NOTE1: Howdy folks! I think I'm making a habit of constantly apologizing for taking this long to post. Job, faculty, homework and midterms got me bogged down. I hope to get at least two chapters before the final terms of this semester are around the corner. Alas, enjoy the fifteenth chapter!
Chapter 15: Phantom of the Opera III: Iron Hearts II
"I didn't break neither the Geneva Conventions, nor any other laws of warfare of the Human Systems Alliance. Those were about Humans. I killed Asari and Turians on Shanxi. They're not Humans, they are aliens. The rules don't apply to them as far as I know."
(Lieutenant Kai Leng in an interview given to Alliance news channels after the Battle of Shanxi)
"There is no peace to be held with the Alliance. The Humans are too belligerent for this galaxy's good. They came to the Citadel with promises of peace, and what became of those promises? In nearly a decade they have created a rift in the Council, the proxy conflict with the Republics and Union, Torfan and Aratoht, and that barbaric admiral of theirs sent millions to the afterworld during his March Through Terminus. Mind you, they claimed it was to safeguard the galaxy against the Collectors – Protheans perverted by the Reapers – and their warlord mercenaries. Can you believe that? They're so barbaric and desperate that they used a myth as an excuse to create another war. And Fedorian was so deluded by their claims of Reapers coming for us that he flocked to their side. And don't even get me started with the Legion. I'm sorry, but the answer is no. No true peace will exist between Humanity and the civilized galaxy. They can go, with their supposedly alive Prothean, back to the cave they crawled out of."
(Ambassador Irissa Myrais in a talk show, Humanity: Gold in Peace, Steel in War)
Reach, Intelligence Command HQ
Director Harper's office
Laughter echoed through the room that served as Harper's office. Two men were really having a good time by the looks of it. A small bottle of expensive scotch was nearly emptied and the ashtray looked like it could use some emptying. The window was open so that fresh air can enter the room and ease the smell of tobacco.
In two opposite armchairs sat Jack and his friend, the small table between them was serving as support for the ashtray, the two glasses and the bottle. Jack was in a more casual attire than usual on this day. He preferred a short sleeved shirt instead of the long sleeved ones along with his tuxedo.
The laughter in the room died out slowly.
"You always so full of shit, Ben," Jack said through a big smile.
"Not as much as you're full of that good scotch on a daily basis, mate!" Ben replied. "Fill me one more time before you see me off." Harper poured the remaining content into their glasses. "So you really think this whole Corsair stuff will work?" he asked.
Harper nodded with confidence. "Don't underestimate my resources and resolve to defend Humanity, Ben. I'm a patriot. You're a patriot. That's why I chose you for the job," he answered. "And I trust you. Your record speaks volumes."
Ben smiled at him. "Perks of being the biggest shot around here, eh? Can stick your nose wherever you want."
"Sticking my nose wherever I want is my job. I had to make sure the leaders of the Corsairs are people with training and who can be trusted. I don't only have a feeling, but I know that the aliens will attempt to undermine us with black ops or proxy operations," Harper explained, his very casual mood now replaced with a serious one. "The Batarians are the ones I'm watching out the most for. If those Godless slavers attempt some attacks on us we won't be able to retaliate against them without the Council intervening. President Montgomery should be giving them the middle finger today. And then there's the Shadow Broker too. I want him or her out of the picture."
"I get it, I get it!" Ben said with his palms up.
"Director Harper, Miss Jien Garson is here," Harper's secretary told him on his personal line.
"Garson? Well, looks like you've got important business to attend to. I'll take my leave then," Ben said as he downed his drink and got up. He took his coat and put it on. Harper stood up as well and escorted the man to the main hall of the building's level.
"Been a pleasure to see you again, Ben," he said. They shook hands.
"See you around, Jackie boy," Ben said and left. The career private military contractor was on his merry way to the colony of Aurora now. He had some work to attend to.
Harper made his way back to his office where Jien Garson was waiting for him. He instinctively tensed and almost drew his sidearm due to the fact that his mind catalogued her as an intruder. But he relaxed. He needed to be as friendly as possible for this to work out.
"Hello, Miss Garson," he greeted her. She sat in the same armchair Harper had used earlier.
"Greetings, Harper. Fancy new office," she said. "I see you've had visitors before. Would be a shame if the press somehow found out that the Director of Alliance Intelligence Command is smoking and drinking in his office with friends. Ben Hislop nonetheless."
"Don't try to get under my skin, Jien. You know you can't. Every visitor is here to help me do my job," he replied. "Ben might be responsible for the blowing up of your father's factory on Eternium back in '53 – unwillingly though – but in this room everything discussed here is for the betterment of the Alliance and Humanity."
She sighed sarcastically at that. "Alright, Harper. I'll humor you. Why did you invite me all the way here? And went as far as to pay for my accommodations?"
Harper sat in front of her. He and Jien Garson were two of the richest Humans alive. And rivals. Both had several companies who were competing against each other. He activated the security systems in the room. A recording device activated with a bleep.
"The hell did you do?" she asked.
"Miss Garson, what I am about to tell you concerns the safety and survival of the Human race. I doubt the fact that you don't know about this to some degree due to your ties to the previous Director, Nathan Bourne, but I want you to sign a confidentiality contract if we are to proceed. Otherwise you are free to leave right now with no consequences," he explained with a dead serious tone.
She arched an eyebrow. She watched as Harper got up, walked to his desk and returned with a dossier of documents. Every document of the contract was inside. Details preplanned. All that was needed was Jien's signature on the papers alongside Harper's. She read through a few files. It was classified as TOP-XX SECRET. She didn't recall ever reading or hearing of any level of secrecy above TOP SECRET. The highest level of secrecy. Not even the details of the N7 Program were this classified, being rated only as TOP SECRET.
"What is this?" she asked. "Eligible for punishment by death on site without trial?" she read from the file.
"As I said, I didn't call you here to have a pissing contest. This is serious stuff."
She hesitated for a few seconds before signing the contract. She closed it and pushed it across the table to Harper. The Director checked every page of the contract to make sure she signed it properly.
"Everything seems to be alright, Miss Garson."
"Alright. Now tell me."
Harper put the dossier with the contract on his desk before leaning against it, his hands crossed across his chest. "Jien, you are a visionary, are you not?" he asked.
"Depends on who you're asking."
