The Undiscovered Galaxy - MC/AU - ME/SG/ST/etc

[XCVG]

Scraped from here.

So, I've decided that I've made a mess of things, but I still want to play with this concept. I've started a new thread, which will revised content, here.

First and foremost, I am REALLY nervous about posting this. The Undiscovered Galaxy, codenamed Invasion MCAU, is basically a bunch of fic ideas and their respective source verses rolled together into one semi-cohesive universe. It's kind of messy and bashed together, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I've already written a bit, so I've decided to post instead of letting it rot on my hard drive.

The Undiscovered Galaxy begins in 2025 (with flashbacks, informational articles, and side stories set before), nine years after World War Three. The primarily-human Systems Alliance controls a relatively peaceful section of the galaxy and is rapidly expanding outwards. Though the Goa'uld are long gone, there are new threats on the horizon. Humanity will soon be fighting for its freedom once again.

 

[XCVG]

The Undiscovered Galaxy will be divided into three release channels- Alpha, Bravo, and Stream. Alpha is only the primary story, beginning in the 'present'. It will be released in chronological order and maybe publication order. Bravo is background information, consisting of in-universe and out-of-universe articles. It will be released in semi-chronological order and maybe publication order. Stream is just whatever I post in the order that I post it.

I will admit that this story format is new for me. It's inspired primarily by In The Ashes of Autumn but I'm sure there are other stories that use it.

Prelude: A New Century

Alpha (chronological)
A1 - August 5, 2025, Relay, Caldwell, First Contact
A2 - August 5, 2025, Shanxi, Williams, Invasion
A3 - August 5, 2025, Daniel Jackson Interview, News, Shanxi Invasion
A4 - August 6, 2025, Lieutenant-Major Shepard, SSV Okinawa, ODSTs
A5 - August 6, 2025, Demeter, Jack O'Neill, Reflections
A6 - August 7, 2025, SIGINT Intercept, Vulcan, Deception
A7 - August 7, 2025, George S. Hammond, Caldwell, Strategy

Bravo (chronological)
B1 - A Century of War, History, Before Alliance
B2 - Formation of the Systems Alliance, Timeline, Before Shanxi
B3 - Behind The Systems Alliance, Website, Andrey Aleksandrov
B4 - Ranks of the Systems Alliance Joint Military Command
B5 - Medieval Tech Support, Trolling Uppeds

Stream (publication)
A1 - August 5, 2025, Relay, Caldwell, First Contact
B1 - A Century of War, History, Before Alliance
B2 - Formation of the Systems Alliance, Timeline, Before Shanxi
A2 - August 5, 2025, Shanxi, Williams, Invasion
B3 - Behind The Systems Alliance, Website, Andrey Aleksandrov
A3 - August 5, 2025, Daniel Jackson Interview, News, Shanxi Invasion
B4 - Ranks of the Systems Alliance Joint Military Command
A4 - August 6, 2025, Lieutenant-Major Shepard, SSV Okinawa, ODSTs
A5 - August 6, 2025, Demeter, Jack O'Neill, Reflections
A6 - August 7, 2025, SIGINT Intercept, Vulcan, Deception
A7 - August 7, 2025, George S. Hammond, Caldwell, Strategy
B5 - Medieval Tech Support, Trolling Uppeds

 

[XCVG]

A/N: Yes, it's a fake Social Studies textbook section. I figured, why not? They're going to be learning this kind of history in school, and it's a concise format that's easy for me to write.

Prelude: A New Century

"The moment they first told me about what was happening, what was really out there, I knew that the world would never be the same. When the revolution came, we moved into a new golden age, economically, socially, technologically. Even in the darkest days of [World War III], I knew that we were pushing forward more than ever before... The aftermath of that terrible war ushered in a new age of prosperity not for Canada, not for Earth, but for the galaxy." - Prime Minister Jack Layton

"I think... it was a time of turmoil more so than a time of prosperity. Events were spiralling out of anyones' control. While we know now that the end result was for the better, at the time no-one was certain of anything. The transition from an isolated world that had barely achieved spaceflight to an interstellar power was too sudden, and we're still feeling the effects. We're headed into the unknown, whether that brings strife or fortune, and I don't think anyone is prepared for that." - Leader of the Opposition Stephen Harper

With the dawn of the twenty-first century came an uncertain future. The world had just emerged from a period of war and an information revolution. A resurgence of terrorism, ecological nightmares, and economic crises threatened to tear the world apart as a secret war continued in the background. The United States had discovered the Stargate and was using it to discover new worlds- and new enemies. Its population blissfully ignorant, Earth came close to utter annihilation.

In 2009, Earth was attacked, and though the damage was minimal, the American government could not contain the proof of an alien attack. Within days, the majority of the Stargate program had been disclosed. Under the Obama Administration, American expansion into space soared, and the rest of the world advanced with them. It was heralded as a new golden age, with humanity reached for the stars like never before.

Unfortunately, the golden age did not last. Two years later, the world plunged into crisis. Revolution in the Middle East, combined with a failed American intervention, resulted in the formation of the Second Islamic Republic. In Russia, revolt over Putin's second presidency led to the installation of the installation of the unstable Vorshevsky government and the Ultranationalist Crisis. The UN fell apart and Russia seceded from NATO. The world's attention turned back towards itself. The detonation of an atomic bomb by Iran made it clear that the world- Canada included- was headed for war.

World War Three, the worst nightmare of two generations, had become a reality. Russian tanks rolled into Washington, poison gas spewed into Paris, and missiles rained from the sky. In orbit, military spaceships battled for control. The Western allies rallied and pushed the Russians back, and the man responsible, Vladimir Makarov, disappeared. An armistice was quickly signed, and the war ended. Though Canada was spared, Europe and the United States were hit hard, and historians still argue whether the war was good or bad for Earth in the long run.

After the war, it was clear that Earth could not continue the way it had gone before. The reasons for the war were complex- American dominance of the new space race and a lack of any international oversight among them. On New Years, 2017, in Geneva, a new treaty was signed that united the nations of Earth, Hebridan, Langara, and Tegalus into the Systems Alliance. We are entering a new era, pushing boundaries in every field, exploring the undiscovered galaxy. It is a new golden age- one not dissimilar to the previous one which led to one of the most devastating wars in human history.

- Connections (Social Studies 11), Prentice Hall, published April 2018 (Stardate 1522537200)

 

[XCVG]

A/N: This isn't as good as I would like it to be, but I wrote it months ago and revising it is the last thing I want to do right now. But I think it gets the point across. Familiar characters, familiar-ish situation. More will follow in the next chapter.

Revised a bit to fix some of the more glaring issues and increase plausibility (hopefully).

A1 - August 5, 2025, Relay, Caldwell, First Contact

Stardate 1754355944
SSV George S. Hammond

Vice Admiral Caldwell frowned at the CIC viewscreen. In front of the SSV George S. Hammond was a long, thin, tuning-fork shaped object. A set of gimbals sat in the middle, revolving and glowing with blue light. Nearby floated the wreckage of one of their own vessels. A few hours ago, the experimental Galileo had successfully made the first transit through a matching device, being slingshot across space to this one.

Minutes after, its check-in turned into a panicked distress call, which ended mid-sentence. They hadn't been able to glean much of anything from the call. They knew that the transit had been successful, no problems with the "tantalus drive", in fact things had gone well enough that they intended to transit back instead of powering their hyperdrive. They were taking sensor readings, had picked up something approaching at high speed, "faster than light, but not through hyperspace" someone had said. Seconds later, the ship was attacked and destroyed- they only had garbled information from the attack, information that was still being analyzed.

Additionally, the commander of the vessel happened to be the great-grandson of a pioneering astronaut. He was now space dust, and Caldwell was going to have to deal with the fallout.

He should have been out fighting the Wraith, not investigating the disappearance of an exploratory vessel! He was old by the old standards, but those metrics had changed with new life extending treatments. Of course, the system lagged behind. Whether that was the real reason or not- he might have pissed off a few politicians- he had been pulled away from the 3rd Fleet in Pegasus and reassigned to a tiny little task force. He tried to push the negative thoughts out of his mind. It was a potential first contact situation, a delicate one that would need his experience. Maybe he was getting old, jaded and cynical.

"Bring the fleet to alert status," Caldwell ordered. He lamented the lack of resources. It was a first contact situation, and they should have had a bigger force, no matter if the aliens turned out to be hostile or not. He had only the light carrier George S. Hammond, a single cruiser- the rapidly aging Hastings- and a refreshingly brand new frigate. And disgustingly restrictive rules of engagement.

He turned to the sensor officer seated on the right side of the CIC. The space was filled with consoles and the men (and women, Caldwell mentally added) operating them. A holographic tactical map sat in the middle, dividing the command area to the rear and the helm in front. "Sensors, report."

"The device is giving off strong gravitic readings and appears to be using a form dark energy, signature consistent with the readings the Galileo got. I'm also picking up several objects moving toward our position at several times the speed of light- hmm, that can't be right."

"What is it, Lieutenant?" the commander of the Hammond asked.

"They're travelling faster than light, but through normal space, sir."

"Are you sure? It's not a warp drive?"

"No, sir. We're getting multiple realspace echoes but no hyperspace distortions. They're either in normal space or something we don't know about yet."

"Same technology as the device?" Caldwell asked. It was an interesting scientific curiosity, but not one he had time to think about. No, the tactical considerations were much more important. Would they be able to effectively manoeuvre at FTL speeds? Fire?

"Possibly, sir. I'm picking up some dark energy readings, but it's impossible to tell at this distance."

The admiral nodded, putting the question of physics out of his mind for the moment. "No one fires a shot until I give the order. Standing orders state that we are to end this peacefully if at all possible. First contact obviously went wrong, maybe second contact will go better."

He paused. "That being said, if they try to head to Shanxi, give them everything you've got. Give me an ETA."

"ETA seven minutes, thirty-seven seconds."

HVS Thracia

"Dropping out of FTL now," the pilot of the Thracia informed his commander as he stepped on to the command deck.

Commander Septimus Oraka nodded in response. The command deck of a turian ship would seem very odd to a human. Near the aft end was the command area, consisting of a large tactical map and several control stations around its over perimeter. Below and in front of it was the cockpit, where the ship was actually piloted from. Joining the two areas was a long line of fire control stations. All of them were manned.

