"So, a Collector ship stranded out in space? From what I've heard about these things, it doesn't seem like one of their ships just gets knocked out by a Turian Cruiser" Six said as he left the elevator, talking to Garrus and Tali as they all walked towards the shuttle. "Are you two really buying this?"

"It sounds like you doubt what the Hierarchy is capable of, Six. I'm insulted…" Garrus answered with a smirk on his face. "If a Human ship had done this, you'd be completely onboard with it."

"Very funny, Garrus. You know what I'm talking about, though. This sounds a little too convenient to be true. You two think what you want, but I'm going to be watching my back while we're in there. I'm not going to end up in one of those stasis pods you've told me about."

"Don't throw me in with Garrus! I'm thinking the same thing as you, Six" interrupted Tali. "You're right, this doesn't seem to make sense. I'm keeping my shotgun close the whole mission" she said, patting the gun holstered on her back. "I'm sure Shepard agrees with us, Lieutenant. Speaking of, where is he? He was supposed to meet us at the shuttle."

"He sent me a message about coming down in a few minutes or so; said it was something about getting some weapon upgrades from Jacob first, for the mission" replied Garrus. "And actually, I agree with both of you; I just wanted to give the Lieutenant a hard time. I've served on a lot Turian ships, and I know for a fact that one of our cruisers wouldn't take down a Collector ship, even with a surprise attack. I think it's going to be a trap."

"If we've been wondering about it, then I'm sure Shepard has. He's always…"

"Always what?" Shepard asked, interrupting Tali as he walked out of the elevator.

The three friends all looked at each other for a moment, silently arguing with each other over who would answer Shepard. Tali and Garrus both looked at Six, bluntly letting him that he was the one to inform the commander.

"On top of things, Shepard. We were just talking about how we feel this mission is a set-up. We don't think the Turians would be able to knock out a Collector ship; it's a trap. If it was really knocked out, wouldn't it have called for a rescue? The report you sent us from the Illusive Man said it's been idle for hours. That's plenty of time for a rescue mission."

"I've already thought about that too, everyone" Shepard said with just a hint of concern on his face. "This is too convenient; I even mentioned it to the Illusive Man. We both agreed on it, but the potential payoff is too valuable to pass up on. That's why I want to go in with a small team, and no one else, for this one. Miranda wanted to come with, but I need her here if anything goes wrong. Tali and Garrus: you've been with me since the beginning, and I know we can work well together, going into something so unknown" he said to the two with a smile. "As for you, Lieutenant" Shepard said as he walked over to the Spartan "You may be new, but I have no doubts about you anymore. When you thought you were giving up your life for a member of my crew, I knew we were right to bring you on the Normandy. We all need to be able to do that, if the time comes." Shepard said the last part with a nod to the Spartan.

"I… yes sir. I'm with you on this one."

"Good, enough about that. Grab your gear and let's load up in the shuttle. Joker should be taking the Normandy out of FTL any minute, and we'll be right on top of the Collectors. I want to be in and out fast, nice and clean." Shepard led the group to the shuttle, the Cerberus pilot waiting for them at its hatch.

"We just exited FTL, Shepard" Joker said over the shuttle's comm system. "The Collector ship is right in front of us; I'll pull alongside it. It looks like there's a hull breach you should be able to land in. I'll mark it with the ship's floodlight."

"Thanks, Joker. Alright everyone, this is it.

.

"This place is a mess" Six said, looking at the bottom of his boot. The floor of the Collector ship was covered in something he could only describe as 'slimy.' "The Collectors actually have this stuff in their ship on purpose? I can't wait to meet them" he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"From what we've seen so far, you might not get the chance, Lieutenant" Shepard said, leading the group past another pile of Human bodies. "EDI, keep running a sweep of the Collector ship; I want to know why we haven't seen any yet, alive or otherwise."

"Of course, Shepard: I will run a background program for it, as I am still trying to locate an access point for the central computer. I will let you know when I have an answer for either" said EDI, chiming in over the teams' radio.

