Chapter Two
Hot damn! People started following this story real quick. 70 followers in the first day, 114 within a day and a half and now close to 200. I just wish that my other story, Shepards Return climbed as fast...or any of my stories really. Hope I can keep up the quality of writing.
I wanted to address all the reviews from the first chapter but there is far too many to address them all individually but I'll answer some
Djangiti; Did the asari make a blade with biotics or did she already have the blade that part confuses me a little becuase if you are insinuating that the human-asari can make contructs with their biotics without the need for an amp than the thessian asari are going to fucking flip out.
Viper; She made a rudimentary blade over her hand. Think of it as a biotic powered fist but the fingers are pointed and the palm is flat. There are martial artists out there that can use their bare fingers to strip away the wood from wooden posts. Add in biotics and it should be easy to put your fist through someone's chest. As for using biotics for amps, to me amps don't so much as improve biotics but make them easier to use. Like using a lever to lift a boulder, you can exert the same amount of force but that force is amplified. Some attacks such as large Flare and similarly powerful ones might need the amp to be more effective and easier to use but I'm betting with time you can learn to perform most biotic attacks without the need of an amp. Since both asari and Priestesses are natural biotics it should be possible, especially if you are willing to put the effort in like most Priestesses are. Also in my mind the asari must have used their biotics for something before they used the amps, why try to improve something that wasn't useful? And the fact that asari like to take the easy way, why spend a few years trying to learn how to channel biotics when an amp would make it so much easier? (though to be fair most people like to take the easy way when they can) The human biotics will likely use them but Priestesses will either not use them or not rely on them so much that they can't use biotics without them.
KingOfSummer 245;The Asari on earth would have lived through centuries of War. One Asari could even be the doughter of Marcus Aurelius from the second century AD
You could have one being the granddaughter of Cao Cao who conquer Northern China. The culture would be different on Earth and their may have been heart break that human and Asari can not have children. I could see them having positions of power because they can fight which would give them political power unlike a human woman historically. They would also control their reproduction. For a lot of them the last great war for them was world war two. I do wonder what percentage of the Earth's population is Asari and I would imagine that they would have grown up a lot quicker due to humans short life span. An Asari of 35 years could already be a mother of three unless Assari of Thesis who wait until their 2nd or 3rd centuries so that a big culture shock.
Viper; Human and asari can have children, but their always asari. Priestesses would have had a lot of power, but I'm pushing them towards more advisers than rulers, though there certainly would have been those. And yes, some of the asari today would have lived through World War 2. The population of Priestess doesn't out number human, it doesn't say how long the gestation of asari is but since most long-lived species seemed to have a long gestation period I'm assuming that an asari pregnancy takes a lot longer than a human's as for population percentages lets say roughly that one in every ten or twenty citizens is a Priestess, I'm trying to avoid giving actual numbers as it hard for me to estimate an accurate number. Say fifty to a hundred or even 200 hundred survived to have children. I'm also guessing that the gestation of an asari or Priestess is significantly longer than a human. I'm also putting that, at least in modern times, a Priestess having kids by 35 is rare, at least in modern times, like teenage pregnancy. As is having a family over 5, but while Priestesses start to have children much later than a human and it takes longer to carry to term they can have children from their maiden years to their early matriach years. Since I don't want to work out an accurate number, which I don't think I can and I don't want that number to be too high or low so I'm just going to say 10 to 20 percent of the population which sounds like it should be more or less correct.
2 Up; asari wisdom and long term planning combined with human ingenuity and resilience. oh shit that's an epic combination the reapers are fucked.
Viper; I really hope so
Blaze1992; Boy are those fools in for a shock, I wonder since Asari have lived since our beginning makes me wonder if fighting/teaching styles of old times are still being you imagine a Spartan Asari unit or Amazon Asari? The shear possibilities. Also since they were on earth do you think since they could lay with anyone with melding that they became very popular with same sex couples as surrogate aids?
