A/N: Hello, it's me. The liar. The bastard. Talking about 2 weeks... again. At this point I should just stop with predictions, as my upload schedule is about as consistent as the menstrual cycle of a 70 year old woman. I'll just upload when my creativity allows me to write something which is actually readable.
Enjoy!
Deep Space, Somewhere in the Attican Traverse
1650 Normandy Time, June 11th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
If Garrus had a credit for every time he had to escape a space ship full of people and things trying to kill him this year, he would have two credits. Which... isn't a lot, but to be perfectly honest, he would have preferred to have no credits at all. And on Purgatory he only had to fight criminals and mercenaries accompanied by mechs (something that his C-Sec training had for the most part prepared him for) as opposed to half-biological half-mechanical thralls of the Reapers. His training manuals weren't exactly well applicable to his current situation.
Shepard and Virox on the other hand seemed pretty comfortable with the current predicament. Or at least as comfortable as one could get on a Collector ship. Both of them aggressively pushed through the corridors and chambers of the vessel, which were increasingly being filled with Collectors. They moved so fast that Garrus actually began to have trouble keeping up with them.
"Keep the pressure up! We need to get out of here, ASAP!" Shepard exclaimed, as they moved into a more open area.
Collector soldiers poured in from the holes in the ceiling, while husks arrived from dead ahead, running at them in small hordes of five to six. Garrus' keen eye quickly noticed several Collectors taking positions on a narrow high ground which offered an excellent firing position. Thinking on the fly, he scoped in with his Viper sniper rifle and fired at the most exposed enemy.
*BANG*
*BANG*
A screeching Collector soldier fell down from the perch, causing its friends to notice him and unleash a barrage that once again forced him into cover. A few stray slugs managed to graze his shields, and given his lower elevation, it was impossible to hide his entire body without going prone. Luckily Shepard came to his aid like always when she charged right behind the Collectors that were shooting at him. Without hesitation, she punched one of the Collector off the high ground, then finished up the remaining two with point-blank shots from her Scimitar.
Satisfied with the victory, Garrus almost did not notice a small horde of husks running at him from between the rocky pillars of the room. They groaned and moaned, and if they could speak, he was willing to bet that they would be saying that he smelled like a fine meal. However it was not him that was going to be eaten.
From his side, Virox let out an ear piercing screech and dashed towards the husks. He grabbed the closest one by the neck and lobbed it at the others, knocking some of them off balance. Those that remained standing tried to pounce on the carvin to pin him, but his erratic movements, as well as the giant spiky metal tail that he kept flailing around made any attempt very dangerous.
Virox then descended into what Garrus could only describe as a krogan Blood Rage on steroids. He crushed bones and metal with his fists, snapped necks in lightning quick moves, and even bit through one of the husks' throats, severing the head. Not even Grunt was this savage, and that was saying something, since the big baby krogan seemed to only think of more and more excruciatingly painful ways to slaughter his enemies.
"Come on, we're getting closer!" Shepard urged after she dispatched the last Collector in the room.
She was using her biotics quite extensively, charging, blinking and dashing around, all the while casting an occasional shockwave or pulling an enemy out of cover. Still, even for her this sort of energy expenditure must have been incredibly taxing, as her subtle shift in posture suggested. They had to get out of here fast, else she'd burn herself out.
They entered another chamber, and for once it was them that had the elevation advantage. A gentle slope with plentiful rock formations that could serve as cover led them downwards to an area where two sets of doors awaited them.
"I am opening the door on the far side of the room." EDI announced, and on cue the first door on the left slid open. Several husks crawled out from the opening, but it was not something that they couldn't handle.
That however could not have been said about the next arrival.
"Spirits... not this thing again." Garrus almost gasped.
Squeezing through one of the openings in the ceiling, a massive silhouette of the monstrous Praetorian suddenly dominated the entire room. The beast screeched viciously, and even Virox must have been so shaken by its sudden arrival that he darted into cover, way more urgently than he usually did. He did so just in time, as the Praetorian unleashed its signature attack, with highly energized particles coming out of its eyes at extreme velocity.
