Chapter 14: Behind the Scenes


Unknown Time, Unknown location


The ancient intelligence observed the events of the galaxy with great interest. This cycle while like most others with a few minor deviations courtesy of the previous cycle, had become one of the more interesting ones. Wither or not this would be prove too good or bad for its ancient plans was for it to decide later. But for now it would watch with great interest. Even it could appreciate an odd cycle or two when they cropped up. A nice way to spice up the monotony that was eternity.

The Dragon Orphans were a fascinating species and they held much potential. The Intelligence would have to order the Vanguard to take samples to be studied if possible. Their war against the species of this cycle had been a disruption and there was a high chance that they could destroy the others. An outcome that was not desired by the Intelligence. For a moment it had been tempted to initiate the harvest early.

Then the Terrans arrived and halted the advance of the Dragon Orphans. Yet another unexpected development for this cycle. The Intelligence was aware of the humans or Terrans as they now called themselves, from the archives of the Protheans. It had concluded then that they would not play a significant role in this cycle. A revaluation was in order. The humans had developed much quicker than anticipated and were the equals of the Council Races.

Then there was the other fact that the Protheans had missed. The humans were not the only intelligent species to arise on Earth. Humans and Ghouls, an interesting development. They were not the first and would not be the last. They had developed AI and made peace with them, a true rarity. Their technology differed somewhat from the path, that too had happened before and it would not the last. The Terrans were an odd mix of the rarest traits that sometimes manifested in a cycle.

Truly this would be a cycle to be watched. There was much to be done to counter any further unexpected developments. But the Intelligence saw no reason to believe that they could threaten the endless cycles.


September 21st, 07:30, Unknown Batarian System, Terran Stealth Destroyer


While the soldiers and main fleets of the Federation and the Citadel fought on the frontlines, the stealth vessels of the Federation fought the war in their own way, far behind enemy lines. Their task was two-fold to observe enemy deployments and relay the information back to command for them to decipher. They had seen the attack that brought several millions of Dragon Orphans to the frontlines days ago and sent the appropriate warning. Though even they failed to understand the motive behind the attack hence the reason why there were now millions of enemy combatants on the front. It was a blunder on their end and they would be quick to rectify. Still, a warning had been sent which gave their forces the time they need to react, and even stop the D-Orphans true plans in some systems.

Their second objective was arguably just as important as the first, and in the thoughts of some wet behind the ears recruits the more exciting of the two. To cause chaos behind enemy lines. Even the Dragon Orphans held some form of support structures for their forces, granted they had a lot less to do then more conventional armies. Mostly they did not have to maintain a supply chain that provided food and arms to their forces on the frontlines, they did not need weapons when their soldiers were more than cable of killing without them and they ate whatever they could on the planets they invaded and sometimes each other.

"Dragon Orphans vicious bastards through and through." The Commanding officer of Stealth Group 98 thought to himself. "Have the attack plans been received by the rest of the squadron?" He asks his coms officer.

"Affirmative sir." She replied quickly. "Their onboard AIs are running tactical simulations as we speak. We should be receiving the results right about," Her console beeped. "Now." She finished.

"Their conclusions?" He asked.

"They concur with ours sir, high probability of success with significant gains. A recommendation that we carry out the operation as soon as possible." She read off the report.

"Good, we start the operation in thirty minutes. It will be as followed we have our probes in the system transmit false IFFs indicating a large attacking force. If they take the bait we will initiate a precise FTL jump into the system and drop out within range of the objective and conduct an attack run, then initiate another FTL jump out of the system before the enemy has time to react to our presence. I want this to be a clean and smooth operation have each of our ships pick a target and be ready to take it out. Am I understood?" He asked his subordinates after detailing his plan. None responded. "Good transmit the orders and continue our observation of the system, keep an eye out for other targets of opportunity." He ordered.

"Sir, Yes sir." His crew chorused.

He turned his attention back to the image of their target. A spaceborne Dragon's Womb. It was around three kilometers in size but held little in the way of its own defenses relying more on the surrounding ships to protect it. As the name implied its purpose was to produce more ships, adding to the swarms that were invading the civilized galaxy. These things were able to spit out more ships than their counterparts in the Federation and the Citadel could under a month. While taking one out was no true loss to the Dragon Orphans as they still had countless others operating at full capacity, it still meant that fewer enemy ships were being thrown at the frontlines and the Dragon Orphans would have to scramble to replace its loss. It would delay further attacks for a few days, time that would be well spent.

The Commander smiled to himself, reminding himself that his group was not the only one conducting operations behind enemy lines. For security reasons, he did not have the privilege of knowing how many groups were operating in occupied space, but he suspected that there were a lot. Several groups that were doing the same thing he was doing now. It was true that the loss of one Dragon's Womb would be no big loss, but the loss of several, plus whatever other shenanigans his brothers and sisters in arms were up to, now that could make a nice difference in the war.

Their job here was to gain information on the enemy and whenever possible annoy the living hell out of them keeping them from throwing everything they had at the frontlines. A Job he very much intends to carry out with a smile on his face.


September 21st, 08:00, Unknown Batarian System


As per the orders of the Command the three corvettes and two destroyers of Stealth Group 98 began their operation. First, they transmitted orders to the numerous probes that had been deploy in the system. These probes then produced signals that gave the impression of ships exiting FTL.

