(Author's Note: Origins spinoff co-writers Tomyris and VVoyager contributed to some of the combat scenes in this episode.)
Teaser
Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 12 July 2643. Captain Julia Andreys recording. I'm reminded of an old saying. "The reward for work done well is more work."
Conference Room 1 was full of department heads, officers and senior NCOs, although most of the command staff wasn't present due to other tasks. Julia and Meridina were seated at the main table. "What about the tactical systems?" Julia asked. "Lieutenant Delgado reported a number of our plasma banks were disabled."
"I've got teams working on them already, sir," replied Senior Chief Petty Officer Isabela Talaverda, the NCO responsible for the damage control teams. She was a lean, muscled woman of dark bronze complexion and one of the remaining crew from the Facility days. "You can expect full weapon capability in the next twelve hours. But it is going to detract from surveying the damaged hull sections."
"Operations is shifting personnel to assist, Chief." That was from Lieutenant Tra'dur.
"It doesn't change the fact that some of our battle damage is best dealt with by yard work, ma'am," Talaverda insisted.
"Admiral Maran's aware of that, as am I, but our orders remain, so we have to make due," Julia replied. "I'd like a timetable on…"
We just saved the Citadel. Given what Robert and Commander Shepard found out on Ilos, we saved the whole galaxy. Maybe even the Multiverse itself. We should be getting a break.
While other engineering crew were already on tasks, Scotty and Barnes were assembled with Jarod and Lucy and Tra'dur, among other engineer and ops officers, over the master control table in Main Engineering. From this location every system on the Starship Aurora could be remotely checked for trouble, and quite a few of them were showing such from battle damage.
"I dinnae like th' look o' th' secondary generators," Scotty was saying. "We need 'em t' be completely resynched if we're t' have th' shields ready on time."
"Normally that's a job of two or three days," Barnes said. "Getting them done on time… it's impossible."
"Nae, lad, it isnae impossible at all, just a matter o' manpower."
"I'll take a team and handle it," Lucy promised.
"Good lass." Scotty turned his attention to Tra'dur. "As for ye, we've got some power conduits needin' patchin'."
"Of course, Commander Scott," the Dilgar officer answered.
"That leaves th' damage tae th' warp drive." Scotty looked to another of the engineer officers. "Yrap, ye get a team an' go EVA tae inspect th' nacelle. Th' auto-repair patch looks t' be good so I dinnae think th' damage needs a yard, but I need tae be sure…"
But we're not getting that break. Admiral Maran's calling us to the fleet. We're going back into the war with the Reich. No matter how tired or battered we feel.
There was controlled chaos in the Aurora medbay. Leo moved from one bed or stretcher to the next. He found Doctor Roliri Opani, a Dorei woman of dark teal complexion, looking over another Dorei. The light blue-skinned male, with prominent dark teal spots the same hue as Doctor Opani's skin, was unconscious and, more to the point, missing half of his right arm and most of his right leg. "I have completed stabilization," Opani informed Leo.
"Good. We'll ship him out on the St. Johns." Leo moved on. The next bed had an injured Alakin. He quickly found the injury wasn't severe and tagged the Alakin as fit for duty.
Doctor Lani Walker had beaten him to the next bed. The Tohono O'odham woman was finishing her examination of a Human female, a Petty Officer who, like Leo, was of African descent. The woman was conscious but somewhat out of it, unsurprising given the amount of bandaging visible on her. "I've almost finished processing her," Walker said. "Stable, non-severe injuries, but extensive. Probably two weeks before she can even consider light duty."
"Then she's off to the transporter."
Walker tagged the crew-woman appropriately while Leo moved on, continuing his job of sorting through wounded to determine who would stay and be back on duty and who would be evacuated to the Citadel. He felt irritated at this necessity. The Citadel's medical services were already strained dealing with the dead and wounded from the Geth attack. His patients couldn't be prioritized given the situation. He could only hope someone got hospital ships out to help. There was nothing more he could do.
