A/N - Hello! And Welcome!

What made Mass Effect so enjoyable (IMO) was the character development, and my biggest gripe, even with ME2, was that it was a quarter of the story I thought it could/should have been. This whole exercise actually started as a series of extended conversations with Liara, and then a reimaging of the Dantius Towers Incident, the Ilos Landing, the Battle of the Shroud, some of what happened between ME1 and ME2, and so on. There's lots already written, but I'm releasing and rewriting it chronologically so it flows better...and because I don't know how long it will ultimately be. At the time of initial release (i.e., when I first started publishing chapters here,) I had 150,000 words invested. (2022 update: over 700,000 words)

As far as possible, I will stay with canon, even using bits of the comics and tie-in stories acknowledged or owned by BiowarEA.

(Soapbox: Yes, it was a flaming Hindenburg of an ending. Don't even get me started. I've pushed nine Shepards from ME1 to ME3 and only played past Cronos station once. Blecch. But give 'em some slack. They're trying to sell a product, not make us happy with the story. I assume they decided to kill off Our Hero because they can't actually tell what the world would be like after such a thing took place and make us care about it, let alone make it turn out sixteen significantly different ways. Besides, who would there be to fight with that would be as daunting as the reapers? And then how are they supposed to sell more ME stories?

1) It's HARD to think credibly about the future. Consider some examples of people trying to imagine what the world will be like even thirty years from now. Remember Back to the Future? Or Blade Runner? The world of 1985 may have been bizarre to someone from 1955, but 2017 would be nearly incomprehensible.

2) Imagine trying to write a good story about the world of 2017 to someone living in 1955, and it becomes easier to see how different we become over time. And we're changing faster. But that change can be alienating to those who grew up in "another world"...they have little understanding and no investment in such a story. How could they?)

This story is also laced with acronyms and terminology that may be unfamiliar; turning a game into a world is complex, and involves some explaining and occasional rewriting. Sometimes a word, phrase, or acronym will be explained in context, but there's a glossary at the end of each chapter with the terms that appear in it (even if they've been used before,) because putting the unpacked term in the middle of the story not only messed with dialogue continuity, but story flow.

In terms of content rating, the bulk of the storytelling here is only meant to be a fun and harmless expansion of the ME world. Most language is only as bad as Star Wars ever got, though I'll try to be aware when it's not and change each chapter's rating accordingly. (True to form, Zaeed and Jack will be curling the wallpaper.) Realize we're dealing with soldiers here; anyone who's spent time in the military will appreciate that only Radio professionals are more casually profane. However, firefights are detailed and graphic...but this is Mass Effect, so it never gets that bad.

Also, love scenes are explicit, though I hope not overtly gratuitous. (I distinguish "love scenes" from "sex scenes.") And there aren't just three. Ultimately, this is about functional relationships; people who genuinely care about each other...as friends, fellow soldiers, coworkers, and yes, lovers. As a complete story, however, this would be rated MA. In fact, as a movie, it would probably be rated NC-17.

This chapter is rated T for language; it all takes place aboard Normandy before the landing on Eden Prime. And yes, anyone who's served aboard a navy ship will tell you it's never THE Normandy. Consider that your name is never preceded by "the," and neither is a ship's! (If someone in story uses it, I leave it in because I'm staying true to their ignorance of this fact.)

* Inbound *

A countdown appeared on Shepard's Augmented Reality Overlay (ARO):

3 … 2 … 1 …

The blackness ended almost immediately, though the first impression was of being inside an alligator's mouth as it opened. There was also a very mechanical kachalunk-hissss.

Memories rushed back into his awareness: The week of finalizing the new ship in drydock, a mission of which only the Captain had all the details, a crew of people the Captain had known over his career.

"Almost seems like a reunion show…but I'm not the Guest of Honor," Kaidan had chuckled during a bull session.

The Sleep Pod continued to tilt up, which was slowly putting pressure on the soles of his feet. He reached down to his hip pockets and checked for the QuickVert helmet and gloves. Years serving on starships had made it a habit; you never, ever want to be without the ability to get into a pressurized biosuit.

His ARO winked a message from his Event Scheduler:

Arm and equip for Combat Airdrop:
Eden Prime
60 minutes

The first and last lines were expected, the second was new information. He stepped out of the tilted sleep pod, tapping a large holographic key to which his ARO had added, Reset for next user. The pod replied with an electronic chirp, and hummed back into place.

Some expensive tech here for some pretty trivial details, he thought. Still aware he was on the clock, he turned and walked aft down the short hall, which opened into the Main Mess.

