MASS

EFFECT:

THE NEW WORLD

The impossibly tall life form burst quickly into the room and ran to the bedside. He took the bed's occupant's hand and held it tightly. The one in the bed was an old man, nearly in his eighth decade.

"What has happened?" The tall one asked the physicians standing in the room.

Only one of the several answered. "Age has consumed him. He is only human, after all."

The tall one looked back at the old man. "Father?"

The old man opened his eyes, they were clouded beyond repair. They darted to and fro, searching the nothingness of his vision.

"Is that you, John?" the old man said.

John nodded. "It's me. I'm here, Father."

The old man's eyes closed again and a smile crept upon his wrinkled face. "You were a better man than I ever was, remember that."

John held back a lone tear and nodded. "I will, Father."

With that, not another word, the life drained from the man. The eternal sleep beckoned, and he answered the call. John stared for a moment at his father's body. Locks of long dark hair fell in front of his eyes as he bowed his head. His mother had always before she passed that he retained his father's features and excellent navigational skills.

John stood up from beside the bed and walked out silently. Outside the structure, a crowd of people were forming to hear the old man's fate.

"The Starfarer is dead!" John shouted. "Now is a time of mourning! Go home, pray. Do what you must, but do it in my father's memory."

/

Somewhere in Space…

Aboard the SSV London

Catalog Date: 11-8-2240

The captain of the SSV London stared at the flashing screens in front of him with a look of bewilderment. Edward Carver looked over at the yeoman with the same look.

"It's gibberish to me, help." Carver said.

Yeoman Salk; a Turian native, gave a deep warbled sigh. "It's simple, this here indicates a signal we've not seen in 57 years."

Carver thought for a moment. "The Crucible assault on London."

Salk nodded. "The very event this ship is named after."

Carver looked back at the screen. The signal was pinging off multiple Alliance satellites throughout the Milky Way. It was pretty much everywhere. Almost impossible for them to be the first ones to hear it.

"Who else has picked up this transmission?" Carver asked.

Salk thought a moment. "I monitored Alliance Navy chatter. Nothing about a half century old beacon suddenly appearing out of nowhere."

"Well, can we at least identify what vessel is trying to be found?" Carver inquired, crossing his arms.

Salk turned his seat back to the console and began tapping away at the keys. Several lines of text appeared on screen and an image of a ship similar to the London.

"The Normandy, Captain. The Normandy is sending the signal."

Carver's dark eyes widened. "Inform the crew, have them meet me in the conference room."

/

"I still think you Asari are parasitic. Just look at the facts. You've adapted to be sexually compatible with a wide variety of races and even genders. And an Asari cannot produce a non Asari offspring. By mere definition, you are a parasite, Clara." The Chief Medical Engineer and Salarian, Dargell said.

Clara turned to her fellow crewmates watching the argument. "He's just a little pissy about how fast he came and went last night."

The comment registered multiple chuckles around the conference room and a snort of displeasure from Dargell. Suddenly, the door opened and in stepped Captain Carver with Salk close behind.

"ANIA, bring up the reading Yeoman Salk received this afternoon." Carver said.

ANIA, Advanced Neurological Interface and Assistant blinked on. "Of course, Captain."

In the center of the room, the image of the signal's satellite path and the image of the Normandy appeared in a hologram.

"Most of you should know what that is," Carver began. "That is the SSV Normandy. Alliance Frigate, formerly allied with the paramilitary group known as Cerberus."

Dargell nodded. "It's directly responsible for the assault on the Collector Dreadnought and led the charge against the Reapers at Crucible Incident 57 years ago."

"Well, as Yeoman Salk can adhere to, we received a rogue signal that has been identified as being a broadcast by the Normandy." Carver continued.

ANIA chimed in. "The Normandy was last seen fleeing the Crucible's destruction. It has been long theorized that the Normandy crashed on the surface of a planet, but searches have been fruitless."

Talek; a heavy weapons specialist and Krogan, spoke up. "Where is this signal coming from?"

It was now Salk's turn to talk. "The signal is coming from the edge of deep space. Far outside Alliance territory. It's a planet that's never been landed on but orbital images have since made their way to Alliance servers."

He pressed a few keys and the image changed to that of the surface of a planet. Multiple structures could be seen in the frame. The landscape was lush and green, full of life. Not unlike Earth herself.

"Those are buildings. I thought you said it'd never been landed on." Clara said.

"It hasn't. These buildings must've been made by an indigenous population." Salk replied.

"By my studies, the structures match that of Medieval European buildings. The indigenous population must not be as technologically advanced as our own. Perhaps, not even a mastering of space travel or the mass effect relays yet." ANIA said.

"And the Normandy crashed here?" Dargell said.

"We believe so. And it's our duty as Alliance operatives to seek out this signal and find the source, Normandy or not."