Chapter 2: Preperation
Mordin Solus was enjoying his work right now. To think, he was decoding a single file that was sent out by a new civilization. There could be anything in that packet he received: first contact messages, ship information, new technology. It was probably the first, but he was still eager to get the packet decoded and to find out more about this new race.
When he received the mission to monitor suspicious batarian activity around Relay 314, he thought it would be uneventful. The batarians were always up to no good, pushing the Citadel's patience each time they did something rash. Esan, now known as Lorek, is a good example of this. So when he was assigned this mission, he expected the batarians would activate Relay 314 in an attempt to expand outward.
A single probe was sent to the system to monitor the batarian's presence, yet Mordin was surprised to find that the relay opened by itself. He was first interested in hopes of seeing a new race and hopefully make first contact with them, but then he realized that the batarians were in the system. Whatever new race would come through would probably be met with hostile reception.
Instead, a few probes of unknown classification exited the relay; a smart move, Mordin thought. When the batarians found out about the probes, they seemed to hesitate before they opened fire on them. That was when he acquired the packet in the first place, after the STG probe intercepted it. It was probably for the best that the batarians didn't get it.
One half of the batarian fleet went through the relay, before the second half went in a few hours later. An hour after the second fleet went through, they came back without the first half. No doubt that the new race was able to fight them off. And now the captain of that batarian fleet was going to meet up with the council, most likely to convince the Citadel to send aid.
Standing next to Mordin was another member of the STG, Maeum Lesadril, a dark red and grey salarian. Maeum was in charge of the operation to monitor batarian activity, so Mordin had to report to him first. That was three hours ago, and as of now they were both taking the elevator to the Citadel Tower to see the meeting, as well as present evidence when needed.
"How's the decoding?" Maeum asked, glancing to see Mordin checking his omnitool.
"Going well. Decoding quite simple. Made special program to get it done faster." Mordin said, "Excited about new discovery. Possibilities of new race are endless."
"It is interesting," Maeum agreed, "but if the batarians get their way, they might not be their for long."
"Batarians are aggressive." Mordin frowned, "If found closed relay, would of activate it. New race would of be off guard." He breathed in, "New race activated relay first. Had preperation."
"Preparation?" Maeum arched a brow, "What makes you say that?"
"New race opened relay, but sent probes first. Probes scouted system, but were destroyed by batarian." Mordin explained, "New race knew batarians were patrolling system. Were prepared for invasion."
Maeum absorbed this information, "Possibly explains why the batarians were beaten."
"Yes. Able to call reinforcements. But possibility of new race technology. Unknown." Mordin turned his omnitool off, "Need to decode packet faster."
By then the elevator reached the top of the tower. Walking out into the council chambers, the two STG members saw a bit of a crowd, ranging from turians to asari and salarians, as well as some batarians. They could here some conversations from the crowd; most was about the new race, either the possibility of them joining the Citadel, or,in the batarian's case, getting payback for the lost fleet.
"Quite a crowd." Maeum muttered.
"Information got out quickly. Most likely leak by batarian." Mordin surmised.
Maeum frowned, "Makes things a bit more complicated." They walked up the stairs, where they could already hear the ranting of a batarian, the captain no doubt, "The meeting already started..."
"..this is a crime against the Batarian Hegemony! They should be punished for the deaths of our comrades!" One batarian, Captain Balak according to STG records, yelled out. Next to him was the batarian Ambassador, who stood silent yet had the same rage as Balak in his eyes.
"It is not us to punish a new race for defending their homeworld." The asari councilor, Tevos said.
"Besides, it was your fleet who went through the relay in the first place." The turian councilor, Sparatus, added, "You should've contacted Citadel fleet as soon as you saw the relay opening."
"Contact you?" Balak scoffed, "We batarians can handle ourselves. We went in to stop this new, inexperienced race and punish them for breaking the law. By the time your fleet would of came, they would of destroyed my fleet!"
"Citadel law doesn't apply to new civilizations outside our jurisdiction," The salarian councilor, Valern, argued, "We can't just shoot at a new race because they broke a law they didn't know about."
