Chapter 2

Cerberus Station Titan

She stepped forward into the circular room and immediately knew what she was looking at. The entire room on the station had been devoted to the construction of a quantum entanglement communicator. It was an extremely useful, but expensive form of communication among the stars. It allowed instant and unfiltered access to anyone on the other side of the comm regardless of location. When she first took command of the Normandy, she highly appreciated the addition to their comm room.

But as she stepped into the center of the circle, she realized that she wasn't talking to some mock VI of whoever this Illusive Man was. She was going to be talking to the real thing. The circle spun once before scanning her entire body. She hardly moved as the scanners moved up over her face and finished their process. In seconds, an illusory wall began to form around the circle, making it look as if she were standing in a wide-open room.

At the far end of the room, a transparent wall gave view to an enormous orange star, its surface looking close enough to melt the tiles off of whatever station this was. That likely meant it was a display rather than an actual window. She spied around the room, ignoring the man sitting in front of her momentarily.

"Greetings, Shepard. You'll find that this entire room is devoid of anything that could give you a clue to my location, so please don't waste your time," said the man who lounged back in his chair.

Jane's eyes narrowed as she locked onto him. He was middle-aged with brown, slicked-back hair on top and grey over the ears making him look like a sinister Mister Fantastic. Despite his position, he wore a relatively mundane and affordable suit, but in contrast he had a glass of alcohol in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He looked like a mishmash of every human vice. Finally, his eyes weren't normal. He'd had some kind of alteration done that caused them to reflect light, giving an eerie glow to them. She wasn't sure if this was an intimidation tactic for those who worked under him, or if they had some technical function. But she put it away in her mind.

"I hear I have you to thank for bringing me back," she said as she crossed her arms defiantly.

"In a manner of speaking. I supplied the resources, but Miranda and the medical team from Lazarus Station did most of the work. Then again…" he began as he ashed his cigarette in a nearby tray. "What they did wouldn't have been possible without your staggering will to live."

She cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. "What does that mean?"

"If we were to go by medical technicality, you never actually died. Somehow you were exposed to the vacuum of space and slammed to Alchera's surface at entry speeds, but even then, you refused to die," he said as he gave her a small grin. "The sheer, unbreakable willpower of a human. You were alive, and Alchera's atmosphere froze you into a cryo-state that allowed us to keep your ever living mind from passing."

Ignoring all of the fluff he added on as an obvious attempt to flatter her, she struck straight at the point. "Why did you bring me back?" she asked as she pointed a finger at him aggressively. "I should have been on Cerberus' most wanted list, a target for every agent you have in every system in the galaxy. So why would you want to bring someone whose goal was to crush you back to life?"

"Times have changed, Shepard," he said as he swirled the amber liquid around in his glass, the perfectly spherical ice cube inside clinking against the edges. "There was indeed a time when I'd have loved nothing more than to track you down and rip your body apart down to the very DNA to see what made you so special," he said, finally taking a drink before speaking in his low tone once more. "But we no longer have the luxury of time to fight between ourselves."

"Coming from an organization like you, that sounds serious," she remarked solemnly.

He nodded and locked his eerie blue eyes on her. "The reapers are coming…"

Her eyes widened at the claim, her defensive manner dropping immediately. "What the hell do you mean they're coming?"

"Two years ago, you fought against an agent who was working on our side of the Citadel Relay to free the reapers from their imprisonment in dark space," he said, no doubt knowing from Miranda's report that her memory on Saren was intact. "He was one of many, but what made him so dangerous was his position and resources. He could go anywhere, do anything. He had networks of suppliers and information dealers to get him exactly what he needed. But most of those twisted by Sovereign's words don't have any of that, making their desire to free the reapers impossible."

"Until now…" she responded with a sigh. "Who is it?"

"We aren't sure yet. I have my own theories, but I don't intend to say anything until I have confirmation. What we do know is that they have resources and technology that even Saren didn't have," he said as he pulled out a small controller and brought up a small video screen in front of her. "Whoever took out the Normandy had technology far beyond what we are capable. And their attack on you was simply a message to the rest of us." She watched in horror as a video recorder from one of the escape pods showed the Normandy blazing against the blackness of space before finally detonating and sending shrapnel scattering into Alchera's atmosphere.

Turning away from the video, she eyed him again. "So… where do I come into this?"

The Illusive Man chuckled dryly as he tucked the remote away again. "The Alliance are too near sighted," he said, getting a cocked eyebrow from her. "They want to plaster your image across every recruitment poster, make movies about you to inspire people to join, and give you honorary awards post-mortem. But none of them realize what we lost." He locked eyes with her and pointed directly at her. "You are special, Shepard. Not by fate or destiny, or some kind of chosen one caricature. But by your actions. Your personal gravitational force pulled together a team that was capable of fighting off a reaper ship and destroying it before it could cause harm. The Alliance would call that luck, but I know better. You are exactly what we need to stop the reapers."

