W.i.t.G
What's up Guys! Just wanted to let you know that I greatly appreciated the reviews and PM's I received over my first chapter. And there's me thinking nobody would care :) you guys are awesome! Keep it up!
So just to let you know, this chapter shall be dedicated to the Eden Prime section. The debriefing and Citadel shall be next. Don't worry Talimancer's, we're getting there.
My release schedule shall be fairly erratic at best, as I do have a large amount of work to do, but never the less! As long as one person shall still read this, then I shall soldier on. Just to let you guys know, first bit of major Non-Canon in this chapter, now don't shoot me all at once, wait and see what happens, and if you think you know, PM me.
Cheers guys! Keep those reviews coming!
"Entering Eden Prime's atmosphere," buzzed the comm, as Joker's voice filtered into the cargo bay.
Kaidan was nervous.
It wasn't the fact that they were ill-prepared due to a lack of knowledge about their chosen battlefield, or the enemy they were fighting, or being potentially outnumbered by insurmountable odds. No, Kaidan was used to that sort of thing after working with Shepard.
Kaidan was nervous, because Shepard was on edge.
The commander, after attaching his favourite assault rifle, a dinged up old M-7 Lancer that was apparently a gift from an old marine and was nicknamed 'Lucy', to his already incredible offensive armament, began pacing up and down the cargo hold, deliberating and planning for the best outcome in the mission.
Kaidan had no idea why he was nervous.
'Must have been told he's become the Prime Minister of the Alliance and has to prepare a speech out of toothpicks... That wouldn't surprise me.'
That was true as well for Kaidan.
He now knew, that if the odds were impossible, Shepard would just see that as encouragement to keep doing the impossible.
'He will have to get new armor though if he keeps it up.'
Glancing over, Kaidan noticed that Shepard had stopped his pacing, and it looked like he was now trying to calm Corporal Jenkins down.
'Poor kid. It must be pretty nasty to find out your first combat mission involves storming your own home to clear out hostiles.'
Kaidan continued to watch the scene unfolding before his eyes, Shepard had taken out his old Katana V to show something to Jenkin's, and apparently it was doing the trick. Kaidan could hear the corporal chuckling soon to Shepard's stories about his old shotgun with the commander speaking passionately, his previous edgy attitude having abated.
'That's our commander. He could probably talk a Krogan down from something ridiculously serious, like curing the Genophage or something.' Chuckling softly, Kaidan began to stare at the commander's armaments, interested himself in the stories behind them.
Shepard didn't like to talk about his previous life, so he was an enigma in that regard. But his weapons and skills... He could talk for hours about them and his past battles. The man was simply crafted by the fires of war.
Shepard's armor was dented in many places, either from impact shots that had breached his kinetic barrier or from hand to hand combat. His large chest piece had a deep gorge that had not been refilled. Kaidan had been told that Shepard kept it because of a past fight that taught him a lot about himself.
'Each to his own, I guess.' Kaidan thought with a smirk. Continuing, Kaidan noticed the large bandolier of grenades, wrapped around his right bicep, and a bandolier with what appeared to be throwing knives around his left bicep. A large combat knife, that was worn at the handle due to a large amount of use, sat on the left side of Shepard's chest in its holster, ready for use at a moment's notice.
The commander didn't like to wear a helmet with his armor; his short black hair and hazel eyes were free to the world. When Kaidan asked Shepard about it, his reply was something to do with the inability to see the enemy properly.
All Kaidan knew, was not to piss the commander off. He could ruin your day faster than you could blink.
And that was excluding his biotic amp, and his knack for technology, and his knowledge on how to cause you as much pain as possible without killing you quickly.
Kaidan could suddenly feel the jolt of the Normandy as it fully entered Eden Prime's atmosphere and slowed to a crawl in preparation for the drop.
'Man do I hate doing these!'
With a sudden queasiness in his stomach and his nerves coming back in full force, the Lieutenant tried to clear his mind of his perilous thoughts:
'It's okay Kaidan, it's only a drop in full kit and armor, into a hostile controlled zone, with the possibility of being completely outnumbered. Not like its not happened before.'
Kaidan lifted his head after his resolve had been bolstered, expecting to see the commander helping Jenkins to prepare himself. Instead, he found Shepard looking directly at him.
'Uh... Okay... Now I'm the one being inspected all of a sudden.'
"Did you hear what I said Lieutenant? We're going to be just fine. Stop worrying so much."
'How the hell does he do that?!'
Quickly gaining his senses, Kaidan stumbled out a reply. "I apologise, Commander. I-I didn't hear you, but don't worry. I'm ready. I can fight."
"Didn't say you couldn't LT. If you want to, I could hold your hand... Just to keep you safe if you're worried." Shepard replied with a wicked grin on his lips. Humour and good-natured banter drenched his words, but Kaidan still felt a spike of annoyance at the comment:
'Think I'm weak huh? I'll show you.'
