Mass Effect: Maelstrom Siblings

by Leaf Ranger

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

25. The Truth of Memories

So first off, sorry about how long it's taken to getting this chapter out. My Beast Wars chapter took much longer to write then I wanted, as the last chapter of Maelstrom Siblings did. And some other craziness popped up, such as my sister moving out, her getting COVID (She's fine but it was scary there while she was in quarantine), dealing with some things at home, my own laziness occasionally cropping up, and being distracted by both by my first ever DnD campaign wrapping up (my half-orc Champion Fighter taking part in Curse of Strahd) and getting my hands on Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Holy hell is it amazing. The graphics are just insane, and I love the changes they made to the first ME game.

Second of all, in case anyone didn't notice, my story here has a new art cover! My beta a7xfanatic11 sent it to me, catching me completely off guard. And I love it. It really is amazing. So now you all can get a much better idea of what Alicia looks like then my sorry ass can describe. Thank you to a7xfanatic11 and to the artist who drew it!

Diehard FemShepLiara Leaf Ranger: That's great and all, but we've still got a problem here. *points to still catatonic Alicia*

Leaf Ranger: Ouch, yeah. Jeez, still like that? Probably going to take a bit to get her back in shape. See if you can get Liara to help while I handle things here.

DFSLLR: Whatever man. *heads over to Alicia while using his omni-tool to call Liara*

LR: Right, well let's get going. Got some reviews to address here first and foremost. First off to Guest Z, thank you for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the drama/conflict in it. Yeah, I wanted to show that despite how close Alicia and Naruto were, it was still possible for there to be problems with them. Just so they didn't seem utterly perfect.

To Shadow, thanks for the review! With regards to that, it is possible the Normandy wasn't in a position to shoot down the batarian escape ship. It's possible as well that Balak had some sort of dead-man's switch that would ensure the bombs went off if anything happened to him, so the Normandy couldn't shoot his ship down. Don't know for certain either way.

To anonymous Guest, thanks for the review. Sorry it was a hard one to read, it was a hard one to write at the end.

To anonymous Guest, who reviewed chapter 5. Sorry about that. I don't know if it made you stop reading the fanfic or not, having Sasuke pop up. But I'm hoping that how I plan to use him in my fanfic, if you keep reading, will make it worth it.

To deadarm00, who did sign in but disabled Pm's…I'm not exactly sure how you came to the conclusions you did. Naruto is the one acting like a rational soldier who is remembering his duty. Alicia was the one who was allowing her emotions to control her. She didn't want to take down Balak because he was a terrorist, she wanted to do so because he was a batarian, and batarians caused her past trauma. In essence, Naruto knew his sister was about to sacrifice innocent lives not to stop a dangerous threat, but because she wanted to give in to her own need for vengeance. What Naruto did was both for those people she'd sacrifice and for his sister as well. As for bringing up their dad, Naruto did so because Alicia essentially is using their father being killed by batarians as justification for what she does to batarians. She's the one who is bringing him into it, Naruto just vocalized that by saying it's not what he'd want. So again, I honestly am not sure how you came to the conclusions you did. But to each their own.

Anyways, that's it for reviews here. Thanks for your patience everyone, and I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter.

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

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Chapter 25

The Truth of Memories

Naruto Uzumaki Shepard quietly sat in his shared cabin on the SSV Normandy, blankly staring at the transfer request currently being displayed on his omni-tool. His eyes, now a dull, slightly lifeless shade of blue compared to their more usual vibrant color, continued to skim the document as he contemplated what it meant and represented.

It had been two days since the events above Terra Nova and since then Naruto had spent most of his time outside of his duties keeping to himself in his cabin. He had no real desire to interact with anybody outside of his duties, instead trying to deal with the storm of emotions that still raged within him on his own. Pain and sorrow that weighed down his heart and made it feel heavy, as if any moment it might drop down into his stomach. But also, brief moments of anger directed at his sister that flared up, sending hot waves through his body, a sickly, dark fire that felt like it was burning him within.

He had done his best to keep these emotions in check while on duty, but even without displays of his emotions the atmosphere of the ship had been affected by the tension between his sister and himself. Everyone on the ship could feel an oppressive atmosphere looming over them, weighing down on them and replacing the growing aura of camaraderie that had been present the last few days before Asteroid X57.

It hadn't taken him long, after he left his sister's cabin, to bring up this document. He had been contemplating filling it out and sending it in, yet he kept stopping himself at the last minute each time. Arguments and reasons continued to echo through his mind and heart, both emotional and rational ones on why he should or shouldn't put in the request for transfer.

The rational argument for leaving was sound. The current tension between the two of them could put the mission in jeopardy if they could not find a way to solve it. It was affecting the crew and the ground team, as they could see something was wrong between the two siblings. If he left, the tension would hopefully be gone and that would solve the problem. Yet there were also rational reasons for staying as well. His leaving could have just as much, if not more of a negative impact on the team and mission then if he stayed. It would affect the team's capabilities as he was among the more versatile members of Alicia's ground team, being able to provide long range fire support, close range combat, and powerful biotics. Not to mention he was Alicia's second in command on the ground team, and him leaving would necessitate her having to place one of the others in that position, though Kaidan could probably fill the position if need be.

It was the same on the emotional side of things. Part of him was arguing that he needed to get away from Alicia. It was probably because his emotions were so raw still at the moment, but he couldn't see any way for them to reconcile things in any short amount of time. It would be better if he put some distance between them, let them both cool down and sort things out, and maybe at some point later they could try to talk it over. That is provided they were still alive some time later. But another part of him argued that despite what his sister had said, he couldn't just abandon her like that. Not right now. This mission was too important, and she needed all the help she could get. Could he really just abandon her, especially when as that part of him pointed out, it was obvious at the end there that she hadn't meant to hurt him? And what if he did leave? What if he left and then found out she had died, and he could have saved her? Could he put Hannah, his mother, through that after the loss of Malcolm?

He growled angrily and shut the omni-tool down, laying back on his bunk while slamming a fist into the metal bulkhead next to him. He hated that he didn't have a clear answer here. He hated the idea of feeling guilty for not staying when it was clearly Alicia's fault, but he also couldn't stand the idea of abandoning Alicia no matter how much she had hurt him here. If she had been stubborn and seemingly unrepentant for what she had said he probably would have had an easier time making this choice. But the few times he had seen her since their argument, he had been able to notice the signs under the professional mask she had thrown up. She had seemed just as emotional and upset as he felt, sending him sad glances before quickly looking away. A part of him hated that, because it made it that more difficult to think about leaving.

He laid there, one arm across his eyes, stewing in his emotions as he continued to struggle with the conflicting thoughts. For once, the memories of his ancestors seemed to be of little help. Most disagreements like this among the vulzan usually were dealt with quickly through spars and fights, to get all the emotions in the open and dealt with rather than letting them grow and stew within. There was no way to deal with that now though, not with the hunt for Saren and the war with the geth. All of which left him seemingly on his own to deal with his warring emotions.

It was at that moment that there was a soft knock on the cabin door, causing him to look up. "Come in," he said tiredly, sitting up and doing his best to straighten his fatigues out.

The door opened and he looked up to see Tali standing there, her body language showing plenty of hesitancy. "C-Can speak with you?" She asked, her eyes glancing around the small two-person cabin as she asked.

Naruto blinked at that before nodding. "Sure," he said, remaining seated as she entered and the door slid shut behind her. He watched her as she looked around the room, guessing that she was feeling rather inquisitive about it. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's…kind of silly but…this feels…familiar to me," she said as she glanced around the room. It consisted of two bunks on opposite sides of the cabin, with a single desk and sink in between the two. The underside of both bunks had drawers for the occupants' clothes and personal effects, while a single mirror hung above the sink that had the two occupants' toiletries within.

Tali moved over to the other bunk, looking at it. "My room on the Rayya was about this big, maybe a little smaller," she said. "Funnily enough…I was considered lucky. My father being an admiral meant we got slightly bigger accommodations then most other quarians. Here though...what I consider comfortably roomy, you consider somewhat cramped."

Naruto just watched her for a moment as she let out an awkward giggle, before he spoke up. "Did you need something?" He asked, not entirely in the mood for small talk.

Tali turned towards him, shifting and looking uncomfortable before finally speaking. "…I'm not going to ask what happened between you and the Commander," she said. "It is personal. But…something obviously did happen after we got back from dealing with those batarians. Everyone can sense it. I…wanted to come see if there was anything I could to help." As she said this, she awkwardly played with her hands while she glanced down slightly.

The blonde marine let out a sigh before standing up and moving to the sink, briefly splashing water onto his face to refresh himself. "I doubt there's anything you can do to help Tali. As you just said, this is something personal. So thank you for the offer but you should just go," he said, placing his hands on the sink, looking down instead of into the mirror where he would be able to see her. He knew if he looked at her, he'd feel the temptation to blurt out his thoughts, his problems, to air out what was going on between him and Alicia.

"I…are you sure there isn't anything I can do? After all you and your sister have done for me, I want to-," she started to say, only for him to interrupt.

"You're paying us back by being on the mission Tali. You don't need to do anything else," he said shortly, grabbing a hanging towel and drying his face off. "And again, this is personal."

"I-I see…I'm sorry then." He winced as he heard her voice, her words soft and filled with disappointment and some sadness. "I-I'll just be going then."

He mentally cursed and turned just as she was reaching for the door hologram. "Wait…I'm sorry," he said, seeing her hesitate. "You're just trying to help and I don't mean to be short with you. I just…I have a lot I'm trying to deal with at the moment. And I just…I'm not sure I know what to do."

She pulled her hand away from the door, watching as he rubbed his face. "Can you…try to explain without giving personal details?" She asked him.

He slowly dropped his hands from his face, causing Tali's eyes to widen slightly. The look on his face was one of sadness, the eyes duller. His whole bearing spoke of mental and emotional exhaustion, weighed down by whatever turmoil was going on with him. "I don't…I don't know if I can," he said tiredly, pointing to his bunk to indicate she should sit while he leaned against the wall. Tali slowly sat down, watching him as he partially stood, partially slouched against the wall, before he finally spoke up. "Have you ever had to deal with...a family member doing something that hurt you? Not physically, I mean emotionally," he said quietly.

Tali hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I don't…not really," she finally answered. "My mother was nice and kind to me, but she passed away a few years ago. My father…he could be strict and demanding, especially after my mother died. He was always a bit distant but after that he…well, in a way I…I suppose that did hurt. But he never actually hurt me. Beyond that...I have no other relatives. Though there are plenty who I suppose are like family. Like my Auntie Raan, who has been a very close family friend."