She snorted as she crossed her arms again. "So, you brought me back so that I could continue to fight the reapers. But what's the catch? You wouldn't bring me back unless there was some form of benefit to you as well. Do you expect me to pardon everything you've done in return for this new chance at life?"

He shook his head solemnly. "What happened in the past is in the past. If after we help you take care of the reaper threat, you still think that I'm worth chasing after, then you're free to try. But I do not expect anything from you except to work your magic once more and help us end this machine threat once and for all."

She stared at him for a long moment before sighing. "Fine. As long as we have an understanding that I do not trust you, I do not like you, and I will not affiliate with you. You are an information source and nothing more."

"We'll hash out the details of our relationship later. Just know that for the moment, you and I have the same goal, just different methods," he said as he smashed the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray nearby. "And despite our differences, I'm willing to help you in our goal of eradicating the reaper threat."

Putting the information to the side, Shepard continued. "So, you brought me back to help fight the reapers. What exactly are they doing that made you think spending billions on me would be worth it?"

He sighed heavily and looked off to the side. "We're at war, Shepard. The Alliance doesn't believe it, and the Council, despite all their effort to show otherwise, are too impotent to stop what's coming." Finally, he stood from his chair and walked up to her. "While you were being rebuilt, entire human colonies have vanished. I believe these disappearances are a preemptive attack by someone working for the reapers."

"What gives you that idea?" she asked curiously.

"If you look at the data, it has all the marks of reaper harvesting that you were informed about on Ilos. Only the colonists were taken, no fighting, no resistance, just vanishing. If this were the work of pirates or raiders from the Terminus, we would have seen the signs. But this, this is different," he said as he locked his eyes onto her.

"And for what you spent rebuilding me, you could have trained an army to stand guard on every colony for the next ten years," she said firmly.

"I didn't just have you resurrected because of your abilities or actions, Shepard," he said, closing his eyes momentarily. "You are more than just a spectre, you're more than just a good leader. You're a symbol for all of humanity. You alone represent the potential of humans. And I don't know if reapers feel fear, but you are their destroyer, the one who fought and killed a reaper. Your very presence could beget a new era for humanity the likes of which would leave the other species in awe."

She sighed to herself as she reached up and scratched her head. "Great. First, I get the responsibility of representing humanity in the Spectres, and now I'm a symbol for all of humanity. No pressure…" she grumbled. "So, how do I go about this? I don't have my team anymore, I don't have a ship, and I don't have a target. How exactly am I supposed to solve this problem?"

Smiling, the Illusive Man sat down in his chair once more. "As for the target, I'll be working on that from my end. A nearby colony went dark during your escape from the Lazarus Station which may give us clues as to who is doing this. Any time I get any relevant data, you'll be the first to know." He lit another cigarette and inhaled deeply from it, blowing smoke into the dark room, his eyes piercing the cloudy haze and looking directly at her. "As for your team, I have people compiling dossiers on some of the best minds and bodies in the galaxy. We'll get you your team."

"What about my old team? Ash and Liara survived the Normandy's destruction, and the others weren't apart of it at all," she asked as she stepped forward.

"Your turian fire team made it off the Normandy, but their group was split apart and reassigned due to the spirit of the team breaking with the destruction of your ship. They'll be hard to get ahold of. As for the asari, she is working as an information broker on Illium. I've made her the offer, but she's refusing for the moment, so I can't say for sure whether we can count on her. And as for Operations Chief Williams…" he said as he let out another cloud of smoke. "She went back to the Alliance and began working private missions for Councilor Udina and Captain Anderson. Even I haven't been able to access her mission records. She's officially off the grid."

"And the others?" asked Shepard, wondering how Ash was doing working for a man she wanted to strangle prior to the attack on the Citadel.

"Vakarian, like Williams, dropped off the grid. He worked for C-Sec for a bit, and then he went completely dark. We wanted to keep tabs on your team members for this very reason, however they have made it extremely hard to do so," he said before taking a swig from his alcohol. "Tali'Zorah is working as a commander for the Migrant Fleet. Whether or not she would leave the Fleet to rejoin you is something you'll have to discuss with her. And as for Wrex, he is currently the leader of his people on Tuchanka. I'd find it hard to believe that he'd undo all the work he did to go shooting around the galaxy with you again despite your close relationship."

Shepard sighed to herself and nodded. "Alright then. Has this colony already been investigated?"

