Horizon - 08

The room melted away around him as his image was projected so many lightyears away. The dark room that surrounded him only changed in that there was a massive window with a pink-orange star outside of it.

The man in the chair, a perfect image of a comic book villain, sat before a red star as if looking down on a star would only make him feel bigger.

He turned his chair, took a draw from his cigarette, and spoke with the smoke as it left him.

Two glowing blue eyes, unnatural as they spun, bore into Shepard's image.

"Shepard. I see you are already on your way to Horizon," The Illusive Man said.

He was one of those people who could make a statement into a question, requiring a response.

Shepard nodded, "We received word from the stationed team of Guardians that a Collector Vessel had entered the System. Comm's have been blocked since that last message."

He nodded, "I have the same sort of reports, though I hadn't heard that Guardians were stationed there."

"I spoke to Commander Zavala and he readily agreed to help."

"In more ways than one, it would seem."

Shepard nodded, "We have been upgraded, nearly everything on this ship from Hull to Weapons was reinforced with Light-forged metals and more advanced tech. He also made sure the reborn Guardians, are fully geared."

"I hope you haven't wasted time then, Miranda seems content with the outcome of your stop to New Terra. I am still unconvinced that it was necessary," he continued, "Are you ready for a full-scale assault against the Collectors if that is what is required?"

Shepard nodded, "I have a strong team with the ability to do some serious damage. Dr. Solis was able to create a counter to the seeker swarms for those outside of Guardian Suits."

The Illusive Man nodded while taking another drag, "Good, it seems you are ready as can be. There is one more thing you should know, your former crew member, Kaiden Alenko is stationed on Horizon."

"Kaiden is there? He's Alliance though, what is he doing out in the Terminus Systems?"

"Officially it's an outreach program to improve relations with the colonies. But they're up to something, and if they sent Commander Alenko it must be big. I suggest you take it up with him."

Shepard eyed him, "Do you think the Collectors know he is there?"

He shrugged, taking another small drag, "It shouldn't be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they are working for the Reapers. They could be going through him to get to you."

Shepard held his frowning mask in place, but that was not a good feeling.

"Alright, we are already en route, should be groundside in under an hour."

The Illusive Man nodded, "This is the most warning we have ever had on this, Shepard. Good luck."

Shepard nodded and walked out.

The Quantum Entanglement Communication room went back to just being a meeting room, the table standing up from the floor once again.

He headed to the CIC and Aurora spoke to him as they did, "Have you decided on final team Combinations?"

"I have. Miranda and Mordin will be with me. I want Garrus to lead Keiji and Kasumi, working on infiltration along with Fireteam Starfall. Starfall is the Hammer, Garrus's Team will sneak in behind them. Zaeed will lead Grunt and Jack as the cavalry, depending on whatever team needs backup, that's where they will deploy. Are we in the system yet?" Shepard asked Aurora as he walked through the Labs.

"EDI says that we are less than 10 minutes out, would you like me to equip your armor?"

"Yes, please."

"I have a sort of gift for you as well, John," Aurora said with a nervous energy behind her words.

"What do you mean?"

His body flashed as the powerful black and red Moonfang-X7 armor appeared on him.

He got a mental nudge and he looked down at his left hand. An orange glowing hologram that resembled a Light-based version of his old Omnitool rested weightlessly on his arm.

"What is this?"

"I felt that you were missing your old Omniblade, so you can access a Light Version of it now, think of summoning it!" Aurora said with the excitement of seeing someone open a gift they purchased for them.

Shepard instinctively knew how to summon the blade. He made a fist and his void-light flowed forth as if on a track. The orange construct lit up with purple Void Light, and a two-foot-long blade of that very same Light appeared, extending out from the top of his hand.

Shepard smiled, "Aurora...you know me so well already."

His ghost nearly purred in excitement, but did her best to compose herself as she spoke, "I updated your Titan's Mark as well."

He looked down at his right hip where the Moonfang Titan's Mark was and found an orange glowing one that looked like a holographic fabric of sorts. It moved and felt like extremely smooth cloth to the touch.

"Uhhh, it's nice and all, but isn't it a bit too flashy?"

"Oh! Of course, I am so sorry John, I will put on the original Titan's Mark..." Aurora said, her embarrassment clear from their bond even more than in her voice.

"Aurora, it's alright, I just think it's a bit too flashy. I love the blade regardless," Shepard said, soothing his Ghost's anxiety.

"Alright, I will put the other in your inventory for you," Aurora said.

"Thank you," He walked through the last set of doors to the CIC.

It was busy, his crew members were working, ensuring that the stealth systems were engaged and the ship was running optimally.

"Hello, Commander, are you doing well?" Kelly asked.

He nodded at the bubbly woman, "I am about to catch the Collectors with their hands in the cookie jar. I am doing fantastic."

She smiled uncertainly, "Oh, well, that is good."

He nodded and accessed his messages, "EDI, let me know the moment we have visuals."

"Will do, Commander," EDI's voice said.

After a long 10 minutes of waiting EDI spoke up again, "I have completed a scan of the target, Commander."

The holo-image of the Milky Way was replaced with a topographical map of a large city.

It showed the familiar rocky ship as it backed up to the planet like a semitruck at a loading dock.

"Give me all the information you have, EDI," Shepard ordered.

"It appears to have landed above a newer section of Horizon Colony, that hasn't been finished. It is a residential district. Collector Seeker-Swarms have been released. Secondary and tertiary reinforcements have been deployed. The Collectors have set up a landing where they are shuffling caskets of humans as a loading point for the ship. The current population total is 643,315, less than 5% have been loaded onto the ship so far. Nearly 35% of the district's population has been paralyzed by Seeker Swarm activity. New Light-Sensors are picking up Guardian Engagements. Fireteam Hunter's FTW has been slowly pushing forward since the last wave of Collector Troops."

"Any way to connect to them?"

"Not while maintaining stealth protocols, our message would be intercepted and our presence would be discovered," EDI explained.

"Can you place on the map where that Fireteam is?"

EDI had a set of 4 tiny arrows moving from the city edge to the base of the Collector ship, "Fireteam Hunter's FTW, is currently engaging Collector forces in an open square. They have made headway and have successfully been interdicting Collector abductions."

Shepard nodded, "Aurora, have you and EDI informed everyone of their group assignments?"

Aurora appeared over his shoulder, "We have. All four Fireteams are ready for deployment in the Hangar."

EDI continued, "Fireteam Starfall is proposing something...dangerous."

"Alright, on my way."

Shepard didn't hesitate to head down to the Hangar.

Everyone was in their suits, locked and loaded.

Shepard looked around. Fireteam Starfall was standing near where their Valkyrie ship used to be, he assumed it was in one of their inventories.

Kesa was dancing and the Guardian was trying to ignore her antics, all while Rico watched fondly.