"Well then perhaps you should of, "Balak growled, "Because this new race destroyed half of my fleet!"
"We know." Sparatus glared back at Balak, "The STG was monitoring your activity around Relay 314. We know that you sent half of fleet in first before the rest, and your ship, went in."
Balak blinked in surprise, "W-what?! You monitored my fleet!?" He roared.
"Simple, really." Mordin said as he and Maeum made themselves known, "Single probe with low emissions. Hidden in plain sight."
"Councilors, "The batarian ambassador spoke up, "The Hegemony had no intentions in that system. Balak's fleet was passing through while scouting new worlds to colonize."
"Unlikely." Mordin smirked, "Balak's fleet went to relay first. Possible attempt to open it."
"We would do no such thing!" Balak yelled, "We know Citidal law. We didn't want to repeat the Rachni Invasion!"
"But you found something else instead." Maeum glared at Balak, "Did you share your ship's recordings with the Council? Or did you send them to the Hegemony first?"
Balak was flustered, "I-I was going to!" He grumbled to himself a bit before he activated his omnitool and sent the video recording to the Council. The councilor's omnitools glowed as the looked at the file, before a hologram display activated for all to see.
The display showed the fleet exiting the relay...only to find a slaughter in front of them. 15 batarians ships were picked off one by one by large, blocky looking ships that looked like dreadnaughts. One dreadnaught fired a red and black beam from underneath it, sweeping forward hitting six batarian ships, destroying them instantly. Other ships fired clusters of missiles, each missile splitting up into smaller missiles and overwhelming the batarian's GARDIAN network. The ships that came through the relay quickly acted and turned to flee through the relay once the other fleet realized they had company.
"Fascinating." Mordin muttered, "New race capable of energy weapons."
"See?" Balak smirked, "The enemy possesses weapons that are a threat to the Citadel! If they can defeat our fleet, who says they are planning to destroy us?"
"The usage of energy weapons is surprising," Tevos said, "But we should approach this with peace then through war."
"Agreed." Valern nodded, "This new race should be approached carefully. We shouldn't go to war until we know that they are a threat."
"Peace? There is no peace!" Balak shouted.
"Then there will be." Sparatus growled, "If the Hegemony goes to war with this new race, the Citadel will not support you. You will be on your own!"
Balak looked to the ambassador, glaring at him. The ambassador nodded, "Very well. The Hegemony doesn't need the Citadel." He smirked, "We will show you just how powerful the Hegemony can be." He said before the two turned and walked out, passing the two STG members.
"This meeting is adjourned." Tevos said. It was clear that she was stressed. Sparatus was fuming at the thought of the batarians ignoring their demands, and Valern shook his head in disappointment. The three councilors walked out of the chambers as the crowd started to disperse.
"Politics...so frustrating…" Maeum shook his head.
Suddenly, a chime was heard as Mordin looked to his omnitool, "Ah, good. Decryption done. Just in time."
Maeum looked to Mordin, "Well, what was in it?"
Mordin nodded, "Seems to be media file. Possible first contact package." He smiled, "Eager to review."
Maeum chuckled, "It's best we review it with the council then. Privately, of course."
"No batarian interference. Good plan." Mordin nodded.
It wasn't long for Mordin and Maeum to get a private meeting with the council. With the possibility of learning about this new race imminent, the council wanted to be the first to hear about it. The room they were meeting in was the council break room, where the councilors would normally rest. It wasn't the first time the two STG members were in here, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
"So, this packet. You think it will contain information about this new race?" Tevos asked as Mordin and Maeum stood before them.
"Media file easily decrypted. Basic for discs." Mordin said, "Packet contained additional data, possibly translation files. Among which are Prothean language. Fascinating."
"Prothean?" Sparatus asked.
"Not actual Prothean. Simple language. New race probably found cache. Expected others to use it." Mordin nodded.
"So they had contact with Prothean ruins." Valern commented.
