"Here, this is one of the Exchanger Stations," said the turian, and Exedore nodded as he went inside. Once there, he was rather shocked to find the place mostly bare. His experiences with humanity and the Terrans had told him that most races tended more towards form over function, when it came to business, but this establishment, with only a counter and a few bare walls, appeared to be much more the latter than the former. He put that fact out of his mind as he walked up to the nearby counter and found a small alien standing behind it in some kind of environmental suit.
"-Kush- Hello and welcome to the Citadel Exchanger. -Kish- How may I help you today?" asked the being behind the counter. Exedore looked at him, and was somewhat amused to find that was standing on an elevated platform behind his station, and even that only brought him up to eye level with Exedore himself. Used to being shorter than most, he was always grateful to find someone else who wasn't quite as large as everyone else.
"Yes, I believe you can help me. I'm a visiting dignitary, and have none of your local currency, as such, I wish to trade some raw resources for it. Would I be able to do that here?" he asked, and the being behind the counter shook itself forward a bit. Obviously, it was supposed to be a nod, but the suit the being wore literally required it to shake its whole body in the motion.
"-Kush- Indeed good sir. What sort of resources would you have for exchange?" asked the alien, and Exedore reached into a pocket of his uniform, before pulling out a small vial with some shining silver stones in it.
"As this is my people's first visit to the Citadel, we have a variety of resources to trade, but this seems to be the most valuable according to a few friendly turians. I believe it's called, platinum," he said, and then handed the vial to the being behind the counter. It seemed to eye the stuff inside with the gaze of a jeweler appraising a fine cut gem. It then activated the omnitool it wore on its arm and ran it over it, the breathing apparatus suddenly giving a few choking sounds out of it.
"This sample, it's ninety percent pure," it said, probably having forgotten there was anyone else around it. At the other stations on the counter, similar beings looked over from whatever they were doing, one even leaving a client to come by and look at it.
"Ninety percent pure?" said the one that came up, running its own omnitool over the sample, and getting a similar reading, before both turned to Exedore.
"How much do you have of this? A few ounces?" they asked him, and Exedore chuckled a little.
"Oh my no. We came with more than that. I believe almost ten tons of it, give or take a few hundred pounds," he said, and then watched as the second alien behind the counter rolled over, probably passing out in its suit. The one who'd been helping him just sputtered a few things, and then finally collected himself.
"Are they all of this purity?" he asked, and Exedore just nodded, before finding himself covered in a bustle of activity, as the aliens began to shuffle the others in line out, leaving only Exedore and his turian guide.
"We'll give you full market value, right now, one hundred and fifty million credits," said what Exedore assumed to be the leader of these volus, a name the turian had whispered to him during the chaos of evacuating the place.
"Hmm, that sounds reasonable, but do you mind if I talk with someone aboard my ship about this first?" he asked, and the volus seemed to hesitate for a moment, before motioning for him to do so. Smiling, Exedore tapped at his ear, and the small device there, which beeped at him a few times, before a female voice finally came on.
"Ivanova here, do you need something Prime Thinker?" said the voice.
"Yes, do you have access to that galactic hypernet that Commander Kryik spoke of?" he asked.
"I'm on it right now, actually. A wealth of galactic culture, information, and porn. Mostly that last one, sadly, but there is a large selection of the second. Did you need something in particular?" she asked him, and he found himself blushing a little at the thought of what might be on there, making a mental note to avoid a straight info dump when he came to view it.
"Yes, what would the current price of the platinum be in our cargo hold right now?" he said, and then heard the voice on the other end turn to static for a few moments, as she went over the data, before finally coming back.
"At current market value, being about twelve hundred credits an ounce, we should be getting around three-hundred-eighty-four-million credits," she informed him, and he nodded, smiling as he turned back towards the volus, who seemed to be shaking a little.
"Thank you, Commander Ivanova," he told her.
"It was my pleasure, Prime Thinker," she responded, before his earpiece chirped, and he faced the exchangers.
"Now, I believe you were about to tell me you'd give me three-hundred-eighty-million credits for my cargo, which would be around the galactic standard for such things, were you not?" he asked, smiling politely, but somehow exuding an aura that just screamed that he could kill the suited aliens without breaking a sweat. They were quick to give him exactly what he asked for, even setting up an account with Citadel Services so he wouldn't have to carry around anything but a single card, which he then walked out with, the turian beside him whistling as that went.
"That was impressive," he said, and Exedore chuckled a little at the compliment.
"As Mrs. Hayes stated, I am over two thousand years old. While the last few centuries have been spent in more peaceful endeavors, the majority of it was as a soldier and commander. One never truly forgets the skills of command," he said, and the turian nodded. Exedore then asked where they would find a good shop for things like omnitools, holoprojectors, and various other seemingly random goods. The turian, just wanting to see how this went, directed him towards the shopping district, smirking as the new guy, fresh off a transport, took the seasoned salespeople for everything they were worth.
