Summary: Nothing is what they expected on the garden world of Eden Prime. Finding first geth, then another turian Spectre, Shepard must lead a green fire team through heavy resistance to find the beacon they were sent for. Shepard, Alenko, and Ashley Williams must all overcome and adapt to situations they could not have expected to encounter on the ground of one of the first human colonies.

A/N: This is a new series I'm working on that will span all three games, so strap in for the long haul. I thoroughly enjoy delving into the characters, both mine and the game's, so you'll get to know people in a new and interesting light. You will probably see some little traces of headcanon here and there, though major ones I'll try to point out. I hope you will enjoy this piece and please, read and review, I would really like to know if you liked this story or not, or any thoughts you'd like to share with me!

Acknowledgements: I want to throw many kudos and flowers at the feet of my beta readers-xforeverquotex and my paramour. You guys are amazing and I appreciate your time and assistance with this piece.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to Bioware, I'm only playing with their universe. I do not own the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. I do it for the love of the game, the world, and the characters; and because they stuck with me long after I turned the game off (and back on, and off, ad infinitum).

FWN: 05 Eden Primer

i.

A pair of marines moved along the quiet ridge overlooking one of Eden Prime's smaller settlements. The light gray pillars whispered of civilization among the pristine landscape that was offset by the ominous reddening sky. If not for the smell of smoke and death, this planet could have been an idyllic setting for a relaxing stroll through these mountains. This garden planet was one of the first four colonies Earth had established. The Spectre was right: it was meant to be an example of human ingenuity and accomplishment.

Whoever was responsible for the destruction had just cut through the defenses and landed too easily, sweeping through the colony's meager defenses. Shepard was certain given their location, far from the major cities, that it was likely this was a softer target. But even given that, the attackers should not have been able to reach the surface so easily. She just wished they knew more, All they had to go on was the fact that the technology was highly advanced, or so she guessed from how easily the drones had cut through the corporal's shields, and those little bots were dangerous as hell. But at least we have a slightly better idea of what they we're up against, she thought for a second then reconsidered. Though not really, but it's something to watch for, at least.

The two stopped near the debris of the first drone and Shepard covered Alenko as he scanned the devices.

"Anything?" she asked without looking at him, her eyes scanned the horizon. She damn sure wasn't planning to lose anyone else on that rock.

"Not sure. I've never seen anything like it," he said, picking up a section of the device and looking it over. "It almost looks like…" He paused mulling over something that had come to him. "No. I couldn't be." He shook his head.

"Couldn't be what?"

"Nothing," he replied, second guessing himself.

She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Let's keep moving." He moved to her side, weapon at the ready, waiting for her to move. "I've got your back."

Shepard wanted to know what he was thinking, given that the scans hadn't offered up anything they could use. But she guessed he didn't want to put out a hypothesis without more data. She'd have to try to break him of that trait of the engineer's mentality. In this particular situation a hunch was more useful than the nothing she was currently working off of. Though she wanted to, there wasn't enough time to push him to give up his opinion, so she took point and led them toward the navpoint for the pickup location. They came across more drones on the way, but this time they were prepared for both the hacked Allinace defense drones and the other little grayish ones.

At the mouth of the trench they caught sight of the movement followed by weapons fire fast approaching their position. The commander rolled into cover and Alenko pressed against the tree he'd been tucked behind. They each peeked over and around their cover and caught sight of a soldier running full out with a trio of the same drones that dropped Jenkins hot on her six. When the soldier tripped Shepard tensed, but the downed woman didn't miss a beat. Three shots each and the sleek drones dropped out of the sky.

Nicely done, the commander nodded as the flying platforms crashed into the dirt.

Like the soldier, Shepard's attention was pulled elsewhere by a sharp scream. A pair of synthetics were dragging a man across the trench by his wrists. When they lifted him and held him awkwardly atop what looked like a massive tripod, he started muttering something, presumably begging for his life or maybe praying to his god of choice. It was clear that he was not going to get through this, not an unarmed civilian being manhandled by two machines. Shepard heard the gasp when the spike launched through his body, but didn't register it as her own until she realized she was holding her breath.

The synthetic turned toward a different sound-the other woman on the field scrambling out of the line of fire. The two machines crept carefully in the white-clad soldier's direction. The commander didn't know if they'd seen the other female yet or not, but when they raised their weapons Shepard knew she had to do something, anything. I am not going to watch this again. Nyx's instinct took over, along with the promise she'd made to herself-she was not going to lose another soldier on Eden Prime, any soldier, if it was in her power to stop it. She knew she couldn't have saved the civilian, but those damn synthetics were not taking that marine.

"Follow my lead, Lieutenant," Shepard ordered calmly as she traded the rifle for her pistol. She'd done this before and knew just how long she had before her barrier and shield would fall, but it was still a risk.

ii.

