How I managed to get this out, I'll never know. My week has been terrible and it's only getting worse, but anyone who bothers to read this probably won't care that much.

To those who took part in the 67 reviews left for little old me, thank you so much. The only way they could be better is if two more reviews were posted so I could make some terribly corny 69 joke.

But finally! I got to starting the actual ME storyline!... and now I have a problem. Let me back up and say that I had planned on taking time to write the next two or three chapters and post them this week with little breaks between, but that didn't work out so well. I like how this chapter went, but what have managed to write for the next one I hate. I think the reason is because it's been like a year since I've played Mass Effect 1, I don't even know if I have the game anymore! So, I'm a little rusty on some of the story points, like the very beginning. So I ask you, my loyal readers for help. If you remember anything that I might be able to fit into this story that happened between the Eden Prime beacon exploding to the Ilos mission, major or small doesn't matter, please tell me. You'll probably be much more accurate than than ME wiki and I really don't have enough time to play through the game myself if I want to finish the next chapter in a timely fashion while still working.

I will try, I really will, to get the next chapter finished by next Sunday (not tomorrow but in a week). But, as it is, it's not looking good.

Posted: 1/20/2012
Word Count: 10,686 (Only 10 words away from a corny 69 joke! Why can't I ever get it?!)
Brief Summary: Wrap up of pre-ME storyline & Eden Prime.

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 6

The First Ninja

"Sergeant Kushina Shepard of the Systems Alliance Army." Admiral Steven Hackett said in a clear voice that was easily all over the small court room. "You are here by discharged and relieved from active duty." In one smooth motion, the taller man reached across the distance between them and swiped the badge off her uniform.

Kushina stood with the almost stereotypical military blank face. Her arms were behind her back and she met the Admiral's stare unblinkingly - though she did have to look up at him. This meeting was more of a formality than anything else. She already knew that she had been relieved of duty, but they could only have this meeting now since all the nonhuman squatters were finally dealt with and returned to the Citadel.

She already knew she was no longer a Sergeant, but it still hurt a little when the badge was ripped off.

"Dismissed." The Admiral stated after taking her standard issue Taihou Seal gloves from her belt as well.

Kushina gave a sharp salute, did an about face, and left the room with her head held high.

'~,_,~'

Tevos sat so still she could almost be mistaken for a statue. She was at her desk with her head in her hands and eyes closed, taking deep breaths. Benezia had left not too long ago, muttering something about a bar. Personally, Tevos would very much like to curl up with a nice bottle right now, but she still had work to do and refused to drink on the job. Especially with this thing about the batarian home world...

There was a beep indicating that someone was at the door. "Come in." She did not even bother to look up until the door automatically opened and closed. Not recognizing the asari, she kept her face neutral. "How may I help you?"

"I, uh, have something for you, Councilor." It was painfully obvious that the visitor was not accustomed to speaking with people in authority by the way she twitched and would not make eye contact. She fumbled for a bit with a holopad before handing it out to Tevos.

The Councilor arched an eye ridge but took the holopad. It had quiet a bit of text and even a few diagrams scattered about in an unorganized fasion. "What is this?" She asked without looking up.

"That is all of the information me and the other former s-slaves could get from the humans in our time with them." Now Tevos looked up, surprised. "They were very friendly and willing to talk. I felt that you had a right to know what we found out, and they probably won't mind."

Tevos nodded in appreciation. Maybe this could shine some light on the relatively new and very strange race that nearly gave her a heart attack not twenty four hours ago. "Thank you." It was obvious - well to her anyway - that the words were a dismissal. If the visitor caught that, then she ignored them.

"Can I point out one thing though?" Tevos looked up sharply, not showing any of her surprise that the other asari was still here. After a moment of thinking, she nodded. "See that number at the top?" The Councilor glanced down to see the number '2,011' at the top right corner of the holopad. "I was personally told that number was accurate as of a month or so ago."

Tevos frowned. "What is it for?"

"The human population."

Tevos blinked and scrutinized the number. That was an insanely low population, much lower than she expected. How could they even survive with such a low population? It was now quiet possible that Tevos' theory that the majority of humans lived on that... that... monster of a ship and did not actually have a home planet - much like the quarians - was viable. "I expected it to be bigger." She muttered. Even the species with the lowest population that could be counted - meaning the vorcha and hanar were out - the drell had a population of about three hundred million. Considering their home planet was made uninhabitable not too long ago and now they were little more than indentured servants to the hanar, it was impressive that it was that high.

"What?" The visitor seemed startled by her muttered words. The other asari glanced down at the holopad and read it upside down. "Ah, no ma'am. Scroll right."

Tevos slid her finger over the display and moved the information to the side slightly to reveal that the next three digits - 932 - had been cut off. "Well, that's a little better." Though humans were still pretty far behind all the other known species.

"Ma'am." Tevos looked back up at the guest, who was shifting in obvious discomfort. "Scroll right."

Tevos did so again, revealing that it was still cut off. The next three digits - 401 - blew her theory of them all living in that ship out of the water. Not even a ship of that size could hold two billion people.

Now two billion was a decent number, but not one she felt she needed to worry about. The most populated species in the galaxy were the asari, with an estimated 47 billion living and closely followed by the turians with 41 billion.

"Ma'am." Tevos felt a stone set in her stomach when she heard that harmless word again. No. Just, no. It's not possible! "Scroll right."

Obediently, she used a shaky finger to move the data and show the next and last - she checked - digits of number had been cut off as well. The '687' seemed to glare back at her, laughing. A sharp shiver ran up Tevos' spine at seeing the thirteen digit number. Now more than ever, Tevos was really starting to live by Benezia's words that they could not afford to become enemies to the humans.

"I need a drink." The Councilor croaked out.

'~,_,~'

"Don't worry sweetie." Hannah Shepard said as she sat next to her daughter on a bench at the edge of a large garden on Shanxi. "It was a mistake, but you need to get over it."

Kushina snorted, not looking up from the drink she was nursing. "I'm the first person in like four thousand years to be kicked out of the military and I'm not supposed to feel sorry for myself?"

"Three thousand, eight hundred, and twenty-five years to be exact." Hannah replied without thinking.

Kushina stared at the older redhead with a deadpan expression. "Yes, thank you dear mother for telling me exactly how big of a failure I am when I could have looked it up on my own had I wanted to."

The former Police Commissioner flinched. "Sorry. My mouth usually moves before my brain tells it too."

