Book 2, Chapter 7 -- Horizon
*****
Grunt settled in relatively quickly. We cleared the crates out of the otherwise empty room opposite to Zaeed on the engineering level, and he was happy enough to stay there. He simply couldn't stay in the crew quarters due to his sheer size but the krogan didn't complain. Straight away, he was eager to get off the ship, ready to join my team and start killing things, ready to prove himself to me and the others. Chakwas had given him a clean bill of health.
I asked Miranda if we had any more dossiers. When I was told no, that left me scratching my head as, apart from blindly searching for the Collectors, or trying to figure out where they might strike next, I wasn't exactly sure what to do next. At least when I was chasing Saren, I had objectives and was generally given plenty of work to do by Admiral Hackett and other members of the Alliance. So far, apart from some recruitment, I had some minor jobs to do but, otherwise, I was tempted to just head to Omega or the Citadel and simply wait for news. The only problem is that, without knowing where the Collectors were, colonies like Freedom's Progress would continue to be hit and we'd only arrive after the fact. We needed to arrive somewhere either before or during, and hopefully we'd stop them in their tracks.
Thankfully, it was only two days after we left Korlus that we received news. The message didn't come directly to me. Kelly received it first, busy at my terminal as I was, I felt an arm around my waist then soft lips on my cheek before I felt her hot breath in my ear. "The Illusive Man wants to speak to you," she breathed.
"God, you even manage to make that sound erotic," I replied with a chuckle.
"Well, I thought you'd be annoyed by it otherwise. Your opinion about him is quite clear, at least."
"Where will I be speaking to him?"
"Conference room." She handed me a datapad. "Instructions to get the link set up."
"Hopefully it's news. I'm enjoying all the training. I feel like I'm still getting fitter and stronger..."
She ran a hand up my arm. "Definitely stronger, Shepard. You can certainly carry me around the bedroom with ease."
"You are rather light, Kelly." I couldn't help sigh. "Better go talk to him."
Heading through the armoury, I let Jacob know that I would be chatting with the Illusive Man. He knew exactly what it would be about. He knew I'd tell him as no doubt Miranda would already be aware of the meeting, and would probably have been told before me. I should find that annoying but I already knew the score. The Illusive Man would only tell me what I needed to know. Miranda was basically his spy within the ranks. Whether she saw herself as that, or even realised she was being manipulated like that, I couldn't exactly be sure. During our conversation, she'd proven to be surprisingly naïve about the man.
After inputting the code, the table in the conference room disappeared, stepping onto some sort of pad and after some technical magic, I could see the Illusive Man sitting in front of me, smoking a cigarette, which was a nasty habit, and holding a drink in his left hand. I couldn't see much else behind him, but the light suggested a star, something like the sun. I figured he wasn't located planet-side but on some sort of space station.
"What are you drinking?" I asked.
"Bourbon, Shepard. A tipple I'm aware you enjoy as well."
"Well, guess we share one similarity at least."
"Perhaps more, Shepard, but I am aware of your opinions. But this isn't a social call. I think we have them."
"Where?"
"One of our colonies out in the Terminus Systems, by the name of Horizon, has just gone dark."
"Gone dark? For how long?"
"Reports indicate at least a few hours. And if it's isn't already under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure yet?"
"He's working on it. I believe he's close to cracking it. Last time we spoke, anyway."
"Then he'd better work well under pressure, as you need to get to Horizon ASAP." When he paused, I knew, I just knew, he was going to tell me something else. "There's something else, Shepard."
"Yes?" I asked carefully.
"One of your former crew, Ashley Williams, is currently on Horizon."
"What's she doing in the Terminus Systems?"
"Officially, it's an outreach program by the Alliance. They're endeavouring to improve their relationships with the many colonial governments."
"Think that's shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted if they've only just started doing it."
"While that might be true, if they've sent Operations Chief Williams, who was one of the companions of the 'Saviour of the Citadel', then it would suggest that the Alliance is starting to take the threat seriously."
