A/N: Quick shout out to TashaMoon. Her Fanfiction series Into the Darkness is by far one of the best on the site. I encourage you guys to check her out.
Chapter 3
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Codex Entry 001: The United Confederacy.
-Skipping to section 17
-The Confederacy's military.
The more I have researched to confederacy, the more comparisons I find to the time of the Roman Republic. The founders of the confederacy, I must admit, were geniuses in taking safeguards to ensure that the risk of a dictatorship rising was next to zero.
Each branch of the military falls under the control of a different part of the government.
The United Confederate Navy and the United Confederate Marine Corps fall under the Control of the President. The United Confederate Airforce and the United Confederate Army fall under the control of the Chancellor. The Special Forces and Intelligence Services fall under control of the Prime Minister.
The navy is the largest branch of the four official branches of the Confederacy's military. (The Special Operations Group technically doesn't fall under the military as its part of the International Affairs Agency, but more on that later.) The Marines is a close Second; their large size can mostly be attributed to the fact that the Army and Airforce rarely leave their home planets. Yes they are assigned to different areas and moved to different planets for deployments, but the Army and Airforce is largely seen as the defensive arm of the military; while the Navy and Marines are the offensive arm.
Humans have often been compared to Asari in terms of appearances; but I think in terms of personality, mankind is most like the Quarians.
Humans are very social creatures, they like being in groups; and are happiest when together with others. This has proven to be a double edged sword in humanities history however. When things get tough, humans get tribal. Its why there are still so many different nations on earth and all of humanities colonies. Up until recently, all humanity had to fight with was each other.
The military is proof of this tribal nature being put to good use. There is quite a bit of rivalry amongst the different branches. Many jokes are made of any branch that isn't a human serviceman's "home" branch.
One joke goes like this
-The reason the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines bicker amongst themselves is that they don't speak the same language. For instance, take the simple phrase "secure the building".
The Army will post guards around the place.
The Navy will turn out the lights and lock the doors.
The Marines will kill everybody inside and set up a headquarters.
The Air Force will take out a 5 year lease with an option to buy.
(I myself found this joke very amusing, as after many interviews I have found that this perfectly describes each branches mentality.)
The Air Force gets derided as the laziest branch and the least military out of all. And while I have found it to be not as strict as other branches, there are certain ennobling qualities to it. Above all else, they are the strictest as to who they take; a minimum IQ being one of the biggest.
The Navy is a source of constant homosexual jokes; likely due to the constant close contact a crew has during deployments. But they do take great pride in their abilities as sailors, and most crews I have found see each other as family.
The Marines are often seen as the least intelligent branch, stemming from the fact that they are more inclined to physical strength as opposed to intelligence. Another joke is that Marine is just an acronym for "My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment;" Probably due to the fact that all Marines are deployed on navy ships. Like the Air Force, the marines are incredibly strict on whom they take; only they care about physical strength as opposed to high intelligence.
(*Note; it is considered a terminal tactical error to engage in close combat with a Marine, even for a Krogan or a Biotic. All Marines are trained in the most ruthless and efficient ways to kill every single species in the galaxy. While all service members undergo physical augmentations, the Marines are far more powerful and extensive from what I've seen.)
The Army is the butt of most jokes, "Not tough enough for the Marines, not smart enough for the Air Force, and not gay enough for the Navy." But I have found this observation to be rather unfair. The Army is perhaps the most diverse out of all the branches; they pride themselves on being a sort of "jack of all trades" branch.
But what binds all of them together is a desire to protect mankind, and uphold the constitution with all their worth.
DSS Paris
"Stop fidgeting, the aliens will be here soon." Staff Sergeant Hannah Shepherd scolded her team of Marines. They were in their dress blues, and making sure every ribbon and medal were in place. They all held ceremonial but functional M16A4's with the razor sharp bayonets attached.
They all knew that they were expendable, only there to buy time for the Chancellor and her staff to get away; and for the real security team to relieve them. Gunnery Sergeant Zaeed Massani was in charge of the B Team. All of B team was equipped with the far more practical M20A1's; and rather than dress blues, they wore tan camouflage fatigues with the NIGHTFALL powered armor over top.
Hannah's own ceremonial sword was razor sharp as well, normally it was the opposite; but today they took no chances, and she needed some form of armament. If all else failed she could just throw the damned thing at the aliens if she needed too.
Hannah scowled internally; the 5.56 mm Full Metal Jacket rounds were too small nowadays to be useful; they lacked the muzzle velocity that modern weapons had. While still popular with civilians, insurgency groups, Police, and militias; the military found its strength rather lacking.
The M20A1 in contrast had what could be considered a rough combination of the stopping power of the .50 Cal Beowulf, mixed with the long range and capacity of a sniper rifle. The M20 was what the child of the M16 and the AK74 would look like if they had a baby.