"…I'm sorry about your mother," Naruto said quietly, looking down at the floor. "It hurts…losing them."

Tali nodded at that, looking down at her hands. "Is that what happened to you both? The Commander…on the asteroid…she mentioned your father."

Naruto kept staring down at the floor, his body tensing as the mention of his father and the events of the asteroid brought everything back up. All the emotions of the moment, of the past couple days, welling up again. It took him a few moments before he was finally able to answer, his voice thick with emotion. "…Mindoir," he said finally. "Our father was killed on Mindoir. It…affected Alicia terribly."

For a few moments there was only silence and then a gasp from her as realization set in. The raid on Mindoir was a rather well-known event since it was the cause of the Batarian Hegemony ending its affiliation with the Council. They were the only species to do so willingly as both the krogan and quarians had their embassies removed, their affiliation status revoked.

"I…I'm sorry," she finally said quietly as he finally moved to the bunk and sat next to her, feeling too drained to remain standing. Tali slowly and hesitantly reached out, finally placing a hand on his arm to try to offer him some kind of support.

"…it affected all of us pretty badly but...Alicia was the worst," he whispered out, staring unseeingly towards the opposite side of the room. "Our mother…it took her a while to recover from it. And it hurt me a lot to, knowing he was gone but also seeing what it did to Alicia and our mom. Alicia…she nearly broke. She was so unresponsive for a while and…I thought we had lost her."

He continued to stare ahead, seemingly unaware of the soft touch on his arm as he spoke. "We all got help afterwards, dealing with the grief. Our godparents, they supported us. And we saw a therapist to help us deal with the grief but…I guess a part of Alicia just never really fully recovered. You saw it on the asteroid there. She's always hated batarians since Mindoir but…after she took part in the Battle of Torfan...I don't know. When it came to batarians, her hatred seemed…different."

He shook his head finally, taking a deep breath and finally looking to her hand on his arm. He didn't seem to react beyond that, but he did look forward again. "I don't...I can't explain what's happened between us. That's too personal," he said quietly, clenching his fists. "Just...let's just say her anger and pain might have finally pushed her too far now."

Tali slowly pulled her hand away, nodding. "I understand. I'm sorry that I can't actually help you then," she said, her voice soft and low in disappointment. "But…it's obvious this is bothering you a great deal. You should talk to someone about it. Someone you do feel like you can share it with."

Naruto looked at her for a moment, his blue eyes meeting the soft silver ones barely visible through the purple tinted glass of her mask. He contemplated her words for a few moments, before looking away. "...I suppose there is someone I can talk to but...I just…don't know if I want to drag others into this."

"At the very least…it'll help you out, won't it?" She asked him quietly.

He just sighed before giving a solemn nod. "I suppose it might. Thank you, Tali," he finally said quietly.

She nodded and slowly stood. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I can start to pay you back for all you've done. And not just by helping out on the ground team and the ship," she told him.

Naruto just nodded and watched her leave the quarters. When the door slid closed he quietly laid out on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments as he thought about her suggestion. Finally, after several moments he raised his arm to bring up his omni-tool and began to type out a message.

Unknown Location

"Your mission was a failure, Balak. Not only does the human colony still stand, but you lost a number of operatives and resources in the process. As well as the loss of an entire slaver group." Balak could only glower at the small holographic image of a batarian wearing an overly decorative uniform with an array of medals and ribbons on his chest, most of which Balak knew were awarded to his superior for the sake of appearance and propaganda rather than any merit. Though he'd never say that out loud.

"We weren't expecting them to send someone like the Butcher in response," Balak snapped back angrily. "Everything was going to plan until she showed up."

"And now the Alliance and Council have potential ammunition to use against the Hegemony! The fact that you escaped means they'll be breathing down our necks, wanting answers! You know what that means don't you?" The holographic batarian snarled.

Balak stiffened at that before quickly leaning forward. "We can succeed. I just need a bit more time and resources. If you just-," he started to protest, only to be cut off.

"This initiative is over! We gave you the time and resources you asked for, and you have given us almost nothing in return! The Alliance is not any weaker from your own actions. Most of what you accomplished was minor annoyances at best that wasted men and resources! And now you've potentially handed them something that could lead to a Council investigation! Your project is over. You'll return to Kar'Shan for re-assignment while we re-allocate your resources to the Leviathan project. That is all," the batarian ordered before cutting off the communication.

Balak growled angrily before standing abruptly, knocking over the chair of his small office. He angrily began to pace, fists clenched as he began to stew.

He had, for the past three years, been leading a small task force of 'irregulars' stationed near the edges of the Attican Traverse. Their mission had been a simple one: conduct raids and sabotage actions against Alliance colonies and shipping in order to destabilize humanity and make an eventual invasion by the Hegemony that much easier. It had been his brainchild, both to strike back at the filthy humans and to earn himself prestige and promotions within the military by striking a blow for the Hegemony. Yet he had severely underestimated the capabilities of the Alliance. Most of the raids and attacks had proven ineffectual, largely due to his need to bolster his 'volunteers' with pirates and slavers. And since the time of Mindoir, Elysium, and Torfan, the Alliance had bolstered their early warning systems and patrols along their borders to make pirates and slaver raids even more difficult to pull off. However, the recent battle with the geth had been a golden opportunity, as the Alliance forces were stretched thin and it was far easier to sneak through their lines.

Yet even then he had been met with failure. The most they had accomplished was to kill a few humans and put fear into them. Yet it had seemingly cost his forces far more. While he had escaped with a few operatives, the majority had been killed, along with the entire slaver group he had hired to aid them. And he had been forced to retreat back to his hidden sanctuary, recalling several other operatives as well. They had been in place to quickly launch a series of smaller strikes while the Alliance scrambled to deal with the devastating aftermath of Terra Nova, but since his plan had been foiled many of the Alliance defensive forces were still in place where they could intercept his forces.

And now it was all over. His plans, his ambitions, dead in the water because of the efforts of Alicia Shepard, the Butcher of Torfan. He growled angrily as he thought about the woman, thought about her words. How dare she try to lecture him, to act the victim? She was a blind fool, thoroughly indoctrinated by her people's propaganda.

He so badly wanted to hunt her down, to capture and break her, to see her spend the rest of her life in servitude where she and all humans belonged. But he doubted he'd ever get the chance. His forces were returning to the home world. The resources meant to keep his operation going for the next couple years would instead be sent to Project Leviathan.

Balak scowled angrily at that, stopping as he glared at the empty space where the hologram had been. While the majority of the project was shrouded in mystery, he had heard enough rumors to piece some information together. It was the study of an ancient massive warship, a derelict hulk from a time well before even the Protheans. The Hegemony had been studying it for some time now, attempting to unlock the secrets of the ancient race that built this massive space hulk, one that dwarfed even the largest warships of any of the current races. In Balak's mind it was a waste of time. If this ship and the technology onboard were so powerful, where was said race then? Why was the ship left a drifting, powerless hulk? Obviously, the technology was most likely primitive and couldn't match anything the batarians had already.

Snarling he sat back down at his desk. It didn't matter now. He had his orders, and he would obey them. But as he began preparations for the decommissioning of his base, he swore one day he'd have revenge on Alicia Shepard.

Kepler Verge Cluster, SSV Kilimanjaro

"Admiral, enemy ships are on approach, counting eighteen tangos," called out the sensor officer from their post, turning their head to call back to where Admiral Alviano stood. Said admiral was watching the holographic display update with dots indicating the approaching geth task force she and her group had been assigned to intercept.

Alviano nodded at that. "Any sign that they've detected Element Bravo?" She asked, glancing at where a portion of her ships were currently hidden on the map.

"No ma'am! The star's heat and radiation output seems to be masking them from passive sensors," the sensor officer responded.

Captain Hannah Shepard, from her own post near the tactical, nodded as she heard that. It was an old tactic, one used by pilots back at the dawn of military aviation when they would use the sun at their backs to hide from enemy pilots before diving down upon them. Here in space combat, it proved highly effective in hiding from enemy passive scanners designed to detect heat and radiation energy signatures at long ranges. It would have been far less effective against closer range 'active' sensors, which were radar and ladar based instead.

Their task force had been split off from the rest of Fourth Fleet to interdict a group of geth ships that had been sent out to try to raid some of the human mining colonies in the Kepler Verge. Despite the engagements with the geth boiling down more to a series of small skirmishes, the geth seemed resolute in keeping the Alliance's focus on them along the border of Alliance space, continually sending out raiding groups and probing attacks to keep the Alliance fleets engaged.

The small group of Alliance ships had managed to reach the area first, and had rapidly deployed themselves for the geth's arrival. The main part of the task force would draw the geth in, while an element of their ships made up of some of the frigates, destroyers, and one light cruiser, waited to ambush the geth. Of course, this put a lot of danger on the main task force, having to take the brunt of the geth attack. But the Alliance ships had another trick up their sleeve, one that had only been recently acquired and put into practice by the ships of the Second and Fourth Fleets.

"Ready defensive countermeasures," Alviano called out, causing Hannah to turn to the fire control officer.

"Tactical, ready defensive countermeasures on launchers seven through twelve!" She called out, with the fire control officer setting the targets while relaying the orders to the gunnery officer. An order being mirrored on the majority of the other ships facing the approaching geth.

"Energy spikes! They're preparing to fire!" Shouted the sensor officer.

"All ships, evasive action! Ready to fire on my mark!" Alviano called out, immediately strapping herself into her combat chair, as did the other officers and bridge crew not already seated. Klaxon's blared throughout the bridge as they felt the deck shudder beneath them as the thrusters and engines fired, maneuvering the massive dreadnought out of the way at the same time the holographic display showed a series of blinking dots streak across its map towards their ships. Thankfully the Alliance ships, at this distance, were able to maneuver out of the enemy's line of fire.

"Countermeasures ready!" The tactical officer shouted with Hannah quickly relaying the report.

"FIRE!"

Outside, the Alliance ships launched a barrage of missiles in the direction of the geth ships. Something that would be considered pointless and foolhardy as the range was far too great for them to be of any use. At this range they would be easily detected, targeted, and by the time they reached the geth ships they'd be swatted out of the 'sky' by their GARDIAN batteries. That is…if these missiles had been intended to actually hit the geth ships.

Instead, the newly developed DCM-7 defensive ordinance missile was not an offensive weapon at all. It was a defensive weapon that had been languishing in some Alliance R&D department until the geth attacks began and the Alliance began trying to find new technologies to help give them an edge over the superior ships and weapons of the geth. The weapon had gone through rushed testing before being approved and manufacturing began at an accelerated base, with the first shipments being quickly delivered to the battered warships of the Second and Fourth Fleets.

