Big A/N: Well here is an attempt at some coherent story. A couple of things before this begins:
1. Reviews are appreciated, especially ones critical of my performance. This is my first attempt at something like this, so anything that you can think of that might help probably will.
2. Updates to this are going to be on a "whenever I can" basis. I have a rough idea of how this will go but no timeframe in which to complete it. My schooling is on break right now but that will change eventually and I will have to spend more time on that. With that being said, it is not my intention to abandon this, and if I ever do need to stop I'll make people aware of it through another one of these.
3. It's AU, though you probably guessed that by the description reading AU and the big timeline below this. Some of the trilogy elements will be kept some won't. Take it as you will.
4. A lot of the ideas for human tech comes from the Odyssey One series of books by Evan Currie. I think they're good reads, especially if you're into a HFY type story.
5. I'm from the good ol US of A, so that is where the majority of my knowledge and experiences are drawn from. Sorry to the rest of the world for the lackluster background and development, but I do not have the same strength of background in those areas.
6. I do not think that humanity is too OP in this, and I have found some nice estimations of Mass Effect fleet sizes on the spacebattles forum that I used to size humanity's fleet in this. ( threads/mass-effect-fleet-sizes-speculation.422879/) In addition, I think that we could have made ships bigger in the trilogy, and we definitely would have had more carriers.
7. Many of the sizes of ships were decided using some DeviantArt pages, which are in a folder and can be viewed at your pleasure. I also have a galaxy map that I frankensteined together from a couple of DeviantArt maps and the wiki to connect star systems properly, which is apparently harder than it seems as the three game all have different ideas of where the relays lead to. ( favourites/75183566/References). I made some sketches of the different ships that I have created for this Alliance and will be uploading them to DA at some point. Drawing is less a strong suit of mine so enjoy some pencil sketches of vaguely star-destroyer looking ships on engineering paper.
8. Obligatory I don't profit from this and Mass Effect is not mine.
Still an A/N: I am more than willing to take ideas as to where this should go. Mine as well crowdsource it to an extent and give the people the ability to influence the story and its path. A question for you as well, should the big codex at the end be posted as a standalone codex that gets updated with this or should I put it at the end of chapters? Whatever is easier on the reader, just let me know down in those reviews.
Timeline:
2029: The first manned mission to Mars lands aboard a SpaceX rocket. These early colonists begin to set up a base of operations. This is heralded as a great success by many, though extraterrestrial jurisdiction comes into question in the public eye.
2030: The European Space Agency lands a crew on the moon and begins future stages for a permanent research base there. A wave of patriotism spreads across Europe as astronauts from Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands touch down, and a growing minority of citizens support full integration into the European Union.
2034: The Martian colonists hit a population of 500 scientists, engineers, and their families as the fifth mission to the colony, named Foundation. A permanent launch and landing complex is installed to the colony to allow for more efficient transfer of goods, cargo, and fuel. Foundation is the most technologically advanced population of humans, and can now generate 70 percent of the food it needs to survive.
2035: The Chinese economy crashes, and sends the world into another recession. The military steps in and keeps order when the country's urban centers begin to fall into chaos. Layoffs occur around the world as multinational corporations move to salvage profits after China's economic collapse.
2036: A second dustbowl hits North America, throwing the food supplies of the United States and Canada into disarray. The depression worsens as food prices increase much like they did one century prior. The US presidential elections swings a hard left and a more socialist candidate gets elected.
2037: A civil war in China breaks out after two years of martial law in the country, with a few factions vying for control of the nation. With supply missions to Foundation having less frequently due to the instability on Earth and no end seen in the near future, Foundation rapidly completed its greenhouses and prepares to bunker down for a long stretch of isolation.
2038: The US congressional elections see an overwhelming surge of democratic socialists elected to office in a reaction to the Second Great Depression. Talks occur with Canada to form a united council for economic development to help combat the massive unemployed populations in both countries. European nations, also having been hit by the depression, begin talks to formally unify as a federation of states, rather than the current confederation.
2040: Foundation develops its own mining and fabrication centers to help alleviate some basic resource shortages. Scout teams are sent out to complete further geological surveys in order to set up larger scale mining operations. The US-Canada economic development union has showed great results early on, and another wave of left leaning politicians are elected in the government. European talks of federation are showing signs of success, with most member states agreeing to go forth with the plan. China stabilizes with a less authoritarian socialist state emerging from the rubble.
2042: The US-Canada Economic Development Union unify the two nations with a singular currency and fully open borders to further promote trade. Talks begin between the two nations to set up a combined military, as both had drastically decreased expenditures during the depression. The nations are on the road to recovery with these measures, now sharing the same currency and soon to be armed forces. Cybrex Systems is founded by UC: Berkley graduates to further develop a prototype Artificial Intelligence that they created at school.
