Primarch Fedorian walked into the small chamber off from the main Atrium where the councilors stood in discussion. Spraratus noticed him first and was indeed quick to get into deep discussion.

'Primarch we have to do something about this, they cannot go unpunished!'

'I agree councilor, something has to be done,' said Fedorian rubbing his wrists.

'What do you mean by that Primarch?' asked Tevos.

'He means wage war with them, like I suggested!'

'No Sparatus, I have seen what they can do. If we go to war with them we would surely lose.'

Sparatus couldn't believe what he was hearing, his own Primarch was siding with the councilors over him. The anger welled in his stomach, how could they believe such things.

'This is outrageous, they deserve to show themselves in war for what they did!'

'Violence is not the answer!' pleaded Tevos.

'Then what do you suggest we do?' retorted Sparatus.

'We should start by calming down!'

The Primarch's voice was clear and sharp, the councilors stopped their bickering. Fedorian knew Sparatus meant well but at times he could be hot headed and perhaps too patriotic.

'My opinion is no doubt the un-popular one among our people, but maybe with time the humans can learn some galactic etiquette from us. If we go to war now, there may be no turning back in their current mind set,' said Fedorian placing a hand on the councilor's shoulder.

'Thank you Primarch, but if you would excuse us we have a hearing to attend.'

The Primarch nodded and stepped away from them trailed Sparatus's disappointed gaze. The walked out onto a semi-circle platform overlooking the Atrium and diagonally below them was the Alliance representatives on a circular landing.

'First and foremost welcome to the citadel and thank you for returning you Turian captives,' greeted Tevos.

'It's an honor to be in such a place, truly magnificent,' said Drescher returning the greeting.

'Let's get straight to the point, you assaulted the Turian home world and did significant damage to the planets Capital city and killed multiple people. What reasons could you possibly have to commit such an act?'

'We have our reasons for the operation on Palaven, sixteen to be precise.'

Drescher led the negotiations, both Grissom and Reid were merely observers standing behind her. The sixteen crew members Reid had lost at Relay 314 ate at him still, he hid it well but the hate he had for the Turians grew with every passing moment.

'Once again Master Drescher, Commander Aetdros was acting within council law. The last time that relay was activated a race of homicidal arthropods attempted to wipe us out,' insisted Valern.

'I understand that but we require killers to be brought to justice, and that's what we did.'

'My people don't appreciate having the Primarch and the Grand Admiral kidnapped from our capital city!' rebutted Sparatus.

The argument kept circling around to the same points and disagreements, soon their deliberating had reduced to Sparatus and Grissom yelling at each other. Trading speeches about honour and integrity.

'Enough!' yelled Tevos, silencing the two.

'Both parties have suffered losses and I am willing to dismiss the incident at relay 314. But you kidnapped two of the Turian hierarchy's three leaders. You invaded their home planet and inflicted significant casualties and damage on the Turian people, we simply cannot let that go unpunished.'

'What would be the penalty for such a thing?' wondered Drescher, reclaiming control from Grissom.

'Penalty? You're lucky the Turian armada aren't sieging your worlds as we speak,' spat Sparatus.

'Councillor Sparatus, calm down! The penalty is a significant sum of reparations, to repair the damages done to the Turian navy and Cipritine.'

Sparatus stood with his arms crossed, the tattered mandibles around his mouth twitching as he resisted the urge to comment. Drescher turned to Grissom and Reid with a confident look about her.

'This is the best outcome we could hope for. Judging by Sparatus' actions the next offer could be exile or war.'

Grissom rubbed his tongue along his teeth as he considered the offer, the objective was to achieve a peaceful resolution to what could have easily ended with war. He nodded in agreement and Drescher turned to face the councillors again.

'We accept.'

'A wise choice human, we will adjourn for now and have the necessary documents drawn up.'

Tevos led the councilors off the platform and into a side door. Grissom, Drescher and Reid walked back down the stairs breathing sighs of relief. They gathered at the fountain smiling at the deal they had just brokered, but beneath the smiles were fears of what might come next.

'Councillor Sparatus obviously wasn't happy about the deal,' noted Reid.

'No, he could prove a problem going forward,' added Grissom.

'Sparatus is the least of our worries if the new rumours coming out of Recon are true.'

