Citadel Station (Mass Effect)

This article is about an Xbox 360 game.

The Citadel Station is a massive space station constructed millennia ago by an unknown race in the heart of the Serpent Nebula. Heavily populated with diplomats and traders, it serves as the home of the Citadel Council, a powerful multi-species governing body.

(This section contains heavy plotline spoilers)

History

The Citadel is believed by its current occupants to be a space station constructed by the Protheans, who for some reason mysteriously vanished Fifty-Thousand years ago. However, it is revealed in the later stages of the game that the Protheans did not create the Citadel; they discovered it. Indeed, both the Citadel and the Mass Relay network (which the Citadel is the 'hub' of) were built by the Reapers (a race of sentient machines that wiped out the Protheans). The Reapers created the Citadel and Mass Relay Network as a trap. In short, the mass relays would force civilization to develop along the lines and in the places the Reapers wished it to. The Citadel would take a central role in galactic civilization.

The Citadel itself is actually a large Mass Relay that leads to "Dark Space" (an area outside the Galaxy where the Reapers exist). Activating it will allow the Reapers to enter the Galaxy, right at the core of spacefaring civilization, allowing them to destroy the Citadel Council and halt all interstellar travel, then commence the genocide of all spacefaring species, system by system (and led to all the relevant systems simply by following the Mass Relay Network).

In the game Mass Effect, the final stages of the game take place on the station while a massive Geth attack (led by the rogue Spectre Saren and the Reaper warship Sovereign) attempts to activate the Citadel mass relay and usher in a new Reaper invasion. The assault is repelled by Commander Shepard and combined Citadel-Alliance Fleets, resulting in the death of Saren and the destruction of Sovereign. During the attack, the player can choose whether or not to order the Normandy, presently leading the Alliance fleet, to save the Council, whose ship is under severe bombardment. (Having the Normandy save the Council results in humanity gaining a Council seat. Having the Normandy and the human fleet abandon the Council results in humanity moving into the resulting power vacuum and declaring an Empire.)

Layout

The Citadel is a massive construct, and is shaped like a five-pointed star. It consists of a central ring 10 kilometers in diameter, ringed by five arms, each of which is 25 km long and five km in breadth. The station is capable of closing in on itself, transforming into a long, cylindrical tube as the five arms come together. This is only done for defensive purposes, however, and normally the station retains it's star-shaped layout.

The central ring itself contains the Presidium, a massive, park-like complex containing the offices of the various branches of the galactic government, as well as the embassies of all the races represented in the Citadel.

Each of the five arms contains one of the Wards, self contained cities that have been built into the station. Each of the Wards contains multiple housing and recreational establishments to support the station's massive population of 40 million, made up of members of every known species in the galaxy (with the obvious exception of the Geth).

Defenses

As befits such an important location, the Citadel boasts multiple forms of defense. The station itself, as previously noted, is capable of closing in on itself to form a long, armored cylinder 25 kilometers in length. The station's hull is strong enough that, even using the most advanced weaponry available, it would take several days of sustained bombardment to inflict any serious damage to the station.

The next link in the Citadel's defensive chain is the Citadel Fleet. The fleet is a massive task force consisting of vessels from the militaries of the members of the Citadel Council (the Asari, the Salarians, and the Turians). The Citadel Fleet also has alliances with other major military powers, such as the Systems Alliance, to call upon in times of need. The Citadel Fleet, led by the imposing Asari Dreadnought Destiny Ascension , constantly patrols the space around the station. Should any aggressor manage to break through the Citadel Fleet, reinforcements from all over the galaxy are only minutes away, thanks to the network of mass relays located nearby.

In addition, the Serpent nebula itself also constitutes a form of defense. The nebula's composition makes it difficult for attacking fleets to navigate, thus preventing them from launching a cohesive attack. The station also boasts its own security force, known as C-Sec.

References

• Citadel Station article on the Mass Effect Wiki