Ambassadors and Meetings

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(AN: If there are any mistakes you see, be sure to inform me about them)

(AN: Auxiliary chapters [ship and units] and [Keter family Servant Stats] have been updated slightly)

In the week after the conflict between the Turian investigation fleet and the UNSC Shanxi Battlegroups, you'd think something would happen, but within Shanxi itself, nothing really happened as the warships continued their vigil over the Mass Relay.

There were a lot of meetings though, most of it being very mundane as a lot of logistical work was needed to sort out the prisoners' basic life needs, like medical treatment and food provisions as giving them human-prescribed items was basically poisonous to their biology.

After that they needed to requisition some tows to move the alien wrecks out of system and back to more secured research centres where a variety of scientists from various fields of study would begin ripping apart all the tech the Turians had on their ships and any other devices of all sizes just to see how they worked and to see if they could incorporate it into their own existing tech for ether Privet Military use or Public Commercial use.

And then there were the orders for a few more Battlegroups to be on standby as well as the towing of a few stations, such as orbital anchorages over Shanxi itself and some defence stations.

It would take more than a week, probably even months to get such assets into the Shanxi System; until then, much paperwork, either physical or digital, needed to be filled out to get such things approved for transfer or construction of a stronghold on the planets and moons.

But the most interesting event happening would be the arrival of the UEG ambassador representing all of Humanity on the authority from the President back on Earth, the family from the Red Tear has been expecting them, and they can finally say what they were going to do for the foreseeable future.

Back in the Throne Room, the ambassador like Anderson walked through the halls of the ship and like the Frigate Captain was left, confused, amazed and intimidated along with an assortment of other emotions.

Though unlike Anderson, he was of a bureaucratic sort of being, he was expecting people who would be accepting of the idea of joining their society given how they in appearance are human, while also going to be cooperating with the various UNSC divisions.

"You wish to remain independent?" It was baffling, the little man from what he heard from this supernatural beauty and most definitely not human female sitting on a throne that seemed far too large for her stature.

"As I said, we are ancient beings who have travelled the galaxy from the far reaches of space to the core itself, we have no desire to be shackled as it were, to a wounded Nation or Empire much like your own, and those that you know" the man flinched somewhat, memories of the battle of Earth along with the rest of the Great War came to mind, humanity no longer had 800 worlds to call upon, they no longer had an industrial complex capable of churning out war products by the dozens, nor did they have thousands of ships to use either.

"So, your existence would be akin to a traveling merchant caravan?" The response he got didn't fill him with enthusiasm.

"More like a Privet Mercenary Company or armed explores, but your words would also be applicable, as we do have some things we could potentially trade for, but I believe that can be held off to another time" the ambassador nodded in agreement, the fact that these beings were open for trade meant the UEG and the UNSC could potentially gain a massive boon in whatever they were willing to trade with.

Unfortunately, the conversation had to be cut short as the intercom system built within the throne beeped.

"I apologize Ambassador Clements, but I need to take this." The man in question didn't look bothered by the interruption, so Brianna pressed a single button before speaking.

"Report," the order was simple and quick, as was the response.

/Master, apologies for disturbing the negotiations, but I must inform you, a single ship has jumped in system via the Relay, its design profile does not match that of the Turians but of the Asari Republics/ The Ambassadors eyes widened at the news of another alien group making itself known, it wasn't the Turians, but it was still alarming that something different has come from beyond the Artefact.

"Diplomats," the Mother of, and leader of these ancient beings said "Given what my youngest has said about them, keep the Void Shields up and have the weapons on standby, there will be no fighting, but we will remain vigilant."

/Understood Master/ The comm link ended and the head of the family floated upright, her feet not touching the floor before addressing the Ambassador.

"Sir Clements, our talks will be ending here for now as you may be needed for our guests, given how they have been confirmed to be Asari it is certain that they have their own diplomatic team with them, as such I offer the Red Tear as a third party neutral ground for both your Nations, where you can engage in diplomatic talks, is this acceptable to you" Ambassador Clements took a second to understand what the Divine women was saying before nodding happily with a small smile before composing himself.