Viper; Yes old fighting styles are still known, anything that was once considered useful is still known (say the ability to make damascus steel, knowledge that was lost during the destruction of the Great Alexander Library etc). As for surrogate aids I have always been on the fence about that. While the ability to give children to those who can't have them is a great thing, but at the same time its also a great sacrifice as someone has grown and loved that baby before them. And as it should be, I certainly wouldn't want a surrogate that thought of it as just a growth they were going to hand over in a few months. Phoebe from the tv show friends makes this point nicely. I'm just going to leave it as that a Priestess surrogate is no less and no more common than a human one.
Mgl1206; Well… the Human Asari are not gonna be happy with the council.
viper; no they won't not, two thirds of it at least
Fireblade974; Love the start can't what to see how the earth asari interact with the rest. Wonder if the move faster and will trust the reappears exists.
Viper; you will just have to wait and see
When the Destiny Ascension came through the Relay, it sparked a whole new wave of panic and preparations for another fight. It wasn't until they noticed the ship was on its own, stayed near the Relay and showed no intention of getting any closer to the planet that things began to calm down.
When the ship's profile came back as a match to asari designs, the Priestesses 'cousins' so to speak, tentative talks over radio began. It would be some time before reinforcements arrived from Earth, General Williams knew that better than anyone, and if peace talks didn't go well they needed to buy all the time they could.
After hours of tentative talk, General William and the most senior Priestess who was currently on the planet climbed aboard a ship headed to the new alien ship with the intention of either gaining a cease-fire or buying as much time as they could. With them was an honour guard of a dozen. Ten humans and two Priestesses, not that they were needed. General Williams made it a point to be at the same level of combat readiness and physical fitness that he expected from his own men despite his much older age. As for the Priestess, her name was Shira Ka, and she was a eight hundred old Priestess with centuries of combat under her belt. There were few alive as strong or as dangerous as her. If something went wrong, it would be impossible to take her out without heavy casualties.
After docking with the Destiny Ascension they were taken to a large room full of half a dozen individuals all dressed in fancy clothes and sitting around a large desk with their guards standing behind them. As they entered the room, one of them stood to face them. An asari in her later years, likely around the same age as Shira while the other asari in the room looked to be a century or so older.
"Welcome to the Destiny Ascension, I am the asari Councillor Tevos. I hope this is the first of many peace talks." greeted Tevos warmly
"Councilor? That's one of the most important positions in your area of space correct?" asked General Williams.
"That is correct, my position is one of three. There is a asari, a turian and a salarian Councillor. Working together we make Citadel space better for all that call it home. The only people who have more power than us are the heads of our respective governments. Such as the Patriarch of the turian Hiearachy, the Head Dalatrass of the Salarian Union and the Circle of Matriarchs, a dozen or so of the most powerful and influential matriarchs." answered Tevos
"Do Councilors usually attend opening talks with a new species?" asked General Williams as he and Shira found seats
"The integration of a new species into galactic society is never a small matter. But usually, the involvement of the Council itself doesn't happen until much later when things have progressed along further. However, due to certain...circumstances, it was thought that a Councilor should lead the peace talks in this instance and it was decided that it should be me." answered Tevos
"Circumstances?" asked General Williams "That's an odd way to talk about the sudden and unprovoked attack on one of our worlds."
One of the other figures at the table. A turian and by looks of it, a female. Visibly bristled at his words.
"While the turians actions were excessive, their initial response was in line with Citadel law. Activation of Relays is one of our most serious offenses, upon learning that a new species was behind it however they should have immediately made contact with the Council and let us decide where to go from there." replied Tevos
"Those turians were just following protocol! The law against activating Relays wasn't written with new species in mind and even if it was, there wasn't anything to say that the people behind the activation of dormant Relays weren't part of a criminal element or that the species had peaceful intentions. What if the species that had activated the Relay had been like the yahg? How many lives could have been lost? A scouting party looks a lot like an exploration team until they pull out their weapons." argued the female turian "Any turian in charge would have immediately tried to secure the Relay and the nearest habitated planet which is exactly what happened."
"Before we go any further, I think it might be best if I introduce everyone here. As you know, I am Councilor Tevos. Joining me is Dalatrass Ramali, she speaks for the Head Dalatrass, and will be sharing her views and options on this situation. She will inform her government what is being discussed here, as will everyone else with their respective governments.
