2000 lightyears outside the Hades Nexus 2186, 1700 Hours Citadel Time
The Drive Core of the Normandy gave off its distinctive low hum as it traveled at its FTL speeds towards the Hades Nexus. Shepard wasn't exactly sure what they'd find there, but if it was a new mass relay, it could turn the tide of the war in the Alliance's favor. Depending on where it lead to, of course. Joker's voice suddenly came over the ship's intercom.
"Approaching the Hades Nexus Relay, Commander. ETA to Talaria: about 20 minutes," Shepard was in his personal cabin, and grabbed his N7 Helmet from his desk. He pressed on his com in his ear.
"Have everyone meet in the CIC for mission briefing. I'll be down in a second,"
"Aye Aye Commander," Joker replied. Shepard wiped a smudge off the visor of his helmet and put it back on the desk. The old piece of armor had sure seen some action, and was practically an antique at this point. Luckily the alliance had given him a new one when he was reinstated, but that helmet had seen almost as much action as he has. But there would be time to reminisce later.
In the CIC, the Normandy crew had assembled around the holo table of the Normandy. Garrus and Tali were going over the mission together.
"So, Shepard called all of us here at once. Usually that means something really bad has happened. Or he just doesn't want to tell everyone more than once," Garrus said, crossing his arms and leaning on a console.
"Are you kidding? A new mass relay could be amazing for us! There's no telling what's on the other side that we could use to our advantage!" Tali said, enthusiastically.
"Or the reapers," Liara chimed in. "If they get there before us, who knows what will happen to the galaxy?"
"Unless they already have. In which case, we're running out of time," Garrus said. Tali and Liara nodded woefully.
"Which is exactly why we need to find it," Shepard said, stepping out of the elevator. "Even if it's not a mass relay. Whatever it is, I'm almost certain the reapers know about it."
"Yeah. Everything from comm buoys and mechs to mass relays themselves; if its technology, the reapers wanna be the first ones to take it," James added.
"Everyone, listen up! I want everyone to be high alert here. If you think you even hear a reaper out here, call it in. This might be a new relay, or a new piece of technology, but don't take any unnecessary risks here. If it is a relay, we call it in to command," Shepard said, giving his orders from the galaxy map platform.
"And if it is not a relay?" Javik asked. Shepard shook his head.
"Nothing changes. If the last three years have proven anything, it's that new and unknown technology can have dire consequences,"
"Like the destruction of life as we know it?" Kaidan joked. Joker's voice came back over the intercom.
"We've reached Talaria, Commander. Or, um, what's left of it," Shepard quickly jumped down from the platform and ran to the bridge with the crew not far behind him.
"Joker, what the hell are you-" Shepard cut himself short when he saw the meteorites and debris of what used to be Talaria. And the remains of what Shepard assumed to be the Portland.
"Keelah. What happened here?" Tali said in disbelief.
"I think we can assume what happened here. The Reapers got here first," Kaidan said, shaking his head. "What do we do, Commander?" Shepard was silent for a minute, staring at the debris in the dead of space.
"This doesn't change anything. That's a new relay out there, and the reapers just went through it. We're going to follow them and figure out what they found," he said, pointing to the mass relay through the viewport. Liara walked up next to him.
"Is that really a good idea Shepard? This relay… I've never seen one quite like it. It almost resembles the Omega-4 relay. If this one is anything like it, we may not make it through the other side,"
"That's a risk we'll have to take. The reapers already have a head start, and we can't wait around any longer," Shepard said, looking at Joker.
"Well, before we do anything, we should probably tell Admiral Hackett what we're doing. Unless, y'know, you want another court martial," Joker said, punching some indiscriminate numbers into the control console. Shepard nodded as EDI also typed a few numbers into a console and Hackett's face appeared on the screen.
"Commander?" He said, hardly acknowledging the rest of the crew.
"Sir. Talaria is gone. You were right, sir. It is a new relay. And the Portland-" Shepard said before Hackett cut him off.
"Is gone. I'm aware commander. The crew—what's left of them, arrived at the crucible a few minutes before you called. It's not good, Shepard," Hackett said in his usual steadfast stance.
"Sir. That's why I request that my crew and I use the new relay and chase after the reapers. If there's anything on the other side that can help us win this war… We need to get to it before they do," Shepard pleaded with Hackett. Hackett was silent for what felt like an eternity.
"Permission granted, Commander. If there's any ship that can catch up with the reapers, it's the Normandy. Just come back alive. All of you. That's an order," Hackett said, now speaking to the entire crew. James, Kaidan, and Traynor gave the standard alliance salute, while there was a cacophony of "Yes sir" from the whole crew. Except for Javik, who gave a slight nod.
