A/N: Hey, it's me. I'm back. Now I'm writing this not too long after finishing the first chapter (Stockholm syndrome kicking in) and the gasoline hasn't really worn off yet, so pardon my laid back and obnoxious attitude. After reading the first chapter again (and reading the very first review of the story shortly afterwards), I feel like I can see the problem that some people could have when reading my story. That of course being that I've made a blatantly overpowered race and inserted it into the ME Universe to fix everything, in the hope that it magically falls into place and that people will still enjoy the story nonetheless.
That however was not my intention. The carvins may seem like a bunch of overpowered ubermenschen at first, with tech borrowed from anywhere between Star Trek and a horribly modded Stellaris campaign of a virgin putting over 1000 hours into that game (and yes, I speak from experience), but the central theme that I put into account when I was rethinking my idea of the story and how I actually wanted to place the carvins into the ME universe is "patterns and cycles", and more importantly "deviating from those patterns and cycles".
Mass Effect is built upon a pattern of cycles. Not just cycles of extinction, which are the main driving force of the plot in all games, but also a pattern of development. Sovereign even says that same thing in the first game: "Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire." As such all civilizations in Mass Effect are trapped on a preset line of progression, with little to no deviation from the pattern. Vendetta confirms this in ME3: "the same peaks of evolution, the same valleys of dissolution".
My idea was to bring a civilization into this universe that developed separately from that pattern. Isolated from the mass relays (that's why carvins discover them so late, when their tech is already adapted to a fundamentally different means of FTL travel), they built their own future, using not the technology carefully left for them by the Reapers. And it's not like this idea isn't expressed in Mass Effect either. In ME2 when you talk with Legion about Sovereign and the heretics taking a Reaper body to upload themselves to: "Technology is not a straight line. There are many paths to the same end. Accepting another's path blinds you to alternatives." Legion even ECHOES the words of Sovereign from ME1 to underline this!
Carvins have achieved an end, the FTL travel and the ability to expand into the Void, by taking a different path from the rest of the galaxy - taking the technology from the Grox. Hence they became an anomaly in the Reaper cycle. And before you ask, yes the Grox are also an anomaly, and probably the largest reason for why carvins are where they are at the beginning of my story. If you think about it, with the entire galaxy relying on eezo and mass relays for virtually all its technology, every civilization becomes somewhat predictable. Anything that deviates from this set reality will be a significant unknown to the wider galactic community, and also potentially very dangerous and very powerful, because others do not know what to expect from that deviant civilization. But the answers to the questions regarding the Grox will come in due time. Not immediately, and probably not all at once.
The point is that I want you to understand that I didn't just put the carvins in with arcane technology free from eezo without purpose, reason, or insight. I'm not writing this to uncomfortably explain myself like that serbian uncle of yours when he's asked about the war crimes in Bosnia at a dinner table during Christmas, and I won't apologize for choosing a certain setting. It's FanFiction ffs. I hope you understand where I'm coming from. If this type of story is not to your liking, that's fine, I get that.
Also, the vote on Shepard's sex and romance is in a stalemate now, and since I'll only be introducing Shepard in the next chapter (kinda late, I know), I'm extending the vote to this chapter as well. If it'll be a stalemate again, I'll just use my superpower of arbitrary judgement and choose what I feel like writing myself.
Now I promised these introductions will be shorter (I LIED), so let's wrap this up. Here's the profile of my Shepard that I'll be using through the story:
Pre-service history - Spaceborn
Specialized training - Vanguard
Morality - Paragon (not a pure one though, my Shep has the patience of a saint, but can get angry when you poke her the wrong way)
MAJOR CHOICES FROM MASS EFFECT 1
Rachni queen - Spared
Wrex - Alive
Kirrahe - Alive
Kaidan Alenko - Alive
Ashley Williams - Dead (Sorry, no xenophobes allowed on this train. Should've killed you off the first time when I was writing this story).
Councilor - Anderson
Hotel - Trivago (haha, am funny)
MINOR CHOICES FROM MASS EFFECT 1 (may not use all of them, but putting them in just in case)
Conrad Verner - Alive
Barla Von - Met
Shiala - Spared
Fist - Spared
Balak - Spared
Rana Thanoptis - Spared
Khalisah Al-Jilani - NOT punched
Sha'ira - Helped
Cerberus - Fought and defeated
Nassana Dantius - Helped
Rogue VI on Luna - Fought and disabled.
With all that being dealt with,
Enjoy!
Widow System, Citadel
Citadel Tower
0713 Local Time, September 5th, 2184 Gregorian Calendar
Zayan Te'Kraan was vastly different than most of his kin. Probably why he got his job. While most of the Carvin Empire was distrustful of aliens, sometimes borderline or outright xenophobic, he was fascinated by the unknown. To him, every part of alien life, especially the sentient one, was an opportunity to learn and assimilate new knowledge or technology. That last part was one of the few things he had in common with the rest of his people... at least for some time.
Now however, Zayan was exhausted and on the brink of collapse. It's been 3 months since he was an envoy for the Carvin Empire on the Citadel. Not an ambassador. Envoy. This gave anyone a pretty big idea already on how the Citadel Council operated. A well-entrenched bastion of the old empires, who were very careful to preserve a millenium-old balance of power. Those who wanted to apply to become an "associate race" had to go through a lengthy process of application and inte Even the humans, who have joined the Council a year earlier began bossing around smaller races, eager to show everyone that they no longer belonged to the less influential "associate races".
But this attitude was not what annoyed Zayan the most. He understood that it was natural for great powers to project and maintain their power. Passiveness led to stagnation, and stagnation led to decline. It rang true in geopolitics of the once fragmented carvin civilization, and it rang true here on the Citadel as well. The Council did not shy away from action, although usually it was reserved and calm in its implementation, a natural result of being essentially an interspecies galactic governing body. No, the biggest factor that contributed to Zayan's distaste of this place was the politics. Specifically the way to conduct politics.
