Citadel (AEU)

The Citadel is the beating heart of Galactic society, located at the nexus of several key mass relay networks, and within' short distance of almost all major races and governments. This has resulted in the Citadel over time becoming the capital of galactic politics, economics, society, and culture. As of the present time, the Citadel has been the center of the current Galactic civilization for over 2,500 years. ==Description ==

A supposed construct of the extinct Protheans, the massive citadel serves as the capital of the Citadel Council and de-facto center of Citadel space and most galactic civilization. The Citadel's gravity is simulated through rotation, and is a comfortable 1.02 standard G's on the Wards and a light 0.3 standard G's on the Presidium Ring.

Total Length (Open): 44.7 km Diameter (Open): 12.8 km Population: 13,204,511 million (this number does not take into account keepers)<br/.
 * Asari: 4,103,556
 * Turian: 3,368,912
 * Salarian: 2,506,514
 * Human: 2,291,356
 * Volus: 548,952
 * Elcor: 249,623
 * Hanar: 98,745
 * Drell: 21,994
 * Krogan: 14,859

Gross Weight: 7.11 billion metric tons

==History ==

Modern Discovery
The first race to discover the Citadel in the current galactic civilization were the asari, who found it in pristine condition, being taken care of by the keepers. Eighty years later, the salarians also came across the Citadel, forming the Citadel Council with the asari. Shortly after this, the volus joined the Citadel and become the first species to be granted an embassy. As other species were contacted or independently discovered the citadel, they too gained embassies, and came under the jurisdiction of the growing Citadel Council, now composed of the asari, salarians, and turians.

As the Citadel is strategically located at the junction of several key mass relays leading to various parts of the galaxy, the Citadel very quickly became a hub of activity and action. Due to its central location and importance, the Citadel become home to the Citadel Council, establishing its importance in the galactic community. There is little debate that it is the political, economic, cultural, and societal heart of Citadel space, the unofficial name given to the territory of all species that acknowledge the Council's power.

Even with thousands of years of occupation, the Citadel still holds many secrets. The exact age of the station is unknown, as is the extremely resilient material with which it is made from. The location of the Citadel's core, and its master control unit, which regulates systems such as life support and navigation, remains hidden. The most visible, and indeed, the most intriguing mystery of the Citadel is that of its caretakers: the keepers. The mute keepers maintain the vital systems of the Citadel, and can be observed working throughout the station. Even despite this, little to nothing is known about them.

Up until recently, the Citadel remained quite static. For over a thousand years, the same power structure and organization kept true: The asari, salarians, and turians sat on the Council, whilst the elcor, volus, hanar, batarians, and quarians maintained embassies. The quarians lost their embassy in 1897 CE as punishment for creating the geth, the humans gained an embassy in 2165 CE as a recognition of their rapidly expanding influence and power, and the batarians closed their's in 2171 CE as a protest at the Council's refusal to limit human expansion in the Skyllian Verge. Other species, such as the krogan and drell, dwelt on the station without even having open embassies.

This all changed when the humans were granted a seat on the Council in 2183 CE.

Layout
The Citadel is a massive space station, its shape very closely resembling a pentagram. The Citadel consists of a central ring about 7.2 kilometers in diameter, from which five arms protrude, each arm 43.6 km long and 330m thick. The Citadel is capable of closing in on itself via the convergence of its five arms, which transforms it into a long, impenetrable cylinder. However, the Citadel is only closed in times of great emergency, and the Citadel is almost always in its "open" appearance. The station's central ring and five arms are the home to the Presidium and the Wards, respectively. The station's spaceports are also located on the central ring, since it is the center of rotation, allowing easier access for ships that attempt to dock with the station.

