AN: Sorry for how long this Chapter took in comparison to the others. All I can say is I hope it is up to standard. Please if you spot any errors, please PM me and I will address them. Also, if any of you are interested to read future Chapters of this story before they get publicly released, I am looking for one or two people to proof read them and to provide criticism. PM me if you are interested, thanks.

I hope you all enjoy the Chapter, please feel free to leave your opinion and thoughts on the story so far.

Citadel

Serpent Nebula

It had been a fortnight since the Human and Sangheili invasion of the Citadel, since then, defensive measures around the space station had soared considerably. The Serpent Nebula now looked nothing like itself a fortnight ago. The battle wreckage had been cleaned up and all the damage had been repaired. The surviving ships were all present bar a few, namely the Destiny Ascension which managed to limp to an Asari shipyard to undergo major repairs. Turian reinforcements, diverted from other sectors, arrived to replace the shattered defense fleet, bolstering it's numbers significantly. The Citadel defense fleet, now several thousand strong, was once again a force to be reckoned with. That wasn't the only change, orbital defences were being constructed in the form of orbital hangars, minefields and small weapon platforms. Then of course there was what the humans left behind, their embassy, a full station on its own, along with a small flotilla of warships to act as 'embassy guards'. Their dull grey and black exterior hulls clashed with the silver-white of the Citadel as they hung lazily some distance from the much larger space station. But today was different from the routine that had settled in over the last two weeks, a small flotilla of ships was present in the space and docked with the Citadel, ships that hadn't been seen by many for hundreds of years. For the first time in generations, Quarian vessels were docked in the Citadel.

"Admirals, welcome to the Citadel. It is an honor to have you -" Tevos announced before a voice from the floor below her cut in.

"Spare us the pleasantries Councilor. What do you want?" Admiral Gerrel almost spat back, his voice filled his hostility as it echoed through the Council chambers. It was clear that he still held animosity against the Council who expelled his people centuries ago.

"Han'Gerrel. Control yourself." Admiral Raan quickly quieted him. "Apologies Councilor, Admiral Han'Gerrel's Heavy Fleet has had the stressful job of constantly protecting the fleet from all those who seek to harm the Migrant Fleet. The result has left him on edge." She shot a look at the Councilor Sparatus, there had been reports of minor skirmishes between the Heavy Fleet and Turian border patrols.

"No apologies are necessary Admiral. We in the Citadel appreciate the Quarian Heavy Fleet and the Quarian people's efforts in keeping the Geth contained to the Perseus Veil." Tevos replied diplomatically. Out of the corner of her eye she spied Sparatus shooting her a look. She knew what he was thinking, the sheer amount of diplomatic sucking up she was doing was beyond unusual.

Admiral Raan looked to her fellow admirals on the Quarian Admiralty Board. There was Admiral Han'Gerrel, commanded the Heavy Fleet, the main fighting component of the Quarian Migrant Fleet formed from whatever cruisers and frigates they had left. Admiral Zaal'Koris headed up the Civilian Fleet, responsible for the protection of the 17 million Quarians. Admiral Daro'Xen headed up the special projects division, one of the more controversial but necessary branches of the Migrant Fleet. Shala'Raan'Raan herself commanded the Patrol Fleet, the eyes and first line of defense of the Quarian people - its frigates and scouts always at the periphery of the massive formation. Since the Quarians were expelled from their homeworld of Rannoch centuries earlier followed by their later alienation from the Citadel, they had been forced to be a nomadic people. The estimated 40,000 ships of the Migrant Fleet had wandered the stars, going from system to system strip mining it to the bare to obtain resources necessary to maintain the massive fleet. For this the Council had loved to use the Quarians as scapegoats for just about anything negative, infrastructure failure, local economic recession were a few examples.

