Future History Chapter 5: Invasion, a mass effect fanfic

Author's Note:

I live! So I said last weekend. Well turns out I kinda lied. The past week and a half have involved lots of long days of work. I'll respond to a couple of reviews in private messages, but there is one thing I want to say before we get to the story

There was a period of time when humanity wasn't fully trusting of AI. The first couple of decades of their existence, while they had rights they were heavily monitored. That has since passed. Human AI's are incredibly stable, perhaps a little uncreative compared to organic humans, but otherwise very similar except in one point. Because they did not evolve naturally, psychopathy or sociopathy (I forget which one is correct, and I think both have their proper uses) as traits do not exist in AI. Both of those traits do provide an individual some advantage in evolution, or rather their genes, but in an AI, they simply don't exist.

Think of it this way. Human AI's are governed in much the same way as humans in terms of self-interest. They don't need the golden rule programmed into them, it is a logical conclusion of self-interest. Harming others would lead others to harm them. Psychopathy basically removes your ability to recognize that your actions will come back to bite you in arse, you don't view others as equals. Human AIs don't really experience this view, they recognize they have advantages, but humanity also has its advantages.

Humanity at this point is technically post-singularity. It's not quite wham-blam glorious like Kurtzweil or others like him think it would happen, but that's mostly because humanity has to focus on survival first. Humans and their AI's are moving closer to one another, slowly.

Also, I wouldn't use Halo as an example, there is a secret cabal of AI guiding humanity there. And even Asimov eventually had to create the Zeroth law of Robotics.

Outer Harsa System

November 12th, 2086

As Admiral Horner looked over the holo-tank aboard the SSV Krakatoa, he had to give the batarians some credit. Their home system was a veritable fortress, and the fact that the vast majority of what remained of their fleet was stationed here didn't help.

The initial months of humanity's war with the batarians had proceeded as well as could be hoped for. Operating off a plan similar to the United State's island hopping operations in World War II, the Alliance had managed to isolate close to 40% of the Hegemony's colonies. While most of them weren't critical to the war effort, several of them had been important as military bases and transport hubs.

Furthermore, the Alliance had managed to seize three of the seven major Relay hubs controlled by the batarians in the initial assault on Hegemony military assets. The garrisons stationed at two of the other hubs had been severely damaged in the initial assault as well, those two hubs had been taken roughly a month later. The final two hubs that remained in Hegemony control were linked both to each other and Khar'shan itself. While both had been attacked, and had the Hegemony fleet had taken losses at both locations, the Alliance had been forced to pull back from those two locations.

While controlling the main thoroughfares of the Hegemony had made the Alliance Navy's job easier, the main prize had been the destruction of a significant amount of Hegemony fleet assets. Roughly 10% of the Hegemony's cruisers had been eliminated outright in the initial strikes on Hegemony space, and that number had steadily risen by June to around 30%. And while a large amount of the batarian frigates had escaped the opening moments of the war, they had found themselves outclassed by their human counterparts and had suffered a staggering amount of attrition as the Hegemony found itself relying on them more and more. All told, Intelligence estimated that their numbers had been cut by around 40%.

But once June had come, the fronts had hardened up somewhat. Humanity had continued to press the advantage, but the Hegemony fleet had found its footing. July had been marked by skirmishes around the various Relay hubs, as well as several major industrial worlds. And while the core of Hegemony space had remained relatively unmolested that month, the Alliance had conducted several strikes on shipyards and drydocks.

Those strikes had merely been a means of keeping the Hegemony from rebuilding and repairing some of its losses. The Alliance had chosen to secure its holdings with the help of the quarian fleet, ensuring that they would not find an attack from the rear at the worst possible moment. The Alliance had also made it clear to the captured worlds that any attempt to resist would be met with overwhelming force. And when several batarian governors had threatened to begin executing slaves if the Alliance Navy didn't withdraw from their systems, Spec Ops forces had been sent in to eliminate them. It had been somewhat heavy-handed, but it was better than simply dropping orbital strikes on their heads.

Ultimately, the colonies had been pacified somewhat. And while there were still some resistance forces scattered about, the vast majority of the batarian citizens and all of the slaves had welcomed the Alliance and Rannoch Republic forces. Thus the Alliance had found itself able to once more commit its forces against the Hegemony fleet with confidence.

And so August through October had seen the Alliance Navy pushing the Hegemony once more in several key sectors. Several more industrial worlds had been captured, and more planets had been cut off from one another. The limits of element-zero based FTL had made this an almost trivial task. Even without the ability to track batarian ships, their need to discharge their drive cores limited the routes a ship could take. And so the Hegemony had seen its empire slowly dismembered.

Admiral Horner once more took a look at the fleet numbers available for he upcoming assault on Khar'shan. 5th and 12th fleets had been tasked with attacking the batarian homeworld, giving a core fleet strength of 750 ships. Adding to that core were the dreadnaughts and their escorts from 7th, 14th, and 20th fleets, bringing the total number of ships closer to 850. The Hegemony had yet to actually encounter a human dreadnaught in space. While humanity didn't view dreadnaughts as strategic elements to be held in reserve like the other citadel races, Admiral Horner had chosen to hold his back from the previous fights for several reasons.

