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

Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I really appreciate it.

This is going to be a bit of an exposition chapter. The next chapter is when the Federated Commonwealth is really going to get to work.

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, Piranha Games Inc., WizKids, 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.

HDF Rising Spirit

Aephus

September 13th, 2186

If anyone had told Primarch Adrian Victus of the Turian Hierarchy that Shepard had returned with a faction that was more advanced than the Council Races, and was more than willing to help out wherever they could, he would've laughed in that person's face. Now, however, he was really starting to see that Shepard was right, especially as the HDF Rising Spirit, entered a low orbit around Aephus. Moving to the closest window in the shuttle taking him to the ship, he got a good look at the ship itself.

It didn't look all that different, though he'd been told that it had armor plating capable of withstanding a strike from a Reaper's main gun. He also noticed a protrusion on the bottom, though it was compacted enough to where the ship could land on a planet if necessary. I wonder what else changed inside the ship, he thought, curious.

A moment later, he heard the pilot of the shuttle speaking. "SSV Normandy, this is shuttle Rigeris zero-niner-five. Requesting permission to come aboard."

A moment later he heard the voice of the Normandy's famous pilot, Joker, coming in. "Rigeris zero-niner-five, this is the SSV Normandy. Permission granted. Opening cargo bay doors now." A moment later, the cargo bay doors opened, with only the mass effect field barrier preventing the air inside escaping into space.

The shuttle smoothly passed into the ship, before a muted thump indicated that they had landed. Stepping out of the ship, Vicus took a look around at the interior of the cargo bay. For one thing, he noticed a protrusion that jutted up from the floor, likely for the protrusion he saw on the outside. For another, he could see a vehicle that resembled one that he had seen in a museum at Earth, the Human homeworld.

He would've continued his observation when he heard someone approaching him. Looking to the right, he watched as Shepard approached him. "Primarch Victus, good to see you," he beamed, extending a hand a moment later. "I trust that your journey went well?"

"That it did," Victus nodded, his husky deep voice echoing in the cargo bay. "It is good to meet you again, Shepard. I heard rumors that you had disappeared, though Hackett says that something entirely different happened. Is that true?"

"Hackett's correct, not the rumors," Shepard explained. "As for what happened, I'll explain to you when we're at the War Room. There's also someone that wishes to speak with you there as well."

"Then take me there," Victus decided. With that, they began to head to the War Room. Moving into the elevator, Victus could clearly see a few changes to the interior of the ship, from thicker metal plating, to the vehicle that he had spotted earlier. "What vehicle was that, if I might ask?"

"Our replacement for the Mako and Hammerhead," Shepard explained. "It's known as the Bradley II IFV. It has more armor plating than the Hammerhead, and it can cross terrain the Mako would not be able to traverse. It's also got a pair of really powerful guns too." Rater than replying, Victus decided that silence was the better answer. With that, the elevator came to a stop, and they walked out into the CIC.

As soon as they did, he immediately noticed a change. For one thing, Victus could see that the interior of the Normany was no longer in the middle of being refitted internally, as panels had been secured, and there were no cables lying in a haphazard manner on the floor. In addition, he could see a significant increase in the number of armed guards in the CIC, all of them wielding weapons that he hadn't seen before.

Just then, one of the soldiers walked up to them. The soldier in question was wearing angular armor plating over what appeared to be a body-suit, though from the way it looked, it too was armored quite well. The helmet visor was opaque, and the man carried a weapon that looked similar to a firearm out of an horror film the humans had created during their 1980's. However, the one detail he noticed was the image of a yellow and red sunburst around a cobalt blue fist on the pauldrons of the man's armor.

A moment later, the soldier spoke, his voice distorted slightly by the speakers in his helmet's armored frame. "Sirs, the First Prince is ready to speak with the Turian Primarch. Is this him?"

"Yes," Shepard nodded. "Lead the way, soldier."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted, before turning sharply on his right heel and advancing ahead of them.

"Who is that?" Victus asked.

"A member of the 1st Davion Guards," Shepard replied. Seeing Victus' confused expression, he said, "An explanation is coming, sir. In fact, it's about to arrive." Just as he said this, they entered the War Room.

The War room was where Victus saw the largest change to the Normandy's interior, so far as he knew. The lower floor in the room was much larger, with what appeared to be ladders that allowed one to climb up and down, while the upper deck was the same size still. Computer terminals were present on both floors in the room, and he could see personnel working at them as well. In addition, he could see a holographic projector in the center of the room that had far greater fidelity than what the Alliance had installed.

