Codex Entry: Andromeda Initiative (AI)

Brainchild of the visionary billionaire Jien Garson, the Andromeda Initiative was conceived as Garson's personal dream and a desire to prove humanity's capabilities beyond the military power demonstrated in the First Contact War. Garson officially began planning the Inititative in 2172, announcing her ambitious goal of launching a pioneering colonization effort to Andromeda within twenty years.

Internal reports show the struggles that the early Initiative faced. However, Jien Garson's personal stake and enthusiasm sustained the Initiative until the early 2180s, when, after a sudden influx of investment and a new marketing strategy, interest in the Initiative grew afresh. Construction of the Arks was completed rapidly thereafter, and the Andromeda Initiative officially launched in 2185.

The Initiative's mission states to bridge Andromeda and the Milky Way, create a sustainable, inclusive civilization and push scientific development forward by centuries. In official literature Jien Garson characterizes the Initiative as 'continuing the search for humanity's next horizon.'

Codex Entry: Jien Garson

Founder of the Andromeda Initiative. Garson was one of humanity's wealthiest – and most eccentric – entrepreneurs in the Milky Way. Her business interests were wide-ranging, as she made her fortune from investments in a myriad of technology-related fields. Always a maverick, it was her vision of travelling to a new galaxy that set the Andromeda Initiative in motion. Ignoring skeptics and naysayers, Garson spent vast sums of money building or acquiring the necessary technology and ships to make the long voyage possible. It was a private venture, entirely funded by Garson so as to remain free from any government oversight.

In 2185, Garson began the long journey to Andromeda aboard the support hub, Nexus. In a speech given on the eve of departure, she remarked on the collective knowledge and history represented by the Arks: "We carry all these things like the honed tools of an artist, to our great empty canvas. To Andromeda, we got paint our masterpiece."

Chapter I – The Directors

The Twins moved left, across the platform. They passed the panels with their corresponding crew, consisting out of all species running the Initiative, before reaching stairs leading down – they were installed parallel to the ones they used to get up on the platform, but were located on the other side. The ground level wasn't really worth seeing: almost completely empty except for unopened boxes and cables lying around. They went to the right side, where a closed door was found and opened it with their Omni-tools – at the door a digital ring was seen floating, connecting to the tool and turning from blue to green, signaling that the door got opened.

They entered a bigger room, but most of it was either darkened, because no lights were activated or cramped up with boxes so much, that nothing of it could be seen. Only the niche on the right side of the door was accessible, looking like the desk of a receptionist: a big desk with terminals on the front and bookshelves – with actual books and pads – on the back. "…this is the planet where we landed, Habitat 7.", Cora was explaining right now to Tann, who stood beside her, behind the desk, "It wasn't even close to liveable."

"That's been true of every world we've found.", Tann explained with a motionless face – nothing unusual for Salarians – before turning to the newcomers, approaching the desk, "Ryders – we were discussing your next expedition."

"Good.", Scott said first, sounding excited.

Sara was more skeptical and crossed her arms. "I thought we didn't measure up for being a proper Pathfinder team.", she said, sounding sharply.

"Director Addison is entitled to her opinion.", the salarian replied matter-of-factly, "And mine overrules hers."

"And I was starting to wonder who was in charge around here.", Scott commented on that.

Sara on the other hand asked the necessary question: "Does she know that?"

Tann shrugged. "I oversee the entire Initiative, and I've decided to give your team a chance to prove yourself.", he explained, although he sounded a little bit tensed up, "To that end, the Scourge dealt us a serious blow. Whatever it is, our scientists theorize it's not natural."

"An artificial energy cloud?", Cora asked with valid skepticism.

"It wasn't here when we left the Milky Way.", Tann explained, turning his head towards her, "Yet it rendered all the golden worlds unlivable.", looking back towards the Ryders, "Then there's the aliens you ran into – the 'Kett'. They're obsessed with alien structures we've found scattered around the cluster.", he sighed, "They'll do anything to prevent others from accessing them. It seems murder isn't exclusive to the Milky Way.", he started to type on his terminal desk, "And now the challenge is to settle a world in spite of all that.", a hologram of a planet appeared above it, "This one here – Eos."

"How?", Sara asked still sounding skeptical, while looking at the orange planet shown to them.

Tann took a breath, before answering: "You need to increase the viability of the planet so we can establish an outpost. Then we can bring more colonists out of stasis.", he started to sound like a salesman, "The more colonists we have, the more resources we can gather to support the Nexus.", and now a little bit more serious, "Everything depends on it. There are six worlds we hope to settle."

