I've changed my name, and it's been three years.

Let's get to it.


"Less than a minute before we enter the Yangtze system Commander. Here's hoping we're not waiting too long for the Warsaw..."

Shepard grunted his acknowledgement to the flight lieutenant's statement - his left hand reflexively balling itself into a fist as he watched the skilled pilot deftly tap away at the Normandy's controls. Although the commander had journeyed to practically every corner of the known galaxy throughout his career, FTL jumps always made him nervous.

As the telltale azure glow began to fade from Shepard's vision, and the Normandy lurched into the Yangtze system, the human titan let out a small sigh of relief.

The Normandy continued to sail through the inky void of space for a few moments before Joker worriedly commented what his readings were currently showing:

"Uhh, Commander? We've got a problem."

"What is it, Joker?"

Joker double checked the instruments in front of him before slowly turning his chair round to face Shepard, "The Warsaw's not here. And, I'm picking multiple unknown ships in the system. They haven't picked us up yet, but they're in a holding pattern close to Binthu's orbit. There's something else too: an encrypted Alliance transmission's being tight-beamed from a local comm buoy, but I can't decipher it."

The commander was perplexed for a moment, before activating his omni-tool and giving his orders: "Pressly, I need you up on the bridge immediately."

The XO's response was immediate, "Aye, sir."

As soon as the comms were disconnected, the commander addressed his pilot: "Activate the stealth drive and bring us in slowly Joker. Let's see what the hell's going on."

"Aye aye, Commander."

A few moments later and the elderly executive officer of the Normandy stood alongside Shepard, facing out the same view port into the empty void surrounding them.

"What's the situation, Commander?"

Shepard grunted nonchalantly, his arms folded across his chest as he inclined his head towards Joker's station, "The Warsaw's not in system and we've got unidentified vessels between us and Binthu. Joker's taking us in fast and quiet, but he's spotted an encrypted transmission on an Alliance channel. Help him decipher it as quickly as you can; this situation's going from bad to fucking worse by the minute."

The elderly officer nodded his head quickly before taking a position in the co-pilot's chair, "Send me the relevant data Helmsman, I'll get to the bottom of it."

Joker gave a wry grin as his fingers danced across the Normandy's haptic interface, "Let's see if the old dog remembers some tricks..."

Pressly gave a small smile as his eyes began to glean any information from the random assortment of information that flooded his screen; his fingers began tapping away incessantly and his omni-tool sprang to life before a strange warble began to emanate in the cockpit.

Shepard looked on in amazement, his praise evident in his eyes as the navigation officer began to slowly create some semblance of useful information out of the random junk Joker had found.

Within minutes Pressly leaned back in his chair, and with a triumphant smirk, pressed a single button on his haptic keyboard - the tone becoming hushed as a voice began to echo:

"This is an emergency transmission for Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy from Captain Ranjetta of the SSV Warsaw. I'm sending this out as a warning to not approach the planet Binthu. Several hostile unidentified vessels entered the Yangtze system unexpectedly as we awaited contact. Colonel Benstead of the 113th had already deployed a recon detachment of his forces to establish a foothold for your arrival on the planet's surface, but I made the executive decision as captain of the Warsaw to retreat in the presence of an overwhelming enemy force. I have already requested immediate assistance from the nearest Systems Alliance fleet; we rabbited out as quickly as we could. I say again do not approach Binthu, Commander. Support is coming and we'll drive the bastards out before rescuing Benstead's soldiers. Stay safe, and God speed."

A silenced hush fell across the cockpit in the wake of the ominous warning, with the steady hum of the ship's engines serving as the only discernible background noise.

Before the commander could comment on what had rapidly devolved into what could only be classed as 'an absolute shit show', the Normandy's comms systems suddenly blared to life. Joker sprang into action as quickly as he could:

"We've got a distress signal coming from Binthu, Commander! Looks like Colonel Benstead's soldiers aren't alone down there."

"Put it through Joker."

Shepard's face contorted into a grimace as the sounds of a fierce battle raged in the transmission's background; the memory of the transmission from Eden Prime's distress signal slammed into the forefront of his mind, allowing the grotesque, violent and disturbing images of the Prothean beacon to linger like a bad smell.

