Chapter 1

Eden Prime

I quickly crouched down to cover before I got shot: getting a suit rupture was not the best thing to do at the moment. Taking a deep breath, I peeked out from behind the crate to assess my surroundings.

A group of four synthetics, otherwise known as Geth, was shooting at my cover point. Three of them were using basic assault rifle while the last one, who was a little ways back behind the others, was holding a sniper, obviously peering through the scope with the intent of shooting me as soon as it could. I snapped my head back behind cover before hearing the sound of the sniper shot resonate through the air.

I knew I had to take them out quickly. Thankfully, I thought with a smirk, I'm not a bad shot. I clasped my pistol to my waist and pulled out my faithful sniper rifle. Custom made, four rounds in the chamber, great for headshots, it had never let me down yet. Once again taking a deep breath, I quickly aimed above my cover, aiming for the synthetic sniper that had almost killed me before. As soon as I pulled the trigger, it's "head", so to speak, exploded, tainting the ground with the blue fluid that normally coursed through its body. Its headless corpse slumped to the floor and powered down.

I didn't have much time to savor my victory, however, as the other three Geth were still inbound. After magnetically snapping my rifle to my back, I pull out my pistol again, much better suited for closer combat. The synthetics were about twenty yards away and closing. They had to get closer for their assault rifles to actually hit me, yet my heart was still pounding. Relax, Dom…It's easier than it seems. It's always easier. Talking to myself always calms me down.

Now…just remember to aim.

The young quarian stood in awe in front of his father. They were in the main shooting range of the Rayya, usually filled with marines training or rowdy teenagers blowing off some steam before they left the ship for their Pilgrimage. However, that day in particular they were alone, just the two of them.

The older quarian, smirking under his facemask, lowered his still smoking sniper rifle.

"Would you look at that? Bullseye!" he chuckled, before turning towards his son. "Looks like it's your turn to wash the induction ports tonight, Dom!"

"Hey!" Dom replied, faking indignation, "That wasn't the agreement! I thought you were going to teach me how to shoot. I only made that bet to lure you down here…"

"Well, I just taught you how. See what I did? Well, that's how you shoot!"

There was a moment of silence where neither boy nor father said anything. However, in that moment of silence, you could almost hear the older quarian weighing the pros and cons of teaching his ten-year-old son to shoot a gun. Finally, the father sighed.

"I mean, I guess a little hands-on experience never hurt anyone. But not with my sniper." He patted the gun at his side. "It's too advanced for now. Let's just start with a pistol."

Unclasping the one at his side, he gave it to the young boy. Dom took it carefully, wanting to show his father that he was taking this seriously. He never pointed it at anyone and kept his fingers as far away from the trigger as possible. He wanted this chance and knew what to do to see it through.

"Alright," His father started saying as he stepped to the side, revealing the decommissioned synthetic they used as target practice, "Just step up to the stand and point it at the target. I'll correct you."

Dom obliged, stepping closer to the target. Grasping the pistol tightly, he held it up to his facemask.

"Where should I aim?" he asked.

"The head. Aim for the head. It's harder to hit, but if your aim's good, it goes down fast."

Dom gulped, and turned his attention back to the target. As he pointed the gun at the former synthetic's head, he felt a strong three-fingered hand on his forearms.

"Bend your arms a little more. Don't put it too close to your face: the recoil will break your mask. Always take into account the recoil…"

His father finished adjusting his stance and stepped back.

"Alright. Now, there are three steps to shoot. Line up your shot…"

The small quarian made sure his hands stopped quivering. Aiming down the sights, he saw that the bullet would go right through the deactivated Geth's "headlight" as soon as he pulled the trigger.

"…take a deep breath…"

Dom gulped, but still managed to suck in enough air before expelling it, slowly and calmly.

"…and just pull the trigger and Fire."

The Geth went down easily. It's amazing how, even with how advanced their tech has gotten, it only takes a few pistol hits to obliterate their central core.

