Hey folks! Thanks for visiting. This is the SECOND part of my planned ME prequel trilogy, the first part being Fear of the Unknown. If you've already read that, thanks for liking it enough to stick with me this long! If not, I'd suggest going back and reading it if you enjoy this chapter, because the spoilers are gonna start rolling in pretty quickly.

As always, any constructive feedback is HUGELY appreciated. In the grand scheme of things I'm still pretty new to this, so I'm relying on all you folks with a bigger brain than me to help me improve, so I can write better stuff that you'll enjoy more. Help me to help you and all that :)

So a couple of things... most of the characters in this will be OCs, albeit in a more familiar setting than FOTU. I wouldn't go so far as to describe it as AU but we will be sailing pretty wide of canon. Also, the plan I've drawn up for this whole piece of the trilogy is split into two parts, and the second part is heavily influenced by the album "The Unforgiving" by Within Temptation. So expect to see numerous references to their work throughout the story. And go listen to the album as well, because it's freaking awesome.

Anyway, on with the show! Hope you enjoy :)

April 12th, 2170 CE

Alliance Colony of Mindoir, Attican Traverse

The drums, the drums, the drums, the never-ending drum-beat…

Only the steady rhythm of boots slamming against the pavement at running speed was constant, alongside the burning crackle of the sky on fire that she could barely even hear anymore.

Every now and then, the wind would carry sounds that could only be described as unholy. Gunshots. Monstrous laughter. Bloodcurdling screams as they found another victim to either decimate or subjugate. The former, if they were lucky. And only then if it was miraculously fast.

She shuddered at the thought, though not allowing it to break her gait. A tear began to sting at her eye, which she dismissed with a wipe of her hand and a clenching of her jaw.

Not now. I have to stay alive. I can mourn later.

She saw it as her duty to stay alive now – her father's dying order. Though they'd had their disagreements, the look in his eyes as they parted told her all she needed to know about his last request; it was the one promise that she absolutely could not break. Whatever happened, she was to escape the hell that had descended on her home, by whatever means necessary.

By whatever means necessary…

Something suddenly occurred to her that tied a knot in her stomach – if she had to kill to escape, so be it. There could be no argument. She had to show the same mercilessness that the invaders were forcing upon everything she'd ever known. Her pupils dilated as the thought circled her muddled mind.

I know I've practised a lot… but enough to kill? Could I really look a man in the eye and murder him there and then without a moment's hesitation?

The train of thought was immediately interrupted by the loud crack of a pistol shot thumping into the wall just to her right, and she instinctively ducked as she ran, letting out a short yelp of surprise. Inwardly, she chided herself for lack of focus, cursing as she reminded herself that she would not be safe until the colony was far behind her. Though her body was almost working autonomously by now, she felt herself quickening her pace in response to the alien gurgling she heard from the direction of the shot.

A chill flew down her spine at the noise. Her translator didn't work from this distance, but she could guess at what they were saying, and she knew she had to find a hiding place, fast.

Scanning the street around her, she suddenly realised she had no idea where she was.

Great, that helps.

She heard another loud crack as the pistol fired again, but it was further away this time, impacting the wall some distance above her. It was obviously a shot fired under stress with barely any time to aim, but she allowed herself a small smile as she realised what it meant – she was outrunning it. Her breathing relaxed for a second, and just then, her eye was caught by something on her left – a supermarket across the street from her, around 100 metres ahead.

Perfect!

Silently thanking her pursuers for their lousy aim, she changed her direction to head for the store. It was fairly small compared to the Earth supermarkets she had vague memories of as a child, but it was big enough to hide herself in.

She scanned the glass wall of the store as she crossed the street toward it, noticing a distinct absence of a door. As she realised it must be around the corner, another crack of the pistol split the air, and she felt a slight whoosh of the air not two feet from the side of her head as the bullet whizzed past her, and her heart leapt in her chest.

Fuck this, no time to get to the door…

Bracing herself as she stepped back onto the pavement, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and clenched her jaw as she launched herself shoulder-first at the window, praying that her taller-than-average frame would be strong enough to propel her through without the aid of her biotics.

Time seemed to slow down as her feet left the ground. And for once, the sound of breaking glass came as welcome relief, and she immediately relaxed herself as she hit the ground and broke into a roll, the conditioning drilled into her taking over her body. As soon as she stopped, she looked up, put her weight onto her arms to push herself up, and smiled as she blew her hair out of her face.

Just as Balbazak said… who knew there was a way to fall over properly?

Wait, Balbazak…!

The image of her mentor suddenly flashed through her mind, and straight away, she found herself wanting nothing more than to hear his gruff voice nearby, to know that she wasn't alone in her escape.

Is he safe? Does he even know what's happening…? Surely he must… he'll probably be on his way by now.

She pushed herself back onto her feet, turning her mind back to the situation at hand – finding somewhere to hide. Thankfully, the steady orange glow of the fires raging through the colony provided enough light to find her away around.

Need to find somewhere close-quarters…

A single overriding thought dominated her mind as she ran towards the back of the store.

"If you must become surrounded, ensure as many sides as possible are walls. You are most powerful when cornered."

