AN: Hey everyone, here is the third installment of the Reaper Effect.


"Everest to Shepard, we are in atmosphere and are reading several contacts near your position. Clean up the last of the hostiles and we can send a shuttle for extraction. Be advised, the cruiser has left orbit, and most of the hostiles in the colony have left with it." The message, while not entirely heard, was received by Shepard and his team. For countless hours fought back against waves of creatures that made the husks look like child's play. But they had held, and saved countless civilians as well. Now, with the alliance fleet in orbit, Shepard and his team could begin to push back against the horde, and take the fight to the creatures.

"Move it, we don't have all day" shouted Shepard, pressing forward towards the Alliance squad in the next courtyard. With a practiced precision, the 3 commandos sighted in on the hostiles, and approached the marines from their blind side. "Friendlies coming in, on your six" shouted one of the commandos, moving next to a marine who had just lost his shields. Shepard ran up to the Sergeant in charge of the squad as more and more of the collectors began to leave the courtyard. "Sergeant, my men have this. Pull yours back towards the FOB we have set up half a click to the south. We have 4 other squads there and shuttles inbound. Be ready for evac in 10." The sergeant stared at Shepard for a moment, then began to order his men back. Meanwhile, Shepard and his squad finished of the rest of the creatures, then looted as much ammo as they could from there fallen foes. Finally, they moved forward, pressing the attack against the creatures that had attacked the colony, hoping to recover the colonist that had been taken during the attack.

Block after block, Shepard and his team moved forward. The closer they got to the town center, the less colonists there were lying in the streets. Eventually, when they moved into the center of the colony, they found out why. The creatures were putting the human colonists into stasis pods, and then killing off the rest of the survivors. Before Shepard or his team could respond, the creatures spotted Shepard, and opened fire. With a dive, Shepard just managed to get out of the way of the blast. A scream pierced the air, and with a start, Shepard knew that one of his protectors was dead. Outnumbered and outgunned, Shepard knew the only way to survive this onslaught was to retreat. He glanced over at his two remaining guards, who were firing back at the creatures as fast as they could, sending as many bullets down range as they could hoping they could survive firepower of this magnitude. Finally a sound filled the battlefield, one Shepard had not heard in a long time. He looked over the plaza, and saw dozens of Husks charging at them.

From the block behind, a familiar voice was heard. "Switch to incendiary , focus fire on the husks." as one, several squads of Alliance Marines charged over the stairs that lead to the courtyard, and opened fire. One squad detached itself from the rest and ran up to Shepard, with a familiar face leading them,. "Commander, we need to get you to safety." Ashley Williams, one of the Saviors of the Citadel, and one of Shepard's best friends. One commando, a female by the name of Alia Turmen rushed over from her cover on the other side of the plaza. "Shepard is with us." She stated firmly, sliding into cover while firing over the barrier. Ashley looked over at the other commando, then back at Alia. "He is an alliance officer, and we are here to get him to safety. You want to help, be my guest." Alia glanced at the Alliance marines, then over at her only remaining squad member, then back at Ashley, and was about to reply, when a screaming filled the air. Ashley dove at Shepard and shouted "Incoming." An Alliance Shuttle plowed into the ground where they were just standing. The last of the creatures, noticing the distraction, turned and flew into the air, breaking cover and heading into the distance.

At a glance, it looked as though only Alliance were caught under the shuttle. That was until someone noticed the arm sticking out from underneath the shuttles main front engine. Alia noticed the arm, then looked away. "Shepard, we need to go, the Alliance has shuttles, and we have to get off planet, let's move." Shepard, after hearing this looked around for the final survivor of his squad. "What about..." Then he saw the arm, motionless beneath the shuttle. With a bow of his head, he nodded, and started jogging towards the FOB, Ashley with Alia following suit.


AN: Hey everyone, dont forget to leave a review. As always, Thank you Queen Angela for being a wonderful Beta. Now, on to the real reason for this Authors Note. Alia needs a class and a personality. Send in your ideas on what class she should be, and whether or not Ashley should be the Romantic Interest for this story. PM me your ideas, I would love to hear from you.