posting with Poptart's permission here's a short Omake I've written based on the Warhammer 40k intro
It is the 7th Century. For more than a hundred Years The Archon has sat immobile on the Biotic Throne of Virmire. She is the Master of Sapient-kind by the will of the goddess, and master of a dozen worlds by the might of her inexhaustible fleets & armies. She is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with biotic power from Ancient Forgotten Technology. She is the Carrion Lord of the Dominion for whom a thousand souls sacrifice themselves every day, so that she may never truly die.
Yet even in her deathless state, the Archon continues her eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the Rachni-infested space lanes, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Mass Relays, the Biotic manifestation of the Archon's will. Vast armies give battle in her name on uncounted battlefields. Greatest amongst her soldiers are the Void Marines, Cybernitically enhanced warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Dominion Army and countless settlement defense forces, Battlefleets of the navy, the ever watchful Headhunters and the tech-scholars of Durrahe to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from Rachni, heretics and Ancient horrors.
[X] Plan Endless Inquiry
-[X] What are the powers of this Council?
-[X] What are the Alliance's short-term objectives?
-[X] What would Virmire stand to lose or gain from Alliance membership?
-[X] What's the tech level, compared to the Citadel, and are they willing to share it with Virmire if we join?
-[X] What are the plans for treating the council as a joint power in Galactic Safety, especially in the safe of the imminent Rachni counterattack?
-[X] What's the population, industry output and current military strength like?
-[X] Are there plans to use alternate Relay paths to open up new approaches or find new resources?
-[X] What is Terminus's approach to Quarians, or any other independent polities, both in general and specifically the ones on the stage right now?
-[X] Does every member's vote hold the same weight?
Change Sensitivity
As the camera fades in and the network's theme fades away, a sprightly-looking asari matron smiles into the camera, a datapad in front of her. "Welcome to The Oh Four-Thirty, folks! I'm Milani Sava, here with the afternoon report." A photograph of Mira T'Vael exiting the Terminus Nexus appears to Sava's right. "The closed session of the Terminus Council has just adjourned. Prime Minister Mira T'Vael of Virmire emerged from the Nexus following a five-hour session sequestered with the Council, with the Senate observing and reportedly relaying questions to their Councilors. Details are still sparse, as press were not permitted in the Hall for the latter part of the proceedings. The Prime Minister did give a few remarks as she left the Nexus, however."
The picture as Sava's right expands to fill the screen and begins moving. In the image, T'Vael says, "I was honored to speak with the representatives of the Terminus Alliance regarding Virmire's upcoming reintegration into the galactic community, and I look forward to spending the next few days on the station of Omega to familiarize myself with the populace."
A batarian reporter raises a hand, and Mira calls on him. He steps forward. "Prime Minister, can you comment on the discussions held once the press was escorted from the Council Hall?"
Mira starts shaking her head before the man even finishes speaking. "I'm afraid not, certainly not in any detail. Much of what we discussed was classified. I can say that the discussions centered around Virmire and the Terminus Council introducing themselves to one another, and what shape our relations with each other should take as we move forward. Next question?"
A rather angry-looking asari maiden steps forward. "How can you talk about Virmire and the Terminus meeting each other when there were only ten people in the room?!"
For the briefest fraction of a second, an expression between frustration and disbelief flickers across Mira's face, before her smile reasserts itself. "Sounds like you might have some complaints I'm not really best placed to field. Write your Senator. I'm sure they'll have time for your concerns." She then turns away and smiles to the crowd. "No further questions. Thank you all." She sets off amidst a flurry of questions, as the feed fades out.
* * *
You switch off the screen. "I've been away from the Republics for a very long time."
Kirai pinches at the bridge of her nose. "That girl was a bad example, trust me. Our schools make a point of teaching people that non-direct-democracy governments have legitimacy. Anarchists are as fringe for us as for any functioning polity."
You sigh, turning away from the screen. "What concerns me is how she got a press pass. She didn't seem to have the self-control to have gotten past screening."
"The patience of the young runs out at the oddest of moments," says Kirai in a serene voice.
You scowl. "Shut up, Tamara."
You can feel her smugging at you behind your back.
