AN: There may be a swear word or two in this chapter so I apologise to anyone of a delicate disposition.
Chapter Two
The night of the living dead is on its way...
with a credit report for duty call.
It's a lifetime guarantee.
Stuffed in a coffin 10% more free.
Red light special at the mausoleum.
Green Day – Macy's Day Parade
Eden Prime had once been an idyllic and peaceful planet. Decades ago the Alliance with the aid of several large corporations had begun to develop the beginnings of a settlement on the Earth-like planet. The prosperous suitability of the area drew heavy immigration traffic from civilians and soldiers seeking better employment opportunities. Over the course of that time Eden Prime had grown into a large, agricultural colony with blossoming orchids and expansive green fields. At the last consensus the population had been totalled at 3.7 million colonists living all over the thriving paradise.
As soon as her boots touched the ground Sara Shepard knew that Eden Prime had gone to hell. There were thick grey plumes of smoke bellowing in the distance from somewhere buried deep within the valleys of the plush green hills. The stench of burning plastic hung heavy in the air, stinging Shepard's nostrils and leaving a bitter taste on her tongue as she gestured for the other two members of her ground team to head towards where the dig site resided.
Nihlus had gone ahead. The turian Spectre had used a different drop zone to Shepard's tiny unit, stating that he would be quicker advancing to the target alone. Shepard had crossed paths with Nihlus only twice during her time on The Normandy and both times he had been aloft and blunt. She wasn't sure what to make of the man who was judging her on her actions out here today. As far as she was concerned this would be like every other mission she had participated in. She would work it to the best of her ability.
Becoming the first human Spectre was a daunting possibility. It was just like that old Spiderman comic said "With great power comes great responsibility." Shepard would be a role model for anyone that followed in her footsteps and she wasn't sure she liked the idea of that. No matter what happened in the long run she would get through this mission knowing that she had tried her damnedest, the same way she always did.
Something was prickling at the edge of Shepard's senses as the gravel from the pathway crunched under foot. There was a faint crackle in the air, like the oxygen atoms were charged with static. It was a strange feeling and it made the hairs on the nape of her began to raise as apprehension chased her system. She held her fist up as a sign for Jenkins and Alenko to halt their movements.
Alenko responded immediately, stopping dead, his pistol poised for action. Flickers of blue were already beginning to thrum in the air surrounding him, giving his olive skin a lighter hue as it created an aura around his stationary form.
Jenkins didn't share the same wisdom of experience. The high pitched whine cut through the air, filtering straight through to Shepard's brain, causing her to grind her teeth at the frequency of the sound before several, shiny metal drones hurtled through the air towards them. Jenkins was still in motion. His footsteps putting him directly in their path before the three drones opened fire on their unsuspecting enemy.
In less than a second it was all over. The bullets cut through Jenkin's shields like butter, clanking loudly as they pierced his armour in multiple places. His agile body jerked and wretched, splattering the glossy surface of the protective coating with vivid red blood. He tumbled to the ground awkwardly, his head lolling as his limbs stretched out at gawky angles.
Shepard was already taking aim at the first of the hostiles with her assault rifle as the drones diverted their attention to the remaining two members of the team. Alenko was already in motion, the shimmer of raw blue power encased the second drone causing the circuits to wheeze and crackle as he reached out towards it with his outstretched palm.
A hale of bullets ricochetted off the sturdy rocks to Shepard's left sending shards of the solid grey mass bouncing off her N7 armour as the first drone lined up with her sight. She pulled the trigger, watching the projectiles perforate the drone's casing before it spiralled to the ground in a haze of putrid white fumes. Alenko was already dispatching the third with another burst of his biotics, the screech of splintering metal echoed through the area as the drone crumpled like paperball in his thrall.
By the time they made it to Jenkins he was panting, his long ragged breathes cut through the silence surrounding them as the electric blue glow from his biotics faded. The marine was dead, they had known it the second that the bullets had impacted but seeing his wide lifeless eyes staring back at them wrenched something hard deep inside the both of them. It wasn't easy to lose a soldier under your command. Shepard remembered Jenkins's enthusiasm when he'd approached her on The Normandy brimming with excitement at the potential of his first mission fresh off the new frigate. She watched as Alenko knelt down beside his fallen comrade, his fingertips coming to rest on the other man's eyelids before he closed them completely.
Shepard's gut twisted before she slammed down the defences on her emotions and switched to the more logical side of her being. The woman in her mourned the youth but the Commander, she was all about the mission. It was the only thing that mattered right now. They had to get to that beacon and then they would return for Jenkin's corpse.
Her hand came to rest on Alenko's broad shoulder. She squeezed it for the briefest of moments before he rose to his feet and turned to face her. She could see the sorrow in his handsome features and she understood it better than anybody else.
"I need you to focus Kaidan." Shepard said softly, maintaining eye contact with her remaining team member. "We'll make sure that Jenkins gets the service he deserves but right now we need to complete the mission."
