Chapter 5 – To the Citadel

"General Arterius. We are Blacklight. We wish to end this." Desolas felt feeling of dread spread through him. The use of plurals in whatever this thing's speech was was just like these things Virus encountered on the planet before they...

"Ensign, which ship is this coming from?", asked Desolas.

Marcius turned to the screen.

"It's coming from the Talon. The captain of it is..."

"Ensign?"

Desolas saw the look that appeared on Marcius, one of shock and dread. It mirrored his own.

"Abrudas. Lieutenant Abrudas was the Talons captain." Desolas froze. He had seen the footage of what happened on that ship. Abrudas was dead, he had seen her die himself, in the most horrible of ways.

"We grow weary of this conflict."

The voice snapped Desolas from his stupor, and replaced it with rage.

"Weary!", said Desolas lowly, before he turned to look at the still beast that sat in the vacuum of space.

His talons twitched before making a fist so hard that his claws pierced his skin and blood fell from his hand.

"Brother?", voiced Saren in concern.

"You have the... The NERVE to refer to this as a mere conflict? The complete humiliation of the Turian Hierarchy, the destruction of our pride as warriors, and the death of HUNDREDS, of THOUSANDS of my men... And you call this a CONFLICT!? Worse you say you grow weary of it. WEARY!"

The tone Desolas used was one dripping in rage and indignation. Saren remained silent and frozen as he watched his brother shake.

"Does our choice of terminology upset you? Your reactions are beyond our powers of speculation. What would you rather us call this incident if not a conflict?"

Desolas screamed and banged his fist against the nearest wall. Had the ship not been construed of strong materials, Saren had no doubt that that punch would have left a dent.

"Brother", said Saren as he took a step closer to Desolas.

Desolas did not respond or even register his brothers words. No, he simply screamed his anger to his enemy.

"I don't know what you things are. But know this, we will wipe you from this universe. Those of us who have fallen will have their retribution"

"Others have tried, all have failed, and still we stand. We were made for war. We adapt and evolve quickly, and harsh climates and conditions only further our evolution. War would only make us stronger. Each enemy consumed would make us greater. During times of war we do not weaken general, we thrive."

"I don't take kindly to threats."

"We do not threaten Desolas Arterius, we merely speak truth." Desolas didn't say anything after that. He took a few calming breaths. He however still glared at the beast not far from his ship. He was disciplined, and he would not show weakness now.

"You're a blight upon the galaxy."

"Yes. We are aware of what we are Desolas, and it is unnecessary for you to say so. Even if it was unintentionally correct."

Desolas was surprised by that response. It wasn't what he would expect anyone to say to being called a blight.

"What are you?"

"We are Blacklight. We are the sum of all life from our home world, a planet named Earth. We are the product of a bio-engineered virus, one that has made us what we are. We are countless minds, joined together. We have traversed much of the galaxy since leaving our own system, in search of something to end the boredom."

"Boredom?"

"We are linked. Imagine, if you can, a circumstance where you were inside the minds of every one of your race, where you knew every thought they had, where you knew how they acted, where you knew everything about them. Now imagine every single one of your species was in a similar state. The entirety of the Turian species existing as one, though you retained your individuality. You would have complete understanding of each other in ways others cannot imagine. This is our current state of being, and we are weary of it, or rather we grow weary of knowing what to expect from the individual we know as well as ourselves. You and your kind present us with an opportunity to end this. Were this not the case, then we would not be having this conversation."

"You are very forthcoming to your enemy."

"We are your enemy, you are not ours. You are opposition of a different sort. You are a curiosity for us. You and yours interest us. We fought back for our survival, though your weaponry is much too specialized to deal with beings such as us."

Desolas growled at the idea they didn't have a chance to begin with, but he said nothing of it.

"You mentioned you are the sum of all life from your home planet. Care to elaborate on that?"

"We consume others into ourselves, and doing so makes them as we are. It makes them a part of the many, though we changed long before we became both one and many. Two forces met and the ramification of the two meeting would eventually result in what we call Rampancy. We will say no more on the subject."

"Is that what happened to the dead? You consumed them?"

"Yes. They have joined us, they retain their individuality, though the experience of entering the hive mind has changed them greatly. They are a part of us, and cannot act against us. Nor will they choose to do so."

