Standard disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, nor any other content that you recognise. Some characters and systems are original creations. I am receiving no money for my work.
Shanxi – Theta System
2112.09.25
Lieutenant General Jack Williams sat at the briefing room table in his headquarters on Shanxi. In the centre of the long oblong table rotated a hologram of the Zodiac cluster, the explored sections were in blue, while the sections only known of by the recovered Prothean maps were coloured a smoky grey. Joining him at the table were, in person, the three brigadier generals from his own division on Shanxi: Xaio Ke, Kai Jodl and Vittorio Albricci. Brigadier General Maria Soberon, CO of the brigade garrisoning Zapala, and Commodore Lalla Hansa, CO of the naval forces in the Theta system, attended via hologram.
All looked tired and stressed, many having had little sleep since the report on the information from SSV Voyager had been rushed to their desks.
As the highest-ranking officer and the one in overall command, due to inhabited planets under his command being the enemy targets, General Williams began the meeting by informing the others of his strategic decisions. "People, as much as it might please the Commodore to do so, we are not going to fight the enemy in the Zodiac system. Though we don't know where the primary or secondary backdoor relay connections in this sector lead to, as this is the last sector shown on the retrieved Prothean supersector maps, we do know that the Zodiac sectors backdoor relay connection is in the Lambda Expanse."
"Now, we have no idea if it leads to the same sector as the primary relay in the Zodiac Group does, but we can't take the risk, as the Lambda Expanse relay links to both the other clusters in this sector. There is no point in preparing to fight the enemy in the Zodiac Group cluster, if the aliens use this backdoor to go through the Lambda Expanse cluster, cut behind us, and then attack us here in the Centauri Veil cluster while the fleet is away."
Commodore Hansa excepted the point with a slightly sour look, General Williams altered the hologram to show the Centauri Veil cluster. "That means we are going to have to fight them here. Now, they only have one point of entry, the secondary mass relay right here in the Theta system. But we have more than that to think about."
The hologram highlighted two green and four yellow planets spread over four systems. "Here, in Theta system itself, we have the shirt sleeve Chinese colony on Shanxi and the Mexican and Argentinian dome colony on Zapala. Over in the Alpha System, we have the Kenyan and Nigerian dome colony on Kaduna. In the Beta system, we have the Italian and Spanish dome colony on Catania and the Thai and Brazilian dome colony on Karabi. Finally, we have the Indian, Iranian and Turkish shirt sleeve colony on Indus in the Delta system."
"All of them have the garrisons appropriate to their world class and population, which I have decided to leave in place. We do not know the enemy's numbers, motivation, capabilities or military doctrine. I have no intention of stripping these worlds of their garrisons to boost defences here on Shanxi. Not when we are not even certain that Shanxi will be the enemy's primary target, though I admit it is highly likely to be."
Several of the generals looked put out, but with no knowledge of the enemy to counter General Williams's point they accepted the decision. General Williams turned to Commodore Hansa. "Commodore, for those ground pounders who do not know the navy's garrison system as well as the army's, can you please confirm for us the ships we have available?" The general knew of course, but not all his subordinates did, and they needed to know what was available to plan a viable defence.
Commodore Hansa waved her hand at the hologram, suddenly the planets were no longer highlighted, instead the systems were highlighted and a stream of naval data was connected to each one. "Of course, General. Just like the army, when colonising a new sector, the navy assigns ships based on a worlds class and population. Unlike the army, when the sector is fully colonised these forces will be combined, and more ships added to make up a full fleet, rather than following the army's system of waiting for the worlds to grow too the pre-requisite levels before deploying full armies and army groups."
She grimaced as she looked at the readouts again, as if by sheer force of will she could make them multiply. "Unfortunately, this difference does not help us here, as the Zodiac Group and Lambda Expanse clusters are still awaiting exploration and colonisation. On General Williams's order, I have sent a courier boat back to Earth with all the information from the SSV Voyager, but with the political situation it may take days or weeks before they send help. Here, in this cluster, we have my own cruiser squadron totalling 68 warships defending Theta system, another cruiser squadron is assigned to Delta system and its shirt sleeve colony, while Alpha and Beta have only dome worlds. As such they have only been assigned a cruiser detachment of 28 warships each. We also have two sub strength cruiser flights of 4 ships and one full strength cruiser flight of 12 ships patrolling the shipping lanes between all of them."
"Thoughts?" General Williams opened the floor.
