Disclaimer: I dont own Mass Effect or Marvel

Happy new year everyone, here's another chapter, I did some research for the times Akuze took place, but as for the mission itself there's so little detail about it that I did some original thinking on this one. You might not like why this Shepard is a sole survivor, but its for a point, plus I'm writing the story not you :).

Anyway enjoy the chapter


Mass Effect Dimensions

Chapter 11: Trap

2177

He sat amongst his fellow marines, a group of fifty men and women all ready for a simple mission. That's at least what Shepard thought of the mission. Contact with a colonial development team on Akuze had been lost. According to earlier studies Akuze was a good place to form a colony, the atmosphere could support life, it had no signs of toxic gases or radiation. It was an untouched world ready to be occupied for humanity. The Systems Alliance was dedicated to advancing human interests in space, protecting humanity and spreading humanities touch to as many worlds as it could. Every marine on the transport joined for their own reasons, some might have been strikingly similar while others could have been vastly different.

"God if this turns out to be some idiot falling asleep on the Comm. then I am not going to be happy," Shepard and the others laughed as Caine added his usual nine cense to the banter.

William "Bill" Caine was five years older than Shepard, but he wasn't higher in rank. It wasn't really a reflection of his capability as a marine; rather it was the disadvantage Bill had of a boring career. He hadn't particularly stood out in comparison to Shepard. Bill was also infamous for his temper, he wasn't afraid to tell someone how to do their jobs.

"For all we know it could just be a standard communication shut down, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened to teams establishing colonies," A red haired marine explained.

Private Reilly was the youngest in the squad. He looked old enough to be accepted for service, but quite a few people, Shepard included knew that he had to be younger. But Shepard didn't mind, Reilly was a good kid; he had come from the streets of London, as rough a place to grow up as New York. Unlike Shepard however Reilly had no criminal record, nothing in his past life that the alliance needed to erase before accepting his application.

Shepard turned his attention to the far end of the transport. He noticed two marines, Wesley and Lucy speaking to one another. Shepard narrowed his eyes slightly as he noticed the affectionate looks they gave one another.

"How long do you think he'll wait to propose?" The marine next to Shepard asked, whispering in Shepard's ear.

"I give them six more weeks, then they'll both lose their careers," Shepard didn't hide his smirk.

"We both know you're envious."

"Of Lucy? Yeah Wesley is certainly "gifted", I fell for him at academy as soon as he slipped his towel off in the showers and whipped my ass with it," Shepard explained.

Corporal Toombs burst into laughter, covering his mouth as the other men looked at him. Toombs shook his head, patting Shepard's shoulder.

"Didn't know you liked it rough Shepard," He whispered.

Shepard coughed, doing his best not to laugh as loud as Toombs had. Toombs was practically his best friend in the unit. They had both figured out Lucy and Wesley's relationship but chose to keep their secret. A strict rule within the Alliance was no fraternization within the ranks. In other words if two marines were sleeping together, one would have to be transferred and in some cases both marines would lose their posts. Shepard knew they were in a relationship, but he hadn't yet seen them physically display that relationship. If he did see them kiss then as superior officer it was his duty to report their misconduct, no matter how much he didn't like it.

"I hope this one doesn't take too long, Shepard still needs to win his money back from me," A blonde haired marine said.

"Oh ah Duke I think I've got some credits here…" Shepard paused as he patted his back, searching the equipment compartments of his armour.

He then promptly flashed his middle finger at the Vegas born blonde. The atmosphere on the transport suddenly got tenser as both marines looked at one another. Their expressions were unreadable, emotionless, to the point where everyone grew nervous over the imminent fight. But much to their surprise and amusement Shepard and Duke chuckled. They banged their fists together, leaning back into their seats.

"Helmets on people, masks too, what do snipers like?" Shepard asked as he put on his helmet.

"Naked heads!" The unit replied in synch as they followed Shepard's actions.