Two people were sitting at one of the tables, talking and eating. Standing to his right as he stepped down from the sleep pods was a youngish, dark-haired man who was very focused on the small workbench with some technical-looking equipment.

"Kaidan…?"

At the sound of his name, the man looked up. "Hey, Commander." He tilted his head. "Are you okay? You look a little…wobbly."

Shepard tried to act nonchalant, realized it would be a mistake; Kaidan was highly aware of how people were feeling. "I…feel like I slept upside-down and backwards."

Alenko glanced toward the Mess. "Ouch. You want something to eat?"

Shepard paused thoughtfully. "You know…I've noticed that eating seems to be a solution you resort to a lot."

Kaidan shrugged as the door to the Captain's cabin hissed open. "Hey, it's my super-power."

"Eating doesn't count as a super-power," Shepard deadpanned.

Captain David Anderson rounded the corner from his stateroom, stepping into the conversation. "It does for him." The Captain glanced meaningfully toward the biotic. "Have you seen this guy pound it down?"

Kaidan grinned, but did not look up from his bench. "Don't knock it 'til you try it."

Anderson stepped up behind Alenko and looked over his shoulder. "How you doing, Leftenant? Ready for the drop?"

"I'm DIYing an upgrade from a type IV to a type V, and while the ship's recompiling my amp software, I've added some new tweaks. It should give me better duration with the same energy draw."

Anderson nodded approvingly, "That's my boy, working until the last possible second. I've always admired that." He looked at the men in turn. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to tell you more about the mission, but I think you're going to like it. You'll look back on it years from now and remember it proudly."

"An hour out, and you still can't tell us anything yet?" Shepard shook his head. "I just woke up with my VI telling me that we're landing on Eden Prime. Why the big secret?"

"It's…like Christmas," Anderson half-smiled. "Don't worry. It's good." He looked across the room at Shepard's locker, and seemed briefly to be somewhere else. His smile faded, and he turned away, batting Shepard playfully across the shoulder with a fist, "Especially for you." He continued aft to the elevator, disappeared around the corner.

They watched him go. "I wonder what that was about," Kaidan puzzled. "He seemed kind of melancholy." He shrugged and touched a finger to the bridge of his nose, gesturing for his ARO to switch back to its AFM view. The orange-yellow holographic display appeared, obscuring his eyes.

"We'll know in an hour." Shepard leaned over Kaidan's techbench, watching him work on the exposed innards of the omnitool. "How close are you to finished?"

"I'm Ready-15 right now. But integration between tech and biotics can be very user-specific, so I'm using some of the ship's DCE to normalize it." He tapped his head with a free hand without looking up. "Normandy sure has a lot of computing power. It's nice."

Shepard nodded approvingly. "Sure is. Well, if I can help, let me know."

"Thanks…this one's all me. There's still a significant installed L2 user base, and we swap new ideas when we get them." Alenko nodded his head at the flextronic device, "I'll let the new hardware mod air-cure while I have the time." He was silent for a moment, then added, "And I was thinking about what to eat before we land."

Shepard shook his head as he stepped over to his locker, carefully kicked the release near the floor. The locker sprang open. "You ever consider riching your mix?" He touched a control on the QuickVert fatigues and started pulling the pieces off, hanging them on the hooks inside the locker. "If you add some protein or glucose, you wouldn't have to eat as often."

Kaidan shrugged but kept working. "I would if I ever stopped enjoying recreational eating. Though I do carry a handful of boosters in the field."

"All right, as soon as I'm geared up, I'm going to make sure…um…Jenkins is on the ball. Know where he is?"

"Not at the moment." Kaidan shook his head. "That kid…I swear he is so new, he leaves a trail of stryopeaunts."

"I keep thinking we'll find out why the Captain asked for him." Shepard had struggled into the undersuit layer, and was attaching the powered armor sections to his arms and legs in turn. He stopped suddenly and snapped his fingers. He pointed at Kaidan, "Eden Prime. Jenkins is from Eden Prime."

Kaidan looked up in realization, the ARO fading to transparency as he did. "How about that?" He nodded thoughtfully.

"And why we only have a drop squad of three. We must be meeting someone who knows the actual mission. Unless it's that turian." Fitting pieces of the armor on his legs, Shepard considered their turian visitor.

"He's a Council Spectre, isn't he?"

"That's what I heard. Kind of keeps to himself, though…" Holding the torso and abdomen assembly in place with both hands, Shepard kicked the locker trigger again. The door closed, holding the SmartPak and weapons; Shepard gripped his own torso plate and backed up to the locker. With a satisfying series of distinctive clicks and servo whines, the SmartPak clamped itself onto the rest of the armor. Shepard bent over, flexed his arms, and twisted his torso, coaxing the armor to snug itself into place with the range of motion he expected to use.

