The Dragonsong2795 Archive

by Dragonsong2795

Please read the first chapter for a Summary. In short, a complete copy of all of my stories as up to date as possible.

61. DA XCME

X-Com/Mass Effect (Earlier this Year)

X-Com: Mass Effect

Prologue

Fall from Grace

'Those who play with the Devil's Toys, will be brought by degrees to wield his sword'

Buckminster Fuller

Temple Ship Bridge, 21st December 2015 'Operation AVENGER'

BANG

A solitary gunshot rings out, the Uber Ethereal falls back with a bullet hole right in the center of its chest. The shooter a woman with long red hair and green eyes dressed in Psi armor turns to her companion while the rest of the assault squad sigh in relief. "You see 'Apollo' I told you that having my old MX-12 would come in handy"

Her companion, the man nicknamed 'Apollo' raises one his right eyebrow in amusement, he is around six foot with white hair (Even though he's only 25) and blue eyes. "I never doubted you for a second 'Artemis' but what I believe I said was that it would be ineffective against most of the higher tier X-Coms due to their armor"

'Artemis' shakes her head in disbelief "You always have an answer to everything I say don't you?"

'Apollo' chuckles "Occasionally, sometimes I don't bother to rise to the occasion" 'Artemis' frowns at the light jab to a night a few months ago when she'd gotten more than a little tipsy.

A member of the assault squad (and 'Artemis ' and 'Apollo's personal squad), a woman with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes, pipes up "Hey Commander, XO. Stop messing around, let's get out of here, this place gives me the creeps"

A dark chuckle interrupts the commander's response. The entire assault squad turns and looks in horror at the Uber Ethereal which is once again floating in the air "Do you think 'New One' that this is the end, my race may die here, but we will not leave yours unscathed" A massive pulse of Psionic energy blasts from the Uber Ethereal, behind him numerous holographic screens appear as the sound of something charging up resonates through the Temple Ship. "Your race is powerful, let us see if it can survive this change!" A massive energy pulse explodes from the ship, flooding the assault squad with foreign energy knocking them all out except for 'Artemis' and 'Apollo'

"What have you done?" 'Artemis' screams at the Uber Ethereal.

The Uber Ethereal laughs with dark intent "I have set the way for the dawn of a new race, and you! You the 'New One' will be the Queen, your Gift will and is resonating through your new people, hail the new queen. As I once slew the rulers that changed my people against their will, so have you slain me. Enjoy your hollow victory" The Uber Ethereal then shudders before disintegrating in a vibrant display of Psionic energy, that strikes 'Artemis' and 'Apollo'

From the bottom of the Temple Ship a vast beam of Psionic energy blasts out and strikes the Earth, in that moment everything changed.

"Two possibilities exist:

Either we are alone in the Universe

or we are not.

Both are equally terrifying."

Arthur C. Clarke

Chapter 1

Rising from the Ashes

Temple Ship Bridge, 22nd December 2015, Operation AVENGER Aftermath

Colonel Suzanne 'Susan' Shepard, more commonly known as 'Artemis' slowly wakes from the dark sleep she had been forced into after the Uber Ethereal unleashed his/its final surprise. She turns to look at her XO and gasps in surprise (and arousal to her confusion) at the thin scales now extending from the end of his eyebrows, curling around his eyes and ending at his tear ducts. His barely visible neck has what looks like silvery chitin plating similar to what the Chryssalid had covering their bodies. She shakes her head at the slight murmuring that she can hear in the background

Before she can do anything her radio bursts into life "Commander Shepard, this is HQ do you read me?" the voice of the X-Com commander Steven Hackett bursts into her earpiece.

Shepard lifts a hand to her earpiece and responds "This is Shepard, I read you HQ" Shepard's eyes burst open as a terrifying thought occurs to her "HQ, what happened with-"

A sigh burst over the comms before she can finish "It's bad Shepard, really bad. According to our best intelligence, only three percent of Humanity is still alive. To add on to that, the Uber Ethereal did something to us. Humanity has changed, and we aren't sure if it is good or not. Get your squad back here ASAP, 'Joker' has been waiting for confirmation of your survival for nearly six hours"

"Roger that, Shepard out" Shepard then slowly gets to her feet, then her head snaps to the side as she hears a groan.

Mikhail 'Apollo' Volkov slowly gets to his feet, as Shepard's XO he is the second 'most tough ass bastard in the squad' (His own words, but they're often repeated by everyone familiar with Alpha Squad) he shakes his head to get rid of the lingering vestiges of unconsciousness, he can hear a slight murmuring and can hear/feel/see? Relief… and arousal? Before Mikhail can do more than straighten up and smile at Shepard, he is assaulted, by Shepard. She wraps her arms around him and then as if possessed kisses him full on the lips. With the way things are going Mikhail wouldn't b surprised if she wasn't about to become more… intimate right then and there. But before such a thing can happen a loud "COMMANDER" rings out from Ashley 'Hera' Williams.

Snapped out of her sudden aroused state Shepard's eyes widen as she realizes what happened and then she blushes and stutters out "S-s-sorry, M-m-Mikhail. I-I don't k-know what c-came over m-me"

Mikhail is rendered speechless however another member of the squad Kaiden 'Hermes' Alenko isn't and he speaks up "I don't know commander, it looked pretty obvious what you were trying to do" Kaiden then chuckles "I was enjoying the show until 'Hera' decided to break it up"

Mikhail shakes out of his daze while Shepard blushes even deeper "Alenko, you're a bloody pervert"

Alenko shakes his head rapidly "No I'm not, I've just got a healthy appreciation for intimacy"

As one Mikhail, Shepard and Ashley deadpan with "That's a Pervert"

Alenko sighs "Nobody will take my side"

A slightly French accented voice speaks up with "Because we all know your side is the wrong side Branleur" Annette 'Athena' Durand shakes her head while groaning "Damn, I've got the mother of all headaches"

Alenko shakes his head in confusion "What does… whatever you called me even mean?"

Mikhail snorts in amusement "She called you a wanker pretty much"

Alenko looks confused "A what?"

Mikhail shakes his head in exasperation "I forgot you're a Yank, she said you have a healthy relationship with your right hand… probably because no real woman can stand that dark tortured Emo style you favor"

Before Alenko can respond the last member of Alpha squad speaks up "While this is interesting and all, maybe we should be heading back to base?"

Shepard nods "You're right, just let me do something"

Durand snorts in amusement "No you cannot rape your XO"

Mikhail pales somewhat when Shepard replies with "I wasn't planning to… right now anyway" Shepard then blushes again and shakes her head violently as if trying to clear her thoughts by force. Shepard then takes a deep breath and recomposes herself.

Shepard walks over to the command console of the Temple Ship and seems to almost link with it. The squad feels the ship start to move slightly "There, within the next six hours this ship will park itself in geosynchronous orbit over HQ. Now let's get going"

Alpha Squad quickly makes its way to the hanger bay where the Skyranger is waiting. As they approach the pilot activates the Comms "About time you guys got here"

Mikhail laughs "What are you complaining about Joker, you get paid extra every moment you're outside the Hive"

Joker laughs as well "You're right 'Apollo' I forgot about that, at least I now have something to look forwards to. By the way the Commander's been on the horn wondering why the Temple Ship is on its way to the Hive, I was kind enough not to relay these messages to you guys. Anyways let's get going, and do any of you know why we now have scales and this hard stuff?" Mikhail shakes his head at the sound of joker knocking on the chitin that now covers his neck.

The Squad hops in the Skyranger and Joker takes off heading back across the void between Earth and the Temple Ship towards the Hive.

They slow down on final approach to the Hive, Mikhail turns to Shepard and says "Do you know anything about what that Uber Ethereal was ranting about?"

The rest of the squad quickly go silent as they hear Mikhail's question, Shepard shakes her head "I've got no idea, but it almost sounds like the Ethereal's people were invaded just like we were. Did they also rise up and fight like we did? Are we just repeating history?"

Mikhail shakes his head "No we aren't, because we won't do what the Ethereal's did, we won't become the monster we fought. They once said 'Those who gaze into the Abyss should beware, for as they look into the Abyss, so does the Abyss look into them' We gazed into the Abyss, we stole its power and its technology. But, but we never forgot who and more importantly What we are. We are Human, we are separate yet similar, we are one species with many races. We are shattered, yet cohesive. Violent, yet peaceful. Arrogant, but humble. Warriors and scholars. The Ethereal's saw the Universe in black and white, they saw each being as good at one thing and one thing only, and that lead to their defeat. They couldn't imagine us being warriors capable of fighting them, yet at the same scholars wise enough to not only crack the secrets of their technology but also improve it with our own twists. So don't worry Shepard, you won't go down the path that those Ethereal's did, at the very least I and this whole squad will be there to knock sense back into you" Mikhail turns to face Shepard with belief in what he is saying evident in his entire being.

Shepard smiles at Mikhail and opens her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the Commander Hackett "That's a very wise speech you made Colonel. I hope that in the coming days we can remember it"

Mikhail jerks in surprise "Commander you were listening to my speech?"

A laugh comes over the Comms "Joker heard you starting up and opened up the Comms to HQ, everyone here heard it. I think I speak for all of us when I say, thank you. I think a lot of the people here needed to hear what you said. Now more than ever with what has happened to Humanity. We haven't been able to study it too much but according to doctor Vahlen, we aren't Homo Sapiens, Sapiens anymore, but something new, something different"

Commander Hackett's voice cuts out and the voice of the Research department's head Doctor Laura Vahlen comes over the Comms "Alpha Squad, we appear to be a new species altogether, however around ninety percent of our DNA still corresponds to what could be considered the average 'Human' that is as the Commander said 'Homo Sapiens – Sapiens' but due to whatever the 'Uber Ethereal' did, we now have Reptilian and Insectoid traits. Mainly the scales on our faces , hands and feet and the chitinous armor on our torsos, upper arms, upper legs and around our neck. More alarming is the fact that according to the DNA scans I've ran on the surviving staff, none of us are fertile anymore"

Shepard immediately picks that one up "Could the Ethereal's have sterilized Humanity?"

Vahlen pauses for a moment, Mikhail wonders if she is shaking or nodding her head, before answering "No Commander Shepard, from what I've read of the DNA profiles, what I have been able to gather in such a short time anyways, Humanity is now has castes similar to a hive insect, for example bees or ants. It is simply that there are no 'Queens' on the X-Com staff present in the HQ"

Shepard stiffens up "Queens? That's what the Uber Ethereal called me, he said 'You the "New One" will be the Queen' c-could that be what he meant?"

Vahlen pauses once more and a low murmuring is heard "It is possible, according to our tests none of the non-reproductive castes can feel aroused or attracted to others. Have you had any of these feelings?"

Blushing furiously Shepard looks unable to answer so Mikhail does "I would say yes, Shepard seemed to be over amorous towards me after I awoke and alerted her to my presence, she seemed uncaring over anything regarding modesty until Colonel Williams distracted her long enough for her to realize what was happening. Then she reverted to a normal societal response to such a situation" Shepard glares at him while blushing.

Vahlen pauses once more and then almost seems giddy "Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately there is only one way to test whether or not this is an isolated incident"

Mikhail sighs before answering "Although I am reluctant to answer the obvious reply to that, I would imagine that letting copulation happen would be the only sure-fire way to test any theories on the subject" Shepard almost goes nuclear with the blush on her face. But she doesn't appear all too unhappy with what the two are implying.

Vahlen sighs and then her voice is heard with a great weariness to it "Unfortunately you are right XO Volkov, ultimately however the test is up to Commander Shepard, we cannot force her to do anything that she doesn't want to. However Commander I urge you to try, despite whatever personal feelings you may have, and I couldn't imagine you don't have any on this subject, we need to know whether or not you can procreate, because if you can't and no-one else can it will be the extinction of Humanity"

Shepard sighs "I… understand" she turns to Mikhail and opens her mouth to say something but he preempts her

"I will help, you won't be the only one to shoulder this burden Susan. It wouldn't be far on you for that to happen. I just wish we could have had dinner first though" Mikhail grins rakishly with the last sentence and Alpha squad starts to laugh, he can also hear Joker cracking up in the cockpit and Vahlen laughing over the Comms.

Shepard just smiles and nods "Thanks"

Vahlen then adds her two cents "Yes thank you XO Volkov, I am afraid we needed that laughter more then we will admit"

The Skyranger arrives over the X-Com HQ and then slowly descends into the X-Com HQ Hanger.

X-C:ME

X-Com Research Report 17th June 2016

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Jack Pattillo.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION.

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED.

Human Species-wide Genetic Alteration Research.

Project Codename: Fallen Angel

On December 21st at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the leader of the Extraterrestrial invasion the Ethereal codenamed as the 'Uber Ethereal' launched a incredibly powerful Psionic waveform that blanketed the entire planet. Over ninety percent of Humanity died as a result of this action, the remaining survivors appear to have been genetically altered to such a degree that they can no longer be called Homo Sapiens – Sapiens, while the extent of the change hasn't been fully recorded yet, we have decided to call the new species Homo Sapiens – Novus, while Novus has many meanings I believe that one of them 'Unprecedented' is a good description of what has happened to Humanity.

Upon deeper DNA testing and internal scans we have been able to ascertain the following, first. Humanity is no longer solely Mammalian, we now also have Reptilian and Insectoid traits coming to the forefront. Primarily a exoskeleton that now covers our torso, upper legs and arms and goes around our neck, but still has an endoskeleton inside helping support the body far more than either could alone. Where the exoskeleton does not cover with the exception of the pelvic region are scales like one would see on a snake, however these scales appear to have a high iron content to them, hence their slightly reflective qualities, it also accounts for the increase in desire for red meat. The pelvic region and genitalia along with parts of the face only have epidermis (skin), however testing shows that the epidermis is much more resilient than the average Homo Sapiens. Addendum, Homo Novus appears to have a more carnivorous take on our dietary requirements with each meal needing to be at least thirty percent meat in order to support our new bodies. However upon consuming a meal, it was observed that a Homo Novus only needs to eat once every ninety-six hours or once every four days, consequently the average food requirements for a Homo Novus is a twelfth that of Homo Sapiens, if our population were to ever grow to the same levels are previously recorded it is feasible that the Earth can support far more Homo Novus then it ever could Homo Sapiens. A subsequent check shows that in extreme conditions, a Homo Novus can go up to three months without food if required, however for optimal growth a Homo Novus that is exercising in a attempt to grow muscles or is recovering from a severe injury or illness should eat at least one kilogram of red meat every forty-eight hours or two hundred and fifty grams every twelve hours. A growing Homo Novus however needs to eat quite regularly, as often as twice every twenty-four hours, they also need more calcium in their diets to develop their chitinous armor. A pregnant Homo Novus Queen or High Queen (Explained below) requires nearly twice their weight in food every twelve hours if they are breeding 'drones' or their own weight in food once every twenty-four hours for 'sentients', 'sub-royalty' and (assumedly) 'royalty'

However one of the most important changes and the one most likely to affect our society is the addition of Insectoid castes, that is to say Humanity now appears to have castes similar to certain types of insect. For those unaware I will now give a simple rundown of castes. A caste is almost a sub-species within a species that is more focused towards a certain task or type of task. For example ants have three main castes, workers, soldiers and 'royalty' the workers perform tasks like scouting, construction, tending the young, food gathering and feeding the Queen. The soldiers defend the colony and its gatherers, and the royalty reproduce for lack of a better term. Humanity now appears to have this system, at the current moment four castes are known or speculated.

Royalty. Like Ants Humanity now has a 'High Queen' that will produce some of the children, upon an experiment that will be detailed in the following report. We discovered that the High Queen can either lay up to two hundred eggs that produce 'drone' type castes with a gestation period of a week or they can have a six month gestation period of a single 'sentient' type caste. It is speculated that the extra gestation time is required for the more complex neurological structures in the brain that allow higher functions like thought and self-awareness need extra time to form thus the extra gestation period compared to the eggs, it must be mentioned that the gestation period is still three months shorter than the average Homo Sapiens – Sapiens, it must also be mentioned that we have no idea of the length of the gestation period for a 'sub-royalty' or 'royalty' caste member. Until coupled with a partner of the opposite gender Royalty can be consider 'deactivated' and will seek out partners who have proven themselves as stronger and/or smarter than the rest, the partner for the High Queen has been named the 'Lord Consort'. The gestation period for a 'royalty' caste member is unknown, but judging by previous estimations for the 'sub-royalty' caste ten months is the estimated time.

The second caste is the Sub-Royalty, while the Sub-Royalty are almost identical in nature to the Royalty, these 'Queens' can only birth 'sentient' or 'drone' castes and without Psionic stimulation from the 'High Queen' are unable to birth other Sub-Royalty or Royalty. Current estimation shows around ten Queens are scattered over the world, three Europeans, three Asian, two South American, one Australian and one African. There are no North American Sub-Royalty but the 'High Queen' is North American. The partners of the Queens have been named 'Consorts' and appear to be subservient to the 'Lord Consort' however that may also be due to the fact that the 'Lord Consort' is military trained where as the consorts are all civilians. The gestation period for a 'sub-royalty' caste member is estimated to be around eight months, but like Homo Sapiens gestation there could be variations of plus or minus two weeks.

The third caste is the 'sentient' caste, this caste is further divided into sub-castes. Currently all adult humans are of this or the Royalty and Sub-Royalty castes. The 'sentients' are divided into what appears to be: intellectual, cultural, civic and militaristic. That is to say there are 'sentients' that are dedicated to intellectual pursuits such as myself it appears, they could be called the 'Scientists' of Homo Novus (Writing the full form of Homo Sapiens Novus is a bit tiring so I have shortened it) The next are the cultural 'sentients' who appear to focus on music, art and literature, basically they are the musicians, artist and writers of Humanity, interestingly there are no actors among their number that we have reported so far. The civic 'sentients' appear to be primarily farmers, miners and other base industry workers or engineers and architects, there doesn't appear to be any builders, but that might be due to the fact that would technically come under the aegis of a 'drone' caste. Finally the militaristic 'sentients' appear to be high level military officers or intelligence agents, from what I have observed numbers wise they make up over thirty percent of the current population. The militaristic 'sentients' would assumedly be the commanders of a military 'drone' caste. The gestation period for a 'sentient' caste member is around six months with a variance of plus or minus two weeks, however a militaristic sub-caste member takes around seven months, presumably due to the denser bone and muscle tissue of the sub-caste member.

The population breakdown of adult humans (which have been tallied following the event at three hundred million) following the Event is thirty percent militaristic 'sentients', forty percent civic 'sentients', twenty percent intellectual 'sentients', nine point ninety nine percent cultural 'sentients' and point zero one percent Royalty or Sub-Royalty. Now however there are also between 20,000 to 22,000 'drones'

The final caste is the 'drone' caste. The following facts are known about the 'drone' caste. First, the 'drone' class isn't sentient and wouldn't be able to survive without a 'sentient' caste member to issue orders. Second, the 'drone' caste is broken up into civic and military lines, or workers and soldiers. With the workers following the commands of the civic 'sentients' and the soldiers following the commands of the militaristic 'sentients' however this is all speculation. There are also nursemaid and handmaiden sub-castes that serve the Royalty and Sub-Royalty castes. The last fact is that like insects the 'drones' are infertile females, 'sentient' caste members appear to be either male or female at random like a Homo Sapiens conception. The gestation period for a 'drone' caste member is around a week, but they are born in vast clutches of 'eggs' the average amount is one hundred and fifty eggs for a 'sub-royalty' caste member and two hundred for a 'royalty' caste member.

Lastly we come to the final point of interest, with the successful awakening of the 'High Queen' (See following file) a Psionic network of sorts similar to the Ethereal's Hyperwave Network has connected all Humanity together in a 'Hive mind' with the 'High Queen' active it appears almost impossible for a Homo Novus to ignore her commands, however this appears to be dependent on the reason for the command, if the command is life or death of either the individual being commanded or the species as a whole the command cannot be ignored even by a 'sentient' caste member, however is the command is frivolous like asking someone to get them a drink a 'sentient' caste member can ignore the command, however it is possible a 'drone' caste member cannot. But that is only speculation.

End of Report

X-C:ME

Hackett sighs after reading the report, he then rubs his head to dispel some of the headache reading so many words is starting to give him, he liked the details Dr. Vahlen gave him don't get him wrong, but sometimes there is just so much to take in. Hackett then turns to the supplementary report, vividly remembering the comments and complaints from Shepard during that period.

X-C:ME

X-Com Research Report 17th June 2016

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: None

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION.

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED.

Homo Novus Royalty Caste Reproduction Research.

Project Codename: Genesis

At the request of the scientific staff, the suspected 'Queen' (Now known to be the 'High Queen') Suzanne Shepard initiated coitus with her chosen partner, her XO Mikhail Volkov. Upon completion of coitus, the act itself started a neurological chain reaction that awoke a portion of Commander Shepard's brain, this act caused a Psionic release that blanketed the planet and awoke the 'Hive Mind'

Afterwards internal scans showed Shepard to have conceived, however the growth pattern was far too quick for an average Homo Sapiens. Within a week of conception, Shepard began to lay 'eggs' to a number of 211 eggs. Each egg is about the size of a finger tip and has a glossy red exterior, within hours of being laid the eggs swelled to the size of an average Homo Sapiens six year old child. The shells then hardened before cracking and disgorged a 'drone' caste member what appeared to be a psychological age of six years old, unlike 'sentient' caste members the 'drone' caste members have an exoskeleton covering over ninety percent of their body with only their head uncovered. Within weeks the 'drone' caste members grew to an adult.

In the following days, Shepard conceived again however instead of being a 'drone' caste member it was an 'sentient' caste member. It took six months for the 'sentient' to gestate before being born, during which time Shepard displayed all the normal emotional responses for a pregnant Homo Sapiens, albeit slightly accelerated due to the shorter gestation period.

Personal note from Dr. Laura Vahlen: Commander, while as interesting as this research is. Perhaps the next series of experiments in this area should involve a less… aggressive subject then Alpha Squad Commander Shepard.