Aside from the official channels and the Citadel Council floor, deals between civilizations, sectors, corporations, and even individual systems, were not always discussed as openly. Instead it was on the parties, the dinners with dignitaries, or behind closed doors, where the businessmen and politicians often made agreements and brokered deals, while often enjoying the finest of foods and drinks from across the galaxy. In places like the rich dining halls of the Presidium or on lavish parties on the nearby Bekenstein, all hosted by ambassadors, CEOs of corporations, or anyone rich enough to make themselves appear important enough. Political persons could be bought with money, favors, or company shares in exchange for support or opposition to certain laws or bills. It was this secrecy, ignorance, self aggrandizement by politicians, and most importantly how bluntly exposed it was to someone who just bothered to look behind the veil.
In the Carvin Empire, on the medium to bottom-high levels of the administration where politics still played a significant role, honesty was your greatest ally, and consequently insincerity became your greatest foe. Living in a civilization where everyone looked almost completely identical, small differences and divergences from the norm were what the carvins really learned to notice. Lies were difficult to hide, and once found out, the liar would be branded with an unofficial (and sometimes even official) mark of a deceiver. It would be hard to find a respectable job afterwards. The best lies were those that contained only a small and hard to see falsehoods in a sea of truth. And the best liars were those that no one knew about.
Establishment of the Ravashir certainly did not encourage such a dangerous lifestyle. Their officers screened everyone for corruption, even the High Generals themselves. Detainees of the Ravashir never ended up well. Arrests for corruption could even have the arrested individuals executed without trial. Transparency was not only expected and required from the politicians and bureaucrats, it was enforced ruthlessly with an iron fist. At times one could even be charged with 'malicious intent', despite technically having done nothing illegal. Only the highest levels of government could enjoy some more extensive privacy, and even then the code of ethics drilled into the mind of every carvin from a young age prevented the level of abuse of power that he found on the Citadel.
Zayan and these aliens came from completely two different political worlds. Worlds that were fundamentally incompatible with each other. And it frustrated him immensely, especially since he was almost always at a disadvantage. The only real cultural overlap was with the militant and hierarchical turians, but considering the military competition that their two races would inevitably find themselves engaged in, there was hardly any chance for a common ground between them.
I can't believe that I would have myself echoing some of the sentiments of xenophobes back in the Empire. He thought to himself angrily. People I openly despised and criticized for narrow-mindedness. Look at me now.
While no one would admit it openly, Zayan's mission was far more than simply maintaining good relations with the Council space. The long term objective of his stay was to allow the establishment of a carvin embassy on the Citadel. A feat which the Empire wanted to do quickly, no matter the consequences. The human Systems Alliance managed to acquire an embassy in a decade. High Generals wanted the Empire to have its embassy on the Citadel within 2 to 5 years. A very short deadline which made Zayan's life a nightmare, especially considering the brick wall that he was hitting right now.
"Mister Te'Kraan, while I understand your frustration, the terms of the Treaty of Farixen are non-negotiable. It is a requirement for every species wishing to establish an embassy on the Citadel, as it has been since the Krogan Rebellions." The asari councilor, Tevos, spoke calmly.
Ah yes, Mister. That particular term was not thrown around idly. Zayan knew that he was not yet classed as an ambassador. Just a simple envoy, stuck in a foreign land and forced to learn the ropes, as experienced veteran politicians amused themselves with his plight.
"What it is is a clear assault on our sovereign right of self-defense." He answered as calmly as he could under the circumstances. "Our worlds are located within the region you call Terminus Systems, which is extremely unstable and volatile, even by your own admission. In such an environment a large fleet is necessary to serve both as a defensive tool and a deterrent from any incursions by lawless elements."
This was not the first time that the matter of Treaty of Farixen became a point of contention between the Empire and the Council, and it would probably not be the last. Zayan was ordered
"A large fleet may also have a destabilizing effect, driving pirate bands away from your borders and potentially into our own frontiers. Is the Carvin Empire ready to take responsibility if these 'lawless elements' start wreaking havoc in the Citadel Space?" The turian councilor, Sparatus (a clear hawk of the group) asked accusingly.
"So your proposed solution is for us to strip ourselves of our defenses so that the criminals of the Terminus focus on our Empire, OUR people, while the Citadel Space is left untouched?" Zayan snapped, infuriated how the turian tried to guilt trip him so blatantly. "Is this the idea of a wider galactic integration?"
His outburst seemed to give pause to the councilors, and it was no surprise. He very rarely raised his voice, given that most of the time he was on the defensive, so such a stark deviation from his usual behavior caused an understandable surprise. Still, the silence did not last long, and Sparatus once again raised his voice.
"This accusation is disingenuous, mister Te'Kraan. The Citadel Fleet carries the main burden of responsibility in the majority of cases when security of the Citadel Space is concerned." He said slowly, though his mandibles trembled in visible annoyance. "It is the linchpin of our collective security strategy, which is why overburdening it with avoidable engagements not something that should be done lightly."
"You ARE overburdening it by setting artificial boundaries and limitations on the associate members and their militaries." Zayan fired back. "The entire security architecture depends on the Citadel Fleet having to carry the tremendous weight of providing general security for Citadel Space. And one needs to look as far as the most recent Battle of Citadel to see how that is an incredibly flawed system."
Once again the room fell silent, and Zayan could practically feel the hostility radiating from the councilors (with the notable exception of councilor Anderson), whose gazes seemed to drill through him. And he wasn't surprised - he invoked the greatest taboo of the Citadel Council in the recent times, and the greatest embarrassment to the entire institution as well as the Citadel Fleet since the height of the krogan power during the Rebellions. Surprisingly though, it was Anderson that broke the silence this time.
"While you may bring up some... thought-provoking points," He started, but Zayan already noticed the masked and veiled language clearly indicated that he had every intention of supporting the rest of the Council. "...the current system provides the smaller civilizations, which have a limited space to expand safely, with protection and opportunity to invest their money and effort to develop themselves peacefully while under the protection of the more powerful races."