We also have Commandant Epiria, who speaks on behalf of the Hierarchy and Matriachs Celie, Kiarvis, and Myxessse who are here on behalf of the Circle of Matriachs." said Tevos, gesturing to those she introduced."We have many different topics to discuss that will likely take us many days. For now, I wish that we merely begin so that we have an idea of how these talks will proceed in the coming days.
Some of what we will discuss is if there are any reparations for damages and loss of life that you feel are necessary and what the turian Hierachy are able and willing to offer. Other matters include you becoming a Citadel race and what that involves. Of course, you will have to talk with your respective leaders at that point. But even if we merely leave here today with a rough understanding of what each party wants, then it will be a successful first day. A first step towards a happy and peaceful relationship between our societies. A final topic of discussion is the possible reintroduction and relocation of any asari on your joint colonies that wish to return to asari space."
As Tevos introduced everyone, General Williams and Priestess Shira made sure to note each and every one of them carefully. The safety of Shanix could very much boil down to getting each of them to waste their time. Every second that was spent talking here was another second their people could get ready and reinforcements could get closer to Shanix. However, Tevos's last comment got their attention and General Williams and Priestess Shira shared a glance.
"Relocation?" queried the General
"Yes." answered one of the other asari "While you have no doubt benefited from the advice shared by our long-lost sisters, each Citadel race is expected to be able to stand on their own"
"You can still ask for advice of course." interrupted Tevos "The asari Republics are always willing to give wisdom where it is wanted. We just feel that you might want to appear more independent and surely there are a number of our sisters amongst you who wish to see and stand on the very ground their mothers, grandmothers or even great grandmother's once stood." said Tevos with a smile
At this the General and the Priestess shared another, longer glance."That will be up to each individual Priestess." remarked General Williams diplomatically "We will not force them to stay or to go."
"Priestess?" asked the female salarian curiously
"It's what we are called by our human brothers and sisters." answered Priestess Shira
"I see, so you go by a different name rather than asari...curious." noted the salarian
"If we could get back on topic." interrupted Tevos before putting on a passive smile "I didn't mean to imply that the asari that have been living amongst you for so long will be forced to return to asari space. Though that is something we would like, as we would be able to learn what you know about the newest race to join galatic society and they would gain the benefits of any advancements we've made since they've left us."
"What would joining the Citadel require?" enquired General Williams
"As you will be a new addition not much will be asked of you and what little is will be far outweighed by what your species will gain. In time you might be asked to provide ships towards the Citadel's fleets or resources to help maintain them or to help the Citadel itself run. We might also request aid on behalf of any other species should something befall them.
For now all that is required is following Citadel law. Most of our laws should be similar to your own. For example killing is illegal and so is stealing. The severity of the crime affects the severity of the punishment. Small crimes may only lead to a small fine or community work. Large crimes lead to extended prison sentences.
We will send you a list of all our laws and the laws of each race that is part of the Citadel after today's meeting comes to an end. For now, I will just tell you our most important laws. For starters, I must ask that any development or research towards artificial intelligence must be immediately halted and any functioning AI be destroyed as soon as possible. "
"That won't be a problem, we never developed any AIs. The most we have are automated programs, but they cannot think for themselves nor act on their own." answered General Williams
"We have something similar that we call VI, however you should still be careful. There is a race that was developing and improving their VIs in order to act as a cheap labour source. However, those VIs unexpectedly crossed over into the AI area and were able to act independently to their creators. By the time they realised their mistake, it was too late and they attacked the ones who had made them and took their home planet and many other colonies from them...we would hate for such a thing to happen to you." said Tevos with an air of superiority and wisdom in her voice.
"Another rule is that all discovered Prothean technology is to be shared with all other Citadel species. This might seem a lot to ask however, since every other race will also do the same your species will benefit from each discovery regardless of which species made the find." said one of the other asari. "We freely share all Prothean technology so all can benefit and grow from each discovery."
