In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient space-faring civilization, the Protheans. In the decades that followed, mysterious artifacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the furthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time. They called it the most significant discovery in human history. The civilizations of the galaxy call it...

"GODDAMMIT ZAINE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU CAN'T BE IN SPACE WITHOUT A SUIT! AND WHY ARE YOU MONOLOGUING?!"

MASS REJECTS

Captain Anderson rubbed his throat and sighed. "Again with this shit...and that last part didn't even make sense. I swear I have a heart attack every time I look out a window, and that idiot is just there."

Admiral Hackett nodded. "It's worse when he forgets to wear clothes. On a side note, do not under any circumstances wander into anyone's dorms. There will be naked posters."

A loud cough drew their attention to a rather...intense fellow. "What the soldiers do on their time is their business, as long as it doesn't make humanity look bad. And quite frankly, Zaine and the rest have done more for Human/Alien relations since Anita Goyle. Particularly among the Asari, Krogan, and Quarian peoples." The room released sniggers, each knowing the real reason for the so-called 'improved relations.' After suppressing their laughter and returning to some semblance of normalcy, Ambassador Udina addressed the group. "I believe we were discussing Spectre candidates? Alexis Shepard?"

Admiral Hackett perked up. "Shepard? Yes, I remember her. She's a Spacer raised by her mother, Captain Hannah. Trained for combat before she could walk, trained for leadership before she could talk. She proved this on Elysium: on her vacation, she rallied the soldiers who were cut off from all communications, mind you, and led a successful defensive campaign against the pirates for seven hours before reinforcements arrived. Civilian and military casualties were astoundingly minimal that day."

Captain Anderson scoffed. "Out of every candidate here, we have not mentioned those people, except about what they look like naked. Which, if I may be blunt, is unprofessional as Hell. Shepard is good, but the unofficial reports have stated she wasn't exactly alone there…

Victor Gealtach, assumed Earth-based. Assumed, because there are no records. He was found as a child standing, laughing over a pile of bloody, broken bodies. All Red Sand members. And the Batarians are still demanding we hand him over for war crimes on Torfan. There is a damn reason he isn't allowed in Batarian space, and that is the same reason the entire goddamn military refuses to even politely ask him to pass a knife in their general direction. 'Butcher of Torfan' indeed. And his pet, even worse. I can't even talk about that thing without worrying I'll wake up in a hospital.

And Zaine Statera, an idiot to most, found on Mindoir surrounded by pirates, all dead, and this ALSO six year old was eating a muffin and giggling at the same time he was force-feeding a Turian to his pet. Should have been impossible, and he did it anyway. Damn thing came back healthier, and even then I still don't trust that weasel as much as Victor's abomination he calls Misses Nesbit of all things.

Then there's Ezra Lightbane, Spacer, born on Omega of all places, and has sent full-grown Krogan Blood Pack mercenaries running. We sent him to Akuze on a mission to find our missing science teams, and he came back with a 'How To Cook Thresher Maw' cookbook. It's a bestseller among the Krogans.

Shine Azure, Colony born, now owns that same colony and is 'alleged' to be in command of the largest fleet of non-aligned ships allowed under Citadel policy. Every member of his gang, oh excuse me, company is loyal out of fucking fear. And all four of them were on Elysium, and all four of them are the real reason casualties were so low. The pirates that ran from one of them either ran into another one of them, or straight into Shepard's suspiciously well-prepared kill-zone. Don't get me wrong, she's good. No, not good, she's the best that came out of the N7 program since it's founding. Her greatest strength is taking a marginally above average fighter, and ripping their potential straight to the top, and she knows it. But as good as she is, she can't be as god as they are. No, I didn't misspeak. And I'm quoting her on this."

Udina frowned, a calculating gleam in his eyes, and an idea in his brain. "Perhaps we are going about this the wrong way...we need a Spectre who will make the rest of humanity look good. To get the results we need that put humanity on top and make the aliens see we aren't savages playing with Relays. We only need one to open the door for us, but we could have many others 'following their footsteps' by merely having them serve with them..."

