"How is it possible to build something like an elevator to space? The sheer volume of manufacturing… the material! Your people don't use Mass Effect fields!" Daro'Xen's world just went upside down after seeing all of this.
"Well, I won't tell you the material we use to build these, but I can safely say that we use moveable factories and manufacturing is done in specially made ships.
Especially, around Big Blue." Marcus clarified to the jumpy Quarian that he is certain that she is not a teenager, but the moment they talk about science and technology, she becomes one.
"...Fascinating… this is something that we need to develop as well. Our life ships do produce food, but something like this… we don't have at such a scale."
In fact, now that they think about it, they can only produce things at a small scale. But if they could… they could make more ships at least.
Sometimes they borrow drydocks to build more Quarian ships, but most of the time they buy decommissioned ships. Like Batarian Dreadnoughts…
Honestly, this visit gave them another perspective on the scale one could build in space.
"Good, it would seem I have motivated you two." Marcus can sense that these two started to think at a greater scale, and that is a good thing.
"Even if you get your Rannoch back, it will take years to return as a proper galactic power.
Seeing this should give you some perspective on how you should progress." The Emperor said with a smile as he then looked at the captain of the ship.
"Take us to the port, and contact Anaheim's Control Tower. I need my G-Force gathered."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
~~~
The Orbital Ring around the World of Anaheim is a bit different from other Core Worlds.
Imperial Retinues have their seats of power throughout the Arcturus Stream, or Exodus Cluster now.
The Empire is expanding at a considerable pace.
Though Marcus has two seats of power: his Avalon, which can move at will and the World of Anaheim or more precisely, the Anaheim System.
Big Blue and the World of Anaheim act like Drydocks for his ships, where they can be maintained, improved or taken apart if necessary; even Avalon, in all of its might and size, can dock and go through retrofits if need be.
Of course, it's not just ships, as the Gas Giant's moon is a proper habitable place. It has four continents. Three of the continents are dedicated to Marcus' merchandise business; well, it's not just that, as he is making clothes, banners, and all that stuff for retinues around the Empire.
But other stuff as well. He is keeping the traditional culture from Earth from continuing to exist, as over two hundred years the sense of style in people changes.
Sometimes for the worse; that is why he has his business in traditional materials going. Synthetic clothes are crap anyway…
He genetically engineered silk and cotton to be durable and at the same time soft.
When the battleship docked in one of the countless docks around World of Anaheim, the Emperor and his group were greeted by rows and rows of soldiers; behind them were Marines in their power suits, then behind them were Knightmare and lastly Cataphract.
Though… there were several Gundams as well; among them, waiting at the very front were several people dressed in black and purple uniforms with different colour cloaks.
These were the G-Force Knights, Marcus' Round Table of the best and strongest pilots who were with him since the very beginning, and of course several of them joined years later, like Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos and Graham Anker.
"Your Majesty, it's good to see that you haven't forgotten this little planet." Maya Domeki Disel said with a small smile. She was a black-haired girl who had been following him since before he was ruler of the whole of Terra; well, back then it was called Earth. But calling your home world… dirt… is not the best image for aliens.
"Forget this place? Are you serious, Maya? Do you know how many years I have put into this place?" Marcus looked baffled for a second before shaking his head and looking at the lined-up knights.
"So, boys and girls, I have something for you."
"Please tell us that we are joining a war? I feel rusty." Lockon complained as he stretched himself slightly.
"Indeed."
With that confirmation, the knights perked up.
"As you can see, I brought some guests." Marcus motioned towards people in suits behind him.
"...I was wondering who were these guys… but now that I think about it… they are not… us… right?" Lockon almost called them aliens, but he was able to switch at the very last second.
"Yes. These are Quarians who got exiled from their homeworld by Rogue AI. That's beside the point. Their homeworld is fascinating as it developed lifeforms different to ours, all the way to the point of how digestive systems work.
So, Claudia wants to research that place.
I want some of you to join her and protect her in this conflict."
"...With all due respect, she has armies with claws, fangs, spikes, and they evolve mid-fight… I don't think she needs that much help." Lockon grimaced while saying that.
The Sniper of the G-Force recalled 'sparing' against one of the Xenomorphs; let's just say he was traumatised for a while.
