History Made
A Mass Effect fic by Dirty Reid
A.N.: Hello, planet Internet! Couple things I want to say to you before you jump in:
By now, I'm sure you've noticed several of my stories have disappeared. The reason is simple: I took them down because they were dead in the water. I had no inspiration to write them, and looking back, I cannot believe how terrible they were. They were stunted pieces of sub-par art, crafted by my twisting little whims and good old-fashioned fan service. So no, I will not bring them back. The remaining stories though, will be updated at some point.
Secondly, over the summer- when I'm not preparing to move to another town to go to college, spending my evenings at cruise nights or doing work on my 'new' 1965 Mustang Coupe- I've been playing the shit out of the Mass Effect trilogy, hence this. I've also seen a few good crossovers involving the ME-verse, the more notable ones being 'Mass Effect: Clash of Civilizations' by Eterna1Soldier and 'Screw This, I'm Firing the Halo Array' by Galaxy Hunter. The latter draws attention to how various fleets would stack up against the Reapers, and the former about how the UNSC and Covenant would stack up against the Citadel races. These fics helped me birth this one. Eterna1Soldier, Galaxy Hunter, if you two ever read or get wind of this story: I salute you.
Disclaimer: I own none of the mentioned series
Chapter 1: For Those of You just Joining Us
"It isn't all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just beginning."
- Gene Roddenberry
A Summary of Human Innovation in the 21st and 22nd Century
By: Niccolo Troche, PhD
2063:
After ten years and millions of dollars towards resources and biotechnical engineering, Professor Esmerelda Valdez and her team at Edge Genetics create the first viable artificial neural lattice. The device is designed to piggyback onto the true nervous system of a human being, its purpose being to connect to mechanical prostheses grafted to the subject in question and allow them to function with efficiency equal to or greater than their organic analogues. In honor of the idea from which the neural lattice was inspired, Valdez names the device the 'PEDOT Array'. She is awarded the Nobel Prize for Biology later that year.
2070:
Seven years after the creation and implementation of the first PEDOT Array, mechanical augmentation of every kind is slowly becoming popular among the people of Earth. While most see it as another stepping stone in the advancement of humanity, some cling to their mistrust of augmentation. Their fears stem from the scattered cases of what is termed 'Rejection Syndrome', a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the PEDOT Array causing build-up of glial tissue around the central hub located deep within the brain. The build-up of this tissue impairs the signal transmission between the hub and the electrodes, effectively causing malfunction of augmentations and leading to the aforementioned Rejection Syndrome (RS).
2087:
In response to the slowly climbing cases of RS appearing around the world, Professor Valdez and Dr. Nicolas Ponzanovic join forces to research and create the first ever 'gene mod'. By 2087, Mechanical Augmentation Mutagen One (MA-M1) is finished and distributed to all major health care providers around the world. The mutagen uses the now extinct rhinovirus as a vector, containing small amounts of the artificial tissue used in the construction of the PEDOT Array. The immune system adapts to the MA-M1, ensuring that no reaction occurs upon the implantation of a PEDOT Array. The cases of RS very quickly die out, and humanity rejoices.
2102:
The entire world watches with bated breath as the first 'true' artificial intelligence is revealed. Subject Zero, after moments of silent observation asks the question "Am I alive?" The answer is given by its creator, Louis Schwartz: "We do not know for certain. But for now, the answer is yes. You think, therefore you are."
By the end of the year, Subject Zero has chosen the name 'Adam' and has flawlessly integrated into society. This success paved the way for the further creation of AIs.
Children at the age of ten are now treated with MA-M1.4 to prepare their bodies for any possible future augmentations. Not a single case of Rejection Syndrome has been reported since.
2104:
With multiple AIs working tirelessly, blueprints for space-faring vessels and weapons are created and put through countless viability simulations. Humanity and the as yet unnamed collective of AIs know that they and their nine billion fellows will soon deplete Earth's resources, and as such must reach the stars within the next twenty to thirty years.
2109:
The first 'Portal Drive' is completed by a twenty year collaboration between the North American States and Russian Federation. The drive operates using a miniature 'cold' fusion reactor that uses cyclic particle accelerators to tear a hole into another dimension where faster-than-light (FTL) travel is possible. It is field tested after its installation into a modified fighter jet capable of zero-G travel. The jet is piloted by a 'dumb AI' controlled drone and is set to open a portal to the moon and back. Designated 'Chell' by the team responsible for it, the jet successfully travels to the moon and back. Scans of the time it took Chell to travel the distance to the moon (Less than one thousandth of a second) reveal that the portal drive allowed the ship to travel at a maximum speed of 1.004 light-years per twenty-four hour period (Approx. 26.023 billion kilometres per hour). Chell is immediately retired to the International Museum of Innovation in Luxembourg.