"It's kind of unusual for a turian. Normally, they're very team-oriented…well, sort of. It's all about the Honor of the Platoon, or the Division." Status lights appeared on Shepard's ARO, naming subsystems as they powered on and confirmed operational status. An array of green indicators filled the bottom of his visual field, and faded away.

Shepard continued, "But Nihlus hasn't said three words to me." He shrugged dramatically, "Me, the XO. Unless he's just a passenger…I feel like he's hiding something deliberately."

Kaidan tried to emulate Shepard's delivery, "'We'll know in an hour.'"

Shepard smiled with resignation. "That we will," he said, "But I'd rather be as ready as—"

"Lieutenant Alenko to the bridge," announced the Boatswain VI, "Lieutenant Alenko to the bridge, please."

"Break a leg," Shepard waved a thumb forward.

Rising from his workbench, Kaidan shook his head. "Still not funny." He turned and jogged aft, disappeared up the port ladder.

Shepard walked over to the workbench and leaned over Alenko's omnitool, which was connected to a power supply and a service VI. The display over the GPC indicated that it was about 90% of the way through a test. Touching his left thumb to the second phalange of his left ring finger, illuminating his own omnitool gauntlet; he flipped through groups of tiles and selected one, pinched it, and touched the workbench.

Test in Progress: Power Consumption versus Duration with and without upgrade, read the display.

He spun the control past more options and function groups, displayed the interaction between biotic amp control and tech functionality.

Apparently the systems had some overlap, but not enough for operation of one to reduce the power of the other.

The voice of the Flight Officer sounded over the PA system, breaking Shepard from his reverie, "The Arcturus prime relay in range, initiating transmission sequence."

Another voice replied, "We are connected."

"Calculating transit mass and destination," said a third.

A text message appeared on Shepard's ARO: CPT Anderson: Can you be on the bridge for this jump? Nihlus is up there.

Gotta make us look like pros to the turian, Shepard thought. He touched his left thumb to his middle finger tip, gesturing for a text message, "Captain: Aye Aye, sir." He turned and ran up the port ladder, taking the steps two at a time.

"Relay is hot, acquiring approach vector." Joker's voice continued over the shipwide, "All stations secure for transit."

The door scanned Shepard and let him on the CIC.

"Board is green." said the engineer's voice.

Joker's voice again: "Approach run has begun…we are in the pipe, five by five." Shepard jogged forward, exchanging glances with Pressley and dodging a rating, slowed to a walk as he reached the top of the steps. As he approached the cockpit, noting the window covers were closed, he stopped, unconsciously squinting in preparation for the jump. "Hitting the relay in three…two…one…"

There was a flash of black.

Joker's postjump announcement was an anchor to reality. "Thrusters…check. Navigation…check. Internal emissions sink…engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500K."

The turian nodded once. "1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." He turned and strode purposefully away.

When the alien was out of earshot, Joker muttered, "I hate that guy."

Kaidan looked quizzically at the pilot from the weapons station. "Nihlus gave you a compliment…so…you hate him."

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom, that's 'good.' I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of that guy's brain." He raised his finger and thumb toward Kaidan, held only a millimeter apart. "That's not 'good,' that's frickincredible." He put his hand back on the armrest. "Besides, Spectres are trouble; I don't like having him aboard. Call me paranoid."

Kaidan shrugged good-naturedly, "Okay, 'You're paranoid.' The Council helped fund the construction of this ship, they've paid for the privilege of sending someone along to watch out for their investment."

"Yup. That is the official story. Only an idiot believes the official story."

Shepard nodded to himself. "I think he's got you there, LT. You don't send Spectres on shakedown flights." He tapped Joker's headrest. "But unless they give us a reason to distrust or dislike them, you are being paranoid. And unpleasant."

"What…? I didn't say any of that stuff to his face. And how about the fact that nobody's told us anything about this mission yet? I think that's an excellent reason not to trust 'em. We don't go anywhere unless there's a good reason, and that goes double for Spectres. So what are we doin—"

"Joker," the Captain's voice interrupted from the board, "Gimme the sitrep."

The pilot leaned forward just a bit, spoke fractionally louder, "Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged per your order. Cruising speed for Eden Prime, I put our ETA at…thirty-one minutes to AFG. Everything looks solid."

"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Trident before we hit ground."

"Aye aye, sir." Joker touched two fingers to his left ear. "Gladdy? Get us talking to Trident. Captain wants them knowing what's happening without asking."

