"Our Powers Combined"
Turian Dreadnought HNS Tiberin's Hope, Daramal System, August 26, 2193
Truth be told, Desolas was worried. The navy may have reinforced the 3rd Fleet... but high command was sending him reservists, members of the Home Guard, and fresh faced recruits who have never seen action before. Not enough veterans had been rotated out of the front lines yet. Normally reinforcements would be one veteran rotated out of the front for every four fresh faced recruits. Right now, he had been given one veteran for every twelve. So when word came from High Command that a Human force would be joining the operation, he very nearly sighed in relief. He was almost certain that the Humans wouldn't send a force of total newbies to their first ever joint operation. After all... it would be quite stupid if they did.
Arterius sat in his office a while longer as he ruminated the operation to come. He'd already finished reading the roster report that the Humans had sent him, but his anxiety was hardly soothed. 42 warships was plenty of help, but the Admiral wasn't sure it would make any real difference.
"Sir, the Human Task Force has arrived." A voice on the intercom spoke. "The Commander of the Task Force is requesting to meet you in person."
"Give him the go ahead." Arterius said "I'll meet him in the Conference Room."
It would be another 30 minutes before the Human commander would arrive in the conference room - along with his escorts, unsurprisingly.
"Admiral Arterius, I assume?" The Human commander spoke.
"Yes, I am."
"Good." The Human nodded. "I'm Special Task Force Commander Boris Mikhailovich, in command of Task Force Archangel. I'm looking forward to returning the favors your people have done to mine."
"Special Task Force Commander? The report I was given lists you as Captain." Arterius asked.
"A force of this size would normally be given to a Rear Admiral or a Commodore. However, with all the deployments at the moment, there aren't enough to go around. High Command has raised me to Special Commander for this occasion. Once the assignment is over, my status reverts back to Captain."
"Ah, I see." Arterius nodded, before putting forward his hand for the Human's handshake gesture. "I look forward to working with you."
Mikhailovich shook the Turian's hand, then the two took a seat at the conference table.
"I have read the report regarding the composition of your force, but I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with some of your navy's terminologies and doctrine." Arterius said, pouring two glasses of sterile water for both of them. "It would greatly help the both of us if you could help explain some of the more... alien concepts I have noticed.
"Such as?"
"Your carriers." Arterius continued as he put down the bottle of water and picked up one of the drinking glasses on the table. "From my understanding, your Task Force composition seems to built around these types of warships? I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate on this further... we Turians do not exactly understand the concept behind a warship dedicated to carrying smaller crafts."
Mikhailovich took the other drinking glass from the table and sipped a little from it.
"I see. Well, I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising that other races wouldn't have the same type of maritime naval background as we Humans have." The Special Commander mused as he scratched his chin while trying to figure out a way to explain the concept to the Turian Admiral.
"That is likely the case." Arterius said before he sipped from his own glass. "Palaven's geography meant that our maritime forces took a back seat in most of our historical conflicts... If I recall the first contact package I received correctly, yours is different, no?"
"Indeed. The most powerful nations in our history often had powerful maritime navies to project their powers across the oceans and to other continents. One of the largest empires of 19th Century Earth was a relatively small island nation that controlled many of the world's trade routes. Battling over these trade routes would force all the super powers into developing more advanced naval weapons that could strike from further and further away. Eventually, the only thing limiting the warships of the time was the horizon itself."
"Can't hit something you can't see." Arterius mused.
"Exactly." Mikhailovich said. "Building taller ships, with bigger guns and better sensors was only going to go so far in helping you hit further, so what's the solution? Mount the weapons on aircraft that can hit targets much farther than any naval gun can dream of."
Arterius nodded along for a bit as he processed the explanation, before responding.
"This all makes sense... I suppose." The Turian Admiral said. "While we Turians aren't unfamiliar with the idea of warships carrying their own fighters... I'm afraid that I still can't fully fathom dedicating an entire warship just for that purpose."
"It's understandable, Sir." Mikhailovich replied. "I'm sure the results will speak for itself, once we see action."
The Human Commander then paused for a short moment, as if to contemplate his words. Arterius was about to pry, but stopped himself. Being too forward with the Humans might not play off as well as with other Turians... or maybe it would... the Admiral wasn't sure. He hadn't interacted with any Humans prior to this meeting. He had to be diplomatic with his interactions.