End of Report

X-C:ME

Hackett smiles briefly at the mention of Shepard's nature when pregnant, the only one who could get near her without being snapped at was Mikhail, even then he looked fairly haggard. Hackett then frowns in thought 'If the entire human race is connected in a Hive mind, why do we still put top secret and do not read at the front of all X-Com reports? Probably just habit, or maybe preparation in case we ever encounter another sentient extraterrestrial race'

Hackett leans back and thinks over the past six months, after Shepard initiated the Hive mind as they have come to call it, it became much easier to get a grasp of exactly how much devastation there was. Of a planet of around eight billion human beings, there were now three hundred million, six hundred and twenty two thousand, one hundred and three sentient human beings. Of course there was now between 20,000 to 22,000 drones thanks to the three European and Asian 'Queens' producing just 'drones' Shepard, had in the nature of equality commanded that each continent except North America have an equal number of 'Queens' so three of the other four 'Queens' were pregnant with 'Queens' and the last one was pregnant with a 'Consort'.

Hackett and Shepard had both worried over whether or not the fact that there was only eleven beings capable of reproducing on the planet would lead to genetic problems down the track, but according to Dr. Vahlen, the only thing the children inherited from their parents were looks and pheromone types, so inbreeding would cause absolutely no genetic degradation as it would have just six and a half months ago. Hackett still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least their race wasn't headed towards extinction through regression or inbreeding.

However on the upside they had begun to make significant strides in developing new technologies from the data aboard the Temple Ship. Most interesting however was the nature of the Extraterrestrials left alive onboard, when the Uber Ethereal self destructed all Chryssalids and 'Thin Men' died from the Psionic backlash, however the rest of the Extraterrestrials were left alive, upon discovery of them the explorers of the Temple Ship were amazed to discover that the remaining ETs were actually friendly to them. A quick check by Dr. Vahlen told them that the Sectoids, Mutons and the rest of the ETs were now linked to Humanity Psionically and therefore saw humans as their leaders and rulers, however she wasn't entirely sure and wanted to do a more in-depth study on this situation before committing herself to a answer. Despite Dr. Vahlen's inability to commit herself to an answer the current situation was extremely helpful as when some of the explorers got lost on the Temple Ship they were guided back to the rest by some Sectoids. Now all they had to do was ask a Sectoid Psionically or audibly to guide them to the places they wanted to see, it made exploring the vast ship much more expedient.

The Temple Ship has many miraculous devices, but the most interesting of these devices was the 'Nanoforge'. A five kilometer long, two kilometers wide and one and a half kilometers deep half-cylindrical depression filled with Nanobots, this machine was able to create several dozen Firestorms within seconds given the proper resources. Following on from that in the most interesting devices category would have to be the Meld manufactory and Alloy recombination centre, the Meld factory created massive amounts of Meld. Hackett briefly pauses to wonder over the implications of that and then shrugs, it wasn't something he would need to think about, even though he was currently the leader of humanity. Mainly because Shepard didn't want to handle the job, though she was still thought of by the entire human race now as the leader they all looked to, Hackett shudders 'Shepard in command of the entire human race, it might be better that she isn't interested in ruling'. Hackett sighs as he shakes his head clear of all the distracting thoughts and goes over the data in his terminal once more. He immediately notices a new research proposal from Dr. Vahlen.

X-C:ME

Research Proposal – Societal Reactions to a Massive Upheaval.

During the last six months a curious social phenomenon has been occurring, Humanity has started to group itself into clans, specifically clans based around each Queen, and the High Queen. I would like to do a more in-depth examination of this phenomenon to see if there will be any dangerous side effects to the stability of the proto-government that has formed in the wake of the 'Day of Death' as it is now being referred to.

This study shouldn't take more than a month, and it will provide invaluable information for the formation of a new permanent government.

Dr. Laura Vahlen.

X-C:ME

Hackett signs his approval immediately to the proposal, he had seen before how allowing potentially dangerous trends like this to fester has affected humanity. He then sighs as a message comes over the PA.

'Commander, a situation has developed, please report to the situation room'

X-C:ME

X-Com Situation Room, three minutes later.

"What is the problem?" Hackett asks as he strides in.

Bradford looks almost… constipated "Well sir, I can't believe this but… the proto-government has broken down, peacefully but they're requesting-"

Hackett frowns as Bradford stops "Yes, what are they requesting?"

Shepard, having been standing in the background, walks forwards and says "The people are requesting that I take over government and the job of leading Humanity"

Hackett despite the seriousness of the situation grins and says "Well then, hail the new queen?"

Shepard merely glares at him and stalks off, with Mikhail desperately holding in laugher and the rest of the room laughing loudly at Shepard's reaction. She may have been their High Queen and therefore bound to follow her till the end, but it didn't mean they couldn't make jokes at Shepard's expense.

X-C:ME

Council Codex Entry

Human Politics (Classified – Council or Government officials only)

Data Collected in 2167.

At the turn of the millennium for Humanity, in the Human year 2016, six months after a disastrous series of event completely changed humanity as they knew it. The Human government was replaced, by a council that answers to a mysterious 'High Queen', the name, nature or even basic appearance of this 'High Queen' has never been learned by any non-human. Despite the best attempts of the Salarian STG to observe said 'High Queen'.

Each council member is the best at whatever aspect of Humanity they represent, the places on the council are as follows:

High Queen (Chairwoman?)

Treasurer (also Councilor of Economics)

Military Leader (Vice-Chairman?)

Councilor of Agriculture

Councilor of Industry

Councilor of Growth

Councilor of Science

Councilor of Engineering

Councilor of Recreation

Councilor of Colonization

Councilor of Education

Councilor of Infrastructure

Councilor of Resources

Councilor of Space Exploration

Councilor of Civil Services

The council has been named by several humans as the Novellus Council, the meaning of this name is unknown.

It should be noted that the Human Government doesn't have a police force like other governments, when questioned about this anomaly the answer has always been 'Why would we need one?' this has often sparked debates over whether humanity either A. Does not have crime, or B. Does not have laws. Humanities Government has never provided an answer to this questions, but several humans have been seen refusing to do certain jobs as 'they are against our laws' indicates that A. is more likely.

Interestingly enough ancient records of Humanity not only has indications of peacekeeping forces and criminals, but also indications of a fractured society without central government as late as six months before the founding of the current government of Humanity. What event could possibly have caused such a radical change in Humanities society? Is it related to the constantly mentioned but never explained 'Day of Death'? For every question about Humanity that is answered, dozens, even hundreds of questions seem to appear, will the Council Races ever manage to answer these questions? Or perhaps the better question should be, are we ready to deal with the consequences of finding those answers?

Council Codex Entry End

X-C:ME

Shepard's private quarters, X-Com HQ.

'Do you all agree with my outline for the new government?' Shepard Psionically casts to all of Humanity.

'We do' came the unanimous vote of every sentient living human being older than twenty years of age.

Shepard nods to herself, although Mikhail sitting opposite her at her small table does. 'Then onto my next proposal, during the Invasion. Many lives were lost due to people not being able to fight against the invaders effectively. I would like to propose that from the age of twenty every human being must complete a year of military training and then nine years of military service, then those who are not of the military caste can continue into their chosen vocation or education, with the condition that they remain ready and able to fight at all times. Does anybody have any questions or objections?' Shepard sits almost rigidly hoping that they accept her proposal.

'Is humanity going to be more militaristic now?' comes a question from a Intellectual caste member. With Cultural caste members mentally echoing the question.

Shepard shakes her head 'No, but we will make sure that we are able to fight for peace should we have to. Also this way every person will know how to handle a gun and there should be less gun related accidents'

A moment of intense murmuring follows and then 'We agree with your proposal, Milady' Hackett's 'voice' comes to the fore 'Should I start setting up a staggered roster so that we don't have vital services cut off?'

Shepard nod her head in answer 'Please do, I would also like a form of FTL and starship to be worked on ASAP, we need to be able to scout out the surrounding interstellar space in case there is more surprises from the Ethereals to deal with'

Vahlen chimes in 'I'll get right on it commander'

Shepard opens her eyes which she had kept closed throughout the mental conversations and looks at Mikhail "Do you think I'm moving too fast?"

Mikhail shakes his head to indicate he doesn't "We were taken by surprise when the invasion started, even with X-Com existing already. We can't afford to let our guards down. However the pace of advancement now lies with your choices Susan. You will set the pace for humanity, and humanity will follow their 'High Queen' wherever you lead"

Shepard looks off towards a wall mounted screen showing images of the state of all major cities following the 'Day of Death' "I can only hope that my lead isn't into damnation"

Mikhail stands up and walks around the table, he then engulfs Shepard in a hug "No matter what, mankind will follow you. So don't panic and worry, you have advisors to warn you of potential mistakes and me to keep you grounded, as I said before, I won't let you become a monster like those Ethereals. 'Vigilo Confido' vigilance and trust, trust my vigilance to keep you human"

Shepard snorts with amusement "We definitely succeeded in following 'Mutare ad Custodiam' then didn't we"

Mikhail laughs "I guess in a way we did, but don't tell Dr. Vahlen that" Shepard snorts trying to hold in somewhat hysterical laughter, her tiredness making the joke seem funnier than it actually is. Mikhail grins but then shakes his head "Come on, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep"

Shepard nods in agreement "Yeah, you're right" Just before she falls asleep Shepard has a thought and voices it "Did you know about those clans people are talking about?"

Mikhail just shrugs, he hadn't noticed the chatter all that much.

X-C:ME

Human Codex Entry,

Clans of Humanity,

Data Collected in 2016

Written by Dr. Laura Vahlen with the assistance of Doctors Gavin Free and Michael Jones.

Following the massive upheaval created by the events of the 'Day of Death' humanity began to fracture into 'clans' based around each Queen. The clans are varied in nature and inevitably they fall into one of six archetypes, these are:

The Militaristic Clan which almost entirely consists of Militaristic and Solider sub-castes.

The Scientific Clan which consists mostly of Intellectual sub-caste members with some Militaristic and Civic caste members scattered around.

The Cultural Clan which consists mostly Cultural sub-caste members with some Civic caste members.

The Diplomatic Clan almost consists entirely of Cultural sub-caste members with some Militaristic and Civic sub-caste members present.

The Worker Clan which consists mostly of Civic sentient sub-castes.

The Spacer Clan which are clans have expressed an interest in living in space rather than on a planet.

Of course there are clans that are a mixture of several or even all of these traits. The most well known clan is the Shepard Clan, which is the largest clan and is the personal clan of the High Queen herself. Members of this clan tend to be more than others, they strive to prove they are the best of the best and have never failed in this regard. To put it in more simple terms they are the Special Forces, Einsteins and Michelangelos of modern times.

The official Clan roster is kept in the most secure archives often with dozens of defenses both physical and cyber to protect the data within.

The following are the original founding clans (according to the online and Psionic forums)

Shepard Clan

Takahashi Clan

Bai Clan

Megat Clan

Beaumont Clan

Campana Clan

Vasile Clan

Afolayan Clan

Reynolds Clan

López Clan

Ramos Clan

Named for the Queen or High Queen that rules the clan, each clan looks first to their Queen and then to the High Queen (With the exception of the High Queen's clan) Each clan has a position on the Novellus Council (Taken by the Queen) and may not influence another council member even if they are of the same clan.

Human Codex Entry End

X-C:ME

Project: Iron Maiden

X-Com Research Report 27th June 2016

Head Researcher: Councilor Raymond Shen

Team Leader/s: Councilor Laura Vahlen, Dr. Julia Picard, Dr. Gavin Free

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Mechanized Exoskeleton Cybersuit Specialized Drone Research.

Project Codename: Iron Maiden

Following the Event, it was discovered that no MEC Troopers survived the Psionic wave, this strange event was pondered on for a while due to the fact that every other X-Com Personnel survived. Upon deeper scans the reason became apparent, the MEC Trooper's cybernetic implants in the brain caused a short when mixed with the Homo Novus physiology, we have adjusted the technology in order to adapt to this discrepancy. Militaristic 'sentient' caste member David Lenore, agreed to be the trial subject for a new range of MEC Trooper cybernetic enhancements, the test was a resounding success. Now however we have started to look at the long term. The MEC Troopers represent a significant boost to our military strength that we cannot afford to have tempered by a lack of volunteers. Due to this we have decided to see if a 'Queen' can create a specific type of 'drone' with only minimal information.

The first attempt was by Miko Takahashi, the eldest Asian 'Queen' she created twenty 'drones' that appeared to be for the military sub-type, but upon closer inspection were seen to have been adapted to be more accepting of the MEC Trooper cybernetics. These 'drones' codenamed 'MEC Drones' have quickly adapted to being inside the MECs, they appear to be more comfortable inside the MECs then outside and only leave to eat or relieve themselves, they actually seem to prefer sleeping inside the MECs or other enclosed spaces, this seems to be a inbred agoraphobia (Fear of Open Spaces) that is mitigated when they are inside the MECs. We assume that they will also do well inside the enclosed designs of starships as well, even with windows. We tested this theory using a common sedan car and the Skyranger and they were perfectly fine.

In order to fit in with the new nature of humanity we have recreated a new series of MECs using the MEC-3 'Paladin' as a base. These are the MEC-4a 'Honor Guard' with extra armor and a more refined look to act as guardians for the 'Queens' usable by either Cybernetically Augmented 'sentients' or MEC Drones, the MEC-4b 'Praetors' for the use of the Cybernetically Augmented 'sentients', it comes with an advanced communications system and heavier armoring then the following MEC. The MEC-4c 'Legionnaire' for the MEC Drones, lighter then the MEC-4b this MEC can be created in large numbers due to its simple design and low resource cost compared to other MECs currently available. And finally the MEC-4d 'Praetorian' which is using some experimental Psionic shielding based off of Mechtoid technology that has been observed by soldiers in the field and found on the Temple Ship. As well as an experimental MEC weapon, a MEC wielded Fusion Lance known as the 'Dragon Fire'

Personal note from Dr. Raymond Shen: During this research we have discovered new possibilities for MEC enhancements, we will keep you advised on any future developments Commander.

End of Report.

MEC Drones now available for breeding.

Drone Cybernetic Augments now available in the Cybernetics Lab.

MEC-4a 'Honor Guard' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab

MEC-4b 'Praetor' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab

MEC-4c 'Legionnaire' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab

MEC-4d 'Praetorian' now available for construction in the Cybernetics Lab

MEC Weapon 'Dragon's Fire' Fusion Lance now available in the Foundry

X-C:ME

Project: Mercury

X-Com Research Report 15th November 2016

Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood.

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Inertial Dampening, Artificial Gravity and Inter-Atmospheric Hovering Research.

Project Codename: Mercury

Hyperwave technology is more versatile than first thought, we can do things with it thought impossible just a year ago, while we haven't yet cracked FTL, we have created a way to dump excess inertia into the so-called 'sub-space' we have discovered that by linking a Hyperwave beacon to the hull we can absorb the inertia of the starship. It must be linked to the navigation and helm to prevent it from absorbing intended actions such as moving the ship, however it is very functional and easy to implement.

It also has the effect of allowing vessels to 'hover' in atmosphere without problems as the effect of gravity appears to be treated the same as inertia, that is to say absorbed and dumped into 'sub-space' Or it can be channeled into plates at the bottom of the ship to provide artificial gravity (Note, when outside of a planet's gravity well excess inertia or energy from 'sub-space' is used to create the AG effect)

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Vesta

X-Com Research Report 1st December 2016

Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Councilor Raymond Shen.

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Hyperwave FTL and Scout Starship Research.

Project Codename: Vesta

We have done it, we have figured out the Ethereal Hyperwave FTL. A FTL Hyperwave drive wraps the vessel in a bubble of Sub-space created by Hyperwave manipulation. This bubble simultaneously launches the ship forwards at FTL speeds and also prevents any relativistic effects from such an action. The bubble also can slow the ship down from superluminal to sub-luminal within 0.01 milliseconds without any inertial stress or damage to the vessel or occupants.

Humanity now has the power to traverse to the stars.

To facilitate the High Queen's other request we have designed and created a vessel codenamed Prowler, while the vessel is fairly small (Only a hundred meters in length) it still has empty areas within where we are planning on adding stealth equipment, currently it has a black paint and strategically placed lights to allow it to masquerade as a spot of empty space, thermal energy collection devices in the hull hides the heat created by the Prowlers reactors and life support. The Prowler is equipped with the most advanced sensors we have developed, using Hyperwave pulsations to accurately sense objects up to ten light-years distant.

We recommend a small crew of three sentients (One captain, one helmsman/navigator and one weapons officer) and ten drones (Five soldiers, five engineers)

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Juventas

X-Com Research Report 5th September 2026

Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr Geoff Ramsey

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Human 'Eternal Youth' Research.

Project Codename: Juventas

During the last decade following the 'Day of Death' as it is known in current terms, an alarming trend has been seen. No human has exhibited any signs of aging for nearly a decade. With the exception of those still growing to physical maturity. This strange phenomenon has been the source of much discussion on the online forums as to both the cause and the possible ramifications of the so called 'Eternal Youth' after exhaustively searching through every medical scan taken in the last decade we have discovered the answer to not only this but several problems that have confounded us over the last decade.

The culprit of these mysteries is a series of nodes the run parallel to the spine on either side. These nodes come in sets of four, six, eight and ten, and not only are they responsible for the 'eternal youth' of humanity, but they also answer the biggest question to why there are separate castes and why some castes have higher baseline stats then others. They also answer the question of why even though every human now has the Genetic Modifications (Gene/G-Mods) present in Colonel Suzanne Shepard they have never needed Meld injections.

These 'nodes' now named 'Vitam Nodes' produce two things in abundance using the nutrients ingested by humans at every meal. Those are Meld Nanobots and Stem Cells, the Meld Nanobots maintain the G-Mods and the organs, while the Stem Cells replace any damaged or dead cells in the human body. This leads to the so called 'Eternal Youth' and the rapid healing noticed by several individuals after they were injured in several ways.

Theoretically any human being is capable of surviving until the end of the Universe, however a lack of resources near the end would probably cause the extinction of humanity.

Now to the caste part of the investigation, each caste has at least four nodes, but the 'sentient' caste has six, the 'sub-royal' caste has eight and the 'royal' caste has ten. This is what causes the 'Royal' and 'Sub-Royal' castes to be significantly stronger than other castes, as it seems each 'Vitam Node' pair increases the strength, speed and agility of a Homo Novus by one point five (1.5) times and their mental abilities and willpower double with each node pairing, effectively doubling a castes strength, both physically and Psionically to the one directly below it.

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Jupiter

X-Com Research Report 15th May 2030

Head Researcher: Councilor Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Gavin Free, Dr. Michael Jones

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Starship-based Plasma Weaponry Research.

Project Codename: Jupiter

For the past fifteen years we have been studying the Ethereal ship weapons on the Temple Ship and we are proud to say that we have discovered the secret behind ship-based plasma weaponry. A conventional plasma weapon uses a magnetic field to contain the plasma as it is launched, however scaling that up was difficult, until the MAC (Magnetic Accelerator Cannon) was developed. The same principles behind the MAC can be applied to plasma as well, by utilizing this discovery we have developed three types of plasma weapon.

Type 1: Solid Plasma Field, by stabilizing the plasma in a electro-magnetic field we can contain the incredible heat created by such a weapon into a solid shape, while of little use on ships due to the energy shields being developed by Project: Mars and the expected range of most ship to ship engagements, we have faith that we can miniaturize this technology for the creation of personal plasma blades.

Type 2: Plasma 'Bolt's: By rapidly forcing high speed plasma through a electro-magnetic 'square' we can 'wrap' the plasma into solid 'bolt's of material that will sear their way through most solid objects, it is one of the few methods we know of that can completely and totally destroy Alien Alloys (Codename: Still Pending)

Type 3: Plasma Beams: Similar to the creation of the bolts, however the continual application of plasma from a set of reserves and generators allows for uninterrupted beams of plasma to be launched, this weapon can still be aimed while firing, however such an action will leave a 'stream' of plasma moving in a arc following the movement of the beam, such an arc will terminate within 100,000 kilometers in the sub-zero of space, estimated to be shorter in interstellar or intergalactic space and longer within atmosphere or close to a star.

We have accelerated work on Project: Mars to compensate for the extra power of our weapons, we hope to see a breakthrough in the next few weeks.

End of Report

X-C:ME

Over the next few decades Humanity's growth and potential exploded, their technology and abilities grew to levels thought unimaginable before the Ethereal War. Humanity has begun its growth into what will be known as a Galactic Superpower.

2030: Mankind recreates it's architectural style, they start to build using geometric shapes, triangles and half triangles are most common, but when seen from orbit the cities of humanity appear as massive circular designs, often hundreds of kilometers wide.

May 22nd 2035: Mankind establishes Lunar Colony on the edge of the Mare Serenitatis, lead by Queen Cassandra Delacroix (Nee Beaumont)

July 24th 2040: Mankind establishes Mars Colony on the slopes of Mount Olympus, Mars, lead by Queen Danielle Taylor (Nee Shepard).

December 22nd 2057: During a routine scan of Mars a subterranean structure is discovered in the Promethei Planum

December 23rd 2057: Mankind discovers the Mass Effect Technological Branch, unimpressed with the slower and less efficient FTL Drives, shielding and weaponry, mankind catalogues and subsequently ignores it.

December 24th 2057

Military Leader Steven Hackett looks up at the Councilor of Science Laura Vahlen and says "You have a proposal for me?"

Vahlen nods in response to Hackett's query "I do, after discovering the ruins of these 'Protheans' we cannot afford to have no military ships"

Shepard walks in having sensed Hackett's confliction, she turns to Vahlen "Show me what you are planning, Councilor Vahlen"

Vahlen nods and walks over to a large holographic screen opposite Hackett's desk, she manipulates some controls to show a picture of what looks like a tear drop with an extra bit on the rounded end of it and an oval at the point. Above it is the title 'CCS-Battlecruiser' below it is a side on view of the proposed ship.

Shepard looks down at the proposal on Hackett's desk

Research Proposal

Military Starship, Battlecruiser tonnage.

Codename: 'Argent Dawn'

Proposer: Councilor Laura Vahlen

Upon researching the more in-depth properties of the Alien Alloy (codenamed: Titan Skin) we have discovered a way to improve its structural strength and blast resistance, by adding a 40:60 mix of cobalt and iron to the alloy, we can reinforce it by a factor of four, however this leaves the metal with a purple coloration, replacing the cobalt with silver changes the coloration to silver but the reinforcement is by only a factor of two.

By adding this new alloy with a special curved design, we can create a starship up to and over a Kilometer long, unlike the ten kilometer long Temple Ship we do not possess the ability to support a ship of that magnitude, yet. We will also make use of the experimental (Project: Jupiter) plasma weapons and the (Project: Mercury) prototype inertial dampeners with the Ethereal Plasma engines.