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams pressed her head against the rock. What the hell is going on? It was a question that had been repeating though her brain since the massive ship cut through the morning fog. Then the synthetics appeared. Then all hell broke loose. She was still playing catch up even as she leaned out of cover and laid down a few bursts at the geth moving toward her.

The high-pitched whining of the geth weapons was a stark contrast to the more familiar sound of Alliance standard issue weapons, which was what drew her attention from her attackers. The movement was fluid and striking and Williams could do nothing but watch in relief as another soldier, a human, rolled out of cover. The shimmering blue sheathe seemed to pop with the movement of her left hand as she fired her pistol freely with her right.

As the barrier rippled, Williams knew the attention had been drawn away from her and she turned back to the machines as more gunfire joined the mix from behind her. Williams winced at the bright crackling sound that jumped between the two geth as the third soldier moved toward her position. Once the area was clear, Ashley couldn't help but smile and breathe deeply in relief. It was the first moment she'd had to just to stop and breathe in hours, but it didn't last long.

The introductions and pleasantries were over quickly. The woman who'd drawn off the synthetics wanted information, but Williams didn't have much to offer. She did know that one of her squad's officers had called these things geth, which seemed to make sense to this lieutenant. But then the Lieutenant Commander, Shepard, asked about the chief's unit. Ashley tried to steel her nerves, but her throat still stung. "My unit's gone. All of them. Ambush at the dig site, just up the trench."

The blue eyes were not quite so sharp now as Williams looked at the officer who'd just saved her ass. What she saw there was sympathy, understanding, as she said,. "We've all lost people on this rock."

"Yes, ma'am."

"All right, Chief. You feel up for a little payback?"

"Oorah, ma'am," Williams replied, checking the safety on her weapon.

The trace of a grin on Shepard's lips didn't go unnoticed by either of the other marines. Williams knew the name, and couldn't help but wonder if it was the same person. From the stories she'd heard, Ashley couldn't be sure. Though used to walking point, the chief fell in on the commander's left taking the officer's lead as they moved into the area where the beacon had been.

The lieutenant must have noticed her studying the commander, because when the radio message pulled Shepard's attention for a moment, he leaned toward the chief and confirmed what she'd been thinking. "Yeah. It's that Shepard."

"I didn't …," she protested.

"We all did," he assured with a little trace of a grin.

"Nihlus is pushing ahead. Move out!" Shepard called before she jogged up the path to the ridge where the research camp was located.

When they reached the top of the ridge it was all Williams could do to keep her visceral response under control. The geth had hit the camp hard. The smell of charred flesh drew the pallor from her skin and she suddenly felt clammy as sweat slicked her entire body. She swallowed back the anger and nausea as she walked a few feet behind and to the left of the commander. The smoke threatened to choke her, but Ashley held her breath for a moment to calm herself, knowing that if she started coughing there would be no way she could keep herself from throwing up. And that was not the kind of impression she wanted to make on Commander Shepard.

Williams had seen those spikes all over the place, but no one in her squad had known what they were for or understood why the geth were setting them up everywhere until they reached the top of the hill. The spikes slid down with a gracefully metallic scrape and three of those creatures stumbled toward them mindlessly. Then they'd projected an electric snap that popped her shields. "Holy hell," Williams replied, dropping back and firing at least a dozen rounds into one until it dropped. "What are those things?"

"They were probably scientists," Shepard replied as moved toward one. "Get scans and readings off them, Alenko. I want to know what the hell these things did to them." She moved respectfully between the bodies, seemingly conscious of the fact that they had once been human, though clearly they weren't now.

While the commander studied the spikes, Ashley lost her thoughts for a moment in the glowing cracks in the burnt husk of remaining flesh on the bodies. Whatever these creatures were now, they were clearly human once-just like her not long before, the remnants of humanity etched upon their bodies, and the thought was intensely disturbing. Alenko's suggestion that the spikes were psychological warfare was way more accurate than either Shepard or Ashley wanted to think too hard about at that moment.

"They're turning their own dead against us," Kaidan muttered without disguising his disgust, as he inspected the lifeless corpse of one of the altered colonists.

"Normandy, are you seeing this?" Shepard asked on a separate channel. "What the hell is going on here?"

"This is the first I've seen of anything like this Commander," Anderson answered, concern obvious in his voice. "I've burst some images to Command to see what they've got."

It wasn't his voice she had been expecting. Shepard was hoping it would be someone she could chastise for the lack of intel. "We need to find someone that can tell us something. These things came out of Quarian space didn't they? Shouldn't the Council races have some kind of intel. Hell, we are working with a Spectre here. Someone has to know something."

"They are called Dragon's Teeth, Commander," Nihlus replied icily. "The intelligence on them is highly limited, we only learned of their existence very recently. The salarians' tests hadn't given us anything useful, and we weren't sure what they were being used for… until now."

