Expansion Edition

by Danen5

Its a game. Or is it? Turians get to welcome the denizens of a Stellaris based civilization that is hell bent on the extermination of all aliens, well except for some. Of course the Turians fired first, Galactic laws and all that bullshit. In return they are faced with an enemy that doesn't play fair. Warning: HFY. Read at your own peril AU Fic. Edit: On indefinite Hiatus

5. Chapter 4: Battle of Xaxrix Pt2

AN: Its been a while…

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Stellaris and Mass Effect and any contents that are mentioned that were found in the games in the first place. OCs and other events are either mine or inspired and credit where it's due.

I've discovered something really weird recently, at least for me that is, when I watch youtube videos I hear people pronounce Stellaris as Ste-laar-ris. Whereas I got it in my head to say Ste-la-ris, sort of faster and clipped rather than elongating la with laar. You get me?

Anyways on with the story!

Also this story has reached another milestone of sorts with over 10k views, 100+ Favs and Follows, I'd like to thank those who did the latter two and for any who have viewed or read the story this far. I salute thee in the name of further readings…

PS: Feel free to review or PM, all sorts are invited though keep the flames at a constructive level, ciao

With Gratitude,
Danen5

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Xaxrix System
2183

51st Fleet/Holy Breach
Bridge of the Flagship
Breach

Admiral Vandersen watched intently as the enemy xenos began their move. It wasn't as aggressive as he'd expected but not overly defensive either. His eyes flickered over the data flooding in as more and more of the larger, cruiser analogues went about their formation and then it clicked. He grinned and began issuing orders to the bridge and overall, to his fleet.

"Deploy destroyer packs to flanks above and below make sure they're ready for fire intercept if need be, and target those cruisers with the Javelins and Torpedo cruisers." He ordered. Then adding, "And somebody get me Captains Hill and Morand on the line. Its about time their ships get here."

"Sir, Captain Hill is online." Com Officer Uriel reported after a moment, however he frowned as he said, "Captain Morand seems to be off grid sir."

"Captain Hill, where is Captain Morand?" Harald Vandersen asked the holographic visage of the officer as he looked in confusion at his superior officer before replying in a crisp but heavily accented basic.

"Am zowry, Kapzn. Bot hoiv not zzeen Kapzn Morad." The Admiral blinked once before understanding what was said.

"Great. The next part of my plan won't work without him and his ship here." Harald muttered to himself before he dismissed the Captain, 'Bloody Cadonians and their stupid accents' he thought. "Maintain current position, Captain. Await further orders until needed." The line disconnected and he turns to look at his XO with a grimace as he contemplated his next words before sighing dejectedly, 'Its decided…I cannot have incompetence endanger the lives of my fleet, I just hope he's got a good lawyer or thick hide.'. "Find Captain Morand and make sure to add his name to the list."

FO Merallus simply nodded but inside he cringed, the list, as not so eloquently put was the death note so to speak wherein the names of the officers are put in and when submitted, they are either court martialed and sentenced to prison or disappear never to be seen again. Meanwhile the Admiral turned his attention back to the battle happening outside…viewing it safely from the bridge of his ship as the Tactical display showed numerous engagements across the space they occupied as their battlefield.

With AI assistance the survivability of his ships as well as weapons management and systems repairs and predicting algorithms of enemy attack patterns were analyzed in precious nano seconds before being projected into his NeLI implant in order for him to determine a course of action. For now, he saw what the enemy were trying to do, and it pleased him that they were leaving their most ships vulnerable to his next attack. Even if the enemy were to somehow escape the nukes from the Javelins or the Neutron implosions of the Torpedo cruisers, they sure weren't going to outrun the mass salvo of whirlwind missiles. If the projections are correct then it will surely catch the buggers off guard.

"Admiral, Javelin and Torpedo cruisers are at max range. Awaiting orders for mass salvo." The tactical officer announced.

"Granted."

