Six: Hello everyone, and welcome back to A Better Humanity. I am so happy that this story is so well liked.
One: You're happy that anybody reads your stories at all.
Six: Why do you have to tell them that, why?
One: It's not good to lie to your readers about such things.
Six: I know it's not good to lie, but that doesn't mean you have to tell them.
One: Four asked me to tell them...
Six: HE'S DEAD! (Runs off with shotgun.)
MEleeSmasher: I say maybe. I would say yes, but if I work on something too much, I get reader block more easily, so maybe.
GameMan888: Same as above.
Guest: Thanks, but please get an account. It's hard to reply to people who don't.
Tsamoka: Thanks.
Adjuster: As I said, it will be explained.
Axcel: Well, this made this, but if you like the old way better, the one where there is only one terran state, the original version is going to go up hopefully soon. Maybe that will be more to your liking.
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Space is vast. Vast enough that without intervention of some kind, the changes of meeting another race within the first century of space flight is next to zero. The most likely time for one to make contact with another race is after 200 years and before 500 years. But can happen after that as well.
However, all this ignores the fact that mass relays make it easy to meet other races within a short amount of time.
A hanar that goes by Epenos thought this. He was one of many that thanked the protheans for what they have done for others.
The protheans made galactic society possible, and without them, who knows what it would be like. They gave the hanar speech, something they couldn't do without. For these reasons, the hanar give their thanks every day for the gifts the protheans have given them. This is practiced by other races, but it is minor in their societies.
Like many others, the hanar are curious about what happened to the protheans. Who wouldn't? But try as they might, they can't find any hard evidence that tells what happened to them. Their best guess was either some enemy came and fought the protheans to the death or a plaque of some kind. Both left more questions than answers.
If it was a plaque, why couldn't the protheans stop the spread? Or the possible enemy, why haven't they found anything that points to one? So many questions, so little answers.
As Epenos went over these thoughts like he does every day, his attention was grabbed by the sensor officer "Sir, this one has spotted an unknown ship in the distance. It seems to be a scout ship."
"Can you identify who it belongs to?" As this system was already known by the galactic community, no one would send a scout here. Pirates would, but Delen (the planet they orbit) was far from where pirates normally attack. They usually attack on the other side of hanar space. Because of that and the fact that the colony was new, the defense grid being slowly made and was not complete. Only about half of it was. As it stood, if it was a pirate scout ship, and pirates were going to attack, a lot of people were going to lose their lives.
"This one is sorry, but this one cannot scan the unknown ship. This one is unsure why?"
If the ship could not be scanned, it meant one of two things. One, the possible pirate ship was using something to disrupt the scans to better hide themselves. Pirates did that often to make them harder to track. Or the ship belonged to a new race. Hopefully it was a new race just exploring. "Send out the recon drones, they will allow us it identify the ship. Set alert level to yellow in case of pirates." As this was a space station they were on, they couldn't head there themselves and check it out. But recon drones would work well enough.
The drones were launch, but it will take a few minutes to arrive at the unknown ship. Everyone there watched as the drones flew through space to their target. What they saw, was strange. The ship in question was mostly grey with parts of it blue. It had two fins underneath it pointing down and near the back. "What ship is it?" A drell crew member said.
"This one does not know. This one believes it may be a first contact. If so, this one would be delighted to spread the knowledge of the Enkindlers to them." Spoke Epenos with excitement in his voice.
"Sir, the drones are receiving a transmission from the unknown craft."
"Do you know what kind of transmission it is?" Epenos asks curiously.
"No. It is foreign to our computers. It will take time to make the systems compatible. They must be a new race if our computers do not immediately understand the transmission." the officer replied with mild surprise.
"First contact is always wonderful." You could feel his happiness. "Please transmit the following message. 'This one greets you in the name of the Enkindlers, and wishes you good will.' Also, please attach the standard first contact package that has been set up." The standard first contact package was a contact package created by the citadel council on the extranet. It was created so anyone has access to one. It is updated every so often to keep up to date with current events and is intended for use during first contacts.
