A/N: And I'm back, for however long. I apologize for such a long delay but I started on the rewrite of the early chapters then stopped because college started and it has been keeping me busy. There were so many things that have been hitting me that I've been having trouble getting free time to write. This chapter is going to be in 3rd person, giving that a shot. So I'm not going to keep you from reading, so here it is the next chapter.

3rd person POV

Joseph felt the shuttle shake and jerk as it landed on the unknown planet. The doors opened and dry heat slammed into his face. He stepped out of the shuttle and felt the weight of this armor as he took his first steps onto the dirt. The Red Hound's armor felt like it weight twice as heavy as his old set. His knees shook a little being unprepared for the weight but soon adapted to the extra payload.

Scanning the area Joseph saw that they landed separate from the group of Kodiaks. The surrounding area was like a forest but he could see a rocky terrain through the trees ahead of him. This systems sun was bright and emitted heat so fierce that it made him sweat within seconds of arriving.

"Where are we" Joseph asks wiping away the sweat from his face.

"We're about three-hundred yards away from the landing zone, on the opposite side of the facility. We couldn't risk landing in the same area as the others." Isaac said stepping out, placing his sword on his side. Joseph glanced at it and was able to recognize it as a sword very similar in appearance to that of gladius, a sword the Roman Legion used "Move out men we have to get going" he shouts in his commanding tone to the troopers in the shuttle. His voice even made Joseph himself want to obey him too.

Joseph watched as seven troopers exited the Kodiak, three turians, two krogans, and the last two were humans. Each soldier was wearing their helmets, so their faces were shielded from him.

"So do we know what's attacking us" asked one of the turians

"Who cares a fight is a fight" one of the krogans reply sounding eager

"No we don't, but whatever it is it killed our troops. Now keep your eyes open, intel on this mission is lacking so expect anything." Isaac said as he began to walk down a path that led out the forest

They all followed him as he led them down the path. Joseph removed a Locust from his side and readied it. Moving in a line they wondered through the trees until they exited near a cliff that looked over the mining facility that rested in some kind of valley. Upon further inspection Joseph realized that the rocky terrain was actually the section of ground that they removed to make room for the facility and mining. There were huge holes in the ground and buildings all over the place. The buildings brightly reflected in the sun blinding Joseph from seeing certain buildings in full detail.

"How big is this place" Joseph whispered as he examined the largest building, that he guessed was the main facility, that lies in the center.

"This place houses over two hundred miners and fifty soldiers along with a few teams of researchers. What we are looking at is the top part of the facility, there is another underground level and tunnels that lead other sections of the facility. We are going to one of the tunnels." Isaac answers as he turns down another path that led down a cliff side

As they descended down the path the mining base disappeared behind a large rock wall. A rock wall about twenty feet on both sides, yea this is asking for trouble. They remained on their course through a pass that would be perfect for an ambush. They continued going down until they came to a door built into the rock

"This is a side entrance we can use. I just have to input an authorization key" Isaac said as he removed a fake rock near the door that revealed a security pad "It will bring us straight to the core of the facility" he finished

He entered some numbers and soon the door opened and all you could see was a grey corridor that led down to another door. Isaac put the rock back and the group walked down the corridor until they reached the next door. Isaac removed his glove and put his hand on a scanner near the door and it opened too.

"What's with all these security doors?" Joseph asked as they made their way down another passage

"Since this entry way leads to the core of the facility we have to place numerous security points that are only accessible by Commanders. Past these doors" he said pointing to another door that was in front of them "we should enter one of the offices that the researchers used" he says as he placed his hand on another scanner allowing the door to open

When the door opened they walked into a damaged room. Lights were busted in areas, papers, rocks, desks, and tables were scattered across the room. Joseph entered the room sticking to the walls to prevent anything from getting the jump on him.

Walking next to the wall he found a strange rock with silver streaks running all over it. "Why are these rocks here?" He asked walking into the light and holding it up to get a better look at the rock.

