It had been seven years since Skyllian Blitz and since then Shepard had gained the rank is Commander and had become one of the best N7 agents the Alliance ever appointed.

He was now serving as the XO of the Alliance's newest frigates known as the Normandy. Normandy was state-of-the-art, a joint project between the System Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy, and it was just going to have its first shakedown run.

There are heading over towards the Mass Relay, and massive feet of engineering by the Protheans. It was the only way to enter into lightspeed without them they would have spent centuries trying to cross the galaxy and that was to the nearest cluster.

The Protheans were a race that went extinct 50,000 years ago without a trace, but the technology lived on. In truth if it weren't for the discovery of the Mars archives humanity would have been stuck in their own system.

"The Arcturus Prime relays in range," said Jeff Morrow, who like to be known as Joker, over the intercom. "Initiating transmission sequence."

Shepard was making his way to the cockpit passing through Captain Anderson's hand-picked crew. Everyone on board was selected by Anderson himself and all of them were probably the best the Alliance had to offer.

"We are connected," said Joker. "Calculating trans mass and destination. The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit."

Shepard entered the cockpit and stood next to turian by the name of Nihlus. His presence did make the crew slightly uneasy and intrusive, Shepard couldn't blame them, the man was a Counsel Spectre after all.

Turian's were a humanoid bird race that close he resembled that of raptors. They were six feet tall, have two long, proportionately thick fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, each tipped with talons, and a set of mandibles around their mouths.

Their entire culture was a military culture, meaning every single one of them raised knew their way around a weapon. They will they also have the strongest military force in the entire galaxy and tensions between them and humans were slightly uneasy due to the First Contact War.

Nihlus been a Spectre was even worse, because they were like spies and only answer to the Council. This meant they could do whatever they please and wouldn't be arrested by it that included taking over a ship or shooting down civilians.

"The board is green. Approach run has begun," said Joker.

They soon made their way to the mass of Mass Relay that was the size of a small moon, in fact humanity for it was a moon before they found Mars archives.

"Hitting the relay in 3… 2… 1…"

The Normandy flew close to the massive core of eezo and seconds later they shot out like a bullet from a gun. All the stars around them blurred as they are separated into FTL.

"Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online," said Joker as he checked his board. "Drift…" He glanced at the readout. "Just under 1500 K."

"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased," said Nihlus. He gave the cockpit one more cursory look before heading back down the corridor.

"I hate that guy," Joker muttered.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment…" said Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, shaking his head. "So you hate him?"

Kaidan Alenko was Shepard second-in-command and a biotic. That meant that he could move things with his mind, which was impressive considering he still had the old L2 implants.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" Joker shot him a glare. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."

Kaidan promptly obliged. "You're paranoid." He touched a couple buttons on his display. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."

Shepard couldn't help but agree. "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs."

Joker nodded. "So there's more going on than the captain's letting on."

Then the comm unit beeped. Captain Anderson's voice came over. "Joker! Status report."

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Joker started hitting the buttons. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

Irritation filled Anderson's voice. "He's already here, Lieutenant." Joker winced. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that, Commander?"

"He sounds angry," Shepard noted. "Something must have gone wrong with the mission."

"Pff. Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me," said Joker over his shoulder.

Kaidan smirked. "I can't imagine why."

Shepard made his way over the comm room when he heard a conversation between Navigator Presley and Engineer Adams in engineering.

"I'm telling you, I just saw him!" said Presley. "He marched by like he was on a mission."

"He's a Spectre. Their always on a mission," said Adams voice over the intercom.

"And we're getting dragged right along with him!" said Presley angrily.

"Relax, Presley. You can give yourself an ulcer."

Pressley switched off the intercom when he saw Shepard approaching him. "Congratulations, Commander," he said saluting. "Looks like we've had a smooth run. You heading down to see the captain?"

"Sounds like you don't trust our turian guest," Shepard noted.

"Sorry, Commander," said Pressley apologetically. "Just having a chat with Adams down in engineering. I didn't mean to cause any trouble. But you have to admit, something's odd about this mission. The whole crew feels it."

