Chapter 37
Enemy at the Gates
The doors of the dungeon were opened.
The sound of firm footsteps echoed through the semi dark chamber, the air was nearly freezing and was mixed in with the disgusting smell of urine and an unwashed body.
An eery music continuously played from the two speakers in the corners, and in the middle of this all stood a stark naked Asari hoisted up and bound in chains. To be precise electronic chains which sent jolts of lightning if the prisoner struggled. Her once strong legs had turned a horrible shade of darkish blue courtesy of being made to stand on a gigantic slab of ice.
Deprived of food and water, the once undefeatable Aria T'loak flinched on seeing the one who defeated her.
There was no sign of arrogance or pity in those ice cold blue eyes as they stared at her. He was one of the few individuals who could claim to have seen her naked in all glory yet not for a second did a hint of lust linger in his eyes.
"Come to gloat?" spat Aria,
"I have no need to lower myself to do that level for a defeated criminal..." he answered coolly,
"Your empire is gone, your subordinates now serve me, your fleet and armies fight for me including your beloved Mirala. She's a feisty one, I have to give her that..." he said with a smirk,
Aria thrashed violently against her chains and was rewarded with sharp bolts of lightning hitting her weakened body. While not enough to kill, they were more than enough to hurt.
He never smiled at her pain and just stared at her blankly. He activated his red orbs and was satisfied when Aria froze.
"Yes, I subdued your lover Asari with these eyes of mine. Penetrated every corner of her mind and body, discovered every little dirty secret that you both knew. Including your daughter..."
He tapped his omni tool and a vid was opened. Clear enough for Aria to see the young Asari cadet who partied with her in training commando buddies.
Kiana T'loak had never known either of her parents. Unknown to her, she was the daughter of the Pirate Queen and her Fleet Commander. Not wanting to expose their young daughter to their messy life as criminals and warlords, the Asari couple sent the child to Thessia. Where Aria made sure that Tevos, her oldest friend took care of her daughter.
Despite her often cold demeanor and never meeting the girl personally, watching her just from the shadows Aria had loved her child since she was Kiana's mother. With Mirala being the father.
It was no surprise that her child had took after her father in career and was now on the way to join the Asari Republic Fleet as a Commando. And Aria was glad her daughter had not chosen the path of her parents. Atleast this way she would be safe until now.
She glared hard at the blond monster that had ruined her life. He took away her lover, her loyal subordinates, usurped her empire, and made a mockery of her by defeating her in combat as if she was a child.
While all she and Mirala had ever wanted was to build an independent system in space where people no matter their race could live on their own terms. Sure it was not clean or more lawful like the other major powers, but it was free.
But all of that was gone now.
The 300 year history of the Pirate Empire was destroyed by the power of one single human and his charisma.
She had heard whispers from her prison guards that her beloved Pirate Empire where people were free to do what they wanted as long as they did things according to her vision were now being bound by law.
The Galactic Empire.
It was the new power that was taking over the Terminus with Kaiser Naruto as its warlord and emperor. Those who flocked to his side were rewarded, those who opposed were either eliminated or subdued by those dangerous red eyes of his.
Aria could see a greater predator standing in front of her. While he didn't say anything, the fact that he knew about her daughter was all she needed to know about his intentions.
Her army, her lover, her power, everything was gone.
She had fought against him and knew she could never defeat him.
"What do you want?" asked Aria defeatedly,
"I am not doing this for my own gain and neither do I enjoy hurting people's children. Even the ones of criminal like you..." admitted Naruto, and was not surprised when the Asari scoffed.
"Somehow I find that hard to believable. You're a monster..." said Aria angrily,
"I am. And I am trying to fight a bigger monster from destroying the galaxy..."
Aria's eyes widened when her chains snapped open and she collapsed on top of the ice slab beneath her. There were no more restraints stopping her from attacking him. Yet he remained unfazed because she never moved against him.
He threw a datapad towards her which she snatched.
As she read through Liara T'Soni's reports about the race known as Reapers alongwith video footage of their attacks on Feros, Eden Prime she felt a horrible feeling develop in her gut. The fact that these machines were supposed to wipe out the Protheans and several more races in a cycle was disturbing to read.
