There was an old saying that was fairly common among many militaries of the galaxy.

No plan survives first contact.

While Kaya found that to be true, this plan had impressively gone to shit. He remained on overwatch, providing support to the distraction team by dropping a drell here and there. There was all kinds of distinct chatter over comms but he didn't let it distract him. In fact, he stopped to take a quick sip from his canteen. But as he did so, a strange sensation washed over him. For a split second, everything was upside down, inside out. He choked on his liquor as he was brought back to reality, his head swimming. He saw his comrades fleeing from the ship. Then he saw the Locust burst from its lair, surrounded by-

[color=lightgreen]"A swarm."[/color] Kaya muttered to himself, a cold hand squeezing his heart. Back on Erinle, he and his hatchmates were raised on horror stories of the collectors and their swarms, stripping people down to the bone. Kaya never thought he'd see one in real life. Yarik gestured to him below, Kysar and Solveig behind. And the locust far closer than comfortable. The salarian slid down the dune and sprinted to reach them, firing pot shots at the monstrosity with his pistol. Kaya glanced behind them as they ran and saw a drell get ripped apart by one of the swarms. Fear quickened his steps. But the swarm moved much faster than they did and it was obvious they would be upon them in a matter of moments.

Panicked, Kaya searched desperately for somewhere to take cover. He didn't have any bitoics or special armor and everywhere was too open. Except...

He spotted a metal barrel with a slightly ajar lid. Just big enough for him to squeeze into. He wasn't actually gonna dive in a barrel was he? Kaya risked another glance behind him. The swarm buzzed angrily, mere meters away now. Yes. Yes he was. Kaya sprinted towards the barrel, collapsing his sniper rifle and stashing it on his back. He dove and hit the rim painfully, knocking it on its side. The buzzing was getting louder. He scrambled inside and grabbed the lid, flipping it so he could hold onto the handle. He pulled on it to create a seal and held on for dear life. Seconds later, he heard the swarm slicing and biting at everything around. The noise of them striking the barrel was amplified inside and Kaya closed his eyes, using all his strength to keep the lid in place. Then it was over.

Kaya waited a few moments before he heard the tell tale laugh of their krogan ally, no doubt charging the collector head on. Kaya crawled out of the barrel and looked around, yelping when he saw the locust was only a dozen feet away. He sprinted from the barrel to Kysar's position, extending his rifle and scoping in on the collector. It was time to do what he did best.