I just as easily took care of the closest one. In hindsight, I should have taken care of that one first, but I needed the challenge. After the second one went down, I vaulted out of cover, aiming at the final Geth-

Who was already on the ground, filled with holes. Bullet holes.

Before I had a chance to react, I felt myself getting lift up into the air. I let out a yelp of surprise as my pistol fell on the ground and I started levitating, surrounded by a blue glowing aura. That could only mean one thing…

"Well, look at this. If it isn't the suit-rat!"

…well, It could have only meant one thing, but this wasn't what I expected.

Two humans came from the path leading away from the dig site: a biotic, who was the one holding me upside down at the moment, and a soldier, who's gun was pointed right at me, following my every move (which wasn't a lot, since I was currently immobile in mid-air). It was the latter who had spoken, hatred dripping from her every word, while the biotic stayed stoic, holding out his blue, glowing hand to keep me from falling.

Of course, I recognized the woman. Ashley Williams, an infamous soldier around the dig site. Most people avoided her for strange, military related reasons that I didn't bother to ask. I, however, avoided her because of the fact that I was an "alien", a quarian to be precise, and she did not like aliens. At all.

"Look, Ash…I kn-", I started explaining myself, but she cut me off.

"You don't call me Ash, quarian! Only my friends can call me that!"

Ouch, she was mad. I guessed I should probably explain myself quickly, before a bullet passed through someone's skull.

"Fine… Ashley…I know what conclusion your misguided, xenophobic mind came up with during this attack, but I have absolutely nothing to do with this!"

"Bullshit"

I sighed: it won't be easy convincing her that I was innocent. Instead, I decided to talk to the man currently holding me captive several feet off the ground. If he can't listen to reason, I'm screwed.

"Look…" I started saying weighing my words carefully. "I don't know what gunnery chief Williams over there has told you about me, but I'm not the one to blame, okay."

I smirked, seeing the look on the biotic's face. Curiosity! The best way to get on a human's good side!

"You know… I've been helping out on the dig site for a while now…and I haven't seen you before. What are you doing here?" What? Curiosity isn't just a human thing.

The biotic considered my words for a second before gently putting me down. Ashley was still pointing her gun at me, but didn't do anything as I picked up my pistol and clasped it to my waist. I turned to face the other human, whose hand was still on his assault rifle. However, as he answered my previous question, he kept it pointed somewhere else, as a sign of peace.

"I'm Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, Alliance military." He had a formal tone that didn't really match up with his voice. His voice sounded like someone who could easily sit back and enjoy a beer instead of working, yet both his tone and posture showed that he was a no-nonsense military man, always ready to get the job done. "I was sent down here from the Normandy to secure the Prothean beacon that was found here a while back."

Hang on… there's something bothering me here…"Wait, so they just sent you down here alone? Usually a successful ground team should have at least three people, right?"

I knew I had made a social faux-pas when he cast his eyes downwards. I remembered where we were: a battlefield. The landscape was burning, human bodies were everywhere, including impaled horrifically on those spikes.

"I was…sent down here with two others, along with a Turian Spectre" he started to say, a slight croak infecting his stoic voice. "We weren't expecting Geth down here, so we didn't really come as prepared as we should have. The Spectre went off on his own, leaving me with two of the Normandy's crew members…one of them being my commanding officer, Commander Shepard…"

He took a deep breath. I could tell that he was trying to keep his emotions in check, being a soldier and all, but it seemed like even the memory of what happened physically hurt him.

"The other soldier, Jenkins, was the first to go. We ran into a few Geth drones right next to the LZ. They…tore through his shields in a matter of seconds. He never stood a chance…"

He trailed off and hung his head slightly. Ashley took that as a queue to continue with the story.

"They ran into me in the middle of a giant firefight. My entire squad was already wiped out, so I didn't even dare to leave my cover. Suddenly, these biotic attacks just come out of nowhere and start decimating the 'bots. With the extra help, I managed to find higher ground, but…"

She, too, trailed off, haunted by the same memories that afflicted Kaiden. She even slightly lowered her rifle, still pointed at me.

