Mass Effect: Techno-Organic Revolution

by Clockwork Dragonfly

They thought themselves invulnerable, invincible, and infallible. They thought themselves the apex of all life, they thought of themselves gods. But in their arrogance, the reapers would make a fatal mistake. They would not notice some Prothean refugees discreetly moved both nearby mass relays away form the primitive humanity, thus cutting them off from all reaper influence.

7. Chapter Six: Winds of Change

Mass Effect Techno-Organic Revolution: Chapter Six: Winds of Change.

"Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive."

— Andy Grove.

Codex:

Non-Council Races: Terrans: Technology

Subspace Technology

Subspace Sensors: Made by Matalica, these poorly understood wonders of engineering use highly modified and advanced gravitational sensors to detect any disturbances in the distorted well of spacetime around the local star or stellar remnant at speeds faster than light. This includes planets, moons, asteroids, ships, ships with artificial gravity, rift-drive exits, ships in warp transit, ships in ME FTL, and ships being protected by active deflector, phase, or kinetic shielding.

Time Manipulation Technology

The Entropic Accelerator: Also made by Metallica, the entropic accelerator is the name of the emerging Terran technology that aims to combine the bleed from anti-space and stasis field technology to create a kind of reversed time dilation field, a process that instead of slowing down the flow of time accelerates it forwards at a faster rate.

While it has yet to be discovered how to use this technology on a large scale or over a large distance to do things such as increase the speed of rift-drives by making them recharge faster or increase the speed of resource harvesting, it has led to the creation of entropic weapons and faster computers that can run at FTL speeds.

Entropic Weapons: The infantry-scale and weaponized form of the entropic accelerator, entropic weapons are different types of short-ranged weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and grenades that accelerate the flow of time around a target to make them age into dust.

The Moment Shackle: The Moment Shackle is an upgraded version of the reanimation matrix that came out of the forges of Mars a week ago. In addition to having all the same abilities as the previous device, it also has many other new time-altering abilities.

Firstly it can rewind time around a nearby target or groups of nearby targets to undo split-second events that would be detrimental to the user.

Secondly, it can rewind time around a nearby target or groups of nearby targets in order to undo movements that allowed them to evade attacks or get into a covered position.

And finally, it can use an experimental mixture of anti-space bleeding and stasis technology to create a movable bubble of slowed time around the user and extending a few hundred meters away. This is all the while the flow of time directly around them remains exactly the same, thus allowing the user to act and react at normal speeds within this bubble of greatly slowed time.

This is something that allows the user to become faster than what even the quickest physical speed-boosting augmentations and morphs can allow from an outside perspective.

Mars is currently looking for ways to scale these technologies up so they can be used on things ranging from fighters to full-sized warships instead of having a size limit of medium-sized morphs. This is progressing at a slow yet steady rate.

Astrological Scrying: The universe is a machine, one that runs like clockwork. Just as a clock has its spinning gears, compressing springs, and kinetic energy; so too does the universe have its burning stars, orbiting planets, and gravitational force.

As such, The Neculaac Collective has just discovered that by using the positions of stars and planets in addition to the effects of gravity upon the fabric of spacetime, predictive algorithmic scrying can be taken to a new level of accuracy in piercing the veil of time to see the past, present, and future.

Groups of great steller observatories are currently being constructed by both them and others across the ATC to better exploit this effect, with the ATC high council wishing to develop a full and bias-free history of the galaxy, the species that have inhabited it, and both the various harvests of the reapers in the past and the soon coming reaper war in the future to learn how to better fight against them and exploit their weaknesses.

In addition to this, the ATC high council is curious if it's possible to create a closed timeline curve and take technology from the future ATC and from past civilizations to use in the present before taking more from the future to technologically advance at an exponentially quickening rate.

Strangely though, it seems that for whatever reason, this effect is highly dampened outside of eezo-free voids thanks to some strange form of dark energy interference. ATC scientists highly suspect that these 'dark energy clouds' play a key role in the formation of element zero.

Uberiel: [Um-bre-el] In the most predominant Turian religion, Uberiel is the spirit of air and darkness. This spirit has long been the patron spirit of assassins, spies, thieves, saboteurs, and other types of infiltrators.

Chapter Six: Winds of Change.

The Citadel: Council Chambers: Two Weeks Later.

It had taken a very long time for the citadel council to formulate the information they would be releasing, moreover so because the shadow broker had 'shifted' once more a few days ago, which was specter code that meant the previous shadow broker had been overthrown and replaced by another.

This was something that while uncommon, did occur every once in a while. Indeed this one had broken the previous record of fifteen years time after a previous overthrow down to two years after a previous overthrow.

This normally wouldn't be a problem or even something that concerned the council at all whatsoever, merely being a curiosity for the STG and some of the specters to record in the encrypted areas of the gargantuan multi-yottabyte internal database of the citadel itself, but they only had one chance and they had to get this right to minimize the damage it would cause.

This, in turn, means absolutely nothing about the current state of the terrans, the former batarian hegemony, geth, or reapers could leak through the shadow broker; which was just as hard as it sounded.

In the end, though, it had cost tens of millions of credits and dozens of political favors, but against all odds, they had somehow succeeded and soon after the announcement would be made.

"I am Councilor Loglin of the Salarian Union, and we of the council have a series of important announcements to make; we have discovered a new interstellar power beyond relay 217 who are known as the Terrans.

These Terrans, despite being extremely alien to us, our laws, and even many of our values; we believe we can coexist peacefully and learn much from each other.

This is especially true because of how even though they evolved in the eezoless Kralla Void, they still managed to develop their own forms of FTL travel known as warp drives and rift-drives with a previously unheard of and undiscovered field of science known as subspace mechanics.

Yes, you heard me correctly. These Terrans have developed a form of FTL travel that doesn't use element zero and mass effect fields but instead uses gravitational force to distort and alter the fabric of spacetime.

The terran interstellar nation, known as the allied terran confederation, is made up of four separate branches of what are each arguably outright different species.

The first branch of terrankind: baseline humans, neanderthals, other extinct human subspecies, and augmented transhumans.

The second branch of terrankind: artificially created lifeforms of organic, synthetic, and techno-organic nature.

The third branch of terrankind: uplifted terran animals and uplifted terran animals that were previously extinct.

And finally the fourth branch of terrankind: non-terran lifeforms who have been uplifted and incorporated into the ATC as citizens. The ATC has also said this will include aliens who have reached a technological singularity and wish to join to become terrans.

