I created an asteroid naming system:Discovery System-[Discovery Year]-[Location]-[Discovery Number]-[Asteroid Type].

The discovery system is the system the asteroid resides in. The discovery year is the year the asteroid was first logged as existing. The asteroid is considered to be in the inner or outer system, the dividing point being the system's frost line. When an asteroid crosses the line, it depends on which area it spends the majority of its time. A discovery number is given to every asteroid discovered in a system during a year, counting up from zero. Asteroids can be chondrite (C-type), stony (S-type) or metallic (M-type). The letter is added at the end of the designation. When the type is not known, an X is added until it is determined.

An example is the asteroid in this chapter, Da Ling San-2157-O-00073-M. It is in the Da Ling San System, was discovered in 2157, is in the outer system (thus the O), is the 73rd asteroid discovered in the system in 215, and is a metallic asteroid.

Also, here is a list of FTL speeds:

Courier Drones (both sides): 16 light years per day

Alliance Corvettes: 7.2 light years per day

Alliance Frigates: 10 light years per day

Alliance Cruisers: 7.2 light years per day

Alliance Exploration Cruisers: 7.2 light years per day

Alliance Carriers: 6 light years per day

Alliance Dreadnoughts: 6 light years per day

Hierarchy Frigates (old and new): 12 light years per day

Hierarchy Cruisers (old and new): 9 light years per day

Hierarchy Destroyers (old and new): 9 light years per day

Hierarchy Dreadnoughts: 8.4 light years per day

SSV Normandy: 15 light years per day

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Liu, Inner System, SSV Hamburg, Flag Quarters, Admiral Julia Hawking, 0800, April 6th, 2157

"The frigates are back." are the first words out of my temporary aid's mouth when he comes into my quarters/office. "Forward one jumped in at around half a million this time. One of the Flotillas is already jumping but I don't think they'll make it."

Those were words I didn't want to hear. For the last 10 hours a pair of unknown frigates have been popping into the systems every once and a while, getting increasingly closer to Baikonur. Every time our frigates tried to catch them, they managed to jump out before they arrived. "They're testing out our reaction time and tiering us out. They would only do that if they know reinforcements are coming. Have they seen the evacuation shuttles or Cabot?"

Commander Beek shakes his head. "The angle they came in kept the Hamburg between them and the base planetside, and the Cabot has kept engines cold since it started trying to attach to the alien ship."

I resist the urge to sigh 'best not to do it in front of a subordinate'. Both the base and the alien ship are vulnerable for the moment; the base still being evacuated and the ship needing to be attached to the Cabot for movement. The base is by far more valuable, but the discovery of the alien ship by the frigates would still be damaging, such a potential source of information lost. We don't have the numbers to defend both, so the ship has to be protected by secrecy; no one will look at an uninhabited gas giant when there is a garden world just a bit deeper in the system.

"Have Fighter Flights deployed in a sphere around the planet, if one Flight can make it to the frigate before it jumps out, it should be able to hold the frigate down until reinforcement can take it out." The Commander nods at my order, knowing to relay the command to the rest of the Squadron when he leaves. 'Not a high chance of it working, but it's better than nothing.'

'Now how long do we have?' I begin running numbers through my head. 'Assuming that they launched a courier drone as soon as they found us, a force could make it from Da Ling Er in a little under 37 hours. But that assumes both that their ships can't go faster than ours and they haven't deployed a force closer to Da Ling Er.' I resist shaking my head. 'The latter is unlikely; we jumped out of Da Ling Er in a different direction from Da Ling Liu, so there is no reason for a force to be closer unless they are either splitting their ships up or can deploy an order of magnitude more ship. The former would be too risky considering our forces, and if it was the latter I may as well give up now. Faster FTL is likely, the Alliance is already looking into faster FTL and the barriers of their fighters show they are at least somewhat ahead of us in mass effect tech. So cut off 6 hours to the estimate just to be safe. I have 11 hours.'

"You are dismissed Commander." As Beek leaves the room, I begin to plan.

