AN: Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for a long time everyone. Life has been moving for the better for a while now, but my career required a fair bit of training I've needed to do over the past while. With the worst leg of it ending soon. So I should be coming back to both this and ISoaN soon (hopefully for real this time.) I've got a chapter for this one here, and an idea for the next one, but I might try to push out an ISoaN chapter before I try the next one of these. Either way though, sorry this one is a bit short, but I wanted to get something out finally and I liked what I had written so far. As always, like, dislike, see something you want clarification on? Leave a review! I always read them and usually respond to questions

Disclaimer: Still don't own Mass Effect.

Budyotov Colony, Soviet Space

Terentiy Petrov watched from the window of the transport carrier he was being shipped on as they passed into the gravity well of Budyotov Colony. For the relative peacefulness on the carrier itself, the sights out the window were something else entirely. The atmosphere above the planet was constantly alight with battling between the Soviet Navy and an alien fleet. Bright lights caused by the traveling of mass effect rounds criss crossed the skies and the flares of engines burned bright as vessels dodged.

The transport carrier didn't dodge or even try to though. The massive vessel never could have hoped to do so anyways. Instead, large shield banks held back the occasional shell that reached it, and the iron and steel of the soviet navy escorts stopped the rest. The giant lumbering thing had no means of landing on the planet, but even now it was disgorging the first waves of the reinforcement army it carried in its holds.

Transport vessels that were large enough to classify as bulk freighters flew out of the hulks holds just a few hundred meters from where Petrov watched the fighting going on outside. The tank commander's unit was still a few ships away from being loaded, and for now he had to keep watching as a unit of artillery was pushed and pulled onto the vessel. The heavy guns groaning as their wheels turned up the ramp. For all the mass effect technology that existed, hover equipment was still much to expensive for the army, and much of the guns of the state were still hauled by truck, wheel and man.

Petrov just had to wonder what the fighting was like on the surface. Even from the sky he could see the burns on the steppe world below. Large scars carved out of the endless green and brown from orbital bombardment. Smoke pouring into the atmosphere from burning lands and he was sure he could see the occasional flashes of the massive artillery guns that had likely been brought in.

It'd be some time still, spectating the chaos, before Petrov felt a tap on his shoulder, his second in command letting him know that it was their turn to start loading. With a nod he'd turn and head back to his T-177 tank, the "Anzhela" was fresh off the assembly line, or at least looked like it. Bright olive green paint every but the large gold and red star on the side. A barrel that had been vigoriously scrubbed on the way over to look clean, and even the treads were relatively low wear. It was a testament to her crews care for the vehicle, but well, Petrov knew one thing with weapons.

They always got dirty the moment the fighting started. Usually long before.

Airfield 771, Budyotov Colony, Soviet Space

Ulyana Gavrilyuk listened as the engine of her Fyo-8 revved to life. The ground attacker was one of the two primary ones in Soviet service, the other being the rather venerable Il-88s. Where the Il-88 could shrug off even the heaviest fire and keep going, the Fyo-8 carried enough ordinance to level a small army, and the two craft had both earned a fearsome reputation in many skirmishes against the Germans.

Even as she was completing the final checks, Ulyana looked up to see another one of the near endless reinforcement waves of troops for the front lines. She didn't envy the poor bastards being fed into that meat grinder. The enemy they faced really was nightmare for the ground forces. The only thing she figured they'd ever encounter that they couldn't grind down, and the generals were taking their sweet time in changing tactics.

Still for her she had an almost endless amount of targets to choose from it seemed every time she took off. This time her and her unit were heading to provide an attack in support of a defensive position, and as her craft took off she watched the seven other planes in her wing taking off behind her and pull into formation around her.

For all the robots had and were quite dangerous foes on the ground, they didn't really seem to have much in the way of real defenses against air attacks or even really considered them much of a threat. They would shoot at planes, usually rather accurately, but they didn't seem to deploy any atmospheric fighters. Really it made her job quite easy when she only had to worry about ground fire.

Banking her plane toward the frontline, Ulyana watched as she passed one of the massive railroad batteries. The massive gun carried enough oomph to threaten spacecraft, and when turned on ground targets the immense shells were rather good at shattering entire units. The crew of the guns were dressed in heavy suits and protection from the shockwave and sound of their own gun, and they treated the shells they were loading gingerly. The rounds, painted with a purple tip, were dangerously high explosive, and even a small drop could set them off, but in turn the specialist rounds could break mountains.

