With a heave Ruby threw the lid of the crate open and gazed inside. A savage grin that would have scared the socks off a Krogan spread across her lips as she reached in a pulled out five heavily modified Karpov X pistols. Satisfied with her catch, she turned and handed them out to her team, savouring their looks of astonishment as they accepted the new weapons. Their new armor gleaming under the lights of the Normandy's cargo bay.

"Karpov," Garrus said in awe, turning the pistol over in his hands. "You know how much these cost, right?"

"Yep," Ruby answered, popping the 'p' as she dug through the crate again.

"So how did you manage to get five of them? It would take my whole savings to get one of these."

"I have ten of them actually. But that's nothing," she replied cheekily, turning back to them. The squad's eyes almost bugged out of their heads as they saw the five Volkov X sniper rifles in her arms.

Grinning even wider she handed them out as well, having to close Garrus' limp hands around the weapon to keep it from falling out from his shock.

When she emerged from another crate baring five Sokolov X shotguns Ashley couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, how did you get all this, Commander? We're holding enough credits worth of equipment to buy a whole apartment block on the Citadel, and that could cost as much as a whole frigate."

The others all nodded in agreement, save for Wrex who couldn't care less about it. They were free guns, who cared?

"I sued Rosenkov Materials," Ruby said simply, busy digging through another crate.

Stunned silence met her proclamation.

"You... sued Rosenkov?" Kaidan asked, stunned.

"Yep."

"How?" Ashley demanded. "They're one of the largest armor corporations in Alliance space."

"Well, that's a bit of a long story," Ruby replied, coming up from the crate with her arms full of Kovalyov X assault rifles. She handed them out as she explained. "You see, not only am I a one of a kind person, I also have a one of a kind weapon: Crescent Rose. So when I was in the N7 program I had the very good foresight to patent the design and some of the components inside with a Citadel law firm. Cost me a lot, but it was worth it. After my... stunt on Elysium, Rosenkov Materials somehow got their hands on my designs and copied it. When they tried to sell it I sued them. And won."

"So what did you win?" Ashley asked, examining her new gear.

"Hmm... about fifteen million in credits and some of their best guns."

More silence met her words.

"So you sued them... for guns?" Tali asked incredulously.

"And money," Ruby added quickly. "Besides, they were all to happy to give me what I wanted. They're a multi-billion credit company, what's fifteen million and a few guns to them? As an added bonus I'm still on reasonably good terms with them. But enough about my legal exploits."

She went over to another crate and cracked the lid open and started digging around inside it. "For those who missed the earlier announcement we are currently heading towards Therum in the Krossos system in the Artemis Tau Cluster. The planet is most well known for it's Prothean ruins, so it's really a no-brainer that our good Doctor T'soni would be there. Also the Geth fleet in orbit was a dead give away. Apparently Saren wants her just as much as we do. The Normandy's stealth systems are engaged so we are in the clear of all detection. We've traced the Geth to a dig site a few kilometers from our landing zone, so we'll be deploying in the Mako. Anyone who is not Alliance military better hold onto their breakfast cause it's gonna be a wild ride."

As she kept on digging deeper, Kaidan leaned over to Ashley and whispered, "Is she on the list?"

"I don't know," Ashley whispered back, sounding apprehensive. "I haven't checked it in a while."

"What list?" Tali asked, eyeing their worried expressions.

"The Mako's suspension is notorious," Ashley explained. "It's less a tank and more like a giant, armored bouncy ball with a gun."

"And that means?"

"It swerves, tips, rolls and everything in between," Kaidan said grimly. "Weak stomachs beware, hell awaits all who enter."

"And the list?"

"Top one hundred worst Mako drivers in the Alliance," Ruby said brightly, coming up from the crate with her arms full of small round red and blue disks.

"Grenades," she explained, passing out two of each color to everyone. "Red is high explosive, blue is cryo. And for the record, you two, I'm below the fifty mark."

She chuckled at their horrified expressions and continued with the briefing. "Now Therum is the planet that made the phrase 'hell on earth'... without it actually being earth. Lakes of lava as far as the eye can see. We will remain in the Mako until we get to the dig site unless it is absolutely necessary. No doubt the Geth have some tricks hidden up their sleeves, so we'll be taking things slow. No unnecessary risks, understood?"

They all nodded in affirmation. Then Ruby turned her gaze to their resident Quarian.

"Tali, while I have no doubt you're a fighter, I need to see it for myself before we go on any riskier operations. Consider this a combat assessment. Stick by my side and show me what you can do."

Tali shifted on her feet, hands grasping her new shotgun nervously. "Is that really necessary, Commander?"

"I'd rather have you stay on the ship studying the Geth scrap we bring back then have you dying down there," Ruby said bluntly. She gestured around at the other members of the squad. "Everyone here has proven themselves in my eyes, Tali. Trial by fire. What you're going through is no different. Again, I have no doubt you can fight, but you need to prove it to me before anything else happens."

Tali looked ready to argue, but Ruby stepped forward and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I've already lost one man to Saren. I don't want to loose you too."

After a minute of consideration, Tali nodded,. "Alright, Commander," she said, voice subdued.

Satisfied, Ruby disappeared in a burst of rose petals, reappearing next to her weapons locker. She punched in the password with practised ease then pulled out Crescent Rose and her own customized Razor pistol. After securing her weapons to their holsters, she led her team over to one corner of the cargo bay where the Mako was stored under a tarp.

In a single motion, Ruby grasped one edge of the tarp and tore it off the vehicle. A smile coming to her face as she saw her joyride.

It wasn't the standard M35 Mako, instead it was it's older brother M26. It was larger then it's newer counterpart and more heavily armored, though its kinetic barriers were slightly weaker. It did have a bigger eezo core and power generator however, all to keep itself from crashing when it deployed. Over all the biggest difference between the two APCs was the size, with everything else being just about equal. The thing Ruby preferred it for, however, was the increased crew capacity and the stronger turret mounting, which made room for a whole slue of modifications she had planned.

There weren't that many differences in looks between the two, save for her signature red and black paint job. The other, more major change was...

"What's up with the gun?" Ashley asked.

Indeed, the usual single barrelled turret of the APC was strangely altered. Instead, it looked like someone had taken two more barrels and welded them on in a triangular formation, making it look awkward on the sleek body of the Mako.

"That is my pride and joy," said Ruby, grinning from ear to ear as she gestured at the gun. "See, I wanted to get more power out a single shot without a longer cool down. Problem was I couldn't get it without the barrel melting... or blowing up. So then I thought, hey, why not just add more barrels?"

"And that actually works?" Garrus asked skeptically, eyeing the tri-barreled monstrosity.

"Yep. I had a bit of trouble with the power couplings and distribution to each one, so each barrel can only fire at three thirds the power. Of course they can fire independently, but I also wired them up to shoot in a three round burst. So that's more then twice the power of a normal shot per burst. The cool-down is slightly longer, but it's all worth it."

"Okay, that's impressive," Ashley said. The others all nodded in agreement.

