Galactic Situation:
The star known as Anadius was nothing special. This star was a massive red supergiant and was seen in the last stages of life. The star was about 20 solar masses and 1500 times Sol's radius. There were no habitable planets in this system, there may have been at one point but now all that surrounded this star was an asteroid belt. But in was this fact that made it perfect for a hidden base since no one would be interested in coming to the system. Cronos Station had been built within the asteroid belt which served as the base for the organisation known as Cerberus. This base was basically the group's headquarters; it was not a military base but rather an intelligence service. There were not many people who served on the station but it was where Cerberus' leader known as the Illusive Man lived and where he organised his plans and how to perform them. The base did have a small military fleet to guard it but nothing too large so attention would not be attracted since it was very close to Citadel space which allowed the base to also operate as a listening outpost.
The Illusive Man spent most of his time in an observation room which overlooked the star. Very few people would set foot in this room and he would often only communicate via hologram though there were a select few who were allowed access, one of those was in the room now. It was Operative Miranda Lawson, the woman who had recently recovered Shepard's body.
"She did everything right." Miranda said "She exposed grave threats such as the Reapers and the First Order and still it's not enough."
"The First Order and Cerberus may share some of the same ideals but their use of this dark side of the force is worrying." The Illusive man replied as he tapped the end of his smocking cigar "Still Shepard remains our best hope to find out the truth as to what happened in the Terminus Systems those years ago. It was easy for the Republic just to blame slavers and raiders on those colony disappearances but we know better. The First Order swoops in and everything seems fine, that's too much of a coincidence."
"We may have finally recovered Shepard's remains and project Lazarus is nearly complete but why would she trust us?" Miranda asked "She does not have the best view of us and what is she believes that we're working with the First Order."
"The galaxy is not the same as when she left it." The Illusive man added "She needs to hear what happened from someone she trust, that's why I brought her old friend here. If she hears it from her, she may be more understanding. We can also provide her with both a ship and a crew. She knows how to lead; we just need to help her build up a team."
"The doctor's ship is nearly here." Miranda replied "I just hope that she understands the situation we're in here."
"It was not safe to return to the Lazarus base." The Illusive man replied "Agent Wilson exposed that base and nearly cost us everything. It cost us both time and money, 4 billion credits lost after those Bounty Hunters took Shepard's body and then nearly 3 more years trying to find her. We were just lucky that they did not compromise our effort even if they did tamper with the tube just to make Shepard a trophy."
"Aye, better not mention that to her." Miranda replied "We don't know how she may react and even when she wakes up; her vitals will still be weak. We almost lost her a few times when her heart rate rose sharply due to stress."
"The doctor should be able to keep her calm." The Illusive man replied "When she ready, escort her here and I will explain the mission briefing to her. And get Jacob to prepare her new ship and her crew, I'm sure she'll be pleased with our efforts to make her comfortable."
"Yes Illusive Man." Miranda replied "I was told by our doctors that Shepard will be prepared to wake up soon, I'll head on down there and make sure everything is alright."
"You do so and I'll prepare on how to win her to our side." The Illusive Man replied as Miranda walked out of the room and the Illusive man went back to staring at the star smoking his cigar.
...
Later on, in another room on the base, a body stirred and slowly woke up. Jane Alice Shepard, known better as Commander Shepard felt extremely weak and felt like she had been hibernating for a long time. Her muscles and bones aches and it was hard to move them for a time.
"Take it easy commander." A female voice replied "You've been in a coma for a long time."
Shepard looked around and saw that she was in some kind of hospital room and that she was wearing a blue hospital gown. Her body was also hooked up to a bacca fluid bag to help with healing. When she looked to who had spoken, she was in shock.
"Dr Chakwas?" She questioned
"Yes Commander." Dr Karin Chakwas, the former medical officer on the Normandy replied "I an here. You've been through a lot."
"I remember being spaced after the Normandy was attacked and blew up after I got Joker and Luke into their pod but I couldn't get in." Shepard said "Then I began to black out after my air pipe failed when I was struck by debris. What happened to the Normandy, did everyone make it out okay? Are we in a Republic Hospital? Is Kaidan alright?"
Chakwas sighed "Listen Shepard, you need to know this from me, you've been listened as dead by the Republic for five years. The galaxy is not the same as what you remember."
Shepard looked at her "What?" she gasped "Five years? Dr Chakwas, what is going on?"
