Mass Effect: Sole Survivor
Chapter One
Normandy
"Come on, Shepard, pick up the pace! They're right behind us!" screamed Corporal Raymes. Shepard threw a glance over her shoulder and pushed herself as hard as she could; those...things, whatever they were, were getting closer. Aidan's eyes were then drawn to the man running behind her; Raymes. He didn't looked panicked like the others had; he didn't seem scared. He kept yelling, pushing her forward, even as the tentacled and clawed demons drew closer behind them. No, she couldn't focus on that; the LZ wasn't too far ahead now. She could make it...they could make it.
Akuze's flat, rolling terrain had made a perfect world for colonization...or so the Alliance had thought. Boy were those bastards ever wrong...and the poor Marines Aidan had volunteered to come with knew just how wrong they were. It had proven more to be a killing field for whatever these things were. Fifty Marines...fifty good men and women and these things had chewed through them like they were steak and totally obliterated the colony that had been set up. Gritting her teeth, Aidan kept focused ahead of her; she wasn't going to let these things get her too.
"There!" called Raymes from behind Shepard. "There's the LZ! Keep moving!"
Before Aidan could offer a reply, the ground quaked beneath her feet. Suddenly, it erupted upward and another creature appeared, towering at least twenty feet above her. Its fangs dripped with a thick, viscous substance as it uttered an ear piercing cry. The force of the creature's emergence knocked Shepard off her feet and sent her tumbling across the ground. Her eyes blurred as she tried to push herself up to her feet. She could barely hear Raymes shouting at her as he fired wildly at the creature's head and pulled Aidan to her feet.
"Keep running, Shepard! I'll be right behind you!"
Shepard nodded and just ran as fast as she could push herself, her legs providing all the speed they possibly could. As she ran, she glanced back at Raymes...and found that he wasn't following her. Aidan stopped suddenly and called out to Raymes, even though she knew it would be of no use; he offered her one last smile and nod, then turned and sprinted away from the LZ as fast as he could, the creature hot on his heels. She watched in horror, petrified and cemented to the spot, as the creature lunged forward and-
Aidan bolted upright, panting for breath and covered in sweat. That dream...that same damn dream. She rubbed her face tiredly and sighed, glancing about at the cold, sterile walls that the SSV Normandy surrounded her with. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, shivering slightly as her feet made contact with the cold floor, and stood up. Aidan strode over into the bathroom attached to her quarters, turning on the sink faucet and splashing her face with cool water to wake herself up. She stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, clenching her fists.
"God damn you, Samuel..." she muttered, staring back at her own violet eyes, the scar across the bridge of her nose serving as a grim reminder of her own mortality. Six years...even six years later, the dream still haunted her. All the therapy, the medication...nothing helped. At all. Aidan turned her gaze from the mirror and stepped in to the shower, rinsing the sweat from her body and enjoying the feel of the warm water splashing against her. The Normandy gave a sudden lurch, indicating that she had finally left port and her crew's mission could finally begin...even if it was a simple shakedown run.
"Yeah, right..." Shepard muttered as she lithely stepped out of the shower, dried herself and began to pull on her gear. If this were a simple shakedown run as they had been briefed, then why choose Captain Anderson to lead it, and why assign a Citadel Spectre to oversee it? Something stunk about this and the whole crew was smelling it. She placed her trusted handgun on her left hip and slipped the shotgun that saved her so many times into its position across the small of her back. Aidan gave the weapon a gentle pat before exiting her quarters in the belly of the Normandy and making her way up to the main deck.
Joker, the Normandy's pilot, had been giving status updates; they were closing in on their designated Mass Relay. Aidan made her way past Navigator Pressly's post, giving the eldest member of the crew a brief greeting, and down the narrow corridor to the cockpit. Before she even made it past Pressly, she'd spotted a large, black clad figure standing behind Joker and Lieutenant Alenko. Nihlus, the Turian Spectre the Council had sent to keep an eye on things. At least, that was the official story. To Aidan, Nihlus didn't seem to be a bad guy; if he spoke a bit more, the Turian might have even been likeable.
