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The dark wood planks on the wall set a clean, quiet atmosphere that complimented the lifesized panther waterfall statue in the center of the windowed wall. The plush carpet was the color of juniper, which matched the upholstery of the six chairs in the waiting room. Marley exited the elevator and saw a man sitting in the one closest to Anderson's office, so she took a seat in the corner where the statue was casting a partial shadow. She tilted her head back into the darkness and closed her eyes, letting the piano sound of Una Mattina float around in her mind. The man, somewhere around six feet tall, sat with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together, looking at the statue. When she walked into the room, his attention slowly turned to her. Freckle-faced, short cropped hair, and before she closed them, he caught the color of her eyes as a mezmerizing turquoise. When she came in, time seemed to slow down...to a crawl -- not like some cheesy dream sequence in romance vids.a low level "whommmmmm" emitted from his hands as he created a biotic orb that was about the size of a golf ball. He hovered it over the palm of his hand, then passed it between his palms, and watched for a reaction from her. There was none. He started passing it faster between his hands, which made the noise louder.She tilted her head forward to see what the humming was. When she saw the orb, she began following it, much to his satisfaction. He had an audience. "Pretty cool, isn't it?" He said, making another one and letting them hover. "I used to make these when I was a teenager, just juggling them around like ping pong balls. Makes the time go by faster, plus I love the colors they make. That indigo and purple on the outside, blue light on the inside."She didn't say anything at first, but she nodded."Want one?"She looked down at the floor, thinking about it, then mumbled, "sure." He tossed the orb to her, and she reached out to grab it, but it splashed into her hand, sending tickling tingles down her forearm. She pulled back and giggled as she rubbed the vibrations out of her arm. "What was that?""It's a biotic orb.""Oh!" She was interested, now. "So you're a biotic?""Yep." He tossed the other one up and swatted it, sending a crash of blue light that flashed and disappeared like fireworks."Wow, that's amazing!" She was smiling a little, now, and leaning forward in her chair. "I had a friend who was a biotic. I don't think I ever saw her make entertainment out of it, just combat stuff."He stood up and moved to a chair next to her, then handed her a blobby mass of energy. "See if you can hold it." She was able to balance it in her palm, but the parts that fell out dissipated. "Kaidan Alenko, by the way. I'm a Lieutenant.""Marley Shepard," she shook his hand, "also Lieutenant. With the Navy or Marines?""Marines, but I've worked with the Navy.""Navy here. Spent time in ICT with some Marines. You guys stick together.""Yes, we do," he replied with pride. "What do you do with the Navy?""I'm a biotechnologist, but I've been seeing a lot more combat than most biotech regimens. Those pirates sure love tomatoes."*tell him about what happened on Benning,* Bryan suggested."Like this one time, we were in a remote area of Benning, and the goal was to grow tomato crops. Earthborne tomatoes, romas and beefsteak to be exact, and these damned Batarians showed up, guns blazing, and we picked off three of them before they stopped firing. When they left, my first assistant radioed 'you lost two of your men over a tomato farm, assholes!' and they replied 'we wanted something to eat!' Dumb shits, all they had to do was say 'hey we don't have any food, can we pick up a case of tomatoes??' Geez."He laughed. "Batarians can be tremendously stupid despite their fighting ability.""I don't know," she shook her head. "All the Batarians I've met can't fight for shit. That's why they're dead or hiding from me.""So what brings you to Anderson's office?" He took the blob from her hand and threw it in the air, where it faded away."I think I'm getting another lab assignment. You?""Getting my papers signed off, but normally they do that in processing, not up here. So I'm not sure, really. I know he just got promoted to captain, and he's getting his own ship -- a Turian and Human collaboration they're calling the Normandy. Hell of a frigate, according to what I've heard.""Now Turians can fight," she mentioned. "Hell yeah, they can. And nice people, too. Proud folks, those birds."The elevator opened and Anderson walked out. "Hey you two, thanks for coming." He shook their hands and led them into his office. "Have a seat."He sat down and looked at Marley. "Akuze," was the first thing he said, a simple statement of a word, watching her reaction. "Hit you hard?""It did. It did not break me, sir. It just took some time to find closure. Some of those men and women were close friends. We went through N School, together, you know.""I remember." He tapped his desktop omni and opened it. "Shepard, I have some news for you." The look on his face gave her cause for concern. "We're quietly promoting you to Staff Commander.""Why?" She was perplexed. Kaidan smiled in admiration."The reason is three-fold. Your assignments, the past five years, have been in laboratories on colonies all across the galaxy. You've harvested vegetables on previously unfarmable planets. You've created a system for quickly establishing tomato farms on colonies that haven't been able to host any Earth-based plantlife. Hell, you're the 'tomato queen' to a lot of those who were overseeing the overseers of your projects. Yet, in some of those projects, you've had to defend your bases of operations from pirates, slavers, and wild animals. I can understand animals, but what would pirates and slavers want from a tomato lab?"she looked at Kaidan and shrugged. "...they were hungry?"He chuckled and shook his head. "Maybe so, but you've fought all aspects of what is out there. A promotion to Staff Commander gives you more access to opportunities galaxy-wide. You will have options to join in more lab projects, if you wish. You will have access to deployments on almost any colony, and then you have your next assignment."Her eyes lit up. "My next assignment?" "I'm making you XO of my new ship." *Wow, from tomato farmer to XO. Quite a jump.