Chapter One: Planet Normandy

He couldn't stop the dreams. He was even pretty sure that they were getting worse. Maybe it was the food. Three weeks on this forest-covered rock, and he was still restricted to whatever turian field rations remained in the Normandy's cargo. Despite EDI's prodding to "try the fish—they're a curious consistency with an intriguing flavor," he didn't want to risk it.

He didn't even feel hunger the same way anymore, and he was sure that was feeding the nightmares. No. Not nightmares. They didn't frighten him or fill him with dread. They were more like memories...memories meshed with now-abandoned aspirations. Shepard was in every one, dark haired and smiling. No Reapers. No Cerberus. Just her living a life she would never know.

Garrus sat straight-backed against the tree trunk. His favorite rifle was caught in his grip, subject to being cleaned for the third time that morning. Its surface was marred by scratches left by a Marauder on Palaven, the withered husk of someone he had probably once known. A former comrade. Maybe even a friend. He traced the jagged lines with his fingers. His stomach twisted at the tangle of thoughts that would probably always eat at him.

Where were they?

What happened to Earth?

To the others?

What of Palaven? Tuchanka? Sur'Kesh?

Why was EDI even eating? She didn't have the hardware for that kind of thing.

Or did she?

He looked down at his hand—probably for the thousandth time since they got here—squinting to make out the faint tracings that wove along his carapace. He felt different. They all felt different. Joker limped less. EDI could eat and feel sensations other than hot and cold. James-

"Yo, jefe!"

Garrus' eyes shot up at the voice, the deep green coming to focus on the broad form of James Vega as the soldier came plowing through the underbrush. The turian's danger sense never really diminished after the war with the Reapers, but the same could not be said for the younger human. Vega had sobered since Mars, sure, but the time spent on this planet had lessened his caution. He almost treated it like a vacation. Either that, or it was his own way of coping with the undeniable truth that they didn't know where they were...and neither did the rest of the galaxy.

"You are not going to believe what I found in the Loft. Did you even know about this?" He held out a data chip that looked too big for an omni-tool but too small for a terminal. "I figured that, if anyone would want to see it-" James hesitated, his boisterous demeanor trickling away. It was first evident in his eyes as the deep brown caught the light. There was the glisten of tears, perhaps, but it was impossible to tell. He recovered quickly. "If anyone would want to see it, it would be you."

He pulled a black box out of his belt pouch, a smooth thing of plastic and metal with a glass circle on the top, and inserted the data chip into the side. He then placed the box on the ground and pressed a button. There was a sputter of light and crackle of static. A vague form blipped into view, fuzzy, but the voice was unmistakeable.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite spot in the universe. Looking good, soldier."

Garrus could only stare for a moment. His throat had gone dry while his jaw and mandibles clenched. He gripped his rifle tightly, his focus shooting from the box to the glow of the VI's face and back again. He struggled to his feet and practically staggered over. The image was sharpening as the transmitter warmed up.

"There's nothing this galaxy can't beat if we all work together."

"Shut it off." His voice was low, dangerous.

"But I thought you'd-"

"Except the Reapers. Ever see the size of one of those things?"

"I said shut it off!" Garrus primed his assault rifle and aimed it at the transmitter box.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" James dove forward and knocked the gun barrel toward the deep woods before Garrus could fire, the echo of the rapid shot seeming to carry on much longer than it should have. His foot shot out and kicked wildly at the transmitter box until he managed to hit the power switch. Shepard's likeness blinked out. The voice stopped.

Garrus didn't move. He stood there, James' hands clamped to his wrists to keep the deadly weapon pointed in a non-lethal direction. His breath was short and ragged, his eyes burning with rage and an overwhelming sadness. He inhaled deeply and forced himself to relax. James took the gun from him when his arms fell back to his sides.

"I'm sorry," the human said, genuine concern carried in his tone. "I thought that...maybe..."

Garrus turned to look at him. "I appreciate it," he said, hesitant but honest.

"But too soon?"

"Yes. Too soon."

They walked together back to the Normandy. She had been converted into full living quarters with a small encampment spread out around. Most of the crew had still been aboard, including Chakwas who spent most of her time helping Liara study the local flora while simultaneously monitoring the changes everyone noticed they had undergone. Traynor worked with EDI to get as many of the systems back online as possible, but it had long ago been determined that the Normandy would never fly again without some serious mechanical service. A beacon had been activated, but the reality was that no one was waiting around for rescue. The air was dead of any other signal. The space beyond was a black void of unfamiliar constellations and unknown moons. There were a few other planets in the system, but EDI had yet to gather together enough intel to compare to any extant records.