"A…Geth Prime, one of those big ones, came out of nowhere with this laser gun and nailed Shepard right in the back….Her shields were fried almost instantly…"

"And all we could do was watch her go down…"

I could tell that Kaiden was, underneath his stoic, military façade, disturbed by the losses he had witnessed on the colony. Keelah, I never was good in a serious situation like this. I mostly preferred being the jokester, getting into trouble and having a laugh about it afterwards.

That didn't mean that I wasn't going to try to comfort him…in the only way you can truly comfort a soldier. "Well, Kaiden, I guess you know what to do…"

Smirking at the quizzical look on both his and Ashley's faces, I took my sniper rifle from my back and posed heroically, just like those human action vids Powell had shown me.

"How about I help you finish what they started?"

…

"Absolutely not!"

It wasn't Ashley who said this, though. It was Kaiden. He was now holding on to his rifle in the same way Ashley was, a frown on his face. I opened my mouth to protest, but he beat me to the punch.

"You're a civilian, you're young and you've probably got no military training whatsoever. You can't be a burden to the mission. You're staying here and getting to the evacuation shuttles when they get here, got it?"

Huh, "no military training"…shows what he knows…

"I've survived up until now; I can take care of myself.", I retorted, clutching my sniper rifle. "Plus, I know my way around the colony, considering how long I've been here. You guys need more firepower, anyways! You can't fight off a Geth army with just two people!"

Ashley decided to step in at this point

"Look, he said no! You're staying here, got it? We don't know how you fight. We don't even know if you know how to shoot!"

I was about to fire back, when a crackling sound behind me caught my attention, making me whip around to see what it was. Two giant spikes, radiating a strange blue energy, were retracting back into their base. Impaled on the Spikes were two humanoid figures, radiating with the same light as the spikes.

Suddenly, blue electricity burst from the corpses' chests. The husks convulsed erratically for a few seconds, before hopping off the spikes and, with a snarl, running in our direction, arm stretched out, ready to latch on to the first life form they laid their hands on.

I glanced back at the two humans, who seemed to be in a state of shock. Of course, they were soldiers, but they weren't without emotions or morals and I guessed that shooting their former comrades' dead bodies fell on the other side of their moral line. Turning back to face the husks, I dropped my rifle and unclasped my pistol once more. I fired right at the first husk's head, incapacitating it instantly. The second one, however, was already way too close for comfort. It was only a few feet away from me when it starting glowing brightly, the same color that had been abundant since the beginning of our encounter. Before it could react, however, I quickly smashed in its head with the butt of my pistol, watching it slump down on the ground and not get up again.

I took a deep breath and put away my pistol. I picked up my sniper rifle and brushed some extra dirt off of it before turning towards Ashley and Kaiden, who hadn't done anything during my fight with the husks. Ashley's gun was still pointed in my direction, but her face showed the shock she was experiencing after witnessing my skill. Kaiden, on the other hand, started chuckling after the shock had worn off, showing a rare bit of emotion. I couldn't help but give them a little smile as well.

"Come on," I said, beckoning them to follow me. "The Beacon was taken to the Starport down that way." I paused for a second. "I was going over there to check on a friend, anyways, so we'll still be going in the same direction."

I started walking towards the Spaceport, Kaiden and Ashley behind me, guns at the ready. Under my helmet, I smirked once more. Even if I don't get anything from this, I thought to myself, at least I'll have an interesting story to tell when I get back to the flotilla.

I frowned. I still wonder why the Geth are attacking a human colony. They usually don't go beyond the Perseus veil, at least not in groups of this size.

I looked back at my companions worryingly. Could it be that beacon the humans dug up? What would the Geth want with a dead protean artifact?

