Well I finally got chapter five done. Sorry it' been so long but my old computer broke yt agian so I ha to by a new one. Then there was Christmas which demanded that I take time off and Black Flag which devoured all my spare time.

Now, important changes. It's been pointed out to me twice now that the economy of just trading items wasn't practical so I changed the Darkspawns economy and added a reason why a unified race needs an army. Thanks to Eipok for helping me with this.

I've also changed Matriarch Ihsal's name to Nerysse. Partly because I think it sounds more 'Asari' and because I want to use the name later for a Darkspawn.

So without further ado here's chapter 5 in which Nerysse tries to placate the Darkspawn and Iona has a very close encounter with a daemon.

Enjoy

Chapter 5

The instant the Asari Cruiser appeared it was surrounded by Darkspawn ships. Imagine a small fish suddenly appearing in a shoal of sharks and you'll have a pretty good picture of the situation. Despite this Matriarch Nerysse was still confidant that her mission would succeed. The aliens hadn't destroyed her ship on sight so maybe they would be willing to talk.

She glanced over at her aide, Iona. The matriarch could tell that the young Asari was afraid but she was doing a good job of covering it up.

"Matriarch! Were receiving a signal from an unknown source." announced one of the bridge crew.

"Is it the aliens? Are they trying to communicate?" asked Nerysse.

"I can't tell Ma'm. I think it's-" then all the lights went out.

Inside the Asari ship, half an hour later.

Normally boarding an enemy ship in space is a tactical nightmare. Firstly there are only two places you can insert a lot of troops quickly; the hanger or the cargo bay. Any competent commander will know this and will set up kill zones to mow down any invading soldiers. Secondly, even if a landing zone can be taken the ships captain might just decide to self destruct his own vessel rather than let it fall in to enemy hands. Any boarders will have to race to the engine room and the bridge or try and escape before the ship explodes.

However the infiltration team currently running through the halls of the Asari ship didn't need to worry about any of these things.

When the Asari ship first appeared everyone had thought that another invasion fleet would be following shortly afterwards, until the alien ship had started sending out a transmission saying that it came in peace. The Darkspawn were not willing to take any chances. On orders from the Omega and small frigate had magnetically latched itself onto the cruiser's outer hull. Inside a team of hackers had broken the ships fire walls and shut down all but the most vital systems including the lights, communications and weapons. With the ship now disabled and its computers under Darkspawn control a strike team had been dispatched to find whoever was in charge and bring them back to the Redcliffe for questioning.

Every door on the ship had been locked trapping the Asari all over their own ship so the chances of the strike team running into any serious resistance were next to zero. Still the squad's commander, a two hundred year old Hurlock named The Keeper, was still anxious. Keeper had something of a reputation for expecting the worst and he was sure that at any moment the lights would turn back on and hordes of alien warriors would swoop down upon them.

Keeper looked back at the other members of his squad. Including himself there were four other Hurlocks, three being common soldiers and one arcane warrior armed with a steel longsword. There were two Shrieks, one engineer, one assassin and a short tempered Genlock emissary.

"Take another left up ahead" Keeper's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the hacker who was guiding them from the safety of the frigate. The Keeper had found that there were two kinds of Shrieks: silent, dangerous ones and non-stop chatty ones. Unfortunately this Shriek was one of the latter. "So, after I broke their fire walls there was real no serious security left. I mean, even the Turians had some backup safeguards in place. Although they didn't really stop me for long either, hmm hmm."

Keeper rolled his eyes. If he had to listen to this Shriek pat himself on the back for much longer he'd go crazy.

"OK. You should be right in front of the doors to the bridge."

'Finaly' thought Keeper. He and his squad came to a halt in front of the two metal doors that lead to a room full of hostiles. Keeper didn't want to go in there, they had no idea how many aliens were inside, if they were armed, there were just too many variables.

"Well?" asked the Genlock "We gunna stand here or are we gunna kick some heads?" There were a few growls of agreement from the rest of the squad.

Keeper readjusted his grip on his rifle and stared intently at the door, imagining all the different scenarios. "Four take that side, three take the other. I'll find the leader. If you have to shoot aim to wound. Ready?"

