Well I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy my take on Wrex's loyalty mission. Glad it seemed to work out. I'll admit, I'm getting a bit nervous here now.

Alicia: Oh, why?

LeafRanger: Well…the chapter after this one is going to be…interesting. I'll be covering something I've been building up in my mind ever since I first started this fanfic and something I've been sort of hinting at for several chapters.

Diehard FemShepLiara LeafRanger: That doesn't sound good.

LR: It's not…and also it is? It'll depend on if I pull it off and what all the readers think. Guess we'll see, right?

Diehard ShepTali LeafRanger: Dare we even ask?

LR: Nope, no spoilers. Don't want to ruin it.

*in the distance*: THERE HE IS!

LR: Oh crap! *ducks behind a couch*

Alicia: What is it?

LR: The Shinobi's Creed Ranger group! They're pissed because I went on an epic long rant in their author bit, preventing them from having one in the last chapter!

Raphael: *rushes in* Why aren't you doing the same here, huh? Why did we have to suffer?

LR: I'm sorry, but unless it was something related to this fanfic, I wasn't going to put the rants here! I try to keep the rants in the fanfics they relate to!

Diehard NaruHina LeafRanger: WHY DO YOU NOT EVEN HAVE NARUTO NAD HINATA AS A PAIRING IN THIS ONE?!

LR: Why does everyone hate me? *hugging legs and rocking back and forth*

Wrex: I think you broke him…oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Bioware respectively. This is a non-profit work of fan-made fiction. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 23

Revenge for a Blitz

Onboard the Normandy the crew members not on duty or in their bunks were chatting away in the mess area, having just finished movie night. In the end the crew had chosen Star Wars, which was a new experience for not just the alien ground team members but a number of the crew as well.

At the moment, the ground team was in the mess hall as well, chatting with each other after watching the classic sci-fi movie. Tali was currently in a bit of a debate with Garrus. "Garrus, I don't think it's possible to make a hand-held laser rifle. GARDIAN technology is the closest we've gotten with laser technology and trying to scale it down to a hand-held weapon is simply too difficult. Why would you even want one?"

"Do you know how effective a weapon like that would be? It'd just go right through barriers and probably eat through most armor. Bad guys wouldn't stand a chance," Garrus said with a grin.

Tali just rolled her eyes while Ashley chuckled a bit. "Just have to hope you'd have better aim then those stormtroopers did," she said.

Garrus scoffed at that. "Seriously, who actually gave those guy's guns? I could shoot better than that back in boot camp. But c'mon Tali, surely you've got an idea?"

Naruto just chuckled as he listened to them. "You just want a new toy, don't you Garrus?" He asked, causing the young turian to grin sheepishly.

"Heh, why settle for just a blaster kid. What about that Death Star?" Wrex asked, making everyone grimace a bit. The idea of a planet destroying space station in the galaxy didn't exactly conjure happy feelings.

"I think we can all agree it's better something like that doesn't exist," Ashley said while Wrex shrugged at that.

"I still can't believe they designed a giant space station with a weak point like that," Garrus said. "That's just asking for trouble."

Ashley frowned in thought, trying to remember. "I think a…way later movie explained that? But I can't remember. I haven't seen these movies before, just heard about them."

"What I think is fascinating is this Force they were talking about," Liara said as she sat down with a cup of tea. "They almost made it sound sentient."

"It certainly seemed handy. Being able to persuade people, seeing things before they happen? Certainly would be useful for dealing with perps," Garrus said.

At that moment Alicia joined them, a grin on her face. "I see you all seemed to enjoy the movie," she said, earning words and nods of agreement from the others. "Well, that's good. Maybe we'll keep going for the next few movie nights, see all the movies."

"How many are there?" Tali asked curiously.

"Well the library lists eleven of them, so-," Alicia started to say before she was interrupted.

"E-Eleven movies? That is a lot," Liara commented, eyes wide.

Ashley chuckled a bit at that. "Like I said, it was a very popular franchise in its time."

"Good. I wanna see how that farm boy handles Vader. Personally, I'd love to try my hand at fighting him," Wrex said with a grin.

Alicia just grinned at that, sitting back as she studied the large krogan. Since retrieving the armor and getting the krogan relics squared away in a safe house, Wrex had become somewhat more personable. He still kept to himself, but he had opened up more to her and the rest of the team. This moment here was an example of that. Alicia couldn't help but feel pride at finally seemingly bringing the ground team together. Though there was still a rough patch or two to iron out, such as Liara's slight caution around her.

Her good mood slipped a bit as she thought about that. She didn't like the asari being cautious and nervous around her. Yet at the same time she knew the only way to alleviate Liara's concerns would be to either tell her what happened on Torfan or lie about it. And she didn't feel like doing either. So, for now she'd find a different way to handle Liara's concerns regarding her.

She started to focus on the group again when the ship intercom activated, and Joker's voice could be heard. "Commander, we're getting a priority one call from Arcturus Station. Flagged for you and Captain Shepard's eyes only."

Alicia frowned at that before standing up, as did Naruto. "We'll take it in the communications room," she said as she quickly headed for the stairs with Naruto falling in behind her.

A few minutes later they were in the communications room. The room had been sealed with security measures in place to ensure no one but the two of them would hear the message coming through. As soon as she was sure the room was secured, Alicia activated the holographic communications unit.

Within a few moments the holographic image of Hackett appeared before them, causing both of them to salute. "Admiral," Alicia said.