"At least I know which side of the family I got that from, then." Kushina grumbled.

"Do you know how hard it is to find you two?" Mother and daughter looked up to see a dark skinned average human stop within walking distance. His navy blue uniform was spotless and his face was blank of all emotion - definitely a military man. He looked like a near perfect officer.

"David!"

And the image was ruined when Hannah jumped from the bench and trapped the man in a bear hug.

"A-Ah, yes, hello to you too, Hannah. It's good to see you again." He tentatively returned the hug before she pulled back.

"It's been far too long since we last spoke. Here, let me introduce you to my daughter." Hannah smiled and gestured to the younger redhead on the bench. The two women had the same ruby red hair and round face. While the family resemblance was unmistakeable, David had a very difficult time believing their relationship with Kushina looking up at him an almost impossibly innocent expression filled with wonder and amazement. The only time he could even hope to see something similar on Hannah's face was if she was really drunk.

"A-Are y-you." The youngest present made a show of swallowing hard. "Are y-you really my f-father?"

David recoiled from the claim and fell into a stuttering mess. "W-Wha- but? No! I-I mean, t-that is, well-" He stopped when Hannah - her cheeks dusted slightly red - slapped her daughter on the back of the head. Hard.

"Aye! What the hell was that for?" Kushina snapped back at her mother. The look of childish innocence was gone and replaced with annoyance that showed a fiery temper was being barely held back. Now, David could say without a doubt that they were mother and daughter.

"Will you stop being so childish for one minute?" Evidently, Hannah's own temper was nearing the surface as well.

"But it was funny!" That comment got another slap on the back of the head. "Stop hitting me!" Kushina jumped to her feet, her drink cast away and forgotten.

"Stop being such a child!" Hannah threw another slap at her daughter but she ducked under it and countered. The former Commissioner's head moved to the side slightly and her cheek stung fro the strike. She gaped at her daughter before it dissolved into a glare. Equal growls of anger rose from both women's throats and their tails whipped back and forth in a threatening manner.

"Ladies, please keep-" David stopped when the two snapped to glare at him with such great ferocity that he was afraid that he would melt.

The corner of Kushina's lips twitched.

David's rising fear abruptly disappeared and he groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

Mother and daughter burst into almost identical laughter, having to support each other lest they fall down from their spontaneous prank's success. "You should have seen the look on your face!" Kushina managed to get out between laughs. Just to spite him, Hannah a message over Skynet to David that was a picture of his face that she had just taken. Just afterwards, Kushina sent her own pic of his face, only this one was taken right after she asked if he was her father. Anderson's eye twitched. He looked like an idiot.

Their laughter lasted a good five minutes before they calmed down enough that David felt like he was safe to converse with them. "Well, it's good to meet you Kushina. I am Captain David Anderson of the Systems Alliance Navy." Even though she was now relieved of duty, Kushina still stood at attention when he started talking seriously - though her stance was slouched a bit.

"What can I do ya for, sir?" Though, she was definitely adapting to civilian life just fine if that was how she talked to him. Plus that smile of hers made him worried he was about to get pranked again.

"I'm here to offer you two things." He began. "One of them is a position as Lieutenant Commander on my ship."

Kushina was obviously not expecting that if the widening of her eyes was anything to go by. She scowled at him. "I don't know what you're playing at, sir, but I was just fired from the military an hour ago."

"You were fired from the Army." He corrected.

"Does that make a difference?" Kushina meant it to be rhetorical, but after a quick check with Skynet she realized that she did not actually know the answer.

"No, not usually." Anderson admitted. "But when taking into consideration the reason you were discharged-"

"You mean personally slaughtering my entire team and dozens of batarians?" Kushina cut in with an even bigger scowl, growling out the last word. That was what she was famous for right now. The 'Butcher of Torfan' they called her. Few really cared one way or the other about her being disbanded, as they were far more interested in her personally mass murdering six entire bases of four-eyed aliens, even if they surrendered or even begged for mercy. Those bastard had it coming and she did not regret any of it. But her team... that still hurt.

That being said, she blamed the nickname on the giant sword she used and - by extension - her father.

"I mean, saving hundreds of lives." Anderson said quickly. Hannah gave him a grateful smile. "An idea was brought to the Kages to let you join the Navy instead. It would be a shame for talent like yours to go to waste."

Kushina snorted, another thing she inherited from her mother. "Who was the dumbass that pitched that idea?"

The Captain fixed her with a deadpan expression. "Me." Kushina blushed in embarrassment and quickly muttered a 'sorry'. "And they agreed to let you into the Navy." The two women looked surprised. "... in five years." That surprise turned incredulous.

"Huh?" Mother and daughter echoed together.

"Well they have to give you some kind of punishment." He said with a shrug. "And by then the new prototype ship that I'm supposed to captain should be finalized."

"And what am I supposed to do for five years?" It looked like Kushina's temper was beginning to rise up again, if only slightly. "And what if I get a better job and don't want to join?"

Anderson gave her a small smile. "And that's the second thing I want to offer you." Kushina leaned back and crossed her arms in an obvious 'I am waiting' posture. "The Systems Alliance is sponsoring a new training program - the Shinobi Corps." A pair of blinks. "It is designed to be living hell and it's estimated that the dropout rate will be something around ninety percent. But anyone who makes it out in one piece will be tougher than the armor they wear. It's a make or break deal and is only going to be offered to the top soldiers we have." By now Kushina was giving a toothy smile. "You are to be the first recruit, if you want to be that is. And, if you pass, you will be one of the first Kunoichi we've had in a long time."

Hannah put a hand on Kushina's shoulder. When their eyes met, she gave her daughter a smile and encouraging nod. The younger woman turned back to Anderson with a determined look.

"Where to I sign up?"

'~,_,~'

November 2, 5178 AU: The Shinobi Corps Training School began for the over three thousand individuals who joined.

January 3, 5179 AU: That large number had already been reduced to below eight hundred.

There were seven levels or ranks to the SC. The first that everyone started at was 'Recruit'. But just because it was the first, does not mean it was easy. To graduate from SC1, Recruit, there were a series of challenges and tests. The first to graduate to the second level - 'Genin' - was Kushina Shepard, and it took her five months. To this day, the second fastest record to graduate from SC1 is nine months.

