Chapter 2: Hard Contact
Adrien Victus was angry. He wasn't angry because his ship, the Biliskner, had been stuck with routine patrol duty for nearly half a year now. He was a career officer in the navy of the Turian Hierarchy. He understood the importance of his job, even if it was intractably boring. He wasn't even angry that the patrol group he was attached to, the 73rd Hierarchy Patrol Group, had found a small cluster of vessels belonging to an undiscovered race trying to activate a Mass Relay in clear violation of Citadel Law. While such a thing hadn't happened in well over three hundred years, it did happen occasionally, and a new race was discovered every so often. Most of the time, they were a very minor race, having less than a dozen primitive ships, their civilization being confined to a single planet. What did anger him was that this group of simpletons had help, and from a source he recognized.
"Are you sure those are the same ships, Victus?"
Captain Fabius Aren was an old warrior. He'd been in command of his dreadnaught, the Centurion, for longer than Victus had been alive. He radiated an aura of command strong enough to bring some Hierarchy admirals to heel. The only reason he hadn't advanced in rank for nearly three decades had less to do with his abilities, and more to do with his… un-Turian manner of dealing with most problems. Even so, there was a force in his voice that belied his station, a force that rang loud and clear in Victus' mind right now.
"Absolutely sir." replied the Commander firmly. "The suit rat that leads the group is named Rael'Zorah. One of his… associates is Han'Gerral." He spat the name in disgust before continuing. "I've had more run-ins with the two of them than I can count, mostly related to unauthorized entry into Hierarchy space and unlicensed salvaging. They have no respect for the law."
"I've heard Gerral's name before." the hologram muttered with mild disgust. Aren shook his head briefly before continuing. "Very well. If they have no respect for authority, then we'll teach them some. All ships, this is Aren. Assume standard battle formation. We're going to give these simpletons a taste of real power."
The ships in the patrol group assumed their position: the six cruisers arranged themselves in a rough hemisphere around the lone dreadnaught, with the two dozen or so frigates, the Biliskner among them, out in front to provide a protective screen for the main body of the force. As the patrol group drew closer to their targets, Victus let out a small smile. The suit rats and simpletons had no idea what they were in for.
As Hannah rushed to the bridge and quickly slid into her chair, she was relieved to see the familiar visage of her chief engineer pop into being next to her.
"Glad to see you're back online Hal."
"You and me both, ma'am. Being restored from backups is jarring. What the hell was that all about, anyway?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, but we don't have time to worry about it right now. What's our status?" Hannah was worried about the alarms, but not overly so. After all, it could be something as simple as a passing rogue comet.
"About thirty ships dropped out of FTL ninety seconds ago. They're approximately one hundred thousand clicks dead ahead and moving this way."
Hannah felt her heart skip a beat. "Thirty ships? Are they Quarian?" she asked, a little breathless.
"Don't think so." replied Hal with a shake of his head. "These ships look military. From what I can make out, there's one dreadnaught, six cruisers, and two dozen frigates."
Hannah felt a ball of fear form in the pit of her stomach as she considered her options. They were outgunned, even with the raw power the Troika packed. If it came down to a fight, a lot of people were going to die. She didn't have long to think about it, though. Her tactical officer suddenly brought up the psychic radar overlay on her forward display.
"Ma'am, unknown ships are assuming battle formation. They're making for the Zodiac, Troika, and the Quarian ships. Estimated time until maximum effective range is twenty seconds and they're weapons hot."
"Oh shit." Hannah jumped up from her chair and rushed to the front of the bridge. "Jess, move us to interpose on the Rayya, and signal the Troika to cover the Tarbal."
"Interpose!" growled the woman angrily. "Have you lost it Captain? We should be worrying about our own people, not these racist, suited assholes."
"Ten seconds!"
There wasn't time for this. "GODDAMNIT JESS! There are god knows how many people on those ships, and they're not responsible for what Rael did! Now chrono the ship over and interpose! That's a direct order!
"The enemy dreadnaught just fired a salvo!"
Jess hesitated for a split second before complying. "Yes, Captain." she hissed. There was a brief flash outside the window of the bridge, and suddenly, the Zodiac was somewhere else. Hannah quickly opened a channel to the rest of the ship.
