A/N: This chapter took a while to write, it's the longest one yet O.O It was going to be longer but I cut it in half, sheesh. Next chapter might be a bit in coming, I feel a migraine coming on and who knows how long this one will decide to last -_- If I can finish it before it peaks it might come up soon, dunno if I can though. Ugh. Stupid migraines. Go away =-=

Anywho, yeah, long chapter XD it's kind of AU-ish? Because Kaidan is there and I know in the actually game play he isn't, but meh, this is my story :) And I think I am going to continue this with it going a bit AU after this mission (uhhh and maybe next chapter too). Sooo yeah be prepared for that :)

Onward!

Chapter Thirteen

They finally made it to the Citadel, but not all was as it seemed. Shepard was asked to see a Dr. Bryson in his lab. He took a shuttle of his own there, very few of the crew knowing of his plans. Kaidan himself only knew because he'd been there when the message was sent, when EDI told Shepard about it. Shepard himself hadn't talked to Kaidan in nearly twenty-four-hours, which was fine, really.

From what he heard, Shepard did finally ask for a sedative from Dr. Chakwas. For all he knew, the commander had been asleep that whole time, only waking long enough to grab a bite to eat before EDI told him about Bryson's lab.

Kaidan offered to accompany him – that was what friends did, right? He also wanted to talk, privately, and a shuttle ride to a scientist's lab seemed private enough. Not to mention Shepard still looked a little pale, despite the fact the rings were gone from his eyes. At least he got a little sleep.

Shepard looked at him for a moment as though debating, before he finally shrugged and nodded. "Alright, that's fine. It's going to be boring, though. We're going to a scientist's lab."

Kaidan shrugged. "That's fine by me, just means I don't have to worry about being shot at."

Shepard shook his head and climbed into the private shuttle loaned to him by the Council during his stay here. Kaidan climbed in next to him and the two lifted into the air as the shuttle hummed to life.

For a few minutes, they rode in silence. Nothing was said between them, but the silence wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. If anything it was relaxed; appreciated, almost. Shepard looked more relaxed than he had been in days, Kaidan noticed. Perhaps the sedative did its job and all the commander needed was sleep.

Do you really believe that? Sedatives cure everything?

Shut up, Mind.

"Alright," Shepard sighed finally, glancing over at him briefly before looking back out the front window. "Say it. What's on your mind."

"You look better," Kaidan said.

"Feel better," Shepard admitted, and Kaidan smiled.

"Sedatives are great, huh?"

"Didn't dream, so yeah, pretty great." There was a pause, before the commander sighed. "You helped, too. I said thanks, right?"

"You did," Kaidan said. "It wasn't necessary."

"Yeah, well… thanks, again. I appreciate it."

"That's what friends do," he said quietly, looking out the side window.

"If so," Shepard said slowly, "I need more friends like you."

Kaidan felt his ears burn, but he didn't look back at the commander. If he did he might say or do something stupid. This was safer. "I wasn't fishing for compliments, Ryan."

Shepard chuckled. "I know. That's why I said it."

The ride lapsed back into silence as Kaidan tried to process this.

They entered the lab quietly. The place was surprisingly empty of lab workers, filled instead with artifacts and desks and computers. Kaidan himself had never been much of a scientist but he could appreciate the work they did. While he wasn't sure what half the stuff he was looking at meant, he knew better than to touch it or move it in any way.

This is someone's life's work.

This was also someone's home, it seemed. He saw stairs leading upward, and the area appeared out of the way and mostly cordoned off. Perhaps this was literally where Dr. Bryson lived, and not just his lab. A lot of people did that these days, though. Perhaps in the old days scientists would have a lab they worked in and then return home at the end of the day, but now they practically lived in the labs anyway, practically married to their work, so it made sense to physically live there as well.

A man was talking in the background. Kaidan stayed put next to some kind of artifact and computer while Shepard moved toward the person speaking. It appeared to be Dr. Bryson. There was only one other person here, and he appeared busy. Kaidan decided to simply look around this room, at the maps and whatnot on the walls, while Shepard took care of his business.

Technically he wasn't supposed to be here, after all.

This mission was Shepard's. As a Spectre he could do missions on his own. That didn't mean he had to, though, and it didn't mean Kaidan couldn't tag along for moral support and companionship, right? Best to stay out of the way for now, though, because he might accidentally break something by breathing near it.

