Here is an omake that I suddenly felt inspired to write:
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Udina stood in the Council chambers as he waited for the councils to convene. As he waited he thought of why he was here and the tactics he would use to try to convince the Council of his argument. As much influence as humanity has gained on the galactic scale he was well aware that he would need to handle things carefully. Luckily he would not need to wait much longer as the Councilors entered the chambers. First the Asari Councilor Tevos, then the Salarian's Valern then finally Turian councilor Sparatus.
Tevos is the first to speak. "Greetings ambassador Udina, what brings you before us today?"
Udina schooled his expression as he spoke. "I imagine you know full well what this is about." It was hard not to with the recent news of how the Human-Batarian war is going recently.
"Does it have to do with the Farixen treat?" Sparatus asked.
Udina frowned with clear displeasure. "You mean the piece of legislature that is obviously biased towards us humans?" Despite the displeasure on his face Udina and in fact many other human politicians did find the introduction of the treaty perfectly understandable even if many are unhappy about it at the same time. While the timing seemed absurd he and many others were well aware that the treaties revision was in the works years after the introduction of the arc-reactors but especially the developments of PI and Dr Shepard herself. As much as it galled others including him he couldn't help but understand the necessity of something like this.
After all there were numerous such examples of things like this in human history. Many were even in support of something like this which would be a surprise to many. As much as humanity were enjoying the fruits of PI and Dr Shepard's technological advancements shooting humanity hundreds to even thousands of years ahead of the competition most of the SA officials were not remotely interested in a galactic weapons arms race. Of course the main reason for this is of course since the suggested revisions of the treaty would still massively benefit humanity thanks to it's technological edge.
Of course as humanities representative and a politician he needed to put up an image of being insulted, this is still politics after all. "No." Udina said. "This is about the recent war between the Systems Alliance and the hegemony!"
Tevos nodded. "We can assume that you want support of our people for this war?"
Udina nods. "Obviously."
Sparatus raises a hand. "Pardon me and no offense meant but I would have thought that humanity didn't want any 'alien' help."
Udina scowled as he looked at the Turian councilor. He would be far more offended if the councilor didn't seem to genuine in his statement. He can't even blame him for the question really. The likes of Terra Firma and several other 'humanity first' politicians and organizations did express such sentiments. Believing that humanity must stand on it's own and even refuse help when offered. While seemingly admirable the truth of the matter is that while humanity has come far and currently has a colossal technological advantage it's still not enough to insure a total victory with little cost. The reality is that while humanity is powerful it is still a newcomer on a galactic stage.
Meanwhile many of the Citadel races have been space faring for over two thousand years. For all of humanities boosts of it's capabilities it's military it's economy was only just larger than the Elcor before PI, it's fleet merely a fraction of what the more powerful races can support in peace times and our population numbers are only in the tens of billions while most of the other races number in the trillions each. Meanwhile the Batarian's even while crippled by centuries of sanctions by the Citadel until recently still has more territory, planets, infrastructure and a population several times larger than humanities. As much as he hated to admit it even without their sudden boost in technology the SA would have still needed months or even years to fully defeat the Batarians.
But with not just their new technology but the support of many worlds and nations in the Terminus Systems things have not just become more even but uncertain thanks to their technology letting the Batarian's far more easily reach parity while being far better able to leverage their immense size relative of the SA. All the made worse thanks to them somehow having the ability to bypass the Relays to reach deep into the Sol system. Because of that and SAs relatively small size it's impossible to launch any kind of counter offensive without leaving many of our own worlds vulnerable to retaliation.
Which is why he was here, to gather as much support from the other races. A process made absolutely headache inducing with politicians needing to talk sense into the likes of the more fanatical members of Terra Firma. As much he himself enjoys the idea of humanity succeeding on it's own as a seasoned politician he was all too aware of the risks of trying to go it alone against a far bigger polity with thousands of years of experience. Besides that as much pride he had at how far humanity progressed losing even fraction of said progress made this far yet alone major loss is an unacceptable risk.