"Why do you think the Collectors are throwing piles of Human bodies around?" asked Garrus. "It doesn't make much sense to me. You'd think they'd be bothered by the stench…"

"They're probably from experiments; once they were used, they aren't useful anymore." Tali spoke as she was crouched, examining one of the piles with her Omni-tool.

"Sure, but why wouldn't they have a better was to dispose of them? Even throwing them off into space would be better than having a pile of rotting bodies."

"Or we're just not seeing why they're really here…" said Six. "Maybe there's more to it. Their technology seems to be organic, so it might make sense."

"We won't figure it out from here; come on, let's go" Shepard ordered, as the other three fell in behind him.

Six was the last in line, moving a little slower than the others. He was more focused on the ship than the mission. The design of it reminded him of the reports on the Flood: the organic masses everywhere, the same dull yellow, the slight cloud haze in the air, the slime… Lucky for him, he already knew the Collectors were the ones that were on this ship. "Commander, I never saw in the mission brief… what exactly are we looking for here?"

"That's because we don't have a specific target; we just need all the information we can get on the Omega-4 relay. While we don't know for sure what happens to them, every ship that enters it stays on the other side; no one has travelled it and returned to tell what happened. We suspect the Collectors, and Reapers, have some sort of access codes to it. We need those if we're going to hit their home world. A Collector ship stranded in space seems like the best place to look."

"Hmmm, got it, sir. Do you want my, um, VI to scan the ship too?"

Shepard looked over his shoulder, just slightly enough to show he knew what the Lieutenant was talking about. "Yea, that sounds good. See if it can find anything useful, like ship schematics; I'm tired of wandering around here without anywhere to go."

"You heard the man, Lel. Find us something useful" said Six, his external audio switched off momentarily. "

"I've been doing that already, Six. Tell Shepard to take a right up ahead, at the next fork. I think I see a medical station, if I'm reading the Collector schematics right" said Leliana, appearing in the corner of his new visor. "Do you like the new display? This is what you were missing out on when you didn't take the Gen 2 armor upgrades."

"Yea, it actually is pretty nice seeing you on a mission for once" he said to her. "Shepard, take the next right up ahead" he stated, switching back to normal audio. "There should be a med lab down that hall.

"Shepard…" Tali said in a way that hinted she was about to ask for something "How come we don't all have Vis in our suits? It sounds like it's pretty useful for Six."

"Hmph" Shepard said grumpily "Talk to Miranda about that. I don't decide the budget."

"Miranda would never…"

"Hey, look up ahead… it's that med bay Six was talking about" Garrus stated.

Up a small incline, the team could see several computer stations and what appeared to be operating tables. On several of the tables, collector pods were sitting open.

"Good, I'm glad we're making some progress" answered Shepard. "Let's go see what the Collectors left for us."

"Right behind you, Shepard" Tali and Garrus said in unison.

Six just looked at them both for a few moments, having a puzzled look behind his helmet. The other two obviously sensed his confusion.

"When you serve on the Normandy long enough Six, you'll be saying it with us" said Tali.

The four of them continued moving, walking up the ramp to the medical station that Leliana had found. It was a much more open room than the cramped hallways they had been walking through, with an ample amount of lighting. Several more of the Collector pods were strewn about the room, seemingly unorganized. Shepard walked over and discovered a Collector body in it.

"So that's what these things look like…" stated Six. After he studied it for a moment, he turned and walked over to another console and started scanning it. "Leliana, can you hack into their systems to see if you can find anything useful?"

"Of course, Six: Setting up the bridge now…" she said, her holographic image once again appearing in the corner of his helmet. "Hmmm, I can't find much on how the ship ended up like this. There's a small amount of data regarding the Turian attack, but nothing useful. No warnings or alerts, just a small broadcast across the ship as the Turians started attacking. It seemed more like an announcement of some kind; this Collector code is difficult to read."

"Alright, thanks Leliana. Anything else standing out to you?"

"Just one thing; the ship's security systems are still online. It's been tracking us since we arrived. I'd let Shepard know."