They loaded up without further preamble. Ruby took the driver seat, assuring Ashley that there was nothing wrong with her driving as the marine took the navigators seat beside her. Garrus took the gunner station at Ruby's request, and the three strapped themselves into the seats in the main hold of the APC. Or rather, Tali and Kaidan did. Wrex tried, but gave up after it was made clear that the straps would rather snap then even attempt to hold him down.

As they all settled down, Ruby started the vehicle, filling the cargo bay with the roar of the Mako's powerful engines. As she checked the various diagnostic readouts surrounding the steering wheel, she flicked on the commlink to the ship.

"Joker, what's our ETA?"

"Entering the atmosphere now," the pilot replied. Even as he spoke, Ruby could feel the whole ship shake as it battled the forces of reentry. "Less then a minute to the landing zone."

"Good. Keep me posted."

She finished the last diagnostic just as the cargo bay door lowered, letting in their first view of the planet below.

True to her word, Therum was the closest thing to hell on earth. A barren wasteland of black rock and soot, broken only by the lakes and rivers of molten lava that dotted the surface. Then a truly evil idea sprang into Ruby's mind.

"Hey Ash," she said, giving the Gunnery chief an impish grin. "I've heard of a landing zone being hot before, but this is ridiculous."

The only reply was a facepalm and a wince. "No, Commander, just... no."

"Ten seconds to drop... and yeah, that sucked, Commander."

"Still better then yours, Joker," Ruby chuckled.

"Oh, what's that? A critic? Well, then... take this!"

The Mako shook as special systems in the Normandy launched the vehicle out of the cargo bay and into the empty air. Then the forces of gravity took control and the Mako fell towards the planet's surface with terrifying speed.

Over the comms Joker's voice cackled, "there can only be one Joker on this ship!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Ruby replied airily, casually flicking off the radio as if they weren't falling towards a planet at near terminal velocity.

The other occupants of the Mako were silent. Either bored of the whole experience, Wrex, or had gone through it so many times it seceded to faze them anymore. The only one who wasn't taking it well was Tali, who gripped the safety straps like a lifeline, eyes screwed shut behind her mask as she waited for the nightmare to end... and waited.

One second... two seconds... three seconds, but nothing happened. They were still in freefall.

"Shouldn't the jets have activated by now?" Ashley asked nervously as the ground rapidly approached through the window.

"Oh yeah."

Reaching out, Ruby slapped the dash of the Mako as hard as she could. Instantly the thrusters on the underside of the vehicle flared to life, slowing their decent just in time as the Mako hit the ground, its powerful suspension absorbing the worst of the impact. Still, it left the team inside shaken.

"What was that?" Ashley asked shakily, painfully aware of how close they'd come to being little more then a smoking crater on the ground.

"I thought I fixed that," Ruby grunted, giving the dash a few more slaps. Each time her hand connected the thrusters flared, making the Mako bob up and down like a floating cork.

"Fixed what?" Tali squeaked from the back.

"Well I had to get the power for the extra guns from somewhere and the boosters ate up most of it." She gave the dash one last slap, shaking the whole vehicle. "I had to mess around with some of the fuses and powers conduits. But I thought I had it all figured out before Eden Prime. Meh, I'll look at it once we get back on the ship. Maybe you can help me with that, Tali."

Without waiting for a reply she kicked the Mako into highgear. It jumped forward a few feet, stalled, then spluttered to a stop before dying. Ruby gave the dash another slap and it roared to life once again.

"I'll get it fixed, I swear," she assured them. It didn't stop them however from wondering just what the hell they'd gotten themselves into.

Again Ruby gunned the accelerator, sending the APC roaring across the desolate, fiery landscape. Much to Tali's horror, and Wrex's amusement, it was exactly as Kaidan described. Every single turn of the wheel sent it swerving all over the place... and how do you roll a tank going over a pebble? It didn't help her that half the people in the Mako were enjoying the whole experience. The grin on Ruby's face was enough to make anyone tremble in their boots.

For what it was worth, Ruby really earned her spot on that list. The only bright side was that they were making pretty good time, following an old road set down by the first people who landed on this hellhole. Occasionally they would spot a small excavation site or small facility in the distance, but Ruby stayed firm in her orders. No unnecessary risks.

After about five minutes the winding road turned into a tunnel going down into the rock. At its entrance was a tall Geth machine. A five meter high walker standing on four legs with a Geth flash light head sticking out of the top.

The grin instantly dropped from Ruby's face. "Garrus, contact front!"

The turret was already moving, even before she finished speaking.

The Geth walker turned to face them, it's single eye glowing bright as it charged up its main weapon. But it was still too slow. The Mako's gun fired, the three barrels spitting out their deadly ordinance in less then a second.

Much to Ruby's chagrin, Garrus' aim was true.

The first slug slammed into the walker's main body. It's barriers flared, but held. An instant later the second slug hit, shattering what power was left in the barriers and slammed into it's armor. Then the third slug connected, punching through the armor and into it's power core which detonated in a fabulous display of fire and shrapnal.

The Mako ground to a halt, it's crew looking on in awe of its firepower.

Then Garrus cleared his throat. "Let this be the only time I'm glad to be wrong. Damn this thing is good."

Ruby nodded in agreement. So was she. First time the thing had ever fired and it worked like a charm... and the power draw didn't stall the Mako, so that was a plus.

Continuing on they drove through the tunnel without much resistance. There was the occasional Geth squad here and there, but they soon found themselves plastered to hood, undercarriage and wheels as the Mako ran them over. Every time it happened a cackle would fill the APC followed by a proclamation of "Roadkill!"

They encountered a few more 'Geth Armatures,' as Tali called them, but the new gun tore them apart with ease.

By now they were far away from the tunnel and were entering into more rocky terrain. The navigation systems said that the dig site wasn't far off. The second clue that they were getting closer was the increase in Geth forces. Armatures were now a common sight, bordering on boredom, and the single units posed a laughable threat to the hood. It was only once they were passing through a small valley that they got their first unwelcome surprise of the day.

A large outpost barred their way. Reinforced walls lined with turrets reached to each side of the valley with a heavy alloy gate set in the middle. A quick look at the gate screamed that it wasn't an option. Three feet thick, made out of Geth alloys and most likely braced on the other side. Even Ruby doubted that the gun would make a dent in it, and the turrets would pick them apart while they tried.

In sort, the gate was a no-go.

The weaker and hollow gatehouse beside it, however, was.

A single burst from the cannon punched clean through the building, followed in short order by the Mako, bursting through the weakened structure and emerging inside the Geth complex.

As Geth scrambled to respond to the rather unorthodox tactic, Ruby took great joy in flattening any synthetic that dared stand and fight while Garrus systematical gunned down the few that remained. Once the outside was clear, the only thing that remained was to open the gate on the other side of the complex that still blocked their way.

Though it would have been fun to bash through it as well, the structural integrity readouts in the Mako disagreed. So, after a second of consideration, Ruby grabbed Wrex and Tali and headed off to open the gate. In the close quaters of the gatehouse the Krogan proved invaluable, and not just as mobile cover as he tore apart any Geth unfortunate enough to get in his way with a flurry of shotgun blasts and biotic attacks. Tali was also surprisingly adept at combat, her tech attacks flying left and right, overheating weapons and causing general mayhem among the Geth. Though she still needed experience, as evidenced by the number of times her new armor had to save her life. But the more she saw, the more Ruby was satisfied with how the Quarian conducted herself around the battlefield.

