AN: This fanfiction is an AU mega-crossover between Halo, Mass Effect and the Monster Girl verse, especially the Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou.

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When humanity rose to touch the stars, they did so with the help of the dozens of Liminal Species that evolved with them. In 2525, when the Covenant dedicated themselves to wiping out mankind, they did so unaware of the martial prowess that the new UNSC now possessed.

This fanfiction is about soldiers who came home after war to find peace and love. Expect humour, coolness, whacky humour and a lot of hurt/comfort elements.

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The Prologue

2012

To end decades of high tensions and armed conflicts, the Interspecies Exchange Bill is successfully passed between nations to condone the cultural exchange between non-human Liminal-species; races capable of communicating and interacting with humans.


President Barrack Obama warmly shook the hand of the graceful woman standing in front of him, smiling as he did. He liked shaking hands. It was his thing.

"I hope we can make this treaty work out in the long term," she spoke with an accent he could not immediately place.

The President nodded reassuringly at the woman, calming her worrying heart with but a simple gesture, for such was the power of the President of the United States, "Yes we can."


While this event eased the tensions between the world's superpowers, the sheer potential of the extra-species tips the scales of the power balance. War is inevitable.

2013

In order to further increase the ease of social integration, inter-species marriage has been legalized.

In preparation of conflicts that were certain to come, several of the more promising extra-species are employed within NATO armed forces to test their viability in combat.


The underground facility was one a kind. Completely hidden from prying eyes, well-funded and completely nonsensical in its construction. Seriously, what blind moron would build the mess hall right next to the firing range?

The Sergeant spotted Braeburn approaching him and instantly snapped to attention, clicking his heels together and saluting. "Sergeant Mollema, sir."

First Lieutenant Braeburn returned the gesture, inwardly sighing at the Sergeant's strange uniform. Were those claw marks? What had he gotten himself into? "At ease Sergeant. Where are the candidates?"

Mollema visibly relaxed. "Right this way, sir. Most of the girls are still training. You'll be able to see them in action-"

"Training?" Braeburn interrupted the Sergeant. "I was told to expect a live demonstration of their abilities. Every soldier can do push-ups."

"Of course sir," replied the young Sergeant. "That's what I meant. Because of their physiology, their training differs from the other recruits. If you will follow me…"

Braeburn followed the Sergeant, wishing that he had simply passed up on this assignment. But he couldn't afford to; they'd be hitting safe-houses in the middle east in a week and he needed the best of the best. Some bullshit secret NATO mission.

In the hopes of striking up a conversation and possibly learn more about Testing Facility 69, he asked, "So what are your assignments here, Mollema?"

"I'm a personal instructor, sir. My team exists out of six other instructors, each of us assigned to one of the recruits. We help…cultivate their unique abilities."

"Drill exercises?"

"Most of them love it. Building discipline takes a while, though. Most of them were civilians before joining the team."

Lieutenant Braeburn nodded, understanding the difficulty of turning civvies into soldiers. "Right." As they spoke, the two of them passed by another firing range. He spotted a young woman standing near the Range Safety Officer, fumbling with a handgun. She had doubled up her ear protection, but that wasn't the most noticeable thing about her. She was wearing eye protection as well, which almost nobody here did.

The Sergeant stopped as well, glancing at the girl. "That's Private Osvald. She's going to be our marksman."

"Marksman eh?" replied Lieutenant Braeburn. He leant back against the wall and gestured at the RSO. "Show me."

The RSO briefly saluted him and then returned his focus to the girl, who finished fumbling with the weapon and took aim at the targets.

"How long have these recruits been training?" asked the Lieutenant.

The girl opened fire. In the span of six seconds, she nailed every single target with two hits, one in the chest and one in the head.

"'Bout four weeks," replied the Sergeant.

First Lieutenant Braeburn was not going to compliment a civilian on her gunplay, even if it was better than his. Especially if it was better than this. So he merely grunted and moved on, followed closely by the Sergeant.

It didn't take long before they reached another training facility, though it wasn't exactly as much a facility as much as it was a boxing ring, where a very peculiar girl was facing off against four adult men at once. She wore standard military fatigues, but those did nothing to hide her completely inhuman appearance.

"What the fuck…" The Lieutenant whispered. The girl was in possession of a long, dark-green tail and matching wings. Scales covered large patches of her visible skin and two large, curved horns protruded from her shortly-cropped hair.

