Chapter 4 (Snip 3)
"Councilors, I present Marshall James Raynor and Gabriel Tosh, of the Terran race," the asari announced as she opened the door.
"Thank you, Tela," another asari said, standing up and stepping over to the door. "Greeting, James Raynor, I have heard much about you, though I haven't heard as much about your friend Gabriel. I am Councilor Tevos, of the Asari Republics. A pleasure to meet you."
Raynor smiled back at Tevos, subconsciously observing the ornate and expensive furniture that decorated the small room.
"The pleasures all mine, Councilor," Raynor returned warmly, nodding politely.
Past the asari, he could see two more individuals; one of which was a turian in a formal jacket and pants, and the other of which appeared to be a 'Salarian', based on what Celda T'Vanse's first contact package had taught him.
The room was well-lit, the furniture was light and colorful, and he could see a cabinet of drinks in the back corner full of bizarre and exotic colors.
In short, it was the complete opposite of his bar.
The asari who had guided them to the room nodded once to Tevos, then quietly backed away – too quietly to be a mere assistant. Add in the bulge by her waist, and Raynor figured her to be some form of bodyguard, possibly elite.
Raynor took all of this in within a second, simply glancing around the room before returning his gaze to the Asari Councilor, who was wearing the most sincere fake smile he had ever seen. Assuming it was a fake smile, that is.
"Please, have a seat," Tevos invited, gracefully returning to her own plush chair.
Tosh and Raynor shared a quick glance, then moved closer. Raynor looked around at all the plush and luxuious, while Tosh simply leaned back against the wall, the ghost of a smile on the corners of his face.
"May I introduce Councilor Quixos, of the Salarian Union, as well as Primarch Fedorian, of the Turian Hierarchy," Tevos continued smoothly, her hand gesturing smoothly to each in turn.
"An honor to greet a new species," Quixos said, his voice notably higher pitched and faster paced than a Terran's.
"Likewise," Fedorian added tersely, unable to keep his tone entirely cordial.
For a heartbeat, Raynor looked directly at Fedorian, who stared back in turn. The two held the gaze for a moment, then moved on.
Primarch, eh? That wasn't what he was expecting, but from the sounds of the pretentious title, Raynor was dealing with someone slightly higher up on the food chain that Councilor Kolonus.
"Nice to meet you folks," Raynor replied. "Like the lady said, I'm Marshall Jim Raynor of Shanxi, and I can be considered the spokesperson for the Terrans. My buddy here is Tosh, one of my advisors, and dear friend."
"I hope it doesn't bother you if I move right on to our business," Raynor stated as he plopped himself down on the most uncomfortable seat he could find. "While I'm all for peaceful negotiation, I'd rather do that while there isn't a threat of war hangin' over my people."
"Of course," Quixos answered. "Speaks well of your efficiency."
"I think I speak for the whole Council when I say that we wish only peace between our people," Tevos continued sincerely. "But that is mainly the Primarch's problem. We of the Council would never dream of interfering with the day to day running of the Hierarchy."
Fedorian coughed, before directing his gaze back to Raynor.
"While General Oraka's… decisions as the commander of the Sixth Fleet were technically legal under Hierarchy and Citadel law, rest assured that they were not approved of by Palaven Command," Fedorian started, speaking slowly and carefully. "As such, I'd like to offer my personal apology for the attack on your world, as well as an unconditional ceasefire."
"Well," Raynor responded. "That'd be a great start to repairing the damage. My people have had enough war in our lives. The hope for peace is always appreciated, but rarely seen nowadays."
"A'course, we'd also appreciate de return of any prisoners you might be possessin'," Tosh chimed in. "De lives of our people have top priority, afta' all."
"I would love to grant that request, but I'm afraid that without some form of reassurance or compensation, Palaven Command will be unwilling to simply hand over prisoners of war." Fedorian parried. "From what I hear, though, you also have a few prisoners. Perhaps an exchange could be arranged?"
Raynor's eyes narrowed, and his lips tightened for a moment before responding.
