Shepard hurried down the steps and toward the shuttles. Approaching from behind, guests sporadically began exiting the brightly lit villa and followed the lights on the grounds toward the shuttles, most with confused looks on their faces. The patrons' steps were hurried but not panicked, indicating that violence had not yet erupted. Shepard kept to the side hidden under some decorative masonry and watched the steadily growing procession leaving.

"Status?" she asked over her link to Arius.

"I've secured the case and am now watching the newly arrived mercs shepherd those closest to the door out," he responded. "Seems to be calm for now. I've half a mind to speed things up a bit without arousing too much suspicion. One moment, I have an idea."

There was a break in the connection before an alarm began blaring through the concealed speaker in her ear. In the distance, she could faintly hear the exact alarm emanating from the villa.

"Tripped the fire alarm," he explained. "That should get people moving."

The departure of persons from the villa expanded from a dribble to a rushing river with the alarm sounding. Thankfully, it still maintained a semi-orderly fashion, free from fright. A long column of persons descended toward the shuttles to leave, albeit at much too relaxed a pace. Shepard scanned the grounds; there were no guards left outside, probably being called back to the villa to deal with the unscheduled interruption.

"I don't see any guards out here; they've probably been called back to the villa," Shepard relayed. "I don't know how many transports we have to work with, so I'm going to herd people out of here as best I can. Keep me updated with any major developments inside."

"Acknowledged."

Shepard turned her attention to a small group of guests lazily walking near the transports, strolling about in no hurry. "Hey, you four," she motioned, "You're all in possible danger right now. Whether you know each other or not, please get into this shuttle and leave. Evacuations have started."

The group looked at her queerly for her unwelcome interruption, wondering if the random red-haired woman had indeed been addressing them. When she repeated what she had said, they began protesting. Shepard raised her concealed pistol to make her point. "Arguing with me is not worth your time. You're also holding everyone else up. Go." Tepidly, the four gave her a series of glares before slowly getting into an available shuttle and lifting off.

"You lot," she repeated, motioning to the next group that was idly standing by, "four in this one, four in the next, let's go. You're all in possible danger here; leave while you can—four to a shuttle. Yes, I realize my request is preposterous. No, I do not work for Eclipse, but do you want to find out what being shot feels like? No? I suggest you follow my instructions and leave before it comes to that."

Before long, people got the hint, not wanting to deal with the strange gun-brandishing woman. Seeing others leave at increasing rates, the guests put two and two together and began leaving on their own accord to avoid whatever issue prompted others to do the same. Things were going smoothly and calmly until Shepard heard a series of sounds that she could only interpret as gunfire from the direction of the villa. She must have guessed correctly, for, at that moment, the screaming started. In seconds the orderly exodus became a stampede toward the shuttles as those furthest away rushed forward in panic.

Arius' voice crackled in her ear. "Shots fired. Pandemonium has broken loose. We should depart post-haste. Mediating a gang war was not on tonight's itinerary."

"Not until these people get out of here." Shepard insisted. "I need you to support me; set up somewhere high with a view of the shuttle bay in case things go sideways."

"They already have."

"In case things escalate further, Arius. Quickly now."

She heard him sigh. "And we were having such a nice evening. It never is a dull moment in your company."

"Hey, you're the one who had to go ahead and jinx it with your 'explosions and lives in the balance' suggestion—" she began to retort before she heard the hum of more Eclipse shuttles landing in. "Four to a shuttle, let's GO," she ordered the remaining frightened guests, pairing them with the remaining transports. "Don't talk, just move. Now."

In the distance, more gunfire. One of the new shuttles landed, and two mercenaries used an eezo-powered lift to move a substantial piece of equipment out of the shuttle and onto the rocky plateau they stood on. Although it was dark, the lights in the shuttle's interior illuminated the equipment long enough for Shepard to recognize what it was - arrays of bulk mining explosives belted together into one massive bundle. The second shuttle landed, and while a few stood sentry around the bomb, the rest formed a line and began advancing toward the villa, urging the scrambling guests to get out of the way.

"Arius, they brought a daisy-cutter with them. Payload big enough to blow away the entire top of this shelf. How many more guests can you spot? It's too dark for me to see."