2045: Europe formally unites, the EU becoming a single nation state. The nation soon after states that it will finish its goal of landing a man on the moon and establishing an outpost there by the end of the decade. The US resumes construction on a massive particle collider in Texas in order to stimulate the economy and create a successor to the LHC in Switzerland. Construction of new habitats and greenhouses in Foundation have expanded the maximum population of the colony to 2500 individuals.
2047: The US and Canada formally pursue closer relations, and the North American Union (NAU) is founded shortly after. The similarities in governments and the now fully intertwined economies allowed for the fast and near seamless transition to the confederated government. A fully unified federal government is stated to be in the works and revealed in the coming decade.
2048: A US DARPA project bears fruits, and the Boston Dynamics EXO-3 powered Exoskeleton. The device allows the wearer to expend energy for twice as long, while tripling the amount of work they can do. The device has clear military applications and promises civilian laborers easier work in their job places. Cybrex Systems finishes development of their AI and turns it on. It promptly burnt out, having dome too many calculations in its fast drive to sentience. Its demise, however, showed the researchers the vastness of computing power required for the project to succeed.
2049: The ESA manages to land a team of researchers on the moon and sets up a station on the north pole, where light always shines. The station is expected to grow from both public and private investment in the next 15 years, reaching a proposed population of 15,000 in 2064. The global economy recovers to pre-depression levels, and continued progress can begin once more, with three global powers emerging into the second half of the century: Europe, the NAU, and China.
2050: Construction on the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) are finished and testing begins. It is scheduled to be completely ready for full operation in 2053. Research teams in Foundation, having just received a fresh shipment of exploration equipment expand their survey range to a 50-kilometer radius around the colony. Fresh colonists also arrive, bolstering the population to the 1,200 mark. EXO-3V suits from Boston Dynamics arrive in this supply run, with these variants allowing for extended use in the weak atmosphere of Mars.
2054: Survey teams from Foundation drilling for soil samples hit a metal construct under the Martian surface. Upon further excavation, the team reveals a small Prothean outpost buried at the site. This Prothean ruin tells of a larger galaxy and finally answers the question of whether humanity is alone in the galaxy. No method of FTL flight is discovered onboard the ships that remain in the outpost, and only mentions of FTL being possible are discovered in the initial search of the base.
2055: The SSC begins operations in the NAU after years of delays, turning on the largest particle collider in the world. Within its first week of operation, the collider's advanced sensors accidently discover the tachyon particle a massless particle. DARPA and NASA immediately takes over that branch of research, as there is potential to make a FTL drive that utilizes tachyons.
2057: Further research into the Prothean ruins on Mars reveal that FTL flight was accomplished with the utilization of Element Zero and mass relays. Survey missions are sent out by the NAU, China, and EU to scour the Sol system for Element Zero. The European station on the lunar surface, now called Lowell City, reaches its population goal ahead of time due to private investment and the interest spike in space after the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars. Foundation experiences an even larger population increase, now standing at 10,000 individuals of all backgrounds to run the colony and the xenoarchaeology site.
2060: The second generation Cybrex AI is turned on after nearly two decades of research and development. In an isolated data center in the middle of the Albertan Wilderness, humanity creates life as the AI quickly gains sentience and becomes self-aware. Safe in the confines of the data center, the researchers begin to teach the intelligence what it means to be human and to instill in it a set of morals "before it goes Skynet." Research into alternative methods of FTL bear fruits in Lowell City on the Moon, where a counter-mass (CM) field is demonstrated. The CM field eats up monstrous amounts of electricity to change the mass of an object relative to the rest of the universe. These "generation one" CM generators are capable of altering mass by up to 20%, not enough to go FTL but enough to radically change space vessel design.
2061: The artificial intelligence, now going by the name of Carl, is revealed to the world at large in a press conference at the Cybrex data center. The NAU and global populace is receptive to the AI, with large factions of the population pushing for synthetic citizenship. Cybrex promises that work is being done to create a mobile form for Carl, currently constrained to the data center. Carl also manages to gain employment at Cybrex and secures a large DARPA grant to complete the task.
2063: Europe grants massive tax credits to Cybrex to build a data center in Germany for creation of additional synthetics. Boston Dynamics releases highly upgraded EXO-5 and EXO-5V exoskeletons for the civilian and military markets, along with an armored EXO-5M suit for frontline military use. The NAU and Europe flock to the 5M, planning to equip a majority of soldiers by 2075. Synthetic Citizenship passes in the NAU, with a five current generation-two AIs becoming citizens. Basic mobility forms are pieced together from EXO-4 suits to allow them to integrate better with society.
2064: NASA, with the help of one of the new AIs has a breakthrough in tachyon drive development, and an experimental probe is sent from a shipyard in low Earth orbit to the surface of the Mars instantaneously. The new system is called the Transition Drive. With the lightspeed barrier broken, ships are to be sent out from the Solar System to search surrounding stars for element zero to create the much cheaper mass effect drives. The 18 most powerful Earth governments, realizing the need to cooperate on extraplanetary matters, meet and draw up the Systems Alliance Charter as a way to show a unified face to whatever the galaxy holds.