"Yes, but you will be there for support in space. Land fights are other things entirely." The Emperor shrugged.
"I am not afraid for her forces once they make the planet fall. But space battle is a different thing."
"Hah! Then leave it to me! I won't disappoint you!" Graham fist bumped as he showed a bright smile to his fellow knights and the Emperor.
"Alright, then Graham—"
"I will go as well. I feel that my skills are getting dull." Setsuna chipped in.
"Ohoho, then we can continue our competition, Setsuna! It will be the 154th one!" Graham grinned even more.
"Sure thing, only this time around we shall be protecting the Princess." The close-quarters Gundam pilot agreed.
"Fine by me."
As the blonde was getting hyped up, Maya looked at them and then at the Emperor.
"I will go with them. In case they cause something…" The black-haired lady said to the Ruler; she looked concerned.
"Alright, make sure they don't do anything crazy. It's a system full of rogue AI."
"Yes. You can leave it to me." Maya sharply nodded at him.
"...I guess it leaves only me without anything to do." Lockon sighed; he was dissapointed.
"I can have you do some missions for me, like old times, Lockon."
"Oh? That sounds fun, only this time at a bigger scale? Last time it was around the Earth's Sphere; this time it should be around the Milky Way." The guy smirked hopefully.
"Indeed, black market stuff, drugs and all that stuff. It shouldn't be something new to you."
"Now that's something I don't mind!"
With that said, things were getting set in motion, as Marcus was giving a portion of Big Blue's fleet to his knights, who would transfer them to Claudia's forces.
She will have close to thirty ships to play around with and 3 Gundam Pilots; that is more than enough.
"What about you, Jane? Do you want to follow the knights to Rannoch?" Marcus suggested to his granddaughter, who, for a second, had a conflicted look.
Her bloodline was borderline singing at the idea of a massive space battle with rogue AI. But…
'Nope! If I take this route, I will fast-track to becoming a Princess! Damn this old man! He is a crafty old fox!'
"I will have to decline."
"Pity, I am sure you could learn a thing or two from the best the galaxy has to offer." The Emperor was dissapointed for a second. But he understood what she was aiming at.
"I should return to my mother, and I am sure our guests would want to return to their diplomatic vessel," Jane explained as she looked at the Quarians looking around and taking in the sights.
"They can use our comms to talk to their ship; they can leave early and inform their migrant fleet."
"That is a good suggestion, Your Majesty; we can do that now." The Admiral of Patrol Fleet agreed to the suggestion.
"Good, then follow us."
As the Quarians and the Anaheim family members walked away, the G-Force Knights looked at the aliens curiously.
"I suppose we got to the part of dialogue to come," Lockon said with a smile.
"Almost 180 years later. But yes…" Setsuna slightly nodded.
"But now we have another set of issues. Machines that want to harvest all intelligent life… simply fantastic."
"One thing at a time, Lockon Stratos. You will be interacting with the central piece of the galaxy. Notify me if you find some worthy warriors to fight." Graham said with a bright smile on his face; he couldn't wait to face the best the Galaxy has to offer.
"Sure thing. Though black market traders, I doubt they have anything decent."
As the knights were chatting, preparations were on the way.
~~~~~~Later~~~~~~
A considerably sized fleet gathered at the northernmost part of the Exodus Cluster; it was a makeshift fleet of Princess Claudia's Retinue and a portion of the World of Anaheim Fleet.
"I wasn't expecting three knights to join me. This will be easier than I thought." The 1st Princess looked excited to see the very apex of the Imperial's Might.
"We are here to support your cause, Princess." Maya smiled at Claudia.
"That's right. We are taking the AI threat very seriously." Graham confidently smiled as he looked through the holographic window at the gathered fleet.
Roughly fifty warships and around thirty transporters carrying a total of 35 thousand regular troops and 2 thousand marines.
Of course, the Princess has her Xenomorphs, which are around 20 thousand and their handlers, on top of her 10 thousand regulars that she is using as well.
"Good, worst case we can ask for reinforcement from Scipio. He is not far from where we are going."
The Prince walked to the edge of the bridge of her flagship.
"Beginning preparations for our departure."
