Captain Hans Shepard walked through the halls of the RNS Crusader. Immediately after the battle with the unknowns, he had initiated rescue operations for any survivors of the lost ships. The various crews of the remaining UER vessels were shaken, yes, but they were ultimately fine.
About three hours after first contact, the UER's 15th Fleet had arrived in system, responding to the message the Crusader had sent to HIGHCOM shortly after the unknowns had first appeared. The 15th Fleet had sent reinforcements to what Doctor Prateesh's cadre had called the "Mass Relay." The majority of the fleet, however, was still in geo-synchronous orbit around Antioch.
The 15th Fleet was…famous, to say the least. It was definitely the most well-known of the UER's 35 fleets, and probably held the most prestige gained from battle. The crews of the 15th Fleet were experienced, and their vessels were in excellent shape, ready to deal with any and all issues that arrived, be it the Insurrection, or these aliens that had suddenly appeared on the UER's radar.
Supplementing the fame of the 15th Fleet was the fact that Admiral Vasily Mikhailov had, a few years back, taken command of the entire fleet. The man was also famous throughout the UER, and had risen through the ranks of the navy in a short time. From what Hans had heard, Admiral Mikhailov was as straight as an arrow, adhering strictly to the UER's standard doctrines. He was, in effect, the paragon of the ideal UER naval officer, and he was responsible for many of the 15th Fleet's clutch victories against the Insurrection. Hans himself admired the man, but, unfortunately, some of Mikhailov's ideals were at odds with his own.
Especially Hans' tendency to go against the rulebooks.
Now, however, in light of recent events, Hans Shepard would finally have the chance to meet Vasily Mikhailov in person. Upon the 15th's arrival in-system, the Admiral had relayed a message for Hans to contact him via the QEC. HIGHCOM needed to know what exactly happened, and they needed the information fast. Thus, Hans was on his way to the QEC, having readied himself for the talk.
Hans entered the QEC Room, and stood in the center of the holographic platform. "Hadley, connect me to the RNS Viridian Green, now."
"Aye, Captain. Patching you through now." The Crusader's Communications Officer, Rickson Hadley, acknowledged the order. Within moments, the middle-aged visage of Admiral Vasily Mikhailov appeared in the QEC. Hans immediately saluted the famed admiral.
"Captain Hans Shepard." The Admiral's thick Slavic accent was exacerbated by the static from the QEC. "At ease. You have something to report, yes?"
"Aye, Admiral. First Contact has been initiated, but I expect it is at least partially hostile."
Mikhailov raised an eyebrow, obviously interested. "Elaborate, Captain. What happened?"
"At 1560 today, I had contacted Doctor Prateesh of the RNS Affinity. The Affinity and her resident science team were inspecting the Mass Relay discovered not too long ago. I had wanted to ascertain her findings, so that I could put them into a report to ORI."
"Continue."
"It was then when the Mass Relay itself lit up a bright blue, and I put my Battlegroup on immediate alert. The Affinity retreated behind Battlegroup Autumn, when a single ship appeared through what seemed to be an FTL lane, next to the Mass Relay. The vessel was damaged, but we could not identify it at all. Upon seeing Autumn, it stopped all movement, and we attempted to contact it.
Before anything could happen, however, another set of alien vessels appeared in the same manner—sixteen ships, ranging from corvette weight to frigate weight. We were at first apprehensive, thinking that the aliens had brought reinforcements, but then, the sixteen ships had fired on both us, and the first unknown. We responded accordingly, firing upon the hostile aliens, as per UER doctrine. At the end of the engagement, we had lost one ship, the RNS Parade, while the RNS Judicator and the RNS Wayfarer were crippled, having taken damage to their reactors. Fortunately, the damage was not too bad, though both vessels require extensive repairs to their reactors."
"What about the first unknown? What happened to it?"
"In the confusion of the engagement, the ship had escaped—post-engagement video records show the ship using the Mass Relay again to escape the battle. Right now, we cannot judge if the first unknown is hostile or not. We don't have enough intel to judge that."
Admiral Vasily Mikhailov seemed to look past Hans for a few seconds with a contemplative look, before returning his gaze to the captain. "Well, in the end, you did a good job, Captain. You adhered to standard UER naval doctrine, and repelled hostiles with minimal casualties." Mikhailov took a breath, looking down, before looking back. "Standard UER naval doctrine says that should a hostile force retreat from a UER system, the defending UER forces are required to pursue enemy combatants if and only if there is a sizeable force left to defend. Had the 15th Fleet been in-system during this engagement, I would have had you pursue the aliens, to prevent them from relaying information back to their superiors. However, in this case, you did well with what you had, Captain. Commendations are in order."
"Thank you, Admiral."
"For the time being, however, we need to secure this system, and the relay, to prevent further hostiles from attacking Antioch. Battlegroup Autumn will attach to the 15th for the near future, and Autumn is temporarily disbanded. Orders for you are to head back to Antioch for repairs and resupplies—we'll have a couple RIGs pull your crippled vessels back to the colony. Captain, compile all video records of the engagement in several copies, and send them and your reports to me. I'll hand them off to ORI for examination."
