Lord Ridley, self-proclaimed and defending leader of the Space Pirates, stood on the bridge of his flagship, a small frigate called the Orpheon. The ship was large compared to what the pathetic human Alliance called a frigate, but relatively small when compared to the larger ships in his navy. It suited the lord's needs, though. It had plenty of areas for hauling stolen technology and preserving animal life in stasis, and plenty of lab complexes that gave his men places to perform their experiments while on the go.

Another feature Ridley enjoyed was the beautifully massive view the Orpheon's bridge provided. The front of the room was rimmed by a large window several meters thick, providing the command staff with an excellent view of the battlefield. It gave him and his advisors a view to make decisions when holographic displays appeared to be exhibiting errors.

It also was rather assertive of dominance when one's opponent was willing to put himself in the most dangerous position just to show he expected to come out of the fight.

Ridley, being of the leader caste of space pirates, looked less like his subordinates and more like a ten foot tall medieval dragon or gargoyle. He had a long head reminiscent of a prehistoric pteranodon, and deep, piercing orange eyes. His skin was a shade of deep, blackish purple. He wore light, form-fitting armor colored black, ultimately blending with his skin.

The space around the ship was a mess, the lord observed. The human Alliance had put up a decent fight, but their small amount of ships here was no match for Ridley's invading fleet. He had brought five cruisers with him, which was more than enough. The massive ships, which looked like three long prongs extending from a cylindrical core and engines, had decimated the human ships in orbit. Now, his ships were preparing to send troops planetside in order to attack the colonies. And then came the bulk of the attack, but that was not for now.

Ridley pressed a button, activating the fleetwide intercom through which he relayed orders.

"Attention, all ships," he announced, gathering attention. "Assemble your ground teams. Prepare to attack the human's garrison. We need to destroy their anti-ship weapons before bringing in our gift." The Space Pirate Lord smiled and then added, "Kill all you want. Have fun."

He watched as hangar bays on his other ships opened and shuttles began to pull out, carrying hundreds of ground troops to take on the Alliance's ground forces. After that, the real fun could begin.

"Lord Ridley," an officer called, walking towards his dragon-like commander. His tone suggested that there was a problem.

"What is it," Ridley growled, somewhat annoyed.

"We have detected a new signature dropping out of FTL," the insectoid Pirate officer informed. "Its profile matches the description of the human starship known as 'Normandy'. The ship vanished off our sensors as soon as we detected it."

Ridley cocked his head slightly. "The fabled Commander Shepard's vessel?" he asked, a menacing smile crossing his ugly face. He had heard the stories of the so-called 'Hero of the Citadel'. Sadly for him, fancy titles would not be enough to take down the Space Pirates. "Well, let us see just how powerful this human can be. Let him land. Make his pilot think they're winning. The ground troops will let us see just how great this brilliant commander is."

The officer bowed. "It shall be done, milord."


Shepard, clad in his full N7 armor and breather helmet, stood on the bridge of the Normandy as it dropped out of FTL and into standard space. The blue-shifted light in front of the ship disappeared, replaced with a black field dotted with stars. Dominating the view, however, was the green-blue mass that was the Alliance colony of Norion.

The first thing the commander caught sight of was the five, massive ships in orbit. They had a menacing appearance to them, looking more like some alien undersea creature than starships. Their reddish black hulls were bristled with spine-like guns. Each ship was made up of three long, teardrop shaped structures attached to a cylindrical centrifuge where the man cannon and engines sat. Shuttles were buzzing out of hangars along the hulls, no doubt carrying troops to the ground bases to continue the assault.

Floating between their ships was the wreckage of the Alliance fleet that had been stationed over Norion before the attack. The burnt out husks now floated lifelessly about the ether, their hulls still glowing from whatever blast had hit them.

"Shit," Joker cursed. "Thank God for the stealth drive. When I heard it was Space Pirates I didn't think they'd be this powerful."

"You heard Hackett," Shepard said. "Evidently their race is known by that term."

"You know, they have to be evil to use the term 'Space Pirate' to describe their race," Joker quipped.

Shepard merely shook his head at the bad jest.

Suddenly, the comm burst to life. The transmission was filled with static, but was nearly readable.

"This is fl…miral Castor Dane…ained heavy losses…anyone out there…eat, is anyone out there?"