"That would be greatly appreciated, Mrs Keter"

[]

Aboard the ARV Liian a Nefrane Class Heavy Cruiser that was on a diplomatic mission, serving as transport for the various diplomats who were tasked with preventing anymore conflict started by the Turian Hierarchy, there was much protest from the Primarch's on Palaven, but the Council had voted and decreed a cessation of hostilities and for teams of skilled negotiators dispatched to placate the new 'young' race and have them join the Galactic Community.

Captain Panta was glad that her ship and crew had something interesting to do as border patrol was getting rather dull, plus she was a bit excited that she would be at the forefront of watching history be made.

She didn't know much if not anything about the new race that had seemingly given the Turians a good slap to the mandible, however there were whispers that this new race didn't use Element Zero which she promptly ignored as it was simply not possible, for a race without it to even compete against a military force like the Turians would be like giving a maiden a rusty knife and telling them to go fight an adult Thresher Maw, other than that there was also talk about how the ships these beings used exceeded the dimensions of the Destiny Ascension, again preposterous.

She was going to need to call an officer meeting regarding the amount of gossip that their young maidens were spouting during shift time, they should be focusing on their duties, as why else would they even join the Republic's Navy instead of gallivanting into the known galaxy?

Still there was a small smidge of worry that she felt for this mission, it was well within the realm of possibilities that this race would just 'try' and open fire on them as soon as her ship exited the Relay, the probability of that was low, at least she was hoping it was.

So once they finished transition beyond Relay 314, her crew did their jobs and began scanning and reporting the state of the ship and system they were in.

The ship was fine obviously, she ordered shields up as you never know what might happen in the void, also their passengers were making their preparations for the coming talks and were ready to receive guests or fly out towards where the locals would want to talk to them, Panta believed it to be the latter coming true.

Next was to fly towards the planet that the Turians believed they'd find the new races' Homeworld and land in their Capitol city to begin talks.

Except the ship came to an immediate halt as the whole of the bridge crew saw the armada that was while a ways away from them was waiting for them, from what the sensors were telling, they were impossible and Panta realised that impossibilities may just be possible, as the data came in she took time to go through what she was seeing from the screens and magnified images taken by the ships cameras.

The smallest vessel was at most cruiser length, and then it just kept climbing beyond the kilometre-long Dreadnought mark to numbers that just should not be possible.

And the last one.

Panta could hear her heart hammering in her chest cavity, an icy cold sensation shot through her brain and down her spine giving her an urge to shiver and quake.

She swallowed hard at the data coming from the last and largest vessels positioned a few hundred kilometres away from the 'black fleet'.

That crimson monster, by the Goddess, it wasn't the same as the black fleet, a second race? It was the only possible answer, for the design profile was too different from the blocky nature of the black fleet, the crimson ship had actual statues on it, that and what looked to be large segments of gold, and there was a brilliant bright red tear drop on the ventral prow of the ship.

But the size of the thing was its defining feature, being that it was, if the data didn't lie, 31km.

"C-Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the black fleet." Panta drew in a few steadying breaths to calm her rapid heart rate.

She needed to focus and carry out her duty, she had a mission.

"What have the Turians unleashed upon us?!" she whispered to herself before then addressing the message that was sent.

[]

It was an amusing sight to see, the UEG ambassador on the right with the young Admiral form the Shanxi battlegroup along with Anderson who was brought back due to how familiar he was with us along with a Spartan VI bodyguard, it was cute to see them size up the unmoving statue-like Blood Angels First Company Honour Guards that lined around the room.

But that wasn't what was amusing, it was the sight of the aliens failing to conceal their gawking, fear and awe.

This was likely the first time they ever had to converse with beings of a higher power.

Never more in my life have I wanted to allow my face to show my amusement, but I would instead end up having everyone see my smug, mocking, evil smile that came so naturally to me, so I kept my expression blank, but I couldn't stop the forming smirk showing on my lips.

While Mom and Mother kept their faces blank, my older sibling obviously was looking on in curiosity, as like us, this is the first time we are seeing aliens up close and personal, so it's quite the experience.

Kelly, on the other hand, looked absolutely happy, that beaming expression showed the biggest smile I've ever seen, though it was easy to understand given her obsession in our last life, this must be a dream come true for her.