The general rule of the unit was to always go into an unknown situation with helmets on. Shepard walked down the transport walkway, gripping the handles above his head for support. He moved his hands, flashing signs at the pilots to bring the aircraft down. The troop carrier however down towards the construction site for the colony. Shepard walked as soon as the doors opened, marching out of the transport with his unit behind him. He unclipped his assault rifle, motioning for the other 49 marines to follow. There was no banter between them now, only the professional focus expected from marines.

"Move down the rock path, see if we can find anything," Shepard said.

He nodded to Toombs as the unit walked towards the location of the colony.


Shepard calmly opened his eyes as the lights of the Mako beeped around him. The Normandy had dropped the tank like vehicle on the planet Elodus's surface, mere miles away from the distress beacon. Tali sat in the passenger seat behind Shepard, while Ashley sat at the navigational post next to the Commander. Shepard engaged the Mako's rockets as it fell towards the ground. Elodus was a planet with a sand and rock based surface. Right now it was going through a natural event similar to a desert sand storm. The Mako landed, bouncing the people inside it off their seats. Shepard took control of the Mako, driving it across humps of sand.

"Damn road," Ashley said, as the Mako seemed to constantly bounce on the path.

"Hey Commander, the Doc's gonna be on a better world than this right? Preferably a world that doesn't look like its going through the Apocalypse," Joker said.

"Cut the chatter Joker, a missions a mission!"

On the Normandy, Joker shook his head at the commander's cold approach to his missions. After cutting the line, the pilot wasn't afraid to mock his superior officer.

"Start getting results then you can crack a joke, let me concentrate on my driving," Joker added a grunt to his speech before resting his head. "Like it would improve anyway," He muttered.

Joker flew the Normandy away from the Mako's landing area. The CIC technicians scanned other areas of the planet, looking for natural resources and other things. Numerous requests from the council included turning over any Asari, Turian and Salarian artefacts over to the said governments. Minerals would go to the Alliance while equipment found from lost probes and satellites could be kept by the Normandy. That was the standard outline of any Alliance exploration mission. Michael learnt about it but didn't pay particular attention to a duty he felt was better suited to the Normandy's ship crew.

"So Michael, how have you adjusted to the Normandy?" Chakwas asked.

She and a few other crewmembers were sat in the lounge. The doctor walked over to Kaidan's workstation, holding two coffees for them.

"Pretty well Doctor Chakwas, although I'm still trying to get the hang of this thing Kaidan keeps tapping," Michael said, motioning to the touch screen.

Kaidan's workstation was between Shepard's quarters and the medical bay. He shook his head as he tapped the screen.

"This is an uplink to the ground team and a system I can use to check supply stocks, I can also run tactical simulations with the computer," Kaidan explained.

"So when your standing there tapping it its actually for a reason?"

Chakwas chuckled as Kaidan shook his head again.

"This is a statistics based simulator, no where near as effective as Pinnacle Stations equipment. With this thing you can look up a marine's file, service history (if you have access) and their skill set and limitations. For example my class is Sentinel, a tech and biotic specialist focusing on a balance of team support and enemy sabotage."

"I get it, everyone has a role to play," Michael said.

"Yep, which is why I need to familiarize you with some of the settings available on our guns. You've been training with the style of a regular soldier, an expert in weapons combat. The weapon types Ashley and Shepard use are equipped with several features only their combat roles can have. There are official names to them, but a lot of marines refer to these functions as follows," Kaidan bought up multiple images, showing the weapons that Ashley and Shepard were specialised with.

Michael stepped up to the screen, reading each "skill" and its function.

Overkill: Over coming the overheat limit of the assault rifle, this function allows the wielder to fire their weapon at an increased rate without having to worry about the weapon overheating. Duration is 25 seconds!

Assassination: Increased speed and accuracy with the sniper rifle

Michael scratched his head as he read the other skills. Most of the Soldier class tech included additions to their rifles like Concussion rounds, ammo types and injections of serums to increase the performance of the soldier's themselves. He didn't mind the ammo upgrades, but Michael didn't feel comfortable taking adrenaline to increase the stamina he had worked for years to achieve. Then again his idol Steve Rogers took a serum that amplified his strength and speed beyond the level most athletes worked their whole life to reach.

"Is there something wrong Michael?" Chakwas asked.

