#caleston

[mako-designated-driver]

Thinking about ME5 is going to give me an ulcer. I have no idea if ulcers can be stress-induced, but I'm gonna have one.

[clericofshadows]

hope you don't mind this ask. but what are your favorite pc mods to use for the Mass Effect games?

oh man, there's so many... all my mods for sure ;)

and here's a link to the Mass Effect Modding discord!

but in all seriousness, here's a list. this isn't an install order nor does it list all requirements for mods, but it does have all the mods I can't live without or have used before and enjoy. read mod descriptions closely, watch for compatibility sections, and you'll be fine. I won't really mention cosmetics beyond listing some devs (including myself, to be transparent) who focus on that kind of thing, because this list will get even longer and cosmetics tend to be more on a case-by-case basis. I also won't list texture mods because I don't use them.

this is also not exhaustive and I will definitely forget some lol. browse nexus, there's definitely lots of things I probably looked over/missed.

also, do not use synth's guide, period. it's now unsupported and I'm tired of troubleshooting it on the main modding server.

LE1

LE1 Community Patch - Necessary for any playthrough.

Same-Gender Romances for LE1 - Makes Kaidan and Ashley available for same gendered Sheps, also functions as an optional flirting mod of sorts.

MELLO - Restores dynamic lighting for LE, makes the game closer to how it looks to OT.

Alliance Uniform Consistency - If you're like me and prefer ME3's Alliance uniform style, this mod backports them to LE1.

Skip Minigames (LE1) - Self explanatory.

Charted Worlds (LE1) - Marks more items of interest on UNC maps

Black Market License (LE1) - Gives more vanilla loot from "hidden" manufacturers, so weapons and an armor set that was previously inaccessible without console commands.

Private Message Terminal (LE1) - Adds a message terminal to the Normandy.

A Little Help From My Friends (LE1) - Requires Private message terminals, adds emails and collection assignment support from different characters.

Eclectic Emails (LE1) - Requires private message terminals, adds various emails to LE1 to flesh out the story and characters.

Galaxy Map Trackers (LE1) - Tracks discovered and undiscovered missions on the galaxy map

Pinnacle Station DLC - Brings the Pinnacle Station DLC back to LE.

Kaidan Alenko Overhaul (LE1) - Gives Kaidan a higher poly face and new hair

Casual Hubs for LE1 - Shepard and squadmates will wear casual outfits in some situations

LE1 Diversification Project - Overhauls ME1 with lots of asset diversity, cut content, and mission changes. Read the Article page for more details! (This mod has some hard requirements, read the description)

Advanced Weapon Models for LE1 - Backports ME3 weapon models to LE1.

Normandy Rapid Transit (LE1) - Adds the Normandy to the rapid transit fast travel points.

Mira Puzzle Be Gone - Tired of the Towers puzzle in Noveria? Me too.

Children of Rannoch - A Quarian Overhaul (LE1) - My personal favorite "visible Tali/visible quarian" face mod

Elements of Comparative Weaponry (LE1) - Gives better description information on weapons

No Skill Check Required for Loot (LE1) _ Take whoever you want without worrying about skillchecks.

No Armor Skill Required - Equip armor without worrying about skills

XP Rescale (LE1) - Increases XP rewards

ME3 Alliance Armor for LE1 - Backports the ME3 marine armor for marines to wear in LE1

Mako Squadmate Banter - Adds the elevator banter to the Mako (Please note this mod has a hard requirement)

Mako Infinite Boost - Self explanatory

No Sexual Harassment (LE1 and LE2) - Removes a variety of things, such as sexist dialogue and the weird Sha'ira touching. I personally just remove the Sha'ira stuff.

Virmire Savior Mod (LE1) - Lets you save both Kaidan and Ashley on Virmire (note, do disable Kaidan Alenko Overhaul if using this mod)

Hot Labs Restored (LE1) - Massive cut content restoration for Noveria

Caleston Restored (LE1 - ALPHA) - Restores the cut planet Caleston that used to be the place for Liara's recruitment mission.

Punch Charles Saracino - Why punch a reporter when you can punch Terra firma?

New Outfit for Matriarch Benezia - GIves Benezia some more practical outfits for her appearance.

LE2

Unofficial LE2 Patch - Necessary

LE2 Prologue Framework - Necessary for many mods

Early Recruitment (LE2) - Early recruitment of Tali, Samara, Thane, Legion, and access to Illium and Tuchanka pre -Horizon

EGM Weapons in Cutscenes (LE2) - Weapons you hold will properly appear in cutscenes.

Trigger Buttons (LE2) - Trigger story mission with a button press rather than forced into them

Cerberus and Alliance Uniform Consistency (LE2) - If you're like me and prefer the ME3 fatigues/uniforms

Anderson and Hackett Consistency Mod (ME2LE) - Anderson and Hackett wear their ME3 dress blues.

Risky Suicide Mission (LE2) - Makes the suicide mission in LE2 feel more like a suicide mission. Best used for a brand new playthrough

Cerberus Weapons (LE2) -Gives the game more Cerberus weapons, backported from 3

Modern Weapon Pack - Backports weapons from 3

Casual Hubs for LE2 - Shepard and squadmates will wear casuals on and off the normandy in some scenarios

Expanded Shepard Armory (ME2LE) - Large armor and casual mod, also allows you to select armor right before a mission

Virmire Savior Mod (LE2) - Continuation of Virmire Savior 1, allows one Virmire Survivor to confront you on Horizon while the other is a temp squadmate

One Probe All Resources - Use one probe to gather everything

No N7 Armor in Liaras Apartment - Removes the creepy armor in Liara's apartment.

F.I.S.H. Mod (LE2) - Kelly will feed your fish without flirting with her

Renegade Scars for All - LE2 - LE3 - If you're like me and love renegade scars and want them on always

Nos Astra Mineral Exchange - Adds a trading market to LE2 for resources and currency.

Same-Gender Romances for LE2 - Continues the same sex Kaidan and Ash romances from 1, adds Tali and Thane for same gender sheps. LE3 mod isn't out yet.

