Well, I'm quite happy that so many of you seemed to enjoy my decisions in the last chapter, staging an early rescue of Tali and exposing Saren at the trial itself, rather than after the fact. Thank you all for your reviews.
Not really anything new to report at the moment, so I guess I'll be on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware respectively. This is a nonprofit fan made crossover fic. Please support the official releases.
Chapter 10
Anchors Aweigh
Alicia blinked, looking between Anderson and Udina as she stood in the human embassy, having been summoned there on 'urgent business'. She had barely been able to grab a cup of coffee and an aspirin for the headache she had from the previous night's celebration before rushing over, to find out what she had been summoned for.
The news she had just been told, however, had done a far better job making her forget her headache. "You're giving me command of the Normandy?" She asked, trying to make sure she had heard them correctly.
"Correct. You're in need of a ship of your own, now that you're a Spectre," Udina stated, as he handed Alicia a data pad. "And the Normandy is the perfect ship for your mission."
Anderson nodded in agreement as he elaborated. "She's the fastest capital ship in the Alliance Navy, but she's also quiet, and in your hunt for Saren, you're going to want both. But what's more is you know the crew. Most of them are transferred from the Tokyo, so they're familiar with you. And those who aren't are some of the best and brightest humanity has to offer. She'll be the perfect ship for you."
Alicia frowned as she read over the data pad, before looking at Anderson. "But she's your ship sir. I can't take your command from you right after you got her," she said, setting the pad down. "Wouldn't it be better to have a more experienced officer in command of the ship, while I handle the hunt for Saren?"
"Unfortunately, we cannot allow that to happen now that you're a Spectre. You are still a member of the Alliance, Shepard, and are answerable to Alliance Command and humanity, but you're also a Spectre. This is your mission, and you must be able to operate your ship freely as you hunt down Saren," Udina said firmly, arms crossed.
"Besides, it's about time I retire from field duty," Anderson said, though the very slight hitch in his voice indicated he didn't entirely agree with that assessment. "I'm getting a bit too long in the tooth to be gallivanting about the galaxy. Anyways, I'll still be able to offer aid, as I've been offered the position of military attaché to the human embassy here on the Citadel. I can offer you advice and information. Especially regarding Saren."
Alicia frowned as she heard that, crossing her arms as she leaned back on one leg. "That's something I've been meaning to ask sir. You seem to have a fair amount of knowledge on Saren. Can I ask how you know him?"
Anderson glanced down slightly, before looking up at her. He was about to speak when Udina interrupted him. "That is not important right now. What is important is making sure you're prepared for your mission. Your ship is undergoing final preparations, as the last of the systems are checked and the supplies are being loaded onboard. I suggest you make sure everything is in order, since you're the new ship captain," he said, before pulling out another data pad. "We also have a list of Alliance Marine and Navy combat specialists who I'm sure will make an excellent ground team for your mission. If you'd like to peruse through them and-."
"No thanks. I've got a ground team already," Alicia interrupted, smirking at the surprise look on Udina's face as she called up the dossiers of her ground crew on her omni-tool and forwarded them to him. Her smirk remained in place as she saw him calmly looking over the first three, only for his eyes to shoot open at the last three on her list.
"You cannot be serious Shepard?! You cannot take alien nationals onto the Alliance's most advanced warship!" Udina snapped, glaring at her as she shrugged.
"I need a team that I can rely on, but who are also unorthodox. This is not going to be a straightforward operation, ambassador. You might have found the best Alliance operatives to make up my ground team, but how many of them have experience in the Traverse? How many of them have experience handling geth?" Alicia asked, indicating her choices. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is not only an experienced engineer, but also has more knowledge about the geth then we do. Urdnot Wrex not only brings a lot of power and strength to the squad, but more years of experience then the rest of the team put together. Garrus Vakarian had relatively high scores during his training in combat tech programs and marksmanship skills, both of which I think are of value against the geth. They all bring something of value to the table. What's more, I've fought with Garrus and Wrex already, as have Captain Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko, and Sergeant Williams. It might have been for one battle, but we were able to work together fairly well. And ultimately, this isn't your decision, ambassador. This is my mission, as the Spectre of the Council, but also the commander of the Normandy," she finished.
Udina just gaped at her, before growling and tossing the data pad aside. "Fine. But if this falls apart, it is on your head," he snapped, turning away and storming off.
Anderson watched him go, before turning to Alicia. "You really seem to enjoy antagonizing him," he said with a chuckle. "Not that I don't mind."
"He makes it far too easy," Alicia said with a grin, before growing serious. "So, do you want to tell me now how you know Saren?"
Anderson let out a sigh, sitting down in a chair. "It was close to twenty years ago. Not that long after that whole business with your brother," he said. "I…was nominated as a candidate for the first human Spectre."
Alicia blinked in surprise at that. "You were? How come I never heard about this?"
