Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, all intellectual property of the characters and concepts belong to Microsoft and Bioware.
Background: In 2073, the human race was fractured, divided by both ethnic and ideological lines. This would lead to what the Humans would term the "atom war". It was a low-level nuclear exchange between the nations of India and Pakistan. The exchange was a response to the unsettled question of Kashmir. Six nuclear weapons were launched in total. The reason the world was spared death was due to an American-Sino EMP attack on both countries. The Americans and Chinese co-operated with each other in a full reversal of their usual relations due to the threat of nuclear annihilation. A special session of the UN was called to strip both countries of all rights and set up a multi-lateral occupation.
Both Pakistan and India rejected the agreement reached in the UN. A few days before the occupation was to commence, a nuclear missile was launched from the border of the two countries. It is unknown which country launched the weapon as both denied any involvement. The missile itself was of the highest technological prowess of the time. It was able to avoid any Chinese or American detection as it flew across the globe to detonate over the sky of Washington D.C. The attack eliminated much of the American government and military leadership. The few public officials that weren't in the city at the time were five representatives and one senator from various states in the American southwest, and the Supreme Court. With America reeling from its loss of leadership, China took the leader in the occupation pacifying the two nations with methods that seemed to completely ignore any human rights laws
The war was quick but brutal, with nearly a fifth of the world's population wiped out. In China a coup occurred, ending the decade long control of the country by the Communist party, leaving it controlled by a Man of Mongolian heritagee who had proclaimed himself emperor.
This was the start of the human Celestial Empire. The new emperor called for an international confederation with China and several other powerful nations at the top. The world granted the man's request and he slowly began to become emperor of the world. The man, who had renamed himself as Kaz, died a decade before the discovery on Mars. Unlike former empires, representatives from various nations chose his successor. The possible candidates were selected from glory bloods: families who had an individual that was honored by the empire due to a profound political or military contribution. These families were marked as glory bloods before the emperor's death, and were as loyal as any other subject. The next emperor chosen was a female youth from Russia, who was the daughter of a decisive general in the atom war and one of the empire's early supporters.
Her rule was defined by not only transferring the strong-armed confederation into a proper empire but also the discovery of the prothean data cache. The Human Celestial Empire was created in its modern form. The Empire soon discovered the relay hidden in Charon and began colonizing galaxy. The empire also began to genetically engineer it's young, blurring ethnic traits together as well as increasing strength, intelligence, and improving the immune system. The Empire would eventually come into contact with the turians beginning the First Contact War.
The turians broke through the scattered human fleet, and engaged the planet of Shanxi. The Garrison Commander General Williams became particularly stubborn after the turians invaded. The turians bombarded the planet from orbit and the humans suffered massive casualties. The cavalry eventually came in, and liberated the planet from the turians; the two species prepared for war. The Citadel then stepped in to negotiate a peace between the two powers. During the peace process, the turians became impressed by the similarity between the governments of the humans to their own, as well as the human military power. The turians became something of an older sibling to the human race, attempting to guide them to greater cultural integration; however, this relation does have an extreme case of sibling rivalry.
As the humans began expanding, they came into contact with the batarians. The humans and batarians were colonizing the Skyllian Verge. The batarians pleaded with council to close off the Verge to human colonization. The council refused and the batarians exiled themselves, cutting off all ties. As the government funneled money to slavers and pirates, the Empire became outraged. They invaded four Batarian colonies, and fought off any force that tried to take the colonies back. The council attempted to negotiate a solution between the two species but the batarians refused to recognize any Citadel authority.
The batarians eventually called off hostilities after suffering embarrassing casualties. The four batarian colonies were proclaimed client states of the Human Celestial Empire, in a similar manner to the volus and the turians. Unlike the volus, however, the batarians did not have their own government. Rather, they were ruled by members of the three citadel species who were appointed directly by the council. The batarians also lack an ambassador to the council. This action has divided results; some believe it shows a warlike aggressor, while others feel it is evidence of a species dedicated to galactic stability.
