Hey guys, TheDoctor1998 here with another chapter! Last time, the Council learned of the incident on Shanxi, and some talks happened between Alice and Benezia, the former making sure to keep the charade that Humanity is merely a primitive species. Now, on with the show!
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01-07-2657
Unknown city
Unknown planet
Unknown system
Saren and his men had gone through hell these past few hours, to say the least. The term "primitive" doesn't seem to be an accurate description of this new race, as their weapons have shown.
True, they're still stuck using bullets instead of the highly accelerated shavings of metal that more advanced civilizations like his own used, but they seem to have developed this type of weaponry beyond anything seen from a pre-Mass Effect civilization. Even the most powerful guns that don't utilize element zero pale compared to these.
That being said, while they did have a much higher rate of fire then their own weapons, they did suffer from the same drawback that all guns without element zero did. Ammunition.
The inner workings of Citadel weapons were relatively simple. The weapon would shave off a shaving from a metal block placed in the gun, the shaving being no larger than a grain of sand, and a tiny eezo core in the weapon would lower the mass of the shaving. Then the gun would magnetically accelerate the grain, which would cause it to go ridiculously fast due to its lowered mass. This effectively gave their weapons nearly limitless ammunition.
True, there was the drawback of overheating that could often happen, but heat sinks could easily mitigate that problem. If someone fires their weapon too much, they'd simply need to stop firing for a moment to let the heat sink cool down. And if they don't have such a moment, replacing it would be easy. Omni-gel could easily be used to create new heat sinks on a whim, as well as some new ammo blocks in the rare event a weapon runs out of ammo.
Some would say that such a system would essentially set soldiers in the same position as those that wield guns without element zero in them, but they'd often forget something. Heat sinks were designed to be compatible with all handheld weapons that require them, and the same could not be said for regular bullets. Regardless of how powerful the weapons of these aliens were, they'd lose in a war of attrition against an enemy with limitless ammo.
That was of little help to Saren though, as he and the rest of his squad were under fire at what they believed to be the military nerve center of the planet.
Every time he managed to charge his barriers up he risked leaving cover in order to fire at the aliens, but they'd adapted to his tactics and stopped firing whenever none of his men were visible to them. They were making every single one of their bullets count.
Still, seeing as there was no eezo on the planet, it would be unlikely for them to expect his next move.
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01-07-2657
Shanxi City
Shanxi Prime
Shanxi System
General Williams was, in a single word, fucked, and he knew it. The Raptors, Turians apparently, had found his bunker.
He and his men were giving it their all, but they were ultimately still a relatively minor planetary defense force on the edge of civilization who were untrained to fight against something like this. Still, they were making the Raptors shed a lot of their blue blood for every meter they took.
"What's the situation?" Williams asked one of his subordinates, hoping to hear some good news.
"Same as before, sir." One of his analysts said. "Aside from the large number of troops who went AWOL by technicality, we are the last remaining military installation on the planet."
The general cursed, though he did understand why those soldiers had gone AWOL. They'd simply cut off communications when it became clear that a large and organized military wouldn't suffice in this situation, so all remaining soldiers on the planet had switched over to guerilla tactics, which is evidently not something that the Raptors were trained for.
Still, despite everything, he had to give his men credit. Even if they'd be court martialed for their actions, they still went ahead if it meant protecting this world.
Before he could think of some new orders he heard one of the soldiers outside the bunker cry out. "Incoming!"
A blue orb of something hurled itself through the bunker, turning soldiers caught by it into piles of limbs. Before Williams could react, a squad of those Warlocks streamed into the building and fired on everyone inside.
As pain exploded in his knees, he figured that they wanted him alive for one reason or another. But whatever it was that they wanted him to do, he'd make sure to make it as difficult as possible.
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01-07-2657
STG Stealth Frigate #682
Shanxi Prime's orbit
Shanxi System
Mordin Solus liked to say that it's an average day on #682. Unlike the other races of the known galaxy, the Salarians didn't waste time in naming their ships, instead they'd just give it a number that's not already in use by an active ship of its class and call it a day, especially when it came to stealth ships like #682.
But due to the actions of Desolas, #682 had to be redirected into the territory of an unknown species. One that didn't make sense. "Planet has all signs of being a colony. No eezo, but has artificial gravity and a dreadnought. How?"
