Commander John Shepard
Horizon. That's the colony that just went silent. And, no way in hell is it a coincidence, but Kaidan is stationed there. Allegedly, some form of outreach program to protect the colonies and improve relations. Fortunately, Mordin's completed the countermeasure, and we're en route to Horizon. Despite my worries about spacing on Korlus, I'd be taking the full squad. In part, however, because I was going to divide us, just slightly. While waiting, I eyed up Grunt's armor. Silver, thick. Very thick plating. A few blue lights built in around. He also had a Claymore shotgun that Okeer left for him. Powerful. Illegal. It would break the arm of any Human who tried to shoot it. Likely the same result on little but a Krogan. As for the countermeasure, Mordin explained. The Seeker drones use both pheromones and sight. When a victim has been immobilized, the responsible drone also sprays the victim with a pheromone to mark them as such. They attack anything without the pheromone, allowing them to even go after those who try to play dead. Coating us in that pheromone should confuse detection. In theory, he added. The Doctor was still trying to develop an antidote to their toxin.
Shortly, we were in orbit around the planet. The Collector ship had parked itself on the ground, surprisingly, almost next to one of the colonies. I'd bet that's where Kaidan is. And, going there is likely the best way to stop the planet wide abduction. So, we took a shuttle, and began making our way down.
"Mordin, I want you following behind us. Your job will be to collect any and all samples that we leave behind. Miranda and Jacob will escort and cover you, just in case they get an interest in you. The rest of us are going to push in and find some way to stop all this. Understood?" Heads nodded. "And remember, this is the first time any of us have met Collectors in the field. We don't know how they fight, we don't know what they're capable of. So, be careful. Communicate."
"So long as these are worthy foes," Grunt grumbled. Soon, the shuttle stopped, and the door opened. We were on the outskirts of the colony, and the Collector ship loomed overhead. Like a massive tower. It was obviously mostly metal, but parts of it had massive chunks of rock. Particularly by the top, what I would assume to be the bow. And it was doing… something to the sky. Like a storm, or hurricane, was forming over it. The eye right over the ship. There was a crack of thunder, and a flash of lightning within the gathering storm. The unnatural looking storm. The clouds were a darker brown than grey. What were they doing... "Move forward." There was a black blot a few dozen meters ahead, I stopped to try and discern what it was. It was moving, and getting closer. A seeker swarm, must be. Well… let's hope Mordin was right. We kept moving, my heart beating faster as the buzzing of the swarm got louder and louder.
The swarm enveloped us.
"Fucking shit," Jack exclaimed.
"Don't move! Whatever you do, don't move!" I ordered. Couldn't see a damn thing, but… I didn't feel any bites either. Before I knew it, the swarm was gone, the buzzing completely passing us by.
"Never doing that again," Garrus murmured.
"Countermeasure a success. Glad to see we survived," Mordin remarked. We kept moving. The colony seemed to be surrounded by walls, ranging from low to high, with gun emplacements. Maybe if we get those back online… We came to what seemed like a loading field, a supply truck half stocked, and crates left along the ground, haphazardly. But no sign of colonists. There was more buzzing, but this time, we all saw winged humanoid figures swoop in, touchdown on the other side.
"Cover, now!" I shouted. One of the Collectors raised their weapon, and a beam of energy shot out, instantly streaming from the gun, to the crate I just dove behind. Targeting me, great. Some kind of particle beam. High tech. I could hear it burning through the crate, slowly but surely. I was still pinned. The others were still dealing with their own problems. Gunfire, both ours, and theirs. Seems they still have some use for projectile weapons.
"They're using barriers! Watch for biotic attacks!" Miranda warned. Great, they're biotic too. I swear if I'm about to get plucked up into the air…
"Jack, Miranda, Jacob, warp those fuckers! Take those barriers down, give us a chance to fire before this son of a bitch melts through my cover!" I ordered. Damn, how long can they fire that damn thing? Our biotics glowed blue, and I saw their shields flare from fire for just a moment. The Collectors fight smart. I heard the beam stop, and then a shot from Garrus' rifle.
