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Mass Effect Andromeda
Into The Great Unknown
An Alternate Universe Novella
Written by,
William R. Woods
"deathzealot," or "deathzealotzero"
Foreword
I had the basic idea for this story ever since I started to briefly play Andromeda soon after it was released which evolved drastically since I started to play the game once more over the past couple of months. I know plenty of people out there were not fans of the game, especially those already burned from the ending of Mass Effect 3. However, I always had the belief that if you were upset in some way from a story, you should do your version of the story to fix what you think is wrong with the original. Hence the overall reasoning for this story.
At its core, it is basically an alternate version of the story of Andromeda with many different additions to the story. One such addition is that my Ryder in this story, Sara Ellen Ryder, had been a member of Commander Shepard's team during the Eden Prime War. Hence, she is not going to be this unsure young woman at the start of the story but an experienced figure who while does not have the experience of her father nor her former Commander still has some experience in things that will help her when she becomes the new human Pathfinder.
One last thing to mention. Be warned that when I mean alternate version of the story, I mean alternate version. Therefore, do not expect what happens in the game to happen the same way in this story. I have changed and added several different things to the story. Therefore, please do not send me a review, or private message about this part of the story is different from the game for I will only laugh at you. That said, I am going to be writing out various FAQ-like Codex Entries which shall hopefully answer many of your questions, not to mention keep this foreword shorter than my normal forewords.
With all that said thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy this story!
- William R. Woods
EDIT (6/18/2024): So! I have held onto three completed chapters of this story for several years for some strange reason. I haven't posted them at all really on any sort of fanfiction sites during all this for that same reason. While I have posted them entirely on a Mass Effect Fanfiction Thread on Spacebattles I did not go through with a full online publish to that of that FFN and AO3. Hence, I finally decided to see about posting these online as I am now once more working on the unfinished fourth chapter, which I had started around the same time I wrote these earlier chapters. I haven't added all that much to these chapters outside of some general fixes and one or two minor changes to the overall larger story. Mainly some of the background information for the larger story. That said I do hope you all do enjoy this story for I think one major reason I haven't posted before now is that I was kind of leery of posting it for people who either loved or hated the game and therefore did not want to have someone just say some stupid about it. Therefore, ruining my muse on writing for the franchise. Sigh. Anyway, that is about it from me right now. Enjoy the story.
Prelude: Crazy Prepared
The Ryder Affair is the name for a disastrous meeting between the remains of Staff Commander Elizabeth Jane Shepard's crew and the System's Alliance Admiralty Board. It is named this when Service Chief Sara Ellen Ryder explosively denied agreeing with the Admiralty Board's take on the so-called "Reaper Theory"(1) which was to agree with the position the Citadel Council was putting out about the dreadnaught Sovereign being a Geth-constructed ship. Service Chief Ryder was then warned by the Board that if she did not go along with this she would be drummed out of the service in disgrace. Even when fellow team member Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams tried to calm the Service Chief down and convince the younger woman to go along with this new position the Service Chief instead slapped the Gunnery Chief on the face before calling her along with the Admiralty Board cowards for not facing the truth. She was then escorted out of the room along with several others from Commander Shepard's crew who agreed with her…
- Taken from a report to the Illusive Man, leader of the Cerberus Organization
June 25, 2183AD
Residence 1701
Silver Rama Luxury Suites(2)
Presidium, Citadel
November 3, 2183AD
With a feminine groan and some quiet cursing, a figure slowly emerged from the large bed that dominated the small, but lavish-looking bedroom of an equally lavish condo-like apartment. The young red-haired woman who sat up from the bed groaned once more as she rubbed her forehead while wincing in some pain. After several moments like this, the woman looked around the bedroom with bleary eyes before they suddenly narrowed in some suspicion when she heard sounds coming from the slightly opened door leading to the rest of the apartment. Frowning the woman tediously got up from the bed and on unsteady feet managed to walk towards the door. She then blinked in some surprise when she opened the door to find a blue-skinned alien-looking woman sitting in the living room of her apartment sipping from some sort of teacup while browsing through something on a small datapad.
"Liara? What in the world are you doing here so early?" the red-haired human woman drowsily managed to say after a few moments of trying. The blue-skinned woman, one Liara T'Soni, looked up from her datapad with a large smile on her human-like face.
"Ah! Sara, you are awake," Liara mentioned to the red-haired woman Sara Ellen Ryder as she put down her teacup on the coffee table in front of the loveseat, she was sitting on. A table Sara noticed also had a large breakfast set out under a stasis field which made her blink and sigh as she stumbled over to the single lounger that was on the other side of the table from the loveseat.
"And it's one in the afternoon Sara," Liara continued with a short chuckle making Sara groan in exchange as she disabled the stasis field on the breakfast and then sighed in some pleasure as the smell hit her nose.
