EA and Bioware own everything, I'm just a fan with a computer.
Reviews
Asharzal: No, no they are not.
Spectre678: Thank you, I tried to get this out as efficiently as I could.
Smokinbarrrel: here's a sneak peak into Sith/Batarian relations:
Sith: I am the apex predator of all sentient life in the galaxy. The binding energy of the universe is at my fingertips to call upon as I see fit. I can command lighting, darkness, and the very essence of life itself. I could end you with the effort it takes to wave my hand.
Batarians: Well I have four eyes and you only have two, so your argument is invalid.
ithros falasson: For the purposes of what I have planned, the events that cause this premise needed to be like this, I completely get where you're coming from. As to why terminology is essentially the same, one, it makes things easier for everyone to understand, two, I am admittedly attached to Star Wars terminology.
Guest of 12/4: I will try. I believe that I can get the first few chapters out fairly quickly. Most of all the major plot points of the Episode I's story are written out, I just need to hammer out the details. The later chapters are in a bit of limbo with how long they're getting and how I want to divide them up so they may take a bit more time getting out, unfortunately.
Sura: thank you, I hope that it was informative enough.
Monstrr: I will try.
Now on to the show!
The Shanxi orbital station rushes with shuttles going to and from the planet below. Alliance citizens fill the hangars of the station as transports are loaded up with people. Forty-eight destroyers exit hyperspace beside the Shanxi defense patrol's twenty and the ailing Scarlet Fang. The new ships fly towards the station, offloading what troopers they can spare for the ground defense. Scared civilians fill transports and any private and civilian freighters the Alliance has requisitioned.
Military commanders, Mandalorian leaders, and Sith Lords gather together at the center of the station, in the command deck. In this room, a dark-skinned man leans against the metal wall looking over the gathering men and women of the station's military and the present members of the Order of Sith Lords. He wears medium plated black and grey armor with two lightsabers, each hanging on either side of his belt. His right saber is longer, bares a vented emitter, and sports a piked pommel while the left is sleeker and smoothed out for maneuverability. His foot taps as he scowls at the collection of bodies. The door opens and an aged man marked with General rank badges enters with his attendants. The captains and other military officers salute his arrival, and he returns the act.
"Officers and Lords, my I have your attention," he calls out, "While we are still missing many, I fear we must begin posthaste."
He makes his way to the central holo-deck and the others gather around him, Lords getting spots closer to the General as he speaks as mandalorians gather beside their own wherever they can.
"My name is General Williams, leader of the defense forces here on Shanxi. I'll be brief with the recap. Over a week ago, we suffered an unprovoked attack as we opened the Shanxi relay," the holo-deck lights up with an image of a turian, "Though we fended the alien race, which we have learned are call turians from our single prisoner, we know that they will return with a greater force to invade our world. From what we've gotten out of the prisoner, these spikeheads are sending a full fleet to invade us comprising of hundreds of vessels. I wish we had more details, but our new friend has since expired. Captain Stolas of the destroyer, Scarlet Fang, was the one to make contact with the aliens. Captain, do you have anything you'd like to say to those gathered here that could help us in our defense?"
Stolas steps forward, "From what my sensor team gathered, they fire ballistic slugs from their main guns at a fraction the speed of light. While this is a bit more dangerous to our ships than a heavy turbolaser bolt, they can't fire them near as rapidly, and are limited to one fixed gun per ship. They also have torpedoes that can inflict heavy damage, but they only seem to be launched from their frigates. They should take priority for your point defense guns."
"Thank you, Captain," General Williams replies, "Unfortunately, there is very little we can do in space. They outnumber us likely over ten to one and all we could hope to do is delay them enough to get civilians off-world and further into Sith space."
"So, we're just waiting for them to come slaughter us?" the dark-skinned man says.
All eyes draw to him, including the general's, "Pardon me Lord…"
"David Anderson," he replies, "Apprentice to Lord Jason Shepard."
"Lord Anderson," Williams continues, "We currently do not have the forces in space at our disposal to mount any sort of offensive. Admiral Drescher is mobilizing the 2nd Defense fleet in conjunction with the 1st Exploration fleet to reinforce us but that will take time that the invaders won't give us. Captain Irons will lead all naval forces that are present when the time come but our only real choice is to hold them on the ground until our people arrive in force."
