The Mass Effect RP (Number 2!) - The RP

I was slumming on some planet. Go from Pub to pub, joint to joint, spending my money. Throwing it down the drain. I had gone to strip clubs, walked down shady alleys, and killed those who would have taken advantage of any fool incapable of defending himself. Must've killed more than a few sorry blokes. Couple Batarians, the fuck-heads, I crushed them and threw there them around and crushed their bodies, I rendered them but pulp. The one Asari I encountered tried to use her biotics against me. She failed, obviously, but it was a trying battle. I think we tore up the alley, the wall of an adjacent building. Not to mention the dumpsters that went flying to and fro. She might have hit a flying car as it drove by, I don't know, I didn't pay much attention, I was a little busy with our battle of the wills, as it were. I would even go as far to say it was a very intimate struggle. As we got closer, and our singularities crashed and destroyed out surroundings, our eyes met. I could tell right off the bat that she was enjoying herself. She was enjoying this struggle. She was enjoying me. I was flattered. Eventually we over exhausted ourselves, biotically, and fell to the ground panting. By that time we had gotten pretty close, about 2-3 feet away from each other. I looked up at her, panting, half-smirking. She looked up at me, smiling crookedly.

Then we both laughed. It was a tie, a draw, the meeting of two stubborn forces. We helped each other stand up. Leaning on each other for support. She was wearing tight clothes, showing off all her beautiful curves. Our eyes met yet again, closer this time. There was a need in her eyes, I could see it, and I could feel it. Her need was almost tangible in the air around us. Or maybe we were melding slightly. I don't know, I didn't care. She wasn't Ardat Yatkshi or whatever, if she had been, I would've died. She tilted her head slightly in my direction, I followed her, and we kissed. Softly, at first, I knew what she wanted; she knew I wanted it too. She had transport; I drove us back to her place.

I had never, in all my years of space travel, come across something as uniquely beautiful as the Asari's Melding of the Nervous systems. We arrived at her place, got through the doors, barely, before the door even closed we were fumbling at each others clothes, pulling and tugging to get ourselves free of the constraints that held us from the act we both so wanted to commit ourselves too. We both stopped moving once we were naked. We looked each other up and down, studying the anatomy of the other. She moved her hands over my body, following my scars with her fingertips, tracing them. She traced her fingers over my muscles, causing goose bumps as she went. I could see her delight as her gaze travelled across the rest of my body. I, in turn, traversed her bodice with my own gaze and touch. I followed her curves, her own scars, her physical history, as it were. By the time we were done looking each other over an hour had passed, silently and quickly. Not that I was really paying attention. After all that, we came together, in a sweet embrace. Then we kissed, softly at first, but that changed quickly as our more primal instincts began to take over. I'm normally quite germophobic, but that night, I really learned the geography of her mouth and she mine. Our bodies moved harmoniously together, our symphony was meant to be long and well played. We played, in a manner of speaking, for quite a long. In fact, we didn't stop until dawn. Our hands moved across our bodies feeling the curves, the crevices. Our song went on for sometime. There was playful pinching of the notes and certain well looked after extremities. The softness of her skin was, on its own, arousing in the most sensual sense of the word. By the time we had Embraced Eternity, It was well into the night. We must've sung this tune, and played through half a dozen crescendos before we both fell in an exhausted sleep. It was early morning when we finished and finally slept. That was the best sleep of my life.

As the Sun rose on Illium, we slept. Our dreams were shared, and strange. It was the most coherently incoherent dream I've ever had. It was flashes of creatures, places, people, planets, galaxies, and other things I could only guess at. I recognized some of the people and the place, I had been there. Later, after we were both up, awake, I asked her her thoughts on the dream, she said she recognized some of the places and people, but not the planets or creatures and those whatever they were. We had shared memories in that dream. So I believed. We stayed in bed for some time, before getting up and eating, and doing other daily routines. After we ate she went to take a shower, I decided to get dressed.

After about 15 minutes or so Amanra, that was the Asari's name, came out of the shower fully dressed, in what looked like leather. At first glance she looked like a biker chick, clad in leather like she was, but as my gaze lingered I noticed patterns, integrated armour, along with other technological tidbits. She was every bit as dangerous as me. Probably more so if you included her charm.

We were Biotic warriors. Equal in strength and ability. I was one of a kind. She wasn't, in terms of power and ability. As a person, however, she was unique, as is all life.

We were both dressed, she was standing in front of the door to the shower. I stood up when she opened the door. We faced each other. Her blue eyes met mine. She smiled. Then we began to talk.

After a couple of hours, the day was getting older, we exchanged contact information and we left, heading in different directions. I had to meet a contact later that night, she had other 'business' to conclude that day.

__________________________________________________________

*An Asari peeks out behind the curtain, "Damn this guy is late....Men can never count on them."
A group of batarians walk into the club. Acting all swag and on top of the world. As if they have a reason for celebrating.
"Game time," said the Asari, a smile comes across the Asari's face as she quickly closes the curtain. A hostess walks up to the group of Batarians, "We have a seat reserved for you, over here."
The Waitress seats the batarians in front of the stage.

"Hey boss we got the best seats in the house." Said one a Krogan, following the Batarian.

"No I have the best seat. Why don't you two go to the bar or something. I don't want you near me." The Batarian said harshly, as though speaking to an underling. The two Krogans grunt as they leave their boss and head to the bar nearby to drink. The lights in the club darken leaving only two spotlights on the stage. The beat of dance music is heard in the background getting louder.

"Showtime." Said the Asari, quietly to herself.

"Showtime" Said the Batarian in an excited tone.

____________________________________________________________

The place I ended up going to was this exotic/erotic Asari dance/strip club. It was Private. That being said I had to be cleared by what felt like four hundred thousand clearances checks. I was here to meet with someone about information along with the first half of my payment. He was Batarian. That's all I knew. I was told that he would recognize me, which set off bells and whistles about the nature of the job. I was on edge. I was now grateful for my survival training. I had never thought that learning so much biology and xeno-biology would be useful in the military. It turns out, it's a life saver. I walked into that club feeling like fish in a whole new fish bowl. I was the only Human in the club. I felt exposed. I sat at the bar, and watched the stage. I just tried to blend in with the crowd which was harder than I thought.

I shivered. I wasn't cold, something just felt off. I felt like I was going to witness something awesome, something not many people witness in their lifetime. I was standing by some Krogans, who kept eyeing up the Asari on the side poles and everywhere else. So they didn't notice when slowly had my Omni-tool hack their Omni-tool and drain their credits. I love Salarians, well, at least the one that helped me.


However, that shiver would not leave. Something was off. What was it?


The asari walks out on the stage, music blasting, the dark room changing with colors along the with the music. The feeling of extacy and lust filled the air. The asari swifty moved to the pole, every step staying with the beat. She grabs the pole with her left hand, using the pole to swing around it while bringing her left leg around the pole, wrapping it. The batarian moves closer to the stage,as if pulled by gravity. The batarian stayed still in his seat, not moving. His mind entranced and the Asari's movements. The Asari continues her ritual dancing around the stage in an erotic fashion. The music's beat gets more errotic and up beat while maintaining the sexual aura of the club. The Asari moves her attention to batarian,making quick but smooth movement toward him. Closing in on him she gets on her knees, closing in on his face the Batarian stands up to get on her level. "Oh yeah." He said as she danced in front of him.

In a soft sexy tone, "You like what you see?" She was playing the part. The batarian nods unaware of his surrounding. "Good it will be the last thing you see." The Batarian was confused and not following the threat she just put out in front of him.

"Huh?" He said, still dazed. Then as if watched by an angel, the lights in the club turned on and the music stopped. The Asari, surprised, look up at the lights. "What the hell?" She said, now confused herself. As she spoke the front door bursts open with a group of the local police.

"This is the police of the lower Nowa heights. You, put down your weapon or I will be forced to fire on you." Said the captain pointing at the Asari dancer on the stage in front of the Batarian. The batarian, finally getting a hold of himself realizes the threat and the full pictures and sees that the Asari dancer has a gun in her hand. Pulled from some hidden pocket on her person.

"What is going on here." Said the Batarian, still confused, and slightly afraid. As he spoke more Asari cops enter the club.


The sudden entrance of the Asari police catches me off guard, I find myself dazed and confused. I had no idea why they would come here. But that Asari on the stage was something else. The way she moved was just....entrancing. or maybe that was the effect of the strange drink that he had just had. She had been talking to the Batarian up front, probably the best seat in the house, if you were into that sort of thing. I couldn't see her lips moving so I had no idea what she said to him. I could only see the back of his head. But that was fine with me, Batarians aren't much to look at anyway.

I still had no idea who my contact was. He or she was either a no show, or was watching me. I hoped it was the latter, because that money would be very useful in acquiring certain goods and materials that I was particularly fond of. I won't get into that now. But let's just say, Omni-tools can really be used for everything. I kept my eye on that Asari though, She seemed to have a plan, and I was far too curious to just let her go. I would follow her next move. I just hoped that the police didn't mess up my night.


The Asari dancer, staggers back as she is taken by the sheer numbers of the police. But none the less she had a mission. She quickly grabs the gun from her back and takes aim. But the captain is too fast. Her body glows with a blue aura. The Captain raises her hand with elegance but at the same time the feeling of her murderous intent is felt. A blue and black orb forms in her hand and is quickly thrown. The ball travels with such speed that the Assassin cannot defend or fire her gun. The ball hits its target head on, the assassin seemingly frozen in place and still maintains her seductive beauty.

"Arrest her while she is incapacitated." Ordered the Captain. The other police move with her words toward the would-be-assassin. "You, Batarian, come with me."

"There was just an assassination attempt on me, why would I go with you?" Said the Batarian stupidly, not trusting the Captain and wondering where his guards were.

"Just to answer some questions and see if you are unharmed. As well as investigate why someone would want you killed." Said The Captain in a commanding tone. The Batarian, not listening, and looking at her figure nods in agreement and follows her outside the club.


