Chapter 5
The Home-front
Alpha Centauri System
Orbital Space Station Babel
Dr Jennifer Downes
The OSS Babel was one of the first space stations solely created and owned by the Systems Alliance, as such, there was no influence or pressure from the various nations on Earth and that was what Jennifer loved about working here, no politics only science.
She was shocked however when she was called in to examine corpses what she didn't expect was for them to be humans from some alternative/parallel reality and did not expect them to be genetically altered to such an insane degree.
"So what do you make of our resident superhumans." Her colleague Jackson Cooke asked as he stood across the table from here with his Datapad on.
"They're insanely well built and made from genetic therapy that is far more advanced than what we have." She said with a tut looking over the huge body that was on the table.
"Yeah, brains enhanced for quicker reflexes, a ceramic-metallic coating over the bones and a whole lot of other stuff that existed purely in theoretical terms." He agreed with her and began the usual scans and tests.
"I've heard the HIGHCOM wants us to crack this so we can start making our own." He continued casually.
"Well, they are going to be disappointed because we can't just magic up extensive genetic augmentations even with 3 bodies to study." She bit out, the pressure was immense and HIGHCOM just expected them to perfectly replicate the technology because it was made by humans.
But that was simply not feasible, their technology was very different and even though the computers had the same base they had diverged wildly and it was difficult to decipher and apply their scientific advances to this similar but still very different technology.
"Have you heard about the Weapons Dev team?" He continued while he took a bone sample from the thigh.
"Didn't they figure out the guns and even the laser weapon they found in the armoury?" She said while collecting observing the results of the scan from the bone sample.
"Yeah I mean most of their stuff was just advanced gunpowder weapons, we abandoned that as soon as we found the Prothean Ruins," Jackson said nonchalantly as he moved onto the eyes.
"And yet they could create a genuine laser weapon and that is not even counting that monstrous 'MAC Cannon'." She replied moving her scanner over the bodies chest.
"Pretty cool and that thing could probably destroy all our dreadnoughts in one shot." He said grimly.
"That's why our work is so important," Jennifer said with utter conviction.
"Wow, you're a true believer." He said in surprise.
"I am not naive. There is alien life in this galaxy and something killed off the Protheans we would be foolish not to keep alert and prepare for whatever the universe throws at us." She replied sternly.
"I can understand that but the aliens in our universe might not even be aggressive like that 'Covenant' our counterparts encountered." He said putting his datapad down and picking up a needle to take some more samples from the body.
"You might be right but you might be wrong as well. If there exists a hostile alien power in this galaxy we have to be prepared, when extinction is on the table I think that every alternative is better even if it means we have to do monstrous things to survive." She said solemnly.
"Well, I guess we'll see, we have more fleets and colonies now thanks to the little we have been able to reverse-engineer." He finished with a shrug.
Both of them fell into silence after that, Jennifer could understand where Jackson was coming from but she had more access to the databanks of the Shine Bright than he did and she had read recovered some historical data that made her skin crawl just thinking about it, entire planets destroyed and turned to glass by monstrous aliens and the first message humanity had ever received from aliens.
"Your destruction is the will of the prophets and we are their instrument." It said.
Jennifer and HIGHCOM did not like the idea of zealous aliens wiping the entire species out, as such the Shine Bright was towed and hidden from even the UN security council and had sent dedicated teams of scientists who could keep a secret, well even if they did want to leak the information out SAI would have them dead and discredited within the hour.
She knew that the work they were doing here and now would define the entire future of humanity and could change their fate.
"Found something," Jackson announced proudly.
She snapped back to attention and looked at him, he had his deep tissue scanner hovering over the bodies thigh and sure enough, there was something tiny embedded deep within the bone.
"When we checked the other bodies they didn't have anything like this." He said confused.
"Well the other two bodies were genetically altered through chemical compounds that we're trying to replicate, perhaps this is a more advanced model which relies on physical implants." Jennifer hypothesized.
"Makes sense I mean these are teenagers with bodies every soldier would want," Jackson said with a dark smile.
"Child soldiers are the one thing that does not sit well with me," Jennifer muttered to herself.
"So should we retrieve it?" He asked, technically Jennifer was his superior so he had to go through the motions.
"Of course, fine cuts only I don't want this one butchered like the others." She said.
"Now the fun part." He said to himself with a frown.
10 minutes later Jennifer was staring at a capsule through a microscope, it was made of platinum and based on initial scans contained human growth hormones and was tiny and based on where they pulled it out in the thyroid it used to be bigger but seemed to dissolve as it released the hormone into the body.
"It's a nice piece of augmentation technology," Jackson commented as he was looking at a 3D scan of how big it used to be.
"Yes, it is." She replied absent-minded.
"What are you thinking?" He asked noticing the look on her face.
"I think this is something that we can replicate with our current tech, and if this was possible then everything else done is also possible for us." She said aloud.
"I need to contact HIGHCOM, I'll be back to continue the tests and scans." She said authoritatively without letting him get a word in.
She walked with purpose to the Comms room on the Babel, this could be just what they needed for funding of the TITAN-Project their little super-soldier program which was more hypothetical than actively being worked on.
Alpha Centauri System
Orbital Space Station Thebes
Dr Paul Levine
Paul watched the tests with an impassive eye, these simulations were testing out the new hybrid Mass Effect Magnetic Accelerator Canons that were supposed to be retrofitted onto the new ships they were constructing.
