Author notes: Sorry for this update being a bit late compared to my normal release schedule. The IRL hunt for a job has been eating up a lot of my time, and I haven't been able to sit down and write very much. I'll try to get things back on track here soon enough.

Chapter 8: In the Beginning, There was Darkness

"We need to make a decision, Councilor."

"I know David, I know. The problem is deciding who to pick. Even with two all but guaranteed votes, it's taken us over a quarter of a century to get a third, and I'm not entirely sure if Tevos will play ball. If we misstep now, it could take twenty five more years for us to get another chance."

"You may have had something to do with that, Hannah."

"I didn't write all those demands, and god knows I tried to work with the others. I just… gave up after decade. Maybe if they replaced Sparatus, I could make headway with the Turians-"

"Don't even start, Hannah. It's not Sparatus that's to blame for this, and you know it. Granted, he's not the easiest person to work with, but it takes two to tango."

"Then what should I have done differently? Cut back on the ratios in Farixen? Hung the Quarians out to dry? Started handing out PRISM sats and chronosuits like candy?"

"You shouldn't have given up. Politicians may be a lot of things, but they aren't quitters."

"David, I didn't even want to be a politician. I still don't. Personally, I blame Hackett for this whole mess. If he'd just warned me where this was going, I could've avoided it."

"I doubt that, Councilor. 'Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die.' Still, it's never too late to try. Pride may be a bitter pill to swallow, but so is most good medicine."

"...I wasn't expecting to get dressed down like some raw recruit when I woke up today. Still… thank you."

"You're welcome. And you're avoiding the question. Who do we pick?"

"What about you, David? I've seen your service record. You meet all of the qualifications."

"Ha. No, Hannah, I'm not cut out to be a Spectre. If you'd asked me twenty years ago, before I got blacklisted by Saren… maybe. As it stands, I'm just an old soldier, and I'm preparing to fade away. It's time for a younger generation to take up the mantle. But if you think my service record makes me qualified, I know of at least one person who overshadows me by a longshot."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

"You know full well who I'm referring to, Hannah. John's record speaks for itself."

"We've been over this-"

"And yet you still insist on being an obstinate politician."

"Oough. That's a low blow, Captain."

"The obstinate part or the politician part? Now be reasonable. He did in ten years what took me twenty. Geist by the time he turned twenty-one, then onto N7 by the time he has twenty-six. And we can't forget Akuze."

"Believe me, Captain, I'm the last person who'll be forgetting that. Well, the second to last, anyway."

"I know. I just don't understand why you can't accept that he's the right choice. If you're waiting for someone more qualified to come along, you'll still be looking in twenty five more years."

"I can't afford to play favorites, David. If I let my emotions get in the way of this, the fallout could be massive."

"And since when does Hannah Shepard care about fallout? Is this the same Hannah Shepard who threatened to turn Palaven into, what was it? 'A burning nuclear wasteland?' If I didn't know better, I'd say someone had swooped in and replaced you with a doppelgänger."

"Heh. Maybe you're right. But this is bigger than me, David. This is bigger than all of us. This is a chance for Humanity to prove that's were more than just schoolyard bullies with big sticks. I raised him, remember? He has the skills, and more than enough guts, but he's not exactly the most… congenial individual out there. I can't let my personal life interfere with this."

"So why are you?"

"… Alright, you've got me there. I'm still not sure about this, though."

" 'In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.' "

"Hehehehe. Fair enough. As soon as Raan tells me who she wants, I'll let her know. But I'd rather you tell John. Sometimes I think you know him better than I do."

"I can do that Hannah. I can do that."

"Cut the chatter you two."

"Sorry, Commander." said Kaidan.

Suddenly, Anderson's voice cut in over the coms.

"Joker! Status report."

"Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain." he replied quickly. "Stealth systems engaged, and everything looks green."

"Good. Fire up the QEC and patch us through to FleetCom. I want mission reports relayed to the Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way-"

"He's already here, Lieutenant." replied Anderson impatiently. "Tell Shepard to meet me in the com room for a mission briefing."

"Good job, Joker." said Shepard, his voice carrying an edge. "You pissed the captain off, and now I'm gonna pay for it."

As Shepard left the bridge and headed aft, he shook his head at Joker's antics. He was the best damn pilot in the Alliance, but he made up for it by being the biggest wiseass alive. As the Commander entered the com room, he was surprised to see Nihlus there alone. "Where's the captain?" he asked.

"Oh, Commander Shepard. The captain's on his way, but I was hoping you'd get here first. I've been wanting a chance to talk to you."

