Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.

Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I greatly appreciate it.

Now we're at the beginning of the new story arc, which will cover Shepard as he returns to the world of Mass Effect. As for what might happen once he comes back, I've got a plan for that.

As always, leave a review, but most importantly, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

MDS Cavalier III

Periphery

March 21st, 3053

Onboard the Cavalier III, Shepard was busy getting his 'Mech ready for the mission that they were going to be conducting today. Sitting down in the padded seat, he made sure everything was in order. So far, so good, he noted. This 'Mech and I have been through a lot, but I'm happy to see that she's purring like a kitten so far.

He brushed his hair as he recalled the two months of preparation that had gone into this mission. While getting the expedition together wasn't difficult, what was difficult was getting a command circuit created for this particular region of space. Before that was done, however, each JumpShip was retrofitted with specially designed fuel tanks that would allow ships using antimatter-matter drives, like the Normandy, to refuel without the fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Then there's the political situation, he noted. It took nearly a decade for Hanse to get relations with the Taurian Concordat settled down, since they have no love for the Inner Sphere, and then it took two more decades for us to be able to do this kind of thing without arousing a significant level of suspicion. There are times where paranoia is justifiable, and times where it is not.

In the end, from what he recalled, the Taurian Concordat, despite being paranoid of the Federated Commonwealth's intentions, had agreed to their request. Hanse, though, knew that the Concordat would spy on them, so he had an MIIO team ready in case they did do such a thing. So far, nothing of the sort had happened, but one couldn't blame the First Prince for being cautious in this case. At any rate, he'd also hired a few mercenary companies to help provide security for what was going on, including Mason's Cavaliers.

Today was also special, as Iavalia was going to be coming along on this mission; in fact, aside from himself, the Lance he was going to be leading was composed of non-humans. Wrex would be inside his trademark Annihilator, while Iavalia would be inside of her favored 'Mech, a Stalker that she'd gotten as a gift from Garrus after she had completed BattleMech training. As for Garrus, he would be inside of his trademark Rifleman II. The Lance also had a special guest coming along in the form of Javik, who was piloting his customized Awesome.

I'll always stick with the Marauder II, Shepard knew deep down. In some ways, the 'Mech kinda personifies how I think 'Mechs ought to be: multirole combat machines. Doing a comm check, he said, "Comm check. How's everyone doing?"

"Green," Iavalia reported.

"All systems go here," Garrus added.

"Good to go here," Wrex finished.

"I am ready," Javik reported.

"Alright, we'll move out once we've landed," Shepard decided. Switching frequencies, he asked, "Ryana, what's our ETA?"

"Right now," Ryana replied. A moment later, the entire DropShip shuddered as it landed on the ground. After a couple minutes, she said, "You're cleared to leave the DropShip, Shepard. Be careful, though; we're dealing with a structure unlike anything we've seen before."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. I've been to other Prothean structures, but never one like this before. Keying the accelerator, he began to move the 'Mech out of the 'Mech Bay, and towards the door that would allow them to leave the DropShip and walk out onto an alien world.

It wasn't long before his Marauder II marched out of the 'Mech Bay and onto the surface of this newfound world. Looking around, he found that they had landed in the middle of an arctic wasteland. Here, he could see massive snowdrifts, as well as towering cliffs of ice. From what he could tell, they were in the middle of winter on this planet, as the sky was black, with stars twinkling overhead.

"Well, isn't this cozy," he heard Mason remark sarcastically. "Ryana, are you sure we landed at the right coordinates?"

"Affirmative," Ryana replied. "I double checked the coordinates myself. We should be getting a comm call from the expeditionary forces here. Stand by."

It wasn't long before a call came in. "Commander Mason, Shepard," a familiar voice said to them. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Sortek?" Shepard asked, before a grin grew on his face. "Good to hear from you, Sortek. I thought you were getting too old for this kind of thing."

"Nah," Sortek chuckled. "The only time I intend to retire, Shepard, is when I die. Besides, someone's gotta keep you youngsters from blowing yourselves up." The two shared a chuckle beore he said, "Anyways, we saw your DropShip coming in. We're just waiting for you now."

"Where are you at?" Mason asked.

"Around sixty kilometers from your current position. Have Ryana perform an in-atmosphere jump to our position while your lances advance to our position. We'll talk more once you've reached our position."

