A/N: I have been dabbling with ideas and this one seems to be working for me. It is another AU since those seem to work best for me.

Disclaimer: BioWare owns all characters and locations named through out the story.

"Jenkins, just place the damn charges and lets get the hell out here!" Adryann snapped at the man by her side. The wind howled sending a whistling sound through her helmet.

"Commander, we've got incoming troops flanking from both sides. The krogan are at our asses and we don't have time to wait for them." Kaidan spoke as he watched for the impending forces to march down on top of them.

"Bullshit, Lieutenant. We will wait till I give the order to evacuate. Until then, bunker down and kill anything that comes into sight." Adryann yelled, turning back to the young corporal as he fiddled with the bomb. "What's wrong?" She asked, realizing that it wasn't Jenkins that was holding up everyone, but that the primers weren't working.

"I don't know? They won't set up the way they are supposed to. Oh, man! I think the last volley might have damaged the detonator." Jenkins tried to explain in a hurried fashion.

"Fuck, we need to meet with the STG and turians quick. They are expecting us to destroy this satellite uplink." Adryann spoke, grabbing the charges and sticking the primers into the plastique. "We'll just have to improvise, then won't we?" She looked over at Kaidan who was watching out into the wastes.

She returned to her work and checked the detonator for any signs of life, but nothing came up on the screen. When all else fails... She smacked the detonator against the side of the satellite a couple of times.

It flashed triple-zeroes and beeped. Adryann smiled and handed it back to Jenkins who scratched his head and shrugged. The rest was up to him. He was the demolition specialist after all. Adryann stood for a moment and spied the surroundings. Things were too quiet for her liking.

The wind continued to howl, swirling tiny bits of dirt and debris around. It was a tense situation made worse by the fact that they had so far behind enemy lines with no real way out. Once their mission was completed, it would still be another hour to where they were to meet the other troops. Anderson had wished them the best of luck, but deep down Adryann knew he was probably trying to say good-bye without the obvious sentiments.

"We're all set." Jenkins said, dusting his hands and looking at his handiwork.

"Set it for two minutes and lets get the hell out of here." Adryann ordered, looking at the detonator as it flashed for the final codes.

"Shepard! We've got incoming!" Kaidan barked. Adryann looked up to see the oncoming horde raging towards them.

"Don't just stand there! Shoot them!" Adryann yelled back. She lifted her assault rifle and started firing. There wasn't much else to do until Jenkins gave the signal for them to take their leave.

They fired spraying as many bullets as they could trying to slow the incoming chargers. One would fall only to be immediately replaced by another within the ranks.

"Commander, its done!" Jenkins screamed over the deafening gunfire.

"Alright, lets get out of here!" Adryann spoke, grabbing Kaidan's shoulder. "Run, damn it!"

Kaidan jumped to his feet and took off after Jenkins and Adryann. The incoming bullets rained down at them. They ricocheted off of the ground whistling past them at close range. Adryann looked back to see the linebacker sized aliens gaining ground on them.

"How much time?" Adryann called.

"Ten seconds!" Jenkins answered back.

Ten seconds. It felt like an eternity. Adryann slowed a step or two and watched as the charging beasts neared the satellite. If luck could have been on their side at least once during the damn mission, it should have been now. Half the squad was dead in the previous fire fight, but they weren't lost. Not completely anyways. Adryann had snatched their tags and stuffed them into her pack. Finally the compounded blast and shock wave rattled the ground. The two men stopped and neared Adryann as they watched as the cloud of fire, dirt and sound neared them.

"We need to keep going." Adryann said as the noxious cloud raced towards them. The creaking sound of metal and the crashing of concrete drowned out the wind.

Adryann looked around for some place to take cover, but there was nothing. They had cleared the debris field and were now way out in the open. She slammed the two men to the ground and dove on top of them to shield them. The hot air rushed over her in unending waves. She felt her skin burning in her armor and she cried out. Searing pain shot through her thighs in the last few moments of the devastating aftermath.

All things calmed at once. All Adryann could here was the sound of her heart in her ears and her forced breathing. She tried to move off the two men to let them up, but her body wasn't letting her have it.

"Kaidan? Are you two alright?" Adryann gasped.

"Yes, Commander. You?" Kaidan answered as he squeezed himself from under her.

Jenkins laid for a minute more and nodded at her. His eyes were wide with terror though. Something obviously wasn't right.

