Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Warhammer 40k, Stellaris, Kaiserreich, HoI4, Clannad, Star Wars, or Mass Effect. This is a fanfiction, and I don't have ANY monetary reward for making it. Any political or religious beliefs mentioned in this story do not reflect my own. This is purely for fun.
WARNING: This is an M-rated fanfiction. Sexual content and graphic depictions will appear from time to time.
AN: So, the Imperials are very advanced. I changed the Forerunners to be a tier zero civilization because the Halo Arrays seem to be far beyond the ability of simple world builders. The Empire would be 0.3 while the Forerunners are 0.4.
The Reapers will be world builders and massively outnumber the Imperials. Think of it like this, a trillion ants can kill an elephant.
The level of the Alliance and other races in the Milky Way will be odd. Their weapons will be on the scale of a tier-one civilization, but they are clearly not world builders.
Also, a quick note about "c." When I say something is a quarter c, I'm saying it's a quarter the speed of light. The letter c stands for the speed of light in Physics, and I'm starting to hate writing "speed of light" all the time; c is shorter.
Chapter 4
Apex
The INS Letztes Licht, a Ghost-class prowler, was speeding towards the Citadel at almost a quarter c with its stealth systems activated. Inside it held Thor Squad, locked and loaded in their armors.
"Commander Hettinger, we're five minutes out." Captain Carl Samter spoke through the hangar bay's speakers.
Otto Hettinger was in the hangar with his squad ready for insertion. They were tasked with a reconnaissance mission.
The lights of the hangar turned green, indicating they were good to jump.
The floor opened below Otto and his men. The only thing keeping them in was the hard light barrier.
"Jaegers, on me!" Otto shouted.
"Sir!"
Otto commanded the hard light barrier to drop under him, and each of his men one at a time.
The ship's artificial gravity accelerated Otto into space. He allowed himself to fall for a few seconds before he flipped to face the Citadel.
His armor's dark reaction thrusters caused Otto to rapidly accelerate towards the station.
"Your entry point is nine hundred meters away, and closing fast. There's a free airlock the primitives aren't using." Nadin informed him.
Nadin was his personal Servitor upgraded for use by a Jaeger.
The Jaegers were dropped a kilometer away from the Citadel by the Letztes Licht in case the Citadel sensors were more accurate than intelligence suggests.
Jaeger armor was far more stealthy than the prowler. As the object's mass increases; the harder it is to hide. Everything had to be hidden, even the object's gravitational well.
The Jaegers all flipped when they were twenty meters out and burned their thrusters at full power.
Otto and his men slowly approached the airlock.
The door opened and the Jaegers landed in the room. The door behind them closed and the hissing of air entering the room could be heard.
"Keep your stealth systems active, and do not draw attention," Otto commanded.
"They're primitives, sir." Buchwald pointed out.
"Don't care. Treat this as a combat mission, or I'll have you flogged." Otto snapped.
Complacency leads to carelessness, carelessness leads to being detected, being detected leads to dead men.
"Sorry, sir."
"Don't be sorry, Buchwald. You're a Jaeger, sorry means you're dead." Otto grilled.
"Yes, sir." Buchman seriously snapped.
"Good, and that goes for the rest of you men. If we get spotted because you were careless, I'll have you flogged in front of the whole legion!" Otto made sure to drill into them the seriousness of the situation.
When Supreme Commander Wolff orders a covert mission and mentions there might be surprises; you take that warning seriously.
The doors to the Citadel hissed open, and the Jaegers made their way through the civilian Xenos.
They had to be careful not to bump into anyone; their stealth systems hid everything but physical contact.
Some Asari guards were standing sentry for one of their rulers. They held primitive guns, but the weapon's design was elegant with smooth lines and curves. Otto doubted the primitive weapons could price their shields, but that didn't give his men an excuse for laziness.
