Robotech and their characters are properties of Harmony Gold USA Inc., Mass Effect and their characters are properties of Bioware. There´s no economic remuneration gained from this story.

Shadows of the Reapers

By locke2564

Si deseas leer esta misma historia en idioma español, por favor checa: "Sombras de los Segadores", en el mismo apartado Crossovers: Robotech-Mass Effect.

A.N.: This story takes place after Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. For Mass Effect the story starts after Virmire...

For the sake of easy comprehension, my text format goes like this:

"This is dialogue" (guess i don´t need to explain that much.)

-"[This is radio or comms banter]"-

This are characters´ thoughts.

I used to highlight some lines i thougth relevant, by using italics. However, that won't happen anymore

Thanks to Relvain Jenafuse for the tip.

Prologue:

Unexpected Visitors

Locke Shepard stood frozen, tightly holding the railing that bordered along the east corridor. Several meters behind was the inner elevator connecting the west battlements with the interior backyard, and a troubled Kaidan Alenko, who desperately fought to protect a disassembled mass effect core, rigged to operate as a twenty-kiloton tactical nuclear warhead, from a big group of ill-fatedly appeared synthetic enemies.

The west artillery tower in front of him, where the handful of operatives of the Salarian Special Tasks Group was entrenched, fighting, was in turn surrounded by a strong group of mortal Geth soldiers. And there, battling shoulder to shoulder with the aliens, was the woman whom he would´ve liked to know otherwise.

Ashley Williams, who had no love lost for the aliens, had taken with great -and rare- calmness, the fact that the Commander had ordered her to cooperate with them. All of it with the intention of destroying the cloning facilities of the Turian Saren Arterius on the planet Virmire.

Shepard now struggled with his bowels, having to make the most difficult decision his long and eventful military career had submitted. Saving who was turning out to be the love of his life, or saving his good friend.

In the Skylian Blitz, decisions were not that difficult. He had to risk his own life until the end if necessary, in order to save human lives. The Batarians were not great soldiers but, like most of the groups of the Terminus Systems, were numerous and well armed. Locke held out, firing all weapons at his disposal, not presenting an easy target, leading his enemies to uncertain terrain in which they lost their advantage in numbers and arms, making every shot count. He even got the luxury of downing two or three transport ships with well-aimed shots from the ML-77 rocket launchers he found!.

Yes... the attack on Elysium had been easy compared to this. Now, as the first -and most recently appointed- human officer of the SPECial Tactics and REconnaisance corp, the brunt of the expectations of the entire galaxy -including their fellow humans-, had fallen on him. He knew that hunting the renegade "Specter" Saren, involved difficult decisions, but he never realized what such drastic decisions would amount, until he was "crossing that bridge", the moment weighing his conscience down.

While struggling with this difficult choice, he could hear the hopeless voices of Ashley and Kaidan, both of them trying to get the Commander to select the other.

Damned idiots both of them!...

He resented the resignation and "good soldier" attitude of Alenko, but the desire for martyrdom and redemption of Williams also did pull out the worst of him. He hated them both for a few seconds, his mind moving a mile a minute, trying to evaluate all possible considerations.

I have to make a final choice between two people on my team and I don´t want to discriminate any.

"Commander, time is running out..."

The deep reverberating voice of Garrus Vakarian got him out of his reverie. The Turian had joined them while they were at the Citadel, the space station where political power resided in the galaxy. He was part of C-Sec, -the police force of the Citadel-. And he had been chosen to investigate and unmask the renegade Saren as the traitor he was. But politics and red tape, both characteristics of the corporation, had disappointed him to the point where, being young and still impressionable, he had decided to join the Specter party to escape the low expectations of his work.

"Damn it!. Hurry Shepard!. I don´t want to become dust along the last hope of my people!"

The one speaking was Wrex Urdnot, a mercenary and Krogan Battlemaster that had helped them force their way into one of the seedy bars of the Wards, up in the Citadel, while hunting for Saren. Wrex was an uber-developed, lizard-like humanoid, standing more than two meters tall, with a scaly strong and massive body structure, whose top was a huge hump. He was notoriously difficult to kill. He had seen the miserable get a rocket to his body and rise up as if nothing, returning fire with the monster of shotgun he always carried!.

The Krogan, his people, were sapient creatures coming from an extremely hostile planet called Tuchanka. Their physiology had evolved in a manner consistent with the many threats from their environment. Such was its success, evolutionarily speaking, that when the Council races found them, they were given weapons and technologies, and the Galactic Council used them as soldiers in a war against an implacable enemy that devastated the galaxy two hundred years ago. After the conflict, the Krogan leaders turned to see the possibilities of wealth the stars offered, and decided to rebel. All of the Council races united against them and yet they would have been all annihilated, had the militarist Turians not appeared on stage.

