Mass Effect: Maelstrom Siblings

by Leaf Ranger

When faced with protecting an entire galactic community, it's always good to have friends and squad-mates at your side. But it's even better when you've got your brother with you as well. Get ready galaxy, because here come Alicia and Naruto Shepard, the Maelstrom Siblings. Rated M for swearing, action, gore, and implied sexual situations.

6. True Heritage

I'm glad to see the general positive reaction to certain things I did in the previous chapter. Most notably Naruto's interactions with Ashley, as well as the introduction of Sasuke as a Cerberus operative. I was worried how people would react, mostly regarding Ashley, because most people I've talked to really do not like her. Which is understandable, as Ashley in canon can be very…abrasive. And that's putting it mildly.

I'm hoping though that I can create a relatively more enjoyable character, thanks to her having early interactions with Naruto, and thus those interactions be the basis of a more…likeable character. Guess we'll see, won't we?

Now I may have mentioned this to some of you, but my original intent was for this chapter to involve the Battle of Torfan, one of the military career options players could choose from when creating their Shepard. However, I've decided against making the Battle of Torfan the main focus, as while discussing the idea with my Mass Effect beta a7xfanatic1195 (temporarily renamed a7xfanatic11), I decided it would be a bit too complicated to use Torfan to develop what I primarily want to have happen in this chapter. So while Torfan may be mentioned, it will not be the main focus of this chapter. Sorry folks.

But, enough about that. Let's get going on this chapter, shall we? After all, this is the only chapter left standing between us and the start of the actual Mass Effect game story. So, ONWARDS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware. This is a fan made fanfiction meant purely for entertainment purposes. Please support the official releases.

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Chapter 6

True Heritage

Naruto wasn't sure where he was exactly. All he knew was he was standing in what seemed like a forest, in the middle of a clearing. Around him, he could hear the sounds of various animals, wildlife that made this forest their home. He knew he had never been to wherever he was at, and yet though, he couldn't help but feel as if he knew it like the back of his hand.

He slowly moved to the edge of the clearing, trying to see if there was anything else beyond the trees. Yet as he neared the edge, there was a growling sound, and a massive fox stepped into the clearing in front of him, making him jump back slightly in surprise. The fox was joined by others, who emerged all along the tree line, stepping into the clearing as well, surrounding Naruto on all sides.

He looked around, tensing, readying himself for an attack. But none of them moved any further, simply standing there, some merely watching him, others growling softly.

Naruto slowly looked at each of them, noting that they did seem to greatly resemble normal foxes, except that each was many times larger than a normal fox. And their fur came in a variety of colors. Slowly, only approached him, its fur gold, and its eyes a bright blue, a lot like his own. It stopped in front of him, staring up at him, and Naruto blinked, feeling as if he was staring at himself. And then the fox opened its mouth.

"Homomroh nxe no uho, Duhike. Homomroh nxuk ak moudj ke ro vulzan," the fox said.

Naruto awoke with a start, sitting up and panting in his bed, his sheets soaked in sweat from the dream. Leaning forward, he gripped his head in his hands, trying to understand what he had just seen.

When he was old enough to understand, he had been told that according to the data the Prothean scientists who had been studying him had gathered, his species had evolved with an ability to gain experience and memories of their ancestors, passed down through their DNA. They weren't sure how exactly this genetic memory worked, only that Naruto should be experiencing memories, or perhaps knowing or understanding things that he had never learned or experienced before. Supposedly the genetic memory would act like a type of unconscious guide, or something similar.

Naruto had remembered a few times growing up where he had sensed odd nudges or subconscious urgings, but they were rare, and he hadn't ever experienced anything like what was described to him. However, as he started to grow into adulthood, he had noticed that he was experiencing these nudges and subconscious urges somewhat more frequently. And then the dreams started. They were rare, and were extremely vivid. But it almost felt like they were growing in frequency. They used to be only one or two a month, but now, it felt like they were once a week.

Naruto slowly got up, and went to the bathroom of the hotel room he was staying in, and once there, splashed some cold water on his face. Looking into the mirror, he quietly studied himself, as if his reflection would give him some answers. But the confused and tired face looking back at him had no answers.

Sighing quietly, Naruto finished washing his face, and moved back to his bed, checking the time. Seeing it was only three in the morning, he lay back in the bed, hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. He was glad he was currently on leave, which meant he'd be able to sleep in, if he was able to get back to sleep at all.

It had been several months since the incident at Watson with the Cerberus cell that had infiltrated the garrison. While Alliance Command had been disappointed that several of the terrorist operatives had been able to escape, they had been happy to have a few captives, as well as the fact that the Javelin missiles had been secured. The Council had not been as happy, due to how the intercepted information had not been retrieved.

Afterwards, things had returned relatively to normal. There had been a debriefing, Jondum Bau had returned to the Citadel for further debriefing from the Council and probably the Salarian Union, and life continued for the garrison at Fort Reykjavik. It had been a little hectic at first, as Naruto's platoon adjusted to the shock of finding out that their Staff Sergeant had been a traitor, but they soon overcame that little hiccup, and a new Staff Sergeant arrived to take up the position. Naruto had also made sure to give Ashley a commendation in his report for her not only identifying the traitor, but her bravery during the firefight in Outpost Delta.

Eventually, Naruto was transferred back to Earth for the start of the second level of the Interplanetary Combatives Training program, where he found himself reunited with Alicia. Beyond vid calls, the two hadn't seen each other since they had finished the first level of N7 training. He smiled a bit, remembering catching up with her when they weren't busy on training, and chuckling as he remembered a couple of training ops where their squads had faced off against each other. Alicia might be brash and headstrong, but that seemed to hide the rather tactical mind she had, considering how her squad had outmaneuvered his and ambushed it flawlessly in their first face off. The second time though, Naruto returned the favor, catching Alicia's squad in a crossfire killing zone.

They had both graduated the second course of training, and had been given two weeks of downtime to celebrate, which they used to hang out, swap stories, and enjoy their free time. And of course, deal with admiring fans. It surprised Naruto how many people were approaching him now, to meet one of the heroes of Elysium. Equally surprising was the number of women who approached, apparently eager to get to know Naruto on a more personal level. He would have thought him being an alien would have been off-putting, but apparently some liked his more 'feral appearance' as they described it.

The vacation though was being cut short, at least for Alicia though. Earlier that day she had received a message indicating that she would need to return to her ship earlier than expected, and that she'd have to be on her way the day after tomorrow. Naruto still had at least five days of downtime though, and so he would use them up. He was sad to see her leaving earlier, but orders were orders.

Naruto let out a sigh as he leaned over, closing his eyes as he tried to get back to sleep. He didn't want to be too tired when hanging out with Alicia tomorrow. She apparently had a full last day planned. Though the grin she had on her face was a bit disturbing when she mentioned it. Mentally shrugging, he relaxed into the bed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Arcturus Station

Rear Admiral Steven Hackett, commander of the 29th Assault Flotilla of the Alliance Fifth Fleet quietly sat in the large briefing room, one of many high ranking officers currently gathered for a major briefing. Following the Skyllian Blitz, the Alliance Navy and Marine Corps had been busy cleaning up pockets of pirates and slavers throughout their space. But that had not stopped the constant attacks and raids from these space born criminals, most of which were likely funded by the batarians in a sort of proxy war against the Alliance. Until now.

The doors to the briefing room opened and every officer stood up, standing at attention and saluting as Fleet Admiral Hanson, overall commander of the Alliance military, entered with his staff and a few analysts. He saluted them all as he reached the front of the room. "Please be seated," he said, as all the officers returned to their seat. "Over the past two years, our intelligence officers have been working nonstop to try and pinpoint the source of the pirate and batarian attacks within our space. At 1300 hours yesterday afternoon, we caught a lucky break," he said, as the holographic projector in the room lit up, revealing a planet. "This is Torfan. It's a remote planet in the Shadow Sea star cluster, not too far from our border with the Attican Traverse. Our intelligence reports have discovered that it is a major stronghold utilized by pirates, slavers, and terrorists to resupply, rearm, and make their strikes into Alliance systems as well as Council Space. Which is why we are going to neutralize this threat once and for all. Analyst Howards will take over," he said, stepping to one side as a middle aged woman in dress uniform with lieutenant bars stepped forward.

"Thank you sir. The reports we've received on Torfan indicate a strong presence on the planet. The defenders have heavily fortified their position with underground bunkers and facilities, most of which are largely impervious to orbital bombardment. However, we believe that a full out assault from no less than three full battle fleets should be able to overwhelm their position and destroy their operations on the planet permanently. Without this base of operations, the criminal elements that have been operating within our space will be forced to retreat to the Terminus Systems, and thus their strike range into our territory will be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the batarian raiders that have been harassing and probing our defenses will likely retreat back to their space, having no friendly port to return to outside of batarian space. With one decisive strike, we'll be able to cripple these threats to our colonies and trade ships," she said, highlighting the defensive positions on Torfan's surface.

Admiral Hanson took back over from there. "I'm assigning the Third, Fifth, and Sixth fleets to the assault, as well as the Third, Twelfth, Eighteenth, and Twenty-Second Divisions of the Marine Corps. This should be more than enough to take the planet and destroy the enemy defensive positions. The assault is set for the end of this week, February 22nd," he said. "Additional data will be made available to the officers associated with the assigned attack forces. Are there any questions at this time?"

