Chapter 279 - 21: Blue Suns Aftermath

"So that happened." Marcus was enjoying a relaxing evening in the 'backyard' of his Imperial estate with a pair of his wives in both of his hands.

They were next to the infinity pool that was overlooking the Avalonian City aboard Avalon.

"What are we going to do?" Lacus looked a bit concerned; she felt responsible for letting those criminals run free. The Empire's people are leagues ahead in genetic advancement, implants and, most importantly, Quantum Brainwaves.

Even the most common average individual is superior to any alien. Simply because they are evolved; it might sound extremely arrogant, but it's the damn truth.

Superior reflexes, spatial awareness, denser muscles, even their lifespans are controlled. An Imperial will live for as long as they have the desire to live.

"Nothing really; we can only improve… something on our part." Marcus sighed as he mentally summoned his terminal, as his hands were occupied.

"I have already forwarded whatever I could to Marry. She should be back in Carthage." Euphemia commented as she looked at what Marcus was looking at.

"Petition from Marrybell, signed by Daphne to allow Yue to rule Carthage." The Emperor looked surprised for a second.

"That is a damn good move. As expected of one of my wives." He praised the brown-haired Empress.

"Approved. Send my congratulations to my daughter."

[Accompanied by traditional gift basket?] Legion asked.

"Of course. Do tell her that we need to be flexible with that world. Typical Imperial propaganda won't work since there are a bunch of aliens there.

We need to show overwhelming Imperial might instead." The Emperor hummed for a second as he looked at two pinkettes in both of his hands.

"Anything else?"

"I suppose both of us should send our congratulations for this…tactical promotion."

Euphemia raised her head and looked at Lacus, who read the room and understood how this move would boost security in the new Trade World.

"Yes, of course."

"Good to see that you two agree; now for the more important part. Where to place our first city in Ilos." Marcus dismissed the terminal and summoned a holographic view of his new planet.

