He opened up his locker, taking a single moment to stare at the dark armor stacked neatly inside.
You won't regret this Shepard.
He reached into it, slowly beginning to pull its contents out one by one.
I hope so.
He took a step back after finishing, scrutinizing the large pile of armor now heaped before him.
For your sake.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Pants first.
I stepped into the armor's greaves and lifted them up to my waist. Shoved my feet into the armor's boots right after. Simultaneously, Ashley unfolded an assault rifle beside me. I decided to pull the Janissary's chest piece over my head next, sliding my arms into its bracers. After her inspection, the marine beside me re-folded the gun and placed it on her back. I snapped the belt of my armor into place, and connected the final latches to combine the hardsuit's two halves. Ashley reached into her own locker and pulled out some frag grenades, affixing them to her belt. I splayed my hand while pulling my wrist, making sure the gauntlet was as snug as it could be. Ashley then took another assault rifle from her locker and too, slung it over her shoulder. My omni-tool lit up shortly after I connected the pieces of armor, displaying a message across my arm.
This hardsuit's VI 'Delumcore-HK Suite DT-07M' has detected an operating system. It wishes to engage the hardsuit's pressure sealed system and allow feed-back-
Almost by habit now, I immediately enter the command 'Approve' into the holographic display atop my glove. Within an instant, I feel various parts of my body stiffen in response. Only now were the pieces of my armor truly locking into place, becoming a properly insulated and airtight system, and potentially even a space suit. It was a feeling that I still wasn't entirely used to. On my right, Ashley reached into her locker one last time to grab her helmet, slinging it behind her hips, and mounted it just above her shotgun.
"You ready?" the woman asked, still crouching next to me.
I mimicked her action in response, grabbing the spare helmet from my locker as well. After attaching it to one of the magnetic holsters on my waist, I simply muttered "Yeah. Let's go."
Right as I began to turn around though, she stopped me.
"Wait...you'll probably need this."
She went back into her locker and pulled a pistol from it. My pistol.
"So that's where that's been," I said taking it from her. Couldn't believe I almost forgot it. Would have been a bit humorous going down without a weapon in hand to be honest. Right up until the point I was killed for being unarmed.
"I loaded all those spare heat clips you had laying around too. I counted four in total."
"Thanks," I replied examining the gun. Honestly, I was just glad that they hadn't sold it like I had originally feared. I found the button near the Predator's muzzle and pressed it, causing the gun to retract back into a compact square. I carefully holstered it on my thigh's magnetic strip. "That all?"
She narrowed her eyes at me before quickly turning around and walking in the direction of the weapon bench behind her. "Take this too."
"Oh shit!" I shouted as she suddenly tossed a gun in my direction. Luckily, it landed right in my arms, and as soon as it did, I reflexively hugged it tight to my chest. And then I looked at her like she was insane. Which she fucking was. "What the fuck was that?!"
"The safety's on, you baby," she responded nonchalantly.
"What-I-Are you serious?! So you decide it's alright to chuck the thing at me?! The thing filled with live ammunition?! Did no one ever teach you gun safety!?"
She merely rolled her eyes in response. "I've spent a good part of the last decade around that model. I've never heard of it going off unintentionally once."
"Well...there's a first time for everything," I replied cradling the assault rifle carefully in my arms. Then I raised a brow looking back up to her. "...are you sure Shepard would be alright with you giving me this?"
"Hey, you said you wanted another gun didn't you?" she questioned. "With the way you waste ammunition, you'll probably run out of those heat clips before we even leave the dock. This way, you can at least provide a distraction for us when you do." She quickly glanced down at the gun before resuming eye contact. "You ever used one of these before?"
Looking down at the rifle, I shook my head in response, suddenly regretting the choices I made in regards to the talent tree. If I had known I was going to be handling a weapon other than my handy Predator...
To my surprise though, the Lancer only felt marginally heavier than my pistol. You'd think the thing was plastic with how light it actually felt. The only thing that really intimidated me however was its two barrels.
