Chapter 2
Aboard BHS Khar'shan's Might.
"You fucking idiots!" Admiral Arnak Tornak roared in fury. "I've ordered to cripple them, not to blast their ships to goddamned pieces!"
"I-I-I'm terribly sorry Admiral!" One of the Captains stuttered, his skin turning pale green. "But their vessels couldn't withstand the combined power of one hundred seventy four of ours. Each of them launched a crippling shot, but… crews panicked."
"They had five primitive ships against a flotilla of over one thousands vessels, how the hell could anyone panic on our side?!" He asked incredulously, narrowing his four eyes.
"Yes, but their weapons were surprisingly effective against our vessels. We've lost a cruiser and four frigates…" The unfortunate officer continued.
"I fucking know! And those were just merc's junk vessels! Those idiots probably hadn't even raised their shields." He mumbled angrily.
"But-" He tried to argue.
"Silence! There's no excuse for incompetence! We've lost precious data on those primitives, and I hate go blindly into an uncharted system!"
"But their vessels weren't that powerful…" The Captain continued arguing, not understanding his superior's point.
"This is why you're only a Captain you idiot, of course I'm not afraid of their junk!. I meant asteroid fields! Or sun storms!...Bah get out of my sight you waste of space." He cut off the transmission.
"Eri."
"Yes Master?" His Asari slave replied.
"Send through the electronic warfare specialized ships, with escorts first. Fry their communications near their home world. I doubt that they have another colony, and even if it looks like they only recently discovered Mass Effect Drives they won't be big ones, we'll take care of them later. Next move the rest of the fleet. You have the deck for now, I'm going to inform the High Command of this development."
"As you wish, Master." She bowed in submission.
"After you're done here join me in my quarters. We'll have a celebration of our own." He caressed her cheek.
With that he left and moved to the com room, ordering a connection to High Command on Khar'shan. Aside from the Hegemon himself, they were the ones who ruled the Batarian race.
"Grand Admirals." Arnak greeted them politely. Despite being and Admiral himself, he was but a mere foot solider compared to them, but with this discovery.
"How's the expedition is going Admiral?" The High Command weren't one for small talk.
"We still haven't crossed the relay...there's been a development." He grinned inwardly. For once he could keep them in suspense.
"Speak, don't waste our time boy!" One of them snapped.
"The relay was activated from the other side, Grand Admirals. We've made first contact with a new species…" He turned on the first contact package he got from the humans.
The High Command watched it in stunned silence. After it ended they started to whisper among themselves.
"Admiral…this is an opportunity we cannot let to pass. If they are really what they say, it will catapult us back to our golden age…have you managed to capture them?"
"Unfortunately no. Some of the mercs from Terminus were overzealous in fulfilling my orders to cripple the ships, and destroyed them…I reported my objections of using mercenaries before the expedition set off."
"Noted, but we can't do anything about it now. Just keep them on short leash, if beyond that relay is the primitive's home world, don't let them devastate it. We'll need a stable population to maintain the market. Orbital bombing is strictly forbidden on their main world, but do what you want with colonies, if they have them…Admiral I cannot stress how important this mission is…If you fail the consequences will be severe." The older Batarian smirked when Arnak paled. "But if you succeed there will be a place for you among us…"
"I will succeeded Grand Admirals, Glory to Khar'shan!" He saluted.
"Glory to Khar'shan, High Command out." With that the transmission ended.
Arnak grinned. He could almost smell the power he was about to get. With that thought he walked to his quarters, calling his slave.
He doubted that she would be able to walk tomorrow.
Shanxi-Williams Office
The luxuriously furnished office was placed at the very top of the administrative building, giving a great view with its panoramic windows. Williams was a fan of pre-war classics, so the furniture was designed in a fashion coming straight from the end of XIX Century. The heavy dark wooden table with regales, made of the same material, gave an impression of old earth.
But currently no one had the time to discuss tastes.
Currently General Williams was rubbing his temples in annoyance. Because right now two old decrepit Generals were arguing in his office, while a third tried to mediate between them.
"I said we want him, and that's final!" General Frederic Obsman, of Black Riders, snapped. Like most people of his generation he was a typical Helghast, bald with extremely pale skin and black lips. His face was covered by a web of wrinkles and scars. He was nearing one hundred, but Williams had little doubt that he was still in top condition. He was a former Capture Trooper, and they were conditioned to be psychically superior to other troops. "Visari will be kept among his people!"
"So you can poison his mind and turn him into another Scolar?!" General Thomas Hetfield, of the 5th Ranger Regiment, spat. Like his Helghast counterpart he was old and wrinkled, but still in top condition. He was missing an eye, but his other one was as sharp as if he was much younger. He had short gray hair and slightly tanned skin. "He'll be better off with us."
"So you can arrange an accident?" Obsman growled. "I know how you Vektan scum think."
"He's more Vektan than Helghan now" Hetfield grinned. "Or have you forgotten that your precious Chancellor is a half breed too?"
"Enough!" Williams slammed his fist on his desk. "I haven't called you here to hear you bicker like old hags at the market! Whatever grudges you have against each other, won't be tolerated in my office! Because trust me, if you two piss me off, I'll have you CAT 6'ed before any of you can blink!"
"General Williams, with all due respect, I don't think that will be necessary." General John Taylor, of the Bloody Hawks, interjected. He was a relatively young man compared to the two others, as he was sixty. He had short black hair and a black moustache, he was short and looked kind of scrawny, but you couldn't find a quicker shot in whole HSA than him." I will take General Obsman's side in this argument, young Visari shouldn't be placed in the 5th. Many of them still hold the grudges against his bloodline, and it would cause untold damage to HSA if he was murdered by Vektan's."
"You dare!" Hetfield started.
"Don't make me start on how many brawls my boys had to break up between your men." He replied calmly. "We all know why you're here, and why I'm here." He said calmly. "So in my opinion, young Visari should go to the Raiders. There he will be relatively safe."
General Williams nodded at his reasoning, but the other solider had a good point too.
"Yet General Hetfield raises good point. Will you be able to keep your men from indoctrinating him with your old doctrine?" Williams intertwined his fingers. "The board will have my head if you turn him into the next Scolar…You know the attitude of current Chancellor towards her predecessor. I doubt that she would be happy with that."
