"The SR-1 Normandy, the first vessel of her class, but hopefully, not to be the last," said Skarrde as he led the way across the docks. Around them scurried micronians, mostly turians in their own armor, the distinctive shape of the helmets giving them away. Almost all of them avoided the huge lumbering shapes of the three Terrans. At another dock some distance away, Tali, Charn, and Legion were making their own way on board the ship, the fore section having been designated a micronian only area.
"As I said above, she looks like quite the ship, General," commented Jane as she ran her scanners over it, her HUD displaying the info it could detect from this distance. Most interesting to Shepard was the density of the mass effect field, which spoke of the core that Skarrde had mentioned, pure, and probably larger, than any other ship in its class. She wasn't a big fan of turian hull aesthetics, preferring the more organic Zentraedi designs she was used to, but with those kind of teeth, Jane was willing to give it a chance.
"I'm not seeing very many Terrans moving in and out though," added Jon, and Skarrde nodded as he led the pair towards an airlock sized just for them.
"That is intentional. The ship needed a lot of space for heat sinks and stealth systems. Given a Terran's lack of need for sleep or food, we would normally fit a good fifteen hundred souls aboard a ship this size, and the turians about the same. However, as of right now, her compliment will be significantly smaller in both regards," he advised them, pressing his hand against the hull at a seemingly random spot. The hull began to glow around his touch, connecting with his armor and confirming his biometrics said he was who he claimed to be.
"How many crew members will we be bunking with?" asked Jane, and Skarrde pointed first at himself, then at the two of them.
"For this voyage, we'll be it. There's space for more, of course. About thirty full sized Terrans could be comfortably housed inside the ship, but given our people are flying the thing, and maintaining the engines, it was believed that by the diplomats that limiting the number of giants on the ship would make it seem less like our project," he informed them, stepping back as the hull suddenly had a split in it, a door panel swinging away to reveal an airlock that hissed with escaping air. The trio stepped inside without a thought, letting the panel seal them inside, before light poured from the walls, decontaminating their armors.
"Oh? We've got our people flying this lovely little tin can?" asked Jane.
"Just one of 'our' people is needed for that job, thank you very much, Sergeant," said a voice from all around them, as the light finished its movement.
"You're clean, General," said a second voice, and Skarrde nodded, taking off his helmet with a twist to reveal his face, with the pair beside him soon doing likewise.
"Indeed, Ms. Shepard. We've got one of the finest pilots in the fleet flying this vessel," he told them as the door to the inside pulled open, revealing someone standing of a height with the three of them. For a moment, just a moment, they wondered why someone else was on board when the General said they would be the entire compliment, then they noticed those little off details about the man. A Terran of average height, what would be considered caucasian skin tones, with brown hair, and a five o'clock shadow.
"Ah, we were just talking about you, Jeff. Mr and Ms Shepard, this is Jeff 'Joker', he's the pilot of this ship," said the Zentraedi, and Jeff nodded, putting on a very convincing smile. Jane returned it, but Jon's eyes were already darting all around, looking for something, before finally turning to face the pilot.
"You're projectors need tuning. The left eye is a bit too low, and the third molar on the right side is fused with the tooth behind it," said Jon bluntly, and Jeff's smile vanished as he turned around, a mirror suddenly appearing in the air behind him as he inspected himself.
"Well, this is embarrassing, and here I thought I was putting on my best face for this meeting," he said, before banishing the mirror with a wave of his hand, and then turning around again. As he turned, his form shifted, changing from Terran standard to something a bit less detailed. The body kept the same basic shape, with two arms, legs, and a head, but the face lost all the features save two shining blue eyes. It also grew wings out of its back that fluttered a little as it stepped forward offering a hand.
"It wasn't your fault, Jeff. Still, I hadn't heard that the micro projectors were being used in a ship board capacity," he told the AI, as he shook his hand, Jane quickly doing likewise.
"It's a new system for the Normandy, just like half the stuff onboard. This thing is a test bed for most of the stuff the Gearbox has produced in the last few years, all kind of shoved together," as he spoke, Jeff waved his hand and produced an image of the ship between them all.