"I think I'll keep you," she told the Quarian, clapping her on the shoulder as the last Geth fell.

They opened the gate and got back in the Mako and continuing on their journey. There wasn't that much more resistance after the outpost, a few squads and Armatures, but not much else.

Then they reached... the spot.

Ruby frowned, eyes narrowing as she stopped the Mako at the entrance to a small canyon, less then a kilometer from the dig site. Before them a landslide of rocks had fallen from somewhere, blocking the road. There was a small path cleared in the center of the mess that the Geth had cleared out, but it was technically impossible to take the Mako any further.

"Trap," Ashley said the moment she laid eyes on the rocks. "Defiantly a trap."

"They'll gun us down the moment we pass through," Garrus chimed in. "Most likely waiting on the other side."

"I was thinking the same thing," Ruby nodded, scratching her chin in thought. Then her face brightened with and idea. "You know what? Fuck it."

She grinned back at her crew. "The Geth think they control this situation. Newsflash: they don't. Because, unless I am very much mistaken, we are not in a game with indestructible set pieces. So Garrus, switch to high explosive rounds and get to work."

"This thing has high explosive rounds?" Garrus asked, his face lighting up in wondrous joy.

"Damn right," Ruby grinned savagely, pointed at the blockage. "Now get to work and clear us a path."

A quick burst utterly destroyed the first layer of rock, the second made a hole large enough for the Mako to pass through. And pass through they did, most likely surprising the shit out of the dozens of Geth on the other side.

They were in what looked like the research camp for the dig site, with prefab shelters and digging equipment scattered around the area. The tight quarters made it difficult to manoeuvre the APC, but Ruby managed and soon the whole camp was clear.

"They have insurance, right?" Ruby asked as she drove the Mako up a hill to the dig site. "I mean, I don't have to pay for any of the damages... right?"

"You are a Spectre," Garrus reminded her. "So technically this never happened."

"... oh yeah. But are you sure your not saying that just to spare yourself the blame?"

"What?"

"You let loose a little too much back there," Ashley said. "Those prefabs look more like Swiss cheese now."

"They were filled with Geth," Garrus protested.

"I got to go with Ash on this one, Garrus," Ruby said as they crested the hill. "You did go a little overboard back there. The big gun finally getting to you?"

"No, I just..." He stopped, staring at lay ahead. "Oh shit."

The entrance to the dig site itself was a simple tube heading deep into the ground. Around it a small space had been cleared, either for equipment or other purposes. And in the middle was a towering Geth Armature, almost three times as tall as the others.

"Colossus!" Tali screamed as it began to charge up it's siege pulse cannon.

Now let it be known that Ruby was no fool. The Mako may have been a powerful vehicle, but standing up to a Colossus in a straight on shootout was plain idiocy. The barriers had been taking a pounding all day, and not just because of the ramming. At the state they were in a single shot from the Colossus' cannon would tear through them like paper and it would take them a few bursts at least to break it's barriers and in a small open space like this with little room to manoeuvre the odds were not in their favor.

Looking at it, Ruby could see only one course of action that wouldn't blow them up instantly.

Ram the legs.

She gunned the accelerator, ignoring the screams of the others inside as they sped towards the hulking mass.

The one advantage to the small space was that it only took them a few seconds.

The Mako slammed into the Colossus' right front leg, taking out the limb as it powered through, taking out the back leg as they continued on. The Colossus let out a mechanical squawk of surprise as it tumbled to the side, struggling to right itself. Then Garrus let loose on it with the cannon, struggling to break its barriers as Ruby came around for another pass.

"Its getting back up!" Garrus shouted, letting out another burst of fire as the Colossus managed to find it's feet.

In response, Ruby rammed the front legs, again sending the Colossus to its knees. By the time it managed to right itself its barriers had been shattered, allowing Garrus to plant one final burst in its flashlight head, which disappeared in a fiery explosion.

As the body crashed to ground, the Mako ground to a halt, everyone inside panting as the rush faded.

"Well," Ruby said after a moment, "that was a thing."

"I saw my life flash before my eyes," Ashley intoned, sitting ramrod straight.

"Any regrets?"

"Getting into this deathtrap."

"Well snap out of it," Ruby grinned, slipping on her helmet and sealing it. Then she looked over her shoulder at the others in the hold. "Ready up, people! We're boots on the ground from here on out."

A loud snore echoed through the APC.

"And someone please wake up Wrex. I don't know how he fell asleep during all this."

"Must be a Krogan thing," Garrus said, going over and nudging the Krogan.

Instantly his red eyes snapped open and he glared at the Turian. Then he sighed and stretched. "Are we there yet?" he asked with a grunt.

"How the hell did you fall asleep?" Kaidan demanded, amazed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"You've never been in a Tomkah trying to outrun an angry Thrasher Maw," Wrex grunted, readying his shotgun. "Compared the that shit this was a walk in the park."

"I take it you escaped?" Ruby asked. "You wouldn't be here otherwise."

"No. It caught us alright. Tore the wheels right off in one go."

"...So then you killed it on foot?"

A curious look passed over Wrex's face. "No. She just... ran away after that. Never seen anything like it."

"She?"

"Kalros, the mother of all Thrasher Maws. Largest Maw ever seen. Some say she's as old as the Protheans themselves." Wrex sighed. "She and Clan Urdnot share some... interesting history."

"Maybe you can tell us about it sometime," Ruby said, moving to the back of the Mako and popping open the hatch.

They all climbed out into the stifling heat of the volcanic planet and converged on the entrance to the dig site. The tube leading down closely resembled a ships airlock without the doors. It was completely black inside as Ruby peeked in, the lights having been blown out long ago. She eyed the darkness dubiously, then drew Crescent Rose in rifle form.

"Lights on, people," she said, flicking on a small flash light built into her scythe's rifle form. The others all did the same with their chosen weapons. Properly prepared, they started the long down hill decent into the planet's crust.

Just before the blackness engulfed her, the back of Ruby's neck tingled. The feeling that she was being watched prickled at her senses. She looked back through the open tube and to the rocky landscape beyond.

Nothing.

Slowly she turned back, then hesitated. She could have sworn she saw a flicker of movement on a far hill, like someone ducking out of sight.

She blinked, then disregarded it and moved on.

It got noticeably cooler the further down they went, encountering no resistance on the way down. Finally the tube levelled off and they entered into an enormous cavern set deep beneath the surface. Lights set into the ceiling shone down, lighting up the Prothean tower on the far side of the cavern, reaching all the way up from the floor to the ceiling. It's metal plating was a dull blueish grey. Blue force fields appeared at regular intervals down it's length, almost like windows.

All around it spanned metal scaffolds and catwalks, forming a maze of walkways that covered the walls of the cavern and reaching to the tube they just left, giving them a straight shoot to the structure.

They couldn't help but stop and stare it in awe. Other then the beacon on Eden Prime, this was the first real Prothean artifact most of them had ever seen, and on such a massive scale too. A true testament to the power and skill of a long dead nation.