"I'm fine," Michael lied as he turned back to the computer.

On the planet's surface, Shepard and his team got closer and closer to the distress beacon. Tali gasped as she saw what was on the path ahead. A beacon was blinking and surrounding the beacon was the bodies of several marines. Shepard could see the state of their bodies from his seat. A shiver ran down his spine as he identified the wounds. Crush marks on the bones, armour and skin melted by a corrosive of some kind. It was all too similar to Akuze. When the ground began to shake, Shepard's fears were confirmed.

"ASHLEY GET ON THE TURRET!" He yelled.

But before Ashley could even react to the order, the ground shook again. Suddenly a worm like creature burst out of the sand, roaring as it extended the barbs and antenna on its head.

"What the hell is that?" Ashley asked.

"Thresher Maw," Shepard said darkly. "Get on the turret now!" He growled.

He swung the Mako round; the wheels threw the sand upwards as Shepard turned the vehicle. Putting his foot down, Shepard drove the Mako as fast as he could. Ashley climbed past Tali and pulled open the ceiling hatch. Sliding down her helmet's faceplate, Ashley looked at the Thresher Maw through the crosshair of the turret. Pulling the trigger, Ashley sent a flurry of bullets flying towards the creature. It roared as the bullets cut past its side.

"I scratched it sir, visibility is low and distance is too much," Ashley said.

"Then lets get closer!" Shepard tugged on the wheel, swinging the Mako around again.

Ashley held onto the turret as tight as she could. Shepard seemed to hit bump after bump on the road as he drove around the Thresher Maw. The worm like creature dived forward, tunnelling under the ground. Shepard slowed the Mako down as he listened for the signs of the Thresher Maw. He could practically hear the creature tunnelling under the ground. Thresher Maw's were beasts driven by natural instincts, feed on whatever was available. They were animals, but intelligent enough to use their tunnelling abilities whenever they could.

"Shepard what's going…"

"Quiet Tali," Shepard snapped.

He increased speed and altered the Mako's path. Swerving to the right, Shepard narrowly missed the Thresher Maw as it burst out of the ground. He then swerved the Mako again, dodging the Thresher Maw's head as it swung its poisoned barbs. The Thresher Maw dragged its barbs across the ground, missing the Mako by inches.

"NOW ASHLEY!" Shepard yelled.

Ashley fired the turrets grenade launcher, hitting the Maw in the head. A chunk of flesh was torn from the Thresher Maw's face, blood spraying onto the ground. Ashley then rolled the turrets minigun, hitting the creature's skin as the Mako drove around it. She kept her finger on the trigger, never resting with the turrets assault.

"Shit," Ashley muttered as the turret stopped firing.

The turret was overheated, giving it only seconds to cool down. Shepard stopped the Mako as the Thresher Maw dived back into the sand. He took a deep breath, calming his pounding heart. As he felt his heart rate slow, he heard the ground collapsing beneath him. The Thresher Maw popped up just beside the Mako. Popping the Mako into reverse, Shepard didn't even both to look at the rear camera screen as he drove backwards. The Thresher Maw opened its mouth, spitting a blob of acid at its prey. It was as if the Thresher Maw's mouth was a cannon as the bullet of acid flew towards the Mako. Shepard rolled the wheel to his right, reversing the Mako mere inches to the left. The acid slammed into the ground, glassing it like fire. Blobs of acid then flew onto the front of the Mako, with a few drops spraying onto the turret.

"SHIT!" Ashley yelled.

She fell back inside the Mako and pulled off her left gauntlet. The armour plating fell apart like paper. Shepard kept his eyes in front as he looked at the Thresher Maw. Revving the Mako's engine, Shepard put on the Mako's hand brake and kicked it to first gear.

"Commander, what are you doing?" Ashley asked.

"Tali, convert all power for kinetic barriers to the front section of the Mako," Shepard ordered.

"Commander Shepard, what are you planning?" Tali asked.

"Time to play a game of chicken!"