"You think the Alliance brass is holding out on us?"

"If all we're supposed to do is test our stealth systems, why is Captain Anderson in charge? And then there's Nihlus. Spectres are elite operatives. Top cover agents. Why send a Spectre—a turian Spectre—on a shakedown run? It doesn't add up."

"I'll see if I can get some answers when I see him," Shepard assured.

"Good luck. Commander."

Shepard was only just a few steps away from the comm room when he heard a conversation between Corporal Jenkins and Dr. Chakwas.

"I grew up on Eden prime, Doc," said Jenkins. "It's not the kind of place a Spectres visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

Dr. Chakwas shook her head. "That crazy. The captain's in charge here. He will take orders from a Spectre."

"Not as choice, Doc. Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way."

Dr. Chakwas looked half amused. "Ha! You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins."

Jenkins then noticed Shepard approach them. "What do you think, Commander?" Jenkins saluted. "We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action!"

Dr. Chakwas gave him a disapproving look. "I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal. Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

"You need to calm down, Corporal," said Shepard. "A good soldier stays cool, even under fire."

"Sorry, Commander. But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!"

"Just treat this like every other assignment you've had and everything will work out."

"Easy for you to say." Jenkins shook his head. "You proved yourself during the Blitz. Everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"

"You're young, Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Don't do something stupid to mess it up."

"Don't worry, sir. I'm not going to screw this up."

"I should go." Shepard headed for the debriefing room.

Nihlus was already in the debriefing room. He still wasn't sure what to make of the guy. "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

"The captain said he'd meet me here."

"He's on his way." Nihlus's strange eyes looked him over before the turian started pacing. "I'm interested in this world we're going to—Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"They say is a paradise."

"Yes… a paradise. Serena. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it?" Nihlus stopped pacing and faced him. "Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?" He walked down to the vid screen, and looked at the still that showed the colony spread out before them.

Shepard look to the turian curiously. "Do you know something?"

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place." Nihlus turned back to him and folded his arms. "Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Before he could respond, the door opened to admit Captain Anderson. He walked down the ramp to them. "I think it's about time we told the Commander what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Nihlus nodded.

Shepard looked at Anderson. "I knew there was something you weren't telling us."

Captain Anderson faced him. "We're making a cover pick-up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

He nodded. "There must be a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir."

"This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis." He gestured sharply. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

Shepard's eyes widened. "I thought the Prothean's vanished 50,000 years ago."

"The legacy still remains," said Nihlus. "The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives—it's all based on Prothean technology."

"This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discover like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years." Anderson waved a hand. "But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

Nihlus nodded to Anderson. "Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect all species in Council space."

"It never hurts to have a few extra hands on board," said Shepard.

"The beacon isn't the only reason I'm here." Nihlus's mandibles moved in what he thought might have been the turian version of a smile.

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander." Anderson's face was expressionless. "He's here to evaluate you."

"Guess that explained why I bump into him every time I turn around," Shepard joked.

Anderson shook his head. "The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council."

"You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single-handed." Nihlus was watching him. "You showed not only courage but also incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

Shepard blinked. He glanced from Nihlus to Anderson, and saw Anderson nod. "I assume this is good for the Alliance."

"Earth needs this, Shepard. We're counting on you," said Anderson.

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

"You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"Just give the word, Captain," said Shepard.

"We should be getting close to Eden—"

Joker's voice cut Captain Anderson off. "Captain, we've got a problem."

"What's wrong, Joker?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this."

Anderson walked down to the viewscreen. "Bring it up on screen."

The transmission showed marines fighting for their lives. Fighting, and dying. He couldn't make out what they were going up against. A woman shoved the cameraman to the ground. Pirates? An officer's face appeared in the screen. "We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties. I repeat: heave casualties! We can't…" The officer's body jerked as he took a hit to the shoulder. "Argh!" He adjusted to get himself better cover. "—eed evac! They came out of nowhere. We need—" The next shot went through the man's helmet, and he fell forward, dropping the camera. It spun as it hit the ground, and there was a strange noise. Someone else picked up the camera and turned it towards a strange shape in the sky. The ship looked almost like a grasping hand, reaching down towards the colony. The screen went to static.

