Chapter 1- Second Contact
July 12th, 2157
"Are you *wheeze* sure this is a good *wheeze* idea?" Bartu Mor asked the captain of the mining vessel MSV Pleshak.
"Of course *wheeze* I am sure, this plan is *wheeze* perfect! We take the slow road into unexplored *wheeze* space and mine out the riches that *wheeze* are sure to be there!" Nirau Verr replied.
"But it will be months before we can *wheeze* make any profits off of what we mine, and fuel for this journey is *wheeze* expensive!" Bartu replied.
"Bah, we will surely *wheeze* find huge amounts of minerals *wheeze* out here! Nobody else has *wheeze* explored so far from the relays *wheeze* before!"
"If you *wheeze* say so, but when we get attacked by evil planet eating space bugs I *wheeze* reserve the right to say 'I *wheeze* told you so."
"There's nothing *wheeze* in this area of *wheeze* space! Otherwise there would be *wheeze* mass relays here!"
Bartu grunted in reply, and went back to his station.
"We are exiting FTL in [5] minutes!" The ship's VI sang, cheerfully oblivious of the fact that the ship's captain was leading them to certain doom.
The Volus mining ship exited FTL in a system lit by a yellow main sequence star. Scans indicated five planets in the system, two of which were gas giants, leaving only three planets with any resources. The ship sped towards one of the terrestrial planets in the system, which, upon closer examination, turned out to be a garden world.
"Wow, a *wheeze* garden world! We're setting up our *wheeze* base here!" Nirau sang in excitement.
"Why? We're obviously not *wheeze* going to see any profits by setting up shop here, so why *wheeze* bother?" Bartu replied, his suspicions about his partner's mental sanity being confirmed.
"This is a *wheeze* garden world! The co-ordinates of one of these will *wheeze* make me- *wheeze* I mean us, rich!"
"Oh please, as if the *wheeze* council would pay for a garden world so *wheeze* far away from everything."
"You're always so *wheeze* negative... Why is *wheeze* that?"
"BECAUSE YOU SEEM TO *wheeze* HAVE NO BRAIN INSIDE THAT HEAD OF YOURS WHAT SO *wheeze* EVER!
"Calm down *wheeze* there, or do I have to get my *wheeze* turian bodyguard to *wheeze* throw you off the *wheeze* ship?"
"I'd love to see him *wheeze* try to get past my *wheeze* krogan!"
"Oh yeah? Well I brought TWO *wheeze* turians! Where's your *wheeze* krogan now?"
"Oh *wheeze* yeah? Well I have a... wait... *wheeze* what is that?" Bartu pointed out the window. Nirau followed his stubby finger with his eyes. Out in space, approximately two hundred Volaks away, a massive white circle was expanding. Inside it, where there was once a beautiful starfield, there was nothing but empty black. Suddenly, a ship appeared, accelerating out of the portal, followed by another, and then another. Several seconds later, five massive ships exited the portal before it disappeared. All ships were at least dreadnought size, and obviously had weapons mounted on them that could be easily made out at such short range. The ships hung in space for a few seconds, and then the largest suddenly turned towards the Pleshak.
"Command, we are on an intercept course with the alien vessel. Orders?" Captain Steven Hackett said over the comm link. Several seconds passed, then the orders came from the admiral of the human first fleet. "Attempt to make peaceful contact. If they open fire, annihilate them." came the grizzled voice of admiral Raymond Blake. "Acknowledged." Hackett said, breaking the comm link. He waited until his ship was practically on top of the tiny alien ship before initiating communications.
"Attention unidentified alien vessel. State your purpose for entering human space." He said. Technically, that wasn't true as this system wasn't yet fully part of human space, as it had only been surveyed and deemed suitable for colonization two weeks before. His job was to lead the escort of the first-in colonists, but the alien vessel changed everything.
"We *wheeze* read you *wheeze* human vessel! What do you *wheeze* want? Do you want *wheeze* minerals? Planets? *wheeze* Information? Just PLEASE DON'T KILL US!" Said a strange round creature in some sort of environmental suit. It seemed to be grovelling over a vidscreen, and it would have continued doing so if another one of its kind hadn't walked up behind it and pushed it over.