Oriana looks like Miranda's Twin (ME2LE) - Oriana's face is changed to Miranda's

Easy Armor Stats (LE2) - Armor stats are moved above descriptions

Skip Minigames for LE2 - As the title says

Bonus Bonus Powers For LE2 - Freely add or remove powers from Shep's loadout

Combat Evade Maneuvers - Adds a biotic dash for roll evade

Recovered Powers - Gives Shep 4 new powers

HD Romance Photos - Adds a larger photo for ME1 romances

Optional Flirting Mod (LE2) - Makes flirting options more clear and some actions optional via interrupts

Zaeed's Wholesome Revenge (LE2) - Save the workers AND kill Vido on Zaeed's loyalty mission if completed fast enough

Geth Pulse Rifle on Lower Difficulties - Don't want to play harder difficulties but want this gun? This mod is for you

Full Weapon Recovery - Recover all special weapons on the Collector ship

Skip Mass Effect 2 Prologue - Skips straight to character creator when starting a new game

Truly Unrestricted Weapons LE2 - Shepard and squad can equip all weapon types

Children of Rannoch - A Quarian Overhaul (LE2) - The LE2 version of the LE1 mod. Also has an optional addon for even more armors.

Extended Romance Scenes - Ports LE3 romance scenes for LE2 romances

No Shared Power Cooldowns - Removes the shared power cooldowns.

Kaidan and Ashley LE3 Armors for Horizon (MELE2) - As the name says, gives Kaidan and Ashley their ME3 armors in Horizon. Softly incompatible with Virmire Savior (the squadmate who is in your squad won't have the updated appearance)

More Gay Romances - Jack and MIranda can be romanced by Femshep

New Squadmate Casuals (LE2) - Casual outfits for various squadmates. (Note that a lot of the Squadmate armor mods have their own casuals, so choose options accordingly if you want a specific one to show up, as this mod will override most)

Platonic Post Horizon Emails - Get a new email from Kaidan/Ashley if not romanced post Horizon.

LE3

LE3 Community Patch - Necessary

Expanded Galaxy Mod (LE) - A massive overhaul of the galactic war system, Normandy, additional squadmates on some missions, and many QOL features that can be modified via settings.

Miranda Mod (LE) - Puts Miranda on the Normandy post Horizon and can bring her on missions. (Note: Some conversations do use AI voice cloning)

N7 - A Spectre's Gift - A new mission added to the game with some Andromeda references

Spectre Expansion Mod - I don't currently use it, but in the past I have. Requires EGM's Galactic War option, and provides a lot of new choices and mini missions and text based opportunities to influence war assets. Also has a small non-combat mission.

Skip Geth Consensus - As the title says.

Project Variety (LE3) - My personal preferred content overhaul for ME3, includes countless options, restore cut content, new areas to explore. Definitely a mod page to read very closely, it is a HEAVY mod.*

Virmire Savior Mod (LE3) - Continuation of Virmire Savior from previous games. One VS is chosen on Mars to be part of the story, and the other joins you post coup

Audemus' Happy Ending Mod - THE Happy end mod for ME

Kaidan Alenko's Hospital Stay - Gives Kaidan a shirt to wear while in the hospital + a new face texture.

Ashley Williams' Hospital Stay - Gives Ashley a shirt to wear while in the hospital + a new face texture.

Omega Hub - Beta - Adds Omega as a hub

Take Earth Back - Massively overhauls Priority: Earth

No Shared Power Cooldowns - Removes the shared power cooldowns

Dreams Remade - Overhauls the dream cutscenes

Kaidan Alenko Overhaul (LE3) - Gives Kaidan a higher res face and new hair, plus new armors and outfits (Also available for 2, but isn't compatible with the Prologue Framework currently.)

Padme's Cabin Additions and Memorials (LE3) - Adds some new decoration to the cabin

Apartment Additions (LE3) - Allows you to invite your LI to the Citadel Apartment

Thane Can Live (LE3) - Thane can live post coup

Optional Flirting Mod (LE3) - I don't currently use it since it's incompatible with Virmire Savior, but makes flirting options clearer

Citadel Epilogue Mod (LE3) - Play the Citadel DLC post-ending

Pinnacle Station Apartment (LE3) - Ports the Pinnacle Station apartment to LE3 and you can invite your LI.

Shut Up Leng - Removes Kai Leng as much as possible from ME3

BETA Bonus Bonus Powers for LE3 - Customize Shepard's and squadmate power loadouts

Ashley Consistency Project (MELE3) - Ports Ashley's LE1 hair and head to ME3, adds new armors and a zipped up version of her outfit.

More Gay Romances - Jack and Miranda can be romanced by Femshep

*Note that PV has a lot of mods built into it, so there's lots of mods I've likely left out because I use PV.

Cosmetics authors for various games. This includes outfits/hair for Shepard. SEARCH THE APPAREL CATEGORY ON LE NEXUS FOR BEST RESULTS. This list also isn't exhaustive, but I tried to include authors who I've used their outfit/armor/hair mods, and made notes if they also have stuff in the squadmate armor category.

If you want Squadmate Armor mods, both the APPAREL and CHARACTER category will give you results.

clericofshadows: I primarily do male shepard casuals and armors, with a handful of exceptions for femshep (Guardian Armors for Shepard, my port of the Destiny 2 x ME collab), as well as squadmate armors

MorningAngel: Both male and female shepard, does causals and hair, and I mean lots of casuals and hair. Squadmate armors as well

Munchyfly: Squadmate armors and various casual/armors for shepard

Bejeweledhanban - Squadmate armors

spiderbabes: Hair and clothing for femshep

Rngdshep: Primarily armor, casuals for femshep, some mshep mixed in the femshep mods

Beckaboo: Some causals, some armors, and squadmate armors.

zebbros: Male and femshep casuals, some squadmate armors

MentalHygiene: male and femshep casuals

Padme4000: Male and femshep casuals and armors, some hair

Poucinette: Hair mods

Horography: Casuals for both male and femshep

Marcus22Khaar: Some hair, some squadmate armor mods

mithran56 and nanuke: both authors have some armors and casuals, some squadmate armors (often collaborate on each other's projects)

Kinkojiro: Armors for both male and femshep

Mistyvail: Armors for both male and femshep

Dsetzu: Armors for both male and femshep

jasonntodd: Armors and casuals for femshep, and some for squadmates

I think that covers most things? There's a lot I most definitely left out, so browse Nexus!

[the-shattering]

Chapter 17: Blood

Theran and Lovac returned with their report a while later, Lovac spoke as soon as the duo approached Caleste and Emmon.

“We found bootprints, loads of ‘em. Reckon a force of twenty or so,” he said in his usual clipped tone, “Headed south.”

“There’s no sign that they have any mounts,” Theran added, “We didn’t see any hoof prints at least.”

Emmon and Caleste exchanged a look.

“They couldn’t have gotten far then,” Emmon said, “Though I’d imagine if this was some kind of raiding party from the Southern Kingdom then they’d have ridden in on horses at least.”