Suddenly motion on a far catwalk caught Ruby's eye.

"Contact!" she cried, snapping up Crescent Rose and firing, taking off the head of a Geth trooper.

After that all was chaos. Geth rose up from out of nowhere all along the catwalks, pouring fire into their position. They all ducked for cover, scrambling behind metal plates that had been welded onto the railings.

As the incoming fire lessened slightly, Ruby peeked around her cover. The Geth were all spread out along the catwalks, not one was within three meters of each other.

It seemed that after their encounter with her on Eden Prime the Geth had changed their tactics. In anticipation of another wild rampage they had forgone the squads they usually formed, instead making a single file line as they slowly advanced towards their position, keeping up suppression fire the whole while. It was set up in such a way that way that the units in the back would have a clear line of fire at the ones in the front. If she tried to engage in close quarters they could hose her down easily. The narrow catwalks didn't help matters, leaving little room to manoeuvre.

But she wasn't even close to snapping... yet. And she wouldn't leave her team to go on ahead while she was still thinking straight. Bad things always happened when she left her team alone. It happened on Elysium and it happened on Agaus, she wasn't going to let it happen again.

But the Geth were fast approaching and they needed to do something.

Then a slight bend in the catwalk caught her attention, a place it doubled back on itself to go around a pillar of rock. It was the only place that the Geth were in close proximity with each other.

Perfect.

"Wrex!" she shouted, meeting the Krogan's eyes. "We need a distraction!"

The Krogan looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded. His whole body glowed with a blue haze as he summoned up his biotic power, forming an enhanced barrier around himself. Then he stood, and instantly all fire shifted to him.

"Kaidan! Singularity!" she ordered next, pointing at the double back.

Beside her, Kaidan started glowing as well, bringing forth his biotic energy to pool in his hand. Then he stood, throwing the ball of energy at the bend before ducking back down.

There was a sound like breaking glass as Wrex's barriers finally broke and he ducked back down. But the damage was already done.

The ball of energy reached the bend and detonated overhead, spawning a miniature blackhole among the Geth ranks. It yanked six off the ground, more then Ruby had hoped, and kept them there, spinning and flailing in the singularity's embrace. A biotic warp thrown by Wrex hit next and the singularity detonated as the two biotic powers collided, destroying both it and the Geth in an explosion of blue flames.

The explosion shook the catwalk, staggering the Geth. Perfect opportunity.

"Advance!" Ruby ordered.

Together they charged down the catwalk, guns blazing.

In the lead, Wrex blasted a Geth trooper apart with his shotgun before backhanding another over the railing, letting it fall to the ground far below. Taking cover behind him, Tali flung out tech attacks left and right. Many a Geth found its weapon useless as it overheated before it was taken down by a quick burst from an assault rifle, courtesy of Ashley or Kaidan. Behind them, Ruby and Garrus made a deadly pair. Even while on the move their shots always found their marks.

As they advanced, Ruby couldn't help but look around in pride, taking in what was happening.

They were a team. It was amazing that people who had only met a few days ago were capable of such cohesion on their first mission. They knew little about each other, but their strengths and weakness fit together so perfectly that they compensated for each other without even realizing it.

Weiss would have been so proud... or just jealous that...

She stopped dead as the name surfaced, distant memories slowly coming back. An action that saved her life as a shot flew through the space her head would have been in if she hadn't stopped.

She tracked the shot, locating the Geth sniper in less then a second then put a single round through its head.

By then the name was gone. Unlike most times she let it go without a fight. She was in the middle of a warzone after all.

They continued on, systematically clearing the catwalks until they reached the Prothean structure. By then the area was Geth free, leaving them to examine it more closely. Maybe Doctor T'soni was inside. They looked around but couldn't find a way in. They did however find a rickety elevator going down to another level of catwalks.

Carefully piling in, they started to descend. It was going smoothly, then the elevator let out a metallic screech before grinding to a halt.

"Well that can't be good," Ruby quipped.

Then the cable snapped, sending the elevator screaming down the last few meters where it hit the bottom with a bone jarring crash.

"Okay... that one is on me," she sighed.

After they managed to pry the elevator doors open they all pulled themselves out and onto the lowest layer of catwalk that circled right up against the Prothean structure. A single force field window was set into it, just level with the catwalk. And through it hung a single Asari, hanging suspended in mid air with her limbs spread out.

"Well that was easy," Ruby said, approaching the force field.

The Asari watched them with wide eyes, her mouth open in surprise. She remained like that for a few seconds before murmuring, "I must be dreaming."

"Couldn't be further from the truth," Ruby smiled reassuringly. "Doctor T'Soni, I presume?"

"Y-yes," she stammered. "But what you doing here? We weren't able to get off a distress beacon before the Geth attacked."

"We were already on our way here," Wrex said. "Seems like your mother wants you dead."

If it was possible, Liara's eyes widened even further, this time in shock. "W-what?"

"Wrex," Ruby groaned, facepalming. "That was a terrible way to break it to her."

"Its true."

"What does my mother have to do with all this?" Liara asked, frightened.

Ruby regarded her for a moment with a raised eyebrow. "You're out of touch with the galaxy, aren't you?"

"I admit, the extranet connection out here isn't great and I've been caught up in my studies so... yes."

"Well, long story short, Saren was convicted of treason against the Council and attacking a human colony. Your mother, Benezia, has been named his accomplice."

Liara's eyes widened in fear. "B-but I'm innocent! I haven't spoken with my mother in ten years and-"

"Hey, just calm down down, alright?" Ruby interrupted, raising a hand. "We're not accusing you of anything. We're here to get you out."

Liara opened her mouth to speak but Ruby cut her off again. "Listen, we can talk later once we get out of here. Do you know how to shut down this... Prothean barrier... thingy?"

"Its a Prothean barrier curtain," Liara replied, indignantly at the misuse of terminology. "I activated it to keep me safe from the Geth. But I must have it something wrong and it trapped me in here."

"Any idea how to turn it off?"

"Only one," Liara said, looking over at a small terminal beside her. "That terminal controls it. I'm... pretty sure this was a prison cell at one point..."

"Or an early successor to Fornax," Wrex chuckled, nudging Kaidan in the ribs. "Ain't that right 'button' boy? Just look at how she's hanging."

"...But it can only be activated from inside," Liara continued, trying to ignore the Krogan as her face flushed dark blue.

"I see," Ruby said thoughtfully. "Any idea how we get in?"

"No. But the excavation crew left some mining equipment down below, maybe you can find something there to help." Then her face grew worried. "Be careful. There's a Krogan with the Geth. They've been trying to find a way past the barrier."

"In case you haven't noticed, we have a Krogan too," Ruby grinned, pointing over her shoulder at Wrex. "And trust me, he's ten times better then any Krogan they can throw at us."

Wrex grinned and chuckled in response.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Ruby assured her, then motioned her team further along the catwalk.

Soon they found a ramp leading down to the rocky cavern floor. The moment their feet touched the ground they were ambushed by another Geth squad. They were taken out in sort order, standing no chance against the raw skill and and advanced fire power the team brought to the table.

Once they were sure the area was secure they all started looking around for anything that could help them. There was a lot of mining equipment around, as Liara had said, including the bodies of their operators.

