Horizon Colony, the Terminus Systems, Saturday Evening

[not_a_whiner]

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."





Allie

Allie was glad to be there. It helped keep her mind off a lot of things she'd rather not think about. "I'm sure I can find something to do, don't worry about it."

In other words she was going to mostly avoid people and skulk about to get the lay of the land.



Kaidan

"Right," Kaidan said. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Uh... Try not to cause too much trouble."

Though Dean could probably use that one a lot more than Allie.



Allie

"Me? Never."

That probably would have been more believable if Allie hadn't brought Kaidan to her world not so long ago.



Jack

"It's not a problem," Jack said, seconding Allie. "Any particular recommendations for places to go?"

He had his own ways of getting the lay of the land; a friendly pub tended to be a good start for many reasons.



Kaidan

"I haven't really had the time to relax here until now," Kaidan said apologetically. "If you tag along... I could ask Lilith for some suggestions. Sure she knows somewhere."



Jack

Jack nodded slowly. "And what kind of person is Lilith?" he wondered aloud.



Kaidan

"She's one of the good ones," Kaidan said, a wry little smile forming on his mouth. "Maybe a little too much so to be able to point you to any of the rowdy bars, I think, but..."



Jack

Jack snorted. "I can manage to act halfway dignified for a few nights."



Dean

"Sure. This place seems like a barrel of fun." Possibly space rednecks too.



Kaidan

"I'm sure there's... something to do," Kaidan said cautiously.

It was Dean. This had the potential of ending badly.



Dean

"If a creepy, inbred family tries to hunt me for sport, I'm gonna be so pissed at you."

Dean's life, ladies and gentlemen.



Kaidan

"This colony has only existed for eight years, if that," Kaidan told him, giving him the Judgey Look. "Nobody's--"

Any attempts to keep talking came to an abrupt end as lightning crackled through the sky. Behind them, someone gasped "What is that?!", and Kaidan's hands were on his rifle before he'd even spared it a thought.

He looked up at the clouds-- and saw a large, round ship with jagged edges pushing through into the sky. "Jack-- Dean-- Allie-- grab who you can, get to the safehouse."



Allie

No Allie, a sword was not going to help you against a ship in the sky. It didn't mean she was going to put it away time soon though.

"And leave you here? Don't think so."



Jack

"You're stuck with me too," Jack said, staring down the ship. "At least until you tell us what's going on."



Dean

"Yeah, that's a new one," Dean admitted, staring up at the sky.



Kaidan

That sky suddenly filled up with a black cloud of... no, not a cloud. A swarm of black insects, twisting around each other, approaching at high speed.

Kaidan raised his rifle further and begun the fire. "I mean it!" he snapped. "Find cover!"

Around them, people began to scramble.



Allie

Stubborn vampires don't listen to orders. Sorry about that.

"Save your breath." Allie stood steady. "You know I'm not going anywhere." Her sword wouldn't be much use against the ship but it would probably make a damn good fly swatter.



Dean

Well, Dean really wasn't gonna mourn a bloodsucker. Which would be why he was rolling his eyes at everything. "Didn't need my guns, huh? Those buildings safe?"



Jack

"We need a barrier," Jack said, staring at the swarm. "Kaidan, you can shield --"

Though probably not a whole colony.



Kaidan

"I can't shield us from this--"

Which was as far as Kaidan got.

The swarm bore down, slamming into humans left and right. Several colonists crashed to their knees or went flat onto their faces. The sky went black with the skittering moving shapes of millions of insects.

Kaidan fired his rifle. Kept firing. He'd back up if he didn't have the others right here-- but until they moved--

He felt a sharp pang of pain on the back of his neck and grabbed for it, yanking the creature off his skin. What the...



Allie

Allie had moved, far enough away that she could swing at whatever the swarm was without worrying about hitting any of friends. Or Dean.



Dean

"Jesus Christ," Dean muttered, grabbing Kaidan's arm to drag his dumb ass toward shelter. "Move! Unless you all have a freakin' huge ass can of Raid, move!"



Jack

Another bug landed on Jack. He swatted it away as he dove toward Allie.

"Dean's right," he said. "We can't fight this. Not now."



Kaidan

Kaidan didn't respond. He didn't even budge.

Each one of his muscles had suddenly cramped up, freezing him in place. The only result that Dean's tugging had-- was that he fell over, crashing down into the grass.

He wasn't the only one, either. For each person that scrambled into the buildings behind them, three fell or froze in place.

And one particularly persistent bug made a line straight for Dean's neck.



Dean

This was officially the second worst trip Dean had ever gone on. Officially.

"Sonnovabitch," he cursed, slapping at his neck before he went stiff as well. GODDAMN ALIEN BUGS.



Allie

The bugs were swarming around Allie but for some reason none of them seemed interested in her. Allie wasn't going to question that bit of luck, especially once she realized both Kaidan and Dean were down. Slapping her sword in its case, she made her way towards them.

"Jack, any ideas?"



Jack

The bugs were landing on Jack, but he didn't seem to be responding to the venom the way Kaidan and Dean were.

