Mass Effect: Reborn Alliance

Disclaimer: I don't have connections to Blizzard and Bioware, so don't bring it up…

Prologue

First Contact, First Blood

…

Captain Daniel Ryan looked out into space on the Terran Commonwealth Claymore-Class Destroyer Born into Light as it and it's fellow ships moved through the black of space on it's current recon and research mission. Systems Alliance High Command had dispatched his small fleet to do examinations on a recently discovered space relic. The relic was found by a prospector vessel operating under the flag of the Dwarven Kingdoms looking for rich mining asteroids to be hauled back for mining and processing. The head of the vessel decided to tag the device with a locator beacon, scanned it and ordered to pull back and report it to the nearest Alliance outpost.

That was why they were here to escort the science vessels sent to study the artifact and determine what it was, and what it was used for. His small but well armed fleet consisted of not only his Destroyer but two other Destroyers of the same Claymore Class, the Dawn of Hope and the Iron Star, six Dirk-Class Frigates, the Shining Eye, the Wandering Soul, the Savannah, the Valiance, the Black Spire, and the Steadfast Will, and the last was the special Chokuto-Class stealth Corvette the Shadow Spear that was there to gather more data.

There with them were three science vessels of the Sage Class filled with a mixed number of scientists as well as some mages, druids, shamans, and priests. The scientists naturally were to determine the kind of technology that made it work, and the magic wielders were there to see if it had components that responded to magic as well. And they were the escorts to make sure that whatever it was could not become a hazard to the Systems Alliance, or be used by the Legion.

They had just dropped out of the Stellar Portals that their ships' Stellar Portal Generators had made and were now flying in formation to keep an eye on the three ships, all filled with at least two hundred each of all the races of the Systems Alliance. He walked back to his captain's console while checking his Systems Alliance Captain's uniform and looked over the data that was sent to him to make sure that he had all the details right.

So far the reports showed nothing that indicated that the relic was some Burning Legion construct, and after seeing the images, Daniel had to agree. The device looked like a massive tuning fork that had a glowing sphere and two odd looking rings that have not been seen moving when it was found.

The Legion never built anything like this according to the records that they all knew of, which was constantly updated and if they did, then they would know about it. But one thing Daniel, hell just about everyone from the highest ranking politician to even the poorest of the poor in the Alliance knew of the Legion, is that the demonic bastards and their willing thralls were anything but predictable. That was why they were going in full shields on and weapons primed and ready yet on safety. If this turned out to be a Legion trap, then they were going to fight their way out and then come back with a Fleet and figure out how to reduce that floating thing to scrap.

And if it was not bait in a Legion trap, well they were going to find out who made it and why was it here of all places. He looked at the bridge crew, a veritable mixed bag of the races of the Systems Alliance and all of them were his crew. Even if the ships of his little flotilla were manufactured by the Terran Commonwealth and owned by the Terran Commonwealth Space Borne Navy, they had a mixed crew and so far they were all in very good spirits. The ones who did have some difficulty compared to the other races in working on ships made by his people, were the Night Elves. This was understandable since they were so used to their ships that were built using Bio-technology that being in a ship that did not a more natural feel and look was disconcerting to them.

But many adjusted and those who did not were usually allowed to take special acclimatization training to be used to being in ships like this one.

He turned to one of the Worgen navigators and spoke.

"Ensign Sangar, how soon are we to approach the relic marked by the mining beacon?"

The Worgen spoke next, the bestial growl mixed with intelligence speech.

"We will be approaching visual range of the artifact in about twenty minutes Captain."

"Good, any sign of Legion energy and hull signatures?"

"None at the moment Captain, all our ship's scanners are picking up is just background radiation from the celestial bodies thus far."

The captain turned to the High Elf weapons officer, Kalthien Sunspear and spoke to him.

'Weapon and shield status?"

"Shields are all green across the board Captain and ready for possible attack, and all weapon systems are on standby, ready to be unlocked on your order."

Daniel nodded and turned to speak to his ship's weapons officer, but quickly stopped to look at the communications officer with a brief look of surprise. And there was a very good reason as she was currently sleeping on her station. Varla Moonleaf in her black and olive green Night Elf officer's uniform was currently resting on her chair and sleeping a bit.

"Varla…hey, can you wake up?"

The purple skinned and teal haired woman stirred a bit more and opened her eyes and then she gave a yawn. Realization came to the woman and gave a look of apology to the human captain and spoke in a tone of respect though affected somewhat by her recent nap.

"I am sorry Captain, I just dozed off suddenly."

Daniel sighed a bit in amused exasperation at the tall woman who was one of his long time communications officers. At the height of 6'2, he was tall, but Varla Moonleaf was about 6'8 so was taller than he was. Then again, Night Elf women were always known to be tall and while definitely beautiful they were recognized as being very capable fighters and more than willing to fight in the front lines. He and Varla had been part of the Born Into Light for over four years now and they were good friends. And despite what some rumors stated way back, she was not his wife since Varla was already married to Tarrek Starscythe, one of the Night Elf Sentinels stationed on one of the Garden worlds owned by the Night Elf Nation. Tarrek was a good man and happened to be on good terms with Daniel's brother Marcus who was a Commonwealth Marine so they pretty much treated each other like brothers, though Marcus and Tarrek joked about him being a swabbie.

He then looked at the Night Elf woman's reason for dozing on the job…a growing belly and the sign of pregnancy.

"Just how many more months do we have to get through before we get to have a new little one brought into the world Varla?"

She smiled at that.

"Three more, you know how it is Captain."

"You know, you could just file for maternity leave right? I can easily have someone take over your comm-station, and besides you and Tarrek need to have some time to play catch up."

Varla laughed at that and replied.

"I already have actually, once we get back to port, I'll be taking a flight back home and get read for the birth, Mother and Father are ecstatic to finally have grand children to spoil."

The Terran raised an eyebrow at that.

"Grand Children? You have twins?"

"Yes, the Druids confirmed it, both healthy baby girls."

Daniel laughed warmly at that, but any other attempt at conversation was cut short when the ship board A.I came out from the holo-pillar nearby. The A.I was shaped to resemble a Paladin wielding a War-hammer and a Tower Shield. The Systems Alliance used A.I due to A.I being very common in the Terran Commonwealth and also with the Gnomish Combine, and the Dwarven Kingdoms and due to their focus on technology as well as magic. There also existed variants of A.I in the Night Elf Nation, the Draenai Federation, the High Elf Empire, and the Worgen Clans though they were not as unique and sophisticated as that of the three mentioned races. A.I were used in a number of areas, both in civilian and military and supported their organic counterparts with the best of their functionality.

And in the Wars fought against the Legion, their aid had helped turn the side and hold the line, thus they were considered very much part of the Systems Alliance. Tyr as everyone knew the A.I's designation to be was the Born into Light's official A.I the day the ship came out and was technically the soul of the ship.

"I am sorry to interrupt this conversation Captain Ryan, but we are about to approach the relic and the beacon."

And sure enough the relic came into sight of the Systems Alliance ships and they were able to see the Alliance Beacon left by the Dwarven prospector vessel

The atmosphere quickly became professional as the fleet moved in a fair distance from the relic as Daniel turned to his ship's science officer, Dornak Copperbolt of the Gnomish Combine. The copper haired Gnome was himself looking at the artifact intensely and already Daniel could see the scientific gleam in the eyes.

"Dorn, what are we looking at here?"

"I have to say that what the scanners pick up is definitely new, the materials don't have any connection to the Alliance's known list of metals and alloys Captain. Even those that the Legion favor are not present."

"No Fel Iron or Fel Steel?"

"Negative sir."

He turned to his ship's Magic specialist, A powerful female Human Mage name Miranda Constantine, a graduate of the Kirin Tor Mage Academy on Andras Prime.

"Can you sense anything in the immediate area that can indicate Legion presence?"

"Negative Captain, no sign of any stellar portal formation that is coated with Fel Energy."

