Off the Horizon

A/N: THIS CHAPTER MARKS THE END OF THE INTRODUCTION. AFTER THIS, THE HEART OF THE STORY BEGINS.

To the guest reviewer who commented that Dinomite was immature (in an ironically immature statement): you're right. Fireteam Dinomite is immature. Like I said, they won't be a big part of the story, but they will be an important part. I don't know about all those reading this, but I wouldn't be satisfied if they just popped out of nowhere, performed their pivotal role, and then disappeared. There needs to be backstory for all original characters. And trust me, that last chapter, while maybe unappealing to some readers, was of monumental importance.

I also know I "suck" at writing dialogue, but sometimes there's no getting around it. I've spent most of my life writing academic essays, not fictional narratives, but I'm trying my best. To appease the grammatically impaired guest reviewer who believes my dialogue "sucks," this chapter has been written completely devoid of dialogue (not that any is needed, since everything in this chapter is taken directly from Mass Effect 2, and can be viewed on YouTube).

The only way to free an organic society from malicious acts of violence, piracy, crime, etc. is to abolish free will and put down anyone who threatens the peace, something the Precursors specifically designed the Humans not to favor; a mistake they made with the Forerunners.

This chapter just paraphrases events that I hope everyone who's reading this already knows. It is necessary because I can't just jump to Alexandria's awakening since she doesn't release herself. Someone else has to release her, and she can't be released unless she is found. This chapter details how she is found.

Off the Horizon

LOCATION: MILKY WAY/SHADOW SEA/LERA SYSTEM/NORMANDY SR-2

DATE (ALLIANCE CALENDER): circa 2185 CE

2 years later...

Shepard stood in the center of QEC, waiting as it powered up for his debrief with the Illusive man. He had just been dismissed by Doctor Chakwas after his mission on Horizon. The Collectors were tough bastards. Their weapons devastated shields and armor, giving the squad several close calls. Some of the hellish insectoids wielded particle accelerator weapons that weren't even effected by kinetic barriers, costing Zaeed his right arm; and one beast they designated a praetorian wielded a massive plasma weapon that nearly turned Grunt into a puddle of molten goo. Luckily for them both, they managed to take cover a mere split second before they were erased from existence. Grunt regenerated just fine while still in the heat of battle, but Zaeed was out of commission until they returned to the ship and Doctor Chakwas replaced his arm.

Apparently all collectors had biotics too, or at least all of the ones they encountered on Horizon. There was no conformation at this time whether or not all collectors possessed biotic ability, but it was safe to assume they did. After all, they did all have biotic barriers, and they all performed biotic attacks when they were being directly controlled by someone who kept referring to him or herself as some kind of harbinger. Biotics seemed to be a central part of collector society, as further inspection of their assault rifles revealed them to have a biotic power source.

They were the toughest and most well-coordinated infantry Shepard had ever faced thus far, no doubt all being linked to one another in real-time like the Geth. Their shields were strong and their armor even stronger. Shepard's team had recovered a few corpses for Mordin to study, and autopsies revealed that they were once an unknown organic species, but were turned into synthetics. That explained why they could take multiple shots to the head without dying; they didn't possess traditional brains like all known organics did. Shepard wanted nothing more than to stop the Collectors once and for all, but he found himself dreading the next time they would meet, especially if they ever had to fight the Collectors in force rather than just a raiding party.

The QEC finished establishing a connection and Shepard was now face to face with the Illusive Man. The Illusive Man attempted to congratulate Shepard, a gesture which Shepard was unwilling to accept due to his failure to save the entire colony. The Illusive Man brought up the valid point that it was better than losing the entire colony, and was more than they had accomplished since the abductions began. Based on their recent success, the Illusive Man postulated the Collectors would be more careful with their next move, and a new way may need to be found to lure them in.

Shepard questioned the Illusive Man's methods of luring the Collectors in, he did not approve of risking the lives of individuals for the sake of the mission who weren't even part of the mission. Adding to Shepard's anger was the fact that the Illusive Man used Ashley Williams as bait.

Shepard was no fool, but the Illusive Man worried his devotion to doing the right thing might one day prevent him from doing what needs to be done. He made it clear to Shepard that he wouldn't sit around and wait for the enemy to gather strength, and that they wouldn't have known which colony the Collectors were going to hit next if Ashley and Horizon weren't used as bait; consequently, the Collectors would've abducted everyone.

Shepard couldn't refute the Illusive Man's argument, even if he disagreed. The one thing they both agreed on was they had to make sure the Collectors didn't abduct anyone else. The Illusive Man was devoting all resources at his disposal to try and find a way through the Omega 4 relay to hit the Collectors where they lived. The Illusive Man told Shepard that not only would his team need to be strong, but him as well. There could be no looking back, and the Illusive Man was worried Shepard might look back at Ashley. Shepard made it clear that his past relationships were none of the Illusive Man's damn business, but the Illusive Man restated that if his feelings affected the mission, it was better if Shepard left them behind.

