Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Mass Effect to Bioware.
I'm just going to start with an apology for the clusterfuck that was the last chapter. I messed up and missed some very important details. That is my bad, and I thank those who pointed them out and rightly criticized me for those errors.
In that vein, it seems that the last chapter received mostly negative feedback, so...yeah. If you're reading this, thank you for sticking around. A LOT will be explained and clarified in this chapter. Many assumptions were made in reviews it seems, both about how the SA is going to handle contact as well as the capabilities and strategy of the organization.
Looked back and realized I said I could get a chapter out at the earliest by June 4th. I meant July 4th, I just don't proofread my AN's cause they usually are at least semi-coherent.
Had quite a bit of difficulty with this chapter. Did not want to get converted into a text format. Alas, I have prevailed!
One more chapter after this that sets up Shepard, then we can get to the fun.
Now for Review Responses! If you don't care, skip to the breakpoint below. For responses, later reviews will be listed first, because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to reverse-order them.
Ominous Olethros: Glad you're enjoying it, and yes, it is going to get interesting from here. :)
FORGEMaster: I had not thought of that, no, but interesting idea. Issue is that it would take the Council several hundred years to reach the Greater Ark if it's as far out as the Lesser. The Citadel's entire Galaxy is closer to the Milky Way than the Lesser/Greater Arks.
Guest #1: Thanks, though I'm not sure what sense it's not making. As in how does it work or why are they cooperating? If it's the first, then I'm not explaining how computer processing and all that stuff works in the story. Entire books are written on that. :/ If it's the second, this chapter should clarify.
EffervescentNova: Plasma torpedos, as they're known, are extremely accurate because they're guided to their target. They WILL catch the ship, but they aren't high-speed like MAC rounds or Pulse Laser Turrets. Space is huge, takes a bit for it to hit its target. As for your second point, that's why it's an assumption. There's no way to know for sure, and he's being pessimistic. Yes, the Council does present a little different policies to the public and their operations.
Bloodwolf432: Human slipspace to Covenant slipspace was like a Caveman to an average high-school grad. Neither are geniuses, but one is far more intelligent than the other. Post-War Human Slipspace travel is apparently faster than the Covenant, which was 912 Light-Years per day.
Skittertale: Thank you! :)
Vrael 1: This chapter kind of renders that point null, but good question! Thank you!
Me: Noted, and good recollection. Yes, medi-gel was a human product, and is also technically illegal under Citadel law. Interesting how that goes, isn't it...?
Kabuto S. Inferno: Glad to hear that you're enjoying it! I would like to note, though, that from what I tell of ME Canon Systems Alliance Governing, it's a Representative Parliament, with the House made of planetary Reps I assume. There were human colonies outside of the SA, unlike the UNSC which forbid colonies from seceding.
Guest #2 and 3: Excellent question that many people ask! The answer: Politics! Which makes more sense later this chapter.
CReaper210: Thanks, and understood on the separation thing. I was hesitant to do it, but then I realized that if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to write Shepard. And that made me sad.
Teleri Sina Atari, SITHIS ARCANIS: Thanks! Updated as soon as I could, had a three week interruption though.
Atazas: 2145 is Systems Alliance year, 2425 is Citadel Galactic Standard year, 2566 is UEG/UNSC year. Thanks for caring, though! :)
Guest #4: Indeed, such a fleet sounds almost like someone lying, doesn't it? No problem, I appreciate the criticism, and it will make more sense further on in the chapter.
Fernix13: I know basic physics, bud. I realized I made a mistake with writing, "One meter is the distance light travels in one second." That is me misreading my own text. I meant that One meter is measured off a fraction of the distance that light travels in one second, specifically 1/299792458. Yes, Valern can do that basic math and smell something fishy. Or whatever the Salarian equivalent of fishy is. Info on more races will come in time, but since only the Turians, Salarians, and Asari are on the Council, only their ships guard it. MAC gun specs will follow the momentum and energy equations appropriate for them, though I will not be factoring in gravitational acceleration when a fight is near a planet. I could, but I don't particularly care to do so. ODP's were deployed late in the war over Earth and MAYBE Reach. Outer colonies never would've seen 'em. They have done the math on their tech, just...read the chapter, please.
Unknowndeath 2565: The meeting between the two is coming, and it will (hopefully) be interesting!
Kamikage86: Next chapter is focused on Shepard, then after that we'll be going through some other stuff. So next two, maybe three chapters.
Husebad: Indeed, Slipspace CAN be faster than ME. Pre-war human stuff isn't, Post-War is by far faster.
Burgs: Thanks!
Kinunatzs the Eternal: Apologies for taking so long. I posted a story a while ago and was criticized for going too fast, so going into heavy detail on this one. Should be picking up this chapter and really getting going in the next three or so.
Prince Sheogorath: Apologies, that was my mistake. I read it knowing future events that happened in this chapter, and thus didn't see it as an issue. I've gone back and fixed it to be less yes/no and more proposal to be debated with SA Parliament.
16th Day of 19th Month, 2437 (November 18, 2566)
CEF 7/29th leaders
QEC call with Citadel Council
After delivering their reports, both verbally and in written copies, Garrus and Saren had waited for further orders. The Council had spent the last half-hour talking about what to do next. So far, Garrus was not liking their line of thought.
"The destroyed vessel was likely their largest combat-class," Valern said thoughtfully.
"Oh?" Sparatus asked doubtfully.
"Humans claimed their colony ships were so large due to need of capability to hold tens of thousands of people. Smaller dimensions common for their dreadnoughts and cruisers, indicating that combat vessels were in similar range before advent of Mass Effect," the salarian explained.
Sparatus thought about it before adding, "To use that assumption, we have to use the assumption that this is a human vessel. I think that this is a new race with advanced capabilities. The difference in design as well as weaponry lets us know that. It is unknown if the humans encountered them, so judging off of their vessels is useless. To find two species who cannot make shields without Mass Effect is good intelligence though."
"Except that the vessel was transmitting a human distress call and communicated in human speech before it was destroyed. Their weapons could be explained by energy consumption, and obviously be more advanced to drive the Alliance out of the area. If the humans were so large to have their fleet of thousands, then I would think that they'd discover a new species in their area. A similar number of our planets would span entire arms," Tevos argued.
"You have a point. To live so close and yet not encounter each other indicates a much smaller number of worlds. Spectre, Candidate, your mission objective has changed. You are to make your way to the system that this ship was heading towards and attempt to make contact with the humans there," Sparatus ordered.
The two CEF leaders saluted as the connection closed, leaving them alone in the QEC unit.
"Fools," Saren snarled.
Garrus glanced over and replied, "Too many assumptions. Judging human planet coverage to our own is useless since we have the Mass Relays."
