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Chapter Six: Sol Arrival

"Father, stop pacing. You're only making yourself even more nervous," Lacus said with a small sigh as she watched her nervous father pace in the observational room of the Hermes-Class Diplomatic Cruiser that was ferrying the two of them, Uzumi, Rondo and Shala'Raan to the Citadel with a small Terminal fleet for escort to enter into discussions with the Citadel Council. "Sit down and take a breath, you're not even the one who is going to be doing the most talking with them."

Siegel sighed as he took his daughter's advice and took a seat and started to take some deep breaths to relax himself. "Sorry, it's just… nerve wracking. We're not just meeting a singular nomadic species in need of aid, but an entire coalition of alien species that have come together," the Supreme Chairman admitted. "Unlike with the Quarians, we are not the ones being approached, we're approaching them."

"It is indeed daunting, but, I think we will be fine," Lacus assured with a soft smile. "From all accounts, they are just as interested in keeping the peace as we are, I doubt they will make any ridiculous demands."

Siegel chuckled a bit in response. "I suppose you are correct," he sighed out. "What's the latest word from the Citadel?"

"No diplomatic incidents yet, Chairman Clyne," Sentry informed as he flickered to life, his sudden presence not even drawing a batted eyelash from the occupants. "Chief Commander Hisanaga has reported that Fleet Admiral Henderson has started making progress with Primarch Fedorian by suggesting that our fleets can help ease the strain of Turian resources by working side-by-side with them."

"What is your opinion on that, Sentry?" Siegel questioned, leaning in as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Analyzing the Extranet shows that many Turians are… displeased with the current situation of their role in Galactic Politics," Sentry replied after a moment's pause. "The fact that the Salarians and Asari often overrule Turian pushed proposals, such as a harsher crackdown on Batarian slaving rings, is a common issue that many Turians are discontent with. They do not feel like they are a truly equal partner to the Asari and Salarian species who support each other's proposals and are able to easily push their agendas with little Turian input unless drastic measures are taken, which rarely are so as to maintain the 'unified' appearance of the Council."

"How will us lending fleets help with this? Or even help us in this matter?" Shala'Raan questioned as she turned to the conversation, her curiosity piqued. "While it is true we have the numbers to support the Turian Patrol Fleets, it would weaken us and draw vital resources away from our developing colonies."

"Firstly, this would show to the Turians that we care more about our own agenda if we were to do this shortly after what happened at Shanxi," Sentry explained as his Avatar began to pace, data streams appearing around him. "Turian Society is about 'The Good of All' rather than individual as a result of harsh and brutal civil wars in the past, us volunteering our fleets to assist them in their duties towards the Galactic public show that we also think in such a manner, leading to a strong alliance between the Sol Council and the Turians. This in turn would begin a process that would lead to the Sol Council getting a seat on the Citadel Council, and give the Turians a much needed ally within the government."

"And giving us a voice in Galactic policy," Rondo finished, a contemplative look on her face. "Which we can use to prepare for the Reapers."

Siegel sighed in response as he slumped forward a bit. "I'll give James my approval for this," he assured after several moments. "I hate having to do these manipulative actions…"

"I understand your distast, Chairman Clyne," Sentry assured as he waved the data streams away. "But, as things stand, if we were to just approach the Council about our findings on the Reaper threat, the Asari and Salarians would dismiss them out of hand. The Turians on the other hand, may believe us, but would be restricted in how they can act by current Citadel Council policy."

"Anything to maintain the status quo, huh?" Siegel questioned dryly, grimacing. "Right, how far are we from the Citadel?"

"We will be arriving in thirty minutes, Chairman," Sentry assured. "If you will excuse me, I will return to the datapad for now to hide my presence."

"Of course, thank you for your help, Sentry," Lacus said with a smile that Sentry's Avatar returned.

"You are welcome, Representative Hisanaga," he replied before vanishing as he uploaded himself from the ship's mainframe and into the specially designed datapad that Lacus was carrying.

"Right, better make myself presentable," Siegel said with a sigh. "Politics, forty percent dressing up, fifty percent posing for the camera, and ten percent actually doing your goddamn job."

Lacus chuckled in amusement. "Makes me glad I can do my job one hundred percent of the time," she told him teasingly, getting an eye roll from her father. "Careful young lady, I'm sure I can figure out a way to get you to help me."

Lacus only laughed in response to his 'threat' as he moved to his own quarters.

