NOTE1: Hello, everyone! I know, I promised ILLIUM FREEDOM, but I am stagnating severely on that chapter. I've written 20 pages in six hours and since then… it is lie I have lost my inspiration for it. Please let me know after you review or through PM how you'd prefer it to come out. I initially wanted to post ILLIUM FREEDOM and one week after it Pax Humana II. But I really feel like I'm keeping you waiting without justification and I want to bring a new update to you, folks. I've written this chapter in parallel to ILLIUM FREEDOM and it is supposed to be in continuation. I hope you won't hate me for this stunt. I prefer to keep working on ILLIUM FREEDOM instead of bringing out a shit chapter. Hell, I've been preparing detailed galaxy maps and maps for battles that will come (including the raid on Illium) on the sidelines of writing.

Chapter 26: Pax Humana II

The shift in the balance of galactic powers brought by the emergence of Humanity is undeniable. So is the massive change in naval military doctrine brought about by a ship unique to the species: the aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier, as employed by the Systems Alliance, is a capital class warship that serves as mobile base for fighter and strike aircraft, and gunships. No spinal mounted weapons have been spotted. Assuming that much space was dedicated for fitting and servicing aircraft. Turrets have been observed, missile pods launching munitions against Asari ships. Armor presumed heavy.

Two types of aircraft carriers have been observed so far: Parnitha raid carrier (2,500 meters length – confirmed as an Olympus-class) and the Magna carrier (3,700 meters length – confirmed as a Reach-class). The carrier spotted during the raid on Parnitha and in the engagements along the Asari Frontier Colonies was able to deploy 350+ fighters and bombers at the same time. Aircraft deduced to be the main offensive and defensive capability of aircraft carrier. Thoroughly defeated two Republics dreadnoughts – Thessia Ascendant destroyed and Zaria Dora crippled.

Conclusion: modern dreadnoughts have insufficient antiaircraft capabilities when engaging Human aircraft carriers. Efficient coordination between squadrons and warships quickly overruns GARDIAN grid with ship-based missiles, opening the defenses to precise, surgical strikes by bombers. Missile warheads launched by bombers are very potent, standard armor cannot withstand direct hits. Dreadnought armor offers better protection, but subtle to mass volleys of missiles that can, and will, tear a whole broadside's belt apart, destroy internal systems, and incapacitate the vessel.

RE: Post battle analysis of the raid on Torfan confirms the same tactic was used – bomber waves took by surprise main pirate force and inflicted overwhelming casualties. Post battle debris analysis confirms the use of the same munitions used during the raid on Parnitha. The aircraft carrier's tactical applications outweigh the disadvantages. Unorthodox design, but very successful. Sources in Turian Hierarchy confirm that Primarch Fedorian issued orders for the construction of the first Turian aircraft carrier. Considering current political climate, suggest Salarian Union starts work on own aircraft carrier project.

(STG brief resume on Systems Alliance carriers after the analysis of SSV Kuznetsov's attack on the Republics dreadnoughts Thessia Ascendant and Zaria Dora, revision after Operation PAYBACK, compiled for the Dalatrass Council)

Have you ever wondered how it is like to have your plan blow in your face? No? You should ask Tevos Belsari and her acquaintances. […]

(Atelas Razea, former Admiral of Unified Fleet Command, General of the Galactic Foreign Legion, current military dictator of the United Asari Republics, Interbellum: Politics of the Galaxy)

Aurora, Marine Base 'Fort Basilone'

Medical center

Atelas Razea could not believe what she was reading. She held the datapad with her left hand, the index finger of her right hand shaking sheepishly as she scrolled down.

"TRAITOR ATELAS RAZEA, FORMER ADMIRAL OF UNIFIED FLEET, KILLED BY HUMANS" the title of the news report stated. She didn't know how the article made it in the list of suggestions, but that question wasn't a priority right now. She wouldn't find out the answer to that either way, it was the AIC who subtly pushed the news to her. Harper never slept. He continuously tried to turn every bad situation into a gain. And this was what he was doing with Atelas right now.

"Atelas Razea, traitor to the Asari military and her species, was found dead in her temporary apartment on the Human colony of Shanxi in the aftermath of a hostage crisis, according to official statements from the Human embassy on the Citadel," she read the firstparagraph.

She continued with the second paragraph. "After she was stripped of her rank and left the military when she was found guilty of treason and incompetence in the line of duty, Razea defected to the Humans. We also have sources who corroborate to the fact that she had a hand to play in the raid on Illium, though only in giving up valuable information in exchange for a position of privilege and wealth in Human society," she stopped. She felt pressure in her chest, rising to her throat. A distinctive pressure called anger. "Though it seems the same Humans decided to discard her. She was shot dead by Alliance armed men during the hostage rescue on Shanxi, at the Fenli resort. This was an order from the Human leadership to discard of her in a convenient manner and then put the blame on aliens as the perpetrators. When asked what she thinks of the outcome, Matriarch Thanisava, the same flag officer that pronounced Razea's verdict after the trial, had this to say: «We should have foreseen the outcome. A traitor sees a traitor's end. May she find peace in the embrace of the Goddess.» The same feeling resonates within some of the populace […] Thessia has forsaken the condemned and dishonored renegade."

Razea raised her fist and brought it down on the metal nightstand with biotic force. The dull grey, metallic nightstand had a dent in it where her fist rested. She clenched her teeth as the blow was so hard that her fist hurt. She couldn't help herself as she lost the fight with the pain. A cry of pain escaped her mouth.

The door guard busts into her hospital room, pistol at the ready. "What happened here?" he inquired.

Atelas threw the datapad on the bed. Her breathing was heavy. She was trying to subside the anger that swell in her as she read the article published by the Asari news website The Observer, one of the largest mass media posts in the Republics and the galaxy.

"Are you alright?" he spoke again.

She stood up from the chair. Her hand was hurting. "I want to talk with your superior," she simply told him. "Please call him here."

Her guard gently closed the door behind him. He stayed in the room with her. He activated his radio with a gentle tap and spoke into the microphone. "Boss, the VIP wants to talk to you. She's pissed off."