I watched as the Batarian was led outside the club, but the Asari dancer was frozen in stasis on the stage still, arm extended, gun in hand. I didn't know how long it would last, I used the Omni-tool to record the scene, focusing mostly on the Batarian, getting his face as much as I could. I couldn't do much of anything with the Asari police force there. So I waited, not knowing what to do or say. I simply observed my surroundings. Every killer has a plan. Every Predator knows his ground. There had to be something I missed. A Failsafe, something that could allow the would-be-assassin time to do her work, her job. The Asari chief-lady, the one who threw the stasis field at the assassin, was completely unfamiliar to me. I was tempted to follower them. see why he was wanted dead. I was also tempted to stay here, and look after the Asari.

I navigated through the crowd. I got as close as I could to the stage where the Asari assassin was held in the field. I studied her. She was powerful. I could sense that. Like a predator recognizing another predator. A Bear looking at a Lion, a Human Biotic looking at an Asari-Commando. So I thought at the time. There was something I was missing. A larger puzzle. This was a jigsaw puzzle and a piece fell into the wrong slot. I was eager to know what she was up to. If the Military taught me anything, it's that you don't kill someone without a reason for it. A good reason for it, an incentive. Perhaps it was my eagerness that drew me too near, an Asari cop told me I was getting too close, and gently pushed me away. I suppose that made me snap out of it. I was curious, I wanted to investigate, but good things come to those that wait.

_____________________________________________________________

The Captian looks back at the Assassin on the stage as she walks out the door. "That was close. Glad we got that tip." Said the Captain looking around.

"Yeah you people finally do your jobs right huh. A fucking miracle." Said the Batarian, with the utmost insolence.

The captian made a motion of her face...a sign of disgust, but none the less she still has a job to do. She walks outside the lights were blinding and the sounds of the sirens dumbed down any outside noise. She led the batarian to the emergency vehicle. "Why don't you sit down and get comfortable."

The Batarian nods and sits down in the back of the vehicle. Some Police women were standing near it.

"You guys can leave." Said the Captain, dismissing the Police standing around the emergency vehicle. She notions to the EMC's around her, dismissing them as well.

"Good now we can talk." Said the Captain, her tone changing.

"About what?" Said the Batarian annoyed.

"About why did someone try and have you killed. Why someone would send an assassin." The Captain said, clearly doubting his intelligence. The batarian looked up at her, and lied.

"I have no idea, I am a business man. I make many enemies." Answered the Batarian.

This batarian is an awful liar. She thought to herself. A smile comes across the Asari Captains face. "You are a bad liar."

"Huh?" The Batarian missed the veiled threat, issued by the False Captain.

"You are an awful liar, and a traitor. Giving out confidential information is a bad thing to do. Especially when it costs a certain person a lot of money. Too bad you will never learn your lesson." She said, revealing her nature to the Batarian. The Batarian felt the sudden danger that the Asari has brought upon him. He tries to get up but it stuck to his place as if a invisible barrier is pushing him down.

"My eyes are up here." She grabs the Batarians face so that they are face to face. Their eyes meet. "You have some ugly eyes."

The Asari's eyes blacken as did the Batarian's. As she blended their nervous systems.

"I love it when a plan comes together." The Batarian falls over in the vehicle. Breathing but dead inside. The Asari smiles and takes off the police clothing into a much more urban design. She takes out a small machine out of bag she hid near the club. The machine opens into a ball with a lens. Pretending to be a reporter.

"Now lets go get our story."

She makes a little laugh and walks back to the club. Just in time. She watches as the asari police bring out the failed assassin. She moves in

"Excuse me, I was wondering if I could get a story." She spoke to one of the Policewomen.

=She closes in on the assassin=

Excuse me can I get any deatails on what has happend in this gentlemens club.

=She gets close to the group. A nearby officer gets her attention=

"This area is off limits. Leave or we will be forced to put you under arrest."

Understood.

=She turns around and see the assassin getting put into the police vehicle. She makes her way close to the car. She gets close to the assassin while no one is watching=

I take the prize.

=the assassin growls at her but she laughs it off. Suddenly she hears another officer nearby=

"Yeah the captian was found in an alley way near here. All stripped down. The captian we had here earlier was a fraud."

=Some converstion is heard on their comms=

"We have to find this imposter now!"

My cue to leave...Sucker!.

=The asari walks off the premesis quickly. Goes to a docking area and takes a cab out of the surrounding area=


I had stayed inside when the Asari assassin was taken out. I wanted to keep my distance. I followed shortly after, but there was some confusion. Some krogan were pushing each other, talking about money, I didn't listen, I decided that was the best time to get outside into some fresh air. Which was good, because otherwise I would've missed the Asari that I thought was the chief, or captain, or whatever, walk over to the Car where the Assassin was standing.

There was a commotion. Some fast chatter, the captain was dead, found in an alley. I had no idea what was going on. Everything started so fast. Being the only human there I was virtually ignored. Except for the few times that people almost bumped into me. I looked for the Batarian, I think he was involved somehow. I see the ambulance-car, and walk over to it, as a cab flies over head. I looked therein and saw the Batarian, dead. I could see no physical wounds on him, and he was still breathing, sort of. It's hard to explain it. I was suddenly reminded of how I felt after I had been with the Asari the previous night, I was breathing, but I wasn't all there. The Batarian must've been...I don't know the word for it, he was brain dead though. That much I was now sure of. I stepped away from the vehicle, slowly.

Had I just meandered into a conspiracy? A professional hit? This was way out of my league. I had to get out of here.

Wait, no I didn't if I just followed the car with the would be assassin I was likely to get more information than just dropping it now and coming back later.

I now had a plan.

Chapter 2: The Chase

Hey driver, take me to this location.

=She pulls out a datapad and shows him where to go. He nods=

Thanks.

=The cab arrives at the lower levels of Shiara city=

Here you go.

=She pays the driver and gets out=

Ah home.

=She steps out of the cab to a middle class area. The streets look like a walk in the past. This area was not tarnished with the technological finesse of the upper cities=

This way.

=The asari walks down some streets. Looking at the stores and outlets that littered it until she arrived at a small hotel on a corner. She walks in and heads up the stairs. Three floors up she takes a door into a hallway where she walks all the way to the end. The sound of people and their issues can be heard from almost every door.=

Finally.

=She ends at a door. Room 245. She digs in her pocket=

Shit, must have dropped it in the cab.

=She shrugs it off and uses her biotic powers to open the door. She drops her bag on the floor by the couch and walks into her room. She stands there looking at it, then jumps on it=

My comftorable bed.

=She lays there for a while, then slowly falls into a slumber=


My mind was racing. I had no clue what was going on, but I had a plan and that plan was changed, when the Asari that posed as the captain dropped a key. At that point, the Asari in the police car was no longer a priority. I had to find out where the other Asari went. The Police force was doing a sweep of the area, or whatever you call it. It was pretty easy to pick up the key without being overtly noticed.

I picked up the key and stopped. I recognized it, which was odd, the key was similar to the one my contact had given me for the first half of the money. I felt that this wasn't a coincidence. Someone was playing me. My Contact, clearly wanted me talking to this woman. But why? I have so many questions, and no answers.

I hailed a cab, told the driver where I wanted to go, and off we went. It was getting late. I was invigorated. The thrill of the chase excited me. Whatever was going on, I wanted to know. Curiosity, my friend, I have no nine lives, but I've got ten phalanges that know what they are doing.

It took some time, but we got there. The residence was beautiful. I tipped the guy 75 credits and got out. I needed to find a way to get to this person. I have no doubt that she lives here. Which made me feel like a stalker. I found someone and asked them about the key, their must've been some detail on it that I missed because she pointed me in the right direction. I stood in front of a door with the numbers 245 on it. I didn't know what to do next. So I knocked gently.


=Her eye open quick as she hears knocking at her door. She panicked. The thought of the police finding her card at the scenen gave her a rush, but then she remembered her training. She calmed herself down and realised the police would state who she was. Cautiously she walks to the door. Presses a button on it so it show who is on the other side=

A human? What does he want?

=The asari says nothing and waits for a while. Waiting to see if the man leaves. Her phone goes of in the background=

Shit!

=She rushed to get it hoping the man didn't hear it. She looked at it. It was her employer giving her a message...A place to meet=


I stood in front of that door for ages. My armour was in a Drop-house somewhere, so I was standing there in my civilian clothes, with my weapons of course. A previous job I had had required me to drop my armour off to be repaired. I have never been through so many explosions in my life, that mineshaft was a death trap. I felt like I was going to die every step I took down that mine shaft. I may enjoy camping and the good outdoors and spelunking, but sometimes I swear, caves just scare me senseless.

Standing there waiting, I noticed that whoever entered the room last didn't use a key, I could easily just insert the key, and unlock the door. But at the same time, a phone, or other communications device went off in the room, but was quickly silenced. So either the Asari was in the room and hiding, or someone had broken into the room and was hiding. Either way, someone was hiding. So now I was doubly curious. Crap. Curiosity killed he cat, but this is one cool cat, and this is a potential opportunity I won't pass up.

I knocked again. This time saying, "You dropped your key outside the club, I brought it back to you."
I was uncertain what she would say, if she was here. I was tense, I was anxious and I thought I knew why: If this was an Asari-assassin, who just killed a man by looking at him (pretty much, I knew it was more complex than that), there was a probability of 1that she was stronger than me. I prayed that my null hypothesis was rejected, but my gut told me otherwise.



=She hears a voice outside the door=

He found my key card...how lucky am I.

=She walks silently to the door=

He doesn't seem harmless.

How noble of you to go all this way to bring me back my card.



Well that was odd. She didn't even open the door, just, talked to me through it. I didn't know what to do. should I just stand here? should I attempt to open the door? I mean, I just don't know. I was stumped. Well, not really, I decided on a more neutral way of saying 'open up': "uh, miss, could you maybe open the door?", that was it. It came out nice and smooth. Not the slightest bit of tremor. oh, who am I kidding, I sounded like a kid talking to someone he was scared shitless of. Maybe if I re-composed myself, I would come across more threatening, but that could have all sorts of consequences. My decision? Facade. I would come across as the caring Good Samaritan, which I was, technically. However I had ulterior motives, so I wasn't sure if that constituted being a Good Samaritan.