It seems that Anderson's words were almost as surprising to the other councilors as they were to Zayan. But he in particular was shocked to hear the human representative speak so positively about the system. From the limited information Zayan managed to get his hands on before the first contact with the aliens, humans seemed like they were the most dissatsified with the current political establishment
"I see..." Zayan said. He consciously prevented himself from clenching his fist. "Well... I shall not interfere in the Council's decision-making process. The Carvin Empire will await its verdict."
With those words he finally turned off his omni-tool. The galaxy map disappeared from the holographic projector shortly after. There was nothing to gain from this meeting anymore.
"This Council session is over." Tevos said. Zayan stepped away from the speaker's podium and started to make his way down to the elevator. Only then he allowed himself to clench his fist. Metallic fingers of his augmented arm shrieked as they rubbed against each other.
For the first time since he was posted on the Citadel, Zayan failed twice. The Empire was hardly tolerant of failures, let alone repeating ones. What was worse was the fact that he was probably the most capable of the still new and fresh diplomatic staff that formed shortly after the First Contact. His failure most likely dealt a severe blow to the Imperial efforts of establishing an embassy on the Citadel. Still, he tried to rationalize the problem, but despite his best attempts, all he could point at as the reason for his failure was fundamental difference in point of view, and the way of conducting politics between the carvins and the rest of the galaxy. Conflicts of interests between the great powers also played a big part, but that was something out of his control.
It took him over 10 minutes in Galactic Standard Time to reach his apartment - a relatively small and minimalistic place for something in the Presidium... or so he was told. The first thing he did was taking a glass of water with a straw in it (to make liquid intake through the carvin jaws easier). But almost right after he secured his hold on it, the glass shattered under the pressure of his fingers. Countless glass shards dropped on the floor alongside the liquid that they used to contain, leaving only the straw in his hands.
"Fuck." he muttered angrily. It was the fifth glass this month. The asari landlady that rented him this apartment was already displeased with the previous four ones he broke. The stress was eating him out from the inside.
After he cleaned up the mess, he moved on to something else: turning off the power at the junction box in the apartment and then closing the blinds completely. He needed to report to the High Generals and he did not trust the Council by a long shot. After almost total darkness fell, he made a quick sweep with a scanner within his optical lens (courtesy of the Carvin Empire) to make sure no bugs were placed in his room during his absence. There were no results.
Finally feeling moderately secure, Zayan pulled out a small metal package. Easily confused with a briefcase, it was actually a small computer, with a built-in QEC connected with Carvistorn, big enough to transmit sound both ways, though not much else. He opened the device and completed the biometric scan, granting him access to the communicator. He then opened the line of communication and awaited for a response.
It took a few seconds for those on the other side to respond, but after a moment a pop-up saying "connection established" appeared on the screen.
"Report." Came the voice of one of the High Generals. They sometimes talked to him directly regarding the progress of his efforts, though more often than not it was their intermediates that Zayan talked to. The High General spoke in caranogri as opposed to a traditional xaltari language, as the Empire provided the translation data solely for the latter, ensuring a safe means of sending and receiving information that would be harder to decrypt for a time.
"Zayan Te'Kraan. Reporting on the second meeting regarding the Treaty of Farixen..." Zayan paused for a moment. Guilt still hasn't worn off. "Meeting was a failure. Officially the Council is considering our case, but this is almost certainly a cover. After the Battle of Citadel and the admission of humans, it's likely that they are not ready yet to be conciliatory for fear of losing legitimacy. I expect increased diplomatic pressure on the Empire to demilitarize."
There was a pause after his reply, much longer than usual, which did not bode well for Zayan.
"...Have you identified any potential reasons for failure?" One of the High Generals asked.
"The issue of naval dominance seems to be carved deep into the politics of the Citadel Council. After the Krogan Rebellions they won't allow any other species to even attempt to contest the peacekeeping fleet of the Turians." Zayan started, slightly nervously. "However I believe that some of the problem may be on our... on my side. I did not completely grasp the style of politics practiced on the Citadel. I have failed to adapt my approach and my upfront and direct attitude possibly gave off a feeling of hostility. The cultural and ideological differences are probably the main obstacle hampering our diplomatic operations."
No response came for a few seconds and Zayan almost began to speculate what the High General Council was thinking. He shook off that feeling quickly, as he had no way to put himself in their position anyway. And the continuing lack of response worried him.
"Permission to speak..." He broke the silence.
"Granted." This time the answer was immediate.
"I would like... to request a replacement. I do not believe I am fit for my current position anymore. My mental state is a detriment to our plans on the Citadel, and if it means regaining initiative in our negotiations, then I will accept demotion." Zayan slowly uttered, barely keeping his voice calm. The pressure from his job was immense, and with the increasing difficulty he faced in accomplishing his (and by extent the Empire's) objectives, he believed that perhaps a fresh mind would handle the situation better. He had no shame admitting to his problems.
"Request denied. Zayan Te'Kraan, you are the most capable product of our still developing diplomatic corps. We are not going to jeopardize our interests and gains by sending in amateurs to handle this delicate situation." Came the emotionless response. "However, we understand that the responsibility we've placed upon you is a significant burden. Your contributions have not been forgotten."
Zayan chuckled mentally. High Generals were right of course. Even when he got a few assistants around a month ago, the only thing they did was hamper the progress of the negotiations (due to their complete lack of understanding of the alien culture), and as a result were withdrawn. He alone carried the entire weight of the Imperial diplomatic efforts with the Council. Still, words were worth only as much.
"Which is why you are being rotated out of the Citadel. A ship will await you at the docks tomorrow, 2300 Carvistorn time." The High Generals continued.
This information stunned Zayan. Why would they transfer him at this critical moment? The talks went badly, there was need to calm the tensions. It made no sense to him. Unless there was something he was missing from the bigger picture, the move to halt the negotiations now was utterly stupid.
