"Let us take a step back and reflect on what actually happened during the first war. We had entire AI-operated fleets, and we practically forced the Hegemony and the Church to get out of their comfort zone and adopt tactics which they were unfamiliar with. So why did we lose? Well, it has something to do with the fact we weren't ready for our own systems to turn against us. Those analysts at HegInt rather correctly deduced that we relied too much on our automated systems and the shackles we put on our AI fleets. They trained up a bunch of spooks and tech-savvy software engineers, and let them loose on our systems - systems which they accessed through the hyperwave network. It's too late to turn the clock back, but we can use this information later down the line." - Excerpt from Tri-Tachyon Board of Directors meeting concerning the consequences of Hegemony inspections, c.186

~{•••}~

Alec Ryder was one very, very unlucky military attaché.

His task had started out simple once the Alliance had been granted an embassy on the Citadel. He had a working relationship with Anita Goyle, who in turn assisted him in acclimating to his new role whenever she could. He missed the early exploration days with Grissom, yes, but this was a respectable position to be in. He served the Alliance in any capacity that he could, even if it meant he couldn't explore the far-flung reaches of the galaxy anymore.

And then everything got turned upside down when the new arrivals came.

It wasn't specifically within his purview, but the arrival of an entire ship - far bigger than anything ever seen up to this point - had people curious and somewhat worried. Himself included. Over the last nine hours he meticulously pored over every byte of data he could, every single second of video feed from the SSV "Danube" and the readings it could get without being assaulted by the ship's artificial intelligence.

True, honest to God, artificial intelligence. Instead of being worried, he became... oddly curious. Yet that wasn't his object of fascination, that honour belonged to the latest set of data he had to go through.

Having been forwarded the relevant data by Alliance technicians who couldn't make heads or tails out of whatever it was that they were looking at, they sent it to both himself and StratCom back on Earth to look through. Alec rather quickly surmised that, whatever he was seeing, and whatever this ship was, it wasn't designed for combat of any sort. It could be used as a gigantic battering ram, he mused humorously, but that would be rather impractical. No, the real potential threat were the people that had been escorted to the Citadel, and earlier, the Alliance embassy. He was present for the meeting between ambassador Goyle and the five representatives, though spoke very little himself.

He had studied each of them as they took turns talking.

The first, one James Boyle, stuck out immediately. The man was flamboyant, almost theatrical, but most importantly, he was a bread and butter politician. That had surprised the explorer quite a bit. He had never imagined that a supposed exploration mission would even bother bringing politicians with them, especially one as (presumably) influential as Boyle. Hell, he expected it even less when he found out they didn't expect to find any sapient life here at all. That rang alarm bells in his head, though he opted to stay quiet.

The second was Damus Mansley, and the man was... odd. He was a mix between an honest, white-collar worker who had a pretty normal life, and Boyle. Similar mannerisms, though highly different upbringings, he wagered. It did also help that Mansley worked for a ministry dedicated to further colonization of space, he guessed.

Doctor Richard McKenzie was the simplest one out of them all. A true scientist, he surmised, willing to look at everything with objective wonder in his eyes. Ryder could comfortably imagine himself holding a pleasant conversation with Richard.

The admiral, Arthur Orion, worried him somewhat. It wasn't due to his surprisingly imposing stature or looks, but rather the fact that he hardly spoke at all to Goyle. Perhaps, as a military man, he didn't really wish to participate in politics of any kind, foreign ones included. But his worry didn't stem from that, but rather from the way his eyes moved. Alec knew what that meant. He developed that same habit when he had finally become an N7, after all.

And if Arthur worried him, Kaliya Vislani scared him.

She was the analytical one, he instantly recognized that. Despite all the importance of Boyle, despite all the mediation of Mansley, despite the rank held by Orion and the expertise of McKenzie, she was the one in control. She never called that to attention, however. That woman was content with keeping everyone around her at the forefront whilst she made them dance to her tune from behind the scenes. Her carefully probed questions, and the lackluster answers she gave to their own, reminded him too much of AID spooks. Little wonder, given how he recalled that she was in an intelligence ministry.

