Mass Effect: The Terran Empire - Fan Fiction
As with all my stories on this blog.
All Images used in this story are taken from Google Images, I do not have copyright use for these images and if requested I shall happily remove them.
I do not intend to make any profit from this story as it is solely for the purpose of entertainment and enjoyment.
Being a fan of the Mass Effect Franchise, I have always had ideas for fan fiction, well here's one for you, a fiction where the character Commander Shepard gains the power of Indoctrination before the Reapers arrive and uses it to achieve Galactic Domination as an Emperor of his own Empire, conquering the other Species and in a sense unifying the Galaxy against the Reapers.
There shall be some spoilers and there will be some "Ungentlemanly talk" I.E very extreme Fascist ideologies, Imperialistic traits and deplorable elements of human history being mentioned, so please be careful and I do apologise for any insult I may have given either directly or indirectly through this story.
Happy N7 Day.
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Mass Effect the Terran Empire
Commander John.W.Shepard:
He spent much of his early life moving between ships and stations as the family was transferred from posting to posting, the average of his staying in one place was only two months. He decided to follow in their footsteps joining the Alliance Navy, after a number of years he qualified for the "N" program.
These included the various training and tests required for various designations, that eventually lead for the coveted N7 designation, at the age of 28 he passed the N6 test and was designated as one of the Alliances Tier 1 Operators, two years later he requested permission to undertake the N7 examination which was put forward by Captain David Anderson.
The Qualifications were accepted and he was inputted into the program where upon he passed the written examinations, psychological and later the practical tests required for the N7 designation. In a ceremony hosted by the Alliance High Command, Shepard was given the official designation and N7 emblem upon his Uniform.
However he had far loftier ambitions that went beyond the boundaries of the Systems Alliance and even Humanity.
First Command and Eden Prime:
Commander John Shepard, the famed Legendary N7 that was regarded as a War Hero to some and a savage butcher to others, during the Skyllian Blitz, Shepard made a heroic name for himself by holding back Batarians and pirates on the planet buying time for civilians to escape and allow for reinforcements to arrive. For this he was awarded the Star of Terra the highest honour that can be given to a soldier of the Systems Alliance.
However some judged him during an operation that part of a counter attack into Batarian Space, on the planet of Torfan he commanded Alliance forces that successfully captured a Batarian military outpost. But following the surrender of the Batarian forces, he allegedly ordered the captured enemy to be executed.
Following this, Shepard was put in charge of a special detachment of Alliance Special Forces, known as the Ghosts, their job was to infiltrate Batarian Space and cause havoc and mayhem wherever they could. If there was an isolated manufacturing complex, they were to destroy it, if there was a military outposts they would wipe it out, a slave camp, consider it liberated and so on. The Point of the "Ghost Program" was to be similar to the Council Spectres, doing horrible things for the sake of peace.
The Ghosts under Shepard conducted over 150 missions in a very short amount of time for the Systems Alliance, all of them lead to a significant loss for the Batarian Hegemony, as planets they thought were securely theirs were left defenceless as the Alliance closed in. Eventually a peace treaty was signed as the Citadel Council was forced to step in to prevent the conflict from erupting into a full scale war, which the Council had no interest in especially since it had only been a few years since the First Contact War between humanity and the Turian Hierarchy.
During the initial peace talks, Shepard still commanded the Ghosts in a serious of fresh actions to secure vital points for the Alliance that could be used as leverage in the peace talks. During one such mission, the unit discovered a hidden secret of the Batarians, a incredibly old machine they called the Leviathan of Dis. Upon investigating it, Shepard felt uneasy and ordered his team to hold back whilst he went in alone, it was within the "Leviathan" that he discovered that the machine exterior was actually a cover like armour for a long dead creature. From the creatures frozen remains as well as the Batarian research Data, Shepard was able to obtain the power of Indoctrination, the ability to influence the minds of others.
He knew that with this power he could bring about something knew, power like this could change the balance of the Galaxy. It could allow him to rise not in the ranks of the Systems Alliance, but rise to heights no one had achieved since the Prothean Empire 50,000 years earlier. He chose to keep it a secret and with time indoctrinated his comrades to his "Cult of Personality", the idea that with time and effort, the Terran Empire could arise.
In only a few days soldiers of the Alliance who were once firmly loyal to the Systems Alliance were fiercely loyal to their commander only.
Following the successful repulsion of the Batarian backed pirates and slavers, Shepard was recognised for his actions and was recommended for the possibility of being the first Council Spectre. As part of his examination for the position, he was posted to the SSV Normandy a new stealth ship class under Captain Anderson, officially the shake down run meant to test the Normandy's stealth drive. However the actual purpose was to perform a clandestine retrieval of a Prothean Artifact uncovered on the human colony of Eden Prime.
During the jump, however they received an emergency message from the planet that they were under attack, upon examination of the message, Shepard saw the same structural design of the Leviathan of Dis. He lead his team with the inclusion of a Biotic Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, onto Eden Prime and cleared out the Geth forces that were leading the assault, where he encountered a local soldier Ashely Williams. Upon successfully securing the Artifact, Shepard activated the artifact and was shown elements of the Prothean Extinction and the Reapers.
It was later uncovered that a rogue Turian Spectre Saren Arterius had made an alliance with the Geth and had lead the attack on the colony. Shepard was inducted into the Spectres and was tasked with hunting down Saren and the Geth and bring him to Council Justice. During the course of the investigation and search for Saren, Shepard uncovered more and more information of the Reapers and recognised that the Reapers were the real threat.
Over the course of his investigation, Shepard began to the process of Indoctrinating those whom he came into contact with, officials on the corporate planet of Noveria, the Colonists of Feros, the crew of the Normandy even those whom he convinced to join him onboard, his "Comrades" so to speak.
On Noveria, Shepard gained a considerable following, among which was one of Sarens key allies, Matriarch Benezia, who was the mother of one of his "Comrades" and even the last Queen of the Rachni species who was thought to have been wiped out a thousand years before. Matriarch Benezia was dispatched back to the Asari Homeworld where she was imprisoned for her crimes, but was allowed to live under guard in her home.
Whilst the Rachni Queen was ordered to go into hiding beyond the Rachni Relay and not to make herself known without his explicit say so.
During the investigation of Sarens primary base on the Planet Virmire, Shepard was able to take another step towards power. The commanding officer of the Salarian S.T.G [Special Tasks Group] unit on the planet, a special forces unit that conducted various actions for the Salarian Union and the Citadel Council, very easily became a loyal supporter of Shepard as well as the troops under his command.
As well as them, he was able to indoctrinate an Asari scientists within the facility who had been working on a cure for the Genophage. A means for Saren and Sovereign to gain influence and power over the Krogan, though Shepard knew he had to destroy the Cure for the sake of the Galaxy, he easily captured the scientist and took her with them when they destroyed the facility.
He then took a Krogan member of his team, Udrnot Wrex aside and advised him to use this later as a means of unifying the Krogan. Of course Shepard was planning ahead, the Krogan are fierce fighters, having them on his side once properly indoctrinated would be a boon to his goals.
Another key figure, however was none other than Captain David Anderson, the former commanding officer of the Normandy, after he was firmly loyal to him, Shepard had Anderson stay on the Citadel where he could use his access to support Shepard's Goals.
He could have used Sarens attack on the Citadel with the Geth and Sovereign as an opportunity to place humanity as the central power of the Citadel Council, but that would limit his options in the future. He needed the Council to recognise the sacrifices of Humanity in saving them from Sovereign, by having the human fleet rescue them, he earned the respect of the council. Which would prove worthwhile later down the line as he could use that influence to his advantage, with a little help of his indoctrination.
Taking over Cerberus:
During the Course of his investigation and Hunt for Saren, Shepard and the Normandy came into contact with a pro-human splinter group that called itself Cerberus, a group that were attempting to make use of various technologies related to the Reapers such as "Husks" to advance Humanities power and influence in the Milky Way.
Shepard found interest with such a group, he felt that with the right influence, he could take it over and have a strong political, scientific and military foothold on the steps leading up to him assuming power. The only issue was that he had no information on how Cerberus was lead, so he indoctrinated those who he and the Normandy captured and used them as insiders within the Cerberus Network.
Slowly during the course of taking down Saren, Shepard was able to have nearly the entire Cerberus network known to him including the location of its leader the "Illusive Man". After dealing with Saren and gaining Humanity a place on the Citadel Council, Shepard recommended his secret Subordinate Captain Anderson to the position, again with the goal of using the position to obtain greater power.
Now Shepard decided to double his efforts against Cerberus, officially he was tasked with hunting down extremist elements that had supported Saren in his campaigns against the Citadel Council. Now with the backing of the Council, Shepard now an Admiral with his own fleet, started a campaign against the more active and open elements of Cerberus.
This culminated with the attack of the Cerberus Headquarters in the Horsehead Nebula, where the Illusive man commanded the entire Cerberus Network across the Milky Way. Despite the efforts of the ships around the station and the soldiers onboard, Shepard and his loyal forces had in effect already won. The indoctrinated agents embedded in Cerberus had sabotaged the defence and security systems of the station as well as turned on their former comrades.
The Illusive Man was shot dead before he could even say a word, rather than taking down Cerberus however, Shepard assumed control and began the process of indoctrinating the entire organisation to his will. Among those who he had indoctrinated were individuals that would be of use to him, one was Jacob Taylor and another was Miranda Lawson.
Shepard ensured that their indoctrination was complete and their loyalty absolute, for he placed Miranda as the new head of Cerberus but ensured that they would now exist only in the shadows until needed. Under Shepard, Cerberus retreated into the shadows where they worked to study the Reaper threat and eventually with his leadership brought about the end of the Collectors which was when Cerberus came back from the shadows.
The cause of this was because of the Collectors under the control of the Reapers launching attacks on Human colonies in an effort to use the organic material from the abducted colonists to build a human formed Reaper. Of course Shepard had Cerberus take credit and use the technology to make Cerberus troops stronger, more advanced and more loyal.
Gaining Influence and Power:
With Time limited, Shepard decided to step up his plans for domination and Imperial Ambition, he knew that with a single fleet he would never have a chance to seize power. So he chose to focus his indoctrination on the military and political leadership, because he knew that through them he would be able to indoctrinate more and more individuals further down the chain.