Daniel turned to Varla who was running her hands on the console before her while tapping the small comm.-link up on her right ear. Any trace of sleepiness gone from her eyes as she listened to the reports from the other ship, She looked at Daniel and nodded.

"The others confirm it, I am also linked to the rest of the science vessel's captains, they are requesting permission to head over to the artifact and begin scanning it."

Daniel nodded and Varla sent the confirmation commands. The crew watched as the science vessels moved away. While all Systems Alliance ships were able to carry their own crews dedicated to science and magic, they were usually relegated to the ship classes. Thus Combat ships had their science and magic officers focusing on combat oriented roles. The science vessels however were more suited for that and thus they were to keep back and protect the science vessels.

Daniel turned to the still present A.I and spoke to it.

"Tyr, what is the current status of the ship's core systems as well as cyber-warfare and ECM suites?"

"All systems of stated nature are on full operational parameters Captain, I am also ready to do my part should we have encounters with the Legion. I am also working on preparing our data archives on this."

Daniel nodded and watched as the science vessels approached the artifact, but suddenly the image of the relic was altered as the rings in the tuning fork like relic suddenly began to move. He looked at the image as the crew also tensed up but at least did nothing as he gave them no orders to follow through. It seemed to be merely powering up and since no alarms came up, the crew began to relax slightly.

Varla turned and spoke to Daniel.

"Captain, head scientist Nathan Greer is requesting permission to launch a scanner probe into the relic to see the results."

Daniel weighed his options and after some time nodded.

"All right, tell him he has the green light to launch the probe, but I want all combat ships to ready systems and scanners. Whatever happens, the last thing I want is to be caught with our pants down."

All the crew nodded as Varla sent the confirmation to the head scientist, and soon a probe was sent out and already the scientists were activating the recording devices. The images coming in showed the probe, about the size of a small asteroid filled with scanners, decryption systems, sensors, and recorders of both magical technological nature coming closer to the relic. Suddenly the relic powered up even more and strange blue field of glowing energy caught the probe. Before anyone could react, the probe was gone in what one could call a tube of light.

Daniel's thought was the same as everyone.

(Where did the probe go?)

…

The Systems Alliance crew on the Terran Commonwealth ships had no idea that this was going to open them to a brand new world. A world filled with promise, opportunity, and dangers.

…

On the other side…

Captain Aldar Vrynexx of the Turian Hierarchy was pretty much bored out of his mind as he and his fleet comprising of at least eight cruisers, and fourteen Frigates moved through space. They had been tasked to patrol the area for any possible pirate or criminal activity, but so far all he and his crew were doing was wasting away in boredom. He was currently near what intelligence reports stated was a dormant relay, named Relay 314. So far there had been nothing that was worth doing lately and the hot blooded Turian Captain was eager to find something else to do.

(By the Spirits, I need to do something productive around here!)

The fleet might be big but there had been reports of heavy pirate activity in the area and this is the reason that the Turian Hierarchy Fleet Command had increased the number of ships per patrol Fleet. This was a still very much untamed sector of space and if there was a Relay in the area, then the pirate could use it to go to worlds that could serve as anchorage sites and more besides. It would not be as well defended as the infamous Pirate base Tortuga and the infamous Batarian held moon base Torfan where slaver activity was much higher, but since the area was not in the Terminus Systems, pirates in this location could not be choosy.

However, he doubted that they would be crazy enough to try powering up a Relay on their own without some data on where the other Relay is and what could be on the other side. Even the most rabid of pirate leaders would think twice about activating a dormant Relay without some information about it. The reason could only be summed up in one word…Rachni.

The now extinct Rachni was the reason the Citadel had an iron clad law that no dormant Relay be activated without proper authority from the Citadel Council and anyone attempting to break this law was going to be punished. It was a good law and in hindsight still was since there was no way the Council would want a replay of the brutality of the Rachni war and how many lives were lost in it.

It also was the reason that the Krogan were brought up from Tuchanka in the Aralahk System, they were the only ones who could handle the extremely toxic lands owned by the Rachni. Early attempts to make peaceful contact with the Rachni always failed since the planets they lived in were too toxic and suited their ambush abilities, acid/toxin attacks, and Biotics considerably. Only the Krogan could do the dirty work and eventually they were honored for it once the Rachni were dealt with.

But in turn…their overaggressive nature took over and then there was the Krogan Rebellions and that brought the Council, the Asari and the Salarians to meet up with them. Aldar never fought in the wars of course, but had heard all the stories of Krogan brutality and their willingness to use WMDs on civilian locations. The fact that they had willingly dropped asteroids on Turian colonies was more than enough to anger many, including Aldar's grand father and father, both of whom lost many of their own families in the war with Aldar being the only survivor of his family line alongside his sister and younger brother, thus Aldar had nothing but contempt for the Krogan, and was among those who had no problem with the use of the Genophage to end the war.

He decided to grab a drink and help relax to get rid of his boredom when one of his officers quickly spoke.

"Captain! I am picking up a sudden surge of power!"

Instantly Aldar was on alert and he was not the only one as the officers under his command in the CIC were now on alert. The Turian Captain quickly got to position and soon he was able to see the image of the Relay. Sure enough something was happening and soon the Relay that was once dormant…became active.

"What in the name of the Spirits just happned?!"

"Sir…if I am reading this right…the Relay was activated."

Aldar ran the scenarios through his head, he knew that no one was given the order to activate the relay and right now he was very much wary as this could mean a brand new invasion. Before he could say any new orders, the Relay released some sort of device and after scanning it the bridge crew along with Aldar guessed that it was a probe, an indication that the ones who active the Relay were the space faring kind.

Aldar mentally weighed his options, and after trying to find out just what was the next move he made his decision. he ordered his fleet to prepare for combat if the senders of the probe proved hostile and thus had to be dealt with. He also reminded them of Council Law that as Turians they had to uphold by all means, and thus they were going through the Relay. Soon the whole Turian fleet moved into formation and soon appeared through the Relay on the other side...right in front of the Alliance Fleet.

…

Current time...

Aldar looked at the ships before him, the fleet of these newcomers were certainly different from the ships that he had seen for a very long time. The biggest ships were long to look at and were similar to what would describe as a sword and had strange turrets on the side and front with other strange areas that could be a variety of things. He could not help but feel that these ships were definitely warships. The same could be said for the smaller ships as they were shaped like daggers which he guessed could be Frigates.

He turned his attention to the three other ships that were near the Relay, no doubt they were the ones who had activated the Relay. He turned to one of his crew running scans and spoke to him.

"What can you read from them?"

"They're obviously different from all known ship designs on record sir and thus we can consider this pretty much First Contact. Judging by the number of ships they apparently appear to be a small flotilla as we outnumber them. And for some reason they appear to have no signs of…what…that can't be right…"

"Of what?"

Aldar did not like the way the bridge crew member left that sentence hanging. The crew member turned to him and replied.

"Sir…this might sound wrong…and by all rights it should be. But according to my scanners, not a single one of these ships before us have E-zero in them…not even a sliver of either raw or refined E-zero."

That got the attention of everyone very quickly. One of the Turians commented very quickly at that as his facial expressions showed that he was not only shocked by that, but also full of disbelief at it. And he had good reason as well, as all known races relied on the element for just about everything technological. Their weapons, ships, armor, everything military or civilian related ran on E-zero, even more so with the Relays. Sure it was possible for technology to function without E-zero, but for ships of that size to move around without it? That was something else entirely and this could mean that perhaps they were dealing with a new species who were using technology that could be quite helpful.

Aldar however was taking this discovery quite differently and his next course of action was going to show just what had possessed the Turian's mind.

…

Daniel looked at the alien ships and quickly turned to Varla as he had no idea just what happened, it had only been moments since the probe vanished...and now a whole fleet of unknown ships had just arrived from the other side. This was certainly something that none of them expected and now he had to be prepared for the best or the worst, though he hoped for the former than the latter.

