Chapter 2 up guys! I appreciate your generous feedback you gave me so far and they made me finish this chapter at a faster pace. I really liked writing this one and I hope you like it too.

Happy Reading!

"Hey" - Normal Speech/Translated Speech

"Hey" - Intercom speech/Radio chat

"Hey" - Pokémon Speech

Chapter 2 - Eden Prime

Somewhere on Earth…

It was midnight. He watched the stars sparkle giving light to the cloudless dark sky above him.

"Something bothering you, my Lord?" A being walked closer concerned.

He didn't respond immediately. He was still pondering. "Yes. I sense a disturbance coming from space."

"May I ask what is it?" The being asked.

"The beginning of a war. However, this one will be much greater than the ones we involved ourselves into. This one is capable of wiping out not only our kind and humanity, but also every other species in other places of the galaxy." He said in his monotone voice.

"Then shouldn't we prepare for it?" The being suggested.

"No. Our intervention is not needed for now. As we speak, two heroes and their companions are battling the forces of evil to save one of our planets." He said as he watched the sky, more precisely the location of the imminent battle on one of the human-Pokémon colonies. The humanly-named world called Eden Prime.

Shepard ducked behind a boulder while Jenkins and Alenko took cover behind a fallen tree as the three made their way through the small forest. Even though Jenkins was a corporal and new to operations like this, he was born and raised on Eden Prime, and so knew the land better than the Commander or the biotic. Thus, the rookie became the squad's guide. They were making their way through a small field just on the edge of a forest, not far from the LZ. His Predator Pistol primed and ready to fire at anything at a moment's notice, Shepard poked his head out of cover. All he saw was more rocks and trees. No sign of any hostiles. But he could hear shots at other parts of the battlefield, some which he didn't recognize. He ducked his head back down as quickly as he poked it up and nodded at Alenko and Jenkins.

The two marines returned the commander's nod before heading off to take cover behind a tree. Shepard then leapt out of his own cover and rushed to behind a tree of his own. Alenko poked his head out of cover and immediately drew his rifle.

"The hell is that?" he yelped in a panic. Shepard immediately leapt out from cover to investigate what made the marine panic.

On what looked like a mini-parade float.

"Relax." Jenkins said with a chuckle. "Those are gas bags. Native animals. They're harmless."

True to Jenkins words, the odd alien creature gave no hint of aggression, and just floated onwards, paying no heed to the three humans. Shepard looked towards Kaidan, who seemed more than a little embarrassed by how a floating bladder scared the crap out of him. He just sighed and shook his head.

"A little on edge, aren't we?" The Commander asked half-jokingly as he patted the marine's shoulder. "Forgot to read about native life, didn't you?"

"Sorry, sir. Didn't think it was needed…" Kaidan sighed apologetically, cursing his brief stupidity.

After another minute or so of marching, Shepard suddenly crouched and held up a fist, the universal order to stop. The squad was at the top of a small hill, and before them laid a path strewn with boulders. They'd make good cover if the squad got attacked. He waved the team ahead. Jenkins wasted no time and rushed to one of the first boulders, Kaidan and Shepard right behind him, taking cover behind boulders a couple of behind the rookie. Jenkins shifted uncomfortably and took a quick peek over his cover. No sign of hostiles. He felt confident. He boldly leapt out of cover and made for the boulder on the other end of the path.

And then, first contact with the enemy.

A dozen aerial drones swooped in out of nowhere and immediately began opening fire on the rookie. It all happened so fast that it wasn't until Jenkins' shields were down to half power that he even realized he was being shot at. By the time he raised his rifle to return fire, the drones' firepower had already brought his shields down to nothing and didn't find much resistance in his armor. Jenkins went down.

Shepard immediately reacted upon seeing the drones and opened fire with his pistol, Kaidan following suite. Trying to stay cool, he shot some quick burst shots with almost perfect accuracy, downing some drones. Kaidan took out the rest. The firefight ended as suddenly as it began, and probably lasted a whole ten seconds. Shepard motioned Kaidan to help Jenkins while his pistol was overheated. He switched to the Mantis Sniper Rifle and covered the LT.

No enemies on immediate area. Shepard was relieved and cautiously came out of cover and walked over to where Kaidan was kneeling over Jenkins. Kaidan sighed as he closed the rookie's eyes.

"Enemy fire ripped right through his shields." Kaidan grimly reported as he stood up. "He never had a chance."

