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

Aethon Cluster

System Aru
Irune Orbital Ring

While you wait for your contacts to get back to you about a meeting with the Assembly you discuss your findings over the past few weeks. You have started work on the passenger ark and have finalized its superstructure and internal systems but still need to work on the living areas and engines. Ulysses for his part has been discussing ship building technology with your Kushan and Kadeshi allies, but still needs some more time to finalize his thoughts on where they can help best.

Laverna meanwhile has finished her analysis of the exotic matter retrieved from the Megalith. Dubbing it Element Zero for its apparent lack of mass and in fact ability to manipulate the apparent mass of nearby objects by subjecting it to varying electrical fields. Laverna has determined a simple way to mount Element Zero in armatures inside a ship, and use them to radically alter its mass to be lighter thus making its engines far more effective. The downside of this is that nothing is free. The effectors require significant power to operate and space that most schematics you currently use are allocating for other systems. Plus of course the Element Zero itself.

Next Iuno presents her results on drone control and organization. By considering the flocking instincts found in some small terrestrial creatures she was able to come with a simple algorithm that can generate multiple non conflicting orders for a group of drones given a single input command. With a bit of refinement she then expanded this algorithm into a submind that will allow for a Bentusi to control groups of drones as reflexively as they do their other systems.

Meanwhile Aurora has been working on a drone vessel that can take some of the strain of maintaining those same flights of drones off her and Laverna. She started by taking a Shepherd frigate, as they are already extremely modular, and stripping out all its weapons to make room for a small hangar and foundry. Iuno's research came at just the right time as Aurora was able to work closely with her and incorporate the fleet hub into her own design. The result is a drone frigate that can be tasked with an operation and autonomously deploy a wing of drone strike craft to accomplish that task.

---

While you are all discussing the best way to use these results your contacts get back to with an invitation to meet an assembly member the next day. It isn't the full assembly, but you'll take what you can get.

Iuno deploys her envoy into the orbital ring. She runs a quick diagnostic given the more hostile environment in the station, but the envoy is holding up well. They are rated to be able to communicate with any alien species the Bentusi might meet, and the Vol Clan have been known to the Bentusi for thousands of years after all.

Regardless, the envoy travels to the office of one Councilor Lone Visola. The councilor is a good friend of the captain of one of the freighters you rescued and has agreed to speak with you as both a favor and for information. Apparently ships from the Irune Financial Sphere have been going missing with alarming frequency lately.

In the office the councilor nods at the envoy's entrance, "Ah greetings, a pleasure to speak with the Bentusi-Clan. I hear you have information for me."

"A pleasure for us as well, Councilor Visola. We do indeed have information. We have been listening to the void, and we have heard the traces of a group of pirates that have been terrorizing the entire galaxy. We first heard their dark song in this region so we have come to you."

"In our travels we have clashed with them several times and they have been a challenging foe indeed. Their vessels are tough, their weapons devastating, and they sing a dark melody that subverts the very minds of those that hear it." She transfers your package on the Ebony Pirates. You make a note to change the name it's becoming something of a misnomer.

Lone Visola pages through the summary, "That is indeed troubling. It would explain why we've lost so many ships as well. We've hired mercenaries, but from what I am reading here most mercenaries would not be capable of fighting these pirates."

"Indeed councilor. May we ask where you have been losing ships. We would like to continue our own investigations."

"Of course, of course. Feel free to contact Barsa Dun. His Pharla Company has been coordinating our mercenaries."

There are a few more pleasantries and the Envoy hovers out of the room. All in all you feel this was far more productive than your meeting with the Galactic Council. Now you want to look into these ship disappearances. They're almost certainly the work of the Void Wraiths, no that doesn't work. But even if not ships going missing in this area is one thing the Bentusi actually consider to still be their responsibility. These are the Old Trade Routes after all.

How do you wish to proceed?

[ ] Work with Barsa Dun
Coordinate your efforts with the Vol Clan and their mercenaries. It may require a bit of work to interface with an alien race and their flicker sensibilities, but you would likely be able to cover far more space. Plus having more firepower when fighting the Dark Raiders would be very useful.

[ ] Work Alone
You will still talk with Barsa Dun of course, but your flotilla will investigate alone. The mercenaries will have strictly lesser ships. Fighting with them will only slow you down and probably lead to many of them dying. You will search for the Void Reavers alone.

[ ] Check in with the Taiidan Navy
The Vol Clan is the protector of the Taiidan Republic. The Taiidan navy should have forces out searching for these pirates themselves. Lone Visola conspicuously didn't mention them however. There's a contingent in orbit of Irune though. You could ask them yourself.

---

No matter what you do you'll have some time before you need to set out. Time enough to do a little shipyard work. You have plenty of RUs saved up. You can afford to get quite a lot done. Though you may want to save something for later.

Pick any Combination that you can afford.
Physical Resources Units : 6,000 RU
Element Zero: 300 EZ
Bank Credits: 10,000 RU

[ ] Outfit a Ship with Mass Effectors (100 RU, 50 EZ)
Retrofit one of your ships with mass effector armatures. You'll have to take out some systems to fit them in. So whatever ship you choose will lose some capability, but in exchange they will become much faster.

• [ ] ME: (Pick a ship):
• This is repeatable as long as you have the Element Zero for it.

[ ] Outfit a Ship with a Fleet Hub (100 RU)
Retrofit one of your ships with a Fleet Hub. Like the mass effectors the fleet hub will take up enough space to negatively impact the ship's capabilities. However it will effectively double the number of drones that ship can control.

• [ ] FH: (Pick a ship):
• This is also repeatable.

[ ] Build a Shepherd Frigate (600)
[ ] Build a Shepherd Destroyer (900)
Aurora can build frigates in her hangars, but it will take her time. It would be faster and easier to have the shipyards here build one. Also it would be relatively simple to upscale the design and build a Destroyer class Shepherd while you are here. The destroyer version would be essentially a slightly inferior version of Laverna's Hive Destroyer.

• Shepherds already have Fleet Hubs built in.
• Since these were designed at the same time as the Mass Effectors Aurora has included variant schematics that allow for the inclusion of Mass Effector with no system degradation. The only reason they aren't standard is that you have limited supplies of Element Zero.
• You can build more than one if you want to.

[ ] Place a Down Payment on the Passenger Ark (6,000 RUs)
You don't have the schematics finalized yet, but you have enough of the structural design finished that you could have the shipyards start work on your Ark design. Given how large it is intended to be it might be a good idea to start construction sooner rather than later.

[ ] Build a Different Ship (See the Schematics Post for Cost)
Aurora can't build destroyers and frigates are difficult for her. It may be a good idea to build a few more backup vessels just in case someone loses a body.

Aethon Cluster

System Aru
Irune Orbital Ring

Once you've set up your various shipyard orders you leave the others to manage the actual construction while you message Barsa Dun. The mercenary captain is quick to respond.

"Greetings Bentus Clan I heard from Lone VIsola that you were interested in helping."

"Yes, we have been hunting a group of pirates for some time and we think they might have something to do with your ship losses. Can you bring me up to speed?"

"Of course, though there is not much to say. For the past few months our convoys have been going missing in the Great Rift region. We started assigning more guards, but that proved insufficient. The few survivors who escaped told of us great dark ships and unrelenting pirates who did not ask for ransom or give quarter. We eventually warned everyone to stay out of that region. Though of course a few fools never listen."

"I've been coordinating a few mercenary groups to try and clear out the pirates. We can't just let them infest the region. The Blue Fury and Dalatrass's Chosen are the two largest groups here. I'd be happy to have the help of the Bentus Clan."

You can't help but notice that this is still only mercenaries, "What of the Palaven Clan? Why are their forces not involved."

Barsa Dun snorts, "They have said they are busy. Something about other threats that they need to concentrate their forces for. It is just a farce. I have been telling the assembly for years that we should throw off their yoke."

You haven't spent this long around Iuno to not recognize an incoming political rant so you move to change the subject before Barsa Dun can get going. "Hmm, then please send us all the information you can. We will review it and see where we can best assist."

"Very well. Check it quickly though. We plan to leave within the next few days."

Your message protocols chime with a flurry of incoming data and you start to sift through pile looking for various connections the flicker races might have missed. You ping Ulysses for help. He enjoys this sort of thing.

What do you decide to do?

[ ] Join the Mercenary Offensive
It doesn't take a genius to plot all the disappearances and correlate them with the slip gates in nearby systems to find the most likely point of origin. And all the data very neatly points to one rather unremarkable system with a few gas giants, a nice asteroid belt, and one life bearing world. Perfect for a pirate base. Barsa Dun has connected those dots and the mercenaries are planning to scout the system in force. It's all a little too neat though. You don't like it. It feels like a trap. You better go along to make sure nothing goes wrong.

[ ] Look for survivors
There was one nearby convoy that didn't heed the general prohibition on travel through the area. They only left a few day ago so they may still be alive. You've plotted their likely course and think you could get to their next destination in time to rendezvous with them. If they haven't already been attacked, then that would allow you to save them and fight the void wraiths at the same time.

[ ] Look for another gas giant
There is another set of data Barsa Dun doesn't have. You overlay the megalith's records of this region of space looking for indications of other megaliths. If the megaliths are really transportation links as you think they are then it adds another web of potential systems that could be hiding the wraith base. You have identified the most likely candidate. Of course the megaliths are very very out of date, but at the very least there is probably another of the ancient structures there you can check.

---

Quest Note: A little short this time. But I feel getting something out is better than waiting on the perfect inspiration.