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Liu, Baikonur, Scientific Outpost, Landing Pad, Lieutenant Tadius Ahern, 1000, April 6th, 2157

"Watch yourself Private! M4 in front of you!" I yell at the clueless marine, trying to stop him from running into the large reboot. Unfortunately, the warning proved ineffective and Private Fitzgerald rammed a box filled with alien artifacts into the side of a M4 Hephaestus, the multi-ton worker bot far less affected than the Private, who now finds himself on the ground. "Oww, fuck. Sorry sir."

I sigh, desperately resisting the urge to slam my hand into my face, or spend the next 5 minutes yelling at the clumsy Private. "Just get back up and get back to work."

Turn to my omni-tool bringing up the estimate for completion for the evacuation. All of the actually important people, the scientists, have already been evacuated to the cruisers, with nonessential personnel following. Now the shuttles are being filled by alien artifacts and important equipment, a slow going process considering it took them months to get the stuff here in the first place, and the alien's transport wasn't that much smaller than a cruiser. Still, the marines and volunteers will be able to pack up all of the stuff too valuable to just leave, either for the actual worth of them, or the risk they pose if the aliens get their hands on them, by the end of tomorrow. For the important things we can't move like the central data core, some of my marines are strapping explosives onto them; better to ensure it's gone instead of hoping an orbital strike will take it out.

"Sir, one of the M4s stopped moving, I think it's broken." I release a sigh and begin walking. 'Join the marines they said, it will be an adventure they said. '

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling San, Outer System, Da Ling San-2157-O-00073-M, David Freedman, 1100, April 6th, 2157

"Captain, you may want to listen to AIRW for a minute, they're sending out a new warning."

I turn my head from the ever misbehaving mining drone to my XO, careful to ensure the movement doesn't cause me to fly off the small asteroid. My XO, Sade Abara, is wearing a basic gray hardsuit, the same design as my own, the dome-like helmet revealing her chocolate skin and bionic left eye, replaced nearly a decade ago after an accident on an old rock hopper. "Ok Sade, mind D-04 for me, I think its forward right claw is broken again."

I quickly use my eyes to maneuver through my hardsuits HUD, eye movements closing the diagnostic display that covers half my vision and quickly bringing up the Alliance Interstellar Radio Network, the only thing that we can pick up this deep in the outer system. "-Repeat, the Xingyun Cluster has been designated a level 4 dangerous area, it is recommended that all vessels express caution and potentially leave the area. Repeat-"

"You notice what it's saying?"

I scoff at Sade's words "Or rather what it isn't? The Alliance usually adds a reason to these announcements. The fact they didn't says far more than the VI generated message."

I see Sade nod her head in the dome helmet of her hardsuit. "What do ya think it is? Big prothean find? New pirate gang? It would explain the 6th Squadron."

I shake my head. "Unless some group managed to grab another cruiser, I doubt the Alliance would go up to level 4, and considering the only way into the Cluster is sitting right next to Shanxi, I think we would have heard of something like that coming through." I pause for a moment, powering her first suggestion. "It's… possible, some prothean ruins have automated defenses, there is no reason there couldn't be some base in the cluster that managed to maul the Athans and lead to the Alliance bringing in the 6th. Still doesn't explain why the level 4 reaches through the entire cluster."

"Anyways." Sabe says, brushing off the idle chatter for business. "Should we do anything about it? We're almost up to the red line; just a few more hours of packing in ore and we'll be ready to set off to Dowager Keep to drop off our load. Once we get there, should we head back to Ymir, or stay here."

"I think we should stay in this system. This rock is a good one, high metallicity, eezo concentrations, rare earths, and it's big enough that we can make a few runs to the Keep off just this one. If we leave the bots and other equipment we should be able to push the red line a bit, make some space for more ore in the calcs." Sade raises her eyebrow, while leaving equipment to stretch fuel for more ore tonnage is not uncommon, it is still somewhat risky for small operations like ours; without automated defenses or the ability to leave someone behind, anyone who finds the spot could take the expensive equipment without resistance, cutting deeply into our bottom line.