* * *
You don't spend your time cloistered with the Terminus Council's leadership. You make a point of spending time out and about the station itself. This trip is not, after all, solely about meeting leaders. That idiot maiden wasn't entirely off-base with her arguments; she was merely infuriatingly naive. Getting to know a nation is about more than knowing its leaders; you miss a lot that way. Granted, you also miss quite a bit by wandering around the heavily-sanitized, picture-perfect, solely-for-the-rich capital of a nation, but realistically, you're not getting to know the whole of the Alliance on this trip.
Still, there's quite a lot to be seen.
You wander the streets one day, surrounded by your protection detail and escorted by a member of the Alliance's Department of Foreign Relations. At the moment, it's something of a pleasure tour, honestly; you're being shown the nice things, the impressive things. You're getting to see the things that make Omega look good. You don't know when exactly the Terminus started forgetting that you were a homeless mercenary for several years, but they apparently have, because what you are actually doing is not simply taking in the sights, but rigorously checking them against your -- once again -- years of mercenary work throughout the Terminus.
Omega has changed. What once were streetside food vendors are now still those things, but they carry food which costs more per ounce than gold, and bear totally unsubtle Jondam Food Industries corporate branding. The housing has literally been polished to a bright sheen. It's not reflective, thank the Goddess, but it catches the light and makes the entire station glow. The docks have gone from crowded places in need of perpetual cleaning to keep up with the constant flow of eezo, to clean and streamlined consumer travel ports, interspersed with diplomatic berths. And now that you've had the chance to really work around the area, you now know why the Terminus Nexus is so maddeningly familiar, and it's because it was an entertainment center that swiftly got bought out and turned into a multilevel bar. You used to hunt for contracts there!
It's a bizarre change, and more than that, it's one you can tell is a thin screen over a largely unchanged station. While the main spaces of the station are now fully refurbished into high-end residences and government buildings, the underlying hum of the station hasn't changed a bit, and you, perhaps uniquely of most of the people within your line of sight, know that hum to be the reverberating echoes of mining equipment. Looking around this space once more, you can tell that it's small even for Omega; the mining parts of the station have been quite literally walled off.
To be honest, it makes you a little uncomfortable, and you find yourself making up an excuse to end the tour fairly quickly. You know Omega. You know a bustling, lively station of miners and businesses, on the edge of the law and offering the perfect base for a pair of perpetually-broke maidens with guns. Granted, that had its downsides; you have been shot while on this station, five separate times. This particular visit is refreshingly clear of that sort of thing. But something sits wrong about the way they effected that change. The bones of the station are still there; the miners have simply been crammed off to one side. The best spaces have been polished to present a happy face to the rest of the galaxy, and the cramped ones have been given over to those who fund that face.
Being the leader of an interstellar polity changes one's perspective. It's been a while since you last felt even a twinge of revolutionary fervor.
"Prime Minister."
You turn at the interruption, snapping out of your thoughts as an aide steps up to you. "Yes?"
She offers you a datapad. "You have some messages, ma'am, from home and elsewhere."
You tilt your head with a forbidding expression as you tour guide stalls out with an awkward expression. "Urgent, I hope?" you say.
The aide bobs her head. "Yes, ma'am."
You sigh. "Very well." You nod to your guide. "Perhaps we can pick this up at a later date. If you will excuse me?"
* * *
You stare at the screen, watching as Marae argues with Jaska Sher'tal. "She called a debate."
"Apparently," replies Tamara. "And this is how she destroyed the Secessionist Party."
"They're not dead yet, surely," you say.
"Nearly so," replies Tamara. "At the very least, they've lost their position of prominence."
You shake your head. "Amazing."
"This is the crucial part," says Tamara.
On-screen, Sher'tal violently shakes his head. "No. No! We have spent enough time making excuses for them! Do you think I don't remember the years immediately following the start of the blockade? We spent so long trying to find a reason good enough for the Citadel to have abandoned us, and none came! There is no reason good enough! There is no case that could be compelling enough to justify their abandonment. They left us all to die without a word! I name them all traitors, and every single person in the fleet meant to guard us is a coward who abandoned their duty and consigned billions of people to death for the sake of their own skins! I will sooner die before I see us cooperate with the Citadel! This entire party stands behind me! We will fight, tooth and nail, kicking and screaming, to prevent any cooperation with the Citadel, and we have the votes to do it! We will do it! This I swear! They are all cowards and traitors, and we'd be better off left alone than pairing up with them!"