"He's down, Shepard," the Turian called out. Finally, with an opportunity, I looked up. Two Collectors down so far, four remaining, but the swarms haven't come back for us yet. Maybe they won't? With our number advantage growing, I took the opportunity to move up and into more cover. That crate was getting paper thin. The biotics kept doing their work, and the Collectors fell.
"Change of plans. Zaeed, you'll take Jacob's place with Mordin. If we'll be attracting the most attention, I'll want biotics for those barriers." True, a few bullets will put a barrier down just as good as a warp or other biotic attack, it helps immensely.
"Fine, but next time I want in on the real action," Zaeed grumbled.
"You got it. Everyone, else, on me. Move out," I ordered. As we were moving, the comms came to life. Mostly, static life. It was Joker.
"Comman…-tting all kinds… -ference. Can't maint-"
"We read you, Joker," I answered. Hopefully he'd hear enough of the response to understand. "Mic check on short range. Everyone, check in." Solid copies across the board. We can still communicate with one another, if not the ship. "We'll see if we stumble upon anything to clear up the signal. Miranda, you do what you can on your end to try and clear it up. I wouldn't bet on much, but no harm in trying."
"Wilco, Commander," she answered. We kept moving deeper into the colony, coming upon the first group of buildings. A pair of Collectors were moving a pod. Seemingly unaware of us.
"Put em down, quickly," I demanded. We hurried forward into decent cover as Jack and Jacob glowed blue, tossing balls of biotic power right at the Collectors. They turned to face us, and were impacted right away. Their barriers fizzled, and a Krogan was roaring, charging right at them. A slug from his claymore punched a hole the size of my foot in the torso of one while Grunt smacked the other to the ground with the butt of his rifle and stomped on its head, flattening it. "Grunt! Be careful! There may be more-" More Collectors took that as their cue to fly over the wall and join us in this little plaza. Five of them. Jack and Jacob glowed blue again. The Collectors apparently didn't like shooting while flying, a good sign for us. Another slug from Grunt's claymore killed one as the biotics took down some barriers, but Jack used the one she hit as a projectile, picking him up and launching him right into another Collector that just landed. The barrier wouldn't do shit against that, and both bodies slammed into the wall, leaving a significant dent.
"The hell are those things?" Grunt snarled, looking to his left, where the Collectors were bringing that pod. Garrus and I just finished off the last two with our own shots. There was a shriek, and Grunt fired off his claymore again. We moved to join his fight, and for some reason, he had yet to get back in cover. Wait, why is nothing shooting at him? And… that shriek sounds familiar. My eyes went wide as I saw the source. Two were already lying on the ground. Three more charging Grunt. Husks. Well, this confirms it. They're working for the Reapers.
"Just aim for the head," I ordered quietly. Quickly, the husks were all dead. The Collectors too.
"Anyone want to explain what the fuck those things are? Why do they look Human?" Jack questioned.
"Was it one of the Colonists?" Grunt asked, though his tone suggested it was only mild curiosity.
"We haven't seen any Dragon's teeth yet," Garrus mused. "Doesn't mean there aren't any further in, but…"
"Seriously, what the fuck are you two talking about?"
"Garrus and I saw plenty of these things when we were going after Saren and the Geth. They'd impale people on giant spikes, Dragon's Teeth, and they'd become… these things. I might add that Cerberus ran a few experiments with them. Turned a lot of the Colonists on Chasca into these… abominations. It's Reaper tech."
"That's fucked up," Jack remarked, still seeming to not care that much. "But what are those Reaper shits you mentioned?"
"Are they a worthy foe?" Grunt questioned.
"I'll explain to you both on the ship. Let's keep moving." I got on the comms. "Miranda, we have husks, but no sign of Dragon's Teeth yet."
"Requesting confirmation. Did you say Husks?"
"I did. Keep your eyes and ears open for them. You'll see some dead ones as you follow."
"Solid copy."
"Also, you'll find a Collector pod as you follow. Find a way to open it and move the Colonist inside somewhere safe. I'm adding that as a standing order for any pods you find."
"Understood, Commander. Brute force to open or a different method?"
"So long as you can get them open quickly while keeping the Colonist safe, I don't care how you do it."
