MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. ONCE AGAIN, I'VE BEEN SUMMONED TO ANSWER FOR MY CRIMES… BECAUSE CREATING A GIANT ROBOT SHARK WITH LASER-EYES IS JUST GOING TOO FAR.

Well, at least Alanna got a break and a promotion before heading out again. This time, trouble hasn't come to her, but the other way around.

Mass Effect: Legacy

XVI

James took a deep breath, and reveled in the sensation of his lungs not feeling like they were full of broken glass. The medication his doctor had prescribed was working, and he felt twenty years younger. Of course, that still made him pretty old, something his joints reminded him of every time he tried to stretch. Not for the first time in recent years, he envied Miranda's graceful aging… not that he would ever imply that she was old, especially to her face.

He was getting on in years, but he wasn't senile.

It wasn't just the medication that was making him feel better. Tuchanka was stabilizing quickly, and Liara had just forwarded him the locations of two Cerberus bases—one of which was rather close to Alliance space. He had already dispatched a few squads of SpecForce to neutralize it, and expected a report within the next few days.

"Not a bad day, all things considered," he said to himself.

As if the universe heard him and decided to balance the scales, his omni-tool alerted him to an incoming message. At first, James didn't recognize the channel, because it hadn't been used in years. Still, his heart skipped a beat when he realized who was calling him.

"Hey, Doc," James said cheerfully. "Been a while. How're things?"

"They could be better, James," Treeya Nuwani said, her voice tense. "I was hoping for some help… or at least some advice."

James' good mood vanished. Though they hadn't seen each other in decades, Treeya was still his friend, and James didn't have many of those left.

"What's the situation?"

"The colony here has been getting some odd readings outside the perimeter; after what happened last time, no one wants to take chances."

James thought about it; he wanted to help, but he couldn't justify sending a battalion because some colonists got jumpy.

"Any way you can send me a copy of the readings?" he asked.

"Actually, yes. Just give me a moment."

James watched as the data scrolled across his omni-tool; he was no tech-genius, but he had seen these readings before.

"Treeya, I want you to listen very closely," he said. "Go to the colonial governor, and tell him to put everything on lockdown. I'll send a team to assess the situation, and I'll see if I can get some heavy reinforcements if things get ugly."

"Thank you, James." There was a rare warmth that cut through Treeya's normally tired voice, and even with the tension of the situation, it made James smile.

"Just sit tight, okay? I'm sending some of the best we've got."

Alanna was asking for a mission anyway, he thought.

…

"You sure you want to do this?" Haley asked, fists raised.

Alanna grinned. "What, afraid of punching your CO-slash-girlfriend?"

"I'm mostly worried about messing up your pretty face."

"Um, did you ever beat me in CQC during training?"

In response, Haley threw a punch, which Alanna caught, and used the momentum to throw Haley over her shoulder and onto the mat. Even though the wind was knocked out of her, Haley reached up with her legs and wrapped them around Alanna's neck before she could straighten up from her throw. Now it was Alanna's turn to fall, Haley's legs cutting off her oxygen; rather than tap out, she brought her elbow up and into Haley's side with enough force to make her yelp and loosen her grip. Alanna rolled free and kicked up; Haley managed to block, but hadn't completely regained her footing, so she was knocked down again.

Alanna dodged Haley's desperate tackle, then probed her defenses with a few quick jabs. When Haley didn't retaliate, Alanna feinted right, then turned her momentum into a reverse-kick that caught Haley's knee. She went down hard, and was knocked prone when Alanna drove her open palm between her shoulder blades. A moment later, Haley's arms were locked behind her back, and Alanna pinned her.

"Yield," Haley managed to gasp out, and Alanna let her go. "Damn, I forgot how good you are."

Alanna shrugged. "I was trained in CQC by an Asari Justicar before going N7. Samara wouldn't let me go until I was at least half as good as her."

"Did you ever beat her?"

Alanna rolled her eyes. "Ha! Hell no. She's a Matriarch with centuries of experience on me. I can count on one hand the number of times I even landed a hit on her."

Haley walked over to a chair that had several bottles of water on it. "No wonder you breezed through N7 training."

"Hey, I got squashed by a Krogan during the CQC finals!" Alanna protested. "I didn't 'breeze through' anything."

"Whatever you say, good-lookin'," Haley teased with a wink.

Despite herself, Alanna blushed a little. Both of them were wearing workout clothes—tight shorts and sports bra that left little to the imagination. They used the training as an excuse to get as close as possible… and teasing each other the entire time.

"I think we're done here," Haley continued. "Anything else on the agenda?"

"I want to run a few more calibrations on my Extinction," Alanna said. "One more tweak, and it should be ready for combat."

"Oh, I've been wanting to see you use that monster for a while." Haley wiped the sweat on her neck. "I wish I could use one."

"If you were a biotic, I'd give you a chance, but as it is, I don't want it exploding in your hands and ruining your good looks."

