MASS EFFECT: IN THE SHADOW OF A REAPER

It's three years after the Reaper War, the galactic community is still recovering from the harsh beating it took from a merciless, all encompassing foe.
Nividia Kalrass, a Turian veteran and ex-fortune hunter has arrived on Therum per request from her old friend and employer Faron Mel. It seems the Volus has a problem: the Alliance has locked down the Prothean Ruins here due to a supposed monster that has been terrorizing archaeologists and researchers alike. This predicament is creating quite the red mark in Faron's otherwise black book.
In a desperate attempt to save his dwindling business, Faron bargains with Nividia to hunt down the monster in exchange for a large sum of credits and bragging rights.
Nividia has no idea she's about to face off against an evolutionary terror in the darkness of Therum's ancient ruins.

CHAPTER ONE

Three years after the end of the Reaper War, ruins of the Reapers stilled floated aimlessly in space, and others found their great husks dotting the surfaces of numerous planets that they had assaulted. They served now as reminders - that there was always something unexplainable and wholly unknown watching from the dark corners of the galaxy.

Therum was no exception, three sovereign-class Reapers still lay dead and abandoned on the surface, one had collapsed through the old Prothean structures and now was jutting out of the ground, half buried in a canyon of a grave.
Nothing remained of Nova Yekaterinburg, the once proud capital of Therum. The Reapers had decimated it and had harvested the population there rather quickly, they had only remained due to a few hundred civilians running underground to escape the sentient warships and their horrifying army.

Though many of the people down below had either been caught or died in a horrible fashion, Therum continued to attract visitors after the war was over. People often told ghost stories: frightening tales of the people lost in the caverns of the old Prothean ruins returning from the afterlife to lead the living to their doom.
Most tales had little warrant for concern, some were intriguing only for the mystery they posed, rather then any danger. While the Reapers themselves were protected by military mechs, the rest of the ruins were unobstructed - anyone could venture down into them, provided they signed a waiver understanding that the Systems Alliance and the Eldfell-Ashland Energy (EAE) Corporation was in no way responsible for any injury or death suffered in the structures or the surrounding areas.

Nividia Kalrass, a Turian who had spent the last few years trying to forget the Reaper War and the horrors she had witnessed in it - would've never ventured to Therum simply because the monstrosities, while dead, still remained intact and probably would for a while. Her keen green eyes narrowed as she spotted the familiar silhouette protruding from it's grave, like it had decided to dig after the lost souls it hadn't been able to obtain.
She held back a growl as she clicked her mask back in place and flicked up her hood, obstructing the view of her feminine face and hiding her eyes behind a glowing gold visor.
She had been requested here by her old friend Faron Mel, a Volus merchant with a love for exploring and exploiting ancient ruins. While she had sworn off treasure hunting, when he had messaged her about a monster lurking in the dark depths of Therum's Prothean ruins, Nividia found herself curious.
She had been aiding her people's continuing recovery efforts on Palaven, and initially had dismissed Faron's invitation. But when he replied, with supporting evidence of scientists and explorers disappearing or turning up dead in a section of ruins that the Systems Alliance deemed hazardous and had now quarantined, she gave the request another thought.
Faron promised he could get her inside, and would pay her both for killing whatever monster that was terrorizing everyone, and for whatever relics she brought back.

Again, Nividia no longer sought fortune, but a monster? That intrigued her.

So, here she was. She hadn't worn her armour since the war ended - locking it up inside a vault in what remained of her home. She had worked closely with living friends and family to repair her house, half of it having paid the price when a Reaper of some design had stepped on it and caused the ceiling and outer wall to collapse inwards.
When her younger sister Rylen, barely ten, had seen her retrieving her suit - she had been terrified.

"Are the Reapers back?" She was nearly in tears, "Do you have to fight?"
Nividia had given Rylen a comforting hug and quieted her down. "No, the Reapers are dead." She had offered the little girl a smile. "Shepard killed them, all of them."

Nividia forced the thought of her sister to the back of her mind. Their parents had both died in the war - their mother, well she had told Rylen she had fought and died on Illium, when the reality was a cruel hardship.
The last anyone had seen of Nividia's mother, she had been on Menae, willingly giving herself over to Reaper forces.
Their father had been Captain of a turian destroyer that was lost during the final battle with the enemy over Earth. Apparently he had died a tried and true hero, managing to turn the tide of battle three times against different Reapers before he used his ship to intercept a strike meant for a wounded Alliance dreadnought.
There were few survivors, one of them, a life-long old friend of the family had told Nividia that her father 'had died staring at a photo of his children.'

Nividia buried that thought too, as she approached the small but growing settlement of explorers and Alliance military personnel.