"They've always been incompetent. They know the political game well, but none of them besides Sparatus know battle. We've grown soft, complacent. Turian fleets fight pirates, not wars. If this is the enemy of the humans, the only chance we'd stand against them would be if we cut them off at the Super-Relay," Sparatus stated, anger and frustration obvious.
"Spectre's are the hands of the Council because they do the dirty work."
The turian Spectre scoffed and agreed, "That's how it's been for the last 1200 years since the Krogan rebellions."
"Well, no changing it out here. Assuming the Council is wrong-"
"We can't assume anything," Saren interrupted. "They could be right. This species could only build up to Citadel dreadnought standards or even be the old human state. I doubt it though. If this species could defeat the humans, their ships could be ten kilometers long and fire beams of plasma instead of those slow spheres."
"Prepare for the worst is all we can do. If that was a frigate-class, then there's no way our fleet could go against their dreadnoughts," Garrus deduced.
With that understanding established, the two split ways, with Saren heading back over to his ship and Garrus back to the bridge of the Covenant.
Minutes later, the Covenant and the CEF 7/29th were on their way, jumping into FTL en route to the targeted system.
In doing so, they unknowingly crossed the invisible border of Warden space as they made their way closer to that which they sought.
First Age of Realization, Sixth Solar Cycle/November 19th, 2566
Unggoy World of Mupmup
Unggoy Republic Ship Rabfoon
Part of the Third Flotilla of the Unggoy fleet of Pootgrap, the glorious CRS-class light cruiser Rabfoon was one of three such ships that protected the planet below. While small, at only 300 meters, the shields and weapons on board these vessels were sufficient against the common pirate raids from nearby Kig-Yar space.
Many Republic worlds had such flotillas, small groups of ships that protected them from Kig-Yar and other unsavory characters. All ships assigned under this duty were part of the fleet of Pootgrap. Consequently, the Pootgrap fleet was the largest in the Unggoy navy, with over 250 ships under its command to protect the 54 planets ruled by the Republic.
Of course, considering that the Republic controlled all of about 400 warships, this meant that there were few ships left for any other effort until the Unggoy could create their own. As it was, the majority of the navy was made up of CRS cruisers, with a few 1,782-meter CCS cruisers at key worlds and a single 3,000-meter ORS cruiser to function as the flagship for the Republic Navy.
All of these ships had been taken by the Unggoy following the war with the Reclaimers. With the Jiralhanae and Sangheili fighting each other, Unggoy had overrun the ships as their leaders killed each other.
Unluckily, even with their new-found firepower to defend themselves, the Unggoy Republic was still ultimately limited by the nature of its citizens. While they could beat down the occasional Kig-Yar ship that attacked their worlds, dealing with the unknown was still beyond them.
As such, when a fleet of unknown ships suddenly appeared at the edge of high orbit, the Unggoy followed their philosophy and way of life. With a mighty flare of engines and the full power of three armed and shielded warships, the Third Flotilla guarding Mupmup turned and fled.
17th Day of 19th Month, 2437 (November 19, 2566)
CEF 7/29th
Investigating Alien Star-system
Garrus watched in confusion as the alien ships retreated to the other side of the planet. Their reaction was puzzling, considering the ship that the 7/29th had encountered before.
From what he could see, Garrus thought it likely that this was a different race. While the material that made up the hull of both craft looked similar, the designs of the two ships differed greatly.
The vessel that the 7/29 had destroyed was slightly oblong in shape, with the double-hull design allowing for open spaces between the inner and outer hull. These ships, however, were much shorter and bulbous, with only one hull that left no open spaces and, as far as Garrus could see, no hangars.
Their differing reactions also indicated that they were of different species. While the other ship had fired almost as soon as the Verum and 7/29th itself dropped out of FTL, these ships had fled. No attempts at communication or hostilities.
What he did know was that both species, or human factions if the Council was to be believed, possessed FTL sensors. The delay from the arrival of the CEF to the unknown ships retreating was too minimal for normal light-speed sensors.
Garrus could tell this because the light-lag of Council sensors delayed the real-time events. Within three seconds of the 7/29ths appearance, the fleet had moved, which was only known to the CEF when the image of the vessels reached them 28 seconds later. If they had light-speed sensors, then that time would be doubled, as their appearance would be delayed as the light returned to the alien sensors, then the ships moved, which would only reach the CEF after the fact.
Either way, the ships did not appear to want a fight, or even be amiable to attempting contact if their behavior was any indication. As such, the CEF continued towards the planet, dropping into geostationary orbit on the current dark-side of the world below. This allowed them to see the points of light which represented civilization and gather intelligence on approximate population density and numbers.
Normally, such work would be done after first contact, per the system established after the meeting with the humans. Of course, this was assuming that the other side wanted to make contact at all, which seemed to be incorrect in this instance. Seeing as the only thing his crew would be doing otherwise was sitting around or changing shifts, Garrus gave the order to the scientists to start their work.
Several hours later and the only activity on the ship was from Mordin and his team. Garrus and the rest of the primary crew were off-duty, leaving the bridge and other areas in the capable hands of the secondary crew. Each crew worked ten-hour shifts, unless of course if the ship was in battle, in which case both crews were on duty.
Commander Verasia Eudolin, the XO of the Covenant, was in command of the secondary crew while Garrus was off-duty. It was not uncommon for her to spend off-hours on the bridge after eating and getting rest, hence her presence in previous operations.
With these aliens acting shy and nothing else to do, Eudolin spent her time with ship reports, dealing with smaller issues or duty assignments and forwarding larger items to Garrus for review and approval. The relaxed mood of the bridge was broken as Lieutenant Katon Gledia, the pilot for the secondary shift, suddenly began furiously typing at his console.
Eudolin glanced up to watch this for a second before going back to her reports, assuming that the pilot would alert her of anything serious. This proved to be correct as Gledia reported, "Unknown vessels have reappeared in low orbit, 28,000 kilometers out and closing from the starboard side."
"On screen," Eudolin replied. As her order was carried out, she started the alarm for general quarters. Her attention came back to the main screen as the image of the three alien ships appeared.
The pilot hit a few more keys and checked a readout, "Vessels have begun an engine burn to break into our orbital trajectory. Collison is currently not a concern. No weapon flare detected, unable to obtain scan of internal actions."
Before Eudolin could respond, Garrus entered the bridge and called out, "CO has the bridge!"
"CO has the bridge," Eudolin replied with a salute. Garrus nodded to acknowledge the action but did not return it as he sat in the Captain's chair. No offense was taken, as the commander realized that Garrus was much more concerned with the craft approaching on-screen.
As she moved to her normal station when Garrus was present, Eudolin noticed Lieutenant Acharian taking over for Gledia. Now kicked out of the pilot's seat, Gledia quickly took a place at the defense console, which was his combat post.