"We'll move forward now then. Mordin can collect more samples while I take a look at the pod."
"Sounds good. Keep in touch." I signaled for us to keep moving. Just as we turned the corner to another section of pre-fabs, there were even more pods lined up in rows. Along the wall, and the floor. Good thing I just gave Miranda that order.
"Well, this is… unsettling," Garrus murmured. Just as we were about to move further in, there was gunfire, and we fell back for cover. One of them had a beam weapon, by the sounds of it.
"Don't let that beam hit you! I wouldn't bet on our shields protecting from that," I warned. "Garrus, Jacob, move into the building. Make that Collector your prime target. Rest of you, wait for my mark." Garrus and Jacob were already moving. That beam was still focused on us, pinning us down. And the Collectors were starting to move in.
"Got a bead on him. I'll down him the moment Jacob warps," Garrus informed on the comms. Two seconds later, a shot rang out, and the beam ceased, a smoking hole in the ground.
"Mark!" Grunt and Jack again charged forward, targeting the two remaining Collectors without hesitation. Our charge, and the loss of their particle beam took them by surprise, allowing the two of them to get right close and personal. Not like there was a large amount of ground to cover anyway. Jack let her biotics do the work for her, but Grunt grabbed his by the arms, and ripped them right off, roaring, before ramming his forehead right into the large four eyed bug, caving its skull in. "Hey, careful, try not to rush in if you don't have to. It can get you dragged right into an ambush."
"We had the advantage," Grunt grumbled.
"We did, but like you did earlier on the last pair. What if those Husks hadn't been husks, but fully armed Collector troops? You'd have been full of holes by the time we would be able to assist. We move methodically. As a team, got it? Caution," I reminded. Grunt huffed. "Do you understand, Grunt?" I glared, a show of force might garner a better response from him. He huffed again, but the… tone, was different.
"Understood."
"Jack?"
"I get it, I get it. I understand," she answered, annoyed.
"Move out." We came to another set of pre-fabs, one of which was two story, and there were a pair of colonists, frozen. A man and a woman. The woman had fallen, and the man was in the process of helping her up. I got close, maybe we can- an eye darted towards me. "Fucking Christ," I jumped back. "They're still conscious. Can you hear me? Move your eyes up and down if yes." I looked down at the woman. She did as requested. "Good. We're going to move you inside. We're here to put a stop to this, and I have some allies lagging behind me. Once they open the pods along their way, they'll see if they can do anything more for you." The woman moved her eyes up and down again. I looked up the stairs to see another man in the process of running, just at the edge of the stairs. I gently pried apart their hands. "Jacob, take the woman." I moved to sling the man over my shoulder, but a lot of his body was still stiff and unmoving. "Garrus, can you move him for me? Help him fit better?" Garrus wordlessly moved behind me and pulled his arms down, and helped curve his back, leaving the man's face just behind the curve in my back. "Now, if you can help him, we'll leave them in the upper building." Garrus nodded, and moved ahead of Jacob and I. Just outside the door to the building was yet another victim.
Inside was a double bed, and a large sofa. As well as two more pods. Jacob and I laid the man and woman flat on their backs on the bed, while the other two colonists were lain on the couch. I got onto the comms.
"Miranda, got some Colonists not in pods yet. We moved them and set them down inside the upper level of a pre-fab. See if Mordin can do anything for them."
"Understood, Shepard. I just learned how these stasis pods work. We'll move the colonist and keep moving."
"Got it, and, oh, make sure you pick up one of those particle beams those Collectors used. I want Mordin to take a look at it on the ship."
"Interested to research Collector technology, Commander," Mordin answered. We kept moving, there were empty pods lain out in the field, and still some Colonists yet to be moved.
"Looks like they were in the process of working here, but now they're gone? Suspect an ambush. The pods look thick enough to use as cover. But only use empty ones," I warned. "Don't move anyone. Assume the area is not clear." Slowly, moving from cover to cover, we pushed forward. Once we were about halfway from where we were, to the perimeter wall, a squad of Collectors flew up and over. They, and us, immediately began opening fire. But then something strange happened. One started to glow, staggering as if in pain. The glows started to brighten, its body appeared as if it was getting covered in cracks of light. It then floated, stretching its body before curling up into a ball and then returning to the same position as when it began floating. It was like a small explosion of light and energy, and it returned to the ground.