"There are two final rules, one is the activation of Relays is prohibited. This is because at one point we encountered a hostile insect species that then used the recently activated Relay to invade all of Citadel space and nearly succeeded in overwhelming us. The second law is that each species will not have an army above a certain size or dreadnoughts above a certain number." said the female turian
"Hold on, you made a law not to activate Relays so you wouldn't encounter any hostile species but then make a law to limit military strength?" asked General Williams. That didn't make any sense.
"The Treaty of Falavian doesn't limit military strength per say, it limits how much stronger one race can become over the others." explained Tevos "If not for the treaty everyone would be racing to make as many dreadnoughts as they could. Not only could it give one race too much power over the others, power that they could use to intimidate the other races but too many dreadnoughts made too quickly might lead to strain on their economy and maybe even it's eventual collapse. It might also lead other races to believe that they are preparing for war."
"There's also the issue of quality. Dreadnoughts are just like anything else, if you try to rush them the quality goes down. I'd take a well-built and carefully crafted cruiser over a hastily built dreadnought." added the female turian making a good point
"Also, while the military size of each species is restricted no such limits are imposed on the Citadel Fleet. Any species willing may send personnel, ships or even resources to the Citadel Fleet where they can be used to protect all species." added Tevos
"What species tend to make up this Citadel fleet?" asked General Williams
"As I said all species that are a part of the Citadel are welcome to join, that said some species are more...suitable than others towards fighting. The majority of the species that make up the Citadel Fleet are asari, salarian and turian." said Tevos
"You expect those that just attacked us to protect us from future threats? And that we'd okay with that rather than bolstering our own forces!?" asked the General angrily, making the female turian bristle again. It was expensive enough to maintain a military force let alone increase it. Paying to maintain a foreign power on top of that...in order to keep everything running, tax cuts across the board might become necessary. Weakening them as a whole in the long run as they paid for an armed force that wasn't even theirs instead of improving their own among other things.
"While your introduction to the turian people is unfortunate, their recent actions are the exception, not the norm. Many owe the turians thanks for their protection and keeping the peace inside Citadel space."
"Since you are asking so much of us there is one thing we require in return, though there might be more later." said Priestess Shira
"And that is?" asked Tevos
"Any and all knowledge and evidence on the Reapers." said Priestess Shira
"Reapers?" asked Tevos "I'm sorry I don't recognise that species name. But they are known by a different one. While the majority of species we have encountered have joined the Citadel there a number of species out there that are extremely hostile. The Commandant has already mentioned two of them. While we will come to your defence should there be continued hostilities. We will not however, help you start any hostilities against others nor is it guaranteed that we will come to your aid afterwards should that be the case. Now what can you tell me about these 'reapers'?"
At this, Priestess Shira and General Williams shared another look. One that lasted far longer than the first.
"The Reapers are an artificial race that was responsible for the extinction of the Prothean race...did you not know this?" asked General Williams surprised. It was common knowledge among their people after all, the fact that they didn't even know the name came as a bit of a shock.
At this the room went silent.
"Where did you get this information?" asked one of the asari when she had recovered
"We have encountered a number of Prothean artifacts which contained evidence that they were wiped out by a powerful machine race there is also a message we have..." started Priestess Shira, about to tell them about the first memory only to be interrupted by Tevos
"We know that the Protheans had at least one incident involving AIs. Possibly more, it's the reason why the law against them exists today
It is likely you are talking about that. However, we also know that they survived that war and that they managed to defeat them.
While we appreciate any information you have on the Protheans and this machine race, you are mistaken in that they caused the destruction of the Protheans. They had an Empire that encompassed all of Citadel space and more after all.
I really doubt that a machine race could have wiped them out without leaving evidence which we would have already found by now. More likely what you found were artifacts that dated back to that war. Perhaps left in a base that had to be abandoned because of it and which was never reclaimed afterwards. "
Tevos didn't know it, but she just insulted Shira severely. No one, no one ignored or interrupted a Priestess when she gave a warning, especially when they brought up the first memory.
