(Chapter 01)
"Well, what about Jane Shepard? She's a spacer. Lived aboard starships most of her life" a man said bringing up a file of a lightly tanned woman with shoulder length red hair and green eyes.
"Military service runs in the family. Both of her parents were in the navy" said another man bringing up her family services.
"She proved herself during the blitz. Held off enemy forces on the ground until reinforcements arrived" the third man reminded them of her accomplishment.
"She is also the only reason Elysium is still standing and prospering" the second man brought up showing a recent video feed of the place.
"We can't question her courage" the first man responded.
The third man brought up a file of a blond haired man in his late 20's "Let's not forget about him" he says.
"I still say the Alliance, shouldn't have allowed for joint missions with their organization" the first man said with annoyance in his tone as he stared at the picture.
Shaking his head the third man just let out a sigh at the first man "it was needed, if we want to have more protection for our colonies in the Attican Traverse that are near the boarders of the Terminus Systems"
"And humanity needs a hero, Jane is the best we got to offer" the second voice pointed out "besides you only dislike him because of what he did to you, when you demanded he surrender his ship and all other technologies he had" he added with a smile upon remembering what happened to him.
"I'll make the call" the first man sighed out with a sour look on his face.
(Time skip - three days later - Winnipeg, Canada)
Music played from a juke-box in a bar and a huge crowd surrounded a pool table "now, I'll take this next shot with only one hand" said a blond haired man from the center of the crowd.
"Der's nah way, yer gona make da shot" slurred his opponent with a smirk on his face
A grin appeared on the blonde's face "is that so? Well then, how about we up the ante and add an extra…oh I don't know 10,000 credits hmm" he said confidently
This made the smirk on his opponent's face to disappear to a concern expression then back to a smirk "ight fine" hearing him say that a grin appear on the blonde's face as he placed his cue stick behind the cue ball, which is up against the 8-ball along the wall.
The crowd around them became silent as they wanted to see this miracle shot, lining the shot, the blond then hits the cue ball which nudges the black ball to the side, as it did this the white ball banks off the other side of the table and hits the black ball in the side pocket (1). When the black ball went in the crowd exploded in a cheer as they saw one of the greatest trick shots they had ever seen in billiards and begun to applaud the blond man.
While they were celebrating, the blonde's opponent just stood in place with a look of disbelief on his face then a voice snaps him back to reality "everyone in this bar told you not to challenge me, but you just had to, didn't you" the blond said to him with a big shit eating grin on his face.
The man just activated his Omni-tool and transferred the credits to him then quickly left the bar grumbling "alright, another round on me" shouts the blond getting a roar of applauds from everyone in the bar.
Sitting at the bar the blond looks to the woman sitting in the stool next to him and took in her appearance. She was a woman in her early-forties, her blond hair tied in twin tails, she was wearing a green haori with a kanji for gamble on the back and under that she wore a grey kimono styled blouse that showed a good amount of cleavage, dark blue pants and open toed shoes.
He leans over and kisses her cheek "sorry about that Tsu-chan, hope I didn't upset you" he said to his 5th wife.
Narrowing her eyes at the man Tsunade just stared at him for a few seconds then huffs and looks away from her husband "no~ of course not!, Why would I be mad about being left here all alone, while you go play some silly game Naruto" she sarcastically says with an edge in her tone
Noticing the lack of her pet name for him Naruto felt bad about doing that and did the only thing he knew that would lessen her anger a bit, silently getting up from his seat Naruto steps behind his wife and pulls her into a hug resting his head on the shoulder she was facing towards "I really am sorry about that Tsu-chan, I know I said I'd give you my full attention tonight, and I'll do anything to make you happy for the rest of the night" Naruto said staring into her eyes.
Seeing the genuine care and love in his eyes for her, Tsunade couldn't help the sigh escaping her lips with a smile briefly appearing on her face for a quick second before she turn away from him "fine, just sit down you idiot" she said to him with a light blush dusting her cheeks.
Hearing her say that Naruto smiles lovingly at her and sits back down next to her and the both of them enjoyed each other company "it seems, you two are having a fun time" a voice stated a few seconds later getting both of their attentions.
Seeing who it was that disturbed their moment together, they were annoyed at him for interrupting their date night "what can we do for you tonight, Anderson?" Tsunade growled at him with narrowed eyes not happy at having her date night interrupted.
