1142 Hours, September 11th 2189 (Alliance Calendar)

Voyager Cluster, Gateway

Alliance Forward Operating Base

War. Terrible beyond imagination.

Scenes of ships of unknown configuration battling one another with such terrible ferocity.

The nightmare of a galaxy. Bloated, stretched, and warped bodies of the dead rushing towards humans in strange battle armor. Nothing could stop them as the nightmare engulfed the warriors and made them into their own.

All lost in comparison to the Orange eye that glowed brighter and brighter until it flashed, and the face of the Promethean Knight invaded thought.

With a sudden rush Javik sat up with a start. His breathing was rapid, and his two harts pounded like one of the projectile weapons favored by the inhabitants of this cycle on full automatic.

Something touched his arm. At first he thought it was the nightmare and pulled away, but the voice from the human was all too familiar, "Easy now Javik."

Javik focused his four eyes on the human, "Doctor Chalkwas. I thought you were on the Normandy?"

Chalkwas shrugged and lifted her data pad to look at Javiks vitals, "Given my recent experience with treating your injuries I was the best choice to monitor you." As if anticipating his next question she said, "You have been unconscious for nearly ten hours. After your encounter with that Machine you collapsed."

Javik scowled at the thought. He was supposed to be a proud Prothean warrior, and yet that creature had done something to him that not even the Reapers could do anymore. They caused him fear, but also did the things from the machines memory.

Immediately he pushed himself off the table. Chalkwas began to protest, "Javik, we still do not know what happened to you. You need to remain here and…"

Javik did not even give her a chance to finish the statement as he just walked out of the room. Fortunately his armor was still on. Foolish primitives still couldn't figure out how his armors came off.

As Javik stepped out into the open air he looked at how much the area had changed since he fell into the Cosmic Imperative.

Several new landing pads for shuttles and fighters had been established, and it looked like the Krogan had already set up a practice area. The Geth had established a signal relay. Several of the Geth worked around it, attempting to establish a link to the rest of the Geth.

None of this concerned Javik as he marched straight towards the control center. He moved past the guard check points and back into the room he had battled the machine. The leaders of the expedition were gathered around a large conference table that had been added to the room, along with Liara and EDI. They looked to have found some time for rest, and now were discussing what to do about Shepard and the rest of her team that were still missing.

They all looked at him as he spoke, "Whatever you are planning can wait. We are in danger."

For the next hour he told them everything he had seen, and endured their idiotic questions. He told them of the ancient war between the humans and the race that built this place. Of the nightmare shapeless nightmare they had run from, and of the machine they had seen.

Rear Admiral Galloway listened intently, holding his own questions back until Javik was finished, "An interesting story, but at this moment I can only take it as that. A story."

Javik narrowed his eyes at the human and glared, "Why not? I have seen this myself. This place was built to run from a Nightmare that had spread across a different universe."

Galloway nodded, "Of course, I believe you saw this but it does not change anything. None of the races gathered here know how your link to this Cosmic Imperative works. Until substantial evidence comes forward there is nothing much we can do about it."

Javik snorted. The races of this cycle were too ignorant to take the word of one who has seen things beyond their understanding. Liara placed a hand on his shoulder, "Perhaps later you can go over what you saw. I want to have it all documented for future reference."

Javik simply nodded.

The group returned to the matter at hand as Captain Enar Jel'tol cleared his throat and stated, "If we may return to the matter of our missing team. I believe that the best course of action would be to deploy just outside of Cerberus controlled…" His voice trailed off as the Communications station chirped.

The Quarian who stood there manipulated some control before looking up, "We are receiving a signal. I am unable to triangulate its location, but it has Commander Shepard's authorization codes."

Rear Admiral Galloway looked straight at the at the Quarian officer. His face remained composed with others had mixed looks of joy and confusion, "Put it thru."

A moment later a large screen that had been left behind by Cerberus came to life. On screen the face of Shepard came into focus. She looked well of as if she had recently cleaned up, and even her armor was polished. The background showed an odd purplish glow, and the blurred figures could be seen moving about. Shepard gave a nod, "Rear Admiral Galloway. Sorry for the communications black out, but things have been moving quickly."

Galloway nodded, "It's good to see you Commander. We feared you and your team had been lost. What is your status?"