The Hallway was empty. Standing alone in the hallway made it tangibly less awkward. I was sure if I would need to tear the place apart with my biotics. I may or may not be a little self-concious about using my powers in front of others. Funny, seeing as how I was in the Alliance, I had to use my powers almost every other day for training and 'refresh' courses, or whatever they called it. But here I was, standing in front of a door with my potential killer on the other side. Well, isn't that just a merry thought?


=The door slides open and the sleek dark figure of the Asari stood in it and in a soft tone=

Sure.

=She left the door and headed to her kitchen, she opened the fridge and brought out a beverage. The sound of gases escaping is heard as she opened it. She took a short sip of the drink.

So where is my card.


I was beginning to get another really bad idea into my head. After she answered the door, and said "Sure." in that soft tone, it took quite a bit of effort to not think about sex. I think those thoughts came to mind because of the previous night, (or was it two nights ago now?). I slowly entered the room. I watched her as she went into her kitchen and get some sort of fizzy pop from the fridge, that I couldn't yet see. Her actions struck me as odd, I felt as if she were deceiving me. Not that I haven't been deceived in the past, there a few contractors who owe me a considerable amount of money and have yet to pay me. I sensed danger, to put it bluntly, I did not feel at all safe in this place.

I held up the key, awkwardly, I might add, because I felt like a child (biotic) in an Adult (biotic) home. "Yeah, I have your key right here." I knew I was outmatched and I kept my cool. I didn't freak out like last time. My first encounter with a Salarian biotic scared me so much that I lashed out. Suffice it to say, my ass got handed to me that day. I was intent on not making the same mistake twice, because that would be insanity. I may go through insane things, but I myself am not insane.

"So, why did you leave the scene so quickly?" Well crap. Did I really just ask that? I was thinking bluntly and then I spoke bluntly. Awesome, not only did I practically reveal my motive to her, she now had complete control over the situation. Great job Nick, you just fucked shit up, like you did that one time on the F.E.A.R team.


I watch his movement. Slow, childish, brash. It was obvious he knew the danger he was in and he was trying to hide it behind his akward movements. All I could think about was why he would go through such lengths to give me back my card. I know he isn't a thief since he is trying to give it back to me. No, but neither is he part of any branch of the law. No, the way he moves is almost unprofessional. He is up to something, behind those eyes he has an ulterior motive but what. He entered my sanctum and held up my key..his hands were shaking at first, jitters I guess, but then it stopped. Probably trying to keep his nerves down. Ether way I had my key back and the only evidence linking me to that site was gone. This "samaritan" just did my job for me and he didn't even know it. But then he said something

LegendaryStory wrote:
"So, why did you leave the scene so quickly?"


I don't know how, but those words rose my heart rate a few beats. I knew he was there but was he watching me the whole time?

It's ok, calm down and think back to the situation.

My mind blanks and the reforms to the hours earlier at the club.

I walked in..yes. Now pause that image. Look around.

=In her mind she remembered when she arrived in the club, she pauses that image and took herself out of her mody, as if she was able to move around the place. She looked around and quickly saw the man that was in her apartment, sitting down, watching the events unfold=

Hmm no this facial structure, it is different than now, he was more collected. More serious. He wasn't suprised at the fact that a man was about to be murdered. Who was this human?

I was cautious but at the same time intrigued by this human, not at his looks but at the fact that my first initial thoughts of him were erased with ease at the picture of him in the club. This was no pedestrian, this was someone on a mission. But what mission? I had control of the situation and I am sure he knows this, by his reaction when he said those words. I had to use this opportunity to my advantage.

=the asari's eyes dimmed and had a faint glow=

I had to pretend I was angry, it was easy. Even though I was a little - that I was seen, I had kept my composure.

Were you watching me?


I noticed a temporary fault in her composure, even it was for but a second. She remembered me, I thought, even if it was only partially, she saw me there. That was a relief, sort of. Well, I have no illusions about trained killers, as I myself was one, so I knew she saw my difference in behavior. Which means she knew, to a point, what I was capable of. For a moment, she looked distant, that subsided quickly and was replaced by a slight glow. I knew that glow, most Asari Biotics had that glow, well, any powerful biotic, I had that glow occasionally. She was angry, or beginning to be. Or she was just bluffing. I wasn't sure. I was sure that she could kick my ass if this came down to Biotic Might.

She also hadn't taken the key from me yet, she stood there and looked angry. I was still holding up the key when she asked: "Were you watching me?" I didn't falter. I knew what my response would be before she asked me, before she even finished the question I said, "Yes, I was." definitive and serious. I had a list of possible outcomes for her reaction to that, then maybe I would call her bluff. I knew a rookie mistake when I saw one, we were on even terms once more. I loved it.


Oh my, he fell for it, he really took the bait. Men, so easy to read. I had chuckled in my head knowing that he thought we were on even terms. In a way it insulted me, but just for a litttle bit. The only question really is 'what is he?' Was he a trained assassin, a merc for hire? Obviously he wasn't a helpful bystander. No one is. He was here to do something and I wanted to find out, but time was short and I had to be somewhere. I already know that he is going to follow. He is mystified by me, at who I am. I can see it in his eyes. Always scanning me just like I am him. No he was trained just like me...in a manner of speaking. There was also another issure I couldn't leave out...his abilities. Unlike the obvious krogans or blind turians, humans, were a medium for the unknown and could possess any ability they so choose to wield. A small beep was made on my omni-tool. It was time to go. I grabbed the card from his hand.

Thanks.

Our little meeting was short and at the least rushed, but he wasn't my biggest concern. I had to get rid of him. In a non killing sort of way.



Her tone told me everything. Ok, no it didn't. The tone of her voice told me she had something to do. She was headed somewhere. Probably the ring I heard earlier. I wouldn't doubt it if it was her employer. She had to have been contacted about her job. Payment drop probably. I wouldn't doubt it if she was about to try and get rid of me somehow. I readied myself to deflect an attack.It helps to be on guard. My senses were sharp. I prepared myself as best I could mentally. In those few seconds before her next words, I tensed up.

"You're welcome, Miss…?" I left it hanging hoping she would fill the gap. I wanted to hear her name. That way, I would never forget it.


I walk up to him swiftly but gentle, as not to make him on his guard. I got close to him and put my finger on his chest.

You will never know my name stranger.

And with a gentle push he was on the other side of my door.

See ya.

=The door closed quickly on the humans face=

And that right there was grade A acting. Thank you very much.

I take a bow to my couch as if to congragulate myself. Ok enough goofing off time to go. I grab my backpack and head to my window. The sound of creaking is heard as I opened my window and the gush of wind glided through. I jumped down the three stories and used my biotics to slow my fall. Now I need to get to the taxi and head to my destination.



She just pushed me out of her Apartment. Just like that. put her index finger in the middle of my chest, and pushed me out. What the fuck. She walked up to me all suave and convincing, slipping under my guard like that. It wasn't the fact that she was an Asari, but a woman. I have a history of letting women slip under my guard, sometimes literally, those were some fun times. I once nearly got seduced by this girl at a reunion party, I heard later, that she seduced a guy and stole all his tech and credits. I was really glad I had said 'no' when I did.

When she said, "you will never know my name, stranger." I was floored. She was just being a woman. I swear, women are the same, no matter the species. I was left speechless outside the door. I stood there like an idiot. My hand was still in the air as if I still held the key. I heard the window creak, and I rushed to the nearest window, my instincts took over, she was fleeing, again. I wasn't going to lose her this time, chance helped the first time, this time it was all me.


I run down alleys full sprint dodging into alleys when they supplied a shortcut.

That man he must be on my tale. Have to lose him in a commotion...or a crowd.

I knew this area so I ran to the market. Good, the market is as crowded as ever. So many of my kind is here. This will provide a great diversion. Quickly I ran into the fray of the crowd.


I saw her jump out the window. I had maybe 3 seconds before she got away. So I shattered the window with my biotics and followed her down, with substantially less grace. I fell into a tumble, no biotics. It's been a while since I pulled a feat like that. Following was the thrill of my life. Running down alleys, she almost lost me at one turn, I lost sight for a few seconds and panicked, but then I turned a corner and saw her again, so I chased her into the market, where went into the crowd. I hate crowds. I once had an assassination contract, I blew my cover, because some drunken turian decided to try and start a fight with me. So I had to chase my target through the crowd, he lost sight of me. I stabbed him, with a blade I had hidden with me, he died in the crowd. No witnesses. If I followed her into the crowd, the same could happen to me. For the sake of survival, I didn't follow her in, I utilized my biotics to help me sort of scale a building, to get a better view, I was half way to the top when I looked around: I saw the exits, the potential escape routes and I spotted the Asari, moving through the crowd. I held my breath.



I feel like I should have thought my escape through. I just realised why I hated crowds so much. But I couldn't worry about that I had less then an hour to get there and I was on borrowed time. So I made a dash for the nearest exit. Ran through some backstreet and finally arrived at the terminal. I looked at the traffic flying dangerously in the sky and I stood there watching...waiting.


She made a break for it. I saw it, and jumped. I love biotics, unlimited possibilities. I glided down to the alley she bolted down, people scrambled out of the way. I landed a little harder than I wanted, hurt my knees and my feet a little bit. She was rushing, she made mistakes, she could've lost me in the crowd. Borrowed time sprang to mind, something I'm all too familiar with. Following her through the backstreets brought memories of earth to mind. I pushed those days behind me, thug-life is not the same as Merc-life.

She stopped. We came to a terminal, she was 25 feet away, standing still. Her eyes to the sky I was certain she was waiting for a skycar to come by. Or maybe she was going to jump, get some Frogger action going or something. Hopping from car to car, causing all sorts of mayhem. But no, she stood there. I approached as silently as I could, but I was getting tired so I hoped it was the former of my previous assumptions.