"Connecting to network now," answered the communications officer.

Joker nodded, glanced aft again. "Uh…better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

The Captain sounded like he was talking through his teeth, "Not unless he's figured out how to get behind the drive core without crawling outside the ship."

"Oh...uh...then I suppose you're safe for the moment."

"In a relative sense. Did Shepard ever get there?"

Shepard leaned toward the pickup, "Right here, sir."

"Commander, after I get done here, I want you to meet me in the Comm room. I need to brief you for the mission."

"I'll be there, sir." The comm chirped as the channel closed. "The skipper sounds upset," Shepard turned to go. "I hope nothing's gone wrong."

"He always sounds like that when I'm talking to him," Joker said.

Kaidan made a face as if thinking hard. "I can't imagine why."

Shepard headed aft. He could hear the Chief Navigator and Chief Engineer on the 'comm. "I just saw him…he marched past like he was on a mission."

Adams' voice sounded from the console, slightly distorted, "He's a Spectre; they're always on a mission."

"And we're getting dragged right along with him."

Shepard could hear Adams' smiling reassurance, "Relax. Charlie, you're gonna give yourself an ulcer."

Pressly shook his head, "Had it. Fixed it. Alliance paid for it."

"Heh…you, too? Aw…don't worry. Captain won't let anything bad happen."

The Navigator seemed to become aware of Shepard's presence. "I hope you're right. Nav out." He waved a finger through the holographic toggle, and turned to face Shepard. He saluted, "Congratulations, Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the Captain?"

"I am indeed." Shepard returned the salute. "It sounds like you don't trust our turian guest?"

"I'm just having a chat with Adams down in engineering. But you have to admit there's something odd about this mission. The whole crew feels it."

"Think HQ is holding out on us?" He shrugged, tried to act unconcerned. "We may not Need To Know. Not the way I'd do it...but it's not my command. You don't have a problem with the Captain, do you?"

"Not a chance. Served with him for years. He's one of the most decorated soldiers in the ASF. I'll bet if he melted down all his medals and citations, he could build a life-sized statue of himself." Pressly squinted thoughtfully. "But you don't send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. And he's taking this way too seriously; something big is going down."

Shepard pressed him, "Think the shakedown thing is just a cover?"

Arms folded, Pressly nodded his agreement. "Figure it out: If all we're supposed to do is test out the drive and stealth systems, why send a Spectre…a turian Spectre…on a human ship? These are the guys that leave double-digit body counts everywhere they show up." He scowled. "I'm not a fan of being left in the dark. Especially with someone like that."

"You don't like Nihlus?"

Pressly shrugged. "I don't like turians on principle. My father fought in the First Contact War. Lost a lot of friends when the turians hit us." He waved a hand dismissively, "I know; Nihlus wasn't even born. That's why I say 'on principle.'"

"Individuals are accountable for their own actions," Shepard agreed. "I know what you mean, though. Have you seen the equipment he brought?"

"No," Pressly said thoughtfully, "And neither have you…unless you've developed magical X-ray vision. Those crates are still sealed."

"Yeah," Shepard looked down at himself. "And it makes me feel like I'm underdressed." He shrugged. "If he's not gonna bust that stuff out now, when did he plan to?" He waved it off, "Captain said to prep for airdrop, Full Armor. I'm on my way to see him now."

"Maybe you'll find out what we're really doing."

"Then just stay alert. You might find out. Or maybe I will."

Pressly looked back at the CIC console. "Well, good luck, Commander."

"Thanks." Shepard continued aft.

As he approached the Command dais, he heard Corporal Richard Jenkins, the relatively inexperienced marine, and Doctor Karin Chakwas, the ship's Chief Flight Surgeon, talking. Richard was his usual bubbly self, "…I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It's just not the sort of place Spectres visit. It's a sleepy little colony world. There's nothing there but a shining example of an Alliance-backed settlement. Something here stinks."

Chakwas shook her head, squinting. "That's crazy. The Captain is in charge here. He doesn't take orders from Council Spectres."

Richard hunched his shoulders, as though hiding behind a large collar, and held up his hands as if grasping, "It could be some kind of covert operation; Captain might be under orders to deliver the turian somewhere and pick him up when he calls. Even he may not know what the mission is about. And this Nihlus guy is antimatter. I heard he took down an entire enemy platoon all by himself!"

"Corporal, it is my professional opinion that you have watched entirely too many episodes of Updater."

Richard smiled as Shepard approached, "What do you think, Commander? We're not going to be stuck on Eden Prime too long, are we? I'm itching for some real action."