Most here were Human, no doubt due to the affiliation this planet had being under Systems Alliance jurisdiction. The houses that were being put up were easy-to-assemble shacks: four solid walls, bunk beds, a window to dissuade from the very apparent claustrophobic feel of the 'house.' Most wouldn't come with toilet facilities or a kitchen, larger public washrooms and soup-kitchens had their own buildings, scattered throughout the encampment.
There were only a few Turians, they were all sitting with each other at a table, eating their lunch and paying no mind to anyone else. There was an Asari with a beautiful dark blue, almost violet skin tone who was amazing a few children with her biotic display.

Then, there was Faron.

Like all Volus, he was a short, stocky round character in a pressure suit. In his hands was a data pad, one that he was keenly interested in. So much so that he didn't see Nividia approaching, and let out a small yelp of surprise when he looked up and saw her golden visor arched down at him.
"Oh," he breathed, "You're finally here."
"Finally?" She retorted, crossing her arms. "I hopped on the quickest shuttle to this place."
Faron scoffed at the idea, "Quick wasn't quick enough," he paused to take another breath. "I thought you weren't coming, so I hired another hunter to head down first."
Even with the Turian's face hidden behind a mask, he knew she was glaring at him.
"B-but," he stammered a little, "I can still get you in." He turned and pointed towards what looked like a vent sticking out of the ground. "Just, not how I originally intended."
"Faron," Nividia growled, keenly unhappy with the idea. "I was under the impression that I was going down there through legal channels."
"Well," Faron gave an shrug. "It's not like the pass I had was exactly..." he trailed off, took another breath and continued. "It doesn't matter, you can get in through that air-shaft."
"Do I look like a duct-rat to you?" She snarled.
Faron gestured for Nividia to follow him, and she obliged, they walked in silence until they reached what was presumably his home - one of the shacks, slightly larger then some, with a wide window pane for a view.
As they stepped inside, Faron sat down in a short chair and looked up at her. "According to my scans," he clicked a small button on the arm of his seat and brought up a projection. "That shaft will carry you down inside the quarantined zone."
"Why's it quarantined?"
The Volus took in a sharp breath. "Alliance says that it's too close to the Reaper corpse, people who went in there," he inhaled again. "Complained about headaches mostly, but..." he trailed off, looking away. "A few, said they saw things in the corner of their eyes - monsters."
Nividia removed her mask and hood, this was the first time he had seen in her years. There was a scar, running from the top of her forehead, down, tearing it's way down in what looked to be a painful fashion just by her left eye and then down across her cheek.
She hadn't been so disfigured before the war, what had managed to get so close?
"What," he hesitated, tilting his head. "What happened to your face?"
Nividia's frown turned into a insulted scowl, made worse only by the jagged scar. "A brute."
"A... uh..." He gave pause again. "A what?"
"If you don't know what that is," she began, her tone terse. "Then I won't bother explaining it. Suffice to say, it makes a rampaging krogan look like a whining quarian."
"Oh," another inhale.
"I spent half a year fighting Reapers," she snarled. "Then, three years trying to forget what I saw." She inched closer, her entire posture threatening. "Then you invite me to Therum under the guise of hunting a creature, only to inform me that whatever said creature is, is in the quarantined zone - that happens to be locked down for a very good reason." Nividia glared. "Tell me there's at least a monster, or did you lie about that too?"
"I didn't lie," he argued. "I told you the zone was locked down, and I told the truth about the monster - it's killing people."
"You told me it was locked down because of the creature," Nividia retorted, her scowling lessening slightly. "Not because the zone happens to be right next to a derelict Reaper."
"It's dead," Faron pointed out. "A dead Reaper isn't a threat."
"Indoctrination is far more insidious then you give it credit for." The Turian sighed, and eyed the projection. "So you swear this monster is real?"
"Real enough," the Volus tapped another button and brought up a series of files with people's photographs. "These people have all said they were stalked by a creature in the depths of the ruins." Faron pressed the button again and brought up another series of profiles. "These three are missing," with a swipe of his hand, another four files appeared. "These four, security mechs found dead."
Nividia neared the projections of the four victims. One was a turian, male, and listed as an archaeologist, two were humans, both male, and were registered as colonists. The fourth was a quarian, female and she had been on her pilgrimage.
"How long does it take for someone to turn up dead?" Nividia questioned, looking at her friend.
"Most of the victims," he thought about it for a moment. "A week." With another few clicks he brought up the Turian's file. "He was missing the longest, nine days." Faron looked at Nividia. "He worked for me, I hired him because he had military training. After he turned up dead, the Alliance deemed that section of the ruins too hazardous and locked it down."
Nividia's omnitool appeared and she quickly downloaded the files from Faron. "Who did you send before I got here?"
"A human woman," the Volus answered, "she had an impressive record, and she's a veteran of the war - like you." Faron gave her a datapad. "If you see her down there, don't kill her. There's more then enough credits for both of you."

