Hello again everyone and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.
Here we are, ladies and gentlemen. We have reached the first chapter that will detail the Liberation of Earth and the Fall of the Reapers. This has been a wonderful journey, and though I am sad to see it beginning to come to an end, I am deeply happy that all of you have remained with me thus far. As such, I hope you will remain with me to the very end of this story. I deeply appreciate your feedback and support, and I am happy to have given you the pleasure of reading this story.
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 – The Red Baron
SSV Normandy
Utopia System
October 10th, 2186
As soon as he was back onboard the Normandy, Shepard immediately proceeded to the war room, with Victor Steiner-Davion quickly following behind him. I feel as though a weight's been lifted off my shoulders, Shepard thought as he walked into the war room. For the first time in a while, I can say that Cerberus won't be interfering in our mission for now. The Illusive Man is out there, but I beat Kai Leng, and if I can beat Leng in combat, then I can do the same against the Illusive Man.
He was about to talk with Victor when the QEC chimed. Walking inside, Shepard hit the call button, allowing him to see both Admiral Hackett and Admiral Anderson. "Anderson, Hackett?" he asked. "Is all well?"
"Not quite," Hackett replied. "Yes, we managed to defeat Cerberus, but there's been a development. Anderson can fill you in on the details." He nodded at Anderson, who spoke a moment later.
"Shepard, we've had a major development," he said to Shepard. "The Citadel's arrived at Earth."
"What?" Shepard asked, surprised. "Are you certain?"
"Yes," Anderson nodded. "It's take up position near our current HQ, which is near London, or what's left of London. Do we know why it's here? What's going on?"
"I know why. We discovered that the Citadel is the Catalyst for the Crucible. The bad news, though, is that the Reapers figured it out too. My guess is that they've moved the Citadel to Earth to protect it from us."
"What does this mean for the Crucible?"
"We're still go on the operation," Hackett reassured Anderson. "We recently received a large number of soldiers, vehicles and WarShips from the Clans. Apparently, they sent all of their Crusader, and some of their Warden, forces to assist in the fighting. Ulric Kerensky is leading the operation; says that they've declared a 'Trial of Annihilation' against the Reapers."
"I heard about that," Anderson noted. "Something about that Trial being the worst punishment they could inflict against an enemy. If that's the case, then we will definitely need it. The Reapers were preparing for something, and now we know what that something is. We'll scout it out, find out as much as we can."
"Understood," Shepard nodded.
"At least we'll be seeing y'all sooner rather than later."
"Agreed," Hackett nodded. "Take care of yourself, Anderson."
"You too, Hackett. You do the same too Shepard. Anderson out." With that, Anderson's hologram faded out.
"Shepard," Hackett added, "I will also be coming aboard the Normandy at the Arcturus System."
"What for?"
"I'll explain when I arrive."
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "We'll be ready when you do."
"Good. Hackett out."
As the QEC call ended, Victor came inside. "I got the briefing from my father," he explained. "If there's one thing that I know for certain, it's that this is going to be a massive fight. The Clans might even have to stave off their invasion until they've rebuilt as well, if they take the brunt of the attack."
"They might have to," Shepard mused. "Still, we all knew that this might be what happened once the Reapers came over."
"Agreed," Victor nodded. "It's high time that the Reapers got their just comeuppance. Let's head to Arcturus, shall we?"
"Certainly," Shepard nodded.
. . .
Getting to the Arcturus System wasn't difficult at all, thanks to the Mass Relay network. Once they arrived there, Shepard looked around to get an idea of what was going on. It was here that he saw where the fleets that Hackett had been gathering had been at all this time.
To his amazement, it was the largest fleet he had ever seen in his entire life. Hundreds of WarShips, from diminutive corvettes and frigates, to titanic dreadnoughts and battlecarriers, were present. It appeared that all of the Council Races had contributed, with Turian frigates flying close to Asari corvettes and Quarian liveships. Shepard could clearly see the Clan and FedCom ships, along with some from the Free Worlds League and Taurian Concordat. Those, however, were a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of WarShips that the rest of the galaxy had brought to bear.
"Oh, shit!" Joker whistled. "How many ships are there?"
"Thousands," EDI replied. "My current estimation is at roughly 52,000 WarShips, the vast majority of which are from the Council Races. The Inner Sphere and Clans have provided as many as they can without compromising too much of their defenses. Many, though not all, of these WarShips have also been modified with Inner Sphere technology."
