A/N: Sorry for the long update guys, my internet was out for two weeks. If you haven't already check out Early Discovery by V-crinetorix and Third World War by Andotrota. Both have put in tremendous time and effort into this story and deserve equal recognition for their work.

Guest: Don't worry, Toren will get what is coming to him, though not in the way you'd expect.

As for the rest of our reviewers, me or one of the authors mentioned above will contact you through PM to thank you for reading the fic so as to not fill the chapter with unnecessary feedback to other readers. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

12-25-2156, 0832 hours (Alliance standard time)

SSV Hawking

Carrier

Command Deck

"Captain, we've received a response." The SSV Hawking's resident AI declared. Only the largest Alliance ships possessed the most advanced AI's; their crews took pride in that fact, naming the artificial intelligences after notable personages. The crew had named this particular model Stephen, in light of the ship's name.

The captain's head snapped up in an instant, looking at the holographic display in front of him, surprise evident in his face. An entire childhood of growing up with hostile first-contact war scenarios had dictated any extraterrestrial contact humanity would receive would be down the barrel of a gun.

"Play it immediately!" Captain Wang ordered. Despite the predictions of his youth, he was optimistic enough to believe the events occurring here had the potential to end peacefully. "What's the word on reinforcements? A peace delegate?" he asked. The standard regulations regarding First Contact were to immediately send a report to Arcturus Station, the military and political headquarters of the Alliance and Earth, with all relevant data. If contact was imminent, then the highest ranking officer within the Alliance members present was instructed to take charge of the interaction.

"The Alliance has declared Defcon-1 until further notice. A single delegate ship has departed from Arcturus station and is en route. Generals Williams, Bando, Chu, Parker, and Colonel Morgunov have all been notified of the situation and are coordinating a defensive strategy as we speak. Civilians are being evacuated, however many still remain in the cities." The AI responded without hesitation.

Captain Wang realized the wisdom in Parliament's decision; he just hoped the Alliance fleets had been notified of the situation as well. Unconsciously, he began rubbing the side of his head, the grey hairs showing his advanced age. Already fifty-three years old, Wang never guessed he would live to see alien contact. Considering the stress overwhelming his body, he wished he hadn't.

"Scanning message for viruses. Examining language … beginning translation. Playing response." Stephen answered calmly, and within seconds, humanity received its first response from extraterrestrial life.

"Greetings. My name is Bane Talal and I am an Admiral in the Raloi navy. I cannot understand your language, but I hope we can establish friendly relations with our species. We are not a violent race, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves." The alien spoke, its rough and screech-like native language somewhat audible underneath the AI's translation. The speaker himself looked almost like a dinosaur with two legs, possessing a civilized, yet predatory appearance. If the translation had managed to convey grammatical and biological accuracy, this being was male. His skin was dark orange and rough, similar to most reptiles on Earth. Wang noticed the irises in the speaker's eyes were grey. Their location greatly intrigued Wang as the Raloi's eyes weren't binocularly focused in the front portion of the skull, like a human's, but were placed more to the sides, giving what appeared to be 240 degree vision. A large crest jutted proudly from his head, making Wang wonder if it was used for combat or mating purposes. Like a human the alien had two arms, but instead of fingers he had five claws on each hand. Underneath the silver-grayish armor it wore, Wang could clearly see rippling muscles, suggesting that the alien was stronger than an average human.

"Holy shit the dinosaurs are still alive. Someone call a museum." A navigator muttered, breaking several seconds of complete silence. A series of chuckles soon followed, quickly dying out in the tense atmosphere.

"Alright, this is good," Wang said, more for his own benefit than for his crew. "They don't appear to be-" The captain began before a thought occurred to him, "Wait, Stephen do you detect any weapons charging?" He shifted his dark green eyes to the star chart in front of him, anxiously watching the small ship indicators float in place.