The thought ran around and around her mind as her eyes darted from wall to wall, searching for the doors to the storage area as she gradually got used to the glow from the flames outside, and her eyes lit up as she eventually caught sight of a set of double doors 50 metres or so to her left. As she broke into a slow run towards them, it occurred to her that her pursuers had most likely followed her into the store by now.

That's a point… I need them to follow me…

As she thought for a second, evaluating her options, she heard the distant wail of a young girl's scream carried on the air, and a chill ran down her spine. It was very high-pitched, unmistakably that of one no older than 10 years, and she clenched her jaw involuntarily as a thousand possibilities of the fate she had just suffered flashed through her mind, and she couldn't but let out a low growl. For a brief second she considered going to the girl's aid, but she knew deep down that by doing that, she would be putting herself in danger that she might not be able to handle.

No. This isn't the time to bite off more than I can chew. Whoever you are, I'm sorry, but I can't help you.

Once again, tears began to sting her eyes, as she stormed through the doors ahead of her, deliberately slamming them as hard as she could to attract the attention of the predators tracking her. But these were not just tears of sadness anymore. They were becoming the tears of a rage that she was struggling to keep under control, and her tightly clenched fists began to quiver.

As she stomped through the storage area, she bathed her hand in a biotic blue flame and held it in front of her by way of providing a small amount of light, and looking for the large, heavy door that she knew would indicate her ideal hiding place, she couldn't help feeling erred by the sudden silence but for her own footsteps. She had always enjoyed the relative calm of the only home she truly remembered, but the events of the day had transformed it into a hive of atrocity. The steady crackle of flames, occasionally interrupted by gunfire and screams had quickly imprinted themselves on her to the point that she'd forgotten what complete silence sounded like.

Almost immediately, she found the energy draining from her, and she wanted nothing more than to find a quiet, unreachable corner to curl up in and go to sleep. As tempting as it was, she knew she couldn't. But she allowed a small part of her to look ahead to a time when she could. She knew not how far in the future that would be – if she was lucky, it would be only a few hours.

Turning a corner to find herself in a long, narrow hallway, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang as the doors behind her were beaten open once again, and she involuntarily whipped her head round towards the source of the noise, her heart skipping a beat.

Shit! How did they catch up so fast?

Her stomach tied itself in a knot as she realised they probably would've seen the biotic glow from her hand casting itself on the wall, and without even thinking, she immediately broke into a sprint down the long hallway. Though she quickly began cursing at the loud thumping of her steps, she knew deep down that they were exactly what she wanted. These footsteps were the sound of the prey preparing to become the predator.

However, her loud running couldn't mask the jubilant alien gurgling behind her, no more than 150 metres away now and running themselves, albeit much slower than her, weighed down by their armour. The sound of durasteel boots hitting hard stone floor was unmistakable. And it meant only one thing – this was no random attack. It had been meticulously planned and, by all the evidence so far, executed to perfection.

She had no idea what these aliens were. She didn't recognise the ships at all, so she knew they definitely weren't one of the Council races she'd read so much about in Galactic History class, the only part of school she'd really been interested in, and she had yet to get a clear look at any of their faces. But right now, she didn't particularly care. All that was on her mind was luring them into her trap.

Her eye was suddenly caught by a huge door on the right side of the hallway, only a few seconds running away from her.

Perfect!

Without stopping, she grabbed the handle on the side of the door and pulled it open, slipping inside and loudly closing it behind her to ensure the aliens knew where she'd hidden herself. But this time, she found herself in complete blackness, and it took her a moment's consideration and a further moment's hesitation before she concentrated her effort and, with a deep breath, her entire body began to tingle as she summoned a biotic blue around herself, lighting the entire room in a deep blue glow. Snapping her eyes back open, she scanned the room, taking note of the scattered boxes and metal rolling cages. She quickly caught sight of a stack of boxes just to the right of the door, effectively blocking the corner from view of most of the room, and she allowed herself a small smile as she extinguished the glow, scampering towards the corner, immediately shrinking into it as much as she possibly could to make herself as small as possible.

As she made an effort to slow her breathing, she realised this was the first time she'd stopped moving in hours. Her previous tiredness began to wash over her again, the darkness and silence of the room providing a strange feeling of comfort, and she found herself closing her eyes and relaxing. For a small, precious period of time, she almost felt weightless, as if she didn't have a care in the world, and a contented smile began to spread across her face.

And then the banging started.

Her eyes immediately snapped open, the feeling of the past few seconds immediately becoming a distant memory. Her fists tightened again as she heard the muffled alien gurgling through the walls alongside a steady, rhythmic banging on the door as they tried to force it open.

Fucking idiots. The handle's right there!

No sooner than she had the thought, she heard the distinctive sound of the handle being pulled and the door sliding along its track, and immediately the speech became much clearer, as well as what she assumed was a laugh. Bizarrely, her translator began attempting to deliver their speech to her, and she realised that they were right on the edge of its range as they stepped into the room. Against her better judgement, she shuffled along the floor slightly to get a few inches closer and sure enough, she began to hear English, but in an alien tone that made her blood boil.