"Thank you sir. Are you sure you'll be alright without us?" Shepard asked with his arms behind his back. Hackett nodded.
"Yes, I think we'll be alright for now. After your success with unifying the Quarians and the Geth, we've got enough support for the time being. Just don't take too long commander. Hackett out," Hackett's image faded as EDI cut communications. Everyone looked at Shepard for a moment before he gave his order.
"You heard the admiral. Let's head through that relay,"
—
Trailing Sectors, above Naboo; 19 BBY, 0900 hours Coruscant Time
The fleet carrying half of the 501st and most of the 212th came out of hyperspace a few kilometers away from one of Naboo's moons, Veruna. Anakin looked out of viewport on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Clairvoyance. There were orange spots all over the planet that Anakin only assumed to be fires or explosions.
"What could have done this? I didn't think the separatists had that kind of fire power," he said to himself, suddenly sensing that Obi-Wan was walking into the bridge as well.
"Well, if the 199th's reports are to be believed, it's likely a new weapon we've never seen before. An improved version of their defoliator, perhaps?" Obi-Wan pondered, walking up next to him. Anakin had a puzzled look on his face.
"Maybe," he said, staring intently out of the viewport.
"I'm sure the chancellor is fine, Anakin. But we won't know for sure until we arrive on the planet. Shall we?" Obi-Wan said, gesturing to the blast door leading out of the bridge. Anakin nodded as he and his master ran out of the door towards the hangar.
With Rex assisting Ahsoka on Mandalore, second in command of the 501st now fell to Commander Appo. Anakin couldn't help but feel like Rex should be beside him in this fight. But Appo was a more than capable soldier. After all, he held his own during the battle of Umbara and the whole debacle with General Krell.
"Platoons are ready to move on your command, general," Appo said, giving a salute. Anakin nodded.
"Good work, Appo. Let's get everyone into those gunships. We need to move out soon before whatever these things are take the whole planet," Anakin said, walking along side Obi-Wan. Appo gave a salute and barked some orders to the other members of the 501st as Obi-Wan, Anakin, Commander Cody, and several other clones from both legions climbed into a gunship.
"Remember Cody, we have no idea what to expect down there. There is a strong possibility that this is not a separatist attack," Obi-Wan said, as the doors to their gunship closed and it began to lift off from the hangar bay.
"A new enemy? We don't really have a first contact protocol, do we sir?" Cody asked through the rumble of the gunship's engines. Obi-Wan shook his head.
"There's so many species in the galaxy. It would be quite difficult to follow such a protocol. But let's not lose sight of the fact that whatever this new enemy is, they certainly aren't friendly,"
"He means shoot first, ask questions later," Anakin said with a smirk on his face.
"Now that, I can do," Cody said, putting his helmet on. The LAAT began to rumble even more as they got closer to Naboo's surface.
"We've got incoming! Several unidentified ships dead ahead! They're tearing our ships apart!" The pilot said while maneuvering the gunship. On the outside of the gunship, several destroyer-class reapers were blasting the Republic landing party to bits. Appo's gunship had taken a bad hit, but not before they had successfully throttled one of the reapers with a proton torpedo.
"General Skywalker!" His voice coming through on the comm-link. "Our starboard side has been hit pretty bad sir! We lost some men during that last blast. Not sure how much longer we can hold out up here,"
"Just head for the planet's surface as quick as you can! If all else fails we'll rendezvous with you outside of Otoh Gunga! That's where the 199th's signal came from," Anakin replied.
"Copy that, General! Here's hoping we make it that far," Appo said back through the comm-link.
"How much further?!" Anakin called up to the pilot.
"Just a few more clicks, sir! We've breached the atmosphere, but we'll be arriving— wait. We've got enemy, uh, fighters closing in!" The pilot called back. Suddenly three oculus fighters were flying right up along side the gunship. Anakin saw through the cockpit that they didn't look like any droid fighters he'd ever seen. These were definitely not separatists. They began charging up their beam weapons and blew a hole in the port side of the gunship, taking several 501st and 212th soldiers with it.
"We're going down!" The pilot said.
"BRACE YOURSELVES!" Obi-Wan called out to the remaining few on the gunship. Anakin and Obi-Wan's gunship, along with half a dozen others or so, came down on Naboo in a fiery blaze, while a few of the other gunships managed to breach the Reaper's blockade.
"Aim for the lake!" Anakin called, as he pointed for the lake outside of Theed. The pilot did his best to careen the burning vessel towards the most shallow part of Theed's lake and barely managed to do so among all the chaos. After a moment of collecting themselves, the two Generals and commander Cody climbed out of the ruined gunship with a few other soldiers, onto the shoreline.