"The package has been sent. This one would also like to inform you that the craft is headed for this station and will be here in only a short while."
"Mmmm..." Epenos Began to think deeply on the new information. This was a first contact, that he was sure. But, he didn't know anything about the new race. Anything he did could be taken as a grave offence. Well, not really, but he didn't know about their society so could not understand what they liked and disliked. Until he had such information and culture was shared, most likely they would forgive any accidental offence. However, that wasn't 100 percent certain, the batarians were prove of that.
He had to think carefully abo... 'Hello. May I know your name?'
"Sir, this one would like to tell you that the unknown ship has stopped fifty kilometers from us and is holding position." Epenos turned to him and nodded his thanks.
After that he looked straight at the unmoving ship on the main screen. He swear he heard a voice speak to him just a moment ago, but it was different than anything he had ever heard before. 'That would be me speaking. Hello, my name is Liane Croson and I am captain of the ship outside your station. It is a pleasure to meet you.'
'This one does not understand what is happening.' Confusion was pouring into his words.
'My people can communicate with our minds. Telepathy it is called. I greet you...'
Taking that as his cue 'This one is called Epenos. This one greets you as well, however, this one has never heard of beings with telepathy before.'
'We didn't always have it, but it is very helpfully is situations like this isn't it.' Spoke Liane.
Before he could reply yes, an ensign called out "Sir, what should we do about the unknown ship?"
To be honest, he had forgotten about everything else when he started talking to Liane. "This one is speaking to the unknowns at this time. They have so far been peaceful, and we will response in kind."
"This one does not understand, how are you speaking with them? No transmissions have been going in or out of the station or from the unknowns." The others agreed. While no one wanted to say anything, some thought he was insane, others were curious, and everyone was confused.
'This is how. Telepathy is amazing and it allows first contact situations to progress much smoother than they would without.' This time, everyone heard the voice inside their heads.
"What is this?" "Who is this?" What's going on?" "Why are there voices in my head?" And more were said all together that no one could understand what was happening anymore.
This continued for several minutes until they all started to feel slight migraines and stopped talking to deal with it. Then they heard it again 'Sorry about that.' Everyone could feel sorrow flow through them. 'Everyone was talking all at once that I lost track of everything that was happening. I had to stop it. Let's start again. My name is Liane Croson and I am captain of the ship Flying Grace. I am right outside your station. Please to meet you.'
'This one is called Epenos. This one greets you in the name of the Illuminated Primacy. Before you were talking about how your people could not always do this. This one would like to understand more about what you speak?'
'Well... I don't know too much, I was born after we could do this. What I remember is before we were a different race with a different name. We left for some reason, don't know why? Anyway, the ship crashed far off course from where we were supposed to go. The other ships with them didn't make it, again, don't know why. Sometime after we crashed landed we found a temple belonging...'
It happened again, for a few moments 'The Enkindlers.' They all said at the same time.
'Ah... no. They are called the Xel'naga. Not the Enkindlers.' Sadness spread over them, but they perked back up a short while later. 'Moving on. After finding the temple, it evolved us into what we are now. The Advent. Telepathy was one of the abilities we gained from our evolution. There is more to it than that, but that's the basics.'
'That is very strange. This one has never heard of anything like this happening. It is strange indeed.' He was curious about the whole ordeal, but didn't want to pry into it too much. He had many questions he would like to ask, and many people he needs to inform about the information as well. But one question that he personally would like answered is 'What were you called before?'
This seemed to catch her off guard, as she didn't reply for a short while 'Oh, what we were before. We were once called humans before.'
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Eight individuals were gathered around a table. These eight, plus one more, were the leaders of the Unity and each oversees a different section of it.
