That's all I would ever amount too, a lost soul drifting the galaxy looking for revenge. I went wandering from planet to planet, with one goal in sight. My mind was all but gone; the only motive I had left was revenge and even that was slipping. I knew my name, I knew my gun, and I knew my target. I was out to kill that illusive stranger who had uplifted me from insanity and then thrown me back down, beaten and bloody. I had nothing now, nothing but anger, and a driving sense of justice. My mind blurred together the weeks and years, I was vaguely aware of my body decaying as well as my mind. My skin was greying and cracked, my cheeks gaunt. The only life I had left was in my eyes, piercing and vibrant blue. I was the serf, the slave, the protector, I was the right hand, and then I was nothing. But now, now I know what I am. I am fear.
I guess I should start at the beginning. My name is Alex Richardson. This story begins on a small farm world, one you may have heard of, Eden Prime. Humanities Crown Jewel, the pinnacle of peace and prosperity. No one would bother with Eden Prime, or so we thought. The Geth arrived, killing everyone. I would have nightmares about this for the rest of my life.
EDEN PRIME
GALACTIC YEAR: 2183
This is how the world ends. Bodies were left where they were; outside of their homes, hanging out of windows, on the street. The Geth killed indiscriminatingly, and they didn't get squeamish. To the right of me, a family was huddled to together, all burnt to charred corpses, crouched as if praying. The militia didn't do shit, they were the first to run. A few farmers fought back with old mattocks or a pitchfork, but in the end it did nothing. There were almost no survivors, but he had seen a few poking their heads out of windows. They were awestruck at this man walking alone down the ruined street. He was dressed in regular militia wear, but he was armed to the teeth. Instead of the Avenger rifles they usually carried he held a Geth Plasma rifle. On his waist was a modified Carnifex pistol. He walked slowly through the street, favoring his right leg. When he got to the end of the street he stopped. There was a single gunshot and chaos erupted. Five geth burst out from a building having just killed the occupants. The main leveled his rifle and gunned one of them down, then dove for cover. The four other geth advanced on his position, keeping him pinned with suppressing fire. Finally they reached the destroyed car he used for cover. One of the geth peered over the side, and was met with a round to the face. The man threw the geth off of him and ran out of cover, blindly firing his rifle. One of the geth was hit by a grazing shot. The man sprinted for a doorway and then returned fire, picking off the injured geth. The final two geth moved forward slowly. The man leaned out of cover and fired a burst at the geth, but the geth crouched down into cover and the plasma flew overhead harmlessly. The man fired at the other geth and hit it in the chest, disabling it. The final geth popped out of cover and sprayed plasma at the man, forcing him into cover. The geth jumped over its cover and charged forward, running through the doorway and turning to the man. As the geth turned the man brought up his rifle, but it was impossible to use at this range. The geth quickly knocked the rifle away and grabbed the man's neck with a vice like grip. Its grip began to tighten, threatening to strangle the man. Unexpectedly, the man pulled out a hidden knife and jammed it into the geth's neck. The geth dropped the man, giving him time to pull out his pistol and fire a few shots into the geth's chest. His ordeal over, the man limped back into the street to see a massive alien ship ascend in the distance. All was quiet. He slumped to his knees, and then wiped grime and sweat off of his face. He appeared to be in his late Sixties, with a grizzled beard and grey hair. He was in good shape for his age, with muscles showing underneath a tan vest. His face was streaked with grime and sweat. Barely aware of his surroundings, the man fell asleep as a white drop ship with yellow markings dropped out of the sky behind him. It slowed itself down and landed in the middle of the street. The man was so exhausted that even the noise of the ship could not wake him. The door slid open and several men in white body armor filed out and surveyed the area. Satisfied that it was clear one of them nodded towards the shuttle and a man in a yellow and white suit stepped out and approached the sleeping man. Crouching in front of him, he pulled out a data pad and checked something on it.
"So zis is Alex Richards huh?" The man muttered quietly in a German accent. Turning he barked orders to the armored men.
"Get some sedatives into zis guy and get him in the shuttle, the boss is going to be happy"
One of the men nodded and they approached the sleeping man, one of them pulling out a small syringe. He jabbed it into the man's neck and then they picked him up, filling into the shuttle.
Elsewhere on the planet, a ship called the Normandy lifted off from the ground, carrying an unconscious N7 Marine named Keith Shepard. Neither of these two men knew it, but they would set in motion the biggest event the galaxy had seen in an age.