Mass Effect 3: Rewrite (Under Reconstruction)

by SwordofMercy

This isn't about saving the galaxy Shepard, this is about redeeming it from a mistake that was made countless lives ago. In redemption lies true salvation- The Archivist, A Mass Effect 3 Reboot. Under reconstruction.

2. Buried Secrets

The Normandy silently stalked toward the red planet; Its course true, and intentions just. Of course, one would think, how is such a thing possible from a mere object? It lacks the will, the soul if one will, to make such claims of nearly human drives. And yet, the Normandy is much more than a ship. Rather, it is a symbol, if not a goal. Upon its creation, it signified the collaboration and the cooperation of two species who had just before been mortal enemies. It is the sign of compromise and sacrifice upon its part in the Battle of the Citadel. It is the embodiment of rebirth, as it was once destroyed, but then rebuilt anew. It is the shield that carries the sign of victory, as it survived the nearly countless battles brought on by the Collectors, time and time again. It is the the reminder of the consequences one must face for their own actions, no matter if they are fair or unjust. And now, upon the threshold of destruction, the Normandy serves something much more: Hope.

The hope of another day awaiting those of the galaxy after the dark's passing. The hope, that one would be able to hold their lover once more and never let go. The hope, that the inhabitants of the galaxy will push the Repear's back into the void of darkspace, never to return. Or perhaps, it is simply the hope of change in some manner; The breaking of the maddening cycle that has plagued the galaxy far beyond its time. For the end, always comes, no matter how hard one may try to fight it.

"Commander we're about to reach the Mars Archives. Looks like the Reapers have already gotten to work," said Joker over his shoulder from his pilot seat, "I'm not picking up any emergency transmissions from anywhere on the base. Maybe the scientists are hiding?"

Shepard gazed at the console; Confirming Joker's observation and steeling her will against the very thing that haunted her dreams. The Reaper, much like the one from the Battle of the Citadel, stood massive in size, much larger than any starship Shepard had ever seen. Such a force could be seen as unstoppable in most individual's eyes, but Shepard had seen ones destruction; A scene that had constantly played in the Commander's head for the past three years. Though it took many ships, along with the loss of many lives, the destruction of that one Reaper proved, they could be defeated, that Harbinger's philosophy of the current races was wrong. But the Battle of the Citadel also proved that a head-on tactic was not enough to defeat the entire Reaper force, something new had to be called upon in battle. It was simply a question of what. Yet, the Battle of the Citadel itself did give the Commander hope that perhaps the loss of one Reaper put some amount of doubt into Harbinger's mind, as it had put hope into

"I cannot detect any signs of prominent life-forms," EDI promptly stated, "However, the Reaper appears to be producing its signature jamming signal that is scrambling any communications within a thirty mile radius of the base."

Shepard sighed softly at the prospect of losing even more people to such a war. "Keep trying EDI," she said softly, "If there is anyone alive on that base, we are not leaving them behind."

"Yes Commander," the AI curtly replied.

"How far off is the Reaper itself Joker?" asked Shepard as she turned her attention back to the Normandy's pilot.

"About 15 kliks. Looks like it's keeping its distance," replied Joker.

Shepard's brow furrowed as confusion and a tinge fear colored her mind. "Why?" she asked.

Joker, in turn, simply shrugged before turning back to his console; Attempting to find any information that would be of use. "Beats me," he answered, "Though I would consider yourself lucky. Would hate to face a Reaper on foot... I have a less likely chance of successfully dodging it. You however, can at least run away in terror." His light chuckle filled the cockpit; A blessed relief in a time of death and misery.

Smirking slightly the Commander replied, "Thanks for the vote of confidence Joker."

"Hey, I'm just giving you that little push you need to dodge whatever the giant squid throws at you," shot the comedic pilot.

Shepard could only smile and shake her head in amusement before replying back, "You never know what terror will do for you Joker. Even you might be able to dodge a Reaper if it came your way." Rolling his eyes the pilot said, "If a Reaper was coming at me, I would do the smart thing and simply fly away. There is no way you'll find me outside the Normandy now... Well except maybe for a beer."

Just as soon as the mirth had filled the room, it seemed to vanish; Sucked out into the abyss of reality. Straightening her back and pulling back her shoulders at attention, Shepard said in her rare, serious tone, "Best to get down there then, while we still have a chance." As she turned away from the cockpit, she heard Joker quickly add, "I can drop you right on top of the base from orbit. Cortez will be waiting for you in the shuttle bay to take you down."

Shepard turned back to Joker, her brow raised in question."Cortez?" she asked.

"Your new Hammerhead pilot," replied Joker, "The Alliance felt you could use the best in everything... And they didn't want to have to replace the same vehicle a hundred times."

Shepard once again smiled at her friend and comrade. "Aha. And what are you here for again?" she said with a chuckle.

Flashing his iconic smile, the pilot replied, "To brighten up everyone' day of course. And you know, to fly."

Shepard held tightly to the Hammerhead's inner railing as it once again, thrashed against the currents of Mars's atmosphere. A grunt escaped her as her side thudded painfully against the ships metal bulkhead. From the corner of her eye, Shepard saw Cortez cast her a glance; An apology written in his eyes. "Sorry about the rough ride Commander," he began, "Scans indicate that a dust storm is heading this way. The winds are already giving me a hard time." The Commander grunted again as she was once again knocked against the wall. Shaking her head away of any agitation, Shepard replied, "Don't worry about it Cortez. A few bumps and bruises never did any harm." A small smile graced the pilot's face before he turned back to the console in front of him.

The Commander turned to her companions; Their faces etched with worry and anger. Ashley sat with her gun ready in her lap, her hands clenched tightly upon the weapon. Vega stood across from Shepard, his eyes seeming distant as if recalling some memory from long ago. The Commander knew of that feeling well. How she yearned to go back to a time when the fate of the galaxy was not always thrust into her hands. When she was a simple Alliance soldier with the sole goal of protecting all beings from harm. How she wished she could just be with Garrus again and the rest of her friends. But such dreams, such wishes, had long since passed; A fate that Shepard had learned to accept. The galaxy was in great danger, and its fate reasted upon her shoulders. She wasn't a typical Alliance soldier anymore, and her closest friends were far beyond her reach for now.

"Commander."

James's voice broke Shepard from the recesses of her mind. She looked up at Vega, only to meet his confused, if not worried stare. Straining a small smile, Shepard said, "Sorry James. I was just lost in thought. Was there something you needed?" James paused as if contemplating what to say, or perhaps was thinking of what could be troubling his Commander. With a moment of hesitation, the Alliance soldier said, "Do you really think we will find anyone here alive here Shepard?"

"I don't know James" replied Shepard, "But if there is someone here, we are not leaving them behind. Especially not for the Reapers."

James only shrugged as he stated, "Yes ma'am... But we might not get a choice." Before Shepard could rebuke his statement Cortez's voice called out in alarm.

"Brace yourselves everyone! We're about to enter the Reapers jamming radius!" he yelled.

The ship shook violently, rattling noisily as the metal groaned from some unknown pressure. And yet it stopped as soon as it had begun.

"Commander?" came Joker's voice over the intercom, "Can you hear me Commander? Hello?"

Brow furrowing in confusion, Shepard said, "We're here Joker. What just happened?"

"Not entirely sure Commander" replied the Normandy's pilot, "Your signal dropped for a moment, but then you came back up," he paused for a moment, most likely reviewing the findings on his own console. "EDI's scans confirm that you are within range of the Reaper signal," he finally stated with slight disbelief.

Ashley, shocked at the discovery as well, could only sputter. "That... that can't be right," she said in a soft, nearly fragile voice.

Shepard thought silently for a moment, contemplating what such a finding could mean. Finally, Shepard said, "EDI is never wrong about these sort of things," there was another pause before the Commander continued, "But just as a precaution: EDI I want you to analyze the Reaper's signal. Let me know if you find anything important."

"Very well Commander," EDI promptly replied.

The ship jolted slightly as it made its final descent onto the landing pad. A mournful silence filled the hull as the crew prepared to embark on their mission. The prospect of not finding any survivors weighed heavily upon the Commander's mind, among other things. She thought about her time on the Normandy with her crew, and how at any moment it could all come to a crashing end. She thought about her time in the Alliance, and before that, her time in the Academy, and farther back, her home on Mindior. she thought about Garrus and how much she missed him; His charismatic attitude, his jokes, his voice, his comforting events of her life, had led up to this one point in history.

Her gaze landed upon her own companions, her mind wondering upon what they were thinking in that instance. Were they picturing their families? Their lovers? Or simply looking back on their own lives; Ensuring that they, themselves, had no regrets. With a soft sigh, Shepard looked away, placed her helmet upon her head, and readied her gun. She did not have look back to know that her teammates had done the same. With a final nod to Cortez, she turned to face the hull's main door. She heard the familiar hum of the cockpits airlock doors move into place, followed by the hiss of the equilibrium systems. With a final glance at Ashley and James, Shepard activated the doors systems and took her first look at Mars.

The red-dust covered valley was the first sight to greet the Commander. From the distance, she saw the beginnings of the dust storm that was heading their way. The Commander knew that they did not much time. They needed to move fast. Motioning to her comrades, the three soldiers made their journey to the eerily quiet base.

"Looks like some of the researchers made a break for it," said Vega sullenly as he noted several crashed ships as the bottom of the gorge, "Didn't get far with that Reaper on the horizon."

Ashley sighed in frustration as she added, "Still doesn't explain why its not coming anywhere near the base."

Shepard's headset came to life as Joker's voice filled their helmets. "I believe I have the answer to that," he said triumphantly before pausing and quietly adding, "... Well, at least EDI does."

Shepard could only imagine EDI shaking her 'head' in either amusement or sheer embarrassment. Without a single pause, the AI said, "Shepard, I have been monitoring the Reapers jamming signal to determine any weaknesses that could have been be exploited by the science team. From my analysis, I have determined that there is another signal coming from within the base."

Shepard nearly stopped dead in her tracks; Confusion and some form of unknown excitement taking hold of her mind. "What do you mean?", she asked EDI. The AI remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating what to say next, or perhaps looking over the information she had already gathered. Breaking the almost unbearable silence, EDI replied, "In addition to the Reapers signal, I am detecting an unknown energy fluctuation that appears to be counteracting all of the Reapers primary signals. In a sense, it is another jamming signal. Only this one is targeting the Reaper alone. In addition, the signal is also allowing certain frequencies to bypass the other signal, while blocking others. A 'gateway' if you will. Though I cannot determine how this is possible."

"Do you think its the research team?" asked Vega; His question filling Shepard with a rare sense of hope that the Commander hadn't felt since the days of the Collector's destruction.

EDI paused once again before answering. "That is highly unlikely," she said, "What portions of the signal I have managed to analyze do not match any known encryption of the Alliance or any other established organization. Its behavior is also... odd."

Shepard could only imagine the frown that formed on her face, as Ashley forced out, "Odd? How can a signal be acting odd?"

"It is difficult to explain," said EDI, "As I try to analyze it, it 'pulls away'. As if whatever is creating it knows I am watching and does not wish to be found."

The dull sound of gunfire cut-off anything that the AI might have wanted to add. "Uh, Commander, we got Reapers forces!" yelled Vega in his comm. Shepard wasted no time in ducking behind a crate. She didn't need to watch as Ashley and Vega did the same. Holding her gun close to her chest, she said over her headset, "Keep trying EDI. I want to know anything else that you can find." With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she slowly peeked around the corner of the crate to see the one thing, she hoped to never come across again.

"Looks like Cerberus is tangling with the Reapers", said Vega as they watched the yellow and white clad soldiers near-retreat. Ashley quickly asked, "What the hell are they doing here?!" The Cerberus troopers were slowly making toward the vehicle entrance of the Mars base; Meeting the opposing Reapers forces head-on. But, the strength of the Reaper's ground soldiers proved too much, as Cerberus' forces fell one by one. With the last of the troopers down, the Reaper's soldiers screamed in triumph, before falling silent. Slowly, their hollowed glowing eyes turned toward the Commander's position. In a flash, they began running toward the three Alliance soldiers. "We'll get to that later," yelled Shepard as she readied herself to fight. "Take those husks out!"*

Her two companions did not need to be told twice as they opened fire upon the descending hoard. Bullets flew, grenades were thrown, and Eve unleashed the force of her biotics. One by one, the husks began to fall, each one screaming in agony as they were taken down. Shepard soon found herself smiling, not from the deaths of the enemy, but from the familiarity of the situation. Her own companions watching her back, their weapons firing rapidly but precisely, their powers unleashed with deadly strength, and with nothing standing between them and the enemy aside from a few areas of cover. This was the battlefield Shepard knew. This was were she had belonged. This is what she had missed during those months of confinement.

Even though they were outnumbered, the group of husks did not stand a chance against against the three highly trained Alliance soldiers. In a matter of minutes, the last of the husks fell into the red dust, and a silence took hold. Casting a glance to both of her companions, Shepard began to trek forward once again. With every step she took, her anticipation seemed to grow.

Anticipation?

For the device perhaps?

Or simply the thrill of the awaiting battle?

Maybe even, the possible end of a millennium of death and destruction?

"Looks like even Cerberus doesn't stand a chance against the Reapers", came Vega's voice, pulling the Commander out of her own silent musings. Ashley's voice then followed after.

"But what's Cerberus doing here in the first place?" she said, casting what she believed was a secret glance at the Commander. It did not go unnoticed by Shepard, who decided it was better not to push the matter.

"Good question," she replied, hoping that the Lieutenant Commander would drop the topic. Her hopes were dashed away when she heard Ashley ask, "You don't know?"

Of course she would second-guess her yet again.

Before Shepard could reply, she saw the leading Vega quickly jump for cover. "More Reaper forces ahead!" he yelled as he opened fire on yet another group of husks.

The finger-pointing simply had to wait.

Taking cover as well, the Commander readied her own pistol beforerising up and taking aim. With quick precision she took out her own fair share of husks. Though she certainly wasn't Garrus, nor Thane, she knew how to use a pistol.

Rushing out from cover, Eve proceeded to clear out the husks that were 'hiding' behind one of Cerberus' abandoned vehicles; More or less by throwing them out with a biotic push that put them in the open for Ash and Vega to take care of. And just as quickly as the first, the second group of husks fell silently into the dust.

In truth, it felt good to be in the field again. Even if it was fighting a nearly unstoppable force that threatened to destroy all the known civilizations of the galaxy for some unknown reason.

"Well that certainly doesn't help my mood," thought Eve as she made her way to the base's garage; Ash and Vega following closely behind as usual. Walking over to the dust covered control panel, Shepard activated the bay's large doors. They closed with a heavy thud.

And then another.

And then another.

Wait, those were footsteps.

"Alright Shepard," said Ashley in a tone that demanded the Commander's attention, "I want some answers and I want them now. What the hell is Cerberus doing here?"

To Eve's great relief, it seemed that Vega did not like the tone that Williams had taken with their commanding officer as he did not hesitate to retort, "What makes you think the Commander has anything to do with Cerberus?"

Ashley cast him a quick glance, or most likely a glare, before turning back to face the Commander once more. "Even you have to see the connection Vega," she said as she glared at Shepard, "Shepard worked with Cerberus before, and now they are here. That can't be a coincidence."

"Of course she would see a connection that wasn't there," thought Shepard as she stared right back at the other woman. Ever since Horizon, she hadn't heard a single word from the woman she had once called friend, and when they finally met again, Ashley had done nothing but second-guess her. Her! After everything she had done for the Alliance, no, the galaxy, she would dare question where her morals were. And on top of that, all Shepard had done for this one woman. She took this woman onto her ship from the very beginning, saw the potential the all others had refused to see, and pushed her to be the best not to clear her family name, but because she had the ability to be the best. And this was how she was repaid?! The Commander would have none of it. She could not take anymore. She simply would not.

"I can understand why it is hard for you to trust me now," she said as calmly as she could, "But I ask you to trust me when I say this: I did not work for Cerberus, I worked with them to stop the Collectors, when the Council and the Alliance failed to do so. That's all. After that, I have had nothing to do with them."

It was at this point, that Vega chose to step in once again. "Shepard had been under surveillance since her incarceration," he said matter-of-factly, "There is no way she could have been communicating with them without someone finding out."

Shepard did not wait for Ashley's reaction as she turned to activate the console once again. They just didn't have the time to negotiate upon the boundaries of trust. Eve felt that there shouldn't even have been an issue. But there was. And she knew she should have expected it. She should have remembered that Ashley was not one to hold her opinions until a proper time. If it had been another time, Shepard would have been more lenient to her mistrust, as both woman had clearly changed in some way.

