A/N: Hello all! I am still alive, I promise. Just very busy with life, and also in writing a book of my own as well.
The coming of 10th Edition prompted me to finish up this chapter and get it posted. To my own detriment, I did actually have almost half of the chapter done several days after posting the last... But then I got absorbed in writing my book. Rumors of 10th got me back on track, and finally the last couple of days have kicked my ass into gear. Shout out to my beta, Aperture Zero, for his unwavering support in both my fanfiction stories and my book.
With all that said... Read, comment, let me know what you like and don't like, theorize to your heart's content if you'd like. I'll be finishing up my ME:LE playthrough to remind myself of certain Mass Effect things that I can use for this story!
And yes. I do in fact play Custodes in both Heresy and 40k. But my main faction for both is actually Tagmata Mechanicum and AdMech, but only because my lovely gribbles only exist in 40k.
The xenos ship was somewhat larger than Arcturus was expecting, though it still held nothing to a standard ship of the line from the Imperium. It looked somewhat organic in nature, brown and bulbous in some places while a ring of some kind was attached to a place about a third of the way from the aft end of the vessel. But more importantly, he felt something he hadn't expected to feel here. In a way, it felt like some form of cosmic irony, considering the Null he had recently taken into his custody that even now was still aboard the Orion.
The xenos vessel felt like a Blackship. Certainly not as large, and the effect of its inhabitants were vastly muted compared to what he was used to experiencing, but it was undeniably the same.
The moment Arcturus's ship entered the meeting space, the Orion was being hailed. He accepted without hesitation.
The creature that appeared on the viewscreen was the same as the one from the message before. Insectoid, though some part of it seemed as if it wasn't fully in control of its own actions. He recalled seeing possessed cultists acting the same way. It mattered little as the creature began to speak in a broken form of Low Gothic. Or at the very least, that's what the translator he obtained from Lefa identified it as. Apparently this time's English was fairly close to Low Gothic.
"Our appreciation for this trade of information, Gold One." Arcturus could hear the capitalization of the words as it spoke. "A docking bay has opened; we request only for you to exit your vessel. You shall be met within the bay by several drones to facilitate the exchange of information and technology."
The link was cut, allowing for Arcturus to begin docking. He hesitated only for a brief moment about how he would keep anything from boarding his ship if something went wrong, but it seemed Sheela had the same thought that he had.
"I will stay aboard the Orion, Lord Arcturus. The hatch shall be closed when you disembark."
"Acceptable. Keep an eye on the comms and power readings while we're aboard. The limited intelligence the Orion possesses shall update you on what certain readings will be."
He may have taught the woman how to pilot the Orion with the aid of its systems, but he never fully explained the capabilities and just how intelligent the on-board computers could be. It was no Abominable Intelligence, but there were times that it could seem a close thing. Such systems were vital in making full use of the Macro Arae-Shrikes that every Orion was equipped with however, and thus the questionable intelligence was allowed.
The Orion fit rather snug into the larger vessel's bay opening, but fit they did. The Orion's occupants were greeted with a rather eerie interior design that left much to be aesthetically desired, looking more like someone had dug tunnels through an organic rock and placed it within the confines of the ship. There was no oxygen, nor any gasses for that matter, flowing throughout the ship, indicating that these creatures were physiologically independent from such things.
Upon disembarking, Arcturus noticed the arrival of several armed xenos. Drones perhaps, if the one he spoke to before was correct. His autosenses made quick work of identifying the makeup of their outer carapace and interior, leading to a disturbing amount of information about their anatomy.
The function of his autosenses to make these scans was to determine weaknesses, yet in this instance it revealed more than he had imagined it would. Despite the outwardly organic appearance of these creatures, there was a staggering amount of biomachinery within them. They were little more than ants cognitively, unknowingly, following the commands of something above them. But they still possessed full brains, whose only use at present seemed to be to operate the bio machinery within them. The tell-tale signs of an active thought process via electrical impulses were missing, though they clearly still maintained the ability to do so. Intriguing.