"Aw, thanks for looking out for me, babe."

Alanna grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Besides, you got that cool sniper rifle from Tetros."

"Right, the one kind of weapon I'm better with than you."

The two continued their lighthearted banter as they showered—in separate stalls; there was a lot they could get away with on the Sicily, but not that much—and as they had lunch together in the mess hall. Nok joined them, with about four times as much food as both of them combined, and finished it in half the time.

"Whoa, slow down and enjoy the food," Haley said, then frowned. "Wait, these are rations. Never mind, get it over with as fast as you can."

"Everything okay, big guy?" Alanna asked.

"Mostly," Nok rumbled. "Got a message from my dad, on Tuchanka. I never had a chance to talk to him when we were there, and there was so much going on that I couldn't see if the family was okay."

Alanna and Haley shared a guilty look; they hadn't even considered that Nok might have family in the middle of the brief civil war, and since he hadn't brought it up, they hadn't asked.

"Are they okay?" Alanna asked again.

"Yeah, though a few Blood Pack thugs made their way into the neighborhood." Nok scowled for a moment. "One of the bastards made a pass at my mother, but Dad blew his brains out—one clean shot from a sniper rifle at point-blank range. Then Mom killed the others. With a kitchen knife."

"Holy shit, your mom sounds like a badass," Haley said. "So, everyone's fine?"

"Oh, yeah, nobody got hurt, but those assholes did some damage to the house." Nok's expression turned murderous. "My parents spent years building that house; they wanted the perfect home for their first kids after the genophage got cured."

"Kids, as in plural?" Alanna raised an eyebrow. "Nok, do you have siblings?"

"Three, all sisters." Nok chuckled. "I'm actually the youngest in the family, and the only one of us to join the military. My sisters are all doctors; they studied medicine on Earth, and helped open the third hospital on Tuchanka. After the genophage, anyway."

"Were they in any danger during the fighting?" Haley asked.

Nok waved her question away. "They weren't even on the planet when it all went down. They were at some conference or other on Mars. They're on their way back home to help with the wounded."

"At least they were safe." Alanna sighed. "Hey, did you guys hear that a Turian aid convoy nearly got blown up when it tried to give supplies to Tuchanka?"

"Yeah, some warning shots were fired, but Wrex defused the situation before it got worse," Nok confirmed. "Apparently, a lot of those civilian captains had family that Wrex's ships rescued from the Terminus, and they wanted to repay that debt. No red tape involved."

Alanna smiled, even though there had nearly been a terrible tragedy. It always raised her spirits when she heard of people setting aside their differences and trying to help each other.

"Speaking of Turians, where's Tetros?" Nok asked. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"He's been catching up with some people he knows on Palaven," Alanna said. "Hey, did Korim ever get something to eat, or is he still working on the shuttle?"

Nok sighed. "I'll go bring him some of that nutrient paste, just in case he forgot to eat."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Korim's an even bigger workaholic than you were during training."

Alanna winked at her. "At least I've got you around to help me relax."

Haley leaned in to kiss her, but just before their lips touched, EDI's hologram appeared. "Commander, we are receiving a priority transmission from General Vega."

Part of Alanna was disappointed that her good times with Haley were interrupted, but at the same time, she would always make time for family. And, of course, because he was a general.

"Give me a sec, EDI; I'll take the call in my quarters." Alanna gently elbowed Haley. "Tell the rest of the squad to get prepped, just in case."

"You got it, Commander." Haley rose and stretched her arms. "We'll be ready to deploy in ten."

Alanna jogged to the elevator, and a hologram of James appeared as soon as she opened the door to her quarters.

"Hey, kid," he said. "Congrats on your promotion."

Alanna saluted. "Thank you, sir. Do you have a mission for us?"

"More like I'm asking for a favor, if you're up for it."

Alanna realized that this wasn't General Vega asking, but her Uncle James. "You know I'm always up for helping family."

James grinned. "That's what I was hoping you'd say. I need you to go to Fehl Prime and check in with the colony."

"Is there an issue that you need a squad half-full of N7s?"

"I'm not completely sure," James admitted. "An old friend of mine, Dr. Treeya Nuwani, thinks there might be something going on, and the Outsiders might be involved."

"And you want us to confirm that there's trouble before you call in the cavalry," Alanna finished, and then frowned. "Treeya Nuwani… why does that name sound familiar?"

James sighed. "You know I was on Fehl Prime when the Collectors attacked, right? She was one of the other two survivors besides me."

Alanna put her hand over her mouth. "Oh, god, I remember now. I'm so sorry, I know that must bring up bad memories."

"Worse for her than for me. After the colony was rebuilt, Treeya decided to stay on the planet. She couldn't bear the thought of more colonists suffering, so she became a… watcher, I guess. The locals see her as a paranoid hermit that comes through every now and then for supplies. There's a chance she really is paranoid, which is another reason why I want you to go—if she's losing it, I'd like to keep the circle small."

