A/N: I want to send a special thank you for my beta; Cloverdaze. Had it not been for you, this story would not be told as well as it is. Thank you and my most sincere gratitude towards you always.

When Fates Collide

Chapter 15

~ ~ Beware of Shiny Objects ~ ~

"Acting Commander Shepard please report to the bridge, Commander Shepard report to the bridge." Joker's voice hummed throughout the ship's 1MC like he was announcing guided tours on Planet Disney.

The woman being summoned was sitting on the mess decks about to shovel another spoonful of food in her mouth when she heard the announcement. Her lunch companions, knowing the entire ship heard the pilot's attempt to promote her, saw the instant arousal of anger in the redhead's face. Liara, who was sitting directly across from her, knew just 15 minutes earlier the former Alliance soldier had informed Joker she was about to head to chow. It was the first time the quarian had seen a human's face turn that red; not from embarrassment, but from annoyance.

Shepard was going to kill the Normandy's pilot especially when she heard Williams behind her scoff loudly at the announcement, which ranked her higher than the Gunny Chief, "A commander, really?"

Joker could have just paged her on the mess decks, could have easily summoned her privately on the omni-tool Tali had given her, but he was clearly trying to bring attention to the soldier, who clearly didn't want to be associated with the mock rank. Dropping her silverware the redhead muttered, "Unbelievable!"

Looking at Liara and Tali as she stood, the woman mumbled, "I'm going to kill him."

Watching her stomp out of the room, the two alien women wondered if she had been serious. Tali, giving voice to this concern, asked the blue skinned woman, "She isn't really going to kill him; is she?"

Seeing the woman storm out of the room, Wrex took the seat that would have been next to the mock commander, "What's wrong with her?"

Tali answered, "I don't believe she likes being called an Alliance Commander."

The krogan towered over his massive plate of food and snorted, "Huh. I was just getting used to it." In between large bites of food, the large battlemaster continued, "If you ask me, it fits her."

The asari and quarian at the table were shocked that Wrex had said more than two words in conversing with them which didn't relate to killing anyone or blowing anything up. His statement did however cause the asari to arch a brow as she pondered his words, while behind them Garrus banged his metal tray as he was clearing it, seemingly trying to get their attention.

The former C-Sec officer joined the conversation as he motioned toward a small group of Alliance soldiers sitting at the next table, who were huddled around Chief Williams. In a sarcastic tone Garrus implied, "I bet she'd have something to say about it though."

All eyes moved over to the human's table. As the alien's stares were being returned, the tension was felt by all: the lines of allegiance were being drawn between them.

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The soles of Shepard's boots clanked against the metal decking as she made her way to the bridge. It was Joker's only warning that the pissed off soldier was on her way. "Shepard! Glad you could make it."

The worried pilot hurried his words before she entered the hub of the ship, "Presley received an emergency request from Admiral Hackett of the Fifth Fleet. They want us…"

Hesitating, he looked up at the larger than life redhead who was now standing over his shoulder. The pilot swallowed hard realizing she could do some serious damage if she wanted and for a moment feared he may have just given her a very good reason on a silver platter.

Clearing his throat the snarky pilot continued, "To investigate a possible Cerberus threat. The intel you picked up on Feros provided us with the coordinates to a secret Cerberus outpost."

The man in the chair spun around looking directly into Shepard's face. His voice and expression were no longer that of a wise cracking pilot but rather a highly respectable Alliance Lieutenant, "This is a great opportunity for the Alliance to deliver a critical blow to those terrorists who masquerade as a human special interest group."

His voice sounded a bit strained, almost as if he was pleading rather than asking when he added, "It would mean a great deal to a lot of humans Shepard. They have done some pretty bad stuff."

The woman's stern expression didn't falter. Feeling as if he had to resort to desperate measures the pilot added, "Besides, it's been rumored that they get their 'test' subjects from the batarians in exchange for torture techniques."

As hoped, the pilot got an instant reaction from the soldier. Leaning over the Lieutenant's shoulder to look at his control panel the redhead asked, "Joker, how far did you say we were from that Cerberus outpost?"

%%%%%%%

The mako came to a sudden stop when it arrived at the flat basin of two civilian structures. Above them on a plateau was a research facility. Shepard squawked into her head piece, "Joker, are you sure this is the right place? It looks like a colonist facility."

A moment later Joker confirmed, "Yes ma'am. That's the place alright. It was originally used by a colonial pioneer team but they lost contact with them about 6 months ago."

An affirmative reply came from the squad leader, "Roger that Joker; Shepard out!"

As the mako started in motion again the squad inside took a deep gulp, waiting for their opportunity to exit the vehicle which felt like it would never come. Pointing from the passenger's seat of the all terrain vehicle, Shepard instructed, "Garrus take us over by that structure on the left. We'll start there first."

