Story Arc: Welcome to the Normandy SR-2
Episode 1: Jane Shepard's First Contact (II)
Chapter 2: A Mysterious Cruiser
XXX
Jane Katarina Shepard is a living legend for so many reasons.
Katarina followed in the footsteps of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, enlisting at the age of eighteen.
She was the youngest person in the history of the Alliance to reach the rank of N-7, specializing as a Vanguard, becoming the absolute best among her peers.
When Elysium, a human colony, was attacked by a coalition of slavers, criminal organizations, and batarian warlords.
Kat Shepard rallied the civilian inhabitants, leading them in their desperate fight to repel the invaders.
When enemy troops broke through the colony's defenses, Katarina Shepard managed to repel them alone and seal the breach.
After hours of brutal fighting, reinforcements finally arrived and the enemy broke ranks and fled.
Thanks to Katarina Shepard's actions, Elysium was saved, and she became a true hero throughout the Alliance.
Then, Kat Shepard became the first human Spectre, leading a mission to stop Saren and the geth.
At the end of the mission, Katarina Shepard saved the Citadel Council, stopping Saren and his geth army.
Katarina's actions led to the human race taking a seat on the Citadel Council, a role that was filled by Anderson.
Jane Katarina Shepard has become a recognized hero among all the Citadel races, a role model for all to follow and imitate.
Kat's fame has grown so great that she has become a clear threat to the plans of the Reapers, those who have been pulling the strings of Saren and the geth.
Two years ago, Shepard's ship, the Normandy, was attacked by the Collectors, a race in service of the Reapers, their mission to kill Kat Shepard.
A mission that was successfully completed.
The Normandy was destroyed, becoming a pile of space debris, while Kat became a frozen corpse lost in the void.
Unfortunately, the same fame that convinced the Reapers to preemptively kill Shepard also convinced a pro-human group to start the Lazarus Project.
Cerberus, a pro-human terrorist organization, has removed Katarina Shepard's body from space.
The Lazarus Project cost 4 billion credits and required two years of complex work, but the project was eventually completed.
Using cybernetic components, genetic therapy, and whatever else could be found, Jade Katarina Shepard was brought back to life.
The Heroine of Elysium was too good at her job to stay dead.
If becoming the first human Spectre, humanity's greatest heroine, and rising from the dead wasn't enough to enter the history books, becoming the first person to encounter a new alien race, the Ysatnafians, should do the trick.
For decades or even centuries to come, historians will have endless disputes over whether or not Shepard should have brought the three calamities/heroes of Ysatnaf into their galactic community.
XXX
Kat and Miranda rushed into the Normandy SR-2's cockpit.
Katarina Shepard is biologically 29 years old, legally 31. She is 154 centimeters tall, with a petite build.
Katarina, despite the surgical scars on her left temple, remains a beautiful woman who boasts her hip-length red hair, with a lock falling on her right side, and blue eyes.
Miranda Lawson is an attractive 34-year-old woman, 178 centimeters tall.
Miranda has long, straight black hair, piercing eyes, and dark green eyes.
Her figure is considered "perfect," emphasizing her curves, as part of her being genetically modified.
She wears a tight-fitting, state-of-the-art black and white uniform, designed to emphasize her perfect figure, a combination of elegance and sexuality.
The word femme fatale fits Miranda perfectly.
"Joker, if this is a joke, you and I would have a long discussion," Kat said, in a foul mood after her latest argument with the Citadel Council.
"Commander Shepard, I wish this was a joke, but it's not." Joker replies with a serious expression.
When a man who is nicknamed the Joker because of his big mouth and sarcastic comments has run out of jokes, it means that the situation is critical.
'My life is never boring.' Katarina Shepard thinks, touching her left temple, where her scars are.
"EDI, what did the sensors find?" Miranda asks, wanting to know exactly what's going on.
"A couple of minutes ago, what is believed to be a wormhole appeared, and an unknown cruiser emerged from it." EDI responds, displaying a recording of the unknown vessel exiting the portal on the bridge's holographic monitors.
"A couple of minutes ago, what is believed to be a wormhole appeared, and an unknown cruiser emerged from it." EDI replies, making his Avatar, which resembles a blue sphere, appear on one of the bridge's devices.
Immediately after, EDI displays on the holographic monitors a video recording of the unknown ship exiting the portal.
Shepard remained silent, staring at the image of the Wormhole and the cruiser unworthy of emerging from it.
Katarina Shepard is a smart woman; she wouldn't be where she is today if she were just a good shot.
Kat can't imagine how technology that uses Wormholes as a means of transportation like the Council races do with Mass Relays could work.
In return, Katarina is intelligent and astute enough to imagine the war applications of a troop-carrying Wormhole.
Miranda, for once, has stopped looking like an impassive ice queen.
The XO (Executive officer/second-in-command) is also an extremely talented woman of science, managing to rebuild Katarina Shepard something that no one else could.
"Impossible. Wormholes are purely theoretical." Miranda declares, her expression filled with amazement, almost unable to believe her eyes.
