Author response time first off.
First off yes the Sangheili have dropped the 'ee' from their names now that they've left the covenant, that was an accident. Next;
(Can't believe this name. I mean really? FFS people...)
Osamabinladenson: The curb stomp stereotype exists because Halo technology, tactics, and such are intrinsically better than Mass Effect's. So it's not a stereotype if its true now shove off.
Hannahbannamontana: They aren't pulling them 'out of their asses' as you seem to think. First fact is the UNSC basically never waged an offensive war against the Covenant barring a few occasions so nearly their entire infrastructure was still intact after the war minus possibly the people needed to run it which they won't have been lacking in my story for reasons I'll be explaining later. Fact two is the covenant/Sangheili have always built lots of ships specifically large ones, and I also haven't said how much of their total fleet is present so for all you know they have pulled every in service ship to come to the battle. Fact three, no one has a black hole device dip shit. The UNSC has slip space portal generators and that's as close as you'll get, but they are far different than black hole weapons.
Ghouls123: Elite fanboy? I do like them, specifically the Halo 2 variety as they were the coolest in my opinion, but the UNSC is hardly defenseless as well. They have the microdyson sphere of onyx capable or building almost anything as well as forerunner engineers and the like, so sod off.
Ghannah: Who said they gave it to them, who said it's unlimited, and who says, besides you, it's dumb?
Now thank you to everyone else who were not a bunch of pretentious assholes and have been MASSIVELY supportive of my fic, giving it over 8,000 hits in less than a day. With that out of the way, we'll now get on with the story which is what I'm sure you're really here for.
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"For the record, please state your full name, your rank, and any military identifucation number you might have."
"Ammen Dorrell, Captain, identification number PAL7499025119AD," Dorrell replied wearily to the human sitting across the table from him in the small darkened room he recognized as an interrogation cell. There was a single small light illuminating nothing but himself, his chair, and his edge of the table he sat at. Directly across from him was a human, he thought it was human at least, that sat fully shrouded in the darkness, brief glimpses of the being's face being occasionally provided when the fragrant stick it was smoking from flared at the tip.
"Why did your race attack us, Captain Dorrell?" The human asked calmly, though even through the translator resentment bled through.
At this question, Dorrell felt his mandibles flatten against his face. They wanted a reason, and as he thought more about it, the prevention of the relay activation was seeming more and more shaky to him. Still, his men were being treated well for the time being and given that that might depend on his behavior, he was inclined to continue with his cooperation.
"We were ordered by our high command to prevent your activation of the Mass Relay and to proceed with your races' subjugation for attempting to violate Citadel Council law," Dorrell responded hesitantly, but with a certain firmness that showed his belief that they had been right.
"Citadel Council Law? Seems a bit of stretch to try and subjugate a people you know kpnothing about. Tell me Dorrell, how often does this sort of subjugation happen?" The human responded.
"The subjugation of other species occurs every few years, perhaps once a decade."
"So you enslave other peoples? I don't think that's the best thing you should be doing," the human responded calmly.
"It is hardly enslavement. Our client raves don't have the full benefits our species does, but it is not enslavement!" Dorrell snapped in defensiveness.
"I would say it is Dorrell. It may be a rather pleasant one, but it is still enslavement when one race controls any other and denies them privlages and rights. So I'm rather sorry to say your hierarchy will most likely be losing its 'client species' rather soon if the UNSC has anything to say about it,"
"What does that stand for?" Dorrell asked, trying to push away the cooled pit of fear that had formed when the man said thast they would lose their client rasces.
"UNSC? It stands for United Nations Space Command. Now why don't you tell me something important Dorrell, would your people agree to peace, or will total war be necessary?"
Dorrell hesitated again. He and much of his crew had seen the thousand plus ship fleet arrive as they were boarding what one of the massively armored humans on his ship had called an 'Albatross drop ship'. The fleet had been absurd in size, and several hundred of the ships had been at least dreadnought sized while more had been even larger than the Destiny Ascension and three were even larger than the ship he was aboard, a vessel the humans said was named the Temerity.
Then there had been that last monster. The final ship to emerge from the portal was some ten percent larger in size than the Citadel itself, but it was so much more massive as a solid object compared to the thin frame of the Citadel.
"We would likely be agreeable to peace, though it will likely be brokered by the Asari," he replied. The fleet assembled outside the ship he was in was large enough to overwhelm the combined fleets of every race in Citadel space... He had no option but to cooperate if his people were to survive.
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Councilor Sparatus took a seat at the small, round table in the center of the bare, polished metal room as he watched his fellow council it's take seats at equally spaced positions around the table. The mood was certainly tense in the tiny room as the salarian councilor, Gelor, had not even informed the other two councilors as to why he needed to suddenly call for a private meeting out of the public's eye.
Though he couldn't help but think he did know what was on the salarian's mind as councilor Tevos finally broke the deepening silence.