With the Primary crew now situated, Garrus looked to his XO, "Report."
"The unknown ships just reappeared over the horizon. They are on a burn to break their orbit and intercept our own. No visible weapons, but we are unable to penetrate for an internal scan," Eudolin summarized quickly.
"Understood. The other ships of the 7/29th?" Garrus asked.
"We have not heard anything from them yet."
Garrus nodded and hit a few keys to open a channel to the entire CEF, "All ships, this is Garrus, we have Unknowns on approach. Sound general quarters and load weapons, target designations will be through shortly."
The visible response to these orders was distinctly lacking. No ships moved or otherwise changed position, since all were already in formation from their arrival. On board each, though, the Primary shift was being reinforced or taking the place of the Secondaries in typical Turian efficiency.
"Acharian, prepare for combat maneuvers."
"Sir, incoming communication request from the unknowns to one of the 7th's cruisers!" Eudolin called out suddenly, drawing the attention of the bridge.
There was a second of silence as those present processed this information. Training quickly took over surprise, however, as each member went back to their assigned tasks while half-listening for developments.
Garrus considered this for a second before replying, "Contact Saren and get ready to redirect the call to us."
Within seconds, the Spectre was up on a screen off to the side, leaving the approaching unknowns up on the main view. He didn't waste a second, "My ships are reporting combat ready. Would you like to take their communication or shall I?"
"I can lead the discussion. Listen if you would like. Going to keep your visual off, however, so as not to confuse them," Garrus responded, following Council procedure once more for First Contact. Giving new species an individual to focus on allowed that person to accrue more trust from the unknowns, or so the Council thought. Nothing could be assumed when dealing with a new race in Garrus' opinion.
"Understood. My fleet will be ready to engage if necessary," Saren responded before disconnecting the visual feed.
With that established and the side-screen empty, Garrus motioned to his XO. Eudolin understood the gesture from their experience together and accepted the alien communication signal, directing it to the empty screen. The image of the three alien vessel continued to dominate the main screen, although the ships appeared to be slowing as they neared the 7/29th.
This was ignored as the side-screen came to life once again to show the video from the alien communication. A distinctly non-human figure appeared. The being was wearing what looked to be a gas mask of some sort, along with a massive tank on its back. Garrus was reminded somewhat of the Quarians with their facemasks, although they were far less stocky than this race.
Before the alien could start, Garrus introduced himself, "Greetings, I am Garrus Vakarian of the THV Covenant, 29th Citadel Exploratory Fleet, and 7th Citadel Exploratory Fleet. We hope to have peaceful relations with your people."
A response came in the alien's tongue, which of course no one present could understand yet, "The Big Unggoy of the Republic leads us to defend this space. Mess with Unggoy and we'll bite your kneecaps off! You will never touch the Nipple!"
First words of contact with the Citadel, probably a greeting and invitation to talk, since they hadn't fired yet. The slightly aggressive tone of voice was dismissed by Garrus. They had run when the 7/29th had first arrived, which meant that their return was likely ordered for the protection of their colony. Either that or they had received reinforcements, but considering that no new contacts had appeared in system, that was improbable.
As it stood, they would have to wait several months for a translation to be developed by Mordin and his team. With a few strokes, Garrus transmitted the Council-approved First Contact package to the aliens, hoping that they could open and interpret it to speed along the translation process.
The being on-screen looked down at something in front of him, speaking with one of its crew. After a second, a hologram of the Contact package appeared in front of the alien. It took a second to look at a few of the images before turning its attention back to Garrus.
"You big and stupid, like Brutes. We want to kill you and you send us pictures. You want to talk, that is good. If you lying, Demons and Arbiter will be mad, send Brutes to mash your skulls in."
A calm but firm tone, that was good. If the alien relaxed and let them meet, then it meant that they could understand basic communication. Of course, one would hope that they could understand such things with the power of three starships at their command.
After the alien poked at the console in front of it a bit, Garrus noticed the reception of a data packet. As he tried to open it, the computer gave him an error, reporting that it was incompatible with their systems.
This was oddly confusing, seeing as how the alien had had little problem in opening the Covenant's own message. The alien watched Garrus try and fail to get a compatible match for a short while before it messed with its console again and sent another message.
Garrus nodded in appreciation and looked at the new message. This one did open, meaning that the alien had somehow converted its previous message into an instruction set that would be recognized by Citadel computers. Considering the complexity of such an operation, it was quite impressive how fast it had been accomplished.
As for the contents of the transmission, it appeared to be an animation for the CEF to land on the planet below. Oddly enough, there was no indication that the aliens wanted them to leave the system, unlike the tone that Garrus had heard before.
Considering that this species had not shot at them yet, Garrus figured that they could negotiate for most of the CEF to stay in orbit. Landing ships on planets tended to be hard on fuel, something that they couldn't afford this far out. Not to mention that the cruisers wouldn't be able to land in any case. With a dramatic sigh, Garrus sat back in his chair and prepared to communicate with the alien through drawings, since vocal communication was infeasible.
Not that he could complain much. Having two First Contacts was usually only possible with the lifespan of an Asari. So it was that they would spend the next month above the alien world as a translation was worked out from the channel of communication that had been established.
First Age of Realization, Sixth Solar Cycle/November 19th, 2566
Wardens of the Mantle
Emergency Meeting
Unlike the annual meeting of the Wardens, where each individual leader or representative would appear in person, all members at this meeting were attending from their own territory. Linked by secure communication signals that were monitored against intrusions by the formidable power of UNSC AIs, their meeting would reach none who were not supposed to know.
In a normal session of discussions for the Wardens, the High Senate would meet and discuss any outstanding issues that presented themselves while the Council of Guardians developed joint military actions against the pirates and other miscellaneous factions that were still present after the Blooding Years. If necessary, both bodies would meet in one chamber and discuss whatever issues were relevant, although that was usually reserved for offenses against the Pirate Kingdoms or for amendments to the Charter that governed the functioning of the Wardens of the Mantle.
For an Emergency Session, however, both the High Senate and Council of Guardians met together to determine an acceptable response to the threat, whether that be in the form of military action or negotiations. Since such sessions were only called when a crisis was confronting one of the members of the Wardens, the responses usually involved military assistance, whether through force or aid.
Today's meeting had been called on short notice by the Unggoy Republic, although why they had was unknown to all but their Chancellor. With the last of the Council now present from wherever they were deployed, the Session could start.
"We have made First Contact with a species," Fupklaz started, informing everyone that this would be a unique situation and not a response to a surge of Kig-Yar piracy or something such as that.
