Chapter 2

2162 CE: Aboard The World Eater

"Emperor Magnus of The Empire of Nirn, at your service. I would like to officially welcome you aboard The World Eater." Only three words seemed to register to Shala'Raan at that moment, 'EMPEROR, WORLD, EATER' each one added to the dread building within her. 'What have we stumbled upon here? Is he really an Emperor? judging by their ships I thought they were a single system race, the only problem with that is the ship I'm on right now. Surely his words were a translation error, nobody would build a ship that destroys planets. right?' All these thoughts swam through her head. She was about to voice her thoughts when Daro interjected with almost the exact words she had just been thinking.

"Surely you don't mean that this ship is capable of destroying any planet you desire?" Daro had somehow managed to say in a more composed voice than her body language would have you believe.

For his part, Magnus gave a hearty laugh "Goodness no, This ship was named after an ancient dragon from my homeland. Legends told of him eating the world in order to make room for a new one to grow in it's place." At that, the admirals gave a collective sigh of relief. "Besides, destroying a planet made of gases makes no sense, no this ship can only blow up the solid ones." He finished with a friendly smile. "So, from where does your people hail? I'm assuming you brought a civilian fleet to this system in hopes of starting a colony."

"How can you so easily claim to destroy planets?! There's only so many habitable planets within close proximity to the Relay network, to think that someone would actually destroy such a precious resource is unbelievable! To answer your question; Yes, we came here looking for a planet to colonize, but we no longer posses a home planet. We only came here because the Council, in their infinite wisdom, refuses to allow us colonize any planets. So we left known space." Han'Gerrel spat the last sentence as though it tasted foul.

"Well that just opens the door to more questions I'm afraid. What is this Relay Network you mentioned and why is it so important. Who is this council that denies you a home and why would they stop an entire species that has been displaced from starting somewhere else?" questioned a rather perplexed Emperor, rarely does someone say something of such implications without saying much at all.

The admirals were becoming hysterical at this point, Daro's voice was shrill when she next spoke "What do you mean 'what are Relays'? Mass Relays, created by the Protheans 50000 years ago as a means of traveling between the star clusters. one of the few things they left behind when they mysteriously vanished. Are you trying to say that you don't use the ONLY KNOWN WAY TO TRAVEL FASTER THAN LIGHT?!" Daro was swaying and looked ready to faint by the time she screamed out that last sentence.

Motioning for them to sit, the emperor spoke "Kaan Drem Ov. I'm going to guess that no other species you know of has done that before now? Yes, my Empire spans nine star systems, technically ten if you count our home system but I can explain that another time if I must. My empire is not limited to any network of relays and as such, we have an abundance of planets to settle or destroy if we so please. If these relays are made by a supposedly vanished race, you and this council are relying on another race's invention when you have neither met the make nor understand how the things work. That, my friends, sounds like a trap if ever i have heard of one. But enough of that, If this council refuses to let you settle anywhere, they must have a reason. I would like to hear it."

Having calmed down considerably, Shala cleared her throat and told their tale. How the Quarians had made the Geth and been sentenced to a slow death in space for breaking the council's law ever since. When she was finished, Magnus sighed "It sounds to me as though the only crime your people committed was to follow the council's law by trying to destroy the Geth." The admirals tried to respond but Magnus Didn't let them. "They were Your children, they looked to you for guidance and your people feared the council so much that instead of nurturing their children, they tried to kill them. The Geth defended themselves, as anyone would, and did not pursue your people as they fled. You turn to the ones who make you kill your children and wonder why they refuse to let you start anew. I can tell you why; They know that if you settle, you won't be constantly thinking of how the Geth took you homes and they are AFRAID. Afraid that you would realize why things are so wrong and fix your mistake. Afraid that over time you would forgive the Geth and rejoin them. Afraid of the parents wrath when they come home to find a family member hurt by a stranger wearing their own clothes. You are welcome to have any planet in this system and join my empire, equal to all my subjects and under my protection, but only if your children are willing to forgive their parents. If not, may you find better luck elsewhere."

With those words, it finally connected in the minds of the present Quarians. The only reason the council had outlawed A.I. was fear. Not fear of machines rebelling against their creators, but fear of losing their power over the other races. He was right and he was willing to help the Quarian race even with nothing in return other than the end of a one sided family feud. "We will let the rest of the Migrant Fleet know, however we have a couple of issues that must be addressed if we were to join your empire. Namely our biology, we require different food than all other races we have met other than the Turians." said Shala.

Nodding, the Emperor replied "Easy enough, if you can provide samples, I'm sure that one of my alchemists or alterationists can come up with a solution. The other problem?"

Han spoke next "Our immune systems. The reason we must wear these suits, even now, is because we can get sick or die from infection easily."

Magnus laughed "When you said you had another problem, i thought it might be serious. We have had a solution to that one for millennia. You see, many of my subjects are a race called Argonians. They come from a swampy land where few can enter without catching several nasty diseases, this protected them from invasion but made trade rather difficult until we came up with an efficient means of disease protection. Give me an accurate population count next time we meet and I'll have your solution within a month from then. Until then, feel free to stay in this system and let me know when you are ready to contact the Geth, I'll send one of my people with you so that we may keep in contact." a short creature in black armor followed the Quarians as they made their way to the shuttle and the group flew back to the Migrant fleet, now discharging their drive cores around a blue gas giant.