O: Alright, listen up you brats. Normally I don't do seminars like this, but Ikora has been on my ass about "not contributing to the next generation of Guardians." Since I refuse to mentor any Guardians, this is a nice middle ground.

[sounds of chalk]

O: Today's topic will be on the matter of Darkness Zones. You're going to be heading to them sooner or later, so unless you want your Light to fade away, I'd recommend that you unplug your ears. Or turn on your microphones for you exos.

[quiet laughter]

O: Darkness Zones refer to any area where the Light of the Traveler either does not fully reach, or does not reach at all. Most of these zones are the former, and all of the latter are reserved for special locations, such as deep within Vex constructs, Fallen bases, or Hive Throne Realms. Given all your level of experience, or lack of it rather, you won't need to worry about those, so for now I'm only going to focus on the ones where the Light is reduced instead of diminished.

[more sounds of chalk]

O: As I mentioned earlier, these zones are locations where the Light of the Traveler has difficulty shining. It is blocked by many different means, each relating to different methods of our enemies. The Vex create these zones through their manipulation of space-time. The Fallen create there's through some method relating to their Ether, with the exact process still unknown to us. The Hive are perhaps the most proficient with creating Darkness Zones, as their gods and dark magics naturally draw in and consume Light. Who can tell me how the Cabal create Darkness Zones?

[Shuffle of movement]

O: You there, the Exo in the front. What's your name?

E-0: Edge-0 sir.

O: Zero?

E-0: I haven't reset.

O: I see. How do Cabal create Darkness Zones?

E-0: I believe it's their psions sir.

O: Correct, their Psions use their abilities to create a field which severely reduces the amount of Light in a certain area. Given that situation I have no doubt you can all guess that Cabal bases without psions, or with a light detachment of them will not be a Darkness Zone. Of course, that's more simple as it seems as the Cabal rarely do things in halves.

[More sounds of chalk]

O: Now, there's good news and bad news when traversing a Darkness zone. The good news is that your abilities are, for the most part, unchanged. You can still manipulate the three different kinds of Light to the same degree offensively, and a Solar grenade will still melt enemies as usual.

[Chuckling]

O: The bad news is that you won't be able to draw forth Light if you're killed. What this means is that if you're alone or you're the last living member of your Fireteam and you die, you're screwed.

[More chuckling]

O: No, don't laugh, that wasn't a joke. When I say screwed, I mean your Light will slowly fade away or, even worse, be consumed. Your Ghost will slowly die as it starves of Light, and you'll have to watch every agonizing second of it.

[Silence]

O: Of course, there are ways to get around this. How many of you have studied or are studying the Sunsinger discipline?

[Shuffle of hands]

O: Alright. How many of you are able to do Fireborn Radiance?

[Shuffling as several hands go down]

O: Everyone with your hand up, you have a slightly less chance of being screwed. Warlocks who are able to do Fireborn Radiance can revive themselves in normal Darkness Zones once every short while. The rest of you will have to wait for a teammate of yours to revive you.

O: Now then, I have no doubt that at least some of you have already experienced a Darkness Zone before, most likely when you first reawoke, so this is all probably stuff you already know. For those of you that have, does anyone want to talk about what it was like.

[Shuffle of movement]

O: Yes, you there. The blue Exo with the antenna. What's your name?

E-3: Emrys-3 sir.

O: I see. Where were you resurrected Emrys?

E-3: Tal – the Ghost, my Ghost that is– had…found me, on Venus, in the jungle. There was a lot I did not understand, and there was little to no time to explain. What was clear was that we could not stay on Venus, and that we needed to find a way off-planet and here to the City.

O: That was smart. One of the worst things that a newly resurrected Guardian can do is linger.

E-3: Thank you sir. We made our way through the Ishtar Collective to try to find a way out. We managed to avoid the Fallen and even looted one of their Shock Rifles from an unguarded supply crate.

O: That's... impressive. The Fallen don't part with any of their gear easily. What happened after that?

E-3: We made our way through, even got through the Archives when we... we...

[Pause. Snapping of wood]

E-3: Ah... sorry about the pencil sir.

O: It's alright. Continue.

E-3: Right, the Archives... From the maps we had found on the walls it seemed like we were almost at the hanger. One last, long corridor and we would have been there when...

O: Yes?

E-3: There was this... pressure. I learned later that the corridor was immersed in Darkness. It choked my strength, sapped my will, suppressed my life...

E-3: I suffered a small circuit failure; there's a blank spot in my memory processor approximately 2.7 seconds long. It was short, but it was enough for me to lose movement control and collapse.

E-3: I also... ah... dropped the Shock Rifle.

[Brief laughter. None of it from Odin]

E-3: There was... it almost looked like lightning, but I knew it wasn't. It was a pattern in the air, like some form of equations that I could barely perceive, and when it was done there was a hulking mass of metal in front of us, a single crimson eye locking onto us. A Vex Minotaur, I was told later.

O: Seeing as you are currently attending this class, I assume you managed to escape.

E-3: Yes. Ash-7 put three Golden Gun shots into it and saved us. After that she and her Ghost helped us escape.

E-3: So far, that's my... our first and only encounter with a Darkness Zone.

O: I see. And what would you think about going back into another one, Guardian?

E-3: ...I need to learn first. About the Light and the Darkness we face, about what it means to be a Guardian.

E-3: Also how to not drop the damned gun.

[Laughter from the crowd. Some from Odin]

O: Thank you Emrys. Many of you can likely relate to his story, having gone through something similar yourself. For those that haven't, such things are not exaggerations. I personally resurrected in the Cosmodrome, and the only reason I didn't have my skull collected by the Archon of the House of Devils at the time is because I managed to find a mostly intact jump ship.

O: So by the Light, if you haven't encountered a Darkness Zone and intend on going to one, bring your mentor or at least a friend. The first encounter with these zones is often enough to stun or paralyze fresh faced Guardians, which I have no doubt many of you are.

O: Moving on, we're going to talk about-

?: What about the Vault of Glass sir?

O: ...I'm sorry?

?: The Vault of Glass. You have been inside, right sir? Is that a place where the Traveler's Light doesn't reach at all?

O: That isn't relevant to this conversation.

?: It's not? But you said that deep within Vex constru-

O:

It. Is. Not. Relevant. Am I understood?

?: ...yes sir, sorry sir.

O: Good. If you're really that curious about zones where no Light reaches, then you can see what it was like when my Fireteam and I took down Crota. Muninn, bring up recording 472-381-98C...

(0)(0)(0)

Odin once again found himself in the shuttle of the Normandy, and once again it was extremely uncomfortable and claustrophobic. He had no doubt that its armor was solid for this galaxy, but if you compared it to the near indestructible Vex plating of the Aspect of Glass, it was like comparing a piece of paper to a sheet of relic-iron.

He missed the ship's cramped but encompassing protection that if offered with its thick hull. He missed its soft presence in his mind whenever he piloted it. Many Guardians found it disturbing, but it was something that he had long gotten used to.

Most of all, he missed not having structural weaknesses for the sake of such things like doors or windows.

Friggen primitives and their lack of teleportation...

"What are you looking at?"