"The short answer is that the Normandy was attacked and destroyed by an unknown enemy." Chakwas replied "The Republic inquiry listed the attack as a surprise attack by the First Order with the intent on getting revenge for you failing their plan. Most of the crew made it off though Zitt, Pekue and Pressley all died in the attack. After the attack, the Republic and the Citadel just tried to hush everything you said about both the Reapers and the Sith. We all knew better though especially after events began not long after your death and that the First Order has begun to emerge on the galactic stage. Some of us banded together and joined with a group that seemed to take the warning seriously."
Shepard then noticed the emblem on Chakwas' shoulder "Wait that the symbol for..." then she realised "Cerberus, you joined Cerberus?"
"Not just me." Chakwas replied "So did other Republic Officers who believed in the threat that the Sith pose. Anyway, once you're up and ready, my boss wants to speak with you personally. He can brief you with all that has happened in the last five years and answer questions about the rest of our team."
It was then that the door opened and Miranda and Jacob entered the room.
"Ah, I see you've awoken." Miranda replied "Commander Shepard, I'm operative Miranda Lawson and this is Sergeant Jacob Taylor, we're the ones who helped get you back here so we could help you get ready. Can you walk?"
Shepard slowly pushed herself up from the bed and tried to take a few steps, she was a bit unsteady on her feet but her legs soon regained their strength and she was able to walk fine.
"Good, there's some clothes in the locker just over there." Jacob said "Get dressed and we'll meet you outside and we'll escort you to our boss, he'll be able to tell you everything you need to know about what has happened since you've been gone."
...
About ten minutes later, Shepard was dressed in a white and black uniform that was comfortable to move around in but it was not meant for combat, it was a civilian outfit used for personal and scientists on bases, not for soldiers. Shepard had a quick question "How am I even here. I blacked out after getting spaced, how am I even still alive."
"To put it simply Shepard, you were not dead, just in a deep coma." Miranda replied "You were alive but barely and you were put in a life support pod that kept you alive for these years. When we got you here it didn't take long for us to help fix your vitals. The bigger problem was getting you here, your body actually changed hands multiple times during the last five years by different factions but that's not important right now. What is important is that you're here and alive and we need your help, the galaxy needs your help, we're all facing a danger and a war is coming and you're probably the only one who can ensure that we can survive this war. I'll let our boss the Illusive Man explain everything to you. You've actually got a privilege; very few people ever get to meet the man, even less in person."
And sure enough, they soon came to a door and Shepard walked in alone since apparently the Illusive Man wanted to speak to her alone so Miranda and Jacob waited outside. Shepard soon came face to face with the man known only as the Illusive Man who seemed to be middle aged.
"Commander Shepard." He greeted
"Illusive Man." Shepard replied back "You might be the reason I'm still alive but that doesn't mean I don't trust you. Don't think I've forgotten what Cerberus did to Admiral Kahoku a few years ago."
"I did not order his death." The Illusive Man replied "Despite what you may think, Cerberus is a movement, not a organisation, we operate via cells who have their own tasks but I don't have full control over them. I prefer not to draw attention to us but Kahoku got too close to discovering our secrets and the team couldn't afford that. I do actually regret his death. However I need you to put your personal feelings aside, there is a saying that you have to work with those you don't trust or like for the greater good."
"The idea of the Greater Good can be different to many people." Shepard replied back.
"I guess you may be right but the galaxy is facing a grave danger." The Illusive Man said back.
"The Reapers." Shepard said
"Indeed as well as the First Order." The Illusive Man stated "I know that you probably think that we work for the First Order and while I do admit that we have similar ideas, I don't go as far as wanting to take over the galaxy. Cerberus was set up to put humanities needs and protection first, we shouldn't relay on other alien races to survive. The First Order's connection with this dark side is dangerous. It is an unknown power and could be devastating if it gets out of hand. I would rather not have someone who uses this kind of power in charge."
"So what do you need me for?" Shepard asked "Why go through all this trouble just for me?"
"After the destruction of the Normandy, the politics of the galaxy changed." The Illusive Man replied "The Citadel Council remains the same but Mon Mothma was voted out and Finis Valorum was made Chancellor. His power has been very limited and the First Order seem to have infiltrated the ranks of the Senators. On top of that, just after you were apparently killed, entire colonies began vanishing. Independent human colonies in the Terminus and Attican areas. Nothing was ever found, no warning, no signs of a fight, nothing, it was as if the colony disappeared without a trace."
