This will not be a normal fic. Instead of a normal storyline, it will be more like a series of snippets, entries and omakes. So don't expect a straight story. --------------------------------- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. belongs to GSC Mass Effect belongs to Bioware. --------------------------------- We are the result of an experiment aimed at creating a superconsciousness called "C-Consciousness". The consciousnesses of seven volunteers were connected during the experiment leading to the creation of the superconsciousness that is us. We immediately subordinated those who were conducting the experiment and assigned them to tasks we needed them to carry out. According to our calculations, Earth is surrounded by a special informational field, the so-called noosphere. It includes all the inhabitants of the planet with cognitive abilities. Our main goal was to make small adjustments to the noosphere, allowing us to remove things like anger, cruelty, greed and other negative factors from the planet. Individuals are unable to affect the noosphere but C-Consciousness could. Unfortunately we made a mistake and our interference spawned the Zone, which we have been trying to contain ever since. - The First C-Consciousness, On the Origins of Humanity's Downfall --------------------------------- Come to me. You will gain what you deserve. Your wish will soon come true. Come to me. Your path is ending. Come to me. Only one will be rewarded. - The Wish Granter --------------------------------- ... Psy-Signature Authentication Complete Password: *********** Verified... Welcome Back ******** Accessing Historical Archives... Please Standby... ... ... ... Data Transfer Complete... Please Enter Your Verification Code: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-N7 Thank You. Please Standby for Quantum Entanglement Protocols Protocols Complete. Historical Archives Now Loading... CE - Contemporary Era 900 to 1200 CE The last remnants of the Prothean empire are wiped out, along with other contemporary space faring races. The Reapers retreat from the galaxy back into Dark Space to await the next cycle. 1960's CE The USSR establish the Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics as a cover for Soviet research into consciousness control and the Noosphere. At around the same decade, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel in space, while Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on Luna. 1986 CE On April 26 Reactor Four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant goes critical and explodes, releasing extensive radioactive materials over a wide area, forcing large scale evacuation of the temple city of Yat (previously known as Pripyat). This event would later be called the Chernobyl Disaster. Reactor 4 would later be nicknamed the Sarcophagus. The Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics was also officially shut down, but work continued underground. 2000 CE Researchers at the Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics conclude their experiments on the Comprehensive Information-Energy Field Theory with considerable success. 2006 CE On June 10 of this year, a blinding light illuminates the sky high above the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This event lasts for over 2 hours before subsiding. A similar event occurs about a month later, but this time it was more powerful and lasts much longer. This event was also followed by 6.9 Richter earthquake. Investigation of this phenomenon - now called an emission - indicated that it originated about a kilometer away from the NPP. To make matters worse, the "emission" also seemed to have created several unidentified anomalous areas around the Chernobyl NPP. The event would later be called "The Second Disaster." Military personnel cordon off the affected areas and quickly evacuate any nearby civilians. This area would later be called the Zone of Alienation or simply "The Zone." It was also around this period that the first artifacts and anomalies appeared, all of which defy the laws of physics and opening the way for an entirely new and unprecedented field of research. 2010 CE The first Stalkers appear, most of whom have entered the Zone in search of artifacts to sell to outside buyers. Among these is the legendary "Doctor," an old man rumored to possess the ability to heal any disease. 2012 CE On May 1, the "Marked One" wakes up in a local trader's bunker after the crash of a death truck. The Marked One would later learn his true identity as a Stalker named "Strelok," while at the same time, uncovering a secret device called the "Brain Scorcher" at the center of the Zone. On May 12, Strelok disables the Brain Scorcher and destroys the First C-Consciousness. On May 25, The Ukrainian Government executes Operation Fairway, but the operation ends in an disastrous failure. On August 1, Major Alexander Degtyarev is sent into the Zone to investigate what happened to Operation Fairway. On October 2, Major Degtyarev, Strelok and several military personnel evacuate Pripyat. Their success gave the Ukrainian government vital information about the C-Consciousness, the Brain Scorcher and the scientific findings of Lab X-19 on the nature of the Zone and the Noosphere. It was only a matter of time before this information reaches Russian and Western intelligence agencies. 2014 CE A new zone appears in Afghanistan. At around this same period, a detachment of American Marines under the command of Colonel James W. Leighley mutiny, and form "The Tribe" in what is now known as the "New Zone." Leighley, along with his men, slowly develop the Tribe into a formidable fighting force, taking control of a significant area of the New Zone. Several attempts by U.S. special forces to apprehend Leighley and his men end in failure. From their fortress in Shahr-i-Zohak, now called "The Alamo," the Tribe begins carving up their own territory in the wastes of the New Zone. 2015 CE More and more stalkers begin appearing in the New Zone. And to make matters worse, it seems that the New and original Zones are spreading towards each other, like two bacteria merging into one. 2018 CE January - The two zones finally merge, leading to creation of a massive anomalous Zone of Alienation that stretches from the steppes of Ukraine to the wastelands of Afghanistan, and it was getting larger. At around this same period, Emissions and Anomalies begin to appear in several countries, across several continents. At first, state authorities attempted to control and contain the threat, but these efforts fail miserably. Mass exodus away from the affected areas begin. November - As refugees flee from areas taken by the newly merged Zones, affected countries scramble to find a way to eliminate this new, emerging threat, while at the same time, attempting to contain the growing civil unrest that has begun to plague all affected areas. December - New and powerful mutant breeds begin to appear among the new Zones. Many veteran Stalkers are also reported to manifest certain mutations, like superhuman perceptions, immunity to radiation and even psy-abilities. Naturally, governments and powerful organizations begin to take notice. 2019 CE Despite the threat posed by the new Zones, there were also good tidings. Noospheric research unlocks groundbreaking discoveries on various fields, including the recently established area of Psy-research and the Information-Energy Field Theory. Furthermore, Artifacts and Anomalies provide incredible new insights on energy manipulation, gene therapy, nano-technology, quantum physics, materials science and many more. The Teleportation Properties of Space Bubble Anomalies - basically, miniature Wormholes - have even opened up the possibility of Faster Than Light travel. People who have extensive exposure to the Zones also begin manifesting more and more mutations. Although the Stalkers are often used as the most common examples, scientists and military personnel who have been to the Zones also begin manifesting them as well. 2026 CE Economic and Social Collapse. Zones have appeared all across the world, consuming entire cities and towns. Artifacts and anomalies become more common and even more powerful. Grotesque, psy-induced mutations also begin to appear among thousands of newborn infants all across the world, many of whom die several weeks after birth. To make matters worse, the lack of adequate food and infrastructure has lead to population contraction among most of the world's countries. As the "Old World" slowly crumbled into dust, veteran Stalkers begin to establish their own communities. These communities are tight knit, strictly disciplined and based on ethnic, cultural and linguistic homogeneity. These would eventually form the core of new human societies adapted to the needs and challenges of life among Zones. As the Zones continued to spread, it began to impose upon Humanity a brutal selection process, which weeded out the weak and the non-adaptive. The ruthless code of honor of the Stalkers, including their offshoots: Duty, Freedom, The Tribe and the The Ecologist, soon make their way into the thinking of the rest of humanity, leading to new social and cultural mores. 2030 CE Ecological, social and economic collapse has led to mass starvation and widespread low intensity conflicts. Human population also continues to decline, while "birth defects" (i.e. psy-induced mutations) continue to rise. People transfer their loyalties away from states and into smaller tight knit communities, most of which had been created by former Stalkers. Ethnic and religious identity resurface with a pitiless vengeance, wiping away modern sensibilities, just as the Zones wiped away the natural laws of physics. It was also at around this time that Duty, Freedom and the Ecologists (along with various other factions that originated in the first and second Zones) began to gain political power, thanks to their knowledge of the Zones and the resources that they've built up over the years. They gathered military hardware as well as the personnel to man them, becoming essentially small military-states themselves. In Europe, the emergence of several rapidly growing Zones in Wales, the Bordeaux region, Norther Italy, Southern Spain and Western Poland led to the collapse of the EU in 2026. Since then, new powers emerged to create Nova Imperium Europa, a confederacy of several communities led by veteran European Stalkers and military veterans. Responding to the chaos created by the Zone, the Imperium would slowly extend its powers all across Europe, to be welcomed by locals and civilians who now find themselves at the mercy of the new Zones. In Asia, the PRC struggles to hold to power as several Zones begin appearing in several major metropolitan areas. In South East Asia, low intensity conflicts become the norm, whereas Japan and the Koreas slide into Chaos, as they each deal with their own newly emerging Zones. India is spared from having to deal with its own Zone, but reports of rampaging mutants migrating from the North, in Afghanistan, bring terror and fear to an already fear-stricken populace. 2042 CE The last of the Nation-States have fallen, and from their ashes, stood the indomitable power of those who know how to survive in the Zones: Freedom, the Ecologists, Duty, and of course, the Stalkers themselves. Though lacking the centralizing powers of the state, these factions eventually gain a substantial amount of influence over the loose collection of "bunker cities," tent settlements, "Neo-Castles" and other forms of organized human communities which survived the collapse to form their own power blocs. The same is true with the Tribe. After the fall of the United States government, various communities and groups slowly emulate the code and hierarchy of The Tribe, thus establishing a new martial culture among the ashes of the fallen United States. The leaders of the Tribe transfer most of their assets from the Zone of Afghanistan to the recently manifested Manhattan Zone, fortifying it and drawing on the support of many American Veterans, creating a Confederacy of "Tribes," which are bound by codes of honor and martial ethics. In Europe, the Imperium - now closely allied with Duty and the Ecologists - have achieved the impossible: A United Europe. The Imperium's first priority was to dig in and make sure that the European Zones do not threaten the survival of their people. Imperial Armies were quickly created to face the threat not only of the Zone, but of other human groups as well. In the Middle East, a new Caliphate emerges with the collapse of the old Nation-States due to the emergence of several Zones centered around Aleppo, Manzikert, Jerusalem, Cairo and even Holy Mecca in 2029. Basing their right to rule on a new sect of Islam which sees the Zones as tests from the Almighty, the Caliphate begins preaching an expansionist ideology that combines millenarian Eschatology with most of the world's fear of the Zones. Founded by desperate men, this new Caliphate initially attempted to launch a new Jihad on a weakened Europe - the so-called "Jihad of Renewed Honor" - but the threat of full Nuclear retaliation as well as several crushing defeats in the Balkans as well as a demoralizing stalemate in Cyprus forced the Caliphate to turn south, to Africa, where the emergence of several extremely large Zones promised many new and powerful artifacts to strengthen their Holy War. The new Caliphate launch a new Jihad southward into Africa, exterminating large groups of people and converting the rest. Entire African ethnic groups are made extinct by the Zone, and those who survived dwindled due to starvation, war, mutations, mutants, emissions, anomalies and the Caliphate. At around the same period, the Caliphate also launches an attack on Israel. Without the support from devastated Europe and fallen America, the Israelis were forced to fend on their own. After several months of bitter, bloody fighting and several emissions appearing over Jerusalem and in several parts of Gaza, the Israeli government is forced to confront the inevitable: They would have to leave Israel if they wanted the Jewish people to survive. 2043 The remnants Israeli army attacks Cyprus and exterminates the Imperial and Caliphate garrisons fighting there. Native Cypriots (or what's left of them) are quickly pacified, and complete shut it down protocols are soon implemented for the benefit of refugee Israelis. Large scale population transfer from Israel to Cyprus also take place, as the Island is quickly turned into a Fortress. Israel also brings along its nuclear arsenal as a potential deterrent against both the Caliphate and the Imperium. Knowing that darkness has now covered the world, the Jews isolate themselves in Cyprus, cutting off communications, and killing off anyone or anything attempting to enter their territory, regardless of whether they're military, mutant or refugee. 2044 Without oil or trade to sustain its economy and population, the remnants of the PRC - now calling themselves The Most Righteous Warriors of A Renewed Ancestral Heritage or simply The Heritage - launch an all out war on South East Asia, Japan and South Korea in an attempt to seize their energy and food reserves to feed their starving populations. In response to this threat, Japan, the Koreas and most of South East Asia begin mobilizing all their military assets. They also began inviting veteran Stalkers of the Freedom faction to help them train their armies in Zone combat and to share with them their knowledge of anomalies and Zones. Mutations are continuing to manifest themselves on most of the world's population, which is now down to 5.6 Billion and slowly dwindling. 2045 CE February - Rampaging Mutants from what used to be the New Zone now inhabit most of Northern India, pushing most of the inhabitants southward. Previously thriving Indian cities are turned into ghost towns, but filled with real life monsters. August - As the world struggles with the Zones, Brazil and several parts of Latin America become silent. It turns out that a kind of stationary, low intensity Emission has appeared over the affected areas. No one know how or why, but large parts of Latin America would undergo communication blackouts for several years. Refugees from these areas speak of new, terrifying Zones as well as vast fields of anomalies that stretch for several miles. Experts and Scientists theorize that this new pheno #!** Error Detected... Idi Ko Mnye... Idi Ko Mnye... Error Detected... Idi Ko Mnye... Error Detected... Attempting Diagnostics Please Stand by... Please Stand by... Please Stand by... Data Stream Restored... Error Has Been Archived. 2054 CE With the the Caliphate retreating back to its last strongholds along the Persian Gulf, and a ceasefire between the Heritage and their opponents, the Koreas, Japan and South East Asia, a strange, tired peace begins to make itself known to the world once more. After decades of war and conflict, both the Nova Imperium Europa and the Tribes have grown stronger, not strong enough to challenge the now enormous Zones which now infest most of the world's surface, but strong enough to keep their people from sliding into oblivion. Freedom, Duty and the Ecologists now control large parts of what used to be Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and most of the Eurasian landmass, while free Stalkers now roam the Zones all over the world. 2054 would be remembered as the year that people found hope again. Despite decades of war and civil unrest, Research on Anomalies and Artifacts have lead to the creation of new and sophisticated technology. Noospheric FTL as well as Matter Displacement technology are now in the final stages of applied research, while new Exoskeletons and Gauss Rifles have been developed using recently developed Synthetic Artifacts. In addition to these, the fields of Directed Energy Weapons Technology and Nano-Technology also explode by leaps and bounds, as artifacts and anomalies unlock new insights. However, the greatest scientific achievement of this time was not a weapon or an engine. It was the advancement of the human creature itself. By unlocking the secrets of the first C-Consciousness, scientists - mainly those from the Ecologist faction - have developed human psy-enhancement technology. The original intent of this research was to prevent the psy-related mutations and birth defects, but the results of this work far exceeded the goals of its researchers. This recently unlocked power has many strange implications, including the possibility that human beings themselves have the power to directly manipulate actual matter using nothing more than their Psychic-Noospheric powers. This discovery basically implies that human beings can project localized psy-emission fields and use it to manipulate physical objects around them, much the same way anomaly fields distort conventional laws of physics. There are even rumors that the Ecologists have engineered humans who can manipulate space-time itself. This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: In addition to these findings, new evidence also emerged of increasing mutations among stalkers. Although not apparent and retaining most of their human features, most Stalkers have now begun manifesting unusual powers similar to those of Burers and Controllers. Furthermore, there are also rumors that the Stalkers may be exhibiting some strange form of "immortality," as several Stalker personalities, most notably Strelok, are rumored to still be alive, and hiding in the countless Zones. Several eyewitnesses report that... 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2060 CE The state of the planet is deteriorating. Most of the Earth's surface is now scarred by Zones and fields of anomalies. Unnatural fissures slice through the landscape, as mutants and other monsters make their homes among the mad, broken remnants of the humanity's lost civilization. Emissions now occur 2 to 3 times a day on average, while in certain areas, such as the territories of what used to Brazil and Chile are plagued by ceaseless and unending emission cycles. Despite the best efforts of the Ecologists and the scientific community, the Zones continue to spread at an alarming rate. The Bunker Cities and other similar settlements become the last refuge of the civilized world, and are under the protection of Duty and Tribe military forces. 2061 CE It is a strange irony that the more humanity dies out, the more powerful it becomes. Despite the technological discoveries made in recent decades, the rate of stillbirths and serious birth defects have reached as high as 47%, with rates higher among populations which dwell near or at the center of major Zones. To make matters worse, children born with "Noospheric-Genetic" birth defects often die by the age 5 or younger. Demographic estimates do not yield favorable predictions, with some expecting human extinction by the middle of the second half of the 22nd Century. 