"Greetings, Gold One. We are… Collectors." The lead drone stated. "We seek knowledge, and offer technology and knowledge in return. Shall we make a trade?"
"That depends on what knowledge you may seek."
Silence reigned for a short moment until the Collector spoke again.
"We seek information on the species called 'Humanity'. In return, we would share information within our capabilities of your choice. We would offer technology befitting the quality and quantity of what you may tell us."
Arcturus nodded slowly, debating what all he should say.
"Humanity is an interesting species to be certain. What specifically are you looking to learn?"
"We seek information on Human colonies. We seek information on Human activities. We seek information on the singular Human known as Shepard."
Colonies and activities. Easy enough, there were quite a few colonies that are common knowledge. If he didn't share it, someone else would. After only a split second of internal debate, Arcturus began to list the more well-known colonies. The list wasn't impressively long by any means to him, but it seemed to please the Collectors greatly when he finished.
"This is an abundance of knowledge we did not previously possess. For what we currently understand, this wealth is relevant to the exchange of technology. Is there anything that the Gold One would be interested in receiving?"
Arcturus took into account what he knew of these Collectors and what they may be able to offer. First and foremost, these creatures were drones of the mindless variety. They were heavily modified biologically from whatever they had been before. His autosenses were unable to determine a way for them to reproduce naturally, which meant they were most likely vat-grown. To be mindless as they were, and still possess some amount of cognitive function as foot soldiers, they would need some way of implanting training into their senses. A sense of survival, perhaps.
He only needed to think upon this for a brief moment before his mind turned towards Sister, who he intended on training himself.
"Would the Collectors have some way to implant memories, history perhaps, into the minds of those already grown?" Arcturus voiced. The Collector that had been speaking before nodded awkwardly, as if it didn't really know the purpose of what it meant beyond an agreement.
"The Collectors are in possession of such technology. We find this to be a trade of equal value for the information given. Several drones are beginning the process of transferring this technology to your ship. Once it has been taken aboard your ship after your own inspection, we shall continue the trade of knowledge."
"That is acceptable."
He only waited for several minutes until the far door opened to admit four drones carrying a large pod carefully. The interior was spacious, making Arcturus wonder what it had been meant to hold. After inspecting it, the Sagittarum allowed them to stow it within the bay and leave once more.
"As a warning, this pod was designed and built to be given to a Krogan Warlord who sought to trade knowledge for technology. Your trade was deemed more valuable. Krogan Warlord will not be pleased. Recommend knowledge of this transaction is kept private."
Inside his helmet, Arcturus raised an eyebrow at that tidbit of information. But it was no matter.
"What else do you wish to know, Collector?"
"We seek information on Human activities. We seek information on the singular Human known as Shepard."
Shepard would be the next thing, then. He didn't know much, but he did know that the Human Spectre was dead. And, perhaps a bit more than he thought he did, now that he thought about something else. In particular, a certain redhead from Mindoir that he had just recovered from the Batarians. He began to put certain pieces of information together, from what he knew about the man himself and what Arcturus had found on the Batarians' logs about their prisoner.
"The Human known as John Shepard is renowned as the Savior of the Citadel, due to his actions when the 'Geth Juggernaut' known as Sovereign attacked the Citadel. His actions earned Humanity a seat on the Citadel Council, which was seen as unprecedented due to how short a time Humanity has been a part of the galactic theater. He was born on the Planet Mindoir in 2154, where all of his relatives and friends were presumed slaughtered by Batarian slavers in 2170, when he was sixteen. It has come to my attention just recently that he in fact has a sister who survived, and is now beginning the process of recovery after being rescued from the Batarian agri-slave world named Lasac.
"Shepard himself was killed in action during a patrol just recently. Members of his crew survived, though he went down with his ship. Is there anything else I can help with?"
As he spoke, Arcturus's mind was beginning to piece certain things together with these Collectors. And it wasn't painting a good picture. Something was definitely beginning to feel off.