Do they both fire? Or are one of these just for show? Or heat venting? How do you even aim this thing? Where's the sight-
"Well, Hahne-Kedar makes them real simple," she said answering my questions. "You see someone we don't like, just hold down the trigger right there, and bullets should come out of the end right here."
"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.
"No problem," the girl with the white and pink armor said smirking. "Glad I could help." Then her attention turned to someone behind me. Or some ones that is. "Hey you two, meet us on the bridge when you're done gearing up. Shepard wants to leave the ship as soon as we dock."
"We'll be right behind you," Garrus responded.
"Come on Shield," Ashley said turning her attention back to me. "Better not keep the Commander waiting."
I sighed and folded the assault rifle onto my back, waiting until I heard it lock into place. Then I followed her toward the elevator, and nodded in Garrus and Tali's general direction as we passed them. I saw Garrus return the favor right before the elevator doors closed.
Ashley and I apparently arrived at just the right time, as the Normandy was just entering Noveria's atmosphere. We could already hear Joker radioing the planet's air traffic comp as we walked up the bridge.
"Approach Control, this is the SSV Normandy. Requesting a vector and a berth."
With the addition of us, I found the bridge a little crowded now, as Wrex, Kaidan, Liara, and Shepard were already present, towering above the handful of other hands on the bridge seated below.
"Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grid is armed and tracking you. State your business."
His welcome reflected the world we were landing on. Cold and professional. I decided to review the facts I had gotten from the extranet one last time in my head. I had quite a bit of time to read up on Noveria in between relays and each FTL jump we took. I mean, I knew the basics from the codex, but I decided it couldn't hurt to learn more. And I learned quite a bit. From what I read, the planet was essentially a privately chartered colony world owned by the Noveria Development Company (or NDC). That's where I first got distracted and looked up how a company could 'privately own' an entire world.
According to the site I went to, space exploration and colonization is a complicated business. Like unnecessarily complex. In 'Citadel space', every survey team (commissioned by a sovereign state or private firm) must be registered with an independent government (or sovereign state) recognized by the Council. If you're say, an unlicensed wild-cat miner who happens to stumble upon an Eezo-rich world, it's free game for any interstellar power that also 'happens' upon it, and you might even be evicted for illegally trying to claim the resources without interstellar authorization.
So when a new solar system is discovered (or surveyed) by whomever, the rights to the system are determined by the independent government funding the expedition. This can be determined by the contract that was negotiated, laws passed by that government's legislative body, or whatever exclusive rights were granted in regards to that unique situation. This can result in a company (like Exogeni) effectively owning a colony and world (such as Feros). The independent government (Systems Alliance) allows those that conducted the survey (Exogeni) to govern the planet (if they can afford it) as they see fit, only interfering with its development for humanitarian or defense reasons. Past that point is where the bureaucracy got a little too extreme for my taste.
IN ANY CASE, that's why Noveria is privately owned, and not technically considered a part of Citadel space. The survey teams that happened upon the Pax system were funded by a joint venture of twenty four different interstellar corporations. While each of these corporations operated underneath a sovereign power, that's exactly what caused the Pax system to be labelled as a 'Terminus system' in the Traverse (which was their plan from the get-go). Their joint effort to survey the system resulted in policy conflicts between the Turian-governed ERCS, Asari-governed Synthetic Insights, Human-governed Exo-Geni and so on. Since no race wanted to start an interstellar dispute pushing their rights to the system, Pax was simply labelled as ungoverned space (or Terminus System). So now that the corporations effectively owned the system without input from any Citadel race, they had to find a way to mediate their business, and TADA, the NDC was formed. An impartial (in theory) holding company whose executive board was made up of candidates from each of the twenty-four original corporations. The NDC provides these corporations with an extra-legal world to explore questionable research and controversial practices on.
