It was one of the abandoned docks of Illium, where several space shuttles were waiting. At that moment several armed men appeared there, wearing strange armour. One of them, who was carrying a young woman on his shoulder, went inside one of the shuttles first. Other armed men also got into the shuttle except two who were watching their backs. All the shuttles left except one waiting for the last two armed men. When they were sure that no one was watching them, they begin to walk towards their shuttle. But suddenly two hands appeared out of thin air and snapped one of their necks, and the other one was electrified by someone. Both men fell down on the floor, clearly dead.

A man was standing there wearing N7 armour and a woman in a skin tight black suit. They quickly dragged the bodies around a dark corner, stripped off their own armour and put on the armour of the fallen armed men. When they reached near the shuttle door no one could recognize them as their faces were completely obscured by helmets. They nodded at each other and got into the shuttle before anyone could get suspicious. The shuttle immediately took off into the sky, following the trail of the other shuttles. The man and the woman sat inside the shuttle face to face, not knowing where they were going or what lies ahead of them. All they knew that they needed to rescue the young woman who was taken away by those armed men.

PLANET: ALMOS, SEVERAL HOURS LATER

"We have to go now." Dorian warned the other members of the rebellion.

"How did they find us?" Someone asked.

"Someone must have betrayed us, betrayed the Princess." Another man said.

"Stop!" A female voice interrupted the voices in the room. "We don't have time to argue." The Princess herself appeared at the doorway.

"She is right. We need to leave at once or we will never make it." Dorian said.

All the members of the rebellion started to leave the place slowly and quietly, trying to avoid the eyes of the Emperor's guards. They had no idea how they were able to track down this hideout. It was a temporary one, built only to run the operation of rescuing the Princess. But it was a useful place, sadly no more. The last two men started placing charges everywhere so they could blow the place to dust before leaving. They had no desire to leave any kind of trace behind.

"Mac, get the last charge beside that support pillar." Brendon ordered, pointing behind him.

His partner, Mac was carrying the charge towards the pillar but at that moment a bullet hit his leg and he fell on the ground face grasping his leg, and moaning in pain.

"Mac!" Bredon yelled and immediately started to get towards him.

"No! No! Get out from here! Now! Blow this place!" Mac yelled, while still lying on the ground holding his injured leg.

"No way! I cannot….." Brendon wanted to argue.

"Listen to me. The Princess' life is what matters. We can't let her get captured again. If they…" Mac indicated towards the soldiers outside the building, who were now slowly approaching them. "If they can catch any of us they will get it all out. Believe me my friend. The monster….he won't kill you. He will break you until you spill everything. He has his ways. It's better to die this way than get tortured by that monster."

"But…"

"Do it now!" Mac yelled out in frustration.

Brendon was about to turn back and blow the place but at that moment three gunshots were heard followed by sounds of bodies hitting the ground. He heard footsteps approaching towards the door. He aimed his gun towards the entrance, his hands shaking slightly in tension. He expected the Emperor's soldiers to appear any second at the door and shred his body with bullets. But what he saw made his jaw drop slightly….

At the entrance stood two people. A man wearing red and black armour who looked like a soldier and an extremely beautiful woman in a skin tight black suit stood by his side with a pistol in her hand which was still smoking.

"Your problem is taken care of." Said the woman staring straight at Brendon.

"Who are you?" Brendon asked.

Not giving an answer to him the woman went straight to Mac and crouched down beside him to take a good look at his bullet wound.

"Bullet is not inside. Can see the exit hole. Medigel and a few days of rest will do for now." She said while applying medigel to Mac's wounds.

Mac who was moaning in pain a few moments ago was now staring at his saviour unblinking. He just couldn't take his eyes off this woman in front of her. Never had he seen such a gorgeous woman in his entire life, and not even the Princess can be compared to her when the former is considered the most beautiful woman alive on planet Almos.

"God who is she?" Mac thought, his eyes roamed over her hand which were applying medigel to his bullet wound. His own hands were itching to lean forward and take her hands in his, tell her to be his and never leave his side. She looked both deadly and beautiful at the same time. He was not a pervert by any means but he found it extremely hard not to stare at her when she stood so very close to him in that skin tight suit. His eyes begin to roam over her face, taking in her beauty but at that moment she looked up and her blue eyes met his.

He was totally taken aback by the cold stare he received from those blue eyes of hers, as if she just read his thoughts by just looking into his eyes. A cold shiver ran down his spine because of the way this woman was staring him down. It looked like she was deciding whether to shoot him or save him.

"Who are you people? Why did you save us?" Brendon asked.

"We are not your enemy." The man in N7 armour assured him. "We are not from here."

"Why are you here, then?" Brendon asked curiously. "And how did you get in? No ship can cross our planet's atmosphere."

"We are here to rescue someone who is very close to me." The woman answered. "The Emperor has taken her away."

"The Emperor has kidnapped someone very close to you?" Brendon asked bewildered.

"Yes. Can you help us get her back?" The woman asked.

Before Brendon could answer, Mac cut him off. "Of course! Of course we will. You see I can help you personally."

Seeing Mac's eagerness to help, the woman's eyes narrowed. "Personally?"