"Let us not dwell in mysteries." Sparatus said, "It's time to know the true face of this new race."
Mordin nodded, "Very well. Playing media file. Putting to main screen." Before long a holo screen appeared for them all to see as the file started to play. A light blue background appeared, as a silver emblem that looked something like a varren with a longer snout and wings appeared before it. Below it was the words, translated to Prothean, 'Draconian Alliance'.
The emblem soon faded out as it showed a terrestrial world as music played in the background. The scenery first was grassy plains with a distant city in the horizon. Closer was ruins, buildings made of stone. In the foreground, creatures with fluff on them happily grazed on the grass. A larger quadruped creature, possibly what inspired the emblem, suddenly flew overhead towards the city.
The scene changed to show the streets of a city, most likely the one that was shown in the previous scene. Furred two-legged creatures with legs were seen walking the streets alongside smaller brown creatures and others, though more of those varren-like creatures were seen, ranging in size, color, and shape. There were even some races that looked like...machines. The camera panned up as a ship hovered past the city, showing smaller skycars flying alongside more of those flying creatures.
The scene changed again, this time showing flying pieces of land as ships zoomed past them. The camera panend back, soon showing another flying creature that now stood in front of the camera, looking out to this alien world. This one however was dressed in steel armor with red markings on it, as it suddenly activated an omnitool, and even more surprising, smiled to itself before it flapped dove off the island and flew off.
The scene then changed to show space and a planet in the background. Ships, similar to the one that the batarians encountered, were shown in standard formation slowly drifting past the camera. Alongside the ships were larger ships, though were more sleeker and were outfitted with solar panels. Civilian ships, they realized. The music slowed down, as soon the emblem appeared again and the video stopped.
"Fascinating…" Mordin muttered. His words reflected the word the thoughts of everyone in the room.
"Hello." A voice said in perfect Prothean. "Is this working?"
Tevos blinked in surprise, looking between the other councilors, "Uh, yes?"
"Thank goodness. I thought our communication tech is incompatible. I'm the virtual intelligence sent with the package you have obviously decoded." It responded.
Tevos sighed in relief, thanking that she didn't suddenly have an AI in front of her. Everyone else, minus Mordin, appeared the same.
Mordin however, smiled, "VI with personality. Beats Citadel VI."
"Indeed." Sparatus rubbed his head, "So, this new race is known as the Draconian Alliance, correct?" If it was a VI, it was built to answer standard questions.
"Species wouldn't be accurate. The Draconian Alliance is the governing body of the species native to the planet Draconia. It's namesake is the most common species dragons or more scientifically known as Draco Sapien." The VI answered
"Dragons?" Tevos asked.
"I can show you. Do you happen to have holographic projection technology?" It asked.
Tevos nodded, "Yes." She said. What did dragons look like, she wondered.
A hologram appeared on the table of a red fire dragon in a decent amount of detail. It then began to move and said. "This is what dragons look like."
"Fascinating." Mordin smiled, "Sapient quadruped race. Capable of flight. Curious about their history."
"Ask away. All data I'm privy to is not classified."
"Very well. What is dragon's history?" Mordin asked, "Evolution, culture, that sort of thing."
"Be warned all historical knowledge prior and 100 years after the great planetary fracturing and reconstruction has been lost." It stated.
"Hold on, fracturing?" Sparatus's mandibles flared, ""Reconstruction? Impossible. There is no way an entire planet could be reconstructed. There is no evidence that these dragons have the technology to do it."
"Correct. Technology was not used." It stated. "It was the collective energy of two of the most powerful magic users alive today sitting upon the fragmenting leylines of the planet that allowed reconstruction to begin."
"Magic?" Sparatus stuttered, "Impossible."
"Magic could be another term for element zero or biotics." Mordin surmised, "Or new energy entirely."
"Correct. Magic is a common term for the manipulation and utilization of the life force energy. The proper name for life force is aura. It is the binding force of most things in the know universe. Beings who can directly utilize aura are able to perform task that would normally be impossible if you were using convient physics."