"As you wish." The bridge's officers began to do their checkups as they prepared for Space Jump.
"Princess. 2nd Princess Julia is contacting us."
"Of course she does. We are not far from her location." Claudia said with a sigh.
Moments later, a hologram of the red-haired Princess appeared next to the black-haired Princess and the knights who would serve her in this battle.
"I have heard what you will be doing. Congratulations."
"Don't be silly, sister." Claudia shook her head.
"I am simply doing what I want to do. Rannoch serves as an asset in our understanding of life. A different ecology to ours, with different nutritional assimilation.
On top of that, Rannoch has barely any bacteria. It's a perfect place for me to continue my research." Claudia explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
Julia snorted
"You haven't changed a bit. With that kind of attitude, you won't find a boyfriend."
The knights looked amused to hear that.
"...this again… you know that I can make myself a man if I want." The 1st Princess narrowed her eyes.
"Sure~"
"Hmph, I am not like you. As Innavator, our lifespans depend on our desire to live."
"Yes, I have heard that theory, and I suppose there is some truth to it. Some of us haven't aged one bit; others have just a bit."
"It's not theory; it's the truth. I have been studying it in depth. It's related to our brains, which evolved and dictate the body's state.
We literally interact with the very fabric of space and time. So there is no point in having kids."
"I haven't said anything about kids." Julia rolled her eyes at Claudia.
"I am saying about having a decent partner. But then again, you were always super picky. If you can't decide on decent clothes, I doubt you could about men—"
"Terminate the call," Claudia said with a sharp tone; she won't be listening to this nonsense!
"..."
"...right!" The comms officer scrambled to end the call while Julia waved her hand and winked at the Princess and the baffled knights.
"Set course for the Mass Relay; we are jumping right to the other side of the Galaxy."
~~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
The Quarians were in a meeting room on the flagship of Princess Claudia and having a conversation with the other two Admirals through a video call.
"I am not sure we should trust them so easily." The Admiral of Heavy Fleet Hal'Gerrel vas Neema commented with an annoyed sigh.
"We have no choice. They have pushed our hand." The Admiral of Civilian Fleet Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib replied to the Heavy Fleet Admiral.
"I say we should use this opportunity; we might be lucky and gain some insights into their technology. They are vastly superior in weapons, ships, and definitely engineering. These people… it's their norm to build massive constructs… they have enormous shipyards that span through whole Gas Giant." Daro'Xen vas Moreh sounded both awed and somewhat terrified of what she had seen.
These Imperials… if they want… they could conquer the whole galaxy without issue! The only thing holding them back is their doctrine of expanding from system to system and the Emperor himself, who wants to make friends.
At the same time, his children are pursuing their hobbies.
"...Daro'Xen… is it that bad?" Hal'Gerrel sounded concerned when the aloft and confident science Admiral sounds like that! Whatever she has seen… it has affected her quite badly.
"Geth will be the least of our concern…The Empire… this civilisation could be our salvation or the end. We have no choice, and we can't ignore it."
"...I see… in that case I shall prepare the heavy fleet, keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai."
"Keelah se'lai."
With that said, the Quarians began their preparations; the word had spread that there was a possibility they would regain their home, and the Empire that appeared on the Galactic stage and spread like wildfire would assist them in dealing with the Geth.
It was nerve-wracking to say the least, as this was the first time that an outsider force wanted to help the nomad race.
~~~~~~???~~~~~~
Ever since IT awakened from its hibernation, things were not going according to plan. The citadel ignored IT.
Why? IT couldn't understand; IT spent decades figuring it out. One thing made sense. The previous cycle…
The previous cycle was difficult; Protheans resisted to the very end. It was one of those rare cycles when they ended up not making one of THEM.
They couldn't store genetic data into one of THEM.
Instead, they kept Protheans, as there will be future use for them.
In the end, from what IT gathered over the decades, it is that Citadel was altered in some way.
It means IT needs assistance in activating the Mass Relay to deep space.
But then…
Things got even worse.
'These… humans, they left our set path. I can't wait any longer. If I wait any longer, the cycle could last even longer than the previous one.'
With that said, IT went to pick up the assets that would listen to IT. Once IT started making his own troops, IT could barge through the Defences and acquire the Citadel.
