‘Mass Effect’: I’m Commander Shepard and This is My Favorite SSV ‘Normandy’ Breakdown
Let’s be honest, you’ve probably hooked up with more people on this ship than in real life. We break down the SSV Normandy.
The Systems Alliance Space Vehicle Normandy SR-1 was a ship unlike any other in Citadel space. A Systems Alliance starship, but developed in cooperation with the Turian Hierarchy, and the sponsorship of the Citadel Council, the Normandy represented the cutting edge of technology. Not just for humanity, but for the whole of Council space.
Designed with state-of-the-art stealth technology, and powered by an experimental drive, the SSV Normandy was a stealth reconnaissance ship. With technology that could render it invisible to most sensors, the Normandy was capable of flying deep into hostile territory undetected.
But more importantly, it was eventually the vessel that turned the tide in the first battle against the Reapers.
SSV Normandy SR-1 – Origins
The SSV Normandy was originally commissioned in 2183 by an Alliance officer named Elli Zander. The development of the Normandy was tumultuous. A fact exacerbated by Zander’s personality, which brought him into conflict with the turian chief engineer, Octavio Tatum over the limits of the ship’s Tantalus drive core.
Before development on the Normandy was completed, Zander was removed, and the ship was placed under the command of David Anderson.
Shortly thereafter, the Normandy left on her first mission, launching from Arcturus, headed for Eden Prime on an assignment of the utmost importance — and secrecy. Fortunately, the Normandy had stealth and speed on her side.
Stealth Systems and Drive Core
The chief weapon in the Normandy’s arsenal was her state-of-the-art stealth system. The IES (internal emission sink) as it was known, broke with the conventional wisdom that starship-based stealth was impossible. The heat emanating from routine shipboard operations was too easily detected against the background temperature of space. However, the Normandy was able to temporarily “store” excess heat in lithium heat sinks buried deep within her hull.
On the SR-1, this system ran up against a few limitations. The IES couldn’t function during FTL travel, as the faster-than-light speeds would blue-shift the Normandy’s emissions beyond the sinks’ ability to hold. And of course, the ship wasn’t actually cloaked. A simple visual scan would find her.
Most notably, though, the IES could only operate for around 2-3 hours of active “silent running” at any time (or drifting passively through a system for days) before the built-up heat must be radiated, in lieu of cooking the crew alive/
Powering it all is the Tantalus drive core. This drive core was proportionate to twice the size of any other ship’s core. A fact that meant the ship handled differently than another ship of similar size. Fortunately, the Normandy’s pilot, Jeff “Joker” Moreau was more than capable of compensating.
Layout
The SSV Normandy was organized into three main decks: the Command Deck, living quarters, and engineering & storage. From the Command Deck, the Command Information Center (CIC) dominated the space. At the heart of the ship, this station allowed the commanding officer to determine missions and chart a Mass relay course across the galaxy.
The second deck, primarily consisting of living quarters, contained the Normandy’s habitation deck, which included a mess, crew sleeper pods, captain’s private office/cabin, medical bay, and firing computer.
Her third deck, Engineering & Storage, was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. Capable of storing a large number of the crew’s personal gear, as well as a Mako fighting vehicle.
SSV Normandy at the First Battle for the Citadel
From her first mission on, the Normandy was wrapped up in a plot by Saren, a rogue Specter, working with and indoctrinated by a Reaper named Sovereign. The mission to Eden Prime quickly turned into a race against time, as Commander Shepard activated a Prothean Beacon, gaining a mental imprint of a warning left behind by a long-extinct, spacefaring species.
From there, the Normandy aided Shepard in pursuing Saren deep into the Terminus Systems undetected. There the Normandy discovered the lost world of Ilos. A last-ditch research hub that kept many Protheans alive after the Reapers came for their civilization.
After dropping Commander Shepard and a small team off on the remote world, the Normandy returned, rendezvousing with the Fifth Fleet and leading the assault against the Reaper, Sovereign.
SR-1’s End
In the months following the first Battle of the Citadel, the Normandy was assigned to more backwater patrol duties, after the galactic council decided to wash away the imminent invasion as nothing more than unusual aggression from the Geth.
While out on patrol near the Omega Nebula, an unidentifiable starship, which would later be revealed to be a vessel piloted by the mysterious Collectors, attacked the Normandy.
With a barrage of heretofore unseen particle beam weaponry, the Collector vessel devastated the Normandy, slicing through her kinetic barriers and weapon systems within seconds. The Normandy was crippled before her crew could return fire.
And the lives of over twenty crew members were claimed in the attack. Including most of all, Commander Shepard, seemingly lost forever along with the Normandy…
But the Normandy, like Shepard, was almost impossible to keep down for good.