That loophole they exploited has since been fixed (with joint-interstellar corporation efforts now put directly under Council jurisdiction), but Noveria still technically remains that independent Terminus system outside (but really inside) Citadel space.
I snapped back to our current situation when I heard Shepard's voice. I didn't realize I had gotten so sidetracked. She had been pacing back and forth in her crimson red armor behind Joker when she heard the NDC's reply. "Citadel business," she immediately cut in afterwards. "This vessel has the authority of a Council Spectre."
A lull of silence fell across the bridge following her statement. Looks were exchanged.
"Commander...we might need-"
"Landing access granted Normandy."
"-nevermind," Joker finished.
"But be advised," the voice decided to add. "We will be confirming identification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded."
More looks and murmurs were exchanged.
"What a fun bunch," Joker snidely remarked to no one in particular. "I think I'll take my next shore leave here."
"Just focus on bringing the ship in nice and steady lieutenant."
"Hey, name one time I haven't," he shot back.
Shepard ignored him, deciding to turn around instead and examine her troops. She looked over Wrex, the Krogan clad in his solid red mercenary armor, eager to get off the ship and stretch his legs. Kaidan, outfitted in his special-ops onyx armor, currently cracking his neck in preparation. Ashley, sporting her white and pink phoenix armor, standing at attention on my right. Liara, wearing a lighter version of Ashley's armor, and who's attention was currently affixed to the floor. As I looked at her, I remembered for the umpteenth time what was about to happen here. I tried not to think about how she would feel after everything was said and done.
"Where's Zorah and Vakarian?" Shepard spoke up.
"Here Commander!" Tali immediately replied saddling up beside me, breathing a tad hard. Looking over my shoulder, I could see Garrus still making his way through the CiC behind her.
"Good, then listen up. We're here because we recently got a tip that Matriarch Benezia arrived not too long ago. If some of you don't know why that name's familiar, it's because she's working with Saren. We don't know what she's here for, or how many enemy combatants she brought with her. What we do know however is that we have to find and stop whatever she's doing before she returns to Saren."
"Commander, the Normandy just finished docking. You're able to leave any time you want," one of the bridge crew reported from their consoles.
She started walking toward the airlock. "You heard her. Time to move."
As soon as the air lock had equalized pressure and opened its doors, a bone-chilling wind rushed in to meet us and assaulted our faces.
"Damn that's cold," Ashley chattered beside me.
"Wonder what that feels like."
Ashley stared at the Krogan next to her. "What it's like to be cold?"
"That's right. Just another upside to being Krogan I suppose," Wrex grinned.
"Put on your helmet and activate your suit's thermal if you're already feeling frosty," Shepard added. "We're going to be here awhile."
"I can manage," Ashley muttered crossing her arms.
"Hopefully it'll be a little warmer once we're inside," Kaidan remarked.
And with that, the eight of us exited the airlock and began our approach to Port Hanshan. As we came closer and closer to the entrance of Hanshan's facility, I found that the docking area kind of reminded me of a subway station. The tunnel the Normandy had docked in seemed to be made of concrete and went on for what seemed a long ways. Or I thought it did until the group suddenly turned around a corner. And just like I had predicted, there they were. One Japanese woman, one blonde, and one turian. And four other goons I hadn't remembered as well. The amount of security before us was actually intimidating, especially since I was sure there were more here than I remembered.
"That's far enough," Captain Matsuo said holding up a hand.
When Shepard came to a stop, so did the rest of our entourage.
"I'm on important business," Shepard asserted, "don't waste my time."
"Watch your tone," the blonde rent-a-cop spat back.
I could feel Shepard already glaring at her. I couldn't really tell though since I was kind of at the back of the group. I didn't quite have the best view of everyone up front due to this. I decided get a little closer by squeezing myself in front of Wrex, who actually happened to be taking up half the walk. He let out a low growl as I did so but...whatever. To be honest, the guy needed to be more aware of his size. Every time he walked down a hall, you would have to run back to the room you had just left to avoid the Krogan plowing through you.