"The fuck?" Jack muttered. This Collector though, had eyes only for me, though shots from the other's bounced off its shields. It began its march, some of its allies beginning to fall. The glows were brighter for a moment.
"My attacks will tear you apart, Shepard," a calm, deep voice stated plainly. No emotion. Not even a tone. The glowing Collector then launched a glowing ball of energy. Straight towards me. I got down in cover, and it impacted the other side of the pod I was behind. There was a shockwave of energy, and I was knocked flat onto the ground. Well ain't that great. "I know you feel this."
"So fucking what if I do, shit head? You'll still feel the bullet I put in your brain!" I shouted back, returning to cover so my shields could recharge.
"Who are you talking to, Shepard?" Garrus asked over comms.
"Oh, great, you don't hear that shit, do you? The glowing one's talking to me. Said my name," I answered, grumbling.
"All I hear are… bug noises, Commander," Jacob stated as another of the other Collectors were put down.
"It's like he doesn't even see us. Getting a lot closer to boy scout," Jack called out.
"Take his shields down, I'll finish the bastard," I ordered. Jacob and Jack both threw a warp at the same time, the combination of unstable biotics reacted violently, and detonated. When the moment of biotic energy cleared, he was still standing, but clearly worse for wear. Scorched, all over. I stood and fired a short bust of shots right into his skull.
"Releasing control…" the voice echoed as the body just… disintegrated. The last Collector was put down.
"It said releasing control. Sounds like it's just a puppet master taking closer control of the strings. We'll see one of them again," I warned. "Focus him first unless there's a particle beam. Take the beam out, then focus him. Another squad of Collectors joined the fight, flying right over the wall, but one of them was already glowing.
"We are the Harbinger of your extinction," the voice boomed.
"Oh, for fucks sake," I muttered. Damn I really need to get my biotics combat ready soon. And to make matters worse, there was a Collector with a particle beam, and its targeted Jacob, forcing him in cover.
"Well, guess I'm working overtime," Jack chuckled excitedly. "Eat this, fuckers!" Jack glowed bright blue, and focused a ball of energy into her hands. It looked unstable. She cried out as she launched the ball in the center of the group of Collectors. She moved her hands apart, like she was tearing something open, and the ball of energy turned black, and the three Collectors closest, including the glowing one, began floating up and closer to the center. They tried to use their wings to fly away but were too close. The moment a single piece of one touched the central black orb, the entire Collector was sucked right into a space far smaller than it. The three shared the same fate as one another. Once the third and final was gone, Jack's biotics faded, and she breathed heavily.
"A singularity? Damn, not even Miranda can manage one of those in combat," Jacob exclaimed.
"Don't… Don't you dare forget it," Jack breathed.
"You alright?" I asked, as we put down the last two Collectors. Making do without a warp for the one with a beam.
"I'm fine, that one just takes a lot out of me. Just make sure Gardner has a fucking feast ready."
"I think we can arrange that. With the area clear, I got on comms."
"Miranda, just had contact with some kind of Commander taking… remote control of some of the Collectors. Makes em a lot stronger, but whoever this is has a hard on for me. You might not have to worry about him. Also, passing by a lot more colonists. Podded and not. Since we've got the attention on us, we're going to have to keep moving."
"Duly noted. We've yet to have any contacts ourselves and will keep moving as planned. Just say the word and we'll provide reinforcements."
"Good. Keep me posted." To the right was the only spot for us to go, a storehouse. Curiously, the haptic display on the door showed it was locked down. Fortunately, it was still an easy bypass. Weapons ready, the doors opened, and we moved inside, Garrus and I taking the front. Checking corners. No signs of anyone. Just hardware and storage containers. There was a large clang, a tool, probably a wrench, falling to the floor. We had company in here. Hiding from u. Everyone was looking around for the source, and I saw it. By the floor on the opposite end, behind a piece of machinery, a boot. It had twitched and made just enough movement to catch my eye.