"Everything cuts out after that," said Joker's voice came over the comm. "No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Anderson ordered.

The video reversed and it showed the image of a strange ship. Shepard had never seen a ship that kind before and judging by the look on Nihlus' face never did he.

Anderson frowned. "Status report."

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area."

"Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet." Anderson took a deep breath. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon." Nihlus's mandibles made a slight clacking sound.

"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold." Nihlus nodded to Anderson before moving off. Anderson turned towards Shepard. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in."

Shepard passed the order, and grabbed his own helmet. Mentally he ran through what he knew of his new teammates. Alenko was a biotic and a trained medic, with some experience under heavy fire. He didn't have a lot of experience working with biotics, but knew enough to be glad to have one on the team. Jenkins was a rookie, with a lot of training missions under his belt and not much else, but he was a native to the planet and his information will be invaluable.

"Somebody was doing some serious digging here, Captain," said Joker's voice over the comm.

Anderson came into the cargo hold.

"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site." Anderson gave them each his own once over.

"What about survivors, Captain?" Kaidan asked.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority," said Anderson as the cargo bay door was opened.

"Approaching drop point one," said Joker.

"Nihlus? You're coming with us?" Jenkins asked.

Nihlus checked over his weapon. "I move faster on my own." He exited the ship, leaping off the ramp to the planet below.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead." Anderson continued giving orders. "He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission. Otherwise, I want radio silence."

"We've got his back, Captain," said Shepard.

"The mission's yours now, Shepard. Good luck."

"We are approaching drop point two," said Joker.

They jumped off the Normandy and landed on the ground and they could see smoke rising all over the place. Something hit this place hard, but the landing zone looked completely clear.

"Ship parameter secure, Commander!" said Kaidan as the Normandy took off.

"This place hit hard, Commander," said Nihuls over the comm. "Hostiles everywhere. Keep your guard up."

They hadn't gone far when they saw the first bodies. They were almost too charred to be recognisable as human. The stench of burned meat wafted up on the breeze. He saw Jenkins turn a little green. He bent to examine one of the bodies. No sign of weapon or armour. Civilian then, not one of the marines he'd seen on the vid. A serious case of overkill.

Shepard continued moving, scanning the horizon. If it was pirates, there would be mines or other traps, but he wasn't detecting anything. He held up a fist to signal the others to be on guard. This situation wasn't reading right. He signalled them to move forward carefully.

Jenkins was up too high again. Then suddenly two drones appeared out of nowhere and fired upon Jenkins. He cried out as the lasers shot him and he collapsed. Shepard quickly signalled Kaidan and the two of them blasted the drones simultaneously. They exploded in a shower of sparks and debris.

He signalled Kaidan, moving in to provide cover as the other man moved towards the downed Jenkins. A moment later, Kaidan was shaking his head and reaching up to close Jenkins' eyes. "Ripped right through his shields. Never had a chance."

Shepard hate seeing men die under his command. "We'll see that he receives a proper service once the mission is complete. But I need you to stay focused."

"Aye, aye, sir."

They they kept on pressing forward and countered more drones. Shepard didn't recognise the make and the technology was quite advanced there was no way that pirates will be able to come up with this sort of thing.

"I've got burned out buildings here, Shepard," said Nihlus over the comm. "A lot of bodies."

"With encountered a few enemy drones and Jenkins is dead," said Shepard.

"I'm sorry to hear that Commander, but we have to stay focused on the mission," said Nihlus. "I'm going to check it the buildings. I'll try to catch up with you at the dig site."

They hadn't gone much further when they saw a marine running for her life. And two synthetic creatures had hold of a man in civilian clothes. The man was moving, abet weakly. The synthetic laid the man over some strange kind of device. Suddenly a spike shot up from the device, lifting the civilian into the air to twitch obscenely.

