Long time getting this one out, I know. Got kind of stuck. The bits with Marcus were simple enough but the other characters, especially the Elite characters were a bit harder seeing as I had to model them around the basic feel of the three governments. Of which there's not much in the game and I've not read the books.
Anyway, here's another chapter, a bit shorter but it'll pick up once they get to where they're all going.
"So Marcus, how did Professor Palin spend those days with the Council ambassador and her companions? I imagine that he was very interested in the Mass Effect technology that is still causing all sorts of exciting changes."
"Ah, well, yeah. Of course, up till then, the idea of actually manipulating the mass of something didn't even occur to anyone. It was something fundamental. They went over pretty much what you could find out about Eezo, uh, Element Zero as they called it, if you found some floating around out in space."
"So nothing...particularly technical then?"
"Nope, both sides were kind of politely playing things close to our chests. One thing that was said that still intrigues us is that the concentration of the element is almost entirely around or in proximity of the Council space that's connected by the relays."
"Oh?"
"Yep, no idea why or, more likely, we've been by it but the galaxy's gigantic so we just didn't know to look for it and it's literally laying everywhere but the tiny percent of the galaxy we've been to."
"Did the topic of why the relay system the Council uses was focused on the clusters of the element?"
"It did but, I...I got bored when they got to that. Ah..ha...I think that was about the time I started sorting through the exploration data I had."
"Well, all daydreaming aside, you mentioned your exploration data and that brings a question that I, and I'm sure my audience, is wondering: Once the 'Big Three' made it there and everything started getting moving through the diplomatic channels - did you ever feel like you were pushed to the side?"
"Pushed to the side?"
"Yes, once the experienced diplomats arrived, how did you, at that time, see yourself involved in what was going to happen given how much you had already showed the Council representatives?"
"Well, I never really felt pushed to the side so to speak and honestly, I was still sort of unwinding from everything and just going with what was happening. Didn't put much thought into what I'd do after the fact."
"As to what I had already told the Council people, well, of course there were those who weren't happy. There were some...uh, strong words said but in the end I was independent and besides the Alliance, had enough reputation that they were willing to not put a bounty on me."
"There was a statement at the time from the some groups that decried you as a traitor to the Human race for even interacting with them instead of just marking the system and leaving. Coming back to tell the authorities so to speak."
"Was there? I still haven't gotten used to how many people have an opinion about me now. I didn't care then and I don't care now."
"Some members of those groups were in the governments you contacted, did their opinion have an impact on that first meeting?"
"I don't think so, no."
"Also, there was a leaked rumor that you were actually threatened in an 'interview' shortly after the Big Three ambassadors arrived."
"..."
"Is there any substance to that rumor Marcus?"
"I figured someone would eventually ask about that, no. No substance to that rumor if it's the one I'm thinking about.
"..."
"Ok, there were people in all three groups that were upset like I had figured they would be. Mad that I was so accommodating to the, ah what did they call them…."Assumed hostile aliens".
"..."
*ahem* "Yeah, so some of the military people were mad but nothing terrible. The three governments weren't much bother."
Benezia took a moment to look around the room they had just entered, having gotten word that the human ambassadors had arrived and had quickly prepared one of the base's larger rooms into a conference hall that would "Help reflect the enormity of the occasion for those involved".
Honestly, if it had been a storage hangar like the Professor had mentioned then the humans had done well very quickly. The room looked about twenty meters wide and half as tall but as they were led in through a door in what seemed to be the center of the back wall she was afforded a view of the entire room. As they walked between rows of chairs on both sides, occupied with standing and very interested humans with subdued lighting she filed that area away as those who would record the meeting. Similar to the balconies and areas around the main, public, Council chamber on the Citadel.
The back wall, which was a good thirty meters back, had no corners but both walls and ceiling curved around the back area, bringing the focus of the room to a well-lit area in the center of the curved area. The walls looked to be a wood-like material similar to some of the trees that she had seen used on Sur'Kesh. Giving a serious but warm feeling to the space.
She looked at the area that the curved walls brought the focus to and saw a half-circle table had sections for the three different governments she had heard about. The ambassadors from said governments were standing as she approached. She looked at each group as she approached.
The group on the left side were wearing a variety of regal formal clothing which was predominately dazzling white with flawless gold trim. Of the five of them, one man was positioned closest to the center stood just a little closer than the others. He wore a welcoming smile on his face. The Asari-like features of his face was framed, pleasantly she thought, with deep brown, close-cut hair. The woman in the group pulled her attention for a moment with the close resemblance to an Asari maiden. If that Asari had dark, Quarian-like hair and skin a light brown with gold undertones. Benezia had an errant thought that humans would find themselves very popular with Asari maidens.