Ruby sighed sadly as she stared at the body of a young man dressed in dark blue overalls manning the controls of a mining laser. Poor guy didn't look older then twenty five, his dull blue eyes staring blankly into the ceiling. The Geth had gunned him down where he sat, showing him no mercy.

Though she knew she couldn't have done anything to stop it, it still hurt.

She turned away, looking back up to where Liara was trapped, wondering how to get in. Still deep in thought, she eyed the many force field covered windows that breached the surface of the structure at regular intervals. She followed them all the way up and then all the way down, idly noticing that one of the windows was still buried beneath a few meters of rock. The mining laser...

The mining laser!

Her face brightened in inspiration as her eyes went back and forth between the laser and the ground it was pointed at.

The angle was just right. They were trying to hit that one window! And since this was a mining laser it would...

Wait a minute... this was a mining laser...

"What the hell," she muttered, scratching her chin as she stared at it.

"Something wrong, Commander?" Ashley asked while checking out a pile of crates.

"I just had one of the weirdest realization ever," she replied, still trying to grasp the whole concept.

"Weirder then sticking three barrels on the Mako?" Garrus asked, coming over to her.

"Weirder then that." She looked them all in the eye and gestured at the machine. "This is a mining laser... LASER."

They all stared at her with deadpan looks.

"Okay, just hear me out," she said quickly. "Everyone in the galaxy is suck using mass accelerator weapons on their ships because of the limitations of Element Zero, right?"

They all nodded.

"And every single one of them is researching proper large scale laser technology to use as primary weapons because of their effectiveness against kinetic barriers and armor, right?"

More nods.

"Okay, just clearing that up," she nodded, then again gestured at the energy drill. "So how the hell do we have a fully functional mining laser, perfectly capable of burning through solid rock, and no one has noticed it yet?"

Silence met her words. Garrus opened his mouth to reply, paused, then slowly shut it with a look of complete confusion on his face.

"That's a very good point," Ashley said, scratching her head.

"I know, right?" Ruby crowed, turning back to the machine. "I mean, its almost like this laser drill is here purely for the sake of getting us inside that thing and nothing else. I've never seen any laser tech like this in the Alliance, and they were the ones digging here... its weird."

They all nodded in agreement.

"So are we going to use it then?" Kaidan asked.

Ruby shrugged. "I don't see why not."

She reached over to the controls and started up the drill. A low humming slowly began to built inside the machine. Once it reached it's peak, the tip unleashed a brilliant red beam that cut through the rock of the cavern floor in a hot flash, sending up a thick cloud of dust and burning ashes before powering down.

As the dust cloud settled, the team moved in on the hole it had made. Sure enough, it had burned through a good layer of rock, revealing the open window, uncovered by a force field, leading into the structure.

Putting the strange realization aside, Ruby lead them down into the structure. The moment her foot crossed over from rock to metal plating, a strange feeling swept over her. Not that she was being watched, just... something. It sent a shiver down her spine and, strangely enough, caused her eyes to burn slightly. It wasn't painful, but more like she was cutting up onions without the tears.

She put it aside as they passed through the small cell like room and stepped onto a platform that looked like an elevator in the center of the alien structure. They all stepped on board quickly located a small terminal on the side. There was just one problem, however.

"Anyone know how to read Prothean?" Ruby asked, eyeing the glowing holograms floating in the air covered in strange symbols and lettering, but lacking the standard up and down arrows that you would assume to be universal.

The others all gave a negative. Curious, Tali reached out a hand and tapped one of the symbols. The terminal let out a squawking sound but the lift stubbornly remained stationary.

"So what now?" Kaidan asked.

"I don't know," Ruby shrugged, reaching out for another symbol. "Start pushing buttons I guess."

With that she pressed her hand against the display. Instantly a shock went up her arm and she yelped, jumping back. Her eyes burned in their sockets like hot coals, making her vision flash red and silver. Symbols flashed behind her eyes faster then she could follow.

And then it was over. The pain was gone as fast as it had appeared, leaving her swaying on her feet. As the others rushed to steady her, they felt the platform beneath them tremble, then slowly start to rise.

"Are you alright, Commander?" Ashley asked, worry seeping into her voice as Ruby shook off... whatever that was.

"Yeah," she gasped, shaking her head as the last of the afterimages faded. "But... gah! What the hell was that?"

No one had an answer.

Then the lift ground to a halt just outside the Liara's cell.

"Someone call the cavalry?" Ruby said brightly, stepping inside. The Asari jumped in surprise, looking over her shoulder at them with wide eyes.

"W-what? How did you get through the barrier so quickly?"

"Improvisation," Ruby shrugged, moving over to the terminal. "But that's not important right now. How do we get you out?"

Liara twisted her head, straining to see the buttons. "That one. The one shaped like a crescent moon."

Ruby reached out to press it, then paused. It would it shock her again? What did that even mean?

Shaking off her worries she pressed the button. There was no shock, but the field suspending Liara instantly vanished and she collapsed to the floor, weakly. Ruby was by her side in a second, checking her for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No," Liara whispered. "I've just been suck in that thing for days. Please, I need a minute."

A low rumble echoed through the Prothean structure, shaking the ground. They all looked around worriedly. Then Ruby remembered the mining laser and realized with dread that she might have made a mistake. For all they knew, these ruins might not have been as stable as they originally thought.

"No time," she said, picking up Liara in a fireman carry. The Asari squeaked in surprise but she ignored it, ushering everyone back onto the elevator and sending them up to the top of the structure.

As the elevator climbed, the rumbling and shaking grew stronger. All they could do was listen, and Ruby prayed that she hadn't just doomed them all making one snap decision.

"Are you sure this is wise?" She was jolted out of her musing by Wrex as he gestured to the Asari slung over her shoulder. "Her mother works for Saren. You sure she's on our side?"

"I am not my mother," Liara replied, then moaned. "Could you please put me down. All the blood is going to my head."

Apologizing, Ruby gently set the Asari down on her feet, steadying her when she swayed.

"Thank you," Liara nodded to her in thanks, then continued in a stronger voice. "I am not my mother. I don't know why she joined Saren and I don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!"

"And if she was with Saren why are the Geth trying to kill her?" Garrus added, tactfully.

"Thank you," Liara sighed gratefully.

Just then another tremor shook the elevator and a deep cracking sound echoed beneath them.

"That can't be good," Ashley commented, looking down, as if trying to see through the elevator floor.

"These ruins aren't entirely stable. They're built over an active underground magma chamber." Liara explained, glancing over to the elevator terminal. "And going back through the catwalks would take too long. We'd sink into it before we made it too the top. Its a good thing you found a working code-key, otherwise you would have never gotten this going."

"Uh... code-key?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. Standard Prothean decryption algorithms for accessing their technology. Nothing else works." She looked over to Ruby. "You do have a code-key, don't you?"

"No... no I don't," Ruby said slowly. "I just touched the thing, I got a shock and it just started up."

Liara's eyes widened. "What? But... how is that possible?"

"You're the expert, you tell me."

