SALVATION
Copyrights 343 Industries & Bioware
Rated A for Adult
1312 hours, January 21st, 2303 CE (Galactic Standard Time)
Temple of Athame, City Republic of Serrice, Thessia
Parnitha System, Athena Nebula
If you would ask an ordinary Asari on the street what would be the closest city to a capital in her eyes, you would likely get Serrice as an answer.
Most Asari saw the city-state as the heart and soul of Thessia, even if other cities such as Anerzesa and her wealthy rival Armali would argue heavily against it.
Nonetheless, it retained its unofficial status over the last millennials, even when the Asari republics began to break away from their home world hundreds of years ago to explore and colonize foreign systems and planets.
To many residents of the Citadel sector, Thessia was known as 'The Crown Jewel of the Galaxy'.
No poverty, a crime rate near zero, beautiful cities with gigantic parks, public and free healthcare, public transport, schools, etc., and the biggest and strongest economy to back it up.
Many citizens of other races tried to get a passport or a permanent residence ID, but nearly all of them were turned down persistently. Even for Asari with a bondmate and children, it was incredibly hard to get more than a residence permit for their partner. Serrice, while open and friendly to tourists, had probably one of the strictest immigration laws galactic-wide.
The glamorous metropolis covered almost 40% of the total area of the city-state and was home to many well-known institutions such as the Serrice Council, the University of Serrice, where her daughter studied archaeology more than a hundred years ago - much to her amusement or the Beantri Zoo, which was one of the largest and most modern wildlife sanctuaries on the planet.
The Republic of Serrice is also home to the galaxy far known and infamous Serrice Guard, the military arm and the protector of the city-state.
The guard got their legendary reputation after they decimated a Blood Pack mercenary group with only five surviving commandos in a guerrilla war that lasted nine days before the mercs finally gave up and laid down their arms. Over a hundred mercenaries were killed in combat and the Asari colonists, threatened with enslavement or worse, were rescued.
Since then, the Serrice Guard was considered one of the best fighting forces of Thessia, much to the annoyance of Armali.
The real symbol was the ancient temple in the middle of the megacity, built nearly ten thousand years ago on a hill to honor the goddess of Athame. The imposing structure blended seamlessly into its natural surroundings with its artfully curved towers and elegant design.
During the day, the huge windows let in enough natural light to illuminate all public areas. At night, the interior of the temple was illuminated by the lights of thousand stars and making the entire temple glow in a slightly bluish color. It was a mystical spectacle only a few lucky ones experienced, which were either brave or bold enough to visit this sacred place at night.
Unfortunately, fewer and fewer Asari followed the beliefs of Athame. Since the discovery of the mass portals and the first meeting with the Salarians, the barely known Siari religion won many followers. As a result, most of the visitors today were tourist groups and school classes.
On some days you could find the priestesses praying in complete solitude, only watched over by the temple guards who did their eternal duty tirelessly day in and day out.
The matriarch's hands clutched the railing as if she was afraid to fall. She stood there for several minutes now, studying the Skyline of Serrice around and below.
From here you could almost see the T'Soni residence on the outskirts of the metropolis.
Serrice had been her family's home for generations and would be for many more to come. Or at least she hoped so. In her long life, she was rarely as insecure as she was today.
Change was in the air. And war was brewing on the edge.
Events were happening which she hardly believed herself. A century ago, she would dismiss such occurrences as abstruse ideas and fantasies from some attention-seeking matrons and maidens.
Honestly, it was a concept that could have come directly from her former lover Aethyta.
But it's not.
With a heavy heart, she turned away from the breathtaking view of the skyline below her. Behind Benezia, a handful of meters away, a semicircle had formed around the matriarch. Acolytes, huntresses, and commandos were standing there, as well as her most loyal and trusted honor guards.
The elite of house T'Soni, serving her and her family for centuries.
Even if she strongly doubted anyone would dare to attack one of the most powerful Asari in the galaxy in open daylight, it was always good to be prepared for the worst.
The T'Soni family de facto owned Serrice, nothing important in the city-state was decided without her consent.
Aria T'Loak often prided herself as the 'Queen of Omega', ruling the 11 million inhabitants with an iron-like fist.
Benezia had more employees in Serrice working for her than Aria had people in Omega.
Every time T'Loak mentioned her statues, which happened rarely, it only elicited a restrained smile from her.
Irissa called her the 'Queen of dust and beggars' once.
Needlessly to say, they were not on good terms since then. But even Aria knew when to swallow her pride.
Irissa was no one to toy with.
When Aria was considered a Queen, Benezia would be an empress.
Her empire held thousands over thousands of companies and institutions.
From a small romantic restaurant in a narrow side street with a handful of employees to the major agricultural producers in the countryside.
From museums and art exhibitions to the famous Serrice Council. From simple souvenir shops to the biggest e-zero mining companies in the galaxy.
She brought bread and butter onto the table for hundreds of millions.
Two of her biggest acquisitions recently were the Kurinth Fabrications and the Sedeva Shipyards.