"Varla, get in contact with the Shadow Spear and have Captain Tysha Starsword contact me now."

Varla nodded and soon the nearby screen showed the leader of the Corvette. Tysha was also a female Night Elf but she was not a full Navy captain. She was a member of SAI Branch 6. Systems Alliance Intelligence served as the overall intelligence division of the Alliance. There were at least six branches in the SAI, the first were Branch 0, dedicated solely as internal security for the organization against all threats, regular and demonic.

Branch 1 was dedicated to the study of reports from all sources and how the data can be used.

Branch 2 was dedicated to the supplies and logistics needs of the organization and it's agents both in Alliance space and in the field.

Branch 3 dealt with dealing with any recovered technology and data from other races that had no ties to the Legion and they were also tasked with accessing any Titan database, technology, and more.

Branch 4 dealt with the development of new spells, improvements for all spell branches as well researching means to counteract Legion spells and to remove any damage done to Alliance held worlds.

Branch 5 dealt with the technological aspect, namely in the development of new technology made by the various races of the Systems Alliance, improvement of older but reliable tech, as well as the containment and disposal of all Legion technology and relics due to the corruptive nature of the technology.

Tysha was not part of any of the mentioned branches, she was a member of Branch 6. Members of Branch 6 had to be highly skilled in espionage, counter intelligence, field combat, field interrogation, subject capture, and a few other skills that made them chosen for gathering field intelligence. In simple terms, they were the on the field spooks as it were and were not afraid to fight in the front lines when they had to. That meant that they were the ones who used a more practical application method of the other Branch's data.

Tysha was as attractive as ant female Night Elf but was a skilled fighter and was also one of the more skilled members of Branch 6. She had a slightly darker skin tone that Varla and had her hair cut short to her shoulders with only a long braid on the back. She nodded to Daniel and spoke to the Terran captain.

"Captain Daniel, what can I do for you?"

"Does SAI have any record of those ships?"

"Negative Captain, no records thus far, and right now my agents are recording anything we can of the vessels to send back to SAI High Directorate. So far though they have not done anything hostile, though that can change in a heart beat."

Daniel nodded but that was when Kaltien shouted.

"Captain! Ships are moving at a formation suited for attack!"

Both of them were shocked as Varla cut the contact and Daniel rushed to see what was going on.

"Tyr! Tell me their target coordinates!"

"Already have Captain! They are targeting the science vessels!"

…

Earlier…

Aldar looked at the view screen and the large ships that were near the Relay were targeted by his crew and that of the other cruisers. These new upstarts had to be punished by them for breaking Council Law as it was not something that could be ignored. Never mind the fact that there was a part of him that was eager to not only get rid of his boredom, but to possibly have a new client race brought to the side of the Hierarchy and their technology could prove to be very much worth the risk of skirting the authority of the Council and even some of the moderates in the Hierarchy.

One of his officers, a young Turian comm. Officer spoke to him when he gave the order to arm weapons and open fire on the alien vessels.

"Sir, are you sure this is wise?"

"Care to explain your statement?"

"Sir, this is clearly a First Contact scenario, and no doubt they are unaware of the Council law forbidding the activation of dormant Relays. Shouldn't it be more prudent to contact them, inform them of the law and contact the Council?"

Aldar growled mentally to himself, as the young Turian was right in that regard. Council law dictated that First Contact had to be done with diplomacy first to avoid incidents that could result in conflict. But he had other plans, and he was not going to let them be derailed now. The mess could be sorted out later, but to him, the law still stands even if the new comers had no knowledge of it.

"Regardless of their reasons, these new comers have activated a dormant Relay against Council Law, they have to be punished for that transgression."

The Comm. Officer was shocked by that statement and he spoke out on that.

"Sir! You can't seriously mean to open fire on them!"

"I do, they are law breakers and they have to be shown that laws like the one dealing with dormant relays, are NOT to be broken!"

"Sir!"

"Stand down and do it! Or I shall have you removed!"

The Comm. Officer looked for someone to step up and stop this before it became something that no one could control. Seeing that not everyone supported him, he finally gave up for now and hoped that when the time came, he could explain the truth to all, though he doubted that Aldar would agree to it.

'By the Spirits, please let my silence be forgiven.'

And with that done, the order was given and soon the Turians watched as their ships' weapons were unleashed on the unknown ships before them. The rounds were fired and the ships were consumed by hell fire as their hulls were crushed and fire soon erupted to consume the ships. The young officer shook his head at the sight and looked at Aldar with disdain as he gave a Turian smile.

(Spirits damn you if this comes back to bite us in the gizzards!)

…

The moment the science vessels were destroyed…

Daniel was shocked and outraged at the barbarity before him! The science vessels were not armed with either military grade armor plating or shields and were already broadcasting their IFF tags to show that they were unarmed and non-combat vessels with a non-combatant crew. They didn't even have a rock throw out the damned window! Yet the unknown ships willingly open fired on them! Over six hundred non-combatants were killed by these new aliens! The Terran growled as he turned to Kaltien who nodded as the High Elf quickly typed into the command systems as Daniel spoke to the PA systems.

"This is Captain Daniel Ryan to all Systems Alliance ships! Unknown aliens have proven hostile! Power up weapon banks and increase shield strength! Burn them out of the stars!"

Crews quickly went into lightning fast action as weapons that had been put on standby to avoid a diplomatic misunderstanding were now being unlocked and primed for battle. As for the crew, they quickly got their combat armor on. This was accomplished when the belts worn by the officers glowed and out of nowhere, armor quickly began to come out in sections and begin to encase the officers in futuristic yet medieval looking armor. This was done to make sure that all ship personnel on the bridge did not have to rush into the armory to get suited up for battle, unlike the Marines who had to head to the Armory to suit up. Only Varla did not have her own suit of armor due to her pregnancy and this worried Daniel as he looked at her.

Varla however nodded that she would be all right and would be ready for anything. Even if she was already due to have her children, the Night Elf would not shrink from her duties and help her fellow Alliance brothers and sisters to the end.

Daniel nodded and vowed silently to make sure that the unknown aliens paid for their transgressions. He turned to Tyr and spoke to the A.I

"Tyr! Link up to your fellow A.I and being sharing combat data as we engage, record all that you can and prepare for combat. I also want to disable their targeting systems and any other system that you and your fellow A.I can hack and get me data on who the hell they are! Take out one of the ships as well so we can find out what we can!"

"Aye Captain, linking up with my fellow A.I now, link complete!"

"Kaltien! Aim for the first ship and fire our Inferno Laser Turret Batteries."

"Already on it Captain!"

…

In the barracks of the destroyers and Frigates as well as the Corvette, the Systems Alliance military personnel got their armor on and gathered their weapons.

The Terran Commonwealth Marines donned their Powered Assault Armor with some carrying the EXO-Folding Shields on their forearms and were carrying the standard XM10- Gauss Assault Carbines which was one of the standard Assault Carbines of the Terran Commonwealth that did not use energy based attacks. Apart from those they also had other weapons namely the M2019 Gauss Tactical Combat Shotguns, FNR-90 Gauss SMGs, and M20-D Beretta Gauss Pistols. Those were for ranged warfare but for close combat, they carried their standard Mark-III Disruptor Swords in the forms of old fashioned Long-swords, Bastard Swords, Gladius, and Broadswords from Earth's rich past as well as their trademark Combat Knives in sheaths for quick use.

The Night Elves donned now in their armor of choice hit the switch and soon the armor's full sealing of bio-tech treated mail came alive and covered the exposed areas of their bodies while activating their deep space life support functions as well as the armor plating for protection in battle. Once that was complete, they also took their Beam Glaive Swords, tested them for functionality and reliability in moments and placed them at the ready while taking out their Plasma Bows. The bows quickly scanned their owners' DNA and activated their internal power mechanisms and soon plasma contained in a magnetic field appeared in place of the bowstring on the weapon. The Night Elves pulled on the plasma strings and soon an invisible magnetic shall is formed in the shape of an arrow and the plasma flowed into it. The bow created a special enforcement on the arrow to make the magnetic field stronger and cohesive. Thus the Plasma Arrows were formed, content that they weapons were prepared for war, the Night Elf Sentinels, female and male were ready for war.

