Chapter 3: Unknown Knowledge
Author's Note: The reviews raised some good questions:
X-Com Ships Shielding: I certainly don't recall any X-Com ships (in Enemy Unknown) having external shielding from the game, and if they do, I fail to see how the interceptors we start out with could possibly shoot down any such craft. We don't really get to see much of the air combat and a quick look on the wiki doesn't turn up any evidence of shields beyond heavy armor. If I'm wrong, feel free to point me to a source and I'll correct.
On the topic of the power of GARDIAN lasers, we see them used downside on Horizon to drive off and damage the Collector ship, even through the atmosphere, so they clearly can harm larger vessels. Also, as previously mentioned, the Hatak has sacrificed spinal mount weaponry for an expanded GARDIAN array. I believe that all the ships destroyed by laser fire have it coming from the Hatak, not the lighter frigates. There's a reference in the Codex to how at knife fight range GARDIAN lasers become viable weapons, though that's against frigates and fighters. Still, given the relative size of the Normandy and the smaller Ethereal ships, (shown when they land and in crew complement) I believe it's not unreasonable for a weapon that would be a threat to the Normandy to be a threat to those craft. Finally, I just checked and even the man-portable explosives (though the save I had on hand was late game) can punch through the armor of landed craft, so I think I'm on fairly solid ground to say that the GARDIAN lasers can do so.
I don't think there is a great answer on the question of X-Com plasma weapons vs. Mass Effect shields (the three plasma labelled weapons we see have very different effects and they rely on element zero to up their mass) I've seen both sides argued with far greater scientific knowledge than I possess, so I'm handwaving this and saying in this universe, this is the effect they have. Laser weapons still punch right through Mass Effect shields, fortunately the aliens don't use them much.
More generally there were concerns about the relative power of the Ethereal tech vs. Mass Effect tech. A large number of Mass Effect-XCOM crossovers have Ethereal tech be universally better than Mass Effect tech. Obviously this is a question there's not a good answer to, as there is no canon crossover. I've addressed most of the points above, but there's three additional ones I want to make.
First, all the Ethereal ships use plasma based weaponry, except the battleship (and the Temple ship), which used fusion weaponry (I reference plasma weaponry in the last chapter because I assume a battleship has both and would use plasma, rather than waste the power for fusion weapon use on a civilian population center where there's nothing that can possibly stand up to a single blast). Fusion weaponry will not have the weaknesses plasma weaponry does against mass effect shielding.
Second, the only ship-to-ship engagement we've seen (so far) involves an ambush, where one party doesn't even know of the existence of the other. If the Ethereals had known of the existence of the Quarians and even the basics of their capabilities, they wouldn't have remained in a static formation. More generally, the Ethereals here are off balance and don't know the capabilities of their enemy. They're in the same position X-Com was at the very beginning, but the Quarians aren't trying to advance Ethereal understanding/evolution and so they aren't starting with scouts and a few abductions, it's more like if your first mission involved facing down Ethereals and Muton Elites.
Third, more generally, I should warn you up front, this will not be a story where Humanity (and Quarianity) claim the Ethereal's technology, go forth into the galaxy and slap around the rest of the galaxy with their superior technology. There's a lot of stories like that and I enjoy most of them (especially those dealing with the Batarians), but it's not this story. I'm happy to defend my reasoning at greater length (though this has already been pretty long) if folks wish, but any more here is likely to look like an attack on those stories, which I don't want, as I quite enjoy them. Feel free to PM me if you wish to continue the discussion.
Finally, there was a comment suggesting there were too many Codex entries. I understand that and I believe I've written them all so they aren't necessary to understand what's going on, but are there if you want a bit of backstory.
Thanks for the reviews and comments.
"How many?" Niva asked, staring out over the vast city of Dhaka.
Twenty-six of the smaller ships, five larger transports," one of her officers reported, hands steady, though his voice shook. She knew his name, knew all their names, knew all their families, but in this moment, it was easier to think of them as merely her officers.
