SfS-15

==Salvaging from Strife==
==Chapter 15 - First Response==
------
===Part 1===
Citidal Tower
Citidal Station
Widow Star System
3080
The corridors of the Citadel Tower were packed. It wasn't just reporters and officials, but also civilians seeking answers and soldiers holding them back. Lady Sumire Arano's entourage passed through the crowd with difficulty, house guards forcing a route through the unyielding mass. Commoners called out to her as they passed, clamouring for information and assurances. She had none to give.
The lifts of the tower were congested as well. C-Sec corralled the selected individuals into the elevators as they arrived, the remainder waiting in nervous clusters in the lobby. Some nearby recognised the sigil of House Arano and attempted to draw her into conversation, though she rebuffed them as soon as politely possible. She was in no mood to talk or speculate.
Her guards parted in front of another intruder. Lady Arano raised her head and beheld Precentor Kamea Shepard, named after her grandmother. The older woman bore herself with the same familiar dignity, as though the shattering revelations from Coromodir had left her untouched. Only her eyes had changed, now tinged red.
"Lady Arano." the robed precentor greeted her sternly with a nod of her head, "would that we met again in better times"
"Precentor Shepard, you honour us with your presence." Lady Arano replied and curtseyed in response.
"I share your grief for Coromodir. Rest assured, the perpetrators of this atrocity shall not go unpunished." Precentor Shepard paused, then asked, "Where is my nephew?"
"C-Sec denied him entry to the Tower. He returned to his people." Her guards had formed a ring around the two of them, granting them some semblance of privacy. Dropping her voice to a whisper, Lady Arano questioned, "Did you know?"
The precentor shook her head. "Of course not, my child." she answered without lowering her voice. "I feared Saren would do something, certainly, but not that he would attack the Star League so blatantly. Or that he allied with the geth. Had I known what he was capable of, it should not have been the Reach…" Her voice drifted off briefly, eyes closing for a short moment before opening again. "Before you ask, ComStar does not know more. The HPG broadcast is the only information that made it out so far. Surviving ships may have already arrived at neighbouring systems, but it will take time for the news to be relayed via HPG to Terra."
Lady Arano swallowed down her frustration. People were watching. "What can you tell me?" She implored. "Does ComStar know anything about the Black Ghost?"
IIt had only been a myth for the last two decades. Spacers claimed to have sporadically seen it in the years following first contact, offering fuzzy images of a dark behemoth from halfway across the system. The Black Ghost was said to roam the systems around Shensi as a vengeful spectre of the dead planet, linked to mysterious disappearances and capable of terrifying feats of magic. Nobody had taken the stories seriously anymore after so many years and now it was on Coromodir.
"Whether the thing on Coromodir truly is the Black Ghost or not, Lady Arano, it is clearly a Geth ship, under Saren's command." Precentor Shepard offered with a wan smile. "I am afraid I know little of its capabilities beyond that."
She had feared as much. Her Aurigan Coalition was under mortal threat, and she was too far away. "I understand. If I may ask a personal favour of you, Precentor? I need to return to the Reach as soon as possible, and I need somebody to help my subjects in the Relay Systems while I am gone."
Precentor Shepard frowned. "I advise against that." At Lady Arano's surprised look, she explained, "As far as I am aware, the rest of House Arano was on Coromodir. You may be the only member of your house left. That would make you the new High Lady of the Aurigan Coalition. It is too dangerous for you to travel through the Inner Sphere alone. One of the Great Houses or their servants will attempt to seize you as a pawn."
"What else can I do? I cannot simply stay on the Citadel."
"Depart for Mars as soon as possible." Precentor Shepard crisply replied. "You have a right to attend the emergency council and appeal the rest of the Star League for aid. ComStar will do what it can to assist you, I promise."
One of Lady Arano's guards stepped closer. "My lady." he announced, "we are to board the next lift." The ComStar precentor stepped back as the guards bundled Lady Arano towards the elevator doors, before she had time to speak further. 
----
===Part 2===
Else where in the Tower
"The Citadel Council has come to the conclusion the new geth warship is unrelated to human claims of a 'Black Ghost' dreadnought in the Human Sphere. Investigations have proven that all alleged sightings were attributable to first contact issues or outright fabrications, and the Council's position on this matter has not changed. We are still taking this unexpected invasion from the geth seriously." The salarian Councillor finished his part of the speech, being transmitted live across the Citadel and the rest of the galaxy. The press chamber was clear of the usual reporters and representatives, preventing any interruption. The public statement from the Council was more rushed than Tevos would have preferred, but they needed to act before speculation and rumours spiralled out of control. 