2067: Ship construction is finished for AI controlled extrasolar mining vessels, and they are sent out under the flag of the Systems Alliance, a unified humanity. Element zero, while rare, was easily found by mining vessels unknowingly heading out of the range of the relay network. Element zero in tow by two of the twelve vessels sent out, they return home and construction begins on the first human exploration vessels. Generation two CM generators are developed and are now twice as efficient as their predecessors.
2069: One hundred years after the first human set foot on the moon, the Charon mass relay is discovered and opened with an Erikson Class exploration cruiser being sent through the relay. The relay takes the vessel to the Arcturus system, which is found to be populated with multiple additional Mass Relays. The military minds of the fledgling Systems Alliance step in and see the strategic value such a system would hold, and push for the construction of a large military fleet and capital station to hold the system and protect humanity's future interests.
2071: Jon Grissom, commander of the SSV Leif Erikson finishes charting out the Arcturus System and all of the relays that connect to it. Multiple habitable worlds are discovered in the range of these relays, and colonization efforts begin in earnest as millions of individuals from across Earth sign on with the Alliance to become pioneers. Chinese researchers develop the Quantum Entanglement Communicator (QEC) to communicate across light year distances with minimal lag.
2075: Earth and her holdings now reach a total of 7 planets within the Mass-Relay network and an additional 10 planned out of the network once the advanced Transition drive colony and supply vessels are completed. A large shipyard is built above Foundation on Mars in order to aid the production of new vessels for the Systems Alliance. Construction begins on Arcturus Station, designed as both the political and military center of the Alliance. Expansion into new relays stops for the time being, as Alliance leaders view the consolidation of their current holdings to be the largest priority.
2078: Arcturus station is around 10 percent complete, with much of the Arcturus system being mined for the colossal construction. The Alliance Navy has designs finalized for small destroyer and cruiser vessels with construction beginning in the newly expanded Martian shipyards. Three new planets are colonized well out of the relay network with the resource rich Daedalus planned to become a military-industrial powerhouse.
2080: The EXO-7 series of powered exoskeletons is released and is readily purchased by the Alliance Military. Production facilities for this armor are to be set up on Daedalus for the sole purpose of equipping the ever-growing Alliance armed forces. Many defense contractors begin to set up research and production facilities on the planet due to military grants and incentives.
2083: AIs now number around 50 million, with around 90% choosing a synthetic body to reside in. The remaining AI are often integrated into ships and large servers, electing to forgo everyday use of a bipedal body. Laws are drafted by the Alliance to forbid the use of combat drones with backed up AI, to reduce the chance of soldiers that do not care about their own death.
2088: Alliance holdings now number a total of 18 planetary bodies in 14 systems, and several colonies boast populations of over 1 million. Populating these new colonies is seen as a great priority in the Alliance government and grants are given to people willing to move to the new frontier. A military heavy cruiser is launched from the Martian ship yards and is the largest single vessel ever made by humans, beating out the previous Obama Class supercarrier of the US Navy.
2094: An alliance research station orbiting Jupiter discovers an efficient way to collect antimatter and use it to generate power. Data is sent to Daedalus to begin developing antimatter power systems and weapons. The potential threat of extraterrestrials drives forward the Alliance military and economy, with defense spending equaling 65% of the annual discretionary budget. The Alliance fleet grows to a size of 200 combat ready vessels over 100 meters in length, with more larger vessels planned for the coming decades.
2098: Arcturus station is completed, making it the largest single structure built by humanity. The Alliance grows to 20 planetary bodies. Mars surpasses 5 million population, and the out of system colonies of Elysium and Terra Nova surpass 10 million residents. The first true dedicated carrier is launched by the Alliance Navy.
2116: The EXO-115 mech suit is developed as an urban assault mech. Assigned to shock trooper units, these behemoths are designed to provide heavier firepower than standard infantry in powered armor without the low mobility of tanks. Laser weapons powered by new antimatter generators are created, building off the early designs of the mid-21st century. These capital grade lasers are classified as Class One for a baseline.
2123: The Sirta Foundation creates MediGel, a revolutionary new treatment for wounds. Its effectiveness at returning injured soldiers to combat capacity results in a mass order from the Alliance and sees the creation of a Sirta headquarters on Daedalus.
2130: The M130 Infantry Assault Weapon is developed to be the mainline infantry weapon for alliance soldiers. Variants are designed to fill close quarters and sniper roles in addition to the main mid-range variant. The Dune Class Transition Transport Vessel is launched to facilitate transport of large numbers of goods and non-transition ships to planets accessible only by the transition drive.