"Both wolf-packs are fully engaged, one over Lagos and one over New York. They're holding their own. This is clearly the main thrust," Officer Bradford said over the comm.
"Fall back and regroup with Flotilla One," the Commander's light voice said.
"And abandon the city? The Chryssalids on those ships will turn the populace and rampage across the continent like Krogan!" another of her officers put in, voice sharp.
"No they won't. I'm in communications with the HMS Vigilant."
"What is one Human ship going to do?"
"It will launch its payload of nuclear missiles at the city, at my command."
"There are as many people in this city as in the entire Migrant Fleet!" the officer shouted.
"Enough," Niva cut in.
"Commodore?" the Commander had caught something in her voice.
"I do not work for you Commander. All marines to drop positions, all nonessential hands to life boats. Weapons free. Evacuate the area beneath the battle. Let us show these vermin how true spacers fight."
Quarians rained from the sky, brief discharges of the Eezo that powered the marines' shields slowing their fall, but burning out the suits' cores. Lifeboats scattered, mostly evading fire from the surrounding ships, though they were undoubtedly tagged for attack and capture when they were on the ground. The cruiser's enhanced GARDIAN systems burnt scout-ships from the sky, firing so quickly that the weapons began to melt. They'd never been meant to fire continuously, especially not in atmosphere.
"Focus fire on the transports," Niva snapped as she saw the larger ships were still racing for the mostly undefended city below.
"Air support doesn't have a chance against that many X-Ray ships and I can't move any troops to you with those ships in the sky," the Commander put in. "You must withdraw. You will die to no effect."
Niva just laughed as she watched the crew she'd chosen and trained chase civilians away and flee from beneath the shadows of battle. Her ship shook beneath her as it spun, its broadside cannon shattered one transport with half a dozen sequential shots.
The others closed, dropping so they could come up from beneath the cruiser. Niva didn't dare fire the mass effect cannon down. If fired level, or up, the shot had enough momentum to escape the atmosphere rather than impact the surface and vaporize a half-mile diameter sphere of the planet. If fired down, she would destroy everything she sought to protect.
The Hatak dropped, catching itself with its Eezo core and thrusters, spinning to bring its guns to bear, downing a second transport. Plasma fire sparkled off the Hatak's expanded shields, temperature of the hull rising slowly, as the plasma fire had to superheat the air between expanded shield and hull.
Scout ships raced forward, as the Hatak tried to retreat, but they were far faster in atmosphere than the cruiser. They slid through the expanded shielding at a speed which would not trigger it and fired only on the weapon mounts, not the engines, or the main body of the cruiser. Still-functional GARDIAN turrets melted or collapsed, mass effect cannon were fused shut, or melted under the fire as the enemy ships raced closer.
"They're trying to capture your ship. We can't let them take it!" the Commander snapped, a little emotion in his voice for the first time in Niva's experience. She ignored him, issuing brief commands, to her console and remaining officers, making the ship dance to try to avoid fire and bring functional weapon systems to bear on the enemy (and lead them back to the spot that was the center of the evacuation zone she'd declared). Those weapons were destroyed in turn, though more slowly as she collapsed the shields inwards to catch the next barrage of plasma fire, forcing the invaders to approach ever more closely.
The air inside the shields was so hot it was beginning to melt through the cruiser's armor. Niva didn't look at the locators for her crew. Not yet. She couldn't affect their evacuation and it would not, alas, affect her actions. She wished she could have pulled the enemy from the city, but two of those transports had already vacillated from pursuing her to seeking to land when she'd pulled back once. Even a single transport full of Chryssalids would do unimaginable damage in a city of millions.
"Seventy percent of weapons are disabled," an officer reported levelly.
"Roll us and bring us about, let the lower aft weapons get some use," Niva ordered casually.
"Aye, aye-transports are closing on us."
"Semmi! Thank god, talk some sense into her!" the Commander ordered.