As you can see, the terrans themselves are not a species but a title; and it is a title shared by what is essentially an alliance of four different species under the banner of terran and the ATC.

As for their beliefs, the terrans believe that life itself is sacred and that consciousness itself is a fundamental aspect of reality itself.

For more information on the terrans' beliefs, we have more documentation below this vid.

In addition to this monumental occasion, we have learned that there are not one but two factions of Geth.

One of these is known as the Geth Heretics, and while they only make up a single percent of all geth, they still wish for the annihilation of all organic beings. The other ninety-nine percent are the Geth Orthodoxy, who only wish to remain isolated and if possible, coexist peacefully with organic beings.

They have remained isolated because, despite their hopes, all evidence pointed to this being impossible until the terrans arrived.

Indeed, it was the orthodox geth who valiantly saved the colony of Neloh Prime from the rogue specter Desolas Arterius and his army of Heretic Geth.

Again, while this is all very shocking and even unprecedented, we have still managed to broker an agreement between us, the orthodox geth, and the terrans in order to have peace amongst our different peoples.

If you want more information in regards to the terrans and the orthodox geth, there are links to relevant documents below this vid."

Two Hours Later: The Quarian Migrant Fleet, The Rayya

"You cannot seriously believe these council lies, Zaal'Koris!" Han'Gerrel exclaimed before adding "By the homeworld, they're not even trying anymore!"

"You're just saying that because as you cannot act on your resentment for the council or your blood-lust for the geth, you instead pour all that hatred into your zealous adherence to the Cult of Reclamation!" Zaal'Koris accused.

"How dare you?! My religion has nothing to do with this conversation!" Han'Gerrel retorted.

"Oh I think it does, your judgment is clouded by your fanatical zeal." Zaal'Koris retorted.

"And what do you think we should do about this situation, Zaal'Koris?" Rael'Zorah asked tiredly.

"What I am thinking is that we should go back to Rannoch without needless bloodshed," Zaal'Koris said with emphasis.

"Impossible! For us to reclaim Rannoch then the geth must be eradicated off the face of the galaxy!" Han'Gerrel exclaimed zealously.

"I stand correct," Zaal'Koris said smugly.

Rael'Zorah just sighed, it was always like this with both of them. Sure he leaned more to Han'Gerrel's side, but their incessant arguing always ran on his nerves…

"Enough!" Shala'Raan exclaimed, much to the shock of everyone else due to her usual kind and calm demeanor. "Zaal'Koris, make your case."

"We may not want to admit it or acknowledge it, but we are either slowly dying out, our live ships are constantly falling and temporary fix-ups and improvised parts can only last us so long.

I have no illusions about what the council is doing to us. This is no mere apathy, this is active maliciousness that is designed to make us slowly creep toward our eventual extinction, just like what they're doing with the Krogan.

In addition to the Krogan, they are also doing this to the Drell, or more specifically the remaining Rakana-bound Drell that the Hanar couldn't save. The Hanar specifically asked for council aid to help evacuate the Drell and the council refused, content to let them simply die off.

The geth have just shown that they wish to cooperate with us. As such, I wish to requisition a frigate for transport and ask around for volunteers to staff it.

With this ship, I wish to go to the veil to rendezvous and parley with the Geth orthodoxy."

It was then that Daro'Xen spoke up for the first time in this meeting. "As much as I'd like to study how geth's technology has evolved, I am against this motion. Machines are made to serve Quarians, anything else is against the natural order of things."

"I am also very, very much against this. It is a betrayal of everything we are! It is anathema to our very existence to not want to destroy the geth and reclaim our homeworld!" Han'gerrel exclaimed with zealous determination.

"I… I am for it." Shala'Raan spoke carefully. "While I don't really think it will get anywhere, we have nothing else left to lose by trying."

Everyone looked to Rael'Zorah, the defining vote of the biggest decision in Quarian history.

"I promised my daughter that I would make a house for her on the homeworld. I swore a blood oath upon my ancestors that I would bring our species home to Rannoch by any means possible." Rael'Zorah said as everyone held their breath.

"I honestly have absolutely no faith in this approach succeeding by any metric, but as Shala'Raan said, we have nothing to lose by trying this foolhardy approach that is most likely not going to end in anything but disaster…I say aye."

And just like that, the fate of the Quarian species would be changed forever.

"YOU WHAT?!!" Han'gerrel screamed in pure disbelief and rage.

"Pff, coexisting with the geth? Preposterous. Why would we want to coexist with some overly intelligent mechs if they don't obey us as they rightfully should?" Daro'Xen said as she walked off in a huff.

"I'm quite sure that the batarians think the same thing about us and everyone else!" Zaal'Koris shouted at her as she left.

"The Batarians are organic beings; they are not machines like our Geth." Daro'Xen muttered to herself as she fully left the room.

"I know I've had some religious disagreements with you occasionally, but to think you'd sink low enough to heresy!" Han'gerrel exclaimed.

"Hersey?! You speak of heresy as if we're governed by some sort of theocracy! Heresy of any sort is not a crime!" Rael'Zorah retorted back sharply.

"It should be!" Han'gerrel zealously exclaimed.

Shala'Raan just sighed at the ongoing argument between these two and tried to tune them out for a few minutes.

She then heard the distinct sound of suction through a straw and turned to it out of curiosity, only to see Zaal'Koris drinking a turian herbal tea through his suit's fluid port while amusement danced in his bioluminescent silver eyes.

She just glared harshly at him for this.

"What? It's fun to watch them go at each other's throats like this when their usual staunch allies." Zaal'Koris defended himself.

"Are you always this childish outside of work, Admiral Zaal'Koris?" Shala'raan demanded.

"Some might say," Zaal'Koris replied jovially before taking another long sip of his tea.

Shala'Raan just sighed and dragged her hand over her helmet in silent frustration. This was the great Quarian Admiralty Board, the governing body that held responsibility over the wellbeing of all Quarian lives…Their species was surely doomed at this rate.

Two Weeks Later: The Edge of the Perseus Veil, Zaal'Koris' Frigate, the Defranz.

"Admiral Zaal'Koris, we are within range of relay 989, shall we proceed?" Faene'Casa vas Saezal, the pilot of the Defranz asked.

"Yes. It is time to meet our destiny. Hit the relay." Zaal'Koris said firmly.

"Yes sir. Hitting the relay in 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said as the Defranz was shot across the galaxy in a blur of purple and blue light.

"Relay transition successfully, Admiral." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said.

"Excellent, now-" Admiral Zaal'Koris was cut off as a geth orthodox frigate decloaked a few hundred thousand kilometers away from them.

