3025 C.E
Shanxi System
11 AU from Shanxi
1,645,576,577 from the planet of Shanxi, a massive 15 km long megastructure, shaped like a tuning fork, hung in the void. The entire structure was illuminated by the pale blue glow of a sapphire sphere in its middle, encapsulated by two spinning rings rotating so fast that they were merely a blur. Occasionally, tendrils of energy would fly out into the void, hinting at the enormous amount of power contained within the device, while snaps, pops, hisses, and high pitched whining noises could be heard within the electromagnetic spectrum, raw pent-up power creaming to be released. To any other race, this device (known as a Mass Relay), would have been beyond their engineering and scientific capabilities, unparalleled in its size, power, and mass; capable of hurling objects thousands of lightyears in an instant, they were pinnacles of science and technology. They would have preserved it, studied it, used it, hoping to crack open its secrets.
But to the races of the Coalition Assembly, the relay was a pitiful and pathetic device, utterly incapable of using the true potential of dark energy. The vast amounts of element zero within the device: what could they do? The best they could do was raise or lower the mass of an object, insignificant compared the the universe-wrenching technologies of the Coalition. Lowering the mass of an object low enough so that FTL travel could be obtained? Wasteful and inefficient, far less capable than directly manipulating the fabric of space and time itself. In short, the Relays were a mockery of dark energy technology, inferior in almost every aspect.
But above all, the relays were thought to be constructed by the enemy, an all-consuming force called the Combine. Two of the members of the Coalition, the Vortigaunts and humanity, had deep scars within their psyche resulting from their enslavement and force occupation of their homelands by the Combine. It had taken a titanic effort just to liberate themselves from a small fraction of their forces which had devastated their population and ruined their planets. And just when the Coalition had thought itself free of its former oppressors, the Mass Relays were discovered, devices built out of the same material the Combine used, designed like the Combine, using the same coding language like the Combine, and covered with Combine insignia and symbols. Nobody knew when and why the Combine constructed the relays; all they cared about was the fact that there were now interstellar highways that the Combine could utilize leading straight into the worlds of the Coalition. The relays had to be removed and taken care of for the safety and well-being of the Coalition.
And that was why the Shanxi relay found itself with a 15 km long dreadnought floating beside it today.
3025 C.E
Shanxi System
C.S.S Dreadnought Retribution
11 AU from Shanxi
Captain Williams, commander of the Coalition starship Retribution, leaned lazily back into his chair, as he stared at the viewscreen displaying a stunning high-definition image of the Shanxi relay. With his nano-augmented senses, he could just barely make out the pinpoints of light that were the team on AI's currently on the relay, as they began the tedious process of disassembling the relay. Even though the AI's were hardened and durable enough to withstand the harsh conditions of the relay and outer space, William's still pitied them a little: working on taking apart a structure where lethal outbursts of radiation and highly toxic and corrosive substances were common was surely enough to put a dent into any sapient beings psyche. At least it wasn't as resource intensive as before; in the past, massive mobile shipyards, armed with super-lasers, plasma torches, anti-gravity rippers, and a veritable army of AI's had to be called in. Now, thanks to advances in nano and pico technology, all that needed to happen was for a select team of AI's in specially hardened platforms to access the relay's controls, deactivate it, plant small packages of custom designed self-replicating picomachines, and let the picomachines do the rest of the work.
The task of disassembling a relay was one of paramount importance and could not be put off. The Combine had constructed these relays and if they were to once again threaten Earth and her colonies, they would most likely utilize the relays to attack; after all, cheap, fast, almost instantaneous travel among the stars was an enormous tactical advantage and an opponent would be stupid to not utilize it. Though there had been no sign of the Combine in the past 1000 years, but the galaxy was vast and mostly unexplored. Plenty of unknown places for Combine remnants from the original occupation to wait and bide their time.
And the Coalition was ready to fight the Combine, ready to defend what they held dearest. The 1000 years after the discovery of the Relays and the revelation that the Combine could still lurk in the stars had not been idle: industry, science, technology, engineering and the military had been elevated to great heights never before seen. The hungry nano-forges on the Coalition's forge worlds demanded more and more raw resources as an ever increasing amount of goods and military hardware was pumped out; each year, the scientists at Aperture Science discovered more and more ways dark energy and high-energy physics could be utilized for the greater good; femto-manipulators churned out increasing amounts of unobtainium for the Coalition military; the construction of the great Dyson Sphere around Sol was being accelerated, as the mighty foundries and factories within roared to life, using the raw matter contained within Sol itself to fuel themselves. Just as how the introduction of super-predators in Earth's prehistoric seas had triggered an evolutionary arms race, the arrival of the Combine had been the catalyst for a major leap forward in weapons technology.
