23rd July, 2183. Utopia System.

"Thrusters: check. Navigation: check. Internal Emission Sink and Electronic Camouflage System, engaged. All systems online. Drift...just under fifteen hundred K." The young man with the longer than regulation beard sitting in the pilot's seat tapped away at the holographic controls.

The black and red armoured turian standing behind him shifted stance."Fifteen hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased." With that, he turned and left.

The pilot shook his head. "I hate that guy," he muttered.

The Marine in the co-pilot seat looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Nihlus gave you a compliment, so you hate him?"

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible. And besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board." He shifted in his seat. "Call me paranoid," he said quietly.

"You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project, they have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that is the official story. Only an idiot believes the official story."

A small voice chimed in through the speakers mounted on the helm console. "Lieutenant Moreau, you do realise that Commander Shepard is standing behind you, correct?"

Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, better known as Joker, winced, before shaking his head. He turned to face the XO of the Normandy. "Thanks, EDI. Ugh. Commander, what do you think?"

Commander Theresa Shepard raised an eyebrow and put on a small smile. "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs. But who knows with them?"

Joker turned to look at Lieutenant Alenko. "So maybe there's more going on here than the Captain's letting on." Alenko shrugged.

Shepard just sighed.

A deep, oddly-accented voice came in through the cockpit intercom. "Joker, status report."

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Switch on the FTL comm and link us into the FleetNet. I want mission reports relayed to Defence Force brass before we reach Eden Prime."

Joker adjusted his flight cap. "Aye aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant." Alenko gave Joker an odd look, while Joker just shook his head. Shepard could only stare at the back of the man's seat in barely contained horror.

There was a pause. The Captain's voice came on again. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." The intercom chimed and cut out.

Joker glanced up at Shepard. "You get that, Commander?"

"He sounds angry. Something must have gone wrong with the mission." She turned and walked back down the neck of the ship.

Joker scoffed. "Pff. Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me."

Smirking, Alenko glanced over at Joker. "Can't possibly imagine why."

Shepard strolled down the neck of the ship, trying her best to remain calm. Captain sounds angry, and he wants me for a debriefing. We have a Spectre on board. I really hope this doesn't mean trouble.

As if reading her thoughts, she could hear Navigator Pressly talking with someone over the ship's internal comm network. "I'm telling you, I just saw him! He marched by like he was on a mission." The man's colour was filled with curiosity, but mostly filled with a confused feeling of frustration.

"He's a Spectre, they're always on a mission," said the gravelly voice on the other end.

Pressly looked frustrated. "And we're getting dragged halfway across the galaxy with him!"

The person at the other end sighed. "Relax, Pressly. You're going to give yourself an ulcer." The line disconnected.

Pressly sighed and stepped back from the console, and glanced around. He saw Shepard approaching, and turned to salute. "Congratulations, Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the captain?"

"Aye." Maybe I should ask… "Nihlus was with him. Sounds like you don't trust our turian guest."

Pressly shifted slightly, obviously uncomfortable. "Sorry, Commander. Just having a chat with Adams down in Engineering. Didn't mean to cause any trouble. But you have to admit, something's odd about this mission. The whole crew feels it."

So that's why the whole crew's colour feels slightly off. Very reassuring. "You think the Fleet brass are holding out on us? Joker said something similar."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Joker's probably right. If all we're supposed to do is test out the stealth system, why is Captain Anderson in charge? And then there's Nihlus." His eyes narrowed. "Spectres are elite operatives. Top covert agents. Why send a Spectre, and a turian Spectre at that, on a shakedown run?" Pressly shook his head slightly. "It doesn't add up."

Well, when you put it that way...hmm… Shepard nodded. "I'll see if I can get some answers when I see him." That should calm him down. Pressly's colour began to calm.

The navigator nodded. "Good luck, Commander." He turned back to his station.

Shepard turned to continue her walk to the comm room. Over by the command station, there was a very excited and vibrant colour.

"-up on Eden Prime, Doc. It's not the kind of place Spectres visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

The ship's doctor, Lieutenant Commander Karin Chakwas, looked at the young Marine with concern. "That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre. Nor should he have to, since humanity does not fall under the Council's jurisdiction."

"Not his choice, Doc. Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who get's in their way."

"Ha!" Chakwas let out a laugh. "You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins."

The Marine, Corporal Richard Jenkins, must have seen Shepard passing by, because he called out to her. "Ah, what do you think, Commander? We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal," Doctor Chakwas looked at him disapprovingly, "Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

Who in their right minds wishes for 'real action'? People get killed by that kind of thing. Shepard looked the Corporal in the eyes. "You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool, even under fire."

Jenkins shrugged. "Sorry, Commander. But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. Not many humans have even seen a Spectre, let alone been on a mission with one. "Just treat this like every other assignment you've had and everything will work out."

"Easy for you to say. You proved yourself on Remnant and Torfan. Everybody knows what you can do." His eyes turned serious. "This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"

Oh boy. "You're young, Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Don't do something stupid to mess it up."

"Don't worry, Ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up."

Shepard let out a sigh. "Just don't overdo it Corporal. Last time I went chasing after a Marine who got too far ahead of himself, we only found one survivor. Out of a whole platoon."

Jenkins gulped. "Sorry about bringing up Torfan, Commander. Must be a rough spot."

"It's okay, Corporal. Now, I should go. The Captain's waiting for me."

"Aye, Commander."

"Goodbye, Commander," said Chakwas, as Shepard turned the corner.

It was uncomfortable, thinking about Torfan. The things she saw inside that base. Shepard put down another control-chipped slave-soldier with a shot from her rifle. The batarians were sending them in hordes, trying to slow the human soldiers down. The slave-soldiers, animalistic, slobbering creatures only a few steps above animals, lay in puddles of blood, the red, purple and blue coating the floor of the chamber. Corpses, torn apart by the explosive ammunition that was standard issue to the Marine Corps, littered the ground in visceral chunks. That had been as merciful a death as they had been able to give them. She looked over at the open cages against the walls. The people, human and alien, who had once occupied those cells lay in pieces, torn apart by their rabid fellow slaves, or blown apart by explosive collars as they tried to flee. Shepard fought down the urge to gag as she approached the -Shepard stifled the bile that she felt welling up in her throat, and shuddered.

Shepard entered the spacious comm room, and twitched as she saw that the only occupant was the turian Spectre, Nihlus Kyrik, standing in front of the large holoprojector. Nihlus turned to face her.

"Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

"The Captain said he'd meet me here."

