The Effect of a Better Diplomat

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The Effect of a Better Diplomat

Postby Nekomata-sensei » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:28 pm

One of the things that has always bugged me about Mass Effect (and to a lesser degree Mass Effect 2) is Ambassador Udina. It's hard to see who would support him in his position, or see someone like him as a good idea to represent humanity to the council. Yes, he does want to advance humanity's position, yes he apparently has lots of useful contacts and has some understanding of politics, but it is pretty clear that he annoys the council, their opinion of him is poor, and he is deep into dirty back-dealing to the point it seems pretty clear the council is aware of much of it. This puts humanity in a terrible position of being seen as dishonest and aggressive and overly ambitious by the council, and likely reflects through pretty much anyone who has dealt with Udina, possibly even seen him in any sort of public speaking.

Even humans approaching him seeking to communicate with the Council or related issues would likely find him rather obstructionist if their cause is inconvenience politically for him or humanity, to the point that it is hard to see him maintaining his position against the likely outcry and distrust towards him.

My idea is to replace the character, or perhaps more accurately, the position, with a character patterned, and named, after the character Dr. Elizibeth Weir from the Stargate series.

Dr. Weir will have, in her background in this setting, started out as a protester of Alliance military activities in the Traverse, and militarily spending, as well as the Alliance, something that is virtually a military organization formed to prepare for potential alien threats, is now essentially the De-Facto human government that represents humanity to the Galaxy. Unlike many of her peers, she soon realized problems with her position, and that if she wants to reduce spending on the military, she has to negotiate peace and safety first, and she joins the Alliance as a diplomat to work to change things within the system. She has since brokered many difficult colonial conflicts, although she has failed at attempts to deal with the Batarian slaving and pirate attack issues, in particular, attempts to demand the return of at least all humans currently held as slaves by the Batarians, as well as end their funding of pirate and slaver attacks. Part of it is she can't get them to stop the funding, or admit slavery is wrong, and their insistence about slavery being part of their culture. The weak point in their arguments are the refusal to return all human slaves, which were 'legitimately purchased' even though they were illegally kidnapped, plus the Batarians are no longer part of the Citadel races, and thus not having to follow their laws, and clearly 'blame' humanity for various vague issues, and are furious about human settlement in the Attican Traverse with no legitimate reasons or claims of their own regarding such, other than a desire for the resources, when humans want the resources as well, and their beef, if anything, should be with the Council rather than humanity, but she has soon realized that these various claims aren't the honest feelings of the Batarians, the Batarians are dishonest and egotistical and sadistic, as well as somewhat cowardly and rather manipulative. They desire to enslave other races, if not rule the entire Galaxy one day under a similar Iron Fist that much of their own people suffer under in their own Systems, and would never accept peace or equality, the only reason they aren't in a war of conquest, is because they know they'd be wiped out, and their fleets are no match for the Council, or even humanity, but they'll take anything they can get, and have a very negative culture and racial mentality, as well as massive propaganda controlled by their government, who prefers the status quo of their rulership. The only way there can remain 'peace' with the Batarians is so long as they are too weak to defeat other races, and even then, they will continue to perform evil and criminal activities as much as they can without getting completely annihilated. In fact, they are more offended by the fact everyone else won't just bow to enslavement by them than anything else. It might not even entirely be a cultural issue, it might partly be instincts, and something that couldn't be changed without forceful genetic engineering and cultural re-education. She hates to admit it, but she has even considered that the only way to end the pirate and slaver raids would be to commit genocide on the Batarians, or commit virtual genocide by doing something similar to the Genophate to mentally and culturally neutralize them, as they probably aren't capable of proper Galactic coexistence as they are now, although she'll only admit this in private to close trusted friends.

