Despite Shepard's best efforts, the mission was not going according to plan.
Her unease on the Normandy had not faded when they were dropped on a ridge close to the excavations. In fact, it only worsened, seeing the dark clouds with deep scarlet tones that she was pretty sure Eden Prime didn't have normally. It gave her a deep feeling of dread; what were they walking into here?
It didn't help that it seemed to be deathly quiet where they were. Memories of Akuze rose unbidden in her mind, and Shepard scuffed the soil with her boot, reassuring herself that there were rocks around them; maws couldn't burrow through rock.
She guided the two men onward in silence, only broken by Jenkins advising her which paths to take. Every so often she'd check her ladar, but it stayed blank except for Jenkins' and Kaidan's blips.
It didn't take long to find the first casualties, curled up in the hopes they wouldn't be seen, holes punched into them by an unknown enemy.
The Corporal reacted appropriately, recoiling in fear-disgust, whilst the Lieutenant gently investigated.
"They bled out, Commander." He spoke. "Looks like they were hiding from something."
"And I bet that something is still around." Shepard muttered. "Stay sharp."
They continued on warily, but encountered little more than floating creatures known as 'gas bags', seemingly oblivious to the drama erupting on the planet. Despite herself, Akeelah indulged her curiosity when a creature came close, and nudged it with her rifle. It seemed remarkably unperturbed by her prodding, only shooting out a small jet of air to sedately float away from her.
"Commander?" There was an amused tone to Jenkins' voice as he addressed her.
"I was just…checking." She said, starting off again. "Never seen one before."
The young man chuckled.
"The worst thing they do is make a loud bang when they're popped. I did it once or twice when I was a kid. Thing is, they're so docile you kinda feel bad for 'em. Most people just leave them alone." He said.
Before he had a chance to say more, Shepard stopped, raising her fist. The narrow path they were on opened up into a fairly wide area, rocks jutting out of the ground to form perfect places for cover.
The relative stillness of the area made Shepard's skin crawl, and her unease got more pronounced. Something was very wrong here.
Even so, the place appeared to be clear, so she waved Jenkins to go first, gesturing towards the rocks. The sooner they got into cover, the better.
Jenkins moved out with light feet, and Shepard waited a moment before she followed, Kaidan in her wake, heading for the nearest outcropping of rock. It was then she heard something, just over the sounds of heavy footsteps and shifting armour, and she looked up.
Small drones buzzed into view, with one optic glowing white and a gun hanging beneath them, and immediately she knew it was a trap.
"Get to cover!" She shouted, sprinting the nearest rock.
The lieutenant reacted to her order, but the corporal froze in crippling shock. The biotic shouted something, snapping the soldier from his daze, but far too late. The drones turned their guns upon him, and the hail of fire cut through his shields like a hot knife through butter, his body convulsing with each shot that hit home.
"Jenkins!" Shepard cried out, her mind switching to a different circuit before it realized the full impact of what had happened. They had to take out those drones, now.
"Lieutenant?" She spoke, keeping her eyes on the drones as they tracked for their new targets.
"Here, Commander." He replied, coming from her side, the calmness in his voice reassuring. She could practically feel the experience radiating from him.
"You think you can disable those things?" She asked, peeking just over the lip of the rock. A drone swung around, and Shepard quickly darted down as she heard the bullets thud into the rock wall.
"Trying to sabotage them would take too long, Commander." He replied, Shepard feeling the hair on her arms start to stand on end as his biotics began to activate. "I can use my biotics to destroy them, though."
"Do it. The sooner we get rid of these things, the better." She growled, switching to her pistol. If those things could cut down Jenkins so easily, they could do serious damage to her, despite her heavier armour. Kaidan's barrier could stop them, but Shepard did not want to bet her staff lieutenant's life on it. "Stay safe." She warned.
"Aye aye, Commander." He replied smoothly, his body shimmering blue as he began to flare. Despite herself, she couldn't help but watch as he pulled back his hand and then pushed it forward in one smooth, practised motion, hurling the targeted drone to smash against the rock face as if it were merely a child's toy.
Shepard shook herself and popped up to shoot at the drone that now turned its attention towards the brightly lit human, smashing its optic and causing it to explode. The third one made to swing towards her, but shots to its behind caused it to plummet and rupture on the ground, exploding as it went.
The soldier stayed still for a couple of seconds as she checked for any other adversaries, relaxing only when the sentinel rumbled an 'area clear, Commander'. Immediately they went to where Jenkins lay, Kaidan's omnitool lighting up as he checked the young man for a pulse. Shepard had to bite her lip to stop herself from demanding an answer from him, trying to divert her mind by watching their six.
Kaidan's soft sigh confirmed her fears, and she looked back to see him gently closing the young man's eyes, the simple ritual causing her heart to clench.
"Ripped right through his shields." He said, bringing himself back up to a stand. "Never stood a chance." He looked at her then, and though he seemed to have compartmentalised the death, Shepard swore she could see a glimmer of pain in his eyes.
"Yeah." She replied. "Must have been disruptor ammo." She shook her head. "We'll need to be extra careful they don't catch us out. I'll make sure he gets a proper service when we get back, but I need you to stay focused."
