Author's Note: I really appreciate the feedback and reviews, they really do help me a lot. Feel free to offer any suggestion to the story it-self.

Also, if anyone is interested in being a proof reader since I am not a native speaker, please contact me. May god have mercy on my grammatical errors.

Finally, please have a moment of silence for our men and women in uniforms, today is Memorial Day.

A thank you to Darksoul2142 for proof reading and revising my work.

Revelation

Commander Alan Smith was a middle aged man with a greying hair. Born in Scotland, Alan was from a poor family that lived off public welfare. However, it was in such conditions that Alan learned the value of hard work. Alan would have got into the Cambridge Business School if his family was a bit wealthier. Faced with a limited choice, Alan joined the Systems Alliance. Alan was a natural leader, and it didn't go unnoticed. After almost 20 years in the Systems Alliance, Alan was given the rank of commander and his own ship, the frigate SSV Sevastopol, named after the Battle of Sevastopol back in World War Two.

The SSV Sevastopol was stationed with the Arcturus fleet before she was assigned to investigate a malfunctioning deep space probe deep in the galactic rim. Alan wasn't exactly pleased with this assignment, especially with the Batarians being in an uproar with what Shepard did. 'Speaking of Shepard, where is he?' Alan had always viewed Shepard as a true hero for humanity, even if Shepard did work with Cerberus.

"Flight Lieutenant, take us to the Epsilon Relay."

"Roger that commander." Flight Lieutenant Larry Berger was a well experienced pilot with over 20 years of experience of flying various Alliance ships. From Kodiak Shuttles to Mantis Gunships, Larry Berger had his taste in all varieties.

"Going through Epsilon Relay right now Commander"

It was a whoosh for Commander Smith. He never understood how these mass relays really worked, and he probably never will.

In a matter of seconds the SSV Sevastopol came out from the Relay, ahead of them was the empty void of intergalactic space.

"Lieutenant Berger, enter the following coordinates for FTL. Let's get this done as fast as possible."

"Aye Aye Commander."

The SSV Sevastopol supercharged its Element Zero core, and the Sevastopol's mass effect field decreased Sevastopol's mass to the point that allowed it to travel at velocity faster than light.

Even after all these time he had travelled in FTL, the sight of beyond the speed of light still amazes him. Brilliant flashes of white... never ending flashes of white appearing before his own eyes.

"Commander, ETA 3 hours."

"Thank you Lieutenant Berger."

Everyone had a sixth sense, and in Smith's case that sixth sense was detecting bad situations. Commander Alan Smith trusted his instincts very much; it had been more than one time since his instincts had saved him. This mission gave him an uneasy feeling even though it was standard one and going well so far. Trusting his gut feeling, Alan spoke into the ship wide broadcasting system.

"Attention all hands, this the Commander speaking. As you all know Alliance Command had ordered us to check out a malfunctioning deep space probe. This seems like a pretty ordinary mission, grab and go. However, a deep space probe won't just malfunction on its own, especially that all of our other deep space probes are still working well to this date. No one knows if this is the work of Cerberus, or maybe even the Batarians. Therefore, I want all stations on high alert, I don't want any possible surprises. This is the Commander, out."

"Commander, coming out of FTL in 5 minutes." The voices of Lieutenant Berger interrupted Smith's nap. It was a good nap… a moment of peace before the storm.

"Alright listen up everyone this is Commander Smith, all personnel get to your battle stations, high alert. Over and Out." Alan Smith really hoped it is just a probe malfunctioning, he still has a wife back on Earth.

"Commander we are coming out of FTL in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

"Good, Lieutenant let's find that-"

"Shit sir… you might want to see this…" The voice of Lieutenant Berger sounded as dry as cotton.

In a moment, Smith's greatest fear is confirmed. Reapers… except what frightens him even more was how these Reapers were all derelict, and still burning. It's not just one Reaper, it's hundreds of them. All either sliced in half, or have their hull completely punctured and pierced. There is even one Reaper that was in pieces…

The Commander still remembered the Alliance encounter with Sovereign; it was a nightmare even to this day. Cruisers getting gutted and cut down like paper. Entire Frigates flotilla eliminated by one single sweep of the Reaper's main gun and its GARDIAN systems. The Sevastopol was one of the Frigate flotillas that fired the final shot that destroyed Sovereign. It took 3 System Alliance Fleets to just destroy one Reaper, now there are supernatural forces that could easily decimate the Reapers, it seemed almost like an act of god.

