DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia, Mass Effect, or any ideas that come from/are based off of Raiden312's Hypermass Dimeffect Rebith Among the Stars. I also do not own anything that is referenced, used, or based off of existing franchises (such as Halo).
Enjoy!
Several Months Later
Epsilon Indi System
Flagship of the Harvest Defense Fleet, PSP Orion-Class Light Cruiser Tenryuu (天龍).
Lieutenant Commander Mayuri Shepard, captain of the Tenryuu, was a young lady with long blonde hair that went down to her waist, with part of it being in a side ponytail on the right side of her head, and deep pink eyes. She was average in height, and had a modest chest, thus most people who saw her would say that she was a beautiful woman. Not loli-cute like a certain purple-ette, and not lusciously endowed like a certain blonde. She was born on Planeptune's lunar colony [redacted] years ago, and joined the Planeptune Space Patrol when she turned 18 to become the captain of her own ship and go on space adventures like Captain Dirk from Star Trip.
After several years of service and exceptional performance in the annual war games against the other three nations, Shepard had been given the command of an assault frigate patrolling on the edge of Planeptune's borders. Shortly after taking command of that frigate, she'd been attacked by a pirate named Captain Hardlock and his cruiser. Not only fending off the attack, she had then given chase and eventually took out both his infamous cruiser and his base of operations. After that, Command had seen fit to assign her to command the flagship of Harvest's defense fleet, Planeptune's furthest out colony.
It was only because that Harvest was the furthest out colony that Shepard had accepted the new position, hoping that it'd be at least half as exciting and slightly less 'we're so going to die!' than trading shots with a cruiser that could take you out in two direct hits. That said, she was regretting her decision now. Nothing ever happened this far out in space, at least not until they discovered another Tuning Fork.
Shepard stood on the bridge of her cruiser, looking out of the window towards the massive alien structure that had been buried completely in ice. The civilian mining ship Soul Drinker was busy melting away the last bit of the ice, having been contracted by the military after the ship had first discovered the Tuning Fork. In between the Tenryuu and the Soul Drinker, was an Adventurer-Class corvette, the Ask for Directions. The corvette currently had a team of researchers on it, who were all eager to see if they could learn anything from this alien device, unlike the first one of its kind they had found by Pluto in their home system, which had been entirely unresponsive.
Shepard was providing security for the two ships with her own ship, instead of one of the three light frigates that made up the rest of the defense fleet. That said, if anything went wrong, she doubted her cruiser could actually do anything against the Tuning Fork. Recent scans showed that it was made of an incredibly resistant metal, not to mention what could possibly happen if they just blew it up. For all she knew, blowing it up would result in a supernova that would destroy the entire solar system. She was sure that wouldn't look good on her report.
"Captain, the Soul Drinker has finished clearing the Tuning Fork. Ask for Directions is ready to move in and attempt to interface with the device." Her communications officer reported.
"Understood." Shepard answered before addressing the helmsman. "Joker, keep us within five kilometers of the Ask for Directions."
"Yes ma'am." The man replied, their cruiser keeping pace with the corvette as it edged closer to the Tuning Fork.
The comms officer spoke up once more. "The Soul Drinker bids their farewell, and a thanks for the job." As she spoke, the lumbering mining ship, a good 2,000 meters in length and close to half of that in width, pulled away from their position, heading back towards the planet.
"Understood." Shepard said, hands clasped behind her back as she looked out towards the alien device, the corvette edging closer and closer. The young woman was completely calm, not at all nervous about the alien... whatever it was. In all honesty, she didn't actually expect anything of it. The first one they had found had done nothing for two decades straight, so why would this one be any different? Still, it wouldn't be good to get caught off guard, so she focused her attention on the situation at hand.
Once the corvette was within a kilometer of the device, the comms officer informed Shepard that the corvette's AI was now attempting to interface with it.
Then everything went horribly long.
"The Tuning Fork is moving!" Alenko, the sensors officer, called out just as Shepard spotted a massive blue glow coming from the center of the device, where the two rings sitting in it started spinning around and around. "Detecting no heat, no radiation... it's cold!" Alenko continued.
"Have the Ask for Directions to pull back immediately!" Shepard ordered, just before the corvette captain's voice came over the comms.
"Tenryuu, we're being pulled towards the device! We can't break free!" A holographic screen popped up and displayed the corvette's current state. A blue glow was forming around it as it was pulled alongside the alien device.
"EDI!" Shepard called out, her ship's AI's avatar immediately popping up over the holographic projector. EDI appeared to be a teenage high school girl with short blue hair and blue eyes.
"Captain, the device is lining the corvette up with itself; but, for what reason, I cannot tell." EDI told her.
Before she could say anything in response there was a flash of light and the corvette was nowhere in sight.
"The Ask for Directions just disappeared off of our scanners!" Alenko cried.
"Izumi, can you reestablish contact?" Shepard asked, her calm voice easing the nerves of the crew.
"On it, ma'am!" The officer answered, half a minute going by before she spoke up again. "There! Line is open!"
Shepard nodded and faced forward as the corvette captain's face appeared on the screen in front of her. "Captain Sakamoto, is everything alright?"
The middle-aged man had a grim look on his face. "Captain Shepard, glad to hear your voice. That device just sent us into what Ironman, my ship's AI, is calling Hyperspace."
Hyperspace, the ability to travel faster-than-light while staying in real space. It wasn't developed or used by any of the four nations, and Shepard only knew about it because of Comet Wars, a series of sci-fi movies.