"This is Lieutenant Carson of 3rd platoon! We're pinned down by heavy fire-" an explosion rang in the background as heavy, ragged breaths punctuated the tired soldier's pleas: "To any Alliance forces, we need immediate assistance! The Captain's doing everything she can but we're screwed if we don't get outta here quickly! The Warsaw's bugged out and we're on our own. Please, God, someone come and save us... I don't want to di-" A shot rang out and the voice abruptly stopped.

Joker lowered his head in respect to the fallen soldier as Pressly shook his head.

The commander had known there'd be casualties. Death held no more mystery for the marine any longer, but hearing the final pleas of someone who had more of their life to live still caused a small sliver of his being to regret his decision to ever join the military.

It was XO Pressly that spoke first, his tone hushed but firm. The older man already knew what the commander was going to say, damn what Captain Ranjetta said. But the words spilled forth regardless:

"What are your orders, Commander?"

Both of his subordinates looked to their commander, willing him to make the right decision. The decision that would let them sleep easier at night.

Shepard rolled his shoulders unconsciously, his neck giving a slight pop as he did so, "Take us in Joker, fast and quiet. I don't want those ships knowing we're anywhere near Binthu before it's too late. Get us in, drop us off at that signal's location, and bug out." Before the pilot could protest at his superior's orders, Shepard continued, "Try and blow any of those bastards out of the sky as you're leaving too. Find the Warsaw and the fleet he's bringing. Then rain down as much fire as you can physically bring. I don't want any of those fuckers leaving."

Joker lightly slammed the seat of his chair with his fist, before turning back to his controls, "That's what I'm talking about! Here comes the fucking cavalry!"

The commander began to walk back towards the CIC, Pressly in tow: "Sound the battle stations Pressly. I want every member of the ground team suited and booted in less than five. Tell Rohan to get his people ready - I might need more than just the ground team for this one. Notify Alenko too that I want the rest of the marines ready to drop at a separate LZ if needed. It might have to be all hands on deck for this one."

Pressly wiped away a sudden tear from his eye as the gravity of the situation began to settle in and the passion he felt began to charge his movements. With a crisp salute, the navigation officer wordlessly left his stoic commanding officer, before barking out orders to his subordinates on the bridge.

Shepard stood within the elevator as it began to slowly descend, before a random thought emerged:

Maybe this would be another defining moment in his life. Maybe this would be where he could prove he wasn't a heartless maniac that threw away lives on Torfan for nothing. Maybe the stigma of being a maniac could be replaced with something else after this.

Maybe he could right another wrong in this galaxy.

But to right this wrong, he'd have to bend the rules again, and the thought of what he was about to do next sent a shiver down his spine and made his gut churn furiously.


The Normandy's cargo bay was a hive of frenetic activity.

As the warship began its descent to the planet's surface, various technicians, marines and engineers were carrying out their tasks as quickly as they could manage. The Mako was currently being prepped in case it was needed for a secondary insertion by the rest of the marines. The Devil Jumpers were double checking their equipment alongside the marines in the eventuality that they would be deployed as well, constituting a secondary fighting force.

Shepard's features softened slightly as he regarded the members of his ground team who were currently nearby, awaiting their briefing.

With a quick whistle, the ground team began to assemble.

Once everyone was present, the commander beckoned over the nearby quartermaster, "I'm authorizing the use of every available heavy weapon we have on board. Make sure every squad has a heavy weapons specialist, and make sure they're properly equipped. I'm going to need the black box that I first brought aboard too."

"The black box? But sir, you said there needs to be authorization from Alliance comm-"

Shepard stared at his subordinate with an icy gaze, his voice holding a razor like tone , "Get me the black box, Corporal. On the double."

The quartermaster swallowed hard before giving a shaky salute, "A-Aye aye sir!"

As the younger human ran off to get the commander's requested item, Gunny Williams addressed them first: "What's in the box, Skip?."

Kaidan immediately realized something that the rest of the squad wasn't privy too. With a side-wards glance, the human lieutenant slowly shook his head, "You're gonna get into a lot of shit for this Commander, if it's what I think it is."

The alien members of the squad were simply perplexed at this point. Garrus was about to ask what in the spirit's name was going on, but the human corporal had returned with a large, heavy-looking black box.

With an all-too-quick salute, the corporal deposited the box before hurrying off, performing the rest of their tasks before the Normandy hit planet-side.

Without any form of ceremony, the commander lugged the box onto a nearby work bench before inputting his personal access codes.

With a slight whine and a hiss, the box's seals were released and the lid of the container was slowly opened.