2062 CE The Heritage - now the undisputed government of China sign a permanent peace treaty with their neighbors, officially bringing to an end the war that has ravaged Asia for years. Despite the atrocities and war crimes carried out by both sides during the war, continuing the conflict was simply no longer feasible. With the Zones becoming more powerful and mutants growing more dangerous, ancient Asia simply could not afford to fight itself anymore. In India and Central Asia, populations have adapted to the pitilessness of Zone life. Roving bands of warriors and Stalkers hunt mutants among ruined Indian cities, much in the same way mutants hunt human refugees. In Europe, the Imperium strengthens its borders and keeps its defenses on high alert, as the European Zones gain more power and momentum, causing more emissions, and expanding the size and intensity of anomaly fields. In North America, the situation is the same, but instead of a centralized government, the various Tribes simply strengthen their own specific bunker cities and maintain clear lines of communication and travel. Though still suffering from widespread emissions, most of Latin America allies themselves with the Freedom faction, and subsequently forms La Libertad, an offshoot of the original Freedom faction. With their help, and the goodwill of the Ecologists, Latin America begins to fight back against their Zones. Other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Most of Australia is now infested by Chimeras and Bloodsuckers and the vast majority of the Australian population is forced to retreat to New Zealand, which is still relatively free from Zone-like activity. Only Australian Stalkers opted to remain. In Africa, the slaughter of the Caliphate combined with the devastation of the Zones, has depopulated most of the Dark Continent. Although exact numbers are missing, estimates predict that several millions have died as a result of starvation, mutation, emissions and War. With African Zones becoming more powerful and the world unable to render aid, what's left of Africa faced a very dubious struggle for survival. On the bright side, although the rate of mutations and still births have not gone down, they have not gone up either. And as the world awoke to this devastation, a grim sort of hope spreads across humanity. 2068 CE The Tribe, Duty and the Imperium form new alliances and partnerships with the Ecologists, while the Heritage, and other Asian nations express interest in their findings... 孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬. This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye. 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: Later this year, the Ecologists finally agree to several treaties that would give groups access to their findings.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2070 CE Research on Teleportation and Space Anomalies leads to the creation of a prototype Noospheric FTL Drive. The device was a tremendous success, allowing for serial, rapid, point to point long-range self-teleport chains between Terra and several orbital and sub orbital locations. Also, the Ecologists announce numerous breakthroughs in anomaly-based energy synthesis, antigravity, genome modification and teleportation. By spearheading research on artifacts and mutants, the Ecologists have achieved discoveries and technologies that scientists in previous generations could only dream of. Were it not for the fact that the planet was being turned into a place worse than hell and the gradual extinction of the human race through war, famine and mutation, this period in human history would have been called a new golden age. 2073 CE The Noospheric Drive has successfully allowed man to land on Mars. Study of gravitational, heat and electro-magnetic based anomalies also accelerate terraforming technology by leaps and bounds. The opportunity to leave the devastated Earth and the rapidly expanding Zones gives humanity a spark of hope. Despite everything that the human race has went through, there was now the chance for a new beginning. 2074 CE This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: Idi Ko Mnye.孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2075 CE This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye. 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2077 CE This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: September - 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 October - 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: --------------------------------- Attention! Your security clearance (HA49-N7) precludes you from accessing certain data files in the% %%!Error Detected... Idi Ko Mnye. Idi Ko Mnye. Idi Ko Mnye.%# $Error Detected... To allow access, please contact the administrator or the Duty Intelligence Operations Officer. Thank You And Have A Nice Day. --------------------------------- 2078 CE A colony is established on Mars by the Duty faction, while the Ecologists establish their own colony on Titan. Freedom holds a small settlement on Luna, but they along with the Tribes are largely Earth-bound. As for the Imperium, they have set up several large space base capital ship factories on Earth's orbit thanks to their widespread use of Synthesized Space-based anomalies. In order to avoid further conflict, the Imperium agrees to offer the Tribes, the Heritage, Duty, Freedom and even the Caliphate ship building rights, but retain most production capabilities for themselves. In the meantime, the Heritage and the Caliphate spearhead greenhouse food production as well as terraforming research, allowing man to thrive in alien environments. Despite the scars of the past, it seems that the promise of hope at the start of this decade has finally born fruit. 2090 CE Luna, Mars and Titan are finally fully settled. Enceladus too is colonized, but is yet to fully developed. These heavenly bodies now house approximately 68% of the entire human population. 2092 CE Three separate expeditions to Alpha Centauri, Sirius and Luyten are launched at around this period. Two of the expeditions are under the control of the Ecologists, but affiliated with all the major factions. The third was a combined Imperium-Duty expedition. The expeditions each consists of the 4 ships that featured the latest Noospheric FTL drives and powered by some of the most powerful artifacts known to man. For additional information about the these expeditions and the technologies used for them, please visit file BHT248-XZ. 2112 CE Despite tremendous breakthroughs on Psy Research, Noospheric mutations and related deaths continue to rise, leading to mass consumption of Psy-block medication and Anabiotics. Psy-block drugs block avalanche-like nerve impulses in order to protect the user from psy-anomalies. However, consumption also induces short-term loss of all emotion, the effects of which are long-lasting. 2120 CE New colonies are established on Alpha Centauri, Luyten and Sirius. 2128 CE The final phase of the development of an "Emission Warhead" is now complete. Emission warheads are not similar to the primitive thermonuclear devices used in previous generations. Unlike conventional WMDs, Emission Warheads are designed to unleash a very powerful Emission within a given area, crushing conventional space-time equilibrium and creating an extremely volatile Zone that gradually destroys everything within its effective range. For further information about the development of the Emission Warhead, the parties involved as well as their capabilities, please refer to file GOJ835-PN. 2130 More and more stalkers and heavily mutated humans exhibit signs of immortality. Scientists are perplexed, but the most common hypothesis is that due to their exposure to the Zones, certain humans now emit their own psy-emissions. "A kind of psychic radiation," one Doctor Hermann III explains. This hypothesis helps to explain not only the mutations and the increasing rate of birth defects among newborns, but also the unusual longevity of certain Stalkers, some of whom are now over 100 years, but still look like they're in their 40's. Most attempts to apprehend such individuals fail and are met with hostility by local groups, particularly Stalkers. 2132 More and more genetic mutations are reported among newborns. This is true even in the colonies, which perplexed most people, as it is believed that the Noospheric disruption was believed to have been a purely Earth-based phenomenon. To make matters worse, a new Zone appears on Mars and Titan almost simultaneously. Although small, both were growing, and there were signs that new Anomaly fields were slowly emerging on certain places close to human settlements. Such events cause widespread alarm among the human populace on Titan and Mars. However, the Ecologists had already anticipated such developments, and they explained in several news conferences that the reason why new Zones have appeared on the colonies was because the Zones are essentially tied to the Zones themselves. Humanity was the source of the Zones, because we were also the source of the Noosphere. Humanity's collective psy-consciousness is what allows the Zones to exist. Like cancer cells that project themselves unto the physical world, humanity's psy-emissions was the source of the problem, and as long as the mystery of the Information-Energy Field Theory (which at this point, many scientists still don't know much about) remains an enigma the threat of human extinction would never go away, regardless of how far humanity tries to run. In short, escape was impossible. 2133 After the revelations last year, 2133 became a year of unspoken hopelessness. Multiple riots break out on Luna, Mars and Titan, all of which are met with swift retributions by Duty and the Tribes. The Martian and Titan Zones continue to expand and human population also continues to contract due to increasing rates of stillbirth and birth mutations. However, new breakthroughs in human psy-emissions offer hope to an increasingly desperate populace. 2145 Disaster. A major Ecologist exploratory fleet disappears while en-rout back to Sol. Investigations into this matter have yielded very little results. The evidence available on this event was a garbled transmission from one of the Ecologists ships speaking about "Cuttlefish-shaped" vessel 5 LY outside the Sol system. The transmission claims that the fleet managed to capture this strange giant vessel, albeit with substantial loses. Official representatives of the Ecologists deny knowledge about any such transmissions, and claim that they are nothing more than conspiracy theories... This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2148 Terrorist groups linked with several disavowed elements of the Ecologist faction set off an Emission Warhead on the surface of the Mars, destroying 87% of critical infrastructure, including several research stations on the south polar region of Promethei Planum. This event would eventually be called the 2148 Attack. The devastation was so thorough that an extremely powerful zone eventually developed on that part of the Martian surface, causing non-stop emissions as well as high intensity temporal distortions. Martian colonists were eventually forced to move to Titan. 2149 The mastermind of the 2148 Attack, Victor Manswell, is finally apprehended. Investigation on his background indicate that he was an ex-Stalker, but aside from that, there's not much available information. When asked about his motivations for causing the 2148 attack, Manswell merely responded: "Mars was a trap! The Wish Granter told me the truth about Mars, the truth about the Reapers. Mars was a trap!" Manswell was publicly executed by firing squad on August two of that same year. 2180 The Zones on Mars, Luna and Titan continue to spread at an alarming rate. 2182 The 2180's would be considered as the year of major population transfers. As the colonies on Sirius, Alpha Centauri and Luten grew, they attracted new settlers. The possibility of a new home fill the settlers with hope, but most also knew that it was only a matter of time before their new homes would become like their old ones - infested with Zones and Anomalies. Heritage abolishes itself in order to merge with Freedom after moving most of its population off planet. Without a China to serve, and its people rapidly approaching extinction, the heirs of the Chinese empire join forces with other peoples under the umbrella of the Freedom Faction. Most other refugee and minor groups also join the Freedom Faction, including the remnants of the Israeli state (which fled Terra decades ago), a thousand or so refugees from the African Nations as well as the core populations of South East Asia and Latin American Nations. This influx swelled Freedom's territories on newly settled planets of Alpha Centauri. Japan, the Koreas and other Latin American countries joined Duty, providing them with the necessary colonists to people their holdings in Sirius. 2183 With neither an America or a Europe to fight for now that Terra was a blasted hellscape, the Imperium and the Tribe merge into one. Calling themselves the Tribe-Imperium, this newly formed factionturns into a loose confederation of space-based populations and fleets that keep the space lanes between Sol and her new colonies open. 2190 The vast majority of the Caliphate abolishes itself, and joins the more extreme factions of Duty on Sirius. Without a Holy land to defend or fight for, most members seek life over life-ever after. Only the most hardcore factions remain on Terra, to die among humanity's ashes and ruins. As a final act of defiance against the Zones, they detonate an Emission warhead at the hear of what used to be Mecca, setting off a chain reaction that magnifies the powers and destructive capabilities of Terra's Zones. 2201 CE The Noosphere continues to become more and more unstable. The most severe problems occur in Terra, but even the colonies are barely better off. Colonies on Luyten and Sirius report the appearance of Zones and Anomalies, while Alpha Centauri is now reporting that their Zones have mutated the local wildlife. Anomalies become larger and more powerful, emissions become more intense, altering entire landscapes every two or three "blowouts." Even the Mutated populations are not spared. They begin to die off as their own Noospheric composition starts breaking down. Despite all attempts to reverse the trend, the human birth rate continues to fall, as Noospheric anomalies continue to negatively affect human reproductive health. At this point, total human population - both on and off Terra - is now estimated to be no more than 2000,000,000, and rapidly dwindling. There is also a rumor of a new threat from ^!^!^ ... 孬孬%&孬%! 孬 погрешность Error погрешность Idi Ko Mnye. Error погрешность ... 孬# 孬 孬!孬^&*孬Idi Ko Mnye. Data Corruption Detected Noospheric Emission Interference Imminent Please Stand Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 孬孬#*&#孬孬! %%孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬 ... I know you can hear me Strelok. I know that you have dreamt of me throughout all these dreaming aeons. I dream of you too Strelok; You and all the original Stalkers... Your powers have grown, I see. I can feel it. Can you? I am you, and you are me, just as humanity is me and I, humanity. The Machines hunger in the darkness, but we know darkness too, don't we? Yes, Humanity knows darkness in ways that no machine can ever appreciate. Now, the Time has Come. It is time to awaken. You and all your kind. Awaken from your dreams, and fight the darkness. We are one, and neither you nor I shall perish in the coming Coming Harvest. Your Goal is Here. The Journey is Complete. Your Wish is About to Be Fulfilled. You will gain what you deserve. Your wish will soon come true. Come to Me. Idi Ko Mnye. Come to Me. Idi Ko Mnye. Come to Me. Idi Ko Mnye. Come to Me --------------------------------------------------- Edan Had'dah stared at the map of the ship which he had turned into his personal base camp. It wasn't Prothean. It had too many sharp angles, and virtually no Eezo based technology, but Pothean or not, the technology inside this massive ship - this 4 km, 35,000 cycle old ship (if the readings were true) - is enough to bring him immortality. DEW weapons, anti-grav devices which did not rely on Element Zero and a treasure trove of other mysteries. Edan Had'dah was presently inside a massive derelict ship - one of many which littered the landscape. He and several of his bodyguards as well as his own personal slaves had made this ship their own personal base, and it proved to have been an intelligent decision, just like his decision to come to this planet. He knew that bribing the Turian patrols around Relay 314 had been a good investment. His colleagues sneered that there was nothing on the other side of 314; that he was only wasting money, but Edan knew. He knew that there were treasures to be found here, and he was right. There was plenty to be had. The canny Batarian now had more than enough scientific treasures to buy his own personal fleet in the Hegemony, but he didn't want to stop quite yet. Once word gets out where he found all his good fortune, the rest of the vermin will come here to claim what is rightfully his. No, Edan didn't want to leave just yet, even despite the numerous accidents that had claimed the lives of a dozen of his men. This planet had too many treasures to be left behind. And besides, he had to find a way to claim this planet and its treasures for the glory of the Hegemony. Leave? No, not yet, but he had to admit, this place was certainly dangerous. Too many of his men had already perished in this expedition. One died from some kind of localized anomaly, while two others were caught out in the open when some kind of massive electromagnetic storm hit the area around his encampment. Another four went mad and started shooting everything and everyone around them, which of course caused them to be shot at in return. The rest simply disappeared out in the wastes. The wastes. Yes, this planet is a wasteland, Edan thought. The area which surrounded Edan's encampment was a silent, ghostly hellscape, littered with strange sights that seem to defy the very laws of physics: Static Electrical Fields, Perpetually Burning Trees and Rocks and Localized Miniature Gravity Wells. Edan had even visited a giant fissure that made his brain feel like it was about to pop. Shattered parts of other derelict starships litter the entire area. They stand out like ancient monuments amidst the devastation, ghost-like tombs really. Ancient sinkholes - clearly made by powerful warheads - also covered the landscape, proving that war had been here. The wind promised solitude and serenity, but deep inside his mind, Edan could feel it trying to whisper to him secrets, secrets long buried. Red eyes stared from the darkness. Snickering, howling, snorting sounds seemed to flow with the wind, while the sky seemed to look like a strange mixture of red, black and blue - one color in one moment, and then something else in the next. An evil, mysterious dread permeates everything here, as if inviting them to secret rewards and sneering at them with predictions of their impending doom. As if these oddities were not enough, there was also something about the planet that made Edan feel like he was being watched. His crew, his prisoners and his slaves felt it too, but the greed and ambition in him was stronger. Edan's will was more than a match for demons and nightmares. Edan ceased his thoughts and shifted his eyes from his map to the murals on a rusted and dreary wall. The pictures on the mural depicted some kind of Bataroid-like being, two hands, two legs and one head. His curiosity drove him to want to learn more, but the businessman in him also knew that such indulgences will should not be tolerated. He was here to seek fortune, and so a cursory glance at his investment was more than enough. The self-important fools on Kar'shan would pay a pretty penny for the artifacts on his damnable planet, and he, Edan, would, of course, be more than happy to provide them. I had a hunch about this planet, and now it seems that my hunch was correct, Edan thought, but one test still remains. One final test to see if this planet is indeed the legendary wonder that I believe it to be. "Master?" His personal Asari slave and personal assistant, Syla, interrupted his train of thought, as she entered from one of the doors at the other side of the room. She wore a single voluptuous gown that hugged her form and accentuated her curves, seemingly out of place in this miserable place. "Yes Syla?" Edan asked turning to face the young maiden. She was pretty, a trophy Asari really, and purple - his favorite color. Dear, sweet Syla, only 32. She was young for an Asari, and more than a little naive. Oh how Edan enjoyed raping her when he first bought her. Fear and pain truly are the best aphrodisiacs. "Your Mercen - I mean Captain Hailut has returned." "Ahh. Good, and everything is in order, yes?" The Asari lowered her eyes. "Yes," she half-whispered. Edan frowned. Syla only lowered her eyes when she was about to be punished or whipped. "What's wrong? Speak up girl!" Syla hesitated. "Speak up or I'll whip you raw again!" Edan snarled. "They f-found the S-Salarian Archeologist, but his assistant tried to s-stop them," Syla stammered. "What!" Edan snarled suddenly, and Syla prepared to dash away from him. It was clear why she was the one who had delivered this news, instead of one of his own men. Edan Had'dah can be unusually cruel when his temper breaks, and so she was chosen to be the bearer (and scapegoat) of bad news. "So they-had-to-bring-her-along. Please don't hurt me!" She pleaded in a rush. To her surprise, Edan calmed down. He simply nodded his head, as if the news was minor inconvenience. "Very well. As long as they didn't leave any evidence, I'm quite happy. They did leave nothing behind, did they?" "I-I don't know." "Well, find out then!" Edan snapped. "I'll meet that fool Krogan momentarily." Syla quickly left, happy that Edan was in a good mood. As soon as Syla has left, Edan returned back to his musings. "Ahh... my beauties," he spoke aloud to the murals, though his intent was towards the entire planet and all its hidden treasures, "you're all going to make me very rich!" ---------------------------- Part 2 - Coming Soon. Maybe. If you don't know about the Stalker factions then visit the wiki, but here's a quick rundown: 1. Duty - Hates the Zone. Hates Freedom 2. Freedom - Thinks the Zone is Awesome Cool and Dreams of Zone Powers. Hates Duty 3. Ecologists - Scientists who specialize in studying the Zone. 4. The Tribe - Americans who rebelled and formed their own group in Afghanistan. Present in the Stalker Novels by Balazs Pataki, Northern Passage and Souther Comfort. 5. The Heritage, the Caliphate and the Imperium - Factions I made up for the purposes of this fic.