"Still didn't answer my question Liara," Sara asked again eying the other woman across the table with a frown on her face.
"Eat first Sara then I shall explain why I am here ahead of our planned meeting," Liara directed with a wave of her hand over the food before picking up her teacup once more and taking a dainty sip from it while she looked back down at the datapad she still had in one hand. Sara sighed before nodding and started to eat the excellent breakfast spread out in front of her.
Several minutes later saw a slightly recovered Sara placing her fork down on an empty plate before turning her attention back to Liara who was hiding a small smile on her face with the small teacup. Sara rolled her eyes at this smile knowing that having such a large breakfast was not something that asari did instead having a cup or two of tea plus a small bowl of oatmeal-like substance was breakfast for asari. It also painfully reminded her of a past conversation about breakfast she had with Liara, the turian sniper Garrus Vakarian, the human Marine NCO Ashley Williams, and the now deceased Commander Elizabeth "Liz" Shepard(3). Liara, seeing the pained expression on Sara's face at the reminder of that conversation sighed and patted Sara's hand with her own.
"Anyways the reason why I am here Sara is that a mutual acquaintance of ours asked me to come here and convince you to do something with him," Liara mentioned as she placed her teacup back down on the table to stare at Sara with a serious look on her face. Sara blinked at this before leaning back in her lounger chair with a frown on her face.
"Can I ask who this mutual acquaintance happens to be Liara?" Sara asked with a thoughtful look on her face as she eyed the other woman.
"Your father Alec Ryder," Liara answered with a mirthless smile on her face making Sara look at her in surprise before frowning in some annoyance for the relationship between her and her father was kind of strained over the last couple of years.
"Apparently your brother Scott tried to recruit you last night at your usual petty party at Hadleys(4), but you turned him down after cursing him out, and almost getting in a fight with him. Then you pretty much increased your normal alcohol intake after this which had Mister Hadley called me to pick you up, but I had already gotten a call from your father so I already was on my way there with Robert who Mister Hadley had also called," the asari maiden explained making Sara stare at her in some shock before she groaned and shook her head at this for it did sound like something she would do. A moment later she sighed and stared up at her asari friend with a passive look on her face.
"Okay, since I cannot currently remember what Scott said last night care to fill me in on what my father is working on now," Sara requested with a flustered wave at the asari maiden.
"For the last couple of years, your father has worked closely with a human woman named Jien Garson who was quite wealthy and using said wealth started a plan to send numerous colonists across Dark Space to survey the Andromeda Galaxy. This plan soon evolved into the Andromeda Initiative a multi-species organization set to send a mission to Andromeda. Your father is part of it and wants you to join him in it," Liara explained calmly as she eyed the increasing amount of scorn on her friend's face.
"And why would I do that Liara? I cannot be harrying off to the Andromeda Galaxy which I am sure would take years to do so when I am needed here to keep up the fight against the inevitable Reaper Invasion. With the Commander's death I am one of the few doing something against the invasion," Sara mentioned with a snort and a shake of her head reminding the other woman on her "Day Job" of putting needed data together on rumors of the Reapers, putting together anti-Reaper tactics, and trying to get the needed support for the Reaper Invasion. Liara sighed at this before shaking her head at Sara's reply.
"I would still be here therefore I can take up the fight with the others," Liara mentioned taking another sip from her teacup while Sara looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Really? You who is too busy in her own personal war against the Shadow Broker to help me with my own fight?" Sara snapped back at Liara with a huff of irritation. Liara blushed at this statement for it was quite true since Liara over the past year or so has been in a sort of cold war against the legendary information broker known as the Shadow Broker. Sara had asked the asari months ago if she wanted to help her in her own little campaign of trying to prepare the galaxy for the Reapers. However, Liara had been too busy doing something to fight against the Shadow Broker therefore very rudely brushed off Sara's offer.
"I said was sorry about that message Sara and I have been helping haven't I over the past few weeks," Liara quietly mentioned with a sigh making Sara blush at the gentle rebroke from her asari friend.
"That said there is another who will take up the fight against the Reapers if you do take up your father's offer," Liara mentioned after several moments between the two of them before sliding the datapad she had been reading across the table to Sara who blinked in some confusion before picking up the datapad to read it.
"Project Lazarus? What in the world is this, Liara?" the human woman asked in some confusion as she read what was displayed on the datapad. Liara looked away from Sara and breathed out in some apprehensiveness as she stared out the windows of the living room. After a moment of this, Liara sighed and turned to pen Sara with a serious look on her face.