"No, sir. I've only detected what appear to be kinetic barriers activated. All other power signatures are linked to vital ship systems." The AI paused. "All alien ships appear to be well-armed, but none of the apparent weapons bays are active and the main cannon doesn't appear to be charged." A few holographic projections of the alien ships appeared in the center of the viewing area, and the AI's hologram flickered slightly.

Wang nodded, "Thank you … prepare a new message, we need to keep them talking until the delegate vessel arrives. When the next message is sent, connect with the other intelligence units and create a program the aliens can use."

A comm. specialist cued the necessary arrangements for another message to be sent, before giving a nod to the captain. "Greetings," Wang began, hoping the shot in the dark would pay off. "Admiral Talal, I am glad you have not attacked. We are merely a scientific flotilla; a peace delegate is on its way and will arrive in a couple of hours." He gestured. The AI promptly created a translation and sent the message.

Within moments, Stephen had begun coordinating with the other ships' AIs to begin creating translation software for the aliens. Combining their collective processing power changed their duty from a months-long task into a work of hours.

RCS Iron Clad

Battle cruiser

Command Deck

"Sir, the battle group reports a full halt," reported a communications officer. "The remaining ships are taking up defensive positions on the other side of the system." A grim tone entered the officer's voice. "They won't be taken by surprise if we run into trouble."

"Sir, we've gotten a response," another officer said after a momentary pause.

"Play it." The admiral ordered, sitting down in his seat.

A few moments passed, before the same dark-skinned 'Human' from before appeared on the screen. "Greetings, Admiral Talal, I am glad you have not attacked. We are merely a scientific flotilla; a peace delegate is on its way and will arrive in a couple of hours." The video cut after this, for several silent moments. Talal stroked his cranial ridge, slightly puzzled. He'd expected another first contact video, but there was none.

"What should we do admiral?"

Talal thought to himself for several moments, eventually making his decision. "It seems that they are not only peaceful, but are also advanced. Prepare to send a reply."

He watched the bridge crew carefully. Most were beginning to work out the reality that after a single message, the humans had managed to completely understand the Raloi language, or at the very least had managed to translate it. At his nod, the communications officer quickly did as the admiral ordered and sent a reply.

Gathering his bearings, Talal began issuing orders. "I want Rear Admiral Mal to be notified of the situation and have a message sent to Turvess, updating them as well. Order the rest of the battle group to keep their kinetic barriers active, just in case this is a ploy."

His crew obeyed, all officers within the battle group receiving the admiral's instructions and cautiously standing by within minutes. While Talal was more than eager to create diplomatic negotiations with this new race, he was highly aware of the fact that he simply knew too little of them. Even with the data packets the humans had sent him, Talal had merely scratched the surface.

'Better not keep my counterpart waiting,' Talal thought, and keyed up his reply. With gratifying speed, he received a response, and soon casual messages were soon flying back and forth.

The Alliance's AIs worked overtime, trying to ensure the translation was both grammatically correct and contained no insults before sending it back to the raloi. Talal's VIs did the same, to a much lesser extent. Both commanders went into the general specifics of their mission, a brief history on their respective species, and an exaggeration on their military and economic capabilities. The exchange between both species went on for hours before the raloi registered a special anomaly, coinciding with a new ship arriving on the scene. It was easily among the smallest ships in the area, a fact Talal noted with care.

"Admiral, we've received another message, this one came almost immediately after the new ship's arrival." Noka said.

"Did you detect any activity from the Relay?" Talal inquired.

"No, sir. It's odd. The Relay is powered, but it seems the ship was able to go into FTL without having to use the Mass Relay." Noka replied, confusion evident in her voice.

"So they used conventional FTL travel to arrive here? That sounds inconvenient. Why not use the Relays?" He mused. With a perfectly functioning Relay in their system, he couldn't possibly comprehend the aliens' mindset of using less-efficient forms of FTL travel. The thought made his crest itch. 'Relays are the easiest and most cost-effective way of traveling through systems, as far as we know. Unless … no. But … maybe?'