2131: There are now 300 million AI citizens living within Alliance space, and they are now fully accepted by well over 90% of the human populace. Only religious extremists and members of the older generations with Terminator uprisings on their minds still distrust synthetic citizens. A rebellion on the colony of New Quebec is put down by an Alliance Navy task force and its complement of marines and elite N soldiers.
2134: The Alliance rolls out the next generation of warships, starting with the colossal America Class Fleet Carrier and its complement of F205 space superiority fighters. Other ships that are entering drydock include second generation frigates, cruisers, dreadnaughts, carriers, and exploration vessels. The second-generation fleet is expected to have an initial production run of around 1000 vessels and replace much of the ageing first generation fleet. This production is set to be finished in 2160.
2140: Advances in medical and cybernetic technologies means that the average human lifespan is now hovering around 300 years. Disease is virtually nonexistent thanks to nanobot-enhanced medications and immunization of all individuals prior to leaving or embarking upon a planet for the first time.
2147: The EXO-15 and EXO-147 are adopted by all branches of the Alliance military to further increase the combat capability of soldiers in the field. NICS is developed by Cybrex to better connect the human brain to a computer. It is soon rolled out to elite variants of the EXO-15, EXO-147, and F205 fighters and tests show upwards of a 75% improvement over non NICS operators.
2150: Adaptive laser weaponry is developed by Northrup Grumman, building on improvements of the last half century. These weapons, when coupled with a shipboard AI, can tune the beam to a frequency that quickly melts through enemy armor.
2162: The second generation Alliance navy finishes production and is expected to remain in service for half a century.
2175: The second round of relay colonization begins with the twin exploration task forces of the SSV Enterprise and the SSV Zheng He.
2179: Three new worlds from the new exploration initiative begin to receive colonists. Task force Zheng He makes contact with a derelict cruiser drifting in space in a newly explored system while task force Enterprise begins to open a new relay in the recently colonized Shanxi system.
Codex Entries:
Foundation: Founded as the first extra planetary colony by SpaceX missions in the 2030's, this "insurance plan" for humanity paid off dividends when explorers from the colony discovered the Prothean ruins buried close by. The initial scientists and engineers lived through the longest supply drought in the history of manned spaceflight and survived due only to their ingenuity and the forward thinking self-sufficient systems sent by the initial supply missions before the Second Great Depression of the mid 21st century. Foundation retains a large population to this day despite the discovery of more habitable garden worlds in other star systems due to the large shipyard in orbit, access to low cost surface launches, a nearby resource rich asteroid field, and the large research and education institutions set up to study the Prothean ruins. Two of the top engineering and science universities in Alliance space currently reside on Mars.
Arcturus Station: Built between 2075 and 2098, the station serves as the capital for the Systems Alliance and a neutral ground for interplanetary politics. The station features a circular central hub 5 kilometers in diameter which houses the Alliance government and military headquarters with five 5-kilometer long docks extending from the central hub. The station is the permanent home for both the second and fifth fleet, and additionally serves as a hub for travel within Alliance space. Many of the large Dune transport ships run routes to and from Arcturus, making it a crucial hub for access to colonies outside of the relay network. It is one of the most heavily fortified positions in Alliance Space, outside of Daedalus and the Sol system.
Cybrex Systems: An artificial intelligence company founded in 2042 to develop actual thinking AI that have similar morals to that of a human. Partially successful in 2048 with a neural network that briefly gained sentience, they rose to prominence after they created a lasting Artificial Intelligence in 2060. Carl, the first true AI, was granted citizenship to the North American Union soon after his creation, and helped the engineers at Cybrex create more second-generation AI like him. He joined the Alliance government soon after its creation to be the ambassador for synthetics to the Alliance and to any foreign governments they might come across.
Boston Dynamics: Known during the early 21st century for videos of their acrobatic robots, the corporation came to be one of the largest weapons manufacturers with the release of their revolutionary EXO-3 exoskeleton in 2048. This was adopted by most NATO countries at the time, and subsequent models only improved on the technology. Their vacuum variants were pivotal in helping to further explore Mars, the Prothean ruins, and deep space as a whole.
EXO-15: This is essentially a military version of any civilian grade exoskeletons that Boston Dynamics produces. The first dedicated military combat armor was created in 2063 with the EXO-5M variant of the popular EXO-5 civilian exoskeleton. The current model contains all the necessities that a soldier needs to survive the modern battlefield, including a hermetically sealed suit rated from 25 atmospheres to a complete vacuum. They also come integrated with linked Heads Up Displays, so any commanding officer can get real time updates from soldiers in the field and to allow for easy squad communication. The HUD will also allow for the soldier to overlay information onto his vision, including infrared and ultraviolet vision and link to any compatible weapon such as the M130 Assault Rifle, to show relevant information. Elite variants of the armor worn by shock troopers and N level marines come with additional classified features.
