A PASSIONATE INTENSITY: A DEATH NOTE/MASS EFFECT STORY

Author's Note: I've kept sexual violence out of this story to make it SpaceBattles-friendly. But that does NOT mean it isn't happening offscreen…

Starting with this story, I am omitting the word "Chapter" because my stories are honestly just too short to merit the word. Numbers work just as well.

And if there is an afterlife: I hope you are pleased with my work, Mr. Yeats.

1 - Mere Anarchy Is Loosed Upon The World

Puret H'Gloth stared with fascinated eyes at the black book titled "DEATH NOTE" that had appeared in his living quarters, seemingly out of nowhere. Physical books were so rare. Most species stopped making them after spaceflight outside of symbolic or "rich guy wants cool thing" related reasons. So to actually see one-

"Hi!"

Puret looked up.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

A strange misshapen creature stood next to his bed. Its body looked as if it were sewn together haphazardly. It reminded him of the toys some of the slave children had - far inferior to his own caste's children entertainment.

"It's OK!" The little beast was, bizarrely, attempting to reassure him. "I'm not here to cause any trouble! I'm Gelus, and that book is called a Death Note! It kills people if you write their name in it with your face in their mind. Pretty cool, huh?"

Puret stared at the little creature, two thoughts dominating his mind:

A. This probably wasn't bullshit. Puret wasn't aware of any technology other than eezo that could just make a book appear in front of him. But there had been no flashy blue light show: one minute it wasn't there, and the next it was.

B. The Hegemony could make VERY good use of this. And he would make sure that they did.

Gelus handed him what appeared to be a replica of an ancient writing utensil. "Here's a pen! Have fun with it!"

Oh, he would. He ABSOLUTELY would.

He quickly wrote the following into the Death Note:

Andrew Duran

"Who's that?" Gelus asked.

"Anti-Batarian Alliance politician," he said with disgust. "Can't wait to see him die."

-api-

SYSTEMS ALLIANCE PARLIAMENT MEMBER DIES DURING COMMITTEE MEETING!

Citadel News Network - In a shocking tragedy that horrified all of humanity, Systems Alliance MP Andrew Duran died of an instant and unexpected brain aneurysm in parliament today.

Medical experts throughout both the Alliance and Citadel space are baffled at the sudden death, which occurred despite Duran's legendarily good health.

"He had the constitution of a krogan," Salarian scientist Nerlin Tolan said. "This is very, very strange. Were it not for the impossibility of assassination via brain aneurysm, I would strongly suspected it."

Assemblymember Duran was known for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the slaves of the Batarian Hegemony, and his death may have a significant impact on Alliance foreign policy…

-api-

GELUS: Wow, you guys are pretty brutal!

PURET H'GLOTH: If you don't like being my sidekick, maybe you'd like being a slave.

[laughter.]

PURET: You think I'm joking?

GELUS: You can't enslave me, silly! I'm a shinigami! If you try to put a control chip in my head, your hand will go right through me! I only touch matter that I WANT to touch, thank you very much!

[pause.]

GELUS: Hey, I just did a translation and my last sentence rhymes in human English and High Thessian! Isn't that cool?

PURET: You are REALLY fucking annoying.

GELUS [in English]: Don't give a fuuuuuuuuuuuck! Hehehe!

2 - The Best Lack All Conviction

ASARI COUNCILOR NELYANA: We must discuss what is happening within the Batarian Hegemony.

SALARIAN COUNCILOR DALATRASS DANDUS: Indeed. Very disturbing trends. Multiple potential leaders of rebellion movement killed without warning.

TURIAN COUNCILOR TERNTUS: Do we have ANY idea how they are doing these Spirits-cursed brain aneurysms?!

DANDUS: None whatsoever. Scientifically impossible.

NELYANA: Then how is it happening?

DANDUS: Magic, or divine intervention perhaps.

TERNTUS: This is absurd! We are the Council! We must work together to solve-

[DEATH: Aneurysm.]

[DEATH: Aneurysm.]

[DEATH: Aneurysm.]

-api-

CITADEL COUNCIL MURDERED!

Citadel News Network - The strange and scientifically inexplicable "Brain Deaths" apparently being used by the Batarian Hegemony to strengthen its rule have struck the heart of the Citadel. All three Councilors were apparently killed by Brain Death today, leading to an immediate investigation being launched by C-Sec and the detainment of all Batarians on the Citadel…

-api-

Devesh H'rthat was confused.

Confused and horrified.

How was this happening? How could the Batarian Hegemony simply kill anyone it wished? The thought had occurred to her that divine powers might be responsible, and she now considered herself a staunch misotheist. But that wasn't really relevant to her immediate situation of being held in custody by Citadel security.

Nobody seemed to believe her completely true claim that she was a refugee from the Hegemony, probably because so many of those damn Hegemony spies had used that cover before.

No matter. She would prove her innocence. And if the Hegemony came for her, well, she always carried a holdout weapon for a reason.

Except when she was in this cell!

-api-

PURET: Rest in pieces, Council.