For the first time since they had met Shepard saw that cool, blank mask slip into place over Alenko's usually expressive features. It was at that moment she saw the steely core of determination that resided deep within her comrade. His voice was devoid of all emotion as he spoke.
"Let's get the job done."
The mission had been a complete cluster fuck from the very beginning and as far as Kaidan Alenko was concerned he would be glad when the whole damn thing was over.
Jenkins's death was still tearing up his insides like a shred of barbed wire gnawing at his gut. He had never lost a soldier under his command before and the guilt was stabbing at him underneath the layers of his armour. The young marine had been his friend and now he was dead. It was something that Kaidan would have to learn to live with when all of this was over.
His immediate concern was the machine-like hostiles that appeared to have swarmed the entire dig site. Kaidan had never seen anything like them before and he was sure that Shepard hadn't either.
Over the course of his life he had heard stories about the Geth. They were fairytales to him, stories that his father told him before bed when he was on shore leave from the Alliance. From what he remembered they were a sentient, mechanical species. As far as he knew they had never crossed The Veil until now. He had never thought that he would ever see one in this life time and now he thought he had seen far too many.
Kaidan had managed to compartmentalize that mystery and honed in on the fact that the bizarre creatures were the enemy. With their team a man down, their mission was getting harder and harder to complete. Shepard was a crack shot with a sniper rifle from even the most obscene of distances but they were heavily out numbered in close combat. Kaidan hated to admit it but he was beginning to feel that tell-tale constant pressure behind his eyes, signalling that he was beginning to over exert himself.
Shepard and himself made a good team, her tech capabilities matched that of his own biotic abilities. They were both skilled with weapons although they had their own preferences and the way Shepard moved was like poetry in motion.
The two of them were completely in tune with one another. They worked as one, Kaidan pre-empted Shepard's commands before the woman had even opened her mouth to address them. He had never been in sync with anybody like this. The way they responded to one another was effortless and graceful, like a dance that only the two of them knew the steps to.
The two of them had battled wave upon wave of the living machines before they had come across Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams fending off a couple of Geth alone. They were not the only people to have suffered a loss that day. Williams's unit, the 212 were wiped out entirely by an army of Geth, whom had been intent on capturing the beacon. Williams had survived the attack through her wide skill set and sheer tenacity. The brunette seemed to have good head on her shoulders and Shepard was beyond happy when she had split some of her ammo with them. The three of them made a productive team and Williams was a useful source of information when it came to their surroundings.
The beacon wasn't had the dig site and that annoyed Kaidan more than he cared to admit. Shepard had rolled those pretty blue eyes up towards the sky simulating the same emotion as they stared at the place where the artefact had once stood. They both seemed to wordlessly agree that it had become one of 'those' missions.
With the help of two scientists who had been hiding at the time of the attack they had discovered that the beacon had been moved to the dirty white spaceport that loomed overhead. Once the mission turned from bad to worse. Nihlus, the turian Spectre who'd been with them on The Normandy had been shot in the head and was lying dead in a pool of his own navy blue blood. The methodology was purposeful and direct.
For Kaidan it had been another blow to his psyche. The death of the Spectre made no sense to him. The turian had been highly trained, the best of the best. How had the Geth managed to get the jump on him? He could see that question troubled Shepard as much as it did him from the deep frown that marred her pale features.
They got their answer from a dockworker by the name of Powell, who had witnessed the event from behind a stack of crates in which he had been napping behind when the Geth had attacked. The information they received changed everything and Kaidan didn't know it at the time but the events of Eden Prime would ricochet through the galaxy for years to come.
The revelation that Nihlus had been killed by another Spectre, one called Saren, had been mind blowing. If they had a rogue Spectre on their hands, their mission was about to get a hell of a lot more complicated. As Kaidan has predicted it had and by the skin of their teeth, they had managed to prevent Saren from blowing up the entire colony by defusing four cleverly placed charges that he had set up. Now finally Kaidan was standing before the object of their desire and he hoped that all the bloodshed had been worth.
The Prothean Beacon stood ten feet tall, it's shiny black exterior reminded him of onyx as it radiated a faint, eerie green glow. The colour was mesmerizing, it appeared to be variation of shades that he found he had trouble determining. Kaidan thought he could see glittering swirls in the light as it emitted from the ancient device and he bent his head to try and catch the light once more. His feet were moving on their own accord, there was a tug from the centre of his chest that yanked him forward as he wind milled his arms to stop his progression. The sentinel experienced a moment of sheer unadulterated panic when he realized he had no control over his own body. He was completely paralysed and at the full mercy of the beacon.
Slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist, gripping him in an iron clad grasp as that petite, athletic body pressed against his back. He inhaled Shepard's familiar vanilla scent as she used her momentum to swing him away from the beacon, yelping indignantly when he hit the ground with full force. Williams was already at his side, helping him to scramble to his feet to confront the sight in front of him.