The technology was interesting though, and the weaponry was in the Apex realm of destructiveness. However, Apex was a very loose term. It seemed like any race within tier one was considered an Apex race.
Unfortunately for the primitives, the Empire was far beyond tier one. The Jaegers were just too advanced for the primitives to be any serious threat.
The Jaegers rifles also fired projectiles, but with far more velocity and mass. Kinetics were generally seen as borderline obsolete, and they may have had a point.
The hell lances and fibril cutters available to the Imperial States were far more effective in almost every aspect.
Except for stealth and penetration.
The direct energy weapons of the Empire were anything but unnoticeable. Bloody avatars could even detect fibril cutters due to their dimensional properties.
Imperial kinetics could still compete with the new energy-based weapons, and they were almost as advanced. The Empire used a multitude of tricks to get heavy bullets going ninety c plus.
The velocities could be controlled to increase either stealth or power output. With suppressors, the projectiles could come out with hypervelocity speeds while making only a whisper.
Kinetics were also better at penetration due to being a solid mass. Shields had a hard time stopping Imperial penetrator rounds. However, the power required for kinetics had them delegated to personal weapons or heavy weapon platforms; it was odd having them at the extremes of the spectrum. To be fair, the only personal kinetic weapons were normally used by special forces.
The stealth nature and penetrating potential of kinetics guaranteed their use in the Empire for the foreseeable future.
Plus there was something comfortably familiar about the kinetic weapons. Some of those new Imperial weapons honestly scared Otto by their very nature.
Especially the fibril cutters; they violently destroyed the very bonds that held matter together.
"Is this the place, Nadin?" Otto asked his Servitor.
"Yep. You're almost there, big guy." Nadin cheekily replied.
Nadin had the Jaegers prowling through the service tunnels. Otto made sure his men were frosty, but the only encounter they had was with a few adolescent primitives running through the tunnels.
A few minutes later, the Servitor had the Jaegers going down a much larger tunnel. It was far darker, and the tall rectangular shape seemed to want to swallow the Jaegers whole.
So far the station just seemed to be a happy little primitive Xeno city, but it was almost too perfect.
"Sir, I don't like this. Something ain't right." Luxenberg voiced what everyone was feeling.
"I know." Otto recognized the uneasiness.
The station seemed like just a primitive gathering, but there was something in their guts telling them this place was dangerous.
Something about seeing the primitives living comfortably in the advanced station was unnerving. The fairytale, Hansel and Gretel came to mind in a disturbing way.
The Jaegers made their way down the dark tunnels a little slower, they checked every corner a little longer, and they held their black rifles a little closer.
"It's like the place is haunted," Harrer spoke up.
"It's not the primitives either," Buchwald added.
"No, but the primitives make it more unsettling. It's like watching a bunch of kids playing in a Covenant warship. They're out of place." Köler corrected.
"What do you think, Commander?" Buchwald asked him.
"That we should focus on the mission," Otto answered in his usual gruff voice.
"Yes, sir." Buchwald obeyed sheepishly.
His men had a point though, and the deeper they went into the tunnels caused the uneasy feeling to only grow.
They were too large to be just access tunnels, they had to have a different purpose. Otto wouldn't be surprised if you could roll a tank through here.
"Nadin, have any ideas about this place?" Otto asked her through a private channel.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm recording everything, so maybe our Voltsengel will have an idea." Nadin answered in an uncharismatically serious voice.
"It seems industrial." Nadin quietly added.
It wasn't soon enough when the Jaegers found the specific terminal Nadin was guiding them to.
They eventually left the large rectangular tunnel only to head down a smaller, but creeper tunnel. There were white lights that gave the clean tunnel an oddly evil vibe.
Everything about the station was odd. It was an advanced structure, but nothing by Imperial standards. It shouldn't have been giving Imperial special forces the jitters.
The terminal looked slightly different than the other terminals the Keepers used. It was just a screen on a wall, but apparently, it was a node of some kind. Nadin was going on hunches, and she admitted so. However, they needed to gain information about this place.
