The Council Era (83 CE)/ The Dezban Massacre

1
Telia Millangada

Telia looked around at her colleagues in the room, and within herself. Her vote had been overridden by the two salarians, yet she knew she wasn't the sole participant that felt uncertain. At the least, Roraan must have felt some concern... Her mind returned to the task at hand. She stood and looked at them all. "You two are completely aware of why we are here. Our choices here will shape history, and even if our choice is later regretted, it cannot be rectified. Genocide is a permanent solution. Do we allow the dezba to flourish, or do we punish them for their crimes against the state? We three concurred that they must perish. Since Takavor's death, they have revolted. Over a thousand civilians and six thousand soldiers were killed in a cold-blooded attempt at retaliation. We must annihilate them." Everyone nodded. "We can have our men gun them down in the field, hunt their civilians on the citadel, and Axeares has a fleet waiting to bombard Coralus from space. Nothing will be left. We will wipe an entire culture from the galaxy. They will all be dead. We uplifted them. We tried to play god and we failed. And now we must eradicate them? I am in a state of shock. If the two of you can live with wiping out an entire race from the galaxy, then do so. But I will not have the blood of millions on my hands." Telia left the room. A comm channel with Axeares on it was left open; she was ready to destroy the dezba at a moment's notice.

Foxtrot12 02:24, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

2
Tikrog Kurvok

Kurvok shut off the comm link from the Council, and grinned. The dezba were to be properly punished after all. He couldn't be there himself to hear the order given, as he was on his way back to the Citadel from a short trip to Tuchanka to get another set of armor, this one silver. Tikrog opened a private link with Marr. "Marr, respond as soon as possible," he noted.

3
Tyrin Lieph

Tyrin looked across the room at Roraan; Telia had refused to give the Order herself. "Do I really have to be the one to give the Order for the genocide?" Roraan just sat quietly, no response. It appeared that he was praying. Tyrin scoffed at this; religion was the galaxy's greatest mystery to him. Tyrin stood up, walked over to the machine, and in a clear but emotionless tone, he stated, "Obliterate the planet, Admiral Axeares. Leave no trace of the planet Coralus, or it's people, the dezba." He then contacted the heads of the STG, several Asari commando leaders, and several generals in the BARD. "Leave no evidence that the savages ever existed. Let this universe forget that they ever tainted the soil of our planets, and the floors of our stations. Cleanse the Citadel, cleanse the universe. Let the Council's will be done."

Lovelyb0nes 03:11, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

4
Ambassador Kurvok

"No one will ever remember the Dezba if we take this conclusive step, this final and absolute solution. I may not know how to erase them from the Codex, but this will certainly be conclusive enough." The mass relay was in sight, and he would be at the Citadel in no time. "Technologically erasing them would be a good action, no?" No one ever responded when Kurvok mumbled these questions to himself. He was well aware that his mental fitness had been in decline for decades. These self-ramblings had occurred since his fitness was at its peak, around when he turned 700.

5
Halak Marr

Marr looked out at the presidium. From the embassy it was beautiful. Or it would be if Marr cared for such things. He looked at his computer. The plan was going exceptionally. He would start cryogenic freezing the subjects imminently, and hopefully have a large army soon enough. Ready to be unfrozen soon enough. Marr flicked on the news. "Hello everyone, I'm Solack Drev from Presidium News. More breaking news from the front on day six of the dezba crisis. We can now confirm several thousand deaths of soldiers in the Rachni Wars. All victims were asari and salarians, killed at dezba hands. This is hurting our war whilst protests continue to wage on against the dezba. I only hope that the council takes effort against these brutes." Marr flipped the channel to some elcor movie. "Closing Statement: Wake me when you need me." Marr flipped the channel again and turned off the TV. When he was contacted. he checked the ID, Kurvok. "This is Marr."

Foxtrot12 03:19, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

6
Tikrog Kurvok

Tikrog finally saw him.

"Aah! Marr. I have important news. As of now, the dezban world, Coralus, is being obliterated by an orbital bombardment. Elsewhere, all dezba will be eradicated by their teammates. This is gonna be a helluva fight!"

7
All across the universe, the order had been given to the leaders of the salarian military and STG, the asari commando tribes, and the various freelancers serving the Citadel. They were to execute every single dezba serving alongside them. C-Sec's RRTU was to hunt down and kill every dezban citizen on the Citadel. Coralus was being utterly obliterated at that very moment. On the fields of Ragnora, the soldiers were given their orders. They turned to their dezban comrades, and opened fire. On the Citadel, apartments were infiltrated and their occupants were killed. In a matter of a few days, it was all said and done. The Dezban Massacre was complete. An entire species was erased from the universe, on what had practically been a whim. It had been pure genocide, nothing more, nothing less. The Council's will was done.

8
Telia looked out at the celebrating Presidium. She was saddened by the fact that millions if not billions had just died, and yet this was how people reacted, they celebrated and drank over genocide. Over half of her life in the commandos hadn't taught her to take life, but to treasure it, and see every last living thing and every day it lives as a gift. For the next day, that life might be gone and just create another hole in reality that will never be filled due to the absence of life. Tyrin walked into the room. "You gave the order," she said coldly. Tyrin nodded. "So this is what we will tell our children and our grandchildren? That we killed millions and wiped out an entire species that we uplifted for the purpose of war slaves? That we are murderers who tried to play god with a species, failed, and killed them all? I can't believe it."

"Tyrin, I want you to know that I am done with war. I am done with murder. I am done with genocide. It's wrong no matter what justification. I ask that when you reach judgement that the goddess will see you have realized your sins and have repented. Otherwise you deserve punishment. As for me I can't go on and keep doing this. What's next, the destruction of the manaba, or the krogan?" She was screaming now, tears ran down her cheeks. She started to calm down. "No, not for me. Not for me. Goodbye Tyrin. You're a good man. I just think you're unsure what you are doing. Lead us out of this war when I'm gone. Lead us to peace as a councilor until the asari are able to find a new one, and lead yourself to repentance. We set out to kill savages, but we became savages ourselves. Goodbye Tyrin, and please, find peace." She uttered these final words as she pulled the pistol from her robe and pressed the barrel against her head. She closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger. Her body was sent through the glass and out the window. She felt like she was flying.

Foxtrot12 04:54, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

9
Tyrin Lieph Tyrin had realized what she was going to do as soon as she had began her speech. He could have intervened, disarmed her before she took out her gun. But why would he have done that? She had expressly approved of him as her replacement until a new asari Councilor was chosen. He had recorded her entire speech so he could replay those exact words when the other races would inevitably challenge having two salarians on the Council. He had been aware of her excessive despair, that may lead to an attempt on her own life, since she had questioned their actions in the hospital. He had no objections to her taking her own life.

The nearly seven decades of his life had shown him, above all else, how to sense a mental breakdown. The prospect of becoming a Councilor had immediately dominated his thoughts as soon as her breakdown had dawned on him. He did mourn for the woman, however. He felt that she was a valuable, honorable person. She simply couldn't handle everything when push came to shove, though. She turned out not to be able to make the tough decisions. She had chosen a higher moral ground, and he respected that, but he knew that his actions were necessary, questionable yes, but not regretted in the least.

He had honestly beforehand expected Roraan to be the one who would not be able to live with himself. At least then Tyrin wouldn't be caught in the position of filling an asari's seat when there already was a salarian Councilor. Some say that it is harder to live with the choices you make than to actually make them. He wondered if that would be how he would feel decades from now, perhaps nearly a century from now. As he had finally realized that the Lieph bloodline's curse was not of fate, but of genetics, of age. The only reason this defect had never been discovered before was due to every single one of his predecessors dying young. And this defect was still affecting him; his metabolism was slowing even further still. It was possible that he would live for over 150 years. He wondered if he could endure life for that long...

