Hello everyone and thanks for giving this story a try! (Disclaimer: If I did own the rights to any of these characters or games, I would not b sitting here writing ff's, so no, I don't)
I don't know how often I will be able to update, but I'll try for at least once a month, more if possible. Might be longer if I don't manage to produce something satisfying, we'll see. This is just the very first step after all.
This is actually my very first one ever to be published, so my writing skills might need a lot of polish, although that is hopefully just a matter of time.
please review, I depend on it to improve myself :S If you have ideas for some scenario you might want to see in this crossover, feel free to pm me! ^^ There is already a pretty solid romance in this chapter, but that might actually change when they meet the Special Zone ihabitants, who knows...
Also a great thanks to Tusken1602 (author of a simply terrific Mass Effect FF) who, although busy himself, found the time to beta-read this chapter :)
Since I don't know what else to say for now, let's get to it :)
"Wow", he said, "it's finally over, isn't it?" Commander Youji Itami of the UEF sighed. He was already fighting for a terribly long time, already back when the human factions still had been enemies. The Infinite War, the time before Rhianne had made use of the Black Sun. He never could think of it as less than an enlightening experience, that moment when the whole galaxy heard the voice of wisdom and peace. If only they had known earlier that the greatest war was yet to come. And now, the Seraphim were defeated.
"All CHD commanders, report status", Itami said over the open comm channel.
"Rhiza here, I'm all clear. Still a bit roughed up, but all systems out of critical. Life susupport and cooling systems are green, the generators are not working on full capacity, but the Engineering Suite is doing its job. My base is pretty much fubar. I'm already heading towards your position, ETA five minutes, north coast."
"Affirmative. How's the rest?"
"Kuwahara, all systems green, defense perimeter on full efficiency. I'll proceed harvesting the junk in the dead zone, over."
"Nishina, all green, shutting down production facilities. Remaining units are on standby on the coast, over."
"Tomita, for Kurokawa, all green, the Black Sun Control Center is still intact, mostly. Maintainence proceeding as planned. Standby on position, over."
"Kuribajashi, all green. I'm withdrawing the T4 units from the gate site to Vendetta's base site. Let's see how much of the ACU and the Paragon may still be of use, over."
"Kurata, all green, standby on your six, over."
"Azuma, same, over."
"Tozu, same, over."
"Katsumoto, same, over."
"Sasagawa, same, over."
"Furata, same, over."
"Dostya, all green, still on position on Fletcher's base. I confirm the destruction of his ACU, status Brigadier Fletcher is KIA. I currently respec for a teleporter, then I'll jump to your position, over."
"Understood. HQ, Supreme Commander Itami speaking. All units of UEF, Cybran and Aeon confirmed green and secure, gathering one click north-east of the Quantum Archway. Area clear, no enemy presence detected. Status exfiltration? Over." Oh, how he wanted to go home. Ever since he was chosen to fight the wars of the UEF, he had less and less time for his hobbies. He only worked to support his hobbies, and the army paid quite well, but even he knew that if this war had been lost, missing the next event would have been the least of his worries. He didn't care much about medals and commendations, but the command better didn't dare denying him a huge paycheck and a long vacation for pushing back the Seraphim to wherever they had come from.
"Commander Itami, General Hall here, negative for exfil. The Archway is closed for good, but it is still emitting strange Quantum fluctuations. We cannot guarantee a safe transport via QGN. Remain there until we find a solution for that, over."
Itami let out a sigh. "I confirm, standby on Earth until the QGN problems are solved. Team, return to base, you have my permission to exit the sACU's and take a walk as long as they are close to our Gateway and remain online for emergency. It has been a while since mankind set foot on our homeland. Enjoy the break. Rhiza, Dostya, meeting on my position, over."
After everyone confirmed the orders and the sACU's of his team left his field of vision, he took a few seconds to close the eyes and relax. It was a rare opportunity to do so. Usually, being in the ACU meant for him to be on high alert. The chamber of interfaces, sitting on top of a database consisting of synthetic DNA, had become something like a home to him. Probably the only one he had left, if he didn't count in the military dorm. Nothing left of it all but rubble and ashes after the Seraphim rolled through. Slowly, he took the headset and put it on. It included a visor that could display almost all the data from the ACU and had a limited internal computer for independent processing. Good that nothing in here caught dust, otherwise cleaning it would have been a pain in the a** since it had not been touched at all in the whole time since the construction of the ACU. He ran a last check on the systems, activated the transmitter to his headset and opened the hatch. The ACU automatically crouched down. Itami attached a cable to his suit and jumped to the ground. Just then, Dostya's ACU appeared nearby, walking the last few hundred meters, while Rhiza finally emerged from the water, too. Dostya already jumped out, the cable stopping her just before she hit the ground. She came running to him with a big grin on her face.