To the Dragon Orphans, it looked like that several thousands of enemy ships had just entered the system and were on a direct course of the D-Womb. As the Terrans hoped the Swarms of ships were quick to react. A massive portion of the swarm surged towards the false signals. A portion of the defenders was still hanging back at the Womb to defend it, but there were holes in their lines. Holes that the 98th would exploit. Once the swarms were at a certain distance away the stealth initiated their Eezo- Drives and less than a minute later they appeared within one of the holes. For a precious few seconds, the swarm that remained behind was stunned. A mistake that the 98th was quick to capitalize on.

The moment that they were on the Dragon's Womb the swarm finally reacted. But at this point, it was too late. The 98th fire a full payload of missiles, each designed to borrow through the armor-like skin that protects the Dragon station. The 98th continue to fly past the attacking Dragon ships, only taking grazing shots. It was at this moment that the rest of the Dragon swarm realized that it had been tricked and procced to turn back to the station to punish the real attackers. They would never get the chance as the moment that the 98th escaped the swarm they jumped into FTL. Seconds later the Dragon's Womb and several of the surrounding ships disappeared in a short-lived star as several high-grade nukes detonated.


September 23rd, 15:46, City on Brytus


Hidaki twisted his body narrowly avoiding a downward swing from a brute. While the mountain of muscle recovered from its momentum the Half-Ghoul took the opportunity to swing out his Ukaku and fired a barrage of Rc shards. Several impacted and embedded themselves in the arms and chest of the brute as it roared in pain. It swings out its other arm in an attempt to send the man flying into a nearby building. Hidaki was quicker and he leaped out of the way shooting off more shards that found their mark in other D-Orphans that got to close for his comfort.

It was then as he used his wings to slow his fall to a gentle glide that he heard the familiar sound of a tank firing its main cannon. An instant later the brute's upper body disappeared in an explosion of fire and gore, it's body fell. A second later Hidaki land on his feet and spun around slicing through several D-Orphans with his Kagune.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a pair of Prowlers leaping out him with their fangs bear. He was ready to stop their attack. But before he could move both creatures were hit with a blue ball of energy witch sent them flying to the ground in a heap several meters away. Wasting no time Hidaki used his rifle to make certain that the creatures were dead. Barely giving him a nod, Hidaki turned his weapon to the small horde of D-Orphans as Saren join him his hand still glowing with Biotic energy. Overhead a gunship tore into the horde with its autocannons and the occasional missile. Others contributed to the deadly firing line, now that the monsters found themselves short of any brutes that could soak up the damage, the horde was being pushed back, and shortly after was annihilated.

After a few minutes of making certain that there no more enemies in the area, Hidaki lowered his weapon but still ready to use it at a moment's notice. He took a breath feeling a little winded from the fight. Thousands of D-Orphans lay dead in the street, there were four brutes in the mix. One he killed when he bisected it with his Ukaku an action he took a bit of pride in, two were felled by the gunship overhead, and the last one blown up by a tank, Turian he thinks. This had been the seventh attempt by the D-Orphans to breach their Lines in the last three days.

"Alright, people shore up our defenses, and try to get some rest." His superior officer said. "But be ready for another fight." He iterated.

Everyone followed his orders, including the Turians. A unified command chain was still being worked on, but the Turians still treated Hidaki's Commanding Officer with the same respect as theirs and followed his orders though sometimes they would confirm them with a Turian Officer. The Terran forces showed the same respect to the Turians. After almost two weeks of fighting alongside each other both sides were getting a good idea of how the other fights and were quickly adapting to each other. They added to their strengths and compensated for each other's weaknesses. They were well on their way to becoming strong allies.

It was rather odd to Hidaki, less than a month ago both sides had not known each, with the Turians not even realizing the other existed. Yes, the Federation had almost half a year to watch the Turians and the other Citadel races, but that was not getting to know them on a personal level. Now they were treating each other like they were old friends. But he supposed that was because they were fighting and bleeding for each other out here on the frontlines. Even now he could see Turian and Terran soldiers making light-hearted jokes and jabs at each other as they worked to repair the damages to the fortifications. Others were helping the wounded walk to the medics or applying simple first aid themselves.

Hidaki was not an exception to this phenomenon. He felt Saren's presence as he walked close behind his commanding officer. Despite a somewhat bumpy start, Hidaki had gotten over the monster comment within minutes understanding the younger soldier had never met a friendly ghoul before and what little he had heard of the ones created in Citadel space did not paint them in the best light, the two had quickly formed a bond, one that was noticeable to others. From what he could gather about Saren in the first few days he was regarded as a very capable soldier in his own right and was respected for it. But his fellow Turians were also wary of him, not simply because he was a Biotic that concern had been laid to rest a long time ago, their concern laid somewhere else. That being that he sometimes displayed a ruthless streak that put people off.

Hidaki had seen glimpses of that ruthlessness as they fought together and could understand their hesitance around the man. He would take actions that would endanger those around him just to achieve an objective, and he brushed off an agreement from others with a casualness to put him off. But Hidaki could see much more than. He could see the root of it, yes some of the ruthlessness was inherit in him and that in of itself was not a bad thing. Tampered and utilized in the right way it would be a useful trait. But what amplified it and potentially made it dangerous was something that few seemed to think of, his name. His family name to be exact. Arterius, as Hidaki learned was a name spoken with respect. A line that produced talented soldiers, made Generals and Admirals and even had a few Primarchs in the mix. One need not look further then commanding General of this planet's ground forces, Desolas Arteries the elder brother of Saren Arteries.