"I remember you talking about your childhood dream to travel among the stars. Go where not even the pioneers of 2080-2090 ever dare go. Cross the void between the Milky Way and Andromeda," Harper said.
"What does this have to do with me signing that contract?" she asked getting impatient.
"We're getting to that part right now," he calmed her. "Your requests to build ships for the expedition were denied because of various reasons: waste of material, waste of money, security reasons, a fool's gambit… you name it, the Alliance cited one reason or another to deny you the rights to assembly that expedition." He had her attention slaved like a bear with a honey pot. So he pressed on. "What if I give you the means to build the ships for that expedition?" he finally asked.
"How will you do that?"
"I have the means. But the equally important part is that I want the two of us to make resources disappear on paper."
Her eyes narrowed at that. "What's the catch?"
"How much do you know about Phoenix Contingency?" he asked her. The silence was the answer. "Ok, not so much. Phoenix Contingency is a secret even among high ranking Government and Parliament members. As its name suggests, it is a contingency that guarantees Humanity's continued existence in the eventuality of a wipe out event at the hands of extraterrestrials."
"Why would you keep that a secret if it is for our survival? Shouldn't we get as many people on it as possible if shit hits the fan?" she asked.
He shook his head. "The contingency is in effect for more than 20 years now. We have colonized a regular golden planet orbiting a regular star in someplace in this galaxy."
"And what if aliens do find this secret colony?"
"The planet is well hidden inside a dense nebula. It's undetectable from outside of the nebula. We were lucky that an AIC frigate found it by accident. The population is estimated somewhere at 47,000 individuals. And only dead people get to live there. Nobody asks questions about dead folks. Aliens can't learn about a place there is no widespread data about. The little data we have on the colony is stored on a high security server. The best way to keep something a secret is to make sure it doesn't exist," Harper explained.
"We've learned from the Prothean archives on Mars that they've been fighting a losing war against somebody. And where are the Protheans now? They're dead! Now we've met the Citadel Council who attacked us. You can understand why I want to expand Phoenix Contingency, include one more secret colony. And your long dreamt of expedition to Andromeda helps me divert the resources to build that second colony in secrecy while giving Humanity one more chance in another galaxy."
Jien was silent at that for a few moments. "Wouldn't the …I don't know, President argue that the resources would be better off bolstering the military to defend the Alliance?" she asked.
"I've seen the numbers and projections. Made some of myself. We can't sustain a buildup like we did in the period between the Insurrection and First Contact," Harper disagreed. "We already have 120 battleships, Spirit-Class or small variations of it. Then 800 brand new cruisers of the Ares-Class. Those are expensive to build without a war economy. We can no longer afford capital ships for a decade or two until our economy grows some more. The Reach-Class of fleet carriers was an extravagancy we barely afforded in the past decade. A second secret colony is a better bet in my opinion," he said and paused for some effect. "So, are you in on this?"
Jien Garson's answer would propel Humanity and a few other species into the Andromeda galaxy and further consolidate the chances of the species' survival.
Tuchanka, Clan Urdnot territory
Fireteam Viper
In the ruins of what once must have been a great city's district before nuclear war ravaged Tuchanka, Fireteam Viper was stalking what was a huge threat to Clan Urdnot – the only ones who were doing good work on the Krogan homeworld, and the only ones the Alliance thought of as a representing body of the species due to their work.
Lieutenant Logan Thorgin [2], an N7 Marine of Canadian and Scandinavian lineage, was behind cover, cover in the form of a ruined wall of the ancient city. His black T-Kev Mod S-N7 body armor helped him blend in with the surroundings since the buildings were shedding a dark shadow over his position. His three other team members were taking positions around their target. Logan was the close quarters specialist, medic and CO of the team.
"Viper Team, status!" he spoke into the radio.
"Viper One, this is Viper Two. I'm in position," the Slavic accented voice of First Sergeant Igor, team's communications, electronic warfare – fancy word for hacker – and engineer expert, came on the team's channel. He was ready to throw a demolition charge borrowed from Erwin at what his team presumed to be a Krogan wheeled tank destroyer parked in the middle of the ancient street, should their targets attempt to man it. Otherwise, orders were to capture it for intel search.
"This is Viper Four. Ready to blow heads off," reported the Greek woman, Gunnery Sergeant Hellas, Viper Team's designated markswoman and weapons sergeant. She had her preferred Designated Marksman Rifle – or DMR for short – the L40. From her vantage point on the terrace that overlooked the desolate street and the hostile group, her sights were placed on the Krogan she was able to identify as the leader of the group.
The L40 rifle is a semiautomatic scoped variant of the SCAR-DMR MA series – or Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle – Designated Marksman Rifle Magnetic Acceleration – the FN SCAR's modern evolution with magnetic acceleration for bullets. It entered service with the Alliance Armed Forces in 2140, thus the designation L40, and saw action throughout the Insurrection and subsequent small scale insurgencies after 2154. It fires the more powerful 9.5x65mm family of bullets at speeds of up to 7,000 meters/second – not as fast as the latest generation of sniper rifles manufactured by Accuracy International for the Alliance. A perfect pick for a deployment on Tuchanka where everything bigger than you was liable to kill you and eat you. The 16 round magazine held the hollow point armor piercing variant, as well as the pure armor piercing type of the 9.5mm.
"Viper Three is in position," reported First Sergeant Erwin, team's light machine gunner, explosives and demolitions specialist. His Minimi Mk II LMG was aimed at the group over a mound of rubble roughly 150 meters away from the spot.
The enemy? A group of 5 Krogans and 4 Turians in armor with no distinctive insignias. Definitely not Hierarchy Military, but trained Turians nonetheless if one judged how they carried themselves. The Alliance fighters sent by the SSV Kuznetsov to sweep the area detected some unusual activity inside Clan Urdnot's home turf. When the N7 team dispatched in a stealth Kodiak to investigate found them sneaking in with a heavy vehicle and what looked like either gas or explosive canisters, they were ordered to stop them. A military officer was about to touch down and open dialogue with the Urdnots.
"Gotta say, those Krogans sure look the tough and mean type," Igor commented on radio.
"Lieutenant! They're coupling those tanks to what looks like an old pipe system," Hellas reported. "Definitely poison gas!"
