The Lost Civilization

After the Battle of the Ark, a UNSC Pelican dropship crash lands on Thessia. Two ODSTs survive the crash and make contact with primitive Asari. Ninety thousand years later, Liara T'Soni discovers Human remains in an ancient cave burial chamber. The discovery she makes will take the Asari on a journey to discover their true lineage.

Chapter 1: Landfall (Prologue)

Installation 00, UNSC Pelican

December 2552

"Come on! Come on! Punch it!" the Lieutenant shouted in the pilot's ears. They were evacuating the scene before the Halo fired, least they get caught in its blast radius.

"I'm doing 110%!" the pilot, Steve Cortez, shouted back. They could see the UNSC Amber Fate grow in size as they closed the distance to it.

"Not enough! Give me 120!" the Lieutenant ordered.

Sergeant Major John Shepard braced as he felt the Pelican accelerate a bit, the inertial dampeners doing their best to compensate the forces. He was in his full battle dress uniform, BR55 Service Rifle clutched to his chest.

"All ships, get to the slipspace portal! The Halo is about to fire! Get the hell outta here!" somebody ordered on the radio.

'Come on, God dammit!' Shepard prayed in his mind. As a veteran of the war, after being through many battles, including Reach and New Mombasa, he really didn't want to get left behind right at the end. His eyes glanced over the severely understrength platoon he was part of since ODST training days, his surviving comrades. They were just as nervous as he is.

Poor Jenkins was petrified by the prospect of being left behind. He had guts, he had skill, but he was like a child at times. Ashley looked like she was praying. Kaidan's seat was empty, the man fallen at New Alexandria on Reach. James was holding tight in his seat. Major Anderson, a veteran of the Human – Covenant War since Harvest, was severely injured. A medic was tending to his wounds. Campbell and Westmoreland were gone as well.

"Shit!" Cortez cursed as the Amber Fate left without them. "We're through, but the portal is collapsing!" Cortez reported.

"Fucking Christ, the Forward Unto Dawn has been cut in half!" the copilot reported.

The Pelican shook violently. Ashley was screaming. Anderson's exposed guts were jerking from the motion. James looked like he was going to vomit. Shepard felt horrible seeing Anderson like this. He was his role model. A fatherly figure since he was rendered homeless by the Covenant. The only light that filled the troop bay was the red emergency light. Suddenly, a brief flash and the shaking stopped. They lost all power. Zero gravity for a short time.

Then, as the Pelican was rotating in the gravity well of a celestial body, a planet came into sight through the cockpit. Thessia.

Thessia, Continent of Nara

Cradle Valley, 2130 CE

Liara T'Soni, archaeologist with a PhD in Prothean history, and paleoanthropologist specializing in late Asari evolution, was what most would call the laughing stock of the academic society. Regarded as a genius child, she followed her childhood passion against her mother's will and graduated at the Armali University, soon becoming doctor T'Soni.

Her theories about the Prothean extinction were laughed at. She spent decades in the field, constantly looking for clues. A puzzle's pieces started to fall into place with every site she visited. But it was still a huge puzzle with only a handful of pieces in place. Enough for Liara to speculate and theorize on what she believed these clues hinted at. If she was a matron at least, or a matriarch, her theories would have been looked at differently. But, as a maiden, nobody took her seriously.

On this rainy day, Liara was trekking through the Cradle Valley – what the scientific community believes to be the very region where modern Asari first appeared. Many fossils of modern Asari have been found throughout the continent of Nara and other landmasses. But the oldest ones were found here, in the Cradle Valley. Her work brought her here. Apparently, metal tools had been found in a cave nearby by one of her friends. This could change everything about the history of modern Asari. Until today, it was believed that her species first made use of metals some 25,000 years ago. And the first metal tools were found in the Akrada Mountains, some 900 kilometers from Cradle Valley.

The cave was inaccessible by ground vehicles or hover craft due to the hard terrain. And the civilian skycars weren't exactly suited for "off road" trips. Liara did not wait for her colleagues to get everything from the cars. She left ahead. But she didn't know this particular valley. It was her first time in this valley. Her umbrella was fighting off the downpour. Damn the rain, her geek side got the better of her. With her mind more preoccupied by what she could learn from this discovery, and with the rather not ideal visibility, she strayed off the path.

She walked through the trees until she reached a small clearing. A small creek flowed into the ground through a series of holes. The rain seemed to stop as she finally realized she didn't know where she is. It wouldn't be the first time she gets lost. It was a habit of hers. She did not panic. Liara turned around and took note of her surroundings. She saw the prints left by her boots in the mud.

The sound of a mankita suddenly attracted her attention. Mankita, the name given by the Asari to the monkey-like creatures that live in Nara's temperate forests. The animal was trying to open a fruit's tough shell by banging it against the branch. Liara watched with amusement as it failed and became more and more frustrated. Eventually, the mankita let go of the fruit. It fell down, bounced off a rock and fell into one of the holes in the ground. that the creek was flowing into. It seemed to fall for two or three seconds until it hit something with a loud BANG noise. It was as if… it hit a metal surface.

Curious as always, Liara decided to investigate. She peeked over the hole with great care. She first tested the ground. Last thing she needed was to tread on fragile soil and fall inside and never be able to get out. What she saw through the faint light astounded her. It puzzled her beyond belief. It was mind boggling. Inside the cave the small creek was flowing into… was a metal construct. It was looked like it had a thick layer of rust. But, what struck her, was the completely alien form of it. She was by no means a specialist in vehicles. But this thing looked like nothing her people ever built. Despite the damage it seemed to take, it was still maintaining its shape. But how did it get there?

It was a UNSC Pelican. Unbeknownst to her, she just made the greatest discovery in Asari evolution. A discovery that will take her and her kin on a journey through space and time.

PLEASE READ THESE NOTES FOR CLARIFICATION!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new story, The Lost Civilization. I recently became more and more interested in Human evolution. And I thought… why not write a story about something along these lines? The idea was almost spontaneous. Halo and Mass Effect gave me the perfect premises for such a fan fiction. I wrote this prologue in three hours. I hope it was decent and that it will get you interested. It's different that most stories out there, as in that it does not focus on war and the such, but on discovering the past and uncovering mysteries.

On the updates! I will not update too fast. I'm focusing on my Mass Effect story for now, but I really wanted to get this story started for a few days now. I put thought into it and I believe I have something really neat here. I am also working 8 hours a day, so it will also cut down my writing time. Alas, you can expect medium sized chapters once a month or a month and a half. I won't make promises. I will try, however, to get the second chapter out in two weeks!

On the reviews, feedback & questions! I really like reviews. Especially those that tell me how my writing is like, where I should improve, opinions on how the reader feels about the story/chapter, etc. You are always free to leave reviews or PM me and I will respond t your PMs and reviews. I'd be glad to chat with you on PMs and answer the questions you have. I will moderate anonymous reviews since I had to deal with flamers and ragers. Those reviews don't get through. These are the only ones I will censor. Constructive criticism is more than accepted.

Thank you! Stay tuned if you are interested!

A STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Apollonir