"I've intercepted automated communications to the Alliance to make sure they aren't aware of what happened. It wouldn't have saved them and would have only served to have the Alliance taint the scene of the attack before we can investigate," he said as he passed the information over to her. "The colony's name is Freedom's Progress. I'd like you, Miranda, and Jacob to investigate the colony and find out anything you can. This is our first, and maybe only chance to discover who is taking the colonists."

"Yeah… about Miranda and Jacob. You're aware I don't trust them, correct?" said Shepard firmly.

"I understand your hesitation with Jacob. He's an unknown element and you and I both are all about knowing things. However, he's a good soldier and he seems to have a bit of a hero fascination with you. He's always been honest with me about some of the methods we use in a very similar way that you are, minus the blowing Cerberus facilities off the map. And as for Miranda," he said as he blew another puff of smoke. "There's few people you should trust more than her. She spent the last two years of her life putting you back together and keeping you alive. She risked her own life to get you off Lazarus Station and to safety. I can hardly think of someone who I would trust more with my life, politics aside."

"I'll still be watching them. Even if they do cover my back, I won't be trusting anyone keeping tabs on me for your sake," she said firmly.

He simply shrugged. "Do as you will, Shepard. As long as we get results and stop the reapers, I can hardly complain," he said as he took another puff.

"I'll do what needs to be done to keep the galaxy safe. If you ever try to put me in a position where it threatens the safety of the galaxy, consider our cooperation at an end," she said with authority.

"I have no plans to put you in any such position. But be aware that you may not be able to save everyone, Shepard. When fighting the reapers, there isn't going to be a storybook ending. Sacrifices have to be made in order to gain true freedom from a threat this big," he said with a stern glare.

"Sacrifices may be required, but they'll not be offered. I'm not like you, willing to throw lives away for answers," she said as she placed her weight on her back foot. "I'm in charge here, and you're one of my resources. As long as you're useful and passive, I'll keep that bridge. But don't think for a second that I won't burn it the second another admiral goes missing."

He nodded before waving his arm back towards the room she entered. "Threat assessed and understood. But before you go burning bridges, let's see what information Freedom's Progress holds. Hopefully we'll get there soon enough to find something of use."

Finally, she turned and headed back out of the communications room. She hated it. She despised having been brought back by them, she despised the idea of owing them anything, and she despised that she may have to rely on them for this investigation. But despite her repulsion, she knew that if colonists truly were disappearing as he said, then he was right about the reapers' return.

Cerberus Shuttle – Terminus Systems

Shepard sat in the shuttle staring out the window as they flew from the station once more and headed for the nearest relay. Turning her eyes away from the window, she looked at her compatriots, both geared up in that same armor with the same Cerberus logo on it. The fact was, she didn't trust either of them. They might have her back in a fight, but at any point if given the order, they could turn on her and reverse the effects of the Lazarus Project.

"I'm glad the Illusive Man convinced you to join us, Shepard," said Jacob with a charming smile.

She eyed him curiously. She was fairly good at reading people, and she read in him something she had seen before in her former quarian crew mate. The Illusive Man told her straight up that Jacob had a kind of hero attraction to her. She was wondering, if it indeed existed, if this hero worship would override his loyalty to Cerberus. She knew that she would never allow them to continue once her mission here was taken care of. The things they did in the past didn't suddenly get wiped clean just because they decided to throw resources into a good cause. And she found herself wondering if she would end up gunning the young man down at some point when she finally went after the Illusive Man himself.

"I want to find out why colonists are missing and figure out if this has to do with the reapers. I don't trust Cerberus, and I don't trust either of you," she said with a stern stare.

His smile vanished slightly. She wondered if her words stung him somehow, but it really didn't matter. Miranda spoke up for them both. "A fair judgement given your history with the organization. However, we aren't here to hinder you, Shepard. We want to find out what happened to these colonists just as much as you do, and we're here to help you do that."

"Either way, I'm in charge once our feet hit the ground. And I don't want any insubordination when I give orders. When we're in the field, you're my team, not Cerberus' team. Do I make myself clear?" she asked as her gaze shifted to Miranda. Despite her work on the Lazarus Project, Shepard could sense an aura of conflict in the woman. She brought Shepard back to life, but she was also very wary of the former spectre.

"Those were our orders," said the woman with a small smile that never reached her eyes.

"I know it doesn't mean much, but I've got your back Shepard. I've seen your work and I'm not here to second guess you. You say jump, I skip the 'how high' and jump," said Jacob, his grin returning to his face.

Snorting to herself, Shepard nodded to them. For now, they would follow her orders. But she knew better than to get comfortable around people so closely associated with Cerberus. She'd have to see if she could steer them away from the Illusive Man's dark ministrations later. Right now, she had a mystery to solve.