Shepard looked down on the young man. He swore. He made himself clear to Blade that he would keep an eye on the corporal. And yet, he couldn't save him. Although this was a normal thing at the battlefield, he felt himself responsible for his death.

"We should bury him here. Once the mission is done. He'd like that." Shepard said softly as he walked away, and then suddenly turned. "Don't lose your focus, lieutenant. I want you on high alert. I don't want anyone dying on my watch." Kaidan nodded in reply, grateful to hear his commander wasn't that kind of person who would emotionlessly walk away and leave his downed comrade to rot.

"Yes, sir." he replied.

A colorful array of curses known only in the Alliance military escaped the lips of the marine as she ran for her life. On her tail were a couple of aerial drones, their rapid fire cannons giving the soldier's feet more incentive to move faster. A shot slammed into her shields, taking another chunk out of it and eliciting another string of curse words from her mouth. It was then that she tripped. Now at this point, most soldiers would be dead.

But Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams wasn't like the most soldiers.

Immediately after falling to the ground, she rolled onto her back with her pistol primed and ready. She started shooting at the recon drones, which thankfully weren't all that sturdy as they quickly exploded into showers of sparks and scrap metal. Williams took a few breaths as she got up, hearing the familiar and all-too-welcome hum of her shields recharging. However, her adrenaline began kicking in again as she saw something further up the hill.

It was another Human, civilian judging from the clothes, being manhandled by two more of those...things.He must've been injured, due to a pained expression, and was either too injured, too tired, or both to fight back as he was placed on top of a strange device.

Then, with a sickening sound of skin, flesh and bone being torn asunder, a long spike suddenly erupted from the device, impaling the hapless man right through the chest. Ashley was disgusted of the sight, but stopped her trail of thoughts when she realized that the two synthetic creatures had spotted her. Not having time to throw up, she ran off down the path and took cover behind a boulder, just as the creeps began shooting. She took out her assault rifle and got ready to return fire.

It was then that she heard a shot from behind her.

Shepard was behind a tree, taking cover while aiming with his sniper rifle. He had fired the first round as soon as he noticed the unidentified figures making suppressive fire against the pinned down marine. When it came to sniper rifles, Shepard was an expert head shooter. Over the years, he had developed an ability that produced some kind of time dilatation whenever he aimed through the scope, which made targets move in slow motion. There weren't many in the galaxy with this ability and that always made Shepard special.

He fired the second round 2 seconds later, ending the second figure with another head shot but also overheating his weapon. From what Shepard could see from the enemies, they weren't organic. They had what looked like flashlights for heads and had fleshy-looking muscles on their arms and legs, their torsos protected by a thick metal. Shepard had a good guess what they were.

He then turned around to see Kaidan jogging down the hill towards him and the marine coming out of cover.

"You alright, marine?" Kaidan asked concerned.

"Yes, thanks for the help." she replied panting from the amount of adrenaline in her veins.

"I'm Commander John Shepard and this is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko of the Alliance." Shepard introduced himself. "What's your name, soldier?"

It was then that she regained her composure and saluted. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, sir!"

"At ease." Shepard replied. "What's the situation?"

"Oh man, where do I begin?" Ashley began. "My unit and I were on perimeter patrol when the attack hit. We tried to send a distress signal but they cut off our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"Where's the rest of your unit?" Kaidan asked. Ashley dipped her head in grief.

"Dead. Only me and my partner remains alive." Ashley replied. It was then that Shepard looked over his shoulder back at the downed hostiles.

"Are they what I'm thinking they are?" Shepard asked.

"If you're thinking about the Geth, then you're right." Ashley answered.

"The Geth haven't left the Perseus Veil in over three hundred years. Why would they leave now?" Kaidan asked skeptically.

"They must be here for the beacon." Ashley replied.

"Where is it?" Shepard asked.

"The dig site is just over that rise. It might still be there." Ashley said as she pointed in the mentioned direction. "My partner is at the nearby camp, protecting the remaining survivors, if she's still alive."

"You're with us, Williams." Shepard said with a nod.

"Aye aye, sir. It's time for some payback." She said as she primed her M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle.

Shepard was crouched behind a boulder, Kaidan and Ashley not far behind, giving him cover. They peeked over and found enemies guarding the supposed dig site. He lined up his sniper rifle and aimed at his target.

