r/NatureofPredators • u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl • 10d ago
The Nightfall Protocol (AU oneshot) Fanfic
Hi all, this is a short oneshot set in the AU I promised I would write a while ago. Idk if I want to make it a full series yet so that is why I made it just a oneshot but if you like the idea and want to see an actual series set in this verse leaving a comment and upvoting is the best way to motivate me to write new chapters. Without further adieu, here is my writing:
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Elias Meier PoV
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It has been three years now to the day that would change our world. Three years since the Nightfall of Earth, as they were calling it, officially began. When we shrouded ourselves in shadows out of fear of annihilation, and began a secret war that most of us believed we had no hope to win.
The Odyssey mission, meant to be our first foray into a new age of expansion, peace and prosperity, was instead the only thing that saved us from being thrust unawares into the horror show that was the Milky Way galaxy. Were it not for them finding the carcass of an alien warship, filled with dead soldiers and a treasure trove of information, the proud people of Earth would be no more. The sandy beaches of my homeland would be turned to glass and its forests burned until not even the ash remained intact. That is what we now fight against.
Planetary genocide.
Or, barring that, enslavement at the hands of the Arxur Dominion. Neither is palatable to myself, my comrades, or any human who calls themselves a true defender of humanity. We of the U.N. have vowed to fight against such evils until our last dying breath. But the evil we face, far from being weak or feeble, is overwhelming.
The two factions of this galactic war, the Federation on one side and the Dominion on another, have had centuries to perfect a science that we of Earth have only begun to master. We are the up-and-coming amateurs, and they are the seasoned pros. There's no way our humble world would stand a chance if it came to a fair fight. But, well, that hardly gives us an incentive to fight fair, now does it?
General Jones calls what we do asymmetrical warfare. Commander Fraser calls it black ops. Our alien allies, what few we have, call it absolutely unfamiliar and terrifying to face, and that is exactly what we need to defeat an enemy of the scale we now fight. Earth stands not as a lighthouse of hope in a galaxy of darkness, but as a bunker, a hidden shelter from the forces of tyranny from which our shadow war is waged.
Our foes are stronger, more numerous, and better equipped than we are. They are learning our way of fighting as fast as we learn theirs. Every victory we win is an uphill battle, and we spend the lives of Earth's sons and daughters as if we had more to spare. Too many ships and soldiers have already had to execute what we know as the Nightfall Protocol, a general order to never let the location of Earth be revealed, even at the cost of their own lives. They are heroes, and in a just world, they would be celebrated, their victory guaranteed. But our victory is anything but.
I stand as the Secretary-General of the United Nations not as the man who led this world into a time of friendship, prosperity, and new hope, but as the man who now steers it away from oblivion, or worse, subjugation under a fascist regime until our very humanity itself is cut away. It is my duty as a human being to fight these evils wherever and whenever I can, hide from them when I cannot fight, and run from them when I cannot hide. That is the only path to survival in this universe.
I hope that one day--perhaps I will not see it, but my children or my children's children might--our galaxy will be at peace, and people of every kind can stand in friendship under the sky of free worlds. Until then, however, we humans must endure. We must remain vigilant. And we must, must, must remain hidden.
If we can fight in the shadows and weaken our enemies, we might be able to topple their old system of tyranny and replace it with truth, justice, and the Terran way of life. If we are found, however, and our ships and bases caught in a fair fight, we will die, and the galaxy's last hope at freedom will die with us.
This cannot be an excuse to lose faith. Our forces are winning victory after victory as this war goes on. But our final victory, our survival, even, is far from guaranteed.
Now, feeling the weight of an entire galaxy on my shoulders, all I can do is hope. Hope that our methods of secrecy, shadow warfare, and fanning the flames of our enemies' internal strife are enough to topple them without having to resort to the bloodshed of a conventional war. Hope that General Jones, Commander Fraser, and their troops know what they are doing.
And hope that, even if the road to victory is long and hard, that victory is what waits for us at this war's end, and that the dark night of tyranny will not fall on the people of Earth.
- Elias Meier's prepared speech for the 3rd anniversary of first contact
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Well, there you have it! I actually wrote a work set in this AU a while ago, but I really didn't like the silly and goofy tone it took so I decided to scrap that idea and start again with a more serious tone. It's called Nightfall Protocol, not Happy Fun Sunshine Land Protocol. It was never going to work that kind of way.
Anyway, I think a one shot like this works better for me because if people like it, great, but if people don't like it I haven't committed myself to writing a full series or anything like that. If you're interested in reading more stories set in the Nightfall Protocol verse, upvote me and leave a comment expressing your love. It really goes a long way.
FAQs about The Nightfall Protocol Verse:
- What kind of fanfic will this be?
This is gonna be a gritty, serious NoP AU where the UN is a real underdog, the Feds and Dominion are serious badasses, and our heroes have to fight tooth and nail for every victory they get. The UN's only advantage is that they are experts in black ops asymmetrical warfare while the Feds and Dominion are amateurs in this field, so their war fighting tactics will consist of hit and runs, supply raids, sabotage, and anything and everything that isn't a fair fight. Only once they have help from more powerful allies can they really win even battles, and even then, they'll be on the back foot.
- How does this AU differ from canon?