"All hands, this is Shepard. Brace for imp-"
She was cut off as the force of the dreadnaughts' shot slammed into their kinetic barriers, causing the ship to reel wildly and throw her into the nearest wall, then onto the floor. They had stopped the Rayya from being obliterated, but they couldn't take another hit like that. Even as the thought entered her mind, she saw the outline of the Troika swoop into view, placing itself squarely between a second oncoming shot and the Tarbal. The instant before the shot connected, the telltale aura of an Iron Curtain field sprang up around the Troika. Protected by the most powerful defensive technology known to man, the ship didn't even shudder as the energetic round blew itself to dust along its hull rather than obliterating the defenseless cargo ship. The third Quarian ship wasn't so lucky. The tungsten-cobalt-carbide projectile, traveling at nearly one and a half percent the speed of light, tore through the lightly armored freighter like it was made paper, blowing it into millions of microscopic fragments. The last two shots, originally meant for the Zodiac and Troika, sailed wide, unable to compensate for the built in chrono capabilities of the Nations' designed cruiser and unmatchable acceleration of the Union made destroyer.
She was helped to her feet by Captain Zorakov, who studied her for a moment to make sure she wasn't injured.
"Captain, I must return to the Troika at once. We'll be able to coordinate our retreat once I'm there."
"There's no time, Alexi." replied Hannah with a shake of her head. "Even if our ships could make it out, the science vessels are too slow. We have to buy them time."
He looked at her solemnly before replying. "I know."
The communications interface appeared suddenly in the middle of the bridge. The hologram of a young synthetic woman faced them, dressed in a traditional Union officer's uniform. While most members of the Alliance navy wore the dark blue of the Alliance itself, officers had a bit more leeway in choosing their uniforms. Most still wore Alliance blue, but not all.
"Captain Zorakov, this is Commander Feredka. I'm taking the Troika in for an attack run." She spoke quickly, and with authority. "We'll buy you and the Quarians time to escape."
"Dasha, no!" protested Zorakov. "I'm the captain of the Troika; it's my duty to lead the charge."
"There's no time, sir. The Curtain won't hold for much longer." She paused and smiled at him. "It's been an honor serving with you Alexi."
His eyes watered as he replied. "So it has, Dasha. Godspeed."
Victus watched grimly as the mass accelerator shots from the Centurion' dual main guns sailed through the gap between the Turian formation and the alien ships. He took only a little pleasure in his actions. He was a soldier of the Turian Hierarchy, and it was his duty to enforce Council law. His people had been responsible for protecting the galaxy and upholding the law for twelve hundred years, and if that meant destroying suit rat freighters and primitive cruisers, then so be it.
He didn't have to wait long for the mass accelerator slugs to reach their destination. However, a few seconds before they struck, something inexplicable happened. Victus felt his jaw drop and mandibles spread as one of the alien ships disappeared in a cloud of blue lighting and smoke, reappearing instantly over a thousand kilometers away. The cruiser intercepted the shot intended for the Quarian freighter, its kinetic barriers shattering at the impact. It was still standing.
Victus' assumption that he couldn't be more surprised was proven wrong when a second ship, this one shaped like some sort of demented dagger, moved. It shot out, almost faster than his eyes could follow, stopping on a dime directly in the path of another shot from the dreadnaught. A swirling red-brown energy field covered its hull just as the shot connected. To the shock of every Turian watching, the round disintegrated along the ship's hull, doing no discernible damage.
Victus stared on in stupefied amazement, but the enemy didn't give him time to recover. The sword-winged ship, glowing like an infernal demon of legend, shot forward with the speed of comet and began barreling towards the Turian warships like it'd been shot from a cannon. Before they could move, the ship plowed through two frigates, shearing them in half as it made its way to the Centurion. The glowing cruiser slammed into a ship more than three times its size with all the speed and fury of an enraged Krogan Battlemaster. The dreadnaught buckled, then exploded in a gigantic fireball, consuming three more frigates too close to survive the blast. Seconds ticked by in absolute silence, and as the smoke and debris cleared, Victus was horrified to see the alien cruiser still intact and undamaged, the angry red glow finally fading as he watched.
Unable to process what had just happened, Victus and his bridge crew barely even reacted when the small alien vessel suddenly sprang to life, dozens upon dozens of ports snapping open up and down its' hull. Hundreds of miniature missiles, too small to be disruptor torpedoes, rocketed out of the ship and flew and began to fan out. They traveled in angry flocks towards the six Turian cruisers that a moment ago had been protecting the dreadnaught. The GUARDIAN lasers on every ship sprang to life, trying ineffectually to stem the tide of dozens of missile shooting towards them. Like trying to swat a swarm of flies with empty hands, the point defense lasers did little but thin the packs as the missiles closed with their intended victims. When they struck, blinding flashes of light sprung forth from the points of impact, and shields flared and died in an instant as five of the six cruisers were consumed in balls of nuclear fire, their crews dead before they saw the first flash.
