Mass Effect is the property of Bioware, Alien is owned by 20th Century Fox
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Shuttlecaft on approach to unidentifed ship
Captain Shiana Armali looked around the interior of the shuttle. Only three of her boarding team were with her in the cargo compartment, because both of her 'science experts' were up front in the cockpit, with the pilot. This allowed them to see the strange ship as they approached.
It's like playing tourist with a group of children, but at least they seem to be focused.
As the shuttle circled around the ship she got her first close-up view of the strange vessel. Once again she was struck by the stark utilitarian lines. While the overall shape had looked like a collection of cargo boxes stacked against each other from a distance, the effect was even more pronounced at close range. Instruments and antennae protruded without any sign that someone had made the attempt to fare them into the lines of the hull; the windows of the crew compartment looked as though someone had taken a saw to the hull plating; and the massive thrusters appeared to have been welded on top as an afterthought. Who designs a ship like this? Do they have no thought for aesthetics at all?
The shuttle made a final turn to approach one of the cargo doors at the rear of the ship and settled gently inside the opening.
"Alright people, remember, if there is anybody on board, then by now they must know we have docked. There is absolutely no way to predict how they will react. They may be on their way with heavy artillery to kill us all, or they may be cowering in some storage locker, or anything inbetween." Shiana turned toward the pilot. "Lucinus, I want you stay here. Not just inside the shuttle, but inside the cockpit. No matter what happens. We may have to leave in a hurry."
The turian nodded sharply. "I understand captain. I will be at my post at all times."
I know, Shiana thought to herself. That's why I chose you for the job. Turians were fairly rare aboard council survey ships due to the special dietary requirements, caused by their dextro-aminoacids. However, for a situation such as this they were ideal. Lucinus would stay at his post until he was either relieved or he died of old age. Turians took such things seriously.
"The rest of you will come with me to the airlock. Once we're inside, I'll leave two of you at the airlock to make sure that no-one can take over the shuttle and trap us on board. The others will come with me. We'll make our way toward the crew compartment. Once there..., well, to be honest I have no idea what we'll do next. It will depend on what we find."
The cargo hatch was huge, dwarfing the boarding party as they tried to find a way to activate the airlock. This proved to be easier than expected. Next to the main entrance was a smaller airlock, approximately the same size as used by most council species for personnel transfer.
"Captain!" Liara T'Soni, who had been searching around the smaller airlock for some indication as how it should be used, seemed to have found something. "I think I have found a set of instructions."
Her discovery proved to be both useful and utterly confusing. Rather than some form of writing, a plaque near the airlock was covered with what appeared to be childlike drawings.
"Do these people still write in hieroglyphs?" One of the crew asked in an unbelieving voice.
"Unlikely," that was Mordin Solus, pushing his way to the front. "Hieroglyphs impractical, imprecise. Useless for conveying science or engineering. More likely part of species illiterate, like vorcha. Or have multiple languages." He studied the drawings, which depicted a stylized figure that could have been almost any of the council races manipulating a lever mounted next to the airlock. "Earlier assumptions correct. Species bipedal. Instructions seem clear too. Almost like invitation."
"Then I suppose we should take them up on that invitation." Shiana grabbed the lever and pulled it down as shown in the drawings. The airlock opened, showing a chamber, large enough to accommodate the entire boarding party. Cycling the airlock from the inside proved simple enough, thanks to a second set of instructions found at the interior hatch. As soon as they entered the ship lights along the walls activated automatically and the small boarding party found themselves inside a huge cavernous cargohold, that appeared to be mostly empty.
Shiana checked her omnitool. The atmosphere on board seemed breathable, though the temperature was well below what any known species would have found comfortable. That was a good sign. Apparently, the life support systems were still operational. Still, it was better not to take any chances.
"Alright people, no time for sightseeing yet. If there is anyone on board, we'd better make contact as soon as possible. Remember, we are guests here, so try to look friendly and don't make threatening moves. Also, don't take of your helmets. I know the atmosphere looks good, but I don't want to run any risks."
Shiana gave her team a quick look and made her selection.
"Donal and V'Rini, stay at the airlock. T'Soni, Solus, and Moryala, come with me."
