Chapter Six: Real Beginning

A/N: I'm glad everyone is enjoying my story and thank you all for the reviews. I just hope this story continues to satisfy your interests.

Shepard stared blankly at her, words could not dictate what he wanted to say. He clutched his pistol steadily in his fingers as he slowly pressed it up under her chin.

"You want to run that by me one more time?" he said sinisterly.

"I-it was Saren." she repeated as she trembled from the cold embrace of the pistol's barrel.

"Don't you lie to me, Saren's dead unless you were given the assassination order before I killed him."

"No... y-you mean that Spectre Turian? He was not Saren."

Shepard jammed the gun fiercely under her neck causing her to gag violently. Doctor Chakwa immediately tried to relinquish Shepard's brute force but to no avail.

"That WAS Saren! I killed him and his ass turned to dust! It WAS him!" he bellowed as he plucked his instrument from her throat.

"No it wasn't! That wasn't Saren! He was just another Turian pawn in the Reaper's plans! What you did, what you did to protect the Citadel was all in vain! It was only a ploy to get you out of the way." she said in watery bursts.

"How the hell do you know all this?'

"I overheard this Matriarch talking with that so called "Saren" Turian. That's why that Turian was always confused about his role. Those "Reapers" are already here."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Reapers. They're not coming, they're already here. They're just waiting for the right time to strike."

"What are they waiting for? Where are they?"

"I don't know, they just stuck something in me and branded me. And he told me to tell you this once you found that chip in me."

Shepard's eyes widened. He stood up and pointed his gun straight at her.

The once cowering girl smiled maniacally.

"So, the mighty Shepard has figured it out? I was sent to find you and deliver this message to you personally by our leader."

''By the Reapers..."

"Indeed, by the Reapers. Give it up Shepard. We are here and we're going to wipe all of you out like a bad dream. We are there when you sleep, when you eat, when you dream..."

Both Shepard and Chakwa glanced at each other, no doubt uneasiness was settling in.

"Tell me, where are they and when are they going to attack?"

She smiled again as she stood pulling out the several needles from her arms.

"Will it even benefit your cause? I think not. We are transparent only visible through the light."

Shepard clutched his gun.

"So... this is a warning?" he asked.

"Indeed, but not just a warning. Something to remember us by. My body organs are encased with nuclear explosives and by the end of this message I'll mentally trigger them. You have all of ten seconds to witness your last breath."

Shepard lifted his pistol but gasped when a sudden spray of blood erupted from the deranged girl's head. She fell hard like a puppet with severed strings onto the floor. He looked towards the doorway and saw Ashley standing with a sniper rifle, smoke lifted from its barrel.

"That was easy." she said as she tossed the rifle to the ground.

Shepard stood for a moment gazing at the lifeless body that lay before him. Blood continued to pour onto the floor as steam slowly rose from it.

"Transparent, only visible through light?" he whispered. Something about that rung in his head like a distant memory.

"Shepard, what is going on?" asked Chakwas as she held a handkerchief over her nose.

"Doc, I think there's much more to this than I thought. Hey! Joker! How long until we reach Noveria?"

Static erupted overhead.

"We are over Noveria's atmosphere."

"Then what are you waiting for? Take us in."

"Commander, the planet as you know is privately owned. We can't land unless we get clearance and since we practically destroyed their labs last time. I'm not sure they're happy with us."

"I don't care even if I blew up half their planet, their not going to have one if we don't stop this situation from happening."

"Yes sir."

The Normandy began to descend into the atmosphere, they were traveling smoothly until an unrecognizable voice emitted from the intercom.

"You are trespassing! You are no longer authorized to request permission to land! Turn back now!"

Shepard entered the cockpit fiercely.

"Screw you." he said.

"That's it, you leave us with no choice but to shoot down your vessel."

The Commander scoffed as he peered down to Joker.

"Find a place to land where we won't be bothered."

"I don't think-"

"Joker... you've said yourself there's no other pilot in the Traverse who can pilot this ship other than you. I rely on your judgment but you must come through for me."

Joker nodded, this was all that was needed.

Shepard entered the bridge where everyone stood obviously confused by the severity of the last transmission.

"Commander, what are we even here for?" asked Tali as she watched him head for the lockers.

"There's something here." he said without turning to face her.

"And what would that be?"

"Tali, don't question me."

The awkward silence was clearly evident but didn't stop him from suiting up and heading for the dispatch bay. He knew someone or something was here. The girl that tried to assassinate him wore Noverian clothes. It wasn't evident clearly but he knew the moment he saw her armor, it matched the guards that tried to kill him the last time he was here. Her intentions were secret, Noveria was a supposed secret until found by the Citadel and forced to declare its presence. Whoever was here held answers and he wasn't leaving until he received them.

"Joker! Status!" he called.

"I found an abandoned docking post. Most likely ran out of resources to keep it functioning. It's still in good shape to use either way. You sure you want to dock here?"

"Since we don't have any specifics it doesn't really matter where we dock."

"Roger."

Shepard couldn't stand the noise his boots made against the metal scaffolding. It was the only thing that connected the small docking station into the interiors of the abandoned base. Several small light rods were functioning and even that didn't provide enough light for his eyes. From what he could make out he could see the melting water trickle from the ceiling as it ran down the walls. The color of rust dotted the walls which gave the hangar an eerie feeling. He peered down to realize he was much higher than he thought aboard the scaffolding. He was also unfortunate enough to notice the farther he went the more unstable the structure became. Looking up he saw the faint outline of a door leading inside to a deep unknown. He slowed his steps and focused on reducing the amount of motion he produced, he didn't want to fall and meet a unforeseen end.

"Aah!"

Shepard nearly jumped but restrained himself to do so. He slowly turned to see someone slowly approaching him.

"Who's there?" he called out withdrawing his pistol from his side.

"It's me." called out the Asari.

Shepard sighed as he shook his head.

"I told you all to stay back until I returned. I'm going to see what's here."

"And what good would we be if you needed assistance?" she asked.

He withstood the urge to reply but he knew it wasn't worth trying to talk her out of it.

The two of them inched slowly towards the industrial door, that is, until a earsplitting snap rang in their ears. It didn't take Shepard long to realize the metal wiring that held the scaffolding to the wall had snapped causing the structure to slowly tilt. The next thing that happened took him by surprise. Just when he turned to tell Liara to be more careful only her gun remained.

She had fallen.