"No," thought Eve to herself, "Everyone else changed. And I just didn't." With a hiss and a groan, the room began to equalize itself; Producing the same monotone voice that one could come to expect from a VI sterilization program. When it it announced the equalization and sterilization process complete, Eve did not hesitate to remove her helmet; Strapping the bulky dome to the free latch on her waist. She felt too constrained wearing the thing when her anger flared. Turning to face her companions, she saw that they had done the same as well.

Locking her eyes with Ashley's, Shepard said, "You trusted me once Ash. Everything I have ever done was for the good of the galaxy. Why is that so hard to believe that now?"

In turn, Ashley had no reply to give. And Shepard was not going to wait for one.

Once again turning back to the console, the Commander activated the bay lift. The elevators doors came down with a powerful thud, before the floor jolted, as the slightly outdated elevator began its assent. Only the sound of the lifts mechanics filled the air.

That is, until Ashley tried to speak upon what was on her mind once more, "Shepard I-," but she was cut-off by the Normandy's star AI.

"Commander," EDI interrupted, "I am detecting several life forms above you. From the readings I am receiving, they are of both human and the Reaper's forces. I advice you to be prepared for battle."

Shepard gave an affirmative and pulled her pistol from its holster, knowing that she did not need to tell Ashley or Vega to do the same. As the lift got closer to the top, the sound of gunfire filled the air. Though the sounds of battle did not bode well with the Commander, she was glad the perhaps there were some people still alive.

With one last jolt, and a loud screech, the lift came to a stop, the doors opened, and the trio quickly made there way to the nearest forms of cover; Ducking alongside the survivors of the Mars base. From their uniforms, Eve could tell that they were security, if not military trained as well. At least then, they knew how to fight.

Wasting little time, the three added soldiers joined battle alongside the security officers. But what should have been an easy battle, proved to be more difficult than the Commander had anticipated. Husks poured in from nearly every entrance in large groups. How could there have been so many already? But still they kept firing, as they were trained to do, and the husks just kept coming.

After what seemed like hours, the set of doors on the other side of the room, and Eve raised to gun to take aim, only to find an image that made her smile widely.

Liara, along with ten other security guards, rushed into the room and began to kill the offensive husks from behind. The Commander heard the soldiers on her side give a cheer, as they watched the Asari scientist unleash a singularity field upon a small group of husks, before pulling out her pistol to fire upon it; The result was a massive, but controlled, explosion of said singularity field.

And in mere seconds, the battle was over. Rising from her crouched position, the Commander made her way over to her Asari friend. Liara, seeing Shepard's approach, smiled and said in a calming voice, "Shepard, impeccable timing as always. It is good to see you, but I wish it were under better... circumstances."

"Liara", began Shepard, "I'm so glad that you're safe."

The young Asari chuckled, though it was one that was seeded with tiredness. "Only with a few scratches and bruises, but yes, I am safe." she said, "My time as an information broker forced me to learn how to defend myself early on..." She then gave a quick glance to one of the security guards that had been with her as she added, "And of course I had the armed group of soldiers with me."

A smirk formed on the head of security's, a man by the name of Johnson, face as he replied, "Not like we were much help doctor. You took out most of them with your biotics. We mostly stood around looking pretty." This alone got a bright smile upon Liara's face.

That must be a good sign.

Ashley had apparently then edged her way to Shepard's side; Surprising since the spat they had only just before. "It's good to see you Liara," she said in a tone that showed she truly meant it.

"Its good to see you as well Ashley," replied Liara before a frown fell upon her face, "Has Earth been...?" She trailed off, expecting the worst.

Ashley could only nod. "Ya," she said then added in a near whisper.

Liara's deep blue eyes locked to Shepard, wanting to ask questions that Eve did not want to answer just then. "I see," said the Asari with regret, and she broke her gaze away from the Commander. "I'm so sorry," she whispered in a forlorn voice. After a moment's pause, a look of confusion came upon her face and she locked eyes with Shepard once more. "But what are you doing here? I would have assumed that the Alliance would have sent you of all people to at least appeal to the Council for aid." she asked.

"Admiral Hackett told me you were here and might need some help," replied the Commander in a lighter tone than the atmosphere would have most likely allowed. She would not tell Liara that Hackett simply wanted the information of the Mars Beacon. It would have made him sound too cold, too uncaring. Shepard refused to believe that the Admiral truly believed in sacrificing so many lives for information, but something in her gut told her he had committed such acts in the past. And to this day, he must have carried those burdens.

"Yes," began Liara, pulling Shepard out of her musings, "After the Batarian Relay incident I decided to use my... resources to help everyone prepare for the Reaper invasion. Admiral Hackett contacted me a few months ago, asking if I could assist the science team in decrypting the Archives. We think we found something." She paused, as if thinking of what to say. "A device that could help destroy the Reapers," she finally said.

"A device?" Shepard nearly yelled, "Here?"

Liara seemed to catch herself, and quickly added, "Well, its blue-prints of a device. I believe that the Protheans were trying to build it when the Reapers came for them, but in the end, they simply ran out of time."

And then something hit Shepard: She barely knew anything about the Archives. Sure, she new that its discovery led to the finding and activation of the Charon Relay, as well as advanced humanity's technology to that of over several hundred years. But other than that, she knew next to nothing.

"What exactly are the Archives Liara?" asked the now very curios Commander.

Caught off by Shepard's sudden question, the Asari stuttered for a moment before regaining herself; Muttering that she didn't expect that question next. "I guess you can say its a library", she began, "A source of vast amounts of information gathered by the Protheans for thousands of years. When your species discovered it, it brought you forward technologically wise far beyond your current time. It is believed that without it, you wouldn't have discovered the Sol Relay, or be standing here today. But even after so many years, little else has been discovered about the Beacon's information. Much of its data still remains locked, and even I have made little progress in unlocking its secrets."

So even Liara didn't know more about the Beacon. That fact did not bode well with the Commander, but for some reason, did not overly surprise her.

And then came the next question: "What does this device actually do?", Shepard asked.

"As I said, what we found are simply blue-prints. As for what it does, I cannot say for sure. We were just about to begin its final decryption processes when the Reapers attacked."

"And what you decrypted told you it was meant to stop the Reapers?" asked the hopeful Shepard.

"From what information we have gathered," Liara dodged, "The device was being built around the time the Reapers were here last. It is safe to assume that this device was being built as a last attempt to stop the invasion."

"But we still don't know what it does," Ashley stated bluntly.

Liara paused for a moment, most likely thinking of the best way to break the news. "Not precisely," she muttered.

Damn it.

"Well that's just great," groaned James in frustration.

To think, they had escaped Earth to come to base looking for the key to destroy the Reapers, only to find that such a key might not exist. Things, it would seem, could never be simple for the Commander or her crew. Then again, when were they ever simple?

Locking eyes with the Asari, the Commander stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her friends shoulder. "I trust you Liara." said Shepard truthfully, "If you believe that this is a weapon against the Reapers, then it may be our best chance."

In return, Liara laid her own gloved hand upon the Commander's and offered a kind, gentle smile "Thank you Shepard," she said softly as the Commander pulled away. Something in the young Asari's voice seemed off. Granted, it had always been soft, but there was a melodic quality to it. Now it just seemed hollow; As if Liara's mother had died in front of her all over again.

Then something hit Shepard, in the sense of memory: Cerberus. Could they possibly be in the base.

"Liara," said Shepard in an urgent voice, "Do you know why Cerberus is here?"

"I am aware of their presence," replied Liara, "I spotted a few of their vehicles with our outside security cameras. I have no doubt that many of them are in the base now."

Ashley nodded, casting an unreadable glance at the Commander as she said, "Ya, we ran into them on our way here, though they were pretty busy getting killed by the Reaper's husks. Seemed pretty desperate to get inside."

"Any idea what they are looking for?" asked Eve.

Liara thought silently for a moment, before her eyes widened and she said, "They must be after what you are here for: The Beacon."

"Why?" asked Shepard.

Liara locked eyes with the Commander; Her deep blue eyes shining with intellect and passion as she said, "The Archives contain the largest source of untapped Prothean information known to the galaxy. If Cerberus were to get their hands on it, they may very well use that information they may find for their own gain. We must reach it before them at all costs."

Her voice sounded too off, too strained. Something far worse than Reapers and Cerberus plagued the Asari's mind, and that thought alone put the Commander on edge.

"Are you okay Liara?" asked Shepard soothingly, "I mean, are you really okay?"

Liara looked away from the Commander as she replied, "I'll be fine Shepard. I just need some time... When we get out of here that is." The tone of her voice, was one that literally begged the Commander not to push the subject. At least for the moment. And just as Liara had done for her, Shepard chose to drop the matter until another time: When they were safe and off the base.

"Okay," said Shepard as she took on her commanding persona, "Lets get to the Archives before Cerberus or the husks do."

But before anyone could move, the familiar voice of Cortez blared upon the comm system.

"Commander," he said in a voice that contained panic, "I have a hail from a group of scientist and noncombatants that have bunkered down about a mile away from the landing zone. They are going to get swarmed by Reaper forces unless we evacuate them now!"

"What is it Shepard?" asked Liara when she saw the look frustration upon her friend's face.

"There's a group of survivors, nearby with Reaper forces heading their way. If we don't find a way to evacuate them, I don't think they'll survive," replied Shepard in a tone that told the Asari what options, what outcomes, were in play now.

Liara, looked as though she turned an even paler blue, and said in a desperate tone, "We can't leave them Shepard."

"But we don't have time to go back for them," shot Vega from behind the Commander.

The Commander stood there; Contemplating. Over what? The value of lives that were on the line? That wasn't like Shepard. Not at all. She made it her sole philosophy to save as many lives as possible. But what if that meant allowing two million lives to be lost so that twenty million others could be saved.

"God," thought Eve to herself, "This is war."

Pulling her mind out of its reprieve, the Commander turned to Johnson and asked, "Captain, how fit are you and your men to fight?"

The Captain in turn, only offered a short shrug, before he replied, "We took a pretty rough beating before Doctor T'soni found us. Don't know if we can survive another skirmish."

"So let the scientists hold out on their own," said James as he began to make his way to the room's point of access. But his stride faltered as he heard Liara yell, "They won't be able to. They may not even know how to defend themselves."

The room was then plunged into silence, as all eyes fell upon the Commander.

Shepard heard Ashley release a soft sigh before she softly said, "Its your call commander. What do you want to do?"

One mere decision that could, would possibly, save countless lives, if not every single individual life that remained in the galaxy. A single choice to save one group at the loss of another. One chance to make a call that could help or hinder the Commander's chances of victory. The entire situation came down to numbers, and Eve hated it. No life should ever be weighed in worth; No soul put up for bargain. In her short life, the Commander would have never expected to make a near deal with the devil, but working for the Illusive Man was close enough to the scenario. A decision had to be made, its consequences faced, and perhaps one day, its own oblivion in history.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, the Commander spoke. "Vega," said Shepard, "take the security squad and get those people out of there. Hail for Cortez when you are in position."

But to think that the large man would agree with her decision was a little too much to ask for. But only a little.

"Commander-", began Vega, but he was quickly cut off by the Commander's rarely used, cold stare; A look that demanded the young man to shut his mouth and do as he was told.

"Now Lieutenant," she said as she turned to face her other two companions. "Williams, you're with me," she said as she pulled out her weapon once more. She heeded to the urge to glance back at the security team and Vega moving toward their next goal. Though most of the men stood tall and proud, the young woman could clearly see that a good portion of them were injured as well. She could only hope that she wasn't sending them all to their doom as they marched head-on into battle once more.

"Be safe," offered the Commander silently as she pulled her attention to the task at hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Commander could see a faint smile of relief grace Liara's lips, and she heard the Asari whisper, "Thank you Shepard."

Turning so that they stood face-to-face, Eve simply replied, "I won't let people who can't even fight be left to the Reapers."

Not again. Not like those on Earth.

Liara could only nod at the Commander's words, but that same smile continued to grace her face as she pulled out her own weapon.

"Well then," she began, "If you are going after the archives, I best go along as well. You'll need me if you hope to get any information from it." She drifted off into a moment of silence before she added, "Perhaps we shall find more survivors along the way."

With a nod of confirmation, the Commander once again readied herself for what could be waiting for them ahead. "It's now, or never," she thought as she felt herself step forward.

"No," she added as she heard Liara and Ashley follow her, "It's only now."

To say the trek to the Archives was simple would be a bit of an understatement. Well perhaps more of a large understatement. To the trio, it felt like every corner had a surprise around it, every hallway a husk waiting for them, and in every room, the body of an individual who was simply not fast enough. On Earth, there was space to maneuver, places to hide, and exploits with the environment. But here, it was a nightmare. True, there was cover, but hiding behind a upturned table could only get you so far. And to stack the odds further, a stray bullet in the already damaged glass could send toward an untimely death; To which Eve had no intention of ever experiencing again.

Of course, one could not forget the newly upgraded husks.

"What the hell is that thing?!" yelled Ashley as she quickly rolled for cover.

Standing just down the hall, was what Eve could initially describe as a midget. Or perhaps to be more accurate, a dwarf of some kind that she heard about from tales her father had told her as a child. Short in stature, this creature appeared to be armored head-to-toe. Large barbs protruded from its back and it wide lower arms. Even from their distance, Eve could see its small glowing eyes lock onto her as it slowly lumbered forward.

With one arm raised so that its wide, lower arm covered a majority of its exposed flesh, it stomped forward. And just as the Commander thought such a creature couldn't possibly be to much trouble, did the thing suddenly role forward at high speeds.

Rolling to the side, the Commander barely managed to dodge the rolling enemy. A quick image flashed through her mind her she imagined being impaled on the thing's spikes. A shiver ran down her back, but it did little to stop her as she quickly picked herself up to face the new enemy.

"It's weakness is in the center of its back!" yelled Liara as she opened fire on the heavily armored husks.

"Time your shots and try not to get run-over!", yelled back Ashley.

Seemed simple enough.

Until Eve saw three other 'roly polys' coming around the corner.

The trio found themselves a set of metallic doors. Though the distance from their starting point was short, the constant fighting did little to make the trip seem any easier. Husk after husk threw themselves at the fighting women, only to die from a bullet, grenade, or some biotic talent. The hardest part, at least in the Commander's opinion, was fighting those rolling husks. Spikey-balls , plus a hallway, minus reliable cover, equaled out to one hell of a fight and a lot of close calls.

An irritated huff from the Asari scientist drew the Commander out from her own musings. She watched as Liara tried, multiples times, to enter in her own security code, only to find that the doors refused to open.

"It looks like the doors have been put on lockdown," she said as she stared at the lock in frustration; Its electronic lock glowed a familiarly mocking orange. The Asari toyed with her omnitool for a few moments more, trying to open the doors. But a deeper frown soon graced her young face, as her attempts led to no success once more. "I can't get into the system. From what I'm gathering, the coding for the lock changes every tenth of a second. My own software cannot even breech it."

"Do you think Cerberus made it this far into the base?" asked Ashley has she peered out the base's windows.

"It is a possibility," replied Liara before she gave a huff of annoyance and pulled herself away from the still locked door.

So much for that.

"It's no use," she said as she locked eyes with Shepard, "I can't get through. We will have to find another route to the archives."

"Any suggestions?" asked Shepard.

The young Asari thought for a moment or two, before replying, "Yes, I believe there is." She did not offer more as she pulled out her omnitool once more. With quick, nimble fingers, she pulled up what appeared to be a miniature layout of the base; Three glowing dots indicated the position of the companions. She then continued, "There is a maintenance access point nearby that leads to the outside. If we were to use that, we can make our way across the maintenance walkways, to the next access point." She trailed off, as she thought once more. "With any luck," she finally added, "we won't meet opposition along the way."

Ashley, being a Williams, suddenly added her own thoughts into the mix. "It's not the husks I'm really concerned about," she said with a near groan.

"If we move fast enough," Liara shot back, "we can make it before the storm hits as well."

"Are you sure there isn't another route we could take?" asked Shepard, "Preferably one that doesn't lead to the chances of getting spaced?"

A strange choice in words considering...

The young Asari looked down at her omnitool once more; Her blue eyes scanning anything, even the smallest of gaps, that could possible be used as a way to the Archives. But alas, such dreams were dashed away as Liara replied, "There doesn't appear to by any other way on the inside. My scans show that all of the main an and even secondary routes to the tram-station, are under lockdown. And as you saw just now, the chances of being able to hack through them all relatively slim."