"Aye, Admiral." With that, the QEC's connection was terminated, and Admiral Mikhailov's image disappeared. Hans took a deep breath, before walking out of the room.
"Helm, full burn to the colony. We'll make for repairs and resupplies, and we'll see what happens next."
"Aye aye, Captain."
"Captain Hadrianus Varilin, the Council will see you now." The asari matron gestured for the turian to go forwards towards the Council Chambers, in order for his reports to the Council.
"Thank you, Telani." Hadrianus moved with a purpose, climbing the stairs to where the Council resided. He could see the three Councilors—Councilor Tevos of the asari, Councilor Jalethi of the salarians, and Councilor Caesus of the turians.
"Greetings, Captain Varilin." Tevos opened her arms in a welcoming manner, greeting the turian captain. "We expect that you have reports to give to us?"
"Yes, Councilor," Varilin replied. "The intelligence the STG cell is in salarian hands, and the PFS Victrix is in repairs—my crew is on shore leave right now."
"Excellent work, Captain." Councilor Jalethi nodded, before continuing. "However, there is something else that interests us more than the intelligence you recovered. We have reports that you initiated first contact with a new species?"
"Somewhat true, Councilors. The PFS Victrix came into contact with a group of ships that we could not identify. In our attempt to escape the batarians, we noticed a nearby relay that was open. The Victrix took this relay to escape, when we happened upon several vessels of unknown make and design. They were obviously startled, and when we were hailed by one of the vessels, the response was aggressive and guarded. I have no doubt that we trespassed into this species' territory."
"Continue, Captain."
"We attempted first contact, but before anything could happen, the batarians also came through the relay. Without a moment's hesitation, they fired on both us and the unknowns. The unknowns promptly returned fire, doing extensive damage to the batarians, and in the chaos, the PFS Victrix escaped through the relay. We made our way to the nearest Council colony, made repairs, and then took several relay jumps back to the Citadel."
The councilors seemed to contemplate this new development—they did not respond to Hadrianus for a good while.
Councilor Caesus was the first to respond to Hadrianus' report. "Thank you, Captain, for this information. That will be all. Report back to your ship, and keep your crew on standby. We may need you in the near future. Dismissed."
With that, Captain Varilin nodded to the councilors, and turned around, heading back to the PFS Victrix. As he left, the councilors turned towards one another, thoughts raging inside their heads.
"This is…interesting, to say the least." Councilor Jalethi brought up a datapad, tapping it a few times before looking at Caesus. "On one hand, this new species could be hostile, and, if left unchecked, could be yet another enemy for the Citadel species. But we can't afford another enemy—we're having enough trouble with the Batarians and Krogans as it is."
"If they're as bad as the rachni were, this could very well turn out horribly, for us," Tevos responded. "We need to act, as soon as possible."
"Though, the captain did say that the batarians fired upon them, while his crew did not. The new species only responded when force when fired upon." Caesus looked up in contemplation. "We could use this to our advantage—they understand the batarians as a definitely hostile force, while we're neutral to them, and we share a common enemy. If we send an envoy, we could potentially have another ally on our side." He looked towards Tevos, with a questioning gaze. "Tevos. Your species is the most diplomatic of us all. What do you think?"
Tevos looked forwards for a few moments, thinking of an answer. "Like Jalethi said, this new species could potentially be aggressive and hostile, like the Rachni were, and how the Krogan are now. On the other hand, they could be a potential ally." She looked back towards the other councilors, decision made. "The potential benefits outweigh the cons. We should at least send an envoy flotilla, and hope for the best. That way, we at least have an opportunity for an alliance. If we should attack them outright, we won't even get to know if they're hostile or neutral. I vote to send an envoy."
The other two councilors voiced their agreement—they were of the same mindset.
"Then it's decided. We'll gather a flotilla, and send for some of our best diplomats. Tevos, get someone you trust. Caesus, gather a flotilla, commanded by someone you know personally—someone who isn't too trigger happy, and we'll include Captain Hadrianus in the envoy as well." Jalethi got to work on his datapad, tapping rapidly across its screen. "I'll gather some STG agents, see if we can cross-reference their technology.
"This Council Meeting is adjourned."
Janna T'lani gazed out one of the many viewports on the Cybaen. The vessel itself was a recent addition to the asari fleets, having only been commissioned two years before and deployed a few months ago. The construction crews assigned to the Cybaen had mixed up several part orders, having fitted the cruiser with a dreadnought-class drive core and an unusually robust prototype engine that, coincidentally, accommodated the excessive power source. Thus, the asari were left with a cruiser with dreadnought-weight thrusters and kinetic barriers. In effect, it was a median between the hulking dreadnoughts and the balanced cruisers—a "heavy cruiser," as the Republics decided to call it. Several matriarchs had even proposed creating a new, separate weight of warships based on the Cybaen.
The Cybaen itself was a detachment from the asari Sixth Fleet, commanded by Matriarch Trevelyna, a good friend and mentor of Janna. It had been a mere two days ago when a messenger from Councilor Tevos entered her office in the Citadel Embassies, bearing news that she was to report to the Council that day.