Take the Retribution for example. The Retribution contained pieces of technology that people in the past would never even have dreamt of: nano-fluidic reactive armour, nex-gen disruption shields, high-tech repulsion fields, dark energy-cannons capable of tearing apart atoms, emergency hard-light shields, a fold-drive that could traverse parsecs in minutes, pin-point teleporters, nearly 100% efficient nano-forges, molecular switches and quantum qubits in lieu of clumsy transistors and memristors, nuclear cannons and a dark energy reactor that was light years beyond previous generations. All of that was created as a direct response to the Combine threat.
His XO, the Vortigaunt Commander Achilles, walked towards and him and stood by his chair, joining Williams as they both gazed at the Relay floating in front of them. The Vortigaunts were one of humanities greatest allies, and one of the three members of the Coalition Assembly, beside humanity and the AIs. Even though both races looked nothing alike (the Vortigaunts having a third arm protruding from their chests with hooves for feet, a hunchback like appearance, and a single bright-red eye in their foreheads), humanity and the vortigaunts had both been enslaved by the Combine. Vortigaunt history was a tale of sadness and loss, from their exile from their home universe, to their enslavement by the Nihilanth, and their struggle alongside their human allies to overthrow the Combine from Earth.
"This one has seen the Mass Relay's before."
"Through the vortessence?" asked Williams.
"That is correct."
The vortessence was, according to the Vortigaunts, a mystical energy field that permeated the entire universe, much like the Force from the ancient Star Wars movies. The vortessence connected each and every Vortigaunt in a telepathic bond, allowing them to exchange thoughts, ideas, senses, and emotions wherever they were, a sort of natural Battlefield Integration System. It also granted them impressive directed energy attacks, and gave them a deeper understanding of high-energy physics, making them invaluable scientists and researchers.
Achilles continued. "The Uriah was there when the first relay was discovered. He shared to us through our vortal coils, showing us the abomination of the enemy that lead straight to our home."
Williams jaw dropped. "The Uriah? The one who worked alongside Arne Magnusson during the Uprising? The one who assisted Gordon Freeman himself?"
Achilles nodded gravely. "The very one. The Uriah spoke fondly of the Freeman. What he lacked in words and conversation, he more than made up for it in his actions and deeds. The Freeman is still regarded as the Messiah to this very day, the man who cast of the shackles of our slavery."
A hologram appeared before the two of them, showing them a 19'th century British gentleman, complete with a monocle, top hat, cane, and tuxedo. The hologram turned to face them, and saluted them in a true military fashion. "Captain. Commander. " It even talked with a snobbish British accent.
Williams groaned. "Plato, as Captain of this ship and your Commanding Officer, I order you to discard that avatar at once."
The AI's avatar smirked at the comment. "And as the ship's core AI, I graciously ignore your order. Besides, an AI has to find something to keep them occupied."
"Then why don't you go back to monitoring the Dark Energy reactor with Ares and Gaia?"
The AI made a noncommittal shrug. "Quantum fluctuations in the reactor are about 0.000001%, well within acceptable ranges. And before you ask, all systems are fully online and functional, and yes, the issue with the reactive armour has been fixed."
Achilles pointed a gnarly finger at the AI. "This one did not seek us merely for idle talk. Speak something of consequence or begone."
"Hmph, well that was rather rude." said Plato indignantly. "I was about to tell you that the disassembly team have accessed the relay's controls and are waiting for your command."
Williams nodded. "Tell the team to continue the disassembly. And while you're at it, also remind them about the extra protocols as well. We don't want a repeat of the Gliese 581 incident."
Plato's expression darkened visibly at the last sentence. "Don't worry sir, I will." And with that, the hologram winked out of existence.
Outside, the lights on the Relay slowly dimmed and were extinguished. The containment rings surrounding the element zero core slowly ground to a halt as automated braking systems were engaged, and the soft blue glow the relay was emitting dimmed considerably. Tiny pricks of light could be seen heading towards the core, as the team on the relay engaged their thrusters in preparation for their next step.
