Authors Note: I'll try not to bore you with massive exposition dumps in author notes. I'll do my best weave the changes in the setting into the story. Mainly I plan to use author notes to explain my reasoning why I wrote something a certain way.
This one is just for those wondering what kind of AU this is. Like I said mainly the changes are in human biology, they are much tougher and stronger than in reality, and live much, much longer. Earth is also a much deadlier place, not inconducive to life there is still plenty of it, but dangerous. Rampant disease and much more extreme weather events, which are also much more common.
I always like the idea of a protagonist who has seen it all and done it all. In my mind someone like Shepard but with the life experience of Wrex. I also needed someone who can keep up with the best and exceed them physically. In order to have a protagonist who has done it all and still be as fit as possible during the story. I felt the best thing was to give humans a much longer lifespan and a form of negligible senescence for most of that lifespan. They still mature at the same rate.
I've always wanted to write a mass effect fanfiction, but I wanted to do something different not just a rehash. With the release of mass effect legendary edition, I feel it's the best time to do so.
Citadel: Presidium: Council Chambers
"Vivius, do you have any update regarding your encounter with the, what do they call themselves again?" Tevos asked. Some time had passed since the first encounter. While Telos was not entirely happy with how the situation turned out the asari councilor was content to let the turians handle it.
"Humans, our reports indicate we have destroyed the majority of their fleets; their counterattacks have stopped. We have captured the colony and our now waiting for an offer of peace. If none comes soon, we will initiate peace talks." Replied Vivius the turian Councilor.
"While I understand the need to stop the activation of the relay, did you need to be so aggressive?" asked Inorth the salarian councilor. In a clipped speech pattern as she often did "The orbital bombardments killed civilians as well as soldiers; I doubt the humans will forget this quickly, it may cause trouble down the line."
"A softer response could also cause trouble down the line. It would show that we are lax in enforcing our most important laws. This species needs to understand they cannot break the citadel's laws, and that if they do, they will pay a heavy price." Replied Vivius his voice rising slightly.
"We understand but why did you move a dreadnought into orbit of your newest colony New Nepolita? It's just a few light years away from the human colony. Surely a dreadnought is overkill especially considering you expect no more fighting?" Asked Tevos changing the subject and trying to head off any arguments.
Vivius turned to her and said, "Because when we make peace, we want remind the humans what they are dealing with. Up until now they assumed, they were alone and the most important things in the universe. We must disabuse them of that notion. Showing up in a dreadnought to sign the peace will show that we held back and serve as a reinforcement of the earlier lesson."
"Understood." Tevos answered While not fully agreeing with the turian she wasn't going to intervene when there was no reason to. "Please keep us informed of any developments" She was exited by the arrival of these humans and wished that the asari were the ones to initiate first contact. However, the turians actions will alienate them from the humans. The asari should find it much easier to maneuver them into their sphere. The fact that they resembled the asari closer than any other species should help. Although the humans were taller and looked quite a bit stronger. What most fascinated Tevos was the hair on the head. So many different colors, often different from the skin tone.
Vivius nodded and gave the turian equivalent of a smile. "We will. I think you asari will get along well with them but be cautious they may look a lot like you. But reports from our soldiers paint them as a mixture of asari and krogan. Very strong and tough, they heal fast and it doesn't even leave scars. They also seem to be able to fully recover from any injury so long as it doesn't kill them outright."
"Let us hope their temperament is more inline with the asari than krogan." Was what Inorth solemnly replied with.
In answer to Inorth's wondering Vivius replied. "Juries' still out on that one, they are definitely are smarter than the krogan but that isn't saying much. They do seem to prefer to be on the offensive like the krogan. Our soldiers joke that the first word taught in their officer school must be attack and the second retreat. However, the attacks are well executed, and the retreats are disciplined. They are also not averse to guerilla tactics and have mounted a notable if doomed resistance on the colony. On the whole it has been quite a while since a species with this much potential as arrived on the galactic scene."
Tevos smiled "Well then we shall hope they live up to that potential. I do have a question however, the reports we were provided were rather sparse with regards to anything other than physical description. Why is that?"
Vivius straitened a bit before talking the answer seemed to discomfort him. "It's because we know next to nothing about them. The soldiers say nothing in interrogations. They wouldn't even say the name of their homeworld or species name. All the computers we have captured have been wiped of any data, our analysts think that the ship that escaped our attack at the relay warned them and they wiped everything, before our ground troops could secure the colony. The civilians were more open that's how we found out basic info like that the species name or that the homeworld is called Earth but even they wouldn't say things like how many colonies they had."
"Hmmm paranoid, this experience will probably be seen as confirmation of paranoia, will cause issues later. Did you try any advanced interrogation techniques?" fired of Inorth
Vvius once again raised his voice seemingly insulted that he was even asked. "Of course not, we are not here to cause unnecessary harm to the humans or to make future cooperation more difficult than necessary. Torturing humans will cause future headaches and won't get us anything useful. All that we want and need to know will be acquired during peace talks and later during the integration of the species into citadel space."