2119:
The first true space-faring vessel flotilla- composed of four ships- is prepared to carry an exploratory team and all the necessary resources to establish a tiny colony on Mars, which is at its current closest point to Earth (57.6 million kilometres). Using portal drives, the trip takes a grand total of 0.000053 seconds. After establishment, the colony 'goes silent' upon discovery of an ancient construct. Further study reveals a cache of information and several tonnes of a strange glowing rock, which are sent back to Earth immediately.
Professor Esmerelda Valdez dies in her sleep at the age of 125.
2122:
Once the data is decrypted, a joint military research ruminates on their discovery: A trove of technological information from an extraterrestrial race known as "Protheans". Information for crafting shields capable of ablating physical blows, use of a strange element to alter the mass of certain objects, templates for weapons, armour and other little tidbits. When a proposal to reverse engineer the technology for their own purposes is put forward, Felix Kingry, a relatively young engineer from Canada, voices his dissent at the notion:
"Fellow teammates and advisors, I cannot even begin to describe what a terrible idea that is. Now before you verbally slice me to ribbons, hear me out: This information is concrete, one hundred percent proof that we, the human race, are not alone in the galaxy. And as we clearly see with this data, not only are we not alone, but we are quite possibly outnumbered, and hilariously outgunned. Let me ask you this:
"What if these Protheans are still out there? What if they come back and they see us messing around with their toys? Who's to say they won't be offended by our pale copies of their technology and proceed to exterminate us? F***** does not even begin to describe what we would be." The moment it takes Kingry to catch his breath 'Felt like the longest in human history.'
"If it does indeed come to that, we must be ready for these Protheans. We need something that gives us an edge. You say we recreate this technology; I say we pervert it! We ought to study it, to find its weaknesses and capitalize on that! Render their technology obsolete! And if the time comes, let these Prothean invaders cower as their weapons and armour shatter against the sword and shield of the Human Armada!"
Kingry's speech is transmitted around the world when the events of the Mars colony landing are made public. It quickly becomes the most watched video of the year, accumulating 4.1 billion hits on EarthVideo, the successor of YouTube.
2129:
A Chinese engineering firm tests the prototype of a large-scale directed energy weapon. The weapon utilizes ethylene burned in nitrogen trifluoride, producing free excited fluorine radicals. Once the radicals pass through the supersonic injection nozzle, helium and deuterium gas are injected to produce hydrogen fluoride, which undergoes stimulated emission in the prism oscillator chamber, ejecting a narrow energy beam with a power output of one megawatt. Though cumbersome and rather slow to fire, the team rejoices as they revel in their creation: The first viable, compact laser weapon in human history.
2130:
The cold fusion portal drive is discontinued and phased out of use, making way for the new, much more efficient Antimatter Portal Drive (APD). The first and most powerful drive is fitted to the first Human Armada warship which will use it to travel to a world discovered in the habitable zone of the Alpha Centauri cluster. The ship, at the suggestion of Felix Kingry is both named and designed after "The only ship worthy of being the vanguard of the Human Armada," meaning the USS Enterprise from Gene Rodenberry's classic show Star Trek. Though still clumsy, the Human Armada Service Vessel (HSV) Enterprise is fitted with one dozen Hengsha-class laser cannons in case of an emergency.
2131:
After determining that the planet in question is indeed able to support life (Informally called a 'Goldilocks planet'), the crew of the Enterprise informs the waiting colony ships to join them. Three days later, the first bottle of champagne is opened on the alien world, which is christened Eden. The entirety of Earth celebrates; they now have a new home.
In preparation for future exploration, construction immediately begins on freighters and war vessels across all four of Earth's orbital shipyards.
2144:
Countless humans and synth-humans (AIs in mechanical bodies) construct fifteen more warships for the Human Armada. All of the ships are modelled after their analogues in the Star Trek series. They are eventually referred to as the 'Roddenberry Fleet'.
At the same time, the first Phoenix-class dual purpose carrier/colony ship, modelled after a ship in the classic Halo games, finishes construction. Like its inspiration, the Spirit of Fire, the 2500m x 533m x 502m HSV Demeter is fitted with an experimental Magnetic Acceleration Cannon (MAC), sixty 50mm point-defense guns, sixteen Ion torpedo pods and twenty-two of the new Mk. II Hengsha-class lasers. The Demeter is the first in a new style of vessels, but additions to the Roddenberry fleet will continue to grow.