Chakwas folded her arms, "I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal. Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

"And me having to write letters home to new widows and grieving families," Shepard said grimly. "You need to stay calm, Corporal. Expert stays calm, even under fire. And we are not under fire."

"Sorry, sir. But the waiting is killing me. I've never been on a mission with a Spectre on board. Heck, hardly anyone has!"

Shepard settled back on his heels a bit, and breathed. "Just treat this with the professionalism and decorum that you want to have on your record, and you'll do fine."

"Easy for you to say. You're the hero of the Blitz. Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"

Shepard locked eyes with the Corporal. "You think that was my first mission? This isn't about scoring points in a game, Corporal. You're about to put your life on the line because you believe there's a worthwhile reason to do so. But you are putting the lives of everyone in the squad in danger if you think this is about being a hero."

"Don't worry, sir. I'm not going to screw this up!" He glanced at Chakwas, and saluted Shepard, looking as focused and serious as he could.

Shepard tried to put it in perspective. "We have a job to do. Don't think of it as not doing your worst…think of how you can do your best." He returned Jenkin's salute with a reassuring smile, "You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you."

"And what a way to start it," Jenkins grinned at Chakwas again, "A mission with a Spectre. What an adventure!"

Shepard's smile fell; he took a breath, held it for a moment. He muttered, "So many painful lessons to learn…"

Suddenly, he looked down at Jenkins' collar and squinted as if he saw something on it.

Jenkins looked down at his tunic as Shepard reached out his left finger and thumb as if to pick some stray bit of debris off the younger man's clothes, and then very carefully – almost surgically – gathered most of Jenkins' shirt in a fist, gently pressed him against the nearest bulkhead, full eye contact.

In the two or three seconds it had taken to do this, he mustered every memory of those he's lost, and the pain – never gone, just ignored – of their deaths. Laura, Rex, Kirk, Kathy, Harriet, Roland, Phoebe, Dean, Ray, Artie, Hal, Bill, Ruth…tears welled in his eyes, reddening them…Ernie, Robert, Steve, Dorothy, Toshi, Chere, Fitz, Esther, Dan…

Jenkins' eyes grew large as he found himself with no escape. But his expression changed subtly as he made eye contact: Shepard was in pain.

Shepard spoke, his voice a raspy whisper, "Jenkins, listen really closely, because I'm only gonna say this about a billion times." He struggled to keep his voice from cracking, paused for effect. "The team. Always. Comes. First. No One…gets left behind. If aborting a mission will save your life, I'll do it. Every. Damn. Time." He brought his right hand up, index finger extended and knifelike. "And so will you. Any questions?"

Jenkins' mouth opened, but no words came out.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shepard could see Chakwas looking like she was not believing what she was seeing. The XO was right on the edge of assaulting a fellow soldier.

He continued, enunciating each word carefully, "The loss of a life is something that cannot be undone. We do so as a last resort. If someone dies, we have failed. Maybe it was provoked. Maybe they even started it. But the reason my squad always includes a medic is because killing is not what we are there to do. We save everyone. Even the bad guys, if we can. Don't shoot to kill…if you injure an enemy, you take him out of the fight, plus the guy who has to pull him to safety and treat his injury." As he spoke, he had slowly pushed himself away from Jenkins and now had him at arm's length. "Any questions?"

"S…sir?"

"Corporal, do you have any questions about this SOP that I expect you to follow while you're posted to Normandy?"

"Sir, No, sir!"

"Outstanding, Corporal." Shepard released Jenkins, straightening out the younger man's uniform, took a breath, let it out. "However, I realize that you might not think of everything at this particular moment, so if you think of a question later, or if you'd like to talk through a scenario, please message me. I'll do what I can to help you be a better soldier."

He took a step back. "It's important that you know not just what we're doing, but why we're doing it. Then you're better equipped to function on your own, even if I'm not available to tell you what happens next. It also builds trust, and that's something we cannot succeed without." Shepard snapped a salute, which Jenkins answered instantly. "Carry on."

As Shepard stalked around the corner, he bared his teeth at his own behavior. Unprofessional, he thought. But new guys always think it won't happen to them, he argued with himself. There is nothing glorious in death.

As he stepped over to the Comm Room, he heard Chakwas say, "I hope you didn't join the Alliance so you could kill bug-eyed monsters, Corporal…"

The door hissed open, and Shepard saw only the Spectre. Armored in black and red, and studying the holographic display at the back of the room, Nihlus glanced back and said, "Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

Shepard eased into the room as the door closed behind him. "Sure…about what?"