"Commander, Captain. I'll be brief. We have a situation developing that could go badly for the Alliance if not handled carefully," the admiral stated, returning the salutes. "During the First Contact War we launched a number of reconnaissance probes to try and get a better understanding of what we were dealing with. By the time the probes had made any decent headway through the Relay Network, we had already launched the attack to retake Shanxi. The majority of the probes were either recovered or destroyed but a few were sadly unaccounted for. This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fail-safe's installed in them."

"I take it the fail-safe is of a 'deadly' variety, sir?" Naruto asked the admiral, who nodded in response.

"Yes. Each probe was equipped with a nuclear warhead designed to go off if anyone started tampering with the probe. This was to ensure our technology wouldn't fall into enemy hands. If the Council learned of that, the Alliance would face sanctions for the wide spread use of WMD's. We were lucky until now that any probe we hadn't recovered had been destroyed by debris, crashed into a planet, or flew into a star. Now our luck has run out. One of the few missing probes has sent a 'mission complete' signal back to us…but it's done so on the opposite side of Alliance space from the turian Hierarchy."

Alicia frowned heavily at that. "That doesn't seem like just a navigation malfunction. Do you think this could be a trap, sir?"

"That's a distinct possibility. It could be a trap, it could just be scavengers, or we could be looking at a set of malfunctions that have beaten the odds. Whatever the case may be we need to handle this quickly and quietly. And your ship is the only one that we can trust with this mission," Hackett said. "Commander, you're to take your ship to Agebinum in the Amazon System, Voyager Cluster. There, Captain Shepard will lead a ground team to locate and retrieve the probe. You'll remain on the ship to provide support."

"…yes sir," Alicia said, not liking being forced to stay aboard ship. She wanted to be with her brother if things went sideways during the mission.

Hackett, as if sensing her thoughts, elaborated. "You're too valuable to the Alliance at the moment, Shepard. We've let you have leeway on some of these off-mission operations you've undertaken, but this time we want you to let Captain Shepard handle this. Speaking of which; Captain Shepard, you are to take Alliance only personnel on this mission. Find the probe, disable its fail-safe, and wait for a ship from the Fifth fleet to arrive to extract it."

"Understood sir," Naruto replied.

"Get this done as quickly and quietly as possible. Hackett out," the admiral said, saluting again. The two siblings saluted back before ending the communication.

Alicia frowned as she crossed her arms. "I don't like this. This just screams trap and having you walk into it with half the ground team onboard the ship…"

"Better that then the entire team," Naruto said, head tilted down in thought. "Still…it might be a good idea to add a bit more firepower to the team I'll be taking down. We should deploy first squad of the marine complement as well, just in-case this is a trap," he said. "They can hold perimeter outside the mine while I take Ashley and Kaidan in to secure the probe."

"Fine. But I'm going to have the Normandy ready to swoop in for fire support," Alicia said, the tone of her voice showing she wasn't going to argue on this. Naruto merely nodded before deciding to change subject.

"So have you heard from mom or the godparents?" He asked, getting a nod in response.

"Mom say things are starting to calm down now along the border. The geth have almost fully withdrawn from Alliance space, beyond a few groups forcing them to keep the fleets on the borders at the moment. And both Jiraiya and Tsunade are doing fine. She's being consulted daily with regards to treatments for some of the geth weaponry. And Jiraiya apparently is working on a new book already," Alicia said with a smirk. "Something about a marine officer saving an alien damsel in distress from her would be assassins?"

Naruto groaned, covering his eyes. "He is not writing about me and Tali. Please tell me he isn't," he begged.

Alicia let out a laugh at her brother's expression. "C'mon, you know hero stories sell really well in the smutty romance department. Everyone loves seeing the hero get their 'reward'."

Naruto just let out a low groan before blinking. "…you know, if he had said navy officer…could have been you and Liara instead of me and Tali," he pointed out.

Alicia just started at that before cursing under her breath. "He'll probably write that as a sequel or something. Damnit," she muttered.

Naruto just chuckled at her reaction before straightening up. "I'll get my team together and brief them on the situation," he said, moving to leave the briefing room.

"Right. I'll get us underway," Alicia said, following him out of the briefing room. The two split up, each heading off to do their part for preparing for the mission.

Migrant Fleet

Out of all the ships in the Migrant Fleet, the three liveships that held the central position of the fleet were the most breathtaking. Three massive ships that dwarfed everything around them, consisting of a massive sphere that contained the ship's command centers, living quarters, and most importantly the farming biomes that produced the majority of the food for the Migrant Fleet. Trailing behind the sphere was the secondary hull that contained the engineering compartments and more quarters for the large population onboard each ship.

Onboard the lead liveship, the Rayya, the Conclave was currently in session. The civilian portion of the government was made up of civilian representatives of every ship in the fleet that was either related specifically to civilian purposes or had a large enough civilian population onboard. The representatives, numbering in the tens of thousands, were divided up to make things more manageable. A junior representative was elected from the civilian population of a ship to represent the interests and concerns of that ship. The junior representatives met with a representative, who was tasked with representing a group of fifty ships and crews within the Migrant Fleet. Ten representatives would then, in turn, report to an executive representative, who was charged with representing a group of five hundred quarian ships and their crews, as well as the ten representatives and five hundred junior representatives connected to those five hundred ships. Finally, at the top of the Conclave were the ten senior representatives, each one representing five thousand ships of the Migrant Fleet.