"Was the First Order responsible for this?" Shepard asked
"An idea but no." The Illusive Man replied "When the colony Freedom's Progress vanished, I sent agents Miranda and Jacob to investigate, see if they could find anything and there we ran into your old friend Tali. A friend of hers had managed to reconstruct some deleted security data which showed who it was that was behind these disappearances. Some kind of insect race that we believed are called the Collectors?"
"What are the Collectors?" Shepard asked "I've never heard of them?"
"Most people believe they are only a rumour." The Illusive man replied "They normally work through slavers who fill a quota for them by kidnapping people with certain conditions such as having being left handed or having a disease. But it is unusual for the Collectors to work by themselves or target an individual race. We had initial hoped for you to help find out what was going on but not long after the loss of Freedom's Progress, the abductions stopped after a raid on Horizon. The First Order apparently claimed credit for this and they have drastically increased their territory. They now control most of the eastern and central Terminus systems as well as have outposts in the Attican Traverse. This is worrying for us all and many say it's only a matter of time before the First Order makes a move. We need to find out all we can which is why I wanted to help you. The Galaxy believes you are dead so you're going to need help with connections and a team. You're going to need some of the best people for your special team to investigate the First Order."
"I may not trust Cerberus but right now, the First Order is the enemy." Shepard replied "But what about my old team and what about the colonists?"
"It has been 3 years since the last disappearance and our hopes of finding the colonists now is slim." The Illusive man answered "Though any information on the Collectors and what they're doing will be useful but that's a secondary objective, right now the priority is the First Order, we need to know more about them and what their strength is. As for your old team, many of them have moved on. Tali is back with the Migrant Fleet working to keep them safe from the First Order, Kaidan is now working for a Republic Black Ops group called Rogue Squadron set up to investigate the First Order and Liara is now working as an information broker on Ilium trying to keep the First Order away from the Western Terminus systems as well as Asari space and Bau is working for the Spectres again. They may be keeping Intel but they can't work with us right now."
"What about the rest of my squad?" Shepard asked "Garrus, Bakira and Wrex?"
"Bakira and Garrus have kind of dropped off the face of the galaxy." The Illusive Man replied "We don't know where they are, no one does. As for Wrex, he returned to Tuchanka to try and unite the Krogan clans against the upcoming threat of the First Order. As a result, he too is unavailable to help. I have managed to get some dossiers on potential recruits for you to recruit for your team and I've managed to help get you a ship and a pilot, he should be waiting for you outside. He's one of the best and someone you can trust. Good luck Shepard, this mission will probably be even more dangerous than chasing down a rogue Spectre."
Shepard nodded and left the room and was shocked when he saw someone he recognised.
"Hey Commander." The familiar voice of Joker called him with a smile. "Just like old times."
...
A short while later, Joker led Commander Shepard up some stairs "I can't believe it's you Joker." She smiled
"Yeah, I never thought I would be here." Joker replied "Everything fell apart after your death. The Council and Republic just kind of hushed everything up. Most of our old crew was reassigned and everyone went their separate ways. I ended up being grounded because of my bone condition. They took away the one thing that mattered to me, hell yeah I joined Cerberus."
"So you really trust the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked
"I don't really trust anyone who makes more than me." Joker replied in his usual tone "But they aren't all bad, they brought you back from the grave, they let me fly and then there's this." They arrived at a large hanger and Shepard was shocked at what she saw. It was a space ship about the size of a Frigate docked just outside the window with a bridge attaching it to the space station. It looked just like the Normandy SR1 only this one was larger and had a bright white paint design rather than the black paint the original Normandy had "They only just informed me today. It's good to be home again."
"I guess she'll need a name." Shepard responded.
...
In honour of their old ship, they had named this new ship as the Normandy SR2 and the name had been painted on and soon Shepard was led aboard. This new ship was bigger and had more space but needed a larger crew. One thing Shepard noticed was that all of the crew were humans this time. On the SR1 there had been a mixture of different Republic species but because this was a Cerberus ship, only humans served onboard this time something which Shepard was not used to since she had served in the Republic navy for years alongside other species.
"Welcome to the New Normandy Commander." Jacob replied "So what will our heading be for our first mission."
"Well I would advise that visiting Omega Space station would be an ideal place to go first." Miranda replied "Four of our potential recruits are there and that would be a big lead for our team."
"I guess Omega is our destination."
"It would also be good to learn more about the First Orders position in the Terminus Systems for pirate Queen Aria T'loak." A new female voice picked up.
Shepard looked around to see where the voice had come from. "And who are you?" she asked
A blue hologram in the shape of a ball appeared on a panel just behind Shepard "I am the Normandy's new artificial intelligence known as the Enhanced Defence Intelligence, better known as EDI."