Things are fragile, and you can be a heavy breather.

Mind, I hate you.

Things went well for a while. He didn't even notice the assistant leaving the room. Instead he was focusing on a piece of Sovereign which was held here as though on display. He felt a chill crawl through him as he looked at it, remembered the battle they had here on the Citadel. A lot of people lost their lives that day. Many more were lost trying to save the Council, but they did manage to save them in the end. Sovereign was killed, as was Saren, and somehow he, Shepard, and Garrus came out okay in the end, despite being there at ground zero.

For a while it looked like Shepard had been crushed. Kaidan had been sore at the time, having taken a shot to the side from Saren's crazed, hyperactive form. There was a lot of dust in the air which only made it harder to breathe, not to mention the cracked ribs. Everything ached, then, but nothing ached as much as the thought that Shepard had literally been crushed in the wake of their victory.

That was not the way he was meant to die, after all. That wasn't the way it was supposed to end.

Thankfully Shepard wound up being okay, just semi-trapped on the other side of the rubble. He climbed over it in the end and, holding onto his side, smiled at Kaidan and Garrus, who were happy to see him.

It was surprisingly a lot easier to breathe after that.

He was caught up in the memory, looking at the bit that remained of the first Reaper they ever encountered, and was startled out of it by the sound of a gun firing in the next room.

Adrenaline rushed through him as though ignited by a fuse as he darted into the next room, immediately cursing himself for not bringing a weapon of any kind. That was okay, he had his biotics, but he didn't have any of his battle armor on or anything.

Neither did Shepard.

Shepard.

The first thing he saw when he entered the room as the motionless, bloody body on the ground.

The second was Shepard charging across the room, tackling the gunman. It was… the assistant? The gun clattered from his hand as he hit the ground and to Kaidan's horror, it fired as it slid across the ground.

"Son of a-!" Shepard grunted.

"Shepard!" Kaidan called, rushing toward him.

He's hit and he doesn't have armor!

Shepard's gaze landed on him as the commander looked up at him and he relaxed somewhat. "Grazed me," he said, gesturing at his left arm, near the shoulder. It was bleeding but not very much, and was clearly more of a scratch than anything.

He's okay. It's okay.

"This is Commander Shepard," the vanguard commander said into the comm link. "I need C-Sec at my location! Now!"

The guy beneath him was out cold, Kaidan noted with relief.

"Help me get him up," Shepard said, grabbing the assistant's left arm. Kaidan grabbed the other and together they hauled him up and into a chair. Shepard then moved around him and knelt next to Dr. Bryson's motionless body, pressing two fingers against his neck even though the man's eyes were sightlessly staring up at the ceiling, into a void neither of them would never, could never, see.

"He's gone, Ryan," Kaidan said quietly, coming to stand behind him, placing a hand on the commander's shoulder.

Shepard sighed and got to his feet. "Are you hurt?"

"I was in the other room," Kaidan said. "Let me see your arm."

"It's fine. Just kind of shocked me more than anything. It's been a while since I've gotten hit without wearing armor," Shepard admitted as he turned and walked back toward the chair the assistant was sitting in.

"Should we secure him?" Kaidan asked, glaring at the gunman.

Who the hell is this guy and what was he thinking?

"He's out cold for now," Shepard said. "I think he hit his head when I tackled him."

Good, Kaidan thought with a touch of relieved detachment.

"Any idea why he… well, you know."

Shepard shook his head, glancing back at Bryson's body. "No. Bryson was just telling me about what this group has been studying."

"And what's that?"

Now Shepard went quiet. "You think this had something to do with that?"

"Depends," Kaidan said. "What'd he say?"

"They think they might have found Leviathan."

"Leviathan?" Kaidan asked, trying out the word on his tongue. "What's that?"

Shepard watched Bryson's body for a moment, before he released a small sigh and glanced at Kaidan. "They think it might be a Reaper killer."

Okay, yeah. Definitely something worth maybe killing over.

"Forensic records show his name is Derek Hadley," said one of the two C-Sec officers standing next to the assistant.

It took them only a few minutes to arrive. They'd asked very few questions before looking up the assistant's name and what this place was researching, as well as confirming Bryson's identity.

Simple guidelines of their work, but Kaidan wanted answers.

"He's worked here for a couple months," the same C-Sec officer said as Shepard stood in front of the gunman, Hadley.

