The End of an Era

by LuxDragon

The Reapers have begun their cycle of extinction upon a galaxy unprepared for them. The fate of Earth, and all life, rests in the hands of one man. Shepard must unite everyone to create a galactic armada to fight a war unprecedented in scale against a foe that has never been beaten. However, the Illusive Man, and his rogue organization, Cerberus, have other goals in mind...

3. The Mars Archive

Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars / Mars Archive

Liara languidly stretched as she walked through the halls of the Prothean Archives on Mars. With her arms reaching high above her head, she rounded a corner and nearly bumped into a particular researcher that she knew had a crush on her. However, today, Faiza didn't stare at her chest like he normally did. Instead, he muttered a quick apology, side-stepped her, and dashed off.

Dropping her arms, she blinked at his departing back. Since she was being inattentive, another researcher collided with her from behind.

"Sorry!" she said. She picked up her fallen datapad and ran in the same direction as the first without so much as a glance.

Liara recovered and looked around. An archeologist she often with worked with was coming down the hall at the same hurried pace as the others.

"Cameron!" Liara called out. She physically put herself in the way to get her friend's attention. "What's going on?"

Cameron Harrison looked scared out of her wits. With wide eyes, she asked, "You didn't hear?"

Liara shook her head. She had been spending more and more time in the most restricted sections of the archives that she rarely took a break; a habit that was per the norm with any that knew her. Whenever she was close to an answer or a breakthrough, it was hard to pull away until her body demanded for rest or food, though one or the other was sacrificed for more time.

"Something is attacking Earth! We're losing all communications!" Without explaining more, Cameron dashed off to the cafeteria.

Now Liara understood the rush. The cafeteria had giant monitors affixed to the walls. Any new reports that could still be transmitted would be displayed there.

And there was only one thing that would be powerful enough to attack Earth head-on that she would know of.

Goddess… they're already here…

At that moment, her communicator beeped. The chime was one reserved for a very special frequency.

Instead of joining the others in the cafeteria, she went in the opposite direction. Once inside the privacy of her own dormitory, she finally accepted the call that was beeping so incessantly a few minutes ago.

"Miranda?" she asked.

"Liara, you have to get out. Now," Miranda urged quickly and without fanfare. "The Reapers just destroyed Arcturus Station and they've begun an invasion of Earth. I don't know how long we'll be in touch before all the comm buoys are destroyed."

"I just heard. How much time do I have?" Liara asked quickly. She started packing up all of her essentials while simultaneously trying to slip into her armored hard-suit.

"Not long; they'll take over Sol System soon. You'll be completely cut off."

"I need to get to the Archives. There's something I need to download," she hurriedly said. "The fate of the galaxy might depend on it!"

"Hurry!" Miranda said before she looked at something off-screen. She turned back to face her again. "I was just informed that the Normandy managed to escape and is now en route to your location. Shepard is aboard and he knows you're there. You should be able to get out. But how much time you have is in the air. Whatever you're doing, do it fa—"

Liara frowned when the transmission was cut off. "Miranda? Miranda!"

The comm buoy must've been destroyed. Arcturus Station… goddess. I hope Admiral Hackett is alright…

Leaving her room, she started running to the main archives. More and more people filled the hallways as news traveled about the siege on Earth. She forcibly pushed them out of her way. She was slowly uncovering the plans her predecessor had found, but unlike the previous Shadow Broker, she wasn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty with some one-on-one time with the physical archive itself, rather than letting an agent do it. However, since it was in Alliance space, she had to agree to follow their protocols when dealing with the information within. It was slow going, but the Alliance wanted to be careful with their trove of Prothean knowledge. She could understand their caution, but it frustrated her to no end how long it took to even find references to what she was looking for, never mind the fact that she wanted to download it and take a copy out of the archive itself. Permission had to be granted by so many committees that it was little wonder why the archives were still largely unexplored, even after forty years of its discovery.

Now, they were out of time.

Forget protocol. Just get in, get the information, and get out aboard the Normandy.

Her plan was deceptively simple, but naturally, it went to hell when klaxons started blaring. Red lights illuminated the hallways. She slowed her pace and turned to the nearby terminal to see what the emergency was, while praying it wasn't the Reapers already. However, the feed was cut and revealed no information.

It wasn't long before she could hear gunfire close by.

Oh, goddess…

~o~O~o~

Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Normandy SR-2 / En Route to the Citadel

"Joker, set course for the Citadel," Shepard said. It was hard to banish the last thing he saw on Earth, but he managed it somehow, though he had to swallow a bitter taste in his mouth.

"What's going on? Where's Anderson?" Vega asked.

"Setting course for the Citadel. Aye, aye."

"We're leaving?" James asked incredulously.

"What's going on?" Ashley asked.

"Anderson wants us to go to the Citadel, get help for the fight," Shepard answered tersely. A quick glance around showed that the Alliance had moved the Armory from the second deck to the Hanger, a decision he approved of. He marched up to the nearby terminal to inspect their barebones stocks.

"Bullshit. He wouldn't order us to leave," James argued.

Shepard looked up and glared. "He can see what's going on. Without help, this war's already over."

"Then you can drop me off at the nearest depot, 'cause I'm not—"

"Stow it, Lieutenant," Shepard snapped, and stressed who was the ranking officer now. "I'm back in charge under Alliance emergency powers. Understand me right now: this isn't a democracy!"

James opened his mouth to make a rebuttal, but swallowed his words at the last second and settled for glaring. Ashley hovered nearby, watching the proceedings, but wisely stayed out of the way.

"We're going to the Citadel. You want out, you can catch a ride from there," Shepard said in a tone that brooked no argument.

James clenched his teeth, but didn't say anything more.

Shepard looked down at his clenched left fist. Opening his hand, he looked at his dog tags one last time before slipping them on and returning to the terminal.

"Shepard."

Hearing that familiar voice, his head snapped up. "EDI? That you? You're okay?"

"I am. It is good to see you again, Shepard," EDI said. "As much as I would enjoy catching up with you, I am receiving an emergency transmission from Admiral Hackett. He wishes to speak to you."

Ashley and James, as well as the one other crewman inside the Hangar, all looked attentive at the announcement.

"Patch it through," Shepard ordered.

Hackett's face appeared on the terminal, which served to calm the torrent of feelings inside Shepard. After leaving Anderson, seeing the destruction of Vancouver, and imagining the same scenario all across Earth, and the death of…

Why the hell didn't I try harder…?

"Shepard… s-s-sustained h-heavy losses…" Hackett said. Shepard refocused on the present instead of his failures. The video was lagging and skipping and the audio was hardly any better. "…force was o-overwhelming… There's n-n-no way we can defeat them conventionally…"

"Anderson's already ordered me to the Citadel to talk to the Council," he replied.

Hackett's head jerked from side-to-side. "F-f-first, I need you… iance outpost on Mars… ore we lose control of the system."

Shepard didn't question him. If Hackett believed a stop to the Alliance outpost on Mars was needed, then there was good reason. He nodded and saluted to the senior officer. "Yes, sir."

"…been researching the Prothean A-a-a-archives with Dr. T'Soni," Hackett said. "…found a way to stop the Reapers… only way to stop them…"

"T'Soni? Does he mean Liara?" Ashley asked in surprise.

"…in contact soon. Hackett out."

"Joker, change of plans. Set a course for the Mars Archives," Shepard said.

"Mars?" The confusion in the helmsman's voice was unmistakable, but he complied anyway. "Roger that."

"Get us there fast before the Reapers catch wind of what we're up to," Shepard added.

"I can do fast."

"This is loco!" James exclaimed.

"Why Mars? What does he think we'll find there?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know, but I'm hoping Liara will have some answers," Shepard replied. He didn't mention Liara's newest job acquisition to either of them. If anyone had answers to offer, Liara T'Soni, AKA the Shadow Broker, would have them. "If it helps us win this war…"

"I can't believe I didn't know Liara was working there," Ashley commented with a frown.

"You two; suit up and grab your gear. You're coming with me," Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye, sir." – "Aye, aye, Skipper."

Shepard turned and pointed at the only other occupant in the hangar. "You, name and rank," he demanded. While getting his answer, he busied himself with a quick inventory of the supplies scattered on the table.

The officer in the hanger appeared to have strong Hispanic background with some Middle Eastern or African roots if his dark skin tone was any indication to go by. He was big, a size or two short of James in terms of muscle mass, though he stood a tad taller than the marine. "Flight Lieutenant Steven Cortez, um…"

"Commander," Shepard supplied. The loss of his 'posthumous' promotion hardly bothered him. At this point, rank was a formality that he barely had time to entertain.

"Commander Shepard," the man stated crisply with a sharp salute.

"You fly this shuttle?" Shepard asked. He picked up a set of standard Alliance battle hard-suits – basic, but provided adequate protection and was painted in blue/white camouflage style – and started putting it on.

"I can. I was a Trident pilot mainly, but I was assigned to the Normandy primarily as an advisor for the installation of the armory into the hangar. Just got scooped along for the ride," Cortez answered.

"You're gonna be my pilot, then. Can she fly?" Shepard asked.

"Fully fueled and set to go. The weapons aren't working yet, though. Heat sinks haven't been calibrated."

Shepard had to resist either smirking or rolling his eyes at the word 'calibrated'. However, he couldn't stop the sliver of absence and idly wondered how Garrus was doing. The Reapers wouldn't be focused solely on Earth, and Palaven would definitely be one of the many stops the Reapers planned to make.

"We're going to an Alliance outpost. I doubt we'll be shooting anything. We'll probably have to assist with evac," Shepard replied. He finished putting on the hard-suit and picked up a Predator off of the nearby table for inspection. Thankfully, there was a stock of thermal clips, so ammo was no longer going to be an issue. "Get suited up and prep the shuttle for takeoff, Lieutenant."

"Aye, aye, sir," Cortez acknowledged.

Before he ran off, though, Shepard called him back. "One last thing. Any extra omni-tools lying around?"

Cortez looked confused at the random question before understanding dawned on him. "Ah, right. Uh… I think there might be… the Normandy wasn't set for shakedown runs for another month, so we're not at all stocked yet."

