Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Mass Effect. This is for fun and not for profit. That is why it is on Fan Fiction and not in your local bookstore.
o-o-o-o means a major scene break or change in point of view
v-v-v means minor time skips or scene change.
A solar system with four gas giants, two asteroid belts, and six habitual moons known as 'Dead End Alley' by merchants and as DR-314 by the Turian military. It contained three Mass relays, two of them deactivated according to the last survey made by the Turian patrols.
Inside the system was vast resources contained in the asteroids and the moons, but it was undeveloped because it was located on the edge of the border between Citadel and Terminus Systems space far from any trade routes.
A small group of four vessels orbited the blue gas giant that was closest to the relay leading back to known space. The four vessels waited nervously for a Turian patrol to arrive from the nearest Citadel outpost. The reason for the captains of the ships were nervous was twofold. One the four ships belonged to the Migrant Fleet, the last remnant of the Quarian people.
The Quarian race was viewed and treated with distrust and suspicion by the rest of the galaxy for the creation of the Geth and the resulting banishment by the Council after they had lost the war with the Geth.
The other reason was the Citadel rules that prohibit the activation of any dormant Mass Relay. The four Quarian ships had ended up at DR-314 after fleeing from pirates that attacked them while they were scouting for ahead for resources for the Migrant Fleet. Upon arriving at DR-314, the Quarian ships found that instead of two dormant relays as the last survey of the system showed, but one dormant relay.
The other relay was active and showed signs of recent use. The captain in charge of the small scouting party knew they had no choice but to report it to the closest Turian Peacekeeper outpost and wait for a patrol to respond.
Captain Zori'Koris vas Zendril knew he would have to take the risk of being arrested and his ship detained to prevent any backlash to the Migrant Fleet. The sensor beacons the Turians had left to monitor traffic into the system would have had recorded the entrance of the Quarian ships in the system.
Given how very little traffic this system gets, Zori'Koris did not want the next Turian patrol to find an activated relay with the records showing Quarian ships as the last to enter. Citadel Law required ship captains to report dormant relays that had been activated or they and their ships would be considered criminals and their race subjected to heavy fines.
He prayed that the Turian commander in charge would be relatively fair and unbiased against Quarians.
"Captain! The relays are firing up." A crewmember operating the sensors announced in a panicked voice
"Relays?" Zori questioned as dread filled his frame.
Both active relays were spinning up to receive their respective incoming connections. It looked like the Turian patrol would beat the unknown newcomers by a couple of minutes.
o-o-o-o
Shanxi System.
Shanxi. Known as the frontier of the Systems Alliance, it is a system that consisted of four worlds and two asteroid belts. Two of the worlds were ringed gas giants similar to Neptune. The third was a small planet that had an orbit and physical appearance to Sol's Mercury. The fourth world was a large Earth like planet that sparked the imagination and adventurous spirit of Humanity. Having six continents, five of them habitual, Shanxi was touted as the new west of the Systems Alliance.
Much of the world was unexplored, Only the largest of the eastern continents was heavily developed with sprawling cities, factories, and an orbital elevator that pierced the sky. The other four continents had a couple of cities, but were mainly small settlements or farms with much of the land untouched by human hands.
The other draw of Shanxi was the Prothean city ruins on the western continent. So far, nothing of value has been found despite multiple dig teams search through the ruins. It is one of the biggest tourist draws the colony possesses and several companies have built their fortunes around the ruins.
High above the colony at L1 were the two PLANT type colonies Ménkǎn 1 & 2, the gateways to Shanxi. It was at Ménkǎn 1 that all incoming vessels were processed before proceeding to the planet; and at Ménkǎn 2 where all outbound vessels were checked by customs officials for any illegal cargo.
This dual set up was to insure that no foreign animal, bug, or plant species hitched a ride into the planet from other colonies. The lessons learned from the 19th and 20th century Earth about contaminating an ecosystem with a foreign life form were applied to every System Alliance colony.
