Looking for mod ideas that I could add to the story.
Simple Chapter, nothing serious yet.
When we had our first contact with the Commonwealth, we thought we were being invaded due to the size of the fleet that they sent for exploration. To our relief, the Humans and Vissari weren't looking for a fight. Like us, they were exploring the galaxy after nearly 300 years of peace. What started off as one fleet encountering another turned into a mutual alliance and as the main gateway for Council-G-COM trade. When we officially joined the Galactic Commonwealth mere years after contact with G-Com and the Citadel, we prospered like no other age. We exchanged Eezo research, technology, and ideas for more efficient fusion reactors, and medical technologies.
There was also mutual respect for both sides and It wasn't hard to see why. Both the G-COM nations were primarily republican democracies, same as us. We were both explorers and warriors. Where the Council regarded G-COM as a threat to all of galactic civilization (well there's anyways), we saw them as innovators in technology and someone willing to stand up for the little people. Where the Asari and Salarians regarded our military as weak and pathetic, the UNSA saw a force that was unconventional by their standards and had room to grow into a force capable of rivaling some of their allies.
That is why we are proud to have made our first contact with a collection of species like them, and to be the first race to use Mass Effect technology to join the Galactic Commonwealth of Nations.
Excerpt from High Chief Bintari of the Raloi Alliance
Written after the Raloi Republic was formally accepted into the Galactic Commonwealth.
Shanxi, New Yangtze system
November 16th, 2965 (UNC)
VSS Comtumica
"All fleet assets and units, go or no" Admiral Vorpona said over the comms.
"(Comms) Science fleet is a go." Dr Vortunz reported.
"(Comms) UNSA fleet is a go." Admiral Limburn reported.
"(Comms) UNSA and VSS marine assets are good to go." General Williams reported.
"(Comms) VSS Naval fleet is a go." One of Vorpona's subordinates reported.
"(Comms) Support and construction ships are a go." a vice-admiral reported.
"(Comms) Army, SOCOM, Crusaders, and engineering teams are a go," Ross reported.
"(Comms) Escort ships reporting 100 percent effectiveness." someone reported.
"(Comms) Reinforcement and response fleets are on standby." one of the admirals who was staying behind reported.
"All ship and fleet assets are ready." one of the subordinates reported.
"Excellent." Vaarpona activated the comms and spoke
"All hands, this is Admiral Vorpona. Today marks a new age in the history of the Galactic Commonwealth. For too long we have stayed behind in the comforts of our defences and fleets. It is now time that we follow in the steps of our ancestors and explore the galaxy at large. It is time we stop pointing our guns at everything that moves and move to face the unknown face to face. May those above us watch over our journey as we set sail into the unknown."
(Note the best speech, I know. Could be better but I'm terrible at speech writing).
After several minutes, the ships were in position.
"Coordinates marked for Jump. Drives are ready." the navigator reported.
"Very well. All ships, on my mark. Jump!" Vorpona ordered.
In a flash, nearly a thousand vessels of the 4th expeditionary fleet disappeared, preparing to mark a new age in the Commonwealth's history.
System G-4958
360 lightyears away from Shanxi
In a desolate star system, on the outer edges of Citadel control space and far from where any known ships travelled, a massive flash of light appeared and the 4th Expeditionary fleet emerged in mere seconds.
"Report" Admiral Vorpona yelled.
"Systems Green, Shields holding, no damage to the hull, engines, weapons, fabricators, all green." Sharma reported. "All VSS ships have reported no damage or problems."
"Aurora reports that the UNSA fleet has no issues as well. Guess science fiction was wrong, nothing went bad on our first jump." one of the officers remarked.
"Alright, hold the beer until we get settled down. Have the science ships start surveying the system. This should take only a few hours. Have the carriers each deploy some Trident fighters to guard the science ships and to conduct patrols." Vorpona ordered.
After several minutes, over a hundred fighter craft and the 8 science ships were deployed and began to scan the system.
"Sir, isn't deploying strike craft overkill?" One of his subordinates asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. I rather not have a repeat of the Hictaro incident. I went something to guard those vessels and sending corvettes or destroyers may be overkill. Fighters are not," Vorpona replied.
Several hours later (and a cup of coffee later)
"Admiral, the science ships found something," Sharma reported.
"What is it?" Vorpona asked.
"The science ship Einstein found an unknown material. Somewhat volatile and radioactive but it is giving off extremely odd readings. They have the equipment and are requesting permission to extract it." Sharma reported.