Turns out, they had needed Janna for a secretive diplomatic mission, and was to be attached to the Cybaen, where she had met diplomats and envoys from the other Council races and Associate races. The Cybaen had been promptly detached from the Sixth Fleet, and attached to the temporary Diplomat Flotilla—security was provided by a collection of twenty turian warships, and a cadre of salarian STG frigates.
Apparently, the leader of the turian security detail was one Rear Admiral Desolas Arterius, a prestigious turian military leader in his own right, from what Janna was able to gather from the extranet. Under him was a turian Captain named Hadrianus Varilin, the one who had first encountered the new species in the first place.
Janna had met both turian officers while the diplomatic envoy was still on the Citadel, and while Hadrianus had been amicable, and pleasant to converse with, Desolas Arterius gave off an aura of a hard-assed, ramrod-straight turian officer—one who would adhere to his principles until death, and would maintain a strict discipline on all of his subordinates. Janna didn't like the turian very much, but could appreciate his dedication to his species.
"Credit for your thoughts, Janna?"
The asari turned towards the voice to her left, where she saw Matriarch Trevelyna.
"Oh, Trevelyna, ma'am. Hello, there. I was just, thinking about our security detail."
"Hm? Care to elaborate?"
"Well, from what I could tell, the turians don't seem too trigger happy, and I don't worry about them, as a whole, ruining any diplomatic advances, or, Thessia forbid, cause a diplomatic incident." Janna turned back towards the viewport, gazing out into the stars. "But I do worry about one turian in particular."
Janna could hear Matriarch Trevelyna's eyebrow raise. "Who?"
"Desolas Arterius. I fear that his blatant love for rules, discipline, and professionalism may detract from our talks—it could unease the new species, or they could interpret it as undue aggression." The asari diplomat sighed, giving a small frown. "I know, it's a stupid worry, but it's a worry nonetheless."
Trevelyna too, turned towards the viewport. "It's good to worry about things like that, Janna. But, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Desolas knows his boundaries, and even he'd be insane to try something." The aged asari matriarch turned her gaze back to Janna. "Why don't you head back to your quarters, get some rest? We've got a few hours before we reach Relay 341."
Janna suddenly realized her weariness—it had been two whole days since she had last slept, since they worked day and night trying to stabilize relations with the associate races during the exhausting war. The asari nodded, before turning on her heels and heading to her cabin. Behind her, Matriarch Trevelyna watched her leave, before turning back to the CIC.
"Elara! What's our ETA on the relay?"
Elara, the Cybaen's helmswoman, replied back on the intercoms. "Four hours, ma'am. Admiral Arterius' ship, the PFS Legendary, reports that the rest of the security detail, about five vessels belonging to a patrol group, are guarding the relay and are waiting for us to arrive."
"Thank you, Elara."
Matriarch Trevelyna gazed out the viewport one last time, before walking towards the elevator.
'Maybe I should get some rest, too.'.
"RNS Viridian Green to the RNS Kilimanjaro, anything to report?"
"That's a negative, Viridian. Kilimanjaro reports nothing on our end. War Fleet Bravo will continue to stand guard at the Mass Relay." The voice of Captain Steven Hackett, commanding officer of the Vector-Class Battlecruiser, the RNS Kilimanjaro, responded seconds later.
Both Captain Steven Hackett and Hans Shepard were matters of considerable note, to the UER brass. Under orders from the Elected Council, Admiral Vasily Mikhailov was to observe and investigate the two captains—they were seen as the next "leaders" of the UER military, and many within the UER's high-ranking officer class expected much out of the two. While Hackett and Shepard retained different ideologies and stances on UER military doctrine, they were both skilled, charismatic, and excellent leaders.
Vasily had no doubt that the two would achieve great things in their military careers.
Nevertheless, Admiral Vasily Mikhailov needed to return to his duties. He had split the 15th Fleet into two separate "War Fleets," each of which was composed of half of the entire fleet. While a War Fleet would usually be commanded by a Fleet Admiral and a Vice Admiral, Vasily had seen fit to assign Vice Admiral Perry for a reserve group—if anything hostile arrived at the relay that Hackett's War Fleet Bravo could not handle, Vasily's War Fleet Alpha would move in as the first wave of reinforcements, followed later by Perry's reserve group as the nominal "triarii." If anything managed to slip past Hackett's and Mikhailov's forces, then Perry would stay in position around Antioch, to guard the colony itself.
It was also a moment for Vasily to test and observe Hackett, and from what he'd seen of the junior officer, Hackett was capable. Mikhailov trusted him.
"Copy, Kilimanjaro. Alpha will resume patrols around the Hershel Belt. Viridian Green out."
For several days after Shepard's first contact with both the hostile and "neutral" unknowns, the system had remained quiet—there had been no new developments since then. The UER military was already in a constant state of high alert, due to the ever-present threat of the Insurrectionists. The news of first contact hadn't remained hushed for long, but it hadn't taken much from the Elected Council to cull any panics and riots.
After all, the majority of the UER's civilian populace was former military, anyways. They all knew the drill.
Still, the UER brass had wanted to keep the 15th Fleet stationed in the Ajax System, both to guard the up-and-coming Military Stronghold and keep watch of any new developments around First Contact. The 32nd Fleet, just out of retrofits, had taken the 15th's position around the UER Civilian Center of Braxton IV, so that a hole would not be made in the UER's extensive defense.
