Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech-Mass Effect crossover.

Today, we've got a special treat ready for everyone today. I won't spoil anything, but I can now say that ComStar's got a lot to be worried about.

As such, I chose an appropriate theme song for all of you to listen to. I think you will enjoy the theme song I picked out.

Either way, thank you so much for your feedback and support, and I hope that my writing continues to please you as each chapter comes out.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

SABATON - Dreadnought

Federated Commonwealth

New Avalon

June 15th, 3040

At New Avalon, Hanse was looking over the latest reports that had come from Galax, which was where Federated-Boeing had a shipyard located. His eyes scanned the newly decrypted document on his computer carefully, with said eyes being trained by years of military training and experience, combined with the wit that came from being in politics. So far, what he was reading had him smiling, and with perfectly good reason.

The reason why was quite simple: as of a year and a half ago, the Galax Shipyard owned by Federated-Boeing had successfully completed it's first WarShip. This marked the Federated Commonwealth as the first nation-state in the Inner Sphere to manufacture a new WarShip since the Succession Wars. It was also the first WarShip that made use of revolutionary new technologies to make it even more effective in combat.

My wife's decision to create the Tharkad Institute of Science and Technology was definitely the right call for all the right reasons, he thought as he closed the document. Opening that new university as a supplementary one for NAIS allowed us to accelerate our research into LosTech, and to get to the technology that Shepard and his team brought earlier. Now, we have access to our own Mass Effect Field technologies.

That led to a memory of a conversation that he had with Chief Engineer Adams, the man that was responsible for making sure the Normandy could fly. Already, the memory of that day came to the forefront of his mind. I remember that conversation from two years ago, as though it was yesterday.

. . .

Two Years Earlier

"Whoa, hang on a minute," Hanse said to Chief Engineer Adams as the two men talked. "Are you telling me that you managed to help the techs work out how to manufacture Element Zero Cores, as well as the advanced computers onboard your ship?"

He was at the IntroTech plant that the Normandy was currently at, as Chief Engineer Adams wanted to urgently speak with him. Right now, people were getting the Normandy prepped for transport to a secret facility at Galax. This was because, before the Succession Wars, Galax was the site of an impressive shipyard facility, located at it's Delta Lagrange Point.

Hanse, having known about the place, had ordered the facility reactivated, as soon as Federated-Boeing had gotten the necessary crew together to be able to do so. That, if his memory was correct, was just under a year ago, and since then, the construction force that he and Melissa Steiner-Davion had put together had been very busy getting to work.

Chief Engineer Adams, hearing the question from Hanse, said, "Yes. I can definitely say that. I got the word from TIWT and NAIS just a day ago. They worked out how to create Element Zero Cores, while Apple Interstellar worked out how to create the advanced computers we have onboard the ship."

Hanse, hearing this, raised both of his eyebrows. "Mind if you elaborate on that? From what I recall, we don't know if there is any Element Zero around here. As far as we know, that only exists in one universe."

"As far as we knew then," EDI, who was also present, corrected. "During my analysis of the Helm Memory Core, I discovered sections of the Memory Core that were heavily encrypted, which was curious, since that would go against Edwin Keeler's goal of ensuring the Inner Sphere could recover from it's technologically regressed state. It then occurred to me that he would only do so if it was absolutely necessary."

"That's when EDI recruited me to help her out," Adams added. "Once she decrypted the encoded information, we made a major discovery." A moment later, he handed Hanse a sheath of papers, which the First Prince took into his hands.

Looking through the papers, Hanse's eyes began to widen, before he quickly put the papers down. "Let me get this straight," he said calmly. "Are you telling me, and showing me, that the Terran Hegemony not only discovered Element Zero, but was also studying it?"

"Correct," EDI nodded. "During the latter years of Simon Cameron's rule, as well as Richard Cameron II's ill fated rule, scientists working for the Terran Hegemony uncovered a mass altering substance within the waste deposits for mining operations across the Hegemony. When I analyzed the scientific reports, I found all the hallmarks that indicated they discovered Element Zero."