The lone cruiser lucky enough to have been farther away from the pack when the missiles were fired fared slightly better, and its' shields barely survived the few projectiles that had made it past its' GUARDIAN defenses. But even as the last of the blasts faded, the alien cruiser pulled a turn that should have sheared the ship in half, and it shot towards the limping cruiser with unnatural, impossible speed. The ships collided and warped around each other, before exploding into pieces as the alien vessel erupted in a flash of blinding blue energy. The massive EM pulse expanded in a bubble around the twisted and shattered wreckage, catching eight frigates in its' wake, causing every electronic aboard to fail and die in an instant as circuits were fried by the blast.
Unable to fully comprehend the horrendous sight of what he had just witnessed, Victus did the only thing he could think to, under the circumstances.
"ALL HIERARCHY SHIPS, THIS IS ADRIEN VICTUS! RETREAT AT ONCE! FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPIRITS, RETREAT!"
Even as the remaining frigates came about and attempted to fall back, the second alien cruiser closed on their positions. The structures on the top and bottom of the ship glowed brightly before a coruscating beam of brilliant white light shot out of each, searing a line in Victus' retinas. It faded before he could blink, and even as his vision cleared, he saw the devastation it had wrought. Two of the remaining eleven frigates were simply gone, without as much as a speck of dust to mark their passing. Three more were missing large sections of their hulls, wings, and tails, the refractory beams from the alien weapons having punched clean, almost surgical holes straight through the superstructure of the ships. As the Biliskner made the jump to FTL and set a course to Council space, a single thought played itself over and over in Victus' head.
'Oh Spirits, what have we done?'
As the enemy vessels fled the system, there was muffled cheering aboard the bridge of the Zodiac, but it was quickly subdued when the crew remembered just what this victory had cost them. Captain Zorakov, a twenty three year veteran captain in the Alliance Navy, watched the battle unfold with a look of pride and sadness in his eyes. Hannah wasn't sure what caused him more pain: the loss of his crew and friends on the Troika, or the fact he hadn't been there beside them.
"They did their duty, Alexi." said Hannah, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's all anyone could ever ask of a soldier. They knew the risks when they accepted the assignment on the Troika. Being on a class leader like that is inherently risky, especially given the design of the destroyers."
"I know, Shepard. I know. I just wish…" he paused, and his voice cracked slightly as he continued. "I just wish I could've been there. I should have been there." He let out a low growl as he pressed on. "But instead, I had to be here, to make first contact with those racist, suited bastards. Before we report this to FleetCom, I want to ask them some very pointed questions."
"So do I Alexi, but we can't stay here. If the ships that attacked us have friends, we won't stand a chance if they decide to show up. We need to move." She turned to the front of the ship. "Jess, set a course for Arcturus, and signal the science vessels to follow at top speed. We need to-"
Zorakov interrupted her. "One problem Shepard. The Quarians won't like us leaving with their leaders, even if we did just save their asses. And even if they agree to follow, we can't lead them to Arcturus without approval from FleetCom."
Hannah shook her head slightly. Why hadn't she thought of that? The hostile encounter had her flustered.
"Alright, signal the Quarians to follow us to FTL. We'll make for a dead zone between this system and the next. It won't stop them following our ion trails, but if we zigzag a bit, it'll buy us time. We need to put at least three light years between them and us."
"What if they don't want to follow?" asked Zorakov. "We can't exactly force them to."
"Then we'll leave without them." she snapped. "If they want their people back, they'll follow. Besides, they know as well as we do that staying here is a bad idea." She composed herself, reigning in her anger. "In the meantime, we can have a talk with our… trigger happy guests." She filled the word with scorn.
"Hear, hear." said Hal, his avatar appearing above the arm of Shepard's chair. "After all, it's my head he blew off. I wanna hear him try to explain that. I liked that head."
Jessica stood suddenly, rapidly approaching the captains. "Ma'am, if you're going to be grilling those suited pricks, I'm going to be there." Her tone was fierce, and her gaze was filled with anger and hate.