"That's a lot of WarShips," Shepard remarked.
Just as he said this, another WarShip jumped in, before coming along the Normandy's port side. Seeing it, Shepard immediately recognized it as the SSV Kilimanjaro, Admiral Hackett's personal flagship, and the flagship of the 5th Alliance Navy Fleet. Looks like the Kilimanjaro really got the red carpet treatment, Shepard noted, spotting what appeared to be Naval PPC's and Naval Gauss Rifles. Hopefully that gives his ship, and all of the ships in the fleet, a fighting chance.
Just then, a docking clamp extended from Hackett's ship, with a passenger tunnel extending as well. "Shepard," Joker informed him. "We've got a priority message from Admiral Hackett. He's requesting permission to come aboard."
"Granted," Shepard replied. "I'll be in the CIC."
"Aye, Commander."
Just as Shepard had walked to his position at the CIC, Hackett came aboard. Two Alliance Marines, like last time, accompanied him, though they were all now equipped with the weapons and armor that was common for AFFC troopers. Everyone in the CIC saluted him as he approached Shepard. "Shepard," he said as he saluted.
"Admiral," Shepard replied.
"Are you ready to bring the might of the galaxy to bear on the Reapers?"
"Yes, sir," Shepard nodded.
"Then let's make sure the fleets are ready," Hackett agreed.
"All fleets reporting in sir," Specialist Traynor informed them.
Hackett nodded, before saying, "Then it's time that I spoke with the fleets. May I?" When Shepard nodded, Hackett walked up to the galaxy map, cleared his throat, then said, "Never before have so many come together – from all quarters of the galaxy, and even from another universe, but never before have we faced an enemy such as this.
"The Reapers will not show us mercy. We must give them no quarter. They will terrorize our populations. We must stand fast in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail. Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out."
With that, he walked off of the podium for the galaxy map. Turning to Shepard, he said, "The Sword Fleets are ready to strike at the Reapers surrounding Earth. While they keep the enemy engaged, you and Hammer ground forces can take London."
"Why aren't we hitting the Citadel directly?" Shepard asked.
"Anderson can brief you on that," Hackett explained. Walking into the War Room with Shepard, he activated the QEC, with Anderson coming up. "Admiral, how are you holding up?" he asked.
"We're ready to end this," Anderson replied. "But as you can see, the station's closed itself up since it appeared over London." A hologram of the Citadel appeared, though the arms were fully closed up, sealing off access to the outside world.
"Damnit!" Shepard growled. "Gotta get the arms open to dock the Crucible."
"Exactly," Hackett agreed.
"But London's surrounded by Hades cannon emplacements," Anderson added. "Hammer transports can't land while they're still active. You, Shepard, will lead a group of 'Mechs to destroy the Hades Cannon emplacements. Once they're down, Hammer can land, and we can set up a Forward Operations Base."
"I don't see how we're getting to the Citadel from London," Shepard frowned.
"The Reapers are using a beam to transport humans, alive and dead, from the Citadel. It's a similar way to how the Mass Relays work. From the FOB, Hammer will launch an all-out assault on the Citadel beam. Everyone who makes it that far, will take the beam to the Citadel, then locate and activate the Citadel arm controls."
"Once we see those arms, Shield Fleet will escort the Crucible to the Citadel, but timing will be critical. We don't have enough firepower to keep the Crucible safe for long."
"Nothing's ever easy," Shepard remarked, crossing his arms as he did so. "No reason it should start now."
"It's desperate," Anderson admitted. "I don't even want to guess at our odds. But…"
"But this is the only plan we have," Hackett stated. "If we wait, the Reapers will bleed us, slowly. Conventionally… we can't defeat the Reapers without the Crucible." Turning to Shepard, he said, "Get the Citadel arms open, Commander… whatever the cost. We'll do the rest."
"Understood," Shepard nodded.
"Good luck, to all of us."
. . .
An hour later, Shepard was back in the cockpit of the Normandy, fully kitted out in body armor. This is it, he thought to himself. This is the day that we bring the Reapers to justice. Today, we avenge an uncountable number of crimes against the galaxy. Even if we fall, we will avenge the galaxy.
His thoughts were interrupted when Joker said, "Approaching Sol Relay, Shepard."
"Understood," he replied.
"We're through the relay in 30 seconds."