I watched as a black transit appeared in front of me. The doors open and all I could see was the dark interior. I stepped in and sat down. The door closed and the transit took off at blasting speed.

Take me to sector I-54.

I heard the driver grunt as a sign of understanding. Now all I had to do is wait.


A black skycar pulled up, she got in and it took off. I was left in the dust. Not literally, of course. before it took off I flung a tracer, miraculously hitting in time as the door closed, so the sound was muffled. As soon as the door closed the skycar took off. She was gone, for now. I hailed a cab, and followed suit. High-speed flying cars. Sexy alien women. This was out of a b-rated movie flick. I was impatient, someone else was driving, so my mind was filled with anxiety. I hate it when I'm doing something and I have to wait.

Now was also valuable. I now had the time to think, try and piece together everything that happened. I walked into the club, music was playing, it was a melting-pot of Species. A fight broke out, a Salarian was punched out by a Turian, he owed him money, the Salarian was also drunk. A drug deal was going on in one of the corners, A Turian and a Volus selling to a Krogan. The drugs were fake, the Krogan didn't know it, he would find out when he got out of the club, but it would be too late, the Turian and Volus would leave with the money they conned, one would probably kill the other. Two Krogan left a Batarian and went to the bar. They argued about fish. The Bartender, a Turian, was serving up drinks, he slipped something with the symbol 'x' on it. Probably something along the lines of Ecstasy or one of those new drugs, couldn't remember the name, but it altered your neurological state. I ordered water, H2O, the Turian gave me a funny look and gave it to me, didn't even try and slip something in. He must've been trying to increase sales, probably knows the owner, or is sleeping with the owner.


The Batarian was watching the Asari on the stage, he was entranced, I bet the world disappeared when he looked at her. The world just faded away, his guard was down, a Batarian businessman never lets his guard down. So this guy was either new to the game, or an idiot who doesn't know the game. He sat in that chair, watching her, when she moved close, he didn't even make any defensive actions, he was completely absorbed. Then the doors burst in and the Asari police came in, stopped the Assassin, the Captain, the false Captain, didn't walk like a Police Captain, that was a first clue, body movement. I studying Xeno-psychology in college, I had an aptitude for it, well I had an aptitude for psychology in general. I could see the signs the impostor made, she must've studied the Captain before hand, but there are things that you can't learn from just observing, I saw the signs, I didn't know it at the time. She walked out too quickly with the Batarian, didn't start questioning him right away, that was another. She took him outside, alone, to question him. She was good, but I was better, at noticing these things, anyway. She killed him with that Asari mind-thing, than changed outfits as soon as someone found the body of the real captain. But she didn't kill the captain, no, that was beneath her, killing the innocent, that's why she didn't kill me outright when I showed up at her apartment, or tried losing me in the crowd, she could have hurled them at me to stall, but she didn't. She had a heart. Maybe. She was a pro, I was pretty damn good, but she was ahead of me. I should've seen her escape coming, her use of the skycar, trying to lose me in the hectic traffic and crowds. She was good.




I wake up, it was quite some time before we landed and I wanted to be ready for anything that might happen. I didn't trust this employer but I needed the cash. The transit finally stopped. The driver told me to get out. He was cold but it didn't bother me too much. As I got out I could feel the malicious vibe that these mercs had on them. I looked around, we were in the slums of Illium. In all my life I had actually never been here and I am glad that I haven't. Everything was dirty, it felt as if I could catch some crazy disease from being down here too long. I couldn't let my female mind get to me, I had to be professional, I had to be prepared. I finally gained my composure and realised that we were at some some low down bar. A place for those who have lost everything. The merc's guided me through the door and right away I could smell the mix of liquor, puke, and depression. It was dark and and the low electrical outage of the lights didn't help this place either. No matter how much they tried this place will always look like shit. The merc's took me to the back to what appeared to be double doors and with a krogan bodyguard in front of it. The merc's said something and the krogan nodded. I passed by some sad-sack that was passed out on the floor in his own vomit...Pathetic. Behind the doors laid some stair that led down.

Why do these places always have something like this...so cliche.

I reached the bottom of the 3 flights of stairs that I had to trek only to find myself in large maze. It seemed that this "secret club house" was comprised of old unused sewer drains. The smell gave it away. As they led me I kept a mental map just in case I needed to make and escape. Never know when you are going to need it. After some time and distance I came upon some other stairs.

Great now I have to go back up.

Soo what is up with all the secrecy.

To no avail these goons were not answering, it made me what to punch them in the throat. But I held back my urge. We had arrived in what seemed to be a warehouse. Not to picky on the color though. It was big and mostly empty excluding the crates that lightly littered the floor. I looked around. There was quite a few of Merc's in here. Seven..no eight snipers on the rafters along with the 15 merc's this guy had gathered around. If this becomes a firefight I won't stand a chance. I look around for the nearest exit. The roof seems to be the best bet and the obvious sewer exit but hopefully this won't come to that. I was urged to the center of the warehouse where there were some sitting arrangements. My first guess was this guy was too into himself and he would obviously have a grand chair with his cliche grand chair entrance...I was right. Along came this raspy voice. Batarian...the way his voice was harsh made it easy to recognise. He turned around with his legs crossed and his hands together in a maniacal fashion. This moron had seen too many movies.

"Welcome my beautiful Xion. The rumors about you were true. I heard about my buisness partner on the news. They have no idea it was you. So can we procced?"

Of course, but first my money.

"Of course. Here are the credits you require."

I take the the suitcase of credits and put them in my bag.

Great now lets get this done with.

I walk up to the batarian and put my face level with his. I look into his eye and he looks into mind.

Embrace eternity...

The images and memories I took from my hit flushed through my mind and into the buyers. Every info dripping into his now informed skull. Soon the transaction was over and he had what he wanted.

"Now that was something."

Good now I take my leave.

"Wait!"

Oh shit, I should have figured.

"Now don't you think tha pretty little figure is going to stop me from letting you go. See he and I were the only one to know about this information, but after this little incident, you are the only other person that knows my plan."

You do know that everything is kept confidential.

The batarian swayed in this chair.

"But just to be sure..you're a liability. And I don't like liabilities."

That asshole turned his chair around and gave a wave. I knew I had to get out now.

"You know what to do."


Following the cab took a long time. We flew all the way to the slums. If I hadn't been drinking certain nutrient-rich-drinks, I'd be exhausted. But I was wide awake. This is where a lot of shady things happen. Ambushes, in the alley, rape, murder, you name it, it's probably happened more than a dozen times. The place was disgusting, the deals that went on here were generally not the safest, for the mercenary or the target. People had a tendency to kill the Mercenaries after the job, tie up loose ends. It was dangerous business out here. I veered away from as much as I could. The few times I had to meet a contact here, I was lucky enough for it to be a Shadow Broker agent. Both times. which has a probability of about ~0.000000000000000010347 of happening. Someone up there must like me, or something.

The fact that she's going to a place like this concerned me. It was dangerous. I was suddenly worried for her safety. I hate irrational feelings, they make for poor decision making. I had the cab circumnavigate the place, looking for possible exits. There were a lot of sewer pipes. After searching for about a minute I saw an unguarded entry into the hideout. I told the Driver to let me out here, in the air, not on the ground, I paid him more than I should have, and jumped. Biotics is limited to your ability and your imagination. I have quite a bit of both, like this one Doctor Oehlberg once said: "Combine Intelligence, Creativity, and Imagination, and you have the potential to obliterate obstacles you didn't even know were there to begin with." I took those words to heart, sometimes, the man was crazy and he disappeared mysteriously. which is totally unrelated to the fact that I landed smoothly, in front of the sewer pipe leading into the warehouse. I took off running, down it. I also paid the Cabby to stick around in case I needed to get the fuck out in a hurry.

I ran hard, using my biotics to soft the blows of my feet upon the ground, making my movement quieter. I was also gaining speed, I forgot about that, increasing velocity because my muscle were pushing something lighter so the work used gave more distance. Physics and biology for the win. After sprinting at an increasing rate I saw two guards, my first instinct was to shoot them, but that would be loud and draw attention. They were close enough together that I could snap both of there necks quietly at the same time. I left there bodies there, because there was no where else to put them, and kept running.

I was getting closer, I ran out of the sewer pipe, and onto a bridge. The first thing I saw was a sniper, looking down at the warehouse floor. If I killed him, I would have to catch the sniper rifle before it clattered to the ground making sound that would alert others to my position. I through an orb-like ball, glowing blue with a dark nucleus at the sniper, he was too focused on the target, his target, the ball hit him and he was frozen in stasis. I stood next to him, and peered over the edge, looking down, there were no other snipers behind me, he was the farthest one from the group down below, the other snipers haven't seen me yet. I planted a small Cryo grenade next on the floor beneath the Mercenary sniper, it would go off once the mass effect field was dissipated. I ran furtively round, marking the snipers on my Omni-tool. One down, six to go. One was in such a position that killing him would be easy, without alerting the others, I came up behind him and snapped his neck. the rifle made no sound, because I was holding it, I had used the rifle he had to snap his own neck.

I hadn't moved fast enough, I heard the Cryo grenade go off as I eased the field down, hopefully that created a distraction. As The Mercenaries moved into action, I stepped out of the shadows ready to fight. I didn't know who this Asari was, but I'd be damned if I let a bunch of thugs kill her after she completed a job. I was pissed, and you know what they say about irrational emotions.

"Alaya!" I shouted, before running behind one of the desks in the room. It wasn't great cover, but it helped.

"You okay?"

They know not to cross me. Knowing me is respecting me. And respecting my lethality.

She scoffs.

I'm anything but a pacifist, as you've seen. And compassion is something I have less of, than more.

