Thank you all for your comments, they make me want to continue this story here. To answer some thoughts; The Mechanicus will not be joined by any other 40k faction. I too find it stupid people do that and at some point the stories become too much to handle properly by the author. Hell, I did it myself and I realize how stupid it is. The Mechanicus joining the Mass Effect factions, well, we will see what happens. Some things in the universe think similar to a Tech Priest.

The world was murky for Shepard as he slowly rose from the bed. The sounds of alarms blaring was enough to wake up even a dead man! Then again, was he not dead just a few moments ago?

How the hell was he alive?

"Shepard, are you awake!? Can you hear me?!" A voice from a nearby communicator called out as Shepard was starting to get his bearings.

"Yes I'm awake, what the hell is happening out there?"

"Call it your welcoming party Shepard. Seems they finally realized where we have been storing you off at." Said the voice as interference tried to overtake her, "Damn it, Shepard there should be a cabinet with guns and armor. Grab them and meet me at the Docks."

"Who are 'they'!?" Shepard shouted however he got no response from the comms unit.

All he could give was a small curse as he quickly got back to work. His work being killing everyone else who was trying to murder him. The voice did not lie as he got a series of armaments from the box including a lot of his old gear.

Strapped into a new piece of armor and checking his rifle for what was surely a lot of damage, Shepard heard a series of explosions and batterings outside his room. Knowing he was probably about to face something he ran towards the door and braced himself. After a few moments the door opened to welcome in an old mech.

"Take this you fucker!" He shouted while firing a series of Mass Effect rounds right into the thing's chest.

It did not stand a chance being so close to Shepard. However as it died it began spoke, "Praise the Prissiah…"

The Commander looked at the machine for a moment before shaking his head and getting through the door. Quickly several mechs similar to the one earlier began to rain fire upon his position. Each was dispatched though with a series of bursts from Shepard's rifle. None survived his onslaught as the commander had to keep moving.

"Commander Shepard, can you hear me!?" Called out his comms unit once again.

"Yes I can. They seem to be trying to jam our signals." Shepard said before he shouted, "Now who the hell is attacking!?"

"I believe it is the Geth, Shepard. We have been fighting them on and off for some time now ever since we picked you up. You are their target."

"The Geth were targeting me?" Shepard felt a small ping of anger as he thought to himself, "I've been killed!"

"Maybe they wanted you to stay dead or maybe they wanted your corpse for some reason." She admitted as Shepard started to hear gunfire, "Get over here Shepard, I don't know how long we can keep them off the SR-2!"

"I heard you, I heard you!" Shepard answered while running down the halls and gunning down whatever mech was in his way.

The fighting was becoming more and more extreme. Shepard was beginning to think this was some kind of Military Base with the amount of Mech he destroyed. Ten units in two rooms was too much unless they were aiming to fight off some dangerous entities.

Within about Fifteen Minutes Shepherd finally pierced the lines of Robots and into the docks. He felt his heart skip for a moment as he saw something he was not expecting.

The Normandy in all her pride and glory.

"COMMANDER SHEPARD!" A woman standing at the door called out while firing at more of their robots, "GET IN!"

The man nodded his head. He sprinted across the area as gunfire was shot from all sides of the ship. He too took some gunfire but it was not enough to stop him from arriving at the ship!

With a yank the woman brought Shepard into the ship and closed the door, "Joker, go!"

Those words were enough to bring the ship to life. Shepard felt himself go up as the vessel began its ascent into the air. As for the person next to him Shepard watched her take out a small device and press the button. The next moment Shepard felt the metal floor underneath him shake for a few moments.

"What the hell was that!?" He demanded the woman as he grabbed her hand that was holding what he realized was a detonator.

"Analog Detonator." She answered while shaking his hand off, "We've found out that Geth cannot hack them so we've had to transition towards using them."

"You blew up your base, didn't you? How do you know there was no one else down there!?"

"Everyone knew what they were getting themselves into. They would have easily sacrificed their lives if they knew it was to make sure you got on this ship." She told him before pressing a button that opened the door, "Now get in. I wish we had better circumstances but it is time you meet your crew."

Shepard glared at her. He knew it was possible to take down their security system, he had killed plenty of military grade systems before in his lifetime. Though was she just afraid of the risk of it? He did not really know.

Still he wondered why the Geth would want him. Maybe it was revenge for killing Sovereign. That is a mighty good reason the more the Commander thought about it. He had always been a thorn in their side.

"You coming?" She asked halfway through the door.

"I am." Shepard said as he made his way through the door.

The ship he was on was very similar to the Normandy. The only difference between this ship and that one was that things looked a lot more cozy. However he was already walking his way towards the pilot's seat to see if his suspicions were correct.

"Well well, Commander Shepard," The man in the Pilot's Seat turned around to face him, "If I could punch you right now I would."

"What's with the hostility?" The Commander asked with a smirk on his face.

"Last time I saw you alive, you threw me into the escape pod like a doll. Shattered my pelvis and a small chunk of my femur." Joker answered back with a small whimper, "But, well, it's good to see you walking again."

"You sound like I shouldn't be."

"I got a few glimpses back when we were recovering your… body." The Man said with a small bit of shakiness, "You were not a body man. You were a piece of Charcoal!"