When no one spoke up, Admiral Hanson nodded. "Very good. That is all for now. Dismissed," he said. Every other officer stood and saluted, and as he returned the salute, they headed off.

Hackett frowned slightly in thought. The battle ahead was an important one, but it could be costly. The Alliance Navy had been expanding since the First Contact War, when they had over two hundred warships. Since joining the affiliate races of the Council, the Alliance had signed the Treaty of Farixen, which was put in place by the Council to help control the creation and expansion of the naval forces of various races that were a part of the Council, or affiliated with it. Primarily, the treaty limited the creation of dreadnaughts for all races, considering how incredibly destructive and dangerous the massive kilometer long warships could be. The treaty designated that the ratio of dreadnaughts amongst the Council and Council affiliate races would be set at five to three to one. In essence, the Turian Hierarchy, the military and peacekeeping arm of the Council, was allowed to have the most dreadnaughts of any race that signed the treaty. The other Council races, which at the moment were the asari and salarians, would be allowed to build three dreadnaughts for every five that the turians built. Council affiliate races, such as the Systems Alliance, would be allowed to build one dreadnaught for every three the asari and salarians had, or for every five the turians had. Other races, even if they weren't part of the Council or its affiliates, were still bound to the treaty provided they had signed it, which meant that both the quarians in their Migrant Fleet, and the batarians in their now rogue state, were also limited by the treaty.

The Alliance had of course followed the treaty, and currently had five dreadnaughts in their fleets, with a sixth nearing completion, and a seventh one being planned. Unfortunately, they would not be able to build any more than that at the moment, for the turians currently had thirty-seven dreadnaughts. The Alliance however had supplemented their naval forces with not only frigates, light and heavy cruisers, and numerous smaller warships useful for patrol and close quarters combat, but also by creating a class of warship that so far seemed to be completely un-utilized by the various Council races: the carrier. The Alliance created several hulls that matched the dreadnaught in size, but instead of arming them with powerful main cannons, outfitted them instead to carry squadrons of fighters and interceptors, as well as the facilities to repair and resupply these one man ships. This gave the Alliance a tactical advantage in combat, as most other races were limited in their small fighters to whatever their cruisers or dreadnaughts could carry, or any fighters deployed to nearby planetary outposts. The Alliance however could use their carriers to deploy several squadrons of fighters to attack and harass enemy capital ships, or deploy interceptors to engage enemy fighters.

In the twenty one years since the First Contact War, the Alliance Navy had expanded by over two hundred percent, adding over four hundred new warships, and going from previously two large fleets to now six battle fleets, each charged with their own star clusters to patrol and protect. Their military, while young and relatively inexperienced compared to the Council races, was quickly growing into a power to match them.

Hackett stopped as he reached an observation port and saw his ship, the Jamestown-class heavy cruiser, SSV Monterrey. Stopping for a moment to admire it, he smiled a bit grimly. The fight ahead would be a tough one, and there would casualties, attacking a fortified enemy planet. But he had confidence that they would win, as he moved to the docking port to return to his ship.

Unknown Location

A massive, humpbacked figure, decked in scarred armored, quietly snorted as he looked over the data in front of him, while sitting in a dimly lit room. "You're sure this info is good?" He asked, his deep, gravelly voice directed at the holo screen projector sitting on the table he sat at while skimming through information on the computer screen in front of him.

On the holoprojector, an asari clad in light armor smirked. "Have I ever steered you wrong? I got it from a very reliable source that the Alliance is moving lots of weapons, armor, vehicles, and supplies. Part of some build up or some invasion plan or whatever. Most of the transport ships will be running in guarded convoys, but a few are only in small groups, or flying solo. Perfect targets," she said with a chuckle.

The figure leaned forward. "And how reliable is this source?" He asked, shifting slightly.

The asari's smirk grew wider. "Any closer and it might as well be from their command itself. You know those human types, they're practically obsessed with my kind," she said, remembering how easy it was to get the info.

"Hmph. Good enough for me. Thanks for the tip Mirinia. You'll get your share when we've taken a few of their ships and gotten the hell out of there. First round is on me," the figure said.

"I'm looking forward to it. And who knows. I might be willing to offer an extra reward if my share is big enough," the now named Mirinia said, giving him a sky wink and blowing him a kiss before disconnecting from the conversation.

The figure let out a rumbling grumble, heaving his large bulk up from behind the desk he had been sitting at and all but slamming a massive armored fist into the comm unit mounted next to the door of his cabin. Immediately there was a response. "What do you need boss?"

"Get the crew ready. We've got ourselves some new scores to raid," the figure said, smirking as he disconnected the comm. Turning to the wall of his cabin, he pulled down a war hammer. Charging it up, the head of it glowed as he chuckled. "Oh yes. We'll get you some blood soon," he said, caressing the weapon as the glow illuminated a scarred, reptilian face.

MSV Randolph's Folly

The large Banff-class military armored transport silently slipped through space, leaving behind one of the orbital docking stations that hovered around Earth, as it headed towards the Mass Relay to make the first of a series of jumps towards its destination.

The Banff was a military transport ship similar to the large Athabasca-class transport and the smaller Kowloon-class transport used by merchants and private owners. Unlike the civilian ships though, the Banff was much more rugged, with the interior hull struts being reinforced for greater endurance, but the exterior being plated with ablative hull armor for additional protection. In addition, the ship was outfitted with a military grade kinetic barrier generator, as well as four dual GARDIAN laser turrets for use against enemy fighters and projectiles. While not making the ship capable of engaging in ship to ship combat, it did make the Banff capable of defending itself and the reinforced hull and other defenses did allow the ship to engage in combat or invasion landings, to deliver troops and vehicles to the battlefield.

Currently, the Randolph's Folly was transporting a number of weapons, military supplies, and vehicles towards the Theseus system in the Attican Beta Star Cluster. It was here that Alliance was secretly gathering together the fleets of ships and divisions of soldiers that would launch an attack on the planet Torfan. The ships and soldiers were given different 'official' orders to throw off potential spies or information leaks. Some of the Alliance soldiers were guarding the new fledgling colony being set up on the planet Feros, by the ExoGeni Corporation. Others were arriving in the system to begin routine patrols for potential threats in the neighboring star clusters. And others were being assigned to scout out and destroy a potential pirate base located in the Nubian Expanse. All misinformation to keep anyone outside of the Alliance from knowing the growing armada's true intention and target.

On board the Folly, Naruto frowned quietly as he studied the message in front of him again. His own vacation, with only two days left, had been cut short with a sudden urgent message from Alliance command, which had informed him he was being re-assigned from his posting on Watson for an important mission. He had been ordered to board the Folly, and she'd transport him to the Theseus system, where he was being ordered to join up with the Third Division of the Alliance Marine Corps.

Whatever was going on, Naruto knew it had to be pretty serious, considering they had canceled his leave. Sure, he had only two days left, and that might not seem like much, but considering the rigors and strenuous nature of the N7 training program, it was usually good to give the trainee's a sufficient amount of leave afterwards to ensure they recovered. The fact that Alicia, and now himself, had been brought back to active duty so quickly meant something big was on the horizon.

Shutting down his omni-tool, he stood and stretched, grimacing a bit as he glanced around. Military transport ships tended to not exactly have the roomiest of accommodations, even for officers. They were designed more for moving cargo than people, and the Folly was no exception. Other than a few vehicle engineers sent along with the vehicles onboard, the only other people present on the ship was the crew itself. While there were a few rooms set up for passengers, they tended to be small, to maximize cargo space. If the transport had to carry soldiers, the ship's cargo bays could be converted into mini barracks if need be.

Naruto moved out of his quarters, wanting to stretch and maybe get a drink. Heading to the galley, he found a couple of the crew off duty there, talking animatedly. They quieted down as they saw him, and Naruto simply nodded to them, heading over to the dispensers to get a drink. Seeing him supposedly not paying attention, they went back to talking.

"See, I told you he was on the ship," one of them said quietly and excitedly, as the other nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry for doubting you. Still can't believe one of the heroes of Elysium is here! On our ship. Raleigh would be so jealous if he were here right now," the second one said excitedly, glancing over at Naruto with an appraising eye. She grinned a bit as she spoke. "He's pretty cute," she said added.

"Jeez, keep your panties on for once, will you?" Her friend said, rolling his eyes at her pout.

Naruto let out a small chuckle, drawing both their attention. "Word to the wise, it might be a good idea to make sure people don't have good hearing when you're talking about them," he said, tapping one of his ears, and making them both blush in embarrassment, especially the woman.

"S-Sorry sir," they both said, as Naruto waved a hand.

"No problem at all. Just be more careful in the future," he said, turning back to them with his drink of water, which was sadly the only thing he could get. The galley was stocked with food for the crew, and thus didn't have any dextro based food on board, though Naruto had made sure to gather some dextro rations for himself beforehand. He came over to their table, smiling. "Mind if I join you?"

They both shook their heads, and Naruto groaned softly, sitting down. He gave them a disarming smile. "We haven't been properly introduced. Naruto Shepard," he said, holding out a hand.