"Commodore, there is no way for the alien forces to know of the other systems in this cluster, correct? They would have to scout each star system in an ever-increasing spherical radius from Theta to find them, just as we did to find the garden worlds in the first place." General Soberon was staring intently at the hologram. "Can we not then combine all of the warships into one fleet here in Theta? The only system in the entire Centauri Veil that we know the aliens will have to attack?"
"That is an accurate assumption General, I am certain that the Cole Protocol will have been activated." Commodore Hansa's voice radiated absolute faith in the ships crews that had gone through the relay with Voyager."
"The Cole Protocol? That's from Halo. We are not playing computer games here Commodore! What do you think this is?!" Brigadier General Xiao Ke thundered across the table.
Commodore Hansa seemed to be holding back laughter at his outburst. "The human imagination is infinite general. Computer games, books, movies, they cover so many possibilities for our future. If they are well written, then they also provide many courses of action that we can take in response to those possibilities, with the pros and cons often fully explored for us as well. They are just as viable a source of information as our own military exercises at the various academies are, and the navy does not dismiss viable courses of action for a fleet to take when facing unknown alien aggressors – who presumably have no knowledge of our territory – just because they were developed by an author for a computer game, rather than by an officer in response to a training exercise."
"The Cole Protocol is official navy policy, you can be certain that the ships in Zodiac followed it as soon as they realised they were under attack, all navigational data apart from that of Zodiac system will have been destroyed. The aliens will have no knowledge of Alliance territory."
General Xiao looked furious and embarrassed, but General Williams cut across him before he could speak again. "That may be Commodore, but wasn't the SSV Bunker Hill and her wolfpack destroyed before they even knew they were under attack? Can you guarantee that they had time to perform the Cole Protocol? And what of the two other survey ships that were elsewhere in the Zodiac Group when the attack occurred? they could return to the Zodiac System at any moment and be captured before they knew that they had any reason to follow the Cole Protocol, couldn't they?"
Commodore Hansa looked angry at the suggestion, both that her crews had not done their jobs and that they could be fooled, but eventually she gave a sharp nod. Acknowledging the General's point had merit. "Then as tempting as it might be to mass all ships here in Theta to meet the alien threat, I do not think that leaving four colonies completely exposed to naval attack is worth the risk. Especially as we do not know the enemy's capabilities and tactics. If we keep the naval formations separate and the navy is defeated here in Theta, the other systems in the cluster will at least have a chance to analyse the data and plan for the next battle with a viable defence force."
"If we gamble everything on defeating the enemy here in Theta and lose, then there will be no naval forces left to exploit any weaknesses in the enemy's forces or tactics, the entire cluster will be open to naval attack. Commodore, you will have to fight the hostile forces with what you have, and I want courier boats ready to be dispatched to Delta system as soon as the battle begins and ends, whatever the outcome."
The others nodded as they all wished that the interstellar communications and internet system being rolled out across Home Sector was up and running here. Sadly, with the tachyon comm buoys that were the backbone of the network having limited range, they had to be placed in a long chain to each system in normal space. Which made them incredibly expensive and slow to install. The newer colonies like Shanxi still only had their intrasystem internet network, they relied on courier boats for interstellar communication.
"General, I would suggest recalling the intersystem patrols and adding them to my own squadron. They would only lead any scouting alien forces to our inhabited systems, and I could use a little extra punch if we are leaving the other formations in their respective systems. Also, I want to raise the first contact package with you."
The generals face's turned to stone as they all turned to the only naval officer present. "Useful scenario data aside Commodore, this is not Star Trek. We don't plead with alien forces to talk while they shoot at us and destroy our ships." General Soberon voiced what they had all been thinking, though more respectfully than General Xaio would have liked if the glare he was sending at the Commodore was any indication.
Commodore Hansa stood her ground. "I know General, and I have no intention of giving up any first strike advantage my ships might have by broadcasting it when the enemy have come through the relay to attack us. However, this is still first contact. Humanities first encounter with an alien species. Yes, they fired on us and yes, they destroyed our ships. But how we handle this will be the defining moment of our race. It will be looked back on for as long as humans exist as the moment when humans decided to meet the galaxy with an open hand, or with a clenched fist. I want to make it clear that we are better than these aliens, that we are willing to talk no matter how disastrous our first meeting. That we will fight and defend our territory and our people, but that we won't ever close the door on diplomacy. That we will never give up hope of peaceful coexistence."