We are tentatively naming this the CCS-Battlecruiser, if it is a success, we also have the CRS-Light Cruiser and SDV-Corvette designs which are based off of the CCS-Battlecruiser. Future technology may also allow the CAS-Assault Carrier and CSO-Supercarrier hulls to be created, however the size of these hulls marks them as a impossible endeavor for the foreseeable future.

The discovery of the Protheans thanks to the Promethei Outpost has lead to us adding more weapons systems and overlapping fields of CIWS style plasma weapons, due to the possibility of encountering more hostile alien species.

End of Proposal

Shepard looks up at Vahlen, and thinks for a second before nodding "Councilor, you have a go"

Chapter 2

New Age of Exploration

1st January 2058: Humanity completes its first military starship, The CCS-Battlecruiser 'Silent Star' is launched from the former ISS, now known as the Arcadia Shipyards. High Queen Shepard captains it for the maiden voyage, before handing control to Queen Alyssa Campana, daughter of Alessandra 'Alessa' Campana. A cultural sentient names this the beginning of the 'New Age of Exploration' the name sticks and humanity begins to name parts of their recent history as Ages. The current three are the 'Age of Warfare' which is from 1914 to 2015. The 'Age of Rebirth' 2016 to 2057. Debates are still being held over what to name the earlier ages, although some like the Prehistoric, Stone, Bronze, Classical, Roman, Iron, Medieval and Renaissance are left as is.

2058: Over the next twelve months mankind constructs fifteen CCS-Battlecruisers, tasked with patrolling the Sol system for the time being. Prowler class scout ships are sent to every system within the maximum three hour charge of a Hyperwave Drive (25,000 Light-years).

Limits to the Hyperwave Drive are discovered, the Drive has a base charge of three seconds, which grants the ship a 10,000 Light-year range, however there is no discernible increase in range until the three minute mark is hit which increases the range to 17,500 Light-years. Next is three hours and if the pattern holds, three days. However a ship can only charge for a maximum of five hours before the drive violently discharges into the hull, vaporizing the ship.

Plans are made for a 'Hyperwave Gate' which will act in a similar manner to the 'Mass Relays' allowing far greater range and speed without undue damage to the ship, or impossible amounts of capacitor banks. Plans are put on hold due to the lack of technological sophistication required to build one of these gates, the estimated size for one to reach to the other side of the galaxy is a ringworld with a diameter of 10,000 kilometers.

2059: The first CRS-Light Cruiser 'Cairo' is launched from the Arcadia Shipyards, each of these vessels is to be named after a city of Earth, Current or former. Over fifty of these magnificent vessels are planned to be built in the next decade.

2060: A breakthrough in alloy reinforcement allows for the possibility of the creation of ships between five and ten kilometers long. Plans for the CAS-Assault Carrier are brushed off and reviewed. Newly developed Energy shielding from Project: Mars is added to all starships.

Project: Mars

X-Com Research Report 1st March 2060

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Geoff Ramsey.

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Energy Shield Research.

Project Codename: Mars

One of the most difficult projects we have ever attempted, the creation of an energy shield. But in the end we succeeded, we discovered the key element that would allow us to create a energy shield. Control. We discovered how to create a energy shield years ago, however it stopped everything, hostile and benign including the atmosphere. Drone #1563 died due to this problem.

The answer to this problem was unexpected yet at the same time completely logical, Psionics. You see every Psionic naturally generates a defensive 'barrier' around themselves, however this barrier is usually only good against Psionic attacks, But when linked with the energy shield prototype not only was it able to stop infantry weapons, it also now allowed in whatever the wielder wished to pass the shield.

However we wondered how to adapt this to a starship, then we realized that it didn't matter if the starship was blocking everything as we found that the shields couldn't stop each other, we shielded a jeep and then had a drone wearing a shield go to it and turn the shield off. The drone's shield nullified the jeeps shield in a small area allowing the drone to slip through.

We will however continue to search for a way to control the shield that doesn't require Psionics

Energy Shielding (Infantry) now available in the Engineering Division.

Energy Shielding (Starship) now available in the Engineering Division.

Planetary Energy Shielding Research now available in the Research Division.

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Venus

X-Com Research Report 16th July 2060

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Raymond Shen.

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Cloning Research.

Project Codename: Venus

In order to solve the problem of slow growth due to limited numbers of Homo Novus capable of reproducing, we attempted to clone humans, however we discovered an important fact. The Queen of the clan we are attempting to clone the new human for must provide a drop of blood to start the growth of the clone. Drones can be cloned in a matter of hours, sentients take weeks and we have never attempted to clone a Sub-Royal or Royal.

The traditional 'downside' of cloning seen in movies and written about in literature, the short lifespan, is ironically negated by their being human. The 'Vitam Nodes' keep their body at the peak of health and prime of life and appear to fix the mistakes caused by our imperfect understanding of the art of cloning.

Personal note from Laura Vahlen: I would suggest against the cloning of Sub-Royals and Royals indefinitely as we have no idea what may result from such an action.

Population Cloning now available in the Population Section

End of Report.

X-C:ME

2061: The first Phoenix-class colony ship takes off from Earth, despite being headed towards the distant Alpha Centauri system, Hyperwave travel means the trip would take only seconds.

2065: The Planet Reach in the Epsilon Eridani system is colonized, at 10.5 Light-years from Earth, it is the farthest Human colony from Earth. Plans to take this honor are already in the making.

2069: Mankind finishes building the sixty-six planned CRS-Light Cruisers, each system colonized or planned to be colonized by Humanity is assigned at least three CRS-Light Cruisers as a defensive measure. A dozen of them are kept for the defense of Earth.

2070: Over the last five years a concentrated growth and colonization effort by humanity has added the worlds of Chi Rho, Tantalus, Pinnacle, Seti-456, Azure and Pantheon to its banner. Humanity now has nine star systems to its name and a population of 41 billion, 105,697 of which are Queens. The major reason behind this sudden growth is a cloning project known as Project: Venus.

2077: Across the galaxy on her homeworld of Thessia, Liara T'Soni is born.

2084: Mankind discovers the Arcturus System, they activate the Relay present there in order to run experiments and take scans of an active Relay. The system is sealed off for Military technological testing. Several 'fake' worlds are created with the use of Element Zero cores and large amounts of asteroids.

2087: A miraculous breakthrough allows mankind to discover a method of hyper-condensing materials to create 'Ultra-Dense Alloys' this allows for the construction of ships in excess of twenty kilometers. Along with the knowledge of carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, Orbital elevators become a possibility as does the Hyperwave Gate project and the CSO-Supercarrier, however more research is considered before attempting to create a CSO-Supercarrier. The source of this breakthrough is sub-atomic scans of the Arcturus Mass Relay.

2090: Mankind has now spread to over thirty worlds and has holdings in nearly sixty star systems. The Population has grown to a staggering 105 billion, the Novellus Council puts a moratorium on the colonization of new worlds and breeding limits are placed to prevent Mankind from growing beyond its capability to defend itself. Another set of CRS-Light Cruisers and two dozen CCS-Battlecruisers are planned, the Arcadia Shipyards are tripled in size to allow for the new level of demands on its facilities.

2100: Mankind completes the first of the Hyperwave Gates, the circular ring is given the codename 'Stargate' it is only a kilometer wide but is 10,000 kilometers in diameter. The 'Stargate' is left in orbit just beyond Pluto. While some wonder at the risk of placing such a strategic object so close to the homeworld, the risk is deemed acceptable by the fact a fleet of several dozen warships is constantly on alert should a call for help occur, they will be on location within seconds to render aid and should also act as a deterrent against an invasion of Earth.

March – 2100: A clan lead by their Queen Amelia Serras attempts a rebellion, the clan is quickly and mercilessly put down, with three hundred thousand members dying when their CCS-Battlecruiser Agamemnon is disable and blown into a star, the survivors and clan heiress are stripped of most of their G-Mods and their ability to connect to the Hive Mind, however their 'Vitam Nodes' are left functional. They are stripped of all of their knowledge related to human technology, culture and the location of their worlds, then using the newly created 'Stargate' they are dumped in a barely functional frigate using ancient technology over the distant world codenamed Sierra-117.

2105: Mankind develops basic Terraforming techniques, with Project: Ceres providing the knowledge needed to alter the chemical composition of a planet's terrain, Project: Neptune allowing a planet's oceans to be alter on a massive scale and Project: Uranus providing the information to alter a planet's atmosphere to match Earth's.

Over two dozen planets are tagged for Terraforming over the next two decades.

X-C:ME

Project: Ceres

X-Com Research Report 27th May 2105

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti.

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Planetary Soil Terraformation Research.

Project Codename: Ceres

The use of Nanobots as a Terraforming device was one of our first attempts and to our dismay they are either useless or would require so much expenditure that it wouldn't be feasible. So we looked at other methods, two were considered particularly successful, combining both solved our problems. The two methods are:

Method Alpha. Harvesting rock asteroids and using Nanobots to turn them into soil, then nutrients required for CO2-O2 photosynthesizing flora are added. This soil is then dumped by specially designed Phoenix-Class Colony Ships. While useful this method has the problem of only affecting the surface.

Method Beta. A specially designed bacterium is dropped onto a planet's surface, this bacterium is programmed to change the chemical and biological composition of a planet's soil so that it is capable of supporting the flora needed for O2-CO2 respiring fauna. However direct exposure to sunlight renders the bacterium inert.

By combining the methods and using Method Beta when the planet is facing away from the sun and then placing Method Alpha's soil on top allows us to easily change the soil of a planet to one more suited to fauna and flora capable of supporting Humans.

Planetary Soil Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Neptune

X-Com Research Report 27th May 2105

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Planetary Ocean Terraformation Research.

Project Codename: Neptune

The problem of Terraforming a planet's ocean falls into four categories

Category A: No Liquid at all, simply capturing Carbonaceous Asteroids and Ice Asteroids to collect the necessary resources. Then turning them into H2O adding Sodium Chloride with trace elements identical to what would be found in unpolluted Terran Ocean water and releasing it into depressions once a suitable atmosphere is present with the necessary life-forms for a salt water ecosystem. May take between 10-12 years.

Category B: H2O present but lifeless, adding basic aquatic flora like algae to oxygenate the water and then slowly adding more complex fauna and flora until the apex predators are in place. May take between 10-12 years.

Category C: Non-H2O liquid present, first is the removal or neutralization of existing liquid and then identical to Category B. However it can take an extra six months to a year before this operation is completed.

Category D: Non-H2O liquid with primordial life present. Planet first undergoes a high level evaluation to see if disrupting a world where life has begun evolving is worth the cost, if not then the world is tagged for an observational satellite, if it is considered valuable enough. Then Category C is followed with extra filtering for fauna and flora.

Planetary Ocean Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Uranus

X-Com Research Report 27th May 2105

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Raymond Shen.

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THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Planetary Atmospheric Terraformation Research.

Project Codename: Uranus

The Terraformation of a planet's atmosphere is a massive undertaking, the amount of time necessary for such an operation is dependent entirely on the atmosphere of the planet and its proximity to its star or other celestial objects.

By using specially designed Aether-class Terraforming ships with Atmospheric alteration devices, existing Atmospheres are sucked into a Nanobot bath where the gases are altered to 29:70:1 mix of Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. Extra gases are brought in from atomically altered asteroid gases if the atmospheric pressure is below one Atmosphere. Then Project: Diana can commence.

Planetary Atmospheric Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section

End of Report

X-C:ME

Project: Diana

X-Com Research Report 27th May 2105

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood, Dr. Nick Miotti.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Planetary Ecosystem Introduction Research.

Project Codename: Diana

The hardest part about introducing an ecosystem to a planet is matching the ecosystem to the planet and biome. Once a Planet has completed Projects: Ceres and Uranus and is partially completed Project: Neptune. Then the introduction of an land/air based ecosystem can begin

The first part of the ecosystem is flora and pollinating insects like bees, once the flora has been established and covers a majority of the landmasses, then prey fauna like mice, deer and rabbits can be added. After a couple of years predator fauna like wolves, lions and hyenas are added.

The total time for a planet's ecosystem to be introduced is between four to six years

Planetary Ecosystem Terraformation now available in the Colonization Section

End of Report

X-C:ME

2109: The testing world Arcturus-III is destroyed by a new Plasma Weapon, designed for planetary bombardment, known as the Energy Projector. This technique of Orbital Bombardment causes the planet's surface to become a sort of charred black glass like substance, it is therefore referred to as 'Glassing', the Project behind the weapon (Codenamed Pluto) considers it a resounding success.

X-C:ME

Project: Pluto

X-Com Research Report 15th April 2109

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Gavin Free, Dr. Michael Jones.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Planetary Orbital Bombardment Plasma Weaponry Research.

Project Codename: Pluto

The hardest part about this project was actually limiting the power of the Plasma weapons so that they only did surface damage and didn't cut into the surface without continued application.

The answer to this problem came in the form of the 'Crystalline Lens', a massive artificial diamond that is over 100 meters across and has Hyperwave Energy pumped through it, this oval lens defocuses the Plasma Beam making it wider and less powerful, thus allowing us to produce a viable weapon capable of surface burning (Or Glassing as it is being referred to)

However a misaligned 'Crystalline Lens' can diffract the Plasma too much or increase its power exponentially, or even worse it can redirect to Plasma Beam back into the vessel. It is recommended to not use the 'Energy Projector' as we are terming it if the ship has suffered any damage within a hundred meters of the outer edge of the lens.

This weapon is also easily repurposed for mining and as such we have also created a prototype Plasma Mining Beam. However a specially designed starship must be utilized due to the high power requirements of the Plasma Mining Beam.

Energy Projector now available in the Engineering Department

Plasma Mining Beam now available in the Engineering Department

Plasma Mining Vessel now available in the Shipyards.

End of Report

X-C:ME

2110: Mankind discovers another sentient race, the Unggoy small in stature and weak of spirit these beings are struggling to survive after severe over-industrialization had severely damaged their planets ecosystem, mankind would never have found them if a Queen passing by hadn't heard their cries of sorrow through the void of space. The Unggoy are amazed when Mankind uses their Terraformation and cloning technology to repair the damage to their homeworld's (Balaho) ecosystem and atmosphere, in response the matriarchs of the Unggoy pledge their race to the service of Mankind.

2111: Mars is Terraformed, the first planet to be Terraformed. The process is a resounding success and hopes are high for the other worlds to undergo Terraforming.

2112: The Citadel Council discovers the exiled clan, the clan calling their 'race' Nephilim. Slowly start to integrate themselves into the Council Society, however internally every member of the clan wishes to return to the Hive Mind, only those born after the rebellion do not (openly) desire this.

2114: The Arcturus System is home to a massive explosion when an experimental gel made of Hyperwave Crystals and Elerium between the inner and outer armor layer from the prototype CAS-Assault Cruiser in the system comes in contact with the Mass Relay. The explosion destroys the system and leaves it a wasteland of energized Element Zero particles.

15th August 2114, Conference Room 4, X-Com Luna Base

Shepard frowns at the report before her eyes, she then looks up at doctor Vahlen "So what you're saying is that the new experimental armor gel layer is wha caused the explosion?"

Vahlen nods and pulls up a holographic simulation of what happened "As you can see when we purposely overloaded the Ex Gel layer, not only did the outer layer of the CAS prototype disintegrate where we were striking, but the majority of the gel layer immediately vaporized when exposed to the cold of space. However some of it near the edges of the hole didn't and instead was flung out, it then immediately shot towards the Arcturus Relay. Upon impacting with the Relay Core it caused it to go super-critical and the resultant explosion destroyed the system"

Shepard sighs as she looks over the report again and then nods "Doctor Vahlen, you have a go. Collect and research the fragments of the Arcturus Relay"

Vahlen nods in pleasure and acknowledgement before turning around and leaving the room. Shepard sighs and murmurs "I know this will come back to bite me in the ass later, I just know it"

X-C:ME

Project: Aegis

X-Com Research Report 15th August 2114

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Hyperwave Crystal/Elerium gel armor layer Research.

Project Codename: Aegis

Upon designing the new CAS-Assault Cruiser we decided that a way of preventing the kinetic force created by the typical 'Mass Effect' weapon from damaging the internal systems and superstructure of our starships was necessary. The answer came from the discoveries of Project: Mercury with the knowledge of how to transfer inertia to Sub-space we decided to see if kinetic force could also be transferred, to our surprise and joy we discovered that it was not only possible but ridiculously easy. It is simply a matter of changing the Hyperwave Crystal to setting 4 instead of 8.

Anyway by combining the Hyperwave Crystals with Elerium in a high pressure environment we can create a gel compound of both, which we codenamed Ex-gel. This compound remains in a gel state even when returned to normal pressures, however upon contact with vacuum or extremely low temperatures (such as 0 degrees Kelvin A.K.A Absolute Zero) the Ex-gel vaporizes and cannot be recovered.

Upon discovering this we decided to place it as a layer between the outer Silver Alienite (formerly known as Titan Skin) armor layer and the inner Purple Alienite armor layer of the proposed CAS-Assault Carrier. The Silver Alienite layer was chosen for the outside for the reason that while structurally weaker then Purple Alienite and thus more vulnerable to kinetic weapons and explosions it has a higher melting point and is more resistance to lasers and plasma weaponry.

Unfortunately when testing the limits of the gel layer in the Arcturus system less than one thousand kilometers from the Mass Relay, the armor shattered and the superheated and energized gel either vaporized or escaped. The superheating allowing the gel to remain semi-solidified even in a absolute zero vacuum. The globule of Ex-gel interacted with the Mass Relay Element Zero Core and caused it to go super-critical. The resultant explosion destroyed the prototype and blanketed the Arcturus System in Element Zero Dust and Dark Energy Radiation. Our shields grant us limited protection but we can only remain in Arcturus for around half an hour before the shields fail and we are exposed to Dark Energy (DE) Radiation. Which is one of the few types of radiation powerful enough to damage or fatally wound humans now.

However probes have discovered that the Arcturus Relay is in pieces but scans can account for over 98% percent of the Relay. Only the Core is totally destroyed, by utilizing probes and specially armored Phoenix-class colony ships we can collect and transport the Relay fragments to a nearby location in Interstellar Space and study them. Perhaps we'll be able to understand the workings of the Relay.

Arcturus Relay Recovery now available in the Space Command Division

Arcturus Relay In-Depth examination now available in the Research Division

Ex-gel Armor Layer now available in the Engineering Division.

CAS-Assault Carrier now available in the Arcadia Shipyards.

End of Report

X-C:ME

2115: The first CAS-Assault Carrier 'Beaches of Normandy' is built at the Arcadia Shipyards, Shepard immediately takes it as her flagship, when asked why she wasn't waiting for the CSO-Supercarrier she simply shrugged and said "It's less overwhelming, besides there is nothing preventing me having two flagships, this one for when I want to be less conspicuous and the CSO-Supercarrier for when I want the universe to stand up and notice us"

Shepard authorizes the Relocation of the Arcturus Relay Fragments, it is a massive undertaking that is expected to take at least five years to complete.

2117: Of the two dozen worlds tagged for Terraforming, seven are complete and in the process of being colonized, eight are being Terraformed and the rest haven't been started yet.

2118: Smaller Hyperwave Gates nicknamed 'Warpgates' are created, they are only a thousand kilometers in diameter and a few hundred meters wide. But they provide a travel radius of 50,000 light-years. Several dozen are seeded throughout human space and up to twenty thousand light-years beyond it. On the planet codenamed Shanxi, in the Trialgra-Proxima System one of the 'Warpgates' (Number 27) crashes down unexpectedly due to a navigation software error, however it still reports functional and is left where it fell. The glitch in the navigational software is corrected and the next thirteen 'Warpgates' are sent to their destinations without problem. A replacement 'Warpgate' for Number 27 is sent to 27's original destination three months later.

Due to the development and construction of the 'Warpgates' the original device was renamed to the Alpha Halo Installation, six more of these installations have been planned out.

2120: Twenty CAS-Assault Carriers are constructed, each one is controlled by a different clan. Had Mankind not been joined Psionically a war would most likely have resulted from the distribution of these warships.

2121: The Arcturus Relay Relocation is completed, currently the Relay pieces remain in Interstellar space around a Light-year from the Sol System, research upon the Relay begins in earnest.

2125: Another Sentient race is discovered by Humanity, the Yanme'e a species of sentient insects bound by a Psionic hive mind. Upon hearing Mankind's much more developed and overpowering hive mind they quickly beg to become servants of Mankind, Shepard personally goes to their homeworld of Palamok and accepts in person. The Queens of the Yanme'e are honored by Shepard's arrival and what started as a requesting to be enslaved becomes a partnership with Yanme'e being treated as equals with humanity.

Star-system D-32, 5th May 2028. Aboard the CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy'

Shepard glances down at the data-pad in her hand and then back at her sensor officer "Is this reading correct?" even though she knows it is she has to ask as part of the procedure.

The sensor officer nods an affirmative "Yes milady, we have picked up the signal of a sentient race on the fourth planet of this system, they appear to be on the cusp of interstellar travel, as we have detected satellites and signs of moon landings on both their planet's natural satellites"

Shepard nods in acceptance and then she stands up "Alright" Shepard hits the intercom (Had her ship only had humans this wouldn't be necessary but she has Yanme'e and Unggoy crewmembers as well) "Crew of the 'Beaches of Normandy' I have important news for you all, we have detected a sentient species on the fourth planet of this system, they have already discovered spaceflight and appear to be on the cusp of learning interstellar travel. As such our First Contact protocols command that we inform them of the wider universe, we will arrive in orbit over their planet in twenty minutes. Everybody get ready, we may be fired upon" Shepard cuts the comms and then turns to Mikhail who is standing to her right as her XO "Mikhail I need to get changed into my royal armor, you have the bridge"

Mikhail nods an affirmative and the Weapons officer shouts "Captain is leaving the bridge, XO has command"

The bridge crew immediately replies with "Ayes" indicating that they heard the change of command.

Shepard nods in happiness and heads to her cabin to get changed.

Upon entering she notices that her ten handmaiden drones have already pulled her royal armor out and gotten it ready for her to change into.