Williams had been watching the squad leader and saw her wince then bite her lip. The chief could sympathize; she still couldn't wrap her head around it. This is all completely insane. Synthetics tearing through a human colony and turning people into… who the hell knows what. She could see no rhyme or reason for it. Eden Prime was mostly agricultural. There wasn't a lot of industry, nor was the military presence significant. This planet was not a high value target, it was not the type of planet that warranted this type of invasion.

iii.

"Alenko," Shepard said with a nod toward the obviously locked door of the shed. He made quick work of it, and when the panel glowed green she was at his right shoulder, pistol in hand. On the three-count they slipped through the door covering the entire room before while Williams had the flank.

The remaining scientists were little help. "We'll lock you back in," the commander told the pair before she trotted down the ramp. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't think we can put much stock into anything the doctor there said," Alenko opined.

"That's an understatement," Williams scoffed.

"We good?" Shepard asked Alenko, who was finishing up with the door. When he nodded, the blonde turned to the taller female. "You take point, Chief."

"Yes, ma'am."

When they approached the spaceport, they all stopped cold in their tracks.

"What is that? Off in the distance," Kaidan said quickly.

"That's the ship," Williams declared.

Shepard just stared at the massive black structure offset against the reddening sky. The bloody arcing electricity skated along its form, but the reason for it was not evident. Its silhouette was like nothing she could place, well, at least in architecture or engineering. It looked like an insect, with little short leg-like structures along the widest point of its diamond-shaped body, and longer, more supportive ones near the lower point. As it lifted into the air, the arcing intensified. The red streaks danced wildly across its dark hull, popping erratically into bright bursts of crimson which lit up the sky. The dim gray contrail chased it upward into the atmosphere as the howling hum of it receded as well. The commander watched, transfixed, until it burst through the cloud cover.

"Shepard," Alenko said, shaking her shoulder.

The shimmer of his barrier at the gunfire pulled her back to the situation at hand. "Watch yourself, Williams," the commander called as she turned her weapon toward one of the transformed colonists downing it quickly as she scrambled out of the line of fire, Alenko moving with her.

"Thanks," the chief sighed before popping out of cover to finish off another geth.

With the geth dispatched, the team cleared the spaceport area. The smugglers were no threat to the squad, whether they were a threat to the colony was another matter. As they approached the docking area, the lieutenant called Shepard's attention to the body.

"Nihlus!" Shepard rushed toward the Spectre and knelt at his side. She yanked off a glove, fingertips searching in vain for the pulse she knew she wouldn't find. Son of a bitch. She wanted to scream it, wanted to vent her anger. Two. You managed to lose two good men on a goddamn scavenger hunt.

Her shoulders slumped as she sat back on her calves, leaning back and looking into the formerly sharp eyes of her dead acquaintance. She cleared her throat and slipped her gauntlet back on. After a quick examination of the Spectre's body, she found what she was looking for. One shot in the back of the head. She inspected the wound, which raised more questions than it answered.

"This was up close. Who the hell could get the drop on a Spectre?" she whispered to his blank eyes as she closed them. "What the hell is going on down here?" Shepard murmured quietly on the open channel.

She didn't want, expect, or get a response. Everyone on the channel knew she was just voicing what they were all thinking and feeling. The crazy scientist they'd run into said he'd seen a turian long before the Normandy arrived, but she'd discounted it because he was off his meds. The smugglers spoke of the invasion in terms that bordered on the fantastical. Then there was the ship. The geth-they hadn't left the quarian home system in three centuries, there was no rhyme or reason to why they would or should be on Eden Prime. Unless. But what could the geth want with Prothean technology?

With the soft scraping sound, the two marines at her side directed their weapons at a stack of boxes on the deck.

"C'mon out. Slowly." The commander stood, aiming her sidearm into the darkness. "You have to the count of thr-"

The commander didn't have to finish the threat before the man crept out of the darkness; his fear was etched on his face and stained his trousers. The questioning was quick and thorough. The dock worker told them everything he knew fairly easily, even the details that could have gotten him shot. Williams had not been the only one irritated with the man, but they left him to join the other smugglers and proceeded with the mission. She'd include the situation in her report, but she wasn't an MP or a security officer, and she had more pressing concerns.

Shepard's mind ran quickly as they moved toward the tram. Saren. Nihlus knew him. They spoke like old friends then Saren shot him in the back. At least that was what the dock worker had told them. She believed him because she was fairly certain he was too scared to lie to three armed Alliance marines in the middle of a geth invasion. And in her mind, his story explained the fact that Nihlus was dead, and the method. The turian was not careless; she had read that off him from the start- he wasn't a risk taker. She was well aware that he was calculated, precise, and cautious.