“Perhaps they thought the terrain too rough,” Caleste surmised, “In any case, if they truly are on foot then we should be able to catch them.”

Emmon looked unsure, “They have us outnumbered two to one. We should get reinforcements.”

However, Caleste knew that going back to get reinforcements or recruiting extra hands from whoever was left in this forsaken valley would take too long. They had a chance at finding and catching whoever sacked Odrum, a chance that was rapidly slipping away as they sat and chatted. Her hands itched as if they were desperate to wield her halberd in battle once more. She’d be more than happy to indulge.

“As if that’s ever stopped us before?” Caleste raised an eyebrow at Emmon, “We’re the best warriors this side of the Barrens with the best mage on the continent. Do not underestimate you or your men’s skills … and more importantly, do not underestimate mine.”

Emmon shrank slightly under her gaze and after a few tense moments he finally nodded, “I’ll get our men ready.”

“I want to leave within the hour.”

She turned and walked away before Emmon could respond. She walked by Edrahn who was kneeling next to the ruins of a house with one of her hands planted on the ground in the still hot ashes. Her wife showed no signs of discomfort despite the smoke rising from just under her palm. Her brow was furrowed as if concentrating on something.

“What is it my love?” Caleste asked.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, “I can sense traces of magic in these ruins.”

“You think there’s a mage with them?”

That information wouldn’t change Caleste’s decision about going after these raiders, though a mage may require a slight change of tactics.

“That’s the thing,” Edrahn stood up, the same strange expression on her face, “I can sense magic all through these ruins but it’s not … it’s not ours.”

A sense of unease crawled down Caleste’s spine at that. She had never seen her wife so spooked. For a moment she wondered if she was making the right decision to go after the raiders instead of returning to Caleston to bolster her forces and inform the queen. Almost immediately she shrugged off the thought, annoyed at herself for being worried.

Everything would be fine.

She placed a hand on her wife’s shoulder, “We’ve faced worse,” she said, “Between you and I, these raiders don’t have a chance. Strange magic or no.”

Edrahn flashed her wife a grin, “I know.”

***

Within the hour they were back on their mounts and following the trail the raiders had left behind. Caleste rode in front with Emmon and Lovac while Edrahn stayed further back in the middle of the column, flanked by Theran and another knight. The sun was high overhead though Caleste could barely tell. The smoke and the thick forest canopy mostly choked out the sunlight. Their world was reduced to a hazy, unnatural twilight and Caleste could see only a few feet in front of her in the murk.

Her sense of unease hadn’t abated since they left Odrum, a nagging voice that had been once a whisper in her head was now practically screaming at her that this was a very bad idea. She ignored it for the most part but kept a sharp watch for any signs of danger. The forest was dead quiet save for the sound of their horses.

The haze only thickened around them.

Caleste noticed her horse was lagging and its breath came out in a harsh wheeze. She turned to ask Emmon if his horse was having any difficulties when a surprised yelp and a loud crash broke the unsettled quiet of the forest. Everyone turned in alarm to see what caused the disturbance:

One of the knights near the rear of the column was now on the ground, groaning and rubbing his sore shoulder. His leg was trapped under his horse that now lay on the ground barely breathing. Immediately everyone stopped, Emmon began barking orders, “Stay sharp - Theran, Meris: Get that horse off his leg.”

“What happened?” Caleste asked. She felt her horse swaying unsteadily under her, it was the only warning she got before it too dropped. It was only due to her quick reflexes that she didn’t get trapped under her steed, she hit the ground and rolled out of the way before the horse could land on her.

Her mask became dislodged as she did so, and she got a lung full of the air that surrounded them. Almost immediately her throat seemed to seize up on her as the overpowering stench of sulfur filled her lungs. She hacked and wheezed; her stomach roiled in protest at the strong odor.

She scrambled to put her mask back on and turned to Edrahn, “Clear this out.”

Her voice barely came out in a rasp, but Edrahn heard her. Edrahn wasn’t well versed in wind magic, she was much more of a fireballs out of your fists kind of woman, but she still knew the basic principles behind the action. She began whispering to herself as she concentrated. The branches in the trees began to sway and creak as the wind picked up all around them.

Edrahn was staring upwards at the canopy and the clear air she hoped was above. Over the roar of the wind Caleste couldn’t hear their attackers and didn’t notice them until it was almost too late. The only warning she got was the glint of blackened metal from behind a few trees. Almost immediately after an arrow came screaming through the air at her. It was buffeted by the strong winds and knocked off course, skittering harmlessly over the maille that covered her arm before embedding itself into the tree behind her.

Slowly the deadly fog cleared out from around them and the haze dissipated enough to reveal their attackers. There were around twenty in total, wearing varying amounts of the strange black metal armor and wielding weapons made of the same material. Caleste noted that while some were wearing armor that looked more or less intact, the majority were practically wearing scraps.

What made her heart stop though was what the creatures wearing the armor looked like.

They were not human, not entirely, she thought to herself. Their skin was a pale gray and pulled taught across their cheekbones. Their eyes seemed clouded as if they were blind … or dead. She half expected them to stumble and stagger when they walked; she was shocked when one of them leaped at her with a burst of speed and brought its ax down on her head.

She barely dodged to the right, the ax slammed down onto her shoulder and clove through the metal of her cuirass. The maille underneath provided enough protection to keep her from losing her arm but she felt the force of the blow through the gambeson she wore. She kicked out at her attacker, knocking its legs out from under it. It went down with a mighty crash.

Caleste was on top of it before it could stand up, she withdrew her dagger from her belt — it was a long and stiff-bladed weapon, used for stabbing between gaps in plate or breaking through maille. Her attacker wore neither, clad in what she deemed a sorry excuse for a gambeson and a brimmed helm like the one she saw in Odrum.

She slammed the dagger into its chest. It opened its mouth as if it wanted to scream in pain, but nothing came out, instead it gripped her arm so tight she swore she could feel her bones creak. With a grunt she managed to wrest herself from its grip and yank the dagger out. The next time the blade came down it went into its neck. Nearly black blood oozed from the two wounds and after a few feeble attempts to fight back, the creature finally lay still.

Caleste had no time to process what had just happened as there were still more enemies to fight. All she really gathered in that moment that she had been wrong: These were most certainly not raiders from the Southern Kingdoms.

She was pretty sure they weren’t even human.

She took a few moments to grab her halberd from the ground where it fell after her horse had collapsed. Around her the small battle raged: Lovac was already down with an arrow to the chest, Theran and Meris had taken up guard near the soldier who still had his leg pinned under his fallen horse. Emmon had moved next to Edrahn, protecting her as the winds continued to swirl around them.