The guard looked at Atelas. She was looking at him. Her breathing had calmed down. The dangerous presence was overcome by a calm mood in the room.

"What is it about?" the guard's radio cracked to life in his headset.

"Don't know. She wants to talk to you. Seems important."

Atelas turned her back to the guard, her blue eyes gazing outside the window.

"I'll be there in five minutes," the person she called for stated.

Atelas looked at the barracks and most of the expansive military base down below. Fort Basilone was big. It was one of the largest bases of the Marine Corps in the colonies. Even in peace time, Atelas could not help but tell herself that the amount of activity here is not reason to be concerned. 500,000 Marines were garrisoned here. It was larger than any military base in the Republics since the days of the Krogan Rebellions and Rachni Wars.

'The Republics will be steamrolled if they decide to go against us with no restraints,' she thought. She mentally scolded herself. She referred to the Republics as 'us' while it was obvious that it was no longer the case. There was her and there were the Republics. 'Maybe Aethyta was right. Maybe we did get too complacent, ready to be pounced upon by a well prepared enemy. The Asari forgot how to fight.'

In her opinion, her people somehow got it into their heads that they can maneuver their way around every problem. They thought that they can get somebody else to solve every issue that arises. It happened when they sent the Krogans forward against the Rachni. And then it was the Turians who were sent against the Krogans. Who were they going to send now against the Humans? The Turians? Fedorian was turning his back to them. No, if the Asari are to be able to fully stand on their own two feet, then they need to become a harder people.

'Those old crones did this to us,' she thought. It wasn't entirely false – the elites did minimize military growth and subjugated the Republics into a false democracy. They were like an octopus whose tentacles covered every major component of Asari society. They owned the judiciary branches through loyal judges. They owned Unified Fleet Command through flag officers who were their own peers. They owned the executive through loyal lieutenants in every colony. They owned the mass media with their wealth. They owned the public opinion through mass media. And it's hard for the average citizen to think otherwise when every TV station and website and radio post is telling the same thing every time.

Through democratic means, they subjugated the Asari Republics under their thumbs. And every person who realized what's going on and who decides to make a stand against the elite gets bashed and discredited by the ruling matriarchy through the subservient mass media. Aethyta had experienced that strategy first hand. Now Atelas was experiencing it. In perspective, the Asari elites are employing the same strategy used by Humans when their own national regimes turned democracy into communism, oligarchy or autocracies. Or even criminal ruled states where those in power, who had sentences for crimes committed under communist regimes they served or fiscal evasion, lie and manipulate their way into a solid regime. She was seeing the very same patterns in both species: the rule of principles was killed through democratic and constitutional processes, permeating regimes the people are against. It's what Earth's nations had to deal with in the 20th and 21st centuries quite often. It's what brought the great change on Earth in the 2020s when these regimes fell like flies under popular revolts.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" she heard the question carried by the voice of the AIC agent charged with her protection and oversight. She turned around to see the man closing the door behind him.

Atelas pointed at the datapad that was now resting on the bed. "Did you know anything about that?"

The AIC agent looked to the datapad that was resting on the hospital bed. He spared Atelas another look. She was waiting for him to pick the datapad up. So that's what he did. He unlocked it from standby mode and the screen lit up with the article she was reading.

"That's what they say about me now that they think me dead?…"

The agent didn't know if that was a question or a statement. "So, the news made it to you on more… unofficial channels," he said, leaving out the part where the AIC pushed the news into her news feed.

"That's what they're pushing onto the masses about me? After I died?"

"It's for your safety," the agent clarified. "We have more and more clues pointing at the Council for the foiled attempt on your life. They'll go easy if we tell them you're dead."

"Those old treacherous crones! They didn't have the courage to tell that to my face!?" she demanded, fury in her voice. "THEY CAST ME OUT! THEY TAKE EVERYTHING I HAVE! AND NOW THEY SLANDER ME EVEN IN DEATH!" she raged. She sighed heavily. "What the hell is there even left for me to do? My own kin has forsaken me, taken in by a species who waged war on mine and that I don't know too much about…"

The AIC agent put the datapad back on the bed. His eyes fell on the Asari matron as he began pacing. "You know, this reminds me of a similar incident in our history. Well… not really similar, it has similarities, but you'll understand."

"What is it about?"

"Some 300 years ago there was a man named Alfred Nobel. He was a smart man, a businessman and an inventor. He's known for inventing what we call dynamite. It's an explosive. Among others, he was the owner of Bofors, a company specialized in producing cannons and other armaments. You know, Bofors is still kicking, they designed some of the AA cannons that shot down Citadel ships in the brief war," he felt the need to point out, much to Atelas' ire. "One day, in an accident, his brother died in an explosion. The press at the time misreported Alfred as the casualty," he gave the brief rundown of the events.

"And?"

"And the press labeled him as the merchant of death, they condemned him for profiting from the sales of arms. Of course, Alfred was aware of this soon."

"And? What did he do after?" she inquired.

"In his testament, he left his fortune to the establishment of the Nobel Prizes," he said.

"Nobel Prizes?"

"Awarded for outstanding contributions to Humanity in scientific, academic or cultural advances," he replied. "He saw what the world thought of him and he decided to make a change. He had the rare chance to actually learn what the world thought of him. You have that chance right now. It's quite the insight and you have the privilege… well, privilege is a bit stretched. But you understand the idea. Now. The question stands – what will you do now in light of it?" [1]

Atelas looked at the agent with thoughtful eyes. She recapped what she knew before deciding on a course of action.

"Leave things be? Or do something about it?" the Human pressed.

"I will do something about it," she voiced her decision. "This I swear!"

Attican Traverse, Torfan

Primary underground complex

The smell of death was in the air. It was putrid already. Kirrahe could not tolerate the smell and put his helmet back on. It will filter automatically the smell and give him tolerable air to breathe. One more thing all sapient species, and thousands non sapient, share is the instant repulsion to the smell of death, of rotten flesh. It was ingrained in every individual by evolution as a means to avoid consuming meat that will cause you a lot of problems. That horrible smell was the barrier evolution came up with – make you dislike the smell so much you wouldn't even entertain the thought of eating it. The main corridor he's walking down on right now with his omnitool recording everything is full of decaying corpses. A continuous line of corpses.

