Storyline IV

Catastrophic Failure
Nexus Security Director Sloane Kelly awakens from cryostasis to find the space station in ruins and disarray. Initially suspecting an outside attack, Kelly attempts to ascertain Andromeda Initiative founder Jien Garson's whereabouts while assisting other survivors and investigating the state of the station along the way. She encounters Director for Colonial Affairs Foster Addison, who confirms they have indeed made it to the Andromeda galaxy but could offer little insight as to what damaged the Nexus, except to dismiss the notion of aliens attacking.

Reaching the Operations part of the Nexus, the pair see that it has been exposed out into space where black and gray tendrils of something writhe beyond, with only a barrier and the emergency bulkhead keeping air in. Also in the tableau they discover the remains of the Nexus senior leadership but Jien Garson remains missing. Soon afterward they meet Nexus Superintendent Nakmor Kesh, who was also searching for the project founder. As emergency protocols kick in shipwide, the trio learn through an intact computer that they need to someone in the chain of command to override any lockdowns: Jarun Tann, Deputy Director of Revenue Management and eighth in line of succession, is the closest available candidate.

The surviving members of the Nexus leadership discuss their options and determine that life support systems are going to fail in little more than a few dozen minutes. Kesh awakens chief life support engineer Calix Corvannis, who soon requests additional members of his crew to be awakened to deal with the problem. A scant two minutes remain before air gets toxic to humans, Calix and his seven engineers manage to extend life support viability for approximately twenty-four hours.

Once the immediate danger has been dealt with, the task of fixing the Nexus takes on a routine. Tann and Addison occasionally summon Sloane to Operations requesting a meeting, taking valuable time better spent helping Kesh deal with problems across the ship. Tann keeps adhering to protocol, which means leaving Kesh out of any decisionmaking. On one meeting with Sloane in Hydroponics Tann decides it's time to wake up more experts among the crew and Addison points out that supplies can be augmented by exploring nearby worlds. Sloane opposes both measures citing potential external threats, the need for standby evac and the scarcity of food and water. To break this impasse, Sloane suggests also waking the krogan, who fit Tann's criteria of people who can work quickly and efficiently even with severe resource concerns.

Shortly after the meeting, Jien Garson's burned corpse is found in one of the apartments near Operations. Preparations for the funeral is delayed by Sloane until the crew are confident they can do it right. The discovery of Garson's body makes the surviving leadership realize that the mission now depends on them and only them.

Repairs Initiated
When Tann and Addison arrive at Sloane's quarters to ask for updates just when she's about to drop from exhaustion, Sloane reports 150 system-critical personnel reawakened minus 14 casualties, while a similar number of krogan have also been handled by Kesh. The total number swells to 600 by the next morning, ultimately running into about a thousand in the following weeks. Tann appraises the crew of the situation in the general meeting, dubbing the phenomenon that laid waste to the Nexus as the "Scourge" before directing the populace to fix the station's problems as per their individual expertise.

In order to safeguard against information loss and in the event hard decisions must be made that may result in the sacrifice of frozen lives, Tann decides to obtain the cryopod override codes from the two people who know them. Kesh declines due to mistrust against the bureaucratic salarian. Calix also declines due to his belief that absolute power corrupts absolutely, but lets the salarian approach him for manual overrides.

Two weeks after the disaster, Sloane is approached by Assistant Deputy Director William Spender regarding a suspicious salarian named Priorte Falarn. Falarn has 10 of his buddies defrosted with forged authorization orders: wanting to get off the station, they attempt to commandeer a shuttle, taking hostages in the process. The problem is quickly rectified by Sloane and her security team's judicious application of violence: two of the hostage takers die while the rest are apprehended. Sloane wants to throw the survivors out the airlock, Tann wants them on public trial, and Addison wants them returned to cryostasis. Addison's suggestion wins, but not without warning from Sloane regarding potential repeats.

Calix's crew have been working on life support nonstop, most of them teetering on the brink of exhaustion. To relieve some stress they construct a makeshift still and organize a cookout using the ship's dwindling supplies, much to the consternation of an inspecting Spender. Spender eventually relents and sends them a box of barbecue sauce to show good faith. While the party is ongoing, several explorer ship debris disgorged from the Nexus in the initial disaster hurtle back to the station on a collision course, resulting in light hull damage and the loss of a salarian and a krogan from Calix's and Kesh's teams.

Beginnings of Discontent
Weeks after the second Scourge run-in, Addison, Tann and Sloane discuss the issue of dwindling supplies. Hydroponics haven't yet produced crops, supplies go missing every now and then in addition to being spent freely, and only 8 weeks remain before reserves run out according to Spender's calculations, forcing Tann to suggest putting people back in cryostasis now that most of the immediate danger has passed. Sloane warns that nobody would want to go back to sleep and place their precarious lives in the hands of someone else, although Tann makes the announcement anyway after dinner and a viewing of Garson's departure speech. The salarian makes a blunt and morale-sapping speech (written by Spender) asking for volunteers to go back to cryostasis lest they all run out of supplies and die. Nobody raises a hand, either there or in the morning after, except for one who claims to have selected the option in error.

Rationing is also implemented in wake of the announcement, greatly souring the mood in the station. Sloane goes with Kesh and her team to clear a path to the nearest ark docking bay two days afterward, incommunicado. After weeks of fruitlessly waiting for the Pathfinders, Addison thinks it's time to send out eight shuttles towards potential resourcing worlds. Kandros, one of Sloane's best officers, plus seven other security men, are sent out on the shuttles without Sloane's knowledge as comms are down in her area at the time.

Sloane goes livid upon learning of the news and goes straight to Tann, who directed her to Spender. Spender, responsible for drafting the crew compositions, keeps emphasizing that the decision was made with her implicit approval, having been made by the acting leadership. Once Sloan calms down a bit she resolves to let the issue pass for the time being while keeping a very close eye on further developments.