"You couldn't tell when you talked to her? I thought she was your friend."

"Well, a friend I haven't seen in person in decades. Besides, she's an Asari, and you might have better luck getting her to open up than I would."

Alanna nodded. "All right, we'll check it out." She paused at the wistful look on James' face. "So, are you two really friends, or was there more going on at some point?"

James laughed. "What? Nah, it was more of a case of two ships passing… and one of those ships didn't notice the other at all."

Alanna winced. "Ouch."

"It's fine, I've had more than a century to get over it." James sighed again. "But, if you could try talking her into going somewhere without so many bad memories… maybe see if she wouldn't mind visiting me on Earth."

Alanna kept her expression neutral, so that James wouldn't see her doubt. It was clear to her that he was still holding a torch for Treeya.

"We'll get there ASAP, General," she said instead. "If there's any kind of threat to the colony, we'll get the word out."

"Thanks, Alanna. Fehl Prime has plenty of ghosts, and I'd rather it not have more."

With that, the call ended, and Alanna took a breath. "EDI, set course for Fehl Prime, all speed."

"Affirmative, Commander."

"And EDI, remember what happened the last time we went down to a planet that was crawling with Outsiders. If you lose contact with us, get outside of range and call for backup."

"Understood, Commander, though I hope that it is unnecessary."

"You and me both."

…

Fehl Prime certainly didn't look like it had suffered a hostile alien attack. Then again, Alanna figured that a hundred years of rebuilding could wipe away a lot.

"Quite a sight, huh?" Haley stood next to her in the cockpit as the Sicily achieved a stable orbit over the planet. "You know, my grandparents almost moved to Fehl Prime."

Alanna was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, they were going to elope there, but they got convinced to get married on Earth at the last second." Haley shuddered. "A week after their wedding, they heard about the Collector attack. If they hadn't changed their minds, they would have been on the colony…"

"And you wouldn't have been born," Alanna finished. "Scary to think about."

"Kind of." Haley shook her head. "The squad's prepped and ready, Commander."

"Thanks, Sergeant." Alanna paused. "You know, maybe I should put you down for a promotion. It's a little weird that the highest-ranking officer below me is only a sergeant."

"I wouldn't mind an extra stripe," Haley agreed.

Alanna smiled, then turned to EDI. "Can we establish communications with the surface?"

EDI's body nodded. "Yes, Commander. They have cleared a landing pad for our shuttle, and the colonial governor is expecting us in his office. Dr. Nuwani is there as well."

"Good, we can kill two birds with one stone." Alanna froze. "Nobody tell Tetros I said that."

"Only if you pay for dinner," Haley said with a wink.

"Well, I've got a pretty big bump in salary, so I can afford it." Alanna elbowed her. "Come on, let's get to the shuttle."

"One more thing, Commander." EDI's synthetic face shaped into a perfect expression of worry. "Governor Isen has been investigated on several occasions for various infractions, but he has been able to escape justice through loopholes in the legal system."

"Great, a corrupt governor that'll probably get in our way," Alanna grumbled. "Let's just get this over with."

…

Fehl Prime was pretty to look at, but there was a feeling of dread as the shuttle passed through the atmosphere. It was all in their heads, and they knew it, but it was hard not to think about how the entire population of the planet they were visiting had been abducted and murdered in a day.

"Keep the engine running," Alanna said to Forde as they touched down. "We might need air support in a hurry."

"You got it, Commander," Forde called out as they left. "I'll leave the magazines in the glove compartment this time."

Nok looked around at the colony. "Nice place. Figured it'd be warmer, what with all the plants."

"It looks like jungle, but the native plants are actually closer to Earth's temperate forests," Alanna said.

Korim glanced at her. "How do you know that?"

"I… studied the planet before we got here?" Alanna looked at them all. "Don't tell me I'm the only one who does that."

"I perform the same tasks, Shepard-Commander," Mantle said.

Alanna blinked; that was the first time Mantle had called her what Legion had called her father. "Good for you. You get a gold star, Mantle. The rest of you get detention."

"I'm telling the principal that the teacher was mean to me," Haley mock-whined.

"Go ahead, I'm pretty sure the 'principal' in this scenario is Miranda Lawson."

Tetros laughed. "Ha! Yeah, you'll lose that one, Haley. She's Miranda's favorite."

The good mood was replaced by professionalism as they were escorted to the governor's office. He was a slightly overweight human with a receding hairline; he wore a well-fitted, though slightly worn, suit that he nervously wiped down as they entered his office.

There were two others in the rather large room, and both of them piqued Alanna's interest. The first was a giant of a Turian, with more scars than face paint, and carried weapons that wouldn't have been out of place on a Krogan, attached to black armor that was almost an exoskeleton. He eyed every member of the squad like he was analyzing how best to kill them. Alanna wasn't sure if she respected him, or hated him.

