"All clear,"
The spaceport fell silent, everything going still while the scorch marks cooled on the crates used for cover, tinting the air with the smell of burnt plastic and melted metal. From behind one such crate, pistol raised, stepped Commander Nathaniel Shepard of the Systems Alliance. Standing above the average at 5'9, the human commander was lean and muscular with a smooth youthful face, short cropped auburn hair and blue eyes as sharp and clear as diamonds. He wore the Aldrin Labs Onyx Light armour in black with a red stripe running down his right arm and the N7 logo on the right side of his chest.
Shepard stepped over the corpse of a Husk and to the sides of the crates, training his weapon on the corpses of the Geth soldiers, burnt holes in their white plastic shells.
"Confirmed, all hostiles eliminated. Good work," the Commander said putting his weapon away and turning to his companions.
"Good shot there Commander," Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams said as she cycled her assault rifle of its excess heat before putting it away. "Hit it right through its flashlight head."
"Not a bad shot yourself Williams," Shepard replied, giving the Gunnery Chief a nod. She smiled back and headed over to Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko as Shepard radioed the Nomandy for pick-up.
"This is amazing," Alenko said to Williams as she joined him, not taking his eyes off the spire-like device bathed in a soft green glow. "Actual working Prothean technology. "Unbelievable."
"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up," Ashley replied, looking at the beacon confused and concerned; Kaidan turned away, shrugging his shoulders. 'The scientist must have turned it on or something' the Lieutenant assumed as he walked over to the Commander.
"Something must have activated it," Ashley continued, voicing Kaidan's thoughts aloud, only concerned. She stepped towards the beacon, hand instinctively hovering over her pistol on her hip. As she got closer the beacon seemed to grow brighter, almost hypnotically drawing her in.
Ashley stepped closer.
One foot.
Two foot.
Three-
The light coming off the beacon pulsed, pushing the Gunnery Chief back. Something seized her body, an invisible force dragging her towards the beacon, an almost musical whistle growing louder. Her feet left the ground, the force dragging Ashley into the air, the whistle growing unbearable painful, pounding on the inside of her skull.
Something collided with the Gunnery Chief bringing her back to the ground as a pair of arms wrapped around her midsection. She could still feel the force pulling her towards the beacon, and she was now taking whoever had grabbed onto her with her.
"KAIDAN!" Shepard yelled, right in Ashleys ear and she was thrown backwards, away from the beacon. The Gunnery Chief rolled once across the metal platform floor and came to a stop; a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, and Kaidan helped her up into a kneeling position. Ashley no longer felt the invisible force, no longer heard the musical whistle, but her head felt like someone had taken a hammer to her helmet. Swallowing bile, forcing the pain down with it she looked back to the beacon, and her heart jumped in fear as Shepard rose into the air in front of the device.
"Shepard!" Ashley called trying to get to her feet, reaching for the Commander.
"No don't touch him!" Kaidan yelled pulling her back. "It's too dangerous."
Ashley ignored him, trying to get to her feet again pushing off his hands. She had barely risen to a crouch when the Prothean Beacon exploded, knocking Shepard to the ground in a painful heap.
"Shepard!" Ashley yelled running to the Commander, rolling him over and ripping at the bodyglove on his neck, looking, hoping, for a pulse.
There. Ashley let out a sigh of relief.
"He's alive," she said looking to Kaidan. The lieutenant looked at her quizzically as he removed his hand from a woman's neck.
"So's she."
Ashley looked at the woman, blinking as if to try and clear her eyes, then looked around the spaceport platform. There was no one there besides the four, the dead Geth and Husks. There was no where she could have hidden during that battle that wasn't searched, no ships had passed by, and she hadn't been there before now.
'So where the hell did she come from' Ashley asked herself as she looked back to the woman. She was laying on her back, her head and face hidden beneath a military helmet. She wore a suit of Onyx armour similar to the one the Commander wore, only she wore a medium while he wore a light.
"Hold on," Ashley said. The woman had a red stripe running down the right arm and on her chest was a N7 logo, just like Shepard. Ashley looked between the two prone figures.
"What-"
She was cut off as a spaceship flew in close, buffering the platform in heavy winds. Ashley put a hand up to block some reflection and looked up at the ship, as a voice came in over her radio.
"Ground team this is Normandy. We have you on scanners, ready for extraction. Over."
"Joker!" Kaidan said standing up and putting a hand to his ear. "The beacon is destroyed and Shepard is down. Get us the hell out of here and tell Chakwas to prep two medbeds!"
"Shepard's down? Oh shit! Two medbays copy. What is the status of Jenkins and Nihlus?"
"Jenkins and Nihlus are dead." Kaidan looked down at the woman at his feet. "We found someone else."
Hello everyone.
I'm sorry I'm throwing another story out there without working on the ones I already have, but I, like about 99% of writers, have the problem where my mind gets an idea and it consumes me, pushing out all other stories and works.
SO. He is another story from me. Short first chapter I know, but hopefully I'll get around to a second quickly. Here's hoping I actually held off posting this till I had the second one written and ready to publish.
Anyways. Enjoy the story. I hope it gets liked.
Thanks.
Lord Tomyh