Chapter 8: A Meeting of Governments Part 1.
"Are pieces in place yet! ARE WE READY?!
"Shh, keep your voice down. You don't know who could be listening in."
"What? Who? The malcontents?"
"No. My guys have those boy scouts chasing ghosts from here to the galactic rim."
"Then what are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for?"
"You need to calm down. We're still waiting on Admiral Lasky to return. His little side trip has taken an interesting turn."
"How so?"
"According to my agents among his fleet the good admiral has made contact with another civilization. One composed of aliens and humans."
"Humans? Free humans? We...we mustn't...we can't let them fall to the imperialists. They could help us, renew the fight and the cause."
"That is a plan for another day. We must focus on the Caesar Initiative, on crippling the UNSC and Assembly's military coordination. Then we can focus on new allies."
"We can. We will. We can. We will. We can...We will."
"You need to take your meds and calm down. Otherwise nothing will go to plan."
/
Date: December 14, 2187. 3 hours after peaceful contact. Location: Refugee Flotilla Prime, in orbit around Mars. Destiny Ascension, Capital starship of the Species Alliance.
Communications between the Council and Admiral Hackett's fleet through the inter-dimensional relay had been perceived as a potential issue. Whether or not a QEC connection could be created and maintained over such massive distance, nobody knew. The accepted workaround was to use intricately detailed recordings to transmit information. These recordings would be sent to the fleet guarding the Council's end of the relay, then broadcast to either Admiral Hackett or the Council respectively.
"...I'm unsure if the UNSC acts as this humanity's primary government or if there is another body they report to. Rest assured, peaceful relations have been initiated and I'll strive to keep it that way. Attached to this recording are several data packets containing what little information we have at the moment. It's mostly sensor data and personal inferences as well a report from Chief Engineer Kal'Teblain, the only recovered survivor of the Palaven's Pride. Hackett out."
"What a load of shit!"
Every councillor turned to face the source of the outburst of profanity as the holographic image of Admiral Hackett dissipated.
"Councillor Balak explain yourself!" Councillor Sparatus demanded.
"There can't possibly be humans in this other dimension," Balak angrily glared at the spot Hackett's hologram had been, "It's all fabricated."
"There is insufficient data to validate either claims," the Geth Councillor interjected.
"I don't need you to tell me what's obviously fake, machine!" Balak yelled, to which the Geth and Quarian councillors visibly bristled.
"You go to far Batarian," the Quarian councillor threatened.
"Enough," Councillor Tevos said sternly. "Councillor Balak, regardless of whether there is or isn't any definitive proof of the existence of humans in the second dimension we haven't examined the entirety of Admiral Hackett's report yet."
"It's all fake," Balak retorted.
"That's not fair,"
"Fair!?" Balak screamed, "Don't you lecture me on fair! The Skyllian Blitz, Torfan, Earth instead of Khar'Shan, Batarians are the aggressors and humanity are the saviors! We've always been trampled on and now even when we're endangered with a population of a few million we're still not given priority! If you think your people have suffered as much as mine, think again Asari! And if you honestly believe that the humans will come to the rescue yet again, hmph, it's fantasy, pure fabricated fantasy!" Councillor Balak ended his tirade with a deep inhale. Then he angrily leapt from his chair and stormed towards the exit.
"Councillor," Sparatus said calmly, prompting Balak to pause. "You've taken this too far and blown it way out of proportion. Please sit down, we'll examine the rest of the report and discuss our next move rationally."
Councillor Balak only stared blankly at Sparatus, "No Turian, I haven't taken this matter far enough." With that, he left, leaving a stunned Council behind.
"It is unfortunate this came to pass," the Hanar councillor said a minute or two later.
"It was "gasp" inevitable," Councillor Von added.
"Agreement: The Batarians are a brutal and arrogant people. This was long in the making. Alerting: We have other matters to discuss," Councillor Melvel monotoned.
"We cannot just ignore the Batarians," Councillor Valern implored, "A minority they may be, but if they manage to break away... The last thing this Council needs is a civil war on any scale. It could weaken us significantly"
"So what? Should we just give them what Balak wants? Special treatment for a few million while billions suffer in identical situations." Councillor Sparatus sarcastically asked.
"No, we wait for Councillor Balak to cool off then attempted to reason with him. If that fails..." Valern's expression turned serious, "...we replace him,"
"This is all the more reason to focus on the other issue at hand," Councillor Tevos quickly interrupted, "If we solve this one the others will be that much easier to deal with." Tevos briefly paused before beginning to input commands into her Omni-Tool, "I'm distributing the data packets Hackett delivered. Read through them and be ready to present your conclusions."