The Commodore's last attempt to invoke her fellow officers into sending the first contact package had the most effect. They each looked around the table where they saw an American, a Chinaman, a Mexican, a Moroccan, an Italian and a German. Their countries had been allies, enemies and competitors at various points throughout history. At several points many of them had gone to war with each other, ranging from small border conflicts, to wars to the bitter end where they had choked the life out of each other. Yet now, here they sat. Not only on the same side but wearing the same uniform, coexisting peacefully and ready to fight an enemy together. To defend colonies that were not only not their own, but in some cases were inhabited by former bitter enemies.
After a moment Brigadier General Kai Jodl spoke up, though his heart wasn't in it. "The first contact package holds a lot of information that could be useful to an enemy. Our attitudes, our ships, what we are seen doing, the very basic medical data, our history…" He trailed off, not wanting to set the precedent that humanity was an aggressive warmongering race by recommending they not even attempt diplomacy, even if they had been attacked first.
Brigadier General Vittorio Albricci was feeling the same doubts as his fellow officer and gave a possible course of action. "So we cut out everything from the package apart from our language. That will be useful information if they can intercept our comms but we are going to have to live with it if we do this. We also include a video of only 12 of their ships coming through the relay. If they want to give diplomacy a final chance, if their actions in Zodiac really were a misunderstanding, then this will let us open communications. If not, then history will show that despite being assaulted without warning we still tried the path of coexistence, that we were the better race."
Commodore Hansa smiled thankfully at him. "I can have that ready to go in three hours. I'll load it into one of our courier boats on auto pilot, set to broadcast on all possible frequencies as soon as it clears the relay. As soon as it detects movement towards the ship I will also have one of our smallest nukes tied into the sensors and set to detonate. It won't be large enough to cause any damage to ships more than a few hundred metres away, but it will utterly destroy the courier boat. There will be nothing left for them to capture and analyse if they are still hostile."
Lt. General Williams thought about the idea for a long time, giving an enemy useful tactical information in the form of language, vs never even attempting communication with the first alien race humanity had met. Eventually he came to his decision. "Do it, if they are going to be called to war I want the people of the Systems Alliance to know that we did all that we could to prevent it. You have my full support for whatever actions you take in space Commodore. Defend this system as best you are able, but if you are overwhelmed do not hesitate to retreat. Ships and experienced crews are far more valuable in war than heroic but pointless deaths."
"General Soberon, you have full tactical authority for Zapala. Defend the colony however you see fit." The two officers present by hologram saluted and then shimmered out of existence. Lt. General Williams turned to the COs of the three brigades that made up his division of ~165,000 soldiers to begin planning the defence of Shanxi.
Theta System – Centauri Veil
2112.09.28
Commodore Hansa stood at the plot table in the centre of the multi-level octagon pit that was an Alliance ships Flag CIC. Around her on two successive levels were ringed the workstations for the crew that would enable her to effectively command the fleet, but here in the centre, there was just her and the plot table showing the fleets position. The first contact package had been sent through the relay three days ago, then she had got to work on planning to defend Theta system.
Right now, the plot showed her ships, all arranged in flights of four ships that were the Alliance's standard naval formation. All other formations were built from the understanding that the warships would be deployed in self-supporting flights of four. At the centre of the fleet were the 8 heavy cruisers that included her flagship, Tehran. Surrounding them were 20 of her 44-strong cruiser force, while the remaining 24 were split, 12 on each side, forming the curving flanks of her formation. Ready to speed ahead and run down fleeing enemy forces, to envelope defeated enemies, or to turn outward and defend against flanking attacks. Whatever might await her fleet, they were trained and ready for it.
The final group of ships in her full-strength squadron were the 16 frigates. Of limited use in battle due to their weak main guns, kinetic barriers and armour, frigates had only two traditional uses in battle. That of torpedo screen and torpedo boat. Moving independently across the fleet to use their guardian arrays to reinforce whichever part was under the heaviest non-gun attack before charging at any hole in the enemy's formation and delivering a hopefully knockout blow to their dreadnoughts and heavy cruisers.
Commodore Hansa had reinforced that roving frigate group with the four frigates from the full-strength cruiser flight she had recalled from interstellar patrol, bringing the total to 20 frigates. She had also changed their orders to remain in reserve unless enemy fighters were detected.