A large figure stepped into her periphery and Caleste raised her halberd to block a blow meant to kill her. It was the best armored of the bunch and Caleste surmised it must either be the leader or at least of a higher rank than its companions. Its eyes seemed to gleam under the visored helm it wore. It brandished a long two-handed sickle-like sword. She had managed to catch the blow on the long handle of its sword rather than the blade.

It pressed the sword into the haft of her halberd and shoved, knocking her off balance. The wicked point of the black blade came dangerously close to her face before she managed to regain her footing. She stepped to her right while raising her right arm and letting her left arm drop. Her foe, still putting a considerable amount of force on the blade, stumbled forward as it suddenly met no resistance. She let go of the haft with her right hand, letting the halberd pivot backwards around her left hand.

The head of the halberd slammed into her foe’s chin, the armor it wore was the only reason it didn’t have its jaw cloven in two. In fact, the moment that Caleste’s halberd hit the creature, it felt like she had slammed her halberd into the side of a mountain. Her hands tingled painfully as the force of the blow reverberated up the haft.

“What the?”

The creature seemed unfazed by the blow and stood up with a grunt. It attacked again, swinging its blade viciously at her and this time the edge of the blade caught the haft of her weapon. She watched in astonishment as the blade broke the wooden haft in two.

The creature’s shoulders shook as it made a rasping noise, as if it was laughing at her predicament. She dropped the useless half of her haft and clutched what was left of it in both hands. She wasn’t going to go down without a mighty fight.

With a loud cry, Caleste moved in on her foe with her broken halberd raised — giving it an opening to attack. The creature lunged.

Caleste dodged the thrust at the last second, stepping off to the side as the blade carved into her cuirass. Instead of striking it directly (she had certainly learned her lesson from before) she delivered a savage kick to the back of its knee as it stepped forward and it collapsed as its leg buckled beneath it. She put all her strength into driving the point of the halberd’s spike to the creature’s back. Once again, its armor stopped the blow, though the strike certainly had put a dent into the metal.

The creature slammed its hand on the ground. Almost immediately Caleste felt the ground heave beneath her, and she lost her balance. Her ankle rolled painfully as the unstable ground gave way and she fell to the dirt on her hands and knees.

Caleste noticed more activity in the woods around her, but she paid no attention to it as she focused on the immediate threat. The creature staggered upright with a grunt, favoring its uninjured leg and raising its sword.

“Caleste!”

Caleste was now knocked completely flat onto her stomach as a huge gust of wind slammed into her and the creature. The creature was pushed back several feet and into the trunk of a pine tree. Caleste looked back to see her wife with her staff raised and the air swirling violently around her. Her expression was apoplectic as she stared down the creature.

“Stay away from my wife.”

She had said it quietly but with the winds carrying her voice through the clearing it might as well have been a shout.

Caleste looked around her and saw there were many more people in the clearing than before - many more human people. Warriors in nasal helms with aventails that obscured their faces and golden scale armor were now amongst those battling the creatures in black. One of them grabbed one of the creatures and the air shimmered around the two.

She heard its bones crack before it crumpled to the ground in a twisted heap.

Caleste turned to face the creature she had been fighting only to see it stepping back into the woods and disappearing into the brush and thick haze. She stood up and hobbled after it while ignoring the pain that shot up her ankle. Air rushed past her as Edrahn cleared out the smoke that obscured her path, but it was no use.

There was a low rumble, a slight jolt in the earth, and the creature was gone. A disturbed patch of ground was the only sign that the hole it had disappeared into was there at all. Caleste lowered her broken halberd with a scowl and limped back to the clearing. Edrahn was at Caleste’s side in moments, offering her shoulder for a tired and injured Caleste to lean on.

“Thanks honey,” Caleste said as she sagged against her wife taking the opportunity to kiss her gently on the temple. She couldn’t express how relieved she was to see Edrahn unhurt.

“Any time dear.”

Emmon approached them, next to him was a man clad in the golden scale armor — he had taken his helmet off and had it tucked under his arm.

“What are you doing here?” Caleste asked.

“Same as you it seems,” the man answered, “We were chasing those damned things. They’ve ravaged several of our towns ... We thought we’d never catch them until we found they were attacking you.”

“Thank you,” Caleste said, though her thanks was more out of polite obligation than gratitude. She stared around the now calm battlefield and saw what the battle had cost. Lovac was most certainly dead, as was the soldier who had gotten pinned under his horse who now had his chest caved in by what appeared to be a blow from a mace. Theran was leaning against a tree; she yanked off her ruined vambrace to reveal a bleeding wound underneath.

There were varying other degrees of injury she noted but aside from Lovac and the soldier under the horse — no one else seemed to be dead.

“What were those things?” Edrahn asked quietly, her voice shook slightly, “They felt …”

She trailed off and Caleste could feel her shudder.

“Whatever they were,” the man said, “They’re not human and they’re ruthless.”

“Their armor was strong too,” Caleste said, “Whatever metal that was made of — it can’t be normal iron or steel.”

She took a moment to examine the broken halberd still in her free hand. The spike was visibly deformed, the sharpened point made dull by the blow she had landed on the creature’s armor. The blade of the halberd where it had met the creature’s armored jaw was similarly deformed. Her eyes wandered down the wooden haft; she had thought it had snapped in two as it certainly wasn’t the first time that had happened — though she had just gotten the damn thing replaced.

Her eyes widened as she finally examined the break.

It wasn’t a break — the haft had been cut cleanly in two.

“We should alert the queen,” Emmon spoke up, “She needs to hear of this.”

Caleste’s grip around her broken halberd tightened and her expression soured. They had been made to look like fools in this battle! She had been knocked flat and injured, her weapon broken as if it were a toy. The only thing that hurt more than her ankle was her pride.

Talk to the queen? Tell her what happened here? No. She wouldn’t do that.

She had already asked for help once and she wasn’t about to do it again. What kind of ruler was she that she had to ask for help to handle such a small problem as this? No. She could handle this. She could prove her worth.

Her reply was short and harsh.

“No. We can handle this on our own.”

“M’lord …,” Emmon began but she cut him off.

“We’ll take our wounded and dead and ride back to Caleston,” Caleste said, “We raise an army, and we scour every inch of this damned countryside until we find these … things … and show them that we don’t run — we win.”