"I see your foot. Come on out, we're friendlies." Almost comically, the man peeked half his head out from behind the machine. He was wearing a baseball hat like Joker, but was clearly older than the pilot. Likely by another twenty or thirty years at the least. He was dressed like a mechanic, his work clothes greasy, dirty, not in the best of shape. Don't want to ruin anything semi-decent after all. Slowly, he stepped out.
"You're… human! Least, some of you. W-what are you doing out here? You'll lead them right here!"
"I doubt they missed the door was locked. Once they packed up whoever was outside, the Collectors would have been breaking down those doors," I remarked.
"Wait, those things are Collectors? They ain't a myth or some shit? I thought it was just propaganda. Keep us in Alliance space!" He turned around to the wall, seemed like he was, for the most part, talking to himself. "No! They got Lilith! I-I saw her go down. Sten, too! They got damn near everybody!"
"I have people combing through the pods we passed by and hiding the colonists the best they can. Further, we're trying to stop the whole damn abduction. What's your name? What were you doing before the attack?"
"What? Oh. Oh, right. Name's uh… Name's Delan. I-I'm a mechanic. I came down to check on the m-main grid after we lost our comm signals. Then… Then I heard screaming." He began pacing, looking at the floor. "I looked outside, and there was… swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched froze. I… sealed the doors." I saw it. The look of guilt. He looked back up. "Damn it! I-I-It's the Alliance's fault!" He's projecting. Not able to cope with the guilt. "They stationed that Commander Alenko here and built those defense towers! It made us a target!"
"Collectors have been attacking random, remote Colonies for some time now. Anyways, why was Kai- Alenko stationed here?"
"What, you know em? Said he was just here to get those towers online. I think something else though. Spying, maybe."
"And the towers? What can you tell me about them?"
"High powered GARDIAN lasers. Supposed to keep ships from landing near the colony. Had to build a massive fucking underground generator just to give it enough juice, but we couldn't get the targeting systems online!"
"Hm, a GARDIAN defense system for a colony rather than a ship," Garrus mused. "May not be effective at long range, least depending on just how much power they have, but plenty effective at any range a colony would be concerned with, short of orbit. Not likely to miss, it's a laser not a bullet, bypasses shields, and don't have to worry about ammunition. Smart."
"And we could use them," I remarked.
"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right." I turned back to the Turian, smirking under my helmet.
"Just how much time did you spend calibrating the Mako's weapons?"
"Mmmm… enough," Garrus hummed, smirking under his own helmet by the sound of it.
"So, where can we calibrate them from?" I asked.
"The main transmitter. Exit through that door, through the pre-fabs on the right, it's right there. Hard to miss. The targeting controls are at its base."
"Thanks. I'll let my people know you're in here, might leave some survivors in here. They'll leave you be."
"Just… so long as the Collectors don't… charge for us."
"You'll be fine." We made to move. On one hand, guy is partially responsible for all those he locked out. On the other, everyone likes to think they'd do the right thing in a crisis scenario. But then it hits, and the terror can just envelope people. Either freeze them or lock them down to their most basic instinct. Survive. No regard to anyone else. I already know that I do the right thing in crisis scenarios, but I've also been trained for that. I've been raised military. It's not a cure-all, I did freeze when I saw that Thresher Maw on Edolus after all. And the others we saw always were a struggle for me to get through. But that's for a different kind of reason. We exited the storehouse, and the door shut right behind us. Ahead, some large storage crates and farming equipment. And some pre-fabs raising over the relatively small wall on our left. A small residential area, perhaps. Two stories. I signaled for Garrus to use the crates as his cover, take shots from a distance, while the rest of us did what we could with the wall and a low barrier beside it. About seven Husks poured down from the second story of one of the Pre-fabs, and some Collectors flew up and over. Joining a pair already here.
One of them, was changing. A pair of warps struck that Collector in its process, and it just completed its change before a shot from Garrus popped its head and left the body to dissolve.
"You merely delay the inevitable…" the faded before it even fully formed. As if in retaliation, a distant Collector fired its particle beam at Garrus, pinning him. And the Husks were getting closer.