Before the Asari could reply the elevator finally reached the top, sliding into a hole in the ceiling and putting them in a large room at the top of the structure. It was large and circular, the only way out was an open arch set into the wall in front of them. Through it, Ruby could see the rocky walls of the cavern and metal catwalks. And coming towards them was...

"You got to be kidding me," Ruby groaned. A whole squad of Geth troopers backed up by a Krogan Battlemaster stalked towards them. They stopped in the middle of the arch.

A quick glance around revealed a dismal lack of cover. They were going to have to take care of these guys fast if they wanted to get out in one piece.

"Surrender," the Battlemaster snarled. "Or don't. That would be more fun."

"In case you haven't noticed, this whole place is falling apart!" Ruby shouted back, gesturing around them.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the Krogan grinned.

"...Okay, maybe a little, I'll give you that. But we still need to get out," Ruby admitted, slowing reaching down to something on her belt.

"Not gonna happen," The Battlemaster laughed, stepping forward confidently. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy shields for us. Now..."

Ruby flicked her wrist and the Krogan stumbled back in surprise as a red painted grenade hit him in the headplate where it stuck.

"I'm sorry, but we really don't have time for this," Ruby said, grabbing her pistol and snapping off two quick shots.

The first hit the grenade, causing it to detonate in a fiery explosion, shattering his barriers and covering the Krogan in a veil of fire. An instant later the second round cleanly entered his skull and he fell in a burned, bloody pile.

Then all was chaos.

With such a lack of cover for both sides, the strategy became throw as much fire as possible at the other side and hope it kills them before they kill you. Even advanced machines like the Geth couldn't think of a better option.

As they all raised their weapons, Liara began to glow with a haze of biotic power. Just as the Geth started firing a blue bubble of biotic energy sprang into existence around the team. The shots harmlessly bounced off, casting ripples across the biotic surface as the barrier deflected them. That restriction did not apply to whoever was shooting out of it, however.

An electrical overload jumped from Tali's omni-tool, erupting in a shower of sparks in the very center of the Geth formation, breaking their kinetic barriers. A few seconds later they were all turned to scrap metal as the team tore them apart in a flurry of gunfire.

As the last Geth fell, Liara sagged. The biotic barrier faded out of existence and she collapsed to her knees with a groan, exhausted.

As another rumble shook the structure, Ruby ran over and scoped her up then ran through the arch as the others followed close behind.

By now it was obvious that the place was doomed. Rocks were breaking loose from the ceiling, breaking catwalks and equipment as the they made the long fall to the ground below. It made them run all the faster, across the maze of metal platforms as they rushed to tube leading to surface.

Ruby hefted the Doctor over her shoulder, sprinting for all she was worth without activating her speed by accident. They were a team, and she wouldn't leave them behind in a place like this.

Not again.

They reached the tube, just as a hellish heat washed over them as lava began to fill the bottom of the cavern. Then they started the long uphill run, never stopping for breath as the heat followed them up.

It was with a feeling of relief that they finally burst out of the open end of the tube and onto the relatively cooler surface of Therum. It was still hot, but now there was no fear of dying an imminent fiery death by lava. They still had to get off the surface as it might just cave in, but now they had some time.

Ruby sighed, gently setting the Asari back on her feet. She swayed, but managed to remain standing. Motioning Kaidan over, she handed off Liara off to his care, then activated her radio.

"Normandy, this Rose. How copy?"

"Solid copy, Commander," Joker's voice echoed through her helmet. "What's going on down there? We're picking up a ton of readings, none of them good either."

"I'll explain later. We need pick, ASAP."

"You know that when people say 'I'll explain later' they never do?"

Though a small smirk twisted her lips this was no time for jokes. "Joker."

"Right, sorry. ETA minus two minutes."

Flicking off her radio, Ruby looked around, taking note of everything.

The wreak of the Colossus was still there, the tangled mess of scrap metal and wires that used to be its head still smoking slightly. The Mako however was gone. Most likely the Normandy had stopped by and picked it up while they were still underground.

So why hadn't they stayed and waited for them?

Shrugging, she went and joined her team, who had all sat down on a bunch of supply crates nearby, catching their breath. Kaidan had propped Liara up against the largest one and was offering her a canteen from his belt. She accepted it gratefully and took a long drink.

"Alright!" Ruby said, clapping her hands and drawing everyone's attention. "All and all I'd call that a success. We work well together. You should all be proud."

That got nods and grins all around.

"The Normandy will be here in less then two minutes," she continued. "But we should still..."

Just then a chill went down her spine, stopping the words dead on her lips. Even with the heat of Therum her skin grew cold and clammy. A feeling of dread settled upon her, so profound it made her want to curl up in a ball and cry.

The others felt it too.

Liara started to tremble, and Tali wasn't far behind. Kaidan, Ashley and Garrus, hardened soldiers as they were only blanched, eyes flicking about nervously for danger. Wrex gripped his shotgun so hard that the metal creaked, his mouth set in a thin line as his eyes flared with anger... and a small amount of fear.

"What the hell is this?" he snarled, jolting upright and scanning the area with his weapon.

"I don't know, Wrex," Ruby replied, her hands trembling slightly as she reached back and drew Crescent Rose. "I don't know."

In unspoken agreement they all stood, readying their weapons, ready for trouble.

But there was nothing. The whole area was clear of any hostiles, and nothing looked out of place. But still the feeling of dread continued, growing stronger as the seconds ticked by.

Just what the hell was causing it? Ruby's breathing speed up as years worth of N7 training kicked in, eyes jerking around fanatically trying to find the threat. Nothing had made her feel like this. Not even Colonel Attila could make her feel like this, a fear that seemed to strike deep into her very soul.

They waited in absolute terror until a truly beautifully sound broke through the silence. The low humming of the Normandy's engines as it came down on approach.

Relief rushed through them all as they eagerly began to search the sky for the craft.

As if in retaliation, the feeling of dread tripled. Then another sound made it to Ruby's ears through the comforting roar of engines.

Whispers.

Hundreds of them. All overlapping in a maddening cacophony that seemed to drowned out all else. Then the feeling that she was being watched came back, and with it came a cold, unadulterated terror.

Fighting her instincts to run, she turned and saw it.

There, walking towards them from the hills of rock was a husk like the ones from Eden Prime. But this one was much, much different. Its skin had turned pitch black, stretched tight over it's bones and covered in a crawling mass of implants that glowed with a sinister blueish tint. But its eyes... its eyes were the worst: Hollow pits that bored deep into it's skull, seeming to stretch on for infinity, a place were no light could ever hope to exist. They were so black they seemed to suck in all light, darkening the world around it. But in the depths of those black pits were two single points of blue light that burned with cold malice.

Ruby felt... small. So small she could hid in the deepest, darkest hole in the universe and never come out again as the thing stared at her. Pure terror flowed through her as its dead eyes seemed to stare right through her into the very depths of her soul.

This thing was... wrong. There was no other word for it. It shouldn't even exist.

Fighting back her terror, Ruby raised Crescent Rose. The urge to fight, to utterly destroy this terrible thing overriding her instinct to run. She could see the others doing the same, weapons rising to unleash their fury upon it.

Then the husk opened its mouth and screamed.