"Granted. Make sure they follow standard procedures when handling these kinds of materials." Vorpona ordered. "Send me and the senior Crusaders the readings of this material while you're at it. I'll take a look at it during my break."
"Yes sir. Sending you the reports now."
"Anything else of note?" Vorpona asked.
"No sir. All ships have reported anything out of the ordinary, bearing this new resource. Science ships have part way into surveying this system." Sharma reported.
"Once the survey is complete, order the construction ships to begin building a wormhole gateway and a starbase. We'll setup a base here and prep to receive colonists." Vorpona ordered.
Sharma nodded and disappeared. This left Admiral Vorpona wondering about the new material they found.
2 weeks later
After a large amount of work, the starbase was completed. 2 shipyards and two missile attachments allowed the starbase to defend itself. Meanwhile, a few additional science ships arrived to analyze this new material. A meeting was held on the station to discuss what was happening.
"So, what have we discovered?" Field Marshal Ross asked.
"Well, should we talk about this new Material or our recon reports?" Doctor Vortunz asked.
"Start with this new material." Admiral Limburn ordered.
"This element, well it's amazing. It appears to be a by-product of either supernova or neutron stars. When we apply electrical current, it releases a bit of dark matter which AIs believe emits a sort of field. Within that field, we can use it to raise or lower an object's mass by using positive or negative electric currents. Our teams have already dubbed this material Element Zero, as it literally weighs nothing on an atomic level." Vortunz said excitedly.
"Interesting. How can this benefit us in any way?" Vorpona questioned.
"Well, not much at the moment. This material is surprisingly rare and can only be found near neutron stars. Compared to our dark matter and antimatter technology, we've already got what we need. However, if we can incorporate this into our kinetic weapons, we could theoretically fire a 400 ton metal slug at 70% the speed of light as if it were a 40 KG slug. Not only would this save on energy, it would allow for our weapons to cool down faster. This also goes to fighters and corvettes, we could improve their maneuverability by a factor of 8. However, our sciententist believes that we could duplicate the results by using darkmatter, thus eliminating the need for this material. Still, this element Zero has opened up dozens of new scientific opportunities. I request additional personnel to see what we can do with this." Vortunz explained.
"I'll assign two more science vessels to your project. See what else you can experiment with this element zero, and try to look for non-eezo alternatives as well. Call it a challenge. Now what's with the survey ships?" Vorpona asked.
"Our ships have finished surveying the dozen nearby systems. They've found something." Limburn said.
That was when a hologram of a large artificially structure with a debris field orbiting it.
"What is it?" one of the officers asked.
"Unknown at this time but we believe it is either some sort of transportation device or a weapons platform. We've discovered more of this element zero embedded into it, in this gyroscope device. I've ordered the Cypress and a small attachment of ships to head to this system to patrol it. Otherwise, I've ordered all ships to stay away." Limburn said.
"I'll have one of the new science ships take a look as well. Anything else?" Vorpona asked
"Some of these systems are rich in tungsten, palladium, titanium, and iron, with some element zero in the area as well. Our AIs believe that these minerals could fuel future operations if we set up adequate mining stations. I would recommend claiming these systems and establishing mining stations and defensive outposts as soon as possible." Limburn said.
"Authorized. I'll send some Battleships and their battlegroups to patrol these systems. Ross, continue on with the ground reports."
"Engineers have set up terraforming equipment on the planets in this system and are preparing to head to neighboring star systems to work on them as well. We're collecting the necessary materials and are ready to start anytime. We have spare science vessels doing deep space scans of the planets to ensure we haven't missed anything. So far, nothing out of the ordinary." Ross reports.
"Excellent, continue the good work people." Vorpona nods.
2 weeks later (time skip again)
With the starhold fully operational, construction ships began to work on several mining platforms to exploit the materials in the systems. More outposts were set up to both manage logistics and to defend the systems claimed by G-COM. Learning from earlier mistakes, all outposts had access to fusion missile launcher to ward off any attackers. The primary starbase was christened Phalanx station.
Another meeting was held, this time to discuss the unknown object sitting in one of the recently claimed systems.
"What do we know about this artificial object?" Vorpona asked.
"Less than we wish, more than we had in the past two weeks." Dr. Ameilia Vortunz admitted.
"Alright, I didn't expect much in two weeks. Tell me what you know right now." Vorpona requested.