Bringing his assault rifle to life in his hands, the lieutenant stared defiantly at his superior: "I'm ready, able and willing to fight, sir. Give me a target and it'll stay down." Kaidan was itching for confrontation with the bigger man. It would spell disaster, but still. Kaidan wouldn't stand for being considered weak.
A smile split Shepard's lips apart, and a hearty chuckle escaped the man as he stared back at his subordinate: "Carry on, Lieutenant."
And with that, Shepard went to go and speak to Captain Anderson and Nihlus, who had recently entered the cargo hold.
'What the hell just happened?'
Kaidan was dumbfounded.
Walking over towards Jenkins, Kaidan couldn't believe what had just happened.
'Did he just trick me?' Realisation hit the Lieutenant like a speeding bullet.
'Clever son-of-a-bitch. He meant to do that. A small distraction to ease my nerves.' With a smile on Alenko's face, the lieutenant continued walking, now journeying to stand over by the commander at the hatch. Jenkins got the same idea and followed suit.
As they were walking, Kaidan thought it wise to warn the corporal:
"Jenkins?"
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Don't ever try to outsmart the commander. Just remember, he's always two steps ahead of you. Always."
With that cryptic response left to hang in the air like an unwanted smell, the duo continued their walk until they reached the group, and fell in behind Shepard. All Shepard did was to give an appreciative nod to Alenko.
'I can't believe I fell for it.'
"Approaching drop point one." The comm crackled as the bay doors began to open at the same time as Joker's announcement.
The collective group turned and faced towards the now open bay doors; all of them staring out at the destroyed, burning landscape that was Eden Prime.
Suddenly, Nihlus pulled out his shotgun from the small of his back and walked towards the doors, when an excited and slightly nervous voice called out.
"Wait! Nihlus, aren't you coming with us?" asked Jenkins with a hint of surprise whilst he moved towards the spectre.
Nihlus simply turned his head around to acknowledge the group to his right, "I move faster on my own."
With that, the spectre leapt out of the cargo bay doors, and into the devastated horizon.
Jenkins, realising he had moved without permission, began to shuffle backwards as inconspicuously as possible.
Shepard merely smiled at the sight.
"Now approaching drop point two."
Captain Anderson decided he should intervene, and continue Nihlus' basic explanation, "Nihlus will scout ahead, relaying any useful intelligence for Alliance Command, as well as keeping your squad updated Commander. The drop point chosen is outside the AOE, so enemy resistance should be minimal at best. Radio silence from here on out, understood?"
With 3 immediate nods, the captain smiled and stood backwards.
Shepard decided to ask the question that was on everybody's minds. "What about survivors, Captain?"
Anderson's expression suddenly turned grim and his reply was subdued, as if he was struggling to give the orders, "Helping survivors is a secondary objective Commander. Your mission priority is the beacon."
With a final nod of acceptance from the commander, Anderson finished his speech, "The mission's yours now Shepard. Good luck!"
The response from the commander was hard to hear, but those in his immediate vicinity knew the meaning of his words.
"Aye aye Captain! Let's move!"
Shepard was first out the door, as always.
As it should be.
Ashley ran.
There was nothing else to do, but to run. The 212th lay in ruins; many of Eden Prime's colonists lay strewn about.
Dead.
The last of the 212th ran for her life.
From the synthetic demons. The cold, calculating, synthetic demons.
No remorse. No mercy. No emotion.
Ashley stumbled and fell after slipping on some churned up ground from a previous grenade blast, in the initial invasion.
She shakily got back to her feet, and kept running. Away from the enemy. Away from the fight.
The scenery could only be described as hellish: limbs laying around, and blood splattered along the previously white pre-fabs. Alliance marines lay dead; some next to the enemy, some next to colonists, protecting them to their last dying breath.
It was a total nightmare.
But Ashley kept running. Hoping and praying to God that he would send a miracle, a blessing in disguise to fix the situation. To save her.
Ashley just ran.
As soon as Shepard and his squad had landed on the planet, the stench of burning flesh permeated the air.
Kaidan tried to keep his face stoic and unperturbed, but the smell of death was overpowering.
Shepard was indifferent. He had gotten used to the smell after so many experiences. But Jenkins...
Jenkins simply retched.
His home was burning; his friends and his neighbours were burning.
'Poor kid. We'll avenge them. Of that I'm sure.' Shepard thought with a grim expression.
'I've got to keep them moving. Away from the bodies and away from the stench, and towards the dig-site. To keep them focused. It's the best thing for them.'
"Move out." Shepard was in his famous 'Commander Shepard' mode; the only mode that was suitable for a situation like this one.
Eden Prime was simply a hell.