With the fall came the "Genophage", a lab-specifically-designed disease, to alter Krogan fertility and maintain control over their population. This led to the subsequent decline of their race. The Krogans are now divided, reduced to primitive clans and tribes, which sell themselves to the highest bidder, as mercenaries or bodyguards.

Hopes of rising again from their own ashes are long gone…

"Watch your tongue, "bare-faced" Krogan!."Garrus turned abruptly toward the big lizard, which was at least twenty centimeters taller.

"Or what, scaly boy scout. You going to kill me?."The lizard approached him in defiant pose, brandishing his massive Sokolov shotgun. Both aliens raised their weapons, pointing at each other, oblivious to the human.

No wonder the tone of Wrex was resentful. Saren had developed a cure for the Genophage in those very laboratories they were about to destroy. The Commander had to draw on all his persuasion and charm to calm the giant lizard, and make him see how necessary it was to destroy such cure. The consequences of not doing so would have been disastrous for the morale of the squad.

Hell!. Consequences were already catastrophic without the need to shoot themselves to death...

He had tried to circumvent that decision, knowing that he was walking on a tightrope. And now the rope was unraveling at the weakest end. He couldn´t remain passive for another second.

"Stop it you two!, Wrex!, Garrus!, Lay down your weapons now!"

Both aliens turned to see the human, with guilty faces, like children who are surprised by their mother in an improper act. Garrus´dual mandibles twitched a second, reflecting what the Commander had learned to differentiate as a gesture of surprise or nervousness. Even if he didn´t know the grimace, the guilty look on her avian face was more than enough to give him away. That wasn´t true for Wrex however, whose gesture was a real poker face.

"Enough!,"said the tough Specter and then spoke painfully into the microphone of his omni-tool:

"I´m sorry Kaidan... hold on Ashley!, were coming now!"

"[You´re taking the right decision Commander,]"told his fellow soldier via radio, without any bitterness in his voice.

Why do I feel like I'm not?...

"Move it you two!," told the aliens, that promptly forgot their quarrel and nodded, starting to run towards the west tower.

Alenko took cover from a rain of fire and reloaded his weapon one last time. His vision was clouded as a result of the blasts that had penetrated his armor, and his damaged kinetic barrier generator was unable to repel.

The end was coming... he knew it. There was just over two and half minutes left before the detonation took place. He had seen the slim silhouette of the Normandy rise away, escaping the gravity well of Virmire. The Geth still standing, plaguing him, have decided to regroup and approach to finish him off. He could hear their metallic footsteps coming towards. He gritted his teeth and, using his last breath, came out to face his destiny. It was at that very moment, while raising his head, that he realized the course its fate had taken, was something away from the ordinary.

Geth troops were on the floor, smoking holes in their bodies, caused by a large caliber weapon. Their visual sensors were off and the only thing left standing in this scene of destruction was the figure of a girl, clad in what seemed the strangest battle armor, in blue, magenta and black. It didn´t look like something the Alliance would manufacture. It had no helmet, and he couldn´t detect an omni-tool:

Heck!, it looks more like a low-cut leotard an exotic dancer from the Terminus Systems would wear, than a standard battle suit!.

A limp, magenta-red hair that matched her dress, adorned her head. Her large brown eyes revealing an undoubtedly profound sadness. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but if he was dead and the scene was the result of his death throes, he told himself it was a very nice view.

He crouched on one knee while the woman approached him. His vision was clouding more and more. Soon he would not be able to see or retain consciousness...

"Are you okay?," asked the young woman. In her hand, he glimpsed some sort of weapon whose design seemed unknown to him. Alenko only smiled bitterly and pointed to the improvised bomb whose time was still running. She moved quickly and glanced at the contraption. It didn´t take a genius to know what it meant...

Without wasting any time, the woman made a concentrated mental effort and contacted his friend, a tall, medium-built, handsome man, waiting hidden in one of the nearby cliffs.

"Scott: Warm up the engines!. We have to leave here in a hurry!"

"What´s going on, Ariel?," the man's voice sounded worried.

"I'll explain once I get there".

The woman advanced and grabbed Lieutenant Alenko by his arm. Kaidan didn´t try to resist. He wasn´t even conscious. The young girl made a gesture of concentration and a flash of light emerged from her, enveloping her shapely silhouette. Another gesture and the light expanded, encompassing her and the dying soldier. Suddenly both faded in the light and it disappeared, leaving behind the steep inner courtyard of the doomed fortress.

