For the Republic

Utopia System, Republic Space

Normandy-class Corvette URS Normandy

"Coming out of hyperspace in 3…2...1. Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift under 1500k."

"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased."

Joker turned around to glare at the retreating back of the Turian. He scowled and turned back to the controls. "I hate that guy." he said

Sitting on his left Kaiden looked over at him incredulously. "He just gave you a compliment and yet you hate him."

"Remembering to zip your pants up after you take a leak is good! I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy by tearing open a hole into another dimension and hitting a target the size of a pincushion! That's phenomenal!"

A holographic blue ball appeared on Joker's left. An insulted female voice came from it.

"Excuse me!?" she said "I did all the calculations that kept us from jumping into a planet! Don't take credit for things you didn't do!"

Joker raised his hands placatingly "I didn't mean anything by it, EDI. I was just trying to make a point. We both know I can't navigate like you can."

"You think a little flattery will let you off the hook?" said EDI

"Yes." replied Joker with a smirk

EDI laughed. "Dear god I've waited so long to finally work with someone who isn't 'oh so serious' all the time."

"I know, right!" said Joker "We fly deadly war machines for a living. I don't know why other pilots are so uptight."

Kaiden shook his head. "Nice to see you can actually make friends, Joker. Here I was thinking you just hate people on a whim."

"Are you still on about the Turian? Dude, he's a Spectre! He has a 'Do Whatever I Want And Get Away With It Badge' issued directly by the Council. Excuse me if I'm a little nervous. What's he even doing here?"

"I could ask that same question." said a Ranger walking into the cockpit

"Hey Shepard." said Joker "So you're clueless on why the Spectre is here too?"

"Anderson and Captain Pressly know but it's above my paygrade apparently." Shepard replied

"Aren't you only a single rank below Anderson?" asked Kaiden

"Yep. That means it has to be big." said Shepard "You don't send Spectres on another power's shakedown runs, experimental stealth ship or not."

"Now you've two have gotten me nervous." said Kaiden

The bridge intercom came on and Captain Pressly's voice could be heard from it.

"Joker. Status report?" he asked

"We're approaching Eden Prime, Captain. ETA twenty minutes." said Joker

"Good. EDI if you see Shepard tell him he's needed in the conference room."

"Aye, Captain. I'll be sure to pass it along." said EDI as Shepard sighed and left the bridge.

"See ya, Shepard." said Joker

Shepard took the lift down to the conference room. The room served as both a briefing area and communications room. Hyperspace communicators linked them back to their superiors no matter where they were in the galaxy. As the door slid open he could see Spectre Nihlus already there looking at a holographic projection of Eden Prime. The Turian hearing him enter turned to face him.

"Shepard!" said Nihlus "I was hoping you'd get here first. Gives us a chance to talk."

"Talk? Talk about what?" he said

"I'm curious about the world we're going to." said Nihlus gesturing to the hologram "Eden Prime. I heard it's quite beautiful."

"It's a paradise." he says having been there once before on mission.

"Yes... a paradise. Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?" said Nihlus as he stared at the hologram.

This wasn't a friendly chitchat. Nihlus was leading him to something but what?

"Eden Prime isn't a fringe colony." He said "The planet has a proper URGF garrison and surface-to-orbit defense guns. Any would be attacker will have a hard time."

"That they will." said Nihlus "But it's not impenetrable. Nothing ever is. It's only the illusion of impenetrability that stops enemies. Palaven, Thessia, Sur'kesh, and the Citadel have it…"

"But Eden Prime doesn't?" He guessed.

"No offense, Shepard but humanity are still newcomers. Even after the Republic's war with the Hegemony many still consider you humans a minor power at best."

"And I'm guessing the Hierarchy is one of them?" He deadpanned

Nihlus gave the Turian equivalent of a smirk. "You're more likely to see the Quarians and Geth make peace than a Turian Primarch admit another race is our military equal."

He shook his head. "So you expect something to go down?"

"Most likely. I think it's time we told Shepard what's going on." said Anderson.

Shepard and Nihlus looked to see Ranger Captain Anderson and Captain Pressly enter the room.

"This isn't a normal shakedown run, Shepard." said Nihlus

"Worst kept secret on the ship there." He replied "So what's going down on Eden Prime?"

"An underground facility was discovered by civilians on Eden Prime." said Pressly "The facility is Prothean and contains various technological artifacts including a working Beacon."

"Another Beacon!?" He said "What are the odds…"

"Couldn't agree more Shepard." said Anderson "The galaxy is still reeling over the Thessia Beacon. Having another one pop up has made things… interesting to say the least."