The night's temperature was now palpable, and the cold, adrenaline and her less-than-modest clothing meant she was shivering. Arius had begun to respond to her when the advancing Eclipse line opened fire on the front of the villa, which had just been cleared of guests. The shots tore right through the glass front of the building, and the sounds of gunfire and shattering glass grated against her ears. "Say again your last," she shouted.

"I count maybe four or five guests left split into two groups. Marking them for you now. Stick to the sides where they can't get a clear shot."

Local waypoints on her omni-tool appeared. Shepard hurried to the closest, a human couple who looked properly terrified, crouching behind a short wall. She got them on their feet and led them quickly back to the remaining transports. There was now a returning volley of gunfire emanating from the direction of the villa, creating a crossfire zone.

"Keep sticking to your right as you make your way back, Shepard," Arius advised her, having a better view of the engagement. "One group left."

"Get in. Go!" She ordered the couple once she found an operational shuttle. They did not hesitate to heed her words and sped off quickly. Thankfully, the shuttle was not targeted by any ground forces; the fighting was squarely being fought amongst the Eclipse factions.

Arius' voice sounded again. "Last group is on the opposite side of the crossfire; you'll need to sneak around behind the mercs. Visibility is weakest on the far side of the landing area near the edge of the cliffs."

Shepard enveloped her person in a biotic barrier to protect herself from stray gunfire and hastened behind the invading Eclipse faction group at the end of the landing bay, darting between the posts and low ornamental fixtures.

"Wait! Don't move," Arius suddenly warned her. They've turned around. Wait for my signal. Okay, move now."

Shepard scrambled from the cover and had successfully moved to the opposite side of the field in a few bounds. The last group was just a dozen meters up from the first, they too in a frozen state—two asari. One with a sprained ankle; went by Sanixa.

"Hey, look at me," Shepard commanded the injured asari. "I'm getting you out of here. Grab onto me; I'll support your right side. You," she ordered the other, "support her left. Follow my lead. Stay close. Arius - got two here, one with a sprained ankle. Going to need your eyes."

"Understood. Looks clear to advance."

Shepard and one of the other asari assisted the injured one, and they moved as quickly down the shadow field path as possible. The gunfire did not cease.

"Hold it," Arius' warned. "Two are approaching on your right. I don't think they see you yet, but they're going to run into you in about five seconds."

"Hold it," Shepard ordered the asari. "Both of you, get behind this pillar. Don't move, don't speak." She hid her folded pistol held tightly against her side, somewhat concealed under the clutch she had swinging on the same side.

Two Eclipse mercenaries looking worse for wear rounded the corner, saw Shepard than the asari, and raised their guns. One raised their hand to their helmet to broadcast a message. "Update, we found some bodies we can use as hostages." they relayed. "Come out from there. You're coming with u–"

In a lightning-fast move perfected by plentiful practice, Shepard biotically threw the two mercenaries directly in front of her to their ground to incapacitate them, then raised her concealed gun and fired at them at near point-blank range while they were down.

"It's attracted their attention. Make haste," suggested Arius' voice in her ear.

"See any shuttles not busted by gunfire?" she asked Arius, as she shouldered the injured asari again, "We're nearly there."

"Third one from the left, maybe. Oh, another contact. Three o-clock. Keep moving."

But there was no cover between the end of the small palisade and the shuttles. Shepard turned her head to the right to keep tabs on the invading force and, at that moment, made eye contact with a mercenary who was following the path toward the two she had just slain. Her gun was in her right hand while she supported the asari with her left, and she didn't have time to twist her body backwards in time to aim and shoot him before the merc could react.

She hadn't needed to. The trail of a high-velocity rifle round from somewhere in the direction of the villa struck the mercenary's unhelmeted head. In response, the mercenary's kinetic barrier had flared up for a split second but could not stop the supersonic round from reaching its intended target.

"You're clear." came Arius' voice.

Shepard hoisted the asari into the transport, and the other also crawled in. They stammered out some thanks, which Shepard acknowledged shortly, then shut the door.

"Three away. Anyone else?" She asked over the link.

"Not that I can see. Just mercs now— Shepard, Incoming!"