In everyday life it wasn't a problem, Priestess and humans lived side by side as equals, they were brothers and sisters. They...were family, that couldn't happen if everyone had to stop talking whenever a Priestess opened their mouth.
Neither ruled over the other but both lived together. Normally an interruption wouldn't have mattered but in matters like this, an official matter with official opinions...it was a slap to the face. It was like calling someone stupid in a work setting with the boss in the room and you meaning it rather than jokingly saying the same thing over lunch amongst friends.
Priestesses had centuries of experience, they weren't always right but if they said something might be an issue you should at least listen to them and consider it. It was like ignoring someone that was as experienced as you were or if not more. You should only do it if you were certain you were right and they were wrong. Yet Tevos had just dismissed Shira's concerns and spoken to her like a she was young Priestess who didn't know what she was talking about. Not even considering for a moment that there was something to worry about.
Not only did it go against common courtesy but in the past entire kingdoms had fallen because their leader ignored the advice of a Priestess. To make things worse the interrupted and the interuptee were both leaders of sorts. One was one of the oldest and most experienced Priestess out there and the other was one of the three leaders of the Citadel. A Citadel that everyone seemed eager for them to join, insisting that it was the best thing for them. If perhaps Tevos had merely acted like she was going to have people look into it then it might have been different. As it was, what was about to happen would sour relations between asari and Priestesses for the next century if not longer.
"Tell me "asked Priestess Shira "are all asari like you?"
"No, as there can be only one Councilor from each species they are chosen with extreme care. Only the best are even considered. It is our job to express the opinions of our species and other monumental tasks.
As the asari Councilor I will push for resolving matters in a peaceful way. The turian Councilor will push for military actions when it is needed and the salarian Councilor will push for scientific advancement. It is an elegant balance, the asari make sure we can enjoy peace whenever possible, the turians make sure we are ready for wars whenever needed...though such wars haven't happened for a very long time" smiled Tevos "and the salarians make sure our technology keeps advancing."
"And how much of your life did you spend trying to become a Councilor?" asked Shira
Priestesses tended to stay away from the positions of politicians and lawyers even more. In the rare instance they didn't, they got jobs in other areas to keep them grounded. For example, if they became a politician and they said libraries were important they would work in either helping the library run or actually building them.
Words without actions have always been a big taboo to the Priestess and Tevos had just made a serious mistake. For too long she had talked to others like she knew best, that she had more experience than them. In most cases, not all she was right. However in this case she just shot down someone who had just as much experience as her if not more, instead of talking to Shira like she was just another person making a partition she should have talked to her like she was speaking with a powerful matriarch. Aka carefully and politely even if you thought they were being stupid, like you were talking with the grandmother of your boss."Since I was around three hundred years old I have been working towards gaining this position or one similar to it." answered Tevos with proudly
"And before that?" asked Shira"I don't see how my maiden years are important." responded Tevos with a frown. Before reluctantly continuing "But if you must know I did what most young maidens do, travelling to new places and learning about them."
That could mean she went to different places and studied other cultures but it also sounded like an excuse a teenager would give to their parents to let them go to another country to party and do all sorts of things they knew their parents wouldn't approve of if they had known.
"Maiden years?" asked the General generating confusion.
"Yes, the years that a young asari journeys out into the world for new experiences wherever she might find them. Experience everything that there is to life before she starts to settle down, become a productive member of society and work out what she wishes to do with the rest of her life." answered Tevos
"And how long does this maidenhood last?" asked Shira surprising Tevos before her eyes widened in realisation.
"The exact age that an asari is considered a maiden has changed over the centuries, it also depends on the maturity of the asari herself. Currently an asari becomes a maiden between the ages forty and sixty years old, when she is ready to leave the home of her parents and when she enters her third century and is ready to start her own household."
"And then?" asked the General
"Then she enters the matron stage. A time she settles down and potentially starts a family of her own or begins a more serious career."
"Would you say an asari is only considered a full adult or mature enough for important positions such as a doctor or senior police officer when she is a matron?" asked Shira casually though the question was anything but.