"Fifteen hundred is good," she heard Nihlus say, probably to Joker, "your Captain will be pleased." Nihlus turned and left the cockpit, giving Shepard a curt nod before brushing past her and back into the recesses of the ship.
"I hate that guy." Joker muttered, tapping a series of keys on the glowing array before him.
"Nihlus gave you a compliment, so...you hate him?" That was Lieutenant Alenko.
"Remember to zip up your jump suit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us half way across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible."
Aidan chuckled quietly. Joker's nickname certainly suited him. In the short time she'd been aboard the Normandy, she'd quite grown to like him. Joker had an odd sort of charm about him that probably ebbed from his dry wit and somewhat sarcastic personality.
"Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."
Shepard heard Alenko sigh softly and saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye. "You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on things." That was Alenko for you; the voice of reason and logical thought no matter what the situation. The Lieutenant had joined the Normandy's crew not long after Aidan had, so no one really knew much about him. It had become apparent, though, that he had an incredibly cool head. On top of that, he was a biotic...which meant he was incredibly powerful.
"Yeah, that is the official story, but only an idiot believes the official story." replied Joker.
Aidan had to agree. "They don't send Spectres on a shakedown run."
Joker nodded. "Right, so there's more than the Captain is letting on-" He was cut off by the Captain's voice.
"Joker! Status report." Aidan couldn't help but cringe; she liked Captain Anderson, yes, but the harshness in his voice was, well, intimidating at times. It didn't seem to affect Joker at all, though.
"Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."
"Good. Find a comm. buoy and link us in to the network. I want status reports relayed back to Alliance Command before we reach Eden Prime." "Aye aye, Captain. You'd better brace yourself, sir; I think Nihlus is headed your way."
Aidan cringed; that was probably the wrong thing to say.
"He's already here. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the Comm. Room for a debriefing." Captain Anderson snapped back.
Yes, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. Aidan saw Joker shake his head and he craned his neck to get a look at her from his chair behind the Normandy's controls.
"You get that, ma'am?"
"Great," she sighed, "you pissed him off and now I have to deal with him. Thanks, Joker." As she turned and left, she heard a last exchange between Joker and Alenko.
"Is it just me or does the Captain always sound a little pissed off?" asked the pilot.
Shepard could imagine Kaidan smiling. "Only when he's talking to you, Joker."
As Aidan passed Navigator Pressly's station, she heard him having what appeared to be a rather heated debate about Nihlus. From what she could remember about him, the balding Pressly had been with the Alliance navy for many many years and his family had fought in the First Contact War. Aidan doubted that he harbored any deep resentment for the Turian, but she could understand him mistrusting a Spectre. Hell, most people did; nigh unlimited power didn't come without its drawbacks. After passing by Pressly, Aidan came in contact with another two members of the crew; Doctor Chakwas, resident surgeon and general caretaker, and Corporal Jenkins.
Jenkins appeared to be young, twenty one or two at the oldest, and was eager to prove himself. The spark of youth was most definitely present in him, but his eagerness to fight bothered Shepard; someone like that could get killed. Their minds became unfocused and they tended to override their training and act without thinking. Jenkins wasn't a bad looking man. He had a round, cheerful face and bright brown eyes that almost danced and sparkled in the light. His fairly tanned skin offset his dark blue uniform and the beret atop his head covered the auburn-brown hair that regulation required him to keep cut short.
Doctor Chakwas, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Jenkins. She was older than most, probably in her late forties or early fifties. Her hair was gray and white and kept parted neatly down the center. The Doctor was also as wise as they came; she'd been all around Citadel and Alliance space and had probably put more Marines back together than she cared to count and known throughout for having a cool head no matter what kind of emergency she was dealing with. That was a rare quality among any profession.
"What do you think, Commander?" asked Jenkins as he snapped off a quick salute. "We won't be staying on Eden Prime for long, will we? I'm itchin' for some real action."
Aidan couldn't help but smile a little bit; Jenkins spoke with a youthful enthusiasm that was rather refreshing to her. Doctor Chakwas, on the other hand, was more reproachful.