There was a lurch as the Thracia dropped through the lightspeed barrier, something everyone on the ship was used to. This system had only a formerly dormant mass relay, and nothing but gas giants and empty rocks.

Except, of course, the mass relay was now active, and three ships were situated in front of it. Two of them were somewhere between dreadnought and cruiser in size, though one was shorter and wider than the other. The third ship was much smaller, definitely frigate sized. All were boxy, dull grey, and had various antenna masts and weapon mounts placed all over their hulls. Utilitarian. Warships.

"Commander, I'm not detecting any mass effect emissions!" his sensor officer, a female Lieutenant, told him. He was as shocked as she was, but didn't show it. If they didn't have any eezo cores, how did they transit the relay? How did they have any FTL capability at all? He didn't have a lot of time to speculate, nor was it his area of expertise. "I am picking up strong EM pulses, possibly an attempt to-"

"All units, open fire!" General Paraxis roared over the communications net. Commander Oraka thought it was a little too soon. The aliens had activated the relay without knowing the necessary laws; was it really acceptable to hold them responsible? As a mere Commander, however, it was not his job to question orders. He would do as he was told and that was the end of it.

He issued his own. "Fire the main gun. Standby on secondaries."

SSV George S. Hammond

"They're dropping out of... whatever FTL they're using." Directly ahead of the Yorktown, thousands of kilometres away, was a sizable fleet. The ships were diverse in size, but all shared the same design, one that reminded Caldwell of predatory birds. "Picking up two large vessels, about a kilometre in length, maybe battleships or carriers. Fourteen vessels about light cruiser to cruiser size and twenty-seven ships under three hundred metres- probably frigates."

Caldwell nodded, taking it in. That was a serious fleet. It was either a show of force or an invasion fleet, and either way they were dealing with a militaristic race. "Inform Command we've made contact. Send them the welcome message."

As an afterthought, he asked, "Have they powered weapons?"

"Unknown, sir," the sensor officer reported. "Picking up energy spikes, could be weapons, engines, their own communications."

"Broadcasting on all available frequencies and coding schema," the communications officer reported.

"Shields?"

"None apparent, sir."

"Damn..." Caldwell muttered. Their orders stated that they could only mirror aggressive action. Meaning that if their opponents didn't raise shields, they couldn't either. If their opponents didn't power weapons, they couldn't either. The problem was that the alien technology was so alien that they couldn't tell. It was bullshit, the kind of bullshit that happened when politicians started making command decisions. The kind of bullshit that would get good people killed. Damn, he was getting cynical.

The comm officer interrupted his thoughts. "Receiving a reply."

"What does it say?"

"Unknown, sir. It'll take some time to decode it."

"Understood. Send the-"

"Sir, unknown vessels are opening fire!"

"Raise shields! Sound action stations!"

Accelerated to extreme velocities, tungsten slugs streamed from the mass accelerators of the unknown ships. The Hammond shuddered as the first few impacted directly on the trinium-alloy hull before her shields went up and began taking the blows. The solid slugs smashed holes through the supposedly ultra-strong alloy, wrecking systems throughout the ship. But it was a big ship, and a few holes wouldn't take them down.

"Return fire, give 'em everything you've got. Comms, send a message to Shanxi. Hostile first contact. Flash priority."

SSV Kyoto

The Kyoto shuddered as her shields were bombarded by mass accelerator rounds. The Alliance fleet was firing back with all it had, which was not much. The only weapons they really had were missiles, and the enemy fleet was swatting them down like flies. One hit and wiped out a cruiser- well, at least when they worked, they worked.

The smaller railgun emplacements were almost useless at any range, and the energy beams would scatter into a light dusting of slightly annoying particles before they hit the enemy fleet. They were sitting far off, advancing slowly. Unless the enemy fleet accelerated, the Kyoto, even with her Asgard-derived shields, would be dust before they got within range.

"All missiles expended!"

Commander Robert Paterson made his decision. "Break off. All ahead flank, take us in. Standby to open fire with the beams."

"Aye, sir!" the helmsman acknowledged as the small Prometheus Block II ship turned and accelerated, narrowly avoiding another stream of tungsten slugs. At ahead flank, the range closed quickly, and the ship began taking even more of a pounding as the hostile fleet realized what was happening.

"Commander, return to formation immediately!" Caldwell's voice boomed. "What the hell are you doing?"

Paterson switched it off and turned to his communications technician. "Ensign, the communications system is malfunctioning. Please make a note to have it repaired as soon as this battle is over."

"Y-yes sir," the ensign replied nervously, not sure exactly what to think.

"Commander, I must protest-" the executive officer objected, but was cut off when another form of weapon began impacting the frigate's shields. A self-powered but slow-moving torpedo impacted the shields, releasing its payload. That payload was not one of explosives but a kind of gravitic warhead. Pulsating waves of artificially induced gravity tore at the shields and the hull below. They were soon bombarded, and their point-defence could do little to stop the torpedoes.

"Shields down to thirty percent! What the hell did they hit us with?" More shuddering, and the lights flickered ominously. Almost there...

"Within effective beam weapon range now, sir!"

"Open fire!" Paterson shouted, nearly at the top of his lungs. "Hit 'em with everything we've got!"

The Kyoto had a single pair of emitters, mounted one per side amidships. Bright blue beams streaked from both, toward the same target.

The effects were devastating. Technically, the plasma beams had mass, and were affected by the kinetic barriers. However, the amount of radiation that made it through was sufficient to vaporize the ablative armour and melt the hull. Milliseconds later, the barrier failed entirely, and the beam punched all the way through the ship. The hull sheared in half, and secondaries rippled across both halves. There were no survivors.

Still being hammered by railguns, torpedoes, and, at this range, point-defence laser fire, the Kyoto switched targets and continued firing.

HVS Xiliatus

"What in the spirits are they doing?" General Corath Paraxis muttered, more to himself than anything.

"Sir, we just lost a cruiser." A pause. "Another cruiser gone, sir."

General Paraxis peered at the image through one of the many tactical monitors lining the CIC. There was a large holographic map dominating the space, surrounded by consoles and large monitors. The gunnery stations and cockpit were forward, but the divide had less significance on a flag vessel.

The Xiliatus was the Hierarchy's latest dreadnought, equipped with the strongest kinetic barriers of any vessel excepting the under-construction Destiny Ascension, a massive kilometre-long (the length sounded far less impressive in the turian measuring system) mass accelerator, and batteries upon batteries of point-defence laser and broadside accelerator emplacements. The oversized mass effect core allowed the Xiliatus incredible manoeuvrability for a dreadnought and high flank speed.

However, the unexpected technological superiority was still apparent. The entire fleet was hammering the three ships- three ships!- with all they had, and their barriers refused to crack. The turian fleet was starting to build up heat and lose combat effectiveness in addition to losing ships, but the enemy fleet- if you could call it that- showed no signs of stress.

"Fleet reports point-defence batteries ineffective, sir," the sensor officer reported. "They appear to be impacting some type of shield. However, disruptor torpedoes appear to be having some effect."

How could barriers be effective against pure energy weapons? Then again, they weren't true barriers like the ones on his ships. This new race did not appear to use mass effect technology at all. No, they had something far superior. All the more reason to move in and claim it for the Hierarchy. A small part of him knew that they could have and should have resolved it diplomatically, but it was too late for that now. Fire had been exchanged, they were at war.

"General, target has changed course. They're headed right for us!"

Paraxis stayed calm, like a General of his calibre should. He examined the angles. Hmm... yes. Almost exactly bow on, the fools. "What is that status of the main gun?"

"Charged and ready to fire, sir!"

"Compute a firing solution for the frigate and fire when ready. Order the fleet to push forward on my signal. Flank speed to the relay."

There was a chorus of "Yes, sir!" Moments later, the main gun of the dreadnought fired, its timing completely automated. The slug quickly crossed the short distance between the two ships. It ripped through the frigate's already weakened shields and continued to tear virtually unhindered through the entire hull. It would have continued all the way through had it not impacted the naquadah hyperdrive reactor, causing a detonation that vaporized the ship in seconds.

SSV George S. Hammond

"We just lost the Kyoto, sir! Hostile fleet is accelerating, heading straight for the object!"

"Damn it," Caldwell swore under his breath. "Can we beam nukes aboard their ships when they get in range?"

"We can try, sir, but no guarantees on success. The gravitic emissions are scrambling our sensors and we don't have time to recalibrate. It'd be impossible to target."

"Mark eleven tacticals, get them as close as you can."

"Yes, sir!"

Rear Admiral Caldwell leaned forward and examined the rapidly accelerating fleet through the main viewscreen. They were heading straight for the object. If it sent the Galileo here, then it would drop the fleet right on top of Shanxi, wouldn't it? They had to stop it- but could they?

Nuclear weapons appeared amongst the enemy fleet, some doing more damage than others. The effects of the weapons dropped off rapidly from contact detonations to even a few kilometres out. But they were moving fast. Though they were leaving a trail of wreckage behind, they continued.

The Hastings moved to block their approach, placing itself directly between the object and the largest enemy vessel at the last moment. It made no attempt to manoeuvre and instead they collided. The cruiser had taken a hit to its main power bus before it could raise its shields, and it finally overloaded and the Hastings lost shields, turning the encounter into a hull-on-hull grind. The alien ship, however, had more momentum and hit the structurally weaker side of the Hastings with its armoured bow. The impact smashed a hole in the cruiser and crushed a section near the bottom of its hull. The cruiser drifted, impacting one of the "wings" of the alien ship. It shredded the wing, wiping out one of the larger ship's engines, and tore a gash down the length of the Hastings. Both ships were left left drifting and venting atmosphere.

Caldwell knew the battle was lost the moment the Hastings attempted the futile gesture. As the first enemy ship disappeared through the object, he turned to his helmsman. "Break off. Set course for Shanxi and engage the hyperdrive."

 

[XCVG]

Before the accusations of Mass Effect wank and Stargate nerfing come rolling in... well, it's a little late, but oh well...

There was no Ori invasion. By extension, there was no Unending. By extension, there was no Asgard legacy. By extension, basically everything on an Earth ship is not the awesome Asgard tech seen in canon, but a cheap knockoff thereof. Some of it is based off Asgard designs, even directly derived, but it is all Earth built. Shields? Cheap knockoffs that can't take the same abuse. Asgard beams? Cheap knockoffs, but they'll still obliterate anything short of a superdreadnought or Reaper in one or two hits.

