Sorry it took so long for an update. My regualr schedule is busy. But thank you so much for the reveiws! They helped me get through a bit of writers block and push to get this chapter up. Keep them coming!

~ArmoredSoul - TY very much! You made me lol a lot. :)

~DarkSideofthecoin - Thank you so much for the compliments. FireFly and Halo are two of my most favorite series. I'm trying very hard to get every character right, from Mal all the way to Cortana and the Chief. I hope I keep impressing you. :D

~Eipok - I'm glad you picked up on the name of the falcon. Keep reading, all questions will be answered eventually. :P

~Tremerid - I hope my writing is ok, I'm very rusty at it. I base all my OC's on people I really know. One is even my husband. I got the idea's for them, and how they interact from watching him with his friends at work. Don't worry, the ODST's are coming, with a fury. lol

Once again, I own nothing but my OC's personalities.

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"Well now…." Mal stared.

"What in the ruttin name of hell would make someone wanna get frozen in a tube? "

"I dunno, why don't you ask him Jayne?" Zoe responded sarcastically.

Mal felt kinda dumb, just standing there gawking at the oddity in front of them. " Are we even sure it's a guy? Or… human-like?"

Jayne shrugged. "Could be a robot". Zoe and Mal stared.

"So, I'm a mite fuzzy on what it exactly is that we're starin at."

"Sir, where's the source of the distress signal?" Mal looked down at the scanner, and then glanced up around the room. He noticed a metal pedestal in the middle of the walk way, that they'd some how over looked. He pointed. "It's comin from there"

"Mal, Zoe, look what I found." They turned. Jayne reached down at something next to the cryo tube. He bent down and tugged. Upon standing up straight he was holding what was unmistakably, a gun.

"Ain't never seen a gun this, and I've played with all manner of fire arms."

"We'll let you get acquainted with your new girlfriend, while me and the Captain figure out whats going on."

"Shiny!" Jayne grinned. Zoe turned back around and rolled her eyes.

"So what do you think sir?"

"Not sure. Might be a kind of computer. We already know the place's still got some power." He moved closer to inspect the pedestal. There were buttons glowing, and blinking.

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Cortana almost didn't believe what the ships scanners where telling her at first.

For the last four standard years, they'd be floating around what she had deduced was a moon. What part of the galaxy they were in or what system it was remained a mystery. Were they still even in the Milky way? She had no idea, and Cortana did not like being ignorant of such vital information. For four years, she stood silent watch over the Chief, as he lay frozen in cryo. His last words had been, "Wake me when you need me". She had been unable to hold back from whispering, "I'll miss you".

She had set the distress signal on a loop and hoped for the best. Hope? An AI didn't hope. She calculated the odds over and over until they added up enough times in their favor. She was sure they'd be found eventually, but when was the real question. To fill up the time, Cortana learned as much as she could about the moon they were trapped in orbit around, and the curious debris floating with them.

It was the wreckage of ships. But the style was like nothing in her data banks. The obvious classifications were there, like fighters, transports and command ships. They weren't UNSC, past or present. Was it possible it was another solar system, with a different form of intelligent life?

Questions remained unanswered, and calculations were performed over and over again. The wait was long, and made hard because her 'life' was almost up. The descent had already begun almost two years ago, but she'd be able to hold it at bay by deleting and storing data in another memory crystal in the ships computers. She had felt, more or less 'fat' with all the incredible amounts of data she'd collected years ago, from grave mind, and High Charity. The relief from unloading all that data was incredible.

All was quiet, and John slept peacefully for a long time. Cortana had taken a detailed account of his injuries, and would have flinched were she human. Plasma burns, a concussion, broken ribs, and possibly a ruptured spleen were only the top of a laundry list of problems. The cryo had frozen him, so that the injuries would not be made worse, but they'd still be fresh when he woke up. But he'd never complain. It wasn't in the Chief's nature.

Then, one day, out of the many, Cortana picked up an energy signal. She scanned, and weakly picked up the pulse of a ship. Diverting all available power to boost the already weak distress call, she pumped it out on the radio, and waited for a response. When none came, she began to wonder if they could pick up the message on that frequency, or if they spoke English, or were even human. The minutes seemed like hours. Nothing happened.