"Steven is right. We will have enough fuel to reach the Citadel, but little more than that," EDI added. "I will compile a full list of the Normandy's current supplies as well as a report of the ship's status for your perusal at your leisure."

Now everyone inside the Hanger looked confused, save for Shepard, since he was completely aware of EDI's true nature. Wisely, he kept his silence.

"That's a really different VI…" Ashley commented uncertainly.

"Yeah," Cortez said in agreement. "So, uh, anyway, I'll try to scrounge up an omni-tool for you, Commander."

"I know Esteban, Commander," James said after Cortez left. "I wouldn't say this to his face, but he's a damn fine pilot. We're in good hands."

"I just want in and out, fast," Ashley muttered. "Earth needs us to be fast."

That was a sentiment everyone agreed on.

~o~O~o~

Location: Local Cluster / Sol System / Mars / Mars Archive

As Joker promised, they were approaching Mars in no time at all, but under stealth. Shepard didn't wish to risk the Reapers tracking them to the archive and wanted to buy as much time as he could to complete his business there.

Instead, he loaded his team into the Kodiak and used it to get closer to the outpost before announcing their presence.

"You better do the talking, Ashley," Shepard said as the shuttle hummed to life. They were waiting for clearance from Joker before takeoff.

"Me?" Ashley asked in mild surprise.

"I doubt Anderson had the chance to inform High Command about my reinstatement," Shepard dryly replied. The humor helped hide the worry, and once again, he found himself wondering how Anderson was faring. He also didn't wish to mention the fact that Alliance High Command might not exist anymore as well. "Since news of my reinstatement wouldn't have reached the outpost, it'll be better if you spoke to whoever is in charge."

Ashley nodded. "You got it, Skipper."

"We're taking off," Cortez announced.

After leaving the Normandy, the shuttle shuddered under the mild atmospheric entry into Mars before easily leveling out and flying at a brisk clip to the archives.

However, after a few minutes, Cortez turned in his seat to look at his passengers. "Commander? Something's hinky here."

Shepard unbuckled from his seat and made his way to the cockpit. "What's up, Lieutenant?"

"I was trying to contact the base to declare our intentions, but no one's answering."

"No one?" Shepard repeated.

"No, sir. Not secure channels, civilian, or otherwise. Completely dark," Cortez answered.

"EDI, any sign of Reaper activity?" Shepard inquired.

"I do not detect any sign of the Reapers in the vicinity, Shepard," EDI replied.

"Maybe they evacuated?" Ashley suggested.

"EDI, anything on the base itself?" Shepard asked.

"The base appears to be online. It's possible the inhabitants were evacuated," EDI said.

Shepard frowned and looked at the blank readouts.

"Sir?" Cortez asked.

"What are you thinking?" James added.

"If the base is online, then there should be some VI telling us about the evacuation. Some sort of automated message, you know?" Shepard muttered, more to himself than the others. "Complete radio silence is definitely suspicious."

"What should I do, Commander?" Cortez asked. "Should I ignore protocols and take us in?"

"No. Land outside the base. We'll get there by foot," Shepard answered.

"You sure?"

Shepard nodded. "Yeah. I got a bad feeling about this, and after today, that's something. We're not taking chances here."

"Aye, aye, Commander. I'll take us to the top of that hill. You should get a good view of the base coming down," Cortez said.

"Nice work, Cortez."

"I aim to please."

"Joker, EDI; keep a sharp eye out and let us know if you see any trouble heading our way. We're getting in, getting Liara, and getting out," Shepard said.

"Roger that. Normandy out," Joker responded.

"Almost there," Cortez announced. "Still no contact from the base, Commander. And you have a massive storm heading our way."

Shepard slipped his helmet on. "How long till it hits?"

Cortez put on his helmet as well. "Half an hour, tops. After that, we may have difficulty keeping up comms with the Normandy. I'll try to piggyback off the outpost's outgoing communications array if you establish an uplink between their comm network and the Kodiak. Might be able to still talk through the interference, but no promises."

"If we're past the 30-minute mark, we'll do that," Shepard said. "Till then, stay here."

"Aye, aye, Commander," Cortez said.

"Let's go," Shepard ordered to James and Ashley.

"Right behind you," Ashley said.

The moment the shuttle door opened, Shepard hopped out, and turned to observe the incoming sandstorm.

From horizon to horizon as far as his eyes could see, it was certainly massive. The sandstorm was rolling toward their position, consuming everything in its path and occasionally releasing lightning arcs that made it look even more menacing.

"Damn… that's a huge storm. Looks a lot bigger in person," James said.

"Come on, Lieutenant. It's not that bad," Ashley said.

"Doesn't mean it can't kill us," he retorted.

"I'm more worried about the war back on Earth… or the fact that nobody here is reporting in…" she said before trailing off as realization dawned on her. She looked at Shepard. "And that's your bad feeling… Coincidence?"

"That this base goes silent at the exact same time the Reapers attack Earth?" Shepard rhetorically asked. "Still, weapons safe until we see any evidence of foul play. Maybe their outgoing communications are offline or something. Let's move."

Making their way down the incline toward their destination, they worked their way around a rather large rock formation that served to hide the shuttle from view of the base.

"Found something," James called out. "A body."

"Really hate being right all the time," Shepard muttered aloud to himself while drawing his Predator. Moving to where James was standing, he spotted an Alliance soldier slumped against a vehicle. Nearby was a box of tools and an open panel.

Ashley used her omni-tool to access the personal information off of his omni-tool. "Sergeant Reeves. Doesn't look like he put up a fight."

"Something's not right here," James said. "Ambushed, you think?"

"What about the vehicle?" Shepard asked.

Ashley looked at the panel Reeves had been working on. "Looks like something tampered with it."

"Weapons out," Shepard finally said. "There could still be friendlies out here, but there is definitely a hostile presence."

"Roger that," James said.

"Understood," Ashley said.

Taking point, Shepard led his team toward the archives, alert for anything further amiss. He had James update Cortez and Joker about a possible enemy presence in the area and to be prepared for anything. The trail they were walking on was mainly used by rovers. It was worn-in, wide, and stable, making for an easy path. Before rounding a bend that would lead them toward the facility proper, the distant sounds of gunshots were heard through the thin atmosphere of Mars.

"Down," Shepard whispered harshly. He took cover behind a rock and peered down the road.

Ahead, he could see some sort of soldiers, possibly mercenaries, gunning down Alliance soldiers one-by-one. He was pissed before when they found Sergeant Reeves' body, but what got his blood boiling was the fact that all the Alliance soldiers the mercs were shooting were on their knees, hands behind their head. By the time they had eyes on them, all the hostages were already dead.

"Holy shit. They're executing them!" James growled in outrage.

"Don't hold back. Take every one of those bastards down," Shepard ordered.

Ashley and James were still wielding M-8 Avengers while he was only armed with a Predator that he found lying around the near-empty Armory in the Normandy. He allowed Ashley to take point and lead the charge while he took the rearguard position.

The road they had taken was far too open to covertly engage them, which left only one option.

Ashley took aim, and in a feat of skill that impressed Shepard, she managed to take out a merc before he knew what hit him with one tight burst over 400 meters away.

The others whirled around and started firing back the moment they spotted them.

"Nice shot," Shepard said.

"Thanks. Been practicing," she replied.

"They know we're here now," James said. He and Shepard followed Ashley as she led the charge.

They held the height advantage since they were uphill, but there was little in the way of cover. While they had field of view on their mysterious attackers, the mercs were able to seek defilade and hold their positions. The extra numbers firmly put the advantage to them while Shepard and his team were far less equipped with whatever they could scrounge up on the Normandy when they left Earth.

James and Ashley fired away while Shepard opted to conserve ammo. At his current distance, a pistol was useless anyway. Instead, he broke away from the group and dashed to an Alliance rover. Ducking down, he sidled to the edge and waited.

One of the mercs came around; either hoping to flank Ashley and James, or find Shepard and take him down. Instead, Shepard managed to get the drop on the merc. Seizing the man by the arm, Shepard pulled upward, exposing the torso, before ramming his Predator into the rib cage, and fired several shots at point-blank range.

After dropping the body, Shepard picked up the merc's weapon. It was a submachine gun, but the model was one Shepard had never seen before. Still, it was more than what he had at the moment. Briefly checking the weapon and making sure it was loaded and ready, he popped out the of side of the rover and joined his team in repelling the enemy.

A few more reinforcements had arrived to join the fray from the vicinity of the outpost, but even the additional numbers didn't stop them. All three pressed their attacks, dropping the mercs one-by-one with far greater efficiency and coordination.

Their numbers were whittled down till the last merc was forced to run behind his IFV. He popped out for a brief second before cursing when his submachine gun overheated. Before he could eject the heat sink, James closed the distance and shoulder-rammed the man until he slammed him into the vehicle. Next, the stock of James' Avenger met the merc's face to further daze him just before a quick 3-round burst ended the fight.

"Clear?" Shepard asked. He studied his newly acquired weapon and was forced to concede that its performance was impressive enough despite its compact size.

"All clear here," Ashley reported.

"Same," James added. "Who the hell are these guys?"

Shepard turned a body over to get a better look. Instantly, his eyes honed into a very familiar emblem on the trooper's right arm. "They're Cerberus," he answered with surprise.

"Cerberus?" Ashley repeated. The disgust in her voice was unmistakable.

He nodded and looked at the nearby Makos. They were covered with a fine layer of dust, a fair warning of the storm's proximity, but stamped on the side was Cerberus' insignia. "This is definitely Cerberus."

"What's Cerberus doing here?" Ashley asked.

"This can't be coincidence. We're here for Liara right after the Reapers attack Earth, and now Cerberus is here at the same time? Whatever the reason, it's probably worse than we can imagine," Shepard said.

"You mean you don't know?"

Shepard stopped his inspection and turned to face her. "I'm not with them anymore, Ash, if that's what you're asking."

"It wasn't," she quickly replied, "but you have to admit… it's a bit convenient."

"'Convenient'? And what does that mean?" he asked. His voice dropped an octave.

"Nothing! I—"

Before she could say anything more, Shepard turned away and started up the slope to the facility. "Let's move out. Now."

James hesitated only for a heartbeat before following. "Yes, sir."

Ashley wordlessly followed.

