For the Republic
AN: Sorry everyone but I'm going to have to take another hiatus. I signed up for this program to get some job training and have to report to their center at the end of the month. Unfortunately they don't allow electronics like laptops on site so I'm going to be gone again.
Best case scenario I'm in and out in around 6 months. Worst case about a year. I'll be sure to work hard and get back to writing as soon as possible. I've got a lot of ideas I want to do.
Ranger Johnathan Nathaniel Shepard ducked behind a wall as mass accelerator rounds pinged off it. He'd just been promoted to Ranger Commander and as a reward was given 2 weeks leave on the planet of his choosing. He chose Elysium since he heard it was nice this time of year. In hindsight he should have chosen Eden Prime because only four days into his stay the planet was blitzed by a massive force. Near him were a couple of members of the Elysium National Guard, a young man his mid-20s and a much older man, taking potshots at the invaders. They were guarding the entrance to one of the emergency vaults and judging from the corpses of their fellow national guard around them they were fighting a losing battle. Dodging enemy fire he ran over to their position.
"Citizen, this is an active combat zone!" Said the old man who was a sergeant. "Get inside the bunker you'll be safe there."
"My name is Ranger Commander Shepard. I was on leave here." The two soldiers looked like they were about to doubt him until they saw his Handcannon in its holster on his hip.
"Well Commander you sure picked a shitty time to go on leave." Said the young man wincing as a chuck of the wall got blown off.
"Tell me about it. Do you have any reinforcements on the way?" Shepard asked picking up rifle and a vest off a dead soldier.
"Everyone else is either dead, cut off, or in the middle of their own fight. Me and the private here are the only guys in the immediate area. These bastards must have been planning this for a while cause they caught us with our pants down! Who they hell are they anyway?!"
"Judging from the armor, weapons, and their physical profile I'd have to say they're batarians." Said Shepard
"I didn't even know the four eyes were sore at us!" Said the private
"They're probably here for slaves. I heard they raid colonies all the time but Elysium isn't some frontier colony. We're a full state in the United Republic. It'll be war I say." Replied the old man who was peaking over the wall as the fire began to quiet down.
"They most likely believed the rumor circulating around the galaxy that we're a paper tiger." Said Shepard as he joined the sergeant in looking over the wall. The batarians were up to something.
"But we beat the turians on Vietnam!" Said the private "They're considered the best military in the galaxy."
"Correction. We beat a small patrol group under the command of a mad general. A lot of the turian higher ups have been spouting that if it was an actual military force under command of a competent commander the results would've been different. One of their more prominent admirals recently released a statement doubting the combat effectiveness of human ships saying that their vast size will make them easy targets."
"That's bullshit." Said the private who joined them in watching the batarians strange behavior.
"It's bullshit the galaxy believes however. Add in the fact that outside the occasional pirate our fleet is still unproven. To most of the galaxy we do seem to be a paper tiger. The batarians decided to see if it was true."
"Commander the Batarians seem to have gotten a big group of reinforcements. Among other things..." Said the now frightened sergeant.
"Holy shit is that a tank?" Breathed the private
"Things just keep getting better." Said Shepard raising his rifle as the batarians charged their position.
Republic News Network. You give us ten minutes and we'll give you the galaxy!
Crisis on Elysium! A large slaver raid took the planet by surprise earlier today. Slaver forces ran amok for over an hour before the URSF 1st Fleet relieved the battered defenders. Over 3,000 are dead or wounded and another 200 are missing presumed kidnapped by fleeing slavers. Estimates put the damage at over 3 billion credits.
In much brighter news the inhabitants of one of the larger Elysian vaults managed to avoid being captured by slavers due to the efforts of 3 valiant soldiers who singlehandedly held off over 200 slavers with armor support. Ranger Commander Shepard managed to destroy 3 tanks and had 97 confirmed kills before they were relieved by Republic forces. Commander Shepard is slated to receive both the Ranger Badge of Courage and the Republic Medal of Honor. Sergeant Daniel Keaton and Private Conrad Verner are to also receive the Medal of Honor though both plan on leaving the Elysian Guard.
This just in! AIs with Republic Intelligence have just finished cracking the firewalls of captured slaver ships. They reveal that this attack was carried out by slavers under the employ of the Batarian Hegemony who planned and funded this attack. Armed with this information the Wanderer has called an emergency session of the Senate with the goal of declaring war.
"For too long the Batarian Hegemony believed they can raid whenever and whomever they please! Well I say no more!" said the Wanderer "As of this moment a state of war exists between the United Republic of States and the Batarian Hegemony!"
In a shocking move the Wanderer has asked other heads of state not to join in as per the Extraterrestrial Defense Treaty stating the United Republic can handle this alone.