I can see data reflected off her helmet's HUD, I think it is the ore tonnages for the asteroid. "If we do that, we should be able to make over a dozen runs for the higher price stuff, five times that if you want to also grab the lower end materials that still bring a profit. That will keep us in Da Ling San for a while, but it will certainly bulk out our pocketbooks. You sure the Skipper can do that many runs, she's coming up on needing maintenance for her engine soon, and moving three times her mass in ore isn't exactly good for her."

I shift my gaze to the rock hopper behind Sade, the Star Skipper; a relatively new Ming Fleetworks Model 2150 mining ship. Looking like a bulkier version of the ancient rockets used two centuries ago, discounting the three massive cylindrical cargo pods tacked on to her, she has been the primary home for me, Sade, and Jeff, our third crewmember, for the last few years. "She should; Dowager Keep is only half an AU away from here, that's a short jump and worst case scenario we can use the money we can subcontract some of the other ships to move some of the ore."

I see Sade nod as my gaze turns back to her. "Ok, you got my vote. Jeffrey may want a word in on it once his sleep shift is done, but two-to-one means it's what we'll do unless he comes up with some damn good reasons."

I return her nod. "Let's get back to work then." I turn back to the crab like bot after Sade acknowledges, preparing myself for spending who knows how long dealing with that damn leg. 'At least we'll have enough money to get a new one, or even a whole new bot fleet. Just a few more weeks in this system and we'll be on our way for some shore leave back in civilization. I heard Babel is finally getting some good bars, might check it out.'

Xingyun Cluster, Ibn Battuta 2157-3, Inner System, Little Haul, Captain Tracatra Varis, 1540, April 5th, 2157

It feels like every bump, every little shift in the Little Haul as it enters the atmosphere is a great hurdle, like an ancient rocket from the earliest days of turian space exploration, where you could feel every G as the vessel flew into orbit, each second bringing more anxiety than the last. How much of that was created by the ancient shuttle's faltering equipment and how much was from the aliens approaching the same location I can't tell.

That anxiety is overwhelmed by a jubilant energy and excitement brought by those same aliens. 'Since I was a child this was my dream; making first contact with a new species. This will put me in the history books, right next to Surnarius and Versaric, right next to every hero I look up too.'

Those thoughts brought my mind to the shuttle I'm making history in, the century old third hand junker I bought up to at the last minute due to an unfortunate accident, the graffiti once covering its hull just barely gone, some faint impressions still visible. This lets the anxiety surpass the jubilation, even as most of the shaking stops and the pilot announces our arrival in the atmosphere.

None of this enters my face; the greatest lesson both my service to the Hierarchy and my time as the Long Haul's captain taught me is to always look calm, because the people under your command are likely as terrified as you and showing it will only confirm their fear. My face is instead concealed by a calm mask that only has slight imperfections revealing my anticipation, the fear pushed far deeper down.

"Contact in three, two, one, and landfall." The words of the pilot breaks me from my internal thoughts, allowing me to recognize the slight fall in gravity as the final vestiges of the shuttle's own gravity are removed, fully supplanted by the world's own.

I get up from my seat and more toward the pilot, another turian, his silver face paint covering far more of the carapace than normal for most designs. "Do we have a visual on the alien shuttle?"

"One second ma'am." He says as he turns his attention to a display to the right of him. A few taps later and some shifting in the display reveal a large amount of sensor data and actual images. "Yes ma'am, seems to be a bit smaller than us. It's burning with exhaust indicative of high end chemical thrusters, better maintained than ours by the looks of the readings, probably less than a few decades old unless they have some new maintenance tech."

His words are almost forgotten in my mind as I stare at the display and the vessel shown upon it. The shuttle is blocky, a pair of larger engines near the back and top burning away towards the plateau. Four smaller engines seem to rest at the bottom corners of the vessel, each one smaller than the main ones. The back two have their drive cones pointed to the rear, burning with the main two drives. The forward pair have remained silent. I can't see any weapons on the shuttle, a rather good sign for us leaving this situation alive and not ending up like the poor bastards who made contact with the rachni.