With a low-pitched, reverberating sound, the rifle delivered its payload and the Geth trooper's head exploded in an array of sparks and metal as the body staggered back. The first shot was the cue of the other two. Kaidan demonstrated his biotics as his arm became enveloped in blue energy and he thrust his arm out forward at a Geth. As if by magic, the Geth was covered in a blue aura itself as it flew through the air, floating and making it an easy target to finish. Ashley peppered the shields of the Geth as Kaidan and Shepard picked them off with their biotics and sniper rifle respectively. The fight ended without the Geth even knowing what hit them.

They came out of cover and started walking towards the dig site...which did not have a beacon in it.

"The beacon was right here last I saw it." Ashley exclaimed, apparently to negate any possible attempts at accusation. "It must've been moved."

"By who? Our side or the Geth?" Kaidan asked.

"Don't know. Maybe we should check out the research camp, up the ridge." Ashley answered.

"Lead the way." Shepard said. Williams nodded and lead the commander and the biotic up the ridge. As Ashley led them, Shepard got another transmission.

"Shepard, it's Nihlus. These are definitely Geth we're dealing with. Just finished checking out a camp. Lot of dead bodies." the Turian reported. "What's your status?"

"We think we might've found the beacon. Stand by." Shepard replied. Sure enough, Ashley successfully led Kaidan and him to the research camp. It was almost completely destroyed. Piles of debris in some corners, fires in the other corners, a few barely-intact sheds, but the most eye-catching feature by far was what looked like a collection of dried up bodies mounted on those spikes.

"Camp got hit hard." Ashley observed.

"It's a good place for an ambush. Keep your guard up." Kaidan said. No sooner did the words escape his mouth did it happen. With audible screeches, the spikes began to lower, making the spartan and two marines snap their guns in that direction. As the spikes fully lowered, the bodies ripped themselves off and faced Shepard and his group. They were humans. WERE humans. They were naked, their skin had turned a grayish-blue with cybernetics strewn out across their bodies. Their eyes glowed blue with menace as they opened their mouths, blue light and a menacing moan escaping from them.

"Oh God..." Kaidan breathed in horror.

"What did the Geth do to them?" Ashley asked. It was then that the creatures charged. Acting on reflex, the three opened fire on them. It didn't take long for them to fall to the ground.

"Secure the perimeter." Shepard ordered as he switched out for his pistol. He walked over to each creature and put one round each into their chests, just to be sure, as Ashley and Kaidan began working on a shed's locked door. Shepard took a moment to look at the...things.

"Why are the Geth doing this? What do they have to gain from it?" he asked himself.

"Commander! We got this shed open!" Kaidan called. "We've got a couple of civilians in here and we found Williams' partner with them."

Shepard walked over to the shed and joined Kaidan and Ash inside. It was a shed in the truest sense of the word. Nothing but a table and a shelf on the far wall. It was a man and a woman. The woman looked to be in her thirties and had very short red hair. The man looked to be in his forties and his wrinkled face in a terrified scowl and a balding head showed that he had seen better days.

"Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!" the man said in harsh, panicked whispers. Shepard nodded and pressed a few buttons to close the door.

"Ashy!" A rodent-like Pokémon jumped onto Ashley hugging her tightly. It was small and tailed bipedal. It had long ears and feet, and stubby arms. It had two horizontal brown stripes on its back. Its long, thin tail has a broad, lightning bolt-shaped end. However, it didn't have fingers. It was yellow-brownish in color, with a white belly. Its arms are halfway brown just like its feet. The soles of its big feet are tan colored and its bifurcated ears are brown on the outsides and yellow on the insides, and end in a distinctive curl at their bottom-most point. The electric on its cheeks are yellow.

"Sparky! Thank goodness you are okay!" She hugged her Raichu back, which seemed to be female by the sound of its voice.

"I could say the same damn thing to you! Where the hell were you?"

"Maybe at Hell's doors. Thanks to them, I got out of there." Ash deadpanned pointing at Shepard and Kaidan, making her Pokémon chuckle. Soon, it looked to the two unfamiliar humans that were standing in front of them.

"Who are they?" It whispered.

"The one at the center is Commander Shepard, as you can guess, our new commanding officer. The one at the left is Lt. Kaidan Alenko, a biotic marine." She whispered back.

"You're safe now." Shepard said.

"Thank the maker for that." the woman sighed in relief. "This Pokémon have been protecting us until now, but I wasn't sure we would make it."

"Hey, you're Dr. Warren. The one in charge of the excavation." Ashley said. "What happened to the beacon?"

"We shipped it off to the spaceport earlier this morning." Dr. Warren began. She then gestured to the man beside her. "Manuel and I stayed behind to pack up the camp. When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide." She paused and shook her head in sadness. "They gave their lives to save us."