"Fufufu, that is a tricky part." Euphemia giggled as she looked at the hologram.

~~~

The raid on Sanvos was more like an invasion. The planet got utterly wrecked by the pirates who took the garrison down and then the whole city. Thousands of Asari got displaced or simply gone.

The new mercenary group was extremely ruthless, rivalling that of Blood Pack, a mercenary group ruled by Krogan who use Vorcha as shock troopers.

These Blue Suns took the planet and stayed there until the Asari gathered a task force.

The Asari did not ask for anyone else's help. It would be embarrassing for them to do so. A couple thousand pirates, and they can't handle them? That is simply hilarious, but that's the thing.

These Asari have no idea what they are fighting. They have no records of Imperial encounters, what they can do in battle, and so on. They only have what Batarians shared, and even then it's fragmented and unreliable.

Other stuff is Scipio's campaign, which is the data shared by pirates and information brokers; that stuff is not reliable either.

And so.

"Matriarch, the bandits are surrendering." One of the bridge officers said to the leading Asari as their Dreadnought arrived to lay siege to Sanvos.

*Snort*

"Did they realise that they have severely overstayed their welcome?" The captain of the Dreadnought commented; she was an Asari Matriarch and leader of one of the major fleets in the Asari defence force.

The attack on Sanvos and the destruction of its fleet got the all-female race on edge. They are taking this situation very seriously.

And so they came in force, with the army on their backs.

"Board their ships; we are taking them into custody!"

The Asari want to dissect these pirates and figure out their secrets. Maybe they will learn the secrets of their mind-reading abilities.

Sure enough, the Dreadnought boarded the smaller mercenary leading vessel.

However… the moment they got inside the ship, they found nothing.

"Gotcha, ladies." A voice said from behind them as Blue Sun's men shimmered into existence from all angles.

"It's a trap! Quickly seal the entrance!" The leading Asari Commando panicked as she ordered the Dreadnought, but to her horror, there were mercenaries on the other side already.

They got inside the Asari vessel.

"That ship will do nicely for me. You have my deepest gratitude." Vido Santiago smiled as he grabbed the Asari Commando by the chin.

"Get your hands—Aghhh!!!" The Asari screamed as she felt pain wash over her. It's like someone was hammering nails into her head.

"I had time, you know. I had time to abuse and learn about your physiology. You may call me Vido, the Master of Asari. Because I fucked so many of you, metaphorically and literally, that I know what makes you tick." The leader of Blue Suns joked as his Quantum Brainwaves were, in the most literal sense, scrambling the Asari mind.

It's quite simple, really. First, he uses Quantum Brainwaves to make the Asari start melting. When she does, Vido overwhelms their minds with his Quantum Brainwaves, literally turning them into slaves as his Quantum Brainwaves overwhelm their minds.

Though he learned a couple of things from his tests, if he does it too much, they turn into vegetables, basically mindless husks- but if he does it less, they can resist, so he uses a bit of pain to keep it going.

"What are you… agh…"

"Relax, dear… and as your kind says… let's embrace eternity~..."

With that said, the Asari gnashed her teeth as she realised what this bastard was doing. He is mocking and is doing what Asari hold important! Melding!

But at that moment, all she saw was green and space travelling fast, like she was rushing through space. The Commando tried to resist, but blood started to drip from her nose.

She tried to understand Quantum Brainwaves without even having a basis for it; her mind started to break down, and moments later it stopped, and she dropped to her knees.

"Cute, it's just that you lack something basic. You are not one of us, Miss Asari. Our mind works on a higher plane of existence. Where you walk, we run." He explained, though the Asari had a blank look on her face.

"Right… I guess I was holding it for long; your brain has melted." He used his Quantum Brainwaves to control the Asari like a puppet.

"She will do nicely. By the way, boys, that Matriarch? She is mine. This time around I won't break them."

"...Right…" Vido's boys rolled their eyes. These guys had Asari behind them. All of them learned how to make them obedient not only as sex slaves but warrior slaves too.

After all, they learned that they are quite good. All of the military-trained ones can use biotics, which is convenient, and besides, they lost a considerable amount of turian minions, which they will need to collect once more.

"Hey! Cut with the damn sarcasm! You will get more of these sluts anyway. We might as well invade Thessia once we build up our numbers!" Vido smirked as he was getting even more ambitious after learning how to use his imperial gifts on these lesser species.

Brainwash through Asari mind melding? These bitches were made to be Imperial sluts! Their minds go through a damn blender as they try to keep up with Quantum Brainwaves. It's like placing an Excalibur-Class Battleship's FTL engine on a damn escape pod.

The longer they try, the harder it gets to understand, and then they lose their marbles as their consciousness gets shredded.

'More like ecstasy overload.' Vido snorted as he walked through the Dreadnought, as if he owned it.

"Stop right there! Don't get closer! Or we will blow up your ships!"

Though they were intercepted, the Asari pointed their rifles at them.

But then the Asari looked at what was behind Vido. There were Asari in blue armours; they had these blank looks.

"Go on. Shoot then. I dare you." Vido grinned as he spread his hands.

"Do it, and you will be killing your own people! All those ships are packed with Asari!" The Leader of Blue Suns declared proudly.

"You… you bastard!" The Commandos and the ship crew looked horrified to hear that.

"Oh, please. In war and love, everything is permitted. Or at least that is what the Imperial school of arts says."

"Boss, I thought you attended Imperial War College in Rio Grande." One of Vido's boys looked confused.

"I did. But then I got discharged from the military; I thought I could be a painter." Vido shrugged before focusing on the nervous Asari.

"But honestly, I just love how you all gathered here in one place…

It makes it easier for us to do this." With that said, the Imperial renegades moved forward and used their Quantum Brainwaves to corner the Asari.

The Asari with blank looks behind them simply stared at what was happening to the fellow Asari; there was no reaction, as they were simply waiting for orders.

Though… the action never came, as the Imperial swiftly took over the Dreadnought.

The other ships beside them waited patiently for the news. The Asari had full confidence in the Elites that were aboard the vessel.

However, all that led to was the Blue Suns getting Asari Elite Commandos.

Moments later, the waiting warships got a message from the Dreadnought.

"All clear; we have captured the surrendered Imperials." The Matriarch told her fleet.

The captains of other ships looked relieved to hear that!

"Proceed to assume your formation; we will be leaving soon."

That confused them; shouldn't they inspect other ships?

Regardless, they didn't question a Matriarch as they moved to a formation.

But then the Dreadnought and the enemy ships took firing positions.

The Asari eyes widened as they realised that this was a trap! Somehow they made a Matriarch betray them!?

"Quickly! Raise the Kinetic barriers!" The captains ordered.

But at that moment the consoles flickered; everything got reset! They needed to restart the systems!

"A-A virus!" The crew panicked as they stopped and looked at what was before them.

The last thing they heard and saw was Mass Accelerated Projectiles hammered into their ships, blowing up in a matter of seconds. The main cannons of a Dreadnought are not something to sneeze at.

The destruction of the fleet shook the Asari Republics to the core. All they could hear were distress calls when the fleet was destroyed.

An investigation was launched immediately; in Sanvos orbit, they found ship wreckage and Asari bodies. The fleet and the troops were utterly destroyed, and there were no signs of the Blue Suns as they disappeared.