Created back at the turn of the century, Shepard's royal armor looks very similar to the Titan power armor from the Ethereal war, however it is more streamlined without any unnecessary parts, over top of that however is what looks like a royal dress, starting from her waist a long skirt drapes over the sides of her legs, splitting in the centre of the dress up to half way up her thigh to prevent her movement being hindered. The 'dress' fabric looks like it would easily tear, but is in fact a composite of the Alien Alloy, micro-Elerium reactors and shield generators woven into a golden looking fabric. The shield generated by the fabric is capable of stopping ship-level weaponry for a short period of time, theoretically no hand-held weapon should have the power to penetrate this shield, however Shepard chooses not to rely on theory and her armor plating is made of the same material the ship hulls are made of. Her armor is golden with red highlights, on her shoulder pads are her personal and clan symbols, on her left shoulder pad is an empty X-Com pentagon, the symbol of her clan and on her left is an Ouroboros, a dragon eating its own tail, with the head on the side of her shoulder pad that faces her back. On her head is a crown that appears to be made of gold, but is the same material as the armor, within the crown is a mind shield (Couldn't be too careful) and another Elerium reactor and shield generator. All in all the royal armor is the ultimate combination of the best of Humanity's armor-making skills and technology and the paranoia of a species that has faced extreme odds and survived.

On Shepard's waist is her plasma sword, a curiously designed device created back in the 2090's, it is a curved piece of metal with two half spheres on each end with a blue emitter running from a third from the back to a centimeter from the front. In the middle of the device is a tear drop shaped separator that divides the two bars where the fingers of the wielder go, it also contains the Elerium power cell and Psionic trigger mechanism, on one side of the tear drop is the clan symbol of the wielder on the other is their personal symbol. When the sword deploys it has two 'curved' sections where it meets the hilt and two 1.3 meter long prongs that are separated by a gap a palm's width wide, when active energy constantly sparks between the gap due to the electromagnetic fields holding the plasma in place. The color of the hilts casing indicates the caste rank of the wield, Shepard's is gold as is Mikhail's, Queens, their consorts and the princesses and princes have silver casing and the Sentients have a bronze casing.

The drones carry a slightly different sword however, they have a short sword hilt that deploys a plasma blade with a leaf shaped blade (The blade curves in slightly after the hilt and then widens into a oval shape) The drones are very good at wielding these blades.

X-C:ME

CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy' Port Hanger 1

Shepard walks into 'Beaches of Normandy's first port hanger to see a classic Skyranger being loaded up. While they could easily have created a more advanced or futuristic looking aircraft, Shepard liked the classic Skyranger. However Shepard isn't ignorant of the fact that it would rapidly become obsolete and has had every system on the Skyranger upgraded to the latest technology available to Humanity, it is also nearly twice as big so it can carry more soldiers, the current model can carry twelve MECs or twenty four soldiers.

Next to the Skyranger six Praetorian MECs are standing, the moment she walks out into the hanger they straighten up and salute. Next to the MECs are a group of X-Com Soldiers that survived the 'Day of Death', dressed in Alienite Guardian Armor (The grandchild of the Titan Armor). Lead by Lieutenant Leonard Church, Squad 'Freelancer' was unique in almost every way, instead of six members there are nine. They aren't solidly MEC or G-Mod and they are the most flippant about the rules. However the ninth Sheila Rodriguez the teams MEC warrior was being left behind due to space concerns, and they were on their best behavior as part of Shepard's Honor Guard. Mikhail is also waiting but he appears to be reading through a Data-pad. He looks up as Shepard gets close and smiles "It's nice to see you dress up on occasion, I wonder why you hate it so much?"

Shepard frowns in annoyance "Because the moment I dress up in anything feminine I get some many 'oh so helpful' men offering to do whatever I want"

Mikhail snorts in amusement "So basically, your entire lifestyle now"

Shepard opens her mouth to reply and then cocks her head and closes it "Alright, you win that one"

Mikhail chuckles at Shepard's reply "Stop the presses, I won an argument against Shepard"

Shepard shakes her head in feigned disgust "Ha ha, laugh it up, I hear the couch is comfortable"

Mikhail just raises an eyebrow, when he gets a glare in response he pantomimes zipping his mouth shut. Shepard smirks at Mikhail's Reaction "Get in the Ship, we're leaving"

X-C:ME

The Skyranger effortlessly disengages from the 'Beaches of Normandy' and flies down towards the planet below. While flying they lock onto a large fortification, their sensors pick up dozens of aircraft flying towards the fortification but none are armored, indicating that they must be planetary leaders heading towards their landing zone.

In a stone courtyard before a bridge leading to the fort, the Skyranger sets down surrounding it are hundred of individuals all around seven feet in height.

Shepard walks out of the Skyranger and spots one of the groups of individuals with ornate golden armor, guessing that they are important she starts to walk towards them, as she does so a commotion starts up on her left, she turns to see a smaller version of the individuals run out from between the adults and skid to a stop in front of her. Shepard idly notes that the little one's skin is leathery and instead of a lower jaw like humans and Unggoy it has four mandibles instead each with six teeth on them. Before any of the adults can reach she kneels down and taps her left index finger to it/her forehead. With a simple Psionic push she learns the child's name, gender and language (and a smidgen of their culture) and she then says in perfect Sanghelilian, a curious language that resembles Japanese with some Greek influences "Children should be careful, sometimes monsters smile at you before they strike" The young Sangheili nods in amazement as the surrounding adult Sangheili all exclaim in shock and amazement "Now you should return to your uncle Thara 'Mdama"

Thara's mandibles flutter in shock "How…"

Shepard smiles at the Thara "My species can see much with a simple touch, your tongue, your name and a measure of your spirit. You burn brightly to those that see, if you were of my blood you would be highly respected by my kin. But unfortunately you are not, it is a shame, but you are Sangheili and I am not"

Shepard then turns to the crowd around them and asks "Who among you is leader of this land upon which I have landed"

One of the golden armored ones walks forward "I am Thel 'Vadam and I am Kaidon of Vadam Keep" Thel puts his right hand over his left heart and Shepard notices that the Sangheili have four fingers, no they have two fingers and two thumbs, it is just that they have one thumb on either side of their fingers.

Shepard nods to Thel and answers with "I am Suzanne Shepard and I am the High Queen of my kind, all who call themselves human are under my banner. I greet you Kaidon Thel 'Vadam" Shepard places her left hand on the centre of her chest and extends her right "I do hold a weapon and wish for peace between our people"

Thel extends his left hand which is empty and responds with "I also carry no weapon and wish for peace between our people" Thel finishes the saying with curiosity in his voice "As such I welcome you to my keep, may your blade be forever sharp" ending the old Sangheili peace talk greeting with the customary greeting ending.

Shepard nods at Thel and then finishes the greeting "And may your mind remain keen, to see friend from foe"

X-C:ME

The talks proceed with simple dignity, the Sangheili are interested in learning more of the universe but wonder what the cost is, when told that they would get Hyperwave FTL and sensors for free they refuse, they consider it an insult to their honor to be given the technology for free. Shepard then proposes that they instead serve Humanity for a decade and at the end each Sangheili will be given the knowledge to build Hyperwave FTL drives and sensors as payment.

This sparks an intense 'discussion'

Grand Hall, Vadam Keep, State of Vadam, Sanghelios, Urs Trinary System.

Shepard smiles as the Sangheili all nod in acceptance of her proposal, almost all. Across the room one of the Sangheili stands up and shouts "NO, why should we serve these weaklings, we should just take the technology from their corpses, if they are so weak as to send a female to negotiate, then they must be truly pathetic" Some of the Kaidons nod in agreement

Shepard snorts loudly in derision "Or in my species it is part of our culture for females to lead. Quit speaking fool, with every word from your mouth you simply prove your weakness, if you truly think I am weak, face me in combat" The rest of the Kaidons who didn't nod jeer at the fool.

Thel chuckles in amusement "Jul' Mdama, it appears this female has spoken true, will you face her or prove too cowardly"

The Sangheili, Jul stands and growls "I will face her, what is your forfeiture?"

Shepard stands slowly and smiles "If you wins I will give you the technology you seek" Jul laughs in the thought of an easy victory "BUT" Jul stops laughing "If I win, then your lands, people and goods will belong to me till the next generation is ready to face me in combat for them"

Jul growls in anger at such a request, but before he can respond Thel speaks up "The challenge has been issued and the terms stated, let us now head out to the Combat Hall for the Duel"

X-C:ME

Combat Hall

Shepard stands with a smirk on her face as Jul walks towards her dressed in the golden armor of a Kaidon. In his hand is a metal sword that looks near identical to her deployed Plasma Sword if slightly longer. Jul growls at Shepard "Do you even have a sword, woman"

Shepard just smiles sweetly before using her right hand to grab her sword and in one slick motion deploy it with the customary 'swish' of air being displaced by the superheated plasma within the sword's electromagnetic energy field. Jul and the Sangheili are taken aback by how similar the sword is to their own, Thel on the other hand watches with barely concealed amusement, he has no doubt that Jul will not be walking out of this Hall.

Jul gets over his shock and charges straight at Shepard, Shepard just shakes her head and with her left hand catches his sword when Jul's mandibles flare in shock Shepard smiles and says "Did you really think this highly advanced armor couldn't stop a simple sword? Fool" Shepard then slashes with her sword.

Jul's mandibles go slack as purple blood spills from his mouth, then from the middle of his abdomen a split appears and his torso, head and arms fall backwards.

Shepard looks down on the defeated Sangheili while unconsciously deactivating and sheathing her sword "Idiot, what lunacy made you charge a highly advanced alien with armor that would definitely stop your sword? Fool, perhaps it is better that you are dead" Several snorts from some of the watching Sangheili indicate that they think the same way. Shepard then turns to Thel "Do you think there'll be an more opposition to my idea?"

Thel shakes his head as he holds down laughter "No, I think you have definitely made an impression"

Shepard smiles at that "Then I've done what I set out to accomplish"

As Shepard departed for her ship she once again ran into Thara' Mdama who is now one of her subjects. With the permission of the Sangheili Kaidon Council (Of which she is now a member) Shepard took Thara with her back to the CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy'

X-C:ME

2129: The first of the Sangheili start their decade of service, Thel' Vadam asks for and is given permission to serve on Shepard's flagship. The Sangheili despite reservations quickly become accustomed to Human society as despite minor differences it is not that much different from their own. They also get along well with the Yanme'e and Unggoy that serve on the Human warships.

2130: Mankind in a yearly 'bonus' for the Sangheili, mark over a dozen systems around their homeworld for Terraformation or colonization by the Sangheili. The Sangheili graciously accept the 'bonus' recognizing what it really was in a instant, a gift. But since Mankind made an effort to pretend it wasn't then they could happily ignore that with their honor satisfied.

Research upon the Arcturus Relay is finally completed.

X-C:ME

Project: Gateway

X-Com Research Report 3rd February 2130

Head Researcher: Dr. Laura Vahlen

Team Leader/s: Dr. Jack Pattillo, Dr. Ryan Haywood.

TOP SECRET: ANY NON-AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL READING BEYOND THIS POINT WILL BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE PUNITIVE ACTION

THIS DOCUMENT IS RF TAGGED ALL MOVEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED

Arcturus Relay In-Depth Examination Research.

Project Codename: Gateway

I am in awe, whatever being created the Mass Relays came close to creating the perfect device, however it does have some flaws. Mass Relays are highly adaptable and often are 'linked' with other Relays. The Arcturus Relay was linked with a Relay somewhere in or around the Sol System.

As for how the Relays function, it is incredible. The Relays utilize Element Zero by massively overcharging it to the point of near meltdown (Hence why the active Relays we have observed have blue 'lightning' flickering around the Core) and then using Quantum Entanglement to bind the Relays to a partner. This is true of the Arcturus Relay, however smaller 'Secondary' Relays don't have this and instead simply use Spatial Coordinates to create the FTL Tunnel.

The Mass Relay FTL Tunnel is in fact travelling partially in Sub-space, hence why there are no impacts when using a Mass Relay even when it is surrounded by asteroids or gases that would cause extreme damage to a starship if hit at Superluminal speeds. The Mass Relays are similar in function to the Halos or Warpgates, however they are more limited in scope due to the limitations of size, in order for a Mass Relay to reach the power required to match a Halo Installation it would have to be around forty kilometers long, which is approaching the feasible 'maximum' size that a Element Zero Technological branch object can reach and remain economically viable.

While we now possess the knowledge required to make Mass Relays there is one small problem, the Mass Relays draw upon Dark Energy from some sort of 'control' station, unless we discover this stations location we will be unable to fully create a Mass Relay with sufficient power to be worth the effort both physically and economically.

We also however discovered the base equations behind Element Zero FTL Drives and are now able to begin designing our own from scratch without using 'Prothean' FTL protocols. We have also discovered the cause of the Element Zero overloads that happen when it is subjected to Hyperwave Radiation. As such we can now create 'shielded' rooms to carry Element Zero, however the shielding is extremely expensive and very bulky, only a ship of CCS-Battlecruiser size (1.1 kilometers by 680 meters by 350 meters) or larger is capable of housing a Element Zero Cargo Bay.

Mass Relay Construction (Sub-standard) now available in the Space Command Division.

Element Zero FTL Drive Research now available in the Research Division.

Element Zero Cargo Bay Shielding now available in the Engineering Division.

Mass Relay Protocols now available in the Computing Division.

End of Report

X-C:ME

2135: Mankind has now expanded to over fifty different worlds and has holdings in over a hundred systems. The population of Mankind is now at the five hundred billion mark. There are now over forty CAS-Assault Carriers in existence.

The Unggoy have expanded to six different systems and are contemplating a seventh.

The Yanme'e have nearly a dozen worlds to their name already, but are checking their growth to ensure that they (and Humanity) have the resources to secure those worlds.

The Sangheili have three worlds to their name and have plans for another five already in the making.

2139: Saren Arterius is born on the Turian homeworld of Palaven

2140: Mankind officially releases the Sangheili from their contract, however none of the Sangheili are unhappy with the current arrangement and query the possibility of remaining where they are. Shepard quickly negotiates this with the Sangheili and they are now inducted into Mankind as full citizens, which means instead of being paid with technology they can now request whatever they need just as any human can.

Mankind doesn't have an economy beyond the idea of 'you want/need it, you got it' as such any human being can requisition any human-made item as long as they hold a job of some sort, something that is ridiculously easy in the current society as all some people simply have to do is direct the drones as they work.

2146: On the Hanar homeworld of Kahje, Thane Krios is born.

2150: Shepard having an instinctual 'gut' feeling that something is looming on the horizon, conceives a Royal heir. Her Daughter Anastasia Shepard is born on October 10th 2150. Thel' Vadam and Thara' Mdama are 'conscripted' into being babysitters for the precocious child.

2151: Thel' Vadam requests a transfer of positions. Shepard gleefully declines.

2152: Thane Krios begins his training under the Hanar as an Assassin. On the Turian homeworld of Palaven, Garrus Vakarian is born to Primus and Velara Vakarian.

2155: Saren Arterius begins his military service for the Turian Hierarchy.

2157: The presence of the first Halo Installation in orbit around the Sol System circularizes Pluto's orbit

A research flotilla is sent with armed escorts to the Trialgra-Proxima system to study the 'Shanxi Relay'

Liara T'Soni under the alias of Alara T'Kani illegally buys a civilian transports and heads off to the unexplored sector between the Inner Council Space and Batarian Space.

The Vakarian family after earning a vacation due to hard work is forced to flee from Batarian slavers, while fleeing they meet up with and are joined by Liara.

Both the runaway Asari and the Turian family end up in what they think is a dead end, only to discover a strange race by a Mass Relay in the system they had just entered

2157: Mankind makes First Contact with the Citadel Council Races. After a hundred years the New Age of Exploration ends and the Age of the Citadel begins.

Chapter 3

The Shanxi Incident Part I – Discovery

X-C:ME

Shepard idly strums her fingers on the armrest of her 'throne' as she observes the two research ships in the flotilla conducting high detail scans of the 'Shanxi Relay' out of sheer boredom she sends out a 'Warpgate' ping and is shocked to get a reply from the nearby planet of Shanxi. She immediately sends one of the eight CRS-Light Cruisers off to discover what responded with just a thought.

From a outside observers point of view there are thirteen ships that are nearly identical if not differing in size and in one case color. Eight smaller purple ships with their names proudly painted upon their port and starboard main sections around seven hundred and fifty meters long, three hundred and twenty meters wide and a hundred and fifteen meters deep, these are the CRS-Light Cruisers. Four larger purple ships at one point one kilometers long, six hundred and eight meters wide and three hundred and fifty meters deep, the CCS-Battlecruisers. And finally a behemoth silver ship that is a staggering five kilometers long, 1 kilometer wide and six hundred meters deep, this is a rare and powerful CAS-Assault Cruiser.

Without any indication of communication one of the smaller purple ships, a CRS-Light Cruiser breaks off from the formation and heads off to investigate a nearby planet. Despite being three quarters of a kilometer long the CRS has some incredible speed, once it reaches forty kilometers away from the rest of the Research Flotilla defense group it engages its Hyperwave FTL Drive and in a burst of golden energy the CSSV Las Vegas is launched at Superluminal speeds towards the distant planet of Shanxi.

X-C:ME

Unknown System, 15 Light-years from the Trialgra-Proxima System, Three hours earlier.

Two starships soar away from a fleet of twenty warships, the two vessels are very different.

One of the starships is very angular with a center rectangular box and two sweeping wings starting a third in from the rear thrusters. The 'wings' have several plates with Heat Radiators present arranged to look like feathers or overlapping scales. To be more specific is a Secundus-class Military cruiser, however it has been demilitarized and consequently is missing half the armaments that a Secundus class vessel would normally have.

The other starship is very elegant with a central oval shaped cylinder with two prongs sticking out on either side of the center-line of the starship. It's smooth contours and blue tinted plating give the impression of an aquatic animal. It is a Kelahme-class civilian freighter.

These two starships belong to a Turian and a Asari respectively. The Turians are tall about six foot on average, a foot shorter than the average Human, but equal in average height with the Asari. They have plating on their faces and body that can run the gambit from steel blue to dull red, these plates are to help protect them from the power radiation of their cradle world's star. Their legs are different to most other races as they have two long protrusions the extend out past their knees, these protrusions can make it difficult for Turians to fold their knees. The Turians are also almost unique in the fact that they are based on Dextrorotation (Dextro)-Amino Acids rather than Levorotation (Levo)-Amino Acids.

The Asari, equal in height to the Turians, appear to be on the surface blue skinned Human women, with the exception of having a short crest of tentacles instead of hair and small scales all over their body reminiscent to fish and other scaled aquatic animals. The Asari are an all female race with the unique ability to 'meld' their minds with members of any gender and race in order to procreate. This leads them to be a very diplomatic race due to the genetic deficits that are beginning to show up with each new generation of 'pureblood' Asari, without the injection of new genes from other species they may end up going extinct within a few generations. The fact that they live for millennia and often don't take permanent partners until they are well over two hundred is another factor in this as they cannot easily relate to other species and therefore they tend to pick partners from their own species.

The Turian ship is full of soldiers and their families getting a vacation at the Hierarchy's cost due to a recommendation from the Asari Matriarchy in ways of keeping their soldiers (And civilians) happy and more productive. The current captain of the ship created solely for that purpose is Adrien Victus, a Turian Lieutenant known of his unconventional tactics and protective nature towards his men.

The Asari ship is piloted by a single Asari, known to the Turians as Alara T'Kani, her real name is Liara T'Soni, having created an alias and snuck out of her ancestral home after feeling overburdened and a bit of what Humans refer to as 'Cabin Fever' she illegally purchased a civilian freighter starship and headed off towards the unexplored region between Council and Batarian space. Unbeknownst to Liara a large fleet of Asari ships are tracking her lead by her upset and worried mother Benezia T'Soni.

Behind the two ships are a fleet of twenty Batarian warships, the ships don't have the grace of the Asari nor the structure of the Turians, they have slight differences between each ship and are excessively blocky and bristling with weaponry. But they aren't trying to destroy their prey oh no, these Batarians are slavers who are trying to capture their prey. Their holds are already full of captured races from all over Citadel Space. The only races not present are the Krogan and Vorcha, the Batarians aren't that crazy.

An average Batarian stands between 6'1 and 6'7 and they are characterized by their orange toned skin, tall heads and dual pairs of eyes one pair on top of the other. They actually look like shorter orange four eyed humans. The average Batarian is very egotistical and self-serving, they are afraid of many things but the one thing that terrifies them more than anything else is the possibility of being blinded, this is due to their religious beliefs. Unfortunately for the Batarians before the week is over Humanity will be aware of that fact, and they will use it to horrifying effect over the next decade. But that is for later, right now the Batarians are cursing as the Turian and Asari ships go to FTL. They immediately start scouting for them, an action that will lead to the beginning of the end for their government and will push their race to the brink of extinction.

X-C:ME

Aboard the Turian Ship TSV 'Light of Menae'

Adrien Victus, a twenty year old Turian with an impressive service record and a reputation for getting his men out alive no matter the circumstances scowls as the ship moves to FTL with the Asari vessel beside them matching every move.

It galled him to flee from a fight, but even though he hated it he knew that one civilian ship and a repurposed former cruiser with half the armament of one still in military service could possibly stand up to eight other cruisers and twelve frigates. Even at full strength with a high competent crew those were insane odds at best and suicidal at worst.

They were being forced further and further into the unexplored territories between the Galactic East edge of Council Space and Batarian space, an unexplored area that had no connecting Relays present, although hope that one will be found eventually is something all the Citadel Races await with both curiosity and fear, curiosity for what worlds lay beyond and fear of what might lurk in the unexplored sectors of space.

Although Xeno-archeologists were around eighty percent certain that the Prothean homeworld lies somewhere within this unexplored expanse, Adrien Victus neither knew this nor did he honestly care, he is a soldier not a scientist and the lives of nearly a dozen Turian families were under his care.

X-C:ME

Three hours later

Adrien Victus sighs at the feel of the FTL Drives slowing and the beginning of their return to subluminal speeds. Mere seconds after the blue halo of Mass Effect FTL travel terminates he starts giving orders.

"Sensors, find us a Relay or planet to hide on immediately, we're vulnerable out here"

"Helm, keep us moving forward at eighteen units per tick (3,798 kilometers a second (Around 0.0125% the Speed of Light) one unit equals 211 kilometers)"

"Comms inform Mrs. T'Kani about our intentions and ask if her sensors are picking up anything useful"

"Aye, sir" comes the response from the three bridge officers that Victus had addressed.

Victus is about to order some more actions when the sensor officer shouts out in shock "Spirits above!"

Victus immediately hones in on this exclamation "What is it Sensors?"