The various members of the ground team were curious, but respected their commander too much to be crowding him as he turned to face them, a small rectangular box in between his fingers as he did.

"If you haven't already guessed by now, this isn't going to be a simple in-and-out mission with support from the 113th."

Wrex grunted before poking a stubby finger towards the small rectangular box the commander was holding, surprise and what looked like mild disgust appearing on the battlemaster's scarred face, "No shit, Shepard. But does it really warrant using that stuff? It's outlawed in Citadel and Alliance space for a reason."

Everyone else had picked up on the tension that had begun to brew between the two veterans, before Garrus chipped in as well, "Boss, I really hope that's not what I think it is..."

Tali's hands were at her waist again as she began to view each and everyone of the ground team member's faces shift from a sense of surprise, disgust, and shock.

She asked the question that was plaguing her mind; the question that everyone already seemed to know the answer to but refused to tell her, "What is that you're holding Captain?"

Shepard gave a small grimace, as if the soft metallic tone of the Quarian's voice punctured his stoic demeanor more so than it should have done. With a sigh, the human titan gave his explanation, "These are polonium coated, harpoon ammo blocks. They're extremely rare, and only the Batarian Hegemony have ever sanctioned their use."

At the word 'Batarian', Tali gave an involuntary snarl - catching her actions quicker than everyone else, she quickly corrected herself and continued listening to the commander's explanation.

"The Warsaw had to bug out of the system after numerous unidentified vessels entered. Whoever they are, they're not friendly. And my money's on this 'Cerberus' being a bigger problem than we first thought. The 113th sent down a recon detachment to create a foothold for us, but they're getting slaughtered down there. Now I don't want to have to bury anyone else, or write another fucking letter explaining to someone's family that they died because I chose not to do something about it. So, this is the deal I've made with the devil, and I'll be the one who pays it. None of you are under any orders to use these. I wouldn't force that on you. But, if you want to use them, they're here."

To punctuate his statement the commander drew his rifle, before removing the standard issue ammo block and replacing it with the smaller, denser onyx block.

"The Batarians have taken a lot of things away from me, but I would be a fool to not recognise they can make some devastating weapons. I want our people to make it out of this, and to go home. I want these soldiers who didn't sign up for this shit, to go home to their families." A small hitch in Shepard's voice permeated the group as he ended his explanation, "I've got too much blood on my hands to pretend I'm a moral paragon of humanity. I'm a soldier. And killing's what I'm good at."

As silence reigned throughout the group, the Normandy lurched into Binthu's atmosphere, with Joker's voice ringing out over the ship-wide comms, "Coming up on the first drop in less than five, Commander. There seems to be some light aircraft in the airspace surrounding the signal's origin. What are your orders?"

Shepard activated his omni-tool before stowing his rifle on his back, "Have the gunnery stations prepped. Give them a salvo and drop us off. We need to move hard, and fast."

"Aye aye Commander."

As the comms cut out, the largest human marine among the ground team placed a helmet upon his head, before the seals hissed to confirm the hard-suit was completely secure. A slightly tinny voice echoed from the commander as he began to adjust his equipment, "Everybody take a full load-out of weapons for this one. Unless specified, I want assault rifle's equipped primarily throughout the mission."

Before the commander could say anything else, the least likely member of the ground team stepped towards the box of weapon mods and drew their assault rifle. Liara gave a quick nod to Shepard as she deftly inserted the ammo block before taking a position next to him. Her words were oddly calm and serene concerning the gravity of the situation, "We shall get this done Commander. By any means necessary. And whatever is in store for us in the next life... That is a problem for another day. Today, we do what needs to be done."

Wrex eyed the box wearily before withdrawing an onyx ammo block, "There's no honour in this Shepard. But... Sometimes we have to do what's necessary, not what's right."

After a slight moment, Kaidan grabbed an ammo block too before standing alongside his commander, "After all the shit I've seen and done... You better save me a space at the bar before the Devil knows where we are."

Shepard gave a slight chuckle before Garrus smiled mirthlessly, "As you humans like to say, 'fuck it'. I've never been a good Turian anyway. I've learnt that sometimes you need to bend the rules to get the job done properly, and if the Spirits curse me for what I'm about to do, then I'll face them with honour in the next life."

Ashley gave a slight start as she fumbled with her ammo block, "The brass are gonna fucking kill us if they find out Skipper... This stuff's illegal for a reason. We're gonna be committing war crimes."