"If you want proof, you can look inside the Prothean Beacon I stole from Eden Prime..." he said with a smile,
"My question still stands, what do you want from me? I have nothing more to offer..."
"Your mind is your power. Serve me willingly and I shall reunite you with your lover and leave your daughter alone. Fight with me against the Reapers, this way you'll only be protecting your interests and your daughter's future..." explained Naruto patiently,
"Is that why you have not mind raped me like the others?" asked Aria bitterly, the thought of this human strolling through her lover Mirala's mind revolted her.
"Yes"
"Ruler over Omega as my representative. The status quo must be seen as you are still in command while in truth I rule Terminus from the shadows. Do that and I leave your family alone, and Aria..."
She froze when those monstrous red eyes smiled down at her. Challenging her to defy them.
"Rebel against me whenever you want, I don't care. But remember this, no one will support you and when you are defeated again which you will, I will kill your entire family in front of you and trap your mind in that moment for eternity..." warned Naruto,
Aria could only imagine her daughter and lover killed in front of her and this man trapping her mind in that moment for eternity. It was beyond cruel and was something she didn't doubt he would resort to.
Mirala and Kiana were the only good things she did in life. She couldn't let them be harmed in any way because of her actions.
She looked at this human.
He was young but even so humans were a short lived race in comparison to Asari. His power would fade as he grew old or someone more powerful took him out for her, and then she could reclaim everything that was lost. Even if that didn't happen and he continued to rule, he would not live beyond 150 years which was the maximum any human could dream to live these days.
And then she could easily have everything without risking her family.
Unknown to Aria, even as she thought Naruto could easily read her thoughts from her eyes. And frankly it didn't bother him.
As long as the Reapers were defeated all of this was worth it. After that, if the Illusive Man's plan achieved success then the Terminus Systems would be swallowed up by the major Galactic powers. Humanity being the largest gainer, it was the price that the Cerberus leader had demanded for ceasing hostility between their factions and fighting together in the war with Reapers.
Aria's rule was over forever. The Asari didn't knew it just yet.
It was better to let her dream.
When the Asari bowed before him his conquest of the Terminus Systems was fully accomplished.
As he stepped out of the dungeons, he found Garrus waiting for him there.
The expression in the Turian's eyes was grim. Naruto nodded to the guards and instructed them to get Aria ready and send her to the medical station. It was a risk to give her this much freedom, but he was curious to see if his power was enough to make people see reason. Apart from his sharingan.
Besides, there was not much she could do. Even if the Asari tried she would be put down by the team of Silent Assassins that would be trailing her every second.
But if she proved her worth, then he could avoid the attention of the Council and the rest of the galaxy. For it was still too early for him to step out in the open. He knew one day he would have to when the war openly started but till then he would prefer to operate from the shadows.
It had been a week since he and his crew returned from the campaign in the Perseus Veil. The victory had come at a price.
The only good thing was the alliance he had forged with the Geth against the Reapers and Mikoto accepting him. It had been a good few days, he almost felt normal.
Apart from his mother, Mikoto was very dear to him. And he would not hesitate to kill anything or anyone that dared to harm those two women.
The raven beauty had only captured more of his heart by showing him the memories of his father. The man that Minato Namikaze was, they were not much but it was something. He had felt pride on seeing the way his father had fought against the Turians, and tears when he saw his flagship getting destroyed.
Sharing those memories had made both him and Mikoto arrive at different conclusions.
She had finally realized that Naruto was the complete opposite of his father. They may share identical looks but they were different people with different beliefs.
If he could compare his actions to those of his father, then Naruto himself was the darkness of the galaxy while his old man was like the pure water of the Himalayan mountains.
It only went to show humans were capable of reacting in different ways while facing adversity. He wondered how his father would have acted if he was placed in Naruto's position now.
Maybe it was better his father died an honorable death instead of being placed in such a situation. The same went for his mother and he was going to fight hard so Kushina wouldn't have to stain her pure hands.
He had been too young to realize this fact of the universe. For one person to live happily, other people always have to pay the price. It was the same for all races and cultures.
The galaxy was safe because he and his comrades were dirtying their hands and maintaining the last remnants of peace.
"Kaiser..."
He was brought out of his thoughts by Garrus. He smiled apologetically at the Turian for spacing out...