"Mining and research base" Isaac quickly replied providing as little info about the bases exact properties

"Sir, there's blood here" a turian says as he kneeled behind a table

"But where are the bodies" another turian asked as he walked to a door that was across the room taking up as guard

"I don't know but we need to keep our eyes open" Isaac said as he looked through some of the papers on the floor. While shuffling through the papers something caught his eye. He grabbed a data pad that was under the papers he picked up earlier running his hand across it, his eyes raced across the pad scanning what was on the screen.

As Joseph stood there he decided he shouldn't just stand around any longer. He walked over to Isaac dropping the rock on the floor "What are you looking for" he asked as he kneeled down by Isaac.

"…Something" he said hesitating slightly "information on that something, among other things" he said as he tossed the pad to the ground and continued to look through the papers on the ground "Found you" he said pulling a data pad that was stuck under a desk "Let's go, we need to continue further" he said putting the data pad away in a slot on his chest plate.

Isaac signaled everyone to move forward and they began to walk across the room. The turian at the door opened it and everyone was shocked when a fist went through the turian's torso. The turian dropped to the ground his blood spilling onto the floor. Everyone drew their guns and aimed at the mysterious assailant. No one knew what it might be because of how dark it was but they didn't want to take any chances. As Joseph's finger reached the trigger he felt wind rush pass him with only a blue trail giving him any idea of what happened.

It took mere seconds for Joseph to realize what had happened. As his mind was able to collect its thoughts Joseph saw Isaac standing in front of them with his sword drawn and, from what he could tell, had pierced the attackers head, driving the tip of the blade through its forehead. He moved so fast… he moved across the room at such speed that Joseph didn't even see him. When Isaac removed his blade from the creatures head it fell to the ground. One of the humans ran to the fallen turian grabbing its head and searched for a pulse.

"Nothing sir… he's gone" the man said closing the turians eyes, Joseph looked at Isaac and he could see that Isaac was upset over the loss of the turian

"Let's see what the hell did this" Isaac said as he grabbed the creature by its throat and dragged it into better lighting.

He dropped it and what everyone saw puzzled even Joseph. It looked like a husk but Joseph could identify it as a human male. Joseph looked at the creature observing its characteristics. It had the Red Hounds armor on but it had weird blue lines running across its skull, most of its hair was gone, and its eyes were even glowing blue. The skin on him was very pale almost a grey and he had what looked like cables running through his body. The only thing Joseph could compare it to would be the Overseers he fought on Virmire but this one looks like it holds less intelligence then them and it had these cables which Joseph didn't remember the Overseers having.

"It seems the Collectors have found a new way of turning our people against us" Isaac whispered as he sheathed his blade and scanned the body with his Omni-tool "Extensive cybernetics, low brain activity, genetic mutation level… high. It's like a husk but more evolved… stronger." he stated turning away from it and looking at his fallen soldier

"It's similar to the things I fought on Virmire" Joseph said looking closely at the creature, his words catching everyone's attention

"You've seen these things before" a krogan exclaimed sounding shocked

"Well like it. The ones I fought were turians and they retained their minds. They were a project of Saren, they called themselves the Overseers"

"Oh yes the Overseers, I forgot about them" Isaac says looking at Joseph "We've received reports of them in some systems a while ago but the Commanders of those relays took care of them over time. If the Collectors are trying to recreate that to use as soldiers then we might have a problem."

"I don't think they'll be able to recreate it with such success. The Collectors have advance technology but they don't possess all the tech of the Reapers" Joseph replied

"Yea, a Reaper killed one of our Commanders at another relay. Johannes I think his name was, he was a good man… very dedicated. The monster destroyed all but a few of that relays fleet." Isaac responded revealing that he knew about the Reapers

"Where did he have a run in with a Reaper" Joseph asked looking at him with a questionable look

"Johannes had a small fleet that patrolled silently in Geth space. We have a very small presence there. While on patrol the Reaper attacked and killed Johannes as he sacrificed himself and his crew to buy the few remaining ships time to escape."

"What are you doing in Geth space?"