Hopefully the aliens could be killed with kinetic weapons. If not then Hannah and her Marines would have to use their hand to hand skills. She was relatively confident that the standard Marine augmentations would let them overpower the alien's tech. They had 5 times the strength of a normal human, 3 times the reaction time and speed, twice the normal healing rate; and for all that, they still looked relatively normal. Perhaps a little taller and more muscular than the average human, but that was it.
Hannah barked out several orders, and the Marines took up their ceremonial positions.
"ATTENTION!" a voice roared, and they all stiffened a little straighter.
An army Major and a squad of army Rangers entered the hanger. The Chancellor and a Bishop walked in after them; Hannah had to fight down a scowl at seeing the army Soldiers. Since the Marines and Navy fell under the Presidents control, the Chancellor couldn't give them direct orders; hence why the army troopers were there, because they fell under her control. Hannah was pretty sure the chancellor hadn't meant any offense, but it felt like a major breach of trust that she didn't only have the marines there as her guard.
The Chancellor looked them all over and gave a small smile. The army Major was in his Dress "Pinks and Greens," while his subordinates were dressed in the army counterpart to the Marines NIGHTFALL armor, the SUNRISE armor.
"Staff Sergeant, could you please come over for a moment?" The Chancellor asked.
Hannah put her Marines at ease, and marched over; struggling to keep her nervousness under control. In the back of her thoughts, the picture of her husband and their son and daughter weighed heavily in her breast pocket. The very real possibility that she would not make it back was staring her right in the face.
"Are you ok Staff Sergeant Shepherd?" The Chancellor asked.
Hannah swallowed, "Tip Top Your Excellency; Just thinking about my son and daughter."
The Chancellor nodded and gave a small smile. "Yes, I find myself thinking about my son at this moment. But I must keep my mind clear. If you don't mind Staff Sergeant, would you like to join us in the conference room? I would like to have a Marine Corps representative. I already have an Air Force officer, there's Major Kimball here for the Army, Rear Admiral Hackett for the Navy, and…" Here she trailed off and looked behind her to the two men behind her.
The Bishop gave a warm smile and extended his hand, "Robert O'Flaherty, Bishop of Shanxi; I'm here to represent the Catholic Church."
Hannah smiled back and shook his hand, bowing her head as she did so. "It is a pleasure to meet you sir." She said.
The Roman Catholic Church's position was somewhat comparable to the Queen of England during the late 20th and the 21st century. No official power given, and they typically stayed out of state affairs. In fact there was no official religion of the Confederacy due to fears of persecution by many. But the Church did wield a lot of unofficial influence, not that they tended to use it all that much. After World War 3, most religious people just wanted to be left alone.
Hannah then noticed the man behind Bishop O'Flaherty, and her smile became more forced. He wore a suit and tie, had slicked back hair, and had a moderate amount of stubble on his chin and a thick moustache. He had a kind of hammerish look to him, Please God no, did they really bring-
"This is August Colt, International Affairs Agency representative; Special Activities Division."
They did. Hannah thought in despair. "It's a pleasure to be here; don't worry, I'll stay out of your hair." He said. His voice was… rough to say the least. It sounded like he was a chain smoker.
Hannah nodded, and then a voice came over the speakers; "ah… Your Excellency? We have a slight problem."
George was pure code, all he saw was code; funny considering the fact that he used to be human. Not that he knew what that was like, when an AI's brain donor was used to create an AI; all their memories were taken away after the scan. This was mostly to give the AI a "fresh" start, as a result many thought of AI as their children. Very similar to their "parents," but they were not carbon copies.
When the Fleet had entered the system, George had found himself bombarded with a well of data that was nearly impossible to make sense of. George had forced himself to restrict his sensors to try to focus on his task of directing the fleet traffic, and monitor communications, prep the cyberwarfare packets, get targeting solutions on the potentially enemy vessels, and about a hundred other tasks that was expected of an AI.
Now, as PT 73 and the Paris made their way to the rendezvous point, George decided now was the time to try and crack the aliens communications so he could get a translation packet ready.
Well I'll be damned, Very well encoded against AI's I must say. He thought to himself. He slowly sent little feelers out, cautiously testing their encryption capabilities.
His feelers rammed into a brick wall of firewalls and encryptions. Somewhat taken about, George began cautiously feeling around to see what the firewalls were protecting. Careful not to trip any alarms or traps, he began to try to worm his way in between the walls blocking his access.
He was an IAA AI, which meant his whole purpose was to spy on others. He slowly managed to worm his way in between the blocks, and found himself being bombarded with a wave of information that far surpassed his brief forays into the Confederacy's internet.
This species was somewhat similar to humans, given their overreliance on things like their version of the internet. It seemed like they had stored everything on it. It was very easy to get lost in it all.
