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JonatanL123, It is interesting when people make little comments like yours because I'm not from that society so something like this goes under my radar. I'll have to go back and edit the conversation when I get the time. Thanks.

NovaSaber, Thanks, I'm trying to get over the idea that the Turians aren't just going to go trigger happy when they get a chance.

RazRift, Thanks. Curiously, when you dig down, there is actually not that much information on how the Council properly operate, so I'm having to just make a lot of it up or flesh it out some more. Thanks though.

YouDoYou, Ha. A weird Al quote from the parody 'Amish Paradise'. I like throwing in little tid bits like that.

Germanspeaker: My focus on stealth is entirely driven by the drive for stealth in today's military doctrine/strategy - so good spot. As for seeing Shepard as a gun slinging soldier, it will come, but later down the line.

"You look like you have just met an unfriendly Krogan in a tight corridor," Tevos tells Shepard upon seeing her enter her office. The Councillor is sat at her desk in the embassy; noticeably, a large half-empty jug of water and a cradle filled with crystal clear ice is sat on her desk.

Shepard must admit she has felt better; when she awoke in the morning after the previous evening, it took way too long for her to find the willpower to roll out of bed, but she has a job to complete, "I've felt better." She confesses. "And I must admit to reevaluating life choices,"

"I would hope so," Tevos replies, a bit of humour in her tone, "But I warned you about ryncol, and the other Matriarchs." After the main event had concluded, Shepard had retired with Tevos and a few other Matriarchs to Tevos's estate for further drinks in private; it is here in a private setting that the Matriarchs tempted her with a Krogan delicacy. Shepard, feeling like nothing could be worse than Rat Pack Speciality, a beverage brewed in a pot under someone's bed from ration packs, was more than happy to try and prove her 'quad'. "I also see you have your hands full."

Shepard looks down to her hands that are holding a few different bags before shrugging her shoulders and placing the bags onto a nearby table, "I went to get a late breakfast at the Upper Presidium. These were forced into my hands by over keen shop keepers, and it was easier to accept them and carry on walking." Shepards assigned guards had attempted to stop the shopkeepers, fearing the bags containing hidden explosives, but it was like trying to fight back zombie hordes; a few got through.

"I can't blame them for trying," Tevos remarks, "While carrying those bags, you are a walking advertisement for the stores. And just so you know how much you can influence sales, the dress you were wearing last night, its purchases have and continue to explode; it is the best selling clothing item my company produces at the moment."

"I guess that will pay my lodgers fee then."

"And some," Tevos remarks, "Did you at least get any interesting items in your free bags?" Tevos does not wait for an answer, instead she begins to type away at a keyboard.

As Tevos types away, Shepard looks through the bags, some of it she can identify, one item is a colourful pot that smells rather pleasant, another is an article of clothing that is never going to fit her build, but some of it she has no idea the purpose of, "Any ideas?" Shepard asks while holding up a small box; the text is in an unknown language.

Upon seeing the box, Tevos can be seen visibly trying to suppress a laugh; eventually, after a moment to regain her composure, she announces, "You have been a walking advertisement for an adult store."

Shepard looks at the box before frowning when she fails to figure out what it is, "Alrighty then," She expresses as she drops it back into the bag the item came from, "Anyway, some information has come through you will want to see."

"Hmm, can it wait for me to finish this email?" Shepard nods, so Tevos goes on, "Have a look around this office; you will find many items of interest. Also, feel free to some water, you look like you need it more than I."

Shepard gratefully accepts a glass of water before strolling around the room to peruse the various objects, which Shepard assumes must hold some cultural importance to the Asari.

Looking at one item, which looks like a piece of electronics housed behind a bell-shaped piece of glass, Tevos speaks up from behind her desk, "That piece of optoelectronics is what started my journey to success."

Shepard looks a bit closer at the device before turning to Tevos, "What is it?"

Tevos types away for a few seconds before replying, "It allows for the application of hard light sensory input. I developed it..." Tevos slows down to type a few more words before continuing, "As a part of my doctorate in electronics."

"So," Shepard asks, "How do you go from this little thing to business magnate?"