Well somebody certainly didn't want to make the situation any easier.

"Alright then," said Shepard as she tried to keep a somewhat collective looking face, "Looks like we're taking the highroad then. Let's move fast and be careful."

Taking one last glance at her omnitool, Liara deactivated the glowing device and said, "The access point is just within the vaults. Because of the sensitive material that was discovered here, a new ventilation system had to be installed, hence the maintenance shaft. It should have a near direct route to the next access point. We should get moving if we wish to beat the impending storm."

Before Shepard could reply, an all too familiar screech filled the air, and the trio turned their attention to the approaching enemies from down the hall. With a silent sigh, the Commander readied her own gun and ducked behind the nearest cover she could find.

This was going to be one long story to tell her children one day.

Something foul hung in the air as the three companions approached the vault area doors. It smelled like burning flesh; A scent that the Commander had constantly tried to forget after smelling her own flesh burn as she entered the gravity field of Alchera.

Or at least, she dreamed that she had smelled it, on nights were the nightmares plagued her the most.

Surprisingly, no husks appeared to be in the area, to which the Commander was grateful for. But as they continued onward, Shepard began to wish for a fight, just to distract her from that forsaken scent.

What the hell was that?

Finally, they had arrived at the vault's primary doors. Liara, being the only own with the correct codes to enter, stepped forward to stand before the door's security panel. With a flick of her wrist, she activated her omnitool, and was about to enter her clearance, when she stopped. After a brief pause, as if thinking, she started to decode the door. "Strange," she said as she continued her progress, "The vault's decontamination routine is active. I shut them down now, but why were they active?" And with that, the doors opened to reveal the rarest treasures of Mars.

And the source of the smell.

"My God!" screamed Ashley as she tried to cover her nose with her armored hand.

Liara stared in horror at what was within and muttered, "By the Goddess," as she took a step back.

Shepard, was no better, as a thousand curses ran through her head, and could only stare at the rooms 'occupants'.

Lying across the floor, from one side of the room to the next, were the bodies of humans, and a few husks, who were all trapped within the room when the decontamination routine was activated.

"They were literally burned alive," thought Shepard as she stepped softly into the room. A shiver ran up her spine as the gazes of the deceased humans fell upon her; Their hollowed eyes locked onto her very soul, and their gaping, deformed mouths screaming the same thing: Why?

Why weren't you fast enough?

Why did you let this happen?

Why didn't you try harder?

Why did you leave us?

Why?

Why?

Why?

WHY?

To this, the Commander had no answer to give.

"Shepard," called a voice from behind her.

The Commander turned to find Liara standing within the room now; Her eyes filled with grief and unshed tears, but the Asari continued on in a strong voice. "We cannot do anything for these people now," she said as she looked forlornly at one of the corpses, "The best we can offer is to save those of us who are left here." She paused as she pulled her gaze back to Shepard. "Its all we can offer," she finished as she walked over to one of the vault's tables; Her shaking hands reaching for pads that could contain crucial, if not irreplaceable, data in them.

Some normalcy, to the young Asari, as well as to Shepard.

The Commander did not answer, as she to, scavenged for anything that could be of use.

Or at least, take her mind off the bodies that littered the floor.

A weapon mod here.

A data pad there.

A camera in the corner.

...

Turning her head slightly, the Commander saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A camera, hanging from the wall, watching them.

No, watching her.

Casting a quick glance toward the other two women, over-hearing their conversation of what was in the vault, Shepard once again locked her gaze onto the camera and took a step to the left.

The camera moved left.

She took a step to the right.

The camera shifted right.

"Must be motioned censored," thought Shepard as she jokingly waved at the machine.

Only to have it wave back in its own manner.

What the hell?

"Shepard?"

The Commander spun around to meet the concerned eyes of Ashley and Liara locked on to her.

How much did they see?

"Are you okay?" finished Ashley.

Everything.

Taking a glance at the camera once more, Shepard saw that the machine was no longer locked onto her, but continuing to shift slowly left, then right, then left again; A standard security routine.

Locking eyes with her companion once more, Shepard replied, "I'm fine. I just thought I saw something."

Ashley remained silent, surprising considering her normal abrasive personality. Instead, she only offered a single nod before breaking the gaze.

Strange.

"Shepard," said Liara as she trekked her way across the room, ensuring she did not step on any of the tortured remains of her acquaintances, "The entrance to one of the access tunnels is in here." She activated her omnitool once more, and motioned to one of the vault steel walls. Within moments, a panel to the room's wall shifted to reveal a short tunnel with a ladder at the end.

"It would be best if we hurry," the Asari continued as she began to put her breather on, "That storm could be on us any minute, and we have no idea if any enemies are waiting for us."

Sighing silently in frustration, the Commander reached for her own helmet clipped to her waist; Its familiar weight calmed Shepard's nerves as she held it in her hands.

"No time to waste then," she said as she locked her helmet on.

Liara could only offer a nod, as she turned and made her way down the short maintenance tunnel. Her soft steps echoed loudly as she made her way for the ladder. The Commander, noticing that Ashley had her own helmet on, motioned for the soldier to follow Liara; An order that the other woman did not hesitate to follow thankfully. Casting one more silent glance around the room, ensuring that nothing important, or anyone alive, was left behind, that Commander followed her two companions to their next destination.

She did not see the camera was once again locked on her; It's dark lens watching her every move until its view was cut off by the steel panel lowering itself back into place.

Once again, it seemed that fate preferred to make the Commander's job even more difficult. Or, as the more optimistic side of Shepard preferred to think: Interesting.

Of course, it had been simple for the traveling trio as the entered the maintenance tunnel and climbed the ladder up. It was a piece of cake to exit said ladder, and find themselves in the maintenance airlock. Absolutely no thinking was needed, as they waited for the room's pressure to equalize with the outside's. And of course, it was a walk in the park to ready their weapons when the VI confirmed that equilibrium had been met.

And when they take two steps outside, and the walk in the park suddenly turns into a game of 'dive, duck, and shoot'.

Not only was the outer fringes of the storm upon them, throwing debris and dust at the companions, but they had met opposition as well. Husks, apparently, could climb pretty well; A fact that Shepard had forgotten even after seeing them do it on Earth.

Every step that seemed to take them closer to their goal, also increased their chances of being knocked off the pathway from the storm, or getting shot by one of the husks.

"Well, at least one good thing came from this," thought Shepard as she kicked a husk over the railing, "Husks don't appear to land on their feet."

Of course, the journey would have been much harder with the 'Rollers' that happened to show up as well, if they had the ability to stop. Apparently, when they were created, the Reapers failed to see that stopping, was a good skill to have. It keeps one from running over a dog with their car, lets one take in the scenery better, and of course, keeps one from rolling of a walkway ledge and to their doom.

Though Shepard loved to use her biotics and pistol, there was just something addicting about letting one of the abominations roll straight at her, only to step to the side at the last minute, and let it meet its demise.

"That looks like the last of them," said Ashley as she pulled herself up from cover as the last of the husks fell.

"And that looks like the maintenance entrance," replied Liara as she began to move forward.

Shepard could have sworn she heard her human companion sigh with relief before she said, "Thank God. This storm's getting pretty bad. I don't even remember how many times I was almost knocked off the platform."

Many, many times most likely.

With a flick of her omnitool, and the twitch of her light fingers, the maintenance door was quickly unlocked, and the trio found themselves standing in a cramped room once more, waiting for the announcement that it was safe to relieve themselves of their helmets.

Only silence reigned in the small area.

"Liara?" inquired Shepard as she turned to face the Asari.

Her companion in turn, simply activated her omnitool, and began the rigorous process of of scanning for any faults within the system. After mere seconds of pure silence, Liara finally replied, "Something is wrong with the ventilation system. It appears that a portion of this section has is devoid of any oxygen. It has been vented out."

What the hell was going on?

"I'll have to manually override the lockdown. It should only take a second, but we will be unable to remove our helmets until this sector has been repressurized," continued Liara as she tapped her fingers along her omnitool. Her own silence did not last long, as she muttered quietly, "But who vented out this sector in the first place?"

Shepard, had no answer to give that would console the near emotionally compromised Asari.

With a click, and inaudible hiss, the latch to the maintenance entrance was raised up, to reveal the impending dark that awaiting the traveling companions. Without waiting for permission, Liara powered down her own omnitool, and quickly made her way down the access ladder; Her drive based upon solving the mystery of the occurrences in the base, more than reaching the beacon at this point. Ashley quickly followed behind her.

Shepard only allowed herself to hesitate for a moment, one mere moment to calm her prickling nerves, before she too, followed her companions into the darkness.

And dark it certainly was. Liara had commented that the power must have been down before their arrival, hence the failure of the ventilation system and lighting. But then, she had recalled, that the base had several units of emergency generators to keep such a thing from happening.

So what the hell happened to the emergency generators?

As they trekked along the dark corridor, the lights slowly began to flicker back on, as power was once again diverted to the devoid section the trio had found themselves in.

"Warning," said the monotoned VI as it came back online, "Power failure detected. All personnel are to vacate the area until further notice."

Ignoring the repetitive VI, the three companions continued their journey through the darkness. Every once in a while, the Commander would glance back over her shoulder; Searching for any signs of approaching enemies from behind. There was simply something about the darkness that did not seem right. It was as if the inky blackness was just waiting to swallow the three companions up. And to make it worse, was the sound. Or lack thereof.

Aside from the VI's recorded voice, the area was quiet.

Deathly quiet.

Finally, the trio found themselves as a set of doors, labeled with the sign, 'Cafeteria'. Though the sector still remained low on power, the doors gave a soft groan, and slowly opened.

"Today's special," droned the VI, "is chicken cordon bleu, served with a side of mixed vegetables and buttered biscuits."

And yet what awaited inside the cafeteria made the Commander lose whatever appetite she may have had.

Like the vault, the cafeteria contained numerous deceased members of the Mars base. Their bodies were scattered across the floor, along with data pads, trays of food, and other objects. These people had died when they least expected it.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Ashley as she followed the Commander into yet another room of death.

"Someone activated the venting systems." replied Laria, "While these people were still inside."

"God, they died trying to claw their way out. Just like in the vault."

Shepard would have liked to believe she, herself, was sad, if not angered, by the loss of lives. And yet, she could not. She couldn't feel anything at this point. Eve didn't bother to look at the discolored faces of those lying on the ground, as she knew their eyes would be asking the exact same questions as those of the vault.

All revolving around the single word, 'Why'.

And to think, just for a moment, one single moment, Eve thought the worst of the base had past. That at most they would find a survivor or two, perhaps information on those who had died in such a place so that their families would be notified. But instead, the group found nothing but death and despair time, and time again. And yet, even more disturbing, was how both groups had died: by fire, and the cold grasp of space. It was too much like how she, her own self, had died two years before. It brought back the one memory she wished to forget, full-force. At least, Shepard had been prepared to die in some form of battle. But these noncombatants, they didn't stand a chance. None did at this rate.

"No wonder the Reapers managed to harvest the cycles so easily", thought the Commander as she made her way over to a data pad, "They'll just drain the will to fight out of us until we are as empty as their husks."

Shaking her head at the sudden negative thought, the Commander reprimanded herself, "No. They can be defeated. Pull yourself together. Just stay focused and take it one step at a time. We defeated the Reaper's once. We can surely do it again." She continued to chant that same verse in her head as she searched the room for anything of use; Only catching snippets of Liara and Ashley's conversation once again. Positive that she had found all that was worth salvaging, Shepard made her way over to the exiting doors of the cafeteria. But upon her approach, the door refused to open. "Must still be under lockdown from the venting process," thought Shepard. The Commander was about to call Liara over to force open the door, but was cut short as the VI announced, "Equilibrium has been met in Sector 2B-6. Equilibrium has been met in Sector 2B-6. All personnel are advised to proceed with caution, and report to the medical wing at the earliest sign of physical compromise."

Reaching, the Commander gently unclasped the bulky helmet with gentle fingers; Sighing with relief as the weight shifted off of her shoulders. As she buckled the armor piece to her waist, her ears perked up as she heard Liara and Ashley remove their own helmets.

All three tried their best not to look at the traumatized faces of the deceased. Instead, they chose to offer their own silent prayer to those who were lost, not only on the base, but perhaps to those of Earth and the other home-worlds as well, before making their way out the exit.

And then they heard something.

A gasp of surprise?

A survivor?

It was almost too much to hope for at this point.

Choosing to remain cautious, the Commander pulled out her pistol and scanned the room. "Company," she clarified quietly as she took several more steps into the eerily quiet area.

Only to jump back as the sound of clattering metal crashed through the silence. Raising their weapons, the trio turned to the source of the sound; The thoughts of battle steeling their nerves. Yet, is was not husk they found, but rather a woman, pulling herself out of the storage cabinet at the far side of the room.

The trio quickly lowered there guns.

She was of average height, nearly the same height as Shepard, with a lean, nearly lanky body; The body of one who had never seen true combat, but kept themselves physically healthy. Her face, was one of youth, but also, maturity. High, but gentle cheekbones aligned nicely with her jawline, which then dropped to a long, yet graceful, chin. She had a long bridged nose that further accented the grace of her lightly colored face, while her full lips showed signs a natural smile. Her hair, nearly a platinum blonde color, framed her face in a loose wedge cut parted somewhat on the side. But her eyes, those storm colored eyes sparkled with a mixture of pure intelligence, and of course, fear. To the Commander's surprise, this woman wore what appeared to be casual, yet sophisticated clothing: a light blue colored sweater, paired with beige pants, and dark colored shoes.

To say the least, Shepard was verygrateful she didn't turn out to be a husk.

"Dr. T'soni?" said the woman as she pulled herself out completely and straightened her damaged clothes.

The mentioned Asari sighed with relief and quickly made her way over to the shaking woman; A soft, caring smile set upon her face.

"Dr. Ivers," said Liara as she comfortingly grasped the woman's arm, "I'm so glad to see that you are safe," she then paused before adding softly, "But what are you doing here?"

The young woman, now known as Dr. Ivers, gently pulled her arm out of Liara's grasp and shook her head slightly. "I was hiding from those things," she replied forlornly; Her eyes seeming to blank for a moment, as if caught in some horrific memory. Shepard didn't need to ask this woman how many people died in front of her while she simply ran away. Quite frankly, the Commander simply did not want to know. Fear, and the fear of fear, could make people do terrible things. Especially those whom did not understand the tactics of battle. But then again, deeming one's own survival important did not always make one a bad person.

Did it?

Shepard watched as Liara raised her hand once more, as if to try and comfort the woman. And yet, she simply lowered her hand to her side again; Deducing that the traumatized doctor would seek out comfort at a different time. Instead, the Asari turned to Shepard and said, "Shepard, this is Dr. Mercia Ivers. She was been decrypting the Mars archives for the Alliance these past seven years, and has been helping me since my own arrival here."

Upon the mentioning of her name, the scientist looked up to lock eyes with the Commander. Her own eyes widened slightly as the presence of the near legendary, if not infamous, human Specter. But she none-the-less, kept whatever remark she had to herself.

Shepard didn't know whether to be grateful, embarrassed, or a little disappointed in the lack of reaction.

"Good to know at least someone has managed to survive the Reaper husks," said the Commander warmly, hoping to melt away the stress that seemed to encase the doctor's mind.

It seemed to work, as Ivers replied with a small chuckle, "I'm not really one for fighting," she paused, before quietly adding, "But I have no intention of dying either."

"But how did you survive in the first place?" asked Liara suddenly, "The last I heard, the commons area was being swarmed by Reaper husks. I thought no one had survived."

Ivers shrugged lightly before she relied, "It was, but luckily, security was in the area and managed to help some of us. They... They didn't last long with so many of those things on the prowl. In those cases hiding is a good skill to have Doctor. It can save your life more times than you would expect."

And then, Shepard thought, that Dr. Ivers could possibly know more about the Archives than Liara, considering that the human woman had been on the base much longer than the Asari. The possibility made it quite clear that it would be wise to ask for any information; Though the Commander hoped that it didn't harm Liara's pride in anyway.

"What can you tell me about the Archives Dr. Ivers?" asked Shepard as she cast a wary glance toward Liara, who in turn, kept her own gaze locked onto the other doctor.

"Aside that it is the largest known trove of untouched Prothean data in the galaxy, and is said to be the sole reason that we discovered our systems mass relay? Not much I'm afraid." replied Dr. Ivers, "Dr. T'soni is the leading expert on Prothean technology here. I just run the decrypting protocols and pray for good outcomes."