"We can discuss that later. Right now I have to worry about the Collectors and I don't want to take chances of them killing anymore of my people and turning them into these things." Isaac states making Joseph look at him and wonder what else he knows

Isaac turned and began typing on his omni-tool "Susan" he says

"Yes sir" Joseph hears her respond

"I want you to tell our engineers to prepare AA guns on every vital planet we have and redirect the soldiers on those planets as man power. Alert all ships to head to the more key planets and protect them. I'm depending on you to assign their locations while I'm down here. However I want Carriers; Zeus, Aphrodite, Athena, Hades, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Hera, Hephaestus, Hestia, and the Poseidon to be assign at our shipyards. Tell them when they reach their assigned planets to have their frigates, interceptors, and fighters prepared to launch. I don't want the Collectors taking those points. The rest is up to you while I'm down here."

"Understood sir" she replies "I won't let you down"

"I know you won't" he said as the transmission ended "Let's move" he said turning "Susan can handle that task while we do ours." he finished as he opened the door but he stopped and did a scan of the dead turian "Rest easy knowing that you will be remembered" Isaac whispered as he continued through. This sentiment puzzled Joseph as he wondered what that was about.

"Isaac what is our task" Joseph asked as he followed him through the door with the others behind him

"To gather the vital data they have here and to secure this base." He said as they walked down a dark hallway "We've already got the data"

"So you came down here just to help secure this base and retrieve some data?" Joseph stated questioning Isaac's motives.

"I… have other reasons" he replied hesitating once again. Isaac's hesitation made Joseph really curious about this thing that Isaac is looking for.

They followed the hallway when Isaac held up his fist signaling everyone to stop. "You hear that" he said glancing back at them.

Everyone ceased what they were doing and listened for any noise that might break out. The hallway fell silent and there was nothing. Soon Joseph heard a loud bang and another. Isaac moved forward slowly, cautiously, and soon he drew his blade. He approached a door on the right and opened it. He seemed to have examined the room rather quickly but found nothing as he backed out. Turning from the room he approached another door across from the other, this one seemed well hidden in the dark. Isaac stopped at the door and leaned his head near it backing away when another bang was heard.

He glanced at everyone and pointed at the door and opened it. As the door opened a glow emitted from it. Joseph crept to Isaac and glanced into the room. The first thing he noticed was the size of the room, there were doors leading into it from every corner but then something caught Joseph's eye. He watched in horror as creatures looking like the one we saw earlier, but varying by species, dragged some Red Hound mercs onto spikes, they weren't dead but were bordering it. Joseph thought that they must be the few surviving Hounds that didn't die in the initial strike. Joseph knew that soon they would become husks or die from their injuries. He also knew that they can't turn them into the same thing they saw earlier by using Dragon Teeth. This raised a question in Joseph's head. Maybe they bring them into the Collector ship and run the experiments; this is something that Joseph was sure he would learn eventually.

As Joseph watched them a figure jumped in front of the door and the next thing he knew he was slammed into the wall followed by a deafening scream being released. Joseph's world went blurry for a second because of the impact but it soon cleared and the thing he saw was not an improvement. The deformed face of one of the Hound's mercs was near his. The only thing stopping it was that both of the Krogans had grabbed its body as a quick reaction, they struggled to keep it from finishing him.

The Krogan pulled it away from Joseph. It thrashed and they threw it into the room, slamming into a couple of the same creatures that were charging for the door. Isaac seemed unmoved by their intimidating appearance as he threw his hand up and a barrier appeared at the entrance of the door. The creatures slammed into it and began pounding and slamming into it, attempting to break the barrier. As the group thought they had things under control a door on the far side of the hallway opened and waves of husks came charging out.

Isaac motioned his head towards them, his troops seemed to understand very well as they moved in front of the horde and began to release volley after volley of bullets into the tight halls cutting the husks down. Joseph decided to join them and pulled out the Locusts and began to spray through them as well. He turned his head and saw Isaac enter the room shutting the door as he walked in. Knowing that he should be able to handle himself Joseph returned to shooting the waves of husks.