The High Elves who served on the ships not only got their own Armor ready for battle but also took their Elven Longswords and strapped them on, their functionality similar to the Disruptor Swords favored by their Human allies. They soon took out their own Bows that mimicked the Night Elf Plasma Bows but instead relied on nano machines to create the arrows, reinforce them, imbue them, and create the magnetic fields to propel the arrows once they are fired from the specially made charging coil that served as the bowstrong and when they were ready, they soon trooped out to fight should the new enemies somehow board their ships, and if they could…they could respond in kind. They wanted to know just

The Worgen Clan Guard were now wearing their specially made morphing combat armor and placed their own Swords and Guns on them, ready to draw blood against their new found attackers. The Worgen Clan Guard were armed with their own share of weapons though they favored their people's Mark 6 'Lycan' Laser Assault Carbines and the nano-forged and laser sharpened Fang Swords or their own claws. All of them however were eager to rend and tear into their foes for this unwarranted attack on their people who were also part of the science expedition

The Dwarves, belonging to the Thunderpike Marine Corps of the Dwarven Kingdoms were also fully armed and armored, they made sure to check all of their weapons and got ready for the conflict as their famed extending Thunderpike Power Weapons were tested and set aside along with their Mark 5 'Screamer' Sonic Assault Rifles were also readied for war. Their armor was now sealing itself up and soon they were ready to fight in the ships and in deep space as their technology was more than able to handle the needs of warfare in space. They also make sure to run through their special tech equipment, medical supplies and tools for the operation of countering any attempts by the new aliens to board the ship. They also had their supplies and gear ready to attack and board the alien vessels.

The Gnomish Combine Marines did likewise and were all eager for war and ready to avenge the slaying of their kindred on the science expedition. Their own Armor soon sealed themselves up as they took to their positions to defend the ships they were on. Each of the Gnomish Combine Marines carried different weapons to be sure, but all of them were more than ready for a fight as guns, swords, daggers, spears, explosives, engineering tools, and more were checked and double checked. The Marines also made sure to do visual scans of each other's armor to be sure that all of their gear operated at the standard.

The Draenei Federation Marines were now carrying their own weapons, ready to fight as they all sealed their Armor and got ready to defend the ship they were all part of. They cradled their Crystalline Swords and Warhammers for battle as well as their Mark 4 'Dagger' Shard Assault Carbines and other weapons such as the Spiker Shotguns, SMGs, and more as the Mages and Priests were also making sure to check their suits' systems if everything was working well before they took part in the missions to come.

…

The Marines from all the races of the Systems Alliance were now ready for battle and so were the crews, all of them wore now their armor suits and prepared for the coming conflict. Systems Alliance Naval Warfare Protocol required all personnel to suit up for the possibility of them being hurled around and injured as well as the worst case scenario, vented into space due to damage to the ship.

More than once that has happened which was why all Alliance personnel had personal tracking beacons on their person as well as their Armor to ensure that they are not lost if they were not able to make it to functional escape pods. And these beacons were made to last and could only be detected by specially programmed scanners. The Legion were notorious for taking prisoners and subjecting them to horrors best not described at all so the Alliance made every effort to save their crews regardless of rank not merely to spare them this fate, but to make sure that their expertise and experience was not lost to the Alliance. This new race might not be Legion but there was no way any of the crew were going to take any chances.

…

The Turians already saw the ships moving in to engage them, while some had great misgivings about how this would turn out, others were in the same mindset as Aldar. They believed that their ships not only had the upper hand in numbers, but tech. The alien's ships from before were easily destroyed so these ships, despite their design being larger and thus built for warfare would be easy to dispatch. They also were told they did not have the use of Kinetic Barriers so this would not take too long for them to finish, even though others were still not sure that this was the wisest of ideas. But they were committed and thus nothing could be said about it now.

That proved to be a major flaw as the lead ship, suddenly unleashed not a mass accelerator round, but three bright blue lances of pure light…in other words…Directed Energy Weapons!

And one of the cruisers, unable to move in time was hit by the weapons fire of one of the Terran Commonwealth Destroyers. The very same ship that Daniel commanded was the shooter and it was able to strike it's first kill of the day.

…

Aldar could only gaze in shock as the bright blue lances of pure energy smashed into the Spear of Palaven and rip apart the ship from front to back! The Kinetic barriers did absolutely nothing to stop the blasts as the beams passed through the Cruiser and soon the Mass Effect Core exploded reducing the Cruiser in scrap with all hands lost. He turned to his weapons officer and shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

One of the weapons officers turned with the Turian look of shock and answered his Captain's question, but his voice was thick with shock.

"The…ship fired Lasers at us Captain!"

That stopped the others cold and Aldar was completely caught off guard as well. The idea of this race somehow creating a GARIAN with the level of range and power before anyone in the Citadel should be impossible! Only the Salarians had ever been known to utilize the most advanced GARDIAN Laser Batteries, but even they had NEVER developed Laser weapons that could be mounted as the primary armament of a ship of any class! Just who are these newcomers to somehow develop functional ranged Directed Energy Weapons?

As he watched one of his flotilla's ships die in an inferno, he ignored the reports that all hands were lost on that ship and focused on trying to take out the alien ships even after what he had witnessed. He hoped that they would be able to destroy some of the ships and also find out just what was the tech these aliens used. He was not going to turn back and run! The only time one saw a Turian's back was when the Turian was dead! And he was going to show these stubborn aliens just why the Turians were the military arm of the Citadel!

"Get to firing all we have! Take out their biggest ships! Their frigates can't possibly have the same kind of guns!"

That proved to be only half right…the Terran Commonwealth Frigates did not have the high powered laser turrets favored by their Destroyer counterparts. They had less powerful but more rapid firing versions as they moved to engage their own foes. The rapid firing lasers came out as a literal storm of light and soon several Turian Frigates were being cut apart as their Kinetic Barriers were useless against the SA Frigates' Fire-stream Laser Turrets as beams of energy lanced into them. The heat from the weapons were higher than that of the GARDIANs used by the Citadel races and soon several Turian Frigates were reduced to flaming ruins with a number of burning maws on the ships that were hit.

The Terran ships began to move in a mobile circular pattern at first and some dodged at an angle, and their turret weapon systems allowed them to bombard the Turians. This proved to be an effective move as the Turians had to move the entire ship in order to lock in their weapons on the Terran Commonwealth ships due to their main weapons being spinal mounted weapons. The next surprise for the Turians was when the ships of the Terran Commonwealth began to unleash fast moving high explosive missiles and space borne torpedoes en mass from the front of their ships and on the sides as well, forcing their GARDIANs to fight them off, and while some were destroyed, others got through. The Terran's however were not just limited to Laser Turrets as they also had smaller but faster firing Rail-gun turrets that unleashed a hailstorm of high powered projectiles at the Turians, smashing into their shields The combined assault of lasers, railgun rounds, torpedoes, and missiles were quick to devastate the Turian fleet as they still needed to lock in their guns by moving their ships.

Here the turret designs of the Terran Commonwealth ships were put to the fore as they began to maneuver while firing at the same time and thus striking an impressive ratio of hits. For every mass Accelerator round fired by the Turians, they got hit by at least three to four Missiles.

But that did not mean the Turians were totally helpless as their Cruisers unleashed their Mass Accelerators. The rounds were able to hit the ships before them and the shields held, however one of the Cruisers was able to move and fire the round in the Mass Accelerator to hit one of the smaller Frigates. The ship's shields took a serious hit and it seemed to stop. Aldar quickly ordered the other still functional ships to take down the damaged alien Frigate with combined Mass Accelerator fire and even Disruptor Torpedoes even if the range was not appropriate for the distance..