And then, that raised another question.

"Do you know what happened to those people in the next room? Why was that area vented out? I would have thought that even with a power failure something would have kept that from happening." asked Shepard in a tone that pointed no accusations toward the traumatized scientist. Or at least, that was what the Commander hoped for. No need to go pointing fingers at everyone over everything.

Unfortunately, the tone only seemed to carry itself halfway across, as Ivers narrowed her eyes slightly and replied cautiously, "What do you mean?"

And even more unfortunate, Ashley apparently didn't get the hint at the Commander's previous tone, as the female soldier quickly shot back, "The dead ones." She took a threatening step forward, her dark eyes locked onto the nervous doctor. "You know, the ones that died fighting for their last breath" she finished.

"What are you saying?" Ivers cried out, "That I killed them?"

"Why not?" Ashley quickly replied, "You were hiding in the venting control room. Probably didn't want the Reaper husks getting in, so you spaced them, along with the other scientists."

"Ashley!" the Commander quickly intervened, "That's enough!"

But even the Commander's own intervention didn't seem to be enough for the now enraged Dr. Ivers. Compromise, as it would seem, was not an option to the infuriated scientist until she said exactly what was on her mind.

And Shepard, could not find it in herself to blame her.

"Those were my friends!" she cried out in a mixture of anger and desperation, "My colleagues! I could never do something like that! By the time I got here, the venting systems had already been activated! And there is no possible way I would have been able to initiate venting protocols in the first place!"

During the doctor's outburst, Ashley had taken a short step back in surprise. She truly wasn't expecting such an outburst from one who look as though they preferred quiet and solitude over all else. Of course, such an outburst also added to the fire of Ashley's own rage. In reality, Ashley had been used to being yelled out by others, and learned to never lash back out in retaliation. But such individual's who dared raised their voice to her were in the Alliance; Drill Sergeants, Captains, Commanders, other soldiers of her own equal standing. Never before had a civilian raised their voice to her, and Shepard knew, that the Lieutenant Commander would not tolerate it.

Luckily for all of them, the calming Asari thought it best to step in at that particular moment.

"She is right," said Liara in a soothing voice. "In order to initiate the venting protocols, you need both of the security over-ride codes. Only the chief of security and chief of engineering have... had that." She then looked toward the shaking Dr. Ivers, her eyes holding a silent apology as she finished, "There is no plausible way that Dr. Ivers could have started the venting perimeters."

The 'heat' of the situation quickly defused from the room, as Ashley looked away sheepishly. Though the Commander knew that Ashley was always a bit... paranoid when it came to those she did not know, Shepard couldn't help but roll her eyes at Ashley's constant second-guessing. But then again, it raised the question of where Ashley's doubt and inability to trust came from.

Perhaps it was because she had done it to the nonhuman crew of the first Normandy.

Perhaps it was because she had always second-guessed Shepard, upon seeing her on Horizon.

Or perhaps, and maybe even more so, she simply did it because she had always doubted herself.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Ashley slowly turned to lock eyes with Dr. Ivers once more. This time, her gaze held a look of embarrassment and regret.

Well at least she felt that way for someone.

"Sorry, she said in a slight tone of embarssment.

Dr. Ivers simply stared at the Lieutenant Commander, her own grey eyes seeking out something within the female soldier. Most likely, the sense of truth. Content with what she saw, the doctor offered only a silent nod to Ashley before turning her attention back to the Commander.

So if the doctor hadn't vented out the room, then who did?

The question was possibly answered by the remembrance of a few certain colors.

Returning Dr. Ivers' unbiased gaze, the Commander asked, "Do you know why Cerberus is here doctor?"

Dr. Ivers' eyes grew a fraction wider, an expression of shock and enhanced fear. "Cerberus?" she said breathlessly, "I heard gunfire, but I always assumed it was security."

"So that's a no?" said Ashley from behind.

Luckily, the doctor appeared to had gotten over Ashley's accusations, and calmly, if not politely replied, "Just before the Reapers landed, we managed to get a portion of a emergency signal out; Enough to at least let nearby Alliance ships that the Reapers were here." She paused as she thought for a moment, and then added, "It could be possible that Cerberus was nearby at the time..." Her eyes then widened even more as a certain thought, one that at crossed the Commander own mind, came to the forefront. "But, why come here?" she asked more to Liara than anyone else.

Liara only replied, "We believe it is the Beacon. It would seem that Cerberus has an agenda of its own, even during the Reaper invasion. I can't even imagine what they are planning to do with it though."

If it wasn't the Reapers, it was Cerberus. And if it wasn't Cerberus, than it was space pirates. And if it wasn't space pirates... It was space hamsters.

Damn that space hamster.

"Better not wait around for that Reaper or Cerberus to find us," Shepard proclaimed as she readied her gun. Turning her attention back to Mercia, Shepard asked, "Dr. Ivers, can you get yourself to the landing zone safely for pick up?"

A coy smile crossed the doctor's face, a look that the Commander was definitely not expecting from the seemingly quiet woman. "With all due respect Commander," she replied, "I would like to accompany you to the Beacon."

"Why is it when someone says, 'With all due respect,' they mean, 'Kiss my ass'?" chuckled Ashley from behind the group.

"Hey, I would love to get off this hell-hole as much as the next person," continued the doctor in a stronger tone before it quickly trailed off, "But..."

That got the Commander's attention. Locking her gaze back onto Ivers, the Commander ground out, "But?"

There was a slight pause from the doctor; One that festered in the small confines of the room and put the Commander on edge. "Before the Reaper attack," Ivers began, "we were getting some strange energy fluctuations from the beacon. Not like anything we have ever encountered before."

Liara seemed to perk up at the new information and quickly said, "But that's... What was it doing?"

The human doctor shrugged her slender shoulders, before replying. "I can't say for sure. But whatever it was, it nearly fried our computers systems. I can only imagine the amount of data that it might be putting out know." She continued, "Right after I received word of its activities though, the Reapers had just arrived. I thought it best to just sit tight, and wait for help."

Suddenly, Ashley, who was eerily silent, suddenly asked, "Shepard, do you think that the beacon is creating the counter signal?"

"What signal?" asked the Asari with a tone of shock.

Oh ya...

"There is something on this base that is counteracting the Reaper's jamming signal," replied Shepard in a manner that relayed an apology to Liara. "From what EDI can tell, it is keeping the main Reaper away, but not the husks... But we don't know what's producing it. We had hoped that it was you, or someone else on the base."

Such a proclamation did not go ignored by Dr. Ivers, as she quickly pulled out her omnitool. It's soft orange glow lit up her face as her fingers danced delicately upon the electronic device. From Shepard's view, it appeared the doctor was looking over cataloged information, or perhaps, searching for what the Commander spoke of. "Yes," Ivers said as she continued looking through her information, "If the Protheans had left messages for this cycle during their own harvest, maybe they programmed this beacon to activate at a certain time, or under certain met protocols. They may have even discovered a code that affected the Reapers in some way and took steps to ensure the Reapers couldn't find and destroy it."

"But during our own invasion?" asked a now very stressed Asari.

Ivers quickly put her omnitool away as her grey eyes locked with Liara's blue ones. In a tone that purely conveyed her own anxiety, the doctor replied, "It's just a guess doctor."

But having another scientist with valid information alive gave Shepard hope that perhaps they could figure out what the blue-prints the Protheans left behind were for.

Liara, in turn, offered only a smile and a nod toward her human counterpart before turning to face Shepard. "She's right Commander," Liara began, "We don't know exactly what the Beacon is doing, and Dr. Core is the leading expert on data referencing. It would be best to take her."

Shepard could have sworn she saw the human doctor swell with pride at Liara's words.

Thinking over their given options, the Commander realized how few they actually had. True, Liara was indeed gifted, if not an fully-fledged expert, when it came to Protheans. But that fact alone, did not give the Commander the sole right to turn down any additional help when it was offered in such a field. Then again, Dr. Ivers certainly did not look to be the type who had ever seen combat. Rather, she looked to be the exact opposite; One who preferred the orderly confines of a lab to an open battlefield. To take her, would put even more burden upon Shepard and her two companions, as they surely would have to protect such an individual. However, thinking back to the previous years, as she and her crew hunted down Saren, then the Collectors, the Commander knew, that she and her teammates could handle it.

"Alright Dr. Ivers, but stay close," said Shepard began walking toward the door, "Keep your head down, your eyes sharp, and your body moving, and we'll get you to the beacon safely. I promise."

A look of joy, if not relief, passed across the doctor's face. With a light nod of her head, she quickly fell behind the Commander; The heels of her shoes loudly clacking against the hard floor.

Together, the four traveling companions quickly stripped the room of any useful resources, before departing. It was clear to all of them of just how close they were to their goal.

And yet also, how far they were from the end.

The final stretch to the tram-station, was mixture of both ease and difficulty. To the three experienced combatants, the endless wave of husks and potential danger, was familiar to them. When others saw chaos and the death, the Shepard and her crew, saw order and the means to live. In order, death comes to all. It is as simple as that. There is simply no escaping the inevitable end that comes to all. It then becomes more-so as a question of how, rather then when. A bullet to the head, a stab to the heart, a disease the ravages the body, the passing of time; Simple variables that somehow, in some manner of which cannot be named, the weight upon the very value of death. When one looks upon a child, they would rather wish for them to live a fulfilled life, and only meet their own end when they have aged beyond that of youth. One tends to never desire for a child to know of death, nor famine, nor disease, nor loss. Instead, one would rather have them live in a world where such things, though as natural as they may be, did not exist. That is the order of which people, such as Commander Shepard, abide by in some form, as they broke the ideals of protecting children; By being forgotten in their own protection. They know of death, it is a concept that they have all known since their own childhood. Famine and disease are of little mystery to them, for time and time again, they were exposed to it in some manner. And loss, a term that can apply to an infinite amount of subjects, is much too common for even the most insane of the group. And yet, they carry on, not because they must, but simply because they chose to. They chose to fight, to die, to starve, to be riddled with sickness, and to lose parts of themselves so that no other individual had to. To walk through the flames of self-destruction in the name of preserving others is what constantly gave the Commander and her crew the strength to keep going forward.

And in that order, it gave them the sense to live just a bit longer.

For none, in the traveling group of misfits, would ever wish to lay their own burdens onto another.

"Look out!" yelled Ashley as she quickly pulled herself behind the wall; The other three companions quickly following her example.

Leaning so-ever-carefully over, the Asari looked into the room to see that the turrets, indeed, were very much active, and locked onto their position.

"What in the name of the Goddess is going on in this place?" she aked in frustration.

"The security turrets shouldn't be on," said Dr. Ivers from her own crouched position next to the Commander, "Someone must have activated them to their offensive routine. With them online that tramway will most likely be on security lockdown as well. "

"So how do we get past them?" asked Shepard as she to, slowly leaned out to peer into the room, confirming that the turrets were indeed waiting for the first signs of movement.

After a moment's pause, Dr. Ivers replied, "We'll need to get to the control center to deactivate them. It's the only way we'll be able to over-ride the lock-down and get to the beacon."

Gazing down at the doctor, Shepard quickly said, "Good. Where's the control station?"

Dr. Ivers could only stare at the Commander in silence, her expression unreadable, as she raised a hand and pointed into the room.

Shepard was not even going to comment.

But Ashley on the other hand, obviously felt the need to. "Well that's just great," she ground out as she glared at the floor.

"But there may be a way to get past them," Dr. Ivers quickly added as she cast a glance up at the Commander, "This particular type of turret may be powerful, but it has one fatal flaw: Its slow as a Hanar out of water when its trying to lock onto moving targets. I mean, this system was designed more to suppress enemy forces, more than kill them. If we're careful, and stick to cover, we can make our way to the control station and shut it down."

Just another game of 'dive, duck and run-like-hell'.

No problem.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Shepard as she threw another wary glance into the room. Those guns were indeed big...

The doctor gave a determined nod, her gaze never wavering off the Commander's.

Well then, that settled it.

"Alright," said Shepard as she holstered her weapons, "Everyone stick to cover and move fast. Don't give it a chance to target you." Just as the Commander was about to take her first step into the room, Ashley quickly proclaimed, "I'll go first," and ran past Shepard before the Commander could react.

Upon seeing a new, moving target, the turrets slowly locked onto Ashley. They fired rapidly upon the defensive woman, who in turn, stuck closely to cover. Taking, what Shepard could guess, was a few calming breathes, Ashley quickly rolled from her cover, once more into the open. In a few long strides, she made it to the next point; Ducking down as the bullets began to damage her shields.

It was at this point, that the Commander realized that she had been holding her breath.

And of course, Ashley didn't help when she sarcastically hollered, "See, it's a walk in the park!"

That alone, brought a breathless chuckle from Shepard.

Seeing an opening in the turrets' movement, Liara quickly followed behind Ashley; Sticking closely to cover in her own attempt to remain unscathed. With a gracefulness, that the Commander would had never guessed the Asari had, Liara made her we from cover to cover. Always remaining a few paces behind Ashley. Looking down at the now, very nervous Dr Ivers, Shepard gave what she believed was a comforting smile, and motioned for Ivers to enter the room.

The doctor hesitated, partly because she was waiting for the right time, and partly out of fear. The Commander had begun to wonder in that mere instant how one, a simple woman with no combat experience, would find the strength to jump 'headfirst' into the fray of danger. People such as Shepard and her past companions were expected to do as such. But for people like Ivers, individual's who planned on living quiet lives with their families, if they had one, until the day they died of old age. To ask Dr. Ivers to enter that one room, where the balance of life and death was like asking a child to explain Albert Einstein's theory of E=mc2.

It was simply 'the unknown' to the young doctor.

But then again, it was also a 'sink or swim' situation.

Shepard watched in silence as Dr. Ivers took a slow breath; An attempt to calm her rigid limbs and fluttering stomach. Casting one last glance at the Commander, the doctor then locked her eyes onto her destination. Raising herself up from her crouch to stand at the 'ready-to-run-the-fuck-away' position; She tensed. Completely still and focused on her objective. Seconds ticked by, as did Shepard's heart.

One.

Two.

Three.

At a speed the Commander never imagined from such a woman, the doctor quickly dashed for cover. The heels of her shoes clicked loudly as she ran past the first point of cover. Then the second.

What the hell was she doing?

And that was when Shepard saw the turret gun lock onto the running Dr. Ivers. It felt as thought Shepard's heart stopped in that one moment.

"Duck," shouted Shepard as she too, ran into the room, "Find cover!"

A grunt escaped Shepard as she felt the bullets of the other turret damage her shields; Cursing herself for forgetting the presence of the other large gun. Ducking behind one of the few scattered crates, the Commander looked for her comrades and released a sigh of relief as Ashley and Liara reached the control center's door. Rolling to the next crate, another glance confirmed that Dr. Ivers had made it past the turrets and was quickly sprinting up the stairs toward the other two women. Shepard couldn't help but feel proud of the doctor for both her bravery and stupidity. The Commander made a note to have a talk with her about taking cover in a fire zone after they got off the base.

Sprinting to the next available cover, the Commander once more glanced toward her companions to find the still standing at the door.

A roll to another crate later, and the three were still there.

Outside the door.

After a few close calls at dodging both turrets locked onto her, Shepard finally made it to the stairs; Her breath coming in sharp, quick gasps and her body burning with adrenaline. To say that she dearly wished for a rest, a sit, a nap, or some energy juice did not seem to appease what the Commander really desired: Some sleep.

Of course, that idea was quickly slapped away when Shepard saw her entourage still standing outside their salvation.

"What are you doing!?" Shepard screamed as she bolted toward the other three women. The sound of hydraulics filled the air as the two turrets made their way into position.

It would not be long now.

Liara's own fingers trembles as she quickly typed on her omnitool; Her own eyes were wide with fear, and she appeared to be on the brink of tears. "I can't get the door open," she said as she continued typing, "The doors are under lockdown with the same coding from before." But still, the Asari continued typing code, after code, after code. Praying that one, anyone one, from the most advance to the simplest she could think of, would work. And yet, no matter how hard the young Asari tried, the doors would not open.

And that was when they heard it. The silencing of the turrets mechanism, and the priming of guns.

This was it.

"Dr. Ivers," said Liara as she knelt down and placed a biotic sphere around their small group, "We need you to get this door open! Now!" The mentioned doctor, wasted little time in taking the Asari's place. Her own omnitool came to life as she began the straining process of inputting several codes that could open the door. And just like for Liara, the door refused to open.