"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal," she said, her English accent ringing quite clearly, "your 'real action' usually ends up with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."
"Just take your time, Corporal; you've got a long life ahead of you. There's no need to try and impress anyone." Aidan added, crossing her arms over her chest.
Jenkins sighed softly, shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, Commander. But this waiting is killing me!" He paused briefly. "It's just...I've never been on a mission like this before! Not one with a Spectre on board!"
Shepard nodded and sighed swoftly. "Do your job, follow my orders and there won't be any problems."
"That's easy for you to say, Commander." he said, those eyes sparkling with excitement again. "Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"
"Like I said," she sighed, "you're young. There's no rush."
"Don't worry, ma'am. I'm not gonna screw this up."
With a smile, Aidan patted the young man on the shoulder before brushing past the pair and down toward the comms room. The doors opened with a soft 'whoosh' and Aidan took stock of the room; there was a short ramp that led down to the main sitting area, which was a circle probably twenty feet in diameter with four chairs placed about a foot apart on either side. The whole thing was surrounded by one large rail that started near the doorway, went down the ramp, around the perimeter and back up to the other side of the door. There, standing in the middle of the oval, was Nihlus. He was staring at the main view screen, which was flickering through images of Eden Prime.
'Ah,' she thought, 'he's doing research. Smart.' Shepard made her way down behind Nihlus, who turned upon hearing her footsteps. Nihlus' intimidating form towered over the considerably shorter Aidan, who stood around 5'10" to his 6'3" or 6'4". Then there were those eyes...those black, beady eyes. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that Nihlus was looking at her like a hawk looks at its prey.
"Ah, Commander. I was hoping you'd get here first. I was hoping we could talk."
Aidan blinked. That was a suprise.
"What about?"
Nihlus began pacing back and forth in front of Shepard, his hands clasped at the small of his back as he spoke. "I'm interested in this world we're going to - Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."
"I've never been there." she replied flatly.
Nihlus nidded. "But you know of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?" He began pacing again. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them." The Turian turned and faced the view screen. "But how safe is it really?"
The darkness in Nihlus' voice suprised Aidan; she hadn't expected to hear that coming from Nihlus. At least, not how he said it. Something wasn't right here...something seemed off. "Do you know something you're not telling me?" she demanded.
"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard," he began, turning around and facing her once again, "the galaxy can be a dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"
Before Aidan could reply, footsteps caught her attention; it was Captain Anderson.
"I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."
'I knew it.' thought Aidan as she glanced between her CO and the Spectre.
"This mission is more than a simple shakedown run, Shepard." said Nihlus, glancing from Aidan to Captain Anderson and back to Aidan again.
Aidan smiled. "I figured there was something you weren't telling us."
Captain Anderson explained that their true objective was to pick up some sort of Prothean beacon that workers had uncovered on Eden Prime, adding in how significant a discovery this was for the Alliance. It was two-fold; not only did this beacon stand to advance humanity's development a hundred years or more depending on the information kept within it, but it would also mean that humanity had made the most significant find in nearly a century. It appeared that Eden Prime didn't have the facilities necessary to fully explore the contents of the beacon, so it was deemed necessary to return it to the Citadel.
"The beacon is not the only reason I'm here, Shepard."
"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you."
'Evaluate me?' thought Aidan. 'What the hell for?' However, she wouldn't allow her confusion to show through.
"Guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around."
Anderson nodded. "Humanity has been pushing for this for a long time; we've wanted a larger role in shaping galactic policy. We want more say with the Citadel council, and the Spectres represent the Council's power. If the Spectres accept a human into their ranks, then it shows how far humanity has come."
Aidan's heart nearly seized up in her chest. A Spectre? Her? But...why?
Nihlus answered for her. "Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live - a useful talent. That is why I put your name forward."
Again, Aidan blinked. "You put my name forward?" She sighed, turning to the Captain. "I assume this is good for the Alliance?"
"The Alliance needs this, Shepard. We're counting on you."
"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander; this will be the first of many missions together." Nihlus added, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding to her.