Tevos blinked, "Siari." She looked to the others.
"Aura close to Asari belief. All is one, everything connected." Mordin thought, "Dragons understand it. Perhaps have greater understanding. Fascinating…"
"Full mapping of the afterlife is impossible outside of dying or using less accurate technique is currently." The VI responded.
"Correction, better understanding. Don't know possibility of afterlife." Mordin said.
"Please state next inquiry." It asked.
"This magic..how do the dragon use it?" Valern asked.
"Complex question. Needs to be specific. Assuming basic. Most user attune to a certain base element."
"Base element?" Tevos asked.
"Earth, Water, Fire, Electricity, Ice, Light, and Dark. Evidence points to it being possible for other elements to exist but unknown for now." It replied.
Mordin rubbed his chin in deep thought, "Dragons have elemental attunement. Possibly utilize in everyday life. Or made of energy. Core, perhaps, based off fiction."
"Personal inquiry. Define your usage of Core." It said.
"Magical core. Used in older fiction, mainly fantasy." Mordin said, "Users could draw from it. Perform amazing feats. Dragons can do similar, yes?"
"Crystals native to Draconia can absorb ambient aura into themselves. Dragons, according to the elders, were able to absorb this energy and used as a battery for magical energy. Dragon gained the ability to use ambient and internal aura for power after reconstruction occurred." It answered.
"...fascinating….definitely fascinating." Mordin said, "Might explain questions."
"Questions?" Sparatus asked.
"Yes. Beam weapon, for example. Dragon understanding of elemental attunement allowed for capability of new tech. Beam weapon based off dragon attunement, perhaps uses crystals." Mordin paced around, "Yes, yes. Batarian reports indicated plasma damage to their ships. Plasma: Water, electricity, and fire. Red beam might of been fire."
It blinked. "Your deduction is correct. Unexpected rate of grasping the physics behind magic."
"Scientist. Must guess the unknowns, as well as knowns. Magic: Not impossible. Improbable, yes." He said, "Though, batarians..learned hard way. May continue to learn hard way."
Maeum looked to his friend, "What do you mean?"
"Dragons capable of magic and elemental attunement. Batarians, defeated by ships that use elemental attunement." Mordin concluded, "Other dragon weapons ineffective to kinetic barriers, maybe. Dragon shielding, effective against mass accelerator. Equal in space. On ground though...elemental abilities, elemental technology. Batarian use kinect barriers. Withstands projectile weapons. Against elemental firepower….ineffective."
"Inquiry. Are these batarians entirely based on mass effect?" The VI asked.
"Found Prothean ruins. Reverse engineered, implemented, and utilized." Mordin replied.
"Well then. To use crude draconic slang, these batarians are fucked." The VI stated.
Sparatus groaned, "We warned them not to start a war. These...dragons will annihilate them on the ground. And there is no doubt this Draconian Alliance is already adapting after the first battle."
"Inquiry. Are these batarians allied with you?" It asked.
"I wished they weren't…" Sparatus growled.
"How long has it been since this conflict occurred? Still time to separate yourselves if recent." It stated.
"It just happened a few hours ago." Tevos replied. Was it her, or did this VI possessed more intelligence than it should have?
"First Contact specific channels exist then." It stated. "Let them know you found this package and that the aggressors are rouges acting outside your will." It informed.
"Contact Draconian Alliance, good plan. Fear batarians are already prepared for war. Need to work quickly." Mordin said.
"Agreed." Maeum nodded, "If we are to salvage this relation, we need to contact them right away."
Sparatus got up, "We will need to act now." He growled, "Assemble a team to head to meet up with this Draconian Alliance."
Valern frowned, "If the batarians beat us there, we'll need quickly meet up with them before we bring in the Citadel Fleet. If we bring them in now, they will think the batarians had extra reinforcements."
Tevos nodded, "Agreed." She then looked to the VI, "However, I have a question. Who made you?" She asked it.
"I wasn't made by an organic if that is what you are asking. I am a stabilized echo of the head Peacekeeper AI Soreth." It stated.
