Prologue
Authors note: The Mass Effect side of this is located in the Milky Way Galaxy (obviously) while the Homeworld side of things are located in the M-51 Whirlpool Galaxy
"Admiral Hackett, you are seen to many to represent what it means to stand strong for humanity and have fought more battles than any other Alliance officer. Care to comment on that?"
The old man looked at the reporter, having disembarked from the Vimy Ridge on the Citadel, bombarded with question as was customary whenever Alliance flag officers boarded the station. While it was not implied, associate races were supposed to keep their fleets in their own sector of space. Only council member races could bring warships to the Citadel. Unfortunately, it seemed humanity never got the memo, and while there was no law forbidding it, these sort of actions had the tendency of drawing the ire of the council races, namely the turians.
"Young lady, if you're saying that I'm old then I couldn't agree with you more. I worked with the boys at skunkworks trying to develop the warp and hyperdrive engines back in the late fourties."
"Um…wow," was all the reporter was able to muster before she found her voice again.
"So what brings you and the fifth fleet to the Citadel?"
"I'm sure you are aware of the recent assault against the slavers on Torfan?"
"Yes, we hear that the operation was to deal with the assault on Elysium, an assault held off by these reports by a one Sophia Shepard. Biotic and Alliance family name?"
"That's the one, apparently the council is concerned that we may have broken a few rules so I am to report to the ivory tower to explain why we gave no quarter to the animals who butchered our citizens and the soldiers who died defending them while the citadel fleet had more…pressing engagements."
"Admiral, are you implying?"
The admiral looked down at the reporter, "I'm not implying anything. We're just confused, because we were under the impression that if we abided by what the council demanded then we would also see the benefits of such a cooperative venture. I was told that mutual defense was part of that arrangement. When was the last time you've seen a turian fleet come flying to our aid? Shanxi doesn't count as 'aid'."
"Sir, you seem to harbor resentments to the council, is this the Alliance's stance or just your own?"
"Let me be clear, I understand the council's regulations as they need to maintain law and order. I also understand they can't run to the assistance of every associate race that has problems with rouge elements in the galaxy. I do take issue when associate races decide to handle these problems themselves that instead of the council congratulating us or at the very least stay out of it, they pass judgment on us and treat us as the bad guys." Finishing his tirade, the admiral said he had probably said too much, but like she said he was the old guard when humanity thought they were alone. Perhaps the new crop of officers could play nicer with the council races but he tended to step on toes, his only saving grace was there was no one with nearly the experience to replace him.
"Admiral, I would like to ask you one more question, this is about the soldier from Elysium. I hear she was recently awarded the Star of Terra."
"That's correct, the ceremony on Arcturus was presided on last week."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about Lieutenant-Commander Shepard?"
"Hell of an officer, and even a better soldier. You ever hear of the expression, 'run over by a freight train'? No? Well Shepard is an exceptional biotic from what I understand and an even better tactician, but what sets her apart is her leadership style. She's got it."
"She has what exactly, admiral?"
"Ever wonder what makes a soldier charge a beach covered with heavy machine gun emplacements or fight even when surrender would increase your chance of survival? It comes down to leadership. Some can get men to fight with either threats or encouragements but Shepard makes them fight because she makes them believe. This is not something that can't be taught as some staff college. Either you have it or you don't, and Shepard has it in spades."
"Thank-you for your time admiral," the reporter said, getting a nod from the old man who headed off to his meeting.
How would one explain the success of the hiigaran people and their rise from a group of banished desert people to commanding the largest sector of the galaxy in a timeframe of just over one hundred years? Many would say that is was due to their assistance from the Bentusi, or perhaps the far-jump core or that they were just in the right place at the right time. Such statements do not explain many problems, such as the technology they sold them was being used by the other races in the galaxy or how the vaygr were unable to defeat the hiigarans with the same far-jump core or how they were able to hold onto the inner rim as everyone was jockeying for control.
No, I would say that their success is due to something, or more some place. Kharak. Most historians write that the banishment to this planet was the worst thing to happen to the hiigarans who eventually called themselves the kushan. They claim that such a long time of isolation had destroyed much of their knowledge and technology. I would view it in a much different light. Kharak remade the hiigarans into a new race, one that hardly bears any resemblance to their ancestors.
You may ask how this is so, well I will point to you that age old phrase, 'how kushan of you'. What does that phrase imply? Well many things, but most of all it points to a dogged determination and a firm belief in family. Sure family played a cornerstone in ancient hiigaran society but not nearly to the degree that it plays now. Their exile to Kharak proved a very hostile environment for the hiigarans, forcing them to revert back to familial ties in a way that their people never had to when they lived on the garden world of Hiigara. The only option for survival was that they fight for it, essentially squeezing blood out of a stone.
This razor's edge survival instinct ensured that they were not defeated when they returned to the stars and faced the enormity of the Taiidan Empire, the engineers of their original demise. The problem that the emperor had was that the kushan refused to act in a way that every other race acted and so he could never destroy them. This sealed the fate of the empire as the kushan fleet eventually exited hyperspace over Hiigara and defeated their foe.