Next to them, Garrus was speaking with Keiji and Kasumi. Keiji had a serious look on his face and Kasumi had a smile barely visible under her hood as they spoke.

Zaeed was telling a story, Grunt was listening eagerly while Jack seemed to be holding back laughter.

Miranda, Jacob, and Mordin were listening to the Doctor as he explained the theories behind his anti-Seeker-Swarm modules.

"Alright, Starfall. You have an idea?"

Rico turned and nodded, "Yes, Commander, was thinking we try out the Normandy's new Main Cannon. We punch a hole into the side of the ship and enter directly through there. We find terminals and anyone captured, get anything we can get our hands on, people too, and get the hell outta there."

Shepard nodded, "Joker-"

He was immediately cut off by Joker, "Yeah, we are definitely doing that. We will have to scan the ship to find a point we can pierce though, and it will completely ruin any sort of stealth ops, but I am down. Wayyyyyy down."

"We have an idea of a good spot to hit. Sam?" Rico asked of his Ghost.

"On it!" Sam sent the location to EDI and displayed a spot about 2/3's of the way up the ship. With the upgraded main cannon, piercing the shields and the shell should be easier.

"Alright, so we should totally drop you all off first in case they decide to leave...right?" Joker asked.

Shepard nodded but stayed quiet as he thought about it.

Shepard looked thoughtful, "Mordin, you said the effects of the Seeker Swarms wear off eventually?"

"I don't have a precise calculation for humans, but no one that is stung today won't be able to move anytime to become useful."

"And how long have they been there?" He addressed to the open air.

EDI spoke up, "When we arrive they will have been there for 43 minutes and 28 seconds. With the support of the Guardians on sight, it is unlikely they have been able to take many Colonists yet."

Miranda continued, "It could be wise to attack the ship as well, accessing their systems should be our secondary goal."

"We would be crazy to let them leave without a fight, right?" Rico asked.

Grunt and Zaeed agreed with some sort of vocals.

Shepard nodded, "Alright, here's what we are going to do..."


Before Collector Arrival.

Horizon Colony.

"I am telling you, it needs to be our priority to get these turrets online!" Kaiden yelled. The Collectors could attack at any time if the tip he got was accurate.

Guardians showing up only increased his anxiety. There were no fighters better than Guardians, even putting Asari Commandos to shame.

The local administrator and community leader, Lillith replied, "I get that you are all nervous with those space knights showing up and all, but I don't know what to tell you. Besides, trusting the Alliance has led many of us here into needing to escape to the Terminus Systems in the first place. Just coming here with words of warning usually isn't enough."

Fireteam Hunter's FTW was a group of four Hunter Guardians, led by a human with the chosen name of Zed. He spoke up next, "He's right, better to be ready in case of any kind of emergency."

"I am sure that it would be a fantastic use of resources should the need ever arise, however accomplishing such a task would undoubtedly bring concern from many of the most influential parties amongst Horizon's leadership. I can't, with good conscience, allow any of that to go through, and quite frankly even having such armed and armored soldiers here is already straining-"

Lilith was cut off as a massive ship descended through the upper atmosphere too fast. The entrance caused a massive rolling storm of thunderous booms as the air was compressed.

The rocky exterior of a ship looked like someone teleported a massive skyscraper into a huge rock formation, wrapped a few rings of metal around it, and sent it on its way.

The sky darkened as the compression of air created a torrent of winds and rain, while static electricity in the sky began to form an artificial lightning storm.

The grey clouds were interspersed with black as Seeker Swarms were released into the city. The swarms just kept coming, the massive ship vomiting endless amounts of bugs through unseen airlocks.

"Alright, I want crowd control, fast and precise, got it?" Zed asked.

His Ghost, Dez chimed in, "Time to kill some bugs!"

Two of the other hunters were Exo's while the last was another human.

The female Exo named Sera spoke up and matching golden pistols appeared in her hands, "I guess it's time, isn't it?"

The male Exo named Hail replied in a scratchy voice, "It certainly is."

The last member of the Fireteam, a human female named Argo, yelled, "HUNTER'S!?"

The other three replied at the same volume, "FOR THE WIN!"

Hail and Sera turned and jumped onto the nearby wall as they sprinted up in tandem. The human female named Argo vanished in a burst void grenade.

Zed smiled, "You fast, or what Kai?"

"It's Kaiden!"

"Hah, 'It's' gonna be left behind unless it gets moving!" Dez said over Zed's shoulder.

Zed turned on his heel and jumped 10 meters to plant a boot on a wall, he spun as he double-jumped from the wall, using the very air as a springboard, and caught a ledge way higher up. Vaulting up onto the window sill, he backflipped off of it while still gaining altitude and double-jumped again.

He stopped perfectly balanced on the edge of the building. The theory of gravity didn't seem to entirely apply to the Guardians, Zed being the prime example.

He smirked at Kaiden and Lilith, "Do what you guys need to, we just sent a message to the Vanguard. More Guardians are incoming. We are going to draw their attention while you get everyone to safety."

His strange helmet appeared over his face, a single-winged eye in glowing blue light being the only illumination under his black and silver hood.

"Right, let's get everyone to safety," Kaiden said to Lilith.

Before the closest swarm got too close, the booming staccato of weapons fire began officially starting the battle for Horizon and her citizens.

Zed turned and assessed, finding two massive swarms heading in each of the cardinal directions, with 1 smaller one in between.

His Fireteam was already pulling attention from more distant swarms, it was the perfect time to draw as much attention as possible.

"Dez, talk to me."

"Swarms aren't turning on us, they are flying to the ground faster!" Dez said.

"Sera, Argo! Focus on the furthest swarms now! Hail, you and me are charging!" Zed yelled.

Fireteam Hunter's FTW shared an empathetic connection like many long-lasting teams choose to do. This connection is a sort of extended Fireteam chat enabled by the Ghosts. Instead of sharing an entire conversation, each Hunter responded in quick bursts of emotions.

To anyone else, it would be a complicated and overwhelming mess, but this team has been together for years so Zed understood perfectly.

Sera sent a slightly frustrated acquiescence to his orders. Not at the orders themselves, but just the situation. She would do what needs doing but hate that she has to. She had always felt like that at the start of combat.

Argo sent a burst of worried anxiety that was layered with curiosity. He knew this was her emotion for finding new targets, but she always had a bit of hidden anxiety.

Hail was the last to respond with excited anger and hidden fear. He was terrified at the immediate failure. He had lived through the Red War and this was no different. It was an invasion that he was planning to stop with his family. His emotions conveyed all of that, recognizable to Zed.

Zed sent back his own set of emotions, a determined sort of confidence. When he shared his emotions with his Fireteam, it was like opening his heart to the 7 others that fit right in. His emotions were a shield that held his Fireteam together.