One last time, the Illusive Man reiterated there was no guarantee Shepard and his team would return from a trip through the Omega 4 relay, and that they must all be fully committed if there was to be any hope of survival. Shepard told the Illusive Man to let him worry about the team and just find them a way to the Collector homeworld. The Illusive Man forwarded three more dossiers to Shepard so he could keep building the team. The conversation ended with the Illusive Man warning Shepard to be careful because the Collectors would be watching him now.

With that the Illusive Man pressed a button on a display near his chair and the connection was cut off. Shepard stepped off the QEC to find Jacob waiting behind him with arms crossed. Their encounter with the Collectors on Horizon had shaken Jacob's faith in their mission. Shepard assured Jacob they had a few tricks that would give them an edge over the Collectors, and if anyone could stop the twisted aliens, they could. Shepard didn't know whether or not Jacob truly believed his words; he didn't truly believe them himself, but they were doing everything they could, and words of encouragement were all they had at this time.

Before Jacob left, he said he was going to take care of unfinished business, something he imagined everyone else was doing as well. That statement was a red flag, signaling Jacob's undeniable doubts about their success. Shepard had to find out just what this unfinished business was, and help Jacob to take care of it, lest he be distracted from the mission. The Illusive Man was right. Shepard had to make sure his team was ready, both mentally and physically. He was also right about Ash, unfortunately; they could not afford any distractions, and if Shepard wasn't careful, she could definitely become what one might consider a distraction.

Jacob turned and headed out the door towards the armory. Being the armorer aboard the Normandy, he spent a great deal of time there. Shepard could tell there was definitely something bothering Jacob, and he had to find out what it was to make sure it didn't become a problem.

After speaking with Jacob in the armory, Shepard discovered he had received an anonymous message from someone within Cerberus about a distress call sent from the MSV Hugo Gernsback, the ship his father went missing on over a decade ago. Apparently, the ship had crashed on the planet Aeia, and Jacob wanted to investigate.

Just as the Illusive Man said, Shepard's team could not afford any distractions, and Shepard decided that they would go and check out the crash site as soon as time permitted.

Shepard left the armory after talking with Jacob and headed for the galaxy map to plot a course to their next destination. Kelly was in her usual spot typing away at a terminal next to the map. She informed Shepard that Miranda wanted to speak with him.

Stepping up to the display, Shepard looked over the locations he needed to visit. Each location was marked with a brief statement regarding the task(s) to be completed there. The closest was marked Project Firewalker: Prothean Ruin on Kopis. That was the last known location of Dr. Cayce, and the site of the Prothean ruins the doctor had been searching for all along. Shepard was certain the doctor was there, and that he had found something important. The Geth had tracked the doctor to every world he visited, and there was no doubt they had also tracked him to Kopis as well. Shepard didn't expect it to be a rescue mission, but he could not allow the Geth to retrieve whatever Prothean technology the doctor had found and hand it over to the Reapers.

The next closest location that needed visiting was Haestrom, marked Dossier: Tali.

"Tali?"

Shepard accessed his journal from his omni-tool. Sure enough, Tali was one of the next three dossiers the Illusive Man sent him, along with a justicar named Samara and an assassin named Thane Krios. Recruitment missions were always at the top of Shepard's priorities, as every second they waited was another second that the person might leave their last known location, or worse. They had showed up just in time to rescue Garrus, a few more minutes and they may very well have been too late. Shepard didn't want that to happen again, but Samara and Thane were on Illium, which was on the other side of the galaxy.

Shepard leaned over the railing and let out a sigh. He had so much to do and an unknown amount of time to do it. He decided to just go with the closest missions that seemed urgent and work his way down from there. That's how he usually did it anyway. He designated Kopis as their next destination for Joker, who sent him back an ETA of a little over six hours. Shepard let out an even heavier sigh.

"That's not a lot of time."

Shepard went and accessed his mail from the terminal opposite of Kelly. Two messages really drew his attention.

The first was from Cerberus Information Processing. Apparently Liara was on Illium hunting the Shadow Broker, and Cerberus had information that might help track him/her down. Shepard would have to pass along the information to Liara when he traveled to Illium to recruit Samara and Thane. Once he found out why she was hunting the Shadow Broker in the first place, he might even be able to offer assistance, provided she was hunting the Broker for a good reason. If she was not, he would try and convince her to stop, as the Shadow Broker was a very dangerous enemy to have.