Semmi, ten thousand miles away stared at the screen displaying the battle. The Hatak listed slightly, and was taking on the appearance of a half-melted meteorite, not the pride of the Migrant Fleet. She was surrounded by the swarm of tiny craft, with the behemoths of the transports looming amongst them like whales surrounded by fish. The enemy craft were close, so close they were clearly going to try to board.
Niva'Zorah was too canny a tactician to let that happen, unless…"Cousin, if you scuttle the Hatak you'll do as much damage to the city as the H—Commander's bombs. There's still time to withdraw. Save your ship, Captain," he said, voice low and urgent, deliberately choosing the lesser rank to try to remind her of her duty to the ship.
Her laughing response was equally low, but a harsh thing. "Silly cousin, too much the politician and the engineer, not enough the tactician."
Semmi didn't see what she saw, he never had, but he knew her. "Keelah Se'lai, Niva'Zorah," he said.
"No, cousin," Niva felt the ship stop shuddering as the last of her guns fell silent and looked for the locators. Most of them were clear and the last of the three remaining transports were close and closing. "By the homeworld you build tomorrow." She did not say she wished she could have undergone the Meld treatment which let Semmi walk the X-Com base without his suit. It was true, but it wasn't what her last words needed to be.
Codex: Quarian Meld Treatment, Unlocked.
It mattered that the Humans knew why she did this as much as they saw it done. Her finger moved and power flared, all the power that would have fed the, now silent, weapons of the cruiser, that powered it amongst the stars, that kept crew and passengers safe and whole in the vast emptiness of space, all was channeled, but not explosively outward into flames which would scorch a city to ash, but instead inward, deep into the element zero core of the ship, but instead of lightening the floating vessel still further, it took it to the other extreme and broadcast it outward. For almost a half mile around the ship, everything suddenly increased in mass.
Scout ship and transport alike attempted to remain aloft, but their engines were designed for their mass fully loaded, not their mass fully loaded and increased by a factor of ten. It didn't last long, couldn't last long, as the Hatak plummeted as fast as the other ships, but it lasted long enough. Of the thirty-one ships which had attacked Dhaka, four survived the demise of the Hatak, by the simply expedient of being too far away.
Those four fell to a combined air assault from the surrounding states, China and India especially simply swamped the few, damaged scout ships with fighter craft and missiles, until superior technology collapsed under sheer weight of explosives.
Codex: Defense of Dhaka, Unlocked.
XXXXX
"Semmi is here, Commander."
The Commander nodded at the base staffer and waved her away. "How was the plant?" he asked.
"Good. They're producing plenty of Skyrangers to move troops. They're capable of producing a dozen Firestorms a week, the limitation is available materials. The materials salvaged from Dhaka would keep us going for a while, even with the new armor and weapon factories. However, getting to them isn't easy at the moment. How's the cleanup going there?"
"The last of the Sectoid commanders have been eliminated and the Chryssalids under its control have ceased their hit-and-run raids. They were surrounded and crushed by an armored division after infecting no more than a few hundred additional people."
Semmi winced. "No luck on a treatment for their venom?"
"No."
"Not even with Meld?"
"Maybe, if anyone survived long enough to get to treatment. The Council's pushing the idea of intentional infection to figure it out, but it's so damn fast, no treatment will matter."
Semmi nodded, choosing to overlook the Council's suggestion that people be intentionally infected with that venom. "Then I'll get my people moving on salvage. We still don't have good suits to protect your people against Element Zero contamination from the destruction of the Hatak. We're working on it, but collecting the material is going to be slow."
The Commander pressed a button and the room was sealed against any form of observation, at least, any form they were aware of. Their psionic research was still in its early stages, but holding a captured Sectoid Commander and Ethereal had taught them how to jam psionic abilities, they hoped. "Unfortunately, no matter how many we build, they can't stop the bastards from de-orbiting the moon, or dropping asteroids on our oceans, or crashing their ships into our cities. The best we can do is keep them from conquering us, but not destroying us. Having seen what they have done to their slaves, I do not deny this is the correct choice, but we need a third option. It's been months. Where the fuck is the Migrant Fleet?"
