A/N: This epic and new story is brought to you by the talents of fellow writers Andotrota, V-rcingetorix, and myself. I highly recommend you check out their stories. We hope you enjoy this trilogy and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask. Me as well as my colleagues will respond to every review as soon as we can and either get back to you through a private PM or through A/N in future chapters. The codex for this story and its two sequels is also available under the title, Chronicles of a New Age (Codex).

Disclaimer: All rights go Bioware and Ubisoft, respectively.

1-24-2090 0832 hours (Alliance standard time)

Earth

Autonomous Drone Research Department: Skunkworks

Phoenix, Arizona. UNAS

'Bored. Booooorrrrreed. Boring, boring, boring ... and, just for a change of pace, boredy-boredy-bored.'

Mateus Silva glared at the monitor. Its counterpart, millions of miles away, ignored his silent demand and gave yet another image of a dull red landscape. The image, already over five minutes old, began processing yet another dull, boring rock.

'I worked for ten years, getting my doctorate for this.' Mateus rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve the stress headache he could sense building behind his eyes. 'Ten ... bloody ... years!'

"Having a bit of trouble, Dr. Silva?" A female voice from just behind his shoulder did its best to jam itself through the mental filters he'd erected to block annoyances. Like Dr. Lin.

"Not at all, Doctor." Silva murmured, trying to resume focusing on the screen before him. 'Iron, trace amounts of oxygen, igneous rock components. Odd spike in the nitrogen band, but nothing interesting.'

"I wanted to thank you for taking over the night shift," the "professional" continued. "I really appreciate your dedication."

Silva could hear the mirth underlying the last statement. 'Yeah, right. The only thing you appreciate is something that strokes your ego.' Outwardly, he gave the screen a polite smile, refusing to turn his head. "It benefits both of us, then. I prefer working nights anyway."

Neither of them mentioned how Dr. Lin had jockeyed for the prime observation time slots, the periods during which the test-drone had the greatest field of vision. Time periods during which, incidentally, did not effectively render the observer a monk, celibate and sober. Silva kept a snort from escaping, covering it with a little tune he whistled through his teeth. 'Soldiers fought their wars with guns and fists; scientists had less obvious weapons.'

"Well, I'm going on a date. I have a friend that might be interested, if you want to double-date some time?"

He finally turned his head, fixing a vapid grin on his face. "Thank you, but don't go through the trouble Doctor Lin. My schedule is locked in for the next month or two, and I wouldn't be good company."

The dark-hared scientist smirked at him. "Pity, well, better luck next time." She didn't bother waiting for his reply, heading out the door with a definite sway to her step.

'Finally.' Silva ignored the taunt, returning to the analysis.

Five hours later

'All right, that's three rocks examined, fifteen ambient radiation samples, and thirty-two levels in Candy Smash. Time for another ambient sample? Silva checked the clock, noting the time in the log. 1:15 A.M. Sending request for ambient radiation test.'

He waited for the command to be sent, then started another level of Candy Smash. It was a minor peccadillo, nothing to be ashamed of ... although everyone he knew whom played kept their involvement somewhat discreet. 'What else is a scientist to do while waiting for results? Sing Gilbert and Sullivan?'

Thirty-two minutes later, his wrist-phone twisted from nerveless fingers. The innocent screen blinked numbers at him, showing a sine wave on the right-hand side of the screen that had not been there before. 'That can't be right ... it has to be signal bleed, or maybe a jammed com-line ... unless ...' Silva ruthlessly crushed the thought. 'No. First, report it.' His formerly motionless fingers leaped into action, years of practice operating despite the lack of intellectual application. 'Ah, 1:47 A.M. Coherent electro-magnetic signal detected, operating within the 40 mHz range. Repeating scan.'

Outside of his notice, the main door hissed open, letting people enter in a slow trickle. They were careful to not disturb Dr. Silva or his routine in any way. Superstition, even in high academia, held a powerful influence.

This time, his attention was riveted to the screen, hands clenched on the edge of his desk. 'No sense telling anyone right now, could be a fluke. It has to be a fluke. The bare thought of it is illogical, crazy even ...' Despite his own assurances, the primitive mind all humans knew hid behind a thin veneer of civilization still hoped. 'After all, truth is stranger than fiction, right? No! NO! Don't think about it. Um, Candy Smash!'

Time ticked past. A faint rustling began intruding on his consciousness, but he still resisted acknowledging it. To the world at large, he was still a well-dressed scientist, maintaining a professional calm the envy of half the civilized world. At this point, the room was well over half-filled, a collected mass of the best and brightest the UNAS had to offer.

Four utterly failed rounds of Candy Smash later, the screen blinked, showing revised results. Silva's eyes flew to the right-hand side. The sine-wave was still present, twisting silently. Slowly, his hand reached out, tapping the logbook open. '2:19 AM ... repeated ambient radiation test confirms earlier reading. Sending request for a more thorough analysis, as much of the spectrum as possible. I am also sending a request for backup, this is definitely an orderly transmission ... and the reports show that no one else has sent anything to Mars, especially this region.'

The log blinked its acceptance, almost at the same time as the monitor blinked another update, showing a second frequency distortion.

"Great Galileo Galilei ..." Silva breathed. This, was proof positive. Definite indication of intelligence, and non-human intelligence at that.

Because there, staring at the camera, was a clearly defined door. Into the hill. On Mars.

The sheer volume of noise released nearly lifted him out of his chair. Hands clapped his shoulders, slapping his back with enough force to shake his bones.

Silva gaped, unwittingly imitating a fish recently caught. Then, out of the corner of one eye, he saw one other figure. A rather annoyed one at that. He smiled, nodding a greeting at Dr. Lin, as a gesture between comrades. Ignoring her somewhat cool response, he turned, accepting the accolades.

Boredom might not have been so bad after all.