"Havok Control to Commander Hisanaga, come back," Kira's comm crackled to life as she continued to escort the Fleet Admiral and the Turian Primarch.

"Hisanaga here," Kira replied, drawing the attention of the two. "What have you got for me, Havok?"

"We've got word that the Sol Council Reps are two minutes from arrival, might want to give the Fleet Admiral a warning," the Comms officer reported.

"Will do, thanks for the heads up Havok Control, Hisanaga out," Kira replied, closing the link. "Admiral, Havok reports that the Representatives are a few minutes out from arrival."

"Thank you, Commander," James replied, nodding to the mercenary and turned to Primarch Fedorian with a raised eyebrow. "Would you like to accompany me to greet them, Primarch?"

"Thanks for the offer, Admiral, but I'm afraid I have to make some arrangements on my end," the Turian replied with a shake of his head. "It has been a pleasure, though."

"Same here, Primarch, I look forward to working with you in the future," James said as they shook hands. A few camera flashes in the background told Kira that the paparazzi were still following them.

The two parted was, their respective guards following after their leaders as James turned to look at Kira. "Opinions?" he questioned.

Kira shrugged a bit. "Better than we were expecting," she admitted. "We're not in a full-blown war, and you're making inroads for galactic politics, so, all in all, we're doing good."

James nodded in response. "And the teams on the ground?" he questioned. "Any incidents?"

Kira groaned as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, getting a wince from James. "Nothing too bad… but… there was something with a group of Turians survivors from the battle, apparently they're here for a debrief," she explained with a strangled sigh. "And then something about an overgrown lizard?"

"How much damage?" James questioned, dreading the answer. After all, they were Fenrir, the most dangerous, unpredictable, and improvisational combatants to exist.

"Surprisingly… minimal, that was deemed, and I quote, 'not their fault'," Kira replied, sounding as surprised as James looked.

"So, what happened?" he asked.

"Well…"

"Anybody know why these guys are so mad?" Stella questioned as she blocked a punch from a Turian in an obvious uniform. "I mean, we were just shopping!"

"Ara ara, this is… inconvenient," Hanami mused, dodging punches without fighting back.

The Turian trying to punch her let out a low growl and resorted to a leg sweep, which the silverette hopped over nearly effortlessly with a small, "Hup!"

"Hey!" another Turian shouted, this one without any markings on his face, as he attempted to pull another Turian away from the group. "Stand down!"

"Let me go Arterius!" the Turian he was grappling with shouted. His flailing arms knocked over a display stand.

"And you call yourself a Turian!?" another one was yelling at Garrus, who was keeping him on the ground away from the Fenrir group as he slapped a pair of cuffs on his wrists.

"They're diplomatic guests, you moron!" Garrus declared, getting off him. "Where's the rest of C-Sec when you need them!?"

"Do they normally take this long?" Dearka shouted in frustration as he pinned another Turian to the ground with an armbar.

"Yes!" their Turian guide yelled before taking a punch to the face.

"Ei!" Hanami flipped her opponent and sent him crashing to the ground face-first with an aikido throw, keeping hold of his arm in a position that was very clearly painful judging by him banging his free fist on the ground. "This counts as self-defense, correct? Whew, luckily Turians and humans seem to have similar physiology here…"

"Yes!" Garrus yelled again, punching his assailant back in the face.

Jinn muttered out a curse as he took a Turian out of the fight with a sharp punch to the alien's throat, sending him to the ground, gasping for air. "I think I hear sirens?" he commented idly as he moved out of the way of a tackle that sent the alien into another display case.

Yzak blinked as he looked up and paled. "Look out!" he called out in warning as all of a sudden a large, laughing, lizard like alien charged into the melee and shoulder tackled a Turian, sending him sprawling into another one.

"Hahaha!" the alien shouted gleefully. "Now this is what I call a party!"

"Uugh… damned Krogan…" the one that had taken the full brunt of the tackle groaned in pain.

"That's Urdnot Wrex! Get him!" came a cry from the hostile Turians. A series of whirring sounds filled the air, coming from several unfolding rifles.

"Hey hey hey, you want to be court-martialed for opening fire in a civilian area!?" Garrus swore halfway through handcuffing a Turian.

"No you don't!" the bare faced Turian shouted as he thrusted his hand out, biotic energy swirling around him for a moment before the several of the Turians were lifted into the air, as if gravity had just stopped working for them.

