Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.
I apologize for not updating my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover recently. I've been feeling kinda drained, and I really only had the energy for one story this week. I should be back to normal next week, though.
Also, some of your reviews from the previous chapter aren't showing up due to an error in the website. As such, I'll be editing this chapter once the problem is corrected. I'll also inform the support part of so that they can correct the problem. Thank you for your patience.
Also, any new ideas for the redux of my Halo/MechWarrior crossover are more than welcome. Also, let me know if you want me to delete the older versions, or keep them around so that people can see how my writing skills have developed.
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, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, 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.
MechWarrior 4: Vengeance OST - Stutter Shark
SSV Normandy
Rannoch
October 1st, 2186
If there was one person that was quite disgruntled with Han'Gerrel's aggression and blatant disregard for the rules of war, it was Victor Steiner-Davion. While he appeared quite calm and reasonable on the outside, everyone inside of the War Room knew that tranquil exterior hid a maelstrom of justifiable anger. As such, no one wanted to find out what would happen if they irritated him enough to where this anger came out in full force.
Even Victor knew this, though he wouldn't direct it at the people inside of the War Room. My anger is reserved for Admiral Han'Gerrel for his sheer stupidity, misplaced aggression and incompetence, he thought to himself as he spoke with Admiral Hackett. He has gone too far this time! He has been arrogant, insubordinate and incompetent, which nearly led him to fire on Shepard while he was inside the Geth Dreadnought. This will not stand!
Even Hackett, who also had a tranquil expression, couldn't believe what he heard. "They fired on the Dreadnought while Shepard was on board?" he asked, more to confirm what he had heard than out of doubt.
"Yes," Victor nodded. "They were supposed to pull out. Instead Han'Gerrel, in his arrogance and incompetence…"
"I know," Hackett nodded. "Admiral Gerrel's been causing trouble along the Turian border for years. I can understand their desperation, though. We only lost Earth a few weeks back."
"You haven't lost Earth yet, if the reports are accurate," Victor countered. "You still have a sizable resistance on the planet."
"Agreed. Still, Shepard is an irreplaceable asset that we can't afford to lose, even when this war is over." On a softer note, Hackett added, "He's also the best kind of man to have as a friend. I would really hate it if something happened to him. Still, he's the only one that can get us a fleet, and the Quarians have the largest one by far."
"We'll get it for you," Victor reassured the Admiral. "In addition, I need to give Han'Gerrel a dressing down for his stupidity. Victor out." With that, he closed the QEC link, before striding out of the room. Now, I just have to wait for that arrogant snob to arrive. I also requested that Captain Carmichael come along. Time to show the Quarians how I reward incompetence and stupidity.
It wasn't long before the Quarian Admirals arrived, along with Captain Carmichael, who was dressed in his dress uniform. He had a calm and neutral expression on his face, which was the opposite of Han'Gerrel. While his face wasn't visible, Han'Gerrel's body language indicated that he was deeply angry. Shepard also walked inside, though he was calm like Carmichael was.
The other Quarian Admirals were angry, but for different reasons entirely. "Your unilateral strike endangered us all!" Shala'Raan shouted at Han'Gerrel. "I should charge you with treason!"
"I was within my authority as Admiral of the Heavy Fleet!" Han'Gerrel argued.
"And what of Shepard? Of Tali'Zorah?!"
"They escaped unharmed! Shepard, the mission parameters changed. You're military. You understand."
"I understand that you wasted this chance to get the fleet out safely," Shepard growled, a little angry himself.
Spotting Victor Steiner-Davion, Han'Gerrel walked over and said, "Major, I need to have a word with you. Captain Carmichael -"
"Was well within his authority as Captain of the Fury II," Victor growled. "You went too far by attacking the Dreadnought while Shepard was inside of the Dreadnought! You're out of control, you incompetent and arrogant son of a bitch!"
Han'Gerrel's eyes went wide with rage. "You too?!" he shouted. "The Dreadnought was a perfect -UUFF!"
Before he could say anything else, Victor finally snapped. Striding over, he hurled a fist into Han'Gerrel's stomach, with a loud WHUMP echoing in the War Room. Han'Gerrel, taking the blow in full, gasped as he bent over, before Victor hit him again, this time with his knee. That caused Han'Gerrel to topple to the ground, a visible dent in the faceplate where Victor had hammered his knee into the Admiral's face.