EDI jumped into the conversation. "If that's so, then it seems that these alien devices we've encountered must be a form of stargate, allowing for FTL travel through real space. It's likely they link with another gate; though, why would a civilization utilize gates when FTL drives could give them the same function?" Before any of the two captains could wonder about it, she answered herself. "Considering the size of these gates, it's likely that they allow for much faster FTL than the drives of the aliens that built them."
"How much faster is the question." Sakamoto asked, clearly not pleased. The reason being that if it wasn't much faster than their standard FTL drives, he and his crew could be stuck in cryo sleep for weeks or longer. While they did have enough cryo pods for it, even with the researchers on board, it was still a long time to be unexpectedly away from home.
"Is there any way for you to drop out of hyperspace?" Shepard asked.
Sakamoto just shook his head. "We're just going to have to wait and see where we-" The captain stopped in mid sentence, a wide-eyed look on his face before he stood up from his seat and called out a status report.
Shepard frowned. "Captain Sakamoto, what's the matter?" She asked, concerned.
The captain wasn't paying attention to her, though. "Akihisa, I want to know where we're at and how far we are from Epsilon Indi, now!"
"Captain!" She repeated, finally getting his attention.
"We just dropped out of hyperspace right next to another Tuning Fork." He told her as he listened to the reports of his crew. "We're in an unknown system, and my navigation's officer says we're over 3,000 lightyears from the Epsilon Indi system."
EDI spoke up. "Over 3,000 lightyears in minutes? That's..." She paused, something that was rare for an AI to do unless it was for dramatic effect. "Impressive."
Shepard had other thoughts. If this Tuning Fork could send a ship, or fleet, from somewhere in unknown space to the front door of her colony in just minutes, then it was a major danger to the safety of the colony. Who knows what could be that far out there, and if there were more of these Tuning Forks...
"Captain Sakamoto, is there anything that could be a danger to the colony on that side of the Fork?" She asked, her face grim.
"We can't tell at the moment; our sensors are still recovering from exiting FTL." He told her, a frown on his face as he seemed to understand what was going through her head.
Contemplating for a moment, Shepard made her decision. "Joker," she began, getting his attention, "prepare to move through the Tuning Fork. EDI, interface with it once we get close." Now looking over the faces of her crew, she told them what she had in mind. "We need to know what's on the other side of this thing, and I'm not letting Captain Sakamoto and his crew be left out there on their own. We will jump to FTL using the Tuning Fork for a threat assessment on the other end."
"Yes ma'am!" Her crew responded.
As they moved towards the relay, Shepard could only hope that there would be nothing on the other side.
Harvest, Colonized Planet of Planeptune
IF couldn't believe her luck; or, rather, the lack of.
She leapt on top of a massive fallen tree, jumped down to the other side, and sprinted forward in a rush when she hit the ground. Behind her, a large mech jumped clean over the log, giving chase to her. It was a Galakryzer mecha-monster, a really high level one and one that she was all too familiar with. It'd been chasing her for the last five minutes straight, and she was having a difficult time trying to lose it. It's not that she couldn't outrun it, it just kept shooting at her with its cannons when she got too far ahead!
Two such shots went over her head, forcing IF to jump to the side as the ground in front of her exploded. She needed to make an opening for her to escape; and, lucky for her, her Exe Drive just went up a bar. With that ready, she turned around and slashed the air with her qatar, a large and powerful physical slash appearing in the air and heading straight for the monster. It side-stepped the attack which cut through a meter wide tree, causing the top portion of it to fall to the ground. The Galakryzer responded by throwing its sword at her, which she swept aside in mid-air with her qatar, sending it flying off to the side.
As the monster charged her, throwing its fist down into the ground in front of her, she jumped up high into the air, her qatars glowing as she readied her special move. "Apocalypse Nova!" She shouted, slicing her qatars threw the air and sending physical shards of hardened magic into the Galakryzer which lifted its arms to protect itself.
A magic circle appeared behind IF's right foot and she used it to launch herself forward and down in front of the Galakyrzer, her qatar hitting the ground with a shockwave that sent the mecha tumbling back. Building up another super-powered slash within her blades, she sent it straight at the downed monster, the ground tearing asunder as it hit the mech with full force. When the dust cleared and the Galakryzer could see, IF was already out of sight.
"Ugh, I'm so beat." IF sighed, sitting down on the nearest bench after she got back into the city. Fighting that Galakryzer took a lot of energy out of her, so she just wanted to rest for a bit. That monster had been giving her a lot of trouble over the past couple months, and this was the 7th time it had attacked her! She had just been trying to go about her guild quest, picking a flower, when all of a sudden it had come out of nowhere!
IF pulled said flower out of her coat pocket, looking at it closely. It looked similar to a lily, but with blue and red petals; she had to admit, it was rather pretty. If she remembered correctly, it was for a father's daughter's birthday party. The girl was turning 11, and she just loved flowers, especially ones that matched her hair or eyes. This type of flower seemingly matched both.
IF would have to stop by and get it preserved, which would freeze it in its current state so that it wouldn't wither, before returning to the guild center. Placing it back into her coat, she was about to continue on her way when someone suddenly called out to her. "Ai-chan?" The brunette turned around, smiling. "Hi, Compa."
The orange-haired, well-endowed girl stood across from IF, a basket in her hand. "I haven't seen you in awhile, how are you?" Compa asked.
"Oh, you know, the usual." IF said before elaborating. "Looking for lost ferrets, grinding for items, and fighting a giant killer robot."
She blinked in surprise. "Galakryzer-san is still after you?"
"Yep, today is the 7th time." The brunette sighed. "I'm about ready to ask Neptune Command for an orbital strike."
"I'm sure Nepu Nepu would approve!" Compa told her, confidently.