We kept on walking through the now dead wasteland that was once a beautiful flourishing colony. I remember when I had first set foot on Eden Prime, a month or two ago, I thought it was paradise. Even though humanity had defaced it in some areas, the gorgeous alien vegetation had taken my breath away. Now, however, the landscape was in flames. We kept on passing dead corpses, both husked and not. I averted my eyes every single time, as if not acknowledging them would make them go away. I kept glancing at the two soldiers behind me. They seemed calm enough, given the circumstances, yet I could still see that they were as disturbed about the bodies as I was.

Looks like I'm not the only one with a mask. I thought with a smile.

Suddenly, a single lone gunshot tore me away from my thoughts, making me flinch. I looked back at my temporary teammates, giving them a sign that I had also heard it.

"What do you guys think that was?" I asked.

"Well, obviously it was a gunshot, genius!" Ashley quickly quipped, before casting her eyes down in thought. "However, telling from who it comes from, enemy or survivor, is the real question…"

"If it were a survivor, we probably would have heard more gunshots…", rationalized Kaiden, before turning towards me. "It came from the same direction we're headed. Is the Spaceport far?"

"No, just a few hundred meters." I replied, seeing what Kaiden was insinuating.

"In that case, I think we should go and investigate the gunshot as well. We could find either vital information or an extra ally…"

"Or both" I nodded, before motioning the others to keep on going. As they kept on following me, I noticed that they hadn't stopped me from telling them when to follow me or not. Maybe they're just used to following orders, since they're soldiers.

After a bit more walking, we came across the Spaceport. A few Geth were patrolling between the crates. Some others were checking husks impaled on more of those large spikes. I made a quick motion for Ashley and Kaiden to stop, before I faced them in order to strategize.

"Okay, there's a group of about eight Geth guarding the Spaceport, as well as two or three Husks. What do you guys propose we do?"

Kaiden thought for a bit, glancing several times at the future battlefield, before answering. "I think that if two of us can sneak to those crates over there, we can use those positions to easily massacre the enemy…"He paused… "The real problem, though, will be the Husks…"

I looked back at the Spaceport, examining the two positions Kaiden had pointed out. They were each on opposite sides of the port, with the Gath forces in the middle. One of them was up against a wall, but the other was right next to two of the spikes, who would surely unleash the Husks as soon as someone got near them….Unless…

"Hang on a minute!" Ashley interjected, "We still have to figure out how we can get to cover without getting shot at. Even if we try to sprint there, the Geth will notice us and shoot at us as soon as we're out in the open."

Even if I didn't always agree with her, she was right. If anyone tried to run for it, the Geth would easily obliterate them…unless…

Suddenly, it clicked. "Guys!" I exclaimed, grabbing their attention. "I've got it! One of us can stay up here and distract the Geth, while the other two get to the cover positions."

I smiled as Kaiden furrowed his brow and Ashley put a finger to her chin, thinking over my proposition. I decided that elaboration would be best.

"Trust me: I know quite a bit about their programming. They'll always focus on the immediate threat. That means that if someone's shooting at them from up here, they'll be focused on the shooter and not notice if two people sneak up on either side until it's too late!"

"Yeah…" Ashley admitted, "It could help that we have the element of surprise."

"What should we do about the Husks then?" Kaiden asked.

"Simple." I answered, trying not to sound too smug. "After the two shooters have drawn the Geth's attention, the distraction can concentrate on the Husks. After all, that person will no longer be the immediate threat."

I glanced between the two of them, trying to decipher their reactions. Kaiden was leaning over, stealing a couple of glances at the enemies while he thought. Ashley was counting something on her fingers, muttering the plan back to herself. Finally, they both turned back towards me.

"It seems like that's the best option." Kaiden said.

"Yeah…now we just need to decide who takes what role…"

Ashley raised a good point. I looked at the other's weapons. Kaiden had an assault rifle and a pistol, while Ashley had the same, as well as a shotgun. I looked back at the sniper rifle slung over my back and decided to voice my opinion.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think that you two should go in, while I stay up here as the distraction."

I could tell that Ashley wasn't so keen to go along with the plan, but before she could speak up, a stern look from Kaiden made her look down at the ground and frown.