The man shook his hand first. "Robert Saunders. And this here is my friend Sarah," he said, as the girl rolled her eyes.

"Thanks asshole," she muttered, before shaking Naruto's hand as well. "Sarah Mitchells. It's an honor to meet you sir."

"No sir, no sir. I'm off duty at the moment. As are you two," Naruto said. "So any idea what's going on? I was on leave when I got the sudden orders to deploy. Pretty unusual."

"No idea sir…I mean Naruto," Robert said. "All we know is they suddenly loaded enough supplies and vehicles to supply a small war, and that's it. Captain said something about getting orders to supply a military outpost out in the Attican Beta Cluster, but otherwise, no idea."

"Bit unusual we're not running with an escort though," Sarah added. "Normally if we're moving that close to the Traverse they'd have at least a destroyer or some other corvette running escort, or we'd be moving in a convoy, but here…they just sent us out on our own," she said.

Naruto just took that in while drinking some of his water, thinking quietly. "Hmmm. Unusual," he murmured quietly.

Sarah however decided to change the subject. "Hey umm…si-I mean Naruto…can I ask you a question?"

As Naruto simply nodded, she took a few moments to speak. "What was it like…at Elysium I mean? The fighting and stuff."

Naruto grew quiet for a few moments, staring at the table. "It's…hard for me to really give you a good picture. I was in a skyscraper for most of the battle, sniping at targets. My sister was the one in the frontline, directing the fight and being in the thick of the action. She'd be the better one to ask, if she were here," he said, sipping his water quietly.

"Yeah but…you and her then went off and fought all those pirates and slavers by yourselves! Just the two of you, against thousands!" She said, wide eyed, leaning forward a bit.

The vulzan chuckled softly. "I'd hardly say thousands. Maybe hundreds," he said.

Sarah shook her head. "Yeah but still, that's…it was just the two of you! Against all those hundreds! That was incredible!" She said, before looking down a bit. "I don't know if I could do something like that."

"Me neither," Robert said as well.

Naruto chuckled a bit at that, causing them to look at him. "Don't sell yourselves short. Let me tell you something. What me and my sis did…we didn't do it because we knew we'd win or anything. We did it…because we knew it had to be done. We were both scared, and we knew we could have died. But we still did it anyways, because it's what we had to do, to protect the colony."

The two crewmembers blinked at that. "You were scared? You?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Being brave isn't about not being scared. It's about being scared, but overcoming it. Courage is doing something even when you're scared or feel like you'll fail, because you know it needs to be done, or because you know you can't let your fear control you," he said. "So don't think you can't do something, until you're faced with that choice. Because you won't know until you're faced with that moment."

"Wow. I guess that makes sense," Robert said, as Sarah nodded.

Naruto let out a depreciating chuckle. "Just don't go rushing headlong into an army of batarians and turians by yourselves though. My sister and I were lucky they attacked where they did. It severely limited their numbers, and made it easier for us. It may have been what needed to be done, but if they hadn't retreated when they did, we'd be dead," Naruto said, before finishing his water.

At that moment, the ship's intercom activated, and the captain's voice was heard. "All hands, we're preparing to make the relay jump from Sol to the Utopia system in the Exodus Cluster. Standby for relay jump."

Naruto chuckled softly. "Guess that means I should get back to my cabin. Don't want to be in anyone's way while they're busy running the ship," he said, standing up. "Thanks for the conversation."

"You're welcome. And thank you for the words of wisdom," Robert said, as Sarah nodded and smiled at him.

Naruto just gave them a nod, as he started to head off, to return to his quarters, only to stop for a moment. "Oh, and Sarah…you're pretty cute yourself," he said, giving her a wink, causing her to blush. He heard Robert made a comment, followed by a yelp, probably from Sarah punching him, as he left the galley. There was a bit of a long journey ahead of them, as while the actual jumps between Mass Relays happened instantaneously, it took time, sometimes hours for the Relays to realign properly for the next Mass Relay jump, due to some of them being at 'crossroads' in space, allowing for jumps to several star clusters rather than one. So the Relays would have to be realigned for jumps to a different destination.

Humming a random tune that had been stuck in his head for the past few days, Naruto that at least he could spend time touring the ship and talking to the crew, to while away the long boring hours between jumps.

Columbia System, Voyage Cluster

A turian frigate quietly floated in space, hovering near the Mass Relay located in the Columbia system. However, given the emblem of a large alien skull over crossed war hammers and the numerous scratches, dents, and extra weapons, it was clear this was not a standard turian frigate, but instead one of the numerous ships purchased, stolen, or salvaged by pirates and slavers, and turned into their own personal raiding vessels, this one belonging to the pirate crew known as Kroth's Raiders.

On the command deck, the bridge officers went about their duties, which mostly consisted of simply making sure the ship was running and ready to go. Unlike military crews which had to follow regulations and fill out reports, pirate crews simply had to make sure the ship was in working order, and that was it.

A human in somewhat dented and patched up armor currently seemed to be in command, standing on a raised platform that had him elevated above the rest of the crew. He was studying information being relayed to them from another source, when he heard the door to the bridge open with a 'swooshing' noise, followed by heavy footfalls. He quickly turned, to find the captain of the crew stomping over.

Kroth Lotark was a krogan, a race of massive reptilian aliens from the planet Tuchanka, located in the Aralakh system of the star cluster now known simply as the Krogan Demilitarized Zone. Like most of his race, Kroth stood roughly at seven feet in height, and was broad, with a large shoulder/back hump, used to store water and nutrients. They had broad faces, with no nose, but wide reptile like mouths and wide set reptilian eyes. Each hand ended in three digits, similar to turians and salarians, and they also had the reverse bent leg those species had as well. Where krogan's were different was that due to the incredibly harsh environment of their planet, krogan's were evolved to be one of the most resilient species in the galaxy. They were virtually immune to most forms of poisons, toxins, natural hazards, and radiation and their bodies held numerous redundant systems, coupled with extremely thick hides that made them incredibly resistant to most forms of damage. Add to this as well a high regeneration rate, and life spans that could go on for centuries and you had a species that was built to survive.

All of this had been necessary for them to survive on their home world, a world that had many predators and natural dangers, enough to make any other race think the planet was uninhabitable. The krogan however had not only survived, they had eventually grown to dominate their world. Unfortunately, with their natural predators overcome, the krogan searched for new challenges and enemies, and found it in their neighboring clans. Technology had made life too easy for the krogan, and coupled with their incredibly high birthrates of nearly a thousand eggs per female over the course of a year, and the krogan clans began to fight each other for resources, territory, and power. Things came to a head some four thousand years ago, when the wars between clans escalated into a full on global war, resulting in the use of weapons of mass destruction. The once verdant jungles of Tuchanka, and the great krogan cities were reduced to a nuclear wasteland, and those krogan who survived gathered again into their tribes and clans, and continued their war with each other. The krogan might have annihilated themselves, if not for the intervention of the salarians some two thousand years later.

The salarians and asari, then the only two Council races, were locked in a prolonged and deadly war with a race of insect like aliens known as the rachni. The salarians, seeing the brute strength, incredible resistance, and staggering birth rates of the krogan as an advantage, intervened on Tuchanka, 'uplifting' the krogan to fight the rachni for the Council. In return, the salarians gave them more advanced technology, ships, weapons, and even helped relocate them to a new world to flourish, while they set up facilities to repair Tuchanka's atmosphere and environment, and end the nuclear winter that threatened the planet.

The krogan eagerly stepped into their new role, quickly breeding new generations of warriors, while the current generation immediately went to work invading the rachni worlds, surviving the toxic environments and crushing the rachni and their queens, the heart of each colony and a necessary entity for each colony's survival. In the end, the rachni were completely exterminated, the krogan were honored as heroes, and were given several colony worlds and a statue on the Citadel Presidium for their heroism. Unfortunately, the krogan's overly aggressive nature, coupled with their high rate of birth, soon led to them aggressively begin colonizing more worlds, including those already inhabited by Council races and their affiliates. This led to the Krogan Rebellions, when the Krogan refused to leave the worlds they had colonized and invaded, and declared war against the asari and salarians. The latter two races, unprepared and not equipped to handle the overwhelming brutality and warrior savagery of the krogan, turned to the newly discovered turians, a race that had proved to be equally militant. For ten years, the Council races and the krogan's fought, until the turians, realizing that the krogan's birth rate and battle lust would ensure their victory over the Council, turned to a salarian created bio-weapon known as the genophage. Designed to alter the birthrate of the krogan, reducing their birthrate from one thousand to one in one thousand, the genophage was unleashed by the Turian Hierarchy against the krogan. With their greatest asset gone, and their numbers dwindling due to conflict, the majority of krogan's surrendered, though some pockets continued to resist for decades.

Afterwards, the krogan were returned to Tuchanka, their weapons and armor taken from them. The Turian Hierarchy, now a full member of the Council, continued to patrol the Krogan DMZ for any sign of krogan uprising. Eventually, they were allowed off world, and those who did leave scattered across the galaxy, seeking 'honor and glory' as mercenaries, pirates, and criminals.