Odin blinked as he realized that in his musings he had accidentally stared directly at the Normandy's newest member. She had been recruited by Shepard during Odin's session with Kelly and, from what he had heard, was violent, temperamental, and extremely powerful with her biotic abilities.

And she didn't scare Odin in the slightest. He shrugged and leaned back in his seat, trying to let his mind wander again.

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" the woman snapped.

There was a shifting in the seat next to Odin as Grunt leaned forward. "Looks like you are now," he rumbled, chuckling to himself slightly.

"You..." she growled. Biotic energy began to coalesce around her fist.

"Jack, that's enough!" Shepard shouted, "Odin didn't mean anything by it." She looked at the Warlock. "Right?"

Odin glanced between the two before shrugging again. "It was an honest mistake. I wasn't trying to look at you. My apologies."

Jack grumbled slightly, but the energy around her fist dissipated.

Odin turned to look at Shepard. "So, what's the situation on the ground?"

The Commander frowned. "I'm not going to lie, it's not good. It's likely that most, if not all of the colony has been captured. We didn't have time to get scans of the area, and we don't know enemy force composition. It's likely that it will be high, however. To make matters worse, we've never fought Collectors before, so we have no idea what we're going into."

"So... let me get this straight," Odin said slowly, "We're going to an unknown location, facing an unknown enemy with unknown numbers. Does that sound about right?"

Shepard winced. "That's... not inaccurate."

The Warlock stared into her eyes for a few moments, his expression completely neutral.

Then he simply nodded. "Sounds like an average Guardian mission."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Odin smiled. "Shepard, every Guardian mission is a suicide mission. Literally. It's rare that a fireteam won't have at least one death on a mission."

"Ha ha!" Grunt shouted next to him, "Sounds like fun!"

The Warlock shrugged. "Less fun when you're the one dying. Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I enjoy it."

Jack blinked and furrowed her eyebrows. She looked at Shepard. "Is he on drugs? Because even I know not to start a fight like this when I'm high."

The commander sighed. "No... no he's not. It's... a long story."

"I'm a dimensional traveler who can resurrect myself after death and wield incredible powers," Odin said bluntly.

"Why do you keep telling people that?" Shepard groaned.

The Warlock shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? Hide it and practically cripple myself by not using my powers in order to keep it secret? Screw that. I don't care if people think I'm crazy. What I care about is that I can consider the laws of reality to be loose guidelines."

"Most people I know would use subtlety."

Odin scoffed. "Screw subtlety. I have space magic."

"Deeefinitely high," Jack said slowly.

"Thirty seconds!" came a voice from the cockpit.

"Right," Shepard said, "Battle plan. Odin, Garrus mentioned you have a sniper rifle which makes enemies explode?"

The Warlock nodded, and Icebreaker materialized in his hands. Jack did a double take.

"I want you as our long range support," the Commander said. "Pick off targets where you see them. Use your powers where you think they'll be most effective, but try to keep us out of the crossfire. I've seen what you can do with that bomb of yours."

Odin frowned slightly, but relented with a nod. He preferred to be closer, at least mid-range, but it would be more trouble than it was worth to argue. Besides, he was a good shot.

"Jack, you're our biotic artillery. Hit them hard and keep them distracted and reeling."

The biotic gave a feral grin. "I'll rip them apart!"

"Grunt, you're the muscle. When Jack disrupts them, I want you to crush them and mop them up."

The krogan gave a low rumble. "My kind of fight..."

"I'll be the hammer," Shepard finished, "I'll hit them hard and make sure that they can't focus on you all."

Odin raised an eyebrow. "That will put you in a lot of danger."

"I can deal with it," Shepard said, dismissing the comment.

Any protests from the Warlock were cut short when the sudden jerk of the craft signaled that they had touched down. The door opened a second later and the four members of the team piled out, weapons raised and ready to engage any enemies.

The second that Odin's boots touched the ground his muscles stiffened. Senses, honed from centuries of fighting and exploration, came to life as a familiar feeling returned. He felt his Light flicker inside his soul. It still burned strong, but its essence became threatened by another all around him.

Darkness.

"Odin," Muninn whispered in his mind.

"I know," he replied back to his Ghost. "I guess that confirms it," he said out loud.

Shepard turned to him. "Odin?"

"This place is a Darkness Zone," he said, glancing around, "Your Reapers are definitely connected to The Darkness."

"Darkness Zone?"

Odin frowned. "It's a location where Light does not easily reach, or doesn't reach at all. This is going to be troublesome for me."

"Will it affect your combat ability?" Shepard asked.

The Warlock scoffed. "Please, as though a little Darkness could hold me back. No, I'll be fine, but I'll have to be a bit more careful. I can't resurrect myself freely in this place. I can do so once every five to ten minutes, depending on how heated combat is, but if I die before that ability has refreshed..."

"I'm guessing you won't come back," the Commander said.

Odin nodded. "Don't worry about me though," he said, giving her a thumbs up, "I've been in much worse situations than this and come out fine."

Shepard looked at him for a few moments, then gave him a small smirk. "I guess you're more like us mortals now."

Odin returned the look. "Maybe so."

He turned back down the path as his helmet materialized around his head, his HUD blinking to life. He didn't actually need it, but it helped streamline things and he was used to the familiar messages and signs.

Immediately there was a flashing at the top, and Odin looked up to see thousands of massive insects flying above his head, too many to count at a glance. Those must be what paralyzed the colonists...

"Mordin, you sure that those armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?" Shepard asked through the comms, apparently noticing the clouds of insects at the same time as Odin.

"Certainty impossible," replied the quick speaking Salarian, "but in limited numbers should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms. In theory."

"In theory will have to be good enough," Odin grunted out. He glanced over at Shepard. "I'm glad you convinced me to carry one just in case. If these swarms are influenced by the Darkness, their ability may be able to affect me if they attack in large enough numbers."

"Influenced by Darkness?" Mordin had apparently heard what the Warlock had said. "Normal poisons don't work on you?"

"Essentially," Odin replied, "My Light can neutralize or repair most toxins or poisons before they cause critical harm. For example, the damage that hemotoxins cause is repaired quicker than the cells in my body can break down, I don't need oxygen to survive so the breakdown of red blood cells is negligible, and my Light automatically breaks up large clots on blood. Neurotoxins on the other hand don't work against me because-"

There was a cough and Odin turned to see Shepard looking at him with an annoyed expression. "Maybe we could focus on the mission for right now and you two eggheads can continue this conversation when we're back on the Normandy?"

"Of course Shepard," Mordin said, "Hope you have a safe mission. Try not to die."

Odin just shrugged. "After you Shepard."

The Commander rolled her eyes but began to move forward.

Odin took a brief moment to look around. Nearby there was a large gun; a defense turret against invading ships, if he was right. The gravity felt lighter than what he was used to, but enough within his usual range where it wouldn't be an issue. Far in the distance was the Collector Ship, dark clouds swirling around it.

He scowled at it, briefly wishing that he could unleash a Warsat's fury upon the thing. The most firepower he had at his disposal was the Aspect's Solar Lance, but he would need schematics for the alien ship to ensure that he made a critical hit on the thing.

Well, for now he would have to make do.

"Eyes up Guardian," Muninn said in his mind.

