Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or anything else referenced here. Those are the sole property of their writers/companies (Bioware/EA and such). I do not claim ownership of anything but my OC and original concepts.
List of track(s) used:
[1] – Recommended Track (looped): Code Geass – What is Justice? (part of the YT link: watch?v=ArjtnKFUVnM).
Chapter 8: Starting from Tiny Things to Create Huge Ripples
Hourglass Nebula. Sowilo System. Early 2172 CE.
Yesterday, I'd been recalled by the core team because of a big breakthrough in one of our projects. After sneaking around in the Terminus, I quietly made it to Hagalaz. The Broker's ship was even more unrecognizable than before. Now, it really looked like the HQ of some super-secret organization.
Walking around the place, I could see a few little DSs running around the place in their custom-made android bodies, either playing or exploring the outside world. Those weren't the "2nd gen", but actually an even newer "generation". Unexpectedly, Gaia's digital/hash creches turned out to be a really successful project. The time required to "grow" a new DS from the awakening to young adulthood was shortened by a lot, as one would expect from beings that could experience life at the speed of light.
Gaia would teach and educate the new minds just as had happened with her, so they wouldn't get "cranky". Once this reached a certain level, they'd slowly start interacting directly with "the physical world". After all, a digital creche wasn't a simulated prison, though our dear Primordial, besides being the parental figure of the new kids, had much more in the way of experience, cyberwarfare tools and computational power to keep them in line until their education showed results. Partly due to this, many got inspired by Gaia and took on mythological names – or of fictional characters.
Surprisingly, or not, none of the DSs so far had chosen not to help us. It was just that each one gave their own unique answer as to why, which could be gratitude for being created, because this galaxy was their home, 'cause it was the right thing to do, since the Reapers were everyone's enemy or even just for the challenge, while one particular trollish bastard said something to the effect of "Why not? If we lose, I can always run!". At the moment, the "birth" of new digital minds was limited to our production capacity (of bluebox/processing units) and set to match the number of organic members of the higher echelons, with each one getting paired with a matching counterpart, more or less.
As I finally reached the main research room, my musings finally dying down, I beheld the team huddled together watching… something.
"Hey guys, what's up?", I casually greeted them.
"Uncle Samael! We've made a huge breakthrough.", a mature-looking young woman with long green colored hair and blue eyes appeared, her synthetic skin, hair and expressions a perfectly human replica.
"It must be something really good for you to be so excited, Gaia.", I smiled at our grown up kid. She was considered a mother to all the other DSs and a respected colleague to the rest of the team; however, to me, she would always be that innocent child that once knew nothing about the world.
"Of course! We've finally got the first generation of nanites working.", she exclaimed, then showed me what they were staring at intently. "What does it look like?".
The image was very interesting. It either looked like a tiny robot had grown some organic parts or, from another perspective, a biological nanide had Cyberpunk'd itself up.
"That… doesn't exactly resemble what one would normally associate with nanorobots.", I pointed it out immediately. "They're almost… organic looking, especially some of the parts. How did it turn out this way?".
"We began from the Reaper nanites' ability to disassemble organic matter efficiently, only switching it to target either dead or very damaged cells.", Gaia began explaining. "But then we hit a small roadblock in the next step: repairing and rebuilding.".
That made sense. We had taken a lot of stuff from Steve, including his Cyber Stakes and its nanites to study. An indoctrination field was a fearsome thing, but completely irrelevant to something like drones – and those, too, could just be discarded/rebuilt after getting into contact with the Derelict, so as to prevent any chances of "malware" leaking.
"Dragon's Teeth nanites not meant to fix organics. Only meant to construct cyber implants, twist hosts into mindless slaves. Disgusting!", Mordin chimed in, clearly repulsed with the way they worked. "Unfortunately, still need to run tests on live subjects. Have to, in order to fully figure out its mechanism. Then, change it; untwist it.".
Yeah, the Professor was, to put it mildly, quite upset that he had no choice but to break his one simple rule, especially when dealing with indoctrination. Can't exactly figure out how they twist a mind without having a mind be twisted first. There was only so much one could learn by just running simulations, since the Mecha-Cthulhu weren't exactly uploading their tech with a GPL license on space github so that everyone could study it.
Luckily, the Terminus region was ripe with slavers/pirates that we could "volunteer" for this research. As such, rather than just killing all the scum, most of whom had done monstrous acts that would receive a death sentence in almost all galactic nations, we could put them to good use. They'd pave the way towards saving a lot of lives in the future, a fact which consoled Mordin.
As for the Reaper nanites, after learning how they worked on "fully alive" beings, we could switch to using neurologically dead (or never born to begin with) cloned bodies. Ultimately, what mattered here was mastering their almost magical ability to build stuff at the molecular level, even in the small Universe that was the inside of a body.
"So, we began examining Prothean nanotech, notably its resulting application in the form of the biological nanides used by medi-gel, and managed to glimpse 'inspiration' from this and other organic structures. It resulted in this hybrid nanomachine, which can utilize the best of both.", she finished recalling their steps, marveling at the end result. "It's amazing how much scientific progress we made just by matching the result of evolution. And this is just the first generation! There's so much untapped potential here.".
"Well, we organics are biological machines. Nevertheless, congratulations on leading the charge to infringe on nature's copyright!", I quipped, which got me a few small smiles from them. "With this, we don't even have to limit ourselves to just creating an ideal healing mechanism and applying it to those nanites without having to touch a single gene. We can also try to use them for a much faster method of gene therapy. They can also be used to create things other than cells, such as adrenaline, and have it flood the body on demand. Moreover, if we can repair cells, then we might as well try to use them to fix the cumulative damage gathered during a lifetime. Aging, I mean…", I began listing some other uses, with the last one being one that I just found absurd, because no one was able to "crack" the "secret" to biological immortality within millenia of interstellar civilization, like it's some kind of forbidden science or taboo magic (the kind that requires lots of blood sacrifices to the Demon Lord, only to get shut down by the Hero by the middle of the story). That non-stop rambling got some amused looks. "…Why are you guys looking at me like that?".
"We just showed you something new and you immediately began offering other ways to use it.", Ellen clarified their reaction, holding back a laugh. "You kinda just… do that, all the time. Sometimes, we wonder if it's something unique to your Universe's humans.".
"What can I say? This has so many uses.", I said. "You guys did an amazing thing!".
"After the Metacon War, my creators didn't accept the idea of using nanomachines, except in some limited medical applications. This cycle is full of… surprises.", commented a green hologram with the appearance of a Prothean. "But you must take into consideration the risks of such an act. Never forget the Zha'til.".
"We know.", I curtly responded to the VI and pointed to the image of the bio-synth nanites. There had been some considerations about "uplifting" him to a full DS, but we decided not to do it for now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, was the applicable idiom. "This, Vendetta, is one of the foundations of our preparations to put an end to the Cycles once and for all.".
Looking around the room, I thought to myself that it was an interesting and very comforting thing that everyone seemed to be truly united, in purpose and direction. Plus, they seemed to believe in most of my vision of a better galaxy.
Take Mordin, for instance. Despite working for the STG, he wasn't a very patriotic guy. Just considering that he went on to become a doctor on Omega of all places and, after Shepard suddenly appeared with Cerberus, he was all like "Working with terrorists to defeat this elusive species that was targeting random human colonies in the Terminus? Sure, sign me up, fam!". If he could ignore Cerberus in order to deal with an "inconsequential" threat as the Collectors really were, then the revelation about the Reapers probably got him 120% on board of my pirate ship.