Kurinth Fabrications were experts and the first address in Asari space if you want to develop and build spaceships, especially war-capable ships. The matriarchs and matrons there had centuries of experience at their hands. The price was far from cheap but the knowledge was worth it.
Granted, Kurinth didn't produce many warships in the last two centuries, because the majority of the Asari government as well as herself didn't see the necessity for that, which led to the reduction of production possibilities.
To counter that Benezia decided to buy the Sedeva Shipyards over Ulee.
Most of Ulee's shipyards lay dormant for the past centuries, not finding enough investors willing to pay billions of credits for modernization and maintenance. Asari warships were highly advanced and automated and therefore very expensive.
No one wanted to spend money on things nobody needed and so the Sedeva Shipyards were forced to accept nearly every contract no matter how poorly they got paid to survive.
The matriarchs on Ulee were more than surprised when Benezia made an irresistible offer, not just to contract them as a producer but outrightly buy the whole shipyard. Of course, they had heard from her acquisition of Kurinth Fabrications weeks earlier and many wondered why a matriarch teaching religion and philosophy was suddenly interested in the art of war.
To be fair, many knew next to nothing about matriarch Benezia or her reasons, but they knew, that every company, no matter how small, was well cared for. Layoffs were suddenly off the table. The morale improved drastically over the following weeks.
For Benezia though the shipyards had one major advantage: Silaris Armor.
The strongest armor available for ships, but sadly prohibitively expensive. Sedeva was the only manufacturer galactic-wide, who was able to produce it in the quantity she needed.
If Sedeva and Kurinth would find a way to reduce its cost to an affordable price, her advantage over other competitors or races would be immense. Her house would dominate the shipping market for centuries to come.
And the temple could play a vital part in it – but not today.
Her guards were still standing a few feet in front of her.
Motionless.
They would do it for hours if needed. Many of her most dutiful followers were born in Serrice. Many of their families worked for her, their parents were employed by one of her companies, and their siblings visited one of the many public schools she supported.
Many had the urge to give something back, an obligation to fulfill. Loyalty and trust were not one-way streets. Benezia cared for them as much as they cared for her and her daughter.
Perhaps the most devoted one of them all was Shiala, the tall matron was gracefully walking towards her with long strides.
Despite her size, she moved as skillfully as a dancer and one could only guess what power lay dormant in her hardened body after decades of training - biotically and physically.
Still, the most remarkable trait about her body wasn't her strength or size, but the pigmentation of her skin. The Asari's skin was green.
She didn't get the unusual color from a rare genetic defect, as the other affected members of her species did. Shiala got it years after being held prisoner by an extraterrestrial plant that overwhelmed and took over her mind.
Ferros was a young colony, established in the ruins of two Prothean towers. After days of no communication and two missing squads of huntresses, Benezia decided to investigate herself.
What she found there was terrifying.
On one hand, the colony was overrun by Geth, which had not been seen outside of the Perseus Nebula for centuries – shooting their way through the colony.
On the other hand, the plant organism, or Thorian, as it called itself, managed to indoctrinate the colonist and her dispatched troops. Both sides fought each other down to the blood. After more than five days of uninterrupted fighting, she and her commandos finally succeeded in driving the Geth off the planet and freeing Shiala and the other colonist.
Unfortunately, the old plant was so badly wounded in the fighting that it died shortly afterward before a research team had any chance to examine it.
What could undoubtedly determine, however, was the age of the Thorian, which exceeded 100,000 years. If he really was that enormously old, he would have seen and lived through the fall of the Protheans.
But with his demise, the question of what might have triggered this case remained just as unanswered as the mystery of the sudden appearance of the Geth. Since then, no major accumulations of Geth had been found outside of the Perseus Nebula.
"Peeress," Shialas's voice sounded tired, "the other members of the council have just arrived."
The nightmares and visions of her imprisonment plagued her to this day and robbed her of any opportunity for a restful sleep. Benezia's melds with her commando did little to soothe her jittery mind. It would take decades until she would fully recover.
"Thank you Shiala." The matron bowed. "Liara is in the park nearby - Yes?"
"Yes, m'lady. Accompanied by Atena, Edana, and Isoris as well as dozens of other commandos in disguise."
Liara always was a rebellious one, despite her usual shyness. She never warmed up to the thought of having a personal honor guard. When she was younger, she vehemently argued against Benezia's pleas to take them with her.
One of the reasons for her fallouts with her Little Wing.
But Liara couldn't escape her mother's influence.
No matter how hard she tried.
Where her daughter went, the commandos of her house weren't far. Disguised as fellow students, scientists, farmers, or chefs, the heiress of the T'Soni empire was always surrounded by loyal house members.
Luckily Liara was as clever as she was beautiful and this rebellious phase ended rather quickly with her entrance into the matron stage.
In reality, her maiden days were fairly uneventful. She didn't work as a stripper, and neither did she join some random mercenary gang.
She was more than thankful to have such a mature child.
Liara's ascension to the head of house T'Soni was only a matter of time. Maybe it was time to push things forward.