Hackett, seemingly on the same page as Udina, came to the same conclusion. "I think I see what you mean. We have our top candidates serving on the same ship as our confirmed Spectre, and that'll look good for them when it comes time to choose a second human Spectre, and it will look good on humanity when our first Spectre has a higher success rate than their own Specters."

Something clicked in Anderson's head. "If that's the case, then our choice is obvious. The only candidate who has no bias for or against aliens, an excellent soldier, a remarkable leader, and an unparalleled skill in public relations; Shepard is practically a Spectre already, and she can keep the others in line."

Udina nodded, smiling. "I'll send word to her CO, and put in a call to the others." His smile turned into a smirk. "I'm not a religious man, but God help her enemies when they hear that all four of them are serving on her ship."

Hackett scoffed. "If you think I'm going to stick around while the galaxy burns because of this...well, not without a camera and a barrel of whiskey. Hackett out."

Alexis Shepard, known to most as Shepard and known to few as FemShep, walked briskly through the Normandy as Joker spoke over the intercom. It's the future, so it probably isn't called an intercom, but there it is.

"Uhhh...Ladies, gentlemen, and bird people who could kill me with a spoon, this is your pilot speaking. We are approaching the Arcturus Prime Relay, and all preparations have been completed as of thirty seconds ago. If you look to your left, you'll see Uranus. That joke will never die. Uhhh...I see that we've been properly connected, I'm just gonna go ahead and ask my co-pilots to calculate the transit mass and destination. Can we run those numbers a third time, I hear we've got some special guests here today, we're gonna wanna impress them, okay? Uhhhh...we are now clear for transit, I'm just gonna sliiiiide on over there, prepare for some minor turbulence. Uhhh…okay, co-pilots let's run this ship to where we need to go! Three….two….one!"

Shepard smirked to herself, knowing how far he's taking it knowing after a speech like that, he'll need to go beyond excellent to make this would-be incident ignored. And with a Spectre standing over his shoulder to boot. No pressure. She makes herself comfortable, watching the Turian practically frothing at the mouth for the perceived slight against discipline. The Normandy runs a loose ship; as long as everyone makes everyone else look bad, they can even get away with murder. The familiar kick of a Mass Relay jump kicked in, and she prepared for what can only be a hilarious jaw drop from a Council Specter. Joker opened his mouth, and she prepared her camera.

"Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emission sink engaged...all systems online. Drift?" His smile threatened to break his jaw. "Just under 500k. I'll be sending out a copy of this run to command for review, and first rounds on me."

Shepard quickly snapped a picture of the Turian. She really should have memorized his name before he could fully process this.

"Five...hundred...that's...I..." He composed himself, then allowed his tension to leave him, knowing the crew pulled out all the stops. It helped that he heard rumors of the kind of people chosen to fly the pinnacle of Human/Turian Relations. "Flight Lieutenant Jeffrey 'Joker' Moreau. I would very much like a copy of the flight, a recording of my face, I'll take a brandy, and finally...I'll be requesting a blood sample from the crew to rule out Geth wanting to make us look like amateurs." He then walked off to the communications office for a laugh, and to file a recommendation that Joker and his crew make a training vid for the...well now that he thinks about it, everyone.

Joker turned to Kaiden with a smile. "I love my job."

Kaiden looked over, amusement clear on his face. "It was worth the extra hours of stock duty to get this seat."