"We have to get Dean and Kaidan someplace safe," he said, glancing from one frozen friend to the other as he tried to work it out in his head. He cursed. "Of course they're both bigger than either of us."



Allie

"That's not a problem for me," Allie shrugged as she reached for Kaidan's arm. "I'm much stronger then I look."



Jack

"Lucky thing I am too," Jack said, and hoisted Dean onto his back in a modified fireman's carry. His eyes scouted the surroundings until they landed on a nearby trailer, and he pointed toward it. "That looks like it could hold off the bugs."



Allie

After shifting Kaidan into a hold that mimicked the one Jack had on Dean, Allie headed towards the trailer, all the while keeping her eye out for any additional threats. "I've got a bad feeling about all of this."



Jack

"I can't imagine why," Jack said dryly.

He lugged Dean into the trailer and dumped him inelegantly onto a couch, then went to try to seal the doors.



Allie

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Allie asked as she lowered Kaidan on the couch next to Dean.

Since Jack seemed to have the doors covered, she focused on the windows in the room, locking the panes and closing blinds where she could.



Jack

"I haven't the faintest bloody idea," Jack said, fiddling with one stubborn lock. "I hope so. Otherwise we might as well have left them to rot."



Allie

"I'm trying for optimism." Because losing anyone else was not an option. "Need help with that?"



Jack

"Good luck with that," Jack said, on the optimism point.

He stepped back and indicated the lock. The cloud of bugs was clearly drawing nearer.

"Please? I can't get the latch to catch."



Allie

There was a fine line between using just enough force to get the lock to clink into place and using too much so that it fell off in her hand. Fortunately Allie found the balance and the locked snapped close with an audible click.

"I'm not sure we're actually going to be able to fight this," Allie said after another look out the window.



Jack

"I don't even know where to start," Jack admitted. "Kaidan could, maybe, but not while he's -- indisposed."

He pulled out his phone and tried to pull up the internet -- for what, he didn't know, as he doubted alien bugs that paralyze people was a helpful Google search term. But it looked like he wouldn't get the chance to find out, as after a moment he pursed his lips and looked to Allie.

"See if your phone has service," he said in a tight voice. "Mine doesn't."



Allie

Allie was already pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I'm not sure who we should call. My go-to back-up person is paralyzed on the couch."

But judging by the frown on her face, they weren't going to be calling anyone.

"No service, which shouldn't really be a surprise. If you're coming in to take a place over, you don't want people calling for help."



Jack

"No, and you don't want people looking up what you are and how to kill you, either," Jack agreed. "Which means we can either go out and try to fight them with no idea what we're doing -- or wait and see if Kaidan and Dean wake up."

He prodded one of the men with a forefinger, hoping for some sign of reaction.

"I say we wait a while."



Allie

"I hate waiting," Allie grumbled, moving to the window and peering around the edge of the blind. "Still, you're right. Waiting for them to wake up is probably for the best. And maybe we'll get a better sense of what's going on by then."



. . .

It had gone silent outside - at least for a little while.

Then fluttering started. Fluttering? Maybe not quite - more like the noise of insect wings rubbing against each other, buzzing and humming.

Something banged on the door. Hard.



Jack

Jack had dozed off out of sheer exhaustion, but he woke up a second after the buzzing started and sprang to his feet.

"We need a barricade," he said. At the moment, the idea the banging could be from something friendly wasn't occurring to him.



Allie

Instinct meant Allie wanted to meet whatever was at the door with her sword drawn. Fortunately she was more pragmatic given the situation."Get them off the couch. I'll move it over," she said, keeping her voice low.



Jack

Jack nodded his assent, then swiftly moved the men off the couch -- first Kaidan, then Dean. There wasn't anyplace fantastic to put them; he ended up propping them into kitchen chairs like rag dolls.

"Do you think this will be enough?"



. . .

There was another, louder banging on the door in response.



Allie

"Honestly?" Allie asked as she shifted the couch into position. "No. The right kind of firepower, a little extra strength. They'll be able to come through easily enough."



Jack

"Then we just need to hope they don't want it that badly," Jack said, resigned. He lifted the corner of a blind to see what was outside.



. . .

A large, bipedal buglike... thing was staring at the window a few inches away.

Then its eyes shifted towards Jack's.



Jack

Well. That was just rude. And bang the blind came down.

Jack sat on the couch with his back to the door, feet braced against the ground. His breathing was heavy and he was not moving an inch if he could help it.



Allie

That reaction couldn't be good.

"Do I want to know what's out there?"



Jack

"Your basic standard everyday giant bug people that are staring at us," Jack answered. "Nothing new."



Allie

"Do you think we're ever going to visit Kaidan without something trying to kill us?" Not that the bug had done anything yet, but somehow Allie figured it was only a matter of time.



Jack

"I've given up on leaving the island without something trying to kill me," Jack told her. "And sometimes staying home isn't much help either."



Allie

"No, you do have a point there," she agreed. "I'm just happy I have a weapon this time around."



