A Final Note from Alec Ryder

It all begins here. We're at the starting line. The Nexus is ahead, the Hyperion's engines are prepped, and your stasis pods are waiting. There's only time for a few words, so I’ll be brief.

I know you’re nervous. There’s probably a cold sweat at the base of your spine now that the hard truth of a six hundred-year voyage is sinking in. Trust me, I know, because that's how I felt when we activated the Charon mass relay years ago. We stood together, staring into that bright blue light, not knowing where it was going to take us or if we'd even make it through alive.

It was the hardest step I've ever taken, but it took humanity farther than we could have ever imagined.

This is another step on humanity's great journey – the longest so far. We're leaping into the void. This time, there's no chance to turn back.

But we go forward. We take that step. Because we know that whatever fate waits for us beyond dark space, we dared to be first.

We'll leave footprints where no human has ever been. We'll breathe the air and drink the water of worlds we can't even imagine. We will lift our heads to the stars, and see the Milky Way from the outside for the very first time.

It begins today. We're ready. Humanity's future is waiting.

I’ll see you in Andromeda.

Alec Ryder, Pathfinder - Ark Hyperion