Suddenly despite the ravings, Shepard recalled Manuel. He mentioned seeing a turian prior to the attack. It had not seemed possible at the time, but now-with Nihlus dead, supposedly by another turian. For a moment, the commander couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't quite as crazy as he seemed. If he had been right about the turian… No. Not now. She shook her head and pushed onward.

The sound of a rocket thudding against the metal reinforcements caught them by surprise. It could have been a challenge, but the team handled the geth, both large and small, with only minor pause.

"Guess they come in small, medium, and large," the chief quipped as she looked down at the tall black synthetic that had charged her. After it had knocked her back, Williams had thought that was it. But as she'd scrambled backward on the slick deck of the tram cars, Shepard had appeared and sent it flying backwards into a smaller geth behind it before she finished them both off with her Edge.

Alenko had helped the chief to her feet then laughed. "I knew you'd watered that move down."

Shepard turned and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Come now. I didn't want to kill you, just piss you off a little." She toed at the large geth's head with her boot before turning her attention back to Alenko. "How about you take us for a ride, Lieutenant?"

"My pleasure, Commander." He ran over to the console and got it operational again.

"Get us there quick but slow it up when we get close," she said as she leaned toward him, her hand on his shoulder.

He merely nodded as he looked over at her.

"Williams, you've got port side."

"Aye, ma'am." The Chief took up a position on the lieutenant's left and raised her rifle.

Shepard took a step away from the lieutenant, pulling her hand off his shoulder. It had been too easy for her to get that close, she thought as she readied her assault rifle. Distance, Nyx. Good ole professional distance. She just hoped the reminder would work. As the tram moved toward the other port, Shepard concentrated on her breathing and watching the perimeter. Just to be safe, she didn't even hazard a glance to her left until they neared the platform.

The tram ride made her nervous, partly because of the overwhelming lack of cover available on the vehicle. The only possible cover that presented itself was the control panel and it wasn't even enough cover for one soldier let alone three. She wanted off that vehicle. Hell, deep down she wanted off Eden Prime.

"What the hell is that?" Williams asked as they approached the other platform.

"Detonation charges," Alenko answered first as he slowed the tram to a halt.

His response had been rather too calm, Shepard thought. But then again, explosives and various types of tech were right in his wheelhouse, so why wouldn't he be completely calm about a large armed device?

The chattering on the platform above them, made her jaw clench reflexively. The sound the geth made was quite distinctive. She didn't know if they were communicating with one another but it certainly sounded like it to her, and it was the best answer she had for the sound.

"Handle it, Lieutenant. Cover him, Chief," she ordered, as she dashed up the ramp turning her attention to the geth scattered across the platform. Ashley set herself between the synthetics and Alenko, though no targets came into view or seemed to sight the pair of marines on the lower platform.

"Done," Alenko noted in less than thirty seconds and moved up the ramp with Williams behind him. A quick scan offered the location of another charge. "Other side of the platform, Commander. I can see two."

"Got it." Shepard led the party across the platform. "We'll cover you, take it down fast."

"On it." The lieutenant darted over to the device and tapped furiously alternately on his omnitool and the device interface. Kaidan remained undisturbed by the geth as he disarmed the explosives and removed the detonators for two more devices.

"I'm pinned, ma'am." Williams replied quickly. The sniper and a rocket trooper had the soldier locked down, and Alenko with her. The two looked over at Shepard who was still tucked up behind a crate a few meters behind the other two marines.

Shepard thought a moment before she sheathed herself in blue and sprinted back down the platform then over and back up the other side. "Hold tight," she radioed as she ran.

Williams and Alenko had kept the attention of the geth, which allowed Shepard the freedom to take the time to line up her shot. The resounding crack was followed by a snap and a gush, which drew the attention of the rocket trooper away from her crew. Shepard was already on her feet when the tall, thin, white synthetic faced her. Once the rocket was fired, she made her move. The force of her charge thrust the machine into the chief's line of fire and Williams shredded it.

Dashing up the platform, Shepard slid to a stop near the last charge. She worked fast, watching the timer tick down on the device. When Alenko reached her she was carefully removing the detonator from its housing. She stood and held it out to him as he stared at her wide-eyed. Clearly, he hadn't anticipated her ability to handle disarming the bombs. He took the detonator from her, stowing it with the others before he readied his weapon and brought up the flank.

"There it is," Williams noted, looking at the device they'd been searching for.

"And there they are," Shepard added, indicating the geth with a three-round burst.

The platform was cleared and contained quickly. She did a careful sweep of the port area before making contact with the Normandy to update them on the location of the artifact. The three of them approached the edge of the platform, taking careful note of the scorched earth beyond.

"Looks like someone set off a bomb," Ashley marveled.

"It's the landing site," Shepard intoned.

"What the hell could have done this?"

Shepard looked over at them, both of them were staring at her. She presumed because it was easier than looking at the still molten sign of the invasion. "I don't have the faintest idea," she confided.