The Council spent the next quarter hour examining the entirety of Hackett's report. The verbal exchange between Admirals Hackett and Lasky was a source of mild debate and disappointment, while Kal'Teblain's report and Admiral Hackett's inferences about fusion propulsion sparked higher interest.
"Speech patterns, characteristics, and language samples generally match those of humans," the Geth councillor said referring to the exchange.
"Meanwhile, Commander Vakarian may have been taken prisoner along with a majority of his crew, and this UNSC refuses to help," Councillor Sparatus sighed deeply, "This doesn't bode well."
"They probably have a decent reason for it," Councillor Tevos said, "We just don't know what it is."
"There'd better be a good reason, and I certainly hope they're not lying about these Jiralhanae aliens," Councillor Sparatus said with reserve.
"What could we do if they were?" Councillor Valern asked slightly alarmed, "Have you even noticed the sheer size of their ships? Regardless of the fact that we know nothing of their weapons technology, we'd be seriously outclassed if we had to face off against a fleet, or fleets of these ships." Councillor Valern finished his statement with a poignant observation, "We have no power in this situation."
No said anything for awhile as Valern's point settled in. It was true, at moment the Council had no real bargaining power against the UNSC and no idea what the UNSC would even want from them. The comment made by the UNSC admiral hung over the Council like a dark cloud, "My government is willing to be supportive...for now." Obviously, UNSC support could be lost before it was even gained. The big question was just how were they going to secure UNSC aid.
"It is my observation "gasp" that we must gain power," Councillor Von stated, perfectly summing up the obvious. "We do this with "gasp" a show of technology. Show these "gasp" humans what we have and they're bound to " gasp" see something they like."
"Intrigued: The fusion propulsion systems Hackett mentions are interesting," Councillor Melvel spoke up. "As the admiral states, they would be a benefit to relieving our vessels of size constraints."
"It's not remotely a cure for our issues," Councillor Sparatus stated, "It barely substitutes as a painkiller. Even if we did acquire the schematics for fusion technology, we don't have the proper infrastructure to properly construct it or to train personnel to use it." Sparatus shook his head, "We need something we can act on quickly and easily."
Only one other councillor caught on to what Sparatus meant. "We should negotiate for colony rights," the Geth councillor simply said.
All eyes that traveled to the Geth platform, except for Sparatus's, registered shock.
"We will explain," the Geth monotoned, "As Admiral Hackett follows through with Councillor Von's plan he will focus the negotiations on the acquisition of colony rights in the second dimension. This would provide us with a safe haven to settle a large number of refugees while we focus our attention on restoring our galaxy for future generations."
"Hold on councillor," Tevos said, " what exactly did you mean by "future generations?"
"The colonies established in the second dimension would be permanent," the Geth councillor elaborated. "It would be wise to gain the permission of the established government to prevent tensions between us and them. Also, due to the psychological trauma of the war with the Old Machines many refugees who settle in the new colonies may refuse to return," the platform's head plates seemed to scrunch up in a mechanical shrug, "That is our consensus."
For many this eye popping revelation wasn't easy to swallow, but it was an undeniable fact. According to Geth statistics, food shortages and rationing would lead to widespread famine In the next six months, while irreparable mechanical failure would begin plaguing starships within a year and a half. The simple truth was, in its devastated state the galaxy couldn't support a massive surviving population. Even the infrastructure of the Local Cluster was being pulled thin with 49 billion people spread over a small number of systems. These proposed colonies would be paramount in lessening the strain currently placed on very limited galactic resources, whether or not the colonists ever returned.
"Well, we don't have much choice," Councillor Valern spoke up, "We'll compose a report for Admiral Hackett placing emphasis on basic supply shipments and colony rights as well as maintaining positive relations with the UNSC."
/
Location: Advanced Research Installation 0002. Date: December 15, 2187.
FIZZZZZZZZZZZZZBH-ZAP-BANG-CLANG
The Geth platform fell hard to the silver floor. It writhed maniacally as sparks, wires, and conductive fluids ejected from every joint and opening. Finally, the platform's flashlight like eye shattered, and the Geth was silent.
"Unfortunate, even with an increase of software compatibility of 2.10% this chassis's hardware is still incompatible with my runtime matrices by a factor of five."
Another pair of Geth rushed in to retrieve their damaged platform for repair. This was the third failed attempt to relocate the AI, 888 Inverse Tangent, into a Geth platform. The AI himself had been extremely supportive of the endeavor, but it quickly became apparent that wouldn't be easy.
