Chapter 13

The Shadow Broker was not someone to trust. Even though his only interaction with the mysterious figure had been through some turian agent, that had been a crystal clear fact to Alec Ryder. For more money then he would have liked, Alec had gotten the information for three batarian slaver bases in the Terminus System near the border of Systems Alliance space. There were likely a dozen more throughout the rest of the Terminus Systems but those were probably closer to the systems held by the Asari Republics, and their client race the Elcor, as well as the independent colonies.

From Alec's understanding the Shadow Broker had numerous agents spread across the galaxy from simple handlers, to advanced e-infiltration hackers, to assassins, to their own personal combat mercenary force. Information that wasn't gained by hacking into every computer system possible, was given to them by informants, some of whom were willing and others who were not. Given the size of the galaxy and the amount of sentient beings who lived in it, there was a good chance the Broker had tens of thousands of informants. Alec wondered if the Shadow Broker already had agents in Alliance space, and figured even if they didn't have any humans working for them yet, they likely had numerous quarians in the Migrant Fleet.

Since Alec and his team were the first interaction the Broker had with the Systems Alliance in any capacity, at least according to the agent, they had included an extra tidbit of information as a show of trust. That extra information was the name, and flight path, of a commercial freighter tagged as being a luxury good cargo hauler but was, at least according to the Shadow Broker's agent, hauling slaves.

"Take this as a way to show that the information I've given you is good, and so your government knows that should they have need, the Shadow Broker is willing to assist," had been the words the turian agent had said when handing over the data crystal with the freighter's information.

No doubt the Shadow Broker would like to get connections within the Systems Alliance, and Alec was sure there would be those in the new government that was supposed to be coming into power, or even officers within the military, who would be willing to provide information for the things the Broker could offer - information, money, and power.

For Alec's Jaeger Team, they did need to know if they could trust the Broker and that is why they sat near the mass relay in the Balor System in the Caleston Rift, all systems offline except for life support. They had Kirill set up a distress beacon, broadcasting that the ship had lost majority power and was in need of help. If the Broker's information was correct, the freighter would be entering in the system before jumping to the next Star Cluster.

If the freighter really was slavers, then stumbling upon an immobile human commercial vessel in need of assistance would be a golden opportunity for them to easily acquire more slaves, something they likely wouldn't be able to pass up.

"Lieutenant Commander, a vessel has entered the system. Drive signatures match those provided to us by the Shadow Broker."

An image of the freighter was projected onto Alec's omni-tool. It was longer than the SSV Leo Tolstoy but flatter and looked to be only one deck instead of two.

"Alright everyone, look alive."

Raul and Mira, playing the helpless crew of a disabled ship, wore greasy jumpsuits over their armor and stood in the CIC. Farran was staying down in the cargo hold during the entire thing because of his lack of combat experience. Alec was hiding in his room, Tof was hiding in Farran's room, and Josh was at the base of the access ladder that went between the two floors, and was located in the back corner of the CIC, near the mess. Kirill had the most important role in their ploy, his job was to trick the freighter's scans into thinking there were only two people on the ship.

The airlock was in access mode, allowing any outside ship that linked up to it the ability to open it without needing approval from someone in the ship. If the freighter stopped and if the people who boarded their corvette were hostile, they would be dealt with appropriately.

Alec had the haptic display in his quarters feeding him the footage from the single camera they had active in the CIC.

"They're scanning the ship, Lieutenant Commander. I have them believing that Master Sergeant da Silva and Sergeant Benedetto are the only two on the ship."

"Excellent Kirill. Let me know when they're moving in to dock."

"They're already moving in."

Alec keyed his mic. "Freighter is on approach. Stay frosty everyone."

They sat in silence for almost ten minutes until the ship rattled and they could hear the clanking of a docking tube clamping onto the side of their vessel. It was another few minutes after that before the airlock doors slid open and three armored figures stepped through the doorway. They wore light armor, a muted brown in color, and had full cover helmets with a polarized visor that looked a little too large.

From what Alec could see, in their armor they looked like humans with heads that were a couple of inches longer than normal. But he knew under that helmet was four eyes and ridged cartilage.

"Thank god!" Raul cried. "We thought the worst!"

"How many are you?" one of the three armored figures demanded.

"Just the two of us." Mira answered. "Our engines overheated. We've been stuck here for hours."