The former marine tried not to take it personal when the squad all but begged for someone else to drive the mako for this mission. But it was Liara's sweet voice that suggested that other members of the squad 'learn' to drive the mako as well, in case something should ever happen to the former marine. Which when heard in the asari's angelic voice; made perfect sense to Shepard.

Tactically exiting the transport unit, the eager squad took evasive measures using the mako for cover. "Go! Go! Go!" barked the former Alliance soldier.

Surrounding the huge steel structures were shiny looking tri-pod apparatuses. Taking in the empty area around them Garrus commented, "Where is everyone? Mission reports said there were over 40 colonists here."

Tali moving between Garrus and Wrex responded, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Taking a few steps closer to the shiny spike object Liara questioned, "What is that?"

A deeply concerned look covered Shepard's face as she glanced worriedly over at the gunny chief, "Williams, does that look familiar to you?"

Swallowing hard, the gunny readied her weapon, "Sure as hell does!"

The squad leader hollered to her team, "Everyone check your weapons, it's about to ugly real quick. Shoot whatever comes your way. Especially if you don't know what it is!"

"What exactly is coming Shepard?" asked a hesitant turian as his gun clicked into place.

Tali answered, "I researched those. The Alliance calls them Dragon's Teeth. The devices convert the muscles, organs and water content of an organic corpse into cybernetic parts – possibly recovering a miniscule amount of nutrients – then reanimates the body with an electrical charge, turning it into a simple-minded Husk that attacks anyone who gets close enough."

"Attacks?" stammered a worried asari who steadied her side arm.

"Releasing the new husk also retracts the spike back into the tripod, readying it for reuse. The technology behind the dragon's teeth is still a mystery. It doesn't resemble any other Geth technology and deploying the spikes also seems to be a great deal of effort for a minimal result; though the psychological effect on soldiers is undeniable."

The quarian's synthesized winded speech made everyone's face go pale. Even the hard soldier tugged at her collar before she ordered, "Lock and load people. We have a mission to complete."

Garrus, however out of curiosity, had already stepped too close to a Dragon's Tooth when it began glowing. A stiff hit against his side sent him flying to the ground. The fallen former c-sec officer looked up at one particular redhead dressed in black N-7 armor as she teased, "We don't want any BBQ turians now do we?"

Smiling the turian took the offered hand to stand. Staring at the spike as it expanded high in to the sky and then sharply retracted; it only took a moment to evaluate what nearly had happened to him. The turian was barely able to utter, "Thanks Shepard. You saved my life." before the squad moved on.

Trying to brush off the severity of it, Shepard shrugged her shoulders and yelled to the rest of the squad. "Double check your thermo clips and stay in twos. We don't want any accidents."

The leader stood next to the Prothean Expert silently claiming the asari has her partner as the other members paired up. Tali went with Wrex and Chief Williams slapped the former c-sec officer on the shoulder. "Looks like you are with me tall, dark and scaly."

The turian immediately thought of several retorting comments but felt that at least she had spoken to him; which was far better than what she would have done only a week ago. The turian watched the cocky marine take position as he grumbled, "Sure thing Pinky."

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Making their way to the first building, Liara suddenly stopped, massaging her temple in searing pain. Shepard quickly reached for the woman, "Are you ok?"

Feeling as if a wave of nausea had washed over her, Liara blinked several times as she looked up at the redheaded woman. Taking a second to form her thoughts, she informed the squadleader, "I believe they are Reaper technology."

Surprised by the information, Ashley asked, "How do you know that Miss Prothean Expert?"

Helplessly looking into Shepard's deep green eyes, Liara replied, "I believe Benezia planted the information in my head."

Annoyed, Williams barked, "What else is up there?"

The crass statement earned the gunny a stern look from the irritated leader.

Just as confused, Liara stared blankly at the chief, "I don't know. I didn't even know that was in there until just now."

Violently swinging her assault rifle around, Ashley was the first to scream, "Husk! 2 o'clock!"

Garrus and Tali were methodically rendering the husks useless as they shot at their legs knocking them hard to the ground, when Shepard yelled, "Aim for their heads! That is the only way to stop them!"

It was then, the pair of aliens realized their success was short lived as the grounded husks were still crawling towards them and Tali screamed, "Their heads! Shoot their heads!"

"I know! I know! I heard her too you know!" retorted the momentarily out of breath turian.

Removing the head of the last husk from its body, Wrex who was massaging his ears added, "I didn't know quarians could hit that high of a pitch."

Inside the first structure the team encountered about ten more mindless husks. After a bit of skirmish they were eradicated. "Williams and Garrus check the upper level! Tali, Wrex guard that door. Make sure nothing gets in here. T'Soni and I will check this floor. Stay alert people!" ordered the mock commander as the teams moved out to perform their assignments.