The reverberation from the gun going off shook her plane even where it was, and she had to hold on the stick for a moment to keep from veering off course. In the distance she saw the bright flash from the not quite nuclear round hitting its target, and the mushroom cloud visible crawling into the sky.

"Looks like they really are breaking out the big guns. The robots must be hitting the frontline hard." The voice of one of her fellow pilots came through the comms. The front lines were also rather noticeably closer than they had been the day before, so it likely was indeed the case. "We might have to move our airfield soon, again."

"That makes what, the third time?" Said another pilot. "I am starting to think we're going to lose the planet at this rate."

"Cut the chatter pilots." Ulyana told the others, knowing well that anyone could be listening in on their pilot coms and that would likely end badly if they were caught talking bad about the unions chances. That and they were already approaching the defense line. "Targets are spread out across the front of the defenses, hit everything you can. We are returning without a single round left."

A chorus of affirmations followed, as she dove in, and let loose the longest ranged weapons her aircraft carried. Namely a half dozen long range anti-tank missiles that winged toward the larger machines, followed by fragmentation missiles that would crash into clusters of the infantry creatures. Bullets and shorter ranged rockets followed, and finally came bombs, both conventional and even napalm. Everything they could throw at the robots they threw at them, and going by the smoke, fire and explosions behind them, Ulyana was quite certain that they had at least hit them pretty hard.

Pulling back around to strafe the robots again she'd watch the rest of her flight doing the same. The second stitching of bullets working its way across the ground and sending sparks up into the air whenever they actually hit something. 23mm rounds, 30mm rounds, and smaller 13mm rounds tore up everything from the larger walkers to the foot troops before Ulyana's guns clicked dry. "I'm out,"

"Out." "Out." "Me too." Came the replies, and a moment later she'd bank away, her flight following her back to base. She knew she wouldn't get much rest before she was back up in the air.

GR 7716 8811 Budyotov Colony, Soviet Space

Terentiy Petrov rested his arm against the open commander's hatch of Anzhela. He brought his binoculars up to his eyes to stare over the endless rolling plains of Budyotov.

His binoculars found their targets. Four legged behemoths, each easily stood over four meters tall. The machines had an almost horse like appearance, with a large long neck and glowing eye at the top. Terentiy knew from reports just what that 'eye' actually contained.

Terentiy flicked the 'command' button on his headset. "Targets sighted directly ahead, 2.2 kilometers. Battalion sized."

"Battalion size, 2.2 kilometers confirmed." Came another voice over the command channel. More specifically that of his commander. "All forces advance and fire. We will drive them from this world."

Terentiy clicked back his confirmation as other commanders did the same throughout the front, before he slipped back inside the tank and closed the hatch. Switching to the platoon channel as he settled back in his seat. "All units advance and fire on the move. Good luck. For the Union."

With that his driver roared the engine to life, the rumbling machine joining into a quartet with the other tanks in his unit. A quartet turned into a choir as hundreds upon hundreds of others joined it.

The 377th Guards Armoured Corps advanced across the steppeland. Well over six hundred T-177s chewing up the ground below them as they moved.

Terentiy gave his gunner a target, the turret making minute adjustments before the stabilizers took over.

"Fire!"

The 125mm fired, and joined in with a rippling wave across the field. Terentiy following the Anzhela's round with the targeting computer till he saw it land in a cloud of dust. "Short!"

If he had been in a tank like his great great grandfather had commanded, then his gunner would have needed to do the firing calculations himself. Instead even his call really wasn't needed, the firing computer correcting the lay of the gun already.

The large armatures fired back, arching bolts of blue hitting into the literal wave of armour. Shields flickered to absorb the impacts, dirt flew into the air. Terentiy watched as "Zhannochka" took a hit that broke through its shield. The other tank brewing up as jets of flame escaped from its hatches.

The rest of the Corps moved on around the "Zhannochka," the "Inga," and the dozen other tanks beside that were already knocked out. The "Anzhela" had to dodge to the side to get around the "Vaska" that had lost its track and its gun barrel melted.