The three figures reached behind them, and pulled out what looked like a rectangular piece of metal until the metal unfolded itself into an assault rifle. That was a neat party trick Alec had seen the quarians do as well.

"What's with the guns?" Raul asked in a wavering voice.

The lead figure bashed the stock of his assault rifle into Raul's face, sending the Master Sergeant to the ground.

"Don't move if you want to live!"

Alec had seen enough. He keyed his mic, "Move."

He opened the doors to his quarters and entered the CIC rifle first.

"Down!"

Mira threw herself to the ground next to Raul. Alec, and Tof who exited Farran's room a second behind him, opened fire. The kinetic barriers on two of the batarians flared, before dropping. Chunks of armor went flying as their bullets tore into the armor and into the soft flesh below. As the two batarians dropped, Alec and Tof shifted their aim towards the third one, who had already sighted his rifle on them.

Alec felt the first two bullets slam into him, his barrier holding up against the shots, as he threw himself backwards, back into his quarters. Sparks flew as the batarian's bullets slammed into the metal walls of the ship, tracing a line from where Alec was to where Tof stood. Tof was able to get a burst off before he too was forced to duck into cover.

Raul kicked at the back of the batarian's knee, forcing them to collapse to their knees. Raul grabbed at the rifle, fighting with the batarian for control of the gun. The trigger was pulled and bullets bounced off the bulkhead. Mira pulled her combat knife and, joining the fray, jammed into the neck gap of the batarian's armor, the slow moving knife able to bypass the kinetic barrier. There was a gurgling sound as the batarian thrashed around for another few seconds before going still.

Josh climbed up the ladder onto the deck, and quickly moved to the airlock as Tof and Alec emerged from their cover.

"How's the face?"

"Broke my nose," Raul stated with a shrug.

Alec nodded. "Josh take point, Tof and I will be right behind you. Mira, gear up and watch our six. Raul, makes sure no one takes our ship."

Mira and Raul pulled their helmets and rifles out of duffle bags sitting on top the operations console. They zippered down their jumpsuits and began to pull them off.

Josh moved across the docking tube, rifle raised in front of him. The airlock of the freighter opened at his approach. It opened up into a short dark gray room with benches running the length of it. Sitting on one of the benches was another brown armored figure.

By the time the seated figure could process the threat and lift up their own firearm, Josh had emptied half his clip into them, shattering the barrier and punching through the armor. As the batarian toppled over, Josh moved to the other end of the room, stopping at the door that led further into the ship.

Alec and Tof moved up behind. Alec felt a hand on his shoulder that squeezed, not that he could feel it through the armor, and knew Mira was behind him. In turn, he reached out with his left hand and squeezed Josh's shoulder.

Josh keyed the door, which slid to the side. The doorway led to a corridor that went to the left and right. Josh stepped into the corridor, swept his gun right and left, and then stepped to the right. Alec moved into the corridor and was greeted with three doors to the left that were a couple of feet away from them, and then a single door to the right that was a good ten feet away.

With a few gestures, he had Tof and Mira accompany him in checking the doors to the left while Josh kept an eye to the right. The rooms behind the three doors were all empty and appeared to be the crew quarters, the mess hall, and the head.

"Looks to be a crew of nine," Mira muttered.

"Four tangoes down, five to go," Tof said.

Josh took the lead again as they moved toward the other end of the corridor, to the single door. The door opened up into what could only be the cargo hold, an open room about sixty feet long and thirty feet wide. Directly in front of them was a long line of stacked crates that bisected the room, with more crates stacked against the walls. It created two parallel pathways running the length of the room.

Josh looked back at Alec with an inquiring look. Alec pointed at Josh and Tof and jabbed to the right. They both nodded and moved down the right path. Alec moved down the left, with Mira right behind him.

The pathway was clear but halfway down they found not crates but cages, eight of them, each one filled. Six of them held adults, one of them held two boys around five or six, and one held a salarian. All of them had metal collars around their necks, and they stared at Alec and Mira with wide eyes. Lips were moving but Alec couldn't hear anything that they were saying. The cages must be soundproof; slavers probably didn't want to deal with the crying of those they were forcing into slavery.

"LC, we've got occupied cages," Josh's voice came over his suit's personal comm system.

Alec keyed his mic. "Same here Sergeant. Subdue the crew first."

Alec gestured for them to continue and forced himself to ignore the people in the cages as he moved forward.