A few minutes later, Williams hailed her squadleader over her headset, "Williams here; second floor all secure! Nothing up here but a bunch of data pads and gear lockers." She concluded as she slowly paced the small room.

"Anything of value?" queried the redhead.

The alliance marine used the end of her assault rifle to slowly open one of the lockers, "Not unless you are a colonist who is bored out of your mind without a thing to do for entertainment."

Chuckling over Williams keeping her sense of humor, Shepard replied, "Copy that! See you back here in 5."

An unexpected answer came from her headset as Ash added, "Roger that Shepard!"

The redhead had just started musing over the gunny chief always needing the last word when Liara walked up to her, "I found this." announced the asari.

"What is it?" asked Shepard, looking more at the asari than the box she was holding.

"I believe it's a med kit."

"Oh that could come in handy." stated the squad leader as she watched the asari place the box on a nearby crate.

A small smile exchanged between the two before Liara used a small biotic pulse to open the box. The innocent smile had made both women blush slightly before the contents of the med kit were revealed, "Oh dear."

Hearing the disappointment in the asari's tone, Shepard asked, "What is it?"

Rummaging the items in the box, Liara affirmed, "This med kit isn't any good unless we receive chemical burns or inhale toxins. This is a science lab kit."

Chewing on her bottom lip the human pressed her weight against the crate before them, "Sorry this was a waste of time."

The cheeks of the asari flushed a tint of purple as she looked back at Shepard. A shy smile tugged at the asari's lips before Williams came jogging up to the pair, "What's up? Oh cool a med kit!"

Watching the women leave Williams said, "Hey those can come in handy."

Without a hint of any emotion, Shepard retorted, "Leave it Williams. It's only good for a chemical burn or inhalation of toxins."

Sounding a little disappointed, the gunny dropped a plastic bottle inside the box and muttered, "If you say so."

%%%%%%%

The team sauntered out of the first structure when they were caught completely off guard by another wave of mindless husks. Completely grabbing their attention, four husks were crawling all over the mako looking for a way inside. Not needing the order to attack; the squad immediately went about dispatching the offenders.

One of the husks on top of the mako jumped on the back of the Wrex. Stretching his arms behind him he twisted and turned trying to get the vagrant off his back. Shepard thought it looked like something out of an old Earth comedy vid. A luminous biotic pulse slammed into the creature on Wrex's back and sent it hurling into the side of the slanted building. When the limp body slid down well within Wrex's grasp, the angry battlemaster tore the body of the husk in half. The horrific image caused Liara to look away and Williams to make a mental note to stay clear of the krogan in the future, as it took him little effort to rip the husk in two.

Using the mako for cover, a mounted husk pawed at Tali as she bobbed and weaved away from it. It was an unpleasant game of cat and mouse. When two more husks joined in the fun, Tali slid under the mako for protection. Being they were mindless creatures, it took them a few moments before they realized where the quarian had gone. Tali tapped frantically on her omni-tool as she felt a pair of hands grab her feet. Looking down she saw the husks trying to pull her out from under the mako. Feeling her body begin to move towards them, she kicked trying to release their grip. The petrified woman furiously tapped on her omni-tool; making mistakes in her haste, "Bosh'tet!"

When her knees were almost completely out from under the mako, she pointed her omni-tool at her attacker as a powering up sound omitted, "Take that!" She blasted as an electronic charge electrocuted the husk at her feet.

Crawling back under the mako she felt another husk grab her arm and just as quickly she powered up her omni-tool and fired it again. She didn't just electrocute the husks, but destroyed their motor senses and fried their brains, as the husk next to her shook violently before its head exploded sending white goo all over the underside of the mako. Luckily the quarian had turned in time to avoid being hit by the ooze. Seeing the reaction so close alarmed the young engineer.

Tali frantically looked around the mako, seeing if she could find another potential threat. From above her head as if almost on command, another husk growled and hissed trying to reach her. A few light touches of her fingers charged the omni-weapon again and blasted the attacker. This one crawled out from under the mako taking a few steps before Tali witnessed its body falling helplessly to the ground. The frightened quarian's head fell hard to the ground as she tried to steady her nerves. A few moments passed and not another sound could be heard under the large battle tank.

Practicing the calming exercises Shepard had taught the young woman, Tali immediately jumped when she felt another body come at her from the side of the mako. It took a moment for the quarian's brain to register the friendly face, "Hey, you taking a nap down there?" teased the smirking redhead.

Before the quarian could answer Shepard shoved a hand out towards here, "Here, let's get you out of there."

Kicking the pulp of another body, as Williams and Wrex were examining a strange looking carcass of what used to be a husk, Garrus exclaimed, "Good job Tali. Remind me to pay you those 50 credits I owe you as soon as we get back to the ship."

Glancing amusedly at his teammates Garrus proudly chimed, "Now that's a girl you don't want to owe any money."

