Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect multicrossover. If you've read my announcement on Halo: Termination, you'll know that it's on hiatus until I am able to purchase some books that will help me add more material, while also working to diverge more from the original storyline. In the upcoming days, I'll be doing some editing for the previous chapters, given some feedback that I have gotten. Either way, once I've got the books, I'll be able to put some quality content into the next chapters. Thank you for your continued support, and I'll see you on the next chapter. As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention.
New Avalon
Star League Defense Force HQ
May 21st, 3075
The main headquarters of the Star League Defense Force was, by far, one of the most technologically impressive structures built in the history of the Star League. On the outside, the building was rather unassuming in it's appearance, as it appeared to be your typical warehouse built at the outskirts of New Avalon's Capitol City, which also served as the Capitol of the Federated Commonwealth and, to a much greater extent, the Star League. Even if you went inside, you wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary, as the warehouse was used by a number of corporations who needed it for various things.
However, the warehouse, to many other people, was just a facade for something vastly more important than paperwork and spare parts. About 1.2 kilometers below the warehouse was the strategic command center for the entire Star League, from it's military commands, to it's logistical, support and intelligence commands. This massive underground structure was the brain of the Star League, as well as it's beating heart; built in the year 3045 and refurbished in the year 3070, the structure made use of the most advanced building materials available, with the structure capable of taking a direct hit from a 200 megaton antimatter bomb. In addition to this, the base was heavily defended by the most experienced personnel in the entire Star League, as well as by a number of highly advanced, automated defensive systems that would make even a Flood Gravemind begin to sweat nervously at the mere thought of attempting to break into the facility.
In terms of size, the Star League Defense Force HQ was roughly twice the size as the historic NORAD Command Center built into Cheyenne Mountain on Terra, which was an engineering marvel in it's own right. This size was necessary, as the Star League needed enough administrative personnel to make sure the gears and cogs in the machine that was the Star League ran smoothly and efficiently. Thanks to clever planning and engineering foresight, the facility was not only stronger than it needed to be, it was well beyond adequate for the purpose that it was built for.
All of this information meant one thing to Hanse Steiner-Davion: this was the very place where all of the major decisions in the SLDF would be made, and by it's top political and military personnel. Currently, Hanse Steiner-Davion was sitting in one of the smaller conference rooms inside of the megastructure, as this room was used for some of the more sensitive discussions between various military personnel in command of the Star League. Given the clandestine nature of this meeting, as well as the sophisticated design and materials used in this room to prevent unwanted eavesdroppers from listening in, it was the perfect place for discussing strategy.
The room itself, while small by SLDF standards, would be quite large by Council standards, as it was 20x30 meters in size, with a small holographic projector in the center of a circular table in the room. The walls were a slab gray in color, with the symbol of the Star League on the back wall, as well as information readouts on the other. A single door led into the room, with said door strong enough to withstand multiple impacts from heavy weaponry as well as any explosive charges.
Sitting in the room were the House Lords and military leaders of the Star League, as well as the military and political leaders of the Star League's allies. Theodore Kurita and his generals were present, as well as Khan Sarah McEvedy IV, Thomas Marik, Maximilian Liao, as well as General Dimitry Kerensky, the lead General of the SLDF. Rounding out the delegates inside were Thel 'Vadam of the Sangheilian Covenant, as well as Admiral Lord Hood of the United Nations Space Command.
As soon as everyone was seated, First Lord Hanse began the meeting. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said to them. "Welcome. As you all know, the Free Worlds League was attacked by the Batarian Hegemony at 1230 local time in the star system of New Elysium V. Given the nature of this attack, as well as the forces used, it is clear that the Batarian Hegemony has been attempting to use privateers, pirates and mercenaries to attack the Star League, allowing it to claim no responsibility for these attacks. We are here today to discuss countermeasures to the Batarian's blatant hostility, as well as the general direction of the war that is about to break out." Turning to one of the men in the room, he said, "Admiral Clemens, you may begin."
