Hayes and Exedore had been loading up one of the carts with a few of Exedore's larger purchases, with the man himself complaining that he was likely not going to see a good return on most of the investments he'd made over the last week when it came to Citadel credits. As they, together, lifted a large circular device onto the stack, grunting with the exertion, they heard a chime. Both stopped immediately looking at each other, and then at the door, before Hayes went to it.
"Hello?" she asked tentatively, both aware that right now, even with Shepard outside, they would be targets of aggression.
"Yes, Representative Hayes, it's the salarian Councilor. I am unarmed, and wish to speak with you before you leave. If that would be all right," the two looked at each other again, both a bit surprised by the humble tone of voice, and so Hayes opened the door, allowing the Councilor in, who looked at them both as she entered, and the seemingly jumbled pile of things on the cart, before bowing to them.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but I felt it would be the last time I would be able to speak with you, personally," she told them, and Hayes nodded, gesturing towards a set of chairs where they all took seats.
"It might be, I'm afraid. After the events of today, I doubt our governments will want to talk for a long time," said Hayes.
"Longer for me than you. I'm almost thirty five years old now, and will likely end the year retired to some nice warm place back on my homeworld. By the time our people have relations again, I will be long since dead. Still, I am a woman who looks to the future, it's why I'm a Councilor, and right now, I must ask these questions, to settle my mind about how the future will play out," she said this simply, bluntly, and both Hayes and Exedore just nodded at her, motioning for her to continue.
"You have ample reason to hate us, to make war on us, after what that fool did. If not the whole Council, at least the turians, and many a race, including the krogan, seem to think that you'll declare hostilities the instant you leave. I must ask, will you?" again, her tone was blunt. No tricks, no clouded meaning, just a desperate need to know. It got both Hayes and Exedore thinking, until finally, it was Exedore who answered with a question of his own.
"I know we sent the history files to you, but did you have time to go over them fully?" asked the Zentraedi.
"I will admit, I skimmed in a few places, but I think I absorbed it fairly well," answered the salarian.
"If that is the case, then I'm sure you're aware that my people are extra-galatic, from a galaxy called M51," he said, and she nodded at this.
"You came in search of the SDF-1, correct?" asked the Dalatress.
"Indeed. But, did you not wonder what happened to our old home after we left it?" responded the Zentraedi, and the Dalatress seemed taken aback by the question.
"I had assumed you couldn't get back. The data you gave us indicated it took you over a millennium to arrive here from where you originated," she said.
"Heh, a misconception. It took us one thousand years to find the SDF-1, not to get here. The range of a Fold Drive equipped ship is, to put it simply, unlimited. We can go anywhere in the universe in the blink of an eye. With the proper calculations of course," he seemed to add the last as an afterthought.
"But no, we could, and have returned to our birthplace. Before I tell you what we found, I will tell you this, one of the reasons our creators were so intent on finding the SDF-1 is the power source inside it, the Protoculture Matrix was central to powering the greatest weapon ever known to us. A device that, when activated, could cause any star, at any age or intensity, to expel all its energy in one apocalyptic blast of fire and force. In essence, it was a weapon that could turn the very stars themselves into bullets to be fired at your enemy," he said this simply, as if he weren't admitting that somewhere, somewhen, someone had created a device that could literally wipe out everything, everywhere.
"This device, the Stellar Detonation Device, or SDD, was by its very nature, a weapon of last resort. But our masters had sent us out to find the power to make it work, all their warriors and protectors, and so they left themselves without guardians, in a galaxy they had ruled through fear for so long that even they knew not a time when they were lords of all they surveyed," his tone changed now, to one of sorrow, as he spoke, and looked upwards, as if he could see through the Citadel, and out into space, into the spinning cosmos beyond.
"Without the Matrix, the SDD was weak, but it still worked, at least in part. Point it at a star, and the star would eject a wave of fire in all directions. It wasn't quite the explosion that was wanted by its maker, the worlds would be left, and able to be recovered, but it was powerful enough for their needs," he only seemed to grow darker as the tale went on, and though the Dalatress could tell exactly where this would end, she would not stop him, she had to hear this for herself.
"We can only guess at what happened next. Maybe someone among the Robotech Masters panicked. Maybe one of the other races grew stronger. Maybe it was just an accident. What we do know is that every world in the M51 is a graveyard of worlds now. The great crystal cities of Tirol were dust in the wind. The verdant jungles of the Invid homeworlds were just mountains of ash. Even the stone fortresses of the once mighty Karbaran, built into mountains, are just rubble," he seemed drained, and the Dalatress realized why.
Those words seemed to come from deep inside him. He must have seen these things for himself, after all, he claimed to be over two thousand years old, and it would only make sense to take someone along who had an intimate knowledge of the area. He must have been on those ships, traveling home, hoping to find his people again, only to find ruination left behind them. Home and hearth gone in a blaze of fire that consumed everything a world had to offer.
