Marcus needed to warn these aliens about the chaos that his family can bring. It only got worse since the time of Britannia.
Scipio is the wild card of them all, but there is Claudia who could do similar stuff to his 2nd son.
"I see, we will watch closely and contact you in case something like that could happen."
Asari councillor was not stupid, as she could see potential diplomatic fallouts.
Scipio Anaheim attacks; the other side fights back, and, sure enough, Anaheim warships above Asari worlds.
That is a very strong possibility.
"Do so, we will do something similar on our side. We have three departments related to something like that."
Marcus recalled three of his wives who govern the departments of justice, intelligence, and A.S.P.
"...Regardless, let's continue on the matter at hand." Lacus decided that it was time to get back to the matter at hand.
Trade worlds! They derailed from that!
"Indeed. I just needed to warn them what could happen."
"I doubt you won't learn it first, husband. The Expeditionary Force is close to your heart. You pulled Scipio from the regular army to the Expeditionary Force after he began to look into talented Marine girls." Lacus rolled his eyes, making Marcus sigh.
"Yes, that is true, but warning our new friends is important." Marcus nodded at her before looking at the councillors that were listening to them closely.
"What she said is true; I will be there if anything goes out of control. However, I did learn about Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems. The situation there is different, isn't it?"
"It's wild space; there are colonies that exist there that are independent, petty rulers, and pirates. Your children can do as they please in those systems." Salarian Councillor said with a careless shrug, same with the other two.
The Emperor simply smirked at their response; that is something he likes to hear. They are basically giving him half of the galaxy.
But the Asari were different; they already saw how Salarians reacted. They have a love/hate relationship with Terminus and Attican Traverse systems. Their STG is constantly working there, yet most of the time their work is going to waste there.
From constant power struggles which lead to warlords' deaths, to infighting. All of those sometimes lead to STG members dying or wasting time as their targets die midway.
That is why they hate and love it. That leads to the current situation.
"I would be delighted if we could have joined colonial ventures." Asari Councillor Tevos tried not to just 'give away' half of the Galaxy to Marcus' Empire.
"Depends on circumstances, councillor. Our colonisation systems are a bit different; we have entire task forces for colonial efforts. It's not capital driven like yours. We take system by system and simply expand." Euphemia smiled as the Asari she knew where this was going; the Empire is not easily swindled. They want their terraforming technology, but it's not that easy to copy it.
"I see."
Regardless, they are already giving these guys a lot; if it were their initial empire, they would be getting conquered by this point. Britannian influence has waned considerably.
And so they returned to Trade and Trade worlds. Marcus even showed which solar system will be dedicated to this.
In Arcturus Stream, it's quite far away from Benning, over 500 light-years away and more than 1500 light-years away from Earth.
And around 200 light-years away from what is considered Core Imperial systems. It's more than enough of a gap in Arcturus Stream, though for Exodus Cluster and Petra Nebula they haven't decided yet.
As the talks continued, there was some action happening outside the Citadel.
~~~
Several ships entered the Citadel's main western Relay.
It was Turian in origin as the Turian Primarch Fedorian arrived with his small escort to meet the Emperor himself.
"By the spirits." His eyes bulged out as he saw an enormous ship outside the Citadel. It was some distance away, as the ship could influence the Citadel's rotation.
"Look at the size of that thing. How big of Mass Effect cores these even have? The amount of Helium-3 it could use is absurd." The turian next to Primarch said, baffled.
"They don't use Eezo-based technology; instead they have reactors that generate some sort of green and blue particles," Fedorian commented as he recalled from the reports he read not long ago.
"...That's…"
"Yes. They are a civilisation that developed differently from us, Asari or Salarian." The Primarch said with crossed arms. He then noticed something zooming around these massive warships.
"Zoom in on those ships; I can see something move there." The Ruler of Turians asked one of the crewmen.
"One moment." A couple of holographic button presses later, one of the screens zoomed closer.
"...Those are…"
"The ones mentioned in battles with Batarians."
"Yes. The Imperials shaped these robots to look like them in a moving armour, or like suits that allow the pilot to move like it's an extension of itself.
