To the Office of the Honourable Primarch Fedorian – Speech Draft for Upcoming Grand Military Parade
Location: Grand Military Parade, Cipritine, Palaven
Subject: Address to the Turian Hierarchy following the Citadel's announcement of first contact with the UNSC and the Covenant
[BEGIN SPEECH DRAFT]
Warriors of Palaven, Turians of the Hierarchy, today, I address you not as Primarch alone, but as a son of our great and enduring people.
The Citadel has announced to the galaxy what we, the defenders of peace and order, have witnessed firsthand: a new era of conflict has begun. We have made first contact with the humans of the United Nations Space Command — a fierce and resilient people fighting for their very survival against the Covenant, a coalition of species united in their hatred, bound together by a religion that preaches not peace, but total annihilation.
This Covenant is a mockery of what we Turians have built with the Citadel. They are an alliance, yes, but one that values only destruction and subjugation. We will not, we cannot, and we must not allow such darkness to spread unchecked. It falls to us to be the bulwark against this threat, just as we have always stood against the forces that would tear the galaxy apart.
Our history is one of struggle and triumph, but it is also a testament to our resilience and our will to overcome. We were not always the united force we are today. There was a time when we were divided, fractured by our own conflicts, scattered and weakened by wars between our clans and colonies. Yet, from those turbulent days emerged the Turian Unification Wars — a crucible that did not break us, but forged us into a single, unbreakable Hierarchy. From the fires of those conflicts, we did not rise as conquerors, but as a people bound by purpose, stronger and more unified than ever before. We learned that true strength is not found in conquest or division, but in unity and shared resolve.
We took our place on the galactic stage when the Krogan Rebellions threatened to plunge the Citadel into chaos. It was our legions, our resolve, that turned the tide and brought peace to a war-torn galaxy. It was the Turians who rose to defend the fragile harmony between species, who proved that we were not just warriors, but guardians of the very idea of civilization itself.
And now, we face a new challenge, one that will test us in ways we have not known since those early days. This is not just a war against the Covenant. It is a crucible — a baptism of fire — that will forge a new generation of Turian heroes. At Arcadia, we fought alongside the humans, not just because it was necessary, but because it was right. We saw firsthand the resolve of a species facing extinction, and we chose to stand beside them. In that choice, we did not merely defend a planet — we made a promise: that the Turians will always rise to meet the darkness, no matter where it comes from.
The humans are a brave people, tested by hardship and united in adversity. As they fight for survival, we must remember the words of one of their own, a poet who spoke of struggle and perseverance: "In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody, but unbowed." These words, written by their poet William Ernest Henley centuries ago, embody the spirit of a people who, despite all odds, refuse to be broken. We honour that spirit, and we pledge to match it with our own.
The road ahead will be difficult. The Covenant is powerful, relentless, and driven by a religious fanaticism that we cannot comprehend. But we have faced impossible odds before. When the Krogan threatened to drown the galaxy in blood, it was our resolve that held the line. When our own wars tore us apart, it was our unity that saw us through. And now, as we stand on the precipice of this new age, we must call upon that same strength, that same unity, to face what lies ahead.
Today, I do not call upon you to be soldiers alone. I call upon you to be the standard-bearers of a new era. The galaxy looks to us — to the Turians — not just for our strength, but for our leadership, for our commitment to justice and peace. We will fight the Covenant not out of a desire for war, but out of a need to protect all that is good and right in this galaxy. We will stand as the shield that does not break, the sword that does not falter.
We are the Turians. We are the defenders of the Citadel, the vanguard of the galaxy, and the guardians of all that is just. Today, we rise not just for Palaven, not just for the Hierarchy, but for the galaxy itself. We will face the Covenant, we will stand beside our new allies, and we will emerge victorious.
And when future generations look back on this moment, let them say that it was here, on the fields of Arcadia, on the parade grounds of Palaven, that we Turians rose to meet the challenge of our time. That we, united and unyielding, stood as the defenders of the galaxy.
Let them say: the Turians rose. And in rising, we saved the stars.
[END SPEECH DRAFT]