Professor Takada observed the debacle and dozens of other occurrences from atop a pyramidal platform a short ways away. A massive amount of progress had been made on the Forerunner installation in the past two weeks. The entire scientific expedition had moved into the structure setting up labs, equipment, and stations throughout the installation. With the help of Inverse Tangent, vast amounts of information had been translated and stored for later examination. The arrival of the Geth analysts a day earlier had more than doubled the rate at which the expedition collected information and mapped out the structure.
Professor Takada smiled inwardly. The recovered data had revealed a lot about the Forerunners, basic social and political structures, historical information, and most importantly their primary interest in Takada's galaxy. During their brief stay the Forerunners had created numerous theoretical implementations for element zero that had Takada and dozens of other scientists excited.
As the elderly Asian professor observed the goings on of the installation's control room, his face briefly registered sadness. He wished his granddaughter Dr. Masuyo had stayed instead of joining the fleet bound for the second dimension. It was one thing when your only living relation was somewhere else in the galaxy, a separate dimension was another thing entirely. Professor Takada knew the story behind the animosity between him and his granddaughter would haunt him to his grave. He only hoped that his granddaughter would forgive him before his time came.
/
Location: SR-2 Normandy. Date: December 15, 2187, 6 hours after peaceful contact, Species Alliance calendar.
The vidscreen that displayed the recorded message from the Council winked off, leaving Admiral Hackett staring at a blank screen in disbelief. Colony rights? The Council's decision made Hackett's job even harder, especially at a critical moment like this. The only upside in the Council's message was the official ambassadorial status he'd been granted. Admiral Hackett rubbed his temples in an attempt to dispel the stress he was feeling. After a minute Hackett left the extravagant captain's cabin for the central elevator which took him down to the shuttle bay deck.
There, he found the team he would be taking with him aboard the UNSC ships. The primary security detail would be headed by Jacob Taylor and included Ashley Williams and James Vega. Doctors Liara T'soni and Masuyo Takada would be providing science expertise as well as diplomatic reinforcement. Miranda and Samara were to fill the roles of dedicated biotic bodyguards while Tali'Zorah would also be accompanying the group as tech support. Meanwhile, Jack and her biotics would remain behind as a quick reaction force.
Regardless of the fact that Jack wasn't going, didn't stop her from showing up in the hangar to see the group off and to chew out Hackett as he exited the elevator.
"We should be focusing on finding Garrus," Jack hissed as Hackett approached the pair of large terminals in front of the elevator, "Just cause some pompous fuck admiral pulls 'classified' and 'forbidden' out his ass doesn't mean we drop everything and follow him on a dime."
Hackett understood Jack's point, but also recognized a few flaws. "I've not forgotten about Commander Vakarian and I fully intend to find our missing people," Hackett sucked in a quick breath, "The UNSC and Admiral Lasky represent our only lead to Garrus's location. They know what happened and who did it, and they might know where the commander could've been taken. We also can't forget about the countless others who might be relying on us right now."
Jack didn't answer immediately however her expression turned to one of suspicion, "What if it turns out our new pal is responsible? What then?"
Hackett elected to ignore Jack's mocking tone and provided a very simple answer, "If that's the case then we'll improvise." Even as Hackett said that he realized he had no idea what to do if things came to that.
Jack didn't continue the conversation, and thankfully just moved on, leaving Admiral Hackett a quick moment to himself. He placed his focus solely on the impending mission and his team, all of which were gathered in the middle of the shuttle bay. Most of their expressions indicated that they'd overheard Jack and Hackett's conversation and for the most part agreed with Jack's sentiment. Nevertheless, Hackett knew they respected him and would follow him.
As nine person team filed into one of the Normandy's specialized Kodiaks, Hackett mentally reviewed the rendezvous plan provided by the UNSC carrier. He didn't particularly care for it at all. The whole thing was a thinly if at all veiled intimidation tactic. The SR-2 Normandy and SSV Shanghai were to dock with the carrier UNSC Rhododendron, but the real meeting was to take place aboard one of the escort ships, UNSC Polaris. So Hackett, his team, and a shuttle from the Shanghai would be going in alone effectively cut off from the fleet. Meanwhile, Captain Bradshaw of the Shanghai would have tactical command of both Species Alliance vessels.
"Joker," Admiral Hackett called on his communicator, "are we in position to leave?
Within the Normandy's cockpit on the ship's second deck Joker's attention never drifted from expertly maneuvering the Normandy between the massive UNSC vessels. "Admiral, were not quite there yet so hold on. I'll tell you when," he said with a smirk.
