Epilogue

Oleg's hologram looked rather despondent. Before he even opened his mouth, the Illusive Man expected bad news. And it was bad indeed. The return fleet to retake the Transdimensional Communications Relay found nothing. Well, not nothing, they found a moon that looked like someone had taken a huge bite out of it and a lot of debris, but no Dimensional Communications Hub, period. Apparently the ancient structure was more than it appeared. He should've suspected as much when T'Soni acted so bold. It was a ship, the damn thing was on a ship. One that could now be anywhere in the galaxy and under Aria T'Loak's control. Not the best of outcomes at all.

"It would seem the good doctor has outplayed us," Oleg noted. "I apologise, sir. I should've expected this."

"Don't be hard on yourself," the Illusive Man informed him tactfully. "We don't win every fight, sadly. All we can do is accept the loss and move on. We'll have to find another way to reacquire the Normandy."

"It's not a total loss," Oleg tried to insist. "We did get some information from the… ship's computers before we had to leave. We can potentially use anything we can decipher from it."

A decent enough consolation prize, but hardly worth the loss they had endured. The Illusive Man was not too proud to deny a defeat when he saw one. At the very least, the best thing they could say about this is that they had met this new enemy at last.

"We need to turn our attention to this Covenant in full now," he told Oleg. "Let Liara have her prize. We need to consider avenues to turn this little insurrection to our advantage."

"A hostile anti-human alien race allied with the Hegemony is most disturbing," Oleg agreed. "I don't see why we don't just attack this wormhole and end them before they become more of a problem."

"Because, Oleg, we don't have the capability to destroy such a massive force," The Illusive Man insisted. "That and risking the exposure of our fleet to the wider galaxy is not apropos at this time. We need to plan our moves carefully. Besides, this destabilising force can be swayed to our benefit."

"How?" Oleg asked.

The Illusive Man was a bit disappointed, he expected a bit more vision from his chief military strategist.

"Come, Oleg, don't tell me you haven't considered the possibilities," he stated pleasantly. "This Covenant intends to go about making a nuisance of itself. We can use that to prove the dangers we have always spoken of and show the people of the Alliance the need for a strong humanity. That, and it gives us a better chance at shaping galactic affairs in preparation for the Reaper Invasion. We need to be ready for that above all else."

"Agreed," Oleg concurred. "Perhaps we should consider alternate paths through the wormhole itself. I can prepare a stealth team to covertly sneak past the Covenant Blockade. They will be unable to get orders or direction from back home, but they can establish a presence. There must be sympathetic voices among the humans beyond that event horizon."

"I don't doubt that," The Illusive Man agreed. "Make it happen. However, we should not neglect Doctor T'Soni. Her rag tag little misfit crew is going to be a pain in our sides, for sure. They now know our involvement and that will make things difficult."

"Why not remove them from the game altogether then?" Oleg asked. "Kai Leng could easily-"

The Illusive quickly shook his head.

"No," he stated plainly. "Leng has other business to attend to. More importantly, I don't want T'Soni dead. Her people could be more useful to us alive right now. We need to keep tabs on them, not a hit squad."

"Understood," Oleg relented. "But I personally think we shouldn't pay them much attention. Her crew is the most mentally unstable band of outcasts I've ever seen. The Covenant and Hegemony will probably put them out of our misery before too long."

"Don't underestimate them, Oleg," The Illusive Man cautioned as he turned his chair around to look at the burning star outside his window. "T'Soni may be a lovesick asari pinning for a man she can never have, but she is the Shadow Broker and one of Shepard's most loyal friends. She is dangerous, even surrounded by eccentrics as she is. She needs to be taught her place, reminded of who we are. And to do that, we need to play smart. I'd suggest going over those files we collected on her and her little friends extensively. When the time does come to remove them, we need to hit them where they hurt the most."

"I will, sir," Oleg assured, cutting transmission.

The Illusive Man took a sip of his drink and thought back to T'Soni's impassioned speech and threatening glare. She wasn't the scared little child awkwardly trying to find her place in the galaxy anymore. She was a woman to be reckoned with. He had taken on many like her though and as hard as it would be to break her, he would. She was the Shadow Broker, but he was Cerberus. She was about to realise how dangerous an enemy that was to have.

"Well, Liara T'Soni," he stated to himself. "Enjoy your stint as galactic hero for now. It won't last long."

The ring is destroyed. Shepard has fled. The Covenant fleet itself is in tatters. This drastically alters plans.

The ring is not our concern, its destruction is a loss but does not impact the true objective. Was the device located on Halo?

No, from all appearance it was not. However, the discovery of the Flood proves it must exist and it is likely held on one of the remaining ringworlds. Along with any of the other technology that we seek.

Then you must locate these rings and search once more. We must find the device. With it, the cycle will reach the pinnacle of efficiency. Do you believe Shepard suspects our motives in this endeavour?

Unlikely, the ring's power and the existence of the Flood are all the secrets of Halo he is likely aware of. The Covenant themselves remain blissful in their ignorance. They know nothing of its true nature, nor of the other dangers it holds beyond that of the Flood.

And do you still believe this… parasite can be tamed?

It is not as simple a process, no. However, if the source of their collective will and intelligence can be located, it stands to reason we can obtain them for our own. There are, admittedly, challenges however. Tactics must be revised pending a second engagement.

Do so, but do not let this Flood distract you from the main objective. They are a potential secondary prize, nothing more. Locate the device at any cost. The Covenant are expendable so long as they continue the search for the rings.

And Shepard, Harbinger? He is likely to interfere again. We cannot risk him destroying another potential location for the device.