Lovelyb0nes 05:46, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

10
Kurvok arrived at the Citadel, on a ward that was once full of dezba. It was surprisingly silent. Salarians mopped up their stores, elcor businessmen sat, watching their stocks fade away, asari walked silently, passing through to somewhere else. Krogans also did this, and other species just... weren't there. The dezba were completely gone. The order had been enacted. Kurvok opened a door, and got in an elevator to the presidium with an elcor. Kurvok looked at him, and questioned him. "Where is everybody?"

The Elcor looked at him. "Humorous tone- They have all died."

Kurvok facepalmed. "No, really!?"

The elcor looked at him again. "Happy tone- They are all celebrating in the Presidium."

The elevator landed on Kurvok's floor. "I'll go to the Presidium, with you," Kurvok said.

The elcor just stood there. The floor eventually landed on the presidium, and there was celebration, and happiness. There was not a single dezba anywhere. Kurvok smiled, and exclaimed, "Let's party!"

11
Halak Marr

Marr watched the elcor movie with great boredom when he paid for a movie channel he didn't know it was all elcor he listened in. "Bold Exclaimation: Madness... This is Ambria!" Marr had enough.

He turned the channel to Presidium News to see Drev on his show, The Drev Report. Drev started talking in a sorrowful voice. "Hello everybody and welcome to the Drev Report on Presidium News. Great tragedy and controversy struck the Citadel today as beloved Councilor Telia Millangada has commited suicide this afternoon in the Presidium Tower, experiencing what officials label as a mental breakdown. Her death left Tyrin Lieph, the council advisor whose son was horribly mutlitated by dezban chieftan Takavor Derishama, with temporary control of the asari's council seat. This has drawn controversy from the asari, but holds as it is heard in a final emotional speech. Another part of her speech in the tape has caused much controversy, leading the manaba and krogans to believe and I think rightfully so, that the council is planning to destroy them. Despite this, officials proclaim that Telia was mentally unstable and such reports are untrue. For more on the story, we turn to therapist and mental expert Selena Fresela."

Marr changed the channel. He went to the extranet and listened to the tape on the website. The council was planning the destruction of his people. "Son of a Cunt," he muttered and went to find Kurvok.

Foxtrot12 06:32, August 15, 2010 (UTC)

12
Tyrin could not believe that he hadn't remembered to edit the tape of Telia's suicide. Now the manaba and krogan were convinced that the council was scheming to destroy them. He had been a Councilor for six fucking hours and all he had been able to do was hold a press conference to assure the public that Telia's declaration about the destruction of the manaba and krogan was merely her comparing the two races to the dezba, as she had seen all three races as nuisances. What she said had nothing to do with the Council's near-future plans. After several televised interviews, Tyrin was finally allowed to go home. He and Roraan were to have an early meeting the next day to discuss their further actions concerning the the manaba, the krogan, and Telia's suicide. He was utterly exhausted, but still thrilled at the opportunity he had been given. To be put into this seat of power... The feeling was invigorating. Tyrin suddenly realized that Roraan may have to postpone the manaban emperor's assassination so that the tape of Telia's suicide could blow over. No, they shouldn't even bother with the Emperor any longer. It was obvious what they had to do. In the wake of this political shitstorm, he and Roraan needed to silence the Manaba for good, to put them in their place. They had to take the manaban faith and disintegrate it, leaving nothing but a fearful race that was ready and willing to be under the Council's thumb. Tyrin knew he would always rather be feared then loved. He contacted Adaria, stating "Adaria, I need to ask a favor of you. Go to the rachni planet of Ragnora, take your entire team with you, and await my orders." Adaria was an old friend of his that he had met during his years as a refugee, traveling between various colonies that were willing to shelter AWOL soldiers. She was an asari freelance mercenary with an elite ten-member team of highly skilled soldiers. They were the perfect choice for destroying the Tomb of the Virtuous, and the collapse of the manaban faith. He looked forward to hearing back from her.

Lovelyb0nes 14:45, August 15, 2010 (UTC)

13
(Note: passages 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10 on 'Ragnora:The Siege of Krulus Mor' are set between 12 and 13 on this page. It is recommended to read them first.)

It was a glorious day for the universe. Tyrin had brought himself to a position of power, and with a few words, brought one race to extinction and destroyed the religion of another. He was not a "sinister" being by nature; no, not even in the slightest of respects. Of course, if one tends to look at the world in extreme black and white, he would seem "evil." But the fact of the matter was that the universe is all about shades of gray. Tyrin certainly knew that; his experiences among various species demonstrated that not only is the universe in grays, but also that not a single species was unaffected by this. Every race is populated solely by beings who cannot be defined as simply good and evil, black or white.

In this matter, it was all about perceptions. Of course, not everyone would be able to see the justification, the necessity for his actions. But there were certainly people who did. He and Adaria were not alone, after all. The dezba needed to be punished, they had shown that they were savages undeserving of being a part of the universe time and time again, and the Council needed an example to present to the scheming krogans to show them what happens to species who dare uprise. And the manaban people's extremism was a major threat to the sanctity of the alliance between all Citadel species.

He did not care if he was impeached the next day by fools who couldn't see past the cultural genocide aspect. Tyrin had made his impact on the universe. He had done what was necessary to further the the salvation of the universe. Would he regret his actions centuries from now? Would he regret being a catalyst for one and possibly two extinctions? Perhaps, but those days were far away into the future. He had to focus on the present, to lead all of the races alongside Roraan toward peace, toward the end of the Rachni War. Regret was neither a priority nor a consideration in the least.

Lovelyb0nes 04:26, August 21, 2010 (UTC)

14
Ka'so Hensa

''"What are they thinking. This will plunge us into war." ''

Ambassador Hensa sprinted though the narrow streets, weaving in between passerby to prevent the loss of precious time. The Emperor needed to be alert of the crimes that were to be committed against his kind. Hensa was absolutely disgusted by the crimes of this Lieph. He and the Emperor were not shining role models of morality by any extent; they, above all, propelled their own agendas. And the Emperor could be rather overbearing about his people's faith. But the two of them were above such savagery. Hensa knew that he could not in good faith condone Lieph's actions. But the Council had sanctioned him. Some in the public were celebrating the slaughter of an entire race. Hensa needed to pull the scattered thoughts within his mind together, for the sake of having the proper tone in the presence of the Emperor.

. ..

Emperor Derimakshan stood in the center of the ornately gilded throne room, lost in thought. His usually precisely folded robes were in disarray as he paced back and forth, lost in confusing thoughts and plans. It seemed unusually hot in the palace, even for the ripe heat of the Citadel. He wished there was somewhere he could collect his thoughts for a moment.

"My lord, the batarian Ambassador, Ka'so Hensa, is here. He says that he has urgent news for you," said a young messenger boy, interrupting his thoughts with a curt bow. "Should the guards let him in now?"

"Send him in," Derimakshan said, trying to regain his usual composure. It had been only twenty minutes since he had received Ka'so's message, but it felt like a lifetime. Looking around the room helplessly, he finally rooted himself in front of the throne in an attempt to appear regal.

The doors burst open on the other side of the chamber. Ambassador Hensa walked in with a commanding stride, olive green skin glinting with sweat. The sleeves of his ceremonial robes had been rolled up, revealing his heavily-muscled forearms. Slight creases ran across his forehead, and his expression was serious, but it was easy to see that the Batarian had not altered a bit since they had last met.

There was a long silence as Ka'so approached the seat of the throne, bowing deeply onto his knee. Familiar green eyes looked up at Derimakshan, regarding him with a newfound depth that he found unsettling.

"Ambassador Hensa," he began in a regal voice, "This is most unexpected. I had thought that you had departed to deal with personal matters on Khar'shan." More to the point, he asked, "You have something important to tell me?"

Ka'so smiled grimly. "Yes I do, your majesty."

"What is it, that is so important that it would make you cancel your triumphant return to Khar'shan?" he said, foreign accents undulating through the words.