Jacob Jefferson Ramsey is in charge of the Ast Eternal and he oversees their expansion of psionic knowledge. He has also taken personal interest in overseeing the reclamation of artifacts and ruins. He stands just over seven feet tall, however, that is his only distinguishing feature. He also likes to play poker from time to time. "Does anyone know when Zeratul will get here? We can't start without him." Using his voice to speak with a bored tone. He was slumped over with his check in his hand.
James Eugene Raynor runs the Cult of Cerebri and is concerned with the direction of the Advent Military. He is a lay back guy and doesn't care who's the strongest. He cares more about making sure their people are adequately protected than most other stuff. Because of his easygoing attitude, the military is more lay back than one would expect from a formal military, but is strict when it needs to be. More than a few people don't like this, but as nothing has every happened because of it, most are willing to let it go. "Don't know, but he'll get here when he gets here." He's taken to playing solitaire while he waits.
Leonid Celsus runs the Hand of Illus, and looks over various analytical and espionage departments. Unlike James lay back attitude and easy going approach, Leonid maintains a strict system. He doesn't care how a mission is completed, so long as it's done. 'Put those cards away Raynor, this is a formal meeting, not your house.' You could feel his anger radiating off him, literally.
It was at this time that Zeratul entered the room and took a seat. He represents the Prophets of Zei and provides direction for the Advent race. He is the only one of the nine that is a protoss instead of an advent. 'I am sorry I am late. There were important matters that needed to be taken care of, some which concern the recent developments.' James picked up his card game and put it in his back pocket for later.
Nova Terra overlooks the Psi Order Zealots and directs the law enforcement and justice branches of the Unity. Unlike the others, she was still in her powered armor, more for comfort than anything. She, like Leonid, maintains a strict system. 'You could have sent a notice ahead to inform us about this.' She was pissed that she had been sitting for over an hour with nothing to do but read over some reports.
Edmund Duke was easily the oldest advent here, being 30 when they were exiled, making him 168. He oversees the Raesaedia Sect and is tasked with the protection of the Code of the Unity. Standing at 8 and a half feet tall, broad shouldered and radiating authority, Duke possessed an impressive physique. "I agree with Nova. We also have matters we need to attend to, Zeratul. But we still came on time."
Valerian Mengsk charged with over watching the Rolus Solbare, which is charged with overseeing the Logistics of the Unity. Valerian is a kind man, and prefers peace over war. "Calm down you two, let us be glad he is here, and we can get on with the meeting." Having a hopeful smile on his face.
Arcturus Mengsk runs the Voice of Senar, which oversees the expansion of the Unity's borders and directs the Diplomatic Service. He is a genius, and is a gifted strategist. While he does lead the Diplomatic Service, he is quite aggressive on expanding the Unity's borders. "Settle down Valerian, it isn't going to do anything."
Jenson Archimedes directs the Xian Precept, and oversees the creation of new technology for the advent. He is a highly intellect man and has four master degrees, plus majors is several others. He is not above getting his hands dirty, and regularly works with his men on different projects. He puts the data pad he was reading from down and says, 'Good, we are all here. We can get on with the meeting.' Seemly ignoring everything else that was going on. 'To start off, Zeratul, what did the seers tell you before you left?'
Said individual nodded his head and began 'Darkness...' Catching a few off guard 'surrounds the unknowns, like a blanket covers a child. Here an ancient cycle takes place as old as time itself. A door lies in the epicenter. The darkness will give rise to fire that will consume the galaxy. A beacon of hope stands in their way, but alone will flicker and die.'
Everyone was staring at Zeratul. None knowing what he was talking about. Few understanding it. Arcturus was the one to speak up first "Would you be kind enough to explain the meaning behind that?"
'I do not fully understand it myself.' He said shamefully. He lowered his head a bit.
Leonid added his thoughts 'Well, let us break this into parts. It will be easier this way. Does anyone disagree with this?' When they all shook their heads no, he continued. 'Alright then. The first part is, 'Darkness surrounds the unknowns, like a blanket covers a child.' Does anyone have any input for this.' He himself had a few ideas, but wanted to see if anyone else had any.