"Shiala, I have a new task for you."
"I live to serve peeress."
"Find my daughter and let her know I would like to eat dinner with her at the estate tonight."
It was more of a command than a request.
"As you wish."
"There is something else," Benezia interrupted her before the green commando turned to leave.
"From now on Atena, Edana, Isoris, Geala, Nasalia, Faell, and you will be hers to command as she pleases."
Shiala's eyes widened in disbelief barely noticeably. The other Asari around them didn't dare to move a muscle after her last words.
"Peeress we are your honor guard and…," Shiala tried to object.
"And from now on you will be hers. You stood guard over her cradle when she was a mere babe, no more than a few hours old."
She strode past her. Benezia could spot high priestess Leinada inside the temple, already waiting in front of the statue of Athame.
"I am sure you will protect and serve her with the same fervor as you did for me."
The head of the house T'Soni waited till Shiala stood right beside her.
"Change is coming Shiala. Whatever decision will be made today inside the temple, will greatly affect this house and our species. I need Liara as safe as possible. The other three will join you soon."
"I understand peeress," the commando started to walk in the direction of the landing area for the skycars.
The matriarch left her guards behind and climbed elegantly up the few steps of the balcony and walked through a large door into the temple.
Matriarch Leinada was still passionately waiting in front of the huge statue of the goddess.
All visitor's eyes were entranced by the magnificent craftsmanship. The image of the old goddess demanded respect and recognition from all those who came before her to pray or seek advice.
But under her was probably the greatest and best-kept secret of the Asari Republics.
"Benezia my dear - how nice to see you again."
The temple priestess came a few steps toward her and they hugged each other warmly.
"I hope the goddess was good to you," she replied with a smile. Even as one of her people, Leinada was old. Hardly anyone knew her real age, but she was well past 1100 years.
"Athame is kind to all who follow her path." She broke away from her embrace and gently pulled Benezia with her.
"Come on, the others are already downstairs." Benezia followed her wordlessly through the winding corridors, past dozens of temple guards deeper and deeper into the temple and the mountain blow.
The lower corridors of the temple were barely illuminated and most of the guards merged seamlessly with the shadows around them.
Still, she could feel their biotic auras and their watchful eyes on her skin.
Recruits had to serve for centuries on the upper levels before they were permitted to stand guard on the lower floors.
It was a commitment for life.
If only the slightest doubt about their loyalty arose, their throats were slit.
Guards or priestesses alike.
They made no exceptions … not even for her.
Only one other sisterhood came somewhat close to these drastic measures: the Justicars and their harsh Code.
Speaking of Justicars, the temple was the only place inside Asari space that did not fall under their unwavering code of justice.
Every Asari was beneath Athame - even a Justicar.
Unlike common belief, the guards weren't allowed to carry firearms on the temple ground or anybody else. They carried combat knives or more traditional throwing weapons such as the 'Songblade' under their robes.
The Songblade consists of a central handle around which three to six blades are arranged. In addition, the blades are aerodynamically shaped, which further increases the effective range of the weapons. The additional and artfully crafted patterns on the blades caused them to "sing" when in flight.
It was a deadly weapon in the hands of those who mastered and trained with it regularly.
Both matriarchs stopped in front of a heavy wooden double door. Behind it was just one of the many meeting rooms.
"May Athame guide you with her wisdom at every step you take," said Benezia's old friend to her.
"Thank you Leinada. May I make a plea before you go?"
Her hand rested on the cool surface of the door handle.
"You may Benezia."
"I think it's time for another visit of my daughter if you permit."
The high priestess's eyes saddened a little, fully aware of what the younger matriarch was requesting.
"I still remember the day, when your mother brought you to us. I was a simple acolyte back then."
Benezia smiled at her words. They were friends since then.
"Liara is an always welcomed quest inside Athames house."
"You have my deepest gratitude, high priestess." Benezia bowed deeply.
"Go now, the other matriarchs are already edgy."
Benezia silently pushed the door open. Today they would make decisions that changed history for better or worse. For too long the obvious facts have been ignored by the council.
Immediately she caught everyone's attention. The room was simply furnished. Only a large table with a recessed holoprojector and the corresponding chairs could be seen.
"Lady Benezia you are late," came the cool voice of matriarch Irissa.
"Forgive me matriarch Irissa, I simply lost track of time. In those uncertain days, I had little time to interact with the high priestess. "
Before Irissa could give her a reply Lidanya had already spoken up.
"Sit down matriarch Benezia so we can begin." The voice of the light blue Asari with brown eyes and red facial tattoos was warm and friendly.
She pointed to an empty seat on her left.
"Now that we are all present, I kindly ask Epentha to begin with her report," said Tevos decisively to ensure the small room was listing closely. She was the current councilor and representative of her species on the Citadel.
Not without reason.
In her long life, Benezia had hardly met an Asari who had as much political finesse and charm as the woman sitting across from her.
She had seen how the politician lulled her opponents with sweet words and gently smiles until they accepted nearly all of her demands with almost no resistance.