His eyes surged with Arc Light, and the small blue lights all over his armor matched. With one step he left cracks on the roof of the building he was on and flashed up 50 meters into the air.

A staff of pure Arc Light formed in his hands.

In Zed's mind's eye, his staff had a massive sphere on the end, filled with explosive Arc Light. The staff manifested and the massive sphere on the end slammed into the first wave of the Seeker Swarm.

The sky lit up as his Arc energy reflected off the darkening clouds. The Arc Light burst out in every direction, utterly annihilating any part of the swarm too slow to get away. His staff was an instrument of his destructive will.

The bugs immediately tried to disperse, but like a pinball, Zed slammed up into batch after batch of fleeing Seekers. They burst with blue energy, as he sent himself and his staff rocketing into the next one.

The other swarm had sunk to the ground and was face to face with a male Exo.

Hail didn't use his Super. He made use of a combo that he had been using for a long time to devastating effect. It was perfect for an Arc Hunter like him.

He used Combination Blow and Gambler's Dodge, two abilities that he had cultivated for years now. Every time he destroyed something with a punch, he would do more damage and excess Light would build up for his Gambler's Dodge ability, reducing the Cooldown to zero.

Since he was in a swarm, he was constantly under attack, making each Gambler's Dodge successfully activate to reset the cooldown of his melee ability. The Light would constantly build up within him until each strike was enough to destroy buildings until every enemy around him was gone.

It was perfect for dealing with Seeker Swarms.

While the two males of the Fireteam pushed forward, the ladies enacted their plans.

Argo pulled her favorite bow, the Trinity Ghoul, and aimed for the furthest bulks of Seeker swarms. She didn't need to aim and instead focused on speed.

In 5 seconds she had 20 arrows in the air, the first was impacting with devastating introductions as the last was launched.

Each arrow pierced at least one Seeker before exploding in bursts of Arc lightning. And while not every arrow triggered Lightning Rod, there were still plenty of precision kills, causing the second half of her volley to be launched with chain-lightning capabilities.

Sera didn't hesitate either. With two Drangs in her hands and Transversive Steps on her feet, she sprinted towards the distant Seeker Swarms. Both of her Drang's had the Incandescent perk, making each bullet ignite the air and enemies around it.

The Seeker Swarm became a cloud of fire.

The burned-out shells fell like rain.

Dez spoke over the Fireteam chat, "Second wave incoming! Humanoids!"

Zed stopped his sky-dancing rampage and faced the massive ship as he fell back to Horizon.

There had to be several thousand humanoids all flying down with insect-like wings that seemed to be a poor imitation of the Hive.

"Alright, Hunter's. We need to hold them off until backup arrives. Find some good firing lanes and some cover, we got work to do," Zed said.

His team agreed in another array of emotions, projecting across his consciousness.

Zed was determined to change the minds of the colonists, using his actions instead of his words.

Guardians save people, that is what they are going to do.


All four Fireteams left the Normandy in shuttles or borrowed Guardian Ships.

The Normandy shook as power gathered in the weapon's systems. Wind buffeted the shields, but the pulsing vibrations that came from the newly enhanced Tantalus Drive Core enabled the internal heat sink to completely hide the ship's thermal presence.

The fact that the Collectors hadn't reacted to the Normandy entering the upper atmosphere only meant that they either couldn't detect them or that they had and were expecting them.

Joker had EDI helping with the firing solution, and possible predictions as to a response on the Collector's part.

They had solutions in place and it would just be about reacting properly. With the new upgrades, the options at hand for the Normandy and her crew were vast.

The Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Cannon uses an electromagnetic field to shape and accelerate a stream of superheated molten metal at relativistic velocities.

Garrus had some upgrade ideas to boost the power, but they were irrelevant with the addition of Light-based materials and technology from New Terra.

Rasputin and Chief Shipwright Holliday had come up with a few design and efficiency improvements. Sapphire wire replaced the gold-based wiring of the original cannon, enabling faster and more stable power transfer. Plasteel plating, Hadronic Essences, and Enhancement Cores had gone into the reproduction of the new firing chamber.

In this chamber, an Exotic Shard wrapped in a tungsten and steel shell is superheated into a molten state. The 10 KG payload is superheated with a directed blast of Arc Light as it is guided by the Mass Effect Field. It is launched at obscene speeds with unbelievable power behind it.

"Thannix Cannons fully charged and operational. Ready to fire on your command, Joker," EDI said.

"Beautiful. Tell me when," Joker said.

"5 seconds for optimal firing range," EDI began to count down.

"This is for the Normandy," Joker said.

"Fire," EDI's monotone voice rang through the cockpit.

Joker yelled out, "BOOM BABY!" As he smashed the firing button.

The burning white line of ignited atmosphere appeared instantly.

Shockwaves from the impact on the side of the Collector Vessel blew away in rings like ripples on a pond.

The line of white light pierced entirely through the hull of the strange and rocky ship, causing massive atmosphere leaks as their shields burst with the impact.

"The upgrades to the Thannix Cannon were worth it," EDI said.

"Hell yeah, they were!" Joker said as he sent another transmission to Shepard's Shuttle.

"Target successfully bitch-slapped Commander, Joker, and the Normandy out!" Joker transmitted.

"Now, how are you going to respond?" He said, looking at the image of the huge ship.


Sam was playing a video of Normandy's attack on the Collector ship for Starfall to watch in their helmets.

The ship was held in place with its massive Mass Effect Drives, the Thannix Cannon's damage didn't even shift it, just pierced through it.

Rico spoke up, "Alright, tell them we are headed in."

He was at the controls of the Valkyrie, an accomplished pilot in his own right. He accelerated and noticed that a ship had decided to follow.

"Uhh, Garrus, are you following us?"

Zorah, Garrus's ghost spoke up, "We are following you, Fireteam Starfall."

Its mechanical voice was always surprising to Rico, but he ignored his thoughts for now, "Alright, just know we are jumping out in a few seconds."

Rico didn't hear a response and just as the window came, the Valkyrie dissolved into Light around them as it went into The Guaridan's Inventory.

Rico had Sam direct her attention behind him as Starfall flew. The Black Peregrine they had given to Garrus was also dissolving and he watched long enough to see Garrus flying alongside Keiji who was holding Kasumi in his arms.

Rico was impressed but it was no longer time to watch behind him.

A 45-degree angle down to the hole in the Collector ship made for a perfect angle.

The circle was about 10 meters in diameter, where a perfect circle left the edges of the metal surface a bright orange.

Collecter Seeker Swarms flying up and out of the ship like blood from a wound.

Rico activated his Thundercrash Super and Arc Light sparked around him. He felt the drain on his energy as the Cuirass of the Falling Star activated.

An overshield of empowered Arc Light grew as he flew forward.