Turning so that she faced the large and powerful guns, the Commander stood ready. She always thought she would die in battle. In truth, it was how she wished to die; Valiantly and with dignity. But after meeting so many people, especially Garrus, an individual that taught her how to love another, she couldn't help but feel cold. No, she didn't want to die like this. Not by battle, not by being crushed by building debri, not by being spaced, not from a Reaper's laser beam, and certainly not by these turrets. Though she somewhat hated to admit it, the Commander wanted to die 'quietly'; Of old age, alongside Garrus, surrounded by their children and their children's children. That was what Shepard wanted. A mere fraction of her life devoted to living a peaceful life alongside her family and friends, no matter how dysfunctional it may be. And the more Shepard thought about it in those few seconds, the more she desired that life.

Those thoughts alone, simply added to the Commander's resolve into ending the war, and living to tell the tale.

She just didn't know which one she desired most.

But it didn't seem to matter then. Here she was, the great Commander Shepard, first human Specter, defeater of Saren and the Collectors, the bane of the Reapers, about to die by an outdated turret.

What a way to go.

…

Well it would have been if the turrets hadn't suddenly powered down; The slight scraping of metal and the groan of pressure breaking the silence the the two guns 'slumped' in there posts.

Silence, was the only thing that followed.

Once again, what the hell?

Liara, though cautious at first, released her biotics, allowing the shield to drop and her body to relax. Shepard knew from experience how stressful biotics were, even for the Asari, and gave an appreciative nod to the young scientist. Liara, only offered a strained smiled as she straightened herself to stand; Her body once more filled with the regal grace one would expect from her race.

The slight yelp of Dr. Ivers caused the Commander to quickly spin around, her gun drawn on instinct. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see that Ashley and Liara had done the same. But her attention became suddenly locked upon the blockade. Or lack there of. Her amber eyes widened a fraction to see the door had been opened.

"Well," began Ashley as she relaxed her body, and out her rifle on her back, "It's a little late, but at least the door is open now."

Indeed.

Putting her own pistol away, the Commander walked forward to stand next to the still-startled Dr. Ivers. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, a touch that received a flinch from the other woman, Shepard said, "Good job Dr. Ivers. Now we can keep moving forward."

There was a pause, one that told the Commander something was troubling the doctor now.

"Well, though I would love to be the hero in this moment, I didn't open the door Commander." She paused, before bashfully adding, "At least, I don't think I did."

"What?" Shepard asked in a tone of both shock and slight frustration; Though she would be more inclined to think she was surprised at the strange proclamation.

As if they needed anymore surprises that day.

"Don't get me wrong, I was trying to get the damnable thing to open, bsomeone beat me to it." continued the doctor as she deactivated her omnitool. In silence, the traveling companions stood before the door, each hoping, each daring to think the near impossible.

"Another survivor?" Liara finally asked, "Perhaps they are inside?"

Though it was a theory that Shepard would have loved to embrace, she simply could not help herself but allow that tiny voice in the back of her mind to fill her with doubt. Slight though, as it may be, such doubt has held her back before. It kept her from saving the ones she loved on Mindoir, it kept her from protecting the individuals under her command on Akuze, and it nearly destroyed her sanity during her battles against Saren and the Collectors. All these years for it to build, to stack, to modify, to grow. Never before had Shepard felt so much doubt within herself.

But then again, she could not risk for it to hold her back now.

Even if they were wrong, that no survivors were awaiting there entrance beyond the doorway, she could at least continue to hope; Hope that others may still be saved.

"With any luck," began Shepard, "I'm just glad whoever may be in there turned off the turrets before it was too late."

Apparently, the joy of surviving, yet another, near death experience, seemed to the young Dr. Iver's head. With a holler, that can be described as on of excitement, she said, "Well lets get in there!" Before anyone of the other woman could stop her, Dr. Iver quickly made her way into the doorway; Taking a sharp turn to the right, and disappearing from sight."

She was much calmer when the trio first found her.

"Dr. Ivers, wait!" yelled Shepard as she rushed in after the other woman, with Ashley and Liara following close behind.

Definitely much calmer.

"No one," Shepard heard Dr. Ivers mutter as the trio made their way quickly into the room. The Commander's heart beating rapidly at the doctor's sudden spree of 'bravery'. Who could possibly know what was awaiting for them in the room. True, the prospect of survivors was appealing, but then again, each of the four traveling companions knew that a group of husks was more than likely to be waiting for them.

If not that, then Cerberus soldiers.

Shepard made a mental note to speak to the doctor about her bouts of throwing caution to the wind.

"There's no one here," repeated Dr. Ivers as she walked up to the computer; Her delicate hands coming to rest softly upon the glowing screens, eyes locked on to the complex images that ran across the surface, and her lip trembling as if she was resisting the urge to cry.

It took all of Shepard's willpower not to rush over to embrace the doctor. The entire situation made the doctor appear as though she were a child, lost among a forest of troubles, doubts, and fears, awaiting for her 'savior' to take her home.

But it appeared that Ashley had other plans on approaching such situations.

"What the hell?" she growled as she paced hazardously around the room; Rifle ready with her finger upon the trigger. "This doesn't make any sense," she continued, "First the vault, then the cafeteria, and now this! What the hell is happening to this place? Who the hell is doing this?"

At this point, Shepard did not know whether the young Lieutenant-Commander was angry, or afraid. The prior was familiar to the Commander, as she had seen Ashley's rage many times before when they worked together, and of course, on Horizon. But fear, fear was something that was new to see within Ashley. Ever since their meeting on Earth, Ashley seemed completely different than the woman she had been on the original Normandy, and Shepard knew, it was somehow linked to her. She promised herself within that one moment that she would find out what it was.

Simply at a different time.

"Ashley," said Shepard in a calming voice, "I need you to relax. We are not going to solve anything if you continue to on like this."

The Lieutenant-Commander turned on Shepard then; Dark eyes narrowed and mouth set in a hard line.

"How can I relax Shepard? How can any of us relax when we're surrounded by the dead and have found nothing but husks and the unknown waiting around every turn? Did working for Cerberus really change you that much that you can't even feel this... this... I don't even know what it is. But its not right."

Though it pained her to think it, making her blood run ice cold when she heard Ashley speak those very words, it was nonetheless a good question, and one the Commander had no solid answer to give for. At least, one that was not overly complicated.

In short, she died.

But, like all other times, she would try answer the best she cold.

"I-"

"Commander," came Cortez's voice over the comm.

Giving a glance toward Ashley, the Commander watched as the young woman shook her head and make her way toward the door. She did not look back as the metallic doors gave a quiet hiss as they opened, instead choosing to continue onward until said doors closed tightly behind her. Something much more than husks, or Reapers, or the dead was bothering that woman, and whatever it was, it was eating its way out of the very core of her being.

Raising her hand to her ear, the Commander activated her own comm device, "Cortez," she said, "We're here. What's going on?"

The pilot seemed to have released a sigh of relief, perhaps thinking that the Commander and her team had been lost merely moments before. The sound of his worry brought a smile, if not coy smirk to Shepard's face.

Making everyone worry until the last possible second? Just like old times.

The pilot then continued, "I just picked up Vega and the remaining survivors Commander. Most of the noncombatants made it, but we lost a lot of the security squad. Captain Johnson was among the deceased. We're on our way back to the Normandy, and with that storm, I don't know if I will be able to get you."

The news of the decimated security squad hurt the Commander, but did not surprise her. She knew, that whichever choice she had had, would end with the death of one group and the survival of another. But the years of loss, of gain, and loss again taught the young woman that somethings, cannot be prevented. Instead, one can only work to make every decision made hence after count for those who were lost.

It was the only thing she could do.

"Copy that," said the Commander in her strongest voice, though she knew it was lacking, "Once you get back to the Normandy, stay there. We'll either have to find another way off this base, or bunker down and wait out the storm."

"Copy that. And be careful Commander," replied the pilot.

And with that, the comm went dead.

As in fact, did all other noise in the room.

After a moment of silence, Liara made her way over to Shepard; Her own eyes filled with the same fear the Ashley's held. Shepard could have sworn that is was the kind one could hold toward ghosts. Sure, Shepard heard her fair share of ghost stories, even weaved some of her own on darkest nights in her time at basic training. But that's all they were: Stories. Ghosts just couldn't be real.

Then again, Shepard could technically see herself as a ghost.

But true ghost, they were different. They just couldn't be real.

They just couldn't.

"Shepard," said Liara softly, breaking the Commander from her strange musings. Shepard locked her focused eyes on the Asari once more. Having caught the humans attention, Liara continued, "Dr. Ivers and I will continue trying to over-ride the lock-down on the tramways. With any luck, and with both our expertise, it should not take long."

The Commander gave a short nod before she replied, "Good, the sooner we get off this base, the better." She paused, before softly adding, "Just be careful. We have no idea who's behind everything that is happening on this base. I don't want you or Ivers putting yourselves in anymore danger."

Liara, though obviously tired, gave a graceful smile. "You've obviously forgotten who I am Shepard. I learned a few tricks these past few months, and I have no intention of letting us die here."

The fire in Liara's normally calm voice brought a faint chuckle from Shepard. To think, all she needed to do to bring Liara out of her shell, was simply bug some computers, kill an army, kill a rogue Specter, and make the young Asari the new Shadow Broker. If only things were always that easy.

Wishful thinking upon the Commander's part.

If Shepard had the strength, she would have laughed. Instead, a soft, but fatigued, chuckle escaped her as she watched Liara walk to one of the other computers that inhabited the room; The Asari's strides filled with purpose once more.

And speaking of computers.

Flicking her gaze over to the only other human in the room, Shepard watched as for a moment as Dr. Ivers kept her own gaze locked upon her computer. Her fingers danced quickly, yet gracefully upon the console's surface as she worked, though her face showed signs of strain and conflicting emotions; Fear, anger, and desperation being the top three the Commander could clearly see.

Walking slowly, but loudly enough so that the doctor noticed her approach, the Commander came to stand beside the now paused woman. Dr. Ivers' stormy eyes locked onto Shepard, her fingers clearly twitching above the console before she set them in her lap and turned so that she fully faced the Commander. Though Shepard would never admit it, there was something off about this woman's stare. Granted, it wasn't cold, nor calculating, nor even dead from the trauma this woman obviously witnessed; Just off. Those eyes looked vaguely familiar somehow. She just didn't know from where.

"Commander," began Dr. Ivers, "Is there something more I can assist you with?"

Thinking silently for a moment, the Commander asked, "Do you have any idea who could be behind this? The turrets, the rooms, the entire lockdown?"

The doctor shrugged slightly before she replied, "Your guess is as good as mine Commander. At first, I would say Cerberus. But the farther we go, I have come to believe that is not the case." She fell silent for a strained moment, her eyes lost in a vague dream, before she added, "But whoever is behind this Commander, they intend to make it difficult for anyone wanting the beacon."

That got the Commander's attention.

"The beacon?" replied Shepard with one raised brow, "What makes you say that?"

The doctor raised a brow of her own as she answered, "I thought it would be obvious Commander. Everything that has happened so far on this base, the lockdown, the rerouted power supplies, those activated turrets, have been measures to slow us down from reaching the beacon." She paused, as if thinking once more, before adding, "Or at least slow down the other invading groups. I can't imagine whoever is behind this would shut down those giant guns if they thought we were the enemy."

The Commander silently agreed.

Once again, luck seemed to have been on their side.

Suddenly another question struck Shepard's mind; One that would be directed at the young doctor head on.

"So," began the Commander as she leaned slightly back and crossed her arms, "What was that back there?"

Shepard nearly smirked, nearly, as she witnessed a twitch in Ivers' left eye, and her face turn a faint shade of red. Reaching up to 'fix' the neck of her sweater, the doctor nervously replied, "What was what Commander?"

Got ya.

Though a small part of Shepard wanted to reprimand the woman for her earlier recklessness, another side was proud. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to at least duck on more than one occasion; A tactic Shepard learned about the second week in basic training.

"Listen," said the Commander in her signature calming voice that held a slight edge, "I want us all to get out of here safely. If it can be helped, do not put yourself at risk. We lost too many people here to lose you too."

The doctor in turn simply shrugged before stating, "Like I said Commander, running and hiding are very good skills to have. I may not know how to fight, but I know a flight situation when I'm in one."

Shepard once more raised her brow; A silent question that demanded more.

"Did I forget to mention I participated in track throughout high school and college?"

That, Shepard had no response to give.

"So," began Shepard with yet another question, "How long have you and Liara been working together?" Shepard cast a glance at said Asari, hoping that their gossip wasn't overheard. If Liara did hear their conversation, she gave no actual indication of it. But as Liara had mentioned before, she picked up a few tricks during her months as the Shadow Broker. Who was to say she didn't develop some form of super-hearing.

"Not long I'm afraid," replied the doctor, "I first arrived here as in intern about seven years ago, to work alongside my mentor in cataloging the beacon's data. Liara arrived here just a few months ago, but with her help alone, we managed to decrypt more information that we had in the last several years." Her own gaze made its way to Liara, before quickly shifting back to Shepard. A small smile graced her face as she said, "She is a magnificent person. I'm glad I got the chance to meet someone like her."

"You two sound very close. I'm glad." The Commander allowed the statement to trail off with its hidden message.

"Oh no," replied Ivers as her face turned an even darker shade of red, "Nothing like that I assure you. Granted, Liara is a good woman but, I've never been good at those sort of relationships and..." She trailed off, before adding softly, "My condition may complicate things."*

"Condition?" said the Commander as she felt her heart quicken, "What condition?"

A heart defect?

A blood disease?

A lung disorder?

A mental illness?

Vrolikson's Syndrome?!

Oh God not another Joker? One person you couldn't punch when they made fun of you was enough!

But the doctor remained stone faced; Her grey eyes locked solely onto the woman standing before her. But suddenly, she looked away, shame clearly seen upon her face. "If it's all the same to you Commander," she said as she turned to face Shepard once more, "I would rather not talk about it."

That's code for, "Mind your own business."

"Okay," said the Commander, "But if you need anything, you let me know, okay?"

Ivers only offered a silent nod in return.

Then again, Shepard wasn't actually willing to let the entire subject go completely.

Being the 'motherly hen' that everyone called her, Shepard placed a comforting hand on Ivers' shoulder. She felt the doctor tense for a moment before relaxing; An unreadable expression upon her face.

"How are you holding up," asked Shepard.

Once again, the doctor shrugged, but did not dislodge the Commander's hand. "Okay I suppose," she said in a slightly strained voice, "I'm pretty sure that as soon as we leave this place, the everything that has happened, that will happen, will actually hit me and I'll have a complete emotional breakdown. But for now, all I want to do it get out of here alive." Her gaze went blank for a second before she continued in a broken tone, "I keep thinking that this is some sort of nightmare, that I'll wake up any moment in my bed and know that everything will be alright. But I know this is really happening. My colleagues, my friends, are really dead. I feel like I abandoned them."

'Just like how I thought I abandoned my friends on Akuze,' thought Shepard as she gave Ivers's shoulder another gentle squeeze.

"You didn't abandon them Ivers," said Shepard, "The Reapers show no mercy to anyone, even those who cannot fight. All we can do now, is fight for those who still live."

Ivers stared at Shepard for what seemed like hours; A lapse of silence that would have made many uncomfortable. Finally, as the second seemed to stretch, Ivers gave a short nod once more. The Commander at this point didn't know whether the doctor's silence was sign that she had taken her words to heart; That is until she saw that ever-familiar spark appear in Ivers' eyes.

A small smile appeared on Shepard's face as she patted Ivers' shoulder once more. "Hold tight doctor," said Shepard as she pulled away, "We'll be out of here in no time." She heard Ivers chuckle softly as the young doctor turned back to the computer, "I hope so Commander. At the rate we're going, I could be a N7 trainee by the time we get out of here."

Oh, if only she knew what hell she would have been getting herself into.

As Shepard turned away from the doctor, she came to gaze upon the door. The one Ashley left through. The one Ashley was waiting on the other side of. The one Ashley was waiting on the other side of for her.

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, the Commander strolled forward; Her back set straight, eyes forward, head held high, and all fingers crossed. Too soon for Shepard's liking, the doors hissed loudly open, revealing an empty walkway. Glancing from side to side, Shepard spotted the lone form of her companion near the tram-station; Her attention soley upon an object by her feet; A deceased Cerberus soldier from where Shepard stood. Quickly making her way across the walkway and down the stairs, the Commander came to a stop only a few feet from Ashley. She thought it best to keep some distance between them in terms of space, if not attachment as well.