After Mikhailovich finished contemplating whatever it was occupied his mind, he leaned forward on the conference table, then spoke with a much more serious tone.
"There is one thing I must tell you... it's about the Task Force." He said. "It wasn't included in the report we sent to you beforehand... it's sensitive information, you see. High Admiral Grissom's mandate was that I needed to keep this information on a need to know basis, I would appreciate it if you would hold this information with the same degree of sensitivity."
Arterius raised one of his brow plates.
"It's a matter of cooperation." Mikhailovich continued. "We're going to be covering each other's backs for the foreseeable future... so I want to tell you this as a gesture of good will, and to make it clear that we have no intentions of blindsiding you in any way, shape or form."
"Very well commander." The Admiral said, as he gestured for his guards to leave the room. "I'll respect your request. What is it about your task force that requires so much secrecy?"
Once the Turian guards had left the room, Mikhailovich cleared his throat, then answered the Admiral's question.
"Admiral Arterius, Task Force Archangel has in its inventory a full arsenal of WMDs, and we've been given permission by High Command to use it as we see fit."
Arterius recoiled slightly at that revelation, but quickly regained his composure.
"I... see why you wanted to keep this confidential." The Admiral responded. "Do you intend on using your WMDs?"
"If the situation calls for it, we won't hesitate. to use it."
The Admiral let out a grunt.
"Understandable." Arterius said. "Hopefully you won't need to resort to such measures... but if you must, please keep us updated. I'd like to make sure my men can be prepared accordingly if they have to deal with a nuclear contaminated battlefield."
"I'll make sure to do so." The Commander said, reassuring the Turian Admiral.
Mikhailovich poured some more water into his drinking glass, then also for Arterius, before raising his cup.
"To a swift victory!" The Commander said.
Arterius copied the gesture.
"And to the future of our alliance!"
The two drank their water, then stood up and shook hands.
"If you need to contact me any further, I will be at the Light Carrier SSV Ptolemaios." Mikhailovich said. "If I'm not available, then speak to Captain Sumeragi. She is in command in my absence."
The two officers bid each other farewell, and as soon as the Human left, Arterius sat back down by the conference table and pulled out a bottle of Aged Cipritine Brandy. He poured himself a glass and downed it quickly. He sat alone for a moment before he got a notification from the ship's intercom system.
"Admiral, Ambassador Nyx is on the line. He wants to speak with you."
"Hrmm... I'll take the call here, thank you."
A holographic image of the Ambassador was projected from the center of the conference table. Arterius got up from his seat and exchanged salutes.
"Ambassador, to what do I owe this pleasure?" The Admiral greeted.
"Nothing too dire for the Hierarchy, thankfully... but it is dire for me." He said.
"What do you mean?"
"I have a favor I mean to ask of you, Desolas."
"A favor?" Arterius asked with a browplate raised. "You know I can't do anything that could compro..."
"Please, Desolas, it's nothing quite like that." Nyx cut off. "I... just this once would like to bypass the red tape for a report."
When the Admiral didn't interject, the Ambassador continued.
"Both of... my daughters were deployed to Thargora Thoraga with the 8th Army. Doctor Lucia Nyx, and Quartermaster Quilla Nyx."
Arterius nodded.
"If you could confirm their safety to me personally... that would mean a lot to me."
"You know that I can't divert troops just to look for your daughters, Ambassador."
"I know, Admiral." Nyx said, rubbing his head crest. "I know... just... please, if you hear anything about them, contact me as soon as you can."
"... very well then, Ambassador." Arterius nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for them."
-000-
"To Bring Down a Giant"
Glatisant Line, Thargora Thoraga, August 29, 2193.
"General!" A comm officer called out. "General Oraka!"
Heads in the command bunker turned to see what the commotion was about, and Captain Kuril was no exception.
He saw the comm officer almost running towards the General's holotable with a datapad clutched tightly on hand.
"What is it, Sulla?" Oraka asked, though his focus remained on the holotable.
"Sir, an encrypted transmission broke through the Council jamming!" Sulla answered. "It's from High Command!"
Oraka finally turned his attention from the holotable and to the comm officer.
"From Palaven?!" The General half exclaimed. "Let me see."
Sulla handed over the datapad to the General then stood at attention as he read through the message.
Kuril walked over to the holotable, himself curious to know what message could have been sent from Palaven. Before he could ask what was going on, the General let out a hearty laugh before speaking again.