Then, the ship began moving towards them. Cortana could have jumped for joy. It moved closer, and she absorbed as much information about it as possible. Like the wrecks floating around them, this was unlike anything in her data banks. No ship in the UNSC matched, and certainly nothing in the Covenant.

The ship docked with the remains of the Forward unto Dawn, using some kind of magnetic clamp. She waited, and calculated the odds. Outside the door to the cryo bay, someone was trying to gain entry. Years ago Cortana had powered down and locked them for security, and out of boredom. When who ever it was tried to enter nothing happened at first. Then, she decided to let them open.

On a whim, she decided not to turn any of the lights on. Entering, were three figures… human to her relief. Oddly, the suits they were wearing looked highly outdated. Down right ratty would have been a good description. Cortana wanted to listen to them before revealing herself. Their reactions could go in so many different directions.

There was the Captain, whose name was apparently 'Mal', a possible abbreviation of Malcolm. Then a woman, named Zoe, and a rather large, and what appeared to be less that average intelligence man named Jayne. The irony of the last one was not lost on her. They wandered the room for a minute, voicing their curiosity, in English, and amazingly enough, an odd dialect of Mandarin.

The large guy, Jayne, was the first to find the Master Chief. The degree of confusion was extremely interesting. Did they not have cryo systems or something similar? When the captain and Zoe moved closer to the pedestal that contained her chip, she decided a small revelation was in order. If she wanted to get herself, and the Chief out of this, the opportunity was right in front of her.

The captain moved closer, she decided to greet them bluntly.

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Mal nearly jumped out of his suit when the pedestal lit up with light suddenly.

"Ung Jeong Jia Ching Jien Soh!"

Standing ontop of the little platform now was a woman made of blue light.

"Ni How", she said politely, " You have some mouth there Captain."

"Well, that tends to happen when I get all surprise like by miniature women…… that pop out of…… stuff." Zoe snickered. Mal didn't know how to make sense of what was in front of him at the moment. The woman, who ever, or what ever she was, must have sensed it.

"Have you never seen an AI before?"

"AI? You mean artificial intelligence?" Zoe asked.

"Yes."

"Is this some kind of Nien Mohn Fe Wuh??" Mal was blunt. She turned toward him and blinked, shifting position on her stand.

"Alliance? You mean the UNSC?"

"UNSC?"

"United Nations Space Command."

Mal's face was unreadable. "Aint never heard of that either. Way I see it missy, is you got yerself a whole mess of explaining to do, if you wouldn't mind. I 'm just awful gorram curious as to what is goin on here."

"And what's in it for us?"

"Jayne," Zoe sighed," There's that talking thing again."

Cortana signed and lowered her head. She was trying to hold back the anger she was feeling. Where it was coming from, she had no idea. It was the rampancy, had to be. These people were only curious and rightfully so.

"I- We need your help Captain."

"You? We? You mean that awful big green popsicle over there in the coin tube? Who are you?"

"I'm Cortana of the UNSC, that the 'big green' popsicle is the Master Chief Sierra 117. We were stranded on what's left of this ship years ago. It would be very much appreciated if you could help us."

"Well I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the Serenity. This is Zoe my first mate, and that's Jayne…. Ma'am….. I'm not sure as to how a computer program should be called and all."

"Cortana is fine."

Zoe was chewing the inside of her lip. "Alright then miss Cortana. Tell us how we get the two of you out of here, and back on the boat. These suits only have so much oxygen."

The blue color in her form got brighter, and she smiled. "Gladly. The release clamps on the Chiefs cryo tube are computer activated only. I can release them, and all of you will have to move him to your ship."

Jayne was practically hugging the gun, but apparently had been paying attention. " Why don't we just wake'm up here? Save some work?"

Cortana dimmed. " That wouldn't be a good idea."

"Jayne, remember the last time we- er, the captain woke someone up from cryo?"

"So this guy'll turn into a naked screamin loony girl?"

Mal closed his eyes. Zoe threw up her hands. "Yes, that's exactly what will happen."