Odin blinked as a wave of calm flooded through his mind. Three words said by his Ghost countless times in his long career. They had been said when he had been first resurrected. They had been said when he first faced the Fallen, when he had woken the Hive, when he had discovered the Vex, when he had made it past the Cabal's exclusion zone.

They were said now, and their effect was immediate. Odin raised his weapon and his mind and focus sharpened into the most lethal weapon a Warlock could have.

The squad moved down a path a short ways, swiftly reaching what appeared to be a storage area with several crates and a parked truck. Odin glanced around briefly to take in the layout of the area, memorizing it and planning several different routes and possible combat strategies almost instinctively.

Said instincts flared as the sound of buzzing began to echo through the air. His gaze shot up to see half a dozen humanoid insects flying towards them, large wings on their backs carrying them aloft.

If these weren't Collectors, Odin would eat his Bond. He raised Icebreaker, sighting one of the flying creatures, and pulled the trigger. The ferrofluid round shot through the air with a whistling crack, and a neat hole appeared in the alien's head.

It lasted only a fraction of a second before the creature exploded, showering the nearby area and one of the Collectors at a lower elevation with superheated bits.

Odin shifted his aim and fired again, taking out a second Collector before the rest landed.

"Take them out!" Shepard shouted, letting out a burst with her SMG. She ran to cover, ducking behind a waist-high crate.

"I'll tear you apart!" Jack roared, storming forward. A few of the aliens' shots impacted against her barrier, not penetrating but still staggering her. She snarled and reared a hand back, a swirling ball of biotic energy pooling in it before she thrust it forward.

A series of biotic explosions flew towards a pair of Collectors. The aliens didn't have time to dodge out of the way before it impacted among them, ignoring their cover entirely. One of them was sent tumbling to the side, while the other was launched into the air...

And proceeded to be sent hurtling back as Shepard slammed into it with a biotic charge. The Commander roared, pooling a mass of biotic energy into her hand before she slammed it into the ground. An explosion erupted around her, tearing apart the fallen Collector.

The other aliens turned to fire on Shepard. They didn't have time to pull the trigger, however, as one was cut down by Grunt's shotgun blast, while two more were killed by an Icebreaker shot and the resulting explosion.

And just like that it was over, the battle finished in less than a minute. Shepard and Jack were breathing lightly while Grunt had a wide grin on his face.

Odin wasn't even phased. Sure, he was intrigued about the aliens as an unknown enemy, but six or seven enemies didn't even really warrant much of a concern, not when he could take on dozens at once.

"Let's keep moving," Shepard said over the comms, and he nodded as he stepped out from cover, jogging over to join the rest of the group.

They continued down the path that they were on, moving past the storage area and further into the colony and towards the Collector ship.

They only made it a short distance before there was a crackle of static through the comms, followed shortly by a broken up Joker. "Comman... -tting all kinds... -ference. We can't maintai..."

"The Collectors must be disrupting our communications," Shepard said with a scowl.

Odin frowned slightly. "Muninn," he said aloud, "can you bounce the signal though the Aspect? I'd be surprised if they could block you."

"One moment," the Ghost said over the comms.

A few seconds passed before there was another burst of static. "-mmander! Commander!" Joker shouted.

"We hear you Joker," Shepard said, "Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear Commander," the pilot said with a sigh, "EDI's acting all kinds of weird right now though. What did you do?"

"That would probably be me," Odin said with a cough, "I had to bounce the signal using my ship. Its communications and internal workings are a bit more advanced than what your AI is likely used to."

"That would be an understatement Odin," said AI replied, "Your ship... I do not understand how it can even exist. It is like a paradox."

The Warlock sighed. "I feel like I'm going to be hearing that a lot in the future."

"Let's keep moving," Shepard said, "We need to save those colonists."

There was a round of affirmations from the rest of the squad, and they continued to move down the path. Eventually a series of buildings came into sight.

Odin glanced around, taking in the sights. The buildings looked like the type that could be assembled quickly, likely appropriate for colonists on new planets. There were only a couple of long lanes forward, one of which went through a series of buildings.

"Only one way forward," Shepard grumbled, hopping down a small ledge. She was followed shortly by the rest of the group, each hefting their weapons and keeping their eyes open.

Their preparation was fulfilled when a series of buzzing noises filled the air, and a large squad of Collectors flew down to their position.

"More bugs!" Grunt roared, lifting his shotgun. He began to laugh as he charged down the main path, firing his weapon wildly.

The Collectors' responded to Grunt's charge with gunfire, impacting against his shield.

Odin scowled. "Get to cover Grunt!" he shouted to the Krogan as he placed a ferrofluid shot between the eyes of one of the firing aliens. He did not decide to spare Grunt's life only for the stupid Krogan to get killed by some bugs!

Grunt glanced back at Odin, then turned to look forward. There was a moment where it seemed as though he was going to ignore the Warlock's advice and simply continue the charge.

The moment ended when his shield broke, and a few shots impacted against his armor. The Krogan spun and dashed behind a nearby wall, grumbling to himself.

Odin just rolled his eyes. He knew that he was going to have to slow down to protect the normal mortals in the squad, but he hadn't expected that he was going to need to babysit a tank-grown Krogan.

A biotic explosion erupted at the far end of the lane as Shepard and Jack executed a biotic combo. It was effective, but the Collectors were still dug in hard, with more having come as reinforcements.

The corner of Odin's lip twitched. Time to do this the Guardian way.

The Warlock dashed forward and leapt, reducing gravity's hold upon himself and gliding up to the top of one of the buildings. He dismissed Icebreaker as he began to run, grabbing Invective off his back with his right hand. In his left he began to pool Void Light.

The Collectors were dug in behind cover, but that was alright. He didn't need them to be out in the open for him to kill them.

Just as the Collectors seemed to notice him, Odin threw the ball of Void Light in his hand into their midst. The Collectors, to their credit, dove to the side immediately, avoiding the explosion that they were expecting.

There was no explosion. Instead, a ring of Void Light shot out, passing through them without causing harm.

What followed did.

Three small balls of Void Light began to drift through the air. The Collector's glanced at them, curious about these phenomena.

Their curiosity ended when each ball was absorbed into an alien, violently destabilizing every molecule in their body.

Three explosions ripped out as the remains of the Collectors erupted outwards.

Grinning, Odin leapt off the building and, with a whoop, planted his boots straight into the face of one of the Collector's near the back of the group. With his mass enhanced by an application of gravity manipulation, the alien's head was crushed like a grape beneath him.

He rolled with the landing, bringing up Invective and firing a tight grouping of pellets directly into the back of a nearby Collector, practically splitting the alien in half. A quick pump of the slide and his aim shifted to another one.

A feeling of exhilaration bubbled up Odin's throat as one by one the aliens fell to Invective's fury. Yes, this was why Guardians existed. To destroy their foes, to rend them from limb to limb, to cast them down into the dirt and dust, never to rise up agai-

Something slammed into the back of his head.

Odin rolled with the blow, mitigating some of the impact. His helmet took the rest, cracking slightly but not breaking. The worst part of it was the sheer insult to the Warlock. He hated being caught flat-footed.

He rose with an angry scowl, only to stop as he got a good look at what attacked him.