=Kessle sat at the bar in Afterlife with two of his Red Ring friends. They were enjoying their drinks, but he did not have one. He did not enjoy the taste of Alcohol, nor did he care for the feeling it brought him. He simply conversed with his friends while they got drunk. He left his helmet on, however. His scars seemed to attract attention, something he certainly did not want. He made a slight clicking noise with his mouth, indicating that he was becoming agitated. Finally he stood, said goodbye to his friends, and left the club. Once outside, he began wandering a bit, thinking about whether he should go to the firing range for a bit of practice, or go home and call it a night. Looking at his Omni-Tool's clock, he decided it would be too early to head home, so he started off towards the Shooting Range=

Better get my aim straight again before i take another job...

=i chuckle=
If I hadn't known better, I would think you were a Krogan. A tiny one, mind you, but a Krogan nonetheless.

I looked around nervous and wondering how I was going to make it out of there alive. I watched as the merc's unsheathed their guns. I prepped myself to act as soon as they tried to fire. But it seemed I had an angel watching over me, since the sudden sound of a grenade went off in the warehouse and it wasn't mine or theirs. They all turned their head toward the back of the warehouse where the sound was heard. I knew this was my chance so I quickly took charge. As I felt the black orb forming in my hands I sprang to action. I threw the two orbs at the men beside me, throwing them into the air, right after they were forced to opposite sides of the room. The men finally realised what was going on, I had to move quicker. Behind me were three merc's. Quite stupidly they were close to each other. Not a good idea. I quickly turned around while charging a orb in my hand. It left my hands swiflty and hit its target. The goons did not know what hit them, but it was too late the orb expanded and started to spin. I could feel the gravitational pull of it from here. It was funny watching these merc's fly in the air with no control. A sniper shot rushed right by my head, these guys have bad aim, but it was close enough for me. With anger I fired biotic blast at the sniper, this one pulling him closer to me as time went on. While he was floating toward me I had to concentrate my attention on the rest of them as they ran at me to get closer. I ran behind a crate nearby and took out my gun. I listened for their footsteps as they neared.



She was an amazing combatant. Took two men down after the grenade went off. Three with a singularity. One of the Snipers, she pulled toward her, then she ran behind a crate. She took down six guys before taking cover. The moment she took cover, I used my biotics to create a barrier between me and the enemy, the Biotic armour could take a lot of damage, It's saved me from explosions and high-speed crashes. Some mercenaries were focusing on her, and some on me. She took out six to my two. I was going to change that. When you're a biotic, a Human Biotic especially, Emotions affect your biotics. There were five snipers left and from my count ten mercenaries left. I love destroying things with my biotics, it's a childish joy, and the snipers on the rafters must've freaked out when I began to warp what they were standing on.

When I joined the military and was assigned to a Biotic teacher, I forgot what they were actually called. He was a Chinese monk. Wasn't even in the Alliance. He didn't even have a biotic implant. But that man taught me how think in combat. He pushed me to my limits and then patiently pushed me past them. He taught me that when destroying a structure, you need to visualize where the stresses are most vulnerable and to apply the warp there. He taught me more than the commanders in other platoons. When we were brought together, the platoons, for a sort of tournament. I showed the most control over my abilities. I could also perform the most biotic feats. They were amazed, but they had no idea the training I had gone through to be able to do what I did. Those snipers got pulled from their positions by the singularities I threw out. The warp weakened support structures which dropped pieces of the ceiling down onto the floating snipers. The blood splatter was ridiculous. I got my feet knocked out fro under me by a piece of flying armour from one of the squished snipers. I was out of breath and exhausted, I hoped that the Asari had a trick up her sleeve. Only ten mercs were left. The snipers were taken out. I think it was a fair fight now. Surely she could handle ten mercenaries. Right?






I could feel the sweat falling from my head, this standoff was getting tires some and I had fired to many biotics in too short a time. I was waiting patiently for one of them to try and flank me but something caught their attention. It seemed that whoever made that explosion earlier had just taken down the rafter that the snipers where standing on and the had the merc's spooked, if only for a second. I used that time to assemble myself a plan...one that would require my "savior" to keep his life. After some deep breaths, I had come up. It was dangerous and at the most it would fail, but I needed luck on my side or reinforcement would arrive soon. I started to slow down my heart rate going into my mind, visioning my mission. It was time to act when I heard the Merc's closing in on my position. I stood there charging a biotic in each hand. In a matter of seconds I was done, I quickly fired off the biotic in my right hand to the straight right of me, while the other in a diagonal upwards direction around to the front of the crate I was behind. I took some steps back and used that little burst to make my way on top of the crate. The merc's saw me easily and took their aim. But that didn't matter, I quickly did a 180 in the air and saw the biotic that I had fired to the right had completely made its circular rotation around the back of the room and straight at me. I could have countered if I wanted but that wasn't the plan. My biotic was on the verge of hitting me in my chest but I was prepared. My second biotic made it's intended around the world manouver and came crashing down on me. The effect from my second biotic has caused my body to lock in place, giving me a lightning aura, this was good now I was protected from my own blast as well as the bullets that would rain on me when I was in the open. Finally my throw had hit me, sending me flying across the room in a upward manner toward my destination. I could hear the bullets hitting me but I had no feeling of being wounded. I hit the wall where I had planned to stop.

Right on target.

I waited there whil the statis field ended. I knew to make it a weak on with enough power to last the flight. The effects wore off and I got up. I looked around and saw the human that was at my door earlier.

Really!?

I couldn't stay there and lose track of the mission at hand. We had to leave but at the same time cause a distraction. We couldn't move quick enough if I was carrying him. I had to make him gain concious. So I smacked him across the face.

Hey! Wake up we need to go!.



I was walking through a town. A new settlement I think. It was on a planet similar to that of Eden Prime, or maybe it was Eden Prime. I was walking barefoot in grass through the collection of shacks, or temporary homes, when I saw a ship in the air. It was huge and looked like a giant hand or beetle. I could see a sort of force wave coming to me as the colossal ship entered the atmosphere, the trees shook, and it almost felt as if the ground was shaking, but I knew that was false, the air was compressing because such a large object was entering the planets atmospheric 'space'. It felt like I was being called to some greater purpose. Then I saw the Geth. Their synthetic forms moved silently from the trees. The buildings. Everywhere. Geth were everywhere. I didn't run, or hide, I chose to stand and watch. They moved over everything silently, inhumanly quiet. The silence disturbed me. I wanted to shout "Hey you can make sound! It won't kill you!" but I refrained.

I had begun to move toward a house, slowly approaching it. A wind-up music box was playing an eerie tune, somewhere. I had no idea where the sound was coming from. I slowly stepped up the steps. The tempo of the music box increased. The door began to open, slowly, the inside was black, obscured, and I was unable to see inside the home. I took a step slowly raising and lowering my leg and therefore foot. As I stepped into the room, I heard a cry, it was inhumanly shrill, and chilled me to the bone. Then my whole world shook, things flew around, and trees were uprooted and thrown, buildings carried by an invisible force. I then awoke in the warehouse, with the Asari standing above me, trying to wake me up.

My eyes shot open, my heartbeat racing, and fear still in my mind, in an indescribable fashion. Before speaking, I looked around, scanning the area instinctively, like I was trained in the Alliance. Conditioning kept me from leaping up right away; making it known I was back in the fight to my enemies. My memory returned as I furtively scanned the room, seeing the damage, the dead, and the tangos. I finally brought my full gaze to the Asari: She had decided to stay and fight. But…she slapped me.

"You slapped me!"

I said knowing the humor that the statement held circumstantially. I knew that there were enemies around. I knew we were both in danger. I knew we probably had to run. I also knew that if I didn't get up there was a very good chance that she would die. Which appealed to my knightly ideology and stirred deeply held emotions, which kicked my adrenaline into action. Adrenaline, and people wonder why I'm crazy when a woman is involved in some dangerous activity.
I got up, standing really quite close to her, as she was standing over my body when she smacked me. Before she could say anything I said: "We need an escape route."





As you humans use to say it. No shit Sherlock.

In the cold emotionless warehouse we stood I could hear the footsteps of reinforcement arriving to our location.I look back at the human wondering what hole he crawled out of the get in here.

More will be here soon, quickly where how did you get into this warehouse?


_____________________________________________________________

"Up there." I said, pointing up in the general direction of where I came dashing through. "We can use our biotics to get up there, let's go." I Jumped and began my ascent to the top, not waiting for her reply. I had little doubt that there would be tangos where she had entered and I had no intention of getting into anymore engagements. I hoped that no tangos had gone around the back. Which makes sense if you think about. Why would you have all the exits covered if you don't expect a tough fight? Perfect sense. I was straining myself with this, I had done so much today, I hoped I could make it to the top.



_____________________________________________________________

Ugh men, so rude. There are never any chivilrous ones left.

I watched as he charged his biotics into his feet so that they would propel him with enough thrust to jump out the window. I was suprised at his mastery of the biotics he had. I turned around to face our foes. They were closing in. As I felt the mass forming in my hand I knew what I had to do. I had to put my all into it if this idea was going to work. I kept the mass in my hand, filling it. Making it heavier as time scrapped by. Soon I was dont, I could feel it with every pore of my body. I threw it as hard as I could muster. I didn't know how powerful it was until I let it go, my body almost collapsed under the pressure of the pull. The blue and black orb followed it intended path curving upward toward the ceiling. I knew that I needed to get out of there I started charging my jump until I was taken off guard from the collision blast. I looked up at what seemed to be a swirling vortex of blue and black gas. It spread across the roof of the warehouse until it reached the edges. My gut told me to leave. So quickly I jumped where the human had gone. I saw him on the roof, waiting for me.

I think it is time to go.

I urgently nudged his back and jumped to the ground.




I jumped down, looking at the dead sniper, who I had frozen with the cryo-grenade and stasis. I looked left, at the tunnel I had used to get in. I hoped the Taxi was still waiting and unharmed. I looked at her when she said: "I think it is time to go."
I nodded and gestured to the tunnel, and then began to jog. I didn't know if any patrols had gone to check the missing patrol. If they had, they would find to guys with broken necks, and slightly detached spines. Biotics is powerful, especially when charging through a confined tunnel, where you can focus your energy on one location and not worry about your surroundings.