The doctor pulled out a datapad. "One of our spare construction drones used a small mining laser to cut off a bit of the station. Upon further analysis, the object is at least a million years old. It's bigger than all of our cruisers and battleships, but smaller than our Titans." A hologram appears of the object and a VPD battleship is placed along side it.
Ross whistles in surprise. "Impressive, that's 16 kilometers long, 4 times bigger than the largest battleships we have."
"Yes they are. Further scans show that these objects, which we are calling turning forks for the time being, are made out of a material with similar strength and composition to the artificial Ether Drake armour the Federation uses and to UNSA Neutronium armour." the doctor adds.
"I see. What do these turning forks do?" Limburn asks.
"While it isn't conclusive, our best guess is that these turning forks are some sort of FTL device. We're coming to the systems again for any ruins that may point to what these things are but I believe that they act similar to a Railgun of somesort. Throwing ships or objects at FTL. We're still trying to figure out how it works but we think it has to do with the element zero we found."
"And how does this compare to our current FTL tech?" Ross asked.
"Admittedly, it's somewhat crude. While we theorize that this device and hurl objects at thousands of lightyears per day, it's still slow to the near instantaneous speed our wormhole gates can do." Vortunz said.
"Ok, and the overall status of the turning gate?" Vorpona asked.
"Well, remarkably good condition sir. Someone's been maintaining this thing for millions of years. There's hardly a scratch and we found an even more recent coating of armour on this thing, only 50,000 years old."
"Hmm, these objects were built during the peak of the Elder Alliance's nationstates. This begs the question, who's maintaining these things and where are they?" Ross asked.
"I'll get Arcturus station on the horn, see if we can get some Elder Alliance scientists here." Vorpona replied.
"Speaking of our allies, is there anything we should know about?" General Williams asked.
"So far, only the 5th Expedition fleet led by the Federation of Free Nations and the Sojagg Confederacy have encountered this element Zero. The other Expeditions haven't encountered anything but a few habitable planets and some mineral-rich fields. Colonization efforts are already underway." Vorpona replied.
"Then we're slacking behind. I request that we send a small fleet ahead, with one of the science ships." Ross advocated.
"Authorized, we're slacking a bit here. I'll have a science ship ready to deploy." Vorpona said.
After several more minutes of reports and updates, the group dispersed.
One week later
UNSV Orizaba,
Commodore Hannah Shepard was worried. Naturally, most people would be in her situation. Still, she was going to be leading a detachment of ships under her wing to a new system. It was only 30 lightyears away from Phalanx Station but still it was a bit unnerving.
She looked at her list of ships under her command, knowing that she had to care for all of them.
Heavy Cruiser:
UNSV Orizaba (Minya class heavy Cruiser)
Light Cruiser:
UNSV Kita (Alberta class light Cruiser)
UNSV Fuji (Alberta class light Cruiser)
Destroyers:
UNSV Alfred Albett (Prince of Wales class Missile Destroyer)
UNSV Harkuntz (Prince of Wales Class Missile Destroyer)
UNSV Ravanna (Cortez Class point defence destroyer)
Corvettes:
UNSV Hornet (Stinger Class Corvette (Torpedo Variant) )
UNSV Wasp (Stinger Class Corvette (Autocannon variant))
UNSV Husky (Stinger Class Corvette (Railgun Variant))
UNSV Mosquito (Scorpion Class Corvette (Plasma Variant))
UNSV Malamute (Scorpion Class Corvette (Plasma Variant))
UNSV Ucmak (Stinger Class Corvette (Energy siphon Variant))
Science Ship:
UNSV Tesla (Atomic class science vessel)
Over 7,000 lives now lie in my hands. No wonder the Admirals look stressed out most of the time, they have to look over a thousand warships almost at once. Hannah thought as the ship continued to be prepared to jump.
"Commodore, the task force is ready to jump." Her XO reported.
Hannah looked up and steeled herself. "Very well. On my command, order the fleet to jump."
"Yes ma'am." Hannah could sense the tension in the air. It was like this when the fleet first made their way out of known space.
"Jump in 3, 2, 1, Mark."
In a flash, the 13 ships of the task force disappears and in an instant, appears in a completely new system.
"Jump complete. All ships accounted for. We're right on the target." the navigation officer reports.
"Good job people. Sensors, get us some eyes." Hannah ordered.
"Already on it. Tachyon sensors online," the sensor begin to scan the system quickly.
"G-Class star, a few garden worlds. Commodore! Detecting artificial objects in orbit of one of the garden worlds! They appear to be vessels of an unknown kind. 2 cruiser class, 9 Destroyer class, and 12 Corvette class!" the sensor officer reported.