This selection ensured that each group would have both salarian and asari members. The first-contact manuals all emphasized that a show of inter-species cooperation would increase the likelihood of a positive result. Besides, she could be sure that Moryala, a former commando with a lot of combat experience, would help her keep an eye on the two scientists. With a last look around the empty cargobay, Shiana led her companions moved toward the rear wall, where a staircase let upwards toward a door.
The journey toward the crew compartment was far from comfortable. Whoever had designed the ship was either very comfortable with small spaces, or cared very little about crew comfort. Quite possibly both. The door near the roof of the rearmost cargohold had given Shiana and her companions access to a small corridor that seemed to run the length of the ship. Unfortunately, the corridor was rather narrow and poorly lit. Moreover, the doors along the way seemed to be either locked, or opened onto yet more cargo space.
At last, after what seemed like hours, the small group reached the end of the corridor, which ended with a hatch in the floor.
"This is much better." Moryala said as she looked around. Shiana couldn't help but agree. Beneath the hatch they had found what appeared to be the working and living area of the crew. While it had the same minimalist look as the outside of the ship, it was a huge improvement over the cramped corridor. This part of the ship consisted of a series of interconnected rooms that seemed to have been designed for people who had the same general physiology as most of the citadel races, although a Krogan or an elcor would probably have had trouble passing through the doors.
This area of the ship also showed the first indications as to the nature of the crew. One room held what appeared to be some form of sleeper pods; another seemed to have been designed for preparing food. Utensil,s that appeared similar to what one of the citadel races would have used, littered several workspaces and a small storage locker held number of strange objects, each made up of multiple thin leaves, covered in what appeared to be some form of writing. While the two scientists on the team, under the watchful eye of Moryala, were looking through the compartments, searching for more information about the species that had built and operated the vessel, Shiana made her way forward toward where she believed the bridge to be.
The general layout of the crew area turned out to be simple enough, with a central corrider flanked on either side by compartments. At the end of the corridor a wide door opened onto the bridge.
Shiana looked around, fascinated by what she saw. The ship's controls appeared to be both familiar and strangely archaic. They seemed to consist of flat projection screens and mechanical buttons, rather than the haptic interfaces found throughout council space. Most of the screens were dark, but a few glowed, showing symbols that must have been either letters or numbers related to the operational functions of the ship.
While she was still looking around, taking it all in and trying to figure out how to proceed, she heard a shout behind her.
"Captain!" It was Moryala' voice. "Come quickly! I think we have found a crewmember."
She quickly turned around and ran toward the voice. In one of the rooms, she found the memebers of her team, gathered around an open hatch in the floor. The hatch appeared to have been forced open from the inside, the locking mechanism partially melted away. Inside the small room below lay the body of a bipedal creature. It seemed as though it had suffered some form of trauma to the chest, which showed a gaping hole surrounded by what appeared to be red coloured blood. Still, that was not the first thing that drew Shiana's attention.
"Is that …. is that an asari?"
"Negative," Solus, clearly eager now that they had found something that appeared to be within his area of expertise, lowered himself through the hatch.
"Skull smooth, not skulped. Skin-colour wrong, evidence of fur. Still, resemblance remarkable. Similar body, similar facial structure, five digits on each hand. Fascinating. Cause of death …" He hesitated. "Problematic."
"It seems like someone shot it in the chest."
"Not shot," Solus knelt beside the body, runnnig a gloved finger along the rim of the wound. "Ribs bent outward. No sign of explosion though. Almost like, something pushed its way out of his chest."
Council survey vessel Light of Dawn
On the bridge of the Light of Dawn, Levarn was pacing back and forth, anxiously awaiting news from his captain and her team. The last message he had received, relayed through the shuttle, had informed him that captain Armali was making her way toward the crew area of the unknown ship. That was more than an hour ago and there had been no news since. Levarn was not happy about that state of affairs. Although he understood the captain's arguments and her desire to board the vessel, he would have preferred a more cautious approach. Now all he could do was wait for news and his patience was rapidly wearing thin. Therefore, it was with a sense of relief that he heard one of the crew members call his name.
"Officer Levarn?"
"Yes, what news?"
"Sir, it is not the captain. It's..., I have a contact on long range scanners. It's approaching rapidly, but I cannot identify the energy signature."
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Another short chapter. I'm still trying to find out how quickly I can write these updates.