Joker took a photo of himself to send back to his folks. "Kaiden my man, I don't think you properly appreciate how awesome a run this was. I expected to pull 750 tops. Then," he looked over his shoulder and yelled, "you fuckers outdo even my wildest expectations! They will be talking about this jump for years as the damn near pinnacle of organic achievement. Hell, I expect to receive a message from the Terminators out by the Veil to surrender in exchange for shaking our hands. That's how awesome we are!" A round of applause went up, and Joker turned back to begin the flight pattern to get to Eden Prime. "Although, now that I think about it, with our payload, this should be expected. Fuckin' hell man, we got Shepard, the goddamn cover of Badass Women Weekly for seven years straight. Fuckin' Zaine, that crazy bastard with that damn pest crawling around my baby. And the official, literally official as in people voted for this, Father of all Mother Fucking Sociopaths, Victor. I've seen footage of Torfan. His pet has a kill count of thirty-six from Torfan alone. Ezra, the asshole who literally made blood raging Krogan retreat is down with the security team extolling the virtues of an all Thresher Maw diet...and is convincing me, who is only hearing bits and pieces over the Comm system. And for Shine, what can you say about him other than, 'holy shit we are all going to die, right after he kills all of them'? When I heard we had a Spectre coming aboard, I got paranoid. When I heard we got the rest of them? I updated my will."

Kaiden grimaced. "You too?" It didn't last as greed quickly replaced his glimmer of resignation. "At least whatever the hell we are here for will look good on our profile."

Joker barked out a laugh. "Look good? Hell, after this mission, I expect a statue on every planet, miniature in homes or otherwise. Better get my good side though. Hmph. Shakedown run, they said. No one on this ship believes that, for fuck's sake, I heard Victor's pet cackle when he overheard it."

Alexis chose that moment to voice her thoughts. "I got 50 credits on an ancient alien artifact that predates human sentience. That we have to give away. 50 more credits says something goes wrong." She smirked.

Joker and Kaiden exchanged glances. "No deal." They said at the same time.

The comm chose that moment to crackle to life, with Captain Anderson's voice no less. "Joker, is there any reason Nihlus is here drinking my personal brandy? That he said to charge to you for?"

Kaiden, ever loyal to his team, quickly rose to defend his friend. "He's probably in shock, we broke all records for accurate mass transit jumps, set the bar high enough that Geth would envy us, and Joker promised him a brandy. We're already in the process of connecting to Alliance Command and sending over flight recordings."

Anderson was heard chuckling. "I expected things to go a little crazy with the cargo we're hauling...make sure to send Commander Shepard to the briefing room."

Shepard spoke to the comm system, "I'm on my way, Captain." Alexis then made her way through the ship, ignoring idle chatter and passively absorbing information relevant to her personal Codex of information to look up at a later time. She walked up to the ships Navigator, Pressley she thinks, to press for information about relevant people, places, and most importantly...to gauge him. Everyone needs to be the best at what they do, and if she learned anything from Him...it was that some people needed to be pushed off that cliff only to realize that it isn't a cliff, or a wall. It's an opportunity. One she will use to make sure she has the best chance of success on every mission.

A little heartless, she once thought, to treat people like pawns or resources. But it was that detachment that helped her on Elysium. To realize that, even if she thinks of them as resources, they are essential resources. Ones she wants to keep after she wins. So, she manipulates people. She coerces them into believing that what they want, is what she wants. That it's for the best. And really? It is. It was hard at first; she felt guilty, dirty… Now? Well, she's military. Been that way for as long as she can remember, and even longer according to her mother. She gets the job done her way. And her way is with minimal friendly casualty, zero friendly fatality...and one hundred percent enemy fatalities.

She likes to think she combines the best of all her teachers. And only their humor for the worst.

"Navigator Pressley. A moment?" She called out.

He quickly saluted and addressed her. "Commander, I've just finished giving commendations to Alliance Command. Please send Captain Anderson my regards. And tell him he's getting a pay raise, along with plenty of work on how we can replicate our success."

"I'll be sure to let him know. On a more personal note, I couldn't help but overhear you arguing with Head Engineer Adams?" First rule of dealing with people with titles: call them by their titles. Makes them feel important.