"An abundance of information, though most is not of use to us. We would trade information for what has been offered."
"Good. Then I want to know why you have such an interest in Humanity."
The drone seemed to hesitate before it responded, something that definitely struck the Custodian as odd.
"We seek to study Humanity so that a decision can be made."
"What decision?"
"We are not willing to reveal this information for what has been offered."
And then he understood. The Collectors wanted to know how strong Humanity was, so that they could decide if they could wage war successfully.
His Adrastus Bolt Caliver snapped up in an instant, far faster than either of the drones could even hope to respond. None of them had any hope of surviving the shots placed into their center mass. In the blink of an eye, four Collectors were scattered across the ground.
The Custodian dashed forward even as he raised his vox channel to match the Orion. Sheela was already asking what had happened.
"Take the Orion and leave, Sheela! Inform Lexus and bring the Thallaxii!" The Custodian ordered. The door closest to him nearly closed by the time he made it through.
"But- I- What are you going to do?" The woman sputtered.
Arcturus raised his Bolt Caliver once more and removed three drones from existence before he answered.
"Making sure they can't return with their information."
"Alone?! You'll die!"
"Only in death does duty end, Sheela. And my duty is far from over. Begone!"
With his final order given, he sprinted through the corridors of the ship. Several of the Collector drones tried to stop him physically, only to be trampled over. He heard the distinct sound of the Orion's weaponry discharging, as well as its peculiar and rather telling engines taking off. There was no other craft like it, not here.
The Collectors' strange weapons caused his refractor field to flare and distort as it absorbed the incoming fire, earning his attention more than any Blue Suns mercenary or Batarian soldier had thus far. Their weapons had barely caused the field to distort, unlike these insects.
It mattered little, ultimately. His bolter roared to life as he targeted the Collectors that wielded beam weapons, whilst leaving the drones to fall to his Misericordia during the unceasing advance.
A cavernous expanse seemed to be the next room, his autosenses quickly informing him that almost the entirety of this cylindrical room's walls were filled with empty pods of some kind. The Custodian hoped that they weren't an indication of how many of these insects were roaming somewhere; there were thousands of pods, if not tens of thousands.
His thoughts were cut short as several more drones landed on a nearby platform and fired upon him.
They wouldn't have any better luck than the previous creatures. He leapt the distance to the platform they had isolated themselves on, forcing one of them to dive out of the way and another to fall to a bolter round. The one that rolled away had no hope despite the distance created, evidenced by its head being removed via swift strike of the Misericordia.
Arcturus knelt down as he heard the ship begin to hum from deeper within. A quick scan towards the noise confirmed that the hum was likely the engines powering up.
I must reach them faster.
Glancing up revealed another platform beginning to lower itself towards his own, as another came up from below. More importantly to him however, was the path they seemed to be forming towards his destination. Perfect.
He leapt down to the lower platform, sparing no thought to the drone he landed upon. He heard a telltale sound of something actually striking his armor and bypassing his shield, a rarity in this galaxy to be certain. He glanced down to see the creature he had landed on scratching in futility at his leg. An impressive feat, considering his foot had gone through most of the insect. More impressive was that its talons seemed to actually be capable of leaving scratches upon his armor itself. Nothing major, or even minor, but worthy of note.
Returning his attention to his goal, the Custodian spared no more thought outside of how to reach the engines. He couldn't ignore the incoming fire indefinitely, but as a plan formed while he burst into action, he knew he didn't need to ignore it.
The two other drones aboard the platform felt the bite of a heavy bolter, eradicating the upper halves of their bodies just moments before Arcturus's form shoved what remained aside. The apex of Humanity took aim at the transportation device above him and fired a round into the closest stabilizer, then he leapt upwards to grab the descending platform by the edge. As he hauled himself up, the platform began to tip beneath him. It wasn't able to support his weight.