Sorry, got sidetracked. Anyway, back to the group at hand-
Matsuo shot a glance at the tough-looking blonde, probably telling her to cool it. But shortly after, returned her attention back to the guests of honor. "This is an unscheduled arrival. I'll need your credentials."
"You first," Shepard said hostilely. Now that I was a little closer, I could actually observe Shepard's more subtle movements. Her head slightly cocked, eyes quickly flitting between the members of the group in front of us, fingers slowly moving to her sidearm. That last one was kind of alarming. It was pretty clear that she didn't trust them. In fact, I think she was actually expecting a fire fight. Which was even more worrying, as she was about to be given a reason for one once they move to confiscate our weapons.
"We're the law here," the blonde said coldly. "Show some respect."
I AM THE LAW...would have been a good comeback. But alas, no one had my amazing taste for one-liners.
"I'm Captain Maeko Matsuo," the head of the welcome party continued cordially, at least in contrast with her number two. "Elanus Risk Control Services."
"Mercenaries," Garrus said aloud.
"Oh please, like you're not," blondie snapped back.
"Sergeant Stirling, control yourself," the Captain immediately ordered. Stirling grumbled something under her breath in response. The middle-aged Japanese woman closed her eyes briefly to recompose herself. She then took a quick breath before continuing. "We're employed here by the executive board to uphold the law in Port Hanshan. The ERCS is a shareholder, and provides its services at a discount. And now that we've identified ourselves, I'd like to ask again for you to show your credentials."
"All you need to know is that I have more credentials than you."
Oh Shepard. A true diplomat.
"They plan to be trouble ma'am," Stirling said cocking her gun.
"I can't let you enter the port area without confirmation of your identity." If Matsuo was annoyed by Shepard's response, she hid it pretty well. But then came the line, "Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons."
Worst.
Decision.
Ever.
As soon as Stirling took a step forward, the Normandy crew had whipped out their respective weapons (and/or biotics) already primed, ready to go. The guards lagged in response, only pulling their firearms out several seconds later. This was most likely due to their shock at our tenacity. Probably weren't used to situations like this. Hell, I KNEW this would happen and was still shocked.
The only two people who hadn't actually joined the Mexican stand-off were me and their captain. Matsuo simply stood where she was, calm, hands behind her back, not even attempting to reach for her pistol. I couldn't tell whether she was incredibly disciplined or just severely underestimated how batshit crazy Shepard was when it came to violence.
"Don't try it," Wrex guttered.
"Nobody takes my weapon," Shepard didn't fail to add.
"Charge and lock," Matuso responded.
And that's how thirteen people in the docking bay suddenly came to cock their guns and prepare for a giant shootout. I knew Gianna was going to make them stand down in just a second, but I still couldn't help feel like I was making a huge mistake when I decided to jump in between them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoaaaa," I said holding out my arms to both groups. "Guys! Let's-"
I felt my arm suddenly get yanked.
Mistake. Definitely a mistake.
Sterling wrapped her arm around my throat and lifted her shotgun to my head. Not the most efficient gun to hold someone hostage with but- "Drop your guns!"
"Oh shit," I said in response.
"Shield!" Liara burst.
"Damn fool," Wrex said aloud.
Shepard just narrowed her eyes.
I gulped.
...so...not your best moment.
"We are authorized to use lethal force. You have to the count of three to surrender your weapons," Matsuo added. But there was no response. So she started counting down like a mother about to punish her child. "One-" Shepard eyes flitted between Matsuo and Stirling. Kaidan opened his mouth to say something but no sound left it. "Two-" Everyone had crazy eyes now, and Shepard glew violet, deciding to train her weapon...on me.
Oh god-
"Thr-"
"Captain Matsuo stand down!"
Oh god. Oh thank god.
The blonde's grip didn't lessen, and guns weren't lowered until the voice continued. "We confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here Captain."
