Author's note: Wow, it's been a while since I had the urge to write fanfiction and I guess I'm a little late on the Mass Effect bandwagon, but I couldn't get this story out of my head... so here it is. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One

A Box in Space

Her eyes fluttered open lazily as her consciousness returned painfully slow. Her blurred vision began to solidify, focusing on her dark, dull grey surroundings and the only sound she could hear was her own lethargic heartbeat. Above her, she saw a low metallic roof. It was low enough that she doubted she would have been able to stand if she had the strength to. She was propped up against a hard surface, her legs were cramped in the minimal space and her neck seared as she moved her head to either side. Metallic walls encased her. She tried to move, but her body felt as if it had been thrown into a blender. Every muscle ached and moving was a chore best left for another day, but her surroundings became of more interest the further she drifted back into reality. Her heart quickened as she realized the small space she was in had no windows or doors. It was as if she was sealed in a metal tomb. Her arms struggled to reach out and touch the walls. Maybe there was a hidden door panel or something? As her arms stretched to the right, something grazed her fingers. She lifted the flat object and held it in front of her face. It was a screen of blue protected by a metal frame. She had to dig deep to remember what it was called. A datapad. On the blue screen there was a message. Her eyes strained to make out the letters.

Your name is Ashlyn. Stay safe. Don't trust anyone.

That was all it said. No name to give a clue who it was from, no answers and no use. All it provided was a singular, dim source of light in the tomb. A deep exhale escaped her lips as she set the datapad back down. She felt at a complete and utter loss. She was too weak to panic, too lethargic to even consider that this tomb could be the last thing she ever saw. She knew she had to figure out a way to escape the metal tomb, but for now, fatigue was still plaguing her body and she decided to drift back to sleep, hoping that when she woke, she would have the strength to claw out.

Commander Shepard's fingers danced gracefully over the holographic terminal. He paused and focused on the screen, studying the war assets he'd collected over the past few months. It seemed to be a miracle and a sign of hope. The races were gathering together full force to stop the Reapers. He had to laugh at the phenomenon that was his most recent victory: getting the quarians and the geth to cooperate. At least until the Reapers were taken care of. It was difficult, but luckily knowing and helping Legion, a single geth unit, they were able to bring peace. Unfortunately, it meant the sacrifice of Legion, but he was more than willing to commit that sacrifice for the peace between the geth and their creators. Thinking of Legion felt like an additional weight on his heart, along with Mordin and Thane. He was losing too many friends to this war. He had to stop the Reapers, no matter what.

The Reapers were massive machines that appeared to purge the galaxy of all life. No one truly knew why, but it was something he wasn't going to stand for. They started with Earth, his home. When the destruction began, Admiral Anderson gave Shepard back his ship, the Normandy, since he knew Shepard could get the better use out of it. Since leaving Earth, Commander Shepard travelled the galaxy, playing politician and space explorer to gather support and assets to help with the war against the Reapers. If they were going to fight, they needed all the help they could get.

"Commander," Joker's voice suddenly rang over the war room.

"Yes?"

"I think you should come to the bridge, there's something you might want to see." The tone in his voice had a mix of concern and curiosity.

Shepard didn't hesitate to leave the war room and head straight to the cockpit. Comm Specialist Traynor glanced at him briefly as he passed the main control hub. She knew something too, which gave him more reason to quicken his pace. He entered the cockpit and met eyes with EDI. He was surprised for just a moment, still getting used to the ship's artificial intelligence being in a robotic body. The body was human-like, with breasts even, entirely made of metal. Her face was made of a certain alloy that allowed movement. She gave a welcoming smile as she looked at Shepard from behind her orange visor.

Shepard moved his eyes onto Joker. He was facing the pilot's terminal, as usual. "What's up?" Shepard asked.

"EDI was doing some scans in this system," he began without turning around, "and we found something a little strange." His fingers moved over the holographic screens and he brought up an enlarged view of their recent scan. A small, square object was floating aimlessly within their near space.

Shepard's brow furrowed as he clasped his hands behind his back. "So? What is it?" He asked impatiently.

Joker turned the chair around to face him. Shepard rarely ever pictured Joker out of the chair and without his trademark ball cap. Joker had a bone deficiency disease, but Shepard had often teased him about it only being an excuse for Joker to sit around and fly ships all day. He did admire Joker though. He was very loyal to the Normandy and Joker was the best large craft pilot he'd ever known.

Joker's eyebrows were raised with interest as he spoke. "There's something alive in there."

Shepard's eyes went to screen, then back to Joker, then to EDI.

"There are faint signs of life within the object." She stated. "It could be some sort of pod."

Shepard tightened his jaw. He hated making tough calls. Whatever was in the thing could be a trap, or worse. On the other hand, it could be something useful or something in need of help. He wasn't the type of person to waste life if he could help it, especially with the Reaper threat, so his decision was made. "Get Cortez in the Kodiak. Have him bring it in."

"Yes Commander." Joker turned back to his terminal and began relaying the orders.

Garrus Vakarian had always enjoyed his time on the Normandy. Though he missed his home planet, Palaven, and was worried sick over his family, he'd made good friends aboard the Normandy. He'd made partners with whom he trusted with his life. Above them all was Commander Shepard, his brother in arms. Though he was human, a part of Garrus admired Shepard. He was a fierce warrior and a compassionate person. Shepard seemed to care for every species that he came across, including Garrus's, the turians. He'd already pledged his loyalty to Shepard on many occasions and followed him into countless battles without hesitation. From their battle with Saren, to Shepard's untimely death and miraculous return and even when Garrus asked Shepard to help him seek out Sidonis, the turian who betrayed him and got his entire squad killed, Shepard was there. They seemed to depend on each other and knew Shepard would gladly take a bullet for him, as he would for Shepard.