Then you may ask about the vaygr, how were they defeated? Weren't the hiigarans in the exact same tactical position as the taiidan were a century ago? The answer is both in the affirmative and the negative. The vaygr had numbers and surprise on their side, but they made the mistake as the taiidan and expected them to react the same way as the Taiidan Republic acted when it was under siege. They expected the hiigarans to pull their entire fleet back to protect the homeworld but instead they sent out the mothership deep into vaygr-controlled territory and a task-force to find their leader. Unprepared for such a move, the hiigarans were able to strike at the soft spots of the vaygr war machine and cause it to come crashing down.
As to why they lead today? Can any race seriously object to their right to rule? They took control of the mighty progenitor ship Sajuuk, a vessel created by a race long since gone from the galaxy and uncovered their ancient network of hyperspace gates. To this day, the ship is still under the control of Karan S'jet, the person who commanded both the first and second motherships. While they possess these remarkable technologies, it is how they wield them that has cemented their right to rule in the minds of most races. The gates have been open to all and progenitor warships have not been used in anger since the vaygr wars, the hiigarans appearing to prefer maintaining the peace that was achieved upon the network being activated.
Will they remain the dominant race in the galaxy? Who knows? We do know that no empire lasts forever, even the progenitors faded from memory but then again remembered because of their legacy. Time will tell if this Age of S'jet will leave the same mark on the galaxy.
-Excerpt from Rise and Fall: End of the Taiidan Empire to the Age of S'jet
Timeline of the Kushan/Hiigaran rise to power
**Timelines are given based on AHL (After Hiigaran Landfall)**
0AHL=9510 GSY (Galactic Standard Year)=1216 KDS (Kharak Dating System)
Note: The Kharak Dating System is currently defunct and is only used in reference to historical events on Kharak
1106 KDS (9400 GSY): Wreck of Khar-Toba discovered
1110 KDS (9404 GSY): Expedition to Khar-Toba reached
1112 KDS (9406 GSY): Second Core discovered in Khar-Toba
1135 KDS (9429 GSY): Guidestone discovered in Khar-Toba
1155 KDS (9449 GSY): Decision to follow map on guidestone made
1159 KDS (9453 GSY): Mothership project accepted
1160-1170 KDS (9454-9464 GSY): First orbital infrastructure constructed in Kharak orbit
1180-1190 KDS (9474-9484 GSY): Scaffold built in orbit around Kharak
1190-1215 KDS (9484-9509 GSY): Mothership constructed in scaffold
1216 KDS (9510 GSY): Kharakian Genocide, Homeworld War, Kadeshi race faces possible extinction after losing at the Cathedral of Kadesh, Fall of Taiidan Empire, death of Emperor Riessteu IV the Second, Hiigaran Landfall
4 AHL (9514 GSY): New Daiamid established, Imperial Taiidan faction leads major incursion into Hiigaran sphere of influence
6 AHL (9516 GSY): Taiidan Republic signs non-aggression and co-operation pact with Hiigarans, Bentusi re-establish trade relations with Taiidan Republic
9 AHL (9519 GSY): Imperial Taiidan launch second incursion, reach Hiigara only to be thrown back
11 AHL (9521 GSY): Imperial Taiidan launch third incursion, reaching Hiigara again only to be thrown back, Hiigaran economy stabilizes and rationing is no longer required
15 AHL (9525 GSY): History of Hiigaran Landfall written, Beast War begins, Bentusi open inter galactic slip gates to escape subversion entity
113 AHL (9623 GSY): Vaygr begin offensive throughout the Eastern Fringes, absorbing Imperialist Taiidan and besieging Taiidan Republic, formal aid of the Hiigarans requested
114 AHL (9624 GSY): Hiigaran task force enroute to Taiidan Republic ambushed and forced to retreat, Taiidan Republic falls
115 AHL (9625 GSY): Vaygr War begins, final Bentusi ship destroys itself to eliminate Keepers of Abassid, Vaygr leader Makaan defeated at Balcora, Karan S'jet activates Sajuuk, Vaygr siege of Hiigara broken, Eye of Aarran discovered and progenitor gate network activated, Age of S'jet begins
The Kharakian Genocide/The Burning of Kharak
This even more than any in recent history is more than likely to leave a mark on the collective conscience of the galaxy for centuries to come. The Taiidan Empire launched an unprovoked attack on the Kushan that lead to the homeworld war. Upon detecting the hyperdrive test, a fleet was dispatched to destroy the planet. After a brief fight with Kharak's planetary defenses, the Taiidan bombarded the planet with Atmospheric Deprivation Weapons, leading to the death of roughly three hundred million Kushan.
Both the short and long-term effect were devastating on the Kushan, their society and culture were almost completely destroyed as would have been their race had the cryo trays, large constructs that contained sleeper pods with six hundred thousand Kushan colonists aboard and even these were under attack by a small Taiidan reserve force.
Once the colonists were safe, they captured one of these vessels and eventually tracked down the fleet that destroyed their world. The event also had the effect that it triggered the long-overdue Taiidan rebellion which forced the empire to fight a two-front war and allowed the Kushan to reach Hiigara where they defeated the emperor and his elite guard.
The long-term effects of the attack were that the colonists in stasis were selected based on giving the highest chance of success, which meant they were neither too young nor too old. Therefore, the new Hiigaran population was without the experience of the older population or children. When the colonists were awoken from sleep to find most of their family gone, dozens of them committed suicide in the first few weeks while others became consumed with hatred for the Taiidan who had taken everything from them. Another side effect was that many of the smaller Kiith eventually went extinct, having too few members to continue the lineage.