"All personnel scan the area, are there any other Reapers signatures? Communications, contact Alliance Command now."

The SSV Sevastopol just had its Quantum Entanglement communication system installed a few days ago. The SSV Sevastopol's advanced system allows her to send information to Systems Alliance Command almost instantly and without need for comm. buoys.

"Sir we are reaching System Alliance Commander. Confirmation the SSV Kilimanjaro, sir." The Comms. officer yelled.

"SSV Kilimanjaro do you read?"

"SSV Sevastopol this is Admiral Hackett of SSV Kilimanjaro copy." The strong and deep voice of Admiral Hackett echoed through the comms. system.

"Sir, we've just sighted some derelict Reapers sir… no, change that to hundreds." Commander Smith could not almost suppress the excitement and fear in his voice.

"Derelict Reapers… are they recent?" Admiral Hackett's tone suddenly became very deep and quiet.

"That's the issue sir, these Reapers appear to be destroyed a few moment before. But what is more amazing sir, is that some Reapers are all sliced clean half, and the rest all have their penetrated through and through."

"What?"

"Sir, some of the Reapers are still…... "

"Commander, unidentified vessel straight ahead. Sir, it has no known configuration. The Operations Officer yelled.

"All units get a lock on target. Don't fire. Hail that ship." This was a first contact situation for Smith, and he didn't want to provoke any kind of god like beings that would surely atomize him if any hostile action was taken.

Remembering that he was still on the line with Admiral Hackett, Smith quickly reported to Hackett.

"We detected one ship remaining that's not a Reaper. It doesn't match any ship profiles in the Alliance Database, sir."

"Have you contacted it yet Commander?" The Admiral replied.

"Commander hailing has been unsuccessful." The comms. officer yelled to the bridge, answering the Admiral's question.

"Commander CIC has no confirm lock on target, over." The Operation Officer interrupted the comms. officer.

Sweat broke out on the Commander's forehead. Not the sweat due to the temperature, but the kind due to fear.

"Yes sir, but it seems to have failed"

Before Smith could continue, the comms. officer again yelled to the bridge, "Commander we are receiving transmission from unidentified vessel!"

"… wait… hold a second, sir [Hackett] we just received a package!"

"Open it now Commander." Hackett's voice speaks authority and command.

"Sir it's a message form that ship, it's in Perfect English!"

What happened next simply couldn't be described in words.

"Humans, we are Forerunners, and my name is Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, commander of the Forerunner military. It seems that this galaxy faces the threat of the Reapers, and so do we. I hope that we can come together as allies during time of crisis like this."

"Holy shit… sir this is a first contact scenario. Sir what should I do?" Commander Smith had been trained by the Alliance for first contact scenarios, he was drawing a blank with the training seemingly ineffective for this situation. Just then, Admiral Hackett's voice burst from the Comm.

"Commander, you orders are to contact them in the best manner, and make sure we gain their support for our war against the Reapers."

"Sir Yes sir, it will be done." It's the only phrase Commander Alan Smith could think of now.

"Good, Hackett out."

Command

Admiral Hackett didn't want to leave Commander Smith all by himself, but the discovery of another race is not the most pressing issue. Hackett would love to communicate with this new founded race. Hopefully it is peaceful and it will ally with Humanity. However, Hackett still has his own priorities. The Reapers can strike Earth at any second now, and Hackett knows that the Systems Alliance is not ready. The First Fleet is near the Charon Relay, and the Fourth Fleet above Earth is also mobilizing. The situation seems almost helpless, with the whole Systems Alliance cut off from each other, both in space travel and communication. This leaves only isolated pockets of resistance against an overwhelming force. The situation is bad… really bad.

Hackett had his faith in Commander Alan Smith to do the right thing. Smith is a decent man, a good leader, and most importantly, a damn good diplomat. There is only one man that can outmatch Smith in term of his diplomacy skills, and that man is locked up in Toronto for saving the galaxy. "Goddamn Shepard… all of our hopes are on you."

"Comm, give me a line to Admiral Anderson!"

"Aye Aye."