James spoke up "I believe I know. If its surrounds them, it's likely everywhere for their people, but if it's like a blanket, it must be hiding in plain sight. No one would be near it if they knew it was bad for them."
Leonid replied 'An adept claim. If what you say is true, then it's possible one of the new species is this darkness. But, it doesn't have to. The darkness could also be hiding from everyone. Until we know more though, we'll go with what James said. Does anyone else have anything else to add?' He inquired.
Zeratul, Jacob, and Valerian shook their heads no, while the others simply didn't reply in any form.
Arcturus spoke next "I got the next one. Unlike the first part, this one's easy. This darkness has been around since the beginning, and it's old. This entity has created some cycle that happens either after a certain time has passed or some event takes place. This also means it's happened before, and no doubt others have tried to stop it. This entity knows what it is doing."
Many had come to similar conclusions as his, but they did not like it. If the cycle was as old as speculated, then they would likely have a large number of forces and powerful technology. It did not look good.
Nova nodded to the others, it was her turn 'The next part, in confusing. Where is the epicenter?' She rubbed her head to alieve some of her headache. 'Wherever this is, is the most likely spot where the darkness will first appear, or the way to them?' The others nodded. There weren't many ways that part could be interpreted. 'However, it says a door, not the door, which means there are others.'
Edmund spoke next "Fire that will consume the galaxy. No doubt that means war, but on a galactic scale. The darkness likely wants to destroy everything. How it's going to accomplish that, I don't know." Crossing his arms over his chest as he finished. Not liking this.
Zeratul spoke again 'This light seems to be the key to defeating the darkness when it appears. As the chosen ones of the xel'naga, you are most likely this beacon. But, I don't know for sure. Either way, this beacon will need allies before they are strong enough to fight this foe.'
Jacob stood up "While speculation will bring about ideas, it can only go so far. We need more information before we fight this foe. It is possible the temple may hold some information about this darkness, I will check after this meeting." Pausing to gather his thoughts "Let's move on to what the meeting was called for in the first place shall we?" Getting nods from others he continued.
"Three days ago, one of our scout ships came across a new race to the galactic west. There is some distances between us, a bit farther then the scout really should have gone really. Either way, contact was made. The captain made contact with a species called the Hanar. The Hanar were kind enough to give us a contact package, however, as this is Arcturus area I will let him take it from here." He took a seat as Arcturus stood up with a nod of thanks.
"From this contact package, we were able to learn much about them, however, some information was corrupted. There were compatibly issues that destroyed about a tenth of the information." It was surprising that it wasn't the other way around. For foreign systems to be able to share data like that is nearly unheard of. The only reasons the advent could get system compatibly with the protoss in a short time was because they both based their technology off the xel'naga and the psionic matrix. Otherwise it would have taken months to years.
Jacob inquired "Does this mean that they have had contact with xel'naga artifacts?" It would be the explanation.
Leonid was quick to answer 'They have not. Xel'naga artifacts do not exist that far out. The used a low level tight beam laser to transfer the data. Why this is, I do not know.' It was strange too. There were far better and faster ways to transfer data.
Arcturus continued "While the information transfer was a bit odd..." Pausing for a moment. "The information gain was highly useful, such as there is more than one species." Half of them were curious about the other races and the others were confused. Finding more than one race at a time is a little strange. Arcturus hit a few keys on his keyboard in front of him and an unknown organism appeared from the holo projector in the center of the table. "First we have the asari. The asari are native to the planet Thessia, are considered the most influential species in their space, and are known for their biotic aptitude. They are a single gender but have a female appearance. They have a millennium-long lifespan and the ability to reproduce with a partner of any gender or species. They favor peace over conflict and helped found the Citadel Council and have been at the heart of galactic society ever since."