Admiral Raan finally looked back up to the Councilors. "While I do not approve of how my colleague phrased his words, he does have a point. For centuries you have treated our people like the bane of the galaxy. All of a sudden you start playing nice to us? Councilor Tevos don't play the Asari Diplomat card with us, you've frequently spoken out against us. It's clear you want to ask something of us, the fact that you aren't flat out demanding anything outright reinforces that. Something so major that you know appeasing us is crucial. So Councilors, I ask you, what do you want of the Quarian people?"

Tevos shut her eyes for a second, carefully carefully crafting her reply. "For centuries, the Citadel has treated the Quarian people without the necessary amount of respect that is expected from our office. I cannot speak for our predecessors. But now, on the behalf of the Citadel and all its citizens, we would like to offer our most sincere apologies for how you have been treated by us." The Quarian admirals bowed their heads slightly in acceptance. "You are right Admiral Raan, we do have need for the Quarian people. Quite frankly, we need your ships, and your people's expertise in engineering and mining."

Behind their visors, it was impossible to read their facial expressions. But from the slight recoil that the Quarians had, Tevos guessed that they were shocked at how desperate the Council was. Normally she would have hidden her agenda for a longer period of time, but these were desperate times. The Quarian Migrant Fleet will go a long way in re-establishing the Councils power and prestige. To her knowledge, Quarian engineers were second to none, and their ability to strip mine worlds with such efficiency was unheard off. And if the STG intelligence reports were accurate, every single vessel in the Fleet was armed, even the civilian ones. That's over 40,000 warships that could supplement their fleets, thus bolstering the Citadels assets considerably. One could only imagine how many logistical nightmares they could solve when they have access to the Quarian Fleet.

"This is because of the humans and their ally isn't it?" Admiral Koris voiced up. News of the disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Citadel had spread like wildfire, it wasn't surprising that the Quarians had heard of it.

"How did you find out?" Valern asked curiously. It was intended as a curious survey style question rather than an actual question.

"Thousands of ships destroyed, the Destiny Ascension in drydock, C-Sec effectively wiped out, the Council held hostage and had terms dictated to them. Not exactly a state secret." Admiral Gerrel replied, emphasizing the Council's recent humiliation.

Valern simply nodded. "Then you know the threat that humanity and its ally present to all of us."

"With the recent losses, the Turian Fleet is stretched thin Admirals. We need you now more than ever. Thus, we, the Council humbly invites the Quarian people back into the Citadel." Sparatus added.

"Councilors, thank you. But I have to ask, in exchange for our skills and our ships, what will you give us?" Admiral Koris asked after taking a few seconds to recover from the initial shock, as commander of the civilian fleet, their well-being was his primary concern.

"For now, re-establishing your embassy and perhaps in a few years, a seat on the Council. You shall access to all government shipyards and drydocks across Citadel Space." Tevos paused for a moment in preparation for her bombshell. "And this system for you to colonize."

She opened her Omni-tool, keying in a few commands to bring up a holographic map. It showed a star system, more than 10 larger planetary bodies orbiting a Class G2 star. "This system was discovered years ago, but only surveyed recently. It's on the fringes of the Galaxy sharing a border with the Inner Council Space. There is an asteroid belt full of raw materials necessary for ship construction, there's a Primary Relay a short FTL jump away that connects you to Turian Space. Now the extremely rare part of this system is, it contains 2 habitable worlds suitable for colonisation. Should you agree to join us, this system, is yours."

Silence dominated the space around the Quarian Admirals as they struggled to recover from the bombshell that they were just given. "Did...did you just say you would give us 2 habitable worlds for us to colonise." Admiral Raan stuttered, struggling to compose herself.

Sparatus nodded. "That is exactly what we said. We would like to welcome the Quarian people back into the Citadel by offering these worlds. No more running, no more staying aboard cramped ship board quarters. This is a permanent place to settle, to rebuild your civilisation on solid ground."

"And all you want is our support against the humans and their allies? Who, bear in mind, are already technologically superior to us." Admiral Xen questioned suspiciously. The Councilors simply nodded.