The Comm link opened.

"Admiral Anderson, how is things down there? We don't have much time."

"Admiral Hackett, I've just released Shepard, and we are going to the Defence Committee."

"Defence Committee? Words don't kill Reapers, guns do. The Committee will be a waste of time."

"Negative Admiral, the whole Defence Committee is currently scared shitless, we need Shepard, the only one with any knowledge of the Reapers, to get the Committee to get their acts together.

"Well then Anderson, make it quick. Also, I've ordered to bring the Normandy back, it will arrive at the Headquarters soon."

"Understood Admiral."

"Good, make it quick Anderson."

"Will do Admiral."

To Hackett, bureaucracy was never his thing. If history had taught Hackett anything, then it is that bureaucratic issues always interfere with the best interest of the military. In the end, soldier's lives were sacrificed for political gains, and it pained Hackett every time he thought about how this galaxy's political agenda had limited their preparation for the Reapers.

The defensive perimeter around Earth was slowing forming…

'Good luck out there Commander Smith' was Hackett's only thought.

Reclaim

"Offensive Bias, collect all possible information on that ship."

"Understood Didact, I've already tasked an infiltration ancilla to collect data. Their cyber defence is almost non-existent."

Suddenly, the Iso-Didact experienced a surge in his body. Offensive Bias had just uploaded all the information collected on that ship's system, and it is instantaneously absorbed by the Didact's personal armour ancilla. Forerunner had mastered the art of ancilla to the point that information of a several lifetimes could be stored and learned by the user in matter of seconds. The Didact was filled with information of this galaxy, from the basic evolution of this humanity, to the creation of this "Systems Alliance", to the discovery of an unknown element called Element Zero and an unknown technology called Mass Relays, to the joining of this galactic community known as the Citadel Council, and finally to the gloomy threat that this Galaxy has to face. Humanity sharing the galactic stage with other species, these Asaris, Turians, Salarians and many more, these are truly intriguing to Didact. However, what stands out for the Didact is this one human called John Shepard. One singlehandedly defeat a Reaper Capital Ship and destroy a whole base of Reaper Slaves. Humans are always so full of surprises.

Suddenly Offensive Bias interrupted Didact's thought, "Didact the vessel is hailing us."

"Let them speak."

"Your Ancilla will be transmitting the live feed Didact."

"Good, now Offensive Bias, I want you to transmit your data to all Council members."

"It is done."

Then, the Didact's communication channel came to life.

"This is the SSV Sevastopol of the System Alliance. My name is Alan Smith, Commander of this ship. I wish we can make peaceful contact."

The transmission ended, and the Didact is left wondering what would be his next course of actions.

"Very well. Endurance of Eternal Stars."

"Didact."

"Contact this Human vessel, let them dock."

"Are you sure Didact? They can be a security threat."

"Let's make this an exception."

"As you wish Didact. I will send the transmission now."

…

"Didact, the vessel had responded. They are coming to the primary docking area now."

"Very well, Endurance monitor any activities of that vessel. Offensive Bias, join me as the delegation."

"Yes Didact." Both the Forerunner and the Construct replied.

In one single instant, the Didact teleported himself to the primary docking bay, alongside him are his two Warrior-Servant guards.

The Didact had his armour conceal his face, as he didn't want to surprise the humans. Humanity is a beautiful species to say the least, and because of that Humans viewed the Forerunners as ugly animals. Every species, no matter how powerful, will always have their own stereotypes.

Ahead of the Didact is the human vessel. It looked sleek and menacing. Even being in a different galaxy, human design still impressed the Didact. Then the ship's airlock opened with a hiss, and in front of the Didact walked out 5 men, all in a blue coated armour with a single visor that showed the eyes.

The leader of the human spoke, and Didact's translation ancilla kicked in instantaneously.

"Greeting, my name is Commander Alan Smith, Commander of the SSV Sevastopol. I am here under the orders of the Systems Alliance to establish peaceful and positive contact among us."

A soldier as a diplomat, very interesting indeed. Then the Didact remembered he is not a diplomat either, except this is just how the circumstances worked. Circumstances dictate everything.

Then, the Didact's deep voice echoed from his own personal armour. "Greeting human, my name is Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, but you can simply call me Didact. I am the leader of the Warrior Servant class, and the supreme commander of the Forerunner military."

