Interior of the Harbinger, Perseus Veil Interior, 19:00 10th May 2184
Saren Arterius, Ex-Spectre and Leader of the Geth
'The Asari spies on the Citadel have fallen Spectre, not even against the Uzumaki as was intended, but against one of their own pawns who refused to play their role. Survivors taken by C-Sec for questioning.' The voice, deep and accompanied with a slight hum that was reminiscent of an electrical system's interference, had become a familiar if not entirely welcome presence in Saren's mind over the last several years.
"Which is disappointing, but was only ever intended as a distraction. Chasing the Sisters of Reflection into Asari space will require considerable time and resources for Shepard and her group, given the Council will not be willing to use any of their other Spectres to investigate such a tenuous link to my activities. Our work to find the Conduit, as well as building our forces for taking the Citadel, is far more important than dealing with these annoyances following in our wake."
That wasn't actually Saren's view entirely, personally he would have preferred to lure The Normandy and this new capital ship that Uzumaki was using into a trap and deal with them, especially given how much was still unknown about the Uzumaki's skills and powers. But if he wanted to prove the usefulness of organics to Harbinger and through it the rest of the Reapers, he needed to be focussed on their goals.
'Acceptable outcome, links to your direct underling already removed from digital records, and the conditioning of the leader of these Sisters will have her claim credit for their actions. She will expire before giving up any information about the Matriarch.'
The casual manner in which Harbinger discussed discarding another of their numerous contacts was slightly off-putting to Saran even now, after almost six months of haemorrhaging his Citadel contacts one after another. He knew that the Reaper didn't view organic life as anything other than a resource to be utilised, but it did make him worry about his own position in the long term.
"I will still have Benezia send a small team, to make sure there is no physical evidence that might tie The Sisters to Noveria or Virmire. It is better to be cautious at this stage of the plan, and Shepard has had too much success already." In fact, Saren was annoyed at the fact Shepard and Uzumaki hadn't turned up ten years earlier.
If they had, he might have decided to act differently when he first found out about the Reaper threat… Though it was definitely too late to be regretting that.
'Agreed, given reports of Uzumaki working with Citadel forces to investigate numerous bugs and spying equipment used against Council, there should be some time for covering all necessary angles. Reports of Shepard and team seen on Citadel as well, working on something else, no indication of what that is.'
It had surprised Saren that Harbinger relied as much on communications and dead drops from his indoctrinated minions as he did any technological system or bug software, the Reapers were a vastly advanced race after all. But the Reaper had somehow sensed his confusion and had sent the mental equivalent of a shrug.
If someone were to find such software, even if they didn't understand it, the advances it could potentially lead to would make the cycle more difficult in the long term. Such risks weren't worth it given the alternatives that could be used instead.
"But both of them are on the Citadel, meaning they can't interfere with any of our operations for the time being…" Again, what Saren said didn't actually match up with his internal thoughts.
He had spent several years developing a series of contacts and resources on the Citadel, as well as sabotaging C-Sec procedures and resources in a more oblique fashion, so that the eventual invasion of the Citadel would be easier. Shepard's actions in hunting down the larger gangs and less subtle mercenary groups had removed most of these resources from Saren's grasp without her seemingly realising she had done so.
And unlike Harbinger's single minded belief that this 'conduit' would allow him to take over the Citadel easily with overwhelming force, his experiences as a Spectre were bitter reminders of why placing all his hopes on a single method or plan wasn't exactly sound strategic thinking.
Still, nothing would come of trying to push that point, and even with a new ship the pesky remnant wouldn't be a threat compared to the masses of Geth and Harbinger itself. They'd have to gather an entire fleet to be anything more than an annoyance in the long run, and Saren would make sure there wouldn't be time for that…
!"£$%^&*()_+
Ger'artex Pirate Space Station, Unnamed Asteroid Cluster 10:00 14th May 2184
Naruto Uzumaki, Captain of The Burning Leaf and Spectre's Soldier
"Command deck is secured, and as I've not heard anything I assume this settles our little contest Dagg?" Grabbing the rather battered Batarian that seemed to have been in charge of the station, judging by the fact he'd been doing most of the shouting and ordering when they'd breached the ramshackle security door to the Command Section, Naruto hauled him away from the consoles and tossed him none too gently down next to the others his clones had dealt with before stretching his arms out to the side.