Matuso looked to her right real quick before renewing eye contact with Shepard. "You may proceed Spectre." Sterling let go of my neck and shoved me forward. Never thought I'd fear a woman's touch as much as I did now. But as soon as she did, everyone followed suit. Shepard glared at me as I was pushed back toward the group. "I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."
I turned back around to face the guards as they started to disperse.
"Behave yourselves," Stirling decided to add.
"Behave yourself."
Damn you mouth. Why can't you just shut up once? Damn you.
"Excuse me?" she gawked turning around. "What did you just say?"
Two of the ERCS guards close enough to hear us seemed to stop what they were doing and listened in. I ended up just standing where I was like a deer in headlights.
You just had to get the last word in didn't you? Had to open your big fat mouth. She just had a gun to your head. She was willing to kill you a second go. She has no morals. You can't just tell her that you know about-...hm. Or CAN you?
"That's what I thought," she sneered, taking my silence as submission. As she began to walk away, down another hallway adjacent to the main entrance, I finally responded.
"Anoleis won't be around much longer."
She slowly turned around with a fury that gave Shepard's a good run. "Are you threatening the Administrator?"
"I'm afraid that's a secret," I said with a slight smirk. "But why do you think a Spectre's here?" That got her to take a step back. "I'd just be sure that I'm not involved in anything dirty while she's around." I gave a quick motion back to Shepard. Though she was still giving me a caustic look, Stirling seemed to back off. Without a word, the woman turned around and quickly walked away, motioning for the two remaining guards to follow her.
"Alright, I'll bite. Who's Anoleis?"
I slowly turned around, surprised to see the Normandy gang still hanging out behind me. I thought they had already followed Matsuo inside. I probably wouldn't have continued that conversation if I had known they were still behind me. Now I would have to explain who Anoleis was, and how I might know that and...I was actually surprised that they hadn't butted into the conversation.
"You'll probably meet him in a second," I decided to just cryptically reply to Ashley.
Shepard rolled her eyes in response and walked past me into the actual building. Following her lead, we all trailed behind her. As the second person to enter though, I got a nice view of the building's lobby. The first thing you noticed, and couldn't miss, upon walking in was the large waterfall smack dab in the middle of the room. The soothing sound of cascading water filled the entire area. Incredibly Swanky.
The waterfall itself was sandwiched between two staircases that you could see led up to Port Hanshan's actual check-in. Shepard immediately made a straight beeline for them. I guessed she was too focused on our mission to actually take a second, and admire the pomp and sophistry around us. As we followed her up the stairs, I couldn't help but take further notice of the art pieces they had up on the walls too. Really supplemented Noveria's whole theme of catering to the corporate elite. The paintings themselves seemed as pretentious as the business men we passed. They were framed in what I thought could be actual gold, and were so abstract that I couldn't tell if one painting was of an Asari or a giant squid. And once we reached the top of the stairs, we came across the final obstacle blocking our way to Port Hanshan's check in. Two cameras mounted above the final doorway leading inside, both projecting beams that occasionally swept across it. Extra security in addition to the guards outside I supposed. Better safe than sorry.
And what, might you ask, did Commander Shepard do when we came face to face with them? Walked straight through without hesitation of course, god forbid they cause her to stop for even a moment. Her nonchalance toward the cameras rewarded us and the rest of the lobby with a high-pitched siren. The sound could have split your eardrums. Probably would have. The situation only worsened when I heard Kaidan shout out in pain behind me. Shepard whipped around quicker than I did to see if he was alright.
"Kaidan!"
As she rushed to his side, he merely doubled over in response. I immediately recognized the source of his problem: his L2's.
"Sorry! Weapon detectors! Don't mind the alarms."
I turned back around to the reception desk, where an olive-skinned woman had just begun typing away at a computer. The alarms died down just seconds later.
"Ah...I...just need a breather," Kaidan rasped to the woman hovering over him. I took the initiative while everyone was distracted and approached her.