"Biotics?" Question James.
Arcturus turned to him and replied "The contact package does not go into a great deal about it, but it does reveal that it is something akin to psionics with its own unique properties." James nodded back. Arcturus hit a few keys again and the holo changed to two being this time, no doubt the male and female of their kind. The faces of them vaguely reminded them of the faces of some of the zerg... not a good thought. "Next we have the turians. Known for their militaristic and disciplined culture, they have then largest military in their space were everyone joins their armed forces for at least five years. Their homeworld is the planet Palaven and are respected for their public service ethic."
Another few keys hit and another two being appear. "Next we have the Salarians. The salarians are warm-blooded amphibians native to the planet Sur'Kesh and possess a hyperactive metabolism; they think fast, talk fast, and move fast. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short lifespan; salarian's lifespan ends at around 40. They are constantly experimenting and inventing, and have a vast information network. These three are the main ones so to speak." He knew by phrasing it as he did, he would get a certain response.
And he did. "What do you mean the main three?" Asked Edmund.
Looking in Edmund's direction quickly, Arcturus continued "I mean what I say. The three races I just spoke of are talk about quite a bit in the contact package, however, the others are not even talked about half as much." Gaining a certain look in his eyes. "Through a bit of looking around in what they call the 'extranet', I was able to learn that not everyone is treated fairly in their society."
Nova immediately stood up and slammed her right fist down onto the table. 'What do you mean not everyone is treated fairly?' She was understandably pissed. She did not let injustice stand.
Valerian rose his hands and pushed them tilted down in a calming gesture. "I'm sure he doesn't mean it like that." With a shaky smile on his face. With a huff she sat back down.
Arcturus gave a slight nod to Valerian before speaking again "It is a bit different than one would expect. What I mean by treated unfairly is that most species have little say in important matters. The asari and salarians were the first to find the citadel, while the turians ended something called the 'Krogan Rebellions'. That is how they became council members, while the others are associate members. Council members get to decide what is and what isn't, while associate members can only bring matters to the council members. The only exception is when the matter is purely an internally one."
The other were understandably confused. What right did those three have to decide what the others when they didn't have a say?
"As Valerian will no doubt tell you, logistics between different species can be a nightmare." To which he nodded at. "The volus have created the unified banking act which created the standard trade currency, which they all use. This has allowed them all to trade far easier than they would without, and yet the volus are only an associate member. A great achievement no doubt, and yet they only have a minor role in galactic society."
"Any questions so far?"
Zeratul was the only one to speak up 'Why would they have such a system?'
Arcturus shook his head and spoke "I have looked over all the information I have on them, and I'm afraid I can't answer that question." His face fell a little. "No matter where I look or how I look at it, I can't seem to find out why they are the way they are. It's like they don't care for the other races."
They all thought this over, looking for a reason for why this is. None of them coming up with anything. Leonid cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. When everyone looked up, he spoke 'There could be any number of reasons why they are as they are, but sitting around here questioning it won't answer them. We can ask them later, for now, let us get back on track. Arcturus, will you continue with telling us about the different races?'
With a nod, and a few key strokes, he spoke "The Elcor is next. Native to the high-gravity world Dekuuna. They are large creatures, standing on four muscular legs for increased stability. Elcor move slowly, a response to their home environment. They use scent, extremely slight body movements, and subvocalized infrasound to convey shades of meaning and have taken to adding a prefix to all their dialog." Several more keys were hit, bring up a pair of small roundest creatures.
"After them we have the volus. They are not physically adept compared to most species, so they mostly make their influence felt through trade and commerce, and they have a long history on the Citadel. They hail from Irune, which possesses a high-pressure greenhouse atmosphere able to support an ammonia-based biochemistry. As a result, the volus must wear pressure suits and breathers when dealing with other species." Another few keys hit.
