"Marker?" Shepard asked. "What's this marker?"
Isaac put his head in his hands. "Aegis VII, The Sprawl. I just can't escape it."

Shepard stood up and turned to Hackett. "Sir, I think we should continue this conversation at another time. I'll escort Isaac down to the med-bay and have Mordin take a look at him." He took Isaac by the arm and began to help him up.

"Wait," Isaac said as he stood, "The Marker... The artifact. You've got to get rid of it, destroy it, any way you can. Nothing good will come of it. It would be worse than any Reaper."

Hackett frowned, but nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well. I'll get in contact with our scientists. If it's that bad, I'll have them launch it into the nearest black hole. Hackett out."

The communication ended, and the admiral's image flickered out. Isaac got to his feet, looking a little wobbly. Shepard put an arm around his shoulders to support him.

"Let's get you down to the med-bay."

Isaac squinted as Mordin shined a small light in his eyes. The salarian took a step back, folding his arms.

"No physical abnormalities to be seen, aside from recent wounds. Scans seem to show signs of past mental trauma. Aside from that, seems fine. Likely just shock. Should be fine in time."

Isaac sighed, sitting on the exam table. He folded his hands in his lap and stared down at the floor. "I hope your people can get rid of that Marker in time, Commander."

"Just what's so bad about it?" Shepard asked.

Isaac shook his head. "The Marker, it... Changes people. Living and dead. It messes with living people's heads and it... The dead. It reanimates dead bodies. Turns them into monsters." He shuddered. "I can't... You just wouldn't understand."

Shepard frowned and crossed his arms. "Maybe I know someone who can." He walked over to a small console on the wall and spoke into it. "Traynor, could you tell Javik to come to the med-bay?"

"Right away, Commander."

A few minutes later, the door opened, and an alien Isaac hadn't seen before stepped through. It had a wide, carapaced head, like an insect. It had four eyes, paired on either side of its head, and each eye had two pupils. "Commander," it said, "What can I do for you?" He noticed Isaac, and all four eyes fixed upon him. "Who is this?"

"Javik, this is Isaac. He's who I brought you up here to see. I need to know what he knows."

Javik moved towards Isaac, his eyes studying him intently. "You," he said slowly, "Are not from here."

"I suppose you could say that," Isaac shrugged.

Javik nodded, as if that explained everything. "Now then, be still. I shall view your memories."

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "What? How?"

Javik raised a three-fingered hand. "My people had the ability to share experiences through touch. I will understand what you understand." With that, he placed his hand on Isaac's shoulder. His eyes closed, his body tensed up, and his grip tightened on Isaac's shoulder. After a few seconds, he let go and took a step back, opening his eyes again.

"You," he said, his voice tinged with pain, "Have seen much. Too much for any life. You are not a soldier, but you have fought for your life. You have seen the very face of hell itself. Not many could go through what you have with their body and mind intact."

Isaac chuckled darkly. "I'm not so sure I would call my mind intact."

"Still, you have survived what very few could."

Shepard stepped forward. "So, Javik? Can you relay the information?"

"I can. It will not be complete, but I will do what I can to transfer the memories. However, the images are... Vivid. You will not like what you see."

"It doesn't matter. I have to know."

Javik sighed. "Very well." He reached out and placed his hand on Shepard's arm. A few moments later, he let go and the commander shuddered slightly.

"My god. If the Reapers got a hold of that. Or the Illusive Man."

"No one would be able to control it," Isaac interrupted, "It's been tried before. The power of the Marker corrupts everything it touches."

"We've got to make sure that it's destroyed." Shepard shook his head. "Joker," he said to the ceiling, "We've got to get to that artifact before anyone else does."

"I thought it was already being taken care of?"

"We can't take any chances with this. Plot a course for the research station, now."

"Aye aye, Commander."

Isaac stood up. "If you're going, then I'm coming too."

Shepard shook his head. "I can't let you. It's too dangerous."

Isaac frowned. "Commander, I know more about the Marker than anyone else in this universe. Whatever you saw from-" He gestured to Javik. "-from him, it's nothing compared to a firsthand experience. You need me."

The Commander was silent for a moment, as the engineer stared him down. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Suit up and get down to the shuttle bay," he said, then turned and left the room.

Mordin watched as the door slid shut behind the Commander. "Interesting," he mused.

Isaac exhaled a long breath as the elevator descended into the shuttle bay. Here he was, in a completely different universe, and still the Marker plagued him. It was like a curse, following him wherever he went. Why him? Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought, as the elevator settled into place.

On the other side of the hangar, Steve was prepping the shuttle, making preflight adjustments. To Isaac's left, the turian, Garrus, stood at a work table, examining a small pile of weapons from Isaac and Ellie's ship. The engineer decided to investigate.

As he approached, the turian stopped what he was doing, and turned towards Isaac. He blinked at the man, then nodded, returning to his work. Isaac stepped up next to him, picking up the plasma cutter that lay on the table.

"I've been examining the weapons from your ship," he said, without looking up. "I've never really seen anything much like these before." Isaac noticed there was an odd buzz to the creature's voice, like two voices played on top of each other.

"That's because they're not weapons," the engineer said, examining the cutter's laser sights. "Most of these are just tools, re-purposed for killing."

A moment of silence passed between the two, before the turian sighed and put down the weapon he was working on. "Look," he said, turning to Isaac, "I'm sorry about threatening you earlier. Times are tough and it's difficult to know who to trust. But, you seem to be on our side. If Shepard thinks you're a good man, who am I to disagree?" He held out a three-fingered hand to Isaac. "It's good to have you as an ally."

Isaac took the hand and shook it. "Likewise." He smiled up at Garrus, realizing for the first time that the left side of the turian's face was covered with burn scars.