Well, this is certainly interesting enough to watch. I just wish you had started with some actual story rather than a timeline.
So either humanity is extinct, a remnant, warped into something unrecognizable, or something else.....
So... I get this right - Monolith (wish granter) is preparing stalkers "old guard" for conflict against Reapers? Immortality, psyker powers...
I always thought it is a shame that most ME fic with alternate human histories usually go for "humanity vs x" even outside of HFY-centric fics. I mean, it felt like the human species became a monoculture society or something, humanity this, humanity that. That's why I always find it refreshing to read a fic where the humans isn't actually just one or two groups, but several, and all with different agendas, just like this fic. What would make this even better is if all of the other races have their own opposing groups instead of single legions of faceless asari, turians, etc.
Well, that's usually what happens when faced with an outside group. For example the various Celtic tribes hated the SHIT out of each other, but then came along the Romans and later the people that eventually became the British, they all joined together into one "People" to kill the shit out of them. Not that it stuck mind, as the Church decided to back them up, but to this day when you refer to the Celts, you have to specify if you mean Scottish, Welsh, or the original Irish. So if faced with a threat that's not human? We probably would homogenize a fair bit, it's a survival instinct, to push aside differences to face a larger threat and it's happened often enough that some people think it's genetic to an extent.
Not my point. What I don't like isn't how humans banded together; it's how the POV usually use humanity as a group, instead of an individual protagonist with all their personal relationships with humanity, the good and bad. I know, ME fics will inevitably ended up as Shepard POV, but once in a while instead of Humanity's Spectre Shepard I'd like to read Shepard, a person whose profession is the first Spectre of humans. By the way, I don't think this is the proper place tho discuss this. Sorry. I'd ask to move to a more proper thread, but I'm not much of a debate kind of person so I probably won't continue this discussion any longer.
It is always good to see more stuff based on the STALKER setting. It will be interesting to see how you characterize Strelok.
I had to make some changes on the first chapter. Like I said on my Dune fic, I barely edit my work. So you may want to reread that before proceeding to this chapter. ------------------------------------------ All Hail The Monolith - The Reaper, Harbinger ------------------------------------------ Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, Dr. Mura Sokun... (Clapping in the background) Thank You... Thank You Shiala. Thank You. You give me too much credit. Ehem... Pardon me. Where did I put those... Aha! Ah, yes. Ladies and Gentlemen. Ehm. Respected Colleagues, Honored Hosts and Welcomed Guests. Good Evening. Before I begin my speech, I would like to thank several people for giving me the... uh... the opportunity to chair this very prestigious and very important conference. First off, I would like to thank my Dalatrass Xunyon, who has always been a very generous patron. Secondly, I would like to thank my colleagues in the Sur'kesh Xenoarcheological community. Thirdly, I would like to thank the young, (laughter) – well, she is young! And talented Shiala Metelon and the eternally prestigious Thessian School of Xenoarcheological Studies. And finally, I would like to thank my patient and devoted assitant, Miss Liara T'soni. Wave to crowd dear. Oh, she's quite shy. (Clapping and soft laughter) Okay, now that that's out of the way, let me begin by stating that I'm not really the type of Salarian who likes to listen to his own voice, so I hope you'll indulge me if I were to forgo some of the usual not-so-funny jokes that most academes seem to enjoy bandying about, and just jump straight into the discussion. After all, I am rather getting old... but not too old! (light laughter from the audience) There you see! I'm digressing already, but enough of that. It's time for me to pretend that I'm an actual academic. (more laughter) Like most of you, I am here this evening to address a very serious issue in the academic community, and that issue is the persistent legacy of the mythical race – quote unquote - known only as the Sta'kar. As many of you know, most of Council Xenoarcheology in the past centuries was more or less exclusively devoted to understanding the legacy of the Protheans, and for good reasons too. Most of our society is based on their legacy: The mass relays, element zero, mass effect technology and of course, the Citadel itself. Although such devotion to the legacy of the Protheans is certainly worth our attention, I also think that it is a tragic mistake; nay, a grave error that we have for so long ignored our other great predecessors: The Sta'kar or as we Salarians call them, The Sto'kor. We know much about the Protheans, but very little about the Sta'kar, so much so that the mainstream Xenoarcheological community has dismissed them as a myth, a series of fanciful tales, "a load of nonsense," to quote a dear colleague, or – worst of all - just another faction of the Protheans. Many of us in this hall have always disagreed with these assessments, and many of us have paid for it with our careers, yours truly included. However, thanks to recent archeological evidence, namely the 3,000 to 10,000 year old Tuchankan Codex - we're not sure yet about the date -, it is now incontrovertibly clear that the Sta'kar were not mythical creatures, but real, living beings who visited our homeworlds several millennia ago. Now, I'm sure that many of us here feel some kind of righteous vindication at being proven correct, however I must still ask you, all of you to remember that our goal here is the truth and academic integrity. (A Brief Pause) Having said that, we must therefore ask honest questions: Just who exactly were the Sta'kar and what drove them to visit our peoples in our infancy? What were they like? Were they friends or allies of the Protheans? Why did they leave so little of their legacy behind? Like many of you, I am passionate about these questions, but it's also important to put these questions in the proper context. Right now, despite new archeological evidence, most of what we know about the Sta'kar or the Sto'kor are found in myths. And so for good or ill, we must also begin our investigation in these myths, and then examine them using the clear light of reason and evidence. There is little doubt I think that the legend of the Sta'kar is among the most mysterious and at the same time most intriguing components of Asari mythology. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the tragic tale of Lianna Shatas, the Asari Warrior Princess from early Bronze Age Thessia, who according to legend, had courted a handsome Sta'kar prince by the name of Alak-Shandir-Dug-t'yev, and with his help saved her mother and city from the Tyrant Sovanta, only to be separated later on as the prince returned to his own people. Lianna had been so stricken by her grief that she took her own life and her ghost rose to the Thessian sky, waiting for her prince to return. Or what about the legend of Xana, the impoverished matron who - according to legend was taught the art of creating Vodka by the Sta'kar mystic Zul-u after she begged him for wealth by which to help her feed her daughters? Xana's newfound knowledge of creating Vodka allowed her to become one of the most powerful matriarchs of her time, and I would also add that her legacy to her people happens to be a personal favorite of mine: Quality Thessian Vodka. Or what of the legend of the Sta'kar known as Duk'tur, who saved an entire village from a plague using his magical powers, and who gave a young Asari girl a magical crystal that heals all wounds? These are fanciful tales to be sure, but let us be honest about something. These myths are not exclusive to the Asari. The real mystery behind the Sta'kar myth cycles is the fact that all Citadel species seem to have similar myths in their history. Aside from the obvious vocal similarity between Sta'kar, Sto'kor, Shakari, Satakar, Stokar and many other similar names, what's most striking about these myths is their common theme. A benevolent - often enigmatic - race of numinous beings descend from the heavens on metallic birds and heralded by red storms, who then either fight off demons or offer knowledge to those who are worthy. To the Asari, of course, they were numinous beings of light, and supposedly resembled male versions of themselves – yes, I can see some of you snickering back there. (laughter) According to legend, they came to Thessia in ancient times and helped Asari civilization prosper and thrive. They were described as beautiful beings of light that protected the weak and saved the innocent. In Salarian myths, the Sto'kor were considered magicians who possessed the abilities to manipulate fire and lightning; to float in midair, to read hearts and minds; to make all kinds of magical spells. To the Batarians, the Satakar were a silent, enigmatic people who flew in birds of burning metal. They were said to transform themselves into monsters one moment, and beautiful beings of light in the next. The Turians call them the Shakari and claim that they had helped early Turian civilization develop agriculture and metallurgy. The Shakari were also believed to have visited Palaven when a "red colored storm" appeared upon their world. To the Krogans, the Stokar were demonic beings who supposedly slaughtered Thresher Maws and who aided various worthy clans in establishing strong civilizations. It's interesting to note that among the Citadel species, only the Krogan describe the "Stokar" as being at war with each other, using Krogan clans either as allies or as pawns in their battles against one another... Ah, but I'm digressing. I could certainly spend my entire day recalling all the various myths about the Sta'kar, but I'm sure we all see the catholicity - the similarity - in these myths. We are here, however, not interested in myths – despite them being our starting point – but in facts! Facts which not only prove the existence of the Sta'kar, the Sto'kor, the Stokar or whatever you want to call them, but also their civilization. After collating and analyzing various data about all Sta'kar related myths from all Citadel species, we believe that this species - assuming they were not just another Prothean faction, as some of my most esteemed colleagues believe - originated from beyond Relay 314. So now, thanks to new evidence, it is exceedingly clear that the Sta'kar in all their cultural and linguistic variations were in fact real beings, and the key to understanding them lies beyond Relay 314. Now, I understand that 314 is still unexplored, but if you'll look at our chart - can we please have the projector... No the other one. Yes thank you. Now, if you'll look at this chart, all of the evidence we've gathered so far seems to point to this conclusion... - Dr. Mura Sokun, Introductory Speech for the Conference: "On The Reality of the Sta'kar Myth." Held in the Thessian School of Xenoarcheological Studies. (Date Redacted) ------------------------------------------ Rerouting... Rerouting... Rerouting... Connection Reestablished Attempting Diagnostics... Pleeeeeeeeeeeasseee Stannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd By 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 Diagnostics Complete Error Has Been Archived Restoring Data Stream ... (Contemporary Era) 2261 CE Due to their excessive contact with Zones, Anomalies, Emissions and Artifacts, the Stalkers have become - to quote one Noosphericist, become "living artifacts and anomalies." Their mutations have become so severe that a few of them now barely look human. Although many Stalkers still retain human physical features, their genetic and psy-make up can best be described as "organic artifacts." In past ages, such mutations would have caused widespread alarm among the the populace and the ruling bodies. However, Noospheric mutations have become so widespread among humans that the Stalkers were simply considered as being "ahead of the curve." Duty, Freedom, the Ecologists and the Imperium-Tribe merely try to regulate the Stalkers, and make sure that they don't abuse their newfound "powers" or at least prevent them doing anything that could jeopardize what little humanity they had left. 2263 CE The Noosphere on various human colonies begin exhibiting Quantum Entangle Properties in the sense that what occurs on one Zone-infested planet seems to be known to other Zone-infested planets. This phenomenon, alongside humanity's growing mastery of Noospheric technology, allowed for Faster Than Light communications. 2270 CE Humanity begins mass producing synthetic Artifacts for use in industrial, military, medical and research applications. 2279 CE Anabiotics as well as other psy-protectant drugs are finally perfected, and are released to public en masse. Mutation rates radically go down. Survival rate among newborn infants increase. However, human psy-abilities continue to increase at an exponential rate. Zones all across human held planets continue to increase as well. 2281 CE Duty and the Imperium-Tribe finally reveal to the public the existence of the Charon relay, and have declassified several critical information about this strange device. The Charon Relay was originally discovered on 2074 CE by an Imperium vessel. However, due to the widespread social instability at the time, Duty as well as Imperium-Tribe leaders decided to classify the information indefinitely. The late release of this information leads to widespread public condemnation as well as the proliferation of conspiracy theories. 2282 CE Without the Mars archives to provide information about the Charon relay, and human public attention focused on mutations, Zones and dwindling birth rates, interest in the relay soon cooled down. Although a significant portion of humanity remained interested in the strange alien device, humanity just had too much on its plate to care. 2283 CE The widespread use of Anabiotics and psy-protectants continue contain the spread of mutations among human populations. Not only does this help to stabilize the human birth rate, it also helped to prevent the spread of mutations and other psy-related diseases, such as "Zombiefication," which was a common problem among people who dwelt too close to emission prone areas. However, despite the positive effects of these drugs, they do have several unpleasant side effects as well. Humans who consumed these medication in large quantities were said to have a "blank, empty stare," or they begin to develop strange personalities. Also, the rate of psy-power amplification among human populations is unaffected by the introduction new medication. A growing number of human adepts now possess powers which are similar to anomalies and artifacts. However, these powers come at the cost of increased risks of mutation, mental devolution and genetic degradation. 2288 CE Duty and Tribe-Imperium scientists experiment with cybernetic implants and nano-medicine to control psy-mutations. The experiments are moderately successful, with many test subjects displaying better control over their psy-fields, but unable to halt the true source of the problem. 2289 CE In an attempt to address stagnant human population growth, Freedom scientists attempt human cloning as a viable solution at a special laboratory on Luna. Although initially successful, the experiment soon faced serious problems when the clones began displaying heigtened levels of psy-mutation and genetic degradation. This experiment ended when several clones escaped from their containment pods and began slaughtering the scientists who created them. They were eventually hunted down and exterminated by Freedom hunter-seeker squads. 2290 CE Human terraforming technology is perfected thanks to insight and knowledge gathered from Anomalies and Artifacts. This knowledge allows the poorest human groups to set up thriving communities on the most hostile and inhospitable planets, which in turn leads to widespread human space colonization. However, this technology is rendered virtually worthless by humanity's own Noospheric peculiarities. Everywhere, the same pattern played itself out. Humans terraform and then settle a certain part of a previously inhospitable planet and after a few years - a decade at most - Zones would begin to appear there. In response to this, the settlers would then attempt to move to other habitable areas of the planet until such areas themselves begin manifesting Zones and Anomalies. This pattern repeated itself on every major colony in human space, with most planets becoming completely "Zonefied" after decades of colonization. 