Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or any of its characters. They are products of BioWare, EA and certainly not me. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes; no profit or intrusion of copyright is intended.

Shepard walked onto the bridge, ducking slightly too look out the front windows at the looming collector ship.

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander," Joker said to him, tinkering with the settings on his dash as he guided the Normandy closer to its destination.

"Very low emissions," EDI continued. "Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold."

Shepard pulled his helmet down, attaching it to the armor. His eyes narrowed as he examined the ship through the window, scanning anything he saw.

Joker sighed, shaking his head. "That thing's massive. How the hell did the turians take it out?" He glanced back over his shoulder at Shepard.

"I have no idea," Shepard whispered as he leaned over Joker's chair to look at the ship. "Get us in there, Joker. When I'm off the Normandy, Lawson has the final call. Got that?"

Joker nodded. "Aye, Commander."

EDI stated. "Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us; I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline."

Joker swiped his fingers over the dash. "Rendezvous in thirty seconds, Commander. Good Luck."

Shepard nodded, slapping a hand on the back of Joker's chair as he turned from him and walked from the bridge. Miranda stepped out of the elevator as he approached it; he stopped and watched her.

Eyes exuding strength and determination, she pointed a finger at his head. "Two hours. Is that clear?"

He grinned at that. "Crystal." Before she passed him, he reached out to stop her with his hand, his palm on her hip. "Stay frosty. Keep me updated. You're going to be my eyes and ears for the parts of the ship I can't physically see. Same with the rest of us on that damn thing."

"I know," she responded simply, eyes on his through his helmet. As she walked away, she reached out to touch his abdomen, letting her hand slide away as she continued further onto the bridge. "Joker, bring us as close as you can for the shuttle launch then pull back five thousand kilometers. It'll be tight, but hold position there."

"Yes, Ma'am." Joker drawled as he guided the Normandy closer. Miranda placed her hands on the console at the side of the bridge, watching the details of the ship. EDI announced the shuttle departure and Miranda closed the docking bay as the Normandy retreated to the ordered distance.

When the shuttle landed, Miranda flicked through the life signs of the crew, bringing the information out to the side allowing her to monitor their vital signs.

Mordin hummed, voice crackled slightly through the communications device. "Unusual ship design. Hard to track lines. Angles. Disturbing."

"EDI, scans." Miranda ordered

EDI responded. "Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector databases. Shepard, I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."

"Hmm," Shepard answered. "Maybe the defense towers softened it for the turians."

Zaeed snorted. "Still don't like this, Shepard."

"Best advice," Mordin offered. "Proceed with extreme caution."

Miranda shifted her weight as she examined the scan information coming in from EDI's sensors. "That's a huge coincidence. Be careful."

"There may be colonists aboard," Samara offered. "How long since you have been on Horizon?"

"Not long," Miranda answered. "Less than a month."

"A month," Jack huffed. "They're probably dead."

"Not necessarily," Mordin answered. "If they wanted them dead, they would have killed them on Horizon. They didn't. They froze them. Captured them. Collected them. They wanted them … alive."

"I see the pods," Shepard stated. "But they're empty. They're like the ones on Horizon."

Radio silence.

Miranda watched the life signatures of Shepard and his squad as they moved deeper through the tunnels of the Collector ship. The signatures paused. Her brow furrowed. "Shepard? What's wrong? Dead end?"

"No," he responded. "Just … there are bodies. Just in a pile here."

"Bodies?" Mordin asked. "Human? Are they … intact?"

"They're as whole as you fleshly things can be," Grunt growled into his communication device.

"It is horrible," Samara's lyrical voice responded. "Injustice, the lives of innocence wasted."

"Hmm, likely a control group. They are experimenting." Mordin stated. "I'm coming your way, Shepard. I need to see the bodies, see what they were doing."

Miranda interrupted. "You're not to travel far from the shuttle. We don't need two teams scattered. How far are the bodies from your point?"

"Uhm," Shepard paused. "Maybe fifty meters. Your call, Lawson."

Miranda hesitated before finally answering. "Alright. Thane, cover him. No further than that, Mordin, understood?"

"As you wish," Thane responded.

"No further. Yes. Understood," Mordin clipped.

Radio silence.

Miranda paced, nerves wound as she watched the various life signature blips on the map as they maneuvered through the collector ship. After a few seconds of pacing, she paused and tapped her fingers on the hull before pacing again. Shepard's squad paused at the side of one corridor.