The second message that caught Shepard's eye was from Ashley. He hesitated for bit before with his finger over the message, a tight knot forming in his stomach. He cared about Ashley a great deal, maybe even loved her. All those things she said on Horizon, they hurt a lot coming from her; calling him a traitor; telling him that she used to love him, subtly implying that she didn't anymore. A part of Shepard worried the message would only contain more hate. If that was the case, then he didn't want to read it. But there was also the possibility the message contained an apology. If that was the case, then he did want to read it. After a few moments of considering his only two options, Shepard decided that the right thing to do would be to take a chance and read the message.

Subject: Hey there.

Shepard-

I'm sorry for what I said back on Horizon. When I lost you two years ago, it tore me up. I prayed for you everyday. I read a lot of Tennyson, thinking about you, just like I did when my dad passed. And then you came back, and it was like my prayers were answered. But I'm not who I was then, and neither are you.

I don't know what's true anymore. Part of me can't believe it's really you. I keep going back to that night before Illos, our night... I haven't let myself think about those memories in over a year.

I wouldn't have expected you to work for Cerberus, but I know why they sent you to Horizon. I saw how many people were lost there, and if anyone can stop the Collectors, you can. I can't go where you're going, but I can wish you luck.

Just stay alive out there... Skipper. I don't know what the future holds, but I can't lose you a second time.

-Ash

Death closes all: but something ere the end

Some work of noble note, may yet be done,

Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.

As Shepard read the message, the borderline painful knot in his stomach untied, and was replaced with a mild uneasy feeling. Still hurt, but not as much as he was before.

"Maybe Joker and EDI can lighten things up. They do always seem to be having a good time after all. Well, at least a rather entertaining time."

Shepard headed down to the cockpit to see how Joker and EDI were tormenting each other now. At first, Joker seemed genuinely offended by EDI, but Shepard could tell that the two were warming up to each other, in a surprisingly comical way. Shepard knew Joker would probably bring up Ash, but he wouldn't make a big deal about it.

As expected, Joker asked Shepard if he was glad to see Ash, given their history together. Shepard left out all the hurtful things Ash said and just told Joker they let go of whatever they had between them. Joker was happy Shepard seemed to be taking it well. He was worried the Commander would have a breakdown and start hurting people if the reunion had ended badly, which it did, but Joker didn't need to know that if he didn't know already.

When Shepard asked how things were going in the cockpit, he learned that Joker and EDI were having an argument over maintenance reports. EDI accused Joker of falsifying documents, while Joker defended his actions by saying he was tweaking them by rounding up on task times to make them look good when they came up under. Shepard took Joker's side, urging EDI to ease off on the harmless self-promotion. Of course, Joker decided to rub EDI's figurative nose in his small victory, claiming it was all a game and assuring Shepard there were no hard feelings .

Shepard left the cockpit and headed back down the CIC to the elevator. After arriving on the crew deck, Shepard headed straight to Miranda's office.

Miranda revealed her twin sister's existence to Shepard, and that she went to Cerberus for protection from her father not for herself, but for her sister. She was living a normal life on Illium, safe, and hidden from their father, until now. Miranda's sources indicated her father knew her sister was on Illium. Miranda had tried to keep her sister hidden without impacting her life, but was now out of options. The only thing that could be done now was to relocate her sister's family before it was too late. Miranda wanted to go to Illium when Cerberus was moving the family to make sure none of her father's agents got to close. Miranda had a contact named Lanteia who would be waiting for them in the Nos Astra docking bay.

After agreeing to help Miranda, Shepard decided to eat something and maybe get four hours of rest before the next mission. It was recommended that humans sleep for eight hours, but four hours would have to do. Some humans only needed four hours of sleep to function normally; Shepard was not one of those humans.

When the time came to deploy, Shepard decided to bring along Garrus and Mordin. There was a good chance they would run into geth on Kopis, and Garrus was the only member of Shepard's team – other than Shepard himself – who had a lot of experience in fighting them. Shepard hoped that Mordin would be able to help handle anything of Prothean origin they might encounter on Kopis.

The three of them departed the Normandy in the M-44 Hammerhead they commandeered on Zeona. The dig site was sealed of by a kinetic barrier designed to withstand orbital bombardment. The barrier was also visible because it was set to zero tolerance, allowing nothing solid to pass through, no matter how slow it was moving. Pounding on it with the Normandy would destroy the dig site, and the Hammerhead did not possess the firepower to drop such a barrier. The only way to get through was to destroy the barrier's generators, which were conveniently located on the outside. Whoever set up the barrier was obviously trying to keep something in, rather than out.

The Geth obviously did not expect anyone to come knocking with a tank because they only left combat support drones to defend the generators. The barrier was down and the team inside the dig site in no time.

There was no more resistance inside the dig site than outside. It seemed as if the geth had come and gone, leaving only a few units behind for reasons unknown. The site was also stripped bare of any Prothean technology, save for one giant floating sphere that reacted upon Shepard's touch.

A/N: At last, you've made it through the introduction, but don't stop now. Trust me, you're going to want to see how this story unfolds.