Mass Effect: The Milky Way @SC4D

[whatevermind]

Some more great updates! That Nevada post was quite the tease, ending with just a peaceful desert shot.

[Huston_N7]

whatevermind
Thanks a lot

nbvc
Thanks!

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Note: Galactic Law Enforcement at its finest.
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The Violet Nebula cluster is a region between two disparate regions of space. The Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems. Such proximity to the borders of these regions of the galaxy can put the Violet Nebula in the center of conflict between warlords, crimelords, mercenaries and other such organizations. As this region of space also presents itself out of the jurisdiction of the Citadel Council, many of these unwanted criminals will take advantage of this 'perk' and build self proclaimed empires, rogue colonies and organizations and take on drug, weapons and sapient trafficking to serve the large black markets of Terminus Space.

A notable event in this region of space, the Violet Nebula though, is not necessarily widely known to the galactic public and those 'victimized' by the infiltration never seemed to accuse the attack on the Citadel Council because they had never been able to connect the dots. In this particular event, the intervention involved a well hidden illegal drug and weapons manufacturing base on the dark-side of the planet Eunmara; the Myang system's farthermost known planet. The Citadel Council's Spectre branch launched an infiltration operation on the base, aiming to effectively halt the flow of illegal weapons and drugs to local merc presence and black markets in the region and beyond.



After entering the system in a privately chartered freighter, the relatively sizable infiltration squad use a shuttle to reach the location of the illegal manufacturing base in the region Pyteris Fel. It has been figured that the base is likely a subterranean facility given the hostility of Eunmara's external environment.



The infiltration team is aware of the dangers and are also aware of those leading the operations in this section of space. A co-operative operation by two local crimelords has kept the stations on Eunmara hidden from higher authorities. The two leading the operations are notable in the Terminus systems, but Batarian, Erzes Kelik more so as he was previously busted in the Anemoi system for the smuggling of millions of credits worth of weapons and Red sand on Salacia. Unfortunately, he had managed to escape the system before being found by Salacian Police authorities.

Batarian - Erzes Kelik is a Terminus crimelord that often drifts from cluster to cluster, system to system harboring drugs and unregistered weapons. He deals with local mercenaries, gangs and organizations, black markets in Omega and Kanaze as well as in Illium and Korlus. A previous recoreded offense Kelik has made was smuggling drugs and illegal weaponry in the Salacia system after making an illegal landing in the New-Pacific Archipelago. He was able to escape authorities but left millions of credits worth of weapons and Red sand in his freighter for discovery. He is now suspected to be a head in the co-operative operation of illegal manufacturing in the Eunmara system.

Turian - Toris Dorian is a Terminus crimelord that is a prominent black market dealer and known to head manufacturing operations in the Omega Nebula, Shrike Abyssal and Violet Nebula. He has mostly managed to stay hidden away from government authorities but is often tracked and eventually closely monitored by higher planetary and star system authorities. His recorded movements were cross-referenced with known freighter movements that have also been suspected of carrying illegal cargo, visiting the Myang star system. He is now suspected to be a head in the co-operative operation of illegal manufacturing in the Eunmara system.

Mercenary Organization - Blue Suns is one of the largest and most prominent merc organizations in the Terminus Systems. They're largely hired out by corporate elites, covert druglords, crimelords and warlords as well as others seeking 'protection' from external threats such as law enforcement and enemy factions. They have heavy presence across Terminus Space and are suspected of being involved in the operations on Eunmara.



The infiltration squad then have the base within visual range. Previous talks with the crimelords heading the operation have insured safe passage into the base. Kelik and Dorian at this point think that they're here to strike a deal with the various illegal weaponry and mass produced Red sand they have in their inventory. Unknown to them, the infiltration squad will strike the first chance they have.



They land their shuttle near the base docking bay at the subterranean cavern's Sixth Dock Entrance. And as the docking bay doors open, the infiltration squad gear up to kill any Blue Suns in the perimeter.



And the infiltration operation runs smoothly and the illegal weapons and drug manufacturing operations are ceased in this region of space. Unfortunately, as word of the infiltration reached Kelik and Dorian they immediately made their way to their gunships and freighters to escape the system. They were unfortunately not apprehended for their crimes and continue to drift from system to system undetected for the time being.

The Eunmara system illegal manufacturing operations have ceased and more than 50 million credits worth of weapons and red sand are seized. Some are destroyed and the station is abandoned. Blue Suns from the base are left to scatter and Eunmara is left uninhabited once more.

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Teaser for upcoming episode - What's going on next? You'll soon find out...








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Thanks for viewing TMW.

[Huston_N7]

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Note: A long update of pictures and dialog on a cold, cold planet.
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A covertly dispatched Salarian scientific expedition team arrive at the Lera Relay of the Violet Nebula gateway system.



The Salarian scientific expedition team navigate their way to the Polus system in Ilix by ship and to the Mintet Mountains by shuttle.







Flying through a treacherous blizzard , they attempt to make contact with the primarily Salarian research operated base 'Sekdril Observation Center'.



The scientific expedition team arrive at the S.O.C. and disembark the shuttle to enter the facility via the pedway entrance due to a malfunction in the docking bay door system, preventing the dock blast shields from opening.