"Talk about what, exactly?"

"I was interested in this world we're going to, Eden Prime – I hear it's quite beautiful."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow at him. "And?"

"And it's more than just a tourist destination, isn't it Shepard?" asked the Turian in a knowing voice. "Eden Prime is a symbol of your people, proof that Humanity can not only establish colonies on the edge of the Terminus Systems, but protect them as well."

Shepard scoffed. "I'd think that Rapture would be all the proof you'd need that we can protect our people."

Before Nihlus could respond, the door behind them slid open, and Anderson walked into the com room.

"I think it's about time we told the Commander what's really going on here."

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

"Really? Who'd 'a thunk?"

"We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime." said Anderson, casting Shepard a heated glance for his attitude. "That's why we've engaged the Normandy's stealth systems."

"What are we picking up, exactly?" asked the younger Human

"A Prothean beacon." replied Nihlus.

Shepard's eyebrows rose. "Prothean? I guess they left more behind than just some Martian ruins and old tech."

"This is big, Shepard." said Anderson. "The last time Prothean relics were discovered on a Human world, it led to new avenues of technology and research for man, and opened up the galaxy to us as well. The problem is, Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to get the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"This goes beyond Human interests, Commander." continued Nihlus. "This discovery could affect every species in Council space."

"The Citadel? Why not Earth?" Without waiting for a response, Shepard continued. "Wait, let me guess: it should help 'improve relations' between the Alliance and the rest of the galaxy, right?"

"I see that some of your mother's training managed to rub off on you, John." said Anderson, cracking a small smile.

"The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard." said Nihlus. "I'm here to evaluate you for the Spectres. I must admit, I was impressed when I read your file. The reports from Akuze were… particularly enlightening. That's why I supported your candidacy for the Spectres."

"And why would a Turian want a Human in the Spectres?"

Nihlus sighed. "Despite our history, not all Turians resent Humanity, Commander, just as not all Humans resent Turians. We can't deny the potential your species possess any longer, if we ever even could. As elite a group as the Spectres are, there are those among your people that could put even us to the test, you chief among them. I don't care that you're Human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job."

Shepard was mildly taken aback, but nodded after a moment. "I suppose I can appreciate that."

"I need to see you in action for myself, Commander." continued Nihlus. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together. You'll be leading the ground team to recover the beacon, with me along as an observer. We'll secure the beacon and transport it to the Normandy."

"Alright. I can do that. Just give the word, Captain."

Joker's voice suddenly came in over the coms. "We've got a problem sir. We just dropped out of FTL, and we're receiving a distress call from Eden Prime."

Anderson looked concerned. "Patch it through, Joker."

The short video that played in the com room didn't look good. Whatever was going on down there, it looked like a damn warzone.

"…under attack, tak… ulties. I repeat, taking heavy… out of nowhere, we can't… AGH. We need evac, we need-"

"That's all we got, Captain." said Joker.

"Why the hell didn't this come through on the QEC?" asked Shepard, almost rhetorically.

"Hmm… Reverse and hold at 38.5." said Anderson. A large, mechanical-looking… squid… ship… thing appeared on screen. "Whatever that thing is, I'm betting it has something to do with this."

"Sir, we're five minutes out, and there are no other Alliance ships in the area." said the pilot.

"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated."

Appearing suddenly on the surface of Eden Prime, the three Humans and lone Turian were greeted with the sound of distant gunfire.

"Remind me again why we couldn't simply transport directly to the dig site again, Shepard?"

"Because, Nihlus, something's jamming our psychic radar. There are damn few things that can manage that, and we could've been chronoing into a shootout. This was as close as we could get without coming in hot."

"I still think I'd work better on my own, Shepard."

"Too damn bad, Spectre. While we're on this op, I call the shots. We have no idea what's down here, and we're not splitting up. Besides, how are you gonna evaluate me if you go haring off on your own?"

Nihlus grumbled for a bit, but nodded. "Fair enough. But if and when we go on another mission, you'll follow my orders, agreed?"

"I can live with that. Jenkins, you're on point. Let's move out."

They didn't have to wait long to find out what was going on. As they entered a small glade, a pair of floating drones was there to greet them as Jenkins out came from behind a rock formation. Caught off guard, Shepard and his team could do little but watch helplessly as the drones cut through his shields and shredded his armor in an instant. Even as he fell, the commander pulled out his heavy pistol and blew them out of the sky with two well-placed shots. Running over to Jenkins' limp form, he already knew it was too late.

