A/N: Its been a while but as promised, the story will continue(most of the wait was because I was trying to think of a new title and summary and took forever to reach, pun not fully intended) and trying to deal with everything else life is still throwing at me.

The alarms were blaring as Six was fighting through another battle, against strange hostile forces that were trying to kill her. She was tossed against a wall, but she wasn't going to lie down and let this happen without a fight. Not again. She started to try and remember where everything went wrong like this. She wondered if it would have been better if she had just died on Reach instead of finding her way here to this galaxy.

Two years ago…

It didn't take long for Six to reach the Cerberus station that now housed the Black Cat-class subprowler and some of the UNSC weaponry she didn't have with her when they left for that fated mission on Eden Prime. Once the Sabre had landed in the hangar, Six quickly jumped out before the thrusters were even cooled and tossing an OSD to one of the technicians, "Alliance Luna AI."

Six continued toward the Cat, grabbing any spare weapons she could along the way; an MA37 assault rifle, a second M6G pistol, an M45 tactical shotgun and as many grenades as she could hang on her belt. "Noble Six, the Director and Illusive Man wish to speak with you."

Six wasn't slowing down, "Tell them I'll speak with them when I get back!"

"They say it relates to what you're about to do."

Six didn't have time for this, but it would seem she wasn't the only one concerned with Shepard's survival. Reaching the comm room, Six found Miranda Lawson waiting as holograms of the Director and Illusive Man appeared before them. "Noble Six. It sounds like you're causing quite a stir on that station."

"It's nothing, sirs."

Six was about to leave before Miranda cut her off, "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Somewhere else." Six knew she could never put fear into Miranda, but that didn't stop her from wanting to toss her aside like a ragdoll, which she probably could.

"We've watched what transpired on the Normandy, Noble Six. Commander Shepard's capture, a new enemy…these are very dire times."

"Which is why we can't let her be taken." The Illusive Man released a ring of smoke from his cigarette. "And I'm ordering Gamma squad to accompany you." A squad of men in Cerberus Assault Armor walked in. Six was still taller than any of them by roughly half a foot, but she could see they were a well-trained group of soldiers.

A map of the galaxy was then put on display, "Your ingenuity to have Dot act like a homing beacon was inspired. We've already sent ships to slow the enemy down, long enough for you to get back there and retrieve Shepard."

Seeing these soldiers, Six was feeling like there was information she wasn't privy to, "Do we know anything about these hostiles, sirs?"

"Nothing concrete at the moment. I have teams working on finding more information. But right now your priority should be the retrieval of Commander Shepard, at any cost. Even with the Prothean vision burned into your mind, the Commander is our key to stopping the Reapers."

Miranda smirked to Six, "And I'll be waiting here when you return."

Six walked away, but Gamma squad's leader stepped into her path. "Sergeant Marcus, ma'am. We're ready to kick ass alongside you."

However Six wasn't in the mood. She walked around him and his squad, "Load up and be ready to fight hell." Six continued to prep the subprowler and her weaponry and once Gamma was onboard, Six took off after Shepard.

As planned, they used Dot's signal to project their course, and the Illusive Man had sent Cerberus cruisers and dreadnoughts in the path of the unknown aggressors to slow them down long enough for Six and the rescue team to reach the ship. Even with their numbers, they were no match for the unknown cruiser's weapons or defenses. As the subprowler arrived to watch as the once great fleet reduced to only a handful of cruisers and fighters. Six engaged the subprowler's optical camouflage before she started her scans.

Gamma left their seats to scoop out the ship, and they were all caught off guard by the thing's immense size. "That's a ship?"

"Looks more like a bug mound."

"Alright Gamma, enough gawking," Marcus got his weapons ready, "We're here for one thing, to rescue Commander Shepard. Now I want everyone combat ready before we step foot inside that thing!"

Six found an open access point relatively close to Dot's signal, and with any luck she could get in and out just as quickly. Due to the Black Cat's size, Six was forced to use the portside hooks to latch onto the ship and open the doors to jump over there. Six overrode her suit's normal magnetic protocols so she could have four weapons on her as she carried her DMR in hand. Before anyone disembarked, Six turned to Gamma squad and stopped them all from leaving, "Keep the ship safe."

"Whoa there cowboy," Marcus grabbed Six's shoulder, "You're not going in there alone."