"That's the thing. The Relay is showing signs of multiple uses in and out of this system. Our scans show that the Relay we used, until only recently, was dormant."

"Then they possess two methods of FTL? How is that possible?" Talal asked, his voice reaching a new pitch.

"I do not know. These aliens maybe using advanced Prothean technology or are perhaps using their own." Noka slid her talons across a groove, indicating a frustrated intellect. "My guess is they have some sort of hybrid engines that allow them to use two methods of FTL. Perhaps if we create an alliance or exchange technology we can ask."

"I see … Onew, how large is that vessel that has just arrived?" Talal asked.

"Exactly one hundred-fifty meters according to scans, though there might be a three to thirteen percent margin of error. I had to use the VI to even be able to get a lock on the ship and even then that's because I can see it on the sensors."

The admiral soaked the information in. 'That is a very small ship. Why would they use such a ship?' He wondered. "Play the response." He ordered.

A video appeared on screen, very similar to the first one sent by the humans. It then showed a Galaxy Map, which zoomed in on their position, and had the small ship in between both sides, blinking constantly. The video then switched to show a white holographic image of a human male, before a message was played.

"I, Stephen of the SSV Hawking, am inviting you Admiral Talal aboard the delegate vessel to continue our peaceful interaction with no more than a platoon, that's fifteen soldiers, acting as your guard. I await your response."

Admiral Talal processed the information, weighing the potential consequences of his actions. 'I'm allowed to board the vessel with a small security team and possibly establish relations with this race, assuming everything goes perfect. But what if I bring more than I am allowed? Will they fire on me? Or worse, see this as an act of war? There is always the possibility that this could be a trap. But then what would they gain?' He stared at his crew, who were waiting for his commands, his guidance. Looking back out into the colorless expanse, Talal stared at the decision before him. The future of not only his crew, but potentially his entire race now rested on his shoulders. 'It does not matter. Regardless of the outcome, the fate of my race takes far greater precedent than the safety of myself.' He carefully gained full control over his features, before turning around, hands clenched tightly behind his back as he exited the bridge.

"We are to depart via shuttle to the designated ship. No more than fifteen guards are to accompany me, any more and we may start a war. Inform the Rear Admiral to converge the rest of the battle group on my ship and to wait for further orders. Noka, warn the aliens that the rest of the Confederate ships will be moving towards them. From what I've seen and heard they won't mind." Talal ordered. He smiled slightly, as he made his way toward the shuttle bay, hearing his orders being broadcast to the rest of the ship, and presumably battle group. 'If the worst happens, they have been a fine crew, one of the best I've ever served with.'

SSV Campoformio

Diplomatic Ship

Private Quarters

Systems Alliance Director of Foreign Affairs Anita Goyle was not having a good day. Immediately after being rudely awakened at an ungodly hour, she'd been told that DefCon-1 had been declared. That statement alone had done more to wake her up than a dash of espresso, and nearly gave her a heart attack. Such conditions meant that humanity was on the brink of war, usually with itself. She'd had just enough time for a single hasty call to her husband as she left the planet, letting him know why she was heading across known space so early in the morning. Rumors were quickly spreading that the expedition fleet at Shanxi had made first contact with an alien race, though she remained skeptical.

Being the Director of Foreign Affairs meant Goyle was the very first and most logical choice when it came to deciding who would represent humanity on the galactic stage, though most of the time she had to meet with the representatives from the Big Four or from some of humanity's smaller nations.

During the ride on the ship, she had been briefed on the situation and was shocked to learn that humanity had indeed made extraterrestrial contact with intelligent life. Soon, she was consumed by updates, reading through any known information on the aliens as it became available. The reports stated that the alien flotilla, confirmed to be designated as such by the raloi themselves, numbered at fifty ships; however it was unknown if the collection of ships was indeed a flotilla or something much more. Alliance naval standards classified such numbers as a battle group, but it was unknown how far raloi naval standards differed from the Alliance's. Arcturus command had argued over whether to display a show of strength, deception, or peace. Finally it was decided upon that until more was made known of the Raloi, a display of peace was the best course of action.