That alone, gentlemen, gives this empire an enormous advantage against any sort of fighter." Fedorian concluded.
'I need to acquire their expertise and develop one of those suits for ourselves.'
After doing a small flyby, the Turian ships entered the citadel and flew towards the Presidium: once docked, a Turian escort greeted them.
"How is the negotiation going?" The Primarch asked after receiving a salute from the members of the Turian Embassy.
"So far, we negotiated migration and borders; at the moment the council is working on solving trade. However, there is something more pressing, Primarch."
"Hmm? What could be more important?" The Turian Ruler asked with a frown.
"The Emperor invited you to his Flagship, the Avalon; he said that he wants to show you something very important, something that led to the extinction of the Protheans."
"..." Fedorian looked surprised for a moment when someone worded it like that.
Then it could be very serious. It's not simply a share of a finding, but something that could change everything.
"...Do we have any details?"
"Not at the moment."
"I see, then we should proceed towards the Tower." The group started walking towards where the meeting should be held.
Their gaze went to a large ship docked not far from them. It was a huge cruiser; those rarely dock in this specific area.
The crest and banner on it indicated that the ship was of Imperial background.
"Is this the smallest they could use?" One of the Primarch bodyguards commented; by this point, it looked like a showoff…
"Our ships are designed around Citadel. Theirs are not." Fedorian replied, making the guard shut up.
"Yes, sir."
"Let's move on; we don't have time to waste." Fedorian is well aware that he was not the only one who wants to meet the Emperor.
The Asari and Salarian representatives should be on the move as well.
Each and every single one of them must have plans for what they want. The basic treaties are there to establish the initial response to the newcomer superpower.
But each has their own desires. One could say that Empire's appearance caused initial cracks to appear in the Citadel Council's system.
Turians were the first to take Empire's side instead of Salarians, and now Primarch is here to make deals of his own to bypass Citadel's authority.
"Primarch… that's a surprise." A familiar voice to Fedorian spoke from the side.
The Primarch smiled a bit as he turned to the side and saw a silver turian with blue face markings.
"Castis Vakarian," Fedorian called the Turian by his full name. "So you decided to show yourself after all those years. I hope Citadel didn't make you rusty." The Primarch joked as the pair of them shook their hands.
The pair of Turians are old friends and served together in the military. All Turians serve in the army, and often they become friends when they are in the same squad or regiment.
This pair is no different. The only difference is that Castis went to work in C-Sec in the Citadel while Fedorian continued to stay in the military, rose through the ranks, and became the Primarch of the whole race.
"I try too, Fedorian. Are you here for the meeting with the Empire's people?" Castis asked, realising why his old friend was here.
"Yes, what do you think, Castis?" The Turian leader nodded before asking his old friend.
"...Can I be blunt with you?" The C-Sec Officer got quite serious all of a sudden.
"...You can."
"We are fucked, incredibly so. In fact, it's not even competition…" Castis shook his head as he looked at the supposed cruiser in the distance. Hell, it was not even a cruiser; it's one of their 'smaller' ships.
"That bad? You rarely speak like that." Fedorian was quite surprised to hear that.
"Yes, that's because it's so bad. These people are centuries more advanced than us. They are so ahead that it makes no sense. Considering that most of the advances were made by one person.
This Emperor is an inventor; we had our inventors, but they pale in comparison to what he achieved; he changed the course of the whole race. Now his people worship him, as if he were a god.
You won't be negotiating with a representative of the whole race, but with a man who has the entire race following him. His whims, his entire family's whims, are normal for the race to follow.
And that alone is bad for us who take cautious actions, as it could impact the whole race." Castis said what Fedorian was thinking.
But what he loves about these Imperials is their meritocracy; that is why he wants to establish close relationships with them as soon as possible.
"I was thinking the same thing, and we have much to learn from them." The Primarch said as the pair began walking towards the elevator leading to the Presidium.
"Tell me, Castis, how are you kids doing?" The ruler of Turians asked as he decided to shift the conversation's focus.
"Well, my son, Garrus, is finishing with his military service and will be joining me in C-Sec." Castis was proud of his son, though he swiftly began to mention his shortcomings, making the Primarch laugh.