**Hush, Bryan.* The thought made her grin. "This is a lot to take in, sir. I'm honored.""I'm also bringing Lieutenant Alenko on board for the project, as well.""I think that's a good decision. We just met in the waiting area -- he will be a great addition to the team, I'm sure." "I've heard great things about the Normandy, Captain," Alenko beamed. "I cannot wait to take part in her maiden voyage and be a part of the crew.""Oh, your papers are already processed, Alenko." He handed Marley a credit chit. "You've already acquainted yourselves, why don't you two go get something to eat and get ready for the hop to Arcturus. We leave at 0800 sharp."Shepard and Alenko both stood and saluted. "Yes sir!"
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"So," Kaidan started as they helped themselves to a table at The Noodle House, "you said you grew tomatoes with the biotechs?""I did, actually." She sat her datapad on the table and picked up the paper menu that was posed in an upright position. "We made headlines for successfully growing tomato crops on different planets.""I'm not versed in farming," he admitted, "though my mother loves growing lilacs in her flower garden. Lilacs and tulips -- the purple ones." A nostalgic smile came across his face. "Purple is her favorite color.""Mine's red," she replied. "I guess mine would be blue." She handed the menu to him when she was done looking at it. "Like your eyes." "My eyes?""Yeah, your eyes --" She looked up and realized they were brown. "I thought your eyes were blue..."After a thought, he reasoned, "oh! Because I was playing with my biotics in the waiting room! I bet they were glowing a little.""Yeah, they must have been. Sorry about that." "No problem," he chuckled. "So what factors into successfully farming a tomato? It seems like they could grow anywhere if they had enough water and the soil were right.""Well, you're right about the water -- an average tomato is 94.27 percent water. The soil content is the key. If you grow a tomato on Elysium, for example, you'll get a tomato just like earth, as the mineral content in the soil is almost identical. But on Horizon, there is a very high sulfur content, and the tomatoes taste and smell like rotten eggs. In order to get the tomatoes to dismiss the sulfuric element of the soil, we had to either engineer seeds with genes that would filter the sulfur that the water carried into the plant, or we had to develop a barrier to keep the sulfur out. The latter is still being developed, but adding a gene to the tomato seeds made for a stinky germination, but the end product was a batch of gorgeous red beefsteak tomatoes that tasted just like the ones we grew on Elysium. And it was --""Good evening, my name is Selena, and I will be your server, can I start you off with a drink?" She sat a basket of steaming hot garlic breadsticks that were covered with a green cloth napkin. The girl couldn't be more than eighteen, with long bright pink hair and gorgeous ice blue eyes, a sharp contrast to the dark green and black of her work outfit. Kaidan wasn't sure if he was really interested in Marley's rambling, or if he was relieved the server cut her off, though he did his best not to show it. "I'll have a..." he looked inquisitively at Marley. "Are you adulting, tonight?"Marley thought "I think...yeah, I'll have the house oatmeal stout." Directing her attention to the girl, "is that on tap or in the bottle?""It's on tap." The server appeared confused that the patron would think a house beverage would be in a bottle."Okay, perfect.""And I'll have a Moose Jaw IPA. Bottle please, if it's served that way.""Of course!" She smiled and asked if they wanted an appetizer, to which both declined. "Okay, then, you both look like you're ready to order. I can take that down for you as well..."Marley gave hers first: a simple alfredo over linguini with steamed broccoli on the side. Kaidan ordered the spicy meat spaghetti. The server took the order back, then brought them their beverages."So, um..." Kaidan really wanted to ask, but he didn't want to be rude. "Did you guys go out much when you were off duty?" "Not really," she answered, watching the foamy bubbles in her stout. "I mean, they did, but I stayed busy. I didn't have time.""I see." His curiosity got the better of him, so he asked, "have you seen much combat besides those slavers?""I, yeah, a little..." She was unintentionally modest with her words. "I took part in the Wasteland Trials when I was in ICT school...and --""N-School! Wow! How far did you go?""I'm an N7. Not gonna lie, it was hard. But my whole team made it to seven.""That's impressive -- but how does an N7 end up growing tomatoes?"Her face grew dim as her formerly confident eyes left his in noticable pain. "I, uh...lost my unit on Akuze. Thresher maws came out of nowhere. I'm the only one left.""Oh, god," he gasped. "I heard about that. I'm so so sorry." "It's okay. I've grown beyond it. But I requested a non-combat role, and luckily, my education gave me an opportunity to work with science teams while I sorted things out.""Glad to hear it. You think you're ready for life on a frigate?"The server brought their food, and they each took a breadstick from the basket. "I think I'm ready," Marley responded after taking a bite. "The pirate