Questions were withheld as the Unggoy continued, "I received word from the ships over Mupmup that a group of seventy ships has emerged from, well, somewhere. Not slipspace from the recordings." Several glances were shared at the name of the Unggoy colony.
"Our vessels fell back when the Unknowns arrived, but returned. No hostile intent has been detected on their part, although they appear to have inferior technology. Their machines were unable to interpret the Unggoy First Contact message. Luckily, the Construct on one of our ships was able to translate most of it to their simple methods," the Chancellor explained.
"We are currently trying to establish a translation between our languages. From what they sent us, they appear to be part of a larger alien collective. They seem to want us to join their faction, but we have sent them no information on the Wardens or that this is not our First Contact. Our current forces consist of three RCS-class cruisers. The Republic requests to handle the contact without outside interference," Fupklaz summarized.
Considering their position as disposable infantry under the Covenant, the Unggoy were doing well with governing themselves. Educational programs provided by the Reclaimers had been effective with helping all species of the Covenant rise from the brink of collapse following the extinction of the San'shyuum. Since the religious leaders of the Covenant had maintained their tech along with the Huragok, and the Huragok had only served on human ships since the end of the war, the help was greatly appreciated, if highly controversial for the humans.
Jiralhanae Chieftain Lydus was the first to speak as he inquired, "You do not want reinforcements against such a fleet?"
"More ships would be appreciated, but we request that they are of the CRS or CCS-class. Human and Fringe ships are obviously of a different race, as are the Sangheili's newer vessels. Their largest vessel is only 500 meters, putting it in the class of heavy corvette, frigate, or light cruiser. A carrier or heavy cruiser might intimidate or provoke them. A limit of two CCS-class vessels is in place," the Unggoy replied.
"Most smaller vessels are in the Republic's fleet or destroyed. The Sword's cannot provide anything that will help with those limitations," the Arbiter declared.
Silence settled over the meeting as leaders of both military and civilian sectors considered a strategy. Lydus finally mentioned, "While the Jiralhanae clans do not have smaller vessels to send, it is possible that the Banished have some forces."
"That could work, but their leader will not like having his forces so outnumbered. Even so, they must adhere to our restrictions," Fupklaz insisted.
Admiral Lasky gained the attention of those present as he proposed, "I could contract Atriox to hunt down Kig-Yar. Keep them away from the border so that a raid doesn't occur during negotiations and allow him to be near in case anything goes amiss."
"An acceptable solution. We will wait for them to arrive before beginning negotiations. Requests for discussions topics may be sent to the Republic. Unless explicit permission is given, we shall mention no other species in our talks," the Unggoy said.
Before anyone could move, the Arbiter spoke once again, "If they prove to be hostile, the Swords stand ready to drive them back."
"I will assemble an Assault Fleet if talks look to be going sour," Fleet Admiral Hood said.
"ONI would like to deploy several surveillance craft to the area. Perhaps find where these beings come from," Fewkes requested. As the new Admiral Numen Fewkes of the Office of Naval Intelligence, he directed such intelligence operations for the Wardens and the UNSC.
"That would be excellent," came the response.
President Peter Lebeau of the UEG announced, "If you would send us the First Contact video and other details, we will keep an eye on the situation. Otherwise, good luck with negotiations."
With that, silent farewells were exchanged and the channel went dead once more. The AI monitoring the communication moved on to report to the Assembly, unsurprised with the speed of military commanders in their decisions. For now, the Wardens of the Mantle would prepare for the coming contact between themselves and this new organization.
First Age of Realization, Sixth Solar Cycle/November 20th, 2566
Enduring Conviction
Idling above Banished Stronghold
The screen at the front of the bridge came to life as the communications officer accepted the incoming message.
"Reclaimer," Atriox greeted.
"Atriox. Want to go to the border of Kig-Yar space near Mupmup and kill some pirates?" Lasky asked the Jiralhanae Warlord.
"No."
"I'll pay you a couple million credits."
"Okay."
And that was that.
13th Day of 20th Month, 2437/First Age of Realization, Sixth Solar Cycle (December 5, 2566)
CEF 7/29th
Entering First Contact Discussions
Sixteen days later and they were finally ready to go and meet the aliens on their world. Only the Covenant and Saren's commandeered command frigate would land on the planet. The rest of the CEF 7/29 would stay in orbit, facing off against the group that had grown since their arrival.
The original three ships had been reinforced by 21 identical ships, each falling into formation as they arrived. Instead of focusing on the small ships, however, all attention was diverted to the massive vessel that had appeared several days ago. At 1,782 human meters, the ship was massive, longer than the Destiny Ascension, though still smaller in volume due to the Ascension's mast and keel design.
It would be an interesting fight should this meeting go sour. The CEF would need to deal with the alien ships to able to extract them, leaving only the Covenant and other frigate to provide any ground support. Such thoughts fell away as the CEF and alien ships faded into small dots against the vast expanse of space when the two frigates pulled away.
Garrus idly watched as they approached the planet below, the purple atmosphere lighting up the inside of his ship as it descended. The kinetic barriers did nothing to block the vibrations of the craft as it hit bouts of turbulence, though the vessels were going slow enough to avoid igniting the atmosphere. The ablative armor that all Council races used did nothing but waste away in the extreme heat of uncontrolled reentry.
The air possessed a purple tint from the high number titanium III particles that mixed with the strong methane-based atmosphere. They were currently flying over one of the large oceans that covered thirty percent of the surface. From the looks of it, even the water was heavily polluted from the massive mines that the aliens had established.
Land quickly appeared once more, along with visible infrastructure as they neared the surface. Their current destination was the main city of Gerhoon. Why the aliens named themselves and their places in such a manner was beyond Garrus.
As their destination appeared on the horizon, Garrus took a second to admire the expansive city. While many Council worlds had more impressive architecture and size, the view of alien buildings was always interesting.
It was a few minutes more before they received a flight path from the airspace control center for the local spaceport. Apparently, they would be directed to a more private area, rather than the port itself due to the exposure of the public. At least the Council team could keep their masks on, as breathing in the pollution seemed like a bad health hazard.
Lieutenant Acharian once more displayed her exceptional skill as the Covenant set down beside Saren's frigate on the large area that they were directed to. In front of the ships, a building rose into the air, probably some kind of governmental hub.
With the same team as before already assembled to make their way outside, Garrus ceded command of his ship to his XO and made his way to the airlock. After contacting the Council about this latest contact, the orders of the 7/29th were to negotiate for these beings to join the Citadel. The Council was surprised that this was a new species instead of a human faction, something that Garrus still couldn't figure out.
This discovery only encouraged the Council, however, as they were eager to get samples or control of some of the technology shown by the Unggoy, as they called themselves. A predictable name from a race that seemed to throw two sounds together to name things.