The pair and the bodyguards took a lift to the Presidium levels; soon enough, the Ruler from Palaven noticed an array of unfamiliar soldiers standing in the corners like sentinels.
They were dressed in black armour of unknown material, wore cloaks, and wielded rifles of unknown design.
"Those are the Royal Guards, a branch of A.S.P."
"...A.S.P?"
"The exact wording is Anaheim Secret Police. These are the best followers of the Emperor. Those rifles… they shoot bursts of gravity; they can literally punch holes through warship hulls, and those tall big white ones are the Marines of Unicorn Corp. The symbol is the horn; it's some sort of sacred mythical animal from their homeworld." Castis explained whatever he learned from these guards who work as extra security.
"Marines, you said, these tall armours are similar to the mobile suits they used against the Batarians?" Fedorian tried to figure out how their tech works.
"I assume the technology is similar. Where we use vehicles, these people focus on mobile armours," the Turian from C-Sec said with a pondering tone. He wondered where these people diverged from the most common model of transportation.
Vehicles, armoured vehicles, are the norm among Salarians, Asari, and, of course, Turian; even Krogan use heavily armoured vehicles.
But mobile armour like this? Most likely influenced by the Emperor, who wanted mobile suits.
"Hmm, I will try to get their help in developing something like this." Fedorian patted his friend's shoulder as he moved towards the tower.
"Good luck, Primarch Fedorian, you are going to need it." Castis nodded slightly at his friend, who walked away.
"I will try my best."
~~~
"Your Majesty, Councillors, Primarch Fedorian has arrived." One of the assistants interrupted Marcus's conversation with the Turian Councillor. It was break time, so the Turian talked about the current state of the galaxy, like what the client state of Volus is all about and the Hanar with Drell, the stuff in Terminus System.
The Emperor was absorbing all of the information like a sponge.
"Oh, then I think we should take several days of a break and visit my Avalon; I do want to pay back for your hospitality." Marcus smiled as he looked at the Councillors, then at the assistant.
"It was nothing, Your Majesty." Asari councillor Tevos smiled a bit. It would seem getting favours from the Emperor is not the easiest thing.
"Still, I want to show my findings, and Primarch's arrival is the perfect time just for that." The Emperor reminded him of what he had on his flagship.
"Of course, let the Primarch enter." Turian Councillor nodded, then looked at the assistant.
Moments later, the Turian ruler walked around, seeing the familiar faces of the Councillors and the new ones.
'Those should be his wives…' Fedorian internally grimaced; he couldn't imagine having multiple mates. One is already enough for him, but several? That just invites headaches.
Though he recalled that Marcus is the only one in the whole empire who has this many women.
"Councillors." He nodded at the council members before walking deeper and slightly bowing to the Emperor, who was a bit surprised at the actions of the Primarch.
"I do not know the cultural norms of your people, Your Majesty, so you have to forgive me for not knowing how one should greet you."
"It's fine, Primarch, it's a learning experience for us as well." Marcus slightly smiled at Fedorian. He was satisfied with what he saw. The Turian passed the Emperor's 'vibe check'. His sixth sense can easily pick up the personalities of the people he is talking to.
This way he can easily get along with people who pass his 'vibe check'. It's quite a nice trick he developed over the years as his powers grew, merging with Geass into something akin to a blend of active and passive powers related to the conscious mind.
"Wonderful, then let me formally introduce myself, I am Primarch Fedorian."
"And I am Marcus Justinian Anaheim, the Emperor of the Empire of Sol. Though, we usually simply go as the Empire." Marcus shrugged. It was the Holy Byzantine Empire, then the Empire of Sol, or simply as Empire. But honestly calling himself 'Emperor of Empire' sounds weird.
"Regardless, I was just talking to Councillor Sparatus about the current state of affairs; I am catching up with the politics of the galaxy, but we can do that later on." Marcus motioned towards the Turian Councillor, who slightly nodded back.
Fedorian slightly smiled at the representative; the man was doing exactly what he had requested of him.
"I would like to show you something that we have acquired in Exodus Cluster and Kite's Nest. It's related to the whole galaxy's well-being; that is why I would like to share it with you so that you could decide for yourself."