"Then what of the Geth? What of Rannoch?" Admiral Gerrel asked impatiently. "Do you expect us to abandon our homeworld?"

"Admiral Gerrel, the Geth have held Rannoch for centuries. Whether we like it or not, we have to at least acknowledge that they are a force to be reckoned with. Any military action against the Geth will tie up enough assets that could be brought to bear on the humans instead. Surely as a military man you must recognise this." Councilor Valern said, aware of the latest intelligence reports on the Geth. There was little information on the robotic civilisation, all that was known as their military might had exceeded all expectations.

"Our fleet is stronger than ever. We have to retake our homeworld, it is rightfully ours. We-"

"Han'Gerrel, we will talk about this later." Admiral Koris interrupted in. "Councilors, thank you for your proposal. But a decision like this is something we, the Admiralty Board, should not make alone. This is something the Quarian people as a whole should make. We shall call a session of the Conclave and contact you with a decision. That being said, what's stopping us from going to the humans and negotiating something with them."

Sparatus shifted uncomfortably, the humans being a sensitive topic for him. Tevos spoke up to save her fellow Councilor some face. "Nothing really. There is nothing the Council can do to prevent you from siding with the humans. But know this, we need you. The Council values you and everything that you can bring to the table. The humans will simply take pity on you, that's about it. Which option do you think will be able to control your future better? The side that needs you? Or the side that takes pity on you?"

The Admirals nodded their heads, it was sound logic. With the Council, they could predict things, how each species might react to different situations. With the humans, there were simply too many unknowns with them, there was no guarantee that they would even pity them in the first place. In short, they were a wild card. Based on what little intelligence they had, the humans and their allies were extremely powerful and militarily proficient. Ships larger than the size of the Citadel and impressive technologies were proof of that. Besides that, they really did not know much.

"A fair point Councilor. If there's nothing else, we need to return to the fleet." Admiral Koris asked, hinting that it was time to leave.

"No Admirals, that is all. You're free to leave." Tevos replied, smiling. With that, the Admirals took their leave, walking towards the elevator at the back of the Council chambers. They were discussing something amongst themselves with great enthusiasm as they stepped into the lift that would carry them to a nearby landing pad where a shuttle awaited to bring them back to their ship.

As the lift doors slid shut, Tevos turned towards her Salarian colleague. Valern was furiously typing away on his Omni tool, it was only a minute later he stopped and looked up at her. His reply was a simple nod, before glancing back towards the elevators. Sparatus shook his head slightly in disapproval, but these were desperate times, he understood the Citadels need for any advantage; internal and external.

It was a risky move, hacking the Admirals Omni tools would have some serious repercussions if discovered. It was fortunate that Valern was former STG, careful and methodical in his work, it would be very hard to detect anything he left behind. In this day and age, information and data was power, and planting a bug in the Quarian Admirals Omni tools simply contributed to the Councils steadily growing power. But it was risky, if the subterfuge is discovered, it guaranteed at least alienating the Quarians and at worst, a declaration of war and possibly even drive them into the arms of the Humans. It was a huge gamble, but the Council needed information on the Quarians and this was the only successful attempt to install a source at the highest levels of Quarian government.

Sunaion Military Base,

Sanghelios

Sanghelios, capital of the Sangheili Union, was a harsh place. Scorching deserts covered the interiors of most of the large land masses, forcing its inhabitants to make homes on the coasts and islands. The gravitational pull from each of the planet's two orbiting moons caused waves to rise as high as 20 meters. Harsh climates often made living on this world unforgivable and unattractive. Yet despite all this, Sanghelios was what the Sangheili were proud to call home. Moulded throughout the centuries, their home planet forged them into the strong and brutal people they were today. From the days before the Covenant till now, it's inhabitants had weathered the storms that faced them, the Great Schism being the most recent challenge.