"Ah, sorry Commander," it also forces them to call you by your title, which makes sure they know you have power. "We were just trying to figure out why we have the five most dangerous humans on one ship, along with our...Turian guest. And I especially don't like the way the Alliance brass is treating us. I know they don't want to tell us everything, but we can't do our jobs if we don't know what we are supposed to be doing, you know? And I get why the Hierarchy would want to send someone on the Normandy's first mission. But Nihlus isn't part of the Hierarchy. Not since he joined the Spectres."

"Not a fan of Turians though?" She pressed. Soldiers know to stow racism on missions, but reluctant acceptance isn't as good as knowing they'd have your back at a moment's notice.

Pressley looked appropriately contrite, even though he wasn't really in trouble. "Ah...well, no ma'am. I had family on Shanxi. I had friends there and had friends who had family there. I know I should let it go, but...well the Council didn't really help matters with their 'do nothing' attitude towards orbital bombardment either. Credits are of no use to the dead...but my feelings won't get in the way, ma'am. I may not like having a Turian aboard, but I don't like not knowing our real mission more."

She nodded slightly. "I'll look into it some more. There may be a reason they're hiding this, but withholding information would be a substantial risk to all our lives."

"Thank you, Commander. While I have you here though, I was wondering something, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Go ahead, Pressley." Alexis nodded. Good to have your subordinates know they are your subordinates, better they also know you aren't going to act a tyrant during downtime.

"Why is Captain Anderson here?" He asked, before backpedaling slightly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's here, there's hardly a better person fit to head the ship, but if something goes wrong on this supposed 'shakedown' run, then we are going to be losing a lot of our best people. The man alone has the 4th most extensive collection of service medals in modern history, enough that if he sold them all, it'd fund a small cruiser, at least."

Alexis chuckled. "And that is precisely why he's here. Whatever the actual mission is, it needs the best." She then raised her voice to speak to the crew, indirectly. "That's why we're all here."

A few of the crewmates straightened their backs, and the rest returned to their work with a slightly more determined fervor.

"Aye, Commander!" Pressley saluted.

Shepard returned the salute, then dropped it. "At ease. Before I let you go, I want to ask you what you know about the ships stealth systems."

Pressley shrugged. "Not much I can tell you, ma'am. I just know that it's the bleeding edge of what's possible for Mass Effect technology, masking our emissions and making us all but invisible to sensors. The Normandy is the first of her kind, but she won't be the last I can tell you that much. If it just performs as expected, you can guarantee that Humanity will have a place on the Council in short order, after we build a full fleet of these beauties."

Alexis stiffened slightly. "How do you think?" That was somewhat dangerous thinking if it was what it sounded like.

Pressley smiled. "Far as I can tell, each member of the Council works in tune with each other, each handling a different part of the system. The Turians run the military, the Salarians run the intelligence, and the Asari runs diplomacy. We build enough Stealth Frigates, we can all but ensure that Humanity runs exploratory efforts. How did that old vid put it? 'To boldly go where no man has gone before'? We might even start opening up more relays again, and it'll all be thanks to the Normandy, and her overly qualified crew, of course."

Alexis slowly released the tension in her body and smiled a bit wider than usual. "A grand idea, Navigator Pressley, let's work hard and make it happen."

Pressley swiftly saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

Alexis returned the salute, dropped it, and went on her way. She began walking towards the briefing room while Pressley went back to overseeing the pilots and making sure they don't hit any asteroids. After a few steps, she noticed the ships medic, Chakwas, and a Corporal, Jenkins was his name, arguing about the ethics of Spectres.

Corporal Jenkins was the first she could hear. "I'm telling you, doc, if Nihilus wanted to, he could take over the ship, and no one could say a thing. He serves the will of the Council, and that's purely up to his interpretation."

Doctor Chakwas shook her head. "A fanciful idea, Jenkins. But you forget one thing: every person on this ship is a trained fighter, even Joker had to master a martial art before he could be accepted as a pilot."

'Even Joker'? What did that mean? Filing that away for later, she approached the pair slowly so she could catch their conversation.