"It sounds cowardly to me," David retorts.
"Milord, are you familiar with the Second Battle of Bothawui?" the general asks.
David rubs his chin for a moment, "The Republic had set up a planetary shield and a single force of troops and jedi to protect the planet. Imperial officers threw their might in a direct attack at the shield generators on the ground and suffered grievous losses as the enemy dug in. The republic forces fell in the last stand, but the loss of manpower was so severe that the imperials were forced to retreat. The battle officially ended in a draw."
Williams huffs at that last part, "I prefer to call it for what it was, Anderson, a military disaster caused by overconfidence and a lack of understanding of their enemy's resolve. However, now the shoe is on the other foot. We are trapped here with only a planetary shield and what ground forces we can muster to defend the colony."
"Our forces are nowhere near the ten thousand veteran soldiers at Bothawui," David retorts.
"And our enemies are not the mighty Sith Empire," Williams counters, "We are not fighting to hold them off indefinitely either, we need only keep them at bay until our fleet arrives. Once we have them trapped here, our Star Destroyers will tear them apart and the battle will be ours. I intend to die before I surrender Shanxi to these pretentious invaders."
"Spoken like a true Sith," a new voice says as the doors to the war room open and close.
"Milord," the soldiers and officers bow to him as he approaches. He wears heavy maroon and black armor, similar in pattern to David's. His obsidian black lightsaber hilt sways from his belt with every step of his heavy boots. His short black hair rests slicked back atop his head while a scar runs down the right side of his face. He approaches the Sith Apprentice with his golden eyes and veiny expression locked on him.
"Master Shepard," David says as he kneels.
"Rise, Apprentice, we've no time to spend on pleasantries," Shepard says as he takes his place at the table just as Lord Grissom enters.
"What do our forces look like, General?" the aged Lord asks.
"Just the local garrison, the city's security and battle droids, what troopers the gathered vessels can spare, a few Mandalorian commando squads, a dozen or so Sith Lords and Apprentices, and ten walkers."
"Definitely not the ten thousand Republic veterans to be certain, but we have our own advantages," Grissom says, "Unlike the aforementioned battle, we will not be lying in wait as the enemy comes to us on the ground. They don't understand our technology, it is likely that they will therefore not go right to our generators in the beginning."
"Master, what makes you believe that?" Shepard inquires.
Grissom looks to his former apprentice and then the rest of the table, "When Shanxi patrol arrived at the relay, our enemies couldn't detect them until their reentry into real-space. They have based their technology, as far as we can tell, on the Mass Relays, and have no idea about hyperspace, one of our most fundamental technologies."
"I see," General Williams nods, "They'll have a bit of a learning curve when it comes to fighting us since we've developed along a different technological path."
"They will try to cover all the ground they can in the city, spread their forces out to expand the frontline as wide as possible. I suggest that we organize our forces into smaller teams. Leave the Mandalorians together as they fight best with their own but put a Sith at the head of each squad of troopers."
"Doubt these spikey di'kuts could do more than dent our armor," the lead Mandalorian says.
Grissom continues, "Keep them mobile and ready to ambush the enemy as they advance. Leave the remaining troopers positioned around the generators, we cannot risk them damaging it and face an orbital bombardment."
"An excellent strategy, Milord," Williams comments, "We should make understanding their battle tactics one of our priorities for future battles, I doubt that Alliance High Command will take this sitting down, likely the whole Alliance will want blood for this attack."
"They'll have it," David mutters, "The Order will make certain of it; I will make sure of it."
"Reserve your bloodlust until the battle begins, then you may indulge it to your heart's content," Lord Shepard says before bowing to Lord Grissom, "Master, I shall leave you to the war planning, my apprentice and I shall return to the surface and prepare."
"Very good, Jason, we shall meet again for drinks after our victory."
"But Master…"
"This is not a debate, come," Shepard leads his apprentice out, passing a hooded lord as he enters.
"Lord Shepard."
"Lord Harper," Shepard acknowledges his comrade as David bows his head towards his better.
Once they are walking towards the elevators Shepard speaks up, "You're growing impatient."