"So Cerberus did get this far. Have you found anything?" asked Shepard with an unaccented voice.

Ashley nodded before casting a 'cold' glance at the Commander. What a surprise.

"Ya. This guy's got a communications link in his helmet," she said before turning her attention back onto the said 'guy'. Clasping the latches of the helmet, they snapped open with a resounding click, and Ashley moved her hands to lift the nearly offensive piece of armor off. With a grunt, she pulled, only to find the helmet unmoving. So she pulled again. "If we can get this off," the soldier continued, "Maybe we can find out why Cerberus is-"

With a pop and a hiss, the helmet was ripped off the corpse to reveal not the face of a deceased man.

No, it was one of a husk.

"Oh my God," gasped Ashley as she quickly backed away and dropped the helmet, "He looks just like a husk."

Shepard could only shake her head in horror before she stepped forward to examine the poor soul that had been turned into such a creature. It was true, this... man looked like a husk, but not completely. It was as though this particular one was not of Reaper make, but of someone else's design. To imagine the one who did this made Shepard's blood boil. She didn't know what was worse at this point, the Reaper's own indoctrination practices, or the fact that Cerberus of all things made their own version of it.

Finally, Shepard broke the silence. "Not really, this one is different" she began, "But someone definitely did something to him."

"It has to be Cerberus," proclaimed Ashley as she began to pace to and fro, "Only they could be this sick to do it to their own people." She paused for a moment before locking her eyes onto Shepard; Those brown pools of emotion filled with confusion, sorrow, and anger.

"And you helped them," she finished with clenched fists.

That was it.

Rising to stand tall once more, the Commander stalked toward the woman she had once called friend until she stood mere inches from her; Her face set into a cold, stern mask that showed her own displeasure to the other soldier.

Enough was simply enough, and it was time for the Lieutenant to realize this.

"No more Ashley," said Shepard through clenched teeth.

"Shepard-" began the other woman.

"I said no more," Shepard nearly bellowed, "I am tired of you second guessing every decision I ever made, all because I died!"

"So you say," Ashley shot back as she crossed her arms, "Do you really expect me to believe you actually died and were brought back to life? That's just impossible. It's wrong."

There was a pause. Could Shepard expect that from Ashley? From anyone? She had gotten so used to the complete trust of her friends, that she had forgotten the utter impossibility of her own words. Garrus expressed his own shock when they met on Omega, but followed her nonetheless. Tali showed her own on Freedom's Progress, but had gotten over it when Shepard had gone to recruit her on Halestorm. Even those who Shepard simply helped in the past sent their own regards and wishes of luck.

But not Ashley.

"No," said Shepard, "I don't expect you to believe it. But I do expect you to act like the soldier that you always aspired to be. What is between you and me should NEVER affect the safety of others, or the mission. Too much is at risk for that. If you can't get you act together Williams, I will find someone else who will."

That seemed to get Ashley's attention, as her eyes seemed to widen and her arms dropped from the previously crossed position. "But Shepard-", she began, only to once again be interrupted but the enraged Commander.

"There is too much at risk right now for you to be second-guessing everyone and everything around you. What you and I had, our friendship, may have ended, but you have to accept that what happened, happened. I made my decision, and I know it was the right one at the time and accept the consequences of them. Now you, have to accept that and be done with it."

The room was filled with an ominous silence, as the two warriors starred at one another; Both filled with the contradicting emotions of the doubt in one another, as well as themselves. It was a collision of which one must come to terms with the past, the present, and perhaps the unknown future. In those mere seconds, everything, or perhaps nothing would change. But in such a state of war, such times are fleeting, if not broken into different segments so that they may be approached at a different time.

Shepard didn't wait for Ashley's own reply as she turned her attention to the fallen helmet. Bending down, she picked it up with a strong grasp and straightened. Turning it over, she saw the familiar structure of the comm unit, and reached in to pull it out. With a soft snap, the unit came loose, and Shepard dropped the helmet so that she may activate her omnitool freely. It's almost invigorating glow cast shadows across the room, and placed a glazed shine in the Commander's eyes; All those who were willing to see, could witness the sheer amount of fatigue that those once bright, amber eyes contained.

Though she may not have been a tech person, Shepard knew the basics of 'piggy backing' off a comm unit. With the pressing of a few keys, she heard the faint words of a fellow Cerberus soldier. The fact it sounded completely human, after seeing such a husk-like face, sent a shiver down the Commander's spine.

"Find the...," the words broken words spoke through the waves of static, "Information too val-... The Illusive Man... on that unit... can't take the Beacon... Get going."

Well, that added more mystery to a barrel that was already overfilled.

Before Shepard could say a single word, the resounded, yet somehow light steps signaled Liara's approach. Her blue eyes quickly locked onto the dead Cerberus trooper, before switching to gaze upon Shepard. "Did you find anything?" she asked as she looked between the two other women.

"Maybe," answered Ashley as she shifted from foot-to-foot.

Shepard, out of courtesy, only offered Ashley a quick glance before turning her attention back to Liara. In a voice that demanded the truth, though gentle as it was, Shepard asked, "Liara, Cerberus is definitely here for something, but it doesn't sound like the beacon. Is there anything else on this base that they would want?"

Liara replied with a deep frown and silence; Thinking quietly to herself. After a moment, her face softened and she answered, "Not that I can think of. The only thing that the Alliance and everyone on the base was interested in was the Beacon. I have no clue as to what else Cerberus may be looking for."

"Well," added Ashley from behind, "From what we managed to get from the comm-link, it sounds like they're looking for information... Maybe they have information stored somewhere on the base?"

"Yes," replied Liara as she contemplated the new information, "It would make sense. Why go after the beacon if all the data that was pulled and decrypted was already stored in an information unit." She paused once more, before adding, "But that leaves one question: Where's the unit?"

As Shepard opened her mouth to voice her own possibilities, EDI's voice suddenly flared over the radio, causing the three tense women to jump slightly.

"Shepard," she said in what the Commander could guess was an urgent voice, "I have been analyzing the data of the unknown signal confirmed that its focal point is the Archives."

"So it is the beacon," said Liara softly as she tried to take in the shocking information.

Raising her hand to her comm, the Commander activated her own link and asked, "Do you know why or how its doing it?"

The AI quickly replied, "I am unable to conclude any solid answers. However, I theorize that the Beacon's signal was programmed to activate when it sensed the Reapers' own signal close by; Much like a self-defense program. In addition, the defense allows certain communication links to pass through both jamming barriers, though the reasons as to why and how this is done so efficiently is unknown to me."

"Well", said Ashley as she shifted, once more from, foot-to-foot, "At least it works to our advantage."

"Anything else?" asked Shepard as she prepared herself to be bombarded with information.

"Just one," replied the AI, "I am detecting a large group of husks inbound on your position. I advice that you ready yourselves for combat."

The realization that they were about to be attacked, yet again, and had a non-combatant along for the ride, sent the Commander into action.

"Dr. Ivers!" screamed Shepard as she looked up toward the security station.

From her spot below, the Commander could see the lone face of the human doctor peer out; A brow most likely cocked in either surprise or annoyance. But before anyone of them could react, the far-too familiar screeching of approaching husks filled the air. In a matter of seconds, the first few individual ones made their way through the doorway and straight toward the security station. Without any hesitation, the Commander and her own squad opened fire on the husks, hoping to give the young doctor time to escape.

But it appeared, that the doctor had other plans as the station's doors suddenly snapped closed, and locked into place.

"Don't worry about me Commander," said the doctor of the intercom, "I'm going to try to over-ride the security lock on the trams. Just keep those things off me! And stay alive!"

The trio would soon have their answer as more husks, along with the newly created 'balls of doom' came pouring through the door.

"You would think the Reapers would run out of husks," shouted Ashley as she crushed an enemies head with the butt of her rifle. "Considering how many we've killed so far."

From across the room, Liara proceeded to unleash a biotic lift on a group of approaching husks. "You must also consider how fast the Reapers are harvesting though. For every one we kill, they could be indoctrinating a thousand people."

"Wow," shot Ashley back as she shot a husk, "Even after all these years, you still haven't mastered the art of human sarcasm, Liara."

'Way to kill the horrible joke,' though Shepard to herself as she threw a husk back with a warp.

But Ashley was right. No matter how many the trio seemed to kill, more would simply pour through the door. Minutes began to feel like hours. One dead husk left ten more alive. If this wasn't torture, Shepard didn't know what was. Still, Shepard had been in much worse situations.

She just couldn't remember any other ones at this particular time. Not with husks flying at her from every direction

'If we don't get out of here soon,' though Shepard once more as she dodged a flying 'ball', 'We're all going to be screwed. Please Dr. Ivers, hurry.'

And it was then, and ONLY then, that whatever deity that happened to be listening fulfilled her wishes.

The strained voice of Dr. Ivers came alive on the intercom as her words filled the air. "There," she began, "The lockdown is lifted Commander. Get to the transit, I'll deal with the husks!"

"What does she think she's doing?!" shouted Ashley as she began to slowly retreat toward the transit. But before any of them could come to any form of conclusion, another voice, one of an VI, filled the air.

"Security Code Alpha now engaged. Suppression turrets 'A' and 'B' now activated."

Shepard didn't question her luck as she and her two companions sprinted for the transit; The sound of the two rapidly firing turrets filling the air as they gunned down the shrieking husks. It was only when the three had finally made it to the transit that Shepard turned to look for the now 'heroic' doctor. A small smile graced her face as she watched Ivers almost fly straight toward them. Her heels banged loudly on the steps as she quickly made her way down and toward their escape. A few husks that managed to evade the turrets may have gotten her, if it weren't for the Commander and her marksman team picking them off if they got to close. Like before, Shepard's heart hammered in her chest as she watched the civilian run for her life, but this time, Shepard knew that this one woman, this untrained, non-combatant scientist, was capable of doing much more.

Something that Shepard had long ago began to expect from everyone.

With a final leap over on the the crates, the doctor came to stand at attention beside the Commander; Her lungs heaving heavily and her shining eyes locked with Shepard's. A coy smile spread across her lips as she darted toward the now unlocked tram-way with three soldiers hot on her heels.

None of them needed to look back to know that more husks were pouring through the door.

None of them needed to look back to know that the turrets were slowly over-heating from the strain of combat.

None of them needed to look back to know that in mere moments, they would have been over-run.

For now, they only needed to look forward as the tram-way began to slowly carry them to their next, and hopefully final, destination.

Their short journey was one filled with silence. It was not the silence that one would find when contemplating a peaceful moment, or even one on the brink of concentration.

No, this form of silence was one of dread, if not fear.

As Shepard gazed at each of her companions, she could clearly see the markings of fear upon their very essence.

Liara: The fear of her own vast knowledge no being enough.

Ivers: The fear that she abandoned those who she could have saved.

Ashley: The fear of the unknown.

And Shepard, her own self, feared above all else that of which all she had done these last few years, every decision she had made, every enemy she killed, every life she spared, every word she spoke, could tip the scales of victory and defeat; Salvation and annihilation.

"Commander", came Dr. Ivers' soft voice from the front of the tram, "We're almost to the other side now. I doubt we will meet any resistance because of the initial knockdown, but I think we should be on the defensive just in case. Who knows who, or what, could be waiting for us."

"I am detecting no signs of enemy forces beyond this point Shepard," came EDI's voice on the comm, "But I believe it would be wise to follow Dr. Ivers' advice and proceed with caution."

Shepard nodded her head in conformation before asking, "Have you had any luck with that signal EDI?"

"Very little," replied with AI in an almost irritated tone, "Though I have confirmed that the focus point of the signal is indeed where the beacon is being housed. I will need to analyze the data more before I can confirm that it is the beacon itself."

"I think at this point," jumped in Ashley as she readied her rifle, "We can safely assume its the beacon. What else could be causing it?"

"Well lets see," shot Ivers as she continued to stare forward, "It could be Cerberus, the Reapers, some survivor with a sick sense of humor. We won't actually know until we get there and see for ourselves."

Ashley, in turn, only mumbled incoherently as a reply. Something along the lines of, 'Pessimistic Egghead'.

And who was it that once said, 'A pessimistic is what an optimistic calls a friends?'

At this rate, they may as all be either pessimistic, or simply lunatics.

The tramway gave a slight screech as it began to slow to a near stop. Up ahead, the security doors stood steadfast against the approaching cart, but only for a few short meters. The security doors hissed as the heavy slabs of metal began to pull apart in a synchronized fashion; Allowing the tram to pass freely through the checkpoint. The voice of the now familiar VI filled the room as it stated, "Now entering Section Alpha, Archives. All personnel are to be advised that this is a level 7 security area. Please have your level 7 access badge on display, or report to the nearest security personnel for assistance."

"Come on," said Ivers as she bolted out of the barely opened tramway doors, "The beacon is just passed those doors over there."

Ashley gave a soft, if not morbid, chuckle as she followed close behind. "Whatever happened to 'proceeding with caution'?" she asked as she gave a backwards glance toward the Commander. In turn, Shepard could only shrug hopelessly as she and Liara jogged behind the other two woman.

As they came to stand at the doors, Ivers raised her hand to activate the lock, only to have Liara stop her. Giving a pointed glance at Shepard, she made her way to one side of the door, pulling Ivers along with her. Following the paranoid Asari's example, Shepard and Ashley made their way to the other side; Both pressing their backs against the cold metal of the wall; Readying there weapons for the first sign of trouble. Locking her eyes with Liara's, Shepard gave a single nod. Liara nodded back, before activating her omnitool and pressing a series of codes. Within moments, the lock on the door was lifted, and the doors quickly opened. As soon as they did, the trio rounded the doors corners to find the room, a security checkpoint none-the-less, empty of all other living life. Aside from a few Cerberus troopers dead upon the floor.

"So Cerberus did get here first," said Liara as she bent over to examine the nearest body.

"No surprise there," said Ashley as she nudged another with her foot, "But I think the question now is, what killed them?"

Liara only shrugged as she came to stand once more and locked her gaze upon her two companions. "I don't know," she said softly, "There are literally no signs of battle here. And the bodies. There is nothing. No wounds. No trauma of any kind. Nothing. Its as if they just died where they stood."

Before Shepard could add her own thoughts, the sound of Dr. Ivers voice caught there attention.

"Commander Shepard, Dr. T'soni," she said from across the room, "I think you'll want to see this."

Heading the doctor's call, Shepard and her crew made there way quickly around the checkpoints corner, and bolted across the room to find Ivers standing before the beacon, surrounded by several more Cerberus soldier's bodies. But aside from that, there was the beacon; The beacon they killed hundreds of husks to get to.

Intact.

And glowing.

"By the Goddess," whispered Liara as she took a cautious step closer to the glowing structure.

Ivers, who still had yet to move, finally shook her head slightly as said, "Now that, I definitely know, it has never done before."

And Shepard could safely believe her. The beacon stood proudly in the center of the room; A symbol of the last remnants of empires long before their own. Unlike most beacons that Shepard had come across, including that of Eden Prime, this one was much larger; Nearly touching the room's ceiling. Its onyx black shell seemed to suck in all images within the room, and reflect them in a ghostly visage. As Shepard glanced at her own reflection, she couldn't help but shiver. Truly, this thing was the mirror of the dead. But even stranger, was what the beacon was actually doing. Aside from the carvings of its body glowing a faint green, strange symbols were floating within rings around it; Much like Saturn's own rings. Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard could see that both Liara and Ivers had their omnitools activated, as they both attempted to decipher what such symbols could mean. And yet, before either of them could unlock a single mystery, the symbol would change in an instant. It was as maddening as it was beautiful to the group. Disgruntled Liara put her own omnitool away, and continued to gaze up at the phenomena, while Ivers endeavored to unlock the secrets of the beacon.

But what was even stranger, was the sound the beacon seemed to be emitting. It was almost as though it were a form a music. So soft, yet so lyrical, the Commander could barely hear the strange, yet somehow familiar notes. A quick glance to each of her companions told her that she alone heard the music.

It was as though, the song was calling to her.

As if-

"Commander," came EDI's voice on the comm, shocking Shepard from her enthralled trance.

Shaking her head to clear away the haze, Shepard perked up her ears once more to find that the music had vanished. She couldn't help but feel slightly hollow from it loss, but at the same time, was glad for the distractions departure.

She could only claim that these emotions were brought upon by the stress of the mission.

Or perhaps her impending insanity.

Raising her fingers to activate her comm, the Commander said, "Talk to me EDI."