Kaidan

Kaidan had been still for a very long time. A cramp shot up his arm as it began to protest being held in this position for this long - but that was good, that was great, it meant his nerves were starting to work again--

His fingers curved in the air. Almost a fist. Then back again.



Dean

Dean made an annoyed noise since moving was still a little out of reach. Come to space, he said. It'll be fun, he said.

He really hoped the glare he was shooting Kaidan covered all his thoughts on this trip.



Jack

"Oh, good, you aren't dead."

Jack actually pleased by this. He'd sound happier if they weren't still trapped inside a trailer with giant bugs attacking outside.



Dean

Dean was still forcing along that recovery because his response was managing to raise his middle finger.

And something that sounded like 'mucking uggs' in there. Thanks, Dean. Thanks.



Allie

In another situation. Say maybe one where they weren't out-numbered and probably out-gunned, Allie would have been more understanding and sympathetic, at their rate of recovery.

"Not to rush you along or anything, but I'd really feel better if you could help defend yourselves. I think we're in serious trouble here."



Kaidan

"What's--"

Jesus. It was nearly impossible to talk like this. Kaidan sat up gingerly and hoped that one syllable got his point across.



Allie

"Giant bug people are apparently a thing." Allie explained.



Dean

"No shit," Dean snapped, blinking away the pain that came from powering through to use stiff neck and jaw muscles.



Jack

"Also they're right outside, staring at us, and our phones don't work," Jack added. "Sorry there's not better news to wake up to."



Kaidan

"Is--" Kaidan asked, but then he stopped for an entirely different reason. "Shit. Sam!"

He pushed up with a wince. "She was gonna-- her parents are here."



Allie

"And she came to visit?" It wasn't that hard to fill in the blanks and understand Kaidan's reaction. "That could be a problem."



Dean

"Of course," Dean muttered, pushing himself up. "Next time you plan a trip, I'm bringing a goddamn arsenal."

Ugh. Bugs. He freaking hated bugs. Because it was the second worst episode behind racist trucks.



Jack

Jack snorted. "You'd go off-planet with him again? I wouldn't."

Which was probably a lie. Jack would always follow his friends into dangerous, stupid situations. It was his curse.



Kaidan

"We need to check on Sam," Kaidan reiterated, rolling his shoulders in hopes of reclaiming some of the feeling in it. "And-- giant bug people? Is this going to be a problem? ...Shit, we need to find out if there are any other survivors--"



Allie

When weren't giant bug people a problem?

"We haven't seen any. But then again, we weren't exactly willing to just leave you guys alone and go out exploring."



Dean

"Have corpsey there go on a walk about," Dean suggested as he looked for a weapon to use.



Jack

Jack raised a hand. "Is 'corpsey' the vampire?" he asked. "Charming. Anyhow, none of us would do any good going out alone and without a plan."

Which he was hopefully looking to Kaidan to provide.



Kaidan

"Don't insult Allie," Kaidan told Dean, fixing him with a Look.

He took a deep breath. "Okay. So whatever these things are, they can take out a human, but not you guys. It's a big colony, we need to check on multiple locations-- we'll have to split up."

His eyes darted towards Dean again. "You take Jack."



Allie

Allie decided ignoring Dean was the best plan. At least until he came up with some better insults.

"I like this plan so far."



Dean

Dean rolled his eyes because everyone was so touchie about calling a spade a spade. Or, in this case, an undead, human shaped leech.

"Alright, I'm with the furball," he said with a shrug as he found himself a sturdy enough metal rod to hit shit with. "Let's rock and roll."



Jack

And now it was Jack's turn to roll his eyes, though he was grateful that at least Dean seemed to be the kind of hunter who wasn't interested in immediately killing him. (Yet.)

He snagged a gun from the top of a dresser and checked it to make sure it was loaded. It wasn't a type of firearm he'd used before, but he'd be good. He knew which end to point at things.

"And I'm with the asshole," he rejoined. "Fantastic. Should we take the survivors back here?"



Kaidan

"Seems like the most defensible position," Kaidan agreed. "Okay, I've got your numbers on my omni-tool, and you've got mine. I'll keep an open comm."

He reached for his pistol. Checked it. "And Dean? Behave. He's a friend."



Allie

Allie gestured at the couch in front of the door. "Are we heading out the front door? Or are we going to try to be a little more subtle?"



Dean

"I think subtlety is lost on the alien bug invasion," Dean replied dryly. Then, turned his head to address Kaidan. "And I'll be on my best behavior because you asked so nicely. You'll owe me a beer."

Meaning you better fucking survive this shit to pay up, Kaidan.



Jack

"We have better things to fight than each other anyhow," Jack agreed, also addressing Kaidan. "Besides, he's right. Choosing a sneakier door isn't going to matter when we're surrounded like this."



Kaidan

"Fine," Kaidan said. "Weapons ready."

He reached, glowing blue, and gently tugged the makeshift barricade away from the door.



Allie

Once Kaidan had moved the couch, Allie slowly cracked the door, her sword in her hand.

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