Black Talons

Normandy SR-2, Deep Space.

"Nothing out here, Commander, just vacuum." Joker sighed as the scanners washed over the search area again, and yet again, turning up nothing.

"Not true, Jeff." EDI, the shipborne AI, responded rather matter-of-factly. "Despite popular belief and your frequent remarks, space is simply not just a vacuum. It contains several-"

"Hate to interrupt there, babe, but I really don't need another lecture right now." He tapped a few controls into the screens in front of them before pushing them away from his view. "…Got enough of that back at flight school."

"As much as I love hearing you two argue over the most mundane things, I would prefer another scan." Commander Shepard. The savior of the Council. Savior of the Citadel. Savior of all mankind. Joker lost count of what he was the savior of, ranging from little colonies to entire space stations. Oh, and all known sentient life from a pending Reaper invasion. Can't forget that.

Joker sighed as he ordered EDI to perform another scan. "Commander, this is my fifth sca-"

"I do believe I am doing most of the work, Jeff. At this time, and for the past four times, I have had command over the scanners."

The brittle-boned pilot held back a threat to fry every system EDI had control over as he corrected himself. "Well, EDI here has given us five scans, Commander. And that's five blanks we've pulled up. Maybe this distress beacon isn't out here, or there wasn't one to start with."

His voice resonated over the intercom again. "There's a beacon out here, Joker. An S.O.S. doesn't just show up for no reason. All I need you to do is find it."

"Just sayin' that it coulda been an old signal from a dieing beacon." The pilot responded as he shrugged.

EDI's cool voice filled Joker's ears again. "Warning. Multiple-"

Joker's thumb clamped down on the mute. "Sorry, babe. How 'bout you let me do the talking. Sick of you correcting me anyways." Immediately, forward warning signals flared across his screens, before being cut out in a wash of static. Joker squinted and flicked through panel after panel, each filled with more static and white noise than the last.

Mordin Solus clicked on the radio, talking out loud in his fast-paced tone, not to anyone in particular. "My research station has ceased to function. Just getting static, no readings, no information, nothing. Can anyone else verify problems?"

Engineer Donnelly and Tali'Zorah both called out over the radios, one after another.

"Getting unusual reading's down here. Screen's goin all fuzzy."

"Same here. What's going on up there?"

The pilot growled and muted the radio. He didn't need to here the remarks of every member aboard. He still needed to find out what the hell was going on. A message appeared across Joker's screen.

Un-mute me. Now.

I can handle this, Joker told himself. This was just some solar interference or something, nothing he hadn't encountered before. Another message appeared, in much larger text.

NOW, Mister Moreau.

Static filled readings appeared on his screen next, straight from EDI. Multiple ships were closing in on the Normandy from different directions at over twenty-thousand kilos away, at least eight. The computer matched them with a turian build, but the designs were unlike anything Joker had seen. Eerily similar to the Normandy herself, but with a much more radical design, seemingly built for stealth as well as upfront warfare, loaded with plenty of offensive weaponry.

The pilot no longer hesitated, and gave a voice back to his AI counterpart. "Multiple vessels on intercept trajectories."

Joker froze up for a moment as memories of the last time he heard words similar to that, back on the first Normandy. Right before the Collectors fried the starship to particles. He snapped out of it. "Activate stealth systems, we can't take on eight of these things."

"Already engaged." EDI responded rather calmly. "Vessels are gaining velocity, approaching two-thirds their projected speed." Joker flared the engines and prepared to warn Shepard just as EDI stated. "They know we are here."

"I figured." Joker throttled the frigate and scanned what was left of the static-filled map to his left. He tried to get an estimated escape route, but the turian ships were moving quickly, closing their noose. "Commander, you better get down here quick. We got ships coming after us. I think they're turians, but their ships aren't like anything in the records. They're like the Normandy."

Shepard responded immediately, "Already on my way."

"More of a hybrid, Jeff." EDI informed, her voice ice cold. "They seem to be a combination of a turian cruiser, and a design of the Normandy. Interesting."

Joker took full control of the ship and raised the alarms, just to be safe. Cannons were coming online, kinetic barriers at full, and ship-defense systems active.

At the back of the Combat Information Center, the elevator doors parted and out stepped a man in jet black N7 armor, with the bright-red stripe tracing down the right arm. The man marched past Yeoman Kelly Chambers and other crewmembers with determination. There was a certain aura about this man, like you'd get the feeling to willingly follow him into the pits of Hell itself and you know he'd get you back out. He proved this when he took his team through the Omega 4 Relay, infiltrated the Collector base, and got everyone out alive. If there was a human who could truly do anything, it was Shepard.