Despite the promise of 'shaking the tree' on the Citadel, the initial stages of that job had quickly turned into electronic hacking and passive espionage work, not exactly Naruto's preferred jobs if he could avoid it. So in the name of delegation, as he had been advised by his allies to actually understand rather than merely use against others, Naruto had given up the boring stuff and done a bit of conspiring with Jane to work out what on their grand list he should look at next.
Given The Burning Leaf was still nowhere near combat ready, Naruto eventually decided to use his portion of the prize money that the Alliance had credited him to put a down payment on the least damaged of the Batarian Frigates they'd captured in the battle for Terra Nova. While it had many of the same problems The Burning Leaf had regarding crew heavy operational requirements, it served the purposes as a cover for the purposes of this little side-job perfectly.
"We are nearly at the station's engine core Captain, though I would protest that your insistence on allowing people to surrender slowed us down…" Given the Normandy was chasing down the leads on the Asari Sisterhood that had been spying on him and Kasumi delegated to support the efforts digging out more of the corruption and espionage groups on the Citadel, Naruto wasn't waiting for the refit of The Burning Leaf to be complete to carry on with what Jane had rather amusedly stated was his 'empire building' mission.
"And I imagine a dozen Krogan rampaging through the halls made convincing them to do so difficult. Aleena, Mari any issues securing the docks?" Ger'artex Station wasn't more than a minor refuelling and resupply station hidden amongst the asteroid cluster that was relatively close to Terra Nova, but it didn't appear on any official map or documentation.
If Aleena hadn't had the intel on it from her mercenary days, then there was no way they would have ever found it, but it had been chosen as the target for two very particular reasons. It's size was such that it could only deal with two or three ships docking at a time and would only have a couple of hundred crew at best. And it's location given the current fervour of Alliance ships in the near side of the Terminus meant that it's traffic would be minimal.
So it had been child's play to have one of Jv'kari's seconds pretend to be the captain of the ship as it 'evaded' the Alliance search patterns, the partially repaired battle damage only helping to sell the story as they moved to dock. The 'welcome party' meant to extort a tax on the ship's cargo in return for fuel and supplies didn't last more than thirty seconds, Dagg and the other Urdnot Krogan that Wrex had recruited/called to arms clearly enjoying their chance to prove themselves to their new employer.
"Hangar one secure, more than a dozen slaves here that were more than happy to help secure their former masters, the rest are too cowed to do more than carry out menial tasks." Aleena and Shiala had led a team of the Glavcar Batarians to secure the other ship dock that had been occupied, a Batarian model transport ship approximately half again the size of the Ontario.
It seemed their guess as to what at least part of that cargo had been was bang on.
"Couple of rather desperate stragglers attempted to try and board the ship, Ino dealt with them easily enough. Permission to search for any stragglers deeper in the station?" While that would sound like a physical search to anyone on the line, Mari's Spores would be able to search the station far quicker than even his clones would be able to.
"Do it, split anyone who clearly isn't here under duress from the slaves and other workers, check for any Citadel or Alliance Bounties we can call in. I'll head back to the ship and call in the Alliance." Admittedly, Naruto did want to get hold of a Space Station of his own at some stage, but there was no way the forces he had brought with him would be able to navigate this thing to Terra Nova, let alone run the thing once it was settled.
Well, that and the fact that the Ger'artex wasn't that much bigger than The Burning Leaf, so a bigger station would be needed in the end to service the flagship effectively. Naruto was personally intrigued by the idea of the Asteroid the Terra Novan colonists were going to mine out for their own space station, certainly it would allow them to pick somewhere that wasn't going to be on a major traffic route.
"Understood Captain, see you shortly." The trip back through the station was uneventful, several clones and Glavcar members working to scan the bodies of the station's security force and herd the workers into the rather cramped living quarters where any damage they could do was minimised.
Hopefully the promise of freedom from the slave caste and the words of the Glavcar members would get through to some of the Slave Caste Batarians here, certainly more than one group Naruto passed were holding huddled discussions in the Batarian Native language.