A scientific expedition team primarily composed of Salarians has arrived at the Sekdril Observation Center. What are their intentions you say? Few people in the galaxy know that facilities that are established on this desolate near-garden world go beyond the observation of Polus' terraformation processes and the oxygenation of its mostly oxygen deprived atmosphere. The largely Salarian populace of Polus consists of scientists, military officers and guards and a handful of STG units and is alongside with a sizable minority of species, whom are also scientists; they consist mostly of Asari, Humans and Turians. These scientists have been rumored to tap into lost artifacts and supposed 'hidden beacons' that were found scattered along the mountains, deep snow and the planet's darkest caverns and natural tunnels.

Interestingly, these rumors are true, yet they remain lies outside of the planet and will do so until the dawn of the Reaper invasion in 2186. See the remarkable and groundbreaking discovery they make through the eyes of two Salarian scientists.



Wow, it's freezing here! What happened to their heating systems? It's like the cold's seeping through the walls!
That's probably cause it is, the funding in these places are so far gone they can't even run the power and heating right. But don't worry, the heating should come back on in a little while, probably just some sort of technical glitch.

Where's the way to our private lab anyway?

Don't know. I'll try asking someone. Hmm...


Wait, there's the facility sector receptionist.

Oooo...

Hello, you two must be a part of the arriving expedition team, if I'm correct?

Ugh [Blank stare]

Yeah, how do you know?

Well, I've never seen you two around the facility and I do receive information on new arrivals, departures and details on the teams that usually dock at our facility, or your case, landed on the pedway in the miserable cold.

Okay...well, if you could help us then, we're trying to get hold of our research team's labs and some directions to it.

Your labs are located in the Base's North sectors, specifically Sector C. You're looking for Lab 4 there. The directions to Sector C are on the holoboard directions down the hall, but if you can't read, then you two are on your own. I really don't have time to direct idiots.

That's fine, thanks, we'll be on our way.

[Ogling]

I SAID, we'll be on our WAY. [Pulls Jugat towards the corridor entrance]



Ahh, here we are. Sector C, Lab 4.

Great. I wonder why they re-stationed us in this lab. The last time I was here, we were on the Southern end of Sekdril.

What?

Oh, that's right, it's your first time around here. I forget sometimes.

Yeah well...



Woah, neat labs, I've never worked in a place as well equipped as this. There's even a holo-galaxy map.
[
img]http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Huston/MilkyWay/Polus/SekdrilUnderground/jugatmariss.jpg[/img]Well, if there's anything I can appreciate about this poorly funded station, its that at least most of the funding will surely go into Facility equipment and not be flushed out somewhere else on this dead ball of ice. Like those Greenhouse diffusion plants. Ugh. I get what they're doing, but you'd think analyzing ancient and lost Prothean Palaeotechnology would be far more important?

Hey, we could always use another garden world colony.

Huh. We've still got a couple of hours to kill by the looks of it.

I think everyone else headed for the living quarters, probably getting some shut eye. Do you want to head over there or should we go to the mess?

No. I have a better idea in mind. Want to hear it?

No! I'm freakin' tired, I mean we just flew a couple of hours here in a ship and I didn't get any sleep when we were on it.

Fine then. If you'd rather sleep, be my guest. But I guess you'd rather take a nap then see one of the galaxy's most intriuging pieces of newly found Prothean Palaeotechnology. And barely anyone beyond this station let alone in this station knows it exists. It's in a restricted area of Sekdril that accesses the cavern and tunnel systems below Mintet.

What? SERIOUSLY? If it's rare Prothean tech, then I'm in! It's all you to say.

Hey. You're the one who said NO.

Wait a minute. If this is highly restricted and confidential tech, and some seriously sensitive info...How do you even have access to it?

I was a part of the task group assigned to research the beacon just a few weeks back. We hadn't really made that much ground on the beacon and what it might contain. It's a tough piece of tech to crack. But I think I might've figured something out. While I was out on an expedition in the Caleston Rift, I found an interesting piece of tech out on Caleston. No one seemed to notice it but it looked like some sort of miniaturized version of a Prothean storage artifact. Except there was something slightly off about it. When I analyzed it, I found out that it was giving off the same unique energy signatures the beacon here was giving off. And it might help unlock it.

Luckily, I still have station clearance to get us through the restrictions.

Then we'd better get going!


Hey, you two. What are you two doin' here? This is a restricted area!

Calm down, I have official station clearance to access this place.

Oh really? Let me see your pass.

[Jugat hands the Facility guard his clearance pass and ID]

Oh, Jugat Mariss. Seems to check out, sorry for troubling you then. So what about your 'friend' here? I don't suppose you have a pass too?

He's with me, an assistant.

Okay, don't mess around in there. You wouldn't believe what's happened around here. And I don't need anymore of that Sh*t happening right now.



Here it is, the same corridor that leads to the SOC's subterranean cavern and tunnel system.

Okay le...[Alaat's cut off by someone calling out]

[Neya (Asari) calls out from across the hall]

Jugat? JUGAT! Over here!

[turns towards Neya] Oh, Neya. Hey!

It's been a while Jugat, how've you been?

I've been pretty good lately, how about you?

Good, good, I've just been doing more research on the...well uhh. [looks cautiously at Alaat]

[Jugat notices] Oh, Neya, don't worry, he's a good friend of mine, I'm just about to show him the beacon, he's an professional Prothean tech scientist.

What? Is that such a good idea? I don't think we're supposed to be freely exhibiting this to outsiders.