A chorus of 'yes sir's' answered him. "Alright. Support! Open the doors!"

The doors whooshed open and the Darkspawn charged onto the bridge. As the rest of the squad fanned out Keeper kept going straight ahead. In front of him in the centre of the room was a large chair that could have only belonged to a captain or commander. As the Hurlock ran forwards he saw an alien figure rise up from the chair. All he could tell was that it was about his height and had a similar build to a Hurlock. Another alien tried to block his way but it was tackled to the ground by the Genlock Emissary.

Keeper ran up to the alien leader and pointed the barrel of his riffle squarely at its face. The alien slowly raised its hands in surrender. Keeper was surprised that it had given up so easily. "Status?!"

"We won!" answered the Genlock.

"I meant is anyone injured." the answer was a resounding 'no'. They'd managed to take the bridge while sustaining no casualties. Today really was full of surprises. "Support. Turn the lights back on. Let's get a better look at our guests."

The lights flickered back on. Keeper hadn't had a chance to get a good look at the aliens before now. The one standing in front of him looked almost disturbingly like a human female. There were differences though, for starters her skin was a deep shade of blue and she seemed to have what looked like tentacles in place of hair.

"Um...sir?"

Keeper looked over his shoulder at the Genlock. He was standing on top of the same alien he'd barrelled in to and was pointing the tip of his Mages staff and her head.

"What?!"

"Well...I'm no biologist but shouldn't there be...some...you know..." the Genlock shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh spit it out!"

"There are no men."

At first Keeper thought this was a dumb statement but as he looked around the room he saw that the emissary was right. All of the aliens looked female.

"Matriarchal society?" suggested one of the shrikes, who was currently pointing a pistol at a frightened looking blue alien.

The alien that keeper was holding at gunpoint cleared her throat, drawing his attention back to her. She tried to speak to him but he couldn't understand her language. "Support. I'm going to need a translation package for...what are these people called again?"

"Asari. Uploading now. Just speak slowly, this software isn't perfect yet."

"Ok. Could you say that again please."

"I am Matriarch Nerysse of the Asari republic. We mean you no harm."

The emissary gave a loud snort "Really, great! Let's all go back to the Redcliffe for some deep mushroom soup!"

Keeper shot the Genlock a look, telling him to shut up "Sarcasm aside you care coming back with us. If what you say is true you can tell it to the Omega."

Much to Keeper's surprise the Matriarch nodded in agreement. "If it means that we can avoid further violence then I will go with you."

Keeper got the impression that Nerysse was sincere and that she wouldn't be any trouble so he cautiously lowered his rifle.

"You can't!" It was the alien still on the floor that had spoken. The emissary was about to give her a whack on the head but a snarl from Keeper told him not to. He stepped off the younger Asari allowing her to stand. "Matriarch, if you go with them you might not come back!"

"If we wanted to kill you we would have already." remarked one of the Hurlock solders.

"Exactly." added the emissary "I mean, we could have just gunned you all down as soon as we charged in here. Or we could have blow your ship apart with the Dumat. That thing is basically a canon with an engine strapped to it. Or we could have-"

"Yes, alright. I think we get the point." Nerysse interrupted. "Iona. I'll be all right."

Iona wasn't convinced. "I'm going to."

Keeper couldn't believe this. The Darkspawn were the ones with the guns, yet somehow this rather frail looking alien was giving commands. "What!?...you...Oh ffffine! Fine. You can both go, just get moving!"

Keeper marched off the bridge, muttering something inaudible. He was followed shortly after by the Matriarch and her aide with the rest of the squad formed up around them.

For most of the walk Nerysse remained quiet and merely observed the Darkspawn. Iona, on the other hand, seemed unable to stop asking questions and her inquisitiveness was rapidly becoming annoying. She was currently asking the arcane warrior why he used a sword as it was an 'outdated' weapon. All she got in response was stony silence.

Finally the emissary had enough "Will you give it a rest. He won't answer you, he's an arcane warrior. Something about being connected to the fade and their training makes them quiet types."