"Shepard," came a female voice, startling Kaidan so much he flinched because it was right behind him. He turned to find EDI walking toward them. "I monitored a C-Sec call from this location. Were you harmed?"

Is that me or does she actually sound concerned?

"Minor flesh wound," Shepard said, shaking his head. They'd already bandaged it. It didn't even require medi-gel. "I could use your help sorting this out, EDI. Take a look through their files – I need to know what this task force was up to."

Because it definitely got Bryson killed.

"At once," EDI replied, moving to look around the room.

"What?" came a new voice and Kaidan's gaze snapped back toward the gunman, who appeared to be waking up. His head snapped up violently as he looked around, eyes wide and… confused? "I… what's… happening?"

"You tell me," Shepard said coolly, folding his arms across his chest in his 'you better not lie to me' pose.

Kaidan moved to stand next to him, watching Hadley closely.

"I…" Hadley started slowly. "I was gathering our data when you arrived, and… then... it was dark. Cold. Like… I was some place else."

That makes no sense.

"And then?" Shepard prompted.

"I… I don't know!" Hadley said, eyes wide as he looked at the commander. "A gun was in my hands… Dr. Bryson… There was a loud… noise."

He sounds confused. Is that possible? Does he not know what he did?

It didn't seem likely.

"That was you," Shepard said, pointing at the body, "shooting him."

Upon seeing Bryson's body, Hadley jumped to his feet. Kaidan unconsciously reached for his gun at the sudden movement and growled to himself when he remembered he didn't have any weapons on him. This was the Citadel, after all – it was supposed to be safe. He shouldn't have needed a weapon here.

It was why they didn't bring their squad with them. It was why he wouldn't have minded if Shepard had declined his offer to join him on the way over here. Why they didn't have their armor or weapons, why their guard was down.

It's supposed to be safe here.

It wasn't.

Definitely carrying a weapon with me wherever I go from now on.

Hadley only ran to Bryson's body, though, and collapsed to his knees next to the man. "I didn't do it!" he said almost breathlessly. "It wasn't me! You have to believe that!"

"So someone else pulled that trigger?" Shepard asked, half incredulous and half curious, it seemed.

"But I would never do that!" Hadley said, looking up at him, grasping at his head.

"Commander," EDI said, causing them to look over at her from where she stood, gathering information. "This does resemble reports of indoctrination."

Kaidan's spine stiffened. Next to him, Shepard seemed to freeze as well.

Indoctrination? Here? How?

The Citadel was supposed to be safe, dammit. No one was supposed to be indoctrinated here!

"Indoctrination?" Hadley asked, getting to his feet, appearing more calm now. "Me?"

"What about that Leviathan Bryson mentioned?" Shepard asked, drawing the focus back to the job at hand. "How does that tie in?"

"It's some kind of creature," Hadley explained. "Our field teams have been tracking it." He turned and looked at some glowing orb behind a glass wall. "That artifact came in from our researcher, Garneau. He sent an audio log if you want to... gah!"

Kaidan flinched at the sudden sound of pain, reaching for his weapon again. It was only years of training, of practicing control, that his biotics didn't flare to life around him. He hated not having his gun on him.

Hadley collapsed to the ground, grabbing at his head.

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked, frowning down at the assistant. It sounded like he was torn between concern at the man's wellbeing, and curiosity, like Hadley might be lying to them, playing them somehow.

Kaidan was curious about that, too.

Was this some ploy to escape judgment? Was he planning another attack? Or was he just simply in pain?

A second later Hadley's hands dropped from his head to hang limply at his sides as he knelt there, on his knees, slowly bringing his gaze up to look at Shepard. His eyes were flat, like he was in a trance, almost.

"Turn back," he said in a voice that was not his own, not really. It was flatter than Kaidan remembered it from just a minute ago, more subdued and monotone.

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked.

"The darkness cannot be breached."

And with that, Hadley's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he toppled forward, completely limp.

"Damn it," Shepard hissed. "Get him over to the clinic. See if they can tell us what's wrong with him."

"Yes, sir," said the C-Sec officer, and the two of them hauled Hadley's motionless body from the ground, dragging him out of the room.

Kaidan stepped toward Shepard, who stood in front of the glass wall, looking at the artifact. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," Shepard sighed, "but I have a feeling I'm not gonna like it."

I don't like it.

He didn't like any of this. This whole situation screamed of wrong and it was as bad as bad feelings got.