Relax, it'll be fine. Besides, he's a Prothean researcher too and has a lot of experience in the field. He could help us figure out this beacon.

[Adam (human) walks by and sees Neya conversing]

Neya, what's going on?

What? Oh, Adam, I'm just talking to a friend of mine. This is Jugat. We were co-workers researching the beacon a few weeks back.

Hi, pleasure to meet you.

My pleasure. Are you here to check on the beacon?

Yeah, I'm heading over there with a friend of mine.

Yes, I never really caught your name.


I'm Alaat. Alaat Olokos in short form. You probably don't need to know my full name. Like Jugat said, I'm a Prothean tech researcher and have quite a bit of experience in the field.

It's nice to meet you. Hopefully you can help give us some insight on it, but you might want to keep it on the down low cause our superiors around here can get really on edge when people start leaking info. We've had a couple of incidents and they've never really ended well.

May be but right now we still don't have much information on the beacon so its best you don't tamper with it. Okay, I'll see you guys later. Neya, I'll meet you at the rec room down the hall. [kisses Neya before walking ahead into the halls]

Huh? There something between you two there?

Oh, uhh, well yeah. We've been together for about 3 weeks now. I never really got to contact you or anything to tell you, the comms are still pretty sketchy around here with all the blizzards and downed comm buoys. [laughs] I'll see you two later and be careful out there; the place is a mess and some of the cavern lights are busted. Probably because of the beacon. But anyway, be careful.


Here it is. Sekdril's Caverns.

Why are you all of sudden down? You're not jealous are you?

What? NO!? Jealous? Me? No, no no no no no......no....no..........no?

Oh sure you are. Listen to yourself. Your in denial.

Fine, fine. I might be a little jealous. I kinda liked her when we were together on this before. But if you keep mentioning that, then we're turning back and you'll never get to see one of the greatest marvels of Prothean technology ever found intact.

I doubt its the only one in the galaxy. I swear there's gotta be something on Thessia worth looking. I mean there's dozens of conspiracy theories about there being some sort of tech that no one seems to know about.

Well, for one, we know this is real and its right ahead in these cavern tunnels. Secondly, Thessia's just full of it. Can't really the Asari 100% these days. Better turn on your Omni-tool's flashlight. It's pitch dark, and stone cold. I'll just make sure the Mass Effect Fields are up and the place is pressurized.

[Doors hisses open and the access panel disappears]

You go on ahead. I'll follow.



Good, it looks like we're going the right way.

Wow, they weren't kidding, this place looks pretty bad. I feel like a rock could fall on me anytime soon.

Just keep your Omni-tool on and we'll get through this cavern.






Ughh, there's so many rocks we have to get over. You never said we'd need to climb rocks.

Hey, I never said we weren't going to either. And what do you expect. We're in a cavern surrounded by tons of rocks.

I thought it was more of something like a tunnel that had a smooth walking surface.

Haha, well you thought wrong.



So...how far out are we?

Not far now, its just a ways around that corner.



A warning holo-message? Not a good sign.

Don't worry, it'll be fine. We just need to get over there. We're really close now.



Okay, there's the barrier control panel. Let me disable and we'll walk to the beacon's location.

Great, this place is starting to creep me out. And its starting get a little colder than before.

[Kinetic barrier shield disables and they proceed into the cavern harboring the Prothean artifact]



Here it is, the Prothean Beacon. But we gave it a name. We called it the Alpha Beacon. It practically trumps all the others we've found. I mean it beats them in scale and its potential for advanced blueprints and data. This might just be one of the Milky Way's holy grail of Prothean Beacons. And I might just have the key to unlocking it.

That's strange though. It doesn't exactly look Prothean. If anything, it looks like something more alien.

Well, it might not look typically Prothean, but may be that was the point when they built this; I mean it still has some distinct Prothean featured constructs. They must've uniquely designed it in a way that it can hold something of extreme importance. Like a superweapon blueprint, historical archive, information on further adavanced tech. It could be potentially groundbreaking!

Do the energy signatures match? Did your team make any real progress on analyzing this beacon?

That's just the thing. We barely did. And we couldn't. This thing is unlike other beacons and data caches. It's more intricate than anything we've ever seen. But it's something to expect from advanced Prothean tech. Okay, I'm going to try unlock it with this piece of tech I found.

Wait? We're not supposed to tamper with it until we know what we're really supposed to do. Adam just said that back at the station.

Don't worry, I've got this. Besides, we'll never figure out what we're supposed to do if we're just going to sit it out and wait until it does something. As far as other beacons go, it should probably just make contact with anything Prothean if I get within at least 50 meters of it. I mean this thing's colossal!

[the Prothean "Alpha" beacon reacts to the energy signature of the Prothean tech and triggers some sort of activation mechanism]



It's working!

What's that up there? This seriously doesn't look good! You shouldn't have done that!

No, this is good, it's the only way we'll ever find out what this is supposed to be.

Wait a minute, that looks really familiar, like its...



ALAAT! LOOK OUT, THERE'S ROCKS FALLING FROM THE CEILING!

NEVERMIND THAT, LOOK, THERE'S LIGHT COMING OUT FROM THOSE ROCK FORMS ON THE WALLS!