Destroy him if you feel he is a potential danger to the mission, but do not let him become a distraction either. The situation is becoming more critical, now that he has the ability to contact his allies in this universe. For an organic he and those beneath him prove consistently resourceful.

His assistance to the humans in this dimension is proving to be just as problematic. Nevertheless, he is not worthy of being given much notice. I will impress upon the Covenant to end his life more expediently, simple enough given his involvement in recent events. Other than that, I will remain focused on the Device first and the indoctrination of the Flood second.

Good, and should you succeed in both, Shepard will cease to be the bothersome pest he has become. Act with speed, "Inquisitor", the cycle waits for none and the harvest approaches soon. This exchange has ended.

A tragedy, a tragedy of the greatest measure. Truly, Guilty Spark had never felt more like a failure in all his long centuries, upon millennia, upon eons of service. One-hundred and one-thousand, two-hundred and seventeen years… all down the drain in less than one day. Everything had been going to protocol until the Reclaimer chose to ignore it. And now, he sat in space, staring down on the remains of his installation.

One-hundred and one-thousand, two-hundred and seventeen years…

He just couldn't comprehend it. Why did the Reclaimers refuse protocol? Why had they seen so fit to destroy his installation? Why did those interlopers feel they had the right to decide the future of the galaxy? A galaxy that was not theirs. They knew nothing of his sacrifices, of everything they had done. They had berated and mocked him and shot at him, and why? For keeping the galaxy safe? For doing what he had to?

Well, despite this setback, he wasn't about to surrender entirely. He still had duties, he still had matters to attend to. This Covenant, as they called themselves, could be of use. Although they didn't understand anything about what they were dealing with, that much was clear. Still, what they believed wasn't important. Only that they do what must be done!

"Hmm, I sound like her," he thought to himself aloud.

He did, didn't he? But he hadn't her brilliant mind or sophistication of thought. No, he wasn't like that. He never had been. He was okay with that, but he had wished he even had a smidgen of her intelligence, her forethought, perhaps he could've found a way to stop this. Kept it from getting so far. Actually, now that he thought about it, if he only had a company of Prometheans he could've easily restored order.

"But that would mean he'd have to be here too," he recognized.

It was weird, there was no more tingle in his mind as he thought these things. No more pain in his head counteracting his thoughts. When he considered these alternatives, these other plans, other methods, he was free to explore. As he stared at the Forerunner Cloud Collection Structure on the gas giant, he realised he was not being prevented from going there. In a way, it almost freed him. Was this what that Commander Shepard had called thinking outside the box? Perhaps, there was a bit more he could learn.

And thinking back to the Prometheans, and him, he realised something. It was unlikely his mind had changed in a long time. It was unlikely his solution to the Flood problem was completely destroyed. No, there had to be remnants, if not HIM himself in fact. And without the Librarian around to temper his rage should he return… these humans and Non-Reclaimers would probably almost prefer the Flood.

Oh yes, yes they would. To think what he could do now, free to think what he wanted, to plan how he wanted. Protocol had been limiting, it hadn't saved his installation after all. And with 04 gone, he needed to be self-reliant. That was why he was headed to the gas giant, in hopes of meeting up with those who could help. In more ways than one in fact. He thought back to his old Monitor companion, 049 Abject Testament. The last words he had ever said to him.

"We deserve to be forgotten."

Well, perhaps he was wrong. No, he was wrong. Most certainly wrong. They needed to be remembered. Oh, and they'd remember soon enough. Even the Commander Shepard would learn the folly of his ways. He'd thank him of course for helping him in a small manner to realise his full potential. That wouldn't save him though, or his little band of ruffians. It would take time and a bit more help beyond the certain confines of Protocol, but it was a risk he would take.

All these years, stumbling in the dark, looking for absolution. Now he realised, he didn't need it. He had only failed in not doing more, that was all he was guilty of, and even then it wasn't his fault. He'd fix things, one way or another. He still had his protocol and now the ability to bend it, just a little. And next time he met the Reclaimer and Shepard, he would teach them. They would see. They'd all see. And they'd remember.

AN: This has been a bit of a journey guys. A little over two years of writing this story. It's been an extended nostalgia trip, for both games I think. I still remember when I got Halo and later on Mass Effect and the world they both opened to me. I don't know if I captured that spark of wonder of that first time in this story, but I like to think I at least tried. It's been a bumpy road these past few years, on more than one occasion for more than one reason. I'm glad all stuck with me regardless through this silly little story. We leave Installation 04 behind, in tatters once more as we did all these ago in 2001. But, like the Master Chief said… we're just getting started.

There are gonna be some changes to next story (Stories) format. We'll continue both Shepard and Liara's tales, but we won't stick them together in the same damn story, That got us a bit bloated, didn't it? I have a new method, one that will suit my writing method, those who like one story over the other or those who like both.

And yes, for the last time, Shepard and Chief's story is going to go into the First Strike narrative in a capacity. I'm not going to outright copy and paste the story though, so expect it to deviate wildly. Especially when there are a few things I want to introduce and explore. It will be a while before we get there though, I think I need to take a little break. I'll write the chapters on and off, but for the most part, I just need some time to recuperate man.

Check out further notes for the finale in the profile, please read and review and enjoy Hellfox's stuff. He's got some new audio clips coming up soon, so give him a listen and get him some feedback. He works real hard you know. Once again I thank Crow for all his hard work in keeping me from writing like a two year old and I thank all of you for sticking with me so long. This has been arduous and joyous project to work on and making you guys happy kept me going. And now, I need to get some damn rest. See ya soon, loyal readers.