"But how?" Hanse asked, confused by this. "I thought Element Zero existed in your universe only."

"My thoughts exactly," Adams nodded, "but then we remembered how Element Zero is created. Many of the stars in the Inner Sphere are second-generation stars, which means they formed from the stellar remnants of first-generation stars that went supernova. Element Zero is generated whenever the energy of a star's supernova interacts with normal matter.

"As such, we did a check and we found out more information. There are a few Pulsars near the Inner Sphere, specifically J1856-3754 and J0108-1431. Both of them have asteroid belts around them, and they're near the edge of the Inner Sphere. However, the Terran Hegemony had scientists secretly check other star systems in the Inner Sphere for Element Zero."

"And?"

"And they found quite a bit. Much of the Element Zero they found dates further than 4.5 billion years of age, which is older than a good majority of the stars in the Inner Sphere, and is certainly older than that of Earth's star, Sol. As for why the Terran Hegemony didn't discover it until then, my guess is that they simply thought that it was a contaminant in their mining operations that wasn't worth talking about. The same probably applies for everyone else in the Inner Sphere."

Hearing that, Hanse sat down onto a nearby chair and processed the information. All along, we had Element Zero present in the Inner Sphere, yet none of us knew it was even there. Talk about a sleeper present. There was one question that bothered him, which led him to ask, "Still, how did Element Zero come into existence in the Inner Sphere? It doesn't make sense."

"We're still trying to figure that out," Adams shrugged. "All I can say is that you've got a shit ton of the stuff. You're sitting on enough Element Zero to make Element Zero Cores for a good millennium.

"That would explain a few things," Hanse nodded. "Still, that's… that's quite surprising, and fortunate as well. The very material we need to create Element Zero Cores existing just as we reverse engineer the tech required to make the stuff. Do we also know how to mine, refine and safely store the stuff?"

"Yes," EDI nodded. "I forwarded all relevant information on mining Element Zero, as well as how to refine it into it's pure form, along with safe transportation methods. NAIS has made certain to inform the scientific community, along with mining corporations."

"Good," Hanse nodded. "The sooner we get our hands onto this shit, the better."

. . .

Present Day

Coming back to the here and now, Hanse thought back to some of the things that had happened since that day. True enough, the scientists within the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns had gone wild over this major scientific discovery, and it wasn't long before corporations began working out how to use the stuff.

There was a bit of a roadblock when it came to using the stuff in WarShips: mass. Inner Sphere WarShips were, historically, known to weigh hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of metric tons. Thankfully, just a month or so after the discovery, NAIS made a breakthrough in that field of research.

Surprisingly, it came about as a result of an accident. An engineer at NAIS, Calivn Collins, had been doing a double shift while working on a Mass Effect Field Suppressor, or MEFS for short. Adams had explained that it was designed to suppress an Element Zero field where one wasn't desired.

The breakthrough came about when Calvin, who was somewhat sleep deprived due to being called in for longer than usual, accidentally inverted the function of the MEFS array he was tinkering with. According to Calvin he was sitting in a chair with a safety lanyard on his working harness one moment, the next, he was flailing around when he was promptly throw upwards in the air, with only the safety lanyard keeping him from being thrown into the roof of the workshop he was at, causing him to shout at the top of his lungs. He'd finally gotten down when his team reduced the power just enough for him to pull himself down and shut the array off.

When replicated, it was found out that by altering key parts of the device's function, the MEFS could be come a Mass Effect Field Amplifier, or MEFA for short. When tested, it was found that an MEFA Array could increase the range of a Mass Effect field, or amplify it's intensity; it could also do both, though to a lesser degree. Calvin, due to being tired, had programmed the MEFS Array to reduce the intensity of a mass repulsing field he was testing, but unintentionally amplified the effect, causing the mass repulsing field to become much stronger than intended.