Admiral Clemens was the head of the Star League Intelligence Command, the division of the Star League responsible for gathering intelligence on the Star League's enemies, while working with the intelligence agencies of the member Great Houses. A tall, wiry man, Clemens was bald, with a black goatee and beard that was graying due to the stresses of his job. Despite this, he still had an energetic spring in his step as he got up and began using the holoprojector in the room.
Clearing his throat, Admiral Clemens began to speak moments later. "Our agents embedded into the Batarian Hegemony have determined that the primary cause for this attempted invasion is due to the Hegemony's belief that they should be the ones settling the Skyllian Traverse instead of us. Intelligence data indicates that the Hegemony has been relying on privateers and mercenaries to perform strikes like the one at New Elysium in order to maintain plausible deniability while achieving their goals.
"As you all know, the mercenaries in question failed thanks to the efforts of the Star League Naval, Army and Marine Commands. Further intelligence data indicates that the Hegemony has been preparing to instigate an armed conflict throughout Council Space, as they appear to be creating a coalition of pirates and mercenaries, all of which are held together by promises of riches and glory should they successfully invade and capture the Citadel. This will allow them to force the Council Races to surrender and give in to their demands."
When he said this, the delegates inside of the room began to murmur to each other. "They're attempting to invade the Citadel and Council controlled space," Admiral Hood asked, surprised by the Hegemony's audacity. "What kind of idiocy has driven them to to that?"
"I agree with Admiral Hood," Thel replied, nodding as he did so. "None of what the Hegemony is doing makes any sense. Why would they brave going up against a superior power when they know they are clearly outmatched?"
"Does it matter really," Thomas Marik remarked. "They attacked my people! They need to be punished severely for the crime they have committed!"
"And they will," Hanse Steiner-Davion said reassuringly, "but we cannot allow revenge and anger to motivate our attack, otherwise we will be no better than they are. Rather, we must punish the Hegemony to the fullest degree of the law through the one means that we have: decisive military action." Turning to Admiral Clemens, he said, "Admiral, proceed."
"Thank you, First Lord," Clemens replied. Using the holoprojector, he pulled up images of Batarian engineers working on what appeared to be a ship of some kind. "SLIC Agents embedded into the Hegemony believe this is the cause for the Hegemony's preparations for war. According to their reports, the Hegemony uncovered an ancient WarShip that is more advanced than the technology that the Council Races use, but significantly less advanced than the technology the Star League uses. The Batarians refer to it as the 'Leviathan of Dis.'"
"Interesting name," Theodore Kurita remarked, as he observed the WarShip in the images. "I wonder why it's called that way."
"That I can answer," Clemens replied. "Our SLIC Agents were able to clandestinely infiltrate the ancient WarShip and get an idea as to what it really is. After they underwent a neurological examination, the Agents have informed me that the WarShip appears to be a wholly automated machine that is capable of housing an Artificial Intelligence, though the hardware on board is not capable of housing a Star League Neural Intelligence. As for how old it is, the Agents believe that it is most likely millions of years old, possibly dating back to prehistoric times."
When Clemens said this, the room fell silent, "Millions of years old," Maximilian Liao asked, both eyes boring into Clemens. "How can a ship be that old and remain fully functional all that time?"
"We haven't been able to determine that yet," Clemens replied. "What we do know, however, is that the Batarians have been studying the device using remote controlled drones, as well as any technology they have stripped off of the drone WarShip. It was during this time that the Agents detected what appears to be a quantum field that is emanating from the WarShip; this prompted them to leave the area and report for psychological examination and neurological scans. It could be this quantum field is capable of altering a persons consciousness, though how much remains to be seen."
"Really," Sarah McEvedy IV remarked. "If that is the case, we'll have to be careful about our proximity to it. What are the chances of the WarShip being related to the information we found in the Prothean Memory Core?"
"Very high," Clemens replied. "The shape of the ship, as well as it's construction, indicates a similarity to the WarShips described by the Prothean Memory Core. If that is the case, we will have to be careful about getting too close to it."