"Fire!"

Another wave of fire launched out from the advancing armour. The shields of the apertures rippled as a number of rounds actually made their targets this time. Terentiy saw his round slam into the eyestalk of one of the walkers, the thing smoking before collapsing to the ground.

"On target. Switch to the next one!"

Another wave of return fire came in, this time even more devastatingly accurate. Still that didn't stop the armoured corps' advance.

"Fire!"

A flight of Il-88As attackers passed over head. The heavy attack craft loaded down with ordinance. Guided missiles fired first, then unguided rockets, finally heavy cannons and guided bombs. The squadron of planes painting the walker controlled ridgeline with almost as much ordinance as the entire corps on their own.

Blue bolts fired from the dust and smoke without even being hindered by the obscuring haze. Terentiy felt the heat in the air as one of the rounds hit his shield and the generator screamed.

"Fire, fire faster!"

The targeting computers tried to give them some guidance to keep on target. Terentiy watching through the swirling smoke and dirt as they claimed another walker with their guns. The ridge looking more barren by the moment.

Then they passed into the last kilometer. The Guards would drive right over the enemy if need be. Unfortunately the enemy was not going to make that easy.

"Infront! Infantry around the walkers!"

Terentiy saw the smaller platforms standing up, and turned the remote controlled turret on the roof on them. The autocannon rounds making a bright line of tracers in the growing fog as they stitched across the ridge. The infantry platforms falling and sparking where rounds claimed them. Yet, even with the assisted weight of the other tanks there was still more infantry appearing.

Rockets and anti-tank rounds poured out from the collected infantry. Terentiy listening as his shield generator screamed as more shots sparked off his tank. He knew they should have advanced with infantry support but well, what was done was done.

"Keep it up. Show these aliens the might of Soviet steel."

Five hundred meters. "Natasha" went down, fire pouring off it into the grass as a dead driver kept the tank advancing with his foot.

"Kseniya's" turret was thrown off at three hundred meters. The rest of the tank exploding moments later.

One hundred meters, the gun boomed one last time. At this range the round punched into an amature and caused it to explode. A moment later the walker's friend collapsed as the "Anzhela" slammed into it. The heavy weight of the T-177 crushing the machine under its treads as it cleared the ridge.

Then a round from another aperture hit the side of his tank, the tread blowing free and the engine shattered. The "Anzhela" grinding to a quick halt that nearly knocked Terentiy out on the side of the turret. Not even moments later he could hear the creatures climbing the sides of the vehicle, and the commanders hatch was torn open.

Terentiy looked up to see one of the infantry, oddly human in shape, but the wires and optics showed it's robotic nature. The platform raised its gun and slammed it into him stock first, and Terentiy's vision went black.

Enemy armour neutralized. Advance and capture survivors?

Hundreds of thousands of lights blinked in agreement.

Consensus achieved. Beginning advance.

The walkers started to step forward, infantry at their sides. Passing the one lone 'human' tank that had made it to their lines and starting to search the wrecks of the other hundreds that littered the field before them.

Codex Entry The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

"In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance."
~Joseph Stalin

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, more commonly referred to as the USSR, or the Soviet Union, is either the 3rd or 4th greatest power in human space, and the second largest. Though the exact size of the USSR both in planets and population is unknown due to their secretive culture, what is known is that they occupy a vast relatively isolated area of human space with no known relays into Citadel Space. It is also believed that many of these planets are very lightly populated as the USSR seems to run a near constant propaganda campaign to improve birth rates to levels higher then even the already prolific rates of the human species. The USSR is also renown for having one of the largest armies in human space. This is due to the nature of the Soviet Army, which is the largest employer of citizens in the country and is used as a fall back for unemployment in any one area.

It has been assumed that the USSR regularly engages in skirmishing with the German Reich, but recently the USSR has been reported as 'distracted.' What they are distracted by is unknown, some believe it may be engaging in internal struggles, or that it might have engaged a new opponent on its frontiers. Either way the USSR has remained an enigma to much of Citadel space, though the ideas it claims to follow, known as 'Communism' have found some purchase in Citadel space. With its ideas of unity of the collective and generally working for a greater good. Though the Entente have insisted that steps should be taken to root out and suppress the political belief.