Nodding, Nihlus said, "He's on his way." He turned and paced in front of the holoscreen. "I'm interested in this world we're going to - Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful. "

What was Jenkins saying about it when I was on the way up to the CIC? Ah, right. "They say it's a paradise."

"Yes… a paradise. Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?" He turned to face the screen. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies outside of its own star cluster, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?"

That raised several red flags in Shepard's mind. "Do you know something?" she asked.

Nihlus turned back to Shepard. "Your people are still newcomers to the greater galaxy, Shepard. The BETA that your people fought against are only a tiny fraction of what the galaxy has to offer. And the galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is humanity truly ready for this?"

There was a whir as the comm room doors opened, and a dark skinned man in a Navy BDUs walked in. Captain Anderson looked at the pair. "I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."

Nihlus nodded. "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run."

Of course Joker was right. Ugh. Alenko's probably going to eat his helmet. "I figured there was something you weren't telling us."

Anderson looked at Shepard. "We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

Shepard frowned. That's certainly suspicious. "There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir."

"This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. A civilian construction team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

Eh?

Anderson continued. "This is big, Shepard. This is the first time humanity has found a working piece of Prothean technology. The destroyed ruins on Mars gave us nothing but questions. Problem is, Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space," said Nihlus.

Oh. That kind of big, huh? What a great way to celebrate a promotion. At least it's not just our problem. Still, it begs the question… "So why didn't we keep the beacon for ourselves?"

"You humans don't have the best of reputations. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous. It isn't looked upon favourably that humanity receives so many concessions from the Council despite not being a member of the Citadel."

Anderson chimed in. "Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the Citadel species. Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know a lot more about the Protheans than we do."

Nihlus stepped forwards. "The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard."

Anderson looked at Nihlus, than back at Shepard. I have a bad feeling about this. I can't read Anderson's colour. Not good not good.

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you."

What? Oh. That explains a lot. Or not. "Guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around. But why is he evaluating me? We aren't part of the Citadel."

"The UN has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority." Ok then? "If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows that humanity is willing to play nice with the rest of the galaxy."

"Not many could have survived what you did at Mindoir. You showed a remarkable will to live - a particularly useful talent. Coupled with an incredible amount of self-sacrifice and the skill you displayed without having proper training in the matter. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

Wait, what? Theresa's mind went blank for a moment. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres? We aren't a Citadel species."

"I have the answer to that." Shepard turned back to the Captain. "The UN has been pushing for the Council to allow for concessions that would allow humanity to join the Citadel without compromising our own military and constitution. A human in the Spectres was one of many such requests."

Nihlus nodded in agreement. "Not all of the Citadel races resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species as a close ally. We see what you have offered and have to offer to the rest of the galaxy...and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job."

Oh...That's a lot to take in. Right. "I assume this is good for the UN?"

"Earth and the colonies need this, Shepard. We're counting on you." No pressure...right?

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

Anderson pulled up is omni-tool, and clicked through a few files, before looking at Shepard. "You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it to the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

Sounds simple enough. "Just give the word, Captain."

"We should be getting close to Eden-"

"Captain!" interrupted Joker over the intercom. "We've got a problem."

The Captain's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong, Joker?"

"Wide-band transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!"

Anderson took a few steps towards the holoprojector. "Bring it up on screen."

The first thing Shepard heard were the distinct cracks of Army issue M8 Avenger rifles. On screen, several Army Troopers in forest-green armour fired off into the distance, and blue flashes and explosions blasted the ground around them. Another trooper, in the green-brown armour of a Marine, pushed the camera-wearer to the ground. "Get down" she shouted, raising her rifle and hammering out a burst. The cameraman looked around frantically, as dirt and explosions filled the screen. Between each flash, Shepard could see Marines and Army Troopers firing frantically at...something. The camera turned again as someone pulled the camera to face them. Judging by the insignia that Shepard could barely make out, the man was an Army captain.

"We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties. I repeat: heavy casualties! We can't - Argh!" There was an explosion behind him. "-eed evac! They came out of nowhere! We need -" The officer jolted and collapsed to the ground. VRAAAAMMMM. The Army Troopers and Marines all stopped firing, and looked up at the sky. An enormous black shape, like a giant hand, descended from the sky. engulfed in red lightning. Then the ground erupted, and the transmission cut to static.

"Everything just cuts out after that, sir," said Joker. "No more transmissions detected from the planet. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

Anderson frowned. "Reverse. Hold at 38.5"

The video rewound, and went still on the image of the colossal black hand descending from above. All three of them stood, silently for a few moments, taking in the sight.

Eyes still fixated on the screen, Anderson broke the silence. "Status report."

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain."

"Anything from the Eden Prime Fleet?"

The holo-projector lit up again, and a small blue sphere appeared on it. "I have forwarded the transmission the FLEETCOM at Arcturus Station. They report that transmissions are still proceeding as normal from the Eden Prime Fleet. No anomalous transmissions. It is the same with the colony itself. FTL comm traffic is normal. No anomalies detected."

"I see. Thank you, EDI." The blue orb winked out.

"Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet." The Captain closed his eyes. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

Nihlus nodded in affirmation. "A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon."

"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold." Nihlus gave a small nod and turned to leave the room.

Anderson turned back to Shepard, who was still transfixed with the image on the screen. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in."

That snapped Shepard back to reality. Oh boy. She looked back at the screen.

"Engaging stealth systems."

The sleek, white and grey ship flew over the planet, which from above looked like it was burning. Numerous flashing points of light could been seen in the space above the planet, far from the small ship. As it passed, wreckage, and tumbling, inactive vessels were visible; drifting along in their unstable orbits.

The ship descended, as the air around it shimmered and faded, and the ship vanished from sight.

"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site." Shouted Anderson.

Shepard tapped her helmet, shaking that loose wire in her optics back into place. Gotta fix that when we get back.

Over the noise of wind rushing into the cargo hold, Shepard could here Alenko call out. "What about survivors, Captain?" His voice sounded concerned.

Anderson's face turned dark. "The beacon is your top priority. Anything else is a secondary objective. It'll be some time before Command can send reinforcements,so you'll mostly be on your own until we can extract you."

"Approaching drop point one."

A certain turian spectre stepped forwards, prepping the shotgun in his hands.

Jenkins eye's went wide behind the transparent visor of his helmet. "Nihlus? You're coming with us?"

The helmeted Spectre sighted down the shotgun, making final adjustments, only barely registering the Corporal's existence. "I move faster on my own."