"I'd rather just see them all 'exchanged', Primarch," Raynor acknowledged. "We'll have a hard time trustin' each other if our only assurance of peace is a blade pressed against a prisoner's throat. Better to return all prisoners, and start fresh."
"A bold offer, Marshall," Fedorian noted. "But it's an offer than I am willing to agree with. Consider it done."
"That's mighty generous, considerin' I was going to discuss reparations next," Raynor mentions, leaning back slightly in his chair. "Of course, given how recently these events occurred, there's no way that we'd be able to accurately gauge just how much damage your General Oraka caused."
"My people will be more hesitant with reparations, I'm afraid," Fedorian said, his plates shifting in some emotion that Raynor couldn't quite decipher. "While the loss of life was tragic, your research vessel was caught violating one of the Citadel's laws, and one of the most dangerous ones at that."
Quixos shifted in his seat, stretching an elongated finger up to his chin in musing, while Tosh crossed his arms.
"You'll have to forgive our scientists," Raynor fired back. "They'd only just discovered the Relay network, and they had no idea that the Citadel or it's laws existed."
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, Marshall." Fedorian replied firmly. "Ignorance of the law not an excuse in this situation; had the Spirits been cruel, your scientists could have unleashed an threat to galactic civilization – our ships merely acted to prevent that possible threat."
"That saying only works for a few crimes, Primarch," Raynor shot back. "Killin' a man, for instance. Activating a defunct alien ruin is not one of those situations."
"Ancient ruins are unknowable, and are better left alone – any species with a modicum of sense would understand that," Fedorian riposted, his tone growing angry.
"Your species did the same thing, Primarch." Raynor pointed out. "Unless I've missed my mark, your tech is based primarily off the Relays. Why do you get to criticize us for making the same 'mistake' that your species did?"'
"You have to forgive the Primarch, I'm afraid that he is still feeling the loss of his men," Tevos interrupted, barging her way into the heated argument.
"Yes," Fedorian chimed in, not getting Tevos's hint to back off. "I have to tell three thousand families that their sons won't be returning."
"An' I have to do the same with a hundred and fifty thousand." Raynor snapped back, locking gazes with the Primarch.
"We are here to discuss peace, not start another war." Tevos broke in again, glaring at Fedorian. "My understanding was that you agreed with this sentiment, Marshall Raynor."
"I do," Raynor confirmed, nodding as he pursed his lips, annoyed at his own lack of control. "But I don't like being lectured on things that my people had under control."
Keeping his mouth closed, Fedorian merely scowled at Raynor's words.
"You must understand, Marshall, we of the Citadel have a bad history with activating Mass Relays," Tevos explained softly, her smile turning sad. "A threat to the entire galaxy is not hyperbole; we have face that situation before."
"General Kuril mentioned something about a war that engulfed the galaxy, back when I asked him why he had attacked," Raynor acknowledged off-handedly. "He told me that the risk was too much – I disagree."
"Perhaps some context would help, Marshall?" Quixos suggested helpfully, gesturing with his open palm. "When a group of Salarian explorers activated a Mass Relay and passed through, they found the Rachni – a race of insectoid creatures that quickly replicated our usage of Mass Effect technology.
"They possessed abilities previously thought impossible – spitting acid, regenerative carapaces, telepathic abilities. Despite having the intelligence to independently develop spaceflight, we could not communicate with them. The situation decayed. War broke out, and it was seventy-five years before we regained the advantage.
Raynor started chuckling, while Tosh cocked his head quizzically as if studying something.
"What's so funny, Marshall?" Tevos inquired, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.
"We've already had our fair share of conflict with these 'Rachni', though we called 'em Zerg." Raynor explained, a light grin on his face. "Don't get me wrong, they were just as horrifying to us as to you, but we can handle the Zerg."
"Your species has encountered Rachni?" Quixos repeated, curious. "Must have been an off-shoot colony... An impressive achievement – defeating them while lacking your current technology must have been difficult."