I was silent, talking wasted too much energy, I had to conserve that energy if I was going to make it out of here conscious. I didn't think the Asari could carry me through the whole length of the tunnel. It was about a kilometer in length, probably an unfinished sewer pipe, or water pipe. My foot falls echoed in the tunnel, no longer silenced by my biotics. Hopefully we would get out without running into any of these goons. Combat was something I veered away from. It's why I turned down N7 and went mercenary. However, it's hypocritical of me to say that, because Im a mercenary for hire. So the Alliance is a little irked at me for jumping ship (literally, I took an escape pod and left).



I follow the human as he ran down the darkend tunnel system. He was able to run faster than I had previously thought. But that wasn't the biggest thing on my mind. The warehouse rooftop was going to come down and I didn't want to be near this place when that happend. We ran past some bodies that I assume that this man had killed. Broken neck and spine. Obvious biotic attack...Too sloppy, should have hid the bodies better or gotten rid of the evidence. Others could have found this and called backup, but it seemed that he was fortunate that that didn't happen. I heard this rushing noise behind me. It was getting closer as we ran on. I stumbled for a second an used that to look behind me. I could feel the heat intesify as the giant monster made of blue and purple flame raced toward us.

Why was there an explosion, it was only a roof.

Then as I thought that I remembered that the while behind the crates in the warehouse that they didn't fire upon me. A flash of my memory had resurfaced. I was behind the crate but I was t opreoccupied with my assailants closing. I was not able to see the Batarian sign for warning on the boxes. Then my stomach fell.

Those crates were full of explosives!

The realisation that I could have easily died back there hit me. But from the impending doom of the intense beast the followed us made me rethink my priorities at the moment. We had to get out of this tunnel fast or be swallowed up in the flame.




I sensed a disturbance but feared what it may be. It was a feeling that something bad had happened. Not bad as in millions of people just went up and poofed. Bad as in my life was in immediate danger from sudden and unwarranted extinction. I felt warm. The air around me was heating up, due some sort of particle activity. The more particles bump into each other, the 'warmer' they get. I was feeling very warm. Which could only mean that something was forcing the particles to rapidly and randomly collide.

The hot air was coming from somewhere behind me, it was strong enough to push me so that I ran faster than normal. Considering that we were in a pipe, I figured the heat source was coming from behind me, naturally, I turned my head ever so slightly. Fire. I saw Fire. It was like a liquid being forced up a pipe. No doubt the explosion that created the flames originated some where in the warehouse where we had just vacated. It was probably the Crates that contained explosives that the Asari had hidden behind. The ones that had the clear markings of 'Flammable, handle with caution'. I saw the opening of the tunnel ahead, we were so close. So close. Yet too far away, I quickly calculated the acceleration of the flames based on what I saw: we would make it to the end of the tunnel but be hit by the blast of the explosion.

It then occurred to me the fate of the two bodies I had killed in the tunnel. Would they be incinerated, and the dust thrown out being no distinguishable than common dust? Would the bodies simply be turned to ash and thrown in the air to settle on everything? I did not know, But I did know that they armour would also be flying of that tunnel. In fact, It probably already did, it probably just blew right past without hitting either of us. I had a feeling I was right .

The initial concussive blast would be find, but the heat would be devastating if either of us were caught in it's full intensity. I through a several grenades around me as I ran, hoping that If the fire blew the grenades the tunnel would collapse and prevent most of it from hitting us. The far latter was inevitable, we would get hit by some of the fire, just not the full blast of it. I hoped. The end of the tunnel was near, but it wasn't near enough, I anticipated being thrown the last 5 meters out of the tunnel and landing painfully on my face, near the cab, preferably.

My legs were weak, my stomach ached, I felt fatigued, I needed rest. If I made it out alive, I would sleep. I wouldn't go eat, or celebrate, I would sleep. Every fiber of my being ached with fatigue. My extensive use of biotics had taken there toll. On the bright side, saved a Damsel in Distress. Funny, soon I'll be the one who needs saving....

[I kind of think that upon nearing the exit both our chars get thrown out, my char taking more damage per se because he's knocked somewhat out by the blast and the impact whereas your char is thrown but has the time to use biotics or something to not injure herself. then you drag me into the cab, which is waiting, and off we go somewhere]




As I feel my strength leaving me, the dark tunnel was bathing in bright light. I could feel the dark thoughts creeoing into my skull.

Is this how it ends?

I snapped myself back to reality. I couldn't let myself to think like that. My eyes scringed as I peered into the end of the tunnel. I could vaguely see the shadowy outline of the human in front of me. I could smell the fresh breeze of the oustide closing in, but I knew that I would not escpae the tunnel in time, I had to think fast. Could I conjure up a large biotic blast and send it backwards to stall the flames...no I would collapse and the human would run back to help me. That would defeat the purpose. Then it hit me. A statis field big enough to capture us could protect till the danger passed. I had to tell him of my idea. So I yelled.

HEY I HAVE AN IDEA THAT WOULD SAVE US....HEY CAN YOU HEAR ME.

Throughout the whole time I screamed I had not realised the roar that the collosal behemoth behind us had sang. The heat from it neared and with the northern winds fueling it my time lessend. I had to do it. I couldn't think about him in the midst of my survival. I prepared a statis in my hand, feeling the biotic weakening as time went on. I knew I would blackout from this if only for a minute or so, but it had to be done. The flame drew near, I could see the colors of malice drawn on the walls. I shot myself with it. I could feel my whole body stiffen and only my eyes were able to move.

Lets see how strong willed you really are human...

The bright white colors of the outside had vanished and all I could see was the wall of purple and blue that vicously passed me. My mind darkend and the sound vanished.




The explosion threw me from the tunnel, the concussive blast on it's own nearly made me black out. The heat was intense. I felt some of my clothes get burned by the heat alone. I flew in the air for what felt like an eternity. TIme even slowed, I saw the Asari in a blue light, the fire whipping about her like snakes in the air. Slithering about her hungrily. I hit the ground hard, the force of impact knocking me out cold. The Cabby was staring at my unconscious form and at the smoke coming from the tunnel.

I was suddenly reminded of the flowers I sent to my high-school sweetheart. They were White Lilies, her favorite. Presenting them to her was the most nerve wrecking thing I had ever done. As I lay there unconscious, I thought about my youth. I was a troubled child in my youth. I had been surrounded by death. Parents, brothers, sisters, all died before I was ten. Well, that's not entirely true, I had a sister.

My sister saved my life more than once………



*About ten minutes later*

Uhhg. That was some blast....aahh my ears are still ringing...Well metaphorically haha.

As I regain my senses from the blackout my surroundings come into view. At first its the details were hazy..it seemed the light from the flame messed with my eyes. I sit up and look around, then I get into a kneeling position where I got up one leg at a time. My muscles feel sore...Probably due to the overuse of biotics and non-stop run. That when it hit me.

Where is the human?

I take a quick surveillance of the area. I notice a mark on the ground, I rush to it. The mark has a faint smell of burining, the mark..in the firgure of something curled up. My mind flashes to the explosion, I calculate where he would have landed. So this is where he laid after he fell unconcious. I survey the area some more to find some more burn marks.

These seem to be made from something else. Maybe a taxi...didn't the human say something about that.

I looked around for a place to rest some more, and some time to think. Was he burned to cinders....No there would have been some kind of residue. Most likely the driver took the human to some hospital. I continue down the alleyways till I reach a more populated area. I saw this broken down resturaunt. I walked in and sat down.

First I needed some food.


[an hour later]

I woke up in whiteness. I thought I was back in an asylum. A padded room to prevent me from killing myself or hurting myself. but I wasn't. The smell was sterile. Over sterile. Reminded me of my time in school, when I got sick because I had been too clean. a bacteria that normally only appears in hospitals was contracted by me out in the woods, camping. worst 8 days of my life. I had a diet of bread, and gatorade, or powerade, or whatever it was called. the nurses were pretty though, I secretly hoped that they would offer sexual services to me, like certain movies or slightly pornographic games portray. It didn't happen, but i twas something to hope for, wasn't like I hoped to live for anything else, really. At the time I had been a pretty sad kid, I had no motivation to live. The only thing that kept me from killing myself was logic. It was illogical to kill oneself or allow oneself to die. It went against humans natural self-preservation instinct.

I was in an Oxygen room. my burns would be healed in a few days, or less, medi-gel was speeding up the process. Thank the makers of Medi-gel, if not for that little feat of genetic engineering millions would be dead or still hospitalized. It was pretty close to a medical miracle gel. In my opinion, I think they could have more prestigious uses, but that was me, and medigel stresses the non-genetic engineering law of the Council. Silly citadel space laws. I breathed in the oxygen, and noticed, groggily, the cab driver sitting next to me, or rather, on the other side of the window. I moved my head slightly, I was in a tube, technically. I hadn't noticed that before, the tube was in the white room.

I suddenly realized that I couldn't move. my arms and legs would restrained. I was in some sort of transportable medical tube. The cab driver knocked on the glass, or whatever it was. he said, "Hey, how are you! you came out and fire was everywhere!" I dimly realized that he had only mentioned me and not the Asari. I would've said something but the masked feeding me the oxygen was in the way. The best I could do was nod slightly and blink. For some reasons my senses remained dull, and wouldn't sharpen, I found myself wanting to just close my eyes and drift off again, but I knew better. I tried to communicate with the cabby, but it was to no avail. I was secured in the tube, I couldn't move my hands, nor my feet, and I could barely move my head.

After struggling for several minutes, and trying to communicate with the cabby, a nurse came in and had me sedated, I was overworking myself. I felt the injection of the sedative, and began to enter the realm of dreamless sleep. The Cabby waited outside for me. I only tipped him 100 credits. Why was he so interested in my well-being?




I woke up in what seemed to be a back-street alley. The tribunes and harships of yesterday meshed together in a blur of adrenaline and chaos. It seemed that I had drunk to much and the mental lines that connected my memory was hazy at best. I stretched my body and I stood, my muscles ached and the faint smell of garbage and B.O tainted my skin. At the least I needed a shower, then a well required bath to sooth my aching body. As I walked to a transit so I could get home the human breifly crossed my mind.