In this manner the Conclave could compartmentalize problems and keep them within certain portions of the Conclave, decreasing the overall strain on resources and government. Small problems between individual or small groups of ships could be handled by the lower tiers of the Conclave, leaving the higher tiers to handle things concerning large portions of the Fleet. Only in a matter that concerned the life or death of the Migrant Fleet and the quarian people would the entire Conclave be present at the same time. (1)

The Conclave also included the five admirals that made up the Admiralty Board, both the military arm and unofficial leadership of the Conclave itself. Admirals Han'Gerrel vas Neema of the Heavy Fleet, Shala'Raan vas Tonbay of the Patrol Fleet, Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib of the Civilian Fleet, Daro'Xen vas Moreh of the Special Projects Fleet, and Rael'Zorah vas Rayya. While each of the other admirals was in charge of fleets numbering in the hundreds, or thousands in the case of Zaal'Koris, Rael'Zorah was in charge of the three liveships, ensuring their continued safety and functionality.

At the moment, Raan was busy debriefing both the admiralty board and the senior representatives on the current situation with the Alliance. "We have received word from Ambassador Honta'Ressus on the current state of negotiations. He reports that the outlook is favorable at the moment," she said, drawing murmurs from those present. "The Alliance's initial offers seem quite promising."

"What are they offering exactly?" Koris asked, his tone slightly suspicious. Koris, clad in a white colored suit with black and red trim, had been wary of this proposition from the start, though his reasons had less to do with mistrust of the Alliance and more to do with worries of what the alliance with the humans might lead to.

None of the others commented or reacted to his suspicious tone, instead focusing on Raan as she read over the notes.

"They are offering a defense pact between us and themselves. If either side is attacked, they may call upon the other for aid, which the other side will give if it is possible to do so. They have also made an offer of trade deals between a number of human corporations and the Migrant Fleet. It would mean we could have ready access to a number of supplies we need around the Fleet, while they in turn ask for a few technological innovations that we might be willing to share. They also will make it policy that any quarian on Pilgrimage will be welcomed and protected at a human colony under the Alliance's control, provided the quarians in question wish to journey there. Lastly, they have offered a gift of several of their decommissioned warships to replace the ones lost during the joint operation, as well as offering to sell us a number of transport, cargo, and support ships," she read off.

"That is quite the offer," Xen stated, crossing her arms. The black and silver trimmed-clad female quarian shifted a bit. "And what about our own requests?"

"They have already begun sharing information they have gathered on the geth so far and are willing to send us a number of scavenged parts that they believe to be safe for our own personal study. They also have agreed to help us survey a number of planets for a possible colony world, if we so wish," Raan said. "However, negotiations are still ongoing regarding any planned joint venture against the geth…or towards reclaiming Rannoch."

"That's understandable," Han, clad in his light brown and beige suit, said while leaning slightly on the podium in front of him. "The Alliance has a strong military force, but it is still a bit small and inexperienced compared to most of the other militaries out there. They've done well so far against the geth but this is a small force compared to the full might the geth have in the Perseus Veil."

"Still, their aid would be invaluable in retaking Rannoch," Rael'Zorah said, his voice accented much like his daughter's was. "If we could help strengthen their borders against the batarians, then we can-."

"Cause more death and destruction for our own mistakes?" Koris interrupted, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "It is bad enough you want to see the deaths of more quarians and geth, but you'd drag another race into that problem as well?"

"Not this again Koris," Han said with an exasperated tone, rolling his eyes behind his mask. "Can you go one meeting without your bleeding heart sympathies?"

Koris bristled at Han's words. "I merely wish to ensure that there is not more senseless death. I want to protect the quarian race from any threat, even itself. And to stop the needless killing of those who have not proven to be a threat except when we have chosen to provoke them."

"Admirals, enough," Raan said, ending the argument between Koris and Han before it could escalate as she could see Han preparing to retaliate against Koris's words. "This debate is pointless at the moment. For now, we should focus on these negotiations and this potential boon for the Migrant Fleet. Let us not destroy something good over our own personal quarrels."

"As you say," Koris said, with Han nodding quietly. Rael quietly shook his helmeted head while Xen watched the entire proceeding with amusement. Raan took charge again, taking a deep breath.

"Are there any questions or statements from the rest of the Conclave?" She asked, looking out over the senior representatives. As a few of them quickly signaled their desire to ask questions, Raan began to call upon them to talk as the quarians continued to work out how best to proceed with this sudden boon for their race.

Normandy, Amazon System

The Alliance stealth frigate was slowly advancing into the system, its course taking it towards the planet Agebinium. The stealth systems were fully active while the passive sensors were continually being used to sweep the system for any signs of other ships.

Alicia stood at the command pulpit, watching a holographic map of the system as the Normandy continued its slow and steady approach. So far, the passive sensors had detected nothing but there were ways to defeat them. Her ship was capable of defeating almost every known type of passive and active sensor thanks to its unique stealth drive that trapped both heat and energy emissions, but most ships were fully capable of defeating passive sensors by simply 'going silent'. They would power down most of their systems and maintain their position, watching for any ships that might come within range. Active sensors could still detect ships in this state, but those sensors were a double edge sword. They could almost guarantee target acquisition but at the cost of alerting whatever ship you might find to your own position.

Alicia wasn't sure if the risk would be worth it or not. She still had no idea if this was a trap or simply a twist of fate. Either way she was left feeling on edge the entire time.

"Helm, conn. Increase speed to two thirds and take us into high orbit. I don't want anyone on the ground seeing us," she ordered over the intercom.

"Conn, helm copies. All ahead two thirds," Joker responded, before the ship shuddered slightly as the engines began to draw upon more power.

"Sensors, conn. Any new readings?" Alicia asked, switching over to the sensor station. She could see the sensor officer up in the cockpit with Joker lean forward over her station before responding.

