Bad Things Come in Twos
by bullethead is a crossover between Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Mass Effect. 50,000 years ago, the Protheans and Reapers annihilated each other. In 323 Post Disaster, a group of alien explorers cross paths with Tekkadan at Saisei. Now Tekkadan and Teiwaz are playing a high stakes game, with the fate of humanity in the balance.
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Bad Things Come in Twos has the following tropes:
- Aliens Love Human Food: The Asari have a particular weakness for certain types of chocolate - According to Dr. Vass, certain preservatives break down into a chemical which directly zaps the pleasure center of their brains.
- Alternate Universe: There are several differences from the Mass Effect canon that stand out.
- The Reapers are no longer in the picture due to being mutually wiped out by the Protheans. The Prothean-Reaper war is common knowledge among the Citdadel races, with dead Reapers often uncovered alongside Prothean technology. As a result, the Citadel races have access to weapons like Thanix cannons. However, research on Reaper technology is strictly controlled due to the fact that even dead Reapers can still indoctrinate the unwary to the point of turning them into Husks
- The Calamity War prevented Humanity from discovering the Prothean Ruins for 300 years..
- The Batarian Hegemony are considered Persona Non Grata in Citadel space, and are caught in a Civil War with the Free Batarian Republic.
- The Geth and Quarians came to a peaceful resolution, establishing the Geth-Quarian Syntheis.
- With the Reapers out of the picture, the Leviathans would attempt to reassert their control - triggering the Leviathan War with the Citadel over three hundred years in the past. It is later discovered that humanity constructed Ahab Reactors and Mobile Armors due to their influence. This indirectly led to the Calamity War, due to the MAs triggering a Zeroth Law Rebellion upon discovering what the Leviathans were doing
- Anti-Mutiny: Dr. Vass and Vorhess are opposed to Dantius's plan to sell out humanity as slave subjects of the Batarian Hegemony. They proceed to warn Tekkadan and Teiwaz of her plot and help them in taking control of the Thrill Seeker while also killing Dantius and her collaborators.
- A Father to His Men: Orga makes it clear to Vass that he genuinely cares for everyone in Tekkadan and refuses to risk their lives in a hopeless war against powerful foes, especially technologically advanced aliens. Vass is very pleased to know this; mentioning that Orga is worthy to carry the title of leader, unlike the mercenary and military leaders he previously dealt with in Citadel Space.
- BFG: The Barbatos's primary long-ranged weapon is the Maratist; a Turian-made 90mm mass accelerator ripped off an APC and jury-rigged into an oversized Mobile Suit weapon.
- First Contact: The story begins with the exploration ship Thrill Seeker, carrying 150 Asari, Salarians, and Batarians, making first contact with humanity in a chance run-in with Tekkadan and Teiwaz. Kudelia later makes their existence public during the Dort incident, with the SAU, African Union, and Oceanian Federation forming the Multi-National Committee on Extraterrestrial Affairs in response to handle diplomacy with the Citadel races - outside of Gjallarhorn's influence.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Vorhess is outright against the dictatorial Batarian Hegemony, and he's not the only one - the Hegemony is caught in a civil war with the Free Batarian Republic.
- No Biochemical Barriers: Viruses are known to metastasize among the Citadel races; especially during first contact - and as a result, most of the other races wear environment suits until they can manufacture vaccines.
- The Raloi are off-handedly mentioned to have suffered an outbreak of an alien flu virus during their first contact with the galactic community 200 years ago.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: The Thrill Seeker, a decommissioned standard destroyer of the Turian Hierarchy, is consider the most advanced and powerful ship in the Solar System; with Naze noting that it could easily defeat the Arianhrod fleet by itself. Humanity soon comes to grasp that mass effect technology is far beyond anything they have; basic civilian shuttles capable of crossing the Solar System in less than a day while humanity's fastest ships take weeks or months to get anywhere.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: The Gjallarhorn Logistics Corps are an entire division of these - and have garnered a reputation as giant pain-in-the-ass for everyone else in Gjallarhorn, up to and including the heads of the Seven Stars themselves.
- Persona Non Grata: Due to Gjallarhorn's involvement in the Dort massacre, which endangered the crew of the Thrill Seeker, Earth's nations proceed to bar Gjallarhorn's involvment in the MNCEA and issue a five-year moratorium on research of alien technology.
- Retired Badass: Like Mordin Solus, Dr. Jal Vass is a retired member of the Special Tasks Group.
- The Scapegoat: After Gjallarhorn came under scrutiny over the Dort incident, Ellion is forced to scapegoat the officer who oversaw the incident.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Masahiro lives thanks to Kudal being dealt with far earlier than in canon, eventually going on to pilot the Waltraute.
- Biscuit survives the attack by Carta's fleet this time around.
- We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill: Captain Milena Dantius and her inner circle are agents of the Batarian Hegemony, having been sent to the Solar system to scout out potential slave worlds. They pretend to make peaceful contact with humanity in order to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses, with the intention of relaying the information to the Hegemony so they can prepare their invasion.