Once more the team from both ships descended to the ground, the first time out of the ship in months for all of them. Even if each vessel was home, it did become fairly irritating to not have anywhere to go besides corridors explored long, the methane atmosphere of the planet meant that the group would have to keep their suits sealed and helmets on.
As they hit the ground, Garrus noticed a delegation coming towards them from the building. A quick glance told him that Saren had noticed as well, although the Spectre motioned for the Covenant's Captain to take the lead. Garrus had no problem with that, having been looking over contact instructions and other material of that sort for the last month as a translation was established.
When the two groups met in front of the Turian frigates, Garrus noted that the Unggoy had no masks, which made sense since they breathed methane. The leader of the Unggoy introduced itself, "Hello. I am Poondat, leader of this world. The Chancellor has given me permission to talk with you."
Garrus had to prevent surprise from showing on his face. Even for a turian that was a blunt introduction. Considering the fleet above, he thought that this race would have some diplomats, or at least educated individuals who could be somewhat difficult to decipher their meaning. Not that he was complaining, of course. Spirits could take the politicians, Garrus would take someone who spoke their mind outright every day.
"I am Garrus Vakarian of the 29th Citadel Exploratory Fleet, assigned Representative to the Unggoy people, and Captain of the THV Covenant," Garrus replied, greeting the Unggoy with more decor, as much as he hated it. The Citadel Council would get the reports of the contact, and appearing too casual wouldn't reflect well on him or Saren.
At his words, the Unggoy stopped, instantly going from confident and welcoming to suspicious and afraid. Whispers in the Unggoy language passed between the fifteen beings, although the leader seemed to at least keep his composure somewhat intact.
"Why that name?" Poondat asked, obviously very cautious but also curious.
Garrus considered the question. The naming ceremony of the Covenant had taken place shortly after the discovery of the Super-Relay seven years ago. It was a ship built alongside hundreds of others for the exploration of this galaxy, and had been chosen to lead the way through the Super-Relay before the keel had even been laid.
It was an agreement, between the galaxy of the Citadel and Andromeda, or the Milky Way, as the humans called it. An agreement that the new galaxy would allow the Citadel Council races to prosper, to show their might, and to flourish above all others.
Or at least, that was what it was advertised as.
After dealing with the Council directly, Garrus was decidedly underwhelmed by such platitudes. He remembered how enthusiastic and confident he had been, making the speech to the galaxy right before the Covenant went through the Relay. It seemed so long ago, and now that he looked back, Garrus could only call himself naive.
The Council needed to pull its head out of its ass and stop trying to boss around races like the humans and these Unggoy. There was absolutely no way that this small race that could barely speak in diplomatic terms would be able to take on the humans, even as weak as they were now.
In fact, the meek nature of the Unggoy party at the mention of the THV Covenant would almost match that of former slaves rescued from the Batarians in Citadel space. Very interesting.
All these thoughts flew through Garrus' mind as he answered, "I did not choose the name. It was named because those who govern our council of species wanted to establish a bond between this galaxy and our own."
"We have been bound by such things before. Never again," the Unggoy leader stated firmly. His confidence slowly quieted the disturbed whispers of his fellows, although several still looked doubtful.
Well, there went fairly close to any chance of these beings joining the Citadel. It was curious, though, that they mentioned being limited before. It matched the theory on slavery that Garrus had suspected, which was concerning as it meant that either the humans had enslaved them and they had revolted, or that there was another race who had done the same.
Perhaps these Unggoy fought against humanity, but managed to assure their freedom while doing so. Doubtful, considering that promises made during war were almost always disregarded by the winning side, but possible, nonetheless.
Saren stepped forward slightly and inquired, "You won't even give our offer to join us consideration?"
"There are many reasons why we will not join you, but our freedom is foremost. We will determine our own fate, not have it be dictated to us," Poondat declared, pushing the little education he had received for his role to its limits. Emotion colored his voice through the mask he wore, showing that this was a very touchy subject.
"Would you at least be willing to discuss continued interaction, even if you will not join us?" Garrus asked.
"That would be okay to us. If you are to continue exploring, there is some information you must know and places you should not go," the Unggoy said. With that, he turned, leading the Citadel party of turians and one scientist Salarian towards the building. The Unggoy behind Poondat parted, allowing their leader to pass before waddling to the sides of the trailing Citadel party.
As they made their way inside, Garrus noted that the entire structure seemed to follow the architectural style of the alien ships above. Curved purple plates made up the hallways and doors, with lights activating as a central hub turned to unlock the three sections of each barrier. Blue lights seemed to be the standard issue lightning, as no other colors besides blue or purple were evident in the structure.
Eventually, they reached a room lit with yet more blue lights and covered in purple metal. In the center was a table, which seemed to utilize the same material as everything else. The Unggoy made their way to one side of the surface while Garrus and Saren sat at the other, although the rest of the team stayed upright in case of any issues.
Poondat began the official meeting immediately, "What do you want?"
A bit put off by the slightly hostile tone, Garrus took a second to respond, "To know your culture and people, and hopefully establish a good relation between the Citadel and Unggoy Republic. There are many items that you may be interested in trading for, or perhaps if your people wish to travel to Citadel space, that could be negotiated."
"No Unggoy will travel to your planet nor trade with your people. There are other issues here at home to deal with."
"You can make that decision for your people? A Republic without freedoms or rights?" Garrus asked.
The Unggoy leader scoffed and replied, "It has nothing to do with rights. No company would risk their ships to travel so far, and the military of the Republic is needed here at home to defend against other threats."
"Like the Kig-Yar?" Garrus pressed, trying to pronounce the odd name.
"You know of the pirate filth?"
Saren and Garrus shared a glance before the latter explained, "We encountered a ship not far from your system. It was significantly different from yours and was decidedly unfriendly. After we destroyed it, it sent out a message in a language we understood. It mentioned Kig-Yar."
"Then you know of that danger. Pirates are jerks, and only deserve death. Some of the bird-people are tolerable in society, but most are a nuisance," the Unggoy elaborated. He glanced towards one of his fellows, who left the room. Unknown to the CEF, the small creature was about to send a message to the Wardens of the Mantle informing them that the Unknowns had already encountered the Kig-Yar.
"Are they the only race you have encountered?" Garrus asked.
Poondat examined the turian captain extensively before answering slowly, "There are many other threats that lurk in the Endless Dark. Big Sharp Tooths, Stupid Jerk Brutes, Floating Squishies, and Heavy Metal Worms. All are dangerous, but the Mantle protects all."
"The Mantle?" Saren interjected.
"It protects all. Unggoy would not survive if not for the Mantle. All life has a right to lead themselves, what the Reclaimers call freedom. The Living Time, the idea of interaction between races in the cosmos, is sheltered under the protection of the Reclaimers," Poondat explained, making sense to the Unggoy by their nods, but not helping the Citadel group understand any of their philosophy beyond life being protected.