"It was kept secret from the public. Only the Council and high-level Alliance officials knew about it. They didn't want to cause a scandal about humanity being favored over anyone else, what with everything that was going on regarding Therum and your brother. It would only be when I was made a Spectre that the news would be released. Unfortunately, the Spectre observing me was Saren Arterius. We were sent on a mission to take down a rogue batarian scientist. He was hiding in a refinery, with perhaps two dozen guards. The two of us split up, to maximize our ability to infiltrate the facility. The next thing I knew, explosions rang out throughout the facility. The scientist and his guards were killed, but the smoke from the refinery going up drifted to a nearby worker camp. There were hundreds there who died from the smoke, and more who were seriously crippled from pollutants and toxins they inhaled. It was an utter disaster," the aged captain said, rubbing his forehead.
Alicia could only stare at him in horror. "Saren blew the facility?! Why?"
"He stated in his report that I blew our cover, and he was forced to destroy the refinery to complete the mission. My own report stated that no alarm had been raised, and there was no sign that our presence had even been detected yet. It was my word against his, which would already have been bad enough for me, since he was the star Spectre of the Council. But after the incident with the reparation demands for Shanxi, the Council had no desire to create another scandal. The entire incident was labeled an 'industrial accident', and my chances at entering the Spectres were ended. That is how I know Saren. He's a twisted murderer with a hatred for humanity. You've already seen the lengths he'll go to in order to discredit or hurt us," Anderson said.
"Yeah, I have. First hand," Alicia said, eyes closed as memories of Eden Prime surfaced. She quickly opened her eyes, determination in those blue orbs. "All the more reason to take the son of a bitch down then."
"Be careful Alicia," Anderson said, dropping formalities as he leaned forward. "Saren is very dangerous. Not just because of who he's allied with, but the man himself. He's a highly skilled combatant, but also a biotic. Turian biotics are somewhat rare, and they're usually very well trained. He'll be a dangerous foe to fight in person."
Alicia grinned cockily at him. "That's what I've got my team for," she said, before nodding quietly. "I won't underestimate him."
"Good," Anderson said, standing up. "You should go finish preparations. We'll likely have our first lead for you to follow soon, so you'll want to make sure everyone is ready."
"Yes sir," Alicia said, saluting him. He returned the salute with a smile.
"Good luck Shepard," he said, as she nodded, turning and leaving out the door.
Outside the human embassy, Alicia brought up her omni-tool, setting it to transmit to her squad. "Listen up everyone. The Normandy is undergoing final system checks right now. I want the squad to meet up near the Wards access. Tali, Garrus, you two are in need of some weapons and armor, so we're going on a little shopping trip for you two, before we starting getting squared away onboard the ship. I'm setting the meeting point to you all, so be there in the next twenty minutes. Alicia out."
Ending her comm message, she hummed to herself as she made her way to the nearest skycab, unaware of the eyes that were watching and following her as she accessed the holographic control to summon one. The figure quietly followed, their eyes locking onto the command console and glowing red, before their vision zoomed in, seeing the destination she was punching in. Quickly the figure took off, eyes returning to normal, as Alicia waited for a skycab to arrive.
Elsewhere, Tali blinked as she heard the message transmitted to her, as well as Naruto. "What is she talking about?" She asked him, indicating her shotgun, which had finally been given to her from Customs.
Naruto looked at it, and blinked as he glanced over it. "Tali…that thing is ancient. And it looks like one good blow would break it in half," he said, nodding to the weapon. It was an old turian shotgun, out of service for close to twenty years. The frame of the weapon had been patched, soldered, and oiled many times, and dented in several places. The barrel showed signs of having been caved in slightly on one side, and then the caved in part pushed back into position slightly roughly.
Tali shifted a bit in the chair she was sitting. "Well…yes, but I assure you, it is quite reliable. I'd bet my life on it," she said.
Naruto looked at the shotgun again, before shaking his head. "Tali, we're going to take that shotgun to Williams. She specializes in weapons maintenance. If she gives it a bill of service, fine. If not, you're getting a new shotgun."
Tali just sighed, her silvery eyes rolling behind her mask. "Fine, fine," she said. "But I don't see the point. It's a perfectly good shotgun," she said, patting the shotgun. Which caused part of the stock to fall off, making both Naruto and Tali stare at it. "Maybe…she could at least fix it up?" Tali asked in embarrassment.
Naruto just chuckled as he gently picked up the piece. "I'm sure she could…and you can keep it as a memento, while using your new shiny shotgun," he said.
Tali just sighed, head hanging down, as she muttered. "Fine," she said in annoyance. "Let's get going."
Naruto chuckled as the two of them headed out, to go join Alicia in the Wards.
Alicia, having already set out, was the first to reach the point she had indicated, and was currently waiting there, dressed in her fatigues. She had barely settled against the wall when a blonde man with a moustache and chin beard approached her excitedly.
"You're…you're her! You're Alicia Shepard, the first human Spectre!" He said excitedly. "My name is Conrad Verner, and I'm a huge fan! Can I have your autograph?" He asked excitedly.
Alicia blinked, but smiled. "Sure, no harm in that," she said, as she took the notebook he held out to her, writing her name in it.
"Oh wow, this is so incredible! Thank you so much! I can't wait to show my wife this!" He said, rushing off excitedly.