The first shot from his sniper rifle blew the head of one of the synthetics apart. The marine immediately took advantage of the distraction to stop running and dive for cover. She came up shooting. A blue glow surrounded Kaidan as he used his biotics to throw a nearby creature into an outcropping of rocks before drawing his sidearm.

Shepard scoped his next target, trusting the biotic to watch his back. The marine kept firing, drawing the synthetics to her position. He took out several more before they stopped coming over the hill, then checked his display. Other than himself and the other two soldiers, there was nothing moving nearby. He made his way to the marine.

She stood, and her eyes went briefly to his rank insignia. "Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was going to make it." She saluted. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, sir?"

"Are you wounded, Williams?" Shepard asked.

"A few scratches and burns," said Ashley as Kaidan checked her wounds. "Nothing serious. The others weren't so lucky.

"Oh man…" Ashley let Kaidan check out the graze on her arm. "We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit." She pointed. "We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut off our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"Where's the rest of your squad?"

"We try to double back to the beacon. But we walked into an ambush. I don't think any the others…" She then looked up at Shepard. "I think I'm the only one left."

"This isn't your fault, Williams," said Shepard placing a hand on her shoulder. "You couldn't have done anything to save them."

"Yes, sir," Ashley nodded. "We held our position as long as we could. Until geth overwhelmed us."

Kaidan put his medical kit away. "The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly 200 years. Why are they here now?"

"They must have come for the beacon." Williams shrugged. "The dig site is close. Just over that rise. It might still be there." She pointed.

How had they even known the beacon was here? "We could use your help, Williams."

Her smile was fierce. "Aye, aye, sir. It's time for payback."

They started moving. He questioned her a bit as they headed for the dig site. She hadn't seen Nihlus, and didn't know much more than he did about the beacon. And it was clear none of the rest of her team had survived. He signalled to let Nihlus know about the geth, only to discover the turian had just had his own encounter.

There were geth at the dig site. He managed to drop a few with the rifle before the geth got close enough for his companions to join the fray. Ashley seemed to find it amusing to shoot the geth Kaidan tossed into the air. It didn't take the three of them long to find a rhythm.

Once the geth were done, they headed in to find… nothing. Ashley looked around. "This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must have been moved."

"By who?" Kaidan asked. "Our side? Or the geth?"

"Hard to say. Maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp." Ashley shrugged.

"You think anyone get out of here alive?" Shepard asked.

"If they were lucky. Maybe hiding up in the camp. It's just on top of this ridge. Up the ramps."

Shepard began looking for tracks when his comm unit beeped. Nihlus's voice came over. "Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out."

"The beacon's been moved. We're on our way there." Shepard replied.

"I'll meet you there." The comm unit clicked off.

They found two civilians in the lab who were able to tell them about the beacon being moved. However one of them was acting quite unusual, but his partner said that he'd always been a bit unstable. Shepard had to agree, because when he mentioned Nihlus he said that a turian was leading the attack.

Halfway to the spaceport, one of the strange spikes suddenly released, sliding back down. The corpse that had been atop it was riddled with strange blue wiring. As soon as the spike finished retracting, the corpse started moving.

"Oh god, they're still alive!" Kaidan stared. "What did the geth do to them?"

Shepard put a shot between the thing's eyes at it started attacking. He just hoped there wasn't anything human left in it. The alternative was unthinkable.

Nihlus had just reached the spaceport when he saw a nonhuman figure standing there. He then emerged from his hiding place and pointed his rifle, but froze when he saw who it was.

"Saren?" he stared.

The turiin turned to face him. "Nihlus."

"This isn't your mission, Saren," said Nihlus. "What are you doing here?"

Saren approached him. "The Council thought you could use some help on this one."

Saren then passed him and positioned himself behind him. Nihlus was so stunned that he was unable to turn around to look at him. "I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad."

"Don't worry," said Saren, who then pulled his pistol out. "I've got it under control."

He pointed the pistol at Nihlus and pulled the trigger.