"The Citadel Council has dispatched soldiers on Ragnora to destroy the manaban holy places on that world," Ka'so replied quickly.

"What? They wouldn't dare."

"You are incorrect. I must be frank. I fear that the Council means to destroy you and the krogan. A great destruction lies on the horizon. I must now leave, though. You know what must be done, and if worst comes to worst, my soldiers will step in as well. The Council has become too ambitious." Ka'so turned, and departed from Derimakshan's presence.

Sighing to himself, Derimakshan opened a heavily encrypted communications channel to his generals, "Deploy the Third Legion to protect the holy places on Ragnora. They have orders to shoot to kill anyone that attacks it. Send assassins to take care of that upstart salarian, Lieph. I want him dead before sunrise. I also want two additional legions to guard our compounds, palaces, and embassies here on the Citadel."

"Sir, we've just received reports that the holy places were destroyed by the Rachni. However, our analysis indicates that it was Citadel technology that leveled the temples."

"Damn it! Deploy the Legions, wipe out the Citadel forces on Ragnora, and bring Lieph's head to me on a platter. Contact the Batarian Hegemony, and inform them of our plight."

15
One would expect at least one of the leaders of two separate races to consider the possibility of their opposition planting informants or listening devices within their ranks. He found their lack of foresight disturbing, within his own logic-is-supreme thought process. Ten years in the STG had taught Tyrin many things. For one, the skills of a master infiltrator. For another, always expect your foes to attempt to listen in. Every single day, he swept his home for bugs, and had always ensured that no one was close enough to him to leak vital information. Even his devoted Soldiers of Salvation were kept in the dark on many of his machinations. And yet neither of his foes were aware of the turncoats within their ranks. So when the manaban emperor called for his head on a platter, Tyrin had been prepared.

He took refuge in his underground bunker on Emalrus. The Manaban Legions were surely searching his home on the Presidium and the Council Chambers. He was safe and secure, although he was also armed. His STG years had taught him to stand and fight if need be, not be a coward and surrender. If the Legions did find him, he was certain that he could handle them. He had warned Adaria and her sisters that they should take refuge as well.

This bunker was the perfect haven for Tyrin while he hid from the enraged manabans. It contained the lab where, merely weeks ago, he had determined the origins of his unnatural age length. It was also where, several months previously, he had begun the development of his "War Virus". The krogans thought that they could begin an uprising with their army of 500 hundred-thousand, but soon enough, he would be able to demolish that army swiftly and utterly. With this Krogan Resistance Movement his new ally had founded, Tyrin knew that a full dosage of the virus to Tuchanka was unnecessary.

When the ruckus had tired down in a few days time, Tyrin would confirm that his intentions were not war with the manaba, through a public announcement. Whatever their foolish tyrant thought, surely the manaban race would recognize his good meanings and accept their place in the universe? No... That was a delusional prospect. Tyrin chose to play the recording of the manaban emperor's call for his death once more. "An upstart, am I? That pretentious fool thinks I am the upstart? Hypocrite..." His mind returned to the task at hand. He knew that the batarians would have to be discouraged from aiding the manabans.

Perhaps if the batarian ambassador was offered a seat on the Council? He would have to discuss that with Roraan. If that idea failed, he could easily organize an isolated incident involving the ambassador's "accidental" death. Perhaps he could use the fellow Roraan had hired to deal with the Manaban Emperor. He seemed competent enough for the job. Tyrin's thoughts turned to developing the Virus. He could further develop his political plans the next day.

Lovelyb0nes 19:25, August 21, 2010 (UTC)

16
Emperor Derimakshan

"On your feet." Iletos sighed, pulling himself to his feet as two manaba restrained him and the doors to the cell opened to reveal Emperor Derimakshan himself. The Manaban Emperor sneered from across the room at Tyin Lieph's chief of security. Iletos sighed, shaking his head in mockery towards the Manaban Emperor.

"It's about time. Making an important guest wait for an hour is considered very rude in some cultures." Iletos smirked as the Manaban Emperor trembled with anger. Derimakshan pulled Iletos to his feet, taking his left arm and pulling it to the cell door, slamming the door on Iletos' arm, shattering the bones. Iletos winced, but only grunted as he was struck in the face by the Emperor.

"What a disgrace. You are a protector of the galaxy?" Derimakshan kicked Iletos as his body dropped from the blow, backhanding him across his temple with his armored gauntlets. Iletos felt spots swimming in his vision as a sharp pain entered his chest. Looking down through blood-filled eyes, Iletos saw Derimakshan digging his hand into his solar plexus as he repeatedly dealt blows to his stomach. Derimakshan finally stopped as his prisoner spurted blood against his golden armor. Dropping Iletos to the floor, Derimakshan delivered one last kick to his side before speaking.

"Iletos Nariva, you are found guilty of aiding and abetting a mass murderer and criminal." Iletos coughed as he fought to regain control of his body's spasms of pain. Derimakshan sneered and brought his metal boot onto Iletos' shattered arm, twisting his heel back and forth as Iletos fought to keep from cyring out in pain.

"You still remain silent? Perhaps you are still of use to us." Derimakshan lifted his bloody boot from Iletos' arm and motioned to his guards to hold Iletos. How the binds had left his hand, Iletos did not know as he looked down to his shattered arms.

A blinding pain shot through Iletos as his vision sparked white for a moment. Only the iron grasp of the two Manaban guards kept him from falling on his face as he heard the crack of the whip.

Iletos cursed as the whip hissed through the air and connected once more with his back. The whip slid slowly, the spikes encasing it eating through his flesh. Iletos coughed violently and was suddenly aware of a small voice. "Stop it!"

Iletos managed to turn his head to see his daughter weeping, restrained in the arms of the Batarian ambassador Ka'so Hensa. Derimakshan sneered at the girl.

"What's the matter brat? You should know by now that only weaklings allow themselves to be tortured." The girl's eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at Iletos. "Hold her," Derimakshan ordered as a guard grabbed the girl's shoulders and brought her to kneel in front of Iletos. "Watch and learn, child," Derimakshan spat as he pulled the whip back to strike her. Iletos threw his weight to the side with strength he did know he possessed and blocked the whip, crying out as it wrapped around his arm and tore at his flesh.

"Leave her out of this!"

Derimakshan tilted his head and spat on Iletos. Derimakshan turned his body around to face Iletos and spoke in a snarl. "I will rape and then kill her if you do not tell me where Lieph is."

"Ok... I'll tell you. He's at Research Lab Valley-44, a short distance from Port Hanshan on Noveria."

Derimakshan nodded, and turning around to his guards, commanded, "Dispose of him, and then bring the girl to my chambers."

Iletos screamed. "You bastard. You promised."

Derimakshan turned and looked at Iletos. "Criminals are not worthy of my promises." Several minutes later, two screams emitted from the Manaban Emperor's palace, one from the dungeons, and one from the Emperor's quarters, before they were suddenly snuffed out, one by a bullet shot and one by a hand.

17
They had captured Iletos and tortured him in the hopes of discovering his location. Tyrin could not believe what a foolish mistake the Manaban Emperor had made. Actually, this should have come to no surprise. The man was an idiotic extremist. Tyrin had known Iletos would never reveal his friend's location, not even for his daughter. And that was not just because he had been misinformed of where Tyrin's bunker was.

Tyrin trusted Iletos with his life, utterly. But he knew that if they brought his daughter into it, he would forfeit. Tyrin understood this, he did not judge Iletos for his unconditional love for his child, although Tyrin himself was unsure whether he, in the same situation, would yield or not. So much was at stake... But, as he was aware of Iletos not being able to withstand the strain, he could not give his true location to his friend. They both knew that Tyrin would need a scapegoat if a conflict such as this arise, so they named Iletos his head of security. Of course, this was just a public name, it had no substance. Tyrin handled his own security.