"Can you clear up the signal?" Shepard asked.

Joker began typing madly at the console, trying to get a fix on the transmission.

The feed broke through, almost static-free. "This is Fleet Admiral Castor Dane of the SSV Olympus. We have sustained heavy losses. Is anyone out there? Repeat, is anyone out there?"

Shepard pressed a button on a console, securing a link to the ship. "This is SSV Normandy, Admiral," he announced. "Do you need assistance?"

There was a moment of awestruck silence.

"Commander Shepard?" the admiral asked, stunned. "Never mind. We do need help. My dreadnought's been holding position over the garrison groundside trying to prevent those cruisers from getting down here. The planetary defenses are holding, but there's a hell of a lot of Pirates coming down."

"We're moving in to assist," Shepard said.

"Acknowledged," the admiral replied. "Head to exterior docking area alpha. That should have enough space for the Normandy to land. You'll need to meet up with the marines in the base and help defend it from the pirates. With luck, those cruisers might make a run for the base and we can take them out with the main defense weapons."

Shepard nodded. "On our way," he said, closing the transmission. "Joker, take us in nice and quietly," he ordered.

The pilot nodded. "You know, don't you think it would be better if you, you know, had a crew or something to take with you?" he asked.

Shepard frowned. Ever since his own crew had drifted apart, most of his help came from Alliance marines that would transfer to the Normandy. They were usually brought in for just one mission, leaving Shepard relatively alone when intercepting distress calls. It was times like these when he really began to miss his old crew.

"Looks like I'll have to go it solo on this one," Shepard said. "With luck, there'll be people down there who can give me a hand. I doubt they'd make one person hold off an invasion force."

Joker nodded. "Just stay safe down there, commander. The last thing I need is you dying on my watch. Doesn't look good on a résumé."

Shepard turned to head for the cargo bay. From there, he would exit into the Norion base.

The Normandy passed through Norion's atmosphere and flew down over the base. The base had been shambled together rather quickly in about a year. It was made up of a central spire that stood in the middle of a large sinkhole. Level with the surface stood four large landing platforms with an overhang just high enough to allow frigates to land. Outside the landing platforms were generator and weapons facilities, upon which sat the GARDIAN laser defense towers. Floating above the southwestern corner of the base was the SSV Olympus.

The battle was already raging when the Normandy arrived. Space Pirate shuttles were attempting to land troops all about the firebase. Many were getting gunned down by the golden beams fired by the GARDIAN lasers, but others were able to slip past and offload their troops. Shots and explosions were visible across the base.

Joker eyed the 'exterior docking area'. It was just large enough to fit the Normandy in, and it would take a skilled pilot to slip into that tiny makeshift hangar.

"Gonna be a tight fit, Commander," the pilot said into the intercom. "We're going in!"

The Normandy banked towards the docking bay. The Pirate ships zipping around the skies above the base seemed to ignore the new frigate, instead focusing more on the few Alliance fighters that were attempting to take down their shuttles.

Joker slipped the starship into the docking bay and brought it to a halt. He pressed a button to open the hangar bay on deck three.

"Alright commander, you're clear," he told Shepard.

Shepard watched as the door to the hangar slowly lowered itself, becoming a gangplank to the ground. He grabbed his M-97 Viper sniper rifle off his back and readied for battle. He checked his omni-tool to ready his tech powers, and then rushed off the hangar and onto the landing platform.

A marine was already there to meet him. He wore standard-issue Alliance armor, but it appeared slightly modified. The visor was blue, and obscured his face. It was also colored a rather iridescent grey rather than the usual dull off-white of most Alliance armorsuits.

"Shepard!" the marine shouted. "Gunnery Sergeant Benet, at your service. Admiral Dane told me you were on your way."

"What's the situation?" Shepard inquired.

The sergeant waved for Shepard to follow, and quickly began leading him towards the spire in a run.

"Bad," the marine replied. "The pirates are trying to take down the main defense cannon on top of the central spire. They're going for the generators. We've been able to hold them off at alpha and gamma, but generator beta's been hit hard. If we lose even one, the GARDIANs shut off and the main gun becomes inoperable."

"Main gun?" Shepard asked.

