Owen ran. Unlike his race through the fields that afternoon, this running was desperate, frenzied. His breathing was labored and smoke choked his lungs. He had finally reached the edge of the settlement as he felt a hand close around his wrist.

"Owen, wait!" Cassidy hissed. "We can't just run in there, you heard those screams."

"Cass, my family is in there. Your family too. We can't just sit here, we have to do something." His voice was tense and hushed, and he tugged her along with him as he took a few quick, silent steps towards the edge of a barn. A shriek echoed from inside and he felt Cassidy tense along with him. "What the hell is going on…?" He murmured, daring a peek inside the barn's half-cracked door.

Dozens of colonists were packed together, their hands and feet bound as they lay on the dirt floor. Some were stripped bare, curled and sobbing, angry red marks on their backs and sides. Many more were dead, lying in piles around the edge. Owen fought the bile that rose in his throat, and tightened his hold of Cassidy's hand as she choked back a sob. His eyes rose to the guards. Dread enveloped him as he recognized them as batarians. Slavers.

The aliens were talking amongst themselves in their guttural language. Owen had never taken the time to learn the batarian language, and he thanked the heavens now for translators.

"Bring the ones young enough to train to the ship to get implanted. Burn the rest of them." One of the slavers grunted, his four eyes narrowing in disgust as one of the women near him was racked by another sob. He kicked her naked form with a booted foot, snarling. The woman shrieked. "Disgusting animals." The batarian spat on her. "Quiet, or you'll get worse than that." He threatened, leaning down to run a menacing hand over her cheek. He left with a chuckle, and she whimpered.

"That's Ms. Locke…" Cassidy whispered, her eyes full of tears. She looked visibly ill.

Owen's own eyes were wide with rage, fists clenched. "We have to do something. Find weapons or…" He growled to her, but the girl was still with shock. "Cass, come on. This isn't everyone, we have to find where their keeping the others, or find a distress beacon, something." A sickening stench hit him, and he looked back to the barn. Guards were dragging out the bodies out of a door on the opposite side and piling them nearby. Burning them. He desperately fought the bile once more.

When the blonde didn't move he grasped her wrist and pulled her away. "Come on, Cass. We'll be okay. We can do this." He held her face between his hands, searching her wide blue eyes. She nodded meekly. Owen grabbed hold of her hand once more and stalked to the edge of a nearby clearing. Several pods were nearby, the small housing units of individual families. All looked deserted. He could see the newer dwellings on the far side of the colony, made from far more flammable material than the pods, were in a blaze. His eyes stung.

"Owen, your house – "

"Dad would have gotten them out." He cut her off. Cassidy nodded sadly at him, squeezing his hand.

"We should try for the Alliance outpost. They'd probably have a beacon inside or some way of calling for help. There's got to be someone nearby that can help." He said quickly, changing subjects. Cassidy simply nodded again in agreement, brushing a lock of blond hair out of her eyes.

The two teenagers hid at the corner of one of the pods as two batarians walked towards the barn, one of them laughing loudly at something. Anger rose once more in Owen. Heartless bastards. As soon as they disappeared inside, the teens darted across the clearing. The outpost would be close, on the other side of the alcove of pods. They zigzagged their way between the homes, ducking under metal crossbeams when necessary. The air was eerily quiet except for the distant sound of burning houses and the occasional scream. Where is everyone else? Owen slowed as they reached the outpost, the Alliance emblem on the door. He looked around in disappointment. The soldiers stationed here weren't anywhere in sight.

Taking a deep breath and checking one final time that there were no slavers nearby, he darted out from their hiding spot to the door. The door didn't swish open at their approach. No power. They must have cut the generators. It slid easily open as he pulled at it, affirming his suspicions – if any soldiers were left alive, they weren't here. They wouldn't have left it unlocked. He peeked his head in, searching for any hint of the batarians. The large main room was empty.

"Where are the Alliance soldiers?" Cassidy whispered too him, echoing his thoughts. He shook his head and pulled her inside. He closed the door behind him and turned back to the room. He could see a door at the far end, and an ominous stain of blood on a nearby wall.

"I don't think they made it." Owen murmured, eyes fixed on the blood. "Or if they did, they're not here anymore. Look for a console, anything we can send out a distress signal with. Hopefully something is still running without power." Cassidy nodded, and began looking over the desks scatter throughout the room. The place had been ransacked.

Owen walked to the far wall, gasping as he opened the door. "Oh, Christ." He whispered, looking down at the uniformed body. He didn't recognize the man, but he was clearly one of the Alliance soldiers. His throat had been slit, the nasty red wound gaping.