For centuries, the Sangheili were the loyal fighting arm of the Covenant, shipmasters, field marshals and warriors who fought at the command of the Prophets. Until they were betrayed by those they swore to serve. The Great Schism saw the fracturing of the once powerful Covenant. It all started when the Jiralhanae, or Brutes as the humans more appropriately called them, with the Prophet's blessing began massacring the Sangheili. A bloody civil war ensued, claiming hundreds of ships, thousands of warriors, and enough planets turned to glass by plasma bombardment. It took 12 long years before the Arbiter, Thel Vadam, claimed victory. Rendering the Prophets species, the San Shyuum, extinct and placing the Jiralhanae under strict supervision and confined to their home planet of Doisac. Yet despite the optics of the war, one of the final battles was fought on Sanghelios itself. The floating city of Sunaion, once the last stronghold of the Covenant, was where the Prophets and their lackeys made their last stand. They made the Sangheili pay for every inch of ground with blood, thousands died taking the city, but in the end, the Arbiter stood victorious.

That was almost 30 years ago, Sunaion had since been converted into the de facto military headquarters of the entire Union. The Arbiter's own holding, Vadam Keep, was the actual capital with the bureaucracy being centered around it. But the leader of the Union often spent most of his time on the floating city. Since the end of the war, the city had been rebuilt to its former glory, though it primarily served as a massively oversized military base. It was the largest planetside military base in the galaxy, housing countless barracks, administration offices, hangars, defence emplacements, vehicle depots and shipyards. Not even the humans had a dedicated military base on a planet as large as Sunaion. Lances of Sangheili infantry were being drilled in a large clearing while Unggoy moved about maintaining the large collection of vehicles in a nearby depot. A trio of banshees whined over them to take their positions for patrol. A CCS class battlecruiser hovered above a landing pad, gravity lift sending down supplies and weapons from the manufacturing sites across Sanghelios, its repulsor engines emitting a loud humming sound drowning out any surrounding noise.

Overlooking the display of Union military prowess, Arbiter Thel Vadam, watched it over with pride. His people had come a long way, he still remembered the days when his people struggled to survive. After centuries of service to the false Prophets, his people had forgotten everything; how to be farmers, economists, intellectuals, teachers, doctors, everything that made a society run properly. Once they began their campaign against their former masters, everything was lacking. The once seemingly infinite resources given to the Sangheili by the Prophets were gone and food, medicine, consumer goods were all in high demand. His people faced ruin as a species, until the humans agreed to help them. In a desperate act, Thel agreed to trade the one advantage he had over the humans at the time, superior technology, in exchange for human aid to rebuild their society. Advisors of all sorts poured into Sanghelios, teaching them how to live as civilians. Till this day, he never expected or understand their generosity, even after nearly wiping out the humans. Human aid was flowing into Sanghelios, but bit by bit, they were turning control over back to the Union species.

The Unggoy, unsurprisingly, took well to the mass labour tasks like farming and shipbuilding. Most of the bureaucrats were Unggoy as well, that part was surprising. Thel had to give them credit, they were certainly smarter than they looked. Few Kig-Yar stayed after the civil war, most returned to their homeworld, carving out little fiefdoms with surplus war material on the way. Most turned into pirate or warlord like states, proving to be a nuisance to both the Federation and the Union. Yet they were not a serious enough threat to warrant a full scale pacification of their territory. The few that remained rose quickly to prominence in the Union's economic elite, their natural talent for commerce proving invaluable. In fact, Thel's own Minister of Trade was Kig Yar. The Mgalekgolo took the more specialized roles of heavy duty lifting, but most still served in the military. The Huragok seemed content with constantly repairing and improving every technological aspect of life, and Thel was quite happy to let them do just that. As for his own species, the Sangheili still primarily served as the fighting arm of the Union forces. Though some made the uneasy and difficult transfer from warriors to civilian life, becoming historians, intellectuals, teachers and leaders in their own right.