And soon the ship was taken down and the Turians scored their first kill of the day against the Terran Commonwealth Navy. They also managed to cripple another ship, namely one the Frigate types used by the new aliens with a combined amount of fire and it was no longer able to fight, but could no continue the attacks as one of the cruisers of the aliens moved to become a shield to it's smaller wounded kindred.

This did not stop the other Alliance vessels however as three Frigates suddenly ducked down and fired their laser batteries into the lower parts of two Cruisers and one actually rose upwards and was between both ships. But the Terran built ship unleashed it's weapons on both ships and was supported by the two other Frigates and another Cruiser came in to rake both ships with combined laser fire as the Frigate moved up and away from incoming fire.

Both Turian Cruisers, finally folded due to the weapons fire as they were literally blown in half. And the Alliance crews were more than ready to attack as they closed in and fire on the move on their attackers. The heavier Alliance ships were still unleashing their weapons fire and their internal cooling systems worked to vent out the excess heat for their weapons and recycle the remaining heat to convert it into power to be reused by the weapon systems and unleash more of their power on the attackers who were now being cut down by the Alliance vessels.

The once numerically superior Turians were now being reduced to a smaller number as the Systems Alliance ships moved their ships while their turrets continued to unleash more of their weapons, making the Turian ships move in order to lock in on them. The Frigates of the Turians had the advantage over their cruiser cousins in terms of agility and speed but they too had to aim their whole hulls to fire while the Alliance ships unleashed beams of fire on them. More of the Frigates were cut down and soon the cruisers of the Turians now sported massive hull breaches and heavy burn marks on several areas. One more cruiser was soon hit by a beam salvo from a Terran Commonwealth destroyer right in the area where the E-zero reactor was and soon the explosion reduced the ship into a burning ruin as it was shattered like a rotten egg.

…

Aldar could only watch as his fleet was now reduced to only a handful of ships, his own Cruiser already had a number of battle scars as sections of the ship were now blown apart, the areas blackened by the blasts of the laser weapons of the enemy ships. While some sections were sealed off to prevent the venting of the atmosphere in the ship's damaged areas, others were too damaged to be sealed off. And there were already reports that the lasers had killed large numbers of Marines and other key personnel in the areas that were either sealed off or were too damaged to be sealed off from the venting of the atmosphere.

He watched as yet another Cruiser known as the Pride of the Primarchs was gutted by another combined blasts of the lasers of the alien ships. And the Captain of the ship managed to order the ship's crew to escape. But the decision came too late as the lasers cut into the cruiser's Mass Effect Core and soon the ship was utterly destroyed. All that was left of the cruiser was a burning husk of ruined metal, ceramic, and more. He turned and the senior officer spoke to him.

"All hands on the Pride of the Primarchs…are lost Captain…no survivors."

Aldar could not help but shake a bit more as the young Comm officer he had previously looked down was dying nearby suddenly got up despite the fact that the medics was telling him to get down to be treated. The formerly compliant officer was somehow burning with fire in his eyes as he grabbed Aldar and shouted.

"Damn you!"

Aldar could only look at the Turian officer spat out his blood at his face as he spoke.

"You…you…bare faced bastard…you've killed us all…"

And soon enough the Turian dropped dead, his blood flowing out. He had been badly wounded when the ship barely survived a powerful explosion from the nearby station in the bridge. He had been treated by the medics but he did not listen to them, but only cared to listen to the others in the rest of the Flotilla.

Aldar looked at the now confirmed dead Comm. Officer and he could not help but feel that his last words were right on the mark. But he was not going to let this stop him. These aliens were deadly, but he was not going to let this chance to bring this race into the fold of the Hierarchy. He was going to make his decision be the right one and he quickly ordered the rest of the Fleet that was still functional to do what he was ordering them.

"This is Captain Aldar to all remaining Fleet Captains, we are pulling back! We will gain nothing by staying here and fighting these aliens the way we are now! I know that this decision will not be welcomed by you who have lost many of your crew to these law breakers. But I promise you that when we face them again, we will have the might of the whole Hierarchy with us! We will show these law breaking upstart race, as high tech as they are why we, the Turians are the Hammer and the Anvil, the sword and shield of not just the Hierarchy, but of all Citadel space!"

The ones who were on the side of the Turian officer nodded and soon the ships began to leave the area, even as several of their comrade ships were now destroyed. Soon they arrived at the Relay and left the area of space, leaving the burning ruins of their fellow Turian vessels, all except a few who were too slow to make it to the relay, leaving them at the mercy of the unknown aliens. But as some of the officers following Aldar looked at the images of the other vessels of their fleet that could not escape, they doubted that they were going to get mercy. But some of them were ready to come back and make them pay.

They had no idea that they were soon going to regret that decision.

…

With the Alliance Fleet…

Daniel looked at the now retreating alien ships without batting an eyelash as he got a report from Kalthien as the High Elf continued to operate his command console.

"Sir! We have target lock on one of the few operational enemy ships. The rest of the ships have just gone through that device and are no longer within the range of our weapons! The formation of the remaining ships match that of the rear guard, no doubt to cover the retreat of their fellows!"

"Understood! Ignore the ships that fled and focus on those still fighting! Open fire!"

The command was soon followed as another barrage of deep blue lasers tore through the target in question. Daniel watched grimly as the ship's super structure was now ruined and the ship was literally blown in half. He turned as Varla spoke to him as she was still keeping in contact with the rest of the ships in their fleet. That was when Tyr came in to make a report.

"Captain, My fellow A.I and myself have managed to take out of action of the hostile alien vessels before it can escape!"

"Good! Contact Tysha and give her the order to move in and secure that vessel! Once she and her crew have managed to connect to the ship, she is to have her marines board the ship and secure it as well as any survivors! It's high that we get to see just who has willingly spilled our forces' blood!"

"Already done Captain, Tysha and her SAI forces are already breaking through to secure the ship!"

"Good! All ships, maintain the assault, allow SAI to secure that ship!"

…

The Shadow Spearquickly moved in towards the now crippled ship and since it was a cloaked vessel, it was able to close the gap and then land the docking tube on the ship before anyone on the Turian vessel was the wiser. It was only when the docking tube smacked hard into the hull did the V.I on the ship warn the Turians on the now crippled vessel that they were about to be boarded.

This left the rest of the Alliance Fleet to slaughter the rest of the Turian forces who continued to fight, no doubt to prevent them from pursuing their fellows. Not that Daniel cared for that at the moment, his concern was to take out the combatants and have Tysha and her crew focus on the task of securing the neutralized Turian ship.

…

The Turian marines rushed into the now compromised cargo bay to try and stop the boarders of the unknown race from storming into the ship. They entered it just as the roof of their ship was suddenly blown down and a mass of metal fell down and before they could react, there were six more explosions that released a lot of smoke. The lead Marine quickly shouted to his fellows.

"Aim and take them out!"

But before he could rally his team, he was shocked to see a glowing…bolt suddenly fly through the smoke and then strike him. His Kinetic barriers did not block it at all and he bore witness to the sight of the result of the weapon hitting him. He felt intense pain and he only had enough strength to look down and saw that his armor plating had been melted through and he could smell his armor's melted ceramic plates, and the sickening smell that he knew was his own flesh and blood.

He looked to see another bolt of energy fire out and take one of his fellow marines in the face and the now headless Turian Marine's corpse fall down and another was hit by what he saw as Mass Accelerator rounds. But these appeared much larger than most. They tore through the Kinetic barriers of the other Turian soldier and as he fell to his knees, he saw the smoke clear, and soon out came the aliens.

One of them to his shock was holding a bow…a Spirits be damned BOW, but instead of primitive arrows with metal arrow heads…the whole arrow was created from…glowing energy. An arrow made from pure energy! And it was the same one that killed him

He looked to see more of the aliens move through the smoke, but he realized that the one carrying the bow was different from the others.

