For the Republic
AN: I'm back baby! You guys probably want to know what happened. Well my computer had some hardware issues which left me down one computer. I continued writing on my tablet whenever I could thinking that I could just post them when I got the chance. A few months ago I ended up dropping it…
I had that tablet for over 5 years and the very first time I dropped it the tablet instantly broke. Unfortunately those chapters I wrote weren't backed up so I lost almost everything. Did I smash an orphan's computer in a past life because it seems like the Tech Gods have it in for me. The only thing I managed to save was this chapter, rough outline of the next, and one chapter of my Gate story.
Thankfully it turns out the repairman kept my computer and was working on it in his spare time. He managed to get it working again so here I am. While I would like to get intimately reacquainted with Steam I decided I've kept you guys waiting long enough so I'll mostly be writing for these next few weeks. Hopefully I can get four chapters out by the end of the month.
The Citadel
Zakera Ward
Saren Arterius scowled as he made his patrol through one of Zakera Ward's lower levels. He was once regarded by many to be the next turian Spectre but now he was considered lucky to have landed this position in C-Sec. Ever since Desolas' trial for his explosive first contact with the humans the name Arterius has been all but blacklisted. The Hierarchy took a big hit to its reputation after the Relay 314 Incident or Vietnam Conflict as some turians had taken to calling it. To save face they had a big show trial calling Desolas a disgrace to the turian people and all the Hierarchy stands for. The look of hurt and betrayal on his brother's face is one he'll never forget. Thankfully he wasn't executed though that's what it seemed like they were building up to. Desolas was instead dishonorably discharged and subject to permanent house arrest.
Rounding a corner Saren came across one the few friends he had here in C-Sec, a young turian by the name of Garrus Vakarian.
"So Saren how's your day been going so far?" he asked jovially
"Nothing much. Had to chase down 3 pickpockets, deal with a salarian hacker stealing credits, and got biotically thrown by an Asari all before lunch. What about you?"
"The usual. Shootout with drug dealers, shootout with gang members, shootout with mercs, get yelled at by Executor Pallin, and help get a baby varren out a tree."
Saren chuckled "You're slipping Garrus. You usually get shot at a lot more than that."
"I don't know… The day is still young. A gang of krogan might stir up some trouble later on."
"Still that's light compared to what you usually get up to. Anything else happen?"
"There was some slight trouble with a quarian on the upper level."
"Thief?"
"Now Saren. One thing you learn in C-Sec is how untrue that stereotype of all quarians being thieves is. Only the diehard bigots still believe it after their first year."
"Sorry." Saren mumbled.
"Don't worry about it. It's what we were raised to believe. What happened is that there was a robbery in one of the nicer shops a few levels above here. A batarian made off with a few thousand credits worth of goods. As he was making a run for it he turned to this nearby quarian and said 'Boss, what are you waiting for? Run!'."
Seeing where this was going Saren said "Please tell me they didn't…"
"Yep. The batarian's pursuers immediately without any hesitation stop chasing him and tackled the quarian instead."
"Of all the idiotic…" Saren didn't exactly have a high opinion of quarians but even he would fall for such an obvious trick. As if a batarian would consider a quarian their superior.
"That's what I thought when I heard. By the time I got there the crowd was about ready to lynch her. Thankfully another passing officer revealed this is becoming a rising fad among petty thieves. Run of with some stuff and implicate the nearest quarian as an accomplice to get rid of some of the heat. After that the crowd sheepishly left after that without as much as an apology."
"Sounds bad."
"Yeah well at least we'll be getting help in a few weeks."
"Oh?"
"Yeah… The humans are transferring some of the best officers from their respective nations." Garrus replied watching Saren closely.
After a moment of silence Saren sighed and said "We could use the help. C-Sec is getting a bit short staffed."
"Yes it is." he replied in approval
Undisclosed Location
Eclipse Merc Base
Spectre Jondum Bau ducked behind a crate while his SMG cooled down. These Eclipse were a bit more heavily entrenched than he thought. They needed to be given what they were up to. These mercs were hiring pirate groups to raid human shipping on the promise the spoils will be divided up between them with a significantly larger portion going to the Eclipse for organizing the whole thing and providing occasional support. Humans were still new so anything coming out of their space was worth a lot be it technology or a cultural item.