While Hackett was leading the 15th War Fleet Bravo in a position that made it easy for Mikhailov to observe, his other charge had recently come out of repairs and resupplies, and taken what remained of his Battlegroup Autumn to attach to Perry's reserve fleet. Battlegroup Autumn, along with Perry's reserve, had orders to drop any marine detachments onto the colony, and standby for further orders—whether it was to reinforce them at the relay, or hold off at the colony, was to be seen.
"Lieutenant Sanderson. Anything to report from communications?"
"Yes, sir. I have a new report from SPECWARCOM, to be passed onto Battlegroup Autumn and Captain Shepard. Apparently, elements of November, Echo, and Delta Groups are being attached to Battlegroup Autumn."
"Special Forces? Which ones, and what for, Sanderson?"
"Well, the report includes one from each Group, detachments of the Special Assault Division from November, the 11th Light Reconnaissance Division from Echo, and the 32nd CED from Delta. You might know the latter as Bravo Cadre."
"I know what Bravo Cadre is, Lieutenant. Still, SAD, light assaults, and combat engineers? What the hell is SPECWARCOM planning?"
Sanderson looked back to Admiral Mikhailov, a sheepish look on his face. "I wouldn't know, sir. That's all the report says, that, and that it's supposed to be passed on to Captain Shepard."
Vasily rubbed his eyes, evidently tired, yet unwilling to take even a moment's rest. "Noted, Lieutenant. Get to work on relaying that message to the RNS Crusader, immediately."
"Aye aye, sir."
'That's fantastic. SPECWARCOM is attaching SOF operatives specifically to Shepard's group? What next, BAC-SIG on Hackett's ship? Definitely wouldn't want those shady piz'duk on my ship, much less Hackett's…'
The admiral shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts, before moving back onto present matters. The 15th Fleet had to remain on full alert, in case the unknowns of either group returned through the relay.
"Groningen. Nothing on sensors, I presume?"
Shelby Groningen, the Viridian Green's Sensors Operator, took a moment before responding. "Negative, sir. Nothing yet, and nothing reported from Bravo either."
"Keep a close eye on those sensors. Keep me posted, in case anything comes up."
"Aye aye, sir."
Captain Steven Hackett took a sip from his cup of coffee, still hot and fresh. It was of typical military rations, and thus, it was terrible, to say the least.
'This coffee tastes like ass.'
And yet, Hackett continued to drink from it. It was the best he could do at the moment, having stayed awake for nearly three whole days from Braxton IV to Antioch. He needed to stay awake, however, as he could not afford to be asleep if any aliens came through the relay.
"Sensors, anything on the relay?"
"Nothing sir, it's clear. The rest of War Fleet Bravo is reporting the same, nothing on their ends, and nothing on Alpha's end either.
Taking another sip from his coffee, Hackett frowned before continuing. "Communications, get me Captain Halab's Wolf Pack."
"Aye aye, sir."
A few seconds later, the visage of Captain Abdul Halab, captain of the RNS Periwinkle, appeared in front of Hackett, his tanned face turned towards Hackett. "Captain Hackett. Do you need something?"
"Yes, Captain. I want you to send your Wolf Pack forwards towards the relay, at grid sector Yankee-591. Set a diamond formation, and ready weapons just in case. I have an eerie feeling right now, and I want to be sure we're not going to be caught off guard. I want your Wolf Pack behind us, but in front of the rest of the fleet."
"Aye, captain. I can do that."
The communication line closed, before Hackett took another sip of coffee. Indeed, like he had mentioned to Halab, Hackett did feel off right now—his instincts were telling him to get ready, and he always trusted his instincts.
20 minutes later
Hackett had been in the middle of going through reports, when suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. Immediately, he perked up, before his Sensor Operator cried something out.
"Captain! The relay's activating, something's coming through!"
Hackett didn't hesitate for a second, before sending his mind and body on full alert. "All hands to battle stations! Clear firing lanes and ready all weapons! Relay a message to the rest of the War Fleet, defensive positions, and make sure Halab's Wolf Pack is ready for first engagement! We don't want to get caught off-guard, but make sure all UER ships are ordered not to fire unless fired upon." Klaxons immediately began to blare across the ship, as personnel ran back and forth hurriedly. "Ready all fighter and interceptor pilots, but don't launch them yet."
"Aye, sir!"
Within seconds, the relay seemed to reach a peak of activity, before seemingly spitting out lanes of blue energy. Unknown vessels appeared in the space next to the relay, of various designs and forms."
"I'm reading sixteen vessels of various size, design, and form, captain. Sensors aren't recognizing them, looks like the aliens are upon us now, sir." His Sensor Operator took a few moments, before continuing. "Looks like they're being led by a vessel of a destroyer-light cruiser intermediary weight."
"Someone get me a visual on the alien ships, now!"
"Captain! The lead vessel is hailing us!"
Hackett's eyes briefly widened, before he responded. "Respond to the hail, let's see what they want."
"This is Matriarch Trevelyna of the Cybaen. We come in peace, and present diplomatic envoys."
"Isolate that signal, and someone start working on a translation!" barked Hackett, as the alien tongue sounded through the bridge.