Her nightmare while planning this battle was enemy strike craft, Voyager's data showed that the aliens had successfully miniaturised disruptor torpedoes enough that theoretically small versions of them could successfully be deployed on strike craft. Like all humans, she knew how deadly carriers and fighters were to fleets designed on the principle of big guns. The second world war had proven that. If the enemy forces jumped in with carriers her defeat was certain, but that frigate force might just buy her enough time to retreat.
The remaining 16 cruisers from the two sub-strength and one full-strength cruiser flights on interstellar patrol were elsewhere. She had something special planned for them.
The Commodore was nervous, though she didn't show it. Voyager's recordings showed that the enemy ships had superior speed, armour, torpedoes, guardian arrays and kinetic barriers when compared to her own. She also believed from the way that they had been deployed and used that the 317m ships that Voyager and Bunker Hill had identified as cruisers, were in fact frigates. This filled her with dread as that made the enemy frigates more than double the length of her own 157m Pearl Harbour class frigates and only 23m shorter than her own 340m Geneva class cruisers.
Thankfully it seemed that the aliens gun technology was the same. Both the enemy frigates and her own cruisers had a single main gun that was 300m in length, and from the recordings the shots from both impacted with a firepower of 5.4 kilotons. The problem was if the other enemy forces were similarly supersized, then her fleet would be swatted away like gnats. The recordings showed that the enemy cruiser was 535m long with a firepower of 15.1 kt from its 500m main gun. When compared to her own cruisers it was a firepower difference of nearly 10 kt. Her own cruisers guns were two thirds weaker than the enemy's. She would have to engage with her 600m heavy cruisers and their 18.3 kt/550m main guns to come anywhere close to the enemy cruisers firepower, and if that size discrepancy continued…
Shaking off her doubts, the Commodore focused on her fleets position, which was below and behind the mass relay. Here was where she had decided to make her stand, using the defenders advantage of positioning to try and make up for the enemy's advantages in size and technology. From this position her ships could fire up at ships emerging from the mass relay, striking them from behind and below. These were the weakest aspects of human designed ships, that was something that she prayed was true of the alien ships as well.
"Relay is showing activity!" Comms reported before sending out the fleet wide call to battle stations.
"Action stations, action stations, set condition one throughout the ship! Action stations, action stations, set condition one throughout the ship!" The SSV Tehran had already been at condition two along with the rest of the fleet, so there was no mad scramble as the alert strips turned from yellow to red and the alert claxon screamed. The CIC crew noted that Captain Fisher had called Tehran to battle stations before they had sent out the fleet wide order. Commodore Hansa allowed herself a small smile at her Flag Captain's efficiency.
"The fleet is at action stations Commodore, all ships report cleared for action." Comms reported before Sensors jumped in.
"Ships exiting relay, they appear to be in standard flights of four, the same as alliance warships. Profile matches the unknowns encountered in Zodiac system. Two distinct ship types detected, length 3-1-7m reclassified as enemy frigate." The sensor officers voice shook a little at classifying such a ship as a frigate, but he continued. "Length 5-3-5m, reclassified as enemy cruiser."
"Numbers!" Commodore Hansa demanded, hoping against hope that the information her plot was showing was wrong and there were less than twelve.
"Total numbers one-eight-zero ships and rising, I think they are conducting sensor sweeps but they seem to be focusing on the inner system. They are not reacting to our presence."
"Comms, anything?"
"No Commodore."
"Then send out a general order. Open Fire."
Codex Entry: Humans – System Alliance Navy – Non Flag Officers
(Citadel Codex, First Human SPECTRE Collector's Edition, 2183)
Codex users please be aware that these ranks and their responsibilities are POST the major reforms undertaken of the Systems Alliance navy command structure following the Relay 314 Incident (First Contact War) in 2112. As such they are the roles that the Alliance uses today, For the pre-reform structure of the Systems Alliance navy please see appendix 6 subsection 4 of this codex.
The Systems Alliance Navy is made up of many ranks, but those citizens of the galaxy who encounter it will almost always encounter a non-flag officer, if they encounter an officer at all. These officers make up the vast majority of the navy's officer ranks by numbers and ensure the smooth running and professionalism of the fleet.
The flag officers may tell the navy where to go and how to fight, but it is the non-flag officers, from the most senior Captain to the most junior Ensign, who turn these orders into a reality. The navy is the Senior Service of the Systems Alliance.