As the Normandy, closely followed by the Shanghai, dipped underneath one Vindication Battleship another one appeared on the forward viewport. Joker couldn't help but smile. The route the Normandy had been provided had given them a scenic view of the UNSC fleet and Joker was soon convinced the fleet's commander was a mild show off.
Initially content to just pass by the fast approaching behemoth, Joker's disposition towards the UNSC ship changed slightly when he saw it was the one named Vega. The Normandy's pilot could just imagine the dumb grin on a certain alliance marine and how the Normandy crew would never hear the end of it.
Luckily, EDI was present in the co-pilot seat to derail Joker's train of thought. "Jeff, the vessel at which the admiral is to disembark to is the one behind this one." EDI was silent for a moment, seemingly focused on something else, "I'm raising the Normandy's counter intrusion software to the maximum," the AI said matter of factly.
"Why? Fearful of something hacking the ship?" Joker only half jokingly asked.
"Indeed, it seems the UNSC ships are coordinated with AI," EDI warned.
"How do you figure?"
"One of them complemented the Normandy's...'engine nacelles'." EDI answered warily.
Engine nacelles? Really? Joker shook his head. EDI's one notable moment of humor had been decidedly morbid but...engine nacelles!? Joker had no intention of letting an AI from another dimension steal his wisecracking reputation.
"Well, I think your engine nacelles are just fine," Joker began, knowing how EDI and the Normandy were considered by many to be one and the same, "Personally, I find your drive core a lot more interesting, and your duel Javelin Torpedo launchers, absolutely tantalizing."
Even though Joker couldn't see the brief expression of annoyance that flashed across EDI's robotic face, he could hear it. "You can tell Admiral Hackett that he can depart now."
Joker chuckled nervously. He'd more than likely never live this down and would forever fear for his life. However, the Normandy had indeed passed over the Vega and Admiral Hackett's destination, the UNSC Polaris, was in sight.
"Admiral Hackett you're cleared to disembark. Have a safe trip." Joker cheerfully said into the intercom.
/
March 16, 2596. UNSC Polaris.
The Polaris didn't have a true hanger bay. As a battleship designed for escort and ship-of-the-line roles it only had what amounted to a small shuttle bay. It was located in the aft of the ship's belly, and only used to store and service a small number of D90 Pelican Troop Transports.
Fleet Admiral Thomas Lasky stood towards the rear of the bay and grinned at the all too familiar boxy bird like shape of the transports spaced evenly on either side of the bay. Try as the UNSC might, the classics simply refused to be replaced and had thoroughly smashed the competition. Mainly due the sheer number of upgrades that kept them relevant in this day and age. Lasky didn't mind that in the least. In all his 86 years of life he'd never encountered a more reliable design.
Lasky pulled his mind back to the present as the Polaris's AI Everest announced the imminent arrival of Admiral Hackett's shuttles. He looked to his left and right, noting how Captain Igrison, the Polaris's higher officers, and the small group of marine guards held themselves. Unsurprisingly, they were all nervous and it showed in their rigid stances. Especially the marines, many of whom had positioned themselves in locations that would afford the most cover if something went wrong. Oddly enough, Lasky found that it was the rescued Quarian, holding his ground on the far left of Lasky's entourage, that appeared the most unnerved.
Seconds later an alarm rang out signifying the presence of the inbound shuttles. The plasma based shielding that separated the bay the void of space dimmed from an electric blue color to a dull blue, indicating it was now possible for vessels to pass through it. The pair of vehicles that finally crossed through the shields heavily reminded Lasky of oversized wheeless cars. They had a blue and white color scheme and sported a white emblem that resembles an arrowhead encompassing a trio of stars. The vehicles themselves had a sloped forward section where a pilot could be and an upraise rear section that Lasky assumed held the craft's engines. As the unknown vehicles settled to the bay's deck, Lasky couldn't help but notice just how silent these craft were compared to vehicles of similar size in the UNSC's vast armory. The only notable noise Lasky did hear was when the craft made contact with the deck. He noted that fact as something to ask about.
Admiral Lasky didn't even bother with keeping track of the seconds that moved by. All he paid attention to was that at some point after the strange car-like craft landed the doors on the shuttle's side slid open, and everything might change.
/
The Kodiak wasn't as crowded as it could have been. It was designed to carry up to fourteen personnel and right now it only carried nine.
Admiral Steven Hackett gripped his seat's safety harness and blankly stared into the shuttle's darkened interior. For what seemed like the thousandth time he mentally reviewed the circumstances that put him in this position. He was in a another dimension on his way to negotiate with a second humanity with orders to focus on colony rights, and Hackett had no idea if he had anything worth trading. Had the year been 2185 instead of 2187 Hackett would've dismissed this scenario as mediocre science fiction, yet here he was living it.