Later we'll bring you the URSF's first attack on batarian territory but now a message from our sponsors.
Are you an alien national? Want to become a citizen but don't want to go through the long hassle of standard immigration procedures? Looking for a little danger? The Republic Foreign Legion may just be for you! After a mandatory term of service you will be awarded citizenship no questions asked. Any and all species are accepted so head on down to your local Republic Consulate and join up! And remember: Service Guarantees Citizenship!
3 days after Elysium Attack
URSF 3rd Fleet
Venator-Class Dreadnought Resolute
Approaching Torfan
"Dinky little world isn't it?" said Admiral Roth
"A real hive of scum and villainy sir." Maya, the ship's AI, replied.
"Star Trek: New Frontier right?" teased Roth catching the reference.
"Do you have a better description...?"
"No. It's a very appropriate one. Once we're done here I doubt anyone will be able to tell the difference."
"What's the plan of attack sir?"
"Nothing too fancy. Overwhelm their defenses, achieve orbital superiority, light planetary bombardment, and once that's done we the ground pounders mop up."
"Scans show the Batarian fleet is mostly made up of pirate & slaver vessels. Frigates and corvettes made for raiding and not extended combat. They did get some reinforcements however."
"Why am I not going to like the sound of this?" Roth sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.
"A fleet of Hegemony Navy ships including 2 dreadnoughts arrived yesterday. The Admiral in charge has whipped the pirates & slavers into something that might actually pose a threat."
"That's what I get for thinking this was going to be easy. Tell the fleet to prep all fighters and bombers. Things are going to get interesting."
The Resolute continued on toward Torfan with two Hunter-Class Cruisers, the Avenger & Crusader, covering its flanks. Three Acclamator-Class Frigates which were carrying the ground forces were also following but far enough away where they would be in the direct line of fire. Along with them was a Citadel News Network ship which was invited by the Wanderer. Officially they were there to observe the battle. Unofficially they were only allowed so that the galaxy can see what happens when you underestimate the Republic.
As the Republic Fleet approached the batarian fleet over Torfan began to get into defensive positions. Though the batarians were initially surprised that the Republic's retaliation came so swiftly their surprise quickly gave way to arrogance. They only sent in six of their oversized ships! The defense fleet over Torfan had over 100 ships which included two dreadnoughts of the Hegemony's Navy that had been sent to bolster their forces. Their mass accelerators should be sure to gut those oversized ships which didn't even have mass accelerators of their own.
The commander of the Torfan's forces, an Admiral in the hegemony navy, swelled with pride& confidence. Pride in the fleet his superiors gave him and absolute confidence that it will put the humans in their place. His forces greatly outnumbered and outgunned those of the humans who sent a force so laughably small he almost felt insulted. Still his prestige could only increase if he wiped out these human upstarts.
"Target the biggest ship." he ordered "Their moral will be shattered once we take out that oversized hunk of junk."
The crew hurried to comply with the admiral's order. In a few moments the dreadnought's mass accelerator fired sending a slug towards the Republic ships at a fraction of the speed of light. The slug streaked across space until it struck the ship dead center but to the batarians' disbelief it had done no noticeable damage.
"What happened?! They should be a burning pile of slag!" yelled the Admiral
"Maybe it impacted on their shields?" suggested an ensign who immediately regretted his decision when the Admiral rounded on him.
"They don't use element zero!" the admiral roared "How could they possibly have shields?!"
"That caused a slight shudder." said Admiral Roth when the batarian mass accelerator round impacted. "Maya what's the drain on our shields?"
"Shields are down to 87.3 percent. Not as much I was expecting seeing how much the other races hype up their dreadnoughts, but it still hurt."
"If we were put under sustained fire how long will the shields hold?" Roth asked
"If we shut down nonessential systems we could last awhile though in an extended battle we'll be relying a lot on our armor."
"How long until we're in firing range?"
"About 3 minutes, sir. More than enough time for the batarians to whittle down our shields."
"Not if we keep them busy. Send word to the Avenger and Crusader. Tell them to launch their fighters & bombers and send ours out as well. Time to thin the herd."
"Admiral the humans are launching fighters!" yelled an ensign
The Admiral scoffed. The humans sent fighters against his fleet. Fighters were only useful against corvettes, lightly armed frigates, and other fighters. They'd be useless against his fleet's cruisers let alone his dreadnoughts. Instead of sending out his fighters to counter them his dreadnought's point defenses will have the honor of blowing them to pieces.
As the fighters came closer he noticed some were much larger than the others. They had a strange almost antiquated looking design with large wings making it appear more like a primitive aircraft than a space vessel. The smaller fighters were only a little better having a much smaller profile but still being much larger than a normal fighter. It seems these humans couldn't even build fighters correctly.