David takes a breath, "Master, I refuse to stay calm as we are in the middle of an attack against our people. We are Lords of the Sith, we should be doing the attacking."
They reach the elevators as Shepard presses the control pad, "Our job is to destroy the enemies of the Sith. We cannot do such by diving headfirst into a doomed endeavor. We are not so desperate as to try our luck with such actions."
"I never said we were desperate," David replies as the empty elevator opens up.
The two enter and Shepard selects the docking bay on the panel, "Then why do you desire to march us to our deaths? Or are you so confident in our ability to win with such abysmal forces here?"
"We are Sith, we have The Force, Master, these spikeheads do not," David answers.
"The Force is a powerful tool, my apprentice, but it is not unbeatable," Shepard responds, "Do not let arrogance blind you to the truth. We can be defeated, the Galactic Republic and Reapers proved that to the Old Empire. While I reject the idea that caution is the better part of valor, a sound mind is the key to survival. If we fight in space, we are fighting on their terms, if we bring them onto land, we hold a greater advantage. Besides, you can't cut up a ship with your lightsabers, I thought you of all people would want this."
David tries to keep down a laugh, "I suppose you're right, Master."
"Am I not always?" Shepard replies, "Still you will have to fight in an actual battle, take care not to get yourself killed."
"You and the academy prepared me well for combat, Master. These flightless metal birds should pose no threat to me."
"Do not underestimate them," Shepard chastises, "According to Lord Grissom, you cannot simply block their shots like a blaster, you have to dodge them, and I have no idea beyond that what else they are capable of. Stay sharp and give heed to The Force as you tear across the battlefield."
David bows, "Yes, Master."
"Good. I would hate to see you go just as you were nearly through with my tutelage. John and Hannah have really taken a liking to you. It'd be a shame to have to tell them you died getting cocky."
David rolls his eyes, "How are Hannah and John anyway?"
"John's doing… Well to be frank he's been a massive troublemaker lately," Shepard explains, "We're considering keeping him out of school with how much he refuses to sit still and uses The Force like a toy. Honestly if Lord Grissom weren't here for the relay opening, I'd be back home setting him straight and taking care of Hannah."
"What's wrong with Hannah?"
"We found out we're having a second child," Shepard says with a grin forming.
"By Ragnos, that's got to be the worst timing in the history of the Sith," David says with both mirth and concern in his voice.
"Well, what true Sith could deny the most intimate of passions?" Shepard's smirk grows wider, "With any luck this war will be over before she's due and I'll be back home to welcome the child into the galaxy. Hence why I have no intentions of dying today."
The elevator opens back up and the two of them exit into a hangar filled with moving crowds of troops and civilians, "How's John taking the news?"
"Rather well given his track record," Shepard answers, "He's excited to have someone else closer to his age that is strong in The Force."
"You think they're going to be Force sensitive?" David asks.
"Can't say, I couldn't sense anything, but John says he has. Until proven otherwise, we'll keep on letting him believe that."
A Gage-Class transport flies by the hangar as shuttles depart from it. David holds his gaze at the ship as the damaged Scarlet Fang flies beside it, "I never understood why they design Gage transports to look so much like Terminus destroyers."
"Personally, I think the Old Empire just didn't want to design a whole new line of armor specs for a new design to save credits and we inherited the mindset."
"Fair enough but that similar," he gestures to the two ships, "If you didn't know better, you'd say they were the same class at a glance."
"That ship in particular may as well be. The Scarlet Fang, is unfortunately too damaged to fight effectively, so it's been relegated to transport duty as well."
"What a waste," David grumbles.
Shepard hastens his step, "Come, the soonest shuttle will be departing in a matter of minutes. I would like us to get some time to spar before we're in the field."
"Afraid you're getting rusty, old man?"
"Hardly, Apprentice," Shepard jests him, "I fear that you have not received a proper beating recently and while I may not be able to discipline my son for his reckless behavior right now, you are well withing arm's reach."
David's hand drifts to his off-hand lightsaber, "Bring it, I've been practicing."
The two Sith come upon the shuttle to the planet and continue onboard, "I would hope so, I wouldn't want this to get too easy for me."
