History Fanfic / FrontierSovereignGFC

* GoOutWithASmile: Certainly Sarah's ''intention'', however it ultimately ends up subverted as refusing to contest her own life is in fact what allows her to defeat the darksiders due to letting go of hatred and anger.

!!Tropes in ''Frontier'':
* [[TwoDSpace 2D Space]]: Averted during Grayson's "calvalry charge" through RISE[=/=]CENF fleets--they strike from above ''and'' send ships around the enemy fleet to strike behind their lines.

* WhyWontYouDie: Dark-side apparitions to Sarah when she arrives in their enclave but ends up shrugging off their attacks.

''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11500557/1/Frontier Frontier]]'' is the final entry in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2734141/ SovereignGFC]]'s MassiveMultiplayerCrossover series (that was never planned to be this big). This page assumes you have read (or are okay with spoilers from) ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'' and ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]''; you have been warned and no attempt will be made to hide any of [[TheReveal the big reveals]] that are made in those works.

* CallBack: Sarah can supercharge a hyperdrive, no matter the ship (previously done to a TIE Punisher). Shepard finds [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins scientists on Capek in cryostasis]], and begins thawing them out in the hopes that they might have discovered something useful against the Flood.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else (not without justification given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.

!!Tropes in ''Frontier''

* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF. [[spoiler:Later subverted when it turns out the Paradise Worlds were actually Dark-Side-powered [=Lotus-Eater Machines=].]]

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[VideoGame/StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else (not without justification given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!

* MasterOfIllusion: The darksiders Sarah fights show her quite a bit that she [[GenreSavvy suspects isn't real]]. It turns out she's right.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.

* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Discussed by the heroes--as the Council on the Establishment of the New Future appears to have "learned from the past" and avoids doing anything (that anyone is aware of) which blatantly stirs up rebellion (like [[Film/ANewHope blowing up peaceful planets]]).

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BadassArmy: Subverted by Athena's clones--they're ''supposed'' to be this but in the LensmanArmsRace between the heroes and the CENF[=/=]RISE they get [[CurbStompBattle stomped hard]] (mainly due to lacking the Force).

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell. Also, Sarah destroying furniture--she even alludes to how Flanders would be amused at destroying her ''own'' table to ward off attackers.
* CallBack: Sarah can supercharge a hyperdrive, no matter the ship (previously done to a TIE Punisher). Shepard finds [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins scientists on Capek in cryostasis]], and begins thawing them out in the hopes that they might have discovered something useful against the Flood.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* FalseUtopia: Grayson hypothesizes this might be the "dirty secret" of CENF, but so far no proof exists. That said, an investigation of a "Paradise World" is being launched.
* FantasticRacism: Played straight and averted, providing an unintended lesson in ''de-jure'' (in law) and ''de-facto'' (in fact)--policies toward non-Humans are harsh on paper but past the Mid Rim nobody really bothers enforcing them...and to its infinitesimally minor credit, [[PetTheDog CENF doesn't seem to care]].
* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well. She also gives more than a [[WeHaveReserves "So what?"]] reaction upon realizing she's going to have to kill more innocents on her side in order to achieve her goal of hunting down the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.
* MasterOfIllusion: The darksiders Sarah fights show her quite a bit that she [[GenreSavvy suspects isn't real]]. It turns out she's right.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NeverMessWithGranny: Scarlett [=DeWinter=] is significantly older than the rest of the Band's leadership. She essentially [[BatmanGambit lets the rest self-destruct]], [[MamaBear keeps her fleet intact]], and sticks her finger in CENF[=/RISE's=] eye when the opportunity presents itself.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RedShirtArmy: Athena's clones become this against Force-sensitive troopers created by CENF[=/=]RISE. The only way they can win is [[ZergRush by attrition]].
* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF. [[spoiler:Later subverted when it turns out the Paradise Worlds were actually Dark-Side-powered [=Lotus-Eater Machines=].]]

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Whoever taunts Sarah is trying this--they ''want'' her to seek them out to fight them. She knows it's probably SchmuckBait, but also thinks she can handle whatever it turns out to be.
* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BadassArmy: Subverted by Athena's clones--they're ''supposed'' to be this but in the LensmanArmsRace between the heroes and the CENF[=/=]RISE they get [[CurbStompBattle stomped hard]] (mainly due to lacking the Force).