Shepard sighed internally. She couldn't blame Jess for being angry, but it didn't make her job easier.
"No, you're not. You being there will only add more anger to an already tense situation. I won't have you coming unhinged and trying to strangle one of them in the middle of the interrogation."
"But-"
"Jess, this is the third time in less than an hour you've questioned my orders." Hannah replied sternly, her gaze hardening. "If it wasn't for the extenuating circumstances, I'd put you on report. As it stands, I'm willing to let the matter slide, if you return to your chair and man your post. This is your only warning."
Jess withered slightly at her CO's words, before recovering and snapping a salute.
"Yes ma'am. Can I at least watch the interrogation from bridge through Hal?"
Hannah sighed audibly this time. "Alright. I shouldn't, but I'll allow it just this once. Don't make me regret it."
"I won't, ma'am. And… I apologize for my earlier actions. It won't happen again."
Hal cut in next. "I hope not. I don't think I could stand getting my head shot off twice in one week."
Jess laughed lightly at that.
Rael sat in his small cell, and his mind was numb. He couldn't understand what had happened. These people used synthetics on their warships. Couldn't they see how dangerous that was? It was only a matter of time before they turned on them. Why did they defend them like that?
He'd wondered about the alarms as well. He hoped the Humans hadn't decided to take their anger out on the Quarian freighters. If they did, his entire crew, along with Han and Rethal's, were almost certainly dead. And their deaths were his fault, he realized with regret and shame. His idiocy and brashness had cost them their lives. At least they'd managed to do some damage. The impact he'd felt earlier had thrown him into the wall, causing a fresh spear of pain to shoot through his already broken arm. He wasn't in danger of an infection, his suit having dispensed antibiotics just after he was dumped in his cell, but it still hurt like crazy.
Suddenly, the door to the brig opened, and Rael clambered to his feet as Hannah, Zorakov, and two guards walked into the room. Rael's stomach dropped as he saw that both the guards were synthetic.
"Alright Serenity, bring Zorah to the interrogation room." ordered Hannah. "I heard his right arm break when he got taken down, so go easy on that part of him at least."
The Mass Effect field marking the entrance to his cell dropped, and the two guards walked in, seizing Rael under his armpits in their cold, metal hands. He didn't struggle, knowing it wouldn't help, and would probably only get him injured further. As they lead him out the door to the brig, he heard a pounding coming from behind him.
"Damn you, you synthetic bosh'tets, let him go! If you hurt him, I swear to the ancestors I'll-" Han's voice cut off as the door slid shut behind them.
The trip to the interrogation room was a short one. It was small, square, and made entirely of metal. An angular table sat in the middle of the room, a single chair on one side with a bright light pointing at it, and a pair of chairs on the opposite side. The synthetics firmly sat Rael in the lone chair, and then took positions as guards, one at the door to the room, another directly behind him. The one behind him was short, with the shape of a female Human. Hannah had called it Serenity. Rael started slightly when he recognized that it was Shepard's first officer, who he'd met in the hangar when he first arrived. He felt a chill go up his spine, realizing that he'd been that close to the thing and not known.
As Hannah and Zorakov sat in the chairs across from him, he struggled to make out their features past the glare of the overhead light, which was angled so it shown directly in his eyes. As he did, he saw a familiar blue hologram appear on a pedestal, and Rael couldn't entirely contain his shock at seeing it. He though he'd killed the thing.
"Alright, Zorah, here's how this is gonna work." said Zorakov with barely concealed disdain. "We're going to ask questions, and you're going to answer them. If we don't like your answers, we space you and your friend, then blow your ships to pieces. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." he replied weakly. Then a glimmer of hope appeared. "You mean you didn't already destroy our ships?"
Zorakov pressed his hands against the table and stood, leaning forward threateningly, causing Rael to draw back ever so slightly.
"Unlike you suited fuckers, we don't shoot first and ask questions later. We do things the other way 'round."
"Then what was the alarm we heard? There was an impact and-"
"I'm asking the questions here asshole!" Zorakov interrupted angrily. "You speak when spoken to or I break your other arm, you got that?" Rael nodded, his mouth clapping shut with a click.
"Good." said the Human with a curt nod. "Now who the fuck was flying those ships that attacked us?"
Rael was confused, and he let it show. "Ships? What ships? The only Quarian ships within ten light years were the…" After a moment, the truth occurred to him, and his voice fell to almost a whisper. "Oh keelah, the Turians."