Kroth himself was one of the last of a clan that had been wiped out by another in one of the various clan skirmishes on Tuchanka, for what little resources were left on the planet. He had been a powerful warrior, one of the relatively rare biotic users amongst krogan. But even this was not enough to save his clan, and with no home left, he turned instead to pirating, eventually becoming captain of his own pirate crew.

Now he stomped over to the human, who quickly scrambled from the command position. Kroth's armor was dented and scratched in a dozen places, each a 'battle trophy', and an indicator he was no stranger to combat. The same could be said of his face, which despite his skin's durability and his regenerative abilities, held several scars, as did the plate of armored bone growing off the top of his head. Gently petting the head of the war hammer he carried at his side. He turned to the human, clearly his second in command. "Report," he snarled.

"Captain, our sentry ship in the Antaeus system reported that a single transport ship has arrived, and is currently waiting for the Mass Relay to align. They haven't seen any sign of an escort yet," the human said with a grin, referring to the small light freighter some of Korth's crew was using both as a scout ship and as a decoy/lure. The freighter was currently in the Antaeus system of the Hades Gamma cluster, watching for targets of opportunity for Kroth and his crew. And now they had found one.

Kroth's face split into a dangerous smile. "Then get all hands to battle stations, and prepare to board! We've got loot to take and skulls to split!" He shouted, as his bridge gave a cheer, and the ship's alarms went off, calling the crew to battle stations. "And contact the decoy ship. Tell them to lure that freighter in. We want them a fair distance away from the relay before we arrive," he added to his second in command, who nodded.

Meanwhile, the Folly had arrived in the Antaeus system of the Hades Gamma cluster, and was currently waiting for the Mass Relay to begin realignment. This particular relay lay at a 'crossroads' connection to several other relays in other star and nebula clusters, which meant that unlike other relays, it could take longer to make a jump out of the system as the relay had farther to traverse to realign itself with any of the other relays it was connected to. Depending on the destination, this was something that could take anywhere between a few minutes, to an hour or two.

On the bridge of the Folly, Captain Henry Carson was in the captain's chair, quietly sipping a cup of coffee, when his comm officer looked up. "Sir, I'm receiving a distress call," he reported.

"Pipe it through," Carson said, frowning as the bridge speaks activated.

"Mayday Mayday Mayday! This is the ARMV Dawnwind, reporting complete power core failure. Require immediate assistance to any ship within communication range! We require immediate assistance! Coordinates are one-nine-five degrees by three-four-two degrees! Repeat, this is ARMV Dawnwind requesting immediate assistance!" A panicked female voice spoke over the comm, repeating the distress call, as the Captain turned to his second in command.

"Check the registry," he ordered, turning to his sensor officer next. "Begin sensor sweep of those coordinates. Find me that ship," he ordered.

Immediately, the two officers went to work, with the sensor officer responding first. "Got it sir. There's a ship out there alright, and she seems to be adrift. Decreased heat signature, so I'd say her main power is offline sir," he responded.

His XO responded next. "Sir, the Dawnwind is a Tulerian-class merchant vessel from the Asari Republics. According to last reports, she was supposed to be out this way on some type of geological survey mission," he said.

"Sensors, does the ship match the profile of an asari transport?" Carson asked, as the sensor officer compared the thermal image on his passive sensors to one of the Dawnwind, before looking up.

"Confirmed sir. She seems to match the profile image," he responded.

Carson nodded. "Alright. Helm, bring us about to one-nine-five degrees by three-four-two degrees. Engines ahead full. Have the medical staff on standby and prepare an engineering team," he said, giving orders first to his helm officer and then his XO, who nodded and moved to give those orders.

The crew and passengers onboard all blinked as they felt the ship shift from its maneuver, and the deck start to tremble as the engine's flared, before the inter-ship comms crackled to life. "All hands, this is the captain. We've received a distress call from a merchant vessel in distress, and are moving to assist. Be prepared to take on injured."

The crew immediately sprang to life, as engineers readied tool kits and other necessary implements, while the medical staff readied the sickbay for injured and other casualties.

The Folly, its sublight engines glowing as they pushed the ship, shot towards the drifting asari trader. Carson was about to order the necessary maneuvers to match the drifting ship's speed and course, when his sensor officer suddenly yelled out. "Conn, unknown ship entering the system at the relay! Looks like a frigate, possibly turian! No IFF!" He called out, voice rising a bit in fear.

Carson cursed, turning. "I need a visual and confirmed identification! Set the ship to combat alert! Barriers up now!" He shouted to the bridge crew. "Charge the GARDIAN batteries, and send out a distress call!"

"Sir, communications have been jammed!" His comm officer shouted, as the sensor officer quickly looked up.

"The transport is powering up sir! I'm detecting engine, shield, and weapon signatures!" He shouted.

Carson cursed quietly. "Damn pirates," he muttered. "Helm, set course for the Mass Relay, maximum burn. Burn the engines out if you have to; just make sure we get to that relay! Damien, get the security teams setting up barricades at the likely entry points, and pass out the weapons to any crew not currently working on getting us the hell out of here," he ordered his second in command, who nodded, activating his omni-tool and contacting the security officer.

The ship became a flurry of activity, as the security officers quickly rushed to the small armory onboard, suiting up and grabbing weapons from the racks. Others grabbed the various portable barricades kept in storage, forming up into their security teams, and heading for the cargo bay and the airlocks, the most likely points of penetration by enemy boarders. The engineering crew worked frantically in the engine room and main core, pushing as much energy into the shields and engines as they could.

Naruto had been heading to the medical bay to offer what aid he could when he heard about the transport ship they were moving to rescue, but now, he turned and immediately headed to the armory, to offer his services there. Finding the ship's security chief, who was doling out extra weapons to the ship's crew and passengers, he quickly moved to get weapons of his own. The armory would be stocked with extra weapons for such an emergency, but unfortunately the same could not be said for armor, with only enough for the ship's security details.

Naruto quickly took up a Lancer assault rifle and Predator sidearm, checking the small thermal indicators on the side of each weapon. Without his armor, he'd have to keep track of their thermal status manually. Receiving several thermal clips, he nodded, stepping away so the next person in line could receive their weapons. The security chief pointed to him. "Lieutenant, I want you down in the main cargo bay! That's likely where the frigate will dock and try to cut into the ship, so we want our best fighting there!"

Naruto gave a nod of understanding, and securing the pistol at his side, rushed down to the main cargo bay with Lancer in hand. He stumbled though, as the ship shuddered from something hitting it.

The barriers of the Folly flared as several missiles launched from the frigate hit it, straining the shields even as the GARDIAN batteries tried to shoot the projectiles down. The Alliance transport had turned, and was running for the Mass Relay, unfortunately passing right by the frigate as it did so. Now the frigate's own laser batteries opened up, passing through the barriers and cutting into the hull. The ablative armor plating held, as the two ships passed each other. However, the now revealed decoy ship moved ahead, its engines flaring as it moved ahead of the Folly and slipped in front of them, forcing the Alliance transport to change course to avoid a collision. The pirate frigate, now behind them, opened up on the Folly's stern, trying to knock out their engines.

Captain Carson gripped the armrest of his chair, watching the various feeds regarding the battle and his ship's status. "Engineering, divert power from non critical systems to the rear barriers! We need to keep our engines intact!" he ordered, seeing a slight fluctuation in the rear barrier power grid as they absorbed three more missile hits. He cursed though as the ship lurched, the helmsman again maneuvering to avoid the pirate transport. "I need an analysis on that transport! How well armored is it?!"

The sensor officer quickly reported back. "They've reinforced the shielding and armor, as well as installed at least eight GARDIAN batteries, and a light main cannon, as well as two missile launcher bays."

"Sir, they can't have reinforced her structural integrity too much though. Tulerian transports simply don't have the power core for it. She probably wouldn't be able to withstand colliding with us," his XO said, reading the general specs they had in the database on the transport ship. "We could probably survive ramming her, if we reinforce our forward shields."

Carson let out a frustrated growl, trying to decide if it was worth the risk. If they did ram the ship, it could seriously damage his ship, making it impossible to escape from the frigate still on their stern. However, each time they were forced to maneuver away from the transport, it cost them time trying to maneuver back to the relay. Seeing the transport moving to block them again, he made the decision. "Divert available power to forward barriers! Increase speed to flank!" he shouted, while activating the comm. "All hands, prepare for collision! Brace for impact!"

Naruto, in the cargo bay, could only blink as he heard the captain's orders. Cursing, he quickly found a secure spot, and wedged himself in, throwing up a barrier around himself for good measure, as he felt the ship surge underneath him, its engines straining to push the ship to its maximum speed.

Onboard the frigate, Kroth watched in a mixture of admiration and anger as the Alliance transport charged his decoy ship, not swerving like it had been. The transport ship, realizing too late what was going to happen, tried to move out of the way. However, it was far too close, as the bow of the Alliance transport ship smashed into the decoy transport roughly amidships. The reinforced armor on the stolen asari transport held for a few brief moments, before completely buckling, followed by the hull rupturing. Soon enough, the ship was sheared in half, the two sections of the ship spilling out equipment, debris, and bodies as they were exposed into space, while plasma fires erupted all along the torn edges of hull.