Tali barked a menacing laugh as she slammed her ammo block into her rifle, her makeshift vertical grip having been moved to one side to make room, "Shepard's a Spectre. Your Alliance can't say anything about his methods after everything he's done for them." The young Quarian peered upwards towards her impassive saviour as she nodded, "We're your team Captain. We'll share this burden with you."

Gunny nodded approvingly as she took her place at Kaidan's side, her rifle cradled in her arms as the Normandy's cargo bay door's slowly opened, a grimace on her face as she viewed the approaching drop zone. A war torn battlefield awaited them and the horrors had only just begun.

The Normandy shook with force as her gunnery fired a salvo at an incoming Kodiak dropship, creating a fiery explosion in the distance.

Over the din of the explosions, Ashley could hear a small voice that brought a tear to her eye and caused a brief flicker of a smile to appear on her face. The words were poignant, and for all of the myths and legends surrounding one of the Alliance's most prominent heroes, it was in this moment she looked upon her fellow ground team members and saw a family that would burden unspeakable horrors for their commander; the head of their family.

A family brought together through conflict. A family that would fight, bleed and die if needs be for one another.

"'Beyond this place of wrath and tears, Looms but the Horror of the shade. And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me, unafraid'".

It was only after their initial insertion and the Gunny's rifle barking a short burst at an unsuspecting trooper caught unaware of the new force they would have to contend with that she realized the gravity of her decision. As the ground team began their systematic execution of the hostile force, it was only after the screams of the first soldier the Gunny had shot had reached an unbearable pitch, and the encroaching poison had fully spread throughout his nervous system that Williams finally realized who had spoken on the ship.

A single tear rolled down her face as she fired another burst into the enemy soldier, wishing she was back home with her family, reading Tennyson to her mother in the dying embers of a summers day.


"You can always rely on the marines to know how to make an entrance!"

A somewhat subdued roar emerged from the rocky outcropping the remnants of one of the 113th's platoons inhabited. Shepard waved his hand in acknowledgement to the compliment, but the joy of seeing the soldiers alive and well merely caused his gut to churn furiously once again.

After their initial insertion, the enemy force assaulting third platoon's position was taken completely unaware from behind. A platoon's worth of soldiers were mercilessly wiped out as the beleaguered defenders realized aid had finally come for them. Various bodies littered the lime plains of Binthu; some with regular projectile wounds, others with blood pouring from various orifices, a sickly green intermingling with crimson as the lifeless eyes stared accusingly at the various members of the ground team who had perpetuated unthinkable crimes against them.

A lithe woman leapt down from a ledge, a limp apparent as she hobbled towards the commander, "You must be the famous Commander! We might be a different branch of the Systems Alliance, but we've heard the stories too. They don't seem to do you any justice though: I might just be able to get back to Earth and see my kids again." An outstretched, gauntleted hand punctuated the soldier's praise.

Shepard met the offered hand and shook it firmly, "I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner. We came as soon as we received your distress signal."

The female soldier barked out a laugh before her breathing became rattled from the effort, "Looks like Lieutenant Carson's last ditch attempt worked then."

Shepard motioned for the soldier to take a seat before addressing his team, "Fan out and maintain a perimeter. I don't wanna get jumped by these bastards."

Garrus nodded his head approvingly before taking Liara and Tali with him to one side, and Kaidan took Williams and Wrex to another.

Deleon viewed the scene with some amazement as she turned her attention to Shepard once more, "Got aliens taking orders from you too huh? The Captain's gonna get a laugh out of this when I tell her. If, I tell her that is..."

Shepard shook his head slowly before regarding the injured soldier, "They're members of my team. I'd die for them if needs be; they've earned that right."

Deleon raised her hands in surrender before quickly following up her previous statement, "I think you've misunderstood my meaning sir. My wife's an Asari. My kids are Asari. I've got nothing against aliens. Neither does the Cap."

Shepard grunted in acknowledgement before surveying the scene before them, "So what's the situation? How bad is it?"

The injured soldier gave a similar grunt in pain as she readjusted herself against the rock she was currently leaning against, "As bad as bad can be. Colonel Benstead sent down a company of soldiers to get you jarheads a foothold. We didn't expect this type of resistance, or, hell, any resistance for that matter. It was supposed to be a simple op - the marines do the heavy lifting, and we provide support where it's needed. And now my platoon leaders dead, alongside half of the platoon and I'm the highest ranking army grunt left among the living here."