Shepard drove the Mako forward, smirking as the two women gasped. He moved the Mako past fifty mph. Keeping one eye on the speed gauge and another on the Thresher Maw, Shepard pushed the Mako to Eighty miles and hour. The Thresher Maw spat acid again, hitting the Mako's kinetic barrier.

"Commander, armour integrity at 40%," Tali said.

Shepard ignored her warning and moved the Mako towards a hill of sand. Using the hill as a ramp and engaging the Mako's vertical thrusters, Shepard launched the Mako at the Maw. The vehicle landed on the Maw's head, driving down its spine. Shepard activated the Mako's thrusters, jumping off the Maw's back.

"Tali, repair the turret so that we can fire the grenade, Ashley be ready to take the wheel when I say so," Shepard explained.

The Thresher Maw burrowed underneath the ground, giving Tali seconds to repair the damage to the turret. She opened a panel on the turret, checking the internal circuitry. The young Quarian didn't even need to activate her Omni-tool as she began crossing broken wires together. Shepard kept driving the Mako forward, ignoring the Thresher Maw's behaviour. It would occasionally burst out of the ground, practically flying across the sand before landing and burrowing again. Ashley felt reminded of the cartoons she watched as a child, watching a worm rush through the numerous holes of an apple. A few sparks emanated from the turret as Tali crossed the wires together.

"Its ready now Shepard," Tali said.

"Ashley, take the wheel," Shepard ordered.

Ashley grabbed the wheel as Shepard bought the vehicle to a stop. He climbed past Ashley, yanking Tali away from the turret. Sliding down his breather mask, Shepard gripped the turret controls and waited. Ashley climbed into the drivers seat, driving the Mako towards the Beacon. The Thresher Maw rose out of the ground, looking at the Mako's backside. Shepard swung the turret around, looking at a spot eight centimetres away from the Maw's right barb. Pulling the trigger, Shepard sent a grenade crashing into the Thresher Maw's eye. The Maw let out an agonising wail, and Shepard used this pain to his advantage. He fired another grenade, hitting the Maw's left barb. Firing one grenade after another, Shepard hit the Maw again and again, eventually blowing off one of its barbs. As the barb crashed into the ground, Shepard aimed for the Maw's eye again. The creature let out one more whine before crashing into the ground. A moment of silence passed as Shepard watched the Maw breath its last breath. Climbing off the Mako, Shepard walked towards the beacon sight.

"Joker, send a message to Alliance command, tell them that A Thresher Maw has been sighted on Elodus, sixteen casualties confirmed, if there are any other bodies then they're killed in action as well," Shepard explained.

"You sure Commander? They might still be out there," Joker said.

"They're dead, take it from someone who knows, if the bodies are missing they were pulled under by the Thresher Maw, no one survives that close to a Thresher Maw!" Shepard closed the line and turned to the Beacon.

He activated his Omni-tool, sliding out the blade. Swinging his arm round, Shepard hacked at the beacon like a lumberjack. Sparks flew out of the cuts as Shepard swung his arm again and again. Dead bodies flashed before his eyes as he heard the screams of those at Akuze. When the Beacon fell, Shepard stopped and felt the sweat running down his head. His heart was pounding again. Everything that happened here was just like Akuze. The one difference was that no one survived.


Night passed and the marines set up camp. Shepard stood away from the other marines, tapping his Omni-tool. He cursed as static came out of the device. They had reached the site were the colony was but had found no survivors. Whatever had attacked the development team had ripped apart the construction site. Another problem now faced the squad; communications had been cut with the transport.

"SQUAD FALL IN!" Shepard yelled.

The marines began marching to Shepard, picking up their equipment. He did a small head count, so far there were forty-eight squad members. Lucy and Wesley were missing. Walking past the crowd of marines, Shepard made his way to one of the tents. A look of disappointment crossed over his face as he poked his head into one of the tents. Lucy and Wesley pulled their lips away from one another, looking at Shepard in shock.

"I really wish you two were better at keeping a secret," Shepard muttered.

"Sir we can explain…"

"Don't bother," Shepard interrupted Lucy as he walked away from the tent.

Lucy and Wesley rushed out of the tent, catching up with Shepard.