He left Kira and Kessa in the wind as he zoned in on the hole.

Rico crashed through with the force and luminosity of a lightning bolt.

As soon as he entered the ship he crashed through a stone wall and burst into a huge chamber.

As he flew through, he created another entryway into the main chamber.

Platforms were already flying in his direction, and they were even nice enough to line one up with his path.

He released the arc explosion on the center of a floating platform and the squad of Collector troops on it.

They tried to shoot him, but 3 were immediately vaporized with his Super. Another was unfortunately enough to meet his Titan fist.

The Collector that ate the punch no longer had a head and Rico rolled forward.

He pulled his new baby, The Lament from his back and cleaved the next series of troops. One even tried to speak as fire and light ignited from within, "Assuming direct-"

But he carved it to pieces with the sound of a revving chainsaw Ahead, Collector forces were rallying and flying in squads of 5-10 to his location. He stood over them, Arc Light coursing through his body.

His family arrived behind him, and the Solar wings of Kira framed him as she floated behind him. A splash of Void Light heralded the arrival of Kessa, her Le Monarque already drawn and firing.

This is the sort of moment Fireteam Starfall lives for. They rushed forward into battle.


"Look's like Garrus's Fireteam is headed behind Starfall," Aurora said in Shepard's mind.

"That's fine," Shepard replied.

His helmet was off for now and he looked over to Miranda. She was double-checking something on her Omnitool and looked up at him after feeling his attention.

"It appears the upgrades were well worth it, Commander," Miranda said.

He nodded with a smile, "Anything that has Garrus giggling like a schoolgirl is a weapon I want on my ship."

She smiled and the pilot spoke over the sealed compartment speakers, "10 seconds!"

"Are you ready?" He asked.

She searched his gaze and held her hand palm up. A Ghost didn't appear, but instead, a ball of purple Biotic Energy sparked to life.

"I am," She said, the purple light reflecting in her eyes.

She closed her fist and the energy dissipated.

The shuttle landed and just behind them, the second shuttle with Zaeed's Fireteam of Jack and Grunt piled out.

"Zaeed, go east and meet at the base of the Collector Ship," Shepard ordered over comms.

"You got it, let's move!" He took off down a side street to the east, Grunt and Jack following along.

"Miranda, Mordin, on me!" Shepards said.

He was with non-Guardians now, so he had to stay on a street or on many of the pathways that carved through this new residential district.

"I am detecting no life forms in any of these houses. It appears that some evacuation was possible as the Collectors arrived," Aurora said in his mind.

He passed the information along to his Fireteam.

Miranda looked over to Shepard's fully-armored form, "Hopefully that will be the case more often than not."

Nearly 10 minutes of hiking through the streets of Horizon let them come upon the signals of Fireteam Hunter's FTW.

"I got them nearly a block ahead. They look to be holding their ground, for now, Collector corpses are lining the streets," Aurora said to his whole Fireteam this time.

"Right double time!" Rounding a corner at a fast run, they found the Guardians taking turns laying down fire at the endless forces of the Collectors. They were just close enough to the ship to impede the collection of colonists, but far enough away that an all-out charge would be devastating to Collector forces.

Judging by the corpses, Fireteam Hunter's FTW had been doing exactly that. The Collectors were sending waves and they would break as the Hunters covered each other while falling back. Only to surge forward with overwhelming force once again, the Collectors unable to keep up with determined Guardians.

"Which is their leader?" Shepard asked.

Aurora highlighted a hooded male Hunter. Black, blue, and silver colors adorned his armor and he had Arc Light constantly sparking from him.

The Hunter realized Shepard's Fireteam had arrived and turned to greet him.

"Guardians?"

"Just me, Commander Shepard, Titan. This is my second in command, Miranda Lawson, and my current science officer, Mordin Solis.

The Hunter jumped down from the crate he was on, "Alright, Zed, Leader of our little Fireteam. That's Sera, over there in the orange hood, and those two are Hail and Argo. We are all Hunters...obviously."

Zed's helmet disappeared and his handsome face took in Shepard's towering form, "You are a Titan aren't you? I heard you are the first Guardian raised since we got here...that true?"

Zed had an accent that Shepard couldn't place, but it suited him and his well-groomed beard.

"It is, been two others since me. Including a Turian," Shepard said, "But I was the first."

That drew the rest of his squad's attention. Shepard couldn't exactly tell, but it seemed like they were speaking over their own Fireteam Chat.

"A Turian, eh? That is something. And, Fireteam Starfall, they here too?" Zed asked.

"You didn't see their entrance?"

One of the female Hunters, Argo he thought, slapped the arm of the other male as if saying 'I told you so!'

"Hah! I suppose we did. Well then, you the cavalry? Ready to push into the ship?" Zed asked.

"Aurora? Where is Zaeed's team?" Shepard asked out loud. His Ghost appeared above his shoulder and the Hunter in front of him smiled at her.

"About 1 minute out, they should approach from that direction," Aurora nodded over to a nearby corner of the square they had been looking at.

Zed spoke up as his Ghost appeared, "This is Dez, good to meet you Aurora. I was one of the skeptical few as to whether or not there would be any new Guardians. I guess I am happy to be wrong in this instance."

"Always so pessimistic," Sera said with a shake of her head. She didn't reveal her face so Shepard couldn't see if she was human, awoken, or exo.

Zed pretended not to hear.

Shepard spoke up, ready to get to business, "You got a report?"

"I do. Collectors have set up about two blocks that way. We have been pushing back and retreating as they have been loading frozen people. They send out a wave of footsoldiers every time they are ready to load more. If we want to push, we have to do it with precision, missed shots have a chance to hit civilians and the coffins are not impervious," Zed said.

Dez went further, "It seems that they might be some form of hive mind. Every wave comes with one sole unit that decides to overpower at the cost of its own life. A voice speaks from the mouth of the sacrificed creature.

"It says "Assuming Direct Control."

Dez continued, "The single unit is capable of speaking while the rest remain silent. They are also capable of delivering more powerful attacks, some form of mental biotics perhaps."

They heard a loud crash in the square and everyone turned to see a huge Krogan body slam three Collector Drones with enough force to crack the earth below him. 5 more were destroyed in a second as the next wave came.

Jack's shockwave tore through them, the amount of gravitational forces being enough to split their flesh. They were ash by the end of the shockwave. Along with a wall behind that.

Zaeed didn't even fire a shot during that little skirmish, just nodding at Shepard.

"Commander, I see you are just lazing around," Zaeed said with a smirk.

"Hey, that's our job!" Zed said with a laugh.

Two of his teammates laughed at that.

Shepard got everyone's attention and spoke up, "Alright! We are moving as a full Raid team! Goal number one is to board that ship and save anyone and everyone we can. Goal number 2, wipe out any Collectors along the way! Let's go!"