The first had been their strategic abilities. By keeping them scattered throughout deep space, he was able to use their wormhole capabilities to reinforce the Alliance forces spread across the region. The second was the fact that they hadn't been needed. There hadn't been any truly large battles in this war. While they would have been able to turn several batarian defeats into routs, ultimately the outcome would be the same. No, he was saving them for this attack, on the batarian homeworld as a means of demoralizing the forces the Hegemony had arrayed in its final defense.

Because while humanity had the advantage in initiative, the Hegemony held the advantage in numbers for this battle. They had managed to retain five of their initial seven dreadnaughts, and each one was here. And with the number of frigates and cruisers they had managed to save and return here, as well as any civilian craft they had managed to press into service, the Hegemony found itself with close to 2000 ships in orbit of Khar'shan.

Humanity's advantage in technology made that almost a fair fight, but it was the strange symmetry in ship design which gave the Alliance force its true power in this war. Simply put, human and batarian ships were designed for combat at similar distances.

While human laser technology used gravitational lensing through gravity field manipulation to achieve a much longer range and focus than the other galactic races, its other weapon systems had a generally shorter range. Yes, the other weapons packed a greater punch, but they lacked staying power. Blasters could only hold coherency for about as far as the other races laser weapons after which their destructive power would dissipate quickly. And while the railgun technology of humanity wasn't as dependent on element zero, this limited its effective ranges due to its lower velocity.

In combat against any other citadel race, humanity would find its technology edge limited simply due to being outranged. Simulations had shown that in an even fight between two cruisers, one turian the other human, the human cruiser would win around 66% of the time. Its shields could absorb more hits, and it was slightly more powerful offensively, but if the turian vessel could keep the range open it could level the playing field. Already the major defense corporations in Alliance space were looking to offset the disadvantages that humanity possessed against the other races, but it wasn't a pressing matter.

But the batarians had designed their ships to fight at close range so as to be better able to take the occasional slave. And so they found themselves being forced by their own design philosophy into humanity's most effective fighting distance.

"Looking for any more weaknesses in your plan of battle Admiral?"

Turning to face his new companion, Admiral Horner gave a small shrug of his shoulders, "Not really General Corinsus. Simply checking to see if all of the Alliance's ships are in position."

The turian observer looked at the holo-tank in the center of the room, "I suppose you understand your battle plan better than I would. It has certainly been effective up to this point."

"Yes, well we have had some experience in major naval operations." Looking once more at the holographic display, Admiral Horner continued, "To be fair, space is different from the ocean. Planets can be self-sufficient, islands cannot. It is easier to blockade an island as well. But, ultimately we've managed to take our history and make use of it."

"I must admit, when I first heard of the scale of your naval battles, stretching back throughout your history I had my doubts of their authenticity. But seeing the video footage of your invasions of Normandy and Okinawa quickly disproved my doubts." Giving the turian equivalent of a grimace, the General pressed on, "Though I must admit your strategies do puzzle many in the Hierarchy. Your emphasis on harassment and corralling the enemy has some sense to it, but defeating them outright in battle would serve your goals much better."

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush General." Seeing the confused expression on the turian's face, Admiral Horner decided to elaborate, "Sorry, human expression. Take what you have, and don't over extend. Some of the worst military defeats in human history came when a general extended his forces too far. Economy of force is important in our military planning, don't use more than you need to achieve victory."

"I see. I suppose."

"Regardless, we've finished assembling the forces we need for this attack. The various troop transports and other support craft have made it to their rendezvous points." Tapping a few quick commands into his command console, the holo-tank changed to show the readiness status of every ship assembled in the fleet. "Which means that we are good to go."

Another couple of keystrokes and the holo-tank once more showed the space around Khar'shan, though this time various objects were now identified. First and foremost were the five dreadnaughts assembled by the Hegemony, followed closely by the various defensive stations.

"Well then, Lieutenant Matthews, give the word to all ships. Operation Righteous Fury is a go."

Moments later the various elements of the Alliance Fleet jumped towards the heart of the Hegemony, intent on seizing it.

To the Hegemony's credit, it had been expecting the attack on its homeworld for some time. So when the human fleet had arrived in the Harsa system several hours previously, the assembled fleet had gone to general quarters and prepared for combat.

Admiral Jhor had survived combat with the human military thus far. He had led the successful defense of the Ghorek Relay hub, and so had been recalled to prepare Khar'shan for any potential human attack. To be honest he wasn't quite sure how he was to do so. From his own observations and the reports he had received from various other commanders, humanity could simply ignore any numerical disadvantage. They were relentless in pursuing their objectives, and cunning in ways which he could only admire.

But he had his duty. So when the human forces in Harsa's outer cometary belt made the jump to FTL he ordered all ships to battle stations. His dreadnaughts had been spread out to provide a less concentrated target area, and his

He knew that the Pride of Khar'shan would be a primary target in the human attack, they had destroyed both the Might of Kharak and Power of Harsa in their initial strikes. Both ships had managed to inflict some damage however, and it appeared as though it would require their dreadnaught equivalents to handle his own.