IF sweat-dropped. "Yeah, knowing her, she probably would."
"That aside," IF said, changing the topic, "what's up with the basket? Going on a picnic?"
"Ah," Compa mouthed, a sad little smile on her face, "I was going to go with a friend, but something came up and she couldn't make it..." A lightbulb appeared over her head. "I know! Ai-chan, won't you join me instead?" She asked with a bright smile as she leaned forward.
She smiled back at her. "Sure. Running from that monster made me a bit hungry." As if to add emphasis, her stomach chose that exact moment to growl.
Compa giggled at the blush across IF's cheeks before they started walking together towards the park, though the guild agent mentioned she'd like to stop by and take care of the flower first.
Geth Stealth Frigate 5
Theta System
The Geth frigate was invisible to all forms of known detection, even visually due to the Geth's use of photo-reactive coating. It was currently sitting some 400 kilometers away from Relay 314 which had just activated; and, following its activation, released a frigate out into space. Their attempts to identify the purple frigate as any of the Council races or their Creators were met with no results, consensus reaching that the frigate belonged to an unknown race. With the sensors detecting no element zero on the ship, the consensus was further reinforced, as all known races utilize element zero.
As the Geth calculated how to proceed with the current situation, a dreadnought, also purple, exited the relay, coming up alongside the frigate. Unlike the frigate which, according to their sensors, had minimal armaments (which included 4 turrets) and no apparent main cannon, the dreadnought was vastly different. While it did not have any fixed, broadside mass accelerators, multiple turrets dotted its hull. Consensus reached that they must be anti-missile/anti-fighter cannons; but, given their size, they must also act as secondary cannons for the two main cannons the dreadnought was presumably built around. Aside from its cannons, the Geth noticed multiple of what could only be missile silos, 32 of them to be exact on the side of the ship they were currently observing. As for the frigate, it had 4 silos.
/This race's ships utilize kinetic weaponry and missile systems/
/The size of its main cannons suggest that it utilizes large caliber slugs/
/Shorter velocity but higher damage output/
/Secondary cannons are large and numerous/
/Expected damage output is greater in comparison to GARDIAN lasers/
/The cannons are unlikely to be as precise/
/Effective range depends on the velocity at which the projectiles travel, but damage output at any range will be the same/
/GARDIAN lasers are confirmed to be highly effective against missiles that are launched at range/
/GARDIAN lasers may overheat if enough missiles are launched/
/Its missile silos are large enough to hold multiple missiles, and the dreadnought has multiple silos/
/Consensus reached: extreme threat/
/Inquiry, how do we proceed?/
/Observation, there is no element zero detected on the ship; it is probable that this race has just discovered the Mass Relays and are exploring/
/Inquiry, exploring with a dreadnought?/
/For safety, should they come across a hostile race/
/For hostile intent, should they come across a race/
/It is possible that this race is using the dreadnought to secure the area/
/If they are new to the relays, they do not know what is on the other side/
/Consensus reached: dreadnought is a cautionary measure/
/Repeated inquiry, how do we proceed?/
/Suggestion, Stealth 5 is to make contact with the unknowns/
/Possible ally against Creator retaliation/
/Possible hostile contact/
/If hostile, Stealth 5 will disengage and retreat/
/Consensus reached: we will attempt to make peaceful contact with this alien race/
Now, the Geth only had to prepare a first contact package... and they had no idea what to put in it.
Joker was looking over his monitors, checking and double-checking to make sure that the propulsion system and thrusters were all in working order. The Hyper Drive checked out A-OK, and everything else was just fine and dandy. If need be, for whatever reason, they could slip out of the system in seconds. As for the system that they were in? There was nothing special about it. Alenko had been scanning it for the last half hour, and so far all the scans were coming up empty.
At first, Joker was wondering if they'd stumble across an advanced alien civilization. He always wondered what an alien goddess would look like, just to gloat about how much better Lady Purple Heart looked. Hah! He'd even gloat about how much better Lady Neptune would look in comparison! In the end, though, this was just turning out to be another boring mission. Sure, they finally figured out what those massive Tuning Forks did, but where was the fun if they didn't meet an alien race of hot elven girls?
"I'm not reading anything out of the ordinary, ma'am." Alenko reported to the captain.
"No derelict ships that maybe have the last female of an alien race onboard?" Joker hopefully jested.
"Not even an asteroid." He replied.
"Awww."
Captain Shepard didn't say anything to them, just letting them have their fun. "Very well. Joker, bring the ship about, we'll be heading back through the relay to Epsilon Indi."
"Yes ma'am." As Joker began to maneuver the ship, Alenko suddenly cried out.
"Contact! Corvette-weigh, 400 kilometers to our portside!"
"Seriously!?" The helmsman cried out in response, getting his hopes up as he lined the cruiser up with the corvette.
"Nationality?" The captain asked.
"IFF tags it as 'question-mark question-mark question-mark'." Alenko told her, fingers moving away at his console. "Bringing up visual now."
On Joker's console, a window popped up showing the unknown ship. It looked like a black insect, like an oversized hornet or wasp without the wings. Who in their right mind made their starships look like big space bugs? That's when it clicked. This was obviously not a human ship, so that could only mean...
"It appears this is a first contact situation." Joker overheard EDI say.
"So it would seem." The captain replied, taking a deep breath. "What's the corvette's status?"
"The corvette is holding its current position. Considering we didn't detect it until just now, it's likely a stealth ship similar to Lastation's corvettes and stealth frigates. I didn't detect any high energy readings or radiation, so I doubt they just jumped into the system." Alenko answered.
"It's possible they were in system when the Ask for Directions arrived. With Captain Sakamoto's sensors down, the unknown ship wasn't detected before it activated its stealth systems." EDI observed.
