The Prothean Beacon



SSV Normandy

    John Shepard, the Commander of the SSV Normandy S-1, second only to Captain David Anderson, heads to the bridge where pilot Jeff Moreau AKA Joker guides the ship into the Mass Relay. Nihlus Kryik's presence onboard is the primary topic of discussion. What is a SPECTRE doing on the Normandy? As far as the crew was concerned, their trip to Eden Prime is only a shakedown run, an opportunity to test the new stealth systems implemented by Engineer Greg Adams. Nihlus's presence suggests that something more is going on here.

Nihlus Kryik

    The Normandy is made up of an all-human crew, under the command of the Alliance. The Navigator is Charles Pressly. Dr. Karin Chakwas is the medic on board. Lietuenant Kaidan Alenko, an L2 biotic, serves as co-pilot to Joker. There are many other crew members, each completely dedicated to Captain Anderson and the Alliance military.

Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime.

    After making the relay jump, Captain Anderson asks Shepard to come to the comm room for a briefing. Nihlus is there when Shepard arrives. Together, they inform the commander that a Prothean Beacon has been discovered  on Eden Prime. Prothean technology has immense scientific value, but since Eden Prime is close to the dangerous Terminus Systems, the beacon is at risk from pirates and mercenary bands. This is the Normandy's true objective: recover the beacon. Shepard is also informed that he has been chosen by the Council as the first human SPECTRE, and that he will be evaluated by Nihlus during this mission.
    The briefing is interrupted by a transmission from Eden Prime that Joker patches through. The footage shows Alliance soldiers fighting on the surface, under heavy fire and requesting reinforcements. As Shepard, Anderson and Nihlus watch, they see a huge dreadnought hanging over the surface. Anderson orders Shepard to get ready—this is going to be worse than they thought.
    Anderson assembles a small ground team to go in and stealthily recover the Prothean Beacon before these unknown invaders do: Commander Shepard, biotic Kaidan Alenko, and soldier Richard L. Jenkins.