"Moving right along then, how exactly are we gonna move yer computer program self Cortana?"

"You can take my chip out of the base here. You might want to grab the portable holo projector. I'm not sure how well UNSC technology will interface with your's." She made the projector pop out, and the clamps on the Chiefs tube open.

Mal looked around for a moment, and didn't even try to wipe the confused look off his face. "This trip just keeps getting more interesting."

Moving the cryo tube wasn't hard but it was kinda bulky. Zoe grabbed the chip and projector out of the pedestal and pocketed them. Navigating the corridors was a mite frustrating and Jayne was sure to complain as much as he could before Mal told him to shut it.

Moving the bulk up to Serenity and her hold was a different story. Wash had to send down a tow cable so they could attach it to the tube

"Captain, what the hell are you bringing in? Did we find something?"

"In a manner of speaking…"

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"WHOA, Captain, what is that?"

"It's a shiny ol pony Kaylee, made of bonified rainbows and sunshine." Mal pulled his helmet off. Something wasn't sitting right in the pit his stomach. He walked over to Zoe and grabbed the holo projector and crystal chip. Roughly he inserted it, put the projector down on a crate and started undoing his suit.

Cortana's small form popped and she looked around curiously, or, at least her avatar did. The projector had super refined scanners.

Mal dropped the suit in it's holder, ahead of Zoe and Jayne. He looked down and Cortana and said, " Welcome aboard Serenity, now I do believe an explanation is owed to me so as to satisfy my curiosity. Who are you?"

"My designation is Cortana. I am a smart AI created by the UNSC."

"Who's the frozen dinner?"

"Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra 117."

Kaylee wandered down from the catwalk. "What is this captain? Is that a person in that big 'ol tube?"

"I would certainly hope so."

Zoe and Jayne grabbed seats among the boxes and crates.

" We were stranded aboard the remains of the Forward unto Dawn after we destroyed an alien construct call the 'The Ark', and helped to stop the Halo devices from destroying all life in the galaxy. The Halo's and the Ark were made to contain a parasite called the flood. Long story short, we wiped out the flood, and all the weapons, and finally defeated the Covenant forces. The Covenant is an organization of various alien species on some kind of religious quest. They appeared on the fringes our colonies years ago, attacking any human ship the came across, and glassing the planets as they left."

"Aliens?"

"Glass?" Zoe asked, confused. Cortana looked at her.

"Bombarded the surface with hot plasma till it was nothing but a wasteland of molten glass."

"Ah Yah Tien Ah" Everyone glanced up and noticed Inara and Wash standing on the cat walk. Simon and River were close by.

"My god, did the planets have any warning?" Zoe's face only betrayed a hint of emotion .

"No. Millions died in an instant without even a chance to run, or defend themselves.

Cortana continued with what she was saying.

"It was indeed hell. Billions have died over the course of the war, millions in civilian lives alone. The human race fought back with a fury though, and we started to win. We won back Harvest, Kaynor, and we repelled them when the Cole Protocol finally failed, and they found Earth."

At this statement, there was a chorus of 'what', 'are you kidding me?' and various mandarin swear words.

"I don't understand.' Cortana said simply.

"Buh Kuh Nuhn, Are you tryin to sell us some tripe bout you two bein from 'Earth that was'?" Mal practically spat.

"Earth that was?" Cortana asked, " Earth that is. Earth and her colonies."

"The blue lady found the lost ones. " River said whistfully.

"Doctor, whats your screw ball of a sister saying?"

Mal leveled a dirty look at Jayne for his comment, and Simon shrugged.

"Do I ever know what she's saying? Even now with things so much better?"

"Ok, ok, " Mal stood up. " I'm not ready to rightly buy that the talking program and the frozen dinner are from 'Earth that was' just yet. That's just a mite to incredible for my tastes. Add on top of all that almost certain unpleseantness, you're trying to tell us there's some aliens out there on some kind of religious journey, lookin to wipe us outta existence? I'mma be just a little bit sorry that I'm ever so skeptical." His voice was getting louder.