"Yeah, we could probably take him down." Jenkins agreed. "And then we'd all be tried for treason for killing a Council Spectre. They take that sort of thing seriously, it isn't something we could just launch out the garbage bay…well, figuratively. We could literally do it, but that's not the point. Point is, no matter what we do, the chain of command on the ship has Nihilus first and Captain Anderson second. I'm just saying, if it came down to it, I'd rather be tried for treason for disobeying a Turian Spectre, than follow the orders of a wolf with no leash."

Doctor Chakwas sighed. "That is a realistically bleak view. Spectre's are hand-chosen, both by the Council who sends a 'recommendation' to the species government, and again by that same species. They have to be above scrutiny. The odds that a Spectre would be corrupted by the power they wield is incalculably small, and believe me, I've had the numbers run by a friend of mine. We have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Alexis blinked. That…was a dangerously skewed position. She had to address that. "Doctor Chakwas, I think you forget one thing first and foremost: The ones who choose Spectres aren't foolproof, they are politicians. They don't choose who would be best for the job, they chose who looks best for the job."

Jenkins stiffened. "Oh…oh shit. Commander, that's…that's fucking you!"

Alexis frowned. "Excuse me, Corporal?"

Jenkins saluted her, eyes wide open. "Pardon me, ma'am, but between everyone on this ship, the Human most likely to become a Spectre based on military achievement and politics, is you."

Chakwas gasped. "That's why Nihilus is here. Humanity has proven itself to have a stable economy, a powerful military, a comprehensive understanding of intelligence networks, capable individuals, and because we have the specifications of the Normandy we could build a fleet of exploratory ships…the next step to finalize our position as a Council Species is having a Spectre to evaluate what they do with that position. Nihilus is evaluating you, and Humanity by extension!"

Shepard's frown deepened. "At ease, Corporal, and…damn it, that makes sense. I'll be having a word with Captain Anderson and Nihilus shortly…I should go." She began briskly marching towards the Comm Room, where Nihilus was waiting with a glass of brandy, staring at a picture of Eden Prime.

"Ah, there you are Commander," Nihilus said, turning to face her. "I was hoping you'd get here first, give us a chance to talk."

Alexis smirked and crossed her arms. "Without Captain Anderson around?"

Nihilus chuckled. "He'll be here shortly, for now, I'd appreciate the chance to speak to you directly." He began to pace, swirling the brandy in his hand. "I'd like to talk about Eden Prime. From what I've heard Corporal Jenkins speak, it's quite…beautiful."

She tilted her head. "I wouldn't know, I've been a spacer until I was old enough to join the Alliance, and they don't send my type around to peaceful garden worlds."

Nihilus laughed outright and stopped pacing. "True enough, but I wanted to hear a Human's perspective on its cultural significance."

"Can't say much about it," Alexis mused. "But I can say it was obviously step one in Humanities 'Anti-Pollution Colonization' policy. A prototype world, to test what would work and what problems arise in development for future worlds."

"Yes, I read the planetary policies on my way to Earth." Nihilus nodded. "What about the name though? Prime is obvious, but any references I could find on 'Eden' turned to religion. Was that intentional?"

"Absolutely," Alexis affirmed. "Eden comes from the 'Garden of Eden,' a world created by the One God specifically for Humans, pure of all outside influence and all things you could say have a 'corrupting' effect on the environment, including Humanities own faults." She gestured towards the frame of Eden Prime. "Eden Prime is meant to reflect those ideals, a minimalist policy on environmental damage, renewable energy resources only, and could only build on areas found to be mostly devoid of life. It's why we only have the one major settlement there, as big as it may be."

"Interesting…," Nihilus mused. "And, what of its defenses? Is it capable of protection against an invasion force?

Alexis frowned and shook her head. "As it stands, no. All it has in the way of defense is a small planetary defense force, a few anti-air turrets, and several bunkers. The Inter-Planetary Committee has decided that more than that to be a waste of resources…despite the colonies themselves begging for more 'artillery.'"