Dr. Weir makes a name for herself when she manages to convince the Quarians to allow her to represent the Flotilla to the Council for crimes committed against the Quarian people. She successfully argues that the Council is unfairly punishing the Quarians as a race for the mistakes of a few programmers. She uses evidence of the Council's actions regarding Ekuna, which the Quarians had both discovered and started to colonize, as well as requested to be allowed to colonize, before being forced off with threat of bombardment if they didn't leave quickly enough, forcing them to leave much belongings behind. There is no good excuse for their eviction, given that the Quarians discovered the world. The Citadel Council also didn't have much excuse to punish them by stripping them of their embassy, let alone refusing to aid them when they'd failed to shut down the Geth on their own, given that the laws of the Citadel Council require the 'lesser' races that join them and keep embassies there to reduce their military power and submit to council 'protection' and policing. Dr. Weir, after 3 months of intense negotiation, and some reports on the current state of the Migrant Fleet, and a bunch of both positive and negative reports of Quarians on pilgrimage or the activities of the Migrant Fleet in areas they've visited, manages to convince the Citadel Council to pay large reparations to the Quarian fleet, restore their embassy, and promise future aid in potential colonization attempts so long as the planets they choose are unclaimed or they manage to petition the council for a claim and win the claim, and possible aid dealing with adapting their immune systems to such new worlds. She also convinces the Quarians to work with the Sirta Foundation in order to try and develop genetic treatments to improve the Quarian immune system and various advances to Quarian medicine, and arrange a contract between the Quarians and Sirta Foundation that the Quarians can afford thanks to the settlement she helped them get with the Council. She has been given high honors by the Quarian Fleet thanks to this, and is a nominal crew-member of the Rayaa.

Dr. Weir is selected to become the new human ambassador to the Council on the Citadel after Udina gets caught attempting to assassinate a human colonist militia member he'd refused to represent to the Council, who was seeking for help due to abuse by a Salarian group living on the same world. C-Sec, despite Udina trying to dispose of evidence and sweep this under the rug and implicate them and distract them with red-herrings through his contacts, winds up managing to catch him, largely thanks to Detective Chellick. With Udina disgraced, they need a new representative right away, one who can help heal humanity's position given the revelations that came after Udina's disgrace when some other people started coming forward with evidence or other evidence was dragged out in ensuing investigations, partly pushed by people who Udina had managed to piss off. Dr. Weir came up as an option, and many who knew her pushed for her, although they had some trouble many wealthy people with connections who would prefer someone like Udina in the position who they could bribe and stuff, Dr. Weir was pushed through by a few good higher ups in the Alliance, including Admiral Kohaku, and the current head of the Sirta Foundation on the civilian side. Many of the wealthy supporters of Udina from Bekenstein are not pleased, and there is an attempt to assassinate Weir, thwarted mainly by a Quarian C-sec officer and Admiral Kohaku, after which Dr. Weir is assigned to have an Alliance security detail keeping watch on her, and security protocols in the Presidium are updated.

Dr. Weir successfully argues the case of the human colonists against the Salarian group, but also gets the Colonists to bend in a few areas to keep resentment from being built, and then starts making other changes right and left, including the removal of support from Harkin, and approving his subsequent removal, and importing some much cleaner and more ethical and well-meaning cops, including Bailey. While initially seen as an 'alien sympathizer' and too soft and flexible, and too willing to leave humanity at disadvantages, and that she won't be pushing hard enough for improvement in humanity's position in the Galactic stage, these arguments soon turn out to be mostly unfounded, although some of the deals she brokers still displease a lot of groups, especially as she is more fair than pro-human, the Council has found her far more formidable than Udina, and in her influences with some human dealings with the Batarians, it has become clear that she does understand when the military is needed, and surprisingly cunning and dangerous. It also becomes clear that she considers the Uplifting of the Krogan, the genophage, the Turian tendency to conquer 'client races' which humanity would have become one of if they didn't have as strong a military and the Council wouldn't have intervened, as well as obviously the actions towards the Quarians as evidence the Council races aren't really 'better' in any ways other than powerful economies and military forces, and that the numbers strength of the Turian military in comparison to their population and actual activities isn't a good thing in her mind, but she still wants to work with them and improve relations with them. She manages to negotiate surprising levels of human immigration into Council controlled worlds, which had been previously not particularly encouraged, especially in comparison to colonization in the Attican Traverse, yet still manages to argue increased protection of Colonies in the Traverse. Her main argument platform there is that the Council should either budge on this, or allow humanity to build and operate a fleet in excess of whatever they currently estimate the Batarians have, regardless of the Treaty of Farixen and other restrictions, on the grounds that they should be strong enough to protect themselves from belligerent states which threaten piracy, terrorism, and kidnapping of slaves, and openly practice slavery, and that with the Citadel Council not really giving them any benefits for being a member race, there is little reason they shouldn't leave it like the Batarians did and increase their military. The Batarians aren't pleased, but aren't stupid enough to go to war over this, although they dearly want to, and it isn't large enough an increase to make them fear invasion.