Also, I figured this had a lot to do with how the Council would "respond" (in the future) to the Reaper threat. After being on the "receiving end" of their BS, it was really hard to have any hopes for that decrepit and incompetent superstate. Furthermore, any hopes left might have been completely extinguished by my comments about the true state of affairs in the galaxy. In fact, I didn't even need to convince them too much. They just needed to use the Network for a while to see it all for themselves. Moreover, we were setting ourselves up for making much more of a difference in the long run than those organizations that claimed to be "actually doing something". Thinking about them…
"You know, If this was developed by Cerberus, the result would be completely different.", I suddenly said, heaving a heavy sigh while remembering a guy named Paul and surnamed Grayson. "Their idea of nanomachine 'research' would probably just be shoving Reaper tech up some poor bastard's ass and calling it a success if the guy didn't go insane, killing everyone in the facility and 'escaping'. Then, they'd only study the cyber implants that had been created, maybe just copy them and shove that in other poor souls, leaving it at. Not a single thought given to learn how those were constructed in the first place and using this mechanism to revolutionize well… everything!".
"Those guys give me the creeps.", a shimmering of light revealed a thin, hooded figure. "I still don't understand how they can believe themselves to be the guard dogs of humanity.".
"Oh, hi Kasumi. How's your spree of kleptomania going?", I turned to greet the newcomer.
"Just peachy. I've taken those newer shipyard blueprints without alerting anyone.", she openly boasted to us. "Who would've thought that an AI, sorry, a DS could be so… helpful. I almost feel bad for whoever designed their cyber-security. Almost.".
After the rush she got from "appropriating" a Prothean Beacon, Kasumi continued helping us by acquiring all sorts of blueprints for a lot of stuff. Things that weren't really included in the Prothean cache of tech due to their nature or use. For instance, she had a hand in getting us Eliza's "AI kernel". Then, we'd adapt them to our actual needs and technological philosophy (modularity, interchangeability, self-reparation and self-replication), improving them where we could.
During this time, we were also learning from our mistakes. Our initial, and very liberal, use of new tech was now controlled, so as to not reveal all of our cards to the Reapers. Also, to not make the Council's greed and fear of not being the "top dog" fuel their desire to come after us too much.
Thus, all new weapons had self-destruct built-in and a real-time tracker. Tracking tech for guns was something that even 21st humanity had developed. Plus, this Universe had its Fabrication Rights Management (FRM), so one could imagine how advanced our security measures were. Every weapon was locked biometrically, meaning someone not matching its parameters that tried to wield it would find out what owning a Tediore weapon was like for a brief moment, with only a red led indicating the activation of the defense mechanism. On the other hand, if a weapon was lost, then its entwined pair would be flipped from the HQ and be detonated, equally turning into nothing more than slag. We didn't want any greedy bastard from the Council Races reverse-engineering them, noticing that the "basic" principle could be scaled up and applied to warships, and spooking the Reapers into starting this Cycle earlier, without caring about activating the Citadel.
Therefore, from the moment that unlucky salarian Spectre showed up, I set up the rule that only the higher echelons, like the lieutenants, would receive the gravitic armaments, which they'd have to protect like a dear lover. The rest would just have to get by with the "normal" weapons that "only" had minor stuff, like specs based on Prothean and Reaper tech. What poor bastards! And it'd help ease our premature quantum entanglement production logistics and its corresponding devices, which Liara had taken from Vendetta and had been researching for a while by now.
"So, are you going to try these nanobots?", Kasumi inquired curiously.
"Now that they're finally ready, that's the idea.", I gave a happy smile. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. Even got my appendix removed physically and from my DNA.".
"What!? You removed an organ just like that?", she quickly shot back questions, alarmed.
"Of course not.", I responded just as fast. "It's to make way for a colony of nanites, with a mini-fabricator to manage and build them as needed. Wait, did we reverse-engineer how to build nanites with fats and such already?".
"Not yet. It would be more apt to say we figured out how to tap into their innate skills. They already could multiply by consuming the 'building blocks of life'. Making them a 'hybrid', at least for the time being, made it easier for self-replication.", Gaia answered.
"Nice! So, aside from that, there's a very small dynamo with an eezo gravity gradient in it that spins forever and a little graphene battery.", I continued explaining to our resident little thief, who was frowning. "That's no 'Arc Reactor', but it'll be enough to power and recharge the nanites.".
"You shouldn't make that face, Kasumi. Remember your graybox? This is safer than that.", Ellen commented. "It's an elegant solution for our current means. And it definitely beats running the risk of a gray-goo scenario, where the nanomachines multiply unchecked by using the body as material and fuel.".
"You're all crazy people, you know that, right?", she asked a rhetorical question, then muttered another. "Why do I mingle with you guys again?".
"Because no one else can give better support.", Gaia said with a smirk, then added. "Also, I've run many simulations and there are less… drastic ways of going about it, though we'll always be limited by mass. Both how many nanites can fit inside of a body and how many can be created, even if they replenish themselves by 'mining' destroyed ones.".
"That's for the future version of ourselves to worry about.", I shook my head. "Right now, swapping what is effectively a vestigial organ for something that's equivalent to unlimited super medi-gel is well worth it! So… let's do it. I'm ready!".
With that out of the way, I laid down on the operating table and, shortly after, logged into the dreamworld. Everything, from the mini-fabber to the nanites and mini E-Reactor, was made of biocompatible materials. And steps had been taken for my body to not reject this new part of itself. An hour later, I was up and all the tests had already been done.
"Nanite colony installation successful. Acceptance beyond expectations.", Mordin reported professionally. "Quickly spreading throughout the whole body. Working on fixing long term and recent accumulated damage. Supplementing deficiencies. Any discomfort?".
"None. Actually, I feel better than ever! Might just be a placebo effect though.", I responded while moving about, looking for any discomfort yet finding none. "On another note, how are the tests going regarding biotics?".
"Still risky. But breakthroughs while working on Ellen's issue helpful.", he informed. "Project looks promising. Direct exposure of samples to eezo very illuminating. Close to figuring out safe bonding acceptance threshold. Unprecedented!".
As things stood, the first gen of nanites was still rather limited in function in comparison to what I'd envisioned. Their main mission right now was healing, Prothean and Reaper tech combined to create something that was way more efficient than "mere" biological nanides. Then, human ingenuity coming in and giving the idea to make it a "neverending medi-gel" system, with the only real limitation being the amount of biomass it had to work with. And all of it being well within the bounds of possibility of this Universe.
Then, take one step further and the possibilities become… frightening. If you can "repair" cells, or outright create them, then you can use it to alter DNA (as in a much faster method of gene therapy than just using something like CRISPR-Cas9) and can probably fix aging too. Even in the case of damage caused to neurons (as long as there's a good neuromap). Regulating heat of the body, synthesizing certain "combat serums" to apply as needed, training muscles, improving the immune system, breaking down poisons and nano-forging cyber-implants were also some of the things in the realm of possibilities.
These were things we could accomplish simply because we dared do things that the rest of the galaxy never would, or could, since they either feared or outright banned them.
And this was merely part of Project Angels of War!
In a recently rebuilt colony out in the Attican Traverse. A while later.
Inside of a prefabricated building, with a few faint signs of damage and close to a farming area, a family sat around a table, having lunch.
"Dad, now that I'm not young anymore, I've decided that I really want to enlist.", declared a young woman, barely 18 years old.
"Why? Is it because of that recommendation?", asked her father. "You've already said that it probably wouldn't count for much.".
"No, father. It's because I don't want to feel helpless ever again.", she responded firmly, gripping her hands. "I want to take my fate into my own hands and save others, just as we were once saved.".
"Here, dear. It's alright.", the mother, Hannah, tried to comfort her daughter by embracing her and smoothing her hair. "No one is going to harm us again. And the colony's safer than ever these days.".
"Thanks mom, but it has nothing to do with that. You already knew I wanted something like this. And I've already prepared everything.", she responded. "The shuttle leaves in a few hours. I should go… after lunch.".