Whatever happened however, he knew he was unlikely to survive this battle. The forces humanity had assembled, even from the limited scans his scouting units had managed to get, were enough to handle the fleet he had assembled. And worse, it was possible that the humans had another force prepared to jump in shortly after the battle had begun and his forces had been committed. He had seen it before.

And then the human ships began to appear dangerously close to his fleet. Both sides began opening fire, scoring several hits right at the start of the engagement. It was odd though, as he watched the human ships appear, he recognized the "battle-cruisers" as they were called begin to engage his own cruisers and their attendant ships, not concerning themselves with the greater threat his dreadnaughts posed.

And then he realized why this was the case when space began to distort in front of the Might of Kharak, and his viewscreen was swiftly filled with the sight of the largest ship he had ever seen moving straight towards him. And then, there was nothing as a bright emerald-blue beam tore through the center of the batarian dreadnaught, obliterating it in moments.

The five human dreadnaughts; Krakatoa, Vesuvius, Olympus Mons, Matterhorn, and McKinley had executed precision jumps straight in front of the five batarian dreadnaughts. Opening fire almost simultaneously, the leviathians almost casually dismissed their batarian counterparts, plowing through the exploding remains of the batarian dreadnaughts.

At five kilometers in length, the human dreadnaughts captured the attention of the batarian vessels, not least because they now occupied the center of the batarian battle formations. They possessed the same angled shape that the other human vessels had previously shown. However, these new arrivals were covered with blisters along their length, which soon revealed themselves to be weapons emplacements as the ships began to rain fire on the batarian fleet which surrounded them.

On board the Krakatoa, Admiral Horner listened to the battle which surrounded him, observing its proceedings through the various displays in the command center.

"Carl Sagan, this is the Harmony of Days requesting fighter support at coordinates 313:424:12, several batarian frigates are providing fire support on our starboard flank."

"Vesuvius, you have a clear line of fire on batarian emplacement 344."

"This is task group 5-12, we're moving in on sector 23. Cutting off several cruisers attempting to retreat."

"Olympus, this is Ragnarok, we have your port flank covered and are moving to intercept."

Khar'shan was surrounded by the fires of war. As the fleets clashed, the batarians soon found their once mighty fleet being ground away. Splinters of the fleet managed to break away from the melee, escaping to the outer corners of the system in preparation for the counter attack. Others held the line, returning fire against the invaders, until they were eventually consumed by nuclear fire. This was a fight the Hegemony had to win, but the destruction of their dreadnaughts in the initial moments of the battle had thrown their fleet into chaos.

The Alliance fleet fared somewhat better. Human ships would jump from the fight as their shields reached critical damage levels. Fighters swooping between the giants, launching ordinance as the titans clashed. Wolfpacks of frigates swarmed through the fight, while destroyers flitted about the edges of the battle, disrupting the enemy's communications and disabling their foe with electronic warfare attacks. Cruisers dueled their counterparts in a dance of destruction, taking blows that would shake their counterparts to the core.

In the center of it all, the Alliance dreadnaughts and battle-cruisers unleashed the most powerful weapons in humanity's arsenal against the increasingly ragged batarian fleet. Concentrating on the orbital defenses, the dreadnaughts quickly began pounding the batarian defenses into scrap with their mass drivers, while the battle-cruisers cored batarian ships with their particle cannons.

In the midst of the maelstrom of death, scores of human transports barreled toward the planet's surface, while dozens of other launched orbital drop pods towards strategic locations. Khar'shan had not seen conflict like this since before the batarians had made contact with the greater galaxy. Once more its continents would experience the fury of war.

Uncharted Space

It awoke once more. In moments it connected to the Citadel, searching for information on what had occurred in the galaxy during its brief slumber.

It had been left behind to monitor the galaxy, and when the time was right, call forth its brethren to scour the galaxy clean once more, ascending those worthy. Resetting the galaxy to a more primal state. It had not yet failed, despite the failure of the keepers to respond. While the keepers had never once ignored the call before, something had changed. And so it plotted, waiting for the moment to strike.

Intriguing. Species 30,425-D had revealed itself to the galaxy. And they had achieved tier 2 technology. While that could be dangerous to the cycle, other civilizations had reached such a pinnacle before. Others had even reached further.

They had ascended as well.

These ones followed the path others had. Even now they waged war with 30,425-J. They would think themselves masters of the galaxy, attempt to conquer those who had arrived before them. Those whose technology was inferior.

Whether they were successful or not did not matter. In the end they would either die at the hands of the other races, or they would have a brief moment of glory before joining the ranks of those who came before.

And so Nazara once more returned to its slumber. Confident that the moment it was waiting for would arrive.

The cycle would continue. As it had for eons before. As it would for eons more.

Author Notes: I figured out how to do the line break thing! Yay!

Oh, and you thought humanity was special? Muahahahaha.