attacks gave me a lot of my confidence back. So I think we'll be okay. I'm not the Captain, thankfully. I'm still just one of the guys.""Good deal!" Kaidan laughed with understanding, then took in a fork full of spaghetti noodles. Sensing that she wasn't adept at making conversation, he gave her an open door. "Is there anything you'd like to know about me?""Um..." She thought about it while she chewed her food, then asked, "what kind of combat have you seen?""Nothing major, though our patrols likely stopped a lot of potentally horrific incidents. We came across a two mercenary groups -- the Blue Suns and Eclipse -- lots of biotics in Eclipse.""Are they traffickers? Security? Drug runners?""They hire on to protect anyone willing to pay their fees. We came across them fighting each other. The guy who hired Eclipse also hired the Suns. Found out later that he did it just to see them fight.""That's kind of morbid.""It's sick, if you ask me.""So what did your unit do?""Crowd control, basically. We stopped the fight and everybody went home."He observed her attention turning toward a woman who was sitting alone not too far from their table. Marley watched her with a sense of desire, the Commander's eyes doing nothing to hide her thoughts. It was as if she knew the woman had similar interests in more private arenas, and she observed as if looking for clearance to approach. The woman caught her looking, and there seemed to be some sort of communication, Marley turned and gave a lusty grin to her dinner partner. "Kaidan," she asked with puppy eyes, "are we on a date?"He knew instantly where this was headed. "No, ma'am, we're just finishing up dinner.""Permission to abort?" She handed him the chit that Anderson gave her."Permission granted, Commander." Kaidan shook his head as she went and sat down at the table where the woman was. "Yep," he said to himself. "Definitely one of the guys."
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The buzzing of the 5am alarm hummed her out of bed. She straightened the sheets and synthetic down comforter, fluffed the pillows and turned for the terminal on the desk nearby. Her omni tool, a silver bracelet that was lined with ballistic carbon fiber webbing, was resting on a magnetic charge plate that was plugged into the base of the terminal. She'd thought about following the new craze of having it surgically implanted into her wrist, but hadn't made a decision, yet. After all, the bracelet clipped nicely inside her armor plating, and it never slipped off. What would be the point, other than convenience? She tapped the terminal's holo screen a few times and let messages play as she poured a cup of black coffee from the automated maker on a counter by her closet."Hi Marley, it's Hannah, I heard about your new assignment! Great opportunity for you! Something different from the tomato farms, finally! Enjoy it! Angel says hi! Love you! Love Hannah.""Aww!" She tapped the reply button and wrote "Thanks, Hannah, I know you worry, so I'll play it safe. Love you too! Marley" then tapped "send.""Play next messages," she said aloud."Hey Shep, Jordon here. Checking in from Arcturus. Getting promoted, finally. You can call me LC as of 0800 hours your time. Hope to see you before the Normandy's maiden voyage, but if not, keep in touch! Peace, cuz."'Good stuff...' she thought, bringing the cup to her face, letting the steam enter her nose, taking in the invigorating scent before carefully drawing a sip."Shepard, hope your night wasn't too wild! We should do that, again, sometime. Maybe we can leave together next time, not that I was bothered or anything, cause I wasn't. You're definitely like one of the guys. See you tomorrow morning!" *You certainly had me entertained.* "Bryan!!" Marley gasped. "Were you watching?" *Well, it's not like I'm going to close 'my' eyes when I can already hear everything that goes on around you.*"Oh my geez, really?" She chuckled. "I've never really been into exhibitionism, but a woman has needs, you know?" In a small bowl, she poured out exactly one cup of dry oats and stirred more coffee into that, grabbed a bruising banana, then brought her breakfast to the desk for a video message, titled A SECRET FROM THE PROS. "Play video."It was a spam for male endowment products with a key phrase she used online before bed. "Oh for fuck's sake..." she deleted the message, saying, "that's the last time I look up 'how to make your girlfriend happy' on the extranet." *Told you! HAHAHA, that's great!*"Hush, Bryan!"She pulled her spandex undershirt off as if she were a male calendar model (this vision always entered her mind when she took t-shirts off), baring a smooth olive tan that highlighted the muscular frame of her 5'6" body. Her bedhead tousle of wavy brown-blonde hair was sunkissed to a near red in its natural highlights. She let the shirt fall to a pile in her left hand and tossed it on the bed, then stood up and stretched.She walked over to her apartment's fifth story window, looking from the west of Stanley Harbour to the North Vancouver skyline to the east. The light of the rising sun's rays between the ground and the overcast skies warmed her bare chest, provoking a morning moan as she closed her almond-shaped teal eyes let her head back to enjoy it. Her already upturned lips formed a slight smile.From there, she took another two bites of her oatmeal and played the remaining three messages on the way to the shower, where she dropped her boxer briefs on the floor and stepped in after testing the warmth of the spray. It was cool like summer rain. Perfect. By all accounts, this was going to be a big day. Six years after being the only surviving ground infantryman of a maw attack on Akuze and before that, completing Interplanetary Combatives Training, she was getting her own unit and finally her own ship."Omni, play