The language was just one of the many weapons she possessed. Together with her attractive appearance, it made it incredibly harder for others to tear themselves away.
Especially in first-contact scenarios, this approach had proven itself extremely useful. But on the bottom, there was only a very small difference between her and Irissa.
With Tevos you left negotiations with a political handcuff, with Irissa on the other hand you had a knife in your chest – literally speaking. She mercilessly exploited every weakness of her opponents and squeezed until you had no air to breathe. Whether friend or foe, she cared very little.
The other Asari with the brown eyes activated her Omni-tool and let a colored map of the galaxy appear on the projector, in which all known mass portals and realms were drawn. Including the Terminus Systems and the Attican Traverse.
Despite more than two thousand years of intense space exploration, they had just surveyed 1% of the entire Milky Way. Even less was mapped and not even a hundredth of it populated. According to the sheer size of the galaxy, it was easy to believe that there were tens of thousands of portals to discover, but the truth was that most of the portal network had already been found.
Despite all this, hundreds of them were still undiscovered and unopened.
In the past 50 years, however, some of these massive space structures had been discovered either nearing completion or in the middle of various construction phases.
This brought Benezia back to the question she asked herself earlier ago.
Why did the Protheans disappear so suddenly at the height of their power? Maybe Liara was right and they were wiped out by a galactic event.
Her daughter claimed that not only did the Protheans disappear in one big swoop, but so did their vassals and all other life in the galaxy.
Strangely the Thorian survived for whatever reason. This a small snippet of information Liara was greatly interested in. She spent some months in the ruins of Ferros.
Her only child had written dozens of papers and studies over the Prothean disappearance. Even a few books.
Most of her theories on the subject had been dismissed by most leading researchers and scientists as naïve wishful thinking of an inexperienced maiden. As a mother, of course, Benezia had read all the works of her protégé.
Regardless of whatever she thought personally about the topic the matriarch expected the first book to be a tangle of allegations and contradicting facts – but she was wrong.
In Liara's work, all assertions were neatly listed and backed up with conclusive facts. Very professional for such a young maiden.
What Liara didn't know was the fact, that her book, even dismissed by most scientists, was closely watched by the matriarch's counsel.
Some additional information gathered from the Prothean bacon inside the temple by their leading scientists backed up Liara's theories of galactic mass extinction.
What could have caused such an event was still unclear.
Nevertheless, it was very difficult for Benezia to accept all of it, but it was not the point of today's meeting.
"Sisters, after having examined the given data several times, I can confirm its correctness without any doubt. It's a disastrous discovery I stumbled on." Epenta paused for a moment.
Many blue dots appeared on the hologram, most of them lay in Asari space. Significantly less could be seen in Turian and Salarian-controlled territory. Even fewer inside the area of client races, many of them were far apart from each other. She barely had time to take a good look at the map before Epentha continued.
"Every single dot represents a currently active mining site for e-zero."
"Epentha, what do you exactly mean to tell us," A new voice intervened. Matriarch Amila. Probably one of the richest Asari ever. Over generations, her family has specialized in communication and everything related to it.
Amila's ancestors contributed a huge part to the development of the extranet and were the first Asari to build up a real-time communication network from mass relay comm buoys. To this day they are the leading experts in this field.
"Patience. That's how the map will probably look like in about 80 years."
Impossible! That couldn't be! Her eyes darted over the hologram.
Lidanya beside her began to cough uncontrollably in surprise and dropped her glass in the process. Nobody seemed to notice or care. The water flew unhindered over the table and dripped onto the stone flower of the ancient temple.
"By the goddess," Tevos uttered in shock.
The hum of the projector and Lidanya's clenched cough were the only two things that could be heard for the next minute. The color of her face had turned into an unhealthy, dark blue as she began to calm down.
"You must have made a mistake Matriarch," she gasped out of air.
"No," came the prompt answer.
"Perhaps you swapped a number or a decimal point."
"No."
"Then a wrong formula maybe," there was an imploring undertone in the voice of the former commander in chief of the Citadel's defense fleet.
"As I said, everything has been re-examined at least a dozen times. According to initial extrapolations, around 2380 not enough element zero will be mined to cover the galaxy-wide demand. The exact time of course is difficult to determine."
'So, the rumors are true', thought Benezia not taking her eyes off the hologram. Benezia knew some of her mines were running out in a few decades and the discovery of new ones was dwindling over the past century, but she always thought it was an exception on her side.
It was not the first time in her long life. Shortly after she became peeress of the T'Soni house a similar situation happened. It was uncommon but not impossible. But this time it was a galactic-wide occurrence.
They didn't need to wait long before Irissa spoke: "So we could have a lot more time. It's all pure speculation and could be pure panic mongering by matriarch… "
"Or less, if demand continues to rise as before," Benezia intervened. That earned her an icy look from Irissa, which she returned with an innocent smile.