The concentration of guards in the room was much greater as well, with two soldiers at the booth for the QEC, and two more at the door they had just passed through. It was at this point that he also saw the cause for the increased number of guards. A trio of men were standing at the holoprojector, with the two men discussing what Victus guessed was the progress the Reapers had made into Turian space.

A moment later, the soldier that had led them through the checkpoint and into the room said, "Sirs, the Turian Primarch and Commander Shepard are present."

"At ease," came the reply from one of the men, who turned around a moment later. Victus found that the man was tall, around the same height as a female Turian, but had a stout and athletic frame. Two royal blue eyes gazed at him, with those eyes framed by tanned skin, well sculpted facial features, and neatly combed brown hair. Those eyes, Victus found, held a youth and vigor that was matched by only a few in the room; in addition, he could see cunning and intelligence in the man's eyes.

The other two men were quite interesting to see as well. The first of the two was just as old, if not older than the first man, and had hazel green eyes that seemed to pierce through anything he saw. In addition, he wore body armor, rather than the dress uniform that most of the crew were wearing inside the room. The last of the two, from what Victus could tell, looked like a second edition of the first human, though his eyes were a different color, and a few of his facial features looked different.

The man had apparently studied him as well, as he said, "It is good to meet you, Primarch Victus, though I wish it were in better times." Walking forwards and extending a hand, he said, "I am Hanse Davion, First Prince of the Federated Commonwealth. With me is Ardan Sortek, the Prince's Bodyguard, and Colonel Victor Steiner-Davion. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"The honor is mine as well," Victus nodded, shaking the extended hand. Looking at Victor, he asked, "I take it you're his son?"

"An astute observation," Victor nodded. From what he could tell, Victus had spotted the family resemblance and put two and two together.

"I see…," Victus nodded. While he appeared calm on the outside, internally, he was worried. I hope he did not earn his position through nepotism. Bad things always happen when incompetent soldiers gain command of the battlefield.

Apparently, Victor had noticed this silence, as he said, "I earned my position through combat. I fought in the Clan Invasion, and I led numerous military forces to victory against the Clans. The Battle of Pinnacle is where I earned my current rank. It is also tradition within House Davion that all heirs to the First Prince are to undergo military training, and are to serve on the front lines."

That eased Victus' worries considerably. "Good," he nodded. "We need officers that have earned their rank through merit, and not through nepotism."

"That's something that the Lyran Commonwealth could've learned before 3027," Hanse nodded. "They are infamous for having officers that got their rank through their social connections. They usually earned the title of 'Social Officer', a stigma that has an extremely negative connotation. That problem, thankfully, is now a thing of the past. However, we are not here to simply chat all day, as fine as that would be. There is work to be done."

"Agreed," Victus nodded. "I was given some of the documentation that Admiral Hackett was given by Shepard a day earlier. I must admit, until I saw the Normandy, and you, I thought I was looking at a clever hoax. I still wonder if I am, but I'm starting to see that's not the case."

"I can assure you, we are no hoax, Primarch Victus. What you are seeing is the real deal. We came here to help, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"I read that for myself. Mechanized walkers that mount more armor and weapons than one of our vehicles, as well as warships capable of going against the Reapers in a one-on-one battle while possessing an alternate form of FTL travel. It appears that the impossible is routine for Shepard, after all."

"That it is," Hanse nodded. Turning towards the holotable, he brought up a closer magnification of Turian space. "From what Hackett informed us, the Reapers are performing a siege against your forces on Palaven, while slowly making their way through Turian controlled space. Correct?"

"Yes," Victus nodded. "The Reapers are using brute force in order to overwhelm our forces. In addition, their ground forces are using Turian husks, Marauders according to the Alliance, to more effective coordinate their ground forces. The strategist inside of me admires their brutality, but the Turian inside of me is weeping at what is likely the destruction of our civilization… my civilization."

"I understand," Hanse nodded, a sympathetic glint in his eyes. "We had to deal with a similar enemy: the Clans. We managed to stop them, and bought enough time to build up our forces in order to drive them out of the Inner Sphere for good. However, that won't mean much if the Reapers find the wormhole leading to our universe, hence why we are here to begin discussing plans to annihilate the Reapers."

Tuning the hologram to show Palaven, and the forces on the planet, he said, "That is why I wished to go over this strategy with you. Admiral Osman von Strauss, one of our most brilliant naval strategists, was planning on conducting a blitzkrieg on the Reapers while they're busy with your forces. That should unbalance them enough for us to annihilate some of their forces, and to get ground troops to the surface to relieve your ground forces.

"In addition, we'll also be sending personnel to assist Shepard in his mission to cure the Genophage. Once that is done, we can begin transporting the Krogan over to your planet, in order to provide further relief. Now this is our current plan, but we're open to any suggestions you can make."

"Sounds like you've done this before," Victus noted.

"Like Victor said, all heirs to the First Prince have to undergo military training before being considered heirs to the throne. I've done my fair share of strategic planning, especially as the First Prince. Still, I had experienced Generals and Admirals to work with. Now if you have any questions or concerns, now's the time to share them."

"Thank you," Victus nodded. Looking at the map, as well as the strategic plan that Hanse had just pulled up, he asked, "What ships do you plan on bringing to the battle?"

"A pair of King Arthur-class WarShips, as well as an Avalon-class WarShip. We might also bring a Mjolnir-class WarShip to the battle as well."

"Mjolnir-class?"

In response, Victor pulled up an image of the ship in question next to the battle plans. "It's a Battlecruiser that the Lyran side of the Federated Commonwealth designed as our command/heavy firepower platform," he explained. " It's most deadly armament are four Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles on the bow and aft of the ship. Think of them as being the equivalent of your dreadnought's spinal mounted mass accelerator cannon."

"I see," Victus nodded, clearly impressed. "What about armor?"

"It's got 3500 tonnes of Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor."

"What's that stuff made out of? I've never heard of it before."

"I can explain," Shepard added. "Armor in the Inner Sphere, Victus, is ablative, meaning it tears and/or boils off when hit with weapons fire. Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor is the most protective form of ablative armor for WarShips. From what I recall, the outermost layer is made out of tantalum hafnium carbide, correct?"

"Correct," Victor nodded. "It's known for it's extreme melting temperature, around 7,145 degrees Fahrenheit if I recall correctly. Either way, it's really tough stuff."

"Sounds like it," Victus asked. "And that ship mounts thousands of tonnes of that armor? You need a pretty large, or powerful, Element Zero Core to be able to initiate FTL flight."

"It does carry an Enhanced Element Zero Core," Victor nodded. "That satisfy you?"

"Yes," Victus nodded, even as he read some of the readouts on the hologram. "A well armored and armed ship indeed. I almost feel some pity for the Reapers… almost that is." As the hologram of the ship disappeared, he said, "You'll have to worry about the Reapers ground troops. Each of their weapons hits harder than ours, and with Marauders around, they're much more dangerous."

"We know, thanks to Shepard," Hanse nodded. "We've also heard about the 'Brutes' that Shepard said he encountered in battle. We've created heavy powered armor suits designed to allow our soldiers to neutralize them."

"Like the ATLAS mech?"

"No, but they are vastly superior, in my opinion."

"What's the standard long arm of your troops?"

"The M61B Pulse Laser Rifle. I know, it sounds ludicrous, but the Inner Sphere perfected laser-based small arms during the Age of War. We also have the M42C ICWS, and out troops can also be outfitted with grenade launchers, anti-tank guns and many more vehicles."

"What about vehicles?"

"We have a number of Combat Vehicles. We'll be using APC's and IFV's on the ground, as well as MBT's, the latter of the trio will be assigned to deal with Brutes and other Reaper equivalents for Combat Vehicles."

"Any artillery?"

"Yes. We make use of artillery missiles, as well as artillery guns, such as the Long Tom Artillery Piece."

"Good," Victus smiled, his mandibles parting slightly. "From the sounds of things, ground warfare is not going to be a problem. Naval warfare is. Do your ships also use energy based weapons?"

"Yes," Victor, who was more knowledgeable in that area, nodded. "Most of our WarShips use a combination of long range pulse laser weapons, as well as particle cannons."

"Are they like our GARDIAN weapons?" Victus asked.

"Yes," Victor nodded. "Unlike the GARDIAN lasers, however, our laser weapons have significantly greater range and energy output. In addition, we make use of Naval Particle Projection Cannons."

"I read about those Can they bypass barriers?"

"No. However, the EMP they generate causes severe damage to the kinetic barrier emitters. In simulations Hanse's people did, it usually takes only two hits from a Naval PPC to down the kinetic barriers over a particular portion of a ship."

"Nice." After a moment, Victus asked, "Who will be overseeing the operation on Tuchanka?"

"I will," Victor replied. "I've managed operations like that before, though the Battle of Pinnacle was where I was first blooded in that regard. However, I can say that I am open to any ideas that can be shared. One of the worst things a military commander can do is assume that he's already got the brightest idea."

"Sensible."

"There's also something else we can use to our advantage," Hanse added. "I had some military analysts look over the footage that Shepard had retrieved from his ship's archives on the Reaper's tactics. What they noted was that each Reaper attacked with it's own small force, not surprising since each Reaper considers itself a nation.

"According to them, they could've inflicted much greater damage if they worked as a coordinated force, but instead chose to attack as individuals. One even noted that it was as though the Reapers were arrogant, and who can blame them? They've done this 'Cycle' of their millions, maybe even billions, of times over without anyone being able to defeat them. That is a hallmark of arrogance and complacency. Ironically, the Reapers have trapped themselves in their own cycle; by ensuring no species becomes more advanced than they are, they've stagnated in their development."

"That means they're vulnerable to an outside source coming in to disrupt their plans," Victus realized.

"Exactly!" Hanse beamed. "The Reapers haven't had to plan for a faction that not only has an alternate form of FTL flight, but also has weapons capable of bypassing their barriers from long range. Most Reapers also appear to attack within what we would consider close to medium range, even though their weapons could reach out to thousands of kilometers of range. We can exploit that, as well as their individualism, to our advantage."

"How so?"

"We can have one of our King Arthur-class WarShips act as a lure to draw a group of Reapers away from the planet. However, we can have WarShips located in the asteroid belt of your star system. Once the Reapers are far enough from help, they can jump in, and smash them into smithereens. Once the Reapers begin enacting a different strategy, we can adjust accordingly."

"We can do that," Victus countered. "We have enough warships to lure them away still. Then you can come in, destroy the Reapers, then rinse and repeat."

"Good idea. I'll inform Hackett of our plan there."

"Be sure to inform the Salarians as well. Their intelligence can be invaluable."

"Thank you for the advice."

For the next couple of minutes, they looked over the plan, with Victus asking questions and making his concerns known. In the end, he found that Hanse's battle plan for the Reapers at Palaven was sensible: blockade the Mass Relay using guided, high-yield thermonuclear mines that would use Smart Mine technology to destroy incoming Reaper and Cerberus ships, while allowing ships from the other factions to come through unharmed. All the while, they would use the bait-and-switch tactic that Hanse had devised until the Reapers adapted. After that, they would adjust accordingly.

Nodding, he said, "This sounds like an excellent strategy, Hanse. If this works as well as we hope it does, we might be able to liberate Palaven, and strike a hard blow against the Reapers."

"Agreed," Hanse concurred. "However, it will be all for nothing unless we can complete the construction of the Crucible. Once the Crucible is completed, then we can find the Catalyst and rain hell down on the Reapers. It's been a long time too, given how many species they have driven into extinction due to the madness of their cycle."

"I couldn't agree more," Victus nodded. "It is high time that the Reapers pay for their crimes against sapient life. The Council will want to speak with you, of course."

"Once we've finished the operation to provide relief and fire support for the Turians, and after we've dealt with the Genophage, then we'll speak with the Council," Hanse decided. "Besides, they really screwed things up when they didn't listen to Shepard. Even I wouldn't have turned a deaf ear to his warnings."

"I know," Victus frowned. "I listened, but none of the other Pirmarchs were willing to listen since I was a General at the time, not as Primarch as I am now.. You'll also have to be careful when it comes to the Genophage as well."

"Oh?"

"The Salarian Daltrass that we spoke with was most insistent that we do not cure the Genophage. She might attempt to sabotage your operations."

"We'll keep that in mind," Hanse decided. After a moment, he said, "Say, I would like to invite you to one of the DropShips that came with us, the Cavalier III. I think you should have a chance to meet one of Shepard's employers when he was with us."

"Alright," Victus nodded. He was curious as to what Shepard did during his stay in another universe.

. . .

It turned out, Commander Mason was more than willing to host a Primarch on his DropShip. As Victus stepped through the airlock, he found himself looking at another human that had black hair that had streaks of gray, and bright green eyes. In addition, he was wearing what he thought initially was combat armor, but it was lighter than what he was familiar with. "Welcome aboard the Cavalier III, Primarch Victus," Mason beamed. "Commander Jake Mason, at your service."

"And I at yours," Victus nodded. Looking around, he asked, "Is this the command deck?"

"No," Mason shook his head. "This is the habitation deck of the DropShip. The command deck is above us, but it's difficult for boarders to get to. We have security checkpoints at every entrance to each deck, including in the stair well. Want a tour?"

"Gladly." With that, they began to tour the ship proper. Entering the command deck, Victus found himself looking at a large, circular room that had a holographic projector in the center of the room, while personnel worked at computer stations. He also spotted a few viewports, though he changed his initial assumption when he realized that they were photo-realistic images of the exterior.

"This is the Tactical Operations Room, or TACOPS room for short," Mason explained. "This is where most of the activity on the ship occurs, aside from the 'Mech Bay." Walking over to a woman with blond-gray hair, he said, "This is Ryana, our mission coordinator. Ryana, this is Primarch Adrien Victus , the leader of the Turian Hierarchy."

"Greetings, Primarch Victus," Ryana smiled. "Like Mason said, I'm the mission coordinator. I provide real-time tactical information, and I also help out whenever Mason's too busy to handle other affairs."

"Such as?" Victus asked.

"Such as when I have to deal with Fahad's good-natured griping," Ryana said in mock-anger.

Surprisingly, Victus laughed, a short barking sound that echoed in the room. "I understand what that's like," he nodded. "I had to deal with the same as a General."

The tour continued like this, with Victus examining the cramped, if comfy, crew quarters, as well as the canteen on the ship. To his surprise, he could see what he thought were a few arcade games. "For when the crew gets bored," Mason had explained. "We also have a small library onboard, and when I say small, I really mean small." Said library had consisted only of a single bookshelf, though it was jam packed with books.

The 'Mech Bay, however, was where Victus, aside from when he saw the Reapers for the first time in his life, felt really small. Each of the 'Mechs, from what he could tell, were massive, each one armed with weapons that would make a Jihiris tank look rather pathetic. Mason, spotting his facial expression, said, "Intimidating, aren't they?"

"Yes," Victus nodded. "Very much so. How large are they?"

"The tallest ones are around fourteen meters in height," Mason explained. Pointing to one that had a pair of gun arms, he said, "That one is the NSR-9J, or Nightstar. It's an Assault 'Mech, with 'Mechs in that category being between eighty to a hundred tonnes in weight." Pointing to another one, he said, "That's Shepard's 'Mech, the mighty Marauder II."

"What's it's armament?" Victus asked.

"I can tell you that," a British sounding voice interrupted. Turning around, Victus watched as a human being walked over to them. Said human wore a mechanic's jumpsuit, was bald, had dark brown eyes, and looked at them with the scrutiny that only a technician could have. "Fahad Arazhad, Chief 'Mech Bay Technician."

"I see," Victus nodded. "You keep these machines in working order?"

"As best as I can, what with Mason and his team wrecking them all the time," Fahad said with mock-annoyance. "All joking aside, these are some bloody beautiful machines. That Marauder II for instance has a pair of ER Medium Pulse Lasers, ER PPC's and a Plasma Rifle."

"Plasma Rifle?" Victus asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you heard right," Fahad nodded. "Fires a bolus of plasma at hypersonic velocities. We're talking Mach seven to eight here. Certainly gives Ferro-Fibrous armor a solid thrashing."

"Interesting." Turning to Mason, he said, "If your mercenary company has vehicles and weapons like that, then the AFFC is certainly going to give the Reapers a considerable amount of trouble."

"Agreed," Mason nodded. "When we have some time, I'll tell you some of my stories the way no other person can."

"I think that would be quite agreeable."

(Author's Q&A)

SulliMike23: Oh yeah! The Reapers are going to get their just desserts!

RandomReader: You're welcome, and that is a possibility. The Council Races, though, will need to upgrade their shipyards in order to meet FedCom standards, of course.

Chronus1326: Thank you. I'm happy that to see that the way I wrote that chapter pleased you.

Guest: Thank you.

P0K3d4th: She wasn't on the Normandy yet. She will come aboard in a later chapter and see what has changed.

Violet Toyger: Me too. The Reapers are going to learn the true meaning of 'Mechanized Warfare.