September 12th, 2154
In orbit over Benning, Euler System
Faint rays of sunlight illuminated the SSV Iwo Jima as day broke over the western side of Benning. The unfamiliar stars dimmed as the brilliance of Euler shone out across the planet, painting the surface in shades of green, brown, and blue. Another day at one of humanity's newest colonies.
Captain Alexander Exeter grimaced as he looked at the readout screen in front of him, idly scratching at stubble growing on his chin. He really needed to shave.
"Anything on the long range scanners?"
"No sir. Nothing out of the ordinary, no reports from the incoming ships, and nothing of import from the colonists either," responded one of the bridge crew.
"All right. As you were." sighed Alex, not even trying to hide his melancholy. When he had received his promotion, he'd been ecstatic. Very few people got to captain their own spaceship, even in the 22nd century. He'd been a part of the first wave of captains sent beyond the Charon Relay after Jon Grissom had confirmed it was safe, and he'd been sent off with significant pomp and ceremony. The explorers of the new frontier were seen as heroes to the human race; it was a great honor, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was…monotonous.
For over a year now he'd been sitting on his ass above Benning, reading shipping manifests and trying not to be bored out of his skull. The most excitement he'd had in months had been when someone had tried to smuggle exotic animals through customs; why they thought a brand new world needed chinchillas and parakeets was beyond him. In his head, Alex knew that his job was important…Benning was very vulnerable right now, and while the Alliance fleet was close by in Arcturus, someone still needed to be here to keep an eye on the colonists. He just wished that that someone wasn't him.
He was supposed to be out there exploring the galaxy and meeting aliens. He was a veteran of the Pan-American War of '46, damnit, not a glorified security guard!
Alex shook his head and huffed. He was getting maudlin again. Thinking about what-ifs wasn't a productive use of his time.
Fishing his pocket watch (an antique from his grandfather) out of his dress blues, he checked the time. He was nearing the end of his shift, good. He wasn't that tired, he could squeeze in a few episodes of F-Zero: Nitro Season 16 before he hit the hay.
"Send the day's data over to Arcturus, I'm ready to call it a day and let Kelly take over," Alex ordered, already looking forward to a good, solid hour of high octane racing and high drama.
"Yessir. See you tomorrow, sir."
Grunting a reply, Alex strolled off of the command deck. When the day to day work was this boring, he'd come to anticipate the freedom of fiction. There were so many things that could happen when reality wasn't constrained to one universe.
. . .
Outskirts of the Euler System
Much farther out from Euler, where the light grew wan and space was cold and empty, there was an asteroid the size of a skycar. This far out in the system, there hadn't been a push for the Alliance probes to survey anything, as the chances of discovering anything interesting weren't worth the time it would take, not when there were so many other places to explore. Even if the probes had scanned the asteroid, they wouldn't have found much; a small concentration of certain rare metals, but nothing that would raise any eyebrows. Asteroids could have a very wide range of elements present inside of them, and this asteroid didn't contain any of the ones that humanity was looking for, not in such tiny quantities.
Of course, just because the sensors on the probes couldn't detect anything interesting, didn't mean that nothing interesting was there.
Buried just below the surface of the asteroid, a long neglected machine beeped as it received the first signal from its creators in millennia.
Startup Probe 045-BH742…/
Incoming ping from TET-1082021…/
Verifying Ping…/
Ping Verified.../
Full Reactivation Authorized…/
Running Diagnostics Program…/
The autonomous probe vibrated slightly as it warmed up, internal processors collating data as power was drawn from the superconducting crystalline-ceramic energy tanks.
Energy tanks at 15% capacity…/
Internal structure at 86%.../
External structure at 64%.../
No data corruption detected…/
Time elapsed since last activation: 158,143,225,695 seconds…/
A small section of the asteroid exploded into dust as the probe extracted itself from the rock. A pair of ethereal structures reminiscent of dragonfly wings unfolded from the probe's external shell, shimmering slightly from the faint sunlight.