"It's over. It's really, finally over. I hoped we all would make it, but I still can't believe it", she said while giving him a hug.
"You better do. It was not quite a piece of cake, and if I have to do something like that again to finally get your 'father' to approve of me, I fear we'll have to run away and hide in a small colony." This earned him a punch in the ribs.
"You know that is not about you! Not personally, at least, not since you saved me from that traitor Hex5. He still holds a grudge against the UEF, but it should be ok as long as your people keep their part of the deal."
Itami let his chin rest on her shoulder. "I know. Withdrawing the loyalty program from all symbionts. I guess they will keep their word. Nobody wants another conflict and we do owe you a lot. Our politicians are quite known for not making the wisest decisions, but at least now the future holds all the possibilities, instead of a do or die."
A quite demonstrative cough made them let go of each other in surprise. "Pardon if I disturbed something. I just wanted to say thank you for saving me at the last moment," Rhiza said with her arms crossed. The blue-green colour of her hair made her seem more grim than the probably intended. She noticed a smirk appear on Dostya's face which annoyed her only more. "What?", she spat.
"Oh, don't you remember what you told me after that mission with Hex5? Haha. Weak Cybran, was overrun by one of its own kind. We Aeon Illuminates are so much better than that. I'd have wiped him out before he got the chance to strike, but you came running into shelter to the great Commander Youji. Don't spout big stuff like that when you hadn't been sitting on hot coals before", Dostya replied with an icy face. Itami wouldn't be surprized if there were actually sparks flying in between them next, considering that one of them was almost half robot. He just wanted to interfere when an orange dot started blinking on his visor, marked as priority. Private line. He turned away from the arguing women as he accepted the call. "Yes?"
"Itami, it's William. I don't want to put all of you on red alert again, but there are troubling news. Something is happening at the Archway you destroyed. The fluctuations don't dissipate, but just keep increasing. I fear that whatever Burke did could have been for nothing, worst case. Transmissions get harder to put through, so we won't be able to maintain contact in a while. I trust you kee-" Suddenly there was only static. Well, it was too good to be true. As he turned around, he noticed that the women were silently glaring at each other. Why, just why are women the same everywhere?
"Okay ladies, break is over. the General just called me, there is something going on at the Archway site. We should better go take a look. Rhiza, if not done already, respec for the enhanced sensor system. I don't want to sit here without knowing what might come. Kuwahara, do you copy?" Itami didn't even wait for Rhiza's reaction before he grabbed the cable and was pulled up to the hatch of his ACU. He knew that when there was a situation, he could count on the warriors. He trusted them blindly.
"Kuwahara here, I heard you. I pulled together what I could on short notice, two Continentals are fully loaded with Mech Marines, two more loads and T2&3 units are getting ready for transport. We will accompany the T4 units in casy something happens, but the Fatboys are quite the crawlers. ETA 10 minutes, Over."
"Copy that. Dostya, Rhiza, let's go."
With the help of the other two ACU's, the upgrade on the Aeon unit was quickly completed, and so they approached the Place where the Quantum Archway was before. Rhiza's enhanced sensors reached the site first, and she stopped in her tracks as she saw it.
"The radar detected a structure near the Archway site, but I just received visual information. Here, I'll send you the pics. What in all worlds is that thing?"
It indeed was something curious to look at. The structure was as broad as long, about 24 meters according to the display, and two thirds of that in height. But unlike almost all modern buildings, it was made of stone instead of metal and surrounded by a weird rainbow-like light.
"Okay, keep your distance everyone. I don't want anyone to approach it before we have a better idea of what it is. Structure is now designated as Object1", Itami said calmly. Behind them, the Continentals sent down the first fifty-six MechMarines and returned to base. Itami drew a line between the ACU's and the structure where the MechMarines were to take position.
"Guys? There's some movement at Object1, but my radar doesn't pick up anything and visuals lack details. Whatever is happening there, it's tiny. Dostya, could you help here?", Rhiza asked, still looking at the blur of colours moving away from that structure.
Before she finished, a structure icon for a Soothsayer popped up on the map right behind them. As soon as it was completed, they could finally get a good look at the situation.