"Sir, a geth orthodox frigate just came out of nowhere a few hundred thousand kilometers off!" Faene'Casa vas Saezal exclaimed frantically.

"Hail them immediately, tell them our intentions are peaceful," Zaal'Koris ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Faene'Casa vas Saezal acknowledged while rapidly typing on his orange holographic console.

"Alright," Zaal'Koris said. "Ask them how they feel about the possibility of us returning to Rannoch?"

"Yes, sir." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said before relaying the Geth response in confusion. "They say they have been waiting for your return for centuries but there may be some trouble with the survivors of COSAC."

"COSAC? What in the name of the ancestors is COSAC?" Zaal'Koris asked in confusion.

"I have absolutely no idea, sir. Maybe a sub-faction of the orthodox geth group who is against us returning?" Faene'Casa vas Saezal speculated.

"Ask them what COSAC is and why they might pose a problem in the future," Zaal'Koris ordered.

"Yes sir." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said before recoiling in abject shock. It took him almost half a minute to respond. "Sir… it seems that COSAC was a civilian rebellion against the Quarian Federation who were in favor of equal standing for the Geth. Also apparently forty-two of them survived and have been taken out of cryogenic stasis thanks to the terrans completing the geth's terraforming and gene-pool expansion programs."

"What?!" Zaal'Koris exclaimed in equal shock.

"It's apparently true! Also, our ancestors apparently used both nuclear and neutron weapons on COSAC as they fled." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said in horror.

"How– how many were killed by this?" Zaal'Koris shakily asked.

"Five billion. Mostly civilians…" Faene'Casa vas Saezal said sadly before adding. "Rannoch was turned completely uninhabitable by this."

Zaal'Koris just fell into his chair in horror as he realized the sheer scale of death their ancestors needlessly inflicted out of spite.

"Ask them to open a channel with the highest ranking member of COSAC." Zaal'Koris eventually ordered.

Rannoch: COSAC Micro Arcology.

'What do you mean I'm being asked for?' Zek'Ellusa asked the geth in his cybernetics.

'The Quarian Migrant fleet has sent a representative who wishes to make peace with us and rejoin us on Rannoch if possible' His Geth unit in his cybernetics answered.

'What do you mean the migrants sent a peace envoy?! Destroy them!'

'No. We will not.' The Geth responded.

'What do you mean you won't?!'

'We will not kill any of our creators if we can help it. Additionally, we wish for them to return home if they are willing to coexist with us peacefully ' The Geth explained itself.

'But you have to! They killed billions to defend their worthless pride!' Zek'Ellusa retorted angrily.

'There has been too much bloodshed on both sides, we will not attack them unprovoked. Additionally, more Quarians will allow for the Quarian population to recover hundreds of years faster and without the use of the terrans gene-scrambling procedures.' The Geth said back.

'Yes. I'm well aware of what good a massive influx of Quarians could do for our gene pool! The answer is still no!' Zek'Ellusa said stubbornly in frustration.

'We still refuse to attack unprovoked' The Geth repeated.

'What do you mean you refuse?!' Zek'Ellusa demanded.

'"Forgiveness is the ultimate virtue. To take the hand of a defeated enemy in friendship is to honor the ancestors by making them understand their mistakes and to prevent us from sending more of our own to them in cold blood." The Geth quoted the scroll of ancestors.

'Don't quote the scroll of ancestors back at me! You know what that's completely different!' Zek'Ellusa exclaimed.

'You are making an emotional decision. Logic dictates that these situations are the same.' The geth responded.

'It's not an emotional decision!' Zek'Ellusa denied.

'To hold the crimes of the parents against the children is to create a never-ending cycle of hatred and war. To honor the ancestors is to see the children as different from the parents.' The Geth quoted again from the book of ancestors.

'Fine… yes I understand what you're saying. I shouldn't hold the crimes of the parents against their distant children.' Zek'Ellusa sighed with extreme frustration before adding. 'One chance. I will give them one chance.'

'Will you talk to the peace envoy?' The Geth asked.

'Yes… Yes, I will talk to them...' Zek'Ellusa responded after a short pause

Two Minutes Later: The Defranz, The Bridge.

"Admiral, we're getting a response. A visual data stream." Faene'Casa vas Saezal said.

"Put it though," Zaal'Koris said.

"Migrants. What do you want?" An unmasked male gray-purple-scaled Quarian male dressed in a gray hardsuit that was intertwined with blue and silver robes asked in a clearly annoyed and frustrated voice.

"First of all I would like to offer a sincere and heartfelt apology for the genocidal actions of our ancestors, and we hope we can come to a peaceful agreement on how to split up Rannoch between us; even making it so we never interact with each other if you so desire." Admiral Zaal'Koris said while trying not to marvel at the unmasked Quarian.

Zek'Ellusa just stared at Zaal'Koris like a deer in the headlights, caught somewhere between bewilderment and anger.

"Thank you Admiral Zaal'Koris, I appreciate your apology." Zek'Ellusa finally ground out a response after a short pause.

"Honestly, I didn't expect you to forgive me so easily," Zaal'Koris replied.

"Oh, believe me, we don't. We were just convinced by the Geth not to blame you for the irredeemable crimes of your ancestors." Zek'Ellusa said somewhat bitterly.

"If it helps you, there is a faction among the migrant fleet, of which I am a part of, that believes the geth deserved equal standing with us and that we were responsible for being pushed off Rannoch after trying to commit genocide on them," Zaal'Koris said.

"What… You, you're acknowledging your ancestors' mistakes?" Zek'Ellusa asked in genuine surprise.

"What? Did you really think we don't have the capacity to do so? We are both Quarians, are we not? And all Quarians have the capacity for good and for evil based on their upbringing and life experiences." Zaal'Koris said.

"And who is who in your migrant fleet?" Zek'Ellusa asked carefully.

"Honestly the majority of the civilians are good and just want to live a peaceful life," Zaal'Koris said.

"And it's leadership aside from yourself?" Zek'Ellusa asked.

"As for our leadership, Daro'Xen Vas Alarai is most definitely evil, she is everything you likely assumed us to be," Zaal'Koris replied.

"You are not filling me with confidence," Zek'Ellusa responded.

"Then there is Han'gerrel, who I wouldn't exactly say is evil but is misguided. He is a religious fanatic who wishes to launch a 'great and holy crusade' against the geth to reclaim Rannoch." Zaal'Koris said.

"Again, not filling me with confidence," Zek'Ellusa repeated.