"Conn, sensors report no new contacts," Ensign Greengold, the sensor officer, reported from her position.

Alicia gave a curt nod, focusing again on the holographic map. "Prepare for a passive sweep of the target location. I want to know if there's anything down there at all," she ordered.

"Sensor copies," the woman responded before closing the intercom. Alicia turned her head as she saw Naruto out of the corner of her eye.

"My team is ready to go, just need to brief them on the location and terrain," he said quietly. The first squad of the Marine detachment, along with both Kaidan and Ashley, were currently waiting down in the cargo bay as they checked over their equipment. Naruto himself was decked out in his N7 armor but was currently unarmed.

Alicia gave a nod at that. "We should have the information for you in about ten minutes," she said, keeping her focus on the map.

As the Normandy approached the planet, the crew was almost completely unaware of the ship hovering not too far from their destination. A pirate frigate was utilizing the very tactics that had Alicia on edge, running almost completely dark save for life support systems, passive sensors, and a few maneuvering thrusters to keep the ship as stationary as possible. The ship obviously had no way of detecting the Alliance frigate since even the most up to date warships of the Council races would find it nearly impossible to find the Normandy. However, their goal wasn't to engage the Alliance ship. They were to wait for their captain's orders and make their move when the time was right. The crew of the pirate ship waited patiently for the word to leap into action.

Meanwhile the Normandy had taken up position over Agebinium and now was in a high orbit, the passive scanners going to work over the planet's surface. Within moments the sensor officer had detected the location of the probe.

Alicia was frowning as she studied the area the probe was located. "…this can't be right," she said, zooming and enhancing on the location. "Sensors, conn. Confirm reading," she ordered somewhat tersely.

"Conn, sensors. Confirmed readings. The target's signal is coming from within an abandoned mine on the surface," the sensor officer reported.

Alicia shook her head at that. "It's a trap. Definitely a trap," she said quietly. "Send the data to the hanger deck. Helm, continue high orbit and wait for my command to do a Mako drop. Pressly, you have the conn," she ordered, stepping away from the command pulpit and heading to the hanger deck.

When she arrived, Naruto had a holographic display showing the target location which he and his ground team were studying. "Commander on deck!" He called out, causing every to come to attention and salute.

"As you were," Alicia said, returning the salute to Naruto. "So, there's our target…inside an abandoned mine."

"This definitely screams trap," Naruto said, looking it over. "Have sensors detected anything at all?"

Alicia shook her head. "Nothing. No camps, no vehicles, no ships. Just some scattered debris from a few small wrecks and some abandoned mining camps like this one," she said, indicating the target area.

Naruto just nodded, arms crossed. "So, either they're inside the mine, or they've got a base camp shielded from our passive sensors. We could try launching a sensor probe to do a more active scan. It wouldn't give our position away."

"No, but it'd still alert whoever is doing this that we're here. Then again, the Mako will pretty much do that as well," Alicia said quietly, biting her lip. "…get ready for a Mako drop. If anyone is out there, they might miss it, especially if we come in low enough."

"Alright," Naruto said, turning to his team. "So listen up everyone! Barring any surprises, here's the plan. We'll go in fast with the Mako to this ridge line here," he said, highlighting a ridge about four hundred meters from the mine. "First squad, you'll be dropped off and set up there. I'll take Sergeant Williams and Lieutenant Alenko in with me to secure the probe. If anyone pops up, send us a warning. If they prove to be hostile, engage them," he ordered, looking to the lieutenant in charge of first squad.

"Understood sir. We'll hold there," Lieutenant Henry Tiegson, Lieutenant Allen's replacement, replied. Naruto gave a nod before closing the image down.

"Then get geared up and into the Mako. Dismissed!" Naruto ordered, seeing them move out.

Alicia nodded as she watched the troops going through final check. "I'll have second squad and the rest of the ground team on standby. The instant things get out of control…" she said, trailing off and leaving the rest unsaid.

Naruto gave a nod as he grabbed his helmet. "Understood," he said before looking to Ashley and Kaidan. "Alenko, you're on shotgun. Williams, man the turret. Everyone else, mount up when you're ready!" He ordered, securing the helmet on and moving to the Mako.

Alicia turned and headed back to the CIC, bypassing it to head straight for the cockpit. "Joker, we ready?" She asked.

"Just say the world," the pilot said, having already set in the course Pressly gave him for an optimal Mako drop.

"Then let's do it," she ordered, moving back to the command pulpit as Joker began their descent.

In the hanger bay Naruto gripped the steering wheel of the Mako, waiting for the word to deploy. Behind him the marines were secured in their seats, each gripping their harnesses as they waited in silence.

Suddenly the hanger door began to open. "T-minus twenty seconds to drop!" Joker called out over the intercom. Naruto gunned the engine a bit, making sure it was ready to go as they saw the planet's surface through the open hanger door. With three seconds to go the force field over the open hanger dropped before Naruto drove forward. The Mako shot out of the hanger bay and immediately began it's free-fall as the frigate pulled up and away.

Naruto quickly activated the thrusters as Kaidan activated the mass field, reducing the mass of the Mako while Naruto's use of the thrusters stabilized them. Thankfully the area they were dropping into was a largely open flat area with only some small rises and ridges. The landing was relatively smooth for dropping a vehicle from a few hundred feet in the air at high speed and Naruto quickly braked, bringing the vehicle to a skidding halt as crimson sand was kicked up everywhere.