"Okay…", Scott started to form a question, "But you said every planet you found is unlivable. So how do we…?"

Tann started looking at Cora. "A good Pathfinder would relish the challenge of solving it.", he explained, sounding like a politician now.

Sara crossed her arms, still skeptical, while Scott wasn't convinced so much either, but in the end it wasn't their choice to make. Cora stepped beside both her lieutenants, answering: "And if I fail, I guess it's no sweat off your back, right?", she didn't sound very happy about this, "You'll just look for another Pathfinder?"

Tann's face didn't change a bit. "Placing bets on people is part of my job.", he explained himself, "Some of them pay off. Others…"

"The way I see it, you need us.", Cora replied, sounding determined, "If we pull this off, maybe you'll look like the leader you pretend to be."

"But first, you have to succeed at being the Pathfinder you pretend to be.", Tann countered.

Cora put her arms at her hips, puffing angrily. "Where's the ship you promised?", Scott intervened, before something else could be said, which would worsen the tensed up atmosphere even more.

Tann accepted this move. "They're prepping it now, in the docking bay.", he explained, "The coordinates for Eos will be in the computer.", before adding, using the opportunity, "But before you can depart, we should discuss the missing Arks as well.", he looked at Cora especially, "This could take longer and I would like to discuss this in a more private manner.", he looked at the Ryders, "You can excuse us now, don't you?", whereby this didn't sound like a question.

Sara wanted to say something about this, when suddenly she and Scott started to hear a familiar voice: "Ryders.", SAM said, "Please see me in SAM Node on the Hyperion. Your implants need attention, and I would like to discuss a confidential matter."

She and Scott bandied looks. Both looked surprised, while considering. The Salarian continued looking at them, waiting for a reaction. "Okay.", Sara replied first, "Then we check out the Nexus."

"Yeah, probably there are things to do, we could help with.", Scott added, before the Twins turned around. He still raised his fist towards Cora, telling 'Stand your ground'. Cora didn't look very happy, when the two left the office.

"So, SAM, what's going on?", Scott was the first to ask, while the Twins positioned themselves in a way, that people would think they were talking with each other. The next people, engineers, were also few meters away.

"There are things we need to discuss, in person.", SAM said, sounding a little bit stressed, "And I need to show you certain things."

"Is it urgent?", Sara asked, sounding curious.

"After reconfiguring your implants, maintenance is necessary.", SAM explained, "But right now the worst thing you could get are headaches, with a chance of 7%."

Scott smirked. "So I take that as a No.", he started scratching the back of his head, "So should we go to him now?"

Sara thought about this for a moment, before shaking her head. "SAM, I would like to talk with some people here first, is that alright with you?", she asked the machine.

"As long as it doesn't take too long.", SAM noted.

"Ok, that's alright then.", Sara concluded, looking at her brother, "And what will you do?"

Scott shrugged. "I'll do what we said we would do – check if somebody needs my help.", he explained, before turning away from her, "We'll see us back in his Node then."

Sara nodded, while her brother left her. She on the other hand turned around and went the stairs back up, which they used to get down earlier. She passed the panels on her left side and moved right to more stairs leading upwards to the highest platform in this section of the Nexus. She entered some kind of control center, equipped with even more panels, screens and holographic projectors, as well like its own staff members, standing or sitting around, typing on their panels or pads. One of them, a human male, was in the middle of talking, when Sara stepped on this platform: "Hmm, power couplers, more power relays, excellent.", he sounded pleased, "What…", and then she passed him, going to the middle part of this platform.

"This is Nexus Control to Hyperion.", another of the staff members said, while Sara approached him, "It's good to have you here."

"It's good to be here.", was heard a familiar, female voice from the radio, while Sara passed the man and approached Addison, standing close by, watching like a supervisor.

When Sara came closer to her, Addison started to cross her arms and looked at the approaching woman. Even before Ryder could say a word, she started talking: "All right. What happened?"

Sara was perplexed. "To who?", she asked, sounding curious.

"'To whom'.", Addison corrected her first, sounding furious, "And your goddamn father."

Sara's eyes widened a little bit. Rocky start…she thought, thinking about the answer, but before she could even say something, Addison sighed loudly and put her hand on her face. "Sorry, I feel tired from dealing with…everything.", she explained, sounding exhausted indeed, "And right now, I just want to know what happened with Alec.", she put her hand away again and looked at the other woman, still determined.