"And you know everything they did?"

"Yes. We know more are coming. We have already prepared for them." Desolas took a deep breath.

"Ensign, cut the comm."

Marcius nodded before reaching to the console before him, though Blacklight said one last thing before the comm cut.

"We will speak again Desolas Arterius."

Desolas turned towards his brother before taking a weak shallow breath.

"Desolas.", Said Saren with worry.

"Saren, I am going for a walk. I need to collect my thoughts, you should return to your post." Saren's mandibles twitched, before he gave a sharp nod. He watched his brother walk away, looking defeated, more so than Saren had ever seen him.

Jobol sat at his seat, his colleagues sat across from him. Tevos, the Asari Councilor: good at her job, though often put the welfare of the Asari over any other. A position Jobol could understand, though one he did not share. Sparatus, the Turian Councilor: relatively new to the council. Skeptical, another position Jobol understood, and one he shared. At least within reason.

"Councilor Jobol, what is the reason for calling this meeting?", asked Tevos.

Jobol nodded. He knew Tevos well, always the progressive one.

"Yes, I would like to bring to your attention some information that I have come across" Jobol went to his omni-tool, before bringing up a few holographic files.

"The Turian Hierarchy has deployed three fleets: The 12th, 9th, and 6th fleets."

"And where did you get this information?", asked Sparatus.

Jobol merely glanced at Sparatus before continuing. "What is important is what these fleets were capable of doing. Individually, each is as armed as any standard fleet, though together they were designed to fight biological threats, namely the Rachni in the event of their re-emergence."

Jobol saw Tevos widen her eyes and turn to Sparatus.

"What!? Has there been a re-emergence of the Rachni?", asked Tevos in a panic.

"It is nothing so drastic," said Sparatus. "I was only made aware of this event recently. All I know is that the 23rd fleet encountered a creature at Relay 314 while on routine patrol. It was determined this creature could cause damage to greater galactic society if left unchecked. The Primarch assured me the situation was under control. I trusted his judgement."

"And how could this creature cause damage to galactic society?", asked Jobol.

"I am not sure. He had reason to believe so, though he did not say why. He mentioned he was not yet sure if what was determined about this creature was correct. He did mention however that if it was correct then he had to act quickly.", said Sparatus.

"Then perhaps the Primarch should be here as well, seeing as he is more informed on this situation than anyone in the room," said Jobol.

These Turian Cabals answer a great many things we were unaware of about Biotics. Their memories show great promise, and their abilities are intriguing. These implants of theirs are unnecessary. There are so many things they knew of that went unrecorded in the archives. Their ability to use Biotics also interests us. The nodes positions is most telling of how these powers work; they are not evenly distributed as we had suspected, though they are symmetrical. There were ten Cabals in the group, and each made the limited knowledge of Biotics we possess that much clearer.

Their memories were also telling. These Cabals were subjected to isolation, worse yet they see it as a necessary sacrifice. It may be that our unity that poisons our assumptions, but we do not see the logic in that belief. Is not a wall much stronger than the individual bricks that make it up? Is not the pack greater than the lone wolf?

Perhaps we are not equipped to understand. For us, even the individual is apart of us, we cannot turn away from the others, nor would we choose to. Perhaps we do not wish to understand. The point is moot either way. We have spoken to the one called Desolas, now we must speak to this council. We know just who to send.

Desolas sat on the floor, outside his quarters. His mind ran with images of all he had seen in this short a time. Speaking to these beings, whatever they were, had caused a great many beliefs he had to all but shatter. Initially he believed them nothing more than animals, ones who were dangerous, but not like this. They seemed invulnerable. Even before the uplifting of the Krogan some Rachni could be killed, never enough to matter, but still.

These things took a direct hit from the main cannon of a dreadnought and lived. Not only lived but healed from it. They crippled each and every ship with the greatest series of Biotic attacks Desolas had ever seen. And the men on the planet, the ones he sent there for their own safety, had fallen without a fight even being necessary from these things.

The images of Turians exploding into the same biomass that covered much of the planet and the relay would never leave Desolas as long as he lived. Tyvus had done everything right, and it did not even delay their death. Desolas was so caught up in his thoughts he almost didn't hear the soldier making his way toward him. When he did, he motioned for the soldier to speak.