"They're trying to poison the heads of Clan Urdnot," the officer deduced the obvious. "Alright! Try to not hit those canisters. It'd be just as bad if it leaks into the air. Two and I will go in and secure the canisters. Three, open fire immediately after Hellas. Prioritize the Krogans. Start dropping them!" he ordered. 'Those Citadel bastards ain't killing Urdnot on my watch!'
Hellas fired her first round from the high ground. The centerfire primer was struck by the firing pin. In a matter of microseconds, the very small explosive compound contained in a separate chamber between the bullet and the electricity generator compound exploded and propelled the bullet at a slow speed forward through the barrel. In the same time, the electric compound reacted to the outside stimuli given by the firing pin and a chemical reaction that generated electricity took place in the main chamber of the cartridge. The electric current flowed through a few conductors mounted in the casing and into the weapon from where it was used to power up the magnetic accelerators that further accelerated the 9.5mm bullet to nearly 7,000 m/s muzzle velocity.
The hollow point armor piercing bullet covered the 400+ meters distance in roughly 0.05 seconds before it connected with the Krogan's head crest. It started to flatten as soon as it encountered heavy material resistance from the thick and sturdy bone that was the Krogans' crest. It pierced through and further flattened and shattered into pieces when it passed the bone and hit the brain. Multiple metal fragments reduced his brain to mush before stopping in his occipital bone equivalent.
The large Krogan didn't even register the moment he died. His body staggered backwards from the bullet's momentum and fell to the ground flat on its back. Just as his body hit the ground with orange blood cascading through the entry hole, the sonic boom of the bullet, the distinctive crack, was heard, immediately followed by the small firing sound made by the rifle.
As soon as she had fired, Hellas switched target and fired at another Krogan who had his neck pierced by the second hollow armor piercing point bullet that was in the magazine. The bullet's entry hole was pretty small, a hole of 9.5mm in diameter. The exit wound was enormous in contrast. The Krogan's spine was destroyed. If he didn't die from blood flooding his lungs and a cut artery, he will be reduced to a wheelchair. But life drained from his body and death claimed him soon after.
The others tried to get in cover and clear of the sniper's fire. Erwin opened fire with his LMG right from the side they were exposed from. A third Krogan's body armor was pierced by bullets. Then his skin, flesh and organs. He fell dead on his belly. The survivors were swift this time and returned fire on the LMG operator and forced him to duck his head into cover as the Turians seemed to be quite accurate.
A Turian put up a barrier around him and another comrade to shield them. Two others broke cover and rushed for the gas tanks. They were busted and needed to get the thing off before it was too late. They'd need to put up a biotic barrier when they got there to safely release the poison gas into the reconditioned water and ventilation of the ancient city. But Hellas was quick to catch them in her sights and she fired her third round, an armor piercing one. The bullet rushed through the air and found its mark on one Turian. It pierced his armor and exoskeleton at chest level, went through flesh, a rib and a lung, then exited the opposite side of his body clean before embedding itself into the ground. The Turian fell wounded with a pierced lung.
'Curious how bullets still pierce armor like that. They're falling like dead Humans,' Thorgin thought with curiosity and fascination. When he joined the Corps he thought that aliens would be advanced. He questioned the effectiveness of Humanity's firearms against possible shielding and such concepts. But the Terran Blitz proved him wrong. Alien body armor wasn't able to shrug off magnetically accelerated bullets. He even doubted they could withstand ammunition 100% reliant on gunpowder.
The Alliance T-Kev body armor was designed to stop a 7.62mm bullet. They also had personal shield generators but those were usually depleted in two or three bullet hits. It gave a soldier just enough time to dive for cover before recharging. They were based on shielding technology recovered from Prothean caches on Mars and Vestige. Unlike the Citadel races' kinetic barriers, Alliance shields were finer tuned to lower speeds and more energy consuming as a consequence.
The T-Kev Mod S-N7's outermost layer, beside the personal shields, was formed of light Titanium alloy and ceramic plates. Multiple segmented Titanium plates covered the torso, front and back of the legs, shoulders, and the arms. Ceramic plates were present only on the torso and upper legs. The second layer consisted in advanced Kevlar and other lightweight polymers to complement it. The third layer was the one that shielded the wearer from hostile environments. It was the black and isolating skin suit with extremely light protection against projectiles. The N7 armor without the shields was able to withstand a 9.5mm high power bullet. The most reinforced parts could stop a 12.7mm round that was hollow point type, if lucky to hit at an unfavorable angle and have a ricochet tendency. But the wearer would have to deal with the kinetic energy transferred to his/her body in the form of bruises and even broken bones.
By comparison, Turian / Asari / Salarian / Batarian / Krogan armor mostly relied on the kinetic barriers, enhanced by biotic barriers if the wearer has biotic training, to shrug off mass accelerated projectiles. The body armor itself was mostly lightweight metal alloys that could withstand some gunfire. A Turian Phaeston assault rifle could penetrate light and medium armor with its heavier projectiles, only the heavy armor offering viable protection against Turian assault rifle grade mass accelerators.
The key difference is that Citadel body armor was designed around tiny projectiles while Human body armor was designed around bullets that have a lot more mass and, thus, more kinetic energy than mass accelerator projectiles. T-Kev's greatest disadvantage was the fact that for every bullet stopped, a ceramic plate would always require replacement. While it is more expensive than Citadel body armor, T-Kev offers the best protection in the galaxy at the moment, with very little trade-off in the mobility department. It ultimately won over Hahne-Kedar's body armor which offered less protection in favor of mobility and lower production costs. Hahne-Kedar reoriented its product, modified it according to Alliance legislature to be sold to organizations other than the military, to private military contractors, security companies, law enforcement, etc.
The two surviving Krogans were firing on Hellas' position while the two Turians had Erwin pinned down. He randomly fired his Minimi in the direction of the enemy without peaking his head outside cover while preparing a flashbang grenade to help himself get out of there. No explosives, least you risked cracking the gas tanks. He threw the grenade into their direction just as a Krogan started to run toward the vehicle to man the turret.
Thorgin and Igor decided to take that as their moment to step in. The flashbang went off and disoriented their foes for a brief two seconds. Enough for the two to break cover and shoot the Krogan nearest to the vehicle. 7.62mm bullets fired from their M7H Lancer assault rifles embedded themselves in his body. Thorgin and Igor rushed the biotics.
'Must be Cabals or Blackwatch,' the CO of Fireteam Viper thought. He, like every N7, had been briefed on the Cabals and Blackwatch of the Turian Hierarchy based on intel received from the Quarians.