early century hip hop playlist." Vintage classics like Move Ya Body by Nina Sky and Buttons by Pussycat Dolls played before she was done.Her preferred two-in-one gel smelled of bergamot and pears, and was a must for every morning ritual she was able to follow while at her planetside apartment. She lathered her loufah ball and took her time soaping every inch of herself, letting her eyes close and feeling the music as she did. Another moan.She was as rugged as she was soft, with short boyish hair, thick but well-kept eyebrows, and callous hands. She wore eyeliner and lip gloss, and a tiny bit of blush because she liked it. She spritzed Curve Crush under her neck and rubbed it in with her wrists, took a deep breath of the scent. The bottle read "A Two Hundred Year Tradition.""I swear I was born in the wrong century." Shep finished dabbing beads of water off her body and put a white t-shirt on over a tight tank top, then a green pair of spandex boxer briefs, navy dress slacks and a black mock turtle neck. After that, she gelled her hair and flitted it about until it fell just so, then put her make up on, and finally her dress blazer, complete with gold N7 insignia and achievement ribbons. After making sure her dog tags were hidden under the layers of clothing, she put her laundry in the hamper, dishes in the dish steamer, grabbed her duffel and omni tool, turned off the power, and left the apartment.--One of the perks of an N7 promotion was being able to skirt security lines at the spaceport. Aside from politicians and dignitaries, only N7 or Council Spectres were allowed unhindered access to shuttles and docking areas. The Commander was down with that. Her trip along the external entrance to the loading area went without a hitch, and as expected, she was one of the first people on board the 24 passenger Kodiak. A trip to Arcturus station would be a little longer than three hours once they broke the atmospheric impairments.After putting her duffel in the overhead compartment, she took a seat on starboard side next to the window. She loved to watch the sky. Something about the stars provoked awe."Hey Commander!" It was Kaidan."I didn't see you in security!" She helped him with his carry-on and he sat down. "Yeah, I actually had to go 'through' it," he responded, elbowing her in jest. "Unlike some people." He winked at her, which made her blush."Well, I'm glad you're here. Looks like this Kodiak is about to get packed."An elderly gentleman tapped Kaidan on his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir," he began, "I've got a bad ankle, and was wondering if I could ask for your seat." Kaidan seemed to recognize him, and stood up instantly, shaking his hand and helping him with his bag. "Sure, sir, no problem!" He walked to the standing area and grabbed a handle that protruded from the ceiling. The man sat down next to Marley, and she smiled. "Good morning, young lady," he said, extending his hand, which she accepted. "I'm headed to Mindoir," he beamed. "How 'bout you?"Of the 22 other people in this packed shuttle, he had to be the one to ask Kaidan for his seat. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that this unassuming old man was going to a place whose name instantly triggered fearful recollections of blood and dread. At least it was a windows seat. She felt a tickle in her lower abdomen, and covered it with her hand as if to hide the unwelcome feeling."Not Mindoir." Her voice was flat as her focus returned to the skyline. "Arcturus is my stop.""I see." There was silence as the shuttle lifted off, but he spoke up once they were in space. "How long have you been in?""Eleven years...already."He gasped as an approving grandfather would. "That's amazing! I served 35 years, myself. Only fifteen in combat.""What did you do after that?""Helped wounded soldiers with their physical recovery. Anything to support the boys...and girls. I'm just an old-fashioned kinesiologist, now.""Good way to give back to your fellow soldiers, Doctor...""Schwartzman," he finished. "Peter Schwartzman." He handed her a paper business card. "If you need...know anyone who needs anything, feel free to contact me."'The Admiral Peter Schwartzman?!?' How did she not recognize one of the most well-known Navy heroes alive today? She hid her embarrassment quite well. "Thank you, Admiral, I will.""And thank you for your service. Do us proud, um...""Shepard. Commander Marley Shepard.""I'll remember the name."They shook hands, and eventually the two fell asleep for the rest of the trip.--The blue light emitting from the station woke her, and the music from Excel 10 swimming through her binaural transmitter was a great fit for the scene out side the window as the ship docked. A loud CLUNK signaled the door opening, and everyone filed out of the Kodiak.Marley stepped out like a rock star from a limousine, aviator glasses and all, and spied two secure servicemen standing by a ground cart. One nodded at her, and she confirmed identification before following their lead, then motioned for Kaidan. They both took their seats in the back. The cart had its own drive lane in the large thoroughfare, an area reserved for public travel only, intended to be a one-stop or leapfrog area for those traveling either to the Charon relay or just outside of the Sol system.The drive passed a bar, food court (which smelled amazing to Marley), travel center, gift shop, and finally came to a stop at a customs and interchange station. Marley got off the cart and grabbed her bag before shaking hands with the men."Ahh, XO Shepard!" It was Captain David Anderson, whom Marley had known for several years, now, and was very happy to see. Hearing the official title of Executive Officer being used made her blush, which is something she would let very few people see. "And Lieutenant Alenko, good to see you both!""It's good to see you, Captain Anderson." Marley shook his hand and wondered how many times she'd done that with people since she left her apartment. "The flight went well, I assume?""Yes, sir." 