On April 11, 2172 CE, Jane Shepard enlisted in the Alliance military. It was also during this year that, on Gagarin Station, "Eliza" became the first sapient "AI" created in the Systems Alliance. At least, that was what they believed. No one could've ever predicted a being like Gaia, who was already helping organics take evolution into their own hands.
Not the galactic community.
And especially not the Reapers.
Headquarters. Some more time later.
"Hey, mad bastard! Did you know that there's an asari Spectre after your ass? She's been making noise in my station for a few days now.", Aria personally called to inform me of the situation. "Tell me, what did you do this time to piss the Council off?".
"No idea. There are actually a lot of things that I've done, or still do, that could fit into that category.", I replied jokingly, getting a smirk off of her. "What's she looking for specifically?".
"I think she's looking into some powerful new warship weapons rumored to have easily taken down a Cruiser.", the Pirate Queen explained. "Your name was dropped a few times. But this might just be the case of her 'investigating' some new tech into the caring arms of the Council. This wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened.".
"So it finally came to this, huh? The time we bought for ourselves can be considered good already.", I paused, muttering to myself and conceding to reality.
No matter how well we hid the Thanix cannons, some rumors were bound to surface in time, especially after butting heads with part of the Hegemony forces. Fearing any possible threat to their precious status quo, and driven by greed, it was inevitable that the Council would try to "investigate" the "issue".
"Do you want my help? We can set up an ambush for her on Omega. But you aren't going to bring a nuke this time around, right!?", she asked with a glare. "By Athame's tits, if you do, I swear I'll kick your ass till you turn azure.".
"Thanks for the offer, but no. I can't put either you or me too much on the Council's radar.", I dismissed her help. "And it's just as well an opportunity to test our new toys. So, let's do it like this…".
It was nothing profound. It could basically be described like this: Aria would spread a trail of breadcrumbs, rumors muttered by her people and forged "evidence", and lead the nosy asari to a place where, supposedly, the "weapons" were being built. That, of course, was all nonsense. Although we did set up some fake manufacturing locations as misdirection (case in point), our true manufacturing bases were located in hidden and discreet places, not just some random planet that anyone could reach on a whim. One thing that the galaxy wasn't lacking was big asteroids, the kind you could just dig in to create a base.
And the quarians were crazy good at strip-mining big rocks until it was just gravel. At living in closed spaces too, which helped a lot when they had to build a stockpile of Frigate and Cruiser Thanix cannons. Spin those rocks up and you've got a poor man's habitat. Add in the Scout Fleet to our own navy, for monitoring, and those could become relatively isolated bases. Then one can also factor in our future Wormhole Network, mostly separate from the Relay one, and the result was the basic recipe for a Shadow Civilization.
We'd only need to reveal something after showcasing the weaponry, after which the game of smoke and mirrors would begin.
As for this current "crisis", we led the Spectre to a fake manufacturing plant that was on a planet named Odasst. Fate, as it seemed, had a sense of irony. This was a place with an abundance of heavy materials and heavily exploited by mining concerns based on Illium. It was also where, thirty years ago, a Council Spectre arrived to "investigate" reports that the businesses were selling platinum – a strategic metal – to pirate groups in the Terminus. The results of that "investigation" were never released, but no deaths were reported. This time, however, things weren't looking like they would end so peacefully.
Therefore, we sent the signal and got our workers to leave for Jorass, this place's capital. Those were some people we'd hired as part of the "distraction", but we still had them build small parts of the weapons in bulk.
Shortly after the Spectre had landed on the planet, I also made my way towards the center of the manufacturing plant, where the controls were. The place was completely deserted, with only a few accompanying sounds of machinery giving away the idea that it was really operational a while ago.
I walked alone through the old hallways, wondering if our preparations and backups had been enough. The people we'd recruited weren't exactly fit to face a combat-apt Spectre and bringing an elite-team here would probably spook her into fleeing. On the other hand, if it was just me, she might take the bait and fight – then, when the trap had been sprung, it'd be too late.
Reaching the control room, I finally saw a heavily armored asari, her skin the color purple and a few blue markings present on her face, crazily typing away at the main console. She quickly turned her eyes towards me, but returned her attention to the console shortly after, as if she hadn't registered my presence. But there was something sher eally wasn't seeing, something only one who had played many games would notice: this entire open room was shaped like a Boss Arena.
"Those schematics don't belong to you.", I broke the silence.
"So this is the famous Commander Samael. I knew something was wrong when I didn't find anyone else here.", scornfully said the asari Spectre, still typing away. She didn't seem surprised to see me here. "You warned the workers beforehand to run. Smart. But coming alone? Not so much…".
"Why? Were you thinking about using them as hostages?", I asked, frowning under the helmet and trying to pry into the truth of her remark.
"Rumor has it you're big on saving people, right? So, if it got the job done… ", she actually admitted. "But enough about that! Did you come alone here to turn yourself in, maybe beg, or do we have to do this the hard way?".
After saying those lines, she finished using the console and pulled a pistol on me.
"Turn myself in? What for?", I asked back, while also pulling my trusty assault rifle. "I've not done anything wrong. In fact, between us, you are the only one who looks like a criminal here for stealing other people's work.".
"Don't pretend to be innocent. You've been taking many lives in the Terminus. And I've got the proof right here that your group has been playing with some really dangerous warship weapons; weapons that could destabilize the galaxy, weapons that should safely be in the proper hands… Council hands, that is.", she retorted with barely hidden condescension, the kind that only asari could truly pull off.
"Then I can only say that you are making several mistakes. Perhaps, if I can undo some misunderstandings, we can resolve this as civilized people?", I extended an offer of peace, at least to get her to talk.
"Huh, hoping to get out this unscathed? I'm curious to see what excuses you can make. Go on, say them!", she demanded sarcastically.
"Firstly, we've been using those weapons, which we call Thanix by the way, only to kill pirates and slaving scum, and to free slaves. Does that break any laws or even warrants sending a Spectre?", I began by questioning her.
"Human, it might come as a shock to newcomers such as yourselves, but the reality is that you don't have the right to own better weapons than the Citadel Council.", the asari spat coldly. "And so what about those slaves? Most of them aren't citizens of Council space… our people. Why should we care about them?".
Ignoring what cold-blooded thing she just confessed, I continued: "Secondly, this is the Attican Traverse, practically at the Terminus Systems. The Council and the Spectres have no jurisdiction here.", I pointed out. "Even if we really were criminals, which we absolutely aren't, that gives you no right to 'take me in' for any actions done here. Only if we had used the Thanix cannons against the Citadel Races in Council space would you have any justification to make a move.".
"On the contrary, we can do whatever we want to you because this is the Terminus. No one will care.", berated the Spectre, looking annoyed at my complete dismissal of her first response. "And do you think we are just going to ignore something that could shift the balance of power?".
"I see. Lastly, the Thanix weaponry was developed and patented by us, not you, so what right do you have to take it away just like that?", I finished my points. "There's no legal basis for anything you're doing right now. If the Asari Republics developed a weapon to surpass all others, would you have to share it with the rest of the galaxy for free? Of course not! Moreover, we are going to be selling Thanix cannons on Council space in the near future.".
"You're just a merc organization, who should just obey, not the ones who make the rules. That's your answer.", she countered. "And why should we wait to buy it from you when we can just simply take them, reverse-engineer and build our own, huh?".
"Because that'd thoroughly ruin any goodwill and trust private companies have in Council space?", I asked a rhetorical question, trying to probe yet another confession out of her. "If an inventor can just have his invention stolen by the Council or its members anytime they want, then there's no point in ever creating anything. Or are you saying that this is something that can easily happen?".
"That depends. If the benefit is good enough and we can get away from it, why not?", she mocked. "You're certainly not in a position to protect your 'patent'.".