Now attacked from three different directions, the interlopers went down. Thorgin rushed the Turian who was putting up a barrier while he unloaded bullet after bullet at him just to break his defense. Igor pumped half a mag into the last Krogan to make sure he is dead. Hellas had wounded the second Turian who rushed the tanks in the legs. It was a madness of aliens crying in pain and gunfire. Somehow a biotic attack, maybe a Shockwave, blasted Erwin's cover and sent him flying a few meters backwards.
Thorgin punched the biotic Turian with his rifle's stock before grabbing him by the waist and bringing him down. The opponent struggled to break the hold and charged a Throw. Thorgin had his combat knife out and stabbed the Turian in his shoulder through the armor's joint and severed a nerve, for the Turian under him lost control over his member. The biotic power went off and threw Thorgin two meters behind while it severely injured the Turian.
"Damn pyjaks!" he cursed his attackers and he didn't move anymore.
"One prisoner less," Thorgin commented dryly.
"ALL CLEAR!" shouted Igor with his rifle aimed at the wounded Turians. They are easier to take as prisoner than Krogans. Hellas was still on high ground but she switched her spot. Erwin approached the scene with his LMG at the ready, his armor dirty from all the dirt that he was thrown into.
"Keep a watch on them, Erwin. We have a Kodiak inbound to evacuate the wounded and any intel we find. Igor, check that truck," Thorgin ordered as he moved from body to body, from wounded to wounded, and took pictures.
The Ukrainian man shouldered his rifle and checked the vehicle for any occupants waiting to ambush him. He found none. He relaxed and held the rifle pointing down. The inside of the vehicle looked very much like an oversized armored personnel carrier. He looked for anything worth taking – datapads, papers, video or audio tapes. He found none. Instead, under a seat, he found a small crate with a strange logo on it. It was made of some advanced alloys and it was tough as hell. He attempted to get it open but to no avail. His attempts made enough noise to get Thorgin's attention.
"The hell you doing there?" he asked as he entered the vehicle. He saw Igor holding a crate half the size of his chest.
"Found this," he said and put it down. "Looks important and wanted to open the little bastard."
The officer approached his subordinate and took a look at the box. He took and shook it a bit to see if there was anything inside. He heard nothing. Then he leaned a bit onto the box with his ear and shook it. There definitely was something precious inside judging by the faint shuffling sound.
"…ascend… mortality behind… join –scended…"
"What the FUCK!?" Thorgin shouted as he threw the crate into a large seat made for Krogans. Suddenly, his whole being wanted to get away from it. His instinct told him to either destroy the crate with its content or keep it as far as possible.
Igor was taken by surprise by his outburst. "What's wrong, LT?"
Thorgin recomposed himself in the blink of an eye. "You didn't hear it?" he asked Igor.
"Hear what, sir?"
"That thing," he said as he pointed a finger at the crate, "spoke! I heard that shit talk to me."
His subordinate looked with an incredulous expression at the lieutenant. "And what did it say?"
"Some bullshit I think. Mortality was the only word that made sense," Thorgin replied. "Take that shit and put it somewhere away. Get in touch with the Kuznetsov. I want a black box for that thing. Nobody else touches it until we get it into a black box. The spooks will want to take a look at that."
Citadel, Presidium
The Singing Maiden Bar
…
When Johnny comes marching home again
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
…
Wrex was literally smiling from ear to ear as he watched the Human delegation retreat back to their ship in the same parade-like march. He followed with great interest the welcoming ceremony and wasn't disappointed one bit.
…
The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
…
"I see you're taking a liking at them," Inira Kyala, owner of the bar, said as she sat on the opposite side of the counter. They were both watching the live broadcast, no music other than the Humans' march to entertain the patrons.
"How could I not?" Wrex asked. "They have the spirit and quad of a Krogan to pull something like this off."
"Sure. I see Turians and Krogans rolled into one here. With some Asari aesthetics."
…
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
…
"They won't back down from facing the big boys, I get that. But I don't see them too interested in your cause, Wrex," Inira remarked. "I mean… they don't particularly scream diplomatic and trustful towards aliens."
Wrex didn't take his eyes off the display. The reporters looked like their pride was hurt again if the comments were anything to go by. "You Asari all so full of yourselves?" he asked Inira, ignoring her previous remark. "Those pyjaks are losing their shit over 'the nerve of these newcomers'."
…
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.
…
"They're giving the galaxy the metaphoric middle finger," she said. "Of course the Asari aren't used to being ignored and threatened subtly like this after so many years of dominance. It's the natural reaction to something that's not sitting right with your views."
"About time somebody gave them all a piece of my mind," the battlemaster said. "No offense toward you," he completed before she delivered a biotic fist into his jaw. "At the very least they will be looking for friends against the Council if shove comes to push. Krogans are a hell of a friend in times of war."
"War will decimate your population."
"Yes, but the only war this galaxy has time for is the important one," he said and laughed bitterly. He knew now that he has good chances with the Alliance.
"When you going to meet them? You're going to lose your window of opportunity if you spend all your time drinking and eating here," Inira told him.
"Tomorrow."
Citadel, Presidium
Councilor Tevos' Office
Tevos and Irissa were in Tevos' office. After the Alliance and Quarian delegation retreated back to their ship with the parade block in tow, the soldiers singing yet another song of theirs, this time about somebody called Johnny returning home [1], the colleagues of the two Asari preferred to return to their quarters since there was too little to go over altogether.
Tevos sat on a couch, drinking one of the Thessian teas as she made a habit of it after work. But her work wasn't done yet. She felt uneasy with how the negotiations went. And tomorrow's forecast in the diplomatic arena wasn't along the lines of 'sunny with a few clouds here and there'. No, it was 'heavy rain, thunderstorm here and there'.
Irissa eyed the decorations in her colleague's office with anxiety. If she failed to secure a favorable position for the Asari Republics, the matriarchs of the Armali Council could easily end her political career and reduce her aspirations from Councilor to having a job at all.
"Sit down, Irissa," Tevos advised her. "Sit down and stop worrying about things that are out of our reach."
Irissa turned to face Tevos, the woman – or person if you want to be politically correct – standing between her and the job of Councilor. "How can you say that? We have nothing against them. No trump card. These Humans even left off when things became important only to leave us guessing and in doubt. They have every strong point at the negotiations."