In my quest to make Stargate tech less ridiculously stomptastic, I decided to exaggerate several shortcomings (or perceived shortcomings). Most Stargate battles take place at extremely close range, with limited engagement options at longer ranges. Mass Effect and to some extent Halo races are used to fighting at longer ranges, which will give them a significant advantage at range. At this point most Alliance ships don't mount accelerators at all- only the battleships and some missile cruisers are geared to engage at long range. The other is that Stargate shields are especially vulnerable to kinetics. While one might argue that the ships shaking whenever they take a hit is just visual FX, I choose to interpret that as kinetic bleedthrough. The primarily-kinetic weapons employed by some other races in the galaxy are especially deadly against Alliance and Free Jaffa ships. Stargate ships are also lightly armoured, relying almost completely on shields, which is quite justified actually.

I realize that even still, there is a massive power gap and technological advantage. It is something I will *try* to address, but I had and will have to fudge things for the sake of story. I don't want this to devolve into merciless Stargate stomping, and this is the best I can do.

Regarding Asshole!Turians, I plan to go into that a little deeper and explain the reasons why past "they broke some law".

I will say this, though. When the reinforcements show up, it won't be pretty.

 

[XCVG]

I'm not sure exactly what will happen yet, but the Alliance's status with the council will be an ambiguous, obfuscated situation.

 

[XCVG]

A/N: See how many crossovers you can spot.


The period from the turn of the last century to the present has been perhaps the most violent in human history.

In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand touched off old rivalries and plunged the world into its first truly global war. It was a brutal war of a scale unlike any before it. Chemical weapons were used for the first time, with disastrous consequences, and the death toll numbered in the millions. It was the end of one era and a beginning of another, but despite the hopes of many, the new era was far from a peaceful one. In fact, the outcome of World War One made a second war inevitable.

After taking power in 1933, Adolf Hitler began to rebuild Germany as a stronger, but far more brutal and aggressive, nation. Six years later, after absorbing Austria and Czechoslovakia, Germany invaded Poland, formally beginning the Second World War. Though arguably less brutal than the last war, it was just as violent. World War Two was the first truly total war, where cities were bombed, tanks rolled through the street and no civilian was safe from the fighting. Whereas in World War One, there was no concern for the lives of the soldiers, in this war there was no concern for the lives of civilians. Notably, nuclear weapons were employed for the first time (and last time until the next century) by the Americans against the Japanese. In addition to the war deaths, the Nazis killed around six million Jews, Roma, Slavs and other "undesirables" out of pure racism.

Only five years after the end of the Second World War, the divide between newly-formed North and South Korea flared up into a shooting war, one that was never truly won or lost. Not long after, the Vietnam War began, though it would not intensify for quite some time. Both conflicts were against the backdrop of the Cold War, a rivalry between the West, consisting of the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and most of Western Europe, and the East, much more easily defined as the Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union. It was a period of intense paranoia and massive arms buildups. Although the war many saw as inevitable never broke out, there were several related, but smaller conflicts, including both wars in Afghanistan and the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The first major war would not occur until the 1990s. Just before the Berlin Wall fell, Muslim terrorists angered over the (later failed) Jerusalem Treaty detonated a nuclear weapon in Denver. Although the details are still classified, it is believed the terrorists got hold of an Israeli nuclear weapon, a low-yield device. The resulting panic nearly resulted in a war between the collapsing Soviet Union and the United States. Such a war would have been disastrous for both sides.

Only a few years later, an economic crisis resulted in a brief conflict between the United States and long-time ally Japan. Although Japanese forces were comparatively weak, they still managed to destroy two American submarines and cripple two carriers in surprise attacks, as well as occupying Guam. The swift and powerful response from the Americans ended the war quickly. The fact that most of the Japanese population did not want a war may also have contributed to the end of the war. In addition, it should be noted that while many suspect the Japanese developed nuclear weapons that were later destroyed by the Americans, both governments refuse to confirm or deny such rumours.

After the end of the war, a disgruntled Japanese airline pilot crashed his aircraft (thankfully empty of passengers) into the United States Capitol, resulting in the death of almost the entire government. It was John Patrick Ryan's first presidency, and it was a challenging one. Iranian Ayatollah Mahmoud Haji Daryaei annexed Iraq to form the United Islamic Republic (UIR). Simultaneously, they launched a terrorist-style biological attack on the United States using a mutated Ebola virus and invaded Saudi Arabia. President Ryan, although challenged by Senator Edward Kealty, closed state borders and deployed the National Guard to keep the virus from spreading. It is still hotly debated whether his actions were a gross violation of rights and freedoms, but it cannot be argued that they did not save many lives. The American response was swift, and the Ayatollah was killed by a smart bomb, the first move in what would be known as the Ryan Doctrine.

During Ryan's second Presidency, a diplomatic incident in China and the subsequent political and economic fallout lead to another costly war. The Papal Nuncio to Beijing, along with a Chinese Baptist priest, were shot and killed by a police officer while trying to prevent an abortion. Public shock at the incident lead to the amount of goods being purchased from China dropping sharply. Unable to afford fuel or food, the People's Republic of China had no choice but to invade Siberia. The weakened Russian military was in no state to fight, but the United States provided support after Russia joined NATO, turning the tide of the war. The CIA also used the Internet to demoralize the Chinese people, showing live footage of their soldiers being massacred. Angry crowds forced their way into through Tienanmen Square and into a Politburo meeting, beginning a new revolution in China. No nuclear weapons were successfully employed in the conflict, although it is believed that China attempted to and may have even launched missiles. Still, the human and material costs of the war were enormous, especially for the destabilized China and Russia, which was still feeling the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The 9/11 attacks were terrible, but the inept actions of the current President led to yet another war. Proponents of the War on Terror bill it as liberating oppressed peoples. Critics slammed it as costly and ineffective. Although both sides can be argued, at the end of the day the hard facts cannot be denied. Thousands of American and allied soldiers were killed in action, and targeted nations such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya were rendered even more unstable. Although few knew it, at the same time a war unimaginable in scope was raging outside of Earth's borders.

It is believed that alien forces attempted to attack Earth at least three times before January of 2009. Each time, the response was limited and defence efforts were covered up. However, in the case of the Wraith attack, the United States Air Force (at the time the sole operator of the Stargate and Earth's starships) believed that a full-on invasion of Earth was inevitable. The Obama Administration mobilized the National Guard as well as deploying the United States' primary military assets, and urging the rest of the world to do so. Never before had the world been united against a common enemy. Though riots would later break out and tensions would run high, at the time the emotion that saturated Earth's population was fear. The expected attack, however, was anticlimactic, with the hive-ship destroyed in Earth orbit.

Whether the revelation of the Stargate and extraterrestrial life delayed or quickened the outbreak of World War Three is a matter of some debate. Although the actions of Vladimir Makarov were horrific and inexcusable, most historians and analysts view the war as an inevitable occurrence. Tensions had been running high, with the power struggle in 2011, Russia pulling out of NATO and the Stargate Alliance being disbanded the same year, the subsequent Ultranationalist dominance and the assassination of President Putin (allegedly by Western agents, although this is demonstrably not the case) in 2014. Space exploration and defence ground to a halt as Earth's attention turned to internal affairs. Indeed, private corporations and civilian agencies carried out more missions (by ship or Stargate) than all militaries combined.

WWIII had been man's worst nightmare for the last half century, and though the outbreak was hardly surprising, it was horrifying. On August 12, 2016, hours after the Zakhaev Airport Massacre, Russia declared war. Days later, pre-positioned ships began landing troops on US soil. The American counterattack was fierce, and after the elimination of General Shepherd and a mysterious detonation of a nuclear device high over Washington (causing an EMP that knocked out important lines of communications), they pushed the Russians out. It was not the end, however. The Russians would later launch a chemical attack throughout Europe before invading, emulating the Blitzkrieg tactics used by their long-time enemies half a century before. Eastern and Western forces battled back and forth. It is not known precisely how, but two men whose names are now known by everyone- SAS Captains John "Soap" MacTavish and John Price- were largely responsible for ending the war. MacTavish was killed in action. President Vorshevsky returned to power and Makarov was never seen or heard from again. The peace treaty was signed on October 14, 2016. The death toll of the war is in the millions, and very easily could have been much worse. Although they lacked strategic launch codes, the de facto Ultranationalist government could have deployed tactical nuclear weapons, and at varying times in the war the American President, British Prime Minister, and French President were literally seconds away from pushing the button.

Today, Earth is again shooting for the stars. Although its first members were willing, the Systems Alliance is now annexing worlds deemed too primitive to be full members, and if some reports are to be believed, "asking" planets to join at the end of a gun. With colonists and explorers pushing the boundaries and the Systems Alliance military unable to keep up, another brutal conflict seems inevitable.

-A Century of War, MSNBC.com, September 21, 2020 (Stardate 1600642800)

 

[TimeDiver]

Just to get things out of the way, the fictional references that I caught:

1. Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, and The Bear and the Dragon

2. Stargate: SG-1 in general, Stargate: Atlantis' - Enemy at the Gates

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's entire plotline

4. Mass Effect pre-game(s) plot setup, fused with Stargate in general

I'm surprised you didn't try to shoehorn in NCIS in the process, given that other story of yours.

More seriously, on the Sheppard/Shepard/Shepherd references? Tone them down, or be a lot more era-specific.

(On that note: don't mention a not-even-born-yet Cmdr. John/Jane/???? Shepard in an article written in 2020).

 

[TimeDiver]

Its got Modern Warfare III as well NeoSeether.

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Huh. Never played MW3, only MW2, so that explains that.

*looks up plot summaries for the hell of it*

 

[XCVG]

Just to get things out of the way, the fictional references that I caught:

1. Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, and The Bear and the Dragon

2. Stargate: SG-1 in general, Stargate: Atlantis' - Enemy at the Gates

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's entire plotline

4. Mass Effect pre-game(s) plot setup, fused with Stargate in general

I'm surprised you didn't try to shoehorn in NCIS in the process, given that other story of yours.

Click to shrink...