Most moved out of his way as he tried to get by the passing crewmembers who responded to the alarms, others just watched him as he passed by.

Scars of his implanted cybernetics had healed on their own, hiding the fact this man was a product of the Lazarus Project, a Cerberus-funded scheme to bring back a person from death with the most advanced technology available. And Commander Shepard was the only subject.

He picked up the pace and jogged towards the cockpit, with Joker in his chair, going through multiple systems on his screens, most washed over in static.

"They're interfering with our systems, shutting out most of them. Long range comms are offline." Joker explained as the Commander approached. "FTL drives are warming up, but they'll be all over us before we can make an emergency jump."

Shepard looked at the screens, trying to see past the static. Eight vessels were circling around the Normandy, like Old West cowboys surrounding a group of cattle. He looked over to the bulbous blue orb next to Joker that embodied EDI, "What are our offensive options? I got a bad feeling we'll have to fight our way out of this."

"Thanix cannons and torpedoes are primed to fire, but with their numbers and speed, I project we'll make two kills before we are overwhelmed ourselves. Wait." The image of EDI faded slightly before becoming vibrant again. "Seven of the eight vessels have now targeted us. The lead ship is hailing us… Do you wish to respond, Commander?"

Shepard paused. They had them painted. No way out in time. Couldn't run. He nodded and ordered, "Open up short-range communications."

Static filled the speakers in the cockpit before steadily evening out. A gruff voice called out on the other end, definitely turian. "Cerberus vessel, deactivate your thrusters and power your weapons systems down immediately."

Joker's eyes opened wide as he responded with a growl, "Whoa! You want us to what? Who the hell do you think you guys are?"

"Cerberus vessel, surrender your ship controls immediately. If not, you will be fired upon. Commander Shepard, you are under arrest."

"On whose authority?" Shepard questioned as he stared out into space through the cockpit glass.

"Ours."

"Sorry," Shepard replied with a grin. "But I just don't let people make threats against me and my crew." The Commander kept his grin as he patted Joker on the shoulder, "Lose these guys, Joker." The Normandy's engines went to emergency full, sending the Commander into a backwards stumble for a moment. Joker was too enthralled with his job to notice.

The turian on the radio huffed. "So be it."

EDI immediately warned, "Alert! The lead ship has fired a class-three electro pulse weapon. Impact imminent."

Joker forced the Normandy 'down,' which technically wasn't correct. There was no such thing as up, down, left, or right out in space. It was all limitless, directionless. The pilot looked at his last working screen, to find the projectile chasing the frigate, closing in. He slammed down on the throttle, knowing he wouldn't get anymore speed.

Shepard opened up comms to Engineering, "Donnelly? Get us a getaway, now!"

The Scot yelled back, his voice strained, "I'm giving her all she's got, Commander! I can't push the Normandy any harder, we're already at emergency power!"

Shepard noted his options. There was only one. "All hands! Brace for impact!"

The energy pulse slammed into the kinetic barriers of the frigate, frying away the shielding as if the barriers were mere paper. The ball of energy slammed against the armor plating of the ship, sending a violent wave throughout. Shepard's muscles immediately contracted and he unwillingly fell to his back, unable to control himself. His vision washed out in static, literally blinding him in a snowy haze. He heard Joker call out his name, but is sounded distant and echoic, like someone yelling down a vacant hallway.

"Commander, you okay?" Joker called out, seemingly unaffected by the blast.

Shepard's senses returned to him and he slowly climbed to his feet, his muscles tingled as he felt a fellow crewman grab his underarm to help him up. "What the hell just happened?"

EDI's image appeared on the pedestal next to Joker, but the AI's image was very faint and static washed out most of what she said, "Class-three EMP tor… power down throughout…" She cut out after that, EDI's image gone, her voice silenced.

Joker slammed his hands across the control panels in front of him, all of them dark, "Damn it! They hit us with an EMP! Engines and weapons offline… we got no power."

"We're sitting ducks?" Shepard asked as he steadied himself, his vision slowly returned. Main lights were out, only the emergency ones were online, but just barely. They flickered in the dark, threatening to be snuffed out as well.