"At the top of this spire is high-powered Thanix cannon," the marine explained. "It's meant for taking out larger ships that attack the colony. If it goes down, I'd wager that those Pirate cruisers are gonna make a run for the planet."

Shepard nodded. "Is anyone defending beta?" he asked as they entered the spire.

The marine lead him through the spire towards the entrance to the beta landing platform and the path to the generator.

"There was a squad of marines over there earlier, but they haven't reported in in a long while," Benet reported. "But I think that Phrygisian merc went to help 'em out. If he's still alive, he'll be there."

"Phrygisian merc?"

"Yeah," the gunnery sergeant responded, stopping in front of a circular door. "The brass wanted him to go after some biotic convict or something. Looks like there's been a change of plans."

The marine pressed a button on the door, opening it.

"I've got orders to seal the spire after you leave. My squad's been assigned to defend the main tower at all costs. The admiral says you need to go stop the Pirates from taking that generator."

Shepard nodded. "Will do. Good luck sergeant."

The commander ducked out the doorway, which shut quickly behind him. He observed the scene.

Crates were scattered along the landing platform, preventing larger ships from landing. They would provide good cover. Space Pirate shuttles buzzed about the area, attempting to offload troops onto the platform. However, someone was gunning them down with a strange energy weapon.

Shepard then caught sight of said someone. Standing in the center of the platform was the Phrygisian Benet had mentioned. He stood at least seven feet tall. His form was humanoid, but his body was more reminiscent of some sort of undersea creature. His body was covered in smooth, blue-black armor plates. His head was covered in a long, blue-visored helmet that obscured his face. Unless, that helmet was in fact his face. His hands ended in stiff, prong-like fingers. On his wrists were strange weapons that fired beams of energy similar to tech attacks—specifically, cryo blasts. The weapons seemed to be able to manipulate ice far better than the standard version most omni-weapons wielded.

Shepard rushed over to the Phrygisian.

"Commander Shepard?" the alien asked, looking down at the commander for a moment before firing a beam of blue-white energy at an incoming Space Pirate. The alien's shields flared and it fell to the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Shepard joked, taking cover behind a crate with the alien. "Who are you?"

"Name's Rundas," the Phrygisian answered. He quickly exited cover to launch a blast of ice energy at an incoming shuttle. The blast connected with the craft's nose, damaging several flight sensors. Robbed of its 'vision', the craft banked heavily to the right before colliding with the wall of the sinkhole. "I was supposed to accept a contract here, but plans seemed to have changed."

Shepard nodded. He saw a Pirate charging them and unleashed an incinerate blast at it. The fireball hit the alien, igniting its armor. The creature shrieked and hit the ground, trying to put the fire out. Shepard put it out of its misery with a well-placed shot from his sidearm.

"I was told you needed help defending the generator," Shepard told Rundas.

The alien nodded. "I usually work alone, but yeah, some help would be nice at this point. The marines made a break for it, hoping to get inside. They didn't last long. Pirates hit them with an aerial assault. Never stood a chance."

"Have the Pirates made it into the generator yet?"

"Not yet, but—"

An explosion cut Rundas off. The blast came from one of the beams overhanging the platform, which had been hit on the end near the generator. The structure groaned loudly and fell. Shepard and the merc leapt out of the way to avoid being crushed. The beam smashed into the platform, shaking the structure and nearly throwing the two off of it. Both hit the ground flat, dazed by the sudden attack.

A moment later, one of the strangely-shaped Space Pirate shuttles landed next to the generator entrance. Several troops exited the craft, entering the generator area.

Rundas and Shepard got up.

"Blast," Rundas cursed. He turned to Shepard. "We need to keep them from taking out that generator!"

Shepard nodded. "Any suggestions?"

Rundas raised the wrist with the beam weapon attached. He powered up the weapon and set it for a cryo blast.

"Just one, Shep," he answered. "Run and gun. Between the two of us, this should be a breeze."

Shepard admired the Phrygisian's confidence. He just hoped it wouldn't get the two of them killed.

Rundas ran for the generator entrance, his cryo weapon at the ready. Shepard pulled out his heavy pistol and set it for disruptor rounds. The two of them neared the entrance. Rundas tapped a hologram in the center of the door and then plastered himself against the wall as it opened.