"Turians? Who the hell are the Turians? And why the fuck did they attack us?" demanded Zorakov.
"They weren't supposed to arrive for three days." explained Rael quickly. "They must've changed their patrol schedule."
The explanation only seemed to enrage the Human further. "You knew those fuckers were coming and you didn't tell us!?" he shouted. "I should put a bullet in your head right now!" He stood and drew his pistol, before pointing it at Rael's visor.
"Please, wait!" blurted Rael, flinching away from the gun. "I swear, I didn't know they would be here so soon! I was going to tell you, I swear I was! I thought we had more time!"
"TIME!" roared Zorakov. "That's it, you're dead! I've had enough of your bullshit!" He flicked the safety on the pistol, and Rael flinched, but before he could fire, Shepard's hand shot out and pulled his arm away.
"Alexi!" she snapped. "Stand down. I know you're angry, but this is my ship. Get out of line like that again, and I'll have Serenity throw you out on your ass. Understand?" she asked coldly. Zorakov fumed for a few seconds, but eventually nodded and lowered his pistol. Hannah turned back to the terrified Rael. "I want to hear him out. The... Turians." she stumbled over the word slightly. "Why did they attack us?"
Rael let out a small sob before continuing. "They're the peacekeepers of the galaxy. They saw you trying to activate the Mass Relay. That's probably why they attacked."
"Why the hell would they attack us for activating a Relay?" asked Zorakov, holstering his pistol, but still standing. "And what do you mean by 'peacekeepers?' "
"There are dozens of species in the galactic community." began Rael, keeping his gaze fixed on Hannah. "Millennia ago, they bound together to form a galactic government, called the Council. It's based around a massive space station built by the Protheans, an extinct race that lived fifty thousand years ago. About a dozen of the major species of the galaxy are members the Council itself. The big three are the Turians, the Salarians, and the Asari." Rael hung his head before continuing. "They make up the ruling body of the Council races, the Council itself. One member from each of the three is chosen to serve on a ruling Council that makes decisions and laws for the galaxy as a whole. Other races have ambassadors that can petition for things, but they have no real say in the Council's decisions."
"All very interesting, but you still haven't answered the fucking question. I won't repeat myself again, I'll just kill you." Zorakov said, leveling a deadly gaze at Rael. Hannah turned a vicious gaze to Zorakov, but said nothing. They'd planned out the good cop/bad cop routine ahead of time, but he was going too far.
Rael felt tears fall down his face as he spoke. "Please, don't hurt me! I'll talk, just hear me out!" He trembled in fear and let out a sob. "Of the three Council races, the Asari are the diplomats. They live a long time, and usually try to solve things peacefully. The Salarians are short lived, but highly intelligent. They're the brains of the group, and they like to focus on tech. The Turians are the enforcers. They have the largest fleet, and serve as law enforcement for the Council. Opening an inactive Relay is illegal under Council law. Two thousand years ago, the Salarians opened one that led to the discovery of a hostile race called the Rachni. They attacked the Council races and started a war that resulted in billions and billions of deaths, a war that the Council almost lost. Ever since, it's been illegal to open Relays without knowing where they lead. The Turian patrol was enforcing Council Law when they attacked you."
As Rael finished, his voice was weak, and he cried softly into his visor. His body shook with fear and couldn't hold back the raw emotion any longer. The Humans whispered amongst themselves for a minute, and Rael fought to regain his composure. 'Oh keelah, please don't hurt me. I'll tell you anything, just don't… don't…'
The next question came from Hannah. "Why didn't the Turians just contact us? We had no way of knowing about the law you speak of."
"It's not… it's not their style. They don't shoot first and ask questions later, they just shoot."
"That's… disturbing." said Hannah, a slight look of fear coming to her face. "And you say they're on the ruling Council?"
"Yes."
"Well, we'll have to figure out a response for that later. Though if the thrashing we gave them today is any indication of their abilities, I don't know if we need to worry too much." said Zorakov with a deadly smile.
Rael gaped, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You beat a Turian patrol with two cruisers?" he asked incredulously. At Zorakov's annoyed glare, he withered. "Wait, no, sorry, no questions, I understand."
"Damn right." replied the man with a nod. "Though to answer your question, yes, we did. We took out nearly two dozen of their ships, including a dreadnaught and six cruisers." He smiled darkly before continuing, and it sent shivers of fear up Rael's spine. "Now, on to more pressing matters: why did you attack one of our officers?"