TL;DR: Basic Mass Effect universe, except humans have bigger guns and are easier to piss off.
Mass Effect: Homo-ImperiusShepard ascended the stairs of the spaceship; the ship's blue walls reflected a white light that seemed to leave certain corners in darkness and then illuminate all the other nears the point of blindness. She swept her short red hair over ears as she approached the door to the ship's bridge. As she opened the door, she was immediately greeted with a salute from another marine. Her rank of Major Commandant was emblazoned on her armor with the red detail running down her right arm.
She was a N7 soldier, the best of the best. Everything the Empire would want in its soldiers. Her dark skin was flawless save for one scar that ran diagonally down from the right of her forehead to her left eye: a souvenir from the knife of a deceased batarian on Torfan, it was the mission that made her something of a Juggernaut to the batarian people. She sacrificed the lives of 3/4ths of her unit to go after the batarians, a battle whose popularity was succeeded only by the failed Skyllian Blitz. Though this wasn't Shepard's only accomplishment, it was her most publicized. As she marched forward, the officers of the ISS Nanjing were hard at work, making sure all the ship's functions were behaving normally. The Empire wanted this shakedown run to go exactly by the books, especially with a Spectre aboard, and a turian Spectre no less.
She came to the cockpit just in time to see the ship accelerate from the mass relay. Her concentration was broken by the techno-babble of flight officer Moreau. "Drift, just under fifteen hundred k," he smiled at his piloting skills.
The turian behind Shepard nodded. "Fifteen hundred is good, your ship lord will be pleased."
The spectre then turned leaving for the comm. room. "I hate that guy," mumbled Moreau.
"Nihlus, gave you a compliment, so you hate him?" questioned Alenko.
The pilot frowned at the biotic. "You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of a bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. That's incredible! Besides…"
He paused for a moment. "Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on the ship. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid. The council helped fund the project, they have every right to send someone to keep an eye on it," the biotic retorted.
"That's the official story, but only an official believes the official story," Joker said jokingly.
"Both of you shut up. You're Imperial citizens, now act like it," the Commandant clipped. Any slouch that may have existed in the spines of the officers was gone. The sound of Shepard's voice had replaced their spines with steel rods.
Just then, the radio came to life, and the voice of Ship Lord Anderson emitted from the radio. "Joker, status report."
"Just cleared the mass relay, Ship Lord, stealth systems engaged, everything looks stable," Joker replied.
"Good, find us a comm. buoy and link us into the network. I want Imperial Intel to have everything before we reach Dominion Prime," Anderson ordered.
"Yes, sir. You better watch out, sir, I think Nihlus is on his way," Joker warned.
The Ship Lord's agitated voice flowed back over the connection. "He's already here, pilot," Anderson accented the last word to let a sting of insult fly towards Joker.
"Tell the Commandant to meet me in the comm. room," the Ship Lord finished, cutting off the channel.
"You get that, Commandant?" Joker queried.
"Lovely, now I have to deal with an infuriated superior and a Spectre, I'll remember this, Moreau," Shepard snarled. She then turned around marching towards the comm. room.
"It's not my fault, the Ship Lord is always pissed off," Joker said.
"Only when he talk to you, Joker, only when he talks to you," Kaiden quipped.
The Commandant moved forward towards the bow of the ship. She spied Navigator Pressly out of the corner of her eye; was he talking to himself? He was talking to someone, but no other person was around him. As she crept closer she could hear the voice of the ship's Chief Engineer, Adams.
"I told you, I just saw him, he marched by like he was on a mission," Pressly commented.
"He's a spectre, they're always on a mission," Adam's disembodied voice said.
"And we're going to dragged along with him," Pressly replied.
A chuckle came across the comm. "Relax, Pressly, you're going to give yourself an ulcer."