The Folly however did not emerge unscathed from the ram. Even as it passed through the debris of the destroyed decoy transport, sections of the ship started to grow dark, and the port engines sputtered, flicking on and off. The bow was also crumpled somewhat, skewing to port slightly. The GARDIAN batteries also went dark, no longer firing at Kroth's ship. Snarling in anger, he pointed to the transport. "Bring us in close, and latch onto the cargo bay! Deploy the boarding shuttles and send them to the airlocks. We're taking her!" He shouted, as his crew leapt to action.

On the bridge of the Folly, Captain Carson coughed as he picked himself up off the deck, blood streaming from a small gash on his head. "Report!" He finally got out.

"Main power is offline," His XO said, looking over a damage report. "Auxiliary power is online, but crew quarters and galley have both lost all power. Port engine's power relay has been damaged, and we're down to about three quarters speed. And GARDIAN batteries are completely offline. Sensors are gone too," he grimly reported.

Carson slammed a fist into the armrest of his chair. "Then we've got no choice," he said, activating the comms. "All hands, this is the captain. Standby to repel boarders. I repeat, standby to repel boarders," he said, before turning to the bridge crew. "Get to work repairing whatever systems we can, and let's hope our security teams can buy us some time," he said.

Just as the bridge crew was about to respond, they felt the shudder as something large gently impacted the ship, and they could see the pirate frigate now in front of the ship, latched onto the cargo bay with a specially modified docking tube. Carson cursed quietly, hoping the security teams could handle the boarders.

In the cargo bay, Naruto had pulled himself from the spot he had secured himself, and quickly moved back to the barricade. The majority of the others were there as well, though he could hear the cries of pain of one or two people nearby, who had been injured during the collision. Shaking his head to clear the last of the cobwebs from it, Naruto set himself back up behind the barricade, his Lancer out and ready, as he tried to steady himself. He glanced up and down the line, and blinked, surprised to see Sarah there as well. She glanced over, and gave him a nervous nod, as Naruto nodded back.

Everyone turned forward as they saw a bright flare cut through the main cargo bay door, and slowly start to cut through the door. The pirates weren't even bothering trying to hack the door codes, and instead was simply planning to cut through the door. Naruto smirked a bit at that, as now the pirates would be channeled through a kill zone.

As the torch continued to cut through the cargo bay door, the various defenders made one final checks to their weapons, and in the case of the security members, their armor. Sights were set, thermal clips were checked, and each person readied themselves for the fight in their own way, some praying, others mumbling softly, others just crouching silently.

Soon enough, the torch died off, and then the cut out section was violently blown back, sailing into the cargo bay with a loud explosion, and a crash as it hit the ground. This was quickly followed by flash bang grenades, to disorient the defenders. A goodly portion managed to duck down in time, but the rest, not reacting fast enough, were stunned.

As the first pirate, a batarian, jumped through the hole, he was met with a hail of gunfire, his barrier failing and his armor quickly being defeated, as rounds riddled his body. A human pirate followed quickly, firing as he ran for cover, only to be killed as he neared his goal. The defenders continued to open up on the opening, pouring fire into it as the pirates struggled to get through, a few managing to duck down behind cover, while the majority were left dead or wounded at their forced entranceway into the ship.

And that's when Kroth entered the cargo bay, a helmet now covering his head as the blue aura of a biotically created barrier surrounded him. He roared out his challenge, firing a massive shotgun towards the barricade, the buckshot from it ripping into the metal framework of the mobile defense emplacement and nearly penetrating. He soon found cover as well, still roaring and firing his shotgun as more of his crew poured through, using his entrance as a distraction.

Naruto barely ducked in time to avoid several rounds from a turian firing a light machine gun, before popping up and firing a burst at said turian, dropping his shields and leaving him vulnerable to rounds from a second defender's shotgun to rip through the patchwork of armor pieces he wore. Turning his attention, he opened up on asari, hearing her cry out as his rounds ripped into her shoulder, watching her fall as a spray of purple blood shot up from the wound. Grimacing slightly, he changed targets again, shooting at a salarian pirate who dove behind cover, popping up to fire his sidearm back at Naruto. The vulzan ducked down, before reaching out with his biotics, snaring a cargo crate and yanking it back, sending it flying towards the salarian. The pirate had only time to let out a cry of surprise before the crate smashed into him, crushing him against the cargo bay door and killing him.

Kroth snarled angrily, summoning up his own biotics again, and launching a massive warp attack that slammed into the barricade, causing the metal defensive emplacement to become twisted and distorted, leaving the defenders behind it vulnerable to attack. Snarling angrily, he charged, firing his shotgun and killing two of the defenders behind it, before smashing through the weakened metal, grabbing his hammer off his back and smashing it against a security officer, pulverizing the man's ribcage despite his armor and its shielding. Roaring out in victory, he turned, swinging the hammer and actually decapitating another officer as he let out an exhilarated laugh.

Naruto cursed, as he saw the break in their line, and how other pirates were taking advantage, charging towards the breach. Without a second thought he charged over, biotics flaring as he launched a powerful singularity in front of the breach. The pirates were caught in it, yelling in surprise as they were yanked into the air, while Naruto followed up with a throw launched at Kroth.

The krogan grunted as the biotic throw smashed into him, the force of it causing him to stumble back a few paces. Snarling, he turned, only for his eyes to widen behind his helmet as he saw the red biotics surrounding the vulzan who now challenged him. "Well well! So I get to meet the infamous Red Maelstrom!" He said with a laugh, gripping his hammer.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Red Maelstrom?" He demanded, his biotics still active and ready to use if need be.

"You don't know your own reputation?!" Kroth asked, still laughing. "You and your sister are quite famous for your little stand on Elysium there. The Red and Blue Maelstrom, that's what they called you. Two biotic storms of death and destruction. Heh, makes me wish I could have seen you both in action. Guess I'll get half my wish," he said, smirking.

"If you mean your death wish, I'll be happy to oblige," Naruto said, growling as he rushed forward, letting out a yell as he focused his biotics into his land, launching a throw at Kroth.

Again, the krogan was sent stumbling back from the red biotic throw, before Naruto slammed into him, pushing him back over the barricade. He smirked, surprised at the strength his opponent had. It was enough for him to feel the blow of Naruto smashing into him.

Naruto however was shocked at how hard it had been to push Kroth back over the barricade, even when the krogan was off balance from the throw. Even still, the krogan's weight and mass had made it difficult, and if Kroth had pushed back, Naruto had no doubts he would have been sent flying. Still, with Kroth out of the defensive line, he could focus now on fighting him. Bringing his Lancer up, he fired it almost point blank range at Kroth, who laughed as he threw up another barrier, the rounds being deflected by the biotic shield.

Kroth let out a roar, charging Naruto and swinging his hammer down, as Naruto swiftly dodged to one side, swinging the Lancer around to fire at Kroth's back, the rounds again hitting the biotic barrier. Kroth whirled, his hammer scything through the air at Naruto's head, forcing him to duck, only for him to get thrown back as Kroth unleashed his own throw, sending Naruto flying. He managed to flip in the air, barely landing on his feet and skidding to a stop before he could smash into a crate. He was forced to duck as a turian pirate fired his shotgun at him.

Kroth roared out angrily at his crew. "No! He's mine!" he shouted, warning them not to shoot Naruto. Grinning, he charged forward with a battle cry, preparing to smash his hammer down on Naruto.

Naruto quickly dodged to one side, watching the hammer smash into the deck. He was unprepared however for Kroth to quickly turn, dragging his hammer along the deck before swinging it up, smashing the Lancer from Naruto's hands. The assault rifle flew through the air, broken into dozens of pieces, leaving Naruto scrabbling for his Predator sidearm as Kroth laughed in exhilaration. "Come, Maelstrom! You face Lotark Kroth, last battle master of Clan Lotark! Prove yourself worthy and I'll take your head as a trophy!" He shouted, beginning to be lost in a battle frenzy.

Naruto grimaced, gently touching the Predator at his side. That small heavy pistol wasn't going to do him any good, not against this krogan. If he could expose the krogan's head he could maybe get into a position to shoot him underneath his jaw, but otherwise, the krogan's biotics, shields, and armor would simply shrug off the bullets of his pistol. Seeing no other option, he settled himself into a stance, readying to go hand to hand.

Kroth grinned behind his helmet, gripping his war hammer. "KORBAL!" he shouted, rushing forward and swinging his hammer down. Naruto side stepped it, getting in close and grabbing Kroth's arm while trying to wrap around it, to get Kroth's arm into a lock where he could try to damage or dislocate it. Kroth just laughed, swinging his arm and smashing Naruto into a crate, causing the vulzan to let out a loud cry of pain. He turned, swinging his arm and sending Naruto flying. This time, dazed by the pain, Naruto hit the wall, crying out again as he hit the ground.

Kroth started to stomp towards him, even as the battle around them had died. Members from both sides were watching, the Alliance members horrified, the pirates grinning, as they watched this fight.

Naruto, shaking his head and struggling through the pain, looked up as Kroth stomped towards him. Summoning his biotics, he let out a yell, launching a warp at Kroth that hit him dead on. The warp quickly began to drain the shields of Kroth's armor, and then began to disrupt the armor's molecular bonds at the subatomic level, but Kroth just charged forward, roaring and swinging his hammer down at Naruto, who barely managed to roll away, grimacing as he felt his back flare in pain. Flat on his back, he threw both hands out, pushing as much energy as he could into another throw.

