A shot from a mass effect cannon is a simple thing. You use the ME field to lighten the projectile, making it easier to move, and then you use magnets to apply a spin to it, creating force. When the spin is at the limit of what the gun can tolerate, the ME field is altered, and mass is multiplied by many orders of magnitude, the spin providing momentum for the shot, while the ME field aims it. The barrel of the gun provides extra umph to get the shot on its way, and outside it seems to glow as the magnetic lining has electricity run through it.

This is the principle of a mass effect weapon. Barriers are designed to spread the force of the shot out, rather than simply take it head on, but a ground target, unable to shield itself, will find the impact to be as destructive as a bomb. The shot from a dreadnaught's main gun is almost a planet killer all on its own to an unprotected planet, with the initial blast enough to destroy anything within fifty miles of the impact site, and sending debris and dust into the air for a farther hundred miles out.

The turian ship above Shanxi fired, the shot flying straight and true towards its target, the very center of the Terran colony below. To Sparatus, the choice had been obvious. This colony was protected by a weapon of such size and obvious power that there was simply no way for it to truly be what they claimed it was. This was no civilian port of call. It was a staging base, a place from which to launch attacks on Citadel space, and begin invading the homes of his people.

To the rest of the galaxy, not blinded by their fear of change, this was an act that would have gone down in history, a moment that would mark forever the turians as not the just defenders of law that they proclaimed themselves, but as murders. In a time far in the future, the Terrans, enraged, would destroy the turians for this. They would stand over the turian homeworld, and with a single blast, would destroy it, and every remaining turian would know it was because of one man's arrogance and ambition.

That future was not the road this moment took. As the shot flew, in those few seconds before it would hit the surface, another flash, like the one that had brought the SDF-4 to Shanxi happened. It was smaller, but then, the vessel that arrived was smaller as well. This ship, one that the people of Shanxi knew well, came to their aid in this dark moment. Everyone watching could see them there for the blink of the eye it took for the shot to land.

"Crew, it's been an honor," was all Jonathan Archer could say into his mic. He knew what he'd done, sending them here, to this place and moment. His crew, at the stations aboard the ship, said nothing. They felt no shame in this, no horror at what was being asked of them. All had been watching at their own stations, the battle playing out above their homes, all knew why the captain had chosen this course for them. Those with other crew members, stood, and saluted, those alone, just saluted their monitors, and then, in a crash of metal, a crunch of force, the Phoenix was struck by the turian projectile.

The armor was designed to resist reflex weapons, things of light, heat, and force. At this, it was decent, but the turian's weapons were not one to divide their power between three elements. The turian projectile was just force, and the armor that was struck buckled instantly under the strain. The crew had no time to mourn themselves, even the AIs had no time to abandon ship, instead they took this death with the dignity that was due to their training and went into that good night with glory.

The shot tore through the ship, until it struck the engine, and as the protoculture inside was released, it exploded outward, a ball of blue fire consuming the shot, the ship, and everything for a mile around. Below, the colonist who had been looking up could see this blast, and while they may not have known the specifics, every one of them knew what had happened, a ship had sacrificed themselves for the colony, and all of them gave the same gesture of respect to those who were lost, while vowing vengeance against those who had taken them.

OoOoO

"Jonathan!" cried a woman on the Presidium, her voice echoing far and wide, every eye on the streets turning to face her. Only a few knew the story there, but none could deny the pain in that cry, as a fist slammed hard into the wall, and tears began to form in the eyes of the giant woman, who had seemed almost like a statue for the last week. Those below backed off, a few murmurs of concern for what she might do now, but those were silenced by the ones wearing uniforms. They knew the pain she was going through, if not her specific story, and until she became violent, she could grieve in whatever way she needed.

OoOoO

"Sparatus! What are you doing!?" demanded a voice from beside him, and the turian general turned the pilot's seat to stare into the projected head of one of his fellow officers.

"I'm decapitating an enemy force. Whatever they're doing here, it's defended too heavily to be a simple farming colony," said Sparatus, as he relayed an order with a few gestures, to reload for another shot.

"That...that's unconscionable! That's a civilian colony down there!" said the face again, and the general ignored it. Septimus was ever a turian to think with his heart, and not with his head. This was not the time to be soft, this was a time to be hard as rock on the inside. Taking aim again, recalibrating the firing solution, Sparatus prepared to fire again.

OoOoO

"Turian fleet! If you do not surrender right now, I will be forced to destroy you, this is your only warning!" shouted Miriya into her display, the transmission was a general wave form, even if they weren't trying to receive it, they would get a face full anyway. Fury dripped from her voice, and her words were backed up by her weapons, the ball hovering between the pillars at the rear of her ship now measured a full mile across, and was only growing larger.

"This is General Sparatus, the time for surrender is far past. You and yours must be stopped, and if this is the only way to protect the Citadel from you, then so be it," was a quick, concise reply.

"Ma'am! Heat increasing from the turian vessel. They're preparing to fire again!" shouted one of the Terrans at a station nearby.

"Fire first then! If they want to die so badly, then let's spread their atoms across space!" ordered Miriya, and everyone present nodded. With a few quick buttons, the orb was aimed, the shot prepared, and then launched. The sound of it was lost in the void of space, but the vision of it, an arch of white-orange light, blazed across space, shooting straight and true.

Aboard the turian vessels, disabled and unable to move, there was no warning. One moment, they stood there, the next, wave of light struck them. The armor of their ships was no more ready for the heat and force of the shot than the Phoenix had been, and so they buckled instantly, mercifully. None aboard were given even that moment of horror as death, senseless and stupid, claimed them. Simply a moment of light and fire, and then it was over.

For those two cruisers in the way, the story was far worse. The barriers around their ships held for a moment, a set of three heartbeats. They had been designed with force in mind, spreading the impact out to reduce damage, and did much the same with the light and heat of this blast. But there was so much of it, and it was all around them so fast that the system simply couldn't keep up. They were given that horrible moment to look out, see death in the fires around them, and then the barriers collapsed, and it was inside with them, ending them in screams rather than silence.

The dreadnaught Sparatus was no different than the cruisers. The second shot had just left the barrel of the main cannon when the shot from the Terran ship hit. The projectile was vaporized by the overwhelming power of the other weapon, and his ship was tossed backwards. The barrier held longer though, and the crew were able to curse, rant, cry, or simply stand there. For some, it was that moment to face death with dignity, for others it was the moment to decry their leader, who had brought this fate upon them. The end for all of them was the same, the barrier held only for two seconds, and then their world became fire.

Sitting in the pilots seat, Sparatus was given the best view of this. His mind flashed. Not back over the events of his life, but oddly, to the events of his future. He saw himself in the Councilor's robes after a war with a much smaller version of the Terrans. He saw this new people begin to slowly spread throughout the stars, demanding the rights of an older race despite their youth. He saw one in particular, rise through adversity to be a leader, a unifier of peoples, rallying them against a darkness that was coming.

Then he saw fire and light alone. His skin began to melt, the metals in his face turning to liquid and running into every crag. His eyes boiled away, and he swore he could almost hear them pop, and finally he took a breath to scream, and found only fire there, the pain so great it silenced every thought he might have, until all at once, it was over, and darkness took him.