The comm. shut off as the Commandant came towards the Navigator. Pressly turned and gave a quick salute to Shepard. "Congratulations Commandant, looks like the run was as smooth as silk. Are you heading down to speak with the Ship Lord?" Pressly questioned.
Shepard eyed Pressly suspiciously. "I heard you arguing with Adams. You want to talk, or am I going to have to pull rank?" Shepard queried.
"It just doesn't make sense, Commandant. All we're supposed to do is give the ship a shakedown run," Pressly explained.
The Commandant nodded for the navigator to continue.
Pressly continued, "But if that's the case, why is Anderson in charge? … And then there's Nihlus. He's a Spectre, an elite operative. You don't just send them on shakedown runs."
Shepard twisted her head to the side. "You don't trust our Ship Lord?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Pressly blurted out. "I… I just can't figure out what he's doing here, he could have nearly any ship in the fleet… But he chooses the Nanjing. And then there's that turian, you don't need that much experience on a shakedown run. Hell, we could probably do just as well with a skeleton crew."
Shepard held up her hand, "That information is on a need to know basis. Just follow your orders and everything will flow." Venom flowed in the woman's voice.
"Understood Commandant," Pressly sputtered out before returning to his work.
Shepard, pleased that she had done what was needed ,began moving to the comm. room again. As she came towards the room she saw Corporal Jenkins and Doctor Chakwas, conversing about something. Troubled that Pressly's or Joker's paranoia may be spreading to other crewmembers, she came over to the pair.
Before she could say anything, Jenkins saluted and pulled her into the conversation. "You don't think we'll be staying on Dominion Prime too long, do you? I'm itching for some real action," Jenkins stated.
"I seriously hope you're kidding," the Doctor said, rolling her eyes. "Your 'real action' usually leaves me with real corpses in the Infirmary."
Shepard nodded. "The good Doctor is right, Jenkins. Violence is an inevitability, but you've got to keep a cool head, even while being shot at."
"I know, but I've never been on a mission like this before. At least, not one with a spectre before," Jenkins explained. "I mean you proved yourself on Torfan, the Empire knows what you can do, this is my big chance—"
Jenkins stopped as Shepard held up her hand. "This mission isn't about personal glory, Corporal. We have a job to do, got that?" Shepard's icy voice asked.
"Don't worry, ma'am, I'm not going to do anything stupid to screw with the mission," Jenkins assured.
Shepard nodded, moving past the duo to the entrance of the comm. room, relieved that she didn't have to have a repeat incident like the one with Pressly.
As soon as she entered the room and saw only the lone figure of the Turian spectre, she knew something was up.
"Ah, Shepard, I was hoping you would get here first. Gives us a chance to talk," commented Nihlus.
"What about?" Shepard asked.
"This world we're going to, Dominion Prime… I hear it's quite beautiful," Nihlus pressed.
"Wouldn't know, I've never been there," Shepard commented.
"Ah, but you've heard of it. It's something of a symbol for your people, is it not? A jewel in the royal crown; proof that humanity cannot only colonize worlds in the Traverse, but protect them as well. A perfect world on the edge of your territory… But is it really safe?" asked Nihlus. The tension had begun building exponentially.
"You trying to scare me, Spectre?" asked Shepard, her voice turning the last word into something resembling an insult.
"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard, and the galaxy is a very dangerous place," Nihlus explained.
The tension was deflated as Anderson walked into the room, his black uniform separating him from the rest of the blue-clothed naval officers. A small five-pointed red star on his chest, along with a ceremonial sword on his right hip, signified his rank as Ship Lord.
"Ship Lord!" Shepard exclaimed, before dropping into a formal salute. Shepard balled both her hands into fists, and then placed them in front of her shoulder, with her head held down. Her arms were crossed in front of her, making an X on her chest, left arm in front of the right.
"Enough of the pomp," Anderson replied curtly, before turning to Nihlus. "I think it's time we tell the Commandant what's really going on here."
Nihlus didn't say anything, but just nodded.