Record of Kushina Shepard:

- Five months as a SC1, Recruit.
- Eight months as a SC2, Genin
- Six months as a SC3, Chunin
- Ten months as SC4, Tokubetsu Jonin
- Nine months as SC5, Jonin
- One year as SC6, ANBU

Graduated SC Training School on February 25, 5183 AU.

Awarded rank of SC7, Kunoichi.

'~,_,~'

Codex Update

Shinobi Corps (SC) Training School: The long, arduous modern day process to be awarded position of fully fledged ninja. It was estimated to take nearly eight years for a recruit to pass through all levels. So far, the first and only person to graduate - Kushina Shepard - shattered this estimate. She did in five years.

Shinobi/Kunoichi: Title of a true ninja. Depends of person's sex for differentiation. It is the only rank in the Shinobi Corps that is allowed to be displayed on military armor. Upon achieving the rank, the person who did so receives a headband - inspired by the ones worn during the Fourth Great Shinobi War - to show their rank.

'~,_,~'

The sleek, almost alien like frame of the ship was very different from the others in the bay. It was unlike any human military vessel out there, but reminded her greatly of the racing ships that were popular in some circles.

Taking in the sight of ship was a hanyo woman who had not even reached the age of thirty, making her very young for her species. Some humans her age went to school, others travelled, but few went into the military like she did.

Her custom made hard suit was jet black with navy blue trim. It pressed against her body in every place and felt more comfortable than almost any other outfit she had ever worn - though that was probably because she spent so much time in it. That does not mean she would ever sleep in the armor if she could help it, it was not that comfortable. The only skin it left showing was her head and fox-like tail. The dark lines of her Izanami Seal could be seen along her neck and face, only interrupted by a faint scar that went from her right temple to her chin. Her crimson hair was cut to just below her chin and was held back from her eyes by the black headband with a metal plate tied snuggly around her forehead. On the collar of her armor, in bold print was the SC7 emblem. Her blue eyes shined with excitement and a toothy smile formed on her lips.

The name that ran the length of the frigate just confirmed what she already knew. "So this is the Normandy?" She whispered to herself. She was answered.

"That's right."

"Gah!" She whipped around at the voice behind her.

"Wha- Ack!" The other person began spitting off to the side as her spin sent her tail directly into his mouth. "Watch where you swing that thing!"

"Sorry." She apologized lamely, idly whipping her precious tail of any saliva that might have gotten onto it. The average human before her shivered slightly for some reason when he heard her speak.

"S'okay." He said, whipping off his mouth before smiling. "Not like you broke anything, surprisingly enough." She smiled at his odd joke. "Whacha looking at my girl for?"

The redhead blinked. "Your girl?" She asked in confusion.

"The Normandy." He gestured to the ship with one hand. "She's my ship."

"I thought it belonged to Captain Anderson." The hanyo said with a frown.

"She does." She was quiet happy that she did not freak out this time at the new voice. "Flight Lieutenant Moreau here is her pilot." They both turned to the dark skinned average human in a Navy Blue uniform.

The redhead gave a salute. "Reporting for duty, Captain Anderson."

He nodded. "At ease, soldier." They shook hands with a smile each. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Lieutenant Commander."

"Likewise, sir."

"So you're the new meat the Captain was talking about." The pilot said, holding out his own hand. "Jeff Moreau, but everyone just calls me Joker."

She took the hand firmly, noting a small wince from the man as she did so and eased up slightly. "Kushina Shepard." His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Yes." She hissed in before he could ask the question she knew was coming, her eye twitching slightly. "That Kushina Shepard."

"Sorry." He amended sheepishly. "But, wow. I thought the headband and insignia were just props." Her eye twitched again. "I thought you would be taller too." She suddenly felt the urge to wrap her fingers around his little throat and squeeze. "Hope you enjoy your time on the Normandy. If nothing else, I can promise that the pilot will be fun to talk to."

Kushina gave a smirk in an effort to hide her frustration at the man. "We'll see about that."

"Let's board up." Anderson said, moving to the docking port. "We take off in five."

The three humans entered through the airlock. As they were the last to board, the ship began to pressurize when the automatic door closed behind them. Kushina took a look around what she knew was the pilot room to the left and the Command Information Center to the right. She had never spent any extended amount of time in a starship before, but as of now this was her new home. It would take a while to get used to, however at the moment she liked what she saw.

The SSV Normandy Stealth Reconnaissance was the first of its kind, and she was proud to say that it was inspired in part by her. As part of the recon team on Torfan, she knew how difficult it was to sneak onto the slaver moon unnoticed. This ship was the first designed and built by humans to sneak around a wall instead of blowing through it. Embrace your inner ninja, right?

It was small for a military frigate, only 285 meters from tip to thrusters. It was more aerodynamic, based off of the leading design for racing ships. This meant that in place of more space and slightly sturdier frame, the Normandy could enter and exit atmosphere with so little resistance that it was almost impossible to notice.

However, the newest and most experimental part of the ship that took almost all five years to built was the carefully constructed sealing array that lined the underside of the metal armor plating and think fiberglass layer. When activated, it would project what one side of the ship was seeing on the opposite side in such a way that the entire ship would be completely invisible to the naked eye.

It was new, expensive, dangerous, and the most badass thing she had ever seen.

"Pulling away from dock." A charming synthetic voice said to Kushina's right. It was echoed beneath her eardrums as it was relayed over Skynet as well. With a start, the redhead realized that Anderson and Joker had left her there to go do their own jobs. It was not hard to find the captain as he stood one a raised podium overlooking the CIC and the large holographic map of the galaxy in the center of it. "Moving to Hyperspace distance." This time, Kushina saw that the announcement came from an AI stationed on a elevated stand on the nearest side of the galaxy map. "Ready to jump, Mr. Moreau."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Joker said from his seat at the front. "Jumping in three, two, one." The ship lurched and the stars outside the window stretched as the Normandy left its home dimension.

"Entrance Jump successful." The AI said, before moving on to work on something else.

"Where're we headed, Captain?" Kushina asked as she came up behind Anderson as he stared down at the galaxy map.

"The Serpent Nebula." He swiped a seal on the side of the podium he was standing on and the large holographic map zoomed in to the area. "We're to pick up a group of researchers from the Citadel and show them some Prothean museums."

'~,_,~'

Human-alien relations had not changed much in the five years Kushina had spent at training. Humans still felt no real need to interact with the other galactic species. That combined with their various rules - especially the one against AIs - kept the human population in nonhuman systems to almost nonexistent level. So far, only one person that she knew of had a permanent resident in alien territory, and that was because he was an ambassador on the Citadel.