"Sir, please don't write this up in your report," Wesley said.

"Its out of my hands Private," Shepard didn't even turn around as he kept walking.

"But sir, this could mean the end of our careers," Lucy said.

"Should have thought about that before you starting making out like high school children," Shepard said. "I still expect to do your duty, everyone, communications are cut off, I'm leaving to find higher ground to see if it'll change the signal. Duke is in charge until I get back, stay on high alert at all times, there's no guarantee that whatever cleared out the development site wont come back," Shepard explained.

He dismissed his troops, picking up his weapons and the radio. Before he could leave however, Duke stood in his way.

"Shepard, what exactly are you doing?" He asked.

"I could tell you if I knew what you were talking about," Shepard said.

"Lucy and Wesley, they're good marines Shepard, this was a one time slip up that hasn't cost anything, you write about them in your report and you'll be ruining their careers," Duke explained.

"A little overdramatic don't you think, the Alliance is tolerant Duke, the worst they'll get is a transfer!"

"Do you really believe that? Look what the Alliance did to General Williams!"

"You sound as if I should know that name," Shepard sighed.

"The first human officer to surrender to a Turian fleet, you really don't know about him?"

"Knowing history doesn't get me more money," Shepard said dismissively.

"I hope you actually start to learn from the past Shepard, hopefully then you wont repeat those mistakes!"

Shepard shook his head as he walked away from the squad. Walking and climbing his way up the mountain range, Shepard spared no thought over Duke's words. Taking the radio from his back, Shepard extended the antennae and waited for a signal. The range was longer than his Omni-tool, but he still barely had a signal.

"Transport SSV Reliant, can you hear me?" Shepard asked over the radio. "Reliant, this is Commander Shepard do you copy?"

He cursed as he lifted the radio off the ground. As soon as he got back he would request better equipment for future missions. He made his way back to the Camp, thinking of other complaints he would put in his report. As he got closer to the camp, Shepard heard the distant sound of gunfire. Breaking off into a run, the Commander's eyes widened as he heard screams. Running over the hill, Shepard looked at the camp in shock. Four Thresher Maw's had burst out of the ground, wreaking havoc on the camp.

"Oh my god," Shepard gasped.

He had realised too late that the unit had set up camp right in the middle of a Thresher Maw nest.


The memory still haunted Shepard to this day, though he would never admit it. Sitting in his office, writing up a report on the Elodus mission, Shepard began to reflect on the two units. His unit had been in a worse situation, an impossible situation. While Admiral Kahoku's men were on an open desert range, Shepard's men had been in the middle of an actual nest with hills and mountains cutting off any chance of escape. Some people dared to praise him for his "remarkable will to live", when in actuality the odds had just been in his favour. He had been standing outside the nest, giving him an Eighty percent chance of living. The members of the unit, all of whom were dead centre within the nest had an eighty percent chance of dying. In the end it wasn't will or heroism that enabled him to survive, it was dumb luck.

"It is with deepest regret Admiral Kahoku that I report the death of your platoon," Shepard read a small fragment; rubbing his forehead as he thought of what else he could say.

This was why he preferred Anderson as superior officer. If something went wrong, Anderson would write a report. Shepard hated writing reports; he would rather be back at Torfan as opposed to writing what was pretty much a letter of condolence. A knock at the door drew Shepard's attention away from his computer.

"Come in," He said.

The door slid open, revealing Michael. He lifted his hand to his head, saluting the Commander.

"Drop that shit son, your not officially a marine so you don't need to stand to attention all the time," Shepard said.

"Its sort of a respect thing sir," Michael said.

Shepard chuckled, shaking his head as he waved for Michael to come in. Michael looked around the room, tempted to whistle at how cosy everything looked. As expected the room was spotless, everything was folded neatly. Basically the room looked like it was from a marine training manual.

"Like the place?" Shepard asked, noticing Michael's awe. "The room was originally Captain Anderson's, if not for being a Spectre I would have had to work another five years to get an office like this, including the extra responsibilities that come with it," He explained, motioning to the console.

"Miss Williams told me everything that happened sir, are we going to do anything to look into these marine's deaths?" Michael asked.