"Let's get this thing out of here." The commander turned her back on the massive patch still smoldering and crossed the platform as she raised the Normandy. She eyed the humming device for a moment as she spoke with the captain. Alenko seemed fascinated, which wasn't surprising. The commander was still in a state of hyper-awareness and watched both marines carefully as she delivered a quick situation report to the ship about the bombs they'd diffused and the current seemingly active state of the device. Active alien technology was equally as concerning for her as active hostile geth.

iv.

"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up," Williams announced, looking at the glowing device.

"Did anyone say what it is? Or what they thought it was?" Alenko asked as he inspected the device thoroughly circling it widely in an arc.

"I never heard anything about it, but the scientists didn't really talk to us." Ashley turned her attention to the conversation Shepard was having with the Normandy.

Kaidan tapped at his omnitool as he took a few readings, trying to place the strange hum that seemed to emanate from the device. The sound was almost comforting, inviting, though the slight tug was a little strange. Without looking away from the artifact, Kaidan's fingers danced across the interface of his 'tool. He finally pulled his eyes away from the device and to his readings. It is emitting some kind of signal, but his omnitool couldn't decipher or even record it. He glared at the rebellious device as he took another small step forward.

Suddenly what had been a fairly gentle pulse seemed to grab him insistently. It was reminiscent of when he was a kid and his younger sister would grab his wrist and drag him to whatever discovery she needed to share with her older brother. The main difference in this instance was that Alenko had no desire to find out what this force wanted. No matter how he struggled he still moved toward the device.

As panic started to peek in, there was another force dragging him back. Landing hard on the deck, Kaidan shook his head and leaned up. Shepard gave him a quick triumphant little smirk before she turned and eyed the beacon. Moving to take a step back, the commander lurched forward, almost as if pushed by that unseen force that had been tugging at him moments earlier. It was as if the device finally lost patience with the humans.

"Shepard!" Kaidan yelled, reaching for her as she rose off the ground like a marionette.

"No!" Williams wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him back away. "Don't touch her."

Deep down Alenko knew the chief was right. But he felt responsible, guilty. If he hadn't neared the object, if he'd kept his natural curiosity in check, Shepard wouldn't be in the throes of that force. He knelt there on the dock watching in horrified silence. Williams refused to let go of him. She was gripping him more tightly than necessary and the lieutenant realized he wasn't the only one that was worried.

Shepard just hung there as if suspended by strings. Her hands hung limply from her outstretched arms. Her head lay back as if she were surveying the reddening sky. The rest of her body looked tense. The tightness in her jaw suggested she may even be in pain.

His conscience yelled at him. He'd failed Jenkins in that gully and now he'd just put his squad leader at risk, he'd just put her in extreme danger. Accusatory statements rolled through his mind as he watched in terrified silence as his commander endured some indescribable alien torment because he'd been fascinated by a piece of live Prothean technology.

And it was all for nothing. Shepard's suffering because I broke protocol. She could die because I wanted to know the why of something.

Unable to take his eyes off her, Kaidan's guilt multiplied by the second and finally he slammed his hand against the deck in frustration. Let her go already. Williams loosened her grip on him. She now merely clung to his shoulders, but when she started to tremble he felt her grip tighten slightly. It was one thing to lose someone quick, like Jenkins-a handful of shots and the little drones had snuffed him out before any of them really registered who or what had done it. This is too much. Having to watch, being powerless because they couldn't risk it-this ripped at Kaidan's humanity.

As abruptly as it all began, it ended with an explosion and Shepard crumpled to the ground in a heap. With her release his inaction ended. Hastily scrambling across the dock, Alenko leaned over her and relief struck him like a brick to the face when she glanced up at him with a trace of recognition and smiled weakly. Then it was gone as she fell into unconsciousness.

The staff lieutenant stamped down everything but his training and before Williams rejoined him, he'd started the scan. Her pulse was weaker than he'd like. "Normandy. We have a situation. Requesting priority extract this location."

"No can do, Alenko," Joker replied. "Too hot."

He skimmed the readings for a moment. "Give me the nearest coordinates. The beacon exploded. Something happened to Shepard."

"What?" Anderson barked.

"No idea, sir. The beacon was live. It did something to her. But she's in fair enough shape to move. Coordinates, please."

The calm voice that came out of his mouth was a façade, an act that had to hold up until he got them all on the ship. He chewed at the inside of his cheek, irritated with the situation, with himself. But none of that mattered in that moment. Shepard needed him to focus, to be the officer at least for a little while. It wasn't the first time he'd had to take command in the field. But it was the first time he'd had to assume it because he'd screwed up.

The coordinates came over the channel and Williams punched them into the device on her left wrist. "We're on the move," Alenko told the Normandy then looked at the chief, "You're on point."

v.

"Aye, aye, sir," the chief agreed.