On the other side, no aliens lived on human territory either. There were a few who wanted to for various reasons, but no one knew where any humans were. The only human territory known was the Hong System, and the Turian Hierarchy was very adamant about holding back anyone who wanted to go through the Mass Relay to get there. They claimed that there was too large of a possibility that someone would do something stupid and start another war with the humans.

The Systems Alliance learned from the long month where they could not contact the Council when they need to and have since engineered a ship-to-ship communicator from the savaged Omni-Tool and added one to every ship they could. The communications have not been used much, but they were there just incase.

Still, neither the Council nor the Systems Alliance wanted war and tried on many occasions to strengthen positive relations between their citizens. Electing a human ambassador was one such move. Escorting these researchers was another.

"The Normandy is clear to dock in bay 422." The voice said over the speakers on the AIs terminal. Only it was not the AI talking but rather the person on the other side of the communications speaking. The reason it was hooked to the AI's speakers was because they were the only ones in the entire ship.

The almost brand new frigate glided towards the indicated dock. Technically, just by being in the the Serpent Nebula, they were breaking the law since they had an AI on board. However, the Normandy was given a pass (officially) as a sign of trust by the Council and (unofficially) because the Council had realized by now that if the humans wanted to bring an AI then there was nothing they could do to stop them.

The whole point of the current exercise was to take a group of alien experts in Prothean technology to various museums that humans had made to house the many ancient artifacts they had found. These researchers were free to study the artifacts and bring any findings back to their superiors. The idea was proposed by the Systems Alliance, yet they gained nothing from it. On the other hand, the Council could possibly get a big enough technological jump to put them ahead who-knows-how-many decades. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The Captain was heading the small landing party consisting of Kushina and the Normandy's Staff Sergeant, Kaidan Alenko. As expected, the many Citadel occupants looked up when the humans being escorted by a salarian Spectre passed by. Most continued to stare.

When the small party finally reached the appointed door, it opened to reveal a smiling asari. "It's good to see you again, Captain." She said in a relieved voice. She had half expected/feared that they would arrive in a gigantic ship again, but instead they came in a good sized frigate that could almost be mistaken for a council species' ship.

"Councilor Tevos." Anderson returned with a polite nod. "You're looking good." It was more of an assumption on his part considering he did not know exactly what an asari looked like when they were ill.

"Thank you." She returned the nod and looked at the Captain's associates - pausing slightly at Kushina - before gesturing to the other occupants of the room. "These are the leading experts on Prothean technology and history that have volunteered for this outing."

"You said that there would be nine." Kaiden spoke up. "I count ten." His eyes zeroed in on one turian in particular who did not look like a peaceful researcher. Shepard and Anderson followed his gaze, the former having a small growl build up in her throat.

"Ah, yes." Tevos waved over the turian in black and red armor with more than a few guns visible. "This is Nihlus Kryik, one of our most decorated Council Spectres."

"A pleasure." He said with a nod at Anderson. They were actually about the same height.

"He has been assigned as security and an additional observer." Tevos continued, meeting Captain Anderson's suspicious gaze without flinching.

"Are you suggesting that our own security methods are unreliable?" His tone was genial enough, but it was obvious things could get messy if he was given the wrong answer.

"Not at all." Nihlus was the one to answer. "But it was unanimously agreed that it might become... stressful for our research team should they be constantly surrounded by armed individuals of a species that they know very little about. It is our hopes that with me being there, they can stay calm and do their work to the best of their abilities." Kushina's growl stopped part way through his small monologue.

The Captain gave the turian one last searching gaze, glanced at the still smiling Tevos, and nodded. "Very well. You have an hour to get your things onto the Normandy, we leave after that." He glanced at the now nervous research team, a few of which flinched back. "That goes for all of you too." He turned and left the room, followed by his team, the Spectre, and finally the experts.

"If I may, Captain." Anderson frowned as Nihlus spoke up, but did not silence him. "Where will we be going exactly?"

"We have dozens of Prothean museums around our territory." Now most of the researchers seemed very rapt in listening. "But those will come later. The day before yesterday, an excavation team found an artifact that they could not identify - some kind of beacon. We figured that your people would be more interested in that so we're going there first." He glanced over his shoulder at the experts following obediently behind. They should have gone to pick up their supplies, but obviously they were more interested in what the Captain had to say and were putting that off.

"And where is this beacon?" Nihlus politely reiterated his question.

"Utopia System, Eden Prime."

Unnoticed by them, another turian they had passed froze when Anderson mention the beacon. With one last murderous glare at the retreating humans, he turned the corner and sprinted for the docks. The planet name meant nothing to him, but from the language exchange years prior, the humans and asari each gave the names they had for various systems. He knew where the Utopia System was.

'~,_,~'

The newly minted Lieutenant Commander was bored. She leaned against the hull of the Normandy, next to the airlock. Despite the Captain's warning about leaving after an hour, here they were three hours later, still waiting. One of the 'experts' had yet to come back from getting all of their things ready, and Anderson was too nice of a guy to leave them behind. He even assigned a crew member to wait outside the airlock for the last member of the research team.

Kushina was just annoyed that he chose her. Butcher of Torfan and SC7 Kunoichi, turned into a fucking bellhop! Really?!

In her annoyed state of mind, she took a sick kind of pleasure in glaring at anyone who looked at her and then watching their reactions. The various reporters were the funniest, easily. In close second was that klutzy asari who was dragging a rather large case through the docks - her tired and sweaty form was fun to watch as she kept tripping and running into things. She even tipped her large case over, spilling everything out of it. Kushina would have laughed - quietly at least - but it was right then that she remembered another asari that looked remarkably similar to her in Tevos' office earlier...

"And of course she's the one we've been waiting on." The redhead muttered darkly as she pushed off the hull and moved over to the crouching asari who was frantically trying to pick up all of her dropped nicknacks. "You are the one we've been waiting for, right?"

The asari jumped slightly and gave a small eep. "A-Ah, I, what?"

Kushina stared down at her, exasperation building. "You are the last... expert that we've been waiting the last three hours for, right?" She failed to see how this easily intimidated blue girl - monogender, whatever - could possibly be an expert in anything.

"Yes! I mean, that is, I'm sorry for the wait." The alien refused to meet her gaze and the previous robin egg blue skin of her cheeks turned a deep purple.