Garrus took a second to formulate a loaded question, "You think that these Reclaimers could stand against the Citadel? They can protect you better than us?" From the sound of it, this could be the race that attacked the humans and that the CEF 7/29th was looking for.
"Reclaimers are dangerous. They stood up to the Big ones, the Heavy ones, the Stupid ones. The Liars, rejected from their own Great Journey for their sins. Bombs to destroy their fleets and kill their armies. Booms that flattened continents," the Unggoy leader insisted, obvious respect and slight fear in his voice.
Saren argued, "Weapons that destroy huge areas aren't new. You say that these Reclaimers follow this concept of protecting life. What is their solution if their Mantle is violated?"
"The Demons would come for you, and you would die."
First Age of Realization, Seventh Solar Cycle/2nd Day of 4th Month, 2438/February 9, 2567
Wardens of the Mantle Summit
Harvest
Designated as the meeting ground for the Wardens due to its history and location, Harvest had been greatly affected by the terraforming effort of the UNSC. Whereas the planet used to be covered in glass, there were now sparse fields of dirt as the technology slowly transformed the surface. It was estimated that the planet might be, if not great, at least tolerable to live on within the next few decades.
As the members of the Wardens gathered for the scheduled meeting, they were protected from the harsh outer atmosphere by an odd combination of architecture from the different races. Built as a display of cooperation, each race of the Warden's had their own section of the building, fit for their needs and considered sovereign territory on the neutral planet.
This specific meeting would be focused on the Unggoy first contact, as both a check in and to allow a long-term plan to be established for further contact. Other discussions on issues from trade to the Kig-Yar pirate infestations would be held in the coming weeks, but those were put on the backburner in comparison to the primary event.
Since the Unggoy were the main contact with this new species, their Chancellor was the first to speak after greetings and introductions were finished, "Thank you to all members of the Wardens for their adherence to our request. It has greatly helped in keeping discussions focused on information. However, the Republic feels that relations have grown so that other Warden species may meet the Turians, as they call themselves."
"Humanity is not ready to meet another race," Peter Lebeau, the UEG President, declared immediately. He continued, "Our citizens are uneasy enough with the Wardens and only tolerate human involvement because it is seen as a protection against another Covenant. However wrong they may be, that is the way it is. Meeting a potentially hostile race at this time is not in our interests. Humanity is tired of war."
"For the moment, perhaps," Lydus commented. The UEG leader nodded to the Jiralhanae Chieftain, acknowledging his point. "While I have no desire to meet this new species myself, it is probable that other Jiralhanae want to do so. Specifically, the one who has ships stationed to assist in your defence."
Fupklaz took a second to think before rpelying, "Atriox's help with the protection of Mupmup is appreciated. If he wishes to meet them, he may do so. As for all other species, if you are going to arrive, please do so in more subtle ships. One carrier will spook them as is."
"While the Swords are willing to make contact with these Turians and their allies, we shall wait. The dishonor of the Covenant stays our feet and urges caution against an unknown faction. When more is known, we may change our stance," Thel 'Vadam announced.
With the Big Three now clear on their opinions, the rest of the leaders began announcing their intentions. This went quickly, as it usually did with a group that skirted around political poncery by habit. As the day progressed, the talks moved from decisive to informational as the Unggoy Chancellor and ONI Admiral presented what had been learned about the Turians, their Citadel Council, and their galaxy.
November 10th, 2157/9th Day of 19th Month, 2437/November 10, 2566
System Alliance Parliament
Terra, Systems Alliance Homeworld
Five months after first contact and the Mass Relay route between the Citadel and Systems Alliance was finally finished. Laid out by Citadel ships to the edge of Alliance space, the weaker Relays made by the Citadel species emulated the huge constructs in their own galaxy. Using the same mass-negation corridor of a comm-buoy, each piece measured 250 meters by human standards and could fling a ship several hundred light-years.
While impressive, they were still much slower than usual Mass Relay travel and took months for a ship to navigate. Communications were instantaneous due to the built in comm-buoys, but ships were much slower. Even if a Citadel ship came through the Relays, they still had to go to a nearby Alliance outpost instead of any populated world.
In the eyes of the Citadel races, it was paranoid and irritating. For the Alliance, it was merely standard protocol for survival.
To allow for communications between the Systems Alliance Parliament and their Ambassador on the Citadel, the SA had set up its own communication protocols. This system had all messages from the Citadel buoy network going into a hub in the Alliance outpost that could communicate with Terra.
Several reports had already been sent along to be reviewed by the Alliance Parliament before they discussed the terms presented by the Citadel. The current schedule had a meeting of the Parliament and their Ambassador to discuss the ongoing negotiations.
Included in this data stream had been the Citadel Codex, allowing Parliament members to reference Citadel views on a subject that had been mentioned by Udina. As expected, the most heavily examined portions were on Artificial Intelligence, ships and vehicles, and historical relations with species.
So far, many in Parliament were not pleased.
AI had been one of the only areas that the human race had an advantage in when they faced the Enemy. Giving up that advantage would be unacceptable, even with the added firepower of alien fleets.
The Citadel Council had made it quite clear that there would be no alternative, however. They had nearly gone to war with the Geth, a Quarian Collective Intelligence that had been mistakenly identified as form of Artificial Intelligence. While any Alliance tech worth their degree would be able to distinguish between the two, the technologically inept Council races seemed to be incapable of the same.
Engineers on the Alliance ships at the Citadel had attempted to explain the difference, but they didn't get far. Collective Intelligence was seen in almost all group interactions in all animals, from ants back on Earth to communications on the Extranet. Artificial Intelligence had to be created, it wouldn't just appear from prolonged interactions.
It was all for nothing, though, as the Council had dismissed them. Any race affiliated with the Citadel would be banned from developing, maintaining, or otherwise utilizing Artificial Intelligence in any form.
There were also issues on the Farixen Treaty, Prothean technology, and Mass Effect locations for the expansion of the Systems Alliance. All of these and more were planned to be discussed when the SA Parliament contacted Ambassador Udina for direct communication.
Several minutes later and the last members of the governing body of the Alliance were present. With the semicircular seating plan on the debate floor, each member had an acceptable view of the large screen on which Udina would be shown. All other personnel had been cleared out of the room, leaving the leaders alone in the massive chamber.
The symbol of the Alliance appeared as the screen powered on before switching to a view of the Alliance's Ambassador to the Citadel Council. As this happened, the AI that managed the chamber announced, "Connection secured through Citadel comm network. All data encrypted and protected from unauthorized sources. Attempted breaches will be monitored and recorded to allow threat appraisal."