"Aye aye, ma'am." He nodded, the pain in his eyes now gone. "Ready when you are."
Shepard looked down at the still body of the once energetic young man, giving herself a moment to mourn before she turned and led Kaidan away.
"Commander!" Kaidan barked, watching a trio of silvery shapes chase a sole marine in white and pink armour.
"I see them." Shepard growled, bringing her rifle to bear. It chattered loudly, causing the nearest mech to pause as the rounds thudded into its chassis. The other two flicked what passed as their heads up to track the attack, their single white optic light locking onto them. In that moment she was moving, and Kaidan followed, as if they were following a script of music.
The mechs went for her first, ignoring him and their previous target, who quickly scooted behind cover before turning their own weapon against their pursuers. Kaidan joined the chorus of gunfire and the mechs fell quickly, seemingly confused by the sudden attack. It was hard to imagine those same mechs had killed the Private not moments ago. He scowled, moving to join Shepard as she hurried over to the marine.
"Thanks for your help. I didn't think I was going to make it." The woman said as they got close, looking between them. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, ma'am?"
Kaidan briefly wondered how Williams could tell, before he remembered the bloodstripe running down Shepard's right arm. It was always safe to assume an N7 was in charge of a situation. Shepard gave a terse nod.
"Are you hurt, Williams?"
"A few scrapes and burns, but nothing serious." Williams shook her head. "The others weren't so lucky."
"What happened?" Shepard prompted, with surprising gentleness.
"Oh man…We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call, but I think they jammed our comms. We tried to double back to the beacon, but we walked into an ambush." She looked down. "I don't think any of the others…I think I'm the only one left…"
Kaidan looked at Shepard as she stepped forward, resting a hand on Ashley's shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself, Williams. You couldn't have done any more to have saved them." The Commander spoke, and the biotic noticed a dullness to her green eyes. You've said to yourself before. Ashley looked back the soldier, her face composed once more.
"Yes, ma'am. We held our position as long as we could. Until the geth overwhelmed us."
"Geth?" The biotic spoke, now completely focused on the conversation. "They haven't been outside the Veil in nearly two hundred years? Why are they here now?"
"Geth? You'll have to fill me in, Lieutenant, Chief." Shepard said, looking from one to another, and Williams raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"We don't know much about them, only a passing mention in school. They're synthetics, created by the quarians as a form of cheap labour." Kaidan said.
"Well, they were, but they were given AI, and not surprisingly they turned on the quarians and drove them into exile." Ashley added. "This was a few centuries ago, until now they've been behind the Perseus Veil and no-one's heard much about them."
"Until now." The sentinel's thick brows furrowed. "They must have come for the beacon."
"But why?" Shepard wondered aloud. Without waiting for an answer, she addressed Ashley again. "What do you know of the beacon?"
"A few weeks ago they unearthed it and some Prothean ruins whilst they were doing some digging to extend the monorail and expand the colony." She explained. "Every scientific expert in the colony was interested when it turned up, and that's when they brought us in to secure the site. I don't know much about the beacon itself, but I heard the researchers say this could be the biggest scientific discovery of the century."
"Do you know what happened to the researchers?" Shepard asked. Kaidan paced watchfully, unable to relax.
"I don't know. Their camp was near the beacon, and the 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine did."
"Maybe." There was a note of uncertainty to the older woman's voice. "Tell me about the attack."
"We were sent from the main colony a couple of nights ago to secure the area. Seemed like a routine patrol, until the geth hit us." She shook her head. "We never saw them coming."
"I can sympathize." The Commander muttered. "Where is the dig site?"
"Not far, just over that rise." Ashley said, pointing to the hill before them, pale oblong colony blocks just peeking above the rocks. "I think the beacon might still be there."
Shepard nodded, and Kaidan thought she was about to move out. He was confident in her abilities, but something about the situation made him feel edgy and cautious, and so he took a risk.
"Commander," he began, and immediately her light green eyes alighted on him, "maybe we should consider taking the Chief with us. She knows the area, and we could use the extra firepower."
Williams looked him and then at Shepard, who regarded him steadily for a few moments before she said:
"Lieutenant, if you were thinking I was just going to leave the Gunnery Chief here on her own, then we need to have a little chat about our understanding of one another."
The biotic had begun to formulate a reply to carefully point out that he was offering a constructive opinion, when he noticed a grin pull at the corner of her lips. He realized then that she was teasing him. Though he felt mildly nettled that he'd been fooled, Kaidan had to admit he felt inordinately pleased. He returned her smirk with a half-smile of his own, as she turned back to the marine.
"Welcome aboard, Williams."
"Aye aye ma'am." Ashley said, nodding her head and tightening her grip on her rifle. "It's time for some payback."
Shepard nodded too, the brief spark of playfulness gone.
"Let's move out." She ordered, starting off again.
"Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko." He introduced himself as Ashley took up position next to him. "Glad to have you on the team."
"Glad to be here." She replied, before she hesitated, talking to the black armoured back in front of her. "I didn't get your name, ma'am."
"Commander Akeelah Shepard." Was the answer.