The other guest was obviously Treeya Nuwani. Like all Asari, she was inhumanly beautiful, but her clothes were worn, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. Alanna also noticed that her left hand was locked into the same gesture that a biotic would use for a Throw; she was ready to snap at any time.

"Governor Isen," Alanna said, her tone respectful. "I'm Commander Alanna Shepard. I'm here to investigate the unusual sensor-readings you've had."

There were simultaneous blinks from all three of them, and then Isen cleared his throat. "Yes, um, thank you for your prompt arrival… Commander Shepard. However, we didn't make an official request for assistance."

"I'm aware," Alanna said with a calm smile. "This isn't an official investigation, though General Vega has a personal interest in this colony's safety, as you probably know."

Alanna was fully aware of what she was doing by using her father's name, followed by James'; as soon as she saw the governor and the big Turian, she knew something was off, so she decided to put them on the back foot.

"Ah, um, of course." Isen gestured to the Turian. "This is Titus Vraks; he's in charge of a private military company that we recently hired to increase security here on Fehl Prime."

Alanna raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. I wasn't aware of a threat to the colony… or that you wanted to shell out credits for mercenaries when the Alliance can deploy a squadron of warships for free."

"We're not mercenaries," Vraks growled. "Black Star Security is a legitimate private military contractor."

"Ah, that's why your logo looks familiar," Tetros said, looking pointedly at the white sun-emblem on Vraks' armor. "Aren't you guys still in a legal battle with Eclipse over that?"

Vraks snarled, but it was drowned out by Nok's loud guffaw, and the Turian remembered that he was outnumbered and outgunned, so he shut up.

Isen coughed into his hand. "My apologies, but the Black Stars operate near the system, and they offered to provide a permanent defense against any pirates that may be operating nearby."

"At a far lower rate than we normally offer," Vraks added.

"If that's the case, we'll just continue our investigation, and if it turns out to be a false alarm, we'll be on our way." Alanna's smile had a dangerous edge, as if daring the mercenary to try and stop her. "Dr. Nuwani, you said you had information for us?"

Treeya nodded shakily. "Yes, Commander." She used her omni-tool to project a hologram of the colony. "Two days ago, the perimeter sensors picked up unusual tectonic anomalies, and some dark energy patterns I've never seen before."

"The dark energy might have been a glitch in the sensors," Vraks cut in again. "I've seen those old models before, and they tend to have more than a few glitches after a few years."

"Which models do you use?" Alanna asked.

"The MX-4, standard colonial package," Treeya said immediately.

"How do you know that?" Isen demanded.

Treeya's smile was bitter. "After the Collector attack, I made it my business to know everything about this colony."

Alanna frowned. "The MX-4 is obsolete. You should have received the MX-6 last year."

Isen sputtered and smoothed out his suit again. "W-well, other than our rather dark past, we don't exactly warrant a great deal of Alliance attention…"

"You're near the Terminus Systems, which we always keep an eye on," Alanna said sternly. "Right now, we're going to check out those anomalies, but I can assure you that this break in your supply chain is going to be thoroughly investigated."

Leaving Isen to sweat, Alanna turned to leave; to her surprise, Vraks nodded in respect. Alanna had thought he was being grumpy because of her, but maybe he just hated Isen's incompetence, and only put up with the man because of the easy money.

"Thank you again for coming so quickly," Treeya said as she followed after the squad. "At least I was able to persuade Isen to raise the colony's alert level."

"Please tell me the civilians are being told this is a drill," Alanna said. "The last thing we need is mass panic."

"He may be an idiot, but not that much of an idiot." Treeya chuckled. "And while I have little respect for Vraks, he takes every job seriously. If there is a threat, he and his men will act accordingly."

"I still don't trust mercs," Alanna said, and opened a channel to the Sicily. "EDI, inform General Vega that Fehl Prime is employing Black Star Security without informing the Alliance. Aside from that, we're on our way to investigate the anomalies."

"Understood, Commander."

"Dr. Nuwani, can I ask that you remain in the colony?" Alanna asked. "No offense, but you're still a civilian, and I don't want to risk you in the field."

Treeya's smile was brittle. "With all due respect, Commander, but I've spent over a hundred years preparing for an emergency like this. I may not be a commando, but I know how to fight."

"Maybe, but I don't know how you fight. Besides, you'll be more useful if you coordinate with me through EDI." Alanna sighed. "And if something happened to you, James would be very upset."

Treeya flinched. "Very well. I'll continue searching for anything useful here. Good luck, Commander. What is your first move?"

"First, let's go to those sensor nodes and check if they're on the fritz. They might be obsolete models, but we can't dismiss them because of that."

"I understand." Treeya tapped at her omni-tool. "I'm sending you the locations of the three nodes."

