Mass Effect is the property of Bioware and Electronic Arts, The Alien/Predator franchise belongs to 20th Century Fox.

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It's taken a while to get to this point. I've lived in three different countries on two continents since I started writing fanfiction (welcome to academic life), but I'm finally ready to start the story of Commander Shepard, as set in a cross-over Mass Effect / AvP universe.

Obviously, the story will go very differently. The background universe is different: Humanity never joined the Citadel, so Shepard is not a Spectre candidate and the introduction of both the Predators and the Xenomorphs creates a fundamentally different threat. On top of that, I will continue to try to make characters behave with a modicum of common sense.

Most of the side quests will be left out. Those belong in a video game to build up a character, but story-wise they make no sense. Shepard is on a time-critical mission. She has no time to take Admiral Hacket's dog to the vet.

"Those who 'abjure' violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf"

George Orwell

Unknown location

The room would have been considered dark by most species, with only sparse red lights illuminating the occupants, but none of those present considered it problematic. Their eyes were sensitive enough and required no more light.

"Saren has been extremely successful. The project is near completion. He will proceed with the first release within the next few months."

"And he doesn't suspect?"

"Suspect what? That he isn't working alone?" The first speaker laughed; A cold, rattling sound. "Of course he suspects. Saren is a fool, but even so, he cannot miss the signs. He knows someone is helping him."

"And that does not worry you? All sapient beings resent being manipulated."

"His anger is focused on the humans. He will take his resentment out on them. As for his suspicions, the humans have made plenty of enemies. So, it's hardly surprising to Saren that he has found support, nor that those supporters wish to remain anonymous, especially in light of the events in the Torfan system. He may have his suspicions regarding the identity of his supporters, but as long as he doesn't suspect the truth those suspicions are irrelevant. He will play his part." The speaker paused for a moment, then continued. "We chose Saren for a reason. He was never too bright to begin with and his obsession with revenge robbed him of what little intelligence he had. His reactions are instinctive, fueled by anger, which makes him predictable, even more so than the average turian."

"And the asari? She's supposed to be intelligent."

Again, the first speaker laughed. "At one time, yes, but now? Her ego outgrew her understanding long ago. It leaves her vulnerable, open to suggestion, to the point where even Saren finds her easy to manipulate. You can forget about her. She no longer makes decisions. Saren controls her, and we can anticipate Saren's every move."

"You did not anticipate that he would approach the Geth," someone pointed out.

"No, that came as a surprise. In hindsight it does make sense, though. Even Saren couldn't fail to realize just how dangerous the Kiande Amedha are. He went looking for backup, an insurance policy, so to speak. And the Geth are perfect. The Kiande Amedha don't identify them as prey, so they tend to ignore them. If the protheans had been less fanatical in their anti-AI policies, they might have chosen a similar path. In the end, it may well work in our favour. The Citadel species are as dogmatic as the protheans when it comes to artificial intelligence. The presence of the Geth may be an advantage to Saren now, but it will cripple him in the long run."

"And what will the Geth do, in the long run?"

"Whatever they consider to be beneficial to their continued existence. Artificial Intelligences are even more predictable than turians. For the moment, they have come to the conclusion that cooperation with Saren's plans will benefit them. As long as they see it that way, they will cooperate with Saren. Once the input parameters change, they will decide on a new course of action. They may retreat, in which case it doesn't matter to us. Or they may attack, which will only increase the chaos. I think we can all see the benefit of that.

"All well and good," a fourth speaker said. "but we have a new problem. Saren has started a counterintelligence operation. He has infiltrated the Shadowbroker's network."

There was a moment of silence, then the first speaker answered, more cautiously this time.

"We're aware of that. However, that is unrelated to our involvement. Like so many others, Saren wants access to the Shadowbroker's information sources, without paying for the information. He isn't aware of the connection."

"And what if he becomes aware? Already, he has turned several of the Shadowbroker's key agents. If that continues-"

"Then nothing! The identity of the Shadowbroker is the best-guarded secret in the galaxy. None of the agents know who they report to. Saren could suborn them all and he would be none the wiser."

"And meanwhile, we would be blind, right at the crucial moment!"

"Enough!" A new voice cut through the debate. The speaker stood up, taller and heavier, she towered over the others. "We have spent centuries building up our intelligence network. We have complete insight into the information flow of both Citadel space and the Terminus. We are even making inroads in the human worlds. All of that, without risking a single one of our own people and without the slightest risk of betraying our presence. We will NOT sacrifice all that work to support your pet turian."