Williams stood and glanced at her omnitool, before her eyes were drawn to the lieutenant. He handed her the commander's assault rifle and the Reaper, which she eyed for a moment before stowing. Then she took his AR as well. She surveyed the lieutenant as his hands moved slowly and gingerly down her neck. He stared down at nothing concentrating not on what he saw, but what he felt. Ashley knew the drill, he was checking for a spinal injury, from the fall or from the device.

At first, she thought she was imagining it. But once he'd rolled the commander and lifted her to her feet, Williams was certain he was taking excessive care with the other officer. There was a respect and deference in the way Alenko handled the commander's unconscious form. "All right, Shepard," he muttered, draping her right hand over his shoulder and squatted down. "Up we go."

When he got back to his feet, he glanced at the chief and held out his left hand for his rifle. "Lead on," he told her.

She merely nodded and led them back to the tram. They met no resistance, though they hadn't expected to find much, since they were back tracking through ground they had already cleared. Williams couldn't help but notice the consideration and care Alenko took with the commander. But she couldn't decide whether or not it was a sign of something more than respect for an injured comrade.

Even in her own training, carrying conscious soldiers, Williams had been quite careful with them. And trying to carry another, even if they were smaller than you was still an exercise in extreme caution so as to avoid injuring yourself or the victim.

Retracing their steps through the research camp gave them a little pause, only because the shed door was no longer locked. She hoped the scientists escaped, and when the idea of something else popped into her head, she pushed it back out. No, they got out. They'll be fine. The commander and the L-T cleared this area. They're fine, she told herself.

As they got to the path, she noticed Alenko lean his right shoulder against one of the support walls.

"You doing all right, sir? I could…"

"I got it, Williams." He started down toward the trench. The little bite to his voice spoke volumes, the strain of the situation was weighing on both of them.

"It's the armor," the chief speculated, unbidden. "Looks light, feels light. But once you add another's body weight and their armor to your own. Even the tiniest members of your team can be a bitch to carry."

Her eyes went wide when she realized she'd let it slip. But with a glance at the biotic he didn't seem to mind her speaking way too freely. He just chuckled and nodded.

"And if you haven't done it in a while. It can be hard."

"That's probably it," the lieutenant agreed. "I don't think I've done this in a few years, probably since rescue training."

"You?"

He tried to shrug, but it didn't really work. "Hey, I took any training they'd let me near."

"Sounds like me. But something tells me our reasons for it are different."

Williams refused to look at him. She let her eyes scan the direction they were travelling. She'd put in for any training she qualified for because she wanted to be worth the trouble of having on the roster. Ashley worked her ass off for every promotion, every crap detail she'd ever been assigned. All to just prove she was good enough. She didn't do it for recognition, for her it was penance. Her father had tried, but still couldn't overcome their family history. Deep down a part of her hoped she might be able to right things finally.

"I don't know. I just thought it'd make me more valuable," Alenko said easily. "Not a lot of places for biotics to go."

She glanced back at him.

"I just didn't want to get lost in the shuffle you know. Spent most of my career as that biotic," he pointed out as they trudged uphill slowly.

"Yeah. I've been there, kind of," Williams agreed. He looked at her curiously. "I mean not right there, I'm no Yoda-"

The shocked laughter made her smile. And he seemed genuinely surprised and pleased with her chosen comparison.

"Yoda, huh?"

"Why not?" she shrugged. "You guys can do all that crazy sh… stuff with your minds. And Yoda was a bad ass. Not the little green big-eared guy you wanted to start any mess with."

"Okay. I guess I can see that."

"But like I was saying. I can get where you're coming from-wanting people to look past the little things. See something more."

"Not necessarily more," he admitted. "Just all, rather than the part that's most prominent."

"Yeah." She nodded, because her voice was drowned out by the sound of the engines of the Normandy. The ship set down and the two of them walked up the deck. Chakwas and two corpsmen relieved the lieutenant of his burden, placing the unconscious XO on a stretcher and trotting off toward the elevator with the doctor already starting her work.

The captain looked displeased. When he crossed toward them, she snapped to and saluted. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212," she sounded off, holding the posture.

Her insistence on protocol had the unintentional effect of calming the captain's ire. "Chief. I'm Captain David Anderson. Welcome aboard the Normandy." He saluted her. "Let me guess."

"Shepard pulled my six out of the fire."

The captain laughed heavy with the concern that darkened his eyes. "Yeah. She does that," he breathed.

"Sir," Alenko interrupted. "Commander stated she wanted Jenkins brought back with us. I can lead a team-"

"Already handled, Lieutenant. She relayed coordinates," the Captain assured, explaining that McMillan, Crosby, and Niveda had chanced it after the team had reached the objective.

"Now, would you mind telling me what the hell happened down there?"

Alenko stiffened visibly and came to the sharpest state of attention Williams could remember ever seeing. "Captain, it was my fault. I was trying to scan the beacon. It was emitting some type of signal, but I couldn't capture it. I got too close."