"She's got stealth systems, a new drive core that's at least five times more powerful than anything the Council has flying, and several new ground weapon systems for insertions behind enemy lines. Right now, this is the most advanced ship in the galaxy," proclaimed the hologram, and Jane suddenly snapped her fingers as something in her brain clicked together.
"I knew I knew that voice, you're the pilot who won the Titan Grand Prix last year," she said, having been thinking over all the pilot AIs she'd heard of. It was uncommon for an AI to be a pilot, after all. Not unheard of, since some AIs could handle the pressure of operating a real space body, instead of the holos they preferred, but they were rare, since it tended to reduce their lifespan by a decade or more.
"Guilty as charged little lady," said Jeff with a chuckle and a bow.
"Hmm, that would mean you're not a soldier, correct?" asked Jon, got a nod in return.
"In truth, about a third of the crew is civilians. Considering the nature of the vessel's construction, we wanted only the best of the best flying around in her, and sometimes for that, you have to reach out to those of a less military persuasion," explained Skarrde, and the Shepards both nodded at the explanation.
"Currently, there are one-hundred-eleven turians, thirty-nine asari, eight-six salarians, one-hundred-twenty-six quarians, ninety-three batarians, and three AIs on board," said Jeff, and suddenly several small images of the crew popped up over the ship, showing what they looked like, though the images vanished too fast to be seen properly.
"Hmm, four-hundred-fifty eight crew all together. You aren't listed on this crew manifest though, General. Are you not going to be with us?" asked Jane.
"No, I'm only here for the shakedown run, once that's over I have other business to get on with. Of course, there is another observer here from the Council for the same purpose. Where is he, Joker?" asked Skarrde, and the holo seemed to freeze for a moment, as the consciousness controlling it focused somewhere else, and then just as suddenly it unfroze.
"He's with the Captain and a few of the crew in the Meeting Deck. The seem to be running through some combat drills," Joker informed him, and Skarrde nodded, reaching forward to touch the Normandy hologram that was still floating there. A chopping gesture with his hand allowed him to pull the ship apart, so the Shepards could look into the interior of the ship, finding that, while the micronian side of things had a few dozen decks, their own section was actually quite small, having only four.
"Alright, brief tour, then we go to them. The top deck, where we are now is a general deployment area. When you're going into non-combat situations you'll meet here, and proceed out the airlock we just entered through. Lockers are on this deck where you can store civies and other apperal for such deployments, as well as a rest area for when you want to take a load off your mind," explained Skarrde, pointing towards a distant wall that slide away to reveal said lockers, and then towards a more muted section with less lights and several tables and chairs.
"Below this deck is the general area. Up here, no micronians, at all unless you bring them. Down a deck you will need to be careful, as they can get in there through a single access point. It includes a galley, in case you need a bottle, or if you have a desire for more solid sustenance. There's also a micronization chamber for if you want to go into their area of the ship. I must admit, I haven't been willing to myself, and according to Jane's file she won't but if you desire it Jon, it's there," continued the General, and both nodded.
"Now, the deck below that one is most interesting addition. I know both of you have spent time in holo training chambers, so I won't bore you with the details on that, but this one has a unique feature of having it be in two places at once, with its sister chamber being in the micronian section of the ship. This is called the Meeting Deck, and it can be used for not only training, but also discussions between the crew despite the size difference," he told them, and Jon smiled at that, a rather dirty thought crossing his mind involving holos and Tali.
"Below that is Combat Deployment Deck, the bottom of the ship. It has most of the vehicles the ship contains, including a few veritechs, some wanzers for the micronians, and a fully stocked armory, with some of our latest weapon developments," as he spoke, the inventory of the deck flashed briefly in the holo, and if one had been looking at Jane, they would have noticed a slight twinkle in her eyes, as well as a bit of drool coming out of the side of her mouth that she quickly swallowed, probably a result of having to deal with a Civil Defense armor for the last eight months.