As the squad moved out, and weapons were drawn in anticipation, all three equipping their respective assault rifles, the once beautiful paradise had now become a cesspit of weapons fire and scorched corpses.
The fires that raged in the fields and near the living quarters; the thick black smoke that billowed from the blazing piles of what were once healthy and happy human beings, made the commander's vision slightly hazed. It was difficult to see where they were going, which in itself was a blessing. They didn't have to see the many more foul horrors lingering on the borders of the destroyed site.
Suddenly, Shepard's comm crackled to life, and a Turian's voice filled his hearing. Shepard motioned his squad to move ahead, towards a rocky outcropping, and to hold position.
"I've got some burnt out buildings here, Shepard. A lot of bodies. I'm going to search some of the intact pre-fabs. I'll catch up with you at the dig-site. Nihlus out."
And with that, Nihlus' voice left, and Shepard was brought back to reality.
His squad needed him focused, not worrying about his possible promotion into the Spectre ranks; 'Nihlus will be fine. He's a Spectre. He can handle himself.'
Shepard jogged back to his squad, who had found a highly defensible position in the outcropping. Alenko was scanning the area for hostiles whilst wielding his Kessler I side-arm, and Jenkins was on edge, defending the position, but was obviously scared of what was to come next.
"Listen up."
At this, the pair focused their attention on Shepard and Shepard alone, "Nihlus has moved ahead to scout out the pre-fabs. He's going to meet us at the dig-site, so we proceed as planned. Alenko, anything on the scanner?"
Alenko looked at the scanner on his omni-tool for a final time before addressing the commander, "There's nothing notable on the scanner Commander, but I did notice some gaseous life form, floating nearby. I'm not sure if they're friendly or hostile."
Strangely, Jenkins simply began chuckling whilst looking at the commander. After a few moments of laughter, Jenkins addressed his superior, "Don't worry Commander, they're just Gas-bags. They can't hurt you."
"Noted, Jenkins." Shepard said with a chuckle of his own, dispelling some of the nervous tension in the air, before continuing:
"Good work, the pair of you. Now, let's move out."
Immediately, the squad members dismounted their cover in the outcropping and fell in behind Shepard.
"Weapons out; locked and loaded. Eyes front and scanning for hostiles." Shepard barked in his commanding tone.
He was pleased to see that his squad was well versed in taking orders.
It was then that Shepard realised he had no idea where he was going, even with the coordinates.
Confused and slightly taken aback, Shepard struggled to conceive a solution. Until it hit him.
In hindsight, Shepard would hate himself until the day he died for what he was about to do, but it was the only viable option.
Calling out, Shepard began, "Jenkins?"
"Yes, sir?" came the immediate reply.
"Take point. We'll be following closely behind so lead us to the dig-site. Here are the coordinates."
"Aye aye, sir." Jenkins then quickly moved to the front of the squad, whilst reading the recently acquired coordinates on his omni-tool.
After a short period of time, Jenkins stopped the group and turned around to face his superior, oblivious to the enemy behind him.
"It's just ahead Commander, through this clearing..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, came two flying drones; dark blue and metallic in design, with extremely deadly plasma cannons attached to their undercarriage, with a third one, larger and bulkier without weapons, hanging behind in the entrance to the clearing.
Without warning, the drones opened fire on the oblivious soldier in front of them, both their cannons working in unison to fire rapid plasma bolts straight through the Corporal's body, obliterating his shields as if they didn't exist.
Round after round was pumped into the Corporal's body until he fell forwards, onto the floor, with a wet flump. Shepard knew, then and there what had become of the young man.
Jenkins, was dead.
Anger surged through Shepard's veins at the sight of the hovering drones, which had now turned to direct their attention against Shepard.
They were too late.
Shepard had already charged forward, a shield boost program being activated whilst his biotics flared.
The familiar pain in the back of his skull was a welcome reminder to the commander as his rage clouded his senses.
Shepard ran, straight into the closest drone, dropping his rifle on the way. Holding onto the drone, the commander rammed a biotically enhanced fist through the drone's optics. They fell dead quickly, and the drone became a hollow husk.
At this time, Alenko had already begun firing upon the second drone, gaining its attention to allow the commander to annihilate the first drone. The second drone began to move towards the lieutenant, its plasma cannon, firing round after round into Alenko's cover. Before the Lieutenant could pop out of cover to attack his foe with his biotics, he heard a bestial snarl as Shepard jabbed his combat knife through the optics of the second drone, allowing that to fall dead.
All that could be heard in the lull of the fighting was the commander withdrawing his knife from the drone and a statement that expressed the smallest amount of Shepard's rage:
"That, was for Jenkins!"
The third drone at the back of the battlefield, began to move backwards into the forest, before completely disappearing.
This didn't stop Shepard from firing his pistols at the space it had occupied, until an 'overheating' warning emanated from both pistols.