Shepard peered behind him as he noticed a body slumped against a particularly oddly shaped rocky outcropping, "I'm taking it that's Lieutenant Carson? He's the one who sent the distress signal?"

Deleon closed her eyes before a shaky breath emphasized her response, "The enemy's using some kind of jamming software - as soon as we hit planet side the comms started bugging out. Cap told us to take out whatever was jamming us. She managed to hack their comms and find piggyback on them to find the location of a comms bunker. But we were ambushed. What you see here is what's left of the strike force. Anyway, the Cap jerry-rigged some communicators out of some spare Mako transmitters we had. They use a different frequency to the one that's being jammed right now, but the problem is we needed some elevation to get the damn things working properly. Carson volunteered to send the distress signal out before a sniper clipped him. Poor kid. He was as green as grass and didn't even shave yet. I don't envy the Captain having to write that particular letter home."

Shepard clenched his fist involuntarily as he growled through gritted teeth, "No one enjoys doing it. I should have been here sooner."

Deleon endured another coughing fit before appraising the human titan next to her, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here feeling sorry for myself. So with all due respect, let the dead rest. Don't let Carson's body lay on your conscience. It's not your fault he's dead. We need to keep moving, work out what the fuck to do next." Shepard turned to face the injured woman next to him before allowing a small smile to split his lips. Deleon noticed the informality almost immediately before finishing her statement, "sir."

The commander offered a hand down to the soldier next to him; Deleon gratefully accepted and was soon facing the Alliance's poster boy. Without wasting any time, Shepard began to address the situation, "We need to get this jamming signal taken out, and we need to find a more defensible position than here - the Alliance is coming, but we need to make sure we can hold out til then."

Deleon nodded her head as the commander began to pace, "We'll join you to hit the comms station. Once I've established contact with whoever else is out there, we'll rally with you. I'm sure the Cap will have something to say about it, but she'll recognize the importance of it. Hell, she's an N7 same as you. The only one in this entire battalion that warrants the crap coming her way."

Chris' eyebrows shot up in surprise at the statement, before his mind kicked in to overdrive, "An N7? Since when did the army have N7's in their ranks?"

"I don't know sir, nor do I care to ask. She's the toughest bitch I've ever met so when she tells me to jump, I ask politely 'how high ma'am?'"

The commander barked out a short laugh before turning to face Carson's corpse, "If she's an N7, then I can guarantee she's not dead - and whoever's with her's still giving the enemy hell." After a brief moment, Shepard located the makeshift comms device before returning to the sergeant. With a quick hand signal, a small, lithe Quarian appeared at his side momentarily. It was purely on instinct now that he knew Tali would be watching what was going on for some reason.

The human titan proffered the makeshift device to his tech savant, "Can you trace where the rest of the recon detachment is with this Tali? If we can triangulate an ori-"

The Quarian engineer took the device in one hand before her omni-tool was suddenly aglow. After a brief moment, where a few choice curse words were uttered through her voice emitter, the young woman handed the device back to the sergeant.

"Done. I've got the co-ordinates."

Deleon looked between the two for a second before barking out a laugh. Some of the nearby soldiers laughed as well, the joke clearly not landing with the marines.

Garrus was suddenly there, his rifle cradled in his arms almost dangerously, "What's so funny?"

Deleon sputtered out another laugh before pointing at Tali, "The Captain's gonna love this one! Almost as good with tech as she is, and that's saying something!"

Shepard had a bemused smirk underneath his helmet as Garrus calmed down as suddenly as his rage had peaked, "You humans are so strange. You'll laugh about anything..."

Deleon offered a hand signal before addressing the rest of her platoon, "Get your asses up! We're moving out. If you're able to walk, help those that can't. If you can't walk, you best get dragging yourself along the ground. We're gonna live to see another day people!"

Shepard rallied his own ground team before addressing them alongside Sergeant Deleon, "A small strike force should be enough to take out the comms bunker - send me the co-ordinates and I'll see it gets done." At this, the injured soldier began to protest before recognizing the futility of the action. With a silent gesture, the commander's omni-tool lit up with the required information.

Chris smiled briefly behind his helmet before continuing, "I'll be taking point for the bunker. Wrex, I need you with me for this one."

Wrex's head merely nodded in understanding, his assault rifle shifting uneasily in his hands as if it were alive and unpleasant to hold.