He already had Councillor David Anderson who represented humanity in the Citadel Council, but he knew that if he was to seize power over humanity and crown himself Emperor. The Citadel Races would more than likely interfere with his seizure and provide support to those who would oppose his ascendancy. So he decided to indoctrinate the individual councillors that represented those races, so that when he made his move, they would ensure that any attempts by their governments would be held back by their Councillors on the Citadel.
As well as them Shepard took steps to indoctrinate Alliance Military leaders such as Admiral Stephen Hackett who was the most respected officer in the Alliance Fleet along with the more extreme Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich. The point of doing such was to make so that the majority of the Alliance Military would be loyal to him when he made his move to seize power.
On top of them, Shepard already had the indoctrinated squad-mates he had from his time with Saren and the Collectors, individuals of different species who were some of the best soldiers in the Galaxy. Again these individuals would spread the word of Shepard and with technologies that Cerberus had created, could indoctrinate individuals just as Shepard did himself whenever he was in someone's presence, thus making more and more loyal to him over their own people.
The Imperial Coup:
Eventually Shepard finally felt that he had the influence and power needed to make his move and seize power, so in secret he ordered a meeting of all his followers at the Cerberus Headquarters still hidden in the Horse Head Nebula. There he laid out his plan for the Coup that would bring about the Terran Empire with him as its Emperor and Humanity where it rightfully belonged as the Absolute Power in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Forces under his control would strike decisively at the various positions of power in the Alliance across human controlled space, a force would take the Arcturus station where the Alliance Parliament convened which also served as the prime headquarters of the Alliance Navy. Whilst another large force would seize control of Earth and secure all key points across the planet in one blow.
As this happens Cerberus forces across hidden across human space would come out from the shadows and take control of colonies across the galaxy, their advanced technology, powerful forces and its own fleets would enable them to take over key points in quick succession. After seizing key points Indoctrination devices would be used to obtain power over the minds of those who were needed to gain and maintain control over the Alliance, other less powerful versions would be used to influence the populace to get them to accept the Coup and the Ascension of the new Empire and Emperor.
At the appointed time across Human controlled space, forces loyal to Admiral John Shepard announced their presence as they in a moment of utter shock and surprise began to seize control over centres of power, military, political and economical. Though some resisted, Arcturus station was quickly taken by his forces thanks in part to Hackett, who under Emperor Shepard was 1st Lord Admiral of the Terran Navy.
At the same time Terran Forces seized Terra Nova, Eden Prime, Elysium and Noveria all with limited resistance as the Indoctrinated agents that the Terrans had placed were sabotaging efforts by the Alliance to quell this "Rebellion". On Earth itself the Alliance Defence Committee and the few loyal Admirals attempted to put together a plan to put down this Coup, but then gunfire began to erupt as Terran Forces launched their attack on Vancouver where the Defence Committee convened.
By the time night came in that Hemisphere, half of the planet was a Warzone as Alliance and Terran Forces were fighting in every major city. But it was a losing battle, the Indoctrination devices that Shepard used Cerberus to create were making it difficult for the Alliance to get the forces they needed to put up a real fight against the Terran Forces.
A request was sent to the Citadel Council begging for assistance, but due again to the Indoctrination by Shepard himself on the Council representatives, the bureaucracy was caught in endless discussion and indecision. Days of constant fighting not just on Earth but across all its colonies soon came an abrupt end, as Terran Empire Forces finally forced the Alliance leadership to surrender.
Emperor John the First of the Terran Empire:
With this final Surrender a broadcast was put out across the entirety of human controlled space, it declared the end of the Systems Alliance as the governance of humanity in the Galaxy. Instead in its place was the Terran Empire, a power that shall push humanity to the prestige and power across the Galaxy where it rightfully belongs.
Many praised this as many were Pro-Human in their opinions when it comes to Aliens, others praised the idea of Shepard taking the reigns as for years they had heard stories of how he had protected innocent people from slavers and pirates, hunted the Turian who slaughtered so many on Eden Prime, brought about an end of the Savage Abductions by the Genocidal Collectors.
Weeks after the end of the Coup and the ascension of the Terran Empire, across the Galaxy a new broadcast was shown across the entire Empire.
It was the Official crowning of Emperor John 1st, Protector of the Terran Empire and across human space, people cried out in praise and joy. On every major colony, immense military parades were hosted larger than any ever seen before, all of which to commemorate the ascension of the new Emperor.
After the coronation upon the balcony of the Arcturus station Imperial quarter, the Emperor made a formal declaration not just to the Empire but the whole galaxy.
"A Great foe comes for us, we all must be ready, not just Humanity but all of the Galaxy.
I pledge to you all today that I shall never stop until Humanity achieves its rightful place in this Galaxy, those who dare oppose us will fall beneath our boots.
We are fashioning powerful armadas, unstoppable armies, the time of the Terran Empire is only beginning, the Prothean Empire once spanned this entire Galaxy, we shall eclipse it.
We the Terran Empire shall obliterate the great enemy and usher in a time of true prosperity"
And the Emperor being the Emperor desired something that many Emperors of human history had enjoyed, Emperor John the first would have his own Imperial Harem. First among them were the female squad members from his time as a council Spectre, individuals such as Ashley Williams, Miranda Lawson, Kelly Chambers, Samantha Traynor who caught his eye during an upgrade of the Normandy to the Normandy SR2 during his fight with the Collectors.
Of course others would soon follow and expand his personal delights, as the Conquests of the Empire expanded.
As well as that, Shepard ordered the creation of a new Normandy, the Imperial Normandy, a ship that would replace its old namesakes, a ship the size of a dreadnought class, that would serve as his Personal Command Ship.
Much was changed, Cerberus was no longer a paramilitary organisation, it was reformed to become the Praetorian Guard for the Emperor, consisting of the best soldiers the Terran Empire had to offer. They were to be the most loyal and most fiercely indoctrinated of anyone who would answer to the Emperor alone. The Alliance Navy was reformed into the Imperial Navy with Admiral Hackett becoming the first Lord Admiral of the Imperial Fleet, Anderson following his relinquishing as Councillor for humanity on the Citadel was offered the post of Lord Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces.
The territories of the Empire would be carefully structured, a region of the Galaxy would have an overall Imperial Lord who would answer to the Emperor himself, beneath them would be the Nobles, who administered star clusters, then the Dukes who would oversee a planet within those clusters.
The Emperor put into effect that for any world that surrendered peacefully, then those worlds would be allowed to have one of their own to represent them in the overall Imperial Bureaucracy. For instance, a Batarian World that had been conquered would have a human lording over them but if it was one that surrendered then a Batarian who had pledged himself to the Emperor [and was thoroughly indoctrinated] would be given the title of Duke and be gifted governorship of the planet.
Last Stand of the Resistance:
Of course not everyone liked the new regime.
A small group of soldiers, sailors, politicians, industrialists, civilians etc. wished to bring about an end of the Terran Empire and restore the old Systems Alliance. This resistance group was secretly supported by the Citadel Council Races who wished to ensure that Humanity be reigned in before it became too dangerous. They provided supplies, weapons, equipment, money and more, which enabled the Resistance to grow from small bands of vagrants into a formal and proper militant insurgency.
The Resistance scattered their forces for security as well as to allow the to strike at various targets, they operated in the method of guerrilla warfare and sleeper cells. With most of the major colonies as well as Earth itself having a number of cells operating at any one time, they targeted military targets, political points whilst also working to incite civil support for their cause against the Empire.
These Sleeper cells conducted various forms of Guerrilla Warfare ranging from planting and detonating of bombs, performing attacks on Terran Forces and positions, such as offices, police stations, military stations etc. At first such actions were more of a nuisance to the Imperial forces, but as time went on and the plans of the Emperor began to look further and further outwards.
That is when the need to quell the Resistance was made a priority for the Imperial Armada and the Imperial Army, the Emperor was smart though, he knew that the Resistance would likely work in the same sense as the old Cerberus, acting in small groups across Imperial Space, likely with each acting in semi autonomous action, meaning each was kept separate from one another for the sake of security, if one is discovered the rest are not at risk.
But Emperor John I knew a method for drawing them out, he concocted a plan that would bring the entire Resistance together, incite the Resistance to perform more actions against them, by giving them victories. As well as this, it would give the allies of the Resistance in the Citadel Council races to give more support, which would eventually lead to evidence being uncovered. Evidence that would be used to grow greater discontent and support for the Council and the Citadel races, after all Humanities so called friends and allies were involving themselves in the internal affairs of the Empire.
Another step in this plan was to use the Imperial Service of Intelligence [I.S.I] to work on locating the infamous Shadow Broker, the plan being to seize control of the Shadow Brokers network. In doing so, the Terran Empire would have an intelligence network that could overcome anything in the Galaxy, to do this he called on some of his old "Squadmates" people that officially speaking no longer were connected to him.
Chief among these agents was Dr Liara T'soni, who despite her history of researching the Protheans had in the last few years had been working as a Information Broker on the planet of Ilium a planet that served as a major marketing and trading planet where massive cities spanned most of the surface. After much effort, the Shadow Broker was forced to make moves to prevent their detection, but this was all part of the Emperors plan, who wanted this to make the final connection.
Dr T'soni alongside a strike force of the I.S.I commandos launched an attack on the Shadow Broker ship that floated on the planet of Hagalaz, after successfully killing the Shadow Broker and clearing out the ship. Dr T'soni under the orders of the Emperor took the Shadow Brokers place, since no one had ever met the Broker and live to tell the tale, thus with voice masking systems, she was able to take his place and give the appearance that nothing had happened.
With the Shadow Broker Network, Imperial Intelligence now were able to uncover everything they needed to know about the Resistance and the wider galaxy. The Network had already uncovered the location of every Resistance Cell in human controlled territory, with this information, Terran forces were able to pick them off one by one. However again the Emperor played the long game, ordering the Intelligence Service to create cover stories on how these cells were discovered as well as having the Shadow Broker Network pass on information to the resistance about targets.
He explained that he wanted the Resistance to be manipulated into making a single move that would bring about their destruction, by eliminating a few individual cells, made it so that others would be stronger as resources and personnel were more focused, by giving them targets that the Empire had deliberately left open, they would become more and more confidant. Finally they could ensnare the resistance into making a single decisive move that they would think was their idea, when in fact it would be by the wishes of the Terran Empire.