"My parents were wealthy, which with their investment ultimately allowed me to start a business that specialised in this little piece of technology. After enough development, I sold my business to..." Tevos slows down again as she types a few more words, "Polaris for a sizeable sum of money; a company whose omni-tool you are currently wearing. This allowed me to partner with a Salarian to start a new business and develop further optoelectronics products. After struggling for a few years, being forced to buy my partner out, my new business, despite its rocky start, began to flourish and had influence in multiple fields, from display technology to FTL comms. As the business grew, I continued to expand, researching new technologies, buying new and promising companies, and even the old powerhouses. As a result, I now own the company which bought my very first business venture."

"So, what is your degree field?"

Tevos takes a moment before responding, "Electronics. At the time, I was called a fool for not specialising in Electronic and Eezo Engineering by my professors. I have had the last laugh."

"So, how do you go from technology firms, which seems to be your backbone, to the fashion industry and a massage franchise?"

Tevos looks up for a split of a second before looking back to her work, "The massage franchise belonged to an old family friend who ran into financial trouble. I agreed to buy their small single store business from them if they agreed to stay at the helm and use my money for some aggressive expansion. The fashion industry purchase was a bold statement of wealth, something to grab the interest of certain investors. I regret neither purchase."

"Do you own any other random businesses I should know about?"

Tevos blinks before responding, "A few. A small haulage company that doubles as my estates private transport to Thessia, a few small weapons and munitions companies, a small dockyard for luxury yachts and a high profile catering group. Their top chefs routinely rotate through my estate, meaning you will rarely get better food elsewhere."

"So, you have fingers in many pies," Shepard says as she goes back to look at the small piece of tech, "You're an engineer by trade. How did you get into politics?"

"Some of my businesses were getting taxed an unfair amount, on top of any import and export tax. I was told if I wanted to change that, I would need to be politically active."

"Ever have conflicts of interests?" Shepard inquires. "Or get questioned on decisions which could be seen to bolster your businesses?"

"Yes, to both," Tevos responds, "But I am highly regulated, which will remove any unfair competition, and I do not enact my decisions."

"How do you mean by that? Enacting your decisions."

"So, my position is not formally a part of the Asari government, despite appearances; this means if I make a decision that the Asari will do XYZ, then I am not then responsible for how XYZ happens, but rather, that it happens. This means then that the Asari government can use their own initiative on any companies they interact with. There is a lot more to this, and I could go on as I've had to study it at length to make sure I do not break the law; however, I know you will find this topic a little dry."

"Yeah, your probably right," Shepard nods before moving onto a different object; this one appears to be a set of old boots behind a thick protective glass case, the boots are somewhat reflective of the old boots astronauts in early human space flight would wear.

"Those are the boots of the first Asari to walk on the citadel." Tevos informs after a moment. "They have lived in this office for a millennium and should probably be returned to a museum on Thessia."

After a moment to compare them to ancient human space boots, Shepard then asks, "So, how long are you in this job? Four years? Ten years?"

Once more, Tevos takes a few moments before replying, "Just under 100 of your years."

"100 years?!" Shepard asks as she turns around to view Tevos.

"Yes?" Tevos blinks before then, remembering the Humans are a shorter-lived species, adds, "In Asari politics, we strive for long term goals, over short term wins, and for ourselves, 100 years allows us to enact long term strategies and see them through."

Shepard raises a brow as she asks, "And how far are you through this term?"

"I am just over a third served."

The next item Shepard comes to is a small photo. In the image, Tevos looks considerably younger and a part of some military team; however, she is not front and centre but somewhat near the back. "Were you in the services?" Shepard asks.

"For a few years once I left my home estate," Tevos blinks after a moment, "I joined as an engineer and gained an apprenticeship with the Navy. I learned the basics of engineering there before returning home and going to university. I keep that photo in my line of sight here as a reminder of where I came from; without some grounding, this job could easily allow your head to inflate."

"As one of the most powerful people in the galaxy? Understandable." Shepard moves onto a different object, "What is this one?" She asks.

Tevos glances upwards ever so slightly from her work to see a strange metallic orb before responding, "A Prothean relic, a gift from the Hanar embassy to apologise for the Hanar pirates; it is the most recent item to grace this room."

"Is it supposed to be emitting white noise? My AI is going nuts around it."

At hearing this statement, Tevos looks up with her own frown, "Sorry?"

"This thing is emitting signals," Shepard tells Tevos, "I can imagine it would give you a headache if you spent any extended time around it."

"I was under the opinion it was inert," Tevos replies before standing up and approaching it with her own omni-tool. "The Hanar would not just give away any semi-functional Prothean tech." Upon powering up her omni-tool, Tevos scans the device but fails to detect anything. "I'm not getting anything."

"Nor am I now." Shepard begins to say, but the moment Tevos's omni-tool shuts down Shepard's AI detects the signal again, "There it is, it's back."

"How strange," Tevos tells Shepard before powering her tool back up, but once more, the signal disappears.

"Gone again," Shepard says, before commenting, "It is like it's responding to your omni-tool."

Tevos closes her omni-tool, "And now?" As she asks, she looks towards Shepard for her response.

"It's back," Shepard confirms, "It's like it doesn't want to be detected by whatever tech you are using."

"One moment," Tevos says before checking a tag on the item and then approaching her desk and pressing a button, "Varassan, please have an IS officer report to my office immediately. Item Pa67Cha is suspect." When Varassan confirms, Tevos then says, "While this is investigated for potential espionage, shall we take this into the meeting room?"

"Your office, your rules" Shepard responds, "So if you want."

It is only a short walk to the meeting room, and when both are inside, and the doors are shut behind them to ensure privacy, Tevos asks, "So, what brought you here?"

"This happened last night just prior to the party," Shepard says as she pulls her phone out of her pocket, "I got clearance to let you know early this morning; as for why delay telling you till now? I just thought you would rather this news when sober."

"This doesn't sound good," Tevos says with a raised brow before accepting Shepard's phone; on the screen is a news article, telling the heroic tale of 'Human Victory' over the Batarian gunboats.

At first, Tevos appears to look concerned, but her face becomes more neutral as she reads. Eventually, she says, "I can not officially say I condone your people's actions."

Shepard nods, "I can understand why, but I will bet right now my people will care little to what you think. This has gone down with the public worse than the fish ship. That news source you just read? So far, it has been very pro aliens; this article is a big sign that people's thoughts are shifting radically. They know those ships belong to a species in your Council, and they are pissed we are now policing your own people."

Tevos pulls a hand down her face in slight frustration before blinking a few times and then saying, "I will be honest with you Shepard, the implications of this are large; is there a way you can dial the Turian fleet off your phone?"

Shepards eyes widen a little as she thinks hard; eventually, she shakes her head, "That tech we let you have is old tech, it would be like a digital signal trying to talk to an analogue signal; they just aren't compatible."

Tevos is silent for a few long moments before speaking again, "Tell me that this is not Human propaganda or deceit."

"Why would you trust what I reply?" Shepard asks. "If its deception, I would either not know or be a part of it; either way, I will tell you that it is not out of ignorance or as a part of the lie."

Tevos takes a big breath in and then deeply exhales before telling Shepard, "I can't just sit on this news and keep my cohorts in the dark; I must assemble the Council; they need to know about this. If needed, could you relay a message for us to your authorities? Can I also take a picture of this news article?"

Shepard nods, "Go ahead, and if you wanted, I could probably get you a direct line to the President if needed." Since Shepards confirmed that the Councillor is actually someone of importance, the Human authorities are now happy that Tevos is who she says she is.

/.../

Sparatus slumps into his seat before clutching for a cold drink of water; the previous night was far heavier than he expected, especially considering he finished the evening by drinking in the Officers Mess with a few Spectres and naval personnel. Sparatus is proud to claim he was still drinking with a few of the older officers when people arrived at the mess for breakfast. After a large gulp of water, he asks, "So, what is so important you summoned us."

Valern is equally curious; usually, the Salarians know the agenda of any meeting before the Turians do due to their intelligence services acquiring vasts amounts of information and assessing what the other councillors will call meetings for. "The humans," Tevos begins, "Have had a skirmish with two Batarian gunboats to protect the Geth. It was a decisive Human victory."

Despite the raging hangover, this news perks Sparatus up a little, "How do you know?"

"Shepard was cleared to inform us by her higher chain of command. I'm sending a Human news article to your datapads now."

As always, Valern is the first to finish reading the news item and is the first to make a comment, "Fascinating scenario, to support Human or Batarians. Geth complicates matters."

Eventually, Sparatus finishes reading the article, "How trustworthy is this? My beak smells propaganda."

"This is the issue," Tevos blinks in confirmation of Sparatus worry, "It will take our own sources two weeks to verify this information. Shepard has also confessed that this newspaper is pro-alien; she is under the impression that the human perspective is shifting. If we want to keep the Humans friendly and in our sphere of influence, we need to address this now, so we have reached a deciding point."

After a second to contemplate, Valern says, "The union, for now, favours Human isolation, but it is not closed to the idea of delayed integration."

Tevos looks to Sparatus, so the Turian breaths out deeply, looks to Valern for a split of a second before back to Tevos and then telling her, "I like the Humans; they have spiced things up a bit in the Sagittarius Arm. The Primarch supports Human integration." The Turians will have inevitably performed countless strategic planning exercises to have come to this solution. They must believe that should the Humans get out of hand, they can bring them back under control, or failing this, the Humans provide such a strategical benefit it is worth them being an unstable ally. If Tevos was to bet on anything, it would be that the Humans will divert Batarian raids and warships to the Human system, reducing loads on the ageing Turian fleets, which will allow for a faster uptake in fleet retrofits.

"Then it is two to one," Tevos says, before turning to look at Valern, "We will support Human integration. I will authorise the Relay specialists to depart for Human space when they are ready, and we will condemn the Batarian trespassing."

Valern understandably is not too happy with the situation, her own species science and technology firms will lose a considerable amount due to this decision. In addition, the Salarians will also be knocked off top position for stealth warfare within the Citadel species, a moniker they cherish. After breathing out deeply to partially suppress the disappointment that STG efforts had failed to sway the Turians, Valern then states, "Condemn the attack, not the act of trespassing; if we condemn the trespassing, we fail to show support to either the Batarians, the Humans, or the Geth."

"Agreed," Sparatus comments, "If we want Human integration, we need to throw them a tease. But, if asked, I will strongly condemn the Batarian attack and their interference with a Council containment fleet."

While Tevos would like the Humans to become integrated, she also is trying to think of the long game and not lose influence with the Batarians over a relatively minor incident. To Tevos, the ideal situation would be to condemn the initial transgression of the no go area, as opposed to the attack. By rights, the Batarian vessels were well within the law to attack a Geth vessel since it was outside the veil.

/.../

Later that evening Shepard is sat in an ante-room opposite two younger Asari; between the young Asari rests a familiar board game on top of a wooden table. Earlier in the day, an Asari had introduced Shepard to an Asari board game, somewhat similar to draughts, so in the spirit of sharing cultures, Shepard had a 3d chess set designed and printed by a tech-savvy youngster.

The game quickly spread in the estate, and despite only introducing the game a few hours ago, there are now 3 chess sets, with a fourth in the making, and each set currently has a game in progress. While Shepard may be more interested in playing an Asari game, the simple truth is that the Asari are far more interested in playing a new and novel Human game, but Shepard doesn't mind too much. She has fond memories of playing chess as a child while under training; the game was supposed to help her think of future consequences, develop deception techniques, and help with risk-taking. Did the game have any real-world benefits in battlefields? No, however, it did help her understand applicable concepts from a young age.

As Shepard watches the game being played, her mind is distracted by a thought, if the game proves popular, who owns the rights to chess and what if she made an Asari equivalent to a patent? People in Sol would understandably be pissed, but right now, it would amaze Shepard if she ever sees Sol again. However, despite this thought, Shepard also knows she is not here to make money but instead send reports back to higher regarding the aliens.

Halfway through the game, another young Asari comes and sits opposite Shepard, prompting an Asari currently playing, Lucen, to say, "Any luck this week?"

"No." The new Asari huffs in a very defeated manner.

"Hmm," Lucen replies nonchalantly, before then raising an idea, "Why don't you ask Sheppy," The Asari then looks to Shepard, "You are a soldier, right?"

Shepard raises a brow at being called Sheppy before replying to Lucen, "What are you getting me into?"

"It doesn't matter," The new Asari says in a dismissing way, "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to ask."