The two Shepards looked about to question some more about the Normandy when Jeff froze again, vanishing an instant later. They didn't have to wonder very long at his behavior as the ship lurched suddenly, the whine of its gravity generators coming online as the ship began to move under its own power. Listening closely, one could hear the subtle roar of engines that were powering up to their full blast, though thanks to the gravity no motion could be felt. Still, both Terrans knew they had left the station, and would now be on their way.
"All hands, this is your pilot speaking, I have our deployment orders, and they currently involve a trip to a small colony world you may have heard of out there called Eden Prime. Weather is a pleasant, to most life, eight-six degrees fahrenheit, with a light spectrum in the two-thousand lux range by the time we arrive," said Jeff's voice from the walls around them.
"All hands, brace for Fold Maneuver," said another voice, this one decidedly female in nature, and the three Terrans all stood straight up, their muscles locking into place, with the mental image of the micronians on the foredecks probably going nervous as the energies of the fold drive were unleashed on them. For a moment, it felt like they were being torn in two, their view of the world shifting red and blue at the same time, while beyond they could actually see the bright light of the fold itself, which faded back into the normal world an instant later.
"Arrival in Utopia System confirmed, please allow...General Skarrde, SPECTRE Kyrik, please report to the Meeting Deck at once. We have an issue," said the female voice, and Skarrde, looking towards the Shepards, pointed them towards a pair of double doors that slide aside easily to allow them into the ship's lift. Jane grumbled something about speed, but otherwise nothing passed between the trio as they rode the thing down, arriving at their destination, which shocked the two Shepards.
The doors pulled apart to reveal a wasteland, with a rather shocking view of a giant Terran in full armor laying dead on the ground, holes punched in it by ground weapons. A crowd of Terran sized Council races, mostly turians, but a few others as well, including some faces they recognized as their teammates. Those three had obviously just arrived as well, if the shock on Tali's face was anything to go by, observing the carnage of a few wanzers as well, weapons fading away even as the micronians holding them let them go.
"General on deck!" shouted an asari, and suddenly everyone saluted, all in the Terran way interestingly enough. Jane and Jon quickly rushed to stand beside Legion, Tali, and Charn, as the General strode forward with the self assurance of a man who was in full command of the situation, despite only just arriving.
"At ease, is Kryik here?" asked Skarrde, and one of the turians raised his hand, stepping forward.
"Right here, Skarrde. I was already training with Vakarian and his crew when we folded in. EDI, can you explain why you wanted us here?" asked the turian, as the world around them began to fade away. A blasted battlefield became instead an open room with a distant wall and several pinpoints of light showing projectors for the holograms that had been making the whole scene possible.
"I wanted you here to get your orders. We are now in the Utopia system, but something is very wrong," said the female voice, an an AI hologram, a thing without details as Joker, though this one only had one blue eye that took up much of its head, came into view, floating overhead.
"The instant we entered the system, I found myself unable to hear any of the usual local comm traffic. Of course, I immediately tried to hail the Gearbox, to see if perhaps something was going on, but I found I couldn't transmit to them, or anywhere else in fact," she told him, showing a view of the outside of the ship, and then the nearby planet, which seemed all too quiet hanging in the air like that.
"We're being jammed?" asked Kryik, and EDI shook her head.
"Not precisely. I can't transmit out, but the fold space communicator is still working. I can form the field and everything, it's just nothing going in is going back out," she informed them.
"What about the hypernet beacon? Is it still online?" asked Kyrik, and EDI shook her head.
"I'm still detecting it, but it's not working. Nothing I send is being relayed," she answered, and then froze up as Joker had, as her attention was diverted to something else. When she unfroze, she waved her hand, and above her a rectangle appeared, becoming an image of some Terran woman in armor, who shot her palm blasters at something off screen.
"Is it on, Rique?" demanded the woman, as she dove out of the way of incoming fire, missiles that had a decidedly familiar design to the Jane and Legion, as they were those that tended to be launched from geth warframes.