Holstering them, Shepard turned around to face Kaidan, before staring down at the lifeless corpse of corporal Richard Jenkins.
Shame, and guilt flooded Shepard's system now; the thought that he was the cause of an innocent's death was unbearable. Shepard slowly knelt down next to the corporal, and closed his lifeless eyes one last time, before sitting in silence to say a prayer for the fallen. Shepard removed Jenkins dog tags, as carefully as he could, his own mind drawing a blank.
It was the least he could do.
Kaidan stood in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Only moments ago, Jenkins was teasing the commander of the threat of Gas-bags. Now he was dead.
A corpse. A fatality of war some would say, but to Kaidan and Shepard, it was pure injustice.
Although they hadn't known each other long, Jenkins was like a younger brother to Kaidan, and now he was dead. Slowly moving forward, Kaidan reached down to pick up the discarded 'Lucy' and once more, moved towards Shepard. As he reached Shepard, all that could be heard was a hoarse whisper from Shepard, "Never again... Not one more."
Alenko quietly spoke to the solemn commander, "We have to keep moving Commander. For Jenkins."
"Ripped right through his shields... He never stood a chance." Shepard mumbled. This was bringing back horrifying memories of Elysium all over again, memories of Lucy's kidnapping...
"Commander!" Kaidan barked, hoping to shock the commander out of his grieving.
Shepard looked at the Lieutenant in shock, then in anger, but then finally understanding. Shepard stood up, and looked at Alenko, speaking in a subdued voice, while Jenkins dog-tags were wrapped around his left fist.
"We'll see to it that he gets a proper burial. It's the least we can do."
"Agreed, Commander." Kaidan became hopeful once more.
"Move out Lieutenant. I want to go find that other drone. I'm gonna take a lot of pleasure in finding out what the hell these things are doing here, and ripping them to tiny pieces, one by fucking one."
"Aye aye, Commander."
And so, the pair moved away from their dead friend, weapons equipped, Kaidan his pistol, Shepard his assault rifle, and into the clearing in the forest, both rearing for a fight.
For Jenkins.
Ashley was still running.
Her legs were burning with the strenuous effort of constant fleeing. Her breaths were extremely laboured. She wouldn't make it much further.
In what could only be described as grim luck, the fleeing marine had managed to find some rocky cover ahead of her position; 'Good place for a final stand. Williams' don't leave a fight unfinished.'
A sombre grin was placed on Ashley's face as she began running as fast as possible to reach her new cover.
And then she tripped.
Cursing under her breath, Ashley flipped over onto her back, and began to move, when the ground around her was suddenly ripped open by burning hot plasma bolts being fired by a pair of enemy drones.
'Oh shit!'
Equipping her pistol as fluently as possible, as well as adjusting her aim to acquire the rapidly advancing drones, Ashley closed her eyes, in case the inevitable did occur. She squeezed off four shots.
The first one hit its mark, demolishing the shields of the first drone; the second pierced its optics, sending it hurtling to the ground, landing with a loud thud. The other two shots hit the second drone, the first shot again overloading the shields, and the second shot hitting the machine's optics; except this time, the second drone blew up in a shower of sparks and rending metal.
Ashley slowly opened her eyes and breathed a long sigh of relief. The sudden surge of adrenaline began to slowly abate.
Getting shakily up to her feet, Ashley began to move again towards her cover, drawing her standard Alliance issue Avenger I assault rifle off her back and into her hands, when suddenly an electronic chirping sound caught her attention.
Turning around to investigate the source of the noise, she would later recall that if she hadn't been so full of rage and shock, she would have been sick at the sight before her.
In the distance, two synthetic beings were placing a confused colonist onto a purple platform; the left-most synthetic chirping electronically to the other.
They stepped back from the podium, when suddenly a large metal spike was driven through the colonist's torso. It wasn't an instantaneous death, nor was it painless. The colonist's innards and blood trickled out of the gaping hole in his torso, and down the silver spike.
Crimson red staining pure silver.
The colonist writhed in pain for thirty seconds before falling silent. The two synthetic beings watched with rapt attention, while Ashley stood in horror.
Once the colonist had died, the two synthetic beings spun around with machine-like efficiency, to focus their attention on the female human clad in pink and white armor.
'Oh shit! Oh shit!'
Ashley's instincts kicked in, and her previous fatigue was now long forgotten.
She ran straight for the rocky cover, rifle in hand. Once she had reached the cover she steadied her breathing, and prepared to fill these synthetic bastards full of holes, or die trying. Just like a Williams should.
As she peeked around her cover, she held her breath, aimed her rifle, and her finger inched further to the trigger.
Before she could fire however, a loud crack of a sniper rifle being fired and a victorious cry afterwards was heard loudly throughout the area. The leftmost being's 'eye' exploded into little shards of metal and glass as the other being spun around in confusion.