"Oh, hey, he can do the same thing as you, Fubuki!" Stella commented.

"Biotics? Oh," Fubuki mused, staring intently at the floating Turians. Her moment of distraction cost her as a Turian punch knocked her over. "Ow."

"This is for my comrades on the Stalwart!" her attacker howled, raising his fist for a heavy downwards punch. Fubuki closed her eyes shut preparing for the pain. It never came.

"URAGH!" Dearka let out a shout as he suplexed the attacking Turian, driving him into the ground with a painful sounding smack. "Fubuki, you alright?"

"Yeah… thanks…" Fubuki groaned, holding her gut where she had taken the hit. "Uuugh… okay… time… fucking… out!" she growled, stretching her arms outwards at the remaining hostile Turians, eyes glowing blue and radiating a blue energy.

The next moment, they were either on their knees, or faceplanted into the ground from abruptly heavier gravity.

Finally sirens were heard screaming out as a trio of blue flying vehicles landed nearby as a group of officers came out and looked at the scene. "What the hell happened here?" one of the officers, an Asari, shouted as she looked around.

"I'll say this, they attacked first," Garrus announced, gesturing to the either bound, knocked out, floating, or faceplanted Turians.

"We're part of the ship that was brought in for a debrief after the 314 Incident, Officer," the bare-faced Turian explained. "When they heard there were humans aboard the Citadel they lost control of themselves, I attempted to stop them, but… they were rather… inebriated."

"And you, Wrex?" the officer turned to the large reptilian alien who chuckled in response from where he sat atop a Turian. "Let me guess, you saw Turians getting their asses kicked and wanted your share?"

"You know me too well, T'vaus," Wrex replied, sounding all too pleased with himself.

"Get the fuck… off me…" the Turian under him croaked.

"Nah, I'm rather comfortable," Wrex told the Turian as he shifted his weight a bit on top of him, getting a fresh groan of pain. And a creak from a bone somewhere that he ignored.

The Asari officer groaned in response. "Every time, every time there's a diplomatic group on the Citadel, a fight always happens," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Alright, start cuffing them! You," she pointed to Arterius. "Going to need a statement from you, and Wrex, get off the man before I have to bring you in for murder, again."

The large alien rolled his eyes in response, but acquiesced with the command as he stood up. "Fine, take all my fun away why don't you," he sighed as he turned to look at the humans. "For a species of squishy things, you all fight pretty well."

"Squishy things? Uh, well, thanks I guess?" Dearka blinked.

"Well, some of us have the best kind of squishy after all," Stella commented, poking Fubuki's side as she did so.

Fubuki blushed and elbowed Stella back crossly.

"I suppose even police is the same across the galaxy, eh?" Hanami thought out loud.

"Unfortunately," Garrus sighed as he walked over to them, rubbing the side of his face. "Sorry about this, normally we're a bit more disciplined, but… well… there are always outliers."

"Forgive us… but the losses our forces have suffered in the… incident have left a huge mark," the bare-faced Turian's shoulders sagged. "The Turians haven't taken such casualties in decades. Morale is at an all-time low now."

"Um, sorry?" Fubuki awkwardly apologized.

The Turian shook his head. "Not your fault," he informed. "We started the fight, and the consequences are ours to bear. Saren Arterius, Turian Blackwatch."

Garrus blinked as he turned to look at the soldier wide eyed. "Blackwatch? And they didn't listen to you?" he questioned in shock.

"As I said, morale is at an all-time low," Saren said, looking over at the disabled Turians. "And it seems some of them are coping with rage instead."

"Fuck… you humans…"

"Y'know, that sounds oddly familiar," Jinn commented with a sigh before shrugging it off. "Thank you for your help, Saren, and… Wrex was it?"

"Yup, Urdnot Wrex," the large alien informed. "I'm a Krogan, and if you need someone to bash some heads in, I'm open for hire."

"We're actually supposed to be mercenaries ourselves… mercs hiring mercs sounds a little odd," Fubuki muttered.

Saren blinked as he looked over the group. "You're all mercenaries?" he questioned. "Why would you be brought for a diplomatic meeting?"

Jinn shrugged in response. "We're considered the best for a reason," he informed plainly. "And we were ready to move at a moments notice, which they needed."

"Fair word of warning, Wrex here is quite the character. He's banned from nearly every bar on the Citadel for good reason," the Asari C-Sec officer pointed out.

