The Shadow of Old Transgressions (Homeworld/Mass Effect Crossover Quest)

Main Mission
Warn the Galaxy of the Pirate Threat
- The Keepers of the Lost
Technically you have already warned the Keepers. But you aren't sure how they took it, and you've gained more data since then. You could go to one of their major hubs, but you aren't certain what their response would be.

- The Gardens of Kadeshi
You still have friends among the Kadesh. They will certainly listen to you, and they'll certainly take your warning seriously. But they guard their gardens with religious fervor already, and you'll have to be very convincing to get them to send any aid out of the nebula.

- The Exiles of Kharak
The universe has dealt the Exiles a hard hand. And as a Bentusi you have a deep cultural bias towards lending them aid when possible. They are certainly fierce warriors, and their homeworld is already heavily defended. But they are bound by treaty not to develop hyperdrives, and you are bound by that same treaty to not give them hyperdrive technology. You aren't sure what help they could actually provide.

- The Vaygr Tribes:
It's a long shot. You aren't even sure if the Vaygr tribes even have a central leadership at the moment. Much less where it meets. And the Vaygr are fairly hostile to everyone around them including the Bentusi. But still they might be worth a warning. They certainly have the military power to contribute if you can convince them.

- The Irune Financial Sphere:
Most of the minor races affiliated with the council are going to follow the Taiidan Republic's lead and will probably ignore you. But the Irune convoy was there when Talus died. They have already been attacked at least once, and if they had more convoys in that area they may have lost even more ships. If nothing else you still have a credit with their banks that might be useful.

Side Missions
Cultural Ties:
The Bentusi take pains to keep their activities away from the rest of galactic civilization. As a mostly ship bound civilization this is usually as easy as jumping away if they detect galactic scouts in the area. But sometimes there is something that can't be moved. In this case a progenitor wreck that the Keepers haven't found yet. A Bentusi archeology team is examining it, and by chance a Taiidan exploration expedition has found them. As is standard the Bentusi have politely told them to go away. But the expedition is still hanging around the nearby systems. High Minister Telassa has asked if you could smooth things over and allow the Taiidan expedition to explore the wreck, and perhaps ask the Bentusi a few questions as well. You'd normally say no, but Iuno wants another chance to flex her diplomatic muscles. A favor from a High Minister would not be a bad thing to have either.

Rewards:
Favor from High Minister Telassa
Contacts in the Taiidan Diplomatic Corps

Raider Rumble:
A small colony of the Illuminated Primacy is suffering from pirate problems. Raiders are attacking convoys as they travel to and from the colony. The Primacy does not have the naval capacity to deal with the raiders and has requested aid from the galactic council. Now Minister Scrimius has passed that request on to you. The Taiidan navy could deal with it, but the navy has a lot of bureaucratic red tape that needs to be waded through before it sends fleets out to deal with anything. You would certainly be able to take care of the problem a lot faster. It's definitely not the Ebony Pirates behind the raids, but the Primacy would be grateful if you dealt with it, and you'd save some lives. Ulysses thinks you might be able to parlay it into getting help from the Taiidan navy later. Since you would essentially be doing their job for them.

Rewards:
Favors from the Illuminated Primacy
Option to call on the Taiidan Navy

Ancient Assets:
Minister Fiheo has contacted you with a proposition. He has records of anomalies that, after correlation with your data, he is fairly sure is another buried Megalith. He could just send a team out himself, but one thing you did not include in the briefing was your megalith translation protocol. In fact you didn't even mention it, but Fiheo can read between the lines. He knows you must have accessed the Megalith somehow. He'll give you the location if you agree to cooperate with a Salarian team of archeologists in excavating the Megalith. You aren't entirely sure if there is actually a connection between the Megaliths and the Ebony Pirates, but it was fascinating, and without the time pressure it would be interesting to learn more about something so old. Aurora is pretty sure she can siphon some of the exotic matter out of the Megalith as well.