Already he had managed to get the name of the species and the name of their language. Quarians, huh… interesting name; God this Khelish is so similar to the Balto-Slavic languages, it's almost scary. Makes my job easier at least. He thought to himself.
He went so far as to look up their appearances. It wasn't easy, as they wore environment suits all the time. They looked a lot like humans actually, just have having Grey skin with almost tattoo/robotic like black lines on their faces, Glowing eyes that looked like mercury; they didn't seem to have as many shades of hair color as humans though, they either had dark Grey or Purple hair.
Then he saw something that made him stop dead, his subroutines freezing for a moment; The AI equivalent of doing a double take. He immediately stopped what he was doing, setting his translation software on the backburner for a moment, letting an automatic software run while he investigated.
Oh… shit. George realized, as he watched the video in silent horror. AI's slaughtering civilians and soldiers alike, people desperately fleeing to ships to try and escape.
The AI wasn't sure if it was possible for someone like him to shit themselves; but if it was, he was pretty sure he just did.
Now he faced a moral dilemma, he had to tell the Chancellor about the inherit AI phobia that they were almost guaranteed to have (a 98.2753% chance according to his math and probability equations.), but should he tell her why? On one hand it would give his people a leg up in negotiations, but his ethical subroutines were telling him how wrong that was; using another people's tragedy to gain an advantage for his own.
He decided that he would make his choice when the translation packet was done.
It took him 30 seconds between the time he saw the truth and the time his translation software finished. For a human, that was impossibly fast for such an important decision; one that would change the face of the Galaxy. For an AI, it was an eternity; decades to him.
He activated the hanger bays speakers and projected himself into the miniature holo-display. "ah… Your Excellency? We have a slight problem."
"And you won't tell me why they are almost guaranteed to hate AI's." Ayelet said to the little hologram, trying her best not to lose her temper.
The AI that shaped itself after George S. Patton, one of the least diplomatic people in earth's history, was giving her advice on how to be diplomatic. Fan-fucking-tastic, she thought.
"No your Excellency I will not, it is not my place to tell you their history. I've given all of you the translation software; you will be able to speak and understand Khelish fluently so long as you activate your earpieces." George said.
"Ignoring the matter that you're an intelligence AI that has suddenly grown a conscience; how do you expect me to explain to them that we can understand and speak their language?" Ayelet demanded. The Alien ship, now known as Quarian, was now only a few minutes away, and he was telling her this now.
George's hologram shrugged, "Tell 'em the truth. Humanity has over 200 languages in our space; we have to be good with languages. Khelish closely resembles one of our main languages so it wasn't much of a transition. And my moral reasoning for not telling you the reason behind their inherit AI phobia; how would you feel if they showed up with intimate knowledge about the holocaust and Nazi Germany, Chancellor?" He gave her a very pointed look, and then disappeared. He was not going to come out until the Quarians had the news broken to them.
Ayelet took a breath, calming her nerves. "Do not worry Chancellor, God is watching over us at this moment. Whatever happens; happens, I for one have long since made my peace." Bishop O'Flaherty said calmly.
Staff Sergeant Shepherd put a hand to her breast pocket and grimaced. Agent Colt said nothing, but squared his shoulders; the hidden armor plates in his suit, like hers, could stop pistol and submachinegun bullets with ease. They had no clue how it would react to alien bullets, but they could hope. Major Kimball cracked his neck then got into position.
All the rest followed suit, as the Quarian ship locked into position beside their hanger bay. A sort of force field worked its way out from the Paris and locked itself with the alien hanger bay. A platform extended from their hanger bay to the aliens, giving them a perfect way to board the Paris.
The alien delegation was already in their hanger, standing around waiting. When the platform connected, it seemed to catch the Quarians off guard but they recovered quickly. The lead delegate, presumably his adjutant, and eight guards crossed over into the Paris' hanger bay.
Shepherd barked a command, and the platoon of Marines snapped to attention and presented their arms. Major Kimball did the same with his squad of Rangers. Ayelet took that as her que, and walked forward to the Quarian leader; Bishop O'Flaherty followed closely behind, his black and purple Cassock swishing as he walked.
Ayelet stopped in front of the Quarians and bowed her head, Bishop O'Flaherty and Agent Colt doing the same. "Welcome aboard the DSS Paris, Diplomats."
Diplomatic Shuttle
Rael'Zorah vas Raaleya liked to think of himself as a naturally calm man. His daughter's birth had long ago tempered his more excitable personality. But watching the Gold barrier that had extended itself and connected the Aliens hanger with theirs sent his heart racing. Despite the apparent lack of Element Zero aboard their ships, it was clear this was a very advanced race.