"Hanar are known for their intense politeness when speaking, and their strong religious beliefs regarding the Protheans, whom they refer to as "the Enkindlers". The hanar homeworld, Kahje, has 90% ocean cover and orbits an energetic white star, resulting in a permanent blanket of clouds. Due to the presence of Prothean ruins on Kahje, the hanar have developed a religion centered on the ancient species, calling them the "Enkindlers". Hanar myths often speak of them as an elder race that uplifted and civilized them by teaching them language." A few keys were hit.
"The drell are a reptile-like race that were rescued from their dying homeworld by the hanar following first contact between the two. Since then, the drell have remained loyal to the hanar for their camaraderie and have fit comfortably into galactic civilization." A few more key strokes were hit.
"The quarians are a nomadic species of biped aliens known for their skills with technology and synthetic intelligence. Approximately three hundred years ago, the quarians created the geth, a species of rudimentary artificial intelligences, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. However, when the geth became sentient, the quarians became terrified of the possible consequences and tried to destroy their creations. The geth won the resulting war and forced the quarians into exile. Now the quarians wander the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology." Many felt sorry for them. Several more keys were hit.
"The krogan are a species of large reptilian bipeds native to the planet Tuchanka, a world known for its harsh environments, scarce resources, and overabundance of vicious predators. The krogan managed to not only survive on their unforgiving homeworld, but actually thrive in the extreme conditions. Unfortunately, as krogan society became more technologically advanced, so did their weaponry. The end result is that they destroyed their homeworld in a nuclear war that reduced their race into primitive warring tribes. With the help of the salarians, the krogan were "uplifted" into galactic society, and lent their numbers and military prowess to bring an end to the Rachni Wars. Ironically, after the rachni were eradicated, the rapidly-expanding krogan became a threat to the galaxy in turn, starting the Krogan Rebellions and forcing the turians to unleash the genophage. This genetic "infection" dramatically reduced fertility in krogan females, causing a severe drop in births secondary to prenatal and postnatal death and, ultimately, population, eliminating the krogan numerical advantage."
Edmund didn't care one way or the other, Leonid was unfazed by this information and saw the necessity of the genophage, but the others weren't. Jim, Jacob, and Jenson all had their months hanging open, unable to speak. Zeratul was put off by the genophage greatly, but could see the reasoning behind it, even if he didn't like it.
Valerian was the first to speak up after a minute, still shaken up. "What right do they have?" Flabbergasted that anyone would create something like the genophage. "That is a fate worst then extinction." Most of them couldn't understand why they would do something like this, even with the war happening and everything. There are better alternatives they could have used.
"I can't answer that." Arcturus spoke. "None of us were there, nor anyone we know. The only ones alive today that could possible answer the question, are the oldest of the asari."
Everyone took a few minutes to collect their thoughts and process the information.
Arcturus spoke up in a lower tone "While what happened to the krogan is regrettable, there isn't anything we can do." A few of them got angry looks in their eyes, and Jim even looked ready to sock Arcturus upside his head. However, Jacob felt it and put a hand on Jim's shoulder to calm him down.
Nova asked 'You seem to know a lot about these people and I doubt all this information would be in the contact package. So, how do you know all this?' Everyone else seemed to come to the same conclusion when they all looked at Arcturus expectantly.
He gestured to Leonid with his left hand and a smile on his face. "The Hand of Illus is to thank for that." A few of them expected this, and the others should have. The Hand of Illus is always gathering information, and with first contact they do doubt started gathering information about them. Leonid had a neutral expression and didn't react to being found out. "They have been kind enough to share what they have gathered."
Jenson mentally countered each race so far 'There are ten races so far, is there more?'
"Yes actually, there are three left." Answered Arcturus. "However, I would like to say right now that the krogan, Quarians, Vorcha, and Batarians are not allies with the others, and are more or less all on their own." This was odd. The krogan they could understand, but why the others. A few keys were hit.