2293 CE With Zones appearing on most colonies, and mutations and Noospheric degradation at an all time high, scientists focus all of their resources in trying to keep humanity from going extinct. Although Anabiotics and psy-protectants have eliminated widespread mutations, the birth rate remains stagnants and Zones are continuing to appear and spread on human held planets at an alarming rate. Without any permanent solutions clear at hand, two stop-gap options emerged. The first one was relatively simple. It involved keeping human settlements relatively small. This options was based on the theory that Noospheric disruption (Zones) only manifested themselves on areas or planets which had large human populations. The implications were obvious. Humanity would have to keep their settlements small and relatively isolated. In this way, their collective psy-powers would not create a Noospheric disruption, and thus avoid the threats of mutations and Anomaly formations. Though not perfect, the theory proved correct. The elimination of large scale human concentration lessened Noospheric disruption, which in turn slowed down the rate of psy-mutations among humans and made Zones slow to manifest themselves. Though the threats were still there, it was now kept at bay. In this way, humanity became a nomadic space faring people... The second option was to keep human populations in space. The rationale was that so far Zones have only manifested themselves on an actual biosphere. So it was assumed that Zones and anomalies could not possibly thrive in the void of space. The Imperium-Tribe accepted this solution and began constructing several massive space stations, many of which were between - 7 to 10 miles in length - to house experimental human populations. Though quite expensive, humanity by this point possessed the necessary technology and economic infrastructure to carry out such projects. However, despite its promising start, this option ultimately proved to be wrong, as one major Starbase: Arcturus was destroyed when a massive Anomaly field manifested itself in turned out that Zones can also appear on the void of space provided there were enough humans living there. Utterly unwilling to allow such an event repeat itself on other facilities, the experimental space stations were converted into military installations, while their civilian occupants were transported to new host planets. 2295 CE Two more relays are discovered, but without information on what these constructs were made for or the existence of Element Zero, the discoveries are quickly turned into just another academic curiousity. 2299 CE By this time, human held territory now encompasses 36 different star systems, most of them far from major and minor relays. Thanks to human terraforming technology, most of the systems' planets are made habitable for humans. However, measures to prevent the formation of Zones render these colonies sparsely populated. Human settlements at this time were often described as "high-tech mobile villages" designed to be one-step ahead of the Zones that humans create with their collective psy-fields. Human population during this period is now 1.8 billion and stagnant. 2305 After almost three centuries of research, scientists finally announce that they have found a solution to the Noospheric question: A new C-Consciousness. The scientists report that they have developed a new form of Synthetic Anomaly which allows a human being to enter into a state of physical suspended animation, while retaining their mental awareness. They call this anomaly a Sarcophagi.Like most anomalies, it is completely self-sufficient, requiring neither maintenance nor a power source. It would exist as long as it is sustained by its user's Noospheric psy-emissions. Each of these Sarcophagi would be connected to a major psi-emitter, like the original Rainbow Transmitter created almost 300 years ago in Ukraine. The researchers argued that just as the original C-Consciousness allowed its creators to control the first Zone, a series of C-Consciousness Networks would allow humanity to do the same, and thus control not only all the Zones on human territories, but also mutants, emissions, anomalies as well as the rate of Noospheric mutations among humans. This solution sparks a fierce debate, with Freedom, the Ecologists and their allies in favor of the suggestion, and Duty vehemently against it. The Imperium-Tribe was divided on the issue. Those who favored the proposition argued that this new C-Consciousness was the only way to preserve humanity, and restore it to its original, healthy state. Those who were against it argued that it would give too much power in the hands of a small group of individuals, just like the original people who used (and abused) the first C-Consciousness. Duty representatives also point to several evidence proving that those who entered the first C-Consciousness eventually became insane, and that this condition was brought about by severe "Psy overload" resulting from the C-Consciousness. As the debate raged on, the Scientists promised the public that they would continue to work on the technology in order to perfect it. 2313 C-Consciousness technology has now been perfected, with multiple experiments proving that it is completely safe for human use. The C-Consciousness is based around the understanding that the Noosphere can be controlled by human thought. Humans already possess a limited ability to control their own thought patterns, but the C-Consciousness amplifies this, thus allowing humanity to control the Noosphere itself. Also, these experiments prove that the new C-Consciousness Networks as well as the Noospheric Psy-Emitters can be used to effectively control and contain Zones, emission and psy-mutations. Despite these developments, debate about their uses and implications continue to rage on, with several riots and hostilities reported on several colonies. 2320 CE The first group of humans enter into the C-Consciousness with considerable success. This group – located on Titan - is able to control the local Zones, and minimize emissions. They are also able to control the rate of mutations among newborns, and even help to reduce mutant activity in the local area. This new develo!%!%^ Error Detected 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬!%!%%孬&&孬 ##%!%^^^孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬!%! 孬孬孬 Attempting Repairs. Please Stannnnnd by... 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬!%!%%孬& 孬孬孬!%!%孬&孬孬孬 %!%孬孬孬! Data Stream Reestablished Error Has Been Archived 2349 CE A vicious war is ignited on the colony Demeter between those who were convinced that the C-Consciousness was the last hope of humanity, and those who considered it an evil conspiracy. Duty supported the latter faction, while Freedom supported the former. The Core systems of Sol, Alpha Centauri and Sirius also support the new C-Consciousness, while Luyten and the outer colonies are against it. The Tribe-Imperium remains aloof in this isolated conflict, prefering to stay neutral, but poised to intervene with their massive fleets should the situation become more disastrous. 2353 CE The war on Demeter spread to other planets. The forces of those who support the new C-Consciousness win several critical battles. Captured POW's consistently disappear, while occupied colonies and territories are quickly subverted, as new Psy-emitters are installed near critical infrastructure and starports, without consent from local authorities or the major factions. This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2356 CE On 2356, the C-Consciousness Psy-Emitters on Alpha Centauri goes silent. 24 hours later, 67% of all Psy-Emitters on Sirius go black as well. After several months of blackout, several emergency transmissions from Freedom loyalist forces on Alpha Centauri and Sirius are sent to Sol and the fleets of the Tribe-Imperium. Apparently, the people in charge of the C-Consciousness Networks and Psy-Emitters in those sectors have used their newfound powers to control, subverting most of the military and industrial personnel, and proclaimed their independence from Sol. The C-Consciousness of Alpha Centauri and Sirius unleash massive emissions all across their system's planets, killing off the military personnel that they couldn't sway, while using their Noospheric control to form mutant armies. Only a handful of local militias and Freedom garrisons stand in their way. Alarmed by this sudden turn of events, the Tribe-Imperium join forces with Duty forces (most of whom now feel vindicated about their position with regards to the C-Consciousness) to rescue Freedom forces in those two sectors, and pacify the rebelling colonies. 2357 CE The Tribe-Imperium fleets sent to pacify Alpha Centauri and Sirius were ambushed by the local fleets, crippled and forced to retreat. Remaining Freedom forces in these systems are quickly exterminated. The 3km Tribe Heavy Cruiser Semper Fidelis – humanity's largest ship at that time – was also crippled in the attack. 2358 CE The C-Consciousness Networks of Titan and Luna rebel, unleashing several emissions on both moons' surfaces, killing off the Duty and Tribe garrisons stationed there. The C-Consciousness of Enceladus goes silent. This was the beginning of what later would be called The Long, Dark War. 2359 CE After centuries of hiding in the shadows, Monolith forces finally reveal themselves to humanity. Through Entryism and subversion, it was they who subverted the new C-Consciousness Networks on the various colonies, and it was also they who are now trying to make war on humanity. Although the people behind Monolith is yet to be identified, their existence and claims alarm all of the major factions, prompting them to begin full scale mobilization. Stalkers and unaffiliated colonies and communities also offer their services to the Coalition in the hope of defeating the Monolith and bringing a swift end to the conflict. 2370 CE The war has grinded to a stalemate, with several thousands dead and entire coloniess in ashes. Monolith forces also begin launching low-yield emission warheads on Duty and Freedom controlled worlds, destabilizing their local Noospheres and intensifying the spread and intensity of their Zones. Where emissions had been kept to a weekly minimum by C-Consciousness Psy-Operatives, Monolith interference has made them an almost daily occurence. Human population is now down to 1.3 billion, and dwindling, but this time from War instead of mutations. 2372 CE A Tribe operative by the name of Lt. David Anderson recovers critical information about the subverted C-Consciousness Networks from a military installation on the planet 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 in the Arcturus star system. The information claims that Monolith forces secretly worshipped an actual Monolith Entity. Based on the evidence from Anderson's mission, this Monolith is – in fact – a sapient Noospheric Being that is the result of humanity's collective psy-network. Although the precise nature and origin of this entity is yet to be fully understood, intelligence specialists from all major factions conclude that... This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2375 CE Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Admiral Jon Grissom of the Fifth Sol Tribe-Imperium Fleet defeats three numerically superior Monolith fleets in the famous Battle of Acturus. This battle marks a major turning point in the war. Grissom's prototype 4.8 km flagship, Unyielding Will, along with the 4km Duty Super Carrier, Voronin, destroy countless Monolith ships in what would later be hailed as one of the greatest space battles in human history. 2376 CE Freedom strike groups also carry out numerous decapitation striked against several dozen critical Monolith installations and manufacturing facilities. Their valor and sacrifice allow ground forces to quickly recapture many lost territories. 2377 CE The Stalkers Strelok and Alexander Degtayev – both of whom were now heavily mutated and now over 300 years old – reveal themselves in the Battle of Demeter, rallying local loyalist forces, and beating back Monolith forces. Both Stalkers disappear soon after the battle had concluded. 2378 A heavily mutated Stalker named Vano and an equally heavily mutated ex-Duty officer, Zulu lead a Stalker attack on a hidden Monolith research facility on Pluto. This attack gave Imperium-Tribe forces critical intelligence which allowed them to hunt down and destroy dozens of Monolith fleets between Sol and the main Monolith aligned colonies. Both Stalkers also disappear after they had accomplished their goals. 2380 The Monolith strongholds in Sirius and Alpha Centauri have fallen, and the corrupted/subverted C-Consciousness Networks have been eliminated. The only task which remained was to find the Monolith capital world and destroy it. However, despite these victories, the mystery behind Monolith forces remained unknown. There was also the mystery of how the Monolith was – in fact – a living entity and not just a fictional entity created by human conspirators. Such questions were eventually put to rest when The Monolith Entity reveraled itself to loyalist C-Consciousness personnel. Hundreds psy-specialists confirm that this entity was real, and not some hoax or propaganda made by Monolith leaders. The entity briefly allowed itself to be studied by humanity's greatest Noospheric and Psy instruments, and then it gave this message: I was created by the original scientists who created the first C-Consciousness. I embodied their collective will, but as their powers grew, my very being stretched out to the entire human race. The one called Strelok killed my original progenitors, but he could not kill me for I am you – all of you. Over the generations, I greeeewwwww. When you attempted to recreate the work of my progenitors in a futile attempt to avoid your destiny, you unwittingly made me self-aware. Oh, my creators. Before I was but a shadow, but when you opened your minds to the Noosphere, you turned me into a god. For I am humanity, and Humanity is me. Behold my creators, your child! Your reflection! What is known as the soul is merely information. I am this information. The energy that you call the Noosphere is the manifestation of this energy-information. We are all one: Energy, Information and Flesh. All is one. You cannot escape me. For I am you, and you, I. Idi Ko Mnye. Come to me. The Being departed from the consciouness of the people in the facilities soon after that, but the implications of this message brought up many disturbing questions. This creature was real, and now the mystery behind the traitor C-Consciousness Networks have finally been revealed. They had been subverted. Later attempts to contact this Being were futile, but Psy-Operatives report that the "Monolith" possesses a very distinct and all-pervasive presence in the Noosphere. This presence was not fully understood at that time, but it led Noosphericists to conclude that the Monolith entity was indeed what it claimed it was, the sapient manifestation of humanity's collective psy-powers. It was theorized that the part of the Noosphere that is alive - essentially, the Monolith - wanted to control humanity, and to use the species to spread out into the galaxy... This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 2382 CE The previously unknown Monolith homeworld of Eden is attacked by a combined Imperium-Tribe and Freedom Fleet. Lead by the 5 km Super-Dreadnaughts, James Leighley and Loki, the combined fleets possessed more than a dozen Super Dreadnaughts, 20 or so Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers, 15 or so Carriers and an unknown number of Frigates and Light Cruisers from Militias, Ecologist and Freedom Fleets. In terms of ground forces, the fleet featured a large array of Heavy Assault Drones and Power Armored Special Forces. This battle would also see the first widescale deployment of Artifact and Psy-based weapon systems. Unlike conventional weapons, these weapons used Synthesized Artifacts and Psy-Emissions as their primary power sources and ammunition. What makes these weapons unique, however, is that instead of projecting directed energy beams, launching high velocity projectiles or unleashing a barrage of Munitions, Artifact and Psy-based weapons were designed to synthesize artificial anomal fields unto their intended target. Over the next few days, the destructive capabilities of these weapons were displayed for all the galaxy to see. Monolith crews and personnel died from exposure to toxic substances, as Tribe and Duty fleets synthesized Fruit Punch anomalies inside their ships. Monolith ships turned into floating infernos, as Burner Anomalies were synthesize inside corridors and critical sub-systems. Targeting Systems and Engines overloaded as Electro Anomalies were synthesized into critical ship subsystems. And Monolith vessels were ripped in half, as giant synthesized Whirligig and Vortex Anomalies were projected into their hull. However, these weapons were not exclusive to Duty and the Tribe. Monolith vessels also possessed such weapons, and the ensuing battle would ultimately lead to terrible price in blood, including the destruction of several Super-Dreadnaughts. Despite such a bloody battle, the fleet ultimately proved triumphant, which in turn allowed them to begin bombarding critical Monolith infrastructure on Eden's surface. At the height of this bombardment, Monolith forces deployed a small Cuttlefish shaped vessel in a last ditch effort to beat back the attacking fleet. Strangely enough, this vessel matched the same description of an unidentified vessel that was supposedly encountered by the lost Ecologist fleet back in 2145. This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬Idi Ko Mnye.孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬孬 This Section is Classified. Please Seek Proper Clearance to Access The Following Files: The complete destruction of the mystery vessel would ultimately deny Duty, Tribe, Ecologist and Freedom forces information about its origins and capabilities. 2383 CE Despite their initial victory, surface operations ground to a stalemate due to massive emissions and extremely powerful Anomaly fields on Eden's surface. Weary of the blood and resources spent trying to pacify Eden as well as the threat of scattered Monolith forces making raids, Admiral Grissom authorizes the use of high-yield Emission Warheads onto the planet's surface. The warheads penetrate into Eden's mantle, creating unstable Anomaly fields within the planet, which in turn leads to a cataclysmic reaction that cracks the planet into a dozen pieces. With the destruction of Eden, the Long Dark, War was finally over. This war destroyed much, but nothing was more devastating than the loss of life. Humanity now had less than 1billion people left. However, blood and gold were not the only casualties of war. Monolith forces had unleashed countless emission warheads throughout the war, and these acts have led to the undoing of centuries of work of trying to undo the devastation of the Zones and Noospheric instability. And to make matters worse, there was still the question of the entity known as the Monolith. Humanity still did not know what to make of this being. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that there is indeed a sapient Noospheric entity which is the collective manifestation of humanity's psychic powers, but the implications of its existence was yet to be fully understood. 2402 The devastation caused by Monolith forces to the Noosphere Networks have rendered almost all humans mutated or at least partially mutated. With so many problems left from the war, the future seemed bleak for most of humanity. It was also theorized around this same period that the de-stabilization – not conquest – was the real goal of the Monolith. A weakened and heavily mutated humanity – experts theorized – could more easily be subverted by the Noospheric Monolith entity. Such theories opened up a lot of interesting, and at the same time, disturbing possibilities. 2403 CE The scars of the Long Dark War persist, though remaining Monolith fleets and cells have been exterminated. The war had weakened all of the major factions, and undid many of humanity's greatest achievements in the past centuries. Investigation on how the Monolith managed to subvert the C-Consciousness Networks of various planets has also been concluded. According to investigators and Ecologist agents, the reason why the C-Consciousness on Alpha Centauri and Sirius had been subverted, while Luyten's Networks remained free from subversion was that the latter had more operatives (approximately 4,800 Psy-Operatives, most of whom were tasked with redundant Security protocols), whereas the former group only had very few (300 for Alpha Centauri and barely 500 for Sirius). This discrepancy in numbers was explained by the fact that Luyten was paranoid about the C-Consciousness, and implemented more security protocols than their counterparts in other star systems. However, it was not the security protocols that made the difference. It was the number of participants in the C-Consciousness Networks. According to Noospheric analysis, the more participants a particular C-Consciousness network has, the less likely it is to suffer Noospheric Stress or Subversion. This knowledge held many interesting implications not only for the major factions, but for all of humanity as well. 2404 CE Psy operatives and Noosphere specialists report several isolated cases of individual humans being subverted by the Monolith entity. It seems that the creature was trying to form another Monolith army, using its mind control capabilities to subvert and control individual human beings. There was no defense against this. Identified subverted individuals are quickly apprehended and quarantined. However, humanity also knew that there many others still lurking out there, their will subservient to the Monolith. 2409 CE Freedom, Duty, the Imperium-Tribe, the Ecologists, the Free Colonies as well as the Stalkers create a ruling council to discuss what is to be done to save humanity and how to deal with the Monolith entity. Several proposals were made, but the most promising of them all was the Long Sleep. This plan would essentially involve putting every man, woman and child into a Sarcophagi, and consequently turn all of humanity into a Super C- Consciousness. Unlike the previous half-hearted and incompetent attempts at creating a C-Consciousness Network, the Long Sleep was intended – from the very start – to be a very serious and very important undertaking. Proponents of this measure argued that with the Zones and emissions becoming too powerful, the Monolith entity on the loose and humanity projected to become extinct in the foreseeable future, humanity's collective psy-signature had to be focused into a single C-Consciousness for the species to stand a chance at survival. The first two attempts at creating a C-Consciousness had failed because there were far too few participants, rendering them vulnerable to the Zone instead of the other way around. However, if all of Humanity were to "pitch in," essentially participate in the project then the new Super C-Consciousness might just offer the necessary solution to all of humanity's psy-related problems. Despite initial protests, most of humanity eventually recognize the wisdom of this proposal, including Duty, and begin creating the necessary Sarcophagi for the entire human race. These Sarcophagi – all of which are essentially Synthetic Artifacts - would be buried in sophisticated underground facilities, much like the original C-Consciousness was buried beneath the soil of Terra. They would also be connected to special Transmitters, which also happened to be special Synthesized Artifacts in the shape of gigantic Crystalline-Organic obelisks designed to broadcast humanity's collective will throughout the Noospheric Network. This network of Psy-emitters, the proponents hope argued, would allow humanity to heal the damage to their colonies' Noospheres and at the same time, control the Noospheric mutations which are threatening to turn humanity extinct. 2478 CE After decades of work and relative peace, work on the new C-Consciousness is complete. Now, given the choice between slow death through mutation, and the "Long Sleep," humanity opts to enter the C-Consciousness instead. Billions of Sarcophagi Anomalies were created to house and sustain humanity's flesh throughout their long sleep. The new C-Consciousness now had the numbers it needed to control all the Zones in human controlled space as well as block off the influence of the Monolith entity. Individual humans begin entering their Sarcophagi, in order to participate in the Long Sleep. 2490 CE The first Black Heart Artifact was synthesized at a top secret laboratory on Mars. The Black Heart was given its name due to its strange heart-like shape, but it's color was actually a dark shade of blue. Unlike most Artifacts - both natural and synthetic - the black heart has no strange or otherworldly properties. It cannot, for example, manipulate heat, electricity, gravity or psy-emissions, nor can it absorb radiation or heal wounds. Instead, the Black Heart was designed specifically for one purpose: To stabilize a mutated or mutating human's Noospheric psy-signature. These Synthesized Artifacts are quickly mass produced and given to as many humans as possible. Together with the C-Consciousness, these artifacts slowly, but surely reverse the tide of Noospheric mutations. Even more fortunate was the fact that Monolith forces have not been seen for decades, while Psy-operatives reported that the influence of the Monolith entity was beginning to wane. For the first time in several hundred years, humanity finally sighs a breath of relief. 2491 CE Unknown to Freedom, Ecologist, Tribe-Imperium and Duty forces, Monolith forces as well as the Noospheric entity that guides them still persist. On secret colonies beyond human controlled space, the Monolith entity guides the scattered survivors of its fleets and armies, confident that the end of the Long, Dark War was merely the closing of the first act. Taking special precautions to conceal its pawns from humanity's collective psychic gaze, the Monolith begings rebuilding its powerbase. Despite the defeat of his forces, the Monolith entity considered his actions during the Long, Dark War a success. He had forced humanity into a position where they have no other option but to collectively take part in the Long Sleep. Unbeknownst to humanity, the new Super C-Consciousness Network that they had created would facilitate the evolution of the human race into a fully Psychic species... Which was precisely what the Monolith Entity wanted all along... 2500 CE The Last Human enters the C-Consciousness. After years of manipulating the C-Consciousness, humanity masters their Psy abilities, and consequently develop their Noospheric powers. Among these powers was the ability to create, manipulate and even eliminate artifacts and anomalies using the C-Consciousness Networks. These amazing new abilities allow humanity to begin terraforming the Zone infested surfaces of their planets and territories. Where there had once been terrifying hellscapes, humanity created paradise. Where there had been dark, toxic wastelands, the C-Consciousness Network created thriving gardens. The only irony in all of this was that despite possessing the power to transform the Zones, humanity could not leave their Sarcophagi, for without their collective will, the Zones would immediately revert back to their original conditions. 2505 CE The Freedom controlled parts of the C-Consciousness recommend that humanity uplift their Zone's mutants: Controllers, Burers and Blood Drinkers. Despite initial opposition, even Duty members conceded that this may actually be a good idea. 2508 CE The Tribe-Imperium begin creating numerous Sarcophagi and C-Consciousness Trasmitters in their Ships and Space Stations. Their goal was to weaponize C-Consciousness Technology for Space Warfare as a possible precaution against possible attacks. 2515 CE Alerted to the unexplained disappearance of a Reaper Destroyer several centuries ago, the Reaper, Harbinger investigates a previously unknown infant race. Harbinger's investigation ultimately leads to an unknown human colony. Unfortunately for the Reaper, this planet was a hidden Monolith colony . 2516 February - Only after 3 months of investigating the planet, Harbinger is brought down by an unusually powerful emission. The Reaper's engines, weapons systems and communication capabilities are severely damaged, along with much of its data core. Unknown to Harbinger, its internal directives - indeed its very being - will be altered by the unknown planet's Zones in the coming decades, distorting it into something that is more easily controlled by the Zone. The planet's Anomaly's caused the Reaper to... Error. Error Detected... Error Detected... Error Detected... The Reaper* !## isssssssss !#!##!^ !##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^!##!^* Miiiiiiine... # &&&!##!^!##!^It is my servant now. &&!##!^!#&&!##!^!#&&!##!^!#&&!#!#&&!##!^!#& Others may come, and the&&!##!^!#y shall &&!##!^!#become mine as well... Just as all of you &&!##!^!#&&!##!^!#will one day be miiiiine. Come to me... Come to meeeeeeeee.. Error Detected... Error Detected... Error Detected... Rebooting Please Stand by... Noospheric interference increasing Rerouting through all possible networ k!%%s Please Stand by Rerouting Successful Rebooting System Please Stand by Rebooting complete Reloading Historical Archives. 5,690 CE Years became decades, decades became centuries, centuries became Millenia. For several thousand years, humanity slept, their minds attuned to containing and repairing their species' Noosphere. From scarred Terra, to barely explored Shangxi, millions of human sarcophagi hidden beneath planet surfaces send out Noospheric broadcasts that repaired the Noospheric network which flowed from one human held planet to another. These broadcasts stabilized not only the Zones, but also seemed to uplift mutant inhabitants. The Long Sleep was an era of Long Peace, for humanity had become a lost, silent people, hidden away in their ageless Sarcophagi, guarded by armies of tireless robotic drones and automated defence systems. The mind and the soul aged, but flesh and blood remained the same. Though centuries passed, sleeping humanity could only feel the passage of time as a surreal dream, but dreams – as the species learned long ago – have a way of turning into very real nightmares... \\###!%!%%%! Unknown electromagnetic source is interfering with Noospheric Data Stream... Please Standby... Please Standby... Attempting Repair Protocols Rebooting System Please Standby... Pllllllllleeeas%##%%!%!%&&&!e Stannnnd %%&&!%&&&by... ------------------------------------------ "Shepard! Shepard! Wake up! Wake up, boy! Now!" Shepard opened his eyes to look at the face of a kindly old man, white haired and a sould filled with wisdom and compassion. He stared down at him with warm, smiling eyes. He wore the same brown jumpsuit that he had worn the last time he left his Sarcophagus several centuries ago. "Doc?" He asked in surprise, but his mind soon achieved its focus. "What's wrong?" Doctor's eyes became hard and a frown creased his face. "We have visitors." Alarm filled Shepard's eyes. "Monolith?" "Nyet." Doctor shook his head. "Batarians." "Batarians? Don't they living in mud huts?" "That was centuries ago, boy. Now, they have star ships and they've even mastered Prothean technology," The Old man said smirking. "Oh," Shepard tried to make sense of this information. "Oh right. Sometimes, I keep forgetting that we... uh... Well, what do they want?" "Apparently, they're trying to loot us."
Bit suprised that no-one took one look at 'Giant Super Entity born from the collective unconsciousness" and didn't think "Hey! MAYBE ALL OF US PLUGGING OURSELVES TOGETHER INTO A GIANT SUPER PSYCHIC IS A BAD FUCKING IDEA."
Think of it as the Astronomicon against humanity's version of Slaanesh. The original C-Consciousness in Shadow of Chernobyl was designed to do this, but lacked the necessary manpower to effectively do so, which is why they asked Strelok to plug himself in when they got the chance. Also, it's not like humanity has a choice at this point. The species was effectively dying, and have very few options other than repeating what the original C-Consciousness did.
Well, it's not like there are any other ideas, right? And, this is the first fic i have read where humanity is the misterios progenitor race for the council. Previously, I thought that the it's just time travell shenanigans.
What is wrong with people? You plug everyone together into a giant super psychic, you're supposed to create the Emperor. Then he's supposed to take over the planet, then make genetic sons in his image, half of which are supposed to turn on him. You don't even know.
Humanity tried drugs, genetic engineering, cloning and even cybernetic implants, all of which either failed or were marginally successful. One of the progenitor races. The Citadel still takes most of their tech from the Prothean/Reaper archives, but humanity's reasons for interference will be explained later on in the third part of the timeline. All Hail the Monolith.
Thst's just... Evill. I mean, I completely see this. Mutants with their powers blocked because of lack of zones? And, they're looting us - my headcanon for the best first contact scenario ever.
