Mass Effect: Encroachment

Prologue

Accessing UNSC Timeline…

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Welcome, Admiral Hackett.

Accessing Years 2553-2783.

2553

Official end of the Human-Covenant War. Reconstruction on Earth and of Earth's defenses begins.

2669

Armstrong Lunar Defense Outpost established at Shackleton Crater on July 24th, on the 700th anniversary of the first moon landing. The moon is surrounded by several orbital defense platforms to create a strong point in the now rebuilt Orbital Defense Grid.

2703

The newly formed European Space Agency builds a new city on Mars, Lowell City, to try and encourage colonization once more.

2742

The UNSC constructs a new defense station near Pluto, calling it Gagarin Station, or Jump Zero, in order to ensure that no further invasions of Earth can occur.

2748

A mining accident reveals a hidden cache of technology on Mars, in the Promethei Planum. It's not Forerunner or Covenant technology, but something vastly different, and along the same scale, but more to the point, it is far more adaptable to current levels of technology. Mass Effect fields are discovered and mastered in a very short amount of time, and more efficient faster than light travel created, all thanks to the new technology.

2749

Having deciphered the Prothean data cache, the UNSC learns that Charon, Pluto's moon, is actually a piece of Prothean technology, a mass relay encased in ice. Continuous bombardment from the rebuilt UNSC fleet cracks Charon apart, revealing the mass relay, which activates of its own accord once freed. Jon Grissom volunteers to lead a search party through and discovers the Arcturus system thirty-six light years from Earth in the opposite direction that the Old Colonies had been built.

2751

Seeing the Arcturus System to be a nexus for several mass relays, the UNSC creates the Arcturus Station, the largest space borne fortress in recorded history, and makes it their new headquarters.

Back on Earth, a shipping accident at the Singapore International Spaceport exposes several countries to dust form element zero.

2752

Demeter is slated for the first stage of outer-system recolonization by the UNSC, and several ships arrive to ensure its security.

On Earth, thirty percent of children exposed to element zero suffer from cancerous growths.

2757

The First Contact War. Having seen what the mass relays can do, the UNSC sends several scouting parties out with orders to map out any mass relays discovered. Unfortunately, a Turian patrol stumbled across one of them, opening fire to keep the relay from being activated. The scout party's escorts return fire, and both sides take severe casualties, limping back home to lick their wounds. Fortunately, civilian casualties were low. The UNSC, not wanting another possible conflict like with the Covenant War, sends scouts and unmanned probes out to glean as much information as they can. Where they find the sternest resistance, a Battlegroup is dispatched. Most conflicts end in a stalemate. The First contact war rages in space for three months before the Turians find Shanxi and begin to lay siege to it. As Shanxi is a frontier garrison, the resistance is light, and General Williams surrenders after two weeks. The Turians, knowing that such a small colony could not be the homeworld of the large fleet they have seen, begin investigating and interrogating. The 2nd Battlegroup suddenly appears, let by Admiral Kastaine Drescher, and evicts the Turian fleet with a surprise attack. ODSTs are dropped, along with Spartan Group Delta, to scour Shanxi of Turian resistance. As the Turians prepare for full-scale war, the Council intervenes, bringing an end to what might have been a far deadlier conflict.

2758

Humans learn potential of biotics. An international effort to track element zero exposures begins. Roughly ten percent of exposed children show some sign of biotic ability.

A grudging and slightly paranoid humanity is exposed to the larger galactic community of Citadel space, and the suggestion of informing the Elites of these other species is passed.

Humans and Turians foster much distrust for years to come.

2759

The Elites are contacted, and are put in contact with the Council. Relations with extra-terrestrial species becomes easier for humanity, and they begin to grow more oriented towards future cooperation.

2761

With a new, safe and streamlined genetic conditioning process made to create Spartans, the ODST are dissolved, and all former Shock Troopers are absorbed into the Marines. The Army is also disbanded, and all major ground based operations become the responsibility of the United Nations Marine Corp, or UNMC.

2762

The Arcturus Station is finally completed.

2763

The UNSC starts an experimental branch associated with AI, to attempt to create actual new working minds, as opposed to simple imprints from living people. The research is headed up by Dr. Shu Qian.

The first experimental biotic implant, the 'L1', is used in humans to enhance potential abilities.

2765

The Citadel Council finally publicly acknowledges human and Elite influence in the galactic community and grants them embassies on the Citadel. Both races take the offer gladly, and relations between all species drastically improves, with the best relations being between the Elites and humans.

2766

A Turian mercenary, Commander Vyrnnus, is hired to oversee training at BAaT.

Several members of the Council accuse humanity of breaking Council law regarding AI. In order to keep good relations, the UNSC issues an order that all ship-board AI are to have their intelligence levels cut to the level of basic calculations.

2767

The new 'L2' biotic implant is used on several children at BAaT.

2769

Kaiden Alenko accidentally kills Vyrnnus. The resulting diplomatic fallout results in BAaT being shut down and relations between humans and Turians worsening. The Elites side with the humans, and relations there worsen as well.

2770

Batarian slavers attack the human colony of Mindoir, killing off many civilians and enslaving many more.

L3 biotics are created to replace the much more dangerous L2s, but prove to be far inferior in power.

2771

Appalled that the Council would not stop human expansion into the Skyllian Verge, the Batarians close their embassy and become a rogue state. The UNSC, sensing trouble, fortifies the area.

2776

Batarian funded raiders, pirates and mercenaries launch an attack on Elysium, managing to land troops on the ground before UNSC ships of Battlegroup 7 engage. Spartan Group Alpha, having been stationed there, quickly order Marines to evacuate the civilians, fighting off the raiders to the last man. The status of the entire squad is MIA, as no armor or bodies were ever recovered. This attack is now known as the Skyllian Blitz, and was quickly repelled by the UNSC.

2777

During a mission to discover the fate of a frontier team, a platoon of Marines is ambushed by threshers. Their Pelican is knocked out of the sky, and the soldiers have to hold them off until evac arrives. Very few survive.

2778

Thanks to several probes, the UNSC locates and destroys eight major pirates outpost, finally demolishing the Batarian base that had been attacking colonies, built underground on Torfan. Most of the assault force, Battlegroup 12, is destroyed, but not before the entire base is wiped clean of Batarians and destroyed from within.

2779

Human, Turian, and Elite engineer collaborate to build a brand new prototype vessel: the SSV Normandy, an advanced frigate with a prototype stealth system. The project is completed four years later.

2783

The SSV Normandy is scheduled for its first shakedown run in approximately two weeks. Captain Anderson is in command with Commander Shepard as XO.