As he struggled to get up, Victor Steiner-Davion, ignoring the slight pain coming from his armored knee, continued to speak, with his voice remaining terrifyingly calm and level. "You, Han'Gerrel, are probably one of the worst excuses of an Admiral that I have seen in my entire career. By maneuvering to fire on the Geth Dreadnought while Shepard was inside of the Dreadnought, you demonstrated extreme insubordination. Ever since this war began, and well before that, you have been arrogant, insubordinate and inconsiderate of your actions.
"In fact, this entire war is a demonstration of the arrogance and stupidity of the entire Admiralty Board for the Migrant Fleet! The level of incompetence that I am seeing here can only be matched by what was present in the LCAF before my mother became the Archon and began to make sweeping changes . In fact, one of your members is a borderline sociopath that thinks that experimenting on the Geth is a wonderful idea, when in reality, it is the stupidest idea I've ever heard!
"And don't think I don't know about the trouble that all of you have been causing for the other races of the galaxy! Han'Gerrel, for instance, has been causing trouble for the Turians for years on end, trouble that could well have been avoided if all of you had done what you should have done: give him a dressing down and a demotion to a lower rank!
"The last piece of the straw, however, is the fact that Shepard clearly warned you that starting a war with the Geth was a horrible idea, especially with the Reapers coming around! Your actions have shown that none of you have the moral responsibility, nor the strategic know-how required to wage a war of this kind. This! Will not! Stand!"
Turning to Captain Carmichael, he said, "Normally, I would do the same for you, Captain Carmichael. However, since you were doing so to keep Shepard safe until he cleared the Dreadnought, and in light of Han'Gerrel's sheer incompetence, I have decided, instead, to commend you. Personally, I would have done the same in your position." Looking at Han'Gerrel, who was still having a little difficulty, he said, "Get off this ship, you fucking asshole!"
Even as the guards hauled Han'Gerrel out of the ship, the other Quarian Admirals had gone deathly silent. Shala'Raan looked quite surprised, and a little terrified, while Daro'Xen looked quite angry, especially at being called a borderline sociopath. "Now…," Victor growled. "Are there any other problems that we have to sort out?"
"You must understand," Raan'Shen began. "The Geth fleet inflicted heavy -" She stopped when Victor fixed her with a stare that, if looks could kill, would've vaporized Raan and part of the ship with the ferocity of a PPC. Seeing this, she wisely decided to back off. "Never mind," she replied.
"Good," Victor nodded.
Shepard, who had watched this dressing down quietly, cleared his throat and said, "You mentioned something about a planetary defense cannon, Raan? The Geth has one?"
"Had," Shala'Raan corrected him. "Admiral Korris sacrificed his own flagship to destroy it. He crash-landed on the homeworld."
"The Normandy can assist with rescue efforts," Shepard suggested.
"Good idea," Victor nodded. "In addition, if the Geth kill an Admiral, especially the Admiral of the Civilian Fleet, it'll be a major blow in morale. I'll task Shepard, and a few other DropShips, with rescuing the survivors as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Commander and Major," Shala'Raan beamed. "I think the worst is over. The Geth no longer possess the programming upgrades they had while enslaved to the Reapers."
"I'm not so sure," Victor frowned. "If I know the Reapers, they'll have a backup for that. We'll need to correct for that, so we're not out of the woods yet."
Just as they were about to continue, the door to the War Room opened. A moment later, Shepard watched as Legion walked inside, it's ocular sensor scanning every centimeter of the room. Spotting him, it said, "Shepard-Commander. We are prepared to offer assistance."
"Who's… er… what's this?" Victor asked Shepard.
"I see your Geth friend has returned," Raan'Shen noted.
"The Reapers were using Legion like signal booster to broadcast commands from the dreadnought," Shepard explained. "We freed him." Looking at Victor, he said, "Victor, this is Legion, the first Geth that I was able to speak with without being shot at. Legion, this is Major Victor Steiner-Davion, our liaison from the Federated Commonwealth."
"Pleased to meet you," Victor nodded extending a hand.
"We greet you," Legion replied, returning the handshake. "We have been exchanging data with EDI. We have learned much about the Federated Commonwealth, and about you."
"I see. Anything pique your interest?"
"Yes. We were unaware of the existence of other universes outside of our own. Based on the data we have, we predicted the probability of such an occurrence as being roughly two times ten to the power of negative twenty."
"In other words, outright impossible."
"Yes. It appears that, with Shepard-Commander present, the odds of such an event occurring increase geometrically."
"I guess that's a compliment," Victor shrugged.
"Sounds like it to me," Shepard agreed.
"This is a fascinating prototype," Daro'Xen noted, her anger at Victor momentarily forgotten. "With some study, I might be able to find a weakness in the Geth consensus."