The sound of doors hissing open, followed by the thudding footsteps disrupted Thel's thoughts. Based on the frequency of steps, and how heavy they sounded, he knew exactly who it was as his side walked further in before stopping.

"Arbiter, your Majesty." A voice called out. "Fleetmaster Vadum requests to see you."

Pivoting, he wheeled around, his armor jingling slightly. "Send him in." He replied to his aide.

His aide saluted him before bowing out. In his place Imperial Fleetmaster Rtas'Vadum, Supreme Commander of the Union Armed Forces, took his place.

"Arbiter, Your Majesty." Vadum greeted his Commander in Chief with the formal titles granted by Thel's office.

Thel waved his hand in dismissance. "Funny, I explicitly remember ordering you to stop calling me that." He said seriously while closing the distance between them.

"You did. But where's the fun if I always obeyed that order." Rtas replied, parting his mandibles in a way that would have been the human equivalent of a grin.

Thel simply shook his head slightly, "What do you have for me old friend?"

Pulling himself up a little straighter, Rtas adopted a formal and serious stance. "Kig-Yar pirates are raiding our shipping lanes in the outer colonies, I have dispatched patrol groups to police these lanes. Shipmaster Tescam reports that the Jiralhanae on Doisac are still fighting amongst each other. He also mentioned that two Kig-Yar corvettes were destroyed trying to smuggle weapons in. I suspect pirates. And I just got off a transmission with Admiral Dare."

"The head of ONI? What were you doing talking to her?" Thel asked curiously.

"She contacted me to brief me on the latest intelligence reports coming from Citadel space. It does not look promising. The Council races are proceeding with massive rearmament programs. ONI estimates that if they continue for another 8 years at this pace, they will pose a significant threat to our security. Not to mention that the Council's diplomatic Corp has been making overtures to the Batarians, Quarians and the Krogan. I've ordered elements from the Fleet Eternal Repentance to return to Relay 314 as a show of our support for the humans."

"I see." Thel replied firmly, it seemed that once again, war loomed on the horizon. "There's something else?" He sensed from his top military commander.

Vadum shuffled and hesitated for a moment. "I cannot confirm what I am about to say. She hinted the ongoing operations of an ONI blackops team in Citadel Space, and if I am interpreting her message correctly, she is asking us to provide support."

"What about their own assets?"

"According to our intelligence sources within the Federation, politics is forcing President Nakamura to adopt a policy of isolation. No military operations in Citadel space, covert or otherwise. If this is true, then Admiral Dare is operating on her own here. Not even the UNSC can spare assets."

"I see. ONI has always been acting on its own accord anyway, that shouldn't be surprising. But why did the humans decide to leave an embassy in Citadel Space if all they intend to do is isolate themselves from them." He paused for a moment debating to himself internally as a flight of banshees buzzed the viewport behind him. "By the way, did we manage to confirm the result of that radiation signature we detected a while ago?" Thel asked inquisitively.

"Yes Arbiter. We can confirm that the radiation signature we detected in orbit several weeks ago belonged to a stealth vessel, and a large one at that." Vadum replied sternly.

"And you're sure it wasn't one of ours?"

"Definitely. None of our own stealth vessels were in orbit at the time, and we most certainly do not have a stealth vessel as large as the signature suggests." Rtas pointed out, making a slight reference to a former Super Carrier.

Thel nodded, so ONI did indeed have a new toy, probably trying to close the gap in stealth warships with the Union. It was the one place they still held an advantage. "Well either way, I can spare a few groups from the Household Guard to be apart of this non-existent, existent, endeavour." The Imperial Household Guard were the Arbiter's loyal bodyguards and the Union's greatest intelligence agency. It's members were deeply loyal to the Arbiter alone, and answered directly to him. "Do we have any ships available for the operation?"

"We have one available, the stealth destroyer Inquisitor. She returned to Sanghelios two days ago."