Freedom's Progress – Terminus Systems

As soon as she stepped off the shuttle, she could feel a sense of dread. As was typical with human colonies, they were lit up as if the entire town was alive, even at night. But there was no bustle, there were no murmurs of workers going to the bar or children playing in the streets. It was just silent, chilling her to the core as she looked at what should have been a thriving colony.

Miranda and Jacob exited the vehicle behind her and immediately their weapons were up and ready. She felt the weight of the new armor they had made her press against her body. It should have come to no surprise that they would have measured her when she was being brought back to life and created a suit of armor that fit her measurements perfectly. Gripping her helmet, she slid it onto her head and sealed it shut before reaching down and pulling her pistol from her side.

Moving forward, she noted that this was indeed a mining colony. Walls of cube-shaped rock jutted up from around her, meaning that the workers here were tasked with chiseling the rocks away. Her mind snapped back to her first mission the Normandy which also took place in a quarry like this. She once again saw Jenkins jump for joy after they had defeated a swarm of drones, only to have him taken out by a long range weapon. She remembered closing his eyes. Suddenly, she snapped out of her stupor as the door to a prefab home opened in front of her.

Stepping inside, she began to feel the same dread as she saw dinner sitting on a table, untouched by whoever made it. Jacob apparently felt the same thing. "Looks like they just got up and left before eating dinner. No sign of struggle," he said through the comm to keep any potential outsiders from hearing.

She nodded, then moved through the structure and out the other side where they were met with a giant gate that led into the residential section of the colony itself. Miranda looked around the same as her, her tone implying that she felt the same sense of eeriness. "Strange. No bodies, no structural damage, no signs of battle. It's as if they didn't fight back at all."

Stepping up to the gate, she opened it using the controls. But as soon as she did, gunfire hailed down on all three of them. The team rolled into cover behind the walkways of the prefab catwalk that they had leading further into the colony. "We've got security mechs," shouted Shepard as she prepared her pistol.

"That's unusual. The security systems were always disabled at previous colonies," said Miranda as her biotics flared.

"Miranda, you grab them. Jacob, we'll take them out once they're disabled," she ordered, getting a nod from both of them. Miranda immediately stood up and lashed out with her biotics, sending the mechs slowly drifting into the air. Both Shepard and Jacob stood up afterwards and put the machines down with return fire that blasted their heads clean off.

Immediately, more of the walking drones stepped out onto a catwalk above and began shooting as well. Despite not having fought in almost two years, Shepard felt her body shift and move into gear once more. She felt as if her body were a new suit that she'd have to get used to again, but one that she felt comfortable in. This showed in her form as she turned and blasted most of the mechs to pieces before they could move a step further. Jacob and Miranda both sent the remaining mechs smashing into the side of the rocky quarry with their biotics, cleaning up the opposition completely.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Shepard held up her pistol and stared at it with her brows furrowed. Suddenly, Jacob spoke up behind her. "Those mechs should have recognized us as human. Why were they trying to kill us?"

"Someone set them to shoot on sight. It looks like we aren't the only ones here, so keep your eyes open," said Miranda as she stepped up to Shepard. "Anything wrong, Shepard?"

"No," said the woman as she lowered her pistol again and began moving forward. "Keep your guns low in case there are civilians left but be ready to fire in case we run into more hostiles," she ordered as she climbed the stairs to the next building that would allow them further into the colony.

They cleared the building and stepped outside once more, when Shepard raised her pistol. There were mechs alright, but they were already disabled. She stepped up to their bodies and knelt down, turning one's head and examining it thoroughly. "What is it?" asked Jacob curiously as he watched over her.

"Someone fried their internal circuitry. Bullet holes aside, we also have someone skilled in cyber warfare," she said as she stood again. "I hope your suits are insulated." She looked up at the building above with its stairway leading up to the door and saw more mechs strewn about the stairs. Slashing her hand next to her throat, she gave the signal for silence and pointed to the structure itself. Readying her weapon, they moved as a squad up the stairs as quietly as possible and reached the door.

As she expected, as soon as the door opened, weapons were fired from inside and into the night air. She stepped up next to the open door with her weapon up. Opening her omni-tool, she stepped into the door and flashed it towards them, causing their heatsinks to overload and fly from their weapons. Their weapons could still fire but would overheat before they had a chance to get past her shields.

But she stopped in her tracks as she stared at the ones now cursing in a strange language and reaching for new sinks. Raising her hand and weapon towards them, she barked an order. "Don't move!" she shouted through her speaker as she rushed forward and aimed at them, hoping to intimidate them into putting their weapons down.

Her assessment was correct. These weren't mechs, they were quarians. The two of them dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender, but never lost their heated glares. "Or what, Cerberus scum? You'll kill us?"