Within seconds hundreds if not thousands of whirling and twirling missiles stormed their way out of their turrets and barreling through the void at relativistic speeds. Each missile was programmed to follow a twirling circular formation that allows for increased dodging of enemy point defense fire but this also means the missiles are a tad little inaccurate but who cares as long as the lot of them crash and burn the enemy ship!

Seconds after that the enemy cruisers opened fire, and the Admiral's eyes flew open when the first hundred round bore right through his corvettes' shields, granted they're not that powerful but for them to be fully destroyed in the first volley was humiliating for any Covenant naval commander.

"Move the bloody corvettes!" He barked at his crew who issued his orders through the NeLI.

Evasive maneuvers saved his corvettes any further damage but his slower cruisers suffered heavy shield and hull damages from the enemy's spinal shots. The bigger ships were a problem he had to deal with as soon as possible. Their weapons may not be that great but they pack a mean punch, the data coming in after being studied carefully by the AI shows that the enemy's spinal mass accelerator had a much more concentrated firepower equal to one of their lower yield nukes but combined with several handful of other similar rounds and it'd be like a Neutron going boom in the middle of a fracking city! Not a good sign.

"Initiate Maneuver 9, have the cruisers form a shield around us. Move the Destroyers with corvette escorts to these sectors here and here." He manipulated the tac display to specify his orders and was immediately met with a dozen 'yes sirs'. "Have our fighter and bomber squadrons harass the enemy corvettes behind their lines, target any stragglers or wounded ships, give these xenos no quarters for the lives they've took."

"Aye, Admiral." The TAC officer affirmed as he sent out the orders. Several pings and a chime echoed across his terminal, "Orders received and acknowledged by all fighter and bomber squadrons, missions are a go."

"Good. Now…" Harald scrutinized the enemy position with enlightenment, cautious of their cruisers and the firepower they were able to bring to bear on his cruisers and corvettes but so far the destroyers were staying out of their fire range what with their constant harassment of the xeno flanks, the enemy commander surprised him there for a moment but he'll be ready with his next trick. In fact it may be the time for it. "Maverick."

"Yes, Admiral." A synthetic and emotionless voice answered the call.

"Run Program 66, level EXTREME." He smiled, one of his more eviler grins and the FO wished he was somewhere else right that moment but could not help but be infected as a similar gnarly grin took hold of his face.

"Affirmative."

The bridge crew fell silent, except for the sounds coming from the terminals and speakers and the tac display, as well as the humming of walls as the engine sang when dodging enemy fire or rumbling when the shield flared to life. One could hear a pin drop in that room full of shocked faces looking up at the Admiral. Then one by one their faces contorted to an unhealthy evil smirk as the affirmative was given. The xenos won't know what hit them, the unholy AI attack would devastate them…despite the banishment of AI research, the Holy One saw fit to reinstitute the study and deployment of AIs as part of the military organization. No one questioned the Holy Ones motives but the Priesthood that answered their god's request were a tad bit unnerved that He'd motioned for the AIs creation even after the last two rebellions they had faced from said synthetic lifeforms. Said rebellions lasted for a few weeks thanks to the Holy Ones timely intervention further cementing the Priesthood's power within society, but wholesale acceptance of the synthetics was at an all time low despite their usefulness. Now however the military saw the use of AIs as a necessary risk even if they clash head on with the Priesthood…after all who could deny the Holy's most hallowed decisions.

=0=

Lance-Captain Dimitrevitch "Sweeper" Karkov
Black Wings Squadron Leader

If someone told him he'd be fighting for a cause greater than keeping insurrectionists in line, Dimitrevitch would have asked when and where and if the pay was good, but now he's not too sure whether or not he'd have retracted that statement. Ever since the new aliens were discovered he and his squadron had been drilling non-stop with new tactics and relearning old ones, his old flight commander had been tasked with organizing a new Wing Command and that included Sweeper's new squadron, the Black Wings which he had been given command of. All seven, including himself, are veteran pilots with one of the lowest death rates in any Wing Command. Having served for the last fifty years straight without a single loss, they are accredited with over 1000 kills of both pirates and insurrectionists.

