Eden Prime. It hadn't changed. The small image of the colony on the small screen inside the shuttle reminded Kaidan of a much simpler time, when the entire galaxy was completely oblivious to the Reapers and all the destruction that would follow in their wake. He would've never imagined being in his current predicament now. Not after all the crazy shit he had been through the past three years.

But then again, Kacey and Garrus had it even worse.

The more he had heard about the Illusive Man, the less he truly understood the Cerberus leader; it would've been much simpler to believe the rumours and nothing more. But the more he heard of Kacey's interactions with the Illusive Man, the less black and white the man appeared to be. He didn't understand it.

"Something on your mind Kaidan?" Kacey asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah, though not sure you'd want to hear all of it." Kaidan replied.

"Oh, come on, you know I'd listen to anything you say." Kacey smiled.

"I know."

"We're nearly there." Liara said, catching both Kacey and Kaidan's attention, "Eden Prime. The place where this all began. Where the prothean beacon gave you the vision that warned us about the Reapers."

"We lost a lot of good people when Saren and the geth attacked this place." Kaidan mused.

"Yes and now with Cerberus here, Eden Prime's colonists are under attack again." Liara said.

"Seems like more than just three years ago." Kacey said, looking at Kaidan.

She was right. It honestly felt like a lifetime ago.

"A lot of memories here. Jenkins and that damn geth recon drone." Kaidan replied.

"And Nilhus." Kacey added, "And Ashley."

She said that last part with a hint of sorrow. Kaidan knew that pain very well.

"Guess we've got a lot of people to remember down here…even if we're not fighting geth this time." Kaidan replied.

"You're still here." Kacey smiled, "Not a lot of other people have had my back from the beginning."

"I wouldn't trade it for anything." Kaidan replied.

…

The shuttle landed as close to the dig site as close as Cortez was able to. As they landed Kaidan heard Garrus sighed.

"It doesn't feel like three years have passed, does it?" Garrus mused.

"No, it doesn't." Kaidan replied, "Brings back all sorts of memories."

"I remember the reports." Garrus sighed, "I was busting my ass trying to find evidence against Saren. Hearing that he'd attacked a colony while I sat mired in bureaucracy…that was a bad day."

"You always did prefer a straight up fight." Kacey laughed, standing between Kaidan and Garrus.

"And you're always good at helping me find them." Garrus laughed.

"Cerberus have hit Eden Prime hard." Liara said, "Whatever they found here was worth a major offensive."

"Any survivors?" Kaidan asked.

"There are survivors elsewhere on the colony, but they had killed everyone near the dig site."

"These people deserve better." Kacey replied solemnly.

"I know." Liara said, "The Alliance did what it could to evacuate colonists, but Cerberus came in so quickly."

"If we find survivors, we do what we can." Kacey said, "What about this artefact? Is it part of the prothean device we found on Mars?"

"The Alliance didn't get any specifics about what Cerberus has uncovered. But whatever it is, it's better off with us than Cerberus."

"So, it's a prothean mystery box? How exciting." Garrus said sarcastically.

"All right! Everyone, let's move!" Kacey shouted.

The group promptly left the shuttle. The familiar landscape of Eden Prime hadn't changed at all. To Kaidan, it was the same as it was three years ago; except there was no Reaper towering over the skyline. Cortez had dropped them off in a clearing near the buildings that surrounded the site; labs and living spaces most likely.

"With luck, we can get to the dig site before Cerberus knows we're here." Liara said.

Her words fell on deaf ears. Kacey was busy searching around, lost in thought. Kaidan immediately grew concerned; the Commander was never distracted on a mission before. Kaidan took the opportunity to talk to Kacey before Liara and James noticed they weren't following.

"Are you okay, Kacey?" Kaidan asked.

"Hm? Yeah, kind of." Her answer was scattered, "You know, this was a beautiful colony once. Shame it ended up in so much trouble."

"It survived Saren and Sovereign's attack." Kaidan replied, "It can survive this."

"I grew up on ships. Lose one, you could always move to another." Kacey replied as they re-joined the rest of the group, "Losing a home like this…I don't know how I would cope."

"It isn't easy." Kaidan replied, "But knowing we can still save it…its enough to keep me going."

They went downhill, moving underneath the buildings, following Liara's lead. Kaidan couldn't help but remember what happened here the last time; it was the beginning of this entire mess. As they began searching through the buildings, James shouted Kacey over.

"Commander, you've got to see this."