"Commander!" Miranda called.

"What is it?"

She nodded to Mordin, "We have incoming. I think they know you are here, Shepard."

"Alright! Let's take them down! Fireteam Hunter's FTW, you guys flank, figure out how to hit them from behind, and do it!" Shepard ordered.

Zed replied, "You got it, Commander!"

"I am going straight down the middle. Zaeed, Grunt, and Jack...try to keep up!" Shepard said.

"What the fuck!? We have killed way more of these bugs than your ugly ass so far! Don't act like we can't hear the coms!" Jack said.

Shepard studiously ignored her.

"Move out!"

Shepard took off at a run, only to note that he couldn't see any of the Hunters. He supposed it meant that they were doing their jobs.

One block away he heard it, "ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."

The Collector Captain leading the next wave was already preparing for their advance, sacrificing what remained of his life for a few minutes of power.

Turning the corner, Shepard came up short.

A single glowing and Possessed Collector Captain was walking in front of the 4 monstrosities that held dozens of tormented humanoids within their mouths.

"Praetorians, use around 30 corrupted human Husks to create each one of these monstrosities. They have powerful biotic attacks, particle cannons, and a barrier," Aurora reported to his whole squad.

Along with the Praetorians were a whole group of Collector ground forces.

Shepard walked forward at a slow pace at first, the Possessed Captain spoke.

"Shepard, you have no chance at victory," The Captain then raised his arm and Seeker Swarms appeared from the ship.

It wasn't like the normal brand though. Instead, they spiraled down and condensed into a Seeker Plague that threaded the gaps between the oncoming forces.

The Seekers acted like spears as they rushed forward at the Raid team.

"Everyone on me!" Shepard yelled, then implemented the shield ability that Commander Zavala had taught him.

A Void Sphere surrounded the Raid group and the first tendrils of the tide of Seeker's began to impact the shield.

Different than bugs hitting a car windshield, they completely disappeared as the Void Light devoured them.

"Miranda! Reinforce my shield with a biotic barrier! Those Praetors are about to attack!" Shepard yelled.

The rest of the Fireteam was spraying into the oncoming swarm, but it was throwing darts into a crashing wave and hoping it would stop.

There were tens of thousands and they just kept coming.

It got worse when the row of Praetors, now 6 in number, began to glow with purple light.


Despite Garrus being the leader of this Fireteam, he wasn't used to this much direct stealth. Usually, it was as simple as sneaking around to some buildings, into some air ducts, or even through some bushes followed by waiting for hours on end. But trying to keep up with these two little thieves was starting to piss him off.

"Alright, where are we-"

"Shhh!" A whisper in his left ear hole said. If he had any air left in his lungs it would have come out like a squeal. Thankfully, for now, he instead just had to calm down while these invisible teammates of his did their thing.

"It is okay Garrus, these two know what they are doing," Zorah said. His Ghost had always had robotic lilts in her speech patterns, but he liked it.

He still couldn't see Kasumi, even with his enhanced Guardian senses. She was a ghost in her own right as she silently walked around.

Keiji wasn't any better, his new armor made trying to spot him in these dark corridors damn near impossible, and he also had some weird form of nearly perfect invisibility, though he only used it in quiet bursts of Void Light.

They had broken off from Fireteam Starfall almost immediately and found some side corridors. Several times the group hid, by laying in questionable bio-material or behind some horrifying casket.

Oddly enough, the gravity of the ship had shifted at one point. It was clear that the Collector Vessel was designed with the ability to change its orientation. Even the floating platforms were connected on heavily reinforced mass effect fields, making them as stable as the surface of Horizon below them.

After nearly 20 minutes of this hide-and-seek bullshit, Garrus was ready to take some shots at the next thing with more than two eyes. And there were no Batarians on this planet.

The explosions had died down since they left Fireteam Starfall and they had finally found some terminals in which they could interact.

Garrus copied Shepard's move to summon Zorah. The Ghost came out and scanned the terminal. 10 seconds later Zorah reported.

"This is the ship that destroyed the last Normand-YYY. There are 345 humans on board and they were stopped from loading the most recent batch," Zorah dug through their files like mad until some sort of intelligence took the screen over.

The panel began to surge with power and Garrus pulled Zorah into her space. Garrus dodged with an Arc-enhanced roll, just as the panel exploded.

"I couldn't find out how they make it through the Omega-3 Relay," Zorah said over Fireteam chat.

"345 humans, we need to find them!" Keiji said over the comms. The anger in his voice made the communication louder somehow, but it was clear what information he cared about.

"I am delivering the data now," Zorah said.

Parker replied, "I got it! Highlighting the areas in your HUD now!"

Keiji acknowledged it

Kasumi did have a tactical display, but it was on her wrist, so she would have to look at that to see a heat map of the living humans on the ship.

"I am surprised they have so many already. Especially with the other Guardians engaging them," Garrus commented.

Keiji's anger flared, "Those bastards! We need to save them now!"

Kasumi put a delicate hand on his shoulder, "We will. What do you think Garrus?"

"Zorah?" Garrus asked.

Garrus's Ghost wasted no time and spoke over their Fireteam chat, "The majority of the Collector Forces have been gathering in two different areas. Most are at the several exits in the back of the ship, and the distraction point where Fireteam Starfall is. The storage space for the colonists is temporary as they were concentrating on loading as many as possible until Shepard was spotted."

"They want Shepard more than the colonists," Garrus said with realization.

Keiji spoke up, "So we start leading people out? Sneak them past Collector Defenses?"

"There is no way, they have to have internal surveillance of some sort. Even if they are distracted those people are their 'loot' so to speak," Kasumi said.

"It's that or we completely clear the ship. How many more soldiers do they have? Swarms?" Keiji asked.

"Too many for us, but maybe Starfall and Shepard can do something about it. We need to be ready to secure the loading bays and figure out how to get everyone off the ship," Garrus finished. "Don't forget, everyone in pods is paralyzed as well. We will need to figure out a way to move them."


Jack had seen this new level of power. Guardians they were called, jumping around like fucking lightning-covered ping-pong balls.

Fucking superheroes.

Jack shook her head, before looking at the giant wrecking ball disguised as a Krogan, "You down to fuck shit up?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind, SHEPARD! MY TURN!" She yelled, determined to show these Guardians that she can fuck around too.

Jack stepped in front of Shepard and his cheerleader, gathering her biotic energy as if it were liquid rage. She stared into the swarming mass of bugs as they smashed into the windshield.

"FUCK YOU!" Jack screamed and slammed an open palm forward.

Cascading shockwaves of biotic death smashed through everything in front of her.

Her open hand was the point that broke the glass of reality. Gravity and biotic fury destroyed thousands of bugs in an instant.

The Shockwave continued onward until it smashed into the first two praetorians who were advancing behind the Seeker Plague.

