Author's Note: Originally, this was going to be the first chapter of a series entitled "What If..." where I planned to take certain scenes from the game and say "What if such and such had happened instead?" Then I ran out of ideas after two chapters. DAMN! Anyway I decided to stick the first one in here.

Some disclaimers: This one isn't a comedy oneshot. Unless you get a laugh out of the idea of the Council members sitting around singing Kumbaya. Also, because Nihlus gets capped so early in the game, it's hard to get a feel for his character so I hope you all like how he turned out here.

What If...Nihlus Hadn't Bought The Farm?

The feelings of unease and non-specific dread that Commander Shepard had felt as she climbed from the sleeper pod steadily intensified as the Normandy swung into orbit over the world of Eden Prime. If asked why she felt such feelings of unease, Shepard would have been at a loss for words. The mission was supposed to be a shake-down run, a chance to see what the SSV Normandy, jointly designed by turian and human engineers, could do before she was pressed into service.

But therein lay a problem in itself. As the navigator, Pressly had pointed out to Shepard earlier, why was a Spectre on board? And a decorated officer like Captain Anderson? Hell, even the helmsman, 'Joker' Moreau had been on edge about the presence of the turian Spectre, Nihlus.

Now, as the Commander stood talking with Nihlus in the comm room, waiting for the Captain to arrive, the feelings of unease and dread cranked up a notch. The last time Shepard had felt anything like this was during the mission to Akuze. At the time, the younger Shepard had dismissed the feelings as just pre-mission jitters. Then the threshers had struck. Years later, when she closed her eyes, Shepard could sometimes still see her fellow soldiers as they were bitten in half or dragged below the surface by the massive worm-like creatures. She could still hear their terrified screams as they died around her, weapons firing futilely at the thresher.

A shiver ran down the Commander's spine and she visibly shuddered. The turian, Nihlus eyed her curiously but said nothing. He had carefully read the human's service history and had been impressed by her courage and determination in surviving the events on Akuze. The upcoming operation would provide him with the ideal conditions in which to evaluate the human's skills for himself. If she failed to meet his exacting standards, he would not hesitate to inform the Council of her unsuitability. But something about the way Shepard held herself spoke well of her, Nihlus decided as the doors to the comm room slid apart and Captain Anderson arrived.

Without preamble, Anderson said, "I think it's time we tell the Commander what's really going on..."

As the Normandy flew through Eden Prime's atmosphere, following the distress call from the surface, Shepard mulled over what Anderson and Nihlus had told her. Her, a Spectre? Shepard found she was in two minds on the subject. Part of her was thrilled by the idea, though she was careful not to show it. Another, deeply cynical part of her, decided that she didn't give a damn whether she became a Spectre or not. Humanity had gotten along just fine all by itself without one of her species as a member of some glorified club for high fliers.

What next? she silently asked herself, You make Spectre and then what, the Council suddenly decides to throw us a bone and give us a seat at the grown ups' table? Shepard laughed to herself as she stood in the drop bay. Yeah, I can just picture Udina along with the asari, salarian and turian all sitting in a circle holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

Thinking over her Spectre candidacy took her mind off the feelings of wrongness she'd had since she woken up that morning, at least. As the frigate hovered above the ground at the first drop point, Corporal Jenkins asked Nihlus, shouting to be heard over the roar of the wind, "You coming with us?"
"I move faster on my own," the turian called back, and with a final check of his weapons, dropped out of sight. That's it right there, a voice inside her head whispered. It's Nihlus. Whatever's going to happen down there, it'll be centred on him.

Whatever had hit Eden Prime hadn't messed around, Shepard thought, observing the unnaturally dark red skies overhead and listening to the distant thump of gunfire. Cautiously, the Commander led Lieutenant Alenko and Jenkins towards some large boulders scattered about and took cover behind them. Silently gesturing for the others to hold, Shepard eased out from behind cover and scanned the area. Aside from the sounds of gunfire and the thick smoke from somewhere in the distance, the immediate area was quiet. Shepard gestured for Jenkins to take point.

The young Marine Corporal got maybe half a dozen steps when a pair of metallic reconnaissance drones appeared from behind some trees and opened fire on him. Before either Shepard or Alenko could react, Jenkins was on the ground, unmoving.

As the Lieutenant crouched over the body, closing Jenkins' eyes, a voice in Shepard's mind said, Guess he got his 'real action' didn't he? The Commander closed her eyes and swore under her breath. She opened them as Nihlus' voice sounded in her ear, "This place got hit hard, Shepard. I'm seeing a lot of burned out buildings. A lot of bodies." The turian cut the link before she could respond. What could she say to him anyway? Be careful not to get your head blown off because I woke up with a really bad case of the heebie jeebies? Yeah, that'd really impress him.

"Are you OK, Commander?" Alenko queried as he saw the look on her face. She seemed agitated about something, on edge. Alenko didn't know Lieutenant Commander Shepard from a bar of soap, but he was aware of her reputation - the sole survivor of the Akuze incident. He figured she had to have some real grit to her, to come out of that alive.

