NOTIFICATION
My sincerest apologies that this isn't the type of update that you're hoping for. My health has degraded. I can barely feel my left hand and my right leg is numb below the knee to the point where it wants to give way every time I attempt to stand.
I'll post a proper update when I'm able.
UPDATE
I'm currently waiting to have surgery on 4 vertebrae.
They're putting pressure on my spinal cord and some of the soft connective tissue has started calcify.
UPDATE - Friday, August 28, 2015
I live. Unfortunately things haven't been going well in my family. On top of my health issues and extended recovery time, my brother, nephew, sister-in-law, and father have all had set-backs health-wise. All of us required surgery of some kind, except for my father, but his condition is the most dire ... he was diagnosed with cancer shortly after I was released from the hospital. The radiation therapy wasn't too rough on him, but the chemo ... the god-damned chemo ...
You have to understand something about my father, he's ALWAYS worked. He's ALWAYS looked for something to do to keep himself busy. Now he can barely get around the house. He can't drive himself anywhere and is in constant pain. He's too damn stubborn to even take the pain meds the doctor gave him like he should. Imagine what being virtually helpless does to a man like that.
I want you to know that I HAVE NOT abandoned this story. However, it will undergo a massive rewrite before I get too far into it. I've some ideas that should prove interesting. Here is the new summary for the story:
After the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars, Terrans unite under a single world government. This event triggered First Contact from a species that had been recorded in Terran myth. Two other species are encountered and the Systems' Alliance is born. Their technological base came from their own theories and Mass Effect technology never developed due to a lack of Element Zero.
Sincere Apologies,
Major Understatement