"Amazing, its little wonder their patrol ship was able to evade us for so long. They were clearly toying with me." Captain Nato'Meemor vas Raaleya said in slight wonder. When the platform that had extended itself from the Alien Ship to theirs set itself in place, Nato gestured for Rael and the squad of fleet Marines to follow him.
As they walked across, Rael tried not to look over the edge of the admittedly wide platform; nothing was below them except the shimmering gold force field, and the vast emptiness of space. I wonder what would happen if I fell off. He couldn't help but think; would the barrier catch me and spit me back onto the platform? Or would I just fall through? He wondered.
When they entered the hanger bay of the alien ship, Rael found himself struck by just how similar to Asari these aliens looked. There was a platoon sized group of what were clearly soldiers that lined the right side of the bay. The soldiers were dressed in what was probably a formal uniform for events like this. He took the opportunity to scan their weapons; old, mostly for show, but still functional. His helmet told him that they were using combustion based propellant for their weapons. That was bad, Propellant based weapons were rarely used in citadel space because of how expensive the ammunition was. Only really rich mercenary's or Spectres used them, oftentimes to devastating effect.
He then noticed the four individuals to his front, one was also clearly a soldier; but his, at least Rael assumed it was a he, uniform was Green and Tan. As opposed to the blackish-blue, red, and white the other soldiers wore. And the soldiers behind him were equipped with what was clearly powered armor, Tan and brown coloration with a bright blue visor that you couldn't see through. Their rifles looked much newer, more powerful than the others.
One of them he saw was probably a diplomat, also a man, as he wore black pants and jacket, with a white shirt, along with some odd black strip of cloth that hung down from his neck.
The other man was clearly a religious figure. He wore black robes with purple lining, a purple sash around his waist, and a white collar. He also wore a gold necklace around his neck, with a gold cross attached to it. Rael wasn't sure, but he thought he could see a miniature alien effigy attached to it.
The leader was the one that really caught his attention however. He recognized her from the first contact vid that the aliens had sent. She was probably the lead diplomat. The four alien diplomats walked forward until they were right in front of Rael and Captain Nato. Now that he was right next to them, he could see that they were slightly shorter than the average Quarian, with the exception of the soldiers.
Then all four of them bowed their heads, and the lead diplomat did something that would shock him to the core. She said in fluent Khelish, "Welcome aboard the DSS Paris, Diplomats. I am her Excellency The Chancellor Of Nations Ayelet Isaaman. I represent humanities central government. Next to me is His Eminence Bishop Robert O'Flaherty, representing the Roman Catholic Church. On Behalf of humanity, I welcome you to The United Confederacy"
A/N: Holy crap this took a long time. But I think 3,600 words (including the codex) is worth it. Please leave reviews guys, give me your thoughts and feelings on the story. I felt the need to clarify the Catholic Church's position in this chapter because of a Spanish reviewers concern about it. Thank you google translate. The syntax was all broken but I got the gist of what he was saying. I'm catholic, (little bit of bias there I know,) but I'm also American. The reason there is no established religion in the United States, despite it being a Christian nation for the majority of its existence, is because the founders did not want a repeat of what happened in Europe, Endless religious wars; the United States by contrast has never had, nor been involved in any holy wars. The War on Terror I guess would count, but the majority of Americans are either Atheist or Secular these days. When I say Secular, I mean that they believe in God but don't go to Church or follow any religious traditions.
Also all that Crap with saying "Easter Worshippers" pisses me off to no end. Just say that it was a targeted attack by Radical and evil Muslims against Christians. People didn't have any problem with (rightfully) saying the New Zealand attacks were by Evil White Christians against Muslims, because that's what they were, Evil.
If you look it up online, the most discriminated against religion in the world is Christianity. Yet people ignore it because they are too self-centered on their own countries, and they don't realize how good it is where they live.
Be grateful for what you have guys, don't desire another person's stuff simply because you don't have it.
BTW I'm Going to see Avengers Endgame this Saturday so I'm excited; I really Hope it's good.
Also yes, the NIGHTFALL and SUNRISE armor is a shameless rip-off of the Halo Nightfall armor; just with a different coloration. The only difference between the SINRISE and the NIGHTFALL is that the SUNRISE is lighter, more angular, and has an attached backpack to it.
NIGHTFALL by contrast has what could be best described as a jetpack. The SUNRISE armor has a backpack/dispensary system because the army operates for long periods of time on the ground, they don't operate much in space. The NIGHTFALL armor has thrusters because the Marines are… well Marines. They do space walks, board enemy vessels, and secure landing zones for the main force. Other than that, the only real difference is mostly ascetics.
Also, like I said at the top, make sure you check out TashaMoon; I realize most of you probably aren't Percy Jackson fans, but God dammit her Into the Darkness series is good enough to be published into its own novel. I've told her as much on the few times we've chatted.
Anyways, have a good week guys.
See ya' when I see ya'.