"It was quite a debate on what to do with it." said Pressly "The Republic isn't a signatory of the Prothean Artifacts Treaty so we aren't obligated to hand it over."

"Though in the spirit of fostering friendly relations the Republic chose to instead give it to the Council with the stipulation that UN scientists are allowed to help decode it." said Nihlus

"Every species that discovered Prothean Artifacts had their technology propelled by centuries." said Anderson "Anything could be stored in that beacon. The blueprints for the Citadel, the secret of the Mass Relays, or things we have never even seen."

"That's why the Council is taking no chances. Any group that possesses a beacon has an unparalleled advantage over the rest of the galaxy." said Nihlus "The Order of Athame were able to use a single intact beacon to ensure Asari diplomatic, economic, and technological superiority for millennia. There are many factions that would kill for that kind of power."

"Shouldn't we have an entire fleet on this?" asked Shepard "A prototype stealth ship, a couple of Rangers, and a single Spectre seem a little light of a response for something this important."

"Personally I agree with you but the Council felt that keeping this discrete was the better strategy. Spectre Office, DRI, and STG have been working overtime to ensure that no one from the Shadow Broker all the way down to some random merc team coming across a single hint of this beacon's existence."

"You civilians unearthed it though. Civilians talk." He pointed out

"Eden Prime's governor upon hearing of the beacon wisely closed down all outgoing net traffic and messages from the planet." said Pressly "While the discovery of the beacon is big news on the planet itself its only come offworld through government channels."

"This information blackout won't last long so we'll need to be quick." said Anderson.

"The beacon isn't the only reason I'm here, Shepard." said Nihlus

"He's here to evaluate you." said Pressly

"Evaluate me? For what?" He replied confused

"Humanity is a major player in the Galaxy, Shepard. While you aren't a part of the Citadel the Council can't afford to ignore you." said Nihlus

"The Council hopes to one day have humanity counted among them and believe allowing humanity a Spectre to be the first step." said Pressly

"Just one Spectre? How did the Great Leaders decide that the Republic gets this honor?" asked Shepard

"The… 'debate' was interesting to say the least." said Anderson

The Wanderer was scared. When you lived as long as he did the list of things that frightened you wasn't all that long. He didn't have to fear death so most of the things associated with it didn't frighten him. He didn't have to worry about getting shot, stabbed, poisoned, or seriously injured because no matter what he would survive. Yet now despite death being impossible in this situation he was absolutely terrified.

The Council had sent them a message saying they would allow humanity a Spectre. Just one Spectre though meaning they, the Great Leaders, had to sit down and decide which one of them gets the Spectre. The nice quiet debate lasted only five minutes since each leader wasn't budging from electing a member of their own militaries. So they had to use the Box of Tiebreakers…

The Box contained a bunch of cards with various tie breaking activities they would perform. The activities weren't what you would call fair. Each leader sometimes had an advantage in one or another. Like how Caesar always won when 'Chess Match' was picked or how the Wanderer had to forfeit when 'Swimming Race' came up. This time 'Boxing Match' was the one taken out of the box and one leader had a huge advantage over the others.

As he stood in the boxing ring staring down his opponent he felt a chill run up his back. Watching him was Caesar with an ice pack over his black eye, Dido missing a few teeth, and Bismarck who was clutching his swollen cheek. A small crowd of humans cheered as they watched their leaders compete while a small group of bemused aliens watched. The turian delegation was especially excited letting out cheers for his opponent.

Standing across from him fists raised was Catherine. While slightly shorter than him the Russian Premier was strong from over a century of doing various jobs as a hobby. She had recently finished being a soldier so she wasn't at all rusty when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

From her side of the ring Catherine defiantly spat in his direction. "Come on! I don't have all day, bitch!" she yelled. "Take your beating like a man!"

"Come on, Catherine!" he said "You know my Rangers are better suited to be Spectres than your Spetsnaz no offense to them."

Despite saying he meant no offense Catherine took some anyway if the vein on her forehead was any indication. He managed to block the punch to his face and attempted to counterattack only to get socked in the face anyway.

"Spectres are single agents!" He said as he felt blood in his mouth "They operate on their own while serving not only as highly skilled commandos but also law enforcement! Whose special forces does that actually sound like!?"

"I hate to say it but he's right you know!" yelled Caesar from the sidelines.

The vein appeared on Catherine's forehead again but she didn't attack.

"Silver tongued bastard…" she muttered. "While this would be a great boon for the Russian people I must also lookout for humanity as a whole. Your Rangers are the best pick we have for Spectre. But we will have a say in the decision making process!"