Kushina sighed, her anger leaving her. It was so difficult to be angry at shy people like this. "Alright, lets get you cleaned up." Kneeling down, she began picking up the scattered doodads and placed them back in the case.

"T-Thank you." The asari said as she helped put away her things. "I am sorry for being so late. The taxi driver I hired misunderstood me and took me to a completely different part of the station, then the wheels on my trunk broke." She heaved a sigh. "I used up the last of my biotics carrying it as far as I could because the place I was dropped off in had no other taxis going by. Now after trying to drag it this happens and - oh, sorry. I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Do you do that a lot?" Kushina asked, mirth creeping into her voice.

"Well, yes, sometimes." She allowed, doing that funny thing where she tried to avoid eye contact again. "But could you tell me how far we are from the ship? I mean, if you're part of it that is. I just assumed you were since you are, well, human and there aren't any humans that I've seen on the Citadel- Ah, not t-that there's anything wrong with not living here! This is actually the first time I've been back her in over fifty year-" She stopped as Kushina's mirth slipped over and she laughed.

"I think you ramble a little more often then 'sometimes'."

The asari blushed again. "I-I guess so." The last of her possessions back in the case, she closed it shut. "Well, that's everything. Thank you for your help, now I just- h-hey, you don't have to carry it!" The same trunk that the asari had struggled pulling not ten minutes ago, Kushina now picked up with one arm and carried it over her shoulder with only the slightest amounts of difficulty.

"It's fine." The redhead reassured her. "And to answer your earlier question - yes, I am part of the Normandy's crew, and the beauty of a ship is right over there." She pointed to the port not too far away. "I remember you from the Councilor's office, but you don't remember me?" She finished with a playful pout at the blue woman.

On some level, the asari realized that the redhead was joking and tried to return it. "Sorry, you must have been hidden behind your two associates."

Kushina whipped around to glare daggers at the alien, getting another eep out of her. "Are you calling me short?"

"Er..." While they were about the same height, she knew that Kushina was small compared to the other two humans she has seen. "No?"

The Commander kept the glare up for a handful of seconds before turning and marching back the ship, the Prothean expert trailing shortly behind her.

'~,_,~'

The five inch tall hologram of the AI popped to life from the projector at Joker's elbow. "Normandy is at optimal distance for Hyperspace Jump." She intoned. "Ready whenever you are, Mr. Moreau."

"Captain has locked coordinates." The pilot spoke with his normal playful smile, his fingers dancing about the Funijutsu array that controlled the main functions of the ship. "You ready for your first Jump?" He looked over his shoulder at Nihlus, who was standing behind him.

The turian Spectre gave him a curious glance. "I don't see why not. Is there anything I should be worried about?"

Joker shrugged. "Maybe. Some birds have been known to spontaneously combust when put through Hyperspace." Before anyone could respond, he already had his hand on a specific array of seals. "Jumping now!" The ship gave a lurch and the stars outside stretched as they went flying by. The pilot glanced over his shoulder again and laughed at Nihlus' face. He did not know turian expressions well, but he was pretty sure the alien he was looking at nearly pissed himself, or whatever his equivalent was.

"Some advice for you." The AI spoke up, drawing the turian's attention. "Never trust anything Mr. Moreau says - everyone calls him Joker for a reason." Nihlus looked a little uncomfortable at having the super computer talk to him, but accepted the advice. The AI huffed and put her hands on her hips. "You really don't know how to talk to a lady, do you? The least you can do is say thank you."

"I... apologize." His mandibles twitched. "You have my thanks." A snort made Nihlus turn to the other woman - a human this time - who was standing next to him. "What's so funny?"

The redhead shook her head. "Nothing. I'll just never understand how you can hold a grudge against out AIs for something a completely different race of them did so long ago."

Nihlus frowned. "The geth were and still are a serious threat."

"And they have nothing in common with, er, sorry I never got your name." She gave an embarrassed look at the AI at the end, scratching the back of her head.

The turian spoke before he could stop himself. "It has a name?"

From his seat, Joker gave a hiss and cast a sympathetic look at the Spectre. "Bad move man, bad move."

Shepard crossed her arms and leaned back, widening her stance as she did. Even thought she was shorter than most humans her age and Nihlus was a good four inches taller than her, her icy glare managed to make him feel very small at the moment. The AI glared bloody dangers.

"It," Shepard stressed the word. "may have been born in a very difference way than you but it is still very much a person."

"And it is standing right here and wishing that it could slap you." The small woman of blue light had to restrain from commanding some random door or panel of the ship to move so that it could do the deed for her. "My name's Cortana, by the way."

Nihlus looked between the two angry women and made the smart decision of backing down. "Yes, I see, well it was, ah, nice to meet you... Cortana." He nodded to the hologram, then at the other two humans. "Likewise Commander, Flight Lieutenant." And then retreated from the room in the most dignified manner her could manage. If there was any bright side to that conversation it was that he confirmed that humans - and AIs he added - followed what he was coming to believe was a universal law. Women were scary when angry.

'~,_,~'

The Utopia System was a medium sized system that consisted of one star, five planets, and one natural satellite big enough to be considered a moon. Currently, five of those six bodies were being mined. Afterwards they would be terraformed and immigrants could begin moving in. Two planets would require Halos to get enough light, and once those were built they could be inhabited too.

The one that was not being mined was a natural garden world when humans found it and it was called Eden Prime. The reason it was not being mined was because if they took too much minerals from it they could destroy the ecosystem beyond repair. It could always be terraformed again later to not need those minerals but that was unproductive.

The Normandy had exited Hyperspace - much to the relief of its human crew members - and into Eden Prime's atmosphere without problem. There were no cities to watch out for as they glided across the sky, only farmers and few excavation teams working on digging up the Prothean ruins lived here. The frigate touched down long enough to let off the researchers and a security team near the dig site before leaving to find a more optimal place to land.

Now, a little over an hour later, Kushina was bored again. Most people would probably pass the time by calling up friends and family, but most of her friends were still training in the Shinobi Corps so they were either busy training or sleeping - there was nothing else to do there. The only family she was close to were either not connected to Skynet or named Hannah. And there was only so many times you can play twenty questions with your mother before it gets old. She could partake in the universal human sport of laziness and surf the web of information she had, but felt there were somethings more entertaining to do.

Like bugging Nihlus.

"So what's a Spectre anyway?" She smiled as the turian flinched. She did not consider that he might not have heard her when she snuck up behind him, but found the effect amusing nonetheless.