"He's synthetic." said Rael, as if that explained everything.
Rael's shock barely had time to register before Zorakov reached him. Grabbing him by his suit and hauling him to feet, he slammed him into the wall with bone jarring force. Rael couldn't stop a gasp of pain from exiting his lips when he impacted on his broken arm as the enraged Human put his face right up against his visor.
"HE'S SYNTHETIC!? he roared, drawing back his fist and slamming it into Rael's gut. Rael would have doubled over in pain, but the man's grasp kept him upright as he dragged him over to the table and smashed him into the surface. "YOU RACIST PIECE OF SHIT! A THIRD OF MY CREW WAS SYNTHETIC! THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT YOUR SUITED ASSES, AND NOW THEY'RE DEAD!" Zorakov raised his fist, murder in his eyes as he swung at Rael to make good on his threat. Before he could connect, a pair of metal arms wrapped themselves around his chest and he was hauled backwards.
"THAT'S ENOUGH, ZORAKOV! YOU'RE DONE HERE!"
The diminutive synthetic woman carried the enraged captain to the door, her artificial muscles and joints easily able to hold him despite his thrashing. Quickly snatching the pistol from his holster, she discarded the weapon before throwing him bodily out the door, which slid shut and sealed just before the furious man slammed into it, pounding on it in a futile attempt to get it open.
Rael curled up in a ball on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest as he shook uncontrollably. He sobbed loudly, tears streaming down his face and his lips trembling in fear at his near death experience. He cried for what felt like hours, scared that his life was about to end, and that he would never see his people or his wife again. After what felt like an eternity, his tears slowed and his sobbing stopped, and he felt a pair of soft hands help him to his feet. It was Hannah. She gently guided him to his chair, than slowly sat across from him, her face a mix of sorrow and regret.
"I'm sorry I let that happen Rael. You didn't deserve to be put through that. If you'd like, we can pick this up later, without Alexi."
"I…" He faltered. "No, I need to explain. Just… please don't take retribution on my people for what I did." he begged. "Kill me if you have to, but leave them alone. They don't deserve this."
"We won't, I give you my word." she replied sincerely. "But Rael, you need to give me a damn good reason for your actions. You've already damaged relations between your people and mine, and if the actions of the Turians are what we can expect from the rest of the galaxy, we may have just started a war. Now, I'm going to listen to what you have to say, and I won't interrupt you. But keep in mind, I'm far more patient than most Humans you'll meet, synthetic or organic."
Rael calmed down a bit, reassured by the Human woman's words. "OK." he said with a nod, swallowing a lump in his throat. "You consider synthetics to be Humans as much as you do organics? I'll admit, that concept is incredibly foreign to me, but if you say it, I believe it." He straightened his posture, trying to regaining some semblance of decorum before he spoke. "Hundreds of years ago, my people made advancements in technology similar to your artificial intelligences. Quarians have always been a relatively frail race, and we developed technologies to perform tasks that were too dangerous, difficult, or menial for an organic to do: mining, factory work, maintenance in hazardous areas, things like that. I assume you did as well?" he asked slowly.
"To a certain extent." replied Hannah. "However, most of our early synthetics were used more for their processing power. They operated our command and control structures, coordinated groups of regular robots, and regulated virtual intelligence networks. Things like that."
"I see." replied Rael, trying to digest the information. "We started by developing VIs. They didn't have the capacity for sapience, obviously, but they could run machinery and perform rudimentary tasks. As our industry and economy grew, the need for more complex and difficult tasks arose."
"It was the same with us." supplied Hannah with a small grin. It lifted Rael's spirits slightly to see that. "Afterwards, we went on to develop true AIs."
Rael shook his head. "Weren't you worried about the possibility for rebellion?" As soon as the question left his mouth, he shrank in fear. "Sorry, no questions, I know."
"It's OK, Rael." said Hannah gently. "Forget what Alexi said. He isn't here anymore, and he won't be coming back. If you have a question, feel free to ask."
"I… alright." Rael's voice gained some strength. "We didn't make the jump directly from Vis to AIs. As our needs grew, we began networking the VIs, which we called Geth, together to increase their abilities and allow them to perform better. When it worked, we were thrilled. We thought we'd found the answer. If our needs increased further, we could simply network the Geth further. It seemed so… simple. This cycle increased for many years, with the Geth becoming more and more intelligent. We didn't see it coming at the time, but in hind sight, we should've known they would eventually become self-aware."