Raynor's brow furrowed, and he glanced at Tosh, who looked slightly confused as he frowned.
"I dunno, brudda – I can't feel a t'ing off wit' what he be sayin'," Tosh told Raynor.
Turning back to the Council, Raynor frowned as he contemplated what to say.
"I'm sorry, but… I don't know what you mean, Councilor. We beat back the Zerg with the same tech we've got right now." Raynor informed the Councilor frankly, still frowning.
Councilor Quixos's expressions scrunched up in confusion, and even Tevos and Fedorian looked doubtful.
"Impossible – two thousand years is sufficient for massive technological growth even at slow rate." Quixos muttered, half to himself and half to the group.
Pausing, Raynor held up his hands to halt the conversation.
"Hold on a minute, now… two thousand years?" Raynor repeated doubtfully. "I don't know where you got that impression from: We first encountered the Zerg nine years ago."
Tevos, Fedorian, and Quixos all paused, their expressions turning horrified as they tried to compose themselves.
"We were forced to wipe the Rachni out over two thousand years ago, Marshall." Tevos said as she pressed a hand against her head. "Perhaps it is simply the case that we are talking about two different species?"
"Two different species of insectoid monsters that devour planets?" Fedorian mentioned doubtfully. "I doubt that the universe is that cruel. More likely to be a surviving colony of the Rachni."
"Regardless, this can be cleared up easily," Tevos continues, as she waved her hand, summoning a strange orange device over her arm.
Tevos tapped quickly on the orange device, while Raynor took the chance to inspect this unusual machine. Clearly, it was a computer of some sort, but a holographic interface of that level was rare in the Koprulu Sector – and he doubted that any Terran had ever had the original thought to place the interface on one's wrist.
"Here, this is one of the forms that the Rachni took during our war with them," Tevos announced as she waved her hand.
Immediately, a three-dimensional image sprang to life above her wrist, depicting some kind of slim, wiry insectoid monster composed of overlapping plates of chitin.
Raynor leaned closer, while Tosh's eyes narrowed, both of the Terrans closely inspecting the holographic image.
"That doesn't look like any Zerg I've seen," Raynor mused. "How 'bout you, Tosh?"
"Same for me, brudda. I don't t'ink de Zerg have shown a form like dat." Tosh replied. "Looks a liddle too flimsy to be a zergling, an' too skinny to be a drone or anythin' bigger."
"The Zerg evolve, though." Raynor pointed out, while the Councilors leaned in, listening closely. "Maybe this is what they looked like two thousand years ago?"
"Councilor, are dere any more images of dese... Rachni?" Tosh questioned politely, while Tevos looked curiously at his milky-white eyes.
Wordlessly, Tevos pulled up more images, cycling through them as Raynor and Tosh continued to shake their heads, until they come to the last image.
"Now that looks more like it," Raynor says, leaning in closer to inspect the much larger image. "That one almost reminds me of a Zerg Queen, but the size is a bit too large."
"This is the image of a Rachni Queen, one of the breeding mothers of the Rachni," Tevos informed them.
"So your 'Zerg' were smaller on average?" Fedorian asked, curious about this possible new threat.
"By average amount, yeah, but that's 'cause of how many Zerglings there were." Raynor replied, as Fedorian's mandibles twisted into an expression similar to confusion. "Sure, Zerglings were only about three feet tall on average, but Hydralisks were usually more like seven to eight feet tall, and the Ultralisks were about the same size as that Rachni Queen, though they were thicker; not as skinny or thin as the Rachni."
Tevos looked slightly shocked, while Fedorian shuddered at the thought.
Quixos, on the other hand, looked interested. His hand was once more touching his chin, and his eyes were slightly off, focusing on something in the distance.
"Ultralisks were the leadership?" he inquired.
"No, no… they were the equivalent of a tank." Raynor recalled, shivering slightly as he remembered the image of an Ultralisk smashing its way through a line of Marines. "Big, thick, armored, and carryin' two pair of damn sharp blades."