"Roger that," Shepard nodded. Seeing a new set of coordinates appear on his HUD, he said, "Bravo Lance, form up on me. We're traveling to Nav Point Epsilon en mass." With that, they began to head out towards the nav point in question. Behind them, the Cavalier III fired up it's engines, allowing it to begin it's atmospheric jump to the new positions Ryana had been provided.

For the next hour, they moved through the frozen arctic wasteland. As they walked along, Iavalia decided to try to lighten the mood with some conversation. "Shepard, are we above the Arctic Circle for this planet? It would explain why the sky's so dark."

"Yes," Shepard nodded. "Once we're above the Arctic Circle, day and night take on a completely different meaning. I know, because I went to Alaska at one point during a vacation that Mason requested me to take."

"What was it like?"

"It's a bit disorienting when there's a day where it almost remains nighttime and a day where the sun never sets. Plus, for some towns up there, night can last for several weeks. A good example is Murmansk where Russia would be at, as they have forty days in the year where the sun doesn't come up."

"Spirits. That is disorienting."

"That it can be."

"So, where do you think we're going?"

"For all we now, it could be either the Magnetic North Pole of this planet, or the True North Pole of this planet. We'll find out once we reach our destination." With that, silence reigned once more as they advanced onward.

As they advanced, the weather began to worsen, with the skies beginning to darken with clouds. Soon, the polar night's stars had been blotted out, with heavy snow beginning to fall; on top of that, the wind began to pick up, and it wasn't long before they were in the middle of a blizzard. Turning on his thermal visor, Shepard smiled as night turned into, comparatively speaking, day, with blackness becoming blue in color, while the 'Mechs showed up as bright yellow silhouettes.

"Talk about a white-out," Wrex remarked. "Even a Krogan would struggle to see anything without thermal vision."

"At least it's warm and cozy in my 'Mech," Garrus added, a hint of relief in his voice. "Turians aren't made for surviving in cold climates."

"Oh, come one, Garrus. Show some backbone."

"Gentlemen," Shepard chided them, with the two falling silent a moment later.

It was around forty minutes before they came across the expeditionary force. Looking towards the midnight blue horizon, Shepard spotted a blot of yellow-red on his HUD. Temporarily turning off his thermal vision, he noted that the blizzard had died down, with the clouds beginning to break apart to reveal the sky beyond. Up ahead, he could see a series of bright white lights that indicated the position of the friendly force.

It wasn't long before they reached their position, with Shepard weaving his 'Mech around the numerous Combat Vehicles that were present. Spotting a Victor, Shepard held out an arm pod, with Sortek tapping the hand actuator of his 'Mech against the arm pod, the MechWarrior equivalent of a fist-bump. "Good to see you're doing good," Shepard beamed.

"Me too," Ardan nodded. "It almost seems like yesterday we were training you and your friends how to use BattleMechs. Coming here was a blessing for you and me, Shepard. You restored our technological prowess and we provided you with a livelihood and a whole new world to explore."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "So, what's the gig?"

"Well, we've arrived at what we think is the facility's outer perimeter sensors," Sortek noted, pointing his 'Mech's hand actuator at what looked like a sensor that was half-buried by snow. "Once we advance past this point, any defenses that the facility has are likely going to trip, and see us as hostile. We'll have the scientists remain behind while we make sure that no unpleasant surprises will pop up."

"We've got Javik here. He's Prothean, and the facility might recognize him as such."

"Say, that's not a half-bad idea. Javik, you there?"

"I am here," Javik replied.

"We've got a plan for how to access the facility. Given that the Protheans were fighting the Reapers, it would make sense for your kind to have scanners that would detect any Reaper technology inside a person. We'll have you go first, while we remain here. If you need help, we'll come charging in. Sound good?"

"Yes," Javik nodded. "It is a sensible plan. When might I begin?"

"Wait one," Sortek replied as he switched frequencies. After a few seconds, he came back to their frequency. "We're ready for you to begin."

"That I shall," Javik nodded. With that, he accelerated his Awesome, with the 'Mech beginning to move towards the Prothean facility, which wasn't visible due to a rise. Passing the perimeter sensors, he began to ascend the hill.

Inside his 'Mech, Javik could feel his heart beginning to race, with the organ that provided his blood with the means of moving around thumping loudly in his chest. All four of his eyes were focused on his objective, however, and he began breathing in and out. A good Prothean soldier always maintains control of his emotions, he could hear his Drill Instructor saying to him in his mind.