This one actually managed to knock Kroth back, almost sending the large reptilian pirate onto his small stubby tail. Before he could regain his balance, Naruto had surged up, charging and jumping onto him, his momentum being enough to drive the off balance Krogan to the ground. Naruto quickly scrabbled, desperately grabbing at the seals and clamps that kept the krogan's helmet in place, working them to remove it.

Kroth roared as he delivered a devastating punch to Naruto's face, sending him flying off him. Getting up, he reached up, tearing his helmet off and tossing it aside, revealing his scarred, flat, reptile face to everyone. "Yes, we will face each other eye to eye! I want you to look into my eyes as the life drains from you!" he shouted.

Naruto groaned, slowly getting back up, coughing up a bit of blood from inside his mouth, where he had bit his cheek due to the punch Kroth had delivered. He blearily looked at Kroth, trying to orient himself, only to let out a cry as Kroth's armored foot smashed into his stomach, driving the air out of it and causing him to cough up more blood. He dropped to the floor, gasping and trying to breathe, eyes bleary with tears from the pain, mind reeling and disoriented.

"Get up! Get up and give me a proper fight!" Kroth demanded, grabbing Naruto and tossing him to one side. Naruto skidded and rolled, eventually stopping and panting heavily. He slowly managed to get one foot under him, pushing himself up to a kneeling position. He charged up another biotic throw, launching it at Kroth, only to watch as he batted aside the crimson ball of dark matter with his own blue glowing fist.

Kroth growled as he grabbed Naruto by one arm, lifting him up so he dangled in the air. "Is this all you're capable of? Pathetic!" He shouted.

Naruto glared at him, and spat in his face, before summoning every ounce of strength he had left, putting it into one final punch that he launched at Kroth's face with his free hand. The blow actually turned Kroth's head, even as Naruto grunted, feeling some pain in his fist.

Kroth slowly turned his head, smirking. "Good…that's the first time I've felt pain in a long time," he said, before dropping Naruto to his feet. Before Naruto could react, Kroth backhanded him, sending him spiraling into some crates, causing them to crash. Kroth gripped his hammer, approaching Naruto.

The young vulzan could only pant, his body in a half seated, half lying position. His face was already swelling a bit from the punch Kroth had delivered, and blood trickled both from his mouth and from the top of his head, which had been opened by him crashing into the crates. The blood ran down over his right eye, making half his vision seem like it was in a red haze. His whole body ached, and he didn't feel the strength to even twitch, let alone get up.

Kroth just growled softly, gripping his hammer. "I was expecting a bit more from such a famous and exotic opponent. You disappoint me," he growled, raising his war hammer, preparing to strike, when a shotgun blast smashed into his shields from behind. Whirling, he growled searching for the one who dared attack him.

Naruto weakly looked up, his eyes widened fractionally as he saw Sarah standing there, shotgun in hand, trembling yet standing defiantly. She cocked the shotgun again, firing another round of pellets from it, which hit Kroth's shields. The krogan growled angrily as he charged towards her.

Sarah barely managed to dodge to one side, hitting the ground. She turned over, shooting at Kroth again, only to let out a cry of pain as Kroth kicked her in the chest, sending her crashing into a wall. He stomped over, grabbing her and lifting her up, glaring at her as she weakly grabbed at his hand holding her neck. "You are very brave, and very, very stupid, little insect," Kroth growled bringing her close to her face. "Any last words?"

Sarah looked over at Naruto, who was shaking his head, struggling to move, before looking back at Kroth. "G-Go to hell," she managed to get out, even as he choked her.

Kroth just sneered, before jerking his hand, resulting in a snap that echoed through the entire cargo bay. He dropped the corpse he now held in his hands, turning away from her.

Naruto could only stare at Sarah's lifeless body, not believing what he was seeing, slumping over in defeat as the pain and shock overwhelmed him. His eyes dimmed, as darkness began to enclose him. The last thing he saw was Kroth letting out a roar of victory, as his vision slowly faded to black.

But before he slipped into unconsciousness, he felt something tugging at his mind. A soft voice, to soft to be heard, seemed to be urging him to do something. He tried to focus on the voice, to understand it.

As he focused on the voice, he began to make out some words, words in his native tongue, urging him. "Te dek walo if! Jkudt! Vawxk!"

'I can't…he's too strong…,' Naruto thought in response.

The voice did not answer, but instead, Naruto saw an image in his mind, an image of a man, a vulzan like him, his eyes closed and focused, even as his body became shrouded in an aura of biotic energy. The man opened his eyes, letting loose a roar, before charging into a swarm of other enemies, tearing into them with gory ferocity.

'W-What is that? H-How can I do that?' He asked the voice in his mind, which spoke.

"Khijk eih adjkadskj," the voice said, as Naruto nodded quietly, and reached deep within himself. As weak as he felt at the moment, part of him didn't want to rest. Seeing the corpse of the woman who had moved to defend him, he wanted…no needed one thing at the moment: blood.

Kroth was growling, readying to charge the remaining defensive line, seeing the incredibly demoralized Alliance soldiers. There was nothing left to stop him. He prepared to surge forward, only to stop as a blast of energy washed over everyone present. He whirled, eyes narrowed, only for them to widen.

Naruto was slowly standing up, head bowed, as his biotics swirled around him angrily, pure crimson energy twisting and writhing, before it began to coalesce into a shroud surrounding him. The shroud slowly began to take shape, ethereal claws extending from his hands and feet, and two protrusions like ears growing from the 'head' of the shroud. A long tendril extended from his back, whipping and snapping like a tail.

The whole time his head had been bowed, eyes hidden in the shadow of his hair. But now he looked up, his face contorted in a feral snarl, revealing his teeth. His eyes were no longer their bright blue, but instead were blood red, filled with anger, hatred, and bloodlust. He threw his head back, roaring in rage and anger, a roar that reverberated throughout the ship.

At the docking ports, the Alliance security officers and pirates were still fighting, only to stop as they heard this primal roar. A roar that drove fear deep into their hearts. Even on the bridge, Captain Carson looked up, shivering as he heard the roar.

Kroth stared, shocked at the entity before him, as Naruto lowered himself down, one hand touching the deck, the other held out, hands extended like they were claws. The tail like tendril of biotic energy wavered and swayed, as Naruto growled, his body tensing, before he suddenly shot forward, his speed nearly double of what it was before. Kroth wasn't even able to react before he felt like he was hit with a small skycar right into the chest, sending him flying from the force of the blow, smashing into a pile of crates. Panting and gasping for air, he shot up, letting out his own roar of challenge, not noticing that where he had been punched, the armor was warped and smoking, as if he had been hit by a warp blast.

Naruto just growled in response, charging again, this time aiming for Kroth's head. Kroth ducked, but the punch clipped his hump scoring deeply into the arm and spinning him from the force of the blow. Naruto whirled, kneeing Kroth in the face, sending him staggering back, before leaping and front flipping, delivering a devastating double hammer blow to Kroth's head, smashing the krogan into the deck. Naruto gave him a devastating kick to the side, sending Kroth flying as he returned the favor for the kicks the krogan gave him during their fight.

The pirates could only stare in horror now, as their leader was being tossed around by this…this monster. Krogan battle masters were among some of the deadliest and most dangerous combatants out there. They not only had centuries of combat experience, but also had powerful biotics, in addition to their overwhelming strength and physical endurance. And yet now, they could see Kroth bleeding, apparently wounded bad enough to break his thick hide, and damage his internal organs.

Kroth grunted, slowly getting up, and throwing his own warp blast at Naruto. The vulzan simply batted it away, growling as he suddenly shot out his other arm, the energy around it firing his own crimson projectile. It hit Kroth, the pull yanking him towards Naruto, who grabbed Kroth and slammed him hard into the deck, creating a crater. Not done yet though, Naruto grabbed Kroth, lifting him and roaring as he threw the krogan against a bulkhead, creating a large dent there was as well, as Kroth was buried in the wall.

The krogan slumped to the deck, feeling pain throughout his body like he had never felt before. He groaned, slowly trying to push himself up, only to stop as Naruto slammed a foot onto his arm that still managed to weakly grasp his war hammer. Naruto reached down, grabbing said arm, and then with a roar and a yank, he managed to rip the limb free, blood spurting from both the limb and Kroth's shoulder. The krogan screamed in pain, feeling his limb torn from his body, as Naruto held it and the war hammer in one hand.

Naruto slowly looked at the war hammer, before pulling it free from the krogan's severed arm, and holding it with both hands. Kroth looked up at him, a look of resignation and actual admiration on his face. "Heh…you've earned it…finish it, Maelstrom," Kroth said in a pained whisper, closing his eyes, accepting his fate.

Naruto let out a roar as he swung the hammer up, and then brought it down, smashing Kroth's head and reducing it to a bloody pulp of bone, skin, and brain matter. Yanking the hammer back, Naruto stood there over his defeated enemy, gripping the bloody war hammer.