Sweeper sighed silently as the chatter came in on his com. The static was messing with his HUD but with the NeLI system he was able to clear it out.

"All pilots be advised, enemy corvettes are withdrawing from the field, pursue, cripple and destroy. Don't give them time to regroup, acknowledge orders." The voice was no one he knew but the authoritative tone was enough for him to obey…atleast while he's stuck in his cockpit.

"Yellow Wing here, we're low on fuel and ammo, RTB for R&R. We'll be back to finish the job ASAP."

"Union Wing, we lost half our squadron back there RTB for repairs. Will return to the field ASAP."

"Thonatu Wing, we're bright and ready for action, just point the way and we're there!"

"Kyros Wing, weapons hot and ready to kick some xeno ass!"

"Black Wing squadron acknowledging orders, they won't get far." Sweeper grinned as he adjusted the controls of his starfighter and engaged the afterburners. The Mk. 3 Starfighter is a top of the line fighting vessel capable of atmospheric and voidborne combat able to withstand heavy fire and durable enough to survive a nuclear blast, a direct hit would prove fatal though. It had been field tested extensively by the navy for its pilots and so far the only major flaw it had was fuel consumption.

It burned through fuel like a wildfire consuming it in a single forward thrust, then it was discovered that this caused a side effect that melts the armor plating at the rear of the fighter. The R&D tech experts went to work to negate this massive setback, of course a new design could have been made but the Starfighter was too good a fighting vessel to pass up so they worked diligently to find a solution.

Currently the latest design called for more efficient ways to burn fuel allowing for less consumption, however, that still presents a problem with current chemical and non-chemical formulas that were either too ludicrous or too theoretical to put into practice. So in the fine tradition of many custom jobs done by the naval mechanics and pilots, they slapped on extra fuel tanks on the bottom hull of their fighters. Risky but it allowed for more flight times and in one pilots opinion….a really great firework show.

Sweeper commed in to his squadron's NeLI network and issued commands for his wingmen to form on him. Their formation flew across the void avoiding projectiles, missiles and enemy fighters. The dogfight had largely been a one sided affair due the energy shields providing protection for the Starfighter, but even then that could only go so far and the enemy's weapons were rather effective at knife fighting range, especially their knockoff neutron torpedoes. Those things packed an impressive punch and as with anything to do with dark matter it would implode an object not explode.

"Enemy fighter squadron forming on us. Thonatu, provide support for our bombers." Sweeper sent the order and the Thonatu Wing leader complied, if not due to rank then experience. "Kyros Wing keep those fighters from our flanks, Black Wing will engage corvettes, let's get them boys and girls!"

A cheer erupted over the coms as the fighters and bombers went to work.

Enemy corvettes were tricky buggers, nimble and ridiculously fast, the bombers had a hard time getting through their defenses but their shields held up long enough for them to deliver their payloads and up went fifteen Turian corvettes in wondrous spectacles of brightly colored lights.

"Ah dammit! I got fighters on my si—" Black 6, a modified StarFighter/Bomber, went silent as his ship was blown to smithereens by Turian fighters, strange design but really hard to catch when they are zooming around the place. Not enough to escape Starfighter autoguns and laser cannons, Sweeper growled and swore as another of his wingmen died. The enemy had gotten smart and had concentrated their corvette PDF sphere and obliterating his squadron and the others, their fighters coming in and picking apart his formation.

"Thonatu leader is down! We're bugging out!" Thonatu 4 screamed into her com as she weaved around enemy projectiles, Sweeper watching her six trying to lock onto the bogey behind her but was too late as her fighter imploded from a direct hit by enemy neutron torpedo. He locked on at last and blasted the Turian out of the sky but didn't feel any better at having lost another comrade, this was war was beginning to heat up and things weren't going quite as planned, he sincerely hoped that this attack was worth the lives it took.

"All Wings disengage! RTB now!" Sweeper bellowed as he turned his fighter around just as the enemy began closing in on him. 'This is going to be a looong day.'