"Owen, I couldn't find anything…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the soldier with him. Owen looked up, and noticed her shaking. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her away.

"It'll be alright. We'll be okay." He murmured into her hair, half to himself. "I have to see if he has a gun, okay? Don't look."

He knelt beside the body, his stomach turning over again. He had never been near a dead body. As he moved to search the man, he had to clamp down hard on his jaws to keep from wretching. He found a pistol tucked under the soldier's hip, and tucked it in the back of his pants. A thought dawned on him.

"He must have and omni-tool…" The boy murmured, turning over the soldier's left hand. The devices were standard military issue, but he wished now he had been able to convince his father to get him one. He pulled off the man's glove, looking inside for the usual concealed compartment. I hope he doesn't have it implanted. He thanked every god he knew of when he found the tiny chip, then slipped on the glove. The familiar orange holographic gauntlet lit up over his arm as it recognized a user. "Yes!" He said, a little more loudly than he had meant to. His eyes scrolled over the text displayed. Most functions looked locked. Aha. He opened up an emergency messaging panel, and recorded a quick S.O.S. He sent it off to all priority Alliance contacts saved in the soldier's omni-tool, then stood up.

"That should get them here." I hope. His voice was stronger than he felt. "Let's go see if we can find where they're keeping everyone else." He pulled the pistol loose from his pants, holding the weapon awkwardly. He had only shot a gun a few times, and it had only ever been rifles. He doubted shooting cans with his father would help much in this situation. Cassidy followed him silently, her eyes not meeting his.

Owen strode quietly across the room and eased the door open a few inches. No one was outside. He stepped out quickly, pulling the girl with him. They started towards the pods again, when a shot rang out.

Cassidy screamed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shepard awoke with a start. Sweat plastered his thick hair to his brow. His whole body was trembling. "Fuck…" He groaned, a hand lifting to rub his temple. He was used to the flashbacks by now, but it hadn't been this vivid in years. He ran a hand through his hair.

Swinging his legs off the bed, he glanced at the clock. 0400. He'd ordered everyone to be at their stations at 0600.. He let go of a heavy sigh and stood. He wasn't about to go back to sleep. Stripping off a sweat-laden shirt and boxers, he walked into the room's private bathroom. One benefit of the captain quarters: private showers. He let the water run cold, replacing the anxiety he always felt after a nightmare with alertness.

Once he was shivering, he shut off the water and grabbed a towel. He didn't bother glancing in the mirror, just grabbed a comb and some casuals, dressing quickly before heading to the cockpit.

"Commander." Joker greeted, brow raised. "You look full of sunshine this morning."

"Shut it, Joker," He grumbled, slumping into the co-pilot's chair.

"All those Thessian temples caught up with you, huh?" The pilot chuckled.

"Something like that." Shepard snorted, and shook his head. "Glad to know my position as captain isn't going to change things between us." He gave the pilot a half-smile, and the bearded man shook his head.

"Nawh, no special treatment for you. You may be the Normandy's new captain, but she'll always be my baby." The pilot gave him a winning smile, and Shepard shook his head. How they man hadn't been reprimanded out of that pilot's seat, he had no idea. "Alenko said you managed to piss off Ashley. Good going there, tex. The hottest woman on board, and now she's all mine."

Ashley? Oh, Williams. Shepard gave an exasperated laugh. "Gossiping again?" He raised an eyebrow at the pilot.

Joker shrugged. "I look at these panels all day. I need something to keep me entertained. And Kaidan seriously doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. He went to find her as soon as he got back from your big parade."

The commander rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying anything. That Williams was still upset didn't surprise him. He'd have to deal with her eventually, but it wouldn't be now. He looked out the cockpit windows to the docking bay for a while, sitting in silence. He came up here sometimes, just watching space. Joker never seemed to mind. "Pre-flight checks going well?"

Joker scoffed. "They're totally unnecessary. Usual Citadel bureaucratic bull." The pilot shifted in his seat. "I just wanted to say, it was shitty what they did to Anderson, but you're the right guy for the job. If anyone can catch that turian asshat, it's you."

Shepard's eyebrows shot up, bewildered. He had never heard the pilot give a compliment to anyone but himself before. Unsure what to say, he simply nodded. He didn't know where the man's confidence in his abilities stemmed from but he was grateful. "We'll get the bastard." His voice was determined now, and he looked back to the windows.

"0600, Commander." Joker interrupted his thoughts a little while later, and Shepard stood. He looked back into the CIC at his crew bustling to their stations.

"Bring up the comm."

Joker nodded, pressing a few buttons before glancing expectantly at his commander. "Ready when you are."

"This is Commander Shepard speaking," he began.