"There is an incoming priority call from the Normandy. It's Raval and your mother..." said Garrus happily,
The Turian was satisfied when Naruto briefly smiled. A genuine one...
"You knew he was alive?" asked Garrus in surprise,
"Always remember Garrus. Commandos never die, they simply go missing in action..."
Garrus grinned.
"I'll take the call in my office. Make sure no one interrupts me..." instructed Naruto,
"Right away, Kaiser..." replied Garrus,
Naruto started to walk away but was stopped when after a few seconds Garrus called his name. Turning around he saw the Turian looking at him with an understanding gaze in his eyes.
"My people believe that as long as a single survivor stands at the end of the war, victorious over the enemy then all sacrifices were worth it..." said Garrus seriously,
The Akatsuki leader gave a truly grateful smile to the Turian for behind those cryptic words was a simple message.
I understand why you did what you had to do.
He gave a crisp salute to his Turian friend, one which was returned whole heartedly. No further words were necessary to understand each other.
Naruto picked up the custom made mask he had recently ordered. There would be times when he would be forced to interact with different factions as the leader of the Akatsuki, and it was best if his identity remained concealed.
The mask was oval shaped at the front and sharp edged at the back with five pointed edges at the top. The front portion was covered by a dark blue glass that was capable of taking one single shot. It contained a breathing system and other sensors made sure no scanning systems could glance at his face under any circumstances.
Sitting at his desk, he tapped his omni tool as a wide screen emerged from the ceiling above him.
A smile came on his lips as the image of Raval appeared on his screen. The XO saluted him as Naruto nodded.
"You're late..." said the Akatsuki leader, his voice sounding more heavy and old courtesy of the sensors working their magic. No point in giving anyone a sample of his real voice and exposing his identity.
"I got lost on the road of life..." replied Raval lazily, making Naruto grin. This was his friend alright.
However he had to do his best not to appear pleased on seeing his mother emerge beside his friend. Their last meeting had been a disaster and he had stormed away from the Citadel. While he had promised her that he would write, but he hadn't. It was better this way.
But today she was not here on the screen as his mother, but as a Spectre and loyal Alliance Commander who glared at him pointedly. No emotion present in her eyes or her face. Just a stone cold look...
"Commander Uzumaki..." he greeted,
"What should I call you?" she asked tersely,
Raval smirked when he saw Naruto tapping the mask of his for a few seconds.
"Call me...Tobi"
The expression on the red head's face was enough to show how she felt about his nickname. Raval simply rolled his eyes in response, already used to his antics.
"Fine" grunted Kushina, as long as she got what she wanted she didn't care what this man liked to call himself.
"I'd like to have my friend back..." said Naruto seriously,
He narrowed his eyes when Raval scratched the back of his neck a little awkwardly. Something was up...
"Well, you see..." replied the XO,
The next few minutes went by as Raval explained the offer Kushina had given him and what the woman wanted in return. Naruto didn't interrupt his friend even once and allowed him to explain everything.
"So, what do you want?" he asked at last,
"I admit at first I was tempted. But things have changed, this past week has given me time to think things through. I think I can do more good from the shadows, than fight conventionally in the Alliance. Sorry, Commander..." said Raval apologetically, much to Kushina's surprise.
And while he couldn't see the look on his friend's face due to the mask, he had a feeling Naruto was smiling.
"Then I'll have you back..." said Naruto calmly,
He didn't say it outloud but if Raval had chosen to stay in the Navy he wouldn't have stopped his friend. But it would have pained him greatly, not to mention the Akatsuki would lose its second in command at such a crucial stage. It would have been quite bad.
Raval had a knack for organizing things, he was also a good soldier and officer. More than that, he was a dear friend whom Naruto couldn't afford to lose.
It was this reason the Kaiser's anger flared to dangerous levels when Kushina pointed a pistol at his friend's head.
"You don't understand the situation, Tobi. I gave him a chance and he refused, so I have to take the other way..." said Kushina icily,
"You better watch yourself, Commander. If even a scratch falls on him, I'll take away everything you held dear...including your son"
The color drained from Kushina's face and the pistol she had aimed at Raval's head quivered. Naruto didn't flinch not when his friend's life was on the line.
