Mass Effect is the property of Bioware. 20th Century Fox owns the Alien/Predator franchise.

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Geneva, Earth

"You're kidding me."

"No," Spears smiled briefly. "Our people questioned the prisoners on Shanxi as soon as Drescher's message came in and confirmed the story. The turian patrol saw Auriga approach the relay and moved in to stop us from activating the relay."

"But it makes no sense," Harper shook his head in disbelief. "Let's say they are telling the truth: A long time ago they opened the wrong relay, stumbled across a bunch of bugs, who, by the way, sound suspiciously like another species that we are both aware of, and it led to war. OK, fine. Then they decide that they don't want to risk it happening again and I can understand that. But now we get to the weird part. They make it illegal to open new relays, pretty much calling a stop to exploration. How does that help? If there is an aggressive species on the other side of a relay, they will be coming out sooner or later, in which case this bunch would meet them anyway. All their law achieves is delaying the inevitable. Then we have the actual incident. Some overeager cop sees our ships, moves in to enforce a law that we haven't heard about, could not possibly have heard about; and how does he do that? By shooting at our ships! To enforce a law that is supposed to prevent wars, they took an action guaranteed to start a war."

"It certainly looks that way, yes. We cannot be quite sure what went wrong, of course. All we have is captain Jankowski's after-action report, which is probably at least a little self-serving. We'll need access to the turian records to make sure of the details. Frankly, I'm inclined to believe that it was all a mistake. These things happen, Harper. When you have two military forces close together, things can go wrong. Human history is littered with examples of people opening fire at the wrong time, on the wrong target. Hell, according to legend, that's how King Arthur got killed. Two armies close together, some fool of a knight draws his sword to kill a snake, someone else thinks he is about to attack and decides to strike first, the battle starts, and Arthur ends up buying the big one. Usually, it happens when people are scared or confused. They see something that looks threatening and it starts preying on their minds. Sooner or later they overreact and the shooting starts." Spears shrugged. "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. In any case, that's water under the bridge. Leave the past to the historians. We need to focus on the future."

"Then you want to accept their offer of a truce?"

"Can we afford not to? Let's be honest, Harper. We're in a tough spot. We still don't know precisely what we're fighting here. So far we've done well, but it is quite possible that even these turians alone can simply plough us under with sheer numbers. Throw in several more species and the odds don't look too good."

"Isn't that all the more reason to strike now, while we still have the advantage. It seems to me that Drescher may have wasted an opportunity for a decisive victory here."

Spears' eyes grew very cold. "Another senior officer to be sacrificed to our agenda, Harper? Don't even think about it. I gave you Williams, but Drescher is a different story altogether. Right now she is pretty much the biggest hero we have. Williams may agree to forego a court-martial and resign, but Drescher would insist on having her day in court. And then we will have to answer the question why we are blaming the military while ignoring the culpability of the politicians. I suggest that that is not a press conference either of us wants to attend. Besides, I think she took the right decision. You may not realise it, but we have a big material problem just waiting to explode in our faces."

"Material?" Harper's voice was sharp. "I thought production was already spinning up."

"It is, but it will still take time and with the military cutbacks of the last twenty years... We currently have eleven carriers in service. Five of those are with Drescher, two at Arcturus, and two here, in earth orbit. The other two are in dock for upgrades. That leaves us with almost no reserve if anything happens to Second Fleet, and we're not building new carriers, yet. Even with my new plenipotentiary powers, I cannot casually spend that much money without going through the oversight committee. We're doing better with destroyers. Plenty of those were mothballed and are being reactivated, assuming we can find crews for them. Most of our naval reservists work on freighters. The more we recall, the more we disrupt the economy, just when we need it the most. But that is not the worst problem."

He waited a moment for Harper to interrupt, but the latter remained silent.

"It's the small stuff. We had to strip Arcturus of fighters to compensate Drescher's losses after Shanxi. Then we basically stripped Earth to replenish Arcturus. We are building new fighters, but that still takes time and training pilots takes years. Again, we are calling up reserves, but they need refresher courses, which also takes time. On top of that, we're running out of disposable ordnance, especially tactical nukes. Shanxi proved that we need those nuclear-tipped missiles to make our fighter effective against large naval vessels, and we're pretty much out of those."

Harper nodded. "That makes sense. Tactical nuclear stockpiles were always a controversial topic. The politicians would have taken every opportunity to reduce them as much as possible. But surely we can produce more of them, quickly."