NCIS is integrated, but not in any significant manner. We *might* see a few characters after Shanxi, but at this point everyone's basically moved on... or died.

More seriously, on the Sheppard/Shepard/Shepherd references? Tone them down, or be a lot more era-specific.

(On that note: don't mention a not-even-born-yet Cmdr. John/Jane/???? Shepard in an article written in 2020).

Click to shrink...

I actually altered her backstory so she can appear in a story not set a hundred years later, along with several other characters, but she's still a nobody in 2020. Fixed.

Its got Modern Warfare III as well NeoSeether.

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Modern Warfare 3 follows on from the second game so closely that it feels like Modern Warfare 2.5.

Admittedly, I'm basically throwing everything in and attempting to use the insanity and awesomeness compensate for a general lack of logic.

 

[Night_stalker]

Well, first off, congrats on not giving the SGC the usual Asgard tech, only the knocked off version. It's going to alter things, and I'm anxious to see how the Turians get depicted. Too many people do the Cliche FCW is a Turian stomp, so I'm holding off on judging it fully until we get more then just a skirmish...

 

[XCVG]

Well, first off, congrats on not giving the SGC the usual Asgard tech, only the knocked off version. It's going to alter things, and I'm anxious to see how the Turians get depicted. Too many people do the Cliche FCW is a Turian stomp, so I'm holding off on judging it fully until we get more then just a skirmish...

Click to shrink...

The SGC stomps the turians as expected, ie in space. They're in for a big surprise on the ground, for various reasons.

The Turians deserve to get their ego's stomped. Even without the Asgard plasma weapons, a sizeable, developed Tau'ri fleet should decimate Turian ships, even if they only have early energy based weapons and railguns. Turians are outclassed.

Click to shrink...

Again, the turians are in for a surprise...

If this is the first chapter, the pacing is way too fast, you have dull characters thus far and you're drowning your universe in Crossover Juice. Mega crossovers tend not to turn out that well...at all, just look at the few on this site, those are slapped together wank fests that are pathetic in terms of story telling and plot, lets hope this one doesn't follow the same path.

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I like crossover juice, it's tasty when mixed with Perrier. I realize I started in the middle. My plan is and always was to start here and tell another story, a prequel if you will, via a separate stream if you will: articles, speeches, flashbacks.

Short range engagements? Probably true, so I can accept that. Stargate sheilds vulnerable to Kinetics? Lol! Laughable, totally offbase and utterly wrong. Stargate ships lightly armed? You DO know they're made primarily of Trinium right? A material that is 1000 times stronger than Titanium.

There is so much I find wrong with this story....

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Think about it a bit more. I may have accidentally mixed up another franchise, but I seem to remember that in Stargate, whenever a ship is physically bumped or hit with a weapon with a limited kinetic component, there's a lot of shaking and some exploding consoles. I interpreted this as a significant bleedthrough of kinetic force that they can't compensate for. Kinetic weapons still aren't going to punch through- it's more like a depth charging effect. I didn't know Trinium was 1000 times stronger than titanium. Going off general observations, I assumed it was significantly stronger, between two and ten times. Because "stronger" is a rather un-specific term, and a thousand times sounds like a writer throwing around bit numbers without knowing their meaning, I'm going to stick with significantly stronger.

Now answering the more general consensus:

Stomp fest. As you can quite plainly tell, there's no way I can't either nerf a side or end up with an inevitable stompfest. I'm largely sticking to nerfing over stomping right now.

I started writing this mostly just for the hell of it, for fun, and because I didn't have time to write all my ideas as separate stories. I was rather hesitant to share because I know it is full of holes, but I figured I have a fair bit down already so I might as well.

I would say don't like it, don't read it, but I've been on the other side of that argument and I don't agree with it. So don't like it, read it anyway, and address all your complaints to me.

 

[XCVG]

A/N: Hopefully this will clear things up, and provide more hooks for discussion, whichever way that discussion may go.

Formation of the Systems Alliance

January 9, 2009 - Lucian Alliance attacks Earth with a small fleet of Ha'tak. Although damage is minimal, the secret could be kept no longer and most elements of the Stargate program, including Atlantis and the construction of Earth's starships, are disclosed.

January 2009-January 2011 - Initial wave of expansion and cooperation. Exploration is the most active of any pre-Systems Alliance period, and the amount of resources poured into offworld efforts increases by orders of magnitude. Colonies are founded, many which would be lost and later rediscovered. Strikes against the Lucian Alliance put them on the defensive. Operations against the Wraith continue. Production of space battlecruisers begins across the world.

February 2011 - Rebellions across the Middle East and North Africa begin. Rumours of dissent within Russia against what many see as a tyrannical dictatorship begin to spread.

March 2011 - Rebellions continue. Anger in Russia becomes a political power struggle.

April 2011 - A coup in Saudi Arabia results in the formation of the Second Islamic Republic. Invasion of the Middle East by United States forces. Russian Civil War. The Middle Eastern invasion ends with a nuclear detonation wiping out a large portion of US forces. They pull out shortly after. The Russian Civil War calms down into a largely non-violent power struggle. Russians test nuclear missiles, an action condemned by the rest of the world.

April 16, 2011 - Stargate Alliance disbanded. East-West tensions and the Russian Civil War result in Russia pulling out, followed by China and the alliance finally being dissolved. During the period from the end of the Stargate Alliance to the end of World War 3, the Stargate is rarely used and military starships are kept close to home. This results in both the Lucian Alliance (Milky Way) and the Wraith (Pegasus) beginning to expand again. More exploration is done by civilian agencies or private corporations than the military. The overall mood is fearful, but attention is largely focused on events on Earth.

April 17, 2011 - Russia secedes from NATO, and the UN begins to fracture.

May 4, 2013 - Second Islamic Republic tests their first nuclear warhead and announces their nuclear capability. The rest of the world condemns the action but does little, concerned with destabilizing the region and worried more about the decaying state of Russia than the Middle East. This event marks the beginning of the Little Cold War between Israel and Iran/SIR.

August 12, 2016 - Zakhaev Airport Massacre. World War 3 begins.

October 14, 2016 - World War 3 Ends. Millions are dead on all sides and East-West tensions have never been higher. Both Russian and Western militaries are crippled.

October 15-17, 2016 - Moscow Conference. Although the goal is to decide terms of Russia's surrender, the possibility of a new Stargate Alliance is discussed.

October 18, 2016 - International task force dedicated to determine how to build a new alliance is formed. Over the next several months, it would draft out the terms of an agreement.

December 19-20, 2016 - Washington Conference. World leaders gather to finalize the terms of the agreement. In addition to the leaders of Earth, several offworld leaders are invited and most come to the conference. Many disagree over the terms, from having an overarching government body to controlled trade to being forced to provide military assistance. Despite this, the conference is a success, with the foundation for the Systems Alliance finally being formed. This may have been due to heavy public pressure on Earth and elsewhere for a new world order and a path to the stars.

January 1, 2017 - Systems Alliance formed. Earth, Langara, Hebridan, and Tegalus are the founding members. More correctly, several Earth nations, Kelowna, Tirania and the Andari Federation of Langara, the Tech Con Group (at the time the de facto government of Hebridan) and the Rand Protectorate and Caledonian Federation of Tegalus. Geneva is the temporary capital used before a more permanent, neutral location can be developed.

January 2017 - Rapid expansion begins. Colonies are formed and Alliance space expands exponentially. Military forces cannot keep up with explorers and even colony ships.

February 1, 2017 - Coalition of Independent Nations is founded. A direct response to the Systems Alliance on Earth, the CIN was formed as a kind of opposition to what its member states saw as a Western-dominated, first world organization. It initially consists of Iran, North Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia.

February 2, 2017 - Alliance Free Trade Agreement passes. Only Hebridan opposes the legislation to a significant degree, but are outvoted by all other worlds. Galactic Telecommunications (a consortium consisting of ShawBell, ATel, NTT, and Rostelecom) begins to deploy a subspace network covering core worlds, with plans to expand to colonies. Consumer electronics manufacturers begin marketing offworld, as do retailers and automobile manufacturers. Alliance Standard Credit is established as the universal currency in the Systems Alliance.

February 10, 2017 - The first offworld Wal-Mart opens on Hebridan. It is followed by other big box retailers wanting to expand into new markets and industry looking for a new source of labour. At the same time, Tech Con Group opens its first branch office on Earth.

March 28, 2017 - Alliance Standardization Act passes. This act standardized safety standards, food and sanitation requirements, communications protocols, and even the type of power to be provided from outlets. The act was criticized heavily as it was based on Earth, even United States, standards. For instance, IPv8 was standardized along with 120/240VAC 60Hz split phase power, despite competing standards that were arguably more common. English became the official lingua fraca of the Alliance. Complaints of Earth dominance would continue for the next several years.

April 1, 2017 - Tok'ra remnants are formally integrated into the Systems Alliance. Many Tok'ra are bitter, but as a dying race with dwindling numbers, they have no other choice.

May 5, 2017 - Free Jaffa Nation-Systems Alliance treaty is formally ratified. It establishes borders and territory as well as relatively free trade and a promise to defend each other in the case of attack.

June 1, 2017 - The Systems Alliance capital is formally moved to New Heliopolis. The ceremony is long and celebrates many aspects of the Alliance, military, governmental, and civilian. It is the first major even to be televised live across Alliance space.

November 9-11, 2017 - Orban Accords. Orban joins the Systems Alliance as the first non-founding member and the fifth overall. As part of the treaty, use of nanite technology in education via the Urrone and Avernum is suspended indefinitely, and a more traditional education system is implemented. Critics continue to argue that the new ways halt progress, but the Supreme Court of the Systems Alliance has ruled the Avernum unconstitutional and a breach of basic human rights.

January 1, 2018 - New Heliopolis becomes the capital of the Systems Alliance. It is the first event to be televised live across Alliance space. The Systems Alliance government gradually moves to the new world in the months after.

January 10, 2018 - Bill E-24, more commonly known as the Annexation Act (unofficial) or Home Space Protection Act (official), passes. The Systems Alliance begins to absorb "lesser" worlds, often colonizing them with enough people to outnumber the local inhabitants. Some civilizations welcome the newcomers with open arms, some resettle, some are apathetic, and some become hostile. Those who become hostile are, in most cases, forcibly suppressed.

