Alright time for a real chapter now, my apologies for the brevity of the last one but that felt like as good a place as any to break off and pause for this one. Now a couple notes.

First I was made aware that the pink trees in the council chambers are cherry trees from earth, however I didn't know that when I wrote it so I'm going to just leave them in there and we'll be assuming they're some other variety of tree with pink flowers. End of discussion.

Also, 100,000 views, woot!

Now on to the chapter.

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Tevos was quite frankly shocked as the aliens stepped up onto the dais in front of the where she and her associates stood. In truth they had been watching them through the Citadel's security cameras, but to suddenly see another race that so resembled an Asari in the flesh was disconcerting to be sure. The being wore a white military type uniform nearly overflowing with medals and ribbons on its left breast that likely signified a great deal of experience on its part in past hostilities.

Arrayed in front and behind it were a pair of massively armored figures that moved with a far too fluid grace for their size and with steps too quiet for the bulk of their armor. Even worse was that their faces were hidden behind reflective golden visors ensconced in their polished olive armor that left her feeling more than intimidated by them, and that was before she even look at the second group.

The others were first lead by a pair of hulking saurian like creatures with four mandibles coated on the interior with razor sharp teeth hinging open on the sides if their heads beneath their elaborate white and orange helmets that only served to further enhance the grandeur of their appearance. Behind them though was something even more intimidating, a pair of hulking creatures, both of them well over three and encroaching on four meters tall. They wore iridescent blue armor that was thicker than the battle plate on a tank on on their left arms were massive shields that looked even thicker with clearly sharpened edges. Their right arm seemed to be a blend between a massive claw and an enormous heavy weapon of some kind with ominous looking green tubes sitting on the outside humming along as it moved. Most interestingly, the visible parts of the creatures body were made up of what looked like glowing orange worms wriggling over and around each other, leaving Tevos at a loss as for what the creatures truly were.

All of those four though, paled in comparison to the one standing in the middle of their formation. Another of the saurians stood tall, giving off a proud air about it as it looked from council member to council member to council member. Brilliant gold eyes that filled her with unaccustomed fear sat on either side of a head atop a body that was covered in burns beneath the reflective silver-gold armor it wore. In places on the chest, Tevos could spot a mark burned into its flesh as she looked, forcing her to wonder what the creature before her had endured.

Remembering their position and the astounding fleet outside the citadel, Tevos took her role as the leader of the council and spoke up as she said, "Welcome to the Citadel."

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Admiral Hood paused as he took a moment to process the greeting he, the Arbiter, and their escorts had received from the Asari councilor standing in the middle of the three on the opposite side of the glass floored speaker section before looking to the Arbiter and letting out a derisive snort.

He was certainly disconcerted to be meeting with an alien that looked so much like a female human, but he'd prepared himself before hand thanks to the information plundered from the codex and the turian ship for having to face them so his and the Arbiter's shock was nowhere near as palpable as the aliens' was. As he watched looks pass between the council members after his snort he finally spoke up, calmly and slowly as he said, "We're not here for some tour Councilors. We're here to secure repayment for the Turians unprovoked attack." His message didn't translate immediately, rather, as soon as he finished speaking the translator kicked in broadcast his reply in roughly the same tone back to the Councilors in the Turian tongue.

As soon as the message finished Hood caught sight of hesitation in the sight of the aliens' eyes as they listened before the Asari spoke again saying, "It was merely a greeting, but if you are seeking repayment, what are your terms?"

As soon as the translator had spit out the reply into Hood's ear, he spoke, knowing hesitation would be a sign of weakness as he declared, "The complete and unconditional surrender of the Turian Hierarchy, the elevation of all client races to Council members, and the curing of the genophage."

The translator had barely pronounced the first term when the turian councilor had begun ranting and raving, shouting at a pace and with apparent anger and...slurring that Hood's translator was struggling to keep up. In general though, he got the message that the turian would most definitely not surrender if at all possible, something that put plans further on hold until he was dealt with. Calmly, Hood let his voice assume all the warmth of hard vacuum as he spoke, locking as with the turian councilor to say, "Consider your position Councilor. According to what we understand, you have lost two-thirds of your entire navy. I don't believe you are in any position to dictate anything to us much less refuse, and if you continue to, I will remind you of the responsibilities upon your shoulders."

The room was silent as the translator churned out the reply before the Turian Councilor growled, literally growled back, "And what would you know about my responsibilities?" Hood was quiet for a moment as he considered how to word his reply. This far too much politicking for his tastes, advancing the meeting was looking to be a necessity. Calmly as he replied, he made note of a message saying 'connection established' in his vision as he said, "I know you are responsible for the lives of your people, and if you do not do the wise thing now you will be responsible for their genocide and perhaps that of all the Council species if they choose to interfere in a war between us."

There was a moment of tense silence that followed Hood's pronouncement before the Turian Councilor spoke up as he asked, his voice trembling with barely contained rage even through the translator, "You. Would threaten us. With genocide? You think you-"

"Why not? You've shown enough predisposition for doing it yourself. The Rachni. The Krogan. You've inflicted genocide yourselves often enough, why should you be surprised to be on the receiving end of it when someone strong enough decides it's a viable option," the Arbiter suddenly barked out, interrupting the Councilor's tirade before it could really get going.

"Those were desperate situations, our enemies refused reason, and would never surre-" The Asari Councilor began before Hood sudden shouted her down having finally lost patience as he raised his voice to shout, "And exactly as you are threatening to do now! If you refuse our terms, then we will have no choice but to take action." With a sudden change of mood, Admiral Hood turned to face the holoprojector as he called out, "Admiral Chitose, Supreme Commander Vandum, dispatch your fleets. Do not engage until ordered to or unless fired upon."

An immediate look of puzzlement appeared the Councilors' faces, the readable ones at least, before a pair of holograms suddenly leapt to life above the projector displaying Admiral Chitose and Supreme Commander Vandum saluting as they respectively replied, "Yes sir" "As you will" before suddenly disappearing. As the Council looked back to Lord Hood, the Asari spoke up asking, "What are they going to do?"

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So there's the new, full chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it, I'll see about getting some more out soon, but no promises. And it seems the threat of a large interlude made of smut was a good way to stop the whiners so I think I'll hold to that threat and next time I get a bunch of those complaints, I'll post such an interlude. Might not put up the 25k one for the sake of false advertising the story's length, but I have a few shorter ones I might dump instead to annoy the restless.