"Admiral Hackett," the Kodiak pilot called, "we've been given permission to dock. Both shuttles are on the final approach."
Hackett simply nodded to himself and enacted a final examination of his team. Unlike Hackett who wore his decorated blue officer's uniform, a majority of the Normandy team wore military fatigues with the exception of Tail in her exosuit and the two doctors who were dressed in lab coats. All of them were tense and it showed plainly on most of their faces.
"We're coming in for a landing, admiral," the pilot intoned.
Very briefly Admiral Hackett feet a sizzling sensation and every hair on his body stood on end. To the team it felt like they'd just moved through a cloud of static electricity. None of them had time to ponder exactly what had happened before a muffled thump warned them that the shuttle had landed. Soon after, the Kodiak's side doors opened.
Cautiously the Normandy team climbed out of the Kodiak and stepped onto the unfamiliar deck of a UNSC battleship. The gunmetal grey and black floor, ceiling, walls , and harsh white illumination was off-putting as it conflicted with the familiar blue tint present in most ships back home. However, the sharp angled architecture wasn't alien to the point of unnerving which at least helped suppress apprehension.
The first thing Admiral Hackett noticed was the group from the second Kodiak from the Shanghai. The group only numbered three, there were two Salarian marines dressed in full combat gear and armed with rifles, between then was a single female Quarian whom Hackett guessed to be Mara'Teblain. She was the sister of Kal'Teblain who was the only confirmed survivor of Commander Vakarian's doomed ships.
In all the team only had a few seconds to examine the utilitarian design of the bay before their attention was drawn towards its occupants.
"Hey, we've got company," Jacob Taylor said motioning towards the far end of the bay.
Over there, was in fact a group of ten humans standing at the rear of the hanger just watching the Normandy team. Their dress made differentiating between officers or soldiers easy as their uniforms couldn't be anymore different. There were four officers, three male and one female, all in steel grey padded uniforms, each one displayed various amounts of ribbons and medals and all four wore grey peaked caps and polished black boots. The six soldiers wore different uniforms from each other. Three of them had heavy green armor made up of bulky metal plates with helmets that covered the face with a skull-esq facemask that only left their eyes visible behind green goggles. The other three wore more compact armor composed of what looked like khaki Kevlar and white helmets that wrapped around their heads but only covered their eyes with golden visors, leaving the nose and mouth visible. The one thing in common between all six soldiers were the sleek and elongated matte black rifles slung loosely over their shoulders, prepped and ready to be brought to bear if at any point necessary.
Admiral Hackett hastened to arrange the Normandy team into a hasty formation with both doctors flanking him and everyone else spaced out behind him. After that was completed Hackett set the group on a steady pace towards their waiting hosts.
As the team closed the hundred foot distance between them and UNSC delegation, James Vega made an astute observation. "Looks like we're getting a greeting from the head honcho, eh," he said, vaguely gesturing to the officer closest to them.
His comment wasn't unfounded. The officer in question definitely stood out not only because he was at least a few inches taller than those around him, but mainly due to his uniform. On top of what appeared to be the standard steel grey was an impressively large number of ribbons and medals as well as a black and gold sash that crossed diagonally across the officer's chest. Even his cap sported additional golden ornamental designs on the peak and brim, and he had a pair of pauldron like attachments on each shoulder that succeeded in making him stand out more.
Once Hackett passed within thirty feet of the UNSC group he noticed that the stand out officer was significantly older than his compatriots, possibly older than Hackett himself by at least a decade. The officer, whom Hackett began to suspect was the eponymous Fleet Admiral Lasky, had a squarish face with a decent number of wrinkles, stoic brown eyes that radiated wisdom and experience, and close cropped grey hair that was visible in some places under his cap. He also stood straight and tall, not showing signs of stoop or crouch usually attributed to advanced age.
"We'd all be smart to keep comments like that to ourselves." Ashley Williams remarked dryly, "We've no idea how these people might take it."
Her words caused a handful of frowns among the Normandy team. They'd known Ash for so long it was easy to see just how hardened she'd become in the past year.
Admiral Hackett couldn't dwell on what was occurring behind him as his attention was fully affixed on the highly decorated UNSC officer not a meter in front of him. Both Admiral Hackett and the older officer calmly examined each other at this distance. Meanwhile, their respective entourages eyed each other warily, waiting for something to happen.
As it happened, Fleet Admiral Lasky made the first move, "Admiral Hackett, it's good to finally meet," Lasky said while offering his right arm, "Hopefully we can keep things cordial between us."