"Yeah, you seem like the one best suited for the job." Kaiden rationalized. "After all, you've got a sniper rifle."

"Plus," I mentioned, "The Geth might be keener on attacking me first, since I'm a quarian."

The biotic nodded, before reading his sniper rifle. Ashley was still visibly frowning, but cocked her shotgun anyways. I took my sniper rifle from my back, as well as a pouch I had tied around my waist. Kaiden saw it and raised an eyebrow. Hehe… He always looks rather surprised, no matter what I pull out. I guess that, out of all the curious humans, he's the most curious.

I opened up the pouch to show him its contents.

"Thermal clips." I explained, pulling one out so that he could see. "Specially designed for my rifle. It cools it down faster. If you're quick, that is."

He nodded, before turning back to his own weapon. I made a mental note to tell him more about it later, since he seemed interested.

"Alright…you guys ready?" I asked, getting two affirmative nods in return. I nodded back, before pulling out my rifle's current thermal clip, replacing it nimbly with a fresh one. I put the used cartridge in my pocket, thus salvaging it for later.

With a swift, practiced motion, I raised my rifle, closing one eye and peering through the scope. I was in position, ready to shoot at the Geth trooper down below. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaiden crouch down low, his own rifle at the ready too. He glanced over at me and at Ashley, who was to my right.

"Okay then." He said, "Start shooting on the count of three…"

I nodded and looked through the scope again, lining up my shot with the synthetic's head.

"One…"

My finger crept down to the trigger, already itching to pull back.

"Two"

I took a deep breath and held it for the last second of the countdown.

"Three!"

I pulled the trigger, delivering a powerful shot to the Geth's head. It crumpled immediately. Like clockwork, the other Geth turned towards us and started bombarding me with shots. I fired another shot, which went through another Geth's chest, before ducking behind a tree. One glance back at the battlefield informed me that my two companions were already sprinting towards the positions. All I had to do was distract the Geth for a few more seconds.

Like an action hero, I whipped around the tree, barely aiming, and fired. My shot impacted the ground near one of the Geth trooper's feet, but that last shot was all that was needed. Kaiden and Ashley were in position, firing at the synthetic troopers mercilessly. One by one, the Geth fell. Those who were still up had completely forgotten about me and were now scrambling for cover, ready to face this new unexpected foe. I nodded, proud of our strategy, before doing a quick double-take: I had forgotten about the husks!

There were two of them. They had already descended from their spikes and were closing in on Ashley, who was still firing into the large group of Geth. I rushed forwards, raising my rifle once more. Quickly, I fired at one of the Husk's heads, making it fall sideways onto the ground. The other Husk turned towards me and started rushing in my direction. I smirked: this one will be easy. I pointed at the rusher's head once more and pulled the trigger.

Click.

I was empty. My rifle had overheated and needed a new thermal clip, but I didn't have time to put it in before the Husk reached me.

"Oh Dom, you Bosh'tet!" I chastised myself, throwing my rifle to the side and pulling out my pistol. The Husk was too close for me to react, however, and jumped on top of my before I could pull the trigger. I grunted in pain as my back hit the ground. The Husks nails were digging into my suit, chipping away at the fiber. I had to think fast before the creature ruptured my suit, leaving me to die of an infection on the battlefield. I had never wanted to die in battle, after all.

I brought my free arm to the Husk's neck. Then, pushing off the ground, I overturned the Husk, pinning it under my elbow. It continued to try to attack my, thrashing and biting the air savagely. I quickly grabbed my pistol from the ground, where it had fallen when the Husk had attacked me, and brought it to the monster's temple, firing it without a second thought. The Husk went limp almost instantly, allowing me to stand up and assess the damage. Only minor scratches on my suit.

Thank the Homeworld! I thought to myself, starting to grin. The Husk only took some fibers off my right shoulder. Smiling to myself for my luck, I bent down and picked up my rifle. I really need to stop dropping this thing…

I noticed that there were no gunshots anymore. Looking over at the Spaceport, I saw that all the Geth were on the ground, having left their platforms thanks to the intervention of my two temporary teammates and their own guns. I shifted my gaze towards the bridge on the other side of the crates to see Kaiden crouched over a corpse over on the bridge leading to the train cars. Ashley was talking to someone behind a big stack of crates, frowning the entire way.