"What in the Stars is that unholy hell spawn!?" He half-screamed. Once the powerful particle attack stopped, he quickly peaked out and fired off a couple shots, both at the Praetorian and the surrounding husks and Collectors. "Damn it! I can't scratch that thing with my rifle!"
It was a problem that they ran into before, on Haestrom. His laser weapon could penetrate shields without much issue, but offered little in terms of armor penetration. The only thing that he had that could effectively damage the Praetorian was his shotgun, and... well let's just say getting close to that abomination was not the best idea. Shepard must have picked up on the issue, since she joined them and switched her Scimitar for something much more powerful - the M-920 Cain.
It was arguably the single strongest weapon in the entire arsenal of the Normandy crew. This little "pocket nuke" launcher fired small slugs at absurd speeds, offering more firepower than even a tank. In Garrus' own experience, there was nothing that could survive a direct impact from that gun.
"Garrus! Try to strip its barriers as much as possible! We don't know how effective they'll be against the Cain." Shepard ordered and turned to the carvin. "Virox, stop any small fry from getting too close and keep Garrus covered."
Both of them nodded silently, and Garrus got to work. His Viper sniper rifle was adept at stripping down shields and barriers, and while he did not have any fancy ammo enhancers that could help him, like warp ammo, it would still be highly effective against his target.
Making sure Virox was keeping most of the more dangerous enemies at bay, Garrus pointed his rifle at the Praetorian and carefully took aim. It was important to hit his shots near perpendicularly to the projected barrier, so as to lose as little energy on the impact as possible. Reminding himself the experiences on Horizon, he adjusted the weapon and opened fire.
The Praetorian did not seem to mind much, as if the impacts annoyed him as much as a barely visible insect flying about. It was instead focused on the carvin who moved slightly forward, dispatching most of the weaker enemies surrounding the flying behemoth. Garrus kept firing, making miniscule corrections after each shot, compensating for both the recoil and the Praetorian's motion.
Finally, after the twelfth shot, his weapon beeped loudly, signaling that its thermal absorption capabilities were reached. He punched out the exhausted thermal clip and fired again, but this time the Praetorian seemed to have noticed him. It gazed at him and its eyes lit up furiously. Garrus was about to hide behind the rocks that served as his cover, when suddenly an explosion erupted in the Praetorian's "face". Both of them were probably just as confused at what just happened and looked around, searching for the source of the explosion.
It turned out that it was not Shepard like Garrus suspected, but Virox. He held a sphere in his hands which must have been a grenade, before tossing it at the Praetorian. It blasted the beast once again, prompting it to fire at the carvin who retreated into cover. Garrus used the distraction to quickly pump as many shots he could into its barrier. This time he only paid minor attention to the angle at which his shots were impacting, but the damage was rapidly adding up, as the protective bubble surrounding the Praetorian started flickering slightly.
"Now, Shepard! While it's weak!" He shouted and Commander quickly complied.
She aimed the weapon at the monstrosity and pressed her fingers on the trigger. The Cain let out a loud and pulsating beep, all the while emitting a weak, spinning, red light. Praetorian must have realized that the greatest threat to its existence remained out of its sight so far. It hastily turned its eyes towards Shepard and primed its attack, but it was too late.
The 25 gram explosive matrix slug, accelerated to a whopping speed of 5 kilometers per second tore through the almost nonexistent atmosphere, the remains of the Praetorian's barriers, before finally striking between its "jaws". A burst of white light erupted from the monster's insides, before the pressure finally overcame its structural integrity and ripped it apart. Fragments of the corpse scattered around, before turning to ash. The spectacle was as morbid as it was magnificent.
"Let's move before more of them arrive." Shepard snapped Garrus out of his gaze at the remains of the Praetorian. He quickly collected himself, and after being joined by Virox, they descended the slope towards the door that EDI had opened for them.
Just as they were about to run through it however, the path was abruptly closed shut. There was no holographic panel in sight that would allow them to reopen the door.
"EDI? We've got a problem here." Shepard pressed her finger to the side of her helmet, all the while searching for any means of overriding the lock.