EXO-147: The big brother to the EXO-15, the 147 is designed as a mech suit and functions like light armor support on the battlefield. Its predecessor, the EXO-115 was cumbersome and clunky, and the 147 fixes many of the flaws by adding in NICS support, allowing the driver to have much finer control over its movements. The 147 comes equipped with much of the same technology as the 15, but substitutes the hand held M130 for a three barrel Gatling Gun and a small Mk 4 laser, powered by a small antimatter core in the back. Some 147 units got upgraded with miniaturized adaptive lasers by the time of the first contact war, although not in large enough numbers to make a huge impact on the fighting.
M130 Assault Rifle: When many weapons manufacturers and military branches were moving towards light, high capacity mass effect weaponry, the Alliance Marine Corps oversaw the development of the M130 to be the opposite. Large, heavy, and designed for use by armored soldiers, the M130 used a hybrid electromagnetic-chemical delivery system. Magazines were loaded with heavy scramjet smart ammunition and a small power cell. The Round would be fired from its cartridge by a small explosive charge in the casing, and then further accelerated by an electromagnetic railgun in the barrel. This propelled the round to 1900 meters per second and initiated the second stage scramjet when the round is 65 meters from the muzzle. The scramjet further increases the speed of the projectile to 2750 m/s. These rounds are also capable of limited self-correction due to their on board propulsion and have a limited lock on capability when paired with the on board computer of an EXO-15. These weapons are loved among soldiers and CQB and long-range variants have been made since its development and subsequent adoption by most Alliance frontline soldiers.
CAM Plating: Derived from active camouflage of the late 21st century, CAM plates came into their own when the use of laser weaponry became more commonplace. CAM plates can adjust their light absorption levels to either become invisible to the naked eye and light based sensors, or reflect the light poured into them away from the vessel safely. By utilizing the reflective setting, these plates were able to reflect laser beams with upwards of 98% efficiency. These formed one of the two layered defense on Alliance vessels, allowing them to go dark from all but gravity based sensors or to reflect directed energy weapons and minimize the damage they caused.
**A/N see Odyssey One series**
NICS (Neural Interface Control System): Developed in 2147 by Cybrex Research Institute, NICS allows for a human to directly wire their brain into a the shipboard computer, increasing performance by 75% across the board. The system is only available to around 10% of pilots and mech operators within the military due to technicalities with brain compatibility, but the elite squadrons that get NICS upgrades can function as well as two to three non-NICS squads. Currently, F205N, EXO-15N, and EXO-147N variants exist to accommodate for elite troops. All N7s are compatible with NICS either through natural means or by exorbitantly expensive implants and surgeries.
**A/N see Odyssey One series**
Transition Drive: The Transition Drive was developed in response to the lack of Element Zero available in the Sol system. The Transition drive works by "charging" the entire ship with Tachyons, causing the ship to essentially teleport instantaneously to a different location lightyears away. Limited in use due to the amount of tachyons required to move a massive space vessel, most Transition drives are implemented in conjunction with Mass Effect (ME) and Counter-Mass (CM) fields, which provide much of the in system thrust. The large size to tachyon generators has resulted on the practical lower size limit of transition vessels to be 200 meters. Vessels too small to contain a transition drive or transport vessels not wanting to sacrifice space for the large drive systems often hitch rides aboard Dune Transition Transport Vessels.
**A/N see Odyssey One series**
Counter Mass System: Much like the Mass Effect field, the Counter Mass (CM) field is capable of changing the mass of objects within the field relative to the rest of the universe. The drawbacks of the technology are the limits regarding the size of the object within the field and the power draw. The field decreases in effectiveness the larger an object; HVM missiles can have their mass changed by 96%, fighters by 84%, and the America class fleet carriers by 25%. The power draw difference is humungous as well, with three of the twelve reactors on the America being used solely for CM generation. For this reason, CM generators are often used to supplement Mass Effect drives for intrasystem use on large vessels while relying on transition drives for intersystem travel.
**A/N see Odyssey One series**
Alliance Navy
F205:
Dimensions (m): 22.0L – 24.7W – 5.2H
Powerplant: 1 - fighter antimatter reactor
FTL Method: CM-ME capable of 2C
Crew: 3
Armament: 1 - 20mm autocannon
2 – hydra missile pods
1 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser
Number Produced: 12,000
Information: Designed as a Multirole Space Fighter, it is more than capable of fighting in atmosphere due to its ample wing area. This is a side effect of pilots still not completely trusting the new mass reducing technologies and wanting a craft that could still glide to the ground if necessary. Its belly mounted autocannon fires depleted uranium rounds at 4000 rounds per minute, and its dual wing mounted missile pods can carry any standard alliance missile. The Mk4 laser is located on the top of the spaceframe and can destroy modern fighters and dealing serious damage to corvettes. Advanced versions of the craft, the F205N have been upgraded with the NICS system to improve pilot response times and increase performance.