The monster easily fought off the four soldiers in a display of martial prowess that should have been impressive in a human -would have been impressive for any human, had it not been for her freakish appearance.

"That's my girl," the Sergeant said with a faint smile. Upon seeing Braeburn's less-than-amused face, however, he quickly regained his composure. "Sir, this is Cerioth, our hand-to-hand specialist."

"She's got wings," Braeburn said, shaking his head in disbelieve. "The freaking girl got freaking wings. Is this some kind of goddamn zoo, Sergeant?"

Sergeant Mollema didn't look like he appreciated him insulting his work like that, but the Lieutenant didn't particularly care. Not when soldiers were being reinforced -goddamn replaced! - by circus freaks with animal parts!

"Private Cerioth belongs to a reptilian demi-human race, sir, commonly referred to as dragons."

"Dragons, Sergeant?"

"Yes sir."

"Do you mind telling me why the hell we are recruiting things like these into active service?"

"Happy to, sir. Draconic scales are harder than steel, effective in reflecting combat knives and impervious to small arms fire. Their tails are strong enough to snap bones like twigs and their wings allow them to fly."

That first part of description got the Lieutenant's attention alright. Impervious to small arms fire and knives? "The girl's got Kevlar for skin?"

"Better than Kevlar, sir."

Braeburn whistled and returned his focus to this dragon-girl, who had completely demolished her opponents in the few moments they had been talking. She was grinning as she helped one of the soldiers back to his feet. These men didn't seem to care what she was; they gracefully accepted their defeat.

"How strong is she?" asked Braeburn.

"Far stronger than any human. She can shatter bricks with singe punches, or break guns in half with her bare hands."

"Alright," replied the Lieutenant, swallowing a lump in his throat. Was his mouth that dry, or was it just him?

Now that he looked at the young Private, he could see that she indeed had some aspect of beauty about her. Very…intriguing. "Show me the rest."

The Sergeant smiled. "Now you're talkin'. Right this way, sir."


September

Several months later, US armed forces adopted the usage of extra-species soldiers as well. Training extra-species individuals as soldiers became an attractive prospect, further motivated by increased government funding. The military prowess of several extra-species races proved to be a key aspect in the integration of their kind.

The new possibilities of war served to deter war.

2014

January

The Netherlands adds a group of Long Leg Arachne Breeds to their police forces in Amsterdam. Within 3 weeks, the crime-rates start fluctuating as hardened criminals are caught and rebellious teenagers take to petty crimes to come face-to-face with the new units, for unknown reasons.

The governor of Amsterdam now regularly visits the police department near his house, claiming that the new forces are a "tremendous advantage" in combating violent crimes.

Police brutality against armed suspects prompts many would-be offenders to take up new occupations.

July

A Monoeye marksman sets the world record for longest-recorded sniper kill without a scope…


Private Osvald carefully placed her one eye near the iron sights of her rifle, careful not to displace herself. In clear sunlight, a scope wouldn't do. Wouldn't do at all. The reflection would give her away and then what would she do? In close quarters, she wouldn't last a minute.

The target exited his tent. Greeted his subordinates. Started walking.

Osvald exhaled and slowly, ever so gently, aligned her sights with the head of the target.

That's right, she told herself. Just another target…just another cardboard cutout.

She pulled the trigger and the barrel of her rifle exploded in a flash of light and fire. So did the head of her definitely-not cardboard target, a heartbeat later.

The Private nervously reached for her helmet mic, feeling a horrible feeling slowly spread through her abdomen. "P-Private Osvald here, sir. Target is d-down."

She didn't hear her handler respond, as she was too busy hurling her breakfast over the dirt and rocks.


...and is subsequently scheduled for her first meeting with the Mental Health Councilor.

December 25th

A terrorist attack in Yorkshire is thwarted when a Kobold smells suspicious traces of chemicals inside of an abandoned bag in a mall. Public Safety Bomb Disposal (PSBD) units arrive on scene and successfully dismantle the explosive inside. A disaster is averted.

December 31th

Extra-species members with keen senses are enlisted within specialized bodies of state-empowered persons, such as the PBSD, prompting much rejoicing within the team. Whether this is due to additional talent or something else remains unclear.

