"So, what do you think?"
Commander Shepard blinked, the turian's voice bringing her from the twisted maze of her thoughts back to the crew deck of the SSV Normandy.
"I... don't know," she said honestly. "It's a lot to process."
"Of course." Nihlus Kryik nodded his head, understanding of her hesitation. Shepard had been wondering why a Council Spectre was on board for this supposedly routine assignment—now that she had her answer, she was more bewildered than ever. "Take your time."
"...I assume this is top-secret information," she said eventually.
"It is."
"Then why tell me?"
"Because, believe it or not, I value your input on this, Shepard. You're considered a hero among your people, is that right?"
"Some might say that," she admitted hesitantly. She had never liked people calling her a hero after she'd simply done what any good soldier would.
"Besides, you probably know him better than anyone. And I've never been one to turn down a second opinion, especially from someone better versed than me." Nihlus crossed his arms, leaning back to rest on the wall behind him. "Which brings us back to my original question: what do you think?"
Shepard shook her head slowly, looking down at her feet.
"It's my brother. Obviously, I'd be overjoyed to see him as a Spectre. I'd be overjoyed to see any human as a Spectre, regardless of my relation to them. God knows we've paid our dues." She hesitated, not sure how that last sentence came across to a turian. "But I can't assess if he's ready. That sounds more like a job for you."
"That doesn't help much."
"I'm sorry," Shepard said coldly. "I had no idea I was supposed to."
The turian sighed, resigned. "I'm not your enemy, Commander. I'm actually on your side here."
She nodded slowly, not fully convinced but also not so stupid as to argue further.
"So what's the assignment here?" She decided to just get to the point. The sooner, the better.
Nihlus held up a finger. "Not yet."
The door to the comm room opened automatically as someone approached it.
"David!" She smiled warmly at the sight of her brother. He'd changed a lot since she'd last seen him two years earlier, but there was still something comfortingly familiar about his appearance... Even though it didn't escape her notice that he'd lost some weight. More than was healthy.
She wanted nothing but to hug him, but this was a workplace. She settled for an eager handshake.
"Cassidy," he smiled back as he shook her hand. Looking to the turian with significantly less affection, "...Kryik."
"Ah, Commander Shepard." He sent a sideways glance at Cassidy, the other Commander Shepard in the room, but it didn't seem like there was any confusion. "You've made it here, good."
David raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised at the fairly ambiguous greeting. He'd always been more to the point, didn't like beating around the bush.
"Your sister and I were just... talking." The turian crossed his arms, leaning on the guardrail behind him.
"Really? What about?"
"Oh, various things. Politics, if you may."
Shepard didn't even pretend he believed his sister would ever engage in political debate.
"Is that so?"
"Well. The workings and dangers of this galaxy—some pointers and warnings, maybe."
Cassidy Shepard had to sweep back some of her red hair to keep it from falling into her eyes as she moved her head.
"Humanity hasn't been out here long," she said. "He knows more than you and I combined."
David nodded; that he could understand.
"Where's Captain Anderson?" He asked. "I was supposed to meet here with him, not you."
"He's coming," Nihlus assured him. "Don't worry."
As if on cue, the door once again opened, this time letting in—visibly more worn down than his younger namesake—David Anderson.
"I'm sorry I'm late," he said evenly. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."
"Not at all, sir," Cassidy was quick to reply. "It gave Officer Kryik and I some time to discuss the situation."
Anderson nodded, pleased. "That's good. Then I suppose this is the moment when we let the man himself in on the truth."
David knit his eyebrows.
"Which is?"
"This isn't any run-of-the-mill operation."
"That much is clear," he accepted that information quickly. "Keeping the stealth systems on at all times, suddenly assigning us to a prototype ship, not to mention the Council Spectre I keep bumping into wherever I go." He shot Nihlus a look. "No offense."
"I'd like to add upon that," Cassidy said. "I know why Nihlus is here, but that still doesn't explain all the secrecy surrounding the mission. I would have thought our rank raised us above a need-to-know basis."
Captain Anderson took a deep breath.
"Both good questions. Nihlus—Shall I answer or do you want to do it?"
"I think your words would mean more to them."
"Very well." Anderson put his hands behind his back, his gaze going between the twins until eventually resting upon Cassidy. "You were told we're going to Eden Prime for a shakedown run. The truth is, we're doing a covert pickup. The order came all the way up from the top—even I was kept in the dark until a few days ago."