OoOoO
"Is it always this loud?" asked Hayes of the general as they stood at the foot of a set of stairs. About them, aides, clerks, and just onlookers were paying very little attention to the proceedings, as a four eyed alien, a batarian she'd been told, was shouting at the Council concerning the indignities suffered at the hands of the turians. She had soon taken to just letting his shouts slide off her own brain, as he said nothing of substance at all, just listing events, but never the actions taken.
"When four eyes is on the Stage? Yeah, pretty much," confirmed the general, as they waited through three more diatribes about all the things the batarian people had done for galactic society. This did have at least two positives. The first was that it gave Amanda time to look over shoulders, and ask a few questions of those around her. She discovered many interesting things on the intricacies of Citadel politics.
Some like her own, where civic funds were spent and the like, while others were utterly alien, like these hanar things and how often you could invoke the 'Enkindlers', their name for the protheans that had built the mass relays. Still, each was connected by that common thread of elected offices, namely, pandering to your base. She understood that well enough, as she had to do a lot of that back home to get her position as Representative on the Conclave. Though she would need time to learn all the various bases she would need to pander to, it gave her some comfort to know that aliens, at least in that way, were just like Terrans.
The second reason four eye's speech was a good thing was, apparently many of the people waiting for their chance on the Petitioner's Stage had heard his words before. This meant that many, seeing him rant and rave, got out of the lineup, and just wandered away. It did make her wonder how long he'd been talking, considering they were unwilling to waste anymore time with this, but then, they probably had other appointments to get to, and had no more time to throw away just waiting.
Finally, after almost two hours, the batarian ambassador finished his ranting and raving, leaving off with a threat of action that seemed to just bore the Council. The only other petitioner between Hayes and them now was a much quieter individual, a helpful asari matriarch, Benezia. She'd been the one answering most of the Terran's questions during the long wait, and better yet had only a single matter to bring before them, regarding her daughter and a prothean dig site, a matter that was settled with a few words.
"Good luck," whispered the blue woman as Hayes passed her, and she smiled in thanks, as she and General Ororian walked up to stand in front of the Council. They eyed her suspiciously as she approached, the turian turning towards her, and then the general, before looking at his omnitool.
"Hmm, a new species. Perhaps the ones that escorted the Talons into dock earlier today?" asked the turian, his tone implying something, though Hayes decided not to rise to it.
"I was actually aboard the Talons itself when it docked, though I do represent the larger vessel. My name is Amanda Hayes, Representative of the Senate on the Conclave, and one of the leaders of the Terran Federation," she explained, and the two other Councilors took a moment to look at their own tools, obviously looking up details that they had missed in the hustle and bustle of the day's petitions. The Terran woman just waited to give them time to look over the data, before raising their eyes to her. The asari, for her part, seemed amused by this, her smile friendly and inviting, while the salarian seemed an odd mirror of the turians, matching his scowl despite the difference in facial features.
"Another new race that presents its flagship as if to impress us," said the salarian, a female of her species, in a dismissive tone. Amanda was tempted, just for a moment, to contact the Agamemnon and order the SDF-3 to Fold near the Citadel, let the Council see their full might. She contained that childish urge however, and powered onward.
"We seek nothing more than to become part of the Galactic Community, Dalatrass, and avoid the sort of incidents that occurred at the Shanxi Relay," she said instead.
"Shanxi?" asked the asari in the middle of the Council.
"Our name for a planet in the system containing the Mass Relay designated Three-One-Four," she explained, and the asari woman nodded.
"A relay you were tying to activate and only failed to do to the quick actions taken by Captain Desolas Arterius," added the turian to her statement. This information was obviously not in the quick updates the other two had read, as they both seemed rather shocked by the news.
"Something we would have stopped, had we been asked. The Captain's decision to fire on an unarmed Terran repair veritech is the reason I'm here. Such things poison the waters between our peoples, and that must be avoided at all costs," she said, and the asari Councilor nodded in agreement, placing her hand on the turian Councilor's shoulder when it looked like he was about to start a shouting match with this woman.
"A noble sentiment, and one I must wholeheartedly agree with. In the name of relations, I say that we adjourn this Petitioner Meeting, for a scheduled time tomorrow, so this matter might be the focus of the Council's attention. All in favor?" she asked of the two around her. The turian still looked ready to fight about this, and mentally noted to go see Desolas as soon as the day's business was done, but he agreed to the recess, and the salarian did likewise.
"Then considered this matter tabled. Mrs. Hayes, if you would, there is an embassy near my own that is currently empty. While it has only basic amenities, it could serve as your temporary quarters if you'd like," offered the blue alien.
"That would do just fine, I believe," she answered, and the blue woman smiled at her, before turning her gazed to the turian next to the Terran.