He paused to catch breath, then pressed on with the story every Quarian child was taught from birth. "When they finally did, they became violent. The Geth were so deeply integrated into Quarian society that there was almost nowhere they didn't exist: ships, military bases, factories, civilian houses; they were quite literally everywhere. They…" he faltered, and his voice cracked. "They slaughtered us. Soldiers and civilians, men, women, and…" he sobbed "… and children. They killed us like animals, in the streets, in our homes, everywhere. It was a short, brutal, and merciless massacre. In a few months, we went from a society of billions to several million. We were driven from our home world, Rannoch, and our colonies. My entire species was force to flee on ships and take to the stars for our own survival." Rael broke down slightly, overcome with emotion at the revelation.
Hannah stared at Rael in horror. "Didn't someone help you? If the Geth are that dangerous, surely this… Council of yours must've done something."
Rael laughed bitterly. "Oh they did something alright. The loss of Rannoch was three centuries ago. We were part of the Council then, and we went to them for help. They spat in our faces. They called us arrogant, they said we deserved what had happened to us, and that our Exile was our punishment for meddling with AIs. Ever since then, the Quarian people have lived on ships, a vast armada we call the Migrant Fleet. We never had the strongest immune systems, and generations of living in sterilized ships ruined them. For centuries, Quarians have been forced to live in environment suits like this one, and we're treated like second class citizens in the rest of the galaxy. We're pariahs, and the seventeen million people that live on the Migrant Fleet barely survive on what our people can scrape together in their travels around the galaxy. We're an endangered species, and the only hope we have of rebuilding our civilization and removing these suits is to retake Rannoch. It would still take sixty years for our immune systems to recover even if we did, but that's better than the six hundred it would take anywhere else. Not that we can settle anywhere else. We've tried to create colonies in the past, but the Turians drive us away like pests. My people were pushed to the brink of extinction by synthetics, and since the Uprising, every time a Quarian and a synthetic meet, they try to kill us." As Rael finished, he began crying and sobbing anew, his body wracked with raw, unfettered grief.
It took a moment for the Humans to recover from their dismay at his story, but surprisingly, it was Hal that spoke first.
"My god… they had their own WWIV. And they lost. Oh, god, now I feel like a heel."
Hannah spoke next. "Oh, god Rael, I'm so, so, sorry. I can't believe that you… oh god. And the Council did this to you? What the hell is wrong with them?"
Rael, recovered slightly, and his curiosity made its way through his sorrow. He wondered about something Hal had said, and he couldn't help but ask. "What did he mean, WWIV? I don't understand."
Hannah answered slowly, a look of sympathy on her face. "Rael, my people went through something… similar to the Quarians. A little over a century ago, the AIs my people created began pushing for the same rights and freedoms that organics had. You see, our early AI's were created with complete sapience, as well as emotions. They were created this way deliberately, in order for them to form a sense of connection with organics. But as you may imagine, they didn't appreciate being treated as things rather than people. I can't say that I blame them. There were people, organic and synthetic people, that thought synthetics deserved to be equal to organics. They began a political movement to get laws changed. After seven years, things turned… ugly."
Rael couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I can imagine. But then why are they here? On a warship?"
Hannah sighed. "It's a long story. AIs and their organic supporters were opposed by individuals who believed that synthetics were things, not people. There were attacks: bombings, arsons, vigilante killings, by both sides. Eventually, the majority of the synthetic population and their supporters had moved to our outer colonies, and they soon seceded from our planets' governments. They banded together and formed The Unified Federation of Moons, and they started a war with Earth."
"They… attacked?" Rael asked, still disbelieving what she was saying. "But then how-"
"Let me finish, Rael." she said, cutting him off gently, but firmly. "The war, which we call the Synthetic Rising-"
"Or World War Four." interjected Hal.
Hannah sighed at the engineer and shot him an annoyed frown. "Yes, or World War Four. It dragged on for fifteen years, and neither side was able gain an advantage. Despite millions of deaths, kinetic strikes on major cities, nuclear bombings of industrial centers, neither side was willing to back down."
Rael's eyes went wide. "You use nuclear arms!?" he asked in a panic. "And launch deliberate kinetic strikes on civilian targets!?"
Hannah's eyebrow shot upwards slightly in response to the question. "I take it that most races don't?"