'They have lined them up and shot them,' he concluded. Kirrahe approached the body of a Batarian to briefly examine it. He was at rest, as if sitting down on grass, in the sun. Just that his head was slumped down. A large hole denoted the exit wound of the bullet he was killed with. He was shot from a meter away at best. He then glanced to the left. A Turian in the same posture. He was shot between the eyes.

The flesh beneath his exoskeleton was rotting, just like the corpses of everyone else killed by the Humans. Kirrahe took an extra moment to analyze the cadaver. The flesh was bloating and it was turning a dark color. He poked the neck with his knife and almost regrets it, as the knife's point punctures the neck skin and body fluids from the decomposing cells spill out. They'd been dead for days.

"Has any team discovered anything? A survivor?" Kirrahe inquired on the radio.

"Negative. We have discovered three warehouses with an estimate of 250 shot pirates and mercenaries," one of his subordinate team leaders reported.

"The other, secondary installations? Anything useful?"

"Negative. Demolished with low yield nuclear weapons. Place is extremely radioactive. Dirtiest nuclear bombs since the Krogan Rebellions. Extremely hazardous to approach even in protective equipment," another subordinate officer informed him.

"Abort investigation of secondary underground installations," Kirrahe ordered. "Collect soil samples and conduct scans from safe distance."

"Understood."

'Not only did they leave the dead where they were killed, to rot in plain sight, but they made sure to destroy the other installations. They are not claimable,' Kirrahe concluded in his mind. What the Alliance effectively did was that they rendered Torfan completely inoperable. They nuked with what is called dirty nukes the secondary installations, thus destroying them and leaving behind deadly radiation in large amounts to make it impossible to rebuild the installations without severe radiological hazards to the reclaimers and subsequent occupiers. Then, it was the primary underground complex. It was filled with the signs of battle and with the rotting corpses of thousands of pirates. 'They rounded them up and shot every single one of them.'

Kirrahe stood up from his crouched position. There was nothing here worth investigating. The Humans left nothing behind. Or so he thought until his omnitool pinged with a message.

"Captain, we have found something," he heard on the radio. "I've sent an image."

"Message received," he confirmed as he opened his omnitool's inbox. A picture indeed. And what a gruesome scenery it depicted. Kirrahe was not sure if it was made with red paint or Batarian blood, though he guessed it to be the former. In red, on the wall of the central command room, the words GOLD IN PEACE, STEEL IN WAR were written. Below the motto he had heard during negotiations, last time from Ambassador Anita Goyle at the Citadel after the raid on Illium, was a follow up message. It read: WE ARE TERRA'S RUTHLESS SONS – OUR WRATH FIERY LIKE A THOUSAND SUNS.

"Attach it to mission report," Kirrahe simply ordered.

Serpent Nebula, Citadel

Presidium, Councilor Valern's office

"Are you confident that the report is a hundred percent accurate, Commander?" Valern inquired from Jonis, Commander in the Special Tasks Group of the Salarian Union.

"Yes, councilor. I checked it with the analysts and we've run a dozen simulations. Captain Kirrahe's conclusions are not wrong," Jonis said on vidcom.

Valern rested his chin on his palm as Jonis' eyes never left him. He considered the implications of the conclusion before he voiced them. "The Turians did help the Alliance. Gave them layouts and plans they had on Torfan. Truly, there was no other way for them to so expertly assault it."

Valern was aware that the Alliance, like the Citadel governments, employs extensive virtual reality and augmented reality to train its troops. To assault Torfan the way they did showed that they had the plans of the installations, trained their soldiers in them, and, with no warning for the pirates, obliterated them before they mounted up a decent defense. Unlike the Turians who would have been detected approaching Torfan as soon as they left Hierarchy space, the Humans were unpredictable in that sense.

"Flavian Castis Vakarian visited the Humans at their embassy. Direct advisor to Primarch Fedorian. Confident the Primarch gave the order," Jonis completed.

The Hierarchy gave the Alliance the intel they had on Torfan. Hierarchy Intelligence was able to obtain the plans of the underground installations built by the pirates and mercenaries along the years. STG had them too. Furthermore, the Turian fleet dispatched in the Skyllian Verge to prevent another war from breaking out had assisted to everything the Alliance was doing. And, according to the terms deliberated by Goyle and Jath'Amon, as soon as the Batarian warships arrived at the border the Alliance warships that had trespassed departed. Turian warships patrolled the area in agreement with the three way agreement that included Ambassador Quentius.

"Furthermore, this totally nullifies the hypothesis that the Turians planned the war with the Humans and all the events to weaken the Council. To use pirates and open the border defenses through the Humans to justify Turian expansion in the detriment of the Union or other states," Commander Jonis added. "I suspect they know that the Batarians are not behind the Verge attacks."

"Foolish not to know," Valern stated. "Advised Dalatrass Linron not to underestimate Hierarchy Intelligence and Fedorian's political abilities," he spoke in the same quick manner Salarians are known for. Not every Primarch was easy to manipulate. Most have been kept happy and malleable by the Council with various short term concessions to their military or with some token raids on small outlaw bands. And then there are those like Fedorian, Tyraeus and Hortenraka. "Only widens the divide between Council and Hierarchy. Dalatrass notified of findings?"

"Negative. Will forward later. Military command not happy with political management of situation," Jonis replied.

"Must minimize damage. Eliminate evidence of any Asari or Salarian involvement in the attack on the Humans," Valern instructed. "Heretical to even entertain the thought, but Dalatrass Linron not up to the challenge. Dispatch orders before informing her. Act before she orders anything."

Dalatrasses were never popular with the military commanders of their species since the conclusion of the Krogan Rebellions. Commanding officers came to question their abilities to make decisions that could have repercussions on them in terms of armed reprisal or ordering covert operations that would put the Union in danger. The military commanders wanted to get involved in the Terminus Insurgencies much more actively than simply being an intelligence gathering entity in the war effort. They could have turned the tide significantly and put an end to the Terminus threat sometime earlier and open the Traverse for Salarian colonization around the galactic core. But the dalatrasses of the time thought it would only open a free estate land grab for the Quarians who would have benefitted the most of it. At the time, it was the Quarians who had a direct border with the Terminus on that side of the galaxy.