Shepard could hardly believe what she was hearing; the Spectres had been watching her? She'd been marked as a candidate? The Spectres...the Citadel's most elite military unit. Aidan had to admit, she liked the idea of being a Spectre. Something about it appealed to her, but still...this was rather sudden. Anderson broke her line of thought.
"You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it back aboard the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."
Shepard's military training kicked in. "Just give the word, Captain."
It seemed to Aidan as though Captain Anderson was about to say something else, but Joker never gave him a chance.
"Captain, we've got a bit of a problem." He sounded rather distressed. The Captain seemed to pick up on the urgency in Joker's voice, just as Aidan had.
"What is it Joker?" the Captain asked, his voice calm and even.
"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir! You better see this." The way Joker spoke sent shivers down Aidan's spine; whatever they were about to see, it wasn't good.
The Captain ordered Joker to bring the message up on screen and the trio all turned their eyes to the view screen. A massive battle raged on the planet's surface, rounds exchanged in both directions...hundreds of them. Whoever sent the message was right in the thick of a firefight as the people around him were discharging weapons like crazy. Dirt kicked up around the sender as rounds struck scarily close and he was pushed down by a female Marine clad in white, who yelled at him to get down. The camera swerved wildy toward some other Marines, who were firing just as tenaciously as their female counterpart. Aidan threw a glance toward the Captain and Nihlus, whose eyes were glued to the screen, before looking back up herself.
Suddenly, the camera swerved again, this time towards a single Marine. "We are under attack!" he said loud enough to hear over the weapons fire. "We've taken heavy casualties! I repeat, heavy casualties!" Aidan cringed at how he emphasized the two words; that usually meant an entire unit had been wiped out. The Marine's next phrase was cut off by an explosion that was close enough to nearly knock him off his feet. "We can't get evac!" he shouted as he tried to straighten the helmet of whoever was recording. "They came out of nowhere, we need-" Blood suddenly splattered all over the screen; the Marine speaking had been hit and promptly slumped to the ground.
The camera swerved wildly a third time, this time toward the faces of shocked Marines, their eyes drawn inexplicably toward the sky. They stared in awe or shock, Aidan couldn't tell, even as massive mounds of dirt exploded upward. When the camera turned again, Aidan fought to supress a gasp; their, in the sky, was the largest ship she had ever seen - and it was within Eden Prime's atmosphere! Long, metallic tendrils hung from the front (or was it the bottom?) of the apparently squid-like vessel (or perhaps machine?) as it descended. Angry red electricity arced from the thing, but that was all Aidan could make out; the camera was then promptly knocked off his feet, tumbled, and then it all went to static.
Joker was the first to break the silence. "Everything goes dead after that; no comm traffic at all. Just...dead." Shepard found herself wishing that Joker had used somewhat lighter adjectives to describe the situation, but it was accurate.
"Reverse and hold at thirty eight point five." ordered the Captain. The image shifted back to the mammoth thing that hovered in Eden Prime's skies. Aidan barely heard Captain Anderson ask for a status report; her eyes were locked on the image. She was drawn to it, compelled to look and see. She clenched her fists at her side, the faces of those Marines burned into her mind; whatever was going on down there on Eden Prime didn't matter now. Someone was going to pay. She narrowed her eyes at the image, her fists clenching even more tightly to the point of pain. Captain Anderson's voice broke Shepard's burning rage.
"Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander; you're going in."
Shepard nodded and briskly left the Captain alone in the Comm. room as she rounded up Alenko and Jenkins and ordered them to meet her down in the cargo hold in five minutes. She didn't even wait for the obligatory "Yes ma'am" or "Aye commander", but just left as quickly as she could and made for the lift that would take her down to the elevator. When she arrived, Aidan remembered how much the damn thing pissed her off; all the Alliance's money had gone in to building the most advanced ship in the galaxy, and yet they couldn't put in an elevator that went faster than half a goddamn mile per hour? The commander crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, grunting as the elevator took its sweet ass time in getting to her. By the time she'd stepped aboard the elevator, Alenko and Jenkins had joined her. Aidan checked, double checked and triple checked her weapon as the elevator began its painfully slow descent. Things were about to get busy.