Mass Effect: Spectre Squad
It had been 17 years since the greatest and most deadly war in history had struck the Galatic Community.
The Reapers had hit Batarian space first and by the time of 21st September 2186 their entire government fell. Quickly the Reapers conquered Earth and struck Palaven. In the months to follow Legendary War hero John Shepard a human spacer kid and Skyllian Blitz veteran united a galaxy under one banner. The genophage had been cured, the quarians and geth achieved peace and Earth was liberated from the Reapers and the Crucible had been fired. Shepards actions brought peace... as most had thought. A new enemy has risen and its up to a team of 7 misfits to stop a new foe from attacking council space.
The Aftermaths of each species.
Humans: After saving the council and getting a spot in shaping Galactic space the humans spread and flourished for a while until the Reaper war. After the reapers were destroyed the humans were celebrated as heroes among the Galactic civilizations in part due to their enormous contribution in the war as well as because of Shepard. The Citadel was rebuilt above Earth and it still remains there today as a symbol of what humanity could accomplish. Human expasnion has quicky resumed and its now hard to visit a world without meeting one.
Asari: Upon the galaxys discovery that the Asari had secretly been using Prothean tech to push themselves above the other races they were punished severely by most races. The Asari have rebuilt much in the years of peace but they find themselves no longer very relevant in Galactic affairs. Even their religion has begun to fade as now it was revealed to actually been Prothean interference.
Turian: Once rivals with humanity the turians have been on a economic boom in recent years thanks to its strong trade agreements with the Volus and Alliance. Nearly all of the destruction caused by the war has been repaired and turian fleets now united with human fleets patrol every mass relay in council space.
Salarians: Although mistrusted the salarians have been gaining much more respect among the galaxy even from the krogan. After the inital attempt to sabotage the Genophage cure was found out the STG launched a Coup and the Military now govern the salarian people. They spend millions of credits each month in aid to Tuchanka and now even have a small krogan population on Sur'Kesh.
Krogan: The genophage cure has allowed the krogan to expand but not in a sea of blood as most expected. Krogan Warlord Urdnot Wrex and Sharman Urdnot Bakara has called for krogan unity and peace which has mostly been achieved. The krogan now have an embassy on the Citadel and have spent much time Terraforming and rebuilding Tuchanaka. Today Krogan children are fascinated with making their homeworld be as beautiful as pre war Thessia.
Elcor: The war was devastating for the Elcor in damaged but many were spared death thanks to their nomadic lifestyle. The elcor do not influence much in galactic affairs but maintain trade with all the species in galactic space. They are great to be around and have begun exploring more of the galaxy.
Hanar: The hanar did not suffer a lot of damaged thanks to Shepards involvement in saving their homeworld. They are praised by the alliance for joining the war early and now mostly help in studying Prothean ruins with the other races.
Drell: The Drell joined the war when the Hanar did and made huge contributions thanks to their elite training by the Hanar. A cure for kepral's syndrome was found and now many drell spend time on Kahje with their increased life spans. The most elite of the Drell are often recruited by the Spectres.
Keepers: Now with the Reapers gone the keepers are finally free. Although they have no intelligence still and cannot communicate with other races they still work on repairing the citadel. They are still protected by C-SEC.
Volus: The Volus have mostly rebuilt from the war and now they do what they do best which is manage the Galatic economy. Many praise the quick Galactic recovery on their help. The Volus still are a protectorate of the turians although they have much more autonomy.
Batarians: The Hegemony was utterly destroyed during the war and most Batarians fled. Now the war is over many Batarian refugees returned home and never forgot the kind and forgiving treatment the aliens gave them. They have been absorbed into the Alliance although many slavers are not pleased with this. They mostly follow the leadership of Grothan Pazness who calls for forgiveness of the humans and peace.