I started jogging over to see what was wrong. As I got closer, I was able to see that the corpse Kaiden was examining was unmistakably that of a Turian. His reptilian face sported white paint marks, a clear sign of one of the Turian families. That must be the Spectre Kaiden and his commander came with.

I stopped jogging when I reached the crates. Ashley stopped whatever she was doing and turned to face me.

"Oh, quarian." She absentmindedly said, as if she had other things on her mind. "Looks like you dealt with that Husk." I noticed that she wasn't looking me in the eye. In fact, I could have sworn I saw her gaze flit down to my right shoulder, the one that had suffered minor damage in my battle with the Husk, before quickly settling on my nose. She probably can't tell where my eyes are under my mask, I thought.

"You know", I raised my voice, succumbing to anger. "I did kind of save your life back there. A simple 'thank you' would at least be polite." Also, she could have jumped in and helped me when she saw I was in trouble, but if I say that I'll seem selfish.

"Oh, Boo-hoo. Cry me a river, alien. At least you didn't just see your entire squad get wiped out in a single afternoon!" She was yelling now. Her gun was shaking in her hands as she stepped closer.

"I'm a soldier. I can handle this stuff. I don't need a civilian like you saving my life like I'm some fairy-tale princess, got that?" I opened my mouth to retort, but she didn't stop. "Human soldiers are here to defend Earth and our colonies from animals like you and we don't expect any thanks for it. So don't presume I'll get down on my knees and thank you just because you did your fucking job!"

"Chief, that's enough" Kaiden came over, sternly stopping the angry marine before she could continue. Ashley started to protest, but closed her mouth when her eyes met with the Lieutenant's. She backed away and stowed her gun behind her back, where it magnetized to her pink and white armor. I was still in shock from Ashley's breakdown that I barely noticed the person she was talking to behind the crates until I heard a nervous, yet familiar cough come from my right.

I turned to see a middle-aged man wearing dock-worker garbs as well as a green beanie. He was nervously looking between Ashley, who was now leaning against one of the crates, glaring at both Kaiden and I, and the Lieutenant. I instantly recognized the man. He was the friend I had come over to help.

"Powell!" I exclaimed! "I can't believe you're still alive!"

Powell's eyes widened as her looked at me in turn. "Dom!" He cried out as well, voice still shaking. "I-is that really you?"

Keelah, I thought, he seems like he has, in his own words, "seen some shit". I decided to act as my usual joking self to calm him down.

"Of course it is!" I answered. "There aren't any other quarians walking around Eden Prime, are there?" As if to prove a point, I gestured around at the previously utopic scenery.

Ashley scoffed, earning her a glare from Kaiden. He faced Powell again and asked: "Were you here since the start of the attack?"

Powell looked down at the ground again, before answering. "Y-yes. I was behind the crates since morning. Those…things just came out of nowhere and started shooting people left and right." He looked around paranoically, as if it could happen again at any moment. "I don't keep a weapon back here, so I wouldn't have been able to defend myself if they had found me!" He looked at us again. "I'm j-just glad I'm still alive."

I smiled at him. "You and me both, buddy!" I glanced over at the dead body that Kaiden was examining earlier. I had a bad feeling looking at it, as if someone took off my suit and poured a glass of ice cold water down my spine. I frowned. If that gunshot we heard wasn't Powell, nor the Geth, then what was it?

"Is that the Spectre you came with, Lieutenant?" I asked Kaiden. He nodded. I then turned towards Powell again.

"Did you see what happened to the Turian over there? Was he ambushed by Geth?" I asked.

Powell hesitated for a few seconds, trying to remember. His voice was dry when he finally spoke.

"N-no. He came down to the docks on his own. Seemed to be looking around for something."