"We appreciate that you desire to share something like this." Fedorian smoothly thanked him, as Marcus nodded at the Primarch.
"Good, then we can move to Avalon. It's time that I share some of my hospitality." The Emperor smiled as he looked at his wives.
"Why don't you move ahead and make preparations?"
"As you wish."
The pair of Empresses and his children started walking towards the doors.
"We shouldn't hurry; why don't we take a detour?" Marcus suggested as he saw his family leave.
"Of course. We can show more of the citadel." Tevos agreed; she wanted to show a bit more of the Citadel's history.
"Very well."
As the group started walking out of the meeting room, the Citadel species wanted to know more of what the Emperor had prepared for them. In fact, it has been burning in their minds!
"Can you share some of what you have learned about the Protheans?" Fedorian asked as he walked beside the Emperor.
"Well, think of it this way: why was the Asari the only spacefaring race when they found the Citadel? Protheans might have dominated the galaxy at their time. But what happened to ALL races, and why, for example, Asari, Turian, Salarians, Elcor, Hanar, Drell, Volus, were spared?
One would assume some sort of incident that wiped them clear. However, it makes no sense. If it were some sort of biohazard, the corpses, the bones, would remain.
Where we found our Prothean ruins, it was an observation post. It had no bodies, and the mass relay was dormant.
How was it with yours mass relays?"
When Marcus asked, they all looked at each other.
"We thought the same way for over a thousand years; we assume that they vanished."
"Leaving the galaxy as a clean slate in process, now isn't that convenient?" The Emperor smirked as he looked at them.
A chill passed through their bodies.
"Well, let me drop something that will surprise you." Marcus looked at the dormant miniature mass relay before him. As they just left the Citadel Tower.
"You see, Protheans found the Citadel just as you did, so did the relays. In fact, they are barely more advanced than you are at this moment."
"!!!"
"Indeed, I have a Prothean VI and a bit more; while their Beacons are fascinating, they are designed by copying their physiology." Marcus dropped a bombshell, making their brain stop for a second.
"Then who built the Citadel!?" Fedorian asked with growing worry.
"The Citadel is over a billion years old." They nearly slipped when the Emperor revealed the true age of the station they were on.
"!!!"
"...Then…"
None of this made sense! Protheans couldn't have lived that long!
Then who!?
"We would need to have some proof… what you are saying is—" The Salarian Councillor didn't easily accept any of this; he didn't want to. What they are talking about will rewrite the very history they know.
"That is why exactly I am telling you to come with me. I have over two kilometres of proof in my workshop; in fact, why don't you listen to the source, instead of a second-hand source like me." Marcus replied with an eyeroll.
"The source?"
"Precisely, on one of my new worlds called Eden Prime we uncovered extensive Prothean ruins. A cryo sleep bunker." Marcus dropped another bombshell.
"Does that mean!"
"Listen to the last living Prothean and his tale, and then decide for yourself what to do with the upcoming threat to the galaxy."
"!!!"
The group collectively gulped down as they continued to walk in silence, forgetting to give a 'tour' to the Emperor. In fact, it was a cruel way to waste time when he revealed all that!
But it was their own fault for asking so early.
~~~
For now, the Council species forgot about the supposed extinction event that Marcus was hinting at as they stared at the massive city that was spanning before them.
Those skyscrapers that were sticking out from the sealing and the artificial sun that was giving a sense of—
"That sun isn't fake; it's real, and it gives the sense that people who live here are back in Sol System," Marcus commented as he looked at the source of light.
"...a fully contained sun, of that size? How is it possible?" The Salarian Councillor, with their Eidetic memory, is well aware of what such technology could mean!
"Imperial Dyson Technology, one of the things that I am very good at." The Emperor smiled as he motioned to move forward.
"The Imperial City is my personal city; every single person here works towards what I want. Think of it as my private lab, workshop, testing facility, and everything else in one place, plus parks, farms, lakes, and so on.
Whenever I go, the ship goes as well. We have three more of these motherships, but they all have specific tasks for the Empire." Marcus explained as he got into a prepared limousine skycar.