Rewards:
Contacts in the Taiidan Intelligence Service

Ghosts of the Conclave:
Laverna has finally gotten around to telling the rest of you what had her and Aurora so distracted during the meeting. Apparently they found traces of someone hacking the Conclave's systems. It could just be a random spy, but it was much deeper and more proficient than most races in the galaxy can manage. The hacks delved into the original progenitor subsystems not just the layers the Bentusi and council races built on top. It could have been a very skilled spy from one of the flicker races, but really there's only three likely possibilities. It was a Keeper, a Kadeshi, or a Bentusi. None of which should be here. Or technically a Bentusi could be here, but you weren't informed of anyone on pilgrimage and didn't see anyone on your way in. It's not really related to your mission, but it could be interesting to find out what is going on. Laverna certainly wants to.

Rewards:
???

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Missions:
At the end of every segment of the Quest you will be given the option to pursue a Main Mission or Side Mission. This will allow your character to finish that mission over the course of the next few updates. You will then recieve the listed reward. However you may also acquire other things during the mission. For instance the Ancient Assets will reward you with access to Fiheo's old friends in the intelligence service, but you might also be able to gather information and material from the Megalith.

Occasionally time critical events will occur that will interrupt your ability to do missions. Sometimes they may clear your mission log entirely. You will hear rumors or get reports before this happens. I am also willing to explicitly tell you if you reach a mission point and the next thing after that would be a critical event. It depends on whether you all want that level of OOC information.

The Garden of Kadesh
The Kadeshi are not a well known species in the galaxy. This is for the simple reason that they give anyone who stumbles into their garden the choice to join them or die. Some do choose to join and many choose to die, but no one returns from the Gardens to report on the Kadeshi to the wider galactic polity. There are only two exceptions to this.

When the Bentusi first encountered the Kadeshi they were given the standard options. The Bentusi replied that they had passed through the nebulae many times already, but that just incensed the guardians. So the Bentusi fought their way out and jumped away. The same situation happened once or twice every few centuries until the Kadeshi elders decided that the Bentusi inertia-less drives didn't actually pollute the gardens and they were grudgingly accepted.

The second exception is the Keepers. And that is because before there were Kadeshi and Keepers there was only the Quarians and Geth of the Rannoch Union. The Union was a burgeoning empire in the time before empires when even the Unbound were merely wandering traders. Using advanced gestalt intelligences and cryosleep the Union expanded outward colonizing system after system. And in the process they found Progenitor ruins of all types.

For a time these ruins thrust the Rannoch Union into a golden age. Their technology grew by leaps and bounds, and they colonized dozens of worlds. But the same technology that had propelled them so far proved to be their downfall. For as their gestalt servants grew ever more advanced they took over and more and more of the work of actually exploring the ancient derelicts. And eventually they found something. What exactly is unclear, but when they brought their discovery back it sparked an irreconcilable schism with their masters.

The Quarian sought to exterminate their servants, and the Geth fought for their own survival. The war raged for decades across dozens of systems. But the intelligences controlled the sleeper ships that kept the Union together. No matter how fiercely a system resisted, it was cut off and alone. Eventually the intelligences captured each system one by one, and with great finality forced their former masters into exile.

The exiles were forced to leave in whatever ships the Geth happened to have on hand. In their ramshackle fleet they wandered from system to system. Each trip across the stars took years and without the use of their former servants to probe new systems quickly they found no planets suitable for their unique biochemistry. Eventually they decided that if planets could not be settled, then they would live in space instead. Although truthfully it was less a decision and more necessity as their ailing ships broke down in the rich nebulae that they would one day name the Garden of Kadesh.

It was a great tragedy that only a few years later Bentus discovered the Hyperspace Core and united Unbound clans into the Bentusi. When Bentusi traders jumped into the former space of the Rannoch Union to offer much upgraded hyper drives they found only ruins with both organic masters and artificial servants long gone. It would be centuries before they pieced together the story of what happened to the formerly thriving nation.

Sector 17
The Garden of Kadesh
Empty Space

After several weeks of travel your little flotilla jumps out of hyperspace into an empty patch of the void. There is nothing here. No stars, no planets, and no artificial structures. It's not at all a usual destination spot.