Naruto quickly looked over his shoulder into the passenger cabin. "Still alive?" He called out. One by one the seven other marines in the vehicle confirmed their status. "Good to go," he said, turning around and quickly turning the vehicle towards the first checkpoint. The Mako's wheels spun for a few moments in loose sand, kicking up sprays of it before they dug in, and the vehicle quickly roared off.

Meanwhile the Normandy returned now to a low orbit, tracking the Mako and waiting for any report from the deployed ground team. Alicia handed off command to Pressly so she could get suited up, intending to carry out her unspoken promise to her brother if need be. The rest of the ground team was doing the same, getting the sense that whatever this mission was, it must be dangerous if it had Alicia so on edge.

On the ground the Mako stopped at the ridge line with Naruto popping out of the driver's hatch long enough to grab his sniper rifle and scan the mine entrance. Behind him the marines of first squad were piling out and quickly getting into position, going prone just behind the ridge to hide themselves.

Naruto slowly surveyed the area with his sniper scope, taking it all in. The mine was built into the base of a mountain that was a shear vertical rise on their side. The entrance way had a few abandoned buildings around it which looked to be in serious disrepair. Otherwise, the entire area was barren. Naruto searched along the top of the mountain as well but saw no signs of movement along the edge.

Lowering his sniper rifle, he activated his radio as he holstered it. "No sign of movement. Area appears deserted. Squad, keep an eye out along the mountain top and each flank," he ordered, sliding back into the vehicle and sealing it up. After a few moments he began to drive forward over the ridge, with the five marines of first squad hunkered down.

Ashley, in the turret, was continually traversing the gun slowly as she checked for anything while they approached. "I don't like this. This feels way too much like a trap," she whispered.

"Lock it up Williams. Keep your head on a swivel," Naruto said tersely, even as he mentally agreed with her. Everything about this was screaming trap, both to his vulzan instincts and his experience as a soldier.

He slowly pulled up near the entrance of the mine, parking the vehicle there. Now that they were closer, they could easily see that there was no life at all outside the mine shaft. The abandoned buildings were beyond repair as the continued exposure to Agebinium's weather had broken down some of the walls of the buildings. The area was completely deserted with the only signs of any recent activity or life being the door of the mine entrance. Unlike the buildings it looked somewhat freshly maintained.

Naruto slowly got out of the Mako, dropping to the ground and drawing his Lancer. Kaidan followed suit with his Locust as the two slowly advanced to the mine entrance. Kaidan set to work examining the door. "…Captain, there's been some recent repair work done to this door. Judging from the look of it, no one was using this mine until a few days ago."

Naruto nodded as at the information. "Then this is definitely a trap," he said, looking around. "Nobody has been using this location for some time. Whoever is responsible for this just barely started using this location. They dragged the probe here specifically to lure Alliance personnel here. The question is…why," he murmured before switching his suit radio. "Normandy 2-1 to Normandy Actual, you copy?"

There were a few seconds of static before Alicia responded. "Normandy Actual copies. What's the sit-rep 2-1?"

"We've reached the mine entrance. This screams of a trap. All indications are location has only recently been put to use again. High likelihood of hostile intent. Should we proceed?" He asked, still watching the area.

There was silence for several moments, before Alicia spoke. "Hold position. We're going to drop second squad at your location for additional reinforcements," she ordered.

"Copy that. Normandy 2-1 holding position," Naruto responded, before shouldering his Lancer again. "We're holding tight for second squad," he reported to Kaidan and Ashley.

The two marines sent their acknowledgements before hunkering down, Kaidan in a position to cover Naruto while Ashley remained on the Mako's gun. However, none of them were aware of the figure high above on the mountain top who was watching the entire situation while hidden under a masking sheet.

An armored batarian, covered by a sheet of material designed to block most forms of scanners, had been watching the Mako's approach and the two figures currently near the mine entrance. Doing his best to not disrupt the sheet he activated his communications unit. "I've got an Alliance vehicle and two soldiers on the ground. But they're not going in," he whispered quietly.

The flanged voice of a turian responded. "Let me know the instant they either enter or leave. If the latter, we'll go to plan B."

"Roger that. I'll-," he started to say; only to stop as he saw an approaching speck on the horizon that quickly grew larger. Soon the roar of engines could be heard as the Normandy came in for approach and maneuvered to hover in place. "Sir, their ship has arrived. It's the Alliance ship Normandy."

"I knew it. They would send them for this, just as I predicted. This is our perfect chance. Try to laser the target for our ship, give them a target to strike," the turian ordered.

"Yes sir," the batarian said, slowly attempting to draw his weapon up so he could paint the target with a laser designator attached to it. Unfortunately for him, his movements caused the material of his masking sheet to flutter.

On the ground one of the first squad marines who were scanning the mountain top saw the small flutter of movement and focused on it. "Possible contact at two-seven-three degrees, elevation four hundred feet," the woman rattled off. Another marine, armed with a Mantis sniper rifle, quickly zeroed in on the coordinates and caught the movement as well.

"Confirmed, contact looks to be using masking sheet. Request permission to fire," the man said, his scope locked on the position.

Alicia, receiving all this information, quickly cursed as she moved to the communications. "Give them a warning shot. We don't know what we're dealing with here so let's not start killing until we have to," she ordered.

On the ground the sniper adjusted his aim. "Ready to fire," he reported to Lieutenant Tiegson.

"Send it," the lieutenant ordered. The sniper slowly squeezed the trigger.

The armored batarian had just finished lighting up the Normandy when the sniper round slammed into the dirt a mere foot from his helmet covered face. He let out a yell and jumped back, completely exposing himself as the masking sheet flew off. He frantically scrambled back, trying to get away from the edge when a second shot ripped through the weak shields of his armor and buried itself in his arm. He dropped to the ground in a cry of pain as his suit sealed up to prevent decompression.