Obsman looked at them with exasperation.
"You think I'm blind? The old Helghan is gone. I made my peace with that, but I will upheld our traditional values and teach them to the youth. Our culture won't be mellowed out and assimilated…but I'll do what I can to tone down the hate talks." He finally sighed. "No one wants a war, especially in these times when there are such opportunities to explore…That reminds me, how's the expedition going?"
"They should activate the relay in few hours." Taylor informed him. "So I guess that tomorrow we'll be getting the initial report."
"Ok, since we got that out of the way, do any of you have anything more to report?" Silence answered him. "Ok then, I'm off to welcome our new recruits." Williams stood, wordlessly dismissing them.
He collected his General's hat and moved to the elevator, along with the three other Generals. Despite sharing basically the same rank, Williams was given authority over them, mainly to keep Obsman and Hetfield in check.
Williams dearly hoped that the unification was going better on other planets. While not killing each other out right was a huge success, the demarcations lines were clearly drawn. East side of the river were under the Raider's jurisdiction, and the West belonged to the Hawks. In other large cites the situation was similar, the more Helghast populated areas were under Raiders, while the rest was under the Hawks.
The 5th on the other side got the smaller settlements and the wildness, since they were trained to operate in that area. Out of all armies they got the most important jobs, since they were protecting the dam up the river which provided the electricity for the capital city and smaller settlements.
Out of the four continents of Shanxi only one was populated. Due to the doctrine to not stretch the population on new words, they were colonizing usually one continent at the time. But since Shanxi was one of the few garden worlds which hadn't needed to be terraformed, the higher ups decided to push it and colonize the remaining three continents at once. The next wave of colonists, numbering to almost ninety million people, would be coming here next year in three parts of thirty million for each continent.
The cities have already been built and were waiting for their future residents.
Williams could only sigh at the ridiculous amount of paper work it will create. He eagerly awaited the day this colony would be able to form a stable world government.
Moving to his car he flew towards the space port to greet the greenhorns.
Space Port
"This is….this is….the most unimpressive place I've ever been." Hector face palmed, looking at the idle colony. He and the rest of recruits were currently leaving the ship. They moved out of the docking bay to the small plaza in front of the port, quickly forming two neat squares while awaiting the General.
"Have to agree with you there…It will be boring two years." Rick sighed, adjusting the rife on his arm. "Well at least for me. You will probably be chillin' with the Raiders, bending them to your every whim Visari."
"We don't even know if I'm gonna be assigned to the Raiders."
"Please, you think that the Helghast army won't demand to have a Visari in their ranks?" Rick shook his head. "Well at least I will be with Michelle…." He nudged the petite blonde standing next to him. She had sky blue eyes and a nice round face, with a small nose and full lips…
"Don't touch me, or I'll ram my rife so far up your ass that you'll be spitting lead for months." …and the mouth of a seasoned sailor.
"Don't tempt me. You still angry that you're the SECOND best shot in the whole regiment?" He grinned. Like him, she was a suburb sniper, but he managed to beat her by millimeters in hitting the bulls-eye at the two kilometer range.
"Tsk, that was just a lucky shot, Verdon." She hissed.
"Everyone says that, but really we're like so going to be chosen for 5th, so why don't we bury the war axe?" The only reply was a deadpanned expression from her.
"Haha looks like this battle is already lost Rick." Hector chuckled. "But really it would be nice to have a familiar face where we get assigned."
Aside from Rick and Michelle, Hector only befriended two more people. One was a heavy weapon enthusiast Nikolaj Amarow, and Adrian Bukowsky the engineer/explosive maniac. He looked around, but couldn't see them anywhere. Sighing he moved his attention to the front just in time to see General Williams stepping out of his air car. He walked to the podium, and moved to the microphone.
"ATTEN-SHUN!" Adjutant snapped through the microphone. All recruits straightened their stances, and the murmuring died out
"I'm General Henry Williams, and it's my pleasure to welcome you to the Shanxi. I guess after Helghan it must look like a relative paradise to you all." He smirked seeing the agreeing looks on the recruits' faces. "And true it's calm place, but…." His voice grew more stern. "Now your true soldier carrier starts. The training and simulations are over, and real life starts. Your decisions might weigh the safety and survival of your comrades and the civilians you are sworn to protect…." He let his words sink, almost smiling at the anxiousness radiating from them. "Remember your training and your oath and take pride in your uniform! All Hail The Human System Alliance!"
"ALL HAIL THE HUMAN SYSTEMS ALLIANCE!" The recruits roared, snapping into perfect salutes.
"Good. Now you will be assigned to your future squads. I wish you all the best of luck!" Tith that he promptly left the stage, and walked back to his car.
Then three figures walked onto the stage.
"Welcome, my name is Patrick Morrison, Brigadier Colonel of the Bloody Hawks. I'll now read the names of those assigned to my squad." And then he began reading the ridiculously long list of names. Instead of taking whole squads in, the HSA had the bright idea to improve the team-work inside the armies, and mix the squads after their training camps. So instead of calling squad one or two they had to read everyone individually, making the whole procedure hellishly long….
After he finished two names were still missing.
"Nikolaj Amarow and Adrian Bukowsky, you are to step out immediately!" Morrison raised his voice, wanting it to end already and go to his barracks.
After few seconds of silence a loud string of curses could be heard from the direction of the docking bay. Everyone turned to see two figures dashing towards the crowd.
Nikolaj Amarow was a tall, over two meters, hulking mass of muscles. He had short dark brown hair, and green eyes. His flat face screamed danger…as well as his StA-62 Minigun, which he had casually swung over his shoulder, like it wasn't a forty kilo piece of metal, but a standard rifle.
Adrian Bukowsky wasn't as tall or as well built as his friend, but he couldn't be called short and scrawny. He had messy dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. Usually a mischievous smirk was plastered to his face, but not this time. He was clearly suffering like his companion. Even his way too numerous grenades were strapped carelessly to him, making him look like a living bomb.
They moved to the front, with the rest of recruits steering clear from them…especially fearing the loose grenades on Adrian.