Kaidan followed Kacey towards a desk with a computer still open on the desk. James stepped aside as Kacey looked through.

"Processing Update?" Kacey mused.

"What does it say?" Liara asked.

"Hold on. 'We've taken more able-bodied men and women from pacified neighbourhoods. The colonists generally have accepted the story that they have gone to perform tedious but safe manual labour in a Cerberus research camp on the other side of the planet, and when we increased food rations as "payment for the work", most of the complaints died down. Maintain the story as long as possible. We don't have the manpower to fight the entire colony, and if these families knew they were never going to see their sons and daughters again, there's no way they'd cooperate.'"

"Those sick bastards." Garrus said.

Kaidan was inclined to agree with Garrus; it was no more horrific than what the Reapers were doing.

"Shepard, this Cerberus data could help the colonists still alive on other parts of Eden Prime." Liara said.

"How?" Kacey asked.

"I can get this intel to Eden Prime's resistance." Liara explained, "Maybe it will help them fight back against Cerberus."

"All right. Do what you need to." Kacey said.

While Liara worked on sending the data, Kaidan wandered outside, followed by Kacey and then Garrus.

"Look at that." Kacey mused, "Bits of prothean tech sticking out of the ground like an old bone."

"So Liara," Garrus said as Liara and James approached, "ever dug up…what do humans call it? A dinosaur?"

"A dinosaur?" Liara responded.

"Yeah, a dino." James said.

"Like a T-Rex or a Stegosaurus?" Kaidan added.

"No, dinosaurs and other fossils would be palaeontology. I'm an arachnologist. I study artefacts left by sapient species. The two fields are completely different and…you three were joking."

"Nah." Kaidan replied.

"A bit. But at least you're catching on these days." Garrus laughed

"What? I just like dinosaurs." James replied in a joking tone.

"And while you all were looking for dinosaurs," Kacey's voice cut through, "I've found the elevator for the dig site."

Liara rushed over towards the computer to bring up the lift. Kaidan couldn't help but laugh a small bit.

"Goddess…that doesn't seem possible." Liara said with shock.

"Liara?" James said.

"What's happened?" Kacey asked.

"It's not a prothean artefact. It's…a Prothean."

Kaidan saw a pod arrive in front of them. He recognised it immediately; there were hundreds of them in the Ilos bunker.

"You mean those bodies we found back on Ilos?" Kaidan asked.

"Or the Collectors?" Garrus added.

"No, this is an unmodified, original Prothean." Liara said, "Who's still alive."

"You're right." Kacey said, "That doesn't sound possible."

"You saw Prothean stasis chambers in the archives on Ilos." Liara explained, "The only reason those failed was a lack of power. Cerberus found this in an underground bunker. It still has power. He's been in stasis for the past 50,000 years. Waiting for us. Think of what we could learn."

"What can you tell me about the Protheans? The people, not the technology." Kacey asked.

"Given your experience with the Prothean cipher, you probably know as much about them as I do."

"Maybe. But that was a jumbled mess." Kacey said, "My head hurts just thinking about it."

"Fair. The Prothean empire spanned the known galaxy. They uplifted countless other species to help them join the galactic community."

"Uplifted?" Kaidan mused, "Like when the salarians brought the krogan out of the Stone Age?"

"Galactic community? Like the council?" Garrus added.

"Yes." Liara nodded to both Garrus and Kaidan, "Their cultural and artistic expression are actually quite close to those of ancient asari. And given their similar interest in helping other species, it's clear that they believed in inter-species cooperation."

"The way you describe them, they sound a lot like the asari." Kacey said.

"I'm certain I'm colouring their culture with my own perceptions. Whatever the protheans were, finding one alive represents an incredible opportunity."

"Good thing we brought our prothean expert."

"I hope I can help." Liara said, "If this single Prothean was sent into stasis, he could be the foremost scientist of his time—or perhaps the wisest counsellor."

"Or it could be a nutcase." James mused, "Who knows?"

"James." Kaidan said firmly.

"Okay. Sorry, Liara."

"Hmm." Liara mused, "Cerberus damaged the lifepod when they excavated it. The life signs are unstable."

"Then let's get him out of there." Kacey said.

"No, breaking open the pod would kill him." Liara explained, "We have to find the command signal that ends the stasis mode. We also need to figure out how to physically open the pod without doing more damage. Cerberus took over the labs nearby to research what they had found at the dig site. It's our best bet."

"Speaking of Cerberus." James shouted, readying his shotgun, "There they are!"