"I see," Hanse Steiner-Davion remarked. "So, we know that the Batarians are studying this Drone WarShip to advance their technology, and we know they have a territory dispute with the Star League. What is the plan for dealing with this war?"
"That's where I come in," Dimitry Kerensky replied, getting up before walking over to the holoprojector. "I've been studying the history of the Hegemony and the region of space that it lies in, known to the Council as the Terminus Systems. The Terminus Systems is a mostly lawless region, with mercenary groups and pirate gangs having free reign of the entire place. There are pockets of law and order, such as the space station known as Omega, as well as the Batarian Hegemony. They and the Council have been eyeing each other warily since these regions formed."
"Why hasn't the Council taken any form of action," Thel asked.
"For a number of reasons," Dimitry replied. 'The primary reason is that the Council is afraid that, should they declare war on the Terminus Systems, the pirates and mercenary gangs will unite into a cohesive coalition and defend the Terminus Systems, with the Hegemony assisting them as well. Given their history, however, I doubt that would be the case to begin with. Secondly, a war with the Terminus Systems would prove to be taxing on the Council Race's economies, and would likely lead to a recession or, at worse, a depression. On top of this, there are a limited number of Mass Relays leading into the Terminus Systems, which the pirates and mercs could use as chokepoints into Terminus space."
"I see," Thel remarked. "It appears to me that the Council lacks the courage and determination to get rid of a known problem, and has instead opted to pretend that it doesn't exist. Ignoring a potential threat is not a wise strategy at all, and it has been the downfall of many a civilization, as your history textbooks have shown."
"Agreed," Admiral Hood observed. "The Council is obviously inept in it's roles. It will take a regime change to remove the corruption that appears to be infesting it."
"Agreed," Hanse nodded. "It's not our job to overthrow the Citadel Council, though. Our mission is to eliminate a known threat to the Star League and ensure that the Batarians are not capable of carrying out such criminal acts of terrorism in the first place. Dimitry, what is your proposal in terms of a military invasion of the Terminus Systems?"
"I propose a three phase strategy," Dimitry replied, bringing up a map of the Terminus Systems. "Phase One of Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS will be a massive cyber attack across the entire Terminus Systems. This cyber attack will be used to destroy the COM buoys that the Terminus Systems makes use of, thereby eliminating their ability to communicate at superluminal speeds. In addition, the cyber attack will allow us to gain access to the information networks that the Hegemony uses, allowing us to gain access to classified intelligence.
"Phase Two of Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS will involve clandestine strikes against VIP's and influential figures in the Hegemony, as well as on Omega. Our goals during this operation are to capture the Hegemony's Emperor, as they call their leader, while assassinating their military leaders. In addition, we will also attempt to capture Aria T'Loak and assassinate the leaders of the mercenary gangs on Omega. This will allow us to invade the station and liberate the innocent civilians that are living there. Phase Two will also strike at the Hegemony's ability to wage war, by destroying a number of vital manufacturing and research facilities in Hegemony territory.
"The final phase of FRACTURED TERMINUS will be a full scale blitzkrieg of the Hegemony and all known pirate and mercenary bases and facilities in the region. Our Advanced K-F Drives will allow us to bypass any Relay blockades and allow our WarShips to deploy Army and Marine personnel to the surfaces of all planets in the region. Once all planets have been occupied, we will treat the Terminus Systems as occupied territories and, once all the pirates and mercs have been arrested, we will grant the Terminus Systems nonvoting status in the Star League."
Once Dimitry finished, everyone could see how much effort he'd put into planning this strategy. The use of a cyber attack on the Terminus Systems and Hegemony's FTL communications network would plunge them into a state similar to the Age of War Inner Sphere in terms of communications. It would also cause unprecedented chaos in their military and cause a massive economic depression, which would further hamper military efforts. The assassination of Hegemony and Terminus HVI's would sow further chaos within the Terminus systems, weakening them enough to allow the Star League Defense Force to swoop right in and eliminate all of the pirates and mercs in the region, thereby restoring law and order to an anarchic region. The destruction of the Hegemony's military manufacturing and research would also plunge them into further chaos, resulting in the downfall of the Hegemony's current regime.