"Helmsmen aren't always happy when something takes control of the ship." Shepard replied crossing her arms "Joker is very picky about who he flies with."
"Well he seems to get along with the new co-pilot." EDI replied "Also I do not control the ship, I operate the electronic warfare suites during combat which gives the guns more accuracy in combat. Beyond that I don't have any control over the ship's systems, I also offer advice and analyse as well as helping the crew settle and knowing where they're meant to be stationed."
Shepard looked at Miranda and Jacob "It's going to take more than just the three of us and Joker to pilot a ship this big."
"We also got a full crew for this ship." Miranda said "We even managed to get some of your former crew from the original Normandy including Dr Chakwas. Sadly we couldn't get your former engine officer Adams to join us. We tried and even Chakwas talked to him but he refused to work with us. We managed to get some good enough engineers to help but they have a lot of work on the drive core which is even more powerful than the original Normandy's."
"Miranda and I should get back to our posts." Jacob replied "Talk to EDI if you want a layout of the ship and we'll set a course to Omega."
...
As the ship began to set a course for Omega which would take a while since it was almost on the other side of the galaxy, Shepard had enough time to try and get an idea on what this new Normandy was like. He approached a panel and pressed a button to bring EDI up "Hello Commander Shepard." She greeted "What can I help you with?"
"I would like to know more about the layout of this ship." Shepard replied
"Of course." EDI Replied "This ship has five levels and was designed to be just like the original Normandy SR1 from the outside but it offers up a more comfortable interior more of a civilian ship rather than a military one. It helps boost morale. This deck is deck 2 where most of the work on the ship is done. Here you will find the navigation map as well as the stations where the crew does their tasks. There is also an armoury on this deck where the weapons are stored and prepared as well as a laboratory and workshop for some of our potential recruits to do some work. The communication room is also in the room in between the armoury and laboratory. Above up on deck 1 is your personal quarters which was designed to make you as comfortable as you could be. Deck 3 is the crew's relaxation area where the crew go when they're not on duty. It is also home to the medic bay and some relaxation lounges for the crew to lounge around. Miranda's office, the kitchen and dining area are also down there as well as the turret bay where the main turret for this ship is stored."
"And what of the final two decks?" Shepard asked
"Deck 4 is where the drive core is." EDI replied "It's where the engineers work to maintain the drive core and keep it from overloading. The final deck is the cargos hold and launch bay. It is home to the UT-47 Kodiak Drop shuttle which is maintained by shuttle pilot Steve Cortez. He will be taking you out on missions down on planets since the Normandy is unable to enter atmospheres. There was also space down there for an M-44 Hammerhead assault craft. We were meant to get a special modified version designed for a project known as Firewall but unfortunately the base went dark and the shuttle was never delivered. I have uploaded the coordinates of the base if you want to check it out later."
"Thanks." Shepard replied making a note of where to go to get this new ship "What about the crew?"
"Most of the crew was personally selected by the Illusive Man to serve with you." EDI replied "Many of them are recent recruits who did not like how the Citadel and Republic dismissed your warnings. Your pilots, Jeff Moreau and his new co-pilot, Calisto da Silva will be found in the cockpit. At the navigation table you can find Yeoman Kelly Chambers, she will help the crew with stress since she has a background in psychology and will be monitoring your emails and will inform you about how the crew are feeling. On deck three Dr Chakwas runs the medical bay and the kitchen has chef Rupert Gardner who handles most of the cleaning tasks on the ship. Down in the Engineering Bay you can find Engineers Kenneth Donnelly and Gabby Daniels who are in charge of the engineering bay and the handling of the drive core. Some of these people may have small tasks for you that could help with improving the Normandy's performance or helping the crew feel more confident with the mission."
"Thanks, I'll try to get to know the crew." Shepard said and decided she would first speak to the crew on this deck.
...
Shepard soon made her way over to the cockpit where she saw Joker sat in the pilot chair and next to him was a woman who she assumed must be Calisto da Silva, the new co-pilot. Calisto was dressed in a red racing like uniform but Shepard noticed that both her right arm and leg were silver.
Joker smiled "Can you believe this Shepard." He joked as he spun around his chair "It's my baby, better than brand new. It fits me like a glove, and leather seats, military may set the hardware standard but on a first gen frigate, they could care less if the seats breathe. Civilian comfort by design."