The barrage of missiles, nicknamed 'Smokers' by the ordinance personnel, streaked through the empty space between the two forces before suddenly detonating between the two fleets. Each one let out a large explosion, erupting in a cloud of lead, titanium dioxide, and carbon particles that was spread out by the explosive force of each missile's detonation. (1)

On the bridge of the Kilimanjaro, the holographic map soon stopped registering the position of the geth ships, as their active sensors were blocked by the cloud of particles reflecting the radar and ladar waves. They could still get faint readings with their passive sensors, but nowhere near enough to make accurate shots with their weaponry. All part of the plan, as they knew the same held true for the geth ships on the other side of the particle clouds.

Alviano quickly signaled to another officer. "Have the drones deployed to begin feeding us targeting information. And contact the Richmond. Tell them to prepare to attack on my mark!" She ordered.

On the other side of the particle cloud, the geth ships hesitated. This strange tactic by the human forces had been reported only two other times from other geth units. In one instance the Alliance ships had used the particle clouds to flee, preventing the geth from being able to accurately fire at them as they retreated. The second time it had been employed, the Alliance ships had used the cloud to hide their movements as they suddenly emerged from either side, flanking the geth forces that had moved forward to pass through the cloud. So far, the geth had no answer to this strange tactic. They could not adapt their sensors to defeat the clouds of particles reflecting their targeting sensors and there was not enough data to confirm a pattern to the Alliance's tactics when using said projectiles, preventing them from creating a proper response.

Their hesitancy would cost them. Their sensors managed to pick up several small contacts appearing above and below the very slowly dispersing particle clouds, contacts they identified as Alliance VI drones. And not even a few moments later rounds pierced through the clouds without warning, slamming into the frontal barriers of the leading geth ships. Another salvo slammed into the geth ships as they began to take evasive actions, trying to avoid a third murderous salvo. One round slammed into a geth frigate that had been turning away and the ship's weaker barriers collapsed, the round ripping partially into the hull of the ship.

Onboard the Alliance dreadnought, the bridge crew was calling out reports on enemy ship movements, status of weapons, and new targeting data as a fourth salvo from the main cannons blasted through the particle cloud. There were fewer hits this time as the geth ships were now taking evasive action, but Hannah could only grimly nod as one geth target blinked out of existence from their sensors, the info being fed to them by the dozen or so VI drones.

Alviano, seeing the cloud becoming thinner, set to action. "Have all ships focus fire on their heavy ships. And signal Bravo, tell them to make their attack run."

The ships of the main force now focused all their fire on the heaviest ships of the geth force, three heavy cruisers. The main cannons began pounding on the barriers of those ships, whittling them down with constant barrages from the cannons of twenty ships. It did not take long for the barriers of one of them to fail and the ship's hull to soon be perforated by main battery rounds of at least eight ships slamming into it. The ship soon began to unnaturally twist and drift, the engines and maneuvering thrusters misfiring as systems failed before the ship went dark as main power failed. To make sure, the Alliance dreadnought put a round through the estimated position of the ship's engineering compartment, resulting in an explosion that ripped apart the rear half of the ship.

Some of the geth ships, thanks to their maneuvering, now had clear 'sight' on the Alliance ships and were maneuvering to engage them now. Others were still blind though, and attempted to simply charge straight through what was left of the particle cloud. Yet they were soon distracted by the appearance of Element Bravo on their flank, the ships moving at high speed away from the star to reveal a group of five frigates, three destroyers, and one cruiser. This group of ships began to rapid fire into the flanks of the geth ships as the main force continued their concentrated barrage, soon 'mission' killing a second heavy cruiser when a round blew apart the command area of the ship. Two geth frigates were also destroyed at the same time, one a spiraling dark wreck after taking several hits while the second exploded from its eezo core overloading.

Yet the remaining geth ships gave as good as they got. On the main force's flank, a frigate soon came under fire from a geth light cruiser and frigate. Even as the neighboring Alliance ships focused down the two attackers, the frigate Jutland soon was spiraling out of control, its port engines blown away and power failing as the crew abandoned ship. However, the geth light cruiser fell prey to the destroyer Osowiec, which quickly blasted gaping holes in the hull of the ship with its twin main battery guns before coming up alongside and launching a barrage of missiles while at the same time its GARDIAN batteries began cutting through the armor as well. The entire port side of the geth ship soon was a mangled mess as what missiles made it through the geth's own GARDIAN batteries ripped apart the weakened hull, exposing massive amounts of the ship's interior to space even. The Alliance destroyer maneuvered away and an accompanying frigate, the Chalons, made its own run and finished the ship off with a quick missile barrage. The geth frigate attempted to pursue the retreating Chalons, only to find that they were giving broadside to the cruiser Austin. Within moments the geth frigate was reduced to floating debris from the cruiser's focused fire.

On the bridge of the Kilimanjaro, Alviano grimaced as she saw a second Alliance frigate, the Verdun, vanish from sensors. The report quickly came in that unlike the Jutland, she was completely lost with almost all hands. Yet she felt grim satisfaction as the geth were coming off far worse in this fight. The geth had fewer numbers and due to the advantage gained by initially denying them the ability to target the Alliance ships and forcing the geth to scatter from their hidden volleys, they had taken heavy losses. The last of the geth heavy cruisers was now drifting lifelessly through space, the engines a mangled mess and power fluctuating throughout the ship. The remaining geth cruisers and frigates, a total of four ships out of the original eighteen they engaged, were retreating quickly away from the fight with main cannon fire either passing by them or striking at their rear barriers.

As the bridge crew began to cheer, Alviano unbuckled herself from the chair. "Open a channel to all ships," she quickly ordered. As soon as she received confirmation, she began giving orders. "All ships break off the attack. Begin damage and rescue operations. I want a status report on all ships within the hour," she ordered.

She turned to Captain's Ruttagher and Shepard as the various ships signaled receiving her orders. "How did we do?" She asked.

Hannah, as the executive officer and in charge of getting a preliminary fleet assessment, responded first. "Verdun is gone. Most of the crew didn't even have time to get to the escape pods. We'll know more after rescue operations are done. Jutland might be salvageable, but we'll need to get a full salvage team out here to retrieve her. The Ticonderoga took a bad hit as well. Last report from them was they lost all main power and barely had life support working on backups. Rest of the fleet took some hits here and there, but those were the worst of them."

"And ourselves?" The admiral asked, turning to Ruttagher, the commanding officer of the ship.

"We took a few hits, but the barriers held for the most part. One missile did manage to hit the hull and caused a forward section of Deck Ten to start venting, but damage control managed to get it sealed up and repair teams will get it patched up and good as new. No injuries among the crew," he reported.

"Good...very good," the admiral said, turning to look forward as the armored shutters began to slide away from in front of the bridge windows, allowing them to see the carnage. The floating wreckage of over a dozen geth ships drifted in front of them, some of them lifeless floating hulks while others were little more than debris clouds. "I want full sweeps of the wreckages for any active signatures. The last thing we need is any geth drones hitching a ride on some mining vessel or transport ship coming through this area. And send a preliminary report to command."

The bridge crew nodded and set to work, with Hannah moving to a console to begin ordering the sweeps of the geth wreckage. Giving the commands to the crewmember at the communication console, she glanced up to look out the windows at the wreckage of their enemies.

The geth were not like any other force the Alliance had faced before, whether in actual or simulated combat. They were coordinated, and so far, their ships seemed more powerful than any other they had encountered before. It made them very deadly in open combat. But the Alliance was coming to grips with them. The geth seemed slow to react to unusual or unorthodox tactics, and there was no ability among them to seize individual initiative. But they could adapt quite rapidly, as already many of the initial tactics the Alliance had employed were being countered.

And this was the enemy her children had to face down. While she was here with the fleet, Alicia and Naruto were facing these things in a single ship or on foot with a small squad. It left her worried; especially since it was apparent her daughter was the key to ending this entire conflict as she hunted down the perpetrator behind the geth attack. She could only hope that the two of them remained safe and came out of this alive.

Finishing giving orders she watched as some of the smaller ships surged past, heading towards the floating wreckage to begin searching for any active geth, leaving her to move on to the next station and continue coordinating the task force's actions in the aftermath of their victory.

SSV Normandy

In the communications room, Alicia stood alone facing the holographic display. Her shoulders were slumped, and her entire posture radiated the emotions she was feeling at the moment: sadness, disgust, self-loathing, and anger. She had done her best to conceal them while on duty, her military training helping her maintain her focus and composure. But while she was alone, she let the façade slip.

She was currently leaned over, gripping the sides of the control console for the emitter and communication system, her shoulders trembling as she did her best to fight back tears. How could she have said that to Naruto? How could she have been so heartless and stupid to say something like that to him? The answer was simple. In the heat of the moment, hearing his words, she had wanted to hurt him. Hurt him for making her so angry, for standing up to her on this issue. Worked up by her anger, her hatred, the pain from the memories about her father's death, she had wanted nothing more than to cause him pain like she had been feeling at the moment. She had remembered how when they were younger, Naruto had been worried about being accepted by the family, that they took him in out of obligation rather than actually caring about him. Malcolm and Hannah, upon learning about this, had told Naruto that it wasn't true. While that might have been how it was at the very start, they now couldn't think of him as anything but their son. Alicia had done the same, doing everything she could to convince Naruto that he was her brother.

And yet now Alicia had used that fear in a moment of anger. And in the process, she had done possibly irreparable damage to their bond. She closed her eyes, her breathing short and erratic as she did her best to keep from breaking down. She couldn't, not here. Not where others could see. She barely managed to fight the choking tsunami of emotions, to prevent them from spilling out, leaving her shaking and drawing to draw in deeper breaths of air.

She knew she had to fix things between Naruto. She knew that she had to take the first step in trying to fix things. But she had no idea how she possibly could do it. She couldn't just apologize to him. It would mean nothing when she hadn't done anything to show how sorry she was, how wrong she had been.

With one final shuddering breath she released the console, only now realizing she had been clenching the sides of it so hard that her hands had been aching from the strain. She slowly took a few more breaths, trying to reclaim her composure. She would figure out what to do later. For now, she had a briefing to commence, as they had received an impromptu mission from Admiral Hackett.

Finally calming herself as much as she could she turned around and waited a few more moments. And sure enough, the door soon opened, and the ground team entered. As they did, Alicia barely stopped herself from wincing. The members of the team seemed a bit tense, the air of camaraderie somewhat lessened from where it was before Terra Nova. None of them seemed tense around each other, but she could sense there was an atmosphere of worry and concern now eating away at most of the team. Her eyes lingered a bit on Naruto when he entered, though his focus seemed to slide off her moments after he saw her. He still took his customary place next to what would be her chair when she sat down, but his frame was tense as he did so. He too was relying on his military training to maintain composure.

