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Hijacking of the SSV Normandy Part of the Eden Prime War
The SSV Normandy escapes the Citadel
Date:	16 July 2183 CE
Location:	Citadel / Widow / Serpent Nebula
Outcome:	SSV Normandy escapes CDF fails to stop the hijacking in time Normandy Squad escape Council custody and head for Ilos
Belligerents Normandy Squad Supported by: David E. Anderson Systems Alliance Citadel Security Supported by: Citadel Council Commanders Marcus L. Shepard David E. Anderson Donnel Udina Entricas Tyaranus Strength Normandy Squad 6 combatants 211 crew members 1 Normandy-class stealth frigate SSV Normandy 22 C-Sec tactical officers 7 Alliance marines Casualties David Anderson arrested Donnel Udina knocked unconscious All marines non-lethally neutralized All C-Sec officers non-lethally neutralized

"We've only got one shot at this. The Council would like to believe the threat is over, but we both know it's not! If Saren reaches the Conduit before you do, the Reapers will kill everyone. Humans, turians, asari...everybody! He's got to be stopped! If that's treason...so be it."

— David E. Anderson explaining to Marcus L. Shepard the need to hijack the Normandy.

The Hijacking of the SSV Normandy was an event that took place towards the end of the Eden Prime War on the Citadel. It came as a direct result of the Battle of Virmire and the other campaigns the SSV Normandy had been involved in throughout the course of the war, and the Council's decision to de-escalate the threat posed by Saren Arterius.

The Battle of Virmire was deemed to be a crippling blow to the Saren's Alliance that the rogue spectre's forces would never recover from, and with the vast majority of his ground and naval forces depleted, and his supply of rachni and krogan troops destroyed, the Council reached the conclusion that the rest of the war could be handled by the Alliance military, with no further need to waste Council resources. This decision was reached before the Normandy was recalled to the Citadel, with a detachment of the CDF being deployed in the Hector system to guard the only entrance to the Widow system. However, the decision failed to account for Commander Shepard's discovery of the Conduit on Ilos, and his insistence that Saren was still an extreme threat, including the continued belief that the Reapers were real. The Council denied Shepard's request to dispatch a fleet to Ilos, as they feared being dragged into a war with the Terminus Systems, and when Shepard continued to press the issue, they had Donnel Udina authorize the grounding of the Normandy, as well as the temporary suspension of the crew's duties until such time as the war was over and the crisis had concluded.

However, all this did was set into motion a plan to hijack the ship and escape. Captain Anderson, also temporarily suspended from duty for defending Shepard, arranged to assist the commander in regaining control of his ship, citing the Reapers as a threat that had to be stopped at all costs, even if that meant treason. Over a period of ten minutes, two separate actions took place: while Shepard and his crew broke back into their ship, neutralizing the Alliance marines assigned to protect it bloodlessly and securing it, Anderson infiltrated the Human Embassy, incapacitated Udina and used his command codes to release the docking clamps holding the Normandy. Before the CDF could be alerted of the hijack in progress, the Normandy had guided itself out of dock, escaped the station and entered the relay.

While largely viewed as historically insignificant in comparison to larger battles such as Virmire and the Battle of the Citadel, the hijacking of the Normandy was the most important event of the war. Had it not taken place, Shepard would not have reached Ilos in time to learn of Saren's plans and the truth of the Citadel, and thus would have been unable to stop the Reapers returning. In actuality, the hijacking was the real turning point of the Eden Prime War.