"That's what I think as well. The demand for e-zero always grew since we started to record it. Of course, there were a few bumps, like the Rachni war, but the galaxy-wide population rose constantly, and with it the need for e-zero.
In addition, the discovery of new, larger mining sites has been in decline for a long time now. In the future, the lack of element zero could lead to massive economic and social problems. Civil wars are possible as well."
"Is civil war not a little exaggerated?" The question came from Tevos. She was known to be a staunch opponent of all kinds of conflicts and preferred more peaceful solutions. But just because she voted for peace doesn't mean she was a pushover.
For the first time since the beginning, matriarch Kasgara spoke. A very reserved and taciturn woman by nature, but with a brilliant mind.
"Everything depends on element zero! Our power! Our political influence! Our entire economy and the prosperity that comes from it, which the entire galaxy envies us for."
After counting all the points on her hand, she flicked her finger.
"What do you think will happen councilor?"
"Well … I think…," the councilor paused for a moment. "I don't know," she finally admitted.
"Nobody does know exactly what will happen Tevos," answered Benezia. "What do you think will happen Lady Kasgara?" Liara's mother turned to the light blue Asari.
"As said a couple of times now, it's hard to impossible to make a concrete scenario. But we have to plan with the worst-case scenario for the republic."
She typed a few commands into her Omni-tool and the map disappeared.
"I roughly divide the whole scenario into three phases.
Phase 1: The e-zero demand exceeds when does not matter much, the mining output. Ezero prices on the galaxy-wide market will explode. Many large corporations and wealthy individuals will start buying as much as they can.
Panic buying and scalpers will drive the prices up further and further. As a result, the galaxy-wide trade with e-zero will be suspended from trading.
By that point, many smaller companies will be bankrupt and hundreds of millions of employees will have lost their jobs. The prices for anything that has remote to do with it will also sky rock. Transport costs for materials and people will be so high that only the super-rich and the governments will be able to afford them.
Some planets and research stations, which are completely dependent on external supply, will be cut off. The same goes for smaller colonies and outposts outside of a system with a mass relay. The last mining facilities will be nationalized by the governments."
Kasgara took a sip from her glass.
"Even if we throw all our supplies on the market, we will only gain a few months." The blue-skinned Asari had her hands flat on the table and was searching for a way how to proceed.
"What comes next is pure speculation. It also should be said that several years may pass between phase 1 and phase 2, depending on how large the amount of e-zero mining still is at this point. The other races may be hitting the next phase much earlier.
Phase 2: Mass unemployment and the lack of basic needs, such as food, water, and healthcare will lead to riots and worse. The governments of the individual species will be forced to act. The Turians, for example, will most likely try to secure mines in the Terminus systems and the Attican Traverse with their military.
There will be skirmishes with pirates and mercenaries, perhaps with the Queen of Omega herself. Vice versa, raids on e-zero-rich colonies will dramatically increase. Many smaller races like the Hanar, Drell, Elcor, and the Raoli are forced to give up their remaining supplies and choose a side.
At the end of phase 2, only the Salarians, Turians and Asari will be left, the rest will find themselves in a state similar to that before the discovery of Mass Effect technology.
No more journeys to other planets, even the jumps through the portals in the systems will be difficult without FTL. Medical care will collapse, as well as infrastructure, communications, and ultimately the rest of modern society. Anarchy and chaos will rule most of the galaxy and planets. It will be a slow death for the remaining part.
"There will be war, I think," Irissa interjected before Epentha could continue. "A war about survival and nothing else."
"And we are a worthwhile target," Lidanya agreed.
"Our alliance with the Turians and Slarians has existed for over 2000 years, we have overcome dozens of crises together and we will overcome this one," said Tevos, but according to her facial expression and posture, she did not believe her own words.
"Maybe," Irissa just shrugged. "But you must not forget that the Citadel Council is only an alliance of convenience to maintain the status quo.
2000 years ago, the Turians were on the verge of making us and the Slarians vassals. How do you think they decide? If their whole species is at stake?"
Before Benezia could say anything, Lidanya spoke up. "It's quite possible that the Turians could attack us. We have the fewest ships of all Council races, but most element zero mines and storage facilities."
Lidanya said something everyone knew in this room, but no one wanted to admit it. The Turian Navy counted over 12,500 ships, the Salarians about 9,000 and the Asari Republic only had around 7,500. Most of them were frigates, destroyers, and corvettes.
The Asari are still using the same strategy as they did for centuries. Fast, light, and maneuverable ships, strike mostly unnoticed during a fight and then withdraw immediately afterward. Commonly known as a hit-and-run tactic.
Benezia and the others knew that their military is not suitable for trench warfare and planetary conquest.
Despite the numerical superiority, the Republic's Navy was able to compensate for its inferiority with more modern ships and weapon systems. But in the past 100 years, their technological lead had almost completely disappeared. Epentha had warned them years ago that the technology and knowledge, gained from the Prothean beacon in the temple were getting smaller and smaller by the years.
There were hardly any major breakthroughs, only minor improvements in the single-digit percentage range.
The last big breakthrough was … was…?