She tapped her communications device. "Shepard."

"I got something. Hang on," he said.

Miranda watched the scrolling information as his Omni-tool sent the gathered information back to the ship. "EDI, what is it?"

"Hmm, that's a collector in that pod." Grunt said simply.

"Would they be experimenting on their own?" Samara asked.

"EDI," Shepard called. "I've uploaded the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they were up to."

Miranda checked the other life signs, relieved when Mordin and Thane returned to the shuttle.

"Analyzing," EDI stated. "The Collectors were running base line genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."

"Are they looking for similarities?" Shepard asked.

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations." EDI answered. "All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable."

Miranda turned to look curiously at the displayed hologram given to the AI.

"A quad strand genetic cluster," continued EDI, "identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: The Protheans."

"My God," Shepard whispered. "The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now."

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard," EDI said. "Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans," Shepard said. "They turned them into monsters and enslaved them."

Miranda shook her head. "They're not doing to us what they did to the Protheans."

"Logical, yes." Mordin stated. "Humans are … highly resistant to many strands of diseases. Of all species … intelligent and genetically diverse … yes humans. Makes sense. The plague. On Omega. Testing resiliency."

Shepard spoke. "Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out."

Radio silence.

Shepard finally broke the silence. "There are pods all over this place. I … its massive. Hell, they can likely take all of earth and still have room to spare."

"My God," Miranda whispered. "That's what they want. They want to turn us into more Collectors."

"Explains why colonists." Mordin stated. "Perfect technique. Then take everything."

Miranda raked a hand through her hair as she watched Shepard continue his descent into the ship. EDI injected. "I detect no signs of life in the pods, Shepard. It is possible the victims inside the pods died when the ship lost primary power."

Radio silence.

Joker shook his head. "This is really weird. Hey EDI, do you have the information about the first Normandy?"

"Yes, Mr. Moreau. It has been programmed into my system."

He swiped his fingers over the dash. "Compare what you got from this ship to anything the original Normandy came in contact with."

Miranda twisted at the waist to look over her shoulder at Joker. "What are you thinking?"

"That this is the same asshole that blew up my first baby." Joker smirked as EDI displayed her results. "Commander, you gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy," EDI continued. "They are an exact match."

Shepard paused before responding. "The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence."

"Something doesn't add up, Commander. Watch your back." Joker offered.

Miranda paced, watching the console. Garrus's voice rang over the communications system. "Joker's right. Get the hell out of there, Shepard."

"We're not far from the data access," Shepard answered.

Miranda leaned against the console. "Shepard, get out of there." She ordered firmly.

"We're a hundred meters away from the console. I can see the damn thing," Shepard said. "We can't let them target earth. We gotta get through that relay. Stay alert, everyone."

"Damn it," Miranda punched the table of the console and watched, helpless to stop him.

Radio Silence.

Minutes passed before Samara broke the silence. "There is the control panel."

"Where are the Collector bodies?" Grunt observed. He cocked his shotgun.

"Shepard," Miranda warned.

"Almost there. Hang tight. EDI, I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from the databanks."

Miranda and Joker tapped along their consoles as EDI attempted to make the link with the Collector ship. EDI stated. "Data mine in progress, Shepard."

Joker watched the scan as the information cycled past his eyes. Miranda turned from her console to watch as well. The data scrolled then suddenly flickered and corrupted in a red light. Replacing the data, an image of a collector, its many eyes twitching, arms tucked close to its insect like body. "Uh … that can't be good," Joker stated.

Loud clicking and booms emitted through the device before Shepard's voice rang through. "What the hell happened?"

"Major power surge," Joker answered as he worked quickly to stabilize the Normandy. "Everything went dark but we're back up now."

Miranda sat and scanned the Normandy, noting and isolating the shorted areas from the grid of the ship. The power stabilized and EDI commented. "I managed to divert to majority of the overload to non-critical systems. Shepard, it was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

Miranda's stomach clenched at the word and she pressed her hand to the communication device in her ear. "Shuttle team. Status?"

"Clear here so far." Jacob answered. "You heard EDI everyone."

"Set up defensive barriers," Miranda quickly commanded. "Guard the front of the shuttle. Shepard, get your ass back to that shuttle, now."