Admiral Maran says this will decide the war. So I can understand why. And we'll do what we have to regardless. That's what we're out here for. And if it can end the war… then it's well worth it.
It was approaching Gamma Shift's watch period on the Aurora, several hours after they received the call from Maran. Julia returned to the bridge from her ready office. Locarno was at the helm while Ops was being manned by Lieutenant Sabiha Neyzi. Lieutenant Crane and Ensign Tagas manned the Tactical and Science stations. A warrant officer, a male Alakin named Thepk with blue skin and yellow and white feathering, manned the Engineering station.
Meridina moved from the command chair. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.
Julia gave her a sardonic look. "Try as I might, no. I ended up leaving a personal log entry just to get some things off my chest."
"I understand. Admiral Maran sent an update, he is awaiting us at New Prussia in S4W8. Lieutenant Neyzi is already preparing for the jump as soon as we take the relay through to Arcturus."
"Good. Is everything ready then?"
Meridina checked her screens for several moments. "Yes, the St. Johns just returned from taking the last of the critically wounded to the Citadel."
"Where are we on personnel?"
"Quite well," said Meridina. "In keeping with instructions from Admiral Maran, we have taken aboard crew from the crippled vessels to replace the wounded and slain. Commander Jarod and Chief Perez are seeing to their assignments."
Before Julia could respond to that, the lift doors opened. She looked toward it, expecting Jarod or another officer to be coming aboard.
Instead, she watched Captain Elizabeth King of the Excalibur approach. The Englishwoman was in normal duty uniform just as Julia was, dark brown hair pulled back into a bun at the back of her head and looking as reserved and controlled as she always did. "Captain, I apologize for the sudden arrival," she said. "Admiral Maran ordered me to report to the Aurora before she departed for New Prussia."
"It's fine, Captain, things here are pretty hectic around here given the situation," Julia replied. "How are matters on your ship?"
"Not to my liking." King's voice betrayed a hint of aggravation. "We suffered significant losses from the battle damage, and Commander Stirling is adamant that a yardship be dispatched to bring the Excalibur back to a fleet base. The structural damage can't be repaired without a dock."
Julia nodded, not surprised by the admission. The Excalibur had taken two direct hits with failed shields from the ancient Reaper machine, Sovereign, during the battle, blowing one of her warp nacelles in half and damaging several sections and decks of the battlecruiser. She suspected the Excalibur would be in drydock for months for repairs.
"Commander Granville will keep things in order until my return." King shook her head. "Honestly I would prefer to see to my vessel's repairs myself, but the Admiral is adamant that I attend. My presence is needed, apparently."
"Well, we're preparing to depart now," she said.
"Impulse power at your command, Captain," Locarno said. "The Normandy is already moving to the relay."
"The Normandy?" asked King.
"Admiral Hackett and the Council are sending Shepard to help," Julia said. "It looks like the Commander won't get the benefit of any rest either."
"I see."
Julia offered the observation seat to her left to King, who took it. It was clear she was still irritated with being ordered off her ship, but she said nothing more. "Take us to the relay, Mister Locarno," Julia said. "Set the destination for Arcturus."
"Aye ma'am," was the reply.
The Aurora turned away from the Citadel and the gathered ships of Admiral Hackett's 5th Fleet, plus the remnants of the Citadel's defense fleet. The grand space station, still recovering from the Geth attack upon it, started to fade from sight on the holo-viewer, obscured by the clouds of gas and particles of the Serpent Nebula.
Neyzi altered the viewer to show the sight to their bow. Ahead the long, slim form of the SSV Normandy was already making her final approach. Energy crackled from the mass relay and touched the Normandy. Moments later the Human/Turian hybrid frigate zipped away, propelled across a quarter of the galaxy in the blink of an eye.
Under Locarno's control, the Aurora made her own approach, and the process repeated. Soon the Normandy was on the holo-viewer again. In the distance, a fleet of the Systems Alliance was maintaining a secure watch on the toroid-shaped Arcturus Station, the capital of the Systems Alliance.