"Relax, you don't harm my people. I won't harm yours..." he reassured,
"Then I want something in return for his life..." said Kushina flatly, making the masked leader chuckle.
"As far as I'm concerned Raval hasn't done any wrong to humanity or the Alliance. He was in fact trying to fight off the invaders at Feros which was a noble act. All you have against him is well...nothing. Legally speaking, he can walk away whenever he wants. Or do you want me to send Military Lawyers to your ship?" asked Naruto tersely,
"You don't have that kind of power..." mocked Kushina,
"If I can save you from the Council, steal the beacon from right in front of you, then I can do many things. Leave Raval, and I'll give you the Prothean Beacon. How's that deal for you?"
"You'll trade something like that for one man?" asked Kushina in surprise, even Raval seemed surprise by this grand offer for his life.
"It's humanity's property, I only needed it to verify the existence of Reapers which I have. You can do the same, and besides the man standing beside you is more valuable to me than that beacon..." said Naruto genuinely,
"Deal" agreed Kushina, but was stopped from rejoicing when he raised a finger.
"And aside from releasing Raval, you will clear his stained records, the Alliance will issue a public apology to him and restore his rank. In short everything you promised him should be fulfilled including his reinstatement in the Navy. He will work for me till the end of this war, but I want him to have the Navy to go back to once this is over. It's his home..." explained Naruto frankly,
"You're asking for a lot, Tobi..." warned Kushina, but the leader shrugged.
"In return I'll share any and all information I have about the Reapers. And support you in this war and provide aid whenever you want, whatever you want. How's that sound?"
Kushina was stunned. This was more than what she was expecting, with this humanity will have the beacon back, her own shame would be gone and her chances of stopping the Reapers and Saren would increase.
She saw Raval was also equally touched by what his leader was offering in return for his release. It only confirmed her doubts that these two were quite close friends.
"Sir, I..." said Raval hesitantly,
"There's no need to say anything. You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?" asked Naruto kindly,
"Yes but..." protested Raval, but the masked man waved his hands in dismissal.
"Then it's settled. Commander Uzumaki, I'll send you the coordinates where the exchange will take place. As long as you fulfill your terms, I'll fulfill mine..." promised Naruto,
"Then I'll hold you to that..." said Kushina seriously,
Naruto exchanged a nod with his friend, and with one last glance at Kushina he cut off the connection.
A heavy sigh escaped from his lips as he removed the mask and placed it at the table. His fingers brushing through his long blonde hair, when was the last time did he go for a haircut?
He couldn't remember.
For months he was engaged in this war and there was not one single victory he had scored directly against the Reapers. They got the information from the beacon on Eden Prime and destroyed a large part of the colony killing thousands, nuked Feros and secured whatever they had attacked the colony for.
His victory on Omega and the truce with Geth as well as Cerberus were personal conflicts. Even humanity gaining a seat on the Council didn't seriously tip the odds in his favor in the ongoing crisis.
And he knew the Reapers weren't done. Instead they were just getting started.
As if to answer his misgivings, the door to his office was banged open. Mikoto dashed inside and judging from the panicked look in her eyes was enough to prove that the next attack had happened.
"Where?" he asked
"Noveria has gone dark. So have several Salarian colonies near that border..." said Mikoto worriedly,
"How do you know this?" asked Naruto calmly,
"Our group has invested heavily in several biological and tech firms on that planet. I also have several spies there, all of them stopped reporting at the same time which was three days ago. I thought it was a standard move of them laying low since the authorities there are quite paranoid, but something wrong has happened..." explained Mikoto,
"What about communications? News Feeds? Survivors? Even the damn Salarians?" asked Naruto quickly,
"Nothing"
"What about your counter response teams for such situations?"
"Two of them went in that sector. They never reported back..."
Naruto slammed his fist on the desk. This was most probably the work of the Reapers, he might be wrong but this was not something he could afford to ignore.
"Prepare a Task Force. Get everyone, Tali, Garrus, Liara, Schenkopp and even you..." ordered Naruto,
"What if there is a Reaper there? We'll need half of our fleet just to face that monster..." warned Mikoto, but he shook his head.
