A/N: Alright, now what am I doing? Starting yet another fic unplanned while my other fics STILL have chapters pending? Yup.
I'm surprised no one else has attempted something like this already. Maybe it'll be terrible, but I won't know till I try, right? Quick note before I start: I have not played MGSV yet and, even though I know a few things about it, I'm probably going to exclude it from the timeline entirely. It's not very important anyway.
Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to EA and Bioware and Metal Gear belongs (unfortunately) to Konami
"Speech" / 'Thoughts' / "Codec"
Planet Khar'shan (Harsa System / Kite's Nest Cluster / Milky Way Galaxy)
The entire chassis of the craft shook violently as gravity took hold of the pod, bringing it into the fiery embrace of atmospheric friction. The G-Forces were incredible, but the men noticed it little as their cybernetically enhanced bodies and kinetic barrier shields softened the blow. Their commander, Whispering Fox, looked around at them closely, surveying their condition through his visor. These men were FOXHOUND, top of the class, but even among their ranks there were still those who'd never before performed a combat drop like this. He couldn't blame them; it was only his third time, after all, and death could occur at any moment.
One of the more recent additions to his squad, Mole Rat, was quaking in his boots (well, if he had boots anyway; cyborgs don't really wear them in combat).
"Sir, is this really necessary?" he asked shakily, likely trying to quell his nerves before they scuttled the pod.
"We can't be certain of how accurate their sensors are, soldier. We have to take every precaution to make sure they don't notice our insertion," he replied, keeping a strong and confident air about him. If he wanted these men to follow him, he would have to show them he was capable of leading them to victory.
"If you say so, sir. Personally, I'd rather take my chances in a shuttle."
"Come now, Rat," said Cleaving Mantis, a soldier that had been with him since the IPO academy, "Don't you know what the mortality rate is on a combat drop like this?"
"One in Forty," he deadpanned, "and you can't blame me for wanting to keep my feet on the ground."
"Don't be so pathetic. You'll never last in a firefight if you keep acting like that!" the man returned, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Enough bickering, gentlemen," Fox called their attention, "We're almost at drop distance. Lower your visors and straighten your posture. It's a long way down if you fall."
Light filled their eyes and the sound of grinding filled their ears as the countdown began and the release motors whirred to life. The mechanical tones of a female VI filled their ears as they all let a deep breath out, calming their nerves slightly before free fall.
"INITIATING DROP IN 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... LOCKS RELEASED. GOOD LUCK."
*THUNK*
That was the last thing they heard before the panels of the pod burst off in front of them and they were violently ejected from the center chassis. The sound of wind rushing was all that filled their ears as they plummeted to the drop point on the surface.
Ignoring the deafening roar that was racking his helmet, Fox looked around for his men. Much to his relief, all six of them were visible against the night sky, a faint blue glow covering each of their armors. Parachutes and thrusters were far too noticeable in this day and age, so they had to supplement with experimental mass-repulsion fields to slow their descent. It was good in theory; they WERE supposed to be posing as an asteroid burning up in the atmosphere. However, the technology was still experimental which lead to a lot of unfortunate incidents.
As they neared the planet's surface, their fall all but dissipated, allowing them to hit the ground with all the force of a feather. The men stood up, quickly scanning the area to make sure they were truly unnoticed.
"Rat? Anyone approaching?" Fox addressed the soldier.
Still a bit shaky from the drop, the man unsealed his upper visor and placed his ear to the ground. Having once been a blind kid out on the streets, without the money for cybernetic replacements, his sense of hearing became top notch along with his skills with sneaking. Once he'd joined the military and got his implants, his auditory sense became even more astute, to the point that he had to dull them in order to remain sane. Kneeling, he placed an ear to the ground, closing his eyes.
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump*
"No one in the vicinity, sir."
"How about inside the compound?"
"Around 200 hostages... 50 Batarians, 30 of them armed and... one armed human moving through the facility."
"That's amazing," Mantis complimented half-sarcastically, "How does he do it?"
"Different races have different body/mass ratios" Rat explained, annoyed, "Batarians are generally lighter than most bipedal races, even with their armor and weapons. It's pretty easy to discern them from the others because they make smaller vibrations on the ground."
Leaving the two to hammer out the rest of the details, Fox knelt down and placed two fingers on his auditory implant connected to his helmet.
"Command, this is Fox. We've landed safely on the surface with no casualties. The men and I have determined the number of enemies inside and are currently attempting to find a way into the facility."
"Roger that, Fox," a relaxed voice came through the speakers, "By the way, my code name has been approved. Just call me Harry."
"Alright, Harry," he responded, amused, "Do you have anything for me?"
"My superiors want me to go over the details of the mission again."
Fox let out a sigh, prompting Harry to let out a chuckle. "Proceed."
"Mission is as follows: Enter the compound undetected, knock out all outbound communications, rescue the hostages, and bring them to the rendezvous point for pick up. Humans are a priority, though, I'm sure the Alliance would appreciate gaining the Council's gratitude for rescuing any alien hostages. I'm afraid there's a catch, though."
"A catch?"
"Yes, there's one specific target you've been ordered to rescue at any cost. The name's Emmerich, Roy Emmerich."