Suddenly one of the larger fighters fired something. They were moving so fast that he only caught a glimpse at what looked like a blue ball of swirling energy before they struck his ship. The ship's lights and consoles flickered with some shutting of completely. As his crew worked to restore power the human fighters fired more of those energy blasts these being purple. The ship shook and shuddered violently as whatever those things were did their damage. Looking out the bridge windows he could see those fighters strafing the other vessels in his fleet with everything smaller than a cruiser becoming nothing but scrap after a single hit.
"Damage report!" the admiral yelled "Did those things get past our shields?!"
"Their first attack completely fried the ship's systems!" said an ensign "The mass accelerator and shields were brought down along with almost all our nonessential systems! We're lucky we didn't lose life support!"
"How long will it take to bring them back online?!" he demanded
"A few minutes at least!"
"You've got one!"
The admiral turned his gaze back towards the window just in time to watch the fleet's other dreadnought explode in a brilliant ball of fire. How could mere fighters do this!? His attention was brought back to the Republic's fleet when a cruiser exploded after being hit with a storm of blue energy blasts. The Republic's main fleet had just entered firing range and now destroying his fleet one by one with overwhelming fire. In any other circumstance he would be impressed at the rate of fire those ships possessed but not when it was HIS fleet they were firing upon!
"Where are those weapons, ensign!?" he roared
"I'm trying, sir!" the ensign yelled back typing furiously.
"Try harder or it won't be the humans that kill you!"
"Admiral, look!" said his XO pointing out the bridge window.
He just managed to catch a glimpse of a B-71 Star Fortress dropping its payload of proton bombs turning his ship into a fireball that could be seen from Torfan's surface.
Some folks are born made to wave the flag
Ooh, they're white and baby blue
And when the band plays "Hymn of Liberty"
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me; I ain't no fortunate one, no
"Alright Sarge. We get it. You're old. Can you put on something a bit more modern?"
"Like hell I'm putting on that techno shit you kids are listening to these days. You gotta respect the classics."
"It's a hell of a lot better than this old people music."
"Speak for yourself Rawlings. I like the Sarge's taste in music and not that hipster crap you listen to."
"Just because I listen to something new and obscure that makes me a hipster?"
"Yes."
This is what Shepard had to listen to for the past few days. The URGF was a formidable fighting force that had many victories under its belt but it was very… informal. Unlike the Romans, Germans, or Hanoians who were known for their discipline and dogged adherence to the chain of command. In Republic military branches those with higher ranks were just those you took orders from and it wasn't uncommon to see officers mingling with regular soldiers. A negative side effect when your nation was mostly at peace with the odd barbarian war to justify keeping such a large military.
Officially he was attached to this platoon to assist them during the ground assault on Torfan. Unofficially it was expected that he'll do whatever the hell he pleased. Rangers were a commando type unit that unlike those of other human nations usually fought alone or in small 3-man teams. This meant they had more in common with Asari Commandos or Spectres than they did with a standard commando unit like Carthaginian Sacred Band or Roman Praetorians. It was said that Rangers only had one true mission goal: Raise Hell. In normal circumstances he would do just that. Destroying bridges, assassinating officers, and causing general chaos among enemy ranks.
However it wouldn't do well for his conscience if he let these guys get slaughtered by Batarian defenses while he was off taking down so two-bit slaver leader who would just get killed by something else anyway. With the fleet in control of the system none of these slavers were escaping which more than a few learned the hard way when their ships got shot down by fighters.
"All personnel this is the Captain speaking. Prepare for ground combat operations. Good luck down there and God Bless the Republic!"
Shepard sealed his helmet and grabbed his weapons. The platoon he was with had the best job (or worst depending on who you asked) of being tasked with securing a landing zone. There were supposed to be several other Rangers sent down to the moon. Be good to talk to someone that didn't consider him to be a memetic badass. Guess it was time to get to work.
Attention, attention! Human military forces have begun landing on the Torfan's surface. All able-bodied forces are expected to take up arms in its defense! It's time to show these upstarts the power of the Hegemony!
Korek Res'garr was a member of the Hegemony's First Strike Commandos. Keyword being 'was'. When it was formed along with the rest of the Hegemony the FSC was intended to be their species first strike against any hostile alien forces. Destroying shipyards, supply convoys, and anything else that would make the enemy bleed. Outside of their rather violent first contact and a couple of skirmishes with the other Council races the FSC didn't see much action. They spent a majority of their time 'keeping order' in the core territories which is why he left.