=(0)=

4 hours later…

Xaxrix System

Turian Dreadnought: Great Myrmidon

Bridge

Admiral Korianus watched in triumphant glee, his mandibles tightening with firm belief in his ships' abilities to bring the enemy pain, as the alien fleet lost several of their frigates and the number of dreadnoughts they fielded were either crippled or heavily damaged but still operational if unable to move. His eyes focused on the enemy's single super dreadnought at the back of their fleet, unmoving and unnerving as it was it seemed to only sit there doing nothing but he knew that with any fleet a flagship must always be present to maintain a constant stream of orders to maintain fleet cohesion.

"Admiral, enemy missiles are on approach, our targeting systems are locked on but there seems to be interference coming from the missiles themselves…7 minutes until impact." His TAC officer reported, eyes never leaving the holographic projection in front of his terminal.

"Admiral we're getting reports of enemy fighters and bombers on our rear and flanks, their targeting our inoperable ships!" Someone screamed out as the tactical projector displayed several small triangles moving in on larger ones marked friendly by their IFF tags.

"Get our reserve frigates to intercept and have our fighter contingent meet these dishonorable scum!" Admiral Korianus barked out his orders which were instantly followed to the letter. The display showed his fleets fighters intercept the enemy but were too late to save fifteen of the more heavily damaged frigates…more lives lost in this fight to hold the system. He didn't know what else to do but await further orders from Palaven High Command but if failing that he didn't want to risk losing his entire fleet against what is clearly a superior force, however reluctantly he admitted that fact.

His Turian pride and his concern for his men battering against the stoic mask he'd put up at the beginning of this battle. He also needed to inform the Council and Palaven of the enemy's incursion into Turian space, he could not see a victory aside from a pyrrhic one, to use a human term.

"Admiral sir! Something's wrong!" His tech officer yelled as he frantically typed into the holo projected keyboard and then moved onto his wrist mounted omnitool. "Our computer systems are being attacked by an outside source! Our Vis are unable to cope with the amount of data junk being dumped into the system…sir! Other ships in the fleet are reporting similar cyber attacks."

It only took a moment to realize that the enemy had resorted to cyberwarfare but to do so with such efficiency, the Admiral could only gape at the horror of facing the truth…the aliens were using AIs. How did he know it was an AI? Well it may have been the fact that the aforementioned AI had made itself known when it appeared as a holoprojection on the tactical display.

The thing had taken on a human form as it stared around it for a moment before speaking in perfect Turian, "Greetings xenos, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience but I've orders to scuttle your fleet…no hard feelings."

Layek Korianus, Admiral of the Turian fleet watched in despair as the AI entity took control of his ship's electronic systems and began a systematic purge of the ship's life support systems. He choked as the air around him began to fade replaced with nothing, he glared with all his rage directed at the holo image of the AI which had the gall to grin at them all before flickering out.

'I will not die here…I can't let them win…I ha-ha-have to save…save….' Layek knew his consciousness was slipping away but he fought on as his vision began to darken. He caught glimpses of his tech officer at his terminal working furiously on his omnitool and just before the Admiral lost his sight he gasped in a deep breath looking gratefully towards the brave Turian who'd saved his life and those on this ship.

"What is your name, son?" Layek asked the young officer who took in deep breaths as he looked around him.

"Hylak Fedonus, Admiral." He supplied with a small birdlike smile, as far as the human equivalent is concerned.

"You saved a lot of good Turians today, Hylak."

"Thank you sir but we still have to take back the ship's systems from the AI. I've managed to isolate it but its fighting back and its winning. Sir, I suggest we retreat…I know its not Turian but we're outpowered in terms of technology and with an AI on their side we're going to lose more lives and ships if we continue this fight."

There was logic in the officer's statement but even then the system was a strategic defense point that Palaven was not willing to let fall into the enemy's hands that easily. His decision would prove to be a wise one to this day.

"Order the fleet to fall back to the Relay. We're getting out of this system!" He ordered as he got back off his feet, not having remembered when he'd fallen on the floor since he'd been too focused on breathing or atleast trying to. The battle had claimed more lives than he wanted to risk and not to mention the ships, his entire fleet moved away from the battlefield and micro jumped to a set rendezvous point that he'd set up prior to the battle. "Give me a sitrep!"