The next sound she heard would make her smile in memory for the rest of her life.
"Hah! Nailed that shot like a fuckin' ace! Alenko, did you see that?! That, is how you kill shit!"
Turning around she saw a hulking beast of a man, coated in white viscous fluid, raise his rifle into the air in celebration as another man stood chuckling at the sight.
'Lord, thank you for this miracle!'
The other synthetic being however quickly snapped out of its confusion, and began to raise its oddly-shaped rifle, with an efficiency only a machine could manage.
Turning back around, she saw the new threat posed and began to fire on the being, a steady stream of hypersonic rounds, the size of grains of sand, peppering its shield.
As its shields began to falter under the barrage of fire, another set of rifle fire joined the fray. It was a strange sound to Ashley's ears. It sounded like an old rifle she had trained with. Her father's old M-7 Lancer.
As the beings shields shattered and its rifle fire became even more erratic, a biotic projectile was launched into the being, sending it hurtling backwards, about 12 feet. The hulking man she had seen earlier, began to move towards the being, intent on riddling it with holes.
Ashley couldn't help but viciously grin in glee.
Smoke billowed from the end of her rifle as she began to slowly hobble towards the larger man, intent on expressing her thanks.
The larger man stood over the crumpled mess that was once a synthetic being, crushing its hand underneath his boot, before he raised his rifle and unloaded a full burst into its optics. With a loud grunt, the soldier kicked the machine to one side, before spitting a little bit of blood onto its chest. His companion made his way over, chuckling to himself.
Ashley could only stare at the sight of the men before her.
One man was of standard male height, and standard male build, clad in standard Alliance armor.
The other man was very different. He was a beast of a man.
Standing at around 6'10 or 6'11 she would guess, he stood above the rest of the marines she could remember she'd served with; his general stature dwarfed hers. His armor was coated in white fluid, but his weapons glistened celestially in the dying light, emphasising every contour and feature. He was a walking armoury compared to the other marine.
As she got closer, the other man turned around to address her quietly:
"Are you alright, marine? You're not injured are you?"
Noticing the other man as a superior, she tried to convey as much conviction as possible with her response, "I'm fine, sir. Just a few scrapes and burns. That's all."
The larger man suddenly spoke, but his attention was obviously elsewhere, "That's bullshit." The larger man was now standing above the being, examining his work of art; the destruction of the chest piece of the being. He didn't bother to turn around and face the woman he was addressing.
'Who the hell does he think he is?!' as anger surged through Ashley's veins, she began to approach the larger man, intent on giving him a piece of her mind.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." The other man now spoke up, a Lieutenant from the markings on his armor.
'Just great! Now I get to smash two heads together!'
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Ashley snarled with rage.
The larger man now turned around to face the angry armed woman.
The sight before her made her anger dissipate immediately; replaced with some other very confusing feelings.
His hazel eyes, in open view without the restriction of a helmet, stared back into hers.
His short black hair was coated in fluid; a graze on his right cheek continued to ooze a trickle of blood; a vicious scar, 3-lines deep, over his left eye struck her as a warning.
This man's been through a lot. Don't push it.
The most striking feature however, was the smile on his face, beaming with warmth and offering comfort to whoever so desired. She could get lost in that smile till the end of time..
Then she noticed the symbol on his chest-piece. A letter and number combination that instantly turned her stomach into an icy pit.
N7.
She had just insulted one of the Alliance's best. She was such an idiot.
The lieutenant, after watching the scene unfold, continued with his explanation, "I'm 1st Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and this is Commander Shepard."
'Commander Shepard! I just insulted the Alliance's hero... My hero!'
Stuttering out a reply, Ashley tried to salute as best as possible in the face of her embarrassment, "I-I apologise sir. I-I didn't realise it was... You." she finished meekly.
To everybody's surprise, the commander just laughed and continued to smile. After his laughter had ceased, the commander addressed the woman:
"That's alright. I have to give it to you, most people would have run away by now." Shepard said in a jovial tone.
"Not the first time, and certainly won't be the last." The lieutenant chuckled; Alenko wasn't it?
"Damn straight!" Shepard said as he regarded his friend.
Turning his attention back to the woman, he felt a surge of embarrassment rush through him. With cheeks turning bright red, and a hand coming to rub nervously at the back of his neck, the commander spoke:
"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name, marine."
'Dammit, this is what happens when you meet you hero!' Closing her gaping mouth, which earned a chuckle from the lieutenant, Ashley stood up straight, and spoke with pride:
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, sir. I'm the last of the 212th. I'm guessing you're the one in charge?"
"That's me. As I was saying earlier Williams, that's bullshit. You can't fight now. You're injured." The commander said with certainty in his tone.
