Author's Note: I first posted this story about 6 weeks ago, and after Chapter 6 there is a noticeable difference in the story structure thanks to my Fantastic Beta reader. Thus, I am doing an edit on these earlier chapters to make them a little better for you guys, and hopefully encourage you to check out the rest of the story. It is my first fic, so the first few chapters are a little rough, but I promise you it gets exponentially better and is worth checking out.

Enjoy!

Chapter One

Shepard woke with a start, covered in cold sweat. Her heart was racing, her mind still bombarded with the images from the dream.

Memories flashed through her mind. Her mother, broken on the floor. Her father, riddled with bullets in the doorway. The ships leaving Mindoir, now a colony of corpses, full of the people who were taken as slaves. The face of the Alliance Soldier that had coaxed her out from where she sat, hidden in the wardrobe in her parent's room.

She walked to the washroom in the crew's quarters of the spaceship Normandy and splashed cold water on her face. She hated the tremor in her hands, and gripped the edge of the sink to stop the shaking.

She heaved a sigh and headed out into the Mess Hall to make a cup of tea. It was 3:00 am, and there would be no more sleep tonight.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was sitting at the table, a glass of something emitting powerful noxious fumes by his elbow. "Can't sleep Lieutenant?"

Shepard grimaced as she reached past him for the sugar and the smell hit her full in the face, he nodded his head at her, whiskey colored eyes flashing "Sorry Commander, it's for the migraines. Doc says it'll work better than pills."

He swigged the rest of the potion down, his distaste etched on his handsome face. He ran a hand through his wavy black hair and stood up. "Good Night Commander." He headed back to his bunk in the crew's quarters.

Shepard sat in the quiet and sipped at her tea. She had dreamed of Mindoir twice this week, and she knew that it was because of the atmosphere on the ship about their mission to Eden Prime.

There was something about this run that felt different, and she wasn't the only one who noticed. She was meeting with Captain Anderson in the morning for a briefing on how this would play out, and she was going to ask him to give her the full truth. The council didn't send a Spectre like Nihlus, especially a Turian Spectre along for a simple shake down run.

00oo00oo00

A Prothean Beacon. That is what was waiting for them on Eden Prime.

Shepard was still processing the immensity of this statement when Anderson told her that Nihlus was there to evaluate her as a Candidate for the Spectre's. Nihlus explained that they would be together for several missions, and that he needed to make sure her reputation after what happened on Elysium wasn't just Alliance hype. Anderson has just started speaking about how they would reach the Beacon when their pilot Jeff 'Joker' Moreau came across the intercom.

"Captain. We've got a problem."

A grainy image came up on screen. A broadcast from Eden Prime. The Vid showed Alliance soldiers under attack, they were falling all around the camera as they were taken out by unknown forces. They were taking heavy casualties. A ship, or what she though was a ship was descending upon them, and looked like some kind of giant insect.

The feed went dead. There was a pause as Shepard, Anderson and Nihlus looked at each other, their horror showing plainly on their faces.

Shepard reacted instantly, she knew a small strike team would have the best chance of getting to the beacon. She spun around and was already headed out of the room when Anderson said "Grab your gear, and meet us in the cargo hold!"

Waiting for the drop onto Eden Prime was tense. The Colony was where Jenkins was from, and Shepard was nervous about bringing him along. She knew all to well about being on your home turf when shit hits the fan. She checked both Jenkins and Alenko over, making sure their seals were tight and they were ready to go. With a tap, she motioned them to the hanger door to be ready for the drop.

Alenko's warm brown eyes met hers, and she saw in them the same concern about Jenkins that was in hers. She clicked on her private comm channel. "Watch him"

Alenko, Jenkins and Shepard worked well as a team as they silently made their way towards the dig sit in the distance. They skirted their way along a small grove of trees and Shepard paused, crouching.

There was a stretch of ground ahead of them that had minimal coverage. She hesitated. There was a prickling along the back of her neck, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Jenkins glanced at her, and before she could give him the O.K to proceed he skirted around Alenko and made for a large boulder across from them. He had barely cleared the trees when a pair of flying drones appeared and peppered him with shots.

Shepard and Alenko dove for cover and Jenkins crumpled the ground with a grunt. They took out the drones, and Alenko ran to Jenkins. "Ripped right through his shields, he didn't have a chance" He said. Shepard swore softly to herself and told Alenko that he would have a proper service once the mission was complete, but they had to stay focused and get to the beacon.

Goddamn stupid kid. Why hadn't he just waited for me to clear it first. Shepard shrugged off the guilt and pain. She still had a job to do, and another marine relying on her.

Alenko met her gaze, and she could see the shock in his face, but he was still in game mode, and nodded at her curtly to take point. He was good to go.

They went on in silence and before long heard shots fired ahead of them. They rounded a bend and saw a solitary Alliance marine pinned down by what appeared to be Geth fighters. Shepard and Kaidan had the element of surprise and took out the machine's quickly and efficiently. When Shepard questioned her the soldier revealed she was Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, and she was the sole survivor of her squad.

Shepard recognized her from the transmission Joker had shown them on the Normandy.

Williams's reports on the Geth were unsettling, as they hadn't been seen outside the veil in nearly 200 years. Shepard filed the information away to brief Anderson later.

Williams joined Shepard and Alenko as they continued towards the Beacon. The fought their way through more Geth, and discovered that Humans were being changed into horrifying zombie like creatures Shepard dubbed "husks". The Husks acted crazed and charged madly towards them with terrifying speed whenever they came across them. They reached a platform where trams could take supplies across the valley to the Beacon.

It was there Shepard saw Nihlus.

He lay face down among the crates. He had been shot in the back of the head. A dock worker came out from behind the crates and told them that another Turian, called Saren, had shot Nihlus.

Shit, this is bad. First the Geth and their horrible Husk creations, and now a dead Spectre. The Council was going to have to be told. She told the dock worker to hide, and they took the tram across to where the Beacon was waiting.

Shepard, Alenko and Williams cleared the Platform of hostiles and made their way down to the Beacon.

It was emitting a soft glow, and as Shepard turned away to radio Joker, she heard Williams telling Alenko that it hadn't been doing anything like that when it was dug up. Alenko was fascinated, and moved closer.

Shepard was talking to Williams when she saw Alenko go stiff, and begin to struggle as the Beacon pulled him towards it. She shoved Williams out of the way and ran to the lieutenant. She grabbed him and threw him with all her might past her, back toward Williams. Shepard was now the one trapped in the pull of the Beacon.

The pain seared through her as her body was pulled in what felt like every direction. She was rising into the air, and she could hear Williams and Kaidan shouting when the first image ripped into her mind. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged.

Flash! Buildings Burning. Flash! Bodies and red light everywhere. Flash! The disjointed images were still bombarding her mind when the Beacon exploded, and she was blasted backwards.

She saw Kaidans face above her, shouting something to her, but he was blurry and she couldn't hear him. He faded away, and then there was nothing but blackness and silence.