Dr. Weir is also instrumental in increasing working relations between the Alliance and other races, including the Turians, Quarians, Asari, Salarians, and Volus, brokering a large number of deals, which, generally speaking, most on both sides are happy with, and help to improve Galactic opinions of humanity as a whole. It does become clear that there is a human criminal element, but the Council races aren't exactly all angels either. Dr. Weir also manages to establish positive working relations with the other ambassadors, including the Volus, Elchor, and Hanar ones, as well as the Quarian one of course.

The story involved wouldn't be so much about Dr. Weir's 'background' here, as a divergence in Mass Effect due to having an honest and talented person as humanity's Ambassador on the Citadel. This would have minor changes to the Normandy (the Quarians and Salarians also helped in building it, although to a lesser degree than the humans and Turians), but changes become more apparent upon arrival at the Citadel, as Dr. Weir is much friendlier to the arrival of Shepard, and better questions Saren's knowledge, pointing out that Nihlus sent no messages out from Eden Prime, and the Council's first word of his death also included implications against Saren, which forces Saren to claim/admit Nihlus had 'made arrangements' due to Saren having taught him and such, for his files to be passed on to Saren in the event of his death, as the Council didn't do this directly, and claim that humanity somehow leaked evidence or claims of Nihlus' death which caused this information to be released to Saren by outside sources, which has accumulated as a Specter.

Tali winds up being rescued while you are gaining evidence against Saren with Garrus' help, as she has been attacked on her way to the Quarian embassy, and is trapped in the wards, and managed to get off a message to the Quarian ambassador, who relayed it through Dr. Weir, and sends Shepard who was in the area. Wrex doesn't get involved, because there is no reason for him to in this setup. Tali's evidence proves Saren's guilt and reveals Benezia's involvement. More changes would likely build without Wrex in the party (possibly up to other things on his own? Maybe turns up with Saren's forces at Virmire having been turned to Saren's side due to rumors of a Genophage cure? mayble stumbled across in some other way, perhaps dealing with the Shadow Broker, who he appears to be employed by when you first meet up with him?)

Further changes would develop as Weir becomes humanity's Counselor in ME2, and humanity, the Alliance, and to a lesser degree for colonies within the Attican Traverse (although not the Terminus Systems) the Citadel Fleet has been investigating the disappearances of human colonies, although no useful evidence has been found, tension has increased, and there are many who blame the Batarians, and fear some kind of new Batarian super-weapon capable of incapacitating whole colonies for enslavement.

Weir's getting better support of the Colonies forces the Illusive Man to up his schedule for ensuring Shepard's awakening, and he instead has Shepard's body cloned, and brain transplanted, to reduce the work and time involved. It doesn't reach the point where Wilson gets the better offer before Shepard wakes up, so Shepard winds up awakening, figuring out (he or she) is held by Cerberus, even if they claim to have essentially resurrected Shepard from the dead, Shepard attempts to escape the base, but is convinced to at least talk with the Illusive Man after finding their paths off the base cut off, and realizing base personnel are unwilling to fire lethal weaponry at them. The Illusive Man gets Shepard to a colony in time to gather evidence of the collectors, but Shepard brings this evidence to the council, and submits to Weir's requests for examinations and such, to confirm the cloning, and they discover bugs planted in Shepard by the Illusive Man, as well as the illegal use of an AI in the new Normandy, which is only partly finished. Weir winds up tracking down how Cerberus got Shepard's body, and gets Shepard un-legally-dead, as well as the bugs removed, and placed in command of a new ship the SR-2 (but not Normandy), and no longer working with Cerberus, but reinstated as a Specter and such, although ordered to keep a relatively low profile about the Reapers, as that is being covered up to prevent wide-scale panic and galactic economies crashing and such.

These are just some ideas of possible effects of a better diplomat, but the real idea here is replacing Udina with someone more palatable and like-able, and that being the main real change starting a divergence.
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Re: The Effect of a Better Diplomat

Postby Pale Wolf » Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:31 pm

Well.

Uh, thanks for bringing our attention to the fact that there wasn't an Outlines forum in SF/F. We'd initially made the Outlines subforum explicitly for these huge 'ideas' that actually elaborate on every niggling tiny little detail, but apparently we forgot to toss one in here.

Moved.
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Re: The Effect of a Better Diplomat

Postby DCG » Tue Mar 29, 2011 6:16 pm

Gah! What?

Whats going on? Are we under attack?

Im just looking around and BAM giant Wall O'text.

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