Crescent Rose dropped from nerveless fingers as the sound assaulted her ears, louder then anything she'd ever heard. It was a thousand, no, millions of voices screaming in unison, grating against her senses like nails on a blackboard. They were young, old, scared, terrified, hateful, all crying for release. It did more then just assault her ears, her mind was in revolt as the voices tried to tear away at her very psyche, drowning out her thoughts in a maelstrom of hatred and fear.

She fell to her knees, eyes screwed shut and hands grasping at her ears, trying to block out the husk's scream.

She saw everything. Every fear she had ever felt was laid bare before her until she was drowning in a sea of despair. And all the while the voices continued to scream, attacking, hating... inviting. Drawing her towards them, tempting her to join in their revels.

Teeth bared as she fought back a scream of her own, Ruby threw her head back and stared up at the blood red sky of Therum, tears streaming down her face as she begged for anything to come and break her out of this torment.

What she saw only brought on a new spike of terror.

The Normandy was falling, tumbling out of the sky like a fallen angel from heaven, spiraling towards the ground far below.

That single terrible sight snapped her back into focus. For a single instant she could hear the screams of Joker and her crew over the radio, begging for the noise to stop. Then it was gone as the screams of the husk drowned out anything else.

But that image stuck. The Normandy falling, her crew dying, her team...

No.

That single word rang in her mind. Defiant against what she knew was going to happen. In that instant everything faded away: the screams, her team around her, even her fear and despair itself, it all faded away, replaced with what she knew she had to do.

Her hand snapped to her hip, snatching up her pistol as she unleashed a wild spray of fire at the husk, roaring out in defiance, anger and fear.

Most of her wild shots went wide, but one struck the husk in the dead center of it's chest. A strange flickering blue barrier sprang to life around it, deflecting the shot, but that was all it took.

The husk snapped it's mouth shut, silencing the hellish screams. Instantly the voices vanished and Ruby could think clearly once again. She slumped to her hands and knees, gasping. She felt weak, trembling uncontrollably.

A quick glance upward through blurred eyes saw the Normandy pitch upwards, pulling out of the fatal dive and back up into the sky.

Then a low hiss forced her eyes back down.

The husk was charging, faster then humanly possible, hissing in a thousand voices all the while.

Blind instinct snapped her pistol up, firing into its chest. The blue barrier sprang to life again, deflecting everything she fired. Just as her pistol overheated the thing tackled her around the waist, sending them both flying back cross the rocky ground.

As she tumbled, Ruby felt two deathly cold hands wrap around her throat. Suddenly her head was slammed down into the ground making her vision flash in pain as they came to an abrupt stop. She found herself lying on her back staring up into a blood red sky, the face of death gazing down upon her as the husk began to strangle the life out of her.

Then a spike of pure malice thrust itself into her mind, paralysingly her, stabbing deep into her psyche. And the voices... the voices wouldn't stop! They grasped at her every thought, twisting them against her will until she could do nothing but stare with hopelessness at the husk above her.

She was powerless. All feeling and senses in body just... faded away. She felt disconnected, a mind floating in space with no body to hold it.

Then the presence stabbed deeper, as if trying to go beyond her her mind and into her very soul. She let a strangled gasp of agony as the spike stabbed deeper, past her memories, past her feelings and to her very core. With every push she could feel herself slipping, her very will draining away into the soulless black pits that hung above her.

Deeper... deeper... deeper...

Suddenly a spark seemed to ignite inside her, coming from the deepest parts of her being. Her darkening vision flashed with a reddish tint and suddenly... she wasn't afraid.

A scream of rage echoed through her mind as the spike tried to stab deeper... but something kept it at bay, stopping it in its tracks. A fire, an invisible shield that seemed to burn from her soul, flaring brighter then the sun, forming a line that the attack could not cross.

In it she found strength to push back.

With a great heave of effort the fire was unleashed, burning through her essence, driving out the fell influence. Another scream echoed above her, the tendrils of voices clawing desperately at her mind to gain entrance once again. Try though they might, they couldn't breach the fiery armor that now protected her.

With it gone, Ruby was finally able to come back to full awareness. She tried to suck in a breath, but the husk still had its hands around her. Then she was finally made aware of just how desperate for air she really was.

Her vision was going dark around the edges as she fanatically tried to breath. Desperate, she seized the husk's wrists and began to pry its fingers off her throat.

Sensing her resistance, the husk squeezed tighter. The voices clawing at her mind redoubled their efforts, hammering against her strange mental barrier again and again.

Struggle though she did, she couldn't fight on both fronts. Her physical strength was fading as the last breath of air escaped her lungs. Her mental shield was flickering as she fought to stay conscious. The black eyes above her seemed to grow in size, covering her in the dark embrace of death.

She was fading... falling into those black pits... falling... falling...

But the on the very edge of her dulled hearing a roar shook the air. Then a red blur slammed into the husk, tearing its hands off her as the two forms tumbled to the side. Instantly air rushed back into her lungs as she gasped, her senses snapping back into full alertness. The voices were gone from her mind, letting her think clearly again.

And all she could think of was killing that thing.

She rolled onto her her and knees, gasping for air and shaking off the dizziness that came and saw Crescent Rose on the ground nearby where she had dropped it. She reached out a hand for it, then paused, staring at her armored gantlet.

A glowing, reddish light covered her hand, wrapping around her fingers and arm like a glove. Even as she watched, it flickered, then faded out of existence.

Pushing the strange sight out of her mind in favor of the current situation she again reached for Crescent Rose, picked it up and whirled around.

As it turned out it was Wrex who had saved her, and now tumbled around with the husk on the ground, exchanging punches, kicks and headbutts. It brought to light just how strong this husk really was as it punched Wrex across the jaw in a frenzied swipe. The blow knocked the Krogan's head to the side, spit, blood and even a tooth flying his mouth. Whereas every blow Wrex sent its way was simply absorbed by it's barrier.

It was painful to watch just how out matched the Krogan was against this thing.

Then the husk let loose a particularly vicious swipe, knocking Wrex off to the side. Then it stood, and as Wrex got back up with a roar it grabbed him by the throat and lifted him bodily off the ground, holding him in the air with ease.

Then Ruby aimed and fired.

Crescent Rose let out a thundering boom as the shot blazed through the air. It struck the husk in the dead center of it's chest and the monster staggered back, dropping Wrex as its barriers flickered under the barrage.

It snarled, gazing at Ruby hatefully.

She fired again, the shot slamming into its flickering barriers. As it stumbled she fired again, driving it back even further. The HVSS let out a frantic beeping, indicating overheating. With instinctive ease she reached forward and racked the bolt on the side, ejecting the spent thermal clips as the rifle automatically loaded up new ones.

She resumed firing, her whole focus bent on killing this abomination in front of her.

Shot after shot rang out, sending the husk staggering, unable to get a firm foothold under the barrage.

Then after shot number seven its barriers finally gave out, breaking with a sound like shattering glass as ethereal blue light flickered all over its body. It opened up its mouth and screamed in pain, the sound sending a fresh surge of terror through her soul.

Gritting her teeth, Ruby fired one last time, sending the shot into its chest and through its black heart, erupting out its back with a spray of black gore.