"Do you ever feel as though events are about to spiral completely out of your control and, even knowing that it's about to happen, you can't do anything to stop it?" Shepard replied after a few seconds.

The Lieutenant just looked at her for several moments, surprised by the frank admission that his superior officer was feeling uncertain. What surprised him more was the note of fear almost bordering on panic that he heard in her voice.

Before he could answer, Shepard gave her head a brisk shake, as if to clear it and said, "Forget it. We have a job to do, so let's get it done."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am," Alenko said.

A short time later, after the two soldiers destroyed several more recon drones and a pair of humanoid synthetics with flashlight heads, they linked up with another Marine, a member of the planetary garrison force.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the Two-Twelve," she introduced herself.

As Shepard quizzed the Marine on the attack and the beacon, she had to fight hard to keep a look of composure on her face and keep her voice steady. Things were rapidly coming to a head, she was certain of it.

"Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport nearby, I'm going to check it out," the Spectre informed Shepard over the comm. If he goes to that spaceport alone, he won't make it back to the ship. Alive anyway.

"Nihlus wait!" Shepard hurriedly replied, cringing at the raw edge of her own voice. Christ, she sounded like a kid straight out of boot camp, under fire for the first time. Swallowing hard, she went on, "Recommend you hold position at the dig site and we'll rendezvous with you." Come on, don't blow me off, turian.

After a pause, during which Shepard had time to think the connection had dropped out, Nihlus replied, "Very well, Commander Shepard. It would be prudent for us to stay together. I will wait for you to arrive. Nihlus, out."

Shepard blew out a sigh of relief, and almost felt as though a weight was being lifted from her shoulders. The feelings of unease were still there, but were beginning to lessen.

"What was that all about it?" Williams asked.

Shepard eyed the newcomer carefully. "Long story, not enough time. Let's head to the dig site."

As Nihlus stood by the dig site, inspecting the hole in the ground where the beacon had been, he mentally revised his opinion of the human, Shepard. She seemed competent enough but the note of panic he'd heard in her voice was less than encouraging. He wondered how she had managed almost twelve years in the human military if she was prone to fits of panic. Perhaps human standards of recruitment were lower than he was used to. Still, perhaps Shepard was right to be cautious. Nobody had expected the geth to be on Eden Prime. For them to be so far beyond the Perseus Veil was troubling, to say the least. The Council would want to know of this recent development.

Nihlus straightened up from his inspection of the dig site, hand going to his weapon, as he heard approaching footfalls. Shepard with two other soldiers. Strange, where was Corporal Jenkins?

Williams' eyes widened as she took in the sight of the turian, in a black and red hardsuit. She shot a glance at Commander Shepard and the other woman seemed to relax now that they had encountered the turian.

"Nihlus, Gunnery Chief Williams, Williams, Nihlus. He's with us," Shepard said.

"Where is Corporal Jenkins?" Nihlus asked, already knowing the answer.

"Jenkins didn't make it," Shepard replied neutrally. "You're probably wondering about my little panicky sounding transmission from earlier on," she went on, meeting the turian's unblinking green eyes.

"It does not seem to tally up with what your service records would suggest, Commander," Nihlus conceded.

Shepard took a deep breath and replied, "You know I was on Akuze when the threshers hit the colony. The entire time we were on the ground, I had a feeling that something really awful was about to happen. Thought it was just nerves before an operation, you know?"

Nihlus nodded silently. Shepard went on, "Call it whatever you like, a premonition, deja vu, women's intuition, but I have that exact same feeling right now. Had it ever since I rolled out of the sleeper pod this morning. We are about to walk into some heavy shit and if you go on alone, I don't think you'll make it back."

Nihlus digested this proclamation from the human silently then nodded to himself. It was not unheard of for people to experience what could be termed premonitions and only a fool would disregard such feelings entirely. Also, Nihlus mused, if Shepard was indeed telling the truth about Akuze - and he saw no reason for her to lie - then there was a precedent for her behaviour.

Nihlus found that he was strangely calm about his own possible and perhaps imminent death. He had served his people courageously and with honour before being accepted into the ranks of the Spectres, and death was simply a part of the life he had chosen for himself. If he were to die this day, then he would face his death with the certainty that he had given his all to his people, the Spectres and the galactic community as a whole.

"Very well, Commander. Let's continue on to the spaceport."

"There's a tram station nearby that'll take us directly there," Williams put in.

"Take us there," the turian ordered. Williams looked questioningly at the Commander. They were Alliance Marines; the chain of command didn't include Spectres. Shepard nodded slightly and Williams took point.

The cargo loading area of the tram station was littered with the bodies of dead colonists and small fires burned here and there, melting the heavy cargo containers. Thick clouds of choking chemically-laden smoke belched into the air, making breathing difficult. Nihlus ordered the group to hold as he spied a familiar figure standing alone in the cargo area. Saren? he wondered. What is he doing here?

"Wait here a moment," Nihlus ordered the others. Without waiting for a reply, he left the cover afforded by the nearby crates and stalked cautiously towards Saren, rifle in hand.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus asked the other turian. Saren turned to face him, blue eyes seeming to burn with an unnatural intensity. Nihlus observed that his fellow Spectre's body had been augmented with cybernetic enhancements since they'd last met and felt his hackles rise.

