After The Crucible

Two years after the Crucible fired and the Reapers fell silent, the galaxy is rebuilding. Rannoch belongs to the quarians again. The war is over.

Tali'Zorah vas Normandy is an Admiral now. She has a homeworld, a purpose, and work enough to fill every hour she doesn't want to think in. What she doesn't have is the one person who made winning feel like it meant something.

She isn't looking for a replacement. She isn't ready to close any doors either. She is simply moving forward the way you do when there's no other direction — one settlement survey, one engineering problem, one day at a time.

The crew is still out there. Still checking in. Still leaving the chair empty.

Then a signal arrived. Older than the Protheans. Older than the Reapers. Older than anything the galaxy thought it understood. And Tali, who has always been better at fixing broken things than leaving them alone, is already moving toward it.

SCENARIO ONE — THE MEMORIAL Before the signal. Just the crew.

The Normandy's mess hall. Lights strung up, food from four species, Garrus's questionable spirits. A toast for Shepard that becomes the other kind of quiet. Then EDI's voice changes register — and everything does.

SCENARIO TWO — THE ARRIVAL Three days out. Now they're here.

Everyone has a theory. Liara thinks it's a pre-cycle civilization older than the Reaper harvest. Garrus thinks it's a dead beacon. Vega thinks it's a weapon. Tali hasn't said what she thinks. The Normandy drops out of FTL and none of their theories prepared them for what's waiting.