Once the SSV Campoformio entered Shanxi's system, Goyle had gotten her first glimpses at the alien vessels. Unlike Alliance ships, the Raloi's had more noticeable curves and contours. Of note was the curved tip found on all their ships. Watching them caused Goyle to wonder what type of weaponry the raloi ships carried and if they were more destructive than the Alliance's. Thankfully it appeared that the 98th detachment, spread out in a defensive position around Shanxi, was not heavily outnumbered; but she knew this could change very quickly. The few weapon satellites and nuclear silos that were present on the planet and its surrounding orbit helped boost the Alliance's firepower, but they were not enough to fully engage a fleet of alien ships.

Goyle frowned at the possible consequences of sending only one diplomatic ship. The one hundred fifty meter long ship, armed with basic defense weapons and armor, was severely under-equipped to make an escape if hostilities broke out. Aesthetically, the ship resembled a 'wet-navy' carrier as it possessed a flat hull. It was not made to appear menacing, but friendly and had a graceful look to it, unlike Alliance combat ships. The Camformio lacked a main gun, instead wielding thirty broadside turrets and a heavily improved kinetic barrier, which could easily be destroyed by concentrated fire. On the plus side, she had a complement of four N7 Marines, the best the Alliance had to offer, serving as her personal guard. Unfortunately, the ship and its complement were all that she had been given and would just have to make due with it. Fortunately, every Alliance fleet was currently being assembled and if push came to shove the Alliance would be ready. The downside was that the 98th would have to hold out until then.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a broadcast from the Hawking's AI. "Raloi shuttle is approaching. I recommend that the human representative and N7 marines proceed to the command deck."

Goyle quickly looked herself over in a mirror, making sure she was properly dressed for the occasion before exiting her room. She stepped inside an elevator and pressed the deck icon. The ride lasted for a few seconds before a loud chime from the elevator indicated she had reached her destination. Exiting the elevator, she was greeted with the sight of her armed escort. They were all similarly equipped with an extensive array of weapons that seemed capable of outgunning entire marine squads. Their armor was coated in a non-reflective matte black color with a red and white stripe running down the shoulders of each arm. She noticed, with a little curiosity, that they all had the logo of the Alliance imprinted on their left chest, a prominent sign of commitment and pride.

'Not loyal to any national government then, or they're hiding it well. Interesting.' She mused.

"Ma'am, are you the representative we were assigned to protect?" The leader asked. His entire face was covered by his helmet's black polarized visor which, if Goyle was honest with herself, was a tad intimidating.

She merely gave a nod and stood still as the leader handed her a basic ballistic-resistant vest. She mentally scowled herself for forgetting to wear basic protection. As she put on the vest, the leader introduced himself and his team.

"I'm Commander Mike Hower and this is my team: Alpha squad. The two on my left are Gunnery Sergeants Kimberly Velasquez and Jacob Frost and to my right is Second Lieutenant David Anderson." The N7 marine said, indicating to each member with his finger. Even though they were all similarly equipped, Goyle noticed each had distinctly different armaments, based upon their role in the squad. Seeing their professional attitude first-hand, and being all too aware of their skill, she felt a surge of confidence in her escort.

"Good to meet you Alpha squad," She said, trying to make a good first impression. "I assume you understand the situation?"

"First contact scenario. Our delegate needs the very best protection," Hower replied, short and to the point.

"Correct. You're task here is to protect me in case of hostilities while I do my best to keep this meeting from going south. These aliens, or Raloi as they are called, have us outnumbered and we don't know if they have more ships just waiting to show up."