"Yeah." Joker sighed as he reached for the pistol underneath his seat. "And since they haven't blown us up yet, I take it those turians out there want to board us." He slapped a thermal clip in and shakily stood. There was nothing left to be done for the ship now, controls were nonfunctional for at least several hours.

Shepard nodded and turned to the crewman aboard the CIC. He ordered anyone who can't shoot a gun out and the ones who could get ready. Turning back to his friend, Shepard asked, "Joker, can you get anyone on the horn?"

"Nah." He responded as he shook his head. "Everything's dead." He looked sadly over towards the pedestal that held EDI. "She might be, too."

The Normandy reverberated violently, nearly knocking Joker over. He nodded over towards the airlock. They were breaking in. Shepard pulled out his own pistol and pressed himself against the left side of the airlock door, Joker on the right. The Commander listened intently, and he could hear something on the other side. The turian attackers were hacking the door.

Joker swallowed hard as he removed his SR-2 cap and threw it to the side. Suddenly, a powerful voice shouted out from the other side of the hull, slightly muffled by the hull. "Do not shoot! We wish to talk!"

"So says the guys who threaten to arrest us, then shoot at us!" Joker growled in response as six Normandy crew members trotted over, assault rifles in hand.

The strong voice chuckled, "You'll have to forgive Lieutenant Antalus, he can get a bit antsy during high priority assignments. Stress loosens his tongue quite a bit. Please, we only wish to speak with Commander Shepard."

The door opened regardless, and Shepard turned the corner and pointed his weapon at a group of turians, all wearing matching black armor with white insignias over the chest plates. The aliens pointed a manner of assault rifles and shotguns back at the commanding officer aboard the Normandy. A tall, burly turian stood among the group, his hands behind his back.

He slowly approached the Commander and held out his hand, "Allow me to show some civility, Commander. I am Captain Farrax. Kilhai Farrax."

Normandy SR-2, Deck 4.

"Oh, man…" Donnelly groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Commander could've given us that warning a little earlier, eh Gab?" Silence was the only thing that answered the engineer. He worriedly turned and stuck out his hands through the dark to find his best friend slumped over on the ground, out cold. "Gabby? Jeez, can I get some help over here!"

"I'm coming, don't worry!" The voice huffed and muttered to herself, "It got dark in here." Donnelly identified a heavily accented voice. Distinctly quarian.

"Well, Miss Zorah, I need to make sure Gabby here is alright. You got a light?"

Tali flipped on her Omni-tool. The dark orange device illuminated and wrapped around her left arm, providing a faint glow to the pitch-black engine room.

Donnelly whined with sarcasm plaguing his voice. "A bit more light would be helpful, ma'am."

The alien flipped on the flashlight and waved the beam of light over the two humans. Donnelly appeared uninjured besides a bruise or two, while Gabriella laid slumped over to the side, not moving. Tali kneeled by her and gently laid the female on her back, careful with her head. A nasty gash trailed down the side of her forehead, blood dripped from the controls, apparently from where she hit. Tali carefully applied medi-gel to her wound.

The Scot looked over to his alien friend, "Ma'am, I'll take care of her from here, just a bump on the noggin. You go figure out what the hell happened."

Tali nodded as she stood, and then headed for the door closest to them. Thankfully there was enough emergency power to keep the doors working. It opened to reveal the silhouette of a krogan standing before her.

"I don't like the dark." Grunt stated with gritted teeth. The krogan super-soldier bred from a tank to kill anything and everything was apparently afraid of the dark. He repeated himself as he clutched the shotgun nervously in his hand when Tali didn't reply right away. "I don't like the dark, Quarian. The tank was dark enough for me."

"I got a flashlight, now come on. Where's Zaeed and Jack?" She questioned as she pushed past the large brute and down the corridor.

Grunt huffed and marched along, keeping pace with the tech specialist. "Bitch downstairs is having some sort of breakdown, threatened to break my neck in sixteen spots, so I left her alone. Zaeed out cold, tried to wake him, no success. Just you and me."

Perfect, she thought to herself. The aliens opened the next door and Tali sped for the elevator. She tapped on the controls, only to get a weak 'out of service' tone. "Damn. Looks like we're using the ladders below deck, Grunt."

The krogan growled, "But she's down there." He pounded his fist and palm together like he usually did to get pumped for battle. "I don't like her."

"Too bad." Tali spat back as she made her way back towards the staircase. The light from her Omni-tool lit up the dark stairway, casting odd and distorted shadows across the walls. She could hear someone mumbling under their breath. It was Jack, her voice low and hoarse.