Solar feathers deployed…/
Execute primary function: Exploration…/
Activating primary thruster…/
Underneath the probe, a small ion engine activated, and with a push from its legs the meter wide spherical robot began to float towards the center of the system very slowly.
Initiating EM Radio wave scan…/
Receiving Ping…/
Foreign Radio Waves intercepted…/
Sending data to TET-1082021…/
. . .
Chozodia, Ili Zebes Nalima
Thoughtful Eyes hummed a lullaby to himself as he worked. It was an old song, a traditional soothing melody belonging to the now extinct Arokar tribe; his grandfather had belonged to the Arokar before he'd married into the Thoha, and despite the occasional pain it brought him, Thoughtful Eyes couldn't bring himself to forget. The past was full of horrors, but it was also full of wisdom, light, and love. And today, he felt light and happy in a way that he hadn't in any of his 645 years of life.
The Chozo elders had finally agreed. The Great Enemy was truly gone this time, never to again return. It had taken five millenia to defeat it, and those years had been hard ones. Hundreds of worlds had fallen to the corruption, along with untold billions of Chozo. Entire tribal cultures with histories that stretched back tens of thousands of years had been snuffed out, leaving behind only memories. The Chozo were reduced to a shadow of their former selves… and yet, they had managed it, even at their lowest state. Through a collaborative effort between the five remaining tribes, they had created the ultimate warrior: The Metroid.
With the Metroid at their side, they had turned the tide…but even with them, it had taken time to hunt down and destroy every last pocket of Phazon-X. Thus had followed many centuries of chasing the smallest scrap of the enemy; nothing could remain, not even a single cell, lest the scourge break free once more. And after the last known source was vanquished, another century had been spent to make absolutely sure that it was over. Dozens of seers peered into the aether, probes and ships had scanned every planet in the quarantine zone, and many discussions were had. And finally...finally it was agreed that the Great Enemy had been defeated.
With that joyous announcement, the self-imposed exile of the Chozo was at an end. No more would they hide themselves from the rest of the galaxy to keep them safe from the threat of Phazon-X. While their numbers were pitifully few compared to millennia ago, and all of them carried the weight of their lost kin heavy on their necks, now they looked to the future.
Thoughtful Eyes tapped out another reactivation order to yet another dormant exploration probe, idly wondering how the galaxy had changed in the last five thousand years. It was all so terribly exciting to think about what new races they would meet, or what old ones were left.
He dearly hoped that the Rachni were still around. The historical records told of the great friendship between their two races. With their genetic memory, the Rachni may very well be the only race in the galaxy that remembered them…
Thoughtful Eyes was broken out of his thoughts by an alert. One of the probes that he'd activated not even an hour ago was sending him a data packet.
"Hmm…oh my. Already?" he murmured to himself, his beak clacking together softly. The ancient probe had intercepted a number of unfamiliar radio signals, about 20 light years away from the quarantine zone. He couldn't understand the language being spoken, nor did it sound like any he'd heard from the historical records.
A new race, and so soon?! He needed to inform the elders right away.
Thoughtful Eyes quickly began composing a message, his humming returning as he worked.
. . .
September 13th, 2154
In Orbit over Ili Zebes Nalima, Helialis System
"...and so, the Council of Elders has agreed that this expedition should be attended by Chozo of all of the tribes. We believe that you two and your crew should be the ones to represent the Thoha."
Gray Voice took in the news stoically. Beside him, Old Bird nodded twice, clearly excited at the opportunity presented to them.
"We accept, honoured elder. The TSV Brinstar will head to the rendezvous promptly." Gray Voice intoned, bowing his head slightly.
"Very good. May the light guide your way."
"May it guide yours as well." Gray Voice said, shutting off the hologram. He relaxed, taking in a deep breath through his nostrils, before he turned to his life-partner. Old Bird was already working himself into a tizzy over the prospect of meeting a new alien civilization, muttering to himself about first contact procedures that hadn't been used in twenty generations.