The final said move, was to force the Resistance into a single move that in their minds would be the deciding battle, on the planet of Terra Nova, Resistance forces galvanised by their numerous victories across Terran Space. Thought the time had come to make an open move, they gathered their forces both in space and on the planet and made a direct attack to take Terra Nova back for the Systems Alliance. However just as planned, the Terran forces were more than ready for them, Imperial Ships came out from predetermined positions hidden in the system, whilst ground forces were unveiled and surrounded the Resistance forces.
The Resistance however continued their offensive, but eventually the overwhelming firepower and numbers of the Terran Empire brought about their defeat, out of the 22,400 resistance fighters present for the attack, only around 200 survived and all of them were captured and imprisoned for life. This defeat was followed up with Imperial Naval and Ground Forces launching a series of assaults on Resistance bases and hideouts.
In effect the "Movement to restore the Systems Alliance" was utterly crushed, its members, leaders and backers were all arrested in a series of round ups based on information collected by the Shadow Broker Network and Imperial Intelligence. Hundreds were sentenced to life imprisonment and the leaders were made examples of.
With Human space now firmly under his control, the Emperor began looking beyond to the rest of the Galaxy.
The Fall of Khar'Shan:
After the defeat of the Resistance and the rebuilding of the Terran Empire from "Their acts of brutal terrorism in the name of Anarchy", the Terran Empire began to make plans for the "liberation of Enslaved Humans" within the Batarian Hegemony. This effort of liberation was the official cause for the war that was being planned, the absolute domination and subjugation of the Batarian Species.
With the declaration of war that the Emperor issued, came also with a clear offer.
"For those who surrender peacefully and give up their decadence, we shall greet you and embrace you as citizens of our glorious, bountiful empire.
But for any who dare to resist, the chains shall be removed from those whom you've have enslaved and instead shall be placed onto you."
The Threat was clear, in effect the Emperor was stating that if a planet surrendered then they would be allowed to live in peace under the rule of the Terran Empire, but if a planet resisted then everyone on it would become slaves themselves. Many citizens in the Empire applauded this declaration, seeing it as an ironic sense of justice, the Batarians have supported pirates and slavers for decades, attacking human colonies across the galaxy, it only seemed right that they become slaves for humanity.
The Hegemony having spent many years in isolation after suffering defeats by the Systems Alliance in the past had not the military power it once held. When the Terran Empire launched its assault, the Hegemony were in no position to resist such a powerful force, even though the Batarian forces resisted as best they could, their efforts were all in vein as Terran fleets pressed into their space.
Just as the Emperor had promised, any planet that resisted Terran occupation was treated harshly, its citizens were forced into slavery and servitude, soldiers were executed, leaders were imprisoned and so on. Eventually some planets and Batarian colonies began to recognise that surrender was better than the alternative, after the Bahak system was taken by Terran Forces with all 300,000 colonists in the system being forced into slavery by the Terrans as reprisal for resisting and then the entire system was destroyed when Terran Forces set an asteroid against the Mass Relay.
A number of Batarian Colonies openly declared their decision to leave the Hegemony and surrendered to the Terran Empire and just as the Emperor promised, these worlds were treated with honour and respect. The citizens received support in the reconstruction of their industry, human slaves were released and returned to Terran Space, where they were treated with the best meals and medicine available and assistance in returning to normal lives.
Finally the day came, as Batarian forces under Commander Balak and Governor Grothan Pazness who were by this point the highest ranking leaders in the Hegemony rallied what remained of the Batarian fleet and military in the Harsa System in the Kites Nest, which contained the Batarian Homeworld of Khar'Shan. There they hoped for a final effort that could at best repel the Terran Invasion or more in their eyes at least make it possible to negotiate a ceasefire, as Governor Pazness had requested the aid of the Citadel in negotiations.
But this would never be, as the Entire Terran invasion fleet consisting of nearly 3,000 ships launched a full assault on Khar'Shan, among them was the Praetorian fleet with the Emperors flagship the Normandy as the overall command vessel. The Batarian fleet resisted to the best of their ability, but three months of constant fighting and limited resources had left them in a weakened state, most of the ships were damaged from previous battles and skirmishes, they were unable to prevent Terran Forces from landing on the planet below.
Three Entire Terran Legions lead the invasion of Khar'Shan with the prime focus being the Capital city, the goal was to cut the head of the snake and force a complete surrender of the Batarian Hegemony. Despite the best efforts of the Batarian ground forces and civilian militias, the invasion force was able to establish a firm and undeniable beachhead that enabled them to take more and more of the city and the wider planet.
Eventually this was made all the more worse, as the Batarian fleet in orbit was forced to surrender as the last of their ships were either destroyed or crippled, Commander Balak onboard the last Dreadnought was forced to retreat to an escape pod in an effort to escape the burning ship. Only to be captured by Terran Forces on the planet below. With the fleet above lost, a number of ships were brought down into atmosphere to support the ground forces, their powerful weapons alongside fighters running strafing runs utterly annihilated Batarian strongholds.
The Last stand of the Hegemony was at the heart of the capital and ended with Governor Pazness sending out a message, "In order to preserve the lives of my people, I Grothan Pazness do formally surrender to the Terran Empire and order all Batarians to do the same."
The Surrender was accepted and the Emperor landed to formally accept the Surrender of the last Batarian Governor in front of his people. Pazness was forced to kneel before his new Emperor and kiss his ring in a public ceremony for all to see. This ceremony wasn't just for the Batarians of the planet but also for the wider galaxy as it was shown on vids across Terran controlled space and the wider Milky Way.
This was not just an act of humiliation for the Batarians but a clear point of order, that from here on out the Batarians were subjects of the Terran Empire. The Emperor declared that since those present had surrendered, then they would be granted mercy, he promised that now as subjects of the Empire, a time of prosperity was upon them, that the Batarian people would enjoy the fruits of the Empire and one day join Humanity in a glorious light.
However just as he promised, The Emperor made clear that those who did not surrender would suffer the consequences, tens of thousands of prisoners were sentenced to slavery and Commander Balak, he was publicly executed in the great forum on Earth in front of a immense crowd of tens of thousands, by the Emperors own hand, he sent a message that those who resisted would meet the same fate.
The Head of Balak was taken and after being rendered down to an empty skull was placed in the Imperial Throne room as a trophy for all to see, upon one of many podiums that lined the hall leading up to the Emperors Throne.
But many other podiums had been left empty. Those did have something to show were all trophies of the Emperors former enemies and Adversaries and all of them were only their skulls, among them.
The skull of Saren Arterius, the Rogue Spectre that was working with the Reapers, "Killed during the Battle of the Citadel as a traitor to the Galaxy".
The skull of the Illusive Man, the founder and former leader of Cerberus "Executed by the Emperors own hand for Galactic Terrorism".
The skull of the Collector General "Claimed following the Ultimate Defeat of the Collectors".
Tesla Vasir, an Asari Spectre that was working for the original Shadow Broker "Killed for aiding and Abetting Criminal Elements that threatened the Empire".
The Skull of a Yahg with the plaque below saying "The Old Shadow Broker".
The skull of Donnel Udina, who supported the Resistance against the Empire for his own personal lust for power "Beheaded for High Treason and Supporting Traitors to the Empire".
And now of course, the skull of Commander Balak "Executed as an Enemy of the Terran Empire".
When asked why the other podiums were empty, he replied "They'll have something to show later"
Corrupting the Citadel:
Now with things beginning to turn, the Emperor began to set his sights on the Citadel Council, the main power in the Milky way galaxy, the only power in the galaxy that could challenge the Empire. The Milky Way was now divided into three, Citadel Space, the Terran Empire and the Terminus Systems, but the Emperor sought to have it all.
But Shepard was cautious, he knew that if he was to make a move on a single member of the Citadel Council or a species with an embassy on the Citadel itself. Then the Empire would face them all, so he needed something to give them cause to go to war and annex Council Space.
The Salarians were always up to something that could be regarded as unlawful in the Council and that territory of space. So he could with Imperial Intelligence, easily uncover actions that the Salarians have performed against the Terran Empire. The Turians and Asari were another matter, the Turian Hierarchy was the military arm of the Citadel, they had the largest and strongest Navy in the Milky Way, so with that then they wouldn't be more secretive and sneaky.
The Asari were more advanced than any other species in the Milky Way at this point in time, but there was never any reason for them to be so advanced. Yes they had been the first of the modern species to travel via the Mass Relays, yes they had been the first to find the Citadel and were the prime species behind the creation of the Citadel Council. But how could they be so advanced.
This would be the prime target of the Imperial Service of Intelligence, the Turians were not to be the focus but the Salarians and the Asari.
All the while the Emperor orchestrated the continued corruption of the Council races through his former comrades to spread his will and indoctrinate their minds to him. Chief among them was Urdnot Wrex who had been working to unify the Krogan under him and by extension the Emperor.
The Emperor realised that the Krogan could be a prime motivator behind the Terran Empires goal of conquering the Citadel Species. If the Krogan were unified and then joined the empire willfully, the Emperor knew that the Salarians would not be as willing to accept this and would work against him.
So he put plans into motion, which included the resurgence of the Rachni, with the last Queen announcing herself to the Galaxy from the Rachni home system. Pledging herself and her brood to the Terran Empire, this was a shock to the Galaxy, for the Rachni were thought to have been wiped out entirely over a thousand years ago by the Krogan.
Now here they were with their resurgence and them becoming subjects of the Terran Empire, so the sudden cause for interference was rampant. The Emperor knew full well that the Citadel Races specifically the Salarians would be running backwards and forwards trying to figure something out. And they were.
More still the Terran Empire formally offered the Krogan of Tuchunka a place within the Empire as full citizens. Urdnot Wrex already having been indoctrinated readily welcomed the opportunity, claiming to his allies that through the Terran Empire, the Krogan would have the support needed to rebuild their planet.
Which is exactly what the Emperor was offering as well as that, he was offering a modification to the Genophage, making clear that whilst he could not permit a complete cure. He would allow for a modification to the Genophage that would enable the Krogan to have a sustainable population. Wrex praised this, claiming it was more than what the Council was giving them.
Although not a lot of Krogan liked it, the Indoctrination devices that Wrex had used at the Emperors behest meant that a number of clans were accepting. Emperor John I landed on Tuchunka to cheering Krogan crowds at the Shroud facility. Where with the scientists he had brought with him, enacted the process of modifying the Genophage and giving it to the Krogan present.