It was then that he came across the facility. True to form, the facility was massive, with the entire place covering three square kilometers. Much of it, however, seemed to be unused, with snow covering the ground. He could see a few buildings, with the architecture exactly like that of his people. He could even see the massive device that would, in theory, create an Einstein-Rosen Bridge into another universe.

Surrounding the facility was a twenty meter tall wall that was made out of the ferrocrete that the Protheans preferred for their defensive fortifications. Mounted on towers outside of the walls were what appeared to be mass accelerator turrets. Despite being over fifty thousand years old, they seemed to be in excellent condition, as they tracked his incoming 'Mech, but didn't open fire. Why, he wondered.

As he approached the facility, he came to a stop when a conical beam of green light scanned his 'Mech from foot actuator to cockpit. The light, for a few seconds, hovered over the cockpit, with a tighter beam washing over Javik's frame. Just as beam winked out, the doors to the complex opened, and he heard a sound over his helmet. He was about to tune his helmet's radio when a voice in Prothean spoke up. "Unidentified Prothean, this is Shining Vigilance of the Prothean Empre. Identify yourself."

That was unexpected, Javik thought, though not too surprising. Clearing his throat, he said, "I am Javik, serial code 0560-3502-JK. I was performing a recon mission when I spotted this facility. Mind if I ask who you are?"

"I am an Artificial Intelligence created by the overseers of this facility," Shining Vigilance explained.

"You're an AI?"

"Of course I am. The facility, as well as the Wormhole Projector, were deemed too complex for a simple VI to maintain appropriately. As such, I was granted control over a number of automated maintenance drones to ensure the facility remained fully operational. In addition, access to this facility has been granted to you."

That had Javik confused. "Why?" he asked.

"You are untainted by Indoctrination and the Reaper's technology," Shining Vigilance explained. The scanner mounted inside an armored cubicle over the gate cannot be fooled. Before you enter, however, I would like to ask a question. Have the Protheans of your world survived?"

Javik, while surprised, decided that honest was the best policy. "No," he sadly replied. "I was the only survivor of the complex on the world the Humans call 'Eden Prime.'"

"Humans? Are you referring to the primitive species that existed on that particular world in the Orionus Arm of the galaxy?"

"Yes. They are no longer primitive. They have achieved FTL flight and communication. They are, however, embroiled in a war against the Reapers."

"I see… What about the humans of this reality? It was expected that humans also existed in this reality."

"They have done the same, but the Reapers do not exist here. In addition, they have grown into a series of vast, interstellar governments. They recently helped me and my friends come to this planet in order to investigate this facility."

"I see," Shining Vigilance noted. There was a few seconds of silence, then it said, "I detected an unknown force arriving. I have not had contact with this version of Humanity. It will be interesting to speak with a species we one thought were primitives. Very well. Inform your friends that they are welcome to come inside. I will need a language lexicon in order to communicate in their language."

"That can be arranged," Javk agreed. Keying his comm, he said, "Ardan Sortek, this is Javik. We can enter the facility. There is an AI that is friendly."

"An AI?" Sortek asked. "Are you certain?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright. We're coming in. The scientists are coming as well, but they're at the rear of the formation. Go ahead and move inside. We're right behind you."

"Affirmative," Javik nodded. Accelerating his 'Mech, he began to talk some more to Shining Vigilance. "Did your overseers survive?"

"Yes," the AI replied. "A stasis pod facility like the one on Eden Prime was constructed to house the personnel that worked at this facility. During maintenance cycles, I ensured that the fusion reactors at this facility were refueled and properly maintained, and that all Protheans at this facility were alive and well. In addition, the singularity reactor is in working order."

"Good!" Javik beamed, his heart fluttering with excitement. With that, he looked behind himself to see the others entering the facility.

Inside of his 'Mech, Shepard was simply relieved to know that the AI present here was friendly. "So?" he asked Javik. "Are there any other Protheans around here?"

"Yes!" he heard Javik smile. "There is a stasis pod facility underneath our feet, from what I can tell. Shining Vigilance, the AI of this place, is currently bringing them out of stasis. Apparently, he wishes for the Overseer of this facility to speak with us."

"That's good," Shepard noted.