"Special Tactics and Reconnaissance." He answered obediently. "An elite group with the sole purpose of preserving galactic stability."

Kushina gave a low whistle. "Impressive. What kind of training do you have to go through for that?"

"There is no training." The redhead tilted her head to the side in confusion. "We are chosen from among the best by the Council."

"So they're the best of the best?" He nodded, but hesitated from continuing when he saw the feral smile beginning to form on her lips. "And Councilor Tevos said that you're one of the most awarded Sperctres, so you're the best of the best of the best?"

"I... suppose." He allowed.

"You wanna have a fight?" Now, her smile was fully formed, showing many pearly white teeth and long canines.

Nihlus' first reaction was to accept, but squashed that down ruthlessly, now was not the time. "We are in the middle of the first joint mission between your government and mine. If we were to get anything wrong, the results could be catastrophic." Her smile fell to a frown. "If nothing else, I doubt that it would help either of us if you return home in critical condition."

Kushina blinked, and her smile returned full force. "Are you saying you think you can beat me?"

"You said it yourself, I'm the best." He said evenly, fully believing in what he was saying. "I do not know much about human chain of command but I'm pretty sure that Lieutenant Commander is not very high." He leaned in to get his point across. "In a fight, you would be annihilated."

The hanyo's expression turned angry. "Now listen here-" A shadow fell over the two. Curious, they both looked up to see the sky blanketed by a large dark cloud. "I could have sworn the sky was clear a minute ago." She muttered to herself.

"We should get the researchers inside." Nihlus said, also staring at the sky. "Last thing we need is for them to get caught in a storm." Kushina nodded.

She probably should have checked the weather on Eden Prime before touching down. Oh well, too late now. It would probably still be a good idea to check to see how severe the storm would be. Someone must have posted the weather for this planet somewhere on Skynet-

Bzzzzzzzzz

A blink.

Two blinks.

She tried again.

Bzzzzzzzz

Nothing.

"Commander... Commander Shepard!" She looked to see the turian looking at her in annoyance. He became alarmed, however, when he was the unabridged panic blossoming on Kushina's face. "What's going on?" Instinctively, his hand went to the shotgun on his lower back.

"I... I don't know." She felt... lost. To be disconnected from the web of information was one thing, but to not even be able to connect to other people either was completely different. Kushina looked back up at the storm cloud that seemed to be even darker now. "Something is very wrong." But like any good soldier, she beat the rapidly growing anxiety into the back of her mind and sprang into action. "Alenko! Jenkins!" The final two members of the security team looked up from where they were some distance away at her shout. "Get over here! Double time!"

It was when the two men were about halfway to her and Nihlus that she saw it. In the tree line far behind the two was a light. It was a dim white and unremarkable, but something about it set her off...

The warning of danger her very being gave was enough that the curtain that only showed itself in battle covered her unnecessary emotions and cleared her mind.

"Get down!" A gut wrenching instinct that she could not explain forced the words out of her mouth at the same time it forced her to tackle Nihlus to the ground. A loud, piercing bang reached her ears and she could have sworn that something unseen flew mere inches way from her head. The two scrambled behind a pile of crates and Kushina's shields flared on at one point, but whatever activated them did not hit her armor. The gunfire continued as Alenko scrambled into the cover beside her. "Where's Jenkins?"

The Staff Sergeant looked her in the eye and shook his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

A growl ripped its way up her throat and through her lips. She slapped a hand on the SC7 emblem on the collar of her breastplate, causing two poofs of smoke that signaled the release of Storage Seals. A pitch black helmet with a one-way visor appeared around her head and segmented black armor now ran the length of her tail. Completely covered in armor now, she turned to her subordinate. "You're a biotic, right?" Alenko nodded. "You any good with barriers?" Another nod. "Good, when I say go, throw one up right there." She moved into a ready position, but made sure to stay behind the cover.

"What are you doing?" Nihlus hissed, gripping his shotgun tightly. "That sniper will blow your head off before you go three feet!"

"Not if I'm faster than it is." She shot back. "Now!" She sprinted out from behind the crates, a wall of dark energy was there to catch the first bullet that would have nailed her right in the head. Abruptly, she stopped and looked for the sniper. She saw the flash of the sniper rifle at the same time the second bullet was stonewalled by the barrier. With the target's location locked, Shepard flicked her wrists and an almost invisible swirl of wind surrounded her fingers in a way not dissimilar to claws. Before the third bullet could be fired, she disappeared in a swirl of wind, grass, and leaves. There was a great shriek of metal being torn apart followed by silence.

When Shepard emerged from the tree line, she was carrying the top half of some kind of robot. She dropped it unceremoniously and made her way over to the unmoving form of Corporal Richard Jenkins. The enthusiastic young man stared back up with a blank gaze and a bloody hole through his neck. Giving a silent prayer for the recently departed, she spoke to Alenko as he came up.

"Sergeant, can you access Skynet?" The man had donned his own helmet and was not expecting her question.

"What? Well... no, I can't." He was surprised by this. A little scared too.

"Weird killing robot and no connection. This is not a coincidence." She glared at Nihlus, who was kneeling down, inspecting the top half of the robot. She stormed up to him and put a hand on the back of his head, the Taihou Seal engraved onto the palm of her gauntlet ready to fire at a moment's notice. "You better not have anything to do with this, Spectre."

The turian glared back up at her, probably unknowing that he had a weapon pressed against his head. "This is the reason the Council has a distaste for AIs. This is a geth."

The glaring contest lasted for a few tense seconds before Shepard lowered her hand and looked through her visor at the flashlight-like countenance of the machine that killed Jenkins. "What is it doing here?"

Nihlus shook his head and stood up. "I have no idea. They have not come out from beyond the Perseus Veil since the end of the Geth War centuries ago. But considering its proximity to the dig site..."

Shepard caught on. "It's probably after the beacon." The turian nodded.

"It's also unlikely that it's alone." Kaidan added, scanning the surrounding area quickly. The other two followed his example.

"We have no way of contacting the ship." With Skynet out of reach for some unknown reason and none of them knowing the number needed for Nihlus to reach the Normandy through his Omni-Tool, they were stranded here without reinforcements. "We need to get everyone out of here." Three heads whipped to the side at the sound of gunfire in the distance. "Now." Shepard commanded.