Feeling a sense of dread wash over him Anderson cleared his throat and spoke "Naruto Uzumaki, you are requested to meet with the admiralty board tomorrow at Alliance HQ, for a briefing of your organization's partnership with the Alliance, now I'll leave the two of you to yourselves" he said then left quickly not wanting to be on the receiving end of the blond woman
After Anderson left Naruto and Tsunade had stayed for a while longer then left for the hotel they had gotten when they arrived on Earth and happily held each other in their arms.
(Time skip – Two Days later - Captain's Quarters)
"So…why am I here again?" asks Naruto as he was still confused on why he was taken away from his quality time with his wife.
A sigh was heard "you are here, because of the Prothean beacon we had discovered on Eden Prime and you are the most qualified to protect it, before it gets to the council" said Anderson looking to his old friend.
"That's not what I mean and you know it" Naruto responded narrowing his eyes at the middle age man.
Taking a deep breath Anderson answered him "It's because both me and Hackett had nominated you to be a candidate for the Specters" silence filled the room after dropping that bombshell on him.
Anderson braced himself for what was to come "NANI! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU TWO DO THAT FOR? You know you can't do that, since I'm not a part of your Alliance" Naruto shouts at him bringing up a good point.
"The Salarians wants to study us after witnessing me and my people using my Chakra, while the Turians would demand I hand over the Andromeda Ascendant to make both their's and the council's fleets the strongest in the galaxy" he continued letting a sigh out at the end "don't you remember what happened at our first encounter with them and your people?" he asks reminding him on what happened with his encounter with the Council Members.
"Of course I do, but we believe it's time we all moved on and go down a peaceful path with the other races, it's what we both want isn't it?" David rebutted "besides it's a joint Alliance/Commonwealth mission and we had permission from your first Triumvir, Shika Nara (2) to proceed" he adds as he held out a Flexi.
That last bit stops Naruto from saying anything else as he saw the mark of the triumvir on the orders and lowers his head and lets a sigh escape his lips "of course she would" he muttered out and looks back up at David "and you know it is, but since Kaori-chan and Chiyo-chan (2) are going to give birth anytime now, not to mention Tenten-chan will be ticked off, if I don't show up for our kid's recital" he told him although he only told him that so he wouldn't have to deal with the Citadel council.
"The Arcturus Prime relay is in range. Initiating transmission sequence" said a voice over the ship's intercom.
"Sounds like we are about to hit the relay, why don't you go mingle with your friends up there" Anderson said with a light grin.
This earns a scoff from Naruto "you just want to end this conversation, don't you" the grin on Anderson's face grew a bit as he stayed silent and earned a sigh from the blond "fine, I'm going but mark my words, I'll get you back for this" Naruto adds as he left the captain's cabin.
"I look forward to it" Anderson muttered a few seconds after the door closed.
"Hitting the relay in 3…2…1" upon hitting one an energy beam struck the ship and in a burst of speed the ship launches out to the cosmos in a streak of light.
(Normandy's Bridge)
"Your Paranoid Joker, the Council helped fund this project, they have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment" said a feminine voice sitting in the seat next to the helmsmen.
A scoff is heard "Yeah, that's the official story Kaila, but only idiots believe the official story" said Joker as he was checking over every systems.
"They don't send Specters on shakedown runs" said another woman's voice from behind the helmsmen.
"So that means there is more going on, then what the captain is letting on" suspected Joker looking over to the red haired woman.
"You guys have no idea" said Naruto stepping next to Joker's chair getting him to look at the blond.
"Wha..." was all Joker was able to say before the intercom interrupted him "Joker! Status report" Anderson asks over the comms.
He begun to look over the monitors and reported "just cleared the mass relay, captain. Stealth systems engage, everything looks solid".
"Good, find a comm buoy and link us up, I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime" Anderson ordered.
"aye aye captain, better brace yourself sir, I think Nihlus is headed your way" Joker warned.
"He's already here, Lieutenant and tell both Commander Shepard and Uzumaki to meet me in the comm room for debriefing" he answered cutting the comms off.
"You got that you two?" he asks them looking over his left shoulder.
Receiving nods both Naruto and Jane started to leave "he sounds angry, something must have gone wrong with the mission" Jane said aloud leaving the cockpit.
Another scoff came from Joker "Captain always sounds like that, when he's talking to me" he muttered out.
"I can't possible imagine why" Kaila responded in a teasing tone with a smile on her face.