He and his men had managed to hack some of the minor devices they'd scavenged off of the planet, and managed to build a rough translator. It's not able to translate proverbs or anything like that, but they were capable of using the translator to create a one to one translation of every word they'd managed to get a translation off, which is how they'd managed to learn the name of this planet and the system.
And therein lay the problem that Mordin was facing. A species wouldn't name their homeworld as the "prime" of its star, they'd name the things separately. People would only do that with colonies.
The layout of the cities only confirmed that idea, with it being painfully clear that each settlement was built using more advanced technologies instead of being a cultural heritage. Every homeworld had buildings that indicated a cultural heritage, even the post-apocalyptic Tuchanka had ruins that depicted a culture that grew up there.
Not to mention that there was no infrastructure capable of either building or sustaining the dreadnought and the civilian ships that the Turians destroyed. And while everything pointed to Shanxi being a colony, there was one major detail that made the Turians and the Asari think that Shanxi was their homeworld.
The complete and total lack of element zero.
There was not a scrap of the material found in the Shanxi System. There was nothing on Shanxi itself, nothing in any of the neighboring planets, nothing in any of the moons, nothing in the asteroids, nothing in the Human's technology. Outside of the Mass Relay and what the Citadel races brought in, there was not a single atom of the material in the system.
"Anomaly detected." The VI alerted, shaking the scientist Salarian out of his thoughts.
"What is it?" Mordin asked one of his colleagues.
"Radiation spike." The older Salarian answered. "Unknown energy signature appeared outside of Shanxi's atmosphere. Vanished within seconds."
"Anything else?" Mordin continued.
"Nothing. No probe or debris was detected before the spike, and scans have revealed nothing in the vicinity." The other Salarian then started typing on his console. "Likely an error in our sensors, starting recalibration."
Mordin lost himself in his thoughts again. A theory was forming in his head, something that in any other circumstance would've made him a laughing stock of the scientific community if he'd voice it. And he had a feeling that the possible glitch in their systems wasn't a glitch at all.
Opening his omni-tool, he started writing down his own notes on the situation, while also making a mental note to watch out for any other spike of that strange radiation.
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01-07-2657
UNSC Hidden Dagger
Shanxi Prime's orbit
Shanxi System
"Well." One of the operatives on the ship said. "This is interesting."
The Hidden Dagger had been sent out ahead of the Second Fleet, as was standard practice. The relatively small UNSC ship was a prowler with some of the best stealth systems within Alliance space. The only way someone would be able to detect it in the first place was if they opened up a Slipspace portal, as ONI's scientists had yet to figure out how to dampen the resulting Cerenkov radiation.
But other than that, the Hidden Dagger was practically impossible to detect by any known means.
Which was a good thing, as Shanxi was apparently surrounded by an alien armada. "Any sign of the Grand Discovery?" The Shipmaster asked his subordinates.
The AI, his hologram appearing as a tuxedo wearing man from an old spy movie, piped up. "There's a debris field in a decaying orbit around Gargantua. I've already identified it as belonging to the Grand Discovery, as well as three of the four science ships and several of the alien vessels."
"Thank you, Bond." The Shipmaster said. "Anything else?"
"I did detect some data packages circling around on the remaining UNSC channels, containing all sorts of information about the aliens that would be in clear breach of the Cole Protocol, had they been a member of the Alliance." Bond drank from his holographic martini. It didn't give him any pleasure, but he did like the aesthetic. "This information includes language packages, member states of the alien's alliance and the locations of all their worlds."
The Shipmaster's eyes widened. "Send it to Reach and the Second Fleet, ASAP."
Bond nodded, and instantly created a copy of the data package that he sent through the Waypoint to its destinations. "There is also another ship in the area. From my analysis of the information packages and our own sensory data, it's a stealth ship belonging to another species that the invaders are allied with.
The Shipmaster raised an eyebrow. "Did they turn off their own stealth systems in the middle of a warzone?"
"Negative." Bond replied. "It seems that the stealth systems they use primarily focus on trapping their own heat and making their heat signature blend in with the cosmic background radiation. While this form of stealth would be next to useless to our own sensors, it seems to work adequately against their own."
"I see." The Shipmaster nodded. "Alright people, let's do what ONI's good at, and strike before the enemy realizes what's happening. Deploy the M-mines."