Part of my mind scours the craft for any alien components, only to find none. There are no tentacles, no obnoxious gold everywhere, no giant wings that would take up half a hanger bay. In all honesty, the vessel before me wouldn't look out of place at any spaceport I've ever been to, perhaps a bit sleeker than most commercial craft, but still normal.

The alien shuttle finally reaches the plateau, landing with its side to us around 120 meters away. I see gasses leave and enter the craft, evidence of matching pressers within the vessel to the planet, something we haven't bothered doing. 'Bit on the cautious side, guess that's good for first contact.' There is silence, neither side doing anything, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, I speak. "Bessaris, Yuvrak, get ready. Nassaric, drop the ramp once we're all ready."

I move back to the passenger compartment, grabbing my helmet and putting it on. I turn to the shuttle's rear-facing ramp, designed to allow rapid movement of people and goods, and working most of the time. I am joined by Bessaris, the Long Haul's security officer, and Nassaric, the closest thing we have to a science officer, having gone to a prominent university before dropping out due to low funds and becoming a spacer. Both are also turians, as it seems the best choice to introduce the new species to one race at a time, much to the disappointment of some of my crew.

Slowly, almost glacially, the ramp comes down, the air within the shuttle pushing out into the lower presser of the planet's atmosphere. As I walk down the ramp, I see the alien craft with my own eyes for the first time. When I reach the bottom, I see the side of the craft open, revealing three standing figures in the shuttle. I use my helmet's HUD to get a closer look, zooming in to turn the 120 meters between us into no obstacle. I first notice another four suited individuals behind them, each carrying a weapon and in matching hardsuits to two of the forward aliens, who appear unarmed. Next, I take in the figures themselves: most look somewhat off, kinda like slightly less bulky batarians in their suits. A few, one of the forward trio and another of the rear four, look almost asari like, some curves still evident through the hardsuits. Each has five fingers on their hands, and only a pair of eyes appear on the helmets, though for all I know they may have a dozen underneath.

Slowly, the forward three walk off the shuttle, and begin to move towards the center of the plateau. We follow suit, attempting to match their pace. After only a short time, we both reach the middle, now only 8 meters apart, a distance the simultaneously feels extremely close and frustratingly far.

We all just stare at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do. Slowly, the male -'is that a male? Better to just use the term and be corrected later'- alien raises his hand and forms something, his smallest finger- a thumb?- extended and the other four split into two pairs. 'What the?'

Once the center and left aliens notice what the male is doing, they seem to glare at him, words probably sent over the radio, causing the male to quickly retract his hand.

After a few more moments, the center alien begins to do something, reaching his hands towards his helmet, grabbing the object, and pulling it off, an action followed by the hissing sound of equalizing pressure.

This gets all three of our attention as we stare at the alien. It almost looks like an asari, but it definitely is not. I notice strange strands coming from his- is it a he?- head. 'Hair?' While hair is not entirely unknown for sentient races, large amounts like is on this alien's head certainly is. 'I think the quarians may have hair like that.'

The alien opens his mouth, speaking unknown words in a low tone. Quickly, the two other aliens take off their helmets, revealing another similar to the first, though with far more hair, and one that has a facial structure startlingly similar to an asari, almost looking to be one if not for the hair covering the rest of its head and the dark, almost pure black skin covering them.

I only hesitate for a moment before grabbing my hemet, initiating unlocking, and taking it off my head.

I feel the air being replaced by that of the world as my helmet comes off of me, revealing my face to the aliens.

Xingyun Cluster, Ibn Battuta 2157-3, Inner System, Ibn Battuta 2157-3 c, Captain Joseph Garibaldi, 1545, April 5th, 2157

I stare in fascination at the alien in front of me, its gray, almost metallic carapace covered in strange markings, whether artificial or man- no, alien made, I can not say. The rest of its body remains as strange as when I first saw it only a few moments ago; long arms and leds contrasting with a barrel-like body.