The group on the right had a more serious air to them. Five of them wore charcoal-grey suits with hard lines and very little adornment although the serious cut of their clothing was offset by a welcoming smile on their faces that mirrored the others. The man standing closest to the center had his blonde hair combed back in a way that brought up a distant memory of the Quarian ambassador she had the pleasure of working with hundreds of years ago. Although his bright, blue eyes lacked the luminescence that the Quarians possessed, his gaze and expression was welcoming and his smile widened and he nodded at her when she looked his way.
The third group was in the center of the half-circle table and each of the four people there were dressed with more variety than the other two groups. None extravagant but formal in a way that complimented each other. The woman standing just slightly apart from the other three wore a well-fitted dark blue dress that Benezia herself would have felt appropriate to wear to this meeting. The dark red hair the ambassador looked exotic framing a face that wouldn't have looked out of place in an Thessian Extranet drama.
As her group, led by Professor Palin stopped before the group as Spectre Odoln took his place to the right of her, Uolon to the right and slightly back from him and Velictus to her left and half a step back from her.
The Professor stepped up between the two groups, facing the space between them. A slight pause pulled the attention of the room to him as he looked at the human ambassadors then motioned towards her and the others.
"Matriarch T'Soni representing the Citadel Council, an Asari hailing from Thessia." She bowed her head at the introduction.
"Spectre Odoln accompanying her. A Salarian hailing from Sur'Kesh." He nodded at the introduction.
"Uolon Soldar accompanying her. A Salarian hailing from Sur'Kesh." Uolon managed a nod and a small wave.
"Velictus Surlinus accompanying her. A Turian hailing from Palaven." Velictus stood straighter and flexed his mandibles slightly, drawing a few raised eyebrows.
Palin then looked at her and the others, motioning to the humans.
"Representing the Alliance, Holly Bastogne and her aides." The red-headed woman nodded.
"Representing the Empire, Daniel Calf and his aides." The man brought a hand to his chest and bowed his head to Benezia and the others.
"Representing the Federation, Denton Fields and his aides." He smiled at Benezia and nodded to her group.
"I, Professor Ishmael Palin, will act as mediator of these proceedings and bid you all welcome."
Looking back to Benezia, he motioned to the smaller, raised area positioned at the focus of half-circle the human representatives faced with spots for all four of them.
"Matriarch T'Soni, if you and your companions would take your seats please." He held out his arm, indicating for them to follow him.
"Of course." She nodded and followed to the table, she noted that Professor Palin took a seat between the Council ambassador's table and the half-circle of human representatives but he did not sit down as everyone else had.
Instead, Palin spoke, his voice suddenly amplified to a respectable level, "We are here today for a momentous occasion. Humanity's first contact with the Esteemed representatives of the Citadel Council."
This was met with polite and quiet applause from the humans before Palin continued, looking directly to Benezia and the others.
"As you all have taken the effort and consideration to travel the distance to meet with our species, I have the privilege of presenting a proper introduction of our species."
Suddenly, the lights in the room began dimming, growing darker, an almost inky blackness filling the room. Before it became concerning however, lights could suddenly be seen, brightening throughout the room until Benezia realized that they were stars. One in the center of the room became brighter and she suddenly felt the sensation as if she were travelling through space.
Another point of light came into view before resolving into a planet, a blue-green planet suddenly seem to take up the entire space as music swelled throughout the room. The slow swell of a pleasant wind instrument that drew attention but did not distract.
"Earth"
"Humanity's birthplace."
Benezia felt a smile tug at her lips as she settled in to watch the presentation, her curiosity piqued.
He slammed down into the chair, two of the large, dangerous types keeping pressure on his shoulders for an extra second as a 'polite' reminder to stay seated as they stepped back to each side of him. The other two staying to each side of the door in the hallway.
He looked around the small room, smooth metal walls, uninteresting corrugated metal flooring, and there were lights but only the one above the table was on. Casting the whole room in a dim light that only really lit up the table and vague shapes of people.
The whole situation seemed absurd to him. One minute he was going to the bathroom, a bit of a luxury since technically his remlock suit could take care of such ablutions but still, sometimes a guy's gotta take a leak. Next moment, his tech's jammed and he's carried off to a room somewhere.
'Guess somebody wasn't happy ab-'
His thought was interrupted when someone reached out and slammed his head into the table from behind, stars swam in his vision. He swung his head up and tried to shake it off as his eyes tried to focus on the new person now sitting across from him.
"Commander Marcus, let me be the first to congratulate you on your unprecedented discovery!"
He looked around the room at the nondescript man-shaped threats standing around the room before settling a confused look at the man across from him.
"Wha?"
He shook his head again, pressing his palm to his forehead and checking for blood, despite the pain in his head, his hand came away clean.
The man across from him leaned forward, the Federation insignia on his lapel caught the light above them brightly and he flinched slightly before the man continued, waving the datapad at him.
"An alien conglomerate government, discovered by you of course! Not the best first impression if these records from your ship are accurate. But still, congratu-lations are in order."