They managed to track down Garneau, the other scientist working on the Leviathan project, who sent over the artifact. They were heading there now, but it would still be at least three more hours before they arrived.

That left a lot of time to think.

He wanted to check on Shepard, because he knew the mission with the Ardat-Yakshi and the… banshees had taken its toll on the commander, and now a bullet had grazed his arm. Barely nicked him, but still, infection could set in. He just wanted to make sure nothing else went wrong.

He didn't do it, though.

Shepard, it seemed, really did not like people worrying about his physical health. Every time Kaidan brought it up the commander sent him a glare. There was little heat behind it but still the message was clear.

He's fine, for now.

And when he was ready to talk, Kaidan would be here, waiting.

Always waiting. I hate waiting.

The usual peace of the Observation Room – his room – didn't help him at the moment. Instead he kept replaying those moments in Bryson's lab, wondering if, had he not been so distracted remembering Sovereign's attack on the Citadel, he could have saved Bryson's life.

Then again, Shepard had been there and even he couldn't save the man. Kaidan knew for a fact Shepard's reflexes were far better than his own. He hadn't had time to do anything for the scientist.

Still, though… he couldn't help but wonder about how things might have gone differently had he acted sooner.

No use dwelling on what might have been.

That was true. There was nothing he could do about it now.

Ding.

Kaidan wasn't shocked by the noise this time. It was probably Shepard – he was the only one who really messaged him. He hadn't sent in his reports yet.

Damn. Knew I was forgetting something.

Oh well, too late to worry about it now.

He opened the message.

I have ramen if you're hungry. I'm in the mess.

Shepard.

Kaidan shook his head. Ramen noodles. It was strange how long those things had lasted. It seemed like every generation knew about them, ate them at some point in time.

He got to his feet and left the room, entering the mess. Again, it was empty save for one lone figure in the back, next to the refrigerator. Kaidan walked toward the familiar outline in the dim lighting. He could smell the noodles from here.

Shepard turned as he approached. "I hope you like ramen. I made too much."

"How do you make too much ramen?" Kaidan asked incredulously.

Is that even possible?

"Garrus was supposed to help me eat this," Shepard said. "We were going over calibration issues." He paused. "Great. Now he has me saying it. Anyway, Tali called him away and he left me with too much ramen to eat." Now the commander smiled at him. "That's where you come in."

"I see," Kaidan said, smirking.

Shepard gestured at the table and the two moved toward it. One bowl was placed in front of Kaidan, along with a fork, while Shepard had his own ramen in front of him.

The two ate in silence for a few minutes.

"How's the arm?" he asked casually, almost without thinking, as he slurped down some noodles.

"I'm dying."

Kaidan almost choked on his noodles, eyes widening. "What?" he coughed.

Shepard grinned.

"Not funny," Kaidan muttered, going back to his food.

"It was a little scratch. I'm fine. If a bullet graze takes me out I'll never live it down."

"Well, you'd be dead."

How about we not joke about that?

"I still wouldn't live it down, even in death. Garrus would calibrate the universe just so I wouldn't live it down."

Kaidan almost choked again, but this time because he couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. "Yeah, I can see him doing that."

More comfortable silence surrounded them until they were done eating. Kaidan slurped up the last of his broth and happily sat back in his chair, satisfied.

"That was good."

Shepard smirked. "The food of champions."

"And we are the champions."

"We'll keep on fighting, 'til the end," Shepard said, quirking a brow at him, and Kaidan couldn't help but shake his head.

"That is an old, old song."

"Good classics never die."

Kaidan barely got any sleep before they arrived at their destination, some asteroid called Mahavid.

He arrived in the shuttle bay just as Shepard was gathering his gear.

"I'm going, too," he said, in case it wasn't obvious, as he grabbed his weapons and armor.

Shepard smirked. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Garrus is coming too, in case I need something calibrated."

Kaidan shook his head as they climbed into the shuttle and left the Normandy.

"We're about five minutes out, Commander," Cortez said a few minutes later.

"What exactly is on this asteroid?" Shepard asked, standing behind the pilot.

Kaidan and Garrus sat quietly in the back, watching them.

"Mining facility," Cortez said. "T-GES Mineral Works. Small operation. Could be a good place for Leviathan to hide."

"Bryson was right. Anything powerful enough to kill a Reaper needs to be investigated," Shepard said. "I just hope Garneau has the answers we need."

