Shepard leaned back to rest her head against the cold metal wall of the shuttle, gritting her teeth. She closed her eyes and went over the last few hours again and again in her head. Rewind, pause, fast forward. Repeat.

Where was it?

That singular moment, that defining decision, that one action that landed her here, shackled, surrounded by the enemy. She wracked her brain, searching for the answer, and finding none. In the end, it was simply a chain of events. Multiple decisions, one event leading to another. She sighed. It didn't matter any longer. She had lost her team in an ambush.

Jenkins.

Williams.

Alenko.

It was supposed to be a quick reconnaissance mission. Get in, get the data, get out. Then again, nothing ever goes as planned.

Jenkins had fallen first. Everything else was a blur. Biotics flared, bullets flew, and explosions shook the earth. She yelled for her team to fall back. But in just a few minutes she was on the ground with a heavy boot on her back and a gun muzzle to her head. Jenkins lied a few feet from her, his empty eyes staring back at her.

Shepard had struggled then, in a futile attempt to get the weight off her back. At least the gun withdrew. She twisted her head, searching for the rest of her team. There was no sign of them. She closed her eyes, praying to whatever higher being that might be listening that they had somehow escaped.

Suddenly, firm hands had lifted her, forcing her to face their leader, her captor; a turian with a pale grey-ish brown carapace and white colony markings. He seemed slightly surprised when her helmet was removed to reveal her face. He barked a turian word, followed by "Shepard", then a string of more turian words. It sounded like a question.

When she didn't respond, he paused and tilted his head, repeating what he had said. This time slower, and still nothing from Shepard. A soft cross between a snort and a laugh escaped him while he shook his head and motioned for his team to move out.

Shepard shoved the memory aside and opened her eyes, glaring at the back of her captor, who was speaking to the shuttle's pilot. From how the other turians treated him, it looked like he was a high ranking officer. She knew nothing other than that.

She grit her teeth in frustration. If only they left her helmet on. Without her it, she couldn't understand a word that passed between the aliens surrounding her. She had been scheduled to get a sub-dermal translation implant, but kept putting it off. She wished she hadn't.

Not that the turians were a talkative bunch anyway. Most were quiet, save for a couple of young turians, animatedly whispering to each other. Probably recounting how they were able to capture Commander Shepard, war hero. She snorted softly.

Now bored, she decided to examine the handcuffs strapped to her wrists. She parted her arms, testing the bond. The cuffs seemed to be employing some sort of magnet. At least it gave her a little bit of maneuverability. She glanced down at the matching cuffs on her ankles. She sighed. At least they weren't chaffing her ankles, since she was only in the skintight suit she wore under her armor.

She raised her head as the leader stood up and walked to her. He planted a three fingered hand onto the wall above her and spoke to her. Still in turian. Her blank stare must have confirmed that she couldn't understand him because he cut whatever he was saying short, shook his head, and turned back to his seat.

Shepard looked out the only window in the shuttle, spotting a gleaming turian cruiser. She took a deep breath to steel herself.

Here we go.