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Presidium, the Citadel

This is Tavea I'Seni of Citadel News Network. We have just received news that the newly discovered species, the humans, have returned the body of general Desolas Arterius. General Arterius, who commanded the turian forces involved in what the Hierarchy calls 'the Relay 314 incident' surrendered to the humans after being left stranded on their colony. We are informed that the humans considered some of his actions during the conflict to be crimes against them. They have provided the Citadel Council with transcripts of legal proceedings against general Arterius, which led to his conviction and him being sentenced to death, a sentence which has now been carried out. So far, neither the Council, nor the Hierarchy, has commented on this new development. However, experts in turian politics expect a strong response from the Primarch, which may even include renewed hostilities

"No! Tevos, we cannot give up now. All I need is more time. If we accept the human conditions, it'll mean the end of everything we've worked for. They'll just walk away from the Citadel and galactic civilization." Benezia's rage was palpable, even over the FTL communication link. For councillor Tevos, it was highly disconcerting to see the normally so controlled Matriarch breaking down like this.

"I understand that, Matriarch Benezia, but what is the alternative? The humans have put us on notice that they can continue these legal proceedings against other prisoners as well."

"They wouldn't dare! You've said it yourself. The Hierarch will resume the war if they do, and I told that so-called negotiator of theirs the same."

"And did she believe you? Or for that matter, do they even care? No, I'm sorry. I truly am. I understand what you have been trying to achieve, but we're out of time."

It was a flaw in asari psychology. Thanks to their long lives, they were willing and able to focus on the long term, to see the big picture. Unfortunately, most other races didn't have that advantage and it could create a blind spot for asari diplomats where they simply couldn't understand why other species wouldn't listen to reason. For the same reason they couldn't understand the impatience of other species as negotiations dragged on for months, or even years. Tevos had encountered this problem before, but it was rather disappointing to find that Benezia of all people would fall into this particular trap.
In many ways, her negotiating position had been sound. In the long run, fully incorporating the humans into galactic civilization would save a lot of grieve. But that was if you thought in centuries or even millennia. According to the documentation that they had received even a century qualified as three or four human generations. Nobody planned that far ahead. And Benezia should have known that and adjusted. They could not expect to accomplish this process in one large step. It would have to wait for future human generations who could gradually adjust to the new reality.

"No," she repeated. "I truly am sorry, but we cannot risk it. Better a flawed peace, then no peace at all. I must ask you to give up on getting them to join the Citadel."

For a moment it seemed as though Benezia would continue to argue, but she managed to regain a measure of control.

"I see. Very well, Tevos, if that is what the Council wants, that is what I will do. But you're making a tragic mistake. I can only pray that it will not be all of civlization that pays the price for it."

-o-o-o-

Geneva, Eart

The room was large and contained a big conference table. Around it sat a wide variety of people, both military and civilian. All knew exactly why they were there. The future of humanity would be decided in this room. Apart from assemblyman d'Orsinio, none were elected, but that didn't matter. Not here, not today.

"So that's the latest report from our negotiator," General Spears concluded his presentation. "Goyle has already dealt with the SPECTRE issue. They are out. No access. We find any in our territory, they go down hard. If they really need to be there, they'll have to request access through channels and they'll be accompanied at all times. However, that leaves a lot of open issues that we have to decide on. I have Ms. Goyle's recommendations here, but I didn't want to sign off on anything before we had a chance to discuss it. Some of these matters are well outside my area of expertise. The economy for example. What are we going to do about trade?"

Jack Harper turned to the man sitting beside him. His exact background was not entirely clear, but Harper had introduced him as a financial expert.

"Mr Lawson?"

Lawson pursed his lips. "We cannot just open our markets. The Citadel species are an established economy, saturated by their own manufacturing. Breaking in will take time and care. If we're not careful, we'll end up like a Third World country. Supplying basic materials and buying the finished product, all the while paying for the added value. That's the absolute worst economic situation you can have."

"So we keep our markets closed?" Spears asked.

Lawson shook his head. "Not closed, just protected. We slap a heavy import tax on everything from non-human origin. If they try to buy stock in human companies, we'll block the sale on 'security' grounds."

"And they'll do the same."

"Perhaps they will, general, but that doesn't matter. The gain from exporting to them would not offset the potential loss. Besides, it doesn't have to be forever. A decade from now we can re-evaluate."

"Fair enough." Spears turned back to the projection screen. "Next point. What about this AI ban of theirs? According to Goyle they still whine about getting aboard our ships just to check."

"No way in hell," one of the naval officers snarled. "We're not letting them aboard our warships."

"Agreed, but we can show them samples of our computers. From the sound of it, I think they're talking about a human in a Virtual Reality rig, the way we use them for electronic warfare. We can show them a civilian version. It raises an interesting question though. If it really is possible to create AI, why did we never do it? Even those big central computers that used to run our ships when the crew was in cryo were only a simulation of intelligence."