Theoretically, the Asari had a border with the Terminus as well, but their side of the galaxy was a much more complicated picture. First, there were the outlaw bands in the Nemean Abyss that actively resisted the Council and the Asari did not have the mindset to dislodge them by force from the area. And any punitive Asari military expeditions would trigger a Terminus coalition and start a war they didn't want. Additionally, there were many Krogans who fled to the Terminus in the aftermath of the Rebellions and continued their war from there.

Then there were the Fledgling States, an alliance of independent colonies established in the space delimited by the Shrike Abyssal cluster, Crescent Nebula, and the Ismar Frontier. They would oppose any land grab the Council might attempt simply because they know they'll fall under their thumbs if the Citadel's influence extends that far out. Though initially established in the wake of the great exploratory phase of the galaxy when everybody founded its own colony, they would grow to prominence during the great wars of the galaxy.

At first, a few dozen scattered independent colonies with a population in the tens of thousands at most, they'll see a spike in population during the Rachni War as fleeing Asari and Salarian refugees settle there. Being out of the way and of no strategic significance to either side in the war, they were the perfect hideout from the war torn space that extended from the current Asari – Terminus border to Anhur on the Asari theater, and from the Salarian theater which was the Attican Traverse: Hawking Eta, Caleston Rift, Ninmah Cluster, Styx Theta to the Badlands – a large strip of space which once was part of the Salarian Union whose planets were reduced to the limit of habitability during the fierce fighting.

The Badlands first suffered in the initial Rachni offensive. The Salarians and the Asari, with military forces from other allied races, fought the Rachni to a standstill on the planets there. It was the space version of World War One – a static war of attrition and heavy bombardments that destroyed the planets. Once the Krogan were uplifted, their counterattack that sought to exterminate the occupying Rachni inflicted severe damage on the ecosystems with their massive bombardments and nuclear strikes. Unlike the Asari theatre where the front line was dynamic and the status quo was maintained by the superior naval Asari technology over the Rachni, in the Badlands it was constant shelling and ground attrition warfare. And the Citadel was losing.

The next increase in population for the Fledgling States came during the Krogan Rebellions when many fled from the planets closest to the front and sought refuge. By this time, the independent colonies adopted the galactic moniker of Fledgling States for their alliance. The independent colonies were active participants in the war against the Krogan menace under their own common front. Then, the last spike in population growth came with the Terminus Insurgencies and from migrating Turians who didn't necessarily hold the Hierarchy in high regards. Today, the Fledgling States are comparable to the Illuminated Primacy and the Courts of Dekuuna combined in military might, and they are a stable trade partner of both the Citadel and the Terminus.

So, like the Asari, the dalatrasses of the Salarian people prefer the lengthy methods that could not produce any sort of satisfactory result, that can set a dangerous precedence, that can explode in their collective faces. All of it in the detriment of more direct methods the military commanders propose, methods which they'll take some flak for, but will be a direct approach. They hide behind the military only when they think shit is about to hit the fan big time. True, a military direct intervention, even with the STG softening the enemy, can turn into a prolonged campaign of harassment and insurgency like the Turians and Quarians witnessed in the Terminus Insurgencies. But if swift and decisive, they can eliminate the head and the body will collapse.

"Official position on the Human attack?" Jonis inquired.

Valern looked at Jonis as if asking 'Is it not obvious?'. But there was more behind the query posed by Jonis. The STG officer is one of those who want to separate the military from the political, reform the system that gives the dalatrass supreme authority in their society. Though their importance is paramount for the Salarian race due to how female Salarians are conceived, they grew with the attitude that everybody should serve their will. It's like a whole race built on feudal principles. And Jonis was trying to tell Valern that if he chose to take an unorthodox stance, the reformist part of the Salarian military will be with him. If is the key word here.

"Pirates are pirates. Outside of the law. Torfan neutral territory. No justifiable repercussion from the Salarian Union in the Council," Valern replied. He too had taken a side.

"Dalatrass Linron will not be pleased," the other man was quick to point out. "Will still impose sanctions with the Asari."

"Will have no effect on Humans and will only push the Turians at them. Risk of losing position high. Recent conference not pleasant either. Unpleasant situation," he said. "What of the investigation on the Citadel? News to report?"

Jonis tilted his head. "Turians obviously active. Team I delegated to monitor events has not been approached by their agents."

'Why would they?' Valern asked himself. 'Trust between the Hierarchy and us is at its lowest since Hortenraka's death. I wouldn't instruct my agents to possibly risk themselves so conveniently if I were Fedorian.'

"Even if SPECTRE Jondum Bau was approached, he wouldn't have any significant participation, merely something that would keep him away from the important matters. A shame the Primarch won't trust us. But understandable," he said. "He can't hide anymore, though."

"Why not?" Jonis inquired.

"Asari suspect something is going on, public suspects something is going on. Too many shootings in the wards," Valern said. "Too much attention. Even blood samples that lead to a Hierarchy Intelligence agent."

Jonis seemed thoughtful as he spoke next. "Most concerning that they've lost a man. They must move quickly. They lost initiative. On the back foot now. Will tell my team to stand by for intervention."

"I will do what I can here to keep the situation from escalating more than an acceptable threshold. Can't risk other… entities from taking advantage of such rupture in the heart of the Citadel," the Salarian councilor voiced his thoughts referring to the Alliance and Quarians. "Confident the Asari will try to take advantage and further alienate Fedorian in favor of Sparatus."

