2187 CE
Matriarch Aethyta was sat in her office on the Citadel, opposite the human embassy on the presidium. That she now had an office was slightly surprising to her, but much of the galaxy's leadership had been decimated in the war and the endorsement of Commander Shepard meant people were now listening to the thousand year old asari. Still, the view was nice.
The door opened to reveal Liara stood in the hallway outside. As she entered Aethyta met her daughter with a smile, and the two of them sat down by the window. Liara looked across to the reconstruction work taking place on the other side of the presidium. The combination of the Cerberus attack and the Reaper invasion had taken its toll on the vast station, and the scars were still all too visible.
"It's never been this bad, even after Sovereign." Liara spoke with a slightly weary voice, and Aethyta couldn't quite tell if she was still recovering from the war or if her work as the shadow broker, which was helping refugees across the galaxy, was tiring her out.
"I'll agree with you on that. Mind you, we were up against a few hundred Sovereigns, so..." The Matriarch trailed off slowly as she went to pour out some drinks. "I guess it'll just be another story people can tell about this place."
"I suppose you'd know a few of them." Liara replied cheekily, smiling over at her father.
"You could say that. I know my grandmother discovered the place."
"Wait, you mean my great-grandmother was one of the first asari on the Citadel?" Liara became immediately interested, her curiosity getting the better of her as it often had.
"Ah...well, it's a long story..."
580 BCE
The asari ship Ascension was sleek and silver, and gave the misleading impression that it was larger on the inside than the reality. The spires above and below the single habitable deck were a feature of Thessian architecture and design. The captain, Elyanis, sat in front of a small screen talking to another asari.
"How much longer until you reach the relay?" The asari on the screen appeared older, and was located in a circular room surrounded on all sides by large monitors.
"Three minutes, director. Are you sure the calculations are correct?"
"Of course. We're certain that the destination relay is a hub of some sort. It could link to dozens of systems."
"Then we're going to need more ships." Elyanis smiled. She was much younger, about 400 years old, with red markings above her eyes stretching across her forehead. "We're beginning our approach run now. I'll try and reestablish communication through the relay network once we're through."
"Record everything you can, captain. This could be one of the most important journeys in our lifetimes. And good luck. Thessia out."
As the screen went black she turned to the pilot, a smaller asari with bright blue eyes and white flashes on the edge of her forehead.
"How much longer, Lyssana?"
"One minute, captain." Her voice was calm, and expressed a confidence that belied her young age. Her hands worked deftly at the controls, gliding effortlessly across the screens and panels.
"Good. All hands, prepare for transit." The other two asari, one with indigo-coloured skin and the other a light shade of blue, and both taller than the captain, sat down against the back wall. Elyanis took her seat in the centre of the room, looking forward towards the pilot.
"Relay is in range." Lyssana maintained her air of professionalism, not a hint of excitement in her voice. "Calculating transit mass and destination. Transmitting now." The ship's drive core hummed louder, the vibrations starting to shake the deck. "Acquiring approach vector. All readings are green, approach run has commenced."
The two asari in the back struggled to talk over the deafening noise of the engines, which were positioned just behind the wall they were sat against.
"I hate this bit," the lighter skinned one shouted. "Makes me feel sick."
"Hitting the relay in 3...2...1..." The pilot's voice cut out as the ship lurched forwards. Bright light flashed past the windows at the front and sides of the bridge, as the room shook violently. Elyanis cursed the inadequate inertial dampeners, her vision blurring slightly with the vibrations. A few seconds later, however, the ship reverted to its usual tranquillity as it returned to normal space.
"You might want to take a look at this, captain." Elyanis detected a hint of awe in the pilot's voice, and she stepped forward towards the window. The sight that met her took her breath away. There was a massive structure, silhouetted against the purple expanse behind it. At one end was a circular ring section with a building in the centre. From the ring, five vast arms stretched out, each about 50 kilometres long.
"Can you scan it?" Elyanis could barely form the words in her state of shock, her eyes wide open as she stared at the enormous station.
"Scanning now, captain." Lyssana tapped swiftly at the panels, showing a sense of eagerness that she had never usually demonstrated. "It will take a few minutes to get some readings. No signs of life yet." The ship's captain moved back to the computer bank and activated the ship's recording device.
"Approach of the mysterious space station has been uneventful. Pray goddess it remains so." Elyanis took a moment to consider the importance, and possible ramifications, of their discovery. "We humbly take this step for all asari, the destiny of our people forever altered." She terminated the recording, and paced over to the front of the deck. "Have you got anything, Lyssana?"
"The structure is 45 kilometres long, 13 kilometres in diameter, and its mass is roughly 7 billion tons. I am also reading water and an atmosphere that indicates it is habitable. We can go onboard."
"Do it. Lets find out what's there." When the Ascension docked with the station, the arms suddenly lit up as if someone had flicked a switch. The four asari stepped cautiously out into the still darkened ring, moving slowly and taking in what little they could see. All carrying pistols, they were startled by a movement in the shadows. Lights began to illuminate around them, revealing the massive size of the interior and its contents. In the centre, a lake curved up towards the bright blue artificial sky, reflecting shimmering light across the area. They could see buildings on either side, and platforms overlooking gardens by the water.
"By the goddess... this is incredible." Elyanis muttered to herself, as the indigo-skinned commando called out to rest of the squad.
"Over there. I think its alive." They couldn't tell if the creature approaching them was organic or artificial. It looked like a large insect, with an antenna on its back. It scuttled straight up to the group of asari, seemingly eying them up but showing no interest in communication, while another which had appeared behind it proceeded to work on a section of exposed wiring on the wall. As Elyanis looked over to the other platforms, she could see more of the beings working on other parts of the station.
"They must be some kind of maintenance drones," she whispered to Lyssana. "Explains why the station is still operational. If this was built by the same race that constructed the mass relays, it must be over fifty thousand years old."
"You think protheans built this? I suppose they could have had the technology." Lyssana was the most excited that Elyanis had ever seen her. She was usually unflappable, but it seemed that the sense of wonder about the station, and her youthful enthusiasm, had overcome her. The captain switched on the log on her radio.
"These creatures that greet us seem harmless, but unable to communicate. Preliminary observation suggests that their role seems to be some kind of guardian. We will begin our exploration." Elyanis caught a slight smirk on the face of her pilot out of the corner of her eye. "What?"
"Do you realise that when people are studying the records of this, they're all going to be listening to those logs. Just think, in thousands of years your voice might be playing in museums." Elyanis detected more than a hint of sarcasm in Lyssana's words, an unusual trait among asari. The two smiled at each other, and called the other commandos back to their position. The captain decided it would be better for the four of them to stick together.
They moved over to the entrance to one of the buildings connected to the platform. Above the doorway were some symbols, which Elyanis thought she recognised.
"Lyssana, does that writing look familiar?"
"It's almost certainly prothean. I'll see if I can translate it." Lyssana pulled out a datapad and scrolled through various menus and information screens. "I've got it. It says 'Citadel'."