As a member of the Kaneki family Hidaki could relate, he could understand what it meant to be in the shadow of someone else. Perhaps that was why he gravitated towards the young Turian and why Saren seemed to listen to him. A fact that had not gone unnoticed by others.

The small group entered a small building where a command post for their unit had been set up. At a communications terminal that could be easily packed up at a moment's notice, was the commanding officer for the Turians in the area. He was talking to two figures. One an older Turian male and a Female Terran a few decades older. Both held the rank of general.

"This has been the seventh attack in the last three." Said the Turian commander.

"And more are to come." Hidaki's superior said, grabbing the attention of the Generals. Stopping at the Terminal the three saluted. The Turian commander and the Generals in their holo form returned the salute.

"We can understand your frustration commander Itadas." General Xi spoke. "But as you should already know and as Commander Rokes can attest to fighting the Dragon Orphans is no easy feat. An offensive operation requires a lot of planning and manpower."

"The latter of which we do not have enough of." General Desolas added to the argument. "While I do not like it, I have to agree with General Xi we well have to settle for a long defensive war until we get more people."

While the higher-ranked officers continued with their talks both Hidaki and Saren step a little bit away so they could converse. "At least there's only one Dragon's Den to worry about." While one of the two D-Dens had managed to crash into a populated city causing a lot of headaches for both Turians Terrans alike, the second one had fortunately crashed in a large open field with little civilization around for miles. With the approval of the Turians, the thing had been destroyed by orbital bombardment, one less problem to worry about. "If that second D-Den had crashed in a more populated area we would be even more strapped of men."

Saren looks at him with a quizzical expression. "Is that all we really can do?" He asked. "Stay on the defensive, and wait for them to come to us?" Hidaki could detect the faint disgust in his voice.

"I'm afraid so." He said observing his friend. "The Dragon Orphans are vicious fuckers, even more so, when it comes to defending what they perceived to be their territory. In this case, its that Dragon's Den and the surrounding city. That whole area is going to be a nightmare to take, and to not even mention the Dragon General that's there." He saw his Turian shudder at the mention of the Dragon General that was leading the D-Orphans on the planet. Unknown to that monster a few of the recorders on the armor of dead Turian soldiers were still operational and had caught images of him. There had been a few accusations of betrayal on the side of the Terrans regarding that matter from some of the Turian soldiers. Nothing serious came of it, and General Desolas had ordered his people to read the codex on the Dragon Orphans to avoid future misunderstandings.

"Alright," Saren said after a moment. "You convinced me attacking them right now is a bad idea, and is asking for an early grave." Sounding a bit disappointed.

"Always trying to prove yourself, Saren." Hidaki thought. He could relate to that, the same pressures that drove Saren to Join the Turian Military and done the same to Hidaki. He joined the armed forces of the Federation not out of a desire of patriotism but a desire to prove himself. Because he felt like he had to by the simple fact that he was a Kaneki. A foolish thing to do looking back now. That desire had caused him to be reckless, taking unnecessary risks. He had earned the ire of his squadmates and superiors more than a few times because of it. "Look at the bright side, they have to come to us if they want more territory and they always do. Which means that they'll have fewer bodies to protect what they do have."

Saren seemed to like what he was hearing. "That would make a future offensive from us more feasible." He said.

Hidaki smiled, almost a decade of service had cured him of that desire. His service had taught him a valuable lesson, he did not have to prove himself to anyone but himself. He did have a family heritage to be proud of, but it did not have to define who he was. A Kaneki he may be, but he was still Hidaki and only he could decide what that meant. As it turns it to him it meant a family man who would do anything to protect those he loved. A man who served in a genuine desire to protect his nation and uphold the principles for which it stood. A man with good friends in his squadmates that would help him up on his goals. That said it did not stop him from, in the words of Commander Rokes while off duty, "Being a reckless piece of shit, but at least your heart is in the right place." Looking at Saren, Hidaki could not help but see his younger self in the Turian. He only hoped that he would be able to pass this lesson on to him.

"That said we won't be sitting idly by, waiting for the Dragon Orphans to make a move." Hidaki said getting a curious look from the Turian."

"Explain," Saren said.

"We got to do something to keep them from throw everything they have at us. You think fighting a few thousand Dragon Orphans is bad, try a few million all coming at you all at once." He saw Saren visibly shudder and a few eavesdroppers stiffened. "I thought so. So you can imagine we would do everything we can to avoid that scenario."

"How so?" Saren asked.

"By giving them hell behind their lines." Said Commander Rokes. Both men turned their attention to the Terran Commander, the terminal behind him was off. Both men stood at attention before the commander, he signals them to be at ease. "We have several small teams placed in enemy territory to do as much damage as possible and to keep the enemy occupied."

"They'll also have the additional job of scouting out the area." Hidaki continued with the explanation. "That way when we do decide to go on the offensive and reclaim the lost ground we'll know what we're up against."

Rokes nodded at the half-ghoul. "It is as the Lieutenant said. Information is key to winning wars and so is keeping the enemy off balance."

"When you said making hell for the enemy," Saren began. "What does that entail?"

Commander Rokes gave the Turian a cold bloodthirsty smile. If they were capable of it Hidaki was certain that have the Dragon Orphans crying out in fear. "Whatever it takes. Hit and run tactics, bombs, poison whatever you can think of, so as long you're making noise behind their lines and killing Dragon Orphans we won't care what you do."