Shepard's body had been hurled into the air and was suspended four feet above them. Her arms were outstretched and her legs dangled uselessly from the expansive height. Her head was tilted back, her dark red hair fluttering in the aura of green that surrounded her delicate frame. The beacon began to hum, it was a slow insistent sound at first but it began to get louder and louder until it vibrated across his flesh leaving goosebumps in it's wake.
Shepard began to scream. It was a haunting, primal sound that wretched from her throat as the agony tore through her body. Kaidan thought he would never ever forget that sound as long he lived. The noise triggered something deep down inside of him, it touched a savage and protective desire that he had never known he possessed. Automatically he launched himself towards his commanding officer, only to have Williams shove him back so forcefully he stumbled not to trip at the sudden change of direction. He snarled at the tall, brunette, his eyes bright with raw power as he grappled with his own control. The urge to throw Williams with his biotics in order to get to Shepard was overwhelming and he found his fists clenching at his sides until he was white knuckled.
"Don't touch her, it's too dangerous!" Williams yelled as the light surrounding the beacon began to pulsate and flicker.
"She's in pain..."
The rest of Kaidan's words were drowned out by the sudden influx of heat that furled through air as the beacon exploded. Shepard was flung ten feet away, her entire body rolling as she hit the ground before coming to rest on her right side. There was no movement from her after that, no indication that she was even breathing.
Kaidan raced forward, sinking to his knees beside Shepard. His large hand came to rest on her shoulder, lightly manoeuvring her until she was laying on her back. Her armour was scratched all over, the ruined groves showing the tattered remains of Shepard's black flak suit underneath. Her chest plate was a mess, it was dented out of shape from the force of the beacon as it threw her. His fingertips were already creeping across the soft skin of her throat, seeking out the consistent beating of her pulse.
Beside him Williams had her orange Omi Tool ready as she keyed in the codes for the Medical application of her computer. The sensors were kicking in, scanning the Commander's immobile form for life threatening injuries.
"She's alive." Kaidan said, letting out the breath he didn't realize that he had been holding.
The Lieutenant in him was already snapping to attention, his training was coming into full effect and he was already working on the next stage of their plan. With the Commander out of commission that left him in charge. They had the option of taking her to a civilian clinic or to the Medical Bay of The Normandy. A clinic was out of the question, they would rammed to capacity with the aftermath of the Geth attack. He trusted Doctor Chakwas more to get the job done anyway. The woman had been patching up soldiers for years, she had the experience, the means and the space to treat Shepard.
"We need to get her armour off her." Williams submitted interrupting Kaidan's thought pattern as she studied the information on her Omi-Tool. "It's compressing her chest and restricting her breathing."
"Alright." Kaidan agreed, reaching for the leather buckle at the top of Shepard's shoulder in order to remove the chest piece.
Between the two of them it took seven minutes to remove Shepard's armour from the waist up, leaving their XO clad in the black synthetic body suit underneath. There were no tears which was a relief for Kaidan, stripping Shepard of her armour was one thing, removing her modesty was another. He left Williams to sort through the ruined pieces of Shepard's armour while he radioed the situation up to The Normandy. They agreed on a meeting place before he returned his attention to the problem at hand.
"We're going to have to carry her." he stated, his hands coming to rest on his hips as he pondered the predicament. "The nearest area large enough for The Normandy to land is a mile West of here."
"How are your biotics?" Williams asked him as she withdrew her assault rifle from the holster and clicked the safety off.
"They're solid." Kaidan informed her, seeing a twinkle of a plan hatching in her eyes.
"If you can maintain a barrier I recommend you take the Commander and I can scout ahead for any lingering Geth in the area." Williams said, checking the ammo cache on her hip. "There's no point in us both having our hands full. I want to be able to return fire if we're getting shot at."
"Sounds like a plan, Chief." Kaidan conceded.
Williams took up position ahead of him, her eyes alert, scanning the horizon for any sign of Geth. The assault rifle looked at home in her small hands and that gave Kaidan a degree of comfort. He didn't know Williams enough to trust her completely with his own life or Shepard's but right now he had to work with what he had.
It took a few seconds for him to gather up Shepard's unconscious form into his arms. Without her armour she was feather light and it surprised him how innocent she looked curled up against his chest. Her head lolled onto his shoulder, her pale cheek resting upon his collarbone as her deep red hair fell across her pretty features. Holding her like this felt strangely intimate.
"You ready L.T?" Williams asked, glancing back over her shoulder and awaiting Kaidan's answer.
"Whenever you are Chief." he uttered before they began the urgent trek back to The Normandy.
Now onto the review replies. I feel like it's good manners to respond to the people who interact with story so I always do this at the end of each chapter. Firstly thank you to everyone who has added and enjoyed this story so far. Writing Mass Effect is a completely new ground for me and I was a tad apprehensive but you've all been wonderful so thank you very much!
Guest: I am glad your enjoying this story. There's so much research you have to do for every chapter, it can be really complex to write. Thank you for reviewing!
Gracie: Ta Da! Your wish was granted. I hope your excitement was warranted. It's not an easy story to write but I enjoy the challenge. Again thank you very much for reviewing.