Marcus mumbled some half-hearted thanks as his brow creased in confusion, head still swimming from the unexpected blow and jarring contrast of the man across from him and his cheery disposition. He looked around the room quickly before looking back at the man.
"Who are you and what do you mean by records?"
The man glanced down at a datapad and he made a show of looking confused for a moment, looking back up at Marcus. Then the man looked at Marcus suddenly as if just realizing he was in the room.
"Ah, yes, of course." He looked down at the tablet and it lit up, the holographic face of it scrolling through video at high speed. The man turned the tablet and held it out so both of them could see it, waving his hand at it as the video slowed down. Marcus recognized it, it was the conversation that he had had with Benezia and the others about what they saw during a hyperspace jump. His head cleared a bit, the surprise at seeing video of him on his ship must have showed on his face but the man across from him seemed to ignore his expression.
He looked over the still image and gestured at the datapad, "I may not be able to understand what all of you were saying in most of these logs but it seems I made the same mistake you did. Well, one of your mistakes. I forgot that I had to turn on the actual holographic displays so you could see them."
The man set down the tablet, the small clink on the metal table drawing Marcus' attention as the figure leaned forward more, his face becoming intense.
"I usually keep them limited to just who needs to see what's on our technology, security reasons of course."
He let the remark hang for a second, waiting until Marcus seemed to be about to say something before continuing.
"There are a lot of people very high up in all three governments that are rather displeased with you Commander Marcus Rein. The records and logs from your ship-"
"How did you get those? I never released those records, you have no legal right to them."
The man's face lit up in mock realization, "But of course! Not admissible in court, improperly collected, illegally withheld, all true."
The man's face went neutral and his voice even as one finger tapped on the edge of the datapad, "Problem is we're outside of any jurisdiction and your usual Pilot's Federation legal stature counts for…..well, exactly as far as someone is willing to go to get what they want Commander Marcus." His voice started flat but was filled with false cheer by the time he said Marcus' name.
A chill washed over Marcus as he realized what the man was saying, the intense look in the man's eye as he held eye contact for just a moment too long.
Suddenly the man broke out in a smile again and Marcus realized that he still had no real idea what was happening.
"That is all true of course but the Federation tends to take a dim view on it's agents taking such action. In fact, I have it on good authority that if you were to translate the audio on these records we could all just go about our days."
The man slid the datapad forward in front of Marcus and leaned back.
"And if I refuse?"
Still smiling, the man replied, "Well, our friends from the Empire-" he motioned to the guards at the door, "would be happy to take you somewhere you could live out the remainder of your life in obscurity. Working off whatever debt we all decide you owe us if this whole 'first contact' thing goes sour."
The man leaned forward slowly, putting his elbows on the table and bringing his hands together, looking over his intertwined fingers, "You can be Commander Marcus Rein, the man who introduced humanity to friendly alien life or you can be a footnote in our first contact with these aliens, someone who tragically disappeared due to unknown circumstances."
Silence stretched between them, the quiet hum of the background noise of the base and the breathing of the people in the room was the only thing heard for long seconds. Marcus wracked his brain trying to think of something.
He hadn't been particularly against helping by translating the audio, hell, he'd have done it anyway before he was pulled into a room and threatened, by both the Federation, Alliance and the Empire it seemed.
Now though? With slavery hanging over his head?
Marcus shifted in his seat, the hand on his shoulder tightened slightly and he glanced up to see the very, tall, dark-haired woman pushing down on his shoulder. The slightest shake of her head got a chuckle from Marcus which made her frown slightly before he turned to look back at the man across from him.
"You know, you had me there." The man's face remained carefully neutral as Marcus smirked.
"I expected some sort of ass-chewing for showing the Council reps, er," He motioned at the video showing the four aliens, "all that stuff but it didn't actually cross my mind that no one else would understand what was being said."
He leaned forward, the pressure of the hand held him for a moment, just enough as a reminder that it was there. He just looked at the hand and then up at the person attached to it before the hand left his shoulder and Marcus picked up the datapad. He moved the video forward and back in high-speed, skipping around a bit. He stopped and smirked a laugh when he saw Benezia's face on the first hyperspace jump before pausing the video and tossing the datapad in the middle of the table.
"So you just want a translation to see how high up you've got to hang me? Metaphorically of course."
The man across from him was still for a second before speaking in a flat tone and a humorless smirk, "Metaphorically, of course."
He looked up for at the ceiling a moment and huffed a laugh before looking back across the table.
"No."
"No?"
"You didn't ask nicely and, AND you never introduced yourself. I've had pirates be more civil." The man across the table frowned at that before shaking his head.
"This IS us asking nicely, all three major governments agreed that you need to translate this as well as a full debriefing-"
"No." The man scowled and he looked past Marcus.
