"Radio"

"Normal"

Thoughts

Council Chambers

"I will not stand for it!" the thunderous roar echoed throughout the room. The two batarian guards of the Hegemony ambassador shifted uncomfortably, seeing that their superior was about to go into one of his infamous rants.

"Ambassador, the Citadel Council sees no evidence that the United Nations of Earth is violating the Treaty of Torfan. You were the one to bring this accusation to the Council, but did not bring any evidence. As per the Citadel Conventions, we sent several Spectres to investigate, but we have received no proof that the UNE has broken the treaty," Councilor Aeleus Faxius of the Hierarchy said, with disapproval in his voice.

"They have been building military bases on Torfan!" the batarian ambassador screeched with fury. The salarian Councilor looked on in disinterest, looking at the assembled human party.

"And that is in accordance with the treaty ambassador. They have the right to do whatever they want in Separatist space, for the two are allies. Something that you sorely lack except for the krogans. The Separatists and the UNE have been allies for nearly a hundred and thirty years. The Council will not stand for your belligerent attempts to decrease UNE military presence in the Skyllian Verge," Councilor Chalero V'Molas said, tsking in stark annoyance of the batarian attempt to upstage the political balance that the Council had tried so hard to maintain.

With the Hegemony in control of most of the Terminus Systems, leaving only Omega as the sole independent power left, they had been pressing hard to colonize the Skyllian Verge, only for the UNE to attain colonization rights first along with the Separatists. It amused William Udina to no end that the Hegemony had attempted to get the Council to declare the Verge a "batarian" only zone, just so that the Council could laugh in their face.

"The Separatists are our people, disregarding their own proud history and culture. They will fold back into the Hegemony, whether or not they see it. Democracy is a weakling tool for the fools and the idiotic, naive, and overall stupid asari. Batarians have no need of it, neither does the Hierarchy. You seek to disregard hundreds of years of our history, our culture, and our economy!" Ambassador Malak protested the Council to the end. They had never stopped trying to fold the Separatists back into their fold, hating their fellow batarians for daring to believe in democracy. William could see that the batarian hit a raw nerve with the turian Councilor and the asari one as well.

Ever since the Unification Wars, the Hierarchy had always been an oligarchy, the power of the Hierarchy being in the hands of the Primarch and Palaven Command, the fates of forty billion turians decided by fewer than twenty. Even so, the Hierarchy had always championed the democratic cause, despite denying it to their citizens. The asari Councilor was just insulted that the batarian had dared to challenge her race and their ideals.

"And yet the Separatists have decided to not be a part of the Hegemony, something you recognized in the Treaty of Sol signed nearly a hundred and thirty years ago," the salarian Councilor, Sutar Emalo, interjected. "This democracy aspect of the Separatists has given them a great edge. Their economy, though smaller, is more efficient than yours, their people are happier and better off, and their culture is not lacking. Have you ever been to Ascension? Of course not. It is beautiful."

The batarian ambassador threw his head back in undisguised disgust for the Council.

"When will the Council learn that the Hegemony will not stop until the Separatists are back within the Hegemony. We will not stop until the last human is burning on Earth and we have taken their precious world from them. We will not stop until humanity are slaves, fit for nothing but licking the undersides of my boots! Earth will burn and so shall you!" the ambassador shouted at the top of his lungs. William became more alert. The Hegemony had always been belligerent, almost to the point of war, but not this belligerent. If the Hegemony was still calling for war…

But for what? The Hegemony had lost the last three wars they had fought against the Separatists. The reason was simple; the Hegemony refused to orbitally bombard their enemies, wanting to keep the infrastructure and populace more or less intact. If they were now calling for war, it might mean that the Hegemony had found that they need not worry about the Council. They didn't need to worry about Council intervention.