Metallic crunching and whooshing emitted through the signal and Miranda paused, listening.

Shepard warned. "We need a little help here, EDI."

EDI answered. "I'm having a bit of trouble maintaining connection. There is someone else in the system."

Garrus quickly responded. "We can come for you, Shepard. Location."

"No," Miranda quickly answered. "We can't all be wandering inside that ship. EDI, get into that system."

Thirty seconds later, EDI entered the system. "Connection reestablished. I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

"Do it fast, EDI," Miranda warned. "Shepard, what's going on?"

"Hostiles," Samara warned calmly.

Crackling resounded over the communications system before Shepard's voice called. "Take cover!"

Live ammunition fire.

The fire fight continued and Miranda's eyes narrowed. "Garrus, get those guns up and ready. Jacob, what the hell is going on down there?"

"We got husks. Collectors incoming. Commander, you better hurry." Jacob answered, his voice distorted with the surrounding biotics and ammunition fire.

"EDI, Status!" Miranda barked.

"Sixty three percent complete. Data mine completion in two minutes four seconds."

"Jacob," Miranda ordered. "Get the shuttle up and hovering. I want an immediate extraction when Shepard arrives."

"Yes, Ma'am." Jacob responded with professional airs.

"Mordin, status."

"Husks … under … control. First wave down. Second incoming … shortly. Regrouping."

Miranda scanned the images mapping the surrounding area of the shuttle. "Jack, can you take out any of the surrounding stabilizing pillars. Create more cover and cut off the husks."

"I can, but it'll bring down part of the bay. The stuff in here is organic. It fuckin' moves."

Miranda silently cursed then called down to engineering. "Get ready to charge the mass effect core on my mark."

"Aye, ma'am." Kenneth Donnelly answered from the engineering bay, his Irish drawl strong. "Just say the word, ma'am."

"Eighty four percent." EDI stated.

Shepard yelled into his com through the crossfire. "EDI, get us out of here!"

"I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in 8000 nodes. I am tasked to capacity."

"Another wave," Grunt announced. "Shepard, get down!"

An explosion.

"Shepard!" Miranda called into the device.

Weapon fire echoed through the device from all squads.

"I'm going to tear you apart, Shepard," a stoic and deep voice announced through Shepard's communication.

"Christ," Shepard muttered. "I thought it was just in my head."

"What the hell was that?" Miranda asked.

"They're talking to me. I heard it on Horizon. They're doing it here too."

Miranda turned to look at EDI's console.

80%

85%

Explosion.

Ammunition fire.

90%

95%

"Complete." EDI announced.

The firefight finally over, Shepard reestablished EDI's link to the command console and the AI took control. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, EDI," Shepard said with a smile. "Did you get what we needed?"

"I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 Relay. I have also found the turian distress call that acted as a lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."

"What are you getting at?" Shepard asked.

EDI continued. "Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present but corrupted in the message. It is not possible the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

"Are you sure?" Shepard pressed.

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols." EDI answered. "He wrote them."

Joker frowned and looked to EDI's console. "He knew it was a trap? Why would he send us into a trap?"

"That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands," Shepard snapped.

"There has to be another explanation!" Miranda defended. "The Illusive Man wouldn't do this to us. He … he just wouldn't!"

Jack snarled. "I knew Cerberus would do this to us! Did you know about this, Cheerleader? I'm gonna rip you the fuck apart!"

Joker interrupted any retort. "Uh … Commander. We've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up. You need to get out of there before the weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy."

EDI stated. "I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can."

"It's too hot here!" Jacob called. "We're getting swarmed. We gotta pull back."

Miranda clenched her teeth a moment before nodding. "Do it. Get back on that shuttle. EDI, find me another extraction point. Shepard, stand by."

"Let's move!" Shepard commanded his team.

"Jacob, get out of there. Keep the bay of the shuttle open. Thane, Zaeed, pick them off from the ship until we get new coordinates." Miranda ordered. "EDI!"

"New coordinates incoming, Mr. Taylor."

"Jacob, go!" Miranda commanded. "Shepard we're sending you the extraction coordinates. Get moving. Garrus! How are the weapons?"

"Charged and ready. Just tell me when."

"I'm not getting into a firefight unless we have to. Standby." She watched the map and Shepard's small grouped team. "They're swarming you. Trying to flank you. Shepard, move forward."