Marcus' head was suddenly slammed into the table again and his vision narrowed to a dim point of light. Everything felt like it was spinning and he was half-aware that he couldn't quite lift his head right as everything shifted uncontrollably.
After a long moment and as stars swam in his vision, he began to get his bearings again. Sound filtered into his mind as he heard a mixture of voices and the sound of the doors opening and people moving around.
His vision cleared somewhat and he lifted his head, rapidly blinking and opening his eyes as far as he could just in time to see the man that had sat across from him standing in the doorway.
"It seems you've caught the wrong sort of attention Commander Rein. Good luck."
The two halves of the door slid shut, leaving Marcus confused for a moment, his head pounding centered on a sharp pain over his left eye.
He reached up and winced as he touched an open wound, glancing at the blood on his finger as a groan escaped him.
Mumbling to himself, "Wrong sort, no shit."
Suddenly a bit of movement past his hand caught his attention and he jumped in his chair a bit as he realized someone new was in the chair across from him. The man was older, short-cropped dark hair and a well-worn appearance to him. This was a man that didn't spend much time in a ship, or if he did, spent a large amount of money making it look like he didn't.
Marcus squirmed a bit as the man just looked at him, dark green eyes appraised him. He could almost feel himself being measured, the look on the new man's face gave the impression Marcus might not actually be worth the time to speak.
After Marcus felt a bit of blood drip off his eyebrow and the tiny sound of it hitting the table he finally got impatient, "Ok, I'll bite, what in the fresh hell?"
With a grunt the man reached into his pocket and handed him a rag, "Name's Taylor Benning, here, wipe the blood off your face."
Wincing as he did so, Marcus wiped most of it off, glancing at the smear of blood on the cloth and frowning before folding the cloth over and holding it on the cut.
"So this where I just get shot?" After a moment's thought he held out his other hand over the table, "Commander Marcus Rein."
That seemed to amuse the man as he reached over and shook his hand, his grip just below painful.
"I know, I'm from the Pilot's Federation." Marcus raised an eyebrow at that.
"Huh, well, thanks for getting rid of those…." Marcus gestured at the door, "people for me."
Without acknowledging what Marcus said Taylor spoke, "Do you know what happens when a Pilot's certification is revoked?" Marcus went stock still, a chill ran through his body at those nonchalant words.
"...no."
The man just nodded, stood up and stepped to the door and it slid open.
"Turn off the jammer." without waiting for a response the doors slid shut as he sat back down and motioned to Marcus in an offhand manner.
"Connect to your ship." Marcus blinked, confused an worried before accessing his mindcom and pulling up the link to Lucy. He actually flinched as he hit an access denied message. The large crest of the Pilot's Federation in bold red across his vision.
Below the crest the words "Pilot's Certification required for interface." in an angry red.
With a shake of his head the mindcom connection shutdown and he felt his hands go clammy and a cold sweat break out on his forehead. He tried again, the same message plastered across his vision with a new line below large, red text.
"Continued unauthorized attempts will be met with immediate and appropriate security measures." He felt the hair on the back of his head raise and he recalled something about theft, high voltage, and damaged nervous systems from his Pilot's training.
He could only stare at the message for a long moment before shutting the connection again. The room suddenly felt much smaller than it had a moment ago, his mouth working as he tried to form some sort of response.
"Good, we understand each other." Reaching over Taylor slid the datapad over and Marcus took it in his hand woodenly as it lit up.
"Translate this, you get it all back." Marcus looked down at the logs then back to Taylor before nodding, he did not make the mistake of thinking it was a question.
"And if the Pilot's Federation doesn't like what's in these logs?"
Taylor flashed a humorless smile, "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."
Marcus just cleared his throat and hit play, beginning the translation.
The presentation ended showing Benezia walk down the ramp of Commander Rein's ship and the lights of the presentation dimmed as the lighting in the room brightened.
Professor Palin stood and turned towards the Council ambassadors and was mildly surprised to see that the four of them were standing and politely clapping. He took a moment to make eye contact and offered a small bow to Matriarch T'Soni. He drew in a breath to speak, opening the floor to questions before he was cut off by the Matriarch.
"Esteemed Ambassadors," she nodded to him subtly, "Professor Palin, I must apologize for taking the liberty of speaking out of turn."
Internally he simply shrugged, he was only really there as a courtesy and because it was his Institute's base. With a simple nod, he acknowledged the Matriarch's comment which she took as permission to continue.
"I am sure you all have many, many questions, just as we have many questions." There was an amused murmur at that.
"The Citadel Council extends it's warmest welcome to your race during your introduction to galactic civilization."
An eyebrow went up as Palin thought about that statement, humans were all over the galaxy already. They hadn't met anyone...friendly yet but still. They were a civilization.
He could see though, the way the Matriarch was addressing the assembled ambassadors that she hadn't noticed him as she continued.