One of the technical experts, who wore the Weyland-Yutani logo on her suit, raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"I suspect it's a difference in design philosophy. We design our computers, both hard- and software, to be regularly upgraded or replaced. From what I've seen so far, they don't. Their computers are meant to last decades, all the while improving themselves. That requires sophisticated learning algorithms. I suspect that that is the source of their problems." The engineer frowned. "It's an interesting idea, though. I know they keep harping about the dangers, but honestly, why would an AI be hostile? It's no real competition for humans. It doesn't even require the same resources. A human and an AI could share a house neither even knowing the other was there. Besides, if the worst happens, all you need to do is jank the power. Problem solved. I don't think we should just give up on this right away."

Several of the military personnel looked as though wanted to hear more, but Spears cut the discussion short.

"Perhaps not, but that is for later concern. Meanwhile, we need to discuss the biggest problem: naval strength. We cannot compromise our security in any way. Not now. The situation is still far too volatile. Unfortunately, the aliens have a treaty in place amongst themselves that is supposed to stop military build-ups like the one we're planning. This Treaty of Farixen is a problem, but I believe we may be able to put it to good use. We can turn it into a big concession that we'll give them, in exchange for their ceding the SKyllian Verge to us. The question is, what kind of status are we willing to accept? Captain Hackett, if you would care to describe the situation?"

Captain Hackett, recently promoted after being injured during the battle of Shanxi stood up.

"Basically all this treaty does, is regulate the number of large warships, dreadnoughts only actually because these aliens never built dedicated carriers. According to the treaty, there are three levels: At the top are the turians, who can build as many as they want. Below them are the two other council species, the asari and the salarians, who can build three for every five turian dreadnoughts. Below them are the so-called associate species, which are allowed only one for every five turian ships. Now we don't fit into any of these categories, but apparently, they are rather insistent that we sign some form of it."

"Not surprising," Spears mused. "The last thing they would want is to set a precedent of someone violating that treaty. The moment they allowed that, everybody would start complaining. Besides, this is apparently something that this Citadel Council sees as their personal accomplishment. Refusing would be something like a slap in the face."

"And we're already doing that with those SPECTRES," D'Orsinio said. "Not that I disagree on that, but can we give them something on this subject to compensate."

Spears smiled. "Actually, I believe we can. Captain, what has the navy decided?"

"We give them a choice, sir. If they agree to exempt our carriers, or put them into a new category, we'll sign the treaty and agree to a 5:3 balance with the turians. The same as the other council species. If carriers count as dreadnoughts, we'll only settle for parity."

"Will 5:3 be enough?" Harper asked. "They'll start building carriers too, you know."

"Probably, but that doesn't matter." Hacket shrugged. "I doubt we can catch up with them anyway and the navy doesn't want to try. Building that many capital ships that quickly would be too costly. No, Mr. Harper treaties like this always favour the new navy. The old established one gets stuck with a bunch of old ships that it needs to scrap before building new ones. In any case, we don't need to build many dreadnoughts. Or any even. We already have a plan to improve our carriers, so that we won't face the same situation that we had at Shanxi. And strategically they are far better at projecting force. Besides, there are ways around these kinds of restrictions."

"What, like pocket battleships?"

"Hardly." Captain Hackett smiled briefly, crinkling the new scar on his face. "As much as they have been admired over the years, from a military point of view, pocket battleships were a failure. Keep in mind that only one nation ever built them, and then only because they had to. The moment they were out from under the restrictions, they started building proper warships. No, they were ingenious, certainly, but in the end, it didn't work. Too weak for the line of battle, too slow to manoeuvre against smaller ships, overmatched when confronted with multiple opponents. The only thing they did well was commerce raiding and for that, there are cheaper solutions. No, we are considering a scaled-up destroyer. Not so big that it'll qualify as a dreadnought, but bigger than their cruisers. We can keep the armour the same, but give them bigger engines and one hell of a punch."

"You're talking battlecruisers," someone remarked. "I always thought they were an even bigger failure."

"Only because people kept using them as battleships. That was madness. We want them to screen our carriers, protect them from other warships. I've seen the latest reports. Our techs have taken one of the turian wrecks apart and found their shield generators. Looks like we'll be able to reverse engineer them. That'll give us improved shielding for protection. It won't last in a protracted fight, but it'll be enough for short engagements. That's all we need. What's even better, we have the design studies already in place. The navy never had the money to build ships like that, but circumstances have changed."

"They have indeed," Spears nodded. "Don't worry captain, the navy will have its ships."

There were grins all around the table as officers dreamed of their new toys and the corporate representatives dreamed of how much profit they would make on them.

"Good. Now, let's continue."

-o-o-o-

Presidium, the Citadel

"The Verge? They want the entire Verge? And you want to give it to them?" Councillor Sparatus stared at his colleagues.

"Indeed," Councillor Milnori smiled briefly. "Why not, Sparatus? We're not using it ourselves, so, by all means, give it to the humans. Unless you want them to start opening mass relays wherever they find them."

"Of course not! The last thing we need is them ignoring that law again. Not after we went to war over it. But have you two forgotten WHY the Verge is not being settled? The Hegemony has already staked a claim."