A few seconds later they both appeared on the beach, right at the entrance to the rocky outcrop in which her ship was hidden. It was a fighter jet painted bright blue with white details on the wings and fuselage. In addition to its sheer size of nearly ten meters long, stood another attached extension, which looked like a huge brick with turbines, coupled with the fighter. The engine was running now. While they were approaching, a ramp came out of the back. A man ran towards her, wearing what looked like a light aquamarine armor. The round helmet visor was up and allowed a glimpse of the masculine traits of the wearer.

"What's the rush?." Scott asked, as he helped her put the human soldier inside the ship.

"There's a bomb planted in the building up there!. By the looks of it, its a powerful one. We have less than a minute to leave!." The woman's voice betrayed a hint of fear.

"Just what I needed to make may day!." The soldier spoke with a mix of ardor and sarcasm, as he closed the back door of the Beta fighter and made a run for the Alpha cockpit, covering the twenty meters of the ship in few strides. Made a big jump and took position in the command chair. A movement of the flight stick and the ship began to ascent vertically, while the canopy lowered and adjusted, the thrust vectoring control elevating the engine off the ground.

Scott pulled the lever forward, applying full power and the Alpha veritech took breakneck speed. Meanwhile, Ariel secured the injured lieutenant on one of the seats, to avoid a crash because of sudden acceleration. She checked his pulse: There it was, still weak but present.

The pilot moved the throttle to steep up the climb and felt the pressure on the ship increasing violently, mercilessly pounding his body. The he saw a flash and roaring sound came. Violent turbulence shook the nimble fighter. The soldier struggled with the various buttons and switches, increasing the turbines power and making sure to keep the aircraft in the air, while his companion and their guest remained secured to the chairs. A minute later the blue sky seen from the cabin disappeared, giving way to the blackness of space.

Once the sense of danger was gone, the man slumped in his seat for a moment. On the back, the girl went to the on board medical kit and grabbed a shot of epinephrine, administering it to the wounded man´s heart. The thick needle pierced the strong suit of polymers and the substance entered his heart almost imperceptibly. Afterwards she checked his vitals again and found that his heartbeats were significantly more noticeable.

A message on the radio interrupted the musings of both youngsters.

"[Vigilant one!, Vigilant one!. This is Ark Angel calling, do you copy?]." The voice of the woman speaking, sounded worried.

Scott let out a smile and opened the video-communications channel, commenting on slowly:

"Vigilant one here. Come in, Ark Angel." The image of Maggie, the usual flight controller of the Archangel, short hair, small glasses and flirty features, was hastily replaced by the sight of a man of strong black features, deep eyes, black hair with a definite military haircut. Captain Vincent Grant had decided to make the inquiries himself.

"[Commander Bernard, we detected a nuclear detonation in the beta sector of the planet, almost in the center of the area of operations, care to explain?]."The soldier's voice echoed through the audio system of the small ship.

"I'm afraid my information is limited Captain..." Scott said turning to see the image of the back cameras, to the attractive redhead who was his companion, with a look of mild reproach. On a gesture of her, he added:

"However it is best to prepare a medical unit for..." A white flash behind him stopped him. The girl and the other soldier had disappeared.

"[Ariel is already on the bridge, Lt. Commander Bernard, why didn´t you tell me we had a dinner guest?]." The deep voice on the comm seemed condescending, even friendly, despite the unnecessary reminder of its range:

"[Move him to Emergencies, on the Medical Deck, double time!],"ordered the officer, then turned to see him again:

"[Your Invid friend never ceases to amaze me...]"

"Your feelings are shared, Captain,"said the young soldier with a smile:

"This "guest" of ours looks like part of a militia of this universe, so it is very likely that he can provide us valuable intelligence about where we are and what is transpiring here. That, provided he lives to tell..." Scott said while some messages displayed on the screen of the ship.

[We'll make sure of it. Ark Angel out!]." Communications were cut, ending the message.

Scott Bernard relaxed for a few minutes and looked to the stars around him. He missed a moment in the pale glow of the lights and then sighed, pondering how the events of a few days ago had transpired so fast: The Invid leaving Earth for someplace lost in the galaxy or maybe even farther, taking all forms of protoculture with them. The betrayal of their Haydonite allies and the first victory against them, at the expense of destroying Space Station Liberty.

And then the trip across that dimensional bridge...

He was concerned the Robotech Expeditionary Force would be entering into possible hostile territory, without a minimum of intelligence gathered beforehand.

That meant risking another senseless war for humanity. But Admiral Hunter was lost, along with the protoculture matrix on board the SDF-3. The Haydonites were not going to wait for the defense forces of the Earth to be ready for a new attack...

If it was necessary to stir a new nest of insects to find the old officer and his ship...

Scott had already acquired much experience, throwing stones at the hornets´ hives.

Okay. There is the prologue. Please leave your reviews. I ain't gonna bite you!.