"We lost nearly three quarters of our frigates, a third of our cruisers and more than half of our dreradnoughts…Admiral." His second in command reported the grim news, there was a palpable silence on the bridge of his ship, the damage from the AI was not too significant hardware-wise but his tech officer was having a hard time recalibrating and repairing key software and electronic systems that run the ship. "We've reports that most of our personnel that managed to jettison their lifepods were…shot down."

"Thousands…we lost thousands…" Someone kept muttering those words to themselves as Leyak looked around his bridge crew, crestfallen and wishing he didn't have to leave anyone else to die…but the fleet must be saved for further conflict with these unknowns and now that its been revealed they were using AIs, the situation was becoming more grim and dangerous. Whoever these aliens were they needed to be beaten…if takes a bloody war to do this…to protect all of Citadel space then Leyak knew that all bets were off. The Council was bound to act now that the enemy have proven unwilling to talk and were hell bent on destruction.

"Sir, Palaven Command has sent in a transmission…" Admiral Korianus' thoughts were interrupted by an ensign who saluted him and returned to his station.

"Get the fleet through the relay and then take a full account of the fleet. I want to know more than just summaries of our…situation." The Admiral turned around after giving his final orders as he left the bridge/CIC and made his way to the QEC room, 'What in Spirits' name happened back there?' was his thoughts as the elevator doors opened and he entered it.

=(0)=

Meanwhile…

Unknown Location
TNS Battleship: Scion of the Apocalypse

5th Psi Com
Major Nathan Vandersen (3rd POV)

Waking up with a splitting headache was not something he expected to face come early morning before PT but nonetheless he was having a bad start of the day. Hand grabbing his throbbing head he opened his eyes with a snap as he felt the warm blood trickle down between his fingers. 'Odd…how'd that happen?' he wondered as his sight gradually returned to him followed by his hearing. What greeted him was a hellstorm of activity in the barracks where he was bunking in on the battleship…what was its name again…oh yeah the Apocalypse, kind of a gloomy name but then again the military did have a dark outlook on things at best.

After the ringing in his ears stopped he saw a couple of guys in his unit hastily getting into their gear as he moved to do the same, he was a bit wobbly on his feet for the moment so he used the bunk beds to steady himself. Glancing to one of the men he could pick up the distant blaring of the alarms and the red emergency lights bathing the room in their dull colors. One of the men tried to get his attention and succeeded but the words he was saying sounded far off and echoed in his head.

"I can't hear you…" Nathan spoke, his voice was throaty and weak, its as if he hadn't drank anything in a week. He tried again getting a clear message across and the man nodded. When his hearing finally adjusted to his surroundings the alarms caused him to curse as it took him by surprise.

"Sir! You need to get geared up." The same man spoke again, this time his voice near and clear. Nathan nodded and made his way to his designated locker, opening and grabbing his gear he fumbled a bit with the harnesses to his combat chestplate and greaves before adding the shoulder pauldrons and combat issue boots along with the shin guards and then clipped on the power cores to his weapon in their pouches along his abdominal guard and belt. He picked up a sidearm and attached that to the maglock on his right thigh then leaned in and picked up the standard but heavily customized Light Rifle.

"All personnel report to your stations! This is NOT a drill! I repeat this is NOT a drill! All hands prepare for boarding action!" The PA system crackled to life spouting the words out in loud static ridden sentence before cutting off again.

"What happened?" Nathan asked the two Psi Commandos as he applied the Sealant Gel on the small crack in his skull where the blood was slowly flowing down the side of his face. They looked at one another and the same one that had talked to him before answered him.

"We don't know, sir. One moment, Kel and I here were facing off in an arm wrestling competition when suddenly shit went downhill." The man identified as Kel nodded, Nathan noticed the odd choice in visor gear as it was unusually reflective but other than that he was a normal Psi Grunt. The man he was talking to looked like any other average Psi Grunt but the customized color scheme of his pauldrons (a bright neon red) made him stand out…a sniper would agree with him on that.