"How many of these... Zerg were there?" Tevos asked slowly, as she wraps her mind around the idea of another species like the Rachni.
"No idea," Tosh chipped in. "De Zerg would fall upon worlds and devour dem whole."
"Surely there must be some exaggeration there," Fedorian replied, his professional pride wounded.
"Primarch, when the Zerg send in an attack wave, you literally could not see the ground beneath their feet," Raynor commented, his eyes distant. "No doubt you've seen the images of our siege tanks; one or two shots could destroy your hover-tanks - but I've seen Ultralisks take four - or even five - shots point blank, and still be able rip the tank to shreds."
"While it is impressive that you defeated such an enemy, that still does not qualify your people to tamper in ancient alien technology." Fedorian pointed out, keeping his tone of voice reasonable.
"If I were in your shoes, I'd agree with you," Raynor nodded. "But we've had our share of tinkerin' with alien technology, and the ship that activated the Relay was crewed by some of our best experts."
"What was their experience level?" Quixos questioned. "The 'best experts' is a meaningless term if they are inexperienced."
"Our boys had years of experience working with similar artifacts, though it wasn't Mass Effect technology. They understood the tech well enough to assemble more than a few ancient devices from separate pieces, then get those devices to work."
"Your people seem to have done everything, Marshall," Tevos chuckled lightly. "I'm surprised that you aren't claiming to be Protheans."
"What's a Prothean?" Raynor asked.
Tevos's eyes widened marginally, but Quixos merely nodded, as if he had expected that question.
"Understandable. As you said, your first contact with Mass Effect technology was only three days ago, correct?" Quixos asked.
"That's about right. Why, how important are the Protheans?"
"The Protheans are the creators of the Relay network, along with most Mass Effect technology" Fedorian explained. "As such, most of our technology is derived from what they left behind when they vanished."
"Huh..." Raynor muttered, as he puts a hand to his chin.
Before he could give voice to his thoughts, however, there was a knock at the door, and a turian in black and red armor had entered the room.
"Sorry for the interruption, Councilors, but your other guests have arrived. C-Sec was… unwilling to let their ship dock, but I managed to make them see reason."
"Thank you, Nihlus," Fedorian responded, inclining his head in respect to his fellow turian.
Executor Selendis of the Protoss strode in, nodding once to Tosh as she entered.
"En Taro Tassadar, James Raynor," she greeted.
"En Taro Tassadar, Selendis," Raynor replied. "I should apologize, I caught up in a discussion with the Council and completely forgot to wait for you."
"It is forgiven, James Raynor," Selendis acknowledged. "If I had not been delayed by Citadel Security, I would not have encountered Prince Valerian."
Raynor's eyebrows rose, just as Valerian Mengsk strode through the doorway confidently, bedecked in in his full regalia.
"You didn't really think I was dead, did you Marshall?" Valerian asked playfully, as he stopped before Raynor. "You should know better than anyone; it's very difficult to kill a Mengsk."
"Junior." Raynor greeted warmly, a laugh escaping his lips as he slapped Valerian's outstretched hand in a firm handshake. "Hell, if I'd known you were alive, I would've stayed on Shanxi and left all this diplomacy to you."
"Here's hoping that we can wrap this up quickly, then." Valerian murmured in response, a cool smirk lightening his patrician features. "I think that before this is over, I will need a good drink."
"De bar's over dere, Mengsk," Tosh rumbled, twitching his head in the bar's direction.
"That sounds like a good idea," Raynor chuckled, as he turned back to Councilor Tevos. "Why don't we have a quick drink before we start arguing again?"
"Agreed," Fedorian drawled. "I think a situation of this size deserves some horosk."
"Hey now," Raynor responded easily, gesturing in good-natured humor. "Let's save that for later – no need to go that hard just yet."
Fedorian stared at Raynor, confused for a moment, before comprehension dawned.
"Of course," Fedorian muttered wryly. "With Kuril as a prisoner, I should have expected that you would know what horosk is."