"A temporary setback on Firewall 3217. Rerouting commands through Firewall 7164." Came almost immediate response from the AI. There was a brief silence before a noise from the right prompted all three of them to look there. "I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall. I will try to keep it open for as long as I can."
Not wanting to test how long was "as long as she could", they darted through the opening, all the while the ground kept trembling under their feet. Collector reinforcements behind them were getting uncomfortably close. Even if EDI would try to delay them, at some point they would catch up with them. Garrus wanted to be on the shuttle before that happened.
After the door closed behind them, he noticed a familiar sight to his right. A giant tube ran down and into a room that looked awfully familiar to the lab they walked through before. "Down there! That's where we came in!"
"We're close. Very... very close..." Virox added, though his voice was somewhat shaky.
Their excitement was short lived however, as two Scions then revealed themselves below. Their hand-mounted cannons would rip all three of them to shreds if they ever got a clear shot. Sure, Shepard and Virox could probably try to just run past them, but Garrus was not confident in his ability to jump down from such a height and then sprint past two angry abominations. Not to mention the fact that they probably were not alone in that area, and any delay could prove fatal in such a situation.
Deciding to ignore the shorter but more dangerous path, they instead ended up in another large area. A few Collectors were already flying up there from various directions, eager to join the fight. For a moment Garrus contemplated taking cover and sniping most of them one by one, but quickly rejected the idea. They couldn't allow themselves to delay any longer. As such he holstered his sniper rifle in favor of the Vindicator assault rifle.
Shepard must have had the same idea, since she kept spraying the incoming Collectors. The delay between her bursts was so short, one could mistakenly believe them to be a continuous stream of bullets. She did not even bother sticking to cover, instead supplementing her almost unending volley with occasional biotic attacks against both blue and red husks, as well as occasional unshielded Collectors.
This was in no way an organized attack. Their actions were not guided by tactics or a grander plan. They simply attempted to exert force at a point ahead of them, in the hope of shattering the opposition and allowing them to escape.
It did not change when a horde of husks crawled out from the holes in the walls. Shepard just dispatched them with a shockwave.
It did not change when one of the Collectors was starting to be possessed by Harbinger. They simply punched it and filled it with both bullets and laser bolts at practically point blank range.
And did not change when a lone Scion blocked their path to the shuttle. They just ran towards it like maniacs, with Shepard first staggering it using her biotic charge, and their collective firepower taking it down.
However, once it fell, Shepard herself almost collapsed from exhaustion too. Her breath was heavy, and Garrus immediately realized that she pushed herself to a breaking point with her extensive use of biotics.
"I'm almost spent..." She panted heavily. "But we have to get to that shuttle..."
"Just a moment longer, Shepard! We're almost there!" He tried to encourage her, as they turned around one of the last corners on the way to their destination.
But then all of the optimism he had remaining evaporated in an instant, as they came almost face to face with no less than 20 husks. They had no red exploding ones among them, nor any ranged Collector support, but they were moving fast. It would be impossible to get through them without Shepard's crowd control biotics, and Commander was clearly on the verge of fainting. Bullets were not enough, and so Garrus prepared for a desperate melee, holding on to a tiny slither of hope that they could somehow crawl their way back to the shuttle alive.
And that was when Virox did something unprecedented.
He let out a savage screech, unlike any he had before, and charged.
Like a living battering ram, he knocked the husks back and to the sides, occasionally firing his shotgun. The synthetic undead tried their hardest to grab him, but he just shook them off like insignificant specks of dust. It was as if he was tearing a path through the horde with his own body, crushing flesh and metal alike on his way.
With this renewed confidence, Garrus and Shepard did not wait for an invitation, and mustering all their remaining strength, they followed suit. Firing on the move, they did their best to keep as much pressure off the rampaging carvin as possible. One of the husks managed to get dangerously close to them, but before it could even make a swipe at them, Garrus whacked it in the neck with the stock of his assault rifle.
It was at that moment that the shuttle - their salvation - came into view. Its engines were already primed, and the door slowly slid open, giving off an impression that it was eager to leave anytime.