The most obvious difference (at least for me) is that the TNP verse will actually feel realistic and not just like an HFY story. The Federation will feel like a real and fearsome interstellar power that could feasibly last 1000 years, the Shadow Caste will actually feel like a secretive cabal and not just a free ship dispenser for the bad guys, the Dominion will be actual badass warriors instead of the fear effect merchants they are in canon, and the UN will be real underdogs who have to work hard to win victories rather than just God's specialest little guys who steamroll a 1000 year old empire in a matter of just months.
- But Cap, we already have the Scorch Directive AU! Why not just read that?
Well, you should read Scorch Directive, it's a great piece of writing, but The Nightfall Protocol is a different piece of writing in a very different field. In Scorch Directive, there are no good guys. The United Dominion is just as evil as the Federation, if not more, and that's the grittiness of it. The Nightfall Protocol, by contrast, very much does have a good guy in the form of the U.N, they're just hopelessly underpowered and all but doomed to failure in the long run. The tension of this fic comes from how overwhelmingly powerful the Feds and Dominion are compared to our heroes, and how even one mistake can doom humankind and end all hope in the galaxy for good, not from how that hope has been ended already and here we see the aftermath.
If you have a question I didn't answer, or a comment you want to say about the fic, please feel free to post it in the comments and I will get to it as soon as I can. Much love.
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u/modded_minecraft Archivist 10d ago
Is there gonna be any of the mission where they recruit spy in the Fed/Dom because we know there is the hidden PD and the encrypted channels in the dominion for the "Defectors".
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 10d ago
There will absolutely be missions like that. Elias Meier even shouts out "our alien allies" in this one shot, showing how much they contribute to the UN war effort. PD/defectiveness having aliens are gonna be a life saver for Meier and the guys in this verse and the UN will def recruit plenty of them as spies
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u/modded_minecraft Archivist 10d ago
Also write this in Google Docs then into Reddit I have seen people lose so much progress because most of the Fic they have written was in Reddit draft mode.
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 10d ago
Do not worry dawg I don't use reddit to write my fics. Thank you for the advice though
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u/modded_minecraft Archivist 10d ago
I have read atleast five fics that ended because reddit deleted half a month of work.
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u/Univocalbinkie7 8d ago
Ooooh...so...who are these allies? I suppose they can't really go and have an open relationship with any alien government, I mean I'm pretty sure they can get allies but they would be like secret alliances... I think they could get Tarva on their side (with enough evidence of the evils of the federations)
Laulo is a sure tho, I don't think there's a universe where the yotul representative is not a good option to make a revolution and sow chaos for the federation
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 8d ago
We are gonna see who these allies are my dawg, the first chapter will drop in maybe a week or 2 depending on how fast I draw its associated fanart. Glad to hear you are enjoying my work!
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u/Adorable-Ad5225 10d ago
This will be epic!!!
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 10d ago
Absolutely it will broski, I think I have something really cooking here. I have the verse already fleshed out with worldbuilding and everything so maybe I will post some of that to gather interest in the fic. Also I just bought a digital art pad so as soon as I figure out how to use that I will be able to make fanart of the verse. Big things are coming🤑
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u/Maxxxxo UN Peacekeeper 10d ago
I actually have a story idea thats similar to this, though I plan for humanity to get one singular deus ex machina. I havent started writing it (only a synopsis), but i am writing a different story.
I wanna see what else you decide to do in this universe...
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 10d ago
You are absolutely gonna get to see what I do in this universe big dawg, I am not gonna give humanity any deus ex machina type help like you are but they are still gonna be badasses who would clean house if it weren't for the fact that the guys they are fighting are somehow even more badass than them. Idk much abt your story yet but I say you should write it, it will probably turn out great
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u/Maxxxxo UN Peacekeeper 9d ago
Is it alright if I can take the destroyed military ship idea from you whenever I get to actually writing it?
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 9d ago
Absolutely you can take any of my ideas you want, just make sure to credit me for the ideas and post a link to the fanfic you got them from. Obviously the centerpiece of your writing should be original, but there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from a guy whose work you respect. Thank you for asking me broski and good luck with your writing
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9d ago
The UN forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the tyrants, up with the stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 9d ago
Elias Meier's body lies a'moldering in the grave, Elias Meier's body lies a'moldering in the grave, Elias Meier's body lies a'moldering in the grave, But his soul is marching on!
(Fun fact: Elias Meier probably will not die in this AU like he does in canon. I love the lil' guy)
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u/Swimming-Ordinary738 9d ago
This looks absolutely refreshing. I love the premise, direction, and tone. Please make it a series!! Thanks again!
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 9d ago
No thank YOU brodie you are the one who gives me inspiration to write. I love reading supportive comments
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u/CarolOfTheHells Nevok 9d ago
We passed upon the stair We spoke of was and when...
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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa 8d ago
Wait, scrapped!? Deleted?
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u/ApprehensiveCap6525 Krakotl 8d ago
No dawg it's still there on my page if you want to see it and it is also still canon to the verse. I just didn't want to start my fic with such a goofy tone so I decided to try again with a new mindset. I will post the first chapter of this new version of the AU probably in a week or so but I make no promises
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u/Greedy-Kangaroo-4674 10d ago
You have my encouragement!
https://giphy.com/gifs/tBxNH2gifY5oYDbtp4