As he fell down to the floor, his life ebbing away, he saw that there was a mix of other beings, some tall, others short and all carrying different weapons. The Turian's last thoughts as darkness claimed him, was…

(By the…Spirits…we attacked not one…race…but…many…)

…

"Team Alpha! Secure the Cargo Bay and hold it until extraction is complete!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Teams Bravo to Sierra, secure the ship and bring prisoners of value! We're going to find out just what these idiots where thinking in attacking us like this!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Tysha moved with the rest of her team and they quickly encountered a number of Turian Marines trying to stop them from taking over the ship. She quickly fired another Plasma Arrow at the leader, and like before, her weapon quickly overpowered the being's shields and armor, leaving only a smoking hole there. She quickly ducked as several fired at her position, but then one of the Terran Marines quickly moved in and then his Battle Shield quickly expanded from his left arm to create a Kite Shield that emitted a glowing field of energy briefly before fading away. The Marine used the shield to block the incoming fire while the Marin moved to using his Gauss Pistol, firing a number of rounds at his target as the rounds hit the shield. The other marines were right behind her and when the alien beings stopped firing, the Marines pounced on them with blades drawn. The aliens apparently did not expect that but what they did not expect was that one of the High Elf Mages accompanying Tysha's boarding team to suddenly unleash a Slow Spell on them.

They could not move in time to react as one Marine armed with a Gladius jammed his weapon into the stomach of one of them, while the other armed with a bastard sword sliced off the arm of the other and drove the blade into the chest. Both aliens died in a spray of blood at this and before the others could react, Tysha came in firing two Plasma Arrows in rapid succession. The next alien coming in with what appeared to be a shotgun of sorts blasted at one of the Marines who's armor held the blast but some of the pellets had cut into the armor plating and wounded him. The Marine fell down with a curse but before the bone faced avian like alien could fire another round, one of the Dwarven Marines, the Thunderpikes rushed in and smashed the creature's head with his War-maul, splattering the creatures head like the figurative rotten melon.

The Marine who was wounded was soon treated by a Draenai Priestess who was with them while the rest of the forces moved into the rest of the ship. Two Night Elves and a High Elf quickly got into a firefight with a number of Turians, a mix of marines and engineering staff, no doubt they were trying to prevent the Alliance Troops to attack the engine area of their ship. The High Elf made his move and distracted the Turians, unaware that his Night Elf companions had slipped in thanks to their racial ability of being able to stealth themselves which was enhanced by their armor. The two snuck in quickly as their partner ducked from retaliatory fire and then they got the drop on their enemies as both of them de-cloaked and cut down the Turian Marines with their Beam Glaive Swords, the three blades of energy quickly tore through the Kinetic Barriers and ceramic plating of the Turians before they moved to cut down several attacking Turian Marines and some brave engineers, However the High Elf came into the plan and fired a series of arrows in a rapid fire draw and took down three of the engineers before they could do anything.

The Night Elves gave a nod to their High Elf compatriot and soon moved to secure the engineers along with one still alive Turian marine. They soon held the engineering room as a Dwarven Combat Engineer walked in and began to get to work on figuring out the engines.

More and more of the Turians on the frigate were being taken out as they were also working hard to contain the theft of their data archives as well as reactivate their ship. The Systems Alliance forces were soon able to secure the ship's armory, data base, and more. The Captain of the ship, one named Captain Loarrex Valkorai quickly took out her Phaeston and got ready for what was to come. What she and her crew did not expect was a flow of water seeping through the door of the bridge as the doors were not rated for that. They were soon caught off guard as the water suddenly moved as if having a mind and then turn into a MASSIVE figure right before them all. They gaped for a bit longer before the giant living figure of WATER suddenly unleashed a focused bolt of water that turned suddenly into ice to one of the marines. The Turian was sent flying back with the force of a grenade and now a shard of ice had punched through his Armor, his Kinetic Barriers not designed to stop something like that.

Loarrex could not help but be shocked by the sight yet she managed to recover and fired her weapon at the thing before her. However the rounds did not do much as the figure was made from water and while having mass, was not an organic target. She however continued to fire her weapon even as two more of her Marine guards were taken down and eventually she and her remaining bridge crew finally killed the creature.

But that was no promise of a reprieve as the door was suddenly blasted wide open. Before they could react, a pair of Volus sized figures in armor charged in. She could look on in shock as one of the diminutive figures stabbed one of her Marines with what appeared to be a spear while another actually leaped upwards and tackled another Marine before stabbing the still shocked Marine with a pair of curved short swords into the chest, killing the Marine. The other crew members tried to fire until a bestial humanoid figure she had never seen before in her life suddenly rushed in and with claws actually decapitated one of the Marines who managed to fire his shotgun before his head was sent flying away and another figure who had legs that resembled that of a Quarian but not the hands of one came in with a massive weapon that should be considered an LMG and cut down three more of her Marine detail.

Soon she and only a handful of her crew were left alive with no chance of escape, she could not fire as the entire bridge was filled with obvious armed and well armored alien beings. Her crew waited on her order and while she was ready to fight, she was also trying to find a way to avoid sacrificing too many lives, namely that of her remaining crew. She was one of the captains who thought this was a bad idea the very second Aldar had ordered her and the other captains to open fire on the aliens right away.

But she followed orders even when it went against not just her logic and morals, but against Council Law. She knew that it was needed to explain the law of opening dormant Relays to avoid a misunderstanding. But Aldar had pretty much turned that into an impossibility with his shoot first and not bother asking later action. All she could do now was make the choice on the survival of her crew.

And unlike the obviously now retreating Captain Aldar, she made the choice that she was the only option available to her. She tossed down her Phaeston Assault Rifle and spoke to the rest of her crew.

"Lower your weapons."

One of her fellow female Turians, and one of the few surviving Marines looked at her with shock and replied.

"Captain! You want us to surrender?!"

"What choice do we have Nyran?! We're cut off, no chance of escape and let's face it, this whole thing should have never happened in the first place. As Captain I am responsible for the lives of everyone here, and I will do all I can to make sure we live…if it means surrendering to them, then so be it. And I will be the one to bear the responsibility of what happens afterwards as Captain. Now…lower your weapons."

The others looked at one another and did just that. One of the figures turned and faced her, a strange glowing circle of symbols in it's hand and moved towards her. She tensed up and she had to resist her Turian urge to fight. She was a proud Turian of the Hierarchy, but she was not foolish enough to throw her life away in what was obviously a hopeless cause, it would gave her and her crew nothing but a quick death.

She signaled her crew not to do anything as the figure moved and began to run the glowing hand over her and then the figure turned to one the one armed with a bow of sorts, and apparently this one was shaped like an Asari though she knew that no Asari used a bow in the modern battle field. She did however knew that the fact that it used what appeared as plasma meant it was anything but a primitive weapon. And she was not in the mood to see just how effective it was in combat if it meant that more of her crew would die.

A strange language was spoken between the figure and the one with the bow and then the figure turned and signaled the others. Those with the melee weapons placed them aside while those armed with ranged weapons lowered them. She gave a mental sigh of relief as this told her that they were accepting of her surrender. The figure then placed aside her bow and then took out what appeared to be a seed of sorts.

Loar was confused until the figure took her arm and lifted it up, she did not resist as the figure lifted her other arm and placed them in a position that was the same as one would place their hands when being locked in restraints. She and her crew were surprised when the seed actually grew and wrapped vines with glowing blue energy coursing through the organic vines as it restrained her arms.

One of the crew who was now being restrained as she was pulled at the vines, finding them remarkably strong, and then a light shock made him grunt in pain. That was enough to tell Loar that the vines were not ordinary at all and the fact that it shocked her fellow Turian when he tried to break free told her not to try it herself. She soon realized that the diverse alien force her people had fought with were not just diverse in their technology and weapons, but armor as well. The female one was wearing armor that looked…organic, unlike the others who wore armor that was high tech and not organic in nature.