"I guess we know what happened to the miners" a human says as he switches to his shotgun and blasts a hole in a nearby husk.

The minutes flew by and the husk wave was slowing down until eventually only a single husk staggered towards the group. They all sighted on the last husk and absolutely destroyed it, one would say overkill considering there was little left of it.

"It's a shame that this happened." a turian stated as everyone waited for more husks that might emerge from the doors

As they stood there Joseph remembered that Isaac entered a room full of those creatures, so he turned and ran to the door. The door opened and a body flew past him into the wall, its unprotected head slamming into the wall spilling its blood and brain onto the wall and on Joseph.

Joseph looked into the room and saw Isaac standing in the center, blade drawn, and blood ran down the walls, while sliced and crushed bodies littered the floor around him. Joseph walked in and jumped back as a body fell from the ceiling.

"Holy crap" Joseph said as he looked at the carnage that this one man created. Joseph's eyes scanned Isaac to observe any damage he might have taken. To his surprise Isaac had only a few cuts on his face, his blood dripping down his face. The rest of him was covered in the blood of the creatures.

Joseph observed that the number of bodies seemed higher than what he initially saw; they must have entered from the other doors. "Yea that released a lot of tension." Isaac remarked sheathing his blade and taking a deep breath.

"I think anyone in this base is either dead, turned, or they were taken by the Collectors." Joseph says kind of pointing out something that he thought was obvious at this point

Isaac turned to him and his body began to glow as he clenched his fists. "We don't know that yet." He said sounding calm but his body revealed another story

Joseph recognized the danger and backed up trying to get out of swinging distance "Ok… you said we have to clear this place out remember." Joseph said holding his hands up

Isaac didn't seem to dwell on that though. There seemed to be something else driving him… something pushing him. Isaac relaxed and turned down a hallway that had a sign above the entrance reading Soldiers Living Quarters. Joseph looked at him and back at the sign. His focus on Isaac broke only when the rest of the squad walked in his line of sight.

"What's Isaac looking for really" Joseph whispered to a turian as he walked behind him. Joseph waited for a response but after walking down the hall he knew he wasn't going to get one.

The group continued down and as they approached a fork in the hall. Joseph noticed something on the right side and a terrible smell. Isaac stopped and looked down at the object causing everyone to halt as well. Joseph pushed his way to the front and looked at what Isaac saw. The sight was almost as gruesome as what Isaac did earlier. There were bodies running all the way down the hall to a door with the words "Soldiers Living Quarters" marked above the door. The body count was so large that there were piles of bodies on top of each other. Looking down the corridor Joseph noticed that there was a mix of Red Hound troopers, husks, those creatures, and even Collectors. The sight of dead Collectors confirmed that they were here but they obviously are gone now.

"They made a last stand here it seems" Isaac said as he scanned the corpses with his eyes

Joseph observed the bodies too but what he was curious about was why they weren't in stasis like they were supposed to be. Could it have been that the swarms couldn't make down this far or something else… this is something that makes him wonder.

They made their way through the bodies and as they did Joseph felt like he was walking in a river of blood. He examined a few of the bodies along the way and saw that the deaths of many of the Collector forces out here were killed by bullets. After trekking through the river they arrived at the door that Isaac has been leading them to. The door had the Hounds symbol but it was hard to distinguish because of the blood that covered it and the holes that were scattered across it from the shots fired by the Collectors.

Isaac stopped in front of the door and hesitated to open it. But after building up some courage and pushing through his apparent fear he opened the door and wave of death struck everyone causing Joseph to gag and almost throw up. They entered the room and the death in there outnumbered the one outside. When entering one would think the entire floor was made of bodies. The beds were tossed to the walls, lights were destroyed, blood dripped from the ceiling, the Red Hounds fallen were torn to pieces, there are a few people who were impaled onto the walls, and Joseph even saw a few dents in the siding that looked like something hit them with great force.