"Nobody is saved." Manuel said as he shook his head. "The age of Humanity has ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses shall remain."

"Give us details on the attack." Kaidan said.

"I doubt we could tell you anything you don't already know. It all happened so fast. One second we were gathering up our equipment, the next we were hiding in the shed while the Geth swarmed over the camp." Warren answered.

"Agents of the destroyers." Manuel whimpered. "Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction."

Shepard ignored him again. What caused this man to go insane? "What about the beacon?" Shepard asked. "Do you know why the Geth want it?"

"I don't." Warren confessed. "The beacon is some type of data module from a galaxy-wide communications network. Remarkably well-preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery in our lifetime. Miraculous new technologies, groundbreaking medical advances, it's easy to imagine that a lot of hostile factions would want to get their hands on it. Apparently, that includes the Geth."

"We have unearthed the heart of evil!" Manuel exclaimed. "Awakened the beast! Unleashed the darkness!"

"Okay, I've gotta ask. What's with him?" Shepard asked.

"Dr. Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a little bit...unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"Is it madness to see the future?" Manuel asked.

"A little bit, yeah." Shepard deadpanned.

Manuel shook his head. "I see it all now. The destruction rushing towards us. There is no escape! No hope! I am not mad. I'm the only sane one left!"

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack." Warren said in a reassuring tone.

"Alright. You two stay here. Wait on rescue." Shepard said to the two scientists as he drew out his pistol. He then turned to Ashley and Kaidan. "We need to head for the spaceport. And nice to see you found your partner, Williams. Sparky, was it?"

"Yes, sir!" She gave the Pokémon equivalent of a salute. "Thanks for saving my partner, sir. If I might say…"

"No problem. Welcome to the team, by the way."

"Don't you understand?" Manuel resumed his rant. "The end times are upon us. The Darkness of Eternity is falling and nobody..." he pointed at the Commander. "Not even YOU can stop it!"

"What's stopping us?" Shepard said smirking as he pumped his pistol.

Nihlus Kryik's team carefully made his way through the spaceport. A few minutes ago, they had just received a report from Shepard. The Commander had learned from two surviving civilians that the beacon had been moved from the dig site to the spaceport before the attack hit. The Spectre and the Commander both agreed to link up with one another there. Nihlus was pleased. So far, he now knew that when Shepard set off to look for something, he left no stone unturned. A good trait for a Spectre to have.

Also, Shepard seemed to be a friendly guy, always charismatic, trying to ease the tension in combat. He probably would become a great diplomat if he had that idea in mind. This was also important for a Spectre.

He was also impressed with Blade. So far, the Pokémon demonstrated excellence in combat, finish Geth units with relative ease. He's very reliable and strong-willed and he seemed to share some of his human partner's traits. He knew a bit about the connection that humanity shared with the Pokémon, but he has never seen a link like Shepard had with his Pokémon. He had read their records prior this mission. Together, they were unstoppable and they proved that when they graduated on one of deadliest training courses in the entire galaxy. Also, there's the fact that they managed to protect Elysium against those batarian slavers. Nihlus had no doubts that those would be exceptional Spectres.

But, being a Spectre meant unlimited freedom in Citadel space. Freedom to choose how and in what nature you want to complete your missions. But that freedom of choice carries with it a great burden. Choices have consequences, consequences that you'll have to carry with you for the rest of your life. 'I was following orders' is not a valid excuse when you're a Spectre; the only orders you ever receive are from the Council, and those orders are usually just vague enough leave you with some free room for choices. More often than not, Spectres givethe orders. Both the choices and the consequences of those choices are theirs, and theirs alone.

When you're a Spectre, you face many choices. Few of them are easy. Shepard will need to understand that if he is to become one.

It was then that Nihlus spotted someone, or something. He was snapped from his thoughts as he quickly took cover behind a crate. He checked his assault rifle. Armed and ready. He quickly moved out of cover, followed by his Pokémon company, and kept the rifle pointed at the target. The fact that it didn't look Geth was the only reason the target was still standing, but Nihlus was ready to pull the trigger at any moment. However, when he got a better look at the mysterious figure, his stance changed entirely.

"Saren?" he asked as he lowered his rifle and his mandibles splayed apart in surprise and confusion.