Perfect. He waited several seconds until he had the angle he required, allowing his defenses to take the incoming fire. When he explosively burst into action, the Collectors weren't able to adjust quickly enough. He didn't bother with eliminating the drones, opting instead to ignore them completely in favor of dashing to the opposite end of the platform and jumping. He sailed through the open expanse and thrust a hand out to catch himself on the ledge that he had aimed for, pulling himself up and continuing his relentless advance.
He could hear the hum of the engines better than before. When the door before him was bashed open, he didn't hesitate to swap to the Adrathic setting of his combi-weapon.
A small chittering of binary left Lexus's vox caster aboard the bridge of the Dutiful Claimant. It was answered by more binary from one of his lesser Myrmidons only a few feet away, answering whatever question the Magos had asked as it stared straight ahead at the vidscreen containing Lord Arcturus's shadow.
"He needs help, Magos!" Sheela stated once more.
"Calm thyself," Lexus answered in this galaxy's bastardized Low Gothic. Its patience with the woman was wearing thin this rotation. "Lord Arcturus is more than capable of destroying such a ship on his own-"
"The order came from him." Sheela interrupted.
Thin indeed.
"And he shall have his support. Do not presume my ignorance in his words, do not interrupt me again. He is fully capable of delivering death to every xeno aboard that vessel, yet he seems to have another plan. I would hear your thoughts upon the matter."
The woman looked away at something offscreen in an attempt to hide the embarrassment that was plain upon her face. Flesh was always so quick to give away one's state of mind; Lexus was more than glad to be rid of it.
"I think he means to only cripple their ship. They asked questions about Humanity, almost to the point of obsession. I believe Lord Arcturus intends to question them, before destroying them."
Lexus allowed a nod to show his acknowledgment of her words.
"Then he seeks to destroy their engines. Every species here is so far reliant upon a comm buoy to relay their messages, and the area of the void where Arcturus is located is not within range of one, therefore rendering the need to destroy its communications hub irrelevant. The Dutiful Claimant is en route." The vidscreen closed, leaving Lexus to prepare in peace.
The Magos pulled out a dataslate from its robes and glanced over the project detailed within one last time even as the Dutiful Claimant oriented itself to the direction they needed to go from Nemata's gravity well.
If any were to look outside the ship's windows, they would be able to make out the small fleet that had been brought from Lasac, with a multitude of small transports and servo skulls already swarming the exteriors of the vessels for repairs, maintenance, and upgrades. Further behind them, the beginnings of a small station could be seen in the initial stages of construction.
It would take several months to finish at their current rate of labor without depriving resources for other projects and expansions, but it would greatly aid in the task of retrofitting the ships that Forge World Nemata will claim from the Batarians, slavers, and pirates. As befitting Lord Arcturus's orders. Once the newly freed slaves were conditioned and treated, they could nearly double their current workforce potential and resource output.
The creation of Imperial or Mechanicum ships of the line would be too costly, and take far too long with what they had available to them without drastically increased workforce outputs, mines, refineries, factories, and rare materials that they currently had no access to. They would instead take what they could and refit their current vessels' armaments as their frames would allow for, as well as convert their drives into Magnus Drives. Reinforcement of their frames would be required for any Mechanicum standardized weaponry to be installed once their production was viable, but it saved both time and resources over constructing their own ships from nothing.
The Thirteenth had also asked for a safer mechanism in regards to macrocannons if they were to be installed on these vessels, something that Lexus understood the reasoning behind. They simply did not have the manpower to be wasting lives on a weekly basis for a weapon system's malfunctions. Element Zero is playing a factor in this development, both in terms of reducing the payload's physical size as well as giving the Magos an idea of how to reduce the lethal variable of a malfunction in the cannon.
But even with the logistics of those plans and experiments occupying his time, it didn't stop Lexus from crafting plans for one exceedingly important ship to be made. Every fleet needed a flagship, and the Myrmidon Lord refused to have a repurposed xenos vessel be Forge World Nemata's flagship for any longer than necessary. Lord Arcturus would not be pleased, but by the time he learned of it, construction would be well underway. Years of construction were ahead of it.