"Captain, a moment?" Looking up and seeing Jv'kari waving him over as she stood with three Batarians that were far too underfed and poorly clothed to have come with them from the Citadel.
"Kari-chan! How can I help?" It was a phrase that still made her and the other Glavcar members uncomfortable when he used it, and that was nothing compared to the gathered Batarians.
"You requested that I find the leader of the Slave Caste Clan on the station, but it seems that this station isn't maintained by a single slave-caste clan as such. Many of those here were offered from the ships they serve on in return for fuel and materials, and are regularly bartered in turn by the station's overseers to supply ships returning to the Hegemony. These three are among the longest serving members on the station that were prepared to talk with me." Turning his gaze to the three mentioned, Naruto noted with a slightly sickened feeling that while Jv'kari and her clan were treated as expendable cannon fodder, off the battlefield they were seemingly treated better than these poor souls.
The oldest of the three slaves was a veritable map of scar tissue and other old wounds, the left half of his face a single large burn that looked less like an accident and more like a message. The woman of the trio was dangerously thin and looked like she might bolt at any moment, her hands trembling even as she held them in what Naruto now understood was the Batarian version of a submissive greeting.
The last of them was small enough that Naruto could only hope that he was a Dwarf adult, missing three fingers from his right hand and with a desperate anger in his eyes that Naruto recognised from amongst the Shinobi during the last months of the Metal Man invasion.
"Thank you Kari-chan, please escort them to the ship and get them settled in the conference room? I'm sure we can rustle up some food and drinks while they wait for me to be finished here?" Looking around the large area that seemed to serve as a central transit area on the station as Jv'kari started to translate what he had said to the others, Naruto noticed there were at least thirty or forty other Batarians in a similar state to the three in front of him.
Compared to the 'civilian' workers, who were all dressed in void suits or light armour including helmets, the slave caste were dressed in simple boiler suits or similar heavily worn overalls and work gear that in nearly every case was clearly billowing on them. Given the small but constant risk of a structural failure on 'rough and ready' stations like this, the clear disregard for the lives of the slave-caste members was another insight on Batarian society that Naruto was not enjoying delving into.
"Actually… Get the crew to raid this place's stores and get some of our supplies as well. While waiting for the Alliance to get here we can settle some nerves here and hopefully convince this lot we aren't bad guys…" As Jv'kari translated this to the three, the elder's two working eyes lit up and the short Batarian seemed to relax a little, pointing and barking out something that had the other slave caste begin moving over towards them as the woman shook her head rapidly and gestured in his direction.
"67211 says the workers will begin to gather the supplies with your permission Captain. I will handle this, if you can send Quartermaster Bhatia to help with medical assistance?" Judging by the expression on Jv'kari's face, she wanted to discuss other matters that she didn't want him present for, another part of Batarian slave caste culture he didn't quite understand.
Still, if she wanted to handle things he wouldn't say no, so he gave a quick salute and his usual smile.
"You're the boss Kari-chan!" The gasp from the female slave, not to mention Jv'kari's frustrated growl, made him chuckle even as he jogged away.
Nirali would probably tell him he was taking completely the wrong approach with his attempts to break Jv'kari and the Galcvar clan of their ingrained mannerisms and habits, but he'd never been one to conform to standard procedures.
The thirty Quarians that had helped run the frigate to get them here were already at work in the hangar claiming equipment and materials that could be used for further repairs and modifications. But unlike the Quarians from the Ontario, who not only knew who they were signing up under but also about the more combat related parts of their role, they were clearly not comfortable handling blood and bodies.
Something to have an 'informal chat' with the rest of the Quarians he'd hired for The Burning Leaf when he got back. He wouldn't fire anyone with qualms of course, he had enough spaces in the shipyard or even in the relief efforts for the colony to fill. But for the more serious fights with Saren and the Geth to come, they couldn't afford to have someone become squeamish or freeze up in a combat zone.
"Naruto-kun!" Ino had no such qualms of course, as she helped one of Galvcar Batarians lift one of the dead bodies onto a grav-gurney, the body still in the clearly threadbare combat armour that was as much for show as it was any use in combat.