"We understand ma'am. We'll look tough for the new kids on the playground," said Anderson as the group waited for the Raloi delegation to arrive.

Karo transport shuttle

Passenger Section

Admiral Talal was partially surprised at the lack of a hectic, panicked environment within the shuttle. He'd truly expected to see some form of nervousness in his guards; however he saw the exact opposite. His escorts, the Shadows, were Raloi Special Forces and they all seemed well focused and disciplined. The Shadows were an honored and respected branch within the military, being responsible for quelling entire militia groups or other external threats to the Confederacy. They were loyal to the core towards their cause and their people. The Shadows weren't as ferocious as the Raiders, Raloi shock troopers, but they were far more precise and perhaps even more deadlier. The thought made him smirk, recalling their motto: 'The last thing you never saw.' It might appear arrogant, but it was entirely deserved.

The Shadows were covered from head to toe in their silver suits of armor. Their visors traced wide arcs around their eyes, allowing them to take advantage of their peripheral vision and minimizing exposed parts of the face. Every other component of their armor was as different as their personalities. After all, Shadows had a reputation for personal customization. Better gear individually, made a better squad overall.

"So … what do you think they will be like?" Asked one of the Shadows, "Will they be militaristic or scientific?"

"So long as they don't try to kill us, I don't care." Responded another.

"Cut the chatter. You all know what is at stake here. Once we dock with the human ship, I want all of you to be prepared for anything," Vak, the leader of the platoon, said.

"What do you think, admiral?" Epip, the heavy weapons expert, asked.

Talal was silent for a few moments before answering. "I think this is an incredible opportunity for our species. We have initiated first contact with another intelligent race, and if we play our chips correctly, we may be able to secure an alliance or perhaps share technology with each other." He said.

"So … admiral, you saw the first contact message, what do they look like?" Luwow questioned. Being the platoon's sniper meant he was always hungry for more information.

"They look completely different from us. They have a variety of skin tones ... some are dark brown, others are pale white. They don't have any crests, instead having fur. Some seem to have it all around their bodies while others seemed to lack any completely. Their noses and nostrils are much larger than our own, their ears are placed on the sides of their heads, and their eyes are located on the front of their faces. The only similarity we have is the five digits on our hands." The admiral told them.

"Do you think they could be a threat?" Luwow pried further, silencing the shuttle. It was a matter of professional interest. Every Shadow knew their life expectancy had a chance of becoming drastically shorter, depending on the answer.

"It is impossible to know at the moment. For all we know the flotilla here, as they claim, could just be a battle group like ours or the entirety of their fleet. We have no understanding of their military capacity or their tactics." He slitted his pupils, thinking hard. "We would be very wise to hope for the best, yet be prepared for the worst."

The shuttle stayed silent for the rest of the trip. A half hour passed before the shuttle docked with the human ship, an interminable time for his nerves. The shape of the human vessel was more comforting at least, its more appealing lines resembling some of the early attempts Talal could recall from his history texts.

The landing had no complications, a good omen, he thought. As the admiral and his shadows departed from the shuttle, an electronic voice came over the airlock.

"Attention delegation. Stand by for decontamination."

Holographic projectors scanned the entourage, make sure they didn't carry any foreign diseases. Once the area was sterilized, the airlock doors opened and the admiral walked on through. Once on the human ship, Talal took the time to observe his surroundings. As the light overhead began beating down on his silver armor, he saw that human architecture was more linear, lacking the curves found on most raloi ships.

"Admiral Talal, a pleasure to meet you," A feminine voice said. At first he heard random noise before it was changed to his native tongue. He looked to his right to see a female human, escorted by four heavily armed soldiers, two on each side. Their weapons were placed at their sides, but it was obvious they could be unleashed at a moment's notice.

