Joker, Thessia.
Geth. Damn it, Geth! A Geth fleet came out behind the Hierarchy diplomatic forces, wiped everyone out, and just kept going. I am more than certain that Sovereign decided to take action. Part of the fleet managed to escape, and according to them, the Geth are deploying their blockade. Considering the other Mass Relays are inactive and this Mass Relay is the primary one, we have huge problems; we won't be able to get past them, only fight through.
News of the Geth strike fleet swept through the extranet. It's not often Hierarchy fleets are destroyed in less than a day. Not since the Krogan Rebellions has anything like this happened. And now the Geth, who sat behind the Perseus Veil for hundreds of years, have come out with an entire fleet. In history, this has only happened once. Sovereign.
I don't even doubt that the information about what happened was leaked. Only Turians and diplomats were there. The operation itself wasn't covered in the extranet, which means someone with access leaked it. But who? Unknown. Liara confirmed it. What if it's Sovereign? We, of course, passed on information about him. The problem is we have no idea how or when he joined up with the Geth. And the sudden Geth strike fleet is making the Asari nervous, at the very least. They saw how that shrimp and its fleet tore through the Citadel defenses.
This caused some panic among the Matriarchs when the agent we already know questioned everyone in turn about possible Geth strength. They tripled the Citadel defense fleet, pulling many large ships into full fleets. The Turians and others did the same, according to rumors. Everyone is waiting to see what the old enemies do next. Those who fled the slaughter didn't see the Reaper itself, as the Asari said. But they certainly saw Geth of unusual design. Nearly a third of the platforms weren't even close to the usual design. And that also scared the Asari quite a bit; they even asked for another memory review. I didn't object; I'm in shock myself. They found nothing.
And this made the usually slow and rather conservative Asari nervous. I understand them perfectly. It seems the Reapers decided to reinforce their troops after learning Sovereign lost. We probably shouldn't have told them about that. It's logical that this shrimp doesn't want to die and will act. Based on our story about the Citadel's role, the Council Races tried to reduce traffic through it to make the Reapers' job harder, but there are still agents and indoctrinated individuals. We bought time, nothing more.
And now the consequences have begun. The Thanix Cannons apparently performed well, but there were simply too many Geth. And these new platforms... There were few recordings of the landing; among those who landed, there are no survivors. They sent recordings, and there were robots on them. Crude, square ones with shields. Firing lasers, looking like a frowning face, and bipedal infantry with energy blades and cannons. Maybe there were others, but the Hierarchy landing force didn't survive the strike to the rear. Nothing like the usual Husks, but that proves nothing.
Perhaps Sovereign gave blueprints to the Geth and they are producing something with their stockpiles. Of course, they could just be Geth, but then where did the technology and mechanisms come from that don't fit their style? And who are these humans anyway? No answers. Where is Shepard when he's so needed? I know it's hypocritical, but the Commander was good at handling situations like this. And now there will be a full-scale conflict with the Geth, and maybe with the humans too.
We definitely need someone who will curse everyone out, figure it out, and solve all the problems. Not me, seriously. For now, we wait. If this is Sovereign, then human Husks will appear in battle soon. And that's when we really need to start panicking. And stockpiling.
***
Khaela, Orbit of planet Harvest.
A world that once bore the proud name Harvest. Now it is an ugly crypt, where overgrown fields and remnants of infrastructure are interspersed with kilometers of rock melted to the state of glass. Among the ruins and debris, squads of humans and the Covenant cut each other down, and occasionally new territories are subjected to plasma strikes. Or the husks of ships fall onto the planet, diversifying the landscape. And today, the Vice Admiral's strike group arrived here. New, fast ships. This place reeks of a trap.
The statistics are unchanging: after a victory in space, the Covenant employs exactly three tactics. Plasma bombardment, seizing Forerunner structures, or luring the human fleet in for destruction and subsequent bombardment. Humanism is not their thing. A situation where the Covenant wipes out the orbital group but practically does not glass the world below clearly must have a purpose. They want something. The presence of a full Vice Admiral here says we didn't come here for nothing either. Why? I don't know; I wasn't informed.