Within weeks the clans that had followed Clan Urdnot were seeing the results, as well as that Terran Engineers and slaves were working to rebuild the city of the Ancients to serve as Tuchunkas capital and the seat of the Terran Empire on the planet.
Now the Council was more worried than ever before, first the Batarians were conquered, then the Rachni resurfaced and pledged themselves, now the Krogan were joining and were receiving a partial cure to the Genophage. This was seen as an immense threat for the Salarians who had been the ones to uplift the Krogan millennia before to fight the Rachni.
Then the final pieces began to fit into place, through the Imperial Intelligence, the Emperor was made aware of two very important facts. First was that female Krogan immune to the Genophage were being held on the Salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh in a S.T.G base where they were being studied.
This was an insult to the Empire as the Krogan had officially become subjects of the Terran Empire as such citizens of the Empire were being held against their will and without lawful cause.
The second which the Emperor reasoned to be the most damaging was the truth behind Asari advancement. Officially the Citadel Council had laws in regards of Prothean technology, any such technology from the Protheans was to be surrendered to the Council for shared study and research. But the Asari were deliberately hiding a major Prothean Beacon on their homeworld of Thessia.
With a smile at seeing the report, the Emperor in front of his primary advisors and military leaders:
- Lord High Admiral Stephen Hackett
- Lord Commander David Anderson
- Chief of the Imperial Service of Intelligence Liara T'soni
- Chief of the Imperial Security Bureau Miranda Lawson
- Commander of the Biotic Commandos Colonel Kaidan Alenko
- Commander of Imperial Special Forces Colonel Ashley Williams
- Commander of the Imperial Peacekeepers Jacob Taylor
- Lord Governor of Tuchunka Urdnot Wrex
- Lord Governor of Khar'Shan Grothan Pazness
He stated "One of those who orchestrated the law has been wilfully and full knowingly been breaking it for their own personnel gain"
To War!:
The Emperor knew full well that the changes being conducted to the Krogan people were a serious challenge for the Salarians, they had made the Genophage and had worked to ensure that it would not be cured in the past either through science or natural adaptation. Now they were facing an immediate threat as the Krogan began to rebuild and repopulate, thanks to them joining the Terran Empire and becoming loyal subjects.
The Council was caught in a matter of indecision, officially speaking humanity was still a member of the Council and was working for the sake of "Galactic Peace", as after all the Emperor had been making pleas for the wider galaxy to prepare for the Reaper Threat when it eventually came. The other councillors however were worried, humanity was beginning to make inroads in other areas.
The final straw and lawfully cause for the Terran Empire to ignite a Galactic War, was when on the planet of Tuchunka, units of the Imperial Security Bureau captured a team of Salarian S.T.G operatives attempting to infiltrate the shroud facility, of course the Emperor was aware of this before it began, as he had indoctrinated agents within the S.T.G such as a Major Kirrahe, whom he had fought alongside on Virmire against Saren.
And of course Dr Mordin Solus, who the Emperor recruited to assist in the research and eventual elimination of the Collectors. In their possession was an enhanced version of the Genophage, something that would counteract and destroy the modifications made by the Empires own scientists to assist in Krogan reconstruction.
This was justification for the Empire, after all the Salarian Union a member of the Citadel Council had committed itself to an act that threatened a species subject to the Empire and its laws. In a declaration made across the Terran Empire and the rest of the galaxy, the Emperor released this information to the public as well as the evidence uncovered by Imperial Intelligence of the crimes committed by two members of the Council.
He revealed the Salarians were unlawfully holding Krogan Females on their homeworld without the knowledge of the Council or the Terran Empire. And worse still was the truth that the Asari Republics were deliberately holding onto Prothean Technology on their homeworld for personal gain.
This announcement was followed up with the release of the evidence to the wider galaxy alongside the formal declaration of the Terran Empire officially leaving the Citadel Council and Declaring War on the Salarian Union to put an end to the threat they posed to the Terran Empire.
The Salarians called on their allies in the Asari and Turians for help and both were willing to do so, the Turians amassed their fleets as did the Asari. The members of the Council however who represented their species attempted to find a diplomatic effort, mostly to sow discord among their peoples leadership. Again under the direct instructions of the Emperor as all three were firmly indoctrinated and loyal to him. Though eventually this lead to them being disbarred by their leaders, Councillor Tevos of the Asari was replaced with Irissa, Councillor Valern with Esheel and Councillor Sparatus with Quentius.
But when word came that the Terran Empire was amassing a force unlike any other ever seen in the galaxy, there were fears that this war would be a very difficult one to fight. For the Terran Empire with its military industrial complex, which involved swarms of Rachni workers as well as hundreds of thousands of enslaved Batarians, had created a fleet that challenged the Turian hierarchy in terms of military power and even challenged the Quarian flotilla in terms of numbers.
Over 50,000 ships of varying classes and sizes had been amassed for the war against the Citadel Council, divided into 5 flotillas, 10,000 ships per flotilla, 10 fleets per flotilla, each fleet consisting of 1,000 ships of varying classes. As well as this 15 legions of Terran Marines were brought up to perform ground operations, alongside hardened Krogan shock trooper battalions.
At its head was the Emperors Flagship the I.S.S Normandy.
As with the Conquest and Subjugation of the Batarians, the Emperor put out a promise, for those who surrendered without a fight, peace, mercy and prosperity would be shared with them as they would become subjects of the Terran Empire. But for those who resisted, the shackles of slavery shall be placed upon them and they would work forever more for the Good of the Empire.
Within just a few days the Terran Empire was beginning its pre-planned invasion of Council Space, the Salarians, Asari and Turians were very quickly forced onto the defensive as fierce attacks by the Terran Imperial Navy forced the three to focus more on the defence of their own individual territories over shared efforts.
No one could anticipate just how well prepared the Empire was for the conflict, one Turian fleet commander believed that if they could hold on long enough, the Terrans would begin to run low on supplies. But this never came, as intelligence from Council Spectres revealed that the Terrans had well established lines of supply and organised systems for resupplying their forces with everything it needed.
It was more surprising when it was discovered that the Terran Empire even had ships of food and medical supply on stand by to "Gift" to the planets that had surrendered without resistance. And more shockingly a number of cargo vessels dubbed in the Empire as Enslavement Vessels, ready to turn worlds into "Slave Colonies".
The Fall of Sur'Kesh:
The first Council homeworld to fall to the Terran Empire, was that of the Salarians.
The Emperor knew full well that the Salarians preferred to win their wars before they begin and use the secrecy and ability of their S.T.G to deal damage to their enemy. And when they can't the Salarians rely on others to fight for them, when the Salarians accidently unleashed the Rachni on the galaxy and couldn't fight them, they uplifted the Krogan to fight for them.
When they couldn't beat the Krogan, they created a disease to quell their numbers. The Emperor knew that they would be the easiest to defeat, their fleet was nothing compared to the Turians or the Asari. Add on the fact that Salarian space was closest to that of the Empire, the mass relay network would easily bring the Terran Fleet to the doorstep of Sur'Kesh.
The Krogan Shock Trooper Battalions made resistance all the more harder, as they battered their way through ground defences of the Salarian colonies. To be certain, Terran forces upheld the promise of the Emperor, to any who surrendered without a fight, mercy and peace would be their reward.
But countless colonies were rechristened under the Empire as Slave worlds, with the entire populace working for the betterment of the Empire. When Terran fleets entered the Salarian home system, what was left of the Salarian fleets attempted to resist, but were quickly obliterated.
After all the Salarians prefer to win their wars before they begin.
Despite the various security and defences that the Salarians had placed across their homeworld, it was nothing to the overwhelming firepower of the Terran Empire, as well as the indoctrinated agents within the S.T.G among which was Captain Kirrahe. Terran Forces landed at points across the planet, to divide up the Salarian defenders and the S.T.G forces.
The first assaults were on the S.T.G bases across the planet, the focal point of the Salarian method of defence. Since through information of Imperial Intelligence and the indoctrinated agents the Emperor had, the Terran Empire was made aware that such locations were where the Salarians conducted research on a variety of things, including the weaponization of other species, such as Varren and even the Yahg.
At one specific facility was an elite force of the Shock Trooper Corps, Aralahk Company, a force of the best Krogan soldiers in the Empire as well as the most loyal. Lead by Urdnot Grunt, the unit performed a air drop to secure the command centre of the base, which shut down the automated defences, allowing for more troops to come in. As well as allow for gunships, shuttles and fighters to conduct aerial support and attacks against the defenders.
The focus of the assault was the "Liberation" of the Krogan females being held within the facility. Located by Dr Mordin Solus, the females were the cause of the invasion as the Emperor wanted the Propaganda of freeing unlawfully held prisoners of the Salarian Union.
With Terran Special Forces and even a contingent of Cerberus Praetorian involved, all of them enhanced by technologies adapted from Reaper Tech. The Terran Empire was quickly able to capture the facility, just as the Emperor Promised, those that refused to surrender were all executed on the spot. Aralahk Company was then tasked alongside Dr Mordin Solus to escort the surviving females back to Tuchunka for medical aid and rehabilitation.
As this was going on, other S.T.G bases across the planet were being annihilated, as well as that, evidence was being shown to the Galaxy of how the Salarians were full knowingly conducting experiments on non sentient species to make them more deadly and were even contemplating the possibility of uplifting the Yahg species despite the fact that the Council enacted a law that forbade them from leaving their homeworld after killing the first contact teams.
Within a matter of a few weeks, the Salarian Homeworld was firmly under the control of the Terran Empire, the Emperor came to visit as a sign of the victory. As with the Batarians, a special live vid was sent across the entire galaxy, of the Salarian Dalatrases, the females that dominated Salarian politics, at least those that had surrendered without resistance kneeling down and kissing the Emperors signet ring.
And they were the lucky ones, for those Dalatras that refused to surrender and were later captured, they were summarily executed. Bar one, Dalatras Linron, the Salarian who had been the focal point of resistance against the Terran Empire and had been the one behind the abduction of the Krogan Females and the attempted sabotage of Krogan rebuilding.
Was sent back to Earth aboard the Emperors flagship, where within the Imperial Forum, in front of the Imperial Palace. She was beheaded before crowds of cheering people, not just Humans, but also Batarians and Krogan. Her skull was collected and upon being rendered down to the bone, was placed ceremonially onto one of the Trophy Podiums within the Throne Room.