"Desolas, you magnificent bastard, I knew you could do it!" Oraka said.
The General then turned to Sulla.
"Get me Colonel Victus, immediately!"
The Comm officer nodded then ran off to do his task.
"Sir..." Kuril asked the General. "Do you mean... that relief is on its way?"
"That's right, Captain." Oraka answered, a genuine smile being seen on his face for the first time in months. "The 3rd Fleet will arrive within a week's time."
Spirits, reinforcements were finally coming. This nightmarish campaign was coming to an end soon. Kuril had to hold himself from rejoicing then and there, he still had to make it through the week, and then make it through until the relief force can link up with the 8th Army.
It was then that Victus arrived in the bunker and hurried to the holotable. After a quick salute, Oraka gave him his orders.
"Victus, reinforcements are finally on their way here." Oraka told the Colonel. "They'll arrive in system within a week's time."
"That's great news, sir!" The Colonel replied.
"It is, but we're not out of trouble yet." Oraka rebuked. "You're good at thinking on the go, so I want you to assess our own, as well as the enemy's, strategic situation. Identify good landing positions that our friends at the SNLF would want, then focus your efforts there."
"Understood, sir."
"I'm also giving you priority command over our air assets, be it for ground support or transport." Oraka added. "Use it to ferry troops and materials quickly. We need a breakthrough to allied landing zones so that we can quickly ship our wounded out."
"Of course, sir." Victus nodded. "I'll organize my men at once.
The Colonel turned to leave, and Kuril followed closely. Once they were out of the bunker, and far outside of earshot from the General, the Captain finally spoke.
"Adrien, about those landing zones... I may have something that could help."
"Hmm?" Victus simply grunted out.
"My Pioneers and I... we think we can restore a Krogan hypervelocity gun to functioning order."
Victus stopped his march and turned to his close friend.
"Which one?" The Colonel asked.
"The one at Gawr Gawra Hill, a ways south from here."
Victus thought on it for a moment.
"How confident are you that you can get it done within the week?"
"If we had the materials... very confident."
The Colonel went into deep thought again before speaking.
"Does the General..."
"I've brought it up to him before, he shot the idea down."
The Colonel nodded.
"Alright, give me a list, and I'll do my best to get them for your project."
Kuril was taken aback.
"Wait wh.." The captain stammered a bit, taken aback. "Just like that?"
"Just like that. I trust you can do this Octavis." The Colonel reassured, putting a hand on the Captain's shoulder. "Don't fail me."
"I won't, sir!"
The two parted ways afterwards, and Kuril very quickly dialed Quartermaster Nyx on his communicator.
"Quilla, write up a list of things we need to finish up on the big gun!"
-000-
"What's Theirs is Ours"
Anaheim Electronics HQ, Anaheim Station, Over Earth, August 30, 2193
"Initial testing has proven to be very succesful, Admiral Grissom." A man in somewhat unkempt office attire reported. "With the schematics provided, we have been able to replicate the heat masking and stealth systems to some success... regrettably, we haven't been able to work on masking the energy signature flashes from FTL flight and main gun firing."
"I have no use for stealth warships that can't use its stealth to fight, Professor Ray." Grissom chided back.
The Admiral looked down from the observation platform down to the hangar where Anaheim's stealth system test bed was being kept. Maintenance workers were going over the ins and outs of the small cargo freighter thoroughly, and engineers were on duty trying to figure out a way to get over their current hurdles.
"Of course, I understand completely... but do understand that even with the documents the Councilor leaked, we are still many decades behind the Salarians when it comes to our understanding of Mass Effect systems." The Professor said, trying to assuage the Admiral. "We will require more time and resources to continue at our current rate."
"We're in the middle of a war against a more powerful enemy, Professor. We just lost a colony beating back one incursion. Time and resources are luxuries we have little of." Grissom then responded, shaking his head. "Can you guarantee that you can bring us results?"
The Anaheim engineer pushed up the glasses he was wearing, then handed over a datapad to the Admiral.
"My team will most definitely be able to bring you results... but again, we will need time." Ray explained. "We should be able to rectify the problems with blue-shift masking before the year's end... building the ship though, that may prove to be another issue. Designing, prototyping, and testing needs to be done. We can't exactly just take an existing frigate or cruiser and graft the stealth system onto it... the internal systems around the main gun is far too complicated for that. We would have to design a whole new warship to accomodate the new stealth systems."