"Hey, is he alright?" she asked, leaning over the counter concerned. What immediately caught my eye about her was the hot-pink dress she was wearing, and the fact that it seemed to be completely made of spandex. I knew fashion had probably changed after a hundred years, but there was no way in hell that thing could possibly be considered stylish. Someone needed to call up Joan Rivers and the Fashion Police on this biddy, because her dress actually upset me.
"Uh yeah, he's an L2," I said, simply deciding to drop it. "Gets pretty bad migraines from loud sounds and other stuff like that."
The receptionist turned to face my direction in response, and upon seeing me, suddenly grew wide-eyed. She pushed herself off the counter and recomposed herself. "Sorry about that sir. Meant to shut off those scanners before you all arrived."
"Oh, uh, no problem," I replied. "We should probably be thanking you for your help with the whole mix-up outside."
She gave me a slight nod, and smile, in return. "It was my pleasure. I'm Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis."
"Shield. Marauder SHrk," I gurgled as Shepard shoved me aside.
"Oh, and you must be Commander Shepard," she said in response. "We do apologize for the incident in the docking bay."
"Yeah, did someone piss in your security chief's coffee today?"
GOD, you're such a DICK Shepard.
I rubbed my shoulder as I turned back around to face them.
That was totally uncalled for.
"She takes her job very seriously," Gianna simply informed her. "She has been quite a valuable asset to the company." She then glanced at me, then at the rest of our gang, and then back to Shepard. "One of my duties is orientation of new arrivals. Do any of you have questions about our facilities?"
Shepard took no time in asking. "Has anyone unusual passed through here recently?"
I sighed, and leaned against the wall beside me. As annoying as it was, I no longer really gave a rat's ass about Shepard's attitude problem. There was only one thing I was really concerned with right now, and I'd be able to address it once Shepard asked all her questions first.
"Unusual? I believe an Asari Matriarch passed through a couple days ago. Lady Benezia."
Shepard looked at our Asari as she joined the conversation. "Benezia? So she...she really is here?"
"I believe so."
"She's a threat to galactic peace," Shepard briefed her. "I'm here to bring her in or put her down."
...wow. Real considerate Shepard. Not like her child is in the room right beside you or anything.
"I'm sorry, but the Board doesn't like having outside problems dumped in its lap Commander." She looked cautiously at Wrex for a moment before continuing. "Benezia left for the Peak 15 research complex days ago. To the best of my knowledge, she's still there."
"Good. Give us directions and we'll be on our way," the Spectre replied.
"You'll need to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave the port."
"I'm a Spectre. I don't need permission to go anywhere."
Parasini replied with surprising composure. "I'm sorry Commander, but Port Hanshan is outside of Citadel space. Spectres have no legal authority here. You've been given special clearance as a gesture of our cooperation with Council law, but you will still need to adhere to our rules here."
Shepard locked eyes with her in response. An epic battle of will now began between them. A clash between their resolve and convictions. A contest between their indomitable spirits. The most intense staring contest I've ever seen. It was just getting heated before Shepard surprisingly conceded after the first second passed. "...where can I find the Administrator?"
"His office is on the main level. First left from the top of the elevator."
"Thanks," Shepard replied defeated, quickly turning around to head toward the elevators.
"If you need help with anything else, you can ask me at the administrator's office!"
"Wait," I said as Parasini was just readying to leave.
"Yes?"
"You wouldn't happen to know where Lorik Qui'in currently is would you?"
Parasini looked at me strangely. "The manager of Synthetic Insights?"
"Yeah, the Turian right?"
"Oh...yes. I believe you can find him in the hotel bar."
Just like in the game. And like that I was right back on course.
"Aight. Cool, thanks. And I guess we'll catch you downstairs."
"Uh, right. I guess we, uh, will," she replied looking at me oddly. Then she left, quickly leaving into the room behind her. For a second I almost followed her into it. Was always a little curious on how she beat you downstairs to Anoleis' office. It was actually kind of funny now that I thought about it. But in the end I decided against it, and turned back around to find Shepard and crew already heading toward the elevators that would take us down. They apparently weren't in the mood to waste time.