"Wait….did you just say….AI?" Sparatus asked in disbelief and shock.
"Is something wrong with that?" It asked confused.
Everyone went silent as the only sound was the hum of the hologram emitter. Everyone had surprise and shock on their faces.
"...fascinating." Mordin said with a smile.
...All most everyone...
On the planet of Shanxi was one major city, and the only city as of now. Terros was an average sized city on the dusty planet, surrounded by a wall to protect it, although that wall would be expanded once the planet was properly colonized. With the recent conflict though, the walls were a major defensive position, and military activity increased in the last day. The 13th fleet hovered above it, while more ships patrolled Shanxi's orbit.
Underground this city was where the planet's current military was located. Massive chambers and hallways sprawled, containing everything the military needed. The inhabitants, mostly dragons of the Peacekeeper realm, patrolled the hallways alongside their smaller bipedal brethren. And deeper yet was the CIC, a circular room with a circular table, where Captain Regias stood as Jura was connected to the system.
The two waited for an hour now for Admiral Jevrath and the head of the Shanxi military force would arrive. Tensions were rising, as the enemy could come back at any time. They had to be prepared...they had to be strong. And to do that, they need a plan.
Soon, the doors opened to the room as Admiral Jevrath entered, soon followed by a stern looking dark brown and red dragon. Regias stood up on all four legs, bringing his right claw up to the left of his chest in a salute.
"At ease." Jevrath nodded, "Captain Regias, I would like to introduce you to General Emelth of the Shanxi defense force. He will be joining us in this operation."
Emelth smiled as he shook Regias's hand, "Captain Regias. I heard how you stopped those invaders with only a handful of ships. Good work."
"Thanks sir." Regias nodded.
A chime was heard as Jura's face appeared on the room's big screen. "Sorry to interupt but the giant kegger of coffee you ordered Regias is ready."
Regias groaned and allowed his head to slouch down, though Emelth seemed amused, "So, this is the AI you had. Jura, capable dragoness."
"Nice to see you admiral. How is my mother doing?" Jura asked Emelth.
Emelth chuckled, "She is doing well. As of now she is helping out with keeping the Skylands safe from goblins."
Jevrath cleared his throat, "Since we're all here, we can now start this meeting." He looked to Jura, "Jura?" He asked, as the AI showed the system on the screen, "As you know, 10 hours ago we were met with hostile intentions from another unknown race. They are mass effect based, and while their ships can withstand ours besides the elemental beams, we have yet to face them on the ground." He breathed in, "I fear they might come back with full force."
Emelth frowned, "Shanxi is the first colony they will hit." He said, "As of now, we have strong reason to believe that they'd think it is our home world. Which means they will strike with a force big enough to take it." He chuckled, "Thankfully, Shanxi isn't our homeworld."
"All fleets are on standby. As soon as the time comes, they will arrive to end the fighting." Jevrath continued, "Regias, you will be joining the 13th fleet in protecting Shanxi. Your job is to keep those ships away from the planet as much as possible. Emelth will be coordinating the ground defense if they break through."
Emelth growled, "I will not let them take this planet. We've been doing drills ever since we got the notice."
"Which is why we are prepared." Jevrath said, "Men, these invaders came without warning and fired upon our forces. They will try to take Shanxi. We will show them no quarters."
"Sir. Flight of Hope's sensors picked up no detectable signatures of an AI on hostile ships. If it turns that they do not have them, permission to mount of a full scale assault on their computer system with the 13th fleet's total AI population as backup?" Juras proposed.
Jevrath nodded, "If we can reduce the amount of casualties on our side in anyway, then do it."
Jura lit up and smiled. "Thank you sir!"
"You know your training. Do your best." Jevrath nodded to everyone.
Jura's face left the big screen. Many AIs reported her literally bouncing as she passed them in cyberspace.
Regias bowed, "Yes sir."
Emelth smirked, "If their shields are kinect, we are going to give them one hell of a fight."
"Let's hope." A message said on the monitor.