"Ambassador, as an Associate Species of the Citadel, you are bound by Council law. We have tolerated your breaking of the law because of your culture. War with the Terminus is something that no one will want and no one will come out on top. If you continue your aggressive and warmongering behavior, the Citadel will pose sanctions and will kick you out of the Citadel. You do understand the economic viabilities of your war?" Sutar asked the batarian, with a bit of an edge in his voice. The Hegemony economy was large, the fourth largest in the galaxy, right behind the turian, asari, and salarian. This was due to the vast mines found in the Terminus Systems and trade relations with the krogans. However, it was dependent on the asari economy. Anyone who lost connections with the asari economy would suffer greatly.

Instead of a groveling batarian like many expected, Malak laughed. A batarian laughing was not a pleasant sound. The deep rumbling sounded like a horse coughing and made William's ears hurt.

"Sanctions? That is the best the almighty Council can do?" Malak chortled again. The two batarian guards tensed up, their weapons on their backs ready to go into action.

"The Hierarchy will conduct a...how may I say this? A peacekeeping operation in Torfan and Ascension to make sure that the people of the Separatists are safe and secure. If any Hegemony fleet is spotted near Separatist space, then the peacekeeping force has permission to fire upon them. We will not allow for the Hegemony to continue to terrorize the good people of the Separatists," Aeleus said with the straightest face a turian could ever manage.

"In addition to sanctions, the peacekeeping operation near Torfan and Ascension, the Salarian Union will request that the Hegemony remove all of their forces from the border they share with the Separatists and send them to their respective home bases. If not, then the Salarian Union will intervene," the salarian threatened.

Malak could see how the Council had swiftly turned against him. Only the asari refrained from just declaring war, albeit informally, and even their Councilor looked pissed at the batarian.

"We see where the Council stands on an batarian matter. It shall not go unpunished."

The ambassador left with huft, his guards trailing. He glared at the humans, hatred clear in his eyes.

"Well, that's great Councilors. Except you forgot the part where Torfan is up in arms against the Separatists, my government's embassy there is under siege, the krogan are still trying to get into Blackhaven, and Earth has now been threatened by a batarian supremacist. Thank you for your support though," William Udina said with great care in his words.

"And there is you ambassador Udina. What do you need?" Chalero said with strained patience in her voice.

"The krogan are still trying to break into Blackhaven. The 63rd Scout Flotilla came under fire from one of their ships, damaging one cruiser and nearly destroying the frigate New Orleans. I have come to see if the Council will lend a part of their peacekeeping armada to help settle this mess," William huffed. It was getting tiring. Blackhaven was some backwater colony that was just a relay jump away from Alpha Centauri. With the krogan and the Hegemony building up military forces at both sides of UNE, humanity needed the Council.

"And once again, the krogan do not warrant a major threat. And if the Council became involved, again, there would be war. With the Hegemony already militarizing and threatening to attack the Separatists, we would have a war on our hands, one will not stop until either us or the Hegemony is destroyed. Bringing the Empire into this war will mean nothing but destruction and death. Until the krogan directly threaten the Citadel or Earth, your motion will be denied once again."

"Oh spare me the rhetoric Chalero! We have been a part of the Citadel for nearly a hundred years. We have been the force that has been driving back the Hegemony. We nearly lost Alpha Centauri to the krogan. Our ships are out there on peacekeeping missions with the turians, fighting against Terminus pirates, raiders, making sure that the yahg stay on their godforsaken world, and even fighting against turian rebels!" William said, repeating the tactic of appealing to the turian sense of duty and honor.

"And we deeply appreciate it. But if you want to give the same argument a fifth time then your motion will be denied. Again. And again," Chalero deadpanned. Shit. Seems like I won't be getting through to the Council today.

"Okay, okay, I get it Councilor. I will once again, convey what you said to me today to the UNE Security Council and most likely, I will be back tomorrow to ask for the same motion you have already denied four...five times. And you look lovely today Councilor," William said with a bow. He exited the room with the asari Councilor sighing as always.

Tuchanka

Special Warfare Operator Shavir Al-Alada rubbed his beard once more before setting his assault rifle down. It had been several days since his squad been inserted into the krogan homeworld of Tuchanka. The mess of a world was still recovering from the decades of nuclear warfare that the krogan put themselves in, but it was becoming clearer and clearer every year. The sky was a messy brown, while the clouds were moving from the west to the east.