What in the world did I sign up for? Shepard thought when she heard the distinctive sounds of racing chemical-propellant hiss toward her direction. She ducked on instinct, not seeing what caused the sound, but once again, her hearing had been correct. A barrage of short-range missiles fired from near the front of the villa found their collective marks around the shuttle area, hitting the newly-landed Eclipse carriers, some of the remaining transports, and the group of mercenaries standing around them. The missiles exploded with deafening, repeated bangs, and great fire licks ballooned from the impact sites. The flashes of light bathed the area in light and heat, enough that it eased her chill slightly. Of the mercenaries that had been standing close to the bomb, she could not see. "What was that?"

"Dominic's new rapid-fire missile launcher," Arius relayed back to her. "It appears this coup is not going according to plan; his forces are making a push now that the invading force is scattered. Take cover."

Shepard retreated to the far corner of the landing area and slunk into a badly busted transport, laying low. While she hunkered down, Dominic, equipped with armour and an assault rifle, and his forces pushed from the villa and advanced quickly down the slope towards the invaders. There were no Eclipse prisoners taken. Bodies were double-tapped. The few remaining invaders still fighting were descended upon by five points simultaneously. It was over quickly, and it was clear that the differences in power between the forces invading and defending were not evenly matched.

Perched up high on the roof of the front of the villa, lying prone, shielded by a makeshift barrier of his to reduce visual detection, Arius had been watching the advance. When they reached the outer edge of the landing zone where the bomb had been dropped, he watched them approach it, check to see what it was, then, to his growing alarm, all spun on their heels and ran back to the villa. Arius jumped up, slinging the rifle on its strap to his back and rushed to climb back down to the ground.

"Shepard, they took one look at the bomb and high-tailed it back to the villa. We need to leave now."

Shepard withdrew from the relative warmth of the busted shuttle she was hiding in and ran over to the bomb. As she had earlier glimpsed, it was a large, pallet-sized cube of bulk mining explosives. The explosives were cylindrical bundles of about fifty centimetres each, all wired together. A small display was clipped onto a strap on one side, counting down. It read just under four minutes.

"I can defuse it," Shepard confidently stated, reaching into her clutch to remove a multitool. "Plastic explosive doped with carbon. Laser ordnance initiators all get routed to this unit…" she explained, tracing the wiring path. "It doesn't look like this was built with anti-handling mechanisms either. It will take me a minute. See if you can find an un-busted shuttle for us to leave in."

The warmth from the shuttle she had been hiding in had been sucked away from her body by the chilled air. She traced the wires with shaking hands and had to clench her jaw to prevent them from chattering.

"I'm going to touch you, don't be startled," appeared Arius' voice, not from her earpiece but from behind her. She felt fabric being placed over her shoulders. It was his suit jacket, and the residual warmth of his body heat sank into her skin.

"Thanks."

While Shepard worked, Arius inspected the first Eclipse shuttle, which had held the bomb. He tapped the interface a few times and then determined it was toast.

"... And we're done. Two minutes left." Shepard shared, relief apparent in her voice. "We can go."

"Good. What an evening," Arius voiced, moving to check the second shuttle with Shepard. He tried the door that faced the villa but found it had jammed shut from the earlier barrage of rockets. "Door is jammed on this side. Let's check the other one." Arius circled around to join Shepard on the opposite side. It opened successfully, and the interior of the shuttle yielded to them. They froze when they saw what lay within it.

"We… should go."

"To the water!" Arius yelled.

In the interior of the second shuttle, there was a second identical bomb, silently ticking away. Arius and Shepard turned on their heels and ran straight towards the cliffs at the base of the landing area. "Joker, send someone for extraction, now!" Shepard yelled between breaths into her omni-tool as she ran. "Hypothermia kit, water rescue, look for our beacons!"

The smell of the sea got stronger as they got closer. Two hundred meters below, a black ocean churned against the cliff face. They ran full force toward the edge of the bedrock, jumped the guard rail and lept with all their might off the rocky outcropping, then dropped like stones toward the cold, dark waters. Shepard straightened her body and pointed her feet down a second before she hit the water. The impact and the temperature shock stunned her, and she tasted salt as her lungs involuntary gasped for breath. In the dark, the stars overhead seemed like a ceiling, and she swam forward, following them, trying to put as much distance between herself and the cliffs as she could. Suddenly, a flash of light arrived into being, so bright that it was like someone had flipped on a switch for the sky. Then, oblivion.