Alicia just sighed as she glanced around quietly, trying to see any of her comrades and hoping they hadn't seen that, only for her to mentally stiffen at the sight of an armed asari about thirty feet away, glancing in her direction. She didn't give any indication she saw, as she continued to casually glance around. Soon enough, she picked out another asari, a turian, a salarian, and a human. All of them were either armed, or trying to conceal their weapons. She was thankful there wasn't a krogan in the group.
She continued to glance around every so often, looking for cover. She wasn't armed, not expecting the need for it, but it seemed someone, probably Saren, was making it necessary. Seeing an empty shop not that far off, she slowly pushed off of the wall she had been leaning against, and began casually strolling in that direction. The armed people she had picked out all began to move as well, slowly converging towards her.
Alicia did her best to remain calm and not speed up, before suddenly turning and throwing a biotic throw towards the asari ahead of her. She instantly threw herself into the shop, smashing through the front window.
The asari, caught unaware, was blasted back into another stall, causing people to yell and scream in surprise , some moving to help the asari, others running away.
The other mercs all cursed, weapons coming up and starting to fire on the storefront, as Alicia crouched inside, panting softly as she activated her comm. And connecting to C-Sec. "This is Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard of the Alliance! I am under fire from unknown armed assailants, and currently am unarmed! Sending coordinates now!"
Switching to her 'squad' she winced as a round ripped through the wall near her head. "Guys, this is Alicia! I'm under fire here from unknown enemy assailants! Approach the rendezvous point with caution!" She shouted, before rising up long enough to throw a shockwave towards the mercenaries, who quickly dodged out of the way.
Her comm crackled, and she soon heard Naruto's voice. "We're coming in Alicia! Two minutes at most!"
"We'll be about a minute or two after that Shepard!" Kaidan's voice was heard after that.
Alicia just shook her head. "Let's hope I last that long," she said.
The asari who had been thrown into the stall was slowly pulling herself out when a shadow moved over her. She looked up, her eyes widening and her mouth opening to scream, only for a flash of light to appear and she was left gurgling, purple blood spurting from her throat.
Alicia was forced to dodge to the side, as a shotgun blast ripped through the wall she had been crouching behind. She rose up, throwing out another throw at the mercenaries, watching it slam into the turian, who rolled on the ground, but started to get back up after a few moments. She cursed, dropping back down as more weapons ripped through the wall and the air where she had been standing. She crouched down, panting as she felt some of the drain of her biotic use. She was about to stand up and launch another attack, when she heard yells, and the gunfire now aimed elsewhere. She slowly leaned up enough to look over the wall, before her eyes widened.
A cloaked figure was spinning around the turian, a sword stabbing through the alien's chest and quickly being removed as they threw up an arm covered in armor, a biotic barrier appearing between them and incoming fire. The barrier shield was then launched towards the salarian, who was staggered, only for the figure to appear under him, stabbing up through the salarian's throat and head, yanking the sword out and spraying orange blood all over the floor. The figure leaped, spinning in the air, an armored foot slamming down on the human before the sword stabbed through his back. Pulling it out, they turned to the last asari, who was trembling as she backed away in fear. The figure swung their sword, flicking the blood from it, before suddenly dashing forward. The asari screamed, throwing her weapon away, as the sword swung down at her, only for it to stop mere centimeters from her throat.
The figure stood there, staring at her, before the hood they were using to cover their head turned towards where Alicia was moving out of the shop. They turned back to the asari, before speaking in an artificially distorted voice. "You will stay here, and confess to everything you did and were planning to do. If you don't…I'll finish what I started here," they said, before the blade flashed, and the asari shrieked, hand shooting up to her neck where a tiny cut had appeared. The figure swung their sword around, sheathing it, before they turned towards Alicia.
The human Spectre blinked, as she took them in. They were clearly either a human or batarian, as their body structure matched that, but they were clearly a male, ruling out asari as well. The person's face was shrouded by the cloak they wore and a metallic breather mask over their lower face. The only thing she could make out was two eyes, glowing red with three black markings. "Who are you?" She demanded, tense and ready to fire off biotics if she needed to.
The figure looked at her, before speaking. "You will know who I am when you need to. All you need to know is today, I saved you. That is all," they said. He suddenly turned away, dashing off into the crowd before Alicia could even move.
Alicia frowned as she stepped forward, trying to find the cloaked figure, but they were already gone. Shaking her head, she turned back to the asari, who was trembling as she sat on the ground, in shock from almost dying. In the distance, she could hear the shouts of C-Sec officers, and see her brother rushing towards her. Letting out a sigh, she waited for them to arrive.
Naruto immediately moved to her, glancing around at the corpses and the frightened asari at Alicia's feet. "What the hell happened here?" He asked, eyes scanning the corpses and blood splatter. "This isn't your handiwork."
Alicia didn't respond, waiting for the C-Sec officers to arrive. When one of them, a salarian, moved to her, she called up her holo ID on her omni-tool. "Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard, Alliance Navy and Council Spectre," she said. "This is my brother, Captain Naruto Shepard of the Alliance Marine Corps. The asari is one of the people who attacked me…as are all the corpses," she stated.