M-mines, a weapon of stealth that had been developed by joint research of the various intelligence branches of the Alliance. They were simple and brutal, but extremely effective. They were basically shaped bombs equipped with their own stealth systems, engines, Dumb AI and magnetic clamps, the latter of which gave the weapon its name. They were pre-programed to attach themselves to preselected targets after they scanned the object's structure for potential weak spots. Then, they'd remain waiting, devoting their energy to maintaining their stealth systems and magnetic clamps before being triggered by an outside source.
They drifted through Shanxi's gravity field after the Hidden Dagger released them, each attaching itself to a different ship. There weren't nearly enough to destroy the entire fleet, but a dozen ships would definitely get crippled before the fighting would start.
All that the Hidden Dagger had to do was wait.
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01-07-2657
UNSC Eternity
Slipspace
En Route towards Shanxi System
Hannah Shepard was reading the data input on the bridge of the Eternity, the second of the Infinity class supercarriers and the flagship of the Second Fleet, when a message came in.
Now, this was nothing new for her, messages came in all the time on every ship, especially on the flagship of a major fleet. However, the title of the message sent her into a controlled panic. "Fleetmistress Drescher, we've just received a message and a data package from the Hidden Dagger. It's a Code Harvest."
The bridge on the Eternity went silent. All crewmembers knew what a Code Harvest meant, a hostile first contact with a great likelihood that the planet had either been conquered or destroyed. "How long until we arrive at Shanxi?" Drescher said.
Shepard looked at the data. "At our current rate, we'll arrive in approximately 5 hours."
Drescher hummed. "Send word to all ships in the fleet, make sure we're prepared for combat." She then looked towards the Eternity's AI, one shaped like a flaming demon. "Surtur, is there anything of value in the package?"
The demonic looking AI nodded. "I've already analyzed and integrated several language packages of the various alien races that have either attacked us or have allied with our attackers, as well as various pieces of cultural and tactical data. I believe that we can, at the very least, communicate with our attackers with 99.99% efficiency."
"Any data on their technology and numbers?"
"The enemy fleet would outnumber us 3 to 1, barring reinforcements." Surtur replied. "However, looking at their technological level that would be of little consequence. Their shielding only seems to work against kinetic energy, and seems to be far weaker than our own shielding systems. In addition, their armor is nearly non-existent, making any ship easy pickings. A single frigate managed to destroy 19 ships before the enemy "dreadnought" managed to get a lucky hit."
"Really?" Drescher asked with a predatory smile. "Then it seems like we won't have a fair fight after all."
"I do need to note something else, ma'am." The AI continued. "The Turians, as the invaders are known, do have highly maneuverable ships. In realspace, their speed far exceeds our own, and their weapons have a much greater range as well. I would suggest getting much closer than they're comfortable with and not let them get away."
"Agreed." Drescher said. "Hit them hard and fast before they even know what's happening."
As Drescher started communicating with the Shipmasters of the fleet, Shepard couldn't help but worry. If they were going to be dragged into a war, she sincerely hoped that it wouldn't be a repeat of the Great War. If not for her own sake, then for the sake of her husband and children.
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01-07-2657
Sidney
Earth
Sol System
"Another day, another stack of paperworks the size of Olympus Mons." President Jonathan Lucas said, having just begun with the sheer amount of bureaucratic necessities that were vital within the United Earth Government and the Systems Alliance as a whole. And he'd only had a single cup of coffee to keep him awake through the process.
Little did he know that his relatively mundane day was going to get a whole lot more complicated.
"Mister President." A sound came from his desk. "We've got a problem."
"What is it Ruth?" He asked the AI that was based on his predecessor. "I hope it's nothing too bad."
"Shanxi has been attacked by a previously unknown alien species known as the Turians." Ruth said, her eyes narrowing. "It seems they've come through the Space Bridge that was discovered within the system."
"I see." The President said, his eyes narrowing. "It looks like I need to make a few calls. Has Reach been contacted with this information?"
"The UNSC has been notified of the situation, and the Second Fleet is already on its way." Ruth replied. "Thankfully, due to their technology, the enemy fleets won't be able to harass any of our territory beyond a few lightyears away from the Space Bridge, or Mass Relay as they call it."
The President sighed in relief. "Well, at least we're able to focus our internal defenses against them." He then started typing on his communicator. "I need to make some calls."
