The roar of the ship's engine was deafening, the ground was rushing past far below, and a young woman, scarred and beautiful, was loading her gun with the ease of long practice.

As the Normandy sped towards the drop zone, Kaidan watched her out of the corner of his eye. The infamous Shepard. The pinnacle of human bravery and determination, according to the Alliance. They loved promoting the achievements of soldiers like Shepard; it was good PR, helped to keep the public on-side.

Word had it that Shepard used to be a biotic. She wouldn't be the first person to have removed her amp for good, Kaidan reflected, and she wouldn't be the last. The ability had its downsides, and if you weren't particularly powerful it simply wasn't worth the trouble. Aside from the fact that you had to eat like a pregnant krogan – that's how Joker described Alenko at mealtimes, anyway – you couldn't wear heavy armour.

Well, you could, but the added bulk would burn through precious calories and impede the flowing movements that focused biotic energy. Who would want to operate at only 70% capacity while gulping down energy gel every 10 minutes, and feeling exhausted? Krogans were the exception, but their anatomy defied explanation.

Kaidan didn't know whether Shepard was still using biotics during the Battle of Torfan, but either way she had succeeded in the face of incredible odds. The one thing the top brass didn't talk about – but which everybody knew anyway – was that she had sacrificed nearly all her crew in the process.

How did they die? Human shields, some people said. Blown up along with the enemy, others said. Strangled with eels, Joker had insisted, ignoring the icy frowns of his listeners.

The truth was, nobody knew. Kaidan looked sidelong at Shepard, taking in her lithe, graceful frame and delicate features, and had a hard time believing her to be a heartless killer. Her expression revealed intelligence, determination and perhaps a trace of sadness – but not cruelty.

He watched her as she scanned the terrain below, and wondered.

Shepard gazed at the small colony domiciles far beneath them, housing yet another population of humans trying to make a start somewhere new. Any Earth-borns who scoffed at the idea could never have seen planets like Eden Prime and Mindoir. There was space on these worlds, and fresh, clean air carrying the scent of flowers and grass. Shepard had even loved the storms which had sometimes swept through their farm, filling the air with leaves and rain, and leaving behind a rich, loamy smell.

Now her life consisted of space travel and planet-hopping. It was something she had gotten used to – another planet, another skirmish. However, the last Eden Prime transmission told her this was no ordinary mission, and unease gnawed at the pit of her stomach. She looked down at the pistol in her hands and frowned, feeling naked without her biotics.

She shut her eyes and let herself remember the feeling. The thrumming in her veins, the warm wash of power spilling over and through her, a blue film over her eyes, crackling energy ready to break like a dam wall and smash her enemies…

No more. She looked down at the pistol, small and dully glinting in her hands, and sighed.

She suddenly had the feeling she was being watched, and turned to see Kaidan's gaze upon her. He gave a shy smile, and quickly developed an intense interest in his omni-tool.

Well, at least she had Alenko on her squad, the man reputed to be the most powerful biotic in the Alliance. She looked sidelong at him, taking in his powerful build and quiet, handsome face. He looked remarkably serene considering the fact that they were about to face an unknown enemy.

Shepard was feeling anything but serene, and she envied him. She had spent most of her working life feeling on edge, though she would rather have died than show it. Inner peace was a pipedream.

"Time!" the captain called. As she got ready to disembark, Shepard hoped Alenko was everything they said he was.


He didn't disappoint. Even if Shepard hadn't seen his biotic throw with her own eyes, she could have gauged its strength just from Ash's reaction. The Gunnery Chief had eyes like saucers after watching Kaidan throw the geth around like rag dolls.

The only problem with Kaidan, she reflected, was that he was rather too keen to rush into the thick of a fire fight, lifting enemies left and right. Obviously his quick reflexes and powerful biotics had kept him alive thus far, but one day, Shepard thought, this guy's luck may run out.

She called a quick time out.

"Alenko, as a biotic you're meant to be the rearguard," she explained. "Stay back behind cover as much as you can and let Ash and me cop the brunt of it.

"Also, use your pistol before you start using your biotics. Save your juice for when the enemy is numerous, or if they're getting too close. I don't want you to risk burning out. I get that it's only a small risk, but I want zero risk."

He stood to attention. "Yes, Ma'am."

Shepard looked over at Ashley, who was taking the death of the colonists hard but trying not to show it.

"Williams, you're doing a bang-up job," she said, clapping the Chief on the shoulder. Ash stood up straighter. "Thank-you, Ma'am."

They pressed on, but it became clear that it was too late to save most of the colonists. So far, Shepard had found only three, and her hopes of finding more were fading.

"These poor colonists were ill-equipped to deal with hostile situations," Kaidan observed as they walked.

"Your average colonist is a farmer or a miner. How can you expect them to know how to fight?" Shepard said, more sharply than she realised. "Their one hope was Alliance protection and it let them down. Ash should have been given a larger detachment."

Kaidan looked at Shepard sidelong with his warm, thoughtful gaze. "Well," he said quietly, "at least we were able to save some people here, Commander. A few is better than none."

Ashley pointed ahead. "More geth," she hissed.


Time, time... they didn't have enough time. Shepard's guts churned as she searched for the last detonation device. Nilus was dead, Saren was a traitor, the beacon was nowhere to be found and everything was about to be blown sky high. Shit shit shit...

"I found the bomb!" Kaidan called, and Shepard wanted to sink to her knees in relief. She couldn't though; she had to help Ashley pick off the last of the Geth while Kaidan defused the detonator.

She ducked out from behind cover. Three enemies left. She scrambled back behind a guard rail and listened to the geth's bullets slam into the metal, which shuddered and creaked. Dammit, it wasn't going to hold up for long.

She ran towards a concrete pillar, firing one-handed as she went. One of her bullets took down a geth, whose memory core crackled as it wiped its data. Safe behind cover, she heard another geth go down. She ducked out and took down the final one with a well-placed headshot.

"Let's find this beacon," she yelled, lowering her pistol to her side as she scanned the platform, and they pressed onwards.

Then, just beyond the mezzanine, they saw it. An unmistakable, glowing spire.

She radioed Joker and then, to her horror, she saw Kaidan being pulled towards the beacon, struggling to break free of a pull that was impossibly strong. He would never make it.

Shepard threw herself at him, felt her breath knocked out of her as they collided, and threw him away. She tried to get away from the beacon but it was too late. She felt herself drawn in, and was barely able to draw breath against the stifling pressure on her lungs. Her mind filled with a cacophony of sound and blinding light, and she knew no more.