AN: It's been a long time since last I touched this fic, I hope that I have managed to at least maintain my old quality. One thing, this chapter will mark a start for me simplifying terms down, ODST/Stormtroopers ect being turned into MARSOC for instance. Anyway, let's dive right into it

Speech

Thoughts

Radio/machine speech/scene change

Mass Effect 1: Heart of the Citadel

INS Normandy: Medical Bay

Shepard paced around the images which flooded his mind from the beacon. The psyker analyzing what he saw with a frown as he looked over the scenes of death and destruction. It was clear that there were some incompatibilities between his own senses and those of the originators of this message, the Protheans, due to how fragmentary the scene was.

Certainly, he could tell that death, destruction, bloodshed, ect was going on. And that as such the message was naturally a warning of what destroyed their once great empire. However, this erstwhile vision was unable to show him much detail overall from what he observed.

Yes, there seemed to be what would be classified as 'zombies' and creatures used for terror attacks. Likely created by some strange and unholy technology that, were he not an Imperial, would likely chill him to his core. But really, in comparison to the tales of what Chaos did? There was nothing to fear there in his opinion really.

Likewise, some of the markings on the more dangerous forces the warning showed seemed similar to Necrontyr scripts. But they were different enough that it wasn't cut and dry, and it was equally plausible that it was his mind trying to process the visions in a way that made sense to him. Still, their weapons appeared to be a strange version of Necron Gauss technology in so much as it did the same thing at its core; disintegrate a target atom by atom when it hits a solid target.

He would idly note that the weapons appeared to be similar to the Geth threat he had faced on Eden Prime. To that end, he mentally discounted the possibility to a degree that the weapons were what he thought they were. Especially since he knew that his own psychic powers and mind could be warping the message the beacon was trying to convey; doubly so as he clearly was lacking a few senses that the Protheans did, as well as the damage that had been dealt to the beacon.

Still, the situation was strange in his opinion. As such, he would make a mental note to try and get an appointment with psyker who is an expert at psychology and analyzing visions and dreams. Working together, they may be able to piece this together a bit more. Though it was not a priority in his mind, after all it was but an idle curiosity in the face of the present and the fact that his people had been attacked...Again.

With a shake of his mental head, he would tear himself away from the visions and compartmentalize them for future examination or to simply forget them entirely for the time being. He would then turn his formidable mind to examining the battle he had just finished not even an hour ago. Something wasn't adding up in his mind.

On the surface everything seemed in order for a sneak attack by a previously hostile force that decided to re-engage in hostilities with a raid. After all, the Geth had driven out their Quarian masters, thus were at war with the Imperium by extension, long ago and only the fact that dealing with the threat seemed less valuable than simply setting up colonies and integrating their long lost brethren preventing a full scale invasion in the past. As well it seemed to fit the seeming pattern that, if the Imperium was not actively at war, then some threat or another would rise to attempt to harass them.

But the presence of a Council Spectre, and one who killed a fellow agent at that, threw some doubt into the equation. Especially one as decorated as Saren, who had worked alongside Nihlus for decades. Doubly so as Saren, while not strictly speaking a member of the human allied 'Primarch's Pride' party in Turian politics, had over the years grown ever closer to their mentality after seeing the strength of the Imperium be thrown time and again against threats to the galaxy and triumph time and again. Something wasn't adding up here. Even with the recording he had seen, something tickled at the back of his senses that there was something horribly wrong with this scenario.

Pinching his metaphorical nose, Shepard's mental projection sighed heavily. "I'm going in circles at this point. It's time to wake up and deal with reality, rather than theorize about what has happened and their causes." So saying, he would close his eyes; and when he reopened them he was looking at the ceiling of the INS Normandy's med bay.

He would groan as he adjusted his position and sat up. Readjusting to the real world after being in a psychic trance took him a second, but he would have vaguely heard voices he recognized speaking. As he blinked to refocus, he would be met by the sight of Dr. Chakwas running a scanner over him.

"Your readings seem fine for the moment Captain, anything to report that the scanners haven't already told me?" The ship's medical officer would ask in a professional tone as she jotted down notes from what her scanner told her of his condition.