"FUCK YEAH!" Grunt yelled, displaying some of the new vocabulary Zaeed and Jack had been teaching him.

"That's how it's done!" Jack yelled.

"Damn right it is," Zaeed said as he started firing his assault rifle.

Shepard nodded, "Well done, Fireteams! Give 'em hell!"

Everyone started firing, but that included the Collector forces.

The single Possessed Collector soldier was taken down in seconds, acting as a beacon for everyone to shoot at.

Mordin activated his Incinerate Module on his Omnitool, targeting the overwhelming source of power coming from the possessed.

Zaeed's logic was simple enough, shoot the brightest fucker on the field, so he threw lead in that direction as well.

Miranda joined in, noting the lack of an Overshield or Biotic Barrier, she targeted it with her Warp ability.

Shepard launched his Void Grenade at the Praetorians on the left, he began pushing in that direction.

A few combat rolls let him dodge the weaker Shockwaves from the three. In just a few seconds he was at the first Praetorian, promising to clean his gun the moment the fight was done, he let A Sudden Death burst the top of its head. The abomination of flesh and steel wavered as more projectiles left holes through its structure. It died as he pushed off of it to take down the next.

Shepard could appreciate the open-palm stuff that Jack and the Guardian use for their attacks, but it wasn't his style.

His Void-covered fist crashed through the next praetorian head, causing partial disintegration.

The last one was prepared though, and launched a particle beam through the other one's head. It impacted Shepard's chest and broke through his Light Barrier with the detonation of the one he stood on. It wasn't enough to even leave a mark on his armor, but he had been taking shots from dozens of Drones and Seekers already.

His shield burst as he rolled backward off the dead praetor. He had cover coming from his Fireteam, but he rolled back towards them all the same.

"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL."

"John, your Super is ready," Aurora said.

"Perfect."

His shields filled as Light coursed through him.

Void tendrils reached out like a Kraken seeking its prey.

On top of grabbing all of the nearby drones and the remaining Praetor, he had also grasped nearly 50 Seekers and the single possessed.

With one devastating pull, Shepard turned the field of Collectors into void dust, scattered to the wind.

Miranda wasted no time scouting around and found that another wave of praetors and soldiers were headed down from the ship. The second they hit the ground Fireteam Hunter's FTW engaged.

The exact moment the squad of Collectors touched the ground, Argo activated her Moebius Quiver Super, bursting out of invisibility with a Void Bow in hand.

The entire incoming squad was tethered and began opening fire at the construct of Light. It did nothing and it didn't save them from the rest of the squad.

Sera popped out with her own Super active, a unique version of the Golden Gun, and unleashed hell upon the tethered Collectors.

Her two pistols ignited everything as the Solar Light made contact with her targets.

Both Zed and Hail popped out with grenade launchers to add a bit of zest to the stir.

Nothing remained on the ground after the Hunters.

Shepard nodded to Zed and his Fireteam, "Good work. Aurora, get me in contact with Starfall."


Fireteam Starfall had found their perfect training room.

An entire atrium filled with Collector Drones that were just waking up from stasis.

Rico watched as countless yellow eyes focused on them.

He had just been about to pull an LMG out when Kessa coughed.

Rico looked over to see her holding a sword. He could almost feel the delicate eyebrow above her left eye raise. It was obvious what she meant though.

A single nod to her right had him glancing at Kira's sword. It seemed she wanted to keep it simple as she was once again using the Goldtusk. She had been favoring that sword recently.

A smile went across the mental image of his face and he spoke to Sam, "I guess it's time for the Lament."

Green particle beams began to trace their afterimages, as all three Guardians ducked into battle.

The Guardian went up, with a boosted jump, slicing through the first row of flying Collector Drones.

Kessa dropped a grenade and went invisible as she sprinted to the far side of the room. Periodically, purple slashed lines would appear on Drones with no idea that they had just been destroyed by her.

Rico tossed an Arc Grenade and spun through the first ranks of drones. They had come too close.

He continued his charge as the perfectly placed Arc grenade went off in the nearest isle of weird pods. This had to be some strange Collector resting place, where each of the drones can get fixed or regrown or whatever the fuck bugs do.

Sam spoke into his ear, "It seems like power is building up. They don't have a central reactor system, but a series of overlapping power cores, all tied to the same network."

"How many?" Rico asked.

"Hundreds."

"Knocking the power out is out of the question then?"

"Well, maybe," Sam switched to Fireteam Chat, "The technology on this ship is strange, but everything is built as part of a larger whole. They have so many redundancies, it's like fighting a Krogan."

Kessa responded, "I don't get it."

Her Ghost laughed, "The Krogan have a bunch of secondary and tertiary organs-"

"Adam, please stop saying tertiary organs, okay?" Kessa pleaded.

"Understood."

Rico brought them back on task, grunting as he bisected another 4 drones, "So how do we stop it?"

"I don't think we can. Even with the damage the Normandy did, the ship is still running at 96.53% efficiency," Sam reported.

Ghost also inputted from inside Kira's storage, "There isn't even a bridge or a command center. The entire Mass Effect field acts as a receiving array that also controls all of the systems, power distribution, and even the engines. This ship isn't controlled by anyone here, it is remotely operated and the only way to stop it would be destruction."

That left the Guardians and their Ghost quiet as they thought about that.

Kessa broke the silence, "Then we go find Garrus and get everyone off of this ship before it leaves...it's like a fishing net they send out into the galaxy to collect humans."

"It is quite disturbing," Adam said.

"Once this room is cleared, I recommend backtracking to the main hall to get to the back of the ship," Sam added. "Dropping a waypoint now."

"Got it! Starfall, wipe 'em out!"


Kaiden quickly realized the problems with trying to unpack everyone from the Collector Pods. He could blast through them quickly enough, but everyone was still paralyzed with the injections from the Seeker Swarms, leaving free but frozen humans.

The only hope came in the form of built-in systems for every pod. They already had Mass Effect Field Generators within the pods, which is how they moved them throughout and even onto the ship.

The best idea for using this was to chuck the pods from the open bay doors they were loaded into, hoping that they wouldn't just drop to the ground and that the Mass Effect Fields would let them slowly drop.

"Can we at least test this first?" Garrus asked. His words were accompanied by a loud bang as another drone had tried the hallway he had been covering.

"I mean, we probably should, but we don't have time to watch it fall, we have a few hundred to move!" Keiji replied.

"It should be fine, the pods have enough power to make it to the ground with mass effect fields still in operation. We just need to ensure that they are activated before they are sent out and that the ship can't take control of them somehow," Parker said.

Kasumi spoke up, "So we have to activate them to move them anyway, right?"

"We should be able to do it in groups of 10-30 or so, depending on location," Zorah added. Her mechanical voice came at a faster pace than normal, and a bit of worry laced her words.