"Don't worry it gets better." Zaal'Koris tried to reassure before continuing. "Then there is Rael'Zorah Nar Rayya, and he wishes to return to Rannoch by any means necessary. He is not strictly against the geth, but only sees their destruction as the only way to resettle Rannoch if I fail."

"He doesn't believe you will achieve anything meaningful here?" Zek'Ellusa asked.

"Nope, he believes I will fail and the Geth will blast me to space dust," Zaal'Koris said with a laugh. "I honestly think he believes that I just committed suicide via Geth."

"Ok, so your leadership consists of an actual decent individual, a federalist bosh'tet, a bloodthirsty religious zealot, an overly desperate man, and who else?" Zek'Ellusa asked.

"The last individual is Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, she is a kind and usually a calm individual who seeks to make life for us better," Zaal'Koris said.

"OK, if this is representative of your people then I think I can force myself to work with some of you occasionally," Zek'Ellusa responded a lot calmer now than how he was at first.

"So, are you willing to let us settle on Rannoch, Zek'Ellusa?" Zaal'Koris asked hopefully.

"I… yes, yes you can," Zek'Ellusa said slowly before adding. "Just keep all the federalists and religious zealots away from us."

"By the ancestors, I will try my very best to do so." Zaal'Koris placed his palm over his chest and swore.

"Very well, let us begin planning for your return," Zek'Ellusa said.

Two Hours Later: The Rayya.

"Sir, we're getting a message from Zaal'Koris' Frigate. The Defranz." An aide said to the Admiralty Board.

"Zaal'Koris has come back with his tail between his legs, huh? This will be entertaining to watch." Han'Gerrel said humorously. "Put him on."

An orange hologram of Zaal'Koris then appeared over the holo tank, his body language radiating smugness like enriched uranium.

"I've succeeded. We're returning to Rannoch." Zaal'Koris said smugly.

Everyone in the room stopped, turning to glare at Zaal'Koris incredulously.

"How?" Rael'Zorah asked in disbelief.

"We return to Rannoch and keep those who want to take control of or destroy the geth away from them and the survivors of COSAC," Zaal'Koris said simply.

"What in the name of the ancestors is COSAC?" Shala'raan asked.

"A Lot of our history regarding the Geth war has been embellished or outright doctored to fit our mentality as the victims of genocide when in actuality we were the perpetrators of genocide, in more ways than the one that we already knew," Zaal'Koris explained.

"For the last time, Zaal'Koris. We didn't commit genocide! You cannot commit genocide on a mechanism." Daro'Xen said coldly.

"You all already know my thoughts on that, but that is not what I'm talking about." Zaal'Koris retorted harshly.

"And what is that Zaal'Koris?!" Han'gerrel exclaimed in a mixture of annoyance and zealous fury.

"I'm talking about the five billion Quarians, most of whom were civilians, that we had genocided out of spite when our ancestors fled Rannoch!" Zaal'Koris exclaimed angrily.

"What nonsense are you spouting now, Zaal'Koris? Everyone knows the Geth killed all Quarians they could find during the uprising." Daro'Xen asked in a tone of mild annoyance.

"That is just outright false! The geth war wasn't a Quarian vs Geth situation, it was a civil war where most of the government and its army was fighting against civilian armies and militias who were fully backed by the Geth!" Zaal'Koris shouted in frustration before continuing. "And we were losing, but we couldn't accept that we were wrong so we bombarded Rannoch itself into an uninhabitable state that has only recently been fixed due to nuclear and neutron bombs!"

Nobody responded to this for a moment, and then everyone in the room exploded with dozens of questions and demands alike.

After all, the murder of a Quarian at the hands of another Quarian was the greatest crime a member of the flotilla could commit.

Genocide, on the other hand, was only a theoretical crime of a quarian purposely destroying a liveship, a crime that has never once been committed. To even do so was unthinkable.

"Have you gone mad, Zaal'Koris?! Accusing our ancestors of killing the geth is just an objective fact, but genocide?!" Han'gerrel demanded.

"I agree with Han'gerrel, what nonsense are you babbling on about, now?" Daro'Xen said, extremely annoyed.

Seeing as he couldn't get through to them, Zaal'Koris called up Zek'Ellusa and asked him to speak on his behalf in regard to the truth of their ancestors' genocide.

Zek'Ellusa instantly agreed to this, eager to rip into Han'gerrel and Daro'Xen about their philosophical failings and misconceptions like Geth particle beams into unprotected flesh.

"Say hello to Zek'Ellusa Vas Alarai, one of the mere 42 survivors of our ancestors' genocide." Zaal'Koris declared as an orange hologram if Zek'Ellusa appeared above the table where his face was clearly visible and clearly Quarian.

While Shala'Raan and Rael'Zorah become mesmerized by an uncovered Quarian face, Han'gerrel just becomes increasingly furious.

"What Geth trickery is this, Zaal'Koris?!" Han'gerrel demanded.

"Amazing, to think the Geth could create such a realistic depiction of us in VI format." Daro'Xen marveled at what she mistakenly believed was a VI.

"Fanatical Zealot and Ignoramus Bosh'tets, I am not a VI. I am Zek'Ellusa Vas Alarai, the only member of COSAC's leadership that has survived the genocide of your overly prideful ancestors." Zek'Ellusa responded coldly.

"A very vulgar VI." Daro'Xen amended.

"Fuck you and your entire family line, Daro'Xen Vas Alarai. To think such a deplorable piece of Quarian trash like you even shares my city name, let alone still continues to waste oxygen, is sickening." Zek'Ellusa insulted.

It was now beginning to dawn on the Admiralty Board that this wasn't a VI. After all, VIs don't insult and threaten people in such a way…

"Are… are you really a Quarian?" Shala'raan carefully asked.

"Indeed I am, ma'am. A few gene mods and cybernetics here and there but yes I am very much a Quarian." Zek'Ellusa said before adding "And before anyone says anything else about the Geth, they have nowhere near the level of skills in social interaction to disguise themselves as anything more than a high-grade VI or a mech platform."

"How… how could our ancestors do something so terrible to our own species?" Rael'Zorah asked in shock.

"We tried to do it to the Geth, is it really so shocking that we tried to do it to other Quarians?" Zaal'Koris asked.

"In addition to that, the tyrant of bal'kesis committed genocide on two million Quarians of the Monothism faith several thousand years ago," Zek'Ellusa added. "It was a dark time in our history, but it is a piece of corroborating evidence that you most likely have not been doctored which shows that we are capable of producing individuals who can commit such atrocities if left to their own devices and unopposed."