Wonder if he is alright. Hope he got away.

But he was the least of my worries at the moment. I finally reached the transit hub and called for a cab. He arrived shortly. I let my mind wander most of the trip to my apartment and before I knew it I was there. I paid the driver his due and headed down the walkway to my apartmen. The front desk lady greeted me, but then caught a wiff of my smell and cringed. I could see the wrinkles on her forehead get more defined.

Some night huh. Man that was a hell of a party.

She continued to stare at me, I got tired pretty fast and left quickly with a pissed of face. I arrived at my door, noticed I didn't have my card.

Must have left it inside.

I used my biotics to open it. I emerged through and quickly took off my clothes. I heard the door behind me close. I walked to my room and threw the grunge on the floor so not to be bothered by it. I headed to the bathroom and started the shower, while filling the bathtub. I wasn't going to bath in my own dirt. I got in the shower and cleaned off the layer of musk from my body. Each scrub made me feel more pure. I turned off the shower and realised that my tub was getting full. I put some soothing liquid in the tub to help my muscles relax. Before I got in a turned on my radio, put a disk in and listened to the soothing sound of Cheaka the elcor musician. Her music was calming, the use of different insstument from species was genius. I got in the realaxing heat of the tub and let my body and mind rest while I got lost in the music.





The world was aswirl with dark colours and blobs. I knew not what had befallen me, nor what hath forsaken. I lay in a metal tomb that which hath not been forgotten. Men in white come hither and go thither without the thought of him. Such trivial times are linear and without the need of modification. Quoth the doctor stand over thee and watch the forlorn become laden with thought of unspeakable demise. The lights flicker and blink, eyes that never close but always watch.

I felt a heavy-hand on my shoulder. It was gently shaking me. I came to consciousness in a rush of colors and sounds. The Cabby was not in the room. In fact, the room was empty. I removed the IVs and stood up. My clothes were on the chair, clean clothes. From my apartment. on Elysium. I changed into my clothes and noticed two pistols. They were matte black, the company signatures removed. They were the equivalent of .44 magnums. Semi-automatic with nearly 3000 shots per clip, and the thermal clips were cheap, to make overheating less of a problem (original concept, see Mass Effect 1). I was now wearing the most out-of-place outfit on Illium. I had Black Spec-ops Combat boots, Black Cargo pants, and a Marine (green) under-shirt. I had no place to hide the pistols. The Pistols had fresh thermal clips in them, so they wouldn't need to be reloaded until after the 26th shot or so.

I dressed myself quickly and without pause. Shirt, underwear, pants, and then boots. I holstered the pistols, which were out in a sort of cowboy-ish fashion. I checked myself, I had everything except omni-tool, and my wallet. I needed to get it from the hospital, So i pressed the 'call-nurse' button on the side of the bed. When the nurse arrived, and saw me fully dressed with the pistols at my sides, she almost screamed for fear of her life. I held up my hands innocently, trying not to seem threatening, though I knew what I looked like, I hadn't shaved in a day or more, however long I was here. So I had the beginning of a beard growing in. She calmed down, a bit, and asked what I wanted, I said plainly that I needed my omni-tool and my wallet and whatever else was confiscated while I was in the hospital. She nodded, timidly.

After about 15 minutes the nurse returned. She came in to the room with security, as I sat on the bed and looked out the window. I didn't even need to turn around to know that three people entered the room. Two lightly armed men, Turians, and the Asari nurse. The Security guards didn't say anything, they didn't have to. I figured I would turn around and they would ask me to drop my weapons, and then arrest me. Without turning around I said: " Can you place them on the bed please." I heard her take a deep breath and step forward with my things. She took a step back, but didn't leave.

"Did you want something?" I asked softly. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. I didn't move much, I put my hand back and pulled the sheets, pulling the omni-tool and my wallet toward me. I did so slowly, as to not startle the security. I equipped the Omni-Tool and slide the wallet into my pocket. One of the guards coughed. I stood up and looked out the window. The glass would be easy to break, and the fall would not be fatal with biotics. But there was another option. I turned around to face them. "I have a question: why did you bring a security detail with you?" I asked, knowing the answer was because I was armed and presumable dangerous. She answered much to what I expected her to. I sighed, I'm too quick a learner sometimes.

The Turians looked at me and I them. "Shall I leave then?" I asked, trying not to sound arrogant. "I don't want to keep you from your duty." I tried to be diplomatic. But crooked Security is pretty much the norm, in some places, sometimes. They were crooked, they had a bounty on me, dead. I suddenly felt like a cowboy. Forgetting my biotics I slowly reached for my pistols. They raised their rifles before my hands touched the handles. They were nervous. "Who put the bounty on me?" They didn't respond. "Who. Put. The. Bounty. On. My. Head." I repeated, slowly. Emphasizing the 'who'. I think they had no idea who I was. "Are you Commander Olaf?" one of the Turians spoke up, finally, the way he said 'Olaf' was amusing. "No, I'm not, I am Nicholas Umbrulus, Mercenary for hire. You're not a security force." I said calmly. They looked at each other and put the rifles away. "Sorry to disturb you." The other said, and the two turians left. I looked back at the asari, who had been so frightened, she nearly stopped breathing where she stood.

I walked over to her and she fainted. I caught her, of course. She wasn't the heaviest person I've had to catch. I lifted her up and set her down on the hospital bed, gently. I checked her pulse and got her some water. She started coming to, as I got her water, I handed it to her and sat on the side of the bed. "How do you feel?" I asked with sincerity. "Better now, thank you." she said, trembling slightly. I looked at her and smiled. I left some credits on the small table next to the door. Hopefully she would take them. I left the hospital.

Nothing is better than fresh air. Too bad I was on Ilium, where it was all technology. I hate fucking stereotypes. I passed by a room in the hospital that had an Asari prostitute getting treat from some Sexually transmitted disease. I heard the doctors talking about possible treatments. I guess some aren't as lucky as others. Some don't respect authority, some join authority, some wish authority was destroyed. I prefer to walk on the thin ice of the gray world. Prostitutes were seldom willing. Pimps, or whatever they're called are dregs of society. They may make a lot of money, but I strongly disagree with the methods. I understand brothels, they make sense, and they don't threaten anyones well being. That, and they keep damn good records.

I had a client who had been to a brothel one-to-many times and wanted his debt erased. I ended up working for the brothel and got my former client to pay back hundreds of thousands of credits. The man was a sex addict. I mean seriously, who spends hundreds of thousands of credits on sex, in less than a month? That's like going in four to five times a day for sex. The man must've had some serious problems. Unless he was paying for multiple people which would make more sense than just him going in. I may have been tricked by the brothel. Well, shit. I may have just made an enemy out of a legitimate client who got screwed by an organisation that was probably using the brothel as a front. That would also mean that he was somehow involved with it. Which means the whole thing was crooked from the start. I may have to look into that later. When I have time.

Now, I had to find out…wait. The Taxi-driver was waiting for me. Where is he now? Why was he waiting for me? I need to find him. Maybe he has answers, and where did that Asari go? Shit, I have too many questions right now. I need to focus on one at time and the others will fall into place. For now, I need to focus on where the taxi driver is now. I walked back into the hospital and asked the receptionist if he was in. I gave her a description of the man and she said he had just walked out, even said he'd be back shortly. Unfortunately he said that four hours ago. I left the hospital looking for the man that had taken me to the hospital.

After several hours of searching I finally found him. In an alley. Laying face down. Dead. He was stabbed in the back the old fashion way. I contacted the authorities and they began to investigate, I told them about him visiting me in the hospital, but not about how he got involved in the beginning. I knew of no mercenary groups who used old fashioned blades to kill people, or assassinate them. To my knowledge, I was the only one who did, because using them almost guarantees total innocence, as most primal weapons are. Especially when they are hand forged and not mass produced. When I took assassinated a Turian drug lord, which was strange, but they could never track the killer. The smart thing to do, when you kill someone, is to never leave a signature. I learned that the easy way. I took several psychology classes when I was taking classes at a university.

So now, I was without a lead in an investigation I wasn't being paid for. Fantastic. Now all I needed to do was sprout wings and join the angels in heaven. I was caught in a trap of nothingness. Now what? I had nothing to do. I was stuck, with no one to confide it. My lifestyle didn't exactly promote friendships. I wasn't exactly trying either.

I wandered around for a bit. Searching the crevices of my mind for answers and insight. I was thinking about my next move, my next action.



_____________________________________________________________

Darkness littered my mind, the fumes of death were nearing, I tried my hardest to escape but it was futile. Everywhere I ran there was tragedy and the sounds of those who had lost. But their faces were obscure, blurry, and soon they were out for my blood. They ran at me with blades, guns, whatever they could get their hands on, yelling for my name. I felt terror for the first time in my life as I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me. My mother appeared before me, I could almost feel the protective aura of my guardian as I grew near, but the feeling never came. I ran up to her, yelled, but to no avail. She looked at me with those cold, empty eyes and quicly turned away, as if to forget her helpless child in the void.

The dark mist evaporated and what was left was a image of my mother and an unkown child walking in the park. The child said to my mother, "Mom, do I have any sisters?"

"No dear you are my only child." My mother said. The sting of that emotionless lie struck the figure in the brush as she spied on a familiar figure. A tear ran down the aquamarine face of the observer. The figures stopped and the sound of the wind running past is heard. The figures were blown away as the passing gust grew. All that was left was the void...empty.

I opened my eyes, or so I thought I had. There was still darkness but the warm comfort of my bed and been replaced with the cold harshnes of the floor. I quickly searched for a wall and to have an understanding of the area. "Hello." A voice had said on a speaker nearby. Damnit I was captured, but by whom and why. These questions raced through my head. The bright blistering lights had come on, the blinding effects were emminent. I tried my hardest to get my eyesight focused. Soon I could make out the small room. The walls white, I could hear this muffled noise. Even though I couldn't tell where it was, I understood what was making the noise. A mass effect nullifier. My powers would not get me out of here, I was stuck. Under the control of whoever brought me here. I had one question for them.