"Whoa. That must have been some heavy fight," he commented out loud, before realizing his slip. "Oh, sorry."

Garrus just chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Not the worst comment I've gotten." He rubbed the ragged edge of his mandible.

"How'd it happen?"

The turian's mouth twitched, his eyes unfocused. "A few years ago, I struck out on my own, tried being a vigilante, clean the scum off the streets. The local thugs didn't like that. They tried to off me, but I was always one step ahead of them. Until eventually, they finally caught up. Three merc companies, sworn enemies of each other, were all working together just to try and put a bullet in my head. They would have got me, too, but just when things were looking bad, there was the Commander, pulling my ass out of the fire. I didn't make it out in one piece, but if it wasn't for him, I would have never made it out at all."

"I can see why you have so much respect for him."

Garrus nodded. "I've followed him into the mouth of hell before. And I'll follow that man to the end of the universe. Because at this point he's the only hope it's got."

Shepard snapped his assault rifle into place on his back, the weapon folding down to its compact size. He stepped into the shuttle where Isaac, Garrus, and Tali were waiting. The door slid shut, and Shepard nodded to Cortez in the cockpit. With a soft hum, the shuttle lifted up and sped out of the Normandy.

"ETA is ten minutes, Commander," Cortez noted.

Shepard nodded and turned to his crew. "EDI, what's the status of the research station?"

A hologram blinked to life on the shuttle's console, and the AI's voice filled the space. "We have not received any communications from the station in almost an hour. I am attempting to hail them now, but I am not getting any response."

"Oh, that's a good sign," Garrus grumbled.

"Steve, we need to get there now. Step on it."

"On it, Commander."

As the facility came into view on screen, it was obvious something was wrong. The landing zone, which normally would have been manned by Alliance personnel, was devoid of any activity. Isaac was reminded of the abandoned Titan Station.

"I don't like this, Commander. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Shepard frowned. "I don't like it either. Set us down at the far end of the landing pad, then get out of here."

Cortez turned around in his chair to look at Shepard. "Are you sure, Commander? What if you need an extraction?"

"That's exactly why you have to keep your distance. If you stay here, you could be in danger."

Cortez sighed. "Aye aye, Commander. I'll keep a safe distance."

"Shepard," came EDI's voice from the hologram, "We are still receiving no response from the facility, and scans show that the life support systems are offline."

"Dammit." Isaac cursed under his breath. "I should have seen this coming."

"You can't blame yourself for this," Shepard reassured him.

"There's no way you could have known this would happen," Tali chimed in.

"But I should have known. I should have seen it. This always happens. I can't escape it."

Isaac was ready to continue his lament, when Shepard grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. "I don't want to hear that kind of talk," he growled. "You're one of my crew now, and I need you to act like one. What's already happened can't be undone, so quit focusing on the past." Then, as quickly as his fierce demeanor had come, he reverted back to his normal, collected self. "You need to be strong, Isaac. Together we can get through this."

Isaac blinked at Shepard, then shook his head. "You're right. Thank you, Shepard, I needed that."

The commander nodded, then turned to face Garrus and Tali, addressing all of them. "Our first priority right now is bringing this station back online. We need to know what happened here. Once we've done that, we'll focus on finding the artifact." With that he donned his helmet, locking it into place.

Isaac put his head back and stared straight ahead, as his helmet unfolded out of his suit. The faceplate clicked into place, and the visor lit up with a green glow.

"Where can I get one of those?" Garrus chuckled, as he affixed his helmet.

The shuttle door opened, and Commander Shepard hopped out, followed by Garrus and Tali. Isaac stood on the edge of the shuttle, looking around the quiet station. He shook his head, ridding himself of the images that flashed through his mind. "Isaac? Are you alright?" He looked up to see his three crew mates watching him, but he waved them them off. "I'm fine. I'm fine." He jumped down, and the door slid shut. With a hum, the shuttle pulled away, leaving the four alone in the bay.

"Alright," said Shepard, drawing his rifle, "First thing, let's get to the power station."

Isaac nodded, drawing his plasma cutter, his heart pounding in his chest. He jumped, as his RIG buzzed to life. "Isaac? Isaac?"

"Ellie?" Isaac responded, a small holographic waveform appearing in front of his face.

"Isaac? Isaac where are you?"

"Ellie. Uh, we're on one of their Alliance bases. There's... There's been a problem, Ellie."

"A problem? What kind of a problem?" When Isaac, didn't respond, she repeated her question more forcefully. "Isaac. What kind of a problem?"

Isaac sighed. "It's... It's the Marker. It followed us, Ellie. A piece of it got caught in the explosion and made it through with us."

There was silence from the other end. "Ellie? Are-"

"Isaac. This is a joke right? T-this is just one of your terrible jokes. Please, Isaac, please, just tell me that this is a joke."

Isaac sighed. "I'm sorry, Ellie. I wish I could say that. I really do."

"No... No, no, no, Isaac, no!" He could hear her voice begin to break over the radio. "I can't do this. Not again."

"I know, Ellie, I know. But we're on our way right now to find it. We're going to destroy it. I promise."

"Can you really promise that?"

"I... I don't know. But... We'll try. We'll damn well try."

Ellie was silent again. After a long pause, she spoke again, her voice low. "Just... Promise me you'll make it back alive, Isaac. Please."

"I will."

The call ended with a buzz of static, and Isaac sighed. He turned back to the team, pushing past them before they could say anything. He was glad his helmet prevented them from seeing his pained expression.

"Come on," he said, "We have a Marker to destroy."

Well, here it is. After an unreasonably long time, chapter 3 is finally done. It would have been longer, but I'd rather save the combat until I can decide which class to make Shepard. That being said, suggestions would be appreciated.