You people know the drill, I don't own Mass Effect or Godzilla, they belong to Bioware and Toho Studios respectively.
Chapter 4: Darkness Over the Horizon
...
Osun System, Purgatory
A large explosion erupts behind them as Spectre Jessica, her squad, and the new team member race through the hall towards the docking clamp her ship is at. As the prison ship continues to fall apart, the commander turns on her radio to contact the Normandy; bad memories of her last moments on the first Normandy were starting to come up at the worst possible moment, which made itself clear by the tone of her voice.
"Joker, open the airlocks and get ready to get the hell out of here as soon as we're onboard!"
"Aye commander!"
Just seconds after the pilot's confirmation, Jessica can make out the sight of the airlock opening up as they rapidly approach the frigate. Another explosion goes off, causing the four to run even faster towards their one hope of survival; the explosions becoming more and more frequent as the Normandy squad draws closer to the ship.
Twenty meters, there was an explosion followed by the shriek of metal as the entrance to the prison ship is blocked off with tons of debris.
Ten meters, the squad was nearly thrown off their feet by the ship-wide tremors.
Five meters, another explosion nearly causes the docking clamp to snap off; Jessica could only hope that it'd hold long enough for them to escape.
...
By the time that the Normandy squad ran into the airlock, they were running so fast that they weren't able to stop in time to avoid slamming into the wall, leaving a pile of bodies moaning in pain as the airlock closes. As Joker pilots the ship away from the Purgatory as it proceeds to self-destruct, Jack was not happy with having Garrus on top of her.
"Get off of me!"
Before Garrus comply to the biotic's demand, Jack literally throws him off, sending the poor turian to slam into the computer console right next to Joker, much to the pilot's displeasure.
"Hey, watch it!"
As Joker and Jack have their little argument, Jessica groans as she struggles to stand up. It took a few minutes due to her having absolutely no energy left from that mission, but she managed to accomplish the task.
"Jack, time to take you to be briefed."
...
After about several minutes of briefing Jack on their mission and Jessica giving the convict full access to the Cerberus files, the tattooed woman left the communications room followed closely by the Spectre, only for the latter to stop in her tracks as Joker contacts Jessica through the intercoms.
"Uh Commander, hate to be the bringer of bad news but you got a message from you know who; he wants another chat with you. Apparently it's urgent."
The commander just groans, she was thoroughly exhausted and was definitely not in the mood to deal with more Cerberus bullshit from the Illusive Man himself. Sighing in defeat, Jessica turns around and walks back into the communications room and onto the QEC pedestal once the conference table sinks into the floor.
The first thing the Cerberus leader noticed once Jessica's hologram materialized into his room was the hateful glare coming from the commander. Casually ignoring it with an inhale of his cigarette, he looks at Jessica with his unnatural blue eyes.
"Shepard. I think we have them! Horizon, one of our colonies in the Terminus Systems, just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?"
Jessica shakes her head in response, "Not yet."
"Let's hope he works well under pressure. There's something else you should know. One of your former crew, Ashley Williams, she's stationed on Horizon."
Jessica's heart nearly skipped a beat upon hearing the news that her best friend from the mission two years ago may be in danger of being taken. 'Wait, something doesn't add up here…'
"Last I knew, Ashley was Alliance. Why is she out in the Terminus Systems?"
"Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relation with the colonies. But they're up to something. And if they sent Chief Williams, it must be big. Perhaps you should take it up with her."
"The Collectors just happened to pick a colony with one of my former crew? I don't buy it."
The Illusive Man exhales a cloud of smoke as he looks at Jessica, "It shouldn't be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they're working for the Reapers. They might be going after her to get to you."
Hearing that Collectors may be after her best friend just to get to her was more than enough motivation to get Jessica to get over her disgust towards the Illusive Man and head straight to this colony.
"Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."
"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard. Good luck."
As the quantum entanglement communicator turns off, Jessica calls for the pilot.
"Joker, set a course for Horizon. I've got to see the professor."
"Aye, aye, Commander."
Anadius System, Cronos Station
As the hologram disappeared in his office, the Illusive Man took another look at Miranda's report as well as the vids of Arashi aboard the Normandy and his meeting with the Citadel Council. Suffice to say, he's rather worried about these events, as unlike the many races of the Citadel, with their capabilities quite well known from the past three decades, this race, the Gojirans, are a complete unknown in every possible way as well as having over two centuries to learn all that they can about humanity from their decades long stay.
Granted, although whatever knowledge they've received from two centuries ago is outdated by today, they still could've left dozens, maybe even hundreds, of drones to continue to watch them after their departure. The Illusive Man inhales his cigarette as he begins to think of a way to deal with the Gojirans should they prove themselves a threat.
Iera System, Horizon
Hours after the Illusive Man had contacted the Normandy about the attack on Horizon, the once silent skies of the colony is interrupted by the engines of a Kodiak shuttle marked with a Cerberus color scheme. Setting down on the ground, the side doors open up to allow Commander Shepard to step out, followed closely by the master thief, Kasumi, and the Gojiran, Arashi, who insisted on coming with the commander. As they step out, the first thing they see is the massive form of the Collector ship, causing Arashi to growl in anger.
"What's wrong Arashi?"
The Gojiran's tail twitches in agitation as he doesn't take his eyes off of the hive-like ship, "That's the ship. The one that took my people, and my son."
The two women look at Arashi in surprise at what the reptilian being was saying.
"How can you tell?
In response to Jessica's question, Arashi points at the more organic-looking part at the front of the ship, or more specifically, at the massive gash large enough to reveal the metal underneath.
"You see that? The organic protrusions aren't consistent; they've been blasted off to reveal the metal hull underneath."
Arashi turns to look at Jessica, her deep blue eyes meeting his fiery orange; the commander can almost feel the tiniest hint of worry coming from them.
"Shepard, I know that we're here to save this colony, but if we ever get the chance I want to get on that ship. I…I have to know whether my son's still alive."
Although stunned by Arashi's sudden transition from an unstoppable force just hours ago to a worried father now, Jessica nods.
"Alright Arashi, whenever we get the chance, we'll search the Collector ship; we're going to get your son back, I'll make sure of it."
The Gojiran nods in acceptance before Jessica turns on her radio to contact the ship, "We're groundside. Mordin, you sure these armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"
As the Normandy team start their approach towards the massive ship Mordin responds to the commander's question, "Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms. In theory."
Arashi shakes his head upon hearing the last part.
"In theory? That's reassuring."
"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you survive."
Jessica just shakes her head after hearing that "helpful" piece of advice from Mordin, only to notice movement up ahead. Motioning her time to keep quiet and to follow her, they take cover behind several large structures; activating her tactical cloak, Jessica peaks out to find over a half dozen Collectors standing around, what they were doing Jessica didn't care as she pulls back into cover in time for her cloak to deactivate.
Activating a private channel with Kasumi and Arashi, Jessica pulls out her M-92 Mantis which was enough to convince the two to draw their own firearms.
"Hostiles, eight of them. Don't fire until I make the first shot."
Reactivating her cloak, Jessica peeks back out and takes a look at the Collectors, searching for the one that could be the leader of this group. Most of the insectoid beings were identical in appearance and weaponry, but there was just one that held a weapon that was different than the others. Guessing that's the leader of this Collector group, Jessica aims at its head and fires her Mantis, the single shot effortlessly tearing through the Collector's barrier and straight into its head.
As bits of brain matter and bone squirt out of the Assassin's head, the Drones immediately face Jessica and start firing their assault rifles at the marine as she ducks back into cover; with the Drones still firing in the commander's direction, they were caught unprepared as submachine gun rounds and bright blue beams pelt them from the side. Just like the kinetic barriers the Blue Suns were equipped with just hours earlier, the biotic barriers surrounding the many Drones were made to defend against kinetic impacts such as Kasumi's M-12 Locust submachine gun, not against the lethal beams of heat and radiation from Arashi's G-54 Atomic assault rifle. After three Collectors were killed by the thief and the Gojiran, three of the remaining four immediately shifted their attention to the pair, forcing them back down as assault rifle rounds fly past where their heads were just seconds ago before peppering their cover with more rounds.
"Kasumi, flashbang!"
Not even bothering to ask why, the Japanese woman fishes out the grenade in question, which she managed to swipe the designs for back on Bekenstein, and tosses it out into the open after activating it. The Collectors were completely unprepared for it as the resulting explosion blinded them; seeing her chance, Jessica draws her M-23 Katana and charges into the Drone that was originally firing upon her, literally splattering the overgrown insect into the ground and wall. Turning her shotgun on the remaining Collectors, she fires it three times. Without bothering to watch the headless Drones to hit the ground, the commander turns towards Arashi and Kasumi as they walk out of cover.
"You two alright?"
"Never better, Shep."
"I'm fine."
"Good, cause we have a lot more ground to cover. Let's hurry up."
Collector Base
The eighth and final vid screen erupts into static as the Drone it was attached to was slain, the Collector watching them, which is slightly larger than the rest of its brethren, shuts them down as the machine controlling the Collector thinks about what it has seen through its puppet's eyes.