"They can't get me in the dark… won't let 'em. They won't do it to me again, not like this. I'm not an animal, not an animal."

Slowly, the quarian moved her feet silently down the metal steps. The faint, red emergency lighting was still alive, casting a pale red sheen over everything. Tali could make out the powerful biotic pressed against a wall, her tattooed hands glowing blue from her somewhat unstable powers. If there was one thing Jack was good at, was losing control in a fight. She was brutal, almost animalistic with her enemies. Tali personally believed someone this dangerous should've stayed in prison.

Grunt followed Tali down, and once he caught sight of Jack again, he pulled out his shotgun. He walked in front of the quarian, as if protecting her with his body. He glanced back at her, his shotgun still aimed for the panic-gripped Jack, "Go to the ladder, I'll make sure she won't hurt you."

Tali rolled her eyes and sighed. "She's fine, Grunt. Just hates the dark, like you."

"She practically lives down here. She doesn't hate the dark. She's only one thing, crazy." The Urdnot warrior warned as he pumped the shotgun in his hands. He slowly approached the ladders, with Tali in tow, his meaty finger inching closer and closer to the trigger. Tali's three, long fingers wrapped around one of the rungs of the ladder and she began to scale it. Keeping dead silent, Grunt holstered his gun and tried to climb as well.

Tali entered the enclosed ducts of the ship, now somewhere between decks four and three. Halfway up, she heard a annoyed snarl from the krogan behind her. She looked back down, to find Grunt looking up at her, the hump on his back was too large for him to fit through. "Damn thing is too small, can't fit. This ship wasn't built for krogan." Slowly, he made his way down the ladder and called up to her. "Just go, I'll be fine."

Nodding, the quarian climbed up the rest of the way, and once she arrived at the opening for the AI Core, she came face to face with a gun barrel. The woman froze, knowing one wrong move could end her life instantly. Then she heard Garrus Vakarian's voice break the silence of the AI Core room.

"Jeez, Tali…" The former C-Sec officer exhaled as he lifted the weapon away from the quarian's mask. "You gotta at least give me a warning…"

"Is that any way to treat a lady, Garrus?" Tali growled back as she extended a hand, which Garrus took and lifted her from the dark duct. The tech looked over to the pedestal that usually held EDI's image, only to notice it was vacant. "EDI's gone too, along with most of the power?"

"Yeah," Garrus nodded as he glanced back as well, exposing the scars covering the right side of his avian-like face. "I think we got hit by an EMP or something, frying out our systems. Only the emergency reserve power was spared. So far we got emergency lights, artificial gravity, and life support running. Not much else though."

Tali nodded and then concluded, "Well whoever hit us, they wanted us alive."

"For now." Garrus replied morbidly before walking towards the door. He kneeled by the bulkhead and grabbed a shotgun pressed against it. He threw it to the quarian, who snatched it out of the air and wrapped her fingers around the weapon. The turian opened up the door and made sure the barrel of his rifle led the way. He proceeded into the med-bay under the faint lighting, slowly passing over his damaged armor.

Tali looked back before she followed him, to find the geth infiltrator Legion slumped against the wall, its glowing eyespot dark, its body unmoving. Looks the EMP disabled the robotic entity that tried so hard to imitate Shepard. She felt no emotion as she followed Garrus into the darkened clinic.

"Good riddance."

As Tali caught up, Garrus whispered to her, "Miranda, Jacob, and I moved Chawkwas and the rest of the crew on this level to the observation decks. They'll be protecting the crew down here. Samara and Mordin are treating some of the crew that got hurt during impact, electrical boxes overloaded, causing a decent explosion."

The pair walked past the mess tables and towards the armory, where the ladder that led upwards was hidden. Garrus continued, "Thane is trying his best to assist with getting everything back online, he's actually kinda tech savvy."

"So we're on our own?" Tali didn't like the idea of only two crewmen able to assist, whatever was going on the upper decks.

"Pretty much. And guess which way we're going?"

"Nowhere but up?"

"Nowhere but up."

Shepard kept his pistol trained for the turian who still had his hand held out, as if honestly expecting him to take it. The Commander growled at the turian in front of him, his finger dangerously close to the trigger, "You come down here, surround the Normandy, disable it forcefully, come trotting aboard my ship with a group of heavily-armed commandos, and you want to shake my hand and say all you wanted to do was talk?"