Now Sara started to cross her arms. "I don't want to get into it.", she explained, a little bit angry about this attitude after all she went through in the last hours, ""Things went wrong – and now I belong to the people you have to deal with.", if you like or not.

Addison sounded pissed, when she answered: "Alec Ryder wouldn't accept that kind of ultimatum. Damned if I will. We'd never have left home if we…", she paused for a moment, before sighing and correcting herself, "Not 'home'. The Milky Way. This is home. This…mess.", she pointed at the ground of the Nexus, when she said 'mess', "We don't have a lot of options, Ryder. Maybe Harper, you and your brother prove yourself in the end.", she stopped crossing her arms, sounding friendlier than before, "After fourteen months of failed colonization, forgive me if I don't hold my breath."

Sara took a breath and tried to calm down a little bit. "You called my father Alec.", she started to ask, as friendly as possible, "Not many people do that."

Addison's face started to become warmer, but also kind of sad. "A lot of us joined the Initiative because of his vision.", she explained, sounding honest, "What he shared of it, anyway."

"Are you friends, or…?", Sara inquired not really tactful, but she didn't want to be.

"I'm not your new mother.", Addison replied, sounding angrier, "If that's what you're asking. Or his friend.", although she added the last part sounding sad again, "He hated that I didn't use his title. But no one's a Pathfinder until they've pathfound something.", and with a certain self-awareness in her voice, "Much like a Colonial Director without colonies."

Sara thought about what has been said. "How do you fit into the Nexus leadership as Colonial Director, anyway?", she asked rather curious than challenging.

Addison considered for a moment, if she should answer or not. "I oversee the actual settlement effort.", she decided finally to answer, "As the number of outposts is currently less than ideal, my influence is limited.", and a little bit more grumpy, "As Tann is quick to remind me.", before continuing to explain, sounding a little bit more intimate, "Left a perfectly adequate career as a chief officer. Provincial capital, too. Only a new galaxy could pull me away.", before adding, again annoyed, "And here we are. Idling."

"You've had no colony successes in over a year?", Sara asked disbelievingly, "How many tries is that?"

"Less than you'd think.", Addison was quick to correct her, "The Scourge, spoiled worlds, exiles, hostiles…", she sighed, "We can't just plop down an outpost and expect picket fences. We need the Pathfinder and SAM to scout, evaluate…and inspire.", before sounding self-aware again, "The Initiative promised a goal. Andromeda has not cooperated."

Sara stopped crossing her arms. "There must be some kind of plan for encountering hostile aliens.", she reminded, sounding inquiringly, "We can't have been that naïve."

Addison didn't look very happy. "We expected life, not an enemy that refuses to talk.", she explained, "They don't attack – they disinfect. We're nothing until we're bacteria.", whereby she sounded angry about these circumstances, "Sorry, fourteen months and you stoop to poetry. That's how bad it is.", she put her hand at her chin, looking like she would think, "Not sure who started it, but we're calling them 'Kett'. Kandros will know more.", before adding, more warily, "Maybe too much."

"You don't trust him?", Sara inquired.

"I trust him to defend us.", Addison replied, perhaps a little bit too fiercely, "I do not trust a rising military influence in a supposedly civilian Initiative.", she took a short breath, "We came here to make history, Ryder. Not repeat it.", before groaning, "Ugh, goddamn poetry."

Sara nodded to that, before realizing that this was what she had wanted to ask. Got my answer quicker than expected, she thought, before thinking about her next words. "I bet it will become better now that we are here.", she said after a while, trying to use that as an excuse to leave the conversation and at the same time sounding exhilarant.

Addison didn't join this mood. "Ryder, we're starving here.", she explained, sounding fierce once again, "If we don't get a foundation of outposts to feed the Initiative, we might as well be 600-years dead.", she stepped forward, bringing both faces together, "Alec promised a lot. None of it panned out.", before sounding as she would stab her with a knife, "That's what you're up against. Why people won't trust you. Why I don't trust you.", stepping back slowly, "Prove me wrong.", and then turning around, "Excuse me now, but I have some things to do.", and she ditched Ryder.