There was no use in denying it like an organic would, Shepard, the human that has eluded capture even when deceased, has at last revealed herself. However, Shepard wasn't what the massive machine was thinking about, it was her companion. Its army of puppets that are outside the harvesting ship are more than adequate enough to eliminate the two humans and examine Shepard's, but the odds of them being able to eliminate and seize the unknown are too slim for the Reaper's liking.
It didn't even take a second of thinking for Harbinger to come to its decision; it was going to send every one of its puppet inside the harvesting out to eliminate Shepard and her team.
Iera System, Horizon
"Does anybody get the feeling that things have been too easy so far?"
Jessica can just see Arashi's tail twitch as the Gojiran asked, and the Spectre couldn't help but agree with him. After the first firefight against the Collectors, they've engaged the Collectors only two more times. Even if they were just here to take the Horizon colonists and unprepared for armed resistance, all the silence was just disturbing, as if something bad is heading their way. And given that the Normandy team found out that the Collectors were working for the Reapers, that possibility's very likely. Finding a new weapon in the form of a Particle Beam rifle did little to help the nerves as well.
"I know, I feel the same Arashi. Stay frosty team, we don't know what these bastards are up to now…"
"Are you sure things aren't too easy because of him, Shep?"
"Maybe, but I somehow doubt it."
As the three walk into a small clearing, they hear the buzzing noise that alerts them to approaching Collectors, in the form of six standard Drones, five Assassins, and four Guardians that all land on the ground; however, the Collector that managed to gain their attention was a Collector pair that land on the ceiling. These Collectors, instead of having no equipment like the others have, have a computer-like gauntlet on each arm with several small orbs attached to each one.
As the three get into cover as the Collectors begin firing at them, Jessica manages to catch a glimpse of the two Collectors doing something with their gauntlets. The marine's question on what they were doing were quickly answered when the orbs detach themselves from the gauntlets and reveal themselves as flying turrets when they began to fire at the Normandy squad. With the turrets gone, their gauntlets open up to reveal dual barrels and the two Collector Engineers take off.
The sheer volume of incoming fire was extremely annoying to Arashi, and as he notices the two Engineers taking off, he aims his G-54 rifle to make them pay for their foolish decision. But before the Gojiran could fire, he is slammed with the force of a missile; strong enough to force him not only through his cover, but through the building the Collector Engineers were standing on.
Tumbling across the ground, Arashi looks up at his assailant, a lone Collector. The Gojiran figured that it managed to land behind them before launching its attack; he growls angrily at this damn insect and how it dared to make him look like a fool. Although he lost his weapons from the impact, Arashi didn't need them to slaughter the Collector Vanguard standing in front of him as he prepares to use his fist to smash its face in.
The Gojiran was so engulfed with rage that he didn't notice that the Vanguard was purposefully standing there until a metal cable wraps around his hand. Startled, Arashi had no time to react as a second cable wrapped around his other hand; growling with anger, the Gojiran looks at the source of one of the cables to see clinging on the wall, a Collector Engineer with the cable attached to a device on its gauntlet. Before Arashi could yank the cables to send both Engineers onto the ground, they quickly detached the devices and onto the building they were each clinging too; the Gojiran hearing the sound of metal being punched open as the cable devices anchored themselves into the wall.
The next thing that the Gojiran heard was a whirring sound as the cables start to retract into the devices followed by immense pain as the cables are starting to pull on his arms.
'They're going to try and rip me apart!'
Realizing that he has to do something quick in order to free himself, Arashi's spines glow bright neon blue as he prepares his signature ability, only for more cables to wrap around his mouth and neck as well as his tail.
Trapped and having absolutely no where to go, Arashi can only feel helpless as the Collector Engineers land to his sides with gauntlet guns raised. To make matters worse, the Collector Vanguard in front of him starts to stagger and convulse as multiple glowing cracks open up in its exoskeleton before it releases a blinding flash of energy. Opening his eyes, Arashi is greeted with the sight of the Collector with a fiery aura surrounding it. The Collector gazes upon the Gojiran with its glowing, soul-piercing eyes before speaking to him in a soulless voice that almost promises an eternity of pain.
"I am Harbinger."
Yes, sorry that I had to end it so shortly folks. Just couldn't resist putting in such a cliffhanger; but don't worry, the next chapter will be up shortly.
Anyway, thanks for all the reviews over the last chapter, if it wasn't for them this chapter wouldn't have been released a lot later. Which reminds me, I should start updating my last two stories as well...
Anyway, hope you like this chapter; apologies for any confusion caused. Read and review please.