"This mission is more than just a shakedown run; we're making a covert pickup of Dominion Prime. That's why we had to have the stealth systems operational," Anderson spoke.
"So what's the payload, my lord?" Sheppard questioned.
"A research team unearthed some kind of beacon on the planet. It's Prothean," Anderson answered.
"Anything else, my lord?" Shepard asked.
"This is big, Shepard. The last time we got Prothean tech in our hands, we jumped forward two hundred years. But Dominion Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We're going to bring the beacon to the citadel for proper study," Anderson explained.
"Obviously this goes beyond Imperial interest. The discovery of the beacon will affect every species in Citadel space," the Spectre commented.
"Yes, glad to see that the empire could be of assistance," Shepard replied.
"Glad to see you're giving it," the Turian said back.
"There's more, Shepard. Nihlus isn't just here to assist you. He's here to evaluate you for Spectre candidacy," Anderson added.
"Spectres?" Shepard questioned.
"You're smart enough to figure it out, Commandant. The Empire has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy; we want more say in the Citadel council. If we get a human in their ranks, it shows how far the Empire has come," Anderson explained.
The Commandant nodded slowly, realizing the implications a human Spectre would have in interstellar politics.
Nihlus then spoke up. "I read about what happened on Torfan. Dirty business. But you got the job done, and that's why I put your name forward for the candidacy."
"I assume the Empire has consented to this?" Shepard replied.
Anderson nodded silently.
Nihlus then began speaking again, "I'll need to see your skills for myself, this planet will be the first of several missions together."
"You're in charge of the ground team, Nihlus will be there to assist and observe. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship, ASAP," Anderson explained.
"Understood, my lord," Shepard replied.
"Ship Lord, we got a problem!" Joker's voice broke through the room.
"What's wrong, Joker?" Anderson demanded.
"Transmission from Dominion Prime, sir… You had better see this," Joker explained.
"Bring it up on screen," Anderson added with a much calmer voice, now aware that the problem was most likely not Joker's fault.
The three turned their heads to watch. Scenes of battle filled the screen. Heavy fire rained down on a marine in dark green armor.
"Get down!" he shouted to whoever was holding the recording device. He pushed the person down before firing his assault rifle at the unseen enemy force. A few more images of sporadic fire flew past. Then a human face appeared on the screen, clad in yellow green armor.
He explained, "We're under attack, taking heavy casualties, I repeat, heavy casualties. We can't—"
He grunted as dirt from an explosion off in the distance was hurled onto him.
"-- Get evac, they came out of nowhere. We need e--" he started to yell, before something hit him in the back, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head
It seemed someone else had picked up the recorder, and they pointed it towards the sky. A dark form filled the sky, with orange energy lancing from it. Then the screen turned to static.
"Everything cuts off after that… No comm. traffic at all, just does dead. There's nothing," Joker sighed.
Anderson stared at the static before ordering, "Reverse and hold at thirty eight point five!"
The screen reversed the images for moment before stopping at the image of the dark shape again
Nihlus twitched his mandibles, and a brief silence came over the trio. It was a leviathan of a ship, probably the biggest the galaxy had ever seen.
"Status report," the Ship Lord demanded.
"17 minutes out, Ship Lord, no other Imperial ship in the area," Joker replied.
"Take us in, Joker, fast and quiet. This mission just got far more complicated," the Ship Lord stated.
"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention; it's our best chance to secure the beacon," Nihlus suggested.
"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold," Anderson responded to Nihlus.
As the turian left, the Ship Lord turned to Shepard. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, you're going in."
Shepard looked at the image of the ship again, before leaving the comm. room. It was like something out of a Lovecraft novel; she just had to hope that the old ones would show her some mercy.
Author's Note: I know this has been done before by multiple people; however, I like to think I'm doing things slightly different from them. The first is that I'm not simply writing Shepard with an evil goatee. I'm going to initiate several changes in the storyline and the universe, some which may be obvious and some which may not. You'll probably see more in the chapters to come.