"Ino-chan, hear you took down a couple of these guys yourself? Completely happy with the new leg at last?" Given said leg was the third one Ino had tried, the other two failing under the rather harsh conditioning she had put herself through to get 'back to normal', it was a valid question.
Tali, bless her, had already been drawing up schematics for a prototype with a bit more…versatility to it. But given the hectic schedule of back to back missions the Normandy had been on since, they hadn't had time to sit down and talk it through further.
"Not really, damaged the knee joint when I used some taijutsu on the biggest of the three that tried to get through. Still functional though, so I'll take that as a win for now." Ino shook her head even as she moved over to join him at the entrance to the ship, a noticeable limp in her stride combined with a grinding of metal on metal that was clearly getting worse not better.
"At this rate you'll need half a dozen models, just for spares to change into while we repair the others. My poor bank balance…" Both of them laughed easily, something that made Naruto's spirit rise as the previous awkwardness about his guilt and Ino's mixture of frustration and grief seemed to have faded enough that they could both move past it.
"So, are we calling the Alliance to collect their prize? Or checking in on your grand deception first?" There was no question of if Ino was meant to join him or not, though anyone who knew the Yamanaka… well Clan Head he now supposed wouldn't have been surprised.
He imagined the idea that he might want to take those calls alone hadn't even entered her mind.
"Alliance first, then we can check in on 'Jane-chan' and the others on the Citadel while waiting for the cavalry." With the clear evidence that Saren still had agents and informants a-plenty on the Citadel, it had been agreed with the Council that a little deception was permissible, to prevent any warning that the rather imminent strike headed towards the Sisters of Reflection was coming from getting out.
As far as nearly everyone aboard the Citadel knew, Jane and The Normandy were on the Citadel investigating the Sister's attack and trying to gather more information related to Saren from the Council.
Jane and the Normandy had in fact docked with the Citadel the day after the overall conference they'd had a few days before, but they'd been on station only long enough to get fuel and supplies, as well as dropping Xeveena back to C-Sec for debriefing. Then, with stealth drive active, they'd departed without anyone the wiser, the mass of traffic to and from the Citadel meaning no one even noticed the additional 'splash' that their transit jump had caused.
Since then, his clones on the Citadel had spent time as each member of the strike team, and even some of the ship's crew, to sell to anyone still watching that the Normandy was no-where it might be considered a threat. And given Shinobi Shipbuilding's internal network was still entirely disconnected from the main Citadel Network, there was very little chance of their ruse being discovered through electronic means, at least for the time being.
"Ah crap." As they reached the elevator to the Captain's Quarters, to which the main Communications terminal was attached, Ino's leg seemed to give up it's losing battle to maintain structural integrity and function.
Ino's entire body dropped more than two inches, as her right leg noticeably shortened with a pained screech, though Naruto had grabbed and steadied her before she lost her balance entirely.
"I think we are going to have to teach you to fight with your hands more in future Ino-chan…" The female ninja thought about it for a moment before giving him another flirty smirk as her arms looped around his neck and she lifted herself onto his back.
"And stop giving you the opportunity to carry me off in your arms? Never. I admit, the fact you keep taking me to your room when you do has definitely given me ideas…" Naruto didn't even groan as the now familiar weight shifted in place for a moment, Ino insisted she had to 'get comfortable' in a way that seemed to involve pressing her chest very firmly into his back.
He was just glad this time they'd already made it to the elevator and therefore there wouldn't be any witnesses.
Many of the crew on all three ships were still telling jokes about the first time Ino's leg had failed mid spar…
Temple of Ascended Thoughts, Hyetiana, Asari Controlled Space 15th May 2184
Jane Shepard, Council Spectre
"Well, this is a nice change of scenery compared to where you normally take us Commander..." Garrus' comment, about the rather picturesque surroundings and elegant building complex they were near the entrance of, brought a laugh to Jane's lips even as Tali dove into the alcove across from her with a sarcastic continuation.
"Shame about the locals though, it's really going to drop my Tripscore review rating…" Leaning out of the alcove, Tali unleashed a sabotage on one of the Asari currently shooting at them, the Asari not ducking back into cover even as her pistol overheated and her shield failed under the attack.