"Yeah, Atmospheric Reentry will do that." Shepard admitted as he thought to himself, "But how did I come back?"

"That would be the Lazarus Project." The woman declared as she walked up to Shepard with a smile, "However that is not my place to say, but the Illusive Man's."

"The Illusive Man?" Shepard asked while he looked over to see Joker shaking his head.

"Yes, now come along. He will be very happy you are walking once more."

Shepard could not help but narrow his eyes, "If you are not going to say anything, then lead the way."

That she did, taking to him to where the old Holodeck was previously. Though this time instead of a simple room he noticed the massive circle in the middle of the floor. The woman simply presented to Shepard this floor piece with a smile, "If you will stand right here, the Illusive Man will be connecting shortly."

With nothing else to go on, Shepard did exactly that. Soon the woman left the room. Uncharacteristically the entire room was closed off and light began to be drained. The array that was under Shepard lit up and brought with it a giant hologram that covered his entire body. Within moments it went away, revealing a holographic man standing before Shepard.

"It is a pleasure, Commander Shepard, to see you alive and walking once more. To think the Lazarus Project worked so well." The man said as he looked Shepard up and down, "How is your body?"

"It feels pretty good." Shepard answered back skeptically, "But I don't know who you are, or what organization you are. So tell me now before I shut down this call and take over the ship."

"Settle down Shepard, settle down. I am not your enemy here." The man assured as he gave a charming salesman smile, "I am the Illusive Man, leader of the Organization known as Cerberus. We revived you Shepard because we believed that you are the one who will save the Galaxy."

"Thanks for the compliment then, but didn't I raid one of your outposts before I was killed?" Shepard pointed out with a small hint of anger.

"You did. It made us realize our current goals were not aligned with humanities." The Illusive Man admitted as he took out what Shepard guessed was a cigarette, "Now our goal is made clear, one that you and we share."

"The Reapers…"

"I am glad you have not forgotten." The man admitted while taking a long tug at the smoke, "I have credible evidence they are the ones who are responsible for your demise back on Relay 425."

"Which ones, the crazy bastard or the ships the jumped us?"

"The later, Shepard." He announced with a little bit of ceremony, "They are what I started calling 'The Collectors'. An odd race thought Urban Legend by the Council they are both real and dangerous."

"And their connections to the Reapers?"

"It exists." The Illusive Man fired off, "We have been able to find Reaper Technology among the rackages of one of their vessels. Actually, if I am not mistaken, the location was Relay 425."

"Where I died."

"It seemed that the Ship was almost cut in half. At the time we did not know what caused it, today I can say for certain it was because one of their ships attempted to pursue Tech Priest into whatever method of Faster than Light travel he had discovered." The Illusive man clarified, "They are working for the Reapers, stripping human colonies bare as they do something for them. We have yet to learn the reason why they are operating the way they are."

"I understand you, Illusive Man." Shepard said those words with all the venom they were worth, "The Reapers are the greatest Threat to the Galaxy we are facing down. However you spoke another name, Tech Priest, I met him once before."

"Indeed you have, he is the man who the Council announced to be your murderer." The Illusive Man laughed for a good minute as he shook his head, "Do you want revenge for him attracting the Collector's attention to your ship?"

"I want justice for all the people he killed." Shepard shot back.

"You and the rest of the Galaxy." The Illusive Man clarified, "To catch you up, Shepard, he has been attacking numerous Colonies and raiding them just like the Batarians did. However unlike them he's pretty damn good at it. Add to that his pronounced hatred of Asari Maidens and clubs, well he has made the enemy of the most powerful race in the galaxy."

Shepard thought to himself for a moment. Something was becoming more and more obvious as he thought, "What is your opinion of him?"

"I think he is a threat. One that will equal the Reapers within a few decades. However for now he is against the Reapers just like we are."

"How do you know that? Are you in contact with him?"

"I believe this to be true as we have records of two encounters between his ship and the Collectors. On both occasions both sides opened fire upon the other with only a few moments of communication between the other." The Illusive Man took a long drag of smoke, "The best thing we have though is that he is the best distraction for both Cerberus and the Reapers. While he and the Council fight one another we will fight the secret war to determine the fate of the Galaxy."

"Quite grandiose." Shepard fired back at him, "But the Council won't be preparing for the Reapers if hes fighting them."

"Thats the best part, with every colony he raids and brothel he destroys Tech Priest forces the Council to create more ships to combat him. They have cornered him three times in the past two years with two full fleet." The hologram gave a smile, "He slaughtered them."

"Slaughtered? How many were lost?"

"About a quarter of the Turian Fleet and all of the Asari Fleet." The Illusive man chuckled, "He only fled when the Systems Alliance came onto the battlefield."

"If he is so powerful, why did he flee?"

"I can't really say. However in the end the Council was humiliated and several more Colonies along the traverse have been lost thanks to him." The Illusive Man gave a small finishing smile, "Shepard, while I respect your desire for justice we have much more pressing matters with the Reapers. We agree to focus upon the Reapers, eh Shepard?"

"I don't trust you." Shepard started as he looked at the Hologram in the digital eyes, "But the Reapers need to be stopped. Even if there is a criminal on the periphery, the entire Galaxy will be lost if the Reapers get their way."

"I'm glad you have seen reason, Shepard. Now I want you to visit this colony…"