Taking a deep breath as she saw everyone seated, she turned to the holo-projector. "Sorry to call you all in. After Terra Nova I was hoping we'd have a few days to recuperate. Unfortunately, something has come up," she said as she typed in a few commands, bringing up the image of a system. "This is the Century System of the Hawking Eta Cluster. Our mission objective is here on Presrop, the moon orbiting the planet Klendagon. We're being sent to handle a situation with a biotic commune that has been established there in the past few months."

Wrex grunted in annoyance. "Why in the hell are they sending us there? This doesn't have anything to do with Saren," he muttered. "Seems like we're getting dragged around doing clean-up work for the Alliance."

Alicia just let out a sigh. "Without any new leads, we're spinning our wheels until something new comes up," she said. "In truth though, we weren't the first ones being sent in. The commune is being run by Andrew Kyle, a former Alliance major suffering from PTSD. Despite not being a biotic himself, he has chosen to champion the cause of human biotics. At first there was no concern about this, until his followers began sending messages out across the extranet. The biotics at this commune are claiming that the Alliance is attempting to manipulate biotics into joining and serving the Alliance military. Their messages state that the Alliance is behind the suspicion and discrimination biotics face among normal civilians, in order to drive them to the Alliance military. None of it is true, but the higher ups were still worried about what image this might create."

"The Alliance sent two diplomats in to attempt to negotiate with Kyle, to bring him back for treatment for his PTSD. Both were killed by Kyle's followers and their escorts were driven off. Admiral Hackett has decided the next best response is a team that can attempt to negotiate, but can also fight its way out if need be. Our orders are simple: we're to speak to Kyle and negotiate for his return to the Alliance for treatment, as well as the surrender of those responsible for the death of the two officers. If he refuses to surrender those responsible but allows us to leave, we're to contact alliance command and allow them to take it from there. If they turn hostile, we are to attempt to subdue the biotics if it does not jeapordize our safety to do so."

Garrus leaned forward, his mandible's twitching a bit. "Why would he be claiming the Alliance is responsible for biotic's problems? There isn't any truth to that is there?"

Kaidan was the one to speak up. "There were some shady dealings early on when biotics first were discovered among humans. I should know, I was part of their initial attempts at biotic training. But I doubt very much the Alliance is behind anything like what he seems to be claiming. Especially since not all human biotics have strong enough abilities for combat usage. Some of them wouldn't be much use out in the field at all. It wouldn't make sense for the Alliance to go to so much trouble to try and recruit biotic's they'd never be able to deploy for combat missions in the first place."

Alicia nodded at that. "He's right. Most of the discrimination biotics face are caused simply by humans not understanding something that is brand new. Major Kyle simply is seeking for a way to cope with his trauma, and the easiest way is for him to blame the Alliance," she said, her voice growing a bit tight towards the end.

"What did happen to him exactly?" Tali asked quietly, her voice curious but also hesitant. She blinked when she saw Alicia stiffen, the red head glancing away a bit.

"…his unit suffered heavy losses on Torfan," Alicia said finally, her voice quiet and nearly emotionless. "He had trouble handling the loss. At the moment though that doesn't matter. What does matter is the mission. Here's how we'll proceed."

She quickly brought up a map of the commune, a few buildings surrounded by a ten-foot-high wall. Alicia quickly highlighted the various structures. "According to information from the diplomat's escorts, this here is a landing pad rated for light transports and shuttles. This building here is a garage, with at least three identified civilian rated ground transports. This building here appears to be a storage facility for food and other supplies, while this building, the largest one, is their main living quarters and gathering hall. This is where we expect Kyle to be. They reported that the wall was initially patrolled by at least a half dozen or so personnel, though after what happened that number might have increased."

She pointed to the main gate. "We will approach here and attempt to arrange a meeting. If we're allowed in, we'll take it nice and easy. They likely will react negatively if anyone too dangerous or who isn't a biotic actually goes to speak to Kyle, so I'll take only Alenko and T'Soni in with me. The rest of you will wait outside to secure our escape and come to our aid if need be. Naruto, you'll be in command," she said, glancing at the three she had named.

All three of them nodded, though only Naruto didn't meet her eyes. She didn't acknowledge it, even as she felt her heart clench a bit painfully at that. "If trouble starts up then I want you all to try and disable them if you can, but do what you need to do to defend yourself. Understood?"

Everyone nodded as Alicia shut down the projector. "Good. Dismissed then," she said, her eyes moving to Naruto as she debated asking him to remain.

Yet as she saw him stand up and saw how tense his body was, saw the emotionless look on his face, her courage failed her. Her words died in her throat, and she instead turned away, simply listening to the others start to leave. She couldn't speak to him. Not right now. She closed her eyes, listening to the footfalls of her ground team leaving, the door hissing open and then closing. She remained there, rigid, trembling, on the verge of tears.

And that's when she heard the soft voice. "C-Commander?" Alicia's head snapped up as she half turned, finding herself looking into the worried blue eyes of one Liara T'Soni. Alicia froze for a moment before clearing her throat, straightening her posture as she did so.

"Did you need something Liara?" She asked, trying to remain as composed as she could. Yet somehow, she could sense the asari in front of her was seeing right through her, piercing the rigid image of professionalism she was trying to project, and seeing the nearly broken woman within.

Liara hesitated for a moment, a part of her almost asking the human woman before her what was wrong. Yet at the last moment she balked. "I…I was wondering why you…chose me to accompany you and Lieutenant Alenko," she finally said.

"Oh…well…the two diplomats they sent in initially were non-biotics. I felt it would be safer if only biotics met with Kyle. And out of all the biotics on our team, I felt the two of you would likely be the least threatening, at least in appearance."

"Oh?" Liara asked at that. "I suppose I could understand that. Wrex isn't one to create a calm atmosphere. But...surely your brother would…prove more useful if things go wrong?"

Alicia took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "He would…but I also would rather have him leading the rescue effort if things go wrong. I trust him to better coordinate the others in reaching us and securing our exit. Besides…I do believe your barrier and singularity abilities will aid us greatly if we need to hold out against any attack."

Liara flushed a bit at the compliment, nodding. "O-oh, of course. Forgive me, I…well…I just wasn't sure how helpful I could be in there. I-I hope I won't disappoint you."

Alicia gave her a sad smile. 'To be honest Liara…you're not the one I'm afraid will disappoint anyone," she said quietly, her voice sad. "Is that all?"

"…yes, it is. Thank you, Shepard," Liara said, nodding her head. She turned and began to leave, stopping briefly to look back as Alicia turned back to the projector console, her posture slumping again. In that moment, Liara was reminded of what Shiala had said to her. About how Alicia would need her, how she could help her in ways no one else could. Had Shiala foreseen something like this happening? Liara felt herself pausing, debating going back in there to offer whatever help she could to Alicia, to help her deal with her turmoil's. Yet at the same time she felt that nagging sense of doubt that had come up, after hearing the potential rumors about Torfan, about what Alicia had done. She wondered now if those rumors could be true, after seeing Alicia's reaction to the batarians on the asteroid. She finally turned away, wondering why life had become so complicated as she left.

Earth

Jiraiya, retired Alliance admiral and author of 'erotic literature', sighed as he sat at his writing desk. Currently he and his wife Tsunade were on Earth, with his wife in almost daily consultation with medical professionals both in the Alliance and in civilian sectors regarding the study and treatment of wounds caused by geth weaponry. The projectiles from geth weapons were somewhat different from the normal rounds fired by most small arms used by Council races, having an almost semi-liquid state to them when fired. This made treatment of the wounds more difficult due to the irregular damage caused by the wounds, as well as increased infections and contaminations of the blood and surrounding muscle.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, had been busy both with his next book as well as coordinating his group of contacts both to aid the Alliance and to aid Alicia on her own mission. In fact he had been going over information from one of his contacts on Noveria, who had pretty much confirmed the presence of Matriarch Benezia on the planet.

He had been interrupted though by the arrival of an e-mail from Naruto that had left him feeling rather concerned. Even now he continued to stare at it, barely even noticing the presence at the door to his writing room of their home on Earth, one of a few places they had purchased across Alliance and Council space.

"What are you doing up you old pervert? It's late," said Tsunade, her voice tired as she barely stifled a yawn part way through talking to him. Jiraiya looked up, smiling slightly at the sight of his wife rubbing her eyes. Her hair was out of its usual twin tails and hung down her back, while she was dressed only in a short-skirted sleeping gown that clung to her frame and gave him quite a view of her legs. Despite both being in their sixties he thought she looked like she hadn't aged a day since he married her.

He gently beckoned her over, wrapping an arm around her waist as she stood next to him. "Sorry sweetie. I was taking care of something earlier when this e-mail popped up and…well…it's got me worried," he said quietly, enjoying the warmth and pressure of her leaning against him while he sat there. "Something apparently happened between Naruto and Alicia. He didn't go into details but..."

"What do you mean something happened between them?" Tsunade asked worriedly, struggling to fight off the effects of her exhaustion now. Anything concerning their two godchildren would always grab her full attention, especially after Malcom's death.

"I don't know for certain. But…he asked me if Hannah and Malcolm really considered him as their child, just like Alicia," Jiraiya murmured, drawing a gasp from Tsunade. He just gave a grim nod, staring at the e-mail again.

"How could he think otherwise? I know they were a bit hesitant at first but…those two loved him like a son. Hannah still does. How could he doubt that?!" Tsunade said, gripping Jiraiya's shoulder.

"I don't know…but whatever happened, I'm going to find out. The problem though is that trying to talk to him about it via e-mails like this won't work. I'll need to speak to him face to face," Jiraiya murmured. This was something that wouldn't be easy. Unlike an e-mail a video call would require both parties to be available, not to mention that since the Normandy and her crew were on an active mission, a video call from a civilian was less likely to get through. Only military related or other very important calls would be routed quickly and easily to the ship.

Jiraiya sighed as he set to work typing a response. "I'll see about us arranging a way to talk face to face…or screen to screen at least. That'll let me more easily help him."

Tsunade just sighed in annoyance. "Damnit, why did these two have to join the military?" She murmured worriedly, stepping away to pace. "They should have joined something simpler, safer, where we could more easily contact them!"

Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling a bit at seeing her worry so much. He stopped typing and stood up, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, don't worry about it. Besides, look at what those two have accomplished. Do you think Elysium would still have been standing if not for those two?" He asked her quietly.