On the other side of the relay in the Gaulium System, 854 turian warships, made up of contributions of the 29th, 27th, and 26th fleets, assemble around an orbital station. At the center of the swarm of ships are two, 1km long behemoths sitting side by side with one another. Aboard one such dreadnaught, Pavalen's Hammer, Captain Cicerius marches. He passes several officers that salute him as he moves with haste to the command deck. The door opens and he is greeted by the face of Admiral Septemus along with his immediate officers, Commodore Victus and General Desolas Arterius.
"-and should you succeed, Arterius, I will inform the Primarch of your contributions to the campaign and make your request to him."
Upon the captain's entry, Septemus scowls at him while the other two remain neutral in their expressions. Cicerus salutes his superior, "Admiral, sir"
"Captain," Septemus replies with a sour demeanor, "I read your report. The primitives roughed you up enough that you retreated?"
"Yes sir…" he replies as his gaze falls to the floor.
"I thought I had misread but hearing from you, that you actually showed such cowardice in the face of an enemy brings a new level of disappointment I never thought I could reach in my life. One of my own officers, nay, one of my own people turning his back on a battle and forsaking his orders. What kind of turian are you to abandon your duty? What excuse could you have to flee a battle?
"Their weapons tore up our hulls without triggering our ships' kinetic barriers," Cicerus explains, "We think they may have developed energy weapons. One ship destroyed several of our frigates before we had a chance to bring it down, then three more appeared out of nowhere, so we withdrew."
Septemus huffs at him, "Were it not for the fact that this technology can be made to serve the Hierarchy, I'd have had you court martialed and stripped of your command for such a cowardly act. If you show any cowardice in front of me again, however, I will do much worse."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Cicerus replies.
"You are on thin ice," Septemus leers at him as he speaks, "For the invasion, you and your ship will be in the rearguard, and I expect you to stay there for the entirety of the battle. Am I clear?
"Yes sir."
"Dismissed," the admiral orders, and the captain obeys.
As the doors close Desolas speaks up, "You shouldn't be so hard on him, the information he's given us is truly a boon to our invasion plans. Isn't that why you've acquired a second dreadnaught for the Sith pacification?"
"Arterius, I don't tell you how to lead your men, don't tell me how to discipline mine," Septemus growls.
Desolas opens his mandibles as if to argue but then closes them.
"Spirits be willing, we should have these barbarians under our thumb in less than a month and their energy weapons will be standard issue within the year. Finally, the Hierarchy will have an edge in technology for the first time since joining the Citadel and having these Sith working for us will make us an economic powerhouse."
"Assuming they don't cause any other problems after our invasion," Desolas adds, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Bah," Septemus dismisses the sentiment, "What race could resist our might once we have a grasp of their homeworld."
"Permission to speak freely sir?" Victus asks.
"Granted, Commodore."
"There are a great many unknowns here that may complicate the process. For one, they have technology that is close enough to being on par with ours, they merely lack the numbers we possess. It will be difficult to sway them into our patronage due to the fact they we may not have anything to offer that they would find valuable."
"We'll let the politicians hash that out, our duty is merely to quell these primitives into submission," the admiral answers.
"Yes sir," Victus replies as his eyes drift elsewhere.
"If there is nothing else to discuss, Arterius, you may take your leave," Septemus says, "We depart the Gaulium system within twelve hours."
Desolas salutes and departs from the two naval officers. He departs for his shuttle in the dreadnaught's docking bay. Upon arrival, a much younger turian in black armor stands to greet him.
"Brother, how did it go?"
"As well as I could have hoped, Saren," Desolas replies as he takes his seat, "The Admiral is a good turian, but his straightforwardness and inability to see beyond what is in front of him has me concerned for the lives of my men. He wants a shock and awe assault on the world's capitol."
"You don't believe we can do it?" Saren asks as the shuttle departs.
"We can, and without too much trouble on our side if we were fighting slavers and pirates," Desolas answers him, "But we're not. We are fighting a new race on their home world with technology that is vastly different from ours."
Saren's eyes narrow a bit, "You think these primitives can defeat us?"