'XO' had her head spinning with anticipation as she followed Anderson to the rear docking area."Good for her, maybe," Kaidan groaned sarcastically. "I had to stand for the whole trip."Marley's smile gave away how guilty she felt. "I would've stood up! You should've asked me!""And make Admiral Schwartzman shuffle around? I was fine, Commander, but thanks for the intent.""Good deal." Anderson patted Kaidan on the back, and he and Marley followed the captain down the wide expanse that led to the docking bays. I'm looking forward to having you as my executive officer, Shepard. I couldn't think of a better candidate, so I put your name in, and here you are.""Wait." Marley stopped. "YOU recommended me?"Anderson turned and smiled. "I did, Shepard. Myself, Admiral Hackett, and Ambassador Udina. You deserve this opportunity more than anyone else I know."She was honored. "I didn't know that. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I won't let you down." "And hopefully, there will be no more surprises.""No...more?? Surprises?" Kaidan was perplexed.Anderson laughed...then stopped abruptly. "No more. After yesterday's surprise flight, we got a new pilot."Marley shook her head. "I'm not following, sir.""During the initial systems check, one of the kids from flight school took a Turian's disrespectful remark and decided to show everyone how to fly the Normandy.""I see...who is this person?""Jeff Moreau. They call him Joker. Grew up on the station. Hell of a pilot. The Turian...Invictus...gave him the position. That stunt would have had most of us shot.""He's the guy with the limp, right?" She quietly scoffed at herself for saying it that way, and continued with "I saw last week at the graduation ceremony...""That's him. Like I said, hell of a pilot. Also, we're expecting company on this trip. A Turian Spectre by the name of Nihlus is accompanying us on the shakedown.""Oh. Great." Shepard nodded, not knowing how to respond to a Council Spectre being aboard for the mission, but she knew that any time one was around, there was something important going on.*No, that's awesome!* Bryan encouraged her to get excited, which she mentally politely refused. *We're gonna see some action on this trip, just you wait!**Bryan,* she thought. *If you were physically present, I'd throttle you.**Love you, too, dear!*They reached the end of the rear docking area, and outside its multi-layered windows was quite a sight. Shaped like a dart with four engines and variable wings, the SSV Normandy stood out from all the others. The reflection of the station's blue lights ran parallel to its red and black paint job. It was beautiful and breathtaking to behold."Gorgeous ship, Captain.""Indeed it is. Grab your gear, we board in five."--"There you are." Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of not being near someone she knew while she met all of the crew, she found Kaidan in the bunks. He was kneeling beside a footlocker, moving things from his duffel bag into their new home."Good to see you, again Kaiden." She checked her datapad to find that they'd be sharing a bunk. "Looks like I get to be on top."Kaiden froze, jaw slightly ajar, eyes shifting slowly up at the girl. "You didn't just go there…"Marley was coy as she put her belongings away. She made eye contact, her grin growing ever larger. "I did."*Oh,shit,* Bryan taunted Marley. *This is going to be a long trip.*"You went there." Kaiden's approval was evident in his broad yet bashful smirk.She could barely contain the snicker as she closed her locker. "We need to keep each other on our toes, sir. Besides, maybe if things go as good as they have been, so far, we can be each other's wingman. At Flux.""Aye aye, ma'am." He turned for the door. "I gotta get up to the bridge.""Hey Kaiden?""Yes, ma'am?""Have you actually been to Flux?""No. But I hear the music is nice." Kaiden left the room, and Marley took her time as she walked through the frigate. It was sleek on the outside, practical inside, with all necessities for living in addition to a med bay, gunnery room, and expanded shuttle bay, where all personal equipment was stored and modified.She finally made her way up to the Combat Information Center, where the galaxy map was finally lit up -- a three dimensional map of the entire Milky Way floating above a plane of tiny hexagonal mirrors. It was a gorgeous and breathtaking sight to behold. She saw Navigator Pressly, nodded and smiled, and finally made her way down the engineer's pass to the bridge. She counted eight seats, total, four on either side of the walkway, as she strolled with confidence to the cockpit. Joker was at the helm, announcing the ship's location and upcoming Mass Relay jump. Kaiden had control of secondary emissions, and Nihlus was standing in the center of the pit, looking out of the window at the relay. She put her hands on the back of his chair to brace for it, although it was unnecessary. Thanks to the Normandy's gravitational pressure system, she felt little more than a tingle in her stomach.