"What's the meaning of this soldiers!?" Morison growled. "You're late, and…" He sniffed the air when they came closer. "…you reek of god damned booze! If you don't give me damn good explanation for you actions, I'll have you discharged right here and now!"
"It was an order from our training officer, sir!" Adrian spoke up. "He demanded that we have a drinking contest with him, and threatened to discharge us if we refused, sir!"
The Colonel looked at them in disbelief.
"Who and where is this officer now?" He asked carefully.
"Lieutenant Colonel Vince Shoss, and he's in infirmary, sir!" Niko bellowed. "I believe that it is a case of serious alcohol poisoning, sir!"
Of course the General was unaware that the true version was slightly different…and the fact that these two had a serious bone to pick with their Lieutenant Colonel …
"I see…" Morrison said slowly, feeling that these two would cause him many a headache. "Alright, since everyone is here, follow me to the transports." He turned back, and left with the group of his assignees.
Then next officer stepped up.
"Hello, my name is Hassan Salaman, Colonel General of the 5th Ranger Regiment, those I call step forward." And he began repeating the previous procedure.
"Rick Vendor, Michelle Pierre,…" He read.
"Score!" Rick cheered. "See, told ya we're going to be together." He grinned at her exasperated look.
"So here it is." Hector said, giving Rick and Michelle firm hand shakes. "Good luck guys." A grin crept on his face too. Before Michelle managed to leave his reach, he gave her a firm spank. She managed to hold a squeal, and gave him a murderous look.
Hector made an innocent expression, while whistling. The petite blonde was about to strike him, but Rick drug her away.
"I'll have your ass on a roaster Visari!" She spat as a farewell.
After the recruits for the 5th were done, it came the time for the Raiders.
"The rest are with me." The man said without bothering to introduce himself. The seriously thinned crowd followed him. Hector noticed that he was one of the few Helghast there. Which was kind of strange, considering the character of the Raiders. He guessed that the higher ups wanted to mix them up a little, to promote the unity. The group moved to the train station, where specially prepared trains were waiting for them.
"Well here's goes nothing." He mumbled, stepping into the train. The doors closed a few minutes later, and the train made it's way to the east side of the city.
Space Port's Canteen
Hannah couldn't stop cackling. She saw the whole situation occur from the canteen, which was placed directly above the plaza. With the windows open she heard every word the hangover duo uttered. The gleeful satisfaction that Vince Shoss was going to have his ass burnt for it, filled her with joy.
The man gave the word racist a new meaning. For him anyone who wasn't born on Earth were sub-humans, not worth his UCN's divine attention…Not to mention he had it in for her ever since the two met. Apparently, women in the army were bad too. And he was very vocal about it, every time he basically could be.
Once she, begrudgingly, had to stop a conspiracy to arrange an accident made up by Rick, Hector, Michelle, Adrian, and Nikolaj. The plan was really good on the other hand. They already got a few HELGAN SPIDERS, and were about to plant them in his room, office, toilet, and wardrobe, but she talked them out of it.
She let out a sigh. While she wouldn't openly admit it, she would miss her trainees. In the time they were on Helghast they, despite her best efforts, bonded. Deep inside she was glad that they were sent here. It would give them two or three years to relatively get some experience, and prepare them for their next assignments.
Her musings were interrupted by a sharp poke in her side. She stifled a yelp and swung around in fury at the person behind her, whom was giving her a shit eating grin.
The person standing in front of Hannah was a black skinned female. She was about 165 cm high, and had dark raven hair, tied in neat dreads. Her eyes had a dark brown shade, not to mention the line of perfectly white teeth.
"Hey Hannah, who's occupying your mind so much, and do I know the hunk?" Nina Vancover asked. She and Hannah met at some point of their military careers in the HSA army, and quickly became friends.
"You're always thinking about that." Hannah sighed.
"If you knew how pleasant it is, maybe you would be too." She giggled when the Helghast woman blushed, abashed. Helghast were much more prude than the rest of the human population.
"Pervert." She mumbled.
"Oh come on, there had to be a reason for you to tolerate Rick and Hector's antics for so long. So tell me, was it because of blonde hair and blue eyes, or because it's Vis~ariiiiii?" She teased. "I know all Helghast women have it for the young bachelor."
"I think I'm gonna stop talking with you." Hannah said in a deadpan tone.
"Aww come on! Let's have some fun here! The ship will be ready tomorrow morning, so we have all night to burn…and maybe we will find some nice Helghast guy to keep you company." She nudged her. "It's not like you've got anything better to do now."
"I guess you're right." Hannah said carefully, a night with Nina usually ended with her having a devastating hangover next morning.
"Then off we go!" Nina cheered. "I bet we never forget this night!"
How right she was….
Shanxi's SD Platform
The three kilometer long structure floated lazily in Shanxi's orbit. The structure, for all its immense size, was able to hold only about five hundred people needed for its maintenance, since the powerful laser cannon took most of its length, leaving limited living space.
Usually only colonies above 500 million people were fit to request having one, and very rarely got one, since the upkeep costs were astronomical.
But there was one exception.
And those were colonies near the Mass Relay. Automatically they were equipped with a Strategic Defense Platform, in case anything came from beyond the relay. When the other side was deemed safe, the platforms were to be moved to the next planet.
Bridge officer Bob Smith was bored out of his mind. He was holding a cup of steaming coffee, staring into an endless space, begging for his shift to end.
'Let something happen anything!' He mentally groaned.
As if on cue one of the specialist working the long rage scanners piqued up.
"Sir, readings are showing that the relay is activating." She informed him.
"So soon?" Bob furrowed his eye-brows. "I thought it would take few hours to scan the space beyond?"
"Sir, two of our ships have entered our space, and are hailing us….putting them though…."
"THIS IS HSAS DAWN! WE WERE ATTACKED! I REPEAT WE WERE ATTACKED!" The voice of the ship's Captain roared through the speakers. "Initiate Rug and Black Sun protocols!"
Bob dropped his mug, making it shatter into dozens of pieces.
"What?" He mumbled in disbelief. The Rug Protocol was basically destroying any evidence that humans ventured from a particular planet. So all sky-charts, maps and info about other planets were wiped clean. That way potential invaders wouldn't know the locations of the other planets.