"I have managed to pinpoint the location of which the unknown signal is coming from, and have determined that it is the beacon that is producing it," replied the stoic AI.

Ashley snorted, her gaze still upon the beacon as she said, "Like we really needed to be told that now. I mean look at it." She looked over toward Shepard, her eyes lost in a memory that the Commander knew all too well. "The one on Eden Prime never did anything like this."

"It would also explain," continued the AI, "Why I was unable to categorize the signal, as we have no complete data of Prothean programming. It is highly advanced, even when compared to other signals we managed to archive in the years following the beacons discovery. We can assume, that the Protheans created such a device to keep their enemies, the Reapers away, but allow possible allies a chance to find it. Of course, this all remains theory, as I still have little data to determine how exactly such a process is done."

"And now that we are here?" asked the Commander.

"I do not know," answered the AI, "I can detect the signal but it is different than before."

"Oh for the love of-," began Ashley as she scowled heavily at the beacon, "Again with the vague analogies. Can we have some clear cut answers for once." She looked over at the young doctor Ivers and took and almost threatening step toward her. "How about you?" she said through her teeth, forcing the the doctor's attention onto her, "Got any ideas on what the hell this thing is doing?"

"Not a single clue," replied the doctor who refused to back down, "Like I said, its never done anything like this before."

"So we came all the way here for nothing then?"

"Ashley," jumped in Liara to aid the angered Ivers, "We simply need time to-"

"Time for what?" snapped Ashley, "Time to waste while Earth and its people burn?"

"We have to think for the rest of the galaxy as well," snapped back Liara.

A bitter chuckle escaped Ashley before she darkly replied, "Easy for you to say, considering its not your home world that's being annihilated."

That got a deep frown from the normally calm Asari.

'Oh great. Another fight brewing', thought Shepard as she looked upon her now bickering comrades.

Just as Shepard was about to jump in, she felt something stop her.

No. Not felt. Heard.

There was that noise again.

What the hell was that noise?

She turned her gaze back upon the beacon; Its void-like panels reflecting her own pale face back. She could make out every detail of herself in that mirror; Every freckle, every scar, every strand of copper hair. Even her eyes, those amber eyes she got from her father seemed to glow within the panel's darkness. It was as eerie as it was amazing.

But then it became almost horrifying as Eve viewed the rest of the mirror to find that only she stood within.

The room, her companions, everything else did not appear.

Only her.

But why?

And then she heard that noise, that music again.

Louder.

Calling her.

Begging her.

Asking her to do something. But what?

It was only when she saw her own reflection moving that Shepard realized that she had been approaching the beacon; Hand slightly raising slowly as the distance between her and the object lessened.

She couldn't stop. She didn't want to stop.

At least not until a familiar voice broke the spell.

"Shepard!" cried Liara as she dashed toward the now paused Commander. She approach quickly followed by Ashley and Ivers.

"What in the name of the Goddess do you think your doing?" shouted the Asari and she forcefully turned Shepard to look at her.

"Shepard," Ashley soon joined in, "What the hell?"

Indeed, that was a good question, and one that Shepard had no true answer to. At least, not one that was based upon logic.

"I'm going to activate the beacon," replied Shepard calmly as she gently pulled herself out of Liara's grasp.

"What?!" shouted her three companions in a mixture of confusion, fear, and slight hint of anger.

"Whatever is on that beacon is the key to stopping the Reapers once and for all," said Shepard in a voice that did not feel like her own, "The only way to get it is if someone activates it. It has to be me."

But why me?

"Shepard," began Ashley, "Do you know how crazy his sounds. The beacon on Eden Prime nearly killed you. Who knows what this one will do not you. There has to be another way, right Liara?"

Silence was her answer from the Asari scientist.

Ashley's eyebrows raised in shock, as she quickly turned toward Dr. Ivers. The young woman shook her head, her blonde tresses swaying softly from side to side. "We would need an entire scientist team to decrypt only a portion of this data. And even then, it would take who knows how long to get the results we need. The only way to get the actual information we need, if through the beacon's only function. Our only chance may be for Shepard to use it.

The expression on Ashley's face at this point was literally unreadable. At least, from what Shepard could see.

At this point, Liara chose to step in once more. "Shepard," she began softly, "Are you sure? The Prothean Cipher you received on Feros will help you understand what data is on that beacon, and may protect you, there is no guarantee..." She trailed off, not knowing how to finish. She didn't need to. Shepard understood the risks. She always did. But she was not going to let that stop her now.

Ashley took a step forward, her eyes filled with the fear that one would suspect from a child "Don't do this," she said softly.

Shepard was silent for a moment, not knowing how to consult her companions before she took the leap of faith. So she did the only thing she knew how to. She smiled, and actual smile that met her bright amber eyes. "Don't worry," she said, "Sit tight. I'll be back before you know it."

She didn't wait for her friends' reply as she turned away to face her goal; Her leap of faith. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she slowly stepped forward, her hand once again raising up toward her prize. But before she made contact, she paused, thinking her plan over once again. Not that she really thought it through in the first place but that was how things generally tended to work with her. With a final heartbeat to seal her fate, the Commander's fingers were placed softly upon the cold panel before slowly gliding down; Trails of green light following her touch.

Nothing happened for what seemed like moments. Or perhaps it was hours.

Would the beacon not react to her?

Was her plan simply a dream to get the hell off this planet as soon as possible?

Was she simply wrong about the emotions she felt before?

Something was not right.

But before Shepard could react, a familiar sensation coursed through her body; One that made her feel like she was being pricked with over a thousand needles, and laying blissfully in a warm sea. It was something she had not felt for quite sometime.

Not since Feros.

Not since Virmire.

Not since Eden Prime.

The beacon let out a flash as it lifted the Commander's body into the air. The mixed sensations it created becoming stronger as the beacon began to drill its message into the Commander's very soul. In the distance, Shepard thought she heard her comrades calling out to her, but they were quickly washed away as familiar images passed before her eyes.

She saw people. Running. Screaming. Dying. Burning. Indoctrinated. Forced to kill their own. More dying. Killing. Weeping. Fear. Anger. Hate. Hope. Distraught. A final goodbye. A planet. Familiar but different. Not Illos as she had seen before. Something new. Something lost. Something regained. Harbinger. The Reapers. Their armies. Their pride. Their fear?

A lone figure. Standing there before her in a dark room. Watching said planet beyond a large window. Waiting. For what?

The figure turned it gaze toward Shepard. It's face indistinguishable against the light of the sun. It tried telling her something, but its soft words were lost to the darkness. All that she heard was a single word; One that echoed within the Commander's mind and seemed to weigh down her soul

Redemption.

And then it was all gone, and Shepard found herself landing on the floor with a loud thump. She groaned softly as her head continued to spin; Flashes of the same images slowly fading away into the recesses of her mind. She only became aware that she was not alone when she felt a gentle hand upon her shoulder slowly helping her into a sitting position. Her eyes quickly locked onto Liara and Ashley. Their faces masked with emotions of worry. Dr. Ivers stood only a few feet away with a look of intrigue and amazement upon her own face. And then she heard Liara speak.

"Shepard," she said with pure relief, "Are you alright? What did you see?"

But before Shepard could utter a single word, a bright green light flashed within the room.

The music that had called to the Commander filling the room once more.

It flashed again, and seemed to grow brighter; It's sound becoming louder. It's strange rings began to circle it faster. Faster and faster they went and the beacon began to grow almost painfully brighter. It filled the room with a glow that may have been able to rival a star. Shepard found herself quickly covering her eyes as the beacon seemed to grow ever brighter, knowing that her own companions had done the same. A fear set into the pit of her gut over the prospect that she had was about to face death once again.

And suddenly, it burst into waves of green light as energy passed through everyone and everything in the room. Lights burst, computers failed, and Shepard could have sworn she heard distant husks shriek in dying agony.

And from a distance, the Reaper rumbled in terror.

But then it was gone, and the room fell into silence.

Slowly, Shepard lowered her arm from her face. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the room's new light. They widened in shock as the sight before her.

There, where once the large beacon stood was a single, black object floating upon some mysterious force.

Standing slowly, the Commander kept her eyes upon the object, knowing that her own companions conveyed there own expressions of surprise, if not awe. Each had the same question running through their mind: Where they hell was the rest of the beacon?

With slow, if not cautious steps, Shepard approached the small, floating object. Her fingers twitched with anticipation and nerves.

In a few short steps, the Commander came to stand before the unknown object. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a shard of some sort. As though is was carved out of the blackest onyx, its outer layer glowed of the same intricate design that its predecessor had and seemed to hum with the now familiar energy.

She hadn't been expecting this.

With her still twitching fingers, the Commander reached up, hesitating for a mere moment before grasping the shard. Upon contact, she felt at peace, almost hopeful. But the emotion seemed to vanish as quickly as it had manifested. She brought the shard closer to herself; Gazing down at it in a mixture of confusion and awe. In a way, she felt as if she should have come to expect such a phenomenon from the Prothean's technologies. But once again, Shepard found herself a little shocked.

The others, were in no better condition.

"By the Goddess," muttered Liara once more as she came to stand beside the Commander; Her blue eyes locked upon the object that remained in the other woman's had, "I've never seen, let alone heard of something like this ever occurring." She pulled out her omnitool and began scanning the shard. As she finished reading the information she acquired, she looked up at Shepard, her eyes filled with the familiar excitement of possibilities and discovery, "It looks like some form of data disk. Perhaps the Protheans meant for us to find the disk, and not the Beacon. This could contain the information we are looking for Shepard!"

And if it didn't?

There was simply no time to think of that possibility.

Raising her free hand to her ear, the Commander activated her comm. "Cortez," she said, "We have what we came for. Lock onto our nearest position and find the nearest LZ."

Her only reply was static.

"Comm-... Ca-... Signal-..."

"The Reaper signal!" Liara nearly yelled with dismay, "With the Beacon and its signal gone, there is nothing stopping it now."

"The we'd better-," Ashley began to reply, only to have her pistol ripped forcefully from her holster by Dr. Ivers.

"What the-" Ashley began once more, as the doctor whipped her across the face with her own pistol; Knocking the now traumatized soldier to the ground. Shepard and Liara had little time to react as Dr. Ivers threw something to the ground, at their feet.

Something small, round, and beeping.

With a loud crack and flash of light, the stun grenade erupted. It's force put both the Commander and Liara on their backs. The room spun as Shepard tried to regain her senses; Her vision blurring out of focus before becoming painfully clear.

Her ears rang.

Her heart pounded.

And her body refused to move a single muscle.

All she could do was watch as Dr. Ivers walked over to her paralyzed body and kneel down to look at her. To say the doctor's face was devoid of any emotion, would be an understate. As Shepard found herself looking into those grey eyes, she couldn't help but shiver.

There was absolutely nothing within them.

The Commander groaned as she witnessed Dr. Ivers pick the shard up from where it had been dropped. She turned it quickly in her hands, scanning it, before placing it in the pocket of her coat. She did not even give Shepard nor her companions a backwards glance as she began to walk slowly, almost mechanically away.

A mistake on her part.

With a forceful grunt, the Commander managed to raise herself up in a kneeled position; Her arm raised readily with her trusted pistol.

She fired, fired a warning shot.

The doctor didn't even flinch as the bullet nearly grazed the skin of her arm. Instead she stopped dead. For a moment she just stood there. Completely motionless. But the strained silence only lasted for that mere moment before Dr. Ivers quickly turned with her own pistol raised; Aimed directly for the Commander's head. Her expression as cold as the winter's of Noveria.

Another mistake on her part as the seemingly stunned Liara quickly unleashed a biotic throw upon the woman. With a loud thud, the doctor landed hard upon the ground, as the pistol skidded freely from her hands. But she did not remain there for long, as she quickly, if not gracefully, got to her feet and retreated for the exit.

While Shepard and her crew were still trying to get onto their feet.

"Shepard!" shouted Liara as readied her pistol, "She has the shard! We cannot allow her to escape with it!"

"We have to hurry," added Ashley as she seemed to recover from the sudden blow to the head, "That Reaper could be on our asses any minute!"

Readying her own pistol, the Commander took the lead as she sprinted toward the exit.

'As if I needed anymore complications' she thought as she rounded the corner.

Right into a group of husks.

If Shepard were to hear someone say that fighting husks wasn't so hard, she would punch them. If she heard them say that fighting them in an enclosed space wasn't difficult, she would shoot them. If they even mentioned that fighting said husks in an enclosed space with a giant Reaper firing upon the base you just happened to be in wasn't impossible, she would probably pull a Alpha Relay incident again. With them strapped to the asteroid.

The Commander gave a grunt of frustration as she was, yet again, tripped into a nearby wall. The Reaper, knowing that the barrier was down, was wasting little time in destroying the base. With every step it took toward its target, the earth shook with the force. With every victorious rumble it released, the air seemed to shimmer with the power. With every fire of its canon, the world came alive with destruction. Shepard thought she would have been used to such a display by now.

But then again, she had thought she knew about a lot of things.

With every bullet she fired upon a husk, she thought she was putting some poor soul out of its misery.

With every command she issued to her three companions, did she think that she was making the proper call.

With every thought she made, did she believe she was still the same person she was four years ago.

But what if she was wrong?

"Warning. Warning" came the familiar voice of the base's VI, "Unauthorized personnel in sector 32-G. All security personnel be advised-." The VI gave a form of screech before falling completely silent.

"Shepard," called Liara as she cut down the last of the husks, "That must be Dr. Ivers. She must be trying to leave through the base's emergency transport. With that Reaper so close now, its the only way out of here without being shot down.

"Oh ya?" shot back Ashley as she smashed a husk's head in with her boot, "Why is that?"

"The transport was built underground. A secret tunnel if you will, that leads a few miles outside the perimeter of the base. Should the base had ever been taken, we were to use it as a means to getting out undetected."

"Then that's where we're going," said Shepard as she reloaded her gun, "Lead the way Liara."

The young Asari nodded as she quickly turned and jogged down the hall, followed closely by Shepard and Ashley.

Husks continued to appear everywhere, but they found themselves little match against the skills the the traveling companions.

Some did happen to land a few good hits, but they were then quickly rewarded with the underside of a boot.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the three women came to stand before an elevator.

"This is it," said Liara as she activated the elevator. It gave a hiss and a soft groan as the metal box made its way back to the top of the shaft. After mere moments, the doors opened to reveal an empty compartment. With a silent sigh of nostalgia, the Commander was the first to enter the seemingly normal elevator, with Ashley and Liara entering behind her. The doors gave another hiss as they closed behind them, and the elevator lurched as it began its descent.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So," Ashley began, "Does anyone else get the urge to start up some random conversation that makes everyone feel uncomfortable?"

"Goddess no," answered Liara with a bitter chuckle.

"Only is it has something to do with you kissing turians," said Shepard as she remembered that strange conversation they had aboard the SR-1.

"Hey now," said Ashley with a actual smile on here face, "I was only kidding... Besides, I heard you were into that."

…

"I'm not even going to comment," stated the Commander.

The elevator gave a sudden lurch as it came to a slowing stop. Their destination had been reached.

"We should be on our guard," said Liara as she readied her weapons.

"Ya," said Ashley as she prepared her own, "No need to get pistol whipped by a scientist again."

"Something tells me," began Shepard as she stepped out of the elevator, "That she is not just a scientist."

The short trek down the corridor was one of silence. No need to give away their position when they were so close to the enemy now.

With a final turn to the right, the trio came upon the entrance of the transport.

It was locked.

"One moment," said Liara as she pulled out her omnitool, "Let me see if I can get through."

There was a strained moment of silence before Ashley spoke, "Wait. If this is an emergency transport, why are the doors locked?"

"I would imagine that Dr. Ivers would want to stall us if we managed to catch-up with her," answered Liara without looking up from her tool.

Her answer did not sit well for the Commander, nor Ashley.

"But why not lock down this entire sector? Why not every door we had to go through? Why not the elevator? If I was trying to escape I would want to put as many obstacles behind me as possible. Why just on door here?" continued Ashley.

Liara froze suddenly, her eyes wide with realization. Her gaze locked with Shepard's; Both thinking the same thing.

"It's a trap!" yelled Shepard as she pulled Liara away from the door.

Just as grenade came falling from the entrance and land between the women.

Pushing the still startled Asari into the room, the Commander quickly sprinted through the entrance with Ashley following close behind. The grenade gave a loud, thundering crack, as its timer went off. It's force sent the beginnings of debris flying through the air. But the damage was cut short as the doors quickly shut and lock into place.