"Were looking to wipe us out. Except for a loyalist faction of Brutes, the Sanghelli have taken alot of power, and are aiding the UNSC in the war effort now, or were. I don't know the present situation."

Mal just stared at her. Wash shifted, and said, " Well I've got the feeling my heads on the verge of exploding. Anyone else?" They all glanced at him, with that 'you're an idiot' expression. "Well, then I give up. I'm guessing it's normal for us to be picking up weird folk with these strange stories of grandeur. We should be used to this by now. Last time it was Simon, and the strange, albeit sweet River that reads minds, this time it's a super smart computer program that looks like a transparent blue woman, who's claiming to be from Earth that was, and her frozen, jolly green giant of a partner. This is just another day in the life of the crew of Serenity."

Cortana blinked at him. The feeling of being slightly over burdened by outlandish information was mutual on both sides. "Captain, would you please explain this 'Earth that was'? I have nothing in my data banks that comes even remotely close." That was a lie.

"I'll make it short and sweet. Long time ago Earth got to full up, couldn't sustain the population. So everyone that could hopped on a ship and took off into the black. Searched a long time till they found a new system they could plant them pretty selves on. Terraformed some planets, dumped people on them, and now we have the verse as we know it. Good enough? "

"It will do, but I don't believe this is a situation that will resolve it's self at the moment. There is another issue that I feel is more pressing."

"Oh right, your big 'ol frozen friend?"

"He sustained substantial injuries before entering cryo, without the anti freeze fluids for his lungs. I heard your man Jayne call someone a Doctor earlier."

"We do indeed have a doctor little blue miss. Why don't he get down here and do what he's paid to."

Simon stopped listening and started moving down the catwalk stairs. River glided around him however and made it down first. No one stopped her, but just watched. Simon moved around her and towards the cryo tube. His brow furrowed, and he said, "That's a human in there? He looks about seven feet tall."

"Hence the giant comments Doc." Wash helpfully added.

"There's a control panel that slides open on the side. It links up directly to his vital signs and physical condition assessment. I'll let you see what you have to deal with before I start the defrost process."

"Well I appreciate it."

"He's dreaming…" River squalled. Cortana looked at her.

"Your body is completely shut down in cryo. I don't think - " Then she checked his vital through the wireless link. John was indeed dreaming, as impossible as it was, inside of cryo sleep.

"She's right," Simon said," This say's he's deep in REM sleep."

How could this girl possibly know what is going on with him? Cortana terminated this thought process when she realized there was a hint of protectiveness, and maybe even jealousy in it.

"And should be dead." Simon said. Mal looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"This says at the time of cryo entry, he had suffered second and third degree burns, several broken ribs, a punctured spleen, broken clavicle, fractured ulna, shattered tarsal's, one collapsed lung, and a severe concussion. Multiple lacerations and bruises. This is what people in ship crashes come in to the ER with, once in a blue moon. He didn't need someone to drag him in here?"

"Floated in on his own."

Zoe whispered something along the lines of ' damn'. Wash and Kaylee cringed.

"I can't medically believe he was able to do anything on his own. The pain alone, would make anyone drop. No human could endure all that and continue on." Simon shook his head.

"Maybe not a human, but a Spartan could."

"Spartan?" The doc asked confused.

"The best soldier the UNSC has to offer. Are you done Doctor?"

"Uh, yeah I guess. The med bay is already set up."

"Good, I've already started to wake him up. It will take a few moments. I must warn you, I wouldn't crowd the area, and put all weapons out of sight."

"I wouldn't be givin orders on my boat miss Cortana."

"With all due respect Captain. John is about to wake up in a strange place, injured, and the memory's of what happened before still fresh in mind. He might be a bit…. 'jumpy'." Did she just call him John?

"No on hurts my crew." His voice had a sharp, dangerous tone.

"If that happened, it wouldn't be intentional. Think of it like a reflex."

Mal would have spoke more, but the controls on the tube started to beep.

"He's almost awake." Simon announced. Zoe and Jayne stood up and backed away. She took the gun out of Jaynes hands and placed it behind a crate. He protested, but a single look from her shut him up. Was walked down and stood behind his wife, holding her hand. Kaylee and Inara remained next to each other, above everyone else. Mal never moved to unholster his gun, but stood there, crossed his arms and waited.