"That sounds like an excellent strategy to me," Theodore Kurita said a moment later, breaking the silence in the room. "Not only will this result in the defeat of the Batarian Hegemony, it will also restore law and order to the Terminus Systems, while showcasing our military might and prowess to the Citadel Council."
"I agree," Thomas Marik replied. "This singular attack will not only punish the Hegemony for it's crimes, I will also serve as a warning to any potential tyrants and dictators in the Terminus Systems. The Council will not like this, but in my opinion, they failed to take care of this problem a long time ago, so why should we listen to them on this matter."
"An excellent point, in my opinion," Thel remarked. "The Council failed to clean up their mess, and they will have no one to blame but themselves for this failure. I like this strategy." One by one, the other military and political leaders of the Great Houses and the Star League agreed.
"It appears as though the decision is unanimous," Hanse Steiner-Davion observed. "I, for one, agree with this strategy as well. It is high time that the Council learns of how strong the Star League is, and that we will not tolerate an unprovoked attack on any Great House and it's allies. This singular attack should remove any doubts on if we can enforce our demands, and it will also result in the elimination of a festering wound in the galaxy." Looking at the others, he asked, "When is the date for this invasion?"
"About five days from now, sir," Dimitry Kerensky replied. "May 26th is the date that FRACTURED TERMINUS will commence. Once it begins, I estimate that we will need around three to five months to reach operation completion, the former being the best case scenario."
"Four to eight months would be a more realistic time frame given the distances we have to travel," Clemens remarked. "That time frame also takes into account the fact that there will be pockets of Batarians that will attempt to support the totalitarian regime that is currently in place. The last phase of the operation will also take the most time, while the first and second phases will be the fastest ones."
"And possible casualties?"
"We'll be looking at possibly a thousand casualties per planet in the Terminus Systems at the most and nearly zero at the least. If all goes well, though, we'll suffer no casualties, though I won't hold my breath in that regard."
"I see," Hanse remarked. After a moment, he said, "So, who is willing to devote some of their forces to assisting in this operation?"
"Count me in," Thomas Marik immediately stated, standing up. "The Batarians attack on New Elysium V, though it failed, is an insult to the Free Worlds League and the principles of freedom and liberty that it stands on. I will see the war to it's full completion."
"The Federated Commonwealth is all in as well," Katherine Steiner-Davion, Hanse Steiner-Davion's daughter, agreed as well. "We have always made it a point to support our allies."
"Absolutely correct," Victor, who was also in the room, agreed as well.
"I will throw in my support as well," Maximilian Liao agreed as well. "We might not have been attacked, but I have reason to believe we would've been next as well. Plus, it makes me happy to see the Batarians disciplined."
"I will throw in all of my support as well," Theodore Kurita nodded, thumping a fist against the table to emphasize his point. "The Draconis Combine has had it's weapon sights set on the Terminus Systems and the foul Batarian Hegemony ever since we made First Contact with the Council. It will bring much honor and glory to the Star League to see the Hegemony punished for it's crimes."
"And what about you, Arbiter, Hood," Hanse asked.
"I'll have to decline," Admiral Hood replied. "We're still recovering from the Covenant-Human War and we've only just begun to reclaim the many worlds that were glassed by the Covenant. While the Sangheilian Covenant and your Star League has been assisting us greatly, we're still not ready to fight another devastating war. We'll need another seventeen years before we're ready to fight once more. I can, however, send Spartans to assist."
Thel, however, said, "I agree to provide assistance for this operation. My fellow Sangheilians will assist in removing the military and political leaders of the Hegemony. We will also participate in the invasion of each planet in the Terminus Systems."