**A/N see Imperial Eagle from Elite Dangerous**
Dune Class Transition Transport Vessel (TTV):
Dimensions(m): 10,000L – 2,500W – 2,500H
Powerplant: 15 – Battleship antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Crew: 3,000 – crew
500 – Airwing
Armament: 1,000 – Point Defense Batteries
50 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
Number Produced: 20
Information: Designed to transport large amounts of goods and non-transition spacecraft to worlds outside of the mass relay network, these ships were massive to carry the required cargo to its destination. Cylindrical in shape, cargo and vessels would dock inside the spacecraft for the transition jump. Unarmed, these beasts are used for civilian sector only despite being operated by the Alliance.
**A/N see Heighliner from Dune**
Enterprise Class Exploration Cruiser:
Dimensions(m): 600L – 150H – 170W
Powerplant: 3 – Cruiser antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 300 – crew
200 – researchers
20 – marines
Armament: 2 – Artemis Missile Batteries
2 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
6 – Point Defense Batteries
4 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
2 – Buran transport shuttles
Number Produced: 2
Information: Designed to be the spearhead of the second wave of exploration, these vessels were the top of the line. Carrying a research crew of 100, the ships are intended to open new mass relays to continue to search for alien life. It held two Buran transport shuttles and a few escort fighters. Lightly defended, the F205s were often used for scouting missions in addition to patrolling space around the vessel. Only two were produced to head up their respective task forces.
Stalingrad Class Corvette:
Dimensions(m): 200L – 60H – 100W
Powerplant: 1 – Cruiser antimatter reactor
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 80 – crew
20 – marines
Armament: 2 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
2 – Artemis Missile Batteries
3 – Point Defense Batteries
1 – Light Spinal Electromagnetic Railgun
Number Produced: 700
Information: Designed as a support vessel, and named after battles, the Stalingrad class packs quite a punch for its size thanks to its cruiser grade reactor. This allows for the implementation of both a spinal-mounted mass driver and two laser batteries. While it does have a small hanger bay for the deployment of ground vehicles, there was not enough space to add an F205 for support and scouting. There are plans for developing stealth variants of this corvette type for long duration scouting missions.
Munich Class Cruiser:
Dimensions(m): 700L – 190H – 300W
Powerplant: 3 – Cruiser antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 320 – crew
60 – airwing
100 – marines
Armament: 1 – Medium Spinal Electromagnetic Railgun
8 – Artemis Missile Batteries
4 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
18 – Point Defense Batteries
6 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
2 – Buran Transport Shuttles
Number Produced: 500
Information: Making up the bulk of the Alliance Navy, the Munich class cruiser was designed to support other ships in a fleet with its extensive point defense array. In addition to its role as defensive screen, the Munich came equipped with a large complement of missile batteries to engage the enemy from afar in space and planet side with different missile variants. It also carried a small complement of F205s to help with fighter defense and ground support roles. The spinally mounted railgun was capable of engaging other vessels of similar size when they got close enough, and the ships carried a small complement of marines that could be deployed via the Buran transport shuttles.
Tokyo Class Battlecruiser:
Dimensions(m): 950L – 300H – 450W
Powerplant: 5 – Cruiser antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 530 – crew
150 – airwing
150 – marines
Armament: 2 – Medium Spinal Electromagnetic Railgun
12 – Artemis Missile Batteries
12 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
15 – Point Defense Batteries
20 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
2 – Buran Transport Shuttles
Number Produced: 250
Information: In essence, this ship is an upscaled Munich class cruiser with heavier armor and weaponry. Where the Munich class was intended to fill a larger support role, the Tokyo was designed as a frontline vessel. Sporting two spinal railguns and twice as many laser and missile batteries and benefitting from more reactor power, Tokyo class ships could deal over twice the amount of damage of a Munich. It also had a larger hanger bay that allowed for two flights of F205s. Some of these vessels are undergoing retrofits to fulfil a light carrier role with additional hanger bays added at the cost of some of the offensive weaponry available to the ship.
Everest Class Battleship:
Dimensions(m): 1,600L – 400H – 600W
Powerplant: 2 – Battleship antimatter reactors
1 – Cruiser antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 860 – crew
420 – airwing
500 – marines
Armament: 1 – Large Spinal Electromagnetic Railgun
1 – Medium Spinal Electromagnetic Railgun
22 – Artemis Missile Batteries
18 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
32 – Point Defense Batteries
52 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
6 – Buran Transport Shuttles
Number Produced: 30
Information: The largest class produced by the Alliance to use railguns as primary weapons, the Everest class is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Equipped with both a medium and large electromagnetic railgun in addition to 40 laser and missile batteries, these ships rival the firepower of entire wet navies on Earth. These ships also carry four flights of F205s to complete scouting missions and protect the vessel from enemy fighters that make it past the extensive point defense array. It carries a large complement of marines as well, able to deploy to a planet's surface from the multiple Buran shuttles carried in the hanger bays.