"Thank you, Arissa," the House Speaker said, addressing the AI trusted by all Representatives. Considering that her job was to protect and secure all Systems Alliance data from unauthorized access, Arissa held a great amount of responsibility for each Representative, no matter their opinions or perspectives.
The Speaker continued, "I am now calling into session this meeting of the House of Representatives of the Systems Alliance Parliament. All information discussed in this session is classified and will not leave this room. Systems Alliance Ambassador to the Citadel Council Donnel Udina is contacting us from the alien capital to report and clarify information which he has sent on agreements and terms for the Systems Alliance to become a member of the Citadel."
"The Floor is now open for questions, opinions, and suggestions for the proposed motion of joining the Citadel species and Systems Alliance into one united bloc. Please wait to be recognized and keep to the rules of this body. A vote is not expected today on any issues, agreements, or treaties that have been presented. Ambassador Udina is now recognized to summarize his discussions with the Citadel Council."
Udina nodded and began, "Thank you, Speaker. As per the instructions given to me by this body, I have opened negotiations with the Citadel Council on behalf of the Systems Alliance. The terms for access to a reliable source of Mass Effect were presented and a deal was reached, one which allows the Alliance to position Council forces in front of a possible Covenant invasion."
At this news, several members nodded, pleased at that result. Since the Alliance was still rebuilding from their exodus, any forewarning of Covenant presence would be vital. Sacrificing alien allies to ensure their survival was acceptable, considering that the last time Humanity had encountered aliens, they were nearly destroyed.
"Unluckily, the Council has requested that a base be allowed on Terra itself," the Ambassador continued.
"Speaker?" one of the Representatives asked.
"Stand and be recognized," came the response.
After doing so, the member continued, "That term is not acceptable. Terra is our home, the cradle of Humanity now that Earth is presumably lost. Allowing any alien to set foot on it is against everything that we have fought for. Even if we could keep our location secret by transporting them in our ships, it is still far too risky with how weak we are."
"The House Minority carries this opinion."
"As does the Majority. Ambassador, we rejected the Council's terms. A possible counter might be for bases to be established on outer Alliance planets," came the reply.
Mutterings passed between members of the Minority before their leader replied, "Preferably they would be installed along the warning buffer we have established against the Enemy. The sooner the Council becomes embroiled in conflict with the Covvies, the more time we will have to save the human race. Which particular bodies can be decided later, but that is an acceptable solution to counter with."
No vote was taken as the only decision reached was a general suggestion to guide Udina in discussions with the Council. Specific treaties or laws needed to join the Citadel community would be passed in the coming years as agreements were hammered out.
"Excellent. The next major sticking point is, as many feared, is Artificial Intelligence. Ambassador?" the Speaker asked.
Udina took a second before responding, "The Citadel Council has made its position quite clear on this. They have recently had an issue with a Collective Intelligence known as the Geth. This has sparked fears of Artificial Intelligence, showing their ignorance on the subject. Even after Alliance personnel tried to explain it, they have persisted in this demand. According to the Council, there will be no negotiation on this term."
One of the members stood, prompting the Speaker to announce, "The Floor recognizes the current Representative."
"We will not abandon AI. If the Citadel wishes to delude themselves about the value of AI, that's their problem. I know that I speak for the Systems Alliance public, military, and government when I say that AI are integral to our existence, security, and stability. They are sentient beings and have been a part of human society for centuries and were one of the few advantages we possessed against the Enemy," the member declared.
As the rep sat down, the Speaker continued, "Seeing as public knowledge of our AI abilities is already limited following our exodus, I think that a program could be deployed at the staging area for the fleet."
What the Majority Leader was speaking of was a planet on the outer edge of the same system as Terra. While rather barren, the fleet that allowed the Alliance founders to flee was orbiting the body, ready to conduct an emergency evacuation of Terra if the Covenant arrived.
Most of the ships used in the retreat from UNSC space had been evacuation ships from planets attacked by the Covenant. Hundreds of ships, carrying tens of thousands away from the destruction, only to have nowhere to go if they escaped.
That was where the Insurrectionists came in. With a fleet of stolen ships, along with the few colony ships that had been salvaged from the Enemy advance, many of these evacuation groups were attached to the growing exodus group.
Unlike the figure of 15,000 that Udina had given to the Council, the true fleet was far, far bigger. It was expected that the Council would question this number, seeing as transporting millions of people with that number of vessels would require almost every ship to have been a large colony ship. As it was, only seventeen colony ships had made the journey, opening slipspace ruptures so that other ships without slipspace drives could follow in their wake.
Many of the ships that had come were from outer colonies that had been abandoned by UNSC forces. Without oversight, the Insurrectionists could evacuate large populations on the multitude of ships that were capable of carrying people. This strategy had left massive numbers of people on evacuation transports as well as cargo freighters, which were numerous, albeit usually lacking in a slipspace drive.
It was common, however, for those loyal to the UNSC to stay in the colonies, perishing later when the Covenant inevitably attacked. This was not to say that all colonies had been evacuated peacefully. It was quite common for evacuations to occur as the Covenant attacked, although the number of survivors in those cases were significantly lower than calmer population displacements.
With almost 300 colonies to draw separatist allies from, the exodus amassed a fleet of almost 200,000 vessels. While quite large when together, the actual number of ships from each colony was less than 700, with most of those being mass-produced evac transports or cargo haulers.
This massive group consisted of over 100,000 evac transports with a capacity of 600 people, 29,000 cargo ships with space for 5,000 each, 70,000 large evac transports for 2,000 per ship, and a fleet of 191 military ships that the Innies had stolen from the UNSC.
As it was, most of the ships used for fleeing from the Covenant had been destroyed, as the Council had been told. This included almost all of the evac transports and many of the cargo ships. This scrapping project allowed for the SA to build their homes on Terra without needing to go through the extensive process of setting up mining and processing facilities before housing.
The remaining vessels were on station at the staging point for a rapid retreat if necessary. All slipspace-capable ships were stationed in this fleet, leaving the fleet of Mass Effect vessels to guard and alert the Alliance if there was an attack.
With the thousands of vessels with technology unknown to the Citadel already present, the obvious place for a secretive AI development facility would be on the planet below. Several supply bases were already established, each producing materials and products to replace and repair those in the fleet, including slipspace drives. Since the Council would be in a tizzy if they found the fleet anyways, having yet another illegal activity there would probably make little difference.
As such, several calls of agreement sounded from the body of representatives. Details would be determined once Udina was gone, since he didn't need to know specifics on that particular issue.
"Now that we have reached a solution for that, I wish to move onto this 'Treaty of Farixen' that the Council has proposed," the Speaker prompted.