The Black Sun Protocol was one of three "Sun" protocols. White Sun meant that first contact has been made, and the aliens are friendly. Yellow Sun meant that first contact have been made, but there was no response from aliens. And Black Sun….
"WE MADE FUCKING FIRST CONTACT! AND THEY'RE FUCKING HOSTILE!" The Captain roared. "They have a whole fucking armada behind the relay! The Protheans are back. I repeat the Protheans are back! They're using Mass Effect weapons, but more advanced than anything we have ever seen!"
"Sir, the relay is activating….the power readings show high energy jumps meaning…a lot of ships passing through!" The specialist exclaimed.
"God…" Bob groaned. "Sent word to General Williams immediately! Initiate Rug! You send distress calls to Arcturus! I'm issuing Black Sun Protocol! Gather the fleet around the station!" He ordered frantically.
"Sir, the vessels are coming thought! 50…112…175…200…" She choked.
"God save us all." The voice of the Captain came thought again. "God save-" his voice was cut off abruptly.
"What the hell happened!?" Bob roared.
"We've lost contact, sir!" One of the com operators shouted. "We're trying to-oh no…"
"What?!"
"Our communications systems are not responding…This programing…They've hacked our comm systems!"
Bob felt a cold sweat slide down his back.
"Did you manage to send the distress call to Arcturus?" He asked slowly.
"…only a distress call, not the nature…" Came the reply.
"Fuck…do we have any way to contact the Arcturus now?" He asked.
"We can attempt to regain communications, but our systems were invaded and hacked within seconds…no human could do it so fast…"
"Apparently the aliens can…" He said thinking intensely for some solution. "Can we contact the ships outside the station?"
"Negative…but we have few shuttles in the hangars, and we can send someone directly…"
"Very well…the closest ship is the Dune, tell it's Captain to move to Arcturus, and warn them…"
"Is it wise to send one of our ships back?" One of the specialist asked. "It's six days via warp jump...one way."
"They just dropped in with two hundred ships…We have thirty five, with only ten being cruisers….Even with this station still operational, they will over run us…." He thanked God that Vektans learned from the second extrasolar war, and all combat systems were in separate and isolated systems. That way no outside interference could hack them all.
"Sir…" A scanner operator said, with a shaking voice. "..more vessels are coming through…."
"How many?" Bob gulped, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"230….462….666….789…956….1056…There are now twelve hundred fifty six vessels coming our way…."
"Sent the shuttles immediately…and if the ships comms still function, tell them to gather around the station, and keep it no matter what!"
"Sir?"
"We have to buy time for the army to fortify, and civvies get to bunkers…." He said grimly. "Power the laser up."
Aboard the ICSAS Newton
Jack Harper was one unhappy mercenary right now. He and his team consisting of Eva Core and Ben Hislop had a simple mission from Stahl Arms, to infiltrate and gather all info of the new uncharted space from the civilian vessel accompanying the mission. The sum the company paid was way too high for such an easy mission, but Harper wasn't the one to turn down easy money.
But no, they had to meet a whole goddamned alien armada on the other side…and being chased by them had their engines blown up…
"Jack do you have a plan?" Eva asked.
"We only have our concealed weapons right now…Maybe we should ask the Captain for a few rifles?" Ben suggested.
"What will that change? We're surrounded by them…fighting is meaningless now." He tapped his chin. "But we still need to purge all systems of vital data, since our idiot of a Captain is to busy making pointless defenses."
The trio were currently standing in the engine room, surrounded by frantic engineers working on dismantling the wrap drive, so the tech wouldn't fall into enemies hands.
Jack moved to the console and started hacking into the system.
"Bingo." He smirked and began purging all data from the ships databases. "Be sure that all devises you have are clean too." He ordered. His two coworkers quickly followed the order.
"Ok I'm done here." He turned off the console and moved to his inside man, aka the Chief Engineer. "How's the dismantling going?"
"In five minutes they won't even know what this room was for." The elder, pale skinned man replied. Suddenly the ship was shaking violently.
"What the hell was that?!" Ben exclaimed.
The chief ran to his console and quickly started typing…he paused for few seconds, and then turned, looking grimly.
"The Dawn just self-destructed." He announced, pausing the movement in the room. "They probably had the same idea as us about our technology falling into enemy hands…" He looked around and saw that no one was moving. "What the hell are you all standing here for?! Unless you want me to blow this whole ship up, I suggest you move on with destroying that engine!" He roared, springing the rest into the action. "We need time."
Jack nodded.
"We'll go to the air lock and hold them off there." He said, and was about to leave when the Chief Engineer stopped him.
"Wait, I have something for you three." He moved to the side of the room and typed on the console there. A lock clicked, showing the insides.
"LS18 Shredder Shotgun, LSR44 Spoor, and StA409 Keyzer. Way better than those concealed pistols you lot have."
"Indeed." Ben grinned, picking up the Shotgun. Eva choose the Keyzer, leaving Jack with the Spoor. "We'll need a few minutes to be completely sure that they won't salvage anything."
"We'll hold them." Jack promised, and the trio moved to the hangar bay. The boarding ship was just cutting through the hull of the ship, but for some reason it was going painfully slow, like they hadn't expected such a thick armor.
The ship crew used that time to move crates, making makeshift barricades to slow down the boarding party. Machine guns were put on the higher levels, turning the hangar into a kill zone.
Now there was only the wait. Everyone could already see the rectangular shape of the cut. It was about two meters high, and three long.
The tension was thick in the room and the silence absolute, aside from the buzzing sound of melting metal.
One thought was going thought everyone's minds…
How they hell they were supposed to fight a race that were supposedly in space for fifty thousand years?
The buzzing finally ceased making everyone grip their weapons tightly. What happened next exceeded their wildest dreams…or nightmares..
The whole hull part began to glow blue, slowly move inside the room just sped up and crashed into the defenders barricades, crushing a few unfortunate crew members .
Before the dust managed to settled a crowd of aliens started to pour inside the ship. They looked like some sort of bad dream.
Large reptilian-like ones, avian ones, frog-like with big eyes, ones that looked like some sort of nightmarish bugs, green four eyed ones, and…blue alien chicks.