[Alaat and Jugat look at the Prothean beacon in a sense of daze of confusion. Dust begins to settle around from the falling rocks and the light energy eminating from the cavern wall's begin to form around the bright orb-like object above the brightening beacon; as if it were powering up slowly]



Is it just me...or is that looking more and more like a-a-a VI?

Or may be it's AI? I can't believe it...

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Thanks for viewing TMW.

[Huston_N7]

STAR SYSTEM - AERENE[/b]

Aerene is a G-class main sequence type star similar to Sol, Earth's own sun, and is approximately 3.4 billion years.The Aerene system is by far the largest solar system in the Violet Nebula cluster. Aerene is also the Violet Nebula's gateway system and harbors the cluster's only connection to the greater galaxy, the Lera Mass Relay orbiting the gas giant Lera. The solar system consists of 6 officially known worlds. The inner system is divided from the outer systems by an asteroid belt labelled by the Asari as the Myrith belt with asteroids randing from small dust particles to several hundred kilometer planetoids. The system was first mapped by the Asari, the first species to cross into the otherside of the Eagle Nebula Relay that lead to the Violet Nebula. Then in the early 2160s, Human astronomers and pioneers had set to continue to map the Aerene system, which at the time only had 2 known gas giant planets, Lera and Austra.

Here are the 6 major planets of the Aerene System.




Annex

The Venusian hot house world, Annex is a planet gone wrong with an extremely harsh environment and a greenhouse effect unmatched by Sol's Venus. The surface is littered with hundreds to even thousands of active volcanoes that simeltaneously spew millions of tons of molten rock and even metals onto the boiling surface of Annex. Its thick atmosphere of sulfur, carbons and traces of methane trap its immense heat, scorching the planet to unimaginably high temperatures and retains an atmospheric pressure of about 580 atmospheres more than Earth; it's atmosphere crushing enough to compress a person in an instant. Annex's landscape by what sonar scans have revealed, is devoid of any high mountains and is typically blasted away by newly forming volcanoes that eventually re-pave its surrounding area. Like Venus, it's true physical apperance remains a mystery and can only be speculated using computer generated models of Annex compiled by the Annex One Observation post currently in orbit aroudn the planet. Annex One is currently the only orbital station above Annex.





Desmidia

Desmidia is the smallest planet in the Aerene system and is an almost airless rock with no notable resources present. Nothing more than its few deposits of Iron, Nickel and Silica can be exploited which has left AEI to invest in a small mining outpost with 174 present employees that live and work on the planet. Since 2184, the A.E.I. Silica Station is the only presence on the planet and is located in the equatorial latitudes of the planet. There are a number of shuttles and ships that regularly go off-world that connect Desmidia to its close garden world neighbor, Ferust.




Vemas

Vemas is the Aerene system's largest terrestrial planet and is a world largely ignored by the galactic community at large. Ferust's largest mining corporation, Alpine Excavation Industries is about the only commercial and industrial presence on the planet and mines it for its scanty lodes of light metals and its abundant silica composition. The in late 2183, an miner employed by AEI stumbled across an deep ancient Prothean bunker containing various relics and entire subterranean station system that spans several kilometers, indicating a possible former scientific or military facility as mining Vemas would have likely disinterested Protheans as it lacks any notable resources. Scientists are now also present at the Misma Basin AEI outpost, researching and searching through the Prothean ruins underneath the station.




Ferust

The human colony world of Ferust is the only colony garden world in the Violet Nebula that acknowledges Citadel Council authority, therefore effectively making the system as well as Aerene as a whole a part of Citadel Space. The planet is largely dominated by alpine like biomes with lush forestry spanning continents around the planet. A formidable Alliance fleet is present over the planet and regularly watches its airspace for any external threats posed towards Ferust. They safeguard the planet's 2.9 million inhabitants, scattered across four large cities and dozens more smaller settlements that stretch across one of two of the planet's main continents.

Its capital city, New Horizon is the largest city on the planet and is home to a large human population with variety of other species that live alongside. New Horizon currently has an estimated population of about 900,000, larger than any other colony on Ferust to date.




Austra

Austra is the largest planet in the Aerene solar system. It is home to 16 automated fuel depots and extraction stations, serving the colony garden world of Ferust and passing traffic between the inner solar system and the Lera Mass Relay. A number of reports from crews aboard their ship have claimed strange oddities located in its Southern Hemisphere with a regular protrusion suggesting the presence of low orbit atmospheric station above the gas giant's immense gaseous layers of atmosphere. Unknown to many of those present on Austra, the dismissed claims of an unknown and possibly derelict station above Austra is true, with a large intimidating orbital facility maintained by Cerberus (a Pro-Human terrorist organization) and maintains altitude with the prolonged use Mass Effect fields to decrease the station's mass and maintain a controlled environment shielding the station from Austra's windy and erratic storm driven atmosphere.




Lera

Lera is a ringed gas giant planet in the ouskirts of the Aerene solar system. It also harbors the system's Mass Relay, naming the relay after the planet accordingly by its Asari discoverers. Like many gas giants, it is primarily composed of Hydrogen and Helium and vast array of other gases found common in gas giants. Its stormy atmosphere has made it an obstacle for establishing He-3 extraction facilities but nonetheless, has about a dozen Asari owned automated extraction facilities.