Hackett shook Lasky's offered hand, both noted the firmness of the other's grip as well as the familiar ranking insignia on each other's collars, four stars for Admiral Hackett and five stars for Fleet Admiral Lasky. "Indeed, though I must ask why you and your people have been so quick to offer help?" Hackett replied.
Lasky momentarily appeared contemplative before gesturing to edge of the bay. There, Hackett noticed Kal'Teblain's presence for the first time and the beginning of his reunification with his sister.
"As I said when we spoke last," Lasky said, recapturing Hackett's attention, "Your Quarian engineer provided a basic outline of your government's recent history. Suffice it to say, it was enough to elicit certain sympathies in most officials who know about it on my end."
This was a good start in Hackett's opinion, hopefully it would stay that way. "That's good to hear," Hackett paused, "Is it all possible that we could dispense with introductions and take our conversation somewhere more appropriate."
"Sure," Lasky agreed. "I'm Fleet Admiral Lasky commander of this fleet," he said pointing to himself, then to those around him, "and this is Captain Ariana Igrison commander of the Polaris and her senior officers." Lasky didn't mention the marines.
"You've already figured out who I am," Hackett told Lasky. He pointed out Liara and Masuyo, "These are my scientific advisors, Dr. Liara T'soni and Dr. Masuyo Takada." The doctors and Lasky exchanged greetings.
Before moving to introduce the other members of his team he noticed that Lasky's gaze hung for an inordinate amount of time over both Asari members with a blank expression. He couldn't tell whether the UNSC admiral was interested or apprehensive.
"My security team is lead by Lieutenant Commander Williams and Lieutenants Taylor and Vega," Hackett listed off while motioning to each in turn. "Engineer Tali'Zorah provides tech support and..." he hesitated on Miranda and Samara. They'd never technically been military so they didn't have any formal rank. Hackett just made something up, "...private contractors Miranda Lawson and Samara."
Once Hackett finished Fleet Admiral Lasky was quick to offer compliments and instructed Captain Igrison to lead the group to a conference room. Subtlety to avoid compromise, Lasky flicked his eyes towards the multitude of small elevated platforms spaced evenly along the bay walls, used by mechanics to service the Pelican dropships. He nodded appreciatively when he saw no sign of the camouflaged security personnel posted on each platform. After that, he turned to follow Captain Igrison.
"Joker, is everything set on your end?" Admiral Hackett asked into the communicator in his ear.
"We're all good here, admiral. Had some issues with docking, but its been dealt with," Joker reported, "We'll be ready when you need us."
Admiral Hackett felt relief from this news. So far everything was indeed going just fine. Before he move forward however, he felt a light tapping on his shoulder.
Hackett turned and found Tali behind him with a question, "Sir, if it's alright I'd like to remain here, please?" She explained why by pointing to where the other two Quarians were.
Hackett saw no reason to deny her request. Quarians were a close knit people now more than any time before.
As Tail moved off and the two marines who'd tagged along stayed back to guard the shuttles, the rest of the Normandy team followed the UNSC group through a large door at the far end of the bay.
The door deposited the team in a wide white and black colored hallway with what seemed to be trademark UNSC blocky design. After about a hundred meters the hall curved upward into a shallow ramp. There, Admiral Hackett caste a look back down the hall and saw the three lightly armored khaki soldiers following the team. It appeared that the Heavier green armored soldiers had stayed behind.
/
Regardless of it age, as a capital warship of the UNSC Navy, each Vindication-class Battleship is outfitted with the necessary equipment and stations to properly host flag officers. The most important of these stations being the flag bridge an area used by senior officers to coordinate and command task forces and fleets separate from the host vessel's primary bridge. This room could also serve as a meeting room of sorts.
The large doorway connecting the flag bridge to the rest of the ship opened to permit Fleet Admiral Lasky and a group of UNSC officers access. They were followed by a second group of people totally unfamiliar with, and in awe of, the UNSC warship which required a tram way to effectively traverse its immense length.
"Everest, please inform the guards outside that no one is to enter this room until further notice and power up the holotable just in case," Lasky ordered the Polaris's AI.
Both groups quickly clustered around the massive holotable that dominated the room and glowed a soft blue with a white grid. Each person tended to their own side, UNSC on one side, Alliance on the other. The Normandy security team took up a position just behind Hackett, the doctors, and biotics.
Before things truly got underway Hackett asked the first question, "Your ship has an AI?" He'd had suspicions early on but had kept silent until now.