A flurry of shots from alien plasma weapons greeted them. Luckily, not a single one hit, as both of them were in cover.

Once the plasma volley ended, there was a moment of confused silence. Shepard could hear the Space Pirates inside bickering amongst each other, unsure whether there actually were enemies waiting for them or that it was a simple systems glitch. They were no longer paying attention to the entrance any longer.

Shepard looked at Rundas. The Phrygisian nodded. Shepard returned it. The two spun into the doorway, unleashing volleys of disruptor rounds and cryo blasts.

Shepard's bullets caught one of the Pirates in the stomach. His shields flared, but the momentum from the bullet caused the alien to bend forward, grabbing its guts. Shepard let loose two more disruptor rounds into the Pirate's skull. The first ravaged its shields, and the second tore into its brainpan. The creature let out an alien shriek as it died. Shepard moved on to another Pirate, who was zeroing in on the commander with its wrist-mounted plasma weapon. The commander fired two rounds at its head, tearing through its shields and into its reptilian skull. The hostile alien's body hit the floor, dead.

Rundas quickly dispatched the other two aliens with two cryo blasts from his wrist-mounted weapons. The blasts completely ignored the aliens' energy shields, and the Pirates froze where they stood when the icy projectiles hit them. Rundas smiled and fired a standard energy beam at their frozen forms, shattering them.

"Like I said, a breeze," Rundas told the commander.

"That was too easy," Shepard replied. "There's bound to be more."

"I hope so," Rundas said, chuckling. "We could use the target practice."

Shepard nodded. The Phrygisian reminded him a little of Wrex on his mellower days. "Let's move in deeper," he suggested. "I'll do this quietly. You… you do what you deem fit."

"What are you planning to do?" Rundas asked.

Shepard responded by simply activating his tactical cloak, vanishing from view.

The Phrygisian shook his head. Then again, the commander was an infiltrator, not a vanguard or a soldier. Stealth and ranged tactics were his specialty.

Shepard watched as Rundas ran down the hall. The commander switched to his sniper rifle and set it for disruptor rounds. He quickly ran for the generator room, completely unnoticed.

Rundas had already engaged in battle when the commander reached the generator. The Pirates were putting up a good fight, but they were no match for the Phrygisian mercenary. Rundas' kinetic barriers flared as plasma bolt after plasma bolt impacted against his armor.

Shepard climbed up to a catwalk in the room and rested his sniper rifle on a railing. His cloak vanished as the first shot exited the rifle's barrel. The projectile slammed into the skull of a Space Pirate trooper, tearing through the tissue beneath and exiting through his jaw. The Pirate's lifeless body dropped to the floor.

Rundas fired a cryo blast at a Pirate, quickly taking that trooper out of the fight. He turned his attention to another one that was charging him. Before he could kill it, though, the Pirate's shields shattered and its head exploded. Rundas looked up to find Shepard scanning the room from the catwalk with his rifle. The Phrygisian nodded to him and turned towards another Pirate that was trying to take the generator offline. He charged it, catching the alien in on his shoulder and slamming it into the wall. He dispatched the alien with several shots to the stomach.

A lot like Wrex, Shepard thought.

The commander fired several more times, dropping two Pirates that were making their way towards the ladder to his catwalk. However, one managed to climb up to the catwalk and charged Shepard.

Shepard fired twice from the hip, but both shots missed. When the Pirate was less than a foot away, it raised its left arm. An ugly blade made of hard light sprouted from its wrist. It brought the scythe down, tearing into Shepard's shoulder armor. Luckily, the plates held, and the attack did not do as much damage as Shepard thought.

The Pirate brought back its weapon for another swing, but the commander was not about to let that happen. He activated his omni-tool, which quickly flash-manufactured a hologram-like blade on the device. He stabbed the dagger into the Pirate's chest, bypassing its shields and cutting into its heart. The alien's glassy eyes went blank as its soul left its body. Shepard withdrew his blade and kicked the Pirate's form over the catwalk.

The corpse landed next to Rundas, who was dispatching the final Space Pirate with a single, well-placed blast of ice.

Shepard shattered the Pirate with a shot from his rifle.

"Looks like they're all gone," Shepard responded, looking up from his rifle's scope.