"Nihlus..." Saren said as he turned around to address the younger Turian. Saren was a rather unusual sight among Turians. For one thing, he lacked the facial tattoos that were typical for his species, indicating he swore no allegiances to any colonial heritage. He also had elongated 'horns' extending back from the sides of his skull, showing that he was part of a racial sub-group of Turians. Finally, there was his artificial left arm; he lost the real one on one of his most dangerous missions. Of course, when you're the Council's top Spectre, you go on a lot of dangerous missions.

"Who's this guy, Nihlus?" Blade asked curiously, but immediately not taking a liking to him.

"This is Saren Arterius, the best Spectre in Council Space and also my former mentor." The Turian introduced.

"I see you're working with human pets now eh?" Saren nonchalantly said. Blade and Razer gritted his teeth. Who was he to insult their kind?

"Blade, Razer, secure the perimeter. We need some privacy to talk." Nihlus ordered. Both looked at each other hesitantly, but decided to comply.

As they were outside of their ears range, Nihlus began. "This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?"

"The Council thought you could use some help on this one. In fact, I was looking for action like this, just like old times." Saren answered as he casually walked past Nihlus. The younger Spectre nodded in reply, the explanation being good enough for him. He had no reason to not believe Saren at his word. He trusted him.

"Situation looks bad. Geth are all over the place and it looks like they're dead-set on the beacon." Nihlus explained.

"Relax..." Saren said coolly. "I've got everything under control..."

"Nihlus, look out!"

*BANG!*

Shepard brought up a fist, a signal for the squad to halt, having heard a gunshot and a few explosions in the distance. They stayed there for a long time, not hearing anything else after that sole shot.

"Keep moving. Eyes and ears open." Shepard ordered after the silence. With a 'Yes sir' and an 'Aye aye', they resumed their path to the spaceport.

They continued on their way through the trees until they found themselves at the top of a hill overlooking the docks of the spaceport. However, the hill was also over looking about a dozen Geth troopers and about half a dozen more husks. However, they seemed to be in a firefight against a platoon covered behind crates there. He noticed Pokémon attacks. Blue arcs of energy and green blades slicing the fast incoming husks.

"It's Blade and co. Let's help them!" Shepard ordered taking cover behind a tree, already aiming his sniper rifle. Ash and Kaidan took cover behind a boulder in front of Shepard. Sparky moved in high speed towards the enemy, using her high-voltage attacks against the Geth.

As soon as they started firing, they gained attention from some of the enemy units. As the Geth concentrated on Shepard's team, the husks continued moving towards the pinned down team behind the crates. With enemy falling fast, the fight stopped soon. Kaidan peeked his head out of cover while Ashley and Shepard scanned the area from afar. "I think we're good, sir." Kaidan said.

"Guys? Are you alright?" Shepard shouted as he got out from cover and started walking towards the crates.

He heard Nihlus' voice. "Yeah, but it could be worse."

"What happened?" The Commander asked noticing that the turian's voice seemed a bit down.

Nihlus looked at Shepard. "As you can see, we arrived here first and we stopped someone already at the rendezvous point. From where we were, we could get a good visual, so we went ahead and prepared for a firefight. However, when we got closer, I've never expected to see him here."

"Who?" Shepard interrupted curiously.

"Spectre Saren Arterius. The best Spectre in Council Space and also, my former mentor."

The name didn't ring a bell to Shepard or any of the squad. However, from the look of Nihlus' face, he could tell this wasn't a good development.

"What happened then?" Kaidan asked.

Nihlus looked down to the floor.

#Flashback#

"Nihlus, look out!" He heard Blade's voice from afar. He looked to him to ask what's going on and, along the way, he noticed Saren pointing a gun to his head. Before he looked at his former mentor, he expected a shot that never came.

"PSYCHIC!"

Saren was caught off guard as he was pulled away by a strong blue aura force, making him fly meters away from his position. However, with his biotics, he was able to stabilize it and land safely. With his Spectre cover blown and outnumbered, he fled to another platform of the spaceport and called in for reinforcements to get rid of the pest. With Nihlus alive and alert, things would certainly begin to complicate.

Nihlus looked to Blade again. His eyes were glowing blue

Nihus was still agape from everything that had just happened. His former mentor intended to kill him in cold blood and betrayed everything he taught. Loyalty to the Council, protect the weak and so on. But, one thing he sure knew. Saren isn't going to get out of this alive.

#End Flashback#

"And since then, we have been fighting for our lives against those creeps. Damn it, I still can't believe that Saren not only betrayed me and the Council, but also the Turian Hierarchy! He's going to pay for this!" He shot back kicking the nearest crate with brute force.