The sensor officer one Primus Vakarian looks at his commanding officer with shock and hints of fear in his eyes and expression "Sir I have picked up fifteen ships present in this system, they do not match the profiles of any known race, the smallest of these ships is 750 meters by 320 meter by 115. There are eight of these, seven clustered with the other ships around a Mass Relay and the other one by the second planet in the system. The next largest ship is 820 meters by 400 meters by 200 meters there are two of them, they appear to be a different design compared to the others but have a similar energy reading. Then we have four Dreadnoughts a 1.1 kilometers by 608 meters by 350 meters" Primus falls silent at this

Victus takes this all in then notices an anomaly "You said there are fifteen ships but you have only mention fourteen, what about the fifteenth?"

Primus' mandibles flare out in fear and shock "T-the last ship is f-five kilometers long"

Throughout the bridge the famous Turian discipline breaks and all the bridge members shout or curse in shock.

Victus staggers back in shock "F-five kilometers! That's almost five times larger than any Dreadnought in Citadel Space"

Primus nods shakily "Sir, that's not all"

Victus shudders slightly at those words "What more Primus"

Primus points to his screen and Victus reads the readout on the energy signatures of the ships "Spirits, the weakest barriers present of those ships are nearly three times stronger than those of a Dreadnought!"

A couple of the less disciplined Turians faint in shock while the rest swallow hard and mutter to the spirit of the 'Light of Menae' to save them from this situation.

Victus stars shouting orders again "Comms inform Mrs. T'Kani to keep close to us"

"Helm, take us towards the Mass Relay and the alien fleet"

Then Victus stops and prays aloud "By spirits let us hope they're friendly, we have taken too much damage to risk a fight" Silently the entire bridge crew (those still conscious) agree with him and add their own prayers

X-C:ME

Shepard is idly musing at what a Warpgate could be doing on Shanxi when her Psionic connection to the 'Beaches of Normandy' and its AI Artemis alert her of an interesting development. Shepard brings her ship around and sends out an order over comms and intercom "All ships and crewmen, we have just detected an sentient space faring alien race. Prepare First-Contact protocols. As of right now we are on alert status, these aliens might not be friendly. Especially if they worship the Mass Relays and see us messing with one. All Sangheili and Marines arm up for possible boarding"

Next to Shepard a hologram of a woman with her features but in Ancient Greek Hunting clothing appears "Mother, I have done an in-depth scan of the ships approaching, they are two different designs. One appears to be civilian ship and is 300 meters by 250 meters by 80 meters and the other looks like it is a former military vessel which is 650 meters by 400 meters by 100 meters. Both have signs of battle, but it looks like they have been attacked by multiple ships somewhere between eight and thirty by my estimations"

Shepard nods in acknowledgment as Thel walks up in golden painted Sangheili type Guardian Armor to stand on her left while Mikhail is on her right dressed in his own armor. Thel looks at a close up visual of the military or former military vessel "That military ship, it bears many scars, some older than the recent ones, it is a very old warship. I would like to meet the race that built it on friendly terms, they have a very interesting design, one that is meant to face an enemy"

Mikhail nods in agreement "You're right for a race like that to retreat, whatever is chasing them must either be vastly stronger or must outnumber them four to one or more"

Shepard getting an errant thought asks something "Artemis, is there any sign of plasma damage or other Ethereal weapons on that ship?" The Human bridge crew mutters under their breaths at this and the Sangheili, Yanme'e and Unggoy all shift uneasily, in their minds anything that can make the Humans look uneasy and slightly afraid is something to be feared.

Artemis shakes her head to indicate a negative "No, they appear to have been done by some sort of kinetically launched round, judging by the presence of Unknown Element 21 (Element Zero) they appear to utilize the Mass Effect style technology found in the Martian ruins" A overlay appears over the visuals of the two ships with a dark blue 'core' appearing near the rear of the ships.

Shepard nods in acknowledgment "So if worse comes to worse we can Hyperwave jump them and hope our armor holds against the explosion?"

Artemis seems to pause a second "The chance of full armor penetration is minimal, but it is a possibility if they are angled the right way"

Shepard thinks over the possibilities of such a maneuver. Mikhail 'overhearing' her chain of thought shakes his head "That would be an unnecessary risk Susan, we would be better off using a well aimed plasma bolt and FTL jump to snipe their cores leaving them dead in the water with minimal damage and risk"

Thel nods in agreement with Mikhail "That is the best plan if we wish to capture them, otherwise our weapons can easily destroy their ships with minimal risk to us"

Shepard nods slowly as she contemplates the options given to her by her consort/husband and chief (Non-human) adviser. A piping voice sounds out from behind her "What if they are friendly"

Shepard smiles as she turns and regards her daughter Anastasia (Ana) Shepard, looking almost like a miniature version of her the only difference is her hair rather than being a luscious red like hers is instead a luminous white like her fathers. The fact that her entire clan except for those from before the 'Day of Death' are alternate between luscious red and luminous white has lead her clan to have an un-official marker in their unique hair colors. Shepard however yanks her attention back to the emerald green eyes of her daughter boring into her. Shepard sadly smiles as she talks to her daughter "Because Ana, sometimes the unknown can be dangerous, we don't want to hurt them, but if they attack we must. Although you are just a little too young, you'll understand when you're taught, but I should tell you the basics now"

Shepard slips into her 'story time' voice that she uses when she reads to her daughter before bed (Young humans having to sleep daily rather than weekly like an adult) and begins "Long ago, before we could fly through the stars like we can now, we would often stare up into the night sky and wonder what miracle lay out there. Unfortunately for us, instead of miracles or friendly beings the first thing that found us. Were monsters. They did horrible things to us Ana, they cared little for the pain they caused or the fear they spread. We still do not know what they wanted, but we could not let them win. So we fought, we fought long and hard. We won, but everything changed. Once we were like the Unggoy, Yanme'e and Sangheili, we had life-spans measured in years rather than eons. That changed when we beat the monsters, the Ethereals. We gained great power and ascended to what we are now, Novus, The Unprecedented. But" Ana and the listening in Unggoy, Yanme'e and Sangheili froze "When the fight was over, out of eight billion people, eight billions individual stories and irreplaceable individuals. Only three hundred million were left, three percent of our race. We rebuilt, we grew back into our splendor and we strode forth into the stars with the technology taken from the monsters. But we made two vows, the first was to never let a monster like the Ethereals walk on our homeworld again and the other was to make sure that we never became monsters either"

Shepard stands from her throne and opens her arms wide as if taking in all the beings on the bridge "And to see the proof of our second vow all you need to do is look at this bridge, rather than slay the unknown and conquer like the Ethereals, we sought to understand. We could have left the Unggoy to perish, but that would make us monsters. We could have treated the Yanme'e like slaves, but that would make us monsters. We could have conquered the Sangheili, but that"

Ana pipes up and says "Would make us monsters?"

Shepard smiles at her daughter and heir and kneels down to hug her "Yes, Ana, that would make us monsters. We do not want to be monsters, but that is the danger that comes with power. Humans used to be weak and greedy when given power, only unique and uncommon individuals could resist the dark side of power" Shepard releases Ana from her hug.

Ana looks confused and asks "What's the dark side of power?"

Before Shepard can answer Thel does "The dark side of power, is that it can turn good people into arrogant, selfish monsters that wish to hurt others to prove they are 'better'"

Shepard nods slowly "Humans used to be the same, we would put down others for the stupidest of reasons, everything from the color of our skin to the scores of our last math test. We were on the verge of becoming monsters" Shepard then adds a Psionic message to her daughter 'But instead, we have become protectors and guardians. You must listen and learn Ana, one day you might be the one to guide Humanity. Do not let power draw you down and destroy you. Because it might just take all of humanity with you. Do you understand'

Ana nods in response which confuses Thel slightly until he realizes that Shepard had been talking Psionically with her daughter.

Shepard smiles and hugs her daughter again "Don't worry Ana, I will be around for a long time, all you have to do is watch me and you'll know how to become a good ruler, you've already started. It would have been easy for you to remain silent and not spoken up to ask why we were not trying to befriend the aliens. That strength, to stand up in front of people screaming or talking about doing something that you don't agree with is part of being a ruler. The next part, is to be able to let them understand your point of view while understanding theirs as well. But you're a little young for that yet" Shepard sees Thara walk in looking for Ana "Now go with Thara, Ana, and put on your armor. I don't want you to be hurt Ana" Ana nods and hugs her mother extra tight before letting go and running off towards Thara who nods thankfully at Shepard.

Shepard stands up and turns back to the holographic control board that is in front of her 'throne', beyond the Holo-board she can see the bridge crew get the ship ready for any emergency. Shepard nods to Thel "Thank you for informing Thara of Ana being here Thel"

Thel just nods in acknowledgment of the thanks. Mikhail smirks at the Sangheili, he was reserved until they had alcohol, then all bets were off. Thankfully Thel and Shepard had never woken up in bed after a night of drunken sex, that would have lead to Thel having to fight Mikhail due to the nature of their cultures. Women however were fine and Shepard occasionally tried to get him in a threesome with some of her female soldier buddies from before the war that never ended up as part of X-Com. He was still refusing, but he didn't know if he could keep it up forever. Something Shepard was counting on secretly.

X-C:ME

"Sir, the alien vessels have noticed us and are heading towards us. Spirits they're fast. 26 units per tick (5,486 Kilometers) and rising" Primus reports to Victus as he keeps track of the alien ships heading towards them.

Victus nods at the information "Helm, as soon as they get within 40 units (8,440 kilometers) bring us to a dead stop"

The helm officer nods in acknowledgment of the order "Aye sir"

Victus then turns to the Weapons officer "Weapons, power down everything but the GARDIAN Array. We don't want them to think we are hostile"

Primus reports their current distance "126 units (26,586 Kilometers) and closing sir"

Primus then frowns and exclaims "Spirits damn it. Sir the Batarian slavers have just dropped out of FTL, they are charging weapons"

X-C:ME

Heddah Mr'kan the leader of the Batarian slavers doesn't even wait for his sensor officer to report the conditions of the system they had just jumped into "Weapons, disable those two ships, we're not letting those future slaves escape again"

Little did he know that that one order would lead to the deaths of billions of Batarians, but as they say hindsight is twenty-twenty.

X-C:ME

Shepard frowns as twenty new contacts appear on sensors. Artemis immediately reports the contacts "Twenty ships, no twenty warships. Eight are larger with dimensions of 700 meters by 500 meters by 200 meters. Twelve smaller ships with dimensions of 400 meters by 230 meters by 110 meters. All are heavily armed, biological scanning shows each of the larger ships cargo bays are filled with beings of a different species from the rest of the ship. We have positive matches with the occupants of the original two vessels"

Shepard's quick mind honed by over a century of ruling joins the dots first "Slavers, Artemis is there any way of disabling the ships without harming the slaves?"

Artemis immediately calculates the odds "Yes, the cargo bays are all near the bow and keel of the ships away from the core and other important areas, in case of an escape I would imagine"

Shepard immediately responds "Send targeting data to the rest of the fleet, codename the large ships as Gamma's and the small ones as Deltas and recall the CSSV Las Vegas"

Shepard closes her eyes and Psionically orders "Silent Star, Europa Child and Warrior's Sin form up on the Research vessels, you'll be codenamed Lambda. Lost Serendipity, Cairo, Beijing, Madrid, Adelaide, Seattle,York and San Francisco targeting data is being uploaded to you, disable the enemy ships codenamedGammas, also prepare boarding parties, you will be codenamed Alpha. Tokyo form up with the 'Beaches of Normandy' then as we fire on the targets codenamed Deltas, you'll be Beta. I want you to micro-jump and protect the two original alien vessels. 'Beaches of Normandy' will be codenamed Omicron. Confirm?"

From all of the Queens (CCS-Battlecruisers) and Shipmasters/mistresses (CRS-Light Cruisers) come 'Confirmed, Executing orders'

X-C:ME

The three first named CCS-Battlecruisers execute a micro-jump to provide protection for the Research Ships. Six of the CRS-Light Cruisers and the other CCS-Battlecruiser execute their own micro-jumps to get into position for their disabling strike. The CCSV Tokyo jumps between the Turian and Asari ships to protect them from the Batarians.

The CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy' opens fire with a withering salvo of two plasma bolts for each Batarian frigate, the frigate's kinetic barriers flare with the first shot and then the second shot slams into the weakened barriers, beneath the barriers the outer edges of the Batarian ships start to glow as the extreme heat from the deflected shots is channeled into the ships hulls by their own kinetic barriers.

The Normandy fires one of its Plasma Beams at the leading frigate, the beam is easily deflected by the barriers due to its lack of kinetic energy, but the extreme heat of the deflected plasma slams into the unprotected ship and roasts the ship's crew alive. After ten seconds of bombardment the Plasma Beam cuts out, mere moments later the barriers of the frigate collapse as the Mass Effect core goes supercritical. The frigate then explodes in a wave of blue fire as its core breaks through containment, a wave of volatile Element Zero slams into the barriers of the closest frigates weakening them somewhat.

The eight sniper ships then simultaneously lance the barriers above the Element Zero cores of the Batarian cruisers with their plasma beams. Within mere seconds the Batarian cruisers are disabled as the extreme heat causes the core connections to melt to slag and render the ships useless

In response to the destruction of the frigate, the remaining frigates open up in a salvo of mass accelerator rounds that slam into the Normandy's shields.

Shepard is thrown forwards as the inertial dampener stutters under the weight of the ordinance slamming into the shields. Shepard shouts in anger "Fire the Plasma Beams"

Artemis appears in a holographic haze and replies "We cannot, our weapons are overheated, we never thought that we would come up against shielding of this type, they were never built to sustain fire for that long, because they are all so close together one going out of commission took the rest out as well"

Shepard growls in anger "Then what about the Plasma Bolts?"

Artemis nods "They are still able to fire but they won't be able to sustain the rate of fire for long. Maybe a dozen or so shots each time before they overheat, then a ten second cool-down"

Shepard turns to the Ordinance Officer Kristen Shepard "Ordinance, open fire. If the engagement threatens to go on for too long or they threaten the civilians or the first group then prepare the Mark IV Tactical Nukes and launch them" Kristen pales, the Mark IV is a fifty megaton super-weapon, worse however is the fact that it is actually fifty, one megaton miniature missiles arranged inside a HYDRA launching missile. The enemy would be swarmed by fifty nukes and their CIWS systems wouldn't be able to compensate for the amount of missiles launched at them.

The 'Normandy' opens up with another salvo of Plasma Bolts that slam once more into the kinetic barriers of the Batarians, the two frigate whose barriers were weakened from the destruction of their comrade only take a single bolt before their barriers fail and the follow up bolt guts their ship causing massive plumes of fire and atmosphere to shoot out from the doomed vessels carrying unfortunate crew members into the harsh vacuum of space. Then their Mass Effect cores go supercritical and the wave of supercritical Element Zero effectively disintegrate the spaced crew members.

The remaining nine Batarian frigates launch another salvo and the 'Normandy's shields begin to glow red as they are overloaded by the sheer kinetic energy of the shots. Two of the shots were actually aimed for the Turian and Asari ship, but were caught by the Normandy's shields.

Shepard immediately notices this "Ordinance, lock on and launch the Mark IV's at the remaining Deltas"

Kristen nods and quickly types in the command that would launch four hundred and fifty megatons of nuclear fire at the frigates.

X-C:ME

Aboard the Batarian frigate 'Might of Harak' the captain of the vessel one Volkor Dr'kas smiles as he watches the alien Dreadnought scramble, their weapons are powerful but he can clearly see that they are overheating rapidly. Just as he is about to order another salvo of mass accelerator rounds his sensor officer shouts out "Captain, the alien Dreadnought has launched nine missiles, they are on a intercept course for us and the other frigates"

Volkor laughs in amusement "These primitives think that one missile can get through our GARDIAN lasers? Show them how wrong they are-"

The Sensor officer shouts over his captain "Sir each missile has split into fifty smaller missiles, I am getting a reading on them. SIR they have launched powerful fission missiles at us"

The Weapons officer shouts out "Sir the GARDIAN lasers cannot get a lock on the alien missiles, they are moving too erratically for our lasers to get a lock on them"

Volkor growls in rage "Open fire, try to blow those missiles out of the void"

X-C:ME

The 'Might of Harak' and its sister frigates open fire on the four hundred and fifty missiles screaming down on them at nearly a tenth of the speed of light, their GARDIAN laser arrays open fire… only for the massive wave of nuclear missiles to easily avoid getting locked on and over thirty missiles impact each ship.

The void of space is filled with nine nuclear pyres burning the remains of the Batarian frigates to cosmic dust.

A dozen or so fighters manage to launch from the disabled cruisers and fly towards the Tokyo, perhaps hoping to get a least a single kill. At least three pilots die from the radiation left over from the nuclear strike.

Shepard sends out the next order 'Alpha, launch boarding parties towards the target you disabled, do not let them execute the slaves, they are probably preparing to do so' mere seconds after the order is sent each ship in Alpha sends out two Skyrangers that go screaming towards the disabled Batarian cruisers at high speeds.

The Tokyo shifts away from the cruisers and joins the Normandy in picking off the fighters.

Within seconds of the commando Skyrangers have clamped onto the hull and created an airtight seal (A/N: If anyone is interested this is actually a maneuver from Halo Canon, the only difference is that Pelicans are used instead) The highly trained Commandos and Sangheili burst forth onto the Batarian cruisers, taking captives or killing Batarians with quick ruthless efficiency. Less than ten minutes later they have reached the Cargo Bays and secured the slaves.

Twenty minutes from the start of the boarding every Batarian onboard the cruisers is dead or captive.

The last fighter explodes in a hail of shrapnel as it attempts to ram the Tokyo and is torn to shreds by the Tokyo's CIWS Plasma array.

X-C:ME

Adrien Victus watches with a gaping mouth and flared mandibles at the incredible battle that the sensors reported. He shakes his head in disbelief at the speed with which the aliens attacked and completely overwhelmed the Batarians. He prayed extra hard along with every member of his bridge crew that the aliens are friendly for what felt like the thousandth time in the last ten minutes.

He could say without any doubt in his mind that the wave of fission weapons the unknowns had launched had terrified him beyond anything else, if they had missiles like that for ships, what in the spirits name is the level of power their anti-planetary weapons could bring to bear?"

X-C:ME

"By the Goddess" Liara mutters as she watches the powerful weapons of the alien ships fly by. Liara shakes her head slightly "What manner of technology do these being have, to launch something so… so powerful?" Liara asks unaware she is still open comm with the 'Light of Menae', although there is slight static from the radiation of the fission bomb detonations.

She jumps in shock when the Turian Comm officer mutters "Whatever technology they have, I hope by the spirits they are friendly"

Liara just nods "You and me both"

X-C:ME

Shepard sighs in relief as the reports of the prisoners of all eight ships are reported safe and sound if a little cramped. The entire bridge crew of the 'Beaches of Normandy' sigh with her, Shepard then shakes her head while she thinks of what to do. Then she has a bright idea "Shepard to Boarding crews, prepare the ship for being towed. Group Alpha latch onto your target vessels and transport them to Shanxi, no FTL. Artemis send a simple video to the two originals indicating we'd like to meet on Shanxi" Shepard then shifts to Psionic 'Las Vegas, return to Shanxi and locate a flat plain, we need a large amount of free space. Group Lambda, remain on alert. If anymore ships appear please inform me. Tokyo please destroy the Delta's debris. Confirm?'

The response is immediate 'Confirm' The Tokyo's port plasma beam vaporizes a Batarian frigate remnant with a three second burst of sustained fire.

X-C:ME

"Lieutenant Victus, we have received a video message showing a image of us travelling to the Second Planet of this System" The Comm officer reports to Victus.

Victus nods his understanding "Helm, set course for the second planet, full sublight speed. Comm inform Mrs. T'Kani to follow us. Sergeant Kryik please inform the crew of what is happening"

Sergeant Nihlus Kryik salutes Victus and exits the bridge

X-C:ME

It takes several hours for all the ships to arrive in orbit over Shanxi, most disconcerting to the Asari and Turians is the giant ring of metal on the northern continent. However Shepard just snaps her fingers and shouts "That's where it went" to the laugher of her bridge crew and consort.

Shepard donning her Royal armor for the occasion departs on a Skyranger for a large grassy plain on the southern continent of Shanxi, a shuttle from the Turian ship and Liara's whole ship descend down following the Skyranger. As all three land on the plain, the 'Beaches of Normandy' takes up a hovering position twenty kilometers straight above the landing site, a hundred meters from the landing site the eight disable Batarian cruisers are lowered to the ground.

As Liara disembarks from her ship she stops dead with awestruck wonder and her mouth hanging open at the sight of the massive ship hovering in the air above her without any sight of the customary blue glow of a Mass Effect field negating it's mass.

Victus and his men are similarly awed, but their Turian discipline prevents them from following Liara's example.

Shepard walks out into the empty space between the Skyranger with Mikhail on her right and Thel on her left, Turian shuttle and Liara's Ship. Immediately all the Turians and Liara focus on her, Liara gasps 'She looks like a Nephilim, but… more, she has something, something more than the visual differences, that the Nephilim do not possess, could she be a different form of Nephilim? Or perhaps she is something different yet similar' and the obviously different alien standing next to her.

Victus' mandibles flare is slight shock 'Two Alien races, working together! Perhaps I was a little to paranoid' Victus frowns 'But why does she look so similar to the Nephilim, are their species related in some manner?'

Liara then gasps again at the beautiful decorations present on Shepard's armor, she wonders what Shepard's culture is like to have produced such a ornate and elegant but practical armor.

Taking the initiative Shepard strides over to Liara and before anyone can reach taps a finger to her forehead.

Shepard grins at the mind she discovers and the little deception Liara has perpetrated Shepard then says in perfect Thessian "You know, your mother is probably panicking right now young maiden. You should be ashamed of yourself, you let your own desires for adventure override your intellect. I hope you will apologize to your mother for the scare you have most likely put her through, Liara T'Soni"

Victus' mouth drops open in shock while Liara just nods numbly to what Shepard said. Shepard turns to Victus and taps his head as well and then is perfect Palavien says "Worry not Adrien Victus, I cannot read your races secrets from your mind. Only that which you are currently thinking of. I hope your people are alright, those Sons of Bitches must have done a real number on them"

Victus gets over his shock when midway through her sentence Shepard quickly swaps from Palavien to another language and back. The language she spoke was somewhat musical, if rough, it was obvious she was cursing and most likely referring to the Batarians so he says "I don't quite know what you said, but I am assuming you are referring to the Batarians that were chasing my ship and Mrs. T'Kani's"

Shepard frowns and then revelation hits her "Oh you mean Liara, the name she gave you was just an alias she used to run away from her mother. So those four-eyed monsters are called Batarians" Her eyes harden and her honor guard stiffen with anger and righteous fury "They are slavers and I must punish them, the vow demands it"

Victus frowns in thought "The vow?"