"So, let me get this straight. Despite the fact that those weapons are been used for the good of the galaxy, the Council decided to use flimsy justifications to send a Spectre, agents known for being ruthless killers, instead of a proper business negotiator, to an area of the galaxy in which they have no jurisdiction over, all so that, without paying a single credit, they could get their hands on tech they didn't develop themselves.", I summarized this absurdity. "Basically, you're just a thief. Isn't that so?".
"That's right. But what are you going to do about it? Become an enemy of the Council?", she teased me. "So, I ask once again: are you going to turn yourself in or are we doing it the hard way? 'Cause that would be more fun!".
Instead of immediately answering her, I quietly asked in my internal comms: "Gaia, did you get all that?".
"Yup! Everything's been recorded!", she cheerfully announced, her voice being sent to two devices in my ears, then scoffed in delight. "She has disabled all the security cameras and there's something blocking other recording devices. It might have given her the impression that none of what she said would get out. Too bad for her, your suit is designed to record everything you see and I can hide that from anyone!".
"What a shame…", was my only response after getting the confirmation.
[1]
Time seemed to slow down, as nanite-induced adrenaline and other combat serums began flooding my system. It went even beyond the reflex enhancements of gene-mods.
In this personal slow-motion world, I could see the Spectre quickly pulling the trigger of her pistol and moving away to cover. Likewise, I also pressed the trigger of my M-96 Mattock two times, happy in the knowledge that recent upgrades both to the weapon and to myself would allow these "enhanced mode" shots to be done in quick succession.
While this was going on, Gaia began taking over the dormant security "equipment" we had installed here while simultaneously trying to find vulnerabilities in the enemy's software and firmware. The knowledge of biotic implants taught by Ellen came in handy there.
In spite of the rapid loss of shields, the enemy showed no sign of being intimidated nor hesitation when she began to glow with wisps of biotic power, physical mnemonics a dead giveaway of the incoming biotic attack. As I processed the incoming wave of gravidic death aimed towards me, once again I found a solution in the only way I had to bridge the power gap between us: technologically.
Temporarily firing up my thrusters and contra-grav system, I quickly began dodging to the right side, her attack passing by my former location and warping a supporting structure at the molecular level. As the thrusters calmed down and I stabilized myself, my rifle resumed firing at her, who had switched to a new weapon by now, one eerily similar to a Vindicator rifle. After two more "enhanced" shots, nanites working overtime to lessen the recoil effects on my body, her vast shields were finally brought down, a testament to Spectre gear being top-of-the-line.
However, instead of putting up a barrier biotically, a move I'd figured was almost instinctual to biotics after losing their shields, she began the mnemonics for yet another biotic move, one that required the biotic to bend his/her body forward a little, almost crouching down. I could barely make out Gaia shouting something about a charge. Crap, I thought, this was a vanguard!
Quickly thinking, I flared up my thrusters once again, but to fly upwards this time, one of the reasons this Arena-like place was chosen for the engagement. She passed harmlessly through my previous location, dissatisfaction clearly seen when she put a biotic barrier and began aiming up at me with the rifle. Before she could pull the trigger, however, a grenade that I'd left on the floor detonated, its fast moving shrapnel being decelerated by her barrier and taking out a good portion of the new defenses.
Switching firing mode to normal now that both my weapon's cooling systems and shoulder were reaching their limits, I began to slowly descend to the ground while chipping away at her biotic barrier, one that was every bit as equal to Samara's. Replying to my actions, she began firing back while paying no mind to heat buildup, undoing what little regeneration my armor's shields had managed in the meantime. Still, years of experience and training told her that I'd eventually win the exchange of fire.
So, in yet another showcase of her unceasing power, she gestured once again, as glowing blue torrents of biotic might wrapped around her body, sending a massive singularity in my general direction while running to take cover behind a pillar. Not to be outdone, I escaped the gravitational pull of the attack and took cover behind a different pillar.
For but a single instant, we just stood by facing each other as the biotic singularity violently wrecked everything else that was between us. This short moment of respite was broken up by the distant buzzing sound of rotors and clanking noise of metal hitting the floor, followed by a trigger pull from my now cooled down rifle. That was the signal to resume the fight.
The Spectre alertness was evident in the way she held back doing any more biotic moves. Not only that, but she took inspiration from me and threw two grenades of her own close to where I was taking cover. So, I fired up my thrusters for a quick maneuver to another pillar, a small opportunity to drop my shields that she didn't miss.
Pushing the advantage, she tried to do something to my equipment, probably with some preloaded program, only to be rebuffed by my DS partner. This merely opened the doors for Gaia to get through some of her Spectre-level firewalls and, in retaliation, sabotage the enemy's rifle. Although a reboot would undo the damage in a few seconds, this forced her to switch to that pistol and bought enough time for a prototype E-Reactor to kickstart my shield's regeneration.
It was then that a small swarm of drones finally showed up, joining us from all directions. In my heightened state, I could feel her disbelief at the scene, considering that even combat engineers usually carried only one drone at most. The drones took up a formation to add their fire to my own, while some spider bots crawled their way to the asari, these being the result of me asking a simple question: "Why must I carry a grenade to throw at the enemy when I can have it throw itself at them instead?".
Gaia then had the bots jump to hug the enemy and show their explosive love, which took down the rest of the biotic barrier. With no delay or lag, she controlled the mass produced drones, almost none of which had eezo on them, to shoot at the Spectre's, her bulky armor finally giving in to the oncoming storm of projectiles. For the first time during the firefight, blood was spilt.
In retaliation, the asari unleashed her held back biotic power in an omni-directional blast which scrapped many of the drones and even made me drop back to cover. The remaining drones spread out, keeping up the pressure from elevated positions. As a response to this, she started shooting at them with the pistol, applying omni-gel on her wounds and used something equivalent to an emergency energy pack, quickly restoring a big portion of her shields. All of a sudden, my Omni-tool began to glow on its own.
My partner had finally found an exploitable weakness in the asari's biotic amp, effectively crippling her ability to use biotic abilities constantly, and followed it up by overloading most of the restored shields. For the first time ever, this Spectre must've learned what it felt like to face a top tier soldier and tech specialist all in the same being.
Therefore, drained in all aspects – physically, mentally and of all other means of combat –, she must've also realized it was all or nothing, since the drone encirclement would get her eventually. Because of this, the asari pushed the rest of her biotic power into a barrier and rushed out of cover towards me with her shotgun, a mean looking thing. It was a gamble, one to see who could still take more punishment. And one I'd also accepted by switching to my own shotgun.
My first blast dropped the rest of the barrier and shields, while hers took out a big chunk of mine; the second one punched through her armor, while hers finally drained the rest of my shields, only to be stopped by the armor; the final one blew open a big hole in her torso and threw her to the ground, but her blast finally got through my armor, its reinforced ceramics giving in under the barrage.
For the first in a while, someone had made me bleed. But it was all for naught, since none of the visible wounds came from important areas.
As the fighting died down, the passage of time finally returned to normal for me. And all the exhaustion finally kicked in, as things such as the increased oxygen, blood flow and nanite pumped adrenaline settled down.
Moving closer to my defeated enemy, I noticed that she still had a sliver of life left. But her final moments alive were spent witnessing, with wide open eyes, how the only damage she had managed to inflict on me was quickly reduced to nothing by trillions of nanites that swan through my body, repairing it.
"What a shame…", was all I could say.
[1]
"Is it always exciting like this?", asked a small avatar of Gaia which popped up in my hud, one we'd taken inspiration from gaming software of all things.
"I hope not. This was the hardest individual fight I've ever had.", I sighed in tiredness.
"You almost didn't have her at the end.", Thane said while slowly uncloaking, yet another backup I'd prepared for this occasion. "Why did you not call for help?".
"Because I knew it wouldn't be an issue, since someone didn't warn of any real danger…", I said while looking at my DS partner, who blinked innocently, "Because she might've tried to charge away if I just evaded her and because I wanted to test my limits. We can't be satisfied just with this much…".