Tevos once again stepped in to change shift the focus off a potentially sensitive point. "Do you know why they are so tightlipped? Are they just a paranoid species or is there some other reason?"
Vivius grunted and replied "Well the soldiers said nothing, but the civilians mentioned something about a hostile protocol. Apparently, they are under strict orders not to mention anything that might be militarily useful in the case of hostile alien contact, or let any data remain that might be useful. Apparently, the soldiers take it to mean: say nothing. Even the general once he surrendered said nothing other than who he was. Civilians seem more willing but even they won't say most things. We have little reason to press the issue, everything will come out in due time."
Smiling Tevos replied "Of course now moving onto other issues….
Arcturus Station: Hackett's office: year 2133
Admiral Hackett the head of the alliance military sat behind his mahogany desk, the only real luxury in an otherwise sparse and utilitarian office and pondered the options he had. None of them were particularly appealing. He had the choice of two different plans for the liberation of Shanxi and the destruction of the dreadnought in the nearby system. He always had another option, throw in the towel and get the diplomatic core to sue for peace. That option was the least appealing of the three but one he might end up hoping he took if things go poorly enough.
The first plan was simple combine all available resources and attack the alien fleet at Shanxi. Then move quickly onto the dreadnought that an alliance probe discovered. It was a simple plan but attractive. It made use of an old military truth. The best way to conserve mass is to use it en masse. A fight of one on two will leave the two likely victorious but one of them might take a serious injury or even die. If it is five on one, then the risk of injury is much smaller. Same with starships if you attack with overwhelming force it is much less likely any of yours will take serious damage. This is the option he would have picked if not for a few key details.
The other option was more complicated and thus riskier. It involved a simultaneous strike at Shanxi and at the dreadnought. With a reserve force in the middle in between the star systems ready to give support to either if needed. The problem was that the alliance might loose both fights. Not that going in force guaranteed victory, but it was more likely, if the enemy stayed and fought.
That was the problem. The turians as they called themselves had no compunction about retreating. They also had shown a powerful willingness to sacrifice both themselves and their comrades in order to win. Analysts agreed if the alliance arrived with overwhelming force the turians would retreat. While the battle would be a victory it wouldn't be the decisive victory needed. Ships would escape to warn the dreadnought and reinforcements would be called up, and if reinforcements showed up then the alliance losses. That was a guarantee.
The turian prisoners interrogated and the little data that the alliance managed to extract from the alien's computers during guerilla raids showed as much. There was no way to win a protracted war. The aliens were to numerous. They had to many ships and their economy dwarfed humanities. Some wanted to sue for peace upon discovery of such facts. However, Hackett and others would not let them. The aliens attacked with no warning and gave no justification, they didn't even declare war. They showed an utter disregard for civilians' lives during the orbital bombardments in support of the occupation. He and the diplomatic core had little reason to put faith in alien mercy once they surrender.
They needed a decisive victory one that would show that humanity was more trouble than it was worth. They needed destroy the fleet orbiting Shanxi and the dreadnought with its escort over the alien colony. Then they must take the colony while treating the aliens much nicer than they treated humanity, it would not do to needlessly antagonize them when the balance of forces was so one sided. Then humanity would be able to sue for peace as an active combatant not as a defeated party. They would probably get a much better deal than otherwise. Hell, if we humanity was really lucky maybe this council Hackett read about in some reports would step in and force a peace.
Thus, the need for a decisive victory pushed Hackett toward the more complicated plan. If they attacked with rough parity, then the fleet at Shanxi would most likely stay and fight. With surprise on their side they should win. What worried Hackett was the dreadnought because humanity had none. Despite being a truly spacefaring species for 50 years they had had no dreadnoughts. They had some currently under construction, but none were ready or close to ready. Mentally Hackett cursed again at this reality. Oh, he knew the reasons for it, he was there when the decisions were made. First the alliance focused on exploration. They had no time or money for large capital ships. Then they focused on cruisers and frigates and light carriers for patrols. It wasn't until recently that the alliance had the resource to spare on capital ships. However, most were in drydock under construction.
The only one they had was the newly built fleet carrier. It was slightly longer than the dreadnought and wider, but it had no main gun. Humanity would have to rely on the extremely numerical large superiority in fighter and bomber craft to win the battle. Luckily the alien colony was even smaller than Shanxi. They did not have to worry about planet-based forces like fighters or ground to orbit cannons. Also, since the colony existed it would most likely ensure the aliens stayed and fought. They had wargamed out the possible result of dreadnought vs fleet carrier, and the results said victory was possible.
The more Hackett pondered the second option the more he began to like it. They would most likely win at Shanxi and the reserve would go help finish the dreadnought. However, if the alien fleet at Shanxi fled then it would easy to guess where they would go. They would go to support the dreadnought. Determining where they would appear in system would be simple. They would appear not behind the alliance ships since the shots from the dreadnought that missed the alliance vessels might hit them. They would appear to the side of the alliance and they would appear on the side closer to Shanxi since going around to the other side would waste time and fuel. The Alliance support fleet could arrive first and intercept them, since they had a head start, add some ships pursuing from Shanxi and it would be a slaughter. It would effectively be an ambush in space. The dreadnought would not be able to send word since communication was impossible at FTL speeds.