Thirty seconds later, the Normandy zipped out of the mass free corridor the Mass Relay had created. Before long, dozens of WarShips began to appear alongside and behind them, from Turian frigates, to Asari dreadnoughts. At the same time, the WarShips of the Federated Commonwealth, Free Worlds League, Taurian Concordat and the Clans appeared as well. Soon, thousands of WarShips were present.
"FedCom fleet reporting," Joker informed Shepard. "Alliance fleet reporting. Free World League fleet reporting. Clan fleet reporting. Taurian fleet reporting. Turian fleet reporting. Salarian Fleet reporting. Asari Fleet reporting. Quarian fleet reporting." He reported a few more fleets, then said, "All fleets are accounted for."
"Good," Shepard nodded. Within a few seconds, all of the WarShips of Sword Fleet entered FTL flight, quickly shooting past the gas giants of Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. Soon, they zipped past Mars, and quickly maneuvered around the asteroid belt. Before long, Earth was in sight.
Once, Earth had been a verdant blue and green orb, a jewel in the cosmos. Now, as Shepard saw it, it was nothing more than a murky gray ball, with orange fires visible from the surface. The Reapers are ruining my home, he snarled internally. They'll pay for this!
"Reapers detected," EDI reported. "They are 30,000 kilometers from our current position. The Fleets are ready to fire at your command."
"Wait until we're a little closer," Shepard decided. "Once we're within 10,000 kilometers, we'll open fire. That's considered long range for Inner Sphere WarShips, and any other WarShips armed with Inner Sphere weapons and targeting systems. Same applies to the Clans as well."
"Aye, Commander," EDI replied. "We will be within the maximum distance in 40 seconds." As the seconds ticked by, Shepard could feel the tension rising. Right at the 30 second mark, EDI said, "We're approaching maximum range."
Here we go, he decided. Taking in a deep breath, he shouted, "This is it, everyone! Fire on my signal!" As soon as he saw the number hit 10,000 km, he shouted, "FIRE!"
With that single word, every WarShip in the fleet opened up with the longest ranged weapons that they had. Particle bolts, laser beams and missiles shot out of every ship that was equipped with those weapons. While invisible in space, any being capable of seeing the projectiles fired would've been blinded by the sight.
The Reapers, who'd been expecting the fleet to fire from a much closer distance, was practically blindsided by the long range assault. The first attacks to hit were the particle bolts and laser beams. While some missed due to the extreme ranges involved, most hit the targets the gunners had been aiming at. Multiple particle bolts smashed into one Reaper, shattering it's barriers while causing major electrical disruptions to it's systems. Another Reaper suffered damage from high energy pulse lasers tearing through it's armor plating.
With quite a few of their comrades being blasted apart by this initial salvo, the Reapers were quickly forced to turn and engage the new threat. Several began flying towards the fleet, while others began to deploy Oculus fighters. Those fighters began to fly towards the missiles the fleet had fired.
When the fighters intercepted the missiles, the Reapers were confused when the Oculus drones that intercepted the missiles were destroyed not with nuclear fire, but rather with conventional explosions. Then, that confusion turned to horror when a second flight of missiles flew through the holes generated by the conventional explosives, allowing the new missiles, all tipped with 500 kiloton nuclear warheads to have a massive effect.
From the Normandy, Shepard watched as multiple flashes of light indicated the successful impact and detonation of multiple Peacemaker missiles. The count of Reapers present quickly dropped as the nuclear detonations destroyed any Reapers that were either hit directly, or were in very close proximity to the detonation. Those further out survived, but suffered major radiation and electrical damage. Only the furthest out from the missiles survived, with only minor electrical disruptions that were quickly corrected.
He smiled a cold, mirthless smile at that. Westford did tell me that they would use that tactic, he thought, recalling the fifty minute long meeting he had with Westford, Hanse and the others. It makes sense to me, though. It's the perfect tactic: destroy the fighter screen using conventional explosives, then have a second wave of missiles immediately pass through the holes and to the enemy. Spotting the remaining fighters that survived, he said, "Enemy ASF's inbound! Engage when ready!"
"Roger that," came an ASF pilot's voice. "We're moving in!"
. . .
Man, my Squadron and I have been through a lot, haven't we, Barnard Wright thought as he flew his Morgenstern towards the enemy fighters up ahead. We participated in the Liberation of Terra, as well as the Liberation of Palaven. Now, we're participating in the Liberation of Earth. He smiled as he looked at a photograph of himself standing next to a pretty brunette.