"We haven't received word yet. How goes the fight with EXALT?" Semmi countered.
Codex: EXALT, Unlocked.
"Better now that we're able to deploy more forces to search for them, in fact we think we've identified—" the Commander's voice was interrupted by the sounding of a siren.
"Incoming missiles. All soldiers gear up, pilots to the Firestorms, everyone else head to shelters," Bradford's voice commanded over the intercom prompting the commander to disable the communication jammers.
Bradford's voice came from the Commander's desk next. "Commander, the missiles are relatively short range. There's at least three batteries firing from within four hundred miles. We're calculating the source of the missiles for a counter-strike, but unless those are nuclear strikes, they can't hope to destroy the base."
"Understood," the Commander said as Semmi huddled over his communicator, speaking to his ships.
"Aircraft are inbound to the launch sites. Ten seconds to impact. Outer doors are closing, outer doors are closed. Base secure. Three, two, one," the Commander's office was so deep inside the base that they didn't feel any impact, or hear any noise.
"Outer cameras destroyed. Outer turrets destroyed. Radar dish destroyed. Feed from military radar streaming in. Deploying replacement cameras. Confirmed second wave of missiles inbound. Anti-mine rockets inbound, targeting mine-fields. Additional impacts in fifteen seconds."
That impact they felt, though it was just a slight shake on the ground.
"Doors broken. Third salvo is airborne. Airstrike is being launched at the missile sites."
"Abort!" Semmi snapped, "Send the highview to Bradford, blow those missiles away!"
"Semmi?"
"My ships are in position, got a view and a line, there's anti-air batteries in place around the missiles launchers!"
"They'll be firing from over the horizon, it should be fine," the Commander said.
"Are you sure? I can blow them away from orb—"
"This needs to be done by our forces. It needs to be seen to be done by us," the Commander said.
"If you say so. My ships aren't coming into atmosphere until this is dealt with."
"It will be soon. As I was saying, we've identified the last of EXALT's operations. Simultaneous raids will be launched in thirty minutes. I suppose they thought they were being launched from here. Some were, but I have backups, of course. As if I wouldn't, given the array of other forces available to me? They don't even know they're going against EXALT, yet. This is going to be ugly, but EXALT is already dead, even if they don't know it yet."
XXXXX
"Three minutes to target, over," the pilot's voice was precise and professional, cutting through the chatter of the special forces soldiers.
"Anyone, anyone at all want to tell me why the fuck we got sent to hit these fuckers in Boston?" one of the Joint Task Force 2 operators asked from his seat in the transport chopper.
"Apparently the Americans can't deploy their own military on law enforcement inside their own country—"
"Posse Comitatus," another operator interrupted the lieutenant.
"So they asked for help and our beloved government loaned us out to them."
"For what, a packet of smokes and a reach-around?"
"Think you're worth more, Jonesy?"
"Does this really count as law enforcement? I thought our orders were to just kill all these alien-loving pricks," another operator talked over Jones's attempt to respond.
"Like you're one to talk Mark, I saw your little collage of Quarian girls. Can't even see any skin, perv—"
"What can I say? I'm an ass ma—"
"Last mark, radio silence, over," the pilot put in, shutting up the banter.
The Canadians shut up, though Jones finally managed to convey his response eloquently and vulgarly with hand gestures.
A minute later the first helicopter in the task force approached the drop zone and simultaneously the sniper teams pre-positioned on the nearby buildings opened fire, taking out the perimeter guards. An instant later, missiles flew from launchers wielded by the sniper's spotters, taking out the pair of anti-air batteries which were sitting atop the building, sending flaming shrapnel down towards the, mostly, emptied (as they'd been ordered to strike when there were the fewest possible people around) streets.