But that was not their destination. Locarno relayed positional data to the Normandy. The smaller ship responded and moved to conform to it. As soon as they were ready, Locarno nodded at Neyzi, who activated the Aurora's interuniversal jump drive. Fixed to an anchor at the fleet base at occupied New Prussia, the drive activated, forming a vortex of swirling emerald energy that represented a breach between universes. Both vessels flew into the jump point.
On the other end was a garden planet, a copy of the planet that in Julia's home universe was the location of the New Liberty Colony. But here it wasn't just one settlement of three hundred thousand like it was for New Liberty: rather the planet was covered in cities. Julia recalled the data, that the planet was populated by seven billion people, almost all of them from Germany of the S4W8 universe.
Which meant that many, if not most, were likely ardent Nazis.
Coming out into the Multiverse had been a spectacular experience. For Julia and those she considered her friends, it was a path they'd never have expected, and it repeatedly provided them a chance to see the wonders of possibility among the Multiverse.
One thing that wasn't a wonder was the S4W8 universe.
While the various universes tended to have diversions in history at some point, usually by the 21st or 22nd Century, S4W8 diverted far earlier. Specifically, it diverted in the 20th Century, and in a way that could always be certain to horrify those who learned of it: this was the universe where the genocidal madman Adolf Hitler was not defeated but emerged triumphant. The "Third Reich" had not only prevailed in what other universes considered "World War II", it had survived the following decades as well, conquering more and more territory, expanding its power and influence until by the mid-21st Century it had completely conquered Earth.
And then it had gone to the stars, and Hitler's Thousand Year Reich had spread its evil from world to world, building a large interstellar empire on the sweat and blood of the oppressed nations of the Earth the Reich had not slaughtered in its victory while bringing death to every sapient species it encountered.
The idea of fighting Nazis was once something Julia thought would come off as a joke. Some pulp fiction thing. At most, a result of finding a 20th Century Earth and intervening in it back in the days of the Facility. But now it was no joke; it was a frightening reality. Julia and the others had experienced that reality first hand repeatedly, from the desperate fighting at the start of the war to New Austria, Gamma Piratus, the Durani Cluster, Clirison, New Brittany, the Epsilon Offensive…
Her thoughts were broken by Neyzi speaking again. "The Kentan is signaling for us to join the fleet. Admiral Maran wishes to see you and Captain King immediately."
"Coordinates set," Locarno added. "I'm moving us toward the fleet."
Said fleet soon filled the holo-viewer. It wasn't the first fleet Julia had seen in this war, but it was still the kind of sight she'd never forget. Thousands of starships from across the Multiverse in formations by type. Winged Alakin warbirds, graceful Dorei starbirds, the arrow-like sharp shapes of FedStar cruisers and the blocky, utilitarian warships of the Colonial Confederation…
And there were more now. Julia recognized designs as varied as the Aururian warships, looking more like wet navy ships of the 20th Century modified for space flight, the elegant star-sailing vessels of the Gy'torans, and the spherical orbs of the Gl'mulli. There were a handful of White Star ships of Universe E5B1, several warships from the Inner Sphere and the Clans of Universe F1S1, and…
Julia stared in utter surprise at another group of familiar starships. "...Starfleet is here?"
"I can confirm," Ensign Tagas remarked. "I'm reading several Federation starships. Nebula, Excelsior, Miranda, New Orleans, and Galaxy-classes all present, and a couple of newer ones on the recognition charts. Akira-class and…"
Julia was already noticing a Starfleet design she'd never seen before. The large cruiser-sized vessel lacked the curved lines of the Galaxy in favor of a rapier-sharp design, with the primary hull flowing into the drive hull and a great, golden deflector dish. From the underside of the hull, the ship's registry number was visible.
NCC-1701-E.
"...Sovereign-class," Tagas finished. "USS Enterprise."
"Indeed. I wonder who is in command?" Meridina pondered.
"I think we're about to find out," Julia remarked.
Robert noted the wan look on Shepard's face as she joined him at the airlock. Fourteen hours after the end of the fighting on the Citadel and here they were, preparing for another fight. He suspected he didn't look any better.