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01-07-2657
Vadam Keep
Sanghelios
Urs System
Thel 'Vadam, Kaidon of the Vadam Keep, the Arbiter and the leader of the Swords of Sanghelios, was currently relaxing within his personal study after his daily training session, reading a book while Urs and its lesser siblings, Fied and Joory, were setting. He had to admit, even after living on his homeworld for centuries, he never got tired of watching the triple sunset.
He made it a personal point to be as highly learned as he could, not only with his skills as a warrior, but with as many things as he was capable of. Science, for example, was something he thoroughly enjoyed, even if he was only capable of understanding the "dumbed down" version that those outside of the scientific community used. That's not to say he and others like him were moronic, of course, merely that he understood the basic and practical principles of things. He may understand how Slipspace travel works, but he wouldn't be able to build any kind of Slipspace engine, or program the exact calculations needed to operate that scientific miracle.
That being said, he also appreciated the more cultural works of his people and their allies, and exposed himself to many pieces of art and media from the known universe. The very book he was reading right now was one such work, a Human book written centuries prior to their discovery of Slipspace about a dystopian future and a deathmatch between 24 different children that was enforced by the ruling caste, as well as a rebellion against said ruling caste by the various districts that the children came from.
As an actual revolutionary himself, he hoped that their rebellion was successful, if only to stop the needless blood of children. Though, he'd read and seen enough Human media to know that, at the very least, the ruling caste was doomed to fall.
He'd just started another chapter when one of his personal guards entered the room and bowed. "Holy Arbiter, an urgent message has come from the Human President, and he requests an audience with the leaders of the Alliance."
That gave Thel pause. His fellow heads of state did not usually request this unless something went majorly wrong. The last time this happened, barring the odd Unggoy leader overestimating a relatively minor crisis, was when a Yanme'e scouting party was attacked by the Decepticon Empire during the Cybertronian First Contact. Part of him hoped that something akin to that was the extent of this crisis, and he silently prayed to every god his people came up with, as well as the various gods his allies came up with, that it wasn't a Flood outbreak.
Thel entered the Contemplarium, a room that has always been a personal armory and trophy room for each of the Kaidons of Vadam Keep, holding weapons and trophies dating back thousands of years before the Covenant had even formed. From ancient blades and taxidermies to energy swords and plasma guns. There was even the odd Human weapon here, some taken from the black markets of the Covenant during the Great War, others from ONI's assassins during the formative years of the Swords of Sanghelios. But there were two weapons in this armory that were special to him.
One was the energy sword that was always on his hip, the very blade that slayed the Prophet of Truth. The Prophets' Bane, reforged and renamed after the Battle of the Ark to denounce its status as the tool that killed the last of the hated hierarchs.
The other was a seemingly simple Human pistol, but one that had a much greater history behind it then its humble appearance might suggest. His people named it the Flame of the Grand Demon, and was wielded by the Spartan known as the Master Chief during the same battle where Thel murdered Truth. Thel had lost one of his own weapons during the conflict, shot out of his hand by a loyalist Kig-Yar, and the Master Chief had offered his own pistol to replace it. While Thel was hesitant at first, the decades of combat before still having been drilled into his mind along with the disgust of Human-made objects, but he eventually relented and used it.
After the Forward Unto Dawn had been split in half within the portal, it was all that remained of the Master Chief. True, there were theories that the rear end of the vessel had been "spat out" of the portal somewhere else within the galaxy, but most people acknowledged that it was likely that the Master Chief and Cortana had been ripped into atoms during the return trip.
Once he'd made it back to Earth, Thel requested the late Admiral Hood if he could keep the item, as a memorial for the first Human that the Arbiter was willing to call a friend. While there were some grumblings about this decision, the Humans had enough of the Grand Demon's items to put in a museum, so a single pistol would not be missed. And so, it sat on a special place within the Contemplarium, honoring the man who saved them all.
Pulling himself out of his memories, Thel decided to continue to another part of the Contemplarium, which served as the location's second function. A meeting place for those that have earned the trust of the ruling Kaidon, though in this case it was merely part of a communication hub for those that tried to contact the Arbiter from anywhere other than Sanghelios.
Once he activated his communicator, he came face to face with the holographic projections of the heads of state from the other interstellar nations that made up the Systems Alliance.
Representing Humanity and its elder sibling species the Silurians was, of course, President Johnathan Lucas of the United Earth Government. It was not surprising to see him, as he was the one to call the meeting.