Nihlus ran forwards, before leaping out the open cargo bay doors.

Anderson turned back to the human squad. "Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence."

Shepard nodded. "We've got his back, Captain." He'd better have ours, she added silently.

"The mission's yours now, Shepard." He rattled off a quick salute. "Good luck."

"We are approaching drop point two."

Shepard lead the two Marines down the ramp, and down into the dirt, rifle raised. She took a quick look around. The area was somewhat heavily forested. Too much for the Mako. Going in without support...never thought I'd miss those TSF bays that frigates normally have. Most frigates carried a pair of microTSFs, or a strike fighter escort. The Normandy, however, had been designed more along the lines of Citadel vessels, and lacked the specialised bays of human frigates, instead only having space for a single M35 Mako IFV.

Shepard brought up the area map. About a klick to the dig site. She waved her squadmates forward along the path. Avenger raised, she followed them down, using her jump-jets to slow the descent.

There was a stream up ahead. There were some strange creatures floating around it. They looked like cows crossed with balloons. The heck are those?

Alenko, not being an esper, still read her mind anyway. "What on earth are those?"

Jenkins let out a small laugh. "We call them gasbags. Don't worry, they're harmless."

Shepard let out the breath she'd been holding. Alenko just raised an eyebrow and said "ah."

"Alright, Marines, moving on."

"Aye aye, Commander." They both rattled out.

Shepard lead them up a small hill, following a wide, rock-sided path. When the reached the top, she raised a clenched fist, the signal to stop. Out in the distance, she could see Eden Prime's capital city, imaginatively named New Eden. The city was ablaze, and she could see explosions and fast-moving vehicles dotting the skyline. At the bottom, there was another wide dirt path, with several large rocks dotting it. Theresa turned to Jenkins, then pointed down the hill. The Marine nodded, and raised his weapon as he quietly started down the hill.

Whiiiirrrrr.

When Jenkins reached the bottom, there was a buzzing sound from somewhere nearby, and several dog-sized drones flew into sight. Jenkins turned to face the source of the noise, which had changed into a rapid BRRRT, just in time for dozens of glowing projectiles to shred his shields, bore through his armour and tear their way into the young Marine's abdomen. He let out a short scream, and collapsed to the ground.

Shitshitshit. "JENKINS!" Before she realised, Theresa was sprinting down the hill. As she hit the bottom, she shifted her weight back, slipping onto her back and sliding into cover behind one of the rocks. There was a thump behind her, as Alenko dove into cover a few metres back.

Alenko poked his head out, and Shepard nudged her head towards the drones. Ready? The LT nodded. Good.

Shepard and Alenko rose out of cover in sync, weapons at the ready. She sighted in on the target, and squeezed the trigger. Within an instant, she felt several small impacts against her shields. The rifle cracked three times; the shots buried themselves inside her target drone in an instant, before detonating with a muffled boom. A second short boom told her that Alenko's was down as well. She double checked herself, looking for injuries. Shields down to half. No wonder Jenkins went down so quick. Then it hit her. Shit, Jenkins!

Theresa ran over and heard a groan. Propped against a rock, Jenkins had his one of his hands clamped against his stomach, trying to staunch the bleeding. Half of his armour was coated in the crimson of his blood. The other hand was desperately grasping for the medi-gel canister that was in a small pouch on his armour. The Corporal saw Shepard approaching, and looked up at her.

"Huh," he said through gritted teeth, his breathing laboured. "This must look pretty ironic, eh Commander?" Wheeze "A real 'I told you so' moment, isn't it? So much for 'real action'." He coughed, flecks of blood leaving his mouth.

Shepard crouched next to him. "Easy, Corporal. You're going to be fine." She pulled out a medi-gel canister, and reached down to remove Jenkin's chest plate and upper uniform. Underneath, he was really torn up. The flesh of his abdomen was shredded, and parts of his internal organs, which were badly damaged, were visible through the tears in the bloody flesh.

Shepard fought back the urge to gag as she flooded the man's guts with medi-gel. It took her several canisters, all of Jenkin's supply and most of her own, to completely stop the bleeding. It didn't take long for the gel to harden over the wounds, and Jenkin's breathing relaxed a bit.

"Ugh…. thanks, Commander. Thought I was a gonner."

"You might still be." Shepard shook her head. "We need to get you back to the Normandy, have Doctor Chakwas operate on you."

KRACK! Gunfire sounded in the distance.

Jenkins shook his head grimly. "No, Commander. You can't carry me; it's too far. And the Captain ordered radio silence." The Corporal closed his eyes. "Leave me here. I've got my sidearm and a few grenades." He let out a pained laugh, before his face turned grim. "Besides, I can't really feel my legs, Commander. Just remember to come back for me."

Oh. Shepard could only nod. There were no words for something like that. She stood up, and gestured to Alenko, who silently placed a hand on Jenkins shoulder, before following after Shepard.

They advanced up the next hill, and didn't make it far before being fired upon by another swarm of drones. Shepard ducked behind a boulder, before returning fire. It didn't take the high impact weapons they carried to dispatch the drones.

As they crested the hill and moved back into the treeline, the radio lit up. "I've got some burned out buildings here, Shepard. A lot of bodies. I'm going to check it out. I'll try to meet up with you at the dig site." The transmission cut out.

They advanced quickly through the forest, but cautiously, weaving their way through the trees. Close by, Theresa heard gunfire.

Staff Sergeant Ashley Williams ran as fast as she could through the clearing, Predator sidearm in hand. She didn't look back, but she knew they were still chasing them. The bullets slamming into the ground around their feet and impacting against their barriers were probably the giveaway. A bullet slammed hard into the barriers protecting her feet, and she stumbled forwards, but managed to roll onto her back in time to put several bullets into the two drones following her. "Bhatia, get to cover!" She shouted.

Nearby, there were a pair of geth, dragging a kicking and screaming colonist over a waist-high metal pedestal. Shuunk. Williams' eyes went wide in horror. Oh God oh God oh God! The colonist went silent as the massive metal spike pierced his chest, before lifting the corpse three metres into the air. WHAT THE HELL! she screamed internally.

She scrambled to her feet, running into cover behind the cracked and blasted wing of a downed F/A-8F Sylph. The rest of the bird was spread all the way down the hill. As she slid behind the wing, she pulled her M8 Avenger from its magnetic lock on her armour's backpack.

The gunfire nearby was distinctly that of an Avenger letting loose on automatic. Someone human must be still alive. "Alenko, over the ridge! Double time it!"