It wasn't hard finding a room, people were constantly coming and going from Therum, and with the apparent 'monster killings' on the rise, a good portion of settlers had changed their tunes and decided to try their luck on another world. The Alliance representative had been polite, informing the turian of the dangers of dig-sites and old Prothean structures, he even went to mentioning how certain parts of the ruins were sealed off for 'public safety.'

After he left, Nividia was quick to set up shop and look over the files.
Of the three that were missing, if the pattern of a week held true, two of them would turn up dead soon. A human couple, married archeologists who the monitoring station lost contact with.
Official reports stated that the couple allegedly found a way into the quarantined zone and ignored Alliance orders to leave the area. Mechs were sent in to find them, but so far - they hadn't turned up.
The third individual was a krogan - he hadn't been so subtle with his attempts to get into the hazardous area, according to the report, he had simply rammed his way through and disappeared inside.

Night fell, and Nividia found it hard to sleep. Every time her eyes drifted shut, her mind would wander back to the war, she could practically taste the soot and ash that a blast from a Reaper would kick up, her nose burned and at times - the scar on her face ached and distantly she heard the roar of the creature that had given it. The galaxy wasn't the same, and it never would be. At best, people would try and pretend like it had never happened, but there would always be a reminder.
It seemed like an injustice to everyone who died if people forgot. She understood why, no one wanted to recount on the days where giant war-machines terrorized the galaxy, harvesting and killing off entire populations. People don't want to remember the bad, even though the bad things in life often have the greatest lessons to teach.

The woman sighed in defeat, eventually, sleep claimed her.

She had never been to Earth before the final fight against the Reapers. She had seen in it vids, and had admired its beauty. It had vast oceans and green landscapes, it looked like a wondrous place to go. Nividia had thought to herself that if she survived the drop into hell, that maybe she'd come back to the human homeworld and see it after it had been restored.
The ground forces were called Hammer, and through the chaos of anti-air blasts and flak from the enemy - her shuttle landed and her squad proceeded towards the Conduit.
The sky overhead was dark, clouds of smoke and ash blocked out the stars above and soot and dust choked the air. Her squad consisted of five soldiers not including herself - a krogan, three humans and an asari.
When they had finally reached the forward operating base, Nividia saw Shepard for the first time.

Commander Shepard stood in black armour, her helmet tucked underneath her arm as she met up with a few of her friends. Her hair was long and a brilliant, crimson shade. Standing next to her was an Asari, with glistening blue skin and clad in a white combat suit. Only an idiot would've ever called such a woman ugly, she was practically radiating an alluring aura and Nividia imagined any sentient the blue-skinned woman smiled at would've melted.
Shepard turned only slightly, her eyes leaving the man she was talking too, to instead look in the turian's direction. Nividia froze, her body stiff as Shepard's viridian eyes locked with her own.

There was something haunting about the Commander's eyes, like she had seen far too much death in a minute amount of time. It was exhaustion, the Reapers had taken a devastating toll on the Commander, and she couldn't hide it. She was standing tall and keeping strong to motivate people around her.
But if they caught Shepard in a moment of weakness, like Nividia had - they would see what her spirit was crying.

I can't do this anymore.

Nividia's eyes slowly opened to welcome the faint rays of the rising sun. They hurt at first, stinging and making her flinch until she blinked the hazy sleep away and got up. She hadn't thought of Shepard in years, nor had she ever dreamed about the Commander. Every time the turian blinked she could see Shepard's haunting stare, until it faded away as the woman began to get ready.

She had a monster to kill.

When Faron had said the shaft would go right into the quarantined zone, he hadn't lied. Nividia slid down the piping until she landed a little roughly in an abandoned research room. There were chairs and computers, all covered in dust and powered down, documents and datapads strewn across the workspace like none of it had mattered.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Nividia picked up one of the datapads and tentatively tapped it's screen.
It flickered with an orange, yellow hue before it activated and showed her a journal entry.

November 7th

That had been a month after the initial Reaper invasion, no doubt the scientists had hunkered down here in hopes of surviving and finding some sort of tidbit of information that would at least halt the enemy's advance.

Nividia read the entry, her eyes quickly scanning for relative information.

We can hear it when it walks overtop of us. A soft boom, like distant thunder. But we know it's not, we know if we dared to venture to the surface, to chance a glance at the storm raging above, that we'll be dead before we could blink. One of those things had obliterated the capital, then another landed overtop the ruins.
They're searching.
All we can do is hope that we're hidden, hope that we ran deep enough so that they can never follow. We have enough supplies to last us years down here, and we have power.

The entry went on for a little while, mentioning small tidbits of what was happening in the galaxy, a few charts and graphs representing what they thought was an accurate recording of the war...
Nividia spotted a small control panel on the far side and hurried for it, pressing her hand onto it's supposed sensor.
Nothing.

"Apparently," she murmured, reaching over her shoulder and brandishing her rifle. "Someone turned off the power."
With a quick click on the side of the Mattock rifle, a flashlight flickered on and illuminated the area in front of her.

The hunt had began.