"Given the whole Asari-only rule this cult seemed determined to stick to, I don't think you're going to worry them too much Tali!" Jane's comment was punctuated by another series of gunshots off in front of them to one side, no doubt from where one of the other assault teams was at work.
Unlike the pre-conception she'd had when she first heard the name of this place, it was not a single massive structure shaped like a pyramid or something equally ostentatious. Instead, the temple used by the Sisters of Reflection was a building complex of multiple hostel-like buildings interspersed with local flora around several larger central buildings with multiple landing areas around the exterior.
All the buildings were squat single or double floored open space affairs, which had made sneaking in an impossibility, which was why they hadn't tried. With the Normandy overhead, cutting off any chance of an aerial escape while Pressley notified Hyetiana Space Control of their arrival and Shepard's mission, Jane and the others had landed using the small transport that had been transferred from The Burning Leaf on the Citadel.
It had been a couple of minutes before they encountered the first Sister, gardening with a set of secateurs, but the moment she saw them the seeming tranquility she had been exuding vanished and was replaced with a murderous rage.
Still, gardening tools and other rudimentary weapons had been little help against the strike team, who had kept to non-lethal attacks for the most part on her orders.
The strange rage effect, as well as the way in which nearly 80% of the Asari here hadn't even tried to fall back to better equip and arm themselves, was something that Jane wanted investigated as soon as possible. Ino's preliminary mind-scans of the Sister's captured on the Citadel had pointed to some kind of brainwashing, on a level both in depth and complexity she had never encountered before, but they'd need a lot more subjects in order to analyse its effects and whether it can be reversed.
"All teams, check in. Any sign of this Matriarch Siyax? According to the captured Sisters, she is the leader of this group, and the one who commanded them to the Citadel." The three of them hadn't seen anyone that seemed to particularly stand out as a Matriarch, but there might not be a visual indicator that made things that easy.
"Encountering heavy resistance, this group clearly aren't Sisters! Kaidan's down but stable!" The rather frantic call from Ashley deflated the three's good humour like a lead balloon, even as Wrex growled that his team was doing fine despite the no-killing preference she had emphasised before they landed.
"Wrex, keep clearing. Ashley, moving to support now!" Gesturing for Tali to hold position, in case this was an attempt to break the semi-encirclement to allow for an escape attempt, Jane charged a throw with an ease that would have amazed herself a year ago.
The two Asari that had been attempting to pin them down were dealt with in seconds, Jane trusting in her barrier as she ran forwards, the time for taking things carefully was over.
"You better hurry Commander! I've managed to pull Kaidan back but the four Marines with us are down. At least three Asari, Tactical Gear and advanced biotics!" Either some kind of secret guard then, or something arranged by Saren as some kind of surprise.
"Nearly there, Garen, I need a step!" Slowing down, so that the Turian could first catch up with her and then overtake her, Shepard kept moving towards the base of the large stone wall that separated the areas of the compound.
Ashley's dot on the mini-map was moving backwards slowly almost directly away from her, but given the three red dots that were closing rapidly there wasn't time to head to one of the gaps in the wall, so it was time for a bit of improvisation.
Garrus seemed to understand her intent, dropping to one knee at the base of the wall, using his sniper rifle as a support to steady himself as she powered forward. Her first step took her up a small stepped wall around a raised bed to one side of the path, giving her the boost she needed to get her other foot up to the top of Garrus' back. Even as her momentum carried her forward, Garrus surged upwards to standing, forcing her leap higher than even she had expected. That wasn't to say she magically cleared a 2 and a half metre wall like those Holo-movies liked to exaggerate, but she collided with it at about waist height. The collison hurt like a bitch, but her hands steadied her before she either flipped over head first or slipped back down.
Flipping one leg over, Jane braced herself as she reached down to pull Garrus up, something she knew her muscles were going to be complaining about for the next couple of days. Garrus pulled himself up next to her and didn't even settle before reaching to unhook his sniper rifle from his back.
"Get going Commander, I'll draw their attention." The wall they were currently straddling was the tallest thing in the area, the trees and bushes all well maintained to less than two metres or so.