Garrus's mandibles fluttered over the sound of the door hissing open. He turned to see Shepard. "Here to chat or is something up?" Garrus asked, knowing they weren't about to start any missions.

"EDI found something when she scanned this system." He explained. "Apparently, this object has traces of life in it and EDI seems to think it might be some sort of pod. I want you down at the shuttle bay armed and ready. Once the bay is sealed up again, if things go bad, I wanted you aimed."

"You got it." Garrus replied with a nod and moved to the weapons table where his trusty sniper rifle was ready to be loaded.

Shepard told EDI and Tali, the quarian, to also meet in the shuttle bay once the airlock was closed. James Vega was usually already down there, somehow putting on more muscle, so Shepard asked that his guns be ready as well. EDI and Tali were their best tech experts, so they would be the two to find out what the thing was.

As Shepard tucked his pistol into its holster at his hip, he was met by Tali in the elevator.

"Going down I suppose?" She joked lightly. Her heavily accented voice was muffled and slightly altered by the helmet she wore at all times. Her people had very weak immune systems, causing their entire race to wear the helmets and exosuits. They hid most of her face and body. Her glowing eyes and the tip of her nose were sometimes visible through the faceplate. Over the helmet, she wore a beautifully embroidered hood. Quarians were similar to humans in some ways. Her lean body could've been compared to a human's, except her legs were bent like a turian's and he had three fingers on each hand and two toes on her feet. Tali was a quirky addition to his team and she was also very intelligent.

Shepard chuckled lightly at her joke as they both headed down to the shuttle bay. When the elevator doors opened once again, Garrus, EDI and James were waiting for Shepard's arrival. The airlock had closed and Lieutenant Cortez was just pulling the Kodiak in, the square object in tow. It was a quarter of the size of the Kodiak and was all metal.

They all watched in interest as the Kodiak docked and then they all followed Shepard further into the shuttle bay. Cortez stepped out of the shuttle and gave Shepard a salute.

"At ease." Shepard told the man of Hispanic descent. "Well, what is it?"

"No clue, sir." Cortez admitted honestly. "It seems to be a simple design, kind of looks like a storage compartment."

"Alright, EDI, Tali, come see what you can find." Shepard commanded.

Both of them stepped closer and began running scans over the object with their omni-tools.

"This looks as if it could've been jettisoned from a ship." EDI pointed out.

"But there are no ship markings." Tali commented as she crouched down, continuing her scanning towards the bottom.

Shepard rubbed his chin. "An unmarked ship maybe?"

EDI turned to Shepard. "That could be possible, illegal, but possible."

"I found something!" Tali exclaimed, causing a stir in every one within the shuttle bay.

Shepard crouched down next to her. "There is a very small port here." She pointed to a small panel that slid open revealing the single port. It was an unusual thing these days to still have to hardwire something.

"It seems like whoever made this didn't want just anyone cracking it open." Shepard stated. "EDI, can you jack in?"

EDI nodded and crouched down as well. Tali stood to give room. EDI pulled a wire from her wrist and plugged it into the port. Her omni-tool lit up and she fiddled with the controls.

Suddenly, a loud hiss came from the pod as it pressurized. On the top, a hatch slid open.

Garrus watched impatiently as Shepard, EDI and Tali all wracked their brains to get the pod open. It wasn't until Tali announced that she found something when Garrus placed his eye over his scope. He could see what was happening as if it was up close and personal. EDI and Tali stepped back as the hatch opened. Shepard moved some crates up against it and climbed up so he could look inside. Garrus watched intently as Shepard's eyes widened at whatever was inside. Once he knew there was no danger, he abandoned his spot and trotted towards Shepard and the pod.

Shepard didn't know what to expect when the pod opened, but he surely did not expect a young woman to be crumpled at the bottom. She was bruised and looked like a skeleton. He couldn't imagine how long she'd been in there, but EDI still detected life. She was still alive somehow.

"Get Doctor Chakwas!" He shouted and EDI lit up her omni-tool to contact the doctor.

He had to get her out of there. He looked up and spotted Garrus approaching. "Garrus, help me."

Garrus nodded, placed his rifle on his back and climbed up the crates. A small gasp escaped him and his mandibles fell slack as his eyes came upon the girl. She was human and she was near death. Her dark hair was sprawled around her head in tangles. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were sunken. She was in a black body suit, but it was loose on her, as if her body was deteriorating. He spotted bruises on her face and neck and he noted there were probably more hidden underneath her clothes.

Garrus briefly turned to Shepard. "She doesn't look good." It was more of a statement than a question since he'd been around humans long enough to know they weren't supposed to look like this.

"No, she doesn't."

They both simultaneously reached in. Shepard grabbed her ankles, Garrus grabbed her wrists. They lifted her out slowly and once she passed the threshold, Shepard demanded that Garrus take her. Garrus was taken back a bit, but he adjusted his hold on her so she was in his arms like a child. His arm hooked under her thin legs and the other arm cradled her neck. She weighed next to nothing and felt like a fragile twig against his armor. Shepard climbed down and lit up his omni-tool.

"Doctor!" He urgently called into it.

"I'm coming off the elevator now." Doctor Chakwas stated in her British accent.

Garrus hopped down the crates carefully, holding the girl tight against him. As his feet touched the floor, he looked down at her face. His breath hitched when he saw her eyes roll open. Brilliant green orbs peered up at him, exhausted and expressionless. He was about to call to Shepard, but Doctor Chakwas had arrived and the girl's eyes fell closed again.

To be continued...

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