'~,_,~'

The area they had waited in for the experts to finish was fairly close to the main dig site. But, when there were a few dozen squads of dangerous synthetics between here and there, it seemed to stretch on forever.

Shepard slid into cover next to another human - female, white and red armor. She was probably part of the small military detachment stationed on the planet. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the only one alive in the area. "Identify!" The Commander barked as the other two came to rest beside her, Nihlus blasting the head off of a robot that got too close before doing so.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, 2nd Frontier Division." The marine intoned, instinctively ducking her head when the top of their cover was hit by something fast and explosive. "These things came out of nowhere and hit hard. I don't know how many of my squad mates are still alive."

"Then you better stay alive long enough to find out." She quickly scanner the area. "We're going to surround them. Nihlus, move to that cover over on the right, I'll do the same to the left. Williams, Alenko, give us covering fire." The two humans gave obedient affirmatives, but the turian looked ready to protest taking orders from the Lieutenant Commander. "Go!" Against his better judgment, Nihlus obediently ran to the specified cover - an abandoned human vehicle of some ilk. There was just something in Shepard's voice that made him listen even if he did not particularly want to. Not quiet charisma or intimidation, but something in between.

As he was leaning out of cover to fire at the geth, Nihlus caught the one human - Williams - peel her hemet off and lean out of cover.

What the hell is that rookie doing? She's going to get-

A huge gout of flames shot from her lips - hot enough to melt half a dozen geth into metallic puddles and liquidized plastic.

... Right, human magic, forgot about that. That explains Shepard's disappearing act earlier, too.

It also explained how these three humans were using their hands like guns, something that seemed almost unfairly convenient to him.

So caught up in his thoughts - something that he knew could get him killed here - the Spectre had missed the thing that came at him from the side. It tackled him to the ground and began to claw at his unprotected face and neck with dangerously sharp talons. With a precise movement, he got his hands around the thing's head and snapped the its neck before kicking it away. The thing gave a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a screech and got back up, uncaring that its head was on backwards. A shotgun blast finally put it down.

What is this thing- His thoughts were cut off as more of these zombie-esque creatures climbed out from behind rocks and trees, their glowing blue eyes boring into him from everywhere. "Spirits..." The charred husks poured down on him and Nihlus turned and sprinted away, dropping a grenade before he did. "Shepard!" The woman looked up from where she was inspecting the now geth-free area. The armored human flinched back as the grenade went off, earning a symphony of shrieks from behind Nihlus. Chancing a glance over his shoulder, the turian fired behind him and took out one of the husks that got too close for comfort. But it was only one out of dozens.

Instead of running or shooting them like he expected, Shepard took an odd stance. Her arm flicked to the side and became obscured by a cloud of smoke like when she summoned her helmet and, er, tail armor. It cleared shortly afterwards to show the human now holding a massive blade. Shepard widened her feet and held the butcher knife of a sword behind her head, ready to swing. An aura of silver wind swirled around the metal.

"Get down!" Once again, Nihlus listened to her without thinking about it and dived for the ground. It was a suicide move because the synthetic things chasing him would not doubt catch him now and rip him to pieces. With a cry, Shepard swung her massive blade forward. At the climax of the swing, when it was pointing directly towards the enemy, the silver winds surrounding it blasted apart with great force.

Nihlus, who was low enough to the ground to avoid the worst of it, was fine. The dozens of things following him were not so fortunate.

The winds ripped them apart and threw the husks around like rag dolls. They crashed into trees and boulders with loud cracks and snaps. Those trees and boulders were then also cut apart and thrown around. Shepard beat a hasty retreat and tackled both Williams and Alenko to the ground, and for good reason considering she knew what was coming.

A virtual wall was formed around them as the shredding air spiraled upwards. Within seconds, the four soldiers had the unique pleasure of being dead center in the middle of a raging tornado. It only lasted a minute, but to them that small time frame seemed to stretch on forever.

The shock of the situation was so great to Nihlus that there was no transition between the giant storm and when Shepard was standing over him, holding out her hand in offering. "You gonna lie there all day, Spectre?" Nihlus blinked and took the offered limb, grateful for her help in pulling himself to his feet.

He looked around, seeing not another soul in sight. The tornado looked to have reached a radius of about fifty meters if where the new tree line started was anything to go by. "Shepard?"

"Yeah?"

"Never do that again."

"Heh, not like I'm jumping for the chance." She sounded tired. She looked it even more so. "We need to move faster. Shit just hit the fan."

"You know what those things were?" He kept pace with the three humans as they jogged further towards the dig site. "I've never heard of geth using anything like that before."

"We call them Husks." An appropriate name. "And it's not geth tech, its something much, much worse."

"You really think there's another one of those things out there, ma'am?" Williams asked, having put her helmet back on.

Shepard grunted. "It's the only explanation I can think of." She cast a gaze at the still overcast sky. "Might even be that it's what's messing with Skynet, too."

"What are you all talking about?" Nihlus finally demanded.

"There's a Reaper here, that's what we're talking about."

'~,_,~'

Professor Liara T'Soni liked being alone. She was alone for most of her childhood and her time in various schools and she had grown so accustomed to it that she willingly left civilization to work alone on some near-forgotten planet, digging up relics of the past. She preferred the silence of being left to her thoughts over crowds any day.

But right now she really wished that she had someone to help comfort her. Well, someone beside her colleague who lay dead a mere two feet away.

She was lucky enough to already be behind the shelves looking for something when the attack came, and was smart enough to not leave at any point. The geth always seemed to be right on top of her location and she was afraid that the smallest of movements would alert them. When a well armed and obviously military turian showed up, she felt hope build up, only for it to be crushed and spat on when he began ordering the geth to rig a bomb - and a pretty big one at that. He then did something with the beacon she had been given the opportunity to study and left.

Now, she was alone with her dead colleague, the geth, and a bomb.

When the second turian showed up, she was suspicious, right up until it blew the head off of a geth. The firefight sprang up and Liara made a stupid and naïve decision like she had done so many times before.

Sitting up to look over the small shelf, she pointed the pistol her late colleague had carried at the nearest geth and opened fire. She was not good with a gun per se, but she was not bad either.

When the two humans showed up and started shooting - with their hands! - at the geth and flinging around biotics, she was relieved. As well as embarrassed as she forgot about her own biotics and promptly caught a synthetic in her aura of dark energy and threw it over the cliff.