Joseph scanned the area and noticed that there were less Red Hounds in here but more of a body count for the Collector forces. Isaac walked on top of the bodies to make his way across the room. He seemed to know where he was going because he walked over to the corner in the far back right of the room and squatted. As Joseph made his way across he saw that Isaac squatted next to a turian lying against the wall with Collector bodies surrounding it. This turian was odd to Joseph though. It seemed to lack the crest of horns that a turian like Garrus had. Joseph looked at the turian and saw that its body was slender and seemed more… feminine. It had its armor on but it had suffered severe damage. It had numerous bullet holes in its torso plating and a laser burn that shredded its arm and leg plating.

"You knew this turian" Joseph asked as he squatted next to Isaac

"Yea she was a…friend" that caught Joseph's attention 'she' he didn't think he would ever see a female turian. The word 'she' was soon replaced in Joseph's mind by the hesitation that Isaac had. Joseph was about to press the matter more when Isaac grabbed the turian woman by the shoulders and gently moved her over.

He slid his hand on the floor and stopped on the panel she was sitting on. Upon further inspection Joseph was able to see a security lock located on the ground. Isaac didn't have the passcode so he formed a fist and, using his biotics, he punched through the metal with ease. He dug around for a bit before pulling out a data-pad, this one seemed different.

"Alright I have what I came for. Now we need to make sure that this place is clear. I want you three to search the lower levels." he said pointing to the two remaining turians and one of the humans. "You two go clear the top floors and the tunnels." He commanded pointing to the krogan

"Yes sir" they said in unison and rushed out determined to carry out their orders leaving Joseph with Isaac and the other human trooper. The other trooper didn't stand around for long as he moved and sat across the room next to the opened door, watching the hallway

It took a second for Joseph to realize that he was still squatting next to the dead turian female. Realizing he didn't want to squat anymore he took a seat on the floor where there weren't bodies, which was next to her.

"Susan" Isaac said over his omni-tool "I want you to dispatch a few Kodiaks down here and about twenty soldiers. I'm sure this place is safer now so we should be able to secure it."

"Understood sir" Susan replies "Sir did you find… it" Susan said changing her words to hide what she truly meant

"Yea…" Isaac said as Joseph caught him glancing at the turian female "it's destroyed" he finished, sorrow clearly running in his voice. While Joseph was listening he thought that it seemed as if Isaac was trying to avoid say the word 'her'.

"I'm sorry sir" Susan says as her voice cuts off, sounding sorrowful

"Rest easy knowing that you will be remembered" Isaac whispered as he shut the eyes of the dead turian female, sorrow was evident in his voice now and it was very clear.

"Isaac I have to know, was she someone special" Joseph asked looking at him as Isaac sat on a dead Collector in front of the turian

"Yea… you could say that" he said staring at her lifeless body. Joseph was watching Isaac's face closely so he saw when a small smile appeared on his face but it seemed to be mixed with sorrow and joy.

Joseph was going to say something but they were interrupted when Isaac received an incoming transmission from his omni-tool. "Sir" Susan's voice rang from the device again "The shuttles are launched. The signal that confused our readings is gone now and I did a scan of the base, it seems we eliminated much of the opposing forces. Also I dispatched a shuttle for you when you wish to leave"

"Thanks Susan" Isaac says as the omni-tool goes dark "Let's go; the rest of the squad will assist our forces when they arrive." Isaac said while he bent down and picked up the dead turian woman, lifting her in his arms. "I'm sorry" Joseph heard him whisper to her as he turned and walked through the door with his soldier following behind him

Not wanting to be left in this room by himself Joseph followed Isaac as they took a different path out.

Moments later

Turns out that the different path lead to the front of the base and it looked like a war broke out here. It was obvious that the Red Hounds who landed didn't go down without a fight. There were bodies from the exit all the way to the Red Hound line where few bodies still remained. These few were lucky to have died here and not suffer the fate of the others.

"Over ran" Joseph said looking at the number bodies

Joseph was looking at the ground and the bodies when he heard the roar of Kodiaks. He looked up and saw four Kodiaks descend upon them.

