Horizon

Normandy, 2185, September 15th 5:03 AM

A rustling causes me to open my eyes, finding myself facing a large couch. Whose couch is that? Oh, right. I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. What was I thinking? I should know by now not to sleep with people I work with.

Sitting up, I spot Miranda at the end of her bed, slipping her uniform over her shoulders, the front still unzipped. Our eyes meet momentarily, and I'm reminded of the night we shared. It was exhilarating, passionate, and pretty damn good.

"Your clothes are folded on the coffee table," Miranda mentions, doing up the front of her uniform.

"Oh, thanks." I get out of the bed and make my way to the table.

She passes by me, tidying up her bed. "I was just about to wake you. Mess Sergeant Gardner will be in the mess hall soon."

I pull on my underwear and glance over my shoulder at her. "And you want me gone by then. I know how this works."

"The crew expects me to be professional." She adjusts the pillows, not even looking at me.

I quickly pull on my pants, realising I don't have my boots here. Well, I needed to go back to Riley's room for my weapons anyway. Hopefully, Riley isn't there.

"I know." I tug my shirt over my head. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

After finishing with the bed, she approaches me, eyeing me carefully. "You can't tell anyone about this. It can't happen again, Vex."

"I was feeling bad and you were stressed out." I shrug. "I know what this is, Miranda." Honestly, what does she take me for? I'm basically a professional at casual hookups by now.

"Thank you for understanding," she says, her tone serious. "Now, can you go before Mess-"

"I got it, chill out," I cut in with an eye roll. Making my way around her desk, I pause when I reach the door, turning back to her.

She's already seated, turning on her terminal. Typical. Once she unlocks the door, I swiftly cross the empty mess hall, making a beeline for the elevator.

Normandy, 2185, September 15th 5:17 AM

The bedroom door glides open with a loud whoosh, shattering my chances of sneaking in. Great. I poke my head into the room, scanning for movement. Empty bed, empty desk. Maybe she isn't here?

Stepping inside, I move swiftly towards the stairs. As I reach the top step, I hear the distinct sound of the bathroom door opening. Fuck.

"What are you doing?" Riley's voice cuts through the air, sounding more curious than angry.

I turn to see her standing by the bathroom with her arms folded across her chest. What am I supposed to say to her after last night? I know what she really thinks now.

"I'm just here to get dressed and grab my weapons," I answer, feeling slightly awkward.

"Okay." She nods, her expression softening. "Where did you go last night?"

I hesitate, I can't tell her the truth. "I was around."

She lets out a sigh, shaking her head. "You don't have to tell me."

"Thanks." I turn and head down the stairs.

As I pull my weapon case out from under the couch, Riley follows me. I know she wants to talk about it, but I can't right now.

"I don't want things to be strained between us, Vex," she speaks up, sounding concerned.

I meet her gaze. That's not what I was expecting. "It's fine, Riles. We're good." I offer a small smile.

She eyes me curiously. "I'm here for you if you ever need me."

"I know." I don't want things to be bad between us either, but she needs to give me time.

"I'll let you get ready." She grabs onto the railing. "We're meeting in the shuttle bay at seven."

"I'll be there on time." I appreciate that she's leaving it for now.

With a nod, she makes her way up the stairs, leaving me to prepare for the mission.

Normandy, 2185, September 15th 6:56 AM

With my armour on, I stride into the shuttle bay, taking note of where everyone is. Jacob and Grunt are having a conversation across the room as Riley discusses something with the shuttle pilot. Miranda, however, is standing off to the side by herself.

Reflecting on last night, I guess I was being impulsive. I wasn't thinking, I just wanted to feel better, which I mean, I do. But, if I'm being honest, it wasn't the best way to go about it. Though, at least the sex was really, really good.

Shrugging, I step over to Miranda. "Are you ready to go?" I wonder if she's still willing to talk to me after everything.

She meets my gaze, her expression unreadable as she studies me. "Yes," she replies simply, not giving much away. "We've made the necessary preparations."

"We can't plan for everything, Miranda." I raise an eyebrow.

"I'm well aware of that." She sounds cold like she's trying to seem composed. "But, that's not an excuse to be reckless. It's important to stay focused on the mission."

"Relax." I hold my arms up defensively. That almost felt targeted. "I know what I'm doing,"

"I know." She sighs, her features softening slightly. "I'm not doubting you. This mission is delicate and we can't afford to fail." I see we're actually going to pretend nothing happened.