Geth: Never forgetting legions sacrifice and Shepard's actions the Geth have been working with the Quarians in rebuilding a united race on Rannoch. The geth have allowed the Quarians to live without suits and mostly stay in Quarian space although many leave to explore the galaxy. There is a very popular Geth philosopher on the Extranet who visits council homeworlds.
Quarians: Now not limited by their suits the Quarians have slowly adapted to their new lives. They have struggled to leave their nomadic pasts luckily many can visit council space and not fear discrimination anymore. They even got an embassy on the citadel.
Leviathans: They returned home after the war and warned council races to not dare visit them. Many wished to explore their culture and found this disappointing. The council have a military fleet guarding to ensure no trespassers on their space.
Raloi: They have been granted an embassy on the Citadel. They don't visit much council space after their homeworld was attacked by reapers and a alien plauge killed millions. Many of them became xenophobic.
Vorcha: Billions died during the reaper war and Heshtok was destroyed. This would destroy most races but the Vorcha continue on as if nothing happened. Still seen as pests still by many they went back to fighting each other on their planets. They are still recruited as Blood pack cannon fodder and cheap labour in the terminus systems.
Rachni: After the war they have mostly retreated to their original territory and have small trade relations with the council. They have no need for diplomatic relations but they still signed The Palaven War Pact agreeing to come to the need of any race that is attacked by the Yahg.
Yahg: They have created a small empire in the aftermath of the Reaper war and annexed many human planets such as Horizon. They are a threat that has even the krogan frightened. Every Galactic Civilization has a pact to agree on war if the Yahg expand anymore. Even Aria and many in the Terminus are preparing for war.
Introduction:
"I was beginning to think you would never show up" said a human hiding in the shadows of Omegas bar afterlife. "I never forget my clients" a 3 eyed batarian said as he approached the human. "Batarian Shard Wine" he signals to the bartender as he passes him a drink in exchange for 10 credits. "The galaxy is going to shit, the asari are growing tired, the yahg are getting pissed and you lot are attacking humans again" the human angrily said. He left the shadows and his features became clearer. He was a tall human around 6ft 2 and was missing an arm he replaced with a synthetic one. It was clearly geth made which made it even stranger. He was equipped in full N7 armour to top it all off. "You sound surprised we cant have peace in this galaxy for long." the batarian smirked as he drank his Wine and watched the dancers. "Enough political bullshit. You got it?" the human began to sound frustrated. The batarian quickly noticed a Drell with a spectre logo on his armour enter which was the cause of disturbance for the human.
He quickly passed a briefcase to the human and drank more of his wine to not arouse suspicion. "Good luck friend you are going to need it" The human grabbed the briefcase and made a run for the exit. He ran for Omegas docks and as soon as he unlocked his shuttle he heard something be hide him.
"Going somewhere?" A green and dark blue skinned drell wielding a M-9 Carnifex. The human quickly fired a few shots at the Drell which caused him to roll for cover. Engaged in a small firefight the human knew he was in for a challenge. The drell knew this enemy would be tough but the hanar trained him for over 20 years. He wasn't going to lose. The human threw grenades at the drells cover and he rolled again only to find the fist of his enemy. Quickly disorganised the human landed another punch at the drell and then hit him with a biotic throw. The drell went flying into a nearby wall. He was not going to lose. He couldn't. The drell searched for his gun and the human mocked him "Thought you spectres were good i just kicked your frog faced ass!" The drell jumped and grabbed his gun before firing a few shots at the human and landing one in his arm. He felt proud briefly before realizing that his arm was non organic and the shot did nothing. The human threw another grenade at his opponent which the drell waited a few seconds and quickly threw it back exploding right into the humans face. If he wasn't wearing his helmet he would of been dead. The Drell walked up to him and aimed his gun at his face. "Any last words?" he laughed at his opponent said "Yeah froggy get fucked!" The drell suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back as the Batarian from the club plunged a 4 inch knife into him. "EMERGENCY! APLLYING MEDIGEL IMMEDIATELY" The drells AI assistant quickly rushed to save his life. While he was distracted the Batarian and Human jumped into a shuttle and escaped.
