Horizon Colony, the Terminus Systems, Saturday Evening

Horizon's sun slipped low above its many prefab structures as dusk began to settle. Its rays were only partly blocked by the enormous defense towers that Kaidan had been sent here to set up; it was in that direction that he glanced, automatically, as he stepped out of the confines of his temporary home.

Having Allie and the guys over definitely made things more cramped, but he couldn't find it in him to complain. Being here wasn't a great deal of fun - not just because the calibration of the defense towers wasn't working out, but also because the locals... yeah. People out here, they didn't like the Alliance, and that was before any biases against biotics came into the picture.

It was... nice, just to spend time with people who didn't hate his guts.

So there was real resignation in Kaidan's voice when he said, "You'll have to amuse yourselves tonight. I need to meet with Lilith, see if she can help me get through some of these numbers that aren't matching up."


( Does shit hit the fan? Of course it does. )

[[ based on the mass effect 2 mission 'horizon'. preplayed with the lovely bitten_notshy, allie_vamp and 6buckstohisname. continues here and here. ]]

Horizon Colony, the Terminus Systems, Saturday Evening

The fight had been grueling. Shepard could barely feel his arms, and he was bleeding from at least two separate wounds. Nothing fatal, though. He took a moment to catch his breath, then peered up over the edge of the crate he'd been using for cover. Were there any other Collectors inbound--?

But he caught no hostiles. Instead, the giant Collector ship that had practically embedded itself in the planet pulled itself free from the ground, blasting scorching fire down onto its landing site as it propelled itself into the atmosphere.

His earpiece took that as a perfect time to come alive. "They're pulling out!" Miranda bellowed across the comms. Another blast from the ship's engines sent him wincing, ducking and grabbing for his ears as the noise drowned out everything else. Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit.

The defense towers flared to life, twisting over and firing repeated volleys into the enormous ship. It was futile: like flinging rocks at a tank. "They wanted the colonists and they got them," Miranda reported.

( Reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. Oops. )

[[ aaand done! nfb, nfi, ooc-okay, based on the mass effect 2 mission 'horizon'. preplayed with the gorgeous 6buckstohisname, allie_vamp and bitten_notshy, who deserve medals for dealing with me rambling about this plot for two years. takes place after this and this. ]]

Citadel Portalocity Lounge, Saturday Night

So this was what it all came back down to:

Waiting in a Portalocity lounge situated deeply within Zakera Ward, staring at the wall as the lights of passing skycars turned the office a dull pink, then a dull blue, then a dull teal. Kaidan was silent, not his usual contemplative silence but a quiet laced with anger.

He was trying to process. He was too angry to process. He felt like he was going crazy.

He'd begged the brass for a few hours to see his friends off to Fandom. After this, he'd head up and contact Hackett and the other admirals. Give a report. Receive orders. There was one thing to say for the army: its codes and demands gave you something to do when the world spun around on itself and collapsed. Teaching school didn't compare.

He had a class on Tuesday, he registered suddenly, dully. Well. Damn.

It didn't occur to him that sitting here in the quiet glaring at a wall was a piss-poor way of seeing your friends off, but... he'd get around to that.

[[ open to anyone who happened to be on horizon a few hours ago... ]]