Hey everyone and welcome back to Xcom: Incursion! Last time, Eden Prime finally went back to the Species Alliance and freed from Turian occupation. The Xcom fleet that liberated the planet led by Winchell then went on to the other side of the Relay and destroyed the remaining Turians there. The Being was finally revealed to be the Uber Ethereal and the councilors debunked the Turian coverup of the Relay 314 incident. And then an Alliance armada surrounded the Citadel, forcing the Turians to agree to peace talks. And now we continue with the peace talks…
You can't end negotiations unless you begin them. And you can't begin them if you continually negotiate about the terms to begin negotiations.
-Benjamin Netanyahu
2109 July 15th 4:00 PM Earth Time
Citadel Docking Ring
The three Councilors watched from a window seeing hundreds of tiny pinpricks of lights that were ships, put off by the fact that hundreds of alien warships had surrounded the Citadel itself and forced peace negotiations between them and the Turians. Not to mention they had nearly cut off all communications from outside Citadel Space.
While it was true Valern still had communications outside the system thanks to his STG connections, Sparatus had plenty of other ways of sending messages, and Tevos also had her ways. But the few paths of communication they had were insufficient to properly explain the threat that they had. If they were speaking the truth, which Tevos had no doubt in her mind that it was well within the realm of possibility even if they were wildly exaggerating, then it was more within their interests to simply talk than fight.
For the safety of everyone involved there was no public press, no civilians. Teams of Spectres with an army of C-Sec were making sure of that. Only the most level headed of Spectres were with them for protection, no Turian spectres as it was deemed they would be more likely to spark an incident by accident.
The three councilors were waiting, it had already been five standard minutes since they said they would arrive. It was unknown if it was a show of power making them wait, or if it was a genuine delay due to the distances involved.
"Councilors, the unknowns have a ship detaching, being escorted by 50 fighter craft and two corvettes. Should we hail?" The control tower asked.
"Are they broadcasting?" Valern requested.
"Not anything we can detect, but they're heading right for the docking bay they specified. The ship in the center of the formation appears to be unarmed." Control replied.
"Leave them be." Tevos ordered, with an affirmative click in her auditory canal.
As they saw the formation grow closer the fighters buzzed so close they could see their gun ports and missiles under their wings.
The corvettes flanking the transport looked to be a different design, painted purple and white, with menacing faces on the front.
The transport was Illium blue, the material of its outer shell looking like some strange crystalline material. It approached the docking bay, moving through the mass effect field that held in the atmosphere. Landing before them, it slowed to a stop and a green light emanated from below it.
Floating down in the light, a team of six soldiers ran out, as they secured the surrounding area. They peered over the cover, making the guarding spectres nervous.
A yell from one of the soldiers resulted in the soldiers forming two lines flanking the corridor that would lead them to the Councilors 50 meters away. It was only then that the diplomatic staff appeared, falling from the green light like the soldiers, the variety of species was almost astounding.
The leader among them, the one at the front was what had been identified as Human. The Human female looked almost identical in facial structure to an asari, having only long black hair on her head, tied into a braid, and brownish skin.
The group she led was trailed by a huge muscular creature fitted in robes, perhaps even bigger than a krogan. This was followed by another humanoid whose skin was a light shade of red and it had a mouth slit in vertical instead of horizontal. They were all dwarfed by the very tall and thin creature near the rear, its entire body covered in rich crimson robes and its head encased by an impassive mask. The smallest of them all, hunched over on the ground wearing face masks themselves, walking on all four limbs, they were dressed in skin tight suits, which showed just how emancipated and frail they appeared. To the rear of the Human stood a gray humanoid, appearing to be a mix of Human and reptilian, embroiled in several robes of varying color. At the very end trailing the group was a walking platform, upon four spider like legs as it kept pace.
They reached a distance of five meters away from the council, their six guards dressed in bright white and red, with purple decals along their armor, their helmets painted in the same design as the face on the corvettes. They held in their hands advanced weapons the likes which the Council Races had never yet witnessed.