She sighed, leaning against him. "I know…I just…I'm worried. They lost Malcolm, and if anything happens to either of them or Hannah…it could destroy them."

"They'll be fine. They're tough enough to make it. You'll see," Jiraiya said with a smile as he held her close in his arms. "Why don't you go ahead off to bed? I'll be along shortly."

Tsunade just nodded a bit, pulling away and turning to leave. She let out a sudden yelp though, whirling around to glare at Jiraiya who smiled at her innocently. "Aren't you too old to be grabbing ass like that?" She growled out, even as a blush decorated her face.

He just chuckled in response. "Probably. But I can't help it. You're too damn sexy for me not to want to have a touch," he said, causing her to blush more and slug him in the arm before stalking off with a muttered 'pervert'.

Jiraiya just turned back to the desk, sitting down and sighing as he read over what he had typed out, his good mood fading as he set to work finishing a reply to Naruto.

Presrop

There was no sound as the Mako barreled its way along the surface of the moon. At least, no sound outside the vehicle. Inside it the occupants could hear the hum and whine of machinery, the beeping of consoles, and their own breathing in their sealed suits. But there was no music this time. Something some of them thought they wouldn't be missing, but strangely felt empty without hearing the usual pounding rhythms and roaring lyrics. Instead, Alicia was focused solely on driving while Naruto sat next to her, manning the sensors.

The two of them were acting professionally. If one didn't know them, there'd be no way to tell that anything was wrong between them, beyond perhaps their words being a bit too clipped to each other. But the ground team…it was easy for them to spot something was wrong. This wasn't how these two acted around each other. There was none of the teasing, none of the friendly, sibling like energy the two usually gave off.

Naruto reached forward, altering the range of the sensors as he noticed a faint blip at the edge. "Contact at bearing Two-Seven-Three. Range is five thousand yards," he reported.

"Roger that," Alicia said, turning to head in that direction as Ashley swiveled the turret around to face forward. Alicia gunned the engine, speeding up as they crested over several small humps and hills. Ahead of them though was a somewhat steep incline.

"Everyone hold on," Alicia ordered as she sped up, reaching over to press a button on the control interface. Seeing a new meter pop up alongside the speed-o-meter, she waited for it to fully charge before pressing a button on top of the steering wheel.

In an instant two jets mounted on the rear of the vehicle roared to life, creating a massive burst of speed as the Mako shot forward. The increased momentum threw everyone back towards the rear of the vehicle, with only their safety harnesses keep them in place. This didn't stop most of them from letting out yells of surprise as the vehicle's speed shot up. (2)

And then they felt another shift as the vehicle hit the incline of the steep hill and began climbing. Alicia quickly shifted the eezo core to lighten the mass of the vehicle, quickly mitigating the gravitational pull on it as they roared up the side of the hill. Of course, everyone still felt the combined force of the momentum from the boost and the pull of gravity pulling on them even harder towards the back of the vehicle.

The boosters soon cut off as they began to overheat, but the momentum was enough to keep them going up to the top and over, where Alicia immediately slowed and stopped. This was both to give her time to adjust the mass of the vehicle as well as allow Naruto to survey the area below them.

Down below they now could easily see the biotic's compound. And they could see the figures patrolling on the walls, which Ashley quickly zoomed in on with the turret's optics. "Skipper, looks like they've got guards on patrol. I'm counting at least…five armed personnel on the wall. A couple more are moving between structures. Not seeing anyone else."

"Roger that," Alicia said. "We'll approach slowly so as not to startle them. Williams, swing the turret around. I don't want them thinking we're hostile," she ordered.

The gunnery sergeant hesitated before complying, rotating the turret so the cannon was facing the rear of the vehicle. Alicia began rolling them forward, soon driving down the hill and towards the biotic commune.

It did not take long for them to be noticed. It was hard not to catch sight of a six-wheeled vehicle driving across a relatively open plain, kicking up dirt and dust behind it. An alarm was soon raised within the compound, sending people scurrying. The guards on the wall, arrayed in a mixture of human made armors and carrying a motley collection of civilian and out-dated weapons, were soon joined by another half-dozen armed guards as the vehicle stopped about a hundred feet away. They watched as the hatch on the driver's side opened and an armored figure emerged, clambering out and soon standing next to the vehicle. At this distance it was hard for them to make anything out save for the charcoal grey color of the armor, with a white stripe overlaid by a narrower red stripe on their right arm. Some of them tensed at that, knowing it meant an N7, some of the toughest soldiers in the Alliance.

The figure showed them their empty hands before touching the side of their helmet, right before a female voice spoke over their radios, broadcasting on a general frequency. "I am Commander Alicia Shepard, Alliance Navy. I'm here to speak to Andrew Kyle."

The biotic guards looked at each other before one of them responded. "We don't want anything to do with you, Alliance! And we're not going to let you see Father Kyle!" He harshly said, hoping she'd be scared off or that she wouldn't notice the slight tremor in his voice. After all, it was hard not to know about Alicia Shepard, one of the two heroes of the Skyllian Blitz.

The figure didn't make any movement to leave, or to advance. "I'm here regarding the two Alliance officials that were killed. If you do not let me speak to… 'Father' Kyle, I'll be forced to report to my superior officers, and they'll be forced to take drastic action in regards to securing those responsible for the death of our officers. I'm only here to speak to him, nothing more."

The guards looked at each other, their shifting stances evidence of their rising nervousness. While every person in the commune was a biotic, and thus had a powerful advantage over normal people, most of them were not combat trained. The majority had, at best, enough of a command over their biotics that ensured they wouldn't accidentally hurt anyone or lose control. If it came down to conflict, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance against a force of trained Alliance soldiers.

The most senior of them finally responded. "…we will allow you to enter the compound while we send for Father Kyle. Be warned though, we will be watching you closely," he said before turning to head towards the main living building, ordering one of the other guards to open the gate.

At the Mako, Alicia let out a sigh of relief before clambering back into the vehicle and starting to drive forward. The gate in the defensive wall soon was open enough for her to pass through, and once inside it began to close behind them. Alicia drove a bit further into the compound before stopping. "Remember everyone, stay alert, but don't rile them up," she ordered, getting out of the driver side hatch while the others began to disembark as well. Ashley remained inside though, figuring she'd be more useful being able to quickly bring the cannon and co-axial gun into play.

The biotic guards, who were watching them, grew more nervous when they saw the group of armed individuals piling out of the rear of the Mako. A couple started to raise their weapons, though stopped when they took in the imposing armored bulk that was Wrex. Kaidan and Liara separated from them and joined Alicia as she waited for word about Kyle agreeing to see them, while the others took up positions around the Mako, giving them full coverage of the compound and thus decreasing the chances of anyone pulling a surprise attack against them.

Soon enough the senior guard reappeared and strolled over to the Mako, pausing for a moment when he saw all the figures around the vehicle. "…you cannot bring all of them in," he said, trying to sound confident, commanding, and a bit intimidating.

Alicia nodded at that, indicating Kaidan and Liara. "Very well, but I ask that these two accompany me. The rest will remain here."

The man's eyes narrowed behind the visor of his helmet as he took in the two figures with Alicia. He focused on Liara, quickly recognizing she wasn't human even with her armor hiding her blue skin. "...very well. But you will remove all weapons once inside the building," he countered.

Alicia shook her head at that. "We will agree to remove all but our sidearms. You killed the last Alliance personnel to come here. We will not be undefended."

"…fine," the guard finally agreed, turning and walking away, a silent indication that they should follow him. The trio did as the others briefly watched them go.

The trio quickly followed the guard into the airlock of the main habitation building, waiting patiently as a decontamination cycle ran. Soon enough they were entering the building itself, where they were met by a few more people. Only a couple of them were armed, but the faint glow of blue around some of their hands showed that even the unarmed ones were ready to fight. Alicia simply nodded at them before slowly disarming, removing her shotgun and assault rifle before handing them to one of the unarmed individuals. Kaidan followed suit with his Locust, followed by Liara with her Tempest. Now left with only their pistols, the trio unsealed their helmets, no longer requiring their suits stored oxygen.

"I hope you don't think bringing an asari with you will earn any understanding or friendship," the head guard said, removing his helmet to reveal a man in his forties with somewhat shaggy black hair and tanned skin. "Just because she has biotics doesn't mean she understands what it's like to be one of us."

"I wasn't thinking that," Alicia responded, eyes narrowed. "I just figured she'd be a more appropriate bodyguard then the others. I could ask for my friend Wrex instead if you prefer."

The man grimaced at the implication while one of the other people present, a dark-skinned woman, glared. "Probably some asari commando bitch here to assassinate Father Kyle," she spat out, causing Liara to flinch at that.

"We have no interest in hurting anyone here," Alicia shot back, glaring at the spitting woman. "We're here to talk, nothing more. But if you want to push us and see how well things go for you when you've got us here in the middle of your compound with an IFV and a krogan, be my guest."

"Enough!" Spoke another voice, as another man entered the room. All of the biotics immediately calmed down, a couple murmuring softly as they bowed their heads at the man. Alicia turned her attention to them, and almost instantly recognized him as the reason she was here.

The man before her was dressed in a white suit with blue trim. His brown hair was neatly styled, somewhat cut short, and he was clean shaven. His skin was somewhat tanned, with some age and stress lines decorating his face He glanced at the trio of visitors, his expression seeming like a mixture of serene and indifferent. "I have agreed to see our…'guests', so please, my children, do not make the situation unnecessarily violent. They have come peacefully and so far, have not caused problems. Let us show hospitality to your misguided kin."

The various biotics slowly nodded, most of them backing down as Kyle smiled at the black-haired guard. "Harris, thank you for bringing them in. Please ensure that there is no disturbance between our brothers and sisters guarding the wall and our guest's compatriots," he ordered in a slightly serene sounding voice.

The now named Harris nodded as he sealed his helmet back on and headed to the airlock, while Kyle gestured to the trio. "This way please," he said quietly.

Alicia, Liara, and Kaidan were soon led through a few hallways, passing a few other individuals as they did so. They soon entered a large gathering room that could accept several dozen people, as well as a communal eating area. One end had a small stage with a podium, facing over the tables and chairs where everyone would eat. Along the way they also spotted several children of various ages, yet most of those children ran at the sight of them.

Soon enough, Kyle led them into an office, indicating the seats across from his desk. "Please, have a seat," he said, moving to his own on the other side of the desk. "Would you care for refreshment?"

"No, thank you," Alicia said, sitting down. Kaidan chose to remain standing, while Liara took another seat next to Alicia. Kyle sat opposite of them, watching Alicia.