"And we can't change that without risking reigniting the flames of war. The fire's still smoldering. We have to consider this long term," Tevos answered. "If we are kind to them now then they'll be encouraged to pursue further relations with the Citadel Council. Their wild behavior will be tamed in two or three decades," she said and sipped on her drink. "And not long afterwards, they will join our community. And they'll be under our thumbs, with their… dangerous technologies and all," Tevos finally concluded as she remembered their FTL and ion cannons.
"What of their AIs?" Irissa asked. "One will be here the next day. It'll try to convince us that we're wrong. They sure did throw off Fedorian, the man whose words can either bring peace to the galaxy, or throw it into a bloody war."
"I don't expect them to disable their AIs without incentive," Tevos commented.
"And the longer those AIs don't turn berserk against their creators, the more they show the Republics as being in the wrong about the Geth and Quarians. The Turians refused to get involved at the time and we had to play along, unearth all our warnings about AIs and then seal the fate of the Quarians. That incentive must come!" Irissa pointed out.
"And that incentive will come sometime in the future. Once they become signatories of some of the Citadel's Charters, SPECTREs will have authority in their space. An accident might happen… opinions changed…" Tevos explained casually.
"I hope you know what you're doing…"
"Please, Irissa. A galaxy like ours doesn't keep itself from tearing itself apart with gentle words alone. Sometimes the Republics' influence requires surgical operations to deal with those powers who aren't… friendly."
Irissa looked at Tevos, her face betraying the fact that she was reflecting on something. "Are the rumors true? Did SPECTRE Vasir blow that Quarian ship?"
Tevos nodded. "Then it was all a ploy of yours?" Irissa asked back.
Tevos shook her head. "Not all mine. I came with some of the ideas as soon as we traced back the fresh Eezo put on the market by the Elcor. The Armali Council provided the rest of the plan," she confessed.
"Then you talked Sparatus and Valern into dispatching the Turian ships to secure the Eezo, Vasir blew that Quarian vessel and it all escalated," Irissa completed. "The end goal? Besides sending a message and trying to reign in the Elcors' insubordination?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but the Hierarchy is losing some of its identity. It's facing an identity crisis. It might not look like it, but Fedorian's doing a good job of reigning in the senior officers who are looking for a challenge. He's calm and has only good intentions at heart. Starting wars unnecessarily isn't like him. But what of his successor? Will he pursue peace or look for a new challenge for his military?"
Irissa didn't know what to say at that. Tevos continued. "This stunt, coupled with some political maneuvering that'd make the Terminus Systems look like they're preparing something along with the Migrant Fleet, would have given the Turians enough of a challenge to move into the Traverse and into the Terminus border near the Veil."
Tevos gave her a few moments to link things to each other. "You wanted to expand the Council's territory into the Traverse and Terminus. For what reason would you and the Armali Council want to do that? Trigger a war with the Terminus? With the Geth?"
"Close, but not close enough," Tevos said. "I had it thought out. The Terminus wouldn't have put up much of a fight. Mild resistance by unorganized lawless forces with mostly outdated gear and ships. Again, enough of a challenge for the Turians, but not too much. As for the Geth, we don't expect them to move. They haven't left the Veil. Why would they leave now for a few organics fighting each other? And, the end goal, to secure Council space from the Batarians. They've been there for too long, the only ones to keep many of the Terminus warlords in check. This geopolitical context didn't give us opportunities to educate them properly. If we no longer depended on them as a stabilizing factor and no longer had to keep an eye out for the warlords under their thumb coming together against us, we would have secured the Traverse for us to expand into, secured the loyalty of independent colonies by freeing them of Batarian influence, and give the Turians a renewed spirit. And don't even get me started with the fledgling states between Illium and Omega."
"And it all backfired into our faces," Irissa commented with frustration. "Goddess damn it!" she cursed. "The Quarians decided to run away into the unknown instead of going into another Terminus system, and that's where everything went downhill."
"A most unfortunate change, but also a treasure waiting to be claimed," Tevos said. "The Asari have been the oldest and most influential race because of our unique biology, our technology and cultural and economic wealth. We won't allow the Quarians and some newly discovered race with advanced technologies to threaten our position. The longer they stay outside the Council's jurisdiction, the less respect our race commands."
Irissa seemed to think for a few seconds. "Very well. Tomorrow will either be another glorious day for us, or a political disaster."
Aurora, Marine Base 'Fort Basilone'
501st Marine Special Regiment Devil's Specials
Kei Leng grunted as he pulled his body up on the bar. He was exercising, doing tractions, in the midday sun of Aurora. He hit his 40th traction. The 5th Division's courtyard wasn't as vacant as one might think. While Williams' troops were quartered at Shanxi, their place in the base at Aurora was occupied by the decimated 501st Regiment and troops from other Marine and Army units. Particularly the 506th, 507th and 508th Regiments of the 6th Marine Division, and the 4th Battalion of the Army's 2nd Light Brigade, 56th Airmobile Infantry Division.
The Alliance massed a serious number of troops at Aurora in preparation for a major offensive into Turian space, had the ceasefire not been signed and negotiations initiated. Three Marine divisions and seven Army divisions were now stationed on Aurora, for a total of 150,000 fresh troops ready to depart at a moment's notice. The Reach-Cass Fleet Carrier SSV Eridani was in orbit of the colony with her accompanying battlegroup. Other battlegroups were present in system, totaling the number of warships, not including the troop carriers, to just over 450. A force powerful enough to smash its way through enemy ships and set ablaze entire worlds if Humanity deemed it necessary. The battleship Crimson Spirit had even received a NOVA bomb during the buildup.
Leng tried his best to get in at least 50 tractions, but it wasn't to be. He cursed and let go of the metallic support he used. His boots made contact with the pavement with a dull sound. He panted as he stretched his arms. The Lieutenant looked around him and only saw a handful of his fellow Marines of the 501st in the yard. He cursed the Turians for inflicting so many casualties, for taking the lives of so many comrades with whom he used to play football [3], with whom he used drink and laugh…
He lost two thirds of his own platoon. Many saw him as a hero. Not just for his daring raid and brave stands on Shanxi, but for the way he dealt with Tela Vasir and other Eclipse mercenaries he laid his hands on. Although the Alliance didn't exactly approve of his and Zaeed's way, they didn't make a fuss of it either. Perhaps Miranda and Harper had a few things to say in their favor for getting them a SPECTRE's omnitool. Although a living SPECTRE prisoner would have been a huge bonus.
