The Gamer Effect: Moving Shadows

The General sat in his office at the top of a tower on Icarus. He was staring into the heart of the sun. Some people would call it reckless to stare into a sun at this distance, but it didn't matter if he lost his eyes, he could always get new ones. Icarus was a fortress in its own right, a ring like space station surrounding the sun by the same name. The station had the strongest shields known to the General, as well as specially designed radiation shields facing the sun. The sun itself produced so much radiation that a ship's shields would begin to be effected after passing the second planet. The General solved this problem by creating special pathways through the radiation zone. These pathways were narrow, meaning that any attacker would either be fighting both the General and the sun, or attack the General in smaller waves as they came down the pathways. The second would only be possible if they found the pathways in the first place. Either way, it didn't matter. The General wasn't a fool. He knew that no matter how large a force you attacked with, the battle was decided by having a local advantage. If they attacked using the first method, the sun acted like a force multiplier. If they used the second method, the stations own defences combined with his fleet guaranteed the local advantage the General needed.

Icarus was of course the last line of defence. The two planets inside the radiation zone had specially designed turrets. They could remain undetected until they opened fire. Meaning that anyone attacking focusing their shields on the front of the ship would be attacked in their exposed flanks and rear, assuming they attacked from the same direction as the planet itself. If it worked, it was usually a battle winner because the thin pathways made it hard to manoeuvre if that was the method the attackers used. Only activating a few turrets at a time enabled several waves to be defeated. If they used the first method, the entire force would be harassed from all sides. Focusing on the ships in direct radiation also allowed the most damage to be done before the defences were destroyed. The third and fifth planets were used as bases for the air units. They would harass an enemy fleet all through the system while further turrets from the fourth planet attacked. The sixth and last planet was used as an early warning. It was equipped with the best sensors available to the General. After the battle began, it would launch stealth frigates to attack the enemy from behind. Add the fact that all the systems moons were turned into missile silos, and any attacker would have a hard fight ahead of them.

That was the way the General did things. Do as much damage as possible while taking as little damage as possible. But right now he had to prepare. If even he had taken an interest in the aliens then others surely had. The again, he did have special reasons for taking an interest.

"Elisa, have the Illuminati reported anything?"

Elisa Cassan appeared beside him. In the days of video games, Elisa was responsible for controlling what the public saw and talked about. She did this for her Illuminati master. Ironic and appropriate for her to be in charge of the Illuminati infiltrators of the Generals army.

"There have been several reports from the Illuminati. It seems that several commanders have taken an interest in the Batarians for there practice of slavery. The Asari have also made contact with the Moderator. The most alarming report comes from the forums themselves. The Bloodthirsty has left a simple two worded post, 'I return'. However, no official movements on his part have been noted."

The General thought about the information for a while. "Hasn't the STG noticed several planets disappearing?"

"That is correct. I'll upload the locations and compare it to our own maps."

The General turned in his chair to look at the map. Brodur's territory was indeed next to the planets that vanished. "Send an anonymous tip to the STG that the one responsible for the disappearing planets is a human called Bloodthirsty Brodur. Make sure that this tip gets to a respected member of the organisation. Whether they listen or not is up to them." Bloodthirsty Brodur always was an idiot with no concept of the bigger picture. If he ate all the galaxy, where would he and the Championship be then?

"Will we not take direct action against him?"

"No. We aren't strong enough to defeat him. However, we might be able to hinder him until some other commanders take notice. If enough unite against him, we will help then. Are there any other reports I should be aware of?"

"While not a report, it is worth noting that one of our Illuminati cells on the edge of the Ghost Sector has gone silent."

That was worrying. The General had always assumed the Ghost Sector to be a trick by Brodur to put people on edge. But if that was expanding it meant another commander was attempting a power grab. "Have one million reserves activated. We need to make up for the 500,000 we sent to Rannoch and bolster for a possible attack. Speaking of Rannoch, what do our Quarian Illuminati say on the matter?"