"We're out of time, Commander! We have to go!" Joker urged them through the comms, distress evident in his voice.
"You heard the man! Everybody onto the Normandy! Move!" She practically screamed.
Not willing to argue with her in the slightest, Garrus dashed towards their escape vehicle, turing around only for a brief moment to fire at the pursuing husks. Virox, who had just crushed the skull of a husk, was also apparently brought back to his senses, and after taking a glance at the now massive horde of enemies heading their way, elected to join them in the shuttle.
The doors slammed behind them, and a powerful jolt went through the Kodiak as they took off.
Oh Spirits, let us not be too late, please! Garrus thought, with panic and trauma from the destruction of the first Normandy rapidly overwhelming his mind.
And yet after a wait that felt like eternity, their shuttle safely made it into Normandy's hangar. It did not even touch down properly before Shepard opened its doors and leapt out of the vehicle, heading for the elevator.
"I hope Joker's flying skills haven't been dulled too much while I was gone." Garrus said to nobody in particular, but looked towards Virox for a reaction. The carvin did not even look at him, instead focusing his gaze at the floor. His chest moved up and down as he panted, still seemingly recovering from his mad charge.
Both of them jumped out of the Kodiak after it finally touched down, but right when they were about to call the elevator again (after Shepard took it before them), the ship itself shook lightly, and they felt a slight vibration from the floor.
Garrus let out a sigh of relief. The ship had entered FTL, and they were saved. Even the Collectors would not be able to track them in this state. Still, after today's events and revelations, he would have to reserve some extra time for calibrations. He had earned his rest.
"That... was certainly an experience." Virox suddenly spoke, with more emotion than he had been speaking for the last week. And for once Garrus was fully in agreement.
Argos Rho, Phoenix System
Intai'sei, Thoreau Mesa, Governor's Mansion
0938 Local Time, June 12th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
If this goes for much longer, I'll sooner die from boredom than a bullet.
After the debacle on Horizon, Kaidan Alenko wanted to truly appreciate the downtime he was granted. The Alliance brass had the basic human decency to not deploy him into more heated areas of operations, instead giving him some lightweight assignments so that he could rest and recuperate. And while Kaidan appreciated the thought behind it, his latest assignment felt more and more like a chore as it dragged on.
He and a squad of marines were assigned as an additional security detail of the Alliance ambassador Dominic Osoba, who (alongside other ambassadors from Citadel member and associate races) were trying to broker an agreement between them and the Carvin Empire.
And Kaidan would have been fine with all of that, if not for the fact that he had to attend every session of negotiations in person.
While at first the thought somewhat excited him, after the third session the constant barrage of political double-speak, the veiled insults, and a growing sense of pointlessness made Kaidan more and more irritated. At some meetings, he got the impression that nothing was done at all, a stark contrast from the usual assignments he received in the past.
Fortunately this meeting had a chance of being just a bit more interesting than others, in that it was partially about military matters that Kaidan had a better understanding of. Specifically, the oh-so-beaten-to-death issue of Carvin Empire's compliance with Farixen.
The head carvin ambassador, Zayan Te'Kraan was a far cry from his carvin colleagues sitting beside him. They at times responded bluntly and almost outright venomously, whereas he rarely raised his voice, spoke with calm and confidence rivaling even some of the asari delegates (though in Kaidan's eyes, the beauty of the latter really put the carvin in second place overall).
Having finally finished discussing the matters of a joint economic and settlement venture of the Traverse between the Alliance and the Carvin Empire, the clearly unamused turian delegation took the initiative, as its head speaker, ambassador Orinia now referred to the carvins.
"Having resolved the matter of human-carvin relations, I would like to discuss an issue which the carvin delegation, either by accident or intentionally continues to neglect." She spoke with a deep, reverberating voice, projecting authority with every word as was typical for higher ranking turians. "The security concerns of the Citadel races in relation to the sizeable naval power possessed and operated by the Carvin Empire."
