MASS
EFFECT:
THE NEW WORLD
ENCOUNTERS
The SSV London exited the rapid transportation. It had been made complicated by the fact that no mass effect relays had been located in this area. The planet in question was lush and green. Oceans, forests, deserts, mountains. Everything. It was perfect.
Carver looked over it on the bridge. He couldn't help but grin. He had only ever seen a planet like this from afar. He had been born on Mars to two scientist parents who were the most disappointed when he joined the Alliance Navy several years ago.
"Yeoman," Carver said. "how's that signal?"
Salk looked up from his station. "Loud and clear, Captain."
Carver chuckled to himself. The Crucible Incident must've been something. Sure, he had seen video on it in school but to be there. On the ground, in London. It had to have been a massive explosion to fling the Normandy to the other end of the known universe.
He remembered fondly his father; an astrophysicist, talk about the majesty of the Citadel. A Prothean artifact that became the central hub of all things intergalactic before Carver had been born. Sadly, it was destroyed in the Incident.
Why his mind drifted to these topics? Carver didn't know, but a loud blaring noise pierced his wandering thoughts. It was an alarm.
Loud flashing lights lit up around the bridge, the crew spent several seconds checking their stations, wondering what the problem was. Navigator Donovan was the first to speak.
"Captain!" he shouted across the bridge. "Unknown vessel, port side!"
Carver glanced at his crew for a moment. "Get eyes on it, I want to know what we're dealing with."
The galaxy map in front of Carver faded away and the image of a dark silhouette moving swiftly through space came into view. The details of the ship were skew, including insignia or any distinguishing marks. It was impossible to determine friend or foe.
"Course of action, Captain?" the pilot shouted from the front.
Carver didn't reply. He only stared at the image, straining to see a glimpse of anything that could help identify the vessel.
"Captain!" the London's pilot shouted again.
Carver came back to reality again. "Prepare defenses. Our only choice is to let him take the first shot."
The London's only defenses were prepped to the best of it's limitations and the eerie silence began. Each crew member listened with anticipation as the unknown vessel moved on by. It's creaking and mechanical whirring could be heard from the several centimeter thick armor and the hundreds of feet between the two hulls as it passed over the London's bow.
Suddenly, the alarms went off again and the London began to shake. The alarms became louder and louder. Carver was caught of balance and he had to hold onto the railing to keep from falling.
"What is happening? What did it just do!?" Carver yelled to nothing in particular.
"The ship's opened fire on our backside, Captain! The defenses aren't holding!" an engineer screamed before he too was sent sprawling onto the metal floor.
Carver's grip on the rail was straining. "Evasive maneuvers!"
The pilot's console flashed red. "No can do, Captain. The controls are locked up somehow!"
Carver's communication device chirped in his ear. "Captain! The engine room is ruptured. Containment isn't an option."
"Shit." Carver mumbled. "Pilot, make for the planet's orbit. That's all we can do now!"
"We won't have to, we're already dropping!"
"Get a message across the ship! Brace for impact!"
/
John sat by himself on the stump of a once cut down tree atop a hill. He did nothing but read the several books written about his father in the six decade he lived among them. Each one had the word Starfarer worked into the title somehow.
Some were re-writings of his father's exploits in the places among the stars. Giant planet sized creatures threatening all living beings. And his father and his friends defeated them with the help of other creatures.
He had also learned in his time that the Metal Dragon as it was once called was the device his father used to navigate the stars. His people called it "The Normandy." The Starfarer never shied away from telling him stories of the Normandy's exploits. Saving whole civilizations from creatures known as Collectors and their puppeteers; the Reapers.
The Reaper's capacity for destruction was ultimately horrifying. Billions dead in a matter of days before ultimately being defeated at the hands of The Shepard.
John's thoughts were cut short as a figure came riding up the road on a horse, weakened from constant and hard riding. The rider hopped off nimbly as he neared the stump. His average build outlined by the pure grey overcast skies around them. An uncommon sight in the region regardless of season.
"My lord," he began. "you have been summoned by the Inquisitor."
John scoffed. "The Inquisitor died years ago. The one who sits on that chair now deserves not the title."
"Regardless, to refuse him would be an act of defiance. We all know how the Inquisitor handles the defiant."
"Imprisonment."
The rider nodded thoughtfully. "Look, mate. I understand your apprehension after how he treated your
father but I swear as a loyal servant of the Inquisition that his intentions are pure this time around."
John looked to respond but his words were cut off by the ear splitting sound of something rippling through the sky at immense speed. He didn't immediately see what it was due to the clouds and it echoed about so much, directioning was nearly impossible.
The rider; however, saw what had created the ruckus. He pointed to the sky behind John and screamed. Whirling around, the rider took off running after his mount, which had fled as well.
John looked over his shoulder to see a massive and long vessel careen towards the forest before him. The vessel just barely missed him as it crashed and dragged it's carcass across the surface, creating a long divot in it's wake.
Finally the ship came to a stop and settled. It still continued to creak and moan but for the most part, it was at peace. John; from his vantage point, tried to read the strange word painted across the vessel's skin.
"SSV London." he said aloud.
John glanced down at the Starfarer's notes. One word stuck out and he read that aloud too.
"SSV Normandy."
John looked back at the ship. In realization, he took off running towards the vessel, hollering and hooting. A fresh skip in his step came as he realized his chance to meet new Starfarers.