The emotions of the Ghost weren't shared with the entire Fireteam, but only with its Guardian.

Garrus glanced at her and spoke mentally.

"We will be fine, you just focus on activating those pods, and we will get them out of here, alright?"

Zorah nodded, but also sent a word, "Right."

"Let's start with the furthest-" Garrus was interrupted.

"Fireteam Archangel, this is Starfall, copy?" Rico's voice rang.

Garrus failed to hold back a cringe at his nickname.

Zorah connected him, "Rico? We found the colonists, did you find anything?"

"Yeah, this ship isn't going down unless we fully destroy it. We are headed to you guys."

"Negative, here is a heat map of our colonists. Leave them in the pods and activate the floating...stuff. Zorah, tell them," Garrus said, firing his Albruna-D, he headshot a wandering Collector Drone.

One shot, one kill.

Zorah sent a packet of information, including how to break the cyber security of the pods, where to find them, and the routes out.

"How positive are we that the pods will make it out?" Kessa asked.

"We are positive, that's for sure," Garrus replied.

"Great."

Over the next 10 minutes, 76 out of 345 pods were unloaded.

Another three waves of soldiers were fighting them and another Collector squad somehow loaded another 26 pods.

It was Shepard's Fireteam that took them down. He flew up with his Titan abilities, Miranda on his back.

Aurora wasted no time as she caught up with the other Ghosts, via Raid Chat. She hacked the pods, reinstated the mass effect fields and Shepard sent them floating off the ship.

The pods were extremely durable, but direct sustained damage could be a problem. They pushed them so they floated away from the blast radius of the ship's massive engines.

More and more fell from the sky.

125 out of 371.

142.

156.

181.

201.

242.

263.

291.

322.

345.

The Collector ship began to shudder as the remaining Seeker Swarms all turned back for the ship. The drones that had been hiding for the right moment all flew up and returned to the ship, leaving their captured colonists behind.

"Engines are starting! We need to hurry!" Rico yelled.

"Alright, everyone grab another batch and jump off, we can do this!" Shepard yelled.

Each of Starfall grabbed sections of pods, their Ghosts activating them and controlling the fields being the only way to move them.

Garrus was next as he threw his group out.

Keiji and Shepard were the last two.

364 out of 371.

The Collector Ship's engine had enough power to level the city, but thankfully they didn't apply that much thrust when they left the atmosphere, merely causing harsh winds and broken windows.

Shepard cursed as he looked at the group of pods.

"Alright, we can't send them out into space without crossing the Mass Effect fields...it would be like sending them through a...well, they wouldn't survive," Shepard said. "What are our options?"

Keiji's mind was set on a specific memory:

FLASHBACK - Two Days Ago, New Terra. 12:53 AM.

"Hey, Keiji? Are you awake?"

Keiji looked up at the figure leaning over him in his room.

"What the fuck, Cayde?" Keiji said, his voice rough from sleep.

Kasumi was asleep but woke up with Keiji's response.

"Hey, no need for violence, I can tell you guys are angry or something, but I really needed to speak with you before you leave tomorrow and I am absolutely sleeping in. So, I thought I would just stop by for a second," Cayde said, still leaning too close for comfort.

"Okay, lights," Keiji said. Kasuumi hid under the covers.

"I just wanted to tell you a story. It's a great one. One from the books. And don't worry, there were no roosters involved!" Cayde said reassuringly.

Keiji shook his head, "Are you being serious right now?"

"This is my serious face, can't you tell?" Cayde said.

It was met with silence.

"Anyways, here's what happened..." Cayde told the entire story of Nexus, perfectly altered to make him sound awesome as he saved the Guardian from the devious portal trap. A true damsel-in-distress situation.

"So, in honor of moving people to different places, I just wanted to give you this," Cayde said.

"This is a sheet of paper," Keiji said.

"Yeah, a very important one, so don't lose it."

"First step, get Portal Machine. Second step, use Portal Machine-" Keiji was reading and was interrupted by Cayde.

"It's a very detail-oriented and well-written manual on how to use the Portal machine."

"The one from the story?"

"The very same."

"And you have it?"

"The story?"

"No, Cayde, the fucking portal machine!" Keiji said.

"Ah, of course." He waved his hand and a strange metallic device appeared in a splash of light.

"Behold, the awesome Portal Machine that I totally invented!" Cayde said, revealing the strange disc-like device.

"What is that?"

"Did you not just hear what I said?"

It took some time to process what was happening, but eventually, Keiji looked over to Cayde.

"You are saying that this is a portal machine? How many people can go through it?" Keiji asked.

"It's not so much about how many people, more about how long it can stay open for," Cayde clarified.

"How does that work?"

"The machine isn't sending people somewhere, it's opening a path between two points," Cayde explained. "What goes through doesn't matter cause it's just a path."

"Right...how long can it stay open?"

"That depends on what is going on, you know?"

"How long?" Keiji asked, getting tired of his shit.

"Between 2 minutes and 16 hours. Maybe?" Cayde answered, very specifically.

Keiji shook his head, the numbers not processing, "How does that even work?"

Cayde sighed, "Yeah, I have no idea. Just ask your Ghost or something, alright?"

"But can it go between moving targets?"

"Everything is moving all the time, of course it can," He explained.

Keiji shook his head, ready to respond but found himself unable to, as the statement was true.

"The other question, that you haven't asked yet I might add, is how far does it go?" Cayde asked again, leaning against the large window with the Last City sprawled out behind him.

"And?"

"Are you gonna ask?"

Keiji sighed but a muffled voice called out from under the covers, "Just ask him!"

He sighed again, "How far does it go?"

"I have no idea."

Flashback End.

"I got it! Just bring them to me!" Keiji yelled out. "Parker!"

"On it!" His little Ghost popped up as it brought the Portal Machine out and began synching it.

Within seconds all the Ghosts had been sharing processing power, and the information behind the activation of the portal was being taken into account. They had to calculate the distance as well as their increased movement rate and constantly adjust.

Shepard didn't hesitate, trusting the tone in Keiji's voice. He hadn't known the new Guardian for long, but Shepard could trust that Keiji would do everything he could to save these colonists. After his loss and first death on Zaeed's mission, the fire in his eyes only burned brighter.

"Let's go! Get those pods here and line them up!" Shepard said.

The few remaining pods were moved away from the open bay doors, the mass effect fields were in full effect. Horizon was quickly disappearing as the ship accelerated out of the atmosphere.

Mordin came over and was scanning the work of Keiji and his Ghosts when a white portal opened.

"Alright! Send them through!" Keiji yelled.

Parker spoke up in Raid Chat, "The portal can stay open until the Collector Vessel enters FTL. That means we have about 1 minute and 42 seconds until we leave the gravity well of Horizon. It is over after that!"