"We'll take that into consideration," Jinn said with a nod. "If you will excuse me, I need to report this to the boss."

"I should get checked out at the infirmary too…" Fubuki groaned, rubbing her abused belly.

Jinn nodded as he looked over the others. "Alright, let's get our units and head back to the Havok, it's about time to rotate out with the next group up for shore leave anyways," he told the others.

"I have a suggestion!" Hanami raised her hand. "Can we bill them for our expenses?" she pointed at the now handcuffed bunch of aggressors.

"Well, the Council is already covering your expenses," Garrus informed them. "So it will be up to them if they decide to have them pay for it, they're already going to be paying for the damages to the store."

"Jinn-koi, do we have time to run around the stores to get some things we missed?" Hanami smiled at her husband. "Thanks to them interrupting us?"

Jinn sighed. "Ten minutes," he told her firmly. "The other group has been waiting for their chance for a while now."

"Then we'll just have to get everything that caught our interest, right?" Hanami's smile widened. A faint aura of doom began to form around her… directed at the captured Turians. "Since we don't have time to decide anymore…"

Jinn sighed. "Hanami, remember what Kira said about using your auras on the station of aliens?" he questioned bluntly.

"Oops," the silverette had the decency to blush and immediately extinguish her aura of doom. "Buuuuut you can't blame me right? After all, they ruined our first date on an alien space station…"

Jinn sighed. "Just remember that we're trying to make a good first impression," he requested. "Better hurry if you want to get something, the clock is ticking."

Puffs of dust replaced Hanami, Stella and Mir as they took off at top speed.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Fubuki muttered.

"Because you are an intelligent woman," Dearka informed with a sigh. "And Stella made a beeline for the store that looks like it sells lingerie and stripper outfits."

"Oh dear god. Please stop her, Dearka," Fubuki cringed.

"You're the one with the biotics, you have a better chance than I do," he countered. "You remember what happened when I tried last time?"

"I still have pictures~" sang a triumphant Stella from beside them. "Dearka in a- mmmmph!"

Dearka had his entire hand over Stella's mouth. "No," he said sternly. "Just, no."

"Wait, done already?" Fubuki gasped.

Stella flashed a thumbs up.

Fubuki paled.

Dearka sighed as he let go of Stella's mouth. "Well Fubuki, we're in for it now," he sighed.

"Oh don't act you don't like seeing us all dressed up," Stella replied. "Remember his reaction when we cosplayed as our Gundams, Fubuki?"

"Awawawawa."

"Oh, you're still too pure, Fubuki…" Stella giggled.

Dearka sighed. "Well, where's your purchases?" he questioned. "Do we need to split them up between the Gundams?"

"Well, there were so many I had to have them crated and delivered to the ship later," Stella rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue.

"Awawawawawawawawawawa."

"Just hope you didn't break the bank," Dearka sighed as the three began to make their way towards the Docks.

"Well, they're probably paying right?" Stella jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the Turians now being escorted away by C-Sec with a glint in her eyes. "Think of it as compensation for that punch Fubuki took."

"The Citadel is paying, they just might be compensating a bit," Dearka groaned as he placed a hand over his face.

"Oh, well… too late now!"

"Hey, who ordered a giant honking crate of clothes… and toys?"

"This crate's apparently filled with… alien food?"

"Uuhhh, the clothes and toys are for… Stella… shit."

"The fuck have those people on shore leave been up to?"

Somewhere on the Havok, Fubuki felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Well, this is quite the reception I'm getting, not even C-Sec makes me feel this loved," Wrex commented as several rifles were trained on him as he stepped off the shuttle.

"Considering you forced yourself aboard, are you really that surprised?" Victor commented as he stepped past the firing line. "So, I know you are Urdnot Wrex from my compatriots, the question is, why did you force your way onto our ship?"

"Can you blame me? New merc crew shows up escorting a diplomatic team, I get curious," Wrex explained, glancing around the hanger. "I see a Turian piloting the shuttle to pick up purchases and the odd person, I get more curious, I see Quarians, Asari and a Salarian disembarking for shore leave, I want in."

"And why should we bring you in?" Ryu commented as he walked over from another part of the hangar.

"I know how to break stuff. Really well," Wrex bragged, gesturing at his shotgun, about twice as big as a regular human shotgun. Even while folded. "I'll give you a crash course on Krogans, we're built like tanks and we break stuff just as well. Best shock troopers you can get in the whole damn galaxy. You can't fit one of those fancy giant robots inside a building, but a Krogan can kill his way in and kill his way out just fine."