Shaking the thoughts away, he keyed his comm. "Bravo Actual to Bravo Squad, report in!" he ordered.
"Bravo 2 here, ready to go," came a reply.
"Bravo 3, ready."
"Bravo 4 online."
"Bravo 5, systems green."
"Bravo 6, here, all systems online."
"Roger that," Wright confirmed. "Our job's to keep the enemy from focusing on the ground battle that's about to commence! Squadrons Bravo-2 and Bravo-3 will assist us in that objective! Gamma Wing will commence bombing operations on any Reaper ships that are under attack! Delta, Epsilon and Foxtrot Wings will engage any Reaper fighters and other vehicles heading to the surface! Understood?"
"Understood!" the others replied.
"Good! Let's go! FEDCOM ALL THE WAY!" With that, he threw the throttle to maximum speed. Before long, he reached attack speed. Spotting some Oculi on his sensor screens, he switched to LRM's; once he heard a constant tone, he immediately depressed the firing stud.
LRM's from his fighter, and countless others, flew out into the void of space in clusters ranging from five missiles to twenty at a time. The Oculi, spotting the incoming missiles, quickly threw themselves into evasive maneuvers. While this threw some of the missiles off, the majority of them impacted their targets, with some Oculi being blasted apart, while others were severely damaged by the attacks.
After another two salvos of missiles, it quickly turned into a close range dogfight. Throwing his stick to the right, Barnard dodged a few projectiles fired towards him, nearly throwing the fighter into a spin. Pulling it back under his control, he quickly began pursuing the enemy fighter. Depressing a firing stud, he could feel the Morgenstern vibrating as the RAC/2 spat PELE rounds towards the Oculi. The first few shells bounced off the kinetic barriers, while the rest of the shells in the 10 shell burst tore into the fighter, blasting it apart.
Barnard wasn't the only AeroSpace Fighter pilot that was involved in the dogfight however. Richard McMuren, a member of Charlie Wing, was practically whooping as he flew his Sternensturm, with the Lyran fighter pilot blasting apart his fifth Oculus for the day with a pair of ER Medium Pulse Lasers. "WHOOOOHOOOO!" he shouted. "I think I just invented a new sport, fuckers!"
"Getting your ass shot off while hot-dogging Reapers?" his companion shouted. "Yeah, that'll catch on! The Ass-Off Championships!"
"Clear the channel!" another member shouted. "Remember your mission: assist Bravo Wing in keeping the Reapers occupied!"
"Roger that!" Richard shouted as he juked around a Reaper's tendril. Engaging another Oculus drone, he flew around another tendril, before firing off a flight of SRM-4's, blasting the Oculus apart on the last two missiles. "WOAH!" he shouted as he threw the fighter into an evasive maneuver, narrowly dodging being swatted out of the sky by said Reaper he was avoiding.
Just then, his fighter was rocked hard by an impact, nearly throwing him to the side. Looking at his HUD, he watched as an Oculus flew up towards the rear of his craft. On the same view, he could see an angry molten scar on his fighter's Heavy Ferro-Aluminum Armor. Spotting this, he immediately threw his throttle into full reverse, engaging the fighter's thrust-reversal system.
If Richard could hear the engines, he would've heard them howling loudly as thew quickly reduced the fighter's speed, before throwing it backwards. As it was, he felt the fighter vibrate with enough intensity that, were it not for him seeing information on how durable the fighter's structure was, he would've thought that it would've shaken itself apart. In addition, he could see the purple-white plasma plume from the engines zipping over his fighter.
This, however, had the intended effect. The Oculus, not having predicted that Richard would do that, tried to slow down, but failed, with the fighter shooting past the Sternesturm. Gunning the throttle forwards, Richard felt the g-forces increase for a moment before the inertial dampeners kicked in. At the same time, the powerful dual chambered fusion engine hurled his fighter forwards, allowing him to quickly accelerate.
Now the dogfight was in his favor, as he was able to maneuver the fighter whenever the Oculus tried to shake him off. Firing his ER Medium Pulse Lasers, he carved angry white gouges onto the enemy fighter, before one of the beams sheared through an exposed engine component. The fighter promptly exploded, with large sections of the fighter being flung everywhere. "Another one for me," he remarked as he flew on, looking for another target.
. . .