Across from him, Marae smiles a smile filled with knives.
You chuckles, switching off the screen. "I think I can project from there. Marae spent time goading him until he was willing to stop being remotely diplomatic. So, that's why Sher'tal's career is dead. What happened to the rest of them?"
"Bad response, honestly," she replies. "Bad fortune. They were in chaos after their party leader made such a mess of himself, and several members made...precipitous...statements in a similar vein. Mostly centered around accusing Marae of lying. Of course, when our reports confirming the news went live, well..." She grins. "At that point, you had party members openly questioning their cause, which was disastrous. You never do that in public. The Secessionists have largely split over this. How it's going to settle isn't clear yet, but your name just got a lot more credit, too."
You lean back, sighing. "Well. Job well done indeed. I guess this is what we've gotten good at."
"Lock a group of people together in a room, and they'll get quite good at interacting with one another," replies Tamara, smirking. "And when one person gets an extranet feed..."
The two of you chuckle. It trails off after a moment, though, and you end up staring at a wall. "...that wasn't the only message I got today."
Tamara blinks. "What else did you get?"
You gesture to your datapad, on the table. "It's from Thessia."
She frowns. "I don't understand, what would that-?" She stills. "...oh."
You swallow. "My dad is dead. Has been for a while, now." You take a breath. "Apparently, he, uh, never really got over losing contact with me-" Your voice catches, and you take a moment to recover yourself. "...I have a sister, now!" You say, pasting a smile onto your face. "Her name is Amalie. And she's twenty, so she would have been born pretty much..." Your smile withers. "...Mom wants me to visit, when we stop by Thessia. And. Meet her. And I don't know what to say."
Tamara lets out a quiet sigh. "I understand. That's...it's something we're all going to experience." She gestures to herself. "I'm going out into this galaxy, and I'm fine, but I know that some of my friends aren't going to still be out here. Maybe I can visit a grave, or maybe a rachni ate them and all that's left is a marker on a memorial somewhere. Maybe they just...ran out." She gives you a bitter smile. "And we have to deal with that. Things haven't been frozen, we know they haven't been frozen, we've seen the world changing around us as we were cut off, but we re-emerge into this galaxy and see that so much has changed, in so little time..." She shakes her head. "It feels like decades have passed, but haven't."
"And everything is different in ways that are just familiar enough to make you stop," you whisper.
"Yes," says Tamara, closing her eyes.
The two of you sit in silence for a moment, pondering the changes the galaxy has undergone.
Your Questions
What are the powers of this Council?
What are the Alliance's short-term objectives?
What would Virmire stand to lose or gain from Alliance membership?
What's the tech level, compared to the Citadel, and are they willing to share it with Virmire if we join?
What are the plans for treating the council as a joint power in Galactic Safety, especially in the safe of the imminent Rachni counterattack?
What's the population, industry output and current military strength like?
Are there plans to use alternate Relay paths to open up new approaches or find new resources?
What is Terminus's approach to Quarians, or any other independent polities, both in general and specifically the ones on the stage right now?
Does every member's vote hold the same weight?
Their Answers
The Council is empowered to conduct on its members' behalf all diplomatic agreements with non-members of the Alliance. Signatories to the Articles of Alliance agree to cede this power to the Council, in order for the Alliance to present a unified front. They retain the right to negotiate agreements with other signatories to the Alliance. Members are of course permitted to maintain consulates as they please (subordinate to Alliance embassies with the hosting state), even with non-signatories, but binding agreements with outside powers are the domain of the Council, executed by the Senate. Furthermore, the Council is entitled to elect the President, who is the functional commander-in-chief of the Terminus Joint Fleets. The Council may also legislate matters of, "domestic," policy, but this requires a unanimous vote.
Your signature on the Articles of Alliance, and subsequent integration into the front.
