First Contact War

The First Contact War, referred to by the turians as the Relay 314 Incident, was a three-month, low-intensity conflict between the human Systems Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy in 2157 CE. It was humanity's first encounter with another intelligent species, and the experience would shape human attitudes toward the galaxy for decades, sowing the xenophobia from which groups like Cerberus would later grow. (Mass Effect)

First contact#

After discovering the Charon Relay, humanity began a rapid expansion, eager to explore the galaxy through its newfound connection to the mass relay network. Driven by curiosity and a hunger for territory, human explorers activated every mass relay they could find. In 2157 their activity drew the notice of the turians, who came upon a human expedition reactivating a dormant relay known as Relay 314. Reactivating dormant relays had been forbidden under Citadel regulations ever since the Rachni Wars, but rather than open negotiations the turians opened fire. A single ship escaped to warn the Alliance, a retaliatory force destroyed the turian vessels, and the situation escalated swiftly into war. To the turians it was a simple police action against an ignorant species violating Council law; to humanity it was a first encounter with an alien power. (Mass Effect)

The occupation of Shanxi#

Not knowing what foe they faced, and at first wondering whether the aliens might even be Protheans, the Alliance sent probes into turian space armed with nuclear warheads so that they could not be captured and yield insights into human technology. With humanity's forces stretched thin by exploration, the turians defeated several scout and patrol fleets, though human soldiers fought with notable bravery in scattered engagements. (Mass Effect)

The turians eventually broke through to Shanxi, the human colony nearest the relay, and settled in for a protracted orbital siege. Holding the high ground, they could strike any human soldier from above, and the defenders began to starve, unable to move food or supplies without endangering civilians. At last General Williams, who commanded the garrison, was forced to surrender Shanxi to spare its people. The turians, suffering supply problems of their own, believed they had broken the main human force. They were proven wrong a month later when Admiral Kastanie Drescher led the Second Fleet against Shanxi, caught the turians by surprise, and drove them from the planet. Both sides then prepared for full-scale interplanetary war. (Mass Effect)

Peace and consequences#

Before that wider war could come, the Citadel Council intervened to negotiate a ceasefire. Through the Council, humanity learned of the existence of the Citadel and of the many species that coexisted within the galactic community. In all, only six hundred and twenty-three human lives were lost, with slightly higher turian casualties, and the only notable engagements were the occupation of Shanxi and its liberation. The day the fighting ended became known as Armistice Day, a date that retained its weight for the families of those who served. On the Mass Effect timeline, the war falls just eight years before humanity got its Citadel embassy. (Mass Effect; Mass Effect: Revelation)

The war's aftermath shaped both peoples. Humanity's violent first contact gave it a reputation as an aggressor on the galactic stage and fostered a climate of xenophobia within the Alliance, feeding the rise of extreme pro-human movements. Some of the nuclear-armed probes sent into turian space were never recovered, and their existence remained an Alliance secret that could still bring political consequences if revealed. For their part, the turians were ordered to pay heavy reparations. Veterans on both sides carried their mistrust for years; among them was Saren Arterius, who lost his brother in the conflict and became one of humanity's most outspoken critics. In the years that followed, relations slowly improved, and the joint human-turian design and construction of the first Normandy became a symbol of the mending between the two peoples. (Mass Effect)

Choice-dependent aftermath#

Some of the war's long-term consequences depended on Shepard's choices. If Commander Shepard saved the Citadel Council during Sovereign's assault on the Citadel, the Turian Hierarchy was reported two years later to be considering additional reparations to humans whose ancestors had died in the Relay 314 Incident, having previously refused to pay interest on the sums already owed. If the Council was not saved, the period instead saw a resurgence of distrust and a buildup of turian forces in response to perceived human aggression. (Mass Effect 2)