Sara looked at her for the next few moments, before shaking her head. You'll see…she thought, before turning around and leaving the elevated platform. She passed also the lower platform, this time through the stairs they have come upwards the first time. The ground level here didn't look very impressive as well, being empty beside some boxes and staff working and so she turned right already, when she saw something changing her mind: another door, identical to the one leading to Tann's office. Her curiosity led her towards it and she entered the room.

It wasn't as big as Tann's office, but not so small either. It was as cramped with boxes and other stuff like Tann's office though. To the left of the door, almost hidden behind the boxes, was another desk panel, behind which Kesh was found, studying a pad. A path in between the boxes led right to the desk and Sara took it. "There you are.", Kesh greeted her, after she approached the desk, "Hope the others haven't been giving you a hard time.", she lowered the pad and turned towards the human fully, "There's a lot that needs doing.", she sounded quite professional, but also sympathetic, "At least with the Hyperion hooked up and feeding us power, my team and I can get more work done."

Sara looked around the cramped spot, pads lying around everywhere. "I was actually quite curious what kind of work you do here as a superintendent?", she asked curious.

Kesh grinned. "I was part of the team that originally designed and built this place.", she explained, sounding proud, "I keep the station functional, or as functional as possible, considering.", although the last part didn't need to be said.

"That the Nexus has problems, I've heard often enough now.", Sara responded, crossing her arms, "But nobody told me what sort of problems, yet. What problems have you seen on the Nexus?"

Kesh snorted angrily. "'Situation's gone to shit' pretty much sums it up.", she explained, before going into more detail, "There's Arks missing. Some idiots tried to mutiny and take over, then more idiots offended my clan, so they left.", she snorted again, "And to top it all, the founder of the Initiative, Jien Garson, was killed."

Sara's eyes widened a little bit. So she too…she thought, realizing now the scale of the leadership's dying on road to Andromeda. "What happened?", she inquired, tensed up a little bit.

"Killed in the Scourge disaster.", Kesh replied, sounding relaxed, "Her and a bunch of other leaders. Tann might know more."

"And I thought the Hyperion had it bad when we arrived.", Sara responded, sounding humbled, "Anything else?"

"No outposts so no more resources.", Kesh replied, before adding, "And a more uptight Addison thanks to that.", she considered for a moment, "And let's not forget how badly the station was damaged on arrival. But that's a detail, according to some.", she sounded frustrated, "My team and I are repairing what we can. If we don't get materials soon, things will go downhill. Fast."

Sara nodded to that, thinking about what she would like to know still, while she had the possibility. "We'll try to be as quick as possible – so long it's possible.", she replied, sounding unsure, "You say your clan left the station. Does that mean we will need to deal with an angry krogan clan as well?"

Kesh shook her head. "My clan will not be a problem to you, but rather to Tann.", she explained, sounding upset now.

"What happened between him and your clan?", Sara asked curious.

"Bet he has his own opinions about that, so I urge you to ask him as well about that.", Kesh replied, sounding grimly, "But I can tell you this much: When the mutiny happened, a deal was made.", she moved her arms, while talking, "My clan was supposed to settle matters and, in return, get more to say in the Initiative."

"Did the deal go through?", Sara inquired, sounding curious.

"The Clan held up their part, but Tann had a meltdown when he found out we wanted more say around here.", Kesh replied, still with a grim face, "Then Addison's assistant, Spender, pretended he never made the deal in the first place.", she shook her head, "It was a mess, but I don't blame my people for walking out. We're done being used."

"But still you stayed…", Sara responded, not asking the obvious question.

The female Krogan understood and for the first time Kesh didn't sound so sure anymore. "It's…", she began, "…complicated. The station and my clan, both, need me here.", and with that she ended the topic.

Sara nodded. She waited for a moment, hoping the krogan woman would continue, but nothing else was said. "I see.", she said finally, before adding, "Then I will leave you with your work."

"Good luck out there, Ryder.", Kesh still said, while lifting her pad again, "You'll need it."

With that Sara turned around and left the krogan's office. She went back to the stairs, they needed to go up, leading back to the tram. So what now?, she considered and making a decision then, Well, it wouldn't hurt, looking around here as well – why should Scott have all the fun…

"Mass Effect Andromeda", all copyrights reserved for Bioware and Electronic Arts

But the changes are mine.

Author's comment:

Sorry for the delay, but FF had some issues in the last week and I wasn't able to login at all. And I wasn't really in the mood to fix it – so this chapter is released today, not last Wednesday – I hope it doesn't happen again. I like to keep my promises.

I hope you had fun reading this chapter.