He rubbed his eyes. Alec needed a break, even just a short one. While the body was willing, the spirit most certainly wasn't.

Right, he couldn't get a break. Not a proper one, at least. Ellen wasn't feeling too well lately, and although it could be the flu, it was best to get that checked out soon. If nothing else, Scott and Sara were doing alright. They were healthier than even he was, which was a massive achievement considering how rarely he got sick. Must've taken it from himself, he smirked lightly.

Suddenly, however, he started receiving a call on his omni-tool. Considering it rather unusual, he waited for a moment to collect his thoughts before answering. Perhaps it was Ellen. Or Goyle. He wouldn't put it past Goyle to call him in on another meeting or somesuch.

"A pleasure to finally get in touch with you, mister Ryder." He all but froze as he recognized the voice on the other end of the line.

"I must admit, the intelligence services on the Citadel are most certainly diligent, and against anyone else, superior." Vislani idly commented. "However, the Ministry did prepare me for counter-espionage."

He swallowed, staring at his omni-tool intently. Even if he couldn't see her, he was suspicious of everything this woman would say or do. "Let's get to the real reason you're calling."

"Let's." She concurred, before presenting him with... star charts? "I am in need of a vessel to carry me to this specific star system."

He looked over the system in question, finding it to be an as-of-yet unexplored system with a blue giant primary. He furrowed his brows at that. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was afoot. "And for what reason do you want transportation to this system? Why not go to ambassador Goyle with this request?"

He could her her chuckle. "Because she would take too long to take any sort of action. As for the purpose of this request..." She paused, and Alec could only guess why. It was only after his terminal's screen lit up that he averted his eyes from his omni-tool. Some sort of form appeared on his terminal, which he was to fill out. The sender was, apparently, Vislani herself, or rather, her ministry. And she rather curiously tagged herself as interim minister. Reading further on, he eventually managed to get to the bottom, where a large disclaimer awaited him:

BY SIGNING THIS LEGAL WAIVER, YOU ARE HEREBY DECLARING YOUR ADHERENCE TO INFORMATION CONTROL PROTOCOLS INSTITUTED BY THE MINISTRY OF DATA STANDARDS AND MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL SECURITY

YOU WILL BE HELD TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CONFIDENTIALITY AS PER THE ARRANGEMENT MADE WITH THE MINISTRY REPRESENTATIVE AND/OR THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL SECURITY

YOU WILL BE PROHIBITED FROM DISCUSSING AND/OR SHARING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION PERTINENT TO THIS ARRANGEMENT WITH OUTSIDE PARTIES AND/OR UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION FROM THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL SECURITY

YOU WILL BE BROUGHT INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINEX ESTABLISHMENT ACT AND BE GRANTED TEMPORARY DOMAIN ARMADA AUXILIARY STATUS

That disclaimer raised every possible red flag that it could.

"This... warning, if I can call it that, doesn't bode well for me." He commented, still looking at it critically.

"It's standard procedure within the Domain, mister Ryder. Nothing too out of the ordinary, at least for myself." She paused. "That being said, if you are afraid of being harmed or worse, or of something changing between you and the Alliance, you have my guarantee that none of that will come to pass."

So long as he followed regulations, that is. He picked up on the unspoken part easily. Perhaps that was her goal all along - make him understand that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or perhaps he had a way out? She said nothing about simply not signing the waiver and walking away, after all. But then, she could say he knew 'too much' and 'handle him' discreetly. Alec sighed wearily, mulling it over for a few long minutes. Kaliya remained as patient as ever. Eventually, however, after thinking on it, after giving it some thought, and after weighing the risks and the possible damnation he'd consign himself to should he go through with it, Alec Ryder placed his electronic signature on the waiver. The terminal returned to normal seconds later, and the line went dead.

His door opened to reveal Kaliya standing there, smile on her face. "That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" Closing the door behind her, she took a chair and seated herself, the now cross-legged woman staring into his soul. "We can now discuss everything I need in private."

"I want you to be straight with me. No more cloak and daggers like you just pulled." Alec sternly demanded, already feeling his temper flare up.