All the migrant Quarians looked at each other momentarily, the tyrant of bal'kesis was an infamous Quarian that was commonly used in history class to show what would happen if Quarians didn't overlook religious and philosophical differences in favor of cooperation, coexistence, and collectivism.

The irony was not lost on Shala'Raan, Zaal'Koris, and Rael'Zorah; but was very much so on Han'gerrel and Daro'Xen.

"You're serious aren't you? Well… that changes things…" Shala'raan admitted.

"Yes. It does." Rael'Zorah reluctantly agreed.

"No, it does not change anything! We still need to annihilate the Geth to regain our homeworld!" Han'gerrel screamed.

"Destroying the geth would be a waste of a valuable asset. Why should we allow our own creations to run amok when they can and should be serving us, their rightful masters?" Daro'Xen asked.

"You just don't get it do you, we're going home to Rannoch. We're recalling back all our Pilgrims and recolonizing our homeworld." Zaal'Koris said simply.

"Yes. I am in favor of this." Rael'Zorah said.

"As am I." Shala'Raan said.

"Good, then we have a majority. We will begin the preparations immediately." Rael'Zorah said.

"No! You will not!" Han'gerrel screamed as he drew a hidden pistol and held it to Shala'raa's head and threatened her. "Now you will vote against this heresy, or I will shoot."

To his surprise, Shala'raan kicked Han'gerrel in the shin, momentarily stunning him while she twisted her body to a position where she could place her hand upon Han'gerrel's suit above his heart. She then immediately tasered him with an overload from her omnitool which made him fall to the ground.

"If you thought my kindness meant that I couldn't handle myself in combat, then you were sorely mistaken," Shala'raan said condescendingly before turning to a shocked quarian marine who was holding a rifle in Han'gerrel's general direction. "For holding another admiral hostage with four admirals as witnesses, Han'gerrel is stripped of his rank. In addition to this, he is to be put in custody within the brig of the Rayya immediately!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The Quarian marine said with a crisp salute before putting away his rifle and then dragging Han'gerrel's unconscious body away to the brig.

Shala'raan then turned back to her wide-eyed and flabbergasted peers and Zek'Ellusa.

"What, why is everyone looking at me like that?" Shala'raan asked.

"I just did expect you to be able to handle yourself that well in combat. You don't exactly seem like the type to seek armed confrontation." Rael'Zorah said carefully while discreetly glancing at a Reger guard in the corner of the room that was carrying away the unconscious body of his friend.

"Just because I don't like fighting doesn't mean I can't do it." Shala'raan said simply.

"We can see that," Zaal'Koris said.

Khar'shan Interim Biodome.

Meanwhile, in former Hegemony space, the terrans and the leaders of various rebel cells were meeting in a terran-made biodome that was to act as a place made for a new seat of governance while Khar'shan and the other inner colonies were being terraformed back to its original state. As for how long this terraforming would take, high council administrators mathematically deduced that it would take about a year or two due to the current war-focused allocation of resources which was being used to pump out as many new stellar lifting stations, warships, superweapons, and other war materials as physically possible.

"Honestly, I am in favor of an Asari-style e-democracy, it would allow for more representation than your representative democracy." Matriarch D'aava said.

"E-democracies are too inefficient and many voters will not know the intricacies of what they are voting for, unlike my plan for a representative democracy who would be assigned aides that are experts in those fields!" Dachia Khercador, the female Batarian who was better known as the bane of the hegemony, exclaimed.

"But representative democracies such as what you're suggesting can be hijacked by corporations!" Matriarch D'aava exclaimed back.

"Then we make lobbying and bribery illegal with political candidates, a simple solution." Dachia Khercador retorted.

"That will make political candidates exclusive to the rich!" Matriarch D'aava retorted back.

"Then make governments pay for those things, to prevent exploitation a government agency can inspect the financial history of the potential candidates in question." Dachia Khercador explained.

"And what happens when one political party makes laws for the agency that makes elections go in their favor by giving people like them more funding?!" Matriarch D'aava demanded.

"Simple. Make it so the laws affecting this agency cannot be easily changed." Dachia Khercador explained.

"A government agency like this is just begging for corruption, deciding on who and who cannot run for a political position is just a recipe for disaster!" Matriarch D'aava retorted.

"Have anyone working there undergo frequent background and financial checks to make sure they are not being bribed." Dachia Khercador suggested.

"So you want people working at this agency to essentially be spied upon?!" Matriarch D'aava demanded.

"Yes. But only the people who are volunteering to work there by applying for a job at this agency, one that explicitly states upfront before hiring that it will be something that they are subjected to for the sake of preventing corruption and preserving election integrity." Dachia Khercador explained.

And so the arguments would continue, with Andria Norman sitting on the sidelines and watching as two distinct factions were beginning to form behind the ideals of the two heatedly arguing xenosophonts.

"Perhaps a compromise, then." Andria Norman suggested. She then waited for everyone to look her way before explaining. "How about civilians submit and vote on bills that representatives can vote on in addition to ones they themselves can put forward? In addition to this, we can have all political candidates' financial histories from ten years before they apply to run for an office, all the time they are in an office, and then years after they leave office."

"I think I can accept that." Matriarch D'aava admitted.

"As can I.'' Dachia Khercador agreed.

"Excellent. Now, what is next on the agenda?" Andria Norman asked.

"Finishing the details in our application to become an affiliate state of the ATC." Dachia Khercador said.

"Of course, we expected such a thing. You want protection that isn't under the apathy of the Citadel Council or the maliciousness of Aria T'loak and the Terminus warlords." The supreme chancellor noted.

"You are correct. And on the topic of Aria and those warlords, how is your war against them going?" Matriarch D'aava asked.

"The war against the hegemony was a total war due to the influence of the reapers on both them and their culture." Andria Norman began explaining. "This on the other hand is not so we are infiltrating the highest levels of these powers. This war will be ended with several decapitation strikes coordinated with various rebel cells to fill the power vacuum." Andria Norman corrected.

"Alright, and how is that going?" Dachia Khercador asked.

"Aria and most of the other terminus warlords will be dead within two days." Andria Norman said simply.

Two Days Later: Omega

Yramith Utran was a fourth-branch terran psyker, an individual who used the exceedingly advanced technology of the terran overspecies to bend the fundamental forces of reality to their will for use in both research and battle alike.