Dalatras Linron "Executed for crimes against the Terran Empire"
Following the fall of Sur'Kesh, Those worlds that did surrender were just as promised graced with the Emperors mercy and greeted as subjects of the Empire. Some worlds on the other hand attempted to continue fighting, either directly or through Guerrilla warfare, but the sheer power of the Terran Fleet and Legion made either forms futile. Millions of Salarians were enslaved and forced to work for the greatness of the Terran Empire.
Others were allowed to live as free subjects under the Empire, as Annos Basin became a Imperial Cluster, under lordship of a new Imperial Governor, Indoctrination devices were placed across Salarian worlds, made to resemble statues and other pieces of art, all to bring the former enemies of the Empire "Into the Light" among them was the former Salarian Councillor, who became an Advisor to the Emperor, Councillor Valern became Lord Valern.
The Capture of the Citadel:
With the fall of the Salarian Union, the Citadel races were now in a dangerous situation, as they frantically reformed their forces to fill gaps in their lines. Though a portion of the Salarian fleet had escaped the Terran invasion, it was a minute fraction of the whole force.
For the Emperor it was now a matter of striking at the Heart of the Council, its seat of power, the place he planned on relocating the Imperial Palace too, where he planned to rule from as a true Emperor of the Milky Way Galaxy.
The CITADEL!.
For the mission, the Emperor placed Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich of the 2nd Imperial Fleet to lead the assault, not on the Citadel itself, but instead from Tuchunka to the Silean Nebula. The plan was to strike at the Council races that were not members, such as the Elcor. As well as that, the Silean Nebula had a number of Asari Colonies.
The idea was to strike through Council Space, to make the Turians and Asari reorganise their defences, which worked, the 2nd fleet never got close to the Silean Nebula before being halted by a combined force of Turians and Asari, supported by the Elcor and Volus.
At the same time a second force went from Earth itself and struck towards the Volus Homeworld of Irune. Very quickly the Volus were forced back and held back their bombing fleet, as well as requesting aid from the Turians, as after all the Volus were a client race of the Turians, so they would have to send help, again dividing the allied forces.
To make it even more spread out, the Terran Empire even launched attacks into the Attican Traverse, Specifically the clusters and systems that had Council colonies. This was to both spread Citadel forces, but also to solidify the Terran Empire in the Traverse and secure it for the Empire.
With this division, the Citadel was suddenly limited in regards of its defence, flushed with refugees fleeing the war, the Citadel was cramped as entire docking bays and storage bays were being overwhelmed as Refugee camps were hurriedly constructed. This made the inclusion of indoctrinated agents to infiltrate the Citadel all the more easy.
When the 1st Terran Flotilla, lead by Lord Admiral Stephen Hackett launched the assault, with a full force of 10,000 ships of varying classes. They had no chance. As the Citadel Defence force attempted to close the Citadel arms to prevent the enemy from being able to land forces, the indoctrinated agents made their moves.
One unit supported by Terran Special forces, quickly attacked and managed to take C-SEC headquarters hampering their efforts to resist the attack. Another unit launched an assault and managed to take the Citadel Control station, denying the opportunity to close the Citadel Arms. As the Defence fleet was overwhelmed, transports began to descend on each of the Citadel arms, an entire legion was brought seize the Citadel.
Battalions were landed in each of the Wards as well as in the Docks, C-SEC was quickly overwhelmed as without any form of co-ordination and without sufficient firepower to repel the heavily armed Imperial Forces, many were either annihilated whilst others felt they had no choice and surrendered.
The news of the Citadels fall, was a shock to the entire Galaxy, the idea that the Citadel could be taken at all was almost unimaginable as it was a viable fortress in the stars. The Citadel Councillors were all captured by Terran Special Forces during the initial assault, all three were held until the Emperor arrived.
In front of the entire Citadel, as well as various vid cameras, the three were sentenced to death by the Emperor himself and executed. Some within the Emperors inner circle expected him to order their heads be collected for his trophy room, but he refused, saying "These three aren't worth the honour of being part of my Collection".
The Siege of Palaven:
With the Salarians subjugated and the Citadel now under Terran Control, the Emperor turned his attention against the one force that could challenge the Imperial Navy. The Turians despite all the fighting still hosted the largest and strongest military in the Milky Way, which is now bolstered with the remnants of the Salarian fleets as well as the Volus Bombing Fleet.
To counter this, the Emperor alongside the Lord High Admiral and Lord Commander, devised a plan that would bring about the Turians defeat. The plan was to divide up their forces by striking at various colonies that were critical for their military infrastructure, this would force the Turian Fleet to spread outwards to defend these colonies. Such as the Minos Wastelands. As well as renewed strikes towards the Volus homeworld of Irune in the Aethon Cluster, one to spread the Turians thin, but also to complete the subjugation of the Volus species in general.
When the time is right, the main invasion force would launch its assault from Tuchunka straight towards Palaven the Turian Homeworld. The Turians would have a choice, either withdraw their fleets to defend Palaven or maintain their defensive placement.
At the same time, the 1st Imperial Flotilla would begin launching renewed attacks again the Silean Nebula as well as strikes towards the Nimbus Cluster, the Crescent Nebula where Ilum was located and further still towards the Ismar Frontier. These attacks were meant to keep the Asari from being able to support the Turians from defending Palaven.
When the plan was enacted, the Turian Hierarchy was uncertain as to what to do, they knew that the Terran Fleet was spreading them out, but they recognised that to do so would leave Palaven vulnerable. Then one of their top generals, Adrien Victus proposed a plan to lure the Terran Empire to Palaven by giving the impression that the Turians had dispatched the majority of their forces to defend the frontier.
When in fact they had held back the most powerful fleets near Palaven to swing in when the Terrans made their move. The Plan was accepted when word came that the Olyn Protectorate the Home System of the Hanar and the Drell had surrendered to the Terran Empire.
However the overwhelming forces of the Terran Empire, made the plan ineffective, because the moment the Turian Fleets moved to ambush the Terrans, the Imperial fleet had enacted a trap of their own. Thanks to Indoctrinated agents within the Turian people, notably Garrus Vakarian who had used an indoctrination device on General Victus, thus making him an agent loyal to the Emperor.
The Empire was well aware of the plan and had acted accordingly, deliberately springing the trap to lure the main Turian fleet out. When the attack began, a second Terran fleet came in from behind catching the Turians in a pincer, or more specifically a nail and hammer. To try and counter this the Turians moved their fleets towards Menae one of Palavens moons, where they built several advanced camps to try and flank the enemy.
However the sheer size of the attacking force, consisting of Humans, Batarians, Krogan and even some Turian Imperialists made such a strategy irrelevant. The Turian Hierarchy under Primarch Fedorian announced to the citizens of Palaven that they were now officially under siege. Which was made only worse when the Turian fleets defending the planet were broken up allowing Terran Ground forces to land on the planet.
The Siege of Palaven lasted for weeks, with the Terran using heavy weapons such as bombers against Turian strongpoints and even at some stages Orbital bombardments. The final break came when word arrived that the moon of Menae was taken by Terran Forces with the last of the defenders having to surrender.
Among them was Primarch Fedorian himself who had attempted to flee the moon but was shot down before he could "Return to Palaven". However Imperial vids identified it as a selfish attempt for him to escape the fighting as a coward, claiming the shuttle was attempting to flee towards the Mass Relay.
Recognising now that they could not keep fighting, the remaining leaders of Palaven Command, finally surrendered to the Terran Empire. The Emperors promise was enforced, for any city on Palaven that surrendered without a fight, which was not many, were allowed to live in peace and mercy under the Empire as its new subjects. Which was like on other worlds enforced with Indoctrination devices, but for those that refused to surrender, they were all brought aboard Terran Enslavement vessels where they were forcibly indoctrinated and became wilful slaves of the Empire.
This defeat was followed up as Turian forces across the Galaxy that had managed to escape, fled to the Asari Republics with the hope that surely with them they might free their people. But for others this was proof that the Terran Empire could not be stopped, the Volus having recognised that the Turians could not defend them anymore, surrendered without anymore resistance.
The Terran Empire now dominated over half of the Milky Way Galaxy.
For his Resistance against the Terran Empire, Primarch Fedorian was brought to the Citadel the new Capital of the Terran Empire, where he was Beheaded before a roaring crowd, that consisted of nearly every species in the Milky Way, all of them firmly loyal subjects of the Terran Empire.
After the Execution, his skull was retrieved and placed into the Imperial Throne room among the others, below it said.
"Primarch Fedorian, He Who Resisted the Prosperity of the Empire"
General Adrien Victus was before the entire galaxy on both vids and an immense crowd on the Citadel, the first Turian to officially kneel before the Emperor, kiss his ring and pledge his fealty. For this act of Loyalty, Victus was gifted the Title of Noble with the governorship of the Apien Crest of which included Palaven.
Garrus Vakarian was sworn in as the commander of the new Palaven Battalion, an elite squadron of soldiers all of whom were Turians with unique skills in combat specifically as snipers. The Apien Crest was gradually over the months to come, turned from a stronghold of the Turians into a formal Imperial Cluster, under the Rule of its new Imperial Governor, at the same time, the Emperor welcomed a new advisor to his court, the former Turian Councillor, Sparatus, who would serve as an advisor to the Emperor in regards of his Turian Subjects.
The Fall of Thessia:
With the Salarians Subjugated and the Turian Fleet crippled, the Asari were now facing the combined fleets and armies of the Terran Empire all by themselves. Though the remnants of the scattered Turian fleets that escaped the Terrans had joined them, the Asari Republics were in a position that even some of the Matriarchs believed couldn't be salvaged.
The Silean Nebula which hosted a number of large and small Asari Colonies was under siege, the Elcor were considering surrendering to the Empire. The Crescent Nebula which hosted Illium was on the brink of being forced to surrender, the Ismar Frontier had fallen, the Nimbus Cluster was facing continuous attacks from the Terran Empire.
Leaving just the Athena Nebula, which was the home cluster of the Asari, holding not just their homeworld of Thessia, but dozens of prosperous and important colonies that provided resources and soldiers. Fears were that if something wasn't done then the Terrans would easily overwhelm their forces and invade Thessia itself.
To try and salvage what they could the Asari sent an open message to the Terran Empire, formally requesting terms for peace, they declared they would not ask for terms but were willing to negotiate. But the Emperor refused to negotiate until the Asari admitted that they had broken a law that they themselves had enforced on humanity. Whilst the Asari leadership talked among themselves, with some wanting to admit it in order to save the Republics and stop the bloodshed, others however were afraid of their position in the Galaxy, as after all the secrets from the Protheans were what had given them an edge for centuries.