It was... once human. Once. Now it was something horrifyingly different. Its skin was a disgusting dead grey color as though all the life had been drained out of it. Glowing blue lights were visible between its skin where circuitry and machinery had been implanted. Tubes ran up and down its body, and its eyes were two glowing white bulbs.

Odin's eyes widened and his mind began to race. This was... what was this? It had been undeniably human, but it's form had been defiled, converted into something horrific. He had seen terrible things in his time, humans enslaved and abused by the Fallen, Guardians experimented and tortured by the Hive, but... nothing like this.

The creature lunged, and he acted on instinct, grabbing its lashing arm and spinning, using its own momentum to smash it into the ground. He lifted his other hand and plunged it down, sending Solar energy into its chest, incinerating it near instantly.

A screech took Odin's attention, and he turned to see three more rushing down the path. Hawkmoon appeared in his hand and he raised the handcannon, barely taking time to aim. Three shots roared out, and three enemies fell, one missing a large chunk of its head, another with a grapefruit sized hole in its chest, and the final one missing a head as the round tore through its throat.

He snarled and whirled, searching for more targets. When none appeared in his vision he slowly lowered his handcannon and rose, still glancing around.

"Odin..." a voice to his right said, "What the fuck did I say at the beginning of the mission?"

The Warlock turned to Shepard who was walking up to him. "That we have minimal intel?"

Shepard gave him a dry look. "That I want you in the back with your sniper rifle that makes people explode."

Odin turned away. "I saw an opportunity and took it. I'm not apologizing for that." He walked over to one of the corpses of the creatures he had killed. "More importantly, what in the Light is this?"

The Commander walked over and looked at the corpse. "Those look like the husks the Geth used on Eden Prime."

Odin looked at her. "Husks?"

"Converted humans," she explained. "The Geth would put humans on these spikes which would convert the person into these things. It was Reaper tech." She snorted. "If your senses hadn't confirmed it, this definitely did. The Collectors are definitely working for the Reapers."

"It's disgusting," Odin snarled, prompting a surprised look from Shepard. "To defile the human form like that... it's unforgivable." He clenched his fists and Solar Light spilled out from between his fingers. "They will pay."

Shepard took a step back. "Odin?"

The Guardian took a breath, cooling his anger. The air around him dropped back down to reasonable temperatures. "I'll be alright. I'll work through my anger the usual way."

"That being?" the Commander asked.

Hawkmoon was replaced by Invective, the exotic shotgun appearing in his arms, materialized from his digital inventory. "Killing things."

"HA HA!" laughed Grunt from behind them.

Shepard looked at the Krogan briefly before hefting her own weapon. "Well, let's get moving then."

Odin nodded, this time taking point much to Shepard's annoyance. As they left, Odin focused his attention on the link to his Ghost. "Muninn, transmat those bodies to digital storage. I want to study them when we get back to the Normandy."

"It's times like these that I remember that you actually are a Warlock," the Ghost replied.

"Hey, what does that mean!?"

"It means you should keep your eyes open, because there's contacts dropping in."

Odin blinked and looked up to see several more Collectors flying in. The squad had moved into the colony proper now, and there was plenty of cover. Shepard and Jack dashed into a building right in front of them, while Grunt opted to just charge straight for the aliens.

Odin leapt as he ran, drawing forth his Light and hurling a Solar grenade at a trio of Collectors. One managed to dive out of the way in time, but two were caught in the radius of the miniature sun and were incinerated, even the ashes burning away in the superheated plasma.

The one that survived went to rise, but was halted as Grunt stepped on its back and put the barrel of his shotgun against its head. Grunt gave a chuckle and squeezed the trigger, turning most of the Collector's head to mush.

Odin, meanwhile, deactivated his glide as several other Collectors began to target him. He rolled as he hit the ground and dashed forward, barely wasting any time. Several rounds impacted against his robes, but failed to penetrate the hadronically enhanced cloth.

That wasn't to say that it wasn't doing anything however. Odin could sense the integrity of his armor diminishing as the reserve of Light he had pooled into it was depleting. It wasn't dropping quickly enough where he needed to do something drastic, but it would still be better if he avoided getting hit anymore.

So instead, he opted to teleport right above the Collectors attacking him.

Confused at the sudden disappearance of their target, the insectoid aliens didn't notice the Guardian above them until he landed on the head of one and blew a hole in another with Invective.

To their credit, the Collectors reacted rapidly, whirling to deal with this new threat.

Odin, however, was well versed to close combat, having become acquainted with it over his centuries of combat. He thrust one hand out, sending a shockwave into one Collector, shattering a number of bones and liquefying several organs. He hefted Invective with his other hand and fired it towards another Collector. It wasn't very accurate with one hand, but at that range it didn't need to be.

A Collector managed to bring its rifle to bear on him. Odin ducked under it, sweeping the alien's legs and forcing it to fall. The Warlock drew back his arm, channeling Void Light into his hand, and slammed it into the Collector just as it hit the ground, cutting it in half as the energy ate away at it.

Odin grinned as the two halves of the alien disappeared fully. Damn he was good. He rose to look around, assessing the battlefield and looking for new targets.

Shepard was on the upper balcony of a building, battling a pair of Collectors. Jack was just below her near a platform with a number of crates, cackling as she slammed a Collector against a wall biotically.

Grunt was... well, he was beating a Collector to death with its own arm.

Odin watched the action for a moment before shrugging. Wasn't the weirdest thing he had scene. That probably had to go to watching Amaris beat a Fallen Captain to death with its own skull.

He still didn't know how that was physically possible.

Something tingled on the edge of his senses, and he turned to watch half a dozen Collectors fly in. He smiled slightly, bringing Invective up and move to-

I AM

Odin's eyes widened as a sudden surge of Darkness spiked through the area. He began to scan the surroundings frantically, trying to find to source.

ASSUMING

There! A Collector was floating in the air, glowing cracks spreading throughout its body. Utter waves of Darkness were surging from it, and Odin had to struggle to keep his Light from flickering.

DIRECT

"Shepard!" he shouted. The Commander looked down at him, then turned to gaze at the transforming Collector. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to shout a command.

CONTROL

Energy burst forth from the transforming Collector, and it landed upon the ground, hunched over slightly. It rose slowly, and as it did the squad could see four glowing eyes, burning a baleful yellow light.

"Take that thing out!" Shepard shouted.

The rest of the squad didn't need to be told twice. Grunt switched to his assault rifle and began to hose it down with bullets, while Jack hurled biotic attacks at it.

Odin switched to Bad-Juju, bringing the cursed pulse rifle out of storage and sighting the... creature with it. He squeezed the trigger and held it down, keeping the gun accurate out of sheer experience.

He was forced to stop as the possessed Collector stretched out a hand and launched a ball at him. Odin managed to duck to the side, but the ball swerved at the last second and slammed against him.

He hissed as flames covered his body and teleported behind a wall. "Note to self," he muttered aloud, "that thing uses Solar attacks. Good to know."

He shifted out from behind the wall and hurled a fusion grenade at it. The ball of Solar Light flew on a perfect arc towards the possessed Collector, and if everything had gone well, it would have attached to it and exploded.

Everything did not go well. The creature raised a hand and the fusion grenade diverted at the last moment.

"Oh that's just thrallshit!" Odin shouted.