I give her a small, reassuring smile. It's probably for the best. "We're not going to-"

"All right!" Riley calls out. Stepping forward, she gets everyone's attention. "Shuttle's prepped," she gestures over her shoulder. "Let's go."

Everyone files onto the shuttle and I sit across from Miranda, between Riley and Jacob. Grunt almost hits his head as he scrambles in and finds a seat beside Miranda. Usually, I would laugh at that, but right now I'm feeling a little nervous.

Purgatory wasn't supposed to be a big mission, so the shuttle ride wasn't so tense. Right now, however, there's a huge fucking chance that this mission is big. It's almost guaranteed. I can't let it get to me, I need to be my best and prove that I deserve to be here.

"You'll be fine," Jacob whispers reassuringly.

"Thanks," I mutter back, feeling grateful that he's trying to help.

Jacob doesn't fit my idea of a Cerberus goon. I always imagined someone cold, strict, and heartless. Someone like Miranda. Though, if I'm being honest, I don't think she's really heartless, the other two things sure, but not heartless.

"Don't mention it." Jacob gives me a quick smile.

I let a few moments pass before giving Jacob a smirk. "So boss," I begin playfully. "What are my chances of getting a scram pulsar if I put in a requisition form?"

He chuckles at that. "Try and find out."

"Don't tempt me." I raise an eyebrow. "I might actually do it."

"I might be able to pull some strings," Jacob offers with a smirk. "If you do well today."

"Really?" If he's being serious, then... "I'll snipe my ass off." As I finish speaking, I hear Riley clear her throat, reminding me of the situation. I quickly add, "If the colony is under attack."

"That's the spirit," Jacob says with a nod.

"Plus if it gets rejected, I'll just buy my own." I shrug. "I'd just rather spend Cerberus' credits."

Miranda narrows her eyes at me. "The funds Cerberus provides are to be used appropriately."

"And they will be." I grin widely at her. "A scram pulsar will highly improve-what the fuck is that?"

My smile fades as a massive ship comes into view out the window behind Miranda. It's like a giant wasp nest, letting out a cloud of dust that's darkening the sky. The ship's metallic surface gleams in the distant sunlight, but there's something ominous about it. Rows of strange spikes line its hull, resembling twisted tendrils. As we get closer, the ship's size becomes obvious, casting a shadow over the colony that seems tiny beside it. The sight sends a shiver down my spine.

Miranda turns in her seat, glancing out the window. "It's a collector ship," she says in astonishment.

A part of me always held onto doubt. Collectors, even Reapers... they all seemed like distant nightmares. But now, with the collector ship right in front of me, the harsh reality sinks in. It's not a nightmare, it's real. Denial is no longer an option.

A sinking feeling settles in my stomach as the shuttle lands. How are we supposed to stop something this massive? No, I can't think like that. Innocent lives are at stake and they need me to do my job. I won't let them down.

I check my gear one final time before exiting the shuttle. The scattering of trees and patches of grass create a nice view, the vibrant green stands out against the swarms of seekers. In the distance, I can make out some GARDIAN lasers, a reminder of what we're doing here.

"All right, Mordin," Riley begins, turning towards the colony. "Are you sure these upgrades will protect us?"

"Certainty impossible," his voice cracks through my comm. "But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms. In theory."

"In theory?" Miranda asks, stepping out of the shuttle.

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

"That's comforting, Mordin," I state, trying to lighten the mood as I watch the group take up the diamond formation ahead of me.

We start heading into the colony, finding ourselves in a cargo area. As we enter, the air is thick with tension. Three bug-ish humanoid creatures glide down from above. I instinctively get into cover, my heart pounding in my chest as the others do the same.

Aiming at one of them, I notice on my visor that it has a kinetic barrier. They have barriers? What are these things? The collectors?

They start firing at us, so I squeeze the trigger, watching as the shot rips through its barrier and takes it out. I begin reloading as the others start shooting.

"Two more incoming," Miranda warns, throwing some biotic bullshit at one of them.

Looking up, I shoot one out of the air. "More like one now." As I'm setting up another shot, the squad takes care of the rest.

"Clear," Riley states, stepping out of cover to inspect one of the corpses.

I step closer, eyeing the lifeless body at my feet. Its insect-like features are unsettling. They're unlike anything I've seen before. I look up at Riley. "Are these-"

"Collectors?" Riley finishes for me. "Yes."

"Shit." I kick the body with my boot. "Well." I meet Riley's eyes. "I believe you without a doubt now, Riles."

There's a small hint of what seems like sadness in her eyes. "Glad to hear it. Now, let's move on and save these people." Riley gestures for the group to retake formation as we prepare to push further into the colony.