Gunfire erupted from the other side of the crates. Multiple guns were firing, the sound almost deafening in the confined room. His helmet automatically muted external sounds.

"Contact!" Tof shouted, forgoing the internal comms.

Alec quickened his pace, coming to the end of the pathway where the row of middle crates ended. A pistol-wielding batarian appeared in front of him and used its free hand to knock Alec's gun to the side before he could react, while bringing its pistol up. Alec took a shot to the chest, his barrier flaring and then collapsing under the impact.

Alec jumped into the batarian in front of him before it could get off another shot, his shoulder slamming into its chest and knocking it backwards. He swung his rifle up at the batarian's head, catching it solidly across the side of its helmet. As the batarian staggered from the blow, Alec kicked it in the chest causing it to stagger backwards against the wall. Alec brought his rifle up at the same time it brought its pistol up. He held the trigger, releasing the rest of his clip into the batarian and ignoring as it fired off three shots, the first one missing but the next two finding home, one hitting his thigh and the other his left side.

Pain flared as the bullets pierced through the armor and buried into his flesh. His suit automatically sealed the holes in his suit and injected both bullet wounds with biofoam, an antimicrobial and coagulant foam that would help stop the bleeding, prevent him from getting an infection, and hopefully keep him alive until he could get proper medical care.

As Alec fought the batarian, Mira moved behind him and flanked the other batarians engaged in a fire fight with Tof and Josh. One had turned and was attempting to get a clear shot on Alec. She took that one down first, with pair of three round burst, the last bullet punching right though the visor and into the batarian's brain. She caught the others unaware, putting down one of them before they realized what was happening. Josh and Tof used the opportunity to press the advantage and soon the last two were put down.

"Anyone hit?" Alec asked, voice tinged with pain.

"Took one to the shoulder," Josh muttered.

"Grazed my arm, nothing serious," Tof said.

"No sir." Mira said.

"Mira, Tof, clear the rest of the ship."

He was too injured to be of use in combat, and Josh couldn't carry his rifle anymore. Fortunately, the rest of the ship was empty, as Mira's initial guess of nine crew members was accurate.

As Mira and Tof moved to open the cages, Alec was communicating with Kirill and Raul.

"Everything kosher, LC?" Raul asked.

"You could say that. We've got seventeen slaves, and Josh and myself are wounded. I'm going to send Tof back, and I want the two of you to carry over whatever food and medicine we have to this freighter. Tell Farran he is going to fly the Tolstoy back to Arcturus Station by himself, and the rest of us will follow in this thing. Assuming, Kirill, you can help me fly this thing."

"I feel confident in my batarian translation software, Lieutenant Commander."

Inside the Council's Chamber, Captain Rile'Meesa vas Shaanna stood with Admiral Rof'Waafor vas Fowan at her side. As had become standard procedure she had been chosen to represent the Migrant Fleet with potential diplomatic negotiations. Due to the sensitivity of these negotiations, having to walk the tightrope between improving relations with the Citadel while keeping up their partnership with the Systems Alliance, Admiral Rof'Waafor had decided to accompany her. He knew how the other Admirals felt about the situation, and wanted to be there in person to see what the Council had to offer.

Their own ships, and those that had escorted them, were stationary on the edge of the Widow System. No ship of the Migrant Fleet was allowed to dock at the Citadel, so they had been forced to take a shuttle to the Citadel docks. And due to C-Secs general mistrust of their kind, none of the marines who had accompanied them as an escort had been allowed to enter the Presidium from the docks.

Sparatus stood with his chest puffed out in front of him and his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a dark blue shirt with black accents, and black pants. Tevos had on a red and white dress that fell to the floor and had sleeves that ended just below her elbows. She held her hands in front of her, clasped together in front of her stomach. Marock had on the hooded robes popular with salarian nobility, the black robe accented with red and gold stripes. Unlike the other two, Marock's arms hung at his side.

"Captain, Admiral, it is a pleasure to see you both," Tevos greeted with a slight bow. "It has been too long since representatives of the mighty Migrant Fleet have stood before us."

"Honorable Council, thank you for meeting with us," Rile responded with a bow of her own. She frowned behind her mask when Rof made no move to bow. "We come on behalf of the Migrant Fleet in response to your summons."

"And we are grateful for that. While relations between the Council and the Migrant Fleet have not always been the best, we are hopeful that will change today," Sparatus said.