Farrax nodded, his voice was hoarse and scratchy, but still commanded authority. "Something like that." He looked back to his soldiers and nodded. They lowered their weaponry, still glaring at Shepard and Joker. "Now, can we come in? It's awful chilly in in the all-encompassing void of space, and you heard that old saying about turians and the cold, right?"

Thousands of alarms in Shepard's brain told him to shoot, and end this right here, but he relented, finally lowering his handgun. He stepped back and motioned Farrax inside, his men followed suit. The Commander turned to the six crewmen with weapons still drawn.

Joker shook his head, "Shepard, I don't like this…"

"Stand down and return to your posts." Shepard turned back to the alien aboard his ship, his hand still on his pistol. "Okay, first off. What the hell did you do to my ship?"

"Ah." The turian started as he rubbed imaginary dust off the plating of his armor. "A class-three energy projectile. Better know to your kind as an 'electromagnetic pulse' or EMP. This temporarily disables most major systems aboard any vessel, allowing us ease of capture. It only disables ship VI's, weapons, and engine systems. It isn't powerful enough to affect emergency power systems, leaving life support and artificial gravity intact."

Farrax marched down the long bridge of the Normandy, his fingers scratching his chin in curiosity as he inspected the ship carefully. Shepard followed, with the turian commandos behind him. Two aliens stayed behind, forcing Joker back in the pilot's seat.

"Turian militaries and police forces use it to capture fleeing criminals or persons of interest without damaging or destroying their ship." His voice dropped, staying firm behind well-hidden anger, but Shepard could tell when Farrax clenched his free fist. "We prefer to punish our criminals before they experience death."

"That answers one question…" Shepard pressed on underneath the diminishing glow of the emergency lights. "…Now, who the hell are you people?"

Farrax smiled inwardly, but kept his face as solid as stone. "We are the-" The Normandy rumbled and hummed. Lights returned, followed by the glowing orange displays from multiple crew stations. The galaxy map shuddered before shimmering to life again, displaying the Milky Way Galaxy and its celestial inhabitants. Farrax raised a hand and motioned around the vessel, "You see? I am a…what's that saying you humans use all the time?" The turian halted and turned to the Commander. "A…'man of my word?' Yes, that's it…"

This was the first time Shepard got a good look at Farrax. His grayish-brown face was tattooed with an intricate design with sharp cuts and angles, all in jet black. Underneath, scars traced along every contour to his complexion. Each soldier matched him with the tattoos, but each turian's scarring was different. But Farrax was indeed the most menacing to look at.

His armor reinforced his menace. It was black and sturdy, just like his soldiers, but battle-scarred and stained, most likely with blood.

Farrax sighed and waltzed leisurely as if he was taking a tour on the Normandy. He marched for the galaxy map, wrapping his talons around the railing as he looked deep in the representation of the galaxy before him. It glowed off his skin like the sun, brightening up his dark tattoos.

"But enough delay…" He continued as his men took up positions around the CIC, standing at attention.

Without looking at the Commander, still enthralled with the map before him, Farrax continued. "We are the Black Talons. The best the Turian Hierarchy has to offer. Similar to the Council Spectres such as yourself, Commander Shepard, but a much larger and more organized group. We partake in 'blacker than black-ops.' Unlike the Spectres, though, we have direction. We have orders, and we follow them to the letter."

"Well if you're just a huge squad of highly trained badasses, then why are you calling for my help? And was disabling my ship the only way to do it?"

Farrax rolled his eyes. "Please, with your reputation and habits, simply asking for your help was unlikely. Things tend to supernova around you."

Yeoman Kelly Chambers returned to the CIC, only to find it was occupied with more aliens than humans. Shepard was having a testy conversation with their apparent leader. Chills went up Kelly's spine. She could feel the air was filled with concealed animosity. Several crew members aboard the Normandy, especially aboard the CIC, were profound xenophobes. Basically hardcore racists, but they preferred the former of the two, making them sound a bit more respectable than most.

She walked up to a turian soldier at attention who looked rather young. Due to her job, she had to study each alien species carefully. She learned that turians wore facial markings or tattoos to symbolize which colony or planet they hailed from, but this alien's markings seemed to be peeled away at the skin before being painted over by harsh, uniform black tattoos.

Pink scarring had replaced what were once this turian soldier's colonial markings, showing that his wounds were very recent. She gently lifted a hand to his face and asked softly as he rubbed the turian's cheek gently. "Was the pain bad?"