"Are you ready?" Shepard asked. Her green eyes met his. Despite her clear fatigue, Shepard's uniform looked completely fresh. Robert's own uniform, while presentable, still seemed to lack the crisp look of Shepard's. While she was in the blue of a Systems Alliance officer, Robert's predominately-black Stellar Navy uniform was marked with the silver branch trim of Intelligence branch and a staff officer's aiguillette. He'd returned the four golden slanted stripes of a Captain to the collar of the uniform for the purpose of the briefing, even if his true purpose there had more to do with being one of the dozen Paladin operatives serving the Alliance. Likewise Shepard's attendance was hardly due to her rank of Commander, but rather her status as a Spectre of the Citadel Council in Universe M4P2.
"As ready as you are," Robert sighed, and both knew full well how tired they were.
Shepard nodded and tapped her omnitool. "This is Commander Shepard to Kentan Transporters. We're clear to transport over."
A moment later a verbal acknowledgement came, and the two were whisked by a subspace tunnel across a span of space into the heart of the Gersallian dreadnought-carrier starship Kentan, one of the most powerful starships in any fleet in the Multiverse.
The two stepped off the pad quickly. A moment later the transporter engaged again. When the bursts of light faded, Julia and Captain King were on the pad. Robert smiled and nodded at Julia, who repeated the gesture.
"Commander Shepard." King stepped up and offered her hand to Shepard. "I owe you congratulations. And given what happened on the Citadel, gratitude. Thank you."
"It's fine, Captain. Congratulations on your new command."
"Did you get in any trouble for stealing off with the Normandy?" Julia asked Shepard.
"Given everything that happened, no." Shepard's expression turned bemused. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to find out the Council expected me to run off. My doing so against orders gets them off the hook with the Terminus governments."
"That's quite a possibility," King agreed.
"Alright everyone, Admiral Maran's waiting for us," Julia remarked.
The four left the transporter station and headed toward the Fleet Command Chamber at the heart off the ship. Inside of it junior officers were manning various stations, providing up-to-date intelligence and sensor scan data for the benefit of the Admiral. Other stations acted as fleet communications and performed duties to help sustain coordination of the force.
They approached the large central table, currently displaying a holographic projection of nearby space. Sol was marked with a red light and a ship icon. Other ship icons overlaid with swastikas were present beside it and in nearby space.
The table was round. Opposite of the side they approached, a large screen allowed further data display to complement the table's display. Standing between the table and the large screen was Admiral Maran, wearing a Stellar Navy uniform with his singular five gold star rank insignia. To one side of him stood the familiar figure of Delenn, the Vice President of the InterStellar Alliance and the leader of the Anla'shok - the Rangers - that flew the White Star ships. As always she was dressed in colorful, flowing Minbari robes of blue and violet, with her black Human hair flowing down and around the crest of bone that partially circled her head. On the other side was a small woman in an ostentatious uniform of black and blueish gray, with dirty-blond hair and dun fur: Warmaster Shai'jhur of the Dilgar, accompanied by several more Dilgar and one Human woman of Indian ancestry wearing the Dilgar uniform. Another crisp dress white uniform belonged to a Human woman of dark complexion. Robert sensed Julia's immediate recognition: this was an officer of the Aururian Imperial Federation of Universe A2M6. Around the circle, General Hatcher of Military Intelligence was present, as was Admiral Relini, the Dorei commander of the 9th Fleet, and Admiral William Adama of the Colonies. A Human woman, Hispanic Robert thought, stood in the same uniform as Shepard's.
The last two figures at the table were in Starfleet uniforms, a new model that used gray on the shoulders with the collars showing branch color, both burgundy red in this case. One was a Vice Admiral, a Human male, and beside him stood Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Robert and Julia noted that the Starfleet commander, the first one they'd ever encountered, looked quite well. And it wasn't hard to guess what his new posting was.
"Captains, Commander, thank you for attending," Maran said. "It's good to see you're all well after the attack on the Citadel. While I'm sure you would like to report on that situation, I'm afraid we have more pressing matters at the moment."