"...we have to wait for them to make the first move. Establish a common set of principles. The transmissions from the probe have let us construct a rudimentary translation program, but we barely have anything on culture. Oh, I wish I knew more about their biology…"
Gray Voice put a hand on the shoulder of the shorter Chozo, and Old Bird looked up at him, his crest feathers fluttering in embarrassment.
"Ah, I was getting carried away again, kanamehon. What is it?" Old Bird's head tilted to the side, in that infuriatingly adorable way that he had, and Gray Voice resisted his inner impulse to coo at the sight. They were on the command bridge of the Brinstar, it would be improper to indulge such impulses here.
"I do not wish to spoil your mood, but all four of the other tribes are going to send representatives to be there with us. You and I both know who the Mawkin are likely to send." Gray Voice said gently.
Old Bird's crest feathers flattened down considerably.
"Ah. Yes. Of course they would send him…are you going to be ok with him around?"
-rain poured down in sheets as the two Chozo warriors dueled, spears flashing white as lightning crackled across the sky; their talons sunk into the muddy ground as they fought, clumps of grass mixing in with splashes of burgundy blood, each seeking to strike the other down, each with their pride on the line, until one warrior slipped, his limbs burning with exertion, and the other rushed forwards, sensing an opening, and-
Gray Voice shut the memory back into his mind where it belonged. With a note of slight amusement in his voice, he said, "I'm not the one who threatened to set a pack of Metroids on Raven Beak when we last saw him, am I?"
Old Bird preened for a moment, a twinkle of mischievousness showing in his eyes. Gray Voice suppressed a sigh.
"Please try to be civil, or at least tolerable. The past is over and done with, and this is the first new species we've met in more than five millennia. I wish to put our best foot forward." Gray Voice begged.
"Oh, very well. I will not be the one to make the first move."
Gray Voice shot his life-partner a look, but Old Bird had already left the command desk, moving down to speak with some of the bridge crew about the upcoming mission, rubbing elbows and soothing ruffled feathers as only he could.
Gray Voice left him to it. He had never been one to engage in small talk with his subordinates in excess. It was part of why he and Old Bird worked so well together; they balanced each other out, as was intended for all things. Instead, Gray Voice tapped out several commands on his display and watched as the Brinstar crew prepared for the jump to the rendezvous point.
"Navigation course locked in."
"Aeion energy storage at 87 percent and rising."
"Wave Drive, ready to be engaged."
"Shinespark Engine, ready to be engaged."
"All systems green."
Gray Voice held onto the railing beside him and ordered, "Engage the jump."
. . .
September 14th, 2154
In orbit over Benning, Euler System
Yawning, Alex poured a heaping helping of artificial sweetener into his morning "coffee". He made sure to always add the quotation marks in his head; everyone knew that the black sludge that was served on all Alliance ships these days was a lab created abomination that had no business being associated with the actual bean.
It was a shame that real coffee was so goddamn expensive to ship off of Earth. Maybe one day Benning could grow their own? Alex snorted to himself. Coffee was a luxury; it'd be years yet before there were local coffee shops on other planets.
Picking up his mug, Alex walked out of the habitation deck and started ascending the stairs to the CIC. He sipped a bit as he walked, grunting as the acrid taste flushed onto his taste buds.
Upon entering the CIC, Alex was greeted by a sight he was well used to. Ten members of the bridge crew were quietly working, one of them squinting intently at his screen. In the center of the room, the officer who watched over Benning during the "night shift" was looking over what was no doubt another shipping manifest, a mostly eaten bag of goldfish crackers on the desk in front of her. Commander Kelly Starling, his XO; she and Alex had known each other for years, having signed up for the Alliance at the same time. They worked well together, even if there wasn't all that much work that needed to be done in the Euler System these days.
"Hello Captain. Sleep well?" asked Kelly.
"Well enough. Anything interesting happen while I was off duty?" responded Alex.
Kelly snorted softly and said, "We got in another shipment of livestock from the Arcturus relay. Llamas, if you were wondering. Other than that, not really. Just the usual influx of materials for the colonists."
"Llamas? Huh." Alex mused, "You ever tried llama meat?"
"Eh, I had some once from a Chilean restaurant. Pretty good, honestly, something between goat and cow." Kelly said.