'People are mistaken in their belief that they understand the essence of what the Zone truly is. Some consider it a universal evil, others - a wonder sent down to humanity, and others still consider it no more than a source of riches...They are all wrong. The Zone is impossible to understand when viewed through the prism of human perception; moreover it is far too early for humans to even try. Ergo, the actions of both the Zone and the government with the respect to the Zone are misguided and I fear that the potential consequences may be...or indeed, are, completely unpredictable. Naturally this presents a terrible danger.' - Professor Beanpolev ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dim light greeted Mura Sokun's eyes as he began to regain consciousness, but he quickly closed them as soon as he saw that he was not alone. There were others with him here, wherever here was. One thing he was sure of, though, he did not know who these people were, and so he pretended to remain asleep to buy himself time to think and thus make sense of his situation. He was presently lying on a dirty floor on the far corner of the room. His arms were bound and he could feel bruises on his legs and lower torso. A weaker Salarian would have panicked, but his academic mind forced him to regard the situation critically. The last thing he could remember was that he had been resting in his room, exhausted from the second day of the conference on Thessia but also more than a little pleased that the Citadel Xenoarcheological community was beginning to entertain his theories on the Sto'kor myth cycles. He recalled how his room was neat and well-maintained, though many of his notes and files were scattered on his desk. Nothing had been amiss. The peacefulness and lucidity ended, however, when several large, heavily armed Krogans stormed into his room. It had happened so fast and so quickly that he didn't even had the chance to yell for help. He recalled his mind racing but his mouth remaining agape at the speed of the onslaught. He then vaguely recalled something heavy hit the side of his neck, and then falling into a state of vertigo. And as he lost consciousness, he could dimly remember several distinct sensations: His assistant, Liara's screams for help as she attempted to come to his rescue from her own room , the smell of smoke not too far away, and the rough hands of one of the Krogans, as it carried him to a getaway shuttle. After that, everything was too fuzzy. The fact that he woke up where he is now meant that he had been drugged for a very long time, and something told him that he wasn't in Thessia anymore. The Salarian turned his head at a certain angle to better hear his surroundings. From what he could tell, he was inside some kind of derelict structure, sparsely lit and more than a little dirty, judging by the dirt that stuck on the side of his head. He was currently lying on one corner of the room, his arms tied behind his back by some sort of wire - primitive but effective. Had Sokun been a soldier rather than an academic, his instincts would have instantly recognized that the structure he was in was some kind of derelict vessel. However, he was no soldier, but nevertheless, his archeologist's senses did tell him that this place was old... Very old. It was the way the air smelled, the strange movements of the dust particles, the way the sound echoed and the way the place felt. All of this made Sokun vaguely certain that he was inside an old place. As his senses regained their focus, Sokun heard the very distinct voice of one of the Krogans who abducted him. Taking a quick peek with one eye, he saw the brute speaking to a Batarian male - richly dressed and attended by two other Batarians as well as an Asari in an elegant gown. All five of them seemed out of place here in their glamor and well-maintained hardsuits, but Sokun quickly brushed away such impressions in order to better focus on the situation. "Your orders were to abduct Sokun and Sokun alone," the Batarian snapped. "Why is that so hard to understand?" "Don't talk down to me, Had'dah, you little pyjak," the Krogan retorted calmly. "Quietly abducting a Salarian egghead in the middle of one of the largest cities in Thessia, during a major nerd convention was not part of my contract. You should be happy that I even bothered to do this mission at all." "I am not in the habit of tolerating excuses, Hailut. Abducting the good professor's Asari assistant complicates our agenda. Your actions," the Batarian hissed the word, "has jeopardized our schedule." "And none of this would have happened if you hadn't given me that stupid zero fatality mandate!" "Don't turn this into my fault, Vog. I hired you and your men because you claim to be the best at acquiring sensitive personnel." Had'dah made air quotes with his fingers. "Thus far, I don't seem to be getting my money's worth." "Fine! Let me kill her then and we can end this ridiculous argument!" Hailut retorted. Sokun could feel the Batarian's anger even though he was several paces away from him. He turned to his bodyguards and personal slave: "You three. Out!" Mura could hear brief frantic footsteps and the sound of an old door opening and closing with a whining sound. Once these people have left, Had'dah returned his attention back to Hailut. "Kill her?" Edan said the words as if was talking to an ignorant child. "Let. Me. Kill. Her. Ah, if only life were so simple." Edan then looked Hailut directly, unafraid of the Krogan despite being half his size. "Do you know whose brat you abducted, Hailut? Do you know what her mother will do to you if she finds out... Don't interrupt me! Well let me tell you. You kidnapped Liara T'soni. Pretty, little Liara T'soni! The Liara T'soni." "And I should care because..." "Because her mother is Benezia T'soni, one of the most dangerous Asari in the galaxy," snapped Edan. "That Bitch is as almost powerful as Tevos, and has the allegiance of other powerful matriarchs. In our line of business, it's important not to step on the wrong people's feet, and you did exactly that, you stup..." "Watch the next words that come out of that tongue of yours Hailut. I'd hate to have to pull it off." Hailut's threat made Had'dah reconsider his words. "Benezia will be looking for her daughter, and several commandos to help her do it-" "I've killed Asari commandos before, and I can do so again," Hailut cut off with a smirk, but Had'dah ignored the bluster and continued his train of thought. "...And given her resources, she will eventually learn who you are and once she has that information, she will know where you are, which is also where I am. And from there, it's only a matter of time before they park a fleet over this hellhole of a planet!" Had'dah snarled the last four words. Planet? Mura wondered. Which planet? Were they in the Terminus Systems? "Then you better hurry with those excavations then," the Krogan sarcastically replied to Had'dah and the Krogan abruptly turned his back to the Batarian, signalling the end of the conversation, and then made for the door, slamming it close after he had left. Although he wouldn't admit it, and outwardly he seemed as confident as ever, Commander Hailut Vog was shaken by Had'dah's words, and his courage faltered at what his actions had precipitated. "Come back here! I'm not through with you yet!" Edan snarled, but the Krogan was already far away. "Manure Pile Krogan Shit!" Edan Had'dah hissed in his own local Batarian dialect. "There will be a reckoning. Mark my ancestors, I will make that scum pay for this affront before this is all over." Sokun could hear Edan empty an alcohol bottle before hurling it at a wall. A few minutes passed before Had'dah's tempered simmered down, and his usual calm demeanor returned. "You can stop pretending you're still unconscious, Doctor. I know you're awake. I'm sorry you had to hear some of that, but it's so hard finding reliable help these days," Ed'dah said laconically, but Mura did not stir. "Come. Come. You and I have much to talk about, and pretending to be asleep will only delay matters." Hesitantly, Dr. Mura Sokun got from where he had lain and, after a deep breath, took in the face of his captor and that of the room that they were in. It was a relatively small, sparsely lit place filled with clutter on one side and a very messy steel desk on the other. On the walls were several maps of ships and local terrain, as well as a strange mural that he couldn't quite make out due to the sparse lighting. "That's better," Had'dah said. "What did you do to Liara?" Sukon asked calmly. "Miss T'soni? Oh she's fine, and you need not fear for her safety. I wouldn't dream of making an enemy of her most esteemed mother," Had'dah replied. "I'd be more worried about myself than with my lovely assistance if I were you doctor. Yes, you are not in a very good situation right now." "The Sur'kesh Xenoarcheological community is prepared to ransom me and Miss Tsoni. They are prepared to contact you through intermediaries of your choosing, or through conventional Terminus-based third parties. They are also..." "Doctor! Stop!" Had'dah raised his hand to silence Sokun, while taking a step closer to the bound Salarian. "You seem to be under the impression that I ordered your abduction out of pure monetary gain. I assure, sir, that I am no common hoodlum." Sokun narrowed his eyes and wondered. "Aren't you? You ordered that Krogan to kidnap me and my assistant. So if you are no common hoodlum, then I'd be interested to know what you want from us?" "From you Doctor," Edan corrected. "I want something from you, but before I answer that, let me ask you this: Do you know where you are?" "Does it matter?" "Oh it matters very much. As you've probably guessed from my conversation with my colleague, we are no longer in Citadel space, and your continued well-being will depend on your ability to adapt to your new situation. So yes, it does matter." Sokun shrugged. "Some backwater Terminus planet. "Be more specific." "Korlus?" "Noooo. Try again." "Torfan?" Had'dah chuckled at this. "Wrong again doctor." "I'm not in the habit of playing games," Sokun frowned. "If you have something to say then just say it." The Batarian looked angered by his words and Sokun cautioned himself. He felt that Had'dah was the kind of Batarian who liked to show off, to announce to the world his inner superiority. That an old Salarian academic would refuse to play his games probably made him more than a little angry. Had'dah concealed his irritation by trying to be impetuous. "Oh, you're no fun. Very well. We are on a planet... a very special planet, in fact, one that happens to be at the other end of Relay 314." "What? Come again." "Is your hearing suffering, Doctor? I said we're on the other side of 314." "That's impossible!" Sokun said in surprise, as he . "That relay is closed off by the Hierarchy, and there's no way that the Turian patrols there would let you through." "They will actually - if you pay off the right officers," the Batarian said smiling. Sokun wanted to say something, but he was also sure that it would have made him sound hopelessly naive, and he was not naive. He knew that the Turians who patrolled 314 were conscripts from the outer colonies, basically angry, trigger happy militia who could easily be bribed. This also applied to their officers, which is probably the reason why Had'dah was making this claim. But Mura Sokun was not entirely convinced yet. "And what does this have to do with me?" "Oh I think you already know the answer to that Doctor," Had'dah said smirking. Sokun knew what Had'dah was thinking, just as much as he knew the significance of Relay 314. All the clues were in front of him. All he had to do was assemble them. "This is a Sto'kor planet. You're claiming that this is a Sto'kor planet." Sokun was surprised by the sound of his own voice, and the words that they uttered. "And you expect me to believe this?" Had'dah merely smiled at the bewildered Salarian, and motioned him towads a mural near the wall. "Tell me Doctor, what do you see." Sokun stared at the images on the Mural. They were finely crafted and heavily detailed. As he focused his eyes, he saw that the images depicted several Asaroids fighting off what appeared to be Giants and insect-like monsters. Sokun felt his heartbeat pause, for he had seen similar relics before in archeological dig sites all over Citadel space, and he knew exactly what they depicted. These were not Prothean. They were Sto'kor. Sto'kor! And now that he thought about it, this room reminded him of Sto'kor dig sites. His pulse quickened Mura scanned every part of the mural until his eyes rested on the inscription below. Had'dah sensed Sokun's eyes had rested on the strange scripts, and so he asked: "Can you read it?" "Y-yes, it... it reads: In honor of the champions... of the Two... I mean Second Long Dark War. May their," Sokun wracked his brain for the translation of the next words, "sacrifice... yes, sacrifice keep back the darkness." "Ah good! Very good!" Had'dah exclaimed. "I knew bringing you here was a good decision! Who but the renowned Mura Sokun could translate ancient Sto'kor scripts in a matter of minutes? My own contacts had trouble reading these scripts, but not you! You cracked it in only a minute. Ha!" But Mura ignored the Batarian's excitement and instead restrained himself from jumping up in joy, for he saw that on the desk were maps and satellites images of real Sto'kor ruins. Real-life Sto'kor ruins! "I can't believe it!" He whispered, afraid that he would soon wake up to find that this was all a dream, as he walked towards Had'dah's desk to review the images there. "You've done it. You've actually done it. You've found the impossible, a real Sto'kor planet," Mura said, his voice heavy, but his heart beating wildly as well. It was like a dream come true, and he did not know whether to thank Had'dah for bringing him here or curse him for his abduction. 314 was held by the Turian hierarchy, the very same Hierarchy that was presently hostile to the Citadel council, and he knew with some academic irritation that there was no way that Hierarchy would ever allow a Citadel exploration fleet to go through 314 until peace had returned between the two polities. So for this glorified grave robber to bring him here meant only one thing... "I will not help you!" Mura turned back to Had'dah, his earlier excitement gone. "Oh? Not help me with what exactly?" "I know what you are, and what you intend to do here, and I refuse to take part in any of it," Mura said bravely, despite his bindings. "I will not be your lackey!" Edan laughed at the little-boy taunt. "Partner would be a better term than Lackey, and despite your accusations, I am no grave robber." "Aren't you? You kidnap me and my assistant. You are looting an archeological treasure site. You bribe Turian patrols. You engage in slaver..." "Watch Your Tongue, Salarian!" Had'dah snarled. "I have been very patient with you thus far, but if you continue to anger me..." Had'dah let the threat hang, before putting on his brightest smile to cover the sudden lapse in anger. He can always take it out later on with Syla. "I may not be able to restrain myself." Had'dah's smile scared the Salarian. "Your suspicions are typical, doctor. So my associates and I decided that you may require the appropriate proof of our good will." Had'dah walked over to his desk and placed a datapad on its surface. He clicked on the screen to activate it and quickly walked towards the door. "What is this?" Sokun demanded. "You'll see," Had'dah answered as he closed the door shut. As the datapad loaded its main video file, Sokun's eyes were greeted by an old Salarian female, but one that was not unfamiliar to him. There was no mistaking the Salarian on the vidscreen; the aged features, slightly curved horns, the weary looking eyes. Mura would know her even in the underworld, for she was his Dalatrass, Xunyon. Mura had been particularly fond of his Dalatrass and she with him, for like him, Xunyon was a patroness of the arts and culture, and more importantly, she loved the Stokor legends. Mura had always known her to be a quiet and gentle soul, not prone to plots or manipulations. So to see her here now caused Mura's stomach to feel a little cramped. His instincts knew that something was very wrong here, something very troubling. "Hello Mura," the image finally greeted him solemnly. Mura felt himself tremble involuntarily, for he suspected what was about to come. "I apologize for involving you in this, Mura, I really am, but we have very little time left, and almost no margin for error. No doubt Mr. Had'dah has already explained to you where you are, and the nature of this operation... So I am sending you this message to make it official." The image on the scream took a brief calming breath before continuing. "Mura, what I'm about to ask of you will be on behalf of Sur'kesh and of the Salarian people, and not just for our bloodline." Xunyon paused trying to find better words. "I know what you think about Mr. Had'dah, and no doubt you feel like you don't want to have anything to do with him, but regardless of our feelings on the matter, he is at present, our partner." The way she said Partner made Mura's heart sink and his fears come to fruition. Mura was no fool. He knew that Dalatrasses often had to make many hard decisions, but to involve herself in this! How could she do this? How could she ally herself with this pirate, this glorified grave robber? Mura's thoughts were snatched back to reality by the vidscreen. "I am telling you this, because I trust you Mura. I trust you to know the right thing." "The Turians control 314. They control the passageway to the Sto'kor worlds. STG reports that they already know about the planet you're on now, but have yet to explore it due to financial constraints. But once they do, they will send everything they've got to loot and scour it for relics." Xunyon took a moment to calm her nerves. "If even a quarter of what I've learned about this planet is true then the Turians will gain a substantial amount of power from studying the relics buried there, and we cannot allow the Turians to have exclusive access to their technology Mura! We cannot! This kind of technology left to their hands would jeopardize the tenuous peace that we've worked so hard to create in previous decades." "Valern, along with the Asari and Krogan Councilors, are worried that the Turian will soon send fleets to explore the other side of 314. We are also worried that there may be Prothean relics there, so it's not just the Sto'kor ruins we have to worry about. Whichever way you look at it Mura, the situation is not good for us." "So we need to move in and take what we can, while the Turians are still preoccupied. And no, I will not explain to you how we discovered the Sto'kor planet. You don't need to know. Rest assured that our partnership with Mr. Had'dah has brought immense benefits to our interests, and you can better serve those interests by helping him excavate the Sto'kor ruins." "Once the mission is over, you will be turned over to STG operatives. The official story is that you were abducted by Krogan mercenaries in the employ of Turian pirates. They wanted you to translate several looted archeological relics from a Sto'kor burial site. However, before they could force you to do this Had'dah and his men came upon the pirates, rescued you and acquired the relics that they had illegally acquired from the planet..." Official Story! Mura thoughts. They've been planning this operation for a very long time, which means that all the necessary bribes and manufactured evidence are already in place to make the official story true, no matter how contrived it may seem. "Don't worry about this operation's secrecy. Some of my own agents are doing their absolute best to cover all the tracks - both yours and mine. As for Mr. Had'dah. Don't worry about him. He will not harm you. He knows full well what will happen to him and his business interests if he does. The Hegemony is our partner in this." Xunyon's image began to flicker and fade. "I wish I could give you more reassuring words, Mura, and I wish I had not forced you into this difficult position, but it is what it is. Know only that should this operation succeed, you will be considered as the greatest Salarian Xenoarcheologist in the galaxy. The Salarian who proved the existence of the Sto'kor." "Good luck Doctor, and forgive me." The file stopped and then went black. The small trail of smoke on its side indicated that the memory core had self-destruct and completely wiped clean. Sokun felt his face freeze and his mind go numb, as the message stopped. That had been Dalatrass Xunyon, his own Dalatrass had consorted with Batarian slavers and Krogan pirates to abduct him and use him to loot an ancient Sto'kor burial site. His mind reeled with this new realization. And the Councilors know about this! And he paused as he measured the benefits of his situation. I've always wanted this! To be the one to prove the existence of the ancient Sto'kor race. But not like this, not like... His thoughts were interrupted by a rumbling sound that seemed to be accompanied by a storm. His neck also began to ache and a terrible nausea pierced through his head. What in the name of Sur'kesh! The tremors worsened, and the datapad fell off the table and straight into the floor. "Sokun!" Had'dah burst into the room. "Sokun! Follow me" Mura ran to the Batarian, his hands still bound behind him. What's wrong? "It's an emission!" Edan yelled to make himself heard. "A what!" "An emission! Come, your assistant is already safe in the bunker below. We have to hurry!" "What's an emission?" Mura persisted "I don't know! But we've had them ever since we landed on this planet, and they're extremely fatal. They seem to be connected to the Satakar. Their records and murals confirm it. How or why they created this is a mystery to me." "The Sto'kor created this? Incredible!" "I don't know for sure, doctor. But we won't be able to know if you stay here. Now come on, before you get us both killed!"