Benezia looked to the side and thoughtfully let her gaze wander around the room.
Lidanya poured herself another glass of water, carefully not to spill anything this time.
Tevos had buried her face in her hands as she realized that her political life's work for a peaceful galaxy under Asari leadership was doomed to fail.
Irissa on the other hand stared at the ceiling with her arms crossed and Epentha and Kasgara were speaking to each other, barely audible.
She looked back at her hands and noticed that they had started to shake slightly.
So, what was the last big breakthrough?
The Quantum Entanglement Communicator, QEC for short, or the Thanix cannon 70 years ago.
The biggest advantage of the QEC technology was that you were able to communicate with each other in real-time across the entire galaxy without having to fear someone was spying on you. An invaluable asset for governments and the military.
In her opinion, however, the disadvantages were just as big. Apart from the enormous production cost, the devices could only be sued in pairs. Each device could only communicate which its specified partner. Naturally, QEC was only installed in the most important places.
The same could be said about the Thanix cannon.
It was undisputed that the gun was a powerful weapon, but its energy consumption was enormous. The Thanix could be used on all types of ships however and was still regarded by the Turians as an unrivaled miracle weapon.
As with all topics, the reality was often way more complex. The weapon was extremely powerful and could be fired every five seconds in the laboratory. But what many forget was that the fire frequency was much lower due to the enormous energy consumption and the heat generated during the process.
The energy of a ship essentially depends on the size of the e-zero core and since a ship has to operate other systems such as life support, engines, and shields, the energy available for weapon systems also decreases further.
Another major point is that an e-zero core becomes more and more inefficient from a certain size on, which makes it hardly possible to construct ships larger than the Destiny Ascension.
Benezia didn't believe that there would be a war, but she had to consider it.
"What if we ally with the Salarians," suggested Irissa, "to do make a first strike against the Turians …"
Tevos hand slammed onto the table. "Stop all that nonsense rambling about war."
The councilor slumped back in her chair.
"Matriarch Kasgara what would happen in phase 3?" her voice was little more than a tired whisper.
"Well, the species with the most supplies will last the longest. It is completely irrelevant which species emerges victorious in a possible conflict; the result will be the same anyway. Little by little all functioning technologies will break down and they will not be able to repair or replace them.
Contact with other planets will be cut off when the comm buoys for the extranet can no longer be maintained. In the end, we will suffer the same fate as the smaller species from Phase 2. The total collapse of infrastructure and society."
A frightening silence fell over the small room and Benezia imagined that everyone was trying to imagine how it would look like.
She knew Kasgara was right. The demise of the civilized galaxy would not happen overnight though.
No, it would take place over decades, centuries even and it would claim billions of lives. If Epentha was right, they had a little less than eight decades to prepare. But how could you prepare for something like this?
Go public with it and risk a mass panic?
Intensify your search for e-zero.
Researching technologies that worked without the use of eezo?
Was that even possible?
Or maybe upgrade the fleets to buy more time in a possible first strike?
"How much time would we get if we win a war against the other council races," Benezia hardly dared to voice her question aloud.
Lidanya started at her with big eyes and Tevos face lost the last bit of color. Everyone in the room had known Benezia long enough to know that she, like Tevos, considered military means as the very last resort.
"I hope you don't mean the question seriously Lady Benezia," replied Epentha quietly.
"Yes, I do. How much time would we gain?"
"Difficult to say, maybe 80 to 100 years."
"So, next to nothing."
"We would have to concentrate a large part of our resources on the war to be able to even come close to deciding it for us. For the other races, a war against us would be far more worthwhile, because, as I said, we have more mines and supplies."
"It also depends on how the Salarians decide. They have better chances with the Turians than with us," Lidanya intervened.
"So, war is not an option for us, but we still have to build up our defense," said Kasgara, confirming the result and at the same time ending any further discussion on the controversial topic.
Especially Epentha and Tevos seemed to be grateful to her for this deed. Secretly she was too.
"What other options do we still have?" Irissa asked in an annoyed voice. She hated sitting around.
"We need to intensify our research towards technologies without e-zero," Kasgara paused for a moment. "Since we have very little time, we should concentrate our resources on the uttermost important fields."
Suddenly a wild mess arose when everyone tried to list their technologies, which they considered to be vital for the Asari.
"Silence," Tevos called over the noise. "Kasgara you begin. Tell us what you think."
"Infrastructure," came it from her like a pistol shot. "Water, electricity, etc. Most of it comes from eezo-powered plants. If the supply networks collapse, we can no longer guarantee the basic services of our population."
Tevos nodded. "Good. Amila continue."
"Communication. Without functioning communication, we can no longer hold elections and referendums or contact other planets. I already had some prototypes developed a few hundred years ago, but the Artarva project was never completed due to immense cost and a lack of technical possibilities."
Benezia could still remember it well. After decades of research and dozens of failures, the funds were ultimately canceled and the staff was redistributed to other projects. As far as she could remember it was mainly due to the electronics required, because without element zero, most of the electronic components required were far too big, too heavy, or only provided a fraction of the required performance.