Jacob and Miranda followed her into the room and held their weapons up as well, causing the quarians to back further against the wall. But out of nowhere another quarian stepped in and stood in front of her, glaring at her with eyes so fierce she would be surprised if they burned right through her armor. "That's enough!" she shouted as she raised her own hands. "I'm offering a parlay, there's no reason this should turn to violence."

Shepard's eyes widened as she heard that familiar chirping voice come from the suited figure. Looking her up and down, she noticed that the suit was purple, but different as well. Instead of her hood ending where her mask began, she now wore a hood completely over her head. Her suit, normally a ragtag of pieces that conveniently matched in color was now coordinated neatly and fit her form as snugly as a sock.

Looking back up into the quarian's eyes, Shepard spoke. "Tali?"

The quarian leader's eyes widened slightly and she took a step back. "Yes? I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Weapons down," ordered Shepard as she put her own away and reached up to her helmet. Releasing the seals, she pulled it off, exposing her longer flaming red hair and freckled face once more to the quarian.

Tali stared at her for a long moment as Jacob and Miranda lowered their weapons. It was as if she was analyzing her, similar to how Shepard had analyzed Tali's suit. But after a long moment of silence, a choked sob escaped her helmet. "Sh-Shepard?"

Shepard nodded with a smile as she stepped forward, standing directly in front of the young quarian. "It's me Tali."

"But… you died. H-How could you…?" asked the young woman as she took a step back. "How do I know it's really you? How do I know Cerberus didn't just…"

Shepard cut her off. "You were one of my best friends. We served on the Normandy together, and you helped me with Val'Eda," said the woman, causing the quarian to freeze up.

One of the other quarians looked from Tali to Shepard curiously. "Val'Eda? The ancestor?"

Tali waved him off and shook her head. "It was a program I helped her create," said the young woman as she turned back to Shepard. "It… it really is you?"

"Like I said, Tali. You'll always be a part of my family," said Shepard, causing Tali to let out a huge sigh of anxiety.

"Keelah, how did you survive?" she asked as she looked up, then looked at the two on either side of her. "And why are you with Cerberus?"

"I'm not with Cerberus," she growled, knowing this was going to become a habit. "It's a long story. Perhaps we could hash it out after we figure out what's going on here," said the woman as she stepped forward and placed her hands on the quarian's shoulders. "What are you all doing here? This is a human colony."

One of the other quarians stepped forward, asking in his raspy voice, "Shepard? Your old captain?"

Tali turned to him and nodded. "She is… erm… was the captain of the Normandy, which I served on during my pilgrimage," she said before turning to Shepard again. "As for what we're doing here, we were in the area when we received a distress signal from one of our own here in this colony."

Shepard's eyebrow cocked curiously. "A quarian on a human colony?"

She nodded. "My… stories when I returned to the fleet inspired many new quarians to take their pilgrimage among humans. Veetor'Nara nar Rayya is very quiet and didn't like the crowds of the Migrant Fleet. He liked the idea of helping a small colony, so he chose to take his pilgrimage here. They were kind enough to accept him, as they had few engineers as talented as he was," she said with a heavy sigh. "We got his distress signal and came to find him only to find the entire colony empty and every security mech on high alert and ready to kill."

"Why are you giving Cerberus agents this information?" asked the male quarian who had lowered his hands by this point.

But Tali's head snapped towards him again, her eyes locked in a glare. "Shepard, who is in charge of you three?"

Smirking at the domineering figure that the quarian woman was showing, Shepard responded, "Miranda, Jacob, who is in charge?"

Shepard could practically hear Miranda roll her eyes inside her helmet as they both responded. "You are."

Finally, Tali turned herself towards the quarian fully. "Hear that, Prazza? I did not give Cerberus anything. I gave Spectre Shepard information on our mission because she could help us," she said as she took a step closer to him. "And if you question me one more time while we're on the ground, when we get back to the Migrant Fleet I'll have them pull your stripes off so fast you'll need suit repairs afterwards. Now shut up," she growled angrily before turning back to Shepard. "You can help us?"

Radiating with pride at the new leader that Tali had been reborn into, Shepard nodded eagerly. "We'd be happy to help. But before that, do you know anything about what happened here?"

The quarian shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. We arrived less than an hour ago and the colony was exactly as it is now. We traced his omni-tool and followed him in the shuttle, but he ran into a warehouse on the far side of the colony. It was then that the security mechs turned on us and began shooting at our shuttle. We had to steer away as the YMIR class mechs near the warehouse nearly took us out."

Nodding, Shepard reached up and slid her helmet back onto her head before sealing it once more. "Well, with our help you should be able to get to him. Perhaps he can tell us what happened here."

