Ascension
2013 · fan fiction
Heavily AU. Thanks to a cold, humanity never discovers the Prothean ruins on Mars, and barely develops Mass Effect technology. They step out onto the galactic stage after the Reapers have harvested every other species, and find the crumbs left behind by the turians, asari, and salarians. Now they must adapt to fight a foe who won't be seen for far longer than human history.