[urzfanclub]

i always forget that utukku is right next door to caleston rift... was knocking around the leviathan timeline and its true that it would all fit pretty seamlessly into the outline i already had going but that would be a whole different story. i did always like the idea of the queen giving you mysterious clues about the leviathan though

[sortyourlifeoutmate]

How come in Mass Effect 2, Illium - fancy-pants Asari planet with a whacking great belt of super-duper skyscrapers and which was founded in 1617 - has a population of 84,900,000, while Caleston, some podunk volcano hellhole has a population of 1,802,705,000? And was founded in 1975?

Who is even living here?!

Illium barely cracks a hundred million and this devil's anus in space is creeping up on two billion?

[warrenwoodhouse]

Cerberus Databank (Mass Effect Guide) (Databanks)

Databank by @warrenwoodhouse #warrenwoodhouse

Details

Headquarters: Cerberus HQ (Also Known As: Cronos Station) (Space Station), Anadius, Horse Head Nebula, Earth Systems Alliance Space.

CEO: The Illusive Man

Operative: Jacob Taylor

Officer: Miranda Lawson

Facilities

Cerberus Medical Facility (Also Known As: Lazarus Research Station): Cerberus Medical Facility (Lazarus Research Station), Strenuus, Horse Head Nebula, Earth Systems Alliance Space.

Cerberus Facility (Also Known As: Minuteman Station) (Space Station): Cerberus Facility, Strenuus, Horse Head Nebula, Earth Systems Alliance Space.

Cerberus HQ (Also Known As: Cronos Station) (Space Station): Cerberus HQ, Anadius, Horse Head Nebula, Earth Systems Alliance Space.

Cerberus Teltin Facility: Cerberus Teltin Facility, Pragia, Dakka, Nubian Expanse.

Cerberus Project Overlord Facility (DLC: Project Overlord): Cerberus Project Overlord Facility, Aite, Typhoon, The Phoenix Massing.

Cerberus Project Firewalker Facility (DLC: Firewalker Pack): Cerberus Project Firewalker Facility, Karumto, Yakawa, Caleston Rift.

Changelog

17th June 2024 at 7:40 pm: Updated the databank with new information in the section titled “Facilities”

1st June 2024 at 10:28 am: Moved databank to my Tumblr blog

18th September 2022 at 2:50 pm: Created databank

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 2 replay, exploring wrap up:

Balor

-Caleston – Why is this on the map? It’s a moon of Cernunnos. Moons are normally not shown unless there’s a mission on them, and there’s no mission for Caleston.

Aysur

-Dranen – A moon is being terraformed to be a volus colony.

Dranen’s in the Attican Traverse. It was a big deal in ME1 that humanity was colonizing it because of how dangerous it was. And now here’s a volus colony.

I suppose one can view it as having faith in humanity’s ability to defend the area after the Battle of the Citadel, but Eden Prime did get razed by geth. Finding the perpetrator does not resurrect the colony.

Solveig

-According to the Sinmara description, the star is showing signs of prematurely becoming a red giant.

So another example of a star aging too fast, like Haestrom. This was probably meant to be another instance foreshadowing the cut dark energy plot of ME3.

-N7: Endangered Research Station – I’ll cut the game slack on why Shepard’s here. People are in danger and they’re nearby, so of course they’ll intervene.

I do question why Shepard is handling it personally. Assuming Shepard isn’t an engineer, wouldn’t it be better to send someone who is? Tali, Kasumi, hell even Garrus?

-The world – well, moon – is nicely done. The stations hovering in the air are cool.

-It’s short, but surely Bioware could have done something to make it more interesting. Increase the complexity of the puzzle, maybe.

Talava

-Maitrun – The turian forces have a maximum security prison and interrogation centers on it.

Hmm. Still in the Attican Traverse, but I suppose the Hierarchy both wants these folks far away from their space and don’t care overly much if they’re lost to Terminus pirates.

-Taitus – N7: Mining the Canyon.

-This is a pointless mission. The resources it rewards can be obtained more quickly from probing than getting the mech to work.

Or at least let me use my heavy weaponry instead. I have a nuke, I got this.

-Nice touch to have the mech bought from Harrot, the Elcor merchant on Omega. Makes the game universe feel more alive.

-I wonder if the miner bought the datapad from Harrot as well? It’s throwing a ton of errors.

-How did the miner lay out a trail of power cells for the mech when the path is blocked by a wall of rock the mech needs to destroy?

Hekate

-Bothros – A primate like spacefaring civilization was found frozen in the ice. Their population centers were destroyed by orbital bombardments.

I’m going to take a wild guess Reapers were the cause.

-The planet description mentions the garden world Asteria, but I don’t see it. According to the wiki it’s only present in ME3.

-The planet descriptions mention geth. Once again, true geth or heretics? And why are they outside the Veil and active here?

Sheol

-Gei Hinnom – There are prothean burial grounds. It’s implied that they’re being researched

So much for graves sites being sacrosanct – this is the Attican Traverse, so Council law should apply. Or perhaps as long as you’re not digging them up, research is acceptable?

-N7: Quarian Crash Site – This is a beautiful planet. Love that red skybox.

-The “local wildlife” apparently includes varren. How are they everywhere?

-The pilot log mentions they had a run in with the geth.

As a broken record: Why? What are the geth up to? Why doesn’t ME3 do anything with this?

-Vanguard + geth shotgun is not a good combination for this mission. Charging the shot takes too long.

-I’ve always thought it a lost opportunity that if you do this mission prior to Tali’s loyalty mission, the quarian doesn’t support Tali if you rally the crowd.

Citadel: False Positives

-This mission is obviously meant to satire real life. I’m guessing custom changes post 9/11.

-Humanity took over C-Sec Customs after the Battle of the Citadel and increased regulations. Why?

Customs did not fail to prevent Saren’s attack. He came through a backdoor no one knew existed.

I suppose the most likely explanation is to reassure everyone “something was being done”, even if that something accomplishes nothing. And maybe throw a bone to humanity to make them feel like they’re participating.

-I will say Shepard’s dismissal of the possibility that the asari could be a danger because they’re not geth is short sighted.

They could be geth sympathizers or working with the geth for material gain.

I don’t think it’s likely that these asari are, but it’s something Shepard should investigate instead of blowing off.

[imperium-wealth-management]

Caleston Restored - Flyby Cutscene

Update all flipside, Allen wrench and dandelion protocol and entangle all and encapsulate all secondary locations and flow in between to just attacking device locx.