"As is tradition, I wish to first extend our invitation to your race to come to the Citadel. The center of our galactic civilization, culture, and continued efforts to promote peace and cooperation. There we can better come to know each other and further the goals of all our races in the spirit of cooperation and coexistence."
Palin looked back at the ambassadors of the three major powers and saw some polite interest on the Imperial group, a bit of cautious but easy cheer from the Federation and most surprisingly, seemingly earnest excitement on the face of the Alliance ambassador. The moment didn't last however as they began to look between each other, their faces carefully neutral as they regarded each other.
'Crap, and now the politicking begins because if the briefing was correct these Citadel types are going to need a ride.'
He queried his mindcom and noticed there was a flurry of traffic between the lead ambassadors and among their teams on their mindcoms. Then, Daniel Calf spoke up.
"Matriarch, the Empire is not opposed to such an arrangement and would be honored to provide escort to your 'Citadel'."
Palin saw the team from the Federation's faces tighten before their lead ambassador began to speak loudly to cut off the Imperial ambassador.
'This is going to be a long day.'
Marcus rattled off the translation of what was said as they arrived on the bridge, the only interruptions so far had been when Spectre Odoln had bounced off the floor and that had been a muffled chuckle. He did admit to himself that it was funny to see it again although his circumstances kept him from too much amusement.
"And then I said, 'Look, if we keep getting sidetracked-" He stopped when Taylor held up his hand. Marcus felt his teeth click together and a little part of his pride balked at the way he was letting himself be commanded. The larger part of him that just wanted away from all of this just waited for the man across from him to speak. He really wanted his ships back.
"You know, one thing that I don't think anyone's thought too much on that just popped in my head. How in the hell did you learn to speak this blue alien's language?"
Marcus' shoulders dropped a bit at that as he looked back at the datapad for a second. Still looking at the paused video his voice wasn't particularly loud but the room was small.
"The same way they speak our language now, their 'Meld'."
"Meld? They do some sort of connection of nervous systems right? That's what Palin forwarded."
He paused a moment, "So when did that happen with you? The briefing I got wasn't really specific but it mentioned it happened on that damaged ship right?"
Marcus looked up as he remembered and a flash of panic surged through him.
"Yeah, I boarded that ship, found a bunch of...bodies first. Heads were gone, apparently they were explosive collars - slavers hit the ship."
He just got a grunt and Taylor made the 'go-on' motion with his hand.
"The asari I found was almost dead and desperate. I had tripped on my way to the room she was in and there was grease and sweat blocking my view where my face hit the visor. Didn't think about it, just popped my helmet."
He paused as he grimaced, the flashes of everything happening again made a very unwelcome appearance in his mind. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands and fell silent for a moment. Interrupted by Taylor clearing his throat. He continued.
"I looked up and her eyes were black before she, well, melded. Didn't realized I was an alien, just that I didn't understand her language. So she...eh."
He sat back up, sliding down in the chair a bit in a slouch, "Stabbed it into my mind. Felt like I broke apart and the pieces of my mind soaked it all up like mental acid."
"What do you mean, mental acid?"
"It's like exactly that, having someone else shove themselves into your mind, you just sort of...shatter, then every piece is you and them."
"I can't say I have any idea what the hell you're talking about Marcus."
"Yes."
Taylor's thought for a second, like he was trying to see if Marcus was messing with him but he just held Taylor's gaze before the man motioned for him to continue.
He felt his eyes go unfocused as he remembered what happened next, his brow bunched up as the situation played out in his mind with a vividness he hadn't remembered anything else with before.
"I felt and remembered what happened to her, the Elcor captain, the others on the freighter, the pirates, her daughter. That was the...most urgent thing and last thing. It was burned into my mind."
His eyes were wide now, dimly he was aware of a feeling of wetness on his cheeks, "Then she died, I...felt my heart stop. The feeling of all of my blood draining into my legs, arms going weak...not cold but just numb"
BAM!
Marcus jumped, his eyes darting around at the sudden sound as he tried to sit up, feeling his limbs twitch like they had just after the asari died before he forced his vision to focus again. Taylor was across from him, his hand in a slight dent he had made apparently slamming his hand on the table to break him out of his memory.
He could only stare at the man, finally realizing that he saw some flicker of genuine concern in the otherwise stoic countenance.
There was silence for a moment before Taylor sat back and let his hand slide off the table.
"Tell you what Marcus, that sounded like a Type-9 full of bullshit you got shoved into your head. Next bar you go to tell em to charge your tab to your Pilot's License. You look like you could use a drink after all of that."
Marcus didn't nod or otherwise acknowledge that, he just reached for the datapad and started translating again. Anything to shove all that crap back in it's little hole in his mind.
Benezia watched, keeping her composure and answering the questions the three groups of ambassadors directed at her while they discussed among themselves.
'No, not discussed, they seem polite but I've seen these sort of arguments before. They don't want to let anyone else know they're arguing but there's history between these groups. They seem to dislike each other.'