"And people who live here just accept such a thing?"
"Indeed. These people are the 25th generation of the original ones; in fact, each time I terraform a world, over a million leave to colonise the new world which has been terraformed to Imperial Standards."
"...If that is true, it only takes your Empire a few months to years to change a barren rock into a habitable world?" Salarian Councillor realised how advanced their methods are.
"Indeed. We experimented extensively with two worlds next to our homeworld. Venus is now a tropical paradise, where women go to rear their children when they are born, and Mars is an engineering hotspot where orbital stations and colonies are designed and tested.
Think of it as a forge world." The Emperor explained as the councillors and the Primarch looked at the city and its sights.
They noticed that many people don't have the flashy hair colours the Emperor's wives have. They saw some yellow and gold but nothing as pink as they had.
'Most likely that is where this Prince Scipio inherited that nature of collecting mates. The Emperor himself did it before.' Salarian and Asari thought to themselves as they watched the people in the city streets.
Eventually, the limo stopped at the central building, more like a pillar rising to the city's ceiling.
"Follow me."
The group followed the Emperor as they entered the Central Palace. The Councillor and Primarch immediately noticed the cultural style of this civilisation. Paintings dot the corridors; most of them are different styles of mobile suits depicted in battlefields…
Apart from that, there are paintings of worlds with massive pillars and fleets in orbits.
'The theoretical elevator to space… now that I think about it. They have something called orbital elevators. Is that the reason why they can colonise space so fast?' Salarian pondered; midway he realised that they need a very, very light metal to do something like that, or insanely powerful anti-gravity generators.
After walking for a bit, they got into a lift that started taking them rapidly upwards.
Before long, they reached another corridor, then took a rapid shuttle to another location, where they arrived at a huge hall.
It was dark.
But the moment they stepped in, the lights turned on one by one, revealing a massive grey wreck floating in a blue field; it was suspended in the air like a trophy.
"...By the spirits! What is this thing!?" Fedorian looked speechless; it looked like some sort of aquatic creature, but fully metal! A sentient machine?
"..."
Sparatus simply stared with a wide mouth; the Asari and Salarian were out of words.
"What you are looking at is what we call the Reapers." A new voice said to them as they snapped out and looked at the newcomer; it was dressed in red armour and had four eyes.
"...You are… a Prothean! Incredible!" Salarian councillor finally snapped out and realised that Marcus was not joking; the Empire had one of these!
"Commander Javik, I am the avatar of Vengeance of my people, and what you are looking at is the cause of Prothean extinction; they are called the Reapers, and they wiped us, and every species before us. They harvest civilisations and make more of themselves." Javik explained to them as he stared at the Reaper! Oh, how much he wanted to destroy it! But it was already dead! And that is a pity!
"...Where do they come from?" Salarian asked, terrified and curious at once.
"No idea. By the time I was born, my people were already waging war for centuries, but I do know that the Citadel is the key.
The seat of power you call the Citadel is a massive Mass Relay that leads to dark space." Javik dropped the bombshell, making the council petrified.
"I-If that is true, we are at an enormous disadvantage!" Councillor Tevos began to think rapidly! She realised that if these enormous ships pour out of the Citadel, then they will be… crippled!
The Citadel is the heart of their Empire, the Central nerve!
"We lost the Citadel in the opening days of the war; moments later the Empire was cripple and all of the colonies went dark. It was planet for planet, system for system; we were systematically hunted down and refined to become more of these." Javik looked at the Reaper one more time before looking at 'young species'.
"W-What should we do? Commander Javik?" Tevos asked, hoping for a quick solution.
"Fight, and fight for survival; these machines will not listen to you, they don't pity you, to them you are nothing more than a material to be harvested. They have been doing this for millions of years." The Prothean pointed at the dead Reaper.
"Then we have a chance! No? We discovered their plot early!" Fedorian looked at Marcus, who was slightly smiling at them.
"I discovered their plot early, yes, I have been preparing for them for the past 211 years." The Emperor shrugged a bit; he was the one who did it; hell, he was born for this!
