3: Unexpected Troubles.

Standing in front of the galaxy map once again, in full N7 armor, Shepard began putting in the coordinates for the mass relay at the edge of the Terminus System. He could hear all the murmurs around him, rumors of another suicide mission have gone throughout the ship and he wasn't surprised to be listening to fightened voices. He knew it was asking them a lot to trust them after they almost lost their lives in the Collector's base. It was luck that Shepard arrived just in time before their lives were gone and harvested for the human-reaper hybrid.

But here he was again, risking their lives. He didn't once think about the crew when he accepted the mission. Regardless, they will follow him. It was their duty, their responsibility. He was a good Commander of the Normandy, and he would have preferred everyone volunteering instead of feeling forced. No wise words would shake them from their fear, he wasn't even sure if the Normandy would even survive the trip, even with its upgrades.

"Shepard . . ." He heard Garrus's voice from behing him.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, he was a Commander. People relied on him and they needed a fearless leader. All feelings of doubt of this mission disappeared, he turned and stood straight with his hands behind his back. He was not surprised to find everyone all lined up and looking at him. Miranda gave him a small, positive, smile.

"We have follows you this long, some of us more than others. You have not let us down, and we are not about to let you down." Garrus told him.

Some gave reassuring nods. Others, like Jack and Kasumi, had their arms folded and looked away from the Commander, they did not know how to feel about this. But still, the very fact that he will not be going through this alone was all the strength he needed, and he nodded towards all of them. He turned back to the galaxy map, confirmed the coordinates. Joker received them and the ship headed to the nearest relay. There, everyone braced for the jump through the wormhole.

In a matter of minutes, they were at the edge of the Terminus Systems. No one has ever ventured this far because there was nothing out there. Shepard, with Liara and Miranda following him, headed to the cockpit. With Joker at the Normandy's helm, he steered them through empty space, always checking the fuel counter.

"There reallt isn't much to see out here, Commander." Joker said. "You sure we have the right - woah."

A small spec could be seen far from the approching ship. It grew larger and larger in size, that when they were nearly there it was colossal. And it looked old, even older than most Prothean devices that they have recovered over the past two years. Whatever or whoever built this mysterious relay, made it more than fifty thousand years ago. A relic of a much older race. Liara was greatly facinated by it and her blue eyes were wide as she stared at it.

Then, the alarm went off, brining everyone back to reality. Red lights and loud noise blared throughout the entire ship, much louder than a normal alarm.

"EDI, what's wrong?!" Joker screamed through the noice.

EDI did not reply, Joker checked the screens and looked up at Shepard.

"She's offline!" Joker shouted at him.

"But, if she is offline then what is powering the ship?" Miranda asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Joker said, trying to reboot the systems but the ship no longer responded to his commands. The alarms stopped, and Joker noticed the blinking lights on the screen. The speakers of the ship made loud, static, noise. "Uh, Commander? Something is coming through the syst-"

"Commander Shepard." He heard the voice coming through the static. "You disappoint me."

"Illusive Man." Shepard said, distastefully.

"Did you really think I would let you go, with my ship and crew? Did you really think you could just stop working for me and everything would be fine? Did you really think that I would not expect this in the end?"

"I never underestimated you. I did the job and it is done. We are done."

In the middle of the cockpit, the blue holographic form of the Illusive Man stepped forward, inhaling his cigarette and exhaling the smoke from his lungs. The holographic smoke blew into Shepards face as he stepping in front of the Illusive Man.

"My work with Cerberus is over." Shepard told him.

"I am afraid that is not your decision to make, Commander. I rebuilt you and this ship using all the resourced I could spare. I will not let my investment go so easily."

"Then we will fight." Shepard said out of impulse.

The Illusive Man stared Shepard in the eyes and squinted as he inhaled the rest of his cigarette and then flicked it to the side. He then turned and looked out the left side of the Normandy and stared at the massive relay.

"I am not interested in a fight. What I am interested in, is this." He told Shepard. "Older than the Protheans themselves."

"What do you know about the relay?" Liara questioned him.

"Over one hundred thousand years ago, an ancient and more advanced race, even more advance than your precious Protheans, built this relay as a means to escape the oncoming reaper invasion. They built this relay as a way to enter another universe." The Illusive Man explained.

He turned to them. "The problem was, there was no way of returning. Once they have gone through the relay, they would never come back."

He looked at Liara, now. "But they were too late. Upon completion of the relay, the Reaper invasion started; much sooner than they anticipated. The Reapers eradicated their homeworld and their very existence from this universe. Their planet was not far from here."

Then he looked at Shepard. "This relay is all that is left."

"How do you know all of this?" Shepard asked.

The Illusive Man lit another cigarette. "That is classified."

"Why does this relay interest you so much?" Liara asked.

"Pure and simple curiousity. A usual human trait." The Illusive Man responded.

"Shepard . . ." Miranda's voice sounded frantic as she looked out the window.

The Commander turned and saw a massive ship coming closer and closer to the Normandy. This ship was larger than any Cerberus ship they have ever seen. Almost as big as the Flotilla's that housed the last of the Quarian race.

"Their weapons are locked on to us, Commander." Joker said in a serious tone.

"Miranda." The Illusive Man called. "It saddens me, greatly, that you have decided to leave Cerberus. There is still a chance to change your mind and come back. We can accomplish so much together, for the greater good of humanity."

"Not a chance in hell." Miranda replied.

The Illusive Man's image began to fade. After one final exhale of his cigarette, he turned and began walking away. "Then this is where we say goodbye. Goodbye, Shepard." And he was gone.

The Commander knew he had only seconds to think of something before that ship began firing.

"Joker, can you fly this ship manually?" Shepard asked.

"I think-"

"- can you or can you not?"

"Yes." Joker answered, with a hint of doubt.

"Then send us through that relay as fast as you can, and set shields on maximum."

Joker began to steer the ship and did exactly what Shepard told him to do. The Commander went on the intercom and told the entire crew to hold on as they go through the relay. The huge Cerberus ship was still approching and began to fire but their blasts were deflected by the shields on the Normandy. Each hit, was replied with gasps of fear from the entire Normandy crew.

"You heard the Illusive Man, there is no way back." Miranda told him.

"And if we stay here, we will die. We have no choice." Shepard informed her.

The relay began to react as the Normandy got closer and in a blink of an eye, they shot through the relay and began going through a wormhole, which was steadily decreasing the power of the shield. The force of the pulling of the wormhole knocked Shepard off his feet. He hit his head hard on the floor and everything began to fade as he blacked out . . .