Tali was about to protest before Shepard cut her off, "Deleon's force will be an easy target as they make there way back to their CO - I need the rest of you to make sure they get there safely. Help out this captain with whatever they need. Once Wrex and I have knocked out the jamming signal, we'll rendezvous and find a defensible position to wait for the Alliance to show up. Understood?"

A round of acknowledgements met his ears, and the commander simply nodded, a small twinge of pride warming him as he noticed how efficient his team had become under his leadership.

As Wrex and Shepard began to split off from the main group, he couldn't help but feel curious about this captain. A fellow N7 who appeared to be as much a technical savant as Tali? Something wasn't right, but he wasn't sure yet what it was...


The smell of blood permeated the air as the two warriors took a moment to gather themselves.

Within the large laboratory that constituted one of the many levels of the Cerberus base, Shepard's brain began to finally piece together what had happened since leaving the larger detachment of soldiers earlier.

With a heavy sigh, the human titan kicked aside the corpse of one of the many Rachni warriors that had spilled forth after being released by the Cerberus scientists. The fighting had been bloody and tiring; numerous human corpses littered the room, some fresh, and some who had become unfortunate foodstuffs for the various beasts Cerberus had been analyzing.

The commander crouched down next to a specific corpse, a higher level operative if he had to guess; foam trickled down the side of his mouth as his lifeless eyes peered upwards. A small gap could be seen in the bottom row of his teeth and Shepard swore silently.

Whatever 'Cerberus' was, it didn't seem to care about the cost of the lives it was sacrificing.

Peering around the room, Shepard spotted Wrex rummaging through a few Cerberus scientists belongings - the Krogan Battlemaster's armour was pockmarked with various holes, and there were numerous orange leaks appearing already; Chris already knew though, the wounds would be little more than flea bites to the huge Krogan.

Shepard's own wounds however, were nowhere near as insignificant. A Rachni warrior had pierced his side in the initial attack, and the bombardment of mass effect rounds from the Cerberus soldiers had nearly instantaneously shattered his shields. Luckily, Wrex had noticed this and taken the brunt of the attack, leaving the human juggernaut time to recuperate enough before joining in the slaughter.

And a slaughter it was. The polonium harpoon rounds pierced the armour of enemy soldiers like they were wearing cardboard. The ammunition type was unique in the sense that as soon as it pierced the armour, it fragmented, causing heavy internal damage, whilst also distributing a payload of toxic polonium, attacking the target's nervous system systematically.

Although their enemies were numerous, they were severely outclassed by the two Normandy veterans. As they had journeyed further into what was first believed to be a simple communications bunker, the reality of the situation had become apparent.

Cerberus was far better equipped than most mercenary companies, and also had murkier ethics.

Shepard gave another sigh before journeying to the center of the room where a solitary chair lay in a confined environment. Within the closed environment there were numerous Rachni warrior corpses, and the body of Rear Admiral Kahoku. His Alliance uniform remained pristine, even in his undignified death. At first Shepard had assumed it was the Rachni that had dispatched the admiral, but it soon became apparent there were injection marks on the side of his neck. Cerberus' goals were certainly beyond Shepard's current understanding.

"Maybe that's why the brass were worried about Cerberus... They seemed to have enough influence and sway to have you executed Admiral..."

"Who are you talking to Shepard?"

Wrex's booming voice startled the marine as he turned to face the lumbering Krogan, "I was just muttering to myself. Cerberus is unlike any enemy I've ever seen before..."

Wrex gave a grunt before kicking a dead soldier nonchalantly, "You humans may be new to the galaxy compared to the rest of us, but every fight against you is certainly interesting. These weren't warriors though. They didn't fight as if their lives depended on it. They fought because they were told to."

Something clicked in Shepard's mind as the Krogan finished off, giving another unceremonious kick to the fallen corpse.

The soldiers they'd faced were certainly well equipped, but Wrex was right: in every engagement, it was almost as if the soldiers were trying to delay the two juggernauts advance rather than outright kill them. Shepard had even let a few scientists escape in the initial engagement; thinking they were non-combatants that didn't deserve the fate the polonium rounds had in store for them.

With swift movements, the commander bounded across the room before coming to a console. After a few command overrides were inputted and what felt like an eternity later, the console confirmed Shepard's suspicions.