The soldier's mandibles clicked, his eyes stared across the room, attempting to keep his military bearing. But he failed as he looked down at the human with softer eyes. "More than you know."

Kelly placed both hands over his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, "I'm so sorry."

The turian immediately straightened up again and whispered to the overly-curious Yeoman with an extremely nervous voice, "M-Ma-Ma'am, please."

Kelly held on for a few more moments before she decided to relent, apologizing to the young male.

Shepard stood next to Farrax, who now also began staring into the galaxy map. "That still doesn't answer much. Why do you want me?"

Farrax chuckled and shook his head. "We needed to contact you. And finding you when you were just a Spectre was going to be hard enough… but getting you to speak with us was going to be… What's the human term for this? 'A whole different ball game' when we found out you were the same Commander Shepard who gave the Illusive Man of Cerberus the proverbial middle finger."

He let that sink in, as Farrax knew of Shepard's decision to nuke the Collector base instead of preserving it for Cerberus. To put icing on the cake, Shepard left Cerberus with its finest ship and operatives in tow.

The turian captain cleared his throat after his pause. "We used an old distress beacon to draw you out. Either way-"

"Contacts! Left side door!" A turian commando yelped as he raised his gun. Every other Talon soldier raised their guns at a turian standing in the door way, wearing damaged blue armor, pointing his firearm right back.

"Looks like I didn't miss the party, then." Garrus commented aloud.

Farrax hollered to his men, his voice resonating throughout the ship. "Stand down! All of you!"

His men reluctantly followed the order, and he turned back to Shepard. "The one who just prompted my men to ready their weapons was Lieutenant Antalus, by the way. He also opened fire upon your vessel without my orders," Farrax flared his mandibles and glared at the Lieutenant, who was back at attention. "But he will be dealt with after this, I assure you."

Shepard jabbed his thumb over to Antalus. "May I?"

Farrax smiled. "Be my guest, Commander."

The Normandy's commanding officer stormed over to the turian lieutenant and slammed his fist into the cheek of the alien, sending him to the ground. "That's for attacking my ship."

Antalus growled and spat on the deck before climbing to his feet, ready to gut the Commander with his combat blade, only to be met with the imposing gaze of his Captain. He froze and returned to attention immediately. "Sorry, Commander Shepard. It was a lapse in my judgment."

Shepard grinned and glanced over to Garrus, with Tali right behind him, "Come on in, you two. Make yourselves at home among our new friends."

Farrax noticed the quarian entering the bridge and his mandibles flared again as his brow furrowed. He gave a false chuckle, barely trying to hide his discontent. "Commander, you are a man known for a great many things, but I never expected a man like you to let animals aboard your ship."

"'Animals,' Farrax?"

He pointed to Tali. "That thing doesn't belong on a ship of this caliber."

Tali froze as she heard the words of the captain. Her people had experienced pretty extreme racism before, but at least those xenophobes had enough kindness to acknowledge quarians as something more than animals.

"What?" Tali hissed as she reached for her shotgun and took aim for the turian still standing by the galaxy map. Farrax just grinned as Tali's gun came within a few feet of him. The quarian was ready to end his life for what he just said, "We are not animals…"

Farrax huffed and rolled his eyes before pushing the gun barrel away from him, "Whatever you say, Quarian. Only animals abuse their power, and use it to end countless lives."

"The geth were not my fault, Turian. My ancestors made mistakes, mistakes I had nothing to do with."

"Please," he waved his hand and turned his attention back to the galaxy map, "spare me. Your people are still responsible for genocide, whether or not you will acknowledge it."

"Tali!" Shepard called out as he approached his enraged teammate, "Stand down, now."

Tali's fingers trembled, millimeters away from the trigger. The Commander wrapped his hands around the firearm and gently took it from her hands. "He's not worth it, okay? Come on." He grabbed her shoulder and led her back towards Garrus.

Farrax gave a wicked as the quarian was led away. He reached for the combat blade strapped to his boot and examined the finely crafted, serrated blade. Flicking the knife back and forth, the cold metal cut through the air with precision and ease, not too heavy and not too light.

"I'd have to admit, though." He snickered. "You migrants are master craftsmen. This knife I received was from one of your people." His mandibles flexed as he tried hard to stop smiling as he twirled the weapon around. "His blood still taints this blade though."

