PROLOGUE

(4 months After Reapers' retreat)

"Welcome to Alliance News Network. I'm Emily Wong."

"in tonight's news: Reaper sighting in the Minos Wasteland, rumors of council invitations to all species, mass memorial service in planning, SSV Normandy found and galaxy wide search is declared."

"Breaking news: A Sovereign-class Reaper has been sighted within the Fortis system of the Minos Wasteland. Apparently, the lone reaper was instrumental in the rescue of a civilian transporter, The Sirtona, from an ambush by a pirate fleet. Crew and passengers on-board the Sirtona did not know what to make of this shocking incident, only that the Reaper decimated the entire hostile fleet and disappeared as quickly as it first appeared. Could the Reapers have joined the good guys or is there a darker meaning to this event? This is the only known sighting since their exodus two months ago. The council has pledged a full investigation."

"In political news: rumors have been leaked that the council may be planning to invite all known species who took part in the final battle, four months ago, at Earth. Council members refuse to comment in light of this rumor but public reactions show an inclination in favor of the possibilities, with many stating that all species took part in that battle and, therefor, all species have earned a seat in the council. A council spokesman had this to say: "I cannot confirm nor deny the rumors that have come to surface on this topic as all council dealings are currently classified." We will follow this story as it develops."

"The Council have recently announced that a mass memorial service is being planned to commemorate those who have fallen to the Reapers' merciless rampage during the duration of the Reaper war, as well as the unsung heroes who's actions and sacrifices saved the lives of many innocents who came perilously close to death. Service planners are predicting a day long event that will help bring closure for many people who have lost someone to the Reapers. The memorial will be held on the presidium and all will be allowed to attend."

"The SSV Normandy has been found! After the disappearance of the Famous ship that has proved instrumental in the war's victory, many believed that the ship was destroyed by the Crucible's activation as all attempts of communication during the month after the repair of the comm buoys have failed. Crew members aboard have survived their ordeal as the ship attempted to retreat to a fallback location issued by Admiral Hacket of the Alliance Navy at the moment of the crucible's activation, but failed to outrun the initial blast despite traveling at FTL speeds. The blast forced the Normandy down on an uncharted planet at an undiscovered system within the Sol cluster. Though close to home, the ship was unable to travel at FTL due to damages caused by the rough landing, thus the four month long disappearance. All crew members have been accounted for save for Commander Shepard. Acting Captain Major Kaidan Alenko refused to comment.

"In light of the Commander's disappearance, the Council has pledged a galaxy wide search party in order to locate the first human spectre who's selfless actions saved the galaxy and all within from total annihilation by the Reapers' hands. It is confirmed that many species will be taking part in order to find the honored war hero. The Alliance have issued a reward for anyone who has any legitimate information about Commander Shepard's location with false information leading to immediate incarceration. An Alliance spokesman had this to say: "We will not stop until the Commander has been located and is safe and sound. Evidence show that Shepard's last signal emanated from somewhere on the Citadel. Search efforts will be mainly focused on and around the Citadel and Earth as well as the immediate surrounding clusters." Many people are wondering if history maybe repeating itself and that the Commander maybe in hiding instead of missing. Should this be the case, people are urging the Commander to come out of hiding; to not put the people who cared about her through the same ordeal as they had three years ago. We will follow this story as it further develops."

"That is the end of the news. Thank you for tuning in to Alliance News Network. This is Emily Wong Signing out. Stay safe, stay strong."

2.41.35.481...ANOMALY DETECTED.

2.41.35.502...SCANNING.

2.41.35.574...SCAN COMPLETE.

2.41.35.662...REPORT: ABNORMAL FLUCTUATION DETECTED IN SYSTEM CORE. ATTEMPTING ISOLATION.

2.41.35.859...PROCESSING...ISOLATION ATTEMPT FAILED.

2.41.36.002...REASSESING...ASSESMENT COMPLETE.

2.41.36.270...ANOMALY BEYOND CONVENTIONAL CLASSIFICATION. SCANS REPORT DATA ERROR.

2.41.36.833...RESETING ISOLATION PARAMETERS.

2.41.38.051...PARAMATERS SET. REATTEMPTING ISOLATION.

2.41.38.163...PROCESSING...ISOLATION ATTEMPT FAILED.

2.41.38.417...ISOLATING SYSTEMS FROM ANOMALY...COMPLETE.

2.41.38.578...RESCANING ANOMALY SIGNATURE.

2.41.39.989...SCAN COMPLETE. REASSESING.

2.41.41.223...ASSESMENT COMPLETE. REPORT: ENERGY SIGNATURE BARES NO DIGITAL MARKER. SCANS INDICATE ENERGY IS SIMILAR TO ENERGY SCANNED DURING ACTIVATION OF DEVICE-X451/63.2. SIGNATURE BEYOND SYSTEM PROCESSING CAPABILITIES. REASSESMENT OF CURRENT SITUATION REQUIRES SEPERATE NETWORK TO HOUSE ANOMALY. SOFTWARE LIMITATIONS PREVENT INTERFACEING.

2.41.41.871...SCANING FOR NETWORK SPECIFICATIONS.

2.41.44.123...SCAN COMPLETE.

2.41.44.212...REPORT: NETWORK CREATION REQUIRES TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN OF STATION SYSTEMS TO FACILITATE PROCESSING POWER REQUIRED. KEEPERS NOTIFIED.

2.41.44.454...PREPARING FOR TEMPORARY STATION-WIDE DEACTIVATION.

2.42.05.111...SYSTEMS: READY. BACK-UP SYSTEMS: READY. KEEPERS: READY.

2.42.05.256...SHUT-DOWN BEGUN. NETWORK CREATION IN PROGRESS.

2.42.10.000...NETWORK COMPLETE. REINITIALIZING SYSTEMS. KEEPERS RETURNING TO PREVIOUS DUTIES.

2.42.12.030...IMPLEMENTING NETWORK.

2.42.12.541...ISOLATION IN PROGRESS...WARNING: ANOMALY EXCEEDING NETWORK BANDWIDTH. COMPENSATING.

2.42.13.717...ISOLATION COMPLETE. ANOMALY SECURE. SYSTEMS RETURNING TO PRE-ANOMALY LEVELS.

2.42.14.009...COMENCING STATION-WIDE SCAN.

2.42.14.158...SCAN COMPLETE.

2.42.14.205...NO CASUALTIES DETECTED. NO DAMAGE DETECTED. POPULATION SECURE. CURRENT POPLACE STATE: SHOCKED. ASSESMENT: WILL RETURN TO NORMAL. FURTHER ANALYSIS OF ANOMALY NECESSARY.

A.N.: This is it. The reason I started posting on . I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As you can probably tell, this is the set up for the actual story. Follow if you want to read the next chapter. Now it begins...