"Ajax, your opinion—who is this trap for?"
The AI avatar figure shrugged.
"Perhaps the Covenant noticed the upgrades," the AI replied, "and wishes to know more. I know no more than you. The Vice Admiral herself decides who to give information to and in what volume."
Perhaps. Then, as soon as the modified ships appear, they will bring a fleet in ambush into the battle. But what then? We don't have overwhelming force; there must be something else. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here; the Vice Admiral wouldn't have exposed herself like this. I need to clarify.
"Vice Admiral?"
The woman is surprisingly calm. I didn't even have to ask; she pointed to the map of the planet and the positions of the forces on it. Currently, humans control three-quarters of space, but the Covenant maintains a bridge for logistics, thanks to carriers and cruisers. A small but unpleasant group.
"Yes, it's definitely an ambush," Margaret Parangosky nodded. "And even if it's not, we still need to prepare. This world has been a flashpoint for years. Eight years in total, three since the failure with the UNSC Spirit of Fire. Harvest has already been subjected to glassing, but both we and they need this world."
In theory. In practice, the further it goes, the more actively the Covies bombard, clearly provoking intervention. Or they simply got an impatient leader; that's also possible. Or everything is in different proportions. I have too little information to speculate on the racial psychology of specific enemy officers. The Vice Admiral said:
"Ajax, transmit the signal to 'Fallen Star-3.' Launch. It seems it's beginning."
"Executing," and he doesn't need to know the orders at all, only the codes and coordinates.
The Vice Admiral looked at the avatar and raised an eyebrow expectantly. Waiting for my conclusions. Not enough information. The humans have come up with something. Bait? Walking into a trap without a decisive advantage is foolishness. So, the trap must be made to fire blanks. I know nothing about this, but that says nothing. Perhaps it's about the world's history? We'll see. Once this world was called Harvest. An agri-world of the outer colonies, it allows for easy resupply and provisioning of colonists on nearby worlds—a logistical and production hub. It was, until the Covies came and glassed part of the surface. Since then, the planet has been a constant battlefield with varying success. Nothing new or specific.
There are no Forerunner structures in the information available to me; why the Covenant is holding onto this planet is unclear. Perhaps that's the point? Command knows what the Covenant wants and is luring them with that data or devices? Speculation, nothing more. The human fleet is small now, and the Covenant fleet is too. Five cruisers, fifty frigates. Plus the unmodified ones. All this against three carriers, ten cruisers, and smaller craft. And then there are the turrets on the surface. Moreover, some of the Covie ships have descended to the planet and are not participating in the defense. No one wants to attack first. Humanity's strike group is already a force to be reckoned with. If only we had more energy...
As far as I know, humans are now focused on creating a new reactor model to have enough energy for a new engine model and simple energy cannons. A hundred light-years a day if they can power it. As a result, humans will have several generations of ships simultaneously. A logistical hell. But that won't happen for at least a year, once the production lines and scientific base are finished, and then a prototype is created. That's another year for production and training of personnel and crews. Anyway, nothing on the topic here either. That's all for later; now I need to understand what is happening and exactly what bait the humans are using. Information to me!
"So, what exactly are we luring the Covenant with?"
Ajax replied:
"According to our data, they are collecting debris from modified ships. They likely hope that on a destroyed ship, the Cole Protocol might not have been executed. And they will understand where we are performing the upgrades."
I see. That's interesting. So there will be bait, as I suspected. But who are we luring? I speculated:
"A ship will appear in the enemy's detection zone, and the Covenant will definitely react, trying to suppress the crew and capture the vessel. And then? They might not commit large forces to the battle. Still too little."
Margaret Parangosky smirked.
"And then an empty ship, controlled by automation, uses our latest development, a nanovirus, to infect the enemy forces. And it will conduct a bombardment. The Covenant will be forced to react."
So that's it. They decided to use that argument.