The Enterprise is refitted with upgraded Hengsha lasers and like its newer counterparts, is fitted with an Ion torpedo launcher for capital ship engagements, housed in what would be the 'secondary hull' were the saucer able to separate, capable of rotating sixty degrees in any direction. In addition, it is fitted with the newest brain-child of humanity, the Phalanx Energy Shield. A central hub attaches to the Antimatter Energy Core (AEC) to draw power from it, and feeds into multiple emitters placed across the hull of the Enterprise. In its simulations, the shield is deemed strong enough to withstand a kinetic or energy bombardment equal to a 40 kiloton bomb. Anything with a greater energy output will have that amount negated by the shield, and do the remaining damage to the Enterprise's hull. Because of a unique factor of the dimension all ships travel through while in FTL, the energy shields must be deactivated while in transit or risk burning out the generator and emitter points. This leaves the vessels of the Human Armada significantly more vulnerable just before and after a jump. To compensate, all future vessels are fitted with additional ablative armour over their command centres, engines and AECs.
The total population of Eden sits at 16.56 million. Most of its inhabitants are farmers or miners.
2150:
Phalanx Energy Shields are now a standard feature for all Armada vessels. Civilian ships are fitted with a weakened version with only half the energy-absorbing capabilities. Interestingly, if multiple shield generators are attached to the AEC of the ship, the strength increases by an order of magnitude per generator at the expense of MAC and Hengsha laser recharging speed. Unfortunately, the generators are incredibly expensive, so only the most valuable ships are given multiple generators.
The total number of ships in the Roddenberry Fleet now sits at fifty. No two ships are exactly the same. (Updated, 2203: Cross-referencing ship sizes with various Citadel species databases classifies all vessels in the Roddenberry Fleet as cruiser-class [All ships range from 300 to 800 metres in length]).
Progress on the newly-dubbed 'Jones-Seropian Fleet' is going well. In six years, three new ship classes have been established and constructed:
Frigate-class, total of 40 (15 Stalwart [Light; 478m x 152m x 112.3m], 15 Charon [Light; 490m x 156m x 112.3m], 10 Paris [Heavy; 535m x 190m x 112.3m])
Destroyer-class, total of 10 (485m x 170m x 117.1m)
Cruiser-class, total of 4 (2 Halcyon [Light; 1170m x 352m x 414m], 2 Marathon [Heavy; 1192m x 293m x 473m)
Two more Phoenix-class carriers have also been constructed, the HSV Sucellus and the HSV Pachamama.
Unlike the reconnaissance-purposed Roddenberry Fleet, the comparatively slower ships of the Jones-Seropian Fleet carry scores of ground units, dropships and single-man fighter craft for both endo- and exoatmospheric engagements.
All ships in the Jones-Seropian Fleet are equipped with extensively tested Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles, ready to be used by the Armada's first 'graduating class' of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST). Any armed forces with special operations experience and training are allowed to volunteer. N7 operatives fresh from 'the Villa' compose most of the troopers, with army men, marines, paramilitary operatives and secret service agents completing the First Battalion, serving on the Halcyon cruiser HSV Napoleon Bonaparte. Later battalions would be assigned to a single cruiser, two to a carrier, or split between two frigates or destroyers.
2152:
The Armada unveils the Human Armada Mining Vessel (HMV) Ishimura, colloquially referred to as a 'Planet-Cracker'. Its purpose is to release Tunneller-class missiles into uninhabitable planets and asteroids to break them up and mine valuable resources. As a joke, the crew of the Ishimura emblazon their ship's hull with the image of a 'Slasher' Necromorph.
As the Roddenberry Fleet prepares to explore another star system, Project [REDACTED] commences.
2153:
A second habitable planet is discovered in the Wolf 359 System. The mountainous Goldilocks planet has 2.1 times the gravity of Earth and an atmospheric oxygen concentration of 19.72%. Seeing its potential for troop training, the Armada's R&D Division in charge of Project [REDACTED] relocates to the planet, later named Olympus for the single supercontinent formed into one enormous mountain.