2015

February

The world's first counter-terrorism operation consisting mostly of extra-species members is successfully completed as at least five cells are dispatched without casualties. Malaysia sees action within the state of Sabah, where Arachne infiltrators and Dragonewt shock troopers are assisted by Monoeye sharpshooters to defuse a hostage situation. The operation results in a mere three wounded civilians and thirteen militia casualties.

December

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) makes a breakthrough in utilizing the CRISPR interference technique for human genome editing. Bioethical concerns are expressed about the prospect of using this nascent biotechnology for editing the human germline.

2016

March

The euchromatic regions of the Lamia genome is successfully sequenced. Treatment of related extra-species diseases can theoretically be simplified by applying the CRISPR breakthrough, but the majority of the population in the US still expresses worry about the genetic prospects of "meddling' with extra-species DNA.

'

April

In response to the genetic breakthrough in regards to the euchromatic regions of Lamia genome, several human-supremacist organizations are founded to combat the ever-increasing role of extra-species in society. Often based in either religious or nationalism, these organizations have no qualms about resorting to violence.

May 14th

Lamia representative Samaia Seleste is tragically shot to death during a speech. The culprit, armed and deemed too dangerous to arrest, is quickly shot to death by local police officers.

May 16th

Human supremacist organization "Christian Identity" vocally opposes the civil rights of the Liminal species, but denies any link to the recent picket of the recently-killed Samaia's funeral.

May 18th

In response to recent emergences of violent attacks on extra-species members, retaliatory strikes are reported by authorities. Many of these are violent as nature, sparking the first of many small-scale conflicts between Liminal species and human protesters.

December 18th

A hostage situation in the city of Hengelo in the Netherlands results in the hospitalization of four extra-species individuals. The Dutch Pioneer Orc Renaissance Kinsmen section storms the Game Shop in the city district and demands an increase in eroge-themed video games. Unfortunately for the Orcs, one of their hostages turns out to have been recently recruited into the Dutch Special Forces. The resulting bout proceeds to wreck the store and results in the hospitalization of four of the Kinsmen and the soldier himself, who asks for his identity to be concealed.


"They barged into the store, carrying these big guns," the young Pan girl diminutively said. Upon further inquiry from the reporter, she added, "And…ehm…I didn't know that bearded humans responded so badly threats. When one of those Orcs waved a knife in front of his face, he pulled out an even bigger one!"

"And when did you discover that they were going to fight?" asked the reporter.

The nervous girl looked away. "I guess at the same time he stabbed that one Orc in the neck…and the rest all dogpiled him…and got stabbed in return…it's a miracle nobody got seriously hurt…"

The reporter turned to face the camera. "Upon being asked why he would risk his life fighting six Orcs when he could just let the extra-species members of the police department handle it, he said, and I quote, "My Sergeant would have kicked my ass if I hadn't done anything, my Echidna girlfriend would have kicked my ass if I hadn't done anything, I would have kicked my ass if I hadn't done anything, so the odds were even". I'd say that's as good a motivation as any."


While this scenario is not a rare one, those involved all manage to get out relatively unscathed. The victims of the terrorist attack all manage to walk away without too much injuries, having been scared off by the tenacity of human close-quarters fighting. The anonymous bearded soldier walks away with three broken ribs and a sentence of a hundred hours of community service for illegally carrying a knife.

2017

After months of escalating violence between human supremacist organizations and non-human Liminal species, one controversial group comes into being and rises above the rest. The Crusader Collective, a trans- denominational religious group dedicated to the pursuit of natural balance within humanity. This organization has been slowly gaining support and members throughout the years and fringe members claimed the responsibility for the funeral picket of Samaia Seleste, as well as harassing facilities publicly known to be performing research into extra-species genome sequencing.

2019

The first Slime Girl individuals are adopted within Intelligence Agencies for their ability to infiltrate, prompting a rivalry with the Arachne infiltrators within other branches.

2029

The Crusader Collective, through links with the Roman Vatican and investments from anonymous magnates who share the same anti-Liminal view, acquires a large amount of wealth. The Associates now command two-million loyal adherents of their religious life-views.

At the same time, the many individuals who find themselves bullied, assaulted or otherwise threatened by the influence of the Crusader Collective gather to form the Liminal Rights Associates, an organization supposedly looking out for extra-species' interests.

Whether the two organizations will continue operating without conflicts remains to be seen.

2037

The Crusader Collective officially reveals its paramilitary section, creatively named after their other namesake, the Templar Order.

Several months later, the Liminal Rights Assiciates reveals their own paramilitary branch, the Monster Ops Neutralization (M.O.N) force.

To preserve the peace between the two organizations, the United States employs the M.O.N branch to solve incidents between extra-species criminals and human civilians.

2050

The combined intellect of humanity and the extra-species allows mankind to settle on Luna, Mars, the Jovian Moons and asteroids several decades sooner than initially speculated.

2084

The first armed conflict between the Crusader Collective and the Liminal Rights Associates is recorded. The battle, initially fought over ideology and territory, quickly devolves and then escalates. Templar and M.O.N forces clash, but as the Templars attack with sudden and unexpected violence, M.O.N casualties force the Associates to pull back.

The Collective wins the first strike.

2089

The past victory of the Crusader Collective inspires the formation of the Frieden military movement, based in the Jovian Moons and sponsored by corporate powers in the Unified German Republic. Drawing its philosophical origin from twentieth-century Fascism and National Socialism, the Frieden's ardent anti-Liminal ideals convinces them to adopt revolutionary ideals as well.

Tensions between the Frieden movement and the Liminal Rights Associates last well into the next century, but remain peaceful by comparison to the Crusader Collective.

2102

The Frieden movement collides with the Crusader Collective over a territorial issue; the Frieden's primary objective is revealed as gaining corporate independence by seceding from UN colonial administration and establishing a self-contained Jovian state. Frieden propaganda claims that in order to reach a peaceful and independent Jovian nation, the UN, an advocate of internationalism, is to be driven out of the Jovian Moons and destroyed around the Solar System, including on home ground.

The Collective, seeing most of its income originate from the UN, refuse to allow "fascist pigs" to drive away the UN.

Hundreds of casualties are reported on both sides, as well as marginal civilian losses. Both sides threaten that the violence has just begun.

2104

The Liminal Rights Activists are caught in the middle of the violent clashes between the Templar and Frieden forces, but hold their own. Despite Frieden war-mongering propaganda, the Jovian Moons are still hold under tight UN control.

The UN assigns detachments of military advisers to help administrate and possibly train the Jovian inhabitants and Liminal species in weapons combat and self-defense.

2125

After a crushing defeat at the hands of UN forces and M.O.N. paramilitary contingents, the Crusader Collective undergoes a drastic change. As radical Templar leaders take over control and militarize the organization, the Collective is now known as the Templar Order.

The Templar Order and the UN sign a begrudged treaty of non-aggression.

The Liminal Rights Activists refuse to sign any treaties until their own demands are met.

2134

The UNSC is commissioned as a military force primarily composed of Naval and Marine forces. In July of 2134, the UNSC partakes in its first battle. From this point, the UNSC is used by the UN in conflicts, including the Interplanetary War.

2135

Following a relatively blurry outcome in the Jovian Moons, Templar, Frieden, M.O.N and UNSC forces prepare for an engagement in South America in the year 2135, one of the most fertile and economically-promising regions of Earth.

Various alternative versions of this war and the outcome thereafter are described as history by the various organizations, turning the outcome of the Rainforest Wars into an even blurrier outcome than the Jovian moons.

[WARNING: DATA EXPUNGED. PLEASE REPORT TO THE NEAREST SECURITY STATION FOR THE VERIFICATION OF YOUR SECURITY ACCESS]

[DATA REDACTED]

2147

The Liminal Rights Associates perform a radical shift in their ideology and dogma, turning to violence and aggression to keep up with [REDACTED] attacks on their species. Now referred to as the Black Fang, the organization quickly and mercilessly crushes the Frieden military forces in several large-scale conflicts.

A treaty is signed between the remaining Frieden forces with the UNSC, officially ending the long conflict between the Frieden and UNSC forces and solidifying a democratic leadership.

The Black Fang quickly gather extra-species followers and amasses a powerful military. Tensions with the UNSC are negligible.

The Templar Order keep producing high-quality military equipment.

2234

A war erupts between the Black Fang and the Templar Order. The UNSC is unable to broker peace and is forced to [DATA REDACTED, INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE].

Casualties on both sides are extreme.

Unable to interfere because of the military might of both factions, the UNSC can only watch as the war claims half a million lives in mere months.

ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED

REBOOTING SYSTEM

2336

Lilim Heinrich Shepard, progeny of Lady Manat and Colonel Heinrich Shepard, is born within the Manat Clan. Her birth serves to prove that high-ranking individuals of both races are not only allowed to marry each other, but definitely should marry each other.

2361

Lilim Shepard enlists within the volunteer-only Orbital Drop Shock Trooper unit at an unheard-of age within her long-lived race.

2362

Shepard quickly rises in held esteem in her team, earning a reputation within the rest of her unit.

2491

As the tensions and civil war increase in intensity, the UNSC launches project ORION, an Office of Naval Intelligence and Colonial Military Authority super-soldier program aimed at security and counter-insurgency operations. Due to the sheer physical advantages that extra-species possess over normal humans, the members of the ORION program are all designed to be augmented soldiers. Using the latest breakthroughs in biochemical developments derived from genetic techniques discovered within Liminal species genomic sequences and the CRISPR techniques, the ORION super-soldiers exceed all expectations.

The first generation of SPARTANS is unleashed upon the outer colonies to keep the peace.

2516

Despite successes from the SPARTAN-I's, the sheer scale of the conflicts exceeds their capabilities. While capable of going toe-to-toe with most Black Fang and Templar Order combatants, the ORION soldiers are not enough to stop the destabilization of the colonies.

The SPARTAN-II project is initiated.

2525

February

In a never-before heard-of scenario, a collection of hostile alien races finds and subsequently attacks UEG world Harvest. It is there that, after fierce ground-resistance from local forces, this "Covenant" resorts to partially glassing the planet from orbit.


Sergeant Avery Johnson gritted his teeth and endured the searing explosive discharge with sheer willpower. As the last effects of the blue explosive faded away, he emerged from his cover with his assault rifle at the ready. He Bip-Bap-Bammed three of the little bastards and, by the power of his amazing eyesight, managed to slot two of those shield-carrying SOB's with precision fire.

Jenkins was knocked on his ass by the explosive and caught the attention of one of the big monsters. It bellowed and charged at him, but it didn't get very far. Johnson violently tackled it from behind and stabbed it in the butt with his first knife, before reaching for his second for an impromptu tracheoctomy.

But wait! The aliens might not need their throat for breathing! Wouldn't a secondary gullet be better?

Too late. The big bastard shook the Sergeant off with a mighty heave of its shoulders and then rounded on him instead, raising its big bladed rifle with casual ease.

Johnson gave an indignant puff of his cigar, which was still attached to his lower lip. "You're late!"

The alien stopped, confused at his exclamation. Then Jilan al-Cygni appeared out of nowhere, leaping down at the big alien and pinning it to the ground with four of her eight limbs. The alien bastard was tough, no denying that, but the Long Leg Breed ONI operative clad in her specialized EXO-suit was tougher. The sharp blades attached to her legs via the EXO allowed her to easily penetrate the alien's armor.

Then, Johnson watched Jilan unleash a full magazine of SMG fire into the big bastard's head.

"Took you long enough," said Avery.

Al-Cygni rolled with her many eyes. "Please. You had the situation under control." She paused, glancing down at the corpse of the last alien. "Why the nonlethal attack?"

Johnson huffed. "A motivational device! These boys need to be shown something!" He then saw Jenkins enjoying his something a little bit too much and immediately snapped at the Marine. "Jenkins! Stop staring before I motivate you too!"

"Sorry sir!" replied the young Private.

Jilan reloaded her SMG and looked up through the tree-line, probably spotting something that even Johnson with his magnificent eyesight could not spot. "Our evac is here. We should leave. The last freighters have left too. Harvest is lost."

Johnson gently plucked his cigar from his mouth and put it out. He would no longer need its stimulating effects now that the fight was over.

"Lost?" said Jenkins. "Sarge, we're letting these aliens get their paws on our Harvest?"

Johnson glared at the soldier. "We're not letting these filthy aliens keep their paws on our Harvest. Jenkins, get the boys. We're going to have to gain our body-weight in gun to take it back."

"The UNSC will see to that," Jilan dryly commented. "Of course, if you wish to stay on Harvest, you are welcome to stay."

Well, that was an easy one. There was nowhere on Harvest left to stay. All that was left now was fighting, and Johnson would fight. He would gain his body-weight in gun and see to it that this war would end, one alien bastard at a time.


Most civilians are evacuated due to prior intervention of local militia forces.

A single sentence mobilizes the entirety of UNSC into a state of war.

"Your destruction is the will of the Gods, and we are their instrument."

