A/N: As requested, a short codex on the Atavira.
###
CODEX
The Atavira are a dextro amino humanoid race originating from the planet Pau. Pau is a very hot planet covered almost entirely in deserts of black sand and active volcanic zones, and has around 30% ocean cover in hundreds of small seas, which are very rich in element zero. The Atavira evolved into three separate subspecies in order to adapt to different areas of the planet.
The Shar Atavira are large, usually standing at around seven foot and massing around two hundred pounds. They evolved to thrive in the coastal regions which suffer from an over abundance of fierce predators, naturally becoming stronger and more aggressive than the other Atavira clades. All Shar are natural biotics and also possess electric glands in their hands similar to Earth electric eels but far more powerful. With proper training, a Shar can combine their biotic potential with their electric glands to project arcs of electricity from their fingers.
The Elloi Atavira evolved in the deserts between the seas where the biggest challenge was finding water and food. Elloi stand at between five foot and five foot six and are also much thinner than the muscular Shar, usually massing around ninety to one hundred pounds. They have evolved incredible endurance, able to survive almost two weeks without drinking and just over a month without eating. They are usually industrious and committed workers but are naturally quite timid, leading some Shar to consider them to be second class citizens in Atavira society.
The Auwl Atavira evolved in the most inhospitable of Pau's environments - the volcanic zones. The Auwl appear very gangly by Human standards, with very long arms and legs proportional to their torsos. Their arms and legs are coated with a hard exoskeleton that can withstand extremes of heat and their fingers and toes are tipped with long talons designed for climbing. Auwl are also much faster than Shar or Elloi, able to sprint at speeds in excess of seventy kilometres an hour. Auwl have a deserving reputation as being violent and untrustworthy, having evolved in an environment where they may be forced to kill a friend over a shelter spot during an eruption. This has led to a good deal of persecution of Auwl in Pau's history. Auwl genes are recessive, meaning that as the species mingles Auwl are slowly becoming more and more like the other clades as each generation passes, although there are several splinter groups of Auwl who have a purist attitude and so will only breed with other Auwl. In addition, Auwl males are far more frequent than Shar or Elloi males, with a frequency of 1 in 10 rather than the 1 in 100 of the other clades.
Because males are so rare in Atavira society each one usually has a harem of around twenty five females at any one time, almost a mirror image of Salarian society. Many Atavira females turn to artificial insemination in order to start families and because of the scarcity of males the Atavira species has the second highest incidence of interspecies relationships in the galaxy, although unlike the Asari no children can come of these pairings.
Pau is split into four nations: Emaris (Purity), Haeli (Sanctuary), Maraliu (Peace) and Kesla (Freedom). Pau has been scarred by hundreds of wars between these nations, in particular Haeli and Kesla, since those two nations have strong ideological differences and share an extensive border, as well as competition for natural resources. Maraliu are a pacifist nation who remain neutral in almost any conflict, and Emaris is the largest and most influential nation, claiming around forty per cent of the planet as their territory. Kesla have an extensive history of persecution, with 99% of their population being Shar. The very few Elloi foolish enough to make their homes in Kesla are used as slave labour and Auwl are persona non grata in Kesla territory. Haeli by contrast have the highest Auwl population of the nations, at about 50% Shar, 40% Elloi and 10% Auwl. Haelians see Keslans as backwards bigots while Keslans see Haelians as weak and impure. Maraliu has the highest Elloi population of the nations, at 70% Elloi, 26% Shar and 4% Auwl, and Emaris is broken down into 65% Shar, 30% Elloi and 5% Auwl.
###
Martin 'Sloppy' King scratched his beard in consternation at the manufacturing order coming in from Corsev. Ten full stealth suits, two Human, two Atavira, two Raachok and four ... the hell's a Turian? Oh it's okay, Commad sent schematics. Plus ten sets full stealthed weapons. An interesting order indeed.