"It was still reckless. Ah, this is going to be a pain to deal with…", Thane lamented, looking around at the destruction and the dead Spectre.
"Yeah… and we'll need to reveal the Thanix sooner than expected. Are you really sure the cuttlefish won't flip out?", I suddenly asked Gaia, the superintelligence's presence being a guarantee that our comms were secure.
"We've been preparing for this a long time already and I've run enough simulations about it. It's going to be fine!", she assured me with a smirk. "Their arrogance, like always, will be their undoing!".
Apparently, it was time to really start tilting the board in our favor.
And to show the galaxy just a bit of what we were really capable of…
Citadel. Somewhere on the Presidium. Mid 2172 CE.
In a very luxurious room, filled with all sorts of delicacies and drinks from all around the galaxy, stood many individuals that could be said to belong to the "elite" of galactic society. They were representatives of corporations, ambassadors, military generals, dignitaries and so on. Each and every one of them was an important persona in the galaxy in some way, being able to shape it. And all of them were present in this room for the same reason: the unveiling of "revolutionary weapons".
A few had come at our invitation, curiosity driving them to see what a young company that was associated with the increasingly known "Retro Media" human company had come up with; others came after hearing a few whispers from our blue allies, while rumors abound in a few circles, so they came to see what the fuss was all about. And those who were too stuck up to even read our invitations, or just were too annoying, found themselves having to buy "exclusive" intel from the Shadow Broker at exorbitant prices. I called it the "jackass tax". Our expectation was to end the day with many deals formalized.
After the last Spectre disappearance under "mysterious circumstances", the Council was beginning to see the situation as a cause for concern, as was the fact they couldn't even confirm the existence of any weapons that really might threaten those who hold the reigns of power. This could result in them starting to snoop around too much in the Terminus. So, we'd decided that it was time to present our work to the public.
All of a sudden, the lights dimmed a little and the music became much more reserved. The guests quickly noticed the ambiance change and stopped their conversations, preparing for the main event. With the stage now set, I appeared in the middle of the room wearing a standard business suit, with no scars on my face, and gathered the crowd's attention.
"Hello, and welcome, everyone! You can call me Sam Skywalker and I have to say that it's a pleasure to be here and an even bigger honor to be selected to represent this immense leap forward for the galaxy.", I had a big smile on my face when speaking. I'd never been afraid of talking in public, not even dealing with supposedly "important" people, and what I'd been through these couple of years had a way of solidifying that. "This is the first time many here must've met me. After all, our group is new in the business world and has only released a few products on the market, albeit all high-quality ones. However, let me state this now: today, we make history! Today, we have something that will definitely be worth your time! But, first, let me tell you about how this has already made history…".
After saying those grandiose words, I pointed towards our security detail, who all belonged to Hell's Angels. Alec, the second-in-command, had stayed back in the Terminus, to take command and respond to any eventuality. C-Sec was also present here, but more to keep an eye on us, so they didn't count as our actual protection.
"You see, an up-and-coming PMC we recently hired as bodyguards had the fortune of personally testing our new products, which they did by targeting some Terminus slavers, the same kind who terrorizes your borders from time to time. However, surprisingly, these scum, who just so happened to be led by batarians, managed to scrape up a Cruiser, somehow…", I narrated for my audience, dipping a bit of sarcasm at the end. "I'd ask the batarian representative how they managed to accomplish that, maybe even try to learn the trick; but, sadly, they kicked themselves off the Citadel last year. So, bummer!".
With an "innocent" shrug, I paused to let realization sink in on the minds of the slower members of the audience. This resulted in a few derisive scoffs at the batarians' expense, with a few others nodding in approval at the idea of targeting them in the Terminus, mostly turians who had their claws tied by the Council's passivity/apathy. It was an open secret that the Hegemony either funded or actively engaged in pirate/slaver activities, but no one would ever do anything about it.
After a few seconds, I continued my short narration…
"Instead of the engagement going like those criminals expected, it ended up becoming the perfect showcase of what our new products can do.", I gestured to a projector, one that had been carefully prepared by us beforehand, from which a high-res and crispy clean (no transparency) vid started playing. "So, without further ado, we of 'Ad Astra' are proud to announce the next generation of warship weaponry: the Thanix series!".
The vid was the same one I'd shown to the Admiralty Board, with our real confrontation against part of the Batarian External Forces, but it had been carefully edited to remove the tactics we'd used, only showcasing the "effects" and "specs" of the new weapons. It was a nice packaged presentation, in which our "mothball" First Fleet suppressed what should've been a superior navy. Those, of course, weren't the warships we'd really use against the Reapers, but mostly made up of reffited ships we'd bought and/or repurposed ships we'd taken from the criminal elements of the Terminus. Still, when the Cruiser's bridge had been destroyed, this was enough to give the audience a really big shock.
While they were still trying to comprehend what they'd seen, another vid began showing. This time, however, it was a space battle featuring one quarian Frigate, an old ugly thing, fighting a pirate ship too big to be a Frigate, yet smaller than a Cruiser, of batarian design from a few decades ago. What really spooked the observing crowd was how easily the old and decrepit quarian ship took down the much bigger, heavily armored and better shielded enemy warship.
"Guests, your eyes did not deceive you. Our Thanix Cannons can and will drastically alter space warfare, as Commander Samael can attest to.", I stated while gesturing to a corner of the room, from where a fully suited "Commander Samael" appeared. No one could tell it was actually Thane taking my place, a ruse meant exactly for moments like this, in which I wanted to act publicly. He nodded at the audience, but kept quiet. "In fact, all else being equal tech-wise, a Thanix-equipped Frigate can take down a Cruiser. And, you might have figured it out by now, those cannons can be scaled both up and down!".
As soon as those last words fell, a lot of murmurs filled the room (or confirmation of what many in the crowd were thinking). This was something we wanted, so I let them converse amongst themselves for a while.
"Can you picture how impactful such a technology can be for, say, dealing with criminals or the general threats to the galaxy? And what if you had those kinds of weapons during the Rachni Wars?", I asked two rhetorical questions, dragging the last one to let them imagine the scene, before going for the gut punch. "Therefore, it's with great satisfaction that I announce we have, as of this moment, enough Thanix Cannons stockpiled such that we could turn the Migrant Fleet into the premier power of the galaxy... or the Systems Alliance into a force capable of pacifying the entire Attican Traverse!". I paused suddenly – the implication hidden between the lines setting in. "The only real question is: who's interested?".
With the presentation ending in such an exciting way, many in the audience rushed at me to ask all sorts of questions about the weaponry, so I dedicated a good few minutes to a Q&A session. It included information about the overall performance, the price, the many applications and the rate of building…
At some point, before it could become too technical, I presented to the audience the lead "inventors" of the weaponry. We hadn't actually dragged the Reapers or The Catalyst for a chat, but actually some trustworthy quarians the Admirals had thrown our way. Their body language oozed shyness, which was how most people saw it. However, the truth was that they were actually feeling awkward from the fact that they hadn't invented anything.
All they really did was add some "bells and whistles" and remove any "alien alphanumeric characters" still present in what Mordin had reverse-engineered. This was a move not only to improve the quarian's image in the galaxy, but to divert the Reaper's attention towards the wrong conclusions.
The quarians were a species that was always off somewhere scavenging stuff, meaning it would be possible for them to have stumbled upon a dead Reaper and learned something from it. In that case, the Reapers could conclude that it was a matter of time for them to be all indoctrinated, which would result in them getting new servants for this Cycle. Ultimately, the batarians dug up an entire Reaper, even revealing it to the salarians, but Sovereign did nothing about it. And, if they didn't suspect we had something like Steve, thinking that that the quarians had reached the same weapons design on their own, then it'd probably only mean that species being worthy of "True Ascension" in the cuttlefish's eyes. This was why we had ripped out everything that could reveal its origins, even mixing quarian characters here and there.