Ardan Sortek, who was now inside of the facility, asked, "So, where's the AI stored at in this facility?"

"Underground," Javik explained. "Shining Vigilance says that we don't have to enter the underground complex. All of the workers and supervisors here are going to be coming to speak with us. I just need to share my knowledge of your language with them."

"Good," Ardan nodded. Noticing the sky becoming brighter, he said, "Sun's coming up in an hour. Good thing we packed our arctic equipment with us." As he said this, he could see personnel getting out of their vehicles, all of them dressed in arctic survival gear. After a moment, he began to get his own combat hardsuit on, while safely shutting down most of his 'Mech's systems.

. . .

At about the time the sun came up, most of the soldiers had deployed, while the scientists remained firmly behind the soldiers. Shepard, having gotten out, was fully decked out in his armor, M42C ready in case something happened. The air was frigid, though thanks to his armor, he was quite warm and comfortable. Nearby, he could see a few scientists doing exercises to make sure they were keeping warm.

It was a good thing that they did, as moments later, several figures began to advance out of the structure and towards them. Most of them were wearing heavier versions of the armor that Javik wore, though a couple were wearing what appeared to be environmental suits. Javik, spotting them walked up to them, whereupon they began speaking in another language. A moment later, Javik gripped the arms of the leader, just as he had done when Shepard had first woken him up.

Apparently, that was all that was needed, as once Javik released the leader of the figures, said leader approached them. Clearing his throat, he spoke in accented English. "Who among you is your leader?"

"I am," Sortek replied, striding forwards in full armor. "I am Ardan Sortek, The Prince's Champion. We are the Federated Commonwealth." A moment later, he extended a hand.

The Prothean, seeing the hand, shook it a moment later. "Well met, Ardan Sortek," he beamed. "I am Vorten, Overseer of the Universe Traversal Facility. I look forwards to learning more about you and the Federated Commonwealth."

"Same here," Sortek nodded. "Is there a warmer place where we can talk with each other."

"Yes," Vorten nodded. "You can bring your guards, though I can assure you that they are not necessary. Unlike many of the other cells that we remained in contact with, we are scientists and engineers. We do not wish to cause any trouble."

"I understand. Old habits and all."

. . .

Around thirty minutes later, they were all inside of one of the buildings, apparently an administration complex. The office was fairly spartan in decoration, though each item inside had a purpose and a place. The interior was also warm, making it far more inviting than the cold exterior of the facility. Currently, Sortek was sitting on a chair facing Vorten, who was also sitting in another chair. Nearby, Shepard and his team were either sitting or standing, while a few guards remained by the door.

"I must admit, your Federated Commonwealth sounds like what the Prothean Empire might've become if we didn't allow fear and prejudice to overcome us," Vorten observed. Frowning, he said, "It was all due to the Metacon War that we began to fear AI, when it might've been our greatest weapon and companion against the Reapers. If only we had kept our eyes and minds open."

"I know," Sortek nodded. "We had a similar problem in the Inner Sphere."

"I know. Javik shared with me his experiences of the Fourth Succession War." Looking at Shepard, he said, "He also shared his experiences of you, and what you went through, Shepard. Few could've survived the experiences you did, and fewer still could've rallied the galaxy to rise up against the Reapers."

"I know," Shepard nodded. "The Beacon nearly killed me before it implanted the vision into my brain. From what I recall, they really weren't meant to be access by human beings. That, and the Beacon I first ran into was damaged."

"True. I had begun making modifications to our beacons to account for such an eventuality when I was assigned to this facility." Pointing to the device outside, which was visible through a large viewport, he said, "One of the few surviving leaders of the Prothean Empire assigned me to finishing this project. That is how we ended up here."

"How so?" Sortek asked. "Our theory is that the device you're pointing at opens an Einstein-Rosen Bridge into another universe. Given what we know of the laws of physics, that's the best we could come up with."

"You're not too far off the mark," Vorten smiled. "Several Prothean scientists of a far greater expertise than I am discovered that they could manipulate the fabric of space and time to access a dimension known to you as Hyperspace. Using this new dimension, we were able to create a wormhole that accessed another universe. This allowed us to link our universe to yours, and send personnel through."

"And this facility was a direct result of that?"

"Yes. We created it so that, in the event that the wormhole unexpectedly closed, we wouldn't be stranded without a way home. It is also why we built this place in the area we are in; it would allow us to keep the wormhole open at all times, with the entrance shifting position with the orbit of the planet. Speaking of which, that's how you ended up here, yes?" He directed this last question to Shepard.