"GO GO GO! Everyone get through!" Shepard called.

Aurora filled Shepard in on the findings of Starfall. How the ship is remote-controlled by the same entity that has been possessing troops. She told him about how the ship is already connected to the defense network of their home base, but nothing else about how to get through the gate.

The mystery of the Omega-4 Relay could just be that the Collectors kill anyone who makes it through.

It was too much to process for now so he just helped shove the pods through the portal.

In seconds all the pods were through, Mordin and Miranda were waiting with him, Garrus's Fireteam was standing by the portal and Fireteam Starfall was ready to go.

"How do we get this device out of here?" Shepard asked, noticing the dilemma.

Parker appeared above Keiji's shoulder and spoke, "Easy! It will just teleport once I activate the countdown timer!"

"To Horizon?"

"Right to the location the portal last opened up!" Parker said, excitement coursing through his voice.

"Do it!" Shepard said, then made sure everyone was through.

He stumbled through to a surprisingly stark silence.

Shepard looked up, the afternoon sky of Horizon turning a mixture of oranges and teals. The haze from the engines of the Collector ship was floating away and the vestiges of the pressure storm were dispersing.

The beautiful sight of hundreds of pods containing the saved colonists filled Shepard's gaze. While a few might have died, none were taken for whatever horrible fate awaited them with that ship.

Moments later the Portal Machine appeared with a flash of light, Keiji and Parker pocketed it later.

"I think this counts as a win, Shepard," Miranda said from his side.

Aurora made his helmet disappear, revealing a smiling face, "It was definitely a win."

Miranda smiled back. It was then that the other Fireteam of Guardians walked up.

Shepard nodded at them, "Great job, Hunter's."

Zed laughed, "Absolutely. When we heard there was a chance at a good fight, there was no way we weren't going to show up."

Dez popped over the Hunter's shoulder, "It's only natural that our squad found the fighting!"

Shepard chuckled at the Ghost's attitude, she fit in with this group of Hunters it seemed.

"Shepard?"

He turned to see an armored Kaiden Alenko walking towards him, and some other people with the weight of authority on their shoulders were in his wake as well. Immediately, Shepard could tell that the last 2 years for Kaiden had been rough, but even with his dark expression, there were hints of a deeper resolve within it.

Shepard clasped his former crew member's hand, "Kaiden, you doing alright?"

"I thought you were dead, Commander. We all did," Kaiden said.

Shepard nodded, "I was, Miranda here, my XO on the Normandy, and her staff gave up 2 years of their lives and who knows how much money to bring me back."

Kaiden's face darkened, "You're with Cerberus now?"

Shepard sighed, seeing an argument coming, "I represent a lot of things these days, Kaiden. I am a Spectre of the Council, a Commander of a Cerberus-made ship, a member of the N7 Special Forces program, and last but certainly not least, a Guardian of the Last City. So saying that I am Cerberus or working for them is just false."

Kaiden shook his head, "The reports were true then..."

"What reports might that be?" Shepard questioned.

"Alliance intel thought Cerberus might be behind the missing Human Colonies," Kaiden said.

Miranda scoffed at that but didn't say anything.

"I received a tip that Horizon might be the next one to get hit. Anderson stone-walled me on your information, but there were rumors about you both working for the enemy and for the Guardians..."

"At this point, I am operating as a Guardian. No more, no less. My crew might be Cerberus originally, but they are working towards the safety of the same human colonies just like Horizon."

"Do you really believe that?! Or is that just what Cerberus wants you to think?" Kaiden shook his head, "I wanted to believe the rumors that you were alive but I never expected anything like this! You've turned your back on everything you stood for!"

Shepard's gaze went cold and it was clear he was two seconds from punching the raging Kaiden.

It was Rico that finally spoke, "Alenko, right?"

This drew his attention and prevented Shepard from cracking him.

"Rico-77, what are you doing here? And all of Fireteam Starfall as well," He nodded at them.

"Of course, we are here," Kessa's helmet disappeared, "We are working with Titan Shepard...you seem to know him?"

Kaiden didn't answer the question as Rico continued but he didn't have to.

"Look, Alenko, Starfall personally delivered Aurora to Shepard. He was recruiting Archangel and Dr. Mordin Solus on Omega, not working for Cerberus, but acquiring a squad of people to help save the colonies. There is no Cerberus in this picture besides his XO and the crew. And from what we have seen, they are more interested in helping Shepard complete his mission than anything else, right Miranda?"

The frustrated frown on her beautiful features smoothed out at Rico's words, "That is correct Rico, my primary mission is to ensure the safety of human colonies. I answer primarily to Shepard and his mission. Anything dealing with Cerberus is secondary to that mission, one that I have been working towards for 2 years now."

One of Miranda's powers had to be talking people into a corner so there was no other way to go besides accepting her argument.

This left Kaiden frustrated, but Shepard put the final nail in the coffin.

"If you are trying to save the colonies from the Collectors, then join me. You said that you thought I was gone, that I have given up on everything that I stood for. I say that is bullshit. I died, and then I stood back up to continue fighting for everything I believe in. Cerberus just helped until I met Aurora." Shepard said but wasn't finished.

"If you can't see past the name, then come see for yourself. I challenge you to do that, just like I challenged you to be all you can when we went up against Saren. The stakes have only raised since then, we know the collectors are working with the Reapers, just like Saren was," He explained.

"Cerberus could be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you! What if they are behind it? What if they are working with the Collectors?" Kaiden said.

It was then that the rest of the people listening, including all of Fireteam Hunter's FTW, Starfall, and the rest began to get sick of Kaiden's disrespect.

Laughter came from Zaeed, but he couldn't help himself from speaking, "Listen, kid, you sound like a goddamn conspiracy theorist. We aren't working for Cerberus and they don't work with the goddamn Collectors. We work for Commander Shepard. He's the only one we answer to, and he's who is calling the shots."

Garrus also spoke up, "Kaiden, open your eyes. We are Guardians," He summoned Zorah. "We aren't working for Cerberus, and Keiji and I are also Guardians now. We are here because Shepard asked us to be."

"There is more as well," Rico said, "We found proof that the Collector ship is remotely controlled from beyond the Omega-4 Relay. This was the same ship that destroyed the original Normandy."

Shepard knew that the Guardians had his records, but to hear it full out from Rico like that was surprising.

Kaiden felt cornered for a minute but finally started to listen. He took a good frustrated look at the Commander.

"Come with us Kaiden, take the fight to the real enemy. The Reapers."

A good sigh left his lips, "Alright, Commander...I guess that was a hell of a save for Horizon."

"This is only the start, we have a lot more work to do."

Shepard and his crew made a whole series of allies that day, as no colonists were taken by the Collectors. The leader of the city, a human named Lilith, personally thanked Shepard with a tear-filled gaze.