So far everything was going according to plan. No mishaps or disruptions; the entire procedure was smooth and orderly. Suddenly, Williams face drew into a frown as a thought popped up in his mind. He turned around to face his XO.
"Achilles, didn't someone once say that nothing ever goes according to plan?"
3025 C.E
Relay 314
Citadel Exploration Task Force
Asari Ship Unyielding Justice
Faint shadows appeared on the hull of Relay 314, as a mixed expedition of Asari science vessels and their Turian escorts came into view. Onboard, a team of Asari researchers and their Turian escorts steadily grew more excited, as they approached the gateway leading to an entirely unexplored part of the galaxy.
Matriarch Leona, Asari commander of the expedition, smiled in satisfaction. This expedition had been delayed too many times by the Citadel Council. Even though they had received permission to activate the uncharted, dormant Relay 314 and done so 2 years ago (the first time in over 1000 years that an uncharted relay was activated), the muddled bureaucratic regulations of the Council had prevented them from actually traversing the relay. And so Relay 314 floated serenely and unused, until an Element Zero shortage crises had finally prompted the Council to give the go-ahead to the expedition in the hopes that the expedition might discover new deposits of Element Zero in their explorations.
The Council had still been wary though, and has thus given her an escort of 30 Turian ships, composed of various frigates and cruisers, all commanded by decorated war hero Desolas Arterius, who had brought his own personal dreadnought (the Spirit's Will) along with him. Boasting the latest in mass effect technology, the Council (and Leona), felt more than adequately protected against any possible threat.
A sudden chime interrupted her thoughts, as a message from Desolas was received by her communications officer.
"Patch the message to my omni-tool." she told the young Asari.
Nodding, the officer turned back to her console, and moments later, a image of Desolas appeared on her omni-tool.
"General Arterius. Is there something wrong?"
Desolas sighed, his mandibles twitching. "You could say that Matriarch. It appears that in the two years that we were gone, the relay has once again shut down. Suffice to say, we aren't going to go anywhere until we can get that relay back up."
Leona considered for a moment. "Can't we simply just activate the relay again? We have the necessary protocols and procedures, shouldn't be too hard."
"We could, but my ships are detecting instabilities in the relay's programming; we don't know what's causing it, but it appears that the partner relay is malfunctioning. Activating the relay and jumping through could be catastrophic." Desolas replied.
Leona nodded. "I'll take that chances. Tell your ships to begin relay transit. This expedition has been put off for too long."
Desolas acknowledged her and cut the channel. Outside, the engines of the Turian ships flared to life as they approached the relay, transmitting crucial information needed for a successful transit.
"Begin relay transit." she ordered.
The Unyielding Justice shuddered as the engines activated, and the relay grew closer and closer. Thin tendrils of blue energy reached out for the ships, and one by one, they were flung off into unknown.
3025 C.E
Shanxi Relay
C.S.S Dreadnought Retribution
11 AU from Shanxi
Williams idle contemplation was suddenly interrupted by a cascade of blaring klaxons and alarms. Outside, the lights on the Shanxi relay slowly lit-up, as the relay slowly roared back to life: the containment rings began rotating at an accelerating pace; bolts of energy flew into the void; a bright blue glow outshone everything around them as sheets of incandescent blue energy formed between the two prongs. A corridor of glowing energy shot out from interstellar space, before coming to a halt near the relay.
"Status report! What's happening to the relay?" shouted Williams over the cacophony of bridge.
"The relay's activating sir!" reported a nearby ensign. "Someone's trying to access the relay from the other side!"
"What!" Williams snapped. "Are you telling me that someone's attempting to use the relay?"
Plato's holographic avatar appeared in midair again, his expression cool and professional. "Ensign Harris is correct. An unknown party has activated the Shanxi relay's partner and is trying to conduct a relay transit; as a safety measure, I have ordered the disassembly team to download themselves back onto the ship. The 'tunnel' near the relay is infact a sub-space corridor linking the relay. In addition, telemetry data being broadcasted by the Relay seems to indicate that only a small amount of ships are attempting to jump; in all likelihood, it is probably a small expedition or scouting force."
