"The Cabal fleet that I remember shocked with its allure and refinement. They would never threaten. Our power was such that our threats were unspoken. And always present." - Emperor Calus of the Adamantine Empire
Prologue: Chapter Two
Location: The Citadel, Widow System, Serpent Nebula
Inside the Citadel Council's secure meeting chamber
"This is an outrage!" shouted Sparatus, the Turian Councilor, mandibles quivering in shock and rage as he tried to carve a deep furrow into the carpet with his pacing.
"Calm yourself Sparatus before you pop a blood vessel," commented the Asari Councilor, Tevos.
"Calm? You want me to be calm? Don't you see what's happening?"
"Everyone sees what's happening, but what separates us from the common people isn't whether we see what's going on, or even how much experience we have, it's how well we can deal with it. We need to think clearly, and respond intelligently, and that is rather difficult to do if we're all screaming in fear and anger. And before you say anything, yes, of course we're all afraid, but we can't let that fear or uncertainty rule our decision-making," retorted Tevos as calmly as she could manage.
Valern, the Salarian Councilor, merely sat at the table with his eyes closed.
"So what do you suggest we do, then?" queried Sparatus.
"I don't know, but that's what we're here to figure out, isn't it?" replied Tevos.
"Let them have it," said Valern.
"I'm sorry… what?!" Tevos demanded.
"Let. Them. Have. It." repeated Valern, as if he were lecturing a child, and not an Asari Matriarch over twenty times his age.
"You realize this is your home system they're bordering, right?"
"Of course, but the Dalatrasses have agreed. We cannot stand to antagonize this new power, even if it means losing a relay. It would likely be a war we could not win, if STG analyses are even close to accurate. That said, IF we were to open a direct line of communication to this Emperor, as he requested in his missive, then perhaps we could use this to our advantage. The relay in question is the only way to reach Batarian Space directly from Citadel Space."
"You're suggesting essentially pawning off the Batarian problem to this Adamantine Empire?" asked Sparatus incredulously.
"Indeed," replied Valern calmly.
"Well, if your government has already agreed, then that's the biggest hurdle already dealt with. Let's face it, nothing net positive comes of our relationship with the Batarians anyway, this wouldn't even be a loss in that regard. The biggest issue would be with fortifying our "new" border with this Adamantine Empire. Pranas would have to become a fortress system that would put Trebia to shame," commented Tevos.
"It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, does it? We've all seen the STG briefing on this "newcomer" thanks to Valern, and the SPECTREs have come to similar conclusions. Fine, the Hierarchy will provide all the aid necessary to fortify Pranas. Now, what about general mobilization? According to STG and SPECTRE estimates, and assuming even a quarter of the information provided by this Emperor Calus is true, we'd need nothing short of full mobilization to combat this empire. What say you?"
"I say we'd be entering into the biggest cold war in our history, and we don't even have open communications established with this empire yet," replied Tevos.
"Then let's open communications, yes? We were given transmission codes and a cipher, after all," said Valern.
"Alright. Link us through to our SPECTRE vessel in the Pax system," said Tevos. Then, after giving her other councilors (just Sparatus, really) time to make themselves presentable, continued "have them forward the connection to the so-called "Hydra," let's have a chat with our new neighbor,"
"Aha! So you have returned my call! It is delightful to finally be face to face, so to speak, with my new neighbors. Terribly sorry about the relay incident, but hopefully you understand. National security is imperative, and there, of course, is always something to be said for big stick diplomacy, especially when you're the one with the biggest stick.
That said, I do hope we can put this whole thing behind us. I can even return control of the relay to you, simply park my fleet on our side instead. I do have three conditions, however.
First, I want the biggest embassy you have, and I want to have free reign to remodel and decorate it as I please.
Second, I'd like my citizens to be able to come and go throughout your space as they please.
Finally, I would like a universal waiver exempting my citizens from two specific laws of yours: your ban on genetic modifications, and your ban on artificial intelligence. Both things are rather integral to our society, you see, and attempting to enforce them on my citizens would be seen as an act of war."
"You're offering the conditional release of our relay?" said Sparatus rather snarkily, which resulted in a look from Tevos.
"Yes. I did indeed just say that," replied Calus.
"We agree to your terms," said Tevos before anyone else could say anything.
"Excellent! I'll be sending over my Trade Minister and an Ambassador to the Citadel first thing. I do hope you play nice," said Emperor Calus, before terminating the call from his end.
A/N: Some of you have noticed these chapters are rather short. That is by design. I'm basically publishing the story scene by scene, treating chapters less like traditional book chapters and more like individual story segments. The alternative would be to publish much longer and much less frequent chapters. If you would like that, please say so in the reviews.
