Disclaimer: I own neither series used here.
AN: Here's where Mass-Effect comes in
For the men and women of Mars it was almost thirteen years before they'd exit the Warp. The Tech-priests had been fairly successful in plotting a course that had accounted for galactic drift. Though they couldn't know it they were had managed to stay within the constantly moving galaxy for over a million years.* With their supplies running low Mars turned to its vast production facilities to create billions of vat clones and turn them into servitors. As the servitors were produced they were thrown into the massive warships of the Imperium and sent off in search of planets suitable for conversion to agricultural and hive worlds. It took time, but over decades the servitors constructed dozens of agricultural worlds and equally many hive worlds. As time passed a consensus was formed within the Imperium. Though weakened they will not end here. With its infrastructure finally at a level where it can sustain itself the trillion Guardsmen brought during the escape spread to the worlds of the Imperium and the Imperial Navy begins to reform. With its new center at Mars the Imperium of Man is reborn.
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Without the power of the God Emperor of Mankind upon his throne the foul Eldritch abominations within the bowels of Holy Terra burst forth, twisting the world that had once been the pedestal the man looked to with awe and joy into a darkened world where all life fled, the air and seas turned primordial once more, the land turned molten and reformed. It was in truth the place where things went to die. But it was too tempting a prize for man. For endless millennium the fractured remnants of man fought to reclaim their once great home even as it fell to legends. It would not be claimed so easily however; for nearly a million years it stood empty, turned to mere stories. Yet these stories were all that was left of man. Till finally one day the last of man's once galaxy spanning fleet dove into that wretched place of darkness and finally drove it out. But man had lessened over the countless years and lost that intelligence and technology that had once made him master of the galaxy. Time ground all man's creation to dust, and left them to survive on their ruined world with nothing.
But man was used to hardship and slowly the dead world returned to its state of old. The primitive man began to live once more, to reforge the strength that had once governed his existence. The legends of old continued to sustain them, the planetary bodies becoming gods and given names. Those bodies closer to the Sun became Venus and Mercury. Those farther became Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.* Man grew to regain the glory that he once had and followed his own legend into space. And so on the planet that they dubbed Mars came what they proclaimed to be the greatest discovery in the history of man. An alien observatory and with it Element Zero and mass effect, the ability to alter gravity with but electrical current. To them this discovery was revolutionary, a change to their whole view of the universe. Suddenly it was possible to move past Einsteins Laws of Relativity and Sir Issac Newton's laws of Motion. Suddenly the stars beyond their home system became the newest frontier. Dozens of ships equipped with new Element Zero drives were prepared for exploration. But then from the bowels of Mars came another discovery. Floating in orbit around Pluto was an artifact of these aliens who had once looked upon them and their world. A massive construct for the near-instantaneous movement of matter, of ships. Using this device mankind spread amongst the stars, expanding ever outwards. But as he did he found he was not alone.
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Lord Captain Ferrus Alentus of the Imperial Navy cut an imposing figure. Nearly seven feet tall and with the grave countenance befitting one so experienced as he the Lord Captain was a terrifying sight. Having a long service record that took him through a crusade and having survived even the cataclysmic battle with the Tyranid hordes that nearly ended the Imperium had earned him that right. Sadly it had also left him with nothing to do. Since Mars left the Warp his duties had solely consisted of exploration for finding new worlds with which to rebuild the Imperium. For him, who had not left the front lines of battle since his induction into the Navy it was as near hell as he could be. It was for this reason that as he sat upon his command chair it took physical effort not to simply give the order to open fire upon the unknown vessels across from him. His astropaths were working to determine just what they were dealing with and his orders were to avoid conflict where possible as the Imperium was in state for a war. But that didn't mean it was easy. No, holding the order to fire was quite possibly the most difficult thing he had ever done.
"Have those astropaths finished their examination yet?" When he didn't receive a response he turned to his officer only to see him whispering with one of the astropaths. The man turned to him, almost in shock.
"Sir, they're human." Alentus's eyes widened. Human.
"Open a channel, try and identify the variation of Low Gothic that they use. Let our brothers rejoin this glorious Imperium."
XXX-XXX-BREAK-XXX-XXX
The annexation of the Systems Alliance into the Imperium of Man had gone about a smoothly as one could expect. That is to say, the Imperium forced it through extreme violence and subjugation. The planets under the control of the Systems Alliance fell one by one into the hands of the Imperium. Some fought, others yielded but it was all the same in the end. All humanity unified itself once more under the double headed Imperial Eagle. While many worlds did not fully adopt the ways of the Imperium* they all fell under its shadow. And so it came to be that in the year 2176 CE when the Citadel exploration team entered the Shanxi System they came across the Imperial Hive World Shanxi Four.
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*The planetary body that became known as Mars was actually a smashed together amalgam of materials that had existed in the warp in the place that Mars had originally existed. The sudden absence of so much mass in the universe had caused an equal amount to displace itself from the warp. It was here that over a million years later the Protheans would build their observatory.
*It should be noted that the Imperium existed during the period of the Reapers, however the original Empire of Man (Or whatever they called themselves) from before the Dark Age of Technology had fought and weakened them during their cycle. However as a final blow the Reapers forced the Iron Men into sentience which was the cause of the fall of the Empire of Man.
*For those not in the know time moves differently in the Warp. (Good thing to, else this story wouldn't quite work)
AN: After this point the chapters will start to pick up, become longer and get some action. Till now I've been looking at big picture but I finally get to look at some changes, characters and action now.