"I'm trying, Captain!" The Kilimanjaro's Communications officer cried out, her fingers tapping wildly across her station. "The communication algorithms aren't like anything I've seen before, and it doesn't help that they're speaking in an entirely different language." A second later, a new light appeared on her screen. "Captain, wait, they're sending a visual message!"
"Open it, now."
The Communications officer took a few seconds, as she watched the message that the alien cruiser had sent to the Kilimanjaro. "Captain, I'm sending you the file now."
A visual of the message sent by the alien vessel appeared on the main viewer, and Hackett watched it carefully. It showed two ships, both blue, and one appeared to resemble his own ship, while the other resembled the alien cruiser in front of him. Another dot, much smaller, appeared to exit the alien ship, and go towards the Kilimanjaro, where it seemed to enter the UER vessel.
"Captain, it seems as if they want to send an envoy, of sorts, to our ship. Orders?"
"Send a message back, as simple as you can make it without language. We accept, and I'll meet them in the hangar."
The rest of the crewmembers on the bridge seemed to be wary of Hackett's seemingly brazen decision to meet with completely unknown aliens, but nevertheless, followed their orders. The Communications officer sent the message, and the alien vessel seemed to acknowledge it. A few minutes later, a small vessel, likely a shuttle, exited what appeared to be the alien cruiser's hangar, before moving towards the Kilimanjaro.
"Commander Johansson, you have the bridge. I'll meet them in the hangar." Said Hackett, turning to leave the bridge. "Send an honor guard from the Colonel's regiment. Thirty men on each side. We want to send a message, whether to impress them or intimidate them."
"Aye aye, sir. Contacting Colonel Hsu now."
"Fifty seconds."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Rear Admiral Desolas Arterius turned away from the pilot of the shuttle, before looking back at the other occupants of the shuttle.
First and foremost, the main diplomat of the Citadel's envoy was Janna T'Lani, an asari matron who Desolas gathered did not fully trust him. Next to her was the salarian diplomat, a chipper, yet professional, specimen that seemed uneasy, but ready for any encounters. Then, there was the turian diplomat, one Desolas knew personally as a good friend. General Sparatus, a turian military officer like Arterius, who was aiming to get out of the military field and enter the political field. In fact, it was common knowledge that Sparatus had been playing the political game for long in the Hierarchy, yet did not desire any Primarch position over any colony or planet. Not even Palaven itself.
It was, however, obvious to Desolas that Sparatus was instead aiming for the seat of turian councilor, on the Citadel. Big ambitions, yes, but Desolas knew that Sparatus could easily attain the position.
That left him, Desolas Arterius. He had been brought along, with a squad of turian Blackwatch, to provide security, if needed.
Hopefully not.
"Are we all ready to meet this new species?" Desolas heard a voice to his right, and turned to Janna, the one who had spoken.
"Ready? Yes. But what this species is like is to be seen. Hopefully, things go well." Desolas responded, internally contemplating the possibilities. Would this new species be aggressive? Peaceful? Obviously not, they had responded to the batarians with lethal force. Militaristic? Democratic? Authoritarian?
For all they knew, these newcomers to the galaxy could even be an exact replica of the Turian Hierarchy itself.
"Ten seconds."
Desolas stood up, rolling his shoulders, before turning to the rest of the group. "We should get ready. Janna, I presume you're going first?"
"Yes, Desolas," She responded. "Get your men to follow on our flanks. And, by Thessia, Desolas, please don't do anything rash."
Frankly, Desolas was offended. He wasn't some warmongering, barbaric Krogan, was he? He turned to face out the window, and could see that the shuttle had entered an expansive hangar. White, reflective material was everywhere, and Desolas could see multiple objects that he presumed were fighters, bombers, and other vehicles of the sort. The shuttle came to a stop in the air, and slowly lowered itself, before making contact with the ground.
"We've landed. Door's opening in three."
A few seconds later, the door to the shuttle opened, and the group walked out, eager to see what lay ahead of them.
Desolas whistled. An entire honor guard, of what seemed to be sixty of the new specimen's soldiers, were arrayed in two lines of thirty in front of them. They were armored in black hardsuits with red trim, and wore helmets that concealed their faces with a metal faceplate and a polarized visor. Armed with what looked like rifles, they looked deadly, and professional.
All of a sudden, one of them, which Desolas assumed was their commanding officer, yelled out a command, and the honor guards all grasped their rifles in sync and raised them upwards at an angle, creating a single, loud banging sound as the marines moved in perfect unison.
Desolas was impressed, mandibles moving in a particular manner as he nodded. He could tell that Sparatus felt the same, while Janna was intimidated by the performance, and the salarian diplomat was indifferent.
Then, ahead of them, in between the two columns of guards, a trio started to walk towards them. In the middle was what Desolas assumed to be the officer in charge of the entire ship, wearing a dress uniform decorated with medals and ribbons all over. He was flanked by two armed guards, wearing much of the same attire as the rest of the honor guard.
And, by the Spirits, this new species looked so similar to the asari! The alien's facial features and physique were exactly the same, albeit with a pinkish-tan skin tone, and possessed a batch of fur on its head, and on its face. It was exactly what Desolas had assumed a male asari would look like, despite the differences.