The human soldiers wore a non-reflective suit of black armor, matching their sinister-looking helmets. Of particular notice was how the human soldiers' visors were similar to the Shadows, albeit being differently shaped. All of them had a red and white stripe running down their shoulders, possibly representing rank or perhaps something else entirely. Comparing the four human soldiers to his fifteen, Talal didn't know if the humans were either extremely skilled or arrogant. Deciding he didn't want to find out, Talal raised his hand towards his Shadows, ordering their weapons be placed at their sides or holstered. The Shadow platoon complied, but still kept a tight grip on their rifles just in case.

The female human stopped a few yards away from Talal, keeping a respectable distance between the two. Her four guards stood like statues, though something told Talal that they were scanning his Shadows and himself for any hostile movement.

The female human reached her arm out to him and held it there. Unsure what to do, Talal repeated the gesture, silently hoping he wasn't insulting the human. An awkward moment occurred when the admiral and director each had their hands out, neither moving for different reasons. The human understood his confusion and smiled, nodded slowly, kindly.

"Shake my hand," the human female said.

Talal suddenly remembered the word from a segment in the human's first contact video, and remembered at one point seeing the gesture as well. He took a step forward and delicately grasping the human's hand in his own talons, raised and lowered with care.

"Friend." He said, as they shook hands. The human female gave him a nod and smiled widely as she confirmed the meaning of the action. As the two separated back to their groups, she spoke.

SSV Campoformio

Diplomatic Ship

Command Deck

The single most important historical moment in the history of mankind was going incredibly well, if Goyle could say so herself. Despite the patchy translation software, the raloi admiral seemed to understand the meaning behind her words and gestures, repeating them to great effect.

Goyle flicked one of the fingers on her wrist, summoning an orange holographic device to appear. The omni-tool as it was called was a multipurpose diagnostic and manufacturing tool used for a variety of tasks. It was amongst the first inventions humanity had developed with the aid of element zero. The admiral seemed to recognize the device, since his soldiers did not see it make any attempts to stop her. She extended it towards his face. "Can you please record your language in this device?"

It took a moment before the admiral could understand what Goyle was requesting. As if to indicate he understood, the admiral bowed shortly before fishing for a device in his pocket. "Language data for you." The admiral said, presenting a small chip. He seemed pleased at the action.

Goyle graciously accepted the chip, struggling for a moment before finding a place to insert it. A few minutes passed before the translator VI in her omni-tool managed to make a key between the two languages, but it was well-worth it. She essentially now had a near perfect translator, something even the combined power of the fleet's AIs couldn't do. The admiral seemed to already have data on the human languages from the First Contact package; however the VI in Goyle's omni-tool was making an improved copy for him as well. Four more minutes passed before the VI told her the process was complete. Removing the chip from her omni-tool, Goyle handed it back, along with a copy of the translation software, to the admiral.

Inserting it into his own omni-tool, the admiral quickly activated the software and routed it through his helmet.

"It's a translator … speak through it." Goyle said, knowing her words would be perfectly translated through the program. She quickly sent a copy of the program to her guards, assuming that her opposite would be performing the same action.

"I can understand you perfectly … what is this?" The admiral asked, before the machine made a few beeps, translating the same words into the human language.

"As I said, it is a translator. I used a VI program in my omni-tool to create a better key for translating between our languages," Goyle explained after a slight delay. She made sure to send the translation software to the Captain Wang's AI, who she expected would soon have it transmitted across all Alliance servers.

Admiral Talal expressed gratitude before Stephen, the SSV Hawking's AI, appeared over the Campoformio's galaxy map.

"Ambassador, admiral, we have a situation," he said calmly. His holographic form appeared to be multi-tasking, moving programs around while having multiple screens of information in front of him.

Both Goyle and Talal understood him perfectly without any delays, though considering he was an AI this was not surprising.

"What appears to be the problem?" Goyle asked.