The PLANT colonies also provide a place to inoculate newcomers to viruses and bacteria on Shanxi. It also would serve as a holding area for any sick crewmembers to prevent the introduction of foreign viruses and bacteria that could harm the planet's biosphere as smallpox did to the North American Indian Tribes.
Ménkǎn 2 controls all of the outbound vessels. It severed a similar purpose to its sister PLANT, but with one added feature. Its main purpose was to insure that no Prothean artifacts are smuggled out of the colony without permission.
Overall, the two PLANT colonies had a standing population of 150,000 or thirty percent of the system's population. They also served as the base for the 4th battle group of the 3rd fleet under the command of Admiral Holland and his flagship the Gryphon's Lair.
On board the 'Lair' in his office, Admiral Holland was reviewing reports from the ship captains in his squadron. Everything looked good and all the ships passed their recent inspection and review with flying colors. He was pleased that his squadron passed the inspections from headquarters.
He decided to look over the files of the new batch of transfers that he had coming in from Arcturus. It was the usual mix of newly graduated recruits that needed to be seasoned at an easy post, and experienced veterans that were transferring from another battle group.
The one file that caught his attention was that of Alec Ryder, a mobile suit commander coming out of the 2nd's third battle group. His record was impressive for one so young. Trained in tactical leadership and strategic analysis, Alec was on the path of becoming a fleet's senior mobile suit officer.
Top of his class from the Orb military academy, Alec focused on mobile suit combat and infantry small group tactics. Upon graduating, he caught the eye of the operators of the new N-Leadership training program. So far, he has progressed through the training to the N-5 rank. Notes from the program's instructors indicated that he needed more field experience in leadership before coming back.
Mr. Ryder was being sent in with a new prototype suit. At first look, it looked like a regular OMNI-Windam model, but what made it different was its striker packs. Instead of the Windam packs, Alec's suit was modified to field the more powerful striker packs that had been developed for the GAT-X105 frame.
His suit had been outfitted with P202QX IWSP Integrated Weapons Striker Pack for testing in the field. If the Windam frame is successful in using the GATX-105 striker packs, then its versatility in battle could even exceed the GAT-X105 Strike. The mobile suit development department was optimistic of merging the two different systems in the hopes of extending the life of the Windam frame model.
Holland approved of the experiment. To him it made more sense to use existing technology in new innovative ways to increase the versatility of the current models than spend time and effort developing new mobile suits that are limited in their functions. A loud beep from his desk's intercom alerted Holland that the bridge was contacting him.
"Admiral sir, the Far Seer and her escorts are requesting permission to get under way."
Said the ensign that operated the communication station for the current duty shift. Flipping a couple switches, Holland responded.
"Permission granted, contact the 'Pompeii'. Tell Captain Romiz to move his wolf-pack close to the relay to monitor the area until 'Far Seer' has completed their mission." Holland ordered.
v-v-v
Breaking away from Ménkǎn 2, four ships gathered speed as their engines flared to life as they were pushed to their limits. The 'Far Seer' and her three escorts quickly progress on their given outbound path towards the Thanxi relay. A wolf-pack of five Nazca class cruisers broke from their regular patrol route and headed towards to the Relay in the wake of the 'Far Seer' task force.
The point vessel was a Drake Escort Destroyer called 'The Fallen's Hope' maintained an even distance in front of the Acidalium class science ship. On Either side of the 'Far Seer' were two O'Neill Class Armed Destroyers called the 'Sol's Light' and the 'Agincourt'.
The small task force activated their FTL drives and made a micro jump to the Relay. Together the four ships shot towards the Relay as it started to spin up until an arc of energy leapt off it as they passed by and flung them toward the distant star system that was their target.
Arriving in the system designated Thanxi by the D.S.S.D. The task floated towards their target as the crews double-checked their systems. Twelve mobile suits launched from the two O'Neill destroyers. The twelve Windam class suits outfitted with the standard space packs spread out forming a defensive perimeter around the task force.