His suspicions about the mission seemingly confirmed, Six walked over to speak with the others, and to see what they had found out from the dead Collector. "Shepard, I managed to hack into the ship's systems, and access the security network. It's been tracking us ever since we boarded."

"I knew something felt off about this mission…" Tali said in a concerned voice.

"Even so, we've come too far to just walk away. Just keep alert. Learn anything else, Six?" asked Shepard.

"Just that the Collectors didn't seem too worried when the Turians attacked. The ship broadcasted one message when it happened, but it didn't seem like any kind of real alert. It really looks like there's more to this. Anyways, what did you three find?"

"Are you ready for a big surprise?" asked Garrus.

"Garrus, remember what I've been through to get here?"

"Right" the turian chuckled. "Well, EDI ran some tests on the Collector DNA and figured out where it came from…"

"And?"

"It's a modified Prothean, Six. You know, the aliens that most of the galaxy thinks built the Citadel and the Relays? The Reapers must have enslaved some of them before wiping the rest out in the last cycle."

"That's… disturbing" Six said, trailing off. "You're telling me this is what Protheans looked like?"

"No. EDI's tests show that the Reapers dramatically changed them" said Tali. "Whatever the real Protheans looked like, this isn't it. The Collectors have many of their internal organs replaced with Reaper tech, making them more powerful in combat; the changes are especially noticeable in their central nervous system. But it also seems to make them dependent on the tech."

"What does that mean?" asked the Lieutenant

"We aren't quite sure of that yet. EDI and Mordin are working on it" said Shepard. "Right now, we need to keep moving, and find a central command station; if we don't find how the Collectors use the Omega-4 relay, this entire mission will have been for nothing. Lieutenant, keep scanning the ship for any other useful locations, and take point."

"Got it" Six said, as he moved to take the lead. Just as they left the medical stations, he noticed a pile of weapons lying by a locker. "Hey Shepard, there are a few weapons sitting here; need to learn to shoot something new?"

"You think picking up a new gun magically makes someone learn how to use a new type of weapon? That's ridiculous, Six. Keep moving" Shepard said, shaking his head in amusement.

The Spartan just smirked behind his visor, once again turning and walking down the corridor. In the next room they found opened up to a large ceiling, covered in a familiar sight.

"Look at all the pods on the walls and the ceiling" Tali said, slowing down to take in the disturbing sight.

"I detect no signs of life in the pods Shepard" EDI said, coming in over the team's radio channel. "I suspect that the colonists that were being held in them died when the ship was attacked; much of the power grid throughout the ship has been offline since we discovered it. I do not see any way to help the colonists."

"No, there isn't anything we can do for them now" Shepard said. "The best we can do is to keep the Collectors from grabbing more people. Keep leading, Six."

The Spartan nodded and kept walking, staying alert of what was around him. Just as he was beginning to wonder where he was headed, Leliana popped up. "Six, the next pathway ahead will take you out into the ship's central chamber. From there, we have a short walk to what I think is a control station where EDI can access the ship's main systems; she should be able to figure out how we can use the Omega-4 relay from there."

"Thanks, Leliana. Any signs of the Collectors, yet?"

"Still nothing. I'll keep looking, though." She flickered off of his HUD again, and Six kept leading the group through the ship.

"This way will take us to a control station" he said to everyone. "It's in the ship's center. EDI can access the ship's main systems from there. I think. It's just through this next opening…" He trailed off when they walked up another ramp, leading them into the heart of the ship.

"Keelah…" Tali said, as she looked around.

"By the spirits… This is bad, Shepard" Garrus said, shocked by what he saw. "They must have millions of pods in this ship. There's no way they're going to stop at the Terminus Systems."

"Where are the biggest Human colonies?" asked Six.

"We're still new on the galactic scene, Lieutenant" answered Shepard. "We don't have too many large, established colonies. Aside from a few, like Eden Prime and Bekenstein, Earth is still by far the largest Human populated planet."

"…And they're going to target it" finished Tali. "With their seeker-swarm tech, the Collectors could easily land at a city, grab the population, and get out before the Alliance could respond."