"What are we picking up?" Cassidy asked.
"A research team from Eden Prime accidentally dug up a Prothean device—a beacon of some sort. Our unit was tasked with bringing it to the Citadel for study."
"That's not it. There's more," David said.
The other three silently exchanged glances.
"David—"
Nihlus interrupted Cassidy before she got the chance to start a thought.
"Please, Shepard. Let me." He cleared his throat. "I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, coming from a turian, but... Here's the truth. Humans are a young species. You're still evolving, growing. Personally, I see a lot of potential in your people, but most people do not. You make a lot of noise for your station."
"Most aliens don't think humanity's earned even our current position," Anderson explained. "And taking how long we've been pushing for a seat on the Council, well... Many have started to pay closer attention to Earth and its people."
"Exactly," Nihlus agreed. "And you've been put in the limelight, Commander."
"What is my role in all this, exactly?" Shepard furrowed his brows. "I'm a soldier, not a politician."
"David, a soldier is what they're looking for," Cassidy said in a low voice. "They want to make you a Spectre."
Before the shell-shocked David had a chance to protest, Nihlus had already taken over.
"She's telling the truth. Actually, I put down your name for the application personally."
A turian advocating for a human to join a special force as elite as the Spectres was news surprising enough for both Shepards to be rendered speechless.
"...No one told me that," Cassidy said eventually.
"...No one told me any of this," David noticed. "I still think you've got one up." He straightened his back, standing to attention. "I'd be honored, of course. I'll do my best."
"Save your best for the field," Nihlus raised a hand. "In our line of work, actions speak louder than words. Part of why you were chosen for this."
Shepard nodded, quick to pick up on the tone of the conversation. This wasn't the time for promises just yet.
Looking at his sister, he wondered if she'd been given the same offer. Probably not. That wasn't something she would have refused. But she had known about it before him, which for some reason made him feel slightly more confident.
If he had Cassidy Shepard watching his back, any mission was immediately made much easier.
After all, she was an excellent shot.
He smiled. "Cassidy—"
"Captain, we've got a problem."
The pilot's voice sounded from the intercom so abruptly and with such urgency that everyone in the room stopped dead in their tracks.
"What is it, Joker?" Anderson immediately slipped into soldier mode at the first sign of trouble—and he wasn't the only one. Nihlus tensed, no longer leaning back casually. The Shepard siblings exchanged glances, both of them assuming a more defensive stance.
"Eden Prime is cut off. There's no working commlinks to anywhere on the entire planet. And when you try to establish a connection, the system shows you... this."
The large screen on the wall lit up, playing a low-quality video recorded by some soldier's armor's combat VI. The image was shaking and blurred, but it was clear the colony was under attack.
Bullets were flying in the air and fire was devouring the once-lush trees in the background.
"Get down!" One of the soldiers pushed the other into the ground.
The image was almost replaced by static after the impact.
"Oh, my God... Look at the sky."
The camera turned towards the blood-red sky, an electric discharge crashing across the frame like a lightning bolt as for a brief moment, a giant hulking shadow in the sky taking almost the entire frame. There was something almost organic in the movement of its limbs, but that thing was no living organism. It was the incarnation of fear.
"God have mercy... What is that thing?!"
"Go! Go!"
The video cut off along with the sound of an explosion.
"That's all she wrote," Joker said. "It replays afterward."
"Joker, rewind that and stop at 45 seconds," Anderson ordered quickly.
The image of that terrifying alien form in the burning sky reappeared on the screen, tainted by the video's poor recording quality and yet still able to strike some unexplainable fear into their hearts.
Cassidy swallowed, her throat feeling tight all of a sudden.
David narrowed his eyebrows, wanting to look away and yet unable to do so.
Nihlus clicked his mandibles unwittingly, piercing green eyes fixed on the screen.
Anderson clenched his jaw, deep in thought, trying to keep his emotions from showing.
He knit his brows. "Shepard?"
"Sir!" The two stood to attention in perfect unison.
"Grab your gear. And tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up." He exhaled sharply. "This mission just got a hell lot more complicated."
He turned on heel and marched out of the comm room without turning back. David Shepard followed, but he wasn't as strong as not to take one last look at the terrifying image on the screen.
Cassidy closed her eyes, sending out a silent prayer to whatever god might be watching. She was prepared to leave as well, but she hesitated.