There was a glint in Saren's eyes that Hidaki did not like. "Anything?" Saren asked

Commander Rokes seems not to like the look in eyes as well. "There are a few simple limitations to keep in mind." He said allowing for Hidaki to calm a little. "First and foremost do not take any actions that could put you, your squadmates, or any civilian that has been caught behind our lines in unnecessary harm. In the case of civilians try to get them out if you can, the less we have to worry about them the better. If you can't then make a note of them, that way we'll know where they are. Beyond that keep the enemy occupied and scout out the area." Hidaki would still have to explain a few more things but for now, the Commander's explanation would have to suffice.

"Since your talking to us about this I'm guessing that we've been volunteered for this assignment." Hidaki surmised.

"That's right Lieutenant Kaneki, you will be leading your own squads on this. The same goes for you Saren." Rokes said turning to face the young Turian. "General Arteries as recommended you for the assignment." There was a very subtle change in Saren's posture.

"He did?" Saren asked his voice sounding even.

The Commander gave him a pointed look. "In case your thinking that I'm only doing this because the General is your brother, your wrong." He said. "Your Superior officer Commander Itadas seconded his recommendation, I've also seen you in action. It is on those accounts that you will be apart of the mission." His explanation seemed to calm Saren. "The both of you will lead a five-man team behind enemy lines. You will carry out the mentioned tasks to hamper the enemy's attempts at attacking us. Assuming that our position has not been overrun by then, there will be a transport waiting for you in the morning of tomorrow. It will carry both of you to the main command bunker on Brytus where you will receive a full debriefing of your mission. Am I understood?"

"Sir, Yes sir!" Hidaki said saluting.

"Sir, yes sir!" Saren said saluting.

"Then you are dismissed." Commander Rokes said prompting the two to break their salutes. "Try to get some rest, that's an order." Then he left.

Hidaki turns to Saren seeing an excited glint in his eye. He supposed that Saren now had a chance to prove himself to everyone. "Come on Saren," He said getting the young Turian's attention. "You heard the commander let's get some rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us." Hidaki prayed that Saren would not live to regret it.


September 24th Unknown time, Sur'Kesh Unknown location:


Deep under the surface of the Salarian homeworld was a bunker that less than three hundred Salarians knew about and even less the location of. Within the bunker's most secure chamber a meeting was being held by the top operatives of the Special Tasks Group or STG for short. They would be discussing what information they had gathered on the newest arrival to the galactic stage the United Terran Federation.

"Is everyone here? Said one Salarian an older male coded named codenamed Chief. He glanced around the table of gathered STG operatives half a dozen Salarians most of them around his age. All of the seats were filled. The Chief nodded approvingly. "Very good then, we shall get this intelligence debriefing underway." He said. "For record-keeping, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss the information gathered on the newcomers that are the Terrans and the political entity that represents them the United Terran Federation. By analyzing the available information we shall determine the threat that they pose to the rest of the galaxy and form countermeasures against them if they turn hostile against the Citadel Races. For obvious reasons this will be the first of many such meetings, our plans will be updated, refined, or outright discarded as more is learned about the Terrans. It should also be noted that the Terrans are not being singled out in this action, such discussions are held twice a year for every known species in the galaxy. Our intent here is not to discuss future plans to subjugate the Terrans but to further the security of the galaxy by planning contingencies that for everyone's sake should only ever be gathering dust in this bunker." It was always good to be clear in discussions like this. "With that said let the first intelligence gathering on the United Terran Federation begin." He turned his attention to the closest Salarian on his right. "Insertion what is the status of your mission?" He would not be using anyone's real name in this meeting, in the highly unlikely event that records of this meeting fell into the wrong hands none of the operatives here could be tracked.

"So far we have had limited success in getting agents into Federation space." Insertion reported. "With the refugees moving into Federation space we have tried to implant as many agents as we can get away with. So far only two maybe three agents have mange to get past Terran Security and it is speculated that they are constantly being monitored by our counterpart in the Federation."

"Have you managed to ascertain the name of this organization?" The Chief said.

"We believe that this intelligence group as designated itself as the Federation Strategic Service." Insertion answered. "Thus far we have little information on their capabilities, but we do know that they serve the same role as the Special Tasks Group with many of the same functions. We believe that they answer to the Federation's elected leader at this time being a Human Female named Nijah Nader."

The Chief rapidly blinked his eyes, absorbing the information. "I see, please continue your reports on the infiltration."

"As I said our attempts at infiltration have been limited. We have also attempted to have stealth vessels enter their space so they may get more conclusive information on their space than what has been proved in the Codex. We have limited success in that field as well, only two vessels have successfully entered their space. Even then based on the reports they have made their ships are likely being monitored. This suggested to me that the Federation's counter-espionage capabilities are extensive. However, I am not ruling out the possibility that their detection is due to impart, that there is only one entry point into Federation space at the moment. This gives the Terrans a large advantage as they only have to watch one system for attempts at entry into their space, once other points of entry open up we may get a better grasp of their ability to detect our stealth ships."

"Speaking of which what have you discovered about the system beyond the 314 Relay?" Chief inquired.

"As we expected the system that the Terrans call Shanxi has been heavily fortified. It has a large standing defense fleet with about two thousand ships, the bulk of this fleet is centered around the relay and a single Garden class world. Additionally an extensive network of defense platforms and minefield as been established around the relay and the planet. They have also stationed a smaller fleet in the Relay 314 system, most likely an advance warning group. Projections indicated that it would take one perhaps two fully dedicated Turian fleets to break through and seize the system should the need arise, however, they would take heavy losses and could be repulsed from the system if the Terrans are quick enough to act. Suffice it to say considering that the Terrans are not a hostile entity to us and have shown little desire to become so, I do not recommend this course of action." Insertion finished his report.