The reason his squad had been inserted into the krogan world was because they were to capture a high ranking krogan scientist that was making strides to completely cure the krogan infertility. His name was Okeer, a krogan of high intellect and high power. If krogan infertility was to be completely cured, then Blackhaven would be overwhelmed within twenty years. It was something that the Security Council couldn't let it happen. Okeer was a pragmatist, wanting to build only strong krogan, but Emperor Urdnot Wrex wanted a complete cure to the genophage.

His recon drone was high in the air, monitoring the surrounding countryside for Okeer's convoy. Okeer moved from lab to lab on Tuchanka, making sure that no prospective assassin or anti-krogan extremist would be able to kill him. He was wanted in Citadel space, wanted officially in Hegemony space, and wanted especially in human space. The UNE wanted him captured. And then he would be whisked away to whatever hellhole the International Intelligence Agency wanted him to be in.

Shavir Al-Alada was from Alpha Centauri, having grown up in New Albany. At the age of twenty-six, he was young, though he was a part of the squad of highly trained, hyper lethal NAVSOG operators. The Naval Special Warfare Group had been born when the UNE needed special forces to do black ops work. Assassination, kidnapping, anything that the UNE could publicly deny. Delta Force was their public image; hostage rescues, direct contact, whatever else that the NAVSOG didn't do. Each NAVSOG operator went through a basic training course that would make Delta Force's look like a tea party.

Each of them had to go through BUD/S; modeled after the Navy SEALs training course. Running, swimming, more running, occasionally running with boats, occasionally swimming with boats, and more running and swimming, but with automatic fire over their heads. Usually, a BUD/S class would have around ninety or so percent of their students cut. This left the hardest of the hard, the toughest of the tough. They were the strongest. Then they would get to have fun doing more training, such as zero gravity, demolition raids, and others.

"Shavir, I got eyes on a krogan patrol approximately three hundred meters away from here. They are heading from Urdnot to Weyrloc territory," Petty Officer Second Class Mark Cross said tensely. It was understandable. Six days of shifting from ruin to ruin, making sure that no krogan patrol was trying to find them, and also trying to figure out Okeer's route.

The recon drone that Shavir had thrown up just an hour ago suddenly beeped. A trio of whirs were sent from the recon drone to Shavir. He knew what it meant. Using his omni-tool, he quickly shifted his HUD's perspective to the drone's, showing the hot white thermal imagery of eight vehicles, highly armored Tomkas, armed with a mass accelerator cannon. Highly dangerous, the Tomkas most likely had at least a platoon worth of krogan. A platoon of krogan was bad news for everybody.

"Ready up," Lieutenant Alexei Romanov, the commanding officer of the squad, ordered. The assembled NAVSOG operators did as they were told, readying weapons, making sure that their sights were clear, and that each and every one of them was ready to fight. They were outnumbered at least four to one, but they were taught, trained, and ingrained to always adapt and overcome their adversaries.

Each NAVSOG operator was armed with their personal firearms. Everyone had the same armor though it was up to the operator to customize it. Every soldier had a kinetic barrier, while also having a coal scuttle helmet, the same that humanity had used for the last two hundred years, a bullet proof vest along with various pockets and straps for extra items. They were ready.

"Delta 1-2, engage on my command."

Shavir shifted his weight. Two of the operators had LAWs- Light Anti-Tank Weapons, each of them holding a rocket that was propelled by eezo- and waiting for the order to fire. The eight vehicles continued to go down the long and winding road that the krogans had recently built. It was crude, filled with potholes and dangerous creatures, but the krogan were warriors, not construction workers. The eight Tomkas easily glided over the potholes, the mass accelerator weapons ready to deal with any threat.

"Sir, krogan patrol is shifting. They're heading back into Urdnot territory," Mark Cross said, his sniper rifle still scanning the horizon for any more enemies. That was bad news. When they attacked Okeer, it would mean more krogan casualties. Oh well. They shouldn't have been on patrol.