"That's a difficult question to answer, each asari is different but typically a young asari is mature enough for important roles around her second century though I have known some maidens only a hundred and fifty to have the maturity of an asari twice her age." answered Tevos before continuing "Then much later in life comes the matriarch stage, this is when an asari becomes a leader or sage in her community. Dispersing the knowledge and wisdom she has obtained throughout her long life. The wisdom of an asari matriarch is greatly prized and it isn't uncommon for anyone, asari or otherwise to travel great distances to speak with one."
"So, in other words, most asari spend their first two centuries being irresponsible and doing anything that takes their fancy?" asked Shira, making Tevos frown. While it was true that most asari spent their maidenhood either dancing in bars or becoming mercenaries or something else that gave them a sense of adventure. There were more delicate ways of putting it.
"What about you, what age do your children start to become mature?" asked Tevos expecting a similar answer. She wasn't going to get one though
"By the age of forty a Priestess is expected to be able to live on her own and have a good idea of where she wants her life to go. Or a least have a good idea on what she wishes to do for her next fifty. We are not in the practice of letting them do whatever they want or whatever takes her fancy." answered Shira "Certainly not for years on end."
"An asari's maiden years play an important part of who she will become. How can you stiffle such a wonderful thing?" asked one of the asari
"By the time a human is in their forties, they are already well into their lives. They either have a degree, or a career plus a family and are contributing to society. Why shouldn't a Priestess do the same?" asked Shira
"Each race matures and ages differently." disagreed Tevos calmly "Salarians live for forty or fifty years, at ten years old they are already the equivalent of a mature asari. Surely you can't expect a ten year old child to be able to do the same thing a grown salarian can do? Even though technically they are the same age?"
"While it is true a Priestess mature at a different and slower rate than a human does. A Priestess in her thirties and forties has the same mental and physical maturity as an eighteen to twenty-five-year-old human and as such can be expected to be able to do similar things and have the same responsibilities.
By the time she is sixty a Priestess should have the same level of experience and expertise as a human in a samilar field. The only exceptions are careers that are physical. Humans do live a lot less than a Priestess after all. While their bodies start to fail ours are still going strong."
"Surely you ask too much, youth is to be enjoyed. Not spent on doing something that can wait until there are older." argued an asari
"Something that is hard is quite different to impossible. While I agree that it is impossible to match the development of a salarian a human is completely different. As I just said, after a certain age humans and Priestesses are quite similar.
When I was young I often enjoyed going fishing and camping with my father. That didn't stop me from training to become a warrior. Training that I took seriously after I turned 32, a more or less average age for serious training to begin should they wish to persue that kind of career early in their lives. I had plenty time to both train and enjoy my life. We have no problem in letting our children enjoy themselves, what we have a problem is if they do nothing but sit on a beach for five years let alone more and do nothing else."
"Are you saying that you expect young maidens to fight?" asked one of the asari sounding horrified. Whether at the idea of an asari so young being put through such training or the possibility that there could be young maidens dead on a planet from a fight that too her they were far to young to be a part of. It was barbaric.
"We expect them to be able to fight. We judge a Priestess's capabilities on her abilities not on their age. While there are officers as young as forty serving in various military or security fields, most Priestesses that deal in frontline combat tend to be at closer to eighty or sixty when they first gain the position." answered Shira
"While the mind and body may be ready for serious training at the age of thirty, most don't consider a military career until later on in life. A forty year old Priestess working on the frontlines is a rare but not uncommon thing, and it means that she has pushed herself as had as she could and worked incredibly hard to get where she has."
"That's still far too young! How can you..." startied the same asari angrily
"Perhaps..." interrupted Tevos, putting on a smile "if you talk to a number of maidens and matriarchs yourself when you visit one of our planets or when our maidens visit your world you'll be able to see the benefits of letting the young enjoy their youth. When you think about it, to matriarch five years is nothing, yet they might shape her life at the time in profound and unexpected ways."