Her examination was cut short when she and her crew were now restrained and hauled off. All she could hope for was that she and her people were making the right decision to surrender to their captors.

…

Daniel looked over the sight before him and he then turned to check his crew, thankfully they were all right, even more so for Varla. The last of the alien fleet minus the ship secured by the Shadow Spear were now taken out of the picture with them firing on the last ship before it could turn and come to the aid of he one ship they were securing. He then gave the order for all ships to scan for any escape pods from these alien ships, more prisoners would give them more data as well as any salvage that was in the area. He was also pleased as Tyr came back online and he spoke to the A.I.

"Status Tyr?"

"The fleet is still operational Sir, the life pods from the disabled Frigate Savannah have been recovered and so far, all escaped crew are being sent to the medical bay. The Frigate Valiance however is lost with only one third survivors. All of whom are being evacuated from the ship and scuttling charges are being primed to destroy the wreckage to deny any recovery of dangerous assets to the enemy should they return. The same is being done by the marines sent to the Savannah. Prior to this, in accordance with Antares Accords Article 40 sub-section 10, all databases still intact on the two Frigates have been purged."

"What of the data-mining procedures?"

"My fellow A.I Nadeshiko from the Shadow Spear has reported full success in her accessing of the alien ships' databases, it will take some time to decrypt, but apparently they do not use any form of advanced A.I countermeasures, unlike the Legion, or the other races we have encountered who are independent of the Alliance, or those aligned with the Legion. She also reports that Tysha and her unit have not only secured the alien vessel, but also some of it's crew, including who appears to be their Captain."

Daniel nodded and turned to Varla.

"How are the other ships?"

"All ships apart from Valiance and Savannah report limited but not fatal damage as our shields and armor plating have withstood the impacts. There are a number of injuries and some fatalities I am afraid, but all ships can make it back to the nearest Alliance Naval yard. And in accordance to your order Captain, we have scanned the pods from the alien vessels, unfortunately there are no survivors, with the exception of the secured prisoners."

Daniel turned to Dorn and spoke out to the Gnome.

"What is the closest Alliance Planet in the direction of the Relic?"

"Hold on sir, bringing up the maps and data-steams now. The closest planet would have to be the newly established colony of Shanxi sir. The planet already has an operational shipyard as well as the Tier 1 Orbital Defense Station and a newly constructed Fighter Base, but not much else in terms of stationary planetary defenses. There is a picket defense Fleet comprised of several Terran Commonwealth Ships and some from the Worgen Clans numbering at least eight vessels with four from each side."

"What about terrestrial defenses?"

"It already has it's basic defenses online, but it has not yet reached the required garrison size that all Alliance Colonies are required by the Antares Accords. The current leader of the garrison is Paladin General Anthony Williams, he has quite a record and is more than able to hold his own, though he is something of an 'Old school Paladin'. His forces may be able to hold a preemptive strike, but they will still need reinforcements should the aliens come back in force and land en masse on the planet sir."

Daniel quickly ran the numbers, this was the only habitable world near this relic, which meant it would be the main area where a conflict would arise with the new hostiles the Alliance had encountered. This made the situation a mixed bag, if that relic was the only way into the system, then they could easily turn the place into a chokepoint and funnel their attackers into a kill zone. However on the other side, Shanxi was newly established and would not be fully ready to fend off an attack if the invaders came back in force with what the planet currently had to work with.

There was also the fact that the rest of the Fleets were currently on assignment to handle resurgent attacks from the races that have been long time enemies of the individual races of the Alliance as well as criminal groups, and of course Legion forces. They had reinforcements to be sure but right now they had to assemble a fleet and make it here to Shanxi at all possible speed since if the Relic could allow them to arrive into space from Gods knew where they came from, then an invasion was very much going to happen.

He then turned to Varla and spoke to her.

"Get me in contact with Paladin General Williams, he needs to know what just happened. And he must be told on what to expect when the time comes if these invaders seek to come back and strike at the Alliance. Tell him that we will come back with as much ships and allies as soon as possible once High Command is made aware of this incident. Once you are done, get us in contact with Alliance High Command, they need to know just what had happened and to prepare whatever forces we have to face this new threat or whatever allies they have on call."

"Aye Captain."

Daniel turned to the rest of his crew and spoke sternly.

"As of this moment, we are to return to Arcturus Station with what we know and our prisoners. Interrogate them and decrypt their databases and make our moves to return here to Shanxi in force. These races may not be of the Legion, but I'll be damned if I let them come here and do what they like to our people. Their ship is the only intact one of their kind so make sure that it is properly decontaminated and prepped for Stellar Gate Transport."

The crew members of the ship were all in agreement as they headed back to where Shanxi was…whoever these new beings were, they had struck first blood and they will regret it. The Alliance were not here to wage war, but if they think for a minute that the Alliance would no fight back a second time, they were dead wrong. They had their own issues to deal with and they were not in the mood to be caught in another war that they did not start.

…

Unknown to all…

The images of the encounter were being recorded by another figure in what would be considered as a massive command station.

"So the veil that has kept this sector of the galaxy safe from the enemy my makers defeated but never destroyed as been removed. And willingly this time around, they are such a unique collection of races, full of potential now and beyond that. But now it seems that they have been found by the other races beyond their own sector. It is time to see how this will play out as my creators' had wished, they are indeed ready."

A strange symbol caught the figure's attention and it moved it's massive arm to the symbol, and pressed it. The symbol turned into a massive screen to reveal a new vessel, and the figure once more spoke.

"Ah…so the other races have found my little sanctum…let us see how they will react to what they shall learn."

"This galaxy is about to see and meet the races my creators have aided so many millennia ago…let us see the results of their hard work."

…

Galactic Codex:

Terran Commonwealth Weapons:

XM10 Gauss Assault Carbine

Developed in the year 2230 in the Alliance calendar on Earth from the older but still respected XM8 Prototype Assault Carbine, the XM10 has been in service with the Terran Commonwealth ever since it was introduced nearly ninety years ago. Utilizing the most advanced coil gun technology developed for infantry scale weapons by Terran engineers, scientists, and gunsmiths, the XM10 has grown into being the favored Assault Carbine by enlisted and officer members of the Terran Commonwealth Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, and Army. The weapon does not operate on the same parameters as the Mass Accelerator Small Arms as it utilizes the old style of chemical propellant weapons of using clips to load ammunition into the weapon itself.

The weapon's internal power-plant handles the coil systems and other features including what is known as an ammunition counter system, a cooling system for the weapon system itself and for hot environments, a specially installed heating system to handle the extreme stresses of arctic environments, targeting suite, and more. Thus this weapon is able to work in many battle fields in the Systems Alliance and can fire in semi automatic and full automatic forms.

The clips carry a maximum of at least seventy six rounds and all users carry at least twenty of the rather light and well made clips. At first considered primitive by the Turians in their initial battles on Shanxi, the weapons proved to be very powerful as they have the same power as conventional Mass Accelerators but can fire much larger rounds and do not overheat due to the internal cooling systems and the clips themselves. The clips also happen to carry a highly diverse ammunition load ranging from the standard Armor Piercing rounds, High Explosive Rounds, High Explosive Armor Piercing Rounds, and Incendiary Rounds. To the more exotic ammunition such as Elementium Rounds, True Silver Rounds, and Adamantium Rounds to name a few of the rounds used for more specialized purposes, namely for combating the Burning Legion and their thrall races.

The XM10 can be given a number of new features that are possible through a special MPR or Mission Parameter Requisition form. This includes a special grenade launcher attachment to fire a variety of grenades, improved capacitors for increased firing rate, extended clips for increased ammunition load-out, extended barrels for increased power to the shot, enhanced optical scopes, and a lightweight gun frame to reduce weight.

