Chapter 2: December 1st, 2187
The holotable within the Pride's CIC displayed the solar system in its entirety. The three vessels that made up Patrol Fleet 33, two Turian frigates under the command of one Human cruiser, were spread out among the system enacting detailed up close scans. However, one object in particular held the crew of the SSV Palaven's Pride including Commander Garrus Vakarian in a speechless stupor. It wasn't the nondescript yellow mid-sequence star or even the "super earth" planet with the spitting image of the Elcor's old homeworld Dekuuna. No, it was the object orbiting said planet that had everyone's attention. Displayed by the ship's holotable was the undeniably familiar forked image of a mass relay. Even more stunning this relay was active. The gyroscopic rings rotated like normal, the element zero core glowed the usual blue, the whole thing pulsed with energy almost like it sensed it had visitors.
Onboard the vessels of Patrol Fleet 33 dozens questions were on everyone's minds. How? How could it be so? Did the Crucible miss this one? It fried all the others, why not this one? Did it not cover the entire galaxy? Did other relays survive? Did some of the Reapers survive? Many of these questions were too terrifying to consider. Garrus was equally stunned and afraid but he quickly emerged from his stupor.
"Nav, lock us into a position 1000 kilometers from the...relay," saying that word felt strange to him, "and hold it until further notice."
"Yes, sir," Prolov said. "The relay is visible to the starboard observation deck. You can examine it yourself while we continue scans commander."
At that moment the communications officer spoke up. "Sir, the SSV Shanghai has forwarded us orders. They're requesting we send comm buoys and sensor probes through the relay. They want to know what's over there," he said.
Garrus responded quickly,"Send our acknowledgement and prep the necessary equipment." He briefly paused then asked, "Do we have a status update on the fleet?"
Again the communications officer spoke,"Yes we do. The SSV Menae's Might is in orbit over the star, not reporting anything unusual. The SSV Shanghai is scanning the planet and is mobilizing its science teams to investigate an anomaly, so they've reported? Anything else, sir?" the officer asked.
"No," Garrus said "I'll be in observation if anything comes up."
"Yes, sir," the comms officer answered.
'Good luck to them,' Garrus thought to himself.
\
Captain William Bradshaw paced the bridge of the SSV Shanghai awaiting the science teams he was to escort to confirm they were ready to go. His XO, Lieutenant Morrow, stood to the side with a look of confusion on his face.
"Sir, why do you insist on overseeing the science teams?" Morrow asked. "The security we've sent along should be enough to-"
"I'm fully aware of the security team's capabilities," the Captain cut in. "I simply want to see what's down there myself and I have faith that you can handle the ship while I'm gone. Besides, one day you're going to have a command of your own and you need all the experience you can get beforehand. The navy needs skilled officers, now more then ever," he finished.
At that moment the captain's Omni-Tool chimed with an incoming message. The Captain accepted and the visored face of the Shanghai's Quarian Chief Engineer Mara'Teblain appeared.
"We're ready to set out once you're here Captain," she reported, "all science and security teams are prepared."
"Good, I'll be there shortly," Captain Bradshaw keyed off Omni-Tool and turned back to his XO. "Is there anything else you wish to say lieutenant?"
Morrow shook his head and saluted the Captain. When the Captain returned the salute the lieutenant took his place in the command seat.
Captain Bradshaw made his way out of the bridge and took an elevator down to the main hanger. A fairly large space located on the underbelly of the Shanghai with four Kodiak shuttles prepared for eminent departure. There he meet the marine sergeant in charge of the security team. The sergeant gave the Captain a salute which was returned. Captain Bradshaw then asked, "are your men ready sergeant? How come you're not in you shuttle?"
"Sir, my men are loaded in the shuttle. I was intending to escort you there," the sergeant answered.