"As you are aware I managed to find Shepard's body and prevented it from being sold off to some unknown buyer with the support of the Shadow Broker which is how my so-called war with the Broker started. What I did not mention to you at the time is that I turned the body over to someone who promised me that they could bring back Shepard to life. Project Lazarus is the codename for the effort to bring her back," Liara mentioned making Sara's jaw drop in sheer shock and surprise at this statement from her friend. However, before she could say anything in response to this very shocking statement Liara continued with her explanation.
"Ever since then, I heard extraordinarily little from the entity behind Lazarus just that they were working as hard as possible to bring Shepard back. It was only yesterday that I received that report in your hands and a brief message from my contact mentioning that Shepard had managed to wake briefly a few days ago during a final surgery," Liara continued before sighing and leaning back in her chair wearily looking out the window once more. Sara could only stare in sheer surprise at Liara's reveal. A moment later Sara shook her head and looked down at the datapad in her hands before looking back up at Liara.
"You know if it is someone else was telling me this, I would think it would be a very bad joke of some sort, but I do know that you would never joke like this," Sara mentioned with a groan and a shake of her head.
"So, you think Liz can be fully revived as she was before the attack on the Normandy and not as a sort of zombie or something like that?" Sara asked Liara with a frown on her face as she looked back at the datapad and the report on it.
"Correct. That was one of the major things the backers of Lazarus wanted for anything else would be a failure and a defeat of the war against the Reapers," Liara replied looking back at Sara who only nodded at this before she handed the datapad back.
"That is good enough for me Liara. Besides I don't think I can understand what that report says for I never was good in medical classes," Sara said with a chuckle making Liara smile in some relief and amusement at her friend's weak joke.
"To get back onto topic Sara. I think you should take your father's offer for I do believe he somehow does believe in the Reaper Theory. He has mentioned to me that it would best to have the Andromeda Initiative to be a sort of forlorn hope for our galaxy in case the Reapers do indeed manage to win. You along with any other believers in the Reaper Theory who joined the Initiative would be making sure our civilization does go on if we who remain behind fail in stopping the Reapers," Liara passionately mentioned as she leaned forward towards Sara who could only listen to her friend in some amazement. As the asari finished her spiel Sara could only stare in amazement at her friend for she could not believe how much her friend had changed since they met all those months ago on hellish Therum.
A few moments of silence stretched out in between the two friends as Liara blushed at the awed look and grin on Sara's face. Sara finally chuckled before she leaned back in her seat once more as she actually thought about the offer and her friend's defense of it. She looked out the window of the suite that had once been her family's home while they lived on the Citadel as she continued to weigh her choices in her mind. While she did this Liara, having recovered from her embarrassment leaned forward to take her teacup and sipped the tea in it before grimacing at the now cold tea. She quickly got up from her seat and refilled her cup from the still-hot tea kettle in the kitchen. When she returned Sara turned away from the window with a resolute look on her face.
"Yes, I do believe I am going to join this Andromeda Initiative for it does need someone who knows the truth about the Reapers. However, I am not going to go to join the Initiative without some backup and some preparation. For like Liz always told us: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Sara said with a certain fire in her eyes making Liara smile behind her refilled teacup for this the Sara she wanted to see over the past few months. Not the moody young woman who had been all out thrown out of the System's Alliance military due to her conduct when speaking with the Admiralty Board which had appeared after the death of their leader.
"Very good Sara. Now care to share what that devilish mind of yours is coming up with?" Liara asked, leaning forward with a smile on her face. Over the next hour or so the two women threw out numerous ideas to prepare the new Andromeda Initiative for the worst the Andromeda Galaxy would throw at them. Soon enough a few others who had supported Sara after the disastrous meeting the System's Alliance Admiralty Board would be called into this little planning meeting. A couple even volunteered to join Sara in the Initiative. By the time Sara called her father to let the man know she was taking up his offer to join the Initiative along with a few friends the gathered former members of Commander Shepard's Team and Crew had come up with some quite interesting ideas to help prepare the Initiative for the Andromeda Galaxy. Sadly, it would be the last time Sara and those who volunteered to go with her would see the others in this close-knit group therefore it should surprise no one that this planning meeting turned into a large good-bye party that was filled with memories, tears, and laughter. A party that lasted well into the night and somewhat into the next day.
A few days later Sara and the few who were going with her would find themselves on a passenger shuttle heading for the small Copernicus Colony(5) on Luna where many of the new Andromeda Initiative would be undergoing training. They would leave behind a hope that the ones they left behind would be able to defeat the coming Reaper Invasion but would be prepared in case the Reapers would indeed destroy the gathered races of the galaxy. When the humans of the Initiative finally left Sol on the Ark Hyperion Sara could only stare at the rescinding view of Earth and offered a prayer for those, they left behind including her old Commander turned Friend whom she was sure would be able to take on the fight against the Reapers. With that done Sara turned away from the view and prepared herself for the lengthy amount of cold sleep she would undergo as they journeyed through dark space on their way to the distant Andromeda Galaxy.