"See that it's done then my friend." Thel ordered.

"I shall carry out your orders Arbiter." Rtas saluted, before turning and walking out.

Quarian Vessel (QV) Neema, Quarian Heavy Cruiser

Deep Space en route to Migrant Fleet

The Neema and her small squadron of escorts sped through FTL as they covered the remaining distance till the Migrant Fleet. The Migrant Fleet's location was always on the move, moving from system to system while keeping its next location known only to the members of the Admiralty Board. To rendezvous with the Fleet, the flotilla had jumped through four Secondary Relays, and another three FTL jumps to throw off any pursuers. They had also deliberately avoided all Primary Relays and crowded shipping lanes, All this in the name of security, to preserve the location of the Migrant Fleet. The crew were confident they lost the last STG ship stalking them after the second FTL jump. The remaining jump was for good measure. Deep in the bowels of the Neema, arguments were being thrown around the small meeting room.

"This is an opportunity we cannot afford to pass up!" Admiral Koris exclaimed, his excited voice dominating the small room the Quarian Admiralty was using. He was clearly excited at the prospect of permanent settlement on a planet, and his point was valid. His civilians had spent generations aboard a nomadic fleet, permanent settlement seemed close enough to heaven.

"But what of Rannoch Zaal'Koris? You want to just abandon the home world to the Geth? The homeworld where our ancestors lived freely." Admiral Gerrel argued back.

"Han'Gerrel you and I both know the Geth are too strong. Think of the losses-"

"Are you suggesting that the Quarian people cannot defeat the Geth Zaal'Koris?" Admiral Xen finally said, she had even been silent nearly throughout the entire meeting with the Council.

Admiral Koris fell silent for a moment. "I'm not saying we can't. What I am saying is that retaking Rannoch will cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of our people. Is that a price we are willing to pay…"

His voice faded out as Shala'Raan started focusing on the future of her people. It was a tempting offer, permanent settlement for the Quarian people. A new system, new planets - almost as if her wishes for a clean slate had finally been granted. But as much as she didn't approve of Gerrel, he had a point, Rannoch was their home. To abandon it would be to abandon the dream that all Quarians held dear to them, almost as if cutting out a part of themselves. Yet it had been hundreds of years since they were chased out, counter-attacks had been attempted and all had failed. Was it finally time to abandon their home and start anew, was it worth the cost? Then there was the argument that was starting to emerge amongst the civilians, a popular revisionist view on the Morning War. The view that if the Geth AI had achieved sentience, surely they deserve the right to live like any other living being. What or who gave the Quarians the power to play god, to determine who should live and who should die.

"Shala'Raan'? Are you with us?" A voice called out to her. Shala'Raan broke her train of thought and looked up. Her fellow Admirals were staring at her, letting out a vibe of confusion and concern.

"Apologies Admirals, I was lost in thought. You were saying?" She asked curiously, a tiny bit of her feeling guilty for not listening in.

"Zaal'Koris here was explaining his view on how we could co-exist peacefully with the Geth. I was reminding him that the Geth have been killing us wherever they find us since the Morning War. What do you think though? Can we as a people exist with these monsters?" Gerrel reminded her. He had always taken a hardline against the Geth, he acknowledged that they created them, but was steadfast in his belief that Rannoch was rightfully theirs.

"If I'm honest Han'Gerrel, I'm not sure if we can. Most of our people still hold great amounts of animosity towards them and call for their destruction everyday. Others wish to move on and settle elsewhere. But living with the Geth? I really am not sure about that, its something that's rarely been considered. There is a strong movement within the civilian fleet to colonize a new world and start over but the military favors an offensive against the Geth. If we simply ignored their calls, we risk splitting our people." No one wanted to bring it up, but there were recent internal tensions within the Migrant fleet. The populace was split between reclaiming Rannoch, starting over elsewhere, and peacefully coexisting with the Geth. Protests on the liveships were held, with a few ending in violence. The worse case was when a liveships complement of Marines were called in to disperse crowds through - extreme methods even by Quarian standards. Regardless, it was no secret within Quarian Society that the Admiralty were placing their entire species on a war-footing.