Instead of shutting her up all the emissary did was peak Iona's interest "What's the fade? And why did you call him an 'arcane' warrior?"

"The fade is the dream world, it's were magic comes from. An arcane warrior uses magic to-"

"But there's no such thing as magic."

The emissary looked at Iona as though she'd grown an extra head. "There is magic! Watch." The Genlock conjured a small ball of fire in his hand. He snapped his fingers and the fire turned to a crackling ball of electricity, another snap and it changed to a ball of ice, then back to fire again before disappearing.

Iona just stared at the emissary, not quite able to accept what she'd just seen, even Nerysse looked surprised.

"Show off" said one of the Hurlocks.

"Will you knock it off back there!" demanded the Keeper. "No more questions and no more magic! Let's just get back to the ship, double time!"

The bridge of the Redcliffe

Vanguard checked his omni-tools chronometer for what seemed like the millionth time. He'd been standing in the same exact spot on the Redcilffe's bridge for close to an hour now, just waiting for the strike team to report in and he was getting agitated.

"Sir!" Vanguard looked up at the ships comm officer. "Strike team reports success. They have the Asari leader."

Vanguard could feel the joy and relief of the rest of the bridge crew through the taint. They were feelings he shared. "Very good. Is there more?"

"Yes. Their leader claims to come in peace. She wishes to speak with you."

Vanguard hadn't been expecting that. He looked over at Admiral Returned, who was still sitting in the captain's chair. "Any chance they speak the truth?" he asked.

Returned looked at the viewing screen, which still showed the Asari ship motionless in space."Mmmm. They only sent one ship instead of a fleet. I think it's a chance we should take."

Vanguard nodded in agreement. "Very well. Comm, make sure the Asari ambassador is escorted to the conference room. And tell the other fleet commanders to attend. I want-"

"Sir!" Vanguard was interrupted by the tactical officer "I have an unidentified ship on scanners. It's not transmitting an IFF!"

"The council? A trick?" asked Returned.

"We are receiving a signal." said the comms officer "They have identified themselves as Geth. They are...requesting to speak with us and ask for permission to dock."

"The machine race." muttered Vanguard. From what he'd read of the Geth in the council's codex the Geth were isolationists and had never left their home space for three hundred years. First the council show up and now the Geth. Today was either going very well or incredibly badly.

"Tell all ships to stand down, and tell the Geth that they can dock. Make sure that the Asari don't find out about our new guests."

Sometime later, At one of the Redcliffe's airlocks.

The voyage to the Redcliffe had been a quiet one. The Darkspawn were unwilling to talk and simply passed the time by examining their weapons, and Iona was still too stunned by the Genlock's display of magic to ask any more questions. Nerysse took the time to reflect on what she'd observed of this new race so far. At first she'd thought they were a collection of races but after studying them a little closer she'd realized that they were too similar and it was more likely that they were all sub species of the same race. Like the Turians they are a military race but the aliens had a more informal attitude in the place of the Turians rigid discipline. An then of course there was the short ones demonstration of 'magic'. Nerysse was not superstitious and she was sure that while these aliens had abilities that the council had never seen before they could be explained scientifically.

Overall Nerysse was confident that they would listen to reason. But she'd been wrong before.

As soon as the frigate docked the two Asari were bustled through an airlock and onto the cruiser. Standing outside waiting for them were four security officers, three Hurlocks and a fully armoured Ogre.

Nerysse and Iona froze the instant they saw the ten foot tall Darkspawn. Keeper ignored their reactions and walked up to the armoured giant. "This is the Asari ambassador and her aide. Are the commanders all here?"

The Ogre nodded slightly.

Iona stepped forward and said "Hello" slowly and clearly.

The Ogre narrowed its eyes at her "Do you have some kind of mental condition?"

"I-I-I...No...I just thought that..."

"That because I'm large and have horns that I am somehow intellectually challenged? I probably have more IQ points than you."

Iona squeaked out an apology and went to stand behind the Matriarch.