"Your recommendation is noted," Chief said. "Internal your report."

"As per our orders, we have begun analyzing the internal security of Citadel space. Our objective was to determine if the Terrans had managed to breach our security network as the Council has been led to believe." Internal reported.

"Your conclusion?"

"Some of our findings have been inconclusive. Mind you that in of itself should be worrying. But due to that fact, the Terrans themselves confessed to monitoring us and our other findings we can conclude that the Terrans have breach our security network." Internal stated.

"What were those findings?" Chief asked.

"Our first priority was to determine if the Extranet had been breached. With the knowledge that the Terrans have AIs," Chief saw several others stiffen slightly. "We began looking for any anomalous programs within the Extranet, and for any searches that could not be traced back to a source, and evidence of the system being accessed by a foreign computer system. Unfortunately, most of our searches thus far have met with dead ends. But let it be noted that we have only just begun our search and as such only a relatively small portion as been search. As more time goes on we are likely to find more success as we start search into the more obscure parts of the extranet and as we gain more knowledge of what to look for in the case of Terran espionage programs."

"I see."

"That said we believe we have managed to identify some odd anomalies that we believe to be Terran in origin. They are currently being monitored and we have no plans for counteractions aside from keeping them out of more sensitive areas."

"Why have you not taken action against them?" Chief asked concerned that potentially dangerous programs were allowed to roam freely.

"We do not wish to tip off the Terran AIs that we are aware of their presence. We believe that by monitoring them we can both determine what information they're after thereby better guard against their attempts. Our second reasoning is that they could lead us to others in the system. If you are concerned that they could access sensitive information don't. We are taking every precaution to make sure they don't get anything harmful to us." Internal finished his explanation.

Chief nodded satisfied by the explanation. "Good, proceed with your assignment. Also, try creating false data packs for them to access, this could help us determine what kind of information they're after." He ordered receiving a nod from internal. "Anything else to add before you move on with your report?"

"Yes, Chief. While we have only just begun with our search we have discovered several other oddities in the extranet which we believe to be attempts at data monitoring against the Citadel races by parties that are not the Terrans." That drew some concern from the Chief, each day it was becoming more clear that they had become laxest in their security measures. That has to change. "We do not know who these individuals are but we can determine that they are not another species monitoring us but rather groups in the Terminus regions. There is evidence to suggest that some of them are connected to the Shadow Broker."

The Chief blinked rapidly going over the information. The Shadow Broker was concerning enough, but at least they didn't have to worry about another race watching them. For now, anyways, future reports could change that. "We will have to create special task groups to look into it. We can't have others gaining sensitive information on the Citadel. Make a note and continue with your assignment." He said.

"It will be done Chief," Internal said.

"Good, now onto the rest of your report."

"Our second assignment of finding Terran stealth vessels as met similar results. Again, this is not due to any failings of our people. But because of the short time we have had so far, we will likely have more success as time goes on. However, we did get something." He said pulling an Omni-Tool out. Moments later the terminal on the table lit up and an image appeared. At first, Chief thought it was a simple image of deep space, then a closer inspection revealed something more. A barely noticeable outline of a ship, it was hard to determine the size and shape of it. Though it being a ship meant for stealth it was likely a small ship. Chief had to give the Terrans a fair amount of credit having their stealth vessels painted pitch black, it made them almost impossible to spot visually in depths of space or on the night side of a world. "We were very fortunate to have spotted them."

"How so." Chief not taking his eyes of the image.

"Our agents believe that this vessel suffered a minor malfunction in its stealth systems that enabled them to detect the vessel. It was a very brief moment but long enough for them to get some readings on it." Internal explained. "Distressingly though the Terrans had the foresight to cover their ship with a sensor reflective material, as such we were unable to gather more information from the data readings beyond the size and shape. Even those are just estimates. As I said we were very lucky to catch this."

A thought occurred to Chief. "Is it possible that the Terrans might have purposely allowed their vessel to be seen?"

"We have considered the possibility and are making plans for it, but we have discarded this conclusion. If was meant to be found that we would have been able to track it. Once this apparent malfunction was corrected they reignited their stealth systems and we have not found them since." Internal elaborated. "Paranoia may be an important trait to have in our profession but there are times that things are as they appear. This is one of them." Chief nodded in agreement to many times an operation had become more complicated than necessary because an operative allowed their paranoia to get out of hand. "Aside from this happy accident we have had little success in tracking their stealth vessels."

"Thank you for your report, continue with your efforts to track their vessels. Also, forward the sensor data to STG analyzes they may be able to get more out of it." He ordered receiving an affirming nod. "Now onto the Navy."

"Unlike our fellows, we have had better success in gathering information on the military capabilities of the Terran Federation." Navy began the report. "I am not discrediting the competence of the other groups," Navy added. "Our success is a result of the Terran war machine being on full display in this conflict as such we had far more opportunities to observe them in action. Additional we did not have to rely on more discrete methods to get this information, as we can access records made by the Turian Military."

"That's good to hear. Now begin your report." Chief Said.