Udina cleared his throat. "Despite what some of my fellow politicians believe many more of us are reasonable and pragmatic enough to understand turning away help in moments like this as just foolish. Now, as humanities representative I hope I may convince you to our side on this."
So he talked and he reasoned and he put forth his arguments to the Council. He brought up the risks of the Batarian's, he brought up the instability that a prolonged war could have in Citadel space, how humanity has become more and more integrated into Council space, of all the good humanity has done recently for the galactic community. During the last argument he looks to Valern during most of the speech.
While the Salarian's were a bit of a wildcard on whether they would get involved in the war even covertly before now once again thanks to Paragon Industries humanity has gained strong favor. Curing not just nearly all medical issues for the entire race but offering the full benefits of the peak treatments has vastly improved mankind's standing among the Salarian's with many being grateful and even praising Sirta a human founded and funded organization for such humanitarian endeavors. While several of the SA politician's were leery of allowing the full benefits of the treatment many others considered it worth the political capital. Going by the recent 'anonymous' delivery of valuable intel of Batarian and Terminus space over the last few weeks it seemed like it was worth it. Even if the Salarian's won't openly support humanity many get the feeling that they'd have no problem with covert assistance.
For the Asari things were a bit tricky on that end. While many Asari hold a grudge and even hatred for the Hegemony and all the pain and suffering it has caused over thousands of years many also would rather avoid open conflict. At the least the SA can expect several Asari states to be willing support the war on humanities side.
The Turian's however were the most difficult to tell on where they stood. From what he gathered the Turian's on principle hate the Batarian's and many would be happy to support a war against them. The problem however is complicated.
Sparatus speaks. "Ambassador, we have to apologize. We sympathize with your people, we really do." He seemed genuine at the statement and even unhappy about having to say it. "However at the moment many of our own people are against getting involved here."
Udina nearly shouted but restrained himself. "Why? Can you at least offer an explanation? I have given you half a dozen of arguments over the last hour and-"
Valern is the one to raise their hand this time. Udina stops. "You want an answer? The simple fact is that should more Council races get involved it may trigger the rest of the Terminus Systems into joining them."
Tevos nods. "We may not like it but the reality is that the Terminus Systems are extremely opposed to the rule of Citadel space and thus are likely to react to any coalition of multiple members launching attacks into their territory or even getting involved in another ones war. As bad as your war is now it could become far worse if the war expanded even further. So at this time we must decline."
Udina scowled. As unhappy as he and many other human politicians were they couldn't deny the real possibility of an all out war between Citadel Space and the Terminus Systems. In fact there was some debate among the SA brass whether to ask for Citadel help for this exact reason. The consensus that while a risk the analysts believe that it may be possible to gain help without triggering such a war if handled carefully.
Valern speaks up. "Despite that we must assure you that the Council has not forgotten humanities contributions to the galaxy."
Sparatus nods as well. "It's as our colleague said, it's not that we have anything against you. It's just that it's a bit of a complex situation."
"We hope that you can understand." Tevos offers.
As unhappy Udina was at not getting everything he wanted he still politely said. "Yes I understand, now if you excuse me since there isn't anything to be said I will take my leave. Good day to you."
As Udina leaves he thinks back to the meeting. Despite what they said he had a feeling that they weren't completely against the idea of joining the war effort on humanities side. The biggest clue being the exact phrase uttered by Councilor being 'at this time we must decline' which seems to imply that they have been considering it. Udina considers that despite the Council rather wanting to avoid getting more heavily involved in the war that they may also be far more worried about the Batarian's being the winning side.
None of the civilized races have any love for the Batarian Hegemony with many wanting nothing more than it's destruction. They were considered a blight on the galaxy before but now? The idea of the Hegemony with a major technological advantage over every other race barring humanity and with the support of other Terminus governments? Completely and utterly unacceptable to many. Even in spite of the aliens that dislike humanity most of them would prefer humanity be a dominant force in the galaxy than the Batarian's.
With all that said he now needed to make some calls. He believes that at the least the Systems Alliance can expect at least some support from the other races.