A shot rang out somewhere in the distance. Though with all the gunfire they heard that wasn't the most unusual thing they heard today. They soon made their way over the ridge and there they saw the same ship that they saw over the viewscreen.

"What is that?" Kaidan stared. "Off in the distance."

"It's a ship," said Ashley breathlessly. "Look at the size of it!"

They watched as it took off into the sky with red lightning shooting all over its hull. Once it disappeared into the clouds they made their way down the hill and passed a shed, he heard a small creaking noise, and signalled his companions. They took up positions as he started opening the lock.

As soon as the door creaked open, a voice spoke up from the back of the shed. "Everybody stay calm out there. We're coming out. We're not armed." Shepard stepped back as three civilians came to the doorway.

The woman among them looked around, her eyes wide. "Is it safe? Are they gone?"

"You're okay now," Shepard assured. "Nobody's going to hurt you."

"Those things were crawling all over the shelter. They would have found us for sure," said the first man. "We owe you our lives."

"I—I still can't believe it. When we saw the ship I thought it was all over!" said the woman.

"It showed up right before the attack," said the first man. "Knew it was trouble the second I saw it. So we made a break to the sheds."

Shepard then began to question them. They sadly had no new information to add to the researchers report other than the ship had broadcast some sort of strange signal. He was about to take his leave when the second man spoke up again. "Hey, Cole. We're just a bunch of farmers. These guys are soldiers. Maybe we should give them the stuff."

The first man, who apparently was Cole, glared at him. "Geez, Blake. You gotta learn when to shut up."

"You have something to tell me Cole?" Shepard asked narrowing his eyes.

Cole swallowed nervously. "Some guys at the spaceport were running a small smuggling ring. Nothing major. In exchange for a cut of the profits, we let them store packages in our sheds."

Shepard shook his head. "You're breaking the law, Cole,"

"We're not hurting anyone!" said Cole defensively. "Hell, most of the time, I don't even know what in the packages. I just thought there might be something we could use. I found a pistol. Figured it would come in handy if those things came back. But you'll probably get more use out of it than we will." He handed Shepard the pistol.

Shepard glanced at it, then passed it to Kaidan. It was a slight improvement to the one the biotic was currently using. Cole was doing the thing where he tried to looked someone in the eye just a little too hard to prove his sincerity. Rookie mistake. "We're risking our lives to save this colony. You sure there's nothing else in here that could help us."

"Yeah, there's one more thing," said Cole rubbing the back of his head. "I was going to sell it after this was over. But you probably deserve it more than I do."

A combat scanner, a fair sight nicer than the one he was currently using. Actually looked at Cole furiously. "Who's your contact at the spaceport, Cole? What's his name?"

"He's not a bad guy. I don't want to get him in trouble. Besides, I'm not a snitch!"

"He might have something to do with the whole attack, Cole," said Shepard. "We need his name, it's important."

Cole sighed. "Yeah, okay. You're right. His name is Powell. Worked at the spaceport. If he still alive."

Shepard nodded. "I have to go."

They made their way down the spaceport and soon they were attacked by geth and to make matters worse they were soon attacked by husks.

Shepard signalled Kaidan and Ashley to take up the position while he provided cover. He pulled out his sniper rifle and began to take out the leaders. While he was doing that Kaidan and Ashley performed a pincer attack… attacking from two sides.

Soon his rifle overheated and he had to pull out his pistol and performed to perfect head shots. A hearse try to get the jump on him, but he rolled out of the way and shot its head off with his pistol.

Ashley practically wiped out an entire platoon with her assault rifle while Kaidan reinforced with barriers. He then sent three husks flying over the ravine.

"Commander. It's Nihlus," said Kaidan moving in to check the fallen turian, reaching for his medical kit as he did so.

Ashley snapped her rifle into position. "Something's moving! Over behind those crates!"

Shepard moved in to guard Alenko, aiming his pistol as he did.

"Wait. Don't—" The human held up his hands. "Don't shoot! I'm one of you. I'm human."