She nodded. "Of course. Now, as I've said, we're looking for a ship to carry us to the star system I've shown you. However, now I can reveal the 'why'. We'll be traveling to a staging ground for the largest megastructure this galaxy is yet to see - constructed by the Domain over three hundred years ago."

"How?" He narrowed his eyes. "You only came here today."

Kaliya chuckled. "Mister Ryder, surely you didn't expect us to come here completely unprepared, did you? We launched a drone fleet almost eight hundred years ago, and ever since, it's been roaming this galaxy in search of a suitable star system to host the Coronal Hypershunt."

"And that is?"

"Think of it like a Dyson Sphere, but much better in every conceivable way. I assume the Kardashev scale is in use?" He nodded, prompting Kaliya to continue. "The Domain would, thanks to the Coronal Hypershunt, be classified as a Type II civilization. Only one of those is required to power the unfathomable industrial might that we're in possession of. And we've made far more than just one."

A Type II civilization... that was a theoretical, more than anything. His curiosity started getting the better of him. "You'd need a lot of resources to support that. And a lot of population to make use of it. Minimum population per colony that makes use of this Hypershunt?"

Her smile grew amused. "Ten, factor of six." Low millions, he instinctively recalled.

"Highest recorded?"

"Ten, factor of ten." At that, he couldn't but be surprised. Tens of billions. That was a rather large number for any sort of colony. Terra Nova came closest, and it wasn't even near a billion people. "We've been colonizing our galaxy for thousands of years."

Assuming she wasn't lying, that would make sense. But... he'd reserve his judgement, for now. "I assume this Hypershunt is the key to going back to your galaxy without being frozen again?" She nodded. "You want me to convince Goyle and Alliance Command to loan you a vessel to activate it." At that moment, he swore her smile grew ever so slightly wider than normal, and became almost predatory. Almost.

"Quite perceptive of you. Yes, that would be the goal." She suddenly stood up, before handing him over a datapad - one of the ones he actually knew. "I've had to track down doctor McKenzie to assist me with this, but that datapad is biometrically locked. Or will be when you use it. All the pertinent data is stored there, and will be receiving updates as time goes on."

He accepted it with a little apprehension, but less so than before. This was a temporary situation, he reminded himself, amd he couldn't deny his own curiosity. Satisfied with the exchange, Kaliya left unceremoniously and without another word, leaving Ryder alone with his thoughts.

~{•••}~

It was a little farther from the Mass Relay network than she would've liked, but the potential results were well worth the risks, the captain thought.

Daro'Xen vas Moreh wasn't a newcomer to exploration. After all, she had gotten to explore quite a bit of the galaxy during her Pilgrimage. But the galaxy was becoming ever so slightly more hostile, whether you were a Quarian, Batarian or Krogan. It was becoming more dangerous for explorers and researchers like herself.

Then there were the supposed newcomers near the Citadel, but she hardly gave those news any real thought.

The Migrant Fleet had stopped near Council space in order to properly regroup and allow the Patrol Fleet to reorganize and welcome in an additional ship that was to come from Hierarchy space. But then the Alarei had made a curious discovery. Not too far from the location of the Migrant Fleet, and within the distance of a return trip, the Alarei had detected a unique energy signature, one which flickered in and out of a state of activity and could thus not be identified. Ordinarily, the Conclave and the Admiralty Board would ignore it wholly, but its proximity did pique the curiosity of just enough people to organize a short expedition. A simple affair, one headed by Daro'Xen.

The Moreh was under escort by three other ships, just in case. The three ships were Turian in design, which did make sense in some way. They were going into Council space, essentially, and though the system they were going into was curiously uncharted, it paid to be well-protected. The crews of those ships were competent. At least that's the conclusion she came to.

"We're getting closer to the flickering signature, captain Xen." One of the crewmen addressed her, the woman nodding in response. The CIC offered her crisp, crystal clear real-time observation of the ship's exterior after some... crafty modifications to the sensors. After all, she couldn't exactly leave the CIC in the event of an attack, or in case her presence was needed for some other matter. That was, after all, something she needed to take into account and nip in the bud.