"EDI, did you get our transmissions?" Shepard asked.

"I did. I am attempting to patch you into their communications now. I will inform you of my progress," she answered.

"Thanks, EDI."

"Wait, since when can a VI do that?" James asked.

Shepard didn't answer. His focus was on the three other Cerberus Makos in front of the outpost.

"Doesn't look like they came in force," James said when he followed Shepard's gaze.

"Yeah, just a few vehicles… but only at this entrance. There might be more," Shepard said.

"Kind of suggests they had help," Ashley said. She realized her slip and hastily added, "From the inside."

Not interested in anymore in-fighting with her, Shepard nodded. "Seems likely."

"You'd need a lot more men and firepower to take this place, otherwise," she said.

There was no evidence of any more hostiles standing guard outside. But that alone told Shepard that if they had brought enough men to assign guard positions, then they had enough inside to ensure the facility was now under Cerberus control. He approached the doors warily.

"Commander, I thought you told Cerberus to screw off after you wiped out that Collector base they were after?" James asked as they walked up the ramp.

"That's exactly what I did," Shepard affirmed.

James looked at the bodies of the Alliance soldiers Cerberus had just executed. "Well, one thing's for sure: they're no friend of the Alliance."

Shepard shook his head. "I don't think they're friends with anyone."

~o~O~o~

Once inside the facility, Shepard was relieved to see that the console hadn't been tampered with. It was a simple matter of closing the door and allowing the massive airlock to equalize atmosphere with the rest of the building.

Ashley walked up to him while he worked. Her voice module was on now. "I need a straight answer, Shepard."

Shepard sighed. After the day he'd been having so far, a headache was building up. It would be a few more minutes till the airlock pressure would fully equalize in room large room/elevator, since it was meant to accommodate the entry of vehicles and cargo. Futilely, he rubbed his helmeted forehead in either agitation, annoyance, or both. "Ash…"

"Look… don't 'Ash' me," she snapped. "Do you know anything about this? What is Cerberus doing here?"

"What makes you think I know what they're up to?" Shepard shot back. He turned around and glared at her through the thin eye slits of his Alliance helmet.

"You worked for them. How am I supposed to believe you've cut all ties?" she asked.

"I was fighting the Collectors. They gave me the means, that's it," Shepard said. It took effort to keep his voice in check. He knew Cerberus was a touchy subject in the Alliance, but being doubted by Ashley stung after all they'd been through together.

"They rebuilt you from scratch. They gave you a ship, resources…" she pointed out.

"And that means what, exactly?" Shepard asked. He could feel his patience running thin.

James stepped in to mediate. "Commander Shepard has been under constant surveillance since coming back to Earth. No way they've communicated since."

"I know, but Cerberus attacking an Alliance base, and we just happened to be here…"

Shepard moved in front of her until he was staring down into her eyes. "You should be very careful what you say next, Ashley. Accusing someone of treason isn't something you do lightly."

"I didn't—"

"Alliance soldiers are dead because of Cerberus. If I helped them, then I'm responsible for these deaths, too. The very definition of treason," Shepard said coldly. "I'm only asking you this once: are you accusing me of treason?"

"No, of course—"

"Good. Next time, don't ever throw around accusations again like that without irrefutable proof," Shepard said curtly.

At that moment, the console beeped and the lights around them changed from red to green. The elevator started to rise and the doors above their heads opened.

"You want to hate Cerberus, fine… but I don't have to explain myself to anyone, even you. Admirals Anderson and Hackett trust me and they vouch for me and my loyalties. That alone should be more than enough for you. Are we clear, Lieutenant-Commander?" Shepard said. There was only going to be one answer he would accept, so it was hardly a question from a superior officer to a subordinate.

"Yes, sir," Ashley dutifully replied. She sounded apologetic, so Shepard let the issue rest. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

Whatever she wanted to say was put on hold. His ears perked up at the sound of movement when they stepped off the elevator. "Down!"

The sound of metallic banging was heard all over the room, but none of them could pinpoint the source. However, it didn't take long for Shepard to deduce that the sounds came from the ventilation shafts above them. He held his hand up to make sure neither Ashley nor James used their weapons prematurely. If Cerberus had control of the facility, then the only ones that would be clamoring through a vent shaft would be people trying to escape.

"Up there." James pointed at a grate high up at the top of the room.

The occasional sound of gunfire could be heard, indicating that whoever was up there, he or she had company. All they could do was keep to cover and prepare themselves for whoever came out, friend or foe alike.

It wasn't long before the grate of blown off. Shepard noted the tell-tale signs of dark energy, indicating someone had used biotics.

He sighed in relief when he spotted an old friend leap out of the opening.

Liara T'Soni landed on her feet on the catwalk above their position. She vaulted over the railing next and reached the same ground floor they were on.

Before Shepard could give the order to engage the Cerberus troops that were chasing her, Liara stopped running and created a singularity next to the opening she just vacated.

Two Cerberus soldiers were pulled out of the vent. They clung onto each other and any purchase they could to avoid being crushed by the artificial gravity well.

Liara calmly drew her Predator and fired two shots, one each into both men chasing her. She banished her biotic creation and allowed the troopers to fall all the way to the floor. They were alive, but wounded. She walked up and put two more rounds into each, killing them without so much as a blink.

Shepard shook his head and stood up. He approached Liara, but not before noticing that James still had his Avenger up and pointed at her.

"Easy there, Lieutenant," Shepard said. He put his hand on top of the rifle and pushed it down. "She's with us."

Hearing his voice, Liara turned around and smiled. "Shepard? Thank the goddess you're alive!"

"I could say the same to you," Shepard replied. He took off his helmet and gave a pointed glance at the two bodies behind her.

"This was nothing compared to what you had to escape from. I was worried when the reports came in," Liara said. "They hit Earth hard?"

Ashley had also taken off her helmet to greet their old squadmate. "Yeah. It was… difficult to leave."

"Ashley… I'm so sorry," Liara said. She looked at the three of them in turn. "I had also heard…"

"Heard what?" Shepard asked.

"The Normandy. I heard you were coming," she said. "Who told you?"

"Hackett ordered us to come. Said you'd know what was going on," Shepard answered.

Liara nodded in understanding. How much she knew was what Shepard was interested in.

"I do," she simply said. She walked over to the nearby window.

"Hallelujah. Some answers, finally," James said.

"Maybe. I've discovered plans for a Prothean device. One that could wipe out the Reapers," Liara said.

That got everyone's attention. "Here? On Mars?" Shepard asked in surprise.

"In the Prothean Archives, yes," she said. She pointed to the buildings outside the window.

"We've known about the Archives for decades. Why now?" he asked.

"Do you remember what I said when we were at…" Liara trailed off and shot a glance at James and Ashley. "…my new office?"

It took him a moment to recall all their conversations at the Shadow Broker's ship, but he finally remembered her saying something about the Mars Archive. "Yeah, I remember."

"I asked Admiral Hackett to sponsor me and allow me access into the archives. With his word and my years of experience in archeology, with emphasis on Prothean civilization, I was granted an invitation to study the information cache here. This is where I've been the last four months."

"You've been here four months?" Ashley asked in mild surprise.

Liara nodded. "It took a month to get approval, even with Admiral Hackett's backing. The procedures here are very strict, and all information is a closely guarded secret."

Shepard looked at the buildings in the distance before turning back to face her. "It took four months to find anything?"

"When you destroyed the Alpha Relay, you bought us some time. But then you were arrested and incarcerated. I knew I had to do something. After a month of work at my new office and ensuring that operations were running smoothly, I petitioned to come here," Liara said. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "There's still so much more to uncover. However, the Alliance didn't want to miss anything, so every bit of information is studied closely and carefully. It's fine for archeology, but horrible when we're in a rush to prevent galactic extinction."

"I'll say," James muttered.

"I wanted to see you…" Liara started to say.

Shepard shook his head. "I think your work here more important, and I wasn't in a position to entertain guests."

Liara offered a small smile. "True enough."

"So did your search turn up something?" Ashley asked. She jerked her thumb at the nearby corpses. "'Cause those Cerberus boot stompers didn't look like they were interested in taking prisoners."

Liara nodded. "One piece of good news. I imagine you can finally use some." She looked at the buildings again. "The Archives are full of data. An overwhelming amount. I think I found what we need."

Privately, Shepard had to admit that under normal circumstances, he approved of the Alliance being careful and thorough with the information inside the Archives. At the moment, though, their backs were to the wall, so any advantage they could get was worth pursuing. What he didn't like was the fact if the information was in the Prothean Archives, and the Protheans themselves were dead and gone…

A little hope, but not much else.

"After seeing the full force of the Reapers, I'll believe it when I see it," Shepard said. He didn't want to be pessimistic or optimistic about this, not until he had a firm reason to swing either way. "Where do we find this weapon?"

Liara turned back and met his eyes. "It's not a weapon… not yet."

There's the catch.

"It's plans for a device. A blueprint," she said.

At the moment, there was no other plan, so he shrugged. "It's more than we had a minute ago. Do you have it?"

Liara frowned irritably. "No. Like I said, all data is monitored very carefully. I was about to head to the Archives and just steal the data the moment I heard Earth was attacked, but then the station alarms went off. Cerberus' siege forced me here not long after."

Ashley looked out the window. "Across that tramway?"

Liara nodded. "It's the fastest way… assuming Cerberus hasn't locked it down."

"You think they're after the same thing you are?" Ashley asked.

"I'm positive," Liara answered. "They want what I'm here for… what we're all here for."

"Cerberus wants a weapon that can destroy Reapers… big shock," Ashley said in contempt.

"How powerful is this thing?" James asked.

"All I know is that the Protheans had a chance to defeat the Reapers. They had the plans to destroy them, but ran out of time," Liara replied.

"Okay, but how did Cerberus know to look here, anyway?" James asked. "Why Mars? There's lots of this old Prothean stuff all over the galaxy. Why did they pick this place?"

Shepard glanced at Liara. He had a guess. "They followed her."

The asari frowned. "My presence required permission…"

"Which meant you got flagged by any number of Cerberus assets that the Illusive Man has inside the Alliance," he finished.

"Don't you think it's too convenient that Cerberus picked now to attack the base?" Ashley asked.