There was a moment of silence. Then she continued.

"We will allow this Saren a little more time. We will let him play his pathetic little games until the first deployment. But then we move. We will plug the leaks in the network and eliminate those who have betrayed the Shadowbroker. From that moment on, Saren is on his own."

United Systems Alliance HQ, Arcturus

"Captain Anderson reporting, sir."

Admiral Hacket looked up from his reader. "Ah, come in, David, and have a seat. I've been expecting you. Tell me, how is Normandy?"

Anderson sat down. "Doing quite well, sir. We had some problems with the new drive-core, but I think we've ironed those out. The final report isn't complete, yet, but as far as I'm concerned, she's ready for active duty."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. At least, I think you'll consider it bad news. You're about to be reassigned. No," The admiral lifted a hand to stop Anderson from interrupting. "This is no reflection on your performance, which has been excellent. However, there are other considerations. To put it bluntly, David, it's time for you to move on. You've been a field officer for most of your career. Not a bad thing, but you've reached the point where it limits your options for advancement. If you stay with Normandy, that's the end of your career. You'll never move beyond commanding a single ship. That would be a waste, and I don't like waste. So, I will cut you some new orders. You're being assigned to the Citadel."

"Sir?"

"We are expanding our embassy and we need a military liaison. You're the ideal candidate. You were one of the point men in our only peaceful first contact, which makes you acceptable to the Citadel Council. You also took part in the liberation of Shanxi, which makes you acceptable to USM HQ and the General Assembly. Now, I'm sure you're less than thrilled about the prospect, but this is the only way forward and I expect you to accept it with good grace. Understood? "

"Yes, sir."

"However, before you hand over Normandy to the next CO, we have a, ah, special assignment for you."

Anderson careful kept his face neutral. "Assignment, sir?"

"Yes. We have a situation on Eden Prime. You may have heard the rumours of some alien ruins found under the surface. Well, as it turns out, it's a bit more than that. Our people have uncovered a full-sized prothean city."

"Prothean, sir? Not...?"

"Definitely prothean. Which leaves us with a bit of an issue. As you may know, the Citadel Council claims first dibs on every prothean site within their territory. Officially that's to ensure that everyone benefits equally. In practice, well, I have my thoughts on the subject. Of course, this particular prothean ruin is not in their territory, but Eden Prime has always been a bit of a special case."

Anderson nodded. The Eden Prime colony was something of a unicum in the Alliance of United Systems. Not located in the pre-war United Systems territory, or in the newly claimed Skyllian Verge, it could be argued that it lay in the demilitarized zone that had been created after the First Contact War. When human explorers found the garden world, the Citadel Council had agreed to cede the planet to them for colonization, on the condition that this particular planet would be exempt from the restrictive 'humans only' policies that applied to the rest of human space. As such it had become something of a social experiment. To everybody's surprise, the colony had flourished. It had quickly become a major waystation for interstellar trade and held the only significant non-human minority population of all human worlds.

"I understand, sir. Are we then to allow a Council research team on site?"

"A few of them are already there," Hacket said. "There were a few non-human xeno-specialists and historians among the non-human population of Eden Prime already. They were there to study us. Of course, they jumped at the chance of studying a fresh prothean dig site. Unfortunately, that also meant that the council got news of the latest discovery. We've found working prothean technology and not just a few odds and ends. Seems like we stumbled across the holy grail."

That was a surprise. From the little Anderson had heard about the prothean ruins found throughout the galaxy they tended to be long on ruins, but short on functional tech, and what little tech remained in anything like working condition was usually pretty basic. True high-end technology was few and far between.

"If I may ask, sir. What is it?"

"Well, that was the trillion credit question. The Citadel Council wasn't very forthcoming initially, but in the end, they told us that it's a beacon. A form of FTL communication. Apparently, they have been found before, but never in a working condition. I'm not sure if aliens salivate, but if they do, the council must be practically drooling at the thought. Apart from the FTL technology itself, which is almost certainly more advanced than anything in existence today, such a system would contain a database as well. There is a lot to be learned." Hacket shrugged. "In any case, they have been pushing hard for access and the Assembly, in its wisdom, has decided to grant it. We're going to transport the beacon to the Citadel, where council experts can take a crack at it."

"Just like that, sir?"