GELUS: Isn't that a human phrase?

[maniacal laughter.]

3 - The Ceremony Of Innocence Is Drowned

CITADEL INVADED BY HEGEMONY AFTER C-SEC MASSACRE! CITADEL ANNXED: POPULATION ENSLAVED!

VolusTech News Network - In a shocking turn of events that have led many to speculation that the Hegemony is divinely blessed, the Batarian government invaded the Citadel today and declared the territory part of the Hegemony…

-api-

GARRUS VAKARIAN: Who are you?

DEVESH H'RTHAT: I am called Devesh.

GARRUS: Garrus. So I guess you're in these Keeper access tunnels for the same reason I am?

DEVESH: Yes. The Hegemony has a price on my head. If I am found, I will be executed painfully.

GARRUS: Damn. Well, I'm not really into working on my own when we'd be more effective as a team. How about it?

DEVESH: …very well. Safety in numbers, as they say.

GARRUS: Absolutely. Now let's keep moving.

-api-

URDNOT WREX: Give me one reason why I shouldn't gut you like a varren.

HEGEMONY OFFICER: Because we're going to cure the Genophage for you.

[pause. surprise.]

WREX: Keep talking.

OFFICER: The Hegemony will agree not to enslave any krogan, and free any krogan currently in bondage. In return, your people become the army of the Hegemony.

WREX: You haven't explained how you're going to cure the Genophage yet.

OFFICER: You haven't figured it out? We're enslaving the Salarians.

WREX: Pretty brutal…but I guess it serves them right. I'm in.

4 - The Blood-Dimmed Tide

4 months later…

PALAVEN SURROUNDED! THE END OF THE HIERARCHY?

Virmire News Network - It appears that the Hierarchy's diversionary tactics have finally met their limits. The turian homeworld of Palaven is surrounded by Hegemony warships, and analysts predict it will fall within two weeks…

…In local news, polls show the race for Virmire Republic President is locked in a dead heat between Jack Harper and Aria T'Loak…

-api-

Palaven - Primarch's Office

Nartul Mentus readied his gun as he heard the Hegemony soldiers breaking down his office door.

thud.

They had tried their best. The Spirits had abandoned them. Though truthfully, Nartul had stopped believing the Spirits ever helped turians months ago.

thud.

What could they have possibly done? Assassination via brain aneurysm was entirely inexplicable and unstoppable.

CRASH!

"There he is!"

Nartul Mentus, the final Primarch of Palaven, took three batarians with him before being shot in the head.

-api-

Sur'Kesh

Nerlin Tolan wanted to die. Not because of any physical pain (though that was bad too), but because of the utterly horrible work he was being forced to do.

They were curing the genophage. And not because the krogan had reformed, but because they had all been enslaved by the batarians and made to cure it so the krogan could be made into the Hegemony's shock troops.

Many salarians had committed suicide upon realizing what the Hegemony had in store for them. But Nerlin was one of the unlucky ones on 24/7 suicide watch because of his scientific expertise.

There are no gods, or goddesses. And if there are, we must find a way to kill them immediately.

-api-

Earth & Thessia

The terrors of Earth and Thessia are best left undescribed. One facet of the Fall of Thessia can safely be described to all audiences, however:

The Hegemony made good use of the Prothean VI hidden within the Temple of Athame. Warship capacity was doubled, and slave days were extended from ten hours to twelve.

Horrifyingly and brutally, the Hegemony began preparing for the coming of the Reapers.

-api-

GELUS: So, uh, I've got something to tell ya.

PURET: What might that be?

GELUS: The Reapers, they sort of have names. But the rules of the Death Note say I can't tell you those names - you have to get shinigami eyes.

PURET: Right, you mentioned those before. Half my remaining lifespan…

[pause.]

PURET: Alright, let's do it.

5 - The Falcon Cannot Hear The Falconer

Harbinger was panicking.

For the first time in billions of years, he was afraid.

Something - the very same something that had caused Nazara to call him and all but beg him to initiate an emergency harvest - was killing his people.

Instantly.

HOW?!

How could an organic species be so-

Harbinger died, and the few hundred surviving Ascended fled the galaxy.

The Hegemony had defeated the Reapers.

6 - The Widening Gyre

ARIA: They're going to be here soon.

ZAAL'KORIS: So we are in agreement? Virmire and the Migrant Fleet will travel to the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Geth to the Sculptor Dwarf.

GETH: Affirmative.

ARIA: Well, I guess we'll see you guys in five hundred thousand years.

[laughter.]

-api-

An Ancestor had once said that every journey begins with a single step. It was a saying common among humans and quarians, and one that Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib found himself pondering as the Migrant Fleet began to prepare for its two hundred thousand year cryosleep.

The Large Magellanic Cloud had been chosen because it would be less likely to harbor extraterrestrial life. The Geth had chosen Andromeda because it was far away from them, and they had made it clear they would not be returning. They wanted to "self-determinate" on their own, which was just fine with Zaal'Koris.

"All residents of the Migrant Fleet, prepare for cryosleep."