"Well, here's hoping someone opens up a restaurant down there soon, I'm getting awfully tired of the meal packs."
Kelly nodded amiably to that and stifled a yawn. Alex saluted her with his coffee cup, while in the background, the murmur of conversation between the bridge crew became louder.
"You should get going, I have it handled from here, Commander. Sleep well."
"Aye, Captain. I'll see you-"
"Captain Exeter! Sir, we just picked up something entering the system!"
Alex blinked twice and eloquently said, "What?"
The technician's eyes frantically darted over his screen, and he was silent for a few seconds before he turned to look Alex in the eye.
"Sir, we just picked up several bursts of energy emissions near the edge of the system, primarily x-rays with some UV mixed in. The emissions don't perfectly match up with any data on record, but…the closest match is to the emissions from a ship exiting Mass Relay induced FTL."
Alex's fingers closed tightly around the neck of his coffee cup.
"The edge of the system. They came from the Mass Relay?"
"No sir, the energy emissions occurred on the opposite side of the system from the Mass Relay."
There was a rushing sound in his mind as Alex's heart rate picked up.
"You're sure that the EM scan doesn't match up with anything from us?"
A different technician piped up, adding "No sir, I cross referenced it with all of the data we have on file, and I just got the EM scan data from EULSAT. It picked up the same emissions, it wasn't scanner error, sir."
"Holy shit…" Kelly whispered behind Alex, all thoughts of going to bed gone from her mind.
Alex swallowed thickly, set his coffee cup down on the desk, and tried to think of what he needed to do next. After a moment, he drew himself up, and in a firm voice ordered, "I want EULSAT to focus every sensor it has on the sector of space that the emissions came from. Send a message to the Alliance base on Benning, and to customs at the Relay. I need to make an announcement to the crew."
Alex feverishly tapped away on the monitor screen, his finger nearly ready to activate the shipwide intercom, when he paused. He took a moment to just breathe, recenter himself. There was a possibility that this wasn't what he thought it was. It could be a false alarm, some kind of new cosmic radiation that would have the eggheads abuzz for months, but nothing more. It could be a sensor error on the part of both the Iwo Jima and EULSAT. Hell, it could be a conquering army from the lost Manswell Expedition who got lost in time.
Or…or it could be the thing that humanity had been dreaming about for centuries. It could quite possibly be the most important event in their entire history. It could be the dream that Captain Alex Exeter had signed on with the Alliance to fulfill.
First Contact. Perhaps, today of all unremarkable days was when humans would meet a real living alien.
And here he'd been thinking that Benning was monotonous.
Author's Note:
Yo. I am alive. And ever since playing Metroid Prime Remastered and Metroid Dread back to back, I've had Metroid on my mind in a serious way. And since Mass Effect is an ever present obsession of mine, I of course did the logical thing and combined the two.
Goddamn the Chozo are so cool, and also so frustrating to write. Unlike ME, Metroid has a dearth of solid canon on most things. We don't have a name for the Chozo homeworld, we don't know how long they live, we don't know what they like to eat...holidays, religions, hell, we barely have any NAMES for the Chozo. So, I'm going to be worldbuilding a whole lot for the Chozo, for everything from their spaceship technology to their music.
I am going to be nerfing the Chozo somewhat. Not too much, they are still going to be as advanced as the Protheans were, or even moreso, but if they were as strong as in Metroid canon then the Reapers wouldn't stand a chance against a single fleet of Chozo. Raven Beak casually throws around miniature black holes and stars during his fight in Dread, Samus' gunship can casually fly to another galaxy, and Samus herself can apparently reach FTL in her Varia Suit. I can't work with that wonderful pulpy science fantasy nonsense in Mass Effect, so some of it has to go.
And much like The Legend of Zelda: The Hollow Knight, my main goal here is to explore cultural interaction. What does the Alliance think of the Chozo, what do the Council races think of them, what do the Chozo think of this new galaxy? I really want to dig deep into this stuff; we shall see if my inspiration holds out long enough to do so.