Don't we all.

"I'm reading Reaper enemy signatures in the asteroid field," Cortez said a moment later.

"He said they were shadowing his field teams," Shepard all but sighed.

Figures. Nothing's ever easy.

"Take us in."

They had to fight against a few brutes and cannibals to get in, but they managed it eventually. Kaidan was happy to see the people inside seemed to be okay, if a little strange with their stares. Then again, Reaper forces had been right outside. He'd be a little on edge, too.

This must be terrifying for these people.

They approached what looked like an information center, with two men behind it working on a computer, one sitting in a chair and the other hunched over, looking over the first man's shoulder.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance," Shepard said as he stood in front of the window separating them from the two men inside. "You just had Reaper troops attacking your front door."

"Are they still there?" asked the man sitting in the chair, but his voice was… off. He might have been tired, but it also sounded oddly like Hadley's from before he passed out.

From what Kaidan heard the guy wasn't doing too well. He'd yet to wake up.

"I've taken care of them for now," Shepard said, shaking his head.

"I see," said the man who was standing. "That will be all."

Their gaze returned to the computer.

"That will be…?" The commander looked over his left shoulder at Kaidan, who shrugged and shook his head. He had no idea what was going on, but again, everything screamed of wrong. "Hello?"

The men inside ignored him.

Garrus stepped forward and pressed the button on the wall, labeled 'assistance'.

The two inside looked at them again.

"Yes. Welcome to T-GES Mineral Works," said the one standing, voice as monotone as ever, gaze flat. "How can we help you."

"Are you here for the tour?" asked the one sitting.

"Yes. For the tour," said the one standing. "Please sign in."

Kaidan and Shepard shared another look.

Yeah. Bad feeling about this.

"You don't seem worried about those Reapers," Shepard said, frowning at them. "You know something I don't?"

Like… hiding a Reaper killer around here anywhere?

All the guy had to say about that was to describe what this company was and what they did, which they already knew.

"That's not what I meant," Shepard said, shaking his head. "I'm looking for a researcher named Dr. Garneau. He would have arrived within the last couple weeks. If he's still here I need to speak with him."

"We have no Dr. Garneau," said the one sitting down.

"Do you need to see a doctor," said the one standing.

Shepard sighed, frustrated. "How about I just go in and look around."

"No. The access elevator is broken."

Kaidan glanced over and saw sparks flying from the elevator door.

Yeah. Broken. Hate elevators.

"And now," said the one sitting, "we're done. Step away."

"Step away," echoed the one standing. "You don't belong here."

Kaidan took a step forward, grabbing Shepard by the shoulder. "This doesn't seem right," he murmured. He really had a bad feeling about this. "C'mon." He lightly pulled the commander away from those two, off to the side, more toward the elevator.

We'll do this on our own. Those two are messed up. Something's wrong.

"Let's look around," Shepard sighed.

Anything to get away from them and all these people's stares.

It was more than a little unnerving.

"Careful," he found himself murmuring, mostly to himself, but Shepard nodded all the same.

"Stranger and stranger," Garrus commented.

"We gotta fix that elevator," Kaidan said quietly. He felt like everyone here was watching them, listening in, and he felt the urge to bring up his barrier, a natural protection, but fought the urge off for now. He'd probably need the energy later.

Shepard looked around and found an console off to the side. It brought up a repair drone, which they then led to the elevator. It was fixed in no time and the three climbed in.

Kaidan tried not to imagine the elevator sparking as they took it up. Finally it stopped and they got out and ran into more people staring at them oddly.

Anyone they walked past said, "You don't belong here."

"Yeah," Shepard muttered to himself, "I'm getting that feeling."

Eventually they found an audio log in one of the back rooms. A robotic female voice said the comm systems were offline and that the message was not sent.

Probably would have saved people if it was…

After listening to it, they found out Garneau had been in danger. The message was to Bryson, telling him he'd gone into hiding in the mines. Another artifact, like the one in Bryson's lab, had been found here. Garneau was asking for Bryson to get him out of there, but of course the message never got through.

I hope he's okay. If not he died waiting for help…

He couldn't think about that right now. Shepard left the room and he and Garrus followed after him.

There was a pass code hack they got from the data log, though. Kaidan copied it for later use.

Later use wound up being a minute later when they reached a security console.