"I think so, Chief!" responded a male voice, obviously the one acting as the camera for the image.
"This is Chief Nirali Bhatia to anyone who can hear me. This transmission is being sent out snail style, since nothing else is working. We're being attacked, I repeat, the colony of Eden Prime is under assault by some rogue geth forces. I don't know what's going on, they just launched themselves at us, and they've been killing everyone. Most of the civilians are dead, my husband and son included. If you get this, we think...oh Masters, have mercy," she said, and the view shifted from her towards what she was looking at.
What the image showed was a ship. A large one, huge even compared to the colony. The size of the thing was probably around two miles, and it loomed large over the colony center. It had a shape like a cone, with tiny legs dangle off it, reminding Jane of a kind of crab she'd seen once in an old vid. The legs of this thing were rounded though, and out of the tips, one could see huge blasts of red light, tearing into defensive positions that were firing up at it. They might have been thanix weapons, expect the things moved even when fired, spreading chaos and death everywhere.
"Run Enrique!" shouted Bhatia's voice, but the viewer was too stunned to move, as one of those legs pointed close towards where he stood. All he did was scream, before his hands raised up, and he fired his palm blasters into the thing. From this distance, a few miles, the shots did little, if anything to the massive ship. The counterstroke was far more deadly, the shining red light sweeping forward along the ground, tearing a huge trench into it, before it consumed the view, which went to static a moment later.
"EDI, back it up, show us that ship in detail," order Kyrik, and the transmission rewound, the image of the huge ship being pulled out of the flat screen and then expanding outward, becoming a three-dimensional image based off scans the armor of the transmitter had been sending with the transmission itself.
"That's not a geth design," said one of the quarians in the group, and he got a few nods from his fellows, while the rest just stared.
"This unit concours. This hull shape matches no known race or configuration. The weapons displayed unusual properties as well. This unit believes we may be in for a hard fight," said Legion, and a few AIs nodded.
"EDI, Joker, has this thing spotted us?" asked Skarrde, and the two froze again, before animating with twin shaking heads.
"Negative, I had the stealth system on for our trip because I was doing a test of the thing. If they didn't see the flash, they didn't see us arrive," said Joker, and Skarrde turned towards Kyrik.
"If we haven't been detected, we have two options before us. We can retreat to the edge of the field, and call for reinforcements, or we can try to slip closer, and destroy them ourselves. What does your training say is the best option?" asked the General, and the SPECTRE seemed to consider this question carefully for a few moments, before answering.
"We're here, right now. Even with your fast deployments, there's no telling how much damage this thing could do, especially if it saw a fleet coming. We get closer, and we blast it from orbit. That's our best bet for nipping this in the bud," said Kyrik, and Skarrde nodded, before turned towards the pilot.
"Jeff, take us in at best stealth speed. EDI, once we're in range, I want every gun locked on his thing. We'll blow it away," said Skarrde, and the two AIs vanished to follow the orders.
"Everyone else, we're on combat alert. Get down to your stations. Ground troops, down to the bays. I want as many feet ready to pound the dirt as we can muster once that ship is out of the way," ordered Kyrik, and the crew saluted in the fashion of their people, before starting towards the door. To the Shepards, they vanished the instant they entered the lift, as they left the Meeting Deck to proceed to their duty.
"General, if you'd agree to it, I'd like you to take command of this ship. SPECTRE Kyrik's personal unit might prove useful planetside, and my own needs to be tested in real combat, which this might be the only time I get to use it," said one of the turians as he walked up to the Terrans.
"I'll agree. My days of ground duty are behind me anyway, Captain Vakarian. Shepards!" he shouted, and the two stood at attention.
"Proceed down to the combat deployment deck. There, familiarize yourself with the new weapons, and assist the Captain in any way you can. Remember, he's your commanding officer while you're on this ship," said Skarrde, and the two saluted, before rushing towards the door, which sealed shut behind them, the lift carrying them towards the bottom of the ship, as it stealthily cut its way towards the planet in the distance, a planet that would change many things for the galaxy.