-o-Chapter End-o-
Post Chapter Notes:
Well, that is a wrap for the first chapter of this new story of mine. First of all, I like to mention that this chapter kind of took a bit to write since I was kind of not sure where I should start exactly and not sure if I should write it. I then managed to get a few ideas and a new will to write it when I was in the middle of replaying the game.
That said. You would most likely already notice a few differences in the story of the game with Sara not having the same background as she does in the game. Just like I mentioned in the foreword. I am sure many are wondering what was happening during the story of the first game with the addition of Sara and all I am going to say is that going to say is that some flashbacks may be added to the story to explain things. I may also later come back to write that story, but I make no promises because I have way too many ideas in my head. Another change is Sara and others from the Normandy crew getting together at the end of this chapter to brainstorm a few ideas to prepare the Initiative for the Andromeda Galaxy. These mentioned ideas would be seen in the story later on. Another change is that there would be a few others from the former Normandy crew joining the Andromeda Initiative which is something I wanted to happen in the game but besides a few nods, really easter eggs, to the original games there was nothing.
All right. One last thing if you noticed while you were reading this chapter there were a few annotation numbers added throughout the chapter. This is something I am going to start with my stories since I have been seeing other authors been doing it. And since I love to do deeper background notes, I figured it would be interesting to add these annotations to the story for those interested in these things. Not to mention I hope it would prevent me from going on huge data-dumps in-story which some readers may not enjoy reading. So please let me know if this helps or not.
I do believe that is it for these notes. Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter.
Chapter Annotations
1. See the Background Codex.
2. Yes, these are the same apartments we find in Mass Effect 3 on the Presidium. I just named them and had them not really apartments but kind of like timeshares or condos of the modern world. This neatly explains why Sara is living in one when she doesn't have an income having been discharged from the System's Alliance military. It is the same place her family lived at when they stayed on the Citadel during Alec's time as the military attaché of the human embassy which Alec had continued to hold onto after leaving the Citadel. Also, yes, I had to throw in that small Star Trek nod.
3. For those interested in the different backgrounds of Commander Shepard I figured I add this here. That said I would like to mention this is a vastly different Shepard than you are all used to. It is the same Shepard I created for another story I am looking to write in the near future. Basically, this Shepard is NOT a Marine or even of a basic infantry MOS but originally trained to be a Navy Fighter Pilot. She was only trained for infantry combat later on when she successfully helped in the defense of Elysium which saw her being invited to the Villa and trained as an N-Level special operator. After some time in the Special Operation N-Teams and getting the coveted N7 ranking she returned to the Navy to get back onto her chosen career path. She then briefly serves as a tactical officer on a cruiser before getting yanked by Anderson to serve as his XO on Normandy. And the rest is history. I may further explore this Shepard in the mentioned flashbacks, or you all have to wait for the story I mentioned.
4. Hadley's is a human-operated bar and pub that I originally created for my old Revival Story. Nothing special about it besides it being quite different from other similar establishments on the Citadel like Chora's Den and Flux. It looks more like an old English Pub than anything else. I wanted something a bit different from the usual bar-like places in the Mass Effect games. If it helps just imagine a more homely-looking Vortex and you should be good. Not that is all that important as this will be the only time, we will see it. At least in this story anyway.
5. Yet something else I created for another Mass Effect story. Copernicus Colony is not the canon Armstrong Lunar Colony which is the largest off-world colony in the entire Sol System. No, this colony is a smaller lunar-based colony and serves this story as the birthplace for Jien Garson which is why it serves as one of the main training areas for the Initiative.
Background Codex Entry
Citadel Galactic Codex
Glossary of Terms, Phrases, and Nomenclature – The Reaper Theory
The Reaper Theory was first formed when Spectre Elizabeth Shepard was heard saying that the mysterious superdreadnought known as Sovereign, which attacked the Citadel under the control of Rouge Spectre Saren Arterius, is something called a Reaper which had been responsible for the destruction of the Prothean Empire fifty thousand years ago. This so-called theory states that these Reapers are entirely a race of large AI-based constructs that have been invading the galaxy every fifty thousand years to destroy all civilizations in the galaxy before returning to their resting place in the Dark Space in between galaxies to silently wait for the next cycle to begin. However, many experts in the System's Alliance, the Citadel Council, and other more independent experts have debunked this theory over the past couple of years. Even then many still believe in the theory and have started to prepare to fight against these so-called Reapers when they return to the galaxy. This does include organizations like the human supremacist organization and paramilitary terrorist group Cerberus along with several major figures in the Andromeda Initiative. An initiative to travel, explore, and then colonize the Andromeda Galaxy.