"Shit." he muttered, stamping down on the feeling of regret that welled up inside him. "Nothing we can do now. Leave him, we've still got a job to do. Whatever those things were, I think we'll know more about them when we reach the dig site."

The truth came even sooner than that. Taking out several more drones as they progressed, the small party eventually reached a large clearing, where a lone Alliance marine was pinned down behind a rock formation by a number of synthetics. Quickly chronoing down beside her, Shepard pulled out his high powered sniper rifle and put a round straight into the optics of in each one's head.

"Whoa, shit! Where'd you come from?" exclaimed the marine.

"No time to explain, marine. Commander John Shepard of the Normandy. Sitrep."

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, sir." she replied quickly. She began to pace nervously as she continued. "Oh man… we were patrolling when the attack hit. Something jammed our psychic radar, and we never saw them coming. They took out command and control in the first shot, and we couldn't get out a distress call. That was a little over an hour ago."

"Where's the rest of your squad, Williams?" inquired Shepard.

Williams froze in place at the question, and her eyes fell. "We walked into an ambush trying to reach the beacon. They… didn't make it."

"You left them?" asked the commander, a hint of antipathy creeping into his tone.

"We held as long as we could!" protested Ashley. "The Geth were everywhere, we had to fall back. I barely got out in one piece. I didn't have the luxury of a chronosuit." Her voice was a bit bitter as she finished.

"Watch it, Gunny." warned Shepard. Even so, his voice softened slightly as he continued. "And did you say Geth? They haven't been seen outside the Veil in over three hundred years. Even the envoys we sent couldn't tell us a damn thing besides the fact they were told to fuck off. Why are they here now?"

"Must be the beacon, Commander." said Kaidan. "That's the only logical explanation."

"Damnit. Alright Williams, lead the way."

The group of four progressed onwards. When they happened upon a Geth patrol, Kaidan was able to erect a biotic barrier directly in front of the organic team to act as temporary cover against incoming fire. One of the synthetics went down to a long burst from Ashley's rifle, and a second dropped from a single shot to the optic from Shepard's. Nihlus quickly destroyed the final two with a pair of well-aimed shots from a heavy pistol.

"Not bad, Nihlus." said Shepard, waving the others to follow. "Looks like you deserve the title of Spectre after all."

"Spectre?" asked Ashley suspiciously. "What's a Spectre doing on a Human colony?"

Nihlus shot her a hard, disparaging look. "I'm evaluating the Commander for the Spectres." he replied tightly

"Why would the Council want a Human as a Spectre?" asked the sergeant with a small sneer. "Haven't the birdies got enough people to handle their problems without asking us?" Nihlus let out a low, quiet growl, but Shepard cut him off.

"Pipe down." barked the Commander. "You two can snarl at each other on your own damn time. For now, focus on the mission and shut the hell up. That goes double for you, Williams."

"Yes, sir." she snapped, her training taking over. Nihlus murmured his agreement a moment later. Fighting their way through several more Geth patrols, they finally arrived at the dig site. The beacon was gone.

"The beacon was right here, sir." protested Ashley when Shepard shot a questioning look at her. "The Geth must've moved it. We'll know more when we check out the research camp. It's just beyond that ridge." she finished, pointing at a nearby hill. Shepard nodded, and they moved out.

When they reached the top of the rise, they were greeted by the sight of demolished prefab structures and small fires. In the center of the le large expanse, a number of tall metal spikes were planted in the ground, and what looked to be glowing blue humanoids were impaled on top of them. As they neared, the spikes retracted and the things rose to their feet, apparently not bothered by the gaping holes in their abdomens. The let out shrill, grating screams, and then charged at the party, seeking to rip them limb from limb. They didn't get far. A combination of pistol, assault rifle, and shotgun fire ripped the unshielded berserkers to shreds in a little less than ten seconds.

"Spirits, what were those?" asked Nihlus, a little perturbed by the quickly disintegrating forms of the creatures before them. "Were they synthetic or organic?"

"I think those… husks were what were left of the colonists." said Shepard, motioning for his team to spread out and cover the area. "They looked like they were synthetic and organic, almost cybernetic. Whatever those spikes are, they turn people into those things."

"Sir, over here." called Ashley, standing next to one of the intact buildings. "This door is sealed from the inside, security lock."

"Slap some omnigel on it and let's see what's behind door number one."

What was inside was a pair of civilians, a frightened scientist and her manic assistant. After some brief questions – and a quick right hook to calm the agitated man – Shepard learned that the beacon had been moved to the spaceport.