Shepard was savvy enough to pick up on the words she used, but only rephrased in a way that no longer meant she was suspecting him specifically this time. Wisely, he didn't remark upon it. Instead, he said, "I think something is going on. Or maybe the Illusive Man was waiting for the Reapers to attack. That way, the base wouldn't be taken back by the defense force above Earth. With no one to take the base back… Look, this isn't a smash-and-grab job. This is an occupation. They might not know what they're looking for, but they don't seem intent on taking Liara alive. That means they have an idea, but they still need all the time they can buy to find and copy the data."

"An idea that's faster than interrogating me…" Liara added. She frowned at the implications. It meant that Cerberus had more intel than anyone was comfortable with about the Reapers.

"It means we have time, too," James said.

"Until the Reapers come here," Shepard grimly reminded.

"So it's a race to the Archives."

Shepard nodded. "Let's go."

Before the four of them could take more than a few steps, static crackled into their ears and they heard a set of unfamiliar voices.

"They must be in here!"

"How could one scientist kill them?"

"They reported they were in pursuit of T'Soni. Her dossier said not to underestimate her. Shoot to kill."

"Shepard. I have successfully tapped into enemy communications and have uploaded their channels to you," EDI said. "I should warn you that we will lose signal with each other soon."

"Thanks, EDI," Shepard said. "Cortez, do you copy?"

Nothing.

"Cortez?"

"Damn, Esteban's comms must already be out," James said.

"We got company!" Ashley warned.

"Bring it on," James growled out.

"Not this time, James," Shepard said.

"What?"

"Rendezvous with Cortez," Shepard ordered. "Tell him to get that shuttle in the air and provide eyes in the sky. If Cerberus gets that data, I need you two to cover the exits."

James looked sour at the fact that he's leaving the fight. "But—"

"Now, Lieutenant," Shepard said with finality. "And be careful. If they have any brains at all, they're looking for our shuttle and making sure we can't leave. Don't expect your walk back to be boring. Someone has to warn Cortez."

James finally nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Doors are opening!" Ashley said.

"I got them,"Liara said.

While Shepard busied himself with the console to send James back down to the airlock, Liara focused on her biotics.

"There's the asari bitch! Kill her!" one trooper shouted.

Four Cerberus troopers were on the second floor with a clear line of fire on them. What they didn't anticipate was the singularity that suddenly pulled them into the air or the aggressive attack from Ashley.

"You've improved!" Liara praised when Ashley easily killed one despite his mid-air flailing.

"You did, too!"

"Tell Cortez we'll try to establish contact with him if we can, but the Archives are our top priority!" Shepard said to James. "Do whatever you can to maintain contact!"

"I'm on it!" he replied before he disappeared from view.

By the time Shepard rejoined his female compatriots, the small skirmish was already over. The singularity Liara created prevented any of the troopers from firing from above while Ashley scampered atop a Cerberus Mako and picked off all the hostiles while they were trying to relocate.

"Nice work," he said to both of them.

"Thank you." – "Thanks."

Together, they got out of the vehicle depot, pausing only for a moment when Liara scooped up one of the SMGs off of a dead Cerberus trooper, and started making their way towards the tram. In one of the hallways, Shepard saw the open vent Liara had climbed into to reach the vehicle depot. Nearby on the floor was a helmet that was decidedly not Alliance or Cerberus. He picked it up. "Yours?"

Liara nodded and put it on. "Testing."

"I hear you," Ashley said.

"Let's hustle," Shepard said.

The trio quietly traversed the building. Liara took the lead since she was more familiar with the outpost than either Shepard or Ashley were.

"Do you know anything about this, Liara?" Shepard asked after a few silent minutes of walking.

"About Cerberus, you mean?"

"This is brazen, even for them. Infiltration, espionage, sabotage, and assassinations are more their style. An occupation of a military outpost is something else entirely," he said.

Liara shook her head. "I've been busy here, so I haven't been keeping up with current events like I normally would have. I delegated that task to someone else."

"Feron?"

She turned her head and met his eyes with a pointed look. "Someone else."

The answer may have been curt, but her eyes told him that was all she was going to say on the matter. "So no idea, then."

"None. This attack came as a complete surprise. When we get out of here, I'm definitely looking into this," she said.

"Do you have any idea how Cerberus managed to take over a secure facility?" Ashley asked.

Liara shook her head. "Not sure. One minute, we were getting reports of the Reaper invasion… the next, there was chaos. Didn't even realize it was Cerberus at first."

"Could they be working with the Reapers?"

Now Shepard shook his head in the negative. "Doubtful," he said before reconsidering the question a second time. He knew the Illusive Man had an unhealthy obsession with Reaper technology, and those particular roads usually led to one end. "But I suppose anything's possible."

They maintained their quick pace to the tramway, but Shepard heard movement ahead and motioned to the others to lay low. The next door was already open, courtesy of the body of an Alliance researcher stuck in the threshold.

Quietly moving past him, his radio picked up the conversation between two squads, one of which was in the next room.

"We've done a sweep through the residence. Going to check on Able Squad. They're not reporting in."

"We're on it. Bravo Team out."

One of the troopers grumbled. "We still on cleanup duty?"

"Yeah, some of the scientists are putting up a fight over in the vehicle bay," the squad leader said.

"Let's go ge—"

While they had been talking, Shepard and his team had snuck into the room and taken up defensive ambush positions. Before they knew what hit them, Shepard had seized one of the Cerberus troopers and was using him as a human shield before gunning down another.

One of the other troopers tried to move around to get a clear shot, only to be caught by Ashley. She whirled around a column, pulled the trooper down before extending an omni-blade and ramming it into her chosen target.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" one trooper shouted.

"Alliance must've gotten backup! Use your grenades! Flush them out!"

Liara appeared from a different part of the room and used warp on the trooper that was trying to toss his grenade at Ashley. The man screamed and involuntarily dropped the live grenade from slack fingers.

"This is Bravo Team! We're engaged with—"

The sudden explosion cut off the report, but Shepard knew the advantage of surprise was gone. He reached around his hostage's head and quickly jerked it to the side. The limp body fell after the neck snapped with a meaty crack.

"All clear!" Ashley reported.

"Same," Liara added.

Shepard took a moment to study the Cerberus soldiers they'd dispatched. He concluded that they were pretty much cookie cutter infantry; each man wore similar armor and carried the same armaments, the same submachine gun Shepard and Liara were using now.

"James, progress?" Shepard asked. He gestured to his team to hurry on.

"Just made it back to the shuttle, and in one piece," James replied. His breathing sounded heavy. "Definitely had a few more of these bastards to go through. They were checking out why their outside perimeter guards weren't responding and we ran into each other. Esteban and the shuttle are okay. We'll take to the air now."

"Storm's almost on top of us. Signal is gonna get choppy in a few minutes before we lose contact completely, Commander," Cortez said. "I had to boost the power to even reestablish comms with you now. We'll try to maintain contact, but your best bet is linking up the communications array to us."

"We'll try, but no promises," Shepard said. He kept a sharp eye out for any other Cerberus sweep teams, and was relieved to see no one else around. "We're in something of a hurry here. Just make sure no Cerberus vessels take off."

"Guns still aren't working."

"Then get creative."

"Understood. Kodiak out."

"Here," Liara suddenly said. "We'll need access to the pedway. The control room is right here."

After checking the room and declaring it clear, Shepard had Ashley do one last sweep while he and Liara went inside. Two Alliance guardsmen were shot to death, one in his chair, the other on the floor near the empty weapons rack. Liara respectfully pulled the chair with the body aside and pulled a different one in place before accessing the terminals.

"Damn it! Security's been tampered with," Liara muttered. "Hmm… that's odd."

"Something up?"

"Nothing, just trying to access the live feeds so we can track how many Cerberus forces are here, but it looks like the system has been hacked. See if you can access the pedway on that terminal," she distractedly replied. She pointed at the keyboard to her right.

Shepard just barely started working when Ashley returned and pointed at one of the overhead monitors to his left. "Hey. Did you see that? Who's that woman in the vid?"

Looking over, he saw a tall, curvy brunette furiously typing at a terminal before running off camera.

"That's Dr. Eva Coré. She got here about a week ago," Liara answered. "Odd… that recording is only twenty minutes ago… One of the guardsmen was looking at it."

Shepard and Ashley shared a look.

"A week ago?" he repeated.

"Yes…" she answered before trailing off. She looked at the monitor where Coré's image was displayed just moments before.

"An attack like this needs an inside man… or woman," Ashley said.

Shepard saw that Liara was finally thinking the same thing they were. Any investigation starts with anything new or recent; unusual activity that disrupts the status quo.

"You don't think she's responsible?" Liara asked.

Shepard shook his head. "I don't know anything until I see evidence otherwise. What I do see is that twenty minutes ago, she was alive, and wandering around while we're being hunted by Cerberus troops. That's suspicious enough as it is. Unless she's a scientist like you, Liara, there's something wrong with this picture."

"Like me?" Liara repeated with an arched eyebrow.

"You know other scientists that fight as well as you?" Shepard asked. "A scientist that can evade capture, discourage pursuit, and engage and kill trained soldiers?"

"Ah, good point."

"If she is involved in this, it must've taken months for the Illusive Man to plant her in here after he saw your interest in the Archives," he muttered.

"How's the pedway coming? Any luck?"

He frowned at the information displayed. "Pedway's been locked out."

Liara closed her eyes in thought before opening them again. "I remember there's construction nearby. Repairs from a storm last month. We can get out on the roof and enter the cafeteria via the airlock."

Ashley tilted her head. "The cafeteria has an airlock?"

"The storm heavily damaged the building near the cafeteria. The airlock was installed for the safety of the staff."

Shepard stood up and walked to the airlock. "Sounds like our best bet. Let's move."

~o~O~o~

After the airlock procedures were complete, the outer door opened to expose the trio to the prelude of the incoming storm. Shepard habitually held up his arm to shield himself from the gusting winds, even though he couldn't physically feel it. Despite the mild hearing protection his helmet provided, the howling air currents raged around them.

"Storm's getting closer!" Ashley shouted. Even with helmets and radios, it was hard to hear her.