"I apologize for my *wheeze* business partner. My name is Bartu Mor, of the *wheeze* Vol clan. Who are you?" The new creature said. Its business partner had been knocked unconscious by the fall, making it look like those 'Vol' had the constitutions of fainting goats.
"We are here to colonize this system in the name of the United Earth Alliance. Now why are you here."
"We are here to mine at the *wheeze* suggestion of my *wheeze* esteemed business partner." the creature said, gesturing to the sleeping vol next to it.
"If you are here to mine, then why are you so far away from any mass relays? The salarians said all council races depended on the relays. That is why we colonize away from relays, because we don't need them."
"My business partner had the *wheeze* idea to waste several months leaving *wheeze* known space into unknown territory in this slow rusty piece of *wheeze* scrap to look for new resources."
"What do you plan to do now?" Hackett asked the tubby little biped.
"Get out of your space good sir. Sorry for bothering you and your colonization fleet, now goodbye!" With that, the alien craft jumped away, leaving a very much bewildered captain. Signalling command, he warned them of the Vol ship's likely intent.
Two months later...
Dalatrass Verlin, the Salarian councilor paced in her quarters on the presidium. To the outsider's untrained eye, she looked to be thinking about some annoyance, and they would be half right. She was thinking about that thrice cursed volus ship, coming into port and immediately demanding to see the council about a race called humanity. She let out a sigh. What had her damned predecessor been thinking? The covert uplift of a species, and then just abandoning them when things didn't go as planned? She should have called in the turian fleet to bomb them from orbit when her STG teams reported a mission failure, but noo, she just had to go and hide it away, and now her successor twice removed was paying for it. The chime of an incoming message broke her out of her thoughts. She activated her omni-tool, checking her message list. It was time. Time for her to enter the council chamber to debate on what to do with the human problem.
"We simply do not know enough about them! They could be diplomatically minded, given how they did not attack the volus vessel." Councilor Tevos said.
"That was not diplomacy, that was intimidation!" Verlin replied. "Who sends a fleet of dreadnoughts to guard a colony ship?"
"A smart person guards his assets, and if you are sending a colony vessel into unknown space, of course you would want to guard it!" Councilor Sparatus said.
"Sending frigates or cruisers would be one thing, but Dreadnoughts? SUPER DREADNOUGHTS?" Verlin screamed.
"We have no knowledge of their ship classes, they could simply like to build big!" Sparatus countered.
"Who builds frigates the size of dreadnoughts?" Verlin said.
The council meeting continued for hours, ending in a three way split, Sparatus for allying with them, Tevos abstaining, and Verlin for isolating them from the galaxy. All in all, little got done that day.
"Are you *wheeze* sure that this is the right system?" The volus ambassador asked Bartu.
"Yes *wheeze* ambassador. I am *wheeze* positive that this is the system where we encountered these *wheeze* humans." Bartu replied.
"We have found a relay that *wheeze* leads to a system within 50 light years of this one. We will send one of our *wheeze* cruisers through, and then send it to this mysterious human colony. Hopefully, they will be *wheeze* peaceful."
"Wait, that relay is *wheeze* active? I didn't know that." Bartu said.
"Yeah, I didn't know that either, but when I checked the active relay registry, 314 was clearly listed as active." The ambassador said. "Which begs the question, why has nothing ever happened in that area of space?"
"Something is not *wheeze* right about this." Bartu said.
"Yes, but that is *wheeze* irrelevant. We are sending a *wheeze* ship through to make contact. The ship is leaving dock in a few *wheeze* minutes, and I want you onboard. As of now, consider yourself *wheeze* promoted to temporary *wheeze* ambassador to *wheeze* humanity." The ambassador said with finality, ushering Bartu out of the office.
Bartu stood still for a moment, the shock of his new station overcoming him. Then he realized the time, and ran for the docks.
The cruiser decelerated, entering the system. Several minutes later, the volus bridge crew started chattering very quickly in panic. The lack of suits allowed for volus to speak extremely quickly, causing the bridge to be filled with noise. However, every volus was saying almost the exact thing. The same thing happened to be in Bartu's mind as well.
"WHERE IS THE RELAY?"
A/n- DUN DUN DUUUUNNN! And with this, the story proper begins! Enjoy the sight of panicking volus!