The Creature turned its head to give him a look before raising a hand once again. Another ball appeared from its hand, this one different from the first. It was a roiling mass of amber energy, black lightning crackling over its surface.

Odin's eyes widened. It was moving deceptively slow, but the Warlock could sense the truth. It had locked onto his signature, and would track him if he tried to dodge.

The ball itself was a concentrated mass of gravitational energy, focused around a single core of what seemed to be concentrated dark matter. Whatever that combination hit would not come out unscathed.

But it was gravitational force, and Odin could work with that.

The Warlock focused a small amount of Void Light into a bead at the tip of his finger, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated in getting this right.

When the mass of gravitational force was halfway to his position his raised his hand and flicked the bead into the ball. The two merged, with the Void Light disappearing utterly into the ball.

There was a moment where nothing happened, and Odin began to become concerned that he had failed.

Then a cacophonous explosion ripped through the area as the gravitational ball exploded violently, destabilized by the opposing gravitational energies of the Void Light.

Odin grinned to himself. "Damn I'm good!" he shouted aloud.

The Possessed Collector's gaze turned towards him and the glow from its eyes intensified.

"Oh," Odin muttered, "Shi-"

He didn't get the curse fully out before there was a streak of biotic energy, and Shepard slammed against the Possessed Collector with a biotic charge. Shepard brought her shotgun up as the impact briefly staggered the creature.

'Briefly' being the key word there.

The Possessed Collector's hand shot out and grabbed Shepard by the throat before she could pull the trigger. It lifted her up, gazing directly into her eyes. "You will regret your resistance, Shepard." It spoke in a deep rumbling voice, one that seemed to echo within Odin. "You cannot escape."

Shepard didn't respond, busy with trying to struggle out of its grip and actually breathe.

That problem was solved when Odin teleported over to them and cut the creature's hand off at the wrist with his knife, the mercurial engraved blade cleaving through the bone and flesh.

Shepard gasped as the hand holding her disintegrated, sucking in precious air. Odin, meanwhile, spun the blade and made to plunge it into the Possessed Collector's heart.

The creature dodged with surprising speed, whirling out of the way of the blow and grabbing Odin's wrist with its remaining one.

With strength that he didn't expect, Odin gave out a small cry of pain as the bones in his forearm shattered from the steely grip. He dropped the knife and grit his teeth, willing his Light to the injured spot as his helmet shut off the nerves in his arm to remove the pain.

The Possessed Collector, however, moved too fast for him to react, and this time he was the one grabbed by the throat.

The creature gazed into his helmet, cocking its head slightly. "You," it eventually spoke, "What are you?"

Odin scowled. He couldn't breath from the grip, but that wasn't all that much of an issue. He didn't need air anyways, and he could talk by just transmitting his thoughts to his helmet's mic.

Shepard made to stand and heft her shotgun, but a hail of gunfire from a nearby squad of Collectors forced her to roll away with a curse.

"You are an anomaly," the creature continued, "an aberration. You should not exist, your very presence is a blight on the cycle."

"I'm a Guardian," came Odin's voice from his helmet, "I exist to put an end to your kind."

The Possessed Collector regarded him for a few moments. "Guardian. One who protects. This title is meaningless. The Cycle cannot be halted."

Odin narrowed his eyes. Guardians were well known and feared among the Servants of the Darkness. Did this thing not recognize him?

The Creature moved the stump of his arm back. Despite the lack of a hand, energy began to gather around it. "You will fail. You cannot escape your destiny."

Despite being held by the throat, Odin grinned. "Haven't you heard?" he said, "Guardians make their own fate."

And then he slammed the Nova bomb he had gathered in his hand into the Possessed Collector's face.

It was to the credit of the Creature that the entirety of its body did not immediately disintegrate. Instead, only its upper torso did, with its midsection, waist, and legs hurtled away.

Odin's arm, meanwhile, was blown apart by the explosion, and he was sent flying back.

"Odin!" Shepard shouted from her cover as she watched the Warlock land heavily and roll a short ways. There was a few seconds where he lay there upon the ground, still and unmoving, and in her cover Shepard's eyes widened as thoughts of the worst ran through her mind.

Those thoughts were replaced by confusion as his body suddenly disappeared. There was a thump behind her, and she whirled to find that the Warlock had teleported behind her and was now clutching the stump of his arm.

"Odin!" Shepard once again cried out, scrambling over to him.

"Ow," he replied simply. "That... was stupid."

"The hell did you- Jack, cover us- do?!"

"Nova bombed it in the face," Odin grumbled. He gathered Light into his remaining hand and dumped it onto the ground. A Healing Rift appeared beneath him, pouring Light into his wounded frame.

Shepard watched with sick fascination as Odin's missing forearm visibly regrew. Within seconds his hand was already starting to form. "And you couldn't have done something else?" she asked.

"Maybe," he admitted, "But I was a bit pressed for time and that was the first thing I thought of." He flexed his hand as the last digits of his fingers regrew, swiftly followed by his armored robes.

"It's par for the course for him," Muninn said, appearing over Odin's shoulder.

The Warlock looked up at his Ghost and frowned slightly under his helmet, but didn't disagree. As much as he would tease Muninn, he was the level headed on of the duo and in this case was right. Improvisation was one of the skills that Odin excelled at.

A hail of fire shot past the cover next to the trio. As Muninn once again disappeared, Odin grabbed Bad-Juju as it appeared out of the air. "Come on," he said to Shepard, "We have aliens to kill."

The Commander merely sighed and hefted her shotgun. Odin wasn't exactly wrong in that regard.

(0)(0)(0)

"So let me see if I understand it all," Odin said, looking at Shepard. "EDI and Muninn will calibrate these gun turrets. Meanwhile, we have to then hold out against Collector forces while the generators reach full power so that they can fire on the Collector ship."

"Sounds about right," the Commander said, nodding.

After the fight with the Collectors, the group had moved onto a bunker where they had encountered a mechanic who had managed to escape the attack. After a short conversation, the solution to the Collector problem was revealed: the colony defense guns.

Unfortunately for the squad, the wrinkle in the plan was that the guns were uncalibrated. Still, it was a solution that could be easily solved with Muninn or EDI working for a few seconds.

What couldn't be solved easily was that the guns were uncharged, and to charge them would require time. Time that the squad may not have.

Still, it wasn't as though they had much of a choice, and after fighting through a sizable force of Collectors at the starport, they had arrived at the transmitter without another plan.

Odin stared at Shepard for a few seconds as he mentally digested what they were about to do, the expressionless obsidian black helmet not reacting in the slightest.

Then he sighed and dropped his head. "Definitely a Guardian mission."

"Pardon?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This is a common occurrence for Guardian missions and strikes," Odin explained, rubbing his helmet. "When we start charging the cannons the enemy is going to attack us in progressively more difficult waves, eventually reaching a climax when they send a single very powerful unit possibly supported by a number of weaker enemies."

The three other members of the fireteam stared at Odin for a few seconds. "You're joking, right?" Shepard eventually said.

Odin shook his head. "Completely serious. Happens to me all the time."

"That's just- the real world doesn't-" Shepard sighed and rubbed her head, "Look, let's just get a move on."