Security Warehouse – Freedom's Progress – Terminus Systems

After flying the shuttles as close as they could, both the quarians and the humans exited at their entry points into the courtyard that led to the warehouse. Shepard stepped up to the doorway leading into the open space and put her back against the door as she watched the large, unusual mechs marching back and forth in front of the small building. There were two of them, making their usual flanking maneuvers less likely to work. They had worked out a plan where Shepard and her team would take the brunt of the attack, drawing their attention while the quarians would try to disable them from behind. Which meant that they would have to hold off under extreme bullet and rocket fire.

Getting the go signal from Tali, Shepard stepped out from her cover and sprinted towards a cargo lifting truck nearby while firing at the giant machines. Her rounds pinged off their armor, and the glowing figure eight-shaped lights in their head changed from green to red. Both of the armored units turned and began firing at her, peppering the truck with rounds hard enough to move it sideways.

She ducked down as Jacob and Miranda both swung out of cover and unleashed biotic attacks. If Miranda's words were true, mechs were now programmed to adjust for fire in the air should they go airborne, and their armor had been upgrade to withstand biotic clashing from all but the most powerful biotic attacks. Reaching up, she activated her comm. "Miranda, I should be in range to use my launcher now. Can you two take some of the heat for a few moments?"

"Affirmative, Shepard," came the operative's call. The woman stood up and sent another warp towards the machines while Jacob fired relentlessly at the other, causing them both to shift their gaze.

"Prazza, now's the time. Target any weak points and take them down," came Tali's call over the radio. Shepard pulled her grenade launcher free and pulled the safety off. But before she jumped out of cover, Tali snapped over the comm again. "Prazza! What are you doing! Get back into cover!" Shepard peeked around the truck and saw a small number of the quarian squad move out of cover and head to the warehouse, using the cover that her team had given them. "Shepard! Prazza's team is trying to get in the security station and get Veetor out before you can talk to him!"

"Should have figured they'd betray us," growled Miranda as she shook her head from behind the mineral rich crates.

Ignoring the snide comment, Shepard's eyes widened as one of the mechs turned just enough that its peripheral caught the intruders who were trying to hack the security door. She jumped out and immediately aimed at the monstrous machine seconds too late as it fired a rocket directly at their position. Shepard growled and unleashed two of the projectiles, sending them soaring across the field and slamming into the mech's back.

"Prazza's team has been compromised! The rest of you holding off to not draw attention, now is the time! Help Shepard out!" snapped the quarian commander as she too popped up from a balcony and sent a sabotaging attack that stunned one of the mechs momentarily. Shepard's grenades stuck to the machine before detonating and sending both of its arms twisting backwards. It let out a loud screech before falling face first into the ground, its lights now out.

As the other quarians still in cover began to assist in taking out the heavy mech, Shepard saw the remains of the amateur infiltration team that tried to sneak around the mechs. She cringed as she saw Prazza, his green suit torn open and his blood soaking the ground with his face mask shattered. Another with him was simply leaning back against the door, staring at the stump where their arm used to be as if in total shock at what had just happened. Finally, the last was hyperventilating as their mask had shattered as well, their other wounds forgotten as they tried to crawl away.

"We need to get them off the field!" shouted Shepard as she stepped out from her cover and launched her final explosive at the remaining mech. It raised its arm, where the small device attached and exploded. The detonation ripped the arm free but left the rest of it unaffected. "Dammit…" she growled as she hid behind her cover once more, the mech now aiming its rapid-fire gun towards her.

As the truck lurched sideways again, she had another memory snap into her mind. They were fighting the geth on Noveria. They had taken her and the team by surprise and nearly blew their vehicle to shreds. Tali had saved them with a risky maneuver while already being injured. Shepard suddenly gasped, and then turned to the others.

"I need you all to hold it off for a few seconds! Keep it off me!" she ordered as she reached up and opened the door to the truck. The others nodded and continued to pelt the behemoth of a machine with a combination of biotic attacks and bullets. Tali's team did the same with cyber-attacks, confusing the mech and causing it to shift its fire back and forth.

Hopping into the seat, the former spectre started the vehicle using the switch underneath the steering compartment. Despite all the bullet holes, it roared to life, and she swung the wheel to the right, turning it towards the machine. "Shepard, what are you-" asked Tali, but before she had a chance to finish, the woman hit the accelerator and slammed the vehicle at high speed directly into the machine.

The loading truck stopped rapidly, causing the former spectre to fly forward and crashed through the windshield. "Shepard!" shouted Jacob as she flew and skidded across the ground of the courtyard. Finally, she stopped face down, her armor scored with scratches from the rough landing. Looking up, she saw that the mech was still moving, but most of the truck's front face was wedged into its arm, making it unmovable. It could only fire and could no longer aim.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she got to her knees as Miranda and Jacob moved out of cover to get to her. Tali jumped down from her elevated spot and immediately moved up behind the mech, prying off the anti-hacking protective plating on its circuitry and frying its system for good. Once she was finished, Tali turned to Shepard and shook her head. "Stealing my moves now?"