Drescher crossed her arms and looked at her feet, thinking about what she had seen. Being the Master in charge of reconnaissance and intelligence brought its perks but also its downfalls. She could still see the ship breaking apart under a bright white explosion, peeling away from itself.

'What news?'

'…The assassin have been rebuilding in the shadows, they've taken root in the Skyllian verge. They destroyed a ship in one of our scout convoys, the second ship barely made it out.'

'So the assassin are back in play, even after the incident on Raguel?'

'It would seem Raguel was just a front, the true ring leaders are still at large and their whereabouts are unknown.'

Sparatus growled with rage his irritation finally becoming too much to bare, fumbling from his mouth like a broken faucet.

'This is too light, you have undermined what this council stands for by giving those infants exactly what they wanted!'

'Sparatus calm down…'

'I will not calm down! I have given this position my heart and soul, I have stood by you both through thick and thin but when my people are under threat you give in … I've seen infant children with more backbone than you two.'

'Councillor Sparatus hold your tongue!' commanded the Primarch from his seat.

Sparatus turned to look at the bandaged Primarch sitting in a bulbous curved chair with a glass of olive liquid sitting on the short table next to him. He couldn't believe the Primarch had caved in, that the man he had idolised broke under the pressure.

'You have no right … you have betrayed us.'

'I have betrayed no-one. I have saved my people, our people, a long and bloody war. If you cannot see that then perhaps you weren't suited for the job after all.'

Sparatus felt something weigh him down, he could feel the scorn of the Primarch weighing on him. In disgrace Sparatus turned and left the room bound for his office. Tevos and Valern sighed a breath of relief as the tension released.

'I've never seen him like this,' noted Tevos.

'I have, only once. It was a long time ago but he'll get over it, don't take anything he had to heart … please,' sighed the Primarch.

'It's hard not to, considering he did just call us spineless.'

'You're telling me he's never called you spineless?'

'Well … not so directly,' noted Valern.

'I know where he is coming from, the humans need to be monitored closely. But we cannot be brash about this, the humans if not smaller in number have proven resourceful and unpredictable. Two ingredients that make a formidable opponent.'

'We'll make them commit to a strict territory and military restriction scheme, that way we can limit their expansion and ship production.'

'That's a start, but I fear there may be more to humanity than they are letting on…'

Vamshi system
Skyllian Verge

Pierce looked down at his feet as the shuttle shuddered to a halt and landed in the stations large hangar. He ran his fingers through his auburn hair to make it hang sideways and took several deep breaths. Standing up he felt his hair drag on the roof and his feet roll as the shuttle set itself door hissed open revealing the bustling hangar, workers welded pieces of plating into the bare skeleton of the hangar, and haulers pulled stacks of steel rods and hull plating. Amongst the chaos Pierce noticed an older man in grey and black uniform approaching, his jaw hidden behind a thick well-groomed beard. His hair was thick but grey like steel and his eyes were a sharp blue, almost like they were looking into your soul.

'You must be Pierce?' he asked with a low voice.

'Yes sir, I was sent here by the academy.'

Pierce pulled a folder from the satchel slung over his shoulder and handed it to the older officer. He opened it and glanced at the first page.

'Welcome aboard soldier, I'm officer Seris, your new mentor.'

Pierce straightened up and as Seris turned to walk Pierce followed him across the hangar and into a wide hallway. More technicians bundled up wires and fitted interior plating over thick titanium struts. The halls seemed to zig zag without going anywhere, the only distinctions of change were map boards and bold orange letters to signify different levels and departments. They entered an elevator and Seris pushed the button corresponding to barracks. Seconds passed and the doors opened again to reveal a large rectangular room decorated with black, orange and white banners. The room was segmented into cubicles filled with beds and lockers, Pierce was led to one at the farthest end with four beds and no people.

'This is where you will be spending your nights, the rest of your team will be along shortly.'

'Thank you sir, if you don't mind me asking, when do I start?'

'Tomorrow, you'll be kitted up and put through the trials.'

Pierce felt the anxiety creeping into his mind, he knew it would be a quick process but a single day? Seris slowly walked to the cubicles entrance before stopping and turning.

'You're not a rookie anymore, you're an assassin. Act like it.'

Seris left before Pierce could straighten his back, and instead he fell back onto the bed with a slight grunt. He'd been training for this, his whole life had been leading up to being here. It was time to take off the training wheels, it was time he became … an Assassin.