Chapter II
Mercado noticed unease amongst the senior officers of the Arnhem as she came inside the oval briefing room astern of the ship's bridge, nestled deep within the hull of the cruiser. Footsteps and the idle hum of the ship was the only audible sound as the officers walked around to their seats. At the front, facing them, was Captain Winters and his second in command, XO Illaris.
"Dr Mercado," Illaris said, staring at Mercado. She gestured for the civilian researcher to step up and join them for the presentation. Travers, sitting across the table gave her an encouraging nod before she stood up. What she was about to present was something she was still coming to grips with herself. She cleared her throat as Illaris and Winters stepped down and took to their seats.
"Aura, pull up presentation two," Alicia instructed the ship's virtual interface. It complied in an instant and a holographic projection of the Arnhem materialized before them. The perspective shifted and the Arnhem disappeared as a dot as the entire solar system came to be displayed.
"This is the system we're in, and here's the Reaper," she begun, pointing at a dot near the gas giant. The Arnhem visibly having escaped its vicinity. A bubble appeared, eminating from the Reaper carcass and ending just behind the Arnhem's current position beyond the binary stars. "This is a sphere of influence, generated by the machine we found aboard the Reaper. Together with the people at astrometrics and navigation, I've been able to pinpoint the effects this machine had on our ship, and us,"
"What effect?" One of the officers asked.
"Time dilation," Mercado said. "The machine generated a mass effect field, a singularity, strong enough that we've been experiencing time at a different rate than the rest of the system. We've been extrapolating data by analyzing the orbital bodies of the system but it seems they too were trapped in the field that has since dissipated. By all accounts it seems we are no longer inside it."
"What does this mean?" Lieutenant Tycho, the ship's chief engineer asked. Mercado looked at the slender, older man but before she could answer. Illaris spoke out.
"We're going to conduct a ship-wide systems diagnostic to make sure this hasn't compromised our systems. We have no external reference, but by our calculations it seems...it means we are...no longer in the year 2198," Illaris said, visibly shaken. Mercado stood quiet. She expected a buzz between the officers at the revelation but the room was eerily quiet. For the first time Captain Winters spoke up.
"I know this is all dawning on you, and there are a lot of unknowns. But I am convinced each and everyone of you will perform your duties like you have over the last couple of months. As of this moment we cannot establish communications with any comm buoy, Alliance or otherwise. Our next course of action is to set course for the Asari colony of Zheria, the closest allied world to us. For now, you are all dismissed," Winters ordered. The room emptied slowly until no one remained but Mercado and Illaris. They both stared the holographic display, trying to make sense of their situation.
"Do you have any idea what purpose that...singularity generator had?" Illaris asked Mercado. The dejected scientist shook her head. "No, I'm not even sure what happened to us was its intended purpose. We know from these missions that there are several specialized types of Reapers. But this is not something we've seen before. If not for the danger, I would go back and study it," Mercado said. Illaris nodded. "Take this time to sit down with the others, try to make sense of it. Make any reading remotely, maybe there's something we can use. I'll head to the CIC now and try to get our bearings,"
The CIC on the Arnhem was surprisingly quiet. Winters stood in deep thought at the center console as Illaris joined him. A junior officer called out from his position that they were closing in on the nearest system with a mass relay.
"Sir, I've been thinking. We might have to be cautious. Depending on...when we are. There are too many unknowns," she whispered. Winter nodded, his eyes squinting at the holographic display of the star system. "The thought had crossed my mind, colonel. The security of this ship and her crew is my top priority right now, but we must determine the status of the Alliance Fleet and report back if possible,"
"Captain, we're closing in on the relay's position but something's off. Our approach vector is not matching the relay's signal," an officer exclaimed.
"Engines, full stop," Winter said, collected and firmly. The frantic whirring of the engines that had permeated the ship died down as they began to coast. "Astrometrics?" Winter asked.
"Mass relay is off position by a million kilometers, sir. We're plotting a new approach vector,"
"Good," Winters said. The team at the astrometrics station began frantically inputing new data for the ship's navigation computer. Suddenly, a blaring siren sounded and the light in the CIC turned from a dim white light to a stronger red one.
"Radiological alarm, incoming nuclear warheads bearing 02-08!" The tactical officer yelled. Winters leaned over the center console, his hands gripping the brushed aluminium handlebars. "Cycle the barriers and take evasive maneouvers," he calmly ordered the crew which quickly reacted to his command. "Is it a ship?" Illaris asked, looking at the sensor data that was coming in and feeding the holographic projections on the center console. "No reading, no heat," a junior officer replied, indicating that whatever was firing upon them was obscured by some means.
"Time to impact, two minutes," The tactical station informed them. "Alright, fire up the GARDIAN and take care of the ordinance. Where is that relay?" Winter asked. A distance and time estimation to close in on the mass relay appeared before him. 984,352 kilometers and going down, erratically, from the maneuvers the ship was pulling. Estimated time, fourteen minutes. "Keep up the evasive action, keep an eye on those warheads and burn for the relay. Thank you," Winter said, displaying the same unflinching calm as he had done previously. Illaris, standing by his side, was a fraction more worried, but confident in the experience and sound mind of her superior officer.
"Thirty seconds, GARDIAN is primed and targets are designated. Firing," Senior Gunnery Officer Corben said, concentrating on his task of configuring the point defense system to accurately shot down the incoming missiles. It took the mere blink of an eye for the turrets on the exterior hull to spin around their axis, find the position of the missiles, and fire their lasers to neutralize them. "Targets neutralized," Corban stated without excitement. Winters nodded. "ETA to relay is twelve minutes. Do we have a trajectory calculation?" The officers at the navigation station were frantically at work and finally produced the necessary data to make an accurate mass relay jump.
"Sir, another contact. I think we've found our assailant. Directly astern. Scanning them down," The outline of a ship begun to materialize on the holographic display at the center of the room. It was unlike anything any of them had seen. It was a small, corvette-sized vessel, with a bulbous hull and several protruding spikes arranged in an assymetrical fashion. It has no external markings and seemingly lacked a visible source of propulsion. Any other data would require a closer inspection Winters was unwilling to make. "Keep an eye on them and prime the main gun for firing, but now we make for the relay directly," Winters ordered. "Should we not engage, now that we have them in our sights?" Illaris asked. "No," Winters replied. "I won't commit us to a fight if we don't have to. There are too many unknowns. Make a PA announcement that we'll transition through the relay in a moment," Winters told her. Illaris did as ordered and announced their imminent jump.
In the barracks astern of the CIC, Travers had noticed that something was going on. The humming of the engines and reactor fluctuated and intensified in a way that only meant one thing, combat. Standard procedure called for the securement of all decks and compartments. In the event of a hull breach, loss of life was minimized in this way. Although his status as commander of a marine detachment didn't entail any special responsibilies as they were underway, his experience meant he would help the regular crew in their duties.
"What's going on?" A junior marine asked Travers as they secured the final bulkhead door that led directly into the barracks section. Travers chuckled. "Mayhem," he said with a smirk. "I reckon the commanders have got their hands full right about now," Travers surprised himself with the casual tone. Had it been two years prior, by his own reckoning, he'd have been tight-lipped sitting through a engagement in space. There was a buzz throughout the barracks as the whine, hum and whirring of the ship dove and spiked in intensity. "Everybody settle down and go through your memory items," Travers reminded them. "In the event of any real danger, we'll be alerted in time to go through procedures," Travers walked over to his bunk and sat down on the turqoise memory foam as the voice of XO Illaris echoed across the PA system.
"Attention. Brace for mass relay transition,"