. Maybe he can tell us how to counteract them. He must have studied their tactics in the battle."

Most of the present high ranking personnel were happy to hear that a ceasefire was signed and that there was no need for heavy military action. Others who were more proud felt somewhat shamed and backstabbed that they allowed their foes get away with it. But Fedorian took comfort in the fact that they saved more lives, lives that could never be traded for a few drops of national pride.

Even if the negotiations failed, Fedorian knew that he bought time for the Hierarchy to reach a better level of readiness. They would also have had time to debrief Eudorian and gain insight into the enemy's tactics, and further gather intel on their capabilities. However it went, the Turians only had to win.

"Send word to our ships at Relay 130 to vacate the space. Send a civilian ship rigged with surveillance systems to keep an eye on it. And allow ambassador Irissa passage to Magna. Also, relay the news to Sparatus and the Council. Vakarian!"

"Sir?"

"Do kindly remind him of the consequences of failure."

Flavian slightly shifted his mandibles in satisfaction.

Tartarus Installation, Undisclosed location

Miranda Lawson's office

Miranda was a busy woman as of lately. She had to fully integrate all aspects of Cerberus Division into her plans and objectives. Her set of orders was clear: extort Desolas and his officers of information, this one would go to Jack; establish an early spy network that would infiltrate Citadel space, that would go to Maya Brooks; accelerate research into biotic inhibitors and other countermeasures.

Miranda put down the datapad with her orders and took the dossier for the Corsairs back in hand. She sifted through the papers just one more time to recap. An email notified her earlier that day that Harper's men did all the legal paperwork for the Corsair Corps, as the name under which it was registered. And the private military contractor company already had just over 100 employees. Now Miranda needed a ship for them. That would fall again on Harper's shoulders to find.

Miranda thought about what kind of ship they'd use. If she wanted them as muscls in the field, they would require a decent sized ship with some combat capabilities and ground deployment capabilities. An old decommissioned light carrier would be a bad idea for that. Something to serve as a mobile HQ as well… And an unorthodox idea came to her mind.

"Cheerleader!"

Miranda turned her attention to her computer. Jack had just established a conversation with her from her own quarters of the base.

"Jack. Any progress with our guests?"

"You shitting me? If you don't get me clearance for more… lucrative methods, I will grind those parrots indo dust. I'm tired of that idiot threatening the Alliance and whole civilization," Jack answered.

"Oh?"

"He's babbling about the futility of this whole thing, of the interrogation, about the war, about legacy… he's gone nuts! He's batshit crazy or simply playing stupid. I've seen stupid play before, but that's a next level shit."

"What about the others? Are they more… cooperative?" Miranda asked.

"I've already lost one when your scientist took him for one of their tests. Don't wanna know what plans you've got in store for them, but if you want to dissect them all and turn them into lab rats, do it after I'm finished with them."

"Jack, we're going to return him. We just need to know more about the Turians. They are the species rated as most dangerous in case of conflict. If my scientists can work up something we could use against them I'm all pro for that," Miranda explained.

"Where's the fun if we simply use some chemicals or diseases on them? Like that genophage stuff? Nevermind that. I just wanted to give you my report so far. Sending it now," Jack said from her end.

"Thanks. I'll look over it. So, any plans for the next week?" Miranda asked.

"Plans? Besides nicely asking those fuckers for military sensitive intel? Nah! Besides, aren't you up your neck in work to take time off?"

"If I'm done with this by then… I guess not. And your clearance will come in two weeks. Keep asking them nicely while fucking with their minds."

"I'm not one of those blue bitches. Shame you had to take them from me. I had fun with them. Those scared eyes they had…"

"You sadistic little shit," Miranda laughed it off. "Anyway, Saturday's girls night."

"Harper's gonna bust your ass for that."

"He's not my type."

"Why? You looking for some knight in shiny armor? One of those N7 maybe?"

"I ain't looking. I'll let it come to me."

Just then, the video feed split in two and Harper's face appeared on both their screens.

"Ladies, get the hell off this line! You wanna chat about boys, go do it on your private channels, not AIC channels," he told them.

Miranda's face grew grim while Jack just jerked her head backwards in a protesting manner.

"Oh, come on! Gimme' a break! How the hell did you even find us here?" Jack asked.

"Jack…"

"Agent Zero, I'm Director. I see and know everything. Especially when it comes to my best agents and operatives," he answered her. "And I'm cutting you a week's salary for this. Oh, a ceasefire was just signed with the Turians." And the feed from him died.

"Bastard," Jack cursed.

And then a text message appeared in the area reserved for written chatting. It read: "Dayum, Miranda! You got busted!"

'The hell?' Miranda asked herself. 'I must work on my privacy and encryption some more…'

And another text message appeared: "Brooks, you ain't off the hook either."

SSV Normandy, Sickbay

FTL transit to Arcturus

On a bed in the mostly empty small sickbay of the stealth frigate lied Sergeant Major Alex Valentine Wyatt. She had suffered injuries from a Turian fragmentation concussive grenade going off inches from her face. In a comfy chair, at a small bureau, was Doctor Karin Chakwas.

First thing that got Chakwas' attention was when Alex started to moan. She was waking up after the surgery.

"Shit… where am I?"Alex asked as she opened her eyes.

"First Sergeant Wyatt," Chakwas said only to be immediately interrupted by Alex.

"Last time I checked I was a Sergeant Major, Doc." Alex answered as she suddenly started to feel her left cheek with her hand.

Chakwas smiled. "So it looks like your memory isn't damaged. Good. Want me to give you a quick recap, Sergeant?"

"Why do I suddenly see in 64K resolution that pen over there?" Alex asked to which Chakwas chuckled.

"Sergeant, during your last mission… you suffered injuries from a grenade. I had to rebuild your face and replace your left eye with a robotic one, since the original was in a… rather ugly shape. It was the best I can do for you on such a short notice. We're on our way to Arcturus to drop some war spoils, as Warrant Officer Vega put it, and to transfer you to the military hospital there for better treatment. Shepard was basically running with you in his arms across the cargo bay and on the stairs to get you here."

"I… I see. Thank you, Doctor. Can I see my team?"

"Only after a quick checkup for your eyesight, scars and a memory test. And I think Tali would be pretty happy to hear you're back up."

"EEH?"

NOTE3: So, as you see, this chapter wasn't long. I'm making a transition to the negotiations between the two sides. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Yes, so why did I tell you to read this note? I plan on making one chapter for …cultural exchange, a sort of presentation of Humanity to the Citadel after the spirits calm down. I wanted to ask you to leave me some ideas via the reviews or PMs regarding what you think should be added. So far, what I have on my mind is a video presentation of Humanity in a chronologic order. Don't want to spoil it too much either. Ideas for that chapter are accepted until I start writing it. But it will be in the near future. We're back to scheming and other things in the next chapters. Again, I didn't make this one longer so I can publish it for you sooner.

NOTE4: As always, thank you for reading. I hope you will tell me your opinions and give some feedback through reviews or PMs. Remember, bashing without reading and bigotry is not tolerated.

NOTE5: And how come my story has more followers than informedterran's Mass Effect: The Terran Gambit? Seriously, that story's generations above my own work and there are fewer people following it. No, not promoting it 'cause he paid me or something; I genuinely consider that story a masterpiece worth more attention than it's currently getting. Give it a shot, be patient, and most of all, as Oddball from Kelly's Heroes would put it, "Have a little faith, baby. Have a little faith."