Shepard would frown as he considered his wording. "Minor throbbing from the explosion knocking me around. Partial information transfer from the beacon that I will likely need help processing without my psyker powers overriding the problems in the vision to try and force an understandable chain of events from it. All in all, it could be a lot worse." He would say with a short chuckle.

He would then shake his head, "Do we have a casualty estimate for Eden Prime?" While Shepard knew he and his men had done all they could, they had still arrived late. As such, he wanted to know so he could add them to his small list of personal failures...and to motivate himself to deal with the Geth more effectively in the future.

At this point Ashley would reply, "It was a hell of a mess down there skipper. The Geth have weaponry more powerful than intel ever thought possible for the flashlight heads. The final tally isn't complete yet, having to figure out which pile of dust is which colonist or soldier is taking a while. But as of now the casualty report stands at ten thousand. The highest number the Imperium has suffered in this new timeline outside of the Ork and Nid wars." His fellow MARSOC looked down despondently as she reported that.

Michael would sigh disappointingly as he heard the numbers. "Intel really dropped the fucking ball. Heads are probably going to roll for this. I just hope they're the right ones." He would then swing his legs to the side of the medical bed, and stand up. As he did so he laid a comforting hand on his childhood friend's shoulder.

"You did the best you could Ashley, all the troopers on the ground did. The fault for our losses lies with Intel's incompetence, not any fault of you or the fighting men and women stationed on Eden Prime." His voice was a mix of stern drill instructor and comfort. An odd mix, but it was one that managed to jolt Williams out of her funk for a moment to look at him. He would flash her a small smile as she did. "Don't beat yourself up over this too much, Ash. If not for you and the rest of the forces on Eden Prime, it would have been a lot worse. And obviously, if you need to talk, my door is always open." As he said that, he would give her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Before anyone else could say anything, Commodore Anderson walked in. As soon as he was spotted, the two MARSOC snapped to attention and saluted, getting a return salute as Anderson spoke; "At ease. Doctor Chakwas, what's your diagnosis about our Commander after the incident planet side?"

The doctor's reply was prefaced by a hum, "Physically there is nothing wrong that some pain killers won't fix in a few moments. The data the beacon gave him, according to Shepard, is fragmentary and needs at least one other Psyker gifted in mind walking to help him put together. But other than that, he's green to go, Commodore." She would finally say in a professional tone.

Anderson nodded, "Thank you Doctor. Lieutenant Williams, Doctor, please vacate the medical bay for a few moments. I need to speak with the Commander alone." He would instruct the two women, both of whom would salute before departing the room, leaving the two war heroes alone.

The darker skinned man would sigh heavily and slump slightly. "I'm not going to sugar coat it Shepard. Eden Prime was a hell of a cock up. One of the Citadel's best Spectres dead, the beacon destroyed, but most importantly eleven thousand deaths, ninety percent of which are civilians. The Senate will be baying for coolant when they get the full report...And Citadel blood if Saren was supported by any organization in Citadel space."

He would sigh and pinch his nose, "Saren's involvement in the attack is strange. When I was a candidate for Spectrehood before, he was my overseer. He was cordial if ruthlessly pragmatic. If he was born human he would have made a fine pure blooded Imperial. Something about this stinks to high heaven however, Saren has no motive for this attack."

Shepard nodded with a grim expression, "I came to that conclusion myself sir. There's no logic behind Saren's presence or actions on Eden Prime. It feels like a frame up. But the question is, who would have access to good enough surgical techniques to make a perfect doppelganger of Saren...let alone an exact copy of his cybernetic arm."

"I'd almost consider a clone of the Turian as the culprit...except even WE don't have our cloning fully operational again. So the odds of some other power having cloning are infinitesimally small...Not to mention would have been used to create an immense military which, hopefully, wouldn't be missed during its buildup."

The Commodore would nod along at Shepard's conclusions, "That falls in line with what Director Harper told me when I spoke to him five minutes ago. Cerberus agents confirmed Saren's presence on the planet of Dulosia Seven at the time of the attack. Which is near Ork territory, nearly on the opposite side of the galaxy from Eden Prime...One or the other is the fake one. Someone is playing games Shepard, and I don't like it." The older man said with a growl of anger.

Before the two men could further converse, Joker's voice broke over the ship's intercom. "Sorry to bother you Commodore, but we're nearing the exit point in our jump. T-minus fifteen minutes and counting until arrival at the Citadel."

