-50,000 years ago-

Arkek turned to face the holographic screen before him. Upon it lay a blueprint for what would be the final work of the Prothean race, what he had taken to call the Core Machine. His magnificent invention, designed to combine with other machines and empower them beyond what had been deemed possible before, was modeled not upon the Protheans, for his race's time had come to an end. World by world, the Empire had fallen to the Reapers, until this lowly outpost in a terminal system in a minor arm of the galaxy may well have been the last refuge of his kind. He was not the last of his race, but he might as well have been. Of course, the simple listening post on the fourth planet of a main-sequence type-G star was not truly the absolute last stronghold of his kind, nor was Arkek the last living Prothean. On another world, many Relay jumps away, the forces of the Avatar of Vengeance had been placed in cryo-sleep, by the last order of the now-fallen Emperor. Javik and his men would wait until the time was right. So too would wait the Ilos Project's scientists, who would hopefully complete their task, and make the Conduit succeed. No, Arkek's task had been to simply watch and wait.

His waiting was predicated by an amazing discovery, based upon something gleaned from an ancient Inusannon archive. From time to time, a species would evolve, capable of generating truly massive amounts of a force deemed "Spiral Energy", that allowed the being to practically violate the known laws of physics as if it were nothing. Apparently, this energy grew in strength as the race evolved, but a curious quirk was that the Element Zero that the Relays and most galactic technology was based around was rendered completely useless to such a race. Even traditional ship design was ineffective, seeing as an Inusannoid form was most effective. Sadly, the Inusannon had fallen to the Reapers, which they had called the Devastators. The race that Arkek studied from his outpost on the fourth planet had shown the aptitude for the power, and so the Prothean Research Corps had deigned that, should this Cycle pass and the Reapers endure, that this species be given the best chance of survival possible, but also a test, to determine if they were truly worthy to carry on where the Protheans had failed.

Arkek's Core Machine would not see use for milennia, and he knew he would not live to see it. However, the AI he had programmed for the test, should the race on the third planet survive, would see it through. The solid-state holographic avatar of HELIX would outlive Arkek, and would be responsible for the next stage in the plan.

"Father," HELIX said, his black ephemeral form modeled not on the Protheans, but on the Inusannoids on the third planet. "There is still so much you haven't prepared me for. Are you sure there isn't still time for you to reach Ilos?"

"No, my son," Arkek, already near the end of his life, said to the AI. "My people's time is over, and the Reapers patrol the Relay Network for any ships. You are the best hope for all life in the galaxy."

Arkek broke into a fit of coughing, and as he reached to shield his mouth, his four golden eyes widened as his fist was coated in a crimson sheen. Already, he had completed a total of 50 Core Machines, and realized that his time neared. He prayed to the gods for the time to complete one last one, and have the drones organize to distribute them across the surface of that world. They were constructed from the nigh-indestructible alloys that sheathed the Relays, and with a simple application of that Spiral Energy, would continuously regenerate the little mechs.

This fifty-first mech, a stoic face with a circlet in the center of the forehead, would be his final masterpiece. The collapsible dome, a half-sphere made of a silvery metal, with grooves patterned on the folds of a brain; the glowing yellow eyes, with bluish shadowing, peering into the future; the single jet-engine mounted upon the back; the piston-shaped arms and the spring-loaded peglike legs; all of it would be perfect.

Arkek would choose to paint it a brilliant crimson, and called the final mech Fli-oht-Vaak, which translated from Prothean means Bloodied Perfection. However, that machine would one day become a symbol of hope for races across the galaxy, and be known forever more by a name far diffent than what Arkek would ever imagine.

A name that would lead that race from the third planet to freedom.

A name that would strike fear and awe into a deluded and backwards council of races.

A name that would go on to vanquish the Reapers once and for all.

That little crimson mech would come to be called Lagann, and would take a lowly digger from an underground village on the greatest adventure of all time...