"Oh Guardian of Guardians, my Shadow of Shadows, I have kept one last secret from you. I'm sure you have wondered what it is I found at the edge of the galaxy that would shake a being such as myself. It is time I showed you." - Emperor Calus of the Adamantine Empire
Prologue: Chapter One
Date: 3500 AD
Location: Pax System, Horsehead Nebula
The Batarian Hegemony may nominally be a member of the Citadel, but that's as far as it went. No one trusted them, hence why even in peacetime, and while they're ostensibly under the Citadel umbrella, the border between their space and the Citadel proper was patrolled at all times. That said, the Batarians weren't stupid. They'd never attempt anything under the Citadel's watch, not so close to Sur'Kesh. In other words, this was the shittiest and most boring posting in the entire Turian Hierarchy.
Boring, that is, until today.
On board the THS Heavy Cruiser "Indominus"
"Sir, the relay is activating!" said a sensor operator.
"Do we know where from?" inquired the Indominus' Captain.
"Yes sir! It seems to be coming from an uncharted relay."
"Understood. All stations, red alert. First contact protocol is in effect. Ready weapons to go hot, but do not pursue target locks unless I give the order, or unless fired upon. Comms, send a tightbeam update to Command, then start broadcasting the first contact initiation package on all frequencies. Shield ops, precharge shield capacitors but keep shields offline, and slave them to threat-assessment VIs." announced the Captain, before he pulled up a strategic view of the space around the relay for 10 light seconds on the central holographic display.
A chorus of "Yessirs" followed immediately after. Then, silence reigned except for the diligent work of station crews, and occasional intra-crew updates.
After three minutes, a sensor operator spoke up. "Sir, relay transit is complete, and according to the Relay's logs, something definitely came through. Frigate weight, sir, but nothing is showing up on sensors. Orders?"
"You're positive you're not misreading the relay logs?" asked the Captain.
"Yessir, one hundred percent."
"The whatever came through must have come through stealthed. Keep looking. I want active scans of the area around the relay, starting at 0 and working your way out. Comms, update Command, and include the relay logs, as well as all related sensor data."
Half an hour passed. Then an hour. The two. It was three hours later that something happened.
"Sir! Contact, one hundred thousand kilometers from the relay! It's sending a tightbeam," said a sensor operator.
"Comms, cache the data, then see if you can translate it. Sensors, active scan of the contact, then send it to logistics for full analysis."
"Sir, I've cached the data, but there's nothing to translate. It's formatted in Hierarchy Military Standard. Would you like me to parse it?"
"Do it, and update Command, including the data we just received, as well as all sensor data on the contact. Ask for reinforcements."
"Sir, the VIs have finished parsing the data. It's a message, with coordinate data attached. Message reads as follows: 'Turian Hierarchy Vessel designation Indominus, this is the Adamantine Empire Vessel designation Ambassador. Do not be alarmed. This Relay is now under the jurisdiction of the Adamantine Empire, pursuant to the Imperial Sovereignty Protection Act and as directed by His Magnificence Emperor Calus himself. A defense fleet will be entering the system within the range of coordinates attached to this message. Make no hostile actions, and do not interfere with this fleet in any way, and you will be allowed to pass through the relay unharmed once the area has been deemed secure. Also attached is a specially tailored first contact package, to be personally delivered to your Citadel Council.'"
Internally, the Captain of the THS Indominus was distressed. "Some never before seen 'Adamantine Empire,' which evidently already has knowledge of the Citadel Council, comes through this relay and just claims the relay for itself, in clear violation of Citadel Sovereignty? Well shit. If they want a war, I guess," he thought to himself.
Out loud, he shouted "Battle stations, shields up, weapons hot! Pre-charge main weapon capacitors, set target acquisition to automatic, and calculate potential escape trajectories."
Before he even finished his commands, however, the "Adamantine Empire" fleet appeared on the strategic map. Not "came through the relay" appeared, not even appeared bit by bit. No, it was simply that one second, there was no fleet. The next second, there was, and by the spirits was it a fleet. As Captain of a THS Heavy Cruiser, one of the most dangerous warships in the galaxy, and second only in size to dreadnoughts, he had expected to have the upper hand in any engagement with the Batarians' small and aging navy.
He was not, however, met with Batarians, nor was he met with anything small. As a matter of fact, the smallest vessels in the opposing fleet were Light Cruiser-weight. It wasn't the Light Cruisers, or the number of them (they were many, scattered around the fleet in all directions like a cloud), that alarmed him. It wasn't the Heavy Cruisers either. It wasn't even the absurd number of dreadnoughts, though they certainly would have been met with their fair share of shock on their own. No, what alarmed him most was what must have been the flagship. To call it huge, or even massive, felt like an understatement. It wasn't massive, the Citadel was massive. According to the Indominus' sensors, this monstrosity of a vessel was a breathtaking 100km long, covered in what seemed like statuary and carved reliefs, and mind-bogglingly an entire open-air city on top.
He had started this day thinking he could handle anything the galaxy could throw at him. Now, he doubted the entirety of the Citadel could handle what had just been sent their way.
A/N: Seems I'm on a roll today.
P.S. No, the big ship described in this chapter is NOT the Leviathan. The Leviathan is at least 700km long.