He raised an eyebrow. "Emmerich? You mean from the family of geniuses?"
"The very same; brother of the equally famous Rachael Emmerich, in fact. He was doing research of some kind on one of our more remote colonies and was kidnapped during a raid. We are unsure if they've learned his identity, but we can guarantee it's going to get a lot harder to extricate him if they do."
"Roger that. I'll find him."
"Very good. If you need any help, we've brought in a few specialists to help you. You'll be introduced as you need them. Harry out."
Returning to the real world, he stood up to find his squad all looking at him expectantly.
"What's the word, sir?" a lesser squadmate, Rhesus, asked.
"We're to knock out communications and rescue the hostages," he commanded, "Mole Rat, you're to remain out here and advise our troops."
The man looked a bit cross at his minor assignment, but nodded in affirmation nonetheless.
"Mantis, you're in charge of disabling outbound communications. Make sure they have no way of contacting their bases back in the Hegemony."
The man unsealed his visor, revealing a smug grin, and gave a thumbs up. "Got it."
"Everyone else," he directed at the rest of his squad, "You're to infiltrate the facility and find the hostages. Rat will guide you on your way."
The rest of the men gave a signal of their understanding. Some called out, others saluted, but all conveyed the message that his orders had been received.
"You have your orders, men. I won't lie to you, the odds are in our favor, however, one false step, one misplaced sound, one suit malfunction, is the difference between victory and failure. You have stealth camouflage, sneaking suits, and soliton radar, but you're not to rely on these tools. Remember, you were a soldier before you had them! There are teams all over the planet, taking part in this operation. If we do our part right, the Hegemony will wake up tomorrow without a single slave to its name and none the wiser as to who rescued them."
He was grinning madly by the end of the speech, not that they could see, but they looked like they were ready to cheer if it wouldn't rouse suspicion from the compound's guards. After a moment, Mantis waved them off.
"You heard the man! Let's get moving."
Within the space of a minute, Mole Rat was leading them over the hills, while he and Mantis nestled on top of a rock wall, scouting out the utilitarian side of the compound.
"Nice speech. You rehearse that, or was it off the top of your head?" Mantis said, messing with his swords, making sure they were ready for the mission.
"The latter. It's not complex or artful, but it got the job done," he returned, scouting out the area with the binocular function on his helmet's visor.
He could already see a nice-looking vent shaft with his name on it.
Galactic Codex:
Non-Council Races:
Humanity and Systems Alliance:
First Contact War:
Humanity's first contact with an alien race occurred in the Solar Year 2157. At that time, the Alliance allowed survey fleets to activate any dormant mass relays discovered, a practice considered dangerous and irresponsible by Council-aligned races. When a turian patrol discovered a human fleet attempting to activate a relay, they attacked.
Having cultivated electromagnetic weaponry for years prior to the discovery of Element Zero, Humanity had the advantage in both weaponry and technology, but the Turian forces were superior in both number and tactical experience. The grueling battle lasted for months, both in space and on the ground with the Turians unable to overcome the human naval force and completely overwhelmed by their superior infantry. Finally, the Turians managed to get a single ship past the human blockade, causing the Hierarchy to prep for full-scale and drawing the attention of the rest of the galaxy. The Council quickly intervened in the conflict and signed a peace treaty with the Alliance. Fortunately for both sides, the war ended in a diplomatic solution.
Cybernetics:
Much to the curiosity, and sometimes disdain, of the rest of the galaxy, over 75% of humanity has had their bodies modified with mechanical parts. The level of modification varies from person-to-person, but generally most humans practice this procedure in preparation for living in space, while most "pure" humans remain on Earth.
When not in combat or other strenuous work, most cyborgs hide their augments with a layer of artificial skin. It's said, the number of people who practice this has gone up since first contact, probably due to a desire to fit in with the rest of society.
Children are not allowed to be modified until they have reached a certain age. The majority of families see this as rite of passage into adulthood. It has often been compared to the Quarians exchanging of suits.
Unfortunately, due to the natural nervous system being replaced with mechanical parts, Humanity is incapable of developing or using Biotics.
FOXHOUND:
Comparable to the Asari Commandos or the Salarian STG, the FOXHOUND unit is a group of highly skilled human soldiers that handle wet-works operations and espionage on behalf of the government. Unique to their race, Humanity is known for recruiting a number of individuals with strange powers or abilities into the ranks of FOXHOUND, however, similar to the Spectres, these are most likely just rumors spread by fans.
When a soldier is selected to join FOXHOUND, they must give up their real name in favor of an animal-themed code name. Many races wonder why this is necessary even among the higher echelons of military and government, and to answer, current FOXHOUND Commander, Fleet Admiral Miller, offered: "Who we are at home is not who we are on the battlefield."
A/N: Well, that's a chapter. Fair warning, I may add characters without warning simply to have another character. For example, Both Fox and Mantis are supposed to be characters from the Mass Effect universe, but Mole Rat is a character completely of my own creation. I'll delve more into the differences later on, such as humanity's very liberal use of AI. Let me know what you think so far, and please send me any ideas if you have them. I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Till next time, folks. Ciao.