"If I may inquire... what is the reason for this sudden change in course?" He asked cautiously, as on this level of government, certain secrecy was permitted and trying too hard to discover those secrets was dangerous.
"We have acquired information from a highly credible source. As you yourself have said, the Council will in all likelihood continue to block most of our attempts at integration until they contain us to a manageable state. The older races feel threatened at the already unstable status quo. In addition, the asari and salarians in particular are concerned by the lackluster access to our technology, which threatens their traditional dominance in this area. As such continuing the talks from our current position will most likely not produce results." High Generals responded. "They will want to wait us out, hoping that we submit if they try to isolate us politically. We will break off the talks... and attempt to become an inconvenience. Large enough that it will increasingly cost them to continue isolating us. Then and only then will we resume the talks."
Disbelief in Zayan's mind turned into shock, which was quickly replaced with anger. The Council never intended to allow the Empire's integration without turning them into an obedient child and acquiring their stuff. While the decision of the High Generals still left several lingering questions, it did not seem completely ridiculous now.
"Understood. I will await the rotation out of Citadel within a day." He said.
"See that you do." Was the response before connection was cut and darkness filled the room.
Zayan stared at the blacked out screen for some time. There was nothing he could do, all decisions have already been made. It was not his role to question the decisions of High Generals. Only Ravashir had that privilege and even then they had to be reserved in their criticism. He was however intrigued by the "source" that they mentioned. Only one could provide the information capable to shift the Empire's foreign policy so drastically and also fit the ambiguous description of the High Generals: Shadow Broker.
Interesting. If it's really him, I wonder if they sought out the Broker for this data, or did the Broker approach them himself. Zayan thought. While the former option seemed more likely, the latter was also plausible. Any piece of carvin tech was ludicrously priced. This of course led to the emergence of fake traders and collectors of carvin tech. It wouldn't be surprising if the Broker, valuing the quality of his own product, would have liked to acquire some carvin innovations in exchange for critical information.
Still, Zayan had no time to dwell on it too much. He closed the QEC and opened the blinds. Afterwards he turned the power back on and began to pack. He had to be ready to leave ASAP in case the scheduled rotation comes sooner. Also he really did not want to pay for another broken glass.
The landlady will be pissed. He thought as he mentally reminded himself to pay her back for it when he terminated his rent arrangement with her prematurely.
Widow System, Citadel
Citadel Tower
1308 Local Time, September 6th, 2184 Gregorian Calendar
If David Anderson had to use one word to describe his new job as humanity's councilor, it would be "exhausting". Sure, he was no pushover and could stand up to new and unexpected challenges. After all, he was one of the first N7s, and participated in the First Contact War. But he was trained for fighting, that was his territory. Politics though was an unknown ground. And at times he would find himself sweating over the copious amounts of paperwork waiting for him.
Having Udina to ease the burden was a huge help, something that the Anderson never thought he'd concede. For all his flaws, Udina was extremely adept at navigating the political landscape of the Citadel and beyond, and even though Anderson wouldn't tell him that, the old captain managed to learn a few things from the cunning politician. Still, this did not completely negate the amount of workload that he had, especially after the first contact with the Carvin Empire.
Oh yeah, that one really didn't help all the responsibilities he already had. It was fortunate that this first contact was much more peaceful than that of the Alliance with the Turian Hierarchy, otherwise it could have gotten very unpleasant. When Anderson first saw carvin vessels, he instantaneously recognized a militant race. Carvins themselves didn't help to challenge that impression. During the first talks between the Council and the Carvin Empire, he saw a carvin taller than a krogan, although he later found out that it was a genetic subgroup of carvins. Nonetheless, carvins were definitely not the type of species to appear peaceful, like for example volus or hanar.
Despite supposedly eavesdropping on the galaxy since even before humans discovered spaceflight, they were surprisingly difficult to talk to, having very little tact and being very blunt in what they wanted. But galactic politics, as Anderson had painfully learned, was a lot more about brokering good deals and sweet-talking specific individuals, and the carvins seemed to have a natural talent to ruffle everyone's feathers whenever they attempted to communicate. Perhaps it was a cultural issue. Still, the part of Anderson that missed his old days in the Alliance military appreciated their honesty and directness. It was easier to find out what to expect.
Carvin Empire's envoy, Zayan Te'Kraan had recently started to learn the ropes, being much more approachable than before. But he did not lose his focus on the target, whatever it might've been. His meeting with the Council the day before made it perfectly clear that he was determined to succeed, even though other Council species seemed to be doing everything in their power to contain the carvins.
"Anderson." Udina interrupted the councilor's string of thoughts. "We have a meeting with Baria Frontiers representatives today. I hope you do not expect me to attend myself."
"Do not worry, I am not afraid to get my hands dirty from time to time." Anderson said half-jokingly, then let out a painful sigh. "Ever since we've lost Shepard it's been nothing but work."
"Yes, losing the Commander was a major setback to our diplomatic efforts." Udina said, giving a rare expression of exhaustion.
As much as Anderson wanted to knock him out cold like when he helped Shepard escape the Citadel, Udina was right. Spectres were not only the enforcers of the Council's will, but also political assets. Having a human in their ranks was critical in increasing humanity's influence on the galactic stage. When Shepard was killed, even despite having a seat on the Council, this blow was felt greatly.
"Still, I am pleasantly surprised." Udina continued. "You did not contest the Council's decision to contain the Carvin Empire, even though their points were quite familiar to our own when we were in their shoes."
"There was little I could do. We cannot afford to facilitate fracture the Council. Not in our current position." Anderson said.
"Indeed, humanity still lacks the diplomatic power and influence of other Council races." Udina agreed, something he had done very rarely.
"We need allies. This is one of our greatest weaknesses. Other races have long friendships with one another, magnifying their influence." Anderson said in frustration. "Until we find allies, our voice will remain the weakest one of the Council races."
"A sound idea, however there is little potential candidates." Udina shrugged, also visibly frustrated by the fact. "The elcor are too far, the volus are a turian client-state, the hanar remain in a turian-salarian sphere of influence, and the batarians want us dead. We have no options."
Anderson knew all of that, though it didn't make him feel any better. Even though humanity was now a part of the Council races, it still frustrated him just how helpless and powerless they often were. Especially considering the recent disappearances of human colonies in the Terminus and Attican Traverse, and with no solution to the issue in sight... unless.
"Perhaps there is one..." He thought, and an idea crazy enough that with enough effort it just could work. "Our newest arrivals to the galactic scene."
"The carvins!?" Udina looked at him as if he was crazy. "Don't be ridiculous, Anderson. How are we supposed to benefit from fraternizing with them? Especially now that they managed to antagonize the entire Council after they consistently try to undermine the entire security architecture of the galaxy? For an Empire so powerful, their envoy is surprisingly incompetent. And it's not like they are much closer than the elcor."
"Maybe... but their Empire lies on the border between the Traverse and the Terminus systems. A perfect buffer against potential raids from those territories, provided we can convince them to expand." Anderson pointed out. "We could avoid another Blitz, and also focus solely on the batarians. Safer colonies will mean more migration, investments, development. This could also open up a trade route with the Carvin Empire, one that humanity would have an exclusive access to."
"Yes.. that could indeed help us, perhaps even allow us to finally overtake the elcor economy, and maybe allow us to monopolize large parts of the Traverse." Udina scratched his chin in deep thought. "It still doesn't solve the issue of how we go about pulling the carvins into our sphere of influence to facilitate all of this."
"I believe that the pieces could already be in place for us..." Anderson said.
It was abundantly clear that Carvin Empire wanted a galaxy-wide recognition that would come with joining the Citadel races, and it was arguably the main focus of their foreign policy at the moment as far as everyone was knew. However all of their advances to do so were hampered by their lackluster understanding of galactic diplomacy, as well as the interests of other major players. No Council race would admit it openly, but they all wanted to prevent the carvins from integrating too quickly with the rest of the galaxy.
First, they wanted to avoid a repeat from the Systems Alliance, a rapid growth of a civilization that would increasingly pressure the Council for more representation, and the Carvin Empire was in a perfect position to do so. Secondly, the Council hoped that the carvins would try and pay their way into the integration with their tech. Anderson could almost visualize the entire salarian government salivating over the thought of acquiring any form of classified carvin equipment. It was painfully clear that the Council would block carvin attempts to more deeply engage with other powers on the galactic scene until the Empire gave them what they wanted and was not an immediate threat to their interests.
"Carvins need an ally within the Council just as much as we need an ally outside of it. Perhaps if we could smooth the way for their negotiation efforts, they would be more inclined to align themselves with a cooperative player." Anderson suggested still in deep thought. "And it would give humanity a lot of good press."
"Precisely!" Udina almost leapt in the air, as he began to frantically walk around the office. "We'd be seen as proponents of galactic integration. It would divert a significant amount of media hostility away from us and our expansionism. We could finally earn the respect of others for our efforts!"
"Hold on, Udina. While the idea is good, we can't make this look too artificially. If something goes wrong, the people will think that our efforts were just for good press." Anderson pointed out, but his colleague waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about that. You can leave the media and PR aspect of this to me. I know just the right strings to pull to make this work." He said confidently. "Now we just need to contact the carvin envoy, perhaps convince him of the mutual benefits of our potential partnership."
"Let me handle this please. If I read Zayan Te'Kraan right, I believe that he prefers a more direct approach to such issues. And frankly so do I." Anderson said and activated his omni tool.
He spoke to Te'Kraan once during a dinner for diplomatic dignitaries, and he was probably the only person that the carvin envoy genuinely talked to during that evening. Te'Kraan was not an obnoxious suck up as so many of the personas in the galactic politics were. On the contrary, he was very blunt and direct in what he thought and said. If he was allowed to say something and wanted to say it, he would do so regardless of any potential offense taken by the other side. This apparent lack of tact, despite significant improvement over time, was something that didn't really bother Anderson too much, as it made for a nice change from the thousands of carefully chosen words spoken by all of those bigwigs on the Citadel, that could be interpreted in countless ways depending on the situation.
The contact information was shared among the ambassadors and representatives of various species, and it was not hard to find Te'Kraan's number.
...
...
...
"The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please leave your message or try again later." Came a female voice of a VI assistant after a few seconds of waiting.
"That's weird..." Anderson murmured.
"What's wrong?" Udina asked, as he noticed that something was not right.
"The carvin envoy is not responding to the call." Human councilor replied. "And he does not seem like the type of person to forget how to use his omni-tool."
"Interesting... perhaps he went somewhere and does not wish to be disturbed." Udina wondered, then sat down at one of the computers in the office. "Luckily I know where he rented an apartment. Maybe the landlady knows something. From what I found out, she mainly stays there herself, keeping tabs on everything."
He quickly searched up the appropriate address on the extranet and found the contact information on the corresponding website. He then copied it to his omni-tool and began the call. After a moment, the response came.
"Hello. My name is Donnel Udina, advisor of the human councilor... yes... yes, miss. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that one Zayan Te'Kraan, the envoy of the Carvin Empire rented an apartment from you. Do you perhaps know where he could..." Udina then stopped talking, apparently interrupted from the other side. His expression shifted from one of calmness, to one of a brief surprise, to then one of disbelief. "He what? What do you mean prematurely? Yesterday!? Did... did he provide any reason? ...I see. Yes... yes, thank you. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. No, not to worry. Everything is fine. Thank you, goodbye."
After that he disconnected and sat on the chair, covering his face with his hand.
"What happened?" Anderson asked, fully realizing that something did not add up.
"Apparently Te'Kraan had terminated his rent agreement prematurely yesterday, and left today morning. Said something about being recalled. Important business." Udina said, clearly frustrated.
This information stunned Anderson. "Why would Carvin Empire recall their envoy, especially now?"
"If only I knew that... It doesn't make any sense. Withdrawing now would practically make them a rogue state. There's little to gain from such a move. Just look at batarians." Udina pointed out. Knowing and understanding the intentions of galactic players was his area of expertise, and it visibly angered him that he couldn't understand carvin way of thinking.
"I wouldn't compare carvins to batarians so easily. Their political positions are significantly different." Anderson replied. "Batarians have had little room to expand ever since we snatched the Skyllian Verge from them. But Carvin Empire... they lie on the border of the Traverse and the Terminus Systems. If their fleet is even half of the strength that they say, then they could practically conquer large part of the Terminus for themselves, along with its virtually limitless resources. It's even official that they have virtually secured the Nemean Abyss. They have intense room for growth."
"And that makes them highly independent... or at least it could make them so wityh enough time." Udina added. "They are basically the only ones capable of colonizing the Terminus and enforcing their law there. Once their Empire grows in size enough, they won't need the Citadel. With so much resources and strength at their disposal, they would be able to exert an increasing pressure on the Council space. Asari in particular will be threatened, since they border the Terminus but are too scared to expand there."
"And if the Council tries to contain them militarily, they'll be powerless. Turian logistics won't be sufficient in the Terminus, not to mention that most of the Carvin Empire lies outside the effective range of the Mass Relay network." Anderson said, slowly beginning to understand the possible carvin intentions. "It could be decades or centuries, maybe even millennia before carvins become strong enough to actually contest the Citadel authority. But the danger is enough for them. Fear and inconvenience will compel the Council to negotiate with the carvins on more equal terms."
"Yes... which is why it's better to move quickly." Udina said and stood up from his seat. "I will try to open up a backdoor communication channel with the Carvin Empire. You try to keep quiet about. Maybe we could strike a deal outside the watchful eyes of the Council."
"You don't need to order me around, Udina. I know what to do." Anderson said slightly annoyed at how bossy his advisor was. He was still bitter about not being chosen as the councilor. "We can make this work if we both do our part."
Hopefully...
Frontier Sector of the Carvin Empire, Qreten.
Planetary military base
2147 Local time, September 19th, 2184 Gregorian Calendar
"It seems that something I've said must've gotten lost in translation! When I advised you lot to be aggressive when confronting an enemy, I didn't mean 'lose all your reason the very second you see an enemy' for fuck's sake!" Sergeant Virox Ri'Kaan, an overseer for the 2nd platoon of the 5th company from the 1st regiment of the 5th Independent Brigade, Frontier Defense Corps, yelled at the 6 squads that were lined up in front of him, standing at attention.
While he was not a formal member of their brigade, he did have the authority of the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces behind him, a military institution created to ensure the quality of the Imperial Armed Forces. And this institution was especially focused on the parts of the military staffed by the conscripted personnel. Professionals could almost always be expected to perform their duties at close to maximum efficiency, which couldn't really be said about the conscripts. Hence his presence here.
Since Carvine Empire withdrew from the talks with the Citadel Council (rumored to be only a temporary measure), it began to aggressively expand its military presence in the Terminus Systems. This included increased fleet activity outside of the Empire's borders, raids on pirate and smuggler hideouts and displacement or even destruction of independent settlements among many other actions. One place where this increased activity was most severe was in the Nemean Abyss, a region both rich in mineral wealth, especially element zero, and in lawless activity. Still, pirates and criminals were not the most threatening enemies, and the Empire often used them as target practice for live-fire exercises organized for specific formations.
The 5th Independent Brigade was deployed into the Abyss for over a week alongside several other formations, hunting pirates, smugglers, mercenaries, and various other kind of scum that the so-called "civilized" space didn't want. During that time a detachment from the General Inspectorate of the Armed Forces, including Virox Ri'Kaan, was to observe the brigade and assess its combat effectiveness, as well as provide feedback to the troops. However sometimes that feedback was apparently not interpreted properly.
"You!" Virox walked up to one of the soldiers from Squad 1 of the platoon. "What the hell was with that hip fire? Did your HUD malfunction, that's why you sprayed like an moron!? And on high-power setting of all things! Wanna run out of energy in your weapon so much?"
He grabbed the soldier's rifle, a standard CAR-16 laser-based assault rifle. The soldier didn't protest, though he looked confused and scared. When he let go of the weapon, Virox slammed it into his stomach, making him stumble in pain.
"You spray only on low-power mode! That's what it's for, rapid-fire, suppressing of the enemy, and any potential hipfire spraying you may ever need to do! I see you do that again and you'll be going into next battle with only your fists! Maybe then you'll learn to respect the gear you're provided. Now get up." Virox threatened, then moved to the second batch. "Squad 2, mind explaining to me your spacing?"
Soldiers of Squad 2 looked at each other nervously, visibly unsure of how to proceed.
"Well? I'm waiting... chop chop!" Virox stared at them impatiently. It was already clear to him that they didn't yet see their own mistakes, and it was up to him to explain it to them.
"Sir, what spacing, sir?" Their squad leader asked.
"Oh, I don't know, corporal. Maybe you can tell me why your sorry asses were stuck so close to each other? If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn someone must've sewn you lot together. Do you WANT to get collectively blown up by a grenade!?" Virox asked mockingly. "Maintain adequate distance from each other, close enough to coordinate effectively, but far enough that you don't all get launched into space when someone with two brain cells decides to throw a 'nade at you!"
No response came, just what Virox had expected. Even before he was transferred to the GIAF, he had already gained a reputation of a blunt and demanding bastard. Very few wanted to spend time with him, and there were even fewer that HE wanted to spend time with in the first place.
"Squads 3 and 5, does the concept of battle awareness scare you? Or perhaps you think that sticking to cover is for losers?" Virox continued with his lecture.
"Sir, no sir!" They all replied in unison just as they were drilled to do.