[shizuu-chann]

Caleston's planetary info, the moon of Cernunnos in the Caleston Rift cluster (ME2, specifically), says that "sapient habitation is not possible" bc it's too hot, basically, and yet it has a colony with a capital city and everything, with nearly 2 billion people. Am I missing something here or is that just a writer fuck up? And no, it doesn't mention the populations being in orbital stations or anything like that.

[cannot-rest]

ME1's biggest cut content. Controlling your teammates. Here's Ashley on Caleston/Therum.

[lyricsaboutcats]

Datamining Mass Effect: Liara’s Recruitment Mission on Caleston

As you may know, Caleston was a mining hub in Mass Effect that was scrapped before release and then replaced by Therum. Its assets were repurposed into the environments used in the Bring Down the Sky DLC, while the general idea of a criminal underworld was refined into the Omega hub in Mass Effect 2.

I’ve posted unreleased content about Caleston before, but by data-mining leftover content from Liara’s recruitment mission it’s possible to paint a more complete picture of what Caleston might have been like for the player if it had been finished and released.

So, let’s take a look. c:

Caleston’s Hidden Codex summary:

Geysers of molten sulfur dot the rugged landscape of this volcanic moon, its atmosphere a toxic layer of sulfur dioxide. Eldfell-Ashland Energy established mining operations on Caleston to extract the scattered deposits of element zero leftover from an ancient meteor strike, making this moon the largest source of starship drive core material in the Attican Traverse.

This summary can be found in the localized text strings inside the game’s files. Text strings are usually out of order and look like a mess.

Like this...

But you can find a lot of interesting things hiding in ME1′s strings, including details about Liara’s original recruitment mission. It was centered around rescuing her from a salarian drug lord named Smiley.

Here’s my summary of it, after reading through the game files:

When Shepard arrives on Caleston they speak to Administrator Tombiri, who informs them that Liara has been kidnapped by a salarian drug lord who runs a red sand cartel on Caleston. The salarian’s name is Smiley. Tombiri then directs Shepard to the Miner’s Union and a woman named Sessa Tarrent for help.

Shepard, with direction from Sessa, lures Smiley’s younger brother, named Raciloma, out into the open by destroying a drug cache of red sand. Using Raciloma’s pass code leads to the inner sanctum of the cartel, where Shepard then defeats Smiley.

But the entire plot was a ploy. Administrator Tombiri was using Shepard to eliminate a group that she saw as competition. She was secretly running the Miner’s Union and all of its own secret, unsavory activities.

Presumably, completing these quests and deciding what to do with Tombiri would lead to the true location of Liara and the quests would continue much as they did in-game.

---------

And here are the official entries for the quest:

Caleston’s Hidden Quest Journal Entries:

Administrator Tombiri told you that Liara is being held by Smiley, a local salarian drug lord. Unfortunately, Smiley is quite paranoid, and is sealed inside the station's former medical bay.

Administrator Tombiri suggested you work with Sessa Tarrent to get at Smiley. Sessa works for the Miners' Union, an organization which appears to have its fingers in a number of unsavory pies. She can be found in the Refinery level.

Sessa Tarrent asked you to help her team destroy a cache of Cartel drugs. They are at a test bore site outside the mining station; exit through the garage below Throw Down Plaza.

The test bore site, and the Cartel's drug cache, have been destroyed. Report back to Sessa Tarrent in the refinery.

Your destruction of the drug cache has drawn out Raciloma, the younger brother of Smiley. He will meet to negotiate with Sessa in the shut-down southern line of the refinery. Your team will precede them to the meeting site, and prepare an ambush to kill Raciloma.

Your team and Sessa Tarrent have killed Raciloma. You now have a pass into Smiley's heavily guarded sanctum. Head to the former medical bay in Throw Down Plaza.

You've been deceived; Smiley never had Liara. Administrator Tombiri has secretly been running the Miners' Union. She lied to get you to eliminate Smiley for her. It's time to pay a little visit to the Administration Office.

--------

Once the player recruited Liara there would have been two possible conclusions to Caleston depending on the choices made during the mission. They would have been revealed by the news reports players hear during elevator rides and the audio can still be extracted from the game. 

Caleston’s Hidden News Reports:

“Administrator Nonya Tombiri of the Caleston mining station has vanished and is presumed dead following a violent incident at her offices. Local officials have not provided details, but Tombiri was allegedly involved with the Caleston Cartel, a group of red sand dealers. Administrator Tombiri’s successor has not yet been named. ”

Or...

“Administrator Tombiri of the Caleston mining station reports that the Caleston Cartel has been brought to justice. The Cartel, a powerful group of red sand dealers, has defied authorities for years. EAE, which owns the Caleston mining facility, was reportedly pleased that the Cartel is no longer operating in its station.”

---

(source: GlobalTlk.upk )

[cerberusdailynews]

[VIES] Systems Alliance Used “Cerberus” Forces During War

via Vies Prime Central News Authority Earlier today Kallius Vokara, President of the Vies, in joint statement with representatives from the Batarian Confederacy, presented evidence of the System’s Alliance continued sponsorship and usage of the genocidal human terrorist organization known as Cerberus. The footage, thirty minutes in total, has been pieced together from a combination of security feeds and heads up display footage from the last year’s concluded war. It shows humanoid figures in unmarked armor attacking Viesi forces with ruthless precision, often killing surrendering or unarmed troops in surprise attacks or ambushes. One shocking set showed Viesi Admiral Corbulon being kidnapped in front of his own home on Vies Prime. Blocked as he was departing by three air-cars, he was seized by a half-dozen armed men and shoved into a truck before it sped away. The footage continues to the rescue of Admiral Corbulon several days later; by then the Admiral had been subjected to torture and his Grey-box surgically removed by his kidnappers. The video then suggests that information seized from Admiral Corbulon had gone towards the Alliance’s efforts in the war. “It is clear,” President Vokara stated, “that in its brief history on the galactic stage the Systems Alliance has repeatedly refused to handle the extremists within their own ranks. For years they denied any support or involvement with the organization, only for it to grow to a cancer which consumed thousands upon thousands of innocent souls in the war. It is apparent now the Alliance’s actions against Cerberus have merely been a show in order to fool us from their true support. I call on the galactic community to condemn this action, and for a full investigation of the Alliance Government’s relationship with these terrorists.” Following President Vokara’s speech, the conference lasted for another hour, as a representative from Viesi Republican Intelligence presented their own report on the subject, and answered questions from the crowd. The Systems Alliance has vehemently denied these accusations, stating the footage is merely “criminal elements taking advantage of the conflict, and poorly staged propaganda pieces.” Related Topics: -Our Soldiers Deeds: Documentary of Viesi Campaign On Avakk III Being Made -Krogan Extremist Arrested For Murder; Claimed To Obey Coalition Leader’s Declaration To “Feast on the Viesi’s bones” -Calestoni government reluctant to abolish “temporary law” to detain “Viesi” spies; hundreds still in custody

[crunchbuttsteak]

Mass Effect 1 deleted scene:

For context: The party is on the planet Caleston to find Liara T’Soni (Caleston would later be shortened considerably and turned into Therum). A scene takes place at a bar with a Krogan bartender named Ruushock:

Ruushok: "The hell do you want?"