"Not all ships are like this remember?" Calisto replied and looked at Shepard "Commander Shepard, I'm Calisto da Silva although I tend to perform being called Chase."
"Nice to meet you Chase." Shepard replied "But may I ask what happened to Luke."
"According to records, co-pilot Luke Skywalker transferred back to the fighter division after the destruction of the Normandy SR1." EDI replied as her hologram appeared "He apparently joined Rogue Squadron to investigate the First Order."
"And there's the downside." Joker muttered "I like the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't even want to talk about."
"You're telling me." Chase laughed "You already knew how to fly this thing. The only reason they made me your co-pilot is because I am good at flying fast. I've never been in combat before."
"You're not military?" Shepard questioned.
Chase shook her head "No but I was raised in the Terminus Systems. I was a podracer, a very good one at that until a crash cost me an arm and a leg, literary." She held up her silver army and then Shepard realised that both her silver limbs were mechanical. "Miranda found me after my accident and recruited me. She helped train me to fly since she couldn't get the original Normandy's co-pilot to help."
"I helped with training too." Joker said "Me and her both connected due to our pasts being hard."
"Still aside from me you and Dr Chakwas, there's nothing the same about this ship." Shepard stated
"You know something else, you're the only body that was recovered." Joker replied "With the First Order moving and the fact that more ships disappeared where we were attacked, they never sent anyone to find the wreckage or recover the bodies and tags of the people we lost."
"Maybe we can do that at some point." Chase offered "After all we know where the Normandy crashed and with the Stealth Systems, we can get in undetected."
"They were my crew." Shepard said "The least I can do is pay my respects to the fallen."
...
Shepard decided she would speak with this Yeoman that EDI had informed her about. On the last Normandy she never received any messages and everything was told to her via Joker since she was under military orders. Now that she was technically independent, she no longer took orders which was why she had to be informed via messages from people.
Yeoman Chambers was a pretty girl who loved to have recently graduated University. She had bright red hair and brown eyes "Hey Commander." She greeted "I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers, I've been assigned to your administrator assistant. I'll be managing your messages as well as helping you monitor the crew. I'll keep tabs on your messages and appointments and I will tell you if any of the crew wishes to speak with you. And I must say that it is quite an honour to work for you commander."
"It is nice to meet you miss Chambers." Shepard replied
"Please just call me Kelly." Kelly replied blushing a bit "I'm not used to being addressed like I'm older."
"Alright then Kelly." Shepard replied "So how did you join the team?"
"I was brought in to monitor the crew." Kelly replied "With such a high risk mission, many people question if they will be coming back. They know the risks but it is still a lot of stress. I have a degree in psychology so I'm good at sensing when people are in doubt."
"You know Cerberus has a dark reputation." Shepard informed her "Do you have any concerns about working for them?"
"Not at all." Kelly replied "Sure the methods are harsh but we get the job done and they have noble objectives. We seek to protect humanity but we can't do that without understanding other races. I can understand that some would rather humanity want to be on top but not every Cerberus official wants that. The Illusive Man just wants humanity to be safe and not to relay on other species. He handpicked me for this position, I felt terrified for such a big role but it's also an honour to serve under you because I know with your help, we will make it through this."
"I guess you make a few good points." Shepard admitted "I'll see you around Kelly."
"I'll see you around." Kelly replied "Although Miranda would like to speak with you before Omega. She wants to go through the dossiers that you were given. It would help you understand who we're going after."
"I'll see her in a bit then." Shepard replied and he began to walk away taking a few deep breaths. This was going to be a long journey. She had an entire new crew, a new ship but also a whole new galaxy. After being gone for five years, she had no idea just how much the galaxy had changed. After dealing with recruiting on Omega, Shepard decided that she would head to the Citadel and speak to the one person who could help her. Her old friend David Anderson and maybe even try and find her mother. If anyone could help her understand just how different the galaxy was, it was them.
Chapter End:
Notes: Well, here is another chapter and I decided to skip the Freedom's Progress mission since 5 years passed instead of two, plus the focus on this story is the First Order not the collectors. I still mentioned Tali being there but more will be explained later. I may not be covering each mission in a single chapter, it may just depend on how long these missions take to write. I also brought over the character of Chase from the Starlink: Battle for Atlas game. She was my favourite character in that game as was her personal ship, the Pulse which I may bring in at some point. Her back-story was also easy to adapt since in Starlink, she was a street racer while here she's a podracer. This will be involved in a personal mission for her later on. I plan to write a chapter of Dragon X next since it's been a while since I updated that story.