"Then I suppose we get to the matter at hand. You are here because of your two officials," he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, linking his fingers together as he rested his chin on his hands.

"Yes, we are. The Alliance cannot ignore the death of two of its officials, especially those who did not mean you or the other people here any harm," Alicia started, studying the man. His jaw tightened slightly at her words.

"They meant plenty of harm, my dear. They sought to take me away from my children, to make it easier for their superiors to swoop in and take them away, to indoctrinate them into believing that serving the Alliance is what's best for them. I did what any good father would do and protected my children," he stated, his voice quiet but with a slightly hard edge to it.

Alicia frowned at his words, leaning forward a bit. "Major Kyle, I-,"

"I am not a part of the military anymore. Not since my eyes were open to the truth. That the Alliance was just using us," Kyle stated quickly, sitting back while now clenching his fists slightly. "Do not address me by that title."

"…very well then…Mr. Kyle…the Alliance officials who came here had no interest in harming your 'children'. They were here to address the fact that you were using them to spread false propaganda about the Alliance. They wanted to bring you back to see specialists who could help you with your trauma," Alicia said, trying to reason with him.

Kyle, however, shook his head. "No. They wanted to silence me and to prevent me from being able to protect those in need. Just as you are doing now," he said, his voice growing a bit agitated. "I have no wish to cause you any harm, as you were responsible for saving a number of my men on Torfan. But I cannot allow you to speak such blasphemy. I must remain here to protect my children! I must save them from those who would seek to use and manipulate them!"

Liara, next to Alicia, bit her lip for a moment before hesitantly speaking up. "F-Forgive me, but…are you not doing the same here? You're using them to spread your message about the Alliance after you've taken them in. I-I could perhaps be mistaken but…to me, it almost looks like you're using them to try and get back at the Alliance for whatever it is you blame them for."

Kyle's eyes locked on her and she flinched, gasping slightly at the mixture of pain and anger and slight madness presence. "You do not know of what you speak! The Alliance is guilty! Guilty of throwing my men into danger without any thought or care! Guilty of manipulating us all to serve them! Guilty of causing their unnecessary deaths!" He roared, slamming a fist down on the desk while half rising from his chair.

Liara scooted back quickly while Alicia quickly tried to calm the situation. "Please, Mr. Kyle. Calm yourself. We have no wish to cause another incident. It would go badly for both us and your people here," she said, trying to sound as calm as possible. Yet her body was tense, and Kaidan beside her had allowed his hand to twitch towards his pistol.

Kyle took a few moments to breathe, standing up and turning away. It took him almost a minute before he spoke again. "I have no wish to deal with the Alliance. Now or ever again. My only goal is to ensure that these people, and others like them, are kept safe. In order to do that…it is necessary for me to spread the truth. I will not stop, not so long as biotics continue to be in danger of being manipulated by the Alliance," he finally said. "I believe it would be best if you left now, before I am forced to take action in order to protect this commune."

Alicia lowered her head for a moment before speaking. "…I wish it were that simple. But it sadly isn't," she said, her own voice sounding very tired as well before she straightened up. "Andrew Kyle. I am here to offer you a chance to turn over yourself or those responsible for the death of the Alliance officers who came to speak to you. Should you refuse, I regret to inform you that the Alliance will be forced to take action to secure the perpetrators," she said, before her voice grew softer. "If you really do want to protect these people…then please…do what is right. No one wants to see any more bloodshed, but those two diplomats you killed…they deserve justice…just like your men on Torfan did."

Kyle stiffened, turning to stare at Alicia with wide eyes. He remained silent for several moments before he slumped, a look of defeat on his face as he slowly sat down. "…I understand," he said, his voice tired sounding. "If it will protect my children, then I will do what is necessary. I was the one responsible for the death of your officers. My children were innocent of any crime. If I turn myself over to the Alliance, will you promise that they will face no repercussions for my actions?" He asked.

"I promise that no action will be taken against them unless it is in self-defense or is justified. I will speak to my superiors about allowing the biotics to remain here if they choose to, or to give them transportation to anywhere they wish. I will also make sure you have time enough to explain to them what is going on," Alicia assured him.

He nodded quietly before lowering his head further, staring at the floor. His entire posture was that of a forlorn, broken man. "I just...I wanted to protect them…I couldn't…protect my men…but I thought I could protect them," he whispered quietly.

"…I understand," Alicia said quietly as she stood up. "Your intentions were good. And for what it's worth…these people do seem at least happy here. You gave them a good home."

He didn't respond and she didn't wait for a response, instead turning and leading the other two out. They quickly moved back to the airlock, followed by unfriendly eyes the entire time. When they were retrieving their weapons, however, one figure approached them. A man, somewhat young, who was staring at Alicia blankly. "You're her…you're Alicia Shepard," he said.

Alicia looked at the man, noting the somewhat vacant look on his face and some scarring on the side of his neck. "I am. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

The man just stared at her before dropping to his knees, bowing his head briefly. "Thank you," he said quietly. "You don't know me…but you saved me on Torfan. You saved me from those monsters," he said, slowly raising one arm and pulling back the sleeve.

Alicia stiffened at the sight of a brand on his arm, a slave brand that was meant to mark this man as little more than a commodity or livestock. Liara gasped as she saw it, and took in the man's appearance more closely, seeing scarring around his wrists from some type of restraints, as well as burn scars on his neck, likely the cause of shock prods that slavers sometimes used.

The dark skinned woman from before she scoffed. "Don't thank her Hugh, she'd happily have you slaving away for her masters if she could," she sneered, causing Alicia to snap her gaze to the woman, glaring at her. There was a glow of biotics for a moment before Alicia took a shuddering breath, turning away and finishing sealing her helmet.

"Let's go," she curtly ordered, stepping into the airlock. Liara, after a moment, followed suit. Kaidan, however, stepped closer to the woman.

"I suggest that you shut the hell up about what you don't know," he said quietly. Normally he had a rather soft voice, and you might not think much looking at him. But in that moment, the woman felt a cold jab of fear at the edge to Kaidan's voice. "That woman has done more for ungrateful people like you then you could hope to accomplish in ten lifetimes."

With that, the sentinel lieutenant moved to join them in the airlock, while the man named Hugh remained kneeling, watching Alicia until the door closed.

Outside, the team at the Mako immediately straightened up as they saw the group exit the living facility, with Naruto activating his comm. "Your orders ma'am?" He asked as she led the others over.

"Contact the Normandy and tell them to send a message to admiral Hackett. Andrew Kyle has agreed to surrender himself, under the promise that the biotics here will be left alone if they wish it. He can have a team retrieve him presently. Everyone else, mount up. We're getting out of here," she said, moving to the driver side and climbing up to the driver's hatch. The others began to pile in as Naruto began sending the message to the Normandy, with Liara pausing for a moment to watch Alicia climbing into the driver's side seat. In that moment, watching the woman stiffly climbing into the vehicle, she felt a new resolve fill her. She soon climbed into the back, and soon enough Alicia began to drive the vehicle outside of the gates.

Three hours later the ground team was onboard the Normandy. A cruiser that had been on standby nearby, under Hackett's orders, had quickly arrived to take Kyle into custody. It had been tense, as more than a few of the biotics had been prepared to fight, to defend their 'protector' and prevent him from being taken. But Kyle had assured them this had to be done in order to ensure their safety and freedom. In the end he was safely removed while the biotics were left alone, though with a promise that if they should require anything, the Alliance would either supply them or put them in touch with civilian organizations not affiliated with the Alliance to help them if they preferred.

None of this mattered much to Alicia, who quietly sat at the table in her cabin, staring forlornly at a picture of herself and Naruto. It had been taken shortly before they entered boot camp, and the two of them looked so happy and excited, her left arm around his shoulders and his right arm doing the same with her shoulders.

She closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath as she felt a raging storm of emotions within her, ready to break out and overwhelm her. Dealing with the batarians, the fight with Naruto, her self-loathing and guilt, all now mixed with memories of Torfan and having to deal with Kyle, all of it was a flood that was about to burst through the dam of her emotional control.

She slowly reached for the picture, about to lay it down flat when there was a chime at the door. She was silent for a few moments, staring at the door before slowly sitting up and struggling to get her emotions back under full control. "Come in," she said finally.

The door opened and she blinked as she saw Liara standing there, looking nervous but also resolute as she entered. "Liara…is there something you need?" Alicia asked, picking up the picture and carrying it over to the bedside table.

"Commander…Alicia…I…I came here…because I want to try and help you," Liara said, trying to sound as confident as she could.

Alicia paused for a moment, turning her head to look over her shoulder at the asari. "...no," Alicia said, already having an inkling of what Liara was getting at.

"You don't even-," Liara started to say; only to stop as Alicia interrupted her while placing the picture on her bedside table.

"You're here to offer one of two things: either to listen to my problems and try to offer what verbal and emotional support you can give me…or you want to meld with me, to share the burden of my emotions and help me work through them," Alicia tiredly deduced, turning around to face Liara. "In the case of the former, these are my problems. In the case of the latter, it is bad enough I've subjected you to the vision I got from the Prothean Beacon. I'm not going to force you to deal with my other baggage."

Liara watched as Alicia sat down at her work desk, before moving further into the room to stand by the table. "Commander, whatever you're going through at the moment could or already is affecting this mission. It could put not just your safety, but the safety of us, the crew, and even the galaxy in danger," she pleaded, causing Alicia to stiffen slightly. "Please…allow me to help you."

Alicia turned her chair to once again face the asari, trying to ignore just how blue those eyes were as she looked into them. "Liara…I saw how you were reacting to me when you heard only the barest rumors of Torfan. If you meld with me and end up seeing memories of that…I can't," she said. "I can't…burden you with not just what I saw…but what I felt."

Liara stepped forward, moving closer to Alicia, her heart making the barest flutter at the words of concern from Alicia. "I appreciate that…but this is perhaps the best way I can help you and your mission," Liara said, trying to sound as confident as she could. "I'm not a soldier. I'm not a commando or biotic specialist. I don't know anything about strategies or commanding or anything. But I…the least I can do for you is this. The least I can do is try to ease your burden. Please...let me do this. Let me help you."

Alicia stared at the asari in front of her, her lighter blue eyes meeting the almost sapphire like eyes of Liara. There was silence between them as the vanguard struggled with her emotions. She had no desire to burden Liara, especially with how much Liara would take away from this if they melded. The asari wouldn't just be seeing what happened. She'd be experiencing what Alicia had experienced as if it were her own. Yet at the same time…she didn't know what else to do. All her emotions, both past and present, were raging inside of her and she felt like she had nowhere to turn, no one to help her. She'd normally have gone to Naruto, but that option was very much obviously not available to her at this time.