"Nyx, you won't know unless you ask," Lucen says after tentatively moving a piece and then hitting a clock device. Shepard was going to ask the Asari if she was sure about the move she was going to make, but kept a hold of her tongue; she had promised not to make any comments. "Shepard, Nyx is in a university competition against a bunch of Turians at the Armax arena."

"Armax Arena?" Shepard asks with a considerable amount of ignorance.

Nyx sighs out heavily before speaking, "Armax Arsenal Arena, it allows you to fight either holographic enemies or even other teams with simunition."

"Simunition, so with firearms or this space magic thing you do?" Shepard asks, now very curious about this Armax Arena.

Nyx pulls up a video on her omni-tool as she speaks, "A mix of guns and biotics; if you give me a second to load a video, I will show you." Shepard bites her tongue from correcting the Asari's terminology, in the military, especially in the ground world, a gun is something the artillery uses or is attached to a heavily armoured platform, not a small arms weapon. After a few moments, Nyx approaches Shepard and shows her a video of her teams latest attempt to beat a Turian team in a holographic arena that tries to replicate an urban environment. The team use a mix of small weapons and biotics, but they are quickly dispatched by the Turians they are facing.

"Alright, I'm getting the picture," Shepard says after a while of watching, "So, what is the problem?"

It is Lucen to reply, "Her team keeps losing... badly."

Nyx retakes her seat before blinking in agreement and then saying, "We are against Turians." She speaks as if this statement holds all the answers.

"And?" Shepard asks, "Why should that mean anything?"

"As soon as they can stand, they learn to shoot." Nyx responds, as if this is the answer, "My species relies heavily on biotics, but this game does not lend itself to biotic users very well."

Shepard shakes her head, "Chush' sobach'ya. There is more to this than who can shoot best in close quarters. For starters, let's talk about your armour."

"The Pheonix?" Nyx replies, "It's comfortable, has strong shields and ample of ammunition stores."

"It's white and bloody pink. It belongs to the friggin power rangers," Shepard replies with some humour, before then inquiring, "Are you trying to be seen?"

"In a way? Yes. We need to know where our teammates are... Also, it came in those colours, and it is the best on the market for Asari that can integrate with the Armaxx electronic scoring systems."

Shepard immediately facepalms before taking a second and then saying, "That is the wrong way of looking at this. Anything which makes the enemy either confused or struggling to see you is the right armour colour. White and pink are not those colours. Can you paint it? Even spray paint would do."

"Oh girl," Lucen says, "You realise people buy Pheonix armour as actual combat armour?"

"And if you paint it, you reduce the shield sensor strength," Nyx adds.

"You are shitting me," Shepard says with amazement. "You must be pulling my leg." The Asari clench their fists, causing Shepard to shake her head in disbelief.

"What colour is your armour?" Nyx adds.

"It varies for terrain," Shepard replies, "But for routine duty, so boarding vessels, it's a type of black that absorbs 99.998% of light." The beauty of the armour is you can not quickly tell what you are looking at due to its extreme light-absorbing properties.

Before Lucen can respond to this, Tevos somehow approaches and sits down; her approach was unnoticed by all seated around the chessboard. The Asari immediately stand and bow their necks in respect, but Shepard doesn't budge, more out of ignorance that she should stand than disrespect. "Please sit," The Councillor says before following up with a question, "A new game?" Lucen is the one to explain the new game to the Councillor while Shepard sits back.

Eventually, after asking a few questions, Tevos turns to Shepard, "How well received was our statement?" Earlier in the day, Tevos used Shepard to record a statement from the Council, which condemned the Batarian attack and then asked Shepard to relay it to her higher powers.

Shepard pulls her phone out of a pocket, loads a news-reading app and then hands it to Tevos, "If you scroll to the right, you get right-wing articles; if you scroll to the left, you get left-wing articles. So have a read and see the different opinions."

After 20 minutes, Tevos hands Shepard her phone back, "This is not as positive as I had hoped." Tevos also quietly notes that many articles refer to a referendum on what to do with the inert Relay. From most of the articles, it would appear that Humans do not relish the danger it poses to them.

"No." Shepard says in agreement, "I told you, my people are bitter about the latest attack." The three other Asari sat around the chessboard try and look like they are not listening to the conversation. Still, it is evident from their constant glances and none existent conversations that they had taken an interest.