"Another happy landing," Obi-Wan said, catching his breath. Anakin rolled his eyes.
"Is everyone alright? What about the pilot?" Anakin asked, while looking to the crash site. Several larger Reapers could be seen in the background decimating the planet. Cody shook his head.
"Dead, sir. Not sure how we managed to make it out of that alive ourselves," he always appreciated how both General Kenobi and General Skywalker put their men before themselves. Anakin's comm-link beeped.
"Gen- Skyw-er? Do- read?" Appo's voice barely came through the static on his comm-link.
"Commander? Appo? Come in! If you can hear me, head for Otoh Gunga! We'll meet you there!" Anakin said.
"Let's get a move on, Anakin. We need to find General Bishopp and coordinate the evacuation. Assuming the chancellor is alright," Obi-Wan said, putting his hand on Anakin's shoulder. Anakin nodded, and the survivors ran towards the signal origin, off into the Reaper infested forest…
—
Hades Nexus, Hoplos Cluster; former site of the planet Talaria. 2186, 1900 hours, Citadel time
"Take us in Joker. Everyone, get ready," The Normandy lurched forward as Joker entered the jump sequence into the computer. EDI was also doing some calculations of her own.
"Shepard. I am detecting an abnormal amount of energy being emitted from this mass relay. It exceeds that of the Omega-4 Relay by almost 500%. I would advise extreme caution," she said, looking at Shepard through her orange colored visor.
"Yeah, that's probably why it blew Talaria apart. We can still back out, y'know. I'm sure Hackett wouldn't be too pissed," Joker said, also looking up at Shepard.
"No. We're doing this. Make sure our defenses are boosted. Extra power or not, we're going through that relay. Everyone, strap in!" Shepard commanded. The rest of the crew obeyed their orders and harnessed themselves into the safety seats around the Normandy.
"Routing all non-essential power to Kinetic Barriers and Drive Core," EDI said, punching yet more numbers into her console.
"Hang on, this is probably gonna be a bumpy ride. You might wanna strap yourself in, commander," Joker said, firing up the Normandy's drive core. Shepard nodded and took the extra seat in the bridge. The Talaria Relay activated as the Normandy got close, and sure enough, it sent out a massive electrical charge that rocked the Normandy as it neared.
"Urgh. That hurt!" Joker called back.
"Kinetic barriers holding at 60%!" EDI said to Joker.
"Good! That means this jump probably won't kill us! Commencing in 3, 2, 1!" And with that, the Normandy shot upwards. Not forwards, but upwards, through the prongs on the top of the Relay. The Normandy traveled through the relay for what seemed like forever, until it came to a steady stop on the other side where Malastare used to be. Alarms and sirens rang out through the Normandy as everyone collected themselves.
"Ugh. Is everyone-everyone alright?" Shepard called back to his crew in a dazed state. Tali collected herself and stood up.
"A few dents in my suit, but nothing major," she said, rubbing her arm.
"I would say I can't believe we survived that, but this is Shepard we're talking about here," Garrus said, cracking his back. Shepard stood up from his seat and shook himself back to reality.
"Traynor, can you get a read on where we are?" He asked. Traynor was already back at her console, despite the hectic manner in which the arrived through the relay.
"I'm trying, commander. But I'm not picking up anything. No comm buoys, no outposts, nothing," Traynor said, shaking her head in defeat.
"I am also unable to locate any alliance signals," EDI said. Liara walked over to her.
"What about my people? Anything?" She asked. EDI typed some numbers into her console, but found nothing.
"There are no Asari Republic signals in range," she said, looking at Liara.
"Nothing for the Turian Hierarchy, or Salarian Union either. There's nothing, Commander," Traynor added.
"That doesn't make any sense. I've never heard of any communication dead zones of anywhere in the Milky Way galaxy," Tali said, doing her own research on her omni-tool.
"It is possible the Reapers have disabled communications in this part of the galaxy. It was a common tactic in my cycle," Javik said. Shepard walked to the galaxy map platform. It showed star clusters and unknown planets not listed in the data base.
"Unless we aren't in our galaxy," Everyone looked at Shepard with concern. And flat out disbelief. Where in the Universe were they?
END CHAPTER 2…
Hey Everyone! Sorry this took so long, but I hope you enjoyed! Things are certainly getting interesting, but let me know what you think! I'll try to incorporate as many ideas as possible, but if I don't use yours please don't be too discouraged! I've had an idea of what I want this story to be for a long time. That being said, I do appreciate everyone's thoughts! Thanks again!
~JPfan