From what I can tell, we're still on the outskirts, surrounded by farmland and cargo. The collector ship must be on the opposite end of the colony. We'll likely see more resistance the further we go, but it's hard to tell without a full picture of the situation.

"Comman…-tting all kinds...-ference. We can't maintai…" Joker's broken voice cracks over the comm.

"That can't be good," I mutter, wincing at the distortion in my ear.

Miranda glances back at me. "The collectors must be disrupting communication." Yeah, that makes sense.

"We're on our own now," Riley says. "Don't stray too far from the group, Vex."

"You got it." It wouldn't be a good idea to split up when we can't communicate. I'm a little disappointed though, I was looking forward to doing a bit of scouting, but it is what it is.

We head down a path, making our way towards a small lunch area outside of some abandoned buildings. There's an eerie silence, making me feel like we should have gotten here sooner.

Riley comes to a sudden halt as a faint buzz fills the air. "Get ready, more incoming," she orders before taking cover.

Four collectors swoop in, unleashing a barrage of gunfire. I've never seen anything like the weapons they're using before, but those things look like they pack a punch, so we scramble to avoid being hit.

Seeing an opportunity to test out my new toy, I dash towards the buildings and activate my thruster to propel myself onto the roof. It's shaky and I can't even fly straight, but I manage to land on the rooftop, almost falling over in the process. I need to work on my landing.

It seems the squad managed to take out one of the collectors. I pull up my sniper, ready to help, when something catches my eye. What the fuck is that running along the buildings? A group of blue mechanical human things?

The one in front rushes towards the group, so I quickly take a shot at its head. It goes down immediately. Nice to know they can't take a hit. There are a few more, but Grunt has it covered.

After reloading and scoping in again, I take out one of the remaining collectors. The rest of them don't last much longer after that. Lucky for us, there doesn't seem to be any reinforcements joining the fight.

Stepping off the roof, I glide safely to the ground. That went much smoother than getting up there. At least the thruster is proving to be a useful addition.

As I approach the team, they're examining one of those human-like creatures. "Those things are fucking creepy," I remark, keeping a few feet of distance. They make me feel uncomfortable.

"They look like the husks the geth used on Eden Prime," Riley observes, kneeling next to the thing.

"The geth got that technology from Sovereign," Miranda adds, placing a hand on her hip.

I remember hearing the name from some news reports a few years back during the Citadel attack. "Wasn't that the Reaper you killed?" I hope the answer is no.

"Yes," Riley confirms, standing back up.

Fuck.

"So," Jacob interjects. "The Illusive Man was right?"

"Right about what?" I glance at Riley for clarification.

"That the collectors are working for the Reapers." Her gaze returns to the buildings ahead. "Let's keep moving. We can't afford to stop now."

Walking along with the group, I speak up after a moment. "Are these... are the husks the colonists?"

Miranda shakes her head. "No, on Eden Prime, victims were transformed into husks by impaling them on spikes. We haven't seen anything like that here."

"They put them on spikes?" That's so fucked up.

"Yes, which means the collectors must have brought the husks here," Miranda states, her tone is so emotionless, like she's in complete Cerberus mode. "They're likely taking the colonists alive for some other purpose."

"For what?" I'm unsure if I really want the answer. "Like experiments or something?"

Miranda sighs in frustration, momentarily dropping her Cerberus composure. "Speculating won't lead us anywhere, Vex."

"I just-fine," I mutter.

"These are husks," Riley affirms as we continue further into the colony. "But they seem different somehow. It looks like they've been upgraded."

"They still die when you shoot them," Grunt chimes in with a smirk.

"Yeah." I pat him on the shoulder. "I'm with him on this one."

"Likewise," Jacob adds.

"Understood." Riley shakes her head with a smile.

After a few more minutes of walking, we come across a multistory building with a staircase leading to the different floors. In front of it stands a cocoon-like pod. By the look of it, it belongs to the collectors. I'm not sure what they use them for.

"What's that thing?" I ask, feeling slight unease as I inspect the pod.

Riley glances around for any sign of trouble. "The collectors use them to transport people."

I shrug. "We haven't even seen a single person."

Miranda studies the pod. "Just like Freedom's Progress."

"Vex." Riley points to the top of the staircase. "Take a quick look up there. We'll handle the lower floors."

"On it." I launch myself up, careful not to lose balance. As I reach the upper floors, I come face to face with a person, frozen in a desperate running pose. "Uh, there's a colonist up here!"