On the ground the sniper marine quickly tried to reacquire the target. "Confirmed, armed hostile! Wounded but current status is unknown!"

At the same time the sensor officer on the Normandy shot up. "Enemy contact in orbit! Profile matches turian frigate, Kester-class! Coming in fast!"

"Sound general quarters! Recall second squad and get that hanger sealed! Captain, regroup with first squad and hold out till we return! Go!" Alicia shouted, quickly trying to handle the chaotic situation that was unfolding as her crew rushed to follow her orders. The hanger deck quickly sealed up Joker maneuvered the ship to try and get away.

On the ground, Naruto and Kaidan were rushing back to the Mako. "First squad, fire on anything that appears! We're heading your way!" He ordered.

He was just climbing up to the driver's hatch when they heard the distant roar of engines. From either side of the mountain came two vehicles. One was a four wheeled vehicle with an open cabin that could seat four and had a heavy machine gun mounted on the back. Two figures sat in the cabin while a armored turian was manning the machine gun, swiveling it towards the Mako and starting to pepper the stationary vehicle with weapons fire. The other vehicle was a slower moving six wheeled vehicle that was long and wide, with a triangular front that had a couple of reinforced windows on it and a large turret with two heavy cannons mounted towards the back of the vehicle.

Naruto cursed as he all but dove into the driver's seat while Ashley immediately returned fire on the four wheeled vehicle. "First squad we've got enemy vehicles! One turian scout, one batarian heavy IFV!"

"Copy that 2-1! We'll open up on the scout vehicle! IFV is yours!" Lieutenant Tiegson shouted back as the five marines of first squad began opening up on the fast moving turian scout vehicle. The vehicle quickly began turning and twisting to avoid the small arms fire as the turian in the back twisted to aim towards the ridge line.

Naruto had barely gunned the engine and swerved when a round form one of the heavy cannons on the lumbering batarian IFV slammed into the ground where they had been, sending up dirt and rock in a small plume. A second round hit the side of the mountain near them as Naruto began driving away at high speed with Ashley firing both the coax gun and the main cannon back at the heavier vehicle.

Meanwhile, the Normandy slipped to one side as the turian frigate fired its main cannon, the round slamming into the ground and creating a large crater from the speed and force of the impact. The turian frigate chasing them had gone into full active with its sensors, the radar and energy 'pings' it emitted defeating the stealth systems of the Normandy. As such the stealth systems were deactivated in order to pour more energy into the engines and maneuvering thrusters. Right now, Joker was doing his best to put as much distance between them and the pirate vessel so that they could effectively maneuver around to bring their own weapons into the fight.

Alicia gripped the railing of the command pulpit, watching the map as the battle unfolded. The enemy frigate currently was using its higher altitude to its advantage, keeping an eye on their every moment and preventing them from catching it off guard with fancy maneuvers. On the ground there were two blips marking the two enemy ground vehicles. Both were in pursuit of the blip marking the Mako, while the marine squad was denoted with another blip. She could still hear the reports from both groups of ground troops and so far, they weren't yet in serious trouble. But that could change quickly. She narrowed her eyes as she saw Joker making a run for a large rock formation, taking them further away from the ground battle. "Joker, what are you planning?" She called out.

"You'll see Shepard! Just enjoy the ride!" Joker called over the intercom as the Normandy side slipped another main cannon shot, its GARDIAN batteries swatting a few missiles down. The ship then suddenly rolled to the right and banked hard, slipping around the rock formation that proved just high enough to break line of sight. Inside, the only thing preventing the crew from flying to the side of the ship was the artificial gravity and inertial compensators, but even that was struggling.

Just as suddenly Joker reversed their turn and brought them back around the way they came, shooting back out from behind the rock formation. The frigate had been aiming towards the other side, expecting them to come that way, and the precious few seconds it took for them to turn back to aim at the Alliance frigate was all the Alliance tactical and gunnery teams needed to take their own shot. A main cannon round from the Normandy slammed into the barriers as a barrage of missiles followed up. Several were shot down by the pirate frigate's own GARDIAN batteries, but a few still managed to slam into the barriers as the Alliance frigate blew past the turian one at high speed. Joker quickly did his best to turn them around again as the turian frigate tried to match them and get around to bring its weapons to bare. Though it was quickly becoming apparent the newer Alliance ship had the advantage in maneuverability and speed.

On the ground Naruto swung the Mako hard to the left, barely dodging yet another cannon round from the IFV as Ashley let out a yell, firing another round at it. The six inch round bounced off the barriers of the IFV, though the batarian vehicle did shudder from the impact. The turian scout car rushed in, its rapid fire cannon chewing into the Mako's own barriers as Naruto swung to the side again to avoid it and throw off its aim. The turian vehicle started to glow as its own barriers absorbed more weapons' fire from the first squad, who had spread out behind their ridge line and were popping up at random intervals to throw off the enemy gunner's aim. It was a deadly game of keep away, as Naruto had to keep using the Mako to grab both enemy vehicle's attention, lest one of them simply sweep around the ridge and gun down the five marines using it for cover. The infantry, meanwhile, were keeping the scout vehicle's attention divided, allowing the Mako to deliver a few well-placed shots into the batarian IFV's barriers.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he spun the vehicle around again, trying to get around the batarian IFV. The batarian vehicle was larger, had more armor, and the two cannons could pack a punch. But it was slow and unwieldy, making it easier for the smaller Mako to dance around it. Now the vehicle was roaring around behind the enemy IFV as the turret on top frantically tried to turn to keep up with them, only for Ashley to fire another six inch cannon round into the side of the IFV. The barriers sparked and flickered around the heavier vehicle.