"...I don't think many of my sisters will be interested in seeing your worlds or learning about your culture." answered Shira bluntly
"And why is that?" asked Tevos
"None of you have any calluses or scars. No sign that you ever having a decent amount of muscle or that you have ever done any actual work. The only thing you all seem to do well is talk with a silver tongue and deal in half-truths, a skill that you seem to think should be applauded." said Shira
"I see..." said Tevos, trying to settle herself. It wasn't often that someone insulted her, not since before she was a Councilor. "Your time amongst the humans has clearly cost you your asari grace that is so prized and valued. An asari must always be poised and elegant, you are anything but."
"I'm sorry." said the General speaking up "But a questions been on my mind for some time...just how long do you think the Priestesses and humans have been living amongst each other?"
"We determined that the ancestors of your 'priestesses' must have landed on your colony or one of your colonies one or two thousand years ago." answered Tevos "But without knowing the ship name we can't say for sure."
"I'm sorry, but the Priestesses have lived with us far longer then that." responded the General, next to him Shira started to smile
"Some thought that it could have been close to three thousand years but most thought that was doubtful." said Tevos, not really caring for a few centuries of difference. Shira smile just increased
"The earliest recorded incident of a human interacting with a Priestess was thirty two thousand years ago with some archaeological evidence going back nearly forty thousand years." said the General "On our homeworld."
"That's-that's just not possible." said Tevos shocked.
"How long is your year?" asked the female salarian
"One year is made up of three hundred and sixty five days, minus one every four years. One day is made up of twenty four hours, an hour is made up of sixty minutes and an hour is sixty seconds. A second goes like this. One…two…three." said the General counting slowly
"I see." said the salarian "Sorry but I just wanted to discount the possibility that your years are significantly shorter than galatic standard, as remote as that chance was."
"But how…how could asari possibly end up on your world that long ago?" asked Tevos still shocked
"As far as we can tell my distant ancestors were placed on our home planet long ago. The exact number is unknown but we believe that they numbered between the high dozens or low hundreds."
"But why would they do such a thing?" asked one of other asari
"We can't say for sure, perhaps at one point they thought the asari might have become extinct. All we can say is that they also gave us the first memory."
"The first memory?" asked one of the asari curiously
"A memory that has been passed down from the beginning, from mother to daughter, a memory of a war so terrible that nothing can be compared to it. When we first encountered the Prothean ruins on a planet near our own homeplanet we found an artifact that gave the Priestess holding it a similar memory.
Since then we have encountered a number of these artifacts, we believe that they hold the memories of the last war fought by the Protheans….a war that they lost." answered Shira "A war with beings called the Reapers, beings that we uncertain if are still around."
"I-I think that's enough for today." said Tevos shakingly before steadying herself and regaining her composure, trying to regain control of the situation "We'll reconvene tomorrow."
The next day the meeting resumed. When everyone was seated Tevos began speaking.
"Before we begin I just want to thank Shira and General Williams for the new information that they have given us about the Protheans. I have spoken to a number of elder matriarchs and we have come to an agreement.
As we told you before, we know that the Protheans fought an AI race, now either the fought more than one race of AI, which is incredibly likely considering how long their empire was around for. Or the war was significantly worse that we previously thought it was.
We, however, don't think it was what led to their extinction, leading to their downward spiral, perhaps but not their absolute destruction. At least not outside this area of space. Nor do we think these 'reapers' are still around. If they were, we would have encountered them long ago.
Perhaps their war with these 'reapers' was fought near Thessia, and they brought your ancestors to the human's homeworld just in case our world was caught up in it and our species wiped out? Such an action would be in line with what we know of them after all."
For a moment it looked like Shira was going to protest. But in the end, she held her tongue. She wasn't here to warn them about the Reapers, she was here to either help set up a peace treaty or buy as much time as she could. If they chose to ignore her warnings than that was their problem. Meanwhile, the Priestesses and humans will do what they always did and prepare for the possibility of their return while collecting more evidence of their existence.
In the end peace was made. The turians agreed to pay retributions to those who died in the fighting and pay for repairing all buildings damaged. In return, the humans and Priestesses agreed to return the bodies of the fallen and the release of any POW's that had been captured as well as the promise to return any personal items that might have been 'missplaced' during the fighting.