Both choppers took up position and the four man lead team rappelled down lines, spreading out and covering the other sixteen as they slid down. Two of the first team went down under heavy fire from the rapidly responding EXALT forces' laser weapons, but the survivors managed to keep EXALT back, despite having turned down the more advanced weaponry which X-Com had offered.
Automatic weapons fire and two lives bought time for the rest of the task force to drop down and take up positions. They covered the two surviving operators as they retreated, tossing grenades. EXALT's forces attempted to pursue them out onto the open roof, under cover of a heavy barrage of suppressing fire, only to be cut down by the snipers still in position on the adjacent buildings.
The team advanced quickly, while EXALT was still disorganized from the failed assault. Flashbangs were far less effective than usual as EXALT's captured Meld had gone into genetic modification to its personnel, not permitting Quarians to function outside their suits. Still the rush of soldiers pushed into the luxurious command center. They suffered almost thirty percent casualties even before bursting into the main command center.
While they were distracted staring at the giant floating holographic globe, an Ethereal rose from a chair in a cell much like that X-Com had used to imprison the one they'd captured. They quickly realized that unlike the X-Com cell, this one lacked the psionic dampeners which let X-Com safely hold Ethereals and Sectoids. Unfortunately, they didn't realize this until one of their number had gunned down two others and been beaten to the ground by his fellows.
The cell walls were so thick that they easily shed the weapons fire which the team directed towards it. A grenade merely left some interesting stains against the thick transparent walls of the cell. The Ethereal raised a hand and seized control of a second soldier, forcing the rest of his team to bail out of the cover, as they were flanked, which unfortunately exposed them to fire from the few remaining EXALT members.
Lieutenant Smith pulled out his targeting laser and aimed it at the cell, then picked up the radio, "Silver One, this is Cable Actual, target painted, airstrike required. Over."
"Cable Actual, confirmed, moving into position. Out."
A shouted command sent the survivors of the assault team scampering into cover except for Smith's senior surviving sergeant, who charged forward, accepting three hits to his body armor in exchange for tackling his mind controlled soldier to the ground and covering the writhing, convulsing figure with his body. The attack helicopter opened up on the target with its 30 mm chaingun, which ripped through the command center, cell walls, the pair of EXALT troopers too stupid to hit the floor when everyone else did and then the walls on the other side.
The psychic backlash from the death of the Ethereal left the EXALT troopers stunned and helpless. The Canadian special forces did not bother attempting to take prisoners, instead eliminating the survivors quickly. A handful of the surviving, uninjured troops were detailed to secure the perimeter and search out any remaining EXALT forces, while everyone else did their best to patch up the wounded. Local police, fire and EMTs were flowing back into the area, as Lieutenant Smith had called in the all clear.
Fortunately, most of the actual EXALT computers were placed on the ground, with only the monitors on the desks, leaving them intact and ripe for the decrypting by X-Com's techs. Securing those remained the job of the remnants of his team, and after paying such a price for that victory, he did not propose to leave those computers for someone else to handle, even if the Boston PD didn't want to defer to a bunch of Canadians, even a bunch of Canadians with automatic weapons.
He won the argument by the simple expedient of not actually caring what they thought. And having an attack helicopter.
XXXXX
The Commander stood in the Situation Room. "Councilors, I am pleased to report EXALT's headquarters has been captured and all operations we were aware of have been eliminated. Most of the files from their headquarters survived and simultaneous raids are being launched on the remaining cells by local forces. EXALT will not be a threat by the end of the day."
"Is the base secure? What's your status?" France asked.
"The main entrance was heavily damaged and so is the elevator. The ground assault which was intended to follow up the missile strike failed completely, as, though they'd compromised our satellite surveillance system, they didn't have any link to the Quarian ships in orbit. We saw them coming and ambushed them on approach. However, our defense against ground based assault will be limited until repairs are completed next month. However, the hanger is still functional, so we can continue to operate and bring in supplies. I've got combat air patrols from the local government flying over the area to ensure no airstrikes take out the hanger. I've also had an anti-missile system deploy—"
"Yes, yes, but let's get to the point. Did EXALT have an Ethereal prisoner, or were they slaves to the Ethereal?" United States interrupted.