~~~~~~Far Rim~~~~~~
Imperial Fleet, made up of Princess Claudia's retinue and a portion of the Anaheim System fleet, arrived at the edges of the Galaxy where Migrant Fleet was waiting for them.
When Hal'Gerrel saw the size of the ships and how many of them arrived, it made the Quarian Admiral's eyes tremble.
'This… this is only a minor fleet? Are they serious?'
If this was a minor fleet, then how big is the actual navy?
'No, there is no point thinking about that. I need to focus on what will happen next.'
Moments later, the two Admirals got over to the Flagship of Princess Claudia, by the name Curiosity.
"Princess Claudia, I am Admiral of the Heavy Fleet, Hal'Gerrel vas Neema; it's an honour to meet you."
"And I am Admiral of the Civilian Fleet, Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib." The two males introduced themselves; the Princess slightly nodded as she was acting appropriately now that three knights of her father's G-Force were with her.
They are like hawks, making sure the Imperial decorum was kept. However, it's mostly Maya who is all about the Imperial Prestige and the glory of the Empire of Sol.
"Likewise, Admirals, we should discuss how we are going to proceed." The Princess motioned to follow her as they walked deeper into the battleship and took the main lift to the war room, which is at the bridge level.
Once there, a massive hologram appeared before the admirals as Claudia started to explain how the Empire fights.
"Our engagement doctrine is very simple. The foundations of how we fight are based upon the Excalibur-Class Battleship and Arondight-Class Carrier; for harassment, we use the Clarent-Class Corvettes.
The frontline goes to the Battleships as they engage in broadside exchange, and Carriers stay at the back. The Corvettes usually operate between the gaps.
We use an enormous amount of mobile suits which are superior to any sort of fighter craft you could utilise; trust me when I say, there is nothing more reliable than the mobile suits." The Princess laid down what she knows. Listening to Trajan and Aurelian droning about battle engagement pays out, even when she doesn't find it interesting.
"Then we can adjust to your fighting style. Our Heavy fleet will join your battleships, the Patrol fleet will keep the flanks safe, and the civilian fleet will stay in the back with your carriers." Hal'Gerrel spread out the Quarian fleet on the hologram.
"Good, we do have our logistic ships that carry our food and essentials, plus robotic labour. From what I heard, my father even brought three heavy-duty Agravaim-class manufacturing and logistic vessels for possible colonial and habitat construction." The Princess showed three huge ships that looked like they were hollowed out, boxed with engines…
"...We will see after the battles."
"You don't quite understand, Admiral. If your vessels or ours get damaged, we can use them to fix it. It's a safety net, especially for your people who need ships to survive." Claudia reminded him, making the man realise the perks of these things.
"Princess, Graham and I will take the point. The less for the ships to engage, the better; Maya can cover the artillery side of things with her Strike." Setsuna chipped in; Graham sharply nodded as he realised the situation for these Quarians is not the best.
"I leave the frontlines to you two." Claudia nodded; she was relieved that these guys don't act purely as her bodyguards but are taking an active role in this conflict.
"Consider it done, Princess."
With that said, the two knights left. The Quarians realised that these cloaked people in purple and black uniforms hold high positions in the military if they can speak like that to the Princess.
"Then we should prepare for conflict." Hal'Gerrel looked at the hologram before turning to his people.
"Yes, you should return to your fleet and begin arranging for the war; we will wait."
"You have our people's thanks, Princess Claudia." The Patrol Fleet Admiral thanked her; so did the Civilian Fleet Admiral, while the science lady Daro'Xen implied she would prefer to spend more time with the Emperor, as she realised that man holds practically all of the secrets of the universe in her eyes.
AI, ships, engineering, manufacturing, his world of Big Blue and Anaheim were masterpieces of feats of engineering.
While Hal'Gerrel sharply nodded. He wanted to see Empire in action before he would make his judgement.
~~~
Though… all of the preparations would be for nought as the moment they entered the Perseus Veil, Tikkun system, the home system of the Quarian, they were greeted by a small group of Geth ships.
In fact… it made no sense.
"..." Claudia was confused, but her battleships and the Quarian Heavy Fleet began to move into position.