Iletos had been an old friend. They had served together in the STG, and when Tyrin went AWOL, Iletos had given him asylum in his home in a volus colony. Tyrin trusted the man with his life. But he had to give him a false location, for security's sake. He had been sure that the emperor would have Iletos executed, if he had not already. Tyrin yearned for witnessing the bastard's body spread out, cold and lifeless.

Tyrin mourned for his dear friend. He anticipated the day Emperor Derimakshan was as dead as poor Iletos was. Tyrin went back to his work on the WV. The day of final development stages was drawing ever closer. It would take merely a few weeks more if he actually had a staff, but nobody could know of his plans. And so it would be a month or two, although with the constant distraction of political matters, the development may extend further still.

Lovelyb0nes 01:14, August 22, 2010 (UTC)

18
Halak Marr

Marr looked at the holographic display unfold as Iletos was killed. He grunted, "The zealot may be a crazy bastard, but he's a smart one too. Pretty girl though." He turned to look at the Presidium; his plan with the dezba had been going well and now he had another advantage... Blackmail. The emperor must have realized that if word of this ever reached the airwaves, then the entire galaxy would erupt into a civil war state. Both Lieph and Derimakshan knew that. And with this knowledge, and the evidence being recorded, he just gained a major weapon for the krogan. He would force the manaba to invade a peaceful colony in return for his discretion, igniting the sparks of aggression between their people and the Citadel. This would force the Council's hand to rely even more so on the krogans, with their faith in the manaba shattered. And if the emperor disagreed to his proposal, then the scene would be broadcast on Citadel News, revealing everything and making both Lieph and Derimakshan fugitives. He emailed his plan to Kurvok, suddenly feeling wary of bugs, and then sent the email to one of his men, who would give the proposal. This would be perfect.

Foxtrot12 01:38, August 22, 2010 (UTC)

19
Tikrog Kurvok

Kurvok awoke, a money transfer pad on his desk. The asari he had "courted" was nowhere to be found. He sighed, and saw the charged amount, along with the message saying, "You don't pay, I say."

Kurvok transferred the money, and then saw something on his holo-pad. It was a message. He sat up from bed, looked down, and quickly put some pants on. Then he turned, and opened the message.

FROM: MARR

''Kurvok, I have a proposal. Here is an attached video of Tyrin Lieph's "head of security" being tortured and killed. DO NOT GIVE THIS TO ANYONE. If word ever gets out, that Derimak-whatever is damn fucked. We can start a war if this gets out, using blackmail. We'll force them to invade a salarian forest colony, and if they don't, we release the video, and start a war. Lieph and Derimakshan would both be screwed. Thoughts?''

Kurvok replied, saying he would meet Marr in the Presidium, and they would further discuss in a rented room. Kurvok closed the window, and rented a small room in the Presidium, monthly rates 1000 cR.

Kurvok put his armor on, and discovered something behind the shelf where he placed his helmet. A bug. Not an insect, but, a listening device. He grabbed it, and crushed it, bringing the remains to the Presidium.

20
Narra Locith

Omega was about as pleasant as Narra figured it would be from the entries pertaining to it in the official Galactic Codex, and its near-horror-story explanation of the station. Aside from the stagnant smell of barely recycled air from ancient and likely-unsafe filters, the overall atmosphere of the station would have given the dankest corners of the underground bunkers of Tuchanka a run for their credits. As he moved through the scattered crowds of various aliens, the decay of the ancient mining colony grew more and more apparent.

Despite the advanced technology of nearly every known race in the galaxy having been used in the station's construction, centuries of decay had taken its toll and more than one of the towering buildings was covered in decades worth of grime and dust. The massive Mass Effect Core that powered the station barely kept the structure together with its Mass Effect Field that also served the purpose of keeping the other mineral-laden asteroids within the field at bay.

Narra let out a heavy breath, a pulsing and painful pressure building up in his mind as he used his STG training to keep himself from being noticed. Narra turned, and weaved through the sentient beings milling about the docking port and passed through the ancient, but well-maintained doors leading to Omega's main commercial district. Narra proceeded through the doors, and slipped past a massive manaba unnoticed and moved up to the counter of a salarian. The two spoke briefly, and Narra sacrificed anonymity to get the salarian to tell him where the Councilor was.

After talking with the undercover STG agent for a few moments, Narra proceeded through a set of doors adjacent to the commercial district's main plaza. Dodging various aliens and salarians as he proceeded into the housing section of the station, Narra scowled at the duffle bag he was carrying. The weight wasn't too great, but it was still damned inconvenient lugging the pack while trying to dodge pedestrians and pickpockets.

By the time Narra reached the cheap apartment in the dark slums that the STG agent had told him about, Narra opened the door, and came face to face with one of the most hated salarians in the galaxy, Tyrin Leiph, the temporary Councilor who had requested his services.

"What are your orders, my lord?" Narra asked the Councilor, who in his opinion was a hero for wiping out the monstrous dezba, and putting the heretical manaban religion to an end.

21
Tyrin Lieph Note on the timeline of the RP: the events that occur in this post occur both before and after the events of Posts 18, 19, and 20. They will be marked as such.

Almost immediately after 17, preceding 18, 19, and 20 by at least one or two days-

All Tyrin had to do was wait. Once his bug picked up the voices of both the emperor and the batarian, he could activate the electric device Iletos was carrying on him. He was grateful that his friend was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the universe. Eventually the two would enter the room, and a lethal dosage of volts would surge through the bodies of the zealot and his lackey; two neurological systems would be fried, and the universe would be done a favor. Tyrin had arranged a meeting with Roraan's assassin for a special assignment. Apparently, the man had a great deal of respect for him. He would make a valuable ally.

. . ..

The guard stepped out of the way for the ambassador, and then paced through the doorway, exiting the torture chamber. He turned around to give a respectful greeting to the emperor...and suddenly, the corpse of their prisoner erupted in powerful bolts of electricity. The volts channeled through the bodies of the emperor, and the ambassador. They were no more, their bodies instantly collapsed. They were likely amplified by their armor. The guard checked their bodies. Their nerves had been completely ravaged; Emperor Derimakshan and Ambassador Ka'so were dead.

This was most definitely the work of that salarian, Tyrin Lieph. He clearly was determined, and did not care who was enraged by his actions. When the guard thought about it, every obstacle that had been put in Lieph's past had been dissolved. The asari Councilor killed herself, so that he could take the position. The dezba had been massacred, his people's Tomb had been destroyed, and now the Emperor and his new ally were dead. The guard felt that the last thing he wished to do was be caught in his path, and taken by the wrath of Tyrin Lieph. He wondered if it was easier to save himself from such a fate...after all, had he not walked out in those crucial last moments, he would have been a victim as well. The guard chose his fate. He turned his gun on himself, and pulled the trigger.

Immediately following 20 -

"My lord? Please... You are an ally of mine now, Narra. We are equals; neither is above the other. As for my orders...well, as I'm sure you know, your services regarding the Tomb are no longer required. However, you're also no longer needed to deal with the Emperor and his lackey. I have killed them both; I knew there was no chance for the batarian when he aided in the torture of my friend Iletos. This meeting is, above all, for our initial alliance. You are now my comrade, my personal assassin, and my right hand of justice. It will be you who pulls the trigger; I will tell you whom to kill."

"However, I do have my first mission for you. I have dealt with the symbols of the manaban faith, and their leader. But the major religious figureheads could take over for him. I need all of the High Priests of the manaban people killed. I want to completely destroy their extremist faith. I have tolerance for religion, but extremism in itself will not be tolerated. Their religion is a threat to the universe's salvation. I am certain you are up to this task, Narra."

Lovelyb0nes 04:42, August 22, 2010 (UTC)

22
N'shan

N'shan waited for the salarian to come back out. He had just received the news of Emperor Derimakshan's death, and was determined to avenge it. Peering around the corner of a nearby building, Nshan caught sight of the Salarian STG agent. Nshan creeped up behind him, and surprising him, covered his mouth, and dragged him in to a nearby alleyway where he snapped his feeble neck.

