Empire Of Fantasy (Mass EffectxStellaris Crossover)

Displacement

Calixis System, Core Worlds Sector, Exile
[362-232-M12., Imperial Calendar]
(Constructive Critisiscm is Appreciated)
Mass Effect and Stellaris belongs to Bioware and Paradox Respectively

The Calixis System. Millenia ago it had been just been an opportunity of colonisation by the Imperium of Man, nothing more than a single name out of hundreds. Even before the Great Exodus, the planet of Exile didn't even have a name; it was unimportant, so it just had a number. Now though, people treat the Calixis system with awe and envy in equal parts. It garnered many names during it's ascension: The Jewel Of Zerion, Humanity's Vault, The New Rome, and many other names that hid in a thin veneer of envy and scorn. It had 8 celestial bodies, two of which were inhospitable barren worlds, while the five were all gas giants of varying colors, all of which were orbiting a bright A-class star, Sera. It had only had one habitable world, which was currently orbiting a truly gargantuan gas giant. The planet AG-X788, now known as Exile, was a wet Retinal World whose plant life where retinaldehyde-based instead of being chlorophyll-based, giving it it's distinct purple hue, and name. Despite it being a prime target for colonization, due to Retinal Worlds being somewhat rare, the Imperium hadn't colonized it. There are many theories as to why this happened; many scholars say that it was too unimportant to divert focus from the current crisis of the time, which was partly true, as it had been the middle of the Millenium War; others say that they simply missed the planet due to the gas giant obscuring their sensors. Whatever the case, all silently thanked them for not colonising it, lest Humanity would've truly petered out, Exodus or not.

Millenia had passed since then, and Exile had been turned from a simple colony to the center of a galaxy-spanning federation. The Retinal World was now but a shadow of it's former self, and yet it shined brighter than it had for millions of years. Now, it was a Palace Arcology; a world completely engulfed by bureaucratic and military sprawl, the largest being the titanic Imperial Palace, whose maximum height exceeded even the tallest mountains on Terra. Below that, was a gigantic fortress-city whose sole purpose was to guard itself and the Imperator from harm; surrounding the Imperial Palace like a stalwart testudo, the imposing frames of various military installments threatened to blot out the sun, pockmarked by an egregious amount of gonfalons and dovetails, the symbols of both their federation and their priesthood expertly grafted onto it. At the outer layer, adamantium walls as high as 30 meters with thickness half of that cast shadows upon the veteran denizens of this bastion.

As if that wasn't enough, the walls, the balconies, the roofs, roads, and many more had a myriad of gun emplacements on them, ranging from deadly accurate Iron Curtain PD to the destructive Strike Cannon, all using top-of-the-line technology, even by their standards. Sustained Portal Reinforcement Areas, a newly emergent technology made by the ever-maddening R&D Branch of the Empire – whose only problem of mass production was it's energy consumption – would ease supply lines and reinforcements considerably. In theory, it would open fairly large portals – large enough to fit a tank – to various military bases in the Arcology, or even on different planets altogether. Of course, the thing was thrice tested for safety; wouldn't want their reinforcements to come in as men, and come out as mutants.

All of these defenses were manned by the Palace Guard, stoic veterans with dozens of campaigns on their belt, and who passed flying colors to their often lethal training. They are independant of the Imperial Army, thus saving them the responsibility of the red tape of bureaucracy. Their highest superiors, the Preatorians, are men created and gene-modded to their limits by the Imperator – along with all other high-ranking subordinates –themselves, and the only people – save the High Archivists or High Command's retinue – that were allowed in the Palace's most highest levels. Their uniform was made out of pure nanite-augmented adamantium along with a thin outer layer of Living Metal for strong regenerative properties. The Praetorian's were even more outfitted, privying themselves to as-of-yet unknown precursor technology whose means of production was lost to time or were kept secret by the Archival Foundation. There were barely any documented battles where the Praetorians participated, thus making their capabilities not widely known. The only thing –or, more specifically, weapon– that the Guard and the wider public knew was the revered Sentinel Halberd; large spears that are more akin to hyper-advanced halberds than actual spears. Forged from a legendary SCT that even the Palace Guard knows nothing of, the spears were enlarged and gilded to accomodate for their wielder's size, along with rumor's their supposed divine purpose to personally guard the Imperator.