M209 Gauss Tactical Combat Shotgun

Based on the old Earth M1216 Combat Shotgun Platform, the M2019 Gauss Tactical Combat Shotgun or as it is known to it's users as the Revolving Death has seen action in many theaters of war for the Terran Commonwealth and is used in both military units and civilian self defense groups. Like it's ancestor the M1216, the M2019 relies on a special cylindrical magazine to store it's rounds and it carries a deadly mix of ammunition suited for the jobs it is used for. And like most Terran Commonwealth weapons utilizing coilgun technology, it is able to match Mass Accelerators in many fields.

It's own internal power plant and other features seen in Gauss Line make it ideal for many battle field conditions and it's specially made shells are able to be used in any weather condition and are resistant to most if not all environmental hazards. Once considered primitive by the Turians alongside the XM10 when they met the Systems Alliance on Shanxi, this weapon quickly earned a reputation for being highly efficient and unpredictable due to the various types of shells it can unleash on it's foes. And in the hands of highly trained and experienced users, it's magazines can be quickly changed in moments and be ready to unleash a torrent of slugs on it's foes.

It is able use standard shotgun rounds ranging from regular buckshot, to solid slugs, flechette, Frag 12, and also the recently developed Incendiary, EMP, and plasma rounds. More specialized rounds to fight the Legion are also present if the hated enemy is present on the battle field. Like the XM10, the M2019 can be outfitted with other features if needed with a MPR form, though due to the specialized nature of the M2019, the features are less in number.

Mark III Disruptor Swords:

Most Citadel races with the exceptions of the former members the Krogan would no longer use swords of any design and reserve these for ceremonial purposes or for training. Not in the Systems Alliance however, apart from Combat Knives, swords are present and in the various forms seen in humanity's long history and that of the other races as well. The Terran Commonwealth utilizes what they call Mark III Disruptor Swords which take the various forms of swords used by the various cultures of Earth's history, though Western designs are more dominant to some extent. All Terran Commonwealth military personnel are trained in the full use of the Disruptor Swords and even regular colonial militia, as per the requirement of the Militia Training Doctrine naturally are to learn how to use Disruptor Swords.

The swords utilize a special type of energy field generated by the sword's power generator hidden in the hand grip and hilt to increase it's overall cutting power. And since they are slower than regular Mass Accelerator Slugs, cannot be blocked by Kinetic Barriers as the sensors are not calibrated to detect these slow moving but undeniably lethal weapons. These weapons can also be 'imbued' with magical energies and can have their standard blades replaced with more unique forged blades to suit the needs of the mission and the foes to be encountered.

Night Elf Nation Weapons:

Plasma Bow

A high tech descendant of the ancestral Night Elf Long bow, the Plasma Bow is the current and highly respected weapon used by all Night Elf Sentinels over most ranged weapons due to it's long history ever since the Night Elves took to the stars. Once it was constructed, the first prototypes proved to be very difficult to master but after several intense trials by the Night Elf Nation's best Sentinels, the prototypes were mastered and with advancing technology and magical knowledge, fusing both together, were made mass production friendly. Ever since then the Plasma Bow is the staple for all Night Elf Sentinels though they do use other weapons. The weapon is armed with a special DNA scanner that is attuned to not just Night Elf DNA but to all known Sentinel Personnel and is currently updated on who are the currently enlisted Night Elf personnel and if they are alive or dead, this in turn will activate the weapon's power core and in turn the weapon itself.

Thus the weapon can be picked up and used by all registered and alive Night Elf Sentinels regardless of gender. Any Night Elf who is not registered in the data base however cannot activate the weapon. And if the blood of a slain or long dead Night Elf who is a member of the Sentinels is used in an attempt to fool the device, the internal security feature that the DNA scanner is a part of will lock down the weapon. Any non Night Elf who touches the weapon quickly activates the self destruct feature in the Plasma Bow, resulting in it being reduced to a charred mess in mere moments…much to the consternation and disappointment of many who attempt to take one of these weapons for study. The same event happens if the weapon is tampered with by unregistered or non Night Elf weapon-smiths.

The Plasma Bow's arrows are formed when the user touched the plasma string, only possible due to special sensors on the armor that allow for safe handling of the plasma string. When drawn, sensors in the bow and the armor quickly route the magnetic field into the shape of an arrow, allowing the plasma to flow into the invisible magnetic shell. The arrow shell is then infused with small energy crystals that are disposable which are programmed with special command codes to not only hold the form of the arrow in flight, but also give it a homing ability that allows Sentinels to track airborne threats. However, once a target is beyond the range of the Plasma Bow, the shell breaks down and the plasma is dissipated.

This weapon had proven itself effective on not just regular targets, but also against most Legion forces and those races aligned with the Legion. The Turians are introduced to this weapon the hard way from the Relay 314 Incident and while initially considering the Plasma Bow as primitive at first glance, have learned the hard way not to underestimate the power of this weapon as it had the ability to carve into armor with terrifying ease and ignoring Kinetic barriers due to the nature of plasma.

Beam Glaive Sword

Another specialized weapon that has deep historical and cultural ties to the Night Elf Nation, the Beam Glaive Sword is seen in the hands of the Sentinels in all battle fronts. Years of Mastery is required to master this triple bladed weapon and thus is well suited for the long life span that the Night Elves have. Mastery of the weapon in full is only seen among the Night Elves though other races have adopted some of the styles involved with the weapon in their arsenal. The impact of the plasma blades on organic tissue is horrific as fourth degree burns from glancing blows are known to occur as well as the flash boiling of liquids in the body if the blades bite into the body.

The original Glaive Sword is still in use and is favored due to the low tech yet highly effective way it is used, namely by the members of the Night Elf Nation's members in SAI. But with the growing need for advanced weapons, the Beam Glaive Sword was created and proved itself an effective tool, especially against the Legion technology that is corruptive and dangerous. All Night Elves dedicate half of their training career to master the Beam Glaive Sword.

(Other weapons will be explained at a later date.)

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

Well, we now have the prologue of the World of Warcraft Mass Effect crossover as promised. And so far, it will be the only thing that is out right now. There's a lot for me to do but I hope that this will prove that this story is not a one time thing for me. Now before we go any further, we have some things that need to be explained. One is that this is a Prologue and thus I have no plans yet to expand on this, but when I do, I hope that it will be forgiven if all of this is delayed somewhat. And if the story is kind of a mess, then forgive the said mess, I have a LOT on my mind and venting this out kind frees more of my brain for increased usage.

In order to have a reason for the Systems Alliance to be as they are when met by the Citadel, the Burning Legion are made to be their primary enemy along with other hostile races that are based on the same races in the canon WOW world. The Horde will make their own appearance but it will be some time before I can place them there. The Legion here will be similar to the Chaos Gods of Warhammer 40k but naturally are led by none other than Sargeras and his history will be largely the same though with differences.

This version of the Legion is naturally armed with their own army and fleets but they have NO ties to the Reapers. In fact they would actually consider the Reapers as nothing more than weaklings and an annoyance to their plans when they encounter them.

How will the Reapers and the Legion react to one another when they meet?

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I also plan to have an alternate version where a Systems Alliance strike team from the futuristic WOW world in a vial mission are suddenly sent into the canon ME world, namely during the events of ME2 and they soon help Shepard and the ME2 crew in fighting the Reapers, in their reality the Reapers are not the enemy of all life, but still the Legion and the Citadel races are there as well, but are NOT part of the Citadel and thus are not a very powerful force in the galaxy they are part of.

All of this history will be revealed in the coming chapters if I make this alternate version, but it will borrow well from the original story so there will be plenty of elements you may recognize. I was inspired by two stories, one made by Colonel Mustand, and the other by Ursakar which in my views were all good works and worthy of praise. Though you can bet that Shepard will be QUITE surprised to learn just what is the status of the alternate version of him/her is in the world that this version of the Alliance comes from.

See you all soon!