Hacket smiled, rippling the scar on his cheek. "Oh, not just like that. There have been concessions all around. Ambassador Udina has been leveraging this into a major diplomatic coup. The man's been in diplomat heaven ever since we realized what we had. But that leaves us with the matter of getting it to the Citadel. This beacon... there is no way to even begin to establish its value and while the Council's experts may be the most qualified to analyze it, they are certainly not the only ones with the skill. So, we have some major security concerns. Because of its location, Eden Prime isn't as well defended as it should be and we have no major fleet presence there. I wouldn't put it past some of the Terminus warlords to make an attempt at smash and grab, either on Eden Prime itself or during transport. That's where you come in.

"Normandy will handle the transport, sir?"

"Yes, between your stealth technology and speed, you should have no problem getting the beacon to the Citadel. But there is a catch. The Council wants one of their Spectres to supervise the transition, a turian."

Anderson could barely keep his jaw from dropping to the floor.

"Sir, to let a Spectre aboard one of our newest warships, then let him run around Eden Prime? That is an open invitation for espionage!"

"Exactly, captain. Don't get me wrong. If this Spectre minds his own business, then everything is fine, but there are some people who wouldn't mind if he tried to poke his nose, or whatever it is that turians poke, where it doesn't belong. We can always use some additional leverage and an incident like that..." He shrugged. "Frankly, captain. I don't like it. We shouldn't be playing this kind of game. There is too much to be lost and not enough to be gained. But the decision has been made. You will rendezvous with a Council vessel and take on a turian Spectre called Nihlus Kryik. From there you will proceed to Eden Prime, secure the beacon and bring it to the Citadel, where ambassador Udina will formally present it to the Council. That's if everything goes according to plan. If this Spectre crosses the line, you neutralize him. Alive if possible, dead if necessary, and the beacon stays in human hands until further notice."

"I understand, sir. But, with all due respect, how are we going to do that? This is a Spectre we're talking about. Supposedly the best the council can find. I used to be pretty good, but at my age, I don't see myself taking on the likes of him in a stand-up fight."

Hackett nodded. "Don't worry about that, captain. We've got the right person for that particular job. You're about to receive a new first officer. She's due for a promotion anyway and will command Normandy once you've taken up your new duties on the Citadel. She'll take care of this Spectre if the need arises."

"She?"

"Commander Shepard. You may have heard of her."

"Shepard?" It took only a second before Anderson made the connection. "You mean …?"

"Exactly, that Shepard."

Council chamber, the Citadel

"Tevos, I understand we have news?" Councillor Sparatus asked.

"Indeed. The humans have accepted our proposal. One of their warships, the Normandy, will pick up Nihlus and take him to Eden Prime to secure the beacon."

"That's good to hear." Sparatus visibly relaxed. The negotiations had been long and painful; as was the list of concessions that the human ambassador had wrung from them. "Any last-minute surprises?"

"Just one. They sent along a crew manifest for their ship. Not much of interest, except for one person. The second-in-command is one Commander Shepard. You may recognize the name."

"Shepard?" Sparatus thought for a moment. "The name sounds familiar, but I cannot quite place..."

Tevos grimaced. "Think 'lots of dead batarians'."

"Ah, yes, now I remember; the Butcher of Torfan. Curious that the same grandiose nickname works so well in both human and batarian language. Still, she's a rather curious choice for this particular assignment, wouldn't you say."

"For the assignment, yes, but not for the situation in general. This Shepard isn't there for the beacon, she's there as a deterrent for Nihlus. I just spoke with Valern. After the Torfan incident, STG compiled a fairly comprehensive dossier on Shepard and they've been keeping track of her ever since. According to the reports, she didn't get that nickname just because she's ruthless, she is personally lethal in combat."

"Ah, I see. We send a Spectre, an expert in violence, and they counter that by putting an expert of their own on board."

"Precisely. And they make sure we know it too, by picking the one person who is well known. At first glance, they're not very subtle, but I think there is an underlying message as well. Basically, they're saying: 'You are aliens and therefore not to be trusted. So, we send a killer to make sure you don't overstep. But we only send one, because, after all, you're only aliens, therefore one should be sufficient'. There is a definite edge of contempt to it, a challenge, almost. They may actually be hoping that Nihlus will give them an excuse to act."

"Well, let's hope there will be no unpleasantness."

"I doubt there will be. We picked Nihlus for a reason. He won't try anything stupid. So, if this Shepard doesn't start a fight everything should go smoothly and we can all be polite to each other and pretend that we're the best of friends."

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And so it begins.