The inside of the tube fogged up with the release of some kind of gas, and then suddenly cleared. Simon wrinkled his nose when he smelled some of the residual eeking out of the vents. He looked over at the vitals screen, and saw that all the mans organs were still working. Blood flow was returning, but he was still in REM sleep. This cryo system was unlike anything he'd ever seen. To his knowledge, the Alliance didn't even have technology like this.

Cortana stood by, watching the Chief slowly wake. A part of her wanted to hug him as soon as he moved out of the tube. Hug? What was wrong with me? First I get jealous over a teenage girl, then completely forget my formality and called John by his name, and now I wanted to hug him. A steep road indeed….

There was movement inside. The lid lifted, and everyone held their breath.

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Black skies, and lightning all around me. Just another battle field, in a long line of many I've conquered. This seemed different. Every time the lightning flashed, I caught glimpses of people surrounding me, in green and black armor. The helmets vary, and I can see the familiar glint of a gold polarized visor. Spartans, my brothers and sisters. ODSTs are standing with them, civilians too. Marines. Everyone lost in the war. My chest feels heavy…

"They are always with you, watching over you. You gave them hope in the war, you gave everything. They keep you safe now. It's gratitude. You saved everyone."

I look around, for the source of the voice. This isn't right. They are all just standing there.

"You are no demon. Now, wake up."

I can feel my heart beating faster. Pain starts to cover me like molten glass. Is this just a dream? Why does it hurt so bad? God I just want to scream. Just let it be over….and I fall to the ground."

"Wake up!"

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It was cold, and John opened his eyes slowly. The light coming through his visor was bright, and hurt his eyes, despite the polarization. The area outside the lid of the cryo tube, certainly did NOT look like the bay of the Forward unto Dawn, or any UNSC ship he'd ever been on. He tried flexing his fingers, and feet. They protested with stiffness. His foot had a dull throbbing pain, that got sharper and sharper. His abdomen was on fire, and his head started to throb. He tried focusing his eyes on something in front of him, but it didn't work out to well. His vision blurred, but he could see figures, and they looked human. Well that's one positive. There was a horrible burning feeling when he tried to take a breath, before he realized he couldn't inhale to full capacity. One of his lungs was damaged. He'd worry about it later. He was fully awake, and it was time o figure out what was going on, and who had woken him up.

He placed his hand on the glass, and pushed up. The automatic open didn't occur for some reason. The sluggishness, and unsure element in his movements was disturbing. Every motion was a punishing, painful chore. He sucked it up and moved his body forward.

Mal wasn't sure what to think as he watched the previously popsicled man begin to move out of the tube. Cortana was claiming he was some kind of super soldier, and that they were both from 'Earth that was'. He had an awful lot he wanted to ask this 'Master Chief', and a strange feeling he should have just avoided the wreckage of their damn ship all together.

The lid opened all the way, and the Chief sat up, and moved out of the tube. Cortana noted that he favored his right foot just ever so slightly. It was almost impossible that anyone else had noticed. His head remained angled down, but there was no way he wasn't assessing his surrounding. She knew him better than that. No one moved or said anything. What was only a few seconds, seemed to last an eternity to her. It had been four years since she'd seen him, and she quickly prevented her avatar from glowing brightly in response. Control yourself dammit. The Captain moved toward him, and instantly, the Chiefs arm shot up, holding a magnum, aimed right between Mal's eyes. He never did put it back before he went into cryo…

Everyone in the cargo bay jumped. Kaylee squeaked when the gun was pointed.

The Captain stopped instantly. Chief spoke first, in a voice that was even deeper and scratchier than before.

"Where am I, and who are you? Where's Cortana?"

"Why don't you not point yer firearm at the Captain of this here ship." Mal remained unshaken, even with a gun in his face.

"I'm right here Chief. It's ok. We're safe, as far as I can tell."

"We've gotten to some talkin before she woke your gorram ass up. Now listen to her, cause I don't take kindly to havin guns pointed at me on my own ruttin ship."