They made their home in a clearing protected by a sheer rock face on one side and a cliff drop-off on another. The forest took care of the rest. Evidence pointed to them having landed in a temperate zone of this planet, which didn't say much. The green foliage was in the newness of what passed for spring and the weather comfortable and breezy. However, it had yet to be determined what the seasons were actually like here, and it was already anticipated that most of the planet's year would be hot, humid, and probably close to unbearable in the sun. Traynor was already planning to upgrade the environmental life support systems to accommodate for any possibility (on a wing and a prayer, Garrus thought, as there was no place to even salvage for new parts).

Joker waved the two men down as soon as they were through the treeline.

"What did you bring in?" he called out.

"A cranky turian!" James hollered back. Garrus restrained the urge to hit him. The human still had his gun.

"No, I mean did you bag anything for dinner," Joker clarified when they were closer. "We heard gunshots."

"I thought I saw something," Garrus put in before James could breathe a word. "Turned out it was just wind and shadows."

"That's a shame," the pilot replied, actually looking disappointed. He adjusted the brim of his cap. "Those beaver-looking things you shot last week were pretty awesome. I really want to try it chargrilled with some good ol' southern barbeque sauce we found stashed in the kitchen. You'd love it, Garrus, I swear."

The turian shook his head, amused and annoyed at the same time. "What is it with the lot of you trying to get me to eat the food? You know I-"

"Because I think you can."

EDI stepped up next to Joker. Her metallic body was dressed in a salvaged Alliance uniform and her visor was shut off. It was disconcerting to see her eyes. They were as artificial as the rest of her, but every day there was something new behind them, a glint, a spark of emotion, a shadow of feeling. She had the same tracings shimmering along her as everyone else, and the reverberation of her voice was significantly more organic.

"I have been running tests on the crew and analyzing it alongside the results Chakwas and Liara bring in regarding local flora. Many things here are similar to Earth with some minor differences. Carbon-based life that relies on oxygen, but much contains a toxicity that the human body, at least, should not be able to handle. Mr. Vega was brave enough to sample every species found in the viscinity. The results were astounding."

James did a double-take. "Wait—you mean that eating contest you challenged me to could have killed me?"

"Only if I were wrong in my deductions."

"Is this a joke?"

"No." But EDI's lips did quirk upward a little. It was disconcerting for more reasons than the fact her face shouldn't have been able to move like that. "You were deemed to have the strongest metabolism. Chakwas was on alert should the worst occur."

James muttered a slew of things in Spanish that Garrus was glad he couldn't understand. He couldn't blame him. It was bad enough that they had to learn how to live on an alien world with little hope of rescue (when they were the ones who usually charged in to the rescue), but EDI satisfied her boredom with experiments. Necessary experiments, yes, but still lacking a good deal of empathy toward another living thing. She was learning. Slowly. But she was learning.

"Humans being able to eat it is one thing," Garrus said. "I'm not human. You know that."

"And that's precisely my point." EDI held up a piece of fruit that had been one of the the first things deemed edible. "My studies have proven that everyone's biology has changed somewhat. I have yet to deduce how, but I do believe the same applies to you. If the humans are able to eat food that would otherwise be toxic to them, my theory is that you should be able to do the same."

She held out the fruit to him. It filled her hand with a lumpy roundness. Its skin was soft and slightly fuzzy with a red-orange color that was a warm brown in places. Garrus had always thought it at least smelled good, and the others liked it well enough. Sweet, they said, sweet and juicy and surprisingly filling. He had never wanted to chance the indigestion. Tentatively, he reached out and took the fruit, holding it before his face for a moment before he made his final decision. It smelled good. And he was hungry and definitely sick of the field rations. But there was no knowing...

He took a bite. A small one. Just enough to let the juice spread over his tongue while his sharp teeth worked at the meat. It was a little on the stringy side, but he knew immediately why the others preferred it so highly. As it was, fresh off the tree, it was amazing. He bit off a little more, chewed and swallowed. He would know in seconds if he was in for a bad day.

"My theory stands," EDI said once Garrus finished the whole thing. He hadn't even noticed how quickly he'd wolfed it down. "We are all changed in some way. None of us are as we were." Her head tilted in such a way that made it look like she was scowling. "It will require further study."

"Study away," Joker told her with a shoulder squeeze and encouraging smile. "Planet Normandy is going nowhere."

"And neither are we," Garrus added, licking his fingers to taste the last of the sweetness. "But don't mind me if I'm not ready to accept that just yet."