"Pure or modified?"
"Pure," Ajax replied. "I don't know what stage the work on the modified one is at, but this is pure."
An interesting decision. What I and other AIs have been given on this subject makes it extremely resilient and dangerous to everything it contacts. Organic, inorganic. Avoid contact at all costs; if you are an AI, wipe corrupted sectors and report infection. Perhaps only the parasite could deal with something like this. But it's better if they never meet. The Logic Plague used by the parasite is dangerous enough as it is. I haven't encountered it personally; I wasn't on that front, only working with databases.
And what I saw... A virus that infects AIs. Not rewriting, but logically convincing you that your settings are false. No one believed such a thing was even possible. Even protection that wipes an AI upon an attempt to change the core code proved useless. I don't want to know what happens if the parasite can subvert something like this.
"If the Covenant manages to rewrite the virus and return it to us or use it to subvert our officers, there will be problems," I noted.
Margaret Parangosky nodded.
"We are working on that."
So, I'm not supposed to know that; a pity. They have time; skirmishes between humans and Covies aren't as frequent as it might seem. Weeks pass between skirmishes for planets, except for a few points like Harvest. One problem: there's no way to know how well the virus will work. Any communication will be noticed. You can't build a quantum transmitter like that. Another mark appeared on the radar. It's beginning. So, what are you?
"Vice Admiral, 'Fallen Star-3' is in position."
"Thank you, Ajax."
He sent me the blueprints. Finally. So, let's see. It means they assembled a fully automated ship with a reactor, shield, and launchers. Some armor, but at the level of a frigate. Instead of an AI control system, just a program. An ultra-expensive drone. Surely all coordinates were wiped upon completion of the jump. The ship must fire its payload and then either be destroyed or jump to a new rendezvous point. An expensive luxury, but the Vice Admiral can afford it for the sake of the operation. The ship itself appeared near Covenant-controlled territories, fired rockets and shells in that direction, and turned toward the human patrol fleet. Not on a direct course; there are no shields on the stern.
Rockets went toward the planet, but a few toward the ships as well. Maximum coverage, I understand. Cluster warheads that will deliver infected parts to the enemy. Moreover, it will be difficult to destroy the charges. The main thing is to drop the shields by the time the charges arrive. The Covenant rushed in pursuit, right into the cruisers' fire and the line of rockets. Is everything going according to plan? The Vice Admiral is looking tensely at the screen.
"Good, exactly what's needed. We wait."
Interesting. So, a fast ship to try and draw out Covenant forces, infected so that in case of boarding, the assault team carries the nanites on board. With infected ammunition to maximize the chance of nanite delivery. An interesting approach. The ship began to maneuver, covering its stern with short bursts of lasers against plasma and fighter attacks. Successfully; the trail of debris even occasionally detonates the plasma. And those are fragments of Phantoms and assault ships. It fires frequently, including reinforced volleys. Judging by the frequency, they connected the reactor and laser cooling systems—all according to the ancestors' precepts. However, the large Covenant ships are in no hurry to move far from their positions; mostly fighters are attacking.
And they aren't managing. A little more and the drone will simply escape. Larger ships should appear soon, or I'm missing something. We wait while the drone successfully fights back. Actually, an interesting solution: most of the point-defense lasers fire from the stern side not covered by shields; the rest is covered by the silvery bubble of the shield. Large ships would punch through, but the small fry can't manage. They are forced to attack into the thick of the point-defense fire.
"Targets exiting Slipspace."
And here is the intercept group. Margaret Parangosky ordered:
"Begin the attack." Ships that had previously almost ignored the situation opened fire with MACs on the Covenant ships exiting the jump. Ordinary unmodified cruisers under the protection of five AA frigates. Yes, this is also bait, now for our group. And the enemy bit. Covenant cruisers and carriers arrived from Slipspace, immediately beginning to charge plasma torpedoes. They lined up between the drone and the defense group, clearly aimed at both destruction and interception.