"...Nihlus?"
The turian blinked, as if awoken from a trance. "Sorry. I just... can't shake the feeling I've seen this before." He narrowed his eyes, staring at the screen intently. "And at the same time... It's something new."
"New?" Shepard didn't like the sound of that word. "Scary?"
Nihlus jerked his head to look at her, surprised at the question. He couldn't control the way his pupils expanded and his mandibles moved, though—the picture on the screen made him nervous.
"...Terrifying," he said in a low voice, the turian subvocals only making it sound more ultimate. "Absolutely terrifying."
"Do we have any intel on what even happened down there?"
Lieutenant Alenko was a good soldier, but his timing was rarely so. Like now, for example: he was asking questions Shepard couldn't answer, only adding to the pressure the Commander was already feeling.
At least the turian seemed to have finally left him alone for a while.
Eden Prime was a human colony. Nihlus had no business there—Well, he hadn't. Now? Shepard would probably be happy even to see a second Spectre on that planet.
Not that there was any chance of that happening.
"I have no idea, Kaidan," was all he said aloud. "Focus on the task at hand for now."
Captain Anderson walked up to the three of them, something very obviously on his mind.
"Shepard, a word."
David excused himself and followed the captain a few meters away, out of the soldiers' earshot.
"Sir?"
Anderson looked around. "Listen, this mission is crucial. Humanity's been pushing for this for a long time and I don't want any heroics from you if it'll jeopardize that. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"You go in, secure that beacon, and go out. You're going to come across survivors, but remember that protecting civilians is a secondary task."
David narrowed his brows. "With all due respect, sir, protecting civilians is never a secondary task."
For a longer moment, Anderson looked at him without a word. He just smiled weakly in the end.
"Jesus... This galaxy needs more soldiers like you, Shepard."
He patted the younger man on the shoulder and walked away, on his way almost bumping into Nihlus.
"Are you coming with us?" Shepard asked, surprised to see the Spectre join them.
"That depends," the turian didn't even look up at him, instead checking the barrel of his assault rifle. "Is the other Shepard coming along?"
"Yeah." Cassidy rolled her shoulder, looking slightly uncomfortable in the heavy N7 armor she had been given. "I'm going."
"In that case, I'll go with her. Five people is too much crowd for a recon mission. We're supposed not to attract attention."
David nodded. Turning to his sister, "Are you going to be okay?"
"What, you mean Nihlus?" She laughed dryly. "I'm not scared of him just because he's a Spectre. If he tries anything, I'll shoot him."
David sighed. "Do not. Imagine what the Council will be like if he dies on this mission."
"Point taken. I'll try to keep the turian alive, then." She dropped her voice. "There's something you don't usually hear a human say." Louder, she said, "Are you okay with this, Kryik?"
Nihlus shrugged. "As long as you can keep up."
He took a running start and jumped out of the ship. Cassidy shook her head before following.
David looked at his squadmates. "You heard the man. We move fast." He put on his helmet. "...I don't like any of this."
He held on to the Normandy's wall as the ship approached the second drop zone. Shaking. Noise. None of that bothered him anymore, not after all those years.
"Alright," he ordered once the ground wasn't far. "Let's move out!"
Jenkins was first on the ground, with Shepard and Alenko jumping out just a second later.
Shepard looked around, assessing the terrain.
He pulled out his assault rifle. "Alright, this is it. Stay close and move fast." He received simple nods of acknowledgment from his squadmates. "Let's go."
"Shit," Shepard gasped. "You... weren't kidding... about... keeping a pace, huh?"
Nihlus glanced at her. "If you can't keep up with me, you will never survive if a krogan charges at you."
She knew her helmet concealed it, but she couldn't help making a face at that. "Was that supposed to be reassuring or...?"
Nihlus stopped, raising a clenched fist—a universal sign to halt. "Wait."
He drew his pistol and flicked off the safety. Shepard narrowed her brows, listening intently.
A mechanical whirring, some kind of floating device.
Two precise shots from Nihlus's pistol deactivated both drones almost immediately.
"What are those?" Shepard asked as they approached the now-dead devices.
Nihlus experimentally nudged one with his foot. "No idea..."
She didn't like that even a Spectre didn't know what kind of enemy they were facing. She turned on her communicator.
"To any Alliance units in the area. This is Commander Shepard. We ran into hostiles on the way," she said into the radio. "The attackers are synthetics of unknown origin. Proceed with caution."