"You know the embassy I am speaking of, correct General Ororian?" she asked of the man, and he nodded.
"Good, if you would escort her there then," she said, and Representative Hayes gave a quick bow from the Petitioner's Stage, before walking off with the general.
"Your Councilor seemed rather annoyed with me," she said as they walked into the elevator, the doors closing behind them.
"He is. Captain Arterius was a friend of his. Had events gone done differently and he been the one to capture your crews, I wouldn't be surprised if Desolas got a promotion was made the general in charge of showing your people the folly of breaking Citadel Laws," he explained simply, and Hayes nodded as she and the general slowly descended the tower, finally arriving back at the Presidium.
What they saw as the exited the car was a crowd. At first, it almost looked like a riot, as screams echoed over the area, people pointing towards a massive shape standing out in the pool beside the elevator. It soon became apparent though, as those screams were accompanied by a few smatterings of applause that they were enthralled by something. Looking where they were, Hayes and Ororian were startled to find Shepard juggling. Specifically she was juggling one of the Citadel Transport Aircars, a turian in full armor, what appeared to be her sword in it full extended form, and a large ball.
"Pallin!""Shepard!" shouted the two together as they realized what was going on, and the entire crowd turned to the angry shouts, some recognizing the first voice as one of the leaders of the Citadel Fleet. For her part, Shepard said nothing, and merely caught each item as it came down, setting the car down on a small strip of sidewalk, then the turian, then catching the sword and twisting the pommel so it folded into its travel form, before finally catching the ball easily with one hand, then setting that down in front of a small asari girl as she stood at attention in the water, the turian standing and mimicking her.
"General""Representative" the two said together, and both leaders forced their way through the crowd as they started to quickly disperse and go on about their business. As they got up to their subordinates, they both started the dressing down in almost perfect unison, only to stop as they spoke, Ororian gesturing towards Hayes.
"Ladies first," he said, and she nodded in thanks, before turning back to Shepard.
"Now just what in the name of Macross was going on here?!" she demanded of the giant woman, who, thanks to standing in the water, was at least a little closer to her leader.
"I was fostering a sense of kinship with the locals, ma'am," she responded, though she kept a neutral expression on her face as she answered.
"And just what were you doing, Lieutenant?" asked Ororian in a much softer tone, though one that just said if he didn't like the answer, he was going to make sure the poor turian was cleaning toilets for the next year.
"I was helping Mrs. Shepard foster of sense of kinship with the locals, sir," she responded, again, a neutral expression on his face, neither of them seeming willing to volunteer anymore information beyond that. The two leaders looked at each other, than at their subordinates, and finally both sighed in unison.
"Alright, if you can explain, in a way that makes sense, how the two of you ended up as a circus act, we won't demote you, but it better be good," said Hayes, and Ororian seemed to agree, as both crossed their arms, and just stood there staring at the other two.
"Sir, I was watching Mrs. Shepard practice her swordswomanship at which she is quite skilled, I must say. After a few minutes of this, a small crowd had begun to gather. The asari girl had a ball on her that could be inflated to a large size, and Hannah started to bounce it on her sword to show off even more skill. Then, she began tossing the sword and ball back and forth in her hands. Then she asked for a volunteer to be tossed around. As the crowd was reluctant, I stepped forward to help," explained Pallin, and the general eyed him up and down, before turning to Hayes, as if giving her the floor.
"Shepard, this had better be good," she said, and the giant woman actually managed to swallow in a worried fashion that looked rather charming, rather than threatening.
"As Underlieutenant Pallin said, I asked for a volunteer, since I knew how to handle a small person without harming them. I was just trying to keep the crowd entertained, and hopefully build a bridge or two while I was at it," explained Shepard.
"And how did the car become involved?" she asked, and both Shepard and Pallin suddenly seemed much more reluctant to talk. However, under the eyes of her leader, Shepard finally cracked.
"The car nearly ran into Pallin as he was flying. The thing was on autopilot, and no one was inside, so I leapt up and grabbed it, before adding it to the routine. It was the only way I could think of not to worry the crowd over what had just happened. Make it part of the act," she said, and the two leaders looked at each other again, before finally, almost in perfect unison, they sighed, put their palms on their faces, and shook their heads, before finally turning back towards their subordinates.
"Alright, no court martials, but if there are any more unscheduled circus acts, we'll be finding both of you some backwater stations to deploy on, understood?" said Ororian, and the two saluted. A few more pleasantries were then shared, before the general led the two Terrans to an embassy office. It was, obviously, too small for Shepard, but she merely took a guard position outside, putting her helmet back on as she stood there, seemingly just part of the architecture, one that would nearly give the asari Councilor a heart attack, before she got the full story, and was allowed to talk a bit more privately with Amanda Hayes regarding the Terran Federation and their place in the Galactic Community.