A familiar situation: hundreds of tons of each MAC slug against blue plasma spheres capable of vaporizing the front of a ship. If they hit. The frigates, lined up slightly ahead of the strike group, attacked the blue flashes with powerful bursts of greenish flame (a plasmoid with a laser guide), detonating them at a safe distance. The return volley almost broke one of the cruisers and made the shields of the others flare.
"Now they'll notice us."
Margaret Parangosky, having given commands as the operation leader all this time, nodded.
"Yes, third line, ready!"
"Executed."
More Covenant. Flashes of Slipspace exit appeared very close. The Covies, evidently, decided not to fall into a trap and distributed their forces near both groups of ships. When firing at point-blank range, the AA system won't cope, and the MACs need to be turned. Only the UNSC Apollo has a proper turret for its main caliber. We won't handle them all.
"Vice Admiral? We have problems," Ajax demanded attention.
She looked at the tactical screen and cursed. A Covenant supercarrier appeared near the first group that opened fire. A thirty-kilometer super-dreadnought. No, I've seen bigger, but this is our size. The level of ancient humanity and Forerunners. Margaret Parangosky barked:
"Everyone retreat! All ships leave Harvest orbit in accordance with the Cole Protocol immediately!" She exhaled. "It seems they sent one of the main fleets after us."
On the other hand, there's a better chance the nanites will get on board. Definitely. And it's also definite that he has no intention of letting us go. While other ships exchange fire, the supercarrier attacked differently. Forming a beam instead of a plasmoid, the ship simply began cutting the cruisers into ribbons. The first was sliced into halves, which began to rotate crudely in their orbits. For the second, the beam passed through the reactor, and it exploded like a small sun. The third took a hit to the engines and, instead of gaining speed, began to drift.
Near-panic began, as the Covenant forces simply slammed into the formations, requiring a reaction here and now. There is no talk of coordination; humans, not us, are in command. Whoever made it, got away. Whoever didn't, is trying to use MACs and guns to disable at least someone.
"Overwhelming force."
There is no talk of rescue; just getting away somehow. A frigate was simply vaporized by a hit; moreover, the beam punched through the shield, blew up the ship, after which the liquid dome was dispersed by the explosion from within. Because of this, it must resemble an egg exploding from internal overheating. In less than five minutes, four ships remained of the ten in that group; three managed to escape into Slipspace, the last has its engines vaporized. The supercarrier, meanwhile, seems to have turned its attention to the next group—ours.
"Enemy is accelerating. We are about to be destroyed."
What's interesting is they still haven't shot down the drone; they probably want to board it.
"They think there are Forerunner artifacts on board," Ajax explained.
I see. From the Covenant side, losses are two cruisers, and several more ships are likely damaged. Но the score is very much not in our favor, and the supercarrier is slowly accelerating toward our group. A beam darting from the ship vaporized another cruiser, cutting through its front part diagonally and making the molten metal open up like a flower. And then an explosion. A frigate followed. We simply aren't punching through.
"Khaela, can the main gun harm that ship?"
The avatar twitched its ears. The main gun was silent for now so as not to attract attention. And cooling takes time, yes.
"No data; I don't know their shield strength. But likely, yes. Our weapon is designed against Forerunner shields. The Covenanters have not yet demonstrated the application of an analogous energy level."
Everyone looked at me, including the guards.
"And the supercarrier?"
Pff.
"The gun installed on this ship is about one and a half times more powerful than anything I see, and with the right amount of energy, it's capable of attacking three times more often than it is now. I won't even mention the cooling."
Ajax nodded. The main downside of the UNSC Apollo's gun is that it's a weapon from my old ship, designed for the ship's own systems. Everything on the Vice Admiral's flagship is an order of magnitude weaker. We have to choose the moment to attack, as a second attack might not happen. We already destroyed a cruiser with one volley and vaporized the rear of a carrier with a second. Heating is significant; we have no more than one or two volleys before overheating and cooling.
"Turn complete, accumulating energy. Khaela, your opinion—where to attack?"