Odin shrugged and moved to cover, Icebreaker once again in his hands.

"Bet you twenty credits that doesn't happen," said Jack to his left.

Odin looked over at her and, under his helmet, grinned. "You're on."

Oh how he had missed betting on combat situations.

"Shepard, are you ready to start the calibrations?" EDI asked over the comm.

The Commander nodded. "Do it."

"Understood. Enemy reinforcements incoming. I suggest you ready weapons."

The first group of Collectors came flying from the east, moving over buildings and vehicles. The squad responded immediately, sending a flurry of gunshots downrange at the enemies. Odin moved out from his cover behind a truck and fired his sniper rifle twice, taking a pair of the aliens out of the air.

However, despite the gunfire several Collectors did manage to make it down and began to return fire. One of them pointed their rifle at Odin and fired, a white beam of energy shooting out and impacting against the Warlock's shoulder.

Odin moved back behind cover before it managed to do more than singe his robes and frowned to himself, glancing around. If the two forces clashed head to head then it would make things difficult for the Normandy's squad, but if he was right... There.

Reaching out with his mind, Odin teleported on top of a nearby building and began to lay down pinpoint fire upon the flanked Collectors. Within seconds half a dozen lay dead or simply vaporized by Icebreaker's unique properties.

He was forced to stop the fire, however, when a wave of Darkness flooded through the area. "I am assuming direct control," echoed a rumbling bass voice.

"Oh come on," Odin said, scowling. "It can do it more than once?"

Indeed, one of the Collectors had begun floating as energy gathered within it. Cracks ran across its body, fissures in the exoskeleton where the body couldn't contain the sheer presence of the creature within.

Not one for wasting time and letting an enemy gain an advantage, Odin immediately brought Icebreaker to bear on the transforming Collector and began to unload, firing as fast as he could without sacrificing accuracy.

Three shots had slammed into the Possessed Collector before the transformation had finished, and two more followed it before Odin had to stop to let the sniper rifle recharge. Unfortunately, while those shots had caused visible and deep wounds in the creature, it hadn't killed it outright.

"You will surrender your body, Guardian," it spoke, looking up at Odin. Energy began to gather in one of its hands. "Submit."

"Like hell!" Odin roared, holstering Icebreaker on his back. He mentally reached into his digital armory and pulled forth Thorn, the cursed handcannon appearing into his hand.

He normally didn't like using this weapon against living creatures, the fate of those it killed being inhuman even by his standards.

Still, this thing was both strong enough and twisted enough where he didn't mind using it.

He aimed the handcannon at the Possessed Collector, lining up the sights with one of the gaping wounds in the creature's body, and squeezed the trigger. Immediately, the dark arcane workings of the gun activated, consuming the fuel within the cylinder to create the projectile.

A sickening crack rang out as a spike of cursed black iron shot from the gun and slammed home into the wound, staggering the Possessed Collector. A hissing sound came from the impact point as the poisons of the cursed projectile began to eat away at the creature's body.

Within seconds black lines had spread across the creature's body, and it began to collapse on itself as the very fibers of its being was devoured by Thorn's hunger.

"This changes nothing. Releasing control," came a voice from the rapidly disintegrating body.

Odin scowled. Were these Collectors a hivemind? They didn't react like the Vex, fighting more independently than them. They almost reminded him of the Hive. They were certainly disturbing enough to be similar to those twisted creatures.

As Shepard slammed into the weakened Collector line with a biotic charge, Odin holstered Thorn and once again drew Icebreaker. Well, he supposed that it didn't matter in the end what they were. They could be killed, and that was what mattered.

The few remaining Collectors were quickly mopped up, and Odin glided down from the building. "It'd probably be best if we took the time to restock and get ready for the next wave," he said to Shepard.

The Commander raised an eyebrow. "I'm still not sure why you're so convinced that they're going to attack how you thought."

Odin sighed. "Look, I've been fighting for centuries and it always happens. I don't know why they do it, all I know is that they do." He turned his head, glancing into the distance. "Right now it doesn't matter, I can sense more Collectors converging on us. I'd guess we have around thirty seconds before they make contact."

"Odin is right, Commander," EDI chimed in, "GARDIAN anti-ship batteries are at 40% and charging."

While Odin raised an eyebrow at the name of the cannons, Shepard nodded. "Right. Look around for supplies, then get into cover."

As it turned out, the Collecters were twenty four seconds away, and this time Husks came crawling out of the woodwork as well.

The first one was crushed under Grunt's boot and he gave off a chortling laugh. "You weren't exaggerating about the fights Odin!" he shouted aloud as he brought his shotgun up to bear, "These enemies make my blood sing!"

"So long as you keep the majority of yours in your body," Odin replied back, nailing a descending Collector through the head. He glanced around, taking stock of the new wave and his allies.

Jack and Shepard were synergizing well, causing several biotic explosions throughout the battlefield and tossing Collectors left and right with biotic shockwaves. Grunt was acting the part of a living battering ram, closing in for close range combat and using his natural mass and strength to the best of their ability.

All in all, things weren't going badly. The situation almost reminded him of when he fought his way into the Hellmouth with Reisen and Aithne to kill Phogoth. That was a tricky strike, especially when-

"I will direct this personally."

Oh for- "Would you just fuck off?!" Odin snarled, shifting his aim on Icebreaker to begin to plug shots into the Possessed Collector. He was getting really tired of this thing.

"You cannot stop us," was the creature's only reply. It gestured towards Odin, sending a ball of Solar energy hurtling towards him.

Odin's eyes widened and he teleported, landing on top of a truck nearby.

Which he had to immediately dive off of which a hail of gunfire slammed into his robes. With a curse and a pulse of Solar Light he shunted himself to the side, rolling behind a piece of cover.

"Overwhelm them," the Possessed Collector ordered as a group of Collectors began to advance on Odin's position, providing covering fire.

The Warlock, meanwhile, scowled to himself. This was getting really annoying, especially with that creature commanding the enemies. It was almost acting like an Axis Mind, bolstering and directing the other Collectors around it.

"I! AM! KROGAN!"

Odin blinked and glanced out from his cover to see Grunt charge into the fray, laughing and firing his shotgun with reckless abandon. A Collector tried to stop him by flying in his way, only to be knocked aside as the young Krogan slammed the butt of his gun into the alien's head. The fallen Collector barely slowed the Krogan down as he charged towards his true goal: the Possessed Collector.

The Creature turned just in time to raise its arms and block Grunt's charge. Even then it was forced back, its feet digging small trenches into the dirt beneath it.

But it did hold on, and that is what made the difference.

"Krogan," it said, looking into Grunt's eyes. "Sterilised race, potential wasted."

Then the Possessed Collector cocked its arm back and plunged it into Grunt's chest.

"GRUNT!" Odin shouted, his eyes wide.

The Creature ripped its arm out and watched dispassionately as the young Krogan fell to the ground. "Insignificant creatures. Your lives are short, your minds are predictable..."

"As are your tactics," it said as it whirled and slammed the back of its hand into the helmet of Odin, who had just teleported behind it.

There was a crunch as the Warlock's helmet shattered and he was sent tumbling back to the ground. He grit his teeth and brought his hand up to where his helmet had been breached. "Same fucking side," he hissed through clenched teeth as warning alarms blared in his ears.