Even Shepard couldn't understand why a Turian of such high reputation in Council Space could turn his back to the Council and the Citadel like if they were nothing. What led him to do this? And does he plain achieve? Shepard wondered.

Nihlus looked to Blade. "Looks like I owe my life to you, Blade. Thanks for the heads up."

"Well, the one you should be thanking is John. If it wasn't for him, I'd not be here to assist you, nor would be Razer." Blade said truthfully. Actually, Shepard never had thought that a simple order of tagging along would mean the difference between life and death. At the time, he just had the thought that Nihlus could use the help in case heavy firefight. He was glad, though, he was able to prevent someone's death this time.

"Then, thanks both of you. I owe you two a drink." The turian said as he looked in the distance towards where Saren went. "So, shall we get moving? If I know Saren, he's got a big plan waiting for us."

The Prothean beacon was a tall, slim structure. It was about fifteen feet high and was only about half a foot across at the tip. Knowing its value, the humans of Eden Prime who dug it up were readying it for transport to the Citadel. That was, until Saren and his Geth showed up.

The Turian looked upon the beacon. He had been worried that it might have been damaged, but from the looks of it, it was still like new. Launching an attack on a colony this deep in Alliance space was a big gamble, but one that ultimately paid off. He turned to a Geth trooper standing next to him.

"Set the charges. Leave no evidence that we were here." Saren ordered. He looked up as he heard gunfire in the distance. He cursed his lack of knowledge about those pathetic Pokémon scums. With Nihlus still alive, he wouldn't be able to hide behind his Spectre status if there were witnesses. No matter. He always had a plan B in case things not worked the way he wanted. He walked up to the beacon. Then, he was lifted into the air as he had a vision.

Then, he landed on his feet with a thud. The vision was confusing, but it was only one piece of the puzzle. Once the other pieces fell into place, all would be made clear. He summoned his ship. He got what he came for, so now it was time to leave. He'd leave enough Geth behind to set the demolition charges and defend them from Nihlus and his team. The synthetics would be destroyed in the blast, but it was a necessary sacrifice. Besides, there were plenty more Geth where those came from. Once the bombs go off, the entire colony will be destroyed in a massive nuclear explosion, effectively erasing any evidence that there was even an attack to begin with.

Saren smiled. He knew that there wasn't a single person in the galaxy who could stop him now.

"Woohoo. Now that's what I'm talking about." Ashley cheered along with Sparky as they looked down the catwalk to see what was left of all the Geth defenders that tried to stop them. "We're really packing a punch now huh?"

"Yeah, they never stood a chance!" Sparky said.

Shepard looked to the colonial marine, smiling. "Glad to see you're optimistic."

"Well, we're more of realists rather than optimists, sir."

"If you say so. Alenko, how's progress?" The Commander asked.

"One more second." Kaidan replied as he typed away buttons at the tram's control panel. "Got it." he said two seconds later. With a jerk, the tram began moving.

"Don't let your guard down. I'm sure Saren placed a heavily fortified defense force to guard the beacon." Nihlus said as he looked up at the ledges that surrounded the tram. They were good defensive positions, and the Geth would use them if given the opportunity. Everyone had the same idea as they too looked around, ready for an attack.

That's when they heard it. A vile, screeching sound that made lesser beings cringe. It was the same sound Shepard, Blade and Nihlus heard in the Normandy'scomm room. Everyone looked off in the direction of the sound just in time to see it taking off into the sky.

"That's the mothership!" Ashley shouted, her voice barely audible over the roar of the thing taking off. "Look at the size of that thing!"

"That thing's a ship?" Kaidan shouted back.

Shepard and Blade looked on in silence, recognizing the flying structure as the one he saw in the distress feed. Now it made sense as to how the Geth had gotten here. Shepard hadn't learned of any ships design like that one when he was at the Academy. And look that he was quite an expert when it came to technology. Before he found out about Saren, this was thought to be a simple battle. But after that, both knew that there was more going on here than just a simple battle.

"If that's their mothership, then the Geth might be withdrawing." Kaidan observed as the ship rocketed up out of sight, leaving Eden Prime's atmosphere.

"Maybe they already have the beacon and they're getting out of dodge." Blade suggested.

"Maybe, but this isn't like Saren. Now that he's a rogue Spectre, he wouldn't want anyone finding out about this attack, leaving no witnesses. Oh Spirits…" the Turian said as he realized why they were leaving.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"If my thoughts are right, Commander, we better reach our destination fast. We may not have much time." Nihlus said grimly. "He wants to blow this colony sky high!"