The Human stepped forward two meters, proudly. Shimmering armor of unknown material to the Council Races could be seen under the white and red robes that she wore around her shoulders.
"I am ambassador Anita Goyle of the Species Alliance. I have been dispatched to come to a peace agreement with the Turian Hierarchy and its allies. There will be no dallying or politicking. My purpose is clear and simple."
Tevos looked in her peripherals to her colleagues, Spartus remained upright and unimpressed. Valern his eyes shaded, looked on. "I am councilor Tevos."
"I am Councilor Valern."
"I am Councilor Sparatus." The last councilor, the Turian, stood straight and seemingly radiated power.
Goyle half bowed to them, politely, but she locked eyes with each.
"Let me introduce my entourage then. Battle-Emissary Ulg'Han of the Muton tribes. After him is Diplomat Jerome Kettinger of the Zudjari Harmony. My chief advisor Lenich Kirya of the Ethereal Commune and his two Sectoid assistants. Behind me is Nephollio, representative of the Volm Union. Finally my personal assistant, and representative of the Silicon Uniformity, Aria. She is currently communication through the holographic platform due to safety concerns due to the station's infrastructure."
Tevos nodded slightly, "We welcome you all to the Citadel. We are deeply sorry for the actions of the Turian Hierarchy and-"
"Do not apologize. We know who is responsible after further interrogation of Admiral Ganus. He was not in full control of his faculties. But be warned. This will only lessen the demands we have." Goyle interrupted, looking stern.
"Shall we get to someplace with seats? Or will we make a momentous negotiation standing in a hanger?" Tevos asked slightly amusingly.
"I've come prepared with chairs if you wish to conduct it here." Goyle replied dryly.
"Then let me lead you to our council chambers..." Tevos led the Species Alliance ambassadors to the Citadel Tower, there was no tour, no celebrations, no interruptions, lives were on the line. Soon they were in the Councilors Chambers where the Alliance ambassadors were soon facing up to the three Councilors on their podiums.
Anita looked at her space and frowned, stepping back she allowed the four legged machine to assume her position, then it began to emit some kind of energy field around it. "Thank you Aria." Anita said as she stood on a 1 meter disc of energy which raised her up so that she was level with the councilors, a chair forming behind her, she sat down. There were more ways than words to insult those who you disliked.
"Shall we begin?" Valern inquired. Anita nodded.
"Yes. As I said before, there will be no politicking, and we'll be straight to the point, I believe that since the Turian that started this has been punished, we shall resolve this issue with no further incidents. It goes without saying that we all want to resolve this conflict, the only thing left to do is state our demands and set our borders." Anita said, looking level in the eyes with the councilors, not in the least worried about her safety or their power.
"Yes, that seems like the best course of action." Tevos said, nodding. Sparatus said nothing but was obviously agitated.
"Yes, what are your demands?" Sparatus asked, barely hanging onto his calm tone. Anita glanced at Sparatus before bringing up her new Omni-tool, designed to match the Council Race's own. A holographic image soon projected itself from the device, a bird's eye view of the Galaxy. Anita enlarged the image with a few commands so everyone in the Chamber could see.
Within a few moments, several areas shaded itself, a blue area surrounding the core of the Galaxy and the area around it to the west. The Blue area took up about half of the entire Galaxy, stretching from the Galactic core to the edge of the outer arm in the 'East' of the Galaxy. Next another area shades itself, overlapping entirely with the Blue, a brown area in the 'North' which formed the eastern borders of the blue area and reached to the outer arm, not nearly as large as the blue area however. Next a grey area in the south, which stretched from the blue area to the outer arms of the 'southern' portion of the Galaxy, taking up about a fifth of the Galaxy, larger than the brown area but not as big as the blue area. Next a vibrant red covered the rest of the galaxy, overlapping significantly with the Grey.