The dark clad humans took their positions beside the road. Since Tomkas were able to scan the roadways for mines, the lead NAVSOG operator had a seeker mine; a mine designed to move towards an enemy target. As they moved in the ruins, they were about to fire.

"Engage!" Romanov ordered and two sheets of flame roared, exhaust traveling straight for the back and lead Tomka. The first Tomka blew up in a spectacular fashion, the dark energy and explosive easily destroying the massive APC. The second veered at the last second, seeing the rocket; but the explosive warhead still hit the rear wheel, flipping it over and landing on its turret, rendering it useless.

"Delta, move forward and suppress!" and the eight operatives did so, hitting the other six Tomkas. The lead operator released his seeker mine, when it whirled and headed straight for the nearest Tomka. The mine latched itself to a wheel and exploded, crippling the Tomka.

The krogan patrol that had just passed by was starting to move in. A massive krogan, armed with an equally massive shotgun, started to fire. The Graal Spiker Thrower shotgun was designed to kill thresher maws, massive worm-like creatures that tore through Tuchanka. When that krogan's shotgun started to fire, Shavir shifted his assault rifle and fired four three round bursts into the humongous creature.

Kinetic barriers flared, blocking the first three bursts, but the last burst got through, hitting the krogan in the chest. The armor of the krogan saved him though, allowing him to remain upright, but not before Mark Cross's sniper rifle boomed three times, one bullet punching through the chest, another punching through the left arm, and another slicing through his neck. One krogan was down.

The assault element started to chuck grenades into the mess, high explosives that would tear through any krogan. One krogan was destroyed in a sea of blood while two more were cut down when they decided to pop up from their cover. A NAVSOG operator then deployed his personal turret, bathing the battlefield in fire. The turret toasted a krogan in black armor. The sickly smell of burned flesh reached the operator's nose.

"Suppressing fire on krogan, four o'clock! Delta, keep going! Get Okeer!" the LT ordered. Crackling assault rifle fire killed two more krogan that attempted to flank the operators. Shavir took fire from a krogan armed with a machinegun and his kinetic barriers were drained by half, forcing him down into cover. His assault rifle cracked three times, two shots going wide and the final one slamming into the kinetic barriers of another krogan. They had managed to cut down Okeer's protection element by almost half.

"Al-Alada! You and Gupta, get Okeer! The rest of you, clear out the rest of these krogan!" Romanov ordered. Shavir acknowledged the order and he and Gupta, a fellow NAVSOG operator, moved into the killzone. The other operators were moving in quickly, killing wounded and dazed krogan, while two krogan were still firing at them from behind a Tomka. In the lightning raid by the operators, the krogan were neglecting to use their mass accelerator weapons onboard their Tomkas.

"Gupta, give me covering fire!" he said briskly and the Indian nodded, and his designated marksman rifle was soon pumping out bullets toward the krogan line. Two krogan were trying to pry open the doors to one of the Tomkas, but it was shut tight.

"We must get Warlord Okeer out! These ghosts must not be allowed to get them!" a krogan SWO smiled as he attached his rifle to the magnetic strips to the back of his armor and drew his knife. It was almost suicidal taking on a krogan in hand to hand combat. But he had the element of surprise and his blade was made of the hardest metals known to man.

The assault was going well. The hard pressed krogan were trying to turn the human tide, but though they were krogan and massive and strong, they were hardly a match for dedicated human special forces. Especially NAVSOG.

Each NAVSOG operator had at least six years of combat experience. Most of the krogan they were newborns and in their teens, waiting for their initiation trials. They were tough, but stupid and reckless. And each of them was a little afraid of humans. Who had showed that they were able to nearly destroy Tuchanka with nuclear weapons. Only the timely arrival of an asari diplomat ended that war.

Nuclear weapons were of course, outlawed by the Citadel Conventions. But what do you say to a race, when the Citadel Council was unable, or didn't want to intervene on their behalf, that was nearing defeat? The krogan, all of their experienced warriors and mercenary groups, had overwhelmed two human worlds within days. It had taken the batarians years to even take Alpha Centauri. And then they lost it when the UNE took it right back.