Nihilus growled. "That sort of behavior is dangerous, Commander." He resumed his pacing. "The Turian military is thin enough with the patrols it has to make now. We can't be responsible for every colony in the civilized galaxy."

Captain Anderson walked in. "I agree, but the Turian Hierarchy is the main reason that extra military funding has been denied. Unless a war breaks out, we're SOL." He stopped in front of Alexis and Nihilus. "But I think we need to tell the Commander what the real mission is."

Alexis scoffed and folded her arms. "Don't bother, the Normandy's mission is to retrieve an ancient artifact and haul it to Council Space, and Nihilus is here to evaluate me for the Spectre program."

Nihilus blinked. "Er…yes…how did you figure it out?"

Anderson sighed. "I heard the crew talk Nihilus, everyone knows about the Beacon, just not the minute specifics. The marine detachment is arming itself to the gills and running drills to prepare for when things go wrong. I thought we had the element of surprise with the evaluation, but I heard a few marines talking about it on the way here…we just need to fill in the details for her."

Nihilus sighed. "I should have known, a ship full of people with brains and an informal command style…" He shook his head. "No matter, Eden Prime has unpalavened a Prothean Beacon. The research team isn't equipped to handle its study, and as you said, it doesn't have the defenses necessary to protect it."

Anderson nodded. "The Citadel has all of that, so we'll be delivering it to them." He said tightly.

"Well then," Alexis smirked. "I'm glad we have a Spectre on board to ensure this delivery goes smoothly, and the Council receives a Prothean Artifact that can handle its study, and not say, The Mars Research Center."

Nihilus chuckled. "And that's the other reason I'm here. Speaking with blunt honesty, considering Humanities massive technological leap movement, the Council outright fears what would happen if Humanity gained a second Prothean Artifact." He spread his arms wide. "The first one drove you two-hundred years ahead, and when you found your neighbors, you went even further. The youngest spacefaring race the Council has known, and you outright rival us. I can attest that the Council Seat is almost a formality. You just need a 'trial run,' a Human Spectre. You held off an entire Pirate fleet on Elysium, with practically nothing save your wits. That's why I put your forwarded recommendation to the Council."

Anderson stepped forward. "This will just be the first mission where Nihilus accompanies you. As of right now, you outrank him unless he says otherwise. He'll follow your lead to evaluate your entry into the Spectres."

Alexis sighed. "Alright, well then as a formality, I'm letting you both know I'm considering turning this into a Black Out mission…"

Anderson gasped softly, while Nihilus' mandibles flared in confusion. "I'm unfamiliar with the term," Nihilus said.

"Black Out missions are the darkest types…" Anderson softly spoke. "She's considering outright killing everyone who had even mentioned the word 'Beacon' on Eden Prime."

Nihilus frowned. "That's a little harsh, but you said it's only a consideration?"

Alexis shrugged. "I'm making it an absolute last resort, but better a single colony burns than letting a Prothean Artifact fall into the hands of a Terminus Warlord."

The Normandy lurched, alarms began blaring, and Joker starting yelling over the Comm System. "Captain! Transmission intercepted from Eden Prime, hostile forces engaged! Stealth online and drives to maximum, ETA eight minutes! Eyes on the screen, sending transmission now!"

Three heads swiveled to the screen while Alexis and Nihilus began pre-combat diagnostics. The screen showed a grisly massacre of Alliance soldiers by an unseen enemy, soldiers fighting as hard as they could until – BWOOOOM. Gunfire died down as the soldiers turned to stare at a ship on screen. Five tendrils extending towards the planet, like a hand heralding death to the planet itself. Then, the transmission died.

Alexis and Nihilus ran out of the Comm Room towards the elevator, their heavier gear stored in the cargo bay for quick deployment. The last they heard of Anderson was, "Put the enemy flagship on screen, I want a report on my 'Tool in half a minute!"