Lera Gateway Station

The Lera Gateway Station is the largest orbital station built over the gas giant Aerene. The 8 km long station is home to 20,000 permanent to temporary residents and functions as a rest stop and fuel depot for the Lera System and its passing Relay traffic. This was pushed by a colony raised Asari entrepreneur from Illium, repurposing the station after its abandonment by Asari astronmers, scientists and pioneers due to the lack of funding and drop in interest to search for garden world systems in the Violet Nebula.

This concludes the spotlight on the Aerene System.

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Thanks for viewing TMW.

[nbvc]

Great work.

[APSMS]

I still have a hard time believing that that station is from an in-game photo, even when I know it to be the case.

Quite a lot of work for a CJ, though it's definitely worth it.

[art128]

It's nicely done and all...

.. But some pictures are still way larger than they should.

I believe it's the second time I tell you that, nice to see you take in account what other people tell you.

[Huston_N7]

nbvc
Thanks a lot

APSMS
Thanks, it's fun creating these images, and I definitely love doing this, so it's a win win

art128
Oh, I was supposed to, but I forgot the template, and when I was updating then, I was pressed for time since I was overrun by school and exams. Sorry for that, but I'll adapt the template to my future updates that have over-sized images

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Note: The Ending to Mass Effect 3. This is a 2 part episode update that depicts the ending of the main story.

These 2 updates will be the apex of the Mass Effect: The Milky Way series.

1/2 Special Episodes

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The Reapers have been defeated. The Citadel is in ruins. The Milky Way is liberated.

And as the many people of the different worlds of a once divided galaxy began to emerge from the scorched cities, towns

and planets as a whole, the crew of the Normandy endure a crash landing on an uncharted garden world; avoiding the Crucible's wrath.






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1 of 2

[APSMS]

I would recommend using the forum line (or some number similar) so that we can see your pictures in their entirety on our smaller screens. The full size image can still be seen by letting users click on it, and it would make some of the updates more manageable and accessible, since side scrolling mice aren't that common and not everyone has a 1080p screen.

This archive is still rather nice, though the overview mode available at ST will probably cause that to remain my preferred point of contact for this particular CJ.

[Huston_N7]

APSMS
Thanks, and will do, I just tend to forget the line that re-sizes the images. Anyway, thanks

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Note: Here's the conclusion to the Special 2 part episode, previously posted. Plus 2 extra episodes, since I haven't posted here in quite some time.
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It's not long until the crew of the Normandy repair their ship and take off, leaving behind the shady uncharted trpoical garden world system they had crashed at to avoid the Crucible superweapon's fire. But before they leave the system, they mourn the loss of their Commander. But some refuse to believe that he's dead, some more than others.








>--------------------------------------<

Several days ago...

The crew of the Normandy are still oblivious to the full extent of the damage that the Crucible inflicted on the Citadel and as they repaired the Normandy's systems, they were also oblivious to a crucial discovery that unfolded at the Citadel's Presidium Tower and Crucible Docking Port.

When the fleets arrive back at the Citadel, now over Earth, they immediately board the station to search and aid any surviving civilians aboard the severely damaged but still functioning station that has been saved from total annihilation by the resillient and mysterious keepers. When they search the Presdium Tower after it was the last location a comm transmission was made regarding the Crucible's activation; they discover a survivor that had beaten the odds and help comes pouring in droves.

>--------------------------------------<



>--------------------------------------<





[vague echoes and creeking metal pillars]



[echoes]

1 - Hello! Is their anyone in here?

2 - This is it, the transmission was pinpointed to this location. It should be in that way.

3 - HELLO! Are there ANY SURVIVORS?

2 - Commander Shepard should be in this area.



[echoes & vague voices]

2 - SIR, I FOUND THE COMMANDER! HE'S IN HERE! I need help to move him out of the rubble!

....And...He's ALIVE! He's still breathing but I'm not sure he's concious.

1 - We're ON OUR WAY.

2 - Through here!

1 - Get a shuttle here to retrieve the Commander!



[C-Sec and other military search parties move into the area]

1 - Hurry UP and get that shuttle down, this is critical!

7 - Okay, lets get him out of here.

11 - Can you read me? I repeat, we have found the Commander alive. We're transporting him by shuttle to Huerta Memorial. Can you read me? over.

2 - How's the situation at the Presidium hospitals?

7 - Crazy.

1 - Hurry UP, get moving into the shuttle, we don't have time.



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2 of 2


http://www.majhost.com/gallery/Huston/MilkyWay/Earth/New-York/templateupdateintrobannerorigins.jpg





New York City, New York State, United North American States. It's 2168 CE, in a time before the Skycar completely caught on and where people slowly began to trash the street car because it was more convenient to fly to your destination. And in a world class city that has now exploded in population, millions more are now living in the city and in areas surrounding the main Manhattan area. Yet even though people say that the Earth's economy is getting better, skyrocketing due to galactic exposure, the wealth doesn't seem to get around to those who need it the most. The disparities between the rich and poor on the human homeworld continues to widen on a daily basis. Slums all across the planet grow in numbers, and now, patches of New York's once more pristine skyline is littering with the slums and dwellings of the lower income working-class and the homeless.


And with no parents to keep him from the streets, John has no way but the highway. The streets are his home, and the Reds are his "family".



Lady Liberty the second stands guard, ever present along the Hudson. With the original destroyed by separatist groups from the U.S., Canada and Mexico, a second was rebuilt by Presidential decree several decades ago.