"As there has been no further transmission from Coromodir, the planet is assumed to be under geth occupation, and the surrounding systems to be at risk." the asari Councillor Tevos continued. "Given the distance to the nearest relay, there is no threat to Citadel space. Citadel fleets are on alert around the Perseus Veil as a precaution, but there is no need to be concerned. This is not the beginning of a war. There has been no indication of a general geth mobilisation into the Terminus Systems, and the Citadel will be ready to act if the situation changes."
"In light of the current situation, the Coromodir Expedition has been given new instructions." The turian Councillor Sparatus announced gravely. "The majority of the vessels will return to Citadel space immediately. A small task force will proceed on the original route into the affected region to investigate this new threat." The Quantum Entanglement Communications Device of the expedition would be sent with the task force, the only reliable means of communication with them, even if bandwidth was limited. The commanders were under strict orders to stay out of combat. So far from the relays, there was little hope of saving them if things went wrong, and accurate intelligence untouched by human meddling was worth much.
"The Council is keeping a close eye on further developments, and will respond as is necessary." Tevos concluded. "The geth attack on Coromodir will have little impact on Citadel space. Concerned citizens are advised to follow official updates on the matter, but panic is unnecessary. We have prospered for millennia in the face of countless challenges. Together, we have nothing to fear." And with that, the transmission ended. Tevos stepped down from the podium with her colleagues. She had barely stepped out of the press chamber when she came face-to-face with her frazzled assistant.
"Honoured Councillors, Ambassador Udina has sent another demand." she reported. "He continues to insist the Spectre Saren is in league with the geth, and demands you support his claim. He especially warns they will consider Saren's involvement as proof of the Citadel's complicity, and will announce their opinion publicly shortly."
Sparatus growled in frustration, a feeling Tevos most certainly shared. "Not this again." he complained. "The allegations are entirely unsubstantiated. They don't even have any evidence we can examine! Saren is loyal, whatever Udina tries to claim."
"I agree, his fixation on Saren is most frustrating." Valern commiserated. "Perhaps we ought to ignore him and turn to the other humans instead. One of them must be more reasonable."
"They won't be any better." Tevos unhappily declined. "I'll arrange another meeting and try to talk some sense into him." Her assistant nodded and scurried off.
"I'd like some answers myself." Sparatus grumbled. "Like how and why the geth attacked in the first place. They can't have passed through the Tartarus Relay, not with how many guns are floating around it."
"My analysts say the most likely option is an undiscovered mass effect relay somewhere beyond human space." Tevos replied. "Yours too, I suspect. If there is one, finding it will be difficult. The geth may have been travelling for Goddess knows how long before attacking. As for why, I'm only aware of one thing on the planet that may be of any interest."
"The samples from Feros." Valern spoke. "Alarming implications for geth threat, if that is true. If Saren managed to arrive at Coromodir before the geth attack, he may be our best hope at thwarting their schemes. Perhaps the reconnaissance force will be able to establish contact with him."
"We don't know enough." Tevos sighed. "Until more information arrives, we are just engaging in pointless speculation, exactly what we are telling the citizens to avoid. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for a conversation with Ambassador Udina." She strode off, wearily aware of the list of meetings awaiting her in the next twelve hours. 
===Part 3===
Citidal Station
The Martian Servin impassively watched the nobles assembled in the hall, eyes alert and scanning for anything amiss. The high-born in turn ignored him and the other attendants, safely assured that their every need would be attended to. Their attention was focused on the center of the hall, where their betters sat around a round table in another session of the Star League Emergency Council.
He was descended from a long line of servants to the ultra-wealthy of Terra from the good old days of the Star League, who had erected grandiose projects on Mars to fulfil their visions. The Succession Wars had been hard times for his ancestors, reduced to serving merely corporate executives of the mining companies which remained on the planet as luxury landscapes decayed and crumbled. But with the rebirth of the Star League and the establishment of diplomatic facilities on Mars, demand for high-class service had finally returned.
It was a privilege for Servin to even stand in the very proximity of the greats of the Star League. His parents had wept tears of joy upon hearing of his selection, and he himself felt great pride in the trust bestowed upon him. Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his duty to the lords and ladies assembled here. 
"The Dragon is already quite generous with his support of the Star League." The leading Kuritan representative had stood up and was giving his reply to the ComStar Primus. "He has provided much resources and manpower to the Star League for decades, and has demanded little in return, save that the Star League uphold its promises to the Draconis Combine. Yet the Combine has a duty to its colonies in the Skyllian Verge and cannot spare more of its children. Our strength is needed against the batarians and other aliens, especially if the Geth invasion of the Reach is but a prelude to a greater threat." With a gesture of contrition, he demurred, "The people of Coromodir should look to the Clans for salvation. Their strength shall surely prevail against this geth menace. The Dragon will uphold his prior obligations to the Star League-"
A middle-aged lady near Servin, likely from the Lyran half of the FedCom judging by her eyesore of a dress, tittered briefly before choking on her drink. Servin rushed to provide assistance and spare her further humiliation in front of her peers. Another servant handed her a new glass of champagne within moments. The red-faced noble departed rapidly to judging looks, muttering furiously under her breath. Servin politely escorted her from the chamber and soon handed the noble into the care of her own retinue. He returned to shouting from the one of the Federated Commonwealth delegates. 