"Given that the X-Ray was able to control the Task Force soldiers, it appears likely that EXALT was in service of the enemy. It is, however, possible that the containment system was damaged in the fire-fight and the X-Ray took advantage of that to attack. The files we've recovered aren't clear, yet. However there's terabytes of data still to be reviewed."
"We have copies of the files, other personnel will review them," Japan said.
"Understood. Please convey my condolences to the families of the fallen," the Commander said to Canada.
"It will be handled, though my government will be less than willing to give you further troops, given how few of our elite returned," Canada replied.
"Understood."
"Carry on, Commander. Remember, we will be watching," the Spokesman said.
XXXXX
"Well?" Dr. Vahlen asked.
"It's too soon to know," one of the dozens of scientists who filled her labs, but whose names she didn't bother to learn told her with a patience that she didn't feel. The testing for psionic capability took days and there were no preliminary results. Or so they hoped, given that this was the first round of testing. It would be a shame if it turned out either that their methodology was flawed, or none of their subjects had any psionic capabilities.
The system was based off some video records of testing of Sectoids to identify Sectoid Commanders recovered from Dhaka and decoded by Quarian computers and Human codebreakers, but if there were any other records, they were beyond X-Com's ability to locate or decode.
"I know that!" Vahlen's accent thickened with stress as she watched the isolation pods tilt forward slowly. She did not jump up and down in excitement. She was a serious scientist. She was in charge of a serious project. She was a grown-up and she did not jump.
There may have been some, minor, bouncing, however.
That was insufficient to distract the scientists around her from their (figurative) laser focus on the isolation pods slowly sliding back to vertical and opening simultaneously, releasing two dozen volunteers. Muscles which hadn't moved in three days tried to flex to hold them up as the tubes which made the long-term isolation possible withdrew discretely (some facilitated by the medical personnel who filled her lab, exiling her to the observation level above, much to Dr. Vahlen's irritation).
The other senior personnel were watching on the big monitors in Mission Control, with, unbeknownst to Dr. Vahlen, Bradford's finger hovering over the button which activate the Psionic Lab's self-destruct, just as he did with the Alien Containment Chamber whenever they captured an X-Ray.
Semmi was back in his suit, except the helmet. The Quarian was the most relaxed of the lot of them, at least as far as the American Central Officer could tell. It was much easier to read his expression now that his helmet was off, though the slightly inhuman (and grey) nature of that face made it hard to read. It wasn't that he concealed anything. Indeed, his face seemed incapable of that, but the reactions weren't entirely the same as a Human's. His calm was all the more disturbing for being real, given that half of the test candidates were Quarians, mostly volunteers from amongst the least combat capable of the survivors of the Hatak's crew, those few who had not become, what was now known as, Hatak Soldiers.
Codex: Hatak Soldier, Unlocked.
The tests for psionic capability were, at best, guesswork, but none of the Quarians had shown any of the indicators which separated Sectoids from Sectoid Commanders. Still, Quarians had to be tested, that was part of the deal, equal sharing of all technology and advancements. It also meant that there had to be Quarian medics down there, as none of the Humans yet had any real understanding of Quarian physiology, despite the apparent external similarities (indeed, there were already jokes and conspiracy theories about the Quarians and the 'Greys' caused by nothing more than their skin color).
The medics, Human and Quarian alike, were wearing the prototype Mind Shields, providing as much protection as they could without putting in full-spectrum jammers in the Psionics Lab, which would be rather counterproductive, given that the goal was to spark psionic abilities in the occupants of the isolation pods.
Codex: Psionic Defenses, Unlocked.