Presidium
The Presidium is a massive, park-like complex that contains the offices of the various branches of galactic government, as well as the embassies of all the species represented on the Citadel. The Presidium is also home to shops, restaurants, and other recreational facilities, which serve the wealthy residents who live and work throughout the Presidium. The Presidium is monitored by a VI known as Avina, and the Presidium, unlike the Wards, incorporates an unofficial 20-hour day schedule: lights are dimmed, and the holographic sky is darkened for 6 of the 20 hours, which imitates the familiar day-night cycle of the homeworlds of the Citadel species.

Citadel Tower
The Citadel Tower, located at the center of the Presidium, houses the Council Chambers and the main traffic controlk for the Citadel. Any ship within' a few thousand kilometers comes under the jurisdiction of Citadel Control. The Council Chambers are not open to the public and access to them is only granted to officials and those who have special clearance. The Chambers are beautifully furnished, with numerous trees and fountains, and numerous staircases leading up to the central platform where the Council convenes.

Wards
The five "arms" of the Citadel, known as the Wards, constitute the residential and commercial sections of the Citadel station. Each of them is the most densely populated and heavily occupied part of the station, housing millions of residents from various galactic species each. The Wards can be compared to Earth cities like Hong Kong and Singapore. Numerous skyscrapers rise from the arms, sealed against the vacuum of space, since the breathable atmosphere is only maintained to a height of about 7 meters. Unlike the Presidium, however, there is no artificial day-night cycle; Due to this, commercial activity rarely if ever ceases, and the residents work, rest, and engage in leisure as their own needs see fit. The area has been called the "cultural heart of the Citadel and Citadel space." The Wards are policed by Citadel Security Services (or C-Sec), whose headquarters, offices, and custody suites are located in the lower wards. The five wards each corespond to an arm, and they are:


 * Zakera Ward: An arm of the Wards which is dominated by volus, elcor, and hanar. Home to various shops and residences influenced and occupied by the aforementioned three races. Population is 1,405,817.
 * Kithoi Ward: An arm which is mostly occupied by asari and salarians. The Kithoi Ward houses the Council Central Archives, amongst other things. It's population is 2,961,255.
 * Tayseri Ward: The Tayseri Ward is home to the Mueseum of Galactic Historyl, and the Citadel's main center for musical performances, the Dilinaga Concert Hall. The Tayseri Ward's population is 1,804,899.
 * Bachjret Ward: The Bachjret Ward is dominated by asari, salarians, and turians. Home to some of the more wealthy on the Citadel, the Bachjret Ward is sterotyped (fairly or not) by the residents of the other wards as being full of self-centered, rich citizens. The Bachjret Ward's population is 2,756,711.
 * Shalta Ward: The Shalta Ward is home to the majority of the Citadel's human population, as well as significant numbers of asari and turians. The Shalta Ward's population is 2,809,712.

==Military and Defenses ==

As should be expected from such a crucial and important galactic center, the Citadel can boast multiple layers of defense. The first layer is the Serpent Nebula itself: the nebula is composed in such a way that makes it difficult for attacking fleets to navigate it, preventing them from launching a concentrated attack.

One of the most important aspects of the Citadel's defense is their military force, the Citadel Fleet. The fleet is a massive task force consisting mostly of turian vessels, but also including significant contributions from other races. The Citadel Fleet, led by the imposing and intimidating asari dreadnaught Destiny Ascension, constantly patrols the space around the station. However, should any agressor ever manage to break through the Citadel's fleet, reinforcements from all over Citadel Space are only minutes away due to the network of mass relays lying nearby, thereby adding another layer of defense to the Citadel.

If an enemy ever gets close enough, the Citadel can close in on itself to form a long, armored cylinder which is 25 kilometers in length. The station's hull is so strong, that even when subjected to the most advanced bombardment by the most advanced weaponry, it can withstand several days of sustained bombardment before any serious damage is inflicted upon the station.

The Citadel also boasts its own internal security force, C-Sec. The 196,502 officers that make up C-Sec handle everything from customs, to hostage negotiations, to the armed defense of the Citadel. C-Sec also mans the turrets which would fire upon enemy dropships.