"Known for their unique biology and aggressive behavior, the vorcha of Heshtok are a primitive race that live among the galaxy's darker and more dangerous locations, such as Omega. Many vorcha are trained by the Blood Pack as mercenaries due to their savage nature and adaptability to different environments. The rest of galactic civilization regards them as pests and scavengers, and their presence is generally seen as a blight. They act more like wild animals that know how to use guns." More keys were hit.
"A race of four-eyed bipeds native to the world of Khar'shan, the batarians are a disreputable species that chose to isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy. They have a reputation for being shrewd businessmen and merchants, though in more lawless regions of the galaxy like Omega, negotiations with a batarian are likely to be conducted at gunpoint." He paused for a moment. A frown appeared on his face while he tapped the table a few times. What was going to be said next, he did not like. "Slavery is an integral part of the batarian caste system, despite being illegal according to Council law. The custom is so deeply ingrained in batarian culture that batarians consider the Council's anti-slavery standing to be discriminatory."
The room froze. No one moved. Not a whisper was heard.
...
...
Then, blazing heat was felt from the psionic network. The psionic dampers built around the room were struggling to contain the surge of energy, but some still bleed through and was felt by those around the building.
Inside the room the energy was potent and felt by everyone. There was many things the advent were disgusted by, such as the zerg, and tolerated, such as ignorance. Slavery did not fall into either category. Slavery was hated. If a species was young, they would be forgiven for practicing it, no one's prefect. However, for a space fairing species to still have slavery in their culture, was unforgivable.
It took a dozen minutes before they were calm enough to continue the meeting. 'Why?'
It was a simple question that had a big impact.
"There are many answers to that question, but the easiest is few care enough to do anything." That answer caused a flare of psionic energy again, but it lowered much quicker this time. Slavery was a vile practice. "Now I believe you all should calm down. We can worry about the batarians at another time, we still have to worry about making contact with everyone." They were still pissed off about the batarians, but Arcturus was right, they would worry about it later. "The final race apart of the citadel is humanity. I don't I need to say anything."
He didn't. They all knew who they were either from personal experience, or from stories and information about them. There wasn't a single advent alive who didn't know about humanity and their history. Most didn't care, some wanted to forget about them, others were curious about them. No matter what, everyone knew about them.
James spoke up "So, we will finally reconnect with our long lost cousins." With a smile and radiating happiness. He has taken a liking to the old ways, one of the reasons why he carries old style cards with himself.
"Yes, most likely." Was the reply.
Jacob spoke next "If we reconnect or not isn't important. What is important is how we go about contact with them all." Looking at Arcturus. "What else is there that is practically important to know right now?"
Arcturus hit a few final keys and shut down the holo projector before sitting down. "There are several laws they know doubt would want us to sign."
Zeratul spoke up 'Explain Arcturus, so that we may better understand.'
"There are a few laws of note. The first one is the Citadel Conventions, which regulates the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. This law aims to limit the damage done to habitable world. Quite frankly, this should be common sense, but it seems they need this."
James asked "What happens if it is a zerg owned world."
Arcturus was quick to answer, knowing he would ask "It depends on the state of the world. If a planet like earth is over run, they wouldn't allow it, but if it's like Char, I doubt they would care."
"The Treaty of Farixen is another one. It limits the number of ones dreadnoughts one may have." This understandably drew confused looks for everyone. And why wouldn't it. A dreadnought was a class of ship, one you can't expect every species to build, and there were many other types of ships. Why was the dreadnought special?
"Why make such a law?" Was heard.
"It is a little strange, but I will make it as clear as I can." With a small nod of his head and a hopeful look, Arcturus continued "In all of their known space, there are four known types of ships, with one only coming to be after they met humanity, the carriers. The first one is, the frigate. Frigates are light escort and scouting vessel, and they often have extensive GARDIAN systems to provide anti-fighter screening for capital ships. GARDIAN systems are their point defense, to anyone wanting to know." Looking at James when he said the last part. "Other than some missile batteries, the frigate has a single mass accelerator cannon that runs most of the length of the ship. Frigates are around the same size as the Destra Crusader."