As a simple method to distinguish between naval officers who fly strike craft and those who serve purely aboard warships, all flying officers (as strike craft pilots are collectively known) have a courtesy rank that they are referred to by in general conversation and in battle. This does not replace their naval rank, which remains their rank for all highly official business such as inter-service operations, pay, court martials etc…., but does make their different speciality a lot more noticeable.
OF5 – Captain: Every ship larger than a cruiser is commander by a Captain. Though higher ranked officers may be aboard, these 'flag' officers will be commanding the fleet and explicitly do not command the ship they are on so as not to split their attention. They are the equivalent of colonels.
Captains may also perform duties at the fleet level without commanding a warship, a medium sized formations chief intelligence officer will often be a captain for example. Captains are also tasked with commanding naval listening posts and the smallest logistics stations.
Strike craft groups are made up of 4 squadrons, the lead officer is always a captain, who is known as a group captain, and who is also the CAG for cruiser squadrons.
The presence of this rank in such a different place in the navy hierarchy compared to the army, marine and colonial guard hierarchy is the source of much irritation to alien species that have to work closely with the human military.
OF4 – Commander: These officers command cruisers and serve as executive officers on capital ships, they also head essential departments such as engineering on capital ships. They are the equivalent of lieutenant colonels.
Strike craft wings are made up of 4 squadrons and the lead officer is always a commander, who is known as a wing commander. Wing commanders are the commander air group (CAG) for escort carriers and cruiser detachments.
OF3 – Lieutenant Commander: These officers command frigates, serve as executive officers on cruisers, and serve as department heads on capital ships. Lieutenant commanders are the equivalent of army and marine majors.
Strike craft squadrons are made up of 4 flights of strike craft and the lead pilot is always a lieutenant commander, who is known as a squadron leader.
The most famous Alliance lieutenant commander is the newly appointed SPECTRE John Sheppard, who holds the rank of lieutenant commander due to his grade of N7 in the Alliance's naval special forces programme. For more details on the N (naval) special forces grades please see the special forces codex entry.
OF2 – First Lieutenant: Every warship has a first lieutenant, this is the most senior lieutenant on the ship and their role is to both support the CO and XO in the CIC, as well as ensure that all the lieutenants and ensigns on the ship are performing their duties. If they are not, then the first lieutenant will discipline them without involving senior officers, just as the bosun does for the ship's non-commissioned officers and crew. They are the equivalent of army captains.
On frigates, first lieutenants also perform the duties of the executive officer as frigates are too small to have a dedicated officer for that role. First lieutenants are usually officers that have shown particular promise with the result that their senior officers have picked them out for development, in the hope that they will one day command their own vessels.
First lieutenants have no flying officer equivalent
OF1 – Lieutenant: Lieutenants are typically heads of department and officers of the watch on frigates and cruisers. On larger ships they serve as senior section leaders, coordinating multiple sections who remain under the command of ensigns. They are the equivalent of army lieutenants.
Strike craft fly in flights of 4, the lead pilot is always a lieutenant who is known as a flight lieutenant.
OF0 – Ensign: Ensigns are the lowest officer rank in the navy and they are typically section leaders on all Alliance ships. They are the equivalent of second lieutenants.
All standard strike craft pilots are ensigns, who are known as flying officers.
Codex Entry: Humans – Alliance Navy and Flying Corps Non-Commissioned Officers
(Citadel Codex, First Human SPECTRE Collector's Edition, 2183)
To hear the crew of the Alliance navy tell it, the non-commissioned officers are the ones that truly keep the human ships running. Making sure that no matter where they are, their ships are always ready to perform whatever mad stunt their officers ask of them this time. Given the Alliance navy's history of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and reducing their ships to scrap in the process, it seems the non-coms have their work cut out for them.
Non-commissioned officers are sailors that have shown great leadership and technical skills, but who started in the ranks and have not received commissioned officer training at the military academies.
OR9 – Master Chief Petty officer of the Alliance Navy/Flying Corps: The highest ranked non-commissioned officer in the Systems Alliance navy, they are responsible for all of the non-commissioned officers in the Alliance navy in their respective service.
The master chief petty officer of the Alliance flying corps performs the same duty for all of the deck chiefs and ground crew non-commissioned officers in the Alliance.
OR8 – (Formation) Chief Petty Officer: The most senior non-commissioned officer in a formation detachment sized and above, these officers deal with all disciplinary matters for the sailors and non-coms in the formation and will see that everything is running smoothly.