Next was the Councilor of Freedom, leader of the San'Shyuum Council. A part of Thel always made his blood boil at the sight of a member of her species, but he knew that they too were deceived by the Hierarchs. Regardless, he did look into her history when he first met her, and she's always been an individual who'd tried to help the downtrodden within the Covenant during her youth.
Next was Floats Higher than Most, leader of the Huragok Collective. Unlike most governments, the Huragok Collective acted more like a multinational corporation than an actual government. The Huragok could be found across all territories of the Alliance, trading their unmatched skills within the technological sector in exchange for housing, protection and sustenance while moving in nomadic fleets otherwise. That said, they were far from greedy, and most members of their race held little interest in politics or power of any kind. Floats Higher than Most was somewhat of an exception to that, leading and guiding its people as best as it could.
Next was the shrunken hologram representing the titanic form of a Neurnlekgolo known as Hive, leader of Unity. While the individual Lekgolo worms are little more than mindless animals, they are capable of linking their nervous systems to create something akin to a single sentient consciousness, usually becoming the hulking behemoths known as Mgalekgolo. Once these start becoming too large, they split up into two separate beings who share such a strong mental bond that they tend to act as if they're a single being.
Neurnlekgolo on the other hand were what happened if these colonies don't split, growing into titanic forms that tower over even the largest of Mgalekgolo. But more than that, they're also vastly more intelligent than a pair of Mgalekgolo bond brothers, making them natural leaders. Hive himself was among the most intelligent of his kind, capable of easily governing entire planets on his own.
Next was the large form of Queen Sha'ch, the queen of the Sha'ch hive, the largest of the hives that make up the Yanme'e Hives, and therefore the leading hive. Such a thing was natural to the Yanme'e. The queens rule their individual hives, which almost every other Yanme'e of said hive acting more as an extension of the queen herself. When multiple hives work together, the role of leadership always goes to the queen with the largest hive, and this almost species wide alliance was no different.
Next was Prime Minister Rur, leader of the Kig-Yar Confederacy. Like most leaders of her species, she was a shrewd business woman known for her ruthlessness, though she was also smart enough to not make an enemy of a potential ally. And while she was greedy, she was also smart enough to protect her people and keep her allies as her allies, looking at the larger image instead of looking for short term gains.
Next was the diminutive form of Chanselor Rulul, leader of the Free Unggoy States. Rulul was a surprisingly brave member of his species, and didn't tend to back away from a fight like most Unggoy did. True, the methane breathers were cowardly, but they do tend to be great fighters under the right circumstances.
Next was the large form of Chieftain Leonus, leader of the Jiralhanae Packs. Since the downfall of the Covenant, the Jiralhanae had gone through a type of renaissance, which gave them the opportunity for a more peaceful lifestyle. True, they're far from pacifists, but it was unlikely to find a Jiralhanae who would kill for no reason these days. Leonus himself was definitely one such person, having joined the Covenant military in the final year before the Great Schism before defecting out of loyalty to his Sangheili commander.
Next was Prime Minister Wurd, leader of the Yonhet Coalition. The Yonhet had always been a species of diplomats and traders, which allowed them to build their own interstellar alliance before the Covenant took them over and turned them into the Covenant Fringe. Nowadays, the nations of the former Fringe stand as smaller members of the Alliance. Wurd himself had always promoted good relationships with alien cultures.
Next was the Primary, leader of the Dazreme Civilization. The Dazreme didn't use names like most species would understand, instead using titles to identify themselves as. The Primary was the title used by whoever leads their species, with the current Primary being a scholar who advocates for interspecies research agreements.
Next was Grand Officer Zo, leader of the Glacius Marshals. The Glacius were a strange species, creatures of semi-liquid organic matter woven through some type of living ice that acts as a carapace. They developed on a planet far outside its habitable zone, causing them to prefer temperatures far below anything most species could handle. In addition, their culture was very heavily influenced by the concept of justice, causing them to act as officers of the law. Zo was no different, as they did whatever they could to combat any pirates.
Next was Queen Myrrah, leader of the Locust Horde. The Locusts were a subterranean species that looked like reptilian Jiralhanae, and were just as aggressive to boot. Despite that, they typically don't attack without what they believe to be a good cause, such as their survival or revenge. Myrrah though was willing to work with the Systems Alliance, if only because it was formed from those that stood against the Covenant.