February 28-March 2, 2018 - Galar Accords. Galar joins the Systems Alliance.

June 17-19, 2018 - Vyus Conference. Vyus joins the Systems Alliance. It is a tense position for Vyus, a world straddling the line between a "lesser" world to be annexed and a world advanced enough to truly join the Systems Alliance. Terran and Hebridanian influence would dominate the planet long after their induction.

June 24-25, 2018 - Pangar Conference. Pangar joins the Systems Alliance. Like Vyus, Pangar is in a delicate position, though for different reasons. Previously, Pangar had abused the drug tretonin en masse, and their actions resulted in the death of the Tok'ra queen Egeria. Like Vyus, though officially full members, the nations of Pangar would be dominated by "higher" worlds from its joining forward.

September 2018 - The Lucian Alliance, a large and powerful criminal empire at the time, begins attacking Systems Alliance colonies and shipping in force. The response is a series of counterattacks on major Lucian centres. The Systems Alliance Navy would continue to hunt the Lucian Alliance continuously until the Lucia Campaign a year later.

December 2018 - Systems Alliance begins deploying the Protector Inter-Planetary Hyperspace Missile (IPHM) system. Proponents of the system tout it as the strategic weapon for a new age that can prevent wars just by being there, and, if necessary, end them in a matter of hours. Detractors slam the system as an attempt for policymakers to apply Cold War logic to a completely new reality, and that there was literally no advantage over ship-based tactical strike missiles. Although criticism was harsh, the Alliance would continue deploying IPHM systems on key worlds for the next decade and beyond.

February 13-16, 2019 - Tagrea Accords. Tagrea joins the Systems Alliance. The world would benefit from the Systems Alliance in regards to economic prosperity and quality of life, but never gained significant influence like the leaders of the world had hoped.

June 30-August 2, 2019 - Bedrosian War. The Alliance allies themselves with the rival Optricans on the planet Bedrosia. Whereas the Bedrosians believe they were created by the goa'uld Nefertum on their world, the Optricans know that they were actually transported from Earth. The arrival of Alliance forces resulted in a swift end to the war- in fact the Alliance had been providing arms to the Optricans for months. The entire planet is annexed into the Systems Alliance. Bedrosia would be a hot spot of civil unrest for many years afterwards. The Bedrosians were violently invaded and the Optricans felt cheated- after fighting alongside the Systems Alliance, they expected full membership, not forcible annexation and limited representation.

November 4-December 31, 2019 - Lucia Campaign. The closest thing to a capital the Lucian Alliance can have, Lucia was instrumental in their operations. By this point, the Lucian Alliance had been taking heavy losses. Their fragile coalition was falling apart, with many leaving and pirating on their own, going legit, or even defecting to the Systems Alliance. On the fourth of November, Alliance warships dropped out over Lucia and destroyed the planet's defensive fleet, followed by assault carriers that landed over fifty thousand troops around the capital, supported by fighters, tanks, and orbital bombardment. Instead of a quick, decisive victory against a weak but conventional military force, however, the Systems Alliance force would go up against guerrilla fighters that persisted long after the declared victory.

January 1, 2020 - Victory over the Lucian Alliance is declared. After taking away the Stargate and destroying all shipyards and docking facilities as well as most infrastructure, the Systems Alliance troops begin pulling out, a controversial decision.

March 14, 2020 - Tegalus Breakup begins. Common belief was that both the Rand Protectorate and Caledonian Federation were two large sovereign nations. The reality is far more complex. Both nations had annexed several smaller nations, often forcibly, into their own. The thinking was similar to that behind the Warsaw Pact- impart your own ideology and use the nations both for resources and as a buffer zone. Continued disarmament efforts from the Systems Alliance and stepping down of military forces remove the perceived threat that kept the fragile alliances together, and the smaller nations begin to rebel. Both the Rand Protectorate and Caledonian Federation ask the Systems Alliance for help.

March-April 2020 - Tegalus Breakup continues. Rand and Caledonian military forces go against rebel militia, some of who were members of their own militaries only weeks prior. The conflict quickly escalates, and the Systems Alliance decides to intervene- but as peacekeepers, not reinforcements.

April 21, 2020 - Peacekeepers arrive on Tegalus, with the aim of separating and mediating between the two parties. At the same time, ambassadors are sent to each nation. The conflict begins to calm down and become less violetns. At this point it is clear that the Rand Protectorate and Caledonian Federation will not be able to hold their territories.

May 5, 2020 - Tegalus Breakup ends. The Rand Republic and Caledonia, along with an array of smaller nations, sign the Treaty of Galashgew. This treaty officially separates the smaller nations, guaranteeing their safety. It also limits strategic weapons for all sides. Neither the Rand Republic or Caledonia is happy, both feeling betrayed by the Earth-dominated Alliance. This feeling of betrayal would continue for years afterwards.

August 2020 - Enkaran Rebellion begins. The Enkarans, a large group of "lessers" annexed by the Systems Alliance, opposes Alliance rule and protests the continued colonization of their world with Terrans, Langarans, and Hebridaneans. At first the protests are peaceful, but quickly turn violent. The Enkarans then attempt to push the "invaders" out, using a combination of legal, illegal, and improvised weapons. Colonists and some Enkaran sympathizers immediately call on the Systems Alliance for help.

September 2020 - Enkaran Rebellion continues. The Systems Alliance is reluctant to launch an invasion after the heavy losses during the Lucia campaign and the unsuccessful results of the Bedrosian War. Though some pointed out the success of the Tegalus Breakup, their opponents argue that it was a far different situation, like comparing the dissolution of Yugoslavia to a colonial revolt. Only a small force is sent to Enkara, barely enough to secure their own base, let alone protect the Alliance-established cities of Vorshevskygrad and Haganskroter. The Enkarans set up a de facto provisional government and begin to make their own laws, most of them restrictive or even aggressive toward the colonists.

October 5, 2020 - A sizeable Systems Alliance liberation force finally lands on Enkara. Though it is successful in putting down the rebellion, the outcome is as many politicians and military leaders feared. Images of the violent actions of the troops circulate, and the so-called "liberation" is condemned by many. A large number of Enkarans are thrown in jail, though many are later released. Enkarans would continue to fight the Systems Alliance in court and in Parliament for years afterwards.

January 11, 2021 - SSV Columbus departs to the galactic "east", as part of the Alliance Exploratory Program. It is the first major expedition outside of known space. Although Stargates are located throughout the entire galaxy, statistically speaking they are clustered in a single quadrant around Earth. All core Alliance worlds are close together by the standards of modern hyperdrives. While space between these worlds had been explored thoroughly for years, few missions had ventured outside. More ships would follow, venturing in all directions out of Alliance space.

June 4, 2022 - First contact with the Vulcans. Their reception is cold, but the differences in technology startle both sides. The Vulcans use an alternate form of FTL coloquially known as a "Warp Drive" (though it bears little similarity to the proposed Alcubierre drive) and have never discovered Stargates, naquadah, or hyperdrives.

July 5, 2022 - First contact with the Andorians. The Andorians were found to use the same tech base as the Vulcans. Again, the differences in technology were enthralling to both the Andorian Empire and the Alliance.

July 11, 2022 - First contact with the Tellarites. The Tellarites also use a similar tech base. All three races are in close proximity to each other, and many theories about the origins of their technology are proposed. None are proven.

October 25, 2022 - Strange starships of an unknown type are observed around Andor and Tellar. When pressed, the Andorians are strangely evasive, and the Tellarites only state that they were involved in a conflict in the past.

May 22, 2023 - Colony founded on Shanxi, on the opposite side of the Systems Alliance from the newly discovered races.

October-November 2023 - Sightings of unknown starships near Andor and Tellar increase dramatically.

November 18, 2023 - Andorian Empire joins the Systems Alliance. The Andorians initially rejected the Systems Alliance, but had a sudden "change of heart" in early November for unknown reasons.

November 24, 2023 - A strange artifact is discovered in the Shanxi system. Its purpose is unknown, but teams of scientists flock to study it and an official project is launched as part of the Systems Alliance Archaeological Program under the Systems Alliance Space Exploration Agency. Rumours of a darker and more clandestine side of the program circulate after several key scientists are dismissed.

December 5, 2023 - Tellarites join the Systems Alliance. Like the Andorians, the Tellarites initially rejected the Systems Alliance, but suddenly changed their position. Their reasoning is unknown, but many are suspicious.

August 1, 2025 - SSV Galileo is launched on an exploratory mission. Although its true purpose remains secret, it is commonly believed that it has something to do with the Shanxi artifact.

August 4, 2025 - SSV Galileo is destroyed under mysterious circumstances. The reason is unknown.

August 5, 2025 - Current date. First contact with the Turian Hierarchy.

 

[lancelot]

They don't need ground forces they need one ship with it's transporters set to 'fuck off and go away mode'. Any Turian on the planet when their is still a earth ship around is dead before he takes three steps it's just that simple.

 

[XCVG]

They don't need ground forces they need one ship with it's transporters set to 'fuck off and go away mode'. Any Turian on the planet when their is still a earth ship around is dead before he takes three steps it's just that simple.

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Like many other fanfiction authors, I'm going to conveniently ignore that. Actually, they do have transporters, but they don't have the hover-and-sweep function that the Asgard motherships had. They could beam out the turians, but it would take weeks, provided they didn't deploy some kind of countermeasure or hide in some way.

Ummmm, the earth ships were destroyed that quickly, WTF?!?!??!?!??

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Yeah, I know. In retrospect, I should have left the Hastings intact and only wrecked the Kyoto. The Kyoto was only destroyed because the dumbass commander decided to charge in so he could use his beam weapons. It worked, destroyed a few cruisers, but then the Kyoto was raped by disruptor torpedoes.

This isn't some we give away our freedom to aliens like the original systems alliance is it?

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It's not giving away your freedom, it's becoming part of a greater alliance.

The Turians are slaves under a less harsh name, so is the rest of the ME council, which is why I never got why in all three ME's humans cannot wait to be part of something that keeps them from advancing, and seem to be happy about it.

Client race= slave race.

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Client race != slave race.

You got a funny definition of slave race. The Turians aren't clients. They're council. They sit on the damn council making policy, just like the Asari and Salarians. How can they be slaves when they're the masters in the citadel house? Hanar and other races, sure.