Movement in the distance caught Shepard's eye. It wasn't the giant sandstorm rolling in, but a pair tram cars rushing through the tracks. "Look!"

"What the hell?!" Ashley exclaimed.

Two trams were going from left to right. Gunfire was being exchanged the entire way until both cars disappeared into the far building.

"Looks like the Alliance is still putting up a fight!" Shepard said.

"That tram heads to the Archives! Once Cerberus is across, they're at the final security checkpoint!" Liara said.

"Looks like we're still behind!" Ashley said. "Time to pick up the pace!"

Shepard took point this time since Liara was at a loss in their current environs. All her work took place inside the buildings, not outside. Thankfully, the path was straightforward, even with the mess made from the construction crews.

Shepard struggled to maintain his balance. They needed to reach the upper floors and go around via the roof to reenter the outpost. Spotting a ladder, he started making his way to it when static filled his ears.

"C-c-commander. D-d-do you r-read m-me?" James asked.

"Barely! Storm's causing interference!" Shepard replied.

"T-t-tell me a-about it. W-w-we lost c-c-c-contact with the N-normandy. W-what's y…"

"I didn't read that, James! Repeat!"

"I s-s-said, wh…"

After a few seconds, even the static was gone.

"Damn it!" Shepard said.

Liara looked at the massive cloud of dust rolling in. "That storm's going to be here very soon!"

"I think it's already here!" Ashley said.

"Where's the communications array?" Shepard asked. He started climbing the ladder.

"Other side of the outpost. Nowhere near the Archives. We won't have time to get there. Not with Cerberus breaking through the last security checkpoint," Liara answered.

"Damn it," Shepard repeated under his breath. Upon reaching higher ground, he leapt past a small gap and looked at the open door to his left. His Cerberus SMG was up as he eyed the opening warily.

"This airlock shouldn't be open…" Liara said. Her voice was quiet, so much that Shepard had to strain to make out the words.

"Doesn't look like it was forced," Ashley said.

Liara shook her head. "No, you have to override security protocols. From the inside."

"It leads to the cafeteria, right?" Shepard asked, even though he knew the answer.

"The cafeteria… goddess, no."

"Liara?"

"Everyone was going to the cafeteria. To watch the news feeds about Earth," Liara whispered. Both humans barely heard the words over the swelling winds.

Shepard's lips thinned. He entered airlock, noting that both outer and inner doors were wide open. The room ahead was dark, so he activated the lights attached to his helmet to illuminate the area ahead. The storm wasn't as loud inside, but the room was still ominously quiet. It didn't take long to find what he was expecting, even though he was foolishly hoping otherwise.

Kneeling down beside a body on the upper walkways of the cafeteria, Shepard saw a young man, clearly dead. He was clutching at his throat, eyes wide, and mouth agape.

"Goddess…" Liara breathed out.

"Someone vented the air while everyone was still in here," Ashley whispered in outrage. "They died trying to claw their way out."

"This is brutal, even by Cerberus' standards," Liara snarled. She shined her light into the main part of the cafeteria.

All over, there were bodies strewn about, all similar to one another. Clutching throats, clawed fingers reaching out to the sky, mouths open in gasping, desperate final breaths…

Shepard slowly led his team deeper into the room, respectfully stepping around the bodies.

"Cameron!" Liara gasped out. She darted ahead and turned the body of a woman over. "Oh, no… not you, too…"

"Liara?" Ashley tentatively reached out to their asari friend and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Liara shook her head and took a deep, shuddering breath. She placed the body face-up and gently ran her fingers through her friend's hair. "Cameron… she… she was a friend."

"I'm sorry," Shepard said. He had nothing else to offer.

Liara reached up and closed Cameron's eyes. After taking another steadying breath, she stood up and gestured to the doors at the far side of the room. "That way."

Before any of them could move, their radios crackled to life. More Cerberus chatter reached them.

"Roger that. Delta Team out."

"Lights!" Shepard quickly said. He turned off his and quickly ducked behind a table. Liara and Ashley were quick to comply before seeking cover of their own.

The metal shutters that sealed the unfortunate victims inside the cafeteria opened. Shepard risked a peek and counted yet another team of four Cerberus troops just beyond the glass. The two closest held their SMGs ready, while the other two in the rear were more lax in their stance.

"What're our orders?" one grunt asked.

"There's an Alliance force in here somewhere. We need to keep them away from the tram station," another answered. "Check the next room."

"It's too dark in there. Want me to shoot out the windows?"

"No! Not unless you want to decompress this room, too, idiot!"

"Well, I don't see anyone."

One of them pressed his face against the glass and cupped the sides of his head to try to see through the gloom. "There's no one alive in there. Every one of those unlucky bastards suffocated. Let's just keep moving."

Shepard was prepared to wait until the patrol had moved on, but the cafeteria was suddenly lit with the purple-blue colors of dark energy.

Ah, shit.

Liara had stood up with her biotic aura raging around her. She thrust both hands at the Cerberus troops. Before they could even try to shoot her, the windows exploded into their faces.

Instead of small shards, though, the window broke into large blade-like spikes. Each piece was sent flying into the troopers and their armor proved to be inadequate protection when projectiles impaled and punctured the unfortunate men, who were already off balance when the room they were in became decompressed; all of them were pulled toward the glass window as the atmosphere rushed out of the room. They tumbled and fell in a concert of screams.

Before Shepard could react to the brutal attack, Liara ran past him and Ashley, leapt over the railing, and levitated any of the remaining glass shards still big enough to be used as a weapon. Her arm came down in a sweeping arc, and at her command, the transparent daggers shot downward. All Shepard could hear after was the sickening squelch of flesh, blood, and screams renewed.

He and Ashley shared another look before standing up. Against their better judgment, the approached the empty hole where the window used to be and looked over the railing.

"Damn," Ashley said.

"Liara?" Shepard asked.

Liara took a deep breath before walking toward the security office. "I'm fine."

Shepard wasn't comforted when Liara drew her Cerberus SMG and fired a vindictive 3-round burst into one of the troopers as she walked past.

"Damn," Ashley repeated.

"Secure the area," Shepard ordered quietly to her before jogging to catch up with Liara. He took care to step around the rapidly expanding pools of blood.

Inside, Shepard caught sight of two more Alliance guards. Like the other two before, they were shot in their chairs, clearly taken by surprise before they could react. Bullet wounds at the back of their heads only reinforced his observations.

Liara opted to remain standing this time. She gently moved the chair with the man still on it to one side before typing away at the terminal.

Instead of bringing up what had just happened, Shepard moved so he could look over her shoulder to see what she was working on.

"I'm pressurizing the room," Liara said. Her voice sounded eerily reminiscent of her time on Illium, where she worked as an information broker there; cold, distant, and uncaring.

The nearby shutters closed once again and the sound of air filling the room could be heard.

"We should have access to the labs soon. From there, we'll be right next to the tram station," Liara said. She started accessing the archived footage now. After a few minutes, a recording of what transpired prior to their arrival started to play.

"Security station… come in. We're seeing some odd activity down here," the Alliance guard said. Behind him, his partner was poking around with a different terminal. "Our security protocols just kicked in. Everything's locked down."

After he finished his report, Eva Coré entered into view from the right. The moment she appeared, all suspicions were confirmed even before seeing what happened next.

The guard spared half a glance before turning back to the monitor. "Doctor, I'll get you a report as soon as—"

Coré drew a Predator and shot both men in the back of the head with cold efficiency. Holstering her weapon, she quickly ran up to the nearby console and started her hack into the system. Before long, alarms were blaring as the airlock doors into the cafeteria opened. Another recording on another monitor showed what was happening to the people within.

Liara slammed her fist on the table and glared at Coré's image. "Her."

"Liara…" Shepard said. Even with her helmet, he thought he could see Liara's face contorted in rage.

"I should've realized it the moment I met her. Her credentials were too pristine, but her general knowledge was lacking. I let myself get distracted with the Crucible that I didn't even pay her a second thought," Liara snarled out.

"Stopping the Reapers is the only thing we should be focused on. It's not your fault," Shepard gently said. "Your friend, Cameron? That's definitely not your fault."

Liara sighed and bowed her head. "But what if we're wrong? What if there's no way to stop them? What if these are our last days and we spend them scurrying around trying to solve a problem we can't fix?"

Shepard shrugged at her, even though her back was to him. "What if the storm causes this building to fall on our heads? What if there was a crack in the Normandy's hull and we burn up on atmospheric entry? What if we get a suit rupture in zero-g combat and our blood boils out of our ears while we suffocate?"

Liara turned back to face him and stared with wide eyes.

"If you're going to live in a world of what-ifs, then you're not going to live well, if at all," Shepard said. "Right now, I see a problem and you gave us a possible answer to it."

Taking a cleansing breath, Liara said, "You're right. I shouldn't think this way."

"Good. Now, if you're done talking about giving up, then we should get moving," Shepard said. He started walking to the door.

"How do you do it?" Liara suddenly asked.

Stopping in his tracks, he faced her with a confused tilt of his head. "Do what?"

"You've always stayed focused, even in the worst situations," she elaborated.

Again, Shepard shrugged. "You know me. Too stubborn to quit."

Liara gave him a dry chuckle. "Is that all?"

"It's do or die, Liara. Not too much of a choice. And considering everyone we've lost, or the people we could lose, I just think about them and keep going."

"I'm not sure if that's being practical or a shouldering a terrible burden," she replied. Turning back to the terminal, she saw that the pressurization procedures were nearly complete.

"We'll stop them, Liara," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

"I want to believe you…" A beep interrupted their conversation. She started typing on the terminal once again.

Through the window, Shepard could see a door on the far side the room unlocked now.

"Okay. Door's open. We can go through the labs and get to the tram station from there," Liara said.

"Ashley, regroup. We're moving," Shepard ordered.

"Roger that."

~o~O~o~

"Echo Squad, I want a perimeter set up around the tram station. No one gets in or out. Do you read me? Echo Squad! Report!"

"It'd be nice to know how many of these jerks are left," Ashley muttered.

Shepard privately agreed while he and Ashley followed Liara's lead toward the archeological labs where Prothean artifacts were being studied in-depth. More and more bodies of Alliance soldiers were strewn about in their path, though these men and women were more prepared. Tables, cabinets, and other assorted furniture created hastily assembled barricades. Some Cerberus troops were amidst the dead, showing that the Alliance wasn't going down quietly.