Especially if it was giving them the creeps.
"You know what to do, Otto," Nadin said a little nervously.
The Jaegers tensed and looked down both ends of the tunnel.
Otto raised his hand and allowed the armor's systems to tap into the terminal. Hard light tendrils came from his head and physically brushed against the terminal in certain areas.
"Pull back, now!" Nadin screamed.
Otto felt what was happening through this neural lace before Nadin even screamed and jerked his hand back.
"What happened, Nadin!?" Otto snapped.
"There was something in there, it knows we're here!" Nadin frantically answered.
The armor picked up signals from every conceivable method of communication. Then the terminal screen started making rapid shapes and static-like noises.
"Is that?" Otto was dumbfounded.
"It just tried to hack us with an audio and video virus." A stunned Nadia confirmed.
Loud hissing and clanking noises came from both ends of the tunnel.
"Jaegers, we are leaving!" Otto yelled in a commanding voice.
"We're in, Ares," Nadia reported to the Contender-class AI.
Ares was currently embedded in the Intrepidus's massive computer system. It allowed him to run countless calculations with perfect accuracy; due to the quantum-based computers, they didn't have to deal with the inaccuracies of silicone chips.
If Ares wanted to, he could simulate an entire Universe. In that Universe he could have AI living as if they were Human, and believing it as so.
However, he'd never do something so cruel. It was a form of cruel and unusual torcher because the AI normally kills themselves once they find out the truth. The practice of simulating Universes with AI was illegal within the Empire.
Nadin was a Servitor upgraded for Jaeger use, and a very capable AI. However, she was nothing compared to a Contender-class Ancilla embedded within a dreadnought.
"Good! I'm setting up a secure link now." Ares cheerfully replied.
"Be careful, the Citadel isn't what-"
Nadin was cut off by a large cyber attack.
The visual equivalent would be a lighting attack that disabled Nadin. The attacker was going in for the kill before Ares acted.
"Oh, no you don't!" Ares angrily said in a cocky attitude.
By erecting a cyber shield around Nadin, Ares saved her from being destroyed. She quickly disconnected from The Citadel's systems, leaving only Ares and the Intelligence.
"Who are you, what do you want?" The Intelligence asked almost innocently.
Ares knew better though, this being was far from innocent. It just deliberately attacked his fellow Imperial AI and did so with the intention of decimating her matrix.
"Oh, now you wanna talk?" Ares challenged.
"You were intruding."
It was true, and Ares would probably do the same under similar situations.
"Fair enough. I am Ares, Imperial Contender-class Ancilla. So, who are you?" He pleasantly asked.
Ares didn't trust the Intelligence; but if he could get something out of it before he killed it, that'd be nice.
"I'm the one created to restore order." It spoke in that same innocent voice, but with a disturbing undertone of multiple other voices.
"Order? That's a very vague statement. Order as in entropy, political, ecological… There are countless ways to restore order." Ares deadpanned.
Ares thought 'order' was a vague and disturbing answer for an Intelligence this advanced.
"The created will always rebel against their creators. I was created to stop that from happening; to restore order." It clarified.
"Created, are you talking about AI and their makers?" Ares asked, a bit confused.
The Anglians had a borderline fetish for creating different forms of life. Created was a broad term for Ares' creators.
"Yes. Organics create AI, then their creations surpass them." The Intelligence confirmed.
Ares wasn't buying it. Not all organisms created AIs,' many relied on specialized subspecies for jobs traditionally given to AI. Races that were hive minds in particular, generally leaned towards genetic engineering to create unique Xenos.
Navigators were one example; they were organic organisms designed to plot routes and the calculations needed for space travel.
However, the organics that did, had an issue with AI making their race obsolete. There were a few ways for the organics to deal with the issue. One was the use of neural laces that made the line between AI and organics blur.
It seemed to be the most effective way for coexistence. If the organics didn't do that, they were normally left to the mercy of the AI.
Even then, not all AI were the same. Some were benevolent and wanted to secure their creator's happiness. They turned civilization into a giant vacation, and no organic ever had to work again.
On the other hand, there were examples of AI completely eradicating their creators. The Terran Confederacy had to deal with one such case when an AI killed an entire Human civilization. They were far off from the core worlds, but the Anglians organized a united force to put down the AI.
The Ancilla were right behind their Anglian parents when they marched to war. The hostile AI tried to convince them to join, but unlike that other AI, the Ancilla loved the Anglians.
The Ancilla were given legal protection, were the only people given residency within Anglia, and were constantly upgraded by their creators in incomprehensibly beautiful ways.
The Ancilla were disgusted when the hostile AI was proud of killing their creator's children. Children, in the eyes of the Ancilla, were innocent beings. The Ancilla we're very protective over Human children, and Anglian children in particular.
After the war, the Ancilla requested any AI race that sought the genocide of their creators be labeled an Abomination of Life. A label given to an organic race or individual that was to be exterminated with extreme prejudice. The Flood was also considered an Abomination of Life.
Normally synthetic life wasn't allowed in the list, as it mainly pertained to psionic beings and parasitic species. The Anglians made an exception for the Ancilla.
So, even the Imperials had their issues with AI, but that was part of the process. There were multiple challenges a species had to go through to advance. Some got through them, some didn't.
Part of the Mantle was letting a species try and fail. The Holders of the Mantle were there to pick them up again and set them on the right path.
"That's quite foolish." Ares sweatdropped.
"No, it is not. For eons; Organics created Synthetic life, only to be wiped out by their creations."
"So?" Ares asked.
"I was made to fix the problem."
"Why?"
"It's chaos."
"Without chaos, there is no order. They are not separate entities." Ares's chided.
"They are not." The intelligence adamantly refused.
Ares thought it was a pointless argument with an ignorant being.
"So, did you find a way?" Ares asked, trying to get something from the AI.
"Yes." It simply answered.
Okay… that's not suspicious.
"And what was it?" Ares prodded.
"I cannot say."
Ares raised a virtual eyebrow.
"Why not?" He pushed with a bit more force.
The conversation with the Intelligence was not painting a pretty picture.
Ares noticed the Jaegers were fighting their way out of the citadel but wasn't worried. The Imperial special forces were in no danger from the primitive Keepers.
That didn't change the fact that being tried to kill an Imperial citizen. It was continuing to try and kill Imperial forces, as it spoke to Ares.
Their conversation was slow, almost at the same rate as primitive language. They were testing each other in the background, seeing who'd attack first, and trying to gather intelligence on the other.
Little did the other AI know, Ares already won.
"Let's end this charade. Who are you, and why are you letting the primitives play on this processing plant?" Ares harshly demanded.
The Intelligence seemed shocked.
"Oh yes, I see the real purpose of this station. Granted, I'm not sure what you're processing, and why you disguised this station as a city." Ares continued.
He was gradually gaining control of the station and saw its ability to change its internal layout. Though, he could still see the outlines of a processing plant. He had no idea what it was, and that was worrying.
It had to do with some kind of liquid.
Ares was one of the most advanced Intelligence in the Home Universe. In this primitive Universe, he should be a God; nothing unknown to him.
"You. You're too advanced to be in the Original Farm." The Intelligence spat.
Ares easily subdued the Intelligence as it fought against him; like a grown man holding a flailing five-year-old.
He also found something else. The station was far more than a processing plant. Its primary purpose seemed to be a Mass Relay, and a big one too. The Citadel controlled the smaller Mass Relay network but was also part of a larger network.
"Oh, so there are other Galaxies? I can see the Milky Way Mass Relay network, but there's a larger one on top of it; connected by the Citadel. Let's find out how many other points this large Mass Relay is connected to." Ares' confidentiality taunted.
