A bit about me:

This is my first self-induced effort at creative writing, all other attempts being foisted on me by various English teachers.

I spell-check and proof everything before I put it up, but I been talking English for 26 years now, and I still not does it right. You'd be doing me a favor by pointing out anything I happen to miss.

Please feel free to peruse the various random content and appendices below. I hope they might clear up any confusion you might have while reading, but they were mostly just written as an "in-universe" plot outline and reference.

Timeline

2148

Humanity discovers the Prothean ruins on Mars

2149

January 18: The Systems Alliance Charter is signed by the eighteen of Earth's largest and most influential nation states.

May 2: Having learned of the presense of a mass relay in the Sol System from the Mars Prothan Archives, a multinational team of scientists, explorers, and engineers locate the Charon Relay.

2150

March 15: Miranda Lawson is born

2154

April 11: John Jeremiah Shepard is born on an Arcturus Residential Habitat as the main station is being completed to Lt. Hannah Marie Shepard, née Smith-Nordau and Linguistics Specialist Dr. Jefferson Alexander Shepardas

2157

May 3: The First Contact War Begins

August 12: The First Contact War ends

2158

January 1: Humanity officially welcomed into the galactic community and Citadel Space on Earth's New Year's Day

2158-2162

Humanity is brought into compliance with the Citadel Accords and the Galactic Standard Statue. These forbid research into artificial intelligence, extreme methods of genetic engineering, the use of weapons of mass destruction on populated or garden worlds, the activation or unconventional manipulation of mass relays, and other limitations.

2162

Arcturus Station is completed

2166

Miranda Lawson joins Cerberus

Jefferson Shepard is killed in a depressurization incident. With his mother on a tour of duty and no immediate family available to care for him, a 12 year-old John Shepard is temporarily cared for by his maternal grandfather who travels to his residential habitat.

2172

April 11: John Shepard enlists in the Alliance Navy Marine Corps, Private First Class

July 3: At the base where Shepard was training, an accident at the grenade range caused several fatalities. Shepard took control of the situation and his quick thinking saved at least a dozen lives. Captain Hackett happened to be at a meeting on base and recommended Shepard for OCS.

2173

Showing surprising aptitude, Shepard graduates from OCS and additional advanced modules and is commissioned a Lieutenant, Junior Grade.

2174

Lt. Shepard is assigned to SSV Montréal and sees combat both ground-side and in space against small groups of pirates, batarian raiders and other non-state actors.

2175

Shepard graduates from the Alliance Marines Special Operations School and Earth Joint Forces Small Unit Tactics School. One of his instructors is Commander David Anderson.

2176

May 21: The Skyllian Blitz strikes at Elysium. Second Lieutenant Shepard is on shore leave in Illyria, the planet's capital and largest city. Taking command of a small group of local militia and aliens transiting through the city's space port, Lt. Shepard successfully defends the space port from being taken by batarian and pirate forces. This denies them the ability to land large ships, slowing their ability to enslave and loot the colony.

May 22: Shepard and an ad-hoc colonial militia are able to evacuate over 800 civilians from the capital city to waiting transports hidden nearby.

May 23: The Alliance counterattacks in force, quickly chasing the pirates and batarians who had been ravaging the colony for two days. Shepard is wildly lauded as a hero. But both on Earth and throughout the colonies, protests and demonstrations start to criticize the Alliance's less than immediate reaction to the invasion of Elysium and several other, smaller colonies in the Skyllian Verge.

July 4: Lt. Shepard is ordered to go on a publicity tour touting both his personal heroism and the Alliance's quick reaction to the Skyllian Blitz. Shepard protests, but is overruled.

September 2: Shepard is promoted to Lieutenant First Class and awarded the Star of Terra.

2177

Lt. Shepard is singled out for N1 training in Brasil. The Interplanetary Combative Training School is considered the most prestigious special forces institute in Alliance space.

2178

The Torfan Reprisals occur.

As part of N6 field training, Lt. Shepard takes part in a number of covert, diversionary raids during the offensive.

2179

Lt. Shepard completes the N7 course of the ICTS.

2180

Lt. Shepard is recommended to and begins classes at the Alliance Navy War College by Commander Anderson and Admiral Hackett.

2181

Lt. Shepard serves a tour of duty as commander of the marine detachment on the SSV Santa Fe.

2182

Shepard is promoted to Lt. Commander and officially transfers to the Alliance Navy from the Marine Corps.

2183

Lt. Cmdr. Shepard is selected as SSV Normandy's Executive Officer by Capt. Anderson

What is known as the 'Eden Prime War' begins. Lt. Cmdr. Shepard interacts with a Prothean Beacon.

Lt. Cmdr. Shepard is made the first human Spectre and given a brevet promotion to Commander and assigned as Commanding Officer of SSV Normandy

A Geth fleet centering on a previously unknown class of dreadnought attacks the Citadel. Through the heroism and bravery of both Cmdr. Shepard;s crew and Adm. Hackett's Fifth Fleet, both the Citadel and its Council are saved.

Cmdr. Shepard given an unorthodox early promotion to Staff Commander in recognition of his service, status as a Spectre and unique position in galactic politics. While the rank is not unique, it is generally reserved for officers serving as staff directly under Fleet Admirals, Minister or Vice Minister of Defense or the Prime Minister.

November 18 Cmdr. Shepard is reported killed by a Geth surprise attack in the Alchera System.

2185

January

The Lazarus Project concludes. Using a combination of cloned tissue, cybernetic augmentation, and beyond-bleeding-edge science, Commander Shepard is brought back to life. He immediately sets to work to uncover who is behind the mysterious disappearances in the Terminus Systems.

February

Commander Shepard is reinstated as a Council Spectre

March

Commander Shepard and his crew confront the Collectors on Horizon and meet with only partial success.

May

The Normandy completes is crew roster and investigates the derelict Reaper.

July

The crew of the Normandy uncover the truth behind Project: Overlord on Aite

August

The Normandy travels beyond the Omega-4 Relay and destroys the Collector Base near the center of the galaxy.

September

The crew of the Normandy put their battered ship into berth at Omega. The Normandy requires two weeks of repairs. Many of the ground crew depart at Omega.

November

Shepard, Garrus, Tali, and Miranda help Liara in her deadly rivalry with the Shadow Broker. Tali leaves to return to the Migrant fleet shortly thereafter.

December

Shepard and what remains of the Normandy crew work hand-in-hand with Liara in her capacity as the Shadow Broker to begin covertly preparing the Milky Way for the return of the Reapers.

2186

February 9: Cmdr. Shepard destroys the Bahak Relay, killing over 300,000 batarians and alien civilians in the process.