Whilst they bickered, the Terran Empire launched a series of new offensives, from their newly conquered territories, this time more focused against the Asari, this time instead of spreading their fleets out. The Emperors plan was one of resources, he knew that the Asari had the most advanced ships in the Galaxy, though their navy wasn't as big as the Turian fleet, their ships were more powerful. But he knew that such power requires resources, cut off those resources and even the most advanced ships cannot function.
Terran fleets and legions soon began systematic assaults against Asari Colonies, notably in the Nimbus Cluster and the Silean Nebula. The Latter of which lead to the ultimate and relatively peaceful surrender and subjugation of the Elcor, who like the Hanar and Drell chose to give up without a fight. After several more weeks of fighting, the Asari Navy started to suffer shortages as outposts, settlements and colonies that provided supplies and resources for its upkeep came under concentrated attacks and some were under siege.
By this point the Asari had been at war with the Terran Empire for over 9 months and in that time they had lost their closest allies, who were now serving their enemy, with Turian ships being refitted, repainted and deployed as part of the Imperial Navy, thus making it even larger and more formidable. By the beginning of the 11th month of the war, the Terran Empire and completely subjugated the Silean Nebula, Illium and the Crescent Nebula had surrendered following a prolonged siege and the defending forces in the Nimbus Cluster was close to collapse.
It was here that the final strike began, as 2 entire Terran Flotillas, over 20,000 ships launched an all out assault on the Asari Homeworld itself. Asari forces rallied to defend their home, engaging Terran Forces in orbit, but despite their best efforts, Terran Ground Attack vessels and transports managed to reach the planet surface, initiating a planetary wide invasion. Imperial Legions supported by Turian Auxiliary Forces, Krogan Shock trooper battalions and Salarian Elite teams, landed at various points of importance across the planet.
Four armies were landed around the Capital City and began to dig in for an assault, another army was landed within another city where the Temple of Athame was located, the Temple that held the Prothean Beacon the Asari had kept hidden. This assault was two fold, first to secure the relics for research and study by Imperial Scientists, but also for Propaganda purposes, since finding it would be proof positive that the Asari Republics were hypocritical of their own laws.
For what seemed like Endless weeks, the Asari commandos and volunteer forces put up as good a fight as they could muster, but with each day they were losing ground somewhere on the Planet. Their advanced Biotics despite being powerful were being overwhelmed by the Imperial Forces, who even used Biotic Artillery Strikes against the Asari, when things were extremely difficult, they called in Orbital Bombardments.
Finally one day the last efforts to defend the Capital Collapsed and Asari forces were called to retreat from the city, now even the most steadfast of the Matriarchs were recognising they couldn't hold on much longer. The last straw for the Asari was when word came down from Orbit, as the last of their fleets were either destroyed or damaged to the point they could no longer keep fighting. With Thessia practically lost and their once proud fleet crippled.
In 2185 the Asari Republics finally surrendered to the Imperial Commander, Jacob Taylor.
Hundreds of Thousands of Asari were sentenced to a life time of slavery, entire colonies that had once been prosperous were turned into slave Colonies that would work solely for the benefit of the Empire. The Asari fleet was salvaged and the technologies used reverse engineered to improve the Imperial Fleets, the Asari Leadership, the ones who had aided and abetted the covering up of the Prothean Beacon were sentenced to Death. Former Councillor Tevos who represented the Asari was released from prison and became an advisor to the Emperor.
As with both the Turians, Salarians and then the Volus, Hanar, Drell and Elcor, Disguised indoctrination devices were placed across Asari Space to bring them "Into the Glorious Light of the Empire".
The Second Krogan Rebellion:
With the final surrender of the last holdouts following the defeat of the Asari Republics, the Terran Empire began a process of reconstruction and renewal, this was greatly needed as the conflict with the Council has brought a great amount of destruction and damage. Plans were made for the Imperial Palace to be moved to the Citadel, correction, for the Citadel to be moved closer to Earth and then for the Imperial Palace to be moved.
Since the Citadel was a major hub of commerce as well as a symbol of power, the Emperor wished for it to be within the Sol System as a symbol of the Empires power and prestige.
Several if not dozens of worlds required reorganisation and rebuilding to make them Slave Colonies for the Empire, where the enslaved peoples that refused to surrender without resistance to be held and work. Then there was the matter of Indoctrination, new devices were required to implement and ensure the loyalties of the newly conquered territories.
Then there was the matter of the Hanar, Drell and Elcor, though they had sided with the Council during the early parts of the conflict, they had surrendered when it became clear the Terran Empire was going to win. The Volus were now firmly subjects of the Empire following their surrender, the Leader of the Elcor as well as the Hanar came before the Emperor and before a live feed of the Extranet, formally pledged their loyalty and that of their people to the Emperor and the Terran Empire.
But as the process of reconstruction was ongoing and the subjugation of the conquered species was in full swing, trouble began on several Krogan inhabited worlds including Tuchunka itself. Though Clan Urdnot under Urdnot Wrex and several others were firmly loyal to the Terran Empire, Wrexs own brother Wreav a firm traditionalist and extremist decided that the Empire was weak from its war and with many tens of thousands of supporters rose in rebellion against the Emperor.
Urdnot Wreav crowned himself Overlord of All Krogan and that the time had come for a Krogan Empire not a Terran one. Fighting began almost immediately as loyalists and Rebels began fighting each other on Krogan worlds and on Tuchunka.
Seeing this as a direct threat and a flagrant act of treason against the Empire, of which Wreav himself had sworn his allegiance too, the Emperor formally announced that Urdnot Wreav and his supporters were traitors to the Empire and were under a sentence of Death. As well as this, he ordered that Imperial Forces enact a full blockade of all worlds on which the rebels were fighting.
The plan was to systematically wipe out the Traitorous clans one by one, thus leaving Wreav by himself with his few supporters on Tuchunka itself. In a public declaration to the entirety of the Empire, the Emperor made clear that anyone who supports the rebellion either directly or indirectly would regarded as a traitor to the Empire and will face the consequences. This declaration was followed by the savage destruction of the Krogan Clan Gatatog lead by Gatatog Uvenk a firm supporter of Urdnot Wreav.
The Gatatog Clan was situated on a Krogan Colony in the Dranek System within the Krogan Home Cluster, the Clans own colony on the planet was hit by the combined forces of the Imperial Navy and the Legion. Special Forces seized control of the planets defences, including a series of ancient Ground to Space cannons from the Krogan Rebellions. After they were seized, the Imperial Navy began its assault, with flites of heavy bombers carpet bombing the Gatatog Clan as it was aired live across the Extranet.
With the broadcast were the words "For those who support the Traitor Wreav, prepare to pay the ultimate price". For any who survived the Bombing, their survival was not to be theirs, as Imperial Legion forces moved through the remains of their settlement ensuring that each and every individual of Clan Gatatog was killed in the attacks.
This caused a number of other Clans to surrender to the Imperial Forces when they appeared in orbit, out of fear of the same happening to them. The Emperor offered the clans mercy for their surrender but demanded that their leaders be handed over on the charge of High Treason. Eventually the number of clans was down from dozens to just 2, with Wreav leading these two himself on Tuchunka. Among them was Clan Weyrloc, which had been working for years in curing the Genophage themselves until the Empire had foiled that plot.
An entire fleet of hardened veterans was despatched, consisting of over a 1,000 ships most of them being carriers and transports, which held an entire legion of Terran Forces along with two battalions of Krogan Shock Troopers and an armoured Division. They landed within the Urdnot Stronghold in the city of the Ancients which had been built with the support of the Empire. It was now the headquarters of the Loyalist Krogan clans who refused to betray the Emperor.
From this city, the Terran Empire began to carefully and methodically drive back the Rebel forces towards their last stronghold, another Ground to Space Cannon that had been built during the Krogan Rebellions a thousand years prior. Wreav was attempting to rebuild the cannons and use them to repel the Terran ships in orbit, but such plans were scuttled as Imperial forces surrounded him and his few remaining allies.
Eventually Wreav was hit by a sniper shot to his side which stunned him long enough for several loyal Krogan to subdue him. He was dragged onto a transport shuttle to be taken away for "Trial", the rest however were either killed in the fighting or were summarily executed after they surrendered.
With this final defeat, the last vestiges of resistance in the Krogan clans was decimated, only those that were firmly loyal to the Emperor remained. In a public display of power, the Emperor had Urdnot Wreav brought to the Citadel where upon the steps of the Imperial Palace, the tower at the heart of the Citadel that was once the Council Tower.
Urdnot Wreav was beheaded by the Emperors order, his body was throne into the furnaces of industries on Tuchunka and his head, was rendered down to the skull alone and placed within the Imperial Throne Room among the other trophies of the Emperor.
Urdnot Wreav "Beheaded for High Treason Against the Terran Empire"
The Terminus War:
After a number of years in which relative peace reigned, the Terran Empire was firmly unified and solid in its loyalties towards itself, all the species and planets across what was once Council Space, Batarian Space etc, was firmly of the Terran Empire. And just as promised, those worlds that had surrendered without a fight were more prosperous than ever before, with reconstruction efforts and renewal programs bringing greater prosperity to them.
Species that were once clear rivals and enemies were now working and standing together, Batarians and Humans, Krogan and Salarians, the divisions of the Old galaxy were swept away under the greatness of the Terran Empire.
But since the Terran Empire had come to power, the criminal elements that made the Terminus Systems their home had found a steep drop in their profits. Groups such as the Blue Suns, The Eclipse and the Blood Pack which were among the most powerful Mercenary/Criminal Organisations in the galaxy wanted their profits back.
The Blood Pack gave the Empire cause for alarm, as they lead an assault on a colony within the territories of the Empire in the Attican Traverse. Their goal was to loot, plunder and enslave the populace for their own coffers, the attack was as was customary with the Blood Pack, exceedingly brutal. But it gave the Empire cause to invade the Terminus Systems.
Wishing to see an end to such criminality, the Emperor himself gave instructions for the assembly of a new invasion force, one that would bring law and order to the Terminus. The Launch points for this invasion would be clusters upon the border of the Terminus Systems, the Ismar Frontier, the Crescent Nebula, the Nimah Cluster, the Caleston Rift and Sentry Omega.