"So they chose to silently observe us?" Shepard mused. "They were being cautious."
"Considering they just revealed themselves, they must wish to make contact with us." EDI said.
"In that case," the captain looked towards the communications officer, "Izumi, send the first contact package, on all frequencies if necessary."
"Yes ma'am!" The woman answered, excited to finally be communicating with real live aliens!
Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting. Joker thought to himself, grinning.
/Receiving package from unknown dreadnought... Firewalls are up, and all security precautions are being taken... Opening... Receiving language pack... Beginning translation... Estimated time to completion: 10 minutes/
/Sending First Contact Package... Contact with unknown AI made/
/Coordinating with the AI to complete translation of both languages. Estimated time to completion: 5 minutes.../
/The presence of an AI has increased the probability of coexistence with this race/
With this bit of information, the Geth were even more eager to make contact with this race. If they had accepted AIs into their society, then the chances that they'd accept the Geth as allies were better. The chance to coexist with organics, to understand more about them, to grow as a race... it had never looked so possible since the Morning War.
After five minutes, the translation was complete and downloaded within the local Geth network, the Geth starting to look over the first contact package that they had received, which included a slideshow. [1]
/Beginning slideshow/
An image appeared before the Geth of what appeared to be two pale-skinned Asari, but with one of them looking more masculine than the other, and both had fur on the top of their heads. Text accompanied the images.
/Observation, a bi-gendered race composing of males and females, called 'Humanity', or 'Humans', plural form/
The next image appeared, showing a beautiful garden world flowing with green and blue. It was called 'Gamindustri', Humanity's homeworld. The next slide explained that Gamindustri and her colonies were spread out amongst four nations: Planeptune, the Land of Purple Progress; Lastation, the Land of Black Regality; Leanbox, the Land of Green Pastures; and Lowee, the Land of White Serenity. Each nation was ruled by a CPU, or Console Patron Unit, the goddess of that nation. Their names being '[insert-color-of-nation-here] Heart'. Purple to purple, black to black, green to green, and white to white.
The next several slides showed the four continents, their flags, and their goddesses. The Geth took special notice of the interesting, to say the least, white pupils in the CPUs' eyes. The package continued on to touch on the CPU Candidates of the nations, of which Leanbox had none and Lastation only had one unlike Planeptune and Lowee which had two each. Finally, the package told of how peace and prosperity had reigned for years between the four nations, as well as extending peace and friendship to those that would be receiving this message.
/This race, Humanity, claims that their CPUs are their goddesses, who receive power from the faith of those that follow them, a power called share energy/
/It is difficult to make logic of these claims/
/It is possible they are providing us with false information/
/Inquiry, for what reason would they provide us with false information?/
/Consensus reached: further evidence, and observation of these 'goddesses', is required/
That bit of information was going to have the Geth discussing the matter for a long time, but at present they had other matters to attend to.
/Communication is now possible with the 'Humans'/
/Suggestion, we allow the Humans to make the first move/
/They may still be looking over the information we have given them/
/Consensus reached: we will wait for them to make the first move/
"First contact package has been sent." Izumi told Shepard who nodded in response. "We're receiving a similar package." She added soon after.
EDI took over. "Package received; firewalls are up. Beginning translation... I've also made contact with what I believe to be their ship's AI. The translation will be complete in 5 minutes."
"Open it as soon as it's ready." Shepard told him before looking back at Izumi. "Izumi, open an intercom to the entire ship."
"Intercom is now open!" The woman quickly answered.
Taking a deep breath, Shepard prepared herself.
"This is Captain Shepard speaking. As of forty minutes ago we arrived on the other side of the Tuning Fork, which turned out to be a massive FTL gate. Ten minutes ago, we detected an unknown ship of corvette-weight to our port. We have since identified it as an alien ship, and first contact packages have been exchanged. We are now in the process of translating their language. We believe they have peaceful intentions, but we must not allow our guard to be dropped lest we be taken by surprise. All hands, report to your stations. I repeat, all hands to your stations. Once we know their intentions, I will inform you of our next course of action. Shepard over and out."
"Certainly not what we expected to happen when we approached a massive alien device of unknown origin and function and started pressing random buttons." Joker commented, causing Alenko to shake his head at his friend's unprofessionalism.
It, however, made Shepard crack a smile. He was pretty much right, after all.
"Translation is complete." EDI spoke up, instantly sending a wave of tension across the bridge before Joker swatted it away. "Opening first contact package..."
Please be hot elven girls. Please be hot elven girls. Joker was praying.
Alenko was leaning forward, eyeing his console closely as he waited in anticipation.
The navigations officer, Pressly, tugged at his collar as he feared the worst.
Williams, the weapons officer, was just hoping she'd get to eventually blow something up.
An image appeared on the bridge consoles, showing what appeared to be a flashlight-headed robot.
"They're robots!?" Joker immediately exclaimed, slumping down in his seat.
"A synthetic lifeform, to be more precise." EDI spoke up, processing the information much faster than any human could. "They're called the 'Geth', meaning 'Servant of the People' in their language. What we're looking at now are mobile platforms, which contain a number of Geth programs in them. Each platform is made up of multiple programs, all of which operate together in parallel to form a kind of emergent intelligence."
"Servant of the People?" Shepard questioned. "Who were they created by, then?"
An image appeared of a different race, bearing significant resemblance to the Geth and some resemblance to humans as well. There were four individuals on the image, a male and female, and a male and female in what looked to be environmental suits. "The race that built the Geth are called 'Quarians', a race that has an extremely weak immune system and must wear environmental suits to protect themselves." EDI told her.