The two other aliens to the sides of the first also take off their helmets, revealing both of their faces. One is like the other, its carapace shell covering the front of its head, while the other, the once with the elongated helmet that I first thought may be of another race, shows that its carapace loops around its whole head, spiky protrusions extending further back.

The center one slowly lifts up its hand, extending its thumb-analog while separating its two other fingers as much as it could.

I suppress a curse 'great, less than a minute into first contact and we've already taught them the Vulcan salute. Randolph is going to find whatever horrid jobs I find for him on the ship to be paradise compared to whatever the brass will due to him'.

After a moment of hesitation, I slowly raise my hand into the much loved position-desperately hoping the embarrassment and rage I feel doesn't show on my face- before slowly walking towards the area between us-stopping 4 meters away- and outstretching that hand. They look at me and my hand in what I think is an inquisitive expression- either that or blind rage but better to hope for the former than the latter- before closing the distance and shaking it.

As I feel the strange hand clasps my own- rather lightly from what I can tell- some of the anxiety leaves me. 'Good, so I didn't start some kind of first contact war. Perhaps things will go alright.'

Xingyun Cluster, Ibn Battuta 2157-3, Outer System, PFS Long Talon, Commander Ivractis Nor, 1030, April 6th, 2157

"Do you have a match for either ship?" I ask my sensor officer. When we entered the system, referring to the two cruiser-size vessels the Talon detected when we entered the system.

"Partially sir; one is a Dravilur class exploration ship, the IFF says it's the Long Haul. The ship was registered as being in the area by the authorities in the Cyclops Delta doing survey work. The other one, however, does not match anything in our database. The IFF doesn't match the Citadel standards." The sensor officer hesitates for a moment before quickly moving his hands swiftly across his display. "The IFF, it seems to be similar in design to the ones used by the unknown force in the Battle of Relay 313."

'Got you.' I grin at the officer's pronouncement. 'But what about the civilian ship? Perhaps they're supplying them or giving them info on the current state of the Cyclops Delta, wouldn't be the first time a civilian ship was used for scouting.' "When our orbit puts the dwarf between us and those ships, send a courier to the rally point; the destroyers should be arriving in a few hours."

'Lucky I took some extra precautions' when the Talon arrived in the system, it first came in almost a light week out,ensuring that all but the most robust detection nets wouldn't catch the entry for a while. After that, the Talon jumped in behind a dwarf planet before entering orbit of that dwarf and drifting into sight of the inner system, seeming to be nothing more than another ball of ice while the Talon is running cold. Ensures that the group has no idea they're being watched, and will make the arrival of the three destroyers stripped from the Cyclops Delta Guard a complete surprise. A trio of destroyers, even older ships, are more than a match for anything these aliens can throw at them.

My grin widens at the thought of those spirits cursed bastards being punished for their actions. 'Only a few more hours.'

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Liu, Inner System, 3rd Person, 1130, April 6th, 2157

One by one they came within streaks of light. First a frigate, then another, then another. Soon after the first cruiser arrived, its hull still scarred from its battle only days before. Soon another follows, this one fresh, unbloodied from confrontation with the Hierarchy's new foe. Within only moments of the first ship's arrival, the final one comes, the name 'Jaxim Vadimos' clear on its blackened hull.

Six cruisers sit as the core, three veterans from the 313, three newcomers taken from patrols. Side by side with their larger cousins, six destroyers reside. Beyond that battleline, 12 frigates dwell, each pristine besides the wear and tear that reveals their decades of service, all older vessels used to take the places of their younger brethren when they were sent off for greater posts or gifted to the Cyclops Delta Guard after service in the Navy.

Ahead of the fleet is a blue gem, its surface overcome with green where the endless oceans do not hold dominion. In low orbit of that world is a battered force of a quartet of cruisers and a handful of smaller craft, desperately trying to evacuate all they can from the world below.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, especially the last part. That was my first attempt at doing this fanfic in third person, and while it didn't have any interactions, I hope it did well.