"The blue area near the center of the Galaxy is your official territory, the brown area in the North the Batarians, the Southern grey is the Species Alliance and where we wish to expand, and the western portion is either unexplored or what you call the Terminus systems." The territory that she had claimed was mostly uninhabited, and was actually a ruse, it would take them centuries to expand there in any great number, but it served as a useful buffer. As well as territory to eventually open up "Trade Ports" with the council.
"We find these borders acceptable." Tevos stated, glancing at the other Councilors who nodded in agreement. There were no colonies in the region they had claimed, and it took a significant chunk out of the terminus systems, meaning they could implant spies and watch them fight with little threat to themselves
"Good." Anita said, minimizing the image of the Galaxy.
"Next, our demands for reparations. We will require both raw materials to rebuild our colony, and insurance that this will never happen again. If any of our colonies are attacked, it matters not who sponsored the pirates the raiders or the mercenaries, we will hold the original government of the attackers at fault. Keep this in mind, we will tolerate no shit from any of you or anyone else." Anita stated, looking to Sparatus. Sparatus nodded reluctantly.
"Yes, we should be able to provide all of that." Spartus said. Anita nodded again.
"Good, I will transfer the information to your Omni-tools. Keep this in mind, We are still evaluating the damage done to our colony, so the price may rise or fall." She explained, pointing her Omni-tool towards Sparatus. Within a second, the information was transferred to their Omni-tools, making a small beeping sound as it completed.
Grumbling, Sparatus looked up, "This is insane! The Hierarchy could never afford this kind of demand! Several hundred trillion credits worth of raw materials! For one colony that couldn't have broke a billion people? What is your infrastructure made of? Solid platinum?!" Sparatus cried out, glaring at Anita. The Human in question just chuckled, slightly bemused.
"Scroll down. You'll see that 99% of the total is made of Civil lawsuits by the colony itself for damages, both material and psychological, these are just the initial demands by the claimants. I should also add it is Human tradition to demand absurd sums of money for such lawsuits. I should also add, your credit is substantially inflated, an SA Credit is worth significantly more than Citadel credits, so we translated the damages in our money to yours. Also you will have to remember that our technology is far more advanced than yours. Besides, you don't have to pay it all at once, and the independent commission is still tallying up the total cost, you also have the ability to represent yourself in our legal system where you will defend yourself against all the claimants. If you cannot provide a lawyer a lawyer will be provided to you." Sparatus' mandibles flexed in outrage. The smile on Anita grew larger. "Just think, if the war continued for a day longer on the ground, that number could have jumped 10 or 20 percent alone! And with the damage our raider fleets are performing on your economy, no doubt it will be harder for every hour we negotiate.
Sparatus grumbled in anger, his flanges flaring outward in an obvious move of annoyance and anger, "We will have to run this by our economic advisors, We cannot finalize this until then. But we accept to pay reparations and provide a public apology."
"Good choice Councilor. Now, if there is nothing else that we need to discuss here councilors? Please keep in mind, every minute we waste with triviality, is another minute our forces assail your militaries." Tevos looked at Valern who nodded.
"There is still one matter we would like to offer you as part of the peace accord, for the Species Alliance to establish an embassy on the Citadel and become a Council species-"
"No." Anita cut off, her tone as cold as ice.
"The Species Alliance will not join the Citadel." Anita finished, shocking the Councilors.
"But a species that has come into Council space has never refused a position like this!" Tevos exclaimed, shock still evident in her voice.
"What does the term Species Alliance mean to you? We're a federation of species that probably outnumber your own alliance in diversity. Unless you're willing to give each and every single one of us a council seat with equal say, then we have no reason to join with you in a political alliance for the time being." Anita explained, bored. But not in an insulting tune.
"You would have all the advantages of being a council species." Valern informed, keeping his cool. If a nation like the Species Alliance was allowed to run around the Galaxy, not closely watched by the Citadel species, there's no telling what they could do.