Anderson would look at the ceiling, activating the intercom and connecting to the cockpit. "Thank you, Lieutenant Moreau. Hold course and bearing, take us into the Imperial Embassy's docking bay on the Citadel as soon as possible." He would then look down and cut his transmission. "Gather what remains of the Ground Team, Shepard. There will likely be a hearing, and their testimony about the ground conflict will be necessary. As for Saren, unless it's a closed session, leave their presence out of your report. You are authorized to mention the beacon's transmission and its damaged state to the Asari Councilor, Tevos may have a solution to it's fragmented state."

Michael would nod in understanding, and then salute, "Aye sir. I'll take care of it, and I will also keep it in mind, sir." A simple, straightforward, and to the point response by the junior officer to end the conversation; after which, it was a simple matter to round up the ground team, those still alive at any rate, and Williams as well to get ready for this new operation.

As they would be meeting Ambassador Udina, dress blues were recommended, read ordered. As such they would get into their well-tailored uniforms, and as he put on his own, Shepard had to muse that the Emperor's decision to hire Hugo Boss to design the dress uniforms of the Imperial Military was a stroke of genius. They cut an imposing figure that any who opposed the Imperium would feel a chill at, while those who were on their side would feel a sense of comfort at the clean and sleek uniforms and their 'old world' style of cut. He mused that the Mordian Iron Guard survivors must have had a hand in the design somewhat with how similar the uniforms were...but that was neither here nor there.

Soon enough they were docked, and rapidly moved to the Embassy proper. The Embassy was a large, almost symbiotic, structure attached to the Citadel station by hard light tethers. The architecture was the almost standard Neo-Imperial, thick walls painted white with golden statuary and metalwork embellishing it. Grand stained glass windows stared out into space, depicting scenes from the past of the Imperium. It was an edifice purpose designed to impress proper awe into all who looked upon the station.

But beyond its somewhat ostentatious looks, the station was well armed and armored. The shield the station had built in was rated to withstand a full Imperial Battleship squadron for a day. As well its armor was twenty meters thick composed of an adamantium and Neo-titanium composite, which could withstand punishment of a hellish level for a surprising amount of time. But most horrifying of all, to the denizens of the Citadel if it was known, was the sheer raw FIREPOWER of the embassy. Hidden and recessed batteries of super heavy cannons, batteries of multi purpose turrets, hundreds of cwis emplacements, as well as torpedo tubes able to launch nuclear and cyclonic strikes made the Imperial Embassy a difficult fortress to assail...and the seat of Imperial power in Citadel Space proper.

That was before one considered the garrison of the facility and its manufacturing capabilities. In peace time, the lathes of the Embassy made goods for sale to the civilian populace, from simple teddy bears to air cars and small personal ships; but if it was ever threatened, it was equally capable of churning out legions of battle droids and squadrons of smaller warships. Which would supplement the demi-regiment of Marines assigned to defend the Embassy, and the mixed company of Legionaries.

Still, none of that was on Shepard's mind as he and the ground team were split up. Alenko and Williams were allowed to accompany him and Commodore Anderson to meet with Envoy Udina in his office; it was grand room intended to further impress on the minds of visitors the status of the Imperium as the top dog in the galaxy militarily. But what was more surprising was the presence of another person in the office, a tall gorgeous raven haired woman in a skin tight black uniform with the symbol of Imperial Intelligence emblazoned above her heart; the iconic symbol of the Inquisition had been modified with the planet earth in its center instead of a skull, with golden olive branches around the planet and a pair of sword hilts poking out from behind the insignia.

Before the good captain could further analyze the situation, Udina spoke as he gestured for the group of four to sit down as comfortable chairs rose from the floor, "Welcome to the Horsehead Nebula, I'd offer you drinks in these trying times, but the situation is more complicated then initially believed. I'll let Senior Agent Lawson brief you on the details." The career politician would say as he closed his eyes in thought, and likely using his neural link to converse with the Council via hologram to save time.

The newly identified agent would smile briefly and then speak, her Australian accented voice crisp and clear; "As Envoy Udina alluded to, things have gone quite tits up as it were. The raid on Eden Prime that your unit dealt with seems to have been part of a larger operation." As she spoke, a holo map would spring up, and zoom in on the territory around Eden Prime as well as those systems facing Geth held space.