"Call it inspired tactics," said Shepard with a chuckle as her squad helped her to her feet. "Did it hurt that bad when you did it?"

"I had a safety harness on… so no, probably not," said Tali as her own squad moved to tend to the injured. "They'll take time to heal. Go ahead and get what you need from Veetor."

Nodding, Shepard turned towards the warehouse and hacked into the door, opening it from the controls within and stepped inside with Tali in tow. But as they stepped inside the small compartment, Shepard felt her heart begin to sink as she heard the young quarian babbling to himself. Ridding herself of her battle face, she frowned slightly before reaching up and pulling her helmet off once more. "Veetor?" she asked as she stepped up behind him.

"No… no Veetor… not here. Swarms can't find. Monster coming. Have to hide," he said in a rapid and panicked clip.

She had seen many times before; trauma. Tali said the young man had struggled in the crowded masses of the Migrant Fleet. And now to have those closest to him on his pilgrimage taken must have scarred him deeply. "Veetor, the monsters are gone. You're safe now," she said as she stepped up next to him. She made it a point not to touch him as quarians highly valued their personal space. But still he rambled on as he tried to redirect the more drones.

Miranda stepped up and shook her head. "Great. The only witness to what could have happened and he's a babbling idiot."

Shepard wasn't sure if it was her reputation, or her taking her bosses orders too seriously. But when she turned her glare on the operative, the woman immediately shrunk, even physically stepping back from her withering glare. Once Miranda was silent, Shepard turned to the young quarian, then activated her omni-tool. Within seconds, every terminal in the small security cabin turned dark. Finally, Veetor stopped.

The engineer turned in his seat and looked up at the three of them, then he stared straight at Shepard. "You-You're human. Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?"

Shepard raised her hand and held her fingers together in the quarian finger tap. Veetor stared at her momentarily before shyly raising his hand and touching his three fingers to her five. "Who didn't find us? Who did this?"

Retracting his hand, he began to fidget in a similar fashion to how Tali did back on the early days of the Normandy. "The… the monsters. The swarms. They took everyone."

Jacob stepped forward and took the initiative of asking him directly. "Why didn't the colonists fight back, Veetor?"

The young quarian shook his head as if pained by his own thoughts. "You don't know… you didn't see. But I see everything." Turning to the consoles she had just shut down, the quarian raised his own omni-tool and undid her shutdown command. She was slightly surprised at how quickly he countered her work. The screens flashed on, and a security video began to play.

She looked up and watched as the security footage showed people walking by the security shed on their way to whatever their daily life held. For a long moment, the video showed the everyday commute for these colonists. They looked content and happy in their small slice of the galaxy. But that quickly changed. The same colonists who had just past the camera began sprinting back the way they came.

Shepard leaned closer, her eyes narrowing as the grainy footage showed a massive swarm of creatures that billowed forth like a cloud of death. One of the slower colonists got caught in it and they went as rigid as a statue, falling to the ground with their hands clutching their chest as if they had been frozen in time. She continued to watch as the swarm spread out, nearly making the video unwatchable. Reaching up, Veetor hit a button on his omni-tool and the video speed forward, then stopped again. The cloud had withdrawn, leaving people paralyzed in the streets, unable to even scream.

Then, her eyes widened and she took a step back as she saw a tall figure walk onto the screen. It was carapaced from its head down to the claws it walked on. It held its hand out over a floating pod that looked somewhat like a casket, and then began loading the colonists into them one by one. Each new pod filled was lifted and carried off screen by the numerous other of its kind. But it continued to walk around and stare at the people it had frozen, as if reveling in their terror.

"You've gotta be kidding me," growled Shepard as she gripped her fist and nearly punched the wall.

"You know who they are?" asked Jacob curiously as he eyed the former spectre.

Instead, Miranda stepped forward, a none-too-pleased look on her face as well. "The Collectors."

It appeared the gravity of the situation finally hit Jacob as his own eyes widened as well. "Collectors? From beyond the Omega 4 Relay?"

"It appears they're using some kind of weapon to disable the entire colony all at once," said Shepard, her fist still clenched.

Veetor spoke up again as he rewound the video back to the dark cloud that swallowed the colonists. "The seeker swarms. Nobody can hide, nobody can escape. They are everywhere. And then the monsters take you away," he said, his voice cracking as his anxiety grew.

Shepard turned to the other two. "They have a swarm of… what? Bugs? Nanobots?"

Miranda nodded and turned to Veetor. "Did they try to come after you?"