So, it was no wonder that most of the companies gave up after a while and declared that one could not implement such a complex system without the use of rare materials.
But you had to admit, Amila was clever. As the leading company in the communication industry, she would be the number one contact. Should her company be able to secure this contract exclusively, she would easily beat her coemption with all the additional funds and the almost inexhaustible resources provided by the matriarch council. Amila could easily establish a monopoly on the market if she was successful.
If there is a functioning market left.
"Am I correct in assuming that you still have all the documents you need to continue the project seamlessly," Lidanya assured herself.
"Of course. Everything is in a warehouse complex in the industrial area of Armali."
The matriarch turned her gaze to Epentha. "Money and resources are not a problem for me, what I need, however, are capable people."
Epentha nodded understandingly. "I'll send you a list of my best scientists."
"Thank you."
"Lidanya it's your turn." Tevos pointed at the current commander of Thessia's home fleet.
"In my opinion, the most important and at the same time most difficult task is to find a suitable alternative for the FTL drive core."
No one in the room could contradict this point. And nothing was going to be more difficult to achieve. Many governments, researchers, and scientist have already grudged their teeth on this topic and even the Protheans have failed to develop another FTL method.
The T'Soni matriarch strongly doubted that they would be able to develop a functioning drive in such a short time. They had to try, however.
Many like to forget that the eezo drive core was not only responsible for the speed above light, but also for the speed below the light. Without sub-light travel, even the distance from a planet to the local mass portal, which is tiny on a galactic scale, would become a journey of several years. In addition, there was a widespread misconception that the route could also be covered with the use of FTL.
You could jump out of a system anytime, but if you wanted to jump into it, the whole thing looked a little more complicated. The mass portals were built on the edge of a star system for a reason. Even with the help of the most modern VI programs it was not possible to calculate a precise route. Deviations of several thousand to ten thousand kilometers were normal and drift of this size could quickly be fatal when jumping within planetary systems. It wasn't just the VIs though, but mostly the nature of element zero.
E-zero is a highly unstable element. Until today nobody was able to find out how it was produced or why it existed. The most common theory yet said that a supernova was splitting the existing dark matter and, among other materials, the much sought-after e-zero is released. No one managed to mine or produce dark matter, let alone split it. Benezia refrained from broaching this topic.
"This is not a new topic by any means, but an essential one," said the director of the university. "As far as I know, the Salarians were the last who tried it seriously.
"Were there any useful results?" Benezia could guess the answer to Tevos's question.
"The usual. It cost a lot of money and nothing came out of it. After a considerable number of participating researchers had died in the tests, the STG had ended the project."
"We should concentrate on the sub-light drive first so that we could reach at least the planets that have a mass portal in their system," Amila suggested thoughtfully.
"What about the others? 216 of our 356 colonies are not in a system with a portal," came Lidanya's counter.
"I didn't say we should leave them behind, but we have to take one step at a time and avoid the mistakes of the Salarians as much as possible."
"Maybe I can get some research documents from the Dalatrass," said Epentha.
"Our relations with the Salarian Union are still much better than with the Turians," suggested Tevos.
"Can I hand over the project to Lidanya?" Tevos turned to her.
"It would be my pleasure councilor."
Tevos looked exhausted at her Omni-tool. "Lady Benezia, would you like to add something as well?"
"I do. Thank you. I try to make it as short as possible," she promised and gave her an encouraging smile. "I am in favor of strengthening and increasing the budget of our exploration fleet."
Epentha frowned. "What good will we do if we strengthen the Citadel's exploration fleet with more money and ships? The Turians reduced their dues by 14% this year and the Salarians by 8%. We provide most of the ships and money anyways."
"We shouldn't invest in the CEF, but in our own," she replied.
"I still can't follow you." Epentha just shrugged.
"Quite simply matriarch, should the Citadel Exploration Fleet discover resources or habitable planets, we have to share them with the rest of the Citadel species. However, if they are discovered by our own Exploration Fleet and within near range of our sphere of influence …"
"We can claim them as ours," Kasgara finished for her.
"Exactly. I want to increase our chances of finding new element zero deposits and suitable locations for possible bases and new colonies. We should also reactivate deactivated mass portals to increase our chances of discovering other Prothean planets like Ilos or other ruins, which could give us an edge in technology."
Ilos was discovered by a Hanar mining company 87 years ago and turned out to be a gold mine for archeology. Liara could hardly believe her luck when she was permitted by the Council to help with the excavations.
With an aching heart, Benezia let her daughter go again. After the events on Therum, in which Liara barely escaped death, she had assigned her a personal bodyguard.
The young Asari was anything but happy with her mother's decision and it had taken months before the two spoke to each other again. In the end, she complied with Benezia's request.
If the whole incident had happened 150 years ago, Liara would never accept it. In her youth, she was a very naïve maiden. Liara would never have thought of being a valuable target for pirates and slavers. She always saw herself as a scientist, an archeologist, someone boring to spend time with, and not the heiress of a quadrillion empire.