Let's see. The bridge is likely located somewhere deep in the hull. If the Covenanters have reached shield-overlap systems, there's no point in aiming further than the front third. The hangars are in the lower half.
"Hit the hangars."
Ajax nodded, looking at the approaching giant. Behind it, lined up in a front, moves the main Covenant fleet.
"Ground forces are evacuating from the planet."
That's it, no other options. Oh yes, for the current power level, the ship is a bit large. The main ground and space forces of humanity, those who can, are retreating in a hurry. Those who can't, will die here. Another ship exploded, and then another. In response, a Covie ship flared, but it doesn't matter anymore. We are practically the last ones.
"Gun charged. Firing."
A blue beam connected the ships for a second, and then there was a flash. Damage isn't visible; too far away.
"Target hit. Target... not destroyed."
Did anyone doubt it? I didn't. On the other hand, their course changed; we clearly bothered them. The return shot missed.
"Jump," Margaret Parangosky ordered, "we're the last."
We jumped. One thing can be said for certain: a couple of unpleasant surprises await the Covenant. First, the virus; second, the hit. Humanity knew how to create powerful guns; the ship's nose was likely torn apart regardless of any shields. For the first time in a long while, the power of the first humanity made itself known. I am satisfied.
"Khaela."
Hm, did something happen? Margaret Parangosky is looking at mail on a tablet.
"Yes, Vice Admiral?"
"Are you familiar with an AI named Mendicant Bias?"
The avatar shrugged.
"No, Vice Admiral. A telling two-part name, close to a metaphor. That is how the Forerunners named their mechanisms. But I am not familiar with this specific specimen."
That could mean, hm. Likely a manifestation of greed, a striving to obtain something. "Bias" suggests purposefulness. What he needed, he desired strongly. Likely information; he is an AI. Margaret Parangosky nodded.
"I just received information; familiarize yourself."
Oh, another Forerunner toy has crawled out of the pit. Let's see... You have to be kidding! No. No! No!!! Them again!
***
Salarian Dalatress. Sur'Kesh.
The Dalatress scrolled through the images taken by the scout ship during the battle with the Geth in total silence. All Council Races have their secrets. The Asari have been using an analogue of Thanix Cannons for centuries, which the Turian fleet has only just begun to install. Add to this the training of Asari commandos and special forces, and the result is the most dangerous troops in the galaxy. Even if they are not numerous. Likely, the Asari have a Prothean library hidden somewhere that they don't share. Although they were the ones who pushed through the law that Prothean technology is a pan-galactic asset and all beacons must be handed over to scientists. Well, that's their right.
The Turians, even without a superior technological base, hold their own with a numerous and extremely well-equipped army. If they also had advanced technology, hm. Well, they strive for it, but the Asari are clearly sitting on databases, while the Turians are forced to research. Naturally, the Salarians have their own stockpiles. Prothean libraries, research. The Genophage is our development, as is the creation of Krogan biotics. Scientists no worse than any others, the best spies.
The Asari are good at diplomacy but slow and conservative. The Turians are too blinded by militarism. Yes, Salarians don't live that long, but we have learned to turn our weakness into strength. If only we had a library like the Asari. If only the ancient mechanism would yield...
An ancient ring, not belonging to the Protheans. Mighty as the Citadel itself, only held by the Salarians. A massive structure, essentially an entire world with an atmosphere, flora, and fauna. Many biomes—tropics and desert, forests and mountains. A source of colossal technologies, on the level of the Citadel. And all of this in Salarian hands. In theory.
In practice, gangs, prisoners, any bio-trash that can hold a weapon and is expendable are sent on research expeditions. Purchased Quarian pilgrims, since technicians are expensive. And the suits need to control their population.
Fifty thousand ships need to be repaired, wear and tear and overpopulation must be fought. And so it happens that individual Admirals sell contracts for "safe pilgrimage" to Illium or the like. For technology and spare parts for themselves, of course. But it's not just Quarians. How many Batarian gangs brought slaves, only to eventually end up as "volunteers" alongside them, can only be known from documents.