"We might not have until next year, Professor." Grissom responded again as he looked through the datapad.
"A hurdle I've foreseen." Ray remarked. "Please open page 36 of the report, I have a sort of... workaround that we could implement... if you could give us the greenlight"
Grissom quickly scrolled to the aforementioned page and read through it quickly, nodding as he took in the proposal he was given.
"If I gave you the clearance for this, how soon can you get it done?" The Admiral asked after he finished.
"Assuming all things go well... it'll take us a couple of days to size up the ships for implementation, then at least a week to produce the materials needed, another 2 weeks to install the stealth systems, and then another week to make sure all systems work fine."
"Can you work on multiple ships at once?"
"I'd need to recruit and train new teams to accomodate that... but it should be possible."
Grissom thought for a few moments longer, before speaking again.
"Very well." The Admiral concluded. "We have some ships you can use coming out of the Batakarta Shipyards. I'll make the arrangements and have them transferred to Anaheim's hands."
"Thank you, Admiral. We'll be sure to prioritize working on those ships immediately."
"Don't thank me, Professor. Just get it done."
Professor Ray nodded and excused himself. Grissom stayed behind at the platform for a few moments longer. He kept going through the datapad that he was given, before sighing to himself.
"A stealth capable carrier..." The Admiral mused to himself. "Professor Ray... you might just be crazy enough to win us this war."
-000-
"Hunting the Despoiler"
Omega Station, Sahrabarik System, August 30, 2193.
"So this is the pirate capital of the Terminus Systems?" Anderson quipped. "I have to say, it's living up to its reputation."
The big skybus the Blackwatch, N7, and Free Republican Watchmen were riding in zoomed over several Omega wards. They were on a three way undercover joint operation. The Free Republic's intelligence network had managed to track multiple suspicious shipments into Omega... well, more suspicious than usual. It wasn't every day that parts for cutting edge medical equipment get shipped to Omega, and stay there. Normally it gets shipped out within a few day's time to whichever buyer had ordered it off the black market.
Anderson looked out and saw the hodgepodge construction bolted into the asteroid's walls. It reminded him of the slums back on Earth.
"Trust me, it's worse than it looks." The Batarian leader, one Captain Ha'rikah Vorhess, said.
"Well, what can you expect from the dreg pit of the galaxy?" Saren commented as he inspected his rifle. "Still, doesn't anyone think it's a bit odd that the STG would establish a base here and not somewhere within Council Space?"
"If we get the chance, maybe you can ask them." Vorhess replied. "What matters right now is we find this lab, find out what's going on, then shut down the operation."
"Right... any clue how that Pirate Queen is going to react to us shooting up a part of her station?" Anderson now asked.
"As long as we maintain our disguise as a small mercenary company, Aria shouldn't catch wind too quickly." The Batarian captain explained. "Humans are also still an unknown quantity here in the Terminus, she won't be expecting your people. Keep your helmets on. If anyone asks, you're a Batarian."
"We remember the briefing, four-eyes!" an N7 operator snidely replied.
Before Vorhess could snap back, someone interrupted.
"We're here!" The skybus driver announced.
The vehicle slowed down to hover over a large platform. Once it had touched down, the team quickly offloaded. The denizens of Omega didn't pay much attention to them. A few glances, maybe, but none cared much. Merc teams were a dime-a-dozen around here, very common and never out of place. So when a uniformed and heavily armed gang arrives on site, it's business as usual.
"Let's make this quick." Saren said.
"My contact said the research site was built on a small storage depot three levels below us." Vorhess told all the operators. "Humans, rappel down the side and breach through the balcony. Turians, attack through the north entrance. We'll pin them down through the western entrance. With any luck, we'll be able to secure the site quickly."
The three teams quickly separated to their own assignments, taking up positions and preparing their assault.
From his own position, Vorhess noted the lack of external guards. The informant was right... this operation was very hush-hush. Security must be tighter inside, he concluded.
"This is Sigmar Team, we're in position." Saren reported.
"Strider Team, we're ready to go." Anderson said.
"Execute!" Vorhess yelled out.
The Watchmen computer specialist hacked open the door, letting Vorhess and his team attack with the element of surprise on their side. The Watchmen operators quickly rushed in, gunning down security mechs and security guards alike. A firefight broke out as the guards quickly reacted and got into cover.
They were highly trained, this wouldn't be easy...