Operations Chief? So she's finally been given a promotion? She should have been at that level years ago considering her talents. But she just so happens to be at Horizon. Can't be a coincidence. The Collectors know, they know I'll be told, and it's a trap.
I kept the thoughts to myself for now. I'm sure the Illusive Man would know I was suspicious already and certainly would never trust him completely. But I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. This was the news we needed. Find the Collectors, pray that Mordin's countermeasure works, and then hopefully save a colony.
But first... "Have you notified the Alliance?"
"We have sent a warning through back-channels. They won't know it's from us. But, as you're already aware, their resources are already stretched thin. You're the only one who can get in and possibly stop the Collectors right now."
"Fair point. We'll head there straight away."
"Do what you need to do, Shepard. And good luck."
I closed the link, immediately returning to the CIC and the galaxy map. Inputting the data, I didn't have to tell Joker as it would have appeared on one of his bank of screens. "
Horizon, Commander?"
"Get us there ASAP, Joker. Whatever you need from engineering, demand it."
"
Collectors?"
"Exactly."
"Well, it's about damned time. Tired of hearing and reading stories about the latest abductions."
"How long?"
"Even if pushing to the max, we won't arrive until tomorrow morning, Shepard. The relay is in the same system as the planet, opposite side of the main star, but we're in the wrong position right now. It's going to be a few hours flying to make it to the nearest relay and we're going to burn fuel."
I groaned. "We need to stop?"
"Unless you want us drifting aimlessly, Shepard. And there are fewer depots out here in the Terminus. It's not something we think about while flying around Council space as there are fuel depots everywhere."
"Okay. Do whatever you can."
Mordin at least had good news for me. The countermeasures against the Collectors had been tested and he was confident it would work, though the real test would be during our mission on Horizon. I let him know that he would be on the ground with the rest of us. If the Collectors had arrived in force, I would want a similar force at my disposal. He appeared pleased that he'd be taken off the ship and able to show off other skills than those he could show in the laboratory.
Heading back to my terminal, I continued to check news about Collector attacks. There'd been a couple more after Freedom's Progress. The Alliance had only arrived in the days afterwards, reporting the same as always. An empty colony but no sign of where they had gone or who had taken them. As yet, they were not reporting any link to the Collectors, which annoyed me. Anderson had been told, and he would have fed that information through to the top brass. Why not tell everyone about what was happening so colonies and the Alliance could go on the front foot? It boggled my mind, stank of bureaucracy more than anything. Politicians likely interfering in matters that should be left to the military.
Confidence was in the air that evening at dinner, plenty of comments about how we were going to kick Collector arse and that they'd rue the day they faced Shepard and his companions in battle. These comments were from those who would remain on the ship. Those who would be beside me on the ground smiled at the fact confidence was high but we knew the situation on the ground. It wasn't going to be easy.
Kelly knew she wasn't going to be invited to my room that night, aware I wouldn't want to be distracted before such an important mission. At least she wasn't disappointed, or didn't appear to be, happily heading to the crew quarters with other members as I had one last chat with Miranda, going over the finer details regarding the next day. She agreed with everything I had to say, which was a surprise, and I headed upstairs to take a shower and at least relax for a little bit before bed.
I was woken by EDI the next morning, announcing we'd just arrived in the Iera System and that Horizon was only a couple of hours away. I headed straight downstairs to the mess, one of the first to arrive as I hoovered down my meal, joined by nearly everyone except Jack. "EDI, have you woken her up yet?"
"I have, Shepard. She told me to fuck off."
"Try again."
Silence for a few seconds before EDI reported. "
I have been told that if I don't shut up, my head would be shoved so far up my arse, I'll be eating shit until Christmas."
"Fine. I'll go deal with her." I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood up. I felt quite a few pairs of eyes on me as I rounded the partition and stepped straight onto the elevator. Gabby and Ken had been in the mess for breakfast, so it was empty of people as I headed down the stairs. Jack was covered in a thin blanket. Whether she was faking being asleep or not, I didn't care. She knew the expectations on her shoulders. I tore the blanket off her. "Up now," I ordered.