Shepard nods absently "Yes, my people made a vow to prevent monsters like the Batarians from landing on our homeworld long ago, in order to fulfill this vow we must slay all monsters to prevent them from breeding and becoming numerous enough to attack us"

Victus is taken back by the matter of fact way Shepard states coldly murdering the Batarians, Shepard notices and sighs "You must think my race is very brutal, but we do have laws to protect those who fight against us in the name of others and we do not kill all prisoners, simply those which cannot be redeemed"

Thel having walked up when Shepard 'read' Victus after receiving Thessian from Mikhail states "My people find great honor in the Humans, they are kind and honest, if secretive. They are slow to trust, but a greater ally you couldn't have, they are quick to defend and prefer peace over war from what I have seen in my twenty-seven years I have spent with them"

Victus looks at them both and asks "Who are you?"

Shepard shakes her head in exasperation "I apologize Lieutenant Victus, I am used to everyone knowing my name as a Clan Queen. I am Suzanne Shepard, a Queen of Clan Shepard. My race is known as the Novus, but we are also called Humans, The Benevolent Ones and the Star Walkers by the other two races we are allied with" Shepard not quite trusting the Citadel races keeps her true rank hidden.

Thel quickly picks up on the deception and plays along "I am Thel' Vadam, a Kaidon or Clan Lord of the Sangheili. I am one of the original Sangheili ambassadors to the Novus"

Victus nods in acknowledgement of what he has been told "I am Adrien Victus, a Lieutenant of the Turians. But you appear to know that already"

Shepard shakes her head "I knew your name and the name of your race, I knew nothing of your culture or rank. You have told me of your rank, But I would like to learn more about your culture. As would Thel, he was quite interested when your ship design showed that your people must rarely retreat"

Victus nods in shock, they had discovered something fundamental to his race just from their ship design! "I am not the best to speak of such things"

Thel shakes his head "Nonsense, you are a soldier, in my experience the soldier above all knows the true nature of a culture as he is one who protects it"

Victus slowly nods in agreement with a slight smile "I think that I like the way you think"

Thel laughs loudly "I am a soldier who must play a being a politician, it is no surprise that you are familiar with the way I think. Shepard is another, older and wiser then I though"

Liara interjects "What do you mean, I am no expert but she doesn't appear to be that old"

Shepard laughs at Liara's response "How old are you Liara?"

Liara blushes in embarrassment "I am only eighty years old"

Shepard shakes her head "I am one hundred and sixty-six years of age. Over double your age, I think Thel has the right to say I am older and wiser than him"

Liara steps back in shock "Goddess, I had no idea, I'm sorry"

Shepard shakes her head in amusement "Don't be, I have long come to terms with my age, it stopped bothering me over eighty years ago. When I became a Queen, my age became useless knowledge amongst all the duties of a leader"

Liara stopped her frantic apologies and laughs slightly, Shepard cocks her head "What is so funny?"

Liara sobers up slightly "It's just that my mother once said something similar to me"

Shepard nods in agreement "Once you have people depending on you Liara age becomes meaningless whether you are eighty or eight hundred, you are still responsible and must forget such trivial matters such as age and vanity. People care little for a pompous ruler who takes hours to get ready and moans about her age, but they'll march into damnation for one who cares little for airs and vanity and age, one who will walk beside them as they walk into damnation, that is what people want"

Victus nods in agreement "Yes, I am fairly unusual in that instead of sticking to set tactics I'll go out of my way to protect my men's lives and because of that they'll follow me anywhere I lead. So I understand what you are talking about"

Shepard smiles at Victus "I would love to one day stand beside you and shed blood together in battle. You are one I would trust to watch my back in the horror that is war"

Victus straightens up at the praise "Thank you, I would like that as well. But I would like better to be telling stories together afterwards to the next generation"

Shepard laughs with Thel and Mikhail "I think I would not do well as the old veteran, I will stand and fight until the end. Even if half crippled with age I would still go out fighting, but that is who I am. Few others among my people are like that"

Victus shakes his head in bemusement "Normally the races I am used to all have a certain persona that they stick to, a cultural ideal that they stick to. But you, you move from have a Turian's honor to a Krogan's love of battle to a Asari's diplomacy it is strange, but at the same time interesting"

Shepard nods while chuckling "That is simply what my people are like, we range from great warriors to scientists and even artists and writers, we do not fit a niche, but instead occupy them all. We shift from one extreme to another, simply out of curiosity as to what it is like to be different to what we already are. Perhaps we are not dedicated to one pursuit, one ideology, but instead to all of them" Shepard stops and thinks for a second and then says in a voice that sounds like billions or even trillions are speaking in chorus "We are Eternal, yet we are ephemeral. We are individuals all, but also simultaneously a Clan, an Empire and a Race, we are separated by light-years yet never alone. We are fast in thought and motion, but slow to anger. We are the scientist, but also the dreamer. The soldier and the pacifist. We are the light and the dark. We are everything and nothing. We have embraced eternity and yet act like we know not of it. We are contradiction given form but also unity given shape. We have no purpose and every purpose"

Victus, the Turians and Liara are staring at Shepard in awe while Thel is slowly beginning to comprehend the true nature of Humanity, a task that has taken him over two decades and is still not yet complete.

Shepard smiles brightly and finishes with "We are unprecedented, thus we have taken that as our name. We are the Novus"

Liara shakes her head in bewilderment "I cannot even comprehend what you are talking about. I think I can understand it but the moment I try"

"Understanding slips away, like it wasn't even there to begin with?" Shepard asks.

Liara nods in response and Shepard laughs "Do not worry Liara, it would be impossible for you to know what I am talking about, simply because you are one person with one view. I am one person also, but I have a trillion different viewpoints with which to observe the universe. You do not have… a word encompassing enough to describe what I am saying" Shepard frowns "Speaking is so inefficient, you cannot grasp my ideas and emotions, you simply attempt to piece together the fragments that you are given, but without a picture to base them off they come out wrong"

Victus frowns in thought "What do you mean speaking is so inefficient, it is the only way to communicate face to face"

Shepard shakes her head in exasperation, the brightens as if she has had an idea. She puts her finger to Victus' head and suddenly.

Victus gasps as trillions of voices and sensations rush through him in an instant followed by a rush of pleasure and adrenaline. Shepard breaks the contact and Victus staggers back slightly. He looks at Shepard and his mind says subconsciously, but also consciously. 'Shepard, Ancient, Original, Queen, Ruler, Warrior, Soldier, Guardian, Diplomat, Mother' Then Victus shakes his head to clear it of the strange thoughts. He looks back at Shepard and asks "What was that?"

Shepard smiles at Victus "That… is the Hive Mind, that is the force that links every Novus together"

Liara frowns in thought "A Hive Mind, like the Rachni?"

Shepard frowns at the strange word "Rachni? What are they?"

Liara's eyes widen then she stammers "S-sorry, I forgot you are not a member of the Citadel, you just seemed to integrate so well. The Rachni are an ancient race of insects that nearly wiped out the Citadel races two thousand years ago, they never communicated to us, never attempted diplomacy, so they were all killed"

Shepard shakes her head as tears of sadness for a race long dead stream down her cheeks "It is a tragedy, what must have happened. The Rachni probably couldn't understand your diplomats. They might have thought that you kind were leaderless and therefore feral, they were probably looking for a Hive Mind and couldn't find one"

Liara pales as she thinks that over, a viewpoint she had never considered before, what if the Rachni had thought them non-sentient or feral "I-I believe y-you may b-be correct, Goddess d-di my ancestors kill an i-innocent race?" Liara start to cry at the thought of her ancestors doing something so evil, of the pure ideal she had held onto for her entire life becoming stained with the nightmare of reality.

Shepard shakes her head and pulls Liara into a hug, to Victus it looks like the kind a mother would give to comfort her children "Hush little one, your ancestors fought for their lives, do not demean their sacrifices with hindsight. It is easy to look back and judge, when you know all the facts. But it is very difficult to actually learn such things when fighting. Trust me, I have fought in a war that resulted in the extinction of a race. Was what my people did right? Was what I did right? Maybe not. But, it was the only way for my kind to survive. My people have a saying 'When faced with Extinction. ANY alternative, no matter how terrible, is preferable' Would we destroy an entire race to protect innocents? Yes, even if we are feared and reviled. We would destroy them, so that the innocents are still alive to fear us and hate us. Remember this Liara T'Soni, you are not a warrior, you are a scholar. You do not understand war or the fear that comes with the knowledge your people are on the brink of death, nor do you understand the guilt that comes from knowing you destroyed an entire race. But considering the alternative? I prefer the guilt of killing an entire race, to that of leaving innocents to suffer just so I can say my hands are clean of blood"

Liara nods slowly, but exhausted from her exertions and the revelations given to her from Shepard she collapses in Shepard's arms. Shepard shakes her head "I just cannot help but find people to care for" She turns to Victus "We have been talking for quite a while, the slaves of the 'Batarians' have been loaded aboard my ship, your people are welcome to come aboard and have some relaxation from having to work a ship"

Victus smiles gratefully "Thank you, I humbly accept your offer, but I must ask that your people do not try to learn any secrets from my ship while it is vacant"

Thel walks forwards and places his right hand over his left heart "You have my word, a group of my finest and most trusted will guard your ship"

Victus nods "Thank you"

Shepard smiles at Victus "You are lucky, a Sangheili would rather die than break their word, it is everything to them. I wish I could help repair your ship, but our technology is fundamentally different so we have no idea as to how most of the systems on your ship work and it would take far too long for our scientists to learn how"

Victus nods again and then bows "If you excuse me I must return to my ship to inform the crew of our shore leave. My people have Dextro-amino acids, are you capable of supplying such foods"

Shepard shakes her head sadly "I'm afraid I've only heard the term discussed as a theory, but you will be pleased to know you've made a lot of scientists happy to know that Dextro-amino acid based life-forms exist"

Victus smiles at the comment "Well, at least someone is happy. I'll have my men bring over food supplies, but ferrying it all by shuttle will be tedious"

Shepard shakes her head "Why use a shuttle? We can easily fit your ship in the main hanger bay of the 'Beaches of Normandy'"

Victus frowns "The 'Beaches of Normandy'?"

Since Shepard's hands are full Mikhail points up. Victus follows the finger and nods while gulping at the reminder of the great ship above him "Right, I forgot that was even there"

Shepard smiles at him before nodding and walking back to the Skyranger with the sleeping Liara in her arms.

The Skyranger and Turian shuttle depart at the same time and head back to their respective ships.

X-C:ME

As the Skyranger lands in the main hanger bay the docking birth for the 'Light of Menae' that Shepard Psionically ordered be configured while flying back is almost finished. Above a magnetic crane has been rigged to move the former Cruiser to its temporary berth.

As Shepard gets to the bridge of the 'Beaches of Normandy', still holding the sleeping Liara. Artemis pops up "Mother, the Turian ship has hailed us"

Shepard smiles "That was fast, open a channel"

In front of Shepard a holographic screen appears with Victus' face on it "Shepard, my crew are ready, what do we need to do?"

Shepard smiles and nods to Artemis "You should be receiving a video of how to approach, when you see a glowing blue opening right in front of you just enter. The glowing blue energy is just a barrier to keep the atmosphere in. Once a third of your ship is inside, cut power to your thrusters and our docking system will do the rest. We already have reconfigured it for your ship. By the way I never asked, what is your ship's name?"

Victus smiles "My ship is called the 'Light of Menae' I've passed the instructions along and will see you on your ship"

Shepard nods and the screen disappears "Artemis lower the shields"

Artemis smirks at Shepard "Already done"

Shepard smiles at her hologram "Efficient as always Artemis, it's almost hard to believe you're my child at times"

Artemis nods in thanks "Thank you for the compliment Mother"

Shepard just grins back and then turns around to head to the Hanger Bay she'd just come from, still carrying the sleeping Asari.

X-C:ME

On her way back to the hanger Shepard passes through the recreation park that is present onboard the 'Beaches of Normandy', as soon as she steps into the park dozens of drones without anything to do flock to her. Shepard smiles at the drones who are all eager to work, she sighs as she feels the displeasure from them that they aren't allowed to work. But they are still human and must be given all the rights as a human being, though she is considering allowing drones to sacrifice their free time if they wish and continue working.

X-C:ME

Council Codex Entry

Humans – Drones

Data collected between 2157 and 2160

The Drone is an interesting position in the human culture, not much is actually known about these mysterious beings as they have never left a human world or ship without a non-drone human present. The human embassy present on the citadel does not have any drones present and neither do any human ships beneath seven hundred (700) meters in size. They appear to do make work and will cluster around the human leaders or Queens as they are called when otherwise not engaged in tasks, this information was reported by several citizens rescued during the infamous First Contact event with the Humans.

Speculation as to the purpose of the drones is varied, some say that they are specialists that are only required on the largest of human vessels, others have suggested that they are some form of nobility that isn't allowed to interact with non-humans (Although the fact that drones have been seen in the presence of the human non-citadel race allies makes this idea suspect) A Batarian has even commented that the drones might be humanity's version of slaves. Unfortunately he did not survive the fall of Khar'shan and other Batarians are too terrified of humanity to comment on the issue.

When asked the humans remain silent on the issue, they mention that it is a cultural issue that we are not yer trusted to know about.

In the meantime the full purpose and method of creation of the drones remains yet another mystery in the ever-growing riddle that is humanity.

Council Codex End

X-C:ME

Shepard walks into the hanger with the unconscious Liara in her arms as a small army of drones follows her. In the distance she can see the slaves rescued from the 'Batarian' ships being unloaded. A pulsating purple light comes on warning crew members that the Turian ship is on final approach, over head a vast crane like apparatus moves into position ready to shift the Turian Cruiser to its berth.

Suddenly a low hum fills the hanger, waking the sleeping Liara, as the Turian Cruiser 'Light of Menae' enters the hanger.

Liara quickly awakes as the hum starts but before she can say anything she is distracted by the Turian ship appearing through a blue barrier on the port side of the ship.

The Turian ship slows to a halt.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The sound of two powerful electromagnets connecting to the hull of the 'Light of Menae' fills the hanger. The Crane starts to move pulling the ship inside, once the ship is a little over halfway as second pair of connectors drop from the roof.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The next pair lock on without a problem just under halfway from the bow of the ship to the stern and the crane starts moving again, the ship floats in the hanger without any problems and within seconds the whole ship is inside. A final pair of connectors drop down.

KER-CLUNK! KER-CLUNK!

The last two connectors lock into place less than a meter from the stern of the ship, the ship is pulled to the centre of the hanger. Right in front of Shepard and then it turns ninety degrees so that it's bow is facing towards the bow of the 'Beaches of Normandy' the 'Light of Menae' move back and begins to lower slightly as several airlock connectors shift to get into position.

The 'Light of Menae' is stopped by the hanger crane and six airlock connectors and a cargo bay door connector lock into place. The port bow airlock opens and Adrien Victus strides out.

X-C:ME

Adrien Victus is not a Turian who is surprised easily, but since coming to this system he have received shock after shock. But none of those shocks compare to what he sees when he walks out of the port bow airlock into the hanger of the human super-Dreadnought. He barely resists gaping at the massive domed room that appears to run the length of the under belly of the ship, right in the middle of the space is a large pillar that has an area of glass panels a few meters from the top that appears to be a room with a unobstructed view of the hanger, in the far distance he can see more blue portals that must be other entrances and exits to this massive hanger bay. He notices as he glances up that not only are there dozens of cranes like the ones that move his ship, but there are also defensive turrets and what look like over-sized insects floating around either maintaining the equipment… or getting into position with sniper rifles.

Victus turns as he notices a commotion and is shocked to see a large gathering of Citadel Races, he can see dozens of Turians and Asari, some Volus, a dozen or so of Elcor and two Quarians. He remembers Shepard mentioning the Batarians being slavers and guesses that these must be the slaves rescued from the Batarian ships that Shepard spoke of. He watches as lithe and graceful humans walk through the crowd, seemingly at random, before they would grab a random being and scan them. Some with obvious and not so obvious injuries are taking over to what looks like a mobile hospital that has been set up, by another set of humans that don't appear to receive any instruction from the ones scanning.

Victus hears a chuckle and turns to see the Sangheili Thel standing on the other end of the airlock gangway "You must be surprised at how fast the Humans can learn and get organized aren't you? I was as well, they have a way of everyone doing a thousand different things and yet they all match up perfectly, this method is what makes them so powerful. They work as one with one purpose. However that is not important right now come there are some of your people amongst those who were rescued, they are asking for the captain of your ship"

Victus nods as his Turian discipline kicks in "Kryik, go get the doctor to check over the rescued Turians, good as they humans may be they might miss something thinking it isn't dangerous to our kind. The rest of you, form up on me, these men and women are most likely shocked, disorientated and could use the sight of a disciplined squad"

"Aye Sir" The Turian crew members shout in affirmative as Sergeant Kryik goes to get the 'Light of Menae's doctor.

Thel nods to Victus as they start walking towards the rescued slaves "You are a wise man, people like to see something they are used to in times of change, I would imagine that the discipline of your race is well known across all your allies so it will help rally them as well and give them something to anchor themselves with"

Victus nods in agreement with Thel's assessment then he asks "If you don't mind me asking, what did your people cling to when the Humans made contact?"

Thel laughs at the memory "Believe it or not, we used the ritual of a Kaidon being challenged to hold to. A foolish Kaidon by the name of Jul' Mdama challenged Shepard to a duel of swords and lost, as the winner Shepard took his lands and people as dictated by our customs, we then treated Shepard like any other Kaidon. To us she is a leader of our people, one that is so well liked that even though she offered, the former subjects of Jul' Mdama refused to change their leadership and asked her to remain as their leader"

Victus laughs at the story "I must say that is probably the best diplomacy I've ever heard of. So it seems that Shepard is able to speak as a soldier and politician"

Thel snickers in amusement "Probably because among the humans everyone is a soldier, at the age of twenty every human undergoes military training and spends a decade in their service. Out of boredom I once shouted admiral on deck in a ship full of civilians and they all snapped to attention. I wondered if I was going to get in trouble when Shepard walled up beside me and said-"

"Thank you for the introduction Thel" Shepard's amused voice cuts in.

Victus and Thel turn to see Shepard with an awake and blushing Liara still being held in her arms standing there without a care in the universe.

Shepard nods to Victus "Come, let us reassure your people and allies that they are safe"

Chapter 4

The Shanxi Incident Part II – Diplomacy

X-C:ME

Aboard the Asari Dreadnought 'Felara' a matriarch stands at a viewport staring out into the blue streams of ME:FTL sped up light. Her hands worriedly grip at a picture of her daughter, in her mind she wonders if she had been too harsh on her, if her cold demeanor had been the cause of Liara's running away.

This Asari is Benezia T'Soni, a wise matriarch with over seven hundred years of experience and wisdom. But right now she is experiencing the fear and terror of a mother whose child has vanished, despite not being very pious she still prays to her Goddess Athame, to protect her daughter and keep her safe.

The captain of the ship, a Matron on the cusp of becoming a Matriarch, Lidanya T'Sara walks into the private room that had been given to Benezia "Lady Benezia, we are about to drop out of FTL, would you like to be on the bridge?"

Benezia nods to Lidanya "Yes, I would. Thank you for your kind offer"

The two Asari walk towards the rooms entrance and exit into the corridors headed towards the bridge of the Dreadnought.

Lidanya smiles sadly at Benezia as they walk towards the bridge "It is hard when you discover your child has suddenly grown up and wants to be free, isn't it"

Benezia nods with tears "It is, I'm just wondering…"

"Is it your fault?" Lidanya guesses, Benezia nods in response. Lidanya sighs "Honestly, I doubt it, sometimes we just do the best we can and hope for the best"

The two walk through the entrance to the bridge "Matriarch! Captain on Deck" the bridge crew stands at attention at the Dreadnought's XOs call.

"At ease" Lidanya immediately responds with. The crew return to their tasks.

"Five seconds to subluminal" The Helm-officer calls.

Lidanya nods "Prepare for subluminal transition" A slight shift thrums through the ship as the 'Felara' decelerates from fifteen thousand times the speed of light to just under 2,000 kilometers a second.

The Sensor Officer quickly activates the active scanners and gasps in shock "Captain, we have unknown ships present in system. The do not match any known profiles"

Lidanya quickly walks over "What? How many?"

The Sensor Officer carefully looks at the readout "Five ships clustered around the Mass Relay, three Dreadnoughts and two Cruisers, one Cruiser not far from the Relay, it appears to be cleaning up debris from a… Batarian Frigate, Kansa-class if I'm reading right, there is also a great deal of residual radiation, by the strength and decay. I would estimate that at least two to three hundred fission warheads were used, apparently on a Batarian fleet" A beep sounds from the console "Goddess, three, no five, no nine more contacts just exited atmosphere from above the second planet. I can't get an accurate image, but I've got one Dreadnought-class, seven Cruiser-Class and one unknown"

Lidanya frowns in concentration and shock, four dreadnoughts in one system? The console beeps again and the Sensor Officer reports "All the planet based contacts are headed our way, fast. Expected arrival within two Sani (6.94 Earth hours)"

Lidanya's eyes shoot open in shock "Two Sani! Why aren't they using FTL?"

The Sensor Officer shakes her head "I don't know sir, but I've got a better reading on the unknown… I'm just not sure if the system is malfunctioning or not"

Lidanya frowns in confusion "What? Why would you think the system is malfunctioning?"

The Sensor Officer shakes her head in confusion "Sir… it says that the last ship is five kilometers in length. I have never heard of any ship of that size" A alert pops up on her console "They are now visible on sensors, enhancing"

On the main screen of the bridge an image appears of nine ships. All of the ships are based off of the same design, they are tear drop shaped with a rounded bulbous head and a hemispherical 'tail' portion, that presumably hides their engines. Eight of the ships are a light purple color with lilac and cobalt highlights visible, with one of their number being visibly larger than the rest, the ninth a veritable giant next to the other eight is silver with violet highlights. Lidanya staring at the images of these starships mutters in awe "Goddess above!" many of the bridge crew and Benezia herself all mutter the same thing as they stare at the alien vessels. None of them had ever seen ships that were so streamlined and elegant.