"I think we can take the Geth on." Xen said aloud. Shala'Raan turned to face her . "My team and I have made significant inroads into Geth countermeasures, as well as new developments for us."

The mere mention of weaponry attracted the full attention of the commander of the Heavy Fleet. "What new developments have you made?" Admiral Gerrel asked, keen on upgrading his ships firepower even more than were designed to handle.

Admiral Xen opened her omni-tool, and sent over a file to her colleagues. "We've designed new capacitors that allow for a greater storage leading to a maximum of 3% increase in fire rate for our mass accelerators. The Guardian array targeting systems has been reworked, we added several hundred lines of codes and parameters that enable us to track fighters with more precision. Some small chemical and material tweaks to the raw ship building materials we extract will increase our ships armour by an average of 2%, of course this value varies on the ships class and date of commission. We are also currently field testing a new jamming device that prevents Geth units from communicating with each other, effectively cutting off their chain of command, if they have such a thing."

Shala'Raan was scrolling through the file, and while she did not hold Admiral Xen in the highest regard, the work that she had accomplished given her limited resources was impressive. Everything in the report seemed promising, but there was another item on it that caught her interest. "What about this project - Project Pallu'Kaziel, it says incomplete but its still in the report. What is it?"

Shala'Raan could feel Xen's tight grin concealed behind her visor. "Project Pallu'Kaziel is an experimental project that I am personally overseeing, it's currently in its final stages of troubleshooting - hence why it is labeled as incomplete. Once finished, it will change space warfare as we know it." She paused for a moment as she let the seriousness of her claim hang in the air. "Project Pallu'Kaziel is a device that will be able to simulate an artificial gravity well. Theoretically, the generated gravitational fields are strong enough to draw ships in towards itself, but it's nothing our engines cannot compensate for. But the field is strong enough to trigger an FTL drive's failsafe. The idea of this device will be to 'pull' ships from FTL or to prevent them from escaping through FTL."

The room was silent, if what Xen just said was true, it was ground-breaking. It would give the Migrant Fleet the ability to dictate the fields of engagements and put them into a superior tactical position they would never have been in before. "Daro, if what you say is true, this will give us an advantage never seen before. Are you absolutely sure about this project?" Admiral Koris questioned, somewhat skeptical about the realistic applications of the design.

"Zaal'Koris, I rarely joke about things in life. But I most certainly do not joke about my work. We've begun running field tests on the Moreh. The initial results prove promising. All galactic FTL drives, at least those we are aware off, have an automated fail-safe built into them that deactivates the drive when a gravity well is detected on the intended path of travel of the vessel. The same goes for when a vessel attempts to jump too close to a gravity well, the FTL drives refuse to allow the vessel to jump due to the presence of the gravity well."

Shala'Raan frowned, "Doesn't that mean that if the device is active, our ships cannot jump as well?" It was an obvious concern, the Migrant Fleet had to pick its fights carefully, and as such, running from fights they could not win was definitely common.

"Yes, alongside the sheer amount of power that the device requires, those are the only downsides we are aware off." Admiral Xen conceded, annoyed at the flaw that plagued her design. "But think of the tactical advantage we would have. No more surprise attacks from pirates or mercenaries. Every Geth ship we encounter can be prevented from retreating. Surely you must see that the benefits of Project Pallu'Kaziel outweighs the downsides."

The other members of the Admiralty Board simply nodded their heads in approval. It was certainly an advantage, and if the near future was going to go according to plan, they needed every advantage they could get.

"What about the Council's offer then? What do we do about that?" Admiral Koris asked the room, his voice giving off a defeated tone, almost as if he could foresee the reaction that was to come.