Rof cleared his throat. "Councilors, if I may speak plainly?"

"Please Admiral, go ahead."

"Out of those on the Admiralty Board, I am one of two who are in favor of these talks with you." While there were no discernible changes in the Councilors, Sparatus' eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Tevos' benign smile dropped a fraction of an inch. "For three hundred years the Council has treated the Migrant Fleet and the quarian people as social pariahs. Our people are considered thieves and vagabonds by your citizens, and our ships are banned from traveling in Council space. And finally after all that time, you wish to discuss these restrictions against us, which we are grateful for, but we can't help but notice it comes on the heels of our partnership with the humans."

Tevos unclasped her hands and spread her arms apart in front of her, making her appear more welcoming . "We understand your frustrations Admiral. Your people have suffered a lot these past few centuries. In truth, talks of easing the restrictions on the Migrant Fleet have been ongoing for years."

Rile had to hold in her snort of amusement at those words, and she knew Rof likely had to do the same. The asari were the diplomats of the Council for a reason. They spoke with flowery words, projecting an air of trust and peace that neither the turians or the salarians were capable of. Yet the asari had been the ruling force of the Citadel since they had been the first species to discover it thousands of years ago, and they didn't remain the ruling force through flowery words. While their words dripped with honey to your face, they were just as likely to stab you in the back as the salarians.

"It is nice to hear the Council has been contemplating ways to improve relations with the Migrant Fleet," Rile said, speaking with false gratitude. "What is the Council proposing?"

The three Councilors traded looks, as if deciding on who would be the one to go first.

"We will lift the docking restrictions on ships of the Migrant Fleet on Council worlds and stations," Sparatus said.

Technically speaking, the Council itself didn't control too much outside of the Citadel. There were a few mining outposts, and a handful of colonies in or near the Serpent Nebula. Most of the "Council controlled space" was the systems held by the Turian Hierarchy, the Asari Republics, the Salarian Union, and the other Citadel races. The fact that Sparatus specifically said "Council worlds" meant it wasn't as great of an offer as it might seem.

"We have encouraged businesses across the Citadel to hire quarians on their pilgrimage, and will lead by example and hire some to work directly for us," Marock said.

That was interesting and would open up a lot of opportunities for those pilgrims who still wanted to travel to Council held space, instead of working in human territory. Quarians working directly for the Council could go a long way in changing the stigma held by some of the more common citizens, those who were easily swayed by the actions of those in power.

"And we have agreed to allow the Migrant Fleet to have an embassy on the Citadel again."

Having an embassy on the Citadel might be the biggest get. It would make negotiating with the other races a much easier process, and since the Migrant Fleet was starting to build its own economy again, thanks to the Systems Alliance, they could take advantage of the situation by reopening trade with the rest of the galactic community. Getting money back into the volus run banking system would allow them to build interest and take out loans.

"As you know, anything discussed must be brought before the Conclave before any decisions can be made so there can be no agreement today, but what are you looking for in return of this offer?"

Tevos looked at something behind Rile and Rof, a small smile appearing on her face as she answered. "We ask for nothing in return. These are gifts we are extending in order to better the relations between the Council and the Migrant Fleet."

Rile looked behind her and saw the human ambassador standing there, dressed in what she had learned was called a suit. He appeared to have just arrived, walking up the steps that led to the extended platform those who had an audience with the Council stood on.

"Captain, Admiral," the human greeted with a nod of his head. "I see you are having the meeting with the Council your Admiralty Board informed us of. I'm happy to see they are easing back on some of the sanctions they've placed on your people."

"Ambassador Cochrane," Rof greeted. "What brings you to the Council Chambers at this time?"

Cochrane looked at the new omni-tool on his wrist for a moment. "This is my appointed time with the Council."

The members of the Admiralty Board who suspected this was a ploy to try to drive a wedge between the SA and the MF appeared to be correct. The Council wouldn't have overlapped the end of the Fleet's meeting with the start of the Alliance's meeting on accident. It was a small gamble on the Council's part, on whether the Migrant Fleet would inform the Systems Alliance of this meeting or not, and the gamble had failed.

"We were just wrapping up," Rile told the human. She turned back to the Councilors, noticing that the small smile on Tevos' face had disappeared. "Thank you, Councilors. The rest of the Migrant Fleet will no doubt welcome this news with jubilation."