Just as Jevrath reached the door, a younger silver dragon stumbled in, "Sorry sir...uh, sirs. I got a message. Its from the…." He checked his omnitool, "Citadel?"
Jevrath frowned, "What is it boy?"
"Its a high priority message. Audio only." He said.
"Patch it through." Jevrath turned to the screen.
"This is Councilor Tevos of the Citadel Council." A female voice said on the other end, "We managed to retrieve your first contact package from your probe, and are hoping to have peace talks."
Regias glanced to the screen, "Jura…?"
"It is genuine." She said. "I'm getting confirmation from a Soreth echo. This Citadel Council apparently are the governing body for a galactic civilization. Our aggressors are called batarians and are apart of this civilization. He adds that they did order the attack. They have gone rogue and will not stop us from destroying them if they attack."
Jevrath frowned and narrowed his eyes, "Seems irresponsible. You let one of your own attack our fleet."
"We know," Tevos said, "We had intelligence monitor their moves, but we never expected them to find the active relay. You must understand, its illegal for anyone in Citadel space to activate relays. We assumed the batarian were going to open one."
"So the batarians done this before?"
"Many times." A new voice said, male with a slight reverb, "This is Councilor Sparatus. The batarians has been trying to get away with things every since they joined the Citadel. The turian race and the batarians clashed many times. This time will be the last time they get away with their actions."
"We are willing to send help if you need it," Tevos said, "Though we are already sending a team to meet with you."
Jura's voice could be heard. "Can I come along!?"
"Who is that?" Tevos asked.
Jura mouthed 'They have a ban on AIs' She then continued. "Second in command of the DA Flight of Hope."
"...right. The team we are sending will be there soon. A few hours." Tevos said.
"And hopefully later we can chat face to face." Jevrath said, "Properly."
"I hope so too. We'd rather end this peacefully."
"See you then!" She yelled happily.
"Good to know the galaxy doesn't fully hate our guts." Regias commented.
"Indeed." Jevrath looked to the younger dragon, "Send a word to the Draconia council. Tell them we had a talk with this Citadel."
"Understood sir! I will get right on-"
Suddenly the alarms blared, as Jura would sense something troubling.
"Shit." Jura said after flinching. "We got hostiles inbound sirs." He said
"Sorry councillors seems your rogues are starting now." She said before cutting the stream.
"Time to get to work. You all know your job. Regias, you're with me." Jevrath said.
"Understood." Regias nodded.
"Get your tails ready and up to the front line! We got company!" Emelth shouted out as they walked out of the CIC as every soldier started to scramble and get into action, "And for all those newbies? Welcome to the Peacekeepers!"
"We are almost there sir." A batarian said to Balak as he watched his ship rush through space. 200 ships in this fleet, and with a few dreadnaughts as well. To every batarian apart of it, they felt like they were going to win. And this time, they were ready.
"Good." Balak smirked, "It's about time we claim another system for our own."
AN:
Neo_Hikato: The batarians are pissed, we get to see our favorite salarian scientist right away, the Citadel Council gets a lecture, and the dragons of Shanxi prepare for war. Having my friend, known as Waterpicker, helping me out makes writing chapters a lot faster, so don't be surprised to see new chapters being posted left and right as it means that we are either interested in this story, or are just derping around if there's not a lot. It just means that there will be more chapters, and more for this story.
Waterpicker: I messed up some grammars in small areas. Feel free to let me or Neo know if there are any issues. We will clean them up asap.
And now, for review responses.
The Lone Swordswolf: While the story is a alternate universe, it won't entirely replace the default Mass Effect universe. You'll see familiar locations, characters, and so forth, as the entire concept of the story is dragons replacing humans. Though things will be the same or different as we see fit, such as Mars being known as Pyrus in the dragon's system due to the different culture, and the lore behind names or so will be different. Overall, things will still be familiar, but with a fresh feeling to it.
Neo_Hikato: Feel free to post new reviews. We love to hear how much you enjoy the story, and any criticism would help. Until next time readers.