Her eyes were drawn to the exotic Alliance ambassador, the dark red hair bouncing as she shook her head at the suggestion that had answered the question she had asked. It seemed that they all had the means to travel to Citadel space with the navigation data that Commander Marcus had collected but the internal politics between all of them were a major stopping point in moving forward with any actual plan to do so.
The Federation ambassador made the same argument he had been making, that since the Federation could trace back to their home world, they would be the ones to take them. The Empire and Alliance disagreed for their own reasons. The Empire stated that as their first interstellar successful colony, humanity should be represented by them. The Alliance's statement was a bit more nebulous. They didn't seem to have any specific claim to make to support their transporting them to the Citadel beyond it shouldn't be the two oldest governments that did so.
It hadn't even really been that long since she had put it forward that they should come to the Citadel and while she could admire the...energy the three groups put into the prospect, she didn't relish being caught in internal politics of another race.
With a strong, clear voice she cut the arguments off, "Ambassadors, if I may make a suggestion?"
They all went quiet and seemed to compose themselves at that, the usual reaction she was used to when speaking.
"Commander Rein had done an excellent job of bringing us this far. Perhaps he would be willing to provide the transport for all parties to our Citadel?"
The Alliance ambassador, Holly Bastogne if she remembered correctly, spoke at that, "The Pilot's Federation is unaffiliated and we all have long-standing agreements with them."
She paused, "We cannot be sure Commander Rein would be willing to make the trip again though. I understand he was rather looking forward to washing his hands of all this, so to speak."
The Empire ambassador followed the line of thought, "I have no doubt we could secure an appropriate Commander for this however. I know of several off hand who have Imperial Cutters available for something like this."
Holly scoffed subtly at that, "I believe an Orca or Beluga would be better suited-"
Benezia sensed another three-way argument as she noticed the Federation ambassador subtly shift on his feet.
"Perhaps I could speak with Commander Rein, if nothing else I do wish to thank him and wish him well."
The three lead ambassadors exchanged glances, Denton Fields leaned over to speak privately with one of his assistance for a moment before looking back to her.
"While we wait to reach him, might I suggest a short recess? It has been a very exciting few hours."
Benezia bowed, "Of course." She then looked to Professor Palin and he motioned them towards the door, the others waiting until she had left.
AHAHAHAHA! HA-ha...ah...
Marcus and Taylor laughed at the faces on the screen, the nearly manic grin on his face flanked by the obvious looks of panic on the alien faces.
"Ah...damn Marcus, I've not laughed like that in a while!" He made air quotes with his fingers, "Trust me, I'm a Pilot!"
Taking a deep breath, they both composed themselves, Marcus chuckled to himself as he remembered the sounds the four Citadel reps had made on the first hyperspace jump.
"If nothing else good comes of this fiasco Marcus, that might have just made this whole headache worth it."
Marcus nodded, agreeing as he started the video again. The look on Benezia's face morphing from one of panic, slowly to one of wonder over a few seconds. The other three along for the ride had various reactions as well.
"Now, Benezia seems to be enjoying the jump." Taylor's comment was punctuated by Benezia's light laugh, almost a giggle. None of the lights that both men knew they were seeing showed on the video so it looked like they were all staring very hard at nothing.
"You tell them that there's no proof of what they saw?"
Marcus nodded but didn't say anything until the end of the jump came, both of them chuckling at the renewed look of panic as the bridge of the ship was bathed in light at their arrival from hyperspace. After a moment the lighting on the bridge changed and he started to translate as the video showed them all face in towards each other but was interrupted by a grunt from Taylor as he held up a finger for him to stop.
Pausing the video, "What's up?"
"It seems there's been a request for you, I'd thought there'd be more time of everyone making each other's acquaintance but sounds like Matriarch T'Soni wants to move things onto their home turf."
Marcus just looked at him, a bit confused as he heard a knock on the door, Taylor getting up and the door opening. Professor Palin walked in, nodding to Taylor who nodded back.
Marcus stood, "Professor-" He stopped as Benezia and the others followed in behind him.
Professor Palin spoke next, "Commander Rein, Benezia has invited the ambassadors to their Citadel."
"Ah, so soon?" Palin just nodded and shot him a look which Marcus just returned a confused glance.
Benezia cut any other comments off however, "Commander Rein, I realize that perhaps you have been looking forward to no longer being involved with our first contact now that more..."
Marcus smirked, "Qualified people are here?"
She returned the smirk, "Yes, however, just as the freighter or my ship in the Terminus systems was a poor location for a first contact, and no offense to the Professor here, but the Citadel is the best location for such an auspicious event as a first contact."
Marcus glanced at Taylor, already connecting the dots but still nervous to access his mindcom again, "So you're here to say goodbye?"