"I knew it! Blue alien chicks are real!" Ben exclaimed, shooting a bug-like creature with his shotgun.
"Less talking, more shooting!" Eve chastised him. Despite the initial shock, the make shift barricades seemed to work and slowed the invades down…but the problem was that the crew was mostly civilians, with basic fire arms training, and only few of them were professional soldiers.
Jack changed the mode to sniper rifle and shot a powerful blast, ending the life of two avian aliens.
But then the unthinkable happened. One of the large lizards with red armor started to glow blue. He pulled out a menacingly looking hammer, and charged in one swift jump.
The effect was like a bullet shot from a tank. The alien tore through the crates and defenders alike, sending bodies flying everywhere. Then it hit the ground with his hammer.
If Jack Harper wasn't present that day, he would laugh at the notion that single creature can make the ship shake….
Apparently that alien could, and did just that.
Using the moment of confusion the invaders poured through the hole and broke through all their defenses.
"Goddammit!" Jack swore under his breath. He dearly hoped that the engineers were done. Mass propelled bullets flew everywhere, ricocheting in the closed area, making it hard to concentrate.
"Ugh!" Ben groaned when one of the bullets hit him. He immediately fell to the ground.
"Ben!" Eva exclaimed, and ran to his side looking for injuries…seeing none. Though a little bleeding from his thigh was caused by a small metal object buried in his flesh. "What the hell?" Then realization dawned at her. "They have some sort of paralyzing shots! They want to take us alive!"
Harper remained silent while shooting the aliens. Apparently after their shields broke their armor gave little to no protection from the bullets.
But that was only a mild comfort. The aliens already pacified the defenders downstairs, and were moving up the stairs to where Jack and Eva were currently shooting. The latter dropped her gun and picked up the shotgun.
They stood back to back with aliens surrounding them.
Harper changed his rifle back to machine gun mode and pulled out a knife, while Eva reloaded her shotgun.
"Hakar urk nok dilemak ar!" The human-like alien spat towards Eva.
"Fuck you too!" She shot, but was shocked when the blue alien created a force field around herself. Then she made a grabbing motion with her fist glowing blue, and Eva suddenly found herself dragged towards the alien woman, or what looked like a woman.
The alien grabbed Eva's throat, and gave her a nasty smile.
"Ardat norok!" Then she slammed her fist into Eva's face, knocking her out.
Things on Jack's side were only looking a bit brighter, and he wasn't out of cold yet. He rammed his knife into the four eyed alien's throat, eliciting a gurgle from him, then proceeded to fill the next one with lead. His rampage was ended when he got to the large reptilian one. With one swat of its massive arm, Jack was swung to the side of the footbridge and fell through the railing. It was only because of the high crates he hadn't broken anything. He jumped on the round and saw that he was surrounded.
He heard some commotion in the midst of the aliens, and saw the same red armored behemoth stepping forward. Up close he noticed that he had red eyes and a vertical scar running though his right eye.
Jack dropped his empty gun and switched his knife in a reverse grip, glaring at the alien.
It looked at the knife in his hand and gave a snort of amusement. It dropped the hammer and slammed one fist into the other, barking something at the crowd. The aliens stepped back creating a circle around them.
"Fucker." Jack mumbled at the offending alien. He eyed his opponent looking for weak spots, and only finding it near his head, namely throat and eyes.
The alien watched him with a calculating gaze. Unlike the one who threw him from the upper level, this one's eyes were intelligent, gauging, not filled with a mindless rage. Yes the rage was present, but it was tightly shackled by a keen mind.
Jack Harper knew that the enemy in front of him was a pro.
But that hadn't deterred him from fighting. Both warriors jumped at each other.
Using his smaller size to his advantage, Jack rolled under a nasty swipe and managed to behind the alien. Using the opening he rammed his knife into the back of its knee. As he predicted the material gave up under the extremely sharp metal, and let the human pierce flesh.
The alien gave out a roar of pain, but surprised jack with quick turn, and a hit that if it connected would rip his head off his shoulders.
He managed to rip out his knife and jump back in time. Jack could only watch in disbelief as the alien stretched his wounded limb few times, then stood on it as if it wasn't injured at all.
The alien gave him wry grin and made come gesture with his three digit hand.
Jack charged forward with great speed. It was basically his only advantage over the alien. The creature respond in kind and soon both of them were locked in a deadly dance.
Harper was trained in a few martial arts, but none of them were working against the creature. His kicks to the knees were ineffective, and he cut his palm on the creature's face….He wouldn't dare to head butt him, seeing its massive head plate.
The crowd of aliens cheered every time one of the parties got close to ending the game. They were shouting something, mostly offenses he guessed. But a few of those blue women were looking at him with…interest.
He shook his head of useless thoughts. He was getting tired and the alien seemed to….enjoy this fight. Jack gritted his teeth and decided to go for the bold approach. He jumped back, making some distance.
Then he ran like a mad-man at the alien. The bold maneuver made alien pause for a second, and that was all Harper needed. He grabbed the alien's collar, and using the momentum, made a swing up. His body twisted up and the landed in space between its head and hump.
The alien started to trash widely, trying to shake him off, but Jack grabbed the alien's head plate firmly and then decided to end it. He used all his remaining strength, and rammed his knife into the beast's throat. He immediately felt warm liquid spill onto his hand, but before he even managed to twist his knife inside the wound the alien…bit him.
The razor sharp teeth tore his skin and stopped at the bone, but Jack had a nasty feeling that it wouldn't last long. Using his free hand, he dug his fingers into the alien's eyes, making it release guttural shout and letting his hand free. He quickly kicked off the alien. Jack fell from his back and hit the floor painfully, dropping his knife in the process. He stood up wobbly, and as soon as he managed to stand, he saw the fist coming his way.
The last feeling he had was that of being hit by a freight train.
Urdnot Wrex was now one happy Krogan. He just had a badass fight with an alien of a recently discovered species. Currently said alien was busy making dent in a crate. Wrex looked on with satisfaction as the white skinned alien fell to his knees, and then flat to the ground. The crowd roared with excitement at his win.