"-is absolutely unacceptable!" The stout duchess loyal to Victor Steiner-Davion roared. "The Archon-Prince will never agree to your farce of a proposal! If the usurper truly cares for the good of the Commonwealth as she keeps claiming, she should surrender instead. The Archon-Prince has promised to show leniency."
From his position, Servin couldn't see Katrina's supporters, but the viewscreens and speakers mounted around the hall allowed observers to watch and listen to the representatives in the middle. The general representing the sister appeared outwardly unperturbed by the outburst, waiting for his counterpart to cease before speaking. "The Archon-Princess will not permit her brother to lead the Federated Commonwealth into ruin, Duchess. But this offer of a ceasefire is genuine. Katrina's Restorationists stand ready to defend the Federated Commonwealth from any alien menace, and since Victor Steiner-Davion is so willing to put the needs of outsiders before his own people, we are fully willing to grant his forces the chance to serve the Star League as he wishes. Or will Victor turn his back on the Star League he has so constantly professed his loyalty to?"
"I refuse to give you traitors any legitimacy, and neither will the Archon-Prince. Nor will we give you a chance to violate the ceasefire and backstab us."
Jennet brought his attention back to his duties with a tap on the shoulder, gesturing quickly to the noble she was escorting and mouthing a request. Servin briskly moved to comply, fighting down a surge of jealousy at the sight of the pretty maid in some stranger's arms. It took longer than expected for him to find a suitable chair and locate the pair again, but Jennet flashed him a grateful smile, sending warm flutters down his spine.
The guest barely acknowledged him with a grunt as he sat down, leaning forwards in his seat as he watched the proceedings continue, where a Capellan had the floor for the moment. "The Capellan people are coming to the aid of the Aurigans. The regional governors have been sending supplies and volunteers across the border since we learnt of their plight. That is more than I can say for your Captain-General and the rest of your Free Worlds League, sir."
"Don't take us for fools," an elderly officer in the colours of the Taurian Defence Force cut in before the Free Worlds League representative could reply. "Supplies and volunteers? You mean military forces to annex their worlds. They are attacking the very troops the Chancellor is claiming to help."
"Don't claim ignorance, please," the woman from the Magistracy of Canopus supplemented. "I received a priority HPG transmission from Canopus. The Magestrix is aware of your actions."
"That is an outrageous accusation, Colonel, Elector," The Capellan protested affronted. "There are opportunistic Periphery raiders exploiting the chaos of the Aurigan Reach, and many worlds have asked for our protection, given the troubles plaguing the Aurigan Coalition. Are the Taurians and Canopians not extending the same assistance as well?"
The Free Worlds League representative began replying "Whether or not-" when a loud crash interrupted his words. Servin's eyes sought for the cause, worrying which of his colleagues had committed the mistake. He relaxed when he saw the shattered pieces of glass on the table in front of the Clan spokesman, before tensing again when he saw the woman's face.
"Enough!" The scarred warrior bellowed. Glaring around the table, she continued, "I have endured enough of your petty squabbles. I will tolerate no more. You craven weaklings are all dishonourable and selfish, exactly like your ancestors who destroyed the Star League. If Katrina Steiner-Davion truly intends to prove her strength against the Clans, she is more than welcome. The rest of you surats are no better, cowering and hiding behind the backs of the Clans while you scheme and plot. I was naive enough to hope, but the IlKhan and Khans knew better, and gave me a command. Heed my words, and know the message being spread throughout the Star League."
"A thousand years ago, before mankind left the cradle of Terra, a great coalition of warriors assembled to take down a monster, the Amaris of his time. They were divided, but unified in their cause, and shed blood together on a beach to seal their pact."
"The proposal is still being drafted, it's not ready yet!" The Primus hastily interjected, only to be ignored.
"Now, a thousand years later, the Inner Sphere stands threatened once again. The time has come to unify, to join our warriors as one Clan against the threats to humanity. A force shall be assembled, united in purpose, from all who believe in the ideals of the Star League. No politics shall divide them, for their loyalty shall be to the Star League above all."
The other delegates were angrily shouting, adding to the din from the lesser nobles watching. Still the Clanner's voice was clearly audible.
"The IlKhan declares the Normandy Initiative active."
Her remaining words were drowned out as the Inner Sphere united against the Clans once again. Servin knew it was going to be a long night.
----
Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter
015, Chapter