The next floor up held a dedicated food hall with nearly a hundred tables already half full of people schmoozing and nibbling on fragrant horderves. Still more meandered around inspecting works of art or dancing to the music of a small orchestra. Even a handful flirted on the balcony. Regardless all heads turned to the newcomers. Men and women of all colors and sizes stared in fascination as a line of otherworldly beings entered the room.
Sezren darted ahead with clipboard still in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen. Dukes and Duchesses it is my honor to present to you the Queen of Turvess Thebe Alitroth of Vukoma." Applause erupted from all around as said royal leader entered. She waved to the crowd and smiled in a sincere fashion before heading to the most heavily ornamented table on a dais in front of the balcony. "Commander Shepard: Agent of the Citadel Council." Yet more clapping. "Take the closest seat left of the Queen." She whispered as the human passed.
The next few minutes went by as such. If Shep knew how often they would be introduced to others she would have made name tags mandatory.
Now with the delegates in place and their guards sat to either side, small variety plates of food and drinks were brought out as many of the natives returned to conversing. Thankfully the shuttle pilot and Ymir managed to deliver not only the gifts, but some supply crates with materials for just such an occasion.
Nardar and his team quickly set up a device that had some twenty syllable name, but was immediately dubbed 'The Taste Tester'. It reminded Shep of the giant food processor Tali used to make her nutrient paste. In went a green cracker with orange salmon and a garnish of purple tomato. Lights flashed as parts whirred and hummed. Ten seconds later and everyone's omnitool dinged with a new message. As expected the Turians would have to push away their plates and unpack some rations.
Good for: Asari, Drell, Elcor, Krogan.
Suitable for: Batarian, Human, Salarian.
Passable for: Hanar, Volus.
This continued for some time; a new food or drink would be tested and then be tasted by a collection of species. Even Evast raun utilized his suit's airlock like food chamber. Shep began to enjoy herself in the food roulette; would it be spicy, bitter, sweet? She didn't know and that was half the fun.
Over the next hour Shepard and her crew asked and answered questions from the crowd. Every Raloi present at the banquet represented a different noble family, some of whom they had already met. Between quandaries of high efficiency steam engines and a request to borrow a deep sea exploration vessel, the Commander remembered just how many people tonight's events would affect.
The sound of gears grinding to a halt echoed in the hall. The Tester now on a glass of twelve year old wine bucked and sputtered before finally shutting down. "Oh my. I hope your machine isn't damaged. Taslinon hills winery always does make it a bit strong." Thebe said as parts bent and sparks flew like the microwave after Liara slapped it with a warp for burning her overpriced health meal.
"Strange; tester was new and is designed for heavy usage." The tuxedoed Salarian went to work on diagnosing the problem. Using a butter knife Nardar scraped out a teaspoon of blue gunk. A few stray sparks hit the sludge and now the knife was embedded in the ceiling.
"Looks like your contraption even managed to filter out the minuscule amount of floatstone from our food. That could be useful to those with allergies." The Queen wiped her mouth and sat still waiting for the inevitable questions. What she received was a lot of guns pointed at her.
"Food is contaminated with element zero!" Nardar shouted.
"Commander what are your men doing!?" Orian looked terrified.
"You were poisoning us you feathered prick. Eezo is toxic." Shepard understood why she and the others felt so cheerful now. Eezo had a slight narcotic effect on organics, and in a sufficient purity it was deadly.
"I do not know what that is. The event you just witnessed was floatstone being energized by an electrical field. We use it as a basic seasoning. It is not a poison. Your tester would have informed you if it was dangerous correct?"
"Taste Tester not programed to detect element zero; far too rare to be considered a feasible poison." Nardar lowered his voice now that the shock had passed. "One moment please." He ran through the crowd of stunned nobles.
"Seasoning my scaly ass." Hirk grumbled. "There is no way you have so much Eezo that you put it in food. You'd be dead in a week."
"Shepard think about it!" Moirah shouted from the table she was at. "What have you seen different in the castle? Something you didn't see down below." A confused gaze was all the Spectre could give. "Lights Shep. the castle has electricity. It's one of just a few places high enough to not stir up the floatstone in the ground when using electricity."
"She is correct Commander." Nardar commed from the back of the room. "All scanned food and drink contain small amounts of an Eezo sodium compound."
Matriarch D'aris scoffed at the notion. "For a planet to have so much element zero that electrical equipment was potentially hazardous it would have to be ten times richer than Thessia and that's just absurd. Besides not once has any Raloi showed biotic abilities."
With weapons now lowered in reassurance Alhena spoke up. "May I ask what these 'Biotics' are exactly." Her confidence had not waned in the slightest even with the threat of violence breaking out.
Stepping back the Asari and raised an arm. Blue flame enveloped her and with a flick of the wrist D'aris's chair jumped six feet and floated in place as if gravity meant nothing. A second flash of azure light had the entire solid wood table aloft. However this was Alhena's work.
"Evidently both our peoples were keeping a secret." Setting down her piece of furniture the warrior princess reseated herself. "We call it 'the gift'. All noble families start when a commoner child develops their power." She waved out to the sea of Raloi whom glowed blue in response. "It is a recessive trait we have strengthened through political marriages."
The Queen brought attention back to her with the ringing of a glass. "Now then Commander Shepard if you would holster your weapon maybe we can strike a deal."