The turian seemed taller than when they'd met on the bridge. "I'm interested in this world we're going to…Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"Never seen it myself. But Jenkins was born there." He waved a thumb over his shoulder, "Want me to call him in? He could probably bore you to tears about it."

"That's not necessary; I'm more interested to hear what you know about it." The turian turned back to the data scrolling past on the main display.

Shepard thought back to meals with Jenkins when he got to hear about such things. When he put a hand to his chin in thought – which signaled his VI – it responded by running up a quick list of his discussion topics with Jenkins and superimposed it into his visual field. "The system had been located about a hundred years ago by space telescopes, so there was a lot known about it before the Alliance even existed. The star is about half the age of Sol, and the planet with our colony is what they call a "princess" planet...it's not only in the 'goldilocks zone,' it's got more oxygen, richer soil, and a population just under four million."

"Right now, it's just a Level Two colony, largely funded by Colonial Admin, but self-sufficient since 2178. I understand the native microflora and fauna were similar enough to Earth's that they have brought in lots of plants and animals from home. So far, almost all of them have integrated into the local ecology successfully. They're using locally-designed fcRNA to mod the rest.

"They actually grow a lot of their food instead of mining and printing it. Not just plants, but animals. Bison, mammoth, palorchies. Because of the 30% atmospheric oxygen, I understand somebody's experimenting with dinosaurs, too…some of Earth's paleo-mega-fauna. At least part of the reason they failed in their early attempts on Earth was because once they grew to maturity, they asphyxiated. All of which makes for an unusually self-sufficient colony. Jenkins seems to think that eating 'real steak' is enough of a luxury they'll be able to build an economy around it in the coming years. I'm not a huge fan of the stuff, myself…so I don't know. But it is an easy stop when bouncing through the relays if it turns out he's right, and I would actually try a 'Brontoburger' if I had the chance.

"Every colonist family has a 1200 millimeter extrusion fabber and H-K omnitools even though they're not first-on-the-grounders. I'm a heavy user of omnitech, and I think that's a publicity stunt…Hahne-Kedar doesn't make omnitools. I think they're just rebranding last year's entry-level Aldrin, but it seems to be going over well with the colonists. They have realtime PVR, local and interstellar exabit.

"Of course, they've probably got some culturespin that's unique, but for the purposes of this operation – what I know of it – I don't think that's anything to worry about." Shepard took another step toward the display. "Were you listening for something in particular? My info on it is skewed because of my source." He smiled, but was careful not to show teeth.

Nihlus didn't look away from the holograph. "I was considering the larger picture. It's become something of a symbol for your people. Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?"

Is this guy actually trying to provoke me? Shepard wondered. He paused to consider his answer; how to remind this Council agent that the Alliance would not be bullied or intimidated. "As safe as Elysium," he folded his arms across his chest. If this turian Spectre knew anything about Elysium, he would surely know that Shepard was largely responsible for it still being there. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Your people are newcomers to the galactic stage, Shepard. It can be very dangerous out here. Are your people really ready for this?"

"For what…to leave our planetary cradle? We already have. But we're not going to be ready if you're deliberately keeping us in the dark." Shepard paused, took a breath. "Sorry, it's been a few months since I was part of a turian operation. You're probably painting the grimmest picture and expecting we'll just stoically 'die for duty.'" He shook his head, "Humans aren't like that, and they don't like being treated like that."

The door hissed open again. Neither of them took his eyes off the other to see who it was.

Anderson saw his XO's body language, and decided to stop the discussion before it actually got unpleasant. "Sorry I'm late," Anderson was shaking his head, "Galley's having power supply outages, and the engineers would rather play with their new engines."

"Captain," Shepard turned and smiled faintly.

Anderson sighed. "I think it's time we told the Commander what's really going on."

"This is far more than a simple shakedown run," Nihlus sounded almost conspiratorial, "We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems."

Anderson added, "It's a fairly lightweight way to check them out under actual operating conditions. The Alliance can review the municipal system records after we leave and see if we actually left any kind of signature."

Shepard nodded. "Hm. Safer than testing in combat in case something fails, and not as insulting to the Alliance if the operators don't detect us." He turned and studied the alien. "But why are you here?"

Anderson answered, "A geological survey team found something when they were mapping strata. Something technological. They were discreet enough to contact the Alliance first, instead of Colonial Admin, and we sent another team to recover it. It's the biggest piece of intact Prothean technology since the find on Mars in '48."

Shepard paused to think about the implications. "Protheans? That's incredible. I remember when the Mars finds started to become public. Among other things, it jumped our technology forward…" he shook his head, "Two hundred years. Is this bigger or smaller? And why does it need to be a secret?"