"Grunt, don't let a single Husk on our side," I ordered.
"Got it," Grunt growled, staring at his new prey. A single slug from the Claymore tore through two of the Husks, and likely would have tore through more, had they been lined up. Jack glowed blue again, and targeted the Collector with the particle beam.
"Hey, Vakarian, see if you can make this shot," Jack called out. The Collector was plucked into the air, and then launched in our direction like a giant bullet, one that would be going just over our heads. A shot from Garrus' rifle rang out, and, curiously, I turned to see the results. Orange blood first rained down and the body slammed against the wall, flattening against it upside down, before sliding down the wall to a crumpled up form, partially curled upon itself on the ground. The upper part of its head missing.
"Daaaaaamn," Jacob remarked, surprised. I admit, so was I. We put down the last Collector, but before we could move forward, something new lumbered out from a pre-fab. It was large, and it's back was covered in bulbous blue sacks. And sticking out was the head of a husk. In its shoulder, another head.
"Oh, what the fuck?!" Jack exclaimed. The creature made some kind of wheezing noise, and stuck out its arm. It shot out a ball of energy that pulsed, sending out waves of energy. A shockwave? Grunt began to charge, but met the shockwave front and center while the rest of us scattered. It knocked him back, flying, crashing through the outer wall of the colony, tumbling into the field behind.
"Those sacs must be full of Eezo! Shoot it!" I ordered. "Stay spread out! If fires at you, run like hell! Garrus, test a headshot, see if it stays down." Garrus complied, and the… main head, went out in a puff of black blood and gore. The creature reeled back, but kept moving. It fired at me, so I ran to the side. "Try the other." Garrus fired another round into its shoulder, the second head being left as a hole, the bullet embedded somewhere within the creature. It staggered again, but then continued lumbering. Raising its arm. "Fucking hell," I murmured. "End it!" The lot of us opened fire on the creature, aiming for the main sac on its back. I'm not sure which shot pierced it, but it finally popped, and the heat from our bullets and likely the sudden release of pressure caused it to detonate. Leaving behind nothing but the lower half of the creature's legs. Now, how's our Krogan?
"Grunt! You alright?" I called out, moving to look through the hole he left. He was already climbing back through it.
"Is it dead?" he growled, blood rage appearing to set in.
"It's dead. Anything broken?"
"Maybe. Don't know, don't care. It'll heal."
"See what I mean about not charging?" Grunt just grumbled. I got on comms. "Miranda, got another update for you. Storehouse has a survivor. Not in stasis. Might have locked the door, but I'll have the code. Sending now. Second, got another new creature. Some sort of… mega-husk or some shit. Don't bother shooting the heads. It has sacs of Eezo on its back you can shoot from the front. Let's it use biotics. Fond of the shockwave. Shoot the sacs to kill it. And watch those shockwaves. Strong enough to send a charging Krogan flying back and crashing through a wall. Grunt's fine though."
"Is anything left of strange creature?" Mordin asked.
"Just the lower legs, and I'm not inclined to go through the effort of killing it in a way to leave a corpse. You can get eyes on one through the suit cam. And, one last thing. We got a way to attack the ship. The guns around here are large GARDIAN lasers. We're en-route to ready them."
"Understood. We've only just made it to the frozen colonists you found. Should we move ahead and join you?"
"Standby. I want to see what we're working with for the defense," I answered. No doubt once the Collectors have an idea what we're up to, we're going to have a lot of company. We moved through the pre-fabs and reached the large door between here and the main transmitter. I opened it, and saw a large, flat field with a platform in the center housing the transmitter. Thank god the field was also littered with crates and trucks to use as cover. Two trucks in the front left corner, lined up side by side, but facing opposite directions, one in the back right. Crates were everywhere, and pre-fabs on the left side. Get Garrus working on the transmitter in the middle, have the rest of us all spread out, covering every direction. The biotics, closer in and protected, let them each manage a third of the area. "Miranda, that's an affirmative on the regroup. Double time it. We'll hold position.
