"Lilith!" Kaidan caught up to the colony manager. "We've got a problem."

She nodded to him. "Still can't calibrate the targeting matrix?"

Part of him wondered if it was colonists sabotaging the system. They hadn't exactly made him feel welcome. "Those defense towers are useless if we don't figure it out."

"Sorry, Commander." She shook her head. "Getting our comm systems back online takes priority."

"Yeah." He needed to report his suspicions to Anderson anyway. "Surprised people haven't tried to blame that one on me, too."

"People out here don't trust the Alliance." The look she gave him was sympathetic. "It's nothing personal." She stopped talking as a strange humming noise drifted toward them.

They both looked around for the source as a crowd began to gather. Kaidan caught sight of something in the clouds, and drew his rifle to use the sight as a telescope. Something was coming through. Something big. "Get everyone to the safehouse." A cloud of something could be seen swarming their way. "I'll cover you. Run." The crowd began to flee. He started firing. "Hurry."

Lilith stumbled. He moved to help her up, and one of the creatures landed on his neck. Before he could brush it away, it had stung him. He yanked it off and tossed it aside before lifting his rifle again. And then his hand wouldn't work. Neither would the rest of him. Fear filled him as he realized he couldn't move at all.

#

Michael stepped out of the shuttle. The colony below looked quiet. That probably was not a good sign. The Collector vessel towered above, a much worse sign. And Kaidan was down there somewhere. He touched his communicator. "We're groundside. Mordin, you sure those armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"

The salarian's voice came back over the communicator. "Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms. In theory."

"In theory?" Garrus sighed. "That sounds promising."

"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you survive."

"You know..." Michael shook his head. "I think I might be starting to hate him just a little."

"I knew we should have had Devlon do the upgrades." Garrus drew his rifle.

"Devlon?" Michael stared at him. "Do you have a deathwish?"

"Shepard..." Garrus clicked his mandibles. "I follow you."

#

They fought their way through the first problem. Jack flung the last of the husks through a crate. Michael bent to examine one of the others. "Those things look like the husks the geth used on Eden Prime."

"I thought the geth got that technology from Sovereign." Garrus nudged a corpse with his foot.

"Shit." Jack glared. "So the Illusive man was right. The Collectors answer to the Reapers."

"Alright. Let's stick with plan A." Michael straightened. "Kill them."

#

Jack lifted one of the Collectors into the air, and Michael put a round through it. It was nice, having a strong biotic backing him up again. Good cop and bad cop might both have biotic abilities, but he didn't exactly trust either of them. Granted, trusting the heavily tattooed murderous psychopath might not be a better option, but at least she wasn't Cerberus.

There were more of the husk things. Jack nodded at one. "Looks half human. Guess we know what happened to the colonists."

"No." Garrus glanced at Michael before responding. "The geth impaled their victims on giant spikes to turn them into husks. But we haven't seen any. The Collectors must have already had the husks. They want the colonists alive for something."

They wanted the colonists alive. He just needed to remember that. As small a comfort as it was. "The Collectors must be experimenting on the colonists. What are they up to?"

"Sounds almost worst that what Cerberus did to me." Jack shrugged.

"This colony is under attack, remember?" He started walking again. "Let's move out."

#

The colonists lay unmoving, but a quick medical scan showed they were still alive. He gestured to his companions, and they continued forward.

"Peaceful." Jack shrugged. "Usually takes a lot of chemicals for me to get this kind of quiet."

"All these empty buildings..." Garrus shook his head. "It's unsettling."

Michael picked up some kind of gun off a dead Collector. He'd have Mordin examine it back on the ship.

#

He fired off a round into the glowing Collector before the transformation could be completed. A few heartbeats later, another of the Collectors started to glow. "Assuming direct control." The strange voice echoed over the battlefield.

Jack lifted a crate and flung it at the Collector. It stumbled back, and both Garrus and Michael fired. The Collector collapsed into ash. "That is getting really annoying." Michael shook his head.

"I think you may have gotten someone's attention." Garrus shrugged.

"Yay." Michael rolled his eyes.

#

"Looks like some type of statis field." Garrus clicked his mandibles as he examined one of the sets of frozen colonists. "Leaves victims helpless, but fully aware."

"They've been like this a long time." Michael shook his head. Mordin would likely have some way to cancel the effect, as soon as they dealt with the collectors. There was still no sign of Kaidan. And no sign of fighting other than what they'd left behind. If he was... Michael lifted his rifle and put a round in a collector's head.

#

The bunker was locked. It looked solid, the kind of place someone might try to hold against attack. Michael bypassed the lock, and entered, looking around. At first glance, it appeared empty. Whoever was hiding there was doing a bad job of controlling their breathing. "Company." He drew his sidearm. "Get out here. Now."