"Much obliged, sergeant," the Captain said, "however, I'll be going planetside with the lead professor,"
The sergeant saluted again and the two men parted ways. Approaching one of the Kodiaks Captain Bradshaw nearly had a collision with a sprinting Quarian. "Captain!" Mara'Teblain yelled, all sense of calm from their previous communication gone. "I'm sorry I didn't see you. I had to retrieve some tools I nearly forgot and..." she stopped and snapped off a salute. "Sorry sir," she said.
The Captain simply straightened himself and returned the salute. "It's fine Chief Engineer. What's the rush?"
The Quarian adopted an embarrassed expression behind her visor. "Sir, this is my first time on any sort of expedition. I want it done right sir," she explained.
Captain Bradshaw smirked inwardly. Quarians were easily excited when it came to discovering new things, especially technology. "Carrie on Chief Engineer. I won't mention this in any report," he said.
Mara'Teblain beamed. "Thank you sir. If I might suggest, you should don a pressure suit. The planet's atmosphere is breathable but the gravity is too high for an extended stay exposed," she informed the Captain before continuing on towards her shuttle.
"A very excitable and interesting people aren't they," a new voice spoke up from behind Captain Bradshaw. Turning around the Captain discovered a grey haired Asian man currently in charge of the expedition wearing a pressure suit behind him. "Their history especially makes for a unique philosophical read," he continued in an almost eccentric lecturer voice.
"Yes they can be rather excitable and their history is fascinating Professor Takada," Captain Bradshaw agreed. "Are we ready to go?" he asked.
Professor Takada grinned, "We are, you are not. You need a pressure suit, there is one in that locker," the graduate of the University of Tokyo pointed towards a large box at the back of the hanger. "Grab one, and put on. Do not dally we'll be leaving soon," with that the professor walked away towards one of the Kodiaks.
Captain Bradshaw wasted no time acquiring and donning his pressure suit. He then boarded the Kodiak that Professor Takada had, and took the last remaining seat. The other seats in the shuttle were occupied by scientists specializing in various fields, most were human but there were a few Salarians in the group. All had been hand picked by Professor Takada who sat in the seat opposite from the Captain. Soon the shuttle's door closed and the engines hummed to life, signaling that the expedition was about to get underway.
"SSV Shanghai, this is Science Shuttle 1. Permission to disembark, over," the pilot's voice droned in the team's headsets.
"All shuttles have the green light to disembark, over," the voice of Lieutenant Morrow replied.
As the shuttles exited the hanger Captain Bradshaw was able to get a glimpse of his vessel before it vanished from view. Commissioned in 2170 the SSV Shanghai was the first of the Systems Alliance Shanghai-class cruiser. Built for speed and endurance over fire power the 450 meter ship could still pack a punch. The vessels crowning moment came during the Reaper War, when the cruiser enacted 41 shuttle runs in less than an hour completely evacuating and escaping the colony Uqbar before Reaper forces arrived. Now, the old girl shows no hints of decommissioning as the Species Alliance Navy needs every space worthy vessel it can get.
Captain Bradshaw couldn't help but feel pride for his ship. While nowhere near as famous as the SR-2 Normandy, the SSV Shanghai still had a colorful history and the Captain was proud to command her. Captain Bradshaw did however, have a nagging question currently in the back of his mind. As the shuttles began to slice through the atmosphere of the planet below, he turned to face Professor Takada. "What do you expect we'll find down there Professor?"
Behind his helmet Professor Takada appeared to contemplate the question for a moment before he answered. "I became a master of many fields of study for this very reason: I don't know," he said.
Captain Bradshaw simply nodded in response. Silently he hoped this trip would be worth it.
/
The origin point of the anomaly the teams were tracking could only be described as a large deep oval shaped hole in an otherwise flat grassland. Up in the hovering Kodiaks the figures of Captain Bradshaw and Professor Takada were leaning out of the open door of the lead shuttle.
"It can not be a sinkhole. This region is too arid," the Professor turned to the Captain, "I don't think this is a natural formation."
The Captain only nodded and keyed his headset, "Pilot land us inside the depression," he ordered.