Rundas nodded. "They were probably just a scout party that got lucky," he assumed, turning towards the generator. "However…" The Phrygisian paused for a moment. "Blast…"

"What is it?"

"Just got a notification from Benet," Rundas growled. "The Pirates have turned their full attention to the tower. They're trying to take out the main gun."'

"They must think that this team took the generator." Shepard said. "Now they're going for the primary weapon just in case."

"We need to move," Rundas suggested. "Race you there."

The two stormed through the generator hall and back onto the landing platform. More Pirates had arrived, and were clamoring for the entrance to the main tower. Shepard and Rundas began firing their weapons, and the hostile aliens' shields exploded as they dropped to the ground. Blue-black blood poured from their lifeless forms.

One Pirate turned from the door and tapped a button on its armored gauntlet. A shield of orange-glowing energy flickered to life on his arm. He held it up, and began firing from a notch in the shield. Rundas and Shepard ducked for cover behind a crate as the orbs of plasma hit the ground where they once were.

"How do you propose we deal with this guy?" Shepard asked, peeking out from behind the barrier to get a better look at the Pirate.

Like most of the Pirates Shepard had seen, this one stood about the same height as Rundas. It had ugly, mottled pink skin and a brownish exoskeleton. Its armor seemed too organic, almost merging with the Pirate's body. The shield was a large, jagged circle with veins of light extending towards its edge. A notch on one side allowed the Pirate to fire his wrist blaster without exposing himself from the shield.

Rundas let out a low growl and fired a cryo blast at the trooper. The blast simply froze to the shield and quickly melted, not affecting the Pirate in the slightest.

He knelt back into cover and thought. "How good are you with that rifle?" the Phrygisian asked.

Rundas' question gave Shepard an idea. He rested his sniper rifle on the crate and peeked through the scope. He centered the targeting reticle on the Pirate's hand in the notch. He held his breath. Time seemed to slow as he concentrated. Shepard squeezed the trigger.

The disruptor round sailed across the platform and slammed into the Pirate's hand, tearing through its fingers and boring its way into its wrist. The round's electric field overloaded the Space Pirate's weapon, causing it to explode. Plasma splattered onto the Pirate's gauntlet. The creature screeched loudly and waved its arm, trying to put out the plasma fire engulfing its limb.

Rundas fired another cryo blast. This time, the Pirate was not paying attention. The ice beam hit the center of its target's mass, instantly freezing it. The alien tipped over and shattered on the ground.

The infiltrator and the mercenary stood out from behind their cover.

"You know, we make a pretty decent team," Rundas said.

Shepard nodded, and they made their way to the door. Rundas opened the locked down door by charging through it.

Suddenly, their radio transmitters crackled to life. "This is Sergeant Benet," sounded the marine's voice over the link. "We're getting overrun at the tower elevator. We need help or else…"

The sounds of shots being fired and static finished the transmission. Shepard and Rundas knew something terrible must have happened, and rushed towards the elevator at the center of the spire's structure. With any luck, the marines might still be alive.

The two dashed through the facility, gunning down any Pirates that stood in their way. Luckily, none of them proved much resistance. They rounded the corner to the elevator, weapons drawn, ready to take on any Pirate forces that might be waiting them. What they found astonished them.

The room was littered with Pirate bodies. Their thick, blue-black blood was spattered on the floor and walls. In the circular elevator shaft stood the marines, seeming just as shocked as Shepard and Rundas at the Pirates' sudden demise.

"What happened here?" Shepard asked Benet.

"Simple," a stoical, feminine voice called from behind him. "You two were a little late. I picked up the slack."

Shepard turned to see a woman clad in orange and gold power armor leap off a beam near the top of the hall and land between him and Rundas. Her armor was civilian made, from the Kestrel armor line. But the armor was heavily modified from its original state. The shoulders were larger and rounder, with two small crests running across their tops. The chest plate jutted out further, and did not form to her chest like most armorsuits. On her back were two small jump-jets for assisting with jumps. The helmet, however, looked somewhat like an N7 breather, but heavily modified. The visor was larger than a normal helmet, and colored green. Attached to the arm was some sort of beam cannon, similar to the Space Pirate's weapons but completely engulfing her right arm. Along the legs, arms, and hands were glowing green lines.