Ice-cold fear ran down Williams back. Someone was attempting to use the relays, and who else would use it other than their creators, the Combine?
"As soon as anything exits this relay, scan it for dark energy signatures matching those of element zero, the relays, dark energy reactors or weapons." he ordered. "Annihilate any vessel that displays those signatures and jam their communications; leave no survivors. Bring all defensive and offensive measures online and send a message to Sol about this, priority Omega. Set the BIS system to standby for immediate activation"
As Williams sunk back into his chair, his face set in cold, hard, resolution, Achilles muttered gravely beside him.
"Let us hope that this is not the beginning of the end."
3025 C.E
Shanxi Relay
Citadel Exploration Task Force
Turian Escort Dreadnought Spirits Will
Turians were by nature a militaristic species. Their government, culture, society: all had been shaped around the concept of war and battle. Every able-bodied Turian, starting from the age of 15, served either in the military or one of its support corps; honour, loyalty, courage and bravery were the most respected virtues in Turian culture; the military was not just a government institution, but a civilian one as well. And it was because of this that during the darkest hours of the Krogan Rebellion and the Unification War, when all hope had seemed lost, the Turian people had not lost hope. They had pushed on, ignoring their despair and misery, resolute and stalwart as ever, hardened by their militarized culture.
But now, General Desolas Arterius, decorated veteran in hundreds of campaigns against pirates, Batarians, warlords, and the Terminus Systems, when confronted with the spectacle in front of him began to despair. When they had emerged on the opposite side of Relay 314, Desolas had expecting many things: lush fertile worlds full of minerals, a new species to meet, more Prothean ruins, worlds scoured by nuclear fire, etc. But he had never in his wildest dreams expected this!
At least everything he had seen before obeyed the laws of physics as he had understood it. But this monstrous ship, this eldritch abomination, broke every single rule of mass effect physics. According to his ship's sensors, the unknown vessel was at least 10 km in length, more than 10 times the size of a standard dreadnought; the dark energy levels emanating from it were magnitudes beyond even the largest mass effect cores; and the hull of the ship was either made of a material that completely ignored the laws of physics and material sciences, or a major rewrite in multiple fields of physics and chemistry was needed. You couldn't build a ship 10 km long: the massive amounts of element zero needed to keep a ship that size spaceworthy would inevitably create such high inefficiencies that it wouldn't be worth the effort! Even if you could increase the efficiency of a mass effect core the size of that, the structural stress caused by FTL travel would inevitably tear it apart. In addition, you would need an entire planet of element zero to produce the dark energy readings the ship was emanating; the readings had literally gone of the charts and overloaded the sensors.
The unknown vessel's profile didn't match the shape of any known ship either. Asari ships were typically smooth and graceful, with sleek lines and curves; Turian ships, like his own, often reminded people of birds, with their swept-back wings and aerodynamic ships; Salarian ships were designed to blend in with the background and be as unobtrusive as possible, stealth and espionage being the main focus of their designs. Every other race used these three basic designs, modifying them according to their culture, society, and needs. This ship however didn't match any of the profiles; instead, it resembled a giant wedge, with a long, gently sloping tower as its bridge or command center . There was no spinal-mounted mass accelerator cannon that was a standard-piece of all Citadel ships; in place of that, what appeared to be groups of batteries were mounted to the top and bottom of the vessel, with thousands of broadside cannons attached to the sides; finally, a large-bore cannon that glowed with a bright orange was nestled into a depression on top of the hull. Desolas shuddered to imagine the devastation the cannon could inflict if fired.
Swallowing, Desolas turned to his comm officer. "Open a channel to the Asari vessels. Tell them to fall behind our ships. And…", Desolas looked at the unknown monolithic vessel again. "Hail that ship."
Frustration and confusion grew on the comm officers face as she furiously poked and prodded at the holographic controls. "I can't reach anyone sir. Our comm systems are being jammed."
"Jammed?"asked Desolas. "But that could only mean.."
"..that that ship is about to attack."
Years of military training and experience kicked in at once. "Evasive maneuvers!" he yelled. "Keep trying to raise the Matriarch, tell her ships to fall back. All ships, open fire on that vessel! Raise kinetic barriers!"
"Too late sir!"