In the meantime, it had another important project. Lord Arcturus insisting on boarding through ships' hulls posed too much risk for their liking. He was instead looking into how to install a teleportation chamber aboard the Orion, using the Magnus Drive aboard. Much safer for boarding nearby vessels, and it also allowed for his arrival planetside via homers instead of dropships which risked being shot down.
It set the dataslate down, allowing a nearby thrall to return it to the library. For now, it needed to go see how much damage its Lord had caused to these… Collectors.
Twenty minutes later saw the Dutiful Claimant exiting the Warp. The Orion had come out of it somewhat sooner than the former Batarian vessel, and was already pushing readings towards its bridge for the perusal of Lexus. It wasted no time in looking them over.
"Exterior damage is minimal. Interior scans indicate 100% systems failure in the engine block and weapons suites. Lord Arcturus awaits retrieval within the same bay he had landed in, hostiles seek only to prevent further advancement through the vessel and have not re-engaged. Less collateral damage than expected," Lexus chittered. "Bring us closer to the Lord Custodes and hail him."
Lord Arcturus was connected within a moment, though Lexus found itself unprepared for his immediate request.
"Magos Commander, I require a vox caster linked only to the Orion's comm link."
The Myrmidon Lord didn't hesitate to have a thrall begin immediate reprogramming on a vox caster within a shuttle, but none of the scenarios it conjured led to a satisfying answer as to why its Lord would require it. Finally, moments later, it decided to request an answer.
"The Collectors are not going anywhere with their engines destroyed, and it would take years of drifting for them to reach a comm buoy. They do not possess the resources to repair their engines. What they do have, is their lives. I intend to starve them out in order to reveal why they have such a keen interest in Humanity. Only then will I consider relieving them of their existence."
The Lord Custodes' ruthlessness did not shock Lexus. The shuttle bearing the vox caster had been dispatched, following the Orion as it made to land inside the bay. Idly, Lexus pondered the odd feeling of discomfort that was growing, exuding from the Orion in a far stronger wave than from the Collector vessel.
Her eyes opened slowly, clutching shut a moment later as the light above caused discomfort. She tried to digest what little she had seen, but found what glimpse she did get to be too little to even begin forming an idea. She remembered… something. Batarians, she thought. The aliens who sought to break her, but never had. Or perhaps they did, but not in the way that they had hoped. They had sought to be her masters, yet masters did not fear their pets.
A dull throb was felt in the back of her head, causing her to wince as she attempted to move her limbs. Willpower forced her eyes back open to the light above as a thought struck her.
Her cell never had light, unless the aliens opened the door. Had they taken her somewhere else, away from her cell? Perhaps to experiment on her more, to understand why they held such an unnatural dread when it came to her. Other humans were merely slaves; she was the abomination. Even the other slaves had run away from her, or otherwise had tried to snuff her life out.
But that was the one thing she had. Her life was her own. She would not let them take the one thing she cared for and coveted. She had taken theirs instead, after they tried to take hers. The aliens had tried to do the same, but they never succeeded. Tooth and bloody nail scraped their flesh, dug into their eyes or previous wounds through damaged sections of hardsuits until their numbers forced her into compliance long enough for them to attach a collar beneath her flesh.
The dull ache took a sharp turn towards her temple, forcing a grunt from her mouth. A hand rose unsteadily from whatever she was laying on and reached up to the side of her head, only to fall as the ache seemed to disappear entirely.
"Medical patient #4104-9-7 has awakened. Submitting request for further directives. Please lay still until new directives arrive."
A soft grunt escaped her lips as she turned her head towards the mechanical voice. She recoiled as she found its source, something that looked human but seemed to be half machine. But at least it WAS human… at one time.
The headache spiked once more. Part of her mind growled, annoyed at the pain. She gave a mental shove, pushing the pain away. Surprisingly, it seemed to help. Then it came back even worse.