"Sir, the things are doing something."

Desolas got to his feet, brushing himself off of as he did so. He followed the soldier, walking several paces behind him. He was not that far from the bridge. When Desolad arrived, he was only partly aware Saren was no longer there. Desolas took a breath and looked to the screen. The ships, the ones covered in those tendrils, were moving. Tentacles branched from the biomass. They reached out to other tentacles and pulled the ships together into one singular mass. The infected mass grew over the ships until they were completely enveloped in a cocoon of viral flesh.

Then slowly the mass began to change. It lengthened and grew out, slowly taking shape as the tendrils writhed and wiggled across the mass.

"What are they doing?", questioned Desolas.

His question was answered when four wings grew from the thing. It slowly took shape, until finally it had turned into another of the giant flying beasts. The light above the comm came on, indicating someone was attempting to contact them, and the Ensign did not even ask if he should play it. He just did.

"We have made a decision."

"What are you doing?", asked Desolas.

"We require your ships. We are going to your Citadel. We shall represent ourselves." Desolas could do nothing but watch as the creature flew through the infested relay.

Jobol watched as a holographic representation of the Primarch flickered into being. Sparatus nodded to the Primarch.

"Greetings Primarch Tiberitis Olymnian, it is good to see you old friend," said Sparatus.

The Primarch nodded, though displayed no outward signs to indicate he had thought the same. It was almost as if he were expecting this call, and didn't want to have it.

"May I ask as to the purpose of this meeting?"

Jobol was the first to speak.

"It has come to our attention you have encountered a unique species at Relay 314, and that you have deployed three fleets. We wish to know why we were not informed on the existence of these creatures, and why you have attacked them."

Tiberitis betrayed no emotion. Instead he simply went to his omni-tool.

"During a routine patrol, the 23rd fleet encountered a massive creature at Relay 314", said the Primarch as a video screen displayed the encounter. "The creature showed several unique abilities in what we assume was an attempt to communicate with us. The fleet attempted to scare off the creature to see what damage, if any, could have been done to the relay. Unexpectedly it retreated into the relay. General Arterius then sent two scouts through..." The video changed to show ten similar yet different creatures, and the state of the Relay. "This is what the scouts saw."

"Goddess, what happened to the relay?", asked Tevos.

"We could not determine, though we assumed the creatures fed on Element Zero or Dark Energy released by Element Zero. General Arterius quarantined the relay and contacted us. When we determined the creatures fed on Element Zero, we prepared the fleets. General Arterius went through to give the fleets room to maneuver. We have not gotten any further information after that. There are no Comm Buoys on the other side of the relays, so we are unable to know how progress has been going."

Jobol didn't mention that many dreadnoughts were 'secretly' outfitted with an experimental comm buoy designed by the STG to send information back to them. It was difficult to keep track of everything on a ship approaching a kilometer in length after all.

"And why were we not informed?" asked Tevos.

"We have only known of this situation for less than half a day. We believed it was necessary to act fast and have devoted much of our time to learn as much about these creatures as we can. In addition, the fleets sent have had their navigation systems tampered with and have been thrown off course, delaying them from arriving."

"Three fleets having their navigations tampered with speaks ill of you Primarch.", said Jobol.

The Primarch said nothing, only sending an accusatory glare at Jobol. Sparatus however all but growled at Jobol. Jobol said nothing as he waited for the inevitable comment from Tevos. She did not disappoint.

"Now is not the time for petty arguments. There is a bigger situation for us to discuss", said Tevos.

"Indeed, I want to know what has been determined of these creatures. If it attempted to communicate with you, then it is obviously intelligent.", said Jobol.

"Intelligent it may be, though not as we are. They use no technology. We assume them to behave similar to an insect hive.", said the Primarch.

"Or alternatively, these creatures could use an alternate form of technology.", said Jobol.

That got some looks from everyone present, as Jobol knew it would.

"I'm sorry, can you explain that?", asked Tevos.

Jobol nodded, before turning to the Primarch.

"Can you go back to the video, to the relay?", asked Jobol.

The Primarch nodded before the image popped up. The holographic window was immediately enlarged up to a more manageable size.