"Gelor, would you please tell Sparatus and myself why you have felt the need to to call for this meeting?" She asked.
"Yes, please do tell," Sparatus added to afirm his appearance of ignorance.
Gelor nodded once before taking a breath to begin explaining. "Though a breach of trust, STG groups keep track of all fleet elements of both Asari and Turian navies."
That, was quite the admission. To openly admit you spied on your closest allies was a dangerous thing, but the fact that Gelor had admitted to such a thing meant to Tevis and Sparatus that the subject at hand was truly grave.
And with how he started out with tracking their fleets, Sparatus knew what the next subject was.
"That is a grave admission Gelor. You had best explain this," Sparatus growled.
"I must agree with Sparatus on this Gelor, you must tell us what could justify such actions."
"Just over thirty hours ago, two-thirds of the entire turian navy was marshaled and dispatched through the 314th Mass Relay. After deployment and confirmation that they were going to enter the relay, they went dark. This deployment included twenty-two of the total thirty-eight turian dreadnoughts."
"They've gone dark?" Tevis asked hesitantly.
"Yes, since passing the relay no further communications have been received," Gelor confirmed, only to be cut off by Sparatus who had realized that the game was over and he needed to come clean.
"That's not completely true, Gelor. We've had one additional communication from the armada. It was a compressed data package that contained a record of what happened past the relay," Sparatus replied, all of his will seeming to leave him.
"And what did happen past Mass Relay 314, Councilor Sparatus?" Tevos asked, suddenly upping the ante with the use of Sparatus's title.
Rather than answer by speaking, Sparatus linked his omni-tool to the holo-projector mounted in the center of the table and sent the data package out.
The holo was blank at first, of course there were no ships in system to register anything with their sensors, but that changed as suddenly the entire turian fleet dropped into existence beside the Mass Relay.
After a moment to gain their bearings, the turian fleet began advancing towards the battle group holding position a hundred thousand kilometers distant made up of ships of two wildly different base designs.
Then the hit the mines.
In an instant the nuclear spheres appeared in the holo before fading to show nothing but the wrecked remains of dozens of turian ships.
There was visible shock about the table as the other councilors watched, though Sparatus simply hung his head having already watched the final fate of his people's ships.
The two fleets had begun to exchange fire between each other, the weapons of the unknown species carving through vast swaths of the mightiest turian ships as if they were made of naught but paper.
The portal appeared next, its appearance heralding the end of the armada as appeared directly to the side of the Palaven which with the rest of the fleet now fired on the fleeing Pride of the Ancestors.
Then the ships had emerged. The monstrous behemoth a third the length of the Citadel that had simply run over the Palaven and remained silent scant minute after emerging into existence.
Then it was alive with light and fire.
Weapon rounds impacted on flaring shields but showed no sign of damage before the massive ship retaliated. Thousands of missiles and mass driver rounds tore into the turian fleet, shredding vessels left and right.
Steadily the image grew fuzzier as ships were destroyed left and right till only one ship was left, a small frigate fleeing towards the Mass Relay.
It wasn't to be.
A shot from the super ship reached out and directly as it touched the running ship, the image cut out as the source was destroyed.
Following the playing of the holo, silence reigned in the tiny room before Tevos spoke up to ask a question.
"The ship offering surrender, the Pride of the Ancestors, what happened to it?" She asked.
"We don't know. As soon as that super ship appeared, its shields prevented out sensors from seeing what was happening on its far side. If so we must contend with the possibility that these aliens have prisoners who would surrender along with a fully intact ship and data banks." Sparatus replied.
"They will know everything. Eventually. Perhaps already do. Given that they do not seem to relie on mass effect fields, its possible that their FTL can bypass the relay systems." Gelor added.
"You mean to say..." Tevos began only to be cut off by the salarian.
"That we will encounter them again soon? Most likely. They may even be on their way here or two other major planets. Likely here and major turian targets."
"Why turian? And how could you say so with certainty Gelor," Tevos remarked, panic finally beginning to crack her exterior.
"The Turians attacked them first and have so far been the only aggressors. Therefore these aliens would likely only attack turian targets and possibly here given its central location."
"By the goddess," Tevos whispered quietly as she buried her face in her hands.
"May the spirits forgive us..." Sparatus likewise chanted.
Gelor looked over his two compatriots before standing as he said, "please excuse me. Must begin creation of a first contact package as well as preparation for these alien's arrival. I think we will see them within a week, no more than two. Much preparation needed."
As Gelor strode out towards the door, his two companions sighed and stood from the table before sharing a look of intense worry before leaving, knowing the salarian was right.
Though the salarians enjoyed their fights won before they started, Gelor's fast thinking was proving invaluable at the moment.
Unfortunately, his time estimate was exaggerated.
They didn't have weeks.
They had hours.
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So another new chapter, more complaints dealt with, and more plot development. While the Council is still a bunch of self absorbed asses, I think the salarian councilor would be less so given that new ones come in so often and don't have the time to settle in.