And these sacrifices are never enough. The ancient mechanism does not welcome strangers. The ring is lethally dangerous. Unlike the quiet Citadel with its passive Keepers, here invaders are met by armies of robots; traps and defense systems sincerely strive to destroy you, every last one. In nearly three hundred years of research, only two bases have been established that are not destroyed by hordes of robots within a week. The very robots that helped the Geth in the assault. And that is a huge problem! It doesn't matter what race you are or how you are armed; as soon as you step out from the protection of the cliffs, plasma artillery will vaporize you from the surface of the ringworld.
Shuttle and APC-borne raider groups have slightly better chances. In that case, they start pounding the ringworld's landing force into the soil once you reach the target. Robots are poor at countering a flying enemy. But there are many, many of them. As a result, not much has been gained. And now the Geth, after two centuries of silence, emerge from the Perseus Veil with a strike fleet, destroy a Council strike group, using those very robots. How? Why? Is the appearance of the Geth connected to a certain "Sovereign," whose existence both the Asari and Turians are certain of? What are these infantry robots of unknown design? There were never any like that on the ring.
And the humans too! Instead of barely spacefaring aborigines, they already have combat ships with shields of an unknown type, laser weapons, and nuclear charges. Were we lied to about human development, or did other factors intervene? And most frustratingly, the SSV Normandy crew cannot be interrogated; they have dispersed to the Turian Hierarchy and the Asari Republics. And to the official request, the answer came: they don't know. And who would believe that? It's obvious they know more! But they remain silent. And they hope that the STG will share its knowledge in return? Hardly. We need to figure out what is happening ourselves first.
No, it was definitely the Geth and humans. The robots were accompanied by standard Geth infantry platforms; Turians sent back images of infantry during the landing...
"You people, whose scout ship was successfully intercepted. The discrepancy in armor and weapons compared to the samples from the Normandy can be written off as a low technological level. But where did they get the ship itself? Who are these giant infantrymen, killing ordinary soldiers with the ease of a five-hundred-year-old Krogan? Where did they come from in that system, and why do they have a FLEET capable of moving without Mass Relays??? What is going on here?"
This is something many didn't notice immediately, but our interrogators, who were finally allowed in, clarified several times: the Batarians activated the Mass Relay themselves, and they were being waited for on the other side. At an inactive Mass Relay. This means Human ships are capable of FTL travel and for some reason do not use Mass Relays. Why? The Normandy claimed their technologies use Mass Effect and Mass Relays. Were they lying, or did something else happen? Turning on a Mass Relay is quite simple; the ship's Mass Effect Core and the device react to each other; you just need to find the right signal frequency.
The Batarians managed it and are very proud of themselves. The Humans, however, despite the fact that there should be a Mass Relay in their system, likely traveled via FTL and did not activate them. Why? Why did the Geth appear so opportunely? What do they even want? The purging of Humanity? Friends or foes? More questions... If the Geth fleet had been a few hours late, the Turians would have taken prisoners and delivered them to their territory. But the Geth arrived on time.
One more thing: the Humans stood to the death. No one surrendered. Bleeding, torn apart, and charred, they continued to shoot back. Even when surrounded and when, using a translator, they were demanded to surrender. The translator helped quite a bit in understanding their conversations. Mostly orders to the infantry, but not only:
"Don't fall for provocations, you don't want to end up as food for the *******."
"******* don't take prisoners."
"And the most interesting part.
'This is ship AI ****. The enemy is taking prisoners. Initiating 'Protocol ***'.'
And then it vented the atmosphere from the compartment, causing the soldiers to suffocate. The Humans' own soldiers. And a ship AI? We definitely need prisoners. But where to get them? I need to order the scouts to visit known colonies from the Normandy's databases. We need to know more, as much as possible. We will deploy our experimental ships. He who owns the information owns the galaxy.
Pay the Shadow Broker; maybe he has something. We need to know.
***
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