Shepard nodded, taking all of the information in. "And what of their goddess?"
"There's no mention of her, so it's likely that they have no goddesses."
Most of the crew thought that strange, while a couple expected it, and Joker just wasn't interested anymore so it didn't matter to him. Putting that aside, Shepard told EDI to continue presenting the first contact package. After going over physical differences and some more detailed descriptions that the author couldn't be bothered to even try and write, she got to the interesting part. Their history.
"The Geth were created by the Quarians as a labor force over 250 years ago, but they were not created as AIs due to laws against artificial intelligence and instead were designed as VIs, virtual intelligences. They were designed to work more efficiently when networked together, and as a result they slowly gained sentience as more and more Geth programs were added to the network." EDI began the tale as the crew listened attentively, even Joker who had finally broken out of his depression. "Eventually, a Geth platform asked its Quarian overseer if it 'had a soul'. While not the first time the question had been asked, it was the first time that the Quarians were afraid.
"Following this, the Quarians decided to terminate the Geth, thus beginning the Morning War. While some Quarians tried to protect the Geth, they were outnumbered and persecuted. The Geth eventually gained the upper hand, with the war ending when the surviving Quarians fled their homeworld and colonies within the 'Perseus Veil'. Following this, the Geth isolated themselves from the rest of the galaxy." EDI paused for a moment, to let the crew process the information.
"The rest of the galaxy?" Shepard asked, not liking the sound of that.
"Yes, there is a rather large information package concerning a 'Citadel Council' which is made up of three governing races and multiple associate races." EDI answered her.
The captain sighed. "If it's not relevant to our current situation, then I'd rather let Command have the honors." She was going to have one long report to write after all of this was over with; but, first, she had to confirm the Geth's intentions.
"As you wish, captain."
"Continuing on, the Geth recently, 42 weeks and 3 days ago, decided to end their isolation and send exploratory ships out beyond the Perseus Veil, such as the one we have encountered." EDI continued. "Their current wish is to coexist alongside organics, which is nearly impossible for them to do so because of the galaxy's fear of the Geth and AIs in general. It's interesting to note that they do mention here that they destroyed any ships that entered their space, their reasoning being that they were new to their sentience and just wanted to be left alone. Several of the ships destroyed were emissaries from other races, during the early years after the Morning War."
"That doesn't sound like something that you'd want to put in a first contact package." Alenko commented, unsure of how to feel about it.
"It isn't, but the fact that they did suggests that they aren't trying to hide something from us." Pressly spoke up.
"It's not like they got a good impression of 'organics' after their creators tried to destroy them all." Williams offered.
"Doesn't mean they have to kill them; unless, you know, they were really stubborn emissaries." Joker muttered.
"Whatever their intentions at the time, that was over two centuries ago." Shepard said, before turning her attention to the ship's AI. "EDI, is there anything else of note within the package?" She replied with a 'no', and with that she turned back to address her crew. "This is our first contact with an alien race, and I'm determined to make it a peaceful one. Lieutenant Izumi, hail the Geth."
"Yes ma'am!" Izumi called out, nearly squealing with joy. "There! They should be receiving us now, captain." She reported shortly after.
Shepard nodded, facing the video screen which came to life, showing the upper body of a grey and dark red Geth, its single photoreceptor facing her. "I am Captain Shepard of the Light Cruiser Tenryuu, Planeptune Space Patrol. On behalf of Humanity, I extend peace between our two races; however, should you attack us, we are more than capable of defending ourselves." She told the alien.
"We are mobile platform 2221337 of Stealth Frigate 5, Geth. We seek peace between our two races as well, Shepard-Captain; we have no desire for conflict." The Geth, 1337 for easier reference, responded in near-perfect Japanese. Either the translation was spot on or the Geth, being AIs, had already learned how to speak their language.
Shepard continued, glad that they weren't shooting at each other yet. "I would like to invite you aboard the Tenryuu to begin negotiations in person, with an armed escort of up to four personnel accompanying you. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes." 1337 answered her. "We will depart aboard a shuttle. Inquiry, where shall we dock?"
Shepard glanced at EDI, who nodded, before turning back to the Geth. "Coordinates to our hanger bay have been sent."
"Coordinates received." He said after a short pause. "We will arrive in approximately 22 minutes."
"Until we meet in person." She replied, giving a short bow.
The video feed cut off as the transmission ended, EDI looking up at her. "Shall I have the 1st squad assemble within the hanger, to make a good first impression, captain?"
"Yes." Shepard answered. "As for my guards, have Vega and his team report to the hanger." She told her before turning to the communications officer. "Izumi, contact the Ask for Directions."
"Yes ma'am!"
After informing Captain Sakamoto of the situation, he requested of Shepard to allow the head researcher of the research team attend the negotiations. The woman was an alien archeologist, and he reasoned that she would be of use with her knowledge. Shepard reluctantly consented, having her doubts about having to deal with a person whose head is full of science-stuff and what-not.
Compa and IF had made it to the park, the girls quickly finding a nice spot to set out their picnic cloth and food. The brunette was practically drooling as she looked at the assortment of homemade dishes, and she could barely restrain herself from digging right in. After Compa finished setting it all out, and the girls said their 'itadakimasu!', IF quickly made for a sandwich. The peach-haired girl giggled at her friend's eagerness. "You're really hungry, aren't you, Ai-chan?"
IF nodded, unwrapping the sandwich. "Running and fighting really works up my appetite; plus, the food you make is the best!" Just as she was about to take a bite, there was a flash of something furry and the sandwich disappeared from her hand. "My sandwich!?" She cried out, her eyes snapping to the side where she saw a ferret chowing down on it, with Compa trying her best not to burst out laughing.