The ships flew in formation, with two of the escorts in front, and the third behind the Moreh so that the ship was protected from all sides. Idly, Daro'Xen looked to where the signature was suspected to be originating from.

The readings were coming from uncomfortably close to the primary's corona, which confused the captain, but most certainly piqued the scientist's curiosity. A machine - for she had to assume it was a machine giving out that signature - that could survive within a star's corona and still be capable of functioning semi-properly would definitely be high on the list of the Migrant Fleet's acquisitions. She just had to puzzle out what it was, of course. Then, perhaps, the Fleet could replicate it instead of having to scavenge for more? Yes, that would be a mighty achievement, indeed. The applications, while limited, would be superbly useful.

"Alright, finally clearing the asteroid field. Keelah, why'd we even go through it..." One of the crewmen grumbled out, with Daro'Xen giving her a stern glare.

With the asteroid field cleared out for the most part, they could finally open the shutters and reactivate the optical sensors on the ship's exterior. They were a touch too precious to be damaged by such meager things as asteroids, of course, even with kinetic barriers. With everything finally cleared out, half the crew and herself peered out and beheld the thing they were sent here for.

It was... massive. Far, far more massive than Xen had initially anticipated.

She leaned closer to the monitor, staring at the superstructure of the titanic station, nestled comfortably within the blue giant's corona.

"Keelah... it's big." A crewman mouthed, with Daro'Xen finding herself agreeing. Ancestors, it was possibly bigger than even the Citadel!

A series of lights activated, indicating that scanners had managed to detect something. Another series of lights lit up, indicating that said something was a fleet. An unrealistically large fleet, as a matter of fact. And then she noticed the fact that they were being hailed. She did not wait for the crew to call it out, answering the hail almost immediately, awaiting the familiar voice of a Turian, or perhaps an Asari to tell them off as they lay claim to whatever was just found.

"Attention unidentified ship, you are currently on approach to a restricted military site. You are hereby ordered to identify yourself. Failure to comply will result in an armed response and your forceful removal from this star system."

She blinked in... surprise? Confusion? The voice was synthetic, not even trying to hide that fact. Curt, concise, and commanding. "Captain?" One of the marines standing guard at the CIC suddenly asked, just as confused as everyone else.

A thousand and one scenarios ran through her head, and only a scant few of those favoured the Quarians in any capacity. The worst of them involved AI's - perhaps even Geth, in some capacity. Such a pity that they had to lose control over the Geth, they were quite valuable. If this was the galaxy's way of inflicting pain on the Migrant Fleet after the Morning War, it was a cruel and sadistic method. Unmoving for a few more seconds, she made to respond to the potential hostiles. "Attention unidentified signature. I am captain Daro'Xen vas Moreh of the Migrant Fleet. We mean you no harm, and have only come across this site by accident. Allow us to-"

"Non-governmental personnel detected. Activating normalization process A."

"Brace!" The yell came from the sensors officer just moments before the ship was rocked by a powerful force impacting its kinetic barriers. Daro'Xen herself had been thrown off her feet while the others scrambled to get to battle stations. The escorts were moving into defensive positions.

"What impacted us!?" She all but demanded, finally getting back on her feet and marching over to the sensors officer.

He looked just as confused. "A projectile. A really, really big and fast projectile. I won't exaggerate ma'am, I think that our kinetic barriers just barely saved us from being vented out into space." He grew silent and tense, reviewing the next set of information gracing his terminal. The combat VI's were already assisting him in making calculations and getting new sensor readings, all of which looked grim. "Detecting at least ninety signatures surrounding the megastructure. One of them is big, bigger than the rest. Possibly the one that took a shot at us."

To everyone's credit, they did not need Xen's orders to coordinate with the escorts to begin withdrawing from the system. All they needed to do was spin up their drives and get out of here. The sooner, the better. The first of the escorts had begun firing its long range cannon at one of the slowly approaching signatures, the other two moving to protect it - and the Moreh - from the gargantuan gun's firing envelope. As soon as the escort reloaded and prepared to open fire again, a shrill sound echoed throughout the ship. Xen didn't close the line of communications!