The squad shared a nervous laugh after the explosive and unexpected attack, but being the good soldier that she was, Shepard didn't let them keep their guard down long, "Ok people, we still have a job to do. Lock and load!"

Not seeing the asari exert so much power before, Shepard walked over to the young maiden who was standing by herself on the other side of the mako and gently touched her shoulder, "Hey you ok?"

The horrific images were still floating in her head as the professor nodded slowly.

Shepard knew although the young woman was highly skilled with her biotics, the professor had never used them to kill before as she stood staring at the singed flesh.

Knowing the impact of war, Shepard tenderly squeezed the professor's shoulders, "It'll be ok. I'm right here." Turning the woman around, green piercing eyes stared into blue ones, "Liara, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

The asari stood a little taller appreciating the human's reassurance, "It's not that Shepard; I've just never seen anything like that before." confessed a confused prothean scientist.

Shepard couldn't imagine how Liara was feeling at this moment. Being a military brat herself, she grew up hearing god awful war stories. In her head, they were heroic. Looking back at the disheartened asari, a murmur stirred in the soldier's chest, she isn't used to this. Wishing for the first time that Matriarch Benezia was there, Shepard wondered how the great leader handled her first lethal attack. Just the idea of struggling over how to properly handle this situation made the hardened soldier wonder if Benezia herself wasn't looking down on her. Thankfully Shepard's N-7 training kicked in, survive now; heal later echoed in her ears.

Leading the professor by her elbow Shepard prodded her, "Come on, we have a mission to complete and then we can get out of here."

The words 'out of here' greatly appealed to the young asari as she followed Shepard towards the entrance of the second building.

Standing just outside the second structure, Shepard instructed, "Wrex, Tali stay with the mako; Williams, Garrus and T'Soni with me."

A confused quarian not familiar with human battle tactics asked, "Shepard? Isn't it dangerous to split up?"

"It will be more dangerous if we need to leave quickly and someone or something has taken the Mako for a little joyride." Shepard replied.

The abstract idea rapidly made sense to her squad as Tali and Wrex stood beside the mako. Tali's voice informed her squad leader, "We'll be right here when you get back Shepard and so will the Mako."

The quarian snapped a crisp salute that enticed Shepard to return one as well.

Before turning to leave Wrex snorted, "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on the young quarian," shooting the woman a sideways glance the battle master added, "Doubt she'll need help though."

A surprised grin floated over Tali's face that made her blush heavily under her tinted mask. To be complimented in such a way, by a real krogan battlemaster was an honor indeed. The young engineer immediately stood a little taller and felt a little braver. She might not be as big as a krogan, as tough as a turian or a skilled fighter like a human; but this quarian had proven she was hard girl to bring down alone.

Beaming proudly herself, Shepard said, "Copy that!"

%%%%%%%

In the second structure, the smaller team encountered even more husks. Storming the main room the team positioned themselves behind a wall with a window box cut out of the frame, taking cover against the swarm of husks. Shepard hollered, "I guess we found the colonists!"

Taking a tactical position the redhead shouted a friendly reminder, "Remember, if they get too close they set off a blast weapon just like we saw in the other building and if that doesn't kill you; then they'll just try to melee you to death."

"So basically, be careful?" retorted Williams.

Ignoring the actual seriousness of the crisis at hand, Shepard retaliated, "You can handle that right Williams?"

An eye roll was the only answer the squad leader received from the marine as she readied herself for eminent danger.

Williams was shooting from a standing position, while Garrus leap frogged around the various crates in the room. True to her word, Shepard didn't leave Liara's side, as they worked simultaneously against the threat at hand. Liara used her biotics to freeze the husks in place or simply lift them off the ground; making it all too easy for Shepard's assault weapon to take aim and end their life. A few quick glances around the room showed the modified team was working out well in this building.

"I've been hit! I've been hit!" was the last statement Williams remembered saying as she witnessed a husk barreling down on her, tearing at her side. She winced, grabbed a knife from her boot and gripped the husk's arm until it was close enough to slit its throat. As she slid to the ground from the large hole in her side, she looked up to see two more husks ready to replace the one she just killed. Overpowering the wounded marine, the husks lurched forward and pawed at Ashley's arms as she struggled to keep her grip on the jagged knife. The husks leaned closer as they bit and clawed at her body causing the marine to drop her knife as blood spewed out of several wounds. With a stiff kick of her boot she was able to push them off one last time, before they made their final attack. Gritting her teeth, the marine prepared to be torn apart when she saw the head of a husk explode. Shockingly she watched as the second husk's head burst right before her eyes as a shredder round found its way through the half organic, half synthetic head. The next thing she knew someone was leaning over her screaming something but it took a minute for the shock of almost dying to wear off.

Straddling one of her legs, Shepard pulled at her pants leg pocket and quickly jabbed something into Williams, "Liara, Garrus, over here! Williams is hurt!"