With a snarl, Odin summoned Light into himself and rose, turning to face the Possessed Collector...

Only to watch as the ball of swirling gravitational energy impacted against his chest.

Odin had barely a moment to realize what was happening before he was ripped apart by the unstable energies, his body simply unable to handle the chaotic mass of forces.

"ODIN!" This time, it was Shepard who had shouted.

The Possessed Collector watched the remains of Odin for a moment before turning. "Watch how your comrades fall Shepard, and-"

"RISE FROM THE ASHES LIKE A PHOENIX!" An explosion of Solar Light ripped through the area as Odin, in the midst of Radiance and covered in Solar flames, rose from the dead.

The Possessed Collector took a step back. "What... what are you?" it asked, for the first time its tone hesitant.

Odin gazed at the Creature for a brief moment before he spoke. "I... am a Guardian, and I will burn away the dark." He raise his hand and Solar fire erupted forth from it, engulfing the Possessed Collector.

Overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of the Solar flames, the Creature was unable to divert or dodge the attack. The flames of creation ate away at its body, burning away at it until not even ashes were left.

Odin didn't stop there. He whirled, still in the midst of Radiance, and unleashed a Solar firestorm upon the Collectors still in the area. Within moments the only creatures that weren't on fire were Odin, Shepard, Jack, and the wounded Grunt.

The Warlock watched dispassionately as the enemies burned to nothingness. He shuddered slightly as the high wore off, leaving only an empty feeling.

He ignored it and turned to run over to Grunt. "Hey, don't you dare die," he snarled as he inspected the wound, "I'll kill you if you do."

The Krogan let out a chuckle. "As if something like this could do me in." He let out a groan and moved up to a sitting position. With a flick of his hand his omni-tool activated and he began to apply medi-gel to the already mostly healed area.

"Everything alright?" Shepard asked, jogging over to where the duo was.

Odin nodded at her. "Grunt just got a scratch and was being a baby about it."

The Krogan looked at the Warlock and growled as he lifted himself to his feet.

Odin only chuckled. "Better get ready soon," he said as he brought out Icebreaker, "We've still got that strong enemy to kill."

Shepard sighed. "Odin... look, I know that you've been fighting for a long time, but just because the enemies in your... universe work that way doesn't mean the ones in this one will."

Odin's only response was to raise his arm and point towards the large mechanical insectoid... thing that was flying towards them.

Shepard blinked and turned back to Odin. "Not a word."

Odin simply snorted and raised his sniper rifle, lining up the scope with the new enemy. He took a moment to ensure it was lined up perfectly and squeezed the trigger, sending the ferrofluid round screaming through the air to slam against the enemy.

To his great annoyance, the shot seemed to have minimal effect on the monster. He clicked his tongue and moved back. "Get ready for a fight," he said aloud.

The monster slammed on the ground, giving Odin a good look at it. It looked to be mostly mechanical looking, with four sharp insectoid legs attached to a central body. The body itself had four eyes, glowing a blue-white light. A mass of wires spilled down beneath it, and in its maw...

In its maw was a mass of human skulls.

Odin's lips curved into an angry sneer. As if these things hadn't defaced the human form enough...

With a burst of Solar Light he shot to the side, bringing up Icebreaker and firing a series of shots at the monster. He wasn't the only one who reacted either, with Shepard unleashing a Warp on the thing, eating away at it at the molecular level, only for the attack to be detonated by Jack. Grunt, meanwhile, had put away his shotgun and taken out his assault rifle, and was in the process of laying down fire.

The monster weathered the storm of attacks, its glowing eyes shifting between its enemies before settling on Shepard. Beams of energy shot out of them, slamming into the Commander's shields.

Shepard rolled to the side, ducking behind a thick crate. "Don't let those beams hit you!" she shouted, "They'll cut through your shields!"

Odin frowned. He didn't have kinetic barriers like the other members of the squad did, but he would rather not test how effective his armored robes were against the attack, especially with his Radiance unavailable for the time being.

He ducked out of covers and fired a shot at the monster. It lurched as the ferrofluid round pierced one of its leg joints. Odin smiled to himself, only for the expression to be wiped off his face as he was forced to duck back behind cover to avoid the beams coming his way.

"GARDIAN anti-ship batteries online," EDI said through the comms. The cannons lifted and turned towards the Collector ship. They began to thunder as they fired, delivering round after round upon their target. "I have control."

Odin saw Shepard nod at the new circumstances. She glanced around at her squad and waved towards the monster. "Circle around it! Hammer it!" she shouted, darting around to blast it with her shotgun.

The Warlock didn't need to be told twice. The second that its gaze had shifted off him he darted out, tossing out a ball of Solar Light, which impacted against the hull of the monster and stuck there.

It did not, however, explode. This was not a fusion grenade.

No, this was an innovation of Odin's. Instead of releasing all its energy at once in a fiery explosion, this grenade would instead channel its intense head onto whatever it had attached to.

It was overkill against soft targets, but against hardened ones? The ability to burn through Vex metal or Hive bone was one that he wouldn't pass up.

It worked just as well here. The monster let out a shrill scream as the superheated energy began to burn through its armor, causing the Solar fire and molten metal to drip down into its inner workings.

"Nice job Odin!" Shepard shouted, "Keep hitting it! Finish it off!"

Not a problem for Odin. He aimed up Icebreaker, lining up the sights with the newly created hole. His finger rested on the trigger for a moment before he squeezed, sending the round flying out of the barrel...

Only to impact on a barrier that appeared just above the monster's hull.

Odin's eyes widened. "Thrall! Shit!" he snarled. He was getting so sick and tired of these Collectors.

Alright, that was it. He had run out of patience.

"Shepard!" he shouted, "Get its shield down again! I have an idea!"

The Commander only glanced at him before she returned to fighting, something Odin was extremely grateful for. Reaching out with his mind, the Warlock began to run through his digital armory for a weapon.

It was a legendary weapon, one of many. It was one that was coveted by all Guardians, one that many had searched for and struggled for centuries without success by countless warriors of the Light. Its name inspired awe and jealousy among the ranks of the Guardians, and terror and fear among their enemies.

Odin himself had acquired it by sheer chance, finding one of the necessary components for it in the wild. Ever the curious mind, the Warlock had looked into his find and discovered just what the object had meant.

As he had for his beloved handcannon, he became obsessed with constructing the weapon, focusing all his efforts towards it. He traveled far and wide, venturing to the highest peaks of earth, delving deep into the old ruins, and seeking the wisdom of an old lord for its construction.

In the end his efforts had paved off. Reforged in Light and given the blessing of the Traveler, the weapon was one of many, yet it was also unique. It was Odin's and, in a way, he was the weapon's.

It was this weapon that he called upon now. It was this weapon that he hefted on his shoulder and aimed towards the monster. It was this weapon that he held ready, letting the tone whine in his ear, waiting patiently for the time to strike.

And when the barrier of the enemy fell, Odin squeezed the trigger of the weapon, and like the legends of old, the Gjallarhorn signaled the end for the enemy.

The rocket screamed from the rocket launched, speeding across the distance between Odin and the monster.