"Lieutenant Kai Leng?" the Chinese man heard a male voice ask him. He turned his attention to the source of it – a man that looked like an Arab in Marine fatigues..
"Who's asking?" Leng asked.
"Nobody of importance," he replied
Leng walked up to him. The other troopers around didn't seem to pay them attention. He analyzed the man. He definitely didn't look the type that'd make it into the Marines or mainstay Army. Maybe militia and nothing more.
"You definitely not a Marine. So, what the hell do you want?" he asked. "Maybe some AIC shit? You wouldn't be the first one. Old man Massani had a run down with two spooks yesterday. What's your deal?"
"Quite the observer," the man said. "And you will find it necessary to masquerade as a Marine. Here," he handed him a paper envelope, "read this when you have some privacy."
Leng accepted the envelope and analyzed it. It didn't have any particular markings. A plain old simple paper envelope with a document inside. Leng raised his gaze only to see the courier melt into the Marines and make himself invisible to Leng's eyes.
He remembered what Zaeed told him yesterday evening – that two AIC spooks showed up and gave him a letter in an envelope, and that he was basically offered another job in a new mercenary company whose name he didn't bother to remember. There were rumors that the 501st had suffered too many casualties to replenish its ranks anytime soon with soldiers as vicious as the boys of the 501st. Marshal Ney wanted the 501st to retain its reputation due to it becoming a symbol of the Corps after Shanxi. Williams wanted his division back to full strength. Other Generals argued that the 501st should either be immediately consolidated or dissolved. His personal situation was still uncertain as some were still looking to try him for his summary execution of prisoners of war. Damn that Quarian, Kal Reegar, for reporting him to his superiors. The others involved had gotten away due to not being the ones to pull the trigger.
Leng was under the shade of a barrack. His feet carried him there while his mind thought of various things, among which the aforementioned. He opened the envelope to get to the document inside. It was a letter written by hand.
…
Lieutenant Kai Leng,
It has come to my attention that you're in a bit of a pinch, with the conflict that's raging between the brass of the Corps. On one side there's the good Marshal. On the other, the honorable fools as I and a good friend would put it. Not to mention the 501st's uncertain future. You and your men might be assigned to a boot camp and military intelligence, considering your experience in fighting the Turians.
To that extent, I have thought I might offer you a chance to leave all this scandal and uncertainty behind while still doing what you're sworn to – to defend Earth and Her Colonies. Her Colonies, to be exact. If we ever have to defend Earth itself then we did a miserable job. I'm extending you an invitation to join the Corsairs.
The Corsairs are a newly founded elite private military contractor organization. We only recruit experienced and trained men and women. With the door open to what I now dub the New Frontier, these men and women will be vital to Humanity's safety and expansion in a hostile galaxy.
Your position in the organization would be one of leader in the field. Your experience, record and will of steel are sufficient incentive for me to offer you such a role of importance. In addition, your parents will be taken good care of and you will be able to afford them a better life with the new salary.
Please consider this offer and seek my men at the following address within 7 days after receiving the letter: Aurora, Borealis City, Gologov Street, No. 8A.
Corsairs Operations Manager, Ben Hislop
…
Citadel, Presidium
Council Public Meeting
In the sight of the whole galaxy, in the large room that serves as the site for important events organized by the Council, the future of the galaxy was being decided by representatives of the belligerent sides of the Human – Council War.
Ambassadors of every race was attending. They were seated in the VIP section. The press was there too, dozens of drones with recording cameras were used to broadcast live the historic meeting. Simple observers were present as well. Those observers were mostly political enthusiasts and analysts in various fields. In the crowd was a red Krogan in his red armor. It was Urdnot Wrex, his entrance assured through his contacts on the Citadel. In his opinion, the Humans looked squishier than in the vid. And shorter. All except for James Vega, the giant of Fireteam Immortal. He stood at almost 2 meters tall in full armor, a height comparable to a Krogan. Alas, the bodyguards were ceremoniously staying behind a few meters, yet ready to bounce at a moment's notice.
The opening words were lost to most of the public because of Alan's presence in the room. Many eyes were still fixated on his body, one of the recent iteration of the civilian issue Universal Platform series. The robotic body was covered in formal civilian wear.
"Thank you for introducing me, mister President," Alan finally said and got the peoples' attention focused at the dialogue that was going on. "Esteemed Councilors, I represent the species Homo Artificialis, or the Smart AIs, part of Humanity and the Human Systems Alliance."
Valern gave a simple nod in acknowledgment. Linron didn't even budge, her disgust for the machine acknowledgeable. Irissa simply gave the fake smile Asari diplomats were trained for. Tevos mirrored her. Sparatus was looking like a threatened animal while Fedorian stood like a cliff – stoic and sharp.
"You identify yourself as a Human?" Tevos asked.
"Yes, I do," Alan replied.
"A machine, a tool, identifies itself as an organic," Linron said with animosity.
Montgomery and Koris were about to say something when Alan beat them to it. "A shame intelligence and common sense are indirectly proportional to each other, wouldn't you agree, Dalatrass?" he punched back.
"You insult me, you-"she wanted to argue.
"I think, therefore I exist," only to be cut off by Alan who was more and more comfortable. "First said by a man named Rene Descartes. Fantastic old man I dare say. A shame he lived 500 years ago," he continued. "I will gift you a book on him next time we meet. Maybe something from Nietzsche too."
Linron 'harumph'-ed at this. Some of the people from the sidelines gave a few laughs. The Alliance delegation recognized them mostly due to Asari laughing being very much like a Human's.
"You have to excuse the harsh reaction," Tevos stepped up. "The Council and its associates have had bad experiences with our own AIs in the past, thus the ban is justified."
"And by 'Council and its associates' you mean the Quarian people. Or am I misunderstanding history?" Rael asked.
"The Salarian Union has experimented with very advanced VIs turned AI, Ambassador. We have had our fair share of trouble with artificial creations," Valern clarified.
"And how did those incidents happen? What was the order of events?" Alan asked.
"Creation followed by containment. The intelligence has turned hostile in a short span of time. Unreasonable and had to be purged."