A man peeked out from behind some equipment. Definitely human. Michael shook his head, and lowered his gun. "You're..." The man stepped out. "You're human. What are you doing our here? You'll lead them right here."

"I cleared a path." Michael walked toward him. "You're lucky you're not in the hold of a Collector ship right now."

"Those things are Collectors? You mean..." The man's eyes were just about falling out of his head. "They're real?" He started pacing. "I thought they were just made up. You know - propaganda. To keep us in Alliance Space." He shook his head. "No. They got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody."

His blood went cold. "I need to know what I'm up against. Tell me everything you remember."

"We lost our comm signals a few hours ago. I came down to check on the main grid. Then I heard screaming. I looked outside and there was..." The mechanic waved a hand. "Swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors." He made a frustrated sound. "Damn it - it's the Alliance's fault. They stationed that Commander Alenko here and built those defense towers. It made us a target."

Michael considered shooting the man. "Tell me more about this Alliance rep." Kaidan would have put up a fight.

"Commander Alenko? Heard he was some kind of hero or something." The man shrugged. "Didn't mean nothing to me, though. Would've rather he stayed back in Council Space.

Kaidan being here just didn't make any sense. "Any idea what he was doing on Horizon?"

"Supposed to be helping us get the defense towers up and running." The man frowned. "I got the feeling he was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe."

Spying? Kaidan? He needed to focus. "Tell me about the colony defense towers."

"A gift from the Alliance. High powered GARDIAN lasers. Supposed to keep hostile ships from landing near the colony." The man gestured. "Had to build a massive underground generator just to give it enough juice. Only we couldn't get the targeting systems online." He spat. "So the Alliance gave us a giant gun that couldn't shoot straight. Stupid sons-of-bitches."

He was running out of reasons to not shoot the guy. "Why do you think this is the Alliance's fault?"

"We're just a small colony. Nobody bothered us before we started building those damn defense towers and drew attention to ourselves. I left Council Space to get away from the Alliance. Nothing good ever comes from getting mixed up with them."

Everything good in his life had come from the Alliance. "The Collectors are targeting remote colonies. The Alliance was trying to help."

"I don't need their help. Too many strings attached." The man waved a hand dismissively. "That rep said he was just here to get the towers online, but mark my word - there's more to it."

Maybe if he just shot the guy in the leg? "If you have defenses we can use them against the Collector ship."

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right..."

"Garrus. We need something calibrated." Michael glanced over his shoulder.

"Just tell me where." Garrus's mandibles clicked. Jack rolled her eyes.

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base." The man pointed.

"It's probably just better if you stay out of the way." Before I shoot you.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too." The man went to a control panel. "I'll let you out, but I'm locking the door behind you. I'm not taking any chances. Good luck. I think you're going to need it."

#

The massive... thing... hurled blue energy at them. Michael dove to the side as the biotic attack tore up the area where he'd recently been standing. "Jack, hit it back."

She flung two crates at it, causing it to stagger. Michael popped up from cover as it was turning toward her, and fired a shot into the tank nearby. The creature and the tank exploded in flames.

"That only counts as half of one, because she helped." Garrus fired a shot of his own.

"Shut up and shoot straight, Vakarian." Michael flung a grenade.

"Hello, dead people." Jack glowed as she flung a biotic energy of her own at the oncoming Collectors.

#

"There." Michael pointed to the control unit. And two more of the big... things... came at them from behind it. "Fuck." He rolled into cover. "Jack, get the -"

A husk went flying, smashing into two others before being whipped back across the field to smash into a third. Right. He took aim, putting a round into what he thought might be the thing's head. It staggered backward, but it took a second shot to drop it. Garrus attempted to duplicate the feat, but was interrupted by a husk grabbing onto him. The turian solved the problem by headbutting the thing.

Michael fired, finishing the thing off before it could bring its biotics to bear. He headed toward the platform. "Normandy? Do you copy?"

"Joker here. Signal's weak, Commander, but we got you."

"Time to show these things we give as good as we get. EDI - bring the defense towers online."

EDI's voice came back over the communicator. "Errors in the calibration software are easily rectified, but it will take time to bring the towers to full power." There was a momentary pause. "I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increased generator output."

"Great." Jack shook her head. "We play piggy in the middle while she sorts out the batteries."

"We'll stop them." Michael shrugged. "Easy enough."

"Maybe not. Enemy reinforcements closing in. I suggest you ready weapons."

Michael drew his rifle. "Alright, Garrus, you take the fifty on the right, I'll take the fifty on the left. Jack..." He glanced at the tattooed woman. "Do what you do. Loser pays the tab."

#

For a moment, he thought they were clear. Then a giant flying... okay, he'd stick with bug ... came flying at them. It landed, and blasted at Garrus's location, forcing the turian to dive for cover.

