Citadel Council

1. REDIRECT Template:Country TemplateThe**Citadel Council**is a collective body made up of the Asari Republics, Salarian Union, Turian Hierarchy, and the Systems Alliance, with many other intergalactic holding embassy statuses. The capital of the Council as a massive space station known as **The Citadel**, which is believed by many to have been constructed eons ago by the long-extinct Protheans. Citadel space borders Systems Alliance space, the Krogan DMZ, and the Attican Traverse.

## History

### Discovery and Formation

The Citadel was initially discovered by the Asari Republics in 580 BCE, which quickly inspired colonization of the station and its use as a population center and further research on its enigmatic construction. 60 years later, the Asari made first contact with the Salarian Union, another space-faring civilization, and together the two races formed a council to rule over the surrounding star systems together. The Council expanded rapidly over the next 500 years, as well as discovering and granting embassies to the Volus, Elcor, Hanar, Batarians, and Quarians.

### The Rachni Wars and Krogan Rebellions

The era of peaceful contact ended abruptly with the discovery of the hive-minded Rachni in 1 CE, which reacted with extreme hostility and were too distant to be contacted directly. All hope seemed lost until the Salarians made contact with the primitive but resilient Krogan on the apocalyptic world of Tuchanka in 80 CE, and they were promptly uplifted and manipulated into being frontline soldiers for their ability to survive harsh Rachni worlds. By around 300 CE, the Rachni were declared extinct, and the Krogan were awarded a new homeworld.

Around 400 years later, the Council once again found itself in conflict, this time with the Krogan, who had exploded in numbers and were encroaching on the territory of other races. When ordered to withdraw from an Asari colony, the Krogan refused, prompting the Council to perform a preemptive strike using the new Special Tactics and Reconnaissance (SPECTRE) division. The conflict persisted for almost a century until the Council discovered the Turians, who agreed the Krogan were a threat and declared war. The Turians used the Salarian-made called the Genophage to wreak havoc on Krogan birthrates, leaving them unable to replenish their numbers. The Turians subsequently filled the Krogan's peacekeeping role and soon became the third race to join the council in 900 CE.

### Conflict and Humanity

The following millennia was a peaceful one for the Council, interrupted only by small scale conflicts and the Geth War of 1895 CE. The Quarians were driven from their homeworld of Rannoch by the Geth, synthetics designed to serve that developed sapience and rebelled. In response, the Council rejected the Quarians' pleas for help, removed their embassy status, and implemented strict laws on Artificial Intelligence.

In 2157 CE, the Council encountered a new race: Humanity. A brief conflict, instigated by the Turians when a human ship reactivated a defunct mass relay illegally, threatened to tear both races apart until the Council made itself and the galactic community known to the humans, and offered a peace agreement forcing the Turians to pay heavy reparations. Humanity quickly rose to prominence and gained an embassy in 2165 CE.

### Events of Mass Effect

In 2183 CE, following a Geth attack on the human colony of Eden Prime and apparent death of Nihlus Kryik, Commander John Shepard is inducted into the Spectres to hunt down Saren Arterius, the instigator of the attack, as sending their fleet into the Attican Traverse has the potential to spark a war with the Terminus Systems. Shepard's induction is seen as the first step to humanity gaining a seat on the council, but this is a thorny issue due to humans being relatively new to the galactic scene, which in turn contributes to the anti-council sentiment among humans.

During Shepard's search, he came across evidence pointing to the existence of the Reapers, a collective of massive killing machines dedicated to wiping out all organic life every 50,000 years. Despite this, the Council adamantly rejected all claims, simply saying Saren used the Reapers as a ploy to keep the Geth on his side. When Shepard discovered that Saren will soon lead an attack on the Citadel, the Council prepared a blockade to prevent the invasion force from reaching them rather than apprehending Saren directly. When Shepard tried to do so, human ambassador Donnel Udina grounded his ship, the *SSV Normandy SR-1*, prompting him to disobey orders and leave the Citadel illegally.

The Council was unable to act, as an armada lead by the Reaper Sovereign appears soon afterward, wreaking havoc on the defense fleet and inflicting heavy losses. The councilors were evacuated onto the *Destiny Ascension*, the largest dreadnought in the defense fleet, but were pinned down by numerous Geth forces. Shepard arrives in the nick of time, bringing with him Systems Alliance reinforcements and routing them to save the Council before focusing on Sovereign. The *Destiny Ascension* is successfully defended, albeit at the cost of numerous human lives, and Sovereign is destroyed not long after Saren is defeated by Shepard within the Citadel. For their bravery, humanity is offered a seat on the council, and Alliance officer Captain David Anderson is appointed as the human councilor. Though the Council initially recognizes the existence of the Reapers, they lapse back into skepticism within a year, covering up Sovereign's origins by claiming it was an advanced Geth warship.