I couldn't help but smile as I jogged down the hallway after them.
Operation: -Leave Port Hanshan as quickly as possible- was a go.
Codex Entry:
Spacehouse Rock with Spacer Sam, Episode 28: Galactic Economic Zones and Formation of Interstellar Boundaries
Hey Kids! Spacer Sam here! Today I want to teach you all a little something about Citadel Space Bureaucracy and how the Citadel Council determines which sovereign state gains control of resources and territory in a newly discovered system, also putting emphasis on how they establish these exclusive economic trading zones without an individual colony or race coming into conflict between that state's handle of trade, investment, and administration in that system. Sound like fun? Yes? Then alright, haha, follow me!
But wait. Before we get started today, a helpful thing to remember from Episode 2: Spatial Dimensions and Fundamental Physics of the Galaxy is that you can't establish boundaries in space time. We all remember that space is basically defined as a four-dimensional Minkowski continuum, consisting of three spatial dimensions (width, length, and height) and one temporal one (time). On a planet such as Earth, you have established Cartesian coordinates that you can use to draw a line between states such as China and India. But even on places like the Human home world of Earth, when you get to things like maritime boundaries, there is still considerable dispute as to how they are drawn. These disputes arise from issues such as conflicting territorial sovereignty between two states, or special interest groups wanting specific regions of water to become non-exclusive economic zones. So you can imagine trying to impose things like that in the setting of space where thousands of entities exist is technically unfeasible. Considering the fact that currently less than 1% of the Milky Way (as Humans call it) has been surveyed, you can start to see why it's silly (and impractical) for a civilization to try establish things such as 'borders' or 'distinct state lines'. Even in what can be loosely defined as 'Citadel Space', one can't exactly determinate the administrative borders between Asari and Elcor space, or the militarized zone between Humans and Batarians known as the Skyllian Verge.
Sure, you can exert control over a region of space by setting up patrols and checkpoints around a relay. Control the relay, control the entire system of stars it links too (if its a primary relay that is), as previously discussed in Episode 25: Galactic Military and Naval Tactics Across Species. But as you all know according to Council law, an independent government can only legally claim sovereignty over a primary relay if it links to their home system. Secondary relays can be patrolled by a government's military, but not by legal definition 'owned' or 'controlled'.
Then, you might say, couldn't a government simply control a region of space by setting up a checkpoint at its designated hub? And I'd say yes, this is how most governments exert control over the vast expanse that is space. It would be impossible for a fleet to monitor every known star cluster, system, and planet in a region, as well as the empty space in between each, so a vital point of interest must be inherently focused on. This is the theory by which the Council Demilitarization Enforcement Mission (CDEM) operates in Krogan space. In the case of the CDEM, their mission is to patrol the Krogan DMZ, logging all ships that pass through, and ensuring that the krogan do not obtain starship-mounted weaponry. They established a deliberate center of operations around the Aralakh-Widow Relay and world of Tuchanka, and set sporadic patrols throughout the entire system. They only need to monitor the Aralakh system to establish security over the large region known as Krogan space. Of course occasional patrols are still sent to other clusters, but their chances of success at even finding other ships let alone law-breakers is infinitesimal.