"Now that all parties have arrived we shall begin these negotiations, beginning with our introduction as the mediators of these talks, we are the Voyagers of Origin, our vessel the Red Tear shall serves as a third-party neutral ground between your two factions, may you all introduce themselves" both party's made note that we had failed to even give our individual names aside from identifying our group name as it were.

The Asari from the group of 3 diplomats representing the races that have a Council Seat on the Citadel strove forward to introduce her faction.

"Greetings gentle beings, I am Ambassador Natila with my fellow diplomats Gage and Janus, we act as the voice of the Citadel Council representing the Galactic Community" she was polite even giving a bow as she named herself, but I could tell that she held a lot of pride in her voice, it was something that even the humans noted as the admiral raised an eyebrow at.

As the aliens finished their introduction, the humans spoke up to identify themselves to the aliens.

"I am Ambassador Clements, representing the United Earth Government, the lead civilian arm of Humanity." he then made a gesture for the young admiral to make her own introduction.

"I am Admiral Kastanie Drescher, of the United Nations Space Command the Military, Science and Exploration arm of Humanity, Commander of the Shanxi Battlegroup" the human said no more, and it felt strangely appropriate at how short and curt their greeting was, I could tell they wanted to get down to business and not waste time.

"Now that both factions have introduced themselves, we shall begin with the crux of these talks, Ambassador Clements, you may begin," my Mother waved towards the man who gave an apricated smile before addressing the alien delegation.

"Thank you, Lady Keter, now." He looked at the aliens before as his facial expression shifted to an accusers look.

"Would you like to explain to us why, you, an unknown alien entity, fired upon Captain Anderson's research fleet examining the artifact bordering our territory, then proceeded to launch an invasion fleet into the Shanxi system, without ever bothering to make contact with our forces?!" his tone was calm but a steely bite clung to his words, the amphibian like alien shifted a bit while the Turian seemed to look agitated by the comments being made.

All but Natila seemed unperturbed by the words from Clement, she merely adopted a placating body language as if dealing with a child rather than a seasoned adult speaking with power given to him by his nation.

"I apologize for this tragedy that has befallen us in this time, be assured, the Council understands the situation that has transpired and has subsequently brokered a ceasefire between both the Turian Hierarchy and your own nation. fear not, for this conflict shall not continue on as long as both parties agree." She turned her head to Janus, who seemed to try not to look as though his Government wasn't strong-armed into ceasing hostilities with the humans.

"It is as my colleague says, the actions of the Commander of the fleet that violated your borders and fired upon your ships have been apprehended and thus summarily punished for this offence." The commander in question was basically made into a scapegoat to preserve the pride of the Hierarchy, as it is very easy to say a man was corrupted by the power he was given and acted on their own, whilst avoiding the fallout they brought upon their Government.

But even then, the Primarchs would be going through every scrap of information the Commander has brought to them in order to ascertain the threat of this new civilisation that has presented itself to them.

The humans were sceptical at what they were told, but they did not refute it, instead, they moved on to arranging for the transfer of the few prisoners in their possession to be taken back to their nation for proper care and a debrief on what they encountered when fighting off the human combatants.

"There aren't many of them, barely 200 souls, they refused to give up even when they were beaten, it was…admirable." Anderson gave his own opinion on the matter, he could see Humanity in the Turians in the way they acted against their forces; it reminded him and most other UNSC solder and sailor of their own defiant struggle in the Great War, and he couldn't help but respect how the Turians conducted themselves.

Janus seemed to appreciate that comment, but he didn't allow it to dominate his thoughts.

"I'm glad to hear that, I'll be sure to coordinate the Navy to bring proper items to bring those men home." Once that was said, the meeting's atmosphere shifted from tense to a more pleasant feeling as both parties continued to outline limited specifics about each other's customs and history.

"If I may, I have a question to our hosts," the lone Salarian commented to those here, human and alien, shifted their focus on the so-called 'Voyagers of Origin'.

"You may ask, but know that we may refuse to answer your questions," I said to the Gage, who in turn seemed to look miffed about my response or something equivalent to the expression, I honestly could not tell.