Wiping his hands off, N'shan emerged from the alleyway, and proceeded to the door that the Salarian had emerged from. Signaling to his squad to follow him, N'shan quietly eliminated the door guard, and entered the "secret" labs of Tyrin Leiph. The first hallways they passed through were empty, no stood in or in rooms off them. They continued to march farther into the warehouse, which continued to seem abandoned. Obviously, Leiph had not believed that anyone would find him here. All of a sudden, they came upon a salarian patrol. One of Nshan's squad fell immediately, due to the fact that salarians, even when surprised, had amazingly quick reflexes, but Nshan and the other nineteen opened fire and unleashed a barrage of bullets on their crowd of attackers.

Some of the surprised salarians returned fire; however, most had been cut down in the enormous and unsuspected wave of blaster fire emitting from the manaban soldiers. The bodies began to pile up at their feet and the battle became a massacre. With only one of his own warriors killed, Nshan saw that they had accounted for at least thirty of their unworthy opponents. He led his warriors on. He proceeded down the passageways to the lab of Tyrin Lieph. There was only one way out of this facility, and even if their target escaped, two Manaban Legions had taken control of the spaceports of the station, and their navies were surrounding the station. The mass murderer Lieph would not be escaping.

N'shan proceeded into the main laboratory of the complex. The salarian mass murderer known as Lieph stood alone in the room, which also contained advanced computer equipment. Lieph straightened his back in surprise and turned to face them as he heard them coming in.

"Damn it! How did you find me?!" the salarian screamed, pulling out a pistol. Knowing that Lieph would attempt to escape, N'shan ripped the pistol out of Lieph's hands with his biotics as soon as it appeared.

"Take him. Tie him to the chair," Nshan commanded of his fellow warriors. "Set up the camera."

Struggling with Lieph, the manaban warriors eventually managed to secure him to the chair. Other members of the squad set up the camera, and connected it to the Citadel Extranet through Lieph's computers, while others stood guard. Lieph would not be escaping.

23
Tyrin was grateful that his would-be assassins had been dealt with, but he regretted Narra's death. Thankfully, he had warned Narra of the risk ahead of time and obtained a piece of DNA to clone beforehand. It warmed his heart that so many were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. A new, cloned Narra would be prepared for awakening within the next several weeks. Tyrin's surrogate had served his purpose well.

Tyrin watched and waited until the impostor was deceased, and then activated the microphone system within the slums being used as his false hideout. He spoke calmly and clearly into his own microphone, "Every being that has dared been an obstacle in my path has been eliminated. This Legion is no different. Let them, and their fallen tyrant before them, be a lesson to the manaban people. Do not make the same mistakes as these fools. Bend to the Citadel's will, and let yourselves be secure."

"Abandon your faith and join us in the pursuit of universal peace and sanctity. We have no animosity against your kind. Now, let the Council's will be done." He detonated the firebombs inside the slums, killing the entire Legion force. A recording activated to finish his message, as its system had not been damaged in the explosion. "I am afraid that I must resign from my position as Councilor. However, know that I will be waiting, and watching. My presence shall live on through my agents. And soon enough, I will be in public once more. Never forget that."

Lovelyb0nes 14:38, August 22, 2010 (UTC)

24 The Fate of the Manaba
The manaba race was in a state of panic. The Tomb of the Virtuous had been destroyed, and their Emperor, murdered. Soon, individual manabans began to see that their religion was being cleansed utterly from the galaxy, and their government was soon to follow. This salarian, Tyrin Lieph, seemed like he would stop at nothing to consume their kind. Losing faith in the universe, these individuals took their own lives out of desperation, some inspired by a manaban guard found in the Emperor's palace, who had turned his gun on himself. Soon, entire communities were joining together in a final prayer, and then taking their lives together.

An entire manaba village on one colony gathered and drank intentionally poisoned holy water in the mourning of the destruction of the Tomb. As the successive assassinations of High manaban Priests followed the Emperor's death, the suicide rate began to escalate. Citadel civilians were being found in the hundreds in their apartments, who had turned knives or guns on themselves. Manaban soldiers began offing themselves in their barracks. Entire Manaban Legions were found with toxins in their blood. Eventually, approximately 60% of the manaban populace had been killed.

The remainder of the populace grew submissive and timid, surrendering in exchange for being allowed to attempt to revive their species. All manaban soldiers were recalled, as their people were disallowed armanents, in case of an uprising. Their colonies, that now had very small populations, were turned over to Citadel races in return for their own kind living as refugees on other species' planets. Their government and religion were completely dismantled. They bent to the Citadel Council's will, controlled by them, but given haven by them.

The manaba were allowed an ambassador on the Citadel, but he and his successors lacked political drive, and never were able to achieve reparations or further aid for their kind. As the remaining population was made up of lower-class citizens and former slaves from the pre-Tyrin era, almost the entire populace became infected with the Deterioration. This disease, combined with a dwindling birthrate, shrank the manaban people's numbers until they had completely disappeared from the universe by 130 CE. The Council's will had been done.

The massacre of one race, and the disgrace of another. Was this truly the council's will? Or was it merely Lieph's?

Epilogue - A Meeting of the Minds, Part 1
Note: the epilogue is set two and a half months, or ten weeks, after the Manaban Mass Suicides.

Sevalaus Morkaneto

The dezban bounty hunter watched the newsreels from his Dezban ship, decorated with the skins of victims, and the heads of bounties. Business was slow, and Sev, as he called himself, was in a deep depression. He got a signal from Citadel space, and listened in to the Citadel News Network, as Solack Drev came on.

"I'm Solack Drev, from Citadel News Network. Today, dozens of thousands of manaba have taken their own lives out of fear for the security of their people. The manaban ruler, Emperor Derimakshan, was electrocuted to death, somehow. Thousands of manaba have poisoned themselves, and thousands more have shot and stabbed themselves to-"

The signal faded out. Sev sighed. First, the massacre of his kind, hundreds of thousands dead, and now this. He wasn't going to let his species die off. He got a more traditional data-pad out, and looked up scientists. His number one result, the number one searched on the Citadel Search Browser, was Tyrin Lieph. He was going to have to pay a visit to Lieph. Then he looked up arms dealers, and found his answer. He closed the datapad, and threw it back. He got up from the red chair in his lounge, and walked over to his cockpit. He was glad he took out the wall and door from the cockpit to the lounge/main quarters. He could watch TV, and fly his ship. He set a course for Citadel space, and took steps down to another room behind the lounge. It was bland, not decorated with war prizes, but instead a cheap, metal table, and a cold-box. He opened it, pressed a button on the roof of the refrigerator, and a small section of the wall opened to reveal his armor. He put it on, grabbed his helmet, and put it on. He was heading for the Citadel, first.

A Meeting of the Minds, Part 2
Tyrin had been informed that a dezba was interested in meeting with him. A survivor of the genocide of the dezban people, that he had orchestrated. This was most likely a trap... However, Tyrin was obscenely fascinated. If this was not a trap, then this dezba really did want his aid in reviving his people. Tyrin couldn't resist such an intriguing opportunity. He contacted Narra, his massively talented newest recruit. Narra infiltrated this dezba's ship, neutralized him, and had him transported to Tyrin's bunker. When the dezba awoke, inside his restraints, Tyrin would question him on his proposal.

The Krogan Compromise
After sabotaging both Marr's and Kurvok's computer systems (it pays to be acquainted with a hacker) and destroying the video Marr had, he had sent the Overlord a simple proposition. He would have the evidence of their blackmail plan sent to the Extranet, reveal the existence of their mass army, and release his War Virus onto Tuchanka's entire populace, if they did not agree to call off their uprising, align with the Council on political matters, and not reveal the existence of the WV. To make sure they knew he meant business, he had released the WV and killed off 150,000 soldiers, or 30% of their mass army. He had told them that this was a controlled release, thus resulting in the deaths of merely a fraction, but the truth was that he had not fully developed the WV yet. It was only powerful enough to kill off that percentage. Tyrin was patiently awaiting the Overlord's reply.