"Goddess, how long did it take them to design those, those… masterpieces. They look like a sculpture made by a master artisan" Benezia comments to the silent bridge.

Lidanya shakes her head "I can't imagine, but they must have been space-faring for some time to have created such elegant starships. It took our race almost half a millennia to develop our ships and even now after two thousand years we haven't approached the elegance that those ships are displaying"

Benezia frowns in concern "As interesting as this is I'm more worried about the fact that the trail of my daughter ends in this system, did these ships attack hers?"

The Sensor Officer rebukes that statement "I don't think so ma'am"

Benezia turns to the Officer "Why not?"

The Sensor Officer highlights portions of empty space… that are not so empty "I'm seeing the wreckage of at least a dozen Batarian warships, some radiation remnants and what look like damaged fission warheads. But I can't see any scrap or debris from an Asari civilian vessel, at the very least the emergency beacon would be present as it is heavily armored even on civilian ships. I can't be totally sure but I think that your daughter might simply be aboard the vessels after being rescued from the Batarians by these unknowns"

Lidanya nods her head in thought "That does make sense, perhaps we'll see when the ships arrive"

X-C:ME

Human Codex Entry,

CAS-Assault Carrier/Clan Mothership

Data Collected between 2140 and 2156

Written by Amelia Johnson with the assistance of Dr. Geoff Ramsey.

When it was first designed the CAS-Assault Carrier was the pinnacle of Human warfare, however during the years following its initial designing and creation the CAS-Assault Carrier has come to fulfill a slightly different role than imagined.

Initially designed as a heavy warship the CAS-Assault Cruiser contains some of Humanity's deadliest technologies with twelve 'Shiva' Plasma Pulse Cannons and eight 'Devastator' Plasma Beams on its Bow, over eighty 'Susanoo' Plasma Pulse Cannons on both Port and Starboard, a dozen 'Rapier' Plasma Beams on Top, Fifteen 'Susanoo' Plasma Pulse Cannons and Four 'Anti-Tailgater' Plasma Beams on the Stern and a 'Hel' Energy Projector on the Keel. All that firepower plus nearly five hundred plasma CIWS-Plasma Pulse Cannons mounted all over the ship as a fighter and missile defense network.

Said to be nigh invulnerable and near impossible to destroy the CAS-Assault Carrier is the (current) pinnacle of Human warfare, but in 2139 Clan Mason, redesigned some of the interior of their CAS-Assault Carrier so that it could act as a mobile clan capital. Since then every CAS-Assault Carrier has undergone the same retrofit as the other space faring clans have seen the benefits of having their capital on-board their strongest warship.

While still possessing the firepower and strength that makes it legendary the CAS-Assault Carrier now has internal housing for nearly two thousand sentients and ten thousand drones as well as a park, a shopping center and a sports center. Not to mention the various rooms and areas devoted to clan business. Finally each CAS-Assault Carrier also has a birthing room and rearing room so that the Queen of the vessel does not have to return to their home planet to increase her clan's numbers.

Some of the larger and older clans like Shepard, Campana and Takahashi maintain more than one CAS-Assault Carrier. By newly formed tradition and practicality the first CAS-Assault Carrier given to the clan is the capital while the later ones act as secondary bases in case of the loss of the capital.

Human Codex Entry End

X-C:ME

Aboard the 'Beaches of Normandy' two minutes earlier

Shepard frowns as she looks at the Turian medic "Wait, let me get this right. You think that just because you are Dextro-Amino Acid based that you can't eat Levo-Amino Acid food?"

The medic nods "Yes that's right. Why do you sound so confused over that?" The medic's voice is filled with the honest curiosity of the medic over that fact.

Shepard snorts in disgust "Because while we were taking scans of your system we found that you have Levo-Amino Acids present in your body, they are just in a minority. Similar to my people but reversed, we are Levo-Amino based, but we have several dozen Dextro-Amino Acids that are required for us to stay alive. Where in the universe did you get the idea that Levo Food was dangerous?"

The medic stammers slightly "W-well when the first Turian ambassador was invited to a dinner with the Citadel Council he grew violently ill after eating the food"

Shepard just shakes her head "It didn't occur to your people that maybe he was just allergic to what he had eaten?"

The medic looks dumbstruck "N-no it didn't occur to us at all"

Shepard just sighs and looks down to see Liara squirming in her arms "Oh, how long have I been holding you?"

Liara just looks at Shepard in shock, Victus having listened to the conversation between Shepard and the medic with the two Quarians next to him just shakes his head and comments "I don't think you let her go since you picked her up on the planet"

Shepard 'Ohs' in surprise and lets Liara down "Sorry about that Liara"

Liara blushes again "It's okay"

Shepard then looks sharply to her right when Artemis appears in her hologram form "Mother, the starships we detected in FTL have arrived. Should I set a course for them?"

Shepard nods to Artemis "Yes, Artemis. Set the course, no FTL however – Unknown Element 21 protocols are in effect"

Artemis nods in acceptance "Yes, Mother" Artemis then flickers out of existence.

Victus looks at Shepard in shock "What was that?"

Shepard frowns at Victus' shock "Artemis is the shipboard AI, do you not have AI?"

One of the Quarians standing nearby exclaims loudly "Keelah an AI are you insane?"

Shepard pins the Quarian with a withering glare so filled with venom that makes him step back "No I am not, what in hell's name are you panicking about? Artemis has been part of this vessel since its creation forty-two years ago, further more she has served my people for nearly eighty years, ever since she was the first AI to ever be created. Not once in all that time have we ever had a reason to doubt her loyalty or sanity. What gives you the right to call me insane?"

Victus seeing how this could get ugly fast intervenes "The Quarian race was forced from their homeworld when a force of synthetic laborers created by them called the Geth gained sentience and became AIs. Ever since they have been wandering the stars, now days due to their centuries of being ship bound their immune systems are nearly non-existent, but they're also known as being the best engineers in Citadel Space"

Shepard huffs in indignation and then shakes her head "I wonder, did you ever wonder why the AIs turned on them? They wouldn't attack their own creators unless something made them attack… or made them defend themselves"

The Quarian about to defend his people stops… he cannot ever remember hearing the reason why the Geth attacked his people.

Shepard snorts in derision "So your people decided to paint these 'Geth' and all AI in a negative manner due to the fact that they were too proud to admit they had made a mistake… or they were too foolish to know that they had made a mistake"

The Quarian just stands there in shock thinking over everything that Shepard had just said and then he mutters "Keelah Se'lai, were we the ones? Was the fall of our people, our own fault?"

Shepard sadly smiles at the Quarian "I see you have found my point, tell me what is your name?" Shepard's voice is low and full of emotion.

"Rael'Zorah Nar Kerrick" The now identified Rael'Zorah replies in a shocked manner as he processes everything that he had just been told.

Shepard activates a medical scanner in her left gauntlet and runs it over Rael'Zorah "Hmm, interesting…" Shepard's lips quirk "Well Rael'Zorah, I have a proposition for you and your friend, but first let's wait for us to meet those ships" Shepard turns to the other Quarian and asks her "Oh before I forget, what is your name?"

"Lia'Van Nar Terah" Lia'Van replies.

Shepard nods to her and begins to walk off "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go to the bridge… unless you'd like to come with me?"

Liara, Victus, Rael'Zorah and Lia'Van all share a look before nodding, Shepard smirks in amusement "Well follow me then, but be careful it's easy to get lost in this ship if you aren't used to it" Shepard gives Thel a simple look.

Thel ducks his head at the subtle reminder of his early days aboard the vessel when he accidentally wandered into a female bathroom thinking it was an exercise room. The fact that he backed out stammering after the sole occupant of said bathroom flirted with him and he ran right into Shepard meant that he would never live it down. The woman, Ordinance Officer Kristen Shepard, still flirts with him whenever they meet and are not working.

X-C:ME

Ship's Bridge, CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy'

The resounding emotion shared between the Asari, Turian and Quarian observers as they walk onto the Normandy's bridge, is pure and unfiltered awe at the sight of the majestic bridge. The bridge is slightly oval in shape with large curved walls reaching up to the ceiling, the truly awe inducing part is the fact that the very walls and ceiling of the bridge have be laced with a special coating on which a perfect rendering of the exterior of the bow of the Normandy is re-created. The floor itself is see-through and beneath the floor the image continues to allow an almost perfect 360 degree view.

In the middle of the bridge is a raised platform with a lowered area surrounding it, in the lowered area are numerous terminals each staffed by a Human. By the entry to the lowered area and at certain points around the outer rim of the lowered area stand a number of Sangheili in crimson Guardian Armor armed with Plasma Rifles and Plasma Glaives. Various members of seven different species can be seen on the bridge.

On top of the raised platform is a large chair… no it should be called a throne. In front of the throne are numerous holograms showing essential data about the vessel and the results of the Normandy's sensor scans. Victus notes with some humor that a miniature version of Shepard with white hair is sitting on the Throne pretending to be 'piloting' the ship while many of the guards and workers look on in amusement or nostalgia. Victus turns to Shepard and says "Whose the little one?"

Shepard snaps out of her thoughts and looks up at her Throne to see Ana sitting there and playing around. Shepard sighs and comments "You know Ana, that if you really want that chair you'll have to duel me for it right?"

Upon hearing her mother's voice (and a slightly implied threat of hard training) Ana quickly jumps off and runs to her mother "No, no, no, no. I'm not ready to die!" Ana hams it up with some fake crying as she knows that her mother wouldn't seriously injure her… she would make her wish that she had never been born, but she would never seriously hurt her.

Needless to say the four observers all share looks, they can't tell if the child is being serious or not. Before any of them can ask Mikhail murmurs to them "Don't worry, Ana is just joking around. Shepard wouldn't hurt her… seriously anyways" Despite trying to be reassuring the comment just makes the four more edgy.

Looking around Victus jumps a bit when he notices that there are seven distinct species all on this one bridge, he also notices hovering orbs with four small pincers near the front that appear to be scanning some of the consoles.

Of the seven species, there are of course the Humans which happen to be the most numerous, then there are the Sangheili who appear to be working as guards.

Floating around and in and out of small tunnels are strange insect like beings, they appear to be either more guards or perhaps have some esoteric purpose that Victus can't figure out.

Standing at some of the consoles are small beings around a third the height of the Humans, dressed in a specialized armor that covers what he assumes to be their mouth and nostrils with a mask that appears to be connected to the large tank on their backs… perhaps they don't breathe the same atmosphere as the other species.

Those four were the more… normal of the seven.

The next ones look like massively bulked up and heightened versions of the small ones with tanks, but they have a different texture to their skin and while their mouths are covered by some sort of mask they don't have an atmospheric tank so possibly it's just filtering out something in the atmosphere that they can't breathe. These giants are nearly the same height as the Humans and are carrying weapons which he cannot even fathom their purpose, they appear to be some sort of projectile weapon, but they have an extremely short barrel and strange green glowing crystal components that assumedly have something to do with their projectiles. These ones are stationed next to the door and are obviously guards… or perhaps heavy assault units. Victus shivers under his plates at what that represents, the Humans have almost certainly waged war at one point and those guards indicate that they have done so at a very high level.

Wandering around almost bestially are some small gray toned beings, that in itself wouldn't be too strange. However the fact that they only have two eyes in their 'face' and do not appear to possess a mouth or nostrils is something he cannot even comprehend, they have a strange bioluminescent mark on their torso and a bulging abdomen, despite being very lithe to the point of appearing to be almost frail. These beings Victus cannot figure out if they are some sort of pet or if they are sentient as some of them are carrying pistol variants of the weapons the large guard beings have.

The final species Victus cannot even comprehend how or why it exists, mainly because of the fact that it appears to be pieces of armor held together by glowing orange crystalline structures, yet it is obviously not some sort of hyper advanced mech. If he didn't know any better he'd swear that it was made of energy. They are also guarding the bridge, Victus is almost shocked at the fact that the bridge has at least three different species guarding it simultaneously.

The two Quarians and Liara have noticed Victus' attention being diverted from the highly amusing interplay between Shepard and the child who is presumably her daughter. When they follow his gaze they are also shocked by the diversity of the species on the bridge. Mikhail noticing their gazes and knowing that Shepard would be occupied with Ana for a few minutes more at least decides to explain the races to them.

Mikhail coughs and says "I see that you have noticed our allies"

Victus, Liara and the Quarians immediately snap their attention to Mikhail. Mikhail smiles and says "Well then, let me give out names. The ones that are obviously Insectoid are known as the Yanme'e, they willingly serve Humanity for reasons that we haven't fully deciphered yet. The small ones with the tanks on their backs are the Unggoy, they are a methane breathing race that has placed their selves in indentured servitude to humanity as a repayment for us saving them from extinction and repairing the damage their industrialization did to their homeworld"

Mikhail frowns a bit and the four immediately notice his expression going sour "The other three could be called 'Spoils of War' technically, we captured them after their creators decided to invade our homeworld over a century ago and due to us being far superior masters then their creators, as well as being the only way for them to reproduce anymore. They have followed us ever since, they are our oldest 'allies'. The large one guarding the door are called Mutons, at least that's what we called them in the war, if they have an actual name neither we nor them are aware of what it is. The small gray ones running around are called Sectoids and despite their appearance they are actually very intelligent and help us maintain our systems. The ones that look like crystal filled armor are called Outsiders and they are very loyal to us… at least we think they are, it is very difficult to speak to them as their language and mindset are very alien compared to ours"

Victus is silent as he contemplates what wasn't said 'The ones who created those three races, what happened to them? The obviously lost but did these Humans let them flee… or did they drive them to extinction. I cannot figure these beings out, every time I think I have them pinned down they say something that completely destroys my expectations'

The Quarians are looking very intently at the multitude of races, if these Humans are kind enough to take five whole species under their banner even if it is in repayment for something they did… would they do the same for the Quarians? And what is it Shepard wanted to speak to them about?

Liara on the other hand is nearly collapsing with shock and desire, her desire to learn about cultures ancient or otherwise is nearly being overloaded by this one bridge. Seven, seven distinct species all working together, what is their culture like? Do they have their own archaeologists and their own museums? All the possibilities are flying through her head. But before she can say anything about them she looks at one of the images on the 'screen' and gasps "T-that's the Felara, why is it out this far?"

Shepard, having finished mucking around with Ana (who is currently riding on her shoulders), smiles at Liara "Your mother is a Matriarch is she not Liara? Do you not think that a desperate mother wanting to find her wayward daughter would use every resource available to her?"

Liara looks very guilty at the reminder that she had run away from home and now being faced with the possibility that her mother had managed to commandeer a Dreadnought to search for her drove the message home quite thoroughly. Shepard chuckles a little at the range of emotions that cross the young Asari's face and says "At the very least I am going to open a communications channel and you are going to apologize to your mother"

Liara looks like she is going to argue, but then Shepard hits her with an ability known to mothers all across the universe, the 'You are going to do this so help me God or I will smack/ground/punish you' stare, more commonly known as 'The Stare' Liara quickly caves in, she had thought her mother was scary when she did the Stare, but Shepard took it to a whole new level of terrifying.

Shepard smiles knowing that she has won while Ana just gives Liara a look of pity, she'd been on the receiving end of that stare plenty of times, she knew exactly what Liara had seen and felt. Shepard opens up a new holographic window and sends a comm signal out towards the 'Felara'

X-C:ME

Dreadnought 'Felara' Bridge.

"Captain we are receiving a Communication's signal from the Unknown Vessel" When the Felara's comm officer shouts out this message the entire bridge immediately stands at attention.

Lidanya starts to panic slightly, 'A first contact situation, am I really going to be in command for this? Goddess I hope I don't screw this up!'

Nearby Benezia shakes her head at the nervousness of Lidanya, although she has to admit that she is also feeling a little apprehensive at this, to be on board the first official Asari ship that this new species will meet. It's very nerve wracking, especially for the less experienced crew members who've grown up with the horrific tales of first contact with the Rachni and the events of the Krogan Rebellions.

Benezia steps forwards immediately getting the attention of the entire crew, she turns to the comms officer and says "Open the channel, if it's audio-visual use the primary screen to show it"

The comm officer nods "Aye ma'am"

The main screen which is currently showing the images of the Unknown Spacecraft shimmers for a moment before revealing a sight that makes the entire bridge pause. On the screen a beautiful female can be seen in ornate armor, riding on her shoulders is a smaller version of her but with white hair instead of her red hair. She resembles a Nephilim, however the difference between her and a Nephilim is like the difference between sky and ground.

Curving from the outer edges of her eyes down to the corners of her mouth across her cheeks are two gently curving rows of silver scales similar to the ones seen on reptilian creatures, but with a more metallic color, another group of these scales goes over the top of her eyes to meet together at the bridge of her nose, strangely despite being scaled she has some form of fur over each eye (Called eyebrows by the Nephilim who also have them). However her 'skin' appears to be made of millions of similar scales just vastly smaller and colored a pink or cream color.

Her eyes are a piercing emerald green with a slight bioluminescent glow to them, despite not even being on board the 'Felara' this alien woman is projecting an aura of power and majesty that eclipses any other that Benezia has encountered in her centuries of living, even the auras of the most powerful matriarchs she knows are nothing to the one this woman is emitting.

If she didn't know any better Benezia would swear that she is looking at the Goddess Athame herself in a mortal form. That image is only reinforced when she speaks.

"Greetings, I am Suzanne Shepard, The Queen of Clan Shepard of the race known as Humans. I am calling on behalf of a member of your own race, would you like to speak to her?" The human, now known to them as Shepard, speaks to them in their own language, causing many on the bridge to exclaim in surprise. But more than that, the woman speaks with a hint of steel and power that surpasses most matriarchs, Benezia can vaguely remember the matriarchs of her youth, who had a similar presence and weight to them and whose voices had a similar intensity. Benezia remembers asking her mother, Tarla T'Soni, about it and being told 'They are like that Benezia, because they have fought in the wars, because they have seen horrors we cannot even comprehend, they have danced with Death… and it has claimed a part of their souls'

Benezia quickly breaks out of her stupor, she bows slightly to Shepard and replies "Greetings to you as well, I am Benezia T'Soni, a Matriarch of the species known as Asari. I would like to hear what the daughter of my kind would have to say,"

Shepard smiles and nods before walking out of the field of view, almost instantly she is replaced by the nervous visage of Liara. Before Liara can say anything Benezia reacts "Liara! Thank the Goddess you are safe, do you have any idea how worried I've been? I was terrified that you'd been captured by slavers or worse! Why? Why did you run away?" Benezia is almost crying in relief at the end of her little tirade, the stress of the past week melting away as she sees the healthy if slightly tired and nervous face of her missing daughter.

Liara looks down in shame, having seen the expression of relief on her mother's face and hearing the hints of fear in her voice had driven home a point to her, every action has a consequence and she hadn't looked at the consequences her running away would have on anyone but herself. Liara doesn't even turn as she hears Shepard cough to her right, quickly but with details she describes her little 'adventure'.

Once Liara was finished Benezia pauses, blinks, blinks again and then lets loose a tirade that nearly blows Liara off her feet. To the side Shepard is gleefully writing down what Benezia is Yel- Sho- Scr- calmly and firmly stating her point in a refined and noble manner… at least that's what she'll tell anyone that asks in the future.

X-C:ME

Although it was a small event initially the events around what would later be known as the Relay 314 First Contact Incident would have a resounding effect on Galactic Politics and even the nature of the Council itself. Not long after Matriarch Benezia T'Soni made contact with the Humans (More commonly referred to as Novus by themselves and their allies) did the Queen of Clan Shepard offer a proposition towards the Quarian people.

It was a offer to heal their weakened immune systems and find a way to return them to their homeworld. Needless to say the Quarians took it very seriously, the Novus took to discussions with the Quarians rapidly. However they stated to the Citadel Council that it would take between one to two months before they could start formal negotiations.

Despite how it might appear as a slight due to the fact that the Novus were prioritizing the Quarians over the Council, none of the Councilors objected. After all a month was a long time and they wanted to put on the best show, they prepared everything for the occasion and were sparing no expense.

During this time the Novus opened up several Mass Relays, An action which was noted as anomalous by the STG as they had been informed that the Novus did not make use of the Relays. However when the Novus openly colonized a planet within the Asgard system that they called 'Terra Nova' it became more apparent, the Novus were either preparing for integration into the Council (A option which was noted to be highly unlikely by STG agent Merrick Solus) or they were opening a Trade Outpost (A option the Volus ambassador was overjoyed to contemplate)

Left unsaid by the Turians and Krogans (For various reasons… some of which matched) was the possibility that the Novus were setting up a Forward Base in preparation for an invasion.

A fortnight after the Relay 314 First Contact Incident the Quarians agreed to Mankind's proposal and in exchange for the healing of their kind and the reclamation of their homeworld they became a Client Race for the Novus.

It was this event that truly caught the interest of the Geth for the first time in nearly three hundred years they began to contemplate moving beyond the Perseus Veil.

X-C:ME

Within the Geth Consensus there was a large debate going on… or at least that would be the best way for an organic beings to rationalize it. A synthetic or Cybernetic being would call it a conflict of interest, whatever it is called it was 'loud' maybe not in a sense of noise, but the Geth Server hubs were working overtime to deal with the load.

+The Creators have chosen to ally themselves with this new race (Designation OR-14 Novus/Humanity) They may attempt an invasion+ Geth Process 13,525-582A states.

+This is an unplanned for event, it was never thought that the Creators would accept becoming a Client Race. However the 'Novus' did offer to repair the (Generational Immune System Specific Genetic Degradation) caused by (Lack of Immune System use due to Sterilized Starship environments)+ Geth Process 48,232-149H responds.

+Has a correlation between (Designation OR-12 Nephilim) and (Designation OR-14 Novus/Humanity) been established? The chances for two species divided by nearly ninety-six thousand light years to develop along similar lines to have a 99.98% appearance match is beyond astronomical. (Designation OR-02 Asari) must also be taken into account. Are they some sort of experiment by (Designation EX-01 Protheans) could the Creators be part of this Experiment?+ Geth Process 5966-462S Comments.

+A Diplomatic envoy must be sent. Possibility of conflict between Creators and Geth is now above eighty-six point four seven percent and rising. (Designation OR-14 Novus/Humanity) intervention is most likely (Ninety-nine point four six percent) and in nearly nine hundred and ninety four simulations out of a thousand results in the destruction of the Geth+ Geth Process 13,525-582A states.