"Then tell those guys too, because I don't think we took the same physics courses as you," Joker said, reverting to humor to calm his nerves.
Miranda gives Joker a cold stare, but holds it for only a few seconds, having more pressing priorities.
"EDI, can you show me a general picture of the ship?" asks Katarina Shepard, wanting to see what she's dealing with.
EDI, thanks to the Normandy SR-2's top sensors, manages to capture an image of the unknown ship, then displays it on the command bridge as a three-dimensional image.
Shepard, Miranda, and Joker stare at the holographic reproduction of the unknown ship, as if it were the great mystery of their lives.
"I don't recognize the model." Kat Shepard said, having never seen a ship like it.
"Me neither, Commander Shepard, and I know about ships." Joker declares, unable to contribute to the identification.
Joker, as a pilot, his job is not only to fly a ship, but also to know them like the back of his hand.
Therefore, Joker likes to think that he knows more about ships than the common man.
The black-haired femme fatale remained silent, observing the three-dimensional image.
"Miranda, by any chance I've been... indisposed for the past two years. Has some secret organization or branch of government developed a new type of experimental ship?" asks Katarina Shepard, hoping that by some galactic coincidence, she's encountered a secret Salarian vessel.
"None of the Cerberus organization's informants or agents have heard of any individual or group working on Wormhole technology," Miranda said, confident that no one could conceal the creation of such a vessel with such technology.
"What's your opinion, EDI?" Shepard asks, hoping the machine will give her a different answer than the woman.
"Commander Shepard, this ship's specifications don't match any ship in my records." EDI responds quickly, completing several hours' research in minutes.
"EDI, are you absolutely sure?" Kat Shepard asks, trying her luck.
"Yes, Commander Shepard, I stand by my earlier statement. Just to be sure, I've scoured the Extranet for information, but I've found nothing, not even rumors or urban legends." EDI replies, having no results to share with the people present.
"Are those the Collectors, by any chance?" Shepard asks, going straight for the worst option; the enemy has returned to finish the job.
"No, Commander Shepard, the ship next to us does not belong to the Collectors. The design doesn't match." EDI replies, assuring Katarina that it is not a ship from their enemy.
EDI has in its database the little information on the Collectors' Cruiser obtained from the "black box" of the old Normandy.
"So we're dealing with complete strangers. That's both a good thing and a bad thing," Katarina Shepard said, trying to be reasonable. Kat knows she can't properly prepare against a faceless, nameless enemy.
But, at the same time, it might not be an enemy, but rather a new friend or at least someone who doesn't want to hurt them unless provoked.
"Commander Shepard, given the unknown design of the ship and the method by which they appeared, it is highly likely that we are looking at a First Contact scenario," Miranda said, unable to think of another possible explanation.
"I've been thinking about that possibility, too." Kat Shepard said, the thought of a new alien race crossing her mind.
"Let's hope they're not like the Turians, my little Normandy still smells like a new ship, it's too early to be shot down." Joker said, lovingly stroking the Normandy's "steering wheel."
Joker clearly loves his ship too much.
"Miranda, if this whole thing ends in disaster and I die a second time, make my breasts bigger in case you want to rebuild me again." Kat Shepard said in a teasing voice, placing a hand on her chest.
"Commander Shepard, crude humor will not help us in this delicate situation," Miranda said in a cold voice, not tolerating such behavior.
"Miranda, you shouldn't underestimate the power of a smile and a good laugh, they work wonders," said Kat Shepard, believing in the power of positive thinking.
Miranda's response was to cross her arms under her chest and stare intently at the petite red-haired woman.
"Seriously, Joker, is this ship doing something?" Kat Shepard said, turning away so she wouldn't meet Miranda's eyes.
"No, ever since that unknown ship exited the wormhole, it's just been sitting there in front of us." Joker said, still tense, but less so than before.
If the unknown vessel wanted to sink the Normandy SR-2, it would have no problem doing so, but instead it remains stationary and immobile.
"They're probably as confused as we are. Maybe even more so if we're the first alien race they've encountered," Kat Shepard said, taking the unknown ship's inaction as a good sign.
"Should we raise the shields?" Joker asks, wanting some protection.
"Better not, we might provoke them or make them nervous." Kat Shepard said, not wanting to risk her luck.
"So what do we do, Commander Shepard? We stand on the sidelines like a shy little girl and wait for the older boy to make the first move," Joker said, summing up the situation in a high school way.
"Are you implying I'm small!?" Kat asks aloud, quite sensitive about her height.
"I would never say that, Commander. I'm saying the Normandy SR-2 is 216 meters long, that ship is about three times bigger than us." Joker said, speaking carefully, not wanting to anger the Heroine of Elysium, or the Hellcat of Elysium, as some call her.
"To be precise, the unknown vessel is 640 meters long, 220 meters wide, and 320 meters high." EDI announces, managing to obtain the precise measurements of the immobile cruiser.
"EDI, can you find out anything about this ship without going into their system?" Kat asks, wanting more information, but not stepping on anyone's toes.