"I think that there are too many variables for this to be a simple operation." Desolas replies, "And I'm thinking that I'm not the only one to consider this. Commodore Victus seemed to have doubts as well. Regardless, orders are orders and the Primarch wants this world under our control as quickly as possible. At least some good has come out of this."
A bewildered expression crosses Saren's face, "Brother, you'd never think of going behind the back of the admiral, would you?"
Desolas waves his brother's worry away, "Never, but we talked a bit longer about what will happen when the campaign is done, and I've secured a favor to fast track you into the Spectres."
"W-What?" Saren gasps.
"Sarren, we both know you hate command duties," Desolas says, "You're a good soldier but you're a phenomenal warrior. Mom and dad wouldn't want you stuck in a Blackwatch cabal with no way up the hierarchy. If you're a Spectre, you bypass all of that and become an agent of the highest authority."
"Desolas…" Saren looks at him with wide eyes, "You could have asked for any number of favors, why this?"
"Because I promised mom and dad that I'd look out for you," Desolas says.
"I don't need you to look out for me," Saren replies with a slight edge to his voice, "I am capable enough to do it on my own."
"I know you're capable, I've seen it. However, turian society isn't kind to barefaces like us. I want you to have a better life than me, you've always had something that most turians will never find, the drive to go beyond your capacity. I can see it now; in a few years you'll be the youngest Spectre ever inducted into the service, a legend."
"Isn't my position in Blackwatch enough for you?" Saren inquires with a growing irritation.
"All I want is the best for you after everything that's happened."
"Can't you just be proud of me for what I've already accomplished on my own?!"
Desolas sighs, "I really don't want to have this argument again little brother. Just… when we are through this, at least consider this opportunity."
Saren says nothing as he glares defiantly at the floor of the shuttle. Desolas grumbles to himself as the last leg of the journey back to their cruiser is made in tenuous silence. Their shuttle lands and Saren is the first to disembark.
"Saren…"
"I thought you said you didn't want an argument," the younger brother growls as he walks away.
The days pass over the Shanxi colony, nineteen more planetary patrol destroyers arrive to reinforce the planet's meager defenses. Two Gage-class transports remain at the station to ferry what civilians they can out of the system. On the planet below the central government office has been turned into a fortified military base where General Williams and his officers wait, primed and ready for any sign of their enemies. The days of tension gets to the men and women of the planet, but that tension does not last as relay activation signs are detected.
"Sir, the navy is detecting the arrival of entities via the local relay."
Williams rushes over to the man at the console, "How many?
"They're having a hard time telling with how fast they're entering, they might be trying to hide it by coming all at once, but based on what they can estimate, hundreds of ships, sir."
"Force be with us," Williams groans.
"Wait, they're moving now. They seem to still be in real-space but moving at faster than light speeds. They'll be here soon at this rate," the aid says.
"Raise the shield, prepare antiair guns, and get every squad into position. We need to be combat ready the moment they're in atmosphere," Williams orders.
"Yes sir," the aid says as he rushes away.
From the center of the colony, the shield generator whirls to life as the city is blanketed by a dome of semi-translucent energy. The AA guns rise and take aim at the sky as the men and vehicles below march throughout the streets. David Anderson and Jason Shepard look up from their respective ambush points, the apprentice with an eager grin, the master with grim anticipation.
Above the planet, the meager deployment of ships take position between the orbital station and the turian's approach. Civilians rush within the station, vying to reach the next shuttle off before the aliens arrive. What little troops remain on the station struggle to keep order.
Aboard the Sith vessels, there is a calm, a tense and dreadful calm. No naval officer to this point has fought in a war, only heard the stories of their ancestors. Some think they'll be heroes, some martyrs, and a few are terrified of just dying for nothing. Still, none speak even a murmur of such thoughts, for they are Sith, and they refuse to show fear to their enemies. They stand ready to face the turians when they come, and come they have.
One after the other, their ships decelerate from FTL like a swarm of insects emerging from a hive. They spread themselves out against the eighty-seven destroyers awaiting them. The Sith forces open fire upon their enemies with a wild barrage of turbolasers. Not bothering with firing solutions, they unleash more and more plasma fire upon the enemy fleet. The turians evade the shots at such extreme range as the dreadnaughts begin firing at the destroyers. The Sith evade as best they can as they maintain their blanket fire, taking an unlucky few in the wrong place at the wrong time out of commission. One dreadnaught shell finds its mark and takes a bite out of a ship's deflector shield. The impact shakes the bridge of the destroyer and tosses several officers around.