If the Shanxi fleet didn't retreat, then the reserve force could be deployed as needed. There was little chance the dreadnought would leave since it is unlikely that the aliens would abandon their colony to try and ensure a continued occupation of ours. But if they did then the alliance could do the reverse bring the reserve fore to Shanxi to intercept. Even a dreadnought would not last long if arriving already damaged straight into a prepared enemy that the capital ship was unprepared for.
The more Hackett thought about it the more he liked the second plan. Yes, it was riskier, but it also offered a significantly higher chance of decisive results, which was what humanity needed. As he sat there thinking his aide walked in and saluted. "Admiral Hackett sir" the young man said.
The admiral replied, "What is it Hernandez."
"A message from general Peterson he has a proposal for a mission to help liberate Shanxi." Lieutenant Hernandez recited in a rapid-fire manner.
Sighing internally the admiral put out his arm "give it here and dismissed" he said the lieutenant gave him a datapad and left the room.
These days there was no shortage of ideas the problem was few were good. The plans that he was deciding between were picked out of many worse options. One plan offered a wait a see approach. Ridiculous is the aliens arrive in force we lose. Whatever happens must happen soon. The only reason he didn't immediately discard the datapad was that the plan would not have gotten so far up the chain if someone didn't like some aspects of it. Resigning himself up for a long night he began to read.
As he read the plan, he became intrigued. It was risky but no less risky then fighting a war you can't win. Best of all it wasn't a replacement to the already existing options but a supplement to either one. Shanxi had a small ground based orbital defense battery. The fact that it was there was purely political posturing. Shanxi was the furthest colony and a public outcry due to few patrols led to its construction.
It didn't do much when the turians invaded, they steered clear and let ground forces clear the compound. Worse they didn't destroy it but had commandeered it. Any assault would have our own ground based orbital defense cannons fire at us. If truth be told he expected a proposal like this to arrive sooner or later, doesn't mean he put much stock in its success. The resistance didn't have the elite operatives necessary to mount an attack on the compound and smuggling then on world was virtually impossible. FTL travel alerts every scanner in range.
General Peterson thought we should still do a covert drop with a shuttle. If they drop out of FTL very close to atmo they should be able make a jump before the shuttle was destroyed. The operatives jump out at the edge of space and parachute down, leaving a VI to pilot the shuttle into a preprogrammed crash far away from the drop zone. With luck the turians will find the crashed shuttle but the soldiers will be long gone, or if they shot it down even better then they would think the crew died. Fortunately, the compound is in the outskirts of the colony, so the operative won't have to sneak through an occupied city. Even luckier the are some woods between the drop zone and the base which would provide cover for the infiltration team.
Before they assault the base, the resistance will create diversionary attacks on the other side of the colony. This will draw the attention of both ground forces and get the attention of the orbiting ships which will prepare for their orbital bombardment the aliens love so much. The Operatives assault the base and hopefully gain control. At the same time the alliance jumps into orbit coming at from the side of the enemy ships. That way stray shots don't hit the planet and the enemies present a much larger target and the main guns won't be pointing at them.
Of course, this will all have to be on a strict timetable as radio silence will be necessary. So, if the infiltration fails no one will know. The resistance will still mount attacks to ensure the enemy ships point down but the attacking fleet will be forced to deal with the base. A slightly better outcome would be that the aliens are forced to destroy the base from orbit to stop it from falling into enemy hands. The operatives die but main task is done.
Hackett was well aware that this is a proposal for a suicide mission. The shuttle could be destroyed before the operatives jump. This was especially true because the shuttle would have to slow down to near stationary for the operative to not burn up in atmo during the jump. However, he also was aware of the necessity to try, that base could do great harm to our ships if it isn't destroyed and the resistance isn't capable of mounting the attack. Looking over the details he decided to give the mission the green light as long as the operatives volunteer and know what they are getting themselves into.
Having decided that he would authorize the landing he also decided to take the second battle plan. The first would most likely end with a victory but an undecisive one. Humanity needed a decisive win to have any chance of getting a halfway decent peace. Rubbing his eyes admiral Hackett began typing up orders to prepare for the coming battles. Afterwards he went to bed, but it was a restless sleep.
Authors note: In this fic I said humans have been a true spaceflight species for 50 years however in the game first contact is only 8 years after the discovery of the relay in sol, and the first game is set 26 years after first contact. I think that is to short a time for humanity to get so influential that talk of a council seat is possible. I sped up humanities progress a bit so the are a spaceflight species sooner than in game. This gives them more muscle and economic power to throw around I think it explains why it only took humans a few years to get an embassy while other species literally waited decades or centuries. The main story takes place 50 years instead of 26 after first contact. After all is said and done the first game takes place in 2183 and my story for the first game takes place then as well.
Also, the concept of the hostile Protocol came from Halo. There it was called the Cole protocol.
Hackett got a promotion in this story. In the game he was the commander of the fifth fleet.
This is my first fanfic I would appreciate reviews which would help me develop as a writer and turn out a better story.