"Legion helped me in the fight against the Collectors," Shepard added.
"So did your pistol," Daro'Xen countered. "Should I worry about it's feeling as we -"
"I don't think you want to continue this line of thought, Admiral," Shepard growled. "Legion is my friend. More importantly, he's our best source of information on the Geth."
"The scientific benefits -"
" -are off the table!" Shepard interrupted.
"Agreed," Victor nodded. "Disassembling or studying Legion is out of the question." Looking at Legion, he asked, "So, what can you tell us about the Geth? How will they react now that the Reapers don't control them, or should we anticipate the Reapers regaining control?"
"You are correct in your doubts, Victor-Major," Legion replied. "You may have cut off long range control, but the Old Machines placed a base on Rannoch for short range direction."
"The Geth still have Reaper upgrades?" Shala'Raan asked.
"I thought as much," Victor frowned. "This is why you don't think you've gotten rid of the problem on the first go: because it's rarely that easy. So, like she said, they still have upgrades."
"Correct," Legion agreed. "They are currently disorganized, but once the short range signal is in place, they will recover."
"Keelah!" Shala'Raan gasped. "I need to warn the fleet! Xen, coordinate with Gerrel! MOVE!" With that, Daro'Xen quickly ran out of the War Room.
"We need to take out the Reaper base," Shepard decided. "Where's it at?"
"Unknown," Legion replied.
"Find it," Shepard ordered.
"Understood. We do know the location of a server from which Geth fighter squadrons are being controlled. The squadrons are targeting Creator liveships. Disabling them will limit casualties. We offer assistance."
"Thanks."
Just as he said this, a comm transmission came through. "This is the Konesh," came a voice. "We're taking heavy damage! Requesting assistance! Damnit, are we even transmitting?!"
"Did you hear that?" Shepard asked Victor.
"I heard it," Victor nodded. Keying the comm, he said, "Normandy to Mongoose, this is Victor Steiner-Davion. Move to the Konesh and provide fire support immediately! They're taking heavy fire!"
"Roger that," came the Captain of the Mongoose. "We're moving in to provide fire support. The Galax is also sending Medium ASF's to cover us. We'll get the Konesh out of trouble."
"Roger that," Victor nodded, relieved that he and Shepard had heard the distress signal just in the nick of time.
"Thank you," Shala'Raan, having overheard Victor's orders, sighed. "If you two hadn't heard that, we'd have lost that ship."
While she went back to work, Victor came over to Legion. For some strange reason, he found this particular Geth to be fascinating, but in a more social way, rather than a technological way like Daro'Xen had been. "Legion?" he asked. "Can you spare a moment?"
"Of course," Legion replied. "We are ready for any queries you make?"
"I see." Pacing around, Victor thought to himself for a moment, then he asked, "So, what do you think of the Federated Commonwealth?"
"We do not have enough data for consensus," Legion replied.
"I see. Did EDI give you some information?"
"Yes. EDI informed us that you are the son of Hanse-Prince. We were not aware that the Federated Commonwealth had a position of power that is hereditary in nature."
"I can explain that part," Victor nodded. "The Federated Commonwealth, Legion, is a neo-feudal state. That means that we have things like the nobility, royal blood and so on, so forth. The Federated Commonwealth, as you've likely noticed, used to be two separate Great Houses: the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth. Hanse is my father and the current First Prince."
"And the female that bore you as her offspring?"
"Melissa Steiner, and please, call her my mother. She's the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth. As for why my name is the way it is, my father, Hanse, was betrothed to her shortly before he met Shepard. Once they married, they joined House Steiner and House Davion together, hence my last name of Steiner-Davion. Does that explain a few things?"
"Yes. We appreciate the exchange of data."
"Good to know," Victor beamed. "Say, are you wirelessly connected to the Normandy's sensor suite?"
"Yes. We are capable of handling multiple tasks without decreasing efficiency."
"Then I can show you this," Victor nodded. Walking over to the holo-table, he moved the hologram of Rannoch and the Geth forces over to one side, then brought up a map of the Inner Sphere. "This," he explained, "is the region of space that Humanity, in my universe, controls. We call it the 'Inner Sphere', and the borders are demarcated by the edges of the Great Houses." Highlighting each one, he brought up the Federated Commonwealth. "This is the Federated Commonwealth."
"We find this data interesting," Legion noted. Looking at him, it said, "We observed one of your men aboard the dreadnought that we were held captive on. The armor he wore was unfamiliar to us."