"Well, I would be more than hostile towards the one who imprisoned me," Goyle commented. "Next time… try a warmer approach and you will see how being a nice person can get you far."
"And the Protheans themselves left behind warnings regarding artificial intelligence," Tevos said. "Considering that, and our previous experiences with them, we have good reason to be reticent."
"Ah, again the Protheans…" Montgomery commented. Irissa looked at him with mild frustration. "Everything has to start and end with them…"
The Asari matriarch noticed the commotion that stirred among a group of Hanar and decided to pull for extra answers about yesterday. "If I remember, you've made your own archeological discoveries regarding them. Can you share more with us? Things like culture and society, history…"
Great silence fell again as everybody waited for an answer. The Prothean race is what basically created modern galactic society, with almost every species basing their technology and some cultural traits on the influences of these predecessors.
Alan simply used the small holographic projector integrated into his body and the shape of a creature came up. It was bipedal and had the common body shape or humanoids. Its head looked more like a diamond of chitin. Hands with three fingers each, legs with two each. Facial characteristics were exotic – four eyes and a mouth. It was the representation of a digital reconstruction of what a Prothean looked like, based on multiple discoveries on Vestige and the long dead VI found at the Mars installation.
"This is a Prothean," Alan said. "In case you didn't already know." He let it float in his palm two more seconds before cutting it off, much to the displeasure of the attendees. "But more shall be revealed after our governments formally conclude the peace."
"Of course," was Irissa's reply. She, Tevos and the whole of Armali Council feared what the Humans might have uncovered about the Protheans, for they seem to have found out quite some info. The beacon that resided in the Temple of Athame was the most guarded secret of the Republics. If they were able to somehow track down that one down, the implications were catastrophic.
"Should we pick up where we left yesterday?" Irissa asked.
"That would be most appropriate," Valern said.
"I think we left it at your usage of nuclear weapons," Linron said with an air of hostility. "If there's going to be a lasting peace between Humanity and the Citadel civilization you must deactivate your nuclear arsenal."
Montgomery shook his head. He wasn't one of those people who went crazy on nuclear weapons to arm themselves with those to the teeth, but he wasn't one of those stupid people who want to dismantle the entirety of Humanity's most powerful arsenal.
"I'm afraid that will never happen," he answered. The attendees on the sides were showing signs of disapproval to this answer.
"You must understand that our attitude and opinion are not unfounded," Tevos pushed the argument. "We've seen what they can do, the devastation it can leave behind for many years. The Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka is the most prominent reminder that comes to mind."
"We know how dangerous nukes can be," Montgomery said. "We used them in our history more than a few times." More than a few bodies stiffened. "Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Luxor are but three examples."
"And you pretend to be civilized when you're nuking yourselves?" Sparatus asked, more insulting than asking.
"You will have to excuse the Alliance for not deactivating their nuclear warheads at the request of a coalition that attacked them less than a month ago," Rael came to Montgomery's aid.
"Indeed," Fedorian chimed in. "But maybe we can reach a compromise. What if you stop producing said weapons? At the same time, it would be a gesture of good faith in the name of peace to include a term that forbids the use of weapons of mass destruction in warfare."
"Reasonable," Goyle said after thinking it for a second. "But we won't allow any inspections into our space. That would be a poor excuse for espionage."
Tevos and Linron were upset. They wanted a general decommission of the nuclear arsenal. But Fedorian made a step into the right way.
"You will be required to allow them the freedom to conduct inspections for the sake of peace, not espionage, as every government that signed the Citadel Charter did," Tevos said.
"That is assuming we're even considering being a part of your group," Montgomery said much to the shock of the Council and the public.
"Nobody refused to join the galactic community before," Irissa pointed out as she looked at the president and Koris.
Koris simply shrugged. "Do not assume that we will be making the mistake of signing the Citadel Charter again. After what you did to my people."
"We are not refusing to join the galactic community, we're simply refusing to give up considerable parts of our sovereignty to a loose coalition of alien governments who just recently attacked us," Goyle clarified. Murmurs could be heard from the public. "A coalition in which we'd have absolutely no representation. The Human Systems Alliance believes in equality and stands true to its traditions and ideals. Something the Citadel Council refuses to do when it does not suit them."
"You accuse us of-" Sparatus started out but Montgomery started his tirade as well.
"It's not accusing but a restatement of the facts-"
"-not doing our jobs, you newcomers-"
"-facts that have spoken for themselves and showed the galaxy the empty promises this Council makes-"
"-you know nothing of the galaxy and what the Council has to do to keep-"
"-to its members- keep what? The Council on top and everybody else below it?"
"You think you can stroll in here and point fingers at us based on lies spat out by thieves, vagrants and pariahs!?"
"Those pariahs and thieves have more spine than the lot of the whole damn Council! Keep it civil, councilor," Montgomery warned with a finger pointed in Sparatus' direction. The public were shouting now as well. Guards and bodyguards were getting tense by the moment.
"Silence please!" Tevos' soothing voice filled the grand chamber. "We want to achieve lasting peace today, not threaten each other."
"And I won't start about the demanded genocide of me and my kin if the Alliance were to join the Citadel," Alan commented.
"Humph!" somebody from the public audibly scoffed.
"Should we understand that Humanity does not want to be, by any means, part of the Citadel?" Valern asked.
The three members and representatives of the Systems Alliance looked between each other for a moment before speaking.
"We would like to be part of it. But not as it currently stands," Goyle started. "The Citadel Council does not look after its members and their interests. It is looking out only after their own interests. Then we would be forced to kill 3.4% of our population. Reduce our military, subject ourselves to the threat of slaver attacks – attacks this Council doesn't properly respond to."
"It is the opinion of both the Alliance-" Montgomery said.
"-and the Quarian Republic," Koris picked up, "that the Citadel Council in its current form is too corrupt to present itself as a trustworthy partner when it comes to more… intimate relations between our states."
This declaration caused more uproar in the public. The six diplomats were in an uproar as well, just that theirs wasn't exteriorizing. The few present Elcor were agreeing. The Asari and Salarians were mostly disagreeing. The Turians were split, half were agreeing and half were disagreeing. It was mostly those Turians who were seeing the Council as too much of a negative influence on the Hierarchy and honorable 'crusades' in general, like say punishing the lawless in the Traverse and Terminus. Or bringing the Hegemony under heel for their numerous transgressions against the Turian people.
"This is an outrage!" Linron almost shouted.