But luckily her little girl grew up fast. She was smarter now. More mature, even if it made Benezia a little sad. The days were gone when Liara dug holes in parks, searching for Prothean artifacts.
She was a maiden no more.
"I will support Lidanay's FTL project with additional funds as well." Everyone seemed to agree with her suggestion and everyone could move on to the last matriarch.
Irissa.
"I want to triple the funding for the Talith program," she announced before Tevos could give her the floor.
The Talith program was launched a few years ago and was intended to bring all ships up to date with the latest technology available. In addition, the Republic Navy should be bolstered with new ships.
Benezia had her eye on the new Janiri-class Stealth frigates, which she would like to have as an escort and scouting ships for her research vessels.
"You are crazy Irissa. 200 percent! That would be trillions – quadrillions of credits. It would simply be impossible to hide such a huge amount from the public and the other races." Irritated Tevos shook her head.
"I didn't say we should use public money for it."
"Even if we decide to fund the Talith program out of our pocket, what about the Salarians and Turian intelligence services? Something this size can't be hidden", said Amila.
Irissa jumped up from her seat.
"The Turians refuse to patrol our borders anymore, they have long been demanding that we invest more money into the military. And I agree with them.
It would be the perfect opportunity!
The ships currently deployed at our borders are not enough to stop pirates and slavers from attacking our outer colonies. Attacks on Asari colonies have increased by about 22% since then. It would be good publicity and we could upgrade our defenses as well," replied Irissa.
Tevos had to agree, the voices for more independence from the Turians have been getting louder for years, especially after they refused to continue protecting Asari space without compensation.
"I can double the budget, but that's the maximum," she suggested.
"Triple or I'll withdraw all my support for the other projects as well." The matriarch with white facial tattoos remained stubborn.
Strangely Irissa was looking at her and not at Tevos.
She knew. Of course, she did.
Nobody in this room missed anything that big. Every matriarch was well-informed.
What she was doing bordered on blackmail, but Benezia felt that she would not give in. She tried to form a compromise in her head.
"I make you an offer Irissa. You and I split the remaining costs and I will also order Kurinth Fabrication and Sedeva Shipyards over Ulee to assist us further. But I will get four of the new stealth frigates in return for house T'Soni. What do you think of that?"
It was about money. A lot of money. It would make a serious impact on the wealth of her house. Benezia heard the other matriarchs take a deep breath.
There was an eerie silence. They were one of the most fortunate families in the entire galaxy and yet Benezia threw nearly everything she could spare on the table.
Most, if not all company profits as well as a lot of her fortune would flow into these projects. If they failed, Benezia could lose everything overnight that her ancestors had painstakingly built up over thousands of years, but even if the worst-case scenario should occur, the rest of her private wealth would still guarantee Liara and her a life in luxury others could only dream of.
"I cannot imagine why House T'Soni would need stealth frigates, but I agree. You will have your ships as soon as possible," the other Asari replied with a triumphant grin before anyone had managed to recover from the shock.
"Good. I think we're done here." Irissa got up after a short pause and threw Benezia one last look before she opened the doors and disappeared from the room into the winding corridors of the temple.
"Yes … Yes, I think we're done," said Tevos, only slowly returning to reality.
One by one, everyone involved left the room until only Benezia and Lidanya were sitting in the room. She pushed her chair back and got up.
The matriarch stopped when she felt the hand of her neighbor on her arm.
"Pretty high price for four ships, even for stealth frigates. No?"
"It was never about the ships," she replied tiredly.
"Then what?"
"We are all sitting in the same boat and I think Irissa is right - there will be war."
"I understand. And now?" Lidanya had also gotten up and both of them stood under the doorstep.
"I will put exams together for the exploration missions."
"Will Liara be involved? Will you tell her the truth?" Benezia had to smile at Lidanya's genuine question.
"Yes, I think so. We have dinner tonight. Would you like to join matriarch?" Liara would hardly say no to an adventure into unexplored territory, in search of e-zero and a possible way to ensure the survival of her species. On important missions like these, she only wanted trustworthy people and whom could she trust more than her flesh and blood?
"I… I would like to Benezia. Thank you." The matriarch with the red markings bowed deeply.
"Until tonight." She needed to contact Jesor M'Tali, the investment manager of House T'Soni. A lot of money would change hands soon.
"Benezia!" A light touch on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts. Lidanya gave her a questioning look. It looked like she had missed another question.
"Please forgive me, the day was long and stressful. What else did you ask."
"I send you an offer for an exploration ship. The first of its line. Fresh out of the shipyards over Thessia and probably the most modern research ship currently."
She looked at her buzzing Omni-tool. It had an untypical design for Asari standards. It was about 95 meters long, flat with a rounded front, two large and two small engines provided considerable thrust, and its small size made it fast and maneuverable.
Benezia studied the information for a few seconds. Lidanya moved past her and was already by the stairs. She looked back at her one last time.
"By the way, the name of the ship is Tempest."