"There's nothing around. Why'd you insist we come here," complains Laverna.

"Because of that," you highlight a portion of the flotilla's sensor network. In it a massive cloud blots out the void. A splotch of vibrant colors that is both beautiful and incongruous to see among the black of space. It is of course the Garden of Kadesh. A gigantic nursery nebula harboring a dozen protostars.

"We still could have jumped in directly," grumps Ulysses.

"Someone didn't do their pilgrimage in the Gardens otherwise you'd know they hate that." You're actually a little surprised that Aurora spoke up before you did. You hadn't realized she had also done a pilgrimage here.

"Yeah it's better if we think things over a bit first. We don't want to get off on the wrong foot and get the same brushoff the Council gave us."

"Ooh, I've been reading up on this. I've got the standard approach protocols memorized. Let me give it a try," Iuno sounds particularly enthusiastic for once, but you instinctively recoil. Technically the standard greeting and approach is the Bentus approved way of dealing with the Kadeshi, but it takes so long to go through properly. You did it once when you first approached as fresh and eager pilgrim, and it took weeks for them to consider whether or not to allow you entrance. You had to retune your engines three times before they were satisfied you wouldn't leave any corruption.

"I was thinking I'd just jump in and contact my old buddy, Limmu'Zefal nar Gubra. She should be able to get us a meeting with their elders."

"Good idea. I'd give you the info of my old friends, but uh I don't think they're still around." There's a moment of silence as you all reflect on the euphemism. No one likes to be reminded that friends who were vibrant and alive at the last meeting might have died already. Bentusi friends might not even talk for years and still consider each other close. That doesn't work with flicker friends. You really hope nothing has happened to Limmu. It hasn't been that long, has it?

1. How do you approach the Kadeshi?

[] Jump right in:
Ulysses is right, you're bringing the Kadeshi an urgent warning. The faster you can talk with them the better. Jump right into the central Garden and get a meeting with the Kadeshi elders. You know for a fact that they won't be happy about this, but you've got the guns and armor to deal with any hotheads.

[] Go in by yourself:
It probably wouldn't be a good idea to barge right into the Kadeshi central areas, but you know where your old Kadeshi friends used to hang out. You could leave the flotilla at the edge of the Garden and jump in yourself to see if you can get in touch with some of your buddies.

[] Broadcast a Message:
Separating from the flotilla might also be a bad idea though. You're the main defensive ship in the flotilla and you don't have any guns of your own so it wouldn't be safe for either you or them. Wait at the edge of the Garden and let Iuno do her thing and broadcast a message to the Kadeshi. It's the most polite way to not intrude on the Garden, and someone will come out to meet you. Eventually.

---

The five of you weren't idle on your journey to the Garden. In your down time between jumps you all pursued various activities and hobbies. You sparred with Ulysses in the combat simulators, answered Iuno's question about the Kadeshi and occasionally helped Laverna and Aurora with their engineering work.

Most of all though you thought about the future. What might happen if you run into the pirates again. How it would be best to approach each group with the warnings. Do you actually even want to fight the pirates again yourself or just get everyone ready to face them. You ran simulation after simulation gaming out various scenarios.

And after all that you think that the flotilla could still stand to improve a little. Unfortunately asking people to modify themselves is a bit of a touchy subject as they literally need to change their body and mind. Plus Aurora has limited ability to modify ships once they have been completed. Still you think it's important, and you feel like you have a good enough relationship to talk about these things. So you mustered your arguments and approached one of your companions.

2. Who did you convince to make some changes?

[] Iuno: Shield Modules
You talked with Iuno and convinced her that she should have some defenses. She had to sacrifice half of her living quarters, but in return she can support a defensive field more or less equivalent to your original one.

[] Ulysses: Missile Pods
Ulysses doesn't really have the ability to make many changes to his vessel as almost everything is dedicated to his siege ion cannon, but you talked him into mounting some anti fighter missile racks for point defense.