The discovery of a new species came as a surprise to the galatic society, the fact that they had been living side by side with a unique branch of asari that were left there thousands of years ago by the Protheans was even more of a shock. Sparking a discussion on divergent evolution as while similar, Priestess and asari were undeniably different. Unexpectedly to most of galactic society however the two branches did not get along. The asari considered the Priestesses to be brutish and unrefined, the Priestesses had a similar poor view of the asari who they considered lazy, entitled and arrogant. The interactions between humanity, Priestess and young maidens that wished to 'try out' the new species did nothing to diswade these opinions. In fact, they made things worse as Priestesses as a whole were not amused by actions that asari considered typical and that maidens were just being maidens.
A common phrase that 'if you wish to discuss a topic for years ask an asari but if you want an issue resolved talk to a Priestess' started to circle in the years proceeding first contact.
The turians also had a poor relationship but for a much different reason. Asari, tended to lack discipline, and the fact that many maidens spent their youth causing problems had always been a sore spot for many turian officers who had to deal with the same kid causing problems their entire career. The fact that many asari thought they could be a mercenary or even worse a pirate or even a slaver for a decade or two and then serve in a military capacity was a slap to the face to every turian that spent their life serving. To meet a branch of asari that spent their years wisely and understood the value of not letting their daughters run amuck was a relief to the turian Heirachy as a whole. Nearly twenty-five percent of all criminal activity involved an asari maiden. The fact that the majority of Priestesses were living productive lives and even serving while most asari were either dancing half if not fully naked, spending mommies money in bars or serving in gangs had their respect. Unfortunately, due to the attack on Shanix humans and turians didn't get along, that carried over to the Priestesses. Not that the Priestesses didn't have their own reason to have problems with the turians.
In fact, the only races that the new race and the subdivision of asari seemed to get along with were the salarians and the quarians. Something that came as a surprise to the other races that they would rather be friendly with the suit rats than their own cousins. The salarians, who like the turians, appreciated a version of the asari that did not waste time, salarian scientists in particular. An asari's life span enabled them to learn far more than a salarian, though their epidemic memory, fast thinking, and responses certainly evened things out. That said, by the time they learned what was needed to become a specialist in their field, their life was already halfway over or close to it. Most of their top scientists had only five or ten years left on average. In comparison, an asari might take longer to learn something, but they lived for far longer. An asari who learned far quicker than a typical asari (though not as fast as a salarian) and had a high work ethic was greatly appreciated. A combination of a salarians quick thinking and the steady growth of the Priestesses had many salarians consider how much more advanced galatic society would be had the asari had a similar work ethic. Indeed, many salarians considered with a strand of jealousy how much further their society could have advanced if asari had been placed on Sur'Kesh instead of Earth. In a single century, there could be as many as five generations of salarians, while an asari would barely become an adult over that time. If each salarian could have passed on their knowledge to an asari who would have in turn passed on that knowledge to a dozen or more salarians, how much quicker could their society could have advanced. Imagine a salarian, or even a dozen salarians only a decades old with the knowledge of ones far older? The salarians could have discovered the Citadel centuries, if not millenniums, before the asari did.As for the quarians, their sense of community, their pilgramage and the fact that each quarian was expected to contribute to whole While necessary for their society to survive, quickly gained the respect of Priestesses on a whole who thought that many species would benefit from following a similar example. That, in turn improved relations between the humans and quarians. For the first time in nearly three hundred years there was a race that respected the quarian people as a whole and even welcomed them. To the quarians, human and Priestess controlled worlds became an ideal and safe place to conduct their pilgrimage. The asari, Tevos in particular tried advising that they shouldn't be so welcoming of the quarians. They were politely told to mind their own business.
That wasn't to say that there weren't other races that they were on good terms with. While neither humans nor Priestesses liked the preaching nature of the hanar...which in regards to Priestess was slightly ironic considering their namesake. However, they both respected a race that would go out of their way to save thousands of individuals from another race and saving them from a guaranteed extinction. Also, while banking was never a strong suit for most Priestesses, they could appreciate the work ethic of the volus and the over top politeness of the eclor rather the fake and shallow politeness of the asari.