Garrus put a hand around Tali's bicep to hold her back, just in case. Shepard crossed his arms and gave a stone-eyed stare to the turian captain. "One more jab at my crew, and I won't let them hold back, Captain."

"You needn't threaten me, Shepard. I won't let my opinions slip again." Farrax assured, though Shepard doubted that. "Back to business. We need you for an assignment that we can't handle discreetly." The turian turned and marched past Tali without another look and started to march back towards the cockpit of the ship. "You see Shepard, a group of fully-armed turian commandos storming certain places is looked down upon, so sometimes we call on assistance of the Council Spectres, though our relationship is shaky at best."

"I could see how that might be a problem, but why does it have to be me? There are other Spectres." Shepard said as he walked alongside the Black Talon captain.

Farrax swiped his talons together, and his men began to file in behind them. "Are you listening to yourself? You're the Commander Shepard. You killed Saren, stopped Sovereign, and eliminated the Collector threat. You came back from the freaking dead, for spirit's sake!" He quickly regained his composure as he placed one hand on his belt. "You are the only one we want."

Shepard didn't want to hear anymore praises or being told he was the one. "Stop sandbagging, Farrax. Why do you need me, what is the mission?"

With his fist clutching a small device on his hip, Farrax smiled one final time as his shoulders rise and fell with a short chuckle. "You were always headstrong, Commander. Impatient. But overall…" He jabbed the device until the gut of Commander Shepard with speed that could fool the most vigilant asari.

"You were too trusting." The turian clamped down on the button, and an EMP shockwave rippled through the Commander's body. His eyes opened wide, before going lifeless. This weapon was designed to shut down cybernetic systems, and Shepard was practically more of a machine than man now.

The offspring of the Lazarus Project began to fall to the metal deck, causing Joker to rise from his seat, pistol ready. Lieutenant Antalus broke free from the pack of commandos and with one shot of his rifle, destroying the weapon instantaneously.

Shepard's knees hit the ground. Antalus was already across the bridge, face-to-face with the pilot as he slammed his boot into the left leg of the wise-cracking human.

His bone snapped easily with a loud crack, due to Vrolik's Syndrome. Shepard halfway to the ground. Joker in freefall, no support from his leg. Antalus guided a had to the sternum and sped up the process, forcing the pilot down to the ground. A strong hand caught Shepard's collar and yanked him back upward. Antalus smiled in victory.

Shepard's allies finally realized what has just happened, and they pull their own weapons out, ready to kill. Black Talon commandos were already set to fight. Farrax observed as he heaved Shepard over his shoulder and pulled out his own sidearm.

Tali and Garrus rushed for the pack of turians retreating to the front of the ship.

"Shepard!" The quarian screamed as readied her combat knife. Garrus remained silent as he scanned the mass of targets in front of him. He might be able to get a single shot off before he met his own end. But for now, Garrus and Tali approached as they fell back, at an awkward standoff.

Farrax ceased his smirk and shouted, "Talons! Let's go!"

Like any loyal lapdog would, Antalus rushed back to his Captain's side without another word.

Joker, in writhing pain on the deck, saw his commander being taken out through the airlock, where their ship had connected. "Get back here, you bastards! Commander!"

The rest of the Talons backed into the airlock, making a phalanx that seemed impenetrable as they returned to their own ship. Tali charged out of blind rage, only to have the door close and seal in front of her. The quarian, usually quiet and calm, was slamming her fist against the solid hull of the Normandy.

"Help me up, we can still go after them!" Joker yelped as he tried to climb back to his chair on his own, only to fall over and curse in agony.

Garrus kneeled over him. "Your leg's broken."

"You don't think I know that? Get me up! I'm not just letting Shepard get grabbed right out from under us!" Garrus just looked at him for a moment. "Get me in my chair, damn it!"

He helped Joker up carefully, who then shoved the turian away as he slid into his chair, careful not to jar his shattered left leg. He pulled up main flight controls, only to find the engines didn't have enough power to even get them to one-quarter of their full speed. Joker slammed his fist against the controls and began rerouting all non-critical systems to the engines.

The ship shook as the magnetic docking moorings of the other vessel disengaged, releasing the Normandy from its steely grasp.

"Come on, don't do this to me now." The pilot hissed as the readings on his screen became clear. They simply didn't have enough power to give pursuit, let alone protect themselves. The former Flight Lieutenant brought up the radar and watched as all eight ships disappeared into deep space, leaving the Normandy behind. Dead in the water.

Peace.