~~~

"...This is… are you telling me this was done just by a couple hundred Imperials?" The Matriarchs were utterly horrified.

"Not entirely; they forced the Asari to meld and then used that as a way to overwhelm them with their mind abilities.

They literally turned them into mind slaves; on top of that, they had thousands of Turians that followed them." The Asari officer gave the report to the gathered Matriarchs.

"Goddess…"

The whole room was as silent as a graveyard. It was mind-boggling that someone could do that!

"...We need to ask the Empire for help!" One of them exclaimed; she looked pale and frightened.

"If we do that, then we will be a laughing stock of the whole galaxy!"

"If we don't ask for help from them, we will be literal slaves to these bandits!"

"Do you think they can overrun all of the republics? There are millions of us and only a few hundred of these discarded imbeciles!"

The always calm Asari began to bicker among themselves. Now that the conflict was literally just a few light-years away, they felt threatened.

"How about we compromise?" One of them calmed the gathered Matriarchs as she explained her idea.

"There is a Prince in Palaven; besides, this is not just our problem. Thousands of Turians helped the bandits; we need to learn more about them as well."

"...You think…"

"We won't ask the Empire to help but one of the Anaheim."

At that moment the Asari realised how the Imperial system works. Those retinues… they are convenient; they operate on their own! No need to tell the Empire and make it 'official'.

"Very well. We can negotiate with the Prince. Since he is into machinery, we could offer an Asari ship or a similar reward." One of the Matriarchs suggested. She doesn't expect the ship to be used; it will be more of a piece in a collection. Asari ships are regarded as art to some people. So there is more to it than that.

"Very well, then we can proceed with this plan."

And like that, the Asari downfall slowly began.