"Actually, the Pilot's Federation has been agreed upon to bring the four ambassadorial parties to the Citadel." Marcus made note of the slight inflection she had put on 'agreed'.
"Ah, makes sense, not part of any government…."
A nod from her confirmed that was the jist of it, "I did want to ask you personally if you would be willing to make the trip again? I understand if you no longer want to be entangled in this but, "
She paused for a moment, "We found your company pleasant during the trip here all things considered."
The other three nodded which got a questioning look from Palin.
Spectre Odoln spoke up, "We understand if you have other obligations but we would prefer to travel with you having already done so. You've been a good host Commander Rein."
Taylor looked a little surprised at the Salarian speaking English but got a thoughtful look on his face for a moment when Marcus looked at him, the question obvious.
Marcus thought about it for a moment, "Well, I was translating these logs." He motioned at the datapad on the table when a notification popped up in his mindcom.
-Connection established - MRS Lucy-
Marcus grinned as he saw that and noticed Taylor standing up, grabbing the tablet.
"Well Commander, I think we have enough to translate the rest." He nodded to the various people in the room before catching Marcus' eye for a brief moment.
"I'll leave this up to you...Commander." He broke eye contact and the left, leaving Marcus feeling rather light...and relieved.
"Well Benezia, I think I'm feeling up for another few thousand light year trip." Marcus couldn't keep the grin off his face at the chance to get back out there.
"Now, where is this Citadel we'll be going to anyway?" Benezia thought for a second before turning to Odoln.
The Spectre brought up his Omni-tool and a small projection of the galaxy formed, "We made contact here." a small circle highlighted a spot on the galaxy although given the size and scale it would be more appropriate to say it highlighted a few thousand stars considering the projection of the galaxy was only about a meter across.
Unperturbed by the lack of precision, he keyed in a command and a line jumped out from the circle, bouncing off two others on the other side of the galactic center and ending at a spot almost on the other side of the galactic bulge.
"These are the relay jumps to the Serpent Nebula."
They all looked at it for a moment before Marcus spoke up, "Sooo…" He looked up at Odoln, "Where are we compared to all of this?"
The Spectre just smiled, "No idea. Should be a fun problem."
Marcus just laughed at that before responding, "First things first then, a bit of cartography huh?"
He turned to Palin, "Professor, do you have a room with a galaxy map? I think we'll have to spend some time figuring this out."
After a moment of thought, Palin nodded, "Sure, I'm curious as to where we are compared to Citadel space anyway."
Daniel watched the group of aliens leave the room, his smile fading into a thoughtful look as he ran through what had just happened before his thoughts were interrupted by the other Ambassador.
"I don't like them."
Raising his eyebrows, he looked over to his Alliance counterpart, interested, "Oh? I had thought that with the Alliance's view on alien life you'd be the first ones to welcome them."
Holly Bastogne huffed before shaking her head, "Oh we were at first. The briefing I read through didn't mention they'd, or rather that 'Matriarch' would be so...vaguely condescending."
Denton spoke up at that moment, turning away from his aides as they went about whatever task he had set them to.
"You could be imagining it, we know little of their species. Besides, the Alliance is always complaining about being condescended to. That you'd think that with aliens…" He left any other insinuation left unsaid.
"This was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting between four sovereign governments. We should still be introducing ourselves, answering questions, asking them! Instead, they derail the entire process, insisting that we go to their Citadel. Do neither of you feel like Matriarch T'Soni wasn't so much as listening as she was just waiting to drop that on us?"
Daniel shook his head, "Ms Bastogne, they're aliens. You can't expect the same considerations given to us that we would give them. That one of their experienced diplomats came here on a Pilot's ship-"
"If you believe what was said in that report and if it holds the same weight in their society as ours, if the Matriarch and her companions are the best that could be sent, IF, IF, IF"
He simply stared at the red-haired diplomat as she finished her little outburst, waiting a moment to ensure she was done.
"Yes, there are unknowns when faced with first contact with multiple alien species. A lot of 'ifs' as you say. That alone shouldn't be enough to get you so….concerned."
She glared at him for a moment before speaking, her voice controlled, "I don't like them because Matriarch T'Soni was speaking to all of us the same way both of your governments speak to mine."
Daniel thought on that for a moment before she continued, "Now they're taking it as a given that we would jump through their hoops to meet at a place of their choosing. Something that I am still surprised both of you agreed to so readily, argued over who would take them no less!"
Denton answered her, his voice getting her attention and her hair bouncing as she snapped to look at him.
"The reason for that is simple, we can reach them but they can't reach us." Daniel could feel the tension between the two as Denton almost looked down his nose at the Alliance ambassador.
"So they say."
"Hmph, either way, we've nominally agreed to do exactly that. I assume the Alliance will be accompanying the representatives of the bulk of humanity to their Citadel?"