The Cerberus forces were fleeing. An evacuation order had already been given. They weren't trying to destroy any form of resistance on the planet - they were bugging out. The ships residing in Binthu's orbit... They weren't an attack fleet. They were there for evacuation efforts.

With a stream of curse words pouring out of his mouth the commander slammed his fist into the desk the console resided upon.

All of this death, all of this destruction. Carson, the recon soldiers, Admiral Kahoku... None of it made any sense. Why would Cerberus practically declare war upon the Alliance? What was the entire reason behind it?

With a shaky sigh, Shepard straightened his posture before regarding his Krogan teammate, "Let's disable this jamming signal Wrex. I can't wait to get off this planet already."

Wrex cocked his head before pointing towards a doorway at the end of the hall, "The pyjaks went this way. If we're quick, we can catch them and get some answers out of them."

Shepard spat on the ground, his helmet hanging by his waist as soon as he'd entered the base, "There's not much point. Cerberus wasn't here to attack the Alliance, Wrex. I think Admiral Kahoku's stumbled onto something he shouldn't have done, and a lot of people have died because of it. The unidentified vessels in Binthu's orbit? I'd bet you every last credit I have to my name they're here to evacuate this base and whatever research was conducted here. We already know they were experimenting with the Rachni... How'd they even get them here anyway? I thought the queen on Noveria would have been smart enough not to get caught a second time?"

Wrex smiled maliciously as he pointed a finger at Shepard, "I warned you, Shepard. The Rachni are not to be trusted. We should have killed their queen on Noveria when we had the chance. Now, when they rise up again to spread across the galaxy we're gonna have another enemy to deal with."

The commander kicked the corpse of a Rachni warrior, a satisfying thud echoing in the room, "How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?! I wasn't prepared to commit genocide! I don't know why the Rachni are here, or what Cerberus is up to! This whole mission's fucked!"

Wrex stared at the human titan for a moment before responding, his gravelly tone low, "You made the decision Shepard. And when the time comes, you'll have to be held responsible for it."

Shepard glared at the Krogan in front of him, his hand reflexively balling into a fist, "I've made a lot of decisions Wrex, and I've lived with every one of them. I made the right call on Noveria."

Wrex appraised the human before spitting his own glob of phlegm on the floor, "We'll see. Let's find that jamming signal."


The duo didn't have to journey far to find a console that could lift the comms lockdown, and as soon as they had, Tali's voice had emanated in the room:

"Captain? Shepard? Are you there?"

With his omni-tool aglow, Shepard leant against a pillar before responding, "I'm here Tali. What's the situation?"

What could only be described as relief was apparent in Tali's sigh as she quickly informed the human titan of what had happened, "We reached the Captain's position with the rest of Sergeant Deleon's platoon. They welcomed us and allowed us to rest for a moment before another push by Cerberus' forces caused us to assist them in their defence. These mods... Keelah Shepard... No wonder they're illegal. The human captain was livid when she saw what we were using, but Kaidan explained their necessity."

Shepard flinched at the description of the mods, his stomach roiling at the thought of him being no better than a Batarian slaver for using them. Tali simply continued, Shepard's uneasiness not being made apparent:

"We helped secure their wounded and retreated to a more defensible position. Whatever armoured vehicles they had remaining were only fit for the scrap heap, but the Captain and I got them working again. We held Cerberus off again: Liara's suffering from some burns to her legs and Garrus has taken a bullet to his side. Ashley and Kaidan seem okay; only minor cuts and bruises but Ashley's been sick on more than one occasion. I'm not too sure why though..."

Shepard felt a small tear roll down his face as he immediately understood the reasoning - Shepard had asked more of them than he had any right too, and Ashley was a through and through soldier; the prospect of killing your enemy like they had...

The commander tried to squash those feelings, the logic of necessity trying to bludgeon his roiling stomach into control.

"When Cerberus' assault lessened, we consolidated our forces and began to push back. The strangest thing happened though: Cerberus didn't try and fight back. It was like they were running for some reason."

Shepard cleared his throat before answering the unspoken question, "There was an evacuation order issued. We encountered the same thing."

Silence reigned for a moment, before Tali continued, "The Captain said the same thing. Said it was the logical thing for them to do. She also said it looked like they'd been employing delaying tactics rather than trying to overtly destroy us."

"That would be her N7 training kicking in then. She's right - they were trying to delay us too. Something happened here, and they left as soon as they got it."

"Speaking of the Captain... She's requested she meet you as soon as she can. In fact, we're currently in transit to your position."