"Right then" the Ogre turned it's gaze on Nerysse "I am Kas. We will be escorting you to your meeting with the fleet commanders."

Nerysse nodded politely "Very well. Lead on."

As the Asari were lead away Iona heard the Genlock Emissary talking to Keeper. "Five silvers says Meridith eats them both."

"Shut up!"

After navigating the ships corridors for ten minutes the pair were stopped in front of a set of large metal doors that didn't look any different than the countless others they'd passed. The guards parted, expecting the Asari to carry on.

Kas looked down at the Matriarch "The fleet commanders are waiting for you inside. There will also be a Blood mage present to verify the integrity of your answers."

Nerysse had no idea what a 'blood mage' was but from the sound of it, it was some kind of lie detector.

"Oh, and your aide must remain here." added Kas.

"Why?" asked Iona, hesitantly.

"For starters, you're not even meant to be on this ship and you're not a diplomat. You're staying here."

Nerysse turned to Iona and put her hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Be calm, Iona. Everything will be fine. I don't believe that either of us is in any danger here."

Iona took a deep breath and nodded to show she understood. Nerysse gave her one last smile, then she turned and walked towards the meeting chamber, the metal doors parting to allow her in.

The room itself was not too dissimilar to the countless other ships conference rooms that Nerysse had been in. It was a rectangular room with a long table dominating the centre and six windows on the far side which looked out into space.

Sitting at the table, and looking directly at her were five aliens. One of the aliens that had a similar build to a batarian, probably the highest ranking officer here jugging but the golden armour he was wearing, stood up. "Welcome Asari. I am Vanguard, Hurlock Omega. This is Genlock Forgemaster Redsteel."

The short alien stood up "Mmm, hello."

"Admiral The Returned." Another Batarian-like alien nodded at her.

"Warden commander Aiducan"

"Pleasure" said Aeiducan, dryly.

"And this is Admiral Meredith."

Nerysse guessed that Meredith was a female of this alien species. While she was similar to the other tall, lithe aliens she'd seen around the ship she was much taller than they were, with what looked like four tentacles growing out of her back. Meredith tilted her head slightly "So your an Asari. I was expecting something taller."Her voice was cold and flat but Nerysse could sense hostility in there as well.

"And the one standing behind you is The Known, Blood mage."

Nerysse looked behind her and saw one of the short aliens was standing just to the left of the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

The alien rolled his eyes "Yeah, I get that a lot. Hi, I'm The Known and I'll be verifying your answers."

"How?" asked Nerysse.

"We'll tell you later." said the Known as cryptically as he could.

Nerysse didn't like being kept in the dark but she was a 'guest' on this ship so she decided it was best not to press for more information. Yet.

"I am Matriarch Nerysse of the Asari Republic. I have come here on behalf of the Citadel Council to-"

"Let's just get to the point Nerysse." interrupted Meredith "Why are you here and what do you want?"

Nerysse looked a little put out but she carried on. "Mainly I'm here to ensure that any hostilities between you and the Turian Hierarchy cease and the return of the Turian prisoners of war."

"True" announced The Known.

"The Turian attacked US!" said commander Aiducan. "You expect us to do nothing about the lives they destroyed!?"

Nerysse had expected this kind of reaction "The Council agrees that the Turian used excessive force in this matter and the Hierarchy will pay you reparations."

"True"

Meredith snorted "Money does not equal life. Many Darkspawn died on Rivane."

"Darkspawn...is that your species?" asked Nerysse.

"Yes. We are the Darkspawn. We're from a planet called Thedas. I'm guessing no one gave you any information on us before you were brought here?"

Nerysse shook her head "No, I didn't even know what your species was called. So, you're all different sub-species of the same race?"

"Oooo. You are a clever one." said Redsteel sarcastically.

"You are correct." answered Vanguard, ignoring the Genlock Forgemaster "I am a Hurlock, the Forgmaster and Bloodmage are both Genlocks, the one who brought you here, Kas, is an Ogre. And Meredith is a Shriek Broodmother."

"Broodmother? Is that a Darkspawn female?"