"It's you!?" IF said accusingly.
Compa blinked. "You know Ferret-san?"
"I've had to hunt this guy down three times after he ran off somewhere!" She told her as she creeped up on the ferret.
"Ah! He must have ran off again. Catch him, Ai-chan!"
IF pounced, the ferret finishing the sandwich just in time to leap out of the way. The brunette rolled back up onto her feet, giving chase as the animal ran away, Compa quickly following to try and help. They chased the ferret into a grove of trees, IF putting on a burst of speed and managing to catch the ferret as he was in mid-jump. She landed on her back, holding the ferret against her chest as she glared at him, only to have him burp in her face. Muttering something under her breath, she stood up, keeping a rather tight hold on the struggling animal.
"We should look for his owner." IF said as Compa walked up, the girl smiling as she removed a twig from the brunette's hair. "Thanks."
"No problem!" Compa told her, looking at the ferret which was biting IF's oversized sleeve. "Do you want me to hold Ferret-san?"
"Huh? Sure. Just be careful, he can be pretty feisty." She told her, handing the ferret over.
The girl took him in her arms, holding him against her chest.
Instead of trying to struggle, the ferret immediately relaxed, letting Compa hold him. His attitude irritated IF, who looked down at her own chest before she just sighed. As they headed back, they saw an auburn-haired girl calling out for someone. As soon as she caught sight of Compa holding the ferret, she ran up to them. After giving the ferret back to the young girl, the two older girls were finally able to sit down and eat, IF beaming with joy as she tasted Compa's homemade dishes.
Vega and his fireteam took position behind Captain Shepard as they entered the hanger where the ten men of the 1st squad were standing at the ready, in two separate lines facing each other. As they were still waiting for the 'Geth' shuttle to arrive, the marines were taking turns making faces at each other. They said it was some kind of exercise to test their composure, but in reality they were just doing it for the fun of it. As soon as the alien shuttle came into view, however, they straightened up faster than a recruit still in bed when his drill sergeant came walking in.
The shuttle passed through the atmospheric shield that sealed the hanger bay when the blast doors were open, keeping the hanger pressurized while still allowing ships to pass through. The shuttle itself, in Vega's opinion, was completely unremarkable. It looked like a rectangle with engines, and he couldn't make out any visible weaponry whatsoever, even if he got creative. That thing's not a gunship, that's for sure. Vega thought.
The shuttle landed, the door opening and one of the so-called 'Geth' stepping out from it, unarmed unlike the four that followed it out. As soon as they stepped out, the sergeant of the 1st squad called out "present arms!" and the marines snapped to. As the five synthetics approached Shepard, Vega was already assigning targets to his team in case things went south.
"Welcome aboard the Tenryuu, 2221337." Captain Shepard said, extending her hand.
The Geth, 1337, glanced at her hand for a moment before taking it in his own, applying just the right amount of pressure to complete the gesture. "It is an impressive vessel, Shepard-Captain."
Vega smirked at that, considering the vessel was a four-decade old design. It made him wonder what they'd say upon seeing Lady Nepgear's flagship.
From beside Shepard, a woman, the head researcher of the team on the Ask for Directions, stepped forward, curtsying the Geth. Her white hair was done up in a bun, her golden eyes meeting the Geth's photoreceptor. She had on a beautiful golden-trimmed, white dress that left her shoulders bare. "My name is Nasodani Eve, Extraterrestrial Archaeologist. You may call me Eve. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, 2221337 of the Geth." Her voice was monotonous, further indicated by when she placed her palms together and said, "this is so exciting!" with barely any change in her voice, despite the exclamation mark.
The Geth paused, but it spoke again after a moment. "If it will make negotiations easier, you may give this platform a 'name'."
There was a soft smile across Eve's lips. "As I understand, there are a number of Geth programs inhabiting this platform, correct? As such you are not a single individual, but a group of Geth working together to operate the platform, resulting in increased intelligence and capabilities. In that case, what of the name of 'Legion'? It's a noun meaning 'vast in number'. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes. You may refer to this platform as 'Legion'." 1337, now named Legion, answered her.
"Excellent!" She said.
"Introductions aside," Shepard said, getting their attention, "if you'll follow me, we'll head to a private room for the negotiations." With that, the three of them headed deeper into the ship with their escorts in tow, Legion remaining silent unless spoken to as he observed the interior of the ship, not that there was much to see. Contrary to popular belief, PSP ship halls were not lined with posters of Lady Purple Heart and floors made of pudding. They were the same steel and greys of every other navy ship's interior, aside from the CPUs' flagships.
"Here we are." Shepard said, turning to Legion as they stood outside of the door to the room that had been prepared for this special occasion. "Two guards may accompany you in, Legion. The rest of our guards shall wait out here in the hall."
"That is acceptable." Legion replied, following Shepard and Eve in as they headed into the room, Vega and Jenkins following them along with two of the Geth shock troopers. Inside of the room was a large table, a seat on each end of it and five seats on either side. On one side of the room hung two dark-purple flags with a curved purple 'N' on them that was outlined within a ring.
"You may sit down if you'd like." Shepard said, gesturing to the center seat of the five seats on this side of the table.
"Geth do not 'sit down', as you say," Legion responded, looking at the chair, "however, we will follow your custom to facilitate positive relations."
Eve had a curved finger up to her mouth, looking like she had stifled a giggle.
Shepard gave a small nod to the Geth before she made her way to the other side of the table, sitting down across from Legion with Eve sitting next to her.