In the Hangar Bay of G-Force Carrier 'Emperor's Fury', Setsuna and Graham were preparing as well. The pair jumped into their machines, and the magnetic walls moved them into catapult decks. Their support Cataphracts were preparing as well.
"Something is off. Their numbers do not make any sense. I already used vibrations and light spectrum to scan the entire system.
And Quarians agree with me. I need you two to destroy the fleet before us and then look for the real bulk of Geth forces."
Claudia's hologram appeared in their cockpits as she spoke with them; the Princess looked nervous; something didn't add up with the current situation.
The Knights at that moment had a bad feeling; their Innovator's sixth sense was going crazy.
"Princess is right…we need to check it out." Setsuna agreed; he trusted his gut feeling.
"Yeah. Then let's not waste time." Graham replied as his cockpit reacted and holograms solidified; his hands went on control sticks, and the neural link activated; the Gundam Pilot became one with his machine. Moments later, the catapult deck opened, and space could be seen at the end of the deck.
"Graham Aker, In Graham Gundam! Launching!" The blonde knight launched, and Setsuna was right after him.
"Setsuna F. Seiei in Exia, Imperial Seven Swords, Launching."
The two close-range Gundams blasted out of the carrier as they swiftly passed the battleships and rushed at the Geth spaceships before them.
Once close, Setsuna pointed his gunblades at the black spaceships. Sections around the gunblade barrel expanded, revealing green solidified GN particles. Once the mech pressed the trigger, the beam rushed through the barrel and then through the sides.
This effect was what is called a 'GAUSS' beam; instead of a typical bolt shot from a typical rifle, it releases splash damage in the shape of a crescent. It's the only way a close-range mobile suit like Exia or Graham Gundam can fight; instead of going into Trans-am or just stabbing its way through a warship with countless swords and daggers they have.
Of course they could improvise, like using bits and extending their blades into 30+ metres long, but that's beside the point. The best way to fight in this situation is to deliver splash damage that will melt these ships.
Setsuna and Graham swiftly dealt with the first ships as they moved in and began to steamroll through the Geth ranks; moments later Cataphracts arrived, and they joined in.
'Something is wrong, these guys are way too sluggish… It's not right…'
The G-Force Knights realised that the fewer ships there are around, the less responsive the Geth are. Before long, the ships and their fighters began to act… animalistic.
"The Geth have lost their self-awareness! It's our chance! Quickly deal with them!" The Quarian admiral spoke excitedly as their Heavy Fleet began to break ranks and move forward.
"Let them have their moment. You two should return while I will send drones to figure out what is going on." Princess Claudia popped up on the screens in the Gundams.
Setsuna and Graham nodded as they swiftly returned to their Carrier. In the meantime, the Princess launched swarms of drones that went to scout and figure out what was going on and what happened to the Geth.
These drones went right to the massive constructs that circle Tikkun, the sun of the system.
The constructs are data servers with solar panels that power these centres; they're supposed to have millions, if not billions, of Geth programs in these servers.
But when the drones scanned them, the servers were partially turned off; most of them were in an idle state, lacking the Geth Software.
In other words, someone or something has removed this Geth software, but there were no signs of battle, meaning that it could be that the Geth simply left…
'But why?'
Claudia tried to figure it out, but then her eyes widened.
'...Reaper Vanguard?'
"This is not good!" She snapped out and looked at her flagship's bridge officers. "I want you to connect to the Empire! This is an emergency!"
"R-Right, there should be a comm buoy in the vicinity." The officers scrambled after seeing the jumpy Princess.
"It will do. It would be for the best if the Council hear this as well." The Black-Haired Princess sharply nodded.
"But first and most importantly, contact Father; he needs to hear about this."
"Yes, Princess, we are deploying a temporary comms relay." The officers are contacting the logistic ships and scrambling to organise a way to contact the Empire that is more than 40 thousand light years away.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
In the Avalon's central park area, there is a lake that has a meticulously engineered ecosystem—an ecosystem where people can fish.
Of course, the fish population is meticulously maintained with underwater drones in case predatory fish get out of control and so on.
But so far it's, in fact, good enough to fish, and Marcus is there with his fellow Turian friend.
The Councillors approach him all the time to discuss the colonial efforts to transfer the capital to the newly named planet of Unity.