With the end of that sentence, Kaidan could feel the atmosphere in the room tense up. Other Council delegates, whether salarian, asari or human kept shifting their gazes uneasily between the turians and the carvins, while the delegates from minor associate races of the Citadel betrayed very slight hints of dejection. This talk went nowhere a year ago, and there was very little reason to believe that it wouldn't be the same this time.
"It is this delegation's view that any and all future integration of the Carvin Empire into the wider galactic community is only possible if the security of both sides is ensured with a strong and robust agreement that serves to further the goals of the collective security and stability of all races." Orinia continued, her face betraying no emotion. "And it is strange to us that this matter, a topic of great contention in the past, has not been discussed in the slightest by the carvin delegation."
The jaws of two carvin delegates trembled, albeit slightly. They were clearly displeased by Orinia's remark, but seeing their reaction the head ambassador Te'Kraan seemed to put them in their place with just a single look. He then checked something on his screen, before once again turning towards the turian delegation.
Oho, this is gonna be good. Kaidan thought, already wondering what sort of 'political shitstorm' would this conversation spark.
"Your observations are most astute, ambassador Orinia." Zayan Te'Kraan replied, and Kaidan could not fathom how it was that this carvin was able to pull out a 'soft-spoken' tone for his species. "Our delegation has indeed not pursued the topic."
"And is there a particular reason for it?" One of Orinia's colleagues asked.
"Only that there is nothing to talk about." Zayan said, and Kaidan had just realized that this was the most blunt statement he had heard the carvin utter throughout this entire conference.
As expected, a statement this bold and direct caused a barely visible but incredibly strong stir within the present company. If there was anything consistently entertaining to Kaidan about these meetings, it was the visibly exhausting psychological gymnastics that the delegates were subjecting themselves to in order to remain calm, composed and dignified. It was about the only thing that kept Kaidan from physically melting away out of boredom throughout these past few sessions.
"Ambassador, while I understand that this is a touchy subject for the Carvin Empire, your government can surely understand tha-" Orinia began, but Zayan interjected just as boldly as he had spoken just moments before.
"What is the purpose of the Treaty of Farixen?" He asked, his calm and composed expression unbroken.
"...I beg your pardon?" Orinia was clearly not expecting that question.
"It's a simple question, ambassador. One that your delegation in particular should be able to answer quite easily." Zayan said. "What is the purpose of the Treaty of Farixen?"
After a moment, out of all the delegates, it was the head of asari delegation that surprisingly chose to answer.
"Treaty of Farixen was signed after the Krogan Rebellions in order to prevent an arms race between the various races in the galaxy, thus reducing the potential for conflict, and promoting a galaxy-wide peace." She spoke, and surprisingly there were no quiet sighs, no rolling of eyes, or sneaky glares that Kaidan had seen over the past few days.
"Indeed." Zayan nodded with acknowledgement, before turning back towards the members of the turian delegation. "And say, ambassador, did it work? Had the aims of the Treaty been achieved?"
Neither Orinia nor her aides gave an answer. Even the politically inexperienced Kaidan could see that the question was either rhetorical in nature or a trap, and that whichever it would be depended solely on the turians' reaction.
"It is true that the Treaty of Farixen had cemented the naval dominance of the Council races, and made sure that there was no navy large enough to disrupt the galactic peace... at least... until the geth had rebelled against their creators, the quarians." Zayan continued, and something that must have been an equivalent of a smile for carvins now adorned his face. "And where was the turian peacekeeping fleet while the quarians were driven off their own homeworld? Still anchored at the Citadel, as the quarians had the doors of the supposedly benevolent Citadel slammed in their face."
"The Geth War had come to be because of the quarians' own mistakes. Mistakes that the Council had warned the galaxy about even before the geth rebelled." This time one of the salarian delegates interjected. "The Council would not take responsibility for what was a breach in galactic law."
"And yet the very same geth that you had elected to ignore and label as 'just a quarian problem' managed to bypass most of the Citadel Defense Fleet and struck at the seat of the galactic government in an attack that claimed tens of thousands of lives." Zayan countered. "If the Geth War was caused by the quarian breach of galactic law and negligence in handling Artificial Intelligence, then the tragedy that was the Battle of the Citadel had been enabled by the apathy and passiveness of the Council races in addressing the issue of the geth."