"First contact. Gaia! Enact first contact procedures. Shields raised everyone, no weapons yet! Prepare fighters to launch but don't deploy just yet" Hannah ordered.
First Contact? A good way to start off this day. Hannah thought
RRS (Raloi Republic Ship) Savunmak (Dreadnaught Class)
Yeni star system (System colonized by the Raloi)
It started out like any normal day for Admiral Hitharo of the Raloi navy. Wake up, have a quick meal, look over reports, issue orders, that sort of thing. Though the Raloi had a large military, they hadn't had much of a need for vessels larger than their current line of dreadnaughts.
Now, Admiral Hitharo of the Raloi 9th fleet was staring at one of the biggest ships he had ever seen and wishing they went with the project of building large ships.
"Contacts ahead! 3 dreadnought class, 3 cruiser class, 7 frigate class! All but one of the frigates show heavy weapons, and no Element Zero!"his sensor officer yelled.
"They're raising some sort of shield around their ships! None of their weapons are charged." another officer yelled. Panic was rising, no one had expected to run into aliens today.
"Calm down! Everyone, follow protocol. Power barriers and send a first contact package." Admiral Hitharo ordered.
Please be a peaceful race that just decides to travel in large warships. Hitharo thought. He outnumbered their fleet but the 3 dreadnaughts made any battle generally unpleasant.
"We're receiving something from the unknowns! Looks to be some sort of data package. It's got a video within." one of the comms operators reported.
Well, at least they are willing to talk and are kind enough to send a message. Hitharo mused. "Play it."
The video began to play. One screen showed images taken in the United Nations of Solar Nations while another showed life within the rest of the Commonwealth. IT began by showing them of planets full of green life, animals and birds soaring through the air or on the ground, tall mountains dotting the skylines, and even creatures in space (much to the shock of the crew).
"By the gods, this is beautiful." one of the ensigns mutter.
It then showed the beautiful cities of Earth, Viss(Homeworld of the Vissari), Ztrakphor-Ohdri (homeworld of the Zkrakpor), Lox-Ungrak Prime, Hadriggi's Bastion, Reach, Triecho, and hundreds of worlds belonging to several different nations. From the pastures of Balkgaz to the coastal cities of Earth.
"Holy gods, how many worlds have this species colonized?" one of bridge officers asked.
And then the video switches to a bunch of shots of several difference species. From ones looking like giant birds like the Raloi to lumbering rocks. All of whom were waving their hands and saying different versions of hello.
"Wait a second, this isn't a new species! It's a whole collection of them!" someone cried out.
It then shows off each one's military history. From the Vissari rangers when they were in their version to middle ages and napoleonic era soldiers fighting in their bright colourful uniforms, Triech pikes man standing defiant against barbarians, swords and rifle soldiers of the Lox-Ungrak Union, and several different national soldiers of the pre spacefaring United Nations. The last part was a message: We can fight, and we can make you bleed. The view switches to the modern day militaries of the Galactic Commonwealth, from the Battlecruisers of the Elder Alliance Navy, the Rangers of the Vissari Planetary Directorate, the combined paraded soldiers of the Federation, the still powerful maritime battle fleets of the United Nation's Seagoing fleets, and two shots of the Galactic Commonwealth's combined surface and space forces operating in concert. It sent one clear message, we don't want to fight, but we can bite bacl.
The videos end, and the Savunmak's bridge was left in silence.
Well gods, when we escorted the colonization fleet here, I wasn't expecting an entire galactic community to appear. Hitharo cleared his head. "Communications, send a message to Turvess. Inform them that we've made first contact."
Commonwealth Wiki: Starbases.
Space stations are not a new concept to spacefaring nations, both within the Citadel Council and the Galactic Commonwealth. What is foreign to the council however is using these stations as a way to mark claims to systems. Somehow, every current G-COM nation and several nations that are neutral or no longer exist used star-outposts to mark and claim star systems. However this is primarily due to the fact that during the Pre-Scourge war era, most nations didn't have access to quick to use FTL drives, thus heavily relying on sub-space travel for most operations. To this day, starbases provide a major cornerstone of G-COM defence and economic policy.
Every star system claimed by a Montoken nation has an outpost within the system. These are typically located a few million kilometers away from the system's primary celestial body (a sun or a black hole). Star-outposts are usually highly automated and operated by a small organic crew and some AIs. However these stations are more than capable of managing operations within a star system. For example, outposts send out automated drones to collect resources from a system's mining stations, bring them over to the outpost, process it, and store it for larger transportation to arrive and bring it to a nation's national reserve.