"The truth can be outrageous," Alan commented.
Valern stepped in before a second shouting contest could begin. "I think we get the idea. And maybe understand how biased opinions could make you thing that way."
"A conclusion we came to after reviewing galactic history from both Quarian and Citadel sources. The only thing your little crusade achieved was to kill people on both sides and consolidate our opinion," the president commented. "The Treaty of Farixen would cripple our defensive capabilities. We need our fleets to defend ourselves from Batarian slavers and God knows what else is out there. By becoming signatories of this treaty we would be unable to defend our people and you sure as all hell wouldn't lift a finger to help us, as history has proven. You're not even helping your own people when they are abducted."
"The Batarian Hegemony does not sponsor the slaver gangs. Also, slavery is part of their cultural heritage. The Citadel does not encroach on the species' cultures," Tevos pointed out.
"Slavery is like any business – if there's a request for it, then there is an offer. And the only slave owners I know of in this galaxy at the current date are the Batarians of high caste," Montgomery further pointed out. He didn't mention the 'formal' slavery that was running on Illium because the Alliance wanted to trade with that commerce hub. At least those people weren't put in chains, were given three meals a day and a place to live. The unluckiest of the galaxy tended to live there because of that.
"That treaty is what helps keep peace in the galaxy. Without it there would be a general arms race and soon conflicts will erupt in every corner of civilized space," Fedorian stated.
"By making sure the three biggest shots around here have the most dreadnoughts and largest fleets to scare the other races into submission? Like the Eezo incident that involved the Elcor not too long ago? No, thank you, Primarch," Goyle threw back.
"Why did you even build so many ships in 100 years of spacefaring?" Irissa asked. "Most species don't get to build the numbers to upset the Treaty of Farixen in a century."
"We are not most species. And because we anticipated armed conflict – although on a much more brutal and larger scale than our war – with another alien race," Alan clarified.
"Hmph! And you said AIs are peaceful," the Dalatrass said.
"Better safe than sorry. Would you not agree, Dalatrass?" Alan said. "Or have you forgotten the Rachni Wars and the Krogan Rebellions already?" Linron looked like she was about to smack him. "Humanity feared what would find among the stars many years before we landed on our own moon. Evolution shows that you adapt or you die. You stay on top or another predator eats you. When it comes to us… every – and I mean every – alternative to extinction is preferable."
"A sentiment my people can relate to all too well," Fedorian said. "The Rebellions were our darkest hour. But one must be careful… so as to not unwillingly cross a fine line with this attitude."
"One more important thing we must clear is the jurisdiction of the SPECTREs," Koris said. "While the Quarian Republic and the Systems Alliance are not signatories of the Citadel Charter, then the SPECTREs have no jurisdiction in our space. If you want to catch a dangerous person then they will need to work with our state's law enforcement organizations and obey our laws while in our space."
"Indeed," Goyle said. "Any SPECTRE found in Human space without a special permit will be arrested and shot as a spy and saboteur. If they must track somebody they must work with Alliance Intelligence, Alliance Bureau of Investigations & Security, and local law enforcement."
There goes the Asaris' plan of using the SPECTREs as they please to instigate anti AI sentiments. With a heavy heart, the Council accepted that term. Sparatus was fuming and felt betrayed by his own Primarch for going so much against the Council in the past. But to take a liking to the Humans?
"That only leaves the matter of the Human Alliance deploying warships in the Aralakh System and forcing out the peacekeeping fleet," Irissa said.
"I think this one concerns me and my people too!" a loud and rough voice shouted from the public stands. The diplomats turned their attention to see a big Krogan in red armor leaning against the railing. His scarred face was hard as stone, and his eyes carried pride and determination.
PHOENIX CONTINGENCY
Phoenix Contingency is a plan set in motion by several high ranking Alliance military officials shortly after the Insurrection concluded. When an AIC stealth frigate in search of rebel bases entered hyperspace from an area of space rich in dark energy due to Eezo, it experienced an FTL drive overload and the crew performed an immediate transition into real space. They jumped inside a dense nebula a few light years from a solar system with a habitable planet.
The discovery was kept secret at the time by the AIC and the military. What was originally thought of as a secret military base turned into a secret colony after the president at the time expressed his concerns regarding the possibility of encountering advanced hostile alien life. The continuation of the species took precedence and absolute secrecy was maintained on the subject.
The population is formed of people who are officially reported as missing or deceased. The planet was named Circumstance. Communications between Circumstance and the rest of Alliance planets are almost nonexistent, with the AIC ships or the Ghost Fleet mostly delivering news to the isolated colony or to the Alliance.
By the start of the Reaper War the Alliance had a second colony, Remembrance – a habitable moon orbiting a gas giant the size of Saturn, integrated into Phoenix Contingency with the help of AIC Director Jack Harper and the founder of the Andromeda Initiative Jien Garson.
[1] When Johnny Comes Marching Home – another song of the American Civil War. Do keep in mind that back when the song was written, gay meant joyous/happy. It earned its wider known meaning of homosexual in the 20th century.
[2] An OC provided by SPARTAN-626. I took the liberty to alter him a bit for the sake of the story. Thank you SPARTAN-626 for the OC. By the way, I don't take anymore OC submissions since only Alex and the members of Fireteam Viper will appear throughout the story. The rest will be generic characters most likely, or episodic characters.
[3] As in soccer, yer goddarn yanks!
NOTE2: So, thanks for reading this chapter as well! I have one thing to say before we go. SPARTAN-626's friend is looking for people to help him for a project cooperation, a fanfic related to WH40K. If you're interested then give him a message. The least I can do is give a shout out to help him find the help he needs after SPARTAN-626 PMed me asking me if I can help his buddy.
NOTE3: I don't want my author notes section to turn into a regular advertisement spot so please don't ask me to give regular shout outs. I will recommend from time to time stories I really love and think you might like them as well. Or help a fellow writer find cooperation partners and the likes. Thank you for your understanding.
NOTE4: Negotiations are kind of done with. But I shall reveal what transpired there in the last scene in upcoming chapters :D thank you for reading!
NOTE5: Next chapter: Accounts of the Terran Blitz – this will be a shorter than usual one. I started work on it two weeks ago in parallel to this one. Please let me know what you think of Ch 15 in reviews or PMs. Feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps me perfect my writing and gives me ideas I can develop for your entertainment.