So instead of these set borders, Citadel Space can essentially be viewed as what Humans refer to as a Schengen area, an area with virtually no boundaries or set state lines. While independent governments such as the Systems Alliance and Asari Republics have occasional patrols, their fringe colonial systems are still left relatively vulnerable and unguarded, and both only establishing military presence if it suddenly becomes a point of interest (such as the case with the Human colony of Mindoir). So even though a sovereign state recognized by the Citadel Council can claim a cluster as their 'territory', it is still treated as 'international waters' (but in space!). But don't forget the nature of space, and the emptiness that lies between every claimed system and planet. There can be thousands of little pockets claimed by a race that can be scattered thousands of parsecs apart. If a government wanted to claim the space in between them, how would they define that? Claim the entire cluster? Just the star system? Just the systems with colonies? If you did, where does the imaginary boundary end? Looking at a 2D representation of the galaxy, the territories might seem quite clear cut. But in the third (height), and additional fourth dimension (time), it becomes increasingly messy with multiple sovereign state lines intersecting and government's claiming vast expanses of space when in reality their influence might be marginal at best. Such is the case with the Alliance. Alliance space might seem huge in comparison to the rest of the Citadel races, but in reality, the territory is made of a vast amount of unexplored systems and small, neglected, backwater colonies that are dispersed throughout it.
On the topic of Humanity and the Systems Alliance, we've found that one of the most common questions asked by students was how Humanity became such a huge power in the short time they've been part of the galactic community. Most scholars and economic analysts point to one reason. They cheated. Before First Contact, the Systems Alliance essentially did what Europe did during the colonization of Africa. Quickly put claims on any resources they encountered. In its infancy, the Systems Alliance activated as many relays as it could, locating the first system they came across containing a garden world and established a colony there (as well as performing the deft move of making that colony the relay's central hub). They would then let corporations like Eldfell-Ashland continue their work, expanding to other nearby star clusters on their own dime (which is why Humanity possesses the largest amount of privately/commercially owned colonies in Citadel Space).
This is why Humanity has so many settlements spread out across the Attican Traverse, and why it has a 'space' comparable to that of the entirety of Citadel space itself. The Attican Traverse wasn't even named until Humanity was discovered, as travel to many of its clusters were impossible without the many relays the Alliance activated. Humanity gained sole access to trillions in resources due to this policy on mass relay activation, which the races of the Citadel Council expressly forbid. This eventually resulted of course in the First Contact War and Humanity's subsequent rise on the galactic scene. Humanity's expansionism and relatively vast wealth compared to its infancy is due to its activation of so many Mass relays. This is also the main source of controversy for Humanity with other Citadel races.
This is also the major contributor to the Systems Alliance and Batarian Hegemony conflict. Since 'Batarian space' marginally bordered a large amount of what was deemed the Attican Traverse, Batarians claimed that they also had a right to colonize the clusters that Humanity had illegally gained access to. When the Council stonewalled their requests, not wanting to offend this new member that had just recently upset, the Batarians withdrew their membership in protest. And when they ceased relations with the Citadel Council, the space of the Batarian Hegemony technically became a part of the 'Terminus Systems', despite its relatively close proximity to Systems Alliance (and therefore Citadel) Space.
Welp, that looks like all the time we have for today! In the next episode: What exactly is a 'Terminus System'? And why are they such a concern?
Tune in next time on Spacehouse Rock with Spacer Sam!
Author's Notes:
Noveria plotline started? Check. Pass to leave Port Hanshan? Next on the list. Expect our drive to Peak 15, rebooting its systems, solving the Rachni problem and defeating Benezia next! ...so...just expect the regular Noveria Plotline I guess.
And why you might ask, the hugely unnecessary headcanon exposition detailing Citadel expansionism and how races divide their civilizations? Bored I guess. Got started on Noveria and it just kinda of kept on coming and coming I guess...half of it barely even makes sense. And would you believe that I still have more? It got increasingly more and more off topic as I went on (which you can see still happened in the entry above) so I guess we can look forward to another addition of Spacer Sam in the future :| . And I guess if you want to hear my own fanwank for a specific detail of ME that was never delved into (or a conceived plothole in the trilogy), PM me and I'll see what kind of explanation I can make for it in a codex entry.
Review Responses:
And I don't know what happened but...stop vandalizing my reviews you hooligans! What are any of you even talking about ಠ_ಠ
April Fool's Prank? I see no such thing.
In the Next Chapter: Lorik Qui'in, the man with a plan that I decided to can.
Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!