"What's the power draw like?" He asked the air.
A hologram of a haggard-looking scientist appeared on the pole next to him, he had a clipboard in hand and glasses covering his eyes.
"Within the expected ranges, it's still an improvement over the earlier prototype. I estimate another 10 to 15 attempts before we get ready for ship use, unlike the Orbital Defence Platforms that need a planet-side power plant." He said completely and utterly monotone.
"We need more resources than what the SAI can steal from the UN." Paul sighed.
"Running black-op science teams on a ship from another universe is an expensive business I doubt the economy could take it if we took what we wanted." The AI responded in the same dull tone.
"Use your imagination Arnold, skimming a little money over a lot of companies would easily fund us." He replied to the hologram.
"I suppose but I was not built for imagination, Doctor Salvador was a very logical and severe man," Arnold replied bringing up a hand and pointing a finger at his temple.
"Salvador was a good scientist but lacked that creative spark needed for true innovation." He conceded.
"And what would you recommend we work on then?" Arnold asked still monotone.
"The fusion power on the ship should be hybridised with our Element Zero Cores and create a brand new power generation method, even if we cannot use access the dimension of 'Slipspace' does not mean that their engines and drives are useless to us." He said with conviction.
"That is quite the idea, what did HIGHCOM say after you reported that?" Arnold said almost impressed.
"They said not and have prioritised weapons technology over power generation which is idiotic, if we have better and more powerful cores and reactors then the weapons also improve." He almost seemed to rant but held back.
"Perhaps they shall see the value in such a thing when circumstances change." Arnold offered.
"Perhaps." Was the final exchange.
Paul decided to spend the rest of his time doing something more useful and decided to read up on Babels reports on the super soldiers that they found in those amazing pods. It was such an ingenious creation, pods which could be dropped from a ship down onto a planet, orbital insertion was one of the dreams of the 21st-century militaries for the rapid deployment of troops but now that would be a reality they had already entered into the testing phase and were regularly being deployed from the lowest level of Thebes onto the planet below.
But the icing on the cake so to speak was the discovery of the obvious super soldiers within, they were seen as the pinnacle of genetic enhancement and were being worked on by their sister station Babel. Two of the bodies had been systematically taken apart and examined closely the third however was kept intact as it was different from the other two, whereas the first had seemed to have been altered through chemical means alone, the third upon closer inspection had different enhancements that were brought on through surgery as such it remained intact to study exactly what happened to it.
The ultimate dream of the Systems Alliance Navy would be to deploy these super-soldiers from orbit behind enemy lines and have them unleash havoc to win the battle more efficiently.
The possibilities from the Shine Bright were endless and technologies and ideas once thought impossible or at least years out of reach were now very much close to reality, the super soldiers was one of the lesser projects in fact, but the rest of the technological leap had propelled them forward at least a 100 years just like the Prothean ruins had when they discovered them on Mars 15 years ago.
Their nuclear weapons had been simple to understand and replicated and were now produced in bulk, the Archer missiles were in the same boat, honestly, the only weaponry they could not easily reverse engineer was the main armament of the Shine Bright, it was a huge and cumbersome thing and far more inefficient than their Mass Effect Canons but it despite those faults it was still far more powerful than any of their ship weapons and was simulated to punch through a dreadnought and keep going through another one.
BEEP! BEEP!
The beeping from his Omni-tool broke his train of thought and he recognised the caller and left the room to take it somewhere more privately.
"The snake bites the dog." He answered it within his private room with all security measures active.
"The Dog goes to Hades." The other voice replied.
"What is it?" He asked after the correct answer was given.
"We have made contact with an alien species, they are planet-bound and no doubt technologically inferior but it has roused HIGHCOM enough that they are going to divert more funding into ARGO and they are drawing up actual plans to attempt Operation: Irene." The synthesized voice said.
"So the time is coming for our domination?" He asked after processing what he was told.
"Yes, the Security Council will no longer be a problem and Humanity can become a true interstellar species." It said.
"Good, perhaps a war will not be needed then." He said with relief, a civil war would weaken humanity far too much.
"Civil War was never an option, we would never allow it. Be prepared Agent Zetian the Systems Alliance will need your expertise for the future." It informed him.
"Of course, Glory to Mankind." He finished the call with their deeply held motto and purpose.
"Glory to Mankind." He heard before the call was cut.
He smiled when the call ended, soon they would end the farce that the nations of Earth ruled humanity, no it was the Systems Alliance who guide humanity into the future.
CODEX:
Orbital Defence Platforms
A recent creation from the Systems Alliance sanctioned Research and Development branch, these space stations were derived from designs from Codename: ARGO, while the idea of orbital defence stations was hypothesised and theoretical designs were produced none were ever put into production until blueprints were pulled from ARGO and a prototype was produced over Earth.
Now Earth has the most ODPs of any planet under human control with most over the most populous cities and powered by a ground-based generator within each city. Alliance doctrine states that all Human colonies must have at least 3 functional ODPs operating at 100% efficiency.
AN:
Chapter 5 and just so everyone knows this chapter takes place at the same time as chapter 4 in case you didn't pick it up.
I think things are going to pick up the next chapter but it's still set up, I've now decided on how the first contact with the Citadel Council is going to happen as well as the changes that have happened within the galaxy because of humanities faster advancement.