'How does he know I hurt my ankle?' Confusion crossed Ashley's face as she regarded the commander.
With a chuckle, Shepard replied, "You're limping Gunny. I'm not blind."
'That, makes sense.'
Mentally face-palming herself for her earlier outburst again, the Gunnery Chief spoke in a quiet, pained whisper, "What are these things sir? I mean, they just wiped out my entire unit. We weren't ready at all."
Tears began to form at the corner of Williams' eyes as she remembered running from her dying friends. The loss of her fighting spirit involuntarily exposed the usually fiery marine's loss of emotion. She was scared and friendless in a hostile environment; the blood of her friends resting on the edges of her fingertips and their souls weighing heavily upon her sullen heart.
Shepard noticed a droop in William's shoulders and head, and placed a giant gauntleted hand on her shoulder, causing her to stare back at the man's comforting face.
Kaidan spoke up for the Commander, "They're Geth, Williams. Synthetic AI's created by the Quarian's. They've not been seen outside of the Perseus Veil for the past 300 years."
"You did all you could William's, just remember that. You can live to fight another day; live to fight for the memory of your unit."
The conviction he spoke with warmed Ashley's heart with hope and determination at the truth in his words.
With a new found resolve, the Gunnery Chief pulled her assault rifle off of her back and stared at the Commander, letting her words flow out. "I'm ready willing and able sir. Let's go kick some Geth ass!"
"I don't think so, Gunny." The commander said quietly.
Her new found hope and determination crashed in a mighty plummet. She addressed the man in front of her with a small, meek whisper, "It's because I'm not good enough isn't it? It's because of the Williams' curse... I can still fight dammit! I can still avenge them!" Tears trickled down the young woman's face as she regarded the commander.
"I have no idea what curse you're talking about Chief, but I can't send an injured marine into a fight."
Her hopes sunk even further.
"But... I can allow you to stay with Alenko, while I move on ahead to the dig-site. I need an experienced marine such as yourself to help my lieutenant out. Knowing him, he'll get lost and somehow make his way to an Asari brothel."
"That was one time!"
A giant grin illuminated Ashley's face at his last words and with a breach of protocol and regulations, Ashley wrapped her arms around the kind, gentle man in front of her, as silent sobs racked her body. Tears and sobs of happiness.
Her hero had let her come along.
Shepard merely chuckled, and addressed Alenko, "Kaidan, I'm going to move on ahead. Nihlus wants me to check out the dig-site, and then the spaceport. Keep an eye on this one; I think she gets quite clingy."
A snotty laugh was heard after the phrase from the grief-stricken young woman, who for the first time in years, let out her repressed emotions, in the presence of the only man in the universe who could understand how she felt. She had lost a unit, and so had he; back on Akuze.
Kaidan's reply was laced with humour and concern for his commander, along with a smile on his lips at the compassion he had just witnessed, "I think I can do that Commander. Just be careful. We can't have it spreading around that we're picking up damsels in distress."
As Ashley disentangled herself from the commander, she smiled at the two men before her. Complete strangers, yet they had showed more understanding and warmth to her than anybody else in her entire career. These men felt like friends already. Suddenly, the situation didn't seem as bad as it had done five minutes ago.
The commander just chuckled, and as he moved past Kaidan, he patted his friend on the shoulder before breaking off into a headlong run.
"The man is completely crazy, but he's one of the best." Kaidan said as he continued to watch the commander running in the distance.
"Do you think he'll be alright against that many Geth?" Ashley had to ask; the guilt that was slowly creeping into her heart at allowing the commander to go alone was beginning to tighten into a vice-like grip.
"Are you kidding? I feel sorry for the Geth. They don't know what's about to hit them. And when they do realise, it will definitely be too late. Now come on," Kaidan said with a smile on his face as he addressed the wounded marine, "Let's get you fixed up, then we can follow the commander's trail... All we'll have to do is follow the destruction."
With a smile creeping onto her own face, the female marine slowly nodded her head, and allowed the lieutenant to set her down.
"Are you near the spaceport, Shepard?" Nihlus asked over the comm channel.
'If I was there, don't you think I would have said so?!' thought the commander angrily, as he withdrew his combat knife from the skull of one of the husk-like enemies.
Swiftly turning with the motion, Shepard spun clockwise and let off three shots with his shotgun in his left hand, straight into another horde of 'Husks'.
Dropping his now smoking shotgun, the commander summoned his dwindling biotic abilities to launch a relatively powerful blast at an incoming husk. The crack that resonated throughout the area from the impact of the blast on the creature's torso was loud enough to draw more husks towards him.
The commander was becoming overwhelmed.
Thinking quickly, Shepard biotically pulled over a couple of gas canisters that had been placed next to a storage prefab, and flung them at the oncoming horde.