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Pretty much that.

With that being said, this SA's position with the Council will be... complicated.

So stargate isn't stomptastic but everyone else is, reverse wank? I always hate reverse wank where its right for them but not for us. VVVVVVery interesting story, though the U.S. giving spaceships to their enemies was stupid as hell of them.

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I didn't intend to wank the turians that much, it kind of just happened. The US tried not giving their spaceships to their 'enemies', it ended in World War Three. That will, of course, be explored more later.

 

[XCVG]

I knew the annexation thing would be controversial, but I didn't think it would be this controversial.

Let me clear a few things up. Though worlds are forcibly absorbed, some at gunpoint, most actually get a pretty good deal out of it. They're not being oppressed, the dominance I refer to is more a mushy media/political type of dominance rather than a forcible oppression dominance. Think Coca-cola and CNN, not stormtroopers and dictators. Yes, the initial shock is going to be pretty bad- for a lot of these peoples, their world has been turned upside down. But out of this you get representation in a larger body, defence against attacks, a stable source of food, social security, and high-speed Internet. The main point of contention is the aforementioned soft-dominance; some worlds now have more Langaran, Terran, Herbridanian or other core-world (Galar, Orban, Tegalus, et cetera) citizens than locals.

The reason for doing this is not altruism, however. Every world with a Stargate within Alliance space is a potential security risk. Some remnant Goa'uld or space pirate can come through the gate, kill everybody, and suddenly you have a foothold situation. They could stage interstellar vessels off the world, take potshots at passing freighters, or fling a couple FTL missiles or RKKVs at the nearest core world. Absorbing other worlds allows the Systems Alliance to control this potential means of access and secure their own space.

Granted, you could just force them to bury their gates, or install shields, but that's potentially more cruel.

Full-member worlds like Langara, Tegalus, Hebridan, Orban, Galar, Vyus, Pangar, et cetera have the same amount of representation as Earth. Which is the same "rep by influence" bullshit that has a lot of Earth nations pissed off at the Systems Alliance. Hebridan has a pretty good position- although they had to change their system of government a little Tech Con basically owns everything still. All three nations of Langara have a lot of seats, Tegalus is a bit screwed up after the breakup but they're still in a decent position. Orban has decent representation but they're pretty quiet. Galar has a decent number of seats, same with Vyus and Pangar but they don't dominate to the same degree Earth (read: first world) or Hebridan do. All have a spot on the Systems Alliance Security Council, which will be explained later.

Anyways, I just don't see a Terran... No, Western Civilization dominated and led Systems Alliance oppressing and occupying worlds, especially allied peoples. I can see such a Systems Alliance dominating that council politically, with representatives from the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Australia, Canada, ect. while other worlds only one representative each, or in the case of Langara, three reps for Kelowna, Tirania and Andaria. But I don't see them shortchanging and exploiting member states. I can see problems with peacekeeping forces and police missions on Bedrosia and other such conflict worlds but you're not painting a very stable picture of this Systems Alliance..

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That's actually a lot more like what I intended to portray the Systems Alliance as.

in the first contact with the Turian's segment, and yet in the timeline segment, you've said that they've met 3 races that use Warp Drive, an FTL technology that travels through normal space, so they would have already known about the possibility of that technology, and thus why would Caldwell jump to the conclusion that its the same tech as the device, wouldn't he assume it's warp drive?

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Warp drive is FTL, but it's not through realspace. I'm not sure how exactly these systems work or if there's even a consistent, logical explanation, but I have a tentative plan for how they work in Invasion The Undiscovered Galaxy. There's another layer of space, if you will, call it hyperspace, subspace, slipspace, it's all the same. Most FTL drives work by interacting with this layer to some degree. For hyperdrives, the ship is fully "submerged" in hyperspace, and does not interact with realspace at all. Warp drives literally warp realspace and subspace together to achieve FTL travel- less efficient, but easier. Mass Effect drives are an oddball in that they do not interact with subspace at all.

Needless to say, all of them go lolphysics.

I'm sorry, but WTF??????
Also, you've stated that there is no Ori, but does that mean that there is no Asgard Legacy? My understanding was that the Asgard left the Tau'ri (always hated that name. Why call yourself something that other people call you by, why not call yourself by what you call yourselves eg: all French calling themselves "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys" because that's what Jeremy Clarkson calls them) their legacy because they were dying and they believed the Terrans to be the Fifth Race.

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The fate of the Asgard is deliberately left undetermined.

Gotta agree with Pedmore and Stark. XCVG, I really don't see western civilizations repeating the mistakes of the past on such a large scale. I really don't even see a conflict between us and Russia in the future. They're not trustworthy, but they're too tied economically to the west these days and they're not strong enough to cut ties with us. China is and was the problem child in the show and in real life. Though I expect someone will point out that the same arguement I just made for Russia applies to China. That's the general belief, unless you're paying attention to certain new sources. China's goal is to have a completely indepenedent economy that will run itself without outside connections. They're presently, in real-life currently in a tense transitory period where they either achieve that goal or fail and possibly collapse. China's the threat, Russia's only a threat in their untrustworthiness in real-life and dirty dealing. In Stargate, that's not the case. But relations with China have always been ambigious and problematic in Stargate.

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Basically, the United States tried to do what I've seen done in several other fanfics- leverage their advanced technology to ensure that THEY would be the first to the stars, that THEY would be the ones dominating the stars and to varying degrees, other countries could follow. If anything, previous cooperation would only create more resentment among the Russians.

Russia was the first to strike, with China just sitting back and watching. The looming threat of them taking over the ruins was one of the reasons for the formation of the Systems Alliance.

Furthermore, timeline wise, you're rushing this. Even Mass Effect wasn't that near future. Should push first contact with the citadel back several more decades atleast. Have Earth stablize and found the Systems Alliance and start colonizing with dozens of colonies before the Allies even begin joining. It gives Earth alot of time to develope economically, infastructurally and militarily. What you have right now is a mess, with no political stability or anything. I never thought the Systems Alliance in Mass Effect had that much shit going on.

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It's the Systems Alliance in name only. You're right, it is a mess. It's not united, it's not stable, and it doesn't have a very strong military. I assure you this is deliberate and will play into the story.

My bet would probably be Romulan at this point...

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It's a good guess, but I will not confirm or deny.

Yes, I'm kind of adding things and changing them as I go, so on one hand, be very unimpressed by my lack of organization and planning, and on the other hand, be very impressed by my willingness to listen to readers

 

[XCVG]

The above is wrong. First of all, the holocaust had far more than six million victims. I think the estimate is somewhere around 11 to 13 million victims total, six million of which were Jews. Secondly, the deliberate targeting of civilians made the war more brutal than World War I.

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I heard the six million number somewhere and assumed it was factual- I guess I had 'total dead' and 'Jews dead' mixed up. I also know about the second fact now but I'm not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that.

But for now, call it bad research in-universe.

 

[XCVG]

Thank you all for the constructive criticism. I started writing this story as a fun thing to do on the side, not a serious fic with an intent to publish. It's mostly what I thought would be cool all tossed together. With that being said...

I will go back and modify the first chapter to deal with the turian-wanking a little and fix a few issues. I will also write some more background pieces to explain some of the more contentious points of the fic, such as the colonialism of the Systems Alliance. However, some things will not change. I firmly believe that it is better to stand together than to stand alone, and The Undiscovered Galaxy reflects this. It's not the United States of America giving their friends technology and dominating the space race. I've read fics like that, I fucking hate it, and The Undiscovered Galaxy is not going to go that way. I'm even subverting it. The timeline is also staying, with necessary adjustments to the backgrounds of characters, and will depict a disorganized mess of a Systems Alliance that must pull itself together to survive.

The Council situation is different. I disagree with your assessment of the Citadel Council. I think the intent was good, but as of the time of Mass Effect they are ineffective, which makes it very interesting and parallels real-world organizations. So they are ineffective and to some degree corrupt. I think allegations of enslaving humans are vastly exaggerated, however. If anything, humanity is pushing in and making waves, shoving aside races that have been around for a lot longer.

With that being said, their attitude toward humanity will be different should they show up with a carrier battlegroup as a "diplomatic delegation".

This is not an Earthwank fic. I'm going to try to make things more plausible, and I'm going to try to cut back the Mass Effect wank, but you are not going to see human fleets blowing the hell out of the Citadel because a colony got invaded.

 

[XCVG]

This time around, we meet a familiar character from another verse. Well, familiar-ish. I know there haven't been a lot of questions answered, but rest assured that A3 and B3 will both be largely dedicated to that task.

A2 - August 5, 2025, Shanxi, Williams, Invasion


SAB Shanxi

A tall, lithe figure clothed in digital BDUs stepped out into the cool morning air. The rising sun illuminated the jagged scar on his face and the greying hair above it. Behind him were the pale grey buildings of the Systems Alliance's permanent installation on the colony world. In front of him, below the rise he was standing on, were vast fields of some plant resembling wheat, with sprawling coniferous forests beyond. In the sky, two of the planet's three moons

Major General Williams gently shook his head, clearing it. A younger man, wearing a similar uniform but with the four bars of a colonel, stepped out beside him. The general turned to him, then back to the sunrise before them. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. And at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we shall remember them. Makes you think, doesn't it?"

"I'm not sure what you're getting at, sir," the colonel asked. There was a noticeable accent in his voice- Swedish, but Williams had thought it was German for the better part of a month. One more sign that his time was up.

"I'm too old for this shit, Fred," Williams replied bluntly. "I've had enough of war, enough of fighting. I've seen the world change more times than you could count. I don't even remember why I joined in the first place, but it sure as hell wasn't to trapeze around the fucking galaxy looking for aliens to shoot."

"I don't believe I understand, sir."

"How old are you?" the General asked. It was a blunt question, but not a rude one.

"I turn thirty-five next week, sir."

"So you were, what, ten when DC-day hit?"

"Close to that age, sir."

"I was fifty-three. We grew up two generations apart, Fred. I was fifty-three when the world turned upside down. I bet you barely remember a world where people only lived for a hundred years, max, nobody knew if aliens were out there and Neil Armstrong landing on the moon was the farthest out we'd ever been."

"I believe I see your intent, sir, though I disagree regarding your retirement."