On the other side of the compound, Saren and his team opted for a more aggressive approach. With the door blown open, the Blackwatch team tossed in flashbangs into the room, disorienting the defenders inside. They then streamed inside, every few steps they took accentuated by a burst of accurate rifle fire. Saren and his team quickly neutralized their opposition before pushing further in.
On the lower balcony then, the N7 operators had scaled down the wall with their optical cloak activated. The naked eye would only be able to see a slight shimmer in the air, if they saw anything at all. After hacking through the balcony door, the Human spec ops team halted their advance at an intersection as a team of security guards and accompanying mechs rushed through the hallway trying to reinforce the guards om the upper floor.
Once the coast was clear, Anderson motioned for his team to continue moving. As they quietly pushed on, they heard firefights from above echo through the walls. By the sounds of things, Saren and Vorhess were gaining ground.
"Big room up ahead, might be what we're looking for." Anderson quietly said over his team's private radio frequency.
He then signaled for his team to take breaching positions on either side of the massive door and to disengage their cloaks. Breaching the door, Anderson fired a barrage of flashbang grenades from his grenade launcher. With each explosion, he turned his head away enough that his helmet visor could take the brunt of it and auto adjust away the bright flashes. A violent, one sided gunfight ensued as the Salarians in the large room tried to fight back. Everyone from the security guards, to what Anderson recognized as lab researchers, picked up a weapon and attempted to retaliate. It wouldn't make a difference. Strider team hit hard and hit fast as they almost mechanically cleared the room of hostiles. It wasn't until the room was secured that Anderson finally eased off.
"Search the room, find out what the hell they were doing here!" He barked out.
His team nodded, and quickly started scouring the room for intel. Anderson himself started looking around and found a dozen or so massive storage tubes... each one of them empty. He inspected the tubes closer for a bit before he heard strained laughing coming from behind him. The N7 leader whirled around and was surprised to find that one of the Salarian scientists hadn't yet died.
"You're too late..." The scientist goaded, stopping only when he started coughing out blood.
"The hell are you talking about?" Anderson asked, kneeling down to get a closer look at the scientist.
The bastard was shot straight through the lung. He was drowning in his own blood. It wouldn't be long before he expired. Anderson had to grill the sonuvabitch now.
"Why are we too late?" Anderson asked again.
"The weapon... *cough* is already finished... ha... *cough*"
"Weapon? What weapon?"
"You'll *cough* see... we've already... won..." The scientist said, trailing off as he finally succumbed to his wounds.
"Damn it!" Anderson cursed. "Just what the hell is going on here?"
-000-
Archive Update:
Zumad Industrial Solutions: Starting out as a Belkan based civillian tractor company, had to quickly restructure itself as an arms manufacturer following Belka's entrance into the Brother's War. The company lacked proper design and engineering teams to create original weapons of war, but had a flexible enough assembly line that they could supplement existing production with their own.
Zumad's first military contract was to build Salamis class transports for the war effort. With the profits from this first contract, Zumad opened more factories around Belka, where they would produce everything from Kaiser MBTs, to combat hardsuits for the Commonwealth Marines. Once the war was over, Zumad converted most of their military factories back to producing consumer goods. This unfortunately put them in a bad spot when The Batarian War broke out and they were forced to spend more money to reverse their conversions.
When the Alliance joined the Great Galactic War, Zumad received the license to produce suits of Powered Armor to help supplement Cydonia Mechanics' production rates. Congress had deemed CM's initial production output to be unsatisfactory, and contracted multiple companies to fill the gap. This contract would revitalize and transform the company into a key player in the Powered Armor market for many years to come.
Anaheim Electronics: Named after the space station it was founded on, Anaheim Electronics was one of many startup companies that benefited from the Alliance's wartime economic policies. The company got its start as an outsourcing company, producing components for other bigger companies. Anaheim's founder, Sean Vist, took the opportunity brought to him and rapidly expanded Anaheim from a small factory, to becoming the largest employer in the station. Between the founder's eccentric personality and the company's explosive growth, Anaheim quickly began attracting many bright minds of less orthodox thinking.
Anaheim status as a major arms manufacturer were drawn in the sand when it won the bid to develop stealth warships based on leaked Salarian designs. This status was then cemented their position when they were contracted to supplement Cydonia Mechanics' initially disappointing Powered Armor production output. Eventually, Anaheim would take its place in the trinity of major Power Armor producers alongside Cydonia Mechanics and Zumad.