Captain Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Artus of the 'Far Seer' clasped her hands in satisfaction at the perfect jump and execution of her task force. She listened as the officer in charge of coordinating the 'Far Seer' two Stargazer mobile suits gave the command for their launch. The Stargazers launched and headed towards the system's gas giants to investigate their moons for resources.
"One-quarter thrust, set heading to Thanxi relay 2."
She ordered. The task force swung around and headed towards their target in perfect formation. When they were about halfway to the dormant relay alarms started to blare.
"What in tarnation is going on? Someone kill those alarms and give me a stirep." She ordered.
"One of the Stargazers has been destroyed. SM-21 has initiated evasive maneuvers. The sensor returns from SM-21 shows eight vessels in pursuit, unknown configurations. Distance to the task force is one hundred thousand kilometers and closing. 98% chance of them being of non-human origins." Lieutenant Abrigal, her second in command responded.
"Helm, turn us towards the unknowns. Have the 'Fallen' deploy their barrier and be ready to activate it. The 'Light' and 'Court' are to go weapons hot and prepare for battle. Navigation plot us an escape route and keep the Relay hot."
Lizzie ordered as she tried to remember the protocols for first contact. Her task force was outnumbered as they turned to face to the new unknowns.
"How'd they evade our sensors?" She asked one of the bridge's science officers.
"It looks like they were hiding in the electromagnetic field on one of the gas giants. At this range the interference would show them as ghost echoes on the sensors." He responded.
"Captain, I have something coming in over the comm., but the computer can't translate. I have never heard anything like this language." The comm. The officer reported.
"Okay, send the first contact package, hopefully they understand math equations." She ordered.
"We have power spikes from the unknowns; SM-21 has been hit and destroyed." Sensors reported.
Before she could ask for clarification, the bridge view port was filled with a bright light as an explosion enveloped one of the escorts.
"The 'Agincourt' has been hit! Severe damage to her prow sections; she's reporting secondary explosions in her power systems. Her mass effect shields are down!" The comm. The officer reported as she received the reports from their stricken escort.
"Captain Artus, I am taking command of the task force. We will cover your escape to the Relay. You must warn Admiral Holland about this." The captain of the 'Light' ordered as his face appeared on the monitors.
Lizzie tried to protest but the captain refused to listen to her.
"Listen Lizzie, Shanxi and Admiral Holland need to know what has happened. We are out gunned, out numbered, and if all of those ships have similar firepower to the one that hit the 'Court' than the 'Fallen's' shield will not hold for long. Get going while there is still a chance for some of us to survive." He finished before cutting the transmission.
"Helm, turn us around full speed to the Relay. Sensors continue recording everything you can until we leave. We'll stay as long as we can and gather Intel on the unknowns for Holland."
She ordered feeling like the scum of the universe as her ship abandoned its escorts and fled towards the Relay as its companions prepared to spend their lives to buy time for the 'Far Seer' to escape.
v-v-v
Colonel Septimus, commander of the Turian Hierarchy patrol P-342 leaned back in his chair as his patrol consisting of one cruiser and seven frigates flew towards DR-314. The outpost that was the base for his patrol had received a report from some Quarian ships that a Dormant Relay had been activated.
"Vagrant scum, I sure they're just trying to cover up that they activated a Relay. I am so going to enjoy watching them squirm as I question them until they confess."
He thought with a sadistic smile. He had been itching for a chance to prove his worth to the Hierarchy and be promoted out of the border patrols. Bringing in lawbreakers from activating a Relay would fit in his plans nicely. The helmsmen started to count down the time until they arrived at DR-314.
With a flash of light, the patrol dropped into the system. Before they could scan for the Quarian ships the Turian, cruiser received an urgent communication.
"Turian patrol, you have five minutes to hide in one of the gas giants. Whoever activated the Relay is inbound." The Quarian ships transmitted.
