Alex Richards woke to the soft mutterings of a man. Groggily he opened his eyes only to jam them shut instinctively because of the bright light shining into his face. Alex had no idea of how he got there, or even where he was. The last thing he remembered was killing Geth on Eden Prime, and then sitting down for a rest. He forced open his eyes and looked around. He appeared to be in some sort of laboratory, or hospital. He was lying in a small pod, which was wide open. He tried to sit up but found himself bound into the bed. He pulled against the restraints, but they didn't budge. Alex started to talk but broke down into a coughing fit. He turned his head and spat into the corner of the pod. Then he started to talk again, this time managing to croak out a short sentence.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked, hoping for a response.

Suddenly the pod made a whirring noise and rotated until it was vertical. Alex was now being held up by the restraints. He groaned. Then there was another whirring noise, almost like a door opening. Alex heard footsteps and then a figure stood in front of him. The man was wearing a doctor's mask and scrubs.

"Who are you?" Asked Alex, still wondering where he was. The man didn't respond, only tapped something into a datapad. The man looked at Alex then looked him up and down. Alex smirked.

"I dunno if you're checking me out but sorry man, I don't swing that way." He quipped. The man made a "Hmpf" noise, and then turned around. The doctor tapped on a button and a holographic monitor sprang up. On it was a video of a small colony that Alex recognized as Eden Prime. The video looked home-made, probably filmed on a low quality Omni-Tool. Suddenly the camera was pointed upwards, and zoomed in to see a huge purple ship descend towards the colony. Alex could only watch in shock, reliving the events of Eden Prime in his head.

Alex sat on the porch of his small ranch and sighed contentedly. Harvest had been good and there had been no problems with young hoodlums ruining his crops. Just in case, he still had his reliable pistol on his hip. The Carnifex had been cut down and modified. It had a smaller barrel and a cylinder which carried the heat sink. It had a maple wood handle and the body was a dark grey metal. All was quiet and Alex reflected on what had brought him to Eden Prime, and his past life as an N7. The War at Shanxi had changed him, changed his morals. No longer was he the death and glory type, his experience had stamped that out of him. He wasn't a racist either; both the humans and turians had made mistakes in the war. During the war he went through more pain than anyone should have. All he wanted was peace, and that was why he went to Eden Prime. The pinnacle of humanities colonies, a paradise with green grass and blue sky, like Earth was before humans tamed it. There was nothing here that would remind him of the war. Suddenly a loud booming noise sounded, and his house began vibrating. Alex pulled out his pistol and jumped to his feet. Even in his sixties Alex was still a capable fighter. Stepping off his porch, Alex gazed up as a gargantuan ship touched down on the planet, shaking the ground and making Alex fall to his knees.

"I think zats enough for now" Spoke a German voice. Alex tore himself from his thoughts and looked at the doctor standing in front of him.

"Yeah, who the fuck are you" Alex snapped. The doctor chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Calm down, calm down, zer is no need to get so angry. I'm here to help you." The doctor replied. "My name iz Emeric, My surname iz not important." The doctor moved to unfasten the restraints holding Alex in place. Once they were all unfastened, Alex dropped to the ground, landing in a combat stance. He lunged upwards, grabbing something from Emeric's belt in the process. Alex tackled Emeric into the wall and put a scalpel against the German's neck. The German man was sweating and holding his arms up in a very real gesture of surrender.

"Not your name, I mean Who. Are. You!" Alex shouted. He pressed the scalpel into the man's neck slightly. Emeric started stuttering and muttering panickedly until Alex pulled the scalpel away and decked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Picking him back up, Alex replaced the scalpel at Emeric's neck.

"Now, where were we?" Alex whispered evilly. Then his blood turned cold as he felt the barrel of a pistol pressed into his skull. Alex dropped the scalpel and let the doctor scamper away clutching the side of his face where he was punched. Alex raised his hands and felt the barrel of the gun removed from the back of his head. He then heard a voice that he hadn't heard in a very long time.

"You need to go, now!" Yelled a younger Alex dressed in medium armor. A red stripe ran down his arm and the N7 insignia was displayed proudly on his chest. He was talking to a similarly dressed man with dark hair and a pale complexion. The man shook his head and replied in a thick Russian accent.

"Dammit Alex I have to do this, and you know it too!"

The two men were standing in front of a dropship ready to take them to the military base and away from the Turian horde. The Turians were gaining fast and there was no way they could get away in time, unless they were covered. Alex cursed, and then grabbed his friends arm.

"Make it count." Alex slipped one of his matching modified pistols into his friend's hand. His friend nodded and turned to face the first turians squads, assault rifle in one hand and pistol in the other. Alex sprinted away and jumped into the drop ship. Turning around he saw his comrade being swarmed by turians, but holding the line and providing the necessary distraction for the Alex's escape. The last Alex saw was his friend lying on a ground with a turian over him, ready to kill.

"You're dead! I saw you die!" Alex shouted, enraged that they had brought a look-a-like from his past to him, probably to get him to join their cause, whoever they were and whatever their cause was. The stranger laughed, and then replied calmly.

"Alex, I was dead. But they brought me back with project Hades." He said in a Russian accent. "I really am Artyom Davenski, N7 Marine, and I do believe this is yours." Artyom flipped the gun he was holding over and handed it to Alex. Alex looked to Artyom's hip and found the guns twin. Realization hit Alex and a tear of joy dripped from his eye over the prospect of having his best friend and comrade back.

"Artyom! I can't believe it's you! But what is project Hades? And who is 'they'?" Alex asked.

"Alex, I work for a company called Cerberus, they're a privately funded corporation dedicated to furthering human interests, and they are lead by a man named Jack Harper."