Shepard bolted upright at this statement, his mind clouding over in confusion as he motioned Wrex to join him at the exit.

As they continued moving back the way they had come through the base, the commander continued his conversation with Tali, "What's your ETA?"

"My what?"

With a grunt of annoyance, Shepard began to lightly jog to the exit, "How long are you going to be?"

"Oh! Why didn't you just say that? We'll be with you shortly. The Captain's currently driving a Mako... I have to admit, she's a better driver than you Captain."

"Stow it, Princess. I'll see you shortly, Shepard out."

Shepard disconnected the comms before drawing up towards the entrance of the facility. The entrance that he and Wrex had breached only a short time ago. With their helmets reequipped, the two stepped out onto the cracked plains of Binthu.

In the distance a rumbling convoy could be heard; a trail emanating from behind as the wheel's churned its dusty surface.

Wrex began to analyse the spoils he'd retrieved from his fallen enemies, whilst Shepard's comm pinged into life - Joker's voice emanated within his helmet, "Commander? Do you read me?"

"I read you Joker, what's your status?"

"Cavalry's arrived, sir, but it looks like it was all for nothing... Those vessels in Binthu's orbit have rabbited out of the system."

"Cerberus wasn't here to attack the Warsaw, they were here to evacuate this facility. They got whatever they needed and left. But not before inflicting heavy casualties - Rear Admiral Kahoku being among them."

"Say again Commander? I think I misheard you. Rear Admiral Kahoku's dead?"

"You didn't mishear me. He's dead, and so are a lot of good soldiers."

A muttering echo could be heard before Joker sighed, "I'll pass it up the chain. We're inbound to your position for extraction. Hold tight, Commander."

Shepard muttered his response as the head of the armoured convoy began to pull up, "Copy that, Joker. Shepard, out."

As the convoy halted, a lithe suited figure emerged from the lead Mako, with an armoured Turian following quickly behind.

It was Garrus that spoke first, "You look like shit old man. You too Boss."

Wrex shot the Turian a glance before smirking at him, "Better to look like shit than fight like a Turian."

Garrus chuckled as Tali approached her commander, "Are you okay, Captain?"

Chris stared into the distance for a long moment before acknowledging his Quarian teammate, "Not really Tali. Today's been a day of firsts that I would never want to repeat."

Tali noticed the apprehension and tension in his stance; nodding her head in acknowledgement, the Quarian moved to one side to allow the other passengers of the lead Mako to emerge.

Ashley came next, her armour battered and covered in dust - it was her eyes however, that unnerved Shepard the most. Her usually warm eyes were cold, hard, and distant.

Kaidan emerged afterwards with Liara's arm around his shoulder - her leg looked painful even to Wrex as the Battlemaster moved to help her down. Even though she was in immense pain, Liara maintained an air of grace about her; very similar to how her mother was in the brief time Shepard had met her.

The last figure to emerge from the Mako was the mysterious captain, her red and black stripe apparent on her armour as well as the insignia that proved she was one of the best humanity had to offer.

Shepard motioned them inside immediately, and once everyone was secure, the captain removed her helmet.

Crimson locks spilled forth from the helmet, and a beautiful face emerged. Emerald eyes, light freckles and pearly white teeth. Shepard noticed all of this, but the one feature that stood out from the rest was the large scar that sprawled down the left side of her face - from the top of her eyebrow down to her jawline.

For a brief second, time seemed to slow for the commander.

As he appraised his fellow N7 and he removed his own helmet, he felt like he was almost looking in a mirror. The way she held herself was identical to him; in size and stature, although smaller to himself, she seemed almost as large as he was, and the way she met his gaze coolly...

His breath hitched in his throat as the female captain addressed him, "I take it you're Commander Christopher Shepard? The Commander Shepard?"

Chris numbly nodded his head as she continued to speak, her tone soft, "Your Quarian teammate was telling me all about you as we journeyed here. My mom was right. You're here. And you're real. I've been searching for you for years..."

At the mention of her implication, Tali's hands began a frantic dance at her waist, but Shepard was too dumbfounded to say anything.

How did she know his first name?

The smaller N7 drew nearer before pulling the large titan in for a hug.

Chris merely stood still for a moment, before embracing the smaller woman.

He could feel her body racking with sobs as she softly whispered a statement that would change his live forever:

"My name's Captain Abigail Shepard. And I'm your little sister."