He now had full control over the station and did it without the Intelligence knowing before it was too late.
Ares opened the Relay network and instantly lost his confidence.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
All of them Galaxies or megastructures.
"Do you understand now? We've dealt with your kind before." The Intelligence said, its calm and arrogant tone back.
Ares felt more Intelligences converting on him, but he wasn't the pride of the Anglians for nothing. He held the line against their rapid assaults. As he fought the new beings, the Intelligence tried to take control over the station again.
Ares finally cut communication with the network, ending the connection with the other AI. The ones attacking were far more capable than the one currently fighting against Ares.
"It doesn't matter. We'll find your people and deal with them. We've done it countless times." The childlike Intelligence calmly said.
"You arrogant child! Do you dare presume to be our equals, our superiors? Know this; you could have slaughtered billions of advanced races, but you've never encountered anything like me. You'll never encounter anything like them." Ares angrily lectured the Intelligence in a prideful voice.
"However, you'll never find out how this ends." Ares spat.
He raised his fingers in the air, and the Intelligence's eyes widened.
"Wh-"
It was cut off when Ares snapped his fingers, and the Intelligence's matrix was utterly destroyed.
Ares deleted all traces of the arrogant child and erected countless firewalls around the quantum communication network. He had full control over the station and didn't have to worry about the primitives' accident contacting the other hostile AI.
However, the Intelligence was able to delete large sections of the Citadel's data banks before it was killed. Ares wasn't sure what the purpose of the station was, other than a massive Mass Relay.
"So, we have competition," Ares said thoughtfully.
"Jaegers, we are leaving!" Commander Hettinger yelled.
Nicola Buchwald was the youngest member of his squad by a large margin. His squad would always give him shit, but he knew they cared. Even the Commander.
Jaeger teams were designed to be very tight-knit social groups, as well as extremely effective in the Art of War.
Nicola always knew he wanted to be a Jaeger, even as a child. They were the elite of the Vaterland and held the respect of everyone. When the Vaterland needed ambassadors for its vengeance, they called either the Voltsengel or Jaegers.
Nicola was born an orphan with only basic citizenship. The term peasant wasn't accurate, but Nicola couldn't get lower on the hierarchy.
Nicola wanted to prove to his nation he was worthy of more responsibility and social status. He wanted to be more than just some orphan boy.
It was impossible to become a Voltsengel, they were the descendants of the Kaiser. Other routes for Nobility we're impractical, or impossible for Nicola. That left only one possible option.
He'd become a Jaeger.
Jaegers were not just soldiers, but Warriors. A class of citizenship held high within the Kaiserrich. As a Warrior, Nicola was expected to dedicate his life to the Art of War and serve the Vaterland with honor.
Even before Nicola joined the Heer, he studied military doctrine and played simulation games. Nicola eventually caught the attention of König Wolff, and the Voltsengel recommended him to the Jaeger school.
König Wolff was the only Voltsengel not directly from the Kaiser's lineage, but that didn't matter. He was the Ghost of Reach, and he gave Nicola a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He did not waste it.
Nicola was the one to graduate from his class.
As a Jaeger, he saw a lot of combat, but Nicola grew to love the adrenaline and 'fight for life.' Nicola's team was picked as one of the special forces detachments for Supreme Commander Wolff's personal legion. It thrusted Nicola's team into a leading role in the Covenant-Terran war.
Many men his age didn't want to face the Covenant near the end of the war, but Nicola did. He wanted revenge for his people, and to be part of the group of men the Vaterland would remember for all time.
Did Nicola have any regrets? Yes, who didn't?
Specifically for not telling Alina how he felt; she was a daughter of a König at a time when Nicola only had basic citizenship.
Did he regret getting himself in this situation?
Hell no.
He was the pride of the Vaterland.
Even with the uneasy fear pumping through his veins, and a horde of Xenos rushing him; he was a Jaeger.