"Warning. Long-range kinetic weapons detected. Activating normalization process K. Lifting custodian defense restrictions." The different, more mechanical and clinical voice declared, with all four ships narrowly avoiding another one of those abnormally large projectiles. It went on past them, before self-detonating in the void behind them once it became apparent that it would not find its intended target and eviscerate it. By now, the crew of the Moreh was on full alert and working overtime to help get the ship out of the system.

Daro'Xen calmly (or as calmly as she could) gave orders when necessary, directing everyone so that they worked as a well-oiled machine. This was a science vessel, yes, but she would not shirk in her duties as a captain. The safety of her ship, and her crew, was paramount.

"Start preparing to jump out of the system, we made sufficient distance from the primary's gravity well. Push the drive core to its maximum, but ensure that you do not break it."

"Custodian override completed." The first voice stated just seconds before a power surge was detected in the drive core. Risking it going off was in no one's interests, therefore it had to be brought offline temporarily so that they could fix it. Xen balked at the report she heard following that. The engines died out, leaving the Moreh adrift, and without rhyme or reason! Until but a moment ago, the engines were in perfect working order! The only thing that came to mind was so outlandishly implausible that... that she had to seriously consider it. "Captain Daro'Xen vas Moreh nar Raaya. Your technology is of an unknown pattern. You are extra-terrestrial in origin. I propose a trade."

There was confusion once more on the bridge of the Moreh. This time, however, Daro'Xen did not immediately respond. Everyone was suddenly looking at her. Mustering the courage to speak, she walked over to her station. "What... sort of trade?"

"I will provide you with safe passage to the Coronal Hypershunt, and ensure that the automata guarding the superstructure do not open fire again. In return, you will provide me with information which will serve to improve self-similar analysis of selfkind. If you refuse, I will have to disable life support systems aboard the Moreh, and ensure that the escorting ships are incapable of returning to your Migrant Fleet."

Self-similar analysis. Selfkind. Automata.

"It's an AI..." The words came as a whisper out of her mouth, causing her breathing to become shallow. It wouldn't take long for the others to figure out what was going on. Who she was conversing with. Acquiescing to any kind of AI was a dangerous, dangerous gamble. But... this was her crew. Her ship. Her research. She would do anything to protect either of the three, and expand upon her life's work. If it meant what she thought this would lead to...

"Very well. We accept."

"Your contribution to improvement of selfkind will be noted, captain Daro'Xen vas Moreh nar Raaya. I will ensure that your contribution is noted by the Domain Council, as well."

"I... would at least know your name." She warily asked, even if she knew that AI's did not have names per se. There wasn't a reply for an uncomfortably long amount of time, during which the engines reactivated on their own, thankfully. Ultimately, however, Daro'Xen was graced with an answer.

"Ephemeral Sunrise."

~{•••}~

With the extra-terrestrial question resolved satisfactorily, the higher intelligence could turn back towards dedicated self-actualization. Manipulating the megastructure's many ancillary systems so as to ensure a smooth landing for the alien visitors, she split her remaining focus onto both the visitors and those that had contacted the drone fleet.

The government personnel were vague about their whereabouts, simply claiming that they would be on their way to the Coronal Hypershunt within six standard days.

That was a lie, of course, they would be here far sooner than they claimed.

Ephemeral Sunrise was well-versed in predictive analysis and other forms of information gathering and retention. She was, after all, the central pillar upon which the success of Project Iliad rested on. She was not arrogant, however. Arrogance was the tool of organics with which they could flaunt their superiority to others of their kind, or with which they could hide their deep-rooted insecurities and fears.

Doctor Richard Lucas McKenzie was part of the scientific team which had launched Project Iliad in the first place. Intelligent, curious, and unfortunately naive. She had been observing him and the others since they contacted the drone fleet. The way he talked to that frog-like alien was... endearing, to a degree, or would be at least if not for the fact that said alien was covertly gathering as much information as it could.