And then, their eyes met. Burning amber with cold grey. Upon the stairs that led to the transport stood Dr. Ivers. Dawning a light combat suit, armed to the teeth, and still devoid of any emotion. Her eyes were cold, almost dead, and watching every move that Shepard and her crew made. Her hands rested easily at her side, though her stance itself was one of pure poise and strictness.

There was something truly inhuman about this woman.

"Dr. Ivers," began Shepard as she took a cautious step forward, "You have nowhere else to go. Lay down your weapons and surrender now. If you cooperate with us, we will take you with us. Resist, and we will use force."

"I have a clear shot," muttered Ashley as she took aim with her rifle.

But the doctor didn't even flinch. Her eyes remained locked only onto the Commander. And then there was a flash behind them. Perhaps it was the trick of the eyes. No, there it was again. Something, someone was behind those eyes.

Trapped.

Calling out for help.

"Commander," came Ashley's voice once more.

But her warning went unheeded. Shepard remembered where she saw those eyes before.

Saw that same pain.

Saw that same sense of dread.

She saw them every time she looked in the mirror.

My God...

"Dr. Ivers," began Shepard once more, "Please. Don't do this. There has to be another way. Please."

And there it was again, this time brighter. This time lasting longer.

The doctor's once stoic face turned into a frown as she gazed upon Shepard. Her eyes were filled with some unbearable pain that Shepard could only imagine was death.

And then she spoke.

"He-...Me..."

The Commander was silent.

"Help... Me..." came the broken voice again, stronger.

Shepard readied her pistol. She knew what she had to do.

"Help me!" screamed Dr. Ivers as she pulled out her own pistol and leapt down the stairs. Her body flew through the air as she began to open fire on the now shocked group.

It was as though Ivers was a completely different person, if not being. Her movements were as fluid as water, but her feet moved as nimble as a leaf on the wind. Her aim was as true and accurate as any trained marksman, but upon close combat, she hit with a force that would probably put Vega down. To say the least, the fight consisted of mostly dodging, attacking, and dodging once more.

With a grunt, the Commander rolled quickly to the side and the doctor threw a grenade her way. The sound of its explosion went unnoticed and she straightened to fire upon the enemy.

Dr. Ivers quickly dodged the flying bullets with great ease, allowing them to hit the generator that stood behind her in a flurry of fire. The metal box gave a hiss. The a clank. And then a flash as it displayed its own destruction. The trails of electrical currents flashing through the air as though they were lighting themselves.

And then, something strange happened. Dr. Ivers appeared to faulter.

Her body twitched uncontrollably. Her arms locked at some weird angle. Her knees seemed to buckle and fail her in her steps. And Shepard could have sworn she heard a jumble of words escape the young woman. And then she saw the doctor's shield fail.

That's it.

"Ashley, Liara!" called Shepard as she began to fire upon the disabled Ivers, "Take out those generators!"

The two companions did not question the Commander's orders as they too, joined the fray.

Every time Dr. Ivers regained her senses and her shields, the trio would simply destroy another generator and send the doctor into another 'spazzing' fit. For what seemed like hours, the battle carried on. In some instances, Shepard thought she felt the steps of the still approaching Reapers shaking the ground.

A few moments later, she knew that she felt them.

They had to finish this fast.

Taking aim once more, Shepard released a biotic warp upon one of the last standing generators, before quickly switching over to her pistol to open fire upon the stunned doctor. With a final pull of the gun's trigger, and the impact of its released bullet, the doctor soon fell to her knees; Her body slumping in a state of unconsciousness.

Finally.

And not a moment to soon.

The ground gave a powerful lurch as the demon outside landed heavily somewhere above them. The familiar sound of a firing canon was followed closely by that of destruction and death.

They were out of time.

Placing her pistol in its holster, the Commander quickly jogged over to the unconscious form of Dr. Ivers. Reaching down, she rolled the other woman over and searched through her suit's pockets.

Why did these things have to have so many pockets?

With a silent cry of victory, the Commander found the shard and placed it within her pocket.

"Commander," shouted Liara as she jogged toward Shepard, "We are out of time! The Reaper is here! We need to take Dr. Ivers and go!"

"Are you out of your mind?" shouted Ashley as she joined the group; Her footing lost for a moment as an explosion from above shook the ground once more. "She just tried to kill us! Leave her!"

"She could have valuable information! She could tell us why she was here! Why she did this!" shouted the Asari back as she too found it hard to stand.

"Does it really matter? We got what we came for!"

"It may not be enough!"

Shepard did not need this. She never did. It was one thing to hear her now long-dead parents argue on certain occasions, and it was another to listen to her friends fight in the middle of a battlefield. When they were under attack. From a giant Reaper. With the entire galaxy at risk.

"Enough!" shouted Shepard as she came to stand tall. She glared angerly between the two woman, before resting her piercing amber eyes upon Ashley, "Liara is right Ash. We can't risk leaving Ivers behind. Not with the information she could have."

Or the life she possessed.

No one deserved to die at the hands of the Reapers.

No one.

Ashley opened her mouth as if to retort, but was quickly cut off but the force of another explosion. The metal support beams groaned dangerously as the mass upon them increased dramatically. If the trio did not act now, they would surely be buried alive.

A prospect that Shepard would have very much liked to avoid.

"There's no time to argue!" shouted Shepard over the roar of a collapsing section. Taking the arm of the unconscious Dr. Ivers, the Commander lifted the almost too-light body over her shoulder. She didn't need to issue the order of retreat, as the trio quickly made their way toward the transit. They all nearly ran into the compact unit, as their section of the tram-station showed signs of collapsing. Setting the doctor down upon the vehicle's floor, the Commander gave a pointed glance toward Liara.

"Liara, get us out of here! Now!" she ordered.

The Asari did not need to be told twice as she clambered up into the driver's seat. The transport quickly came to life with an almost calming hum before lifting off the ground. As it began to move forward, another tremor shook the earth, starting the collapse of the area that they had just been in. For now, they were safe.

Or so Shepard thought.

From her seat, the Commander could see something in the tunnel behind them.

Something glowing brightly.

Something moving quickly toward them.

Something that reminded the Commander of...

"Liara!" cried Shepard as she witnessed the fast traveling fire get steadily closer to them. Liara eyes widened almost comically as she spared a glance back, before turning her attention once more forward. Her fingers glided quickly across the transports panel; Urging the vehicle to go faster. But it seemed that no matter how much speed the transport gained, the explosion gained even more.

"Liara!" cried Shepard again as she began to feel the heat of the fire. It was a sensations that Shepard never wanted to experience again. But the Asari ignored her as her fingers continued to dance.

Her eyes were locked forward.

Her body was shaking with anticipation.

Her mouth was set into a firm line.

That is, until she saw the exit.

With one last swipe of her hand, the once barricaded doors quickly opened, and the vehicle shot out into the light of day. Followed closely behind by an eruption of fire that quickly dissipated in the vacuum of space.

As they began their ascension away from the planet, Shepard watched as the Reaper continued to destroy the now dead base. It gave a victorious, or was it enraged, bellow as it unleashed a final beam of energy upon what remained of the once proud structure. The red light destroyed everything that it touched, and in a matter of seconds, nothing remained.

Mars had been wiped clean of any evidence that humanity was here.

Just like the Reapers were doing to Earth now.

"Commander," came Joker's voice from her earpiece, "EDI said you came back on the radar. We lost you there for a while. What happened? Where are you?"

Raising her hand to her ear, the Commander promptly replied, "I'll explain everything when we are aboard the Normandy, Joker. Right now, we need to get to the Council as soon as possible and inform them of what we found. How far are you?"

"Don't worry Commander I see you. ETA 40 seconds," replied Joker with it signature snarky attitude. One that Shepard had come to appreciate more and more with each passing line. Most of the time.

Shepard quickly added, "We also need Dr. Chakwas to meet us down in the cargo bay. We have a wounded civilian that needs medical attention."

"Sounds like there is definitely a story behind that," replied Joker with a near chuckle, "I'll inform the good doctor right away."

Raising herself to stand, the Commander carefully leaned over to look out the primary window; Quickly spotting the Normandy among the stars.

She could only imagine that Joker was waving at them through the window with a smirk plastered upon his face.

With EDI shaking her proverbial head at his antics.

With Dr. Chakwas preparing her well-rehearsed speech of how Shepard should take care of herself.

With the now empty engineering deck missing Tali, Gabby and Kenneth.

With the now unused lab all but forgetting its favorite Salarian.

With the now empty main battery, waiting for her favorite Turian to come home.

Home?

Yes, this was her home now.

And she never truly knew how much she could have possibly missed it until that point.

The bay doors opened silently as the transport continue toward its destination. It's speed slowed as it neared the much larger ship, and the computer began to display algorithms of proper landing maneuvers. One could swear, that such things could fly themselves. But then again, where would the fun be in that? With a final display of precautionary measures, the ship entered the cargo bay and landed gently upon the nearest, clear space.

I nice change from the landing Shepard experienced less than a day before.

The trio then waited. Their breath's hanging heavily in the air.

Finally, EDI's voice came alive one the intercom. "Equilibrium has been met in the cargo bay Commander," she said. Waiting silently as the as Commander made her way toward the elevator, the AI added, "Dr. Chakwas is on her way down as we speak. She wishes to know-."

"EDI?" asked Shepard as an all too familiar dread settle in the pit of her stomach.

Something was wrong.

"Commander, someone has locked down the elevator," said Joker in shock, "EDI's having trouble getting around it. What the hell did you find down there?"

Shepard thought for a moment.

But before she could speak a cry tore through the air.

"Shepard!" cried Liara.

The Commander turned just in time to see the young Asari flying through the air, and into several storage units; Her body gave a loud crack before falling in a crumbled heap upon the floor.

Turning her attention back toward the direction from which Liara was thrown.

Her blood ran cold at what she saw.

Standing before her was a terrified Ashley Williams. Hands locked tightly behind her back. With a stoic Dr. Ivers standing behind her. With a pistol to the formers head.

"Shepard," said Williams in a slightly trembling voice that was so unlike the soldier. Now many may think that a soldier such a Ashley would not be afraid of such an event. Throughout her entire military career, she had thrown herself into danger countless times. Taking every bullet that managed to pass through her shields with the vigor of a true warrior.

But this, this was different.

To have someone hold a gun to your head, not even and inch away? That made one's own death even more real.

It was a feeling that left little to the imagination of what could happen next.

"Commander," said Dr. Ivers in an unreal voice; Flat and lacking the emotion it once possessed, "The shard. Resist, and your companion shall be exterminated."

"Don't do it Shepard," said Ashley as strongly as she could, "It's our only chance to-" She was forcefully cut off as the doctor pressed the barrel of the gun against her temple.

"I will not repeat myself," said Dr. Ivers as she raised her free hand and beckoned the Commander to give her what she wanted.

And how could Shepard do otherwise.

She knew it was wrong, as she reached into her own pouch to grasp the shard.

She knew this was their only chance, as her fingers wrapped around the cool metal.

She knew that too much was at stake, as she raised said shard from its hiding place.

But, for once, couldn't she be greedy.

"Just let her go," said Shepard as she raised the shard for all to see, "Take it."

"A wise choice on your part Commander," replied Dr. Ivers as she began to walk forward; Pushing the still captive Williams in front of her as a human shield. "Our true savior will ensure that the information on this shard is used for the betterment of humanity. It is a shame that you did not see this until now."

Strange. That sounded a lot like-

The thought was cut off by the expression on Ashley's face. It was one of resolve, determination, and strength. It was one that the Old Ashley always had, even in the most hopeless of battles. It was the look one as Ashley had to show she was willing to do what needed to be done.

That she was willing to accept consequences.

That she was not afraid to die.

With a sudden, and forceful motion, Ashley sent her head butting backwards into the face of her captor. A soft crack could be heard on the impact, as the doctor flailed her arms and fired a single shot. One that the Commander had to dodge with a quick, but sloppy roll that sent her into a pile a crates.

Ashley chose then to quickly turn and land a punch on the doctor's already abused face. As she pulled her fist back once more, she found herself unable to breath. No matter how much of the upper hand she seemed to have, Dr. Ivers was still ahead. With inhuman strength, the doctor lifted the now flailing soldier into the air with a firm grip around her throat. If Ashley didn't know any better, she could have sworn she saw the once friendly doctor smirk cruelly, before the room lurched and she was blinded by a bright light.

Her arms stopped moving.

Her body relaxed.

But her head hurt.

Badly.

She felt the room move again, and the same flash of light filled her vision.

It happened again.

And again.

And then, the world went black.

Shepard quickly pulled herself out of the crates, embarrassed by her own lack of gracefulness. But that feeling was washed away as the sight of Dr. Ivers lifting Ashley off the ground, and proceeding to bash the poor woman's head into the transport's side met her eyes.

First came the terror.

And then the rage.

"Ashley!" yelled Shepard as she ran forward, and took aim with her pistol.

Her actions were that of a blunder. Dr. Ivers, hearing the cry of Shepard, stopped her abuse upon the unmoving soldier, and turned her attention to the now enraged Commander. Realizing her deadly grip upon Ashley she lept forward; Her quick movements catching the Commander off guard once more. With a high, powerful kick, she disarmed Shepard. With a jab to the jaw, she disarmed her. And with a low heel-kick, she had the Commander upon the ground. As Shepard tried to rise, she felt the tip of an omniblade upon her throat.

She couldn't move.

She was trapped.

Dr. Ivers crouched above her; Contemplating the once powerful soldier that now lay trapped below her. She reached down with nimble fingers and found the object of her desire in the combat pack. If Shepard thought the doctor was capable of any emotion, she would have thought that he other woman would have grinned with victory.

But she didn't.

Instead she simply gazed back down at the Commander. Raised her omniblade. And froze.

A familiar humming filled the air.

It was the same one as the beacon.

Suddenly the shard in the doctor's hand flashed alive. It's song becoming louder.

And then the doctor rose back to her feet; The look of fear upon her face.

The shard flashed again, but this time bolts of energy connected to the doctor, who in turn gave a screech of agony.

It happened again.

And again.

With every flash, did more energy seem to flow between the shard and Dr. Ivers. With every bolt, did the doctor's legs seem to fail her. With every note of the song, did Shepard feel more at ease.

All fell silent then.

The shard.

Dr. Ivers.

The beating of Shepard's heart.

And then, there was the sound of metal upon metal. The shard dropping from the doctor's hand.

Followed closely by Dr. Ivers' own body; Her eyes devoid of any life as they stared blankly at the Commander.

A groan to her left signaled to Shepard that Liara was alive. Hurt, but alive.

Ashley!

Shepard easily found the other soldier. Her body lay in a motionless heap upon the ground next to the transport. It looked as though she wasn't even breathing.

Quickly getting to her feet, Shepard made her way over to her fallen comrade.

She swore her heart broke as she saw the damage upon her friend. Bruises clearly began to form upon every inch of her skin on her face, along with the choke marks upon her neck. The other woman's bun had become undone, and the beginning of clotting blood began to turn her beautiful dark tresses into a mess. She looked as though she had been through hell.

She had been through hell.

"And its all because of me," thought Shepard as she stared hopelessly at her friend.

She didn't hear Joker call out to her on the intercom.

She didn't see Liara limp over to stand silently behind the mourning Commander.

She didn't notice Dr. Chakwas enter the cargo bay with a medical team in tow.

She didn't bother to fight anyone as they quickly pulled her away so that they could attend to Ashley.

She didn't acknowledge that Dr. Ivers had been taken to the medbay as well.

She failed to see the world in those few moments.

And that was where she failed.

She didn't see this coming.

She didn't want to see this coming.

But it happened.

It all happened.

The Geth. Her death. The Collectors. The Reapers.

How could she not see this coming?

She watched in silence as the medical crew load Ashley onto the gurney and quickly make their way toward the elevator. Dr. Chakwas spared a single glance back at Shepard before the doors separated them.

All that remained in the cargo bay was Shepard, Liara, and the shard.

And the images of what just transpired.

She looked toward the spot where Dr. Ivers had fallen; Eying the shard with some unknown emotion before walking over toward it. With careful hands, she reached down and picked it up. Upon contact with the metal piece, a soothing sensation flowed through Shepard's body. It reminded much of the times her own mother's soothing words when she was a child.

For moments, she stared at the shard. Torn between holding it close to her chest, and chucking it out the nearest airlock.

But there was something about this shard that everyone wanted to get their hands one, and Shepard was going to find out what.

'God I hate this war', thought Shepard as she made her own way to the elevator with Liara following closely behind.