The Asari quickly ran to the fallen alien, arguing over who will "arrest" him. Those aliens were unbelievably similar to Asari, and had males. Wrex made a note to capture a few dozens of them. He knew a few Matriarchs that would pay handsomely for them.
Despite his throat and eye hurting like hell, he was pleased. He hadn't had fight this good in a few decades.
"I see the primitive almost got you Wrex." An Asari moved to his side.
"He was good Aleena." Wrex grumbled. "I bet that pyjack would have your skinny ass on a roaster." He massaged his already regenerated throat.
"Tsk, I'm not as slow as you." She huffed. "Besides these alien's are likely to become a new hit on the market." She eyed the one with light yellowish fur on his head.
"Have a itching for the forbidden, Aleena?" Wrex let out a rumbling laugh. "I have to admit, it's almost impossible to believe such Asari-like creatures exist."
"True. Anyways I've got report back that the ship is under our command now." She looked at her Omni-Tool. "Ok goodie the big Batarian Admiral wants a written report, so of course it's on me." She grumbled.
"See, that's why I never go for the leader's seat." Wrex picked up the fallen alien's knife. It was too small for his hand, but might serve as nice tooth pick. "I hope the rest of his kind have the same drive to fight." He let a savage grin creep on his face. "This war might just be fun!"
Shanxi- Rick and Michelle
Rick was now one very unhappy Vektan. Next to him Michelle was sitting with smug smile. He just got berated for his "indecent behavior" towards his female comrade, and was warned that such acts won't be tolerated by the Commanding Officer.
After they were put into the train, it traveled to the city's edge, and then moved to the large transports and drove into the tropical wilderness of Shanxi. Most of the roads still hadn't been completed, aside from the highway between New HongKong, and the second largest city New Wien. The latter was built at the base of the large mountain chain, as well the source of the river that the former was built on. The city was also the largest complex of mines on the planet, since the mountain chain was rich in minerals necessary for the colony's growth.
The 5th Rangers Regiment HQ was placed in the middle between the two cities, just next to an enormous dam that produced power for most of the settlements on the continent.
The dam was really a sight to behold, it was three times the size of the Three Gorges Dam of the pre-war earth, and the largest construction on Shanxi.
Next to it was the Ranger Compound. The building was a standard issue, quick built, metal barracks, with living quarters, surrounding the three floor construction. Around it were the hangars for the heavy equipment.
The recruits left the transports and followed the orders of the officers, moving to the main building to be quartered.
"I hope I get the bed next to yours." Rick grumbled.
"Justice is sweet, isn't it?" Michelle grinned. "Finally someone decided to give you what you deserved. Hannah was way too lenient with you."
"Ahh Hannah." Rick smiled dreamily. "I'll miss that fine piece of Helghast ass."
"You're impossible…but I'm worried for Hector." She admitted. "Adrian and Niko are at least together…come to think of it, shouldn't that be a reason to worry?" She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Damn, I should've known that you fell for that Visari charm of his." Rick said face faulting, and earning a slap to the back of his head.
"I'm serious! He's alone there." She growled.
"He's surrounded by Helghast, who will worship him just for his name." Rick looked at her deadpanned.
"They're old Helghast, the ones that believed that they're the superior race and were into murdering everyone else…and he has more Vektan blood than Helghast. Not to mention the Chancellor made many enemies within her own kin."
"Do you really think that they would kill Visari?" He inquired with disbelief.
"I'm talking about indoctrinating and turning him into the next Scolar." She clarified.
"Hector? Please. He looks to much up to his parents and what they achieved, to become like his great grandfather." Rick crossed his arms, but felt a bit of anxiety. "I bet he's having the time of his life now…."
Black Raider's HQ
THUMP!
Hector's body collided painfully with the concentrate ground.
He knew something was wrong the moment General Obsman made his appearance. It was highly unusual for a person like him to greet the recruits personally….even more for him being in full battle gear.
Then he called Hector up. The young man stepped up and got another order.
Get ready to fight.
He barely managed to put his helmet on before the General was on him, surprising him with his speed. That was the reason he was eating dirt in the first two minutes of the fight.
He…Hector Visari, who managed to beat in hand to hand all drill instructors, was now owned without landing even one hit.
He quickly jumped back to his feet and adjusted his stance. The General stood in a casual position, as if mocking him. His gear consisted of the original Capture Trooper Armor, but instead of white elements his was all black.
Hector ran at him again and engaged him once more. He sent a straight punch at Obsman's face, but the man swatted his fist like a fly and responded with a nasty kick to the knee. Hector managed to avoid by retreating his leg. The General grabbed him by the armlet and yanked him forward, kneeing him in the gut and making the young Visari gasp. But the older Helghast wasn't finished, with a nasty upper cut he sent him on his back again, this time with an abused chin.
"Is that all Visari can do these days?" He asked looking with distaste at the struggling youngster. "Pathetic, but expected from a half-breed…Or rather quarter-breed, since your Father was Vektan scum, and you Mother a half-breed." He spat.
Hector felt a very Helghast anger right now, aka the murderous urge to kill something.
With a roar he charged, extending his blade and slashing viciously at the General. The man side stepped and let the blade harmlessly past him, before calmly bringing out his blade and slashing at Hector's head.
And if done at the right angle one could rip the helmet off the soldier's head in one move.
Hector froze in shock and the General used the opportunity. He quickly moved on him and under cut him, making him fall. Then he kneeled on Hector's chest, pressed his blade to his throat.
The young Visari looked into the cold, merciless orange glowing orbs, and gulped.
"Yield." Obsman ordered.
"Never." He choked. "I'd rather die than surrender to the man who insulted my parents!" He spat despite the fear he felt.
The general pressed his blade, drawing blood, but Hector's gaze remained steel hard. "Hmph. It seems that there is still hope for the Visari bloodline." The General stated, retreating his blade.
"You have the same fire in your eyes as you Great Grandfather."
Hector decided to take this as a compliment.
"The show is over! Move to that building and wait to get your assigned beds!" Obsman ordered. The rest of the recruits who were with Hector moved quickly, not wanting to incur the man's wrath.
Hector picked his helmet up and saw the vertical cut along his helmet, going through his left visor. He was about to walk away when Obsman spoke.