Her pained moan was more than audible as her hand shot up to clasp her head. She heard the… thing… speak again, but she couldn't focus enough to listen. She thought she heard a female voice as well, though she wasn't certain and dared not open her eyes to check.
Time passed, though she wasn't certain how long. The only thing that seemed to break her pain was when a large golden figure grasped her head in one hand, forcing her to look upon him. She felt herself flinch away in fear, until his other hand rose and removed the helmet to reveal a human face. His voice was deep, honeyed, and altogether much too arrogant.
"Look upon my visage, Sister. Heed my words, and know them to be true. Focus your thoughts upon a shield covering your mind, your body, and your surroundings. Place the pain onto the other side, and allow it to break upon your mental fortitude. Push the pain away, and pull everything that is yourself within your shield."
Despite the tone that would have otherwise pissed her off, she was desperate for relief. She did as he asked, though at that very moment the only thing of her surroundings that she was aware of was the man.
As soon as she made the three mental barriers, she felt blessed relief. She became aware of the fact that his hand no longer held her head, and was instead clasping both of the arms of another woman together, the look upon her face promising pain. She was also able to begin hearing once more, if the shrill mumbling leaving the woman's mouth was to be believed.
"-it. My Lord, please let her die!"
She frowned, unsure of how to respond. At the moment, she was simply glad for the pain relief.
The man nodded in her direction, then turned to the screeching woman and held her hands above her head. The sheer force of will the man began to exude as he did so stopped the annoyance leaving the woman's mouth, and even made herself want to bend to his will.
"Calm yourself, Sheela. This Sister is not your enemy." The now-named Sheela gulped at his words, pushing him to speak again. "Death is not in her future, not by your hand. To attack her will be to attack me. Am I understood?"
A nod followed shortly afterwards, and the man's hands released Sheela's. "By your orders, Lord Arcturus. I shall return to the cockpit."
It was at this moment that she noticed how large the man's hands were compared to Sheela's. And his very stature; the man was an absolute giant. She vaguely recalled how his hand had wrapped around her entire head and mentally shuddered.
"You have my apologies for her outburst. You did well controlling your genetic gift, Sister Shepard."
Shepard. The woman cocked her head to the side at that name, sounding vaguely familiar. She had to think about it for a few moments until it dawned on her what it meant, what it was.
My name. Or part of it. But… is it my name any longer?
The man's facial features seemed to soften, as if reading her thoughts.
"It is what your surname was before your capture by the xeno race called Batarians. It will ultimately be your choice to keep it or discard it. This is an entirely new beginning for you, Sister, and I only seek to provide the aid that none other would or can. And, if you're willing, teach you to control your genetic heritage as best as my experience will allow and as much as you are willing to learn. In return, I would expect your service beneath my banner, to become my personal hand where I am not present. A position of power, to be met with the responsibility it carries. But make no mistake. You will not be a slave. You will be respected, and the choice is yours."
Shepard blinked to herself, digesting the name in her head before shaking it.
"Shepard is not my name. I will continue with Sister, until something comes to mind."
A slight smirk was visible on the man's- Arcturus's- face as he heard her words.
"Then you will accept my offer?"
"Only if you tell me your full name, Arcturus."
He was silent for nearly a minute as he searched her eyes, a smirk still present when he finished with a nod.
"You may call me Arcturus Magnus, the first two names of a list that can fill a small book. Names that are all earned through heroic deeds and actions. Mayhaps you will earn yours in the same vein as one of my kind do. But for now, you must sleep. Recover, Sister, for trials await you."
She flinched as she felt a small pinch on her arm, causing her to turn towards the… thing… that was now retracting a syringe.
"Patient #4104-9-7, termed 'Sister', has been administered an advanced sedative. Please lie down to avoid risk of head injury in case of a fall."
A week passed. And another. It wasn't until the third week that Lexus had come to Arcturus after another slave colony raid on the planet Logasiri, bearing three dataslates. The majority of Forge World Nemata's leadership stood or sat around the command center of the primary colony, now connected to the other mining facilities both above and below the planet's surface.