"Joseph" Isaac said in a stoic tone glancing back at him "I appreciate the help. I'll answer any questions that you may have" he finished as the shuttles landed in front of them.

"Sir, your shuttle is ready" a turian who walked out of the Kodiak stated to Isaac

"Sergeant, purge this place" Isaac commanded as he walked past him and stepped into the Kodiak without even looking at the guy

"Yes sir" the sergeant responded before he ran off leading the rest of the Hounds' forces.

Isaac stepped in the shuttle while his follower and Joseph entered seconds later. Joseph held onto a bar that ran across the top, using it as support. The shuttle shook as it lifted from the ground and began to fly back towards the ship.

"We'll be back at the Ares soon sir" the pilot shouted from the front

Isaac gave no response he just stood there staring at the woman in his arms. The entire ride Joseph watched as Isaac just looked at this female turian. Joseph was really becoming curious about this situation and questions plagued him.

Moments Later

"Sir we're here" the pilot shouted followed by a slight jerk

Joseph released the bar and after the shuttle doors opened, he stepped out. Joseph looked around and saw that there were a couple of Red Hound soldiers waiting outside. He scanned the room and saw Jesse and Liara standing at the door that exits the hangar. Joseph could see Jesse glaring at everyone, moving his eyes side to side making Joseph chuckle a little. They've spent this much time on here and Jesse still thinks that they will kill them.

Jesse and Liara began to move towards Joseph as Susan entered the hangar and made her way to the shuttle.

Joseph turned his head and saw Isaac step out clutching the woman still not wishing to let go. His head was tilted down, looking at her so Joseph couldn't see his face but he felt a sense of mourning emitting from Isaac.

"Sir" Susan said softly as she arrived. She put her hand out to touch Isaac's arm but he ignored her and walked past her and Joseph. He was looking forward but when he walked past Joseph it was like he wasn't even there. Isaac continued to walk across the hangar and out the door without even looking back.

"He's really taking her death badly" Susan whispers, her eyes gazing at the door he walked through

"Who is she" Joseph asked, trying to get a feel for the situation

Susan's neck snapped towards him from his question. The look she gave Joseph was one that told him that he wasn't supposed to hear what she said. "I've got to go. There are things I have to arrange" she hastily said walking fast across the hangar and out the door too.

Joseph looked at the door blankly and confused. He was so lost that he failed to see Liara and Jesse standing in front of him.

"Hello any one in there" Jesse says waving his hand in front of Joseph's face breaking his mind from his own hold

"What… I'm sorry my mind was wondering in a realm of questions" Joseph responds

"Well try not to get lost in there" Jesse jokingly remarked

"How was it" Liara asked clearly curious

Joseph looked at Jesse "Things were more different than I thought they would be" Joseph says hinting at another change

"For better or worse" he responds getting the message

"Worse, there were creatures that were like the Overseers but less evolved… more basic or crude in design"

"Well we will have to be careful then. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." Jesse stated as he slapped Joseph's back

"Also Isaac promised to answer any questions I might have." Joseph said as he walked across the hangar with Jesse and Liara behind him.

"Then let's go see him right now." Jesse stated "We need answers now" he finished as they walked through the hangar door.

Joseph knew that he couldn't argue with Jesse. His mind seems set on those answers and when his mind is made up he's as stubborn as Brent.

"Well let's see if we can get the answers Isaac promised me." Joseph whispered feeling a little bad that they are about to ask Isaac all these questions after he seemed so saddened.

A/N: Well then that was fun right? Who is the woman and why is Isaac taking her death so hard. You'll also get some more insight into the Hounds it seems. I know I don't say this much but reviews are appreciated since they help me improve. Also I'm glad you guys are still reading this and dealing with my chaotic schedule so I give you my thanks for your continued support and patience. Pardon any mistakes. Hopefully I won't be gone too long but the next update most likely won't be next week since there are a bunch of exams but don't rule it out. So later and can't wait to see you guys again.