2162:
The first Behemoth-class battlecruiser makes its maiden voyage from the Koprulu Ship Yards in the Beta Centauri system to Earth. At 560m x 192.4m x 97.7m, it is comparable in size to a Jones-Seropian Paris-class frigate or one of the larger Roddenberry Fleet vessels. What sets it apart, aside from its hammerhead-like shape, is the presence of a Mk. I Yamato Cannon. Because of the cannon's tremendous energy draw, two upgraded cold fusion reactors are implemented to power the gun in addition to the AEC. A blast from a Mk. I Yamato Cannon is equal to the Tsar Bomba hydrogen bomb tested by the Soviet Union in 1961 (~60 megatons). The ship carries a payload of four 5 megaton Apocalypse-class nuclear missiles, six Ion torpedo launchers, ten Mk. II Hengsha laser batteries and twenty 50mm point defense guns. The battlecruiser, named the HSV Raynor also boasts a platoon of marines fitted with brand new Powered Combat Suits, allowing them to carry PCS marine-specific C-14 rifles or heavy weapons that any average or augmented soldier would need to mount on a tripod or a vehicle. They are nicknamed 'walking tanks' by their fellow soldiers.
The battlecruiser also sports six MB-S Siege Tanks, four AV-A Banshee Gunships, two AV-T Dropships and two twelve unit wings of A2 Viking Armoured Mechanical Hybrids, capable of transitioning from fighters to bipedal ground assault units. The Raynor is the first vessel to be built in the Adham-Morhaime-Pearce Fleet (Shortened to Blizzard Fleet in 2177 for the sake of brevity).
2166:
The Armada stumbles upon a small gas giant and makes an amazing discovery: When a laser blast passes through the gas composing most of the planet, the atoms composing it grow more excited and release more energy upon returning to their ground state. A freighter flotilla, the HSV Trailblazer of the Roddenberry Fleet and the Ishimura immediately travel to 'Bespin' and begin construction of rigs to mine the later dubbed 'Tibanna gas' as well as a permanent base of operations.
Plans for a fourth fleet of ships begin construction.
Construction of Orbital Defense Platforms (ODPs) above Earth, Eden, Olympus and Bespin begin. The Ground to Air Anti Ship Cannons (GAASCs) on the 'Goldilocks planets', though easier to evade, remain as a secondary layer of defense.
2167:
After study, Tibanna gas is found to exponentially increase the power of a Hengsha laser when the bolt is passed through the gas compacted at an atomic level. All ships are gradually recalled to be fitted with new Beijing-class 'turbolasers' which emit a 3.76 megawatt beam, comparative to the power produced by small, early 21st century supercolliders (All ships refitted by 2177).
2173:
Construction of 'Cloud City', a joint civilian-merchant station above Bespin is completed. The city stays afloat using enormous magnets to repulse it from the surface, as well as directional thrusters to remain steady in any storms. One dozen mining rigs have so far been completed.
Charles Pancor, leader of the prevalent anti-augmentation group Pure Humanity, is assassinated. A single eyewitness claims that they saw "A green giant jumping the rooftops away from where he (Pancor) was killed." The general population claims that the Armada ordered a hit on Pancor, who had been leader of Pure Humanity while several attacks had done damage to various augmentation clinics and harassed pro-augmentation figures.
The Armada denies any involvement and dismisses any rumours of 'super assassins' as simply that.
2177:
The Lucas Fleet is unveiled. The ships debuted are as follows:
Corvette-class, total of 20 (Blockade-Runner [150m x 28.6m x 12.6m])
Transport-class, total of 10 (T-1 [Troop carrier; 90m x 21.4m x 19.6m] T-2 [Supply carrier; SEE PREVIOUS SPECIFICATIONS])
YT-1300-class, total of 20 [34.75m x 15.5m x 8.25m]
Nebulon Frigate-class, total of 15 (10 Escort-class [300m x 72m x 166m] 5 Medical-class [SEE PREVIOUS SPECIFICATIONS])
Cruiser-class, total of 2 (1 Mon Calamari Home One-class [MCH1; 1200m x 318m x 118m] 1 Mon Calamari Liberty-class [MCL; 1200m x 490m x 118m])
Star Destroyer-class, total of 1 (Imperial-I-class [1600m x 890m x 530m])
Sentinel-class Landing Shuttle, total of 10 [38m x 32m x 8m (Not including wings)]
Gamma-class Shuttle, total of 4 [30m x 13m x 9m]
Theta-class All Terrain Armoured Transport (AT-AT) Barge, total of 4 [30m x 35m x 18m]
Over 2000 single-occupant fighters (Configurations: A-wing Interceptor, B-wing, TIE-Fighter/Interceptor/Bomber, V-wing (T-1) Airspeeder, T-2 Airspeeder (AKA Snowspeeder), X-wing, Y-wing Bomber
Over 10 000 mechanized 'dumb' AI units (Units: Astromech droids, Surgical droids, Probe droids, Labour droids, Box droids, Destroyer droids (Droideka)
Unlike their analogues in the Star Wars series, the capital ships of the Lucas fleet house a 'smart' AI and several 'dumb' AIs within their systems to run more tedious or precise tasks with greater efficiency. This allows any of the ships to run on a skeleton crew, instead of the often upwards of three thousand operatives normally required.