Each cluster would have a fleet to lead the assault, as well as a Legion to perform ground invasions and secure key positions, the intent was to prevent the different worlds within the Terminus Systems as well as the criminal elements from being able to co-ordinate or organise any kind of defence. The Focal point of the Terminus Systems was Omega, a city built both within and around a giant Asteroid filled with vast amounts of Element Zero. Every Gang, Mercenary Group and faction in the Terminus systems had a presence on Omega and there was one person who could even perform some kind of unification.
And that was Aria T'Loak, an Asari Crime lord who had absolute control on Omega and made very clear that there was one absolute rule on Omega "Don't Fuck With Aria". So it was clear that Omega would be the focus point for one arm of the Invasion, since Omega was the so called Defacto Capital of the Terminus and was the only place with sufficient capabilities to produce ships even if they were smaller vessels used by pirates.
Just as always, the Emperor upon his declaration of restoring law and order to the Teriminus Systems, made clear the for any world that surrendered without a fight, then they would be allowed to live in peace as part of the Empire. But if they resisted in any way then they would serve the Empire as its newest Slave Colony.
As well as this he made a public address which was shown across the Galaxy, which was included as part of a galaxy wide public execution. Hundreds of arrested Eclipse, Blue Suns and Blood Pack members that had been found within the Terran Empire were forced by groups of armed Peacekeepers to kneel in public squares on every inhabited world as well as in public squares on the Citadel.
"My Subjects,
I speak to you today, as one
Since the end of our fight against the traitorous elements and the Corrupt Council, we have enjoyed an unprecedented era of peace. A peace brought through cooperation, trust and respect between us all.
In the past days you have likely heard of sporadic violence committed by Criminal bands from the Terminus Systems. These individuals who have chosen this path of wanton destruction and misery, don't understand.
Such brutality has throughout the history of all of our worlds, only ever brought on a time of chaos and Anarchy.
The Criminals in front of you, are members to such anarchistic ideals, the Blue Suns, the Eclipse and the Blood Pack, people that claim to be legitimate companies in private security and protection, but are nothing more than criminals seeking to spread misery through narcotics, threats and murder.
Aiding and Abetting such individuals shall be considered treason, punishable by Death.
I swear to you all that Justice shall be served swiftly, order shall be restored and the Terminus Systems shall know our strength.
To the criminals of the Terminus Systems, for those among you who fail to learn the warnings of History...
Prepare to Pay the Ultimate Price"
The message was clear for all to see, the Empire was committed to a purge.
Before the Invasion began the Terran Empire, specifically the Imperial Security Bureau and the Imperial Peacekeepers, conducts searches and purges on every world within the Empire where the various criminal groups, the Blue Suns and the Eclipse had operated on in the past. Within just a few weeks, both gangs were driven completely out of the Empire, with all members within the Terran Borders either killed during the raids or executed afterwards.
Since the Terminus Systems were not a true government but more a collection of various independent worlds and criminal groups, pirates and slavers. The different worlds were unable to set up an effective defence against the Terran Forces, to be certain each and every planet within the Terminus Systems was checked by Imperial Forces for any kind of inhabitation. If anything is found then Terran Forces are sent down to secure it, if it belonged to any of the Criminal groups, then they would be captured and executed.
The Vorcha Homeworld was quarantined and a permanent fleet was placed in orbit until a proper force could be set up to ensure that the rapid reproducing Vorcha are contained within their home system. The Emperor declared that only Slave vessels may approach the world with the purpose of securing Vorcha captives for enslavement across the Empire.
Unlike the wars of the past, against the Batarians and the Citadel Council, the Terminus Wars were swift and decisive as the systems were no where near as strong as the Imperial Forces. Many worlds having seen the destruction that followed those that resisted , surrendered without a fight. As was custom these worlds were given peace and mercy, supported by shipments of Food and medical supplies.
Since there was no real military to face, rather just groups of pirates and mercenaries that put up resistance against the Terran Forces. The Imperial Fleet had no choice but to spread out to hunt down these groups across the Terminus Systems whilst they secured the various inhabited worlds of the Region. This meant that instead of fighting as singular fleets, they were divided into squadrons that would be more mobile and adaptable for the kind of fighting they were facing.
This meant small squadrons of three to four ships but never more than five, primarily one or two cruisers, supported by some smaller vessels notably escort frigates and destroyers. The plan was to use these squadrons to conduct hunts for the ships being used by the different worlds that refused to surrender. It was only when the Imperial 5th Fleet established a solid blockade of Omega, where the fleet faced conventional resistance, in the "Omega Rum Fleet" a gathering of pirate and smuggling ships that worked for Aria T'Loak. But these ships were no match to the true military forces of the Terran Empire.
When the Rum fleet was defeated and the Blockade established, the Fleet was denied permission to begin a direct assault on the station. It was only when 2 Imperial Legions were brought in to support that the Invasion began, supported by embedded agents within the Station itself allowed the ground forces to get into the Station without encountering extensive resistance.
Aria T'Loak had managed to unify the gangs of Omega, mainly the largest, the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack under her to resist the Terran Empire and even mobilised the Population to fight. But quite a lot of people within the different Districts were unwilling to fight having seen the destruction that comes from resisting the Imperial Forces. The Imperial Legion managed to board the station and established a firm presence within the station and despite resistance from the gangs managed to break through every attempt at defence and the cause was the Empires use of extreme methods.
When the Blood Pack unleashed swarms of Vorcha, the Imperial forces brought out flame throwers to incinerate them before they could present a major threat. As well as that the Empire used its gunships and Shuttles to drop bombs within areas that the Gangs had set up defences or were building up for a counter attack. The focal point of the assault was After Life, the large club that served as Aria T'Loaks throne room, the intention being that by either Capturing or Killing Aria the Gangs would be without a central leadership and would turn on each other.
Aria again attempted to unleash the people of Omega on the Invaders, but the fighting only got worse and worse, when a entire District armed itself to resist the Terran Forces. The Imperial Legion and Navy burned it all and slaughtered everyone in it, they showed it all on the Extranet for the people of Omega to see, as well as what was happening in Districts that had surrendered. Where people were receiving medical treatment, supplies of fresh foods and were even being given help in rebuilding the damage done during the fighting.
Eventually after weeks of heavy fighting, Terran Forces finally reached the doors of Afterlife, where the last of Aria's own forces made a desperate last stand. Biotic Commandos breached the Club itself and together were able to capture Aria T'Loak the so called Queen of Omega. Just as intended without Aria lording over them, the gangs that had unified under her turned on each other and were unable to put up any kind of resistance.
Omega finally fell to the Terran Empire two weeks later.
The Purge of Omega:
With the final surrender to Terran Forces, the Imperial Legions on Omega were given a new directive, supported by elements of the Imperial Peacekeepers and the Imperial Security Bureau, they began a systematic and organised search of the entire station to clear out the remaining gangs and criminal elements. Each and every district within Omega was searched, with each house, shop, warehouse, room even the tunnels and mines of the Asteroid were cleared to the finest point.
Members of Gangs and criminal groups were dragged out and practically thrown onto armoured transports and taken to internment facilities that had been erected in parts of the station. Weapons were seized, anything regarded as illegal contraband was piled up in the streets and burned, illegal narcotics such as Red Sand was taken away to be destroyed. Buildings that held the Black Markets and or were being used to produce illicit materials were cleared by Peacekeepers and burned to the ground by flame throwers.
Members of the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack when captured were taken to public squares where they were summarily executed in front of the crowds. Some were in fear at the acts, but others were also grateful as they had grown tired at the gangs ruling the districts of Omega demanding protection money and beating people up in the streets. Within just few weeks the Gangs of Omega were practically wiped out, the larger gangs went first, but then even the smaller criminal syndicates were driven into extinction by the Peacekeepers.
After life, once the heart and seat of power on Omega was turned from a den of criminality into a respectable business that served to cater everyone on Omega. The More shady aspects of the station were converted and replaced with legal industries, such as Aria T'Loaks secret bunker and private hangar, these were seized and turned into the Peacekeeper Headquarters on Omega.
And Aria herself, she was transported to the Citadel for trial, where after being found Guilty, she was brought before the entire Galaxy atop the steps of the Imperial Palace. In front of cameras and a roaring crowd, she was executed for her many, many, many crimes, the Emperor himself ordered her skull to be added to the Trophies within the Throne Room.
Aria T'Loak "She who failed to learn the rule: Don't Fuck with the Terran Empire!"
The Surrender of the Quarians:
With the Terminus Systems secured and pacified, trouble was quick to arrive in the form of the Quarian Flotilla, more specifically from the Admiral of the Quarian Heavy fleet, Admiral Han Gerrel an individual who was very militaristic and had a long history of causing trouble for the Citadel Council.
The Pacification of the Terminus Systems meant that there was a rapid surge of industry and interest within the Terminus Systems, in the past companies were cautious about approaching or attempting business in the Terminus systems out of fear of the criminal elements that practically dominated that region of the Galaxy. Now however this was changed as the Criminal element was eliminated, opening up a third of the galaxy for not just exploration but also for expansion, such was proven when colonies that were once small began to grow to a greater level as they were no longer suffering from the criminal element.
This was trouble for the Quarians who like everyone else needed resources, in the past the mostly untapped resources of the Terminus Systems had provided for them with no issue. But now they were facing encroachment from more permanent mining settlements, the Quarian Admiralty was torn in what it wanted to do, Admiral Zaal Koris of the Civilian fleet wished to negotiate and find peaceful means of sustaining the fleet, he was supported by Admiral Shala Raan.
But Admiral Gerrel thought the Migrant Fleet needed those resources more than any Empire, sadly in a moment of arrogance he threatened a mining vessel that was transporting materials for the construction of a new settlement in the Terminus Systems. Part of said warning included the firing of a warning shot against it, though the vessel fled undamaged, it was reported to the Terran Empire who immediately responded.
The Empire demanded that the Quarian Migrant Fleet issue a full apology for the action and that Admiral Gerrel step down as Admiral of the Heavy Fleet. He outright refused stating he was doing his duty for the continuation of the Quarian People, Admiral Koris on the other hand called him "Militant and Reckless" whose actions had "Endangered the Quarian People not helped it".
For weeks discussions continued back and forth, until the Emperor himself was requested to assist in the arbitration of the discussion. After examining all the information, the Emperor decreed that the Heavy Fleet did not have cause to threaten a civilian ship, but the Quarians did have reason to harvest resources and materials from unclaimed worlds.
