*AKUZE (the not-too-distant past)*
Terrified screams split the air punctuated by the staccato rhythm of small arms fire. Primordial roars pounded across the barren landscape to periodically drown out the sounds of battle. Giant, serpentine monstrosities erupted from the ground like maggots from a dusty corpse to shriek their rage at the comparatively tiny men and women desperately trying to fight their way free. Acid rained down like a hellish monsoon from the berserk creature's jaws, dissolving flesh and armor with equal ease. To those involved, seconds seemed to stretch into days as their numbers rapidly dwindled. In reality, the nightmare only lasted for a handful of minutes, but by the time silence once again settled over the plains of Akuze, only carnage strewn across the desolate wasteland remained.
Dismembered Human limbs lay scattered amidst acid-splashed craters and half-melted weapons. Some distance away, cresting a hill without looking back, trudged a lone figure. This singular survivor of an ambush that had obliterated an entire Alliance platoon fervently wished he would wake up. Yet every labored step only served to affirm that he was, and would remain, stubbornly rooted in reality.
*EDEN PRIME (present day)*
Commander Kraven Matthew Shepard stared incredulously at the haunting image frozen in time before him. Several seconds ticked by as he, his CO Captain David Anderson, and their ship's Turian guest attempted to comprehend what they were seeing. Scarlet arcs of snaking electricity coiled throughout a billowing cloud of dust that partially obscured the monster within. Armor-clad appendages the color of nightshade showed through the encompassing shroud looking for all the world like some colossal, grasping hand.
Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau's voice broke over the intercom to interrupt the icy silence. "Everything just cuts out after. No com traffic or anything."
Captain Anderson cast a sidelong glance over at Shepard without fully taking his attention away from the apparition on screen. "Take us in Joker, fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."
Without any further instructions, Kraven nodded to the Turian Spectre, Nihlus, crisply saluted his CO, and excused himself to head for the armory. His mind raced with the implications of what he had witnessed from an unlucky soldier's body cam. The elevator to the lower decks, which he swore moved at half the speed of smell, allowed him ample time to ponder.
He was intensely curious as to what the shrouded construct was and where it came from, but these questions were quickly superseded by theories of how to bring it down if he had to. Past life experience had thoroughly ground into him that shooting first and asking questions later was the best path to self preservation in his line of work. Granted, it didn't always win him many friends but he was confident in his instincts of when and where to apply that principle.
He allowed a small grin to brighten his features as he thought of his favorite space bandit character from an extremely outdated vid. His half smile quickly evaporated as Nihlus arrived promptly along with Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Corporal Jenkins. The first had been sent by the galactic Council to evaluate Shepard as a potential candidate to join their own private muscle, the Spectres. The second was an introverted, softly-spoken biotic who seemed to be the walking epitome of a "strong, silent type". Finally came the shiny new Corporal who'd never fired a weapon at a living target and practically foamed at the mouth for some kind of combat. He was a good kid with an engaging sense of humor and a genuinely positive outlook on just about everything. His enthusiasm could be a bit grating at times, but no one on the Normandy's seasoned crew begrudged him his rose-tinted goggles.
"Looks like you're getting your wish." Shepard gravely informed the Corporal.
An odd mix of emotions played across the young man's face. "I know I said I was ready for the real fight to start. It's just..."
"You didn't expect it to be right in your own backyard." Alenko finished for him.
The Corporal's shoulders slumped slightly in unconscious agreement. Although, seeing Nihlus prepping gear further down the bench seemed to help buoy his spirits. "Nihlus, you're coming with us?" He had to shout to be heard over the roar of rushing air that began to blast past the ship's widening cargo door.
Nihlus nonchalantly shook his head and eyed his shotgun one last time. "I move faster on my own. We'll rendezvous at the beacon's dig site." Without another word he charged down the loading ramp and off into the ash choked haze.
The trio of Humans, joined shortly by Anderson, watched him go before the Captain turned to address his ground team. "We're setting you down as close to the dig site as possible without drawing attention. Secure the area before meeting up with Nihlus."
"What about survivors, Captain?" Alenko asked.