"What?" I hear Riley exclaim from below me, followed by rushing footsteps. "There's more."

Looking down the stairs, I spot the squad next to two more colonists. What happened here? Why are so many left behind?

As we gather around the frozen figures, Miranda's voice cuts through the tension. "Seems to be some kind of stasis field."

I wave a hand in front of one of the colonists. "Are they awake?"

"I think so," Riley responds, her voice holding a bit of uncertainty. "The collectors just haven't gotten to them yet."

"Then let's make sure they never do." I step away from the group. "I'll get on the roof. It's the best vantage point around here."

Riley nods in agreement. "Be safe. We'll head further into the colony, watch our backs."

I give her a casual salute before making my way to the roof. It's so high up that I have a clear view of the surrounding buildings and some GARDIAN lasers. Now I just have to find the team.

Peering through my scope, I quickly spot them approaching a cluster of buildings near what appears to be a garage. At the same time, I notice three collectors soaring over a wall ahead of them. How am I supposed to warn them?

Fuck it.

I take a shot at one of the collectors, signalling danger to the team as they run for cover. After a swift reload, I aim again. One of the collectors seems to be writhing in pain as it starts to glow.

Great, now four more of these fuckers are showing up. But, the glowing one is adamant about going after Riley, so I'm going to prioritise that one.

I fire a shot at the glowing collector. Watching as it shrugs it off, barely even noticing it was shot. What the? I reload again, shooting it once more. Still nothing. What is this thing made of?

I rummage through my spare ammo pouch and retrieve an armour-piercing round. I don't have many of these, so I have to make this count.

I load the thermal clip and with a deep breath, take the shot. The round pierces through the collector's head, causing it to freeze and disintegrate into dust carried away by the wind. What the fuck happened to it?

Shaking my head to refocus, I turn my attention back to the other collectors. The fight ends soon after, and the squad make their way over to the garage. As they stand by the door, I take the opportunity to reload my sniper.

Riley steps away from the door, gesturing for me to come down. I jump off the edge of the building, using my thruster to glide down and land a bit away from them.

"What was up with that glowing collector?" I ask as I approach. "It seemed to really want you, Riles."

"Yeah." She nods, crossing her arms. "It even knew my name."

"Oh, fun." Well, that's not exactly good news. Why would a collector know her name?

"Anyway." Riley gestures towards the door. "Unlock this door."

Opening my omni-tool, I step towards it. "A please would have sufficed."

"Vex," Riley warns.

"Okay, okay." I roll my eyes and quickly hack the door, watching as the lock turns green. "Done."

I move aside and let Riley take the lead as we enter the building. There's nothing special about the place, just a bunch of workbenches and lockers. Though, there's a door in the back that'll probably take us further into the colony.

"Company," Riley announces as a faint rustling comes from behind the lockers. Riley points her rifle in its direction. "Come out now!"

A man peeks out and Riley lowers her weapon. It's a colonist, I assume. That's a good sign. Maybe the collectors didn't get everyone.

"You're-you're human," the man says, not seeming that happy to see us. "What are you doing here? You'll lead them right here!"

Riley holds up a hand to silence him. "We took out all the collectors we could on the way here."

"Those things are collectors? You mean... they're real?" He looks defeated. "I thought they were just made up."

"Same, dude," I chime in.

Jacob nudges me with his elbow. Not cool. I glare at him, but he just puts a finger to his lips in response.

"I thought they were just propaganda, to keep us in Alliance Space." The man starts to pace. "No! They got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody!"

"Get a hold of yourself," Riley demands, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let's just keep it simple for now. Who are you?"

He takes a second to calm down. "Name's Delan. Mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signals. Then I heard screaming."

Riley nods. "And then what happened?"

"I looked outside and there was... swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors," he explains solemnly. It must have been hard.

Riley sighs. "Listen-"

"Damn it. It's the Alliance's fault!" Delan interrupts. "They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defence towers. It made us a target!"

Riley seems to perk up at something he said, I don't know if anyone else noticed. "What do you know about the Alliance rep?"

"Chief Williams?" He seems confused but shrugs. "Heard she was some kind of hero or something. Didn't mean nothing to me, though. Would've rather she stayed back in Council Space."

Riley hums in thought. "Do you know why they would send her here?"

Riley is really interested in whoever Chief Williams is. The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it. Riley's ex-Alliance at this point, but she obviously knows who it is. Some kind of hero, according to Delan.

He shrugs. "Supposed to be helping us get the defence towers up and running. I got the feeling she was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe."

Riley falls silent for a moment. "Why do you think the Alliance is to blame?"