The young quarian nodded gently. "They sting Veetor, but it did nothing. Punctured suit, needed sealant and antibiotics."

"But it didn't freeze him like the others," said Jacob curiously as he turned to Shepard. "I guess this somewhat confirms the Illusive Man's theory that they're after humans specifically."

"Only partially. There are too many factors we don't understand yet," said Miranda as she turned to Veetor. Suddenly she jumped back in surprise as he held up what looked like a handful of dead insects.

"Only a few followed me in. They stung me, I killed them with an electrical shock," he said as he continued to hold them out. Immediately, Jacob pulled out sealing containers and locked their small forms inside to keep them from degrading.

"This is more than we could have hoped for," said the young soldier with a smile as he put away the specimens.

Shepard reached up and scratched her head as she processed the new information. "Why are they targeting humans? It can't just be some grudge against me for Sovereign's death."

Jacob shook his head. "When I think of an artificial intelligence acting as the galactic arbiter over organic species, a petty revenge scheme like that does not come to mind."

Finally, Miranda stepped up and cut into the conversation. "We can have this conversation later. We should really be getting this information back to the Illusive Man so he can formulate some countermeasure against them. Grab the quarian and let's head for the shuttle."

Shepard's eyebrow cocked as she turned to look at the operative. It was then that she saw Tali had finally entered the building as well. Rushing in, the quarian commander faced off against Miranda, the two face to face. "Veetor is not going anywhere with you! He needs medical attention and therapy, not some Cerberus interrogation room!" she snapped angrily.

Miranda showed no hesitation, however, and struck back. "Given your team's betrayal of us, and their current dire situation outside, I'd say you no longer have a say in the matter," she said back coldly as her blue eyes conceding not even an inch of authority.

Jacob tried to step forward and calm the two. "He won't be harmed, we just need to ask him a few more questions," said the man, only getting death glared by both of the woman.

Shepard stepped forward, her slow chuckling getting everyone's attention. Tali's fiery demeanor cooled, and Miranda once again had that uncomfortable expression on her face through her visor. It confused Shepard at first, but she now knew what it meant. Putting Miranda's reaction aside, she stepped up to all three of them as Veetor slinked over to Tali, making his decision on the matter obvious. "Please don't let them take me…"

Shepard looked at him, then looked up to Tali, her eyes still as luminous as ever. Though they currently had an expression of nervous anticipation in them. "Shepard, you can't let them have him."

"I have no say in the matter," said Shepard calmly as she looked towards Jacob and Miranda. For the slightest of moments, Miranda seemed to have a satisfied expression on her face. But it vanished as the next words came from her mouth. "You're a soldier," she said pointing to Jacob. "You're an operative," she said as she pointed to Miranda. Then she turned to Tali, whose face was borderline horrified. "And I'm a former Spectre. I no longer hold that rank, which means the highest military authority present is Commander Tali'Zorah. So, I don't outrank you."

Tali placed a hand over her quickly beating heart and glared at Shepard. "You could be less dramatic next time," she growled, but Shepard could hear the amusement in her tone. "I'm glad to see that you're still in charge, even if the company is less than desirable." She didn't hide her glare as it was aimed at the other two. Turning around, she gently removed Veetor's omni-tool and handed it to Shepard. "Here, take this for your mission. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on my old Normandy address. In the meantime…" she said as she began to lift Veetor up by his arm and support him beneath his shoulder. "It's… good to have you back, Shepard. The galaxy really needs you."

"You can't just let him leave!" snapped Miranda as she stepped towards Shepard and gripped Shepard's shoulder.

Shepard slowly turned to her and gave her a cold stare. "Stand down, Operative Lawson. That's an order."

Miranda released her shoulder, then clenched her hands into fists. Despite her hands, her face showed no emotion whatsoever. "Fine," was all she said before turning and heading back to the shuttle.

Shepard looked back towards the quarians leaving. Some being carried on stretchers, some limping, and some already in a bag. She let out a sigh as her heart reached out for Tali. Jenkins wasn't as insubordinate as Prazza was, but it still hurt no less to lose someone. She found herself wondering if this was the first person she had lost. And she hoped with all her heart it'd be the last.

CODEX ENTRIES

Prefab | Technology | Engineering
Short for prefabrication, these are light, cheap, and easy to make building materials that can be constructed into a functioning building within a matter of hours. They're used as temporary homes and bases during the colonization of new worlds.

Finger Tap | Culture | Quarians
The quarian finger tap is a greeting where two quarians hold up their hands and touch the tips of their three fingers together briefly. Sometimes colloquially called the 'shyfive' by other species, the minimal amount of touching is a quintessential part of quarian culture. Other species such as humans and asari who have more digits than quarians do can mimic the greeting by simply holding some of their fingers together as if they were one digit.