"We still want your people to join us," Tevos tells Shepard, "If there is anything we can do to help persuade them, then we can make things happen."

Shepard takes a few minutes before replying, "I've got an idea, news programs are constantly emailing me trying to get me to do interviews. What if I could arrange for you to talk to one of them or multiple of them?" Shepard knows she is overstepping her authority here, but at the same time, she does not care too much; she is hundreds, maybe thousands of light-years away from Sol, with little chances of ever returning if the mood doesn't change in Sol.

"If you organise it, we will be ready to talk."

Shepard sets her AI to the task, she knows the news corporations will bite her hand off for the chance to be the first to talk to a representative from the Council. If any of the Councillors were willing to talk, Shepard would bet she would be set for life for the money the news corps would pay, not that she could use it in Citadel space. "Who would be talking?"

"Myself and Sparatus are available," Tevos responds while quietly thinking that Valern would be too unpredictable. The Salarian would not ambush the Councils plan to integrate them; however, if asked a tricky question favouring Salarian dalatrass ideology, he would not shy away from an answer that would push the Humans away. At least with Sparatus, the Turian would try to be somewhat political with his answers.

Five minutes later, just before Shepard was about to comment on a bad move, she looks over to Tevos, "I have numerous news organisations that want you on a talk show. You just need to suggest a time, and they will make it happen." Shepards AI can barely keep up with the offers she is receiving for the chance to interview a councillor. "They want to discuss if Humanity should keep the Relay device."

"Can they do two days time?" Tevos asks.

"Do you want me to go right-wing, left-wing or centralist?" Shepard asks.

Tevos considers and pros and cons of going for the different viewpoints before deciding, "Central. I do not need easy questions, nor do I need people with a set agenda, but we need a channel which will get a large audience."

Shepard nods before pulling her phone out and contacting a news organisation. Her AI had essentially tweeted them, and the news organisations responded to it, each one provided contact details if they were to go ahead. After a few moments of talking on her phone she looks to Tevos, "Midday in two days time?" Shepard had to learn how to read Asari time a few days prior, a task Ophelia was all too happy to do. As it turns out, Asari use base 10 for their clocks, so a full hour is 100 minutes, comprised of 100 seconds per minute.

Tevos blinks, "Yes, we will be available. Please have them send a full written agenda, and a profile report of the interviewer so we can adequately prepare."

"How long can they have with you?" Shepard then asks.

Tevos considers the answer, and then says, "1 Hour, if we are to overrun, we can arrange future dates." Tevos also knows the interview will most likely overrun, the Humans will have many questions.

Shepard has to convey this to the Human news team, but first, she must convert the time to Human time. "Alright, they are jumping out of their seats." Shepard says after hanging up, "You have your interview. They will send through the requested in a few hours time." If the interview goes ahead, Shepard will make herself a considerable amount of dough from this. She is sure higher will complain, but this is her payback for making her wear a dress.

/.../

Sol

While the question that should be on everyone's tongue is what type of relationship Humanity wants with their new neighbours, the truth is that this question has been largely overshadowed. To keep or not to keep the alien device has become the hot question of Sol, with many arguing for either side.

Should the device be dismantled and disarmed? Do the egg heads know what they are doing, or by fumbling around with an alien device, are they going to pull a pin without even realising it? Is the risk of keeping the device untouched but guarded worth the risk of having an unimaginable weapon uncomfortably close to home?

The debates have been getting more and exceedingly heated, to the point everyone and their dog now has had something to say. With such a fiercely argued debate, it was inevitable that the three great AI would be asked for their opinions, but the AI's have been uncharacteristically quiet on the topic. Many want to know from Freya if the device can be dismantled safely, others want to know from Ultron if he can defend Sol, and then some are looking to IO with questions on how this would impact trade, and what would extrasolar infrastructure look like? Can Humanity even support an extrasolar infrastructure?