"And the krogan?" Adryann asked. She felt faint and her head was heavy with sleep.

"Don't worry about them. We've got more pressing concerns." Kaidan answered looking over the woman still lying on her stomach.

"Don't try to get any ideas, Lieutenant." Adryann snickered. She winced when she moved to try and sit. "How bad is it?"

"Not good." Kaidan answered, ignoring her comment. "It looks like a piece of re-bar has impaled your thigh."

"Well isn't that just wonderful." Adryann grumbled. "Take it out and let's go."

"Shepard, I don't think that's a good idea. I think-" Kaidan started.

"What?" Adryann snapped.

"It might be keeping you from bleeding out. If I remove it, you'll bleed out." Kaidan continued.

"Just take the damn thing out. I don't want to die here, not at the hands of them." Adryann yelped.

Kaidan furrowed his eyebrow and sighed. "Are you sure?"
"Just do it." Adryann moaned. She couldn't take the pain anymore. Her perception was starting to fail, when she felt the yanking of the rod ripping the already damaged muscle more. She choked out a scream and laid her head to the ground.

Jenkins grabbed her hand and squeezed. Kaidan stopped and stood up to gain more leverage and yanked again. The pressure was unbearable. It took every ounce of willpower to not pass out from the immense pain.

Adryann held her breath as Kaidan tugged again and it slid free. The feeling was reminiscent of a cork from a champagne bottle. Adryann gasped once she was free of what had stabbed her and flipped over onto her back.

The sky was a rusty orange now as the sun began to set. Nary a cloud was in the sky, but the overhead wisps of black smoke and dust smudged the sky. It was eerily peaceful. The thudding of heavy feet had stopped.

Luckily that dish fell on the krogan stampede and killed the whole lot of them.

Adryann pushed up on her elbows to see the damage. Kaidan was looking it over assessing it himself. Red blood caked the brown dirt and it pulled under her leg.

"How bad is it?" Adryann finally asked.

Kaidan shook his head. "Thank god for installed medi-gel ports."

"You ain't kidding me." Adryann snorted. "Help me up Jenkins. We need to get to our pick up."

Jenkins grabbed her hand and pulled her up and flung her arm over his shoulders. Kaidan joined taking her other arm. Adryann hobbled on one leg, not daring to apply pressure to the damaged limb. Her two human crutches led the way, rifles slung over their backs.

Over the emergency comm channel they picked up chatter from the various races coordinating attacks, drop offs and pick ups. They continued walking as the transmission droned on.

Little by little Adryann gained more strength. Her leg still throbbed excruciatingly, but at least she knew she was going to survive.

"So what are you going to do once you get back to base, Kaidan?" Adryann finally asked, trying to break up the monotony.

"Oh, I don't know. The guys were going to go to the officer's lounge and have a few drinks." Kaidan answered.

"What about you?" Adryann asked Jenkins looking him over. The young man shook his head for a moment and sighed.

"Probably going to write to my parents. I haven't done that in so long." Jenkins answered.

The three grew silent again as dusk fell. That beautiful sunset faded way to darkness. In the foreign wasteland anything was possible.

"What do you plan on doing when you get back, Commander?" Jenkins finally asked.

"I dunno. I never have enough time to do really anything, to be completely honest." Adryann answered with a chuckle.

"Ah! The life of an officer. The work is never really done is it?" Kaidan snorted.

"Don't mock me, Kaidan." Adryann laughed. She nudged Kaidan with her torso, throwing the three of them off balance. Kaidan caught himself quickly and recovered the other two before they fell at his feet.

"Alpha squad, this is STG Captain Kirrahe, we're here for rendez-vous. What are your coordinates?" The high pitched voice came over the radio like an alarm.

The trio stopped walking as Adryann answered back. "Sector 3-5 alpha tango charley. There are only three of us now and we have injuries. Request medical teams ready when we board."

"Affirmitive Alpha squad. Coordinates locked, pick up in fifteen minutes. Medical team will be on stand-by." Kirrahe answered followed by a long line of static.

"Well, guys, mission accomplished." Adryann smirked. "Might as well wait till they get here. We don't need to get lost out here."

They sat down waiting for transport, weary, battered and bloody. Every muscle ached when used. Adryann rotated her shoulders feeling the tension build up then release.

Mission accomplished, indeed. Three more people won't be coming home.