The salarian looked over her ID, and nodded as he took in her statement. "What happened here commander?" He asked, as the other officers secured the area, being sure not to disturb the corpses and scene.
Naruto stood by Alicia, as she began to speak. "I was waiting here for some of my colleagues when I noticed several suspicious persons around me. They were either visibly armed, or attempting to conceal their firearms. I moved over to that store in a casual manner as they moved in on me, before ducking into it for cover, using my biotics to send that assailant there into that stall," she said, pointing to where the other asari lay dead. "Afterwards I was attempting to fight off the assailants with only my biotics after calling in the attack to C-Sec as well as my squad members, when I heard yelling, and the enemy fire switch from me to some new target. When I peered over the wall, some armored figure wearing a cloak and hood was engaging the assailants with a sword and biotics. I can tell you that it was most likely a human male, due to his body structure, though there is a possibility it was a batarian male. He slew all the assailants except that asari, who he left alive for you to interrogate, I'm guessing. Then he disappeared off into the crowds," she finished, pointing to the now handcuffed asari before pointing to the direction the cloaked figure had fled.
The salarian nodded as he wrote down the details. "Was there anything distinguishable or unique about this individual? Besides their choice of weapon, apparel, and that they are a biotic user?" He asked her.
"Yeah…the strangest thing…when he looked at me… I swear his eyes were glowing red. Like almost a blood red, with three black marks in each eyes," she told him.
That made Naruto start, as he quickly moved in front of Alicia. "Are you certain that is what his eyes looked like? You're absolutely sure?" He asked her, making her blink at her brother in surprise.
"Yeah, that's what they looked like. Why?" She asked him, confused.
Naruto let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Because I know of someone who had those exact same eyes. Sasuke Uchiha, a Cerberus operative who posed as a soldier under my command when I was stationed at Watson. He claimed they were a cybernetic enhancement."
Alicia frowned as she heard that, crossing her arms. "A Cerberus operative saved me?" She asked in confusion. "Why?"
"A Cerberus Operative? You're certain?" The salarian asked. When Naruto nodded, he quickly turned as he contacted C-Sec headquarters, as Naruto turned to his sister.
"Well…in a twisted way, it makes sense," Naruto told her. "Cerberus has always claimed they are interested in the advancement and protection of humanity, despite their extreme methods and terrorist actions. So what would be more important than protecting the first human Spectre? Most likely they had someone watching you the instant it was announced."
"Well, that makes me feel all warm and safe. Nothing like having terrorists watching your back," Alicia said sarcastically, before placing a hand on her chin. "Uchiha…that was the guy who tried to steal the Javelin missiles, right? When Williams was injured and you were working with that Spectre?"
Naruto just let out a sigh and nodded, turning his head as he heard some arguing nearby. A couple of the C-Sec officers seemed to be dealing with a somewhat irate looking Ashley as Kaidan was trying to pull her back, while Wrex, Tali, and Garrus stood a bit off, watching the interaction. "I think we should go save our Gunnery Sergeant from ending up ina C-Sec cell," he said, as Alicia chuckled.
"Yeah, that wouldn't look too good, would it?" She asked, as the two moved to handle the situation, unaware of the cloaked figure watching them from the top of a nearby store.
"You owe me now, vulzan," Sasuke said with a smirk behind his face mask, before tapping a few keys and disappearing under a tactical cloak.
Sovereign
Saren frowned as he held his head, struggling to make sense of the images inside his mind. The beacon on Eden Prime had granted him what he wanted, visions from the Protheans he was sure would lead him to the Conduit. But the problem was the visions were a jumbled mess that he could not make heads or tails of. He had thought with time perhaps he would be able to better understand the images, and that they would begin to sort themselves out. But even now, the images remained the same amalgamation of nonsense that they had been before.
Even an attempt by one of Benezia's followers to meld and sort the images had failed, as they too had been unable to sort the images out or comprehend them. Leading Saren to his predicament. He snarled angrily, looking up as Benezia approached him. "What is it?" He snapped angrily.
"I have news, my lord. Both bad and good," she said. "The bad news is that the team sent to eliminate the human Spectre was thwarted. All but one of them was killed, and the remaining one was taken into custody by C-Sec. Alicia Shepard lives," she said.
Saren snarled angrily, standing to his feet, and approaching her. "And what is the good news?" He asked in a dangerously low tone.
Benezia remained passive, before speaking. "My daughter has studied Protheans for many years. Even now, she is part of an archeological dig on the planet Therum. I believe that her knowledge would be most beneficial to your cause. Especially if she was brought to see the light of your wisdom," she said. "I can go and retrieve her discreetly, if you wish."
Saren studied her for a few moments, before shaking his head. "No. I will deploy a team to retrieve her, and all the information she has gathered."
Benezia was about to speak when her face contorted, her eyes widening in horror, her mouth working as she shivered and spasmed, only to calm down. "Of course my lord," she said.
Saren frowned as he studied her, his mandibles twitching briefly. "It would seem you need to spend more time here. Do any of your commandos still doubt our work?"