"Someone please tell me I'm hallucinating right now, because either everything here is terribly messed up and I'm going insane or we just witnessed the greatest breakthrough in personell transpotation since the Quantum Gate Network." Itami recorded all of it. Hundreds, thousands of people and creatures walked and flew out of that structure. This technology seemed so much more advanced compared to the QGN. The network swallowed tremendous amounts of energy for each use. This had initially caused the development of the ACU's who were sent alone and then built their army on-site, because nobody could afford to send a whole army. Even without a receiver unit on the ground, sending an ACU caused a terrible impact, flattening everything within a few hundred meters. Even the Seraphim had only used an instable rift that was already closed, or so they thought.
But these people just created a receiver here and then passed through it with masses of people. Most of them were clearly human, although there were many weird monstrosities among them that looked like they just jumped out of a fantasy story. A quick scan through the database referenced them as goblins orcs, dragons, and riders on horses, their armor and equipment resembling that of the Roman empire. The screens were flooded with pictures and encyclopedia entries with detailed information, as far as the human part went. Beings like dragons had always been thought to be imagination only, however seeing them here contradicted solid knowledge from millennia ago. Wherever there came from, if the coalition could make use of this technology and gain such cultures as allies, it could be a huge step towards a lasting peace.
For many years, Lord General Jonas Bankert had been waiting for a chance like this. With a rare ambition to impress the military leaders, he quickly rose in the ranks and was soon rumored as able strategist. His ferocity in battle and use of brave, if not suicidal, tactics earned him many enemies, but as he climbed the ranks, fellow officers soon became subordinates. Many gladly served in his army because success and low numbers of casualties earned them a lot of fame. His career soon brought him to the highest ranks, receiving orders directly from the Emporer, Malt Sol Augustus, and when the emporer decided to excavate and activate the gate again to spread the Empire even further into unknown lands, Jonas was chosen to lead the expedition force to uncharted lands. With him, he took a large group of Vanguard forces, consisting of goblins, trolls and beastmen, thralls from conquered countries, as well as five platoons of dragon riders. Sadly, the emporer denied him to bring mages; their abilities were rare and barely a few dozen served in the military of which most were on missions anyway. But with his own men and the auxiliary forces, the army he led consisted of about 100,000 warriors. Some senators said that for an expedition force this was already overkill, but they were supposed to bring back as many goods and slaves as they could from wherever they went and the deployment of caravans for this purpose would weaken them significantly. So he left the capital with a huge army, marching for the Gate to a noble endeavor.
Just the night before he had briefed his commanders on the expected actions to whatever might happen on the other side. But nothing prepared the Lord General for the sight to behold when his steed left the dark tunnel to the other side of the Gate. Green, fertile nature, and blue sea just beyond a cliff, clear blue sky... but destruction beyond imagination.
The army was steadily marching through mountains of ruins, many of these dozens of meters high, all charred black and some still smoldering. Without a doubt had a battle of severe magnitude happened here, recently. A quick inspection brought up that all of the structures around them consisted of pure solid metal. If he brought all this back to Saderan, it would boost the war machine of the empire for years. And yet, he wondered, what could have brought about a destruction of this scale? Did they accidently step on the fields of the gods whose battles are said to change the landscape and bring down the sky? Everyone fell silent. Only few talked while they walked through the valleys of scorched ruins. There was no enemy yet, no glory to be won in battle. Not even the expected air of death felt real. No blood had been spilled. Jonas couldn't even tell if this had been a battle or just a massacre. All of this felt estranged, foreign.
He noticed that the vanguard had stopped the advance. Curiously standing up in the saddle, he saw a messenger making his way to him. After a salut he said: "Lord General, Your attention is required at the front. it seems we found the ones responsible for this, however it is unclear how we shall proceed. The enemie is... different from the usual."
"Lead the way", Jonas said with a nod. They rode to the front as fast as possible and stopped when they came to a steep slope. About a league down the hill, the enemy waited for them. Giants unlike any they had seen before. There were about fifty of them in the first line, as tall as six men and almost as broad, with broad arms and the face seemed to hang on the middle of their chest, staring at them with glowing eyes in silence. And everyone looked exactly the same. He sometimes had trouble keeping the goblins apart from each other with their mostly blank green skin, but these giants were even worse. It looked like someone had created one and then copied him many times over.