"Then it's decided," Hanse remarked. Looking at Hood, he said, "There's nothing wrong with saying no, Admiral Hood. The Covenant, before their reformation, devastated your government and it's people greatly. If anything, your reasons for saying no demonstrates a lot of responsibility on your part. You can send your Spartans, but don't risk losing any more civilian lives." Looking up he said, "It is the near-unanimous decision of the Star League and it's allies to begin Operation: FRACTURED TERMINUS and bring the Hegemony to justice for it's crimes." Looking at Dimitry and Clemens, he said, "Carry on with your preparations, but do not make any commitments until we have announced that we are ready. Thank you all, and good luck. We'll need it."
As the various House Lords and the people that came with them left, Clemens came over to Hanse and said, "I have a progress report from many of our scientists at the New Avalon Institute of Science."
"You do," Hanse replied. "Once everyone's left, then out with it."
"Yes, sir," Clemens replied as everyone except for Dimitry left the room. Once everyone was gone, he cleared his throat and said, "The geneticists at NAIS have reported that Project AMBROSIA is a complete success. We have successfully created a new form of DNA editing that is not only safer than the current methods used, but can also allow us to treat genetic illnesses with ease."
"Good," Hanse remarked. "I can imagine a few species that could use this new form of gene therapy. What were the success rates?"
"Over 99% sir."
"Excellent. That is far better than what I was hoping for. It appears as though the NAIS has done it again. What about Project DYSON?"
"Project DYSON is at 95% completion, sir. I've been informed that the new Quantum Memory Cores and the Advanced Quantum Computers are performing significantly better than expected. If this goes well, we'll be able to create space stations that can utilize this new form of architecture for our other project."
"And that would be?"
"Project OLYMPUS, sir."
"Ah, I see, our answer to the Citadel that the Council lives on. Well, that ought to catch their attention. What is the status on that project?"
"We're still in the planning phase, but should Project DYSON succeed, we will be able to use the lessons learned to begin Project OLYMPUS. Should all go well, Project OLYMPUS will be done within the decade."
"Good. What's the status on Project BROADSWORD?"
"75% complete sir. It will be done within the next decade."
"Good, good. I want to do things right when it comes to utilizing Element Zero in a more military manner. Carry on with your projects, gentlemen, but make no commitments until you've consulted with me or the people I've designated. Dismissed." With that, Clemens and Dimitry left the room, leaving Hanse alone.
Looking at the map of the Terminus Systems, Hanse began to think to himself. If all of our projects go well, we'll be well prepared for when the Dark Space Contingency comes into effect, he thought. Still, I never thought I'd live to see the day that the Krogan could have a future once more. I thought my heart attack would claim me before that, but it seems as though fate has different plans for me.
There was one other detail that had Hanse frowning slightly. I'll have to have some people monitor Jack Harper. He's a good SLIC Agent, but I'm afraid that his new job has exposed a dangerous character flaw inside of him. Still, all we can do now is wait and carry out the new missions that we have. I might have gotten this job through a direct line of ascension, but I am only doing this job because I wish to serve the people, not because I want this position. Looking at the chair where Katherine Steiner-Davion had sat at, he thought, When the time is right, I will give the job to someone that is far more qualified than I am. Until then, I will continue to serve the people in my current station. With that, Hanse left the room entirely, a smile on his face as he left for Mount Davion. It was going to be an interesting time, and he was happy to be living in said time.
. . .
Kar'Shan
Underground Bunker
Five Days Later
"Explain to me why the pirate attack we sponsored on the Star League failed completely," Emperor Taran nearly roared at his subordinates, the force of his voice causing more than a few to cringe. It had been about five days since the failed attack on the colonies located at New Elysium and there was no sign that the Star League was up to anything, something that had Taran worried and greatly so. He knew that if the Star League found out who was responsible for sponsoring the pirates, they wouldn't hesitate to invade the Hegemony and wipe them out.