"The next ship is the cruiser, and is around the size of Discord Battleship. However, there is nothing of note about the ship. It is essentially an upsized frigate." That through them for a loop, but before they could continue thinking, Arcturus spoke once more "The dreadnought, around the size of the Radiance Battleship, is essentially an upsized frigate as well. The reason the treaty is about the dreadnought is because it has the strongest main gun, being at 38 kilotons of force. However, all their ships can fire every two seconds and have impressive range for their size."
That... was not what they expected. They had more powerful guns then that, and far more range of capabilities. Simple ship designs were easier to build, but also easier to counter. However, to use only two types of ship design, that was crazy. It was strange. Was it because they didn't care, or didn't have any other designs?
"There is one final law, it is forbidden to activate dormant mass relays, unless one knows where the partner is."
'Mass Relays? What are those?' Jenson inquired.
"Mass Relays are mass transit devices scattered throughout the galaxy. They form an enormous network allowing interstellar travel, and are hailed as one of the greatest achievements of the Protheans. A mass relay can transport starships instantaneously to another relay within their range. This range is around 400 light years for the secondary relays, and 2000 for the primary relays. However, primary relays have a set partner that they connect to." Speaking with a bit of pity. "As of yet, there is no known way to make relays."
James whistled at that. "That's faster than both ours and the protoss warp gates. Too bad they only connect to certain ones, or I'd say they were better."
Nova put in her thoughts 'Why are they considered great achievements, they're not that special? Certainly impressive, but not that great.'
"The drive cores of council ships can only go 15 light years a day. So, for them, it is. Without them, they wouldn't be able to expand all that much, plus their drive cores build up electricity that need to be discharged either into a planetary magnetic field or direct contact with the ground. If the core is not discharged in time, the core will discharged into the hull of the ship, causing large amounts of damage." That did make mass relays great achievements for them. But, why such slow drive cores or the discharge?
"There isn't anything else of particular note. So, how shall we go about this?" While Arcturus leads the Voice of Senar, he still needs approval for certain actions. "Based on their past, they will likely want us to join them, likely quickly given our technology."
Edmund snorted "If the past speaks about the present, I doubt it."
Nova spoke next 'Friends are what I say we go for, at the least, we don't want more enemies. The zerg are enough.'
Leonid was next 'I don't trust them.'
James after "You know my vote." Giving a two finger salute.
Zeratul was next 'They are a misguided people, change is needed. Kindship it is.'
Valerian was next "I say we make friends."
Jacob spoke up "I would no doubt like to look at ruins of these protheans. Being friends with them will make that easier."
Jenson was last 'We can learn much from them, let's get in proper contact with them and make friends, but no more than that.'
"Then we are in agreement. Friends but no more. What do we tell the Protectorate tho?"
Nova was the one to answer 'It is important that they see us as we are, united. That is best done if we parties send someone." They nodded.
Arcturus smiled one of his creepy and sinister smiles before saying. "However, given that they might try to force the issue, I request the 'Mantle's Approach' to be my escort vessel."
Everyone's eyes widen. The Mantle's Approach was the single strongest ship in the advent navy, and one of the few last remaining xel'naga ships. While they weren't afraid of it being destroyed, it still took years to repair it to its current state. They didn't want it to take unnecessary damage.
But, they agreed. They didn't want any chances taken. The zerg was always getting stronger and was always waiting for a chance to strike. They couldn't risk making enemies or losing any strength over petty reasons.
With the meeting over, each left to complete tasks.
And Arcturus left for the Mantle's Approach, he had a space station to visit.
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Brain, on fire. Mind, dying. Everything is in order.
Man, I wanted this chapter out days ago, but took forever getting it done. Sorry.
No codex this time.
Have a great day and good luck in your life.