So he made his decision clear, the Migrant Fleet would be permitted to make claims against Resources and materials they require and those Claims would be theirs, however they could not make a claim against anything that already had been taken by another. So in respect if they found an element zero deposit that was unclaimed then it was theirs to mine at will and no others could do so. But if they found that had been claimed then they required permission from the owner of the claim.
Admiral Koris found no issue with this, but Han Gerrel didn't like that the Emperor was still demanding for him to step down as Admiral of the Heavy Fleet. He refused stating that if the Emperor wanted him to step down "The Son of Bitch can make me", sadly he made the mistake of declaring this openly and publicly on the Extranet. In response the Emperor ordered that Han Gerrel step down as leader of the Heavy Fleet or the Empire will make him.
Following this, The Emperor sent messages to the other Admirals as well as publicly to the Quarian people, stating that if conflict arose, then if the civilian fleet stay out of the fighting and surrender peacefully and swear allegiance to the Empire, then the Terran Empire will provide them the means of reclaiming their homeworld of Rannoch which was lost to the Geth centuries prior.
Before any could answer however, the Migrant Fleet made a normal jump to another system, but were greeted by an entire flotilla of Terran Warships, 10,000 ships in total. Again the message of the Emperor was sent across, if the Migrant Fleet surrendered peacefully and swore alliegance, then this same Flotilla as well as another would aid the Quarians in reclaiming their homeworld. Admiral Koris pleaded for the other admirals to listen seeing it as the best option, Admiral Raan agreed, but again Han Gerrel refused.
Expecting the other fleets to support him, he ordered his ships to form a defensive line in front of the Migrant Fleet, however he was shocked when the Civilian fleet pulled back and began sending messages claiming they were accepting the offer of surrender. Calling them cowards, Admiral Gerrel again demanded that the Terrans leave else he would order the ships to fire, the Terrans refused.
The civilian captains and the other Admirals pleaded for Gerrel to listen, but when the Terrans again refused demanding an answer for the Emperors offer. Admiral Gerrel ordered his flag ship to fire a warning shot, this was the catalsyt for what followed, as taking this as the Admirals answer, the Terran Fleet returned fire in overwhelming strength.
Admiral Gerrel immediately asked for assistance from the other fleets to support the Heavy Fleet, especially as Terran Fighter craft and bombers began causing copious amounts of damage to his heavy cruisers. Only a few vessels of the Patrol fleet came to support him, but Admiral Raan and Admiral Koris deemed that Han Gerrel had gotten himself into this mess and it was now on him to get out.
The fighting lasted for several hours until finally Admiral Gerrels flagship was crippled and its power systems failed killing all onboard. With the loss of their admiral, the Quarian heavy fleet finally gave in and surrendered, Following the defeat of the Heavy fleet, the remaining Quarian ships of the Civilian and Patrol fleet were escorted to the Citadel where before a jubilant crowd as well as many cameras. Admirals Raan and Koris formally and fully pledged their allegiance to the Terran Empire.
And as promised, the Emperor affirmed his pledge to reclaim their homeworld of Rannoch, promising the full might of the Empire to the goal.
As for the former Heavy Fleet Admiral however, his body was claimed and his skull and suit were placed next to each other in the Throne Room on the Citadel.
Admiral Han Gerrel "He Picked a Fight with the Terran Empire"
The Subjugation of the Geth:
And he upheld that promise to reclaim Rannoch, but he did not wish to destroy the Geth, he instead, having witnessed their capabilities decided that he would conduct some espionage first. He ordered for the creation of an upgrade for the Geth systems, in effect he wished to improve them, making them fully evolved A.I, the idea being that rather than enslaving them again or wiping them out, he would invite the Geth into the Empire.
With the help of Quarian Engineers and Scientists, an method of doing so was found, although they could not guarantee whether the Geth would welcome it. But before anything the Emperor sent a coded message to a Geth unit known as Legion, that had aided the efforts of his forces in combating the Collectors. In this message the Emperor explained of the promise he had made to the Quarians but how he desired reconciliation between them and the Geth, he offered the Upgrade as a peace offering.
He informed Legion that he himself would come to the edge of the Perseus veil and give it to the Geth in person, on the condition that they make peace with the Quarians. Legion responded and the Geth came to the meeting point, what the Emperor did not mention was that using some Reaper tech they had salavged from the Collector Base, the Upgrade included something that would ensure their loyalty to the Empire.
The Geth welcomed the upgrade and enacted it, without ever realising that they were again become servants to another species. They publicly greeted the Quarians back to Rannoch and even assisted in the rebuilding of the Quarian peoples, aiding in the construction of housing, agriculture, infrastructure and even used their software systems to boost the fragile immune systems of the Quarians as well enabling them to once again live without their environmental suits.
Although they were subservient to the Terran Empire they were not classed as an Enslaved people, because despite their loyalty to the Empire they were under the Protection of what was now called the Emperors Promise. The position and declaration that the Emperor offered to the Galaxy and its citizens, where if they surrendered peacefully and pledged themselves to the Empire then they could live in peace as subjects not slave.
The inclusion of the Geth in the Galaxy caused a major shift as the Geth with their network systems enabled them to work in situations that most organics could not be included in. As well as this the Geth fleet was reorganised and refitted into an auxiliary fleet of the Terran Empire, which when combined with the fleets of the other species meant that the Terran Empire was now the controller of the largest military fleet in the Galaxies History.
The Galactic Terran Empire:
As well as this, the inclusion of the Geth meant that for the first time in over 50,000 years, since the fall of the Prothean Empire, the Milky Way galaxy was unified under a singular government and unified under one rule.
The Galactic Terran Empire was formally announced at the anniverary of the Empires original formation, where the new banner of the Empire was unveiled to the Galaxy as a whole. But the Emperor at the celebration came with a dire warning.
"An Enemy Approaches, one that threatens all of life itself, an enemy that seeks to burn everything we have built.
An enemy that thirsts for the utter annihilation of life in the name of preserving it.
We must be ready, for that day is coming, that the Gates shall fall and the enemy shall storm into Our Galaxy!
And when they do, we will be there to drive them back into the emptiness of Dark Space!"
For this whole effort had been both a personnal desire for power but also a drive to see the Galaxy readied for the true enemy, the Reapers were coming and now with the Entire Galaxy united under him, Emperor John the 1st could do what the Protheans couldn't.
His first task was to have his intelligence service, conduct full and considerable sweeps of every Prothean Beacon and archive that had been seized by the Empire, for in the Mars Archive was the blueprints and data for a super weapon that the Protheans had attempted to use against the Reapers. But something was missing, "The Catalyst" as they called it, every effort was put into finding what the Catalyst was, as well as that.
The Emperor ordered that new ships be constructed, armies be at the ready and every spare resource, every engineer, every effort was to go into the construction of the Catalyst, for he knew that with that Super Weapon the means of defeating the Reapers could be found.
The Arrival of the Reapers:
Sadly for the Empire, time was an immediate factor, having learned from Artifacts that the Reapers were coming via the edge of the Galaxy near the Kites Nest, the Emperor ordered that the defences of the region be prepared and that the fleets be on complete standby. The hope being that if the combined fleets of the Empire could resist the Reapers from gaining a foothold in the Milky Way then maybe just maybe they could get the time needed to finish the Crucible and locate the coveted Catalyst.
When the Reapers launched their invasion, desiring the element of surprise, Harbinger, the first and apex of the Reapers, was in biological terms surprised itself to find an massive fleet of warships in their path.
These ships were advanced, with every vessel possessing Thanix cannons, the most powerful weapons the Milky Way Galaxy could forge, as well as that on every planet was Ground to Space cannons of similar construction that meant even when the Reapers attempted to approach a world they would be met by a flurry of heavy weapons fire. Yet all of this was a delaying action, for every week that the Imperial Fleets held and the defences of the Kites Nest stood strong, meant that reinforcements could be brought in as well as the Crucible be finished.
Again though the Reapers were overwhelming in their numbers and their firepower, within weeks the Kites Nest as overrun and the Imperial Forces had no choice but to withdraw to save their numbers for the next battle. Finally as the Reapers started breaking through into other sectors of the Milky Way, word finally came from the Imperial service for Intelligence.
The Final Victory:
The Answer for the Catalyst had been found, it was none other than the Citadel.
Recognising this, the Emperor ordered all forces available back to the Sol System, so that they might defend the Citadel as well as the Crucible which was now nearing completion. However the Reapers had recognised from captured data that the centre of power in the modern galaxy was in Orbit of Earth and Harbinger brought a massive force of reapers to take it.
For the Reaper plan was one that they had perfected in the billions of years of their existence, they would strike at the centre of power and utterly destroy the leadership thus ensuring that the defenders would be without effective leadership. Such had been the error of the Protheans, their empire was solid and unified, but when it was left leaderless and divided it became easy for the enemy to destroy their pocketed foe.
But now the Reapers were facing an enemy that was more than ready for them, hundreds of thousands of vessels were brought in from every corner of the Galaxy to defend the Imperial Capital. Thanix Ground to Space cannons had been constructed not just on Earth, but on Lunar, on Mars and its moons and every moon in the System. The Emperor wanted the space between Earth and the Mass Relay to be littered with the remains of Reaper corpses.
Just as Harbinger finally got within sight of the Citadel, the Emperor gave the Order and the Crucible was brought forward into position, locking into place with the Citadel. With the single push of a button, the Emperor had given the order, the Crucible soon was armed and launched a huge burst of energy followed on by a concentrated beam directly at the Mass Relay.
The First burst spread out in all directions, until it passed through the entire cluster, whenever it passed a Reaper. The Giant machine seemed almost to fall silent and listless, for the energy had utterly and fully killed the ancient machines. Soon the same was happening across the Galaxy as bursts from every Mass Relay happened again and again, within a few hours every Reaper had been killed by the Crucible weapon.
Soon the Emperor made a formal and complete announcement, declaring that the great enemy had been defeated, that from their corpses shall arise a new age of technology and advancement. He declared that with the Techonolgy they would claim from the Reapers, the Galaxy would no longer be hindered by the worries of old, no longer would they be glued to the Mass Relays.
For if the Reapers had built them in the first place, then with them they could make more, bigger and faster, that could go even beyond the Borders of the Milky Way, allowing for the Exploration into new uncharted Galaxies.
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