The pirates trembled in fear, as a few of the smarter or more cowardly ones turned to run back to the ship. That movement drew Naruto's attention as he turned, seeing them. He growled softly, taking a step forward, as in his mind, only one thought was dominant: destroy his enemies. He dashed forward, smashing into them, swinging the hammer and smashing it into the body of a batarian, the alien pirate screaming briefly in pain as his ribcage was destroyed before the air was driven from his body and he fell to the deck, dead. Naruto spun, smashing the hammer into a second pirate, a human, whose head was simply vaporized by the sheer force of the hammer smashing into it. As the pirates retreated, Naruto spun, sweeping the legs out from under a turian before smashing the hammer into his midsection, finishing him.

The pirates bottlenecked briefly at the entranceway they created, those in back yelling and crying out in panic, urging others to move faster or trying to push past them. Naruto turned, growling, and starting to head towards them, only to stop as he heard a voice behind him. He turned, seeing a man standing there, his hands out. But to Naruto, in his bloodlust, his battle frenzy, all he saw was another target. Snarling, he took a step forward.

Robert stopped as he heard that snarl, saw the movement that Naruto made. He stopped moving, watching Naruto warily. He, like the others, had been horrified at the sight of Naruto being beaten, and even more so when Sarah had tried to save him, only to be brutally killed. But this…this animalistic Naruto…it was far worse. Now, Robert began to wonder if Naruto was even control at the moment, as he spoke again. "Naruto, you need to stop. Please," he said quietly.

Naruto just took another step forward, gripping the hammer, the weapon now soaked in blood and gore. Robert took a step back, hands out still in a sign of peace, even as the others readied their weapons. "Naruto, calm down. The fighting is done. You can stop now. Please," Robert said.

Naruto took another step forward, only for his foot to hit something. Looking down, he found himself staring at the corpse of a woman. His enraged mind was barely able to register that it recognized her: Sarah. The woman who he had talked to in the galley. Who had tried to save him.

This pause caused Naruto's senses to return to him. The battle rage subsided, as he began to comprehend what he was seeing, what was going around him. The shroud slowly began to dissipate, as he looked up at Robert, his eyes first becoming amethyst, and then blue again, as he registered who was in front of him. Who he had been stalking towards, who he had been preparing to kill.

As the last of the battle frenzy left him, Naruto felt horror wash over him. He had been preparing to attack Robert. He had been preparing to attack his own allies, his fellow shipmates. That wave of horror, combined with pain from his injuries, and exhaustion from the adrenaline and all the biotics he had used, caused his eyes to slowly roll back up into his head as he collapsed to the deck, unconscious.

SSV Moscow, Theseus System

Alicia currently stood on the bridge of the SSV Moscow, one of the Alliance warships gathering for the planned invasion of Torfan. Through the viewports she could see dozens of ships silently floating by, with dozens more around the ship, as they waited for the last of the warships, supplies, and marines that would be part of the invasion plan.

Alicia knew that the battle ahead was likely to be a tough one. She had studied the defenses of the planet, and knew clearing the pirates out would be an incredibly difficult proposition. The marines going in would have the worst of it, as they would have to fight the pirates and slavers who called Torfan home for every inch of their underground facilities.

Alicia felt a sense of guilt that the marines would be on the ground fighting and dying, while she would be safe onboard this cruiser. Well, at least safe once they had cleared the ships, orbital defenses, and the anti-orbital ground defenses. Still, there was a chance she'd end up in combat, as the various ship captains had been ordered to keep their own contingents of shipboard soldiers ready to land to reinforce the marine divisions heading into the underground facilities.

She frowned as she heard a couple of the officers talking about a transport ship that apparently was late, and should have arrived hours ago. Wondering what was going on, her attention was drawn away as a crewman approached. The man stopped and saluted her. "Lieutenant Shepard?" He asked.

"Yes, what is it?" She asked, returning the salute.

"Communication Specialist Edwards ma'am. You have a message addressed to you from a Commander Shepard. It's marked urgent," he said, as Alicia blinked in surprise.

"I understand. Please route it to my cabin, I'll see to it immediately," she said, saluting and dismissing him.

As he left, she quickly moved to the officer of the watch, informing him about the message, and receiving permission to leave her post. Heading quickly to her cabin, she wondered why her mother was contacting her. There would be no reason to do so unless something bad had happened, or she simply wished to wish Alicia good luck. Frowning, she soon reached the cabin she shared with another officer, and headed to her terminal. Activating it, she entered the proper codes to have the message routed to her.

Soon enough, the image of her mother appeared on the screen. And in an instant, Alicia felt her heart plummet, as she saw the look on her mother's face. "Mom…what's going on?" She asked, her voice hitching slightly.

Hannah let out a shuddering breath. "Alicia…your…the ship your brother was on…the transport…it was attacked by pirates. He was badly injured, and is in a coma," she finally got out, after a few moments.

Alicia's eyes went wide, before she quietly dropped into the seat in front of the terminal. "…tell me everything," she said quietly.

Unknown Place and Time

Naruto blinked, feeling sunlight on his face. Frowning, he slowly sat up, looking around, finding himself in the middle of a grassy plain, near the edge of a forest. Nearby, a river quietly gurgled along.

As Naruto stood, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, a sense like he had finally come home. Which seemed strange to him since he knew he had never been here before. Slowly looking around, searching for any sign of life, he stopped as he saw movement within the forest. Movement that soon was revealed to be a large fox, with a brilliant white fur coat, and silvery eyes.

The fox approached him, but as it drew nearer, its form began to morph, slowly turning into a bipedal form, before becoming a white, ethereal humanoid. Naruto slowly took in the entities features, and realized with a start that the entity had some of the same basic features he had. The same ear shape, the same pupils, and fangs. He blinked, looking the figure over, before finally speaking. "Who…are you?"

The figure's mouth didn't open, but he still heard a voice, that seemed to echo through the whole area. "I am your heritage, Naruto. I am that which makes you vulzan."

Naruto blinked at that. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

The figure seemed to smile, as the voice spoke again. "I am…a representation, if you will, of your genetic memory. We are currently deep inside your memory, your soul, a place that very few vulzan ever intentionally entered. It takes many years of meditation and soul searching to be able to come here willingly. Most are like you, only able to come here through unconsciousness. In this case, I drew your mind here, to help you finally understand, and embrace your heritage."

"My heritage?" Naruto asked, his eyes growing steely for a second. "You mean a heritage that involves being blood lusting monsters, who would attack their own allies and slaughter them?!"

The figure let out a sad sigh at that. "That is a part of your heritage, yes. But do not judge your race for one single incident. The battle shroud you utilized is a powerful technique, one that gives any vulzan incredible power and speed, through the manipulations of this 'mass effect'. Even the shroud itself is a weapon, creating a destabilizing effect on all that it touches. But it comes at a price. It is a very draining ability, but even that pales compared to the battle frenzy you felt. Yes, all vulzan feel the battle frenzy, the blood lust you felt. But most vulzan can control it. You could not."

Naruto looked down slightly, only for the entity to wave a hand. "I do not say that to chastise you. Under your conditions, it was remarkable you were able to stop yourself from attacking your allies. You simply need to understand the truth about what it is you are capable of doing. Please, let us sit and be comfortable."

As the entity sat down, Naruto slowly did the same, watching the entity as it spoke again. "You must understand Naruto, that the vulzan are a race driven by instincts. The rukkco jxhei is a technique that brings the instincts most associated with combat and survival to the surface. Those who have no experience in feeling the overwhelming strength of one's desire to fight, to survive, to destroy threats to your life, your family, your territory, they will not be able to control it for very long, if at all. With practice and time, the jxhei can be controlled, and it will be your tool, rather than you being its tool."

"I don't know if I want to use it again," Naruto said softly. "I…I can remember the feelings I had while using it. At first, I just felt powerful, strong enough to fight that krogan. But then…the more I hurt him…the more I felt…like I had to hurt him. I had to kill him. It wasn't just about stopping him, or protecting the ship. It was…it was about causing as much pain and injury to him as possible. And then those pirates…they weren't fighting me…they were fleeing…but I killed them…I killed them because I wanted to…"

The entity placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "As I said, when the instincts take over, they can be incredibly powerful, and perhaps too much for most to handle. Do not be discouraged, but take what happened here to heart, and learn from it."

Naruto nodded, before slowly looking around. "So…this place…is it from…my people's memories?"

"It is from the memories of your family and ancestors who lived on the world the Fhekxoudj brought them to. A verdant world, which the vulzan race flourished on, growing in numbers and strength, and serving them as proud warriors. It is however not the planet our people come from. This…is that planet," the entity said, waving his hand, as the scenery changed. Now instead, they found themselves on a somewhat more arid world, with windswept plains, stunted trees, and mountains off in the distance.

"This was the world of your earliest ancestors. A world that was slowly dying, unable to support life for much longer, as the vulzan clans grew into sentience. It is here that we grew from mindless beasts, into the clans that fought each other, but also fought alongside each other when our people's survival was at stake," he said, before the scenery returned to the previous grassy plain.

Naruto looked around again, before looking at the entity. "So…how does this work then? I've felt these small nudges, almost like a little voice in my mind whispering to me. But I've never…well I've never really been experiencing anything like what I thought the genetic memory thing was supposed to be."