"Can't!" he snapped into the com. "Little busy."

"Damn it," she muttered. "Jacob, status."

"Landing now."

"Good, clear the area. Press in no farther than ten meters and hold the extraction point"

EDI directed Shepard around the blockades and the side routes from areas blocked off by the collector system. The team moved through the vessel, steady and slow. Random grunts and moans signified when firefight struck the team, though no one fell; vital signs steady.

"Fuck, I hate those things!" Shepard exclaimed. "Fucking floating legs. Take cover. Get down!"

"You're two hundred meters from the shuttle, Shepard. Get that thing down and get to the extraction point." Miranda growled. "EDI, ETA on their weapon recharge."

"I can only delay them a little longer. Weapons fully recharged in five minutes sixteen seconds."

"Shepard," Miranda barked. "You have four and a half minutes. Get the bloody hell out of there."

"Working on it," he responded through clenched teeth before calling. "I'm out. Grunt take the fire, I need to find a clip." He grunted as the sounds of a scuffle emitted through his transmitter then a sickening crunch. "Good. Reloading."

Panicked, Miranda paced, eyes on the constantly ticking timer. "Jacob!"

"We're ok. Got the place secure. See some husks up the way but to get them we have to leave the shuttle unsecured."

"Thane, get them." She commanded.

"With pleasure," Thane husked.

"Got it!" Shepard exclaimed. "I'm out on my rifle. Switching to shotgun. Go."

"Move it, Shepard! Three minutes!" Miranda yelled.

"Go go go," Shepard reiterated to his team as they charged through the corridors.

"I have them in sight," Thane stated with calm deliverance. He fired. "Shepard, caution. There are dozens of husks up on the ramp.

"I see them." Shepard responded.

Zaeed brought up his sniper rifle, firing at the husks he could see. "There are too many. I can't get them all. Shepard, you're in my line of fire."

"What the hell is going on down there?" Miranda snapped. "Two and a half minutes."

"Too many," Shepard stated. "I'm gonna charge 'em. Run by me while I got them. Ready?"

"Shepard," Samara warned.

"Go!"

"What is he …" Thane trailed off and fired. "They swarmed him. I can't get a shot. Grunt and Samara have passed but the husks want Shepard. They ignored the others."

Miranda's heart clenched, stomach dropped at the realization. She instantly gathered herself and spoke. "Shepard's their target no one else. Get him out of there."

"I don't think I can." Thane answered.

Shepard yelled at the pain. "Get the fuck outta here. Go!"

Miranda swallowed hard. "Grunt? Can you get to him? Thane, don't let them take Shepard away. They want him and they can't have him alive. Take the shot if you have it."

"What?"

"You heard me!" She snapped. "Shoot Shepard before they can put him into one of those bloody pods! They set the trap for him!"

"I don't have the shot yet, I can't see it."

"Shepard!" Grunt roared and lowered his head, charging into the husks and knocking most of them off of the Commander with sickening force. The power of the Krogan shattered bones and scattered bodies. The extraction point erupted in blue energy as both Samara and Jack unleashed a fury of biotic attacks. Grunt crushed a husk beneath his foot before helping a wounded Shepard to his feet.

"Thane!" Miranda yelled into the com. "What's happening? I saw the biotics surge."

"We got Shepard. He's alive. Walking." Thane fired. "one hundred meters away."

"Shepard, get your god damn ass on that shuttle. One minute." Miranda snapped. "Donnelly! Charge the core."

"Charging."

Miranda turned to the AI console," EDI prepare for possible defensive fire. Joker, you better earn your pay." She watched the timer click down as the shuttle took off from the collector ship. She opened the docking bay, eyes on the bay's doors. Each second slowly ticked past. "Joker, on my mark."

The doors inched closed and finally sealed, Miranda shouted. "Now!"

Joker jerked the controls, dodging the Collector ship. The collector gun charged and Joker tugged hard at the controls. "EDI, get us outta here!"

"State your destination."

"Anywhere but here!" Joker exclaimed.

"The Citadel!" Miranda corrected then called to the crew. "Hold on! Donnelly!"

"Core's ready!"

"EDI!"

The collector ray skimmed the edge of the Normandy just before the Cerberus vessel launched through space and away.

Note: Love the reviews and all the hits. Thanks so much for the response. It keeps my writing.