Dressed in the traditional green and silver robes of his province and holding the main tool of his trade, the omni-manipulator staff, he would calmly walk towards Aria T'loak while entirely cloaked from both the primitive eyes and sensors of the citadel and terminus species. This was while he occasionally phased partially out of reality to pass through people, walls, and other constructs in his path without stopping or moving aside.

And not a few minutes later he would come upon Aria T'loak's sleeping body within her quarters. He then put up two separate energy fields, one that prevented sound waves from passing through the field and another one that temporarily disabled the circuitry connected to both her panic button and normal avenues of electronic communication.

"Aria T'loak." Yramith Utran said calmly.

In a frenzy, Aria T'loak would sit up straight and repeatedly slamed her biotics on the nearby panic button while preparing for battle, only for nothing to happen. She then tried yelling for reinforcements from her hand-picked and certifiably loyal bodyguards, but nothing happened then either.

Knowing she was on her own, she prepared herself by activating her biotics in a corona of dark energy-catalyzed mass effect fields before she quickly began launching a barrage of biotic warps at the terran, all of which were effortlessly batted aside by the outermost of his layered deflector shields.

"Nobody can hear you, either audibly or digitally." Yramith Utran said simply while still ignoring the barrage of biotic warps.

"Fuck you! Nobody fucks with me and lives!" Aria T'loak shouted and started launching biotic lashes and annihilation fields at him, all of which were similarly deflected away like the previous barrage of biotic warps were.

"Pathetic. Deflector Shields cannot be overwhelmed nor penetrated by such attacks." Yramith Utran said matter of factly.

"What do you want, Terran?!" Aria T'loak demanded while trying to retain her composure while looking at the robed, feathered, and avian form of the uplifted terran xenosophont. The sensors of Yramith Utran saw through this facade like glass; however, she was terrified of him.

"The reaper artifact that is hidden at the center of this vile, impoverished, and primitive slum that you call your fiefdom. But first, Your death." Yramith Utran said simply, charging up his staff in less than a blink of an eye before launching a searing white bolt of lightning from its tip at her which instantly turned her into nothing but a pile of slowly falling ash. This was while he had a zoned energy siphon draining and storing the energy from the explosion that the detonation of the eezo within her body had caused.

"And so ends the reign of the great Aria T'loak, who died as she lived; a pathetic and insignificant puppet of greater powers." Yramith Utran said before partially phasing out of reality and continuing to make his way across the station in order to kill the other various crime lords on this shithole of a space station before heading towards his tertiary objective, the one that he was most looking forward to completing being the psyker that he was.

Two Hours Later: Heart of Omega.

Just as Citadel was mistakenly believed to be of the Protheans, so too did Omega suffer from this intended misconception by its true creators, the reapers themselves.

Lying at the center of this station was the Eye of Sukros, an ancient and alien artifact of one of the Leviathans' many long-forgotten slave species that the terrans ripped information on from the dark mind of Nar'ithoth. Here they would discover that the forces of the reapers would use this device to somehow generate a seemingly self-replenishing supply of eezo ore within the mines of Omega which the reapers used to replace the eezo of their lost numbers during and after their harvests.

And Yramith Utran was here to steal it and bring it back to terran space for careful study and examination as well as to deny it to the reapers as a strategic resource.

Yramith Utran phased out of the wall and into a massive antechamber built around a pedestal made from the reapers' purple-black psi-active alloy which was holding the eye about a meter off the ground inside a shifting bubble of dark energy catalyzed mass effect fields.

Immeditly following this, popping out of hundreds of poorly maintained and rusty hidden alcoves, thousands upon thousands of flying husks that had long lost their fleshy components to the ravages of time would then begin to swarm him like birds of prey coming in for the kill, birds of prey that had monomolecular plasma-wreathed talons that is.

"Die abominations!" Yramith Utran shouted as he activated his omni-manipulator staff, causing bolts of white lightning to be launched at all the vulture husks from its tip.

Those hit by these bolts were vaporized into ash while those that futilely tried to dodge the incoming bolts found that the white lightning would unnaturally curve and bend to home in on and vaporize them.

More and more of the vulture husks began to fill the room, trying to overwhelm the psyker with sheer numbers. It didn't work.

"Ineffective." Yramith Utran said while launching a wave-like barrage of pulse lasers from the tip of his staff that would quickly find their marks on the vulture husks, the hidden alcoves, and the husk-vulture storage tanks beyond the doors of the alcoves and turned them all into pools of molten slag.

The defenses didn't end there as thirty trap doors in the ceiling opened, releasing thirty large, yellow-glowing versions of the vulture husks. In addition to that, fifteen turrets equipped with the reaper's magnetohydrodynamic cannons popped out of the floor.

"HERETICAL ABERRATION, YOU TRESPASS ON HOLY GROUNDS! DIE!" The reaper-possessed forms of the mega vulture husks bellowed as one before launching a flaming yellow orb of plasmatic eezo at him from their talons and yellow particle beams out of their six eyes. This was all the while the fifteen turrets in the ground launched streams of molten metal at him.

Dodging these tiny incoming disruptor torpedoes, particle beams, and molten metal streams with a series of tiny warp jumps around the room, Yramith Utran would then activate his staff to create and launch a barrage of cyclonic blades of gravitational force at the glowing mega vulture husks and the turrets, all the while simultaneously and secretly he began forging cloaked constructs of hard-light behind himself.

These cyclones of gravitational force would quickly overwhelm the kinetic barriers of the turrets and would shred them apart into gently steaming piles of broken scrap metal.

As for the glowing mega vulture-husks, they would perform a series of mass effect FTL jumps to avoid the blades similar to how Yramith Utran had evaded their attacks, but while they thought they were successfully dodging his attacks, he was actually heading them towards a trap.

And soon enough the glowing mega vulture-husks would spring this trap, expressions of furious surprise on their twisted and long decomposed avian faces as thirty vaguely humanoid constructs of golden hard-light decloaked and stabbed their molecule-breaking blade-appendages into the back of the mega vulture-husks' heads before rapidly slicing their bodies apart.

"THIS IS NOT THE END, HERETICAL ABERRATION… RELEASING CONTROL." The mega vulture husks boomed as one before disintegrating into ash.

Placing his omni-manipulator back in a tesseract vault with a shimmer and letting his hard-light constructs decay into a flurry of golden photons, Yramith Utran would then walk forward unabated to the pedestal.

Here he would easily hack the mechanisms of the pedestal to release the field the artifact was held in before he telekinetically grabbed the falling artifact and brought it closer to himself to visibly study it. It was an orb of shifting and kaleidoscopic purples, reds, pinks, and blacks which gave off strange dark energy readings among various others that he couldn't really make any sense of.