"No my lord. All of them understand the importance of what we're doing," Benezia stated.
"Very good. You may go," Saren said, as he turned back to his seat. Benezia bowed her head and left, as Saren watched her go, frowning slightly. He sat down, knowing he would need to watch her closely, for anymore slips like that.
Docking Bay 442
Alicia watched as the last of the supplies was being loaded through the airlock onto the Normandy, the ship undergoing final systems check as the last of the crew reported onboard. After the incident in the Wards the previous day, and after dealing with C-Sec, followed by a rather irate Ambassador Udina, and the Council, Alicia had finally been able to return to shopping for Garrus and Tali. Garrus was now outfitted with a Phaeston assault rifle, a turian weapon that was the mainstay of the turian military forces. It had proven to be so reliable that instead of replacing it with a brand new weapon, the Hierarchy had insisted instead for upgraded versions to match the newer weapons of other races. The one Garrus wielded was a Mk2, an older version no longer used by the military, but was still in circulation amongst civilian, police, and mercenary forces. He had also purchased a suit of older turian combat armor at a surplus store, though Tali promised that with a few components and enough time, she'd be able to make the armor's shielding and plating strong enough to withstand current enemy weapon systems. Other than that, Garrus planned to take a sniper rifle and sidearm from the Normandy's armory, after Ashley modified the grips for the more unique turian hand.
As for Tali herself, she had tried to persuade Alicia not to buy anything for her, only to be handed an M-27 Scimitar assault shotgun. It was a weapon that was well known in mercenary circles after the Eclipse mercenary band commissioned its construction and it began to spread amongst the mercenary bands. The weapon was a rapid firing shotgun, thanks to its dual mass effect generators. It was also relatively light and easy to handle, due to being designed for the asari and salarians who made up the Eclipse mercenary band, which also made it a relatively good weapon for Tali and her smaller stature. She also had the pistol Naruto had bought for her earlier, which completed her weapon load out. Though Alicia had also gone through the trouble of buying enhanced shield generator components for Tali's suit as well.
That had been about it for what they could purchase at the moment, thanks to the Council's initial funding for Alicia's mission. Each Spectre was given funding for their mission, with the ability to request additional funds when required, provided the Spectre could prove their need for the funds. Thankfully, the rest of the ground squad was either already outfitted with their own equipment, or would be utilizing the weapons and armor found in the ship's armory.
A portion of the remaining budget had gone into purchasing a piece of equipment for the Normandy, one that was being installed currently: a decontamination unit for the VIP quarters on the Normandy. Alicia had decided that due to Tali's unique physiology, she would require the services of a clean room for suit maintenance as well as rest and relaxation purposes. The decontamination unit, similar to the one mounted in the ship's main airlock, had already been installed, and the teams were finishing final decontamination of the room to ensure that there was absolutely no germs or viruses inside.
With these final preparations being completed, Alicia knew it was only a matter of time before the ship was ready to get underway. The problem was Alicia had no idea where to go, as so far neither the Council or the human Embassy had been able to turn up any data or leads for her to track down.
She quietly shook her head, watching as the ship's supply and requisition officer check off the last of the supplies on his checklist, and approached. "Ma'am, all supplies are accounted for. The ship is stocked," he said, saluting her.
Alicia nodded as she saluted him back. "Carry on then ensign," she said, as the man moved towards the airlock to board the ship. Alicia was about to follow when she heard the soft whoosh of elevator doors opening. Turning, she saw Udina and Anderson step out of the docking bay access elevator with two other Alliance officers in tow. Wondering what was going on now, she stepped forward. "Captain Anderson," she said, saluting him. When he returned the salute, she turned to Udina. "Ambassador Udina. May I ask what's going on?"
"We finally have a lead for you to follow," Udina said. "The Council revealed to us that Matriarch Benezia, the asari who has sided with Saren, has a daughter. One who is an archeologist specializing in Prothean artifacts and ruins. She could be a potential connection to Benezia and Saren, if not an ally to them."
Alicia nodded at that, excited to get her first lead. "Do you know where she is? Or will this be a bit of a wild goose chase?" She asked.
Anderson spoke up this time. "She was recorded as being part of an archeological dig that was headed to Therum, in the Knossos System of the Artemis Tau Cluster," he said, only to stop as he saw Alicia react at that, a bemused look on her face.
"Wow…Therum huh?" She asked, finding it a bit ironic. "Guess I'll get to see where my mom found Naruto then."
"You are not there for a sightseeing tour. You are there are official Council and Alliance business," Udina reminded her, as she shrugged. "I take it your, 'non Alliance' squad members, have signed the Non-Disclosure Agreements?" He asked.
Alicia nodded at that. "They did. I forwarded copies to the embassy as well as Alliance command. They all agreed they won't reveal any classified information, both regarding the mission or Alliance technologies and other such information. Anything else?" She asked, wanting to get underway.
Anderson stepped in at this time, retaking control of the conversation. "There's something else before you leave on your mission," he said, indicating the two Alliance officers, who moved to either side of the group, acting as witnesses for what was about to happen. "It has been decided that your actions on Eden Prime, and in exposing the actions of Saren Arterius, have earned you a promotion. Since we are somewhat rushed, this will be an informal ceremony. Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard, please step forward."