Angry red flashing lights were present on multiple systems as Lawson continued, "As you can no doubt infer, simultaneously several other systems came under attack by larger Geth strike forces. They pulled out when CDF strike forces responded but not without inflicting damage. As well we have intel on two worlds where the Geth are currently dug in with ongoing operations."

The systems in question would flash up. "Knossos is a volcanic mining world where Prothean ruins were recently uncovered; as well Ferros is a corporate colony held by Exo-Geni on a massive Prothean megalopolis that, even at its grand size, pales in comparison to a proper Hive World. But I digress, the pattern to the Geth primary thrusts seems to be the presence of Prothean technology. Their motivation is unknown, however, pending the result of Envoy Udina's ongoing meeting with the Citadel Council, Cerberus Cell will be providing direct intelligence support for your likely mission."

Shepard frowned at the spook's seeming certainty that he would be assigned the op, "With all due respect, Senior Agent, there are other units who would be far better placed for this theoretical op you mentioned. Legion detachments for instance, or even just local CDF Rapid Response units. So that does beg the question as to why you feel so certain that Commodore Anderson's command will be deployed for this."

Lawson smiled mysteriously. "Who said anything about the esteemed Commodore being in charge of the mission?" Before anyone could react to that, Udina's eyes snapped open and a triumphant grin crossed his face.

He would turn his head to Lawson and chuckle, "Remind me never to bet against Director Harper, that's another bottle of old Cadian Whiskey I owe him." After saying that, he would turn his head to face back at the small gathering of military men and woman before schooling his features slightly. "Captain Shepard, by the request and invitation of the Citadel Council, you are being seconded to the Specter program as the first Human, and first non-Citadel member, to join the organization."

As Shepard chocked back his shock, the rest of the assembled military personnel withheld their own reactions as Udina continued on; "There are a few minor details I have to work out with Commodore Anderson about your transportation for your assignment. Which, in case it wasn't self evident by now, is to hunt down the Turian and his accomplices behind the ongoing Geth attacks to determine who they truly are, and apprehend them. As well your mission will likely entail scouting Geth Space to determine if this is an isolated incident, due to unknown circumstances, or if it is finally time to give our Quarian brethren their long held wish of reclaiming Rannoch."

Michael straightened up in his seat as his marching orders were given. "Yes sir. Is there anything else critical to my mission that needs mentioning, sir?" He would ask with a clipped and curt tone. To many it would seem rude, and indeed worthy of reprimand, for him to use such a tone. However, with the implication that time was of the essence, such a tone was appropriate.

The Envoy would incline his head towards Lawson and speak as he got up and gestured for Anderson to follow him; "Senior Operative Lawson has the rest of the relevant details for you. Anderson, if you would, let's hash out the final details on our end." Anderson would nod and rise, leaving the three MARSOC alone with the Intelligence Officer.

"What was that about units being better placed?" Lawson would chuckle before continuing on as soon as the door shut, "First of all, Tali Zorah has arrived on the Citadel proper and is keeping a low profile, she has potential intel relevant to your mission so even if it were not for her connections to you and Williams, Shepard, I would suggest finding her and bringing her along. However, her coms were damaged, so we cannot track her easily."

"We do have two main leads that will likely help however, a Krogan Mercenary with ties to Cereberus Cell by the name of Urdnot Wrex is on the Citadel, and at last check in said he had seen her in the lower levels of the diplomatic ward. A Krogan is naturally a worthwhile addition to any strike team due to their innate toughness, especially one of his age. The wily old Battlemaster was alive in the Rebellions, and should make a valuable addition to your team."

A holo showed Wrex's scarred face and Shepard nodded in acceptance of the points so far. As much as he wanted to rush and find Tali on his own, the fact is without leads and additional assistance such a search would take a long time.

Miranda would then pull up another pair of holos, this time of a small clinic and a blonde female doctor, "Secondarily, a report was filed by one Doctor Michele in the same lower wards area about treating a Quarian which was flagged by Cerberus Cell as of interest. The odds are better than a fifty fifty shot that the Quarian in question is Lieutenant Zorah."

She would then dismiss the holos, "Naturally I don't have to say this but time is of the essence. The longer this takes, the more of a lead the culprits behind these incidents will have to cover their tracks and complete their goals. Good luck Shepard, I'll see you when you're done." Lawson would say with a faint smile as she finished the short briefing.