Why am I here Marcus?

Aw don't be angry at me Cresa. I mean it was only a matter of time till I found ya. You can't hide forever.

Who said I was hiding from a worm like you. Tell me how is your daddies trust fund holding.

*long pause*

See now you are getting on my bad side Cresa. You don't want to go there.

Ohh fear strikes me as we speak.

Hope you like new life inside this room, because you aint leaving.

Moron.

Cresa...how I hated the nic-name he chose for me. The name of a ice cold river that ran through Antala...where we met. He only uses it to piss me off. As that name stood in my head my memory flush through chapters in my life. The planet Antala, the first human-asari commerce planet popped up. Where I first met Marcus. I was young and stupid. Still in the Commando Unit. Me and my squad was stationed there to protect a Matriacrch that was trading with some humans to help build a bond between the two species. The matriarch let a few of us lavish in the scenery of the planet. I let my emotions get in the way of my mind. It was a warm soothing night. The midnight life was at it fullest. The mood was perfect. I had left with a group of my team as we went into the camp. As fate would have it the humans were throwing a party. It wasnt the flashiest but it did as it intended. Both Asari and Human drinks were available, which was covenient since at the time no one knew the effect they had on the opposing species. I had moved to the bar to grab a couple of drinks for my sisters when he arrived. Acting all suave and smooth. His voice had calm feel to it, like you could trust the man. His vibe was insatiable, the aura pulled me to him like a singularity. A couple drink later and bam we were in the sack together. And before I knew it the night had vanished and I had started my first realtionship. We were meant for each other. Anytime i could get away from my job I spent with him and 2 years later I thought I had found my soul-mate. That was until I found him with another woman...more specifically 3 of them...at one time, and more than once. My anger grew the further I ran from our apartment and my dark mind gathered evil thoughts from the deepest part of my mind. I devised a instatiable plan. I knew that he was rich since his dad owned one of the largest Iridium organisation in the galaxy. So I stole his money. It took me a couple of months but all the pieces soon fell into place creating one big perfect planned puzzle. I had stolen half of his fathers money using any crime fitting idea that involed stealing large amounts of money. I didn't use any of it..no that would make it easy to find me. No I gave the money to charities across the galaxy all im his name to make sure that he knew it was me. His father furious with him disowned him and he became the title picture of a failure and was a huge embarrasment. I left the commandos to further my life knowing there was more out there, I do admit he was one of the reasons I did. It took him twenty years to find me but he did. What a waste of a life, but I was stuck now. In his trap and I needed to find a way out.



[A few Days later, on Illium]

I eventually found myself in a familiar place. The warehouse. Where the explosion happened. Where I got separated from the Asari. It's time I properly investigated this place. I had been to the storehouse, where my armour was located. All black, and the best that money could buy. It increased my biotic powers too. I didn't look into it though. I loved learning new things, but I get carried away with some things. So for the sake of not destroying my armor to learn it's secrets and science, I didn't try to learn the science behind my armor.

I had gotten the armor as payment for a job. The man who had hired me was impressed with me private investigation skills. So as thanks, he gave me the most up-to-date armor money could buy. I refused the offer flat out. I knew the price of the armor. It was insane. He wouldn't allow me to refuse however. He was so insistent. So nice, I've never had such a client. I guess something can be said for Turians of a noble nature.

Recovering from the explosion was quick. I had gotten to a hotel and slept for sixteen some hours after leaving the hospital. I was, however, still incredibly sore. Medi-gel can only do so much. I stood at the entrance to the warehouse where I tracked the Asari. I stood in front of what appeared to be a sewer entrance. God knows it smells like one. I figured this is where the Asari met the guards, and the guards escorted her through the sewers to the main warehouse. I slowly entered the sewer.

I was having a special investigator moment. I remember the Asari I had followed, I looked around. I tried thinking like her, getting into her mind. It's not something that just anybody can do, it takes years of work and practice. I closed my eyes, and opened them with a new perspective. This place was dirty, the slums of Ilium, a place that wasn't tolerated by the Asari in the least bit. I knew for a fact that Asari politicians were trying to clean this place up.

I didn't walk into the sewer. I walked into a bar. It felt the same to me. Lowlifes occupied the bar, scattered around irregularly. People whose lives had hit rock bottom, or worse. The lighting was terrible. Probably for a good reason, I don't think I'd want to see what I was stepping on. I could smell the liquor, which wasn't so bad, I could probably get drunk by walking from one side of the bar to the other. I'm not even going to talk about the vomit.

I scanned the bar, it didn't appear to have any other exits. At least not at first glance, and not from where the entrance was. I ventured into the Bar and continued to search. I saw double doors at one side of the bar, a Krogan was standing nearby, he looked bored. I walked over to him. I asked him straight up where the doors led. He looked me up and down and coughed. He didn't answer. I asked him if he'd seen an Asari come through the doors recently, again he said nothing. I regarded him silently for a moment.

Finally I asked him about the clan he came from. At that he gave me a glare. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about. His armour bore no clan symbols. Nor did his flesh. A castaway perhaps? I bought him a drink, r-something or other, supposed to be a strong Krogan drink. He took it. He watched me buy it and the bar-tender pour it. I asked him again if he saw an Asari recently, he looked around before answering me. He had. She had gone through the double doors with an escort of two mercenaries. I asked if he knew the mercenaries, he did, he thought they were little pieces of shit.

It took about fifteen drinks and some tales about the battles I've fought in to get him to let me pass. He respected me for the fights I've had alone. Besting a Krogan in unarmed combat, beating down Turians and Salarians. He especially liked how I beat a Salarian to death with a pole, which I made up completely. The stair way was dark, and slightly dank. I continued my investigation.

Three flights of stairs. I was underground now. I activated my flashlight on the Omni-tool. The lights were out. I wouldn't be surprised if they were knocked out when the explosion happened. Now I was in the sewers. This was an illegal entrance to the sewer. It was added after the building here was built. Someone had serious influence. I walked down the unused sewer drain, slowly, looking for evidence. I found some scraps of paper, but they were inconclusive, didn't have anything that could be useful.

Walking farther down I found another set of illegal staircases. I followed them up, as I walked up the stairs I could smell burnt material. I was getting close now.

I could imagine her asking questions to the Mercenaries as they escorted her to the final destination. They probably didn't answer her. They probably would've been killed if they had. In the end it didn't matter. They died anyway. After heading up the stairs I came up inside the partially destroyed warehouse. I could see where the start of the blast was. It's origin. I remembered how many mercenaries had been in here. I could see the damage my biotics had done to the rafters and the stone.

Workers had come and removed some of the rubble. they couldn't do all of it to be sure. This site was still blocked off from the public. The remnants of a chair laid in the far corner, thrown there and burned, but still intact. Perhaps I could mangle some evidence from it. I noticed that there were no dead here, all the bodies had been removed. but the blood hasn't been cleaned up yet. Most of it was burned anyway, still, I could save a few and run tests.

The chair had some fibers on it, that took me half an hour to find. They were of a suit, of that I was sure. I placed them in a bag. I switched to UV light to find organic traces. I found a little on the chair, but not enough to use. I found various blood samples that I could take back to the lab to use. I had a few samples of blood, and some fibers. Better then what I thought. I also found some other things. One of which I thought was the Asari's.

Asari Police showed up, unexpectedly. They caught me, said I was trespassing and arrested me. They took me to a cell in one of the stations. While I was sitting in the cell, fully armed and armoured, a female Asari came up to my cell. She looked familiar. Xanalia. Twas a strange name, but one I remembered. We had a thing going a while back, before I left the Alliance, or Cerberus. We had dated for a few years, off and on, it was a good time. We split after we both decided it would be better for us to be friends than lovers. Now, she was on the other side of the cell from me. She was in her uniform.

I smiled, weakly, I had a lot on my mind and she saw it right away. Without speaking she left and obtained the keycard to the cell. She let me out. We talked a little bit about what's been going on and if he's heard anything about the warehouse that was destroyed. She didn't have anything new about it so I confided in her the evidence that I found. She looked at me square in the face, which was something considering she was 5'6" and I was 5'11". I told her what I knew of what had happened, I had complete trust in her. She nodded, saying that she would help me and led me to a lab to work on the identification of the fibers and blood.

After a few hours and database hopping we found a match to the fibers, and after a few more, the blood samples. The fibers were of a jacket, particularly expensive brand that had high sales to Batarians. The blood samples were of known Mercenaries how had been in prison. Tracking the mercenaries location was easy, finding their employer was another matter and another few hours waiting for a match in another database. I had fallen asleep, so Xanalia woke me up with the information ready at hand. I wasn't entirely shocked. One of them tracked back to a known suspect in a case that had gone cold. She wanted to work on it again, I said I was glad for the help, and to help. That was all we could do for the day, so I asked her out to dinner.

I had slummed around before, but I knew some really fancy places on the higher end of things. I took her to one of these fancy restaurants, you had to pay to get in and the food was expensive. High-end dining. The food was alright, I'm fine for anything, but she was impressed with my taste. She was impressed. After dinner she said I didn't need to prove anything to her. I kept silent and sort of nodded. She knew I had been slumming for a few weeks with nothing to do. She knew that my pride wouldn't let me not try to prove that I was a better person to her. But her words comforted me. Like any good friends' words would. I took her home and wished her good night. I enjoyed seeing her happy. Gave me a sense of purpose sometimes.

I looked up at the starry night and sighed. I went to my apartment, a small thing, but it did it's job. I stripped down and crawled into bed and fell asleep.




I cringed at the sudden flash of bright lights that appeared in my cell. It had been days. Maybe weeks. Didn't know they spread the meals out so long that I couldn't tell anymore. It seemed that my attempts to escape have resulted in failure. He has thought this out well..he has had to much time to think about this. Such a waste of a brilliant....who am I kidding, I should have killed him a while ago. I needed to meditate on things. I stood in the middle of the room and sat on my legs. I could