Alicia did so, as Anderson pulled a small box from the pocket of his uniform. "In recognition of your service to Earth, the Systems Alliance, and humanity in general, it is my pleasure to promote you to the rank of commander. Congratulations, Commander Shepard," Anderson said, as he pulled open the box, pulling out a silver 'oak leaf' insignia, the insignia for Navy Commanders.
Alicia stood at attention, as Anderson moved forward, removing the bronze insignia from her uniform and pinning the new silver one onto her uniform. As he stepped back, she saluted him, and he returned it, before shaking her hand. "You've earned it," he told her.
Alicia smiled and nodded. "Thank you sir. Is there anything else?"
"No commander. That is all," Anderson said, stepping back. "You have your orders, and your first lead. You've got your squad and supplies. All that's left…is this. Good luck," he said with a warm smile.
"Yes commander. Best of luck," Udina said, though it was not as heartfelt as Anderson's was.
Alicia gave a nod at that, before turning and moving along the walkway to the airlock, as the group of four returned to the elevator. She stopped outside the outer hull door, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath, before moving forward, the door opening and allowing her to step into the decontamination area.
When the decontamination cycle ended, she stepped onboard the ship proper. Turning, she found Lieutenant Pressly standing attention along with Naruto, with the rest of the crew on the CIC deck standing at attention at their stations, looking in their direction. Over the PA system, two rings of a bell could be heard, as Pressly saluted, followed by the crew. "Commanding Officer of SSV Normandy arriving!" He reported, his voice being carried over the PA.
Alicia saluted to them, before speaking. "As you were." The crew dropped their salutes and returned to work at their stations, as Pressly approached her with datapad in hand.
"Ma'am, here is a full report on the ship's status, for your review," he said, as Alicia took it and began to read it over.
"Thank you lieutenant," she said, as Naruto stepped forward with a pad.
"Here is a report both on the status of the marine compliment, and your ground team, ma'am," he said in a professional tone, as Alicia also took that pad.
"Thank you captain. You're both dismissed," she said, as the two stepped back and saluted. She returned the salute and watched them walk off, before returning to the data pads and reading them, ensuring the ship was ready to go. Finding everything in order, she moved up to the helm, where Joker sat. "We ready to go?" She asked him.
"Just waiting for final clearance from flight control," he said, before turning to Alicia. "So, how does it feel to have the newest ship in the Navy under your command?"
"To be honest, I don't think I should be here," Alicia said to him. "Captain Anderson should be standing here, not me. This is…was his ship."
"Yeah well, at least I don't have to go through the trouble of breaking in a new commanding officer," Joker said, trying to lighten the mood. Alicia just gave him a dry chuckle.
"Careful Joker, you may wish you had a new captain by the time we're done here," she said, before taking in a deep breath. "I guess it's about time I address the crew."
Reaching pass Joker, she activated the PA system, before clearing her throat. "Good afternoon. This is Alicia Shepard, your new commanding officer. As I'm sure you've all realized by now, we're about to embark on a mission that is both unusual and urgent."
The crew was now all looking up, either at the helm if they were on the CIC or at the PA system if they were on the crew or hanger/engineering deck, as Alicia continued. "Four days ago, our colony on Eden Prime was attacked by the geth, led by the now rogue Spectre Saren Arterius. Our mission is to find him and either bring him in, or ensure he can no longer continue his plans. Our enemy has a head-start, and a large force under his command, but I am confident that we will rise to the occasion and take him down."
Several of the crew nodded in agreement, all standing a little taller as Alicia continued. "This is our chance to show the galactic community what humanity is truly capable of. Our chance to prove that we are ready and willing to serve and protect the galaxy, same as any other race."
"At this point, I'm sure that most of you have noticed the specialists I've recruited to aid us. They are all combat specialists who will be aiding us in bringing down Saren and his allies. I expect you all to treat them with respect and dignity, as you are representatives of both the Alliance and humanity. If anyone has any problems, they will be discussed in private with me," she stated.
"For now, return to your stations, and prepare to get underway. We'll be heading out soon. Ground team will please report to the briefing room. That is all," she said, ending the transmission over the PA.
Joker nodded as he heard her. "Not bad. I wouldn't suggest running for politics anytime soon though," he said.
"Don't worry. I'm not one for kissing babies," Alicia said, as she started to move away. "Let me know as soon as we have clearance to leave."
"Aye aye ma'am," Joker said, turning back to his consoles.
Alicia strolled purposefully towards the communication/briefing room, as around her the crew worked at their stations making final checks of their consoles and systems. She nodded to the two marines standing guard at the briefing room door before entering, finding Naruto already there since he had been on the CIC deck.
"Good speech sis," he said with a nod. She just smiled at him, taking her own seat as they waited for the others to arrive.