With a motion that had been practised many times before, the commander drew his dual pistols from their respective holsters, and begun to fire into the crowd. The resulting explosion devastated the zombie-like cybernetic Husks.
'Bonnie' and 'Clyde' made short work of the remaining enemies.
Breathing heavily, the commander reached down to pick up his shotgun, before addressing Nihlus on the comm, "I'm on my way now. Shepard out."
And with that, the commander continued with his run to the spaceport.
The journey to the dig-site had proved uneventful, with minor resistance meeting Shepard.
As soon as he had reached the dig-site however, the confusion on Shepard's face had become apparent to all who could see.
The beacon was missing.
Infuriated, the commander had marched into the prefabs on the ridge above the dig-site, hoping to find some evidence to the location of the now missing beacon.
Shepard had located a courtyard full of strange purple podiums, with large spikes protruding from them, housing dead colonists at their tops, as well as a few Geth troopers patrolling the area. After a quick firefight, the commander dispatched the hostile forces, before continuing his search.
He had found a prefab that had housed two scientists from the research project. One of them was completely insane, ranting and raving about 'a prophet had come to secure their devastation' and 'the higher beings had chosen Eden Prime as the beginning of the ascension'.
The other scientist however, was not leaking drool from their mouth after speaking, so naturally Shepard listened to her instead.
She didn't know much, just that the beacon had been moved to the spaceport.
Leaving the scientists in their relative safety, Shepard exited the pre-fab and walked a few feet in the direction of the space-port.
Something was amiss however.
The colonists on top of the podiums had disappeared.
Then the groaning and blood-curdling wailing began.
Wiping black gunk from his forehead, Shepard took up position on a hilly ridge, overlooking the entrance to the spaceport. Taking his sniper rifle off of his back, Shepard zoomed in on the occupants of the spaceport, searching for any signs of the Turian spectre.
After a minute of searching, Shepard found the distinctly red-armoured Turian approaching the steps to the port. As Shepard continued to watch the scene unfold, another silver-armoured Turian entered Shepard's sights. Focusing his sights on the new Turian, Shepard watched as Nihlus began to speak. He noticed that Nihlus relaxed visibly at the other Turian's words, before turning around. Nihlus was now exposed to the silver Turian, as he began to address the landscape.
A heavy pistol was then drawn by the other Turian, aiming for the back of Nihlus' head.
Without hesitating, Shepard automatically activated his stealth field, allowing for an added boost of stopping power to his rifles shot.
Holding his breath, Shepard pulled the trigger. The scope of his rifle nestled neatly on the silver-armoured Turian's head fringe. A clean headshot.
A loud crack was heard as Shepard's rifle kicked against his armoured shoulder and sent a round straight into the other Turian. A powerful shield immediately flared around the Turian's skull, preventing the round from penetrating any further. His enemy, however, became startled at the sudden attack. Again, without any sluggishness or hesitancy, the commander replaced his sniper rifle with 'Lucy', before he began to charge down the hill, barrelling into idle groaning husks.
Shepard's shot had staggered the other Turian, but he had still let loose a concussive shot on the unsuspecting Nihlus; flinging him into the wall of the spaceport. The other Turian moved away from Nihlus, before hopping onto a floating board of sorts; fleeing into the distance of Eden Prime. Shepard double timed it when he saw Nihlus fly through the air before landing in a crumpled heap; letting off shots with his rifle into unsuspecting Geth soldiers and Husks alike as he advanced.
Reaching Nihlus' location, Shepard began a medical program on his omni-tool, checking Nihlus' vitals. After a dose of medi-gel, the Turian regained consciousness:
"Shepard? What's going on?! What just happened?!" Nihlus began in a frenzied tone. his talons gripping the human soldier's arms quite tightly.
"It's alright Nihlus, you're safe now. You've just taken a concussive shot to the skull, you'll be alright."
Suddenly, Nihlus reached forward and pulled his face closer to Shepard's, his voice trembling in a low, harsh whisper, "Shepard! Saren has planted nuclear devices on Eden Prime! I heard him speak about a 'clean up operation - priority alpha'. Saren's going to destroy Eden Prime! Spectres use that term when describing a nuclear detonation of hostile territory! You must stop him!"
And with that sudden outburst, Nihlus leaned backwards, and fell silent.
Fearing the Spectre dead, Shepard once again commenced a medical scan. He was, however, relieved to find that Nihlus had simply fallen unconscious with his exertion.
Standing up, Shepard opened his comm link to Alenko, "Kaidan, I've got Nihlus here. He's injured. I'm sending you the coordinates for pickup. Apparently there's nuclear warheads on the planet. I'm going to move ahead and disarm as many as I can. You know what they say: same shit, different day. Shepard out."
With that, the commander continued with running; his sights now directed to the tram station, and the nuclear warheads that posed a tremendous threat to all life on Eden Prime.