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The silence on Eden Prime's surface was deafening. While the wind was breezy, there were few trees around with leaves to brush against one another. In the near distance, about fifty yards off, there was a depression with moist creatures hovering over it, most likely from the airsacs on their backs. *See that building on the horizon?* Bryan asked.*The only one?* Marley quipped.*Yeah. I died on the ground floor.**Oh wow, I forgot how we came together,* she admitted, following the dirt trail that she, Kaidan, and Jenkins were dropped off upon. *I bet you feel like you're imprisoned. I'm sorry, I've never bothered to ask.**I'm okay. It took some getting used to, obviously, but I'm okay. You've been very kind and your humor helps.**I didn't know I had one.**A sense of humor? Well...*"Oh my god..." Jenkins was dazed at the state of his home. "What happened here?" The color dropped from Jenkins' face as he gazed in bewilderment at the trail of destruction that stretched for miles. It wasn't a war path, but a trail of work that led to the dig site. On top of that was evidence of the gun battle Marley witnessed in the comm room just moments ago. "This place is a mess!""Stay focused, both of you two. We're not here to seek reason, we're here to get the beacon and get out, and hopefully find someone to tell us exactly what happened."The climate was warm, and the land was a lot like the southern United States. Dry red dirt, sparse mesquite-like trees and shrubs, and an occasional patch of grass that lined the somewhat hilly area. The sky, itself, was as red as the ground, a sign that it hadn't rained in awhile. So it came as quite a surprise that there were bog-like bodies of water here and there. The scent was that of a lake that had turned over."What the hell are those?" Kaidan reeled at the creepy floating creatures that looked like living dirigibles.*Gasbags, Marley. They're harmless.* Bryan said. *They feed on the moss and bubbles that come up from under swampy waters. When they reach their prime, their gas sacs burst, and they grow a second one that's darker and greener. Highly flammable at that stage of their life. These guys are just babies.**Interesting...* Marley thought."Gasbags," Jenkins said out loud. "They're harmless."*Dammit Bryan,* Marley thought.They reached a higher level of land, and found three bodies burnt to a crisp. After inspecting them for any clues as to what happened, she took a knee and surveyed the path ahead. It was a bottleneck, with a cliff on one side, and a small rock face on the other. Perfect place for an ambush. She raised her clenched hand, alerting her two soldiers to stop and kneel as well, and then waited for movement.Nothing."This is a bottleneck. That means if we run straight through, we'll be open targets." She looked at Kaidan. "So we're not doing that." To Jenkins, she warned, "You, neither."Jenkins nodded in understanding, and said, "someone has to go first.""Stick to the right side. Stay in cover. We'll stagger forward."Jenkins hopped first, quickly seeking cover behind the first raised stone. When he hopped to the second stone, Marley followed suit behind the first. All three of them made it through the narrow path with no trouble, nor signs of an enemy presence.Nihlus spoke up through the radio. "Lots of burned buildings and a lot of dead bodies. Keep your guard up.""No shit," she thought. Kaidan just shook his head."What is that?" Jenkins asked from his cover behind a large tree. He pointed Marley's attention to a twenty foot tall spike, impaled upon it was a burnt body. There were two other platforms in close proximity, but they didn't bear the same spike. Several robotic human-like figures were holding a man down on the platform. Without warning, a spike shot through the man, hoisting him up into the air.From behind flanking rocks, Marley and Kaidan observed the impaled man, his face wrought with a fear she had only witnessed on Akuze, his mouth gaping in a scream that nobody could hear. In the span of ten minutes, his skin became ashen as the organic material within was replaced with some kind of cybernetic material that she had never seen before. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," she recited with caution, then cursed under her breath."We gotta move!"Jenkins jumped first, throwing himself into a closer position under cover, shooting the light off the face of one of the synthetics. He then plucked a flash grenade from his belt and tossed it at two other robots, causing them to fall to their knees. Marley took aim with her Mantis, and with a single shot, severed one of the kneeling synthetics in half. "Four all day!" She yelled as Kaidan lifted one off the ground and Jenkins pelted the last kneeling with a spray of disruptor rounds from his M-7 Avenger."Three all day!" Kaidan yelled."Two all day!" Jenkins added."Fuck it!" Marley yelled, throwing an explosive at the last two. The blast obliterated them.The team remained spread out until everything fell silent, then Marley motioned for them to continue forward. They continued through the S curve of the thin terrain, meeting and downing three drones before seeing the tops of the structures at the dig site. A gasbag that was floating past Kaidan exploded, and the spray of the contents got into Marley's mouth. "OH YUCK!" She yelled in disgust. Just then, more bullets leveled her and Kaidan onto their stomachs on the ground and sent Jenkins flying for more cover. Kaidan was quick thinking, throwing a drone into what he thought was another one. Instead, it was another synthetic. There were four of them, this time, in addition to two more drones."Holy shit!" Kaidan yelled, "that one's got fire!" A woman in Alliance issue ivory and crimson armor scrambled to meet up with the three of them, but the flamethrower kept spraying in her path. Her screams for help were blood-curdling. Two larger synthetics uncloaked and began firing at her, and Marley saw the blood sling from several of the bullets that hit her. Kaidan was able to put one in a stasis field with his biotics, and threw the other to the ground. But the pyromaniac wasn't reacting to his warps at all. Marley couldn't get a clear shot through the flames. "STOP!!!!" Jenkins ran for the woman and pushed her out of the way of the flames, and his armor combusted. He screamed in agony as Marley frantically tapped her medigel dispenser, but it didn't seem to do any good. Jenkins dropped his M-7 and took his shotgun, blowing a shell full of bearings into the synthetic, causing it to explode. Everything fell still, again, and Kaidan was bringing the woman to Marley, whose mouth was agape at the remains of Jenkins. "You okay, Commander?" Kaidan came to her side and put his hand on the small of her back. Her head was down, and her hand was on her helmet. She wanted to take it off, but she didn't. "I will be." She looked up at him, and he could see the desperation in her eyes. "We don't get a second chance at life, Alenko...we'll get him a proper burial. A hero's burial.""He deserves it, ma'am." The woman, still out of breath from the fight, approached them. "Thank you for getting here when you did...Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212.""Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko." He helped her dust off and gave her a carbohydrate gel pack to suck down, then helped her with her damaged water pack. "Call me Kaidan.""I'm Staff Commander Marley Shepard. Where's your crew?"*I have no idea. But those machines are Geth.* Bryan's concern translated very clearly into her conscience."Geth?" She said aloud. *Oops.*"Yes, those are Geth," Ashley confirmed."That's impossible!" Kaidan exclaimed, "the Geth haven't been on this side of the Veil for 200 years...""Well they're here, now." Ashley finished the gel pack and dropped it. The bio-organic packaging disintegrated before it hit the ground."What happened here, Williams?" Marley insisted. "Where's the rest of your squad?""They're all dead, ma'am." Ashley was practically rattling in her charred red and white hard suit. "We were on a patrol when the attack hit. I've been running for my life ever since.""Don't blame yourself for this, " Marley picked up a loaded thermal clip from where Ashley had previously stumbled, then handed it to her. "You've made it this far, why don't you join us, and we can all get out of here.""I'm right there with you, then.""So this beacon," Marley started as they searched the area for any salvageable supplies or resources. "Where is it?""They hauled it up to the train station, just ahead past the space port over the next ridge.""Looks like that's where we're headed, next," Marley said. After determining there was nothing to salvage, the trio rounded the path, spying three spikes, including the one Marley watched earlier. All three had a body impaled on it, and all three were greyed out, tubed up, and blue from the inside."Careful, everyone," Kaidan cautioned, noting and pointing at the buildings and hiding places ahead. "I've got a bad feeling." Little did he expect the bodies to start chasing them. It happened so fast that Marley didn't even think to draw her weapon. Instead, she threw a left hook into the jaw of one, causing the head to burst as if she punched a cabbage -- their whole bodies were practically hollow. Ashley followed suit, swatting at one with her rifle, and Kaidan threw a warp on another, ripping it to shreds.Marley squatted down to get a better look at what they just destroyed. "They're like husks. Dead, decrepit, and loaded with synthetics.""So that guy we saw, earlier..."Marley nodded. "Yeah, he became one of these guys.""Oh, god." "It's like they're mindless freaks, hell bent on killing us." Kaidan's assumption was accurate.*Or whatever gets in their way.* Bryan again."Well, let's get on our way before more show up." Marley hauled the team to ready position, and the three headed to the train station.Kaidan was still interested in the flattened terrain that seemed to go on forever. "What happened out here? What's with the leveled ground?""They were going to extend the monorail to the polar east. Huge gypsum and limestone deposits about 50 miles from here. It looked like a good place to extend the colony. Then they found the beacon.""I see. And what's the beacon all about?" "I don't know much about it, but when they found it, every scientist in the galaxy wanted to look at it. That's when we were stationed out here. The 232 was camped nearby, maybe they're doing better than we did.""You didn't see a Turian Spectre, by chance, did you?""No, Commander, I didn't. I don’t know if there are any Turians on Eden Prime...and I don't think I'd tell if one was a Spectre or not.""Oh you'd know," Kaidan huffed. "The guy's got enough fire power to stock an entire unit.""Change of plans, Shepard." It was Nihlus.*Speak of the devil,* Bryan said to her."There's a small space port up ahead. I want to check it out."Marley shook her head. Kaidan and Ashley both gave Marley a half-obvious expression, to which she shrugged back. "To the spaceport, then.""It's just beyond this ridge," Ashley pointed to the tops of canopies just ahead.On the way around the ridge, they heard a single gunshot. Moments later, they heard screeching metal and an ominous low-level buzz as they watched the same bug-like ship Marley saw on video lift off from the planet's surface. The ship had to be at least two kilometers long. It was incredible -- incredibly frightful.While they were gazing at the enormity of the metallic beast, several husks had flanked them. One tackled Marley, throwing her to the ground and ripping her helmet off. "Thanks, didn't want to have that on, anyway!" Then it tried to get to her eyes. "HEY!" She pushed hard on its chin, and its head popped clean off its body. The body remained clinging to her from the side, but she got up and ran after the next one. Kaidan used his biotics to pull two of them off Ashley, drawing enough time to get a handle on his assault rifle. Ashley took her shotgun to two more husks, and the rapid succession of fire overheated the weapon, melting the trigger unit entirely. "Fuck!" She yelled, choosing her sub-machine gun as the replacement.There had to be at least ten of