The entity nodded quietly. "That is understandable. For most vulzan, it develops during their adolescent years, when they start to venture out on their own, to establish their independence from their parents. Your development, however, was stunted by the Fhekxoudj, when they took you for study. Your development was delayed by several years, and it has taken time for you to overcome the trauma that you suffered because of it. But now, you are ready. But as to how it works, you do not truly 'view' the memories given to you by your parents, grandparents, and ancestors, at least not while you're conscious. The memories are simply within you, unconsciously guiding and directing you. You will continue to note the subconscious nudges and urges, but they will be more potent, more understandable. They will not control you, however, unless you allow them to. However…when you sleep, or meditate, with time and practice, you'll be able to view memories stored in your DNA. The memories belonging to your family will be the strongest, and the farther back you go, the weaker and harder to see they'll become."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, before finally asking. "Can…you show me my family? My biological one?" He asked.

"…I can show you some of their memories, yes. If that is your wish." The entity said, slowly standing, and offering a hand to Naruto. "But there is much to discuss, to help you fully understand your people's heritage and history. To help you understand what it means to be vulzan."

"I understand," Naruto said, taking the entity's hand, and standing up. The entity turned, and led him towards the forest, with Naruto following, and the pair disappearing within.

Arcturus Station Medical Wing

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he slowly took in the ceiling above, the lights being bright enough to illuminate the room, but not enough to blind anyone looking up at them. He tried turning his head, to take in his surroundings, and find out where he was. Noticing several other beds, as well as medical equipment, he finally came to the conclusion he was in a hospital or infirmary.

Looking further down his bed, he blinked as he saw his mother and sister, both of them asleep in chairs near his bed. He felt a weak smile twitch on his lips, as he gently reached out, touching his mom's shoulder.

That simply touch seemed to rouse her, as Hannah Sheppard sleepily blinked her eyes, sitting up. She glanced at Naruto, before yawning and stretching, only to stop as she realized what she had seen, and her eyes shot back to Naruto. "Naruto? You're awake!" she cried, reaching out and grabbing him, hugging him.

Naruto let out a soft groan, his body feeling stiff and slightly sore, but all the same he accepted her hug. All of this of course caused Alicia to wake up, making her gasp. As soon as Hannah let him go, Alicia was hugging him, making him groan again. "Whoa, easy please. Little sore here," Naruto said.

"Shut up moron. If you weren't injured I'd be bopping you on the head for fighting a krogan battle master by yourself," Alicia said, trying to sound like she was angry even as relief swept through her at the sight of her little brother being awake.

Naruto just sighed at that, as Alicia finally let him go. Naruto tried to sit up, but found that doing so was too much, so he settled for laying back and shifting a bit. "How long have I been out?"

"Two months," Alicia said. "You were in a coma this entire time. Your body was already healing up the wounds you suffered from your fight, but the doctors still had to operate to ensure everything healed up properly. Must have been one hell of a fight," she said, as Hannah sniffled, remembering how hard it had been seeing Naruto unconscious and bandaged up.

Naruto just nodded numbly, as he remembered what happened during the fight. "Yeah…it was…w-what happened, after I fell unconscious?" He asked quietly.

"Well, the transport ship was able to send out a distress call, and help quickly arrived after that. They got repair crews onboard and the Randolph was able to get to a port, to finish up repairs. They had you transferred to the colony's hospital, and then you were brought back here to Arcturus Station," Hannah said. "The pirates however got away."

"Not for long they didn't," Alicia said a bit darkly. "The assholes ran back to Torfan, only to be caught on the ground when the Alliance invasion hit. We lost a lot of good men, but we wiped the pirates out. They won't ever be using that planet again."

At her mentioning the loss of Alliance marines, Naruto was reminded of the lifeless gaze of Sarah's corpse, and looked away for a moment. "I see," he whispered.

"You okay?" Alicia asked, seeing that. Naruto just numbly nodded, but Hannah, remembering what they had been told about the fight on the ship, understood.

"It's about what happened during the fight, isn't it? When you lost control," she said quietly. Alicia's eyes widened, while Naruto let out a resigned sigh.

"Should have known they would have told you guys about that," he said quietly. "It's not just the fight…I…I feel horrible about losing control like I did, but…well let's just say I have a better understanding of what that was, and what happened. I'm definitely not going to be using that ability for a long, very long time," he added "but I do understand it now. I…I'm more bothered by…I'm bothered by the death of one of the crew members. A Sarah Mitchells," he said. "I…I feel responsible for her death…we had been talking in the galley earlier and…she was asking me about Elysium. Asking how Alicia and I could charge off and fight off all those pirates and slavers by ourselves. And I told her that it was simply because we knew it had to be done. Even if it meant we would die, we still did it because it was the right thing to do. And then there, when that krogan was tossing me around, and about to kill me…she steps in and saves me…and he killed her…he just grabbed her and snapped her neck…and I…I just…," he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

Hannah slowly reached out and hugged him close, as he quietly cried. "She's dead because of me…because I filled her head with nonsense and wasn't strong enough to fight my own battle…we were talking in the galley, and she was nice, and happy, and so full of life…and then he killed her…"

Hannah just held onto him, as he quietly cried, letting out his emotions, while Alicia bit her lip, wishing she could also comfort her brother. After a few moments, she finally spoke up, shaking his knee to grab his attention. "Hey…you can't blame yourself Naruto. She did what she thought was right. Maybe she got the idea from you, but it was still her choice. You can't blame yourself for that. And instead of sitting here, crying about it…you should honor her."

Naruto looked up at her slowly, the unasked question in his eyes, so she elaborated. "She died saving you Naruto. So you need to honor that sacrifice, by growing strong, and proving her sacrifice was worth it."

Naruto just sniffled, looking down. "I…I guess you're right," he said, though his voice still sounded low and somewhat broken.

Hannah gently stroked his head, running her hands through his thick hair, much like she did when he was younger. He leaned slightly towards her at that, as Hannah smiled. "Give it time Naruto. That girl's sacrifice is sad, but she did it because you inspired her. Don't think of just her death, but what she was willing to do for you. And fight, just as she did," she said.

Naruto nodded quietly, as Hannah sighed, gently petting his head still. "Don't worry son. We'll get through this."

"Yeah. Because we're a family. And family sticks together," Alicia said softly.

Naruto looked up at Hannah, then at Alicia, before looking at his own hands, thinking about what he had seen while unconscious. He had seen his biological family. His mother Kushina, or Bijxadu in their native tongue, and his father Minato, or Maduke. He had learned the history of his people, of the clans of vulzan who had warred on each other, but had united together to fight against the Protheans, and then the Protheans enemies.

But despite all that…he knew that these two women, despite being from a different race, were just as much his family. He slowly reached out, gripping both their hands, and smiling slightly. They'd get through this, because they were family.

---

Whew, finally done. I tell you, I did not expect this chapter to be this long.

So yeah, quite a long chapter here, but considering I'm ending the 'origin arc' if you will, I think it deserves it. Maybe. Guess we'll see what you all think.

Regarding the fight Naruto had with Kroth, I wanted to use this to help establish Naruto's limitations. Naruto is faster and stronger than any human, and probably either faster, stronger, or both when compared to most other species as well. But krogan…there is very little that is stronger or harder to kill then a krogan. Naruto is strong, fast, but even he has limitations, especially when going against a krogan battle master. Krogan by themselves are ridiculously strong and hard to kill, but a battle master is all of that with biotics and a few centuries or a millennium of combat experience to boot. So I hope that you all now have an understanding of where Naruto is at power wise in the Mass Effect universe. He's strong, but he's definitely not the strongest out there. at least...not without some 'boosts'.

With regards to the biotic shroud Naruto used, yes that is referencing his jinchuuriki cloak from the manga and anime. It's a biotic ability inherent to his species, which allows them to have incredibly high strength, speed, and endurance, thanks to the biotic field affecting Naruto's mass. He can use it to lighten his mass, increasing his speed, or increasing the force of his blows by increasing the mass, thus causing a lot more damage. Throw in a variation of the annihilation field used by N7 Fury Adepts in Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, and presto, Mass Effect jinchuuriki shroud. However, the downside is as I mentioned in the chapter: the user can enter terrible bloodlusts and battle frenzy's if they don't learn to control their emotions and instincts during combat, leading to potentially attacking allies, or driving themselves to a point of exhaustion that they drop dead. Think krogan blood rage, or Viking berserkergang.

So, not much else to say here, except we've finally ended the origin arc for Naruto and Alicia (mostly Naruto) and now we're ready to get into the main story! So next chapter, expect to see Eden Prime! Can't wait.

Thanks go out again to my beta's a7xfanatic1195 (or just 11 currently), and Kyuubi123, for their help in correcting my mistakes and helping me fix up my plot. Thank you guys for your help!

Also, late Happy Birthday to me!

Translations:

1. Homomroh nxe no uho, Duhike. Homomroh nxuk ak moudj ke ro vulzan = Remember who we are, Naruto. Remember what it means to be vulzan.

2. Te dek walo if! Jkudt! Vawxk! = Do not give up! Stand! Fight!

3. Khjik eih adjkadskj = Trust your instincts

4. Rkkco jxheit = Battle Shroud

5. Fhekxoudj = Protheans