A star-outpost (which is around 800 meters tall and 350 meters wide) is usually crewed by 40-300 personnel, mostly to manage drone operations, sensors, weapons, and handling the transfer of resources to transport ships, along with a squad of marines for security purposes (size depends heavily on one what's in a star system. A system with a colony or a large number of mining stations will have more crew than a system with a single energy collection plant). A standard outpost has docking bays for transports, shuttles, resources storage areas (most refining processes take place onboard mining stations), repair facilities for civilian ships, basic sensor suites, and a small wing of automated defence drones. Outposts also have access to food replicators, light recreational facilities, and free access to the gal-net.
Most starbases also have access to a single missile turret and some point-defence cannons, with facilities that can be upgraded to also manage a swarm of defence stations. These are typically enough to ward off minor pirates or bandits from attacking. However if the situation deems it necessary, a nation can make minor upgrades to allow the outpost to manage and direct 8-12 combat defence stations. These stations, typically 200 meters in width, can be armed with a variety of weapons, including housing for manned aircraft, more missile turrets, Plasma weapons, lasers, and more (a standard UNSA defence platform uses either manned strike craft, kinetic weapons, and missiles, with the occasional energy siphon). Most systems have 4-6 defence platforms, used to help keep piracry down to a minimum.
However, star-outposts don't just serve as local defence station and system managers. They can be the building blocks for a new starbase. Star-outposts are modular in nature, meaning additional modules can be added on over time. Once these modules are added, this station is no longer considered an outpost but rather a full-on starbase. There are two major upgrades: an outpost, modules and buildings. Modules are typically added on from the exterior and includes:Shipyards (all of which are capable of building battleships and Carriers), Anchorages, Gun Batteries, Missile Batteries, Trade Hub, Solar Panel Networks, and hangar bays (which contain dozens of manned strike craft). Buildings are installed inside the the starbase itself and includes:Hydroponics bays, Communication Jammers, Resource silos, naval logistics centers, and many more.
Here are the main starbase levels
Star-outposts: considered the most basic station needed to expand a nation's border. Armed with a single missile turret and some point defence turrets. (800 meters tall and 350 meters wide).
Starport: simply an outpost with two modules and one building added on. Provides a boost in defensive abilities. (850 meters tall, 1.2 kilometers wide (4.5 kilometers wide if shipyards are installed).
Starhold: Core of the outpost is enlarged and expanded. As space traffic increases, larger and more defensible starbases are needed to maintain control over system spacelanes. Most systems have access to a small defence fleet. (900 meters tall, 6 kilometers wide).
Star Fortress: Either home to major military orbital weapons, shipyards, trade hubs, or hangar bays. These mighty space forts will provide a focal point for all military activity in a star system, and their presence is sure to deter all but the most stubborn attackers. WIll have access to a moderate fleet. (1.5 Kilometers tall, 15 kilometers wide).
Citadel: Plans for an immense battlestation capable of holding its own against several strike fleets are now being drawn up. If realized, these citadels will become monuments to greatness as much as system hubs. Most are bigger than any Citadel Council orbital artificial satellite with the exception the Citadel itself. Citadels are usually home to a numbered fleet. (3 kilometers tall, 32 kilometers wide)
Naming schemes for UNSA ships:
Science ships: named after scientists or important findings
Construction ships: Named after rivers and Artists
Corvettes: Typically assigned a nickname rather than a formal name. Usually named after war insects, animals, or asteroids
Destroyers: Named after military personnel or famous civilians
Cruisers: Named after cities, Provinces, or mountains.
Battleships: Named after Volcanos, adjectives, cities or battleships of old Earth
Battle Carriers: Named after Earth Carriers, Admirals, or clans/nationstates
Titans: Named after Cities, gods, or star systems.
Q/A
Guest: At the moment, no plans to add modded content but if you provide ideas and sources, i can take a look.
Guest: Thank you.
bigbossHayden98: FIxed it, should be T+ rating. I'll take your romance option under consideration.
Omega: Again, not plans to add modded content but mainly because I have no idea what add. Provide ideas and I'll look into it.
Coment9: Thank you.
Guest: attempt to not be a full on Council bashing episode.
Chronos0305:Yes, soon. Titan armies will be there when we get to beating up the Batarians.
Evilthelast: Thank you.