"No sniper can get me that easily, sir." The man boasted but looked sheepish enough for having read the Major's mind…not intentionally of course but Nathan bristled visibly enough for him to pick up on that mistake. "Sorry sir it won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't but it just goes to show I've got to be mindful of what I broadcast on the subconscious, don't I?" Nathan gave a slight smile as he said this, he projected a calming Psi field towards the Grunt who gave him a grateful nod. "By the way, you said your buddy's name is Kel, what about you?"

"Oh right Corporal Gory Henson. I'm in your unit, Tank Squad." The corporal saluted lazily.

"I'm Corporal Kel Droma." The other man saluted as he greeted the Major. Nathan didn't know what to think of his two squad mates, on the one hand they seemed professional enough but on the other they were near borderline disrespectful of the Military Codes when in the presence of a superior officer. Their attitude may have something to do with the current emergency though.

"What can you tell about what's going on?" Nathan asked as he mechanically put on his gear. Pulling out his weapons, a gauss assault rifle with a LDEW sidearm and a bandolier with six grenades attached to it.

"EMP burst from an unknown muscolloid ship," a new voice answered the Major as he turned to see that a woman, nearing her prime, made her presence known. She saluted at him and he returned the gesture. "Sergeant Rainer Yamda, XO of Tank Squad. Though I have to wonder why they thought a newbie would be a good idea to lead this squad."

"Excuse me?" Nathan bristled with annoyance, he didn't know who exactly this woman thought she was but he was no newbie. "I'll have yo—"

"Less talk, Major, there's a situational crisis going here." She pointed out rather smugly too which annoyed him all the more as he glared at her rather insubordinate behavior yet powerless at the moment to do anything about it. Both Kel and Gory glanced nervously at each other before silently and stealthily moving away.

Nathan looked for options on how to deal with his apparent XO at a later date but nodded affirmation, conceding to her point for now. They finished settling in their gear before heading out of the barracks alongside other squads, Nathan couldn't help but notice that he was short three more members of his own squad. He sent a mental query to Sgt. Yamda who seemed annoyed at having the mental link established.

"Sergeant, where are the rest of my squad?" He put an emphasis on his for good measure and sure enough he saw her visibly shudder, he got the feeling that she wasn't too keen on having been passed over for command but decided not to antagonize her too much, for the moment.

"The others were in the mess hall when shit hit the fan. They're probably decked out in temporary gear as of right now." She informed him and abruptly cut off the link before running further away from him. Nathan could only shake his head as he watched her put distance between them. He didn't know why the woman was so intent of disobeying as much of his orders and effectively proving difficult to deal with.

"She'll come around eventually." Nathan only nodded as Gory ran beside him. He doubted she would but if he wants this squad to be cohesive then he needed to get on the sergeant's good graces.

A few minutes later Nathan and his squad along with two others were split off by a grim looking Colonel, he directed his squad and the other two towards the landing bays on the port side of the deck they were on, which for the life of him he couldn't remember which one he was on. He was a grunt Holy One damn it! Not a jock!

"All personnel be advised! Enemy boarding parties have breached the hulls, designated areas of the breaches have been determined, your mission is to repel boarders and buy us time for the reactors to come back online!" The PA system came to life and just as fast it spouted out the orders, it stopped.

Major Nathan Vandersen, of the 5th Psi Commando Unit, waited in anticipation as the unknown enemies begun their breach into the landing bay airlocks. He and the other squad leaders had set their heavy gunners to pointing weapons at the doors. However, his psionics had instilled in him the precaution needed to ascertain weakness in the walls around the airlocks and found likely points of possible breaches which proved correct. Having set their gunners on all three breach points the wait soon ended when the simultaneous explosions came with heavily concentrated hail of bullets that hit and then breached the shielding of the gunners manning the heavy guns.