Anderson was suddenly intense, "Must be smaller, or they wouldn't have sent Normandy. As for why it's a secret…well…Nihlus, would you care to elaborate? I must confess I'm also curious. And we're close enough to Eden Prime that – as Captain of this boat – I think I'm about done not knowing."

The turian nodded. "I can't tell you everything…there isn't time, and some of it is classified for other reasons. But I can tell you that I personally have intel about at least one other organization that wants this artifact very much. Worse, I have reason to believe that even the Spectres may have been compromised…to the extent that the existence of this artifact is now known to this other organization. Thus it is important that we be both quiet and quick."

Shepard exchanged a glance with Anderson. "Can you tell us who? Or what sort of interaction we should expect?"

Nihlus' field of vision allowed him to read the display on the inside of his collar; it listed organizations with which these two humans were known to have any affiliation. He thought, Your people may not even know about the Collectors yet, and you might be part of Cerberus yourself.

"If we're discreet, we won't have any," the turian said. "If they know about it, they will likely try to take it by force. That's why you are an excellent choice: If this turns into a firefight, I will be able to see your skills for myself. If it gets really bad, I will be able to back you up. Ideally, it won't come to that. But I've brought equipment that will change the game if there is a significant disparity. I won't let the mission fail."

Anderson faced the holodisplay, hands behind his back, but spoke to Shepard, "This comes right from the top. The Alliance wants this thing safe, and the Council has offered to give our scientists access to labs that can help…in exchange for any data we recover." He turned to Shepard. "But Nihlus isn't just here for the beacon. He's also here to evaluate you…as a Spectre candidate."

Shepard blinked. Then he blinked again, squinted at Anderson, and pointed at himself. "Spectre candidate? Me?"

Anderson nodded. "The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. They want more pull with the Council, and the Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far we've come."

Nihlus stepped closer, "You held off an enemy assault single-handed during the Blitz. That showed not only noteworthy courage and skill, but resourcefulness. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

This is no time to remind people that I didn't do it alone, Shepard thought. "You did? Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?"

"Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We can see what you offer to the galaxy, and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can get the job done."

"That's almost reassuring." Shepard turned back to Captain Anderson. "I assume this is good for the Alliance?"

Anderson nodded sagely. "Earth needs this. We're counting on you."

"No pressure, though," Shepard grinned slightly; Anderson looked away sheepishly. "There a reason you didn't tell me about this, sir?"

Anderson looked at him again, "Wasn't my call. I endorsed you in the selection process, but I didn't know if you got it until the Spectre Office contacted me and made arrangements to accommodate Agent Nihlus here."

Nihlus nodded, "I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together."

Anderson pointed to the holographic map. "You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the Beacon and get it onto the ship quickly and quietly. Nihlus will accompany you and observe the mission from a remote location."

Shepard turned to Nihlus, "Are you expecting trouble?"

"I always expect trouble," the turian answered.

Shepard scowled. "That's no answer. Do you have relevant intel on this situation or location that you think will be important to mission success?"

Nihlus tipped its head forward slightly, curled one claw into a fist. Shepard recalled – and the ARO indicated – that this was a turian gesture of approval and encouragement. "Good. You won't be bullied into a blunder." The turian clasped its claws behind its waist. "In fact, no. I don't have any more directly-related info. But this is the sort of mission a Spectre would be involved with, so it's a good opportunity for me to see how you work. Will you have underlings, or are you going to do this solo?"

Shepard paused. "I don't run a mission alone if I think I can do it better or safer as part of a team. There's even a human proverb to that effect. 'Two can prevail against one...'"

"…and a three-fold cord is not easily broken," the turian finished, "Very good." He turned to the Captain. "I think he'll do."

Anderson turned. "You ready to go, Commander?"

Shepard nodded confidently at his skipper. "I'll make it happen, Cap'n."

Gladstone's voice interrupted over the PA, "Captain, we've got a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You need to see this."

"Pipe it down here, Gladdy."

The holographic display lit, the image hissing and crackling, tilting wildly as the camera did. A soldier in white armor was firing at something offscreen left. Whoever it was ran toward the camera and shouted, "Get down!" batting the camera aside as if the operator were paparazzi. The sound of nearby gunfire was continuous.

The video stuttered and jumped; another soldier in camo greens was trying to get a signal out. His hand was to his ear as he said, "We are under attack, taking heavy casualties, I repeat, heavy casualt—"

The signal switched to another source, and then back.

"We can't…" —static— "We need evac!" More gunfire and chaos, the image filled with noise.