The ship falls behind its comrades as the turian fleet enters medium range. The cruisers start firing as the Sith ships begin focusing their turbolasers on specific ships. The turians slow their advance but continue to fire upon the small fleet. Aboard Captain Irons' ship the crew scramble to keep their ships at its highest maximum combat level.
"Sir, our shields are holding for now but if they keep dropping like this we won't last once their frigates launch their torpedoes."
"Another enemy down, sir, acquiring a new target."
"Concussion missiles loaded and ready, sir."
"Possible breach in the lower decks from that last shell."
"They never told us about those big ships, Kalig damned things are sniping at us from the back."
Outside the transparasteel window, one of the destroyer's shields fail from three direct hits from dreadnaught shells and takes hull damage, "Order them to fall back to the station, see if they can get their shields back up."
"Yes sir."
"Captain, a large group of turians ships are making for the upper atmosphere of the planet, should we intercept?"
"Hold the line here," Irons orders, "There are still civilians escaping the station, we must hold out as long as we can. The colony has a shield and a generator that could withstand the destruction of Telos and Taris, it will endure."
As the turians enter the system and take heed of their enemies, there is a general sense of ease among the officers. The pitiful fleet of cruiser analogs can only scratch their mighty force as they begin firing at extreme range with their dreadnaughts. From the bridge of Septemus' dreadnaught, The Pavalen's Hammer, officers gather and organize information crucial to the invasion.
"Admiral, initial scans show that there is a massive patch of civilization just below the orbital station, likely the capitol of their world," an officer on the bridge relays to Septemus.
"Well then, tell Arterius that he has his target," the admiral responds, "Scan for possible military and government installations within the area for Arterius to focus on. Afterward, continue scans for other signs of civilization and targets."
The officer does as he's told and relays what information he picks up to Desolas. The general takes a few minutes to look over the map and narrows points of interest down to a handful to focus on. He passes orders to all the dropship pilots for both primary and backup drop locations. With his preparations done, he makes his way down to his command ship's bay to his awaiting men.
"Soldiers of the Hierarchy, today we fulfil our duty both to the Citadel and to the Palaven. These primitives have broken the law and opened a mass relay. This cannot go unpunished. Without us to stop them, we can only imagine the horrors that they may have unleashed upon the galaxy. As such it is our mission to bring them to heel and take them as our client race, for the good of the galaxy. I have faith in every one of you. Do your duty to the Hierarchy and bring us swift victory. Dismissed."
The soldiers salute and board their dropships. Saren nods along and follows his Blackwatch squad into theirs and within minutes the cruisers halt their advance within the planet's upper atmosphere. Dropships disembark from the hangars of their respective ships, each filled with soldiers deploying to the planet below. The turians descend to the surface, unaware of the forces that await their ground assault, as the galaxy's greatest soldiers dive right into the nest of the Dark Side's greatest warriors.
I apologize for those expecting a lot of action in this chapter, it's mostly setup for the next one. We meet Anderson for the first time here as an Apprentice, and yes that is MC Shepard's dad. There will be a few other characters that will be Sith Lords over what they are in canon, especially biotic humans since most can't exist yet because the Sith haven't had any interaction with Element Zero. In fact the only human character of note that would remain a biotic is Jack since she was born after the First Contact War. Speaking of, there will be A Lot more casualties and this will be an actual war, not merely an incident. Also, I have not read any of the books on pre-game ME, so this is most certainly not going to be the same Desolas and Saren as in the expanded ME universe. I will make his personality accurate to the games when that part comes around but anywhere else is going to be specific to this fic. As for the Star Wars elements, it will mostly be from Legends and Old Republic era canon, though a few concepts from Disney canon will be included for narrative purposes, like crystal bleeding. Anyway, what did you think? Too slow? Too much talking? Not enough Star Wars? Not enough Mass Effect? Please review, as your feedback is always appreciated.
See y'all next time!