October 2354: Shanxi Relay ( also known as relay 314 by the Council ) is activated, and First Contact is made with the Citadel Council. In the months following First Contact, Shanxi garners a reputation as the "Galactic Doorway", and population increases threefold.

December 2354: The Asari Republics start trading with the Frontier Alliance, and element zero ( also known as "eezo" by the general populace ) refineries are found on planets in the Dakota system. As a result, numerous corporations based out of Harmony send teams of agents to activate the refineries. Eezo-based technologies acquired from the Asari Republics are merged with Warp-based technologies, creating hybrid techs that improve upon both.

March 2355: Turian resentment over the Council's tolerance of Humankind's AI-controlled Titans lead to a split in the Turian Empire, as the worlds of Gothis, Thracia, Trigend, Syglar, and Rocam forcibly secede, declaring themselves the "Hierarchy Resurgent". Empire fleets are dispatched; however, the worlds are heavily fortified, leading to a quick stalemate. Human fleets are invited to bolster the Turian patrol fleets, and Humans begin joining Citadel Security ( also known as C-Sec ).

June 2355: Jon Grissom becomes president of the Frontier Alliance. Sarah Briggs, commander of the Special Recon in the Militia Fleet, promotes Melissa Cooper to Commander of the Marauder Corps after repelling a Batarian Pirate raid in Asari space.

October 2355: One-year anniversary of the Shanxi Relay Activation. President Grissom invites Councilors Sparatus, Tevos, and Valern to join Humankind on Shanxi to celebrate. Sparatus declines, citing concerns about escalations of Separatist assaults on Loyalist planets. Tevos and Valern accept, improving relations between the three factions

November 2355: Turian Separatists claim the planet Invictus. Rumors suggest the Council has dispatched a Spectre to deal with the growing insurgency.

December 2355: Humankind starts fielding new hybrid weaponry, including the R-99 SMG, R-202 Carbine, EVA-9 Shotgun, D-201 Longbow-DMR, and M700 Spitfire LMG. Notable differences include thermal sinks, to mitigate overheating, the lack of a magazine – instead, weapons feed from an internal ammunition block, shaving rounds off and firing them. Some prefer older models, citing reliability issues with the new platforms. Energy-based weapons such as the L-STAR, Volt SMG, and Thunderstar remain unchanged. Popularity with these weapons increase due to the increase of eezo-based kinetic shielding, rather than energy-based limited shields.

February 2356: Elysium, a planet in the Skyllian Verge, is colonized by the Frontier Alliance. It lies on the border between the Batarian Hegemony and the Frontier Alliance. Due to the frequency of pirate raids, large numbers of Anti Orbital Defenses ( A.O.D.s ) are installed on the planet.

April 2356: Batarian pirates attempt to raid Elysium. Forces on the ground witness Batarians using Titans similar to the ones used by the Frontier Alliance. Council representatives pledge to investigate the origin of these Batarian Titans.

July 2356: Turian Separatists attempt to take the planet Oma Ker. However, Loyalist fleets manage to repel the invading fleet. Credit for the Loyalist victory is given to the new Loyalist Admiral, Ravos Kandros, and the daring maneuvers executed by her fleet.

September 2356: Frontier Alliance engineers reveal the first Hybrid engines, an amalgamation of Warp- and Eezo- based technologies. Previously, Frontier ships used two engine blocks, one Warp and one Eezo. While this allowed Frontier ships to use the Mass Relays effectively, using two engine blocks was more resource intensive than the Frontier could manage. The new Hybrid engines are touted as a "Marvel of Human ingenuity and creativity" by Councilors Tevos and Valern, and the Frontier Alliance is granted an Embassy on the Citadel as a result. Cheng "Bish" Lorck, a veteran of the Frontier Liberation War, is selected as Ambassador to the Council, with retired Pilot Jack Cooper, hero of Typhon, acting as Liaison.

October 2356: Second Anniversary of Relay 314's activation commences. President Grissom, joined by Commander Melissa Cooper and Bravo Squad, join the festivities, joined once again by Councilors Tevos and Valern, with Sparatus making an appearance.

November 2356: The Turian Civil War reaches it's second stalemate since the beginning of the conflict. Sources suggest that the Separatists are planning on attacking Frontier and Batarian worlds to collect resources and munitions. Forces are dispatched to Shanxi, to protect it from Separatist assault

December 2356: Sources inside the Batarian Hegemony reveal the source of their Titans: the IMC, specifically Hammond Robotics. As it turns out, Hegemony vessels activated the relay to the Core systems, and discovered the IMC. After a short, but brutal conflict, the IMC took control of the Batarian Hegemony, reducing it to a Vassal state and using it to infiltrate the galactic stage.

[-]

March 15th, 2357

Citadel Presidium

It's been a busy day here on the Citadel. IMC forces managed to get into the Presidium and attempted to assassinate Ambassador Lorck. They didn't expect me though. Heh.
"Jack, you're looking tired"

I nod. "That happens a lot at my age, Councilor"
Right. I'm in the private Council chambers, with Bish, Councilor Sparatus, and Councilor Tevos.
I nod and take a sip of water. "Anyways. We were talking about the IMC?"

Councilor Tevos nods. "Yes. Specifically, their attack on Ambassador Lorck, and how they managed to get on the Presidium undetected"

Bish shakes his head. "I can only think that they've made advances in their cloaking technologies. God knows it was bad enough before, but now…"

Councilor Sparatus nods. "We need to find out the extent of these advancements, and how to guard against them. Do you have any suggestions, Ambassador? You've fought against the IMC before"

Bish nods. "Yes and No. We've started a program to train elite foot soldiers – "

I look to Bish. "What's wrong with Pilots?"

Bish looks over to me. "Pilots, by their very nature, attract a lot of attention – as well as their Titans. We need more covert units for infiltration, spying, that kind of thing. Anyways. It's called the 'N Program', with 'N' standing for 'Nightwatch'. Fitting, given the roles these elite soldiers will fill. However, we don't have any graduates yet"

"So, nothing at the moment"

Bish shakes his head. "I never said nothing. We do have something, a sort of gap-stop while we wait for the 'N Program' to run its course. A covert drop, with cloaked pods, on enemy planets"

"That's… actually really clever. Who came up with the idea?" I ask, already suspecting the source

Bish grins. "Your daughter, Jack. Apparently, she and Bravo Squad's captain came up with the idea after the Batarians started making noise around Elysium"

I grin. "Knew it"

Councilor Sparatus sighs. "It's a ballsy move, but maybe that's what we need these days. Let's get Valern in here. He'll have a means of getting your troopers into a Batarian system, I'm sure"

[-]

"Councilors, Ambassador Lorck, Mister Cooper"

Sparatus nods. "Councilor Valern, glad you could join us. Ambassador, could you go over what we discussed earlier?"

Bish nods. "Of course. Councilor Valern, in light of recent events, we propose doing a covert drop on a Batarian world close to the Core sector. God willing, we'll find out what the IMC is up to, and how far their cloaking technology has progressed since their defeat at the end of the Frontier Liberation War"

Valern nods. "A sound plan. Inviting me, however, suggests limits that Salarian influence could ease"

I shake my head in agreement. "Yah. Our cloaking devices are good, but to infiltrate Batarian space is beyond our means. We're thinking that a Salarian ship might have an edge we could use"

Valern exhales. "This… is true. Some of our STG operatives have been working on incorporating a cloaking device based on Frontier technology into several of our covert ships. We had been planning to do recon missions into Batarian territory and had improved the methods that your devices use to cloak objects"

Bish whistles. "I shouldn't be surprised, but damn. That's impressive"

I sip my water. "So, there's our plan, and how Salarian influence can help. Are you in, Valern?"

Valern nods. "I will contact the STG and let them know of these developments"

[-]

Frontier Alliance Codex
- Turians

Some 1200 years ago, the turians were invited to join the Citadel Council to fulfill the role of galactic peacekeepers after assisting the Council in the Krogan Rebellions. Prior to the Civil War, the turians held the largest fleet in Citadel space, and they made up the single largest portion of the Council's military forces. Nowadays, this fleet is split between the Turian Separatist faction known as the "Hierarchy Resurgent" and the Turian Empire

As their territory and influence spread, the Turian Empire came to rely on the salarians for military intelligence and the asari for diplomacy. Despite a somewhat colonial attitude towards the rest of the galaxy, the Emperor and the current Imperial Council understand they would lose more than they would gain if the other two races were ever removed.

Turians come from an autocratic society that values discipline and possesses a strong sense of personal and collective honor. The Separatists believe that the Empire violated their collective honor when they permitted the Frontier Alliance to retain their Titans, which utilize Artificial Intelligence. The Empire's stance on Artificial Intelligence is unknown at this time.

- Salarians

The second species to join the Citadel, the salarians are warm-blooded amphibians with a hyperactive metabolism. Salarians think fast, talk fast, and move fast. To salarians, other species seem sluggish and dull-witted. Unfortunately, their metabolic speed leaves them with a relatively short life span; salarians over the age of 40 are a rarity.

The salarians were responsible for advancing the development of the primitive krogan species to use as soldiers during the Rachni Wars. They were also behind the creation of the genophage bioweapon the turians used to quell the Krogan Rebellions several centuries later.

Salarians are known for their observational capability and non-linear thinking. This manifests as an aptitude for research and espionage. They are constantly experimenting and inventing, and it is generally accepted that they always know more than they're letting on.

[-]

Well, there's the first chapter of the second arc. Yes, I know summary took up A LOT of chapter space, but I had my reasons. Arc 2 will have a lot more action than Arc 1 did, and I had to explain what happened after the events on Shanxi

If you wanna chat with me and other peeps, find me on Discord: JGThorncross#8068

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