"Then explain to me that you are the two squads whose members got their shields down at least once? Some even multiple times?" Virox demanded. "I believe that you've got the words 'aggressive' and 'suicidal' mixed up somewhere. An un-networked Dronox has more battle or even basic situational awareness than all of you combined! And that's saying much since we mostly used them for target practice back during the war! So you better work on it, or else I'll make YOU someone else's target practice and you'll learn the value of cover! You only charge when your superior tells you to!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Squads 4 and 6, your fighting style was ok, but wrap it up with the communication. The enemy will not kindly wait for you to explain everything to everyone and their mother! Be brief and direct. It saves everyone time, and hence lives." Was the last advice that Virox had given, and then turned towards all of the squads. "The way I see it, more than half of you are on the verge of being unfit for duty. So why don't we make this all pleasant for everyone, and have you think about this before the next deployment. If I see you lot fighting like you did back then, I'll rip off your tails and beat you all to death with them! Do you understand that!?"
A wave of confirmation swept through the ranks. Most of the soldiers would try to hide it, but they were genuinely scared of the threat.
"Now, after that's all said and done, we-" He began, but an alert appeared on his visor. Someone from the higher-ups was requesting his presence in his quarters ASAP. "Change of plans. YOU are going to get cleaned up and changed. Dinner is in an hour. I need to deal with something. Dismissed."
With that all said and done, he left the soldiers to carry out his orders and headed to his quarters by himself. To say that Virox enjoyed screaming at them like that would be a complete misunderstanding of what type of person he was. Virox was neither a standard drill sergeant, nor a sociopath. He simply hated his job, yet couldn't find a way out of it. This was just his way to vent out his frustration.
He was one of the 'lucky 50,000' who were frozen on the orders of Seviros... High General Seviros, and awoken some 100 (carvin) years ago. Now while most of them integrated seamlessly into society, there were those like Virox who had some trouble adapting. Not to the new technology, culture, or even military protocol. A hundred years was enough to get used to all of the new gadgets and learn the rules anew. No, Virox simply could not move on from the past.
He was 2 years old when the Grox invaded. Like most of 'Seviros' elite', his parents were killed somewhere at the beginning of the invasion. It had become a sort of cliche that the best soldiers of the Home Army were the parentless. But while there were some heroes who had committed many unbelievable acts of heroism, most of the veterans were much more normal. They fought the best because they had nothing to lose. Nothing but the war and their comrades. They had no pointless distractions, and could get the job done, regardless of any safety or ethical concerns. Ruthless but efficient.
When the war ended, Virox was a grizzled veteran despite being only 13 years old. War was his only purpose. But when it ended and he was awoken after over a thousand years, even with the potential danger of other aliens, he felt like a foreigner. At first he joined the Army again, but the lack of action and a general lack of space for the frontline combat roles for the 'unfrozen made him leave. After that he spent 30 years trying to run away from his past. Going to a university (he tried 6 different fields, including philosophy and sociology, but dropped out every single time), finding work (each new job left him more frustrated than the last), or even an early retirement (at less than 100 years old. Veterans of the Grox War were entitled to an early retirement whenever they decided).
But every single time, he felt like something was missing. So at 54 he rejoined the military as a drill instructor, where he learned various different ways to scare the conscripts shitless. But it frustrated him even more. He received a recommendation for a special forces training, from which he dropped out on the third year. After that he himself applied to join the Assault Troops, an elite and offensive-focused formation, and spent 40 years there. Yet even that couldn't allow him to abandon his past, and he left. Since then, he had been moved around to various positions, filling the gaps wherever needed. This was his second year as an observer for the GIAF, and it already felt annoying.
Even before Virox reached his quarters, he could see several soldiers speaking with individuals dressed in blue and red armour - the Ravashir. This explained everything, though Virox did not like the idea of having to talk to them about anything. They got on his nerves too much ever since the first time they investigated him.
When he approached the entrance to the barracks, one of the Ravashir enforcers noticed him and walked up to him.
"Virox Ri'Kaan?" He asked.
"In the flesh. What sort of nonsensical bullshit do you want from me now?" Virox rolled his eyes, making it abundantly clear that he did not enjoy the enforcer's presence.
"Not me. The boss is in your room." The enforcer said, then gestured at the entrance. "Come on, in you go."
The barracks were not the biggest he had ever occupied, but still impressive considering that Qreten was a relatively young colony. Its military bases were enlarged to provide better planetary security, possibly due to its proximity to the Mass Relay network.
When Virox walked inside, he saw several other Ravashir enforcers patrolling the corridors, but most of them ignored him. He then walked up to the door leading to his own private quarters and pressed the door button. The door opened with a quiet hiss, revealing his room and a single Ravashir officer, visibly of higher rank than all of the other guys roaming around the barracks.
"Virox Ri'Kaan?" The officer asked, repeating the inquiry of his subordinate outside the barracks, which annoyed Virox.
"If I said 'no', would you believe me?" Virox replied to the question with one of his own. "What do you want?"
The officer walked around the room, scanning his room not with a scanner but his own sharply trained sight. The room itself was smaller than others, after all it was designed for one person. Very minimalist, there was no windows, pictures, or posters. Just some small trinkets, like the damaged part of a Dronox visor - his first kill ever, scored before his second birthday. It took some convincing but they allowed him to freeze it with him for this millennium. There was also a certificate of completing the Assault Troop training and his membership in that formation. Finally there was a small box lying next to his bed. It wasn't opened from its packaging, and this was what the Ravashir officer took an interest in.
"What's this? We've received a report on this package, and more importantly its sender." He inquired, as he inspected the box. "After some digging we found out that you have been receiving those kinds of packages regularly."
"Your point?" Virox shrugged, knowing full well where this was heading.
"Don't play dumb with me!" The officer threw the package on his bed and walked up dangerously close to Virox with a clear threatening intent. He then grabbed him by the collar of his armor with open hostility. "Having a grunt like you receiving gifts from a High General is far from normal!"
