Chapter One

Asleep at the Wheel - Band of Skulls

Shepard lifted her head out of cover to momentarily survey her situation. One guard with full shields and a shotgun on her left. Two assault rifle-wielding guards under cover directly in front of her. One sniper on the high ground to her left, with low shields. Three scientists with nothing but pistols running around the battlefield without the faintest idea of what they were doing, and they were doomed to become mincemeat shortly at the hand of Ashley.

"Garrus, I want you to use overload on that guard at my 10 o'clock, and then take out the sniper on the high ground at 11 o'clock. Ashley, after Garrus uses overload, pull out your shotgun and take that guard out. I'll be using singularity on those two in the middle, so after I do, Ash, take them out with your shotgun. Avoid those scientists, I want them alive."

In truth, Shepard couldn't warrant killing the scientists when they were so defenseless. Don't kill unless they shoot first, that was her motto as a Commander. Regardless, she wanted the chance to offer their lives in exchange for information.

The team worked together with well-practiced precision; they took out the four guards in under a quarter of a minute, and the scientists ran to the back of the room and hid under cover. Shepard tapped her helmet and signaled for Garrus and Ashley to take her flank. Not that she needed to tell them where they needed to go; she had taken the two of them along with her on almost every mission with her for the past three months, and they now portrayed excellent teamwork skills and understanding of each other. Ashley was even beginning to show signs of reform from her xenophobic ways, and Shepard would often see the two of them spar on the ship as they developed a friendship.

Shepard stood out in the open and turned to the scientists, speaking very clearly. "My name is Commander Zoey Shepard with the Alliance Navy. I'm not here to hurt you; I'm here to help you. If you surrender, I promise we won't hurt you."

"I'd listen to the lady," Ashley called from behind her cover. "She can literally tear you apart with her mind." Shepard heard Garrus faintly laugh over the comm.

One of the scientists, a tall, slight male, popped out of cover and pointed his pistol at her. "We'll never surrender!" he shouted, both his voice and the pistol shaking violently. He pulled the trigger, but Shepard was quicker than him, pulling up a biotic barrier to repel the shot. She immediately used a heavy biotic throw on the scientist, sending him straight into a concrete wall before he crumpled to the ground and didn't move. Immediately the other two scientists popped up from cover to defend themselves. She turned to the second scientist, used a biotic warp, and lifted the third scientist in the air before pulling out her pistol and summarily executing both of them.

"We could have helped there, you know," Ashley grumbled over the comm.

"Yeah, but then she wouldn't have the chance to show off," Garrus retorted.

"Alright, you two jokers-"

"I think you have us confused with our pilot."

"-let's clear this place out. Only shoot when shot at. Let's get this data for Udina and get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

"Shepard," Ashley began, trotting up to catch up her her CO so she could speak in undertones, "I understand Udina is important and all but… Do we really have to do this? That guy is such an ass."

"Although I agree with you Gunnery Chief, he's a firm believer that this data is extremely important. He believes it's related to an experiment that Cerberus is conducting, and we know that we can't trust Cerberus when it comes to their 'research projects'."

"True as that may be Commander, doesn't he have anyone else that could do this? We're supposed to be investigating the Salarian science team on Virmire, not to mention the rogue VI on Luna seemed important to-"

"Noted, Williams. But I have a bad feeling about what Cerberus is doing too, and I chose to come here."

Ashley recognized the dismissal and fell back to Shepard's right flank. Garrus remained quiet, surveying the room through his sniper rifle scope, but Ashley knew he had been listening. She also knew that he was a good subordinate, always trusting the Commander's judgment.

They reached a small room at the rear of the facility, which had about five scientists running around, trying to cover their work with panicked expressions. Shepard forged ahead, her pistol bolstered in an attempt at peace negotiations.

"My name is Commander-"

Her speech was cut off by two poorly-aimed shots from the nearest scientist, a frantic-looking young woman in a long lab coat with a look of madness in her eyes. "I will destroy you!" she shouted as she continued to attempt to shoot Shepard, missing by a wide margin.

Shepard ducked under cover, rolling her eyes at Garrus and Ashley. "There are all scientists in there. Pistols or snipers, head shots please, let's make this quick work."

Shepard summoned a singularity field in the middle of the scientists, throwing all of them as well as their work into the air. Well-aimed shots came from the 3 of them, quickly taking out the team before they swept the room with their weapons held in front of them. No life forms were found, and they declared the room to be clear.

"Do a complete sweep of the room, check for any data or salvages we may be able to find. I'm imagining they've heavily encrypted the important data, so if you find anything, Garrus can decrypt it."

Garrus smiled to himself at the rare compliment from the Commander. He knew that she was taking her new Spectre position seriously, which was why she was no-nonsense and difficult to please, but he could tell with time she was warming up to the crew. She obviously cared about the crew deeply: whenever he would pass by the mess, med bay, or cargo hold, he would see her with a crew member, chatting about their families or their homes. She knew everyone on the ship well, and they all respected her greatly for it.

Garrus's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a weapon being loaded close behind him. "Stop right there. Turn around, slowly, with your hands above your head where I can see them."

It was a trap. They should have known; they never faced as little as four soldiers and eight untrained scientists.

Shepard turned around to face the new threat. It was a blonde woman, a shotgun held confidently in her hand, her barrier up. She had an expression of vengeance on her face.

"You have no idea what this research is, do you?" She asked, her barrier pulsing slightly. "Even if you take this to Udina, it will be back with Cerberus within an Earth cycle. Trust me, Shepard, when I say that you do not want to take this research lightly."

"I have to disagree with you there," Shepard retorted. "I don't trust Cerberus, I really don't trust you, and I'm going to take this research data where none of you will be able to reach it."

"Shepard, I have a great amount of respect for you and for your combat skills. I don't want to fight. But I won't give this data over willingly. Scientists have dedicated their lives to this work."

"I'm sure your superiors over at Cerberus are very proud of them for their work but this doesn't have to end in bloodshed."

"More bloodshed, you mean?"

"You respect my combat skills? I respect your scientific knowledge. I don't want to let a perfectly good scientific mind go to waste over nothing. Let us go with the data, and I'll make sure the Alliance protects you from Cerberus."

"This isn't about protection!" She was growing so frustrated the air around her was charged from her biotics. "It's about the research!"

"Then tell me what the research is!"

"I… I can't."

"Then I have to take the data. I'm sorry."

With an assassin's precision and calm, Shepard rolled forward while pulling her pistol out of its holster, and administered two quick shots to the scientist's head - one to take down her barriers, the other to take her down.

Garrus mumbled, "Spirits, Shepard."

"Damn this Spectre Master Gear is good," Shepard said with a smile on her face as she turned the pistol over in her hands. "I mean, I could have used warp to take down her barriers but using the pistol was just so satisfying." She laughed and holstered her pistol. "Alright let's get this data and get the hell out of here. Drinks are on me when we get to the Citadel."