Daniel watched as she stiffened slightly before shaking her head and relaxing her posture, apparently deciding to not take the bait, "Yes, as much as the Alliance would simply prefer being left out of entanglement with another government who thinks they know better, this is too big."
She glared at Denton, "My team and I will be there to represent the minority of humanity, the trillion not under one of your two government's heels."
Daniel made a hmph sound, which got her attention, "Charming. Though its less than a trillion if I remember correctly" giving her a flat look which she returned.
"However, for all the Alliance's misgivings and usually misplaced complaints I do find myself agreeing with you this time Ms Bastogne."
This elicited a small expression of surprise on her face, "I am not oblivious to how this meeting went but there is still much to learn and until which time we get the measure of this new government I will withhold any condemnation or praise."
"Interested in learning if there are another group of slavers out there? The report did mention that Commander Rein seemed to have interrupted a slave raid." Daniel felt a flash of anger, looking pointedly at Denton.
"And what would the Federation do if there were, I wonder?"
Denton sneered, "Same thing as we've always done with slavers if they enter our territory."
Daniel felt his jaw tighten, he spoke through clenched teeth, "Imperial Slaves are not rounded up in raids! They do not have explosive collars and are treated according to our laws. The Emperor has made the Empire's stance on unauthorized slavery very clear and we have the same if not more strict punishment for unauthorized slaves-"
"They're all unauthorized, you can't condone slavery!"
As he turned and walked around the table to the Federation group to express his displeasure he heard Ms Bastogne sigh and internally he sympathized, this was an old argument after all.
Benezia sat next to Marcus, both drinking the tea that Palin had provided as they watched him, Spectre Odoln, and Uolon working at the large galaxy map projected in the room. Velictus sat on the other side of Benezia with a glass of water, still not wanting to test any food or drink until it could be tested for any allergic reactions a Turian might have.
She felt the cushion shift as Marcus leaned a bit closer to her to mock whisper to her, "I think they're just throwing out acronyms and jargon to impress each other."
She smiled a bit at that, it did seem the three of them were trying to do so. They had been working on a galaxy map roughly large enough you could land a shuttle on it trying to plot some basic points their maps could match up with. Slow going and not much progress in the hour they'd been at it. The only two points on it that were marked with any certainty was the system Marcus had met them in and the one they were currently in.
Spectre Odoln spoke a bit louder, having heard them even though his back was mostly turned to the three of them.
"Pinpointing stellar phenomena that both our civilizations are aware of is the best method we will have to syncing up our cartography." He typed on a datapad and some points were highlighted on the galaxy map in blue and then a similar but different set of points were highlighted in green.
Odoln just sighed, "However, it does seem we will need the Council's more accurate maps. I do not have enough data to line this up properly with us. We rarely have reason to do this without a relay as a point of reference."
With that Palin just nodded and shut the map down, all three of them giving off a sense of slight frustration at not being able to solve that problem as they walked over and sat down with them.
Marcus spoke up as they were sitting, "Well, at least we can get back to your space. I've still got the navigation data."
"Now that you've mentioned that Marcus, is your ship configured to transport everyone? I assume our governments will want their teams to accompany us to the Citadel."
Marcus blinked a few times at her, a surprised look on his face that quickly morphed into a small grimace. No, it would seem he hadn't thought of that yet. She hid her smile behind her cup as she sipped.
"Yeah-no, I did not." He looked to Palin, "Can I do a ship transfer or module transfer?"
Palin nodded and Marcus grinned at that, "Great! Then I have the ship I want to use, it's in Allen station but shouldn't take long to transfer. Lucy's a good ship but Brick? She's a good ship and she's pretty."
He blinked at nothing for a moment, looking at the air between them all before a hologram of a ship popped up between them.
"She's an Orca model and I can get her fitted out for luxury and travel."
Palin coughed, "You named an Orca, one of three luxury ship classes...Brick?"
Marcus seemed proud, "Yep!"
Benezia looked at the spinning image of the ship Marcus seemed so excited about, there would be no mistaking it for anything other race's ship she knew of but it did seem...sleek. She still preferred the lines of Asari ships though.
The conversation was interrupted and she set her tea cup down as she heard a knock at the door, no doubt an aide letting them know they should convene again.
For all the thrown together feel this entire trip had, she was still enjoying herself and she was very much looking forward to bringing humanity into the Council.
Alright! Another chapter down, it came in fits and starts but I got it. I've got part of the next chapter typed up so I'll have the next one out before the end of next month...probably. This has mainly focused on Marcus and first contact and will keep in the same vein as that. He's caught up in all this for now. I do want to thank those that have enjoyed it so far and reviewed. I'm glad I can put something up that's different than a different Shanxi. Funnily enough, I started this story with an ending so no worries on this story not getting finished.
I would like to hear what you all have to say about the story. Review if you can, even guest reviews. I'm not so much worried about the numbers on the story but if everyone is enjoying it.
Thanks!