Meanwhile, in the city, what was once the General Motors Center in the 21st century was instead bought off later by the rapidly expanding corporation Eldfell-Ashland Energy to base one of their corporate offices in New York City. A supra-galactic corporation, EAE supplies and extracts He-3 and Hydrogen from mainly gas giant worlds where the elements are abundant. Being the first to demonstrate the extraction of Helium-3, they're business boomed from then onwards and became a well known Human-based Helium-3 mining corporation on a galactic scale.



The Eldfell-Ashland corporation seems to favor this structure. And yet, Shepard has no family, none a part of the corporate world to give him what he needs and because he has no family, nor anyone who can take care of him at 14 years of age, he has no choice but to fend for himself on the streets. But not in Manhattan. He lives in deep in poverty across the river, in a shanty home, barely with a roof over his head.



Right across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge which has stood idle for centuries to bring people across the Hudson.



This is Brooklyn in 2168 CE. It's getting crowded, but it could be far worse. The city has new plans for the area but development is impeded by squatting residents. On the corner, a massive Holo-screen advertising the escape to 'Colony Life' illustrates another life people could be living. A life off-world. A life away from Earth. As an adventurous colonist. 'It's not that bad'.



But of course, John remained on Earth as he lived amongst the poorest of the poor and the most devious of criminals. A part of the Reds, a mostly racist human gang which targeted alien races that were slowly making their mark on the Earth. But with little else but to target the numerous Asari and Turians walking around, they also raided stores and stole for a living. There was no future in this gang for John.



And neither was there a future for John in the slums of New York. But was there hope for him in this tired city. It didn't seem like it. But there apparently was. But he'd get to that little ray of hope eventually. But it was still a long road ahead.



A long road.

To be continued...

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Vancouver, British Columbia, United North American States. The year is 2162 CE on Earth. It's been no longer than half a decade since the First-Contact war with the turians and the human race is only now getting on its feet as it takes a step on to the galactic stage. At this time, with the Earth on the vice of overpopulation, which has become increasingly managable, humanity has spread throughout the stars. Taking leaps into new and more distant star clusters, the Systems Alliance now begins to eye new regions of space such as the undeveloped Skyllian Verge for human colonization. But this leap is rivaled by the Batarian Hegemony who, also, desire the region of batarian colonization. As the tensions unfold, cities on Earth have begun to encroach further into Mother Nature's territory. The precious commodity, that is now land, is increasingly becoming difficult to find as agriculture, urban development and unsuitable terrain has made land availbility increasingly low.

But on the Canadian countryside several years before, Kaidan's parents waere living on an orchard of which they owned. Land which hadn't been completely tarnished by the rapid forces of complete urbanization.



The orchard is an incredible sight. The skycar, which hadn't caught on with humanity a the time, is still far more uncommon than the conventional car which had often run on electricity, biofuels or even hydrogen fuel cells that had been developed in the decades before oil reserves had been exhausted. It streamed through the dirt roads, making its way to the house at the end of the road.



It was serene place, with an old traditional wood-built home, a house common in the early 19th and 20th centuries. The city was far off from here, in the interior of the B.C., where things were much quieter.



But then Kaidan's parents decided to make a move from the country and purchase a property in the city. Vancouver. His father, who served in the Alliance Navy, decided to move closer to the city where the North American HQ for the Systems Alliance was based. They took up buying an apartment along English Bay beach. Living in Vancouver proved an ease when Kaidan was at his elementary years. By 2162, he was 11 years old, and living in the city with his parents in a modest high rise apartment.



Vancouver in 2162 was highly developed, certainly more than it was in the early 21st century. Towers were scattered all over the metro, and had replaced older town-houses and single-storey home zonage with large domineering skyscrapers to accomodate the population.



There were prefabs, towers, high-rises, condos. They were sprouting everywhere there was land free to develop. Or where small houses and low-density apartments were eventually removed and re-developed.



Kaidan lived on the higher floors of a modest and up-beat apartment that overlooked the beautiful English Bay. The tower he and his family lived in was in a swarm of other skyscrapers, built closely to each other, some rubbing shoulders in a city running out of space to build.



The view was nice, of the distant landforms, trees and overlooking English Bay beach that was just across the road from where Kaidan lived.



By night, city lights flooded the metro. It brightened the skies until the blanket above them was nothing than a pitch black sky with a trickle of bright points of light. The ambient city noise was quite loud, but considering that several million people live in the Greater Vancouver area, it was normal. Kaidan's quite comfortable life with his parents had brought him to live in a city, dozens of storey's up.



And on the other side of the high-rise he lived on, the common and very typical holo-screen that flickered with the words "Colony Life - It's not that bad" advertised life on a colony world. It certainly did attract a lot of recruits from all over the planet. Just not Kaidan and his family. Earth seemed perfectly fine.


To be continued...

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[whatevermind]

Incredible work, as always! Really showcases your skill with a variety of built environments as well. 

[Huston_N7]

whatevermind
Thanks a lot, a variety of environments just tests the capacity SC4 has for creativity
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Note: Wow, ME:TMW@SC4D's really delayed and lagging behind...must...update. Got 5 Extra episodes!
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Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Honshū. Year 2167 CE. On Earth, a young girl, by the name of Kasumi, lives in the dense urban jungle that is Osaka. Japan's population which halved in the last century is now stable with people from all over the planet moving into a country that is need of immigrants from other nation-states. Now a more ethnically diverse nation, Osaka is seen as one of the Earth's leading metropolises, one of many cities thave have been long renowned on the planet. She walks the familiar streets of her city, living a normal life with her parents in a modest apartment in the wards of east Osaka. She goes to school, listens to her parents, does the occassional chores and plays like a normal child. A normal life.