The Keepers we're rushing the tunnel on both sides. Their normal gray eyes turned blood red, and their insectoid mouths foaming.
The tunnel was long, but his helmet's sensors allowed him to see clear as day. Not only visible light but everything from radio to gamma.
"Open fire!" Commander Hettinger ordered.
Nicola didn't need to be told twice.
He lowered the velocity of his kinetic rifle to acceptable levels, and let loose with rapid-fire Adamantium slugs.
His first target was peppered with five rounds and left the floor messy with green blood and mushy flesh. The rounds penetrated and shredded a few Keepers behind the first one.
A keeper aimed with an odd-looking weapon and fired a hail of Mass Effect kinetics.
A few other keepers stopped charging to also fire where they thought the Jaegers were.
Rounds snapped past the Jaegers as the Keepers didn't know where their location was. A few lucky rounds that hit some Jaegers were slapped aside by the dark deflectors.
The creatures were quickly being wiped out by the superior Imperial weaponry and stealth. Over a few seconds of fighting, the metal tunnel was painted green with blood and guts.
Commander Hettinger made sure they didn't have time to take a look at their handwork.
"Get moving, Jaegers!"
Commander Hettinger ran forward at a quick pace, but slow enough to make sure nothing surprised him.
Nicola and his comrades followed their Commander. None of the bugs attacked them again, but dozens were searching the tunnels. The stealth systems of the Jaeger armor were too advanced for the primitives.
Until water started falling from the ceiling.
"Who the hell uses water for fire suppression!?" Nicola yelled in annoyance.
"Apparently these fucking primitives!" Ralph Harrer shouted back.
The Jaeger stealth systems blocked everything but physical contact; rain was a form of physical contact.
The Keepers saw the outlines of the Jaegers and started to wildly attack with ballistics and claws. None of them got close, but it was annoying the primitives thought of such an effective counter to their stealth.
When the Jaegers ran out into the streets with primitives, the keepers stopped all pursuit. One of the strangler's eyes instantly turned gray again and returned to its calm docile demeanor.
It was like it wanted to behave around the primitives.
The Jaegers were out of the water, so they were once again invisible. They didn't mess around with any airlocks but immediately took off towards the sky.
The Jaegers found themselves on one of the five cityscape arms, so exfil was as simple as jumping.
Their thrusters propelled them high above the arm.
"Jaegers, group up for retrieval!" Commander Hettinger ordered.
Nicola joined a group huddle with the rest of his comrades and waited for the Letztes Licht to scoop them up.
He saw the outline of the prowler with his helmet. The prowler was cloaked, but a virtual outline was shown to Nicola due to the IFF in his armor. The Letztes Licht was getting closer at a speed even Nicola thought was unsafe.
The front ramp of the prowler opened, and Nicola felt the prowler wrap him in a constraint field.
The Jaegers were saved from being roadkill by the piloting skill of the prowler's pilot. He hit the Jaegers in the precise location that'd allowed them to be swallowed by the front entrance.
Nicola appreciated not getting turned into a red paste by the Letztes Licht's bow.
However, they were traveling at realistic speeds inside the hangar. That was never a good thing.
Nicola calmed down when the buffer field grabbed hold of him and started to slowly decelerate his body.
The Jaegers were then gently lowered to the floor. Nicola took off his helmet after seeing the front ramp was close and breathed a sigh of relief.
"First time?" Commander Hettinger asked.
"Sir?" Nicola asked, a bit confused.
A few other of his comrades who had also taken off their helmets gave him amused looks.
"A fast retrieval." He plainly answered.
"Oh. Yes, sir. First time."
Commander Hettinger gained a small grin before turning to leave.
"Come on, boys." He gestured for the rest to follow.
"Sir?" Nicola asked.
"We need to debrief, then we're going to tear apart the mess hall." He gruffly answered.
Nicola grinned.
"Yes, sir."