Jondum took aim at another Eclipse LOKI mech and fired a short burst watching as the mech's head became a mess of twisted metal and sparking wires. An Asari approached on his left an assault rifle in hand and biotics ready. He overwhelmed her biotic barriers and killed her with a much longer burst though this had the negative effect of requiring his weapon to cool down again. Grunting in frustration Jondum was beginning to see why some mercs and even a few of his fellow Spectres were starting carry at least one human firearm. At least you can just reload when you run out with those.
Jondum saw an Eclipse carrying something large in their hands. It looked like… Damn, Grenade launcher! The blast threw him on his back. His vision was blurry and his hearing was filled with nothing but a constant ringing. He barely registered the boot stepping on the hand still holding his gun. Soon his hearing recovered enough he could make out voices.
"...and call the boss. We just bagged a spectre!"
"The Council is going to pay a small fortune for him!"
"Quit being stupid. The Council isn't gonna pay no ransom and especially not for a spectre. Plausible deniability and all that."
"Then what good is he to us then?"
Jondum felt a gun being pressed to his forehead. This was how it was all going to end? Killed by some mercs that got lucky. Not the highlight of his career. Suddenly his already abused hearing was assaulted by a new sound. Several loud bangs in quick succession. He quickly worked them out to be gunshots from a human weapon.
"Hey. Are you alright?"
Looking up he could see a lone human soldier, Republic Ranger judging from the armor, with his hand outstretched. Taking the hand the ranger helped back up to his feet.
"Spectre right?" the Ranger asked.
"Yes. Spectre Jondum Bau. Mercs got the better of me with that grenade launcher. I certainly picked one hell of a day to go without a helmet. And you are."
"Anderson. Ranger Captain David Anderson."
Sol System, Earth
United Republic of States, Delta State
Aperture Science
The Wanderer felt a bit out of his element. Here he was surrounded by the rich and influential of Council Space and even a few from the Terminus Systems. Aperture Science was hosting a bit of a get together to try and get new investors. Not that he'd need an excuse to come to Aperture. Unlike Black Mesa, Aperture has always been a family company and the Johnsons are a very… unforgettable family. They were always a treat to hang around. Not like these people around him. When you've led for as long as he has you can see a kiss-ass from a mile away and most of the people here look like they've got a degree in brown-nosing.
He's only been here ten minutes and he's already had to turn down corporate CEOs looking to sign exclusive contracts, political hopefuls trying to become famous for being friends with the Wanderer, and over a dozen asari of varying ages trying to increase their standing by entering a relationship with one of the human leaders. He thinks the rumor that offspring between an asari and one of the human leaders might lead to immortal children might be the source for the sudden explosion of interest.
Thankfully Aperture's CEO finally entered. Cave Johnson III as he was often told looked very much like his namesake. The Wanderer who knew him personally thought the resemblance was scary at times and if he didn't witness the various Johnsons growing up himself he'd think Aperture was simply cloning their founder and his wife/assistant over and over. He certainly wouldn't put it past them. Lord knows the number of downright insane ideas he's had to shoot down over the years. At least they aren't at the level of that possible resonance cascade Black Mesa could have caused over a century ago. He shouted himself hoarse that day. Looks like Cave is about to speak. He had to hear this.
"Welcome everyone, welcome." Cave said giving them his best smile "I'm Cave Johnson the Third! CEO of Aperture Science and all its subsidiaries. In short I own the place. I know what you're all thinking 'why should I invest in this man's company?'. I could stand here all day and bore you while I give a detailed answer to this question but a better use of your time is to give you a tour of our facilities so you can answer it yourself. So without further ado let's get a move on."
Cave then led the group down a long corridor with one side lined with windows. This hallway was built above some of Aperture's main test chambers. The ones that contained Aperture's most important (and least dangerous) experiments. Cave gestured to an empty test chamber.
"This ladies and gentlemen is a test chamber. Four walls, ceiling, and a floor. Good enough for science but not Aperture Science!" Cave said dramatically as the walls of the room began to ripple. "May I present you the Panel! The planks of tomorrow!"
"Aperture Science Panels are fully configurable and infinitely variable. The Panels allow us to configure our test chambers in any form we choose."
There were a few hums of approval but both Cave and the Wanderer could see the crowd's socks weren't exactly knocked off. Cave wasn't worried. This little tour was purposefully designed to increasingly awe those participating with each experiment they witnessed. By the end of it they'll practically be giving him money.