Alanna nodded and considered her options. "Okay, we'll split up, one tech-expert per node. Mantle, go with Tetros, and Haley will go with Korim; Nok, you're with me. Doctor, is there anywhere you can hole up until we're done?"

"My home is fairly secure," Treeya said. "And I can stay in touch with your ship from there."

"Good. Stay there, and don't open your door for anyone but us."

Treeya frowned. "Do you think I am at risk?"

Alanna shrugged. "We've got a governor who's breaking at least three or four laws, and a potential hostile incursion from outside. I'd rather not take chances today."

"Very well, Commander." Treeya bowed her head, and then left.

"Okay, people," Alanna said as she put her helmet back on, "let's get to work."

…

"Hey, Alanna, mind if I ask you a question?" Nok asked, about twenty minutes after the squad split up.

"Sure, go ahead."

Nok hesitated. "Any reason you didn't have Haley with you for this?"

Alanna gave him a look. "This is a mission, Nok; it would be unprofessional to have Haley on my part of this assignment just because we're dating. Also, she's the XO; if something happens to me, she'll still be around to take over."

"Good point." Nok shrugged. "I remember this one guy in my unit, before I joined the First KAB. He was a squad leader, and somehow, his mate was on the same squad. He always showed her favor, kept her by his side during every mission, that kind of thing."

"Yikes, I bet that didn't fly."

"Nope. Dumbass got demoted, and his mate was discharged entirely; turns out, she wasn't qualified to be a soldier, and her mate just lied on her enlistment forms just to get her on his squad."

"Yeah, definitely a dumbass."

"But you and Haley aren't like that. You two became warriors before you got together."

"Thanks?" Alanna's omni-tool beeped. "We're close to our node."

Nok sniffed the air, and tensed. "Careful, I smell blood."

Alanna glanced around; thankfully, there were no civilians around to scare as she drew her SMG. As they rounded the corner, Alanna spotted a dead human near the sensor node, but no sign of whoever killed them. She knelt by the body, and noticed that it was still warm.

"Human, male, looks middle-aged. Single slash across the throat," she noted. "Bled out instantly. No sign of a struggle, implying he knew his attacker, or was attacked from behind." She examined the scene again. "No footprints in the blood. The killer slashed his throat and left before the blood spread too far."

Nok readied his machine gun, and looked around for threats. "I don't smell anything unusual. Whoever killed this guy was probably human. Or the Outsiders."

"This seems too random to be the Outsiders… I think." Alanna scanned the body with her omni-tool. "EDI, we just found a dead body. Can you identify him?"

"Scan received; running biometric data through Alliance databanks." EDI paused. "Commander, this is Henry Taylor, retired Alliance Naval Engineers."

"Any relation to Jacob Taylor?" Alanna asked; she thought she knew everyone in Jacob's family, but she could have been wrong.

"Actually, he is Jacob's nephew."

"I didn't know he had any siblings."

"Jacob's father, Ronald Taylor, temporarily escaped custody during the Reaper War; he entered a relationship with another escaped inmate, and they conceived a child. Jacob was aware of his half-brother's existence, but to say that they did not get along would be an understatement. Henry Taylor is Ronald Taylor's grandson; he has no next of kin."

"Okay, considering how often the Outsiders have killed people connected to the Normandy, this might be connected to them, or one hell of a coincidence." Alanna switched to the squad frequency. "Squad, we've got a body here."

"Same," Tetros reported tensely. "Human, female, slashed throat. Looks like she's been dead for at least a couple hours."

"I've got two bodies," Haley said. "Male and female, dead the same way. According to Korim, they've been dead for about four hours."

"Ours was the latest victim," Alanna reported. "Okay, this is getting weird. EDI, do you have anything on sensors?"

"Scan—" EDI's voice abruptly dissolved into static.

"Guys, we just lost contact with the Sicily," Alanna said. "Get the sensor data ASAP, then get to Dr. Nuwani's house."

"Last time we lost long-range comms, we got attacked by Raloi," Nok reminded her. "And before that, the Outsiders."

"Well, since the Raloi are still stuck on their planet, I don't think this is them." Alanna accessed the sensor node and began looking through the data. "Well, crap. The reason the sensors couldn't figure out the dark energy was because they hadn't been updated to account for Outsider tech. I ran it through current specs, and we've got 'em."

"What about those tectonic events the doc mentioned?" Nok asked.

As if the planet itself decided to answer, there was a sharp tremor that nearly knocked them both off their feet.

"Status!" Alanna snapped into her comms. "Everyone okay?"

"A little surprised, but we're good," Haley reported.

"We're fine, but that wasn't fun," Tetros said. "Is Fehl Prime known for tremors like that?"

"Not as far as I'm aware." Alanna switched frequencies. "Doctor, I assume you felt that?"

"I did, Commander," Treeya said. "There have been smaller tremors for the last two days. They coincided with a rise in dark energy."