"Not if we stop them first, Tali" answered Shepard. "Come on people; I think I see that control station the lieutenant was talking about. Follow me."

Six kept looking around for a few moments before following the others. He just wanted to think about what he was really doing; Leliana must have sensed his concern. "It's really starting to sink in, isn't it?" she asked.

"What do you mean, Lel?"

"What's at stake here: Until now, we didn't really know what we were helping them with. We knew about the Collectors, yes, but seeing them now is different; it's not just another mission. I can only imagine how all the people trapped in those pods felt, with no way out. What if they were awake, or in pain? In a way, though, it's nice knowing we can do something to help. If we help stop the Collectors, then this whole mess will have been worth it. We might as well do something if we're staying here, no?"

"Yea, I guess you're right. I suppose there's no going back, huh? Kind of makes me want to just go find somewhere to live on Earth and hide" he said with a smirk. "But like you said… might as well do something good while we're here."

"And maybe try something new, hmmm?" she said with a smile, rolling her eyes to the side of her holographic image in Tali's direction.

"Yea…" he answered with a smile, forgetting his usual response of dismissal just long enough for her to catch him. "Well, might as well, I mean."

"Mmhhmm" she answered, forming a playful smile across her face.

"Just keep scanning the area, Lel" he said bitterly. "Looks like Shepard has EDI connected to the system, so keep us covered."

.

"EDI, what have you got so far?" asked Joker as he looked over some of the data in front of him. "I'm not seeing anything useful."

"Please be patient Jeff. The number of firewalls I'm attempting to bypass is making it very difficult to work any quicker."

"Hmph" answered the pilot. Joker sat back in his chair, looking out of the Normandy's windows at the Collector ship. Remembering a past event, he decided to ask EDI another question. "Hey EDI, run an analysis on the ship's EM profile for me, would you?"

After just a few moments, the AI answered him "Here are the results, Jeff."

"I thought so" he said, looking them over. "Hey Shepard" he said over the comm channel. "EDI just ran a scan on the Collector ship for me, you need to hear this."

"Shepard, I ran an analysis on the Collector ship's EM profile; it is an exact match of the one the original Normandy picked up on the ship that attacked you two years ago."

"The same ship's been chasing me this whole time?" asked Shepard over the radio. "This is way beyond coincidence. The others were right; this has to be a trap."

"Keep your eyes open Shepard, something is definitely wrong with this one" said Joker. "Hang on there for just another minute; I think EDI's making some progress."

"Let me know when you find something, EDI. I want to be…" Shepard was cut off by a violent shake as the platform they were standing on quickly started to rise in the air, sending both Garrus and Tali to the floor. Six was quick enough to stay on his feet, but even he was thrown off-balance for a moment.

"Shepard, I have detected multiple bio-signs on the platforms nearby. I am unsure how they eluded my sensors, but they are moving towards your position" EDI said over the team's radio. "I am still in their system, but I need time to analyze the information I have. Please hold the platform until I advise you otherwise."

"On your feet, everyone!" barked Shepard, as he drew the assault rifle from his back. He slid into some cover in the front of their platform, and looked over the edge to see several platforms with collectors on them, all moving towards their position. "This is it. Aim careful, and conserve ammo. We don't know how long it will take for EDI to finish."

Six grabbed Tali's hand to help her up, while Garrus jumped up quickly on his own while drawing his sniper rifle. The lieutenant drew his own rifle, snuck behind some cover with Tali, and aimed over the wall at the collectors moving towards them. The two nodded to each other, ready to work as a team. A moment later, Six felt the collectors' platform connect to their own, and he pulled the trigger.

He was ready to show the collectors how a Spartan fights.

.

And he's not dead, after all! Sorry for the delay; thank graduating college and getting a real job for it. I'll try to get the second-half of the collector ship up in less than eight months, this time.

I kept this one short to get something new up. The next update will finish the collector ship, and maybe develop Tali and Six's relationship a bit more.

Thanks for sticking with me, and let me know what I can do to improve.