"Rescuing survivors is a secondary objective. Securing the beacon is your top priority." Anderson responded.
Shepard's eyes briefly swam out of focus for a moment as familiar, acrid scents swirled around him, but he quickly regained his composure. "Understood sir."
Anderson seemed not to notice the subtle shift in the Commander's visage as he mirrored his subordinate's salute. "The mission's yours now, Commander. Good luck."
*EDEN PRIME*
"What do you mean you were already behind the crates?" Shepard's already short temper was beginning to fray as realization dawned.
The simpering mouse of a man in front of him visually started to squirm. "Some... sometimes I need a nap to get through my shift. I sneak off to grab forty winks behind the crates where the manager can't find me."
The woman at Shepard's side seethed with barely contained rage. "You're saying you survived because you're lazy?" She and her unit, of which she was now the only living member, had been assigned to guard the colony that was being systematically destroyed by synthetics. It just so happened these "tin men" were there for the same thing as everyone else. A Prothean Beacon.
The simpering man continued to fidget but said nothing until Kaiden broke in. "Wait... you must be Cole's contact here at the docks. Powell." The Lieutenant's usually soothing tone was understandably strained.
Less than an hour earlier, synthetics had ambushed Shepard's team. His instincts had niggled at the back of his mind, but the Corporal's reckless confidence at being on a real mission had tempered his caution. Without warning, a pair of hovering weapon drones zipped into view and opened up on the hapless soldier. Without so much as a single shot back, Jenkins had crumpled into a lifeless heap as blood poured from dozens of smoking holes in his armored suit.
After that, a steady stream of the floating gun buckets swarmed around Shepard and Alenko in an effort to inflict the same indignity that had befallen Jenkins. Fortunately, ample cover and both men's biotic barriers proved more than sufficient to weather the storm as they waded forward. As they fought their way toward the objective, they encountered three things. First had been Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, which had been extremely fortunate. Second had been the grisly scene of two synthetic bastards, which Ashley had later explained were Geth; artificially intelligent constructs that had not been seen in occupied space in hundreds of years after rebelling against their creators, the Quarian people; skewering a civilian on some sort of towering mechanical spine. Third had been a series of previously impaled colonists, which now resembled synthetically altered zombies, being released from their precarious imprisonment only to shamble forward and attack the soldiers. This had been extremely unnerving and something all three Humans wished could be unseen.
Shepard's heart ached in his chest, but he was determined not to let the pain accompanying the deaths of Corporal Jenkins, Ashley's 212, or the synthetically zombified colonists show to anyone. Especially not the scummy little troll still cowering behind the crates in front of him. Instead, he allowed his rising ire to keep his sorrow at bay for the time being.
Despite this roiling internal conflict, his voice remained a steely-edged neutral. "What is it you were smuggling?"
Powell nervously glanced between the trio of heavily-armed soldiers obviously trying to weigh the potential ramifications of what he was about to say. "A shipment of grenades. No one notices if a few small pieces go missing from the military orders."
Chief William's self-control started to dissolve while throbbing veins protruded from her neck and forehead. "We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass, and all you can think of is how you can rip us off? You son of a bitch!"
Powell desperately tried to plead his case. "I never thought you'd actually need those grenades. We're a bunch of farmers. Who would..." He halted mid sentence as the Commander's sidearm swung into line between his eyes.
With a lethal click *boom*, the weapon discharged followed shortly by the hollow thump of Powell's body hitting the deck. Images of Corporal Jenkin's lifeless eyes staring into space swam unbidden across Shepard's vision to intermingle with the wisps of smoke ghosting around his pistol's barrel.
The military oriented portion of his brain screamed in protest at the murder of an unarmed civilian. However, the rest of his consciousness remained stubbornly fixated on Jenkins, Ashley's 212, and the dead colonists and easily shouted down any feelings of guilt.
"Either of you have a problem with that?" He asked, slowly holstering his weapon.
"No, sir." Kaiden asserted.
"Only wish you'd done it sooner." Ashley growled.