"So far we have determined that there are around twenty-six thousand ships actively aiding our forces on the front." Chief felt his eyes widen in a brief moment of shock that alone made them the fourth biggest naval power in the galaxy. "Based on this and the comments made by Terrans both in the higher and lower ranks we can extrapolate that their total Naval strength is around forty thousand ships. Possibly going up to fifty thousand, hard to say need more information for accurate estimates." Chief absorb the information and did not like the implications of it. If what the man said was accurate then these Terrans had a Navy that could rival both the Turian and Asari fleets and could tear the Salarian Fleet to pieces.

"That is rather disconcerting." Chief commented.

"Agreed. As expected of any competently made Navy they use a variety of ship types to fulfill different combat roles. They range from small corvettes to dreadnoughts bigger then what the Turians use." Navy began his report. "As everyone already knows the Terrans use a strange material that they call ARC tech, this gives their ships partial organic qualities to what extent remains to be determined. But what we do know is that material is stronger then what we use in our ships, lighter too."

"Which would explain how they're able to build bigger ships then we do," Chief said. "Wait if this ARC tech is made by creating artificial Rc cells would that not leave them more vulnerable to the attacks of the 427s, as they are to Terran weapons?" He asked.

"That would be a logical conclusion. However, they are not as vulnerable as you would think, they are better protected. The ARC material that they use is only partially organic the rest is metallic, this nullifies the normal weaknesses that Rc Cells posses." Navy explained. "An interesting piece of innovation on the side of the Terrans. Continuing with my report, knowing that their ships have thicker hulls then anything that the Citadel races except for the Elcor, we have determined that their ships can take ungodly levels of punishment in battle. Their ships can last longer than anything that we have and likely can do more damage."

"Can we determine their offensive abilities," Chief asked

"Offensively their ships are not as heavily armed as the Turians. I would say their closer to what the Asari use on their ships, however, we have determined that their weapons have a higher rate of fire and their thermal sinks vent heat quicker, because of this they can get more shots off then we can offsetting their lesser armament. Switching back to defense their barriers are almost as strong as what the Asari have. Their ships are built to outlast anything they face in combat. Understandable considering the enemy they face."

"How would the ships of the Citadel fare against them?" Chief inquired.

"We could beat them sir. But we have to be ready for a long-drawn-out conflict. The Turians have the best chance in a one on one battle, their ships have greater maneuverable and fire power if they use that to their advantage they have a high probability of success. The Asari likewise stand a good chance in an one on one engagement, their advance technologies and the fact that their ships' crews have centuries of experience give than an edge." Navy said

"What of Union ships?" Chief asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Navy was silent for a long time before he answered. "I'm afraid that our ships would stand little chance of surviving direct engagements. Compared to the other Council races our ships are underpowered, under armed, have little armor and barriers are weak. Our only saving grace is that they excel in cyberwarfare."

"An advantage that is nullified when you take into account that Terran ships have true AIs," Chief concluded. He supposed that it was inevitable the Salarian Union in the past Millennia had become too reliant on the STG. Flattering but it left both the army and the navy in a neglected state. Even the non-council races could fight them evenly. That would have to be remedied soon. "Speaking of AI how would that affect their Navy?"

"The benefits that they have would be immense Chief. Having AIs on their ships would allow them to operate on a level of efficiency that is startling. Their ships would only need a fraction of the personal to man their ships. This would cut down on the cost for the crews. Worse yet allow them to put more of funds into the training of what few personal they do have on their ships."

"Which would mitigate the Asari's advantage of having more experienced crews."

Navy nodded in response. "Having AIs also seem to provide them with another advantage that could allow their ships to pose a series threat to ours." Like Internal had done before Navy activated his Omni-Tool and the projector brought an image of a small spherical looking ship. "These are what the Terrans call Fighter Drones. They are small unmanned strike craft that they make extreme use of. They have limited armaments compared to manned strike craft, but do not let fool. They are faster and more maneuverable than anything we have, and their weapons are still strong enough to destroy an opposing strike craft, and they carry a small payload of missiles allowing them to operated in a limited anti-capital ship role. Individually they do not pose a threat."

Let me guess," Chief began. "Your never fighting just one."

Your assumption is correct Chief." Navy answered. "They deploy these Fighter Drones in swarms and all of them are operated by AIs. Further, they deploy them alongside a small contingent of manned strike craft. These manned strike crafts are of a higher quality than the mainstays of the citadel races. According to records we manage to procure from Turian Naval Intelligence these crafts would tear its Citadel counterparts to pieces. We ran our own simulations based on combat records recorded by the Turians and have come to the same conclusion. Finally, any ship captain fighting them would also have to worry about the mothership they are launched from. Either the strike craft will destroy them or the mothership will, likely both."

Chief was liking the prospect of fighting the Terran Navy less and less by the minute. "Are guardian lasers not sufficient to handle the strike craft of the Terran Navy?"

"Unfortunately not," Navy said with a shake of his head. "While the lasers themselves can't be avoided and would destroy them with relative ease. The targeting system of guardian systems can be evaded, and they cannot destroy what they can't see. Secondly, the numbers of fighter drones can overwhelm the guardian systems of most ships."

Chief absorb the information and understood the reasoning. "Problematic. Very Problematic. We will need to look into improving the tracking systems of guardian lasers. Improve current strike craft as well." Several ideas sprang into mind, Chief would have to look into them later. "Are there any other concerns that should be made a note of?"

"Yes," Navy said bringing up an image of several Terran ships. "There are three ship types that we have noted to be of great concern." Three of the ships were enlarged as the others disappeared. "First and potential the most dangerous of these ship types is a new ship analog that the Terrans use. They call them carriers, their core concept is that the main weapon is the strike craft they carrier."