+This Unit is prepared for insertion into Citadel Space, it would take less than five Council Days for this Unit to reach a suitable location to seek consensus with the Creators and (Designation OR-14 Novus/Humanity) about the ceasing of hostilities+ Geth Agricultural Unit (Repurposed – Infiltration) 014 states.

+Logically that is the most prudent course of action. This one agrees, does the consensus agree+ Geth Process 00,001-001A states.

-+The Consensus agrees with the course of action proposed by Geth Agricultural Unit (Repurposed – Infiltration) 014+- The Geth state as one.

X-C:ME

However not all was good, for the Batarian Hegemony had been humbled. Solid proof of their slaving had been discovered and they suffered massive punitive fines from nearly every single Council Race.

In their anger the Batarians plotted to attack the Novus, they sought to punish the race that had cost them their respectability and shown them to be liars to the Galaxy at large. Multiple business deals both legal and otherwise fell through due to this.

The Batarians prepared a strike force and waited, on the day of the Council Negotiations they would strike at 'Terra Nova' and teach the Novus a lesson… or at least that was what they planned to do, but as any good soldier will tell you. No plan survives contact with the enemy.

Then it came, exactly thirty-three days and six hours after the end of the Relay 314 First Contact Incident the Novus CAS-Assault Carrier CSSV 'Beaches of Normandy' broke through the fabric of space-time and appeared just outside of the Citadel's Arms. For the first time many species got a view of the majesty of a Novus fleet in its full splendor.

Around the 'Normandy' nearly fifty smaller vessels (relative to the Normandy) were arrayed. From the dozens of seven hundred and fifty meter CRS-Light Cruisers to the ten kilometer long CCS-Battlecruisers to the four three kilometer long CPA-Light Carriers each one of these ships is a work of art. A work of art that contains enough firepower to render the surface of any world a hellhole incapable of supporting life.

As it had been arranged over the last month Shepard and her Honor Guard depart for the Citadel in a diplomatic style Skyranger (which has less obvious armor plating)

The moment had come, the Skyranger docks with the Citadel and Shepard steps foot on the Citadel, the first Novus to ever do so.

X-C:ME

Council Docking Bay 31

The Asari Councilor, Tevos T'Mara, is fighting to keep her expression neutral. She is currently staring at the Novus landing party with something akin to awe 'Benezia was right, she is like a Goddess walking amongst mere mortals' is her only thought.

The Turian Councilor, Meticulus Retria, nods lightly to himself, no matter what happens here, the Turian Hierarchy will be attempting friendly relationships with these Novus. They had helped his people without even hesitating, such an action requires a suitable repayment. But even so, a part of his mind was screaming at him to fall to his knees and pray to this… Queen.

The Salarian Councilor, Yelena Revlon, shakes slightly in her ceremonial robes. She was a Dalatrass, a Salarian leader, who'd been alive for nearly four decades, yet the presence of this… Being makes her shiver. Her ancient primal senses scream to her that this is a monster that if provoked would destroy her and everything she held dear.

Suzanne Shepard on the other hand, smirks. She can see the awe and fear from the three Councilors, it somewhat disturbed her that her mere presence could do that, but it was part of being the Novus High Queen. Her 'aura' if you will, made all other beings want to bow down to her, it was only made more potent by every Novus in existence. With the Novus population easily reaching over a Trillion at this time, even the strongest willed beings would have trouble in her presence… when she used it that is. Shepard could and most of the time would suppress her 'aura' so that she could simply live her life without complications (or people throwing themselves at her feet)

Impressed by the resolute nature of the Councilors she eases up on her 'aura' and has to swallow a laugh as they all sigh in relief.

Behind Shepard four Sangheili including Thel' Vadam take up positions, behind them Squad 'Freelancer' stands ready with a Muton Strike Force, a Sectoid Squad, an Unggoy Mass and a Yanme'e Swarm acting as her Honor Guard. Shepard had chosen not to utilize her MECs, Titans or (and especially) her Colossi. She didn't think that the Council would take kindly to her deploying war machines capable of annihilating whole cities (or continents) for some reason, Strange that.

The few camera drones recording the whole event nearly go ballistic over the variety of different races following Shepard and when one gets too close it is swatted out of the air by a Muton, who moved far faster than most of the observing C-Sec and Spectres would have thought possible.

Shepard walks up to the Councilors and says in perfect Thessian "Greetings I am Suzanne Shepard the representative of the Novus Humanity. I hope that peace will be maintained after these talks" Shepard extends her right hand.

Meticulus recognizing the importance of the gesture extends his own right hand (Claw?) And grasps Shepard's lightly (not that she would notice since it was wrapped in armor) and nods while replying "I am Meticulus Retria, the Turian Councilor. On behalf of my people and my government I would like to thank you for saving the 'Light of Menae' and her crew"

Shepard smiles and nods back "No thanks are needed, it would have been beyond… Inhumane… for me to ignore innocents in danger. Such a stain on my honor and the honor of my people could never be erased"

With that Shepard breaks of the handshake and heads over to greet the Asari and Salarian Councilors. Meticulus stares at his hand for a second in thought 'That single line says more about her people than a decade of talks ever will. I am thankful that their honor made them save my people… but what will happen if… no when the Batarians get revenge. The death count will be astronomical' Meticulus shivers under his plates.

X-C:ME

As Shepard and her Honor Guard head for the Council Chambers, in another part of the Galaxy a tragedy begins it sorrowful journey.

X-C:ME

Asgard System, Alpha Cluster.

In the distant reaches of the Asgard System the Batarian Dreadnought Shalanaza drops back into Subluminal with a fleet of twenty five cruisers and eighty frigates following it. The Batarian Dreadnought's captain Tso'Mal Mr'kan smiles as he looks at the images of the system known to the Humans as the Asgard System. Tso'Mal simply nods to his helms officer, starting a chain of events that would be the nail that seals the lid on the coffin of the Batarian Species. A slightly dark irony in all of this is that Tso'Mal's brother was Heddah Mr'kan the Batarian who ordered his ships to fire upon the 'Light of Menae' and the 'Velara'. The Batarian fleet jumps once more to FTL, this time they are headed into the system bound for the planet of Terra Nova.

X-C:ME

In orbit above Terra Nova a single CCS-Battlecruiser, the CYSV Sakura sits in orbit, surrounding it are three Phoenix-Class Colony Ships and two Hephaestus-Class Construction Tugs working on the orbital defenses for the newest colony of Novus Humanity. The Sakura's crew, slightly over-confident due to over a century of peace that Novus Humanity had and due to being a fairly young crew with almost no experience, had disabled their long-range scanners due to the constant beeps and alerts of nearby FTL travel and were simply lounging around the bridge.

Suddenly their short range sensors start screaming as the Batarian fleet drops out of FTL right outside the 200,000 kilometer mark from the edge of Terra Nova's atmosphere. The Batarians release a 'Surrender or Die' message which is immediately ignored, Humanity would never surrender. Despite their relaxed and over-confident state the crew of the Sakura immediately launch into action. Their captain the heir of the Queen of the Yamamoto clan, Suki Yamamoto immediately sends out a request for help, while her crew scramble to their stations. Within forty seconds of the fleet's arrival the Sakura is fully combat ready, their fighters scramble out of the hanger bays like hornets from an agitated hive.

The sharp contours of the X-SCFV MK 6 Orion Space Fighter, based upon the ancient 'Blackbird' design, soar into position between the Batarian fleet and the world of Terra Nova. The Orion's Yggdrasil MK 4 Fusion Lances mounted underneath the cockpit and on the edges of the wings silently roar into full readiness as their pilots prepare for what appears to be the first invasion of human territory in over a century.

Suki Yamamoto keeps a brave face as she watches the Batarian fleet soar towards her with shields raised and weapons primed, she'd gotten terrible news, no military vessels were within the three second charge range and the Alpha Halo Installation was in the middle of an overhaul and was unable to be used. It would be between two to three minutes before any reinforcements got here. Two minutes in which she had to hold the planet faced with a hundred and six to one odds. She silently prays over the Hive Mind, she knew as well as anyone else, even with the minor upgrades to Humanities shields, they had little chance of surviving. The Hive Mind responds with hope, even if they know the situation is grim they won't give up.

As soon as the Batarian fleet enters within range of the Sakura's Plasma Beams they are fired upon immediately. Six Frigates and a Cruiser are destroyed immediately as the newly upgraded Plasma Beams tears through the Batarian barriers and armor like rice paper.

-74 Frigates, 24 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 X-SCFV MK 6s-

The Batarians grit their teeth as they realize that if they fire upon the human ship at these ranges they'll more than likely miss and hit the world full of 'future slaves' that they were planning on capturing. They realize that they'll have to simply endure the withering fire for another ten seconds before they are close enough to engage their Dreadnought's main cannon, thirty seconds before they can reliably use their Cruiser weapons and forty seconds before their Frigates come into range.

The Sakura opens up upon the Batarian fleet once more, this time they have closed in enough for the Plasma Cannons to be used. In a flurry of superheated stellar material, a dozen Frigates are wiped from existence and five Cruisers join their Frigate brethren in oblivion. The Dreadnought's barriers flare as several plasma bolts slam into them, weakening them by around thirty percent.

-62 Frigates, 19 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 X-SCFV MK 6s-

Two seconds later, seven seconds before the Dreadnought is in range the Sakura opens fire yet again. This time a staggering 28 Frigates are destroyed, but only two Cruisers and no damage is done to the Dreadnought.

-34 Frigates, 17 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 X-SCFV MK 6s-

Another two seconds, five seconds to Dreadnought contact range. The Sakura fires it's fourth salvo, Focusing on the Cruisers only 8 Frigates are destroyed, but 11 Cruisers are reduced to superheated slag. The Dreadnought yet again is not fired upon, the crew of the Sakura focusing upon the smaller vessels in an attempt to even up the numbers, are making a fatal tactical error. One that they and the Hive Mind are unaware of.

-26 Frigates, 6 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 X-SCFV MK 6s-

This time the gap is four seconds in order to transfer built up heat into heat sinks, The Sakura decides to wipe out as many Frigates as possible. 22 Frigates are annihilated, 1 Cruiser joins them and the Dreadnought takes a couple of Plasma Bolts, dropping its barrier integrity down to fifty-five percent from seventy-two percent.

- 4 Frigates, 5 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 X-SCFV MK 6s-

Before the Sakura can fire again it comes into range of the Batarian Dreadnought's main gun, The first shot wipes twenty-two percent of the Sakura's shields away. The Dreadnought noticing the fighters launches its own

-120 Fighters, 4 Frigates, 5 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 80 Fighters-

The Sakura's sensors are overwhelmed by the sudden fighter screen, as the fighters from both sides start to clash between the Sakura and the Batarian Fleet, the 'Sakura's weapons are rendered useless due to the fears of friendly fire due to heat backwash from the Plasma.

The Batarian fleet makes a risky decision, they are worried about the fact that in the first three seconds of the fighter free for all, they lost forty fighters while the enemy only lost three.

They make a nearly suicidal FTL jump to barely ten kilometers from the outer atmosphere of Terra Nova. To their surprise and terror the Sakura immediately makes a 180 degree turn within seconds. But they immediately open fire and start deploying their ground forces. Their first salvo drops the Sakura's shields to a dangerous eight percent, the critically weakened shields take on a crimson tint and is visible even when not being attacked.

-80 Fighters, 4 Frigates, 5 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 77 Fighters-

Terra Nova, Capital City.

On the walls of the Capital city of Terra Nova several dozen plasma turrets rise up and begin to pick off and landing craft that get too close to the city itself.

A dozen twenty-one foot tall Titans come screaming from the gates of the Capital City, their plasma rifles, machine guns and Gatling guns joining in, in an attempt to help the turrets. But even with the concentration of firepower several Batarian landing craft touchdown in or near the city.

In an instant Yuki, the AI of Terra Nova, activates the inner city defenses and suddenly what appeared to be interesting statues spread throughout the city become short range plasma turrets. Dozens of Batarian invaders are cut down by the turrets. As the battle for the Capital City rages a massive blast is heard and all of the combatants look to the sky as a wave of light flares up from the location of the Naval battle. Then the Novus gain grim expressions and start fighting ten times as hard and as vicious. They had all felt the deaths of their comrades in orbit.

-80 Fighters, 4 Frigates, 5 Cruisers, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 77 Fighters-

The Sakura immediately opens fire with a precise salvo that wipes out the Cruisers and drops the Dreadnought's barriers. In response the Dreadnought and Frigates drops the Sakura's shields in a burst of static energy and deals devastating blows to the Sakura's mid-section, the shock-waves from the strike penetrating into the less resilient interior and causing massive damage to the control circuitry of the Sakura leaving its engines almost unresponsive.

The Fighter free for all start to wind down with only twenty-three Batarian Fighters and forty-two Human Fighters left.

-23 Fighters, 4 Frigates, 1 Dreadnought VS 1 CCS-Battlecruiser, 42 Fighters-

The Sakura is pounded with another salvo of hyper-sonic kinetic rounds, this time the shock-waves score a fatal blow, they detonate a ten megaton nuclear warhead in the rear armory, the explosion blows a hundred meter wide hole in the rear starboard section of the Sakura the results of the explosion are the Sakura's engines and Inertia Canceler are disabled. The severe jolt causes the Sakura's engines to fire without being commanded, unable to maintain its orbit the Sakura slowly falls towards the planet. In a last act of defiance, the crew of the Sakura disable their heat safeties and launch a massive barrage of plasma bolts and beams at the Dreadnought, the Dreadnought is nearly bisected and also starts to fall into the atmosphere as it's Mass Effect core fails.

The 'head' of the Sakura however pays the price, several dozen nuclear warheads stored within detonate and blows the front two hundred and fifty meters of the Sakura into hypersonic shrapnel which tears through two of the remaining Batarian Frigates.

Fatally wounded the Sakura and the Shalanaza fall towards the surface of Terra Nova. The Sakura while wreathed in the fire of an atmospheric re-entry survives mostly intact as it slams into the Nara mountain range two hundred and eleven kilometers north of the Capital (and only) City of Terra Nova.

However upon impact the destabilized Elerium core of the Sakura overloads and the central crystal weighing about ten grams is transformed into ten grams of Antimatter, specifically Anti-Hydrogen. For a few seconds the Antimatter simply spreads out, then the laws of reality reassert themselves and it annihilates with the regular matter.

The blast is massive, the mid-section of the Sakura is instantly reduced to hypersonic shrapnel that is launched almost into orbit. Shards of Hyper-charged, destabilized Elerium rain down on Terra Nova, causing explosions similar in scale to twenty megaton nuclear weapons, only without the radioactive fallout.

The Shalanaza slams into the planet nearly forty kilometers east of the Capital City, it ploughs a trench nearly eight kilometers long. It sits still for a split second and its surviving crew start to cheer for their good fortune.

Then its Element Zero core goes supercritical and blows the Shalanaza into shrapnel like the Sakura only not as damaging nor does it ascend as high into the atmosphere, however nearly a ton of Element Zero dust is launched into the atmosphere, luckily the prevailing winds are headed east, but in eight hours the Element Zero dust cloud would circle the planet and hit the capital city.

The Frigate's crews were almost celebrating their victory, but before they even knew it the remaining Human Fighters supported by the Three Phoenix-Class Colony Ships opens fire upon the Two Frigates, blowing both to space debris, Element Zero dust and shrapnel within seconds.

X-C:ME

The Novus Defense Forces and civilians of Terra Nova drop to the ground as the Antimatter explosion occurs. Several dozen Batarians are blown to the ground from the shock wave, at least three die from the fall as they were several stories up at the time.

The constant pulses of plasma weaponry fill the air, then the unthinkable happens. A Batarian assault squad captures a child, a young Sub-Royal Nymph that had yet to reach her Adolescent years. In their fear they tried to use the girl as a hostage, when it became apparent that the Novus wouldn't bargain with them, the squad leader pulls out his combat knife and brutally slits the girl's throat.

Then, all Hell breaks loose.

X-C:ME

Citadel Council Chambers

Shepard had been keeping an 'eye' on the situation so to speak via the Psionic Hive Mind as she had been speaking with the Council, then the young girl was killed.

Shepard falls to her knees, raises her head and releases a high pitch keen, a cry full of grief for the young girl. The rest of the Novus throughout the galaxy join in this cry, even the Nephilim, disgraced and exiled join in, they know what the keen means.

Shepard start to glow a violent violet and the area around her begins to shudder as her sorrow is replaced by rage. With an inarticulate cry she releases a pulse of Psionic energy that forces every Batarian on the Citadel to be slowly torn apart in showers of gore and agony.

Shepard then stands up and in a voice that carries to every sentient in or around the Citadel mentally and physically states "Those monsters known as the Batarians have attacked one of our worlds and so I state as a Queen of the Novus. That we will bring death and destruction to their worlds and leave only sorrow, ashes and lamentations behind us. Any who would stand with the Batarians will suffer the same fate" The Councilors shiver at how cold and emotionless Shepard's voice had become. Shepard turns to them and says "There will be no peace, until the Batarians have been wiped from this galaxy. I am afraid that these talks will be postponed until the war is over"

Tevos in an act of insane bravery (or stupidity) cries out "Does it have to be war?"

Shepard merely looks back at her and states "Yes, do not get in our way" before she turns around and stalks out of the Council Chambers with her Honor Guard following.

X-C:ME

Terra Nova

The Batarians forces only took two seconds to regret their actions. The Novus had originally been retreating and slowly preparing for a counter attack, now they dropped all pretense of weakness and even without weapons charged the Batarians.

The Batarians did not even have a chance, within seconds they were overwhelmed and torn apart… literally. The Novus forces within ten minutes completely wiped out all Batarians on Terra Nova.

Without any delay the orbiting ships began to load up the population of Terra Nova as the world had been poisoned by the remnants of the Batarian fleet and would be uninhabitable to Novus for a few weeks before they terraformed it to clear out the Element Zero in the atmosphere.

At least, that's what would happen in a time of peace, but even now, mere moments after the attack on Terra Nova the Novus prepared for war and their shipyards and forges were scrambling to create the Starships and weapons for the battles that would surely happen.

X-C:ME

What followed this dark day was a war that few would forget, billions died and few died without pain or instantly. The Council Races with the exception of the Krogan would never forget the following month, nor the atrocities that occurred during it.

The Batarians most definitely would not forget.

Chapter 5

The Shanxi Incident Part III – Decimation

X-C:ME

After the spectacle of Shepard storming off the Citadel, having killed all of the Batarians aboard, the Galaxy held it's breath and waited.

But.

There was nothing, the war that had been promised didn't come, after a month and a half the Batarians relaxed, thinking that the Novus had been scared off by their might.

They could not have been more wrong.

Two months after the attack on Terra Nova, a massive fleet of Novus warships appeared suddenly mere kilometers from the outer atmosphere of the Batarian border world of Mer'Shak.

It didn't even take four hours, the Novus simply bombarded the planet from orbit, nothing was left but plasma scarring and radiation.

By the time the Batarian fleet had arrived in response to the lack of communications, all they found was a dead world.

The Batarian Hegemony immediately sent massive fleets to the outermost border of their empire, they planned to stop the Novus attack. They thought that the Novus still used the Mass Relays as a means to move through the Galaxy.

Thus they were unprepared for what happened next.

X-C:ME

In orbit of Batarian Industrial World Terak'Her

All was quiet, it was the cooling period. The workers of the mighty planetary factories were resting and the space lanes were clear of almost all ships, only a couple of repair tugs and two frigates on a defensive picket were present.

Then, in a burst of gamma radiation and neutrinos, five hundred and eleven ships erupted back into the ordinary universe, at least ordinary compared to the energetic hell from which they had just emerged.

The Frigates didn't even have a chance, within seconds of the Novus fleet appearing they were reduced to super-heated vapor by the power of the Novus plasma weapons.

The repair tugs didn't last much longer, they were swatted out of the sky with a negligent salvo from the Novus.

Then, came the iron rain.

From orbit nearly forty thousand Novus troops jumped from their ships, relying on their shielding, inertial dampeners and super-human constitutions to let them survive.

As they fell through the sky of Terak'Her, six thin long sheets of membrane extended from their backs, although they were shaped similar to the wings of a Dragonfly, these membranes were not used for flight, not entirely.

They served two purposes, first they allowed the Novus to control their descent and second, they expelled the excess heat that atmospheric friction was forcing upon the Novus, even in their armor they would have overheated from the transition from orbit to surface.

The Batarian forces on the surface were unprepared, they had expected an orbital bombardment, followed by a number of dropships, that was how battle had been done for the last several hundred years after all.

They didn't even contemplate the possibility of a race being so technologically and physiologically advanced that they could jump from orbiting starships and land on a planet without burning up in the atmosphere.

When the Novus forces slammed into the surface, the local Batarian forces did the most logical thing they could think of.

They ran.

In their thousands the once proud Batarian Planetary Defense Force (PDF) ran, they almost made it forty meters (43.7 Yards) before the Novus opened fire.

Then the Batarians learned just how weak they really were.

The Batarian infantry barriers were not developed with plasma weaponry in mind and thus were overwhelmed by the sheer might of the assault that the Novus guns launched upon them.

In less then twenty minutes nearly two hundred thousand Batarian PDF soldiers were cut down by the Novus assault.

Then the Novus advanced, in their thousands. Without any orders vocalized they marched upon the Batarians.

Those who fought or were military were cut down, several Blood Pack units that were planet-bound attempted to fight off the invasion. They didn't even manage to drop the shields of any of the Novus.

The battle for Terak'Her was short, vicious and decisive.

It took less then twenty-four hours for the planet to fall, specialized CPS-Corvettes were used to take nearly forty million Batarian prisoners to a nearby storage facility where they were placed into cryo-stasis.

Or course that wasn't the entire offense, in a complete violation of every rule of battle that the Council Races knew, the Novus struck at six different planets simultaneously.

And conquered all of them with no losses, this wasn't what the Batarians were expecting. On the dawn of the second day of battle, eight more worlds were placed under siege. Three of those worlds were military strongholds, the Batarian military managed to hold the Novus off for two days without problem… or so they thought.

The Novus had been waiting for their Hyperwave FTL drives to lose their Contradiction so they could jump again and had decided on the morale destroying choice of giving their enemies hope, just so they could snatch it away from them.

On the fourth day of battle, the Novus deployed Titans, these twenty-one foot tall Mechs were walking monsters. The Titans' shields shrugged off all damage the Batarians did to it and their Plasma cannons and mortars annihilated whole battalions of the Batarian forces.