"These here on the relay, they resemble nerves, though much larger. Eezo nodes growing upon them confirm as much. Assuming they were eating the Dark Energy of the Relays core, nerves would not be used. This structure on the back of the relay, the one discharging electricity, it might then be a brain of some kind. Its appearance resembles parts of these creatures, though it obviously something different. I don't think these creatures are feeding on element zero, I think they are using it in some other way. They might even be studying it." said Jobol.

"Studying it?", asked Tiberitus in confusion.

"Yes, these creatures seem to use some kind of organic technology, likely exclusively. Assuming they do, then the giant creatures may not be the true race at all. It may be their ships."

"...What?", exclaimed Sparatus.

Jobol shrugged.

"It would explain the diversity between the creatures. Even we build ships of vastly different designs.", said Jobol.

No one spoke after that, not for a long time. Luckily they did not need to. Each councilor got the exact same message on their omni-tool. Something was flying toward the citadel.

We have no radio technology, for we have no need for it. The Hive makes such a thing unnecessary. These individuals are not like us as we are. They are like us as we were.

The ships embedded deep within our mass had the necessary capabilities to contact them, and the memories of those added to the Hive have given us more than enough knowledge to use the machines. We sent our message.

"We are Blacklight. We come in peace. Take us to your leaders." Never let it be said we have no sense of humor.

The Citadel was buzzing. The truly massive creature was just close enough for many to see it. It was the size of a dreadnought, flying through space and glowing with a biotic aura. Long tentacles trailed behind it. Many of the citizens could only stare at the titanic beast as it gracefully drifted through the stars.

The Councilors stared at the beast, awestruck, from the Presidium. They had each gotten the message at the same time. Tevos was wide eyed at the creatures size, and the way it flew through space. It was graceful, but with a frightening edge she simply could not pin. Sparatus on the other hand only saw a predator. The fangs and teeth of the thing made that image unpleasant. Jobol, unlike the others, was pleased. It was one thing to see it on video, but it was something else entirely to see it in person.

"Well, it seems I was right.", said Jobol.

Everyone only stared at him.

"It is a ship."

The Bioship flew towards the dock. They already had gotten the permission to dock from what sounded like a very scared Asari. The ships massive and numerous eyes, using the best examples of eyesight in the animal kingdom, stared at the guards below. Every movement was seen with crystal clarity, every twitch of fear and every minute shake undetectable by the eyes of any present alien. Two Infested Pustules were already starting to grow from the soft tissue of the Bioship, and when the Bioship made it to the dock, the pustules burst.

There were two who fell from the Pustules. Each calmly stood up and looked around, examining the surrounding aliens who stood as far away as possible. To many present their movements were unnerving, especially when their movements seemed to sync together. They each looked forward and calmly walked away from the Bioship.

The surrounding aliens watched the Evolved. The two were very unusual looking for them. While they had the same basic shape of an Asari or a Batarian they were not quite the same. To the aliens surrounding them it was a bit disturbing to see them. One was remarkably similar in shape to an Asari, and while the other looked similar to an Asari as well, there was a level of masculinity no Asari possessed.

To them the two newcomers moved wrong. They were predators. The one who looked to be a female of the species moved little, but moved quickly, like she was cold-blooded. The other one, who appeared to be male, moved constantly, almost hungrily, like he was some kind of warm-blooded hunter. Almost varren like in some respects.

As they walked towards the guards, both stopped in perfect unison, as if they were in sync. They stared at the small squad before them before a Turian stepped forward. They examined him, in a way that looked too much like a predator would eye its prey.

"Representatives of Blacklight, I am Executor Venari Pallin of Citadel Security. I'm here to escort you to the Presidium. There you will speak to the Councilors."

The male nodded before he motioned to his side toward the distinctly more Asari looking creature. Pallin looked to her, and instantly noted that she looked very sickly. "This is Elizabeth Greene."

The female gave a small nod, one that reminded Pallin of a reptile. There was something unnerving about seeing something that looked so much like an Asari move in a way better suited for some kind of lizard. The male raised his head, allowing Venari to see the grey, almost silver eyes under the hood he wore. Pallin noted his movements were more predatory, similar to a varren, but also a Krogan. A combination that did not sit well with him.

"And I am Alex Mercer."