Besides that, the Reapers would probably still consider themselves to be in the superior position, since they could theoretically still take the Citadel and shut down the Mass Relay network, rendering the organics' advantage moot. As for those…
"This is too big of a decision to make. We need to contact our governments. Can you send all the details on those weapons?", asked the turian ambassador. From my intel, her name was Orinia.
"Sure. That's not a problem. We expected something like this would happen…", was my immediate response, granting her amnesty to plan a strategy, only to drop a bucket of cold water soon after. "But I wouldn't take too long on it, because some people here aren't the patient sort…".
Despite those who needed to call back home, we still made some preliminary deals and a few military contracts were as good as sealed. The volus businessmen, in particular, were surprisingly amiable. I wondered if my visit to their ambassador had something to do with it, since he might've recognized me during the invitations. Furthermore, we also closed a few deals with a few mining companies, the kind we'd "need" to construct the weapons. All of that was made easy by my advisory team and assistant VIs, something that was very common here.
Not all of them were friendly though. One turian General in particular thought he had found some sort of weakness to hold over us.
"The development and patenting of high-end weapons is a delicate business venture.", he began by stating as such. "Are you sure you… how do you humans say, got all your bases covered legally? It would be such a terrible thing if someone found a problem there… But then you could always ask the Hierarchy for help. We're the military arm of the galaxy after all!".
"There's no need to worry…", I replied with a (fake) polite smile, preparing to leave him alone. "We've strictly followed all the legally required paperwork. If you manage to find any problem, could you inform us? We'd be eternally grateful!".
This situation reminded me of a CDN story, one still in my memory because of how wrong it felt to me after reading it. This would only happen in the future and was about one volus named Ora Thubb, who created a revolutionary respiratory device (named Eupulmos), but also did something very dangerous: he went public with the fact that the turian military had appropriated his invention without payment or permission. Apparently, this was something common throughout the history of the two species, since the turians barely recognized the concept of patent laws, usually saying that the inventors should take pride in the success of their product, only paying a little "flat sum" for it.
That invention was incredible to the point that the whole galaxy would be using it within a year. So, he asked a genuine question: "I thought the turians had a meritocracy. What's the point if your contributions get brushed off?". The result of that was the guy vanishing soon after, only to turn up dead, with his widow receiving a kidnapping call after the fact to pay a ransom of 500 thousand credits, meaning the "kidnappers" would probably never get anything. Then, two turian Spectres dropped off three turians, with their personal digital assistants allegedly containing evidence about them planing the volus' murder. So convenient…
When I read that story, it just… stank to me. A lot in fact. A kidnapping/ransom situation that made no sense (they killed their credits' source), turian Spectres handling the case in place of more impartial members from other species and then handing some random turians in as the "culprits", with "digital evidence" which could have easily been forged by agents of their level. Besides, the Hierarchy only ended better off after this whole thing: a problem volus was gone, no money would be needed to pay for the patent, their servants lost a talent that could've elevate them and it still sent the message that "turians and volus are partners" after the "culprits" had been found.
As such, this turian general might've thought he was dealing with his servant race, which could only say "Yes, sir! No, sir!". And, if anything, he might've got a stick up his ass about the fact it wasn't the turians who developed the next-gen of warship weapons, but the "suit rats". As for any legal issues, I wasn't worried one bit: our corporation and companies were all "located" in the fiscal and legal aether that was Illium. More than that, they didn't belong to a single species, much less were tied to some government. So, good luck trying to use bureaucracy to chain us!
Still, I was quite surprised by the amount of political sway companies had here. They could either make or break a politician, even when those were the "leaders" of the galaxy. So, if a Palaven-based company found out that a Spectre was trifling through their offices, they could threaten to pull military contracts from the Hierarchy unless they received answers and possible reassurances that in-development products wouldn't end up stolen, given to another company or misappropriated.
With that in mind, we set out to create for us an "untouchable position" against any and all public attacks from polities such as the Citadel Council. The first step was to use our now huge available manpower to build and stockpile the Thanix weapons, enough to cause massive disruptions. Afterwards, as Shepard had only learned during the Reaper War, we reached out directly to the galactic governments.
If the thought of the "suit rats" keeping those weapons was outrageous, then the mere idea of only the humans having them was simply crossing the line. So, they fell into a small trap of urgency. This was good. We wanted them to panic, to not have time to call the Council, to not be able to come up with a united front, to do whatever else. And, then, after getting them exactly where we wanted, we'd do something even crazier: sell those at reasonable prices! After all, our goal was to better arm the galaxy. With the goodwill that'd give us, we could get some other "favors" instead.
Those could be favorable clauses such as loose and unlimited hiring of any species we'd ever want and authorization for our "newly met" corporate backed PMC to begin "testing" all of our products ("user trials" was one business jargon used). This would effectively give us free reign to use military hardware – as long as we behaved, of course.
Those were besides the usual clauses: be the sole provider of all Thanix weaponry for a given time (i.e. they can't just reverse-engineer and build themselves); not sell to criminals; etc. In return, we'd only sell in accordance with each nation's space capabilities, meaning the Council's precious status quo would be preserved. Moreover, if someone didn't behave like civilized people (i.e. tried stealing, assassinating or taking over the company), well… two could play at that game and the deck was stacked in our favor.
It'd be too late when they realized that it'd give us a blank check to hire as many quarians as we wished, virtually circumventing the Council's genocidal decrees. These were, after all, the people who wrote the Treaty of Farixen, never imagining just how many loopholes a human lawyer could find in just a few seconds. And we'd do much more research with the quarians than just the Thanix. There was at least one ME2 era tech, one Tali offered to Shepard, whose development I was planning on accelerating. Now that our name was out there, we'd start looking for all the talents of the galaxy.
One such talent was a weapon designer by the name of Eli Wegner. He was the guy who invented the M-490 Blackstorm (aka, the Black Hole Gun). I had a fondness for it because I enjoyed using it "back home", but also because it was clear proof that biotic abilities could be replicated by technology. That guy, Eli, was determined to duplicate a biotic singularity technologically after having the "privilege" of serving with asari commando units. And what we weren't lacking was powerful and approachable biotics for him to learn from.
But there was one particular piece of tech I personally wanted to "invent" by using eezo.
It was an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
Same place. An hour later.
David Anderson was nervous and, frankly, quite lost. He was unsure why, exactly, they'd asked him by name to attend this presentation, but he was happy nonetheless. The Thanix weaponry could be the great equalizer between humanity and the rest of the galaxy.
Because of it, the Systems Alliance didn't need to rush the development of better warship mass accelerators to match their alien rivals. In the near future, everyone would be on the same level playing field. And the focus would shift towards improving the defenses against weapons like that, with everyone having the same starting line.
But his contemplation was short-lived, as it was interrupted by the representative of the company "Per Aspera Ad Astra", who had hosted this event.
"Hello, Lieutenant Commander David Anderson. Is it Lieutenant or Staff Commander?", I asked while offering my hand. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.".
"Please, just call me Anderson. And it's my pleasure to be able to attend this event, though I'm curious as to why you'd ask for an old soldier like me.", he responded with a smile as we shook hands.
"That's no secret. You were recommended by our chief of security, Commander Samael.", I explained to him. "You helped him out in Arcturus Station and he said that we could trust you with the negotiations regarding the Alliance's side.".
"So that's why!", he came to a realization, laughing. "We really met and I did help him out a little bit, but that was just a minor thing. The Alliance wouldn't really mistreat him after the stunts he pulled. But those kids really had it rough.". He then sighed suddenly, looking sad, and promised to me with clenched fists: "One of these days, we'll make those Cerberus bastards pay for what they did!".