According to a message Shepard had found, they were en route to the cafeteria when one of the unfortunate scientists had managed to send out a message before her end. Before they could render assistance, they probably ran head-first into a Cerberus ambush.

Needless to say, Shepard was not interested in offering any quarter or taking prisoners at the moment, considering how crappy his day had been so far.

Before long, Shepard slowed his pace when he heard voices coming from behind the next door. He gestured to the others to take cover at the threshold of the door and prepared to attack.

"Why are we pulling back?"

"Sounds like the Alliance sent reinforcements. The doctor wants the Archives protected at all costs."

Shepard opened the door and leaned away, allowing Ashley to toss a frag grenade in.

"Shit!"

"Run!"

The moment the grenade went off, Shepard whirled around and picked off any trooper left standing. Once he had a moment, he sprinted into the hallway and managed to dive behind a table just as another wave of Cerberus shock troops stormed in.

Ashley and Liara popped out of the doorway and opened fire, which served to draw their attention. The moment Shepard was sure they were committed to attacking his team, he lobbed another grenade into the new cluster of soldiers.

"Advance!" he ordered once the grenade scattered the enemy.

Ashley was next. She darted into the room and took cover behind the next doorway. Peering out, she said, "Got some guys here with shields!"

That statement sounded odd since kinetic shields were standard for most infantry. "What do you mean, 'shields'?"

"The big, metal kind that you carry!" she said. She fired off a burst before she was forced to duck back down. "The kind that takes a lot of firepower to get through!"

Scampering up to the other side of her, he risked a glance and cursed.

Two troopers carrying some kind of ballistic shield were slowly marching side-by-side down the hall. Four soldiers were hunkered down behind them to take advantage of their portable armor.

That's not good.

A rapid burst from his SMG yielded the same results. Whatever those shields were made of or what tech was powering them, bullets alone weren't going to cut it. And considering how confidently they were moving in the open, even grenades might not work.

Though it didn't stop Ashley from trying. "Fire in the hole!"

The shield-carrying troopers immediately stopped, dropped their shields so they were braced on the deck, and hunkered down. The others behind them were quick to follow.

The explosion pushed them back a meter. Besides a dent in one of the shields, there were no other signs of obvious damage.

One of the troopers stood over his comrade and started shooting.

"Who the hell do these guys think they are? Spartans?" Ashley complained.

Liara had sidled up to them during this time and observed the opposition. "Allow me."

The asari brought her arm up, and in that instant, both shields were suddenly torn from the grasp of the surprised troopers, courtesy of her biotics.

Shepard was quick to capitalize on their sudden good fortune. Setting the SMG on full-auto, he sprayed the hallway, tagging two immediately. Ashley shot more conservatively, watching for any runners that tried to make a break for cover. Out in the open and exposed, Cerberus was split between making a desperate counter-attack, or running back to find suitable cover.

Their schism made their extra numbers pointless. Shepard pushed forward, leading the charge down the hallways, past several laboratories housing ancient Prothean artifacts.

There were more Cerberus troops past another doorway, but judging from the radio chatter, panic was starting to run rampant through the ranks.

"They're still coming!"

"Fall back to the tram station!"

"Come on! Move!"

From there, it didn't take long before the fight became a full-on rout. Whatever squads that were stationed in the labs started to retreat while Shepard and his team started making a hard push to the trams.

"They're gonna seal the door!" Ashley shouted.

"Hurry!" Shepard said.

The team scrambled to the end of the hallway, but they were forced to abandon their attempt when Cerberus made a last-ditch attack. Three troopers physically stood at the threshold and fired full-auto down the hall. Shepard, Ashley, and Liara had to duck in the alcoves at the sides to avoid the hail of bullets.

Shepard cursed when he heard the door close. A glance showed the indicator had changed to red.

"It'll take time to bypass that door. And they're probably waiting on the other side," Ashley said.

"They're just there to slow us down. I know another way to the tram station," Liara said.

"Where?" Shepard asked.

"There's another entrance on the other side of the building. Through the labs."

"You mean through… oh, god…" Ashley whispered.

Shepard looked at the nearby window and grimaced.

Inside the lab, there were two mass effect fields –which was glowing orange for the visual benefit of the staff– that was sweeping the room side-to-side. Unlike the sanitization procedures at airlocks and such, these fields were meant to decontaminate as rigorously and thoroughly as possible, removing any organic contamination of the artifacts unearthed at the dig sites.

Needless to say, the unfortunate souls that were still inside the lab when the mass effect fields started their sweeps had no chance to survive.

"What did they do?" Ashley hoarsely asked in a quiet voice.

"They activated the decontamination protocols," Liara answered in an equally quiet tone.

"With the staff still inside," Shepard said with a snarl. He looked at the terminal and frowned, though he expected as such. According to the readouts, all the safety protocols that were meant to protect anyone inside the labs were disengaged. "Liara, can you turn this off?"

"Yes, of course." After a few minutes, she shut down the fields and unlocked the door.

Shepard stepped through the door first and avoided looking at the charred bodies within. Smoke still wafted from the corpses, making him privately glad he was wearing his helmet. The smell was probably unbearable. Another hour or so, and only skeletons would've remained. Another hour after that, and all traces of the scientists would have been erased.

Instead of further commenting on the ever-growing list of atrocities Cerberus was committing, Liara said, "This is where they studied the various relics unearthed here."

Seizing on the topic change, Shepard asked, "What did they find?"

Liara shook her head and started moving to the far door on the other side of the lab. "More than I could describe in a short conversation. They only scratched the surface. There are vaults filled with Prothean data troves that have never been studied."

"Guess they wanted to be careful about what they might uncover," Ashley said. She had picked up a datapad and tilted her head. "Wait, they were studying us?"

Shepard motioned for her to put the datapad back and to fall back in line.

Liara didn't turn around. She was busying running a bypass on the door. "I don't know, not for certain. This wasn't the area I was involved in, but Dr. Esparza seemed wholly convinced that the Protheans were trying to chart humanity's intellectual progression. Ah, got it."

Liara stepped back, allowing Shepard and Ashley to open the door and check the immediate area. Thankfully, it was empty, though it begged the question:

Where did they did go?

A second glance revealed a fresh blood trail, most likely from a wounded Cerberus trooper. It led down the hall to their left.

"That's the tram line. Takes us right to the Archives," Liara said. "No doubt Cerberus has it locked down. Hopefully, we can override it at the security station."

"Where's that?" Ashley asked.

"Just through here."

"Those Cerberus goons must've holed up in there, then. They're gonna be expecting us. Is that the only way in?"

"It's the only way I know of," Liara replied.

"No choice, then," Shepard grimly said. "Stay sharp."

Once again, he privately cursed the injustices in the galaxy. Having been specially trained in N-School as an infiltrator for covert operations, he knew how to use optical stealth technology; which was always enormously expensive to even manufacture, much less install into hard-suits designed for combat. It would've been a major advantage now, but he had to use anything on-hand, even if it was nothing at all.

Taking point, he opened the door and darted for a partition. Just as expected, the Cerberus troops they fought with in the laboratories were holed up on the far side of the room, inside the security office overlooking the tram station.

Shepard's shields took a few hits, but he managed to scramble out of the line of fire before they were completely drained. Ashley provided some measure of suppressing fire before darting in as well. Liara created a biotic barrier before sprinting in and diving for cover of her own.

One-by-one, they leap-frogged behind anything suitable for protection: crates, columns, barrels, etc. Soon, both sides were able to exchange gunfire, but Shepard and his team gained ground, inch-by-inch. Upon reaching the T-intersection overlooking the station below, Shepard went left, while Liara and Ashley ran right to surround the security office.

Cerberus moved accordingly to try to handle their attack. Only a couple broke off handle Shepard while the lion's share moved to engage Ashley and Liara. A quick count revealed around seven opponents left; two coming for him and the rest to the female teammates.

Shepard internally smirked to himself, though he had to make sure his vanity didn't affect his performance. Looking like an Alliance marine, the two troopers had no idea what they were up against.

One tossed a grenade, hoping to flush him out of cover. Shepard picked up some random cylindrical item and tossed it at his opponents as well before sprinting away from the explosive.

"Grenade! Move!" the trooper shouted. Like him, they scrambled out of cover.

With everyone out of cover, Shepard's more unorthodox method generated just a fraction more surprise with the additional benefit of enraging his opposition from such a simple trick. Shepard took steady aim and shot one of the troopers before he could react to his ruse.

The other cursed and leveled his own SMG at him, but proved no match for Shepard's speed and accuracy. A quick target-swap and the other trooper was dead.

Tapping into Cerberus' hacked comm channel, Shepard said in a gruff voice, "Hostile on the west side taken care of. We're moving to support you."

"Good. These two aren't going down easy! Get over here!"

Shepard snagged a few more grenades from the troopers he took out before quickly making his way into the security office and peered in. On the opposite side, he could see four troopers still up and fighting. One was slumped against the railing with a tight grouping of bullet wounds on his chest.

Nice work, ladies.

Ashley and Liara had heard his fake message and fought even more vigorously to hold Cerberus' attention while he snuck up from behind.

He lamented over the fact that he didn't have his omni-blade for a quiet kill. Without better options, though, he kicked out the legs of the nearest Cerberus soldier and stomped down on the helmet as hard he could.

His actions didn't go unnoticed, but it was already too late. He lobbed a pair of grenades into the cluster of troopers and ducked for cover while they futilely tried to scramble out of the way. Their frenzied movement put them into Liara's sights to use her biotics. Ashley finished off any survivors afterwards.

"You two okay?" Shepard asked.

"I'm fine," Liara answered.

"Ready for more," Ashley replied. She looked around. "They put up a good fight."

"Yes, it confirms my assertions about the value of the data stored here," Liara replied.

Satisfied that the area was under their control and everyone was okay, he went to the main terminal inside the security office. He growled in frustration. "Locked out."

Ashley pointed at the center monitor above their heads. "Look at that."