That single breakthrough, while accidental in nature, had solved the mass problem for WarShips almost immediately. As such, such MEFA's were designed to be integrated into the Element Zero Cores for each new WarShip the present day Federated Commonwealth designed. It also allowed for the use of artificial gravity onboard each ship, which necessitated a redesign of the interior to accommodate this.

That wasn't the only thing that Element Zero's improved so far, Hanse thought as he memory drifted out of his thoughts. For one, it allowed us to improve upon the armor used for WarShips, making it denser, while improving it's protective qualities. Who would've thought that integrating carbon nanotubes and graphene into the armor plating using Chemical Vapor Deposition during the manufacturing process would be so effective? The same, he knew, could be said of Endo Steel and Ferro-Fibrous Armor, with the innovation leading to the creation of a new type of 'Mech and Combat Vehicle armor, known as Ferro-Lamellor Armor, that was more protective and was resistant to Armor-Piercing rounds, but had the bulk of Clan Ferro-Fibrous Armor.

As he began to get ready to finish up work for the day, he heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in," he replied, after making sure his Laser Pistol was still inside of the suit that he was wearing. Looking up, he watched as Quintus walked in. "Quintus, what can I do for you?"

"Just checking in on you," Quintus replied. "Is everything alright?"

"Never been better," Hanse beamed. "Galax's shipyard just completed the very first WarShip that the Federated Commonwealth began construction on: the Avalon-class, FCS Avalon. According to them, it's fully operational, and the crew, thanks to EDI stealing the educational recordings and training regimen records that ComStar made for their naval trainees, is ready to man it."

"Interesting," Quintus nodded. "The other shipyards that the Lyran side of the Commonwealth has also reported the same. We have three Fox-class WarShips there, along with a Durandal and another Avalon-class WarShip. They're still constructing their Mjolnir-class WarShip, though that should be ready to go soon. We're looking at 2-3 Fox-class corvettes per year, one Durandal-class destroyer and one Avalon-class cruiser per year. Finally, we're also going to be seeing a Mjolnir-class battleship every two years. They're halfway through the first one they're building."

"Good," Hanse nodded. "I expect that they will be wanting me to attend the maiden voyage of our first Avalon-class WarShip, yes?"

"That they are," Quintus nodded. "The CEO of Federated-Boeing personally wanted to send an invitation to you so that you could attend the ceremony. So, what do you say?"

Hanse thought the matter over for a moment, then he said, "I think that would be a splendid idea. Besides, I'm rather curious as to see what such a WarShip looks like. In addition, I've never experienced the pleasure of artificial gravity, especially since some of our DropShips use the stuff now. Time to see if it really is as good as they say it is."

. . .

It was around a week before they got to the Galax system. Thankfully, thanks to the introduction of Element Zero Cores into some of the Federated Commonwealth's DropShips, getting to the planet was a much easier journey. In fact, Hanse hadn't noticed any change, aside from a faint humming sound that he'd heard in the background.

It was then that he got a good look at the shipyard that Federated-Boeing had heavily upgraded with the new technology. Contrary to popular belief, the shipyard at Galax hadn't been destroyed. Rather, it had been reduced in operating capacity due to the state of tech regression in the Inner Sphere. When the technology to build WarShips had been rediscovered, Federated-Boeing had simply reactivated the shipyard's inactive portions, before heavily upgrading them with the new technologies that had come out since.

With this, combined with a long line of people that had inherited skills passed on from their ancestors, in play, it hadn't been long until the shipyard had been fully reactivated, and upgraded with the latest technologies on the market. Now that they were approaching the shipyard in question, Hanse could see that Federated-Boeing hadn't just reactivated the shipyard, they had also upgraded and expanded it.

The shipyard was quite large, around six kilometers in size to be exact. In terms of shape, the shipyard resembled a I, with the ends of each one being split into prongs to allow for the manufacture of a WarShip. The end closest to the DropShip Hanse was on held the WarShip that he was coming to visit today.