The Lucas Fleet is considered the best-rounded fleet in the Human Armada. All of the capital ships forego 50mm point-defense guns for extra Beijing turbolasers and modified Mk. II Hengsha lasers for knife fight range engagements and anti-fighter screening. (Update, 2203: Various alien factions have nicknamed the Lucas Fleet 'The Doom-bringers' as incalculable amounts of destruction is guaranteed when the fleet comes into battle).
2180:
While trawling through the Prothean data on Mars, Chuck Wolowitz, MEng, discovers that Charon, Pluto's moon, is in fact a machine. More specifically, it is called Mass Relay, which the Protheans used to traverse the galaxy at incredible speeds. Wolowitz brings his discovery to Felix Kingry, now head of the Armada Engineering Corps and Director of the Ares Shipyards above Olympus, to ask for advisement.
"Because they relied on it, I'm tempted to say just leave it. But it could be useful. Wolowitz, take a team out to Charon and see if you can excavate this 'Relay'. Learn whatever you can about it from testing and the ruins and report back to me. In the meantime, I'll let the Armada Council know about what you found. Nice work, by the way." Kingry, 80, is quoted saying.
Six months pass, and Wolowitz's team learns that there are two types of Relays: Prime and Secondary. The former covers thousands of light years, but links to only one destination. The latter covers dozens to hundreds of light years and links to multiple relays. Kingry relays the information to the Armada, who elect to move the Relay into empty space between Sol and Alpha Centauri to confuse any possible attackers while they continue to build ships. Moving the Relay is accomplished by strapping several cold fusion engines to it and pushing it two light years out of the system.
2199:
The Human Armada, and every civilian on the colony worlds, celebrates the turning of the century with a countdown to Earth-standard midnight, at which time the four fleets- each stationed above a different world, will release an enormous payload of fireworks. The collective strength of the Human Armada, counting capital ships only, is as follows:
Roddenberry Fleet:
44 cruisers (All unique classes)
Jones-Seropian Fleet:
Corvette-class stealth vessel, total of 100 (Prowler-class [162m x 98m x 50m])
Frigate-class, total of 400 (150 Stalwart, 150 Charon, 100 Paris)
Destroyer-class, total of 250 (No sub-classes)
Cruiser-class, total of 80 (50 Halcyon, 30 Marathon)
Carrier/Colony-class, total of 12 (No sub-classes)
Blizzard Fleet:
Battlecruiser-class, total of 36 (16 Behemoth, 12 Gorgon, 8 Leviathan)
Lucas Fleet:
Corvette-class, total of 160 (Blockade-Runner-class)
Transport-class, total of 40 (20 T1, 20 T2)
YT-1300-class, total of 100 (No sub-classes)
Nebulon Frigate-class, total of 60 (45 Escort, 15 Medical)
Cruiser-class, total of 20 (12 MCH1, 8 MCL)
Star-Destroyer-class, total of 12 (8 Imperial-I-class, 4 Imperial-II-class)
Total number of Human Armada military vessels: 1314
(Note: Rumours of an even larger capital ship begin circulating as several of the best and brightest engineers are called to the Ares Shipyards, which are put under media and radio blackout.)
2200:
An exploratory flotilla composed of ships from all four fleets, 'portal out' to the Mass Relay in deep space and prepares to utilize it, again going where no one has gone before.
Fleet composition:
2 Prowler-class Corvettes
6 Blockade-Runner-class Corvettes
1 Medical-class Nebulon Frigate
1 Miranda-class Cruiser
1 Behemoth-class Battlecruiser
Before entering the Mass Relay, when asked for any parting words, Captain Dennis O'Halloran of the Battlecruiser HSV Kerrigan states: "Yeah, first unto the breach, no guts no glory an' all that shit…"
End Summary
And that's (the revised) chapter 1 of History Made! Please:
1- Tell me whether or not you liked this story
2- Tell me what you SPECIFICALLY liked about this installment
3- Tell me what you DIDN'T like about this installment
4- Recommend a suitable improvement
5- Tell me if you caught all of the references to other series
Adios,
DR