And thus the Milky Way was surrendered to the Hegemony.

For the moment.

7 - Thus The Second Coming!

205,000 years later…

Delkanyet was not sure how to regard the strange aliens in front of him.

Intellectually his people knew there had to be aliens when the inexplicable flying machines started appearing in the sky above them, but he hadn't expected them to have such…unusual things to say.

"If I say summarize your points, honored guests?" The Kalor were a polite people.

"Of course," the furless pale alien replied.

"You are members of species known as humanity and the quarians. You originally come from the Bright Spiral galaxy, and numerous other alien species came along with you."

"Correct," the silver-skinned alien replied.

"You did this to escape a slaver race that had conquered the whole galaxy, and now you seek to uplift us in exchange for our assistance?"

"Exactly."

"And if we refuse?"

The human "shrugged," a strange gesture. "We'll just quarantine your home system. Kalvekyak and the three other planets in this system are yours to do with as you wish, but you won't be allowed to explore the rest of the galaxy."

"What gives you the right to do this?"

"The same right that the ancient human Abraham Lincoln had."

-api-

73 years later…

ASARI: I'm so glad the war is finally over!

QUARIAN: Me too. Now all the species are ready to help us defeat the Slave Galaxy.

ASARI: Of course, I doubt we'll live to see it.

QUARIAN: Actually, I plan to.

ASARI: You're going to get zaaled, huh?

QUARIAN: Indeed. Quarians have kept meticulous family records since our arrival, and I am a direct descendant of Zaal'Koris. I feel somewhat obligated to follow in his footsteps and zaal myself until the time has come to take the fight to the slavers.

8 - The Darkness Drops Again...Then Dies!

250,300 years later…

Zaal'Koris awoke from his half-million year sleep…

…and immediately cut off all external audio feeds due the absolutely DEAFENING sound of the clapping.

-api-

It was a titanic clash between two extremely advanced civilizations. But ultimately, a number of factors caused the "Eternal" Batarian Empire to fall to the invaders:

Stagnant Technological Progress - The Hegemony had stopped caring about any technology not related to slave control once the conquest of the galaxy had been completed. Very little new had been invented in the past 400,000 years. It was a lethargic society, an uncreative society.

Slave Rebellions - Once considered unthinkable, the "unbreakable" control chips of the slaves were hacked and disabled by the combined strength of half a million years of technological advancement. Because an astonishing 97% of the Empire were slaves, this sealed the deal for most worlds…

And The Geth took care of the rest. After so long in isolation, the Geth had perfected a moving Dyson swarm that could travel between galaxies. And it was this swarm that had decided to lay in wait, in dark space just outside the Milky Way. When their ancient contemporaries returned at last, they struck.

The Empire never stood a chance.

-api-

Neret A'Laya stared at the ancient recording, transcribing every word faithfully.

"We can't keep hiding from the Hegemony in the Keeper tunnels forever.

What are you saying?"

She tried not to cry. These two, whom she had learned were named Garrus Vakarian and Devesh H'rthat, had died hopeless and with the certain conviction that the Hegemony would never be beaten.

Well, in a way, that was true. The Hegemony had never been beaten.

But the Empire ABSOLUTELY had, and it was something that would never cease to be celebrated.

9 - Slouching Towards Bethlehem

2 years later…

"…and with that, I am proud to announce the formation of the Galactic Federation!"

For the second time in his life, Zaal'Koris was inundated with cheers. This time, he did not turn off his audio. He had earned this.

And the Geth had too! Most of the animosity between the two had faded once the truth of the Geth's history had been revealed. Actually, that was probably secondary to the fact that Geth and Quarian had fought alongside one another to defeat the Reapers. To reflect those essential contributions, the Constitution of the Galactic Federation would guarantee equal rights for both organic sapients and AIs.

The hatchet had been buried, and the galaxy was looking to the future.

-api-

PURET: Those fucking assholes!

GELUS: Seriously, Puret? You've been dead for half a million years and you're mad about THIS?

PURET: It's not fair! My Empire-

GELUS: Lasted a ridiculously long time! Not everyone is the Death God, dude. Empires almost NEVER last forever. Most stuff is just lost to time, straight up.

[sigh.]

PURET: I guess you're right, ultimately.

GELUS: Obviously. Want to get blackout drunk?

PURET: …yes, actually.

Epilogue: The Rebirth of Khar'shan

FORMER SLAVE WOKEN FROM CRYOSLEEP ELECTED ADMINISTRATOR OF BATARIAN REGION

Federation News Network - In a sign that the newly-formed Galactic Federation stands by its words, an ancient former slave named Verek L'Rothar who arrived from the Large Magellanic Cloud has been elected Administrator of the Batarian Region.

"Today, the batarian people are reborn," L'Rothar said during his acceptance speech. "I am beyond grateful to my fellow citizens for placing your trust in me. No matter what species you are, I vow to make Khar'shan a free and equal place for all who inhabit it!"

Perhaps reflecting his commitment to justice, Administrator-Elect L'Rothar personally oversaw the execution of a former slaver that same day…