"That, my dear Councilor, is why we're refusing this war. We can't, and won't refuse a third time, but for now, we wish only to live in peace, lest the fire consume this galaxy, as it did the home of the Zentraedi so long ago," said Hayes, and the Dalatress could do nothing but nod, as her mind pictured that sort of war, and of her own home burning into cinders.
"Do you still have this Stellar Detonation Device?" she asked at last, a tremble of fear in her voice.
"No. Even if it had been something we recovered from the M51, we would have destroyed it. Such power is ultimately destructive, and nothing good can come of it," responded Hayes, and the salarian woman looked at her with those frog like eyes. She watched her move her hands, her feet, and even the in and out motion of her chest. In her time on the Council, the Dalatress had prided herself on knowing when she was being lied to, and in this statement, from this woman, she saw only truth.
"Then I have something to say, before I take my leave of you," she said this while standing up, and then fell to one knee before the two of them.
"We of Sur'Kesh recognize what has been done to you, if not by ourselves, than by agents bearing our will. For this reason, if nothing else, we grant your wish. The worlds you have claimed as you own are recognized as such, and we will not interfere in your affairs," so saying she stood up, and then looked at them, smiling in that odd way a salarian did, before turning on her heel.
She had intended to leave after such a declaration, but was stopped in her tracks as a low beeping sound came from Hayes' omnitool. The Councilor stopped in her stride, turning towards the the Terran, who was already pressing a button to answer the transmission. When she pushed it though, a form popped into existence, a hologram she recognized from his time pleading his people's case in front of her.
"Representative, I have...oh, I wasn't aware you were having company," said the form.
"I was just about to leave Mr. Garibaldi," she said, and made to do just that.
"Wait, I think you might want to hear this as well," he told her, and the Dalatress turned to face him.
"As you might remember, since you remember my name, I'm the electronic warfare officer of the Agamemnon. In that capacity I have been spreading...packages throughout the Citadel's computers," he said, and the Dalatress waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
"You and every other information gathering service in the galaxy. My own people have spy tools spread the whole length of the station. I assume, you found something of note with yours, however," she said, and Garibaldi nodded.
"Something of grave importance to everyone here. When I leapt into the turian Councilor's omnitool I left a present behind for him. I figured it would be good for blackmail later, given some of the preferences I saw in the thing. It picked up a few incriminating things, but this more so than most," as he spoke, he waved his hand, and suddenly two smaller images appeared beside him, floating in the air. One was the turian Councilor himself, but the other was far more interesting, and known to everyone in the room, and probably the galaxy after today.
"Ah, Councilor, how may I help you?" said the image of Sparatus.
"I want to know the status of the fleets we have patrolling the batarian border," responded the Councilor. What followed was a few reports, most of them involving patrolled systems, a few skirmishes with batarian ships, and one that had apparently encountered a quarian ship that had been mining an asteroid. That one was shooed off back to its fleet, an action that seemed to give the general a great bit of amusement.
"I notice, in your reports, you failed to note Arterius' group. I believe the cruiser, Talons, was in command there," this statement seemed to bring the general up short for a moment.
"We only learned about the failure of the group to report in recently. A lieutenant has already been demoted for that, sir. May I ask how you learned of their disappearance?" he said this in a much more reserved and suspicious tone.
"You may, and your answer would be because the Talons is here on the Citadel," said the Councilor.
"I'm sorry, you're saying that Arterius, one of my most devoted officers, has left his post?" asked Sparatus.
"There are mitigating circumstances behind this. His patrol group encountered a new race, a species calling themselves Terrans, in the midst of activating Relay Three-One-Four. Seeing the situation, Arterius decided the best course of action was to stop them through force, and fired on them," explained the Councilor.
"That doesn't sound so bad. New races sometimes need to be taught that doing things without thinking them through will result in unpleasant consequences," retorted the General.
"I agree. However, it seems this race is in possession of a new type of technology, far different from the eezo base we ourselves use," and then he pushed a button on his omnitool, and another image appeared between them, this of the Agamemnon and the Phoenix.
"Their ships are massive in scale, and their ambassador here on the Citadel claims to have thousands of ships of at least dreadnaught weight," as he spoke on, images of a turian dreadnaught and cruiser joined the two Terran vessels, showing their size against the Terran ships. The comparison was not comforting to a military mind.
"That must be a lie. We have one of the most robust economies in the galaxy, and even we can't support more than a few dozen. A race new to the galactic scene would simply not have the capability to keep a fleet of more than a few ships of that weight supplied and manned," said Sparatus as he observed the images.
"Again, I agree. Too many of her claims are outrageous. They even claim that their technology is extra-galactic in origin. Which brings me to the point of this transmission. They have a colony in the system with the relay. While the Talons was brought to the Citadel with their ship, they left the escort frigates behind. I want you to retrieve them from the system, and while you're there, inspect their colony," as he spoke, he leaned forward, his face almost touching Sparatus'
"By inspect, do you mean seize?" asked the general, his face going to his omnitool. Obviously he was recording this conversation, for what end not anyone present could say.