As a signatory to the Alliance, Virmire would be expected to integrate its military into the Joint Fleets, and continue supplying and maintaining that military. As stated above, you would forfeit the right to independently enact foreign policy with actors outside of the Alliance. In return, you would be entitled to military aid from the Combined Fleets. As a polity commanding multiple front systems, and separated from the rest of the Alliance by multiple relay jumps, this would take the form of permanent and substantial military detachments to your space, and this would make the reconnection of Virmirean space to the rest of the Alliance via primary relay a top priority of military planning. The Alliance would make all efforts to integrate Virmire into the Alliance's economy, in particular assisting in infrastructure projects along Kurik's Run in order to strengthen your connection to the rest of the galaxy. As a signatory to the Alliance, you would join the Alliance's common market sphere, bypassing the majority of member tariffs. The Alliance levies extremely minimal taxes to support its activities; you would find them nearly unnoticeable. In addition, your prominent position, obvious strength, and fast growth would immediately position you as one of the major players of the Alliance.
Peaks at a roughly equivalent height to the average affiliate race -- lower than the Council races -- but the Citadel has adoption down better due to superior resources. You would absolutely be granted unilateral access to the best of the Alliance's tech. At a price, mind, but a very reasonable one.
The Alliance has no plans to make trouble with the Citadel. Lines of communication are in place, and they communicate on matters of military coordination.
The Alliance, taken as a whole, is a tier one power, on par with and honestly a bit superior to either the Asari Republics or the Salarian Union. They possess a colossal population on par with the Union, massively outproduce either in bulk industry, and slightly outpace either other power in terms of gross military strength. Furthermore, all of these measures are developing at a rapid pace. Due to a fair amount of brute societal manipulation, the population is in the middle of a massive boom. Given that the Terminus was born out of highly-industrialized profit colonies, per capita industrialization is the highest in the galaxy, and this gives them a lot of tools with which to fuel their expansion. Maintaining and exploiting this edge is a cornerstone of Terminus economic policy. They are, as a whole, likely the foremost friendly power in the galaxy. However, it's worth noting that they should not be compared to any other individual power, but rather to the entire Citadel, which absolutely dwarfs them in all measures. They have, as stated previously, zero intentions of making trouble with the Citadel. Catching up to the Citadel is, relatedly, their foremost priority, and the motivation behind their massive internal expansion.
The Terminus Council acknowledges that this seems to have worked out very nicely for you, but it worked out extremely poorly for the rest of the galaxy. No. Maybe in peacetime. Right now they like the number of front lines they currently have.
You are the only, "independent," polity in the galaxy, aside from the Rachni. So: membership and obliteration, respectively. In general? The Alliance is extremely inclusive and very welcoming to any who would join it, although they have a very specific policy against accepting any members whose membership would cause an open breach with the Citadel. The Tamaras Rim was the last piece of Citadel-adjacent space they expect to be able to get away with absorbing. Anybody else in the south who wants to break away is on their own. The Republic of Rannoch is a Citadel Associate, and has remained firm on that point.
Yes.
You are about done with business on Omega, and now follows the flurry of state visits that shall precede your visit to the Citadel itself. There's one thing in particular that you should decide now. Do you intend to set aside time for a personal visit to your mother and...sister?
[ ] Yes. They are family. You've missed your mother, and you want to meet your sister. And...pay your respects to Dad.
[ ] No. You need to focus for this trip, and this...it hurts too much.
MANUAL MORATORIUM.
I RETURN!
Not too thrilled with the first part of this update, but I like the stride I hit with the second bit. And we are back, folks! I hope you enjoy this update. Welcome back to things, and I'll see you around the thread!
A family visit is about the least controversial thing for someone in Mira's position given everything. Of course, its also clear that this is a choice because the thought of visiting her father's grave fucking hurts. But well, she might well never get an opportunity like this ever again.
Consider that it also gives us an excuse that is incredibly easy to sell to others if we do make mistakes. If the Council pounces on us too hard after Mira has to go see the family that thought she was dead and the grave of her father who should have been there for her for centuries and thousands of years, good way to get any stupid Citadel Politician to commit suicide.
@PoptartProdigy are Alliance members allowed to enact protectionist measures against other member states? I don't want our pristine anti-corporate nation getting flooded by the MegaCorp.
Every member state's vote holds the same weight, huh?
Ew. That sounds like the start of some serious disenfranchisement issues, especially given the power and population disparities that are probably going to be showing up once the war ends. I love shitty non-proportional republican systems.
Every member state's vote holds the same weight, huh?
Ew. That sounds like the start of some serious disenfranchisement issues, especially given the power and population disparities that are probably going to be showing up once the war ends. I love shitty non-proportional republican systems.