That was why he was in the underground bunker that was located below his palace on Kar'Shan, the Batarian homeworld. Built just two years ago, the bunker was built around half a kilometer into the ground, which most felt was safe enough from typical mass accelerator weaponry. What had Taran worried, however, was the fact that he knew the Star League was more advanced than the rest of the galaxy and, therefore, might have weapons that could go even deeper than that. Still, the fact that the raid had failed so miserably meant that he was quite worried, and angry, at his subordinates.
Clearing his throat, one of the Batarians in the room, named Torvrak, calmly began to speak. "We grossly underestimated how advanced the Star League is," he remarked, his voice calm and level as he kept both pairs of eyes centered directly on Taran. "When the pirates attacked, we knew nothing about Star League protocol when it comes to guarding the Mass Relays. In addition to our inability to infiltrate Star League territory, we now know that the Star League guards any Mass Relays leading into their territory with a significant number of warships."
"That's not all," another Batarian General, Uraven, spoke up. "Now that we know what happened to the fleet, I can safely say that the Star League is significantly more advanced than we initially thought. Need I remind you, that I was against attacking the Star League from the very moment I heard this proposal."
"A fact that you've made extremely clear," another Hegemony General, Poran, stated. "Still, we have a chance against the Star League. The Leviathan of Dis has been very cooperative in yielding it's secrets to us. We will soon have a fleet that has a reasonable chance of taking on the Star League."
"Reasonable how," Uraven remarked sarcastically. "The Terrans are significantly more advanced than our government, and they have been advancing their technology constantly. Who are we to say that we have a fighting chance of taking them on in the first place? That is nothing but madness! A daydream! They have unlimited resources!"
"That is the fantasy," Poranl remarked, "that they have unlimited resources. What is unlimited is the fighting spirit of the Hegemony. The Star League knows that we will not surrender to them at all. We can win the war by forcing the Star League to overextend their resources if we move our resources through the Terminus Systems. By doing this, we can effectively make the war too expensive for the Star League to continue."
"Madness,"Uraven growled. "Haven't you read their history?! The Star League has traveled significant distances to engage an enemy foe. Take for instance, their war with the Clans. They had to travel over a thousand light years to get to the Kerensky Cluster, and they still won their war with the Clans. We might be further away, but that makes little difference with their K-F Drive, whatever it's capable of!"
"Perhaps you should remember the advances we made using the Leviathan of Dis," Torvrak. "It could be that we have a chance to fight. Either way, we won't know better until the Star League actually makes a move. Considering their past methods, I believe that we will first see an invasion of the Hegemony. We can drain them dry of resources by forcing them to fight a war of attrition. After all, we can replenish our own resources faster than they can at this distance.
"Once we have depleted their resources, they will have to return to the Inner Sphere in order to replenish and restock their resources. By then, we can replenish our own forces enough to put up continued resistance against the Star League. We can also have our forces spread out so that the Star League will be forced to waste resources against single targets, rather than large clumps of troop concentrations."
"That might work," another General remarked, "but that is if they follow that strategy. For all we know, the Star League might not have to physically attack us at all. They might be able to use cyber warfare to disable our ability to fight without having to attack us physically."
"Ppfftt, nonsense," Poran. "They don't use the Extranet at all. As far as I know, their 'HyperNet' is incompatible with our own computer networks. It's an impossibility. Besides, who would be foolish enough to attack our own computer networks?"
"I wouldn't think that to be beyond the abilities of the Star League," Torvrak countered. "Remember, they have a long history of war, and they are more than willing to bomb planets into nuclear wastelands with their nuclear arsenal. Besides, we have to account for their allies as well."
"The fact of the matters remains that we cannot do anything right now," Taran decided. "Let's take a recess for some time to determine what our real course of action will be. Once we are finished, we will reconvene and begin preparations for the upcoming war with the Star League. If we're quick and clever, we can force the Star League to reach a political end to this war in our favor." With that, each one of them left the underground bunker for their offices. One thing's for certain, Taran thought. The Star League's days will soon be finished. What Taran didn't know, was that he had already been outmoved and outfoxed.