Silence befell the room, as members of every delegation processed what had just been said, and Kaidan, having no better things to do, decided to join in on the deliberations privately. What the carvin ambassador said stung him on a quite deep and personal level. The geth had been on the Council's mind since before humanity had even launched their first rocket into space. They had every opportunity to address the issue, but instead chose to ignore it.
And that was the part that hurt the most, because he had seen it play out again through his own eyes. When the geth had returned, this time with Saren and Sovereign leading them, thousands lost their lives, on Eden Prime and elsewhere. Kaidan winced, recalling the memories of Jenkins, Ashley, colonists from Feros and others who perished because of the geth.
Yet the Council chose to once again ignore the issue, until it finally showed up at their doorstep. Quite literally in this case.
"Or how about some more recent examples?" Zayan continued. "Was conflict that stemmed from the Relay 314 incident stopped by the turian peacekeeping forces? No, it had been enabled by them in the first place. Instead it was the wider Council diplomatic effort that had ended the hostilities between humanity and the other races."
Oh man, he really went down that route, didn't he? Kaidan's humor had improved slightly after seeing the faces of the turian delegates. Their expressions were absolutely priceless.
"Or the human-batarian conflict for the Skyllian Verge? What had the Treaty done to prevent the escalation of hostilities? In the end the batarians simply withdrew from the Treaty and the Citadel as a whole, before funding pirates and terrorists to assault Alliance indirectly." The carvin ambassador just kept going, and probably for the first time some of the delegates looked away. Not in annoyance or anger, but in defeat.
"Cautiously... In all of the cases you presented, the perpetrators were political entities that either withdrew from the treaty or were never signatories in the first place." The elcor ambassador Calyn, who despite his large posture did not actually project a powerful presence during the meetings, interjected.
"If leaving the Treaty is all it takes for the Council to excuse itself from its commitments to collective security and galactic peace, then what is the point of its existence?" Zayan retorted. "Does anyone here reasonably expect that those who would seek to subvert the galactic order will actually subject themselves to the limitations of the very order they seek to fight?"
"Are you suggesting that a galaxy where all civilizations continuously expand their military in a never-ending arms race is preferable to the current situation?" Ambassador Orinia finally decided to retaliate, and Kaidan was now really sad that they did not allow popcorn for the security staff. He could use a bucket right about now.
"I am saying that the Treaty fails to deliver upon its stated aims. How are the citizens of the galaxy supposed to feel confident in the lasting peace if the peacekeeping force meant to maintain said peace in everyone else's stead CONSISTENTLY FAILS TO DO SO?" Zayan asked, distinctly accenting the last words, and earning several hostile glares from the turian delegation. It was as close to a direct verbal insult as it could get. "In the current political climate, with the ability of the Citadel Fleet, and by extension the Turian Hierarchy to maintain peace, order and stability throughout the galaxy being increasingly questioned, our government simply cannot in good conscience accept the demands of the Citadel Council to disarm."
Aaaaaand there you go. Could've just said that at the beginning. Not like anyone else expected a different outcome. Kaidan sighed, completely unsurprised by the final verdict. The writing was on the wall from the start.
"Your concerns are valid and understandable, ambassador, but the Carvin Empire is not the only interest group in the galaxy. The very same security concerns that you speak of are shared between all races." The head of asari delegation said.
"You speak of shared security concerns, and yet it is peculiar how the Council cares not for the abduction of thousands of colonists from one of its supposed members, but as soon as the corporate interests on a world that isn't even nominally a part of Asari Republics are threatened, they act as if faced with an existential threat." Zayan replied, and Kaidan noticed that even the patience of the old carvin was reaching its limit. "I made that point multiple times when negotiating with the Council and I repeated it again right here, and unfortunately I suspect that the effect will be the same. As such, until Citadel Council begins to consistently apply and enforce its own laws and regulations, the Carvin Empire will not subject itself to them, as it is quite evident that the inconsistent application and interpretation of the Citadel law is used as an offensive tool against other political entities that are seen as dangerous to the current political establishment."