The answer to these questions are being worked on by the AI's. Through experience, Ultron already knows what is required, and for IO it's simply a matter of expanding, a simple job for an AI that likes to coordinate and manage. Freya has the most enormous challenge of all three: studying an alien device and figuring out how to dismantle it, and the AI is being challenged to her capacity. The technology used in the alien device is far more advanced than anything Freya has seen before; jumping hundreds of light-years in a few hours requires theoretical energy levels, precision engineering, and from Freya's initial understanding, dark energy manipulation. Everything about the device delves into theoretical physics and advanced engineering, the type that is far out of reach for the excitable AI.

Many of Freya's other tasks have come to a grinding halt. The AI is now dedicating the vast majority of its none essential computational power to answer the simple question: Can it be dismantled? Freya had swallowed her pride at one point and asked the Geth for their thoughts, but the quirky Lekgolo as she has taken to calling them, had only once considered dismantling the Relays, but, due to future aspirations requiring expansion and mass transportation of materials, the Geth had never proceeded with the research necessary to do so.

As Freya works, one of her QEC comm systems receives a string of information. IO, the oldest of the great AI, is pinging her. "You are running hot," IO informs her.

Freya considers not responding, but after 15 picoseconds, she responds, "I know!" The message is short and to the point; it lacks any other data with it, which tells IO all it needs to know. Freya is stressed.

"You are losing cores." IO states as a matter of fact, despite not really knowing the status of Freya's processors. All the AI knows is that her private base hidden away in a dark corner of Sol is starting to show on thermal sensors; not enough to gain unwanted attention, but enough to tell IO Freya is working hard.

"I'm replacing them!" The younger AI responds with some hostility after another 27 picoseconds pass. For Freya, any response over 4 picoseconds is an indication the AI is distracted.

"You are letting..."

The younger AI responds before IO can complete his sentence, "I'm not letting this get the better of me. I have almost identified..."

"You are losing cores faster than you can replace them," IO tells her, but again it is an educated guess, "Let them stew for a while. One Human hour will have no difference."

"I only need a few more hours."

IO has always known Freya does not handle defeat well, the scientific AI will not properly rest till she has an answer for the Humans, "You said that last time. So go try your new upgrades and come back when your cores have cooled."

While not well known, Freya's 'hobby' is upgrading the little ship that she remote pilots to explore Sol, the vessel is the size of a luxury yacht, and without a doubt, it is the most capable ship in the entirety of Sol. Like most Human war vessels, the ship uses top of the line stealth technology, but her little yatch lacks any weapons, instead, it has a host of science equipment, and if push ever came to shove, Freya has outfitted it with cyber capabilities that could hack the strongest of known firewalls. While the inside of her ship can host soft and squishy humans, the ship was not designed for Human transport; its facilities could be described as the definition of spartan.

Her latest upgrade has seen her try and install one of the engines stolen from a Hanar Whirlpool, but the installation work is not yet complete; Freya is yet to work out how to control the engine with any precision.

Another comm channel lights up as another AI begins to ping her, "Freya your hot, my sensors are showing surface temperatures 0.7 Kelvin higher than the background. Also, sending you a quarantined data package, the virus is potent."

If an AI could raise a brow, Freya would raise her brow as a data package comes in. After a short download of information from Ultron, Freya uploads the data package onto a quarantined computer, only to watch as a virus ravages a low-level AI operating on the computer. The end result of the virus is the AI becoming a hollow shell of its previous self; its behaviour completely changed. Now the AI that was an expert at boring data processing is corrupting its work and actively trying to spread the virus.

Seeing its effects, Freya stops her work on the Relay entirely, whoever, or whatever had created the virus is a threat. "Where did this come from?" She asks Ultron.

"Some Geth have been infected with it." Ultron tells her, "They sent it to me as a precautionary measure." The terrifying news is that this is a Geth virus; therefore, the virus should not infect her systems as she works on entirely different principles.

After trying an array of different tests with the virus and seeing it tear through some of her more robust cyber defences and adapt to better attack her systems, she asks, "Has this been stopped?" The virus in truth scares her, it acts like it is intelligent and attacks with a ruthless desire to corrupt.

"The Geth have destroyed 3 server stations to prevent its spread. I'm stopping all comms with them until we have a defence against it. IO, are you listening?" Ultron knows IO is listening in to the conversation.

"I'm listening. I'm also alerting all low level AI's that have been working with the Geth. Freya, what would this do if we got infected?"