The elevators closed on them, and Alexis hit the button labeled 'Emergency Deployment.' The elevator flung itself towards the cargo bay at only slightly less than the speed which could injure a person and then flung open. They both raced towards their gear.

Nihilus was the first to reach his armor, Carrion Mk 5.

Alexis was next and began equipping her Specialist Exo-Suit.

The marine detachment was already geared in their Assault Exo-Suits, and waiting for deployment.

"So!" A chipper voice rang out among the chaos. "Is this a bad time to mention I have a thing for beautiful warrior women?"

Alexis finished strapping herself in and turned around to see Victor smiling insanely at her. "Victor, I've known for three years. If we start dating, one of us will have to quit the military."

Victor pouted and crossed his arms childishly. "Darling, you know I'd go merc for you!"

She sighed. "Go join Zaine, you two are on point for recon." She sprinted over to the marines and began barking her orders. "Unknown hostiles on Eden Prime, shields up and guns ready! I'm taking a team with me to secure an HVT, so I want you to make as much noise as you can, whoever scores the most kills gets a free drink…" Alexis sighed. She hated this part. "Victor!"

"Yeesssss?"

She really, really hated this part. "Clear a path, completely silent, and I'll buy you some ice cream."

Victor growled, and it came out sounding like a lizard. "Understood." He spoke, quite gravely.

Alexis sighed. "The things I do to keep that bastard in line…"

Zaine giggled and jabbed her with his elbow. "You know he only acts like that because you two can't date, right?"

Alexis shrugged. "Doesn't mean I have to like him when he acts like that."

The one-eyed blond just kept giggling and wandered off to join Victor, who was sharpening an entrenching tool.

Nihilus walked up to her, confusion plain on his face. "Any record of him is classified to numbers only, so I've never seen him in action. Does he think he can fight with such a primitive shovel?"

Alexis scoffed. "One of his main philosophies is, 'with shielding tech stopping bullets, handheld weapons will make a comeback.' And he hasn't been wrong so far; as far as we can tell, he doesn't even own a gun. He prefers the stealthy kill approach, and the shovel is sharp enough to carve through flesh as well as an armor's joint, usually the back of the neck where it was to be flexible."

Nihilus shivered. "Right…well, even though this is a critical mission, I'm still evaluating you, so…orders, Commander?"

Alexis readied her pistol. "You're with Alenko and me, we drop on my mark, the marines will draw the enemy away from us and deal as much damage as they can, the recon team will kill as clear a path through the enemy, and we follow behind them mopping up the rest. Civvie rescue will be lead by Captain Anderson leading the planetary defense force by Comm. We get the HVT and retreat like a Turian."

"Run like hell and drop all the grenades we carry?"

"Damn right," Kaiden said as he joining Alexis and Nihilus.

The cargo boy opened, and the marines began charging en masse towards the heart of the settlement. Victor turned to blow a kiss to Shepard and disappeared from view with Zaine jumping out and hitting a full sprint even before hitting the ground.

"Mark!" Shepard yelled as she, Kaiden and Nihilus jumped.

[A/N]: So, I decided to write this one like a person playing the game itself. If anyone is confused about the different tech everyone has, Nihilus' Carrion Armor and Humanities Exo-Suit, I'm also going to be writing a full Codex for the series, available…eh, probably Sunday. Let me know if you like this style, with the Codex Side Story, or would prefer a revised edition where I explain all the divergent points in ME's history, make that the first chapter, and this one the second.

[E/N]: Damn it. It has finally arrived. After YEARS of talking about it, the first ACTUAL adventure is here for you all to read. I would cry if it wasn't for it being super friggen early in the morning, with only small 3 hour naps to sustain my brain's mental capacity and energy until the weekend, where I will probably sleep a WHOLE ENTIRE DAY. Maybe. Anyways, great to see this finally up and running! And writer….please...please don't delay this one or rewrite it LIKE THE OTHER ONE. I will buy you eggnog. Promise.