Wrex: "Do you have chicken wings?"

Ruushok: "Sure, here you go."

Wrex: "I could eat them in spades. They're so crunchy."

Garrus: "...Why are you staring at me?"

Wrex: "No reason."

Thanks to Loadingue of the Mass Effect Modding discord for finding this.

[the-shattering]

Chapter 7: Into the Smoke

“M’lord,” the messenger attempted to bow deeply and ended up falling to his hands and knees, “Thank you for meeting me at this late hour ... I’ve ridden all day and all night.”

Caleste, Edrahn, her sons, and her advisors all stood in the great hall to hear the messenger that, according to the guards, had demanded an audience. The guards had apparently been sufficiently moved to let him in and Caleste could see why. Caleste looked at him closer: he was young, perhaps about Graden’s age, and caked in soot in dirt. His face was streaked in tears and covered in scratches. One of his hands shook terribly, the arm wrapped so tight in bandages she feared he had cut off circulation to it.

“Get the healer,” she muttered to one of her servants who bowed and hurried off through the side door.

“What is it?” Caleste asked.

“I hail from Odrum. We’ve been raided, m’lady. We need your help,” he said it as if he had recited these lines a thousand times on his journey. Graden stepped down from his place next to his mother and made his way to the boy. He helped him into a kneeling position but the boy, obviously exhausted by his travels, ended up falling backwards. He at least remained relatively upright though he now sat crosslegged on the floor. Graden kept a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“By whom?” Caleste asked.

“I- I don’t know,” the boy admitted, “It was dark and we couldn’t see very well - it was really foggy. My dad put me on a horse and told me to ride to here and not stop.”

Caleste was quiet for a long moment. Her mind raced, Odrum was a small town to the southeast, not far from Caleston. It sat along the southern border and was practically in the Barrens. Who could it have been? Bandits? A group from the Barrens? Would they even be that brazen?

She mused it could have been from the south, the winter hadn’t been hard on just her territory, and a desperate lord could have resorted to a cross border raid. If it was from the south, she could use this to her advantage. Venera couldn’t fault her for defending her borders, she mused. Taking a few towns over in the process would just be a perk to also increasing an important city’s distance from potential invasion.

“Get this boy some food and drink,” she ordered another servant, “Once he has the healer look over his wounds I want him to be put up in the guest quarters.”

The servant nodded and Graden helped the boy stand before the servants escorted him from the room. After they left all eyes turned to Caleste.

“What will we do?” Sigrus, Caleste’s closest advisor, asked.

Caleste thought for a moment, though she had already pretty much made up her mind as to her next actions. They’d have to respond and in force. She would not let this transgression against her people, against her, slide. She turned to Commander Emmon, “How soon can you get your men ready?”

“It depends on what we’re planning on doing,” Emmon said, “Is this going to be a quick mission?”

“I’m prioritizing speed,” Caleste said, “We need to be at Odrum as soon as we can.”

Emmon stroked his beard, “We can be ready by late morning if we prepare tonight.”

“Good,” Caleste said, “Then be ready. I don’t intend on gathering a large force, you and your best men should suffice.”

The countess turned to Sigrus, “I trust you can keep my city from falling apart for the few days I’ll be gone?”

“I think I can manage,” Sigrus answered flatly, “You intend to go with Emmon and his men then?”

“Yes,” Caleste said, “I want to see the town for myself.”

Idan spoke up, “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Caleste retorted sharply, “You will stay here with your brother and help Sigrus.”

He was not nearly ready for battle if it came to that. She needed a force that could handle whatever had attacked the town and Idan was going to be a hindrance to that. He needed to stay home, perhaps learn a thing or two from Sigrus in the process. She’d have given the responsibility of handling Caleston to him if she wasn’t so unsure of his competence.

Idan at least schooled his expression enough to hide his pout, if only barely.

Edrahn spoke up, “You’ll need healers if you intend on aiding the town — I can summon our best mages to help.”

“Good,” Caleste said, “I take it you’re coming with me then?”

“I’d never leave your side, dear,” Edrahn replied, “Someone has to keep you from doing something foolish.”

Of course, Caleste knew that Edrahn was spoiling for a fight as much as she was. While Edrahn was a bit more levelheaded and thoughtful than Caleste — Edrahn was by no means passive. She shared Caleste’s ambition for glory, and Caleste was very happy to have her on her side.

Caleste turned to one of her other advisors, “Anida - I need you to get messages out to all the lords in the surrounding towns to gather their forces.”

Sigrus gave Caleste a sharp glance, “You intend to raise an army, m’lord?”

“I want one at the ready,” Caleste said, “In case this turns out to be something bigger than an isolated raid… Odrum is on our borders and the winter wasn’t just harsh on us but on our neighbors to the south as well.”

“You think that one of the lords of the Southern Kingdom attacked us?”

“If they were desperate enough? Yes,” Caleste replied, “And if that were the case I’d like to have an army ready to defend not only my territory, but Venera’s queendom.”

Sigrus narrowed his eyes at that — he saw right through Caleste’s reasoning, but she knew that even he had to admit that this was a sound decision. If there were to be more raids along their border or even an invasion, it would be good to have an army ready to respond. The council broke up, knowing they had work to do if they were to leave in the morning. There was no time to waste.

As Caleste strode back to her quarters, driven by the urgency the situation demanded, Edrahn followed closely behind her.

Edrahn finally asked, “So were those the actions of a count who’s truly concerned about the security of her realm or were those the actions of someone interested in expanding their territory?”

“… Why can’t it be both?”

***

The party that gathered at the gate late that next morning wasn’t the most organized or best prepared, but Caleste knew time was of the essence. Caleste, clad in chainmail and a plate cuirass, mounted her fastest horse. Her halberd was strapped upright to the side of the saddle. She thought back to her time fighting for Venera — she knew Torvola would have never put together a slapdash force like this. Of course she’d spend the next season fretting over logistics and planning … who to send, what to bring, and what route to take.