[] Laverna: Torpedo Forge
Laverna already has a fighter forge. With a bit of tweaking it could make torpedoes as well. She won't be able to make fighters or bombers quite as fast, but she'll have some long range bombardment capability of her own now.

[] Aurora: Turret Deployer
You thought it might be handy if your little flotilla could deploy drone sentries on occasion, but the only one who could possibly do so is Aurora, and you don't really know her well enough to ask her to make those kinds of changes to herself.

[] Yourself: (Write In)
Of course you can modify your own vessel with no arguments at all. But you still don't have a lot of leeway to do so. About the only thing you could do would be to trade some of your shielding capabilities for other systems such as weapons or different specialist abilities. (In game terms you can trade your Special at a 3 for 2 ratio.)

Sector 17
The Garden of Kadesh
The Sphere of Contemplation

As you exit the hyperspace gate there is the usual moment of disorientation. After the nothingness of hyperspace your sensors come online and register the largest and closest objects first. The diffuse gas cloud surrounding you, the old progenitor wreckage drifting through space, the pirate capital ship launching a wave of interceptors.

Before you can even register the threat on a conscious level your automatic systems shunt full power to your defensive field. The Bound rely on their instincts, but you find a well programmed priority list is far more useful. Now safely behind your defenses you rapidly take in the rest of your surroundings even as you prime your reactors for combat conditions. Fortunately it appears that that wave of interceptors you saw aren't headed your way. Unfortunately that's because they are headed towards a Kadeshi mothership.

In fact this battle seems to have been going on for some time now as that is only the latest wave of interceptors. Dozens more are clashing with Kadeshi swarmers. It's a brutal fight, but from experience you know this isn't about defending the mothership. The fanatical fighters in those swarmers care more about destroying the defilers of the Garden than defending their home. The resulting battle is strangely hypnotic. It reminds you of a video you saw once of some terrestrial fish. Two shoals made up of hundreds of individuals weaving in and out of each other. Fortunately there aren't quite so many interceptors as that here.

The fighter dogfight isn't the only part of the battle though. Pirate frigates are attempting to close with Kadeshi fuel pods, but they are being fought by a wing of advanced swarmers. Strangely you don't see any Kadeshi frigates. You aren't certain what's keeping the Mothership from producing any. You may have made friends with the Kadeshi, but they didn't tell you all their secrets.

Neither side seems to have noticed you quite yet, but you are involved all the same. Both the pirate carrier and Kadeshi mothership are using hyperspace inhibitors, and the resulting interference is preventing you from jumping back out. It's not quite the worst case scenario, that would be facing the pirate carrier completely alone, but you don't have your flotilla to back you up. As a further annoyance it seems Kadeshi comm protocols have changed since the last time you were here. Not normally a huge problem, but you won't be able to talk to them before you can decrypt the new protocols.

1. What do you do?
[] Cover the Fuel Pods:
The fuel pods are vital to Kadeshi battle tactics. If they are destroyed the entire swarmer shoal will be crippled. You can't talk with the Kadeshi right now, but you don't need to for this. Just wade into the fight and cover the fuel pods with your defensive field. They will probably shoot at you a little just on reflex, but hopefully they'll realize you are Bentusi quickly enough.

[] Cover the Mothership:
It's not quite as tactically critical, but if any pirate gunships make it to the mothership they might be able to do some damage. If the mothership is crippled it would leave all the swarmers stranded, and definitly turn the tide of battle. Moving to protect the mothership would prevent this, and it also has the advantage of not immediately putting you into the middle of the battle. The longer approach also means you're unlikely to be attacked. By the Kadeshi at least.

[] Decrypt the Comm Protocols:
Of course you'll be doing this no matter what. But if you wait outside the battle proper you'll be able to devote your full attention to the matter and thus get the protocols cleared up faster. That will let you talk with the Kadeshi ensuring there is no friendly fire and coordinating your tactics. They may take losses in the meantime though. It's a war of attrition, and the Kadeshi seem to be losing.

