The Citadel II

Sampson walks up to the Elcor petitioning their ambassador as the Elcor turns to him.

"Hello there, human. Sincere apology, but I am here on business and cannot be distracted right now." The Elcor apologizes.

"You seem to be quite distressed. Is there something I can do to help?" Sampson asks earnestly.

"Nosy as always." Sapphire mumbles under her breath.

"Alarmed response, you overheard that, did you? This is all going so wrong, and it is the asari Consort's fault. She's the one who started all this." The Elcor says trying to appear flustered, but it is hard to tell with their muted range of expression.

"Who's this asari Consort?" Sampson asks with curiosity.

"Curious, you have not heard? You must be new to the Citadel. Everyone knows Sha'ira, the Consort. I cannot speak more about this problem; it is too sensitive. Suffice it to say, she has compromised my authority as a diplomat." The Elcor explains.

"I see, where can I find this Consort?" Sampson asks.

"She is across the bridge from here. Her offices are easy enough to spot. Good day, human." The Elcor says, turning back to their ambassador.

"And good day to you." Sampson says, turning to the Volus standing in the room beside the ambassador's desk.

The volus stares at Sampson, looking like a round meatball in a heavy and worn enviro-suit, before it begins to speak with labored breath through it's respirator, "Earth-clan, you are in the wrong place, I think. Your ambassador is next door in the large office." The jealous indignation thick in his nasally voice.

"Chastising remark. Don't be so rude, Din. At least introduce yourself." The Elcor ambassador says.

The volus ambassador sighs before introducing himself, "I am Din Korlak, volus ambassador. Is there something I can do for you, Earth-clan?"

"I'm Commander Sampson Shepard, with the Alliance Military. What is it you do here?" Sampson asks ignoring the exasperation in Din's voice.

"I look out for the best interests of the volus people. No easy task considering how often we are overlooked by the Council." Din says with dissatisfaction.

"Chastising rebuke, Din. The Council favors your species greatly." The Elcor ambassador says.

"You are naive, Calyn. The Earth-clan will be invited to the Council long before our species will." Din says indignantly.

"Why aren't the elcor or volus part of the Council?" Sampson asks with interest.

"All species must prove themselves before they join the Council. All but the Earth-clans, it would seem." Din says with dissatisfaction.

"Dismissive, ignore the volus ambassador, human. He is incorrect in his assessment." Calyn states.

"Really? How long have we been waiting? How long do you think we'll continue to wait? Bah. This talk is wasted on the humans." Din says placing his hands on his wide bulbous love handles.

"Well, would you mind telling me more about the volus?" Sampson asks.

"I'm sure our history and culture would bore you, Earth-clan." Din says dismissively.

"Actually, I'm quite fascinated by other species, their histories, and cultures. Would you mind sharing a little about them?" Sampson asks earnestly which takes Din by surprise.

"My people came to the Citadel shortly after the asari and the salarians had discovered it. We were instrumental in establishing a standardized galactic economy. However, despite our long association with the Citadel and our many contributions to galactic society, we still do not hold a seat on the Council." Din says indignantly.

"Interesting, and what about volus culture?" Sampson asks.

"We are tribal by nature, but our ways are not violent. We barter and trade our lands and tribe members in order to increase status. Larger tribes often engulf smaller ones and eventually split again. Our society is very malleable, and our government is always shifting and changing. Since we're not physically adept, we trade our services for protection." Din explains.

"Thank you. For your time." Sampson says.

"Hold on, I got a question, why are you so cranky and curmudgeonly?" Sapphire asks finally taking interest in the discussion.

"It's you humans fault! You are new to the Citadel, and yet the Council has granted you great favor!" Din says pointing a finger accusatorially at Sapphire.

"Chastising rebuke, Din. Your species has always been granted many concessions. Volus territory has expanded ten-fold since coming to the Citadel." Calyn corrects.

"Hmph. Details. We still have no real say in the decisions that affect Citadel space." Din says indignantly.

"I see… Well, ambassador Calyn, do you mind explaining why you explain what you're about to say?" Sampson asks turning his questions to Calyn.

"Our people communicate less through words and more through scent and slight movements. Plainly, we discovered our vocal expression was not enough to convey the feelings of our conversations to other species." Calyn explains.

"Why do you bother, Calyn? These Earth-clan don't really care about our ways." Din interjects accusatorially pointing a finger at Sampson.

"Remorseful response, Din. You don't truly believe that. And if you do, I am very sorry for you." Calyn drones.

"What do you do as an ambassador?" Sampson inquires further.

"Modestly, I work to bring the problems and the requests of the elcor groups to the attention of the Council." Calyn says.

"Ha. They only give us these positions to keep us quiet. The Council doesn't care about our races." Din berates Calyn.

"Chastising rebuke, your tone is inappropriate, Din. This human is not to blame for your malcontent or your misconceived suspicions." Calyn chastises in return.

"Would you mind telling me more about your people?" Sampson asks.

"Genuine enthusiasm, I delight in telling the history of my people. It is agreeable to share our culture with others." Calyn enthuses.

"Would you mind telling me about your history?" Sampson asks.

"The elcor were just beginning to explore Council space when the asari first made contact with us. With their help, we discovered the relay closest to our system and from there, the Citadel. Proudly, within one lifetime we established a regular route to the Citadel and quickly became one of the more active species living on this great station." Calyn explains.