Vido Santiago, while the first true renegade, is not the last. Imperials will, one way or another, slip out of Imperial control and will abuse their abilities to their benefit in the bigger galaxy.

~~~~~~Apien Crest, Trebia System, Palaven~~~~~~

Trajan continued to work with Turians to teach them the art of mobile suits. Of course, building mobile suits without Sakuradite is a bit difficult; that is why he got them synthetic Sakuradite… for a price.

Of course, he quickly became a 'Friend of Turians' and even got a medal and all that stuff. Spreading Friendship between the Imperial Royal Family and the Turian.

Normally, all that ass-kissing would piss him off. But this race doesn't grovel, so it was acceptable. Before long, he got one of their Fighters for collection purposes, and he ended up exploring Dreadnoughts and exchanging ideas.

Without even realising it, the Prince became something akin to a diplomat, there not only to spread mobile suit culture but to build relationships between two civilisations.

"Primarch, Prince. Excuse me for interrupting, but we have a communication coming from the Asari." A turian apologised for interrupting Trajan's and Primarch Fedorian's meeting.

"...Asari?" Fedorian looked confused for a second. He mentally went through a list. As Primarch of Palaven, he had no meetings on his agenda for a while.

"I suppose I will return to my work." Trajan was about to leave, but the Turian Official stopped him.

"Apologies, Prince Trajan, but you should attend this meeting as well."

The blonde Prince looked confused for a second, but then he shrugged. Well, his curiosity was piqued, so why not listen to what they had to say?

"Very well, since they invited me." Trajan nodded, then looked at Primarch.

"Let's not keep them waiting."

"Indeed."

The two left the meeting room and walked to the long-distance communication room.

In the room, they saw an Asari Matriarch hologram waiting for them.

"Primarch Fedorian, Prince Trajan, it's wonderful to see you together like this. I won't need to repeat myself." The Asari smoothly opened the conversation.

"Is there something that I can help you with, Matriarch?" Fedorian asked, a bit confused. These kinds of things usually go through the Citadel Council. But then went to him directly…

"Less than a week ago. There was a raid on the world of Sanvos."

"...Sanvos? But that's…" Fedorian mentally recalled where it was; the more he thought about it, the more baffled he became at what this meant.

"Imperial Renegades led this raid."

Trajan slowly nodded when she mentioned Imperials.

"I already know about this event. Imperial Central Command notified me. To my knowledge, you don't want our help." The Prince reminded them.

"That was before…. The task force has failed. We lost two Dreadnoughts. One was hijacked, and the other one was destroyed."

Turian's mouth slightly opened as he looked at the Prince. These are not simple renegades.

"...The worst… part… is that they kidnapped many Asari; they used our melding against us… Those barbarians mind-raped thousands of Asari." The Matriarch explained; her tone was heavy, leaving the Turians even more speechless as Trajan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"...I see… from what I understand, Asari Melding is a merger of nervous networks and minds. Our brains have evolved, making us capable of psychic abilities; it's a higher form of consciousness.

I can assume the Asari's mind can't keep up and it breaks down, then the Imperial can control them like a puppet on strings." Trajan theorised as he looked at the Matriarch.

"Precisely." She then looked at Fedorian. "On top of assaulting our citizens, they had a large following of Turians. We ran ID scans, and they were from Turian Colonies in Citadel Space."

The Primarch stared a bit before sighing.

"You are well aware that you should go through the council. There is a reason why you contacted us directly?" The Turian was politically savvy, so he knew this wasn't a normal call about some raid. However, this was more of an invasion than a raid.

"...The reason I am calling is that I would like to invite Prince Trajan to assist us in dealing with the Imperial-led raids."

The blonde prince crossed his arms and looked at her.

"We, of course, will reward you for your hard work."

Now that piqued the Prince's interest.

"I do have conditions. I can assume you are requesting this as you don't want the Empire's interference."

"Precisely, we would prefer a single retinue instead of what happened with Batarians."

"...That's just Mother Kallen's personality." The blonde tried to reassure.

"...Or Quarians. Both races lost their independence."  The Matriarch reminded Trajan of the empire's 'track record'.

"...Regardless, my condition is that I shall continue to work with Turians." He replied before looking at Fedorian.

"I want live testing and field deployment. This is the best time to test your raptor models." Trajan said to the Primarch.

"...That is a good suggestion." The Turian smiled at such a move.

"We can adjust my ship to carry your Raptors to deploy in the hunt for these renegades. On top of that, I request Mother Mei to give a squad of Shadows."

"...Shadows?" That's the first time the Primarch is hearing those.

"Think of them as Imperial STG; they serve the Imperial Intelligence and are well suited for the operations that you desire, Matriarch."

"...I can hope for small incursions and no grand armada?"

Prince nerviously chuckled.

"My retinue is not the biggest. I invested heavily in my marines instead of ships."

"Matriarch, if you allow us, then one of the Turian fleets will assist Trajan? Think of it as a joint operation?" Fedorian suggested.

"...Hmm, that could be for the best." She nodded at such a request; Turians are better than Imperials in this regard.

"I can ask my father for more logistics and manufacturing ships for prolonged deployments. One of them could be used for Dextro food production for your fleet."

And like that, Prince Trajan got himself involved with Asari. Even though all he ever wanted was to develop mechs, others will always involve him in one way or another.

~~~

Meanwhile, the Northern Expeditionary Fleet moved in to secure the Horsehead Nebula, but the extra that should have joined was not there.

"I thought that Prince Trajan would join the expedition to the Horsehead Nebula," one of the Admirals commented with confusion.

"Hmm, I wanted him to take Jane under his wing to serve the Unicorn Corps," Julia said to her admirals.

"Mother?" The girl next to her looked surprised.

"Yes, serving the Marines would do you the best. You can do what you always wanted." The red-haired Princess smiled at her daughter.

"...I-I see… I mean, Unicorn Corp has the best field operatives." Julia didn't mind serving there!

"The visible spectrum ones, yes." Julia hinted at the Shadows, the invisible ones.