"No, this has nothing to do with our current mission, rest assured Admiral Kahoku will get to the bottom of it. Before Akuze my unit and I participated in numerous training missions with him back when he was a Captain, he's a very competent soldier, and rumour says he's a good investigator as well," Shepard explained.

"So we're back to searching for the Doctor, or is it Professor?" Michael scratched his head in confusion.

Shepard snorted while Michael sheepishly chuckled.

"You want to know something funny Michael?" Shepard asked.

"Sure go ahead and tell me!"

"Thresher Maw's aren't native to Akuze or Elodus," Shepard turned his head to the computer and began typing more into his report. "Two marine units, sent to investigate a distress beacon and then all are killed by a Thresher Maw. I believe that no matter how impossible a similarity may be that they are linked in some way, there are no coincidences to me Mr Van Patrick. But unfortunately this has nothing to do with my current mission, so I have to leave it to others!"

"Being a Spectre gives you the authority to carry out whatever mission you like, to route out illegal action and conspiracy wherever you might find them!" Michael said.

"After we've found the Asari, next time we go ground side I want you on the team, but for now I want you to go and help Garrus, he's making some modifications to the Mako. He told me he's adding a remote control to the Turret so we can shoot the gun without a gunner!" Shepard explained.

"I bet Ashley would appreciate that," Michael chuckled.

The Spectre smiled as he sent the report.

"Go on Mr Van Patrick, consider this an order," Shepard said.

"Yes sir," Michael smiled as he saluted Shepard.

He walked out of Shepard's office, leaving the man alone with his computer. Putting a disc into the computer, Shepard opened up a file. It was a document containing the report he wrote to the brass after Akuze. He had included usual equipment and Intel complaints, but one thing Shepard always focused on was what he said about his men.

Every member of my unit deserves a posthumous promotion and medal for their courage in the field and devotion to the Alliance. In particular I recommend Marines Wesley Dodds and Luciana Wells for the Medal of Devotion, in recognition of their outstanding professionalism on the field and commitment to their duties. I believe these two marines in particular represent the conduct all marines must follow!

Closing the document, Shepard switched the computer off and walked out of his office. He made his way to the cargo deck. Michael was working with Garrus, who was teaching him about the Mako and its design. Seeing Ashley working at her desk, Shepard made his way over to her. She placed the rifle she was fixing on the workbench and turned to Shepard.

"Skipper," She said.

"Chief, you did well out there today, I remember the complaints you had earlier, did you have anything else to say?" Shepard asked.

"No sir, Tali actually did pretty well out there, I can see now why you let her on board. I trust your decisions Skipper, you tell me to jump I'll ask how high, you tell me to kiss a Turian and I'll ask which cheek!"

Shepard snorted, trying to contain his urge to laugh. It was a sentiment Ashley shared as she hid her smile.

"Hopefully it wont come to that Williams, talk to you again some time," Shepard said.

"Looking forward to it Skipper," She nodded.


Project Dimension Facility

Victor stood at the centre of the control room. He kept his eyes on the subject lying inside the magnetic chamber. Wilson stood in one the chairs, tapping buttons on the computer, just as the other workers did. The subject was unconscious, with numerous straps holding him down. Several Cerberus troopers also stood in the room, led by one Kai Leng. He was wearing a Cerberus breastplate, goggles with bone like gloves on his hands. Victor thought of the man as a xenophobic thug, and an arrogant one at that. Victor tapped on the microphone, catching everyone's attention.

"Keep your weapons trained on him at all times, Wilson start the machine," Victor said.

"Lets see how good he is without that metal on his bones," Wilson smirked.

"Begin extraction of the metal!"

Next Chapter 12: Caged Animal


Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I wanted to establish a difference between the Shepard at Akuze and the Shepard now, he was younger then with different ideals and a more black and white look at his career. But also I wanted to give a little depth to his past. I'll explore how Shepard dealt with Akuze in more detail in later chapters.

Next up is a focus on Project Dimension and one specific prisoner. Cerberus will learn that even without Adamantium, Wolverine's still the best there is!