"Samus Aran," Benet whispered. "What in the galaxy are you doing here?"

Shepard had heard that name before. Samus Aran was a famous bounty hunter and mercenary in the Tallon Spur. The commander had heard about her exploits across the galaxy. She had proven more than once that she was capable of taking on armies by herself. Stories were abundant about her devastating attacks against the Space Pirates. And she did it all for credits.

All the stories had lead Shepard to assume she was a highly trained turian or even a krogan warlord, but this female human, just barely the same height as he was, proved to be quite a surprise. There must be a lot more to her than the eye could reveal.

"Similar reason to Rundas here," she answered Benet's question, typing a few buttons on her arm cannon. The weapon retracted and folded onto her arm like a large gauntlet. "I was supposed to be contracted for a bounty." She then thought for a moment. "I better get paid for this colony defense," she told the marine. "It wasn't in the contract I was sent."

Benet shook his head. "Two of the most famous humans in the galaxy, right here…" he said.

There was no time to talk, though. An alarm began to resonate in the halls, and red lights started to flash on the ceiling.

The PA system chimed with the voice of an officer. A female officer began announcing, "Alert. Alert. Incoming, high-mass object."


Ridley stood on the bridge of the Orpheon, confident that his troopers would deactivate the colony's defenses in time. He had already heard that a squad of his troops had taken generator Beta, meaning that the garrison's main gun was offline. Everything was going quite well.

Nothing could stop his plan now. Not even this Commander Shepard.

"Bring it in," the lord ordered, turning to one of his officers working a communication's console.

The officer nodded and began typing at his computer.

A moment later, Ridley's true attack came. A colossal meteor left FTL not far from his ship. The rock was wedge shaped, like a V on its side, with long, rocky tendrils trailing behind it. The whole meteor was positively aglow with Phazon. The material was blazing in holes and nodules all across the object.

Ridley smiled. Things were now about to get interesting for everyone on the ground. His Leviathan Seed was on track to its new home.


"Commander!" Joker's voice came over Shepard's communicator.

"What's going on, Joker?" he inquired, shouting to hear his voice over the alarm. "There's a hell of a racket going on in here."

"The Space Pirates just brought in some kind of meteor!" the pilot shouted. "It's headed for the colony, not far from your position. Looks like something right out of a documentary on the Krogan Rebellions."

Rundas rushed up to a window and peered out. In the sky, he could see the flames from the gigantic meteor as it began to enter the planet's atmosphere. The fire was tinted blue as Phazon on the rock began to melt. The whole situation now proved to be rather unnerving.

"By the gods…" he whispered at the sight.

Samus wasted no time. The mission came first, and, while this was not her mission, she was obligated to do something. A colony was at risk. People needed protecting. She had a job that needed to be done. The huntress got onto the elevator and began to activate it. Shepard followed, as did Rundas.

"What now?" Shepard asked.

"I'm activating the Thanix cannon," Samus said flatly. "With luck, it will have the power to destroy the meteor."

Benet tried to get on the elevator, but Shepard stopped him.

"We need you to stay down here. Keep them from trying to come after us," the commander said. "The Pirates might try to make their way up the tower again."

"You might need help," Benet argued. "What if they already—"

Rundas cut him off. "Relax Benet, we'll be fine. We're the good guys, remember? Justice will prevail and all that stuff, right?"

Benet nodded. He was not as much conceding to Rundas' point as he was avoiding an argument with a Phrygisian nearly two feet taller than he was. Plus, Shepard had a point as well.

"Alright," the marine said. "Good luck up there."

Samus activated the elevator, and the platform began to rise up the tower. Within a few minutes, the group arrived at the top of the spire. The room at the pinnacle was rather large. At west-facing end were the controls to the main gun. The rest of the room was filled with consoles displaying targeting data and other schematics for the cannon.

Shepard and Samus immediately rushed over to the main computer terminal to activate the tower's defenses. The cannon slowly came online as the bounty hunter and the specter began typing in firing commands. Shepard wished Garrus were here. He might be able to get the weapon online. He was always good with weapons.

"Look out!" Rundas shouted, jumping away from the window. A second later, a Pirate gunship crashlanded through the tower, skidding to a halt in the center of the room.