They did in the past with Primarch Santis Tyraeus and his successor, Primarch Callatis Hortenraka. But back then it was no alien power outside the Citadel's influence that could take advantage of the situation. The Union came again very close to striking the Turians in a preemptive attack. Had the military commanders not stopped the politruks within the military, a massive war would have been sparked. The matriarchs like Tevos might think Fedorian is nothing but a passing of time, that they can push him so much away that he'll fall and somebody more malleable will replace him. Well, nowadays they'd just push him into the arms of the Humans. If the Humans and Turians seal a political and military alliance, they'd simply overshadow the Citadel combined militaries. Even alone the Hierarchy is on par with the entire galactic military if you don't count the Humans and the Batarian conscripts. The Hegemony has never banned mandatory military service for a limited time for some a part of their population. Not the whole population, only those echelons of society least suspected to cause trouble to the state. Training possible future rebels was an inconvenience. Valern cannot allow the rupture happen. He's a patriot and he must protect his species both from outside threats and from internal threats.

"Councilor Sparatus… much cause for concern…" Jonis whispered. "Do what you can. My soldiers are at your orders for the time being. Use them if needed."

"Hopefully, not. Realistically, yes. Must move with care. Take care, Commander. I'll await further updates on anything you have. Must prepare for the meeting on Torfan," Valern said, his mind considering how much and when should he order the STG team to move against.

"A good day, Councilor Valern," Jonis wished him before the call ended. Valern disengaged shortly after the encryption protocols and anti surveillance device he had on his person. 'Interesting times…' he thought.

Little did he know that in Chinese culture, to wish for somebody to live in interesting times is a curse. Valern was making his way his way to the sofa he's so fond of. He could use a good rest until Linron met with the other high profile dalatrasses to take a decision and call him. Then, as usual, a Council meeting to communicate the information to the other two.

Reach, Bastion

Intelligence Command HQ

Director Harper's office

Harper finished reading the document he was forwarded by his subordinates from the Alliance Embassy. Previously, he'd read the report compiled by the agents on Arcturus Station. Further reports had been dispatched by Miranda and Brooks from Cerberus. Brooks has expanded the AIC network to a satisfactory extent. The AIC can collect data independently and can also act aggressively on that data if need be and have the means to mitigate the fallout.

The info from the Batarians was most peculiar. If it wasn't corroborated by what the Turians told the Alliance, Harper would simply tell Montgomery that it was a set up. It could still be a set up, one concocted by the High Hegemon and the Primarch of Palaven. But, given the Hegemony's strategic losses in the very recent past, it was extremely unlikely that they'd concoct it together. No, this was two separate sources who've been at odds, both pointing in the same direction: towards the Asari.

Harper sighed. He had done well to prepare for such possibilities. His phone rang. The one he kept on his desk. The one that every AIC Director never took off the desk. Only a few people could ever call this number. He knew who it was now. Harper reached out and answered.

"Yes?"

"Director, what have you found out?" Montgomery's tired voice spoke from the other end. Harper knew the old man hadn't slept well for the past days. With Terra Firma trying to remove him from office by constitutional means, with millions protesting against him for the alien incidents that were Shanxi (twice now) and Mindoir, and for approving Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM. Moreover, together with Anita Goyle and Dominic Osoba, Montgomery had been busy dealing with the alien governments on the political level. This, coupled with other concerns and a lack of proper sleep only sapped his energy.

"It's not pleasant, mister president. We have a much more complicated situation on our hands," Harper said as he looked over the resume he compiled for the politicians.

"Just give me the news, Jack," Montgomery said. He hadn't called Harper on his personal name ever before. Given, they never had to deal with a crisis like this. Not even when he was the subordinate and successor of Director Bourne. "The days are only getting longer. Don't drag the talks in that sense."

Harper parted his lips, but no words came out. He breathed in and exhaled slowly. He knew that what he's about to say will severely shift the external politics of the Systems Alliance. "The Asari are behind it. The leading elite of matriarchs in particular."

He heard Montgomery's long sigh from the other end. Harper could feel his frustration and he could swear that Montgomery was shaking his head right now. "Give me a brief rundown on phone. I'll read the details after you send the documents," he instructed him.

"What Quentius and Vakarian told our embassy staff checks out. And their information corroborates the information from the Batarians. It's further confirmed by our own intelligence. One of the Shadow Broker's agents, a Batarian underworld leader on the Citadel codenamed Fist, seemingly used Batarian Hegemony codes to transmit orders to the Hegemony loyal pirates in the Nemean Abyss," Harper began his explanation. "But an important detail is that the Hegemony External Forces communication structure was compromised and this is how the Asari Republics passed the orders to the pirates. I believe the message from the Citadel was just to make it look like the Batarians were sloppy, to simply incriminate them further. And this Fist persona being an affiliated of the Shadow Broker as well would have also made it look like the Broker was also against us. A move to pit us against both the Batarians and the Broker."

"Godless cunts!" the old man cursed. "How the hell could this Fist guy that's apparently a Hegemony asset on the Citadel use his codes?"

"Mister president, I've never said he's a Hegemony asset," Harper was quick to point out.

"Right, I'm sorry. How would he then have Hegemony codes and know to use them?"

"We only have theories ranging from simply the fact that the Broker got a hold of them, or Fist got a hold of them somehow, to a Hegemony official having visited the Consort and she literally sucked the information from his mind," Harper stated. He knew how strange the most complicated theory sounded, almost felt like he'd wear a tinfoil hat. But it was a plausible theory if one considered the wider picture that are the Asari Republics.

"Pardon me, Director, but I thought you said that the most luxury whore in this galaxy is also a spy," Montgomery bitterly laughed at it.

"We can't eliminate the possibility, sir. The Consort, Sha'ira by her name, is only selecting top clientele. And they have to wait weeks before seeing her. The more common folk have to wait up to six months if they wish to see the Consort. She's known to provide both pleasure and counseling services for hefty sums. High profile people seek her services from time to time. And we both know the… mind meld thing the Asari have going. She doesn't even need that to pull your tongue for information, she's a matriarch and skilled with words. Just imagine the advantage she'd give the Republics if she was to be an intelligence agent of theirs, or even to report regularly to the Republics on relevant information discovered. Our attaché on the Citadel, General Ryder, recommended to classify her as a Class Alpha threat for information breach," Harper explained.

The president was silent for a second as he considered it. "Include her on the list of people to be avoided according to the Law of Humanity's Safeguarding," his superior instructed.