The Templar Order attempts to use this declaration of war to justify an extermination of all Liminal species, claiming that "wiping out the filthy beasts will please this Covenant" and that "the aliens will then leave mankind alone".

Their popularity drops, but their finances do not.

2526

February

The Covenant discovers and glasses outer colony Bliss.


Hendrick watched the massive battleship take its position above the city, like an angry giant about to unleash hell. When tiny pinpricks of light started gathering at the base of its prow, he knew that this would be it. Every last UNSC soldier on Bliss had been slaughtered by these monsters. Now it was their turn.

"Don't look honey," Hendrick whispered, grabbing his young daughter by her shoulders and gently pulling her against him. The girl's yellow tail was rigid from fear. Who could blame the child? "Come here…come here…"

Her mother understood what he was doing and wrapped her tail around the two of them, as if shielding them from what was about to come.

"It's going to be okay, honey," she said, trying to sound reassuring. "Don't look at the sky…look at daddy, alright?"

As the few remaining citizens in the burning city desperately tried to make their peace in the face of imminent death, the Covenant warship unleashed its Energy Projector on the city below, sentencing the people below to certain death.


The sheer scale and aggression of Covenant invasions prompts the Office of Naval Intelligence to hasten the search for artefacts that might serve to turn the tide.

March

Admiral Preston Cole reaches Harvest, signaling the start of a five-year long campaign to retake and keep the planet.

April

The Covenant discovers and glasses outer colony Circinius IV

August

ONI's search leads to the discovery of Mass Relay 314, a massive object located near the outer colony of Shanxi. With energy readings off the scale, the Office takes the intelligent course of action and starts messing around with the object.

November

After a long time of messing around with the massive space object, the Office of Naval Intelligence manages to activate it.

Citadel calender: 2157

Relay 314

Heavy Frigate Empire's Wrath


Captain Solitus of the Turian Hierarchy stood at the combat deck of the Empire's Wrath, nervously watching his screens while his crew readied themselves for the worst. Rifles were being spread around as if anticipating a pirate attack, soldiers were strapping on their armor and the Captain felt like he needed a bucket.

The Mass Relay that had been lying dormant for years, decades, centuries without incident, had just been activated. The very first Mass Relay that pointed into this particular region of space. And that meant that someone at the other end of the Relay had found it. Now, both were active, and an active link between two Mass Relays meant trouble.

Now normally, a dormant Relay wouldn't have worried Solitus that much. There were enough dormant Mass Relays in the galaxy and most of them would be left dormant for a very long time.

But there were two problems with the prospect of not worrying about a dormant Relay. First: the last time they had unlocked a dormant Relay, the Rachni horde had been unleashed upon the galaxy. Billions of sturdy, lethal arthropod monsters that always seemed to have another hive at the ready. To combat the Rachni, the Krogan had been uplifted by the Salarians and the galaxy had felt how that turned out.

Second: the very few Mass Relay that could possibly send anyone into this unknown region of space were dormant. According to the Relay's navigation log, of course. Whether or not that made any sense was above his paygrade. What wasn't about his paygrade, was worrying that there were so few Relays pointing into this section of uncharted space. And all of them were dormant.

Every single one, except for this one.

The Turian Hierarchy was panicking.

So by the power of evidence, Solitus was panicking too.

It had been about two days since the Relay had activated and already, the Primarchs were sending in reinforcements.

"Captain!"

Solitus turned around, facing the soldier who had addressed him. "At ease soldier. What do you wish to tell me?"

The Legionnaire nodded. "Sir, it's been two days. When are we going through the Relay?"

"We're not doing anything until we receive orders," the Captain sharply replied. This was something that he could not have.

A nearby screen flickering with a message caught his attention.

"Of course, Captain. But the men are asking questions. They are afraid we are facing another Rachni scenario."

"Of course not," replied the Captain. He was in command, and by his command the others would be calmed. If he failed to be competent now, someone would do something that everybody would regret. Now as the time to ease his worries and fears, for the men needed to have theirs eased as well. The last thing he wanted was for something like panicked-induced aggression to break the long period of peace that the Citadel Races had been enjoying. "This is most certainly a new species, having found the Mass Relay. A sentient one."

"Yes sir. But that does not refute the scenario of another Rachni war. Isn't activating a dormant Mass Relay illegal, at the very least?"

Captain Solitus turned to look at his subordinate again. "Brutus, are you suggesting we attempt to punish these aliens for committing a crime they could not possibly know they committed?"