Ryu stepped forward and met his gaze. "I can get info by just looking it up on the 'net, we have killers and breakers abound," he informed, gesturing around them. "So you're a bit more durable, that doesn't mean shit to me."

"Got a quad on you eh?" Wrex grinned a toothy Krogan grin. "I talk better in a fight. Give me one and I'll show you why you want a Krogan Battlemaster on your team."

Ryu narrowed his eyes slightly before lifting a hand, causing the rifles to drop as people started to step away, Wrex's eyes moving over to watch it before Ryu's fist suddenly impacted against his head, just under his crest, shortly followed by his head being grappled and brought down to Ryu's knee as he brought it up to slam into him.

"Hmmm, less squishy than I thought," Wrex thought out loud, apparently not quite fazed by the attack. His eyes lit up in a biotic glow before Ryu was suddenly thrown away. The next moment there was the butt of a giant shotgun headed for his face.

Ryu rolled out of the way and leapt to his feet, a knife in his hand as he charged Wrex, slashing his knife into any exposed part of his body. "What's wrong, having trouble keeping up?" Ryu questioned tauntingly.

"Ha! I'm just getting started!" Wrex didn't even flinch from the knife attacks, some of which even bounced off him entirely. A flurry of punches came at Ryu, aimed at various painful spots including his groin even. The occasional biotic glow kept Ryu on his toes as he ducked and weaved between the heavy punches.

Ryu hummed as he backed off a bit before relaxing his stance. "Alright, you're not a dumb brute at least," he commented and looked over at Victor. "Run him through Basic like everyone else, he wants to join, he does like everyone else does."

Victor grinned a bit. "You got it, boss," he confirmed with a nod.

"Fine. But I'm not staying there for long," Wrex grinned. "Pleasure to work with you."

"Say that after you actually start earning your keep," Ryu threw out over his shoulder as he walked away, towards Hanami's group. "Now, what's this report that I got on a 'spending spree' that you guys went on?"

"Ummm… not our money anyway?" Hanami replied. "And I want to experiment with their food too. The Asari have been teaching me lots of interesting recipes!"

"They were expecting souvenirs and some clothing, not an entire supply run," Ryu countered with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just one crate of food," Hanami insisted. "And we did get souvenirs and clothing too…"

Ryu pinned her with a look. "You'll be reimbursing them for the extra," he pointed out. "We're representing humanity, not just Fenrir."

" … yes," Hanami's shoulders sagged. "Can I cook my way out of this? I have it on very good word that some of the Asari dishes are out of this world…"

"No," Ryu countered. "Now, where's my daughter, I need to give her the same speech."

"In Fubuki's room, probably," Mir shrugged. "Hey don't look at me like that, I showed moderation."

"I know you did," Ryu sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "Right, other than purchases, good work guys, take your ten hours and get some rest, we're heading back to Mendel."

"I almost feel sorry for Stella," Yzak whispered to Dearka.

"We tried to warn her," Dearka commented with a shrug, looking over at the shivering Fubuki. "You know how she gets."

"I know," Ryu sighed as he shook his head a bit.

"Save me from her, Dearka," Fubuki pleaded.

"Only if you try to save me from her as well." Dearka replied with a pleading look of his own.

Ryu let out a sigh as he shook his head. "Good luck with that," he told the pair. "For now I am going to talk to my daughter about… responsibility."

"I sure hope the lesson sticks," Fubuki grimaced. "Also… uh… I'm not sure if I should know about this… but should I be worried about what she bought? I just know she went into all the… Asari? Shops selling some… you-know-what kind of stuff."

Dearka winced as he turned to look at Ryu who simply sighed in response. "For now, nothing we can do other than reimburse the Council for our overeager individuals," the co-founder informed. "So, if you want to keep them, go ahead, if you want to return them, make sure you get the receipts."

"Return please," Fubuki declared without hesitation.

"Right, get the receipts to Accounting, they'll handle everything else," Ryu sighed.

"At least I can still try out some interesting new recipes with what I bought…" Hanami giggled.

"While that is good, let's just hope the others can actually use the discretionary funds for their own trinket shopping," Jinn pointed out.

"Right," Hanami nodded, looking around. "How much longer are we staying, Ryu-san?"