That meant they could clearly see the three black armoured Asari Commandos, as there were few other forces in the galaxy that would have been able to counter attack so efficiently, as they poured fire and biotic abilities towards what Jane could only assume was Ashley's cover.
"No, wait for my signal…" Dropping down from the wall, it was only 30 metres or so between Jane and the nearest Commando, but she wanted to close the distance as much as possible. A prolonged firefight with the Asari equivalent of the N7 wasn't exactly appealing.
There was no shout or macho banter, such was the sounds of the fighting that Jane's arrival was announced with a shotgun round at less than three metres into the Commando's back. The impact forced the Commando from her feet, though she was well trained enough to turn it into a roll that allowed her to somewhat tank Jane's follow up throw as well. The throw kept the Commando off balance however, and there was nothing she could do to stop the double footed slide that knocked her off her feet even as she tried to stand.
The second Shotgun round tore out the Commando's mid-section even as she hit the floor, but that didn't stop Jane from getting hit by a last gasp warp that was strong enough to nearly overwhelm her barrier, and forcing herself to one knee the burst of assault rifle fire that shattered it made it clear the other Commandos knew she was there.
"Now!" Ducking behind a hedge, which served more as a sight-break rather than anything else, the tell-tale thwap of a sniper rifle round impacting armour shielding came from closer than Jane thought it would, meaning…
Rolling forward, Jane felt the biotic charge that would have caught her completely off-guard as it buffeted the rear of her armour, slamming into the base of a statue of what she assumed was Asari art.
It looked like a 3D impression of a paint spill, but Jane had never claimed to be cultured.
The Commando that had charged her clearly had overheated her assault rifle, as she closed with an elegant looking stiletto blade and another biotic charging on her free arm. Jane however had no intention to deal with the situation honourably however, and activated the grenade that she had dropped when she rolled. The blastwave hurt like a bitch, and her shields failed with a cascade of whines, but the Commando suffered far worse having stood pretty much next to it.
Sitting there and basking in the fact she had just successfully taken down two Commandos was really tempting, and the grogginess of her head meant it took precious seconds before she remembered there could well be more of them. Luckily, it was at that point that the ringing in her ears decreased and she could make out what Garrus had unintelligibly been murmuring through the comms to her.
"Last Commando is down Shepard, couldn't decide whether to turn and face me or try and break through to Ashley. You still in one piece?" Looking back over to the wall, Jane saw him give a cheeky wave before averting his eyes to scan the area again as she gave him the middle finger with the hand that hurt slightly less.
Apparently that gesture was universal at least.
"Normandy, need evac for wounded on my...position." Oh yeah, even standing was painful, despite the fact that her armour had already dispensed medi-gel on the worst of her injuries.
"Make it a full insertion Shepard, found our missing Matriarch, those other Asari killed her and the remaining Sisters before they tried to bug out. Missions a scrub…" Wrex's annoyance was easy to hear, but it matched Jane's own as she did her best to think things through.
The death of the Matriarch was a major blow, but the fact these Commandos were here meant that Saren was worried they might discover something, and the fact they had tried to break the perimeter meant…
"Normandy, contact Hyetiana Space Command and get a list of the new arrivals and transport planetside in the last week or so…" Because even if Saren did have the Geth to do his unsubtle work, Asari Commandos were not a cheap disposable asset he would have in abundance.
Which meant that there should be a ship either on Hyetiana or in orbit that would be waiting to take them back to wherever they had come from beforehand…
A/N: Happy Halloween Everyone! Apologies there has been a delay in publishing for a while, but hopefully this goes over well enough to make up for some of that!
We now have a line that's going to lead to Noveria, though not in a direct line of course. I did my best to make it clear how much of a step above the standard populace the Asari Commandos are, but this is something that will become far clearer when we reach Noveria.
And Naruto is still working on developing the support network that will become important later on, both in terms of building manpower and resources, but also in terms of improving the Alliance's strategic and tactical position at it's outer colonies. But he can't strike out with The Burning Leaf until it's refitted, and that doesn't happen overnight, so there has to be something for him to do in the meantime…
Let me know what you think everyone,
Defias Over and Out!