"I don't think they can take much more of that!" Kaidan said with a grin, only for him and everyone in the Mako to let out a yell as it was rocked from an explosion on the other side. The vehicle shuddered as alarms went off and Naruto fought with the steering to keep the vehicle going while Kaidan quickly assessed what happened. "Rocket hit on the port side! Barriers down to forty-seven percent!"

"2-1, passenger in scout vehicle has heavy ordinance! They just pulled it out!" Tiegson voice roared over the comm as Ashley swung the turret around towards the light turian vehicle. In the passenger side of the vehicle was a second armored turian carrying a bulky long weapon that he was trying to aim in their direction as the light scout vehicle bumped and roared along the dirt. Ashley fired a shot ahead of the scout vehicle, throwing said turian's aim off as the scout vehicle bounced from the concussive blast and turned to avoid the explosion.

"Well, that's just great," Naruto muttered as he quickly turned, driving straight after the scout vehicle. It seemed it was time to end this little game.

In the air, Alicia watched as Joker neatly pulled the Normandy into a climb, avoiding a barrage of missiles from the pirate frigate. A few deft movements later and he had all but spun the ship on its axis, bringing the Alliance frigate into a steep dive back down on the turian ship that was struggling to turn to meet the sudden maneuver. A main cannon round slammed into the enemy frigate, all but dropping its already weakened barriers as the two ships passed, their GARDIAN batteries chewing into each other's hull armor. Again, the Normandy seemed to come out better in the engagement as its GARDIAN laser batteries were of better quality and design, being among the latest in the Alliance arsenal. The laser batteries on the turian frigate were nothing to sneeze at but definitely seemed to be black market grade weapons, not quite up to par with the latest military tech. The two ships sped away from each other with the Alliance ship having a few new marks scouring the hull while the turian frigate's hull actually appeared to be breached in several places, the armor and hull plating in those areas melted away by the laser batteries. Nothing too serious yet but it was obvious in close range the Normandy had the advantage.

Something that apparently the crew of the pirate ship realized as well as they suddenly turned away from the fight and began barreling back towards the ground engagement. Alicia, seeing this, cursed as she realized what was happening. "Joker, get us on their ass!" She shouted out.

The Alliance frigate neatly slipped in behind the pirate frigate, opening up with missiles and the forward GARDIAN batteries as the turian frigate fired back with its rear GARDIAN batteries. Unfortunately, it seemed that they had also fallen for a feint set by the frigate as suddenly it launched a spread of projectiles in its wake that hovered in the air.

"MINES!" The sensor officer shouted as Alicia quickly reacted.

"ECM now! Joker, take us up and over!" She shouted as the tactical officer quickly ordered one of the crew members under his command. Said subordinate quickly activated the electronic counter-measures to throw off the homing scanners of the mines as the GARDIAN batteries began to open up on them. A number of the miens began to wander aimlessly, unable to locate a target, and the laser batteries began to destroy several of the mines. Yet several still managed to get through the sensor jamming and began to home in on the Normandy as Joker pulled up, bringing the ship over the mines as the ones that were homing in followed them.

Alicia, seeing this, grinned as an idea began to form in her head. "Tactical, can you take out one of their engines?" She asked, as the tactical officer set to work with the gunnery station to decide how best to do that. "Joker, on my signal I want you to floor it. Blow us right past them," she ordered.

On the ground, Elanos Haliat grunted as he struggled to turn in the passenger side seat of the scout vehicle so that he could fire another rocket back at the Mako pursuing them. He was forced to hold on as the driver swerved violently to avoid a blast from the Mako, followed up by a cannon round from the batarian IFV that shot past the Mako and almost hit them. He growled angrily, seeing his plan wasn't going entirely as expected.

His plan had been to trap one, if not both, of the Shepard siblings in the mine with the probe and then use the Mako's distress beacon to lure their ship down to the surface. There he would ambush it and claim the ship for his own while detonating the probe to kill both Naruto and Alicia. Once that was done, he would broadcast both the information about the probe and the deaths of the two Shepard's to the galaxy, to further discredit and humiliate the Alliance.

Instead, he found himself engaged in a ground battle while his ship was struggling to handle the Alliance frigate. He turned as he heard multiple distant explosions, catching sight of the rear of his ship being peppered by missiles that were exploding against the ship's barrier. The shields failed even as the frigate tried to twist and dodge, only for a cannon round to slam into the rear of the ship, blowing one of the engine nacelles clean off. The turian frigate shuddered and tilted down a bit, struggling to stay in the air as smoke and flames belched out of its stern.

At the same time the Normandy sped forward, flying close to the pirate ship as it moved right over it. Behind it a number of mines that had been homing in on the Alliance ship now changed course, having a new target in sight. Haliat could only let out a scream of rage as the rear of his ship was engulfed in several smaller explosions. The turian frigate shuddered and began a plunge down towards the ground, trailing smoke, fire, and debris as its entire engine section was destroyed beyond repair. The ship smashed into the ground, erupting further into flames as the hulk of the ship tore through the dirt and sand, creating a massive furrow in its wake.

Seeing his plan falling to pieces he turned to the driver. "Turn us around!" He ordered, only for the driver to stare at him.

"Are you crazy?! That'll kill us!" The driver, a batarian, shouted, only for Haliat to draw his pistol and point it at the batarian.