The interior of the depression looked identical to the surrounding region. Short, ground clinging grass stunted by the planet's high gravity covered a field of low rolling mounds and surrounded by high rock walls. There was plenty of room inside for the four shuttles to land and insert the science and security teams.
The surrounding scenery would have caught the attention of the scientists, if only they didn't have such a demanding mission. As soon as Professor Takada stepped off the shuttle he began issuing orders to the accompanying scientists. "Set up the standard culture baths, examination equipment, and erect the temporary shelters!" He then pulled over a female scientist who like himself was covered head to toe in a pressure suit with polarized visor. "Gather a few security personnel and start placing the seismometers around the perimeter," he said.
"Yes grandfather," the suited woman said then bowed slightly before moving to complete her task.
Within his helmet Takada frowned at the mocking show of formality. His frown deepened when Captain Bradshaw appeared at his side.
"Grandfather, so is there a story there?" Captain Bradshaw asked.
A curt "yes" was his only answer. Professor Takada then moved to rejoin the other scientists setting up equipment on top of a large hill, Captain Bradshaw tailing behind.
The Captain caught up with the Professor observing the flurry of activity. Scientists bustled about setting up table, large tents, and arranging all kinds of implements from small hand tools to powerful eezo microscopes. Captain Bradshaw again turned to the Professor.
"It seems like you have some idea of what we're looking for, care to explain?" he asked
Professor Takada momentarily paused, "The anomaly we detected was emitting a huge quantity of energy. That could indicate anything from a radioactive meteor to the origin of the mystery signal we were sent to investigate. It could also give us a clue about the mass relay in orbit. However, whatever it is it's buried so we need to dig," with that the Professor moved to join the scientist.
"Hmm, these walls don't look completely natural, almost...excavated," one of the scientists could be heard saying.
Captain Bradshaw meanwhile had noticed a glint coming off the bottom of his visor. Looking down the Captain spotted a triangular piece of silver metal laying on the ground at his feet. Captain Bradshaw stared in confusion, the thing was the size of his hand how could he have missed it. Although he was quite sure it hadn't been there when he first crested the hill, very strange.
Picking up the object Captain Bradshaw quickly examined it. It was a flat thin piece of metal that wouldn't bend. Glancing at his surroundings the Captain deduced it probably wasn't indigenous and didn't even seem natural. He decided to hand it off to one of the analysts for further inspection.
\
Garrus stared out of the starboard viewport in a daze. Even five hours after the initial discovery it was stunning. An active mass relay was still a startling discovery, even one that apparently wasn't made by the Reapers.
Normally, mass relays were composed of a bluish black colored material, recently confirmed to be of Reaper origin. However, this one according to the scans and Garrus's own observation, was made of many large angular silver plates of unknown metal with bright glowing blue accents wherever two plates met. Apparently, it was an alloy with only 15 percent identifiable metal the rest unknown. The more Garrus watched it the more he wanted to know what was on the other end of the relay. The comm buoys had transmitted the all-clear meaning they had a stable connection with each other through the relay. However, aside from some diagnostic data the sensor probes had yet to report anything of interest. Garrus was just waiting for Captain Bradshaw's word.
Suddenly, his communicator buzzed, "Commander the Menae's Might has reported nothing of interest at the system's star. They're coming to rendezvous with us near the relay," the communications officer reported.
That was what Garrus had assumed. The star wasn't interesting, the mass relay and whatever the Shanghai was investigating on the planet were.
Garrus keyed a call to engineering and the visored face of his Quarian Chief Engineer Kal'Teblain, brother of the Shanghai's Chief Engineer appeared. Quarians had become a staple of the Species Alliance Fleet mainly serving as engineers. They didn't need the exosuits they usually wore due to their alliance with the Geth, who had helped repair their damaged immune systems. The Geth had also returned the Quarian homeworld Rannoch back to the displaced people. Now they suits mainly served as a cultural symbol but still had practical use.