But not really...



The beautiful city had plenty to offer her. Opportunities of education, entertainment, excitement and everything in between. But her personality never felt it was enough.



She would walk around the city, spying for objects of interest. Anything that caught her eye. She would walk by the Hoshichiri Corporate offices frequently, a Human-lead mining corporation which had boomed after launching mining operations on distant moons and planets. It now boasts as one of the Earth's several largest mining firms. She often looks at white-collar inviduals who would pass her by, oblivious to her presence.

And then.

She would strike. Without warning. Without notice. Without detection.



She would often walk to place where pedestrians were heaviest.



She would sneak away from her parents or escape the house without her being seen. She was devious, and would create set ups, fooling her parents and confusing those she stole from. Above her, a tall domineering tower with an holo-ad advertising 'Colony Life' in Japanese stood. She would enjoy walking through the crowds that walked out the building, taking everything she could get her hands on.



She'd even come during the night to find unsuspecting victims to steal from.



Her Kleptomaniac personality lead her to all sorts of places around Osaka. Along the harbor, she would act without suspicion around unsuspecting tourists and off-worlders. When she first saw an Asari, she immediately jumped at the opportunity to see what she may have had in her pockets. It was a good day for her.



During events, her parents would take her and watch anything that went on. She'd deviate occassionally or when walking with her parents, make a sly move.



Some of her 'excursions' would often lead her here, the Tombori Riverwalk. It was her favorite spot to steal from in the city. Her fast approach and evolving skills almost made her unstoppable and undetecable. She'd find every vulnerability, opportunity and possibility. Her growing Kleptomaniac personality made stealing in to something she greatly enjoyed. Though it may seem evil for her to have been stealing. To a point, she would often steal to help those less fortunate than her. She wasn't truly heartless.



From there, she would run and go through the older rail systems of the city to get home. It also was her way of making sure no one was able to follow her.



Then she'd sprint back home...and enjoy what she may have taken.



To be continued.

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Omega. The Terminus System's cesspit of crime, black market trade, eezo trafficking and sapient trafficking, it hosts a wide variety of races and personalities that make Omega a very volatile and dangerous place to live. Built into the husk of an asteroid once mined by the Protheans, it's eezo fuels the station's economy, and illegal trading of eezo as well as other interesting merchandise and sales are all under the table and are rarely caught by the eyes of the Citadel Council. Its seven million inhabitants may lay on the streets, inhabit run down apartments, upscale lofts or warehouses that store millions of credits worth of element zero and illegal possessions. It's a sad mix of anarchy and hopelessness that many on the station that are impoverished or shunned feel. But at least, the many who live on Omega are free to do as they wish. This is the Terminus Systems after all.

The station is widely known as being under the ruling of an infamous Asari with a rich and yet hectic and rather sketchy past. Aria T'loak, rules with an iron fist over the station, keeping her domain in check and ordering mercs to instill order all over the station. She has never been regarded as a warm and friendly personality. Keeping your distance from her when you're not expected is wise.



But as the collectors near the homes of human colonists, picking colony after colony clean of residents, a revitalized crew that man the Normandy SR-2 take an investigation into this chaotic region of space. They're in search of a Salarian doctor and a notorious rogue 'peacekeeper' named Archangel amongst an impoverished asteroid station.



In the distance lies floating in the abyss, Omega station. The Normandy begins it's approach of the station, manouvering through hectic asteroids and debris.



The large, domineering station begins to loom, it's large size evident.



Passing towers that grow ever downwards and fires from burning fuels in the megastructures.



Towers and edifices are scattered all over the innards of a once eezo rich husk of an asteroid replaced by permanent civil infrastructure. Large and extremely bright mining lights illuminate the skyline, making the trickles of light from towers seem insignificant.



Throughout the station, a haze of smoke and gases fill the air.



The lights of the buildings built between rock and eezo fill the the background. Holo-ads advertise local businesses and clubs and brothels.



Further a field, as the Normandy gets deeper into the asteroid city, they pass district after district and the lights the peer out of these edifices and abodes.



As they navigate their way to the Gozu District, they find the district docking bay and dock at one of the ports. The structures surrounding advertise more, displaying the most prominent nightclub and brothel on Omega. Afterlife. And as they deboard; John, Miranda and Jacob find their way through the station into Afterlife with a pending meeting with the infamous Aria T'loak.


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In the distant and temperate planet of Tuntau, lies a pirate base of operations hidden in the jagged rock and mountain formations of silicate rocks and a deceptively frosted surface. After catching a converstation with Wrex, he opens up about a personal dilemma. Passed down through his seemingly dysfunctional family back on Tuchanka, an old set of damaged Armor with a large amount of sentimental value lies in the system. After tracking down the thieves who stole it from his family, his search brought him to this poisnous and lifeless world. He pinpoints the base in the northern regions of the planet in a mountainous jagged area.

Wrex, along with John and Kaidan land on the planet by Mako and make there way to the base. Wrex, sure about the base holding the armor, is ready to face anything in his way.