"Yes, thank you Councilors," Rof said.

Rof turned and walked off in a brisk pace. Rile bowed low before turning to catch up with the Admiral.

"You could at least pretend to show some respect sir," Rile said to the Admiral in a low, disapproving voice.

Ambassador Cochrane moved to the end of the platform where the two quarians had stood moments ago and gave a half bow.

"Councilors, thank you for granting me an audience," he said, his voice pleasant.

His relationship with the Council was strained more often than not, and he was self-aware enough to know that it was partly his own fault. Before taking this job he hadn't thought himself a bigot or anything like that, he had no issues with any other humans no matter their race, religion, or sexuality, but seeing these aliens be so dismissive of human problems at the hands of one of the Citadel races had made him angrier than he could remember. He had cut his teeth as the ambassador for the European Union for several years, and the flippant attitudes of politicians was par for the course, but to get it from aliens of all things, annoyed him to no end. So while he might not be a bigot to his fellow humans, it appeared he was to alien species.

After coming to that realization he had made a request to be removed from the post, to have someone else take his place, but it had been denied. It seemed like the nations of Earth had finally come to an agreement on what the Systems Alliance should be, and was in the process of installing a certified government to lead the Systems Alliance, rather than the technically figurehead organization it had been previously. There was no telling who the new President would be selecting as the new ambassador to the Citadel, so Cochrane was told to continue with business as usual until that happened, another few weeks at most.

As a courtesy, he had requested to meet with the Council to let them know what was happening. He had thought a quick two minute chat in their private chambers would be enough to convey the information, but they had requested he meet them in the Council Chamber itself. After being allowed in to see the end of the meeting with the quarians, he knew why.

"Ambassador Cochrane, a pleasure as always," Marock greeted. "You requested a meeting with us?"

"I did. Councilors, I have come to inform you that within the next week, the Systems Alliance will be voting on and swearing in members of a new government. While I don't know which political parties will hold power, or who will be elected President, I can inform you that once that is to happen I will be relieved of my posts here and a new ambassador will be taking over."

Sparatus leaned forward in what Cochrane assumed was interest. It was hard to read the body language of the alien races. Turians nodded their heads like humans did, as a way to show greeting or to indicate agreement. Salarians on the other hand nodded to show confusion with something. Asari smiled like humans to appear welcoming or to show happiness, but if a krogan was smiling then that normally meant there was about to be violence. Which to be fair could still be a show happiness given the krogan love of violence.

"Ah yes, the data the Systems Alliance provided on your species said that most of your nation's governments are voted into position by your people, and that most of those who hold power do not do so permanently." Sparatus said, his mandibles clicking. "It said you throw parties for the people running?"

Cochrane's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. They threw fundraisers and held rallies for people running, and held election night rallies that turned into parties when a candidate won but what could … oh!

"We have political parties. It's basically a group of people who share similar ideology on things like what the government should set taxes on and the direction we should go in regards to foreign relations. Those people organize themselves into an official group and then do their best to appeal to like-minded citizens."

"Quaint," Sparatus murmured.

Cochrane knew, since he was forced to learn as much about the Citadel's races' politics, that the Turian Hierarchy was, surprise surprise, a hierarchical meritocracy. Those who held the political power in the turian world were those who earned it, at least they earned it based on what the turians considered important, things like civic duty. More often than not the merits that were most rewarded in turian society were those performed on the battlefield and so their leaders were all current or former military leaders. Despite this supposed meritocracy, children born into powerful families, like the Invictus family, held advantage in society over their less fortunate peers.

"Can you offer us any insight into who might be taking power of your government?" Marock asked, his voice holding what Cochrane thought was a curious tone.

The salarians lived in a type of feudal society. They had, to put it in human terms, fiefdoms, baronies, duchies, planets, and marches, which were colonization clusters, and each one had their corresponding noble in charge of it. Fiefdoms were their clans and closest family, with the more powerful clans gaining control over other local clans. The more powerful the clan, the more other clans followed it and the more land held. Even when salarians moved off planet, their jobs and status and wealth contributed to their clan's strength. The leaders of their government came from the most powerful clan leaders, those who had dominion over planets and colonization clusters, like the Solus clan. Their overall leader, the dalatrass, was the matriarch of the strongest clan.

Cochrane inwardly groaned. He had come here hoping to put in his two weeks notice and then call it a day. That apparently wasn't the case.

