The Ark Contingency

In the year 2138, Alexander Tillery finalized his predecessor Regina McKinney's Mars base, finding traces of Prothean data cache's to prove that Humanity was not alone. With the discovery of these cache's, Humans gained the knowledge of FTL technology and mass effect physics. Though, most of the Prothean data remains undecipherable. In this moment, top-notch archeologists begin working to trace clues that will lead them to the Ark.

One year later in 2139, the mass effect relay that will lead Humanity to meet all other races of the galaxy is found in Charon, one of Pluto's moons completely encased in ice. Activation of this relay leads the Humans to mass explorations around new parts of the galaxy, archeologists eventually finding the location of the Ark. Though the Ark has been found, there is no cypher to properly understand the Prothean data, remaining a complete enigma. Tillery ensures that this remains a top secret asset among the Alliance.

Years later when the First Contact War ensues, the Ark research begins to hit a dead end and funding is cut to a bare minimum to ensure proper funding for the war. The entire purpose for this project remains a complete mystery for the next 20 years.

In 2166, Bahamut crashes into a nearby planet Ollhami, killing almost everyone aboard. Lorrone's body is recovered a few weeks later at the crash and taken back to newly constructed Alliance Sector Base Sigma. While Tillery turned his back on helping The Ulyssey with the Collectors, he begins to research The Ark Contingency, better known as ARKCON again out of curiosity from the Collector attacks. While Lorrone is at Sigma, his body is examined and viewed as top-priority for the research benefit. After the attack with Solaris and Ebrown on the Citadel, Tillery gathers the rest of the products needed to use the Lazarus Project. A few months later he brings Anthony Lorrone back to life. Lorrone intercepts The Ulyssey once, stealing information from their systems by hacking into the mainframe, also letting them know that he is alive again and dissapointed with their acts. Although The Illusive Man and Tillery were not in an alliance, Tillery did manage to raid The Ulyssey once, taking Tara back to Antarctica for interrogation upon her first week being employed on the ship. Tillery hacked onto The Ulyssey's mainframe once again, stealing data from Medge and Mordin's lab recollections and Mona's data pads. This stolen information contains Prothean cache keys that unlock even more information about the Ark, Lorrone and many other scientists begin to work on this project behind the back of the entire galaxy.

A few weeks later, Lorrone commits suicide by throwing himself into a disintegration field and the Ark research becomes more difficult without a leading figure. Tillery begins to run out of resources to collect information for ARKCON and begins to panic about being assassinated by The Ulyssey, he flees to Titan to stay in the maximum security Citadel and not much more than a month later he is assassinated. Before the Suicide Mission is carried out, Tali presents some pretty fearful information from Solaris's vision. She tells him the machines he saw at the end of his vision were Reapers, and that they are coming back to rid the galaxy of all living species much like they did with the Prothean's. Young assumes that since the Council didn't listen to them about the Collectors and they were right, they will listen to them about the Reapers. The Council again turns their back on The Ulyssey and tells them that they need to take their concerns elsewhere before they start a galactic panic. Tenpenny, future general of the Alliance oversees this and takes this issue very seriously. Months of civil war between the Showalter and Tillery loyalists goes on after the Suicide Mission, eventually they chase the loyalists all the way back to Titan where they hold victory, invading the Citadel. Tenpenny, newely found general of the new Alliance finds all the data about ARKCON, and begins researching immediately due to Reaper threats. He hands the project over to top Turian, Salarian and Asari research teams, extremely reluctant of letting it get public notice.

A year later in 2167, Solaris and Ebrown's accusations come true as Reapers invade Headlong, Earth. Solaris and Ebrown are evacuated VIA gunship with Alyssa Nelson, en-route to The Young Estate. Top researches begin to work on ARKON. With the Bahamut MK2 In service, Solaris and Ebrown start a global effort to pair every race together to destroy the Reapers. As Solaris and Ebrown venture through their missions, they find what they believe to be The Catalyst, a Prothean AI with the knowledge of how to eradicate the Reapers. With their knowledge and obtainment of this AI, Young provides this information to Tenpenny as a status report, sending him information regarding Prothean encryption keys and caches. This information turns out to be the final step in finishing ARKON and the process begins. The Ark is soon discovered as a pathway to the Andromeda galaxy and is brought to both the Council and Alliance leaders attention by the Ark scientists as a possible way to escape the Reapers. The Ark Contingency, or ARKCON is then formed as a last resort option in the event that both Ebrown and Solaris fail and that the crucible does not work. Using the encryption keys and caches, the Ark is activated.

The defeat of Thessia brings extreme stress to the galaxy, unaware of how to complete the crucible, the outlook of the future looks very bleak. Ebrown and Solaris then discovery the Cerberus base and intercept it, confronting Bullet and finding out that The Catalyst is actually the Citadel. This entire time, ARKCON is in effect, gathering a flotilla of Evacuees, live ships, agricultural vessels, resource and processing platforms, fabrication systems - everything needed for the colonization of Andromeda. Solaris and Ebrown find out that the Reapers have moved the Citadel to Earth in order to protect it. Tenpenny gather's every source they've acquired in the galaxy for a full fledged attack on the Reapers. During the battle, the ARKCON flotilla waits on standby, ready to evacuate in the event that the Reapers are victorious.

Ebrown and Solaris are ambushed by Harbinger on the ground, the situation beginning to look vulgar. ARKCON is ordered to prepare to evacuate. The entire Bahamut squad that is on the ground is slaughtered while Ebrown and Solaris try to make it to the Citadel beam. Soon after, contact is lost with both Solaris and Ebrown in which the Alliance presumes they have been killed and orders an immediate evacuation through the Ark. Ebrown and Solaris both reach the citadel with Young, confronting The Illusive Man, who is obviously heavily indoctrinated. Solaris kills The Illusive Man with open arms as him and Ebrown both discover The Catalyst. Solaris then sacrifices himself in order to save the galaxy, which causes all synthetic life to be eradicated (Destroying all of both Reapers and Geth) as well as all the mass relays to be destroyed. This causes the Ark to be completely obliterated, all those who traveled through completely stranded and unable to return to the Milky Way. Those now lost in Andromeda have no idea that the war was won. Solaris has been KIA, and Young spends his final moments with Ebrown on the deck of the Citadel, watching the gates open he mutters "I'm proud of you two, I really am". Ebrown is found alive outside the Bahamut a few hours later, much to everyone's surprise thinking both commanders were dead.

The Ark is left alone for another 12 years until it is decided that the Alliance wants to try and discover Andromeda, and those who left The Milky Way.