What was this new species?
Janna gave a small gasp, when she saw the alien officer walking towards them. He, or at least she thought it was a he, had the same physique and facial features as the asari, albeit had several major differences. Ears, pinkish skin tone, and…fur? She was already intimated by the blatant militaristic display, this was obviously a militant species, but this?
No matter, Janna shook her head of the wayward thoughts. She had to continue with her duty, to facilitate an easy, gentle diplomatic advance, and to create the beginnings of a diplomatic tie between this species and the Citadel Council.
Finally, the alien officer and his two armed guards stopped right in front of her group, before alien officer smiled gently—a gesture that was incredibly similar, if not the same, as the asari's typical display of content. The alien extended an open hand, before waiting. Another asari-like gesture of greetings, so Janna took the alien's hand and shook it, as was customary.
'Right, now to start with the mind meld."
Janna waited for a moment before extending her hands to the alien's temples. The alien seemed to hesitate for a bit, unsure, before letting her continue—he probably thought the gesture was the asari version of a greeting.
Holding her hands against the temples of the alien's head, she gazed intensely into his eyes, before speaking the customary words.
"Embrace Eternity!"
Immediately, Janna's vision went black, before she could see again, into the alien's mind. His mind was extremely similar to an asari's, yet still different. It was, however, easier to comprehend than, say, a turian's, or a salarians. Janna started to focus—her main goal was to attain this alien's language, so as to facilitate easier communication.
She saw faces, planets, images of various meanings, yet Janna could not understand any of them. Language, she urged. Then, Janna felt a wary, if curious push, from her host.
'What are you doing? Where are we?'
Janna responded, with a soothing, easy voice.
'Peace, Steven Hackett, I mean you no harm. We are inside your mind.'
Janna could suddenly feel resistance, as if this Steven Hackett was trying to force her out of his mind. 'How do you know my name, Janna? Are you trying to read my mind? Get out!'
Janna focused on soothing Hackett's mind, before speaking again. 'The same reason you know mine, Steven Hackett. Please, remain calm. I am only trying to learn your language.'
'I won't tell you anything. I won't betray the UER.'
Suddenly, Janna was flooded with images. The United Earth Republic. A spaceship. The stars, Faces of his commanding officers, Hackett's subordinates, marines, soldiers, battles across the stars against his own species. A flag, painted red with a golden eagle perched on a planet. Earth. His homeworld. Human. His species. This Steven Hackett was a soldier, for life. He loved everything his United Earth Republic stood for, and would defend it to the death. It was his duty, his honor, and his life. It was his family.
'Please, Steven. Remain calm. I can only see what you choose to show me. I am not forcing it out of you—I am asking you for your language. I am a guest, in this house. You are the host. My only want is to learn your language, so that communication between our species is easier.'
'I can't trust you yet. Show me your secrets, first.'
Janna obliged, and sent him images of her own possession. Thessia. The asari. Her language, her studies in diplomacy and the arts. The Citadel, the Council, the many colonies and planets of its member species. Janna T'Lani.
'561 years old? You're old…sorry.'
'And you would only be a baby within our society, Steven. 41 years old?'
'Yes. Then…I will show you the primary language for my species. English. But I will show you nothing more.'
'I understand.'
Janna was immediately flooded with even more images—words, of which she finally understood. Language, education, sentences, grammar—everything that Hackett saw fit to give her. In return, Janna gave him the knowledge of the turian and salarian languages, since she had already passed on the asari's main dialect, Serrice, just before.
Then, Janna felt Hackett's mind tire—he was fatigued by the exchange of knowledge, as was regular. 'Steven, are you alright?'
'Tired, yes, but I can manage. That was…a tad exhausting. We can talk now, yes? Outside of my…mind?'
'Yes, I would assume so.' Then, Janna felt an immediate sense of worry, of urgency—something was worrying Hackett. 'Steven, what worries you?'
'My men, they may react aggressively—they could think you're brainwashing me, or taking control of me. How can we be sure they haven't attacked you, or your group, yet?'
Janna chuckled lightly, amused by Steven's response. 'No need to worry, Hackett. It has only been a second or so since I began the mind meld outside of your mind. That will not be enough time for a negative reaction, I hope, and hopefully, your men will only see this as a customary greeting of our species, just as your handshake was.'
'Good…good…shall we return, now?'
'Yes. I'm going to end the mind meld, now. Are you ready?'
'As ready as I can be.'
Janna hesitated for a second, before pulling her mind out of the meld. Her vision went dark again, the two entities separating into two, before she opened her eyes again to the real world.
Steven Hackett still stood in front of her, a tad dazed, yet conscious, and his two guards were still at his side, looking a little bit unnerved, but reasonable yet the same.
"Thank you, Steven Hackett. That was…enlightening, to say the least."
Hackett's guards seemed to shuffle a tiny bit, obviously surprised that Janna knew of their language, but still retained the brutal professionalism all UER soldiers and marines seemed to possess. Hackett, on his part, remained indifferent, yet smiled at her.