Michael grabbed the gun he'd picked up, and fired it at the thing. The ray it shot out cut through the thing's barrier and started damaging it. It landed, and glowed with some kind of protective shield. Michael immediately switched positions to get a better angle. As soon as the shield came down, he fired again, creating a smoking hole in the thing.

"How come you always hog the fun new weapons?" Garrus complained as he fired to keep the collector's off Michael's back.

"Rank." Michael waited for the shield to drop, and fired again. A husk came at him, only to be thrown away by Jack.

It took one more sustained blast before the bug disintegrated. Garrus shook his head as he stood up. "That counts as one."

"One?" Michael shook his head. "It had like twenty heads."

"The number of heads isn't relevant."

"Says who?"

"Guys." Jack waved a hand. "Big gun?" She pointed at the console.

"Right." They both headed toward it.

#

The Collector ship ignited its engines, and lifted off rather than take the fire of the big lasers. Michael took aim with his rifle, then shook his head. He lowered the rifle again. They'd catch the bastards. "There's no reason to stay." Garrus shook his head. "Most of the colonists are on board. They got what they came for."

"No." The mechanic came racing toward them. "Don't let them get away."

It was all he could do not to punch the man in the teeth. "The ship is huge. Exactly how are we supposed to catch it?" And for all he knew, Kaidan was on board it somewhere.

"Half the colony's in there. They took Egan and Sam and..." The man paced. "And Lilith. Do something."

If there was anything to do, he'd be doing it. "I did my best. You just hid in your bunker."

Garrus stepped to his shoulder. "If it wasn't for Shepard, you'd all be on board that ship."

"Shepard?" The mechanic frowned. "Wait. I know that name." He turned back to Michael. "Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard." Michael's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the new voice. "Captain of the Normandy. The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel." He saw Kaidan walking toward them. Alive, and apparently unharmed. Kaidan turned to look at the mechanic. "You're in the presence of a legend, Delan. And a ghost."

The mechanic sneered. "All the good people we lost, and you get left behind. Figures." That's it. He was going to shoot the guy. "Screw this. I'm done with you Alliance types." The man walked away before Michael could decide what kind of ammo to use.

"I thought you were dead, Commander." Kaidan took a few steps closer to him. "We all did." He held out a hand.

Michael took it. "I was, I..." He frowned, trying to read Kaidan's face. "You don't sound too happy to see me."

"Yeah." Kaidan took a deep breath before letting go of Michael's hand. "I spent the past two years believing you were dead." He glared. "I would've followed you anywhere, Commander. Thinking you were gone..." Kaidan's voice was furious. "It was like losing a limb. Why didn't you try to contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?"

This was all going wrong. "Not my choice. I spent the last two years in some kind of coma while Cerberus rebuilt me."

It was the wrong thing to say. Kaidan actually backed away from him. "You're with Cerberus now?" His eyes went to the turian standing to Michael's left. "Garrus, too? I can't believe the reports were right."

"Reports?" Garrus shook his head. "You mean you already knew?"

"Alliance intel thought Cerberus might be behind the missing human colonies. They got a tip this colony might be the next one to get hit." A tip. Kaidan shook his head. "Anderson stonewalled me, but there were rumors you weren't dead. That you were working for the enemy."

A tip and rumors. "Building the defense towers was just a cover story." If Kaidan had known he was alive, then why hadn't he... "The Alliance sent you here to investigate me, didn't they?"

Kaidan walked towards him, anger on his face. "I was here for Cerberus. You were just a rumor. I wanted to believe you were alive, but I never expected anything like this." Kaidan's fists were clenched. "You've turned your back on everything we stood for."

"Kaidan, you know me." Better than anyone else ever had. Michael shook his head. "You know I'd only do this for the right reason." He gestured at the colony. "You saw it yourself. The Collectors are targeting human colonies. And they're working with the Reapers."

"I want to believe you, Shepard." Kaidan took another deep breath. "But I don't trust Cerberus. They could be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you." Kaidan spread his hands. "What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"

He searched for words. Garrus saved him from having to speak. "Damn it, Kaidan. You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the real threat."

Michael stared at the man in front of him. Then he nodded. "I can see you won't listen to reason."

"You show up after two years and tell me you're working with Cerberus?" Kaidan glared. "Where does reason figure into any of this?" Kaidan took a step back. "You've changed. But I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier. Always will be." He waved a hand. "I've got to report back to the Citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not." Kaidan started to walk away.

Slowly, he forced his fists to unclench. "I could use someone like you in my crew, Kaidan. It'll be just like old times."

"No, it won't." Kaidan stopped before turning to look back at him. "I'll never work for Cerberus." He hesitated. "Goodbye, Shepard. And be careful."

Michael watched him go, then shook his head. He hit the button on his communicator. "Joker - send the shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this colony."