Space itself seem to warp around the alien vessel as beams of intense, bright-blue energy streaked out towards Desolas's ships. He could only watch in horror as the beams homed in on a nearby cruiser, passing through its kinetic barriers as if they were non-existent. The very atoms of the cruiser's hull were wrenched apart violently liberating immense amounts of energy, as explosions racked the ship; in less than a second, the entire cruiser simply disintegrated, exploding in a shower of radiation, high-energy particles, and droplets of molten metal."
Desolas stared in shock. "How many Turian lives were lost aboard that ship? How many soldiers never to return to their families and loved ones? How many lives snuffed out in that one second?"
He snapped out of his trance. Thinking like this was not going to help anyone. He had a duty to everyone else in the expedition, that of making sure that they got out alive. "All ships! Open fire!"
Deep thuds and cracks could be heard throughout the Spirit's Will, as the dreadnaught's main cannon fired at the enemy ship with the force equivalent to a small nuclear explosion. Around him, the other Turian ships did the same, firing a withering barrage of mass accelerated slugs that would have torn apart any other ship.
But to the alien ship, all their firepower amounted to nothing but a mild annoyance. The slugs did not bounce off or impact any tangible energy shield or kinetic barrier. Instead, as the mass accelerated rounds approached the ship, they passed through a sheet of nearly-invisible energy that neatly and efficiently disintegrated the rounds. Salvo after salvo from the Turian ships met the same fate over and over again, none of the rounds emerging intact from the barrier.
The ship fired again, but this time not at the Turians. Instead, an Asari science vessel behind them exploded in a great fireball, scattering liquid metal everywhere. Horrified, Desolas ordered his men to intensify their fire, hoping to simply overwhelm the strange energy shield; it was no use. The rounds met the same fate as the others, disintegrating before they even got close to the ship.
The enemy fire intensified and more and more ship were lost. A Turian frigate dashed off towards the vessel, hoping to deploy its deadly disruptor torpedoes. It was shot down by the thousands of pin-point defenses the alien ship boasted, exploding into flames and wreckage. An Asari science vessel, aiming to escape via the nearby Mass Relay, was viciously targeted and annihilated. A swarm of missiles detonated near another science vessel, deploying a glittering metallic cloud that proceed to latch onto the ship; soon afterwards, the hull dissolved into a fine mist of metal dust. The large cannon mounted on the alien vessel glowed an even brighter shade of orange, before a great flaming ball of atomic fire was unleashed, detonating right in the middle of the expedition.
Consoles exploded and the cries of wounded and dying Turians could be heard aboard the Spirits Will; corridors erupted into flames, as the intense heat of the nuclear detonation lit the air on fire, and flash-cooked anybody unlucky enough to be in the wrong place. Exposed wires and conduits tumbled out, sparks spewing out, shutting down critical systems as the electricity they depended on failed to arrive; crew members were sucked out into the unforgiving void of interstellar space; people trapped when the emergency bulkheads sealed were left to die a horrifying death by asphyxiation and depressurization. An entire wing of the the Spirit, unable to bear the stress any longer, sheared off, atmosphere and dead bodies trailing from it.
Picking himself up from the charred deck, Desolas looked wide-eyed at the ruins of the bridge. Dead Turian lay lifeless in puddles of blue blood, eyes blank and devoid of awareness, while the injured groaned loudly, clutching at their wounds and injuries. The windows were all cracked and chipped, threatening to blow out at any moment; white wisps of atmosphere could be seen slowly leaking out of them. Broken cables, wires, consoles, and bits of shrapnel littered the deck, illuminated only be the blood-red glow of the emergency lights.
Outside, Desolas could only see 4 ships still exhibiting signs of life, all of them severely damaged. The other ships had not been so lucky: most of them had been atomized by the nuclear fireball, while others simply erupted into flames, cooking their crews alive as the heat superheated the air and fuel inside them, causing them to erupt into firestorms.
"Prepare for a relay jump!" he croaked painfully. "We can't fight this...abomination. Helm, get us out of here."
What surviving crew members there were hurried to their stations, and coaxed the dying ship for one last journey. The remaining thrusters on the dreadnought feebly flickered, as they began to push the ship forward at an agonizingly slow rate. The few surviving expedition ships followed Desolas's example, and retreated back towards the relay.