"Then do you want to? At the moment, Trajan has told us the Asari have requested his help so that he will be in their space. It could be a learning experience for you." Julia smirked at that.

Jane's lower lip trembled. She wanted to enjoy starting from the bottom up. And work her way up. But—

'Wait… what if I take my old man's maiden name once I graduate?'

At that moment, she got an idea of how to get what she wanted.

"Alright. I can serve under Uncle Trajan until I graduate." Jane smiled as she got an idea that she would go with!

"Wonderful, then we can arrange the transfer."

~~~

As the arrangements were being made in the Empire, the same was happening with the Turian fleet. One of the fleets returned to Palaven for pickup of their experimental Knightmare.

The Turians followed Trajan's advice; instead of going for an eighteen-metre-tall machine from the very beginning, they should first invest in and develop knightmares.

Once they have experience and have enough data, then they can start developing their mobile suits.

Besides, they only have a limited amount of Sakuradite. This led them to start looking for mining these purple minerals.

The Prince only mentioned that they found Sakuradite in a volcano on their homeworld, which led the Turians to start looking for this 'pink gold' in their volcanoes and their colonies, as well as their typical mining worlds.

Otherwise, they will need to buy from the Empire, and that is not the best solution for them.

And so the first raptors are being loaded into the Turian fleet.

"So that's it? Our answer to the Empire's Cataphract? A bit too small for my taste." One of the young Turians commented; his tone was a bit sarcastic.

"Not at all, Vakarian; this is our answer to their law enforcement models. We are approximately 70 to 200 years away from their military ones." The engineer turian 'cracked a joke' that made the young servicemen nearly choke on that reveal.

"...You mean to tell me that they are that advanced?"

"While they are advanced. The issue is that we never considered something like combat exo-suits. So we don't have infrastructure or technology. Everything is done from scratch." The engineer commented as he watched the custom loader bring over a Raptor-01.

The machine is based on Glasgow. Only that the frame is far more slender; it has kinetic barriers, is powered by a custom power cell, and has an Eezo-based engine.

It could easily beat a Glasgow, as the core technology and the output are different. But it's nothing more than a mash-up of Imperial and Turian tech; it's not truly 'theirs'.

Once they have enough data, then they can start making their true Turian machines.

"I see…"

"Vakarian, you and your squad will be working out of Prince's White Unicorn. Now that we are bringing in our first Knightmares, we will need to adjust the warships for this new type of combat."

"...Wait… I will serve on an Imperial warship?" Garrus Vakarian looked baffled to hear that!

"This is a joint Imperial, Turian and Asari operation, so yes. You will be part of the Imperial warship for this one." The commanding officer walked over and looked at the raptors. He looked proud to see the Turians adjusting to the new galactic status quo.

"...Sir, yes, sir!"

Garrus saluted with a slight smile; he was excited for the new experience. However, he wasn't prepared for what was to come.

~~~

In total, five of them got transferred to the White Unicorn. The Excalibur-Class Battleship that was in Menae's, Palaven moon's orbit.

The massive ship took the breath away of the young servicemen who served in a cruiser.

"By the Spirits, this thing is like two Dreadnoughts! And they said this is one of the most common warships in the Empire!"

"...Don't you think that we are screwed if they turn hostile?"

"Why would they? I heard the Councillor is basically the best friend of the Emperor, and the Palaven's Primarch is a friend of Prince Trajan."

The Turians in the shuttle were talking among themselves as they watched how the warship got closer and closer.

Eventually, they landed in a spacious hangar. It was considerable in size, as the stationed Cataphracts used it. Unlike Carriers, Battleships only have a single catapult deck; if in a hurry, they can walk out of the hangar and simply fly away instead of getting propelled forward.

This is because Battleships have a different role on the battlefield.

As the Turians got out of the shuttle, they looked around.

"So spacious…" To the Turians who served on the ships, what they were looking at was basically like a hall.

"...It should be. Just look at those." Garrus pointed at four machines. One of them was unique: pure white, with a horn. The other three were regular Cataphracts, only custom-painted black, purple, and white. Black and purple are considered the Imperial colours, but the white is the Prince's; that means that these machines are Trajan's retinue.

The Turians realised this, meaning they are learning and adapting to Imperial culture.