Elsewhere in the battle, Admiral Strauss von Osman smiled as the Mjölnir approached the battle. It had been decided, during the brief meeting with the others, that his Battlecruiser would be a part of Sword Fleet, along with some of the Clan's heavier ships. In fact, he could see the CJF Turkina's Pride moving alongside his ship.
Today is the day we smash the Reapers into the dirt for good, he cackled to himself. Turning to his Fire Control officer, he asked, "When will we be in range for our Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles?"
"Around four minutes, sir," the FCO replied. "We're currently engaging with Capital Missiles, Naval PPC's and our other long range weapons."
"Very good," Osman smiled. Keying his comms, he said, "Star Admiral Nillboa, you ready for this?"
A reply wasn't long in coming. "I am a trueborn, Osman. I am always prepared for battle."
"Good," Osman remarked, "because we've got Reapers incoming."
"Enemy contacts!" the Sensors Officer shouted. "Bearing 0-4-0 by 3-5-0." Looking at a nearby hologram, Osman spotted the contacts in question. A group of Reapers were heading towards their position. The majority were the smaller destroyers that the Mjölnir had engaged over Palaven, though the two in the front were similar in size to Sovereign, the Reaper that Shepard had destroyed.
"Nillboa, watch your lower bow!" Osman warned.
"I see them!" Nillboa replied. "We will crush them!" With that, her WarShips weapons began to rain down fire onto the hostile Reaper. Naval Autocannon shells smashed into the two Sovereign-class Reapers in the front. While the barriers held, it was clear that the Naval Autocannons were causing the barriers to flare.
"Bank the ship down and to the right," Osman calmly ordered. "I want our Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles ready to go by the time we line up on the enemy ships."
"Yes, sir!" the pilot reported, before beginning the maneuvers.
As the ship began moving down and turning to the right, the first of the Sovereign-class Reapers fired it's main gun at the Turkina's Pride. The barriers on the ship flared, with the ship being pushed back by the impact. Thankfully, the barriers held, though Osman knew from previous experience that they wouldn't be able to hold up against that firepower for more than a few strikes. "Fire Control?!" he shouted.
"Guns loaded and ready!" the officer reported.
"FIRE!"
A moment later, the ship shuddered slightly as the Heavy Naval Gauss Cannons opened fire on the Sovereign-class Reaper. The first shells impacted against the Reaper's barriers, causing them to pop as the projectiles shattered. That opened up the Reaper to the Mjölnir's Naval Autocannons, which began to pound the Reaper.
Armor plating was ripped off of the Reaper as powerful shells smashed into the Reaper, while other areas were boiled off as particle bolts and laser beams cut into the armor. While this was going on, the Heavy Naval Gauss Weapons targeted the second of the Sovereign-class Reapers in the group, with the weapons firing as well. This reduced the Reaper's kinetic barriers, with Osman noting that particular Reaper had lost 50% of it's kinetic barriers.
The Turkina's Pride did not remain idle, though, as the Naval Autocannons continued to fire away at the Reaper, tearing off more chunks of armor plating. One of the guns scored a lucky hit, with the shell smashing through a weakened section on of the Reaper before tearing into it's Mass Effect Core. A moment later, the Reaper exploded spectacularly as it's core became unstable and detonated. Before it died, though, the Reaper fired it's main gun again.
This time, it penetrated the Turkina's Pride's barriers, tearing into the armor plating. "Nillboa!" Osman shouted. "Are you alright?"
"We too a hit!" Nillboa reported. "Armor plating on the starboard bow is at 75%. We're still OK!"
Just as she said this, the Mjölnir shuddered as the second Reaper fired it's main weapon, only for the stream of metal fluid to bounce off of the barrier. At the same time, the Heavy Naval Gauss Rifles fired again, smashing through the Reaper's barriers and allowing the other weapons to go to work tearing into the sapient starship. Within a few seconds, it too was destroyed.
"Excellent!" Osman beamed. "That's the second Sovereign-class Reaper we've destroyed! The Reapers will soon learn to fear us yet!" With that, he began issuing more orders as they mopped up the last of the destroyer sized Reapers.
(Author's Q&A)
SulliMike23: It's rare, but it does happen.
edboy4926: Maybe, maybe not. We'll find out soon. Either way, thank you for your support.
Violet Toyger: Yep.
MarauderPrime12: I agree. Thank you.
galacticarmor2 Alt: I can explain that. They were utterly destroyed. Prothean Artifacts don't react well to indoctrinated people.
Chronus1326: Thank you. I'm happy that chapter was up to your standards.