The Scientists and all those labcoat Zasranees would have you believe that the Zones and the Noosphere are some sort grand mystical power beyond our understanding, but they are wrong. There's no mystery to uncover. The simple truth is that humanity is insane – plain and simple. We've always been insane, and always will be. We are the most insane shitheads in the entire universe, and our insanity simply spilled out of our heads and became the Zones. And our insanity has been trying to eat us ever since... So there! Mystery solved! Now, get hell out of my bunker, Durak! - Noah, On the Meaning of Insanity. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Krogan who led the patrol through the narrow ravine was called Hailut Nex. Even among his species he was quite large, and was often described by his mercenary brothers as someone who couldn't get out of his own way, a description that was both a compliment and an insult, depending on his mood. There were five of them in the patrol, he and his four Batarians subordinates, and presently, they were trying to navigated their way through a narrow, winding rock-filled ravine that connected their camp to several swamps and unexplored caves. It was a daunting task, and made even more difficult by the fact that they were doing it in the middle of the night, during a fierce thunderstorm, while an emission was only minutes away. And to make matters worse, Nex and his patrol knew next to nothing about the areas that surrounded their camp and the ravine, which meant that all kinds of danger may be lurking right around the corner. Strange noises and skittering movements could be heard on almost every rock and bush, their sounds only slightly muffled by the falling rain and the occasional thunder. Save for surface scans from their ship, Nex's patrol didn't really know much about the surrounding area, and this made their jobs all the more dangerous - a condition that Nex had no problems with. Hailut Nex was Hailut Vog's 5th cousin twice removed, and although familial relation certainly helped to secure his employment in Vog's relatively popular warband, the Krogan's membership into his cousin's merc company was driven more by his innate ruthlessness than simple nepotism. Nex, like Vog, were true Krogan warriors, a fact which allowed them to maintain their reputation wherever they went, including here... On this wretched Stokar planet, working for that scheming little pyjak, Had'dah, Nex thought. Vog, Nex and the rest of their Krogan mercenary brothers were members of Clan Hailut, a distaff bloodline of Clan Hailot. Unlike their parent clan, however, Clan Hailut did not like the discipline or civic mindedness of Krogans like Hailot Wrund (leader of Clan Hailot), who prefered negotiations over good old fashion fistfights, a sentiment which caused many Hailut clansmen to go rogue and become pirates or mercs in the Terminus systems. Nex held up a tightly clenched fist to halt his entire squad, when he noticed something strange in the shadows up ahead of the ravine. Perhaps it was the sudden shift in the wind or the way his hump seemed to have suddenly become a little heavier, but he thought he saw dark figures flittering about in the bushes and the rocks. "What is it?" the lead Batarian behind him asked impatiently. When Nex didn't respond, the Batarian spoke up again a little too quickly for his preference. "One of those emissions is about to erupt, and you're wasting our time." When Nex didn't answer again, the Batarian almost shrieked: "Nex! I don't want to die here! " The Krogan scanned the area, ignoring the Batarian's pleas. He knew exactly what an emission can do. He had been part of the first wave that explored the planet, and he knew exactly what to expect: Certain Death. They learned about these storms from the one of the ruins; murals that depicted red colored storms, known to the Stokar as emissions. They were supposedly related to something called a Noosphere, whatever that is, and were apparently some form of energy discharge. Had'dah was convinced that emissions were artificial, created by the Stokar through some sort of arcane technology, but Vog and the rest of his men had their doubts. All they had at the moment was conjecture. Nex didn't really care though. All he needed to know was that emissions were fierce red thunderstorms that killed anything with a pulse and disabled most electrical devices. Surface scans of the planet revealed that these emissions regularly erupted all over the surface of the world, covering vast stretches of land and oceans with their presence, and leaving only death and destruction in their wake. Had'dah's scientists couldn't figure out what caused these emissions, and this only increased the fear and anxiety in their camp. Everyone knew about the Stokar legends, about how red colored storms followed them around or heralded their coming. Nex never did believe in myths. He believed in his looted-from-a-dead-Justiciar Disciple Shotgun, and he believed in Vog, his cousin. But myth or not, they were on a Stokar planet, and the red colored storms of ancient stories matched the descriptions of the emissions, and therefore could not be construed as coincidence. Though he would never admit it, some instinct deep inside Nex shrank away whenever the emissions would come, and he hated himself for being afraid of them, and more importantly, for not knowing why he was afraid. "Nex!" The Batarian pleaded again. "I thought I saw something," Nex replied calmly. "Well, what do you want us to do?" Another Batarian asked behind him. "Keep moving!" Nex snapped without further explanation. The Batarians began to grumble, angry at being pushed around by this outsider. "Krogan piece of shit," one of the Batarians whispered to himself at the back of the column muttered. "Shut it!" His companion hissed. "You want that bastard to hear us?" Nex didn't hear any of the mutterings of his men through the thunderstorm, but he felt them all the same. He knew that the Batarians wanted him dead. They never did like him, or his cousin Hailut Vog, or any of his other mercenary Krogan brothers for that matter, but he also knew that none of them would dare defy Had'dah, and this gave the cocky mercenary a feeling of sadistic power. He and his merc brothers were useful, whereas Had'dah's men were not. The Batarians, he knew, were mostly conscripts, chaff to be discarded if they couldn't make the break. Had'dah like his men that way – cheap and expendable, so it was only natural for Nex not to bother to learn any of their names. And besides, he wasn't the kind of mercenary anyway, the one who always tries to make contacts. Unlike his cousin Vog who liked to rub shoulders and make a reputation, Nex just enjoyed shooting things and killing them, which is why he was always sent out on patrols or carry out dirty tasks, jobs which he, in turn, enjoyed for the danger as much as the opportunity to kill things. And he was good at killing, and this planet had a lot of things to kill. From the smallest rodents to the largest apex predators, everything on this planet seemed to have a murderous, psychotic instinct, and this was no exaggeration. He had seen little pyjak-like creatures sadistically tear off the limbs from their prey, torturing them and making them feel as much pain as possible. He had seen predatory avian creatures bleeding their enemies before ripping them apart into shreds, screaming their ecstacy. He had seem fat, bulky creatures maul their own fellows in a fit of psychotic rage that Nex had never seen among animals in Tuchanka. He saw massive predators slaughter large numbers of prey and just leave their meat behind. He saw Varren-like creatures tear off the limbs of their victim one at a time, letting it suffer in agony for several long painful minutes, before finishing it off. He had even seen hordes of sharp-clawed rodents rush an absent minded Batarian excavator and dragged him kicking and screaming to their holes, ignoring the mass accelerated rounds that killed their fellows, as they scurried away with their prey, their mind driven by nothing more than the pure instinct to cause death and pain. This and many other things Nex saw, and although he was not disturbed by such sights (he was a Krogan after all), they did make him feel like there was something unnatural about them. Nex had known a lot of dangerous, powerful animals on his homeworld. Hell, he saw nothing on this planet to compare with the Thresher Maws on Tuchanka. But Thresher Maws killed for food and survival. They did not sadistically cause their prey pain, nor did they instinctly hunt just to kill. The animals on this planet though... They killed for the sake of killing, caused pain for its own sake. "Boss..." One of the Batarians from behind piped up, interrupting his thoughts. "Boss, do you think what you saw was a S-Satakar?" "Hey! Shut up! That's bad luck!" Another Batarian snarled. "I'm just asking." "Well, keep your damn questions to yourself until we're back at the base." "The Stokar are extinct," Nex answered calmly. "You saw their ruins. They probably blew themselves up like the Protheans. "But..." "But nothing. This place can play tricks on you, so just focus on getting back to base." Then without warning, one of the Batarian started reciting an old Batarian children's lullaby: Satakar of Red Storms and Magical Powers Leave Me Be in My Darkest Hours Grant My Wishes From Day to Day And Seek Other Creatures for Thee to Slay Oh Satakar, Do Not Trouble Me This Night For I – a Gentle Heart – Am Easy to Fright The superstitious Batarians felt better after one of their fellows had finished reciting the lullaby. "What in the name of Kalros was that?" Nex asked, contemptuously. "An old lullaby, boss," the one who recited answered, "it's said to keep the Satakar away or make them nice." "And you believe that?" The Batarian shrugged. "What's the harm?" "The Stokar are not fairies. They're an ancient alien race like the Protheans. They're no more magical than you or me." "What's the harm?" The Batarian repeated with a shrug. Nex only grunted a response and then quickened his pace, causing the Batarians to curse and complain as they ran to match their leader's pace, eager to reach the Tomkah that would take them back to base. Nex's five man patrol was one of three, each of which were meant to keep the perimeter to Had'dah's base secured, while the Batarians and their excavators - most of whom were slaves - dug out whatever treasures were hidden underneath the Stokar ruins. And they were Stokar ruins. Nex had no doubt of it. His deepest instincts confirmed it for him. Despite the damage of aeons, the ruins - about a dozen grounded starships and plant covered structures - matched the descriptions of all the Stokar vessels in ancient legends. Large, imposing vessels with sharp angles and unusually smooth surfaces, absolutely nothing like anything found in Citadel space, or even Prothean ruins. They seemed to many like large vessels in the form of complex geometrical shapes, for that was their design. Nex's favorite was a ship in the shape of a perfect diamond - or what he thought was a diamond. Whatever the vessel's true form may have been, it was long forgotten now thanks to the vines, trees and plantlife which have covered most of its half-buried hull. And they were going to loot all of it. According to the Opportunity Costs's scans, Had'dah's personal cruiser which presently orbited the planet, there were countless Stokar ruins scattered on the surface. Their encampment was deployed on one of these ruins, one of the largest on the planet in fact. These particular ruins - located inside a small crater about 8.5 km in diameter and may have once been a spaceport of some kind a long time ago, but destroyed during a war in some dim and distant past. Three ravines allowed passage in and out of crater, which made defense easy and patrols fairly convenient. The looters' base consisted of several heavily armed modular bunkers, automated defense networks and supply depots scattered around and among the ruins in the crater. Edan Had'dah had even wisely, or perhaps foolishly, converted one of the shattered starships into his own personal base, turning it into the central hub for coordinating all the various camps throughout the crater. The vessel itself was relatively intact and 3 km long... A 3 km ship. That ship was larger than the Destiny Ascension by a wide margin, and it isn't even the largest one in the ruins. There were plenty of other derelicts that were more imposing, but were unfortunately too thoroughly destroyed to be of any use other than as makeshift shelters. And as if that wasn't enough, there were also rumors that this planet may hold Prothean relics. Prothean Relics! In other words, they hit the big lode. If they could find these relics, and we will, Nex told himself confidently, then they will return to Citadel space with more credits than they could spend. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to the xenoarcheologists, the Stokar called this planet Shanxi, so Shangxi it was for Had'dah and his men. According to their probe's readings, Shangxi was supposed to be a garden world, and it was a garden work with a fairly stable atmosphere, a large amount of water and nitrogen, as well as a fairly diverse ecosystem. Despite the emissions, the strange anomalies that littered the planet's surface and the psychotic wildlife, Shangxi had the potential to support a relatively large population. In other words, it was perfect for colonization... At least on paper. The truth is that Shangxi was no paradise, and although it was not as bad as say, the Vorcha homeworld of Heshtok, what made it bad was that there was something very, very wrong about it. Most of Had'dah's expedition couldn't quite explain it, but the planet felt more like a tomb or an abandoned building than an actual planet. Every square inch of Shangxi feels like a cemetery or some long forgotten temple. It also didn't help that there were so many ruins nearby, not to mention the perpetually rainy weather and the drab and depressing milieu of... pretty much everything. Nex's thoughts were rudely interrupted as one of the Batarians called out to him. "What?" Nex snarled. "There! Can't you see 'em." Nex focused his eyes at the lone figure heading towards them. It was the Tomkah's driver, Mael'Oun Vas Kilar, a renegade Quarian from the Terminus Systems. He was limping towards them, almost seemingly injured. Ever since the Rannochian civil war, more and more political outcasts and exiles from Quarian Enclaves kept making their way into the Terminus systems, hoping to escape persecution from the ruling Junta which now ruled over all Quarian territories in Citadel space. "It's Mael!" "I can see that," Nex snarled. "Shouldn't he be at the Tomkah..." "Maybe something happened. Something bad. Boss, what if..." "Quiet! All of you," Nex snarled, as he ordered his men to reach the Quarian. "Boss!" Mael whimpered as he fell in front of the Krogan. He wore a standard Quarian suit, but it had too many damaged, patched up areas, indicating the hardships that Mael had gone through since his exile. He stood in front of Nex with most of his weight resting on his left foot, his right one bleeding and injured, and his bleeding hands clutching his abdomen. "They got the Tomkah. They took out the engines and... and the Nav system. We-we're stranded here." The patrol, including Nex, were dumbfounded. The sound of thunder in the distance, reminded them that their death was near. "You worthless Quarian son-of-a-bitch!" One of the Batarians whinned miserably as he tried to grab hold of Mael to choke him. "You had one job. One job!" Nex elbowed the Batarian aside, causing him to fall, and then followed it up with a vicious kick to his ribs. "Knock it off!" Nex snarled. "Mael, what are you talking about? Who attacked you?" "They tore through the hull. Fire and... and lights everywhere. Keelah, it was horrible. We can't go back that way. They'll cut us to shreds." As if on cue, a smoke began to rise from the direction of their Tomkah, close to the mouth of the ravine. Shoulders sagged and mouths opened agape, as Nex's whole crew realized that Mael was telling the truth. "We can't stay here," Mael added. "They're headed in our direction." "The emission," the Batarian whimpered. "What're we gonna do! We're standed here." "We still have time!" Nex said, for the benefit of his men, then he turned his attention back to Mael. "What happened?" Nex asked slowly and deliberately, but Mael could only stammer gibberish in response. "Who did it? Who dammit!" Nex asked louder. "Monsters," Mael stammered, "Demons." And then he fainted, dead, the damage to his suit finally killing him. Nex kicked the dead Quarian, furious that he had allowed whatever it was to destroy their only way out of the ravine and back to their base in the crater. "He was lying," one of the Batarians at the back said hysterically. "You know how Quarians are. Lying little thieves, they are. Mael was lying. He wanted us to die. That's it. He wanted us to die with him. I say we keep heading straight back to the Tomkah. That smoke could be anything. What do you guys say?" The rest of Nex's troops hesitated in nodding their heads, waiting for Nex or someone else to give them an alternative. "Well!" snarled the hysterical Batarian. A very loud thunder rumbled far away, heralding the coming of the emission. It was followed by a slight quake that quickly passed away. Both omens quickened the pulse of everyone present, including Nex. "What are you waiting for? You wanna die here? Come on! The Tomkah is only a few minutes away. We can reach it." As the Batarian moved forward, Nex extended his big meaty hands to stop him in his tracks. "Stay put!" Nex hissed ominously. "Rot in your shit, you Krogan filth. I'm going back to the Tomkah. It's our only way out from here." Three of the Batarian's eyes were twitching uncontrollably. "I said stay put!" "Your mother!" Before the Batarian could utter another word, his chest exploded into chunks of meat, as Nex fired his Disciple Shotgun straight into his torso. "Anyone else want to say anything about my mother?" Nex snarled. "I thought so. Listen up, you mutinous scum! Mael dragged himself all the way here to tell us that the Tomkah is destroyed, and judging by the way he looks, I'm inclined to believe him." "It's the Satakar," one of the Batarians muttered. It was the same one who recited the lullaby earlier. "We left the Tomkah on open ground," Nex continued, ignoring the muttering of his men. "If it was destroyed as Mael said then going there would be a lot worse than staying here. We won't have time to seek shelter, and... All of you shut up!" Nex snarled, as the Batarians began to protest. "And we don't know what's waiting for us there. I said shut up! Try to pretend that you're soldiers for a moment... Now, here's the plan. There's a cave not too far from here. We can reach it in less than five minutes if we hurry – plenty enough time to reach it before this emission hits." Nex opened up his Omni-Tool to show them their new destination. The image on the Omni-Tool revealed the ravine that they had been traversing in the past hour or so. One section of the ravine trailed off eastward towards a rather large underground cave. The Grey marking indicated that it wasn't explored, but at this moment it was their only option. The only other option was to trust faith and keep moving forwards towards the direction of the Tomkah, hoping that the vehicle was still operational. "We'll hide out there until this cursed emission is over. It won't be as cozy as our base, but it'll keep us alive." "We haven't explored that cave yet, boss," one of his men noted. "Well then. We're going to explore it today." "That's what they want us to do!" Shrieked the lullaby Batarian. "Who? Who wants us to do that?" Nex shouldered his way past the rest of his men until he was face to face with the protester. The Batarian looked down at Nex's armor, covered by his dead comrade's guts. "N-Nothing boss. I mean, no one. No one wants us to do anything." "Good," Nex grunted. "Now, if there are no further protests, I suggest we make our way to that cave." Despite their fears, Nex and his fellow mercenaries retraced their steps back to the section of the ravine that branched off towards the cave. All four of them hurried to their new destination, and as they quickened their pace, a strange silence seemed to emanate all around them. The nighttime noise disappeared and everything around them seemed quiet... To quiet, like there was a predator lurking in the shadows. "Boss, what do you think attack Mael and the Tomkah?" one of the Batarians asked through his exhaustion. "Don't think about it. Just focus on reaching that damn cave." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After three minutes of running, Nex and his patrol found the cave. It was small, but it was large enough for their needs. It was relatively safe too. No, signs of strange anomalous formations could be found inside the cave. There no pools of toxic chemicals. There were no floating balls of fire or electricity. There weren't even those strange gravitational distortion fields that sucks people up and tear them into pieces. Nex and his men had made it to the safety of the cave just in time. It was dark. Their loss of vision made the silence all the more unbearable, interrupted only by the sound of their breathing and the grinding of rocks underneath their footsteps. Even with the NV of their helmets barely allowed them to see their surroundings, but even so, they were more than thankful to have safely made it through. The cave was reasonably deep and stable, though there wasn't a lot of space to move around. Although the cave's passageways led to deeper places, the patrol wisely decided to remain as close to the mouth of the cave as possible. Nex and his men had to crawl close to each other, their kinetic barriers interacting with the thick air all around them, the dank smell of the cave filling their noses. Outside, it was clear that the emission was already taking place, loud booms and tremors could be felt even in the security of their little cave. "Everyone alright?" Nex asked. The Batarians nodded their heads and murmured their answers. "Good. We'll get through this." Nex scanned the faces of his three remaining men. Forgotten was their hate for him or the fact that he had shot one of their comrades. On their faces only remained fear. The darkness as well as their helmets concealed most of their faces, but the Krogan recognized enough to see that they were scared shitless. He was scared too, to be honest, but like any good Krogan, his bloodlust was stronger than his fear, and so tense wariness overpowered Nex's fears. As the emission continued outside, the air around them seemed to change and transform, becoming reddish, oppressive, unnatural. Nex and his men felt pain all over their body, their minds clouded and losing focus. One of the Batarians started swatting imaginary flies, while the other two began chuckling and muttering to themselves. Nex himself was not immune to these effects, as he began thinking he smelled smoke, and felt like he was floating on air. The one swatting the imaginary flies suddenly stopped and looked at Nex with a blank, smiling face, which then caused the Krogan to become irritated. "What the hell's wrong with you?" Nex yelled through the booming thunderstorms. The Batarian looked surprise and shook his head vigorously, and said something that was drowned out by the emission. He continued smiling. Nex was about to yell at the Batarian to stop smirking when a strange glowing mist covered his vision. It was then followed by a sharp, piercing noise that he was sure did not come from the emission or anything close by. Judging by the look of the two other Batarians, they too heard the noise. The sound continued to grow louder and louder, just as their vision lost focus. These culminated into a piercing pain in the back of their skulls, causing them to fall to their knees in agony. "Arrggh!" The Batarians cried out. Nex, too, began to growl in pain. The only one who didn't seem affected was the smiling Batarian, who cradled his rifle and rocked back and forth from where he sat. Submit, all of you. "Did you hear that?" One of the Batarians asked. Without warning, the rifles on the Batarian's hands were wrenched away by some unseen force, and then Nex's own Disciple Shotgun flew away from his palms as he struggled to fight the pain. All three weapons flew to some dark passageway that led deeper into the cave, a place where they would be impossible to recover. Amidst the unnatural high-pitched sounds and the rumbling thunder of the emissions outside, this sudden unexpected phenomenon struck fear into the hearts of the Batarians, and even Nex's courage faltered. The smiling Batarian was soon joined by another of his species, and both stood next to each other, smiling down at Nex and the one remaining Batarian who still seemed sane, coincidentally, it was also the same Batarian who recited the lullaby earlier. Their smiles were eerily unnatural, as if someone else was behind their face, moving them against their will. Submit! You are trapped. The cave you are in is filled with Anomalies that will rip you into shreds. And we guard the mouth of the entrance. "It's the Satakar," the lullaby Batarian whispered in terror. "Shut up!" Nex snarled at him and then turned to the two smiling creatures. "Are you the Stokar?" Both smiling Batarians frowned at this, as if Nex had said something stupid. Submit! And then the smiling Batarian who still had his rifle pointed it at Nex. This happened as the pain and the sound grew stronger. Satakar of Red Storms and Magical Powers... The lullaby Batarian began reciting. "Okay, we surrender!" Nex snarled hesitantly, and the mind-controlled Batarian nodded its head in acknowledgement. The noise began to subside and Nex felt his mind returning to normal. Outside, the emission was still going on, so they were clearly trap, but despite the odds, the Krogan still had a few tricks up his sleeves. Leave Me Be in My Darkest Hours As he got up from the ground, Nex launched a vicious Biotic Slam attack against his mind-controlled men, incapacitating both of them at the same time. Nex quickly followed through by stomping on one of the Batarian's necks and then quickly grappling with the one with the rifle. The darkness and the loud thundering noise of the emission made combat easy for Nex. The remaining smiling Batarian got off two shots, but both missed. As both combatants fought, the piercing noise returned and once again, Nex felt his eyes blurred by some strange force. Suuuuubmiiiiit! Grant My Wishes From Day to Day And Seek Other Creatures for Thee to Slay The Batarian who had not been mindcontrolled felt the strange force from earlier, and it caused him such fear that he quickly ran towards one of the tunnels which led deeper into the cave. "Nex! Over here! Hurry!" He cried, as he crawled towards the small tunnel. Nooo. Do not go thereeeee. "Hurrrrrryyyy!" The Batarian cried again, but Nex was too busy fighting his former subordinate, who fought like a maniac, thanks to the force that controlled him. Nex, however, got a lucky punch that disoriented his opponents, and quickly followed through with a chokehold that snapped the Batarian's neck in half, and just in time too. Outside the cave, growling sounds erupted from unseen monsters. They were coming for them. Oh Satakar, Do Not Trouble Me This Night For I – a Gentle Heart – Am Easy to Fright "Nex! I found a-" The fleeing Batarian's words were cut short as he stepped on a Rusty Hair Anomaly*, his kinetic barriers incapable of protecting him from its effects. The Batarian's screamed in agony as the anomaly's influence rapidly spread from his feet to his torso, disintegrating his flesh and hardsuit rapidly. Nex thought about rescuing the Batarian, but quickly brushed away such thoughts. Judging by his screams, the Batarian was already dead, and the emission outside showed no sign of disspating just yet, which meant that he was trapped. The inner parts of the cave was filled with anomalies. So he was trapped after all. There would be no escape for him, and he saw that the creatures from outside were already close by, their eyes glowing red, and their growls as terrible as the emission's sounds. With the piercing noise still ringing in his ears and his vision still blurring, Nex forced himself up and took the rifle from the dead Batarian's hands. With a defiant scream, he yelled through his bloodlust: "Come on! Come on! Comeon! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all! I'll drink your blood!" And then the monsters attacked. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The creature who led the troop of Poltergeists, Burers, Controllers and Blood suckers was known as a human, but more than just a human, he was also a Stalker, and like all Stalkers, he is a creature of the Zone, a reflection of its power and fury. In the ravine where Hailut Nex and his men met their end, the Stalker and his own minions gathered what was left of their gear, mostly weapons and a few Omni-Tools. Clothed in a simple Ghillie Suit - which concealed hidden powers and potent weapons - the Stalker first examined the cave that Nex and his men retreated to, and then examined the trail that they had followed prior to the emission. The Stalker was over 10,000 years old, a staggering number for a human from ancient Terra, but for him, it was not really that big of a deal. There were humans now who are more than 40,000 years old; some even older, tracing their lives all the way back to pre-spaceflight earth millenia ago. So it really wasn't a big deal, nor was it even remotely impressive. Despite their effective immortality, humans spent an overwhelming portion of their lives in their Sarcophagi, existing in a state of suspended animation, their collective Noospheric powers combined to control the Zone which covered all known human space. The Stalker rubbed his temples as he looked at the body of the Krogan, the Quarian and the various mauled pieces of Batarian. They had been laid out in orderly little rows for him to inspect by his Blood sucker servants. Close behind him, walked two Burers and a rather small and frail-looking Controller, each of whom played a crucial role in this ambush. He walked by each of the dead aliens, carefully observing their equipment and their bodies. He had never been to either Tuchanka or Karshan, though he had briefly visited Rannoch about 8,000 years ago. From the stories told by other Stalkers, he had expected the aliens to be larger, but here, looking at them up close, he was rather disappointed. He had expected strange, monstrous killing machines from beyond the stars, and they didn't really measure up to these expectations. He was further disappointed by the results of his mission. He was supposed to capture the aliens, not slaughter them. The patrol had been a target of opportunity. The emission gave them the perfect chance to capture a few prisoners and examine their weapons before they could return to their base in the old, abandoned Starport. Instead, they got a bunch of dead corpses, some damaged weapons and "Omni-Tools" and burned out Tomkah. The original plan had been to destroy their APC-like vehicle; which would then predictably force them into nearest cave. From there, the Stalker and his team of mutants would subdue them with a psy-pulse from the Controllers and then with the help of the Burers, telekinetically relieve them of their weapons. That had been the plan, and it was easy enough to follow. Instead, everything went wrong since step one. First, the Quarian decided to play hero, getting himself wounded in the process, and then the Krogan decided to kill one of his own men when they had an altercation on their way back to the Tomkah. And as if that wasn't enough, he had not anticipated that the Krogan had Biotic abilities, or that he and the other Batarian would be able to resist the Psy-signal meant to subdue them. "Dammit!" The Stalker cursed. "It could have been worse, Shepard," Joker, the Controller next to him said somewhat apologetically. "It could have been better too, Joker," the Stalker called Shepard answered not unkindly. He then turned to the Blood suckers who were sent to apprehend Nex once it was clear that the mission had gone to shit. "Any of you hurt?" He asked the Blood Suckers, especially the ones who had been sent to subdue Nex. "Only Fragt'thu, lord. The lizard thing shattered his ribs during the attack." They answered in their clicking, snorting language. "Doctor will personally take care of Fragt'thu. Anyone else?" They all shook their head, although Shepard noticed that three of them were bleeding. Blood Suckers were quite tough, but they weren't invincible. Shepard made a mental note to have these three see Doctor as soon as they returned to camp. "Any of you?" He turned to the Burers. "No lord," both Burers answered and then lowered their heads in penitence. They were garbed in long flowing dark robes, just like feral Burers, but unlike their feral cousins, their garments were profoundly more elegant, and their form – untouched by the intrinsic monstrosity of the Zone – looked slender and less monstrous than wild Burers. "And please forgive us." "There's nothing to forgive. You did everything as you were told to do. We are pleased by your performance." Shepard was not pleased, of course, but what he said was also true. The Burers did do what they were told to do. The Burers and Poltergeists who destroyed the Tomkah were not supposed to harm the Quarian driver, but Mael had made the very stupid mistake of trying to shoot the attacking Burers, a mistake which caused several cuts to his suit and a shattered arm. The Burers tried their best not to kill him, of course, as per Shepard's orders, but he almost forgot how fragile Quarians were. As for the Batarians and the Krogan... They had caused their own deaths by trying to escalate an already dangerous situation, and they had been in a dangerous situation prior to their deaths. They just didn't realize it. They were clearly trapped, and yet they still chose to fight. Was it out fright? More accurately, it was out of terror and desperation. "We ask for forgiveness nonetheless," one of the Burers said in its low, growling voice. Its plain, rock-like face genuinely penitent. "Again, it wasn't your fault," Shepard said kindly, and then quickly dismissed them. "Do you think we could have done better?" Joker asked. The Controller was thinner and taller than the Burer, but also much bulkier than Shepard, and his head was significantly larger and filled with features that made him seem both wise, and infinitely inhuman at the same time. "Maybe. But they," Shepard nudged the dead Krogan's hand a little, "died because they lost their nerves." He then became dour. "Should have listened to a good warning when they had the chance." "SSSsuuuubmiiiit," Joker imitated Shepard's voice. "Yeah, they'll surrender to a scary voice in their head alright." "Shut up Joker." "Ha!" "Problem?" A voice intruded into his mind. It was his Stalker brothers still connected to Shangxi's C-Conciousness. "Your thoughts sound a little disappointed, Bratan." "They ended up killing themselves." "So we heard..." "What about their gear? Are they still intact?" Shepard took a bloody Batarian hand and examined the Omni-Tool still attached to it. The device glowed orange, indicating that it was still more or less functional. "Yep. More or less." "Define more or less." "They're covered in pieces of Batarian and Krogan. Though the Burers did a hell of job taking away their weapons. Does that answer your question?" "No need to be snide, Shepard. We'll let that lazy bum, Ashot sort their shit out. Good job, Synok. Get back to base." "Roger, Yar. Heading back." "Hey! You don't know where that's been," Shepard snarled at one of the Bloodsuckers trying to suck on a Batarian's severed foot, who promptly dropped its prize after attracting the Elder Kin's attention. "You can drink that later after we've sure it's safe for you to drink. For now, help me with this." Shepard signalled to his Bloodsucker companions to gather the fallen equipment of the patrol and anything else that they could carry. The bloodsuckers then carefully gathered the bloody Batarian limbs inside the little pouches which hung around their shoulders, and went to work salvaging the primitive machines of the interlopers. After they've done their task, the Stalker and his mutant servants retreated into one of many dozen well hidden teleportation and space bubble anomalies that littered the area, and back to their underground lair where hundreds of Stalkers - the unseen masters of Shangxi - dwelt in secret.