Virox expression soured in dejection. Ah yes, the second part of his frustrating life - his relationship with High General Seviros. While almost none of his subordinates ever knew of this, all the superiors he ever had did. He had maintained a pseudo-friendship with Seviros since the days before the Grox War, when Seviros was not a major political or military figure yet. He would come to Virox's family home for dinner at times, since both of Virox's parents were military. Back then he did not realize that the man would become arguably the most important person he'd meet in his life.
When the war broke out and Virox wandered around Lexaant suburbs alone after losing his parents, the resistance found him and Seviros sort of adopted him. He trained him harshly, but all the time Virox was convinced that this was his way to care. After all, the head of the Home Army couldn't afford to engage in nepotism during that time. And when the war ended, Virox was recommended by Seviros to get frozen alongside the other 50,000 soldiers.
But after awakening a thousand years later, their relationship had changed. Seviros became a High General, and after the events of the Varsaai Insurrection, any direct contact with subordinates outside of work was frowned upon. They grew more distant due to the barrier of rank and responsibilities, and at one point Virox began to prefer it that way.
Yet Seviros did not forget about him. Maybe it was a feeling of guilt, since Virox had virtually no other 'family' left. He kept sending gifts of various kinds every 5 or 10 years. One of them was a spot in one of the universities, another was a book or a movie he wanted to watch, and even the Special Forces training was made available to Virox partially through his efforts.
Seviros was walking a very thin line to connect with Virox in this way, but even though he tried, Virox simply could not make himself care anymore. With every gift came a reminder of how much separated the two of them. After one of the previous Ravashir inspections regarding this issue, he even wrote to Seviros through official channel to stop doing this for both of their sakes. It seemed that the message was either lost or ignored. And this is why the package was left unopened.
"Given your reaction I don't believe that your predecessors have filled you in on anything. It would be much easier if they sent the same guy every single time." Virox scowled at the officer. "I'm tired of this shit. If you want it, check it. Hell, you can even take it home with you if you please. Less problems for both of us."
This lack of resistance was clearly not something that the officer was expecting. He let go of Virox and picked up the box again. After getting rid of its packaging, he opened it, only to reveal a traditional paper book, an omni-tool (still being popularized across the carvin space), and a few small data shards.
"Hmmm... 'On War', by one Carl von Clausewitz, a human. Interesting." He hummed as he examined the book's pages for any potential additions. When he discovered there was none, he moved on to the data shards and the omni-tool.
"Found anything big enough to arrest me?" Virox asked sarcastically.
"Perhaps... the omni-tool is one of the higher quality models from what I can see." The officer replied dead seriously, then plugged the data shards into one of his analytical devices. "As for the data shards... there's little on them than books, articles on the galactic extranet, and other seemingly worthless information."
After ensuring that there was nothing suspicious on the shards, he threw the contents of the box onto Virox's bed, then pulled out his own datapad and started to browse something that Virox couldn't identify.
"Do you maintain any correspondence with High General Seviros?" He asked, not even turning away from his datapad.
"The last message I sent him was when your friends inspected me for the third time, asking him to stop sending me these." Virox replied truthfully.
"...Checks out." The officer nodded after a moment. "You're surprisingly calm over this situation."
"Maybe because it's the fifth time you dumb fuckers are investigating me?" Virox shrugged.
This insult was clearly not to the liking of the officer. "You do realize that I can arrest you here and now for possible corruption and taking bribes?"
"Oh really? Since when do you decide if High Generals can have acquaintances outside of their immediate circle? Or hell, why do you even investigate me?" Virox retorted. "It was Seviros who keeps sending me this, causing all this trouble. And if I'm being honest, if that's what these packages are supposed to bring me, then he can shove them all up his ass."
Boom. He said it. Insulted the member of the highest level of government in the Empire. But he did not care. If this was the only way that Seviros wanted to maintain any semblance of connection with him, then Virox would rather have this connection ended right then and there. He expected the officer to arrest him, or hell even shoot him on sight for this profanity. But the man just looked at him and wrote something down on his datapad. When he finished, he walked out the door of his room, and turned around for a second.
"Virox Ri'Kaan, you're truly something else. For your information, I WAS told about your predicament by the staff. And you didn't disappoint. You're clean. I'll pass the message to the rest of the Ravashir." He said as he started to walk away.
"If you could pass my request to High General Seviros to stop sending gifts to me, that would be great too!" Virox shouted at him, though he either did not hear or ignored the message completely.
Virox stood at the doorway to his room. He expected a lot more trouble, given his past experience with the Ravashir. Hell, once he even had to get his brigade commander involved to have them piss off. Did they just become more lenient? No... that's not the word he would use to describe the Ravashir. Ever. Still, it was progress. There was no risk of arrest, and the guy, despite initially looking like a real martinet or pedant, actually turned out to be more 'normal' than expected.
"Hell, maybe this day won't be so shit after all." Virox said to himself, then looked at the gifts that the Ravashir officer left on his bed.
He would go through them later. Dinner was soon to start, and he would not allow himself to pass on the food.
A/N: And there you go. Another chapter. Much shorter than the previous one. Hope you'll be happy with it. We'll be jumping a year into the future in the next chapter, and we'll finally have Shepard with us. The story will gain traction at last.
Also, since I had a request for the looks of the carvins, I have several pictures uploaded to Imgur. Here's the "link" you put in after the website address, since fanfiction doesn't allow to post links:
/a/bjlKl7q
I'm sorry for the cartoony looks, but Spore isn't exactly known to have the most realistic artstyle, and I can't draw for shit. It's just a general reference for how they look. And just so you know, those are pre-cybernetified carvins. I can't be bothered with playing with the intricacies of installing several thousand mods for this to work, because my main focus is on actually WRITING the story.
Just a quick reminder, the vote on Shepard's sex and romance partner is still open. You are free to submit them in your reviews or through PMs. Now where's that gasoline? I think I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Carry on!
Bonker out!