Gods she was glad to be out of that woman’s shadow.

She spurred her horse on and her and her men thundered out of the gates of her castle, through the streets of her city, and out into fields beyond. They made good time that morning on the relatively flat terrain of the valley Caleston was nestled in. They rode along muddied paths, flanked by fields that farmers were only just beginning to sow. Caleste would have loved to pause and meet some of the farmers and see how they were faring. They didn’t have the time though.

Odrum was a little over a day’s ride away under normal circumstances. Caleste wondered who had attacked the town, it would largely dictate her response. If it were an unusually organized and brutal band of bandits — they may already be back in the Barrens or whatever dark hole they had crawled out from. If it were the Southern Kingdom then their forces might be on the move already. There may be more towns at risk.

She vowed to ride through the night if she had to.

Her and her force thundered around the large merchant caravans that had finally made it over the mountain passes and into the valley. The traders looked on in surprise as they quickly moved to make room on the road for Caleste to ride by. The terrain rose sharply as they reached the edge of the mountains, the shrubby landscape they had rode through gave way to an open forest of towering evergreens. The world around them cooled as the sun that had been beating down on them all morning was eclipsed by the thick canopy of boughs. The light breeze that traveled up the slopes carried a faint scent of vanilla.

Odrum was in the next valley over, which meant they’d have to make their way through the mountains to get to it. While the mountain range wasn’t as formidable as the ones that made up the Barrens and there was a pass that made the terrain navigable — it was still a tough ride for anyone. The horses slowed as the ascent got rougher and Caleste allowed the group to slow to a walk. She didn’t like the delay but it would be better than having to deal with a horse suffering a broken leg.

She may be criticized for being rash and impatient but she wasn’t a complete idiot.

They smelled the fire before they saw it, as they neared the pass the trees thinned out slightly and allowed Caleste to look up at the sky above. The skies were no longer blue, and the sun shone bright red through the orange haze that now drifted overhead. Finally, they crested the pass and got their first good look at the valley below. Columns of dark smoke billowed up from Odrum and the thick forest that surrounded it, it looked like the town and some of the surrounding settlements were burning. The fire hadn’t seemed to have spread to the surrounding forests. The wet winter had been a boon after all. Well … At least in this one case.

They paused at the pass to let the horses rest and drink from the small mountain stream that trickled out of the rock nearby. Caleste stood on an outcropping of rock that gave her the best view of the valley below. Odrum was the only place that was burning, she saw no other signs of whatever force had attacked the town.

Emmon joined her at the overlook, “We can be down there by nightfall,” he said, “Though I’m not sure that will be the wisest decision. We don’t know what’s down there, m’lord.”

“If we stay up here then we’ll be exposed and visible to anyone still in the valley,” Caleste replied, “At least the forest will offer some cover and shelter.”

She did have to admit — Emmon had a point. If Odrum and the other settlements in the valley were destroyed then they’d have nowhere safe to stay for the night if they descended. It would be better to wait for morning.

“We can stop below the tree line for the night,” Caleste said, “Get everyone back up - we’ve a few hours yet before nightfall.”

They descended through the hazy air, the air in the valley was cooling as the sun began to disappear behind the western mountains and the smoke began to settle into the lower elevations with the cooler air. Caleste had to admit that listening to Emmon’s council was the right move, and not only because they would be in a potentially indefensible position if they were caught in the valley. Being halfway up the mountain slope, just below the tree line, meant that they were mostly above the air in the valley that was now choked in thick smoke.

She couldn’t imagine how unbearable it would be to spend a night in that suffocating murk. As they dismounted and prepared a crude encampment for the night, Caleste couldn’t help but notice how deathly silent their surroundings were. She paused and strained to hear even a bird chirp or the buzz of an insect. She was met by heavy silence.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed the unnatural stillness in the air. The horses were restless, stamping at the ground and snorting as the knights tried to tie them up for the night. She swore, whenever the light breeze picked up, that she could smell a hint of sulfur.

It had to be nothing. It was her mind playing tricks on her, surely.

“I want two people on watch at all times tonight,” Caleste said to Emmon, “No fires.”

The sun slipped behind the mountains and Caleste and her men settled in for a long, cold night. Caleste kept her chainmail on, despite how uncomfortable it was to sleep in, just in case. She sat up against a log and held Edrahn close to her that night, both women’s eyes trying to peer through the hazy darkness for any sign of danger. Neither of them got much sleep.

It felt like an eternity before dawn broke and it became bright enough for them to move safely. Everyone was quiet as they packed up camp and prepared to set out for the day, Caleste and Edrahn were not the only ones who didn’t get any sleep.

Caleste went to her horse to mount it, and a thrill went down her spine as she looked over the valley below. A thick shroud of smoke obscured everything below her, making it impossible to see what lay ahead of her. Edrahn stopped her wife before she got onto the horse and handed her a dark green cloth, “It’s not much but it may help with the smoke,” she said.

Caleste nodded and took the damp cloth and tied it around her nose and mouth. She looked around at the rest of her party, all now donning the same crude mask that she wore. She hoisted herself up onto her horse, and patted it lightly to reassure him as he shook its head with a snort and stomped his feet. Emmon brought his horse next to her and Caleste gave him a nod.

Caleste gave her horse a slight nudge with her foot and it reluctantly walked forward. The same thrill went down her spine and she tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the sense of danger she felt, the sense of fear. She could be anxious, apprehensive even … but she couldn’t be afraid.

She breathed slowly and deeply through the thick cloth mask and blinked against the smoke that was growing thicker as they descended. One by one, she and her men disappeared into the murk.

Chapter 6 | Chapter 8

[lhs3020b]

Apparently over on Caleston, “sapient habitation is not possible here” ... and it has a population of over 1.8 billion. OK, that’s impressively internally-consistent, Codex!

[inquartata30]

Mahavid

(Caleston Rift/Aysur)

ORBITAL DISTANCE: 6.3 AU

ORBITAL PERIOD: 15.8 Earth Years

RADIUS: 535 km

DAY LENGTH: 10.3 Earth Hours

ATM. PRESSURE: Trace

SURFACE TEMP: -142 °C

SURFACE GRAVITY: 0.0006 g

MASS: 0 Earth Masses

POPULATION: 152

(All pop. estimates are pre-invasion)

Mahavid is a metallic asteroid in the very sparse Nahata Belt. It has a high nickel and iron content in the form of kamacite. The rights to mine Mahavid belong to T-GES Mineral Works, who sell their products primarily to the colonists of Arvuna.