"What advantages, Councilors? The Alliance has been an independent polity for nearly a century, been in three, now four hostile first contacts with unknown factions, and have been more than able to sustain ourself long before we made first contact with the Turians. Why should it be any different now? We have proven our military strength, we are independent, we would never bow to your alliance just because you asked! And most certainly not if it would be the Turians who would be 'keeping the peace' in our territory! If I agreed to such measures I would be lynched on the spot you see me in by my own advisors." Valern, to Tevo's experienced eye, was about to open his mouth to make a counter point, but instead made no comment. Anita continued none the wiser;
"Would we get the same recognition that the Hanar, Volus, Elcor, and many other races have received? The Hanar provide their unique religion and society while the Volus single handedly built AND sustains the Citadel economy. However they receive almost no credit whatsoever, they most certainly deserve the spot on the Council seat more than anyone else, including us, and for centuries too, yet you have failed to do so for this entire time. What chance would the people I represent have for receiving an equal say in galactic politics? Zero, you're an oligarchy, and its one step away from authoritarianism. The Species Alliance does not want that. And that goes without mentioning the leash the Alliance would be on, limiting our production of ships and releasing the secrets of our technology." Anita raised a hand ro forestall any reply, "We know the danger of being a hostile secret keeper and not the benevolent teacher. And I assure you, that to foster positive relations we will be taking up your offer on an embassy, a real embassy between two foreign powers, and I hope sincerely, to build a relationship over decades that will make sure our two publics and come to peaceable agreements." The Councilors said nothing. It would be foolish to think the human Ambassador would sign a deal without first examining all viewpoints, and they had obviously sent one of their best for exactly that reason.
"If there is something else that needs to be discussed…?" Tevos asked, looking at the room of ambassadors. No one said anything.
"Very well, at this time, the Species Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy are now at peace, all hostilities are to cease immediately."
-Codex/Reports-
Species Alliance Elite Guard- The Alliance's Elite Guards are only used when absolutely necessary, the best of the best of Xcom and the Alliance military, matched only in power and skill by Asari Commandos. Their numbers have never numbered past the double digits, but even so they are incredibly deadly. The operatives are required to either be skilled in Psionics or Physici. Their extended training after they are hand picked through the most rigorous screenings, spans years and are trained in the most deadly and difficult environments known to the Alliance, from having to survive on planets covered in molten rock and lava too surviving in frozen and desolate wastelands of Ice Planets for weeks. They are the deadliest force the Alliance has (save for Xcom), the operatives are of Legend among the public and general soldiery, the mere invitation to join them is considered a mark of prestige and as likely as winning the lottery. One famous engagement is of an Elite Guard facing down a Thresher Maw on foot and surviving to tell the tale. They are dressed in bright red and white, purple decals and white and purple helmets, their identity forever unknown to the public. They carry with them the most powerful weapons known to the Alliance public. And it is assumed they are armed and equipped to the most high of standards.
Official Citadel Council Report of the Species Alliance- First Week after the end of hostilities
By: Asari Councilor Tevos
Threat Level (Non-existent, Small, Omnipresent, Normal, High, Dangerous, Extreme, Galaxy Ending): Extreme- Mass Produced Plasma and Laser weaponry, AI, above tech level of every single Citadel Member, Illegal genetic modifications , isolationist, paranoid of Citadel and Council.
Notes and Observations:
Caution: report is merely preliminary and is currently incomplete
The Species Alliance was first encountered by Relay 314 and had a hostile first contact with the Turian Hierarchy, initiating the Turian-Alliance First Contact War which claimed thousands of both Turian and Alliance lives. (Estimated human Fatalities 3,500, Known Turian Fatalities in war's course 76,000, Non aligned/civilian casualties 12,000)
The aftermath of the War resulted in an Alliance 'victory'. The Turian Hierarchy was sent reeling from the damage and disorganization it was sustaining, unprepared for the coming war, wanting to avoid more bloodshed and avoid total capitulation. It has been a standard week (10 human days) since the end of the hostilities, and the Species Alliance has as expected already shown signs of isolationism and paranoia towards the Citadel Council. This is to be expected, as they are trying to regroup their military and protect themselves from any possible retaliatory strikes. These are only the forces we can detect at Relay 314, and may not in fact be indicative of any abnormal behaviour, more experience with them is required to make any concrete affirmations.