"Die to them or die to me," the enraged turian said, his helmet hiding the madness in his eyes. The batarian quickly spun the wheel, bringing the turian scout vehicle around. The turian in the gunner's position, seeing where things were going, quickly jumped out while Haliat raised his rocket launcher.

Naruto, seeing what was going on, quickly turned as the rocket was fired. Instead of hitting the Mako, it missed as the Alliance IFV swerved away. It slammed into the front of the batarian IFV, the barriers flaring. Naruto quickly turned again as Ashley swung the gun around and fired the main cannon. The six inch round slammed into the rear of the turian scout car as they passed, all but ripping the rear half of the vehicle off as the front half was blown forward and cart-wheeled. The batarian driver was sent flying and slammed into the ground, breaking his neck. There was no sign of the passenger as the front half came to a rest.

Sadly, there was no time to celebrate as the batarian IFV kept coming, firing both cannons. One round slammed into the ground near the Mako but the other found its mark, depleting the weakened barriers of the Mako. Naruto cursed as he tried to turn, only for the wheels on the left side to slam into a partially buried boulder. The Mako fishtailed out of control, Naruto frantically struggling to regain control as the heavier batarian IFV prepared to fire again. That is until a missile streaked in from the sky and slammed down into the IFV, completely obliterating it in a large explosion.

The occupants of the Alliance vehicle all let out a collective sigh of relief as the Normandy flew by overhead, coming around and slowing as it descended towards them. The Alliance marines moved from their position at the ridge, quickly heading to check the two burning vehicle wrecks for survivors as Naruto began slowly driving in that direction as well while activating the comm. "Normandy 2-1 to Normandy Actual. Thanks for the save," he said.

"You can thank me by buying drinks next time we're on leave," Alicia reported over the comm.

"Normandy Actual, 2-1, this is Normandy 3-1. Confirmed one living tango, badly wounded. Chances of survival are unlikely," Lieutenant Tiegson reported, causing Naruto to drive over to the wreck of the turian scout car. He parked and began to get out as the Normandy finally landed. The hanger deck ramp lowered and both the marines of second squad, as well as the rest of the ground team, descended down the ramp with Alicia in front, all of them fully armored and armed.

"Well shit, I hate that I missed all the fun," Wrex commented, seeing the burning wreckage of the batarian IFV and the broken front half of the turian scout car. Off in the distance they could see the smoke and hear the explosions from the crashed pirate frigate.

Naruto and Alicia, however, were focused on the figure that the marines of first squad had pulled from the scout car wreckage. An armored turian lay on the ground, with sections of his armor plating torn off and some of the under-suit ripped. His left arm and both legs were broken twisted at awkward angles, and they could see a jagged piece of metal sticking out of the right side of his suit, through the lower abdomen.

The turian turned his head, glaring in the direction of Alicia and Naruto, the two of them recognizable thanks to their N7 armor's. "…damn you…damn you both," he snarled out softly. "It wasn't…supposed to be…this way…"

"Who are you?" Alicia demanded. The turian to let out a broken chuckle that sounded like he was choking on fluid.

"D-Don't even know…who I am…not surprising," he said. "…I'm…the one who…made you two famous…Elanos Haliat…the mastermind of…the Skyllian Blitz," he coughed out. "Now…just some nobody pirate…about to die on this spirits forsaken rock…"

He turned away, staring off into nothing. "Was going…to be my rise to fame…get revenge on you two…expose the weakness of your pathetic species…but now…heh…now…nothing…left for me…" his voice grew weaker with each word, before his body went limp and his helmeted head hit the ground.

Alicia shook her head, turning away and pointing to the second squad of marines. "Start gathering up the dead here. Captain, take your squad and secure that damn probe. The rest of you, come with me. We're going to secure the pirate wreck and see if there are any survivors," she ordered.

Everyone quickly rushed to follow her orders as she headed to the Mako to take it while contacting Pressly. "Get on the horn to Admiral Hackett; tell him we ran into a pirate ambush. Securing the site now."

As the rest of the ground team piled into the Mako, Alicia paused for a moment, looking back at the body of the turian as two marines lifted it up and began carrying it away from the wreckage. She shook her head at seeing the result of the turian's quest for vengeance before climbing up into the Mako and driving away, leaving the scene behind.

And chapter. Damnit, almost got this one done before the end of April. Sorry everyone, ended up having to spend a few days helping my dad clear some of our old crap out and stuff, so it ended up slowing me down on this chapter.

Alicia: Well this was an interesting one. Definitely wasn't how it went down in canon.

LR: To be honest, I didn't think anyone would realistically walk into what was so obviously a trap. I mean seriously, this probe is on the opposite side of Alliance space from where it needs to be, on an abandoned planet, in an abandoned mine shaft? With no one present? Clearly a trap.

Wrex: Heh, good point kid. *smacks me on the back*

LR: …why? *Is picking myself off the floor*

Wrex: Punishment for writing too slowly.

LR: …fair enough.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you're staying safe! Thanks again to a7xfanatic11 for his work betaing this chapter! Till next time everybody!

1. So yes, that's something about the Conclave they never really address,: it's made up of civilian representatives from each ship in the Migrant Fleet. At least that's the wording they use. That's 50,000 representatives, one for each ship. Now if we're going to be realistic, I don't think it actually is that number, because I think there are a number of ships in the Migrant fleet that might not be capable of supporting a 'civilian' population. I do think that a number of the Migrant Fleet's vessels are most likely either too small or that their purpose in the fleet might severely restrict what crew are onboard. However, that still likely means the Conclave is made up of thousands of representatives.