Mass Effect: The Andromeda Initiative

Ba'na Liazin. Now that you had a name to put to the very attractive deep purple face you had to consciously stop yourself from starting. If she hadn't told you her name and you hadn't known she was a Pathfinder you'd have assumed she was just another Asari Huntress.

You see there are a lot of Asari, and they had a labyrinthine military that was as lacking in structure as it was possible to get. Thousands of Commando groups, ranging from the massive to the damn near individual, with their own ranks and affiliations. A strange homogenous hodgepodge that only really worked because they had ancient matriarchs that had known each other for centuries smooth over the wrinkles.

Still there were two military ranks that every Asari and most of the damn galaxy for that matter recognised as some of the most skilled warriors you could hope for. Spirits damned one woman's armies.

Justicars first always popular in vids, and while yes they were a "religious order" they were effectively military. One that would shoot their commanders if they didn't like the orders, but for all intents and purposes still military and funded by the Asari Republics for things like the Ardak Yakshi.

The other was even rarer.

Shila Sedai. It didn't have a good translation into Turian or indeed any other language. Its lesser form Shila Sethari, apparently was equated quite well with the human Valkyrie, warrior women that choose the best of the dead in an old mythology apparently. But where being called a Valkyrie was a mark of distinction amongst Asari commandos, ultimately it was relatively common. And their legendary counterparts served gods of war and death.

Shila Sedai was best translated as the Goddess those Valkyries served.

Liazin didn't seem to notice your tension as these thoughts flashed through your mind, but you put aside other thoughts to instead marvel at the ability of your fellow Directors. The entire Republics had maybe four of these and if you remembered your reports correctly they got the best of the bunch. The Republics were not going to like this.

"So, Carius Calnus…" She spoke as if tasting the word, rolling around her mouth before shrugging. "Nope never heard of you. In fact you're the only Director I didn't know something about."

She looked at the rest of your colleagues. You couldn't help, but smirk slightly at that. "Well, if you had I wouldn't be doing my job very well. " You gestured across to a stocky Volus talking leisurely to one of the most ancient Krogan you have ever seen. "Take Miss Voi-Tan. The daughter, I think, of the richest man in the galaxy and the one who managed to keep this project in the red somehow, chatting with a legendary Krogan adventurer Brolk of Clan Uska, or" pointing to a Salarian mouth moving at blinding speed as as very bewildered looking Elcor patiently listened. "Or Dalatrass Linish who I'm pretty sure once managed to talk an entire planet into exhaustion for the project alone or…"

"I get it you know everyone, but that doesn't explain why I know nothing about you?" She cut you off, rolling her ruby facial markings tightening as she focuses on you. It was in situations like this that it paid to remember she had enough ways to kill you without the reminder that she could wipe you out of existence with the flick of her mind. She smirked slightly "Though you seem to have less of a stick up your ass than most Turian's I've met."

"You've not been meeting the right Turians then." Seeing her eyes start to roll you forge on, drawing on diplomatic training usually intended for intimidating morons with blackmail. "The reason you don't know who I am is that I am the best at what I do, that, of course, being spywork. Generally, that also means not being the best well known."

She nodded, and in that instant, you feel the sudden urge of combat training to jump behind something. Then you realise that she's stopped treating you as a civilian, but a potential threat.

Her lips quirk upwards minutely as she asks with questioning tone "Strategoi?"

"No, nothing quite so public. They handle obvious cases." You look side to side and although you know you've personally swept the room for bugs and it won't matter soon you still lean in close, beckoning her to do the same. "I was part of...lets call it Whitewatch. The Turian answer to the STG, good enough even they respect us...and I'd like to think they fear us a little."

You lean backwards, talons clicking together. "I had an interesting career, doing all those dirty little jobs everyone does but insists never happen. But you can only have so many close calls, so many pics of your face in the background of some tourist's selfie innocently near-disasters before you become a liability. So after a few years of service, I got a pat on the back, and a boot out the door. So there I was, lacking in employment when the Councilor himself calls and tells me that he has a new job lined up for me."

You shrug looking at her amused facade. "That's how I ended up negotiating with the Shadowbroker that he could either help or get stepped on." Now that managed to get through her implacable calm, as once again she seems to reassess you as you continue. "What about you, how did you end up in this mess?"