Williams sighed gently and tipped his head. "Do you know why World War Three started? Why we almost wiped ourselves out?"

"Well, sir, I suspect it was much the same as most other wars. One side, in this case the Russians, felt that the other side, in this case the West, had something they didn't. In this case, sir, that was alien technology and a very large advantage in the space race."

"Second space race," the General corrected. "I'm not quite old enough to remember the first, but it was there. Dig a little deeper, Fred. Can you quote what Makarov said before they executed him?"

"It doesn't take the most powerful nations on Earth to create the next global conflict. Just the will of a single man," the Colonel quoted. "Are you saying that Makarov was solely responsible? I believe, sir, that pretence was proved false."

"It was." Williams nodded sagely. "But if you dig a little deeper, it's men like Makarov, Shepherd, men of the last generation. Men like me. It was our way of thinking that just didn't apply anymore. We're too afraid of change, too comfortable to move onwards. You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"Surely you are not disregarding an entire generation, sir?"

He shook his head. "No, there are exceptions, there always are. O'Neill, Hayes, Ryan, some of us are willing to look forward, to embrace the future. I'm not one of them."

He turned back to the colonel. "I've made up my mind, Colonel. Shanxi's my last posting. It's a nice little colony in the middle of fucking nowhere, a nice easy place to stay until I retire. It's time for a new generation to take over."

"What do you intend to do, sir? It is my understanding that you still have a whole lifetime ahead of you." It wasn't an exaggeration. The last time he had asked his doctor, Williams had been told he had at least another hundred good years to live.

"I don't know, spend time with the grandkids, maybe just sit back and enjoy life. To be honest, Fred, I haven't really decided yet."

"That reminds me." He checked his watch. "Saturday afternoon, Earth time. Time to call the grandkids."

In a fluid motion, General Williams extracted his cellphone, a RIM Nexus X, from a pocket on his uniform. Reacting to his touch, the semi-holographic screen powered on, displaying a lockscreen showing the time, date, local weather, and a single Google alert. He swiped sideways on the four-and-a-half inch screen, which he felt ripple to his touch as tiny sensors picked up and confirmed his fingerprint. A few taps later on a three-dimensional homefield, and he had placed a video call.

The conventional EM signal was picked up by a satellite in orbit over Shanxi's main cities, and also by a cellular repeater mounted on an office tower a few kilometers away. The information was sent to another satellite in orbit, which processed the packets relayed them via subspace to the a comm station a few lightyears away. From there a higher powered transmitter shot the signal, again through subspace, to a receiver on the dark side of Earth's moon.

It was a seamless process, one thing that Williams would never quite get used to. Perhaps five seconds after he had placed the call, it was picked up.

A round face framed by flowing black hair appeared on the screen. "Grandpa?"

A single tap turned her into a three-dimensional hologram. The young woman turned and called, "Abby! Sarah! Grandpa's on the line!"

"Give me a minute!" yelled another voice.

"Better hurry up! Data isn't cheap!" She turned back to the General- in actuality, a camera built into her laptop. "The sisters will be here in a moment, Grandpa."

She was silent for a moment, and he could tell something was bothering her. "Something bothering you, kiddo? I'm real sorry I missed your birthday- you know how the military is. Congratulations on becoming an adult."

"Yeah. Thanks, grandpa." Her face brightened slightly. "Uh, I have something to admit, and I'm not sure if you'll approve... You see, I-"

The image suddenly disappeared, a blinking 'connection lost' symbol in its place. "What the fuck? Goddamn GalTel shit-"

A third man, this one a junior lieutenant, ran onto the terrace. Huffing and puffing, he managed, "Sir, you need to hear this. FLASH traffic from the Hammond. Alien invasion force en route to Shanxi."

 

[XCVG]

B3 - Behind The Systems Alliance


There's been a lot of discussion about the what of the Systems Alliance- its structure, its organization, its military, but not a lot about the why- its purpose, its raisin detre, its reasoning. I think that's a very bad case of ignorance within the voter population, and I hope that this will rectify it to a degree. Of course, I am a politician, so take everything I say with a pile of salt.

One must first understand the condition of the world- that is, Earth- when the Systems Alliance was formed. At that time, Earth had come out of a devastating war. It is not that war, however, that pushed the formation of the Alliance, but what started it to begin with. One must go even further back. The United States of America was the first to reach the stars, even before disclosure changed the world forever. The leaders of the time desired to retain the lead in the second space race, allowing some of their traditional allies to join in. Of course, much of that wasn't by design- it just felt natural to everyone to preserve the status quo. Unfortunately, this left Russia, China, India, and most of what was not considered the Western world in the dust.

Makarov may have started the war, but several less radical leaders had considered outright armed conflict years prior. It was both a time of great jubilation and great tension before the war, depending on where one lived. The war was devastating, horrible, and all too inevitable. A few people, at the time considered very progressive, decided that things would have to change. We would have to understand and cooperate with each other or we would not survive. The world was devastated and undesireable elements were ready to take over the ruins.

It was mentioned by someone, somewhere, that why limit the new alliance to Earth? Indeed, by including a few other willing worlds, all of us would gain something from it. There were more worlds that expressed interest, of course, but it was the nations of Hebridan, Langara, and Tegalus that were deemed suitable and wanted to join right away. Perhaps it is coincidence, perhaps fate that we would have our own Alliance of four great races.

Now I will address what has been possibly the biggest controversy since the Alliance was formed: the Annexation Act (officially Home Space Protection Act). Accusations of old-style colonialism are widespread. This is not the truth. What the Alliance is doing is joining smaller, lower-populated, lower-technology worlds as client worlds. However, I should point out that the original reason for doing this was security- every world with a Stargate within Alliance space represents a potential threat. An enemy could gate to these worlds and we would have a foothold situation within Alliance space! By inducting these worlds into the Alliance, we secure these potential points of entry. These worlds gain representation and membership in a larger body, defence, and services that are basic to those from, say, Earth, or Orban, but unheard of for these lower-technology worlds, healthcare and education, power and running water, access to information. In return, the Alliance gains a potential world for colonization and resource extraction.

Also on that note, it is saddening the number of people who don't understand the relationship between Earth and other worlds. This is by no means restricted to Earth- many on Hebridan believe their world is leading, and there is a lot of resentment from the uninformed over perceived Earth dominance. I must clarify that the Alliance is not controlled by Earth. Earth has the largest number of representatives- 750, if I remember correctly- but that is because of its large population and diverse nations. Although no other world has as many representatives alone, there are far more from other worlds combined than those from Earth, and all share equal power. When a world joins the Systems Alliance, they gain representation (scaled based on many factors) and each representative is equal. They gain the benefits of the Alliance but retain most of their independence.

This is the key difference between a client world and a member world. A client world is directly administered by the Systems Alliance, although they have representation in the larger body they do not have sovereignty. A member world retains their sovereignty and gains representation. There are other differences, but these are the big ones.

I hope I have cleared up some confusion.

-http://www.alliance.org, 2022, Andrey Aleksandrov (President of the Systems Alliance 2020-2022)

 

[XCVG]

A3 - August 5, 2025, Daniel Jackson Interview, ANN News, Shanxi Attack


itsp://ann.net/live4, Stardate 1754391600

Interview: Daniel Jackson "One Among Many", Broadcast Studio
Two men sit against a dark background, both dressed in suit and tie. One has a beard and balding hair, the other has medium-length brown hair and a pair of rounded glasses.

Daniel Jackson: I think we've barely scratched the surface of what there is, what's out there to discover. Twenty years ago, we thought we were alone in the universe. Five hundred, we thought the world was flat. What we know directly affects what we think is possible, and I think that's a dynamic system, with one affecting the other, and it's always changing. But I'm speaking very generally here. As you know, we are descended from the Ancients-

Interviewer: Some would disagree with that, Professor.

J: And maybe it's not true. Nobody can say for certain. But I think that doubt, that uncertainty, even if it is based on an adherence to old ideas, is central to our existence. It's why we push the boundaries, why we want to discover more. In any case, we look upon the Ancients as this incredibly advanced, all-powerful race, who dominated the entire galaxy.

I: That's the subject of your new book, correct?

Jackson nods.

I: One Among Many. It's a very controversial book, it seems, and not just because its theories on the Ancients. Care to explain?

J: Yes, of course. *smiles* That's what we're here for, isn't it? As you know, I was involved with the Stargate Program and after that the Systems Alliance Exploratory Agency, and there are still things I can't talk about but we have been pushing the boundaries, and there is quite a bit I can say.

J: Recently we've been moving out into the galaxy more and more, and we're discovering some very interesting things. A lot of these aren't commonly known, but they aren't secrets- you can Google them and the facts are all there, often even on the official website.

Reporter (holding up hard copy): So in this book you postulated that the Ancients did not in fact dominate the galaxy, and were not forced to leave by a plague. What caused you to draw those conclusions?

J: Well, when we went out there, like I said, we discovered some interesting things. We thought the Stargate network covered the whole galaxy, but if you look at the distribution, it's actually very concentrated in a- I mean, it's fairly big to us, size is all relative- small sector of space, roughly corresponding to Alliance and Free Jaffa space, and also some of the Traverse and the Terminus.

J: But most of the galaxy is very sparse in regards to Stargates, but they're still there. We know the Ancients used the Stargates as their primary mode of transportation, so they'd be throughout their empire, and I guess they built a few outside. There must have been something in the rest of the galaxy that made them not want to go there, but we know it was relatively peaceful.

J: The other big thing I looked at, and actually, you can thank Sam- General Carter, for this- is the tech base. The Goa'uld, the Hebridanians, us, everyone in this sector shares the same tech base, with some variance. We use naquadah, we have hyperdrives, energy weapons, shields. It all follows a certain pattern, it's all based on the foundations the Ancients layed for us. But recently we've made contact with the Vulcans and the Andorians, and the Tellarites, and they share a common tech base that's very different than ours. I think a lot of why nobody's looked at this very much is because from a technological standpoint, ours is better. But from an anthropological one, it's fascinating nonetheless.

J: What's even more fascinating is that if you were to map the stargates and map the tech base, they match up. There are next to no stargates in the area of space where these races live. Also, although archaeology isn't big on the Alliance's priority right now, we've dug up some interesting stuff on the edges of Alliance space that we can't really figure out. None of it is really groundbreaking, but it's sort of a 'what is this I don't even' dynamic going on.