"I do not trust them. The Citadel has proven untrustworthy before and we have no way of confirming if their offer is even genuine." Admiral Gerrel answered.

"Yet the chance that it is genuine remains. Admirals I am sorry, but if there is a chance that my civilians can live on another world without losing anyone to Geth, I must seize the opportunity. I was hesitant enough to put weapons onto my ships, but I assumed that they would be used in defensive operations only. What you are suggesting is an offensive measure to retake Rannoch and take it from the Geth, which I remind you are considered sentient beings now. This is something I cannot agree to. For the sake of the civilian population, I beg you, do not attack Rannoch." Admiral Koris pleaded, almost sounding desperate.

Shala'Raan felt sorry for him, this was a man who truly cared for all those who served under his command. She wanted to agree with him and take up the Council's offer, but Han'Gerrel made a very good point. The Citadel had a history of backstabbing those it made deals with. She was left deep in thought while Admiral Xen went on about how the new technological advances would render the Geth war machine useless. By this point Koris was practically begging his colleagues not to carry out the attack on Rannoch, even threatening to take his civilian fleet and defect to the Council to save their lives. The response to that threat went as expected, Han'Gerrel nearly had him arrested for treason on the spot, Daro'Xen only managed to stop him that if they did that they would only guarantee the defection of the civilian fleet, guaranteeing the loss of the logistics train of the Migrant Fleet.

"Admirals," Shala'Raan finally said, "this is a decision we cannot make alone. We must convene the Conclave. This is a decision our people must make. But under no circumstances can we split, for if we are divided, we will fall to ruin."

That seemed to stop the argument, just as they felt the slightest shudder and change in momentum. Years of experience aboard vessels told them that they had just dropped from FTL.

"Admiral Han'Gerrel," A voice called out from hidden speakers in the room, "we have rendezvoused with the Fleet. Rejoining the Heavy Fleet formation. Admiral Daro'Xen, we have a priority message coming in for you."

As Admiral Xen acknowledged the message and moved away to read it, Admiral Gerrel replied. "Very well Captain, I'm on my way to the bridge." He looked to Shala'Raan, contemplating for a split second. "Captain, send the following notice to all ships, call for a meeting of the Conclave in three standard hours."

"Very well Admiral."

"Have the other Admirals shuttles prepared for departure-"

"We have a problem." Admiral Xen suddenly cut in, The Quarians Admirals turned to face her, Han'Gerrel somewhat annoyed at the interruption. "I sent one of our research ships to investigate reports of a Prothean structure at the fridges of the galaxy."

Zaal'Koris frown was hidden behind his visor. "So what's the problem?"

"We found the structure. But it's not Prothean. It's a structure of unknown origin."

Silence prevailed over room, even the humming of computers seemed to quieten down. Everything became still, with only a holographic map rotating slowly in the background.

"What do you mean it's not Prothean?" Shala'Raan finally caved to the suspense.

Office of Naval Intelligence

Clearance: Level 6 (ONI Senior Admiralty)

Department: Cerberus

Report Subject: Message to Captain Anderson regarding intercepted Citadel Council communique

Date Published: 14th February 2592

Captain,

This is top priority. Our source on the Citadel has been alerted to the existence of a structure of unknown origin on the fringes of the galaxy near Quarian controlled space (if you can really refer to it as that). It is not Prothean, it could possibly be Forerunner. In the event that it is the latter, secure the facility. If that can not be achieved, destroy it. Under no circumstances can the Council or the Quarians be granted access to a Forerunner site. We believe that the information originates from a Council placed source within the Quarian Migrant Fleet.

Also, all actions against the Quarian Migrant Fleet is to be put on hold unless if it contradicts the above. The Navy is using whatever influence they have in the Senate to push through a motion to open talks with Migrant Fleet. The chances of a Federation-Quarian alliance will be likely if this motion gets passed.

Stay Vigilant,

Admiral Dare