"Strike craft as the main weapons?" Chief question, skeptical at the idea. Surly such small ships could not surpass the destructive power of a spinal mounted cannon? He saw that others in the room were of the same thought.

"Yes, and there may be merit to this idea, and could prove to be more flexible than a main cannon," Navy explained. If he had been a Terran chief would have arched his eyebrow, instead, he blinked curiously. "First is range, while we all know and should know that there is no such thing as range when comes to mass accelerated weapons, there is such a thing as effective range. Using Strike craft would nullify this limitation, these carriers could enter combat at extreme ranges where they could maneuver out the way of our slugs. Their strike could be quickly deployed and they would close the distance, and unlike slugs they could move out of the way of weapons fire as it comes and can give chase to their targets, even flank them. As noted before they can avoid the targeting systems of guardian systems or overwhelm them if their willing to take the losses. Once they are close enough they can begin an attack run on their targets, mainly by firing a large payload of missiles."

"All the while the main ships stays behind at extreme ranges where it is safe and can refuel returning strike craft while another wave attacks," Chief said starting to see the possibilities behind the design.

"Yes," Navy agreed. "Or they can support their strike craft by attacking at range, while their attacks would be avoided it would divide the attention of the enemy by opening multiple points of attack. Say in an opposing vessel is escorting a target. Normally the attacking force would have to get through the defenders to get to the target or divide their forces. A carrier can deploy its strike craft to attack the escort while it engages the defenders, or the strike craft engages the defenders and the carrier goes after the escort. As you can see this ship offers more flexibility than most other ship types. This concept was proven during a global conflict that occurred before the Terrans achieved spaceflight, call World War II. However, it is noted by the Terrans that the Carrier is vulnerable when alone, and is not meant for one-on-one engagements. A carrier operates at its best when it has an escort fleet with it. If we can separate a carrier from its fleet we can destroy it with ease."

Chief nodded in understanding it a nice bit of info to keep in mind. Then again thinking it over the same thing could be said about Dreadnoughts, as they were at their best with a fleet to support them, most ship analogs were at their best in such a situation. "I assume that is easier said than done?"

"Affirmative, based on some comments from Terran Naval personal allowing a carrier to be separated from its fleet without a reasonable explanation is grounds for a court-martial." So the same thing they would do for dreadnoughts. "Thus far we have identified three different types of carriers." One of the ships became highlighted. "First is what they call the Pegasus Class Escort Carrier, it is the smallest carrier they build and is meant to be a cheaper alternative to their mainline carrier. It has been observed that they can deploy up to hundred fighter drones and four squadrons of manned strike craft, in the case of the Federation a squadron consist of twelve craft. They seem to be well suited to be command ships of small patrol groups and we speculated they are used as a flagship for defense fleets of small colonies." The middle ship became highlighted. "The next one is their mainline carrier, labeled as the Hercules Class Carrier. These ships are much larger than its smaller counterpart measuring around nine hundred meters in length." Almost the size of a dreadnought. "Observations have estimated that they field around three hundred fighter drones and possibly ten squadrons of strike craft. This ship line is what truly caught our attention for the potential of a ship that operates in a carrier capacity. In addition to the massive number of strike craft they field these ships also appear to carry enough supplies to support a small army."

"Yet another advantage to a carrier," Chief muttered.

"Indeed the more we look at them the more useful they seem. Though whatever force they carry will never be able to take a planet, they can establish a beachhead for a large force. Dedicated transport ships will still play an important role in planetary sieges. Like the Pegasus Class, they are well suited for the role of a command ship in a larger fleet. We speculate that they lead the defense of import systems in the Federation and are more commonly used in larger-scale operations." Finally the last of three ships was highlighted and this one seemed to worry the Chief more than the others. "Lastly is the largest of the Carriers and, most certainly the largest ship they have at their disposal, the Olympus Class Fleet Carrier. It should be noted that each of these ship types are named using terms that are commonly associated with the religion of an old earth nation-state called Greece. The Pegasus was a mythological creature described as a riding animal with wings. Hercules is depicted as a being called a demigod and in some interpretations is the rider of the Pegasus. Olympus is the apparent dwelling place of the gods in this old religion."

"Interesting may have to look into the significance of this old nation-state." Chief noted aloud.

"Thus far we have not seen this ship's full capabilities as they are stationed with the Main Fleets of the Terran Federation and appear to be their Flagships. What we do know is they are colossal, records indicate that they are fifteen hundred meters in length." Now that surprised gasp from everyone at the table.

"Did I hear that right? Fifteen hundred meters in length?" One agent said, politics.

"You heard right Politics. They are fifteen hundred meters in length.

"Are we certain that these Terrans are not the long lost cousins of the Asari, or vise versa?" Politics asked.

Chief narrowed his eyes annoyed by the comment. "No, the Terrans and Asari are not related in the least. To many genetic differences for them to ever be related. Any similarities they do have is merely a coincidence." A funny thing to say considering their profession.

"Getting back to the topic, we estimated that this Olympus class can carry anywhere from two to three times the carrying capacity of the Hercules. They may not be dreadnoughts but I would highly advise not to underestimate the ship. Simulations indicate that these Fleet carriers can take on any other ship smaller than a dreadnought by itself with little trouble. Even Dreadnoughts may struggle to take one down. I would advise that no less then a dreadnought with a full battle group should engage these titanic warships, anything less should disengage immediately and go after more viable target or completely retreat." Based on what he was hearing Chief would put his support behind that recommendation, and it was made in the highly unlikely case that such a ship would be caught alone. "However since they are as far we can see stationed with the main fleets, it would take for more resources if we ever committed to the idea of destroying or capturing one." Naval punctuated.