"Indeed, all our ships have AI," Lasky quickly clarified, "They're safe and have been a part of our society for centuries." He noticed Hackett's sudden questioning look, "Again, Kal'Teblain informed us of your people's distrust of AI and I assure you admiral they won't be an issue," Lasky explained hoping to eliminate a problem before it became prevalent. "Now, as I stated earlier, many of the higher ups in my government are willing to cooperate, but it would be easier if we had a fuller picture of what happened and what issues you're facing. Kal only gave us an outline of sorts you see, and there's a lot of blanks and blurs."
Hackett understood and agreed. He spent the next several minutes detailing the events that lead up to the present, the Reaper War, the Reapers themselves, the Crucible, the heroics of Commander Shepard and the Normandy, as well as the current degenerative state of the galaxy back home. Occasionally, the Normandy crew themselves interjected details and relevant information that Hackett wasn't privy to. Lasky and the other officers proved to be a rapt audience, paying full attention, comparing with their own history, and one of them even took notes. Hackett finished with the discovery of the Forerunner relay and subsequent encounter with the UNSC.
Lasky drummed his fingers on the holotable as he absorbed the information provided. He could see definitive parallels between the Covenant War and the Reaper War as both were genocidal invasions by an ruthless, near unstoppable, alien adversary. Undoubtedly, this common ground would prove beneficial in the future. But at the present moment, it was Lasky's turn to relay his people's recent history.
"Everest, please display image file 14 and standby."
"Acknowledged admiral, galactic geopolitical landscape circa 2525."
Most of the Normandy team glanced around in surprise at the mention of the date. Then the holotable lit up but instead of a 3D hologram it produced a flat 2D image of the familiar Milky Way Galaxy. This particular image was segregated into three parts by color and the date was displayed in the left-hand corner adjacent to Lasky. The most abundant was grey which encompassed roughly three fourths of the picture and the last fourth, which was primarily centered on the Orion Arm, was split unevenly between green and purple. The reasoning was simple, green and purple represented a faction and grey represented uncharted space.
Lasky began his narration, "Well, at this point in time green represents humanity and the Unified Earth Government," Hackett and many of his compatriots shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Earth, "and purple represents an alien theocracy known as the Covenant Empire."
Lasky took a deep breath as he continued and strived to maintain his composure, "The Covenant declared war on humanity on religious grounds and waged a genocidal campaign against us for the next 28 years." One person was paying close enough attention to notice Samara stiffen.
"We only survived," Lasky continued, "due to a civil war which erupted within the Covenant in late 2552." As Lasky spoke the image on the holotable changed, mainly displaying the purple heavily encroaching on the green, almost engulfing it entirely. "The war officially ended in 2553 and the Covenant Empire was totally dissolved." Lasky paused, "Over the course of the war billions were slaughtered by the Covenant and hundreds of colonies were burned to molten balls of glass."
Once finished, Lasky surveyed the stunned faces before him and inwardly grinned. Common ground, the first step in any negotiation, had just been established.
Now it was time to move up, "Everest, advance the image to 2577 please."
The AI did as he was told and advanced the image file 24 years. The change was radical, purple completely disappeared and was replaced by dozens of smaller chunks of colored space representing fragments of the Covenant. As the timestamp rolled forward these smaller pieces vanished and reappeared another color seemingly one after another with many fluctuating wildly in size before disappearing.
The only constants, as the timestamp reached 2572, were green and the color orange, both of which had grown exponentially over the years and now encompassed large portions of the Perseus and Centaurus Arms while sharing the Orion Arm. Then by 2575 the fragmented remnants of the Covenant had coalesced into two factions represented by yellow and red. Once the timestamp hit 2577 there were four definite factions in the galaxy, two were massive and encompassed entire galactic arms, two were minor and were isolated in the Orion Arm.
Lasky choose now to pause the presentation and interject a comment, "I do hope our methods haven't come out as forced," he said. "This is a first time the UNSC has participated in a peaceful First Contact and we decided on keeping it as simple as we could."
The group from the Normandy were simply entranced by story the images told, "This is just fine," Admiral Hackett told Lasky, to which the fleet admiral nodded in appreciation.
"Everest, advance the image file to present day, please." Lasky finally ordered the AI.
Everest obliged and the representation of history resumed. At 2580 the Perseus Arm was completely under the dominion of orange and the Sagittarius Arm was totally controlled by green.
One year later, something interesting happened. Both red and yellow factions began the shift and move and in 2583 the yellow faction had migrated the Outer Arm and begun expanding. Two years later in 2585 the red faction also migrated from the Orion Arm into the Norma Arm, and like the yellow, began expanding.