"Gupta, I'm right next to the Tomka with Okeer. Cover me."

He raised his blade and plunged it into the neck armor of one of the krogan, making him flail and whip his arms around. Digging in, he drew his pistol and fired eight shots straight into the side of the krogan, killing him. The other krogan roared when he saw this. The blood rage was coming quickly.

Three shots rang out and the youngling was dead before he hit the floor. The fool didn't even have his damn kinetic barriers active. He rushed toward the slightly bent door and using his omni-tool, quickly hacked into the door, unsealing it. He raised his pistol, expecting to see a raging Warlord, only for a krogan, with its blood splattered everywhere, silently breathing, trying to stay awake.

"All these years of research into the perfect krogan...all these years of siphoning off resources from the Emperor and his clan..all these years of genetics! Ruined! Only one sample. Only one perfect clone...but not ready. Must incubate for years human...because of what you have done!" the krogan coughed. Blood started to stream out from his mouth. "Must not let the weak rule the strong. These damn fools, damn Urdnot Wrex giving me younglings for protection! Years of research! Partially curing the genophage, only for younglings to protect me! Younglings! Not even trained warriors. Younglings! What is your name human, so I may curse it!"

The krogan coughed again. He reached for something. Acting quickly, the human special forces operator raised his pistol. The krogan laughed, rumbling.

"Fool! You think that I would try and kill you? Despite what you think, I am giving you one last gift so I may piss on Wrex's legacy. The perfect krogan, with the greatest genes known to the galaxy! He is only growing and yet...well be the greatest krogan known to his kind. He have done me a great injustice and justice. Protect him...nurture him...grow him...teach him of his father. Damn you human!"

"My name is Shavir Al-Alada," SWO Al-Alada said quietly.

"Well Shavir, I curse you! Hehehe...it doesn't matter anymore. Take this and protect it with your life!" and the old krogan suddenly shuddered, but not before gifting Shavir with a strange metallic device. The krogan raised his head.

"Karbal!" the old krogan yelled. He then fell limp. The metallic device was small enough to fit in Shavir's hands. It was glowing. He tucked it into a pocket.

"Gupta, Al-Alada, you get Okeer yet? Extraction is coming any minute now!" Romanov was yelling in his ear.

"Sir, Okeer is dead. He was in the last Tomka. However, I did get something out of him. I'm coming to extraction. Al-Alada out," and his assault rifle was in his hands, racing towards the ruins. Gupta was right besides him. A krogan armored battalion was heading straight towards the convoy. That wasn't good.

"Mopped up the rest of the convoy. They're all dead. Everyone, to the extraction point!" Romanov ordered. The NAVSOG squad was soon situated in the ruins, leaving no traces that they were the ones to execute the raid. A specialized shuttle, one that was identical to almost every other krogan military shuttle, was soon above them.

"What the hell did you get out of him?" Romanov asked as they boarded the shuttle. Shavir gave him the metallic device. He had a vague idea of what it was.

"It looks like...an incubation pod. A miniaturized version. And...there's instructions?" Romanov asked incredulously. The assembled operators were also perplexed. Cross, the ever so subtle sniper, said something entirely appropriate.

"Oh, the IIA is going to love that."

The operators groaned. Of course Director Wick was going to be up their asses about it.

CODEX UPDATES

NAVSOG: The Naval Special Operations Group is the black operations special forces of the UNE. Each operator is more dangerous than a Delta Force team. Most of them are veterans of the Third War of Aggression.

And there were three. Actually only two parts. Sorry for such the long wait! Busy with summer stuff! Zomvee, the reason for batarians is for drama! Elcor...eh. Maybe next time. Thansk for the review and support! Also, thanks to everyone that followed and favorited. Nearly four hundred views! Awesome. I'll have the next chapter out in a couple of weeks maybe a month. Depends.

Cheers!

-DeathBladeVI