Officially listed as first and second class warrant officers, in practice they are known by the unit they are assigned to. Eg: the squadron chief petty officer, the fleet chief petty officer etc… Their ranks relative to each other are decided by the size of the unit they serve. A fleet chief petty officer is a higher rank than a detachment chief petty officer.
There are no formation chief petty officers in the flying corps.
OR7 – Master Chief Petty Officer: Master chief petty officers serve as the most senior non-com on all ships of the Alliance apart from frigates and the most senor is granted the honorary title of bosun when that is the case. On capital ships they also serve as department leaders along side the Lt. commanders and commanders.
The highest ranked non-com in the flying corps ground crew is known as the deck chief and it is their responsibility to see to all launch, landing, rearming and maintenance of the flying officers strike craft. The deck chief has total responsibility for, and authority on, the flight deck for this purpose. They can only be overruled by the CAG or the Captain, despite many higher ranks forgetting this until forcibly reminded. On fleet carriers, a master chief petty officer always serves as deck chief.
OR6 – Colour Chief Petty Officer: Each Alliance capital ship has a flag that is unique to that ship. When on parade or other ceremonial duties that require their crew to be on the ground or in full dress uniform in the docking bay, the capital ships will fly their own flag and the flag of the fleet that they are assigned to.
Taking the form of a 1m x 1.2m flag on a 2.6m long pole topped with a silver Systems Alliance dragon, these flags are known as the colours. On each capital ship two chief petty officers will have the honour of carrying them and are promoted to the rank of colour chief petty officer to reflect that honour.
A fleet carriers strike craft compliment will also fly a flag while on parade, usually it is the flag of the most senior squadron aboard.
OR5 – Chief Petty Officer: The highest of the standard non-commissioned officer ranks. On cruisers chief petty officers serve as the most senior non-com in a department on beta and delta shifts, and on capital ships they are assigned with the lieutenants to senior sections due to the increased crew requirements.
The highest ranked non-com in the flying corps ground crew is known as the deck chief and it is their responsibility to see to all launch, landing, rearming and maintenance of the flying officers strike craft. The deck chief has total responsibility for, and authority on, the flight deck for this purpose. They can only be overruled by the CAG or the Captain, despite many higher ranks forgetting this until forcibly reminded.
On escort carriers a chief petty officer serves as deck chief. A single Chief Petty officer is the most senior non-com on frigates and is granted the honorary title of bosun when that is the case, just as the commanding Lt. commander is granted the honorary title of captain.
OR4 – Petty Officer: The middle of the standard non-commissioned officer ranks, each section will have a petty officer to ensure its smooth running. As sections are led by ensigns, usually fresh out of the academy, petty officers also mentor the new officers. Helping them get to grips with shipboard life, the technical and logistical requirements of their section, and the crew under their command.
OR3 – Leading Hand: The lowest of the non-commissioned officer ranks, leading hands have shown leadership ability and have cross trained, allowing them to work in at least two departments. As such they are a very valuable asset able to quickly plug manpower shortages, train new sailors or sailors who are in the process of specialising, and be dropped into any department that has disciplinary issues to get the problem under control before it comes to attention of the ship's officers.
Despite being considered a non-commissioned rank, leading hands tend to consider themselves simply a better trained sailor rather than a true non-com. This is mainly due to the time they spend training and mentoring sailors on their first shipboard cruises.
OR2 – Sailor First Class: Sailor first class is not a non-commissioned officer rank. Rather it is the rank held by those sailors that have begun to specialise their skills. Gunnery and engineering experts are the most common specialisations that see their holders advance from sailor to sailor first class. Environmental is the most critical, despite being looked down on by all the other departments.
All of the flying corps ground crew graduate with the rank of sailor first class due to their additional training and the mantinnce of the Alliance's fighters, bombers and flight decks being categorised as a specialist department.
OR1 – Sailor: Sailor is not a non-commissioned officer rank. Rather it is the rank held by the vast majority of the members of the Alliance navy. All crew who complete basic training and are accepted into the navy are granted the rank of sailor, unless their training specifically allows them to enter with a higher rank.
Members of the flying corps do not hold the rank of sailor.
Timeline changes so far
First colony on mars: 27 years earlier than canon
Discovery of Prothean ruins: 64 years earlier than canon
Founding of the Systems Alliance (council of nations version): 63 years earlier than canon
The First Contact War: 45 years earlier than canon