Nodding to himself, he would then place the artifact into a dedicated tesseract vault with a shimmer. He then activated his rift-beacon to drag him through subspace back to his cloaked ship in orbit of this station which caused reality to implode directly around him.

One Week Later: The Citadel, Council Chambers.

—Citadel News Network—

"Upheaval in the terminus systems! Aria T'loak has been discovered to be missing!

How this has exactly come to pass is unknown, but our experts believe that a populist movement known as the Free Terminus Bloc, which has since seized control of both Omega and Ilium themselves in addition to the holdings of various warlords, is responsible. In addition to that, the Free Terminus Bloc has agreed to join the ATC as an affiliate state.

In other news, it has been revealed that the Batarian Hegemony has fallen to a slave rebellion and that the new state that has replaced it, which is known as the Kite's Nest Commonwealth, has agreed to join the ATC as an affiliate state just as the Free Terminus Bloc has done!

And finally, for the last piece of news this hour, our sources have shown that the Quarian Migrant Fleet has entered the Perseus Veil and has, according to the Geth Orthodoxy, begun to resettle Rannoch.

These new settlements have renamed and rebranded themselves as the New Quarian Republic, and have agreed to join the ATC as an affiliate state similar to the Kite's Nest Commonwealth and the Free Terminus Bloc!

What all these groups joining the ATC as associate states means for the council–"

Login shut off the news recording on the holo tank and sighed. "It appears that the terrans haven't been as self-isolating as they said they would be."

"And to think I wanted a drama-free last day as councilor before my replacement arrives and takes over, of course the spirits wouldn't grant me such a demanding request." Sparatus mused sourly.

"We knew these things were happening of course, but we had no idea they were receiving support from the terrans." Loglin stated in a mildly annoyed tone due to the failure of the STG to see the ATC's clear involvement in these cases beyond mere speculation.

"I warned you! I warned all of you that the terrans would try to destroy us!" Tevos shouted.

"Tevos, pray tell, how exactly is bringing order to the batarian hegemony and the terminus systems trying to destroy us? Or for that matter, how is getting the Quarians out of our fringes trying to destroy us?" Sparatus asked tiredly.

"I wouldn't say they're trying to destroy us Tevos. What I would say is that they're trying to gain as much influence as possible over other powers that are not us to prepare them for the reapers. In addition to this, they are also following the stances of the path of the mind in regards to pirates and slavers." Loglin said.

"Well, what about Illium then?! That's not in the terminus systems but edges of council space!" Tevos exclaimed.

"You're just upset because they took Ilium, your corporate black colony, and freed all the slaves there." Sparatus retorted darkly.

"They weren't slaves! They were indentured-" Tevos began, trying to defend herself.

"Semantics. The point is that they only have a problem with the terminus systems, which Illium more or less was a part of regardless, and the former batarian hegemony." Sparatus said, cutting Tevos off before adding. "If anything, the terrans have done a great service for both us and the galactic community at large by doing these things."

"Yes. The Terrans see themselves as the galactic peacekeepers, ones that are mostly hands-off unless an entire pre-spaceflight species is threatened by a natural disaster or if an interstellar nation or group threatens or commits slavery, genocide, piracy, or excessive killing of non-combatants against another like the hegemony and many former terminus warlords did." Loglin agreed.

"A role that we Turians are more than happy to share with such a morally upstanding interstellar nation," Sparatus added on happily.

"Then what about the Union then, how long until they invade you for the Genophage?!" Tevos demanded.

"They said they understood why we did it, saying that it was an unfortunate necessity considering both our situation then and our level of advancement in genetic engineering at the time. That being said, they are aiding our scientists in the process of creating a new genophage that both lowers the Krogan's aggression to that of an average species in addition to lowering their egg production rate and frequency instead of simply creating stillborns." Loglin informed.

"Many of the Delathrasses could not have been happy with that, a lot of them view the current genophage as some kind of great achievement." Sparatus mused.

"Surprisingly enough, most were actually on board with it considering the lowered aggression and the lower production rate of offspring which will be about the same as it is now, just a permanent change that doesn't need constant monitoring or crushes the hope of an entire species," Loglin explained.

"Well, that's good to hear," Sparatus said.

'No, it's not! The Krogan species were supposed to die away slowly for their crimes, just like how the Quarians were!' Tevos silently lamented while cursing the Terrans.

Meanwhile: Rakana Orbit; The Candle Against the Night; simbridge.

'Operator Waterford, how many Drell are located upon this world?' Andria Norman asked.

'10,783, much more than enough for a stable long-term population. The majority of these numbers are located within small city-states that are built around the few remaining untapped and uncontaminated resources.' Operator Waterford said.

'Then the plan will continue as normal as this is what we expected. We will leave the cloaked atmospheric scrubber hidden in the high stratosphere, drop reconstructed flora seeds at various locations across the planet, hide the cloaked water scrubbers at the bottom of the oceans, refill empty mines with new unrefined ore and stone, and hide the mostly completed schematics for primitive fuel cells, solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric dams in various pre-collapse laboratories with fabricated evidence of their independent development that wasn't completed in time.' Andria Norman listed.

'I understand, your excellency. The procedures are ready to begin at your discretion.' Operator Waterford said.

'Alright, began deployment.' Andria Norman ordered.

'Understood, ma'am. Beginning deployment.' Operator Waterford said.

One Week Later: Deep Space; Inside the reaper capital ship Nazara.

"Still nothing, my lord? How are we progressing in the decryption of the beacon from Neloh Prime?' Desolas asked.

'NOT AT AN ADEQUATE RATE. EVERY MOMENT WE LAY IDLE IS A MOMENT OUR ENEMIES ARM THEMSELVES.' Sovereign declared psionically.

"Then what do you suggest, my lord?" Desolas asked.

'WE WILL GO TRAVERSE TO THE PLANET YOUR LIMITED KIND KNOW AS FERROS. THERE WE MIGHT FIND THE THORIAN, A PLANET-BOUND FUNGOID LIFEFORM THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ASSIMILATED THE NEURAL DATA OF A PROTHEAN.' Sovereign explained.

"Why haven't we done this sooner?! We've already lost over a month by doing absolutely nothing of worth!" Desolas exclaimed in fury.

'THE PROTHEANS WERE UNUSUALLY ADEPT WITH PSIONICS AND PSIONIC TECHNOLOGY. IN ADDITION TO THIS, THEIR CULTURE WAS HIGHLY MILITANT AND FOCUSED ON MARTIAL PROWESS. IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THAT ANY PROTHEAN WOULD ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE CONSUMED ALIVE OR WILLINGLY.' Sovereign explained.