Another voice, off-camera, "They came outta nowhere, we—" There was a brief burst of noise, almost a musical note, modulating and flanging as the image thrashed wildly—

black

"That's it, the signal just cut out," the Comms Officer reported, "It's not being jammed, it's just gone."

Anderson stepped up to the console in front of the display, "Did you record it?"

Gladstone's voice answered, "Comms are buffered, sir. Linking to the CommCon now."

Anderson worked the controls, scrubbing the image back and forth until he found what he wanted: A black shape, looking disturbingly like a hand, surrounded by smoke and lightning. The image offered no sense of scale or distance.

He stepped back and studied it. "Now what the hell's that?"

Nihlus said nothing; both mandibles twitched once.

What does that mean? Shepard wondered. His ARO offered nothing informative.

Anderson was not pleased. "Outstanding," he glared at Nihlus. "Joker. How long until we hit the Drop Zone?"

"Nineteen minutes, present speed, sir."

"Make flank speed; get us there as fast as you safely can."

"Flank speed, aye, sir!" All three felt the compensators bend the shipboard gravity as Joker accelerated.

Anderson turned to Shepard. "Commander, this mission just got a lot hotter. It may now be the most important mission in your career. Something or someone is landing what looks like an invasion on this little garden world at exactly the time we're trying to get an important find off it…and the Spectres don't know who it is or why they're here." He glanced accusingly at the turian.

"I wish I could send you in with more. Go get Jenkins and Alenko suited up. You've got twelve minutes…maybe fifteen…to get to the hangar, ready for drop."

"Yes, sir," Shepard saluted quickly, and headed for the door while illuminating his omnitool. "Alenko, Jenkins, Code Red drop in ten minutes. LZ is hot, friendlies are under fire. I repeat: Code Red Drop in—" The door hissed closed behind him.

Nihlus turned to exit as well, but was stopped when Anderson held up a hand in front of him. The turian turned only his head to look at the human curiously.

Anderson kept his eyes on his own hand, fingertips lightly pressed against the smooth turian armor. "Spectre, I don't know the full extent of your agenda here, or your relevant knowledge. But if I find you have deliberately set my crew up to fail and die by withholding relevant information…" He made eye contact, "I will not forget. And I will not be silenced."

"Captain Anderson," the Spectre purred, "If I knew anything and withheld it from my allies, I would have to be a traitor or a fool. I can assure you…I did not get to where I am…by being either."

* Glossary *

AFG: Atmospheric Flight Geometry

AFM: Atomic Force Microscope; a hybrid device developed in the 1980s allowing both observation and manipulation of individual atoms. VI-enhanced AFMs are frequently used in modification and repair of nanotech devices.

ARO: Augmented Reality Overlay

ASF: Alliance Special Forces

CommCon: Communications/Conference room. Also "Comm Room."

DCE: Distributed Computing Environment. VDI (Virtualized Data Infrastructure) systems evolved into entire computing environments as data storage and active memory merged with the advent of memristors, and then with an active computing storage model with "computronium."

DIY: Do It Yourself

fcRNA: fast-coding RNA (Ribonucleic Acid;) cf. afcRNA (active fast-coding RNA, glucose-powered cybernetic nanotech that actively rewrites DNA)

GPC: General Purpose Computer. Some computing systems are left "freestanding" from local DCE for security or financial reasons

L2: A configuration of neurotronic wiring used in human biotics. Removed from market after high numbers of users experienced deleterious side effects. Most L2 users upgraded to the L3 configuration at the time, though a replacement of such wiring is not without risks. L2 users who were not seriously affected often retained their wiring because of the higher spiking abilities of the L2. By 2183, only a few thousand examples were still installed and in use.

PVR: Polyphase Virtual Reality

Ready-15: A state of alertness; Ready-15 means you are ready to hit the dirt, guns blazing, in fifteen minutes. There are also modifications of this (e.g. "Ready-5, Ready-10, Ready-30, etc.)

Sitrep: Situation Report

SmartPak: an integrated weapons carrier worn as the back panel for compatible standard armor types. Active hardpoint controllers are linked to standard combat VIs so that a soldier has only to reach for the weapon for it to unlock and begin decompaction. Also automatically connects to weapons and allows them to finish compaction when being secured.

SOP: Standard Operating Procedure

Trident: Name of Alliance Operational Headquarters

Updater: An action-adventure-sexploitation show about an asari Spectre, with some good writing, though a lot of it is gratuitous; if it were released today, it would be violent enough to warrant an NC-17 rating, and explicit enough to be considered porn