"That was indeed, Janna T'Lani. It's good to meet you. I assume you and the rest of your envoy will want to talk further in the ship?" He gestured towards the rest of her party, raising an eyebrow. Janna turned back with a questioning look, and they nodded, ready to follow her deeper into the ship.
"That would be a yes, Captain Hackett. We'll follow you."
They had all gathered in a room nearby the bridge. There was a single table in the middle, with armed guards standing by the door. In a gesture of mutual trust, Hackett allowed the turian guards to keep their weapons, to defend themselves. Steven's XO, Commander Johansson, sat at his side as the aliens all took their seats, with the exception of the turian guards.
"Now, I assume that you're all here to facilitate a first contact with our species?"
Janna nodded, before responding. "Yes, Captain Hackett. The Citadel Council received reports that a turian vessel made initial contact with a human ship in this system, while attempting to escape a batarian pursuant through a Mass Relay. The batarians had attacked your ship, while the turian vessel escaped back to the Citadel. Upon this discovery, we wished to make peaceful contact, and make sure that there were no hostile intentions between our species."
Hackett took in Janna's words, and looked her in the eyes. "This is reassuring, to be sure. Make no doubt, the UER does not wish for any hostile contact with another race. However, be sure that if these…batarians, do attack us again, we will respond with lethal force, and possibly even war."
Janna sighed—she did not want to have to touch upon the Citadel's current war with the Krogan-Batarian-Terminus alliance. However, she would if she had to. She returned her attention to Hackett when she heard him talking again.
"So, you said you're from the Citadel Council? What is this Council, and this Citadel, exactly?"
"The Citadel Council is a unified front for the Council species and its Associate species. The Council is made of the Asari, Salarians, and Turians, and a representative from each species is set as the representative of his or her species." She took a breath, before continuing. "It is not a completely unified 'nation,' to be sure. Each species and its respective government is free to govern and rule itself as it sees fit—but we are engaged in mutual defensive and military alliances, and will support each other if need be militarily, diplomatically, or economically. Every member species can choose to remain independent—though that rarely happens, if they are offered the chance."
Hackett seemed to absorb the knowledge for a time, merely staring at Janna. She slowly grew more uncomfortable, before Hackett finally responded. "Then, that is good to hear. The UER definitely does not wish for war, but I cannot say whether the Elected Council will see fit to join as an Associate race or not yet. That is to be seen."
"Now, I do have a question for you, Janna. Why, exactly, was your turian ship running away from these batarians? Why did the batarians fire on us? Is there a war of some sort going on?"
Before Janna could respond, Sparatus, to her right, interrupted her. "Yes, Captain Hackett. The Citadel Council is currently engaged in war with the Batarians, and their allies the Krogans, and the various pirates and mercenaries in the Terminus Systems."
"Terminus? Krogans? Tell me everything I should know." Hackett responded.
"The Terminus is what we call the relatively lawless portion of the galaxy that the Citadel Council does not govern. The Krogan are another species, well known for their aggressiveness and hostility. I'm sure you already know about the batarians."
"So, you're telling me that you are currently in a war with an alliance of aggressive, hostile aliens, and by responding to the batarians with hostile force and discussing political matters with you, we will have dragged ourselves into this war?"
"Unfortunately, Captain, yes. I have no doubt that the batarians will declare war on your species, now or in the future. That is why I propose something. An alliance, between the Citadel Council, and your United Earth Republic. We need all the allies we can get, and while we are peaceful towards you humans, they, most certainly are not."
Hackett looked down at the table, silent and contemplative. The Council ambassadors slowly grew more and more anxious, as Hackett did not respond to Sparatus' offer. Finally, Hackett looked back up, worry in his eyes.
"I cannot say whether my leaders will accept this alliance or not—they will not willingly drag the UER into yet another war, while we are currently in the midst of an…internal issue. Nevertheless, be assured that for the time being, the UER will remain peaceful and neutral towards your Citadel Council." Hackett took a breath, before continuing. "I assume that in the near future, the UER will send a proper ambassador to your…Citadel, to speak further on such matters. I—"
Suddenly, klaxons began to blare all over the ship, as red alarms splayed light all over the room. The entire group stood up from the table, aware and worried, as the guards on both sides grasped their weapons and became alert.
"Commander, what the hell is going on?" Hackett barked at his XO.
"I have no idea, Captain!" Commander Johansson started tapping on a device on her wrist, before looking back up, frantic. "Captain, the bridge is reporting several vessels coming out of the relay, matching Batarian design! Sir, they say there is no visible end to the stream of ships!"
One of the turian guards looked down at his Omni-Tool, before grabbing Desolas' attention. "Admiral, sir! Reports are coming through that the patrol group on the other side of the relay has been destroyed! They're reporting an entire fleet of batarian and krogan vessels are coming through the relay, loaded for bear!"
Without hesitation, Hackett sprinted out of the room, gesturing for the Council diplomats to follow him. "Commander, make sure we get the diplomats back to their ship—scramble a fighter wing to escort them." He turned back to the diplomats, urgency in his eyes. "I need you to get back to your ships, and back behind the fleet. Get back to the colony, Antioch, if you can. I'll send word that you're neutral, so that they don't fire on you."