"Shepard here," David's voice sounded in her earbloom. "Can confirm hostiles in the area. We think they may be geth. We're one man down but pushing on. Over and out."
"Damn it," Cassidy cursed. Casualties already? This was bad. Besides, both Alenko and Jenkins were good soldiers. They should have been able to handle themselves... But if what David had said was true...
"Geth?" Nihlus tilted his head, echoing her thoughts perfectly. "That's... wrong. It shouldn't be possible."
"The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil for over 300 years," Cassidy noticed. "Why would they attack a human colony now?"
"I don't know. But if we want to find out, we'd better move, fast."
"I'm sorry. I must be slowing you down."
"Not at all." Nihlus looked at her. "If anything, this will be a good opportunity to evaluate your performance in the field."
Shepard stopped. She furrowed her brows.
"I thought you were here to evaluate David," she said quietly.
"Ah..." Nihlus paused. "Crap." He took off his helmet, clearly resigned. "Look, the Council isn't ready for two human Spectres, okay? Ambassador Udina recommended your brother for the position, but Captain Anderson said you might be a better choice. And taking Anderson's... history... Well. I was told to take his suggestion into consideration as well."
"No one told me about this," Shepard said coldly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm honored, but I don't like being lied to."
"And that moral code is one of the things that speaks in your favor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall you adhere to it a bit more strictly than to written rules. The position of a Spectre could turn out to be just what you're looking for."
Shepard inhaled sharply. "Let's get one thing straight: I'm not going to undermine my own flesh and blood for a chance to get my dream job." She punched herself mentally. Dream job? Good riddance, Shepard. She probably shouldn't make her ambitions so clear. "It's David you want for this, not me. He's a goddamn hero, that one."
She shook her head; there was no point in arguing about this right now. She grabbed her sniper rifle and checked the ammo.
Nihlus clicked his mandibles in surprise
"...Is that what you're planning to use?" he asked, not even trying to hide his feelings on the matter.
Now, Shepard was surprised. "Yes... Why, is there a problem?"
"That's a typically long-range weapon. If we run into more of those geth, you might get into trouble."
She gritted her teeth. "Let me worry about keeping the enemies at a distance. You don't have authority over me, Spectre."
Maybe he wouldn't be so condescending if he'd actually seen her shoot.
She knew well enough that she was one of the best sharpshooters in the N7 program. It wasn't a boast—it was a fact. She'd picked up a sniper rifle when she was twenty and never once considered changing specialization. Anderson said she had a 'gift'. She didn't know about that, but she did know she was a pretty damn good shot.
And that was all that mattered.
"Don't worry, Nihlus," she said, now calmer. "I can handle myself." She smirked. "And if I get into trouble, you'll have an opportunity to show off your skills." She narrowed her brows, looking down from the hill they'd wound up on. The view of the colony was very good from here, allowing for a quick plan. The geth seemed to be concentrated mostly around the large building next to a train station. "There. Look."
"A spaceport." Nihlus followed her gaze. "It's worth checking out."
"Nihlus?"
Nihlus put a hand to his auricular canal, activating his communicator. He sounded only slightly exasperated as he answered. "I read you. What is it, Shepard?
"We're at the excavation site, but the beacon isn't here, it must have been moved. We'll head for the research camp now."
"Roger that." Cassidy nodded her head. "We're going to check out the spaceport nearby. Let's stay in radio contact."
David Shepard was feeling worse by the minute.
Even if it hadn't been for Jenkins dying so stupidly during the first minutes of the mission and the geth appearing suddenly in Council space, the devastation on Eden Prime would have been enough to piss him off.
The soldier they had rescued didn't seem to know much more than they did, too. But she seemed like a capable woman, and Shepard had never been one to turn down help.
"Commander, sir!" She saluted, standing to attention once she recognized the markings on his armor. The N7 on his chest was probably more impressive than the officeral rank.
"At ease, soldier," he said. "What's your designation?"
"Gunnery Chief Williams from the 212th Division. Thank you for the help."
"Commander Shepard. And that's Lieutenant Alenko."
"Shepard..." She repeated. "Are... Is it possible— I mean, are you related to—?"
"She's my sister," Shepard said curtly. He hated that. Just once he would like to meet someone who recognized him for his own achievements before pinning him down as Commander Shepard's brother. "Williams, give me a status report. What happened here?"