Lovelyb0nes 01:22, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

A Meeting of the Minds, Part 3
Sev awoke with a gasp. All he remembered is refueling, sitting down in the cockpit, and being choked out. He looked around. An empty, metal room. He was cold, and strapped down. The door opened, and Tyrin Lieph walked in.

"So you got my message? Did you have to strangle me and bind me?", Sev asked, looking at his helmet, sitting a few feet away.

Tyrin nodded. "I had to take...necessary, precautions. This could've been a trap. Anyways, are you true to your message?", Tyrin asked, looking into the Dezba's gold eyes. Sev nodded.

"I have never asked for help, from a salarian, or from anyone, for that matter, but I need your help. I am 20 years of age now. Due to my people's genetic degradation, in ten years I am going to die. I need you to slow that to at least three centuries. Could you do that? I need to ensure the survival of my species. I have never asked for something so...sincerely... I am sorry. Please."

The usually hard and stern dezban bounty hunter looked genuinely worried.

A Meeting of the Minds, Part 4
Tyrin could read the dezba like a book. He was sincere...he was the last of his kind, and desperate to not let his race die out. Tyrin had never met a dezba that was so...humane. He sympathized with the man. He was not a savage, undeserving of life, like so many of his kind. Worst comes to worst, it would certainly be an interesting challenge...developing a treatment for the dezba's condition. "Very well....I will aid you, Sevalaus. On one condition....join the Soldiers of Salvation. Swear your loyalty to me right now. And I will attempt to develop a treatment for you."

A Meeting of the Minds, Part 5
Sev had no other choice. If he could still hunt for others.... He could finally make use of that back room on his ship, and he had his resources. His eyes glinted a bright white, a genetic defect from his family. White meant his emotions were flaring. Sev blinked, and looked around. "I, Sevalaus Morkaneto, swear my loyalty to you. Can I still do freelance bounties when I am not needed, though? I would divide half of my sums for you, and if I got a call from someone who wanted you dead, I could put a round into their skull. Deal?", Sev asked. He thought about his species. This was for their sakes. Besides, this salarian seemed decent, for a mass-murderer.

A Meeting of the Minds, Finale
"Of course you may do freelance bounties. The 50-50 deal on your bounty earnings is unnecessary. You may keep all of your earnings, unless you would like to make a donation to my funds. And most definitely, on the subject of eliminating those who want me dead. I think that will be your main duty, to eliminate anyone who has it in for me. I appreciate our agreement, Sev. I am looking forward to the coming years." Tyrin freed the dezba, and shook hands with his newest recruit.

The Krogan Compromise, Part 2
Kurvok read the message, and his eyes widened as he furthered. That had just ruined the meeting he and Marr had had. He dropped his coffee, and then the datapad, and ran over to his comm link. He contacted Marr with a message. "Marr... Meet me in my room now. That little squirm Lieph knew about our plan. He knows! Get over here. He says if we don't call it off, he'll show the video and uprising message to the extranet! He must've put the bug in my room, and somehow hacked us! Hurry!"

The Krogan Compromise, Part 3
Marr wallked into the room. Kurvok was waiting. "Took your damn time."

"Hey shuttles are a pain, and some group of punk teenage salarians just made it worse. A few parents are going to be mourning when they find them hung by their thumbs and shot." Kurvok grunted. Marr turned around and fired his pistol into a cabinet. "Bug. You can hear the damn thing beeping everytime it finishes a gigabite of transmission." Kurvok nodded. "Now Lieph is either bluffing or very stupid. If he reveals that video to the extranet it will spark a war. One factor is that the Citadel could not handle the krogan that are forty three percent of their forces. Fighting just our known force would be suicide, not to mention the rachni swarms. They would be spread on two fronts. And if he tries to withdraw our forces people will ask questions. And as for videos that he deleted? Only an idiot keeps shit that is that significant on one computer. I copied the data before he hacked and deleted it onto a computer chip that is currently with me. So let that little bastard come. We have all we need to beat him."

Foxtrot12 00:01, August 23, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 4
Kurvok nodded, and thought about Marr's words. Then he spoke. "I think that's what Lieph wants. War. If we don't watch it, we'll be wanted. If that happens, I'm going home. But you're right... If Lieph shows that, we, along with the Rachni, will overwhelm them. But we can't assume that. Plus, he also sent out a virus. One that is killing us! We should have his head for treason. I love the taste of salarian. Let him come. We'll beat him. Plus, I installed stasis tanks in a desolate area... If I tell you its location, he might find us. I'll show you pictures later."

The Krogan Compromise, Part 5
"If he is releasing a virus then he is dooming himself. As well it is also definitely a bluff. He has not had the power required for enough time to develop such a weapon. My best guess is that it is not finished. He is pretending. Do not take it seriously. As well, the more krogan he kills the closer the rachni come to winning. We are needed to kill off the rachni. The only other race that could have competed was the dezba and their numbers are in the few dozen, those who survived the massacre that is. He doubts our intelligence and believes we cannot see this. We will prove him wrong." Marr waited until his receptionist called him. "Chieftan, Mr. Lieph is here." Marr responded. "Let him in." Marr waited a few minutes before the salarian walked in. "Ah... Mr Lieph. Sit down, we have much to discuss. As well, you can tell your sniper across the Presidium in the fifth window on the right on the sixth floor of that condo to stand down. The glint of a scope always gives them away."

Foxtrot12 02:18, August 23, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 6
"You're cockiness lacks sensibility, krogan. You have no reason to be so confident. Need I remind you that I could make your people number in the thousands on a mere whim?"

Kurvok bellowed, "If you think that would help your people, you are a fool! Without us, the rachni will overwhelm the Citadel, and dominate the galaxy!"

"You are incorrect, krogan. I have multiple projects in place that would replace your kind quite easily as the bulk of our forces. And you think that I have not had power long enough to have developed my virus? Yes, that's right, I'm still listening in on you brutes."

"I should kill you where you stand!", Kurvok screamed.

"All three of us know that that would be pointless, as this is just another messenger, fool. But back to the virus. I have never needed political power to perform my actions. I was a Council advisor for nearly 25 years, and before that, I had already lived for over forty. I made many allies; I call them the Soldiers of Salvation, dedicated to the universe, to my dreams of utopa, and dedicated to me. You remember the asari that destroyed the Tomb of the Virtuous? She's one of my Soldiers...and speaking of her, she's destroying your stasis tanks as we speak. I have also released a controlled amount of the virus onto Tuchanka already. 30% of your massive army has died. Take that for what you will, Overlord."