"Commander," the Quarian began with a slightly exasperated tone, "the drive core is fine and ready for any venter through any mass relay. No, I don't require you to check the calibrations this isn't a cannon." With the Chief Engineer hung up.
Garrus probably should have reprimanded him, but he had been badgering the Quarian so Garrus decided to let it slip. He just really wanted to go through the relay.
Garrus's communicator buzzed again. He keyed it to discover the voice of the communications officer again with more news. "Sir, we've been forwarded orders by the Shanghai," he said.
Garrus arranged his mandibles in a Turian smile, he had a good idea of what the orders said.
\
2 HOURS EARLIER.
Three hours into the dig, nothing happened. The scientists studied everything, flora and fauna, soil, geology, geography, even the weather but found nothing relevant. Until one scientist discovered something right under their encampment while digging for deep soil samples. The scientist's excited shouts quickly attracted an audience including Captain Bradshaw who had begun to consider returning to the Shanghai.
Slipping his way through the mass of pressure suited people. Captain Bradshaw found that Professor Takada had beaten him to it. The Professor was in a rapid fire conversation in Japanese with the scientist, who Captain Bradshaw recognized as the one who referred to Takada as grandfather. Both were repeatedly motioning towards a fairly sized hole in the ground between them. Captain Bradshaw managed to get close enough to glance in the hole without getting smacked, the conversation between the Professor and the scientist was getting heated. To the Captain's shock the bottom of the hole appeared to be covered in the same silvery metal he'd found earlier.
At that moment he felt a tug on his left shoulder. The Captain turned to find find the Quarian Mara'Teblain standing behind him motioning for him to follow. Captain Bradshaw hadn't seen much of his chief engineer since they'd left the Shanghai. Catching up to her at the edge of the crowd he was surprised to find that she had the same triangular piece of metal and she appeared very excited. "What's going on Chief Engineer?" Captain Bradshaw asked more then a little confused.
To the Quarian's credit she seemed to keep her excitement contained. "The analyst you gave this to couldn't make anything out of it so he gave it to me," she rolled her eyes slightly. "Kind or stereotypical but that's not the point. "This thing is simply fascinating. From my own analysis it contains a massive amount of tightly layered microcircuitry in a case of unknown alloy. The molecules of which are arranged in crystal perfect symmetry. To perfect to be any natural metal. I believe this object is artificial on the molecular level," Mara paused to take a breath allowing the Captain to ask a couple of questions.
"How much circuitry are we talking about here? What's its potential processing power?"
Mara'Teblain appeared annoyed that the Captain only seemed interested in half of her findings. However, she took a moment to ponder the questions before answering. "On both accounts, this object could rival ten of our most advanced VIs but I can't be sure until I've tested it. There are thousands of microscopic ports all along the edges. Probably to connect to something else, but what? I don't know." She took a quick glance of the Captain's shoulder, "It could have something to do with what our friends have found."
Soon, Professor Takada's voice could be heard over the commotion. "Alright! We need every available digging implement. Let's get this thing uncovered," he yelled as scientists hopped to engage in this new task.
Meanwhile, the Professor's apparent "granddaughter" glared at the older man through her visor with her fists clenched at her sides. Captain Bradshaw spared her a worried glance before moving off to direct the security team. More than likely some equipment would have to be moved before the new excavation was over.
One hour of digging had revealed a four meter by six meter rectangle of the now familiar silver metal. The object showed no rust, wear, or any indication that it had been buried for any significant length of time. It positively shined in the sun. Neither Captain Bradshaw or any of the scientists pouring over it with scanners and tools could make anything out of it. The only thing they did know was that it was an alloy of which only a small fraction was identifiable. A quick report from the fleet confirmed that the mass relay was also composed of this same material.
This news especially had everyone flabbergasted as the ability to entirely replicate mass relay technology was mostly unheard of. Although the Protheans had been able to do it on a small scale before they were destroyed by the Reapers. A one to one scale, working replica of a mass relay had never been seen before. Now everyone in the expedition had one question on their minds. Who built the relay?