They have similar distinctions, like face markings; colonial Turians have marks, while those born in Palaven have none.

"Soldiers from Palaven, welcome to White Unicorn." A male voice said from the side. The group of Turians turned to the side. They saw a bald, dark-skinned Imperial walk over.

"I am Lieutenant Commander David Anderson." The man saluted, and the Turians automatically lined up and saluted back.

"Your Primarch and my Prince have decided that one squad, which is yours, will serve in Prince Trajan's flagship for the duration of this mission.

There will be two things that you will do." The Lieutenant Commander showed two fingers.

"One, you will be collecting data with your prototype Raptors, and second, you will be learning from us. Think of this like a cultural exchange program.

You will learn our Imperial protocol and study Mobile Suits.

I can assume you will be selected as test pilots for the upcoming models." David reasoned, making the Turians ponder for a second how that would proceed.

None of them is experienced in any of it. That's the whole point: they are the younger generation, and it's their job to learn new things and advance the Turian Hierarchy.

"Now, why I am here." David began to pace in front of them. "I am here to teach you a couple of things, give you a sense of what it means to wield something that has a neural interface and at the same time serve as your commander for the duration of this mission.

Do, however, remember a simple fact: while I am your commanding officer, if Prince gives you an order, you listen. It's as simple as that."

"...Umm…Sir, does that mean the Prince's command overwrites yours?" One of the Turian needed to confirm something.

"Precisely. I don't think it will come to that, as you will be testing ground units against renegade Imperials, Turians and Asari."

When they heard that, they looked at each other.

'Don't the Imperials stay in their own space? I guess it makes sense that some of them would leave… eventually.'

"Our job is the simple elimination of enemy forces. Something you men are well aware of." David smiled slightly.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, then let me explain about the Neural Interface; this is the Imperial standard explanation. You won't learn this anywhere else." The Lieutenant Commander summoned a hologram that had three figurines.

"The neural interface is a very common technology that is used for combat assistance and control of machinery.

It comes in three platforms. The Power Armour, the Knightmare and the mobile suit." He motioned at three figurines.

"Now, in the Empire, one starts neural interface training since they are small. People with military backgrounds start learning it as young as four.

I am one of them. It allows one to develop a sense that you have extra limbs, and that is the most important part.

Getting used to it is the key.

That is why I will issue you new combat armours. Think of it as a gift from your new commander." David motioned to the side, and two officers walked over.

"These are typical issue synthetic ELS suits that everyone in the Empire wears. This is what allows us to access our technology."

"...does that mean we can use your weapons?" The Turian got excited at the sight of beam rifles.

"To some degree, don't get your hopes up. Everything depends on your performance." The Lieutenant Commander chuckled; he saw how these guys got excited all of a sudden.

"Regardless. Here are your armours."

The officers opened the boxes; inside was some sort of liquid.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The five of them were no longer sure if it was a great idea.

The reaction was expected; moments later, the Imperial motioned, and his uniform reacted. It moved.

"...Wait… all of your…" Garrus realised what it was! Some sort of semi-organic substance that can change shapes, is harder and has built-in computers! No wonder no one else can use their tech! It's only half of it!

"Indeed," David confirmed, making the leading Turian walk over and offer its hand.

Moments later, the armour reacted and rushed through the soldier's hand and spread through the whole body. In mere seconds, it adjusted. Garrus noticed his old armour got… eaten, and in its place was slick black, purple, and white armour with a unicorn symbol on his left chest.

"Welcome to Unicorn Corp, Garrus Vakarian."

"T-This is…"

He looked with wide eyes as he could move the armour however he wanted. Shift colours, harden ir become cloth.

Not only that, it could give him a helmet too!

"I-It generates oxygen as well?"

"Indeed. Though it's not almighty, it's just a piece of armour. For Power Armour, you get additional gear, and if you get a marine Power Armour, you get a literal set of armour. What you have is essential to work inside this ship." His new commander explained, making the Turian realise this magic-like tech is just the tip of the iceberg!

An essential piece, like a tool you need to work with!

'Just like Father said. We are truly fucked.' Garrus just started to realise how much more advanced these guys are.

~~~

More Chapters (Book Three Chapter 31 [50k words] is up!)

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