He lowered his weapon, but didn't holster it. Kaidan glanced up at him and shook his head before rising from Nihlus's corpse. Shepard sighed, then looked back up at the dockworker. "Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed!"

"I… I'm sorry. I was hiding. From those creatures." He touched his chest. "My name's Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him."

"I need to know how Nihlus died," said Shepard.

"The other one got here first. He was waiting when your friend showed up. He called him Saren. I think they knew each other." He gestured. "Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down…" Powell lifted his hands. "And Saren killed him. Shot him right in the back. I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates."

Was this Saren after the beacon as well? "We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?"

"It's over on the other platform. Probably where that guy Saren was headed. He hopped on the cargo train ride after he killed your friend." He leaned on the crate. "I knew that beacon was trouble. Everything's gone to hell since we found it. First that damn mother ship showed up. Then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been behind the crates I'd be dead, too!"

Shepard frowned. "How come you're the only one who survived? Why didn't anyone else try to hide behind a crates?"

"They never got a chance. I…" He looked at them slightly embarrassed. "I was only behind the crates when the attack started."

"Wait a minute. You are buying the crates before the attack?" Kaidan stared.

"I… sometimes I need a nap to get through my shift. I sneak behind the crates to grab forty winks where the supervisor can't find me."

Ashley looked at him in disgust. "You survived because you're lazy?"

"If you hadn't at that nap you'd probably be dead just like all the others," said Shepard.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so," said Powell looking at all the dead bodies around the spaceport. "I really don't want to think about it."

"You're Cole's contact here on the docks. For the smuggling ring," said Shepard.

"What? No. I mean…" Powell sighed. "What does it matter now? So I'm a smuggler? Who cares? My supervisor's dead. The entire crew's dead. It doesn't matter now, does it?"

Except for the part where it was three of them against a lot of geth. "Anything hidden nearby that we could use against the geth?"

Immediately, Powell nodded. "A shipment of grenades came through last week. Nobody notices if a few small pieces go missing from the military orders."

Ashley took a half step forward. "You greedy son of a bitch! We're out here trying to protect your sorry ass and all you can think about is how you can rip us off?!"

Powell recoiled. "I never thought you'd actually need those grenades! Who'd want to attack Eden Prime? We're just a bunch of farmers! How was I supposed to know?"

"Forget about him. He's not worth it," said Shepard to Ashley.

Ashley glared at Powell. "You're lucky the Commander's here, Powell. Hand over those grenades."

"They're yours." Powell scrambled to retrieve them. He glanced from Ashley to Shepard before handing them to Kaidan. "Take them. My smuggling days are over. I swear."

"A lot of marines died here, Powell," Shepard reminded. "Those grenades could have come in handy. If I were you, I'd think of some way to make it up for them."

"Yeah. Okay. There is something else I was saving. Could be worth a fortune. Experimental technology. Top of the line. Take it. I don't need it. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Really. I'm sorry."

Shepard then looked to Ashley and Kaidan. "We need to find that beacon before it's too late."

Geth were swarming the passenger tram. He signalled Kaidan and Ashley into position before reaching for his sniper rifle. A geth was taking aim with a missile launcher. He put his slug into the launcher before it could fire, and it obliged him by exploding in the geth's hands, taking out it and the geth next to it. He scoped the next one, taking it out before it could get to the tram's controls.

He felt a strange hum that he was starting to realize was Kaidan using biotics nearby. Out of the corner of his eye he saw geth go flying, giving Williams room to close and go to work with a shotgun and her new grenade collection. It was possible the gunny was working out some issues.

More geth coming their way. He put a slug into the head of the one in back and was scoping the next one before it even realised it had lost its backup.

Saren was at the spaceport with a platoon of geth, who were setting up explosives. He then walked up to one of the geth.

"Set the charges," he said. "Destroy this entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were here."

The geth did what they told and began to arm the explosives. Saren then approached the beacon and seconds later he lifted up into the air as he began to access it.