The reserve gunners took their fallen comrades' positions and returned fire almost immediately and spraying the inside of the holes with plasma and laser bolts followed by thrown fragmentation grenades from their supports. The intense firefight that followed as three hulking metal figures with digigrade reverse legs and a unique head framing a single circle of white light brandishing and firing large pulsating pseudo plasma bolts at the soldiers who ducked behind cover.

Nathan let loose a torrent of gauss rounds at one of the three giant synthetics and caused its shield to flicker until it gave out under the sheer firepower behind the shots, the gunners soon tore it to shreds and it was followed soon after by the others. Several more, smaller versions, came out of the breaches firing away at the squads which began to drastically become overwhelmed when the enemy came flooding out and deployed drones. Nathan and his squad barely made it out of the landing bay with four members of the other two squads. They had superior tech and weapons but the enemy's numbers had been too much for all three squad to effectively thin down when their gunners were targeted specifically and then their supports. Nathan's squad had lost Corporal Gory and the other three along with Sergeant Yamda whom Nathan had looked forward to getting to know more about, even if he didn't like her or vice versa. "Look out!" The warning came too late as they burst around the corner only to be met with a group of similar giant synthetics decked out in black colors and wielding larger versions of the pulse plasma bolters the smaller versions carried. Nathan rolled into cover as three bolts struck the empty space he'd left. Corporal Kel shouted out, "Grenade!" as he lobbed one of the circular EMP grenades at the enemy.

The effect was immediate and pleasing as the synthetics all shook and their circuits became fried as the stress of being shocked by billions of volts of EMP induced lightning overcame their chassis and innards. Nathan walked up to one and picked up the pulse plasma bolter, looking it over he scoffed at the design as being too primitive but he couldn't deny its effectiveness against their shields. On the other hand he couldn't help but ponder the synthetics' own shielding systems as being similar to that of the enemy ships the ship they were on was supposed to fight alongside the 51st Fleet.

Perhaps it was a coincidence but he wasn't dumb enough to believe that. "Everyone move out," he said as he put down the weapon and gripped his own more tightly. "The other squads may have had difficulty in dealing with them similar to us so expect them around each corner. Confirm?"

A round of yeses later he and the men under his command, those of his own and the remainders of the other squads, made their way around the deck encountering small outbreaks of retreating firefights against the synthetics, he rallied what soldiers he found and with his psionic abilities were able to overcome small groups of enemy combatants. They managed to retake the deck after going room to room clearing out the boarders, until the PA crackled to life and a frantic voice screamed into it.

"They're in the bridge! Somebody get a bead on that! All available personnel make your way to the bridge! We can't let these flash heads to get vital intel!" An explosion interrupted the man before screams could be heard. "All hands we're scuttling the ship! Engineering has been overrun and the AI Core is being compromised! Abandon ship if you can but stay on fight if you want! For the Holy One!" The man on the PA didn't bother to cut the line as his battle cry echoed through the hallways as Nathan and those who have followed him made their way back to the landing bays.

"Everyone get into the transports!" Nathan shouted, out of the 450 soldiers stationed on this deck alone, only about 37 of that number was left alive. He hoped that the others and the crew are able to make it to any ships in time as the PA announced 5 minutes until self destruct.

Suddenly he was launched off his feet and into the air as the transport he was standing next to exploded into a fireball of heat and shrapnel riddling him with bits of said shrapnel and his left arm severed at the elbow. His face felt like melting off and he couldn't see out of his left eye. He cried out in agony as he tried to move but coughed up blood instead. His vision was filled with a bright light as he gazed up into the single circle of light looking down at him. He gurgled on his blood as he cursed and spat at the synthetic only for his vision to be filled with fire and then abruptly darkness.

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This is short and frankly not my best work since I'm sort of balancing cases and fanfiction at the moment but rest assured that I will continue this at the earliest time possible with a very big twist that will no doubt affect the story in its entirety starting with me including the new Stellaris Cherryh 2.0.1 update and its features.

Update time will vary depending on the situation that I find myself in, or when the time allows me to write more thoroughly if somewhat hastily.

Thank you all for reading and until next time.