"Carvin Empire... is not in a position to dictate the policy of the Citadel Council in any capacity." Orinia for the first time betrayed a slight hint of exasperation. "The Treaty of Farixen had been a prerequisite for an association status for every candidate race for almost a thousand years. Why should you be treated differently?"
For the first time in a long time it was not Zayan Te'Kraan but one of his aides who spoke. "With regards to your first sentence, the very fact that these negotiations are taking place is proof of the contrary."
This took both Kaidan and the rest of the delegates slightly off guard. Most of the time it was Zayan who spoke as the sole voice of the carvin delegation, with his colleagues either remaining silent or at times whispering something to his ear. Whenever they did openly speak, it was often followed by a reprimand or a clarification by their superior. Which is what made this particular situation even stranger since both failed to materialize.
Instead Zayan continued. "And if an obviously defunct and outdated piece of legislation is a supposed prerequisite to galactic integration, then perhaps it is time for it to revise the process. It has been made abundantly clear that the Treaty of Farixen has failed to serve most of its purposes, other than of course cementing the Council supremacy over the associate races."
"That would mean rewriting the treaties binding all Citadel associate races, not just the Carvin Empire." Humanity's ambassador, Dominic Osoba had spoken for the first time since this new topic started to be discussed. "And if a new system is to be put into place, it should be made clear that ALL signatories will be forced to make concessions and compromise with other signatories. While I can sympathize with the Carvin Empire's desire for sovereign decision-making in regards to its own military matters, if we are to work towards a better and safer galaxy, we must make a collective effort to bring that idea into reality."
"We are aware of this and we are fine with that." Zayan calmly replied. "Should you choose this course of action, our delegation would be happy to start drafting a framework for a future treaty. With... assistance of other interest parties of course. After all, we will all have to subject ourselves to its terms once it is signed."
Kaidan blinked a few times, unsure if he understood what the carvin ambassador was saying.
The carvins were not demanding a special exemption from the treaty... they wanted to scrap it entirely and draft something new. Something that would definitely hit the Council old guard in terms of influence and at the same time could allow for increased relevance of the minor associate races.
By this one simple move, the carvin delegation opened a door for the other minor powers of the Citadel to potentially have a greater say in the galactic politics, at least when security was concerned. Something that, after humanity's excessively rapid rise to prominence, must have been very tempting.
And it was apparent that he was not the only one surprised by this turn of events. Delegates from all parties involved exchanged glances with one another. The sound of whispers began to echo throughout the room.
Finally the volus ambassador Din Korlack stepped up and spoke. "And what would this new... legislature contain exactly?"
"Well, this will have to be specified during the drafting process." Carvin ambassador cordially replied, knowing full well that he had the volus interested. "However the premise, the aims, and especially the architecture of the new security structure, all will have to be reevaluated and hopefully reimagined to fit the current state of affairs."
"Perhaps... but I think the details of these changes merit a meeting of its own." Ambassador Orinia interjected. It was blatantly clear from her expression that this development was not exactly pleasant for her or her colleagues. "I believe I would be speaking for most of those present here that such an... unexpected proposal requires a longer deliberation and consultation with our respective governments."
Surprisingly there was no grand announcement. No one announcing the end of talks for the day. Nothing. Everyone just nodded in agreement and stood up, preparing to go back to their rooms.
Kaidan also stood up and realized that this was probably the first time since these talks started to bore him to death that he did not feel the excessive weight on his shoulders.
Guess something interesting happening for once can do wonders to combat mental exhaustion. He mused and alongside the rest of the security staff present began escorting the delegates to their respective rooms.
His duties were mostly over for the day.
A/N: A shorter one for a change, but perhaps this is needed for me to actually return to a semi-consistent progress on this story. But let's not tempt fate. I haven't forgotten this story in the slightest, however getting myself to actually sit down and work on it hasn't been exactly easy for me. And I am not going to make a prediction on the next chapter. Seeing how my last attempt at that went should make the reason why crystal clear.