Alanna had a thought, and it terrified her. "Guys, you remember when we went to Haestrom? If the Outsiders can make a star die early, what are the odds they can cause seismic events?"

There was a pause, and then Haley started to swear. "Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Shepard-Commander, the situation may be worse than it appears," Mantle cut in. "I have reviewed the seismological data from the last two days. If the tremors continue to worsen at this rate, the entire planet will be uninhabitable within seventy-two hours."

As if to punctuate that statement, there was another tremor, even worse than the last, and continued for almost a full minute.

Alanna reviewed the sensor data again, desperately searching for anything useful. After a moment, she found it.

"I think I have something," she said. "Mantle, confirm that my idea is correct, and that the tremors have an origin point."

There was a pause. "Confirmed, Shepard-Commander. According to geological surveys, there is a cave system approximately twenty-eight kilometers southwest of the colony. That is the source of the tremors."

"I know that cave system!" Treeya nearly shouted. "I scouted out every possible location an enemy might hide in, or place we could use for refuge, within fifty kilometers of the colony."

"Then that's where we're going," Alanna decided.

"Incoming!" Nok shouted.

Alanna heard a gunshot that skimmed across her helmet, and she ducked. Charging towards her was a man in white armor and a tinted visor; he carried an assault rifle in his hands, and had a shotgun on his back. Behind him were several more similarly-armored people, and they were definitely hostile.

"We're under attack!" Alanna barked. "Haley, get to the doctor and keep her safe! Tetros, get over here!"

Without waiting for a reply, Alanna and Nok opened fire, and gunned down the lead attacker. Another, a woman with a heavy pistol and a rectangular shield projected from her omni-tool, tried to cover the others' advance; Alanna destroyed the shield with an Overload, and Nok sent her flying into two others with a concussive round.

Rather than give the enemy a chance to get into cover, Alanna switched her Tsunami out for her Extinction. She then used a Charge to get in close to the enemy squad, and held down the trigger; within three seconds, there wasn't a single intact corpse in front of her.

"Damn, that was cool," Nok said. "Now I'm really glad you took me with you for this one."

"You're welcome." Alanna looked around, but didn't see any other hostiles. "Who the hell were these guys?"

Nok pointed to the first man they'd killed. "Um, not to point out the obvious, but I think I know."

Alanna followed his outstretched arm, and saw the logo on the dead man's chest. "What. No, seriously, what!? What's Cerberus doing here!?"

"It can't be the real deal, right?" Nok scratched his head. "Those guys died out during the Reaper War."

Alanna scowled, and immediately downloaded everything she could from any intact omni-tools. "Okay, this is ridiculous." She switched frequencies to the governor's office. "Governor Isen, can you hear me?"

"Um, uh, yes, Commander Shepard?"

"We have a very serious problem, and it's not just the tremors. We were just attacked by a squad wearing Cerberus colors. Do you know anything about this?"

"Cerberus?" For the first time, Isen sounded genuinely angry. "Someone was stupid enough to try reviving that organization? Commander, I assure you, if I even thought that Cerberus was on my planet, I would have requested an entire Alliance army."

"Well, we don't have that right now. If those mercenaries of yours aren't for show, have them do a sweep of the colony. These guys have killed several of your citizens, and appear to be covering up a much larger conspiracy."

"I understand, Commander. I'll have Vraks and his men lock down the city and begin security sweeps. Good luck."

…

Rather than wait for Tetros to link up with her, Alanna redirected the entire squad, including Forde, to Treeya's house. It was a small place, with barely any of the luxuries expected of an Asari's home—a kitchen, a couch, and an office filled with a hodgepodge of various computer terminals. There was a small shrine to Athame, which surprised Alanna for a moment, until she realized that someone who had been through something as traumatic as abduction by the Collectors might turn to religion.

"Okay, let's go over what we know," Alanna said. "First, the Outsiders are definitely responsible for the tremors. We just don't know how, or why. Second, Cerberus is also present on Fehl Prime, but we don't know if they're working with the Outsiders, taking advantage of their presence, or this is just a big coincidence."

"Until recently, I'd say it would be weird for the Outsiders to work with anyone," Korim said. "Then they teamed up with Gatatog, so who knows anymore."

"Fortunately, I have an idea on how we can locate the source of the tremors," Treeya announced. "Each sensor node was only able to pick up tremors in their designated sectors, but if we combine the data from all three, we can piece them together." She paused. "Perhaps your Geth friend might be faster at this than I am."

"You're probably right." Alanna patted said Geth on the shoulder. "You're up, Mantle."

"One moment, please." Mantle's head tilted back and forth; it reminded Alanna of a puppy seeing something unfamiliar, and she almost laughed. "Data collation complete. Dr. Nuwani's observations are accurate."

"So, you know where the tremors are coming from?" Haley asked.