"If they attempt to activate a dormant Relay-"

"Who enforces the laws within Citadel space, soldier?"

The Turian proudly puffed his chest. "The Turian Hierarchy, Captain. It is our responsibility to uphold the galactic peace!"

Good. He could appreciate such fervor. "Then tell me, if they have not yet encountered the majesty of the Council, how are they meant to know our laws? How should they understand their transgression?"

The soldier looked away, puzzled. "Hmm…I see your point, Captain. I hope the Primarchs will do so as well." With that, he saluted Solitus and left, leaving the Captain alone with his thoughts once more.

If this was a new sentient species having uncovered the might of the Protheans, the Council should welcome them with open arms. If this was another scourge like the Rachni, they needed to response with immediate force.

There was also a third possibility. This wasn't the first time that a new sentient species had been found. In 2125, on the planet designated as Parnack, Council officials in the delegation party were slaughtered by the native species ´Yahg´. These ´Yahg´ were sentient, possess technology and lived in a system where they could discover a Mass Relay.

And they had to be isolated. Who knew what chaos might have been caused had those beasts found the Relay? The innocent people who would die!

Solitus´ father had him read the report mere weeks after he had been accepted in the military. A message, a hidden threat. Do not trust everyone you meet. That lesson might be taken into heart the coming days, resulting in deaths and quite possibly, war.

Well, Solitus bitterly thought, lesson learned, father.

Time passed by most frustrating means. Unbearably slow when Solitus wanted it to pass, then unbelievably fast when Solitus discovered something else needed doing within his Frigate,

Eventually, the Empire´s Wrath was hailed by one of the Cruisers that the Hierarchy had sent, Justice Repaid. The Captain was immediately informed of this and he took his place in the bridge, crossing his wrists behind his back and raising his head.

"I am ready," he instructed one of his officers.

The officer nodded and then patched the CO of the Justice through.

"Greetings, Captain Solitus,"

Solitus' eyes widened when he recognized the voice and appearance of his old mentor. "Captain Tracheus! Good to see you again."

"Likewise, Solitus. Ready your men; we are going through."

The Captain inwardly cringed when he heard that. "What about the diplomats? Should we not wait for the Asari?"

"It doesn't work that way, Solitus. General Levitcus has standing orders to get this fleet through Relay 314 with all haste."

General Levitcus…bah! That barefaced desk-General would be the deaths of all of them! "Tracheus, respectfully, on whose authority does General Levitcus act! I have a hundred and twenty souls onboard this ship."

Thoughts of Rachni and Yahg and other monsters crept through the back of his mind. The lives of his soldiers and crewmembers were at stake, and those were not odds he would take likely.

"I apologize, Solitus. I understand your reservations. I share them…but Levitcus acts on the orders of the Council themselves. They want answers. To the Salarians, the large swaths of uncharted space are a mystery, needing to be solved. To the Asari, want to know why the Protheans would not chart Mass Relays to this section of space. They seem to think that the Protheans originated from there…and hope to find more Beacons."

"Then what about our people, Tracheus! What of the Turians! What could we possibly win from going through this Relay?"

Captain Tracheus was solemn and calm as he gave his response. "A first strike, Solitus. Now that the species at the other end of this Relay have opened the pathway, they might soon spill into our part of the Galaxy. We cannot have a surprise attack on our colonies, Solitus. Are you worried about your men? Then worry more about the lives of their families! The millions who might die if we allow this Relay to bring forth disaster. The sooner we contain it, the better."

Solitus was fuming. The Councilors wanted them to venture into unknown space for their own petty desires? Very well. If that was their wish, he would obey, but there would be recompense for this. He was going to survive and personally chew Sparatus out for this madness.

And just like that, their fleet mobilized. Four Cruisers and seven Frigates were going to do what had not been done in 2000 years and travel through a Relay that had only recently been activated. He did not know what would await them on the other side, but he begged the Spirits of War that they would find no reason to fight in the coming days.

The path was set by the navigational officers, the Element Zero core was running hot and soon, the Heavy Frigate allowed the Mass Relay to set them on their new course.

In a flash of blue light, the Empire's Wrath disappeared, quickly followed by the rest of the fleet.


AN: I never usually make a timeline with my crossovers and fanfictions, but I believe that the start of this crossover warrants a little bit of description. Don´t expect more timelines however. Real chapters coming up after this one.