Lovelyb0nes 01:52, August 26, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise Part 7
Marr chuckled and poured a glass of brandy. "Now if this is what you are doing, then be aware. It is an act of war and will be treated as such. And there is no way in hell the public will stand for war on two fronts, Mr. Lieph. You are one of the most infamous and hated salarians in the galaxy. The public is unsure about you. One side thinks you did what needed to be done, but the other believes you are a tyrant. Now look at the situation. You are fighting a war against billions of bugs who multiply by the second. You and the asari are weak. The Rhooks are better but in lower number. Your two possible allies were the dezba and manaba, whom you have destroyed. Now, even if your programs worked in time, how would you be able to withstand an onslaught from the rachni without us or with us against you? If you start another war then they will have your head no matter what reason you can use to justify it, for the public has lost sons and daughters for nearly 80 years and colonies lost by the month. The last thing people want is to go against another enemy. They will refuse it. And you will be ripped apart by them. Because as you know, your politicians and spooks are quick to identify the ringleader and blame him to escape punishment. So I suggest that you halt this attack on us before the conversation that is being recorded right now is released to the news. I'm sure Drev would love it. And there is no hope of hacking, so don't even bother. We have the tape being streamed to over eighty different places and being copied and sent out all over the krogan battlenet. Because the second we release it, edited of course, you will be held responsible for krogan deaths and have started a war. The twenty thousand krogan soldiers on the citadel, as well as the fleet of one krogan dreadnaught and seven cruisers currently in orbit here, will open fire on the Citadel." Marr pulled up a holomap of the citadel and watched it rotate. He watched as lines moved across it and Xs and Os appeared on it. They were originating from krogan garrisons and patrols. "This is Contingency Plan Echo. A full plan for the conquest or near destruction of the Citadel. It also includes orbital bombardment which according to calculations will kill a guarenteed seventy million people. And around one hundred million more to bombs, vehichle, and heavy and small weapons from ground teams." Marr looked around the room. Lieph was looking like he was concerned. Marr had made sure that he would have no devices to capture it. Lieph had been checked and an invisible ion blast had hit him, disabling any capturing devices that had not been caught. Absoulutely nothing designed could survive the pulse. Marr looked back. "And as for Contingency Plan Echo, be aware of one thing. It begins when I say so." Marr turned off the scanner. "We may perish, but half of the Citadel will too, and you will be jailed or executed later. Then the few million krogan in the galaxy will redeploy and attack all of the citadel worlds. Millions and billions will die and the rachni will be here in less than a month. So even if you do survive, you will be the salarian who started a multi-billion casualty war in the middle of the Rachni Crisis and may have doomed the galaxy. You and your soldiers of salvation will perish and be galatic enemy number one. And to prove we mean business and to call your inevitable bluff, here you go." Marr whispered into his comm and a seven ton warhead flew across the presidium from a krogan cruiser into the apartment Tyrin's sniper was in. "That will have been the fault of a drunk battery commander who will be executed. And we can have shells like that rain on the Citadel one thousand times a minute." Marr paused to look at the destroyed apartment at least a hundred causlities and five billion in property damage. Two krogan guards walked into the room both brandishing rifles. "Mr. Lieph, you will have five minutes and then you need to leave us. If you disagree, you will be escorted out. So if you have anything to say, now is the time."

Foxtrot12 02:42, August 26, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 8
The krogans waited for several minutes. The salarian had done nothing. "Did he have a heart attack out of shock or something?", Kurvok asked.

The krogan guards checked his pulse. "No pulse, sir."

"Great, we killed one of his messengers out of shock... Wait, he would have moved if he had a heart attack." Marr walked up to the sitting salarian, shoving the guards out of his way, and plunged his hand into the salarian's chest. There was only wires inside of him. "A machine...this must be what he meant by program....he has made extremely lifelike machines. But they can't be cheap to make. They would not make an efficient replacement for the krogan."

. ..

Tyrin had expected defiance from the krogan, but he had not foreseen such well-thought-out counter-tactics. He was impressed...but he knew he would win this in the end. The irony about the sniper had been that Tyrin hadn't had any sniper positioned there. Why would he need the protection of a sniper when he had sent out a mech to speak with them? Speaking of the mech, he was proud of how they completely believed it was a real salarian. He had determined that it had been disabled by an ion blast meant to destroy any recording devices.

Lovelyb0nes 22:24, August 26, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 9
Marr looked at the salarian and shot him. No blood flew out. He looked at his computer. "Tunta." he said to the computer speaking to the krogan's AI. While not illegal, AI were not held in high regard as it was a fear that they could rebel and conquer a civilization, completely baseless in Marr's mind. The AI's avatar was that of ancient krogan warlord and founder of clan Halak, Halak Sor, a legendary warrior and Marr's direct descendant. "Yes Marr." the AI chimed.

"What was that messenger?"

"Mechanical being, I detected the signals completely fried."

"What about it's core. You know, it's memories."

"Well master what about it?"

"Couldn't we try to salvage it get something out of it like information?"

"Possibly, I'll run a scan. Plug me in." Marr nodded and plugged the chip into the mech and waited until Tunta's avatar appeared projected from an eye socket. "Salvaging alot of unfried data, no other entities in the systems. Not much, but I think we have Lieph's location. I can detect where this guy was sent from and where he was transmitting information to." Marr laughed and knew Lieph was now his.

"Where is he?" Marr asked.

"A small planet called Emalrus." Marr thought about this for a second. He knew Emalrus; it was a small little snowy world out in the far rim. Technically Batarian land, but apart from the occasional once every two month batarian patrol it was devoid of any military. You could hide there for a thousand years with a billion credit bounty on your head and never be found.

"Tunta, send a battalion of special forces, borrow them from Deront. Also, bring a heavy cruiser. Give them Lieph's location and prepare to send him our demands."

"Demands?" Tunta asked while fulfilling the request at the same time.

"Yes, call it an offer. Lieph gets to live and we devote more forces to his war as well we agree to leave the son of a bitch alone. If he refuses, then we storm his compound, and bombard it from orbit if he somehow survives our battalion. And we recieve the honor of making up 65% of the council's forces, Tyrin shuts his mouth, he gives us all data on his war virus, and..." Marr said pausing looking at a hologram of the citadel and sipping his brandy. "...We get a seat on the Council."

Marr sat back and looked at Tunta. "Copy Marr we will send request and set up communication until then it will be jammed."

"And our men?

" "Already there."

"Tunta," Marr laughed, "you never let me down."

Foxtrot12 01:13, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 10
One of the krogan guards was a recruit in Bragan's KRM, and had volunteered to wear a wire so Tyrin could listen in the event that the mech was damaged, so Tyrin had heard everything Marr had said. He could not believe his lack of hindsight. Tyrin immediately made a note in his audio records, that all mechs should be reprogrammed to automatically fry their cores upon destruction. Tyrin was fucked...there was no other choice but to meet his demands. He then began to record a video message for Marr, which would then be sent through the supposedly secure channels of Marr's AI, "Tunta".

"Hello, Marr. I heard all of your orders to Tunta. Call off the battalion of soldiers, and the heavy cruiser. While they certainly could not handle a cruiser, I do have a large militia that could handle your battalion. Batarian military provided, in fact. Despite the actions of Hensa, I have a very powerful Batarian general as an ally. I served under him for a while when I lived on a Batarian colony. Marr, you and I are both reasonable men. Which is why we must reach compromise, to prevent more bloodshed. I invite you to come to my bunker, alone mind you. My militia will ensure that you have no ill intentions, and then allow you to meet me in person. There we can discuss the details of this compromise."

"As for what you have already said, I will meet your demands. You may have a Councilor, but I get to choose who he is. Kurvok must step down as Overlord, to allow him in. His name is Kredak, I believe he will make the perfect mediator between my Soldiers of Salvation, and your Krogan Union. To clarify, he is not a part of my agent Bragan's Krogan Resistance. When we meet, I will discuss my War Virus, and even reveal some of my plans for developing the programs I told you of, to appease you."

"I have already destroyed all evidence of your treasonous blackmail plan. May I say, Marr, that you have changed my opinion on your race? You are a krogan more cunning than most salarians. That is but short of miraculous. It has been an honor battling wits with you. I am anticipating our meeting." Tyrin sighed heavily...and then sent the video to Marr."

Lovelyb0nes 02:01, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 11
Marr reviewed the video and looked at Tunta. "Well?" he asked.

"I have reviewed speech patterns and brain waves, the subject is truthful in his intentions."

Marr looked at him "And how did he know about our plans?"

"A leak, Halak Krune, one of the newer guards. He was hired three weeks ago, used to work freelance as a merc."

"No surprise... Tunta, have him eliminated." Tunta nodded.

"Hit order has been placed and manaban mercanary notified; expect death in about three hours twenty minutes and thirty six point one seconds."

Marr stood in disbelief. "That quick?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes, now let's go, I assume I am coming."

"You assume correctly, as always."