The Navy N7 Infiltrator and the UN Marine charged over the hill. Down below, there was a woman in Marine forest BDUs firing on what appeared to be, at range, a pair of mech. Nearby, crouched behind a large rock embedded in the ground, was another Marine, with the white cross symbol of a Marine medic emblazoned on the side of her helmet.

"Alenko, flank right. Hit them with a stasis warp."

Shepard darted left, firing her own modded Avenger from the hip. When she got near the first Marine, she tossed a disruptor grenade towards the hostile mechs, before sliding onto her back, rifle pointed at the mechs. It was unnecessary, as several shots from both Alenko and the other Marine put down both stunned mechs fairly quickly.

Shepard pulled herself into a crouch, weapon at the ready. Once she was sure that there were no more hostiles, she stood up, and lowered her rifle. The two Marines walked over. The one with the rifle on her back saluted. The other quickly followed suit.

"Staff Sergeant Ashley Williams, 8th Company, 2nd Battalion, 212th Marines." The gestured to the medic. "This is Lance Corporal Nirali Bhatia, from my platoon. Thanks for the save, ma'am."

Williams...that name sounds familiar. And only two Marines? She didn't press the issue. As she reloaded her weapon, she asked, "What happened here, Williams? FLEETCOM reported no anomalies, in both the colony and the Eden Prime Fleet."

"That would be because of the geth, ma'am."

"The geth?" exclaimed Alenko. "We're supposed to have friendly relations with the quarians and the geth!"

"Dunno. But they just attacked out of nowhere. A whole fleet of geth ships. They must have come for the beacon. The dig site was just over that rise." She pointed off into the distance. "The geth overwhelmed the Fleet and colony AIs and took over the communications systems. The only signals we could get out were by wideband radio." She paused. "Didn't think there were any of our ships left in orbit."

"We aren't from the Eden Prime Fleet. We dropped in from the UNS Normandy. We were supposed to make a covert pickup of the beacon for transport to the Citadel."

"Oh." She looked down sadly. "Understood, Commander. Just though some of our people might have survived."

Okay. What other intel are we missing? "What can you tell me about the beacon?"

"It was Prothean, but that's all I know. Some civilian engineers dug it up a few days ago while they were excavating the area to extend the rail line."

"Understood. What about the rest of your unit, Williams?"

Her face turned dark. "Dead, ma'am. Our platoon was assigned to the area around the beacon when the geth hit. They managed to take us down piecemeal. Nirali and I are the only ones left. With communications more or less out, I don't know what happened to the rest of the company."

"I see. Damn, we could have used the reinforcements." She brought up her team roster in her headwire and added the Marines to her comm channel. "Williams, Bhatia, you're with us. Move out!"

The three Marines and one Navy Special Forces operator sprinted up the hill, their exoskeletons lightening the load enough to make the uphill run a quick sprint. Shepard urged them on, and they dashed over the crest, to within sight of the dig site. And almost immediately, they started taking fire. The four slid into cover behind several stone slabs that appeared to have been removed to the dig.

Shepard pulled another disruptor grenade from her rig, and signalled Alenko and Williams. The two sent back affirmatives. Shepard popped up quickly, and tossed the grenade at the feet of one of the geth platforms. The grenade initiated, triggering a brief EMP that dazzled the geths systems. Within a second, Williams had also popped up, and began hammering the stunned geth, while Alenko hit another with a focused biotic pulse, sending it flying. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the medic, Bhatia, cracking off rounds with her sidearm. The medic ducked back down to reload. Absently, Theresa noted the model of the pistol. Ah, an M91. Mum had one of those.

Alenko tossed the third geth that had emerged from the ruins into a wall, where it was blasted from existence by Williams. With the immediate area clear, Shepard motioned the Marine into the ruins. Within the flat-sided pillars were a set of concentric stone rings, with a depression in the centre. Hmm?

Williams took a quick look around. "Commander, the beacon's gone. The scientists must have moved it."

"Where."

Williams nodded in the direction of the steep hill behind the ruins. "The train station was just up that way."

"Understood. Let's move."

Once they reached the top of the ramp, they could see a few small prefabricated buildings. One was collapsed and half on fire, while the others appeared to be locked down. Shepard got a slightly tingly feeling from one of the buildings.

Vrrr. Thunk. Growl.

Shepard's eyes moved to follow the source of the sound. There were four more of those giant spikes to the left of the buildings. The spikes slid down, and a person, or what used to be people, fell down from each. Each of the glowing blue-black human shaped things growled, and charged, arms raised to grab at them.

Shit what are those things? "Squad, open fire!"

Crackcrackcrackcrackcrack. Vwoosh. One emptied pistol, two overheated rifle heatsinks, and a biotic throw later, the cybernetic zombies were down.

Once the things stopped moving, Shepard racked the Avenger's charging handle, rotating out the overheated sink. "Any idea what those were?"

Alenko knelt over one of the corpses, taking some scans with his omni-tool. "Looks partly organic. Can't be sure, but the traces of DNA look human… this might have been one of the scientists. But it's like the husk of a person."

What the hell? "Alright, we need to know what's going on. The beacon has to the reason for this attack." She looked back over at the sealed building. "Bhatia." She pulled a canister from her kit.

"Yes, Commander?"

Shepard handed the container to the medic. "There are people still inside that building. Take this omni-gel to breach the door, and give them some help. Alenko, go with her. Get whatever intel you can out of them, and relay it back to us. Once you're done, link up with us."

"Aye, Commander." The pair ran off towards the buildings.

The radio chimed again. "Shepard. I'm approaching the tram station."

Better warn him about these 'husks'. "Nihlus, this is Shepard. I'm breaking radio silence. Don't know how, or why, but the geth are turning their prisoners into some kind of tech-zombies. We're almost at the station. Wait for us and we'll provide support."

There was a pause. "Understood, Commander. Nihlus out."

"Alright, let's move, Williams."

"Nihlus, we're in position on the ridge. On your go."

Nihlus shifted cover to behind the next stack of crates. I feel like I'm going to regret accepting that request to evaluate a human for the Spectres.

"Understood, Shepard. Moving."

"Hold up, we have movement on the platform…. looks like another turian….I see. Sergeant Williams says that they're are no turians on Eden Prime. Possible hostile."

"Possibly. Going to approach the target."

"Affirmative. Will stay on watch."

Nihlus stepped from cover, rifle raised towards the grey armoured turian standing on the platform with their back turned. He wasn't sure what gave it away. The grey armour with violet highlights, the distinctive cybernetics projecting out of said armour?