"Who are you? Are you allied to these humans or perhaps a separate nation or empire that broke away from them" The questions were somewhat the same as to what Anderson asked of us, but not by much, I was however expecting more than that though.

"We can't tell you who we are other than what we have introduced ourselves as, though, for if we are allied or another faction of humanity, we are not any of those, for we are far older than them, much older." The aliens looked disbelieving of that answer, the humans also gave us uncertain expressions.

I couldn't blame them, they knew practically nothing about us, and we wanted to keep it that way until we had a believable backstory to go along with the 'Ancient Space Farers' stick we were working on.

The aliens looked as though they wanted more answers, Mum spoke up next, however.

"We understand the need for the knowledge you seek, but we shall not be divulging it as these negotiations are not about us, but about your two nations, please speak no more questions regarding our history, finish your dialogue with the humans before seeking an audience with us" her tone brokered no room for argument, that and the small amount of magical power she seemed to let out if the small glow in her eyes was anything to say about it.

Those assembled shivered briefly before paying no mind to us and returned to their negotiations.

I couldn't help but frown and feel as though they complied a bit too quickly, I cast an eye to my Mum, wondering if she deliberately casted a compulsion on those here.

I didn't continue to further that thought process as the aliens and humans seemed to be wrapping up this little meeting, so far they managed to cease hostilities and agreed to a prisoner transfer while also agreeing to further talks at the alien's Citadel, the heart of their Governments cultural and political power, and offer to attend that meeting was granted to us, but Mother declined as we "all" felt no need to 'show and tell' about ourselves to a bunch of aliens much to Kelly's quite disappointment.

As the entourages of both delegations began making their way off the Red Tear to report back to their respective Governments, the rest of us soon began our on meeting on what to do now going forwards.

"With that, the 'First Contact War' has ended, much quicker as well," Kelly stated to us.

"So, what should our next move be?" Charlie asked.

We paused for a moment as we thought about that.

"I recommend building closer ties with humanity, but before that, we need to build up our backstory." I offered, which Mother seemed to nod at.

"I agree with the backstory part, however, any interactions with humanity or any other alien body should be postponed until we can offer more details about ourselves in a more controlled manner, should more directed questions arise from all known and unknown parties in this galaxy."

We were unanimous with that, thus we began our long theory and story crafting session with guidance from I and Kelly with our knowledge of both Halo and Mass Effect.

We were more so making something believable for humanity to swallow as after all, we are an amalgamation of various heroic and divine beings, so when the time comes for us to either reveal who and what we are in civil conversation or in the heat of battle, we will have a preprepared response for the many questions and answers demanded of us.

"On another note, I think it best we should begin discussing plans on how best to deal with the oncoming Reaper threat." Kelly said to us all.

"Well, I'm not too concerned about humanity, the reapers don't have the means to effectively get to any human colonies, much less Earth, that and they have the capabilities of handling them, the only issue I see right now is how they face the numbers the Reapers have," I say, soon after Charlie spoke.

"The real problem here is how the Citadel Council is going to handle them, You've both told us what their game counterparts did, which, quite frankly, was nothing, as they are now, they will be destroyed just like in the games if nothing is done."

"I concur, as much as I hate to say it, we need to find a way to get the Council to build up a larger fleet of warships to have some sort of a chance against them or perhaps grant them weapons capable of destroying their capital ships." Mum said.

I tried to think about the best way to go about this conundrum, we couldn't ask the humans to share weapon technology with the Citadel, they would flat out refuse, even then, if we gave such technology, it may find its way into the hands of slavers and pirates.

But we had to do something that gave them an edge against those murderous cuttlefish.

That's when an idea flashed in my mind, we could awaken Javik, the last Prothean, but then theirs a problem with that, he was on Eden Prime.

We don't know where Eden Prime is, as the humans haven't even colonised that world, much less, it was very unlikely that they would even send any colonisation mission into the Relay Network, Innies might though, just so they could get away from UEG control, but even then that was unlikely.

Thus, I was back at square one.

I mean, we couldn't possibly create our own Navy to deal with the…oh, now that's a thought.

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