A tremendous battle had awaited the commander, but once more, the human had walked away victorious.
Numerous Geth platforms had tried to stop the human juggernaut, but they had all failed.
The Geth warriors hadn't anticipated a foe that fought with tremendous determination and resolve, as well as a foe that possessed biotic abilities and a range of tech abilities.
If Shepard was honest with himself, his abilities were not as advanced as his enemies believed. He had relied on a quick strike: 'shock and awe' tactics to attack an unsuspecting enemy, and from there he went with the flow of battle. His biotic skills were limited to simple lifts and throws, whilst his tech abilities consisted of a tactical cloak and a simple electronics program, allowing him to overload the shields of his enemies.
With the last nuclear warhead disabled, and all enemies in the vicinity dead or severely wounded, Shepard leaned against a crate with his assault rifle in his hands, and breathed a heavy sigh.
Although Shepard had emerged the victor, the battle had taken its toll on him. His head was pounding with fatigue and strain from his biotics; his sides were sore and bruised from multiple melee skirmishes, and a particularly nasty head wound had not ceased its bleeding.
Shepard could hear the distinct approach of two sets of footsteps. One was slightly quieter than the other, suggesting a limp of some kind.
'Alenko and Williams made it then.'
With a wheezy chuckle, Shepard raised his head to regard the pair, "Well, at least you showed up. Missed out on all of the fun though."
"I can see that Commander... By the way, you look like shit." said Kaidan with a smirk.
Ashley merely mumbled out her reply, increasing in enthusiasm as she progressed, "So it's true... All of the rumours and stories about you... They're all true! Goddamn Commander! This carnage is unlike anything I've ever seen committed by one man! You have got to teach me how you do it!"
Shepard barked out a laugh as he began to get up from his seated position, before replying in a cheerful tone, "I try my best. A lot of hard work and training can have you like this in no time. Now come on! Let's keep moving!"
And with that, Alenko and Williams fell in behind their commander as they progressed to the beacon.
Once they had reached the beacon, the squad dispersed; Alenko and Williams heading in one direction, as the commander went another, preparing his comm system to communicate with the Normandy.
Once a connection had been established, Shepard turned into traditional serious 'Commander Shepard' mode.
"Commander Shepard to Normandy."
It was captain Anderson's voice that immediately answered the commander; his usual gruff and serious tone in place, "Status report, Commander."
"We have located the beacon and are awaiting extraction. I'm sending the coordinates of our location. In addition, spectre Nihlus was wounded in action during the mission; first-aid has been given but proper medical attention will be necessary on board the Normandy. The required coordinates are being sent now."
"Copy that, Commander," The captain sounded relieved to hear the report, but his next comment only made Shepard's guilt over earlier events resurface and take a fresh vice-like hold upon his heart, "What about the rest of the squad Shepard? Are they okay?"
With a dejected sigh, and a heavy heart, the commander eventually responded, "Jenkins... Jenkins didn't make it Captain. He's KIA. I'm sending the coordinates for his body now. We have to see to it that he receives a proper burial."
"I understand, Commander. The Normandy will divert once we have extracted your squad. Is there anything else?" Anderson's voice was weary now, as if regretting asking the question in the first place.
"Yes sir. We've acquired the last surviving member of the 212th; Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. She's injured, sir."
"Understood, Commander. She'll receive medical attention, don't worry. Good job, Shepard. Anderson out." With that the comm link cut out, leaving Shepard standing there, staring out at the landscape of Eden Prime.
With another sigh, signifying another release of tension from his body, the commander turned around to face his squad once more.
As soon as he had turned around, he noticed that Kaidan was already walking towards him, prepared to fall back in again.
But that wasn't what caught Shepard's attention.
Ashley had started to move closer to the beacon. Bolts of emerald green energy surrounded her body, physically locking her onto her course. She was helpless to struggle against the power of the beacon.
Without thinking of his own safety, Shepard rushed past the approaching Kaidan and ran straight for Ashley.
The commander wrapped his arms around the slender waist of the female marine as he neared her, and with every last ounce of energy he had remaining, both physical and biotic, Shepard spun with the motion, turning clockwise, and hurled Ashley out of the beacon's grasp.
Ashley was free from the beacon's hold.
But Shepard wasn't.
After using his last remaining sources of energy, Shepard didn't have the energy to fight back against the powerful hold of the beacon.
After accepting his fate, Shepard braced himself for what was about to come.
He was lifted into the air, and the green energy of the beacon surrounded his body, blinding all of those who viewed the spectacle.
Searing hot pain invaded every nerve fibre of Shepard's body as the beacon began to forcibly implant images in his head.
Death.
Destruction.
Gore.
Synthetics.
Screaming.
'Ascension'
Shepard blacked out.