The Quarian Illuminati were not actual Quarians. Like all Illuminati, they were AI's but they were disguised as Quarians thanks to holographic projectors built into each one. The Quarians were far too busy preparing materials to build the first city on the planet to notice a few thousand extra hands.

"They report that the threat for Rannoch has kept the admirals in line, although Rael has created some unease among certain people. The general population is still under the impression that you are an ally as opposed to a master. How do you intend to move forward?"

"The threat for Rannoch was just the stick to keep the admirals in line. Now I need to find the carrot to get the general population on my side before they find out what is really going on. If they do then they may cause enough unrest for me to follow through with my threat." Why couldn't Rael see that what he was doing was for the greater good? Even the Quarians would benefit from living under his care. "What about the several races of Illuminati we sent to the Citadel?"

"They have begun operations and will notify us when they are in suitable locations. The Batarian Illuminatus you sent to Omega has also been employed by Aria and is now one of her guards. He insists everything will be ready by the time you move."

"Good." The General sat in silence for a few moments before asking his next question. "Any luck with the signal?"

"It appears to be coming from beyond my reach."

"What does 'beyond you reach' mean?"

"It means that the signal originates from beyond the galaxy's edge."

That was even more concerning then Brodur's return. If those things were capable of intergalactic flight, then the future looked bleak. The General sighed and rubbed the side of his head. Elisa looked to him with a concerned expression, the usual friendly smile gone.

"You can still hear them can't you?"

"Yes. Destroying that relay or relic or whatever it was helped quiet the voices, but they get louder as time goes on. Why did it have to be me who found it? Why couldn't it be someone who cared about the Championship?"

Elisa stepped forward and put a holographic hand on the Generals shoulder. "It was you because you don't care about the Championship. All the others are so obsessed with the top spot that they are blind to everything else. The only two others who might be preparing are…"

"The Moderator and the Liberian. I know."

The room went into a comfortable silence… until duty called.

"General, admiral Xen wishes to speak to you."

"Very well, patch her through." The hologram of admiral Xen appeared in front of the General. "Admiral, I assume you're having fun examining the units I gave you."

"Yes and I must admit that to do this without ezo is an amazing achievement. The very structure of these machines is fascinating. The cloaking system in particular has my interest. How does it work?"

"It's called the Glass Shield Cloaking System and it works by a grid of fine wires placed around the exoskeleton of the unit connected to a control implant, which is in turn connected directly to the main processing unit. When activated, it creates an electromagnetic field that temporarily adjusts the EM radiation around them. This creates a cloak of invisibility that is effective against all wavelengths on the visual spectrum, including lasers. However, due to the energy needed to sustain it, it can only be used in short bursts."

"Fascinating. I'll see if I can find a way to improve on the energy consumption rate, or at least the recharge rate. I assume that electromagnetic fields are the basis of the landing system that they use for high drops."

"Correct. The Icarus Landing System automatically activates when the unit is falling above a certain velocity. It creates an electromagnetic field that pushes against the planets own."

"I see. But back to the reason I called. Rael has started spreading rumours that you are working with the Geth."

"I am working with the Geth."

"And the fewer people that know it the better."

"You seem alright with it. Admiral Raan is kept in line through fear, admiral Koris through gratitude. Even admiral Gerrel realizes he is outmatched now, but what about you?"

"I know an opportunity when I see one."

It was then that Eliza spoke.

"Excuse me General, but a report just now from the Illuminati indicates that admiral Zorah is trying to leave Rannoch."

"I thought humans worked alone."

"I am Eliza Cassan, an advanced computer program. My job is to provide assistance to the General and monitor reports from our Illuminati forces."

"You have an AI for an advisor?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

"Have the Illuminati delay him as much as possible. I will head there at once."

"Yes General."

"Admiral Xen, I have to cut this short. I'm sure you have your own duties to attend to."

The General cut the connection without giving Xen chance to respond. He then stood up and began to leave slightly frustrated at the situation. Old shadows were moving, both human and alien, and he had to deal with one stubborn admiral.