"You'd think that, right? No, the problem is that we stopped producing them decades ago. The production lines aren't just closed, they've been dismantled, the blueprints stored away. It will take months just to reconfigure our factories to be able to produce the missiles at all, then the new production models have to be tested and certified before we can send them into action. The warheads will take even longer. Until we have that sorted out, our carrier groups will be of limited use. We can fight maybe two or three more battles, but then we have to fall back and hope that they won't come after us before production had been restored."

"So, we should quit while we're still ahead?"

"I think we should seriously consider it. Right now, we're golden. We can negotiate from a position of strength. Who knows when we might get another opportunity?"

"I see your point, of course, but we may face trouble at home. We've hyped up the war effort to get the people behind us, and to get them to push for our reforms. What happens if the war just ends?"

Spears sighed. "It's a concern, yes. But I don't think it will be that big a problem. Remember, we won; we've defended humanity. And the aliens will still be out there. A threat, against whom we have to arm ourselves. I think that will be enough. If we fight the war and lose, it won't matter anyway."

"That's true, I suppose. Between your popularity with the masses, and D'Orsinio working the General Assembly, we can spin things that way. Peace with honour, so to speak. Alright, assuming we do this: How are we going to go about it?

"First we need to send a message to Drescher ASAP. Signed by the United Systems government. We tell her that we approve of her actions and that a negotiating team is on its way. Second, we need to select a negotiator. A lot of them actually. We'll need all the expertise we can find. Any suggestions?"

Harper though for a moment.

"Actually, that's a bit of an issue. With the fading of nation states as true political entities, the whole concept of foreign policy has started to disappear. We don't really have diplomats anymore, and I'd prefer not to send a politician. We don't want to give the Assembly control over the negotiations. Still, we need someone capable of making deals; someone, who knows how to get the best deal and sell it." He took out a tablet and started searching. "What was her name? Goyle, that's it. Anita Goyle."

Spears looked confused. "Who?"

"You wouldn't remember her. She's a freelance corporate negotiator. Two years ago she settled a series of labour disputes on Thedus and the surrounding colonies. It never made the news, but we were a lot closer to civil war than anyone would like to admit. By the time she was done, I think both parties had forgotten what the dispute was about and would have agreed to anything just to put an end to the whole mess. Tough as nails and smart. The type who knows exactly how far she can go, without pushing the other party over the edge. Plus, she has her own staff, ready to go. It will save us weeks of selection processes."

"And you think she'd be available for this job?"

"You must be joking! This will arguably be the greatest negotiation challenge in human history. There is no way she'll turn it down."

"Then I suggest we contact her at once. Meanwhile, I'll speak with D'Orsinio, inform him of the change in circumstances and get to work on that message for Drescher."

-o-o-o-

Shanxi, POW camp

"General Williams, this is a surprise."

Desolas Arterius had changed little, at least to human eyes. In a way, it was a disappointment. Williams had insisted that he should meet the turian commander one more time. The only condition he had made, in exchange for resigning quietly rather than facing a court martial. It had been a tough decision to make, but in the end he had little choice. He could see the way the wind was blowing. The military was in the ascendant and nothing was allowed to blemish their record. The man who had surrendered his command to aliens was an embarrassment, best forgotten as soon as possible. It was not the way he had expected his career to end, but the messenger that Spears had sent made it more than clear that the alternative would be worse. Still, he had wanted to face his nemesis one more time, in the hope that it would give him some closure.

"Not a general. Not anymore."

"Really?"

"I just resigned. Took responsibility for my failure, so to speak."

"I see." The turians words sounded thoughtful, even through the translation software. "It seems that in the end, we are not so different after all."

"Perhaps not," Williams conceded. "I presume that you have heard the news?"

"News? Ah, yes, the great and noble Citadel Council has spoken and the Hierarchy has jumped to obey." The turian made a strange sound that Williamss had come to recognize as laughter. "Your people should be proud. You have achieved something that no other species has achieved. You have fought against the Hierarchy and come out of it without being defeated."

"And that's supposed to be a source of pride? Tens of thousands dead, and in the end, both sides are back where they started. It just doesn't seem worthwhile."

"Perhaps not. In any case, I suppose that this will be our last encounter. I expect that I'll be going home soon, where I, too, will have to answer for my failures."

Williams shook his head. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, general Arterius. In fact, I doubt you'll go home for a very long time, if ever."

For the first time, the turian's composure seemed shaken. "And why is that?"

"There is still the matter of a number of destroyed villages to be discussed. I warned you at the time, remember, that that kind of retaliation strike would have consequences. As it turns out, you were right too. We never had the opportunity to bombard a few of your worlds, but we have the next best thing. We have the perpetrators: You, and your men."

"And you think your people will put me on trial?" Desolas laughed again. "I doubt that sincerely. The Primarch would never stand for it."