"Saren?" He lowered his rifle in alarm. The other turian, Saren, turned to face him, cybernetic plating shining against the dull grey of his armour.

"Nihlus, what's going on?"

Ignoring Shepard, he straightened up. "This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?"

"The Council thought you could use some help on this one." Saren placed his talon on Nihlus' shoulder, and stepped past him.

"Nihlus, I can't get a read on his colour. Get away from him, NOW!"

Flags started triggering in his mind, but he kept calm. Something's wrong here.

"It's bad. I wasn't expecting to find the geth here."

"Don't worry, I've got it under control."

"Nihlus, GET DOWN!"

Instinctively, the Spectre dove for cover, as a bullet cracked past his head and into a crate. He was still trying to process what had happened when he heard the order.

"Open fire! Cover Nihlus!"

CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK.

Heavy calibre rounds began raining down on the platform, detonating wherever they struck.

"Dammit. The bastard's gone… shit! Geth on the platform!"

What? He looked around quickly. Saren was gone, and there were geth platforms advancing from the ramp that led down to the trams.

Spirits. He pulled himself into a crouch, and lifted the rifle to his shoulder. It didn't take much for the combined firepower to put them all down.

Once they were all down, he crouched behind a crate, back to the ramp. Looking towards the hill, he could see Shepard and three human Marines advancing down the hill. She must have picked up some survivors. They stopped halfway down, and fired a few rounds each into something along the way.

As they reached the bottom, he asked "Shepard?"

"Husks on the hill," she explained.

"I see."

The Commander stepped forwards, hands on her heavily modded rifle. I can see how this looks.

"Who was that, Nihlus?" She asked accusingly. "You seemed pretty familiar."

He clicked his mandibles. "Saren Arterius. Spectre Saren Arterius. He's a friend. Or rather, he was. He tried to kill me. I'll try to explain more later. We don't have time, he's probably got the beacon already. I'll try and explain more once we're back aboard the Normandy."

"Right." They started towards the ramp.

"Wait!" A voice peeked out from behind a pile of crates over on the corner of the platform.

A human in a work uniform poked his head out from behind the crates, only to find the barrels of five weapons pointed at him. His hands quickly shot into the air.

Shepard took charge. "Who are you?"

The worker adjusted the beanie on his head. "The name's Powell. I work on the docks."

"How did you survive?" she asked suspiciously, hand on her sidearm.

"I uuh...I ducked back here to catch some Z's when the attack started. Y'know, long, boring shift, right?"

One of the Marines, a female, shifted her stance, clearly furious. "You survived because you were lazy? While we fought and died out here!? Even the scientists tried to fight back! I should kill you where you stand, you coward!" Her hand went to her pistol.

A hand caught her before she could raise the weapon. "William's, cool it. He isn't worth killing."

Powell had his hands in the air again, very obviously panicking. "G-g-go down that ramp. The tram'll take you to a small spaceport. They moved the beacon there this morning."

Shepard turned to the others. "Let's go."

The four humans and one turian turned the corner on the ramp, and immediately began taking fire from a trio of geth on the level below. They were dispatched very quickly, using Shepard's EMP and one of Nihlus' grenades, and the fact that they had the high ground.

As the group reached the bottom, the transport train slid into the station with a hiss, and a group of geth stepped off it, opening fire as they slowly advanced towards cover.

Shepard, who was at the front of the group, shouted the others into cover, before using the thrusters built into her armour to accelerate her dive. She hit the ground hard, the air forced out of her. She gasped for breath as she pulled herself up. In the background, she heard Alenko shout, "They've got portable barrier generators! Hitting it with a disruptor!"

Shepard stuck her head up just enough to see Alenko toss a disruptor charge at the white coloured geth. Or at least, he tried to. As soon as he stood up, a withering hail of fire tore down his barriers, with several shots piercing his armour before Lance Corporal Bhatia pulled him back down and immediately began patching his wounds.

The channel opened on her comm, and a quiet voice spoke. "He'll be okay, Commander. Light wounds."

That's good. She could feel the colour of his pain. It was tinged with anger and self-loathing. At least he'll be able to get back up later. She winced. Unlike Jenkins.

She shook away the thought, and her mind returned to the battle. She looked over to where Nihlus and Williams were crouched. The turian was switching out his ammo module. He tilted his head up to face her. She used hand signals to try and get Nihlus to cover her while she tossed a disruptor grenade. Williams nodded in affirmation. however, instead of confirming, Nihlus just gave a puzzled look.

She opened a comm channel. "Williams, Nihlus. Cover me while I toss a disruptor over. I'm running out of these, so I need to make it count."

"Aye aye, Commander." "Affirmative."

Shepard pulled the grenade from its pouch. "On my count." She primed the charge. "Three...two...one. Go!"

The three stood up in unison, Williams and Nihlus hammering away at the geth, while Shepard tossed the charge. The disruptor grenade hit the ground and slid past the barrier, detonating just behind the white-armoured geth. The pulse disabled the geth, taking down the barrier in the process.

"Now!" The Marine and Spectre didn't need the invitation, and they tore down the stunned geth in a hail of gunfire.

Shepard took a quick look around. "Okay, everyone onto the train before more show up."

They climbed the ramp onto the freight train, Bhatia supporting the wounded Alenko. The train was divided into a large number of small sections by short dividers. Would be a bad place for a gunfight. Too much cover, it would be extremely drawn out.

As if irony had cursed her, several geth platforms rose from behind the dividers further down the open-topped train. The group quickly ducked for cover. Ah, dammit. We don't have time for this!

"Nihlus, Williams; fix bayonets. Cover-to-cover." She reached to her back and pulled her custom-made mod from its mount on her kit. She affixed it to her Avenger. "I'll provide sniper support. Alenko, try and hack them, if you can."

Several affirmative shouts sounded out. Shepard stood up and mounted the rifle on her cover. About sixty metres down, a pair of geth stood, their oddly shaped rifles flashing.

She sighted in, and took the flashlight head off of one of them. "Move up!" she shouted, without even pulling herself from the scope. She fired off another shot, but the train shook, and the shot went wide. She cursed under her breath and readjusted her aim. It's hard to hit these guys when I can't get any readings off of them.

She fired off a third shot, which ricocheted off the shoulder of the other geth. Beepbeepbeepbeep. The weapon locked out as the heat sinks overheated. Shit. She ducked back down and cocked the charging handle, rotating out the sink, before popping back up.