Their borders are heavily guarded and it is virtually impossible for Council Ships to enter their space. Being only a week after the end of hostilities, this is hardly surprising, and the alliance captains have proved more than professional in their conduct on the border, as they are in the midst of returning captured POWs and civilians, while also regrouping and reorganizing.
We, the Citadel species can't much blame the Species Alliance for their paranoia however, as this has been their fourth hostile contact in a little more than a century. Their speed of progress and skill at reverse engineering technology is incredible, surpassing all of the Citadel Races.
The Alliance's population has become increasingly diverse over time, only 40% of the population is the 'main' species, Humans, Mankind, etc. The next most populous species, Zudjari, are estimated to be about 30% of the population. And the Ethereal Species (which is made up of a variety of different species), and Volm species take up the last 30%; 20% and 10% respectively. It should be noted that the Volm, like the Quarians, are a migratory species, that lived mainly in fleets of starships, trying to reclaim their homeworld from a deadly force, the only difference was that the Volm were fighting another Organic species called the 'Espheni'.
Because of this diversity in the Species Alliance, many ideologies clash. While I'm working off incomplete and preliminary information from Ambassador Goyle, there are two major rival factions, EXALT (who wishes to see non-Humans, particularly the Ethereals, rule over everything in a sort of military dictatorship), and Cerberus (Entirely Human, their goal is to eradicate all alien life. It should be noted that with the Turian Contact war, Cerberus has grown slightly in strength and power in the Species Alliance). We have been warned to be aware of possible EXALT incursion in the Turian Hierarchy, but we are confident Cerberus will remain solely within Human territory as a huge bounty is on any information on their whereabouts, and it would be nearly impossible for them to hide in the Terminus systems for any length of time.
Despite Ambassador Goyle's hostility and aggressive posturing and tactics, she has proven more than willing to cooperate and talk with us and has even suggested possibilities of an eventual permanent Defensive Treaty. Over all we need more information before committing to a diplomatic Doctrine.
/Proper ID needed to access file/
/ID accepted, accessing file now/
Species Alliance- Xcom First Contact Report
By: *Classified*
Threat Level of Turian Hierarchy: Omnipresent
Threat Level of Citadel Council: Dangerous (Buildup and remedial training of military forces suggested)
Notes:
Political Decision making and Diplomatic agreements have not been finalize
Subject to change at any time
The Alliance, as of writing this report, has not had a hostile contact in nearly forty years, allowing for a major surge of colonization.
With the encounter of the Citadel Council and Turian Hierarchy, everything has seemingly changed. We now have competition for star systems near Mass relays, future possible wars fought in space, and a new need for ambassadors and soldiers. With this development, the Alliance will need to be at all times on military guard until further notice.
Since the news of the Citadel Council, recruitment and temporary reenlistment has skyrocketed by over fifty percent, and defensive installations on Eden Prime's moons and orbit have already began. We, the Alliance, have been isolated so long with no other political entity with competition that we were ill experienced for this kind of situation. Despite the government's best attempts to calm down the public, it has only worked with minimal effect, with more and more citizens every day looking at the Citadel races rather… Xenophobically. This trend is estimated to die down substantially once casualty reports are released and we show that they are nothing to be afraid of as friends. Acts of war always produce such reactions, however we are looking into possible subliminal propaganda implanted by Cerberus agents, such behaviour is abnormal in baseline humans.