Whistling to himself, Sloppy fired up his equipment. The arms manufacturing facility he ran, buried beneath the Soviet colony, was fully automated and thus only required a single monitor, more to relay instructions to Hornet, the AI in charge of the facility, and keep the crazy silicon bastard company than anything else.
"Hey Horny."
Hornet's avatar appeared and buzzed round his head.
"You know I hate it when you call me that."
"Yeah. Why do you think I do it?"
"I'm sorely tempted to build a mech for the sole purpose of kicking your arse."
Sloppy nearly fell over laughing every time Hornet said 'arse' in that utterly pretentious British accent of his.
"Alright, stop it. What's the job?"
Sloppy finally managed to draw a breath.
"Ten stealth suits with weapons. I'm sending the schematics now."
"Thanks, arsehole."
"Go fuck yourself in the CPU."
"Yeah yeah. Suck my sixty four bit high definition fully rendered holographic cock."
Chuckling, Sloppy sauntered through the facility to the moulding room, where ten moulds were already being assembled by nanobots. Ten very lifelike moulds. He stared at the Atavira moulds.
"Oh boy."
###
The stealth transport decloaked, hovering above the beachhead camp, gun turrets sweeping the area for hostiles before the plane settled down in the landing field. The constant stream of invisible aircraft flying to and from the facility served a dual purpose - airlifting in supplies without tipping off the Chryssachae, and subtly reinforcing to the Turians that if they tried anything there could be an invisible gunship thirty metres above them and they wouldn't know until they took a round through the skull.
The ten volunteers watched as an incredibly scruffy Human man emerged from the transport and unceremoniously dumped ten bags in front of them.
"Here's your kit."
Radim playfully punched the man on the arm.
"Thanks, Sloppy. You're a lifesaver."
The bearded Human shrugged and chortled at the suspicious expressions on the Turians's faces.
"Don't worry, the bombs only go off when you want them to."
Still chuckling, he sauntered back to the transport, the volunteers watching as it lifted off and disappeared.
"Who was that guy?"
Radim shrugged.
"Who, Sloppy? Best weaponsmith I've ever encountered. Come on, we need to get our stealth gear ready."
###
Primarch Samaellus nodded at the figure of the Admiral sitting on his screen.
"Admiral Vargas? What news of the invasion?"
The Admiral didn't reply straight away, something which almost immediately set the Primarch on edge. After a while Vargas seemed to collect himself.
"This whole attack was a fool's errand, Primarch."
Samaellus's mandibles went slack in amazement.
"What we assumed to be a rogue faction are actually a coalition of three species, with technology surpassing our own. They killed two thirds of a legion before they even set foot on the planet, targeted the troopships with a ballistic missile attack. The Shield of the Hierarchy was crippled in the same attack. They then attacked our landers while they were returning to the troopships with atmospheric aircraft, trapping the remainder of our ground forces on the planet."
The Primarch held up a hand, looking stunned.
"Atmospheric aircraft? What were their casualties?"
"None, sir."
"None!"
The Admiral clicked his mandibles together and rubbed his fringe.
"Their stealth technology is centuries ahead even of the Salarians. Their military aircraft, ground vehicles and in some cases their soldiers are quite literally invisible."
"What are our ground casualties?"
"Including the losses we took when they hit our troopships, forty thousand men."
Samaellus was at a loss for words. An entire legion!
"What grade of punitive bombardment have you initiated?"
"None, sir."
"Why the Spirits not?"
"Because we're allied with them now."
It was very rare that something could make Admiral Kaius Vargas squirm. Primarch Samaellus was accomplishing this feat admirably.
"Excuse my unprofessionalism, Admiral, but what the fuck are you doing over there?"
"A species hostile to the defenders of the planet released a biological weapon. With my men trapped on the ground, we were forced into a truce in order to combat the greater threat."
"So presumably once you have eliminated this bioweapon the invasion will recommence?"
At this point Vargas looked like he was working up courage.