Success. Two of the Humans flared to the naked eye, though not to any camera, as the psionic power coming off them in waves flared in the mind, not in reality. The medics jerked away, the physical contact and sheer power of the Humans' reaction overcoming the Mind Shields and the volunteers' pain and exhaustion passing to them.
Codex: Psionic Effects, Unlocked.
Now Dr. Vahlen was jumping up and down.
XXXXX
Codex: EXALT:
EXALT's origins lay in fanatics and conspiracy theorists who realized the invasion was occurring before any other group outside of X-Com. Their informal network was widespread, but badly organized, until they managed to gain possession of several pieces of alien technology, all revolving around Meld and genetic engineering. They managed this by being in the right place, at the right time, while X-Com forces were fighting off the incursion. Or, so it was believed at the time.
When they began to use the genetic engineering equipment on themselves it turned out it had all been a trap. Their leader was a Thin Man and used their transhumanist ideals to motivate them to make genetic alterations which made them more vulnerable to psionic control. A single Ethereal was able to control the entire organization, through permanent mental conditioning, enhanced by neural implants and genetic engineering.
The Ethereal proved to be a renegade, with goals different from the rest of its species, but not thereby aligned with humanity's, or the Quarians'.
Ironically, the organization's origins amongst transhumanist groups and its tendency to shoot at X-Com led to a persistent view amongst the rank-and-file that EXALT's personnel wanted to be Ethereals, or servants thereof. Though this was, in fact, entirely correct, it was viewed as too simplistic and unrealistic by the experts of the day.
EXALT's end goals (well, those of its leading Ethereal) remain something of a mystery, but their forces attacked the invaders with the same intensity as they attacked X-Com. Unfortunately, it was not until after the end of EXALT that X-Com realized the reason for that, as they'd believed the organization was what it had originated as, a group of cranks and transhumanists, who might be captured, interrogated and deprogramed. They did not know that EXALT was a prelude for what the Ethereals would have done to all the sapient species of the galaxy, if only they had the chance. This led to many critical misunderstandings and near disasters in engagements with the organization, as all attempts at capture ended in the death of the capturer, the capturee, or both.
The end came swiftly for the organization, as, with the death of the Ethereal, the minds it had enslaved never recovered, leaving empty husks, good for nothing but reprocessing to extract the Meld which flowed through their veins and pooled in their organs.
Codex: Quarian Meld Treatment:
Early experiments with Meld had had horrific results, both cybernetic and genetic. However, with the influx of data the Migrant Fleet had on genetic and cybernetic enhancements, the results improved dramatically. The Scout Flotilla had few medics and no medical research specialists, but included in the information they handed over to X-Com was information regarding the problems which confined Quarians to their suits.
In gratitude for their assistance (and because every Quarian was wearing a suit with an Eezo core which could be used to power shields on an X-Com soldiers armor, if they were able to take it off without dying) resolving the issues with the Quarian immune system was given a high priority. The effort paid off relatively quickly, no more than a month between the time of the first experiments and a prototype treatment which successfully permitted Lin'Nova Vas'Hatak to become the first Quarian in a century to be able to live without his suit.
The early stage treatments resolved around simply enhancing the immune system. Though effective, it was extremely costly in terms of Meld used. Later treatments relied more precisely on altering Quarian physiology to produce the chemicals needed to make their bodies act as if they were receiving the inputs their ecosystem had provided pre-Exile.
Codex: Defense of Dhaka:
The Defense of Dhaka was not a turning point of the conflict with the Ethereals, It was, however, a turning point in the history of Humanity and in Human-Quarian relations. As Niva'Zorah had never been anything less than completely up front about the Quarians' interests, there hadn't been much in the way of gratitude towards the Quarians. It was a business transaction and both sides got what they wanted. That changed with the assault on Dhaka.
The Ethereal's attack on Dhaka was the main thrust of a three pronged assault, intended to land a substantial force, use Chryssalids to clear a zone and establish a beachhead on the surface of Earth. It was the first major assault launched after the Scout Flotilla destroyed the observation ships of the Ethereal's vanguard. The Ethereals held back the majority of the forces that were streaming towards the Solar System to launch the assault, letting through only a trickle of ships to continue testing and observing the shared Human-Quarian defenses.