His face was stoic, he didn't move, but Ashley could see it in his eyes. He was hurting over this, and taking responsibility, didn't seem to alleviate any of it. Finally he shook his head slightly, more at himself than anything else it seemed, before his eyes darted away for a moment. Alenko tensed up and refocused his gaze on some random point on the other side of the cargo bay.

"Shepard had to throw me clear. But she got close enough for it to grab her"

"Grab her?"

"It lifted her in the air," Williams interrupted. "Held her there, then dropped her just as suddenly. Right before it exploded."

"That's it?" Anderson asked quickly.

"Yes, sir," the two marines agreed in unison.

"And it was humming," Williams volunteered.

"There was also a pulse that seemed biotic in nature," Alenko added. "I'm pretty sure that's how it picked the commander up."

"Get me those readings, Alenko. I mean five minutes ago. I'm going to have to give command something," Anderson barked. "Or they'll have all our stripes."

The captain walked off muttering, and visibly bothered by the events on the ground and it was likely complicated by the fact that his XO had been exposed to alien technology and lay unconscious in medical, or so the chief thought. Alenko looked more than tired, he looked completely drained. Then she felt it too, as the adrenaline production seemed to slow or stop. Her brain suddenly felt sluggish and the ache tensed the muscles she'd overused, some of which she had forgotten about since training.

"You should let one of the corpsmen check you out, Williams. C'mon. I'll give you the highlight reel. Cargo bay. Engineering. Gym. Elevator," he said, pointing at the doors at the back of the bay in turn after having waved a hand at the large open space as they walked to the third door he'd noted.

When they stepped out of the elevator, the directions became more complicated and she was fairly certain she wouldn't remember where the women's bunks were, though the mess and the head, she figured she'd be able to find again. They stopped at the door on the starboard side of the ship and he seemed to stare at the panel for a long moment before he hit it.

"And Medbay."

The activity in the room was more frantic than Williams had expected. Chakwas was yelling clipped directions at the two young men and one woman working with her. Machines beeped and whirred. But eventually the doctor acknowledged them.

"Lieutenant?" Chakwas questioned, by way of greeting.

"I'm going to guess no one can clear the chief here?"

The look in her eyes said it all, and Williams was certain Alenko had blanched. Ashley touched his shoulder and he looked at her sharply. "She'll be okay," she murmured in response to the concern she'd seen in his eyes.

"You can," Chakwas replied. "Maybe by then, I'll be able to free up someone to clear you."

With a light touch between Ashley's shoulder blades, Alenko pressed her toward the table nearest the door. "You heard the doctor."

"I'm fine," Williams argued.

The smile was strained, but he was trying to comfort her a little. "It's just a scan. If everything looks clear, you can grab a bite, a shower, a bunk, or whatever strikes your fancy."

During the scan, Williams was certain both their attentions was elsewhere. She didn't know what they were doing specifically or why-though on the larger scale she could tell they were busting their asses to fix whatever had happened to the commander. By the shifts in his demeanor and his face, the chief was also sure, Alenko knew more about exactly what was happening two tables away. And it concerned him greatly. He cleared her quickly, and without uttering another word.

Ashley thanked him before ducking out of the room. She didn't know what was happening and that was almost as nerve wracking as not knowing anything so the chief opted to take up the lieutenant's first three suggestions in the order they were offered. Once she fell on the thin, stiff mattress of an empty bottom bunk Ashley was out in a flash, awash in the sweet darkness of sleep.

vi.

"Dr. Chakwas," Kaidan called as he hopped off one of the other tables in the Medbay. "I think she's waking up."

The groan accompanied Shepard's left hand slowly rising to her forehead, the thin tubing of the IV seemed to catch her off guard, but the lieutenant caught her other hand before she could rip the line out of her arm. He wrapped her hand with his own and returned it to her side, holding it there as he leaned over her. The curve in her lips was slight, but the relief in her eyes was clear when she squeezed his hand.

"You doing all right, Lieutenant?" she croaked, her throat was dry and her voice hoarse.

He smiled widely. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You gave us quite the scare, Commander," Chakwas stated as she started a scan.

The gray-haired woman glanced up at the staff lieutenant and shooed him back from the table. Alenko chewed at his cheek as he took a step back, reluctantly releasing Shepard's hand. His concern was admirable, the doctor thought. But Chakwas could clearly see the guilt weighing on him. She hadn't thrown him out of the medbay after he was cleared because she knew he felt responsible; Karin knew that he was waiting around to be certain the commander was well.

The younger woman's vitals had leveled out a few hours after they returned to the ship, but when they'd first gotten Shepard to medical, Chakwas had her work cut out for her.

"Get this… off me," Shepard ordered, tugging at the IV and swallowing dryly in an attempt to get her normal voice back.