"Look, we're just a small colony." Delan scratches the back of his neck. "Nobody bothered us before we started building those damn defence towers and drew attention to ourselves. I left Council Space to get away from the Alliance. Nothing good ever comes from getting mixed up with them."

"Right," Riley says, her voice tinged with irritation. "Since you keep mentioning them. What do you know about the towers?"

"A gift from the Alliance. High-powered GARDIAN lasers. Supposed to keep hostile ships from landing near the colony." Delan crosses his arms.

"Clearly worked," I jest, earning another jab from Jacob. He's lucky I'm wearing armour so it doesn't actually hurt.

"Had to build a massive generator just to give it enough juice. Only we couldn't get the targeting systems online," Delan continues, clearly frustrated. "So the Alliance gave us a giant gun that couldn't shoot straight. Stupid sons of bitches."

"I suppose you know a lot about the towers then?" Riley questions. "How do we get them to work?" I see Riley has a plan.

Delan pauses for a few seconds before shrugging. "You'd need to calibrate the targeting systems first."

"Which doesn't work," Riley points out.

He nods. "Right."

"That won't be a problem," Riley assures him. "Just tell me where it is."

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base." He has some urgency in his tone. He probably wants us to leave.

"You better stay here," Riley orders.

"Yeah." Delan sighs. "That's what I was thinking too. I'll let you out, but I'm locking the door behind you. I'm not taking any chances." He opens his omni-tool, unlocking the door on the other side of the garage.

Riley leads us towards it before she stops and turns back. "The collectors are targeting remote colonies. The Alliance was just trying to keep you safe."

We exit through the door, stepping into a compact area bordered by a towering wall to our right. The only way through seems to be a gap in the wall. I don't know what we're going to find once we walk through it, but I'm willing to find out for us.

"I can go on ahead, we can't just go in blind," I suggest.

Riley nods in agreement, her expression serious. "Okay. Get over the wall and find somewhere high up if you can. Be careful and don't engage unless you have no other choice."

"Will do." And with a smirk, I propel myself upward to grab onto the edge of the wall. Peering over it, I spot two collectors in the middle of a courtyard. Behind them stands a two-story building and a door on a larger wall farther back. The collector ship is so dangerously close now.

Quietly scaling the wall, I move toward the building. Once close enough, I launch myself onto its roof. From here I can see some husks further in.

Glancing down at the squad, I see Riley peering around the wall, her eyes meeting mine. I gesture over my shoulder, then straighten my hand in front of me before raising two fingers and my thumb, signalling '3'.

She nods and signals the team, who fan out into different points of cover. As they engage the collectors in the courtyard, I ready my mantis. One collector falls as two more exits from the building.

The husks start making their way over as one of the collectors starts to thrash around and glow. Fuck. I guess we're doing whatever this is again.

I take out one husk and load an armour-piercing round. The last glowing collector didn't stand a chance against one of these. Let's hope history repeats itself.

The squad are already firing at the glowing collector as I scope in, but I'm not taking any chances. Pulling the trigger, I watch as the collector disintegrates. Easy enough.

Reloading again, something catches my eye. It looks like a husk, but it's kind of bloated and has some weird shoulder growths. It's moving slowly enough that I can probably get some shots in before it reaches the squad.

I take a shot at its head, but it doesn't even acknowledge it. It just continues slowly towards everyone. I'll just have to try an armour-piercing round.

I load the clip and aim for its head again. I fire the round, but still nothing. At least the group has noticed the new threat now.

The creature releases a biotic shockwave toward the group. Luckily for them, they dodge in time. These collectors are full of surprises.

After several shots, we manage to take down the creature. I hope we never come across another one of those again.

Now that the fight is over, I scope in, watching as the squad make their way through the area. I'll just follow them once they get safely across. Though, I'm not sure what I can do from here if they get attacked by another one of those things.

They make it safely and Riley waves a hand at me before entering the door. Looks like it's time to get a move on.

Scuttle.

Wait, what is that? Lowering my sniper, I strain to hear. It's coming from behind and below me. Putting my sniper down, I switch to my pistol. I peer over the edge and spot a husk crawling up the building. I quickly fire a few shots into it, watching as it falls to the ground.

Now the other one. I start to turn as I feel something strike my back. Spinning towards the husk and taking a step back, my feet hit something, causing me to go off-balance.

Falling, I desperately try to activate my thruster. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why isn't it working? There's no time. Covering my head as best as I can, I brace for impact. This is going to hurt.

Thank you for reading.