"No." said Meredith "We don't reproduce by sex, gender concepts don't apply to us. A Broodmother is a specialised Darkspawn that can reproduce."

"Back to why we're all here." said The Returned "If you want more information on our race, we can give you a full codex later."

"The Returned is right." agreed Vanguard. "We have downloaded the councils codex from the Turian ships. We know about the Rachni war and why the Turians acted the way they did. We have already decided that we will not be declaring war." Nerysse couldn't stop herself from breathing a sigh of relief. "We will however be seeking substantual reparations from the Hierarchy."

"I'm sure the council will be...pleased to hear of your understanding, Vanguard."

"False"

Outside the conference room

Iona was feeling more and more uncomfortable as time went by. After the matriarch had gone to talk with the alien commanders the two batarian-like aliens had left leaving her alone with Kas, who was currently leaning up against a wall, staring into space. She was too afraid to ask him anything or even to just make conversation, all she could do was stare at his armour's forearm mounted blades and imagine how easily they could run her through.

Then there was a loud beeping noise. It had been so quiet before that the sound made Iona jump. Kas raised his hand to his ear. "Sorry, phone call. Yes...You need what...don't you have a truck to lift those...well how in the name of Andoral did it wind up there!?...Alright, I'll be there just don't try and move it." Kas looked down at the young Asari. "I am needed elsewhere. Stay here and don't move!"

Iona nodded vigorously. Satisfied that she wouldn't go anywhere Kas left on his emergency call.

Iona had thought it would have been better without the gigantic alien looming over her but now she was completely alone she felt even worse.

"Hello there." said a soft, velvety voice.

Iona nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't even heard anyone approach yet somehow someone had snuck up behind her. She sun round and saw...something impossible. It looked like an Asari...sort of but it had purple skin, long horns, lizard like eyes and fire for hair. The creature was also not wearing anything to cover her top half except a gilded chain that just barely covered her nipples. Iona blushed intensely, then she saw that this ...thing had a tail and the...fullest lips she'd ever seen.

The Desire daemon Seduce moved closer to the Asari. She'd had fun extracting information from the Turians but she hadn't had the chance for true pleasure yet. The Asari couldn't move, well she could but she just didn't have the will to. Seduce had done this thousands of times to humans, elves even a few qunari. For all the fuss mortal creatures made about free will they surrendered it very easily.

Seduce and Iona were now separated by only an inch of space. The daemon draped her arms round Iona's neck and leaned in close as though she was about to kiss her. "So then..." she whispered before running her forked tongue along Iona's lips "What's your name pretty, fragile little thing?"

On the other side of the Redcliffe, outside an airlock.

The airlock door hissed as it opened, allowing three Geth platforms onto the ship. They were met by twenty Darkspawn, mostly Genlcoks and Hurlocks with two Ogres at the back. There was an uneasy silence as the two groups stared at each other, then one of the Hurlocks stepped forwards to greet the Geth.

"I, here before you, am The Red. We welcome you aboard our ship. Our leaders regret not greeting you in person but they are already in a meeting with an Asari ambassador."

The middle Geth unit adjusted its head flaps before speaking "Thank you. We are Geth. We look forward to an exchange of data with the Darkspawn race."

Codex:

The four Schools of magic

Primal: The primal school is the magic of war and concerns the visible forces of nature. It covers the power of fire, ice, lightning and general devastation.

Spirit : The spirit School is the opposite of the primal school in that it deals with the unseen forces in the world.

Creation : Creation magic involves healing, manipulating natural forces and binging new things into being. This school requires the most finesse and self control so it is rarely mastered.

Entropy: The opposite of creation, the school of entropy involves the forces of decay, erosion and death.

Blood: Called the 'forbidden school' by the Lost Races, Blood magic is a catch all term of any spell that uses blood or life force to power a spell. Blood magic was widely practiced in Tvinter, then outlawed by the Chantry, the Darkspawn treat it the same as any other school of magic. It's unique attributes are mind control and daemonic summoning. Instead of using blood to power their spells Darkspawn mages can use the taint inside them as a power source, eliminating the need for sacrifices.