The lieutenant grabbed a bottle of water from the small refrigeration unit in the back of the medbay. Chakwas carefully pulled the IV out and sealed the wound quickly then helped the insistent officer into a sitting position. With a quick nod to Alenko, he opened and handed the bottle to Shepard.

"Appreciated."

"How are you feeling, Commander?" Chakwas asked, studying the officer carefully as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Better than the last time I was in your medbay," the commander quipped.

The doctor shook her head at the recollection. "Yes, well, the last time it was just a few stitches. This time…" Her eyes moved over the scans. "I'm not too sure."

"Whoa. Wait a minute. Did we just enter a parallel dimension? Or did you just tell me 'I don't know?'" Shepard quipped in disbelief.

"I've never seen anything like it, Commander."

"You did!" Shepard's grin was playful, but her tone was serious.

"Commander!" Chakwas warned.

She knew the officer's displeasure with the phrase "I don't know," and Shepard had never heard it from the doctor. Though the commander's seemingly quick return to something akin to her normal behavior was a plus, the doctor had been up too long to play along.

"Okay, okay, Doc. What do you want to know?" Shepard relented, sipping her water.

"How you are feeling?"

"Tired, mainly. Kinda sore," she added, rolling her left shoulder-both women knew it was the site of an old, vicious injury.

Chakwas' eyes narrowed on the petite blonde. "That's it?"

"Nothing a shower, some grub, and a bunk won't cure I'm sure." Shepard stretched her head slowly from side to side. "Okay, a little stiff too." She looked around for a moment. "What the hell happened down there?" she asked, mostly to her lieutenant.

"I screwed up. Got to close to the device. You had to push me out of the way."

Commander Shepard shrugged. "Eh. It happens."

"I knew better," he argued, taking a step toward his squad leader. "I should have followed protocol. Active, unknown alien technology," he muttered the last, shaking his head.

"Hey," she said sharply, slapping her hand on the cover of the mattress to make the sound more striking. But it garnered the desired effect-Alenko went silent and his eyes shot to the commander's. "You had no way of knowing what would happen." She stared at him for a long moment, and when she nodded at him once, he mimicked it. Then Shepard turned and winked at the doctor. "Besides the doctor loves having me as a patient. It probably made her whole cruise."

Chakwas scoffed and shook her head at the blonde. The corners of the Lieutenant's mouth turned upward just a hair, but made no reply or further arguments. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on her part, but to the doctor it looked as if the exchange might have relieved some of what she'd seen earlier.

"Indeed," Chakwas replied incredulously.

Shepard moved to slide off the edge of the table and Alenko and Chakwas darted forward to stop her. "So, I'm free to go," Shepard stated, there wasn't even a trace of a question in the XO's voice.

"Not yet."

The glare was a challenge. One that Chakwas would not back down from. She didn't care how much Shepard wasn't keen on doctors, hospitals, and medical bays, despite it being her father's chosen profession. Or maybe it was because of it.. Both women knew that Shepard was aware that her release would be based on the doctor's opinion of her condition, not the soldier's own appraisal.

"How long?"

"As long as it takes, Commander," Chakwas stated with the trace of a triumphant smile on her lips.

Thankfully, when the captain came in, he reinforced the doctor's prerogative on the issue, which set Shepard in bit of a sour mood. When Chakwas returned to medical, Shepard was sitting on the bed with her feet tucked up, her arms loosely resting on her knees. She didn't look relaxed, which seemed to be what the lieutenant commander was going for with the nonchalant pose. The tension was clear in her brow and the tightness of her lips. Only rarely were doctors on anyone's need-to-know list, and Karin knew not to even wonder what might have Shepard so on edge, but she did know a way to address it.

With a quick swipe over Shepard's bared upper arm, Chakwas injected her. "You need to relax, Commander. We'll see how the scans are in the morning. Just take it easy right now. This will help."

"What'd you gi…"

Knowing her smile contained a note of wickedness, Chakwas tried to bite it back. Shepard was the worst patient she'd ever had-fought her every step of the way during her recovery on Elysium. It was not the reaction she would have expected from the child of an Alliance doctor. Then when the brass had all but ordered the operator's release, Chakwas got to regularly repair new damage to wounds that could have healed better or completely if the officers up the chain of command had just given Shepard the two additional days the doctor had requested. The doctor knew who Shepard was before the woman appeared on her trauma table. She'd also heard about what she'd done just prior to arriving on the same.

The doctor admired the other woman. Felt a connection to her. They were both dedicated to their work and the Alliance. And in their own ways, they were both as stubborn about the same. As much as Shepard wanted to get back to her own work; Chakwas wasn't going to let the officer run roughshod over her, because the doctor's work was just as vital, just as important. Normally, she wouldn't drug her patients to garner their cooperation, but Nyx Shepard was a special case.