The camera was providing a live feed into the Archive Tram Station. Cerberus had finally overrun the remaining Alliance defenders and was in control of the Archives. Leading the enemy forces was 'Doctor' Eva Coré. From what they could see, Cerberus was setting up defensive positions to hold the Archives for however long they were going to be there. After seeing how intent Cerberus was, if they had to, they would probably make a stand against the Reapers to buy time.

Coré finished her instructions to an officer before looking up at the camera and shot it out.

"Looks like they made it to the Archives," Liara said with a sigh.

"I doubt they're going to send a tram anytime soon," Ashley commented.

"But they still don't know what to look for, and Coré isn't a scientist. They could be stuck there for hours," Shepard reminded. He turned to Liara and pointed at the terminal. "Can you override this?"

Liara typed for a few seconds before shaking her head. "The Archives are on a separate network. I can't get any sort of remote access."

Shepard looked out the window and at the closed shutters where the tram would come in and out of. "We're trapped here?"

"Maybe not…" Ashley looked at the door they came in from. "What if we just use a short-range transmitter—helmet-to-helmet?"

"Ah," Liara said in understanding. "The same trick Shepard used?"

Shepard smirked under his helmet.

"We just convince them the Alliance forces are taken care of. We call for a tram so we can join up and 'support' them," Ashley finished.

"Good idea," Shepard praised. "See what you can find."

He turned back around to see if Liara was able to do anything with the security console. Instead, he tilted his head at her when her eyes darted between Ashley before she stepped out of view, and his own when he caught her. "What?"

"The Lieutenant-Commander has becomes quite… capable," Liara commented off-handedly. She started typing away on the console.

Remembering how accurate and deadly some of her long-distance shots had been with just an Avenger, Shepard nodded in agreement. "That she has."

"Skipper, I found one."

"Take control of the security network. Watch those cameras and try to get some intel on the opposition at the tram station; numbers, positions, etc.," Shepard said before heading out to meet up with Ashley.

"Got it," Liara said to his retreating back.

"Ash?" Shepard called out when he left the security room.

"This guy's helmet is in one piece. We'll just directly call the squad leader of the next group instead of using general enemy broadcast. Hopefully, they won't know about us taking the security station here—"

"—and send us a ride," Shepard finished. "Element of surprise will be on our side, too."

"Yeah, I just have to get this thing off—Oh, god!"

Ashley jerked back from the corpse and nearly stumbled, but Shepard caught her and pulled her to her feet before she could fall. He could see why she was so shocked, though. If he didn't have so much experience in dispatching Reaper tech, his stomach might've turned at the sight.

"He looks like a husk…" Ashley whispered.

"Not quite, but close enough," Shepard muttered. He knelt down near the body and reached out, but at the last second, refrained from touching the skin. Even with armored gloves, he hesitated at actual contact. It was strange, considering how many husks he had killed since he first encountered them at Eden Prime.

Maybe it's because Cerberus played around with him.

"They've definitely done something to him," he said.

Studying the face closely, he saw that it was a horrifying hybrid of husk and human engineering. Human flesh dominated most of the face, but it looked grayed and decayed, not filled to the brim with alien tech of a true husk. However, the wide, open eyes were completely replaced with artificial Reaper technology, with wires mimicking veins that spread out from there in a web pattern.

"Engineered? By Cerberus? They claim to stand for humanity, and they do this to their own people," Ashley spat out in utter loathing.

Shepard shook his head. "I don't think they know what they're fighting for anymore. If they're even fighting for a cause at this point."

"And what about you?"

Shepard looked up at her. "What about me?"

She took a deep breath. "This could be you, Shepard. For all I know, this is what Cerberus had done to you."

He heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Don't," Ashley said. "I don't know what you are… not since they got their hands on you."

Shepard gripped the helmet and ripped it off the Cerberus trooper. He stood up and started inspecting it. "Enough."

"Is it really you in there? Do you even know? I mean, could they be controlling you?"

Shepard found the transmitter and removed it. "Are you really that paranoid? Or delusional?"

"No, I'm not—"

"Yes, you are. And now this conversation is over," Shepard snapped. "Hackett and Anderson trust me. Liara, Garrus, and Tali. Hell, even Dr. Chakwas gave me more than one physical, not to mention the half-a-dozen Alliance doctors that poked and prodded me when I was in custody. Guess what? Not. One. Damn. Problem. So theorize, fantasize, or guess all you want, but I'm not going to go down that path with you and entertain this conversation anymore. You have a problem with me, file a report, Lieutenant-Commander, but real enemy are the Reapers. If Cerberus gets in our way, by all means, gun them down."

"I'm with you, Shepard. I've always been with you. I just wanted you to know why…"

Shepard scanned the transmitter with his omni-tool. "Look, if you want to talk after this, we can, but after. Right now, the mission goes on."

"Yes, sir."

He caught the look of hurt out of the corner of his eye and sighed again. "What do you want from me, Ash?"

"I… nothing," she said before heaving a sigh of her own. "I just need time, that's all. A lot is going on… and you and me? We got a lot of history. I'm probably just taking it out on you. We'll talk after, definitely."

The copy was complete. Once he had the data, he changed the frequency on his radio. "Okay, then. Let's see if this works."

"Be convincing, Skipper."

"Is anyone on the Archive teams reading me? This is…" He paused for a second to recall what team names had been used so far. "Delta Team."

"Where the hell have you been? Never mind. What's your status?"

Ashley quietly sighed in relief. Shepard shared the same sentiment.

"We're holding position at the tram station. All hostiles terminated. Echo Team is remaining behind to hold the area. Delta Team is requesting a tram to regroup."

"Roger. Tram incoming. Hold the area until then."

"Roger."

"Think they bought it?" Ashley asked.

Shepard could only shrug. "If they didn't, they'll figure it out soon enough."

"At least we have the element of surprise, which is good, since there's going to be a squad of pissed off Cerberus troops."

"Liara, finish up and regroup. Our ride is on the way."

~o~O~o~

After quickly informing and showing Liara the modifications Cerberus had done to their shock troops, they waited for the tram to arrive at the station. The radio remained silent, which didn't ease any worries. Either they bought their story, or were preparing an ambush.

As a precaution, they took up ambush positions around the tram station. Luckily, when the tram arrived, it was empty. The enemy team ahead bought their ruse.

They boarded the tram and rode it across without fanfare. However, before it reached its destination, Shepard instructed his team to duck behind the railing and stay out of sight.

As Ashley had said, the element of surprise was indeed on their side. When the supposedly empty tram arrived, a few troopers walked in to take a look.

Shepard ejected his spent thermal clip and scavenged a few replacements off a dead foe. "Clear here."

"Cleared," Ashley echoed.

Liara raised her SMG and shot down the last trooper. Her delay was from the shield he was holding, but against her biotics, it was hardly a chore. "Clear."

"Liara? How close are we?" Shepard asked.

She pointed at the door ahead. "That's the entrance."

"I don't see that Dr. Eva anywhere here," Ashley said.

"She must be in the Archives, then."

They stacked up on the door. Liara did a bypass and within a few minutes, unlocked it, allowing Shepard and Ashley to enter first with their weapons raised.

Shepard looked around the massive room. Whatever he was expecting, what he was seeing wasn't it. While he has some firsthand experience with Prothean technology, architecture, and history, walking into the Archives proved that his knowledge on the Protheans was woefully lacking.

"Secure the area, Ash," he ordered. "We haven't run into Coré yet, so keep a sharp eye out. And be careful. She's most likely well-trained. Call us the moment you spot her."

"On it," Ashley said. She started a sweep around the perimeter of the room.

He accompanied Liara toward the bank of terminals resting up against the enormous Prothean obelisk that dominated the middle of the room.

She started typing immediately. He merely looked on, though he occasionally glanced at the Prothean technology around the room.

"Shepard."

The voice was one Shepard knew all too well. Liara had reacted to the sudden disturbance drawing her Cerberus SMG, but Shepard knew that the speaker would not be physically present.

It wasn't his style.

Turning around, Shepard stared right into the holographic image of the mastermind behind Cerberus. "Illusive Man."

"Fascinating race, the Protheans. They left this for us to discover, but we've squandered it," the Illusive Man said.

Shepard studied the blue-tinted image in front of him. Nothing about the Illusive Man had changed at all since they had last spoken. Expensive suit, slight swagger in his stance, ever-present cigarette in his right hand, and the same unnatural eyes that always made Shepard wonder if they were cybernetic, or was something else involved into those strange irises that were inhumanly shaped like a trinity symbol.

"The Alliance has known about the Archives for more than forty years, and what have they done with it?"

"They were being careful and responsible," Liara snapped. "Something you would know little about."

"What do you want?" Shepard asked impatiently. With the Reapers destroying Earth, his tolerance was at its breaking point. And whatever designs the Illusive Man had with the Archives, it didn't matter in light of the war crimes he committed and had committed against the Alliance.

The Illusive Man easily brushed off Shepard and Liara's curt tones and looked up at the obelisk. "What I've always wanted."

Shepard took off his helmet so he could better convey his displeasure at the answer.

"The data in these artifacts holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."

How the Illusive Man knew about the Crucible, or even how much he knew about it were, the main questions in Shepard's mind. While the Shadow Broker's intelligence network was reigned supreme, it was frightening to think that Cerberus was a close match as well.

"I've seen your 'solution'—your people are turned into monsters," Shepard said with no small amount of loathing.

"Hardly. They're being improved," the Illusive Man calmly retorted.

Shepard couldn't hold back his dismissive scoff at the rebuttal. "Improved?"

"That's what separates us, Shepard: where you see a means to destroy, I see a way to control—to dominate and harness the Reapers' power." The Illusive Man took a moment to take a drag from his cigarette before smiling thinly. As he exhaled a puff of smoke, he added, "Imagine how strong humanity would be if we controlled them."

"You're insane," Liara whispered.

"Earth is under siege, and you're hatching a scheme to control the Reapers?" Shepard asked incredulously. He had been wholly convinced that destroying the Collector base was the right call—which was only reinforced when he saw what the Illusive Man had done to just one random Cerberus Trooper. But upon hearing the Illusive Man's final goal, he was beyond certain.

As if he was reading his mind, the Illusive Man frowned slightly. His visage briefly vanished, replaced by an image of the Collector base Shepard had blown up. "You've always been shortsighted. Hasty. Your destruction of the Collector base proved that."