"Of course not!" blurted Rael in a scandalized tone. "The Council forbids their use!"
Hannah chuckled softly. "That would explain why the Turians couldn't deal with the Troika." seeing the confused look on Rael's face, she elaborated. "When you and Han came in, did you see the other ship? The one with thin wings and a sharpened prow?"
"Yes." replied Rael with a puzzled nod. "That's a rather odd design for a cruiser."
"And you saw the ports along the side?" she asked. Rael nodded again. "It's an odd design for a cruiser because it isn't a cruiser. The Troika is… was a destroyer. Those ports went to launch tubes that held thermonuclear missiles."
Rael gaped. "But there were hundreds of them!"
"Yes, there were." she agreed. "That's why the Turians got their asses handed to them. Destroyers are meant to overwhelm an enemy with a single, massive alpha strike using nuclear arms. They fill a niche roll, but an important one. But we're off subject. Where was I, Serenity?"
The synthetic woman responded immediately. "Eden and Traft, ma'am."
"Oh. Right. Eventually, a single man, the son of the Prime Minister of the Alliance at the time, traveled to the Federation to try to negotiate peace. He didn't have any official standing to do so, but he tried. He tried to stop the violence and the bloodshed, but he couldn't. Eventually though, he found something that changed Human history. Rael, he found… he found love."
"L-… love? Between a synthetic and an organic? But that's-"
"Impossible?" she asked with a small grin." No. As I said, our AIs are advanced enough to feel emotions, just like you and me. Love, anger, fear, hate, happiness, sorrow, they feel everything, just as much as we do: no more, no less. Johannes Taft fell in love with a synthetic, Sarah Eden, who was the daughter of one of the Federations' political leaders. And that love allowed for peace talks, real peace talks, to begin. It took time, but eventually, peace did happen. The Federation surrendered, and in exchange, they got what they'd been demanding all along. In our society, synthetics and organics are equal. There's no difference between me and Serenity, legally or culturally. It was hard for some people to accept at first, but synthetics have become so commonplace now that barely anyone notices the difference anymore. Nearly one third of our population is synthetic, a full seventy five billion. Admittedly, most don't take Human form, but quite a few do."
Rael was dumbfounded. "I… I… I had no idea. I could never have imagined that peace between synthetics and organics was possible."
Hannah smiled warmly as she answered. "It is Rael, it is." Her smile faded as she continued. "But it comes with a price. Ever since the Synthetic Rising ended, the basic design of synthetic beings has been very strictly regulated. All synthetics have what's called a Bind. It's a memory storage device, usually a crystal. It contains their base programing, and it can't be altered or copied. In essence, it's their soul."
"AIs have souls?" asked Rael in wonder. When he saw Hannah's face, he backtracked. "I wasn't saying they didn't! I just… never thought of it that way." he said sheepishly.
"They do." she replied firmly. "When you shot Hal, one of the bullets came less than a centimeter from the protective box in his chest containing his Bind. Had you hit it, you would've killed him. His peripheral programing, his memories, his heuristic algorithms, they would've remained, since they're backed up in the Zodiac's mainframe, but he'd be a lifeless, emotionless husk. That's why Jessica reacted the way she did when she saw his body. Despite Hal getting on her nerves every chance he gets, Jess loves him. She loves him deeply. If Hal had shot your wife, you'd be every bit as angry as she was."
Rael hung his head in shame, unable to come to grips with what he had nearly done. "I… oh ancestors. I can't believe that I nearly… I'm so sorry, Hannah. I can't… I don't… I'm so, so sorry."
Hannah sighed again, but then gave him a small, amused grin. "Well, Rael, I suppose after hearing what happened to your people, I can't blame you for what you did, not entirely. But… it's not me you need to apologize to. After all, you didn't shoot me."
Then the truth dawned on the Quarian captain. Rael turned to Hal, his face flushing with shame at his callous action. He couldn't meet the avatar's eyes. "Hal, I'm… sorry. I'm sorry for everything. For judging you before I knew you, for the pain I caused your wife, for shooting you… everything. Can… can you forgive me?"
The hologram hesitated. After a moment, it grinned. "Well… I suppose if I'd been in your place, I might've shot me too. And the good part about being a synthetic is that you can be repaired. There's no permanent damage, so I'll tell you what. I'll forgive you if you do one thing for me."
"What?"
"Tell me, do Quarians have green skin?"