"All team members are accounted for, Sir", Shepard replied.

Liara audibly sighed, "Thank the Goddess. What happened at the base Shepard?

Shepard considered that a moment. How could she possibly begin that story?

"That… Will take some time to explain," She said cryptically, "Until then I request permission to return?"

Galloway nodded, "Of course Commander. Send us your coordinates and we will send a shuttle to get you."

Shepard smiled, "Actually Sir, I am a lot closer than you might think. Meet me outside." With that the screen suddenly went dark.

Those gathered looked from one another, puzzled by Shepherd's last remark. Had any vessel approached the perimeter of Alliance held territory they would have been detected. Rear Admiral Galloway looked to those gathered, "Excuse me for a moment" he focused on Liara and Javik, "Come with me."

With that the three of them, plus to Alliance guards, made their way to the surface. They looked about, wondering what they were supposed to see. Everything looked normal. The Krogan sparred with the Turians, the Geth worked on their signal relays, and the Engineers worked to refuel and repair fighters.

They were about to turn back when an odd electrical noise reached them. It was coming from above them. As their eyes trained upwards they saw a rippling effect in the sky. From it the hull of a sleek vessel made of purple and grey material materialized. The ship was about a hundred feet longer than the Normandy, and hovered in the air without so much as a whisper.

It took Galloway a moment to realize that there were shouts as armed personnel trained their weapons upwards, but did not fire. They had all been taken off guard by the appearance of this vessel. A purple beam of light reached down from the belly of the vessel and made contact with the ground. At first Galloway feared it was an attack, but noticed it was doing no visible damage.

As he looked back upwards he saw three forms floating downwards from the ship. They descended rapidly, but slowed to a stop as they each made contact with the ground. As the figures stepped out of the light Liara rushed forward towards Shepard, Garrus and Vega. Javik remained back and contacted the rest of the team.

A few moments later the rest of the Normandy team had gathered around their three comrades. Each exchanging warm greetings with one another. Tali gushed, "Kehla Shepard! When we did not hear from any of you, I was worried that you all had been captured by Cerberus!" Once Tali had that off her chest she pointed upwards, the engineer in her had so many questions, "But what is that?"

Shepard looked up at the ship for a moment, "The people who gave us a ride back here called it a DAV-class Light Corvette. It's a Stealth Ship, like the Normandy, but has a few toys to work with we do not."

Garrus chuckled, "That is an understatement. While we were visiting their fleet, I got the chance to hear about the weapons the Covenant and the UNSC have. Needless to say, I want to make room in the main battery. Maybe expand it into Liara's room."

Before anyone else could speak Rear Admiral Galloway stepped forward. Shepard and Vega both gave sharp salutes, which Galloway returned, "Welcome back Commander. I would like your report right away," he stated as his hand lowered, "But first I would like you to explain who the hell are the Covenant and the UNSC?"

As Shepard's hand lowered back to her side a smile spread across her features, "Respectfully Sir, instead of having me explain everything about them to you," She turned and looked upwards towards the ship as more figures began to descend, "I think you should ask them yourself."

A few minutes later Rear Admiral Galloway entered the Control Center, along with Commander Shepard. Garrus and Vega were ordered to report to the medical facility for a checkup. Shepard stopped near the door as Rear Admiral Galloway returned to the Conference Table, "Ladies and Gentlemen. There has been a new development. The unknown fleet has been identified as being a joint operation under between three groups. One is referred to as the UNSC, while the other two belong to the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae. Commander Shepard has made contact, and they would like to have a word with us in regards to a possible opportunity." He looked towards the door and nodded to Shepard, giving her the stage.

Shepard looked out the door as four figures entered the room. Two were obviously human. One of the humans wore a set of strange Combat armor and carried a piece of equipment. The second human strode with purpose and composure. He wore a crisp white military uniform bearing symbols of rank and station that meant nothing to those gathered. His hat looked to be similar in design to those worn by the old American Navy, and bore a symbol that looked similar. The two remaining figures had a profile similar to humans, but they were too tall. They stood at about six foot nine, wore strange black armor with silver visors, and bore strange weapons. The two guards stopped at the door.

"May I present Admiral Churchill of the United Nations Space Command," Shepard introduced. The Admiral nodded his head to the strange creatures before him, but kept his curiosity in check. The Engineer he had brought with him set the device on the table and left. Those gathered looked incredulous, as if wondering if this was some sort of joke.