Honestly, it wasn't the best name, but the races couldn't agree on a singular name, as whatever one species proposed usually had some of their culture in the mix.
So, to keep it as equal as possible, they decided on a name that doesn't have much cultural influence from one or the other race.
But that is not the reason why the Turian Councillor was fishing with Marcus. The Councillor wanted some assistance in finding Black Market outposts that are popping up in the massive wilderness in their new world.
It's a garden world; it doesn't require suits or bunkers to be built. Creating outposts is not hard.
However, the request has been forgotten as the pair were fishing, and the fish in the lake are big.
"Oh! It's a big one!" Sparatus exclaimed as he pulled the rod back.
"Yeah, it is." Marcus nodded as he was watching his rod, though his mind had been somewhere else. His gut feeling was telling him that something was off.
And that is not good.
After playing around, the Turian pulled out; it was a decent-sized pike.
"A Pike, huh, those are predators. This one is quite big."
"Pity that I can't eat these. I am pretty sure they are not Turian-friendly to consume?" The Turian looked with a bit of awe. The fish was big! He needed both of his hands to hold it.
It will mess up his suit, but for this… he doesn't mind.
"Indeed. These are Terra natives." Marcus shook his head as he got up and went over to his side.
"Though it's too big to be kept in the lake, when these reach this size they can eat anything. I will have to remove it from the lake." The Emperor said to Sparatus.
"I see."
Marcus pulled out a container for the fish, and the Councillor placed it inside.
"Pity that we can't have fish in the Presidium's reservoirs."
"You will be moving from the Citadel soon. I am sure you can have an estate close to one of the Seas or Oceans that are on the world." Marcus reassured that it wasn't that bad for them now.
"True, but we have no idea what kind of fish is there—" Sparatus heard a noise; his gaze went to the side where he saw one of Marcus's children running.
The Emperor followed his gaze.
"Hadrian."
"Father! Father! It's urgent!" The Black-Haired Prince arrived at their location and handed over a thin, round device.
"Comms unit? What is going on?" Marcus sighed; he couldn't even have a day off…
"It's Claudia; she has something urgent for you."
"Huh?"
He swiftly turned the device on; the hologram of his daughter appeared above the device.
"Father! You finally picked it up!" Claudia complained the moment she saw her father.
"Yes. What is it?" The Emperor rolled his eyes. This time she was not calling him Papa…
"It's the Geth! They are gone!"
Now that got the Turian's attention as well.
"Of course they are gone. I sent you there with most of my home fleet."
"Not that! When we arrived there, 95% of them were gone. I checked the servers around the sun in the Tikkun system.
They are gone. Literally! Someone or something has moved them, or they left themselves."
"!"
Marcus and the Turian Councillor looked surprised.
"...where could they…" Sparatus commented, but then his eyes widened. There is only one thing that could move almost the entirety of a synthetic race. A single… superior race.
The Reapers.
"...The Reaper Vanguard… the Reaper realised that it can't remotely activate the Citadel, so it took Geth as its troops." Marcus reasoned as he got serious.
"I will be going there. I will do my own research there. Technology, OS and Synthetics are not your thing, Claudia."
"Fair enough. You can do your thing; I will be going to Rannoch surface to continue my research. Lack of Geth might be for the best when it's related to my work." Claudia shrugged; he was right. All she cared about was to see if these things were truly gone, and they were. So she could focus on her studies now.
"Good, then stay safe; I will be there soon." With that said, the call ended, and Marcus gave the comms unit to Hadrian. He then looked at the Councillor.
"Sparatus, you have heard it. The council needs to bolster Citadel's defence now. The Reaper could be moving soon. If not… then it's even worse.
That thing could be using Geth to make even more synthetics. Machines like those are far easier to make."
Marcus's comments made the Councillor sharply nod.
"Yes. You are right. I will inform Asari and Salarians; they need to know that Geth are gone. This is major… a massive war is on the horizon." Sparatus got serious as well. He placed the fishing rod down. He needs to speak with his counterparts as soon as possible!
What he learned is big. There is a race of synthetics that is on the loose, with a Reaper as its main leader… that is worse than he had imagined!
~~~
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