"If it becomes necessary, yes. We must have examples of their technology to either prove their claims, or label them as the liars I believe they are. If we must inconvenience a few of their citizens, so be it. Such power introduced too quickly onto the galactic stage could be catastrophic to our entire society," said the Councilor, trying to justify his actions before the fact, as he knew his words were being recorded.
"If they resist me, is lethal force authorized?" this question seemed to catch the Councilor off guard, as if he had not considered that the Terrans might resist to the point of combat. Still, he collected himself after a few heartbeats.
"I will not authorize lethal force against a civilian outpost. Should it prove to be more than that, you may use your own discretion, but be aware, one of the examples of this new specie is over sixty feet in height. I have had agents confirm independently that this is not some trick, and appears to be the real thing. They claim that this is the average size of their people, though the only two I've seen in person are certainly smaller than that," this time it was the general's turn to be caught off guard, and it took him considerably longer to recover as he seemed to be trying to mentally picture someone of that size.
"I will make sure all ground teams are told this, and given the appropriate gear to handle it. Is there anything else we should know going in?" asked the general.
"Two things. First that they had a weapon capable of disabling the frigates in short order. We don't know how it works, but all the reports I'm seeing say the blasts seemed to interact with the barriers somehow. The second is that the Terrans make use of AIs in their battles. These are far different than our own, and can access any open system, so it might be prudent to lock down every computer until you have control of the colony," this information was filed away, rather than being surprising to the general, who just nodded at it, and then motioned for the Councilor to continue.
"It would be best if you were able to get in and out without attracting too much attention. If reports are correct, they had no defenders in the colony, and it should be cut off for some time as I have delayed the deployment of a hypernet beacon. If you work quickly enough, you might get in and out before the Terran Federation's realized anything has happened," responded the Councilor, and the general nodded, before the two holos vanished, leaving the room around them in silence.
"How old is this file?" asked the salarian as she came back to herself.
"It's marked as being a week old, just after negotiations started. I would have found it sooner, but the data probe that recorded it was in a sensitive area. Dumping its memory probably caused at least a dozen alarms to go off, but I think the data speaks for itself," said Garibaldi, and the Councilor nodded.
"It does indeed. This would explain General Sparatus' rash actions. Still, to know that turian metal head decided to do this, behind our backs," she let the thought trail off as her mind ran over the likely scenarios of confronting him with this information. Most were quite violent, especially if he refused to step down. Sparatus' decision to violate Citadel Law and bomb a planet from orbit would already reflect badly on the Councilor, but this would destroy his career.
"Would the Councilor face the consequences of his actions, if you were to be given a copy of this recording?" asked Hayes, and without even thinking about it, the Dalatress nodded.
"Garibaldi, I want you to give all the data you have in regards to this to the Dalatress, and then delete your copies," ordered Hayes, getting some odd looks from those around her.
"Ma'am, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked the AI after a moment of silence.
"I am. The Dalatress has recognized our claim of the Local Cluster as legitimate. As such, it would be in the best interest of relations to allow her to deal with this matter internally," responded Hayes. Garibaldi looked for a moment like he wanted to argue the point, but then just shrugged. A second later the Councilor's omnitool beeped, saying she had a file, and then the hologram faded.
"I must act on this immediately. If you will both excuse me," said the Dalatress, and left as quickly as decorum would allow, leaving Hayes and Exedore alone. As they resumed piling more things onto the cart, the Zentraedi turned to the Terran woman.
"You are putting a great deal of faith in the Dalatress, considering what has happened today," he said, as they lifted up another ring shaped contraption together, grunting from the effort.
"I know it's a gamble, but it's one that could pay off. The salarians are used to being the last among equals. Not as respected for their wisdom as the asari, or as feared for their might as the turians. I think, given a few pushes in the right direction, they might decide their future would be brighter with us, than with their current allies," she said, and Exedore took a moment to think on that.
He realized quickly how many touch stones he had made himself in the last week here, and how the Council's status would be altered by the events of the day. The Council itself was a loose affiliation of various states and peoples, not strong ties. The volus were chaffing under the rather draconian authority of the turians they were being protected by. The quarians were constantly trying to get some help for their beleaguered position, only to have every cry silenced by the Council races. The krogan were literally dying out because the Council refused to forgive a mistake they had made.
All in all, he had to agree with Hayes. The Council's position would be unstable in the coming weeks, as they got used to having another power in the galaxy. To destabilize them farther by dragging out the events would only lead to anarchy and chaos on possibly a galactic scale. Best, for now, to work in subtler fashions. Who knew, maybe, someday, they really would come to an agreement with the peoples of the galaxy. For now though, he looked at the junk piled high on the cart, and realized he needed to get it back to his lab on Gloval Station. There were many new toys to play with, and they would keep him occupied as the galaxy spun on around him.