"Um, yes, sir. The geth attacked maybe a few hours ago, if not less. We've been fighting ever since, trying to protect the civilians, but, to be frank, sir? It's like a slaughter. I've lost my entire squad during the first few minutes of the attack."
"Any idea what they're here for?" Shepard asked. He was afraid he knew the answer.
"Most probably the beacon," Kaidan's words echoed his thoughts.
Williams pursed her lips. "That damned thing. I had a bad feeling from the moment they dug it up."
"Do you know where it is now?"
"Yes, sir. It's just by that hill, next to the research camp."
Shepard and Kaidan exchanged looks, but it didn't need much thinking.
"Come with us, Williams. We could use an extra pair of hands."
"Yes, sir."
For a short moment, Shepard's mood actually brightened—as much as was possible under the circumstances, at least. It didn't last long.
Honestly, it seemed like everything about this mission was falling apart.
And now, the beacon was gone.
"I don't understand," Williams repeated. She really did seem confused, so Shepard decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "The beacon was right here. It must have been moved to the research camp, or... I swear it was here."
"Moved," Kaidan repeated. "By our side or the geth?"
"Hard to tell," she replied, shaking her head lightly. "Commander?"
Shepard turned on his communicator. "Nihlus?"
There was a short silence on the line, then Nihlus's voice sounded in David's earbloom.
"I read you. What is it, Shepard?"
"We're at the excavation site, but the beacon isn't here—it must have been moved." He looked around. "We'll head for the research camp now."
"Roger that," Cassidy said. "We're going to check out the spaceport nearby. Let's stay in radio contact."
Shepard turned off his comm. He briefly looked at Kaidan and Ashley. "Let's go."
He didn't like the idea of Cassidy being alone with Nihlus now. Not that he doubted her skill. He didn't—she was his sparring partner and he knew firsthand how good she was. He didn't think Nihlus was going to be a problem, either—he seemed like an honorable turian. Even if that sounded like an oxymoron. Humans were naturally programmed to distrust turians—or at least, that's how Shepard explained his unease.
They had barely made it to the research camp before a swarm of those previously human creatures attacked them. Those things still made Shepard's blood run cold, but they were nothing in comparison to what happened next.
Among the silence filled with only the crackling of burning trees, a shot rang through the air.
Ashley stopped. "Is anyone else here?"
"My sister," Shepard said through gritted teeth, "and a Council Spectre called Nihlus Kryik. They went ahead to scout out the situation."
Kaidan narrowed his brows. "Sounds like they got in trouble."
"Or worse," Shepard muttered. A single gunshot could mean anything, and he couldn't help but remember Cassidy's words about shooting Nihlus. Surely she wouldn't? Not without reason, that's for sure. His death would be bad for not just this mission, but all of humanity. Shepard knew she wasn't any more keen on turians than he was, but even she wouldn't... "Damn it. Come on people, let's move!"
More husks attempted to attack them, but now that Williams was on the team, they were barely a threat—more like an inconvenience. The creatures seemed to lack any sort of intelligence, going for the target without any regard for their life in an almost zombie-like fashion. That made them much easier to deal with and at the same time all the more terrifying.
The three ran into the camp, guns drawn and ready to shoot if necessary. Shepard motioned for his subordinates to lower their guns.
"Cassidy?!" He looked around, scanning the area for enemies. None could be seen. "...Nihlus?!"
"Commander." Kaidan motioned for him to come over. "Here. Look."
A fresh bloodstain. Dark red, could not have been a turian's.
"Crap... Stay with me here..."
Shepard narrowed his brows, walking in the direction the voice was coming from. He drew his pistol, wary.
"...Nihlus?"
"Damn it." The turian stood up slowly. His hands were stained with blood—which David was now almost certain was human. "Shepard, I—"
Kaidan crossed his arms. "What happened here?!"
"I don't understand—" When dextros got overemotional, the subvocals of their voices tended to take over, and that was making it really difficult for the three humans to understand the shaken up Nihlus right now. "It was Saren, he—"
"Saren?
"A... Spectre—" His words were barely recognizable under the subvocals. "My... former CO..."
Nihlus made a deep growling sound as he was unable to speak over the nerves, teeth bared, nostrils flaring, mandibles clenched—all telltale signs of barely controlled anger.
"...He shot Shepard!"
A/N: Chapter length is probably going to differ a lot, just a heads up.