"Alright, let's move." said Shepard. He tuned to the slightly distraught scientist. "Seal the door again and wait for the cavalry. You and your assistant should be safe here for the time being."

When they reached the spaceport, there was another squad of Geth and Husks there to meet them. Once again, Nihlus proved his skill in combat by managing to take down more hostiles than any of the others, though Shepard was a close second. Once they were out of the way, Shepard and his team fanned out in the port, looking for the beacon.

"Over there!" said Ashley, snapping her rifle towards a flash of movement. "There's something moving behind those crates. I think it's a civvie."

"Come out with your hands up!" ordered Shepard, pointing his heavy pistol towards the crates.

A frightened worked jolted upright immediately, his hands raised above his head. "Wait, I'm Human, don't shoot!" When it became clear he wasn't about to be riddled with bullets, he relaxed slightly and continued. "You're Alliance, right? If you're looking for the beacon, you're too late; the Turian and the Geth already moved it."

"Turian?" asked Nihlus sharply. "What Turian?"

The dock worker looked scared. "I don't know. He came from inside that mother ship with the Geth. He was giving them orders, telling them what to do. I got a picture of him on my 'tool while I was hiding." He punched in a command on the haptic interface, and a picture of a Turian in black and silver armor appeared.

"Saren." breathed Nihlus, a look of shock coming to his face.

"Friend of yours?" asked Shepard, shooting Nihlus a withering glare.

Nihlus' voice was shaky. "He's a fellow Spectre, Shepard… He was my mentor, and he hates Humans. If he really is commanding the Geth, the Council and your FleetCom need to be informed. This could be another Contact War in the making."

"And why the hell should we trust you, Turian?" Ashley spat. "For all we know, you're working with him."

"If I was working with Saren, I'd have shot you all by now." he retorted.

"I'd like to see you try, metalhead."

"Shut the hell up, both of you." snapped Shepard. "We're wasting time. Whatever Saren's doing here, he wants that beacon, and I'll be damned if I let him just take it."

"The Geth loaded the beacon onto the cargo train on the other platform." supplied the dock worker, pointed off into the distance. "They left about five minutes ago, so you should be able to catch them."

Fighting their way through yet another squad of Geth, Shepard noticed that some of the synthetics in this group were larger than those they had seen before. And based on how fast they cut through his shields, they packed a lot more firepower. Keeping low to avoid stray fire, the commander ran forward, taking cover behind one of the low walls that lined the platform. He quickly lined up a shot with his sniper rifle and fired, eliminating two hostiles as the powerful projectile smashed through their metallic bodies. Between Nihlus Ashley, and Kaidan, the last of the Geth dropped quickly, and the team boarded the cargo train and started it.

"You seem to be remarkably proficient with that rifle, Shepard." said Nihlus after a moment. "I'll admit, distance work was never my strong suit."

"I always liked the idea of sniper rifles." explained Shepard, relaxing his posture ever so slightly. "After all, they let you eliminate most threats quickly and efficiently, from a safe position where the enemy likely can't see you. The only downside is the training and skill required to accurately put a bullet in something that far away each and every time. It's all about the concentration."

"Not to sound rude, sir." began Ashley. "But are you implying regular grunts are less skilled than snipers?"

Shepard shot her a rueful smirk. "I didn't mean it like that, Williams."

"Ashley, if you don't mind sir."

"Can we settle on Ash?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued. "It's just that snipers have a different kind of skill. I won't try and bullshit you about my weaknesses: I don't function as well with a multi-shot weapon, like an assault rifle or SMG. Precise, high-powered, single-shot weapons always appealed to me, and I've gotten good at using them. I try to make every shot count, and that isn't always the best solution. Sometimes, precision is pointless and you just need to fill a firing lane with bullets until everything in it is dead." Seeing her annoyed frown, he changed tactics. "Think of it this way: a sledgehammer might be less refined than a scalpel, but it has just as many uses. You use each as the situation warrants. Trying to use one when the situation calls for the other is a mistake, and in combat, mistakes can be fatal."

"So you're saying I'm less refined than you?" she asked with a playful grin.

"You just can't let it go, can you?" he asked, returning the grin. After a moment, his face fell, and his voice turned grim. "Tell you what: when we're done with all this crap, I'll introduce you to my CO. Just before we met up with you, we lost a member of the squad."

Ashley stiffened slightly, but after a moment, her features softened. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess we've both lost something today."