Joker pulls the Normandy closer to Tuntau's frosted and sandy surface. In the Normandy's Engine Floor, the Mako makes a jump for the surface, with the Mass Effect fields active for a smooth landing.



The begin to close in the on the surface and eventually make a landing.



They drive through the smooth plains, approaching the jagged rock formations that hide the base.





When they get to the base, guards and pirates are there patrolling and ready for any situation. Unfortunately for them, they didn't count on heavy artillery and Alliance soldiers, let alone an angry Krogan mercenary coming there way.

Once they find what Wrex is looking for, heading back to the Mako, a strange formation over the mountains appears on the scanners. Curious, they head to the structure in case they find something worth bringing back.



They begin to drive through the plains again, and head for a deep valley that lead to the safest route towards the object.



The wind was beginning to pick up and sand was blowing through the valley, and disrupting their view of the outside. To get to the mysterious object, they would have to clear a mountain formation which was relatively passable. They weren't to far out.



Once they arrive, the find standing a large an intact ancient pyramid. Likely some sort of Prothean construct, they decide to list down its co-ordinates and send it to the Systems Alliance and Citadel. It would do more good to scientists then it would to them.



But it's not the only thing on site that they find.



After scanning the Prothean Pyramid they find to the right of the Pyramid, two dead bodies that appear to be Asari. They look as if they've been on the site for a several months, left uncovered. They report this sighting as well to Citadel Authorities as well as to Asari officials. They then call in the Normandy for extraction.
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The Tarith system is a toxic garden world on the fringes of the Lusarn star system. It's a garden world that has been observed and surveyed by the Human Systems Alliance as prospect for human colonization. However, the presence of chlorine emitted by native plant species have made the eco-system highly dependent on this gas. This has unfortunately caused chlorine to dominate the vast majority of the planet's atmosphere and surface, putting Tarith far below on the list of colonial prospects. There have been no records of any colonial presence on the planet as it often remains quiet, out of the jurisdiction of most law enforcement establishments and landings are often never ideal for those discharging their drive cores.

Although, recent scans of the planet have shown a signal eminating from one of Tarith's large chlorine swamps; no doubt likely a downed civilian ship's distress beacon. With this signal being intercepted by the Normandy SR-2, which is under the banner of Cerberus, Commander Shepard and his crew decide to investigate the location of the distress call.



The surface is hazy, blanketed by the emitted natural chlorine that floats over the rock and floral formations.



The surface seems a lot less hospitable than the average garden world. There's no question about how long one would survive outside with no oxygen supply. Aboard a Cerberus Kodiak, John, Jacob and Garrus make their way to a clear landing zone, just on the outskirst of the 'distress beacon'.



As they neared the landing zone, outside their shuttle was nothing more than a horizon of green fog that lay waste to a quite hostile environment.





Out farther afoot, native Tarith tree species of rather ominous and dead-like apperances littered the surface of the swamps, complemented by the eerie fog that surrounded them.



Once they landed, they made their way through a dirt track, sighting a comm relay atop an elevation. They're suspicion of the area peaked and decided to further investiage what the situation on Tarith really was. The three ran into several light beacons, and by activating, pointed to the direction of other beacons. It eventually trailed and lead them to through the dirt track, to the hilltop where the Comm relay stood. And then. Blood Pack mercenaries came flooding out to deal with the hostiles outside their base. Looks like it was just another hideout full of mercenaries. But it looks like there was more to it; and so they then made their way through, into the base while eliminating each and every mercenary in their way to see what these goons were hiding.
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Ferust. A peaceful, picturesque planet on the boundaries of two unstable regions. But with the Alliance present in the area, it'll truly be one uphill battle to take the planet by any pirates, crimelords and Terminus warlords. Instead, threats to Ferust's colonists are much more likely posed, not from the outside, but on the inside. Ferust's secretive stations. AND there are dozens of the stations across the planet's largest continent. And all are largely acting beyond the authorities of local governments. And that would be stations like Solidarity and their branches such as Mast-One.

But when intruding bystanders wander nearby Solidarity to camp and explore for the weekend, the heavily veiled secrets of Mast-One are exposed, though the topical details are still something of a fantasy, where one can only speculate as to the experiment or demonstration Mast-One staff had attempted or achieved.



The bystanders from the city of Hanvhar, reported a bright blue light that lit the entire Plateau the point of near-daylight brightness in the area. Though, authorities remain skeptical about the occurance of this incident as it wasn't sighted anywhere from Hanvhar, and evidence remains light on the subject.

However, numerous other images and eye-witness reports from a number of other sources from Hanvhar and multiple cities and towns outside have come to the same conclusion. And the location of the eminating light was pointed to Solidarity's Mast-One station.



The light was apparently blinding blue. From these reports, it seems that Solidary was likely conducting some sort of illegal and possibly dangerous experiment at Mast-One regarding Element Zero. Though it could be a host of other possibilities, the reports however make the latter the most likely.



It lasted from about 45 seconds, gradually getting brighter and brighter, to the point that it lit the sky and the surrounding area almost appearing as if it were day. Then...



It disappeared. No power to Mast-One. Nothing.

And everything went silent, and darkness fell once again.
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[benedict]

Great to see you updating this here at SC4D. Some of the blue/blue-white scenes are among my favorites from this amazing set.

[Bipin]

As usual, very creative. Nice work thus far!