In terms of shape, the new WarShip looked like a flat base bullet that had been cut down it's longitudinal axis into two sections, before someone had added stuff in between. The rear of the ships held the engines, the Element Zero Core, as well as the engineering section of the ship. The center held living quarters, the bridge, as well as the canteen and some of the small craft bays. The front held the rest, as well as the area where the pilots and navigator were at.

In addition to that, Hanse could see that the WarShip was well armed, and well armored. He could see what looked like macroscopic versions of Gauss rifles and Autocannons, as well as macro-scaled Laser and PPC weapon systems. However, he could see a lot of what appeared to be missile tubes, which told him that the Avalon-class of WarShips was a missile platform, with direct fire weapons to keep the enemy from getting too close.

"Now that is a WarShip," Sortek, who'd come along with Hanse, whistled.

"That it is," Hanse agreed. "I saw photographs of WarShips from the Star League era when I was a kid. It's another thing entirely to see one in person."

"I agree."

. . .

It hadn't taken them long before they had come aboard the shipyard, where they began to proceed to the WarShip in question. Hanse found that he still anticipated having to enter a zero g environment, even though the station had artificial gravity thanks to the shipyard being upgraded with Element Zero. Still, he felt that it was a good reaction, as the tech was still relatively new in the Federated Commonwealth.

Walking towards the airlock, he watched as it opened to reveal a tube that extended to the Avalon. The tube was transparent, allowing him to see the Avalon up close and personal, which showed how impressive it was. "Very nice," he remarked.

"That it is," a voice said moments later. Turning around, Hanse watched as a man wearing a three piece black suit came up to him, though the 1st Davion Guards blocked his path. Waving them to let the man through, Hanse watched as the man smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you, First Prince. Ian Trascor, at your service."

"And I at yours," Hanse nodded. Looking at the WarShip, he asked, "Are you the Captain of this 'ship?"

"Me? Oh, no," Ian said, shaking his head. "I'm the manager of the shipyard. Richmond Dallas, he's the Captain of the ship, and a very fine one too at that. According to him, managing a WarShip is much like managing a DropShip, only on a much larger scale."

"That's true to a degree," Hanse nodded. Looking at the Avalon, he asked, "So, what are it's specs?"

"This one? This one is about 70,000 tons lighter than what the original design called for, thanks to advances in materials science. She's got around 2,000 metric tons of Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor plating, and her engines, combined with her Element Zero Core, allow her to have an acceleration that's measured in the thousands of g's, around 5,000 to be exact. Thanks to inertial dampeners, though, such speeds won't kill the crew; in fact, you won't even notice it accelerating."

"What about weapons?"

"I can answer that," another voice added. Turning around, Hanse watched as a man with brown colored hair, a beard of matching color, and green eyes approached. He wore a uniform that used a woodland camouflage color pattern, and had armored portions on the shoulders and boots. As soon as the man was close enough, he saluted and said, "Captain Richmond Dallas reporting for duty, sir. It is a privilege to have you aboard."

"At ease," Hanse replied, while also saluting. "You have a beautiful ship."

"That I do," Dallas nodded. "She's a large ship, but she handles like a much smaller one, and that power can sneak up on you if you're not careful. Good thing we have a pilot trained for such a ship. She's pretty heavily armed as well. See those weapons there? Those are Medium Naval Gauss Cannons. One well aimed shot from those will turn a ComStar corvette inside out. As for the Lasers, Autocannons and the like, well, you name it, we've got it."

"I can see that," Hanse nodded. "So, may we come aboard?"

"That you can," Dallas nodded. With that, they proceeded to the airlock, before entering the Avalon proper. Inside, Hanse could see crew and personnel bustling to get to each of their stations for cast-off. Most people were too busy to notice him, though the ones that did saluted him invariably. That was when they reached the bridge.

The bridge was unlike any that Hanse had seen in photographs from the museums he'd visited. Personnel were at various stations, with multicolor holographic displays being used, while Hanse noticed what he realized were screens that were built into the walls, allowing them to see where an enemy WarShip was at in all directions, without having to use windows and the like. The center of the room had a small, elevated pavilion, where one could see a map of the Inner Sphere being projected as a hologram, along with other screens that could be used to show combat data. A single chair was present as well.