Only, she found the the target was not in sight, and Staff Sergeant Williams was in its place, ramming her rifle into something lying on the ground. Well, that works. There was a flash of movement further ahead. She sighted in, and saw another white armoured geth aiming a rocket launcher at Williams.

"Shit, Williams, get down!"

"What?" The rocket detonated against the divider that Williams was behind, the blast throwing her against the next divider.

"Dammit. Bhatia, Williams is down. Nihlus, help me provide cover. Go!"

Shepard fired off several low-powered shots to pin down the geth, while Bhatia rose from behind her divider to run over to the downed Williams. Nihlus stood up and let loose a long burst of fire down the length of the cargo train.

As Bhatia reached Williams position, the white geth rose again and launched another rocket at her. "Incoming rocket!" yelled someone. Bhatia saw it coming, and dove to protect Williams from the blast.

Voosh. Kaboom. Instead of the flood of pain she had been expecting, there was only a slight chill. Bhatia looked up, to see Lieutenant Alenko standing over her, arms raised, body engulfed in a bright blue glow as he forced the barrier to stay active against the explosion.

He looked down at her, the strain clearly showing through his visor. "You alright, Doc?"

She nodded in affirmation, and silently brought up both Alenko's and Williams' vitals on her internal computer. The Staff Sergeant was registering a concussion and severe armour damage, while Alenko was on the verge of exhaustion as a result of both maintaining the barrier and the fact that his wounds weren't fully healed. Medigel greatly sped up recovery, but it couldn't work miracles.

Crack. BRRRRTT. Outside the barrier, Bhatia could hear the now easily recognisable report of Shepard's custom rifle, and the roar of Nihlus' Vindicator. It continued for a short while, before falling silent.

"We're clear." The barrier fell, and Alenko fell to one knee, clearly in pain. "Doc, stabilise Alenko and Williams. I'll take point."

Nihlus was alert, watching the platforms above and the ground below as Shepard moved to the front of the train. Strange. Given the size of the attack and the importance of the beacon, I would have thought there would be more geth. Wait. No. A smash and grab like that would be too obvious. If Saren really is working with them, he'd be more subtle. Use a large enough distraction to draw away all attention from the objective.

"Nihlus, I've found the controls."

Nihlus looked down at his rifle. "Good. Get us to the spaceport."

Implants glinting in the red-stained sunlight, Saren stormed down the staircase. On the platform below, several geth troopers were finishing off the last surviving dock workers. They'd put up a good fight, but it had been futile, their reservist weapons and training insufficient to hold against the dedicated geth attack. It was the same story all over the planet. Foolish. He turned to the geth as he walked onto the landing pad. "Have the other units deploy the charges."

He stepped up to the beacon, the four metre tall tower of ancient technology. The wonder of it, the compulsion to it, drew him forwards. He felt the gentle tug as the ancient device pulled him into the air, and the knowledge flowed into him.

WRAAAMP.

There was an echoing roar from the sky, as the massive black shape took off in a burst of red lightning. The group watched it lift off.

"What is that thing?" exclaimed Williams.

Alenko kept looking at. "Look at the size of that thing. It's got to be at least the size of an Assault Carrier."

"Come on, Marines. We need to move."

The five of them climbed off the train onto the station platform. Shepard led at the front, with the wounded Alenko and Williams supporting each other down, while Bhatia and Nihlus brought up the rear.

The first thing they saw as the stepped off the train was an odd device, all wires and metal spheres inside a skeletal metal frame. Shepard halted the team with a raised fist, and they gathered around the device. She crouched next to it, studying the design. Can't tell the design. Doesn't match human or Citadel designs. Doesn't quite match the quarian design architecture that I know. Hmm… Is that… "Oh crap, it's a bomb," she mumbled under her breath.

"Commander?" Williams had a puzzled expression on her face. "What is that?"

"Ah, give me a sec here." Shepard put her rifle down, and leaned in to examine the device more closely, before patching her internal circuitry into it through her omni-tool. That is not a lot of time. She pulled up several of the disarming sequences that she kept store in her head, and quickly ran them against a simulation of the devices' detonation code. Ah, that'll work.

She yanked out one of the exposed wires, and made a few taps on her omni-tool. A burst of electricity shot into the cable, and the small screen on its upper surface went dead.

Nihlus stood over her, examining her handiwork. "Shepard, what did you just do?"

She tapped again on her omni-tool, transferring the data to Nihlus. "Disarmed this bomb. It's nuclear." The other's eyes went wide, and Nihlus' mandibles hung open for a moment, before closing.

"I see. So what did you send me?"

Shepard picked up her modded M8 and rose to her feet. "The radiation signature and the disarming sequence. There was about fifteen minutes left on the timer. It'll take about ten seconds to disarm each. You've got better sensors than us, so I need you to check if there are anymore nearby."

"Got it." He tapped away on the holographic screen of his omni-tool. "I'm detecting faint gamma radiation from four sources within a fifty metres. Nothing beyond that. It's safe say that all the nukes are in the spaceport. Saren's probably trying to cover his tracks."

"Understood. Bhatia, you're with me. We'll take the two northern charges. Nihlus, you can handle the other two, right?"

The turian Spectre opened a compartment on his Vindicator and switched out its current mod. "Don't worry, Commander. I can handle it."

Ashley limped forwards. "What about me and the LT, ma'am?"

She looked between the two of them. Williams hadn't had much time to recover from her dance with a missile, and neither had Alenko, whose breathing was laboured.

"You two stay put. You're both in no condition to fight."

"Yes, Commander." Both were coloured with a twinge of dejection.

Alenko had his eyes down, but he reached for his pack and pulled a few magazines and a pair of power cells from it. Then he handed his Avenger to Bhatia, who had been using a sidearm since the beginning of the battle. "Here. You'll probably need this more than me." He divided the mags and cells between Shepard and Bhatia, before stepping back and rattling off a tired, but sharp, salute.

Shepard returned the salute, before turning to the Marine Medic and turian Spectre who were still able to move and fight. "We have twelve minutes. Move out!"

11:38….11:30

Shepard bolted up the ramp, peeking her head past the railing-walls as they approached the top. And then immediately ducked back down as a missile flew over her head. And then another. And another. They're really bringing out the big guns now, aren't they.

She signalled Nirali to hold position, before sprinting up the ramp and jumping back into a slide and triggering her thrusters. She skidded along the ground until her momentum caused her to collide with a crate, safely behind cover. The moment the geth stopped firing on her, she sent a comm burst to Bhatia. Once the medic was moving, Shepard lifted herself over the crate and sent a slow but steady stream of fire along the balcony towards the geth, drawing their attention away from Bhatia.