I turned towards Kaiden. "The Beacon, probably." The Biotic nodded.

"Yeah," Powell continued, "He probably didn't know that we moved the Beacon to the other side with the train cars." He pointed over to some facilities a few miles away. That was where most of the dig site's residence quarters were, as well as the offices and power generator. You get there by riding the cargo trains for a few minutes. "We moved it about 2-3 hours before the attack."

I nodded. "But what about Nihlus?" Kaiden asked. I supposed that that was the name of the dead Spectre. "Why did we find him dead when we got here?"

"Well, after he looked through the computer terminal over there," He pointed to a terminal a few feet away. It was charred and burned, defiantly unusable. "Another Turian came out of nowhere."

That peaked my interest. "Another Turian?" I asked. "Where did he come from?"

"I don't know…" My friend shrugged. "He just stepped out from behind a crate and started talking to the Spectre." He paused for a second. "I think they knew each-other…"

I didn't realize it, but I was gripping the edge of the crate tightly. No, come on… I tried to convince myself. He should be dead by now. Or at least punished by the Council, right? Kaiden must have noticed my stress, because he was the one who continued the interrogation.

"Did the new Turian have any distinguishing features, like an abnormal fringe, or distinct face paint?"

Powell thought once again for a few seconds before answering. "Well, his fringe did seem a big worn. Also, unlike most turians I've seen, his skin color was grey with more of a…um…" He struggled to find the right word. "B-blue-ish tint…" My head, which had been hanging slightly out of contemplation, sprung up out of interest as my eyes opened in horror.

No! I panicked in my head, my heart beating rapidly. It…can't be him…

The young quarian looked up from his spot on the ground, covered in soot, to see a pair of blue, emotionless eyes staring down at him. It was a grey Turian, a species that Dom had never seen before. All he did was stare at the tiny, defenseless child. Dom needed to muster up the courage to speak.

I slammed my fists down on the crate, startling everyone there, including Kaiden, who was still pressing Powell for more information, and Ashley actually unfolded her arms as all three of them stared at me in shock. I didn't care: I needed to know who that Turian was.

My eyes bored into Powell, who had started quivering again. "You said earlier that you had the impression that they knew each other." I asked. "What made you think that?"

"Um…" Powell wasn't sure exactly how to respond, but he quickly composed himself. "Well, they knew each-other's names. I think they might have both been Spectres."

This was getting bad. I knew that the other Turian could have only been one person. But wait…there's a bunch of Turian Spectres, right? Maybe it's not the one I'm thinking of…

"Did the Spectre say anything when this other Turian appeared?" Kaiden asked. Powell nodded in response.

"Yeah. Well, not at first. When the other Turian first started talking, he turned around quickly and raised his gun. But then, he recognized him, so he lowered his pistol and said…"

"…I wasn't expecting you here." Nihlus explained himself to the grey Turian. Nihlus was a brown-skinned turian with white face paint around his eyes and on his nose and cheeks. He placed his pistol on a crate next to him and turned back towards the control panel monitor, tapping on various keys in order to find what he was here for. That didn't stop him from conversing with the new arrival, however.

"My guess is that the Council has sent you over to assist me in securing the Beacon, correct?" The Spectre asked, not seeing the nod from his collegue.

"Yes, that is correct." The menacing figure responded. "They had thought you might need some…help."

The Turian on the terminal chuckled. "As much as I hate to admit it, I do." He stopped talking for a second to type in some more commands, finally pulling up what he was looking for on the screen. "Here we go! The Beacon was moved a few hours ago to the northern facilities!" He closed the terminal and brought his arm to his mouth. "Commander Shepard, come in! I've located the whereabouts of the Beacon, do you copy?"

He waited a few seconds, where he only heard static in his receiver. He sighed before putting down his arm and turned towards the other Turian, who had only been staring at him this entire time.

"I've got an Alliance team who landed with me back some ways. The Geth must be blocking our radio signal." Nihlus sighed again, before turning his back on the grey Turian.