The timestamp on the holotable stopped on 2596 and the image presented was simply fascinating. Four galactic arms controlled by four massive factions, with the exception of the Orion Arm which was divided between two factions. The smallest of these governments easily dwarfed the Asari Republics, Salarian Union, and Turian Hierarchy combined.
"Well," Lasky said catching the attention of everyone present, "if there are any questions that need be asked now is the time to do it."
Hackett being the Normandy's commander fired the first question. "I'd like to know a little more about your government? After all, I'm primarily going to be negotiating with them."
"That's fine," Lasky acknowledged. "I represent, as you all know, the United Nations Space Command, humanity's military, scientific, and exploratory organization. As a whole, the UNSC answers to the Unified Assembly of Nations, humanity's parliamentary government and successor to the Unified Earth Government."
Hackett felt relieved to know he'd be dealing with a parliament. A type of government he was familiar with. However, "What about these other factions?" Hackett inquired, gesturing to the holotable. "What's their stories?"
Lasky expected this line of questioning and knew what to say. "Orange represents the Commonwealth of Allied Races. Their composed of a majority of the original Covenant races and currently our allies."
Lasky expression turned hard, "The other two are a different matter entirely." He pointed at the color yellow, "Informally known as The Banished, not a lot is known about how their government operates and what is known is classified. Right now that sector is off limits as any incursion would provoke the Jiralhanae into open war." This was obviously a warning pointed towards the Normandy group.
The Fleet Admiral turned his eyes down to the table. "The last faction is interesting, to say the least," he began. "They call themselves the Kig-Yar Democratic Republic, or KYDR. At their core they're a piracy based society under a communistic regime."
The Normandy group had dozens of questions most of them mundane and not eminently necessary. They were ready to let the matter drop and move, but one's opinion there was a question that needed to be asked.
"The perpetrators of Covenant's war against your people," Samara spoke up, directing the question at Lasky, "what became of them?" Her voice held a specific metallic monotone the Normandy crew knew well.
"They died as the Covenant was torn apart by civil war," Lasky simply answered. There were other details surrounding the deaths of the last Covenant Hierarchs, but those were highly classified.
Seeing that the preliminary meeting was more or less concluded Lasky motioned Captain Igrison over to him. "Is the ship prepped for slipspace transition?"
"Yes, sir,"
"Give the order, captain."
Captain Igrison saluted and briskly left the flag bridge followed by her senior staff.
"Admiral Hackett," Lasky said, " the guards outside will escort you back to your shuttles. We will arrive at HIGHCOM Facility Iota within a day and a half."
"If I may," Hackett replied, while the rest of the Normandy team moved out of the room, "where is HIGHCOM Facility Iota exactly?"
There was no need for Lasky to play coy with this question as Iota's location was public knowledge. "It's located on Iota Station in the 23 Librae system 3000 light years from our current position."
Lasky inwardly smirked at this little boast while Hackett mentally dropped his jaw. That these people could cross thousands of light years in days was unbelievable and very valuable.
Leaving Lasky to his own devices Hackett trailed behind the Normandy team and their UNSC marine escort and patched a call to Joker on the Normandy.
"Hello admiral, everything go fine?" the pilot asked.
Even though he meant it, Admiral Hackett answered, "Fine," rather dryly. "I need a message sent to the fleet and an update while you're at it."
"Sure, what's the message?"
"Tell them we're leaving for further talks with the UNSC's higher ups and we'll be back in a few days."
"Will do admiral. As for that update, there have been a few odd things happening over here."
Admiral Hackett's eyes visibly narrowed, "What kind of odd things exactly?"
"Well first off, a group of literal men in black showed up at our door and demanded access to the Normandy. They very narrowly avoided a biotic broadside before backing down. Now EDI has delegated a substantial percentage of her processing power to counter intrusion systems. She seems to have become somewhat paranoid about suddenly being surrounded by other AI."
Hackett pinched the bridge of his nose in light of this, "Did these 'men in black' of yours say anything that could identify them?"
"Ummm, Well they did repeatedly mention something called ONI, but I've got no clue what they meant."
Hackett sighed, questions on top of questions, "Keep an eye on Jack and EDI. We need things to remain smooth."
"You can count on me, admiral," Joker cheerfully stated before the connection was ceased.
Hackett certainly hoped so as he joined the rest of his team aboard the tramway that would return them to their shuttles on the other end of the Polaris. Several minutes after the tram had gotten underway Hackett felt the deck under his feet faintly rumble and vibrate. He couldn't help but feel like his team and him had crossed an important threshold.
Revised: 1/5/18