The Law of Humanity's Safeguarding is a set of laws passed by the Alliance immediately after the Insurrection in order to control vital information or any kind of information that could threaten Humanity in face of aliens. This includes navigation charts to Human occupied planets, surrender of Alliance technologies classified as vital, disclosure of protocols, contingencies, or any kind of information that can cause harm to Earth's children if leaked to unauthorized recipients. The Hackett-Anderson Protocol was included as an extension of this set of laws in the military (Navy primarily).

"Continue," Montgomery said.

"This is further corroborated by the slander in the press. They've laid down the basis for portraying us as the brutes here for some time through almost the whole press. Right now, the Asari press only points at us and at Torfan and Illium. The latter only played to their advantage if you can call it that. Mister president, it was all with premeditation on behalf of the Asari leading elites," he concluded. "They've used us to destroy the Hegemony's deniable assets, to attempt to instigate a conflict between us that could help overthrow the current government as pointed out by the Turians, put political and social pressure on Primarch Fedorian knowing that he won't be into much cooperation with the Citadel on the topic of tensions in the Skyllian Verge, and they also occupy Anhur – the Hegemony's strategic stronghold on the other side of the galaxy. All details will be annexed to the resume."

Harper put the resume aside and waited for Montgomery's comments. They came. "We have people starting to move out into the galaxy, Director. Already 15,000 have left to find their fortunes or to found their own colonies on who knows where."

"More will leave," Harper stated. "It's in the nature of the Human race to spread out and seek better."

"With Mindoir's mass relay open… the Avolantis System has just turned into another chokepoint. It'll be the gate of the exodus to the Attican Traverse, the great wild west of this galaxy. I can see hundreds of thousand of people leaving to settle the region because of how much they disagree with the state, found their own colonies and governments…"

"We can't allow that," Harper said in an instant.

"I wouldn't expect of you to not reach the same conclusion," Montgomery said pleased.

Basically, if multiple Human governments were to rise up in the Traverse, it would turn into a massive weak spot for the Alliance. The space rich in untapped resources can offer a massive boost to the development of any polity who is exploiting them. And multiple Human polities separated from the Alliance with that good an establishment, polities whose populace already has xenophobic tendencies, who have a bone to pick with the Alliance… that will only result in conflict between Humans and other Humans. And between Humans and aliens. Nasty conflicts.

"Too much is at risk to play that game. We've avoided our own version of the Unification War. If they go by their own and grow too much outside an overarching jurisdiction, it will be the Alliance version of the Turians' Unification War. "

"I have ideas on how to deal with such a scenario, but I don't like them," Montgomery confessed.

"Cleanest solution I can think of is to let them do it. It will get them in conflict with the various mercenary outfits, pirate bands or warlords in the Traverse relatively early on. The Alliance military can use it as an excuse to move in to protect the Human colonists and assert influence, maneuver in such way that they will fall under the greater jurisdiction and authority of Earth," Harper suggested.

"Never been a fan of such plans," the president confessed.

"It is necessary for the greater good, mister president," Harper was quick to point out.

For his part, Montgomery held his silence for a few seconds. Most likely contemplating. "There's a saying, Director: the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

'Indeed,' Harper reasoned. "This is the difference between people like me and people like you, mister president. I am willing to go far for Humanity's greater good. I have met and had to eliminate smaller level politicians who were just like me, but they were doing it for more selfish agendas. I've seen colonial governors who were stepping on the bones of their own people for an extra contract, for more power, for their loved ones…"

"And? What happened to them?" Montgomery inquired.

"We had to get rid of them," Harper put it in a very simple manner.

"You telling me Intelligence Command actively eliminated politicians?" Montgomery inquired. "That's a very dangerous open statement from someone like you."

"Director Bourne was much more active in conserving the Alliance than anyone would have thought. We've cut many corners at his orders. We've broken laws. We covered up our steps. But we only acted in our species' interest. Not in the interest of a group of people," Harper clarified. "And I must stress the fact that death was not on our list of methods. We just made sure they could never do what they did. And dug up enough dirt on them that we buried them under it."

'Basically prison for most of their lives,' Montgomery deduced. "And? Are you keen to continue Nathan Bourne's legacy?" the highest ranking person in the Alliance asked with a careful tone.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, mister president. I take orders from you, and, above all else, I've taken an oath to protect Humanity," Harper replied almost like a machine.

"We are fortunate to have people like you in such positions, Director of Alliance Intelligence Command Jack Harper," Montgomery spoke in such a way that told Harper to proceed with great care. "Send the report, Director. And we will decide on a course of action for the current events."

"Of course. Though, if I may recommend something," Harper stated and waited for a response.

"What would that be?" Montgomery asked.

"The Asari used us. With one hand, we gave them Anhur, unknowingly at the expense of innocent lives. Why should we not take it with the other hand?" he asked. "We can send them chasing shadows and ghosts to keep them preoccupied while making their stay on Anhur a living hell. A message must be sent, after all."

"We will take it into consideration," the president replied and hanged up. Montgomery was not about to give up that easily. At the very least, he will come with a plan and put it in motion.

Harper put the phone on the resting spot on the desk. No doubt Montgomery will now seek to put the AIC under the watchful eye of the state after Harper let out on what they used to practice. But he also wanted to convey a message with the small story telling. He wanted to let Montgomery know that he is also under the eyes of the AIC, not just the masses. Additionally, Udina will be under the same watchful gaze if, after the referendum, the people vote to remove Montgomery from the seat of president.

Harper had no illusions – it was Udina who will take the spot after Montgomery if the incumbent is voted out of office. The process was pretty straightforward. Since the Alliance is scheduled to commence the referendum procedures on 1st March 2181, Montgomery will no longer be the acting president. That spot will go to Dominic Osoba [2], current President of the Systems Alliance Parliament, which makes him the 2nd person of interest in the state. He will be the interim president until the conclusion of the referendum on April 15th. Depending on the outcome, the Alliance will prepare for a presidential election on June 30th or Montgomery will resume his office.