"Edward?" Victor asked. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He's got gigantism, so he wears what we call Battle Armor for protection. It's like a wearable Geth Prime, only with better armor and an environmentally sealed interior for space operations. I take it you noticed the weaponry too, yes?"
"Yes."
"I thought as much. We don't use kinetic weapons as our mainstay weapons, though we keep them around as a reliable backup. Most of the time, we use high powered lasers or high energy particle bolts to neutralize hostiles."
"We observed as such onboard the dreadnought," Legion replied. "Our analysis of your weaponry indicates a more advanced technology base."
"That's correct," Victor nodded. "We didn't have Element Zero for well over a thousand years, so we developed in other areas of technology. Interesting how accepting one path of tech progression blinds you to others that can be just as useful."
"The Old Machine known as 'Sovereign' to Shepard-Commander said the same. 'Your civilization is based upon the technology of the Mass Relays. Our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire.' Your lack of Mass Relays required your sub-species to seek alternatives. Your technology is more diverse, versatile. The Reapers would only have a 25.1% chance of success were they to invade your galaxy."
"Nice to hear that our differing tech means that we have an edge against the Reapers," Victor noted. After a moment, he said, "I'll let you get back to it, Legion. Do what you can to find that Reaper base. The sooner you find it, the sooner we can obliterate it and get back to the real business at hand."
"Acknowledged." With that, Legion resumed it's search for the Geth base, while Victor went back to his own business.
"Major?" Shala'Raan asked. "May we share a few words?"
Aw, hell, Victor frowned. Now she wants to talk with me… Oh, well. I guess I should've anticipated this when meeting two of the most tech-savvy races in the galaxy. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes, you may."
"Thank you," Shala'Raan beamed. "You were right in that the Reapers would regain control. The Geth recovered faster than we anticipated. If it hadn't warned us, they could've been wiped out."
"Sounds like you owe Legion an apology."
"However advanced Shepard's friend is, it's still a Geth."
"A Geth who just saved your fleet."
"And I wish I could have known it better, but right now, we cannot afford trust."
"I beg to differ there," Victor frowned. "Without trust, there can't be peace. Still, we'll build that bridge when we come to it. Tell me about your Patrol Fleet."
"Very well," Shala'Raan nodded. "In peacetime, the Patrol Fleet managed navigation, internal security, and inter-ship conflicts or crimes."
"Sounds like a policing force."
"It was. Now, we mostly guard the Heavy Fleet's flank. It's mostly light frigates or fighters."
Kinda like the Fox and Durandal classes of WarShips, Victor noted, along with AeroSpace Fighters. Those ships are good choices for defending larger ships. You need speed to act quickly and keep them safe. Putting that info into the back of his mind, he asked, "What about the Heavy Fleet?"
"It was our main military before the war," Shala'Raan explained, "comprised of all Quarian ships suited for sustained conflict. It can't compare to the Turian forces, of course, but we have a number of heavy frigates and advanced fighter forces."
"That reminds me of the Taurian Concordat," Victor noted. "They have a frigate navy, but it's got one of the best classes of ship for that purpose, the Concordat-class. The TDS Fury II is of the same class."
"Captain Carmichael was quite skilled with that ship," Shala'Raan noted. "The Geth had trouble getting fighters through, which brings us to another question. Why didn't you tell us that the Federated Commonwealth had advanced energy based weapons?"
"You didn't ask," Victor replied. "In addition, Han'Gerrel was itching enough for a fight that he didn't bother to ask details. I can say, however, that you are correct: the Federated Commonwealth makes widespread use of energy weapons. They're standard issue for WarShips."
"They are? How long have you had these weapons?"
"Oh… about eight centuries, give or take a couple decades."
That had Shala'Raan's full attention, as she looked at him. "Really?" she asked. "When did you develop them?"
"About a century before the Age of War," Victor explained. "It was a period of conflict lasting around a century and a half, starting from 2398. Lasers were introduced into military use during that time period. During that time, we also developed the Particle Projector Cannon, which you've no doubt seen during the assault."
Hearing that, Raan'Shen was impressed. "That is quite the feat of technology," she said a moment later. "Daro'Xen would be begging for a chance to study your technology. The technological revolution would greatly benefit our people."
"That it would, but we're not interested in giving only the Quarians our technology," Victor countered. "My father, Hanse Davion, decided to create a lend-lease deal with the Citadel Council. Basically, we lend them some of our technology for the duration of the war, and when the war is over, they return that technology."