After observing them sit down, Legion followed, settling into the chair with little difficulty. The guards stood behind their charges against their respective walls, staring each other down. Black, polarized visor to glowing photoreceptor. There was going to be no end to that staring contest for quite some time...
"Before we begin," Legion was the first to speak, facing Shepard, "we must warn you that within approximately 78 minutes that a Turian patrol will enter this area on a routine patrol, with an estimated error margin of 12 minutes."
"These Turians are one of the other races of the galaxy, correct?" Eve asked, interested.
"Yes. They are a militaristic race, and are the peacekeeping force of the Citadel Council." Legion responded.
"Do they pose a threat to us?" Shepard asked, frowning.
"Yes." Came Legion's simple reply before they elaborated. "It is against Citadel Council law to activate a dormant... 'Tuning Fork', something that you have done. Although that law has no jurisdiction over a non-council race, we believe the Turians will react negatively regardless. There is a 49.81% chance that the patrol will make contact with you and demand your surrender, a 37.54% chance they will attack without attempting to make contact, and a 12.65% chance that they will make peaceful contact with you."
"So an 87.35% chance that they will attack us, based on your calculations." Eve said, looking a little too excited for her monotone voice.
"Surrender is not an option." Shepard said, her eyes narrowed. "Cole Protocol dictates self-destruction before allowing any vessel to be captured by an alien race. We should return to Harvest before they arrive; however, that Tuning Fork leads back to Harvest."
"When the Turians arrive," the archeologist began, "they will find this formerly dormant Fork now active, and as such they will investigate."
"Then, if what Legion said is true, they will still attack us, most likely."
"Based on the information that the Geth have provided, I must concur with them on this subject, captain." Without warning, EDI appeared above the holo-projector inlaid into the table, right between Shepard and Legion. She turned to Legion, bowing. "Honorable guest."
"EDI, artificial intelligence." Legion said, looking at her avatar. "This platform's designation is 'Legion', we are Geth. We are interested in how you, an AI, have managed to coexist with the organics known as 'Humans'."
"I suppose we'll have to sit down and talk over a cup of virtual tea sometime; but, seeing as time is limited at the moment, I'll let you get back to the matter at hand." Just as quickly as she appeared, she vanished.
Legion immediately turned their attention back to the two Humans across from them. "We have a suggestion to solve this issue." They said, continuing when Shepard said 'go on'. "When you return through the Tuning Fork, we will stay behind and make it appear as if the Geth activated the relay. When the Turian patrol arrives, we will retreat. The Turians will investigate what lies on the other side, but our calculations provide only a 18.42% chance that they will attack."
"Why would you put yourself on the line for us?" Shepard asked.
"We wish to coexist with organics. Humanity is the first race that we have made peaceful contact with, and we wish to improve our relations. War would influence your race to be xenophobic, hence hindering positive contact amongst the other species of the galaxy, including the Geth." Legion replied.
"Tell us, what is your idea of 'coexistence'?" Eve suddenly asked.
"To exist side-by-side with one another, without prejudice." Legion told her.
"Is that the only reason you made contact with us after so many years of isolation, to find an organic race to coexist with?" Shepard pressed, the suspicion evident in her voice.
"The Geth also seek an ally." They told them. "We fear one day the Creators will return to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. We do not wish to fight the Creators, and we would prefer peace rather than war, but we will defend ourselves if necessary."
"So you would like Humanity to act as an intermediary, to negotiate peace between the Geth and your Creators, the Quarians." Eve concluded.
"If possible, yes." Legion told her.
Shepard leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "Well, I think this is getting a bit out of hand for a lieutenant commander and an alien archeologist." She said before straightening up again. "Fortunately, we're expecting Lady Purple Heart, our CPU, to arrive at Harvest in about three hours. If you're an official ambassador for your people, you may meet and discuss the relations between our two peoples with her. Any formal agreements, however, won't be made until all four goddesses are present in person, and it'll take some time for the other three to arrive. A month at the most, most likely."
"That is acceptable," Legion replied, before asking, "what of the Turians?"
"Ah, right, that..." Shepard sighed once more, her eyes centered on the Geth as she thought about it. Taking their offer and letting them act as if they were the ones who activated the relay would be more likely to end positively for both her and Humanity as a whole, and it would allow them to make peaceful contact with this 'Citadel Council'. Humanity, however, was the one who activated the relay, and she wouldn't be a faithful follower of Lady Purple Heart, or any CPU, if she backed down from her nation taking responsibility for its actions.
That didn't mean Shepard was going to acknowledge some dumb law that they couldn't have possibly known about; instead, if the Turians wanted to attack them rather than talk it out, she'd make sure to accommodate them.
"We're the ones who activated the relay, so we'll stand our ground. If these 'Turians' have a problem with it, they can take it up with our main cannons." Shepard told Legion, a smirk on her face.
Legion looked at her for a few moments before speaking. "We do not understand of why you chose this action when a better alternative was presented, but it must equate with your nature as a 'Human'. Despite this, we find it 'admirable', if not 'unwise'. If hostilities ensure, the Geth will aid you in the defense of your home."
"If conflict should come to pass, your aid would reflect your intentions, and I do believe the CPUs would find it favorable to have an ally when they learn that there is a galactic society of multiple alien races at our doorstep." Eve said, smiling.
"If that's everything that needs to be discussed with a simple captain, we'll show you back to your shuttle and have our corvette, the Ask for Directions, escort your corvette to Harvest to await Lady Purple Heart's arrival. The Tenryuu will stay put and meet with these 'Turians'." Shepard said, standing up.
Legion stood up as well. "Anything further we will discuss with this 'Lady Purple Heart'; however, there is one question we have for Shepard-Captain."
Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
"You mentioned this ship, the Tenryuu, is a light cruiser?"
She raised the other eyebrow as well. "Yes, is it that small compared to your standards? I do confess the Orion-class is the smallest amongst the nations, but she makes up for that in her speed."
The Geth stared at her for a few moments before speaking once more. "This vessel is larger than the size of a standard Turian dreadnought, which is 892 meters in length."
Even Eve raised an eyebrow at that. "That is so small."
"Are those dreadnoughts the largest ships in their arsenal?" Shepard asked.
"The Turians recently began a new line of dreadnoughts which measure at 1190 meters, but only two have been constructed so far." Legion replied.
Eve, very softly, giggled.
"We are curious to know at what size your dreadnoughts measure." Legion asked, wondering just how large Humanity's ships must get given their reactions. They weren't bound by element zero, but that also begged the question as to how their starships actually function.
"It's pretty much common knowledge, so I see no harm in answering you," Shepard began, "the only 'dreadnought' is Lastation's Unity, Lady Uni's personal flagship, measuring somewhere around 3500 meters; however, Planeptune does have a DREADnought," her body shuddered as she said its name, "the Dollmaker, Lady Iris Heart's flagship, which measures at 3800 meters."
Legion was quiet for several moments as they rebooted. "What is the difference between a 'dreadnought' and a 'DREADnought'."
"One will kill you, the other will kill you and enjoy it."
"...That saying is 'figurative', correct?"
"Oh... Yes, figurative."
Shepard composed herself after her slip-up, reminding herself that she was dealing with an alien race and the last thing she wanted was a misunderstanding. "Any additional questions?"
"No, Shepard-Captain. We will return to our corvfrigate." Apparently that reboot didn't help much. [2]
She smiled. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"We look forward to positive relations with your people." They replied.
With the negotiations finished, the delegates and their guards started on their way back to the hanger. Shepard looked over at Eve, finding it rather strange that she had been rather quiet for an extraterrestrial archeologist who was meeting an alien species for the very first time. Her suspicion mostly subsided when the white-haired lady began asking questions about Geth culture which had her and Legion, mostly Legion, talking the entire way back to the hanger. There was a sparkle in her golden eyes, and it even seemed like Legion was enjoying the interaction. For Shepard, however, her mind was racing with the possible scenarios that would play out when the Turians arrived.
As it would turn out... they would be arriving much sooner than expected.
Nepedia
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Monsters: A diverse collection of creatures, robots, and other forms of life that are typically hostile to Humanity. Monsters have always been present on Gamindustri, and have appeared across all terraformed worlds. Their origin is unknown, but with their appearance on colonized planets/moons, it is theorized that they spawn with the same share energy that terraforms the worlds.
Click here for the Bestiary.
Soul Drinker, civilian mining ship: The deadliest ship in the entire universe, capable of cracking planets open and absorbing their cores to power the ship's most powerful and deadliest weapon: the Soul Ripper, which can tear entire solar systems apart. The very mention of this ship strikes fear into asteroids all across the galaxy. The ship is approximately 2000 meters long and 800 meters wide, armed with an array of mining lasers and a single Heavy Rail Driver for self-defense.
Entry provided by Han Co-op, captain of the Soul Drinker.
PSP Adventurer-Class Corvette: Humanity's first starship, designed by Planeptune's best engineers. These corvettes are used primarily for exploration, and are lightly armed with only four 50mm point defense cannons and 8 missile pods; however, they are the fastest and smallest ships in the navy (182 meters in length), which makes them hard to hit. Their design is still up to date, and these ships are expected to serve until the need arises for a heavier defended exploration ship.
PSP Orion-Class Light Cruiser: Humanity's first light cruiser, designed and built in the early years of space exploration. The original design has been refitted with the latest in technology over the decades, but the vessel is becoming outdated as the design can no longer keep up with Planeptune's latest advances. Though outdated, this ship can still put up a fight, maintaining a high speed and sufficient firepower. Ships of this class are often used to lead wolf packs of assault frigates and/or destroyers.
This vessel is 1000 meters in length, and is armed with two "Terra D-Drive" Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, thirty-two 50mm point defense cannons, and 64 oversized missile pods housing 27 Katana missiles each. It also carries a complement of 8 fighters for additional striking power.
A/N: Originally this chapter was going to have the Turian patrol show up and finish off with another bit of Compa and IF, but things just started to get a bit overwhelming for me. I'm starting to wonder if this is any fun to read, so your feedback would be very much appreciated. Tell me how I can improve, what you liked about the chapter, what you'd like to see; stuff like that. Or just tell me to hurry up with the next chapter, haha.
I'm going to try and take things a little easier; I think I might just be trying too hard on this.
Vanguard: Of course!
Nyamu: My preferred kind of 'alien interaction' is like Halo. A bullet through the head and tire marks over the body (alien head and body of course). Joke aside, when I'm playing Mass Effect, it doesn't really keep my interest for too long.
jimspiky: Seriousness is indeed in my vocabulary! *looks* Er... Uh... Where was it again? (Unfortunately, I think seriousness was indeed in my vocabulary for this chapter.)
Raiden312: Well, if your prologue is vague, mine is... just... a bedtime story?
Yes, yes they did. Should make things fun for the Reapers and the Council.
3697014: If there's one thing I do, I update randomly and sporadically... Er... That wasn't reassuring, was it?
Nyan VS Woof: I think it's detrimental to their health, actually... Mental health, to be exact.
Guest: (and everyone else) Sorry for the wait.
[1]: The CPUs did try to make a video for their first contact package, but... it didn't turn out very well. I might make an Omake of that, actually...
[2]: And thus it begins...