Everyone present stared at the Myrmidon Lord as it set down the first dataslate upon the projector, transferring its screen so that everyone could see. The now-familiar design of the Lorica Thallax was displayed for all to see, along with a list of names.
A rather long list.
"The legions of the Thallaxii grow steadily. Volunteers for the augmentation program are not hard to find among the former slaves who are physically unable to provide for their families in other manners, primarily being the mining, refinement, and allocation of resources from the mines of Nemata. Auxilla who are likewise unable to fulfill the physical duties of their post, and ill-suited to join the ranks of the Skitarii are recommended down the path of the Thallaxii as well. A total of four hundred seventy three individuals are undergoing the procedure to join the ranks of our elite, filling a majority of the allocated five hundred Thallax and Ursarax frames for this project. It is prudent to note that while the main population of this force is composed of humans, recent developments have allowed for us to expand this project to the physiologies of Quarians and Asari. Further experimentation is required to adapt the frames to those who have a primarily different body structure, such as Turians and Salarians."
The first dataslate was removed and tucked into the robes of the Magos even as a mechadendrite placed another dataslate down. The Lorica Thallax was replaced by the image of a red mountainous planet. Lexus turned its eyes towards Arcturus, who nodded in recognition. He was more than passingly familiar with the world, having studied what planets provided the Imperium's Forge World that existed where Nemata was now. Thankfully, they knew where to look for the resources they needed.
"The planet Kyris possesses an untapped wealth of minerals and materials that will prove to be important in supplying Forge World Nemata with what it requires for further weapons development and fleet augmentation. A Kowloon freighter has been seized from the most recent raid and is being loaded with personnel and equipment needed to begin tapping its resources."
"Where is Kyris?" Sheela asked.
"Kyris is located in the Obulis System within our current cluster, unreachable by Mass Effect drives within a reasonable amount of time and fuel. A Magnus Drive is required, which the freighter has been outfitted with." Arcturus answered as he gestured for Lexus to continue, where the image of Kyris was replaced with another planet that looked rather green.
"Once exploitation of these resources begins, colonization is not outside of our reach. The first for colonization will be Bellum, an agriworld within the same system as Kyris. A program will be established for those who wish to colonize it, dividing land up to be given to the colonists to use as they see fit with the stipulation that they will have a quota similar to the miners to meet. They will be paid fairly for their quota, and incentives given for providing more than the quota."
Lexus despised having to draft up these programs. It was a Myrmidon Lord, above such things as this. Yet, the Lord Arcturus was even more so, and he had not complained as they jointly devised and went through them. Not that the Lord Custodes ever did complain, Lexus reminded itself. It had no issue with admitting that while it strived to meet the Lord Custodian's ethics, there were certain boundaries even it found to be too much.
The second dataslate was removed to make room for the third and last dataslate. A star map made itself known, marked with various colors to depict enemy territory and locations, as well as a good deal of other things.
"The Vular system is home to a wealthy Batarian colony named Erszbat, paying for slaves at a prodigious rate," Lexus began. "It is part of the Kite's Nest cluster, where the Batarians make their home. It is here that we shall strike next. The minor relay has been marked yellow; our first goal in the liberation of the planet's vast number of slaves will begin with ensuring that nobody will be able to arrive in time to help, if they learn of it at all before we are finished. By the time our invasion begins, any and all comm buoys will have been destroyed by our Lord Arcturus. A small Batarian void element is present, marking our first real foray into void combat since the establishment of our Forge World."
Silence followed the words of the Magos for several moments, until the Quarian named Lefa Koris spoke.
"Then… we're officially going to war against the Batarian Hegemony?"
The glowing red layers of eyes on the Magos turned towards Arcturus as the Custodian took in a deeper breath than normal.