The husk froze, its whole body rigid. Then the twin points of light in its soulless eyes faded into nothingness and the body collapsed to the ground, finally dead.

Ruby felt her legs go weak and she fell to her knees. Slowly, the raw terror inspired by its presence started to fade, replaced by numb relief as she stared at the corpse.

Dead... finally, mercifully, dead.

"Good riddance," she spat, slowly pushing herself off the ground.

She got to her feet, swaying slightly as her legs trembled, then took a deep breath and steadied herself. Once she was stable, she looked back for her team.

Wrex was still on the ground where the husk had dropped him, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. A few meters away Ashley was helping Kaidan to his feet. Their faces were bone white and their moments unsteady. Though they hid their feelings well, Ruby could see the raw fear burned into their eyes. Garrus was already standing, staring up into the sky with a deadened expression, his face far too pale to be healthy. Liara and Tali were still on the ground, curled in on themselves and trembling uncontrollably. Ruby was half tempted to join them, but she had a duty to stay strong... for them.

"Wrex," she gasped, stumbling over to the fallen Krogan. "Wrex, you okay?"

As she stopped beside the Battlemaster, she couldn't help but stare.

In the brief time since she'd known him he'd been a fearless badass. Through she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him properly before the mission, he had seemed like a rock solid warrior who had been through more fight and battles then she would have in her entire life. It all showed in his face. The chiseled expression, hiding all but the extremes of emotion and red eyes that never blinked in the face of danger.

Nothing of that was left.

His face was almost chalk white, in stark contrast to his red headplate. His eyes stared up blankly into the sky, devoid of any of that fearless warrior Ruby had known. He looked as scared as the rest of them, something she'd never thought a Krogan was capable of.

Then his eyes twitched and spotted her, locking on her like a heat seeking missile.

"Commander," he whispered. "I... I'm still here... aren't I?"

The pleading in his voice took her by surprise. Giving him a weak smile she reached down and gripped his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"You're still here, Wrex," Ruby assured him, gripping tighter.

"I could feel it," he continued, for the first time true fear seeping into his voice. "It... it was pulling me away... I could feel it."

"Its dead now," Ruby said. "We did it, and... thank you for saving me."

"I just wanted it to stop," Wrex moaned. "The voices... dammit. That... thing, it isn't natural."

"I couldn't agree more," Ruby nodded, letting go of his hand and standing. "But we need to get off this rock. You good to good?"

The Krogan nodded, then rolled over and got to his feet. Clapping him comfortingly on the shoulder, Ruby moved to the rest of her team, holstering Crescent Rose and stooping to pick up her pistol. After making sure the others who were standing were alright she gently coaxed Tali and Liara to stand.

As she helped them up, the Normandy flew down from the sky. It came to rest, hovering above the ground as the ramp to the cargo bay opened. They all staggered up it, the cool interior of the vessel a welcome relief compared to the heat of Therum.

"Mad-bay, now," Ruby ordered, leading them to the elevator. They all piled in and started the long wait as it climbed. Again Ruby cursed the speed of the damned thing. For once in its pitiful existence could it go a little bit faster?

After a few minutes the door slid open and they walked out and towards the med-bay.

As they went, Ruby noticed something eerie. She could hear the Drive Core of the ship humming away. Usually it was so quiet you could only hear it when you were sealed in a sleeper pod, and even then barely. But now, the ship was completely silent. There should be crew chatting away at their stations or making some sort of noise to cover up the Drive Core.

The mess hall was abandoned as they stepped in. Not unusual, as the Normandy ran all hands on deck when in a combat situation. But still no noise other then the Drive Core.

The med-bay was empty when they walked in. Ruby looked around for Doctor Chakwas as she helped Liara onto one of the bio-beds. She was probably in the CIC then.

"I'll get Chakwas," she said, going back out through the door.

As she walked back though the mess hall, she noticed another odd about the ship. It wasn't moving. Joker should had taken off by now. But hadn't felt the ship move an inch since they got on board.

She headed up the ramp to the Combat Information Center, stopping just in the doorway.

All the crew was there, sitting or standing at their station and all of them looked sick. Pale and faces frozen in slowly fading terror, the more closely resembled corpses then seasoned operators. Pressly was leaning over the railing surrounding the galaxy map, hands gripping the metal so hard she swore she could see it warping. He hardly looked like the strong willed Navigator she had talked to only hours ago, reduced to a quivering mess. Beside him was a young servicemen, curled up in a ball on the ground and rocking back and forth as she whimpered into her knees.

All were brought down by the husk's fell screams, and that had been from a few kilometers away.

It both amazed and terrified Ruby at how far it could reach.

She spotted Doctor Chakwas up near the pilot's seat and headed over, passing a dozen crewmen, slumped over their consoles.

A quick glance through the windows at the front of the ship confirmed that the ship hadn't moved.

When she was close enough she gently tapped the Doctor on the arm. She jumped, whirling around and staring at Ruby in fear. When she saw who it was she relaxed slightly.

"R-Ruby," she stammered breathlessly. "What... what was that?"

"I don't know, Karin," Ruby sighed, shaking her head. "But right now we need you down in the med-bay. Liara... sorry, Doctor T'soni wasn't looking so good."

Despite herself a bitter chuckle burst from her throat. "Hell, none of us are."

Nodding shakily, Chakwas started down to the Med-bay. With that taken care of, Ruby turned back to the cockpit where Joker sat in his seat, staring blankly at the blinking lights of the controls. When she tapped him he jumped, letting out a girlish scream as his head twisted sharply to see who it was.

She would have found his noise funny, if not for the fact that his face was twisted in terror and they were currently sitting ducks in enemy territory.

"Joker," she said, putting as much sternness into the words as she could without sound cruel. "We need to move, now. Turn on the stealth systems and get us out of here."

He blinked at her, gasping as the shock faded. Then he nodded and turned back to his controls. Finally she felt the ship come to life beneath her, flying up into the blood red sky. Soon the red gave way to black as they broke through the atmosphere and into outer space heading towards the mass Relay.

Only then did Ruby let herself relax, staggering over to the copilot seat and collapsing into it, finally bereft of strength.

She felt weak, like she had just ran the whole N7 course in under an hour. But more then that, she felt...scared. She couldn't explain it. The terror of that thing... it went far beyond any rational fear she had ever felt. And what it had done... it had attacked her very mind and had tried to go even deeper. How was that even possible?

"Commander?" Joker's quiet voice shook her out of her thoughts. "The Council is on the line. They want to hear your mission report."

Ruby sighed, casting a tired look back to the CIC. Barely anyone had moved, still reeling from the effects of the... Screamer.

They couldn't do this anymore.

"Tell them we're coming back to the Citadel," she replied quietly, turning back to the pilot. "We're in no shape to go on like this."

Joker nodded, then began plotting the course.

As they started the long trip, Ruby watched the stars as they flew by the cockpit windows. Once they had been a sight of beauty... now all they could remind her of were those eyes of malice that had scorched her with their burning gaze.

Exhausted, both physically and mentally, she shut her eyes, desperate to escape the strains of wakefulness but unwilling to fall asleep less she again hear the screams in her nightmares.

Updated: March 7, 2017