The three MARSOC members would rise as one, and head to arm and armor up. Standard issue weapons and gear were given to them, the faceless Enforcer Armor concealing their identity from all but fellow Imperials and their lasers would be able to deal with any potential obstacle. And now, it was time to head to the Citadel, and start this latest op.

Years later, when asked about the events to come, Shepard would say that if he had known the trail of events that were to occur from this, he would have blown up the Citadel and saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Next Time: Mass Effect 1: Getting the Band together

Review please and thank you

Codex: Geth Technology Analysis post Geth Blitz by the Imperial Science Beauro

A detailed analysis of recovered Imperial wrecks and of destroyed Geth technology reveal a startling conclusion to the success of their assault. Surface level analysis reveals their technology is not, in fact, based off of Element Zero...Or at least they were shifting away from it recently enough to equip their strike forces.

However, when one digs deeper, it is easy to see their are two cores to the origin of their technological advantage over the Citadel, and near parity with our own. The first is similar to Necrontyr tech, albeit seemingly more potent in comparison to what was most commonly seen. As if someone took the gauss weapons of the Necrontyr and spend several thousand years retooling and tweaking the designs until they outperformed their progenitor technology by leaps and bounds.

The second, and far more horrifying, core of their technology was...Our own. It seems the Geth have unearthed the old UNSC Battleship, Tirpitz III, that served as the basis for the Quarian populace all those ages ago. The old weapons and armor of the Tirpitz III, while inferior to our own modern weapons, are still able to threaten us more than any other ship in the galaxy. Even more so when hybridized with the Necrontyr technology. But perhaps MOST alarming is the fact that they have an INTACT quantum lathe...which allows them to produce a never-ending tide of Geth platforms.

This is a critical threat that will need to be dealt with one way or another. So we submit a request to the military to develop a plan to destroy this dangerous threat before it festers into something far worse.

Codex: Operation Winterland

There has been rumblings of traitors within certain branches of the Imperial military and scientific comities. Leaks of classified documents onto the extranet, promising prototypes being mysteriously lost or destroyed, and an attempted reversion of several key reforms.

Operation Winterland is a Custodian led investigation to find and cut out this cancer before it gets much worse. The Imperium can ill afford another age of regression as these traitors seem to desire for their own selfish gains. But still, rooting them out will take time, and a lot of effort. It can only be hoped that the eliminating these miscreants, malcontents, and traitors will not cause more damage to the Imperium.

Codex: Integration of GATE linked realities

Ongoing efforts on the other side of the GATES has so far yielded some progress. The integration of the original attackers into our Imperium was simple and easy once we showed how much easier their lives would be under our firm care. Similarly the world of this, 'Enclave', bent the knee when we terraformed it and returned their Earth back to its pre-irradiated state.

However, the other realities are...less accommodating to our efforts. Of chief concern are the earth of GDI, the galaxy under the control of the Galactic Empire, and the strange world of giants where green and tan soldiers fight for dominance.

GDI's military would easily fold if we could deploy an entire army group. But it would gain us nothing but enmity and opening us up to infiltration by the Brotherhood of NOD. A terrorist organization that would poison our worlds with an alien crystal we have no answer to at present.

While the Galactic Empire has a large enough population that they could grind us down in a war of attrition if need be. But as well entering their dimension, would once again, leave us open to infiltration by terrorists. This time in the form of radicalized 'democratic reformers' in the form of the Rebel Alliance. A faction of renegades and terrorists who are led by greedy senators and rabid guerilla fighters equally, and they have a grass roots level of support. Pulling them out is something we could do, but we would need to over commit to secure that galaxy.

But MOST distressing is the dimension of giants. While we would have plenty of living space and be able to do a lot of...shenanigans...shall we say if we managed to somehow get the giants to join us. The bigger problem is, ironically, the smaller race. A living race of plastic soldiers, molded and printed for warfare with weapons and the knowledge to use them already imbued into them. Yes, each of member of their race is unable to reach the level of our war droids; but there are many more of them then there are of us. And they can mold a new soldier or tank in a fraction of the time it takes to make a new droid. As long as they have access to plastic and electricity, they will never run out of manpower.