"The nations of Earth all have their own individual political parties but a lot of the larger political parties have banded together to create these sort of super parties. Polling seems to indicate that there are four super parties likely to hold most of the power; the Social Labor Alliance, the Lords of Sol, the Quaestus Party, and the Free People's Party."

Cochrane went over the basics of each party, in a way that the Council would understand, because describing one of the parties as socially progressive but fiscally conservative would make no sense to them.

The Social Labor Alliance believed in a strong central government, and wanted to give the Systems Alliance even more power over the nations within it. They believed there should be strong government regulation and social protections, and that the government should have a strong presence in things like education, healthcare, welfare, and protecting worker's rights. They were in favor of higher taxes, especially on corporations and high-wealth individuals. The SLA believed in smaller military budgets, and a lot of oversight on the defense industry. They pushed for equality for all regardless of race, wealth, sexuality, or nationality. They wanted to make sure there was no religious influence in government policy, and that the two institutions were kept separate. They were also in favor of expanding relations with the Migrant Fleet, and possibly even the Council.

The Lords of Sol wanted to do away with the Senate, and install a noble class made up of already existing lords, royal families, oligarchs, and religious heads in its place to help govern the Systems Alliance. They believed that religion was needed in the government for moral guidance and that certain acts and lifestyles should not be allowed. They thought education should be private and up to the parents, and things like healthcare weren't a right but something you earned by contributing to society. They were for the government having a small budget and against the government offering any type of social programs; they thought the only thing the SA should be paying for was infrastructure and the military. The LoS were pro-isolationist and not only wanted to completely cut themselves off from the Citadel, but they wanted to cancel the deal with the quarians and remove the Migrant Fleet from Systems Alliance space, which included the removal of the quarian colony on Eden Prime.

The Quaestus Party wanted to set the economy of the Systems Alliance as corporate capitalism. They wanted to remove government regulations and oversight, as well as remove all taxes on corporations, and believed that removing those things would lead to an economic boom and a rapid advancement in technologies. The QP were in favor of allowing corporations themselves to own the rights to entire worlds and be the ones in control of establishing new colonies. They wanted to reduce welfare programs and didn't want any protections for unions. Healthcare and housing would be supplied by corporations, and were not rights. They were another proponent of doing away with the Senate, though they wanted to establish a ruling oligarch class in its place instead, as anyone who could run a highly successful business was worthy of leading the population. The only type of partnerships they were interested in was economic ones.

The Free People's Party wanted to limit the scope of the government of the Systems Alliance. They believed in keeping taxes low, deregulation, and free enterprise. They preferred a laissez-faire economy, and a sense of rugged individualism for the citizens of the SA. They felt that the government should only be involved in a few things - the military, infrastructure, public education, and protecting the rights of individuals. The FPP's stated policy was that there shouldn't be any laws against things like drugs, prostitution, and gambling, and that individuals were free to make their own choices in how they lived their lives, and what they spent their money on as long as it didn't negatively affect anyone else. They were of the belief that there should be a distinct separation between church and the government for the same reasoning. They believed that any treaties or deals made with aliens should be handled by private corporations and organizations, and not the Systems Alliance as a whole.

There were also a number of other parties that polling showed would likely garner between a few Members of Parliament, to as many as a score; the Colonial Coalition, Terra Firma, Earth First, the Federalist Movement, the White Lotus Society, Bull Moose, and the Sol Socialist. Cochrane didn't go over those parties though as they weren't going to have any major influence in the government, and at most would only have power by caucusing with one of the larger parties in Parliament.

"Are there indications as to which party will rule supreme?" Tevos asked. Whomever took charge of the Systems Alliance would likely affect future talks with the Council, and it appeared there was at least one party who would cut off all contact.

Asari Republics had a free-wheeling, all-inclusive legislature that citizens could participate in at will and they had an expansive extranet forum set up to debate public policy, but at the end of the day they were ruled by their matriarchs, with each world having an Ekklesia, a Council of Matriarchs. The Head Matriarch, the one elected by the rest of the Ekklesia, was often the most powerful biotic on the council. The Ekklesia of Athame was the Council of the Head Matriarchs and ruled over the combined asari worlds.

"Polling suggests the Social Labor Alliance will take over the Presidency, and get the largest draw in Parliament at about 20.5% of the representation."