Finally, she lowered her head, her eyes closing. "…please…be absolutely sure about this," she said quietly.

Liara found herself faltering for a moment. To be honest, it was taking all of her courage to get this far. She was extremely nervous about what she might see in a meld with Alicia. She knew that this woman before her had experienced a whole different world from her, one that she had only caught glimpse of since joining the ground team. There was a part of her that was terrified of what might be within those memories.

Yet another part of her though, born of her time on the Normandy and bolstered both by the words of Shiala and her own desire to help this woman who had saved her and encouraged her several times, refused to bow out now. Listening to her talk to Kyle, hearing him mention how she saved his men, seeing that man thank Alicia for saving him on Torfan, had finally pushed her to get answers and to offer to Alicia what help she could. Her faltering resolve strengthened, she nodded. "I am," she said.

Alicia slowly nodded before standing and approaching Liara, whose eyes were closed as she took deep breaths to steady herself. The asari opened her eyes, locking her gaze with Alicia once again as she reached out. "Embrace eternity," she said softly, as her eyes blackened, and the meld began.

Liara suddenly felt herself floating within the shared mindscape caused by the meld. Across from her was Alicia, her posture rigid. Liara slowly approached Alicia, sensing very little from her. Even after agreeing to this, Alicia still was withdrawn.

Liara slowly reached out, touching Alicia's arm. "Please…open up to me," she said, pushing across as much soothing and comforting feelings and emotions as she could.

Alicia's eyes flickered up for a moment before she slowly nodded. Slowly, starting as a trickle but growing in intensity, Liara felt the emotions and memories seep through to her.

It was the emotions that reached her first. The sadness, the guilt, the self-loathing, mixed with touches of anger and hatred. Liara gasped as they began to wash over her, as she felt everything Alicia was feeling, and what she had felt with the memories that were first and foremost in her mind. She did her best to not let them overwhelm her, to push back with her own emotions, to keep pushing comfort and calm to Alicia as well.

But that's when the memory struck her. She could see Alicia standing in her cabin, yelling at Naruto as he tried to talk to her, heard what she yelled at him. She saw the look of shock and pain on Naruto's face, and immediately felt a new rush of horrified realization, regret, and guilt wash over her as the Alicia in those memories felt them as well.

"I let my anger get to me," Alicia said, drawing Liara's attention from the memory to her as she stood next to Liara, staring at the memory. "I was...I was so worked up, so angry, that I couldn't think straight. All I knew was I hated the batarians, hated the lies and justifications they spewed out. And Naruto...I hated what he said. Hated it…because I knew it was true," she added, her voice so soft, warbling slightly as it was on the verge of breaking. "So I lashed out at him…lashed out at him in the way I unconsciously knew would hurt him the most…"

Liara turned back to the memory as Naruto left and the memory of Alicia began to break down in horrified realization. "…I…I understand what it's like…to a degree," she said, turning back to Alicia. "While it never got this bad…my mother and I argued quite a bit before I broke contact with her. She didn't approve of me being an archeologist, even though it had been my dream for decades. She kept trying to convince me to follow her into diplomacy and politics. But I refused. I was so stubborn, something she told me I got from my father. While it never got as bad as this…there were times when I did get very angry with her. It might have gotten to this point if I hadn't broken contact and threw myself into my studies and theories."

Alicia just gave a distracted nod, not seeming to really fully take in what Liara said as the memory faded away. But the emotions stayed, with Liara doing her best to combat them. "I just…hate them so much," she finally whispered. "The batarians…I hate them so much. I thought I hated them because of my father's death but…but then…"

"Torfan?" Liara asked cautiously and Alicia slowly nodded in response. "What…happened there?"

Alicia turned away, her emotions clamping up again. "W-We can't Liara. I can't…I can't let you see that," she whispered, only for Liara to gently grip her arm.

"Please Alicia. Let me help you. Share your burden…don't keep carrying it around," she begged, causing the human woman to look back at Liara.

After a few moments Alicia shuddered, and Liara felt a new wave of emotions wash over her. Horror, regret, hatred, pity, and revulsion all swirled around them, with Liara clutching Alicia's arm the entire time. And suddenly, new memories began to play.

Liara found herself standing with Alicia in the middle of a shuttle filled with Alliance soldiers as it shuddered and rocked, obviously in flight and, given some of the extreme jostles and shudders of the craft, obviously under fire. Soon enough it stopped, and the side door opened, allowing the human soldiers to pour out, with Alicia and Liara being dragged along.

Liara could only gasp, seeing that they were on a planet or moon, one obviously in the middle of an invasion given the confused roaring maelstrom of sound that almost drowned everything out. The chatter of small arms fire, the louder roar of heavier weapons, the sounds of explosions, and the cries over radios. Orders being shouted, soldiers screaming either because of adrenaline or fear or rage or pain. Liara watched as the unit from the shuttle crested a rise and found themselves overlooking a scene of horror.

Before them were perhaps a hundred or so human soldiers, though barely half of them were alive. The rest lay on the ground, some feebly moving, some awkwardly crawling to whatever cover they could, leaving trails of blood. Others lay deathly still on the ground, parts of their bodies mutilated from weapon's fire. Surrounding the unit on two sides were more armored figures, a motley collection of mostly batarians, but with a few asari, salarians, humans, and turians thrown in. They were firing down on the Alliance soldiers they had caught out in the open.

"Andrew Kyle was in charge of a heavy weapon's company," Alicia explained, staring at the combat below, even as the newly arrived soldiers split into two units to engage the enemy flankers. Liara listened even as she felt the surge of adrenaline, fear, and anger coming from the memory Alicia. "They had been sent in to assist a regular infantry company pinned down by some of the external fortified defenses. The pirates had bunkers, trenches, machine gun nests, everything you could think of protecting the entrances to their underground complexes. The major's unit was equipped with heavy infantry weapons that could clear out those defenses, but…they were ambushed while out in the open. My unit was dispatched from orbit to support them."

Liara watched, now recognizing that one of the figure's leading the assault on one of the pirate's flanks was Alicia, as she biotically charged into a group and scattered them with a nova. The other Alliance marines and combat operators quickly joined her, smashing the flank and driving the criminals back. Something similar was happening on the other side as well, until the last of the criminals fled back to the defenses. It was then that they regrouped with the remains of Kyle's command.

"By the time we drove them off...the company's command structure was in tatters. Major Kyle was in shock, unable to give any orders after losing so many of his men. Almost all of his command staff was dead or wounded. My unit's CO would have taken over, but he was badly wounded during the battle, leaving me in charge. I had a detail begin gathering the wounded and stabilizing them for extraction, and led what was left of both my unit and Kyle's into combat," Alicia continued to explain, as they were pulled along behind the remnants of Kyle's unit, now mixed with the members of Alicia's unit who weren't staying behind to help the wounded. They soon linked up with the infantry company in need, where a similar horror scene could be seen. Liara gagged, trying to fight back the revulsion at some of the mutilated corpses strewn about the ground, ripped apart by either the defensive heavy weapon emplacements or by the batarian weapons. The batarians had designed their weapons for maximum intimidation, meant to blow horrific entry wounds into targets in order to induce agonizing pain, if not death, and to scare their enemies with the sight of their mutilated comrades.

However, the arrival of the Alliance heavy weapons turned the tide. Soon missiles and grenades were ripping apart the pirate's defensive positions, and one squad managed to even get up close enough to employ flamethrowers to clear out some of the bunkers and trenches.

The defenders broke and ran, and the Alliance soldiers began to follow, firing at the retreating enemies as they followed them into the enemy strongholds. What followed was a running gunfight as the Alliance soldiers began to sweep through, clearing out defenders and pushing them deeper into the stronghold. Liara watched in stunned, horrified silence as both Alliance soldiers and pirates fell, firefights seemingly breaking out at every hallway and for every inch of the complex. Around every corner could be an enemy waiting to fire. Every room turned into a bunker that had to be cleared with grenades or biotic explosives. At various intersections and crossroad rooms, the Alliance forces split up to cover more ground, sometimes linking back up when the paths reconnected, sometimes remaining separated as they went in different directions.

Through it all, Liara watched Alicia directing the troops she still had under her command, shouting out orders even as she fought on the frontline with them as they kept driving the pirates back. She could feel the surge of adrenaline, the spikes of grim satisfaction, fear, anger, and loss that kept surging through Alicia. The feeling of her shotgun recoiling each time it fired, the rhythmic pressure of the assault rifle butt against her shoulder as she fired, the sudden crash of biotically charging into an enemy. There was a harrowing moment with a krogan that killed one soldier and wounded another, and nearly got to Alicia if he wasn't for one of Kyle's soldiers using a grenade launcher to send said krogan flying back into a wall, where they were finished off by an overwhelming storm of bullets.

"We were directed to secure what was thought to be some kind of warehouse or hanger," Alicia said, as the memory version of her led roughly twenty soldiers now down another hallway they had just cleared. "When we got there…well it was a warehouse. Just not the kind we thought it was," she explained, her voice now sounding almost dead.

Liara looked at her in worry and confusion, until the memory brought them into a very large room, one that could house hundreds of large containers of supplies if need be. But it didn't. Instead, it housed rows upon rows of cages, half of which were occupied.

Liara gasped in horror as the memory soldiers stopped, staring at the cages that were packed with people. It was mostly humans, though there were a scattering of asari and turians. All of them were in a pitiable state. Some of them were crying, others screaming and begging for help as they caught sight of the Alliance soldiers, their faces a mixture of fearful pleading and unbridled joy at the sight of rescue. Others cowered back, screaming at the Alliance soldiers to stay away, fearful of reprisals from their captors. Some just blankly stared, their minds and souls broken. All of them were dressed in the ragged remains of their clothes, some in better condition than others. All of them had shock collars around their necks, most likely to keep them in line. And all of them bore signs of abuse, from beatings and burns from shock collars and prods.

The worst was the sight of children, most of them in their teenage years, but a few younger than that. Small frail forms, huddled together in fear, some crying, others yelling for their parents.

As Liara stared in horror at the scene, she felt emotions coming from Alicia again. Anger, burning hatred, and a sense of extreme pity and compassion. She turned to Alicia who was standing there, staring at the memories of the slaves, silent tears falling from her eyes.