3025 C.E
Shanxi Relay
C.S.S Dreadnought Retribution
11 AU from Shanxi
When the first alien ships had exited the Shanxi relay, Williams had almost laughed. He could not possibly believe that the Combine, an all-consuming force with unparalleled technology and military might, an empire capable of devouring entire universes, had decided to send a measly collection of ships (with the largest measuring a pitiful one kilometer), against them. Even for a scouting fleet, he had expected something larger and more heavily armoured; faced with the motley array of ships before him, he almost felt insulted.
"Confirmation sir." reported an officer. "All enemy ships are displaying signatures matching that of element zero and the mass relays. They're Combine all right."
"Open fire. Plato, activate the BIS."
A millenia of nanotechnology research and genetic engineering had introduced a revolutionary new system to the art of war: the Battlefield Integration System. Soldiers were no longer fragile, isolated units, reliant on heavier, more armoured machines for support. The BIS system changed all that: nanomachines within a soldier allowed them to fight faster and longer, offering accelerated healing, increased stamina and endurance, emotional control, faster reactions, and a greater awareness of their surroundings, as well as locking out weapons to unauthorized users; more importantly, it allowed them to exchange their thoughts, orders, commands, senses, and plans with other nearby soldiers through their nanomachines. Through the BIS system, units could function as one collective will, capable of acting with drastically increased efficiency and speed.
A great change swept through the 8000 souls aboard the Retribution, as vortigaunts, humans, and AI felt their minds to each other. Each crew member was now part of a greater force, part of the collective will of the Retribution. Engineering crews could feel every single drop of power being used throughout the Retribution, compensating the dark energy reactor to maintain maximum efficiency; every piece of equipment, from the lowliest molecular switch to the massive nuclear cannon, was detected, millions of tiny adjustments being made every second in order to ensure a smooth operation. Repair drones and nano-swarms were put on high alert, ready to be deployed at the slightest sign of damage. The crude photoreceptors and eyes of the tactical crews was replaced by the ship itself, hundreds of thousands of tiny sensors becoming their senses and instruments. Targeting data was disseminated quickly and quietly, while the super-computing minds of the AI's worked alongside the adaptable brains of organics to calculate the best firing solutions; status reports about the Retributions myriad array of armaments were received in an instant, while electronic warfare suites were pushed to their full capacity, bolstered by the parallel computing capabilities of the linked firing crew. Operations crews worked feverishly to map out the battlefield, quickly sorting and categorizing the incoming data from LIDAR readings, RADAR mappings, electromagnetic and dark energy scans, thermal imaging devices, gravitonic detectors and tachyonic penetrators.
And the bridge crew stood on the very top, sorting out all the incoming reports and distributing to where it needed to go. Orders and commands were sent quickly to where they were needed at incomprehensible speeds, augmented by the BIS system in Achilles and Williams, and managed by the complicated runtimes of Plato.
A tiny flare of energy was detected by Williams, raw data from the ship's instruments being passed on to him directly from Operations. {What was that?} he asked Plato over the link.
{The Combine is returning fire with what appears to be kinetic energy rounds.} Plato replied, with a hint of amusement buried in his voice. {None of their shots are hitting us though; engineering's doing a fine job with our disrupter shields. They've only dropped by about a percent.}
{Kinetic weapons?} Williams asked. {That kind of weaponry has been outdated since the founding of the Coalition.}
{Hmph.} Plato snorted. {You would think that if the Combine were trying to mount a serious attack, they'd send something a little less...primitive. It also appears that they have no disruption shields or warp fields. Rather, they have a crude kinetic barrier that, as the name implies, only stop kinetic attacks; they have no impact on directed energy weapons or dark energy weapons.}
{Most likely, this force is composed out of the Combine's...less advanced thrall races. The Combine often use them as expendable shock troopers, with no need to be armed with the Combine's more advanced weaponry.} Achilles interjected.
The battle outside was suddenly lit up a blinding flash of light, as a nuclear fireball detonated right in the midst of the enemy formation. Several ships caught in the blast were vaporized immediately; other were lit aflame; while 4 ships that had been lucky enough to be at the edge of the blast shook violently, entire chunks of hull shearing off.
{This one see's that the nuclear cannon has been used.} commented Achilles. {A most effective weapon against our enemy.}
{Yes,} Plato reported idly, {it appears that their shields also have no effect against heat or radiation.}
The 4 surviving enemy ships suddenly turned around, thrusters propelling them towards the Shanxi relay at a snail's pace.
