Chapter 152

The Citadel Council ever since the battle of the Citadel in which the Ascendency forces had completely overpowered their defenses and taken over the Citadel in less than 4 hours has changed over the years. Now the Citadel Defense fleet was bolstered with new and improved ships, weapons, and kinetic Barriers.

Most of the weapons that they had created were taken from Interstellar Enterprises which had a contract with the Citadel Council to produce advanced technology for them. As such, Interstellar Enterprises had managed to establish itself well on the Citadel and was on the road to becoming one of the most popular corporations in the galaxy.

Following the battle of the Citadel, various factions within the Terminus systems had started to see the Citadel as weak since the 3 biggest largest and most powerful species couldn't even defend themselves against the Ascendency. This was in no way a logical analysis of the Citadel Council since they were facing a much larger and technologically superior fleet than anything the galaxy had ever seen.

So those that started to see the Citadel Council and fleets as weak were quickly shown that, that was not the case. Pirates and warlords who tried to exploit the Council because of their weakness, were quickly reminded that the Citadel Council was not to be messed with.

The Council's swift and brutal retaliation had sent a clear message through the galaxy: the Citadel was far from weak, and those who dared to challenge it would soon regret their foolishness.

The Council had initiated a series of cover operations to infiltrate and destabilize key factions within the Terminus Systems. These operations were aimed not only at gathering intelligence but also at sowing discord among the opposing faction leaders, fracturing their alliances from within.

They couldn't take direct action as it would cause a war between the Council and the Terminus Systems which would affect Hundreds of Billions of lives.

As the covert operations unfolded, the Citadel Council's elite teams worked in the shadows, recruiting spies and informants from within the Terminus Systems. They utilized cutting-edge surveillance tech and hacking tools provided by Interstellar Enterprises, turning enemy assets against each other.

Back on the Citadel, public opinion was cautiously optimistic. The populace, once shaken by the swift fall of their defenses during the Ascendency's attack, now found a renewed sense of security in the enhanced fleet and the proactive measures taken by their leaders. Holovids and broadcasts highlighted the technological marvels now defending them, ships capable of fast maneuvers and kinetic barriers that could withstand unprecedented levels of punishment.

The Turians despite their involvement in the invasion of the Citadel were not exactly blamed for it officially. All of the blame was put on former Councilor Kaitus while the Turian Hierarchy were not aware of his actions at all. During the investigation into Councilor Kaitus activities, C-Sec had found lots of data and information showing his other activities which involved things like embezzlement and illicit arms dealing.

This information not only brought about the dismantlement of his support network within the Turian Hierarchy but also put a lot of pressure on the next Turian Councilor's shoulders who will be constantly under watch.

Meanwhile, the Citadel's newly formed Intelligence Oversight Committee, led by an Asari matriarch known for her wisdom and serenity, was tasked with overseeing the operations within the Terminus Systems. Their goal was clear: to ensure that while the operations aimed at safeguarding the galaxy, they also adhered to strict ethical guidelines. This delicate balance of power and morality was crucial in maintaining the integrity of the Council's actions across star systems.

However, as these forces began to move like chess pieces on a board, the Reapers were already making their move in the galaxy. They had been monitoring the developments closely and trying to figure out a way to send a signal to the Keepers to open the portal to dark space and start the Reaper invasion of the galaxy.

A lot of time had passed since their last invasion, and they were getting suspicious that something must have happened for their invasion to be delayed. Reaper agents were already embedded deep within the ranks of a minor rising faction within the Terminus Systems and had begun to slowly indoctrinate others to grow powerful enough to create another way for the Reapers to infiltrate major strategic points across the galaxy. Their method was insidious, leveraging the chaos and infighting among the various factions to subtly manipulate people.

But the Protheans who delayed their arrival had made it quite difficult for them to start their purge of the galaxy. It would take years without any interference before they could find another way into the galaxy.

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Over the course of the next 3 years until 2183, things were beginning to change within the galaxy. The Alliance together with the Turian Hierarchy had created a "deep scout" frigate called the Normandy which was Stealth Reconnaissance ship mainly and the first of its class.

The ship is optimized for solo reconnaissance missions deep within unstable regions, using state-of-the-art stealth technology powered by an experimental drive core. The Alliance using their combined research efforts with the Ascendency had managed to create a very powerful drive core for the Normandy, which was different and more powerful than the one they used for their normal warships considering the Normandy was an Experimental project.

The project was to basically show how good the relations were between the Alliance and Turian Hierarchy and to promote further co-operation between the two.

Initially the Normandy was commanded by an Alliance officer by the name of Elli Zander, but because of some conflict with a turian chief engineer, he was replaced by Captain David Anderson who became the new commander of the Normandy and was allowed to hand pick his crew.

As a result, Anderson had picked a man who was labeled as an Alliance hero because of his actions during the Skyllian Blitz, and during the thresher maw incident. The now Commander Shepard was chosen to become his new XO, while at the same time, Anderson had become a sort of Mentor towards the Commander who had a rough childhood and a very interesting service record.

It was also during this time that Commander Shepard had joined the ASF Special forces, becoming one of only two Alliance Humans to ever receive the honor. The ASF Special Forces were similar to the Citadel Council's Spectres only they were much better at what they do and have access to better technology.

With his new role, Captain Anderson had decided to step down from Command of the Normandy and give command of the ship to Shepard so that he could start his mission which was to start investigating Reaper activities across the galaxy. His first mission was to respond to an attack on the Alliance Colony world of Eden Prime.