the creatures, and all were eventually killed, but not before a host of Geth showed up. One even threw a flash grenade at them.Removing the first two sources of fire opened the theater for the two of them to get back on their feet and take cover. Marley couldn't find a place to rest her sniper rifle, so she switched to her pistol, a general issue weapon with little power but extended thermal bearings. She pinged the wimpy bullets off the machines to throw them off balance, and with a stroke of luck, hit one in the light fixture that emitted from the center of its head. It collapsed instantly."Good shot, commander!" Kaidan finished off two more machines while Marley switched to her rifle, picking off the remaining drones. He watched Ashley take out the last robotic with a melee smash of her shotgun, then lowered his assault rifle as she doubled over, completely out of breath. "Ma'am?" he asked, providing cover while she sat behind the rock. "You gonna be okay?""Yeah," she sighed. "Just, I've been doing this for awhile."Marley changed when she watched their exchange. She wasn't angry, though. She was fearful. Terrified. "Aww, hell naw! Not today!" The soft angle of her eyebrows suddenly arched deep down in the center, her eyes sharpened, and her sniper rifle became weightless. With ease and precision, she took the Geth down. She worked up her rifle: "tick clack, tick clock," rubbed the trigger with her finger until it felt just right, fired, and repeated until all of them were dispatched. Kaidan and Ashley finished off the husks. The commander was trembling and breathing heavily when they approached her."You okay, Commander?" Kaidan asked, offering her a hand. "I don't need you ladies falling apart on me, here."She took a deeper breath, then slowly let it go. "Yeah."They continued to the train station where they came across Nihlus. His dead figure lie on the ground in a pool of blue blood."Oh, wow…" Kaidan looked at Marley. "What do we do, now?""I don't --" the three of them heard movement behind crates that were clearly marked PROPERTY OF SYSTEMS ALLIANCE MILITARY. All three aimed their pistols at the movement.Marley ordered the person to "come out with your hands where we can see them. NOW."Slowly, a pair of hands reveled themselves, followed by the rest of the person, a scrawny guy in dock worker's clothes and an old Miami Maestros beanie. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I just --""What are you doing behind those crates?" Ashley demanded."I was -- I was hiding, what does it look like I was doing?""Hiding. While this Turian was shot?" Kaidan asked. "What did you see?""There was another Turian. That one called him Saren. They were friends or something, cause he let his guard down, turned his back to him and everything. Then the Saren guy shot him. Right in the back!""And why are these crates here?" Marley scanned the codes on the packages, pulling up their contents. "These were supposed to be shipped three weeks ago!"The man backed away. "I--I don't know. Cole left them here, and I was supposed to hold them for one of our friends.""You're smuggling weapons?!?" Ashley exclaimed. "We're in the middle of a war, fighting for our lives, and you're smuggling things that could have kept people alive?!?""Ashley," Kaidan tried to calm her down. "Marley,""No, Kaidan. YOU -- I should have you arrested for this!""Look, lady, I'm the only one left here, I think, I'll give it back to you if you let me live!""Oh, I'll let you live," Marley said, eyes blazing a hole right through his forehead. "But you should think about how to make it up to everyone. If we fail, it's all on you and your smuggling ring." They finished going through the boxes, upgrading their weapons, and started to leave. Just before they got out of earshot, Marley yelled, "give our regards to Cole, Powell, 'cause we'll be coming back for him, first!""Powell?" Kaidan asked. "How did you know his name?""He signed for the boxes," she informed him. Before she had a chance to turn back around, a tracer whizzed through her hair. She barely had time to look for the source when Ashley lunged at their Geth aggressors, killing all three with her Lancer. From there, the train ride was quiet. Upon exiting the flat car, they found a bomb. Kaiden dismantled it immediately while Marley headed for the next one and Ashley provided cover. Two rocket troopers attempted to launch missiles, but Kaiden threw one into a stasis field, causing it to blow up, which took out the other one. Ashley deactivated the third device, and Marley took care of the final device. As they crossed over to the station's promenade, Kaidan spotted the beacon, and Marley called for immediate pickup."Wow," he spoke in utter amazement. "Real active Prothean technology. Unbelievable!""It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up." Ashley noted the green glow of the data elements that lined the outside of the tall, slender column of what appeared to be some sort of marbleized stone.Without warning, Kaidan felt a pull from the device, a pull that he unintentionally triggered when he got too close to it. He dug into the ground with his heels, leaving a black scuff mark in their wake. Marley saw this, pushed past Ashley, and tackled him to the ground. It started to pull both of them, and she shoved Kaidan away. He and Ashley watched helplessly as Marley was lifted off her feet by the energy from the beacon.The images came quickly, one after the other. Of fire, smoke, trees, circuit boards burning into flesh, and suddenly, a flash of light in sync with an ear-piercing crack. She plummeted to the ground, and lie motionless on her stomach. Kaidan rolled her over and checked for a pulse, then for breathing. *Marley?* Bryan asked. Then waited. *Marley? You there? Marls?*Silence.*It's alright, baby,* he said. *I saw it, too.*