Calix's team still haven't gotten over the death of their salarian comrade Rantan Na'to from the collision with Scourge and debris a few weeks back. The asari Irida Fadeer especially took it hard, to the point of making a drunken scene at the commons. Irida, a trained commando, later infiltrates the main processor hubs to steal a plethora of sensitive information: bulkhead codes, patrol logs, hidden camera placements, locations of weapons and rations. Sabotage was involved, so Sloane easily tracks her down and beats her before arrest. Investigating the matter further, Sloane talks to Calix to determine his complicity but quickly realizes they share a lot of common concerns.

The scouting missions all end in failure as 7 of the 8 shuttles return bearing reports of Scourge encounters and/or desolate wastelands where habitable planets should be. The leadership suppresses news of the shuttles' return until such time they figure out how to tell the people. Thanks to a couple of krogan performing maintenance work when reports about Eos come in, two weeks after Irida's arrest the rumors leak down to Calix and his group, fomenting further discontent. Calix directly queries Sloane about the shuttles, receiving a kurt negative in response. This breach of trust drives him to take drastic action.

Hitting the Fan
Ten weeks have passed since the scouting vessels were dispatched. With no other options remaining Tann and Addison decide to inform the general populace of the scouts' failure and the mandatory return to cryosleep in order to preserve what remains of their resources. In response, Calix commandeers the PA and urges the crew to resist the order to return to stasis. His group steals untraceable weapons from the armory while one of them starts a fire at Hydroponics to draw attention away. Spender witnesses the entire scene, but gives the life support techs a head start before deigning to inform Sloane about the breach.

Three levels below Operations in an area frequented by non-krogan crew Calix riles up the populace, highlighting the shortcomings of the interim leadership and demanding that decisive leaders be elected among them. A riot erupts after he speaks, drawing Sloane and her security team to the location. The life support techs escape and Sloane's team moves to pursue, but she realizes that Calix possesses Irida's stolen data after all, granting him access to a lot of areas in the ship, so she orders a retreat.

Sloane meets up with Tann in Operations to apprise them of the developments. Addison is nowhere to be found and Tann sealed Operations beforehand, proofed against Calix's override codes. During the emergency Tann criticizes the irrelevant details like Sloane's lapses in code security and undocumented installation of hidden cameras, irritating the Security Director. As the situation escalates, Tann charges Sloane to find Addison and Kesh. Sloane grudgingly complies, although she delegates the task to her security force while she decides to personally talk to Calix.

A few hours later, Addison and Kesh arrive at Operations accompanied by Sloane's security men. Tann shares with them two options he has been thinking: send the entire security force to crush the uprising, costing hundreds of lives, or wake Clan Nakmor's leader Morda to end the revolt overwhelmingly and decisively. Addison and Kesh both support the latter, although with Sloane out of contact Tann assures Addison she would've been consulted as well.

Tann appoints Spender to handle the krogan, and in return Spender wants the position Chief of Staff. Once Morda is out of cryosleep Spender negotiates a seat on the new Council for the krogan if they lend their aid in putting down the uprising. Morda accepts after intimidating the little man and demands reawakening her elite warriors for the endeavor as well as witnesses to seal the deal.

Meanwhile in Calix's hideout, Sloane is taken captive by the turian's loyal techs but is granted a meeting with Calix himself anyway. Calix discloses Tann's prior attempts to gain the cryo override codes, surprising the Security Director. Nevertheless, Sloane is prepared to offer Calix an advisory position on the leadership as she sees the way people look up to him. Negotiations are interrupted, however, by the arrival of Nakmor soldiers looking to slaughter. Sloane massively disapproves of Tann's decision and throws her lot in with the insurgents. The Nakmor rout the rebels and Calix is killed in the retreat. His death saps the rebels' morale, forcing their surrender and Sloane taking up speaking for them.

The Sundering
On the subsequent faceoff between Tann, Addison, Kesh, Sloane, and Morda, Sloane points out that the general populace were already hungry and terrified, on top of learning that the leadership lied to them. She was close to bringing Calix back to the fold when someone had the bright idea to unleash the krogan and put a sniper bullet through the turian's head. To deal with the rebels and their supply problems in one fell swoop Tann gives them an ultimatum: exile to the hostile planets or cryostasis. The rebels and Sloane choose exile.

Morda confronts Tann in Hydroponics soon afterward, demanding the reward of a council seat in return for services rendered. The salarian reneges on the deal, claiming Spender isn't authorized for such a deal and that Spender will be "reprimanded" for the error. He privately thinks Morda isn't qualified for the bureaucratic crap the position entails and sets about thinking how to deal with Spender as well. He narrowly escapes the krogan due to Kesh standing between him and her clan leader.

Kesh barely talks Morda from declaring war with the entire Nexus due to the "Chief of Staff"'s overstepping. When Wratch and Kaje voice enthusiastic support for bloodshed, Kesh's grandfather Drack rebukes the two with a powerful punch and a withering glare. As an alternative Kesh proposes to Morda that the krogan also follow the rebels into exile, as they aren't averse to tough environments like Tuchanka anyway. Kesh volunteers to stay to ensure the krogan aren't entirely without allies. Thinking it over, Morda accepts.

Overseeing the armada of shuttles preparing for depart, Tann and Addison reflect on the mistakes of the failed mutiny. Tann wonders if Jien would have made the same decisions they have, and Addison thinks she wouldn't have allowed the situation to deteriorate in the first place, an admission of their ineptness at handling the chains of command. On one of the shuttles ferrying the exiles, Sloane rises up to the challenge of taming the uncharted galaxy.