{Intensify fire.} Williams ordered. {Don't let them escape.}
2 more enemy ships were destroyed by dark energy beams. Another was dissolved after being struck by a nanite missile. The last one, the largest ship that had arrived, was about to be hit, when a wisp of energy flew from the relay, ensnared it, and flung it away into the void of interstellar space, weapons fire trailing after it.
The BIS system disengaged, and the collective will of every single crewmember broke apart, as individuality returned. Williams rubbed his face with his arms, as he stared directly at the relay.
"Get that relay disassembled on the double." he ordered quietly. "Send another message to Sol. Tell them that the Combine are back and they know where we are."
He exhaled heavily, with a sense of finality.
"And tell them to prepare for war."
Codex
Coalition Assembly: Formed in the year 2052, the Coalition Assembly is representative democracy that is the sole government of Earth and her colonies. An evolution of the original Lambda Resistance, the Coalition was formed to better protect Earth from any future threats, as well as to better represent the Vortigaunt population, and later, AI's. Though originally based in New York city, the Coalition has since moved their capital and parliament to the Dyson Sphere being constructed around Sol.
The Coalition government is headed by the Parliament, a council consisting of 101 elected Members of Parliament, a MP for each system. The Parliament is mainly responsible for matters regarding the entire Coalition government, while System and Planetary ministers deal with matters concerning local star systems and planets respectively.
Vortigaunts: The Vortigaunts are a sapient species hailing from another universe. Originally possessing a powerful interstellar empire, the Vortigaunts were soon enslaved when the Combine arrived in their universe. A band of survivors fled to the border-world of Xen, where they too were enslaved by the Nihilanth, the last surviving member of a race that had also been assimilated by the Combine. Enslaved for 100,000 years, the Vortigaunts descended from this band of refugees were finally set free when Gordon Freeman killed the Nihilanth. Later, they aided the Lambda resistance in the overthrowing of the Combine occupation of Earth. Having adopted Earth as their homeworld, the Vortigaunts are an equal member of the Coalition.
AI: The first AI created, GLaDOS (Genetic Life and Disk Operating System), was created by Aperture Science employees during the late 1990's, as an attempt for Aperture's CEO Cave Johnson to escape death (from moon-rock poisoning). Though GLaDOS was initially insane and homicidal, the re-emergence of her other 'personality', Caroline, has since caused her to settle down into a slightly-more benign state. AI's played a major role in the reconstruction of Earth, and for their invaluable assistance, were invited to join the Coalition; since then, AI's have played a great role in Coalition politics and decision within the Parliament.
The Combine: The Combine, also known as the Universal Union, is an inter-dimensional empire spanning hundreds of different universes that has assimilated and enslave trillions of different species. Though not much is known about the Combine, it is known that they are headed by a race of extremely power telepathic/telekinetic aliens called the Shu'ulathoi (or Advisors), and boast an unbeaten understanding of dark energy and its applications. Even today, Coalition scientists have yet to understand all the principles underlying Combine scientific theory.
Coalition Navy: Thanks to Combine technology, nano-forges, and research from Aperture Science, the Coalition is able to produce massive and powerful ships at a relatively efficient rate. Armed with an unobtainium hull and dark energy weapons, the Coalition navy is a powerful force to behold. However, most Coalition ships are not put on offensive duties, but are rather delegated to defensive duties, guarding the Coalition's worlds in heavy numbers.
Unobtainium: Unobtainium is a metal that was commonly used by the Combine for their military and buildings. Unobtainium displays properties that are not native to this universe, and thus can only be produced by using femto-manipulators, infinitesimally small devices that can manipulate the properties of atoms and imbue them with unnatural characteristics. Unobtainium is renowned for being incredibly dense and having a high tensile strength, yet is incredibly light- weight; also, the atoms composing unobtainium are bound extremely tightly, resulting in a unparalleled high-melting point and atomic strength; this makes directed-energy-weapons and dark-energy weapons less effective against it. However, even in the post-scarcity state the Coalition has evolved to, the production of unobtainium is still costly; entire stars systems are converted into giant factories, with the sole intention of producing unobtainium, and only ships classified as dreadnoughts are higher are outfitted with unobtainium armor.
A/N: Reviews and constructed criticism will be rewarded with cake. Which is not a lie.