The Drell watched as the shuttle flew away and sighed heavily before activating his Omi tool. "Command this is Spectre Agent Wyvern my mission... was a failure" sounding defeated. "Affirmative Wyvern. Report to the Citadel ASAP" said a salarian voice on the comms. Wyvern hung up and began slowly walking towards a transport.
Trying to relax on his way home to the Sol System he felt angry. This mission was his time to prove his worth to the council and to finally make a name for himself as a hero. He plugged in his earphones and listened to his favourite autobiography recorded by the famous John Shepard. Wyvern inspired to be like him one day.
His ship landed at presidium docks and he got ready to report to the council. He was not looking forward to this. The Presidium was full of life nowadays with members of races from all over the galaxy present. Before he rushed to a huge scolding he decided to pick something up to eat at his favourite restaurant. "DAI how is that wound looking anything serious?" he says while enjoying his Noodle house meal. "Nothing that requires attention. Recommend avoiding future knifes" Most spectres had been outfitted with AIs after an AI was fundamental in stopping the Reapers. His AI DAI stood for Drell Artificial Intelligence and was designed for Drell soldiers. "Thanks buddy i will take that under advisement." He checked his Omni tool and saw he had a few minutes until his dreaded meeting.
He approached the Council hall and took a moment to look at all the memorials to the fallen men and women of the Reaper war. The council had erected this memorial during the citadel reconstruction. At the end of hall he saw a massive statue of John Shepard and bellow it read saviour in nearly every main Galactic language. Once again taking a moment to admire his role model he heard a familiar voice. "Still trying to play hero friend?" A turian approached him wearing a full suit of heavily modified Gladiator armour and an enormous scar across his right eye all the way to his mandible. He turned and shook hands with the turian. "Scrurqaik Onzul. What are you doing here?" He was pleasantly surprised to see his old friend. Scrurqaik nicknamed Scar was an old friend of Wyvern and unlike the drell was a Reaper war veteran. Scar had almost died fighting a brute on Palaven and sustained a heavy scar across his face and picked up the nickname because of it. He was the spectre to originally recommend Wyvern into the special forces after both soldiers fought off a hundred Vorcha trying to steal Hanar relics on Belan. "Reporting to the council about this mysterious organisation that keeps popping up everywhere. Heard you fought them on Omega. How'd that go?" the old turian asked "I got my ass kicked and both of my targets escaped." Wyvern sounded defatted until the turian placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself kid. I got my ass handed to me hundreds of times in the last 30 years." Scar was only 25 during the reaper war and it was a serious of failures for his squad. He lost many friends and nearly his whole family. "I dont know man i guess i will have to see what the council says. We'd best get going." Both friends started walking towards the council meeting chambers and as they entered the council was already in session and debating.
The council now had 5 races representing it.
In one corner stood the Volus councillor Aemmos. The volus had earned their seat after the economic boom following the war.
"Perhaps they are batarian insurgents? Your people knew the risks of annexing them!" The Salarian councillor Gurji argued with the human councillor Steven Hackket. Following the war Hackett had become the human councillor due to popular demand. "Maybe. But humans are working among them and your reports included your own people." The old admiral was tiring of the blame being on humanity. "This one agrees with Hackett. They are to organised to be insurgents" The hanar spot was given thanks to the Drell forces the council often recruits. Turian councillor Quentius stayed silent. He could not contribute to the discussion currently.
Scar and Wyvern entered and the argument died down as everyone focused on the two spectres.