Liara stared intently at the Collector base, which at one point, housed the remaining populace of the Prothean people that had become repurposed to serve the Reapers.

"I destroyed that base because I didn't trust you with the information," Shepard snarled. "And after hearing what you're planning and seeing what you've done so far, I made the right call."

The Illusive Man returned, and took another brief smoke before shaking his head. "This isn't your fight any longer, Shepard. You can't defeat the Reapers, even with the Prothean data."

"And you can? You should be helping me, not fighting me," Shepard shot back. "Humanity is under attack. Your resources could help us. This is exactly what Cerberus was meant to be."

"You'd do better than most," the Illusive Man freely admitted, "but the odds aren't in your favor."

"And you think you have the advantage?"

"I do. I don't want the Reapers destroyed. We can dominate them, use their power, and harness their very essence to bring humanity to the apex of evolution." The look on his face was deadly serious.

"I don't care what you want. You've gone too far," Shepard growled.

The Illusive Man glared back. "I don't expect you to understand, Shepard. And I'm certainly not looking for your approval."

"We need to destroy the Reapers."

"Your vision remains pitifully narrow."

"And the insane rarely listen to reason," Shepard snapped back. "You were warned: Stay out of my way."

"You are nothing but a tool, an agent with a singular purpose," the Illusive Man said indifferently. "And despite our differences, you were relatively successful. But like the relics in this place, your time is over."

"We're done talking," Shepard said. "Liara."

As Liara turned back to the terminal, the Illusive Man took another smoke, apparently unconcerned with Shepard's dismissal. "Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard. I won't warn you again."

"Go to hell," Shepard snapped back.

"Shepard!"

He turned back to Liara. "What?"

"The data! It's not here!" she cried out.

"Goodbye, Shepard."

Shepard whirled back around, and just managed to spot the victorious smirk the Illusive Man had on his lips just before the transmission was terminated.

"It's being erased!" Liara said.

"Damn it," Shepard growled out. "How's he doing it?"

"One second… got it. It's local. Someone's uploading the information," she answered.

Shepard quickly put his helmet back on. "Ash, we got company. Find whoever it is and stop them!"

"Possible sighting here," Ashley reported. "You! Step away from the console! Now!"

"Where are you?" Shepard asked. He looked around to try to spot her.

"11 o'clock from—Ugh!"

"Ashley?!"

"Damn it! It's Coré! She's got the data! She got away from me!"

Shepard spotted her and was shocked at how fast she was sprinting away. "After her!"

"She's faster than she looks!" Liara said when they started to give chase.

"Stay close! We can't lose her!" Shepard said.

Coré fired off a few random bursts from her SMG, but Shepard relied on his shields to take any stray shot that got lucky enough to strike him. He could hear Ashley and Liara's footsteps behind him, but they were losing ground.

Shepard barely managed to keep up himself, but the lead Coré had wasn't big enough to lose him.

She dashed out of the Archives, nimbly stepping over the bodies of the Cerberus troopers before taking a sharp left and climbed a ladder that lead to an emergency exit out of the facility.

Shepard thought he had her trapped since the airlocks doors were sealed, but at her approach, both doors opened automatically.

The sudden torrent of rushing atmosphere being vented caused Shepard to pitch forward and fall. He looked up and felt his eyes widen at the sight of Coré leaping out onto the barren surface of Mars.

Scrambling to his feet, he scooped up his SMG and quickly followed.

He popped his head out of the hatch for a second to scan the area before clambering out. He spotted Coré still running away and grimly frowned.

She –at this point, he suspected 'it' was a better pronoun– was not wearing a hard-suit or anything to protect itself from the thin atmosphere on Mars.

"She's not human!" Shepard warned. He continued to chase her along the rooftops of the outpost.

"Damn! You're both so fast!" Ashley said. "Skipper, on your right!"

Shepard spared a quick glance and saw a Cerberus Kodiak shuttle flying alongside.

The side doors opened, revealing two troopers. They took aim at Shepard, but a singularity manifested right in front of them. Both were pulled out before being gunned down.

"We got them!" Liara said. "Get the data!"

Shepard spotted Coré ducking into a utility tunnel. He ran up to the corner, took a look, and ducked back when it started shooting, hoping to catch him off-guard.

"James, Cortez? Do you read me?!" Shepard asked. "Cerberus has the data!"

Coré started to run away when he started to fight back. He growled to himself and started to chase it once again. "Radio the Normandy! Get them down here now! We need support!"

His heavy breaths were the only thing he heard within the confines of his helmet.

Coré climbed one more ladder to reach the highest rooftop of the outpost. Shepard followed as closely as he could, before pausing at the top to make sure he wasn't going to be ambushed, and then hoisting himself up. Coré turned around to fire a few bursts before sprinting to the furthest edge of the roof.

A Cerberus shuttle flew overhead and hovered just past the precipice. Coré leapt the short distance easily and was safely inside the cabin.

"Damn it! Cortez? James? Normandy? Anybody?!"

"They're getting away!" Ashley shouted. She and Liara finally caught up, but could only watch hopelessly as the Cerberus shuttle started to gain altitude. Ashley futilely shot at it with her Avenger.

To Shepard's infinite relief, his radio crackled to life.

"I hear you, Commander! Incoming!" James called out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?!" Cortez shouted fearfully.

"Guns on this thing aren't working, right? Only one way to bring that shuttle down!" James replied. "You better strap in and hold tight, Esteban!"

"Holy shit!" Cortez gasped out.

The Kodiak rammed into the fleeing shuttle. Both vessels fell and crashed right back onto the landing pad. Shepard and his team had to scramble out of the way before they were buried beneath the multi-ton wrecks.

The sounds of crumbled and screeching metal filled Shepard's ears. He covered his head with his arms and instinctively jerked away when a particularly large piece of debris bounced nearby, nearly striking him.

"Are you insane?!" Cortez shouted. "You could've killed us!"

"We're still flying!"

"And what about the Commander and his team?! They were right below us!"

"What? Oh, shit! Commander?! LC?! You guys okay down there?!"

Shepard groaned and stood up. He looked around and saw that, miraculously, Ashley and Liara were okay as well. "We're fine. Get down here."

"I'm on it, Commander. Portside thruster is unresponsive," Cortez reported. "We'll try to get Normandy to do a pickup."

"Ash, get in that wreckage and see if the data can be recovered," Shepard ordered. It took all his will to keep his voice in check.

The other Kodiak was on fire and in far worse shape. If the data was lost due to James' reckless maneuver, then their odds in the war against the Reapers plummeted.

"Ah, damn it. Watch out. This landing is gonna be rough," Cortez warned. Instead of landing smoothly, the shuttle almost fell half a dozen meters and skidded to a halt nearby.

The cabin door opened and James leapt out with his Avenger up and ready. "Normandy's en route. They'll be here soon."

"We need the data first!" Liara urged.

"Help us out," Shepard said to James. He was about to assess the condition of the others when he heard a loud bang.

Whirling around, he saw the charred metal body of Eva Coré, still upright and fully functional. It had kicked down the shuttle door and observed them amidst the fire it was standing in. Ashley fired a 3-round burst before Coré rapidly closed the distance between them and slapped the rifle out of her hands. The android's right hand reached out and gripped the front of her helmet before lifting her off the ground with apparently no effort at all.

"Ash!" He and James raised their weapons at the android. "Let her go!"

It ignored his command. It merely tilted its head even as Ashley struggled in its inescapable grip. Her arms and legs were striking anything in range.

"Orders?"

Shepard didn't have the frequency the android had, but he knew whatever order it received was one he wouldn't like.

He, James, and Liara were all hesitant to attack, though, not with Ashley in its grip and held as a human shield.

Before any of them could react, the android spun around and smashed Ashley's head into the hull of the still-burning shuttle.

"No!" Shepard shouted.

It repeated its savage attack two more times before dropping Ashley. She fell bonelessly to the ground and didn't move.

"Ashley!" Liara screamed.

Coré turned around and started sprinting at Shepard.

This time, they didn't hesitate. The rest of the group opened fire on the android. It fell woefully short of its intended target. Not taking any chances, Shepard walked up to it and shot twice more in the head to make sure.

"Grab this thing. Bring it with us," Shepard ordered to James. He ran up to Ashley with Liara right behind him.

Liara bent over their friend and started running a scan with her omni-tool.

"Shepard! We've got Reaper signatures in orbit!" Joker warned.

"We can move her," Liara said. "Hurry."

Shepard nodded and scooped Ashley into his arms. "Come on, Ash. I'm getting you out of here."

Considering how much energy she always had, it felt wrong to hold her when she was so listless.

The sandstorm made it hard to hear, but the sudden change in wind direction revealed the Normandy's presence. She appeared past the dust and sand and hovered nearby.

"Shuttle can get us in there," Cortez announced. "Let's go!"

Quickly, but carefully, Shepard brought Ashley inside the cabin of the Kodiak and laid her on the floor. The android's body was carelessly stuffed into a cargo storage bin, with James holding his Avenger nearby.

"Liara?!" Shepard called out.

"I'm coming!" Liara said.

She appeared moments later with the body of the Cerberus pilot from the downed shuttle. His body was in remarkably good shape, though it wasn't surprising, considering hard-suits were designed to withstand extreme temperatures. Like the android, the body was stuffed into a cargo bin, albeit with more difficulty. With several bones already broken, though, it wasn't too difficult.

"For later study on what sort of modifications Cerberus conducted," she said.

"Get us out of here," Shepard ordered to Cortez once everyone was settled in.

The shuttle lurched to life. The flying was unsteady, both from the sandstorm and the damage from the earlier collision, but it was a short distance to the Normandy. The moment the shuttle landed, the hangar bay closed its doors and frigate took off.

Just before the Reapers began landing their forces upon the planet in their relentless and unstoppable conquest of the Sol System.

~o~O~o~

Author's Notes:

I know I might've made the tension between Shepard and Ashley a tad too abrasive, but considering the day they had, I wanted tensions to mount, but not boil over.

I totally disliked Liara's side story in Mass Effect: Homeworlds. It's not going into my version, especially with the new changes I've made.