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of leaving you guys out of something so important." He replied ignoring Caesar's snort. As he turned around to leave the ring he heard Catherine clear her throat.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said grinning like a madwoman "I might agree with you but that doesn't mean our little bout is over."

The Wanderer's eyes widened in horror. "Catherine can't we talk about this.."

"No more talk! Ding Ding!" she yelled throwing another fist at his head.

"No not the face!"

"Ouch…" said Shepard

"I wish the Council solved disputes like that." Nihlus chuckled "You'll be assigned to me. After we deliver the beacon you'll come with me on a few missions. Let me see what you're made of."

"Shouldn't be too difficult." he replied

"Good answer." said Nihlus "We'll start by-"

Nihlus was interrupted by Pressly's Omni-tool beeping. Pressing a button an image of EDI's avatar appeared.

"Yes EDI?" said Pressly

"Captain, we're picking up an urgent distress message from Eden Prime! You need to see this!"

"Put it on the comm room screen!" Pressly ordered

The screen in the comm room lit up as scenes of battle could be seen upon it. The colony was under heavy attack from a large organized force. In the skies a cruiser sized vessel flew with frigates and corvettes around it. While the camera was shaky as the cameraman had to hide behind cover as mass accelerator rounds and bullets flew all around him.

"This is Captain Yates of the Eden Prime National Guard! We are under attack and are in urgent need of reinforcements! Enemy is heavily armed and organized we need-"

The camera dropped to the ground as the cameraman was shot. Thankfully the camera landed on the ground facing the attackers. They were made up of both Asari and humans. The asari were wearing white and red armor with the emblem of the Order of Athame displayed proudly on the chest. It wasn't surprising to see them here. After losing their beacon they most likely couldn't resist getting their little blue hands on another.

Their human allies were far more numerous and seemed to be making up the brunt of this attack. They wore black armor and used mostly bullet based weapons though a few had mass effect and energy weapons. One of them stepped close enough to the camera allowing them to see the red armband he wore before they list the feed.

The faces of all the humans in the room immediately darkened. Nihlus not understanding the significance of this asked who were those humans helping the Asari.

"It's the fucking Nazis…" Anderson spat.

In the bridge of the cruiser Deus Ex Machina a man sat. In the dim light of the bridge the man's blue eyes looked like they were glowing. He was blond and slightly overweight. He wore a white suit and held a glass of wine in his hand. He watched footage of the battle with the interest of one watching a film. He was enraptured by the death he saw on the screen. Occasionally he would bark an order to make his new favorite show even more exciting.

"Drop several canisters of Nova-6 on the northern side of the city. That should liven things up." He said

"Jawohl, Major." came the reply and in a couple of minutes his eyes were delighted by the sight of Republic soldiers dropping dead from the highly lethal nerve toxin.

He silently thanked his Fuhrer for giving him the wondrous gift. Many wondered why a lowly Major was worthy of such a task but the Fuhrer obviously respected his skill. He was the first True German to attack the Enemies of the Reich in centuries. He was determined to make sure this was a day the Republicans won't soon forget.

"All of this senseless violence. Do remember our objective, Major."

The Major grinned at the Asari Matriarch standing beside him. "Oh Matriarch Serrice this is our objective. Securing or destroying the beacon is our secondary objective. Our primary objective is to sow chaos and discord among the Republicans. To show the galaxy that even the most powerful can be wounded."

"Recovering the beacon should be our main priority. The data left by the Protheans is very valuable." she replied

"Valuable to you." The Major laughed "Haven't you noticed how dependent your order is on the knowledge of the Protheans? Eventually there will be nothing left to learn and you'll have nothing to fall back on."

"Like you're any better? She challenged "You base much of your tech after that of the other human nations!"

"Point." He said inclining his glass towards her "But we still do much of our own research and development. In the realms of genetics, cybernetics, and other sciences we are without a doubt the best in the galaxy."

He pointed at the screen as the skin of a Republic soldier fell off as he was exposed to Nova-6.

"Centuries of preparation for a conflict on a scale that the galaxy has never seen before…" He said smiling widely "I can not wait…"

AN: Sorry this took so long. This is mostly due to me losing interest in writing this story. It was starting to dissolve into me doing this and Gate. This then Gate. This then Gate. Having to focus only on two stories when I have plenty of ideas I want to try was really killing my desire to write.

I started writing other things in my spare time and gravitating towards other sites. Now I've decided to branch out. I'm going to have a variety of different stories here to keep from getting burned out again.

One of the stories I'll be doing is the ISOT Civ 5 story. I'll have to play that particular game in Civ 5 before I can write a story based on it. I'll need to select Civs for that game which I do by poll. The poll will be up by Wednesday and will stay up for one week.