The rocket trooper that stepped from cover to advance was her first target. The first few shots battered its shields into oblivion, while the following bullets tore into its chest, detonating and spraying white lubricant and metal fragments everywhere. The second one put up a hexagonal kinetic barrier to protect itself. Shepard fired off the rest of the magazine into the shield, to little effect. She ducked back down, dropping the empty mag and racking the heat sinks.

"Commander!"

She pulled herself out along the side of the crate, and almost smashed into a black armoured geth that stepped past. Reacting on finely honed instinct, her hand went to the quick-release strap on her belt. Within the space of a second, the heavy, titanium-steel monkey wrench was buried in the geth's optic. Without even blinking, she dragged the shotgun armed geth down behind the crate, and proceeded to beat its metal skull in. Clank. Clank. Thunk. CLANK. She could barely hear the report of Bhatia's rifle over the rush of adrenaline.

Breathing heavily, Shepard extracted the wrench from where it had gone through the geth's head and impacted against the metal panelling of the platform. It took here a few moments to remember that she was still in combat. Sliding the wrench back into its place on her belt, she picked up her carbine. A rocket flew past. Right, time.

"Bhatia, cover me. I'm going for the bomb"

"Aye aye, Commander."

Bhatia took a crouch and began firing while Shepard sprinted forwards, weapons blazing. She took down another two rocket troopers before slamming back first into a stack of crates. She looked to her right, and found herself staring straight at the nuclear demolition charge. Bhatia was still firing, so Shepard took the opportunity to work away at the disarming sequence. All she had to do was plug her omni-tool into the bomb and it was as good as done.

The omni-tool beeped, and Shepard stood back up and rested her back against the crates. "Nihlus, one bomb down, moving to the next one. How are things on your end." She could hear the echo of gunfire from further away.

"The first one is disarmed, but I've run into heavy resistance. Shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Got it. Bhatia, move up." She spun, and hammered off a volley into another rocket trooper. There are a lot of rocket troopers here. They must have anticipated a large TSF deployment. Huh. Haven't seen any TSFs yet. Maybe they were all deployed around New Eden and the other cities?

"Clear, Commander."

"Affirmative. Moving."

Shepard followed along the wall of the platform, weapon at the ready. On the wall at the end of the platform, there was a sign pointing down to the left. Landing platform is that way. Beacon should be there if Saren hasn't made off with it yet. She double checked her sensors. The last bomb should be there as well. She approached slowly.

Bhatia watched as the Commander rounded the corner, shouted a short curse, and dove away as fast as she could. There was a flash, and something exploded at Shepard's feet.

"Geth set up a mobile weapons platform! The way down is blocked! Fall back!"

Nihlus heard the blast, and poked his head past the crate. "Shepard, what's going on?"

"Geth weapons platform blocking our path!"

Nihlus looked down at the smoking wreckage that had previously been geth. "I've disabled my second objective. I'll converge on your position."

"Affirmative." Several gunshots cracked off in the distance. "Shit, we've got more geth coming up from the platform."

Nihlus rounded the corner and turned onto the walkway that led down to the platform entrance. He could see Shepard and the medic pinned down by a pair of geth rocket troopers and some rifle-armed platforms. He stopped behind one of the support struts for the wall at the end of the platform, and readied his rifle.

"Shepard, be ready. I'm about to-"

"Commander, we've got this."

Several pistol shots rang out, and one of the geth fell. The rocket troopers turned to face the oncoming threat. There was a short chirping sound, and the geth's rocket launcher shorted out and exploded, taking both platforms with it.

Nihlus took the opportunity to hit one of the regular grey platforms with a concussive round, the force slamming it at high velocity into a crate. The other two went down in a hail of contained gunfire.

"They're down, Commander."

"Alenko, Williams, what are you doing up here? I ordered you two to stand down."

"We're okay, ma'am. We've were listening to your comm-chatter. Thought you could use the assistance."

Nihlus sighed. Humans. "Shepard, we're running out of time. We need to take down that platform."

"Affirmative. It doesn't seem to be moving this way. Might be set to attack on sight only."

"Possibly. Ideas?"

There was a pause. "I'll get in close, draw its attention. Williams, Bhatia, Nihlus; alternate fire on it. Alenko, you can't use your biotics, so run a hack on its weapons systems."

"Aye aye."

"Roger."

"Ready?" Four comm-bursts told Theresa that the answer was yes. "Okay. Go!"

Nihlus and Bhatia popped out of cover, pouring fire down of the armature. The moment the mech's giant head began to turn towards her squadmates, Shepard bolted from cover, sniper-modded carbine cracking off high-powered shots into the geth's shields before it overheated. As the geth turned to face her, she tossed her last disruptor grenade at the ground beneath its four legs.

The EMP went off, the invisible force tearing into the machines shields. But judging by the bullets detonating in the air around the platform, the shields were still up. Shepard fell fired off a few more shots, as the geth finished turning its head.

The cannonfire never came, as sparks flew from the gun and the platform jolted. Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard could see Alenko standing half out of cover, omni-tool outstretched. She raised her carbine and fired off a few more shots before ducking behind the crate that Bhatia was taking cover behind.

Nihlus' shouted over the gunfire. "Shepard, it's shields are down to about sixty percent! We don't have the firepower to bring it down!"

"Commander, it's overriding the hack. It's weapons are coming back online!"

"Alenko, run another hack! Williams, Nihlus, draw its fire!" Next to her, Bhatia had her rifle up, futilely snapping off shot after shot. Sheltered to her left and right, Williams and Bhatia fired off as many grenades and concussive rounds as they could.

The armature opened fire on Williams, forcing her to duck back behind the support strut. It's target lost, it rotated its head-turret back to Shepard. She felt a tingle in the back of her head. As it was about to fire, the radio lit up. "Commander Shepard, get your team clear. You have five seconds."

What? "Everyone down!"

BRRRRTTT.

Shepard dragged the medic down behind the crate as the metal plating around the geth armature erupted. The surface of the platform was torn up as dozens of cannon rounds ripped into it from above. The armature fell apart as its armour dissolved into vapour from the sheer number of rounds hitting it.

Shepard's eyes searched the red sky for the source of the bombardment. Above, several blurs shifted in and out, before decloaking into a shape she recognised. F-62 Yukikaze IIs. Marines, not the Army garrison.

"Commander Shepard, this is Lieutenant Taylor, 254th Battalion, off the UNS Coral Sea. We've been tasked with assisting you."