"This next one is something already in use by the Republic military. As you can see this test chamber goes up quite a ways. Over 700 feet to be precise. Up at the top one of our interns will jump down. Let's see if he makes it."
Everyone stares intensely at the test chamber hoping to catch a glimpse of the man wondering how he was going to survive the fall. The intern soon came into view lightly landing on his feet like he only jump from a small ledge and not a 700 foot drop.
"I give you the latest in inertial dampening technology. The lab boys call them Long Fall Boots. The Republic Military use a heavier version in their power armor suits allowing soldiers to leap from any height."
This got a much better reaction from the potential investors. Seeing he was getting them interested Cave showed them to the next experiment. From energy weaponry to advanced robotics their excitement grew. By the end of the tour 80% of the investors were showing a willingness to invest. It was time for Cave to use Aperture's Magnum Opus.
The group reached the end of the hallway, a blank wall, to which Cave feigned surprise. "It appears we neglected to put a door here. Don't worry we'll just make one."
Everyone sans Cave and the Wanderer gasped as an orange hole suddenly appeared on the wall. Through it everyone could see the room in which they originally were before this tour started. The Wanderer smiled as those around him tried to process this new sight. The path they took was in a complete straight line so they can't say they looped around.
"This everyone" said Cave "is the portal. Long ago we managed to figure out how to open a whole in space that allows instantaneous travel from one area to another. Guaranteed to revolutionize transportation. Our development of the hyperdrive actually stemmed from our research into portal technology. I'm sorry everyone but that's all the time I have for now. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask my assistant Greg over there."
One by one the investors passed through the portal very much impressed. Soon the only ones left in the hall were Cave and the Wanderer.
"Not gonna tell them that you can only make portals within this building due to the massive power requirements?" the Wanderer asked
"What they don't know won't hurt them. Besides we're making great strides. We might actually be able to publically implement this… in a few decades." Cave replied "I guessing this isn't just a social call."
"I want to know if you made any progress with our special project." the Wanderer replied
"You have impeccable timing. We just made a breakthrough." Cave then pressed a button on his watch. "Reroute portal to test chamber X-13."
The portal's destination soon changed to a test chamber containing a scale model of an (Arquitens) Eagle-class Corvette. Cave nodded to one of the scientists who pressed a button on his datapad. The Eagle then immediately disappeared.
"We could make ships invisible to any kind of sensor before." said Cave "Now we can do it on the visual spectrum. What next?"
The Wanderer grinned. "Project Normandy is a go."
Migrant Fleet
MFS Rayya
Conclave Conference Chambers
"This is an outrage! It is a betrayal to everything the quarian people stand for to even consider accepting this proposal!"
Shala'Raan momentarily wished to have something alcoholic to drink as her opponent went on with his rant. The United Republic's offer of an alliance had split the Fleet in two. There were those who saw this alliance as submitting to an alien power and one that used AI no less. Needless to say they were wholeheartedly against the idea. Then there was her group who saw this as once in a life opportunity. The Republic was able to beat back the Turian Hierarchy all on its own and though its use of AI was concerning it wasn't worth tossing the out the Republic's proposal.
The treaty was fair if not outright generous. It was heavily slanted in the quarians favor almost suspiciously so. The Migrant Fleet gets to freely enter Republic space and use republic shipyards for maintaining the fleet. The Republic will protect the fleet from attack. The topper is that the Republic will also negotiate on the quarians behalf in the Council giving the quarians a voice in galactic politics again however meager.
The only thing was technical assistance in understanding mass effect based technology. There was also a suggestion that quarian pilgrims could join the Republic military and at the end of their term of service will be paid in anything from ships, resources, and possibly technology. Shala and her supporters could see the advantages this alliance will bring. Thankfully her group was bigger.
Surkesh
STG Headquarters
The Director of the STG opened a bottle of anti-migraine medication. Taking a few pills he wondered how things could go so terribly wrong. Ever since peace was made with the humans the STG have been trying to establish a foothold in their territory. In the minor human powers like Florence or Sydney there were little to no problems. The larger nations are where they started to have issues. The humans spied on each other constantly so they had more than a little experience in anti-espionage. The agents sent to Roman territory are currently laying low with the Frumentarii close to catching them. The biggest barrier they ended up running headfirst into was the United Republic.