"I've detected a vast amount of ships exiting through the Theta system's secondary Relay via probes deployed by the Alliance science team. Its likely the same Relay the Raloi used, although I have yet to confirm this. The new contacts appear to be heading for Theta's primary Relay and since it connects to Shanxi's systems, odds are they are headed our way." Stephen answered. "I should note that their intentions are currently unknown, but the signatures gathered from the probes show that the new ships do not match human or raloi designs."

Goyle looked slightly worried before regaining her composure. "Admiral Talal are these ships possibly yours or one of your allies?"

Talal shook his head. "No, the Confederacy scheduled only for my group to travel this far out from our controlled systems and your race is the only one we've made contact with thus far."

Looking back to the AI, Goyle kept her facial expression calm despite growing anxiety. "Stephen, what can you tell us about the unknown ships?"

The pale white figure tilted its head in contemplation. "They appear to number in the hundreds. Based on power signatures, both kinetic barriers and weapons are fully armed. I've informed Arcturus station and Captain Wang of the situation. He has asked me to ensure you are out of the combat zone. The Big Four are reading their WMDs and have their forces on high alert." His head turned sideways, as if he were looking out a window they could not see. "Warning: I calculate we have approximately twenty minutes before they arrive."

Goyle immediately felt nauseated. Hundreds of ships? With the number of ships the detachment had, there was no way Captain Wang could hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive and the nearest Alliance fleet was far from being ready for combat.

Talal, also understanding what the AI was saying, immediately looked at his men who nodded, agreeing with his unspoken request. "Ambassador, if these ships prove hostile, know that we will stand with you. If you will pardon me, I need to inform my men and government of the situation."

Goyle smiled. Even though the alien still knew little about humanity, Talal must have realized neither race could best the new comers on their own should there be trouble. Only through their combined might could they hope to survive.

With the support from the Raloi, Goyle felt some sense of relief. "On behalf of my race, and for myself, thank you." She said meekly. Talal gave a bow before turning and heading back toward his shuttle. His men followed close behind as he warned his species of the threat via his omni-tool.

"Ma'am we have to get you to safety." Hower said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"That won't be necessary." She said, confusing the marines.

"Ma'am?" Hower questioned, not understanding her response.

"Shanxi is going to need all the soldiers it can get if this turns into an invasion. There is a Kodiak shuttle in the cargo bay. Take it. I'll ask Stephen to inform General Williams of your arrival."

Hower gave a nod of gratitude, turning to lead his team towards the cargo bay. They hurried, jogging out of sight. Once they stepped in the elevator, she was left alone in the command deck. The whole ship was piloted and powered by a network of VIs. Normally she wouldn't mind the privacy, but now she needed someone to hold her as she looked down on the planet. She took a calming breath; millions of families wouldn't get the chance to escape as she had nor were they prepared for what was about to come.

"Pilot, once the shuttle takes off, insert coordinates for Earth."

"Affirmative." Replied the VI.

'I'm coming home, Derek.' She thought as she continued to stare at the planet wondering just how many lives would be lost.

Trivia:

1. This is the only Mass Effect fic, to our knowledge, that contains peaceful first contact between the raloi and humanity.

2. Colonel Morgunov is the same character as General Morgunov from H.A.W.X 2. For those of you who have played the game, yes I am aware of what he does, but c'mon he gives an awesome speech during his intro. How can you not like him after that? And yes, he will play a major part in the story and yes the batarians will learn S.G.B war doctrine the hard way. I can already see some of you getting excited over that chapter.

3. One of the historic precedents studied for the Goyle/Talal talks was the Benjamin Franklin discussions with the French Court. Two different mindests, attempting to gain the greatest benefit for their own countries, how could parallels not be drawn?

4. Originally, the Raloi homeworld was going to be named Raloin before learning the canon name of their homeworld.

5. The start date of the First Contact event, December 25th aka Christmas, was chosen unintentionally and once made aware we were easily able to use it as a reference for General Williams' religion and add a bigger impact into his character. I mean a Christian general fighting aliens on Christmas, kind of hilarious no?