If Montgomery fails to gather the trust of the masses, the Federal Party's best option to throw into the presidential fray is Dominic Osoba. Terra Firma, the second largest and most influential political party in Alliance space, will be throwing the one and only Donnel Udina. The smaller parties will do their best to get in the presidential race as well, though they will have to form an alliance of sorts if they want to have feasible chances of winning votes. These smaller, but nevertheless important parties are names like the National Advancement Party, Conservative Union, Party of Social Democrats, and the Industrial and Technological Movement.

The alignment of each party can be gouged from its name: the Federal Party is a very centric party, Terra Firma is a right leaning party, the National Advancement Party is another centric party with authoritarian leanings, the Conservative Union is a more libertarian group with right wing inclinations, the Social Democrats are leftist libertarians while the Industrial and Technological Movement is mostly a group with the ideal of a technocracy in mind.

Harper reserved a minute to consider how it might evolve. The conservatives might side with Terra Firma in the elections. The nationalists could swing either way or swing no way and lead the nationalist – democrat – technocrat coalition that will support a candidate of their choosing. Terra Firma in its current incarnation is not a suitable group of people to continue the preparations against the coming war of survival the AIC knew would be here in the near future. Evidence pointed that way. Udina, as the chairman of the party, has great influence within it and, being a xenophobe, will not be pleased to entertain ideas of collaboration with the aliens to prepare a common front.

No, Harper could not take that risk with a clean conscience. Montgomery, Osoba, or even Goyle were the more open minded politicians that could work in that sense. Montgomery and Goyle were already doing it. But Montgomery's fatal flaw was his desire to uphold what he called 'the governance of the principle'. A philosophy that could lead to pointless complications just because one wanted to do the right thing. 'The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions,' Harper concluded. Out of the remaining parties, the only possible candidate he could think of is Ariake Asahi, the eldest daughter of Ariake Kazuki – the founder of the Ariake Technologies enterprise. The daughter had little interest in running the company and was more interested in science and politics. She's a rather popular university teacher who joined the Industrial and Technological Movement.

Harper scratched his nose for a moment as his pondering ended. In that moment, he made a decision. A very important and controversial decision: dig up dirt on Udina.

Earth, Brussels

Alliance Parliament, President's Office

"What did the Director say?" Osoba asked Montgomery as he closed the call and put the phone to rest on the table with the water bottle and coffee cups.

"Some… interesting things. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Montgomery answered. "Now is not the right moment."

"Did he confirm or did he deny the hypothesis?"

Montgomery sunk in the leather of his seat. He rubbed his forehead, the stress taking its toll on him. "He's convinced it was the Asari behind everything. They're the masterminds."

Osoba lets out a long sigh in reaction. "This complicates things."

"Very much so," Montgomery agreed. They sat in silence for a minute.

"How do we go about this? Do we confront them openly?" Osoba asked. "It would also help to let the people know about this. Maybe even use Averescu to gather popular sympathy so we don't lose the referendum."

Montgomery looked up to Osoba. "Averescu? Have you even seen the recording from Battlespace!? What he told that priest!?" he inquired with a hint of incredulousness in his voice. "He had every goddamn prisoner killed! Even the separatists. Think of the message that would send!"

"You personally wanted to have him on this operation. He wrote the message we all wanted to send to the galaxy. You especially."

"I didn't think he'd go that far as to kill every bloody pirate! That turned into ammo for the Asari to bash us in public," Montgomery stated.

"I know. But he didn't act outside the law and the people approve of his actions."

"Just because the people approve of it doesn't make it right!" the president reasoned.

"We need those votes! You shouldn't have influenced Fleet Admiral Hackett to send him. You knew his reputation," Osoba pointed out. "Right now there's 100 million people calling for your resignation in streets," he was pointing with his finger towards the door as he presented the situation, "all across Alliance space. Shanxi is mostly a Chinese colony and, in case you forgot, there are 2.5 billion Chinese out there in the galaxy! That's some heavy numbers on Udina's side!"

Montgomery sunk back in his chair, his eyes fixated on Osoba's grey eyes. "And you want me to use a… moral crime to my advantage? Have we stooped that low as a political party?"

"Mister president," Osoba put some weight behind the title of his interlocutor, "if we don't win this referendum we have slim chances of winning the next elections, both parliamentary and presidential elections. You know that. We have a plan for the Alliance. I got you all the budget you needed for the projects in your previous term. Udina will undo everything! He will isolate us on the galactic stage and we will be out of touch with what's out there. This guy is a xenophobe and it will set us back by six years if Terra Firma gets the Parliament, Government and the Presidency. So I don't care if you have to resort to populist maneuvers to raise your standing in the polls. Do it! You will go out there, you will praise the Rear Admiral and all the soldiers for their bravery and for bringing well deserved justice to outlaws who dare strike at us, and, after all this, you will condemn the Asari Republics!"

Montgomery's eyes widened at Osoba's suggestion. His eyes were asking 'Are you mad?'. But his mind agreed with Osoba. "Shifting blame from the Batarians to the Asari? Udina will use this against us."

"The difference between you and Udina is that the latter is spewing propaganda with no facts while you have the AIC's findings behind your words," Osoba clarified. "Present the facts that can be disclosed in a press conference. Ambassador Goyle will also present them in a public Council session and denounce the Republics for instigating tensions between Humanity and the Batarians."

"And how do you propose we go do it? Tevos will demand proof!"

"Then have Harper prepare that proof."

"We have no proof! It's-" he stopped suddenly. "We will have, actually, irrefutable proof. But we need to wait."

"What more irrefutable proof? We have testimonies from Intelligence agents who've infiltrated the Blue Suns. We have interrogation recordings, they spilled their beans! The Blue Suns admitted to foreign Asari and Salarian aid," Osoba stated.

A sad smile flickered on Montgomery's face. "You will have to wait to see it. When it happens, the guilty ones will come asking for help. That, or start shouting like children."

"Today is 26th of February," Osoba pointed out. "This proof better come soon. We don't have enough time."