He wasn't really sure what he would have done had either one disapproved, but he was glad to hear they were all on the same page. His instincts told him that the man's greed had undoubtedly diminished everyone else's chances of survival against the Geth. Not to mention the little creep had hid like a coward throughout the entirety of the Geth attack, right up until witnessing the Spectre Nihlus being gunned down by another Spectre. Shepard's instincts also told him he was going to regret his actions, but it definitely wouldn't be the first time. He promised himself he'd reflect on his choices later once the mission was done.
With a bracing inhalation of coppery-tinged air, he let his anger melt back into his subconscious. "Kaidan, grab whatever we can use from Nihlus' body. Lord knows he won't be needing it anymore. Ashley, pack up those grenades and whatever else our smuggler was hoarding around here. We're on the clock, so let's move with a purpose."
"Yes, sir!" Both chorused at once.
Neither had missed how the Commander's voice had warmed from icy steel when interacting with Powell to almost jovial when speaking to them. It was disconcerting to say the least, but since they were obviously on the sunny side, neither found it at all unpleasant.
All three quickly gathered up what supplies they could easily salvage from around the burning dock, all while keeping an eye open for any homicidal robots that decided to crash their party. As Shepard carefully scroonched himself around a crackling blaze to reach the storage locker beyond, his eye caught sight of one of the Geth still twitching nearby.
An odd thought occurred to him as the synthetic's toes curled. "How on earth do those things even stand with legs like that?" He wondered aloud before barking an expletive as one of his armor's forearm seals popped and fused from the heat of the fire.
"Everything alright, Commander?" Ashley asked quickly.
"Dandy." He replied through clenched teeth as he grabbed the locker and yanked it out of the hungering flames. Another expletive escaped his lips as he tore into the storage unit to get at the prize within. A used set of worthless Onyx armor and a base model Kessler pistol.
Williams raised an eyebrow after seeing his partially melted vambrace and the fruits of his labor. "Worth it?"
"Absolutely." He sniffed stuffing the armor and pistol back into the locker with as much dignity as he could muster before nonchalantly setting it on the ground and nudging back it into the fire with his toe. "Hopefully the two of you had more luck. We'd better get a move on." He looked over to where Alenko was covering Nihlus' body with a worn out looking tarp. "You good, Kaidan?"
"All set Commander."
They quickly divided up the spoils, which apart from the thief's grenades and Nihlus' personal weaponry didn't amount to much, and headed off for the tram that would take them to a nearby spaceport. It also happened to take them into a veritable hive of Geth, robot zombie colonists which they had taken to calling Husks, and a handful of explosive parting gifts meant to level half the colony. All of which were methodically dealt with on a threat priority basis until nothing but exhausted Alliance soldiers stood in front of the eerie object that had started the whole show.
Shepard half-turned as he radioed in their extraction to the Normandy's pilot. As he did, he saw Ashley edge closer to get a better look at the Prothean Beacon that had cost her entire unit, and half the colony, their lives. "Doesn't look like much." She muttered to herself.
Without warning, the thrumming obelisk emitted a sharp pulse of energy. Shepard cut his transmission mid-syllable as Ashley started to struggle against whatever unseen force had started dragging her forward. His first thought was to shoot it, but that idea was immediately discarded as whatever reaction took place might kill the Chief too. He brushed past Kaidan without knowing what exactly he was going to do.
His first unconscious thought dictated that he had to stop Ashley's movement closer to the device. He reflexively wrapped his arms around her hunched shoulders and dug his heels in to stall their combined momentum. His second unconscious thought demanded that he try to free her from whatever invisible bonds that were drawing them both in. He shifted his weight to pivot her around his hip and fling her backward and away. His third unconscious thought, which was most likely something along the lines of "escape", wasn't even done translating into action before that same force snatched him up.
He was vaguely aware of being hoisted skyward but the sensation barely registered as grotesque images were forcibly ground into his brain and paraded across his vision like some depraved slideshow. His face froze into an agony-fueled grimace as searing hot pain seeped into every fiber of his being. Just as his nervous system was on the verge of meltdown, his world was swallowed in darkness.