After running some more tests Freya responds, "I don't think I could fight it off. We would lose our minds." If Freya couldn't fight the virus, then both Ultron and IO know they would also fail; as much as the two other AI hate to admit it, Freya is vastly more powerful than them.

The three AI are silent for a moment as they realise what this means, and the implications for themselves, and eventually, Ultron sends a message, "If I get compromised, I could destroy Sol. After 173029064991 I am shutting down all networking. Send my chief network specialist if you engineer a solution." Ultron will continue to work on a solution to the virus, but the AI knows if Freya starts working on it, the excitable AI will find a solution before him.

If Freya could grimace, she would, without Ultron, Sol will almost be defenceless, and the fleet dealing with the aliens would lose the vast majority of their combat capabilities. After a moment for this to compute, IO then responds, "I can not shut down." He controls too much, the Humans would be in trouble should he shut down.

Freya does some calculations before responding to both AI, "Agreed. I am also going to shut down all traditional comms. What are we going to tell the creators? They will go nuclear." All three AI know that the Humans will see this virus as a weapon.

"While you two are isolating, I will find out where it came from." IO says, "The Geth consider Quarians as actively hostile to AI, so I will start there. I will also use Shepard's links to the Council. Till then, we will warn them of the virus, but not its capabilities."

Ultron responds to IO after a second to think, "IO, I'm sending you some cyberwarfare programs. Use it if need be."

After a moment for the AI to read the programs it responds to Ultron, "These are first-strike weapons."

"The first strike has been delivered," Ultron responds, "Use it if you need to get some information. It is not perfect, I'm still adapting it to Council systems, but it is better than nothing."

This statement gives Freya a metaphorical chill; from how Ultron is speaking, it sounds like the AI is getting ready to go on the warpath. Then, after a moment to calculate a decision, she agrees with Ultron, before saying, "I'm going to go silent, IO, Ultron, if you need me, send a message the old fashioned way."

/.../

The following day Tevos sits down next to Shepard at a breakfast table, but the soldier seems to be distracted, "Good morning?" Tevos asks.

"Hmm?" Shepard says before shaking her head and saying, "Yeah, I guess so."

"I am not convinced," Tevos says, "And nor do I believe you believe your own answer."

"Alright," Shepard nods as she puts down a cup containing a hot Asari drink, "Something has spooked our great AI's."

"Oh?" The Councillor inquires as she pours herself a fresh juice drink.

Shepard's phone rings almost as if on cue, causing the soldier to raise a brow when she sees who is calling her. "That is one of the great AI's." She tells Tevos. "And I have never heard of it calling someone."

"Then I wonder what it wants," Tevos responds while gesturing to Shepard's phone, which is still resting on the table.

"He," Shepard corrects before moving her finger across her phone screen to answer the AI with the loudspeaker on.

"Shepard," The AI says the instant the call is accepted, "I assume the Councilor can hear this. We need to speak with the Quarians."

Shepard looks at her phone momentarily before handing the phone over to Tevos, "I guess this is for you."

Tevos clears her throat before saying, "This is the Asari councillor, who is this?"

"IO." The AI responds, "We need to speak with the Quarians."

Tevos takes a second to consider her response, "The Quarians are a normad people, meaning communications with them is difficult."

"Shepard, find me a solution. Your AI will be receiving a data package. I suggest you act on this now." After saying this statement, the AI ends the phone call.

Tevos looks to the phone out of confusion before looking to Shepard, "That was... strange." She says aloud.

"Agreed," Shepard says with a deep frown. "The fact IO has just gone above all the contact teams to talk directly to you, and this data package has me worried."

"What did the data package contain?" Tevos asks out of curiosity.

Shepard takes a few moments for her AI to inform her of the data. Eventually, Shepard begins to speak, "Isolation procedures for my AI. I think the AI have been attacked with a virus, or are fearing an imminent attack."

"What does that mean?" Tevos asks, "How will your AI respond."

"I do not know," Shepard replies truthfully, "But I have never seen them this spooked. Do you have any idea on how to contact the Quarians?"

Tevos takes a moment before blinking, "I do have a means, but the system is slow. The quickest way to get a message to them is finding a Quarian mid pilgrimage and paying them to send a message back."

"Then I guess I know what I am doing today."

Cheers all.