The Great Rift

System 856E
The Second Irune Convoy

Once your new drone ships exit the yards you wish Barsa Dun luck with the mercenary assault and begin your search for the reckless convoy. It takes you a few systems, but as you exit the gates in the fourth system your sensors pick up distress calls as they recover from the hyper jump.

It seems you're a little late. It brings up a little bit of regretful memory actually. There's the Irunese convoy under fire. There are the frigates and interceptors with their black armor. The carrier should be somewhere around. Ah there it is. It's like the first encounter with the pirates all over again. Except worse as only four of the Irunese freighters are still intact. They are drifting amid the hulks of their destroyed comrades and only the fact that their distress signals are still powered tells you they are alive.

Well this time won't go the same way as then. Your flotilla is far larger now, and armed to the teeth. Already Laverna, and all four shepherds are launching acolytes and cherubs. Aurora is launching resource drones instead. With this many carriers running out of resources is a real danger. To prevent that Aurora will act as a central hub to distribute RUs to the others.

While the fighters and cherubs head for the Irunese freighters, you, Ulysses and the Raawan start burning for the carrier. The Marduk is too slow to accompany you so it stays back to protect the carriers. Much to your surprise though the carrier doesn't stick around. As soon as you start towards it the carrier engages that strange FTL drive the one before showed and flashes out of the system. At least this time you recognize that it must be a more powerful version of Laverna's Mass Effector technology.

It seems they have recognized your tactics and no longer wish to fight with you and Ulysses. It feels a bit strange to see the void wraiths adapting. A reminder that these are not mindless beasts or reckless pirates. Still it makes the situation much easier. The frigates and interceptors are still continuing their attack runs, but you can deal with them fairly easily.

---

You have finished clearing the frigates and are just starting to check the freighters to see if they are still capable of moving when a disturbing shiver flows through your hyperspace core as hyperspace seems to shudder. The void wraiths are back, but this feels much worse than their usual arrival.

The others have felt the hyperspace shudder as well and the flotilla is soon engulfed in a flurry of activity as you all reoriente to face the likely point of arrival. You send several squadrons of acolytes forward as well. They can give you a better view of the new arrivals, and if they manage to get a few shots off so much the better. Unfortunately you doubt they'll be able to do much. You have a bad feeling about this.

Your instincts prove correct when not one, but three different quantum gates open. Two of them disgorge regular carriers, but something very different slides out of the third one. It is longer and covered in ominous red tumors. It doesn't seem to have any hangars, but it's purpose is soon revealed as chutes slide open and a volley of enormous missiles are launched towards your flotilla.

The missiles are easily the size of corvettes and covered in the same ominous red organic matter as the cruiser. You aren't sure what exactly it will do when they impact, but you really don't want to find out. The missiles are fast and seem to be fairly maneuverable. They would be an extreme threat to the regular races of the galaxy, but fortunately your Bentusi engines are more than fast enough to avoid them. Especially those of you with mass effectors. The Raawan can also easily evade them, but the Marduk is still too heavy and slow. And of course the freighters can't move at all.

If that wasn't enough the regular carriers haven't been idle either. They've started launching waves of interceptors. They quickly deal with your forward acolytes and then take up escort positions around the missiles. Apparently the void wraiths are committed to having those missiles impact their targets. There are enough of them that you actually have a hard time getting a lock on the missiles themselves. If you want to destroy the missiles you'll need to kill the interceptors first.

1. What do you do?
[ ] Blitz the Carriers
The first carrier retreated for a reason. You and Ulysses can destroy one of them by yourselves and even with two of them protecting each other the Raawan should add enough firepower to let you destroy one before your defensive fields fail and you need to pull back. The problem with this is it will almost certainly result in some damage that you can't repair, and you'll be out of position to deal with the missiles.
-[ ] Target a Carrier
Dealing with a carrier will take their firepower out of the equation and make the rest of the fight much easier.
-[ ] Target the Missile Cruiser
With the missile cruiser out of the way you won't need to worry as much about the freighters, but you'll still have two carriers to deal with.

[ ] Take a central position
Form up between the freighters and the void wraiths. This will give you the optimal position from which to shoot down the missiles as they come. However you will be less able to actually assault the carriers or missile cruiser, and you'll be further away from the freighters in case something happens.

[ ] Fall back to the freighters
If you form up by the freighters themselves you'll be able to quickly respond to any threat as well provide emergency shielding as needed. Your shepherds will also be better able to harvest materials from the dead freighters and ensure a constant supply of drones. You will also be far enough from the carriers to be able to hyperspace out without their usual interference. However you will have less time to shoot down the missiles.

2. What is your overall aim here?
[ ] Destroy the Void Wraiths
They assault innocent travelers and have fought you every time you have run into them. They brought in a larger force, but that just means there will be less of them for you to hunt down later.

[ ] Save the Freighters
You need to make sure the survivors actually continue surviving over all else. Have Iuno and Aurora evacuate the freighters while the rest of you cover them. Once everyone is on board, make an emergency jump out. You can deal with the void wraiths later.