"This is a mess, my friend. Geth outside the Persues Veil! An attack on a flourishing human colony just a few days after the discovery of an ancient Protean artifact!" He turned back to face the other Spectre. "Do you know what that Beacon can do to help further Turian-Human relations? It will be a sign of the advancement of mankind into the stars."

The Grey Turian scoffed "Weather they have earned it or not is still debatable." This made Nihlus groan as he turned around to face the horizon again.

"Even if you're against it, you can't deny that the humans are strong. Their Military, their culture, their natural resilience…." He paused. "Then again, you can't speak up either way. You're under orders to secure the beacon, no matter what that entails."

While the brown Turian was busy looking over to the other side, the other one had picked up the pistol Nihlus had left on the crate. Silently, he inched closer to his collegue.

"That's right…" the Spectre said, pointing the gun at the other Spectre's back, who was oblivious to the Grey one's movements. "I have to follow my orders…"

He pulled the trigger.

Powell had to stop for a few extra seconds. He was breathing pretty loudly at this point. I took this opportunity to talk to Kaiden.

"Is the Beacon really that important?" I asked. I got a nod in return.

"With that Beacon, Humanity can show that we have the right resources, smarts and strength to be a remarkable ally and asset in the galactic community." He explained, before actually cracking a small smile. "I've heard that it might even be possible to get a seat on the Council thanks to this!"

I nodded, showing that I understood. Humans getting a seat on the council in less than a century… I asked myself if that really was possible. Probably just wishful thinking…

"But what about the other Spectre?" Ashley asked Powell, breaking my train of thought.

Pointing at the Geth platforms that we had previously taken care of, Powell answered. "Those Geth came out the same way he did. He told them to guard the port while he went looking for the Beacon. Then he took a train to the other side. You guys showed up just a few minutes later."

Kaiden frowned at this new information while Ashley's face turned red with fury. "Fuck!" She yelled. "The grey lizard is working with the Geth! And he's after the Beacon as well!" She stormed off, probably going to calm down before we went after that slimy back-stabbing Spectre.

Kaiden made to go after her, but I put out my arm. "Hang on!" I started reasoning with him. "If this guy's a Spctre, then we can denounce him to the council." I turned back to face Powell. "You said that Nihlus knew the other guy's name. Can you tell us what it was?"

I expected Powell to start trembling again, as if he could barely prounounce the horrible name. He only put his five-fingered hand up to his chin, stroking his beard as he tried to remember. I myself was growing terribly anxious. Is it really him? Has he stumbled into my life again? Is he the cause of yet another disaster?

Finally, Powell answered. "I think I remember the Spectre saying his name was Saren."

It is done! Finally! I've been working on this story for a while. I got the idea back in April and started writing in May. Now, after several weeks of being distracted by other work, writing and rewriting, I'm finally done with one of my most ambitious projects ever!

The Masked Commander

This is going to be a sort of retelling of the original Mass Effect trilogy, but with a few twists. First off, I am going to be writing it by memory. I am not going to take any dialogue word for word from the games. Also, the characterization of the main characters will be how I perceive them, not how the games characterize them. For example, you saw how Ashley was a bit more bitchy than she was in the games and Kaiden was a bit more stern and stuck-up. That's just how I've always perceived them.

The main difference, however, is the main character. No Shepard here: she's gone! Instead, we've got a Quarian. It couldn't have been anybody else, in my opinion. You'll learn more about him as the story goes on, but all of the cruical pieces are already in place for you to tell what kind of guy he is.

Anyways, that's it for this little Author's Note. I have no promises as to when the next chapter's coming out, so just hang tight, alright?

Next time:

Our hero, along with Kaiden and Ashley, pursue the rogue Spectre by train. A rather explosive surprise from the Geth, however, slows them down a bit. Will they finally get to the Beacon and get off of Eden Prime? Is Ashley ever going to lighten up? What about Powell, will he make it out alive? Those questions will be answered in the Next Chapter!

The Masked Commander