"I don't easily trust, and I am paranoid, and it has paid me back. I haven't fallen for their traps; I haven't developed their technology; you all have been following the path they have laid for you." He said to the Citadel species.
"...Then we require your assistance, Your Majesty." The Turian Ruler said with a hopeful tone.
"Don't expect me to hold your hand and share everything, Primarch." Marcus sighed. "I will assist, but it depends if you let me. For one, we need to figure out the Citadel and build a new capital for the council."
"...But that will be an enormous undertaking!" The Salarian councillor exclaimed in disbelief, then looked at the others.
"And where will it even be?" He looked at the Asari and two Turians.
"There are solar systems not far from the Citadel." The Emperor chipped in, one of them is even a basic garden world." Marcus summoned a map of the Serpent Nebula they were in.
"Here."
The Emperor pointed at a system around 400 light-years away.
"This system had a garden world."
"How did you…" The Salarian councillor was surprised and a bit concerned by how quickly these Imperials found a system like that.
"Building cities… a capital world… it won't be easy; will we finish it in time?" Fedorian asked with a worried tone.
By this point, they need to be united to face something like the reapers.
"I could help." Marcus sighed as he looked at them.
"I could rapidly build cities for you. But don't expect it to be for free."
"Of course! We wouldn't dare!" The Turian Primarch declared that he was already insanely grateful that the Emperor warned them!
The Empire of Sol could have easily hidden this fact, let them die off during the Reaper invasion, and focused on its own survival.
"We need to discuss this with our leaders…" Tevos couldn't just do anything by herself.
"I wasn't expecting you to do anything the moment we finish showing this." Marcus replied as he looked at Javik, then at his 'toy' Reaper before at them.
"There is something that you can use to convince your republics and Union." The Emperor fished out thumb drives.
"These have been adjusted for your computers. These thumb drives have data about reapers, the memory banks, and intel on what they are made of, what they are capable of, and their technology levels and specs.
You can use this to improve and base your technology on it. It should not be too hard, as most of the tech is based on their technologies, to a lesser level but still their technology." Marcus handed over thumb drives to the three council races.
The two councillors and the Primarch stared at the thumb drive as if it were the secrets to the universe given physical form!
"Many thanks, Your Majesty!" Fedorian immediately thanked him, but then he asked the burning question.
"I hope we can sign a treaty against the reapers." Turian Primarch asked with a hopeful tone.
"Nothing is off the table, Primarch; however, as I said before, I am a paranoid man. Show me progress, willingness to work together, then we might sign the treaty you desire." Marcus reminded them of his nature.
"Then we will prove it to you." The Primarch sharply nodded as he then looked at Asari and Salarian.
"We should send this data to our homelands."
"You can use comms aboard Avalon for your convenience. We can finish today; you all need a day to process what we have learned. I am going to share whatever we know about the Reapers, and Javik is willing to satiate your curiosity."
The Prothean Commander slightly nodded; while not his strongest suit, he is the last remaining Prothean and their voice in the Galaxy.
"Much appreciated, Your Majesty."
With that said, everyone looked at the dead Reaper one more time before leaving the room.
The sheer size of this thing. And if there are many more of them…
'We need bigger ships.' Fedorian thought to himself.
~~~
Once they left the massive hall where the dead Reaper lay, Marcus gave the council a temporary estate in the city: a sizable apartment overlooking the central park.
Not that there was time to appreciate the view.
"Primarch…" Councillor Sparatus looked nervous, actually close to panicking after what he saw. He didn't want to return to the Citadel!
"I know. We need to start to prepare the evacuation of the Citadel; we need to prepare a message."
"Precisely, but first we shall contact our worlds, then we can begin unified actions, inform the client states." Asari and the Salarian walked over to the Primarch.
"We would like you to vouch that we are not crazy, Primarch," Tevos said with a strained look; she doubts that her people will listen to her… and they doubt that Marcus will let them all look at his prized trophy.
Fedorian sighed; yes, that is the issue. Sentient machines harvesting life? They are the ones that ended Protheans; hard to believe… but with the data they have, the pictures of the Reaper, the data and memory banks of the Reaper could help…
"I will see what I can do, councillor; I have my own set of issues."
~~~
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