GATE: The United Nations of Earth

Chapter 38: "Priority: Auraelm P.1"

--World building fact--

Did you know that the Earth and Mars are orbiting the Sun at the speed of 107 000 km/h (67 000 mph) and 86 668 km/h (53 853 mph)? With that in mind, space battles in Hollywood movies often take place directly in orbit of a planet which is unrealistic. As soon as a fleet drops out of FTL travel on top of, let's say Earth, the planet would be zooming away from them 30 kilometers per second pass by. Therefore, while ships could move faster than that, keeping a synchronized orbit with a planet would put you at a tactical disadvantage of being predictable while your enemy could freely move to any position to snipe your fleet from afar.

In this universe, space combat for system superiority isn't just 2 fleets facing off each other at visual range like 18th-century naval line battle. Instead, the battle would take place all over the system with fleets and battlegroups using moons, planets, asteroids, electronic warfare and any space anomalies to their advantage as ship weapons capable of accurately striking targets at thousands of kilometers away or lightyears away in case of UNE and Reaper. A fleet doesn't have to be on top of a planet to prevent a planetary landing or evacuation because they could shoot, anywhere in the system, any ships that try to land or leave the planet. Fleets and ships would rarely see the enemy within visual range, if at all.

The bigger the ship, the easier it is to be hit. UNE and Reaper technology is so advanced that they could build smaller capital ships than other factions but still have stronger armor, shielding, power output, more agile and more powerful weaponry. Another unique trait about human ships is, while they have aesthetically pleasing designs, the interior space is not wasted on grand ceremonial halls or rooms that serve no purpose in improving ship and crew performance. Therefore, UNE ships will always be smaller than vessels of the same class from any other faction but they also always pack much more punch and provide a lot more tactical advantage.

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The situation of the ally forces against the reaper is becoming direr every passing day. With the consent of the Citadel Council, the UNE has been using highly advanced weapons of mass destruction, that only the UNE technology level could create, in citadel space to slow down the reaper's advance. Gravity manipulation technology was used to create a massive gravitational force, stronger than the outward pressure, at the center of the stars to collapse them and create supernova. A weapon that creates large black holes, mounted on every battleship and larger ship types, was used in conjunction with generating massive space storms to make a large area of space almost impossible to travel and completely uninhabitable. However, all that would hammer any nation in the Milky Way to capitulation serve nothing more than a speed bump and a nuisance to the reaper. They could remove black holes and space storms like the UNE could but with great efficiency and faster.

System after system keeps falling into the reaper's endless waves of machines, and the current Citadel Council's political credibility took a hit. For months, survivors and refugees have been telling the tales of how they were rescued and survived the reapers. The majority of them are about how the Citadel Council's forces failed to hold the line and run away, while UNE fleets and soldiers held their ground valiantly, sometimes even beating back the reaper temporarily. Only the turian and krogan are brave enough to hold the line along with the UNE forces, and for that, they gained much respect from the human soldiers. Stories of isolated UNE human units sacrificing themselves to save hundreds, sometimes millions, of citizens of species that not long ago hated humanity as a whole. Such news and stories spread like wildfire as the Citadel's species viewed UNE as a beacon of hope while the Council struggles to hold onto its political power.

Things are not going any better on the Federation's side either, despite the lower presence of reaper forces. Being supplied by the UNE, the members of the Federations are able to hold the reaper at bay but it has begun to take a toll on them. The 2 hivemind species are the main source of manpower for the federation, however, the constant loss in addition to the reapers trying to disrupt the telepathic link of the queens to its drones are hurting them. A team of scientists and doctors were dispatched to help keep these queens in the fight but despite their best effort, the effectiveness of the hives is reduced significantly. Therefore, the frontline is at risk of failing.