"We can drink a toast to them on the Normandy when this is over." suggested Kaidan.

"You're Navy?" asked Ashley quizzically.

Shepard nodded. "I'd like to think I'm a good judge of skill, Ash, and you've got it. Captain Anderson should be able to swing a transfer to the Normandy if you're interested."

She hesitated for a moment. "I'll… I'll think about it, sir."

Before Shepard could continue, the train pulled into a station not too dissimilar from the one they'd just left. The only difference was that this one still had Geth. Quickly picking one of them off with his pistol, Shepard got off the exposed train and ducked behind a metal wall, stopping next to a cylindrical metal device. Scanning it with his omnitool while his squad took out the rest of the Geth, Shepard cursed loudly as he realized what it was.

"Oh, shit! The Geth have set nuclear charges to destroy the colony! There are three more of them nearby, and we've got less than a minute to get rid of them!"

"Can you hack them!?" asked Ashley frantically, popping off a burst of assault rifle fire at a Geth platform on the catwalk above.

"Yeah, but it'll take too long! I've got an idea; Nihlus, get this damn bomb turned off! I'll take care of the rest of them!"

Quickly holstering his pistol, Shepard pulled out his Temporal Dislocator from the holster over his shoulder. He scanned the surrounding area with his omnitool and located one of the remaining bombs, before quickly teleporting to a platform nearby. Ducking behind a metal crate, he aimed the Dislocator at the charge and activated it. A hazy blue stream of temporal energy and chronitons shot from it and began pushing the bomb out of time itself. As bullets impacted his cover, the seconds ticked by for Shepard all too quickly. Finally, with just over thirty five seconds left on the clock, the device he was working on winked out of reality, never having existed at all.

"How, it coming, Nihlus!?" he demanded, rapidly locating the other explosives.

"Almost done, Shepard." replied the Turian, in a voice that was almost too calm for the situation. "Get to the next one and we'll cover you."

Shepard did exactly that, moving down the platform in the blink of an eye. He appeared directly next to the munition, but he was also next to a Geth trooper. Focusing on the bomb, he began erasing it as well, hearing a sharp bang behind him as the Geth had its' head blown off by a heavy pistol round. When the next bomb was gone, there was less than fifteen seconds left to get to the last one. Unfortunately, there were three Geth near it, and one was of the larger variety.

"Kaiden, I need biotic support on the last bomb, now!" ordered Shepard. "Get rid of those Geth!"

"Aye, Commander!"

Teleporting to the final bomb, Shepard began the agonizing process of erasing it. As the Geth platforms turned towards him, one was suddenly thrown backwards by a biotic blast and fell off the steep elevated platform to the ground far below. The other two Geth snapped their weapons up towards him, and their fire began eating away at his shields rapidly. Unable to move with the bomb at less than five seconds to detonation, Shepard was sure that this was the end-

"Not today, you metal bastards!" yelled Nihlus, his omniblade slicing off the head of one of them before plunging into the other's chest in one fluid motion.

As the last bomb disappeared forever, Shepard let out a small sigh of relief. "Thanks Nihlus. I owe you one."

"Any time, Shepard." said the Turian, giving him a small, concealed grin.

Ashley and Kaidan were just behind Nihlus as they rejoined the group. "Not bad, Nihlus." said the biotic. "Mind giving me some CQC pointers later?" Ashley shot the other soldier a frosty look, but Nihlus either didn't notice or didn't care. Shepard waved the group forward, and they took out one last group of Geth and Husks before finally finding their prize.

Shepard activated his com unit after sweeping the area for Geth. "Normandy, this is Shepard. We've secured the beacon. We need chrono transport at my location."

"So this is it, huh?" asked Ashley, slowly walking towards the beacon. "It doesn't look like much up close. I don't remember it glowing, though. It's almost like… aaah… AAAGH!"

Shepard looked over his shoulder and saw Ashley doubled over in pain, her body being slowly dragged towards the beacon by some invisible force. He quickly ran over and grabbed her around her waist, twisting quickly and throwing her clear. Even as he did, he felt the same irresistible pull on his body. He was lifted sharply into the air and he distantly heard Nihlus yell his name as a series of thoughts and images began flooding into his mind.

loss…

sorrow…

reapers…

Violence…

Pain…

Reapers…

DEATH…

DESTRUCTION…

REAPERS…

ARMAGEDDON…

OBLIVION…

REAPERS…

YOU ARE ON THE WAY TO DESTRUCTION! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE, MAKE YOUR TIME!

Everything went black.