"This is the bridge," Dallas informed Hanse. "This is where the bulk of our operations take place at. Quite nice, isn't it?"

"That it is," Hanse nodded. "Where'd you get the layout for the Bridge?

"We borrowed it from the Normandy," Dallas replied. "Everyone involved with building the WarShips here knows about Shepard and his crew, though all of us have signed NDA's. The architects felt that the Normandy's design of having the bridge deeper into the ship was a sensible idea, and I agree. Why have your bridge exposed at the bow to enemy fire?"

"A good point," Hanse nodded. "So, when do we cast off?"

"About now," Dallas replied. Motioning to a seat near a screen, he said, "There's your seat, sir. Enjoy our casting off." As Hanse settled in, Dallas asked, "All stations, report in."

"Engineering here. We're good to go," came the heads of each station.

"Navigation here. All systems nominal."

"Weapons here. Weapons are tight and locked in place."

"Comms here. All channels clear."

"Good," Dallas beamed. "Navigation, rotating the ship 90 degrees upwards, then engage RCS to get us clear of the station. We don't want to destroy the shipyard with our engine exhaust. Once we're clear of the station, activate the engines, then get us to the Jump Point." As the Navigation officers and pilots complied, he asked, "Engineering, K-F Drive status?"

"Compact K-F Drive is fully charged and ready to go," came the reply. "Once we reach the Jump Point, we can jump sixty light years in any direction you please."

"Good." With that, the Avalon began to move. True to form, Hanse found that he couldn't feel the ship accelerating. In fact, he wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the video feed he was getting from the exterior. Silently, he watched as the Avalon used it's plasma RCS thrusters slowly accelerate away from the station.

It took them about fifteen minutes to be far away enough for them to activate the engines, while being pitched upwards by 90 degrees. Hanse imagined hearing a faint rumble as the newly designed Interplanetary Drive activated, with the engines pushing the ship ever faster. Eventually, the ship turned and rotated, before pointing itself directly at the Zenith Jump Point for the system.

A moment later, the Element Zero Core activated. The inky blackness of space was replaced by a kaleidoscope of colors, with light ahead of the ship being blue-shifted, while light behind the ship was red-shifted. A few seconds later, they came out of FTL flight, and it wasn't long before they were at the jump point.

"Alright," Dallas beamed. "Nice work so far, people. Now, let's head to New Avalon. I think our First Prince will want to see home from the WarShip we have. Engage the Compact K-F Drive."

"Engaged and ready," engineering reported. "Jumping in T-Minus five… four… three… two… one… zero."

A moment later, the Avalon jumped through hyperspace and to the system of New Avalon. Hanse felt the familiar sensation of being compressed vertically, and stretched horizontally, as they traveled through hyperspace. Thankfully, the sensation was only brief, with the Avalon emerging over New Avalon's Zenith Jump Point.

Turning to Hanse, Dallas asked, "How'd you enjoy the trip?"

"Quite generous of you," Hanse nodded. "Nicely done."

"Alright." Turning to his intercom, Dallas asked, "Engineering, how'd we do?"

"Perfectly fine," engineering replied. "All systems are in the green. I'd say that was a textbook jump."

"Nice work," Dallas nodded.

. . .

A few hours later, Hanse was in his bedroom, looking over one final report that Quintus had given him. The demonstration of the Avalon capabilities had deeply impressed him, enough that he knew that they had a chance to take care of ComStar once and for. We have a legitimate chance now, he thought to himself. ComStar aren't the only ones that have WarShips now. Now, we have our own, and they're a damn sight better than what they have.

As such, he had given Quintus the go-ahead to begin Operation LIBERATION. Soon, he thought to himself. Soon, ComStar will learn why it is not wise to provoke someone with WarShips more advanced than theirs. Soon, my revenge against them will be complete, and Terra will be free.