"No time for that. Neither can I risk exposing the Terminus forces to the Council, they are my trump card. Get me the people I asked you to and prepare one of our stealth shuttles. I'll get us into that system through other means..." explained Naruto,
"How?" asked Mikoto curiously,
"The Normandy. Raval is alive and with my mother, I just spoke to them and we have agreed to form an Alliance..."
Mikoto froze.
The news of Raval being alive brought a relieved expression in her eyes. She had blamed herself for the boy's death at Feros, but now that he had survived she could be free from that burden.
She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and saw Naruto looking at her grimly.
"Go and make the preparations. I'll contact the Normandy..."
She nodded and ran out of the room.
Naruto quickly reconnected the last connection that he had terminated with the Normandy. He had to wait for a response for atleast ten minutes and then go through several military checks, before being assigned a priority line to the stealth ship.
His mother appeared on the screen just in time as he donned his mask back again.
"Commander, we have an emergency situation and I need your assistance..."
Sovereign was pleased.
His servant had done its task quite perfectly. A thousand times better than the useless previous one who couldn't get results.
Orochimaru himself sat on the lavish throne inside the Reaper ship, with Saren Arterius standing by his side.
In front of them was a wide haptic screen on which the entire galaxy was displayed. Near the Salarian Union several frontier colonies were marked red, the ones that were currently under attack by the newly engineered Rachni.
The Reaper himself lingered in this system jamming all communications which would send the enemy in even more panic.
Noveria was marked in a deep black color, it was the planet where the central Hive was located. The main production facility where more and more rachni were created every day. Benezia held command there, and the Asari Matriarch had effectively taken over that planet as well as launched quick strikes against nearby Salarian Colonies with the rachni hordes.
"Saren, is our other project ready?" asked Orochimaru with a sick grin,
"Not fully, sir. But we have an initial batch of 200,000 forces ready..." answered Saren crisply,
"They'll do. Split them into large groups, launch that engineered Krogan army in the Terminus, Systems Alliance, and Asari Republics. I want the galaxy to burn itself..." said Orochimaru savagely,
"What about the actual Krogan race? Would this move unite them?" asked Saren cautiously,
"From what I have studied of them, then yes. But it would hardly matter, they don't have enough numbers. The Citadel would have its hands full dealing with the Rachni army on one front, and the Krogan Forces on the other. Unrest would spread everywhere and nervous people would demand blood. If not a full blown Galactic Civil war, these attacks would atleast divert all attention of the Galaxy away from the Reapers..." explained Orochimaru,
"And we can finally go after the conduit now that Benezia has gained the coordinates from the Rachni Queen..." realized Saren, earning a sick grin from his leader.
"Yes. Bring Benezia back to this ship, the Rachni Queen will handle the Operations in this sector. Whether they are defeated or not does not matter, but they will surely fracture the military might of the Galaxy with the Krogan we shall launch from Virmire..." suggested Orochimaru,
"You have done this kind of thing before, haven't you, General?" asked Saren cautiously, making the older human laugh.
"More times than I can count. The Reapers are right, organics no matter the race or cycle are fairly predictable..." said Orochimaru sagely,
"What about the Akatsuki? Sovereign has warned us about them..." hinted Saren,
"I'll deal with them as well. I imagine they'll have their hands full right now with the chaos I have spread, you just launch the Krogan army and get Benezia back here. Understood?" asked Orochimaru seriously, as Saren dutifully saluted.
"At once, General..."
As Saren walked away to carry out his orders, Orochimaru placed a hand on his cheek and glanced at the Galaxy Map. The shinobi were almost finished, their empire was no longer present to save the galaxy, and with this cycle he aimed to end the menace once and for all.
Unlike the previous cycle that had nearly defeated the Reapers, this one was far more weaker and divided. And with this new war, the galaxy would never be ready when the Reapers actually striked.
However, there was one small problem.
The image of a familiar blonde shinobi appeared on his screen and Orochimaru couldn't help but snarl for he was reminded of his own defeat a long time ago. He had never forgotten that shame, if not for the Reapers he would have disappeared from history. His hatred for this man exceeded anything else in the entire galaxy.
And now he was back.
"Now what shall you do, Mein Kaiser?"
Author's Notes: End of chapter.
Hope you guys liked it.
Read and Review, okay?
Until Next Time,
Blackwolf501