"Are there any indication of how many of these ships they have?" Chief asked.

"We have yet to see the full extent of the Terran Navy," Naval said momentarily disappointing Chief. " But based on the information that we do have we can make some reasonable predictions. The most likely case that we have come up with is that this Olympus class Fleet carrier is a relatively new addition to the Terran Federation Navy and that they have very few of them. We have only observed three of these ship types, two of them are with fleets on the front lines and one with force defending Shanxi. There may be a few more deeper in their territory but I would estimate but they would have no more than seven maybe eight. The Olympus class Fleet carrier obviously takes an immense amount of resources to make and maintain it would stand to reason that they have very few of them and that they would be stationed with their most powerful fleets." That was good to hear the ships were still very concerning to deal with. "Overall carriers are a rather interesting innovation of Naval Doctrine and I highly recommend that we look into making our own. Their value both as a mainline ship and a support ship is not to be ignored." Naval said as the three carriers were replaced with the image of two new ships. "The next line of ships to be concerned about, the Jupitar Class Battle Cruiser. They are vessels that fall short of being dreadnoughts and have the firepower to match."

"That sounds a lot like the Turian's Pocket-Dreadnoughts," Chief said drawing the connections.

"Our thoughts exactly. This lays to rest any doubt that this species is a militant one. As far we can see these ships are an extreme threat to anything smaller than it and are true Capital ship killers. But they are not the most dangerous Terran ship we can encounter." The last of the ships became highlighted, and this one Chief could see why it would be a problem. He had heard the rumors and seen the images made at the Citadel. "While it is no surprise that the Federation have dreadnoughts, any spacefaring culture that has endured war as they have would come with such a design. We have identified two different types of dreadnoughts, one that is more numerous and this one. My group believes that this a new line of Dreadnoughts that the Terrans have created and they are slowly replacing the older ones with. It is called the Kaneki Class Dreadnought, named after a renowned figure in the Terran's twenty-first century. Has all can see this ship is outfitted with two spinal mounted cannons. The sheer destructive power that this line of Dreadnoughts can unleash cannot be understated. We have simulations of Citadel dreadnoughts fighting this monster, they show that out of every ten battles this ship would win seven of them, the other three often result in the crippling of the Citadel ship. Only the Asari's H'Ross Class Super Dreadnoughts can safely battle the Kaneki."

"How is it that they can mount two Spinal cannons on a single ship? The amount of Eezo needed to power them must be astronomical." Chief asked. Do the Terrans have access to high quantities of Element Zero? If so they could become rivals to the Asari on an economic level.

"Currently unknown chief. Initial scans do show that they give massive readings of Eezo but nowhere near the amount you would expect from such a vessel." Naval said. "It will be sometime before we can get answers. For now we will have to settle for speculation."

"And what is your speculation?" Chief inquired.

"While we have little evidence for, I believe that there is one explanation for this. I believe the Kaneki line of Dreadnoughts is outfitted with an Inter Linked Mass Effect Core System."

That would explain it. "Isn't that an Asari innovation? Their Super Dreadnoughts use them so they can be as big as they are."

"Yes and no sir," Naval said using his Omni-toll to bring up an image of a Quarian ship, a live ship to be exact, Chief blinked curiously. "I've been looking into it and the truth of the matter is that the I.L.M.E.C. System was created by the Quarians before their exile. Their live ships were the testbed for the technology to create a spacefaring city. Though as history has shown they become the lifeboats for the species. It wasn't until a century later that the Asari came out with their version of it. I can ford you the details for it later."

"I would be very interest in reading that," Chief said. "Continue with your report on the Kaneki."

"If the Kaneki does have an I.L.M.E.C. system then it would explain why it could have two spinal mounted cannons, this would also have the added advantage of having barriers that could rival stations and give it higher maneuverability then other ships of its size. Beyond that, we can only speculate what other technologies it has. It is likely a testbed for new technologies. If they prove themselves it is likely the Terrans will look into integrating them in future designs or current ones if feasible." The images of the ships disappear and the Terminal died down. "To conclude my report the Navy of the United Terran Federation is an extreme powerful force to be dealt with. I would highly advise against direct engagements with them unless we have an overwhelming advantage. But if there is fight against them I would suggest that speed and maneuverability be used to flank them and avoid weapons fire. I would urge our ship captains to be ready for a long term engagement against any Terran vessel." He finished.

"Your recommendation is noted anything else?"

"Only that I glad that the Terrans are proving to be friendly. If they had been hostile as some of our colleges think then we would already be in series trouble." Navy said with firmness. "I would urge the Dalatrass to have the Union pursue friendly relations with the Terrans.

That much Chief could agree with. In his mind, peaceful relations were always the best outcome. Unfortunately not everyone held the same belief thus necessitating the existence of his organization. "We shall move onto the ground side, Army begin your report."

By meetings end the Salarian started to get a feel for what the Terrans were capable of, it was a very small picture. But as far as he was concerned it was a good start.


There's more then one way to fight a war. The Salarians are up to their usual spy work, though for some its just business nothing malicious. And has you can a certain group of living starships are taking notice of what's happening in this cycle, their intrigued to say the least.

See in the next chapter and remember stay safe and keep your distance.