Last was Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobot Commonwealth. The Cybertronians were an even stranger species than the Glacius, creatures from a biosphere where life developed to heavily resemble technology, though it was still ultimately biological in nature. They even have something akin to DNA. Regardless, Optimus has always been an advocate for the freedom of any sentient being, and has led his people through a long civil war against the Decepticons.
"People." President Lucas sighed. "We've got a problem."
"What kind of problem?" Sounded the translator worn by Floats Higher than Most, its six eyes blinking in curiosity.
"A hostile first contact." The Human President said, causing some mutterings to start among the leaders. "Earlier today I've received a message that one of our newest colonies, the planet Shanxi Prime, has been invaded by a newly discovered civilization. Some of our hackers and AI have managed to take lots of valuable intel on this new enemy."
A new hologram appeared, depicting the mysterious megastructure found in the Shanxi System, now active and surrounded by unfamiliar ships. "As far as we're able to tell at the moment, the Tuning Fork found in the Shanxi System is indeed some type of transportation device leading into the territories of the Citadel Council." The hologram was replaced by a space station, a ring with five arms around it. Along that were three unknown species, one looked shockingly similar to Humans and mainline Silurians, another looked like a lanky amphibian with horns and big eyes, and the last looked like an avian of some kind with metallic plates.
"So Perceptor was right." Optimus muttered. "The Fork was indeed a Space Bridge."
"Or at the very least it functions like one." The Human President said. "According to the data, our new enemies call it a Mass Relay. Apparently it creates "mass free corridors" that allow for superluminal travel between individual Relays. They were supposedly created by a species known as the Protheans, who went extinct approximately 50,000 years ago."
Thel raised his own scaly eyebrow, somewhat impressed at how a species could develop to the point that it can create such structures in half the time it took for his own people to discover Slipspace."What about the attackers?" He asked.
The holograms of the space station, the Human lookalike and the amphibian faded, leaving the avian on its own. "The civilization that attacked us is known as the Turian Hierarchy, a militaristic civilization that acts as the primary policing and military force of the Citadel. It seemed that the Fleet Master that encountered our expedition mistook us for pirates that had broken one of their strictest laws, and subsequently invaded Shanxi before figuring out that this was a first contact scenario." The President's face darkened. "However, it seems that they've figured it out in the end, but still decided to continue their invasion."
"Pirate scum." Grand Officer Zo muttered, obviously angered at the misuse of justice. "What kind of law had they broken?"
"Apparently, the Citadel Council had their own hostile first contact when activating a specific Mass Relay within the network, causing them to create a new law after the war was over that prohibited the activation of more Mass Relays."
"Cowardly idiots." Chieftain Leonus scoffed. "All that that law will do is buy them time until a new enemy decides to attack them."
"Indeed." Hive rumbled, obviously unpleased at the actions of the Turians.
The Human continued. "Like some member species of ours, the Turians hail from a dextro-amino biosphere, though in their case it seems that their homeworld has a weak magnetosphere. Due to that, they've developed a carapace of radiation resistant metals to protect themselves."
Hive and the Dazreme Primary looked at eachother, being the only species known before that had a similar type of biosphere.
"What about their allies?" Asked Prime Minister Wurd, interested in the other civilizations and concerned that they too would join the conflict.
The hologram then showed the space station once more. "This is the Citadel." Lucas continued. "It is, apparently, a shared capital of the alliance that is the Citadel Council. It sits at the heart of the Mass Relay network, of which we're at the tail end of." The hologram shifted to a map of the known galaxy, the territories of the Systems Alliance highlighted blue and the territories of the Citadel Council highlighted red, with purple lines to showcase the network of Mass Relays.
Interestingly, the Citadel's territory only stretched a few lightyears beyond the Relays, and only in approximately half of the galaxy.
"In addition to the Turian Hierarchy, there's also the Asari Republics and Salarian Union." The hologram shifted to showcase the human-like creature. "The Asari are the primary diplomatic arm of the Citadel, as well as the most economically dominant faction of their alliance. They're extremely long lived, capable of living around a thousand years. In addition, they're all capable of something known as biotics."
"Biotics? What are those?" Rur said, interested in this information.
"Some type of psionic ability." Lucas replied. "As far as we're able to understand, it seems that the Asari's homeworld is rich in dark neutronium, or Element Zero as they call it. Biotics are those whose bodies are littered with the material on a cellular level, attaching itself to their nervous systems and allowing them to manipulate dark energy."