The new arrivals took up places at the table. "I imagined there'd be more admirals," Robert said.
"There were," was Maran's reply. "But most of our allied contingents have returned to their ships to finish battle preparations. You're here to discuss the most critical element of this situation, the reason why we had to move quickly. For your benefit, allow me to introduce Admiral Waratah Eora of the Aururian Imperial Navy, Admiral William Ross of Starfleet, Warmaster Shai'jhur of the Union of Tira and Rohric, and several of the Warmaster's officers and advisors."
Julia recognized Fei'nur immediately, as well as Kaveri Varma. And she was pretty sure the other two were sisters of Tra'dur, but she didn't know which ones.
"So this is about hitting the Nazis' capital Earth," Robert said. "I thought the timetable for that attack was still at least a month away? The earliest D-Day I saw listed was August 18th."
"Yes. It was our intention to continue with clearing operations around Earth. But circumstances have changed. General Hatcher?"
Hatcher nodded. He was a Human man, roughly six feet tall, in a green uniform jacket marked with three stars. His skin was a very light mocha in coloration, with a thin face and equally thin figure. At Maran's instigation he tapped a key on the screen. "About two months ago, forces from the Free Worlds League and the Capellan Confederation attacked the Reich colony world of Rosenburg." Said world now showed on the holo, along with related data. Robert noted that it looked like quite a decent garden planet; its counterpart in his home universe had been one of the alternative sites for the New Liberty Colony had its current location proved hostile. "Rosenburg is an agricultural planet primarily, a breadbasket world that exports foodstuffs. The Reich's laws forbade any town greater in size than 50,000 residents to maintain the planet's nature." Hatcher tapped a key that brought up a flat map of the planet. For Robert and Julia it was like someone took the area of Kansas they grew up in and duplicated it across an entire planet.
After another key press Hatcher brought up combat footage. Reich troops, including power armored-Panzergrenadiers, were in a desperate firefight with invasion forces from the two F1S1 states listed. The iconic weapon system of F1S1 - large armored walkers called BattleMechs - was prevalent on the screen. Several different models of 'Mechs, ranging from human-shaped machines to more blocky, bulky ones covered in weapons or with reverse-jointed "chicken legs", were giving and taking fire from the Reich forces.
"They're fighting awfully hard," Shepard noted. "Was this breadbasket world that important to their food supply?"
"Not this important," Hatcher noted. "The defense forces assigned to Rosenburg were far more than seemed reasonable."
"Assuming the planet was named for Alfred Rosenburg, could this have been an issue of prestige for the regime?" King asked. Robert could tell she knew the answer was going to be "no", but it was a good question regardless.
"We considered that possibility, and there have been cases of the Reich defending targets beyond their military value for reasons of prestige. But this seemed excessive even for that purpose." Hatcher shook his head. "The Marik and Liao forces suffered extremely high casualties in the initial attack. They were forced to request Alliance reserves to complete the pacification of the planet. As a result, our troops were able to locate and secure this site."
With another press of a key, the 2D map zoomed in on a mountain range on the northern continent of thee planet. The layout of an extensive facility built into the mountains was presented. "The facility was protected by SS forces and the Reich's regular military, and they fought for every centimeter," Hatcher said. "Half of the invading unit were casualties by the end. The enemy even collapsed half of the facility with charges, destroying much of the storage and machinery sections. Fortunately, our people were able to access the computers and forestall efforts to destroy the data within."
"It's taken us weeks to crack their encryption and examine the data," Maran said. His expression was clearly grim. "As of a week ago, we found this."
Now it was Maran pressing a key for the table. The prior displays went away in the place of a detailed technical schematic. German writing covered the schematics. Even without reading said writing, Robert and the others stared in realization and dawning horror.
At the top of the display read Interuniversumtriebwerk.
"Our worst fears have been realized," Maran said. "The Nazi Reich has developed the interuniversal jump drive."
Undiscovered Frontier
"All In"