They had heard rumors. The Republic's 'Great Firewall' made all attempts of espionage on their nation utterly useless. It was assumed this was simply just propaganda. Just hours ago this was proved to be the complete and utter truth as hard as it was for him to grasp. All of the probes they sent into Republic space were intercepted and destroyed. A new state of the art stealth vessel that could mask its heat emissions was disabled & boarded by Republic forces within hours of entering their space. The agents that they had spent weeks meticulously crafting backgrounds for were apprehended at the spaceport.
What happened next still shocked him. The agents and stealth ship crew were then taken to the nearest military base and executed without trial. The method of execution was hanging apparently. Primitive but understandable. A nation as old as the Republic was bound some archaic laws so it was to be expected. At least they aren't as bad as the Asari. The crime of rape was still punishable by public stoning in Asari space. Still the execution seemed a bit extreme in his opinion. Typically when an STG agent was captured they were ransomed back for a large fee in exchange for keeping quiet.
The capture and execution of their agents reminded the galaxy in the worst possible way that the STG spied on people. Though they weren't members of the Citadel the humans were still allies and many in the galaxy saw this attempt at espionage liable to sabotage that alliance. The Salarian Union has been put on the spot and someone would have to take the blame. Naturally the Dalatresses tried to make him their sacrifice but he didn't get this position by sheer luck. After a few discreet extranet messages and some planted evidence several prominent dalatresses that order the operation took a big hit to their careers while some less powerful ones gained influence.
Now that his job was secure it was time to see if the Republic's Great Firewall could be replicated. It certainly demonstrated its usefulness and a system like that would make the STG a force to be reckoned with.
AN: And that's a wrap. The events in this chapter all take place a few weeks to a few months after first contact. The next chapter will be the Blitz, Shepard's introduction, and Torfan. After that we start the ME1 storyline.
Below is a litte experiment of mine. A cultural civilopedia. In this I'll put down some human cultural items of varying mediums from this universe. Just a way to show you the difference or go into more detail on something mention in the chapter.
Cultural Civilopedia
Name: Guns of the Barbarians
Type: Literature
Year: 1992
Nation of Origin: United Republic of States
Plot: An alternate history science fiction novel written by Harry Turtledove. During the Barbarian Purge a barbarian tribe are met by a strange women. She looks like them but speaks in a strange accent and doesn't act in the manner befitting a woman. She and her group claim to be from a tribe far away and have brought weapons that will allow themselves to push back the invading Republicans. A strange weapon called an AK-47.
AN: Basically a group of modern barbarians build a time machine and travel back in time to when the Republic was trying to colonize the island that will become Delta State with the intentions of setting themselves up like kings.
Name: Fallout
Type: Video Game Series
Year: 1995
Nation of Origin: United Republic of States
Plot: In the year 2000 the nations of Earth don't agree to cooperate with each other and instead continue to violently compete. This all comes to a close in the year 2077 when dwindling resources provokes a global thermonuclear war which destroys human civilization.
Famous Quote: War. War Never Changes…
AN: I'll go into detail about various games in the series later.
Name: 300
Type: Film
Year: 2003
Nation of Origin: Holy Empire of Rome
Plot: A historically faithfully retelling of the Roman Barbarian Purge when the Romans expelled the last barbarians from their home continent. 300 Roman Legionaries led Emperor Caesar himself by fend off an army of over 10,000 barbarians. Historians praised the film for its dedication for historical accuracy which was owed to Emperor Caesar taking direct part in its production. Characters in the film were all people he knew from the battle.
Famous Quote: "300 Legionnaires against 10,000 barbarians? They are hopelessly outnumbered." -Caesar
AN: Historically accurate 300. Some creative liberties were taken but none that Caesar thought would be disrespectful for those that fought and died in the battle.
Name: Red Star
Type: Comic Series
Year: 1949
Nation of Origin: United Socialist State of Russia
Plot: Vladmir Volkov was your average Russian teenager until after being exposed to radiation on a field trip to a science lab gives him superpowers. Donning a mask and proclaiming himself Red Star he fights crime in the name of truth, justice, and the socialist way.
AN: To put it simply Red Star is like a combination of Superman and Spiderman. He can fly, has super strength, and can shoot yellow beams out his palms. He's a good kid but also cocky and tends to taunt his enemies.