Mara'Teblain was no different. She had the same question as everyone else, but was more occupied at the moment. The rectangle they'd uncovered was completely smooth and flat, except in the center. In this area there was a raised spot about a meter squared, with sharp angles. What truly held the Quarian's attention was a slot located in the center of this raised area. This slot tapered to a triangular point at the bottom, and was just large enough for the object the Captain had found.
She glanced around nervously. She had a theory though it was underwhelming, and she didn't want to scare anyone. However, she reasoned that with all the scanning and tampering everybody probably expected something to happen anyway. So why not be the one who tampered correctly. These thoughts in mind Mara'Teblain calmly retrieved the triangular item from her suit pouch and held it for a moment. A handful of scientists saw her do this and curiously watched as she dropped it into the slot where it landed with barely audible tick.
This action's effects were instant and obvious. The previously solid silver surface was suddenly split up by glowing electric blue lines emanating from the slot. These lines formed a pattern of symmetric geometric shapes, mainly triangles and trapezoids, all over the entirety of the uncovered object. All over the place scientists leapt out of the pit in fright as this occurred and the ones who'd been watching Mara visibly recoiled.
Mara held her ground, though when what looked like a holographic image seemed to unfold in front of her she took some involuntary steps backward. As she did, the imaged appeared to fold up and vanish. Suddenly intrigued, Mara returned to where she'd been prompting the hologram to return. With every eye in the expedition watching Mara began a simple examination of the image. It was an ornate orange square with two artistic arrows, one pointing up the other down. The meaning was obvious, but the fact that Mara was standing on an elevator didn't pique her interest at the moment. Crouching down beside the hologram, Mara extended her left arm underneath it and slowly moved it side to side. Both the Quarian and the gathered scientists let out a collective gasp as the hologram did nothing.
Nothing, that wasn't possible. Holograms that didn't need projectors, no modern technology came close to this. There wasn't even any evidence to say the Protheans had this level of technology. Also, Mara's Omni-Tool couldn't detect any mass effect fields or eezo readings that would expectantly be commonplace in advanced technologies. Other scientists were noticing this to and were equally confused and intrigued.
To Mara'Teblain it further reinforced the question of who had built this. Knowing there was only one way to find out Mara placed her thumb over the down arrow, expecting it to be proximity sensitive. There wasn't any cacophony of noise to indicate ancient machinery, the lift simply and gently descended. The only thing Mara heard was the multitude of shouts from the people above directing her to return. She acknowledged and thumbed the up arrow, suddenly realizing what she'd just done. She'd actually pressed the arrows like keys on a keyboard, the hologram was solid.
It was like something straight out of a science fiction story. Mara was so enamored with the implications she didn't even notice the lift arrive back at the surface. Until a hand tugged at her shoulder. Behind her was the Captain flanked by a pair of security personnel.
"Are you okay Chief Engineer?"
"I am. Thank you."
Around them every scientist was clustered into groups discussing the discovery, a few appeared to be on the verge of shouting matches. Meanwhile Professor Takada, with his own entourage of scientists approached the hologram in the center of the platform. "Fascinating, simply fascinating," was all he said as he bent down to examine the hologram himself.
Mara felt like scoffing. Fascinating, only fascinating, it was groundbreaking, revolutionary even. Yet, she kept silent, these comments wouldn't be helpful and certainly not appreciated. However, she did agree with Takada's next set of orders.
"Captain we're going down there. Your current escorts will be sufficient," he turned to his still unnamed granddaughter. "I need you to gather a small group of relevant specialists." She moved to complete this task the Professor turned to Mara. "You can come to Chief Engineer. We may need your technical expertise," he said.
Soon the Professor's granddaughter returned with a group of six scientists including a single Salarian. "We're ready, was her only comment.
"Well," the Professor began, "without further ado." With a small moment of hesitation Professor Takada mashed his thumb on the holographic down arrow