"Yes," Shepard nodded. "The Alliance discovered an artifact that Cerberus, an extremist organization that's allied with the Reapers, discovered. We were sent to take it from them, but it activated when Javik interacted with it. The end result was that we ended up here."

"That was the original device," Vorten confirmed. "It appears, however, that Javik, due to not knowing how it worked, accidentally triggered it, after which it destroyed itself due to age and lack of maintenance." Javik was about to protest when Vorten continued. "However, I am to blame for that, as is this 'Cerberus' that you and Javik spoke of. We didn't exactly leave a manual on proper maintenance and usage of the device behind." Turning to them, he said, "I take it you wish to return home and defeat the Reapers?"

"Yes," Shepard nodded. "I don't know if time in our universe has paused, or if it continued and the Reapers won that part of the Cycle. If they have, then we will destroy them so that they do not cause more death and destruction. If we come back to the exact moment that we left, then we can rain hell down on the Reapers."

"I definitely agree. The Reapers are a blight on your galaxy and, as such, they must be destroyed. However, I am not certain as to how much help I will be in that regard, Shepard. I am only one man, and I and my fellow Protheans are likely the last of a long dead species. Yes, we can rebuild our species from this small number, but it will take a long time. In addition, we are not warriors."

"That's no problem," Sortek shrugged. "The Federated Commonwealth is more than capable of fulfilling that role. We fought off the Clans, and they were about as relentless as you can get. Plus, we'll have more help there."

"How?" Shepard asked.

"The Taurian Concordat. Hanse might use the events of this day to convince them to help us. The Turians of your universe could learn a few things from them, since they are the masters of defense in depth. From what I hear, they've achieved pre-Reunification War levels of prosperity again, and they're rebuilding their WarShip fleets as well. All of that is thanks to various treaties that Hanse signed with them in order to get things going again."

"That'll be good," Shepard nodded. "Still, I'm not sure how capable our WarShips will be against the Reapers."

"We'll destroy that bridge when we come to it." Turning to Vorten, he asked, "Vorten, given how well maintained this facility is, when do you think the device will be ready for activation?"

Vorten was silent for a few seconds, then he said, "About two weeks. We need to make sure that everything is in working order. Opening an inter-universal wormhole isn't an undertaking that's lightly done. There's always some risk involved."

"I know. The Federated Commonwealth isn't going anywhere. We'll be ready for when you need to speak with us."

"Good," Vorten nodded. "Also, be mindful that not all of the Protheans here will look upon your race kindly. Some of us do have some prejudices towards races that are not Prothean in origin. I've had time to overcome those, but there are some that likely have not."

"We'll watch our step then," Sortek nodded. "With that in mind, we will likely construct an MOB on this planet in order to coordinate our efforts more efficiently. I will also speak to the First Prince on this development. He'll be most interested to speak with you."

"That he will," Vorten agreed. "May the Prothean Spirits of old watch over us all."

(Author's Q&A)

edboy4926: Thank you.

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you for your kind words.

Reikson: Very true. I'll be certain to follow your suggestion there.

SulliMike23: Certainly, and Shepard has found out that, no matter what happens, there is always a way home.

MarauderPrime12: Yes, but first, as you can see, a little reunion with the Protheans, or what's left of them rather.

RandomReader: I understand. Still, it would be interesting to rewrite Element Zero so that it follows the laws of physics as we know it. For one thing, it wouldn't build up a charge, as that violates the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of charge. As for violating the laws of relativity, that's not really what happens. When BioWare thought up the idea for Element Zero, what they were really doing was taking the concept of negative mass, which is a hypothetical way to get around the FTL flight problen, and running with it. Aside from a few quirks that could use a little touching up, it's not inconceivable to think that we could find something like Element Zero. It's a big universe, after all, and we've only explored an infinitesimally small portion of it.

Chronus1326: I'm glad to hear of that. We're going to be seeing some action soon.

SpaceCommander-09: BattleTech actually has that. Titans from Titanfall, in my opinion, would be classified as ProtoMechs by BattleTech standarnds. They're not as heavily armed or armored as a BattleMech, but they have greater mobility.

Guest: Thank you. I hope you have a pleasant weekend as well.