Shepard readied his sniper rifle. Saren just have made an extreme bold strategy. Was he really willing to sacrifice an entire colony just to cover his tracks? Or was this because he didn't want the beacon in any other hands? Still, it sounded disgusting. So far, it seemed to have a complete despise towards Humanity and his actions proved it. But, why was he doing this? Shepard couldn't stop thinking. It didn't matter though, because no matter the reason, the Geth had to be stopped.

The tram reached its destination with a click, and as the Commander expected, the three got one hell of a welcoming committee. Eight Geth Troopers, all lined up around the catwalk. Shepard, Ashley, Kaidan and Nihlus ducked behind crates, while Blade and the other Pokémon were a little more proactive. He ran past the crate and up the stairway leading to the catwalk. They finished them up with their own Pokémon attacks which quickly destroyed the units. Shepard and the others moved in, until noticed something…

"We got a bomb here!" Shepard shouted. Everyone looked over to where the bomb was. Just below them at the railing, a bomb the size of a fridge was already beeping and blinking red lights. "I got it!" He shouted again, rushing to it.

"Everyone, cover Shepard!" Nihlus ordered. At the meantime, Shepard began furiously pressing buttons on its control panel. The bomb gave a few beeps and he saw the lights fade away and the beeping stop. He gave everyone a thumb's up.

"Commander, I'm reading four other bombs! Check your radar!" Nihlus said panting between some words. True to his claim, Shepard checked his omni-tool radar device and found the other signatures. His eyes widened and began shouting orders.

"Alright people, we have four other bombs in the vicinity! Kaidan and Razer, you're up for bomb defusing. Blade and I will provide sniper support. Ashley, Sparky, think you can distract them?"

"Leave it to us! Come on, girl!"

"Time to kick some asses!" Sparky cheered and followed her partner.

"What about me?" Nihlus suddenly asked.

"You don't take orders from me, remember?" Shepard smirked.

"Right, right. Sometimes, I forget I'm a Spectre." Nihlus replied jokingly. "Is there room for another sniper?"

"The help is always welcome." Blade said as they lined up against the catwalk's walls..

Shepard turned to his partner. "Ready for some target practice, buddy?" He smiled, knowing full well that Blade loved those exercises.

"You bet! Whoever gets the largest score wins!" Blade said enthusiastically with his elbow blades glowing blue with psychic power. That was a common game between them, something they did to have fun while in training at the Academy.

Meanwhile, Kaidan had already defused the fourth bomb near Shepard's position. He was already moving to the next one a few meters away. However, despite they were covered by crates, the problem was the appearance of two big Geth units that protecting the fifth bomb. They were bright red in color and had what looked like two long rods sticking out of each shoulder, giving them an almost regal look. Firing suppressive shots in assault rifle mode, they were keeping the two humans and Pokémon pinned down, unable to proceed.

"We could use some help here!" Ashley shouted using team radio.

"Hang on!" Shepard replied. "Everyone, line your shots towards the big ones!" He said to Blade and Nihlus. The two snipers aimed for their heads and fired. However, the enemy didn't even flinch from them as their shields took most of the damage. In doing so, they earned the biggies attention and returned fire towards their position with rockets. The three crouched back to cover before their head were blasted away.

"Those things have rockets?" Shepard gasped at the sudden attack.

"Not much of a surprise since they are the heavies." Nihlus commented.

Seeing Shepard's and Nihlus' shots weren't effective. Blade gathered more power into his blade arms. "My turn!" He jumped to the air and used another portion of his psychics to hover for a limited time. He took aim at the big Geth units, which were now focused on him.

"PSYCHO CUT!" He swung his blade ten times, each time releasing two arcs of blue psychic power with one directed at each unit.

The attack was so fast that it hadn't given time for the units to dodge. Consequently, they were hit by it. Much to his surprise, they were still standing like if nothing has happened.

Blade gasped. "Damn, those shields are tough."

"Now that their attentions are on us, tell Kaidan and the others to finish them." Nihlus suggested looking at Shepard.

"Kaidan, use this opportunity while they're at us to strike them down! Use a biotic throw to immobilize them and then, all of you give them hell!" Shepard ordered over the radio.

"Aye aye, sir! Come on, guys!" Kaidan said as he and his team got out of cover and fired towards the red Geth units. Before they could be shot at, Kaidan used his biotics, just like ordered, and immobilized them, knocking them down.