"The Normandy's sensors are detecting a massive amount of energy being emitted by the unknown vessel." EDI said, managing to pick up a few things through the Normandy's scanners and sensors.
"How much energy?" Miranda asks, raising an eyebrow, interested in the topic.
"An accurate reading is impossible due to the unknown ship's chassis, but I estimate it to be 250 times the Normandy's capacity." EDI said, giving a rough estimate.
"What use would such a large amount of energy be?" asks Kat Shepard, surprised that a ship has such a large amount of energy.
"I'm guessing all that energy is needed to power the ship and allow the Wormhole to be created." Miranda said, using logic to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"Have you discovered anything, EDI?" the red-haired woman asks, hoping to hear some good news, like a weak spot in the alien cruiser's structure.
The results indicate enormous amounts of energy and no presence of Eezo.
"I can find no trace of Element Zero on the ship." EDI said, displaying the results of his scans on the holographic screen.
"No Eezo? But all spacefaring civilizations use Element Zero." Kat Shepard said, reciting one of the universal laws of every interstellar society.
"Apparently that ship doesn't like to follow our rules," Miranda comments, starting to see a pattern.
"EDI, do you happen to have any other shocking news?" Kat asks, running a hand through her hair, starting to feel a headache.
"The ship is emitting an unknown amount of energy signatures, but there is evidence of radioactive decay," EDI said, emphasizing a specific result of his scan.
This revelation brought silence to the bridge; the mention of nuclear power is never good news.
"To summarize, we have an unknown vessel from an unknown race in front of us, likely a war cruiser. We know the ship is capable of creating wormholes to navigate, has a power output tens of times greater than ours, and almost certainly has a nuclear weapon," Kat Shepard said, her voice calm, a sign of her composure in crisis situations.
"Are we sure Miranda didn't do something wrong when she rebuilt you? Your bad luck is worse than I remembered," Joker comments, unable to hold back a joke to calm his nerves.
"I've done an impeccable job with the Lazarus Project. But if Katarina Shepard is attracting trouble with her mere presence, I can't change that," Miranda said, protecting the results of her work.
'Miranda only decides to be sociable when she has to tease me.' Kat Shepard thinks, unsure whether to treat this as a step forward or a step backward.
"We're almost certain, the less powerful part. But we're still intact, and the ones with the nukes didn't blow us up, which is a good sign," Shepard said, giving the new aliens the benefit of the doubt.
"We should follow First Contact Protocol and send an Information Pack about ourselves and the Citadel Council," Miranda said, wanting to follow the protocol to the letter in such a case.
"A factual information package or a computer package that fits Cerberus' vision?" Kat Shepard asks, her voice suspicious.
The red-haired woman can easily imagine a tampered Codex where humans are seen as better than they should be, and the rest of the aliens on the Citadel are seen as worse.
Asari become devious, silver-tongued women who love to stick their tentacles into other people's affairs.
The Salarians are mad scientists, extremely paranoid, who never sit still and love to sabotage at the first wrong step.
The Turians are unyielding warmongers, true Knights Templar of space.
Humans are the only sane people in this asylum known as the Citadel Council.
"Commander Shepard, Cerberus is a pro-human organization, not a xenophobic one. We want to help humanity excel. Providing false or tampered information to a new alien species would lead to long-term distrust and suspicion toward humanity," Miranda said in a stern, logical voice, stating her point.
Kat almost blushes with embarrassment, feeling like she's gone too far for once.
"My mistake, Miranda, you're too intelligent a woman to do anything foolish in such a delicate situation," Kat Shepard said, reminding herself not to overdo her caution around Cerberus members.
"Shepard, have you decided what we should do? Do we run, fight, talk, or leave the first move to strangers?" Joker asks, wanting to know if he should change the Normandy's course and get away from here.
The red-haired woman looks at the image of the Alien Cruiser and the screens with the little information obtained, then imagines the possible scenarios.
"First of all, I want to attempt open communication, so we can be 100% sure this is First Contact and get a sense of who or what we have in front of us," said Kat Shepard, choosing to initiate relations with these new aliens through diplomacy.
"I approve of this approach," Miranda declares, preferring that the Normandy go down in the history books as the ones who talked to a new alien race and not fired.
This would be a great step forward for the human race.
"EDI, prepare a transmission to the unknown vessel, broadcast it on all possible frequencies." Kat Shepard orders, ready to initiate First Contact.
"Preparations are ready, Commander Shepard." EDI declares, properly setting up the communications systems.
"I am Lieutenant Commander Jane Katarina Shepard of the SSV Normandy SR-2, Systems Alliance, Citadel Council. I am asking the unknown vessel to identify itself. We have no nefarious intent." Said Jane Katarina Shepard, beginning a new chapter in her legend.
Humanity (from dimension ME-JS-02, Omega Universe, Milky Way Galaxy) reached out to the stranger, having no idea what would grab them.
The Normandy crew would later realize that it would be safer for their sanity and universal awareness if they came into contact with Cthulhu's tentacles.
Kat Shepard will have a lot of work to do dealing with the USKY, a techno-magical alien civilization made up of several races.
Continues ...