They soon arrived, filing in and moving to take seats. Alicia frowned slightly as she noted that Garrus, Wrex and Tali all chose to sit in the seats opposite from them, while Kaidan and Ashley sat on the same side as them. Shaking her head slightly, she stood. "Thank you all for coming. We've got our first lead on our mission," she said, as she keyed up an image on the holographic screen of a brown colored planet. "This is Therum. It's an Alliance colony in the Knossos system in the Artemis Tau cluster. The planet is littered with several major Prothean sites, as well as a couple energy refinery sites as well. Our interest however is this site," she said, as the image changed to a holographic 3D image of the planet, with one area highlighted. The image zoomed in, revealing a 3D image of a camp site outside a large ramp leading into a mountain tunnel.
"Our lead at the moment is an archeologist located at this site: Dr. Liara T'Soni, an asari archeologist who has been on site for close to two months now. She specializes in studying Prothean ruins and artifacts, with several papers and dissertations that have been published, but have not been widely acknowledged by the archeological community…at least according to the file on her," Alicia said, shaking her head slightly. "However, our interest in her is this: her mother is Matriarch Benezia, the second identified voice on the information Tali recovered from the geth. We do not know if she is allied with her mother or not, but at the moment she is our only lead. We'll be moving in to recover her and hopefully gain insight into who we are dealing with. The full team will be moving in, armed and ready to fight incase our asari scientist has some inhospitable friends. However, I do not want any itchy trigger fingers. We only go loud if we confirm enemy presence, understood?" She asked everyone.
"Yes ma'am," Ashley, Kaidan, and Naruto all said, as Garrus and Tali nodded in understanding, while Wrex just grunted.
Alicia gave a nod of confirmation at that. "Alright. In the meantime, I'd like to talk to you three," she told her alien squad members, turning to them. "I want you all to know here and now that if anyone is causing you three problems, I want to hear about it. I do not want you to hide it, and I do not want you to 'handle' it," she said, glancing at Wrex at the last part, who shrugged.
"Don't worry Shepard, I won't bang up your pretty new ship. Just keep your people out of my way, and everything will be fine," he grumbled. "Anything else?"
"No, that's all," she said, as Wrex grunted as he got up and started to stomp off, followed by most of the others. The only ones who remained were Tali and Naruto. Alicia blinked, turning to them. "Ummm…you both need something?"
"I…hope I'm not imposing," Tali started to speak with a nervous edge to her voice, "but…I wish to request an assignment to work in your engineering section while between missions. I don't want to be a burden on your ship and its resources, and I hope I can help out with the engineering team," she requested, shifting a bit nervously.
Alicia blinked in surprise at that. "Well you're hardly a burden on the ship, considering you're part of my ground team, but I suppose if you want to lend a hand onboard too, I won't turn it down. I'll contact Lieutenant Adams in engineering, and you can report to him. He'll give you a trial basis, and if things work out, I'm sure he'll be happy for your help," she said.
"Thank you Cap-I mean Commander Shepard," she said, bowing her head slightly, and heading off. Leaving just Naruto, who chuckled softly.
"She's quite the eager helper, isn't she?" Naruto asked, though it wasn't entirely a surprise to him. He had interacted with one or two quarians in the past, mostly ones on their Pilgrimages who went to an Alliance colony to help out. What he learned was that on the Migrant Fleet, everyone pulled their own weight. Even the officers and administrators got their hands dirty when it was necessary. And it seemed Tali was just as ready to keep herself busy and useful, even on an alien ship.
Alicia nodded quietly. "I just hope she doesn't run herself ragged. Last thing I need is her making a mistake on the ground team because she's exhausted from working in engineering. So what do you think of our first assignment?" She asked him.
Naruto sighed as he stood up, looking back at the now offline holographic emitters, remembering the images that had been on them. "I'll admit, this is going to be…interesting, to say the least. I wasn't really ever expecting to return to Therum. Then again, I don't remember much of it, beyond some flashes of what the Protheans did, and…waking up to see mom," he said, his voice growing quiet at the last part.
Alicia just smiled. "Well don't worry. If everything goes according to plan, this will be a fast simple mission. In and out. You won't have to worry about dredging up any memories you don't want to bring up," she said.
"Yeah, let's hope you're right," Naruto said, before shaking his head. "I should go make sure our gear and the Mako are checked out before we arrive. Last thing we'll need is to drop the Mako and find out the gun's aim is out of alignment," he said.
"Good idea. Can't wait to get behind the wheel of that bad boy," Alicia said with a grin, as Naruto flinched a bit, a hesitant grin appearing on his face.
"Oh good…you'll be driving," he said, trying not to let worry and fear into his voice. "Well I'll make sure the Mako is fully ready for when you…want to take it out for a spin." With that, he hurriedly left, his face shifting to one of anxiety and fear at the thought of his sister driving, memories of the last time he rode in a vehicle she piloted fresh in his mind.
SSV Kilimanjaro
Captain Hannah Shepard smiled as yet another crew member of the Everest-class dreadnaught congratulated her on her daughter becoming humanity's first Spectre. As the man passed by her she let out a sigh, as that had been a rather common event for the past forty-eight hours, both from crew members on the ship and messages on her extranet account.