"Affirmative. They are originating from a cave system, here." Mantle displayed the location on his omni-tool.

"I know that location," Treeya said. "I went there with a team of Alliance Marines to recover a Prothean artifact."

"Would that have any significance for why the Outsiders would do something there?" Alanna asked.

Treeya thought about it. "Well, there are a number of fault lines converging around those caves…"

"Well, if the Outsiders want to screw up a planet, triggering a massive seismic event would do the trick." Alanna sighed. "Okay, new plan. Forde is going to drop us off at the cave entrance, and we'll investigate; as soon as we're on the ground, Forde, I want you to reestablish contact with the Sicily. I don't care if you have to go back into space to tell EDI in person, but we need to let the Alliance know what's happening. If we can't stop this in time, the entire colony could be lost. Doctor, I want you to go with him; your experience with the Collector attack might help get the urgency across."

Treeya winced, but nodded. "Very well, Commander. Good luck."

…

Fortunately, the trip to the caves only lasted a few minutes via shuttle, but even as the doors opened, Alanna could see that something was wrong. The entrance to the caves should have been mossy stone; instead, it was an archway of now-familiar alien metal.

"That… was not here the last time I visited," Treeya observed.

"When was that?" Alanna asked.

"Two weeks ago."

"Then the Outsiders are moving faster than when they were on the last planet they screwed over." Alanna pulled out her Extinction. "Doc, I need you out of here, ASAP. If we can, we'll reestablish contact from the ground, but the priority is alerting the Alliance."

"Stay safe, all of you," Treeya said as the doors closed, and the shuttle lifted off.

Korim sighed. "Just so we're clear, we're heading into a network of tunnels that have been modified by hyper-advanced aliens, our long-range comms are down, there's a possibility that this entire planet will get shaken apart… and to top it all off, Cerberus is causing a problem."

Tetros nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Cool, just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything."

Alanna shrugged. "Well, I did find the body of Jacob Taylor's nephew, but that may have just been a coincidence."

Korim twitched. "Just once, I'd like a simple mission. Go somewhere, deal with problem, go home. Is that too much to ask?"

"Well, yeah," Haley said, as if it were obvious. "You're on a team with a Shepard."

"How is this my fault?" Alanna asked as they entered the caves.

"Think about everything your parents went through," Haley reminded her. "Now, remember every single mission we've been on together. Face it, Commander, someone in your family line pissed off a witch or something, because you're cursed."

Alanna sighed. "I want to argue that, but you might be right. Come on, let's just get this over with."

The tunnel walls were coated in a thin layer of Outsider alloy; a scan from Alanna showed that the metal was being constantly adjusted on a molecular level by some kind of frequency that she didn't recognize. She might not have completely understood how it worked—though her engineer brain already had a few ideas—but she immediately understood why. The Outsiders had built this base as the source of severe tremors, so they were using their technology to counteract the effects those tremors would have on their own weapon.

"Kinda figured there'd be guards," Haley muttered. "This place is dead."

"I don't think they need any," Tetros said. "If this is a test of some planet-killing tech, they've already either got a functioning weapon, or at least a good test."

"Great."

"Hold up," Alanna hissed. "I'm picking up movement, thirty meters ahead."

"You were saying something about this place being dead?" Korim teased quietly.

Haley glared at him. "I know, now shut up."

The squad cautiously approached, and found that the tunnel opened into a large chamber. A trio of inverted pyramidal machines, each the size of the Sicily, hovered a few feet above the ground, glowing with orange energy along each angle. Hovering around the wider part of each machine were a few of the smaller Outsider robots that Alanna had encountered on Tuchanka—and had designated as 'Ablatives', for their habit of taking hits meant for other targets.

"What are they doing?" Nok asked, his deep voice a low rumble as he tried to be quiet.

"Not sure," Alanna admitted as she watched the small machines. "They kind of remind me of my support drones. If the Outsiders' tech can constantly modify the structural makeup of the walls, maybe they're doing the same to the bigger machines."

"We cannot be certain of why," Mantle pointed out.

As if to answer him, one of the pyramids slowly descended, until its tip barely touched the ground. Once it did, Alanna felt the tectonic tremor, and her omni-tool made her aware of another development.

"Okay, looks like those pyramids send out a frequency that triggers seismic events through micro-fissures in the planet's crust," she read. "The walls lining the tunnels are reacting in an opposite frequency, to balance it out. Clever bastards."

"Any idea how to make it all stop?" Haley asked. "Those pyramids are way too big for us to take out with the firepower we have."

Alanna's eyes darted between the Ablatives and her omni-tool. "The little guys are using signals to direct the tremors. I think we can stop this whole thing, or at least slow it down, if we take them out. Haley, Tetros, snipe a few to get their attention; I'll take the rest of the squad and flank them."

"Copy that, Commander," Haley said, and drew her sniper rifle. "Just give the word."