"Ah, but the Primarch isn't here. Besides, I doubt you have much credit with him right now. He might not wish to be assoiciated with someone who is not only a failure, but a criminal as well. Good luck, general Arterius. I think you'll need it."

Without another word, Williams left the room.

-o-o-o-

Destiny Ascension

"They have agreed. A negotiation team will be sent to meet us here."

Lidanya nodded. "Thank you, admiral. I will inform the council. Meanwhile, our own envoy will be joining us. I suspect that she will make transit through the relay within the hour."

It had been nearly a week, a week of waiting and of carefully worded exchanges, while the two fleets had watched each other from a distance and each side wondered if the other would be the first to break the truce and open fire; and Lidanya felt that she had aged a century over that time. But it seemed as though the truce would hold. Of course, it would still take a lot of time and effort to establish a lasting peace, but that was not her responsibility. From now on, politicians and diplomats would take over. She wished them the best of luck.

-o-o-o-

The Citadel

"I just received word from Matriarch Benezia. She is about to transit through the relay for some preliminary talks with the human fleet commander while they await the arrival of the human negotiator." Tevos smiled. "We have done it."

"Have we?" Sparatus stared into his drink. He had been morose ever since news of the cease-fire arrived.

"Of course! Clearly, the humans have as little desire for continued war as we. There will be a price to pay, of course, but peace is worth it and it's the Council that has brought peace. Do you understand what that means, Sparatus? For the first time in centuries, this Council can point at its achievements and justly say: We did, what no-one else could. This may well be the beginning of a new era."

"And the end of an old one." Sparatus drank deeply, then looked up. "I did my part, because it had to be done, Tevos. Because it was my duty as councillor. That doesn't mean I have to enjoy watching my people humiliated. Because that's what this is: humiliating. And the Hierarchy won't forget. As much as we may have achieved in the last few days, I think there is still a lot more trouble ahead. The galaxy has changed. Now everything will be different. That may be good for the three of us, but there are others out there who will be less than pleased and they will say to themselves: if the galaxy can change once, it can change again. Those are the ones we should watch out for."

-o-o-o-

HNV Force of Justice

"Matriarch Benezia has arrived safely. We are informed that we can abandon our current position and return to Aephus."

General Oraka looked around the meeting room. Most of the officers present refused to meet his eyes. He could understand their behaviour. The war was over, and they had lost. No matter how the politicians would spin it later, the truth was that they had lost. Only a few months ago no-one would have even considered the possibility. the Hierarchy had never lost a war. In fact, it was considered a fact of life that the only ones capable of defeating turians were other turians. That reputation had been shattered and it was they, the people in this room, who had presided over the defeat. Of course, much of the blame could be assigned to Desolas Arterius, who had initiated the invasion, but Arterius wasn't present to take responsibility. In fact, he might very well be dead. Besides, it was the battle in space that had decided the course of events; and Arterius had not been involved in that. No, it was the officers in this room, who had to take responsibility; if not for starting the ill-fated campaign, then for the way it ended, and that had to start with Oraka himself. It was the principle on which the meritocracy was based. The person in charge always had to accept responsibility. Circumstances might mitigate the blame, they couldn't erase it.

"It was the distance," captain Hastian said slowly. "If we hadn't been so far from home. If we'd been able to resupply and call for reinforcements the moment we understood what we were dealing with-"

"No, it wasn't the distance, it was the waiting! We should have pushed through the relay ourselves, at once. Instead, we just sat around and let them build up their strength."

"Nonsense, that wouldn't have worked! We should have built up our strength more-"

The voices were getting louder, shouting each other down. Perhaps there was a need for this discussion. Certainly, in the future, the Hierarchy would need to study the recent events and determine how they could prevent them from occurring again, but this was neither the time nor the place and Oraka simply couldn't deal with it.

"Enough!" Oraka's voice cut through the argument. "It doesn't matter what it was. It's when someone wakes up in the morning and says 'I have an idea! Let's play war!' That's when everybody dies."

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Oraka's remark at the end is actually a quote from 'A bridge too far.' Gene Hackman speaks more or less that line.

Strategic stockpiles of disposable ordnance are always a big problem, especially because you can not store explosives, or rocket fuel, forever; so the stockpiles need to be replenished. When Britain wanted to use Vulcan bombers again the Falklands, they found that they had less than a hundred standard bombs available for them, many of them dating back to World War 2. Similarly, production figures for modern anti-tank missiles are often so low, that a lot of countries would run out of missiles before their enemies ran out of tanks. In wars of the past this wasn't such a big problem because weapons could be built very quickly, but with complicated modern weapons, it's not that simple.