Entering her cabin, she groaned as she slid into her chair by her desk, rubbing her forehead quietly as she did so. Serving as the executive officer on the flagship of the Alliance 3rd fleet was rather stressful, but now she had to deal with everyone wanting to talk to her about her daughter, and wanting to get in contact with her. It reminded her of the days shortly after the Council gave her family custody of Naruto, as well as the weeks after the Skyllian Blitz, when she was hounded just because she was the mother of Naruto the vulzan, and then the two greatest heroes of Elysium's defense.
She smiled though, as she wouldn't change anything though, as while all the congratulations and bother was rather annoying, it made her feel proud of her children. They were growing up to be the best of herself and her husband, and they were proving to be a light in a galaxy that at time felt rather dark.
She turned to her desk, activating the computer on it and accessing her e-mail account. She immediately sighed, seeing quite a few messages from people she hadn't heard from or knew, all congratulating her. She immediately set up a template response, setting all those messages to receive that reply before deleting them. Looking through the rest, Hannah stopped and smiled as she found one with a video message. Opening it, she found a video message from Jiraiya.
"Hannah, I know you've probably been bombarded with hundreds of messages saying this already, but I just wanted to say congratulations from me and Tsunade. We were absolutely amazed when we saw Alicia being made Spectre. I think Tsunade was torn between being absolutely proud, and being furious Alicia's going to be getting herself into even more trouble. We'll try to send a message to Alicia, but if you could make sure she knows we're proud of her, and we'll be wishing her plenty of luck out there. Also, we were thinking that next time you have shore leave we could meet up, and reminisce about the good old days. Let us know when we should meet up."
Hannah smiled at the thought, as she began typing out a reply to Jiraiya. It would be nice to meet up with him and Tsunade again. Maybe they would be able to swing it for Naruto and Alicia to join them. She glanced over to the side, seeing the picture frame of her family, currently showing an image of her, Malcolm, and their children in their younger years. She let out a soft sigh of nostalgia, gently kissing her fingers, and pressing them against Malcolm's image. "You'd be so proud of our children," she whispered softly. She smiled wistfully, moving back to her e-mail.
Therum
Liara T'Soni could only tremble and wonder how things had gone so horribly wrong, as she hung suspended in some type of energy field inside the ruins the team she was a part of had been excavating. Outside, she could see geth working on trying to breach the security fields that were in place, as a krogan growled and paced back and forth in annoyance. She trembled slightly, as the krogan let out a sneer in her direction, threateningly pointing his shotgun at her, before turning away again.
She didn't know exactly how long she had been stuck here, but she couldn't believe it had been more than a day, even though it truly felt longer than that. She had been in the dig area, finishing cataloguing a couple of artifacts with two other researchers, when a frantic call on their omni-tool communications popped up. The heard researcher, Professor Rathea, had contacted them, yelling and screaming about geth. Just as suddenly the communication ended in an explosion.
The three of them had moved towards the elevators to investigate, when the geth started to drop down from above, folded up to survive the impact with the ground, before rapidly unfolding, weapons drawn. Liara had thrown herself into the ruins, trying to access a console that one of the human researchers had theorized was some type of security console. Her two colleagues, both humans, tried to follow her, but were brutally gunned down before her eyes. The geth had begun to advance towards her, but at the last moment, she managed to trigger the security field, causing a series of force fields to appear along all the openings into this ruined elevator shaft they had found.
Unfortunately, she must have triggered some type of security system, as she had found herself suddenly suspended in some type of energy bubble, which completely immobilized her from the neck down. And here she had been stuck, forced to watch the geth try to breach the force fields. When they had been joined by a krogan, who angrily ranted and raved and tried to smash through the field with brute force, she had been worried, but even he had failed. Though this didn't stop him from making threats that chilled her to the bone.
Now, she watched as one of the geth approached him, and began speaking in a series of clicks and stuttering noises, which the krogan somehow seemed to understand. "Fine, I'll contact them," he growled out, before turning and pointing to Liara. "You've caused me a lot of problems, asari. You better hope you die, because when I get my hands on you, you'll wish you were dead," he growled out, before stomping off, followed by a couple of the geth.
Liara could only shudder, tears in her eyes, as she thought of what fate lay in wait for her. She knew most likely everyone she had worked with for the past few weeks was dead, killed by the geth. And now she was likely trapped here, until she died of thirst or starvation. She looked up at the ceiling, as tears began to fall.
'Please, someone…anyone…please come save me'
Wow. Sorry for the long wait folks, but this chapter actually was going to be longer than this. I had typed out most of my version of the Therum mission, and the chapter was nearing nearly 20k words, and I stopped and realized that the chapter really didn't flow together. It didn't feel right going from Alicia first launching immediately into Therum. So I moved everything regarding the Therum mission into a new chapter, and added the bit with Liara here at the end to wrap up this one.
So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And I either will immediately follow this chapter up with the Therum one, or I'll save that for after I've updated my other two fanfics, whichever idea seems to work best for both me, and you the readers/reviewers.
Thanks go out again to my awesome beta's here, a7xfanatic11 and Kyuubi123. You guys are awesome.
Till next chapter!