Written for the 2014 Mass Effect Flash Big Bang. Art by the wonderful downontheupside who was an absolute pleasure to work with.

Chapter 1 – Torin

"Commander?"

"What is it, EDI?" Torin Shepard leaned over the galaxy map, frowning at what she could make out on the screen.

They were in the process of scanning a tiny garden world in the Exodus Cluster. So far, they had found a few medium-sized eezo deposits, but nothing major. Torin had been about to give up and call it a day when the AI had spoken up.

"An anomaly." EDI's voice was flat and emotionless, as usual. "Launching probe."

"Well?" Torin yawned. It had been a long day, and she was looking forward to a quiet evening in her cabin with Garrus. Music, maybe a movie, a bit of cuddling, and maybe more…

"There are traces of a localized singularity of some kind, Commander." EDI sounded hesitant, a rare occurrence. "The available data doesn't allow me to determine exactly what happened, but it was a recent phenomenon. There also seems to be a crashed shuttle on the planet's surface. And the probe is picking up signs of human life."

Suddenly, Torin felt wide awake. "We're going down there. Now. Whoever is trapped down there might need help. Garrus, Jacob, join me in the shuttle bay."

Within the hour, they were on their way to the planet's surface. "EDI? What can you tell me about the planet? Do they have a chance of surviving until we pick them up?"

"Yes, Commander. The atmosphere is similar to Earth's. Even without suits and in a damaged shuttle, most life forms should be able to breathe, and the danger of radiation poisoning is within negligible parameters."

"Good." Torin fiddled with her armour, smiling at Garrus when he reached over to help her adjust it. "It seems weird, though. How come a shuttle is stranded on a planet in the middle of nowhere, with no ship in sight?"

"Maybe they had to desert their ship." Garrus' voice had an odd quality. It took her a moment to recognize the soft flanging tones he used when he wanted to calm her. "Or maybe-"

"Approaching landing zone," EDI interrupted them.

Jacob was the first to jump out into the open. There was no need for commands – the three of them worked together like a well-oiled machine after so many missions. Within moments, they had all taken cover behind rocks or ledges. After all, the crashed shuttle might well turn out to be a trap of some kind.

Slowly, they pushed forward, in the direction of the signal. When the shuttle came in sight, Torin eyed it with no small amount of distrust. It looked normal enough, but it definitely wasn't an Alliance model. The writing on its sides was badly smudged by scorch marks, but she could make out the letters "NCC-1".

She glanced at Jacob. "Is that a Cerberus model?"

He shook his head. "No. At least not one I've ever come across."

Just then, three men appeared from the undergrowth next to the shuttle and Torin signalled at him to be quiet. None of them was wearing armour or a spacesuit, and the only visible weapons they carried were small, pistol-like handguns. Those looked unfamiliar, too. As for their clothing…

"Think the colours mean something?" Jacob whispered at her.

The three men wore nearly identical suits with black pants. Their long-sleeved shirts were blue, red and golden brown respectively. All three of them had a weirdly shaped badge attached to their chests.

"Hard to tell," Torin hissed back. "Might just be their favourite pyjamas, for all I know."

Jacob grinned widely. Torin waited another few minutes, but the three men seemed to be on their own. EDI's voice over the com confirmed her assumption. "No further life signs, Commander."

Once more, Torin eyed their weapons, then signalled at Garrus to stay behind. Having a sniper at their back couldn't hurt. Jacob followed her as she rose and walked over to the three men, her gun lowered. When they saw her approach, they looked up warily.

The one in the golden shirt smirked at her. "Heeey. What a pleasant surprise. I hadn't expected to see such a lovely lady on this god-forsaken rock." Addressing himself to Jacob, he nodded genially and extended his hand. "Sir. Captain James T. Kirk. Nice to meet you."

Jacob raised an eyebrow and looked over at Shepard. "Commander?"

"Nice to meet you too, Captain." She kept her tone dry. "I'm Commander Shepard, of the Normandy SR-2, and this is Jacob Taylor, one of my officers."

The Captain had the decency to blush a little. The man in red chuckled softly to himself, while the one in blue eyed her with detached interest. That last one had pointy ears, she noticed, and oddly shaped eyebrows. "One of them is not human, Commander," EDI supplied over the comm. "Though I can't find any species corresponding to his readings in my databases."

Hmmm. Curious. Torin took a deep breath. "You seem to be having trouble with your shuttle."

All three nodded in unison, then the non-human one spoke. "We were going to make a start on repairs presently, but we would appreciate any assistance you can offer."

Ah. This one has manners. Torin smiled at him. "We'll see what we can do. And you are-"

"Commander Spock, ma'am." His face remained serious. "And this is Mr Scott, our ship's chief engineer."

"Ah, yes. Your ship. Where would that be?" She probably sounded a little sharp.

Kirk's face darkened, but it was Spock who answered. "It is a complicated story, I'm afraid. We appear to be cut off from communication with our vessel."

"Right." She sighed. "Well, I guess it's best if you join us on board the Normandy. We can have your shuttle brought up to our bay, and our engineers can help you with the repairs. Besides, I'm sure you could all do with some rest." She motioned for them to follow them. "Just one thing… Jacob? Please collect their weapons."

"You're not taking away my gun." Kirk made a step in her direction, reaching for his belt.

A tiny red dot of light appeared above his heart and he grew pale. Obviously he had a fair idea what it meant.

Just to make sure, Torin spelled it out for him. "There's a gun pointed at you, Captain. Please surrender your weapons peacefully. You can't expect me to welcome armed strangers on my ship."

He nodded reluctantly and they made their way back to the shuttle without further complications. Garrus was the last to board. His appearance drew a few curious gazes from the strangers. Interesting. It's almost as if they've never seen a turian before. Still, they refrained from commenting.

As they rose from the ground, Kirk glanced over at her, his cocky grin back in place. "Hey, no hard feelings, right? You're welcome to check me for hidden weapons any time."

Torin didn't even bother to hide her eye roll, but Garrus stepped closer, his subvocals humming with menace. "Would you like me to teach him some respect, Shepard?"

"Oh relax, birdie. It was a joke." Kirk did back away a few steps, though.

"I guess we're all a little tense." Torin ran a finger gently along Garrus' fringe, the gesture half-way between calming and teasing. Kirk's expression betrayed his surprise at this show of tenderness, and she favoured him with a cool smile. "We can talk more once we're aboard the Normandy."

They spent the rest of the trip in uncomfortable silence.