Work on analyzing the Turians ship wreckages and biology is thoroughly underway in the labs, and we have hundreds of captured Citadel style ships and hundreds of thousands of tons of captured goods, equipment, and other miscellaneous items. We have been able to reproduce a small shield not unlike Turian shields for more than twenty minutes. This was trivially easy as Turian's were entirely uninterested in equipment destruction during their rapid rout and surrender. Of course, the experimental shields, referenced as Kinetic Barriers, can at the moment only block projectiles that use Kinetic force to inflict damage. No matter how we may modify the basics of the shield, its very design and underlying principles make it impossible to be useful against Laser weapons, but plasma weapons can have the possibility of being diffused with the right sensitivity and settings. This would only be of use against our own military, so we are moving the project over to Xcom to ensure secrecy from any Cerberus, Exalt, or Citadel spies.
Now, the Turian biology. They appear Avian in nature and physiology with potential for Physci but no Psionics. We put several captured Turians, unconscious, in the Psi labs. None reported anywhere near Positive. All except of course Admiral Ganus. He is currently being held in a medical coma, but he has proven more than eager to tell us everything that happened to him and we have not needed to resort to more unsavory measures. He has proven sincerely regretful of his actions. During the Psionic's test, his Brain had a small trace of Psionics, and while the trace was small and faded, we could tell that Ganus had been mind controlled and forced against his own will to do something, and whoever did this was an extremely powerful Psionic. Of course the first thing we did was ask if any of our operatives could have done this, and the answer was a simple 'no'. And according to our findings and our operatives in the field, these Turians have no knowledge of Psionics. So the question that still remains is: Who mind Controlled Ganus and why?
Ganus' own debriefing has proven invaluable but ultimately incomplete and erratic. Our theories have ranged far and wide to a secret alien hive mind being operating from the shadows, or perhaps interdimensional entities meddling with our reality for whatever reasons. However after an Ethereal expert examined Ganus he suggested that it only an Ethereal mind could do such an action the most likely perpetrator would be the Uber Ethereal, but this is considered equally as unlikely as the other possibilities as it was destroyed almost a century by now. Why only come back now? Possible unknown Psionic potential in the Espheni? The prelude to a second Espheni attack? Unlikely but we need to consider all the possibilities.
It has only been 10 days since the official end of the war, and we will soon have to decide on whether to terminate, return, or preserve Admiral Ganus. I will be suggesting a false move for a criminal trial of Ganus, have him "Executed" then depending on how negotiations with the Citadel Council go, decide to inform them of the actual decision then.
5 coloured Walker- I agree, the last chapter was a little rushed as I was rushing to get the chapter done before I left for Scotland. Otherwise, thank you for your review and help.
aDarkOne- No, this is not a fur stomp Humanity f*ck yeah story. I'm trying to put the Humans on even terms as the Citadel Council overall. And that last chapter was Xcom defeating a Turian fleet that had already engaged a previous Alliance fleet. And yes, Xcom is a bit powerful in this fic as Xcom is the Alliance's ultimate trump card against the Council.
Beta Reader: It's kinda expected in an Mass Effect/Xcom fanfic that in the beginning Xcom is going to be kicking the Citadel's ass if it comes to blows. A big if. Thankfully we plan on avoiding mass warfare for the time being.
gooddragonking- Thanks! :)
A/N: Remember to review and let me hear your guy's thoughts on Act 1 and the chapter!
A/N: And that's that, the Alliance is now officially at peace with the Turian Hierarchy, thus rapping up Act 1. This chapter was a little short as it was just the negotiations but hopefully the Codexes will make up for that. Act 2 will take place before the Mass Effect games and ten years after the First Contact War, following an elite team of explorers made up of Citadel and Alliance species as they explore the Terminus systems and previously unknown portions of the Galaxy. The chapters in Act 2 should be much, much longer once the ball gets rolling and exploration actually starts getting on. Just imagine Act 2 sort of being like Star Trek or Stargate, focusing on exploration and the story instead of action unlike Act 1 which really focused in on the first contact war.