Chapter Text
Shepard leaned over the dead body of Nihlus and pushed him around a bit with his pistol, making sure the Turian was really dead. Damn. Now he had a dead spectre on his hands, and the complicated mission became even more messy. Hopefully, this wasn't going to bite them in the ass, especially not Captain Anderson, considering the recent history humans and turians shared.
Grimacing a little, Shepard gave the dead Spectre another shove and straightened up, scanning the area. He knew he always had the support of Anderson and if anything could be done on Shepard’s part, it was done to make the Captain proud in return. Anderson had always been there for him since the beginning, being something like a father to him. But damn it, Nihlus was dead. Shot in the head.
The first time Shepard realized Ashley Williams could mean trouble was when she snapped at the smuggler who had stayed hidden behind the grates. Granted, he seemed like an idiot, but at least he had useful intel and was willing to share his knowledge with them. Being nice sometimes paid off as well. And sometimes, being a badass paid off, too. Currently, Shepard just wanted to get the job done and clean up this mess. Especially as they knew it involved another turian, called Saren, who obviously wasn't doing some half-assed work either. He sighed mentally as he narrowed his eyes, this mission wasn't going as planned. Too many people had already lost their lives. And homes too.
Taking out the waiting Geth wasn't a problem either. The bombs were disabled and perhaps the colony could be rebuilt. Being an engineer made it easy for Shepard to overload their shields, Kaidan sent them flying into the air and the rest of life, if it was alive at all, was taken out by Williams. At least the woman could shoot straight. He snorted at the thought.
Upon reaching the beacon he had to admit, that thing was interesting, to say the least. Shepard turned away to radio the Normandy, in the background, he heard the chatter of Williams and Alenko but didn't really pay their chatter attention.
Alenko was still standing next to him, looking him straight in the eye and winking playfully. Maybe they would have some downtime later they could spend together, and Shepard felt a small smile tug at his lips. Kaidan's eyebrows began to knit, the way they did when a grin spread across his face, and indeed, there it was. Shepard's eyes twinkled for a moment before they were drawn to Williams. He realized the woman was struggling.
Being drawn to ... where?
He pushed past Kaidan and jumped at her, grabbing her from behind and hurling her away. Shepard felt the pull of the beacon now, and he struggled to get out of it. Pushing against it with all the strength he could muster, Shepard suddenly understood he couldn't get out of it, just as he faintly heard the shouts of his squad behind him.
Further and further he was drawn and felt himself being lifted into the air. Hundreds of images were pressed into his brain and it felt like his head was on fire. He could have sworn he was screaming, the burning sensation growing worse by the second. The green light of the beacon exploded, but then changed to blue and white, throwing Shepard into some kind of tunnel. That was the last he remembered.
At the same time, in another reality, Kaidan had struggled with the beacon and had been rescued by his Commander, who was knocked unconscious. Kaidan knelt beside her when they heard a low rumbling sound. The sound increased in volume and suddenly, as if a small hole had been opened, another body was thrown out of it, landing right next to Alenko and Williams. Kaidan stared at the human in surprise.