Theresa let out the breath that she'd been holding. Pulling herself to her feet, she took a look at the surfie's handiwork. The whole section of platform was shredded, and there was nothing remaining of the geth except for metal fragments and a few shredded cables.

She looked up at the TSFs hovering in the air around the station, and gave them a quick thumbs up. She checked the chronometer. Two minutes left.

"Thanks for the assist. Stay on overwatch while we disable the last bomb."

"Bomb, Commander?"

"The geth left nukes around the station. Probably to destroy the evidence."

Rifle ready, she moved slowly towards where the armature had been. Past the gate, hidden behind a pile of crates, sat the final nuke. She signalled the team to take up positions around the stack, while she crouched next to the bomb and plugged her omni-tool into it. And three...two...one..The omni-tool chimed. "And we're clear."

Standing up, she motioned the rest of the team forwards. "Taylor, we're moving to the landing platform."

"Understood."

"Commander, I see the beacon," said Williams, before she dropped into cover. "Geth on the platform."

"Nihlus, move up with me. Alenko, throw that one off the platform. Williams, cover fire."

Shepard rushed down the ramp, hammering out a burst before ducking behind a storage container. The first geth went down as Nihlus took up a firing position on the opposite side of the platform, while the second fell to a rifle volley from up on the balcony. Another went flying as Alenko sent it flying with a blue ball of biotic energy.

At the edge of the platform, she could see the four metre tall tower of the ancient Prothean beacon, engulfed in an etheric green glow. "Is it supposed to be doing that?" she asked absently.

"It wasn't doing that when they dug it up," said Bhatia.

"I see."

Spotting movement in the corner of her eye, Shepard turned her rifle and sighted in. More of them. Dammit. "We've got husks incoming."

As they fired off volleys into the horde of cybernetically reanimated colonists and soldiers, Shepard noticed something in the corner of her eye. She'd forgotten to shut down the timer she'd been using to keep track of the nukes. It was still counting down. "5...4...3...2...1…"

Nihlus shouted over the cacophony. "Shepard, massive radiation spike. Coming from the colony."

Shepard's eyes went wide. No. That can't be right. We shut down the nukes.

She stared out into the distance, searching. Far off, she could see the burning spires of New Eden.

There was a bright flash, and the colony was engulfed in white. Then everything went dark as her visor polarised. Dammitdammitdammitdammit….

Above, she could hear something sputtering and choking. Through the black tint of her visor, she could see the four Marine TSFs drop from the sky as the nuclear induced EMP fried the magnetic control systems of their engine exhausts.

"Shit, everyone brace yourselves!"

And then the shockwave hit. Shepard fell to a crouch as the powerful, buffeting wind dragged at her armour, felt the force of it as it tried to bowl her over. She couldn't see how the others were faring, half-blinded and deafened by the roar of the wind blowing over her. Fuck. We couldn't save them.

The air went silent. and she groggily pulled herself to her feet as the visor depolarised. In the distance, the forests of Eden Prime were burning, and the city of New Eden...was almost completely levelled. Only a few of the thickest towers were still standing, the rest reduced to rubble.

She looked around the platform. Nihlus was tapping his metal plated skin, while up on the balcony, the rest of the team were helping each other off the ground.

She tapped her omni-tool a few times, to find that the tool was still functioning inside its armoured casing on her wrist.

"Normandy, this is Shepard. We've secured the beacon, but the colony...is lost. We need pick up from my coordinates."

As she spoke into the radio, she heard an arrhythmic thumping coming from behind her.

"All of this, all this death, for that DAMNED THING!" screamed a furious Ashley Williams. The wounded Staff Sergeant limped towards the arcane machine, Bhatia's large-calibre M91 sidearm in her hands, pointed at the beacon.

Shepard turned to face the rightfully angry Marine, and was about to stop her when the beacon's glow grew brighter, and Williams was dragged by an invisible force towards the beacon.

With no time to stop and think, Shepard leapt at Williams, grabbing the struggling Marine and throwing her as far as she could against the pull. As Williams flew clear, she felt herself being pulled. She floated into the air in front of the beacon, arms forced into a spread-eagled position.

The beacon pulsed, and her mind was flooded with images, and all she could think was The fuck is this? Some kind of electronic hardware. The fuck is that? A metallic screech The fuck are those? A fleshy mouth full of teeth screaming into the void. What the hell was on here that would make it worth all of this? The beacon let out a warble.

There was an explosion, and everything went black.

Codex: Weapons, Armour and Equipment:

Human Small Arms:

Human designed weapons differ significantly from their Citadel designed counterparts. While Citadel firearms use shavers to shear off appropriately size rounds from a metal block, human weapons use pre-manufactured bullets, loaded with explosive compounds. So while a mass effect firearm can supply thousands of shots before reloading is required, human magnetic accelerators require their magazines to be replaced frequently.

However, one innovation provided by human weapons is in the design of their heat sink systems. The standard issue M8 Avenger series uses three heat sinks in a rotary sequence, with each sink being used to capacity before being rotated out to cool. While this system does not allow for as many shots overall before overheating, it does allow a more consistent rate of fire; a significant limitation of Citadel designed weapons is that once the heat sink is used to capacity, the weapon is unable to be used at all. This innovation is slowly finding its way into the designs of more contemporary weapons designers.

Well, that's finally done. Longest chapter I've written so far...although compared to some other prolific writers, 10000 words in three weeks really isn't much.

Review, comment, etc. I couldn't think of anything to write a codex entry about, so if you want an explanation for something, leave it in the review.

Anyway, signing off.

EDIT: I'm going to add answers to questions here. It'll be a while before I can get a new chapter out, so just check back here at some point.

ferduran: Right. So humans have adopted some Citadel tech in the last 30 years. Omni-tools are used as well, tools. Higher computing functions are done using the inhead hardware, while interfacing and physical utilities (such as throwing fireballs at people) is done using the omni-tool. K-barriers are in. Normandy is pretty much the same but with an optical cloak system. TSFs have barriers and mass effect cores. Humans still use their own weapons. Also for your previous question: larger UN ships, like battleships and carriers use G-Element cores, since switching them to eezo cores would be extremely cost prohibitive. Frigates and destroyers, not as much eezo is needed, so it frees up G-Elements for bigger ships.

Law77: Would you have all your giant robots defending a dinky little spaceport in the middle of the woods or out in the major city that's being invaded? At the end a TSF flight does appear...EMPs + magnetically controlled engine thrust = problem. Don't worry, they'll be showing up more later.