Mass Effect: H.E.V. Project
By porschedriv47
Disclaimer: I do not own the StarCraft or Mass Effect series, Blizzard Entertainment and BioWare do, respectively. I only own this story and original characters in this story.
A/N: This story is currently just an idea. I have very limited knowledge of the StarCraft universe, and as such there will likely be few StarCraft references outside of characters, a couple locations, and basic plot points if I decide to continue past this prolouge.
Prologue
In the vast reaches of the Milky Way galaxy, a large space station orbits a giant blue star. The station only has a stretched yellow hexagonal marking on the side, the symbol of the secretive pro-human organization known as Cerberus. Cerberus's long term goal is the preservation and advancement of humanity, but the organization has been labeled a vowed enemy of the galactic Citadel Council and Human Systems Alliance. Terrorists, kidnappers, experiments on living subjects; Cerberus carries a dark reputation, but the Illusive Man believes the ends justifies the means. Humanity must survive the upcoming invasion of the Reapers, sentient mechanical giants that have been destroying galactic civilizations for millions of years.
A top agent of Cerberus paced down an expansive corridor, and approached a door guarded by high security. The agent displayed his identification, and was allowed in. The room had incredible space, and was very empty. The blue giant's light was the only source of light, and reflected off the glossy flooring. Sitting in the middle of the room was the Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus. The Illusive Man was looking at the blue star, smoking his cigarette. He motioned the agent over.
"We have suffered a number of setbacks recently," the Illusive Man stated. "Project Overload decommissioned, the Collector base destroyed, Lawson's resignation, and Shepard's idealism."
The Illusive Man took a breath from his cigarette and gave a sigh.
"I understand that Grayson has been captured?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," the agent responded.
The Illusive Man smiled. "Good, he will be of great use to us."
"Sir, I would like to speak to you about something astonishing we found in the wreckage of the reaper Sovereign," the agent approached. He handed the Illusive Man a datapad.
"During our data mining, we managed to extract blueprints to a kind of…genetic mutation virus," the agent explained. "We believe this genetic material will be used on humans after the Reaper invasion to enslave the population, similar to what happened to the Protheans when they became the Collectors."
The Illusive Man carefully observed the information. "Can anything be made from this?"
"The blueprints indicate that the virus is still in a development state. We can use these blueprints to continue development of the virus not as a weapon, but as something that can enhance the human race," the agent said. "A hyper-evolutionary virus that will alter human genetics to a more superior level."
"What test subjects are we looking at?" The Illusive Man asked, taking another breath from his cigarette.
"Primarily biotics," the agent answered. "We have already found a promising subject for our more advance tests."
The Illusive Man handed back the datapad, and gave a small gesture of approval.
"We will need a name for this project," the agent requested.
"There was a story I read long ago. It had a ruthless race striving for genetic perfection. I believe it will be a good metaphor." The Illusive Man looked over. "Project Zerg."