What he didn't add was what he knew would happen if the Salarians or Asari refused to give the technology back. It's a good thing MIIO's been working on infiltrating the Salarian Union and Asari Republics, he noted to himself. If those two governments try to lie to us, we can break in, take our tech back, and head home. Still, they'll be greatly weakened once the war is over, which will allow us to make alliances and get some much needed rapport with their public. Public opinion can end a war just as easily as it can start one.
"I see," Shala'Raan noted, unaware of Victor's internal monologue. "If we could become a signatory to this lend-lease agreement, then we would greatly benefit."
"That you would," Victor agreed. "However, if there's a pair of Admirals that we would make an agreement with, it would be Zaal'Koris, Tali'Zorah, and you of course. Out of all five Admirals, you three seem like the most reasonable of the bunk. I would rather sneeze into Daro'Xen's face before making an agreement with her."
"And Admiral Han'Gerrel?"
"I'd knock him about. Not enough to kill him, but enough to show him that he's in disgrace. What you saw earlier was just a fraction of how nasty I can get in a fight." He knew this to be true. If he really wanted to kill Han'Gerrel, he would've stabbed him in the chest with the knife concealed in his armored uniform. Always handy to keep a weapon close at hand. You might need it. Changing the topic, he said, "I heard that you had the largest fleet in the galaxy. Correct?"
"The Turians have more dreadnoughts," Shala'Raan admitted. "Their overall military force is larger than our Heavy Fleet by far. But before the war, we jury-rigged every Quarian ship in the flotilla for battle. Even our liveships have cannons."
"Those are your civilian ships?"
"Yes."
"That was a poor decision on your part, Admiral. I don't have any problems with arming civilian ships for self-defense, but I do have a problem with throwing them into the field of battle without months of training and dedicated WarShips. It's a war crime to do that without their written and verbal consent. The Capellan Confederation, before we destroyed it, was quite fond of such tactics."
Shala'Raan nodded at that, though she added, "While the liveships have firepower comparable to that of a dreadnought, their primary purpose is food cultivation."
"Something tells me that the Council won't buy that technicality, and neither will my father."
"If need be, I'll apologize once this war is over," Shala'Raan decided. "Also, we do not put our civilians in danger casually. We keep them away from the front-lines, but we do what we must to win."
"Uh huh," Victor frowned dubiously. "I've heard that excuse more than once, Admiral. Still, what fleet does Admiral Korris command?"
"The Civilian Fleet… and hopefully he's survived. In peacetime, they make up the bulk of our ships. Now, our strength would give even the Turians pause. Still, I hope Korris is alive."
"Don't worry," Victor noted. "I've only met him once, but I get the feeling that he's a stubborn bastard, if his protests about your stupid war are any indication. It sounds like he, and Tali, were the only ones that verbally protested." After a moment, he asked, "What about Admiral Xen? What fleet does she command?"
"Special Projects," Shala'Raan explained. "It's not a fleet, per se… just a few research vessels. Her technical breakthroughs have put us into striking distance of our homeworld."
"Uh, huh," Victor frowned again. "You're not worried about her losing perspective given her… unhealthy obsession with the Geth? From where I'm standing, she's an unstable sociopath that would gladly sacrifice Quarians for the sake of technology."
"If she can save our people, she can do whatever she wants. Though… I do agree in that she isn't exactly… stable. Given recent circumstances… I'm closer to where you stand in that regard than most."
"I see," Victor noted. "Good to see that someone agrees with me." Just as he said this, Legion came over. "Yes?" he asked.
"Victor-Major, we have uncovered Creator Zaal'Korris' location," Legion informed him. "We recommend that you recover him before the Geth send forces to terminate the survivors. There is a 90.5% chance that the Civilian Fleet will disintegrate should Creator Zaal'Korris cease functioning."
"Shit," Victor growled. "Alright. Send Shepard and myself the coordinates. I'll send in a few DropShips to save whoever we can." With that, Victor marched over to the holo-table. It was time to save an Admiral, and hopefully correct some errors while they were at it.
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you.
weirdnerd101: Interesting ideas. Thank you.
rmnlegion: Here you go. Thanks for the kind words.
SulliMike23: Don't worry. I'm certain you'll find more to say.
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.
Guest #1: Thank you.
MarauderPrime12: I agree. I definitely wouldn't want to be him, especially since he just got a dressing down in this chapter.
THATs1I3ntGUY: Thank you. Sorry you're having difficulty in life. I hope it gets easier soon.
Bluesnowman: Thank you.
Guest #2: Sounds interesting. I'll definitely consider it.
Violet Toyger: Yep. They showed the Quarians a thing or two about naval combat.