She flicked a finger towards a willowy Asari Matriarch whispering in hushed tones to Miss Garson. "Matriarch Telisia, she was my...sponsor I suppose back when I was young. Anyway, she's part of Andromedites, practically raised me on stories of the place and...well she knew I wanted to make a mark bigger than just blowing up slavers and pirates." She frowns before shaking her head as you looked at her incredulously. Slavers and pirates was putting it mildly. "Nothing wrong with that of course, but it's not protecting the last members of several dozen species or as I originally thought, the Initiative's original goal."

You sighed and nod. "I can't even imagine how the Council's hiding this. Even Whitewatch thought Shepard I dunno got hit in the head with some shrapnel or something. Still the original goal as you put its the same." Then you do a double-take. "Sorry, we should get back to…" You hold up the pad and she nods looking down at all the information you have on the world you will be responsible for…

What little is there anyway. The major feature you take from it is that it is liable to be

[] Hot- Expect desert, probable assets: abundant asteroids
[] Temperate- Expect forest, probable assets: fertile soil.
[] Tundra- Expect cold, probable assets: oil and gas supplies
[] Humid-Expect rain, probable assets: organic resources
[] Mountainous -Expect altitude, probable assets solid materials
[] Wet -Expect water, probable assets, abundant water

Which isn't really much to go on if you're being honest. "Well, we have to count our blessings to be fair." Liazin at least was taking this instride, but you'd lived your entire life by information. Going into the unknown was a very nice idea, but your paranoia started to flare the instant you began getting down to brass tacks.

"I thought I was getting those Quantum focusing devices from that thief so we'd know what would be there in advance?"

She raised an eyebrow "If you're expecting better intel than this from a galaxy away I would love to meet your support team. The way I heard it, getting this much took a dozen burned-out rigs and a lot of luck. To say nothing of how fortunate we are getting six habitable worlds so close to each other."

It probably was just the paranoia, but you couldn't help but purse your lips. Even so Liazin noticed easily. "Spy thing?"

"Just paranoia. Lack of information gets people killed. And I'm not just responsible for the lives of my teams anymore…"

Suddenly she reached forwards, putting a hand on your shoulder faster than you could react, as you forced yourself not to recoil at the touch as she grins at you. "Aren't you forgetting that's why you have me? There's two parts to this dynamic duo. You need information, I'll get you the information." She paused suddenly then flushed slightly. "When we get there, of course, I'm good not that good."

Sighing you nod. "I suppose, but it looks like no matter what this really is a multi-world job. Just from this, I don't think anyone would survive alone."

You snort, and stand to your feet, suit creaking slightly as you straightened out. Liazin does the same and the two of you head for the door, amongst the first of the Directors to do so as you start to trudge down the wards of the Citadel, reminiscing about the sites you'd seen over your lifetimes there.

"In the Presidium? In the pond? Really?" "Yeah behind the Elcor Volus Embassy, never seen a Volus crap himself?"

"How did you not get arrested?" "interdepartmental friction, by the time they worked out if I was the disaster team or the SWAT teams problem I was already gone."

Given who you were, these conversations made the excessively long lift journeys much more tolerable.

At last, you reached the docks and gazed out the plasteel windows towards the seven massive structures floating in the distance. Thousands of shuttles were in constant motion, ferrying supplies to fill their cavernous holds, while a workforce of millions crawled over their adamantine hides like so many termites, searching diligently for any sign of damage or cracks.

"There she is. Our home for the next six hundred years." You roll your eyes grinning. Trust an Asari to get poetic now as you look towards the ark.

Your ark.

[] Name your ark
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Alright onto the next stage.

Meet our initial pairing, hopefully gotten them off to an interesting start thanks very much to the wonderful @random_npc

Their character sheets will be coming soon, though I may end up going to bed first.

Anyhow probably the most important initial decision of the Quest, which world to pick.

Let me emphasise you do not know much. Pick the world you think is most interesting, each has its own advantages, but each also has disadvantages you will have to overcome. What those will be exactly, well its in another galaxy you don't know. You can however take guesses to pick what is most interesting.

For this no need for plans, vote for as many options as you want.