Shocked, Septimus ordered his patrol to hide in the north magnetic pole of the closest gas giant. This would be even better than punishing some Quarian scum he thought. A whole new race for the Hierarchy to conquer. He watched as the new unknown vessels appeared in a flash of light next to the previously deactivated Relay.
He watched as the four strange vessels headed towards the Dormant Relay left in the system as strange-looking fighters launched and formed a perimeter around the four ships. Two more of the strange-looking fighters launched and headed towards the gas giant his patrol was using for cover.
On the bridge's monitor an image of the two fighters appeared. They were unlike anything Septimus had ever seen. Around fifteen to twenty meters tall in a biped shape, the two strange machines accelerated beyond what a living being could handle.
When the two half-circles on their back swung around to come together in a large circle and started to glow and emit light, Septimus panicked and order his patrol to open fire thinking the two unknowns were about to attack. A withering hail of fire shredded one of the machines, but the other started to evade his patrol's fire as it turned back towards its mothership.
Septimus gave the order to pursue the machine. As they came closer to the group of unknown vessels, he sent out a hail.
"Unknown vessels, for breaking Citadel Law of activating a Mass Relay, your ships and your crews are forfeited to the Turian Hierarchy. Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded. Failure to comply will be met with lethal force."
He said over an open channel. A minute later the unknowns had swung around to face his patrol. The sensors on his cruiser detected a power build up on two of the vessels. It was determined that they were preparing for battle. Eagerly he gave the command to open fire and close for battle. Visions of the Primarch rewarding him for locating a new client race filled his head as the main cannons on his cruiser fired.
Right as his patrol scored a direct hit on one the mid-size vessels his comm. The officer reported a hail from the unknowns. Septimus ignored it replying that they could sort it out after the battle. His frigates increased their speed to fall upon the small group of ships even as the largest vessel started to turn away to flee as its companions leapt forward to face his patrol.
v-v-v
Captain Doran of the 'Light of Sol' looked at the tactical map. He ordered the 'Fallen' to raise the lightwave barrier in front of them. Analyzing the sensor returns of the alien ships, Doran found that the seven smaller ships looked to be armed with DEW if the energy readings were correct.
"Deploy two anti-beam charges on a remote trigger. When we engage the enemy the Windam's are to take the charges and detonate them around the larger vessel. That is their target. We'll handle the smaller ships, but that cruiser needs to be destroyed." Doran barked to the bridge officer coordinating the mobile suit pilots.
"All ships prepare for an alpha strike, when the enemy ships enter the strike zone launch anti-beam charge and concentrate on their engines. Once the particle cloud has dispersed focus the Godfrieds on their engine cores."
He ordered the ships in his task force. The next few minutes were tense as the two groups closed on each other. A loud alarm sounded as several new contacts appeared on the tactical screen.
"We have missiles inbound!"
An ensign that was monitoring the sensor boards announced. Captain Doran felt his pulse increase as the missiles made contact with the lightwave barrier and a wave of energy rocked the ships behind it.
"Tactical, what the hell was that, give me some answers people." Doran shouted as the bridge crew scrambled back to their post.
"The 'Fallen' reports that they have a dragoon pack disabled. The missiles did not penetrate, but the energy released overloaded and knockout the dragoon modules. They report the missiles seemed to contain a weaponized form of element zero." Doran's second in command reported.
"All ships full speed ahead. We need to get in close before they can fire another volley." He ordered.
The 'Fallen's Hope', 'Agincourt', and the 'Light of Sol' surged forward as their mobile suits broke formation to avoid both groups of ships as they raced towards the enemy cruiser. As the three human vessels entered their alpha strike zone, the lightwave barrier failed as another two volley of missiles slammed into it.
v-v-v
The captain of the leading Turian frigate grinned as the last volley of disruptor torpedoes dropped the strange energy field these aliens had used to protect their approach. He gave the order for all the frigates to follow him and make runs using their guardian lasers to strip away their hulls.