I: What about the other Four Great Races? Where do they fit into this?

J: I don't know. What I do know is that our assumptions our probably false. Up until now, we assumed that the Ancients were the dominant power, the Asgard were restricted mostly to the Ida galaxy, the Nox were pacifist and the Furlings... well, we don't know much about the Furlings. Everything we thought we knew, however, is based on this little slice of the galaxy. For all we know, this could be the Ancient corner of the galaxy, with the rest ruled by the Furlings. Our perspective is very limited.

J: I believe the Ancients lived in a galaxy much like our own, with several races engaged in relations with each other, trading goods and technology, and probably sometimes fighting, too. I think that's what's controversial, because a lot of what can be hypothesized and what criticisms, what shortcomings, what downfalls could be proposed and levelled against them can be applied-

Interviewer (interrupting): I'm sorry to cut you short, Professor, but we've just received breaking news from Shanxi.

Breaking News: Alien Attack on Colony, Shanxi
A harrowed reporter, blonde hair matted, blood dripping from a cut on her pace, leans toward the unsteady camera. The transit station they are in is poorly lit and crowded with scared refugees.

Reporter: We don't know what's going on, we were doing a story on Colonial development when- *bang, roof shakes*

R: When the attack began, they told us to head for shelters if possible and stay home, soldiers started marching through the streets, most of the communications are down, that means they've probably destroyed the main subspace relays. The colony isn't well defended, but the defensive satellite should have-

Soldier (interrupting): Ma'am, you shouldn't be transmitting-

Reporter (ignoring): They should have given whatever fleet they brought a run for their money, obviously these aliens are powerful enough to break through that. I think they're landing now, and they clearly do not come in peace-

Breaking News: Alien Attack on Colony, Broadcast Studio
Two anchors, one male and one female, sit behind a table with a false newsroom background behind them.

Male Anchor (distraught): It seems we... it seems we've lost the feed.

Female Anchor (struggling to keep composure): Details are slim at the moment, communications with the colony have been cut off. The Systems Alliance has not... hasn't made a statement yet but we do expect one very soon. We will... continue to update as details emerge.

 

[XCVG]

B4 - Ranks and Pay Grades of the Systems Alliance Joint Military Command

Officer Ranks - Terrestrial
O1 : Sub-lieutenant
O2 : Lieutenant
O3 : Lieutenant-Major
O4 : Major
O5 : Lieutenant-Colonel
O6 : Colonel
O7 : Colonel-General
O8 : Major-General
O9 : Lieutenant-General
O10: General
O11 : General of the Systems Alliance

Officer Ranks - Stellar
O1 : Junior Lieutenant
O2 : Lieutenant
O3 : Senior Lieutenant
O4 : Lieutenant Commander
O5 : Commander
O6 : Captain
O7 : Rear Admiral
O8 : Vice Admiral
O9 : Admiral
O10 : Fleet Admiral
O11: Fleet Admiral of the Systems Alliance

Enlisted Ranks - Terrestrial
E1 : Private
E2 : Lance Corporal
E3 : Corporal
E4 : Master Corporal
E5 : Sergeant
E6 : Master Sergeant
E7 : Sergeant First Class
E8 : Warrant Officer
E9 : Master Warrant Officer
E10 : Chief Master Warrant Officer
E11 : Chief Master Warrant Officer of the Systems Alliance

Enlisted Ranks - Stellar
E1 : Crewman
E2 : Able Crewman
E3 : Leading Crewman
E4 : Junior Petty Officer
E5 : Petty Officer
E6 : Leading Petty Officer
E7 : Chief Petty Officer
E8 : Leading Chief Petty Officer
E9 : Master Chief Petty Officer
E10 : Leading Master Chief Petty Officer
E11: Master Chief Petty Officer of the Systems Alliance

Terrestrial ranks apply to members of units that would previously be considered Army by most Earth standards. Stellar ranks apply to members of units that would previously be considered Navy by most Earth standards. The SAJMC has no formal Marine Corps, some units are considered terrestrial (e.g. I AEF, 24th ODST), some are considered stellar (e.g. 22nd Raiders, IV SCW). As the concept of an Air Force is obselete, most fighter wings are considered stellar- but not all. Additionally, 'purple trades', or postings with ambiguous equivalent branch, may be considered terrestrial or stellar. Whether servicemembers stay in their service branch (the term is used loosely) or switch when changing postings varies wildly. Additionally, some specific postings and some units have assigned titles that take the place of rank.

Dress uniforms are standard across all service branches, with some variation by unit. Utility uniforms are dependent on the environment and posting, not service branch. The standard dress uniform is coloured a neutral grey, though it is largely based on Earth military uniforms.

Response to the partially-divided system has been mixed. Many members of Earth militaries resent the lack of divisions between branches, citing longstanding tradition and common sense. Statistics show servicemembers from the United States are the most likely to take issue, with Canadians the least. Non-Earth servicemembers generally resent the considerable influence- in ranks, uniforms, traditions and rules- of Earth. Of these, the strongly military citizens of the Rand Republic take the most offence. Furthermore, translations vary wildly, even within official documentation.

 

[XCVG]

Some paper pusher screwed up, and nobody caught it. A lot of people, especially non-Terrans, took Colonel-General to mean "between Colonel and General". Originally there was also a First Sergeant rank in the wrong spot, but I decided to remove it.

 

[XCVG]

A6 - August 6, 2025, Lieutenant-Major Shepard, Helljumpers, SSV Okinawa


Stardate 1754445600
SSV Okinawa

Lieutenant-Major Shepard strode into the cramped commander's office alongside her counterparts. She saluted the commander of the ship, a Commander Harrison. This was her first cruise with him as commanding officer, and "Sir."

He returned the salute. "Lieutenant-Major. Good of you to join us."

"Sir, is it the Lucians?" asked Lieutenant-Major Westland. He was commander of the other group of ODSTs on the ship. She didn't know him that well; he seemed a competent operator with a moderately grating personality. "Have they made a resurgence?"

"Commander, what exactly is going on?" Shepard asked.

Harrison sighed and handed each of them a tablet, already showing an outline of what they knew. Two words immediately jumped out at her- Shanxi and attack. "On Stardate 1754391600- I hate these fucking dates, that's... 0600 yesterday, I think- the Yorktown and her battlegroup engaged a fleet of unknown forces near Shanxi. They were headed to investigate an exploratory vessel that went missing- the Galileo. Rear Admiral Caldwell is convinced that the same force that destroyed the Galileo was the one they engaged.

"Preliminary reports show that the enemy vessels are technologically inferior, but completely different. The scientists are still working on it, but it seems they're using a previously unknown material capable of changing its mass. We're just calling it Element Zero for now. We had the advantage of technology, but they had numbers, and they got a few lucky hits. They blew through the Yorktown group and headed through the device to Shanxi."

"What do you mean, 'headed through the device', sir?" Shepard asked. "What device are you talking about?"

"Shit, I forgot that you two wouldn't have been read in. Long story short, the mysterious artifact they found at the edge of the system and told everybody not to worry about because it's inert? Well, we should have worried about it. I don't know the specifics, nor would I likely understand them, but it seems that the devices- there was another where the Galileo was destroyed- are long-range transportation devices of some kind."

"Like a Stargate, only bigger," Westland muttered.

"Current buzzword is 'Mass Relay'. Specific enough to make the scientists happy, ambiguous enough to keep it discreet. I'll admit it has a certain ring to it."

"As interesting as this is, Commander," Shepard interrupted, "I would like to know what we're up against."

Commander Harrison sighed, lines creasing his deceptively young face. "Honestly, Cap- sorry, Lieutenant-Major, there's not a lot I can tell you. We know they wiped out the defence satellites- and most of what was in orbit- using long-range kinetic weapons."

"With a garden world behind their targets? Isn't that a little rash?"

Shepard shook her head. "They're aliens. For all we know, this could be standard procedure for them. We've nuked garden worlds before, and nobody gave a damn."

She paused. "Of course, times have changed."

"They have. We lost contact with the Shanxi garrison a few hours after the invasion began. Whoever attacked us, they're fast, they're professional, they're thorough. We've received a few communications since, but nothing positive."

"All we know is that they rolled right over us," Westland muttered quietly.

"So we're first in," Shepard surmised. "We drop, take the gate back and open the door. How long until we can expect reinforcements to arrive?"

Commander Harrison sighed and rubbed his temples. "You are the reinforcements."

"Us, sir?" Westland replied. "Two companies of ODSTs? Sir, we're going to get fucking slaughtered!"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's not my decision any more than it's yours-"

"Who the hell ordered it?"

"It comes from on top. Political considerations. Right now the Parliament doesn't want to start a war." He took a deep breath. "For better or for worse, that common opinion could change at any moment. Last I heard, there's a faction that wants to find these aliens' homeworld and glass it. And it's getting bigger by the minute."

"Fine. It's what we do. Feet first into hell. I just hope there's someone behind us."

On her way out, Shepard turned and asked, "Sir, what about the new equipment they've been promising us for the past six months?"

Harrison shook his head, and she let out an exasperated, "Fuck."

"And it's one, two, three, what're we fightin' for?"

"Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,"

"Next stop is Vietna-"

"Helljumpers!" Shepard yelled. In an instant, the company of eighty-four men stopped their singing and came to attention. She knew that the ODSTs were in trouble. After they had found out about their orders, morale had dropped sharply. It wasn't exactly a suicide mission, but they had no idea what they were up against, and the well, maybe stance on reinforcements wasn't exactly heartening. "At ease."

"We don't know what we're up against, other than that we're outnumbered. That doesn't mean we just give up and resign ourselves to our fate. We're standing on a legacy built on taking those odds, laughing at them, and beating them. If we backed down, we'd be slaves to the Goa'uld, or Wraith food. We don't back down from a challenge. We're the best at what we do. Chosen from the finest units in the Alliance and honed into ruthless killing machines. Tell me, how will we leave?"

"We go in feet first!" the ODSTs shouted back.

"We go in feet first. You have two hours to make final preparations. We drop before these aliens know what hit them."

 

[Night_stalker]

Minor nitpick.

A ODST's mission isn't to go in Feet first, making sure its crowded when they get there is.