Human-Xeno Interactions, Second Contact War onwards.

Blog Excerpt, Focus: Human-Shigian/Muton interaction.

One would expect, given constant alien invasions, centuries of constant warfare and the institution of a caste system to be signifiers that Humanity is a rather aggressive and controlling race, and that such would carry over to their interaction with other races.

Fortunately for us, they're not the Krogan with pointier sticks and a lower birth rate.

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While Humanity can very easily be rallied against an 'Other' by dint of their psychology, for the most part Humanity has learned from their history of prosecution within their own race and apply what they've learned to their dealings with other races and their caste system.

Humanities caste system is incredibly fluid within the Noble and Common tiers, with only the Criminal teirs and the barrier between Noble and Common being Rigid. While Alien races seem barred from the nobility, such is only due to a combination of convention, and the desire to make sure that the nobility was very publicly Human after the Second Contact war. At present entry to the nobility requires supreme sacrifice, innovation, or an act of exceptional bravery, the former two have yet to be performed and so acclaimed by the much smaller percentage of aliens, and the process for becoming a noble through an act of bravery, normally performed in the military, calls for truly exceptional standards. For example, after the defence of Elysium, Sara-Ying Leah was considered for entry into the nobility.

Her action? Saving an entire colony from a pirate raid, holding the line with a small group of civilian volunteers until reinforcements could arrive, being the last survivor of the defending forces. Of the other defenders two were considered for posthumous entry, one of which was the civilian Muton Borris Gad'na. With no one to speak on his behalf, the gesture was almost withdrawn before Sara-Ying spoke for him and his bravery. Being the last of his line, all this amounted to was a Memorial statue and the funds he would have gotten being directed towards Mutons serving in the Alliance and survivors of the raid on Elysium.

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As one can see, this shows why aliens within the Alliance haven't risen to the nobility in number, however within the common ranks they do well. Something easily seen when watching Human interactions with Shigians [Who are still called 'Thin-Men' most commonly.] and Mutons.

Shigians were returned to their original form, as they could remember it, using MELD treatments after the Second Contact War. Due to their invaluable help after turning on the Ethereals, they were largely given free rein in the territory they were given, albeit having wages garnished in reparation. Shigians at the time were treated just better than Asian civilians in the immediate aftermath by human civilians when encountered, however they were treated with near deference by scientists and Special Forces operators, who they worked alongside with their skills and knowledge to turn the tide.

In modern times, the perception that they were being used as tools and slaves, forced to give up what lives they could have eked out to fake human ones has garnered them some level of sympathy. Having lived alongside humans so long, they've entered much of human life, including sexuality, with their reptilian forms sometimes referred to as having an 'exotic beauty'. Drell were for a time jokingly referred to as foreign knockoffs of Shigians.

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Muton's, unlike Shigian's were late to turn against the Ethereals, needing to be captured [Often at great difficulty], then have Mind-Shields implanted against their will, and then could only communicate through Shigian intermediaries. Once that was done however, they proved exceedingly loyal, and their knowledge of tactics and weaponry helped immensely, they often served on the front line as living artillery, wearing almost as much armor as MECs, offering a highly visible presence fighting the Ethereal forces. This, combined with the near complete loss of their culture and no memory of their previous form created mixed feelings among civilians. On one hand, they are the other, and the aggressor, yet those that attack are slaves, and those that defended them were among their staunchest defenders.

Due to the language barriers, later defection, and their lower strategic value, Muton's originally had to live in Shigian colonies and had heavier reparations to repay, though they were assisted in rebuilding what little bits of their culture they could where possible. However, many instead took to adopting Human culture, and the efforts of such Muton's have garnered a rather good opinion of the race, having achieved the rank of 'Honorary Humans', achieving higher standing among the population than Asari and Shigians despite what many claim to be their lesser value.

AN: And there you go, Human - Thin-Man - Muton relations.