Six shrugged Marcus' hand off, "You'll only slow me down. And I have a fix on her location." She jumped out and onto the unknown craft before Marcus could stop her again. Six's motion tracker was picking up dozens of hostiles, most of them below her position. Fortunately Dot's signal was leading up. Six kicked it into high gear, getting her old lone wolf style tactics back into practice and remaining in the shadows.

Six managed to maintain her secrecy but as she observed some of the hostiles, she noticed they weren't exactly behaving normally. Six has observed behavior from Covenant forces, Insurrectionist, even members of the UNSC, some of which she had been ordered to eliminate, but these bugs displayed nothing she was used to seeing. None of them were rotating shifts, they weren't gossiping or speaking with one another, they had no one eating or sleeping while on duty and they seemed too preoccupied with whatever tasks they were doing to even care that they've been under attack the entire time or why.

Pushing aside these unusual observations, Six moved on until she finally found Shepard. She had been placed into a cocoon or pod of some type, though she could see it was not completely organic as there was a clear glass-like cover over her head. One of the bugs was on a terminal next to the pod and the readings continued to flash red, never a good sign. Six quietly crept up to the worker and stabbed her combat knife into its back, snapping its neck just to be certain. Carefully laying the thing onto the ground, she started to take a closer examination at the body; no nasal or orifice that she could discern, and the exoskeleton was indeed organic, yet far stronger than any Yanme'e exoskeleton. Whatever they were, they didn't seem to require the many needs most organics had to have.

Six couldn't read a thing from the terminal. She was forced to retrieve Dot and get answers from her. Six had noticed a lack of a detectable atmosphere within the ship, though fortunately Shepard still had her helmet on. Six jammed her knife into a crack in the casing and pried it open. The air in the pod quickly escaped as Six turned Shepard over and pulled Dot from her suit.

With the AI back in her head, Six looked around to ensure the area was still clear. "Dot, situation report."

"Noble Six, the unknown hostiles were attempting to extract the Lieutenant Commander's essence for data analysis."

"Essence?"

"They were attempting to break the Lieutenant Commander down on a genetic level. As per your orders, I was forced to cause anomalies with the Lieutenant Commander's life signs to delay their procedures. I fear I may have put the Lieutenant Commander at a greater risk than anticipated."

Six looked back to Shepard, "Explain."

"I deregulated the Lieutenant Commander's suit life support systems and available oxygen levels. The unidentified hostiles were attempting to find the sources of these irregularities and undo them before they started their procedures."

She continued to glance toward Shepard, unwilling to look her in the eyes just yet, "How much time does she have?"

"Before the pod was opened, roughly an hour of breathable atmosphere. Since depressurization, less than twenty minutes are available to her."

Six started to look over the pod, "Can this thing keep her safe?"

"Yes. However, there are functions that were meant for the genetic gathering. Without a constant command input, these systems will eventually auto-execute."

"Dot, continue to protect the Commander. We're getting off this ship." Six found a slot to put Dot into, closing the pod back up once Dot confirmed she had full control over the pod's systems. "Gamma, I have the Commander. Returning to the ship now."

"You might want to put a hold on that!" Marcus was under heavy gunfire, "Looks like our hosts knows they have unwelcomed guests!"

Six swapped her DMR for the M45 tactical shotgun as she started pulling the pod, rushing back to the ship. "Maintain positions. We need immediate dust off. The Commander has about fifteen minutes of air."

"In about twenty seconds we're gonna have bugs up to our helmets. Six, there's a Cerberus fighter just outside waiting for you and the Commander. Reach it and get out of here."

"Negative. We're almost back at the ship, Gamma. Just hold them off a bit longer." There was only silence. "Marcus!" Suddenly a violent quake rocked the area as fire blasted down a few of the tunnels. Six didn't have much time left now, keeping her own timer on mind for the Commander, and if the enemy has already decimated the Cerberus fleet as quickly as it did the Normandy, even less. Six pushed the pod down the charred tunnel, finding the fragmented remains of the Black Cat floating in space. Six could only imagine how Gamma squad went out, probably falling back within the ship to use the entryway as a choke point. Once the enemy breached though other sections of the ship they only had a matter of moments, or at least until they set off the charges they must have activated.

Six looked back to find more of the hostiles charging toward her, bent on reclaiming their lost prize, though there were no alarms she could detect active. Six kicked the pod out as she held out for a few moments longer, using the MA37 assault rifle to keep them at bay. The bugs were armed with their own assault rifles and something that acted more like the Covenant Focus Rifles with a much tighter beam. With the pod cleared, Six deactivated her boots' magnets and jumped out, continuing to fire on the enemy to catch up to the pod. As Marcus stated, a Cerberus fighter was indeed waiting for them as the cockpit opened. Six latched the pod to the underside of the fighter, ensuring it was secured and an air hose was attached before jumping into the cockpit.