"Greetings Spectres. We have gathered you here to discuss these new enemies we find ourselves facing." Aemmos was calm and collective. A common trait for Volus. "Correct. We have read both your reports. Wyvern please step forward." The salarian councillor asked. "Yes i found and fought two members of this organisation. A batarian missing an eye and a human with a synthetic arm... as well as a set of N7 armour." The councillors looked at Hackett for a brief moment before speaking. "This one has seen the recording your AI took of the fight. This one has many questions regarding these individuals." The hanar Struz asked. "Yes while you failed to kill the agents you may have helped massively. " the salarians words shocked Wyvern. He thought he would be getting yelled at. Hackett stepped forward "Yes with this data we used council date to track who these people are. So far we have made a match. The human is former N7 biotic Ryan Hullum. He was listed as MIA following a mission on Thessia's moon. I guess we can tell he defected during that mission. He's a skilled solider and Reaper war veteran. He will be tough to take down. We will see if we can find you help fighting him" Wyvern was even more shocked. They were sending him to fight Hullum? This would be a hell of a mission. Scar was hoping they would be sent as a team. "As for the batarian we have identified him as Jath'Amon. Former batarian diplomat until it was revealed by Jacob Taylor he was actually a leader of a batarian terrorist cell. He went missing after the Reapers took the citadel almost 17 years ago. He's not very impressive in combat but could be a useful prisoner after he cracked last time." Hackett cleared his throat before continuing. "I won't lie to you Wyvern. This will be an extremally difficult mission. You will need the best and we will find you the best. For now we would like you to report to Tayseri ward and meet up with your shuttle and new squadmate. Scrurqaik we would also like you to assist Wyvern." The turian nodded. He was happy he would be joining friend to battle once more. The salarian councillor stepped forward. "For your first mission you will be heading to the last known position of a batarian smuggling ring we can't find the purpose for. Good Luck spectre."
The councillors walked out of the room and Wyvren turned and faced Scar. "You me and impossible odds. Hah just like old times." Scar was very excited for this assignment. "Lets get to Tayseri then. Wonder who is our new squadmate." The two friends made their way to the nearest taxi stand but decided to visit the Spectre armoury first.
SPECTRE STAUS CONFRIMED. WELCOME SCURQAIK ONZUL AND KEL MALKID
"What did you want to show me then?" The drell was pretty curious about the nature of this visit. "A pretty badass weapon stash i have been waiting for a use for" He opened a locker and pulled out a Black Widow MkIV. This was a hell of a weapon. He quickly folded it onto his back. "Pretty good for a sniper like myself. Don't worry kid i got something for you to." He then pulled out a M-77 Paladin. An old gun but he had modified it quite a bit. It had a much higher rate of fire and ammo captivity. Wyvern inspected the weapon and then holstered it. "Looks good. Hopefully i get to try it."
Not long after they arrive at Tayseri's dock and find their shuttle with a human wearing Spectre armour leaning on the shuttle clearly asleep. The armour he was wearing was a new model but very weak. He was clearly a new Spectre. Scar poked with with his new sniper quickly making the human jump and aim his gun at the turian. "Relax kid we are with you" The turian was smirking under his helmet. "Ah very funny. You must be Onzul and Malkid right? Robert Quincy. Or Cadet whatever you fancy." The human had short blonde hair and green eyes and stood short compared to Scar. "Cadet?" Wyvern asked. "Yeah the guys in training called me it. Pretty new to this fancy saving the galaxy business. The hero's of Belan. Damm proud to meet you guys!" Scar sighed but Wyvern loved being treated as a hero. "So *Cadet* where has the council sent us?" The turian was slowly getting impatient. "Vular System in the Kite's Nest. Former Batarian colony called Erszbat. Abandoned after the war... until recently. We are to investigate and bring back any POWs of interest." Cadet could barely contain his excitement. "Seems easy enough. Alright lets get to work" Wyvern said before boarding the shuttle. "Lets get to business" Scar boarded as well and finally Cadet. "Alright team lets kick some ass!" The young human did not lack for enthusiasm.
That's all for chapter 1. Looking forward to writing the next one.
Hope you guys enjoyed this!