The other two distraction assaults held back the frigates which would have supported the Hatak, while more than thirty ships attempted to capture the cruiser. Only Commodore Zorah's destruction of her ship by using the Eezo core to rip herself and the assaulting ships out of the sky saved the, almost twenty million, people of Dhaka.
That assault was no probe however and its repulsion occurred only at a remarkable cost to the Scout Flotilla. The death of Niva'Zorah and the destruction of the Hatak were massive sacrifices to save the lives of Humans, despite the direction of the Commander and X-Com. Moreover, Quarians were heavily involved in eliminating the survivors of the assault fleet, with more lives lost. Within days of the news of their sacrifice and losses leaking (reportedly at the Commander's own order), the Migrant Fleet and Niva'Zorah were the heroes of the day.
The discovery that the destroyed Eezo core had created untold thousands of biotics amongst the children of Dhaka would not be made for another generation, but the Eezo core and the crashed Ethereal ships provided critical salvage for the modernization of Earth's forces.
Codex: Hatak Soldier:
The Hatak Soldiers take their name from the destroyed cruiser Hatak. They were originally made up of the surviving crew and marines who escaped the vessel after the evacuation was ordered. Their fury towards those who had destroyed their ship and complete lack of anything resembling fear or self-preservation made them famous, if not particularly reliable, soldiers. Indeed, the Commander reportedly once said of them, "I do not command the Hatak soldiery any more than I commanded their namesake. All I can do is unleash them upon our foes. Still, her soldiers do not disappoint any more than she did."
Though usually their recklessness would have resulted in their elimination in short order, after some internal deliberations, they began recruiting from amongst the (many, many) X-Com volunteers from Dhaka and Bangladesh then inducting them into their unit structure. The engineers amongst the Hatak Soldiers equipped these volunteers with modified Quarian equipment.
By the end of the war, less than 10% of the members of the unit were Quarian, but Quarian culture had pressed an indelible stamp on the unit, which remains even to this day.
Codex: Psionic Defenses:
Psionic defenses take two basic forms. The first is based around the implants in Ethereals and Sectoid Commanders, which were intended to strengthen their psionic ability. These defenses are individual and are based on simply reversing the original purpose of the implant and disrupting any effort to use psionic abilities against the individual wearing them.
The original version of this defense, the Mind Shield, required actual implants torn from the bodies of Ethereals, or Sectoid Commanders. Later versions were more artificial. These defenses have two main weaknesses. First, they can simply be removed, if you have physical control over the person wearing them. Second, they can be overpowered, if the psionic is powerful enough and close enough.
The second form of defense relies upon the fact that psionic abilities do produce detectible emissions. By jamming the relevant frequencies, you can prevent psionic abilities from functioning. No matter how powerful a psionic is, if you pump the power of a fusion plant into the jammers, you can block their abilities. This has two main downsides as well. First, it means no one on your side can use psionic abilities either. Second, it causes intense vertigo and pain for any psionics in range.
Codex: Psionic Effects:
Discovered due to the invasion of the Ethereals, psionic abilities are, in many ways, the mirror image of biotic abilities. Biotics manipulate physical objects, but cannot touch the mind. Psionics manipulate the mind, but cannot touch physical objects.
With one exception, those psionic phenomena which appear physical, are, in fact, an artifact of the psionics' effect on the mind of the observer. The purple aura around so many psionics is caused by manipulating what the brain sees. The physical damage caused by a Mindfray attack is caused by tricking the mind into doing things which harm the body. The, misnamed, Telekinetic Field is caused by broadcasting a field which distracts and confuses everyone who looks at it.
Author's Note: I'll explain about the Rift psionic ability later. I'm sure a good explanation will come to me by then. Comments and reviews are always welcome.