"Admiral?"
"Primarch, I request permission to open negotiations for an alliance between the Turian Hierarchy and the following parties: United States of America, United Soviet Socialist Republics, Raachok Union and the Atavira nations of Emaris, Haeli, Maraliu and Kesla."
"What?"
If the Primarch didn't know better he would think Vargas had a note of pleading in his voice.
"Primarch, they've sent their soldiers to stand beside ours and defend our camp. Their medics have ran themselves into the ground saving the lives of our wounded soldiers. They revealed the location of their stealth gunships in order to save our men from being overwhelmed in the first wave of attacks. They're trusting us. If we betray that trust, we lose any chance of gaining access to their technology and resources."
"Except through conquest."
The Admiral felt a spark of anger in his chest but kept his voice level.
"This planet alone has claimed a full legion so far. The death toll of an invasion for our forces would be astronomical."
Samaellus leaned back in his seat, looking at the image of Vargas with a pensive expression.
"You really think it is the best option?"
"Yes Primarch, I do."
"Very well. Permission granted."
###
"I'll feel like a damn stripper in this getup."
Beyogi chuckled at Ayi's grumbling.
"Trust me, if this didn't make me invisible I wouldn't be touching it either. But it does, so I am. We've got a job to do."
She grunted in agreement and started stripping off her armour. The process of making an organic life form fully stealth capable was a long and complex one. First a chemical shower to remove all traces of scent from their bodies, then a sprayed on layer to prevent the shedding of DNA material and finally the very, very skintight stealth shroud itself went on.
Finally she sealed up the seam at the front of the stealth shroud, the nanoreactive material folding over to hide the small break as she glanced over at Beyogi. Even without the stealth field active the material was difficult to look at, almost feeling slippery to the eye as her gaze kept sliding off to fix on something more solid.
"That is some weird stuff."
Beyogi glanced down at herself, then at Ayi.
"Remember that time I said I hate stealth shrouds?"
"Which one?"
The sisters shared a laugh as they headed out of the tent and to the assembly area.
###
"Come on Adam, he barely broke atmo and Gagarin beat him by a couple of months."
"True, but Gagarin didn't go on to command the construction of our first permanent moon base."
"Oh, come on. Gagarin was the commander of the first Soviet orbital shipyard."
"Did Gagarin's great granddaughter invent the hyper-relativity motor?"
"Ah, come on. That doesn't count, it wasn't him."
Carissa leaned over to Yiiyal.
"What are they arguing about?"
The Raachok glanced at them and chuckled.
"Those two? Oh, they're just having another round of Shepard vs. Gagarin."
Carissa looked blank.
"Yuri Gagarin was the first Russian in space, and is Radim's wife's direct ancestor. Alan Shepard was the first American in space and is Adam's direct ancestor. The two of them are constantly bitching over who's better."
After a moment she worked through her confusion enough to ask.
"Why?"
Yiiyal shrugged again.
"I've known Radim since I was six years old and I still don't understand that man. Humans are a confusing species, you'll find."
The transport started to decelerate, the stealth shroud concealing the steady throbbing of the twin aerofans holding the ship aloft but having the effect of magnifying the sound inside the craft, trading silence on the outside for a constant head pounding assault of sound on the inside. The pilot yelled back to them.
"Alright, hats on kiddies. We're almost at the playground."
Fighting down her confusion at the pilot's mannerisms, Carissa pulled the stealth shroud's hood over her head, then the mask over her face, sealing it at her neck. For a split second the shroud blocked out all light before a HUD appeared before her, her allies outlined in a green wire mesh. As the most experienced at fighting Chryssachae, Jonjaim was in command of the operation and he stood at the drop point, gesturing at the weapons.