"Finally, some fucking action," Zaeed spoke before she could. They arrived shortly, a minor delay getting through the storehouse. I began giving orders. Where each of us would plant ourselves. Jack and Miranda would be facing the far side. But each would be situated closer to one of the back corners. They'd supplement the left and right sides as necessary. Jacob would be closer to the door we're entering the field from. And would also supplement the sides as needed. Mordin, would be near Jacob. Zaeed and Grunt will take the far side, closer to Jack and Miranda. I'd be stationed closer to the right side, and closer to the door. But, as I'm in Command, I can move per my own judgement. Even roam, if necessary "Area still hasn't been secured. Careful," I warned. Before we were even halfway to the transmitter, half a dozen husks swarmed out of a pre-fab and a pair of those creatures from before lumbered out from behind the transmitter controls.
"Grunt, Mordin! You got the Husks. Rest of you, put those big fuckers down!" Gun fire rang out as we fell back to the door we entered from. Mordin and Grunt focusing their fire on the Husks coming from the left. Thanks to the fact the Claymore was a slug-shooter, it was still effective enough at range. Zaeed, Garrus, and I took out our snipers, and aimed for the creatures. Three sniper shots together were enough to burst and ignite the Eezo sacs. Was it overkill? Maybe. Do I care? Not right now. We loaded fresh clips, and repeated the process on the other, still out of range of its shockwave. With the big threats down, we all helped put down the last of the Husks. We swept the area, ensuring it was secure, and got into positions. Zaeed put himself up on the bed of the truck in the back that still had some crates on it, while Jack took some one of the other crates in the same spot, so she could still throw her warps effectively. Grunt, being tasked more on the left side, simply moved some crates to give himself a small fortress with an angle on all sides. Smart. I helped Mordin move some crates by the front so he could watch the door and protect his rear. Jacob was happy enough with the trucks as his perch. Miranda used other crates near Grunt, and I'd take a small raised cargo platform on the right side as my perch. More heavy duty crates for cover, of course. And the excess, we placed around the console, to protect Garrus from enemy fire without trapping him within. Wait a second…
"Garrus, see if you can't get a signal to the Normandy. If EDI can get a connection, well, you're good, but you don't have quantum computing."
"I'll see what I can do." Garrus got to the console, and by the look of it, reset the tower. Giving it power, and activating it, the tower extending a bit. He adjusted it to our long range frequency. "This is Garrus to the Normandy. Does anyone read?"
"Garrus? Signal's weak, but we read you. Is Shepard alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Joker. We need EDI to connect to this transmitter, and to the defense towers. Bring them online and fix some calibration errors," I explained.
"I have connected. I am distributing more power to keep the transmission clear. This will not affect the guns. I am rectifying the calibration errors and shall be done in seconds. The guns are coming online, but bringing them to full power will take time. This is a hardware limitation that I cannot counter. I recommend defensive positions. I cannot mask the increased generator output."
"Everyone, weapons up and ready!" I ordered.
"They are closing," EDI informed. The first wave was at Jack's side. I counted eight fly in. Garrus had already toppled over one of his crates to use as cover for the gunfight, while Jacob and Miranda had adjusted position to aid, if from a distance. I readied my Mattock, and the Biotics flew. Three Collectors landed with their barriers already fizzled out, and two of those three were dead before they even hit the ground. The last, just as their feet touched the ground. The remaining Collectors sprinted to cover, one of whom, thanks to a slug from Grunt, and a shot to the head from Garrus went down before he could.
"Don't give em an inch!" I shouted.
We held them off. Fighting off several waves of Collectors, their Husks, and their Commander. Regardless of where they came from, we put them down. That being said, we did take a few hits. An inevitability when surrounded and with so many hostile weapons. Fortunately, all the wounded were reporting were flesh wounds. And EDI was almost finished.
"Commander, I am detecting a large contact inbound to your position from above," EDI warned. We all looked up for this new foe. "Anti-ship batteries firing." It would be harder to see as the GARDIAN towers beamed high powered lasers at the Collector ship, filling the sky with red beams of light. At least it completely bypassed the barriers, and they worked on burning through the hull. At least, until safety protocols ceased their fire to cool down.