"It's your first battle mark, remember it well Visari."
"What was he like, sir?" Hector couldn't help but ask.
"Hadn't the Chancellor told you?" The General inquired.
"I would like to hear it from someone who saw him with his own eyes, sir." He clarified.
"Scolar Visari was a man filled with passion and love for his people. Those outside might think of him as brutal tyrant, but compared to what we had before him it was heaven. People had roofs above their heads, no matter how poor. Yes they were slums, but he had only ten years to build homes for millions of homeless people. He limited starvation and rebuilt our nation, rebuilt our pride." He paused, letting himself be drown in memories. "Could he have done things in different way? Maybe…" He turned and looked into Hector's green eyes, struck again by how similar they appeared. "You're a Visari. You're a Helghast. No matter how little of the actual blood flows in your veins, and you have quite the legacy to live up to…That is all, dismissed."
Hector snapped a salute and walked towards the main building.
And since this was the Helghast part of the town, obviously the military building was the largest and most monumental one….
After all how many buildings had five Arc Towers built within?
With Hannah and Nina
"God how boring is this colony?!" Nina complained, looking around. "Not even one night club!"
"It's 3 PM, what did you expect?" Hannah deadpanned. They were told that the port area, near the Bloody Hawks's HQ, was the city's main entertainment district.
The base was basically one big port with a small naval fleet that the Hawks managed. Ever since the invention of space ships the role of the traditional port declined drastically. Mostly due to the transportation role or protection from the pirates on more lawless worlds.
Suddenly they heard booming laughter coming from the nearest bar.
"I think that's Adrian." Hannah said and moved in the direction of the sound, followed by a curious Nina.
To their shock they saw both the owner of said laughter, his friend Niko, and surprisingly Colonel Morrison with an already healthy red glow.
"Hey guys, mind if we sit with you?" Hannah asked walking up to them.
"Not in slightest, Colonel." Niko said. "Colonel Morrison, meet Colonel Hannah Shepard and Lieutenant Colonel Nina Vancover."
"It's a pleasure." Morrison replied with a smile. Both ladies took a seat and ordered some drinks.
"So Colonel, tell me, how you got tangled up with these two already?" Nina asked with a grin.
"Oh let's drop the formalities, call me Patrick, and they came to me while we were being transported, offering me that fine liquor." He pointed at the bottle of vodka standing on the table. "Apologizing for their behavior and to, as they call it, breaking the ice."
"Da, we felt bad for our behavior." Niko said. "If not for Colonel Shoss we wouldn't have be late."
"Yeah, he forced us to do it." Adrian said in a teary tone.
Hannah rolled her eyes.
"You had to put him into a hospital, didn't you?"
"Well he thought that he was so superior, because he was born on Earth. He decided to prove this by challenging us to a drinking contest." Adrian lied through his teeth. In reality the duo goaded the unfortunate officer into it using his huge ego. The results were less than spectacular for Colonel Shoss.
"He really thought he stood a chance against you two?" Nina asked in amused disbelief. "You drank a whole bottle of Helghast Dream, and survived."
"Isn't that the drink with Helghast Spider poison?" Morrison clarified.
"Yup." They said in unison.
"That's what you just got, Colonel." Hannah said in an apologetic tone.
"Well it's not like there's much to do, aside from sacking occasional smugglers' dens, or separating the fights between-" He paused, recalling that he shouldn't divulge delicate info like that.
"We know the Raiders and Rangers hate each others guts, and the Hawks act as peace keepers." Adrian shrugged. "It's not so hard to guess. I mean, why the hell would they send three experienced armies to such a remote planet?"
"Well then, looks like I'm open to speak freely then." Morrison took a gulp of his drink. "The situation is delicate, and General Williams is standing on thread to ensure that they won't out right kill each other. He purposely divided the jurisdiction areas so they'll have as little interaction as possible. But when they come here on shore leave…." He trailed off.
"So how many fights have you broken up?" Hannah asked.
"This week?"
"I see." She shook her head.
"But those guys are older generation…. The way we have things now always makes me happy." He looked around. "When humans from all over the galaxy can sit together and not kill each other over old some grudges."
SD Platform
"Sir, their fleet is advancing! Distance three hundred thousands kilometers! They closing in fast!"
"Let them pass the maximum cannon range, aim for the largest ships." Bob ordered, trying to remain calm. The ships were making a claw-like formation, with the concentration of cruises at the points.
"Sir, we detect three Dreadnought equivalents in their fleet…they're keeping behind our maximum range. Currently about four hundred ships are advancing our way." The specialist announced.
"Damn. I hoped we could take at least one of those ships." He furrowed his brows.
Suddenly the shields flared, deflecting a shot.
"What the hell was that!" Bob exclaimed in shock.
"One of the cruisers fired at us!" Came the disbelieving reply.
"From that distance!?" He spat. "Fuck me sideways, how long till they get in range?"
"One minute. Three to the desired range for the ships."
"Divert all power to shields! Have you managed to re-establish connection yet?"
"No sir, still trying to crack thought their programing."
Bob looked on with worry at the scanner. He dearly hoped that none of the more hot headed Captains would engage. The steady hits from the mass accelerated weapons were becoming more and more frequent, but the shield was holding. After all the whole platform was designed to endure, and was equipped with the best shields the HSA had to offer…Still, the continued shots from this many ships was burning through the power at an alarming pace.
"Sir, the first ships are in desired range!" The specialist announced.
"FIRE!"
The large cannon powered up and started to glow red. After few seconds the red ray of death shot towards the alien armada, along with shots from the rest of the fleet.
The effect was devastating.
The shot burnt through six ships, destroying them utterly, while the collective power of 34 Alliance ships annihilated twenty six more.
Silence ruled over the main deck. None of them could believe that one shoot from the laser managed to destroy six ships in one shot, three of which were cruiser size.
"Fire at will!" Bob ordered. "Is anyone able to explain that to me?"
"…it seems that their shields aren't able to block energy-based weapons…I recall that this might become an issue with our Eezo based shields too…I guess we have proof now." One of the men pipped out.
"Also the ships designed purely for ME travel tend to be very light, and have thin hulls." Another supported. "The damage report says that the frigates were responsible for most of the kills, thanks to their Arc Cannons."