Sha'ch interrupted her Human ally. "Does that mean that all organic lifeforms could, in theory, utilize these biotics?"
"Yes." He replied. "Though, exposure to the element can be extremely dangerous for those who haven't developed an immunity against the material. So far, only lifeforms from Thessia, the Asari homeworld, have shown a complete immunity against its negative effects. Equally, only species from said planet have shown to be universally able to utilize this ability, the Asari included."
Thel simply nodded, already strategizing potential plans against such foes.
The hologram shifted again, showcasing the amphibian. "The Salarians on the other hand focus more on science and intelligence, preferring to strike at their enemies from the shadows."
"Cowards." Thel growled. The Sangheili understood the need for such spycraft, if only to keep valuable intel safe and to know more about potential enemies, but they did disdain it to a degree. As pragmatic they might've become after the fall of the Covenant, the Sangheili did still value honor above all else. At the very least, they had the decency to fight their enemies in the light of day, as opposed to slaughtering a foe before they realized what was happening.
Lucas continued. "Unlike the Asari, the Salarians have a relatively short lifespan, but they offset this with a high reproductive rate and a fast metabolism, making them almost universally fast thinkers."
Rulul's eyes narrowed again. He, as an Unggoy, knew more than anyone in this call knew what kind of strength in numbers that could bring.
"Currently, it seems that their allies have become aware of the actions of the Turians, but outside of sending a stealth prowler from the Salarians they've yet to intervene."
Queen Myrrah raised her scaly eyebrow. "How did we find out about their prowler? Were its stealth systems inactive?"
"No." The Human said. "Both their sensors and stealth systems are vastly inferior to our own, allowing us to easily spot their prowlers, even if they cannot." The hologram shifted again, showing a myriad of other races. "I should also note that while the Asari, Salarians and Turians are the leaders of this coalition, they're not its only members."
Thel couldn't help but growl again, and looking at the holograms it turns out he wasn't the only one. They all couldn't help but be reminded of the Covenant and its caste system, where the San'Shyuum and Sangheili were on top.
The hologram shifted, shoving a stocky alien with a pressure suit of some kind, which reminded the Arbiter somewhat of an Unggoy. "These are the Volus of the Vol Protectorate. They're a species from an ammonia based biosphere with a high pressure atmosphere, requiring them to live in pressure suits whenever they interact with standard lifeforms. Their military might is practically nonexistent, with their entire civilization being a "client" of the Turians."
Floats Higher than Most made a worried sound, not liking what it's hearing. After all, its race were "clients" of the Covenant too.
"It seems that the Volus focus on economic growth and prosperity, and assist the Turians with the more bureaucratic and economical side of maintaining an army in return for their protection. Something that seems to work well for them, as bureaucracy is a major weakness of the Turians."
Again, Thel couldn't help but see the similarities with the Covenant. All the species within the Covenant were assigned to a single caste, causing each species to specialize in one thing while being forced to neglect the other. His own people became nothing but warriors, and relied on the Unggoy for food and the Huragok for mechanical repairs.
The hologram then shifted to another bipedal alien, a four eyed being about as tall as a Human. "These are the Batarians of the Batarian Hegemony. Biologically speaking, there's not much to note about them, but they've got a vile culture." The Human's mood darkened. "It appears that, despite the Citadel's laws against such practices, the Batarians openly practice slavery and caste systems."
All of the leaders exploded in anger, crying out about freedom being a right for all beings, hatred against the Batarian leadership, and disappointment and disgust at the Citadel's inaction to this. The civilization of the Alliance may have their differences with many things, but there was one thing that they could all agree on.
Nobody has the right to own a person, and those that dare to act as slavers in this day and age deserve nothing but oblivion.
When things quieted down a bit, the hologram shifted again. This time it depicted a quadrupedal being with vertical slits instead of a mouth. "These are the Elcor of the Courts of Dekuuna. They've developed on a high gravity planet, making them extremely strong, but slow. They were uplifted by the Asari, but unlike the Volus they've been able to keep their independence."
Zo crossed their arms, obviously displeased by the actions of the Asari. Their people followed the laws to the letter, and a big law that everyone followed was to not uplift or contact a pre-FTL species until the pre-FTL's have managed to break the light barrier or have tried to make contact themselves. True, the Cybertronians were the only ones that have been encountered since that law was made, and they clearly tried to make contact, but the principle of the law still stood.