"We have been at war. They just don't know it. We have the advantage of secrecy and we shall make the most of it. The Batarians think they will get away with their proxy soldiers in the form of pirates without repercussions. Under the Citadel's leadership, they would be correct. I will not suffer their miserable existence with their reliance on slavery and proxies. If they wish to hide behind thinly veiled banners, then I shall rip them away. Colonies in the Terminus Systems are one thing; they accept the risk of what happens, even if they complain. We shall make a grand statement, strike one of their most profitable colonies near their home system, the heart of their territory. We shall not suffer the abomination of slavery. All of the xenos will perish. And in so doing, strike the first substantial blow in a war they are not prepared for. After the Thallaxii are ready, Erszbat shall serve as a fine declaration of war."
The Custodian made his way to the dataslate and handed it to Lexus.
"With the establishment of a new mining world and agriworld, we must now lock down our homeworld's security. The time has come for us to destroy any remaining comm buoys within the Hoc System as well as its sister systems, and destroy the Mass Relay that connects the Sentry Omega cluster to the rest of the galaxy. I expect our own vox buoys to be set up to cover our territory and to monitor incoming signals, Lexus. Do this, then we shall turn our sights to Erszbat."
Giving the Magos a smile, Arcturus then turned and left.
The life of a Councilor was not everything it was cracked up to be, Udina had decided as he listened to a Batarian speak with the other members of the Council. Part of the man couldn't help but want to roll his eyes, while another was intrigued by what the alien was saying.
"It is not the work of the Humans," the Batarian, an ambassador sent by the Hegemony stated with crossed arms, "though I wouldn't put it past them to have done it if we didn't know for a fact that they were not part of it. I have evidence."
The Turian Councilor shifted in his seat.
"Then show us your proof, Ambassador Ka'moran."
The Batarian uncrossed his arms and held up his omnitool to the console in front of him, transferring data to be displayed. Several photos were shown, and one was selected to be displayed.
"Lasac was not the work of the Humans. There were few corpses with any scientific value left on our colony, but the corpse of one Sergeant Brath'lok Dulak was found along with his omnitool. A single photo was taken, showing the first piece of my evidence."
The Councilors turned their attention to the displayed image, most of them frowning as they made out a strange large mechanical being that was in the middle of swiping large sickle-shaped claws through several Batarian soldiers.
"That is not Human. If they had such things, then they would have been deployed to defend their colonies in the Terminus Systems. No. This is something else. And it's targeting Batarian colonies."
Donnel Udina cleared his throat.
"Be that as it may, it is still within the Terminus Systems. The Citadel will not intervene with colonial disputes set out in the Terminus Systems for the Batarians who, I shouldn't need to remind you, are not a client member of the Citadel. You withdrew your membership after the Skyllian Verge incident."
"This affects more than just us!" The Batarian growled. "Whoever they are, we can't find anything on them. None of their bodies, none of their equipment, not even records of where they come from or where they went through the Relay. It's like they never used it."
The Salarian Councilor clasped his hands together.
"Ambassador, have your people perhaps thought about the simple fact that the Custodian's faction doesn't use the Relay system?"
The Batarian's four eyes blinked in confusion.
"That… wouldn't be possible. Everything uses them."
"Short-sighted, and incorrect. The Salarian Union knows of the faction that is currently hunting down your colonies, and while it will not ever succeed in destroying them all… your people have every right to be afraid of this new faction's prowess and capabilities. No Relay shows that they've passed through, which means they have some alternative form of traversing the stars. This is likely why we have not met them before, and still find it exceedingly difficult to track them down. We will not intervene in your conflict in the Terminus Systems, but-"
The Councilor was stopped as a Turian rushed through the chamber, frantically waving a hand and calling for the Councilors. The Batarian let loose an angry growl, but stood aside.
Councilor Sparatus sighed. "This had better be important, Officer Palas."
"Yes, sir. The Mass Relay connecting the Sentry Omega Cluster has gone dark. No readings are returned when another Relay pings it, leading the assigned intelligence officer to believe it may have been destroyed."
For once, the Citadel Council was rendered speechless.