The Council diplomats nodded, before splitting ways with Hackett, following Commander Johansson to the hangar. Captain Hackett sprinted through the halls of the Kilimanjaro, seeing scores of crewmen and marines running back and forth as the klaxons and alarms continued to blare. Hackett burst into the bridge, settling into the middle of the room, by his chair.
"Bridge, sitrep now!"
"Captain, we've got at least 80 incoming X-rays, and more counting, through the relay! Energy signatures rising, it seems they're preparing weapons!"
"Sir, the alien diplomats have returned to their lead vessel, and they're attempting to pass our line!"
"Let them get through, and get me a line back to Admiral Mikhailov!"
"You're transmitting, sir!"
Instantly, Admiral Mikhailov's voice came through the comms. "RNS Kilimanjaro, RNS Viridian Green. Anything to report? We've got visuals of contact between you and the aliens, but we're getting reports of another alien fleet coming through the relay."
"That's correct, sir, we're sending the ships containing the Council diplomats back to Antioch. We've got another fleet of aliens coming through the relay, potentially hostile to both us and the diplomats." Hackett barked. "We need reinforcements now, we need the other War Fleet."
"Copy that, Kilimanjaro. We're on route. I want you to pull your War Fleet back to an intermediate coordinate between our fleets, and assume a defensive position. I'm having Perry's reserve drop their marines on Antioch and hold position in orbit. Viridian Green out."
Hackett closed the transmission, before barking another order. "Contact the rest of the fleet now, ready weapons, and turn this ship around, full burn towards grid sector November-312."
"Transmission online, captain!"
"Fleet, pull back for now, and assume defensive positions in the area between War Fleet Bravo and Alpha! Ready weapons, and prepare for potential hostile contact!"
The War Fleet quickly turned around, heading back to maintain a greater distance from the batarian and krogan fleet. All that remained was to see how contact would go.
CODEX:
The Office of Republic Intelligence: The UER's Office of Republic Intelligence, often shortened to ORI, is an incredibly secretive intelligence organization within the UER. Not much is known about ORI, except for the fact that they will do anything they can to protect humanity and ORI. It is led by a singular Director, of which the current Director is an Admiral Mary Ishimura, but there are rumors that ORI is led by someone even higher than the Director…
BAC-SIG: The Battle Assistance Command—Special Interests Group, commonly shortened to BAC-SIG, is a special forces group within the UER. However, it is not connected to SPECWARCOM by any means, instead under the direct command of ORI itself. Not much is known about BAC-SIG, as it is a heavily classified and secretive group in the UER, and was created amidst the constant threats of rebel and terrorist activity. Slightly comparable to the 20th century American Military Assistance Command—Vietnam: Studies and Observations Group, upon which the BAC-SIG was lightly based, the SIG specializes in covert unconventional warfare, espionage, sabotage, assassination, etc.—and also, many things that are not even whispered of. Besides the spooks of the UER's various intelligence groups, the BAC-SIG is known to undertake the most Black Ops and Deniable Ops of the RAF, using specialized teams.
RIG: The RIG is a mobile support platform for the UER's largest fleets, and performs various support duties for the fleet it is attached to, varying from repairs, rearms, and resupplies, to in-field creation of smaller vessels if needed.
Support, meant to rearm and redeploy on the go. Contained to large fleets.
Homestead-Class RIG: 4,500 meters long, 2,150 meters wide.
Specialty: Support—Field Resupply and Repair, Assault Support Platform
SPECWARCOM: SPECWARCOM is the main command structure under which most of the UER's Special Forces are retained. SPECWARCOM is composed of various units from all the branches, and structures them all under several "groups."
November Group
November Group is a section of UER Special Operations that deals primarily with traditional special operations, including reconnaissance, some wetwork, assault, raids, some assassinations, etc., but can still participate in frontline combat or reconnaissance.
Guard Group
Guard Group is composed of all of the Guard elements UER SPECWARCOM.
Echo Group
Echo Group is among the least "Special" of the special forces, but are still potent, deadly, and elite. Echo Group deals primarily with reconnaissance, light infantry, skirmishing, etc.
Delta Group
Delta Group is, alongside Echo Group, among the least "special" of SPECWARCOM, but are still deadly, elite, and potent. Delta Group is comprised of units that specialize in assaults, front-line combat, demolitions, and anything primarily loud.
Zulu Group
Zulu Group is comprised mostly of UER ORI elements, and participate in wetwork, assassinations, intelligence gathering, special interests, studies and investigations, etc. It is completely separate from the rest of SPECWARCOM, and is commanded only by ORI.
Theta Group
Theta Group is one of the UER Army's most elite special operations groups, and not much is known about them. They undertake the most dangerous operations the UER Army offers, besides the ones assigned to the guards (and even then, some of the assignments meant for the Guards are reassigned to Theta Group). They specialize in counter-terrorism, hostage recovery, black/deniable operations, espionage, counter-insurgency, assassination, sabotage, and many more delicate subjects and operations.
Author's Note:
Hey, guys. Thanks for reading the first three chapters of The Inheritance of Man. Hope you enjoyed it. Again, constructive criticism of any kind is appreciated, and needed.
Again, I do need a beta, for those specific reasons. Any takers? :D
The next chapter will likely be uploaded within the next two weeks. Until then, ciao.