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell. Also, Sarah destroying furniture--she even alludes to how Flanders would be amused at destroying her ''own'' table to ward off attackers.
* CallBack: Sarah can supercharge a hyperdrive, no matter the ship (previously done to a TIE Punisher). Shepard finds [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins scientists on Capek in cryostasis]], and begins thawing them out in the hopes that they might have discovered something useful against the Flood.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* FalseUtopia: Grayson hypothesizes this might be the "dirty secret" of CENF, but so far no proof exists. That said, an investigation of a "Paradise World" is being launched.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well. She also gives more than a [[WeHaveReserves "So what?"]] reaction upon realizing she's going to have to kill more innocents on her side in order to achieve her goal of hunting down the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.
* MasterOfIllusion: The darksiders Sarah fights show her quite a bit that she [[GenreSavvy suspects isn't real]].

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RedShirtArmy: Athena's clones become this against Force-sensitive troopers created by CENF[=/=]RISE. The only way they can win is [[ZergRush by attrition]].
* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Whoever taunts Sarah is trying this--they ''want'' her to seek them out to fight them. She knows it's probably SchmuckBait, but also thinks she can handle whatever it turns out to be.
* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BadassArmy: Subverted by Athena's clones--they're ''supposed'' to be this but in the LensmanArmsRace between the heroes and the CENF[=/=]RISE they get [[CurbStompBattle stomped hard]] (mainly due to lacking the Force).

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell. Also, Sarah destroying furniture--she even alludes to how Flanders would be amused at destroying her ''own'' table to ward off attackers.
* CallBack: Sarah can supercharge a hyperdrive, no matter the ship (previously done to a TIE Punisher). Shepard finds [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins scientists on Capek in cryostasis]], and begins thawing them out in the hopes that they might have discovered something useful against the Flood.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* FalseUtopia: Grayson hypothesizes this might be the "dirty secret" of CENF, but so far no proof exists. That said, an investigation of a "Paradise World" is being launched.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!
* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well. She also gives more than a [[WeHaveReserves "So what?"]] reaction upon realizing she's going to have to kill more innocents on her side in order to achieve her goal of hunting down the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RedShirtArmy: Athena's clones become this against Force-sensitive troopers created by CENF[=/=]RISE. The only way they can win is [[ZergRush by attrition]].
* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Whoever taunts Sarah is trying this--they ''want'' her to seek them out to fight them. She knows it's probably SchmuckBait, but also thinks she can handle whatever it turns out to be.
* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BadassArmy: Subverted by Athena's clones--they're ''supposed'' to be this but in the LensmanArmsRace between the heroes and the CENF[=/=]RISE they get [[CurbStompBattle stomped hard]] (mainly due to lacking the Force).

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell. Also, Sarah destroying furniture--she even alludes to how Flanders would be amused at destroying her ''own'' table to ward off attackers.
* CallBack: Sarah can supercharge a hyperdrive, no matter the ship (previously done to a TIE Punisher). Shepard finds [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins scientists on Capek in cryostasis]], and begins thawing them out in the hopes that they might have discovered something useful against the Flood.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.
* FalseUtopia: Grayson hypothesizes this might be the "dirty secret" of CENF, but so far no proof exists. That said, an investigation of a "Paradise World" is being launched.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!
* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RedShirtArmy: Athena's clones become this against Force-sensitive troopers created by CENF[=/=]RISE. The only way they can win is [[ZergRush by attrition]].
* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BadassArmy: Subverted by Athena's clones--they're ''supposed'' to be this but in the LensmanArmsRace between the heroes and the CENF[=/=]RISE they get [[CurbStompBattle stomped hard]] (mainly due to lacking the Force).

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.
* FalseUtopia: Grayson hypothesizes this might be the "dirty secret" of CENF, but so far no proof exists.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!
* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RedShirtArmy: Athena's clones become this against Force-sensitive troopers created by CENF[=/=]RISE. The only way they can win is [[ZergRush by attrition]].
* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]] and use "DS-PLNE" to tamp down their UnstoppableRage.
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.

* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows [[ValuesDissonance some people in the future]] will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* GenreSavvy: The Council of the Great Holocron repeatedly warns the heroes against underestimating darksiders. They should know--between them at least two Sith Lords (Palpatine, Cadeus) developed under their noses!
* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]].
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BiggerIsBetter: {{Enforced}} InUniverse, because of a school of thought in the ''Star Wars'' universe that, if not using a ZergRush of [[SpaceFighter starfighters]], one bigger ship is preferable to a swarm of small ships for taking on another big ship.[[note]]Ansel Hsaio, a source of much AscendedFanon in the starships department, once noted that one large vessel facing a theoretically-equally-powerful group of smaller ships would take out the smaller ships with its massed firepower quicker than the horde could wear down the larger battleship, making it more practical to take on one Star Dreadnaught with another Star Dreadnaught, rather than a big fleet of weaker cruisers/frigates/corvettes.[[/note]]
* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows some people in the future will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

-->"...like a [[labelnote:klatooine paddy frog]]regular frog...[[/labelnote]], you will not know your doom until the [[labelnote:slimy hand of a Hutt]]water slowly boils[[/labelnote]] reaches for you."
* {{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]." The new CloneArmy, an improvement on Athena, is called [[VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm Valla-class]].
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand. Luke's ghost in the Great Holocron disses Imperial tech from his era, saying "you could probably do twice as well with half the size" referring to [[SerialEscalation ever-larger dreadnaughts]] being considered by Admiral Grayson.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[Franchise/StarWars universes]] [[VideoGame/MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows some people in the future [[{{YMMV}} will think this trope is in play]] and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

** "...like a [[labelnote:klatooine paddy frog]]regular frog...[[/labelnote]], you will not know your doom until the [[labelnote:slimy hand of a Hutt]]water slowly boils[[/labelnote]] reaches for you."

* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.

* ValuesDissonance[=/=]{{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* BrickJoke: Sarah's stench. Any time she uses [[EvilMakesYouUgly the Dark Side]] not only does her appearance change for the worse, but she also lets off a foul smell.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows some people in the future will think this trope is in play and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* ReformedButRejected: Sarah. Less "evil to good" and more [[JustFollowingOrders "following insane orders"]] to "not actively destroying everything," though for obvious reasons people don't trust her.
* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.
* ShoutOut: The massive Flood form on the Citadel is repeatedly called an "[[StarCraft overmind]]."
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Sarah. Notably, she doesn't ''want'' to be the "evil" one anymore, but everyone else ([[GenreSavvy not without justification]] given the [[StarWars universes]] [[MassEffect they're]] [[{{Borderlands}} from]]) doesn't trust her.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand.
* ValuesDissonance[=/=]{{Hypocrite}}: Grayson believes Nimitz guilty of this, since she made a lot of noise about "war crimes" by the Maliwans, Torgue, etc. because they used [[OrbitalBombardment nuclear weapons]] against civilians who were aligned with their enemy, yet kept [[HeroicBSOD Shepard]] and [[KnightTemplar Sarah]] around because of [[GodzillaThreshold the stakes]]. Somehow the former wasn't justified, but the latter was. He thinks this is silly.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* EasilyForgiven: Discussed by Grayson--he knows some people in the future [[{{YMMV}} will think this trope is in play]] and justifiably so, but he invokes the GodzillaThreshold. Samantha Shepard's attitude makes clear she's [[IDidWhatIHadToDo not proud of]] [[HeroicBSOD what she did]], and actually wants to quit the military, though not before one final fight against the Flood.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* HeroicSacrifice: On a species-wide scale, the "old" (Consensus) geth [[GreatOffscreenWar kept the Flood busy]] for so long that the monstrosities were not able to properly focus on the heroes. [[FridgeHorror Imagine what would have happened]] if it ''had'' zeroed in on them given the horrific losses inflicted...

* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.

* MoodDissonance: When a ''Soul Reaper'' missile is fired toward the Citadel to end the war, a computer counts down from ten like old-school rocket launches. [[CrossesTheLineTwice Then it says "Have a nice day!"]] upon detonation.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Adrian Victus]] does get a point in--the Trans-Galactic Republic has shown itself almost as incapable of action as the Citadel Council, only for Shepard to shoot back that if the Council had a moral leg to stand on in this regard (hint: they don't), they would have done something besides stick their heads in the sand.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.