"We'll be on station until the preliminary diplomatic talks are finished," Ryu answered, scratching his chin, checking his tablet. "The proper diplomats and Lacus are about an hour out from the citadel, should be here soon enough… so maybe tomorrow if things don't go tits up."

"Not a lot of time to play space tourist then," Mir concluded.

"Maybe we should go check out some of their hardware other than guns? The Quarians did say all they get are scraps, and this is the heart of the Citadel races so there's bound to be some fancy tech they haven't seen yet here," Hanami suggested.

"I picked up a few of the standard rifles used by the different species," Yzak informed with a shrug. "The good stuff is unavailable for us to purchase here unfortunately."

"Well, that's only to be expected," Sai sighed. "How does it compare to our tech?"

"Reloading is non-existent, unless one is in a long fight," Dearka said with a shrug. "But, I don't like how they don't have the punch that our rifles have."

"R&D started testing with different styles mixing the tech, the most successful one is using clips with solid bullets with Mass Effect field propelling them instead of gunpowder or chemical reactions."

"Which in turns give more room in the clips for more bullets," Dearka added. "And the amount fired is roughly the same as a standard Citadel AR before it stops from overheating."

"Basically the same stuff we've been using since the Quarians joined us then," Sai nodded, glancing at the pistol holstered to his side.

"Pretty much," Tolle agreed with a nod. "I think the biggest changes the tech is bringing is with ships and mobile suits, the mass effect fields are able to help the larger mobile suits keep their mobility, and our ships are a heck of alot faster in sublight than before."

"Can't say I'm impressed by their armour, our beam weapons went through like hot knives through butter," Mir said. "But maybe we can learn a bit from their materials science at least."

"Considering that their only 'beam' tech are GARDIAN lasers that are only used for anti-fighter and anti-missile duties?" Tolle countered with a raised eyebrow. "They never needed the level of laminated armor we use on our warships."

"It's not an advantage we can rely on, they're bound to rush anti-beam tech into production now," Hanami shook her head. "We're bound to have to fight the other Citadel races in the future. At the very least, their criminal elements."

"Well, that's for the Sol Council to work through with the Citadel," Jinn said with a shrug and a brief yawn. "I think though, for now we should get some rest before the diplomats arrive."

"Agree~~~eed…" Fubuki stretched, feeling her shoulders pop. "So tired…"

"Come on, let's get back, I can give you a shoulder massage," Dearka offered, patting Fubuki's back.

"Much appreciated…" Fubuki beamed at him radiantly. "I still can't get used to these even after so long…"

"Oh, is that so?" Mir deadpanned, looking down at her chest.

"Now now Mir, you're a gorgeous flower of beauty," Tolle assured his wife quickly. "Why don't we go to our room and I can show you just how much I appreciate your beauty?"

"Well, if you say so," Mir's face lit up slightly.

"Merc guild of debauchery indeed," Hanami snickered.

"It is unfortunately true," Jinn said with a shrug. "But I am pretty sure you and Kagami didn't help matters much early on."

"Ara, but I didn't hear you complaining, Jinn-koi," Hanami pulled Jinn's arm into her bosom.

"Of course not," Jinn assured as the pair made their own way towards their quarters.

"You ever feel like they do that just to mock us?" Sai questioned, turning to Nicol with a wry grin.

"It's… unintentional? Probably?" Nicol groaned. "Are you going to find anyone?"

"Eh, who knows," Sai replied with a shrug. "Wanna go grab some beers at the bar?"

"Yeah," Nicol nodded. "Did we get any of the alien alcohol?"

"Some Asari and Salarian brands," Sai commented with a chuckle. "You coming, Yzak?"

"Nah, I'm meeting up with Lunamaria," Yzak replied as he walked away. "Enjoy."

"It is really easy to forget he's dating," Sai commented in a deadpan.

"Lunamaria isn't with our squad after all," Nicol sighed.

"And he doesn't flaunt it," Sai shrugged. "Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky tonight."

"We have been given clearance to dock, Chairman," the pilot of the Sol Council ship informed over the intercom.

"Very well, we'll be ready at the hatch," Uzumi called back as he looked to the other representatives of the Sol Council. "Are you all ready?"

"I didn't think I'd get to set foot on the Citadel once again after becoming an Admiral," Shala'Ran mused, looking at the hatch. "It has been many decades."

"A big moment then," Siegel commented. "Feeling ready for it?"

"Yes, I am, though I'm sure they will be surprised to see me," the Quarian Admiral chuckled, removing her helmet. "A live Quarian not clad in an environmental suit is a sight never seen before on the Citadel."

"Glad we could help make it happen then," Uzume replied as he stood up and moved in front of the viewport to look out. "Thanks to your own efforts we were able to map out your species gene sequence and identify the problems."

"It is surprising that there are such few visual differences between our races though," Shala'Ran mused, holding up her 3-fingered hands. If you only looked at their faces, you could have mistaken a Quarian for a purple-skinned human. The only tell other than skin colour was the number of digits they had on their hands and feet. "I had long forgotten my own physical appearance after spending nearly my entire life cooped up in that suit."

"Understandable," Rondo commented with a slight smile as the scene outside shifted as they dropped out of FTL. "Ah, looks like we're arriving at the Citadel."

"I don't have fond memories of the Citadel," Shala'Ran frowned, looking at the imposing structure looming ahead of them. "I went there during my own Pilgrimage when I was young. Quarians were not treated very well there."

"Well, they will have to change their ways then," Uzume stated firmly. "You are members of the Sol Council, and if they mistreat you, they mistreat all of us."

"It was justified, we unleashed the Geth on the galaxy after all," Shala'Ran pointed out. "I cannot pretend that never happened. That being said, we are doing our level best to right that wrong. It is reassuring to have you on our side for that."

"Hardly a reason to condemn a race to extinction," Michelle replied venomously. "If a mistake is made, then the responsibilities of allies are to aid in fixing the mistake, not turning their back on you."

"It wasn't that bad, we were just… ignored or ill-treated, but not to the point of being actively hunted down," Shala'Ran shook her head. "Quarian engineers are highly sought after, for good reason. I believe you've learned that in our interactions."

"And we appreciate you lending us your skills," Uzume replied. "But looking at the condition we found you in… we have a saying, 'Evil only flourishes when good men do nothing'."

"Perhaps," Shala'Ran mused. "I fear convincing them of the Reaper threat may prove far more difficult, however."

"That is why we are going to hold off on that," Uzume informed calmly. "The first task will be to gain their trust, show them that we are not fools, James has already made some inroads with the Turians, so, chances are we'll be approaching them first."

"Ryu has also devised a plan to warn the intelligence communities about the Reaper Invasion," Lacus informed with a calm smile as she smoothed the wrinkles on the skirt of her Fenrir uniform. "We must remember that it is not the council who makes the decisions for their races."

"Then I shall leave that to Ryu," Shala'Ran smiled. "In the meantime we have our own battles to fight here."

"Exactly," Uzume replied with a nod as he turned. "Let us get ready to greet the Citadel."

"So, these are the actual diplomats then?" An armored figure questioned as they looked at the video of the 'Sol Council' departing the recently docked ships the crowd surrounding the docking bays murmuring at the sight of an unmasked Quarian. "Well, there's a sight I never thought I'd see."

"Tell me about it, unlike you brats, I actually remember when Quarians didn't need their suits," another figure commented, this one in armor fitting their body closely, showing womanly curves even with the armored plating. "Still, hearing it from the preliminary reports is one thing, but to actually see it."

"Quarians are entering the Galactic Stage once again," the first sighed, his talons scratching his ridges. "Is everyone in position."

"Yeah, no worries there, every SPECTRE on the station was called in," the second replied with an easy shrug. "Overkill in my opinion, but…"

"The councillors are paranoid," the first sighed as his eyes narrowed a bit. "Zoom in on the one with the pink hair."

"Why?" the second replied as the VI followed his orders. "See something?"

"Her outfit," he commented, pointing out a patch on her shoulder, showing some kind of canine head. "I think she's part of their special forces, their admiral had one with a similar patch guarding him, and several of the pilots that were touring the citadel had the same patch."

"Hm," the woman grunted as she activated her omni-tool and started looking through it. "Wait, kinda, they're a mercenary company."

"Mercenaries?" the first replied with a surprised look, his flanges spreading slightly in response. "What is their contact package telling you?"

"Their heroes, apparently," the second snorted. "They played a large role in dismantling several large terrorist organizations that were keeping their civil war going, apparently they also kept a doomsday weapon from being fired at their planet."

"And now?" the first prompted.

"Shit all in the package we got during first contact," the second replied with an annoyed grunt. "And no, we don't have any information other than that."

"Damn."

"Yup."

END CHAPTER