Shepard and his team managed to reach the spaceport and the moment they got off the train they discovered an explosive charge that was counting down.

"Demolition charges!" said Kaidan his eyes widening. "The geth must have planted them."

"Hurry—we need to find them on shut them down!" Ashley yelled.

"Cover me," said Shepard approaching the device

There were enough explosives in this thing to level the spaceport, and from the signal on his viewport, this wasn't the only one. Fortunately, he was very skilled when it came to hacking into unknown equipment. However, he couldn't hack and shoot at the same time as geth were determined to prevent him from disarming the device.

Kaidan held a barrier while Ashley returned fire. He finished quickly, then snapped the sniper rifle up to his shoulder. With Kaidan's barrier backing him up, he put two slugs into the geth moving in on Ashley. "Move!"

The countdown on the fourth bomb came to a stop. He held his breath just for a moment, but nothing reactivated. The bombs were a rush job, they clearly hadn't expected anyone to be in a position to mess with them. Shepard glanced at his combat scanner, but something was still jamming the signal.

He gestured for his teammates to move forward carefully. Ashley took point, freeing Shepard up to move into a sniper's position. There were geth moving around the beacon, and more of the husk things. He signalled Ashley to focus on the husks before scoping the first of the geth. Alenko took up a cover position where he could watch both of their backs. A few fights in, and they were moving like they'd been working together a year.

Shepard fired, and the geth's head exploded into a shower of sparks. The others immediately started reaching for weapons.

The husks went down easy enough, but there was a lot of them and they cloud easily overwhelm them if they got to close. Kaidan used his biotics to make sure that didn't happen and Ashely kept the geth busy.

In no time at all both the geth and husks had been taken down and then they saw a massive hole in the ground. A smashed platform remained on either side of the crater and all the planet life in it was still burning. they're was nothing they could and they turned their attention the beacon which was still intact.

Shepard reached for his communicator. "Normandy, the beacon is secure. Request immediate evac."

As he listened to the response, Ashley and Kaidan began looking around. "This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable!" Kaidan stared at the beacon. It was glowing faintly with a green light.

Ashley tilted her head as she looked it over. "It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up. Something must have activated it."

Kaidan went over to examine the husk remains and Ashley moved closer towards the beacon.

"Roger, Normandy. Standing by." Shepard turned towards Kaidan. Behind Kaidan, Ashley was moving closer to the beacon. Suddenly the beacon glowed an even brighter shade of green.

Ashley then found herself being dragged towards the beacon as if she was trapped in a gravity well. No matter what she did she couldn't break free.

Shepard pushed past Kaidan tackled her to the ground. There was a surge, like electricity in his armor. He threw Ashley clear just before his own body went rigid. Something pulled at him, drawing him towards the beacon. He heard Ashley's voice just as some strange force lifted him into the air. "Shepard!"

"No! Don't touch him! It's too dangerous!" Kaidan's voice echoed strangely right before his senses were overwhelmed.

Images and sensations flooded, too fast for him to make sense of them. Blood and oil. Scattered circuits and bones. A firefight, and burned corpses as far as the eye could see. Lush planets reduced to wastelands, people burned down as they fled. Synthetics opening fire. Faster and faster, until he couldn't make sense of the images at all. And some strange noise, the scream of metal on metal.

Then nothing.

Meanwhile deep in space, the unknown ship that attacked Eden Prime was floating away and sitting on the bridge on a throne-like chair was Saren.

Then an asari entered into the room. The asari were blue skinned humanoid race that had powerful biotic capabilities. They were the oldest living species in the entire galaxy and were a mono-gender race, the asari are distinctly feminine in appearance and possess maternal instincts.

She coughed to get Saren's attention. "We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime," she said. "The Normandy. A human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony."

"And the beacon?" said Saren.

"One of the humans may have used it."

Saren got to his feet and began tearing the entire place apart in anger and fury. He then marched up towards the asari and grabbed her face. She just stood there as calmly as possible as if it didn't frighten her one bit.

"This human must be eliminated," said Saren as he released.