As his ship started its run, its guardian system striking out at the closest ship. However, before he could claim victory all three vessels launched large metal barrels from their prow and stern. As his sensor crew tried to analyze their purpose, they exploded covering the battlefield in a deep purple haze.
Shouts of surprise and anger sounded out over the intra-comm. between the frigates as their guardian lasers were diffused by the haze and some even of them reflected straight back destroying the weapons emplacement. Outrage at the ambush the aliens had laid and the loss of his main weapons, the captain started to order the frigates to pull away and finish the fight with their disruptor torpedoes.
Before the Turian, frigates could pull away, the three human ships opened up with all of their linear Gauss cannons, firing every round the ships carried. In less than a five minutes over 160,000 rounds were pumped into the seven Turian frigates. The 'Fallen's Hope' also unleashed all of its 120 anti-ship sledgehammer missiles, targeting what they perceived to be the engine cores of the enemy frigates. Its remaining dragoon modules formed a lightwave barrier to trap and amplify the resulting explosion around the ships.
The resulting explosion engulfed all ten vessels obscuring them from the sensors of the other vessels in the system. All that could be seen was that there were several secondary explosions within the main one. The hot plasma cleared away to reveal the shattered hulls of nine vessels.
A single Turian frigate heavily damaged limped away from the newly created graveyard. Its hull blackened, stripped of any functional weapons.
As the 'Light of Sol' and her sister ships died in an explosive last stand, the twelve Windams approached their target. The Turian cruiser's guardian system lanced out striking and destroying two of the Windams. The lead pilot triggered the anti-beam charges negating the point defense system allowing the remaining mobile suits to close in on the Turian ship.
As the more powerful guardian system burned away the particle cloud the mobile suits ignited their beam sabers and started to carve up the alien cruiser. Colonel Septimus starred in disbelief at the tactical screens. His patrol destroyed in a matter of minutes and these strange machines was rapidly carving his ship apart.
Before he could try to regain order on his ship, one of the Windam hit the ezee core with its beam saber. The resulting explosion consumed the ship and the remaining mobile suits.
The captain of the surviving frigate stared in disbelief as he watched Colonel Septimus's cruiser get destroyed just minutes after all of his sister ships were destroyed. The Hierarchy had to be informed, he decided, ordering his wounded ship back through the Relay to warn the Hierarchy of this new dangerous new savage race.
It slipped through the Relay ignoring the four Quarian ships that had watched the battle.
v-v-v
Captain Zori'Koris on board his ship the Zendril watch stunned at the might of the newcomers. When he had seen the actions of the Turian Colonel, he felt pity for this new race. Nevertheless, the strength of those three vessels stunned him when they took out almost the entire frigate wolf-pack to allow for their fourth vessel to escape through the Relay unharmed.
However, what struck fear in his heart were the bipedal machines that ripped the Turian cruiser apart with such ease. As he pondered what the introduction of this new race might mean for the Quarian people, the person with sensor duty signaled for his attention.
"Captain, we're detecting three life signs from the last know position of the Turian cruiser." She announced.
"Helm, plot a course to those signatures. Have the med-bay be ready to receive wounded." Zori ordered.
Unknowingly the Citadel were already at war with the newcomers due to the arrogance of the Hierarchy. However, just maybe if Zori was able to save some of the newcomers the Quarian people would gain a powerful ally. After seeing their strange technology Zori knew the Turians would not be able to easily roll over them like they had with others.
The four ships approached the coordinates to find three of the heavily damaged bipedal machines. Zori ordered them salvaged and for his ships to return to the Flotilla. The four ships raced back through the Mass Relay system toward the Flotilla with what Zori hoped to be a new start for his people.
Here is chapter 2 of Gundam Effect.
DR-314 means Deactivated Relay 314.
Alex Ryder is an OC created by AXL999 and fleshed out by me. I will post his bio in the chapter he first appears.
Please Review.
I am unsure if I was able to hit the tone for this fic.
Let me know how I did.
PathKeeper.