Stopping in his trek to the debriefing room Naruto turns back to the bridge "oh yeah, Joker! Sakura-chan wanted me to tell you to give her a call, when we get to Eden Prime for your appointment" Naruto shouts to him then continued on his way receiving a wave from him.
Walking to the comms room both Naruto and Jane had a brief conversation with Navigator Pressly, who congratulated them on a smooth run and about his conversation with Engineer Adams, as well as finding it a bit odd that the ship was fully staffed with the Turian Specter being on broad. They then spoke with Jenkins and Dr. Chakwas which lead to Naruto speaking with Jenkins about keeping calm and learning a little bit about Eden Prime.
Entering the briefing room they both saw Nihlus staring at a holo-screen of Eden Prime, hearing someone walking up behind him Nihlus turns around and saw them standing there "ah Commander Shepard, Commander Uzumaki I was hoping you two would get here first" he said taking a few steps towards them "it gives us a chance to talk" Nihlus adds.
"What's up?" Naruto asks with a raised eyebrow.
"The captain said, he'd meet us here" Jane said wondering where he was.
Nodding Nihlus answered "he'll be here shortly, I'm interested in this planet we're going to…Eden Prime, I had heard it's quite beautiful" said Nihlus pacing a few times.
"I've been there before, it's a lovely haven" Naruto responded staring at the screen behind Nihlus.
"Yes…a paradise, serene, tranquil, safe Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people hasn't it" Nihlus says turning around to look at the screen again "Proof that humanity can establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them…but how safe is it really?"
Getting annoyed with the 20 questions Jane decided to get to the point "If you got something to say, then say it"
"Your people are still newcomers, Commanders. The galaxy is a dangerous place, is the Alliance really ready for this" Nihlus asks turning back to Jane.
Hearing the door slid open Naruto looks to see Anderson walks in "I think it's time we told Shepard, what's going on" he said.
Nodding Nihlus steps in front of Jane and Naruto "this mission is far, from a simple shakedown run" he says.
Staring at Nihlus her suspicions were confirmed then looks to Anderson "I figured there was something, you weren't telling us"
Nodding his head Anderson answered "we're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime, that's why we needed the stealth systems operational"
"I don't like being kept in the dark, Captain" she said narrowing her eyes at the man.
Sighing Anderson told her the reason for his silence, about how a research team had found a Prothean beacon which lead to Nihlus explaining about the Prothean and how everyone is using their technology. Anderson then explained how the last time Humanity had found something this big, Earth's technology had advanced over two hundred years and were going to use the Normandy to bring it to the council for a proper study of it.
This lead to Jane questioning on why they don't just keep the beacon for themselves "it's because Earth doesn't exactly have a good reputation with most of the other races" Naruto responded finally saying something "and it lessen a little recently because Earth associates with my organization" he added mumbling the last part to himself.
Unfortunately Jane barely heard him and it got her attention and was about to ask what he meant but was stopped "sharing that beacon would improve relations with the Council, plus we need their expertise, since they know more about the Protheans then we do" Anderson said although he knew they could have just hand it over to Naruto for the Andromeda Ascendant to analyze.
Nihlus then explained that he was also there to evaluate both her and Naruto to see if they had what it took to be a Specter "I had already put both of your names forward, as candidates for the Specters" Nihlus told them in a cheery tone.
This confused Jane "why would a Turian recommend two humans in the Specters?" she asks.
This in turn had Naruto answering "not all Turians dislike humans Jane, just like with the Asaris and Salarians. A good chunk of the three Council races can see the potential humanity has"
"Exactly! There are those of us that can see what your race has to offer the galaxy…and to the Specters, we are an elite group, it's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek, I don't care that you're human Shepard, I only care that you can get the job done" the Turian added with conviction in his voice.
"I assu…"
"Captain! We've got a problem" Joker said over the comms with a hint of panic in his voice
"What is it Joker?" Anderson asks.
"A transmission just came in from Eden Prime, you better check it out" Joker responded
"Transfer it here" the admiral said and a second later a screen popped up in front of them.
(End Chapter)
Re-edited 08-10-2018
As usual leave a review
(1) a shot I saw from Poolhall Junkies it's a good movie give it a watch
(2) fem Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji I did say it was inspired by the first male nin
And I had Kaiden Alenko gender bent so if you are gonna bitch about it, it will be ignored
PEACE