"Yeah. You see I am a tech expert. I can get you inside any security cameras inside the Emperor's castle or the dungeons. If the Emperor has kept her alive she will be in one of these places." Mac explained nervously.

Mac wanted to help this woman because she just saved him and Brendon, then treated his wound. And well…. He cannot deny that he is deeply attracted to her. So very much. He has some hope that maybe if he can help her then he can win over her heart. Maybe, just maybe.

"Mac! You shut up!" Brendon yelled. "We barely know these people. Yes, they saved us and for that I am grateful." Brendon looked at the woman and her partner. "I truly am. Sorry, but I don't trust you because who knows you can be the Emperor's spies. Trying to get to our Princess."

"Princess?" The woman asked with raised eyebrows.

"Is that a name?" The soldier asked, confused.

"No. She is actually a Princess. And the throne belongs to her." Mac answered.

"So, she is the daughter of the Emperor?"

"No. The Emperor was a close friend to our King and Queen. But he betrayed them and murdered them with his own hands. He didn't kill the Princess though."

"Why?"

Brendon looked at both their faces. There were no signs that these two people were trying to deceive him. Besides, they never asked about the Princess. So, maybe they really are telling the truth. He saw that it won't hurt to answer their questions. Even the Emperor's inner men knew why he kept the Princess alive for so long.

"You saw our planet's defense, right?" He received a nod in return. "No ship or weapon can penetrate our defense. It's invulnerable. You see this shield and everything else is powered by a single rock. A small rock no more than 5 inches in size. It provides power to the entire Kingdom and the shield around our planet. It has unimaginable capacity." Brendon said.

"Does it belong to your planet?" The woman asked.

"No. It does not."

"So, it came from outside." The soldier said. Brendon nodded.

"It is invaluable. Even the harvesters want it."

"Harvesters? Who are they?"

"I don't know. Never seen them. They come here from time to time asking for humans as sacrifices. In return they won't make this planet extinct. The Emperor has agreed to let them examine the stone so they can replicate it. You see it is because of this stone the Emperor had kept our Princess alive for all the past years." Brendon explained.

"What is the Princess' connection with the stone?"

"The stone is locked in a secure chamber that even the Emperor doesn't have access to. He doesn't know where the chamber is. It is well hidden. No one knows where it is inside the castle."

"But the Princess knows." Brendon nodded.

"Hm." The woman activated her omni tool and an image appeared in a hologram. "Do you recognize this?" She asked.

"Yes. It's them. The harvesters." Mac said, fearfully.

"The Collectors." The soldier said. "Look, the Collectors are not the only threat to your planet and people. They are a threat to the humans of the entire galaxy. My mission is to stop them. We will need your help."

Their discussion was cut short by voices calling the names of Brendon and Mac followed by several footsteps. At least thirty men and women arrived, all armed to teeth. As soon as they spotted the strangers, they raised their guns towards them.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" Mac stopped them. "These two are friends, not enemies."

"What is the proof that they are not the Emperor's spies?" Someone asked.

"We don't have any proof. The Emperor has captured someone very dear to me and we are here to save her." Miranda said.

"Why would the Emperor kidnap a stranger? It doesn't make any sense."

"No. They saved our lives." Mac protested.

"It is some kind of twisted play of the Emperor. He plans to win our trust to get in and then get to the Princess."

"Enough!" Miranda raised her voice this time. "We don't care about your Princess. We don't even know who she is. We are here to rescue my sister from the Emperor's hand. That's it and if you people don't want to help then don't get in our way."

But the armed men and women weren't ready to listen to any kind of reasoning when it comes to the well being of their Princess. They pointed their guns straight towards Miranda.

"We can't let you go. Maybe you are telling the truth and maybe you aren't. We can't take the risk."

"But…." Mac tried to protest but no one listened. "What are you doing?! Are you guys crazy?! Stop!"

They didn't listen to Mac and were ready to pull the triggers. But suddenly they realized they couldn't move anymore. They couldn't even move a single muscle. Their eyes widened when their eyes fell on the man wearing N7 armour. His eyes…. They were glowing blue just like the colour of biotics.

And at the same time an old Asari at the secret hideout of the rebellion opened her eyes for the first time in twenty years.

"Dorian." She called.

Dorian was there immediately with the Princess herself in his toes.

"You are awake?!" Dorian asked with amazement.

"I had to, because he is here. Our saviour is here." The asari said.

Both the Princess and Dorian's eyes widened.

AT THE PALACE

"My Lord….." One of the Emperor's men tried to say something to the Emperor in a hurry but he stopped the man.

"You don't need to speak. I know. He is here." The Emperor said.

"Orders my Lord? Should we go after him?"

"No. Let him come to me. I will wait for him here." The Emperor said.

"As you wish my Lord." The man bowed and left.

In the darkness of the palace the Emperor opened his helmet. His face couldn't be seen because of the darkness and shadows. He sat down on his throne and a slow but evil smile formed on his lips.

"Welcome to Almos, Commander Shepard….. My son."

Notes: This chapter is very short I know. But this one is here just to give you people an idea of what is coming next and well, the story is not dead. Review!