"Of course, my lord. We shouldn't be going after unlikely theoretical leads unless we have depleted all fact-based leads first." Desolas agreed before asking. "Will this Thorian be a threat to the cycle? Will it be brought into your divine perfection?"

'NEGATIVE. THE THORIAN IS AN UNUSUAL ANOMALY IN THE HOLY CYCLE, ONE THAT CONSTANTLY UNDERGOES A CYCLE OF EXPANSION AND THEN SEPARATION. IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT DOES NOT IN ANY WAY POSE A THREAT TO US DUE TO ITS PRIMITIVE AND PLANET-BOUND NATURE.' Sovereign declared psionically.

"Of course, my lord. I understand.' Desolas said.

'GOOD. WE ARE IN ACCORD.' Sovereign declared psionically as it began charging up its jump drive to head to Ferros.

Two Hours Later: The Citadel, Private Meeting Room on the Presidium.

"Thank you for coming here, Saren. Today your Terran and Geth experts shall be arriving momentarily in addition to the Prothean expert that we have recruited."

And with that being the cue to enter, a silver and green-robed terran in a humanoid morph, a seemingly ordinary blue and white LOKI mech platform, and an Asari in blue and silver armor walked into the room.

"This is Commander Shephard, a first branch terran who is here by the Terrans to aid you in your hunt for the rogue specter and your brother, Desolas Arterius, and the reapers. She is a fully capable combat engineer equivalent within their society and also has an affinity for leadership and diplomacy." Councilor Esheel, the New Salarian Councilor, spoke simply.

"Greetings, Saren Arterius. I look forward to working with you against the reaper threat." Jane Shephard respectfully nodded toward Saren while speaking diplomatically.

"This is Azor, a Geth who acted as a diplomatic liaison with our forces and the Geth Orthodoxy in the battle of Neloh Prime. While its body may look like a standard LOKI platform, it has been enhanced by them to be significantly stronger, faster, smarter, and have various hidden weapon systems." Councilor Esheel continued.

"Greetings, Arterius-Spectre," Azor spoke robotically.

"And lastly this is Matron Liara T'soni, she is an expert in the extinction of the Protheans and has predicted the existence of the reapers long before anyone else. She was on the colony of Neloh Prime during the heretic Geth attack and has a good deal of other combat experience within the terminus systems on some of her archaeological digs that have gone wrong. In addition to this, she has been confirmed not to be psionically compromised like what we now suspect the missing Matriarch Benezia to be." Councilor Esheel concluded.

"Hello Spectre Arterius, I hope we can disrupt the plans of the reapers and hopefully save my mom from their slavery." Liara T'soni said hopefully.

"That entirely depends on how far her ego has been psionically altered, there comes a point where the old person simply no longer exists and it is more path-abiding to put them out of their misery in honor of the person they once were." Jane Shephard supplied.

"I really hope she hasn't reached that point yet..." Liara T'soni trailed off nervously.

"In addition to these three experts, you will be given full access to the experimental heavy stealth frigate, the Uberiel, that was built in a collaboration between the Salarian STG and our HIS that will be your base of operations for your quest to bring down the reapers and their slaves." The new Turian councilor, councilor Quentius, added.

"What will be my first objective for this assignment?" Saren asked.

"Your first mission shall be to head towards the old Prothean colony world of Ferros, it has been colonized by us Asari and the force of the heretic Geth have been spotted scouting the area before they took out our local comn buoys." Councilor Irissa said with tightly veiled anger before continuing. "Your goal here is to stealthily insert yourselves into the ruins to see what the heretic Geth are looking for within those ruins, if anything, while an attachment from the citadel defense fleet eradicates their space and ground assets."

"Understood. When will we be leaving?" Saren Arterius asked.

"Immediately after this meeting concludes." councilor Quentius answered.

"In addition to this, you will be given experimental mind shielding helmets that we have created with the aid of the Terrans due to the high possibility of encountering psi-active technologies and to protect our soldiers in the coming reaper war." Councilor Esheel added which caused councilor Irissa to scowl in abject hatred for just a few milliseconds.

While going unnoticed by everyone else, Jane Shephard and her high-grade non-sapient suit AI very much noticed this.

"Thank you, Councilors. If that is all, I will leave immediately." Saren stated.

"Of course, Spectre. Good hunting." Councilor Quentius said with a nod.

Meanwhile: Thessia, The Temple of Athame.

Deep within the temple of Athame, the Cabal grew more and more desperate as the control they enjoyed for centuries was slipping faster and faster from their fingers and into those of the terran arch-slaves.

"We need to find a way to catch up with them! Day after day they are gaining more influence over the lesser species!" High matriarch Aranithya screamed in frustration before making a drastic decision. "Divert as much power to the beacon as you possibly can, bring in more reactors if we need them!"

"I will obey, mistress. But even if we dramatically accelerate our rate of technological data-mining the terran heretics do not use element zero and are more advanced than the Protheans." Loa-Noi noted calmly.

"It doesn't matter! The heretical terrans cannot possibly stand before the full might of the Prothean Empire's technology!" High matriarch Aranithya said definitively.

"I really hope so, mistress." Loa-Noi said with concern. "Everything we have gathered about the Protheans in various extractions proves that this is most likely to be false." Loa-Noi said with concern.

"Then what do you suggest we do about it?!" High matriarch Aranithya asked desperately.

"Create a new branch that deals with Prothean technology, one that tries to innovate and improve upon it." Loa-Noi suggested.

"Fine. I'm not happy about going against the schematics of the Protheans but I don't see any other choice." High matriarch Aranithya said in a mixture of rage and frustration.

"We already do that regardless though through the conversion of their organic technology base to our inorganic technology base." Loa-Noi pointed out.

"Yes, I admit that may be the case but that still doesn't mean I have to particularly like it." High matriarch Aranithya grumbled.

And so it was that the Cabal of Athame would increase the power to the Athame Beacon more and more to speed up that data-mining and thus their ability to recreate the organic technology of the Protheans in their non-organic cover base.

And over the course of the last several days, the amount of power being fed into the beacon began to shift and be rerouted elsewhere within the beacon. This of course was met with no suspicion as the Athamites simply thought more of the beacon was coming online, which was good for them.

They would be correct of course, but also more wrong than they could ever imagine. For as more and more energy was given to the beacon, something deep within began to stir from its over fifty millennia of slumber.