One small step for man and one giant leap for mankind, those were the words spoken that very day mankind first set their foot on the moon. A hundred years later those same words would be spoken by the members of the Ad Astra Flotilla carrying the last remnants of mankind from their doomed world. In the mid-21st century, climate change, blight, disease, war, and the collapse of the biosphere and ecosystem forced mankind to turn the stars for hope. With their planet dying and slowly becoming unable to sustain human life. A desperate plan was set forth to save the last remnants of mankind. To build a colony ship and escape planet Earth.
It was no easy task as nothing like this has ever been attempted. Luckily for mankind help came at an expected find and discovery. The discovery of alien ruins on Mars set a wave of change. In it were secrets of advanced technologies that humanity had only dreamed of. Using whatever data gathered from the ruins and a mysterious material known as Element Zero. Humanity would build a fleet of colony ships that would transport them to a new world to begin anew. The subsequent discovery of alien plans for the Mass Relay or otherwise known as the Phase Gate only accelerated that progress. By 2148, the first fleet of colony ships carrying six million souls departed from Earth to the newly discovered planet named Elysium. Named for being a habitable garden world. These first settlers built the infrastructure to pave the way for more humans to arrive.
In the following decades, millions of people would set forth to the new world. Until something changed, the fifth expedition; Ad Astra was carrying eighty-six million souls from all over the world and carrying the complete database and archives of the sum total of human achievements, culture, and history, including key data gathered from the Mars Archives, departed Earth to Elysium in a routine trip. They were supposed to arrive in the new world, but after the schedule check-ins were missed. It became apparent that something horrible had occurred. All attempts to find and communicate with the lost expedition. It was estimated that the expedition had only two years of supplies before they were depleted. It was a testament to human optimism that all attempts cease after ten times that.
Following this catastrophe, the enthusiasm that followed quietly disappeared, and all government-funded expeditions to Elysium were canceled. Forcing billions of people to rely on private ventures to escape the dying world. Little did they know the members of Ad Astra expedition were in fact still alive. Theories were made to figure out what had gone wrong. Instead of a single-star system like Sol. They ended up in a binary star system. A hastily assembled plan was launched with dozens of probes send throughout the star system while the flotilla reorganized itself. While the nightmare scenario hadn't occurred, where the star system contained no habitable World. They were greeted by two habitable earth-like planets and two habitable earth-like moons.
The following centuries were followed by years and decades of hardships as the flotilla split into eighteen different colonies. Before the flotilla split the captains of the ships vowed no matter how long they would reunite and set once more into the unknown to reunite with their original home planet. In a unanimous decision, the star system they reside in would be named Ad Astra. From small settlements grew nations and by 210 Post Landing. Contact between the surviving colonies was re-established. The reunion was bittersweet out of the eighteen colonies only twelve survived. The long isolation between the remainder of the colonies had eroded the spirit of unity before the flotilla split.
In an effort to remedy this issue, the first international government organization was formed. The Astra Association, inspired by the old earth United Nations it quickly inherited the problems faced by that old organization. Power blocs between the greater nations of Ad Astra had made the organization a bureaucratic nightmare and policies and laws were often at a deadlock. Which serves to alienate and frustrate the smaller and less influential nations. To this point, a non-aligned movement was declared and put an end to the deadlock. In a new move, a new proposal was declared. Resulting in the creation of a new government to represent the nations of Ad Astra. It was called the Astra Confederacy.
The new government as stated by its name was little more than a confederacy. Meant that it had no power over its member nations. As a result, the only power they had until the present day was to focus on space exploration and defense. The executive branch was made up of the prime minister and his cabinet. While the legislative branch was made up of two houses the house of representatives and the senate. With the Supreme court of Astra being the judiciary branch of government. Each nation while possessing its own self-defense forces. Most military powers were held by the Confederate government.
Beginning with the creation of the Confederate armed forces. With five major branches, The Navy, Pioneer corps, Colonial Watch, Provost corps, and the Intelligences agency. The existence of the military had been once considered unnecessary. This idea stems from the fact that after the third world war and the resultant disaster back on Earth. Forced the dissolution of Militaries around the world. While the discovery of the Prothean ruins had little effect on this decision. The fact remained unequivocal proof of alien life was real. And first contact has yet to be made. Nevertheless, after reunification humanity step their first foot outside of their own star system for the second time.
What followed as a golden age of discovery and exploration. Three centuries mankind explored their current star cluster. Colonizing a total of roughly one-hundred- and sixteen-star systems within their grasps. Sadly, this peace would not last as tensions between the frontier colonies and the Astra Confederacy begin to mount before erupting into the blaze known as the Frontier war. The confederacy caught off guard by the massive insurrection struggled to mobilize their forces quickly. Which allowed the newly formed Frontier Union to seize several star systems before being stopped. The Confederate military having been designed for the coast guard and anti-piracy operations only had a handful of dedicated military purpose warships. Following the outbreak of the war, the only that saved it from collapsing was its vast control over resources and vast industries.
With the Frontier Union and the Confederacy ended the war in a negotiated settlement. Following decades of stalemate and billions of casualties on both sides. Following this war, the two sides would continue to maintain a cold war that would last until the next century. With an armed race between the two sides reaching an all-time peak. The first of the technologies from this era was the introduction of artificial intelligence and genetic engineering. With the specter of war erupting at any moment, the Stella Star Cluster as it was known was a hotbed for the next interstellar war. Until a signal from the nearby Heleus Cluster brought the attention of both sides. In the Present day of 633 P.L., An expedition is launched to explore the nearby star cluster with hopes of beginning about a new golden age for humanity.
A/N:
I must admit after spending a long time thinking about it. I decided to write my own fanfiction.
Initially coming up with a fanfiction Idea was tough as I had many ideas I wanted to explore as my first attempt at writing fanfiction.
But I decided that perhaps I should give Mass Effect a shot and see how that goes. My main inspiration here was from Stellaris Invicta Season 2 which I based this idea and the Sojourn (Audio Drama).
This fic will not cover the main trilogy as many of you might already figure out from this prologue. Most Mass Effect fanfiction tends to follow the main trilogy, so I decided to do something different.
I will be sticking to the canon Mass Effect Tech with a few quirks. Because they're in another galaxy for reasons that will be explained as the story progress.
Other than that here is the prologue, don't expect a quick update though because I have irl and I am mainly doing this in my free time.
Anyways I do not own Mass Effect, Bioware does and I hope you enjoy the story.