Citadel space, Asari Republics

Aphelit System

The Kul class freighter sailed through the void. It just dropped out of FTL and was approaching the Asari colony of Ilsia – a colony at the heart of Citadel space, in relative close proximity of the Citadel and close to the Hierarchy – Republics border. On the cargo manifest, they were shipping frozen foods. In reality, they were also shipping clandestine cargo. Not that it mattered now to the crew, they only required the papers to pass through Shanxi and Relay 314. They carried the FTL drive they were 'gifted' by the Blue Suns for the aid they received from the aliens.

The ship was to unload the fruits first for the market. The FTL drive was to be unloaded much later and sent to a research institute to be studied and reverse engineered. The ship approached the orbital station that served as a port for civilian and merchant ships. Nobody thought anything of the freighter and nobody expect anything to happen at this small colony that's home to 70 million people.

At 150,000 kilometers from the station, the unthinkable happened. The ship suddenly disappeared from existence. Almost at the same instant – instantaneous for the organic mind, an atom's revolution for the Universe – it was replaced by a flash of light so bright that it will look something like a supernova to distant stars, something that eclipses Aphelit – the very star itself. To the aliens living on the planet, it very well looked like the Big Bang was happening again. The FTL drive was actually the largest, most destructive weapon of mass destruction devised in known galactic history.

At first, the nuclear ball was hundreds of meters in diameter. In seconds, enhanced by the secondary antimatter payload, the nuclear fireball expanded across the void at an alarming rate. An electromagnetic wave hit the station and the colony. It was so powerful that literally all unshielded electronics were fried worldwide. Even insulated circuitry was affected by the monstrous amounts of electromagnetic energy carried. The EMP wave that hit the atmosphere of Ilsia was intensified by the atmosphere, resulting in much more damaging developments. The gamma radiations ionized the air, thus creating a secondary electromagnetic pulse as atoms of air first lose their electrons and then regain them. Everything in the system was rendered blind.

The effects on life on the planet were devastating. Due to the proximity to the planet and intensity, the gamma ray burst from the detonation of a NOVA bomb hit the colony of Ilsia with full force. The residents of both the planet and space stations or crews of starships in the system and anything nearby for a few light days received lethal doses of gamma radiation. It would take the establishment of a quarantine bubble that's expanding outwardly. The only safe place was inside the ever expanding bubble. Alliance scientists who have designed the NOVA estimate its lethal radius to 5LY, with observable effects on any ecosystem up to 20LY away from the location of detonation.

Within tens of minutes, in excess of 70,000,000 alien individuals began to manifest the tell tale signs of acute irradiation. The doses of radiation received by their bodies are orders of magnitude above anything acceptable. Skin burns were a major issue, people were falling in the streets from headaches and fever. Millions more had their nervous systems failing. The first fatalities had been registered barely 6 hours after the detonation of the NOVA bomb.

Ships were left without crews as they continued to sail through the vast expanse of the cosmos, going on whatever bearing they were on at the moment their crews died. Dozens of ships crashed on Ilsia or other celestial bodies in the star system. Some stayed at dock. And there were also those ships who kept traveling until they left the star system at sublight speed. These ships would be discovered one at a time for centuries by enthusiasts of what will become known as the Ilsia Disaster. The salvagers and explorers will find severely radiated vessels whose crews had died years ago. And many of those salvagers will, in time, develop symptoms associated with exposure to radiation. For it wasn't only the people who had been irradiated.

Everything in the star system received huge doses of radiation from the detonation. The entire surface of Ilsia had been rendered inhospitable, all fauna and flora killed. Cities became piles of radioactive metal, all too real death traps for anyone foolish enough to venture inside without top of the line protection gear. And even that was not sufficient as it still carried doses of radiation back, so much radiation that decontamination procedures more often than not were not sufficient.

In fewer than 36 hours… everything in the Aphelit System was dead. 70,000,000 people had been killed by the detonation of a NOVA bomb.

Harper had seen a door open. A shady hand extended from the dark room. Harper wanted to know who was inside that room. He only knew that they were not up to any good in regards to Humanity. The hand was waiting for something. Harper took out a grenade, pulled the pin out and put it in the hand's palm. The fingers closed around the grenade as the hand retracted into the dark room and the door closed. Harper waited. An explosion was heard inside. Harper was now waiting to see who would come out of that dark room with injuries.

"We knew the world would not be the same… Two people laughed… two people cried… most people were silent… I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty. And, to impress him, he takes on his multi armed form and says: «Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.»

I suppose we all thought that one way or another."

(Julius Robert Oppenheimer, one of those credited as the "father of the atomic bomb", commenting on the Trinity test years later on television) [3]

[1] This move, you will see, has basis in history. To be precise, I am adopting a tactic used by Germany on Russia in World War One. That's already a huge spoiler I just gave you if you know your history, combined with other excerpts from future in-story interviews or publications. In fact, I'd wager to say 90% of the politics you see in my story are extensively inspired from real life, present and history. This, fellow readers, is how our world turns. Same principles.

[2] In canon Mass Effect, we get to see Dominic Osoba as the Human ambassador on the Citadel. As Udina becomes the councilor, somebody has to occupy the post of ambassador. You might remember him in ME3 as the guy looking for his son, Bilal, who was killed in the line of duty in a Cerberus attack on Benning in 2186. After Udina's coup, he is appointed interim councilor to represent the Alliance.

[3] In my opinion, this is one of the most insightful words I've heard come from a Human being. It speaks of both the horrors and beauty that is Homo Sapiens Sapiens. And of our capabilities. For the original, I recommend you watch on YouTube the video named: J. Robert Oppenheimer: "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

NOTE2: So, the pieces are continuously moving on the table. The focus of this chapter, as hinted by its name, was on Humanity and the Alliance. And? What do you think of the supposedly FTL drive the "Blue Suns" (actually AIC agents) gave the Council? Let me know through feedback.

NOTE3: Next chapter I will strive to post ILLIUM FREEDOM with some maps of my story's geography of the galaxy and of the focus of Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM. Apologies! I hope this chapter makes it up somewhat.

NOTE4: Updated by fixing the date of the referendum from 2018 to 2181 and the terminology from solar system to star system [2018-10-02 13:29 GMT+2]

A STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Apollonir