"…in here somewhere. Has to be."

"Well, find the little rat! We've already been here too long!"

"We're not gonna find anything without any fucking light…"

With that, one of them raised his arm, and the unmistakable orange glow of an omni-tool materialised around it. After a few seconds tapping, the alien's hand became a flashlight, illuminating the room. Curiosity getting the better of her in her hiding place, she peered out just slightly from behind her boxes, getting enough of a look to confirm what she suspected.

Batarians.

It was impossible to get the look wrong – the humanoid shape betrayed by the bulbous brown head. Everything she'd ever read of them painted them as terrorists. She'd seen extranet rumours of attacks on scattered human colonies by batarian pirates, where they never left any survivors. Her mind flashed back to a conversation she'd heard her father having, arguing with a colleague about the colony's lack of defence against the growing threat. Now, it seemed, his fears had been vindicated, at the cost of his life.

"Just be careful. You saw that glow. She's definitely a biotic."

"So what? She's a little kid. Humans need implants to use biotics, there's no way she'll have one."

Hidden in her corner, the girl smiled wickedly as she began to flex her hands, tiny blue sparks flickering around them within a few seconds.

Oh, how wrong you are…

She heard footsteps moving away from her, towards the opposite side of the room, and she heard the noise of boxes began thrown around as the two batarians began scouring the room for her hiding place.

"Come out, little girl! Promise we won't bite!"

The other chuckled slightly, a deep, throaty laugh that sent a wave of rage across her body as she began to shift into a kneeling position. Looking over the top of the boxes concealing her, she could see that sure enough, both the invaders had their backs to her. Her smile evaporated as she clenched her jaw, concentrating all her anger into an odd calm as she remembered her lessons from Balbazak.

"True focus lies between rage and serenity. Master this, and you will never be afraid."

Taking deep breaths as she slowly stood up, she allowed her mind to bubble over with hatred as she kept her body relaxed.

You people killed my mother and father today. I cannot allow you to live.

Her entire body began to prickle with a ferocious tingling unlike anything she had felt before, intensifying as she took slow, quiet steps out of her hiding place, towards the two batarians. She felt an extraordinary sense of awareness as she realised that once again, her entire body had become alight with a biotic blue aura. With every step she took, every deep breath to maintain her body's calm, the tingling began to centre on her hands, and as she entered the open room once again, her arms raised towards the aliens, almost involuntarily.

One of them straightened himself and seemed to notice the blue glow casting itself on the wall in front of him, and he quickly turned around, letting out a startled shout to alert his comrade to the presence of the azure demon ten feet behind them. That very second, both were lifted off their feet, immediately paralysed and powerless. They made no noise, but the fear in their eyes was obvious. She simply stood for a few seconds, taking in their expressions, basking in the knowledge that they both knew they were doomed, before she quickly separated her arms and the two bodies flew headfirst into the walls of the room, impacting with two simultaneous, sickening thuds.

Straight away, she released her breath, and the last thing she saw before the biotic glow subsided was the two lifeless bodies sliding down the walls, hitting the ground with a loud thump and leaving trails of blood in their wake. As the room returned to blackness, she fell to her hands and knees, taking in what had just happened as the adrenalin pumping through her began to fade.

Fuck it. They deserved it. They weren't men. They were monsters.

Slowly, she dragged herself back onto her feet, her energy draining by the second as she turned and began to walk back to the door. The hallway that she had run down in a matter of seconds before now seemed to be neverending as she trudged along it, a tornado of emotion swirling around her mind. At once, she felt both proud of herself for not shying away from killing where she had to, before she immediately regretted the feeling of showing such ruthlessness.

I still need to escape… I can't be far away now. I need to find Balbazak. He's the only one who can get me away from here.

As she passed back through the doors to leave the warehouse and once again enter the store itself, she took a moment to gather her strength, quickly breaking into a jog soon afterwards. She knew full well that if she simply continued in the direction she was heading before, she would certainly get out of the colony eventually.

As soon as she realised that, a searing pain tore straight through her head, and all she could see was a brilliant white, as if a flare had been set off in her brain. Her legs immediately gave out from beneath her and she collapsed to the ground, unable to suppress a pained scream at the sudden agony.

NO! Not now!

The painful light subsided for a second and she could feel her brain tingling. Summoning all her strength, she pushed herself up by her arms and tried to get back on her feet, but to no avail as another wave of pain ripped across her being, and she fell back to the ground.

She closed her eyes as tightly as she could, but it didn't help. All she could see was white, as though a spotlight were shining directly into her face at point blank range. As she lay, unable to move, she heard a noise that made her blood run cold.

Footsteps…

It was unmistakable, even in the state she was in. Durasteel against stone. Another batarian.

I was so close…

It took all of her strength to push herself back up onto her arms, and she did, she saw two dark grey boots in front of her. The alien lowered himself into a crouch as she strained to raise her head to meet his gaze, and for a couple of seconds, she stared into four black, unblinking, unfeeling eyes that made her feel nothing but pure terror, until he slammed the butt of his rifle into her forehead.