Bismarck Class Carrier:
Dimensions(m): 2,400L – 600H – 1,200W
Powerplant: 4 – Battleship antimatter reactors
1 – Cruiser antimatter reactor
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 1,840 – crew
2,230 – airwing
2,500 – marines
Armament: 2 – Medium Spinal Electromagnetic Railguns
20 – Artemis Missile Batteries
20 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
96 – Point Defense Batteries
570 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
30 – Buran Transport Shuttles
4 – Stalingrad Class Corvettes
Number Produced: 22
Information: The Bismarck Class carriers are the mainstay supercarriers of the Alliance, capable of fielding hundreds of fighters and even four Stalingrad corvettes. The corvettes were each held in their own internal docking bays and acted as additional force multipliers for the carrier. While not being designed for frontline combat, the carrier boasted two cruiser sized railguns that could engage approaching vessels. 50 flights of F205s could be launched from the carrier from a total of 8 flight decks in under half an hour, and landed within one hour. The general loadout was 35 flights of anti-fighter F205s and 15 flights of anti-capital F205s for space engagements. These vessels also carried ground vehicles, prefabricated bases, and a complement of marines for securing a landing zone on a planet. Bismarck class carriers contained some fabricators as well, allowing for the vessels to operate indefinitely away from supply and replenish its ammunition stores.
America Class Fleet Carrier:
Dimensions(m): 5,010L – 1,510H – 2,010W
Powerplant: 10 – Battleship antimatter reactors
FTL Method: CM-ME + Transition (instant)
Complement: 5210 – crew
400 – researchers
6340 – airwing
5250 – marines
5000 – army soldiers
Armament: 2 – Large Spinal Electromagnetic Railguns
4 – Medium Broadside Electromagnetic Railguns
75 – Artemis Missile Batteries
75 – Mk4 Adaptive Laser Batteries
256 – Point Defense Batteries
1200 – F205 Space Multirole Fighter
70 – Buran Transport Shuttles
10 – Stalingrad Class Corvettes
2 – Munich Class Cruisers
Number Produced: 5
Information: The America Class fleet carrier is the pinnacle of human engineering capability. Stretching over five kilometers long and over two kilometers wide, these ships were space-borne cities with a full complement of over 20,000 individuals serving aboard them. These vessels serve as the flagships of each of the five Alliance fleets. It boasts 150 missile and laser batteries in addition to a massive point defense screen, and has a battleship railgun mounted spinally. It also has 2 cruiser sized railguns per broadside allowing it powerful fire capabilities from three directions. Improving on the carrying capacity of the Bismarck, the America is capable of bringing 1,200 fighters to bear on enemy fleets, along with its own self-contained escort fleet of 10 Stalingrad corvettes and 2 Munich cruisers. The ships also allow for the deployment of planetary invasion forces with 10,000 combat ready soldiers on board. The fabrication capabilities of the Bismarck have been improved with the America, which is able to produce F205s and ground vehicles in addition to ammunition as long as there are ample asteroid-mined resources. Immensely powerful in combat capabilities, America class ships are equally immense in price, with only five planned and constructed.
Systems Alliance
Population: 15 billion humans, 500 million AI
Government: Legislative senate elected by citizens on planets, 5 per planet. The Director of the Systems Alliance serves as the head of state and is elected for 10 year terms.
Notable Settlements: Earth, Mars, Elysium, Daedalus, Arcturus Station, Eden Prime, Gaia, New Quebec
Technology: Out of line with Mass Effect technology. While utilizing mass effect technology to improve the capabilities of space vessels and weaponry, the lack of Element Zero in the Sol system caused a divergent technology path relying on electromagnetic railguns, directed energy weapons, chemical projectiles, and transition FTL drives make up the core of military and civilian technology. Artificial Intelligences are present in most facets of life, either living entirely on a server in a business or ship, or living in society with humans and utilizing a bipedal body. All Alliance ships and armor feature some form of Mass Effect powered kinetic shielding, and ships are protected additionally with CAM plating and thick Titanium alloy armor.
Military:
Navy 800,000 personnel serving aboard combat vessels
2,000,000 personnel serving aboard logistic vessels
8,000,000 personnel serving in other roles
Combat Vessels: 1,507
Logistics Vessels: 5,000
Army 25,000,000 active duty personnel
75,000,000 reserve personnel
Marines 500,000 personnel serving in combat roles
1,000,000 reserve personnel
Munitions: The Alliance utilizes many different munitions for their war machine, many of which come in variations of Artemis system missiles. The Artemis missile system allows for any missile of a standardized size to be loaded and launched from modular missile batteries. The main missile used by the Alliance is the Artemis High Velocity Missile (HVM), which is a slab of metal with a motor and a small CM generator. The missile gets launched with a small electromagnetic railgun in the launcher and activates its motor and CM generator a safe distance from the vessel, reducing its effective mass to 4% its normal value and accelerating it to 0.75C. Just before it impacted an enemy vessel, sensors on the HVM reversed the CM field, increasing the mass of the missile right before impact to deliver a much more potent payload. In addition to HVMs, the Artemis system also carried high explosive (HE), flak, swarmer, and bunker buster missiles for more specialized targets. Some of the larger Alliance vessels also carried nuclear ordnance on board, allowing for EMP blasts and, potentially, planetary nuclear bombardment.