"The Council thought you could use a little help with this one," Saren replied, gripping Nihlus' shoulder as he slowly walked by.

With his back to Saren, Nihlus said, "I didn't expect the geth to be here; the situation's bad."
Sidearm in one three-fingered hand, Saren aimed at the back of his compatriot's head and answered, "Don't worry. Everything's under control."

Shepard and her companions observed the exchange between Nihlus and the other turian. They were too far away to hear what was being said but a person would have to be blind to miss the second turian - the one who seemed to be made of metal - aiming his sidearm at the back of Nihlus' head.

The feelings of dread and unfocused fear that had lifted slightly came crashing back in on Shepard as she began barking orders. "Alenko! Countermeasures, now!"

The Lieutenant's right hand rapidly worked his omni-tool, using it to overheat the turian's weapon. A shower of brilliant white-orange sparks burst from the weapon, overheating it and rendering it useless for a brief time.

Saren cursed as his weapon seemed to almost explode in his talons and Nihlus spun around, instinctively snapping up his assault rifle, even as his mandibles spread in shock. "Shepard!" he yelled, as the trio of humans surged towards them. The Commander's body was suffused with the blue corona that marked a biotic about to unleash her abilities.

Caught between Nihlus and the newly arrived humans, Saren removed a grenade from his armour plating, then primed and tossed it in the humans' midst. He turned back to Nihlus just in time to take a burst of gunfire to the chest. Saren grunted as his kinetic barriers absorbed the assault. Snarling wordlessly, Saren tapped into his own biotics and, with an almost casual gesture, hurled Nihlus across the expanse of the loading dock. Nihlus slammed heavily to the ground, groaning helplessly as several ribs gave way.

The grenade seemed to be taking an impossibly long time to cross the distance separating Shepard from the turian. This isn't how I imagined myself going out, she thought calmly, and raised a biotic barrier. Turning briefly to Alenko and Williams, Shepard generated a mass effect field and threw them both aside, hoping their armour would help cushion the landing. With no time left to think, Shepard dove to one side, curling herself into a tight a ball as possible and prayed to the god she no longer believed in that her hardsuit and biotic barrier would shield her from the worst of the blast.

Saren could no longer afford to linger; he had to get to the spaceport and locate the Prothean beacon. The beacon was the key to everything. Sparing a final look at where Nihlus lay, struggling to rise, Saren moved quickly to the nearby tram. He had hoped to eliminate his old friend painlessly, with a single shot. He owed Nihlus that much at least. But he couldn't afford to let his emotions cloud his judgement, not at such a critical juncture.

Shepard cringed involuntarily as the grenade detonated, feeling a wall of concussive force hammer her into the ground. Her biotic and kinetic barriers kept the worst of the damage at bay, however. Barely. As Shepard attempted to rise, she almost fell over again, unbalanced as she was by the effect of the blast on her inner ears. She winced as she straightened up, feeling something lodged in her back, a fragment of the grenade. The Commander was faintly aware that blood was oozing from her breached hardsuit. Well that's just great. So that's what? Scar number eighty-seven?

Alenko hit the ground hard but managed to roll quickly to his feet. Beside him Williams grunted and cursed. He turned to help her up and noticed that her right arm was hanging limply by her side.

"Well, your CO sure knows how to have a good time," the Marine muttered, breathing shallowly.

His CO..."Commander!" he shouted as the grenade detonated.

Alenko's heart beat almost painfully fast in his chest as he saw Shepard, curled into a tight ball shudder with the force of the blast.

Ignoring his own aches and pains, the Lieutenant sprinted to where Shepard stood bleeding, swaying slightly on her feet. Williams hobbled behind him, supporting her dislocated right arm. By now Nihlus had managed to stagger to his feet and, with pained breaths, crossed to the injured woman.

"Commander, are you badly hurt?" Nihlus asked, fighting the waves of pain radiating from his torso, attempting to overwhelm him.

"I'll live," she grunted, holding her hand awkwardly to her lower back before removing it. Williams looked on, glassy-eyed with shock as the Commander flicked her fingers to one side, her blood spattering the ground.

"You want to explain what the hell that was about?" Shepard asked as Alenko applied Medi-gel to the torn flesh visible beneath her hardsuit. She winced as the chilly substance clung to her skin, sealing off the wound and halting the flow of blood.

"That was Saren...a Spectre," Nihlus began.

"What the hell is a Spectre doing, working with the geth?" Williams demanded.

Mandibles flaring in irritation, Nihlus replied, "I do not know why; we didn't get a chance to talk very long."

Shepard shook her head wearily. The mission had gone entirely to hell but at least the feelings of dread and unease had finally lifted. The physical pain she felt wasn't much of an improvement but right then, Shepard felt more at peace than she had all day.

That was a good enough result, she decided.

A/N: Might be a while before I can get an update posted. I know, you're crushed. :P My PC seems to be suffering a CPU fan problem and since the CPU is so outdated, I'll likely have to upgrade both it, the motherboard and the RAM. Oh and deal with Windows product activation all over again. Ain't technology grand?