Eventually the memory Alicia ordered her troops to move onward, pursuing the pirates, though stopping and promising the captured slaves that they'd free them as soon as possible. They had to try and ignore the desperate pleas for freedom, as memory Alicia contacted the ground command and told them about the slaves at their location. They pursued the remaining pirates in their sector to the other end of the warehouse, thankfully past many empty cages. The pirates had rushed through a door at the other end, but one that apparently was a dead-end storeroom.

Outside the room Alicia and the troops left with her, mostly soldiers from Kyle's company but with a couple from Alicia's unit, took up what positions they could, gripping their weapons and aiming them at the door. At the moment, the memory Alicia stopped as a new command was issued over the radio. An order to try and take prisoners if possible, so they could try to gain additional intelligence on any other pirate sanctuaries or even possible connections to the Batarian Hegemony.

Liara watched as the memory Alicia was stiff, obviously furious at those orders, as were the troops with her. Yet she finally acknowledged them.

"This is Lieutenant Alicia Shepard, Alliance Navy! You are trapped with no way out! Reinforcements are on their way here! You have one chance to surrender, or we will open fire!" She yelled out, all while the Alliance soldiers around her remained tense, some of them with their fingers twitching on their triggers. It was easy to see that these men and women, physically and mentally exhausted, emotionally strained, were a hairs-breadth away from possibly snapping and simply charging in to gun down what was left of the pirates.

Yet it seemed they would be denied that chance, as several of the pirates and criminals called out their surrender. They could see figures approaching the open door, hands up with no signs of weapons on them. There were seven of them, mostly non-batarians though one of them was one of the four eyed aliens. Liara watched as they approached the humans, hands still up.

And that's when it happened. The surrendering batarian suddenly grabbed something from his belt, letting out a cry as he rushed right at Alicia. Liara let out a scream as she saw the batarian had a grenade in hand, one that he was arming as he tried to lunge at the memory Alicia, all while she was raising her shotgun. Yet he never got a chance.

One of the soldiers with her, a man from Kyle's unit, leapt on the batarian, knocking him back and dragging him to the ground. The man pinned the batarian and the grenade beneath him before it exploded, killing them both. And like that, all hell broke loose.

The other surrendering pirates tried to dive for the ground as the Alliance soldiers began firing, most of them screaming in inarticulate rage, while the pirates within began shooting back. The memory Alicia reached out, grabbing one of the surrendering pirates and dragging them back into cover even as she called out for the others to stop firing, while an asari pirate could be seen crawling behind some crates. But the other surrendering pirates, caught between the Alliance and their former comrades, were gunned down.

The firefight didn't last long, as the remaining pirates were quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered. But the Alliance soldiers did not come out unscathed. Besides the man who had sacrificed himself on the grenade, three more lay dead on the ground as well. Only two of the pirates were still alive, now in custody.

The memory soon faded, as did the mindscape of the meld, leaving Liara with Alicia standing in her cabin. Liara stumbled back, gasping for air while Alicia pulled away, looking down in shame. Liara opened her mouth to speak only for Alicia to beat her to it. "I couldn't stop it," she finally said, as Liara could practically feel a wave of shame emanate from the woman. "I...all I could do was grab that pirate and drag them out of harm's way. But I couldn't stop it. And the worst part is...there was a part of me that didn't want to stop it."

She turned away from Liara, staring off into the void. "After I saw those slaves, saw what these people did to them…I wanted to hurt them. I wanted to kill them."

Liara shakily gulped before speaking. "I…I suppose I could understand why. That was…horrifying," she whispered, her voice shaky. "And you were…under so much emotional and physical stress…"

Alicia just let out a mirthless laugh at that. "You don't need to try and justify what I did, Liara. The Alliance already did that," she said, turning back to her. "They reviewed the footage from our suit cams and stated that we were acting in self-defense. They claimed it was 'unfortunate' about the deaths of the surrendering pirates, but that we were not solely to blame for what happened to most of them. Course since they didn't reveal all the details, the Hegemony jumped on the rumors about what happened and spread their lies about me ordering the execution of helpless, surrendering pirates."

She turned away, pacing back and forth now as her voice grew louder, more emotional. "The funny thing is? There's a part of me that doesn't think that would have been a bad idea. You saw what those monsters were doing. Those people they had locked up to be sold off as slaves? Those kids? Stolen from their families, their lives, to be shipped off to a life of misery and servitude who knows where? All so a lazy batarian bastard doesn't have to get up and fetch his own fucking drink."

She whirled around, as the newly fresh emotions overwhelmed her. "And they have the gall, the fucking gall, to blame us? Treat us like the perpetrators and themselves like the victims? They stole my father from my mother, from my brother, from me, and then want to blame us for it?! They want to kill off humans, enslave them, then claim it's justified because we're on some worlds they wanted?! Well FUCK THEM! FUCK THEM FOR KILLING MY DAD! FUCK THEM FOR RUINING PEOPLES LIVES! FUCK THEM FOR BEING FUCKING LYING HYPOCRITES!" She yelled out.

And suddenly she slumped down, panting heavily and gasping for air. Her hands were clenched as she knelt there on the ground, shuddering as she did so. And then suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a body pressing against her.

"I'm sorry," Liara whispered, holding onto the shuddering, gasping woman as tears fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I thought I was going to help you. I'm sorry."

And Alicia, in her arms, could only start to break down as she leaned against her, sobbing quietly. The emotions, renewed and more powerful thanks to the meld, washed over her and she finally let go as she clutched onto Liara. The asari remained there, kneeling next to Alicia and holding onto her as she let the woman finally release everything she had been feeling over the past few days.

Liara held on tightly to her, letting Alicia let it all out. She didn't say anything more, she merely knelt there, holding Alicia and comforted her with nothing but her presence.

It took Alicia several minutes to finally start to calm down, with Liara simply holding her the entire time. She finally began to calm down, her sobs becoming quieter and soon becoming little more than occasional hiccups. Eventually she slowly reached up to wipe the tears away from her face, looking up towards Liara.

The asari was looking at her, her face expressing a mixture of sorrow, understanding, and guilt. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "The meld…it caused your emotions to come back to the surface, to be stronger. I…I thought I was helping you by trying to share your burden, but I-," she started to say, only for Alicia to shake her head.

"No…no, it's fine," Alicia whispered, shakily drawing in air. "I…its fine," she said, slowly turning so she could now more comfortably face Liara, who hadn't let her go. "I…I feel…different…lighter. I think I needed that. To finally confront all that," she said quietly.

Liara blinked at her in confusion, and Alicia awkwardly shrugged. "I don't know…I just…I do feel better…sort of," she finally said. "I do feel like a weight's been lifted off of me." (3)

Liara just nodded quietly, with the two of them remaining in their position. Alicia gently reached up, touching Liara's arm. "I…I hope I haven't…frightened or scared you. Though I understand if I did, after what you saw in there," she said, reaching up with her other hand to tap her own head.

Liara shuddered, closing her eyes. "It was…utterly disturbing and frightening and horrifying," she admitted, causing Alicia to flinch. "But…I also understand now. I understand why you hate them. I understand what happened to you. I…I might need some time to process all this…and I probably will not be getting any restful sleep for some time. But…I'm not afraid anymore."

Alicia nodded, before slowly starting to realize exactly what position she was in with Liara. Something the asari seemed to realize as well. The two of them blushed, with Liara pulling away so the two could stand back up. Silence reigned between the two as they stared at each other, before the intercom alert went off. "Commander Shepard, we're receiving a message from the Council. They have information on Saren."

Alicia took a deep breath before moving to the intercom and activating it. "Route it to the communications room. I'm on my way," she ordered, turning off the intercom and quickly wiping her face off to get rid of any more tears or other residue.

"I-I should return to my quarters," Liara said a bit shyly, moving to go past Alicia. Yet she was stopped by Alicia gently grabbing her arm, drawing the asari's gaze back to her own.

"Liara…thank you," she said, gaining another blush and a nod from the asari before Alicia let her go. Liara quickly left the room as Alicia stood there, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

The human vanguard hadn't been lying to Liara. While she still felt all the warring emotions, they felt somewhat muted now. Though the strongest was still the guilt and disgust with herself for what she had done to Naruto. But now she felt like she could better think about it, to try and find some way to at least approach Naruto, and attempt to at least begin working things out with him. As she resolutely stepped out of the cabin, she promised that as soon as she could, she'd reach out to her brother and see if she could begin to fix what she had broken.

---

And that's where I'm going to stop. This chapter was already going on for far too long, and I feel…extremely unsatisfied. I honestly feel crappy about this, because I had been planning this whole bit between Alicia and Naruto for some time, and it was this whole big deal to help develop Alicia's character now and Naruto's character later…and yet I just feel like I can't pull it off. Like I'm screwing up somehow. *sighs* And yes, I know this chapter was focused a bit heavily on Alicia. Trust me when I say Naruto will be playing a big part in the next chapter, and will also be getting development soon in the chapters following it.

Anyways, I hope you all at least liked what I did. Next up is Virmire, and trust me when I say I've got some plans. I hope you'll like them and will stick around to see what I do. Sorry again for how long it took this chapter to come out. Between all the craziness I mentioned above, getting lost in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and constantly trying to re-write parts of this chapter to at least come up with something I found tolerable, it took me a bit to get it out. Hope you all think it was worth the wait.

Also, a question for everyone? My beta, a7xfanatic11, suggested that I should divide this fanfic up into three separate fanfics. One for each of the games. I'm not certain on that, but I'd like the opinions of you, the readers. What are your thoughts?

Thanks go out again to a7xfanatic11 for beting this fanfic, helping me with Mass Effect related stuff, and for the cover art.

Till next time everyone!

1. Thanks go out to my dad and my friend DarkNexus for helping me come up with the idea for these. I wanted something that could showcase the Alliance learning and adapting to dealing with the geth, since out of the various races in Mass Effect, the Alliance's strength was their adaptability and unconventional tactics compared to other races. Since they wouldn't be able to electronically scramble the geth's sensors, I thought to have the Alliance employ a variant of a chaff cloud. My dad helped me with the general idea while my friend DarkNexus gave me the materials that would block RADAR and LADAR most effectively.

2. The Mako in the original Mass Effect game had no speed booster on it. Just the 'jump' boosters. However, they added it to the Mako in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and it was an incredibly useful upgrade. So I thought I'd add it in here. And to clarify, I would have added it in sooner, but I only recently got the Legendary Edition. So that's why the boosters haven't appeared before now.

3. I'm not even going to pretend that I'm an actual psychologist or psychiatrist or anything. All I've got is my own personal perspective or experiences. And what I do know is that when I've had shit that's been really bothering me and I finally am able to scream and vent and rant about it to someone…I feel better afterwards. As if I've lifted a burden off of myself. So that's where I went with this.