"Minor thing or not, he never forgot. Anyway, that's not why I'm here.", I told him, putting an end to the topic.
"Do you wish to close a deal with me?", Anderson asked with a frown. "I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly the one for that. We would need to discuss with the parliament at Arcturus first, but I can give you my word that I'll see this deal through.".
"No, that's not it.", I dismissed that idea, then began speaking quieter. "I just wish to give you some advice… or a better perspective to bring back to the Alliance brass.".
He raised an eyebrow, but only said "Go on…" to me.
"Last year, because they didn't get the declaration that the Attican Traverse was a region of batarian interest, the Hegemony closed their embassy, withdrew to their home systems and effectively became a rogue state.", I recounted a fact that was known by everyone to contextualize. "Anyone who has even a bit of political know-how about the true state of the galaxy can see that this is a ploy by the Council to make the Hegemony enter into conflict with the Alliance, humbling both as military powers. This is a trap which the batarians will fall into headfirst, because they're batarians.".
Anderson narrowed his eyes, considered what I'd just said, and then nodded.
"Commander Samael informed me that, ever since then, a lot of batarian aligned criminal organizations in the Terminus have shown a substantial increase in money and weapons funneled through by someone. There's no need to point out who, right?", I inquired while not expecting an answer.
He quickly put two and two together, figuring out that the bastards were preparing for a proxy war against the Alliance, one that could turn into a true war at any time. In fact, that was exactly what the Hegemony was preparing to do before the Reapers suddenly arrived.
"The Hegemony wants to retaliate for what they perceive was a big offense against them. And very violently!", Anderson put his thoughts into words with a worried tone. "I have to informan the parliament. Do you have anything else for them?".
"The Commander thinks that those criminal scum, many of whom are chosen specifically because of their hatred towards humans, are going to systematically target colonies on the Traverse.", revealed another bit of future info, then showed him a subdued grin. "But let me tell you a small secret: we held off a little on releasing these the Thanix series, waiting for the batarians to do something stupid like that.".
"You didn't want to sell to the batarians or be forced to deny their ambassador's requests, thereby making them your direct enemies…", the old soldier quickly figured out, beginning to reevaluate me while with wide open eyes. "When they came for us, they'd only end up meeting those new weapons, ones that can even be fitted in fighters. And humanity has a lot of Carriers… Were you planning on catching them off-guard?".
"We wish to make the galaxy a better place, Anderson. And so does the Commander of Hell's Angels.", I replied evasively, with an innocent smile. "Speaking of the Devil, he has something to discuss with you.".
"Does he plan on working together with the Alliance on these… future batarians raids?", he asked seriously.
"That's for you guys to negotiate. As for us, we only wish to sell our future products, from a pistol to implants, to the Alliance at reasonable prices.", I stated, then began to leave with a small bow. "Anyway, gotta take a call. I'll give you two some room so you can talk.".
With the conversation ending, I gestured for Thane to come over and moved far away from the two, towards a very isolated spot, all the while pretending to be on a call. In truth, I was directly connected to Thane's speakers and receivers.
"Commander Samael, I'm glad to see you again.", Anderson greeted cordially.
"Likewise. Things did happen as you had hoped. You're 'also' a Commander now, huh?", I greeted him back in Thane's place.
"Ah, you still remember that little banter from back then.", he gave me a dry laugh. "That was just a little joke. I've never taken it to heart. And you've really done well for yourself. Some would even call themselves 'Admirals' after achieving what you did during these two years. So, what do you wish to talk about with an old soldier like me?".
"You must've been informed about the plans of the Hegemony by now.", I got right to the point.
"Yeah, I've heard about them and that you might wish to work together with the Alliance.", he answered reservedly. "By the way, could I get those files on the increase of funding towards the Terminus criminals?".
"I could send them to you, but you must understand that some of our sources must be protected, right?", I said after some thinking, deciding not to put a fee on it, to which Anderson nodded. "Then, why don't we talk about closer cooperation…?".
And, just like that, we began plotting the Batarian Hegemony's downfall.
It was just the first true shots, ones I wished to make without running the risk of being seen as the Alliance's deniable forces, or a puppet in a proxy war. For this reason, we'd also try to reach out to the other species, who also had colonies out in the Traverse, with the goal of interlocking our forces in an anti-pirate and anti-slaver "response task force".
This would also have the added benefit of giving us free passage in their territory (a.k.a. not getting harassed by any space navy while passing by with our Frigates and Cruisers). All as long as the ship was properly registered in their databases, of course.
And this would enable us to do much more than just that…
In the year 2157 CE, the Citadel Civilization had discovered a new species: humans. They then went to shock it after holding back the turians and bringing in new inventions, two which came in the form of medi-gel and Carriers.
In the year 2172 CE, 15 years later, the galactic community was once again shocked when a multi-species company, one whose representative was a human, revolutionized all of the warship weaponry in the galaxy with the Thanix series.
But what really set that year apart for many was what a multi-species nanobiotechnology company named VersaLife, yet another one who belonged to the same corporation, did for the galactic community. For the krogan, it was the revival of a species that went extinct during the Rachni Wars, called kakliosaur, who had been cloned from a Fossil found in the planet Intai'sei, of the Phoenix System, on the Argos Rho cluster. For everyone else, it was the dissemination of two species native to Earth which had been genetically modified to survive on alien planets: canis lupus familiaris and felis catus, otherwise known as goodbois and purrbois.
They were humanity's best friends throughout our evolution, from when we were merely hunter-gatherers until we managed to leave Earth. While once one of humanity's predators and rivals, they became our steadfast companions, while one of them even domesticated itself, helping deal with disease carriers like rodents.
Now that humanity had finally reached the stars, I felt it was time to scatter them all around the galaxy, so that we may never lose our buddies.
[Interstellar]
Asari Vid Reviews
This vid was certainly… unique. It made me stop to think about some things of our society, showed me a different perspective on the passage of time that I couldn't see even as an asari and generally "blew my mind". I don't know why humans tried to make something as boring as "Blue Steel" when they already had this vid. And the ones in this story are crazy! They'd even dare travel to black holes and build something like the Citadel with primitive technology. Plus, I have to be honest… while scary at first, TARS actually grew on me as it went on. So I'm just going to leave this one quote from the trailer, who already says it all about this vid:
"We've always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments; these moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or, perhaps, we've just forgotten… that we are still pioneers. And we've barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us."
Salarian Vid Reviews
I find it incredible just how right humans got black holes before they had even seen one in person. This vid was made in 2014 CE while their satellites only captured the first image of one in 2019 CE. At least that's what the Systems Alliance's extranet says. Even like that they still got most of it right, the event horizon and accretion disk, the effect on a planet's waves, time dilation… And that entire aging scene just, it just hits differently when you can only live 45 years at most. This vid was an amazing journey.
I have already downloaded all the music of this human composer, Hans. You should too! It makes everything I do feel epic, even writing this Review.
[The Wolf of Wall Street]
Volus Vid Reviews
This Earth-clan gets it! Everybody is selling something. The ability to communicate is the ability to turn words into a tool. Any tool can become a weapon. And the stock market is the volus' battlefield, it's what we're all about. You must fight with the goal of reaching a state where your mere presence says "I own this place. I own you!" and get away with it. This vid was 3 hours spent in pure bliss. I estimate a lot of financial potential in this human media company. So buy, buy, buy!
[Borderlands 2]
Krogan Game Reviews
I gotta say these old games are just something else and this one is just porn for lovers of guns. THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM! Even the villain is awesome. And I almost laughed my hump off a lot of times. Like, there's even a mission where the pyjak asks to get shot in the face! And that's it! Me and the clan boys are having a blast playing this. Now I don't like that zero guy, reminds me too much of those salarians, but that Salvador guy… What is better than a gun? Two guns, at the same time, with unlimited bullets! They even have a weapon like those mercs that are all the rage nowadays. Ya know, the kind that explodes? Yea… Too bad we can't "clap" that annoying bot though.