"IT tech do everything you can to pass that message to Shanxi, hell do it by Morse Code, I don't care, they need to know that the enemy is vulnerable to energy weapons. Has the Dune left the system yet?"
"Unfortunately yes, it's gone sir."
"Goddamn it-"
BOOOM!
The whole station shook violently, making a few people fall to the ground.
"What the fuck was that!?"
"We got hit by the Dreadnought size ship sir! Shields at sixty seven percent!" A female specialist said fanatically.
Bob took a deep breath. That shot alone took five percent of the shield's power, twelve more and they were done. With three ships of that size it would just take minutes…The platform could withstand a few hits, but that was all….
"Divert all power to the Cannon and GARDIAN systems!" He said with an eerily detached voice. Everyone looked at him. "We'll take as many to hell with us as we can…proceed with that order."
Meanwhile out in space the alliance ships were fighting valiantly, even while being hopelessly out numbered. The Helghast designed Arc Frigates were moving thought the enemy ships like a scythe, but the Cruisers weren't far behind with their trade mark Snow Missiles annihilating enemies ships. But with every ship they destroyed, two took their place.
Three out of ten Cruisers and six out of twenty five Frigates were gone. They were only holding thanks to the SD Platform, which by now was a living red laser show. With each shot from the main cannon, the alien flotilla thinned a bit. The GARDIAN defense systems, albeit designed for fighters and bombers, we giving the aliens much grief too, since they could fire faster.
But ultimately the odds were stacked to much. Ship after ship was destroyed and the platform's shields fell, leaving it open to fall prey to the Dreadnought shots.
The first shot hit the generators, cutting off the power. The second hit the engine room, killing all the staff.
"It was an honor serving with you all…Good work, all of you." Bob said with melancholy, as the platform exploded and burned around him, the windows breaking due to the pressure.
The third shot hit the main deck, causing the station to explode in ball of bright fire, annihilating all nearby ships.
What was left was a three kilometer twisted and melted block of metal.
The road to Shanxi was open.
Aboard BHS Khar'shan's Might.
"Damage report." Arnak said solemnly.
"186 vessels were destroyed, Admiral." One of the officers replied. "But the alien structure was annihilated."
"Damn it." He uttered, clenching his fists. No, Tornak wasn't angry because of the number of lost ships. Those were merc vessels, without a single from regular Batarian fleet, so their losses was acceptable, even beneficial since they wouldn't have to pay them now.
No, the Admiral was angry at the loss of the alien structure. They had a laser beam able to take down several ships at once, in just one shot. His experts calculated that one shot from it would have been able to take out the Dreadnought. Nothing the Citadel had could rival it. Maybe the Destiny Ascension, but it was the one exception. Not to mention that their Frigates had some sort of undiscovered energy based weapon. He quickly ordered scavenging of the wrecks, hoping to learn something about these aliens. They proved to be more interesting than he previously thought.
He let a growl at the lost secrets of an orbital weapon, again.
His initial plan to capture the structure, was to board it and seize it, but that was shot to hell the moment the reports came of inability to even get close to it, because of the ridiculously powerful GARDIAN lasers. With a heavy heart he ordered the destruction of the platform. But he didn't want to sacrifice to many of the mercs he had. They still had a planet to conquer, and the aliens still probably had the blue prints for the structure.
"Sir, we have total orbital control. What are your orders?" An officer asked.
"Prepare for the invasion. We'll hit them fast and hard. Sent word to the Generals and merc leaders. The targets are military structures and administration buildings. Try to not damage the cities structures to much." He instructed. "Our aim is to conquer, not destroy. If they are as interesting as I think they are we need them relatively unharmed, broken but alive…Tell the merc leaders that they will be held responsible for any extensive damage. Orbital bombing is strictly forbidden."
Admiral Arnak was a professional. He knew that if they razed the planet and slaughtered most of the population, the famine and plagues that were the usual consequences of war, would kill that species off. And his head would roll for letting such an opportunity go to waste, so he needed to end it as fast as he could.
He rubbed his chin in thought.
"Do we still have their comms under our control?" He asked.
"There are a few satellites left, though that structure served as main comm buoy."
"Good. Is the translation of their language complete?"
"Yes sir, with the data from the ship, we got a full version of their language updated."
"Good, I have an announcement to make."
General Williams Office
It was supposed to be his last job before early retirement. He was supposed to buy a piece of land and watch his Granddaughter grow into a fine woman.
Then one message from the SD Platform Commander Bob Smith ruined everything.
Rug Protocol.
Black Sun Protocol.
The Protheans are back.
Three lines of text had ruined his closest foreseeable future. Not to mention that all outside communications were being blocked by some sort of…alien programing.
The usual lazy evening, where everyone finished their jobs, turned into a chaotic buzz of activity with reports of virtual inability to contact Arcturus for help.
"Does anything work at all here?!" Williams roared in fury.
"We can still contact the rest of the colony." One of operators said.
"Good, patch me into all screens and radios, use Alpha line." He ordered.
General Williams sat at his desk and looked into the OWL that was now recording him.
"Citizens of Shanxi, this is General Henri Williams…Just a few minutes ago we received a warning from our SD Platform..." He paused, unaware that every movement on the colony stopped. "We are being attacked….by something that we thought was long gone…citizens of Shanxi….the Protheans are back."
ok here you go with chapter 2! I hope you liked it. I'll try to keep the things relatively balanced between the batarians and humans since I personally dislike the over powered Humanity.
Anyways don't forget to leave a review!
LordGhostStriker: Not at all, remember that batarians have full orbital control. Ann can literally blast everything to pieces.
Ank: I'll do it in few chapters when this story gets a solid fan base
NenkotaMoon: It's not like they were loveable in cannon too, and I'll try my best to keep the things balanced.
edboy4926: I've got even something better planned.
six samurai of dragon order: all current races in ME operates on protheas knowledge so I took the basic coding and had it used to unlock the languages between them.
Finnish Paragade: thanks
Ghost132: Don't worry dude I'm far from being done
Swanboy: Yup I hated the moment he died it sank my ship and well we all know how bad it would turn if a race of slaver made a first contact