"Let's finish them!" He shouted as he and Ashley switched to their shotguns and sprayed until they overheated. Their Pokémon partners followed with their own attacks, with Sparky using Thunderbolt to disable their circuitry and Razer using Razor Leafs to deal the final blow as he sliced them into pieces.

With the biggies dead, Kaidan moved in to deactivate the final bomb. With 30 seconds, he did it without much effort. As he made a thumb's up, the squad could at least rest easy with no worries of them blowing up along with the colony. And with no Geth in the immediate area, there was only one thing to do now.

"Let's go get that beacon." Shepard said as he moved towards its location.

"Is that it?" Kaidan asked as they approached the Prothean beacon.

"Yeah but...it wasn't glowing when they dug it up." Ashley replied. "Maybe the Geth did something to it?"

"Normandy, this is Commander Shepard." Shepard reported. "We've secured the beacon. Corporal Jenkins was killed in action. Two survivors. Over."

"…Roger that…" Anderson said with a tone of sadness over the radio. "What about Nihlus? Is he still standing?"

"Alive and breathing, sir." Shepard smiled. "If it wasn't for Blade, he would be killed by Saren, sir."

"Saren!?" Anderson asked. Shepard couldn't help but note the way Anderson said that word, as if he knew him. "Are you sure that's his name?"

"I can confirm that, Captain Anderson." Nihlus joined. "But, I'll leave it to when we get back to the ship."

"Roger that. We'll lock onto your position and pick you up.Normandyout." Anderson stated before clicking off.

"Geez, a Spectre working with the Geth? This sounds problematic." Blade said sighed as he analyzed the beacon.

"Do you know what made him do that, Nihlus?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I seriously don't know. After I joined the Spectres, we got separated as we often took different missions. We still contact each other, but he never said what he was doing. At least, I know he couldn't join them without a reason and I intend to find out why." Nihlus explained

Then, they heard what sounded like a pulse, followed by a flash of green light. "WILLIAMS!" Kaidan yelled. They turned around and saw Ashley and Sparky being pulled towards the beacon by an unseen force. Acting on instinct, Shepard and Blade rushed to the marine and Pokémon, respectively, and grabbed their arms, and then threw them away.

However, now the force was pulling them in. Both Shepard and Blade tried to pull away with all their might. But their strength was not enough to completely break away. Suddenly, they found themselves floating in the air.

"Shepard!" Ashley yelled as she tried to leap after them.

"Blade!" Sparky doing the same.

"No!" Kaidan said, pulling Ashley back, with Razer doing the same with Sparky. "You'll just be pulled in too!"

They received the vision.

There were strange-looking people, aliens suffering.

Metal being welded to flesh.

Minds being tormented.

Blood splattering on the ground.

Screeching of the damned.

And eyes that spoke eons of malice.

The beacon exploded, sending the both commanders flying. They lost consciousness as the others rushed to their sides.

Codex Entry 01: Pokémon

Pokémon are strange creatures which appeared on Earth a long time ago, presumably the same time as humanity began walking its first steps. For countless years, uncountable Pokémon species have developed on the planet and became friends with humanity, and that relationship is clearly evident until nowadays. Much isn't known about their past, but human society and Pokémon alike believed it all began when the God Pokémon Arceus was originated from an egg in middle of space chaos after the Big Bang. It's believed that he created Time, with the creation of Dialga, and Space, with the creation of Palkia, in his early age and made Earth, a planet where his kind would live peacefully. In addition, he made the humans to perform a bond with his kind, so they could grow together.

And until today, that bond seems to have not shattered. Wherever there are humans, there are certainly Pokémon with them. They do jobs the same as humans, they mostly eat the same food as humans, they live the same way as humans do and there are even reports of inter-species couples. But, those inter-species cannot produce offspring due to unmatchable codes of genes. According to human databases, there are 649(1) Pokémon species in total. And to speak with their human friends, they used the universal translator which humans also use to enable communications with the spacefaring races.

Just as the humans have their ambassadors at the Citadel, the Pokémon also have theirs. The few selected are minor Legendaries representing the Pokémon High Order which is formed by the strongest Legendaries, including Arceus himself.

(1) - This number will change as I have intention of adding the newly 6th generation Pokémon into the story. I'm just waiting for the confirmed total amount of new Pokémon that will be present in the new series.

So, how did it go? Please post your opinions (Constructive Criticism is accepted), so I can improve according to your likes.

Until next chapter!