"I see it, from the ship!" Garrus called out. I peered close, squinting my eyes before looking down my scope. It was some sort of floating quadruped… thing. Like a large insect, larger than the Collectors themselves. A central body with four eyes, and four legs. No sign of any propulsion systems. It then dove down, planting it's four legs at the far end of the clearing, making some sort of… screeching noise. A mouth opened, and inside appeared to be a collection of skulls. Like looking at the walls of the Catacombs in Paris. Each skull with glowing blue eyes. It screeched again, and began floating. We opened fire. I could see the flash of a barrier reflecting our bullets. As did our biotics, who needed no verbal order to start their own biotic attacks. The creature had yet to attack, but was moving. Right towards me. Of fucking course.
"Shit," I murmured. The glow of its eyes grew brighter and a stream of energy from the left and right shot out towards the ground, and then began arcing up towards me and my cover. I dove out of the way, seeing the ground scorched, small flames flickering, and my platform sliced by the beams, my cover completely cut open. Finally, the warps detonated off of one another. I was still trying to get out of range, but I saw the others open fire. And the rounds ping off the barrier.
"Barrier's still up!" Miranda shouted.
"Keep trying!" I ordered, my run coming to a temporary stop. This thing hauled ass. I took the rocket launcher from my back, but I didn't ready it. Instead, I unclipped my belt as well, which had my extra ammo, including rockets, still unarmed, attached to it. I held both the belt and launcher tight. There was another biotic detonation, and the creature readied to fire on me again, screeching. As soon as the eyes glowed, I ran like hell, straight towards Garrus. "Take them!" I dropped the launcher on his cover and tossed him my belt. "Over here, dick-cheese!" I ran towards the far end of the field. Alright, internally, thank Cerberus for making me faster. The creature made a chittering noise and followed. I saw the gunfire from the others. Bouncing off the barriers again! Damn i-
A bullet chipped off armor. They finally collapsed!
"Garrus! Now!" I heard the Turian fire and saw the rocket impact the creature right in the back. It staggered forward, screeching. Garrus loaded another and fired again. The creature's back legs failed it, it screeched again. Another. It screeched even louder, and, maybe in some form of self-destruct, enveloped itself in blue energy, and just turned to dust. Taking a breather, I looked up to the Collector ship. It stopped sending that beam into the sky, and the lasers were still pelting it. But I'm not sure just how much damage they were actually doing. I suppose they were doing enough, however. The Collector ship began to shift, and there was a heavy rumbling noise. Crackling. Then an explosion at its base as its engines came to life. There was a powerful burst of wind as it slowly began rising skyward. We didn't stop them, and who knows how many Colonists they got away with? But at least they didn't get everyone. But, shit, if those fuckers got Kaidan…
"No! No, no, no! Don't let them get away!" Delan ran out into the field, shouting, almost deliriously. He saw me, and ran for me. Desperate. "You have to do something!"
"I'm sorry, Delan. There's nothing we can do," I sighed. The Normandy doesn't stand a chance against that Behemoth. Not now. And there's no way for us to board and evac everyone from the ship either.
"Half the fucking Colony's in there! They took Egan and Sam, and… and Lilith. Do something!"
'If I could still save them now, I would. But I'm taking the fight to those fuckers. They're taking people alive for a reason. I promise, if I find them alive, I'll bring them all back."
"You damn well better," Delan murmured. I saw Grunt approaching, his helmet off and a large, toothy grin.
"Shepard!" he laughed. "That fight was great! Your foes are indeed worthy!"
"Shepard?" Delan raised a brow, slight recognition. "Wait, I know that name… Yeah, yeah. You're a big-shot Alliance hero."
A figure stepped out from one of the pre-fabs to the side. A human man, grinning.
"Commander Shepard of the Normandy. The First Human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel." I took my own helmet off as he approached and talked, grinning in return. "You're in the presence of a legend, Delan," he glanced at the mechanic. "And a ghost." I noticed Garrus come to my side, his own helmet off. The man glanced him, and nodded in greeting. The Turian returned it.
"Of all the people we lost, and you get left behind," Delan shook his head. "Figures…"
"Damn glad to see you safe, Kaidan."