Attention turned once more to Udina as he explained, "I have sent a copy of the Treaty with my report, but I will summarize the document. It is a rather simple agreement stating that the Systems Alliance shall not build or operate more than seven ships that are assigned the class of 'Dreadnought'. Such ships are a kilometer long or more, with a large mass accelerator running along the spine of the vessel."
Yet another member rose and was allowed to speak, "As we all know, the Alliance already operates far more vessels of that size, most notably in cruisers and modified colony ships. Will the Alliance be oh-so-graciously 'allowed' to build smaller vessels at will? How will the Council be monitoring the creation and utilization of such vessels?"
"There is no limit on smaller vessels, which will allow us to utilize the ships with Mass Effect drives as scouts, explorers, or however the Alliance military sees fit. As for enforcement, they have requested to send an Inspector, for lack of a better description. While a candidate has not been chosen, it was mentioned that they would likely come with science teams to investigate the Prothean beacon. Obviously, this would mean that they would be coming to Terra," Udina explained.
"We shall need to converse on this Farixen Treaty and its implications before we can give you direction on that issue," the Speaker said. He continued, "As we have limited time and already much to discuss, I will continue on the subject of the Beacon. From your report, the Council was sceptical of its warning?"
Udina nodded and replied, "Indeed. The Council seems to almost disbelieve in its existence at all. They have outright rejected the concept of the Reapers and the threat they represent. I formally requested direction and guidance on how to approach this issue. Push too hard and it could harm other negotiations."
Several minutes went by as the members present discussed a possible solution. Unlike the previous issues, this was one of actual contention in the House. Some members believed that the Alliance would stand a better chance in the Citadel galaxy, while others wished to consolidate the population on and around Terra.
The fear of the Reapers was the main issue that the Alliance had with establishing colonies in the Citadel's galaxy. Any possibility of fighting a two-front war between the genocidal Covenant and the might of a faction that could crush a galaxy was to be avoided at all cost. That was agreed on. What was not was which path to follow to avoid such a situation.
"Leave the topic of the Reaper's for another time, Ambassador," the House Speaker directed after conferring with the governing body. "It's their galaxy, if they wish to ignore the threat then that is their loss. Once relations have grown strong, we can push the concept with more confidence. The Reapers did not attacked the Protheans when they were in this galaxy, which leaves protection from the Enemy a higher priority."
Udina bowed his head in acknowledgment before replying, "Understood. As our negotiations proceed, I shall continue to send reports on progress. Seeing as contact has been made and maintained, the Citadel has requested to allow a channel of communication from this Parliament to one of their Ambassadors."
"Specifics of agreements would be determined through this Council Representative. As mentioned in my report, the Citadel leadership desires to send this being to Terra to help smooth relations. The current leading candidate is an Asari, one Matriarch Benezia," Udina said.
"This Council Ambassador would be welcome, provided that it is alone," the Speaker responded. He glanced over to the Minority Leader, receiving a nod in return.
"The Matriarch has requested that her family be allowed to accompany her," Udina said.
"Only immediate family, spouse and children. They will be transported by one of the Alliance ships on station at the Citadel when it returns to human space."
Udina nodded, "I shall present the terms and alterations before continuing negotiations."
Before the Ambassador could disconnect, the Speaker asked, "These agreements are being made in the name of the Systems Alliance, correct?"
"As directed, I have taken extreme care in vetting all agreements, treaties, and documents so that they are binding to the Systems Alliance and not the human race. The independent planets of the Alliance are not bound by this law, as established by the Founding Declaration of the Systems Alliance. If Earth held against all odds, they will not be beholden to these agreements."
As if the UEG would even pay attention to something like that. Many in Parliament remembered their fight for freedom from the oppression of the UEG and UNSC, rather than the fight of the UNSC against the Covenant. In their minds, if the UEG survived, it would stay the same oppressive state it had been before.
This mentality had led to the creation of the Systems Alliance. Rather than the centralized government of the UEG, the Alliance was merely a facade to present a united front and emergency leadership if needed. All planets were free to follow their own direction, whether that was with or away from the SA.
Not that any world had any intention of leaving the Alliance. With the Covenant behind them, the Citadel races in front, and the threat of the Reapers, the only path to survival would be with the strong military that the SA was building.
"Understood, Ambassador. Your input and considerations are appreciated. You have your new directions and guidelines. Good luck, and make the Alliance proud," the Speaker ordered before closing the connection.
With that, the Parliament went into discussions on the true issues of the SA. After all, there wasn't much disagreement on the dealings with the Citadel, seeing as almost all of the decisions had been made after the encounter with the Spirit of Fire and the Council CEF.
All politicians are liars, but not all liars are politicians.
Council lied about taking the SA's recommendation against going towards the UEG seriously. SA lied about many things as well. Obviously they aren't going to just give up the only advantages they have against the Covenant. The only other alien contact the SA has had has been with the Covenant, they aren't exactly happy about meeting the Citadel races nor are they willing to give up concessions.
Also, in comparison to ~700 ships per planet, Earth currently has about 50,000 vessels with a displacement over 10,000 tons, or something along those lines. Yes, on colonies it will be smaller, but in my mind, it IS plausible.
I know that some of you may have read the version of the chapter with Udina conceding to the Council. I have changed that to the Parliament approving things, as seen here. Apologies about the confusion, that was my fault. However, it was still my plan to have him lying. I proofread that part and didn't really think about how weak Humanity seemed until it was pointed out, as I knew that he was lying.
Unggoy ship names are fun. Actually, writing Unggoy in general is just fun. For the Nipple!
Speaking of which, if you have no idea why the Unggoy shout that line, just look at some Halo 3 Grunt dialogue. They mention nipples. Often. Apparently Unggoy are big on boobs.
Kind of unsure about the Unggoy and CEF meeting. I do like how I ended it, though.
The governing body of the SA is a Parliament with an elected House of Representatives. At least I assume so. I know that in canon, it's a Parliament based on Arcturus Station and is described as a Representative Body.
If anyone is interested in time conversions between the Gregorian Calendars of Humanity and the Galactic Standard of ME, I got lazy and developed a simple program to compute the GS years, months, day, and hours from an input of human days. So, for a period of 241 human days, it will output the equivalent GS amount of time, which is 12 months, 4 days, 6 hours, and some change. Both time systems are drawn from canon and are the true conversions. I will fully admit, however, that I have not factored in the gravitational time distortion, which would muck up stuff a bit.
I then proceeded to become even lazier and added a function to add the output date from the calculation to a date given by the user. So adding Year: 2438 Month: 14 Day: 5 to output of Year: 0 Month: 12 Day: 4 would give you Year: 2439 Month: 6 Day: 9.
So, the time difference between the Citadel GS standard and the Gregorian Human standard is now fixed.