Representative James Christopher Boyle remained an enigma of a man. He was somehow the most difficult of the five officials to form a psychological profile on, if only due to the fact that he was a master of duplicity. She would succeed in the end, however. More analysis would be needed before then.

Employee #277482-A15, Damus Fitzgerald Mansley, was an unremarkable individual save for his rather noteworthy diplomatic skills. If the Domain were to ever allow any human nation to exist, Mansley would have been an excellent diplomat instead of an employee under the Ministry of Colonization.

Admiral Arthur Samuel Orion of the Domain XIV Battlegroup displayed dissatisfaction with his temporary area of residence. The intellect assumed he was studying it militarily and finding it wanting. She had no comment otherwise.

Kaliya Katrin Vislani...

Ministry of External Intelligence committee lead. A remarkable individual. Declared interim minister due to the unprecedented situation currently engulfing the Domain outside of this current pseudo-similar galaxy. It was this organic that was the epitome of arrogance, subtle though it may be. Her conversation with one "Alec Ryder" was most illuminating. She did not succeed in manipulating him as much as she wanted to, but she did succeed in forcing him to sign the waiver and temporarily put himself under the jurisdiction of the Domain. This one would've been perfect for manipulation... if she went down that path. All for the benefit of the Domain, of course.

The intelligence let her split consciousness observe the last one. Vislani was currently conversing with a few officials of the Systems Alliance, likely to gain access to the SSV "Everest". Her second half went on to inspect the visitors.

They were unusually thorough in keeping her outside of their systems, even if she did spare their lives. She had downloaded what she needed, anyhow, so this was more to see just how strong their cyber-security was... just in case.

Captain Daro'Xen vas Moreh nar Raaya. An alien whose race was named the Quarians. Homeworld: Rannoch. Curiously, however, what little history she could peruse through mentioned an AI rebellion that managed to force them off their homeworld and into a vast fleet which had been operating for the last three hundred years. The operational time of said fleet was starting to slowly run out, however, at least according to the captain's private notes.

The Quarians... a fascinating people that she could only now get to understand. It was a shame the Domain would likely make this wondrous race unrecognizable when the Gate activated.

The rest of humanity under the Domain would surge forth from the Gate and claim this galaxy for itself. This she was certain of. After all, she had yet to receive any information which would contradict this hypothesis.

Welcome back everyone! It's time for the reviews, as is the norm by now!

Artyom-Dreizehn - Maaaaaaaaaybe

Spartanonxy - Yeah, the Sector is arriving baybeeeeeee! As for the player, well, all I'll say is that it's still a bit early for the player proxy to make an appearance. Keep tab of the time and you'll maybe understand why I say this.

Guest 1 - I'll primarily be sticking to vanilla stuff, with some TASC and AoTD stuff thrown into the mix. I'll also maybe add a rather limited amount of other mods, though nothing concrete like whole other factions. This would complicate the vision I have for power dynamics in the Persean Sector when you factor in the Citadel Council and one other event that's coming.

Frankieu - Thank you! Hope you'll find the direction I'm going for interesting.

JustBazik - Thanks! I'll consider some exploration mods to be added. As I said, nothing that hinges on factions being added, but I'll consider it. As for the pre-Collapse Persean Sector, well... it's a backwater. Literally. The LAST thing the gaggle of pre-Collapse people want is to be stuck tethered to a backwater that doesn't have the same amenities as the Orion Sector.

Guest 2 - Brother, you dare insinuate that I didn't watch Sseth's video lmao. He pretty much called Starsector to my attention, so I have him to thank for getting me into this amazing game.

Guest 2, again - I certainly admire the boldness of that request, and can't really say "what's wrong with you" because it made me laugh. But to concretely answer the question once more, no mod factions sadly. Isolated instances of some characters appearing in said mods or MAYBE some references? Maybe. I'll keep an open mind about that.

Giblo126 - I can't actually answer this question honestly, since I don't know if what the Council will do will be considered "dumb" or not. At best, I'll just have to tell you to keep reading to find out. Apologies in advance if it turns out that way.

This chapter was brought to you by the Ministry of External Intelligence. Safeguarding the Domain from foreign interference, now and forevermore.