"Make sure your weapons are stealthed before you put them on your racks. A bunch of rifles floating in midair will make the Chryssachae a mite suspicious. Remember, the stealth shrouds will block out all sounds coming from inside the shroud but they won't hide your footsteps so tread carefully. We'll exit the top hatch, then run along the top of the transport and drop down from the tail. Do not go within the red zones on your HUD. If you do you'll get sucked into the aerofan and turned into bolognese. Green is good, red is bad, for the benefit of our Turian friends. Remember, our objective is to wound the Queen but leave her alive and functional. One final thing, we're stealthing in and slaughtering out. When we're making a sneaky sneak don't kill anything unless you absolutely have to. The Chryssachae are mind linked so if one dies they all know about it. Any questions?"
Saren was the first to speak up.
"What does the Queen look like?"
"Like a regular Chryssachae but very, very big."
"So why are we trying to wound not kill?"
"If we wound the Queen every single Chryssachae on the planet will come running to protect her. Then your Admiral up in his fancy spaceship can drop rocks on her head and take out every damn one of them. If we kill the Queen they scatter, another one mutates into a Queen and we're back to square one."
Nobody else had a question.
"Okay, let's go."
The Raachok crouched down, boosting each team member up in turn, then leaping up himself.
"Everyone, stealth up."
With a collection of shimmers in the air, the team engaged their stealth, each one disappearing from Carissa's HUD to be replaced by a green wire frame.
"Keltik, I can still see your shotgun."
He nodded thanks to her and tapped it, the weapon disappearing a moment later.
"Move out."
Rappelling off an invisible gunship using an invisible rope while invisible with three newly discovered alien species - if somebody had told Carissa she'd be doing this ten days ago she would have run a tox screen for hallucinogens.
"Everyone good?"
She let go of her death grip on the rope, thankful that the stealth shroud had blocked her terrified scream.
"Mikhail, this is Jonjaim. Infiltration team is now on the ground. Preparing to breach the hive."
"Copy that, Jonjaim. Good luck and Godspeed."
Jonjaim toggled the comm link and waved them onwards, coming to the entrance of the tunnel.
"We only get one shot at this. If a Chryssachae detects you, run like hell for the dropship and the rest of us will push on. And remember, the lives of every sentient being on the planet depend on our success here."
"So no pressure then."
The wire frame figure of Radim reached over and cuffed the wire frame figure of Adam round the head.
"Ow!"
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
They started to descend into the tunnel, the stealth shroud blocking the pounding of Carissa's heart from the outside world but magnifying it in her ears until it held the fury of a war drum.
###
"Infiltration team have entered the tunnels."
Corsev sat down heavily on the edge of the table, trying to conceal his nervousness from the Turian admiral.
"Their fates are out of our hands now."
He glanced back at Vargas.
"I know. I still don't like sending them into what's likely a suicide mission."
"Peace, Mikhail. Trust in your men."
"So what's going to happen once we're done with the Chryssachae? Back to being enemies?"
"Actually no. My superiors have agreed to allow me to open negotiations for a peaceful alliance between our peoples."
Corsev raised one eyebrow.
"Boys?"
A disembodied voice spoke up from beside the General.
"No deception sir."
"Stand down."
As the twelve Spetsnaz commandoes destealthed in the bridge and holstered their rifles, Vargas wasn't sure whether he was angry or amused.
###
The ten infiltrators were sneaking through the winding tunnels dug by the Chryssachae, their footfalls almost silent yet impossibly loud in their heads. Every sound one of them made was enough to make them freeze, looking around desperately for any sign of approaching Chryssachae. But none appeared every time.
"This is too easy. Where are all the bugs?"
Ayi agreed with Aisard. So far they hadn't come across a single Chryssachae.
"Speak of the devil ..."
The chittering and clicking of clawed feet preceded the group of four Chryssachae. The infiltration squad stopped short, pressing themselves against the walls of the tunnel just in time to avoid the scuttling creatures as they passed them by.
"That was close. Everyone stay sharp."
They detached themselves from the wall and pressed on.