The figure in front of the Didact is merely six feet tall, contrast to the Didact's imposing figure of 10 feet tall. However, the man in front of him showed no fear, and his voice is rich with confidence.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Didact. I, Commander Alan Smith welcome you to the Systems Alliance, the central representative body of Earth and her colonies." Humans were always so good with words.

"The pleasure is mine Commander Alan Smith." The ancilla of the Didact's armour spoke perfect English with a slight English accent.

"Very well. Now, I am going to cut in honest. I have no idea about your race, and there is no information about the Forerunners until now. Are you from this galaxy?" The Human decided to cut down all the formal setting and cut right to the point. Straight to the point, that is something the Didact preferred.

"Human, the answer for your question is no. We are Forerunners, guardians of the Mantle, and we travelled from another galaxy indeed." The Didact replied.

The expression on the man face was of disbelief. The man opened his mouth, then closed it because words simply couldn't express his disbelief. The Didact on the other side, remained stoic and calm, it was expected that the human would be in disbelief. Finally, the human commander spoke, "Well certainly there is a lot of things unknown between us."

Little did the human commander knew, the Didact had already learnt all of the information on this Humanity. However, maintaining a positive diplomatic atmosphere is very crucial, thus the Didact could only speak in the affirmative.

"Indeed, perhaps we should travel to the room of diplomacy." With a single wave of hand, the Humans and the Forerunners were teleported to the room of diplomacy.

"What… what just happened?" Exclaimed the Commander, and each of the four guards raised their weapon out of confusion.

"That was a slipspace teleportation device" replied Offensive Bias, as his hologram suddenly appeared.

"What is this? Who are you?" The human exclaimed.

"I am Offensive Bias, Contender Class Ancilla in service for the Forerunners."

"An AI… isn't it? You've managed to have the AI to serve you? How does it operate without a blue box?" The commander immediately questioned. The four guards behind the commander immediately tensed their weapons after hearing the word AI, in response the Warrior Servants behind the Didact raised their weapon as well. Gold coloured light rifles instantly formed into life.

The Didact, however, remained calm. His armour's ancilla had already allowed him to understand what the humans were talking about.

"Worry not, for our ancilla s safe. They are loyal for more than 100,000 years."
"...That is incredible…" Then the human with a single wave of gesture, the four guards lowered their weapons, and at the same time, the Warrior Servants lowered theirs as well.

"Commander, I believe you have more other pressing issue for me."

"Didact, I will only be plain honest to you. Did your ship destroy these vessels out in the space?"

"Yes."

"You have destroyed approximately 200 Reapers ships. Let me tell you that it took the System Alliance 3 fleets to just take one Reaper ship down, but just one ship of yours can take down 200. This galaxy is under the threat of the Reapers, and we need help. I am here to seek an alliance between us humans and you Forerunners. We will provide everything you want, as long as you help us against the goddamn Reapers."

'Three fleets to take down one Reaper vessel? How can this galaxy be so weak?' The Didact thought to himself.

"The Forerunners will lend you support against the Reapers. However, I insists that we perform a more detailed diplomatic meeting between our people."

"I agree, but then we will have to go to Earth or Arcturus system. Does your ship run on Eezo?"

"No." was the Didact's firm answer.

"Well that may be problematic, since you would need Eezo to use the Mass Relays. I can always report back to System Alliance and have they sent the delegation to you."

"That will not be necessary." Offensive Bias interrupted the Human officier. "For your location of Earth can be travelled in less than an hour."

"What… how do you know Earth's location?"

"The Codex." Offensive Bias replied.

The Didact almost worried that Offensive Bias is developing a humorous personality. It was then Offensive Bias communicated with the Didact's personal ancilla.

"Didact, the planet known as Earth is Erde-Tyrene, we can jump to the system in less than one hour."

"Thank you Offensive Bias." Was all of the Didact's reply.

"How… well if you can do so. I will contact the Systems Alliance as soon as possible."

"Then we are agreed."

"Yes, and I need to return to my ship."

"And human, tell your council that there will be more than one ship."

Then, the Didact waved his hand, and suddenly reality shifted and the group was in the primary bay again.

The Didact wondered how the Ecumene will react to this news.