Shepard continued as three new creatures entered the room. Every member of the Alliance forces gathered showed some measure of surprise, save for the Turian and Krogan representatives. The creatures wore ornate mate black armor and stood well above seven feet. Two of them wore full face helmets, but the one at the lead wore none revealing the reptilian like skin hidden beneath, and the four mandibles that made up his mouth. Their hands looked to have four digits; two middle fingers, and two opposing thumbs. Their appeared to be digitigrade, with short upper and lower legs, and elongated tarsals.

"This is Henr'ak Talalu. His Fleet Master had to remain with their fleet to coordinate their ground efforts," Henry glanced around at those present and guessed who they were by the descriptions Shepard had provided. Asari, Geth, Quarian, Turian, Krogan, Salarian, and obviously human. Sounded like the start to one of those stupid jokes Rimmer had once told him on the Mona Lisa.

Shepard glanced to the door again, "And this…" she began as three massive and imposing creatures entered the room. Standing anywhere from eight to nine feet tall, the three new comers looked like a cross between Gorillas and Rhinoceroses in Shepard's opinion. They each wore armor that did nothing to hide their massive figures. The visible skin that could be seen looked thick and grey, but covered in dark fur, "Chieftain Revar of the Jiralhanae."

Revar stood in position and sniffed the room, detecting so many strange smells. One scent in particular caught his attention as his eyes focused on Urdnot Jark of the Krogan. Revar gave a slight growl, at which Jark returned. Their eyes focused on each other as Jark circled the table. Each bore their teeth and took on aggressive postures. All eyes fell on the pair, confused by the unexplainable hostility. Once they stood before each other Revar roared, to which Jark smashed his head plate against the Brute.

Shepard rushed forward, her hands raised to them both in an attempt to stop this from escalating, "Easy! You both just met, can we at least all hear what has to be said before we kill each other?"

Jark looked towards Shepard with bemusement, "Kill each other? I don't know what you think was going on, but I think I have found the closest thing to a Krogan out of any species and was showing respect."

Revar looked to Shepard and smiled, showing off his sharp teeth, "I am hoping for the opportunity to go hunting with him. Perhaps the Cerberus freaks you have spoken about?"

Henry shook his head, thinking it had to be an animal thing. Little did he know that the Turians sharing that same sentiment.

Shepard shook her head as they all approached the table. Admiral Churchill cleared his throat, "With Rear Admiral Galloway's permission I shall start us off and tell you the reason for this meeting. It comes down to one issue that was discovered within the Cerberus sector. That issue is the Flood."

Elsewhere on Gateway, a Cerberus Shuttle sets down at one of the Cerberus bases that had been established near a massive building constructed from the artificial world itself.

As the shuttle doors opened a single figure stepped out from it. His armor was black, matching his black hair and equally black personality.

A Cerberus officer rushed to meet him, "Operative Lang, welcome to Epsilon Base. I was not informed of your arrival. Until a few moments ago."

Kai Lang looked towards the augmented officer, "My everywhere movement is none of your concern" he stated as he began moving towards the structure, "Given the arrival of the Alliance and those strangers, the Illusive Man has sent me to oversee our efforts here personally."

The officer quickly fell into step beside him, "I assure you Operative Lang that we are doing the best we can with the resources available. With the discovery of the parasitic organism and this worlds defenses, we have had to focus our efforts to just maintain our position."

Kai Lang showed no visible reaction to that, "I have read your reports already. So has the Illusive Man. What he wants to know is whether or not you have discovered a way of copying all the information stored within this facility for possibly use by our forces. Perhaps a means of controlling the Knights and the Sentinels?"

The officer was hesitant for only a moment, "We have tried, but without more unaugmented humans we have had to resort to using our AI's to bypass the security systems here. It is a slow process. It is as if there was another intelligence attempting to block us from within."

Lang sneered at that, "Have you learned anything of substance?"

The officer cleared his throat. He knew if he said the wrong thing that he may as well sign his own death warrant, "Yes Sir" He said without hesitation and looked up towards the building, "We now know that the building we stand before is called a Silent Cartographer. We believe we can use it to lead us to this stations Control Room and manual gain access to the systems here."