It took a good twenty minutes for them to fully infiltrate through to the central chamber, formed from a natural cave enlarged by thousands of razor sharp claws. They immediately fanned out, checking over their local area and ensuring they could secure it. Then Aisard looked up.
"Spirits of air and darkness ..."
They all knew the Queen would be big. None of them had realised exactly how big. The monstrous creature was at least four storeys tall.
"So what's the plan?"
###
"Councillor Luceius. We need to talk."
The Turian turned around and quirked a mandible at Councillor Ikksi.
"How may I be of assistance?"
"Why have you sent an invasion fleet to Relay 314?"
"Hmm? Invasion fleet? I hardly think so. A task force for a police action against a rogue element attempting to tamper with the Relay, that's all."
The Salarian woman crossed her arms.
"Don't play games with me, Luceius. We both know six dreadnoughts and two legions under Admiral Kaius Vargas is hardly a 'task force'."
"We're unsure of the disposition of the base of these rogues. The Primarch elected to strike with overwhelming force to secure a quick pacification."
"Forgive me if I don't believe you."
"Of course. I understand completely. The STG does instil a fair amount of ... caution in its alumni."
She let the barb pass.
"There is a difference between caution and paranoia."
"Of course, of course. Don't worry about it. The Hierarchy has this in hand."
###
"Gah! Son of a Krogan-fucking shadow spirit!"
Saren ducked the flailing claws of a Chryssachae and punched out with his cybernetic arm, slamming his hand through the throat of the offending bug.
"Whose idea was this!"
The enraged shrieks of the Queen echoed up the passageway behind them as they desperately shot, blew and hacked through the wall of black chitin bearing down on them in the opposite direction. Beside him, Adam Shepard's Mjolnir mass accelerator cannon roared, hardened shell ripping through the swarm.
"I can see daylight!"
At the shout, the squad redoubled their attacks, the two Atavira at the front coated in turquoise gore as their axes rose and fell, each blow splitting shell and flesh. They were going to make it.
###
"We're clear! Fire!"
The last of the Chryssachae swarmed into the underground lair, clustering up to defend their Queen, as the transponder signals for the infiltration team crossed the blue line indicating the maximum blast radius of the dreadnought's main cannon. Vargas was thrilled to see seven transponders still functioning.
"Bridge to gunnery. Execute firing solution one."
The dreadnought's main gun spat three shards of hyperaccelerated metal at the rampant bioweapons. That was all they needed.
###
Adam Shepard. Radim Alenko. Yiiyal-Hcachavu. Three soldiers sacrificed to save a planet. For a general that would be acceptable losses. For a medic, every life lost was a failure. Carissa pressed her hands to the sides of her face to stop the quivering of her mandibles as the dropship soared back to the Turian beachhead camp, the cheering over the comm not breaching the somber mood in the cabin of the transport. One of the Atavira - Ayi, she thought - had placed a metal ring on each vacant seat. Some way of marking the dead, she assumed. However much good it did.
###
On the edge of the system a faint flicker in space. Power hungry energy sinks sucked in the customary blaze of exotic particles as warships of varying size and shape slipped into existence unnoticed. Only the Union had the technology to make anything bigger than a destroyer invisible, but that didn't mean the fleets couldn't be damn quiet as they slowly slipped through the system, prowling up to the as yet unsuspecting Turian warships.
On the bridge of the Yorktown, Rear Admiral Hackett frowned at his display.
"Sir. Looks like the hostiles initiated a bombardment with their primary cruiser. Three mass accelerator strikes, grouped very closely."
"Target?"
"No stationary targets in the area. Probably orbital fire support."
"No matter. Prepare the mass catapults, launch squadrons 1 through 8 Pyros and 1 through 4 Vortexes."
"Affirmative sir. Fighters and gunboats scrambling."
"Instruct the armada to launch half their strike complement."
The fighter control officer turned to him with a wry grin.
"Gunboat diplomacy, sir?"
"The best kind."