"Yes," Tevos was smiling too. A very, very cold smile. "They have. And then they did nothing with it. Not a single batarian colony to be found. That's not staking a claim, Sparatus. That's wishful thinking. I can stake a claim on the Andromeda galaxy and you can give it to me, but what value is that. No, the Hegemony had its chance. Too bad they failed to make use of it. Instead, they are going to have new neighbours. Because I sincerely doubt that humans will be equally lazy."

"And in turn," Milnori continued. "Not only will the humans sign the treaty of Farixen, which will allow us to give them an embassy on the CItadel despite their refusal to accept our authority, but they will also agree not to open any more mass relays without involving us. In other words, your Primarch can inform the Hierarchy that his little war was a success. Despite everything that's happened, the Hierarchy has successfully upheld Citadel law. Everyone wins."

"Except the Hegemony." Sparatus sat down slowly. "What do you think they will do? Just accept this with good grace?"

"Of course not," Tevos sighed. "That would be too much to ask, but then again, the words 'Hegemony' and 'good grace' don't really belong in the same sentence anyway. What can they do, Sparatus? They can protest, which they will, but no-one will support them. After all, they only have themselves to blame for leaving their 'area of interest' uncolonized. Meanwhile, they'll have to deal with the humans. I wish them all joy of each other."

Sparatus suppressed a mild shudder. He had always been aware that, despite their gentle manners, asari could be utterly ruthless. Still, it was a bit disconcerting to hear Tevos dismiss the potential for open warfare between batarians and humans so casually and he wondered if she fully understood the ramifications of her decision. Still, it was a tempting proposition. The immediate benefits would be considerable; it would direct the humans away from Citadel space; and, who knew, the humans might just fix the whole batarian problem for them. They had already demonstrated considerable military prowess, as well as the willingness to use it. Meanwhile, the vaunted military might of the Hegemony was, by and large, a joke. Most of it was no better than a big, poorly trained, poorly equipped mob. Dangerous, yes, but in the long run, a proper military force would destroy them.

"Alright," he said. "I see your point, though I'm not sure I entirely agree. We'll do it this way, but I want an extra concession. We won't count these human carriers as dreadnoughts, but that leaves us with a problem. They represent an unbalancing influence on the treaty of Farixen. So, how about this: we add a clause to the treaty: Each species may build as many carriers as dreadnoughts. That shouldn't inconvenience the humans too much, but we'll still keep our edge and at the same time stop a potential new arms race."

Milnori nodded sharply. "An excellent suggestion."

"And one we can probably sell to the humans. Especially if we don't argue too much about the reparations," Tevos said.

"ANd what about the ban on AIs. We cannot let them ignore that either."

"Human reaction there was interesting," Milnori answered. "They seem to think we're joking. It seems they have no AI, not on purpose, not by accident. Yes," He continued before Sparatus could interrupt. "I've seen the reports. Our negotiators discussed this with the human delegation. They assure us no AI was involved and promised a demonstration of their computers to clear up the confusion."

"If we can believe them," Sparatus said sourly. "Without oversight, or SPECTRE access they can do as they please and we may all feel the consequences."

"Perhaps," Tevos conceded. "But there is little we can do about that. At least as long as they don't publicly flout our laws on this subject we can tell the public that we're doing our job. Right now, it seems that is the best we can expect."

"The best we can expect." Sparatus' mandibles flared in a turian sigh. "I suppose it is. Things seem to be going smoothly at last, but we're putting our names to a treaty here. I just hope it will not come back to haunt us."

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According to the wiki, signing the treaty of Farixen was mandatory for anyone who wants to open an embassy, so it seemed reasonable that the United Systems would have to make a concession there. Of course, they are already planning a way around it and when they eventually build dreadnoughts... Hehe, oops. No spoilers.

The economy: Aberron explains this in far more detail in 'Living an indoctrinated dream'. You encounter the same problem when playing economy based strategy gameslike Caesar, or Children of the Nile. An economy that sells raw material and buys the end product back is doomed because somebody else is earning all the profits

Pocket battleships were a marvel of ingenuity, but despite all the hype they never achieved much. For commerce raiding, they were hopelessly overpowered, and they had no real place in naval battles.

The new destroyers are actually more like USA's Alaska class large cruisers. They are meant to be escorts, not capital ships. In the game, Cerberus cruisers are about 30 percent bigger than normal navy ships, so these ships will be my in-universe equivalent.

Kardikek: The humans don't really know anything about turian ethics yet. Besides, even if they've been told, it's one thing to get information, another to really understand how another culture works and what the consequences are. And yes, people on Shanxi would probably have bene very upset if they lost their chance at justice. That's why Spears gave them a warning: Kill Arterius quickly, or you'll lose your chance. As for the council. The list they've submitted is basically what would apply if humanity joined the citadel. That's not going to happen, but Spears wants peace. So, he's willing to give in on as many points as he can. On the plus side, they get the main benefit of being a citadel species, (diplomatic access) without actually becoming part of it, as well as claiming a considerable area for colonization.