It would seem the enemy wasn't all too pleased at Six's success, as the ship turned toward them to attack. The surviving fighter squadrons and the last cruiser acted as living shields to protect them until they managed to escape, followed by the few fighters left that could join her.

The rescue was an utter travesty for Cerberus forces, however their goal had been achieved; the successful retrieval of Commander Shepard alive. "Get a respiratory unit down here! STAT!" Six quickly jumped out of the fighter and separated Shepard's pod from the undercarriage.

As Cerberus medics rolled in the respirator, Six opened the pod as frost vented out slowly revealing strange looking insects at they continued to pull away at Shepard's armor and gnawing on parts of her body, despite obviously frigid conditions. Six quickly started to kill the bugs as Cerberus medics attempted to revitalize her. With all of the bugs dead, they moved Shepard to the med bay and Six pulled Dot out wanting to know what just happened. "I'm sorry Noble Six. Pod protocols began to initiate to dissolve the Lieutenant Commander. I decreased the internal temperatures to delay the creatures for as long as possible."

Six rushed to the medical bay, hoping it wasn't too late. The medics did everything they could do for the Commander, however deprived of oxygen, compounded with the freezing conditions, she was declared clinically brain dead after nearly an hour of attempts of revitalization. However, Miranda didn't seem too deterred. She had ordered the Commander's body be placed into suspended animation until she was ready to begin revitalization.

Roughly five weeks had passed since Six 'rescued' Shepard and she was starting to feel restless as all she could do now was read on any updates Miranda had on their plans. Miranda had started gathering Cerberus' best scientists to bring Shepard back though she hadn't started yet. Miranda's primary hurdle would be stimulating Shepard's neural pathways, and once they got that the rest would be simple tissue repair and maybe a few cybernetic augments to assist with the passage of time.

One day during this time the Director suddenly requested to meet with Six, in person. She wasn't sure if it was to applaud her or reprimand her. Either one, she was tempted to go just so she could beat him for some of the things in the past, but kept her composure when she did meet again. "Sir."

"Six, excellent work recovering Commander Shepard from the unknown hostiles, even if she's technically dead. So far the Alliance doesn't seem to hold much hope for her. They are currently classifying her as MIA, but from the sounds of things, I wouldn't doubt if they decided to change that to KIA soon enough."

"Sir?" Six wanting him to get on with why she was there.

"Right, forgive me." He had his hand out, "I need to barrow Dot for a bit. Don't worry, she'll be back soon enough."

She didn't have much choice, now back with Cerberus, and with how Dot was, she had to give him the AI if she didn't want to draw unnecessary attention. "If you'll excuse me sir, I'll be heading to the simulator."

"Just a moment, Noble Six. I have something I need you to do for me." The Director led her to one of the station's laboratories, "Six, I'd like you to meet another project you made possible." They were now standing next to several computers when a holographic projector created a blue sphere, "Meet the artificial intelligence unit from Luna. It's been augmented to become the Enhanced Defense Intelligence program."

"EDI?"

The Director paused for a moment at Six's acronym, "Interesting. Now, Six, I want you to speak with EDI on a regular basis. Get her use to working with humans. I'll trust that you can do this."

Before she could even accept or deny, he left her alone with the computer as EDI spoke, "Greetings. I am the Enhanced Defense Intelligence program."

Six was used to AI, but she wasn't sure what to expect from a Cerberus AI. "Hello…EDI…"

"Why do you call me EDI?"

Six looked around, "That's your name, isn't it? Take the first letters from your name, and it makes EDI. It's an acronym."

As Six and EDI began to speak to one another, the director deactivated the security cameras and replaced the footage of them arriving with recorded footage of the terminal alone. The Director inserted Dot into another computer as she was now aware of her surroundings again, "Hello, Director. How may I be of assistance?"

"I need a number of files decrypted. Do not use Cerberus lines. You are on an isolated system, but it would be best if you did not display this information to anyone else and only at secured locations such as this room. And you are to view Noble Six as the highest ranking UNSC personnel from now on."

"Director, you are an ONI officer. Your status outranks any military officer beyond admiral."

"Let's just have it so that you take direct orders from Six from now on. However before you initiate these changes, I would like to request you to follow two more orders from me first."