"Punch in the terminal hack and see what it gets us," Shepard said.

"Right." Kaidan moved toward the console and began inputting the hack.

"Access granted," said the robotic female voice.

Alright… so something is finally going right. Good.

It opened a video log of sorts, of Garneau entering the facility and conversing with the locals. They didn't seem as… creepy as they did now.

An alert popped up.

"An unknown male was involved in an altercation in the mines."

"Garneau was heading toward the mines," Garrus said.

"Looks like he was taken to the med bay," Shepard said.

The security console told them how to get to the medical bay and Kaidan copied the patient file number for easy access.

"I've got it," he said.

File 7364.

Shepard nodded. "Let's go get Garneau."

The med bay wound up being composed of a lot of windows and enclosed areas. A body lay on a gurney in one, clearly dead. They approached the window and looked inside.

"Is that Garneau?" Shepard asked reluctantly.

Hope not.

"If it is," Garrus said, "we came a long way for nothing."

Shepard sighed and looked at the ground, shaking his head.

"If you are looking for Garneau," came a voice from behind them, startling them, "then you have found him. I am Dr. Garneau."

The three turned to find a man inside the room across the hall, talking to them through the room's own window. The room was dark and quiet save for the man who appeared from the shadows. He looked ragged and had definitely seen better days, but staying here for very long would probably do that to anyone. Plus he'd been in an altercation in the mines, apparently.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance," Shepard said, stepping toward the window. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Garneau said slowly, looking down at the ground from where it bent over some kind of table. "Only, I'm trapped in here."

Trapped?

Well, anyone would feel trapped in this place. He must have locked himself in or something, Kaidan didn't know. Everything about this just screamed wrong. A chill crawled through him. He couldn't wait to leave this place.

"Bryson's research led me to you," Shepard said.

"Bryson sent you?" Garneau asked.

"He's dead, doctor," Shepard said regretfully. "Killed by his assistant."

Garneau nodded. "I see…"

"I need you to tell me everything you've found on the Leviathan. Bryson seemed to think it killed a Reaper."

"No. It's not here."

"What about the artifact you mentioned in your message?" Garrus asked.

"I did?" Garneau asked, sounding mildly confused.

Yeah. Definitely a bad feeling.

"Shepard, I don't like this," he said quietly.

Shepard nodded. "Yes," he said to Garneau. "You did. But now we've got Reaper forces attacking, so I need to break you out."

I don't know about this…

"We can grab the artifact and go."

"Reapers…" Garneau murmured. "The darkness… must not be breached."

Kaidan's spine stiffened because that was familiar.

What?

"The… darkness?" Shepard asked, frowning in confusion.

Garneau suddenly lunged forward, punching a fist against the glass, causing Kaidan to take a quick step back. "Why do you pursue me?"

Okay, that's definitely not Garneau.

"Shepard, we need to get out of here," he said, grabbing the commander's shoulder.

Shepard shrugged him off, gaze focused on the man behind the glass. "Doctor?"

"That's not Garneau," Kaidan said. "We need to go."

It might have been Garneau but not anymore, not that voice. Not that… feeling. Surely you feel it too, as a biotic?

Then again Shepard wasn't using his biotics lately, on orders from Chakwas not to. Perhaps he didn't feel it. Or maybe he did, and he didn't care.

Finish the job, not matter the cost.

The person – Garneau still? – slammed an open palm against the glass and a bit of began to crack. "The artifact. You will not take what is mine."

"That's not Garneau," Kaidan said again.

Shepard nodded. "You. You killed a Reaper. I need your help." He stepped toward the glass even as Kaidan growled under his breath.

"You bring only death."

The window exploded, a loud, shrill noise ringing through the air, deafening in its wake. Shepard was thrown back from the blast while Kaidan and Garrus were far enough away they simply staggered, bringing their hands up to cover their ears. Shepard got to his feet before Kaidan could ask if he was okay, and chased after Garneau, who jumped out of the room and ran down the hallway.

Great. I knew this was trouble!

"We need to get to that artifact before he does!"

"He said it was in the mines."

They went through a lot of trouble to get to the mines. Three more mutated asari showed up, the banshees as they'd been dubbed. Reaper forces were nearly overwhelming, involving ravagers, husks, cannibals, etc. By the time it was over Kaidan was completely out of ammo and down to using biotics only.