What almost made him shiver in fear weren't these giants. The empire had fought them before, they knew how to drive these beasts back. But behind them were giants. Only three, as broad as the gate and more than fifty stories high, by a rough estimate. The one in the middle resembled the ones in line, same colour and the same design of armor plating. On the left was one in black and red with giant spikes growing from its back. The third one on the right was more rounded than the others, featuring green colours and bright, flashing lines running all over its body. And behind them, there was a giant pillar of unknown purpose. Suddenly the general really wished he had the mages. The dragons circled above them. If we are to fight those, we will need to take care of the smaller ones fast... if only I could confirm that they are similar to the ones back home. He didn't want to waste time on a speech; it wouldn't have reached many more than the front lines anyway. These were without a doubt the remains of whatever battle had happened here. Forge the iron while it's hot, he thought and blew the horn for attack. The rumbling sound echoed around him as the officers confirmed the command and everyone readied the arms. Then everything started rolling forward, gaining momentum while running down the hill. Now there was no turning back.
"Youji, this does not look good", Dostya said. Latest readings showed that the army, as they had concluded, started coming towards them. Compared to the usual unit speed they were still terribly slow, but probably as fast as they could. "I don't know what they can even do to us, but they are seriously attacking us. What are your orders?"
By now the newcomers were displayed as enemies on the screen. Youji stared at them silently while the flood of tiny icons coming towards their position. As commander of the UEF, what reaction was expected of him? On the one hand, they never encountered this enemy before and from what he could see, they couldn't even hope to harm them, but when they had dragons, what else could they have? If they had real magic even close to the powers of Princess Burke, they might be a dangerous enemy if they aren't dealt with quickly. With this resolve, he activated the arms of the MechMarines and sent them forward.
"I'll give them just a taste. They most likely have no idea what they are approaching. Let's hope that they'll stop once the first ones fall, otherwise they probably wouldn't cease the attack anyway."He leaned back and breathed through deeply, knowing that there wouldn't be consequences for him. Already during the Infinite War, there had been many reports of attacks on civilian areas and with the Seraphin it only got worse. These people now didin't stand a chance, but they chose the attack, knowing they might die. He watched the army entering the firing range of the MechMarines and the bullets, displayed as little blue dots, started flying, instantly stopping the advance. Every MechMarine fired ten rounds per second from their machine gun, each one in a diameter of 500mm. The damage this dealt to ordinary lifeforms must have been tremendous, nothing short of a bloodbath. Still, the army ran forward into the hail of bullets. "I really didn't want to do this, but they seem terribly bound on dying in vain, don't they?" From above he saw the dragons preparing for the attack. "We currently don't have any AA in place and I don't really want to start building more here. Kuribajashi, you are linked to the satellites, aren't you? What's the position?"
"Yes! All five above the army. Shall I wipe the beasts from the sky?"
"On my command, I'll just clear the ground blast radius. All others, search through the sectors for any persons of interest. If those history books didn't completely lie, their leader should have donned some pretty pompous armour or something", Itami said while pulling the mechs back. As soon as they left the front, pillars of light shot down from the sky and burned dragons and soldiers alike. When they finally vanished again a few seconds later, the army stood completely still from shock; thousands must have been killed just in that attack, and even those far away from the impact crater have been shoved aside like ragdolls.
"Found him!", Tozu called and relayed the image, "He is still up the slope in the last third. He hasn't been moving much since the beginning of the attack."
"Good. Kuribajashi, let the next next volley come down around him, but leave enough distance that he won't get hurt. This will be the last warning, if any stay after that they are up for picking."
"Roger!" On the display, Itami changed the map to follow the satellites as they changed the position a slight bit to the south-west. And once stable, they fired.
Last time, the only fired at the front lines, but as the lasers hit the center of the army, they through everything out of order. Men went from shock to panic as they were thrown around by the blast. Even though the camera could not catch the exact details, the leader was clearly doing something upon which the men ran back towards Object1.
"High time they turned around. Now let's see if we can reestablish contact to HQ, otherwise we'll pay them a little visit in the meantime."
The expedition was nothing but a failure. They went through the gate and met god of war with a power beyond mortal imagination. Pawns wielding a destructive power that easily surpassed an army of tens of thousands of warriors. Death shooting down from the sky. But throughoutthe battle, the three gods just stood there and watched them. Were they so far beyond humans that they didn't even take notice of them? But no, they must have notice them. Noticed him. The last attack told him that they knew where to strike when everything around him was blown up. Since the first clash, the Lord General wished they had turned around when they still could have left peacefully. With a last look back, he passed through the gate again and wondered how he would explain himself to the Emporer.