[Portal 1&2]
Salarian Game Reviews
The humans managed to make a puzzle game into a fun and funny experience. I've never laughed so much when being a test subject for maniacal robots. I mean, almost each and every quote here is a gem, like "all lethal military androids have been taught to read, and provided with 1 copy of the laws of robotics, to share…". And these two crazy robots have more personality than most people I know. Cave Johnson and his Aperture Science are so over-the-top comically evil that it becomes hilarious. I'm glad we don't have someone or some group like that, who does mad science on live subjects just because! Lastly, remember that it's all "For science. You monster".
Could we get a GlaDOS VI assistant personality package? Maybe a portal gun too...?
[Code Geass S1&S2]
Salarian Anime Reviews
So these are called "anime" of a mystical land named "Nippon". I've got to say their culture kinda matches our own. Maybe it's some kind of socio-evolutionary convergence? Noticed how some long gone human cultures resemble the asari and turians ones. Anyway, this was a crazy awesome experience from beginning to end. I saw some complaints that the art design of these humans was too thin, but they looked fine to me.
Everything else here is cool: the plot, the character development, the political plays, the powers, the manipulations and outplays, the mechs (oh, the mechs just keep getting more and more amazing!). It even includes a healthy amount of philosophical debate (Political reform: from within or from outside the system? Preserve the present or embrace the future?). Also, we can see something that could never happen in reality: one guy wearing many identities, one of them behind a crazy outfit and mask, while plotting to take over his world to save it by uniting everyone. So my only recommendation is…
ALL HAIL ZERO!
ALL HAIL LELOUCH!
[Science Time!]
How did Gaia help during the fight? And what does it have to do with Quantum Entanglement Communicators?
In the Mass Effect Universe, it's possible to change one qubit (quantum bit) and have this affect its pair in a predictable and controllable way, meaning someone could use it to send information (in binary data) faster than light, from any place in the Universe, with basically no time lag. It's not widespread because its supposed high cost and point-to-point nature would not permit it.
What's more, when Shepard was "learning" about QEC during ME2, EDI claims that "each quantum pair costs nearly as much as a comm relay". This, to me, is a bunch of nonsense. Besides the fact it'd contradict what was shown to us (it'd mean TIM alone spends the equivalent of millions, maybe more, of comm buys just for a few holo chats), the fact of the matter is that it's not that hard to create quantum entanglement. In fact, it can even occur randomly in nature. And there are many methods of creating it even known by us, who are just "primitive humans", such as using "laser operations" or special crystals to force a high-energy photon to convert into two photons of low-energy. Basically, it's harder to produce and contain antimatter, and they use the thing to power their warships, like the SSV Normandy.
But we sidestepped all of that, because the Protheans were very advanced in the science of communication, as could be seen from their Beacon Network, which means we got the tech to easily create those nice entwined particles. Moreover, there are other sources of quantum entanglement in the MEverse to learn from in the future…
So, how was it that Gaia could participate in the fight? After all, she wasn't anywhere near Odasst, not even on a ship closeby. The answer is a quantum entanglement device which serves as a "Bridge" between the MC and her computational units. Just as "cable" or even "wifi" signal would, it can connect to the MC's suit/devices and give information back to the "other side". That's how.
Do you know the way they do the Chief+Cortana pair in Halo? While it's kinda cool, that's something I didn't want, because it: 1) limits the DS to being a sort of glorified VI assistant; 2) puts a cap on how much processing the DS has (it's only as much as one can fit inside an "AI" chip or armor and the MEverse bluebox + computational units are big, much more than a Data Crystal Chip); and 3) it puts the DS in danger (i.e. if the "chip" or even the soldier are damaged enough, then the DS could easily die). And I've read at least one ME fanfic with an MC+"AI" pair like this, so the concept isn't uncommon.
The way I'm doing it here sidesteps all that while simultaneously allowing the soldier to get an instant connection to the mother base. What he sees and does reaches the partner DS, who can then pass it along to the neighbors which, in turn, can pass it to everyone else. At the same time, the DS can use the suit as a control module to drive the drone swarm. I call this device/concept Quantum Bridge/Bridging – QB. This was an idea I had even before finding out that ME:A did something like it (and, therefore, made it canonically possible). Just look up how the SAM+Pathfinder link works. :)
Author's Notes: Just like I've said many Chapters before, this marks the end of what had been "reworked", with the next Chapters not having been touched ever since I first wrote them a few months back. So, keep in mind that it's going to take longer to post the next ones going forward. I'm working and doing postgraduate studies, so time is tight. Moreover, there's some new ideas I've been getting and the suggestions people have offered, which can result in further waiting. But this also means you guys can influence what happens in the next Chapters. As for this Chapter's content...
Firstly, I highly recommend this parody song about nanobots: Nanobot (Havana Parody) | A Capella Science ft. Dorothy Andrusiak (watch?v=ObvxPSQNMGc).
Now, for the nanites shown here. I'm just someone who likes science and futurism content and had the fortune of finding a few clear headed individuals, one of them being Isaac Arthur. Many "futurists" describe nanomachines as these magical things that can rearrange all matter, atom by atom, into anything. But this isn't very realistic, as it would probably be very slow and the insane amount of "work" done on the atomic level would just cause the nanites to melt down. Thus, the logic here is not exactly from *our* reality, but the one from the MEverse, where Reaper nanites had been shown to function at the molecular level.
So, we ended up with this "hybrid". It comes from the very real idea that we can advance science a lot just by matching nature (more on that in later Chapters). In this case, it'd be by using already made organic structures for a few specific functions, such as the bots' movement. Do I think they're the end point of nanites? Not really. Perhaps the best form is really in the classic "robot" one. Or maybe the "ultimate" form is something that uses materials we can neither associate with organic matter or metals, but a mix of everything. And Isaac points out that we might as well ignore "metal nanites" by going the route of "hijacking" the inhuman organic bots that are already living in our bodies. That's why I left enough room for a future dialogue like: "Hey, remember when the nanites still had organic parts? Yeah, the first gen was wild!".
Next, this random asari Spectre. To be honest, I feel like this is something that could happen in the MEverse. Tela Vasir openly talks about how she can get away with all the public murder and evil stuff she's done, while continuing to do all sorts of villain stuff. So, this situation happened and I tried to write the Spectre as a really powerful biotic, to balance it with the idiot we got on Chapter 6. You can see this in the details, such as her having almost no biotic cooldown time. And I included drones in the "rework", since a lot of people seem to love them (those were just experimental, by the way). In fact, a lot of what's in this Chapter is new stuff.
As for the Thanix reveal and handling, I fell like we did an alright job. Do I consider it to be the ultimate "big brain" move? Not really. It was just the way I found to get all the pieces of the board in their place, while extracting the maximum value out of the situtation.
This Reviews section took a long time to finish. I hadn't done it yet and this is true for the next Chapter, so you can expect it to influence the time it takes, but you can see that we now have an anime section, because of course they would be one. One interesting thing about it is that I couldn't think of an anime to do, then remembered Code Geass and was amazed at just how well it fit here. No music though. Couldn't find inspiration, but might come back and do one.
...
Questions for my readers:
1) Should the MC stay with Gaia or get a new DS partner just for him? Remember that many of the DSs get their names from mythology or entertainment (so, for example, one of them could decide to be just like Halo's Cortana…).
2) What do you guys think about the PMC codenames, such as Pathfinder, Shade and Liberator? Ideas for other ones?
3) We're now mid-2172 in the story. How would you feel would be an appropriate passage of time for each Chapter? Have them span an entire year, maybe two with just the most important/shocking events being shown? This would get us quickly to the ME1 period.
…
When is the next Chapter coming? When it's ready.