The hologram shifted again, showing two separate species. One looked like a jellyfish of some kind, while the other looked like a Silurian with large black eyes. "These are the Hanar and Drell of the Illuminated Primacy. The Hanar developed on an ocean world, and revere the species that built the Mass Relays as gods."
Freedom winced at that, reminded of her own people's dogma. "What of the Drell?" She asked, wanting to know about what might be the "lower" caste.
"The Drell were a pre-FTL civilization who were suffering from overpopulation and a shortage of resources." The Human continued. "When the Hanar discovered them, they saved as many as they could and incorporated them into their own civilization."
Rulul was visibly uncomfortable at that, likely because his own people were in a similar situation when the Covenant discovered and enslaved them.
The hologram shifted again, showing another set of aliens. "The Citadel is also aware of several different alien species capable of FTL travel that are not part of their coalition." The hologram then focused on a large and bulky reptile. "These are the Krogan, a species hailing from the planet Tuchanka, a world that's suffering from a nuclear winter."
Leonus looked a bit more interested now, likely because the Jiralhanae had done something similar with their own homeworld of Doisac.
"They were uplifted by the Salarians in order to act as footsoldiers during their war against a now extinct species known as the Rachni, after which their natural aggression caused them to invade the territories of their former allies. The conflict resulted in the creation of a bioweapon that rendered the entire species nearly sterile, and now they exist in a fragmented state of warring clans and mercenaries."
Leonus frowned again. He saw the similarities between his own people and the Krogan, and realized that, had they not gone through their renaissance, they'd have likely suffered from a similar fate as the reptiles.
The hologram then shifted to a humanoid in some kind of environmental suit. "These are the Quarians of the Quarian Conclave, a nomadic dextro-amino acid species who suffer from terrible immune systems. They developed on a planet with few pathogens, and were forced into a nomadic lifestyle after their homeworld was lost to the artificial species known as the Geth."
Before anyone could react to that, the hologram shifted again, displaying a mechanical being with a singular eye. "Last are the Geth, creations of the Quarians. They were intended to work as hard labor, but somehow these Dumb AI, or virtual intelligences as the Citadel calls them, have managed to create consciousness of sorts by networking together."
Hive rumbled in interest, seeing the similarities between these Geth and his own people.
"It seems, however, that the Citadel has some strict anti-AI laws, which forced the Quarians to try and shut the Geth down for good. What happened next isn't fully clear, but we know that a large-scale conflict occurred between the Quarians and the Geth, causing the former to be cast out of Citadel Space in their nomadic fleet and the latter to exist in isolation."
Optimus frowned. "They tried to kill them for the crime of existing?" The gentle giant mumbled.
"Indeed. Thankfully for us, none of these species seem to be a threat to us, as their reliance on the Mass Relays has prevented them from developing FTL technology capable of traversing more than a few lightyears away from a Relay, making Shanxi and a few of its neighboring systems the only viable targets, and only the Asari, Salarians and Turians seem to have the military power to even fight us."
Some relief flowed between the heads of state, as they quickly figured that they could easily protect themselves by barricading the Mass Relay. If they could retake the Shanxi System, that is. "I assume that the UNSC has already sent a fleet to Shanxi?" Thel asked, though he knew Humans well enough that they'd rush in to protect their own at the first opportunity.
"The Second Fleet was already on its way to Shanxi prior to the Mass Relay's activation, and should arrive in approximately three hours." Lucas replied.
"Leave some of them for the rest of us, why don't you?" Leonus said with a smile. The Jiralhanae might've become less inclined to fight to the death over petty reasons, but they still love a good fight.
"I propose we'll send our own fleets towards Shanxi to aid in the fight and bolster its defenses." The Arbiter said, eyes like steel and eager to spray the blood of this scum.
"Agreed." Rur said. "At the very least, we should honor our agreement of mutual defense."
Nods and sounds of agreement came from every call. While the Humans would begin the counterstrike on their own, the entirety of the Systems Alliance was readying for war.
The Turians, whether they know it or not, will pay for their transgression with their own blood.
XXXXXXXX
And that's a wrap. The leaders of the Systems Alliance have finally gotten word of the invasion, and plans are being drawn for the upcoming war.
Also, Mordin has made an appearance, just starting out with his career at the STG, and already starting to figure out what kind of technology the "primitives" have.
TheDoctor1998 here, signing out!