The monster tried to dodge, but the Gjallarhorn would not be denied, and the rocket curved and homed in on the enemy, impacting into its hull and exploding with a tremendous roar.

Unfortunately, it was not quite enough to kill the monster. It was wounded and bleeding, but alive.

The follow up, however, was. The Wolfpack rounds erupted from the remains of the rocket, circling around and burrowing into the monster's wounds before exploding themselves, detonating critical systems.

The monster let out a screech, its deathcry echoing through the area before it finally gave in, disintegrating as the failsafe systems within it finally gave in.

The Collector Ship, meanwhile, appeared to have enough of the circumstances. A blast of thrust erupted from its bottom, engulfing much of the colony in flame and sending it propelling upwards.

Odin scowled as he watched it go. "They must have gotten all the colonists they wanted," he said aloud, "Bastards... though at the very least they didn't get all of them."

"No! Don't let them get away!"

Odin blinked and turned to see the mechanic that the four of them that they had talked to earlier running up. He was breathing heavily and looking up at the rapidly retreating Collector ship.

Shepard scowled. "What exactly do you expect us to do? They've probably already broken atmosphere at this point."

"I don't know... something!" the mechanic protested, "Half the colony is in there! They took Egan and Sam... and Lilith! Do something!"

"There's nothing to be done at this point," the Commander said, "We've done all we can."

Odin sighed. "Come on Shepard, let's get moving."

The mechanic paused. "Shepard? Wait... I know that name." He scowled. "Sure, I remember you. You're some big Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard," came a new voice. Out from behind a crate walked a man in onyx grey armor. "Captain of the Normandy, the first human Spectre, savior of the Citadel." He looked over at the mechanic. "You're in the presence of a Legend, Delan." He looked back over at Shepard. "And a ghost."

"All the good people we lost and you get left behind," the mechanic spat out. He turned and began to walk away. "Screw this, I'm done with you Alliance types."

Odin watched him go, and as he did his gaze drifted over to Shepard's face, and he blinked as he saw it.

She was smiling. Not the scary smile he had seen on the Normandy, not the satisfied smile he had occasionally noticed when she was successful in something, but a beaming, warm smile.

"Kaiden," she said softly, stepping forward.

The man stepped back.

Shepard blinked. "Kaiden?"

"I... I thought you were dead Shepard," he said, "We all did."

She gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, heh... well, it has been a while I guess."

Kaiden narrowed his eyes. "Is that all you have to say? You show up after two years and just act like nothing happened? I thought we had something Shepard. Something real." He let out a rough breath. "I loved you. Thinking you were dead tore me apart. Why didn't you try and contact me!? Why didn't you let me know you were alive!?"

Odin blinked as he looked between Shepard and the new man. The two of them had a romance going on? Risky. From the looks of things this Kaiden and Shepard were both military, and as far as he remembered, romances were forbidden in normal human militaries.

"I was dead!" Shepard protested, "I was spaced after the Normandy got destroyed! Cerberus spent the last two years putting me back together and bringing me back to life."

Kaiden narrowed his eyes and took several steps back. "You're working with Cerberus now."

It hadn't been a question. "You knew?" Shepard asked.

"Alliance intel thought that Cerberus may be behind the missing Human colonies," he explained, "I got a tip this one may have been the next one to get hit. Anderson stonewalled me, but there were rumours that you weren't dead. That you were working for the enemy."

"Kaiden, I didn't have a choice," Shepard protested, "They were the only ones willing to help! Both the Alliance and the Council didn't listen to me! I'm not working for them because I want to!"

"So you are working for them," Kaiden said.

"I- that's not what I meant!" Shepard shouted.

"Really?" he asked, "I wanted to believe the rumours that you were alive, but I never expected anything like this." He glared at the Commander. "You turned your back on everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance, you betrayed me."

He hadn't shouted the words, and that made all the difference. Odin could see every syllable of the words the man said sending daggers into Shepard's heart, her expression becoming more and more pained with every second.

"Kaiden, please," she said, "You have to know I wouldn't do this for the wrong reasons. You have to know that I'm only doing this because I have to." She gestured around the area. "Can't you see what's happening? The Reapers are behind this! They're using the Collectors to target Human colonies!"

"I want to believe you Shepard, but I don't. Trust. Cerberus." he looked her dead in the eyes. "They could be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"

Odin scoffed. "I know his type Shepard, he's not going to listen to reason. Even the Speaker saw truth when presented with evidence."

Shepard glanced behind her at Odin, then turned back to Kaiden. "I know how you feel about Cerberus, but right now there's a bigger threat."

"Maybe," Kaiden said. He narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. You're not thinking straight Shepard. You've changed, but I still know where my loyalties lie."

Shepard jerked back as if struck.

"I'm an Alliance soldier," he said. He turned and began to walk off. "I need to report back to the Citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not."

"Kaiden..." Shepard said, her voice barely above a whisper, "Please..."

Kaiden didn't turn or hesitate. "Goodbye Shepard."

There was several moments where nothing happened, where the wind was the only sound that could be heard in the colony.

Eventually, Shepard turned around and Odin got a good look at her face. He expression had hardened and turned neutral... too neutral. He recognized the signs of compartmentalization and Shepard was doing way too much of it at the moment to be healthy.

"Come on," she said, her voice empty. "I've had enough of this colony."

Odin nodded. Now wasn't the time to argue. Maybe Kelly would be able to help. She was supposed to be the ship's psychologist, and if worse came to worse he always had the training too. He had dealt with worse basket cases before, Shepard couldn't be too complicated to help.

(0)(0)(0)

As the squad walked back towards the shuttle that would ferry them back to the Normandy, something watched. Upon a building was a small orb, floating in the air, occasionally moving with random twitches.

It was... not black, so much as it was negative light, a hole where light or color should be. If one were to look into it, they would see something more and so much less than nothing.

It floated there, watching the four as they left, staying until the shuttle had broken atmosphere. Only then did it leave, disappearing in a burst of energy as it was taken away to report back to its king.


AN: Holy shit this chapter is long. At over 50 pages and more than 11,000 words it's by far the longest chapter I have written, ever. But I got it written, and in only a month and a half.

This chapter was both a pain in the ass and a hell of a lot of fun to write. I had been planning it since the inception of SoL, and I think I'm satisfied with this version. The confrontation between Odin and Harbinger is one that many of you have been looking forward to, and I hope that I fulfilled those expectations.

With the advent of Destiny 2 coming out, it's given me a chance to add a bit to Odin's skillset without retconning anything. We see in the opening cutscene that Ikora uses the Blink as a full teleport rather than just a dash, and considering Odin's personality I've altered his fighting style to include more teleportation. The Rift ability is another one which has potential in my mind for this story.

I've also increased the power of the Possessed Collector. I wanted an enemy that could not only match, but also threaten Odin, so I boosted the Possessed Collector's power level up a bit.

This is also the first chapter where I'm including OCs. Edge-0 belongs to Edge of the Dark, while both Emrys-3 and Ash-7 belong to Silvar Sunstar. Thank you to you both for letting me use your characters and thank you to everyone for submitting your OCs. I'll try and do my best to include them in my stories.

Thank you once again to my lovely Beta Pixley

That should be all for this chapter. I look forward to seeing what you have to say about this, and hope to see you next time.