Alanna led Nok, Korim and Mantle closer to the pyramids. They tried to be quiet, but Nok was making that difficult; more than once, his big feet scraped against the ground, and someone else would glare at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, after the third time.

"We're in position," Alanna said quietly. "Haley, light 'em up."

Shots rang out, and several Ablatives were destroyed. As soon as the others flew over to engage the snipers, Alanna's team got a good angle, and opened fire. Pieces of Outsider tech rained down; after a few seconds of heavy fire, the only sound left was the humming of the pyramids.

"Okay, area's clear!" Alanna approached the closest pyramid and scanned it with her omni-tool. "Guys, I think I have an idea on how to destroy these things."

"Does it include very large explosives?" Korim asked. "Because unless we've all got much deeper pockets than I thought, I don't think we brought enough to blow 'em up."

"No, I think I found a quieter method." Alanna glanced up and noticed the looks she was getting. "What? I can be subtle when I want to be."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Tetros muttered.

"Then believe it." Alanna gestured to the pyramid. "These things are generating the frequency that's causing the tremors, and the material lining the cavern is keeping this entire area from collapsing. I think I can send a signal into the pyramids that will emit a frequency that aligns with the walls. I don't care how tough Outsider tech is, it sure as hell won't survive a mountain's worth of rock collapsing on top of it."

Haley stared at her. "That's what you consider subtle!?"

"Yes?" Alanna flinched the incredulous looks. "There aren't any explosions!"

"Can anyone come up with any better ideas? Please?" When no one answered Tetros, he sighed. "I guess we're going with your plan. Just don't bury us alive; that's not how I want to go."

"Don't worry, I can trigger it remotely," Alanna assured them all. "I just need to tweak the frequency here, first. Give me a minute, tops, and then we can get out of here."

Once Alanna adjusted the pyramids' function, she and the rest of the squad ran like hell the way they'd come. As soon as they were outside, she triggered the signal; a moment later, the entire tunnel system collapsed in on itself, and a giant sinkhole formed.

"I am no longer detecting active Outsider signals," Mantle reported. "The operation has succeeded."

"See?" Alanna put her hands on her hips. "We're fine."

Before anyone could comment, their comms erupted with multiple incoming transmissions.

"—verywhere! Where the hell did they come fr—"

"—an anyone hear me? If I don't get more medi-gel in the next five minutes, we're going to start losing limbs!"

"—ast wing is breached! I repeat, the east wing is breached! We are moving the governor, and require sup—"

"Commander Shepard, respond. What is your status?"

Alanna adjusted her comms to filter out all but the single familiar voice. "EDI, what's going on?"

"I am uncertain, Commander. The colony is reporting heavy attacks from multiple forces. It is unclear if the attackers are Cerberus, Outsiders, or the Black Star Security units."

"Well, well, the mercs might have betrayed us." Alanna clenched her teeth for a moment. "Please tell me you've contacted the Alliance."

"I am doing so as we speak. I am quite able to multitask." Even with this development, Alanna could hear the humor in EDI's voice. "General Vega had some Alliance ships on standby, but they will not be here for several hours."

"Dammit. Okay, we'll head to the colony and see what we can do." Alanna smiled grimly when she saw her shuttle pulling in. "Keep the Sicily quiet, EDI; we may need you to give someone a nasty surprise."

"Acknowledged, Commander."

The shuttle's doors opened, and Treeya poked her head out. "Commander, what's going on?"

"At the moment?" Alanna gently moved her aside so that they could all get in. "Absolute chaos."

For those of you who might not know or remember, Treeya Nuwani is a canon character. She was in the Paragon Lost movie, and one of three survivors of the Collector attack on Fehl Prime. James was another. I imagine that Treeya suffered far worse PTSD than James, since she wasn't a trained soldier, and became very paranoid that the next people to colonize Fehl Prime would be attacked again. Unfortunately, she was right.

Also, here's the sudden appearance (and death) of Jacob's nephew. That was something I completely made up for this. Considering how messed up Jacob's dad was, I wouldn't have been surprised if he did some terrible things if he managed to escape prison. Absolute monster.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy. Maybe, when I finish the entire trilogy, I'll have a sci-fi universe as popular as Mass Effect! Fingers crossed!

If you want to support me in other ways, you can donate to my P-atreon account (link in my profile). Donations are even more important right now, as I've had to quit one of my jobs because it was stressful to the point of being unhealthy, and I've lost some hours for one of my other jobs. The only upside is that I have more time to write, but having less money brings its own kinds of stress.

Speaking of patrons, I'd like to thank the following awesome people:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Aaron Meek, Matthias Matanovic, Red Bard, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye, Kristen Tyler

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, Crazyman844, CherryGoesBoom

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Alanna desperately fights for Fehl Prime, and the Shadow Broker moves to counter a conspiracy with one of her own.

I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite Muffin on the Citadel.