"As you wish, Director. Awaiting order."

Nearly two months had since the mysterious attack on the Normandy, and still no sign of Commander Shepard or Noble Six. Shepard was officially classified as KIA, and just as soon as that happened the Alliance and Citadel Council were quick to start brushing the Reaper attack under the rug as an 'isolated geth incident' led by Saren. The human crew of the Normandy was scattered across Alliance Space as the non-human crew weren't exactly welcomed in open arms. Hannah Shepard, the Commander's mother, attempted to help keep her daughter's crew intact with what authority she had, but it still wasn't enough.

Garrus left to go back to the Citadel, see if he could do things the right way instead of the fast way, as Shepard had shown him. But with the chaos of recovery and reconstruction, there was little he could actually achieve there, so he soon fell off the radar. Liara continued her own research, an attempt to find any more information on the Reapers, and maybe even a means of stopping them.

Tali'Zorah returned to her people, with the geth data, provided in thanks to Shepard, her pilgrimage was complete and she was accepted to a ship. Vaht continued his service to Tali, though his presence within the Migrant Fleet seemed to have many of the quarians on edge, mostly from his physical appearance.

Cortez, O'Brien and Jorge however were asked to provide their services, mostly because they were human. O'Brien had many objections to this, "Cortez, you aren't seriously considering? Look at what those assholes have done! They broke up Shepard's team and they're brushing off the Reapers as if it was a geth dreadnought!"

"And if we're lucky then all of this is just a means to put the public at ease and let them believe everything is back to normal. It was Admiral Hackett that Commander Shepard reported to, and it was his fleet that assaulted Sovereign. If Shepard trusts Hackett, I'm willing to consider he has plans on rebuilding their losses to prepare for the Reapers. What do you think, Jorge?"

Jorge looked to the Alliance guards at the entrance to the room they were in, "Well, how much did Six trust Shepard?"

"Enough to tell Shepard her real name apparently," O'Brien muttered.

"Then I think we can trust Hackett."

"So, just like that," O'Brien snapped his fingers, "we're this Hackett's personal lapdogs?"

"I wouldn't say lapdogs," Hackett and Anderson walked into the room together, "more like personal advisors for our negotiations with the Covenant and missions that need to be done under the radar."

"The Covies?"

Anderson handed Cortez a datapad, "It would appear that your friends are willing to open negotiations, however they're only willing to trade with humanity at the moment and are requesting we have at least one of our 'demons' with us during the proceedings. I'm not sure what we've got here, but we're still trying to learn from the salvage Shepard had us bring in."

Hackett took over, "Moreover, we also need those familiar with this UNSC technology to see how we can benefit from it."

O'Brien shrugged, "Well you two are barking up the wrong trees. We're not exactly the most tech savvy of people and we're used to kill their kind not long ago."

Cortez thought of something, "But, if we could convince the Covenant to hand us a few of their Engineers, they might be able to assist you even more than we could."

Jorge continued, "And then we'd be used to our best potential."

The Covenant under Fleet Master Rayta Nar 'Zaconomee had violently removed the San 'Shyuum from their positions of power and have temporarily been assigned to Sangheili and select Unggoy until proper replacements can be found and trained.

The Covenant had found a star system that met the requirements for the different species they had, even for the Unggoy. The system in question was a binary star system with three worlds and two gas giants. The second planet was habitable with several different ecosystems to satisfy their various needs as one of the gas giants had methane for the Unggoy to resupply with. The system itself was unreachable without the use of a Slipspace drive, technology that eluded even the Reapers.

Fleet Master Rayta was onboard Ardent Prayer as Shipmaster Rho 'Barutumee oversaw the Fleet Master's safety during their meeting with the humans. They were meeting the humans within Alliance space to begin the talks, a situation Rho was not entirely comfortable with. "Fleet Master, are we certain we can trust the humans? They may be Reclaimers, but we were at war with their kind not long ago."

"Indeed we were at war with humans, however these humans are not the same as the ones we had once persecuted. I wish to see how our kind, and the Covenant, fair under peaceful conditions with them. My hope is that we can take these lessons back to our people and propagate these teachings and guide our brothers to true enlightenment."

Rho wasn't as confident, watching the human vessel arrive. "You hope for much, Fleet Master. I pray to the gods that your plan does succeed."

A/N: Well with this off the ground finally, I will do my best to continue the story all the way up to the end of the Reaper War(with a much needed fix to the ending).