[] Flee the Battle:
You aren't being attacked; you could just turn around and move out of the hyperspace interference zones. It would take a while to get far enough on your STL engines, but it could be done. No, this is the entire reason you came to warn the Kadeshi. You won't leave them to their fates.

[] Attack the Pirate Carrier:
You don't have any traditional weapons, but any set of repair tools can be used for disassembly instead. From experience you know how heavy the weaponry the pirate carrier is and if you're careful you should be able to dodge and tank enough fire to get right up to the carrier and grapple it. Then you can start eating into the hull. There won't be much the carrier can do about you then. This is a fairly suicidal move, but it might just work.

---

You stand atop the decaying remnant of a world. Every stride you take breaks through the husks of decaying buildings, and the crunch of abandoned machinery beneath you is an ever present companion. You can see others of your kind taking off, their holds full of material for processing. You envy them for all that you can feel is Hunger.

Your Hunger is eternal.

You remember sleeping in the void. Even then your Hunger was dull, but ever present. You dreamed of the time when you would consume the galaxy once more, but the time was not right. For eons you slept until at last you heard the call that roused you.

Your Hunger can never be sated.

As you step through another building you feel the flicker of regret. A wish for a time you can no longer remember. A time when you did not have the Hunger. The memories are gone, but you know they must have existed once for you can feel the shape of their absence. Before you can pursue this line of thought however, you spot a flicker of red. A bit of life trying to hide from you.

It is futile. You turn towards it to continue your harvest. The Hunger is always with you, but it can be briefly appeased.

---

By Sajuuk what just happened!

That felt far more real than any dream simulation. You felt as if you were actually on that world. In that vessel. A vessel that seemed awfully similar to the pirate carrier now that you think of it. You hurriedly comb through your data logs and are horrified to find a mass of corrupted code strung through your mind. It hooks into your sensors and seems to feed data directly into your memory banks. Like a Dream, but without the protective obfuscation layers.

Further searching through the time logs for the first evidence of corruption reveals traces from as far back as the first pirate battle. It must have escaped detection all this time and been triggered by the sensor data of the pirate carrier here. A good thing you never saw the pirate carrier near the Megalith then. A distraction then might have been fatal. It might be fatal now.

This is not good news. Not at all. Almost by definition you can't fully repair this yourself, because you would need to fix your mind with the same parts of it that are already damaged. You'd never be sure you got it all. The standard course of treatment in cases like this would be to find an elder, but not all elders have the delicate touch needed for this. You'd need to find one specialized in neurocleansing. Except would that even be enough? Bentus is one such elder after all, but they didn't find the corruption when they repaired your core. Just how advanced is this virus?

You'll need to deal with this somehow. That experience didn't take very long judging by your clock, but it did take time. If it happened while you were actually fighting the consequences would be dire. Unfortunately you don't have much time to consider your options. The battle is still in progress, and you'll need to help the Kadeshi soon or they may suffer too much damage to be able to win this fight.

2. What do you do about your corruption?

[] Place a short term block:
You can isolate the damaged areas and place a block around them. This will prevent the corruption from interfering with your sensors and your thoughts, but it will also leave it to fester. That's just going to make the damage worse in the long run. Of course it's already been two months since the battle. Another few hours probably won't hurt.

[] Initiate Triple Redundancy:
Instead you can assign several of your sub minds to begin analyzing and repairing the damage. With triple redundancy they'll be able to see and scrub anything that attempts to corrupt your main systems. This will at least start to repair the damage. But allocating that many resources to the problem is going to significantly degrade your abilities while the protocols are running.

[] Commence Active Defragmentation:
There isn't a whole lot of piloting you actually need to do in this fight. Just get close to your target and keep it wrapped in defensive fields. You could assign some sub minds to fight this battle automatically. Meanwhile you could devote your full attention to getting the corruption under control. This would get the situation under control in the shortest possible time, but your sub mind would be nowhere near as effective as you in combat. Still if anything truly went wrong you would be alerted to retake control.

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Quest Note: Missile Pods it is. This update took a bit longer than I thought it would as I had to rewrite a few things that seemed too abrupt. So please let me know if it feels too heavy handed.