"Not until my other two questions are answered."

"You don't tell me what to do on my ship ever-"

The Chief snapped his head up to look the Captain right in the eyes finally. This time, it had the desired effect on him. Something about staring into that gold visor was intimidating. But, the Chief was not with out the proper respect for someone holding rank like this.

"You said this is your ship, Captain."

"That would be a correct assumption."

"If you'll pardon me Captain, I have no idea how long I've been in there, and I've been fighting a war for years. I've woken up somewhere I don't recognize. If you can answer my questions I will be happy to lower my firearm so we can figure this out peacefully."

Mal had every intention to tell him to put the gun down first, and where he could stick it, when he heard Zoe say, "Sir?". As much as he hated too, he answered the mans questions, and made a mental note not to tell anyone about the fact he truly believed this man was a good shot

"You are on the firefly class transport Serenity, and you're pointing that sidearm at the Captain, Malcolm Reynolds. That's my first mate Zoe." He nodded in her direction. Zoe nodded back, her fingers quietly aching for her gun, and she didn't like where this guy was aiming his. Master Chief glanced at the dark skinned woman briefly. He straightened up, ignoring, and hiding the pain, and holstered the magnum on his leg. Holding out his hand he said, " Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra 117." It was rigid and formal, straight shot, and screamed of someone that was career military.

Mal looked up, and down, and up again before taking the giants hand. He couldn't help but think how small and girlish his paw looked in this guys. Also, he seemed to hold back on his grip. This could have been from injury.

"Well now that this is out of the way, nice to see you again Chief. It's been four years. "

Inside, he was slightly shocked. Four years? John thought. " Really? Seems like it was only yesterday."

Did he just make a joke?

Mal looked around, and up at his crew. " I do believe the show is over folks. I don't pay yall to stare and gawk." Jayne made a face and got up.

Wash twirled around, and made a comment about making sure the ship didn't crash. "You better not crash my boat." Mal yelled after him. Inara stood and looked down on them for a few moments, before re-entering her shuttle. The look on her face was unreadable.

Chief stood there, but looked around some more. This was a civilian vessel, clearly, but not a model he'd ever studied. What was next was unclear, but he had to find a way to make contact with UNSC forces, and report his situation and debrief.

He looked down at Cortana on her holo pad and asked, " Any chances of finding out how far we are from the closest UNSC ship?"

" Slim at best. I've talked to the Captain, and they have never even heard of the UNSC."

He let that sink into his mind for a moment, and decided not to respond. It sat heavy in his chest, right next to the horrible suffocating feeling, and intense pain. He needed medical attention.

"We'll get about all that later. You're on my boat now. Do what I say when I ask you, look out for my crew, we won't have too many issues. " Mal walked away, partially aware of the gold visor following him. There was a lot on his mind, and the burden of knowing he may of placed his crew in danger again was heavy on his heart.

"They stand around you, like a shield."

Master Chiefs attention was drawn immediately to a small skinny girl that he'd not noticed, even with the blip indicating her presence on the HUD. She'd slipped behind the cryo tube and was inspecting it as she talked to him. He wasn't sure how to react, so he just answered her.

"What do you mean?" His voice was horribly scratchy.

"I can't see them, but I know they are there."

Simon walked over quickly to his sister. "Uh River, why don't you go see if the Captain or Wash need help on the bridge. The computer might have shorted out again." She smiled sideways at him, and then looked at Cortana.

"He's so polite when he wants to tell me to leave." River went skipping down into the common area.

The Chief couldn't help but think she was a little odd, but so was everyone on the ship. They talked funny, except for the Doctor and what seemed to be the pilot. To also have never heard of the UNSC, what backwater uncharted area of the Milky way was this? Were they still in the Milky Way?

"I'm sorry about her. If I get a chance to explain later I will. Your AI, Miss Cortana had said you were injured." Simons voice was unsure. He was clearly intimidated.

The Chief looked at him. "Yes."

"You can follow me to the med bay over here." He said, scratching his head.

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A/N: I'm heading off to start the fourth chapter now. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Next up, the ODST's less than graceful landing. :D