The commander stayed with the repair drone as it fixed the power so they could even get into the mines. Eventually he ran out of ammo as well, though, as two ravagers approached, both firing at them and the repair drone which was already running on reserve power and losing strength rapidly.

Shepard used a biotic charge and slammed into the ravagers, quickly using a nova which killed one of them. He used another biotic charge to take out the second one even as Kaidan growled at him from where he knelt behind cover.

"The Doc said not to use biotics," he said.

Shepard shrugged somewhat breathlessly. "Yeah, well, desperate times. Is the drone finished?"

"Yes, the door should be open now," Garrus said.

More Reaper forces landed.

"Well, let's get there, then!"

They hurried across the battlefield back toward the door they'd tried opening earlier. This time it opened and they quickly ran inside, closing it behind them.

More Reaper forces remained inside and they still didn't have any damn ammo.

The enemies were focused on Garneau, though, had his back against a pile of rubble, detonator in hand. He looked over at them and pressed the button.

"Get down!" Shepard snapped, and something firm and solid slammed into Kaidan, knocking him into the ground.

It was a minute before the ringing in his ears stopped and before the dust settled, literally, and he could see anything at all. Shepard was next to him on the ground, groaning as he pushed himself to his feet, having all but tackled the sentinel as the bomb went off.

The Reaper forces were gone… but so was Garneau, and whatever information he had. One of the artifacts had been in the rubble behind him, and now it, too, was gone.

Damn it.

But at least everyone was okay. That was something, at least.

Shepard approached the rubble, seeing if anything was still intact, while Garrus moved toward a dead body on the ground. Human, but it looked like it had been there a while. Not from the explosion, then.

Garrus rolled the body over and found it was laying on a data pad which was held in the man's dying grip. He pried it from the man's fingers and read it.

"Shepard," he said, "you need to see this."

Shepard walked toward them from the rubble. "What have you got?"

"That wasn't Garneau," Garrus said quietly, looking down at the body. "This is."

Kaidan frowned.

"Looks like he's been dead for a while."

"So…" Shepard said slowly. "Leviathan can have Bryson killed, take over this colony, and he can use them as puppets."

"Great," Kaidan muttered.

Shepard shook his head. "Anything else useful?"

"Looks like some encrypted data. Eight missed calls from a Dr. Ann Bryson."

"Ann Bryson?" Shepard asked, sharing a look with Kaidan.

"Isn't that Bryson's daughter?" he asked.

The sound of movement could be heard behind them. Kaidan spun, gun drawn even though he was out of ammo, but he relaxed when he saw it was only the people from earlier, except now their eyes were more bright. They appeared mostly confused.

Whatever hold Leviathan had on them seemed to have been broken.

"Who are you?" asked a human female. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Commander Shepard. Are you all right?" He walked toward the group, Kaidan and Garrus behind him.

"I think so," she said quietly. "I feel like… I feel strange, but… all right."

"Do you recognize this man?" Shepard asked, gesturing at Garneau's body.

"I have never seen him before in my life," the woman said, and Kaidan believed her. It was hard to fake that kind of confusion.

"Someone here killed him," Shepard said.

"Someone… here?" asked the asari. "How is that possible?"

"That artifact. Do you know where it came from?"

"It came out of the mines," said the man. "Right. Head Office was supposed to send someone. That's about all I can…"

Remember.

"Can you tell me anything about what happened to you?"

"Not really," said the human female. "I, uh… remember… it just seemed cold. I remember a feeling… Cold and dark."

Shepard and Kaidan shared looked.

Hadley said that too.

"Cortez," Shepard said into the comm link, "what's your situation? Can you bring the shuttle?"

"Affirmative," Cortez replied. "Strangest thing. Couple of minutes ago, the Reaper forces broke off and left."

Yeah. That is strange.

"Reaper," said the human guy, frowning. "What's a… Reaper?"

What's a…? Are you kidding me?

They shared looked again. Shepard frowned and stepped toward them, voice losing its edge as he spoke next, quietly this time. "What year do you think this is?"

What kind of question is…?

"2176," the asari replied, frowning at him.

What?

"Holy shit," Kaidan muttered.

That's a lot of time to lose.

"2176 was ten years ago," Shepard said quietly.

These people are in for a hell of a shock.

A/N: And there's that leviathan of a chapter XD hehe pardon my humor. Anyway, hope it sounds okay! Thanks for reading and please review!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~