Scramjet rounds were also used in the M130 Assault Rifle, allowing for limited course correction in flight and faster impact for the depleted uranium rounds. The scramjets would engage shortly after the bullet left the barrel and propel the round to 2750 m/s. Combing the scramjet with a small course correction computer on board the round allowed for any near miss to be a bullseye, greatly increasing the damage dealt by soldiers using these rounds.
AIs: AIs were common in the military, with ships over a cruiser in size requiring multiple AIs to function properly. Shipboard AIs had ambulatory bodies that they could use to move about with the crew, but many chose to remain within the ship's systems to do their job most effectively all the time. AIs were also capable of fighting in the ground forces, either in the Marines or in the Army, but were required to disable their backups when doing so to force a sense of self-preservation onto all soldiers equally. Military AIs were given top of the line bodies backups that they were allowed to keep after their service was over. All in all, AIs made up 10% of all service personnel in the Alliance military in no small part to the perks of enlisting.
Land Vehicles: The Alliance military boosts the most advanced hardware in human history, with the T-152 Main Battle Tank and the M35 Aardvark APC. The T-152 was armed with a 152mm railgun and a coaxial machine gun, while the M35 was armed with a smaller 40mm railgun autocannon and a pintle mounted machine gun. The M35 was also capable of carrying a squad of soldiers into battle and providing them with medium fire support in engagements. The Alliance had other numerous non-armed transports for the mass mobilization of its soldiers once a frontline was secured.
Alliance Shipyards and Fleets: While the Alliance is not afraid to use the mass relay network for its fast speed, immense travel distances, and low energy cost, much Alliance infrastructure is located outside of the relay network for security reasons. The shipyards at Daedalus and Mars are the largest, each having produced around 40% of the total combat ships in the Alliance. Other shipyards at industrial worlds or at Arcturus filled in the rest, and civilian contractors often built many of the logistical ships at private shipyards. Arcturus, in addition to having a capability for producing ships, has the largest repair dock in Alliance space, capable of holding an entire fleet for repairs or refits.
The Alliance Navy is split into five fleets, each of which is headed up by a fleet carrier. All of the fleets have home dockyards that allow for reduced maintenance costs during peacetime, when only two of the fleets are active at a time. The five fleets have a relatively consistent makeup, and will send out task forces of ships that ae best suited for the mission at hand when the full fleet is not needed. Each fleet consists of:
140 – Stalingrad corvettes
100 – Munich cruisers
50 – Tokyo battlecruisers
6 – Everest battleships
4 – Bismarck carriers
1 – America fleet carrier
And the logistical and support craft needed to supply the fleet.
The fleets are stationed as follows:
First fleet in the Sol system above Mars
Second Fleet in Arcturus as rapid response force
Third Fleet in the Icarus system above Daedalus
Fourth Fleet in the Utu system above Gaia, frequently off duty
Fifth Fleet above Luna in the Sol system, frequently off duty.
Each fleet is additionally subdivided into two carrier battlegroups, which can act independently as needed and bring the total number of systems the Alliance can have a reasonable presence in up to 10. The Alliance also crews two exploration fleets headed by Enterprise class exploration cruisers and accompanied by a Bismarck class carrier and two Munich class cruisers.
Alliance Defensive Policy:
Alliance defensive policy followed the tenets of Sun Tzu, where "he who tried to defend everything defends nothing." In doing so, only token garrison forces are left on each world, with exceptions being Daedalus, the main military stronghold of the Alliance, Earth, which still has nation states wielding separate military forces, and New Quebec, which had revolted from Alliance rule in the recent past. These token forces were left to police the planet and its local space, and to delay any invading force through the use of guerrilla tactics long enough for a relief force to be sent. The Alliance also left a small force of corvettes to each planet so that they could police their space.
The Second Fleet is the Alliance's rapid response force, and can be called into action within 24 hours of a call for aid being sent out. The First Fleet would be ready in around 72 hours, and the Third Fleet in 96 hours. The Fourth and Fifth Fleet are on a much lower standby level, eack taking 1-2 weeks to be ready for action without prior notice.
Alliance planets also relied on orbital defense platforms, with a small defensive grid being placed above any developed colony. The defensive platforms, not requiring movement, did not feature the expensive and space consuming Transition drive and put the extra space to use by adding more missile and laser banks. While powerful, these defensive positions can be overwhelmed easily before the grid is fully deployed, and are still not infallible after full grid deployment.