Marr waited in the shuttle for three hours until it landed on the planet. He stepped out and looked around. The battalion had a barricade in place. All soldiers ready to storm the compound on moment's notice whenever they saw him they lowered their weapons and nodded in respect. He looked in approval on them. He motioned two of his best men to follow him into the compound. Tunta had arranged it, they were there for reassurance and would stand outside during the meeting with Lieph. They walked through the bunker, the soldiers were tense on both sides. Until their guide, a rather queer looking krogan who was called Bragan led them into a sealed hallway. He left, hurrying out. Marr walked down and motioned his men to stand at attention as he walked into the room and found a seat. He put Tunta's chip into a prepared terminal. The lights flickered on to reveal in front of him, in a fine leather chair, the galaxy's most famous and infamous salarian.

Tyrin Lieph.

Foxtrot12 02:39, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 12
"I would say it is a pleasure to see you Marr, but I am not a dishonest man. You are the first being to best me in my game of wits. That makes you my greatest foe. And one day, I shall exact my vengeance on you, for succeeding against me. But today is not a day for grudges. Today is a day for compromise. You and I know that this compromise is necessary for the salvation of what each of us cares about, your kind for yourself, and the universe for myself."

"You asked for the data on my War Virus as part of our deal. I have already copy sent a copy of all of the data to Tunta. I hope that I can trust you not to reveal the existence of the War Virus to the public. I also agreed to disclose some information on one of my programs intended to replace the Krogan. You are already aware of this program, my mechs. I have already produced several hundred thousand of them; the one you met with was the first I have ever sent into the field. Believe it or not, they are nowhere near as expensive to produce as you'd expect. In fact, they didn't cost a single credit to produce."

"How is that even possible?"

"It is possible because they were produced from a system that I envision will one day be universally-spread. I tested this system by establishing it in a small area; a single colony founded on the principle of no currency, whatsoever. They mechs costed nothing to produce because the materials and minerals that make them up were acquired without spending credits. All of the machines used to gather the materials were built without cost as well. This colony has a perfect cyclical system that ensures nobody is left dissatisfied. A system that could be used to develop a utopian society. Do you have anything you would like to discuss? Do you agree to my terms on giving the krogans a Councilor?"

Lovelyb0nes 22:38, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 13
Marr looked at Tyrin. "You're an interesting businessman. For the Councilor, we accept your proposal, but be aware that Kurvok is not stepping down as he is the head of government. Like your Salarian Union's chancellor or the Hegemony's king, the two are unrelated in sense of power." Marr turned to Tunta's avatar. "Do we have the data?" he asked.

"Yes, data has been forwarded and analyzed. I believe I already have a cure. Wait, testing... testing. Cure will work with an estimated production time of two weeks, hiring scientific contractors now." Marr and Lieph looked at the hologram. "Contractors hired. Cure being made currently."

"That quick?" asked Tyrin.

"Yes Lieph, you see there are currently about six AIs in the galaxy, five excluding Tunta. Two are in the council fleet, one is in the Presidium financial center analyzing and helping to stop a possible financial meltdown, another is working in weapon and ship design, and the last is working in the first Docksin fast food resteurant on the Citadel. You know Docksin's right? That place founded by the elcor chef, about two billion of them in the galaxy. While AIs are looked down upon, they are very useful and can go for a few billion. Tunta cost six billion. The money was stolen after he was finished and the makers killed. Simple as that."

"And as for politics, be aware that we are keeping the War Virus data and proof of your attacks as you are likely keeping something to kill us with. For reassurance no one does something stupid. For military advice, be aware that your mechs will have to rely on numbers rather than prowess to win wars. Remember the krogan and remember that we will continue to make up a large amount of council military shares. We are a galaxy at war, we do not have time to make such an army that may fail. We must live in a fragile alliance. If you wish to live, your vengeance must wait." Marr pulled from his armor six different types of heavy pistols, a sawed off shotgun, two grenades, and plenty of munitions, and threw them on the table. "Won't be needing these anymore. Another thing, who was that odd krogan guide? He seemed clanless... was his clan destroyed? What happened to him?"

Foxtrot12 23:13, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 14
"Bragan's clan is very much alive, Marr. His full name is Tikrog Bragan, the same clan your Overlord hails from. In fact, he is Kurvok's nephew. He was banished from his clan for refusing to get combat training and serve in the Krogan military. He was a refugee on his homeworld for over a hundred years before escaping. He aided Adaria and her mercenary band in their destruction of the Tomb of the Virtuous. He also founded the Krogan Resistance Movement. Since it's formation, he has recruited several thousand krogan against the Krogan Union and Kurvok. One less, since you had Krune killed."

"And of course I know my vengeance must be on hold for a long time. It's a necessity...as you said, we must live in a fragile alliance for the sake of salvation. But Marr....know that one day I will end you. Many years from now.... My mechs have more prowess than you think, Marr. They all have a highly sophisticated computer program that controls their mainframes. This program provides them with combat training, making each an elite soldier, one with the skill-equivalent of a being who has served in the STG, BARD, or Asari commandos for fifty years, or a Krogan Battlemaster."

"This program was constructed by...well I'll just say an ally of mine. The same one who sabotaged your and Kurvok's other computers, and temporarily hacked into Tunta's network to send you my video message. This army is not meant to be all merely infantry, or cannon fodder; I have created mass-produceable master soldiers. Now I believe our negotiations are done here, Marr, unless you have any comments or questions before your departure."

Lovelyb0nes 03:44, August 28, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Part 15
Marr nodded and looked at Tyrin. "Odd, that Bragan. But I suppose not all krogan follow the same route. It has been a pleasure dealing with you, Lieph. Maybe your army of mechs will be worth it. But we shall see. Regardless, I will look forward to the day you and I can meet on the battlefield as equals and have the better emerge victorious and the other die a worthy death. A shame, Lieph. Had the dice of fate been cast differently, and we had met on better terms, had you been krogan or I salarian, who knows what could have been done. But fate is cruel and unabiding. If your mechs are as good as you claim, then I look forward to meeting them in battle. But Lieph, is war what you really want? Remember Millangada's last words to you. I hope that you can see her wisdom. Find peace." Marr unplugged Tunta and left the room. He motioned his guards and walked out of the bunker. When he arrived at the barricade he shivered at the cold wind as he motioned his men to pack up. The drophsips landed and a shuttle arrived for Marr. Would the salarian live to face him with his species' life span? He could never know. He looked at Tunta in the shuttle as his avatar emerged. "This krogan resistance is troubling." he said, as the AI nodded.

"While in that meeting, I was maintaining firewalls while getting into Lieph's systems. All he had were VIs, no match. I managed to get some data on some more moles that are being eliminated as we speak. And a large but incomplete roster of the Krogan Resistance. I have run scans and most are located."

Marr grinned. "Dispatch as many teams as you can, non krogan at best, maybe manaban... Make it look like a vengeance act." Tunta nodded.

"Very well then. So what now?" Marr looked at the AI.

"Tunta, we did all we were asked. The krogan are stronger than ever and the master plan is yet closer to success. There's only one place left to go." Tunta looked confused as a hologram of Tuchanka came up.

"Home."

Foxtrot12 04:11, August 28, 2010 (UTC)

The Krogan Compromise, Finale
"Seven. There are seven AI..." Tyrin had been notified by Asphyxia that Marr was dispatching soldiers to eliminate members of the Krogan Resistance. He had expected as much, but there was nothing he could do. The losses were acceptable. Lieph had often thought of Telia's words since her suicide... But Marr's acting, while skillful, did not convince him. He had listened in on them for ages....he knew all about their master plan, knew that eventually, they would make their move. And he would be there to exact destruction upon the krogan...with his army of machines...and his army of dezba.

Lovelyb0nes 13:43, August 28, 2010 (UTC)

Passages 12 - 28 of The Siege of Krulus Mor occur after these events. Conclude the storyline by reading through these.