When the demon showed up, she was stunned into silence. It could only be a demon - a being of darkness that moved as a blur and swung a giant butchering blade easily with one hand. The fight ended shortly afterwards and she was approached by the demon.

"You still in one piece?" The black figure asked, pulling the asari up. "Nothing broken?"

"No, thank you." She jumped as her brain started working properly again. "The bomb!"

"What?" The demon followed her as she went around a small corner to the large device that was hidden just enough that anyone not looking for it would not see it. "Not good. Can you diffuse it?"

"W-What? Me? No, not at all." She was only a professor, after all.

"Tsk." The demon leaned back around the corner. "Nihlus, get over here!" When the turian did as instructed, he cursed and immediately kneeled down to inspect it. "Can you do anything with it?"

The Spectre nodded. "Don't worry, I can. Just make sure that nothing interrupts me for the next minute or so." And he got to work on the machine that Shepard could not even begin to hope to understand - alien tech was way to different from human tech. Nihlus was actually better than he proclaimed and defused it in a few seconds.

"That was quick." Shepard complimented. "Nice job." The turian however, only frowned - she was pretty sure it was a frown at least. "What's wrong?"

"I... Nothing, it's nothing." In truth, the type of bomb and wiring behind it was strangely familiar. Where had he seen this design before? "Did the geth bring this here?" He asked the asari that had pointed it out.

"No, I-I mean yes, but not on their own." Shepard and Nihlus looked at her, confused. "A turian was commanding them. T-Then he did something with the b-beacon," She pointed to the ancient relic on the edge of the cliff. "and left." Shepard left to get a closer look at the beacon while Nihlus continued his investigation.

"What did the turian look like?" There a chance - a small one - that he might know the culprit. The asari started trying to stutter out an answer, but the Spectre had dealt with shocked witnesses before. "Did he have any facial paint? Or could you not see his face?"

"N-No, I mean, he didn't have paint." Figures, most criminals don't. "He was kinda pasty looking and had strange armor." Not helpful really. Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I know! He had cybernetic implants." Here we go!

"Where on his body?"

"Er, well, everywhere. Most on his chest and arms. Some on his feet. He had one along his jaw line too."

Nihlus' stomach dropped. That extensive amount of cybernetic implants could only be funned by a government, and it would only be necessary if the recipient was was critically injured. Nihlus only knew one turian who was injured like that and whose position was important enough that the Hierarchy paid for his surgery. The Spectre glanced down at the now defused bomb - so that was where he had seen that type of wiring before.

It was his duty as a Spectre to keep a cool head, but in light of his new information he turned an angry glare at the asari. Liara tensed when Nihlus grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Liar!" The turian shouted.

"W-What? No I-I'm not-"

"Shut up!" He threw her hard enough that she stumbled and fell. "He would never do something like this! You're lying!" The asari tried to protest again. In response, Nihlus brought out his gun. "Saren is a good man! Better than you will ever be! You are LYING!"

"Alenko!"

The call distracted Nihlus just enough that he looked away from the downed asari to see the male human pushed away by Shepard - who was struck by the electricity from the beacon in his place. It was apparently strong enough to get through her armor and receive a cry of pain.

And once again, Nihlus got distracted.

Liara T'Soni was many things - shy, awkward, and antisocial chief among them - but she was not weak or stupid. Seeing the turian momentarily distracted, she lashed out with biotics and slapped his gun away, where it skidded across the ground. Quick as lightning, Nihlus whipped out his sidearm and opened fire. Just making it, Liara brought up a wall of dark energy to take the bullet in her stead. The Spectre moved to circle around her but she was having none of that. The biotic wall was forced outward and knocked the turian back where he crashed into a wall. The harsh contact was marked by the explosion of the beacon that sent Shepard flying as well.

When Nihlus was about to get back up and Liara was about to knock him back down, the ground beneath them abruptly liquidized. Liara was not ashamed to say that she screamed as she sunk into mud that was solid concrete a second ago.

"What the hell are you to doing?" The other human female - the one with white armor - asked in a dangerously annoyed voice. The male human was tending to the now unconscious Shepard. "Now is really not the time for this!"

"He attacked me!" Liara shouted, not really caring that it was only a slightly more mature version of 'he started it'.

"Because you're trying to frame my mentor!" Nihlus shot back, wishing that his gun was not firmly trapped in the mud. "Saren would never do anything like this!"

"I have no idea who Saren is!"

"Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Williams shouted, stamping her foot on the ground. The reason for the movement became obvious when the two aliens quickly sank even further into the ground until only their heads where untouched. "Skynet is back up and the Normandy is coming back. The five of us are the only ones left alive on this whole damn planet and I don't want that number to drop any lower!" She cast a worried glance at Shepard, who was being biotically lifted by Alenko. "You can kill each other after we get a full debriefing, do I make myself clear?!"

Liara nodded, and Nihlus followed after one last glare at the blue girl.

"Good." Williams said, then coughed uncomfortably. Under her helmet, she blushed. "Well I have no idea how to get you both out of the mud so you have to do it yourself."

The aliens blinked stupidly as the human left to go help carry her comrade.

End, let's review, shall we.

Enter Joker!

Enter Kaidan!

Enter Nihlus and not kill him off!

Enter Liara!

Enter Cortana... because it's Cortana and why not!

Enter Jenkins and still kill him off because I'm a bastard like that!

Enter geth!

Enter Ashley!

Enter Saren (kinda)!

Characters! Characters everywhere!

Explanation time!

Shinobi Corps = N-School, if you didn't figure it out. Nothing that I can remember or find said much about N-School, so I kinda just screwed around with it and made this.

2,011,932,687: That's the total human population. The way I relieved it was kinda cheesy and stupid, but hey, I like picking on Tevos. Also the other species populations were mostly gestations on my part.

Normandy: Yes, it can turn invisible. Hey, I needed to make it special somehow!

Nothing that humans know of can block out Skynet, so the gang is really worried when they find out that that is what happened.

Kushina did a Shunshin to get to the first geth, she just needed a barrier up so that she could have time to 'lock on' to its location and zoom over to it.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Kushina is mainly proficient in Wind Jutsu (hmm, I wonder who she got that from). I also will not have them shout out the name randomly as no character in ME ever did that of biotics, so Jutsu will be silent in this story... What? No, of course I'm not doing that because I'm bad at coming up with names for all my original ones! Why would you think that? Haha... ha... ha...

Well then, *clears throat* Until Next Time,
- - Sorcerer of the East