* ChekhovsGun: Allison Nimitz sent Sarah to retrieve some Eridium gas from Pandora. It turns up later as the only way to stop Flood superships. Arguably, the "[[HollywoodAcid dissolve-everything]]" nature of it was actually foreshadowed halfway through ''Origins'' when the Republic Intelligence Service [[AssassinOutclassin tried and failed]] to kill Sarah but virtually dissolved the ship she was on and its crew.

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* JediMindTrick: The RISE Council doesn't like Dirctor Vance's insistence that there isn't a problem with someone taking over their digistruction facilities. They "persuade" him of the error of his thinking.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!

* RepressiveButEfficient: The Council on the Establishment of the New Future is actually quite competent, much more so than the [[DemocracyIsBad Trans-Galactic Republic]] at the cost of ''de-jure'' [[FantasticRacism racism against aliens]]. (Gee, [[RecycledScript heard this one before?]]) It helps that [[UserfulNotes/HerbertHoover "a speeder in every garage, a HoloNet transceiver in every town, and a job for every willing worker"]] is ''actually working out'' under CENF.

* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* TakeThat: InUniverse, the now-former Citadel Council gets a huge one from Samantha Shepard for their HeadInTheSandManagement and being GenreBlind. They ''try'' to pull a WhatTheHellHero but get bowled over as their accusations of [[FantasticRacism racism]] fall flat.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.
* VillainBall: Downplayed and lampshaded, despite said villains also being DangerouslyGenreSavvy. The Council on the Establishment of the New Future (RISE) is well-aware that hidden installations can be found, however, they were counting on TwoDSpace[=/=]SpaceIsAnOcean being in play for the heroes and anyone else who might look. When their Director makes them aware that this gambit has failed which results in someone having massive amounts of ships and soldiers courtesy their own facilities, they are displeased. However, they openly admit that such eventualities were in fact possible (averting ThisCannotBe), just more likely than anyone wanted to think.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.

* GovernmentProcedural: The plot thread involving drama inside the Trans-Galactic Republic has finally resolved itself...with a coup. Admiral Adam Grayson finds out about this when he phones home to other Trans-Galactic Republic members.

* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* PardonMyKlingon: A kriffing Sith magocracy! Vape-headed rodder who only blows ion trails!
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.

* SubspaceAnsible: The [=HoloNet=], par for the course in a work featuring the technology of ''Star Wars.'' ''Mass Effect'' has its quantum entanglement devices, and ''Borderlands'' has a "relay" network.
* VelvetRevolution: When the Trans-Galactic Republic falls, the only casualties are a few Senators. The new StateSec government leaves everyone else alone, though their [[PrivateMilitaryContractor contracted help]] spans the gamut from ConsummateProfessional to PsychoForHire.

!!Tropes in ''Frontier''
* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.
* CharacterDeath: Not so much this work (yet...), but the death count from ''Fractured'' and ''Origins'' before mean that dozens of named personalities (such as Lilith, Tina, Liara, the Illusive Man, and more) won't be showing up here.
* HeelFaceTurn: Sarah. A Flood MindRape combined with messy neural imprinting tends to do that. She did get nudged along by Flanders, Shepard, and Co. as well.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!
* StarshipLuxurious: Played straight and averted at the same time. The fact that Star Dreadnaughts have ''swimming pools'' is somewhat ridiculous (though the Trans-Galactic Republic justifies it InUniverse), however a lack of ''water'' means said luxury cannot be enjoyed.
* StealthInSpace: ''Ultimatum'' has a "scattering field" installed (so less effective than a traditional ''Star Wars'' cloaking device), however any sort of high-energy discharges such as simply turning on DeflectorShields or even active sensors will reveal the vessel.

* AlmightyJanitor: Samantha Shepard finally receives a promotion to Captain after years of technically holding "only" the rank of Commander despite vast responsibilities being repeatedly placed on her shoulders. She lampshades how weird this is.

* NoKillLikeOverkill: ''Eighteen'' Star Dreadnaughts are sent to destroy a Flood infestation on ''one'' planet. Perhaps it was partially a CatharsisFactor for Samantha Shepard...

* OrbitalBombardment: When you have a [[FlauntingYourFleets whole fleet]] of [[MileLongShip huge starships]] that were sort of built for this, why not? When dealing with Flood, ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure!