Prologue: Waking Up

Eve Shepard, a war hero and commander from the alliance, looked at the blue image of a young boy who called himself the catalyst in confusion. Was this really the only choices she had? To become a reaper to control them, to destroy all synthetics including EDI and the Geth, or throw herself into the beam of light before her to merge artificial and organic life.

She shivered looking at her hand that was trying to keep the blood coming from her wound from gushing out. She looked at the beam muttering, "I don't have much time anyway...if my life will give peace then it is my only option."

"Have you made your decision?" the Catalyst asked looking up to her receiving a single nod as he walked out of the way for her to go.

Eve started to run as hard as she could toward the beam knowing it was making her weaker but she didn't care as she looked down into the beam. She stepped off into the core seeing images of the ones she lost flash in her mind. Kaiden, Mordin, Thane, Legion...all of them had died to the reapers in some way or another. Her eyes grew wide though as the picture of her lover and best friend appeared before her, Garrus.

Forgive the insubordination, but your boyfriend has an order for you... come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you.

That thought rang into her head as she felt the light burning at her skin whispering, "I guess I can't even follow the one order you ever gave me, Garrus..."

She felt her body being burnt apart as her eyes closed and the world went black.

Eve took a gasp as her eyes flew open seeing a dull yet oddly familiar light around her. Her eyes flickered from one side to the next to see where she was. The first Normandy, the Sr-1. Her old bed in the crew quarters to be exact. She had never expected to awake here.

She let out a groan, sitting up slowly placing a hand on her head. Was that all just a dream? A nightmare her mind concocted as if she didn't have enough of those.

She squeezed her hands sparks coming from her biotics came from within. That was not a part of her before she knew, she was stronger now then she thought she had been after that dream. At least she hoped it was just a dream.

Eve swiveled in the bed hearing the clank of the metal below her as she grabbed the heavy boots that laid on the floor below her. She pulled them on as well as grabbed her armor from beside her bed. She had overslept a bit, and they must be drawing close to Eden Prime by now.

She heard Joker's voice over the intercom going on about how close they were drawing to the target. She glanced to it wondering why that dream had made her even feel closer to the pilot of this vessel. She moved heading to the elevator up to the bridge deck to speak with him before she reported to Captain Anderson and the spectre on board Nihlus.

She leaned back into the elevator as it took her up, her mind thinking on the dream every small part from the fact on Eden Prime two people would die and she had no control over that to the fact in the dream to in the future she was in love with a Turian. She had never been a Xenophobe but it was a bit hard to accept at the moment that she fell in love with a member of the same species who the humans had a war with only a couple decades before.

She was trying hard not to think about the main cause of so many deaths in the dream though, the massive synthetics called the Reapers.

She stepped out of the elevator slowly, her boots hitting the floor below her as she headed swiftly toward the bridge ahead of her. She ignored the conversations around her for now seeing Nihlus was there caused her stomach to twist. The image of his body on the ground with a shot through the back of his head flickered into her mind.

"Good job," was the spectres response to the arrival through the mass relay as he turned moving past Eve.

"I hate that guy," Joker said as he flew the ship toward the colony of Eden Prime his maneuvers were excellent at always.

Eve looked to Joker holding her tongue to prevent the thought from spilling out about how the spectre was going to die. Her eyes moved toward the co-pilot who was responding, "He give you a complement and all you can do is complain."

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy to hit a target the size of a pinhead so that's incredible. Besides spectres are trouble, I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid if you want," Joker said as his hands controlled the ship.

"You're paranoid," the co-pilot said keeping an eye on the thrust to keep everything balanced on the ship, "The council is funding this mission so they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

Joker didn't even look at the co-pilot but Eve had a slight feeling of being here before as he did respond, "That's the official story, but only idiots believe the official story."

"They don't send spectres on shakedown runs," Eve said before she could help herself, even though a part of her knew the real reason why Nihlus was there.

"So there's more going on here then the captain's letting on," Joker said finally looking over to the co-pilot fully now.

Eve's voice hitched in her throat as Anderson's voice came over the comm. Images of a man forcing her to shoot the Captain, the mentor she had always looked up to, came to mind vividly her fist clenching shut.

"Joker! Status report," Anderson requested over the comm in a voice she herself rarely heard from him.

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid," Joker responded his own voice a lot more professional now.

Eve's couldn't keep her mind on the conversation though as she tried to rid the images that were coming to her of the moment when the Captain passed on. She closed her eyes taking a slow breath ridding her mind of the knowledge for now.

She looked up catching the final part of Joker's sentence, "...Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," Anderson responded his voice had a bit of annoyance to it from the disrespect Joker had for the spectre, "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for debriefing."

"You get that commander," Joker said not even looking up to her.

"He sounds angry, something must have happened with the mission," Eve said looking down to Joker in his chair.

"No, the captain always sounds like that when talking to me," Joker said with a slight laugh to his voice now.

The co-pilot shook his head saying, "I can't possibly imagine why."

Eve knew the reason why but it was probably why she felt closer to Joker after that dream as well. His jokes lightened the mood often in the vividness it contained.

"Well I better go see the Captain," Eve said turning heading from the bridge seeing the Chakwas, the resident doctor, and a young corporal speaking near by. She walked passed them for now she was sure Chakwas would see her enough in the future no reason to cause herself more images at the moment.

She headed past the elevator into the comm room seeing Nihlus waiting there but no sign of Anderson yet. She stepped forward slowly looking toward the spectre asking slowly, "Nihlus, have you seen the Captain?"

"Shepard, he should be back shortly," Nihlus said turning around to face her, "But I was hoping you would get here first, give us a chance to talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" Eve said standing tall now at alert knowing that she had to forget that dream now. She wasn't going to be spooked by a simple nightmare.

"I'm rather interested in this world we are going to, Eden Prime. I've heard it is quite beautiful," Nihlus said starting to pace before stopping to look at her once more.

"They say it's a paradise in fact," Eve said looking at him knowing in her dream this place was nothing like a paradise to her, "I've never been there though so it's hard to say."

"Yes...a paradise. Serene, Tranquil, Safe, are all words I've heard associated with this colony on Eden Prime," Nihlus said looking to the side thinking on something, "It's a bit of a symbol for your people, is it not?"

Eve stepped forward looking at him asking, "Do you know something you should tell us?"

Nihlus turned looking toward the image on the screen of Eden Prime saying, "Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place."

He then turned looking straight into her eyes, his voice serious as he asked, "Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

Eve was ready to say something but stopped hearing Anderson's voice as he came into the room.

"I think it is about time we tell the Commander what this is truly about," Anderson said his voice not nearly as strict as it was in his conversation with Joker.

Eve was patient hearing about the beacon, trying hard not to think about the dread that filled her the more they talked about the ancient Prothean technology. She was about to say something as Joker's voice came over the comm, "Captain we got a problem."

"What's wrong, Joker?" Anderson said turning to look at the comm unit above them.

"We received a transmission from Eden Prime. You have to see this," Joker said his voice a bit shaky.

"Bring it up on screen," Anderson said stepping forward as the video of an attack was shown and a brief glimpse of what looked to be a hand from how quick it was.

After it went to the static of the message as Joker said solemnly, "After that the transmission goes dead, sir."

"Rewind and hold on 38.5," Anderson said as the video went back pausing on the image of the ship that the video was barely on.

Eve looked at it resisting the urge to step back, it was the same thing from her nightmare. This was a Reaper but did that mean her dream was more then a dream?

Well now that's it for chapter 1. If you have any suggestions or just enjoy the story please tell me. There is a few things I'm debating but for now I have the plan through the next chapter on Eden Prime.