The Hegemony's idea of keeping order was to send the FSC to preemptively take out any group they considered a future threat to the stability of the Hegemony. He had no problem with it at first since the people they fought were legit terrorists and criminals or so he thought. Turns out the terrorists were really just groups the Hegemony wanted gone. From reformists trying to abolish the caste system to those trying to improve the lives of slaves they were all wiped out 'for the good of the Hegemony'. Needless to say he felt sick and ashamed. Despite the threat of being disowned by his family he left the military and became a merc instead hoping to see all that the galaxy had to offer. Since he now was currently hiding out in the bottom of a bomb crater trying not to drown as it filled with sewage from a busted main you could see things didn't go exactly as he planned…
Right now his options were to climb out of this crater and get shot before he could surrender. Climb out of this crater and surrender only to get shot by a trigger happy human. Stay and drown in sewage. Climb out, surrender, and spend the rest of the war on a beach surrounded by scantily clad Asari and Batarian females. The last one had little chance at coming true but a man can dream.
The sewage was coming up to his waist now so it was now or never. Climbing up the sloped walls of the crater trying not to fall back in. The street was deserted with no signs of life. He climbed out and slowly crept through the down the street heading… anywhere really. He left his weapons back in the crater. If he ran into humans they'd hopefully be reluctant to shoot an unarmed soldier and if he ran into other Batarians he couldn't get sent back out if he didn't have a weapon.
It was quite a while before he came across anyone due to him being so careful. He wanted to see them before they saw him. After all there never was such thing as too paranoid. He moved to take a step forward only to jump back when a red blast impacted near his foot. Coming out of the darkness holding a laser rifle was a Republic Ranger. Rangers were a force that quickly became infamous in the Terminus Systems. Since what people began calling the 'Omega Incident' Rangers are spoken of in the same amount of fear afforded to Spectres.
"Alright ya bastard. Put your hands in the air and don't move a muscle." Said the Ranger aiming the rifle at his chest. "My name is Ranger Kenneth Donnelly but you're gonna call me sir. Now follow me or I'll blow your bloody head off."
Unknown Location
"They've taken the bait better than I've expected. I wondered if the leaders of this 'Hegemony' would doubt my words but they went to war with little hesitation."
"Shall I prepare our troops to join in?"
"Nein. Let's watch this play out…"
"B-But sir!"
"I said Nein, General. I've learned from my previous mistakes. We cannot hope to stand against the Republic nay the entire galaxy especially in our present state. Neither can the Batarians. Ironic that they are the paper tiger they assume the Republic is. The war will be short and when it's done the Republic will be weary and overextended. Then we will make our move."
"A brilliant plan, my Fuhrer."
Civilopedia
Ranger Handcannon- The Handcannon is the revolver issued to all Rangers upon graduating from Ranger Academy. Originally chambered in 45-70 rounds the Handcannon has sense been upgraded to use special slugs propelled using mass effect based accelerators built into the gun.
A Handcannon is a Ranger's pride & joy. It never leaves their side. It's said the only way a Ranger will give up their handcannon is if they're dead. The weapons have become rare collector's items in the Terminus Systems due to this reputation.
B-71 Star Fortress- Wanting to have a heavy bomber to supplement their Y-Wing light bombers the United Republic designed this behemoth. It was purposefully designed to be a tribute to the famous B-17 Flying Fortress from WW2. Its bay is loaded with Plasma Bombs, Proton Torpedoes, and EMP Missiles. The bomber is defended by an array of blaster turrets that can be either manned or controlled by a VI.
Ranger Ranking System
Ranger General- Commander of all Rangers. Handpicked by previous Ranger General or Wanderer in the event of General's death.
Ranger Colonel- Leads a 'division' of around 30 Rangers
Ranger Captain- Leads a 'platoon' of 10 Rangers.
Ranger Commander- Leads a 'squad' of 3 rangers.
Ranger Lieutenant- Typically leads a squad of URGF soldiers or works alone.
Ranger- Has graduated from the Ranger Academy
Recruit- Is currently attending Ranger Academy.
Cultural Civilopedia
Name: Star Trek: New Frontier
Type: TV Series
Year: 1972
Nation of Origin: United Republic of States
Plot: When testing a new warp drive the Enterprise is flung into a far off galaxy caught in the middle of a civil war. Despite attempting to remain neutral the Enterprise's crew find themselves helping the Rebel Alliance fight the Galactic Empire.
Famous Quote: "May the Force be with you."
AN: Star Wars but in Star Trek.
Name: Fallout 1
Type: Video Game
Year: 1995
Nation of Origin: United Republic of States
Plot: Several decades after a nuclear war destroys human civilization the Water Chip in Vault 13 built outside the ruins of Los Santos fails. The Player Character known only as the Vault Dweller is sent out to search for a new one in the wasteland that used to be the Republican West.
AN: Not much different here. The only things different from our Fallout is the map, locations, and weapons. The map is twice the size of that in our Fallout 1 but the southern portion of the map is taken up by Los Santos' ruins with numerous factions owning sections of the city.