The Phrygisian hunter pried open a hatch on the side and raised his weapon, ready to take on the troopers inside. Luckily, the vessel was vacant. It was probably remotely piloted. Just a final attempt to take out the tower.

"It's empty," he informed the others, quite relieved. He looked back inside and noticed a box in the bottom of the craft. He also noticed the flashing blue lights all across its silvery, metal surface. And he noticed the countdown on a screen on its top. The countdown currently read 'five' in Space Pirate numerals. Then 'four'.

Dread suddenly consumed Rundas' mind. "Phazon charge!" he shouted, leaping away from the ship.

The others did not have time to respond. The bomb exploded, unleashing a concussive blast and Phazon radiation into the room. The shockwave knocked all three of the warriors against the walls. They fell to the ground in heaps.

All but Samus were knocked unconscious by the blast. And even then, the Phazon in the bomb was making her suit's Geiger counter click wildly. The annoying buzzing of the monitor was the least of her concerns, however. The radioactive hazard was beginning to take its toll on her as well. She could already feel the substance's emissions getting to her.

The bounty huntress tried to stand up, but fell to the ground. Her legs would not provide the support she needed. Her heads up display showed her vital signs, which were somewhere between critical and redline. She dragged herself to the console to activate the Thanix cannon. Luckily, Shepard had nearly finished activating it. She gave the specter credit. Had it just been her, she would have to finish the commands—a task she no longer had the strength for. All that remained now was to finalize the order with the press of a single button.

Samus weakly reached up to the console and brought her finger down on the command key. It responded with a single, harsh beep.

A VI voice sounded from the console. "Activating Thanix defense tower. Targeting meteor…"


Ridley's eyes widened as the massive stream of white-hot liquid metal spewed into the atmosphere, heading for his Leviathan. The beam quickly blasted its way through the meteor, destroying it. Bits of rock and phazon blasted into space. Whatever pieces of it that were left would burn up in Norion's atmosphere.

Somehow, he doubted that Shepard had been the one to do this. However, one problem came to his mind. A certain, troublesome human that always seemed to follow him.

"Sir, the Leviathan has fallen!" an officer on the bridge shouted, shocked at the sudden defeat. "What do we do now?"

The dragonlike Pirate lord growled. This was not expected. Failure was not the intended option, and yet the troopers on the ground had failed at their task. Hopefully, they had paid for their mistake with their rotten little lives. If any made it back to the fleet, they would certainly wish that they had died in battle.

"Retreat," he ordered. "Call all ships off. Leave those useless ground troops where they lie. If they aren't back here already, so be it."

The operator nodded solemnly. "Yes, milord."

Ridley snarled as his ship turned away from Norion and entered FTL. The next time, he would succeed.


Samus rolled over and slumped against the console, letting out a semi-relieved sigh. The colony was safe. They had won. Cheers to her.

The huntress looked about the prone forms of Commander Shepard and Rundas. She was unable to tell whether they were dead or not. Her suit's computers only monitored her biosigns. Theirs were unavailable to her. She could hear Shepard's pilot shouting from the commander's helmet radio, trying to reach the commander through his deaf ears.

The bounty hunter began to think that the other two had it right at the moment. A long rest would do her good. Besides, the Phazon radiation was making her sick. Her head was throbbing from the blast. She could not retain consciousness anyway.

Slowly, she let the blackness take her.


Author's Note: And that's Norion for you. Wow, can't believe I finished it in one day. Still, turned out to be an okay chapter. Had to condense a lot of it though for time. I didn't want to make it too long to read.

And yes, I had to nerf Rundas' ice powers. As awesome as they were in MP3, they would seem a little to overpowered in the Mass Effect universe. I'm still kind of working on his weapons, and they may be subject to edit later on.

As for Samus, to keep her in the ME universe as well, I had to edit her character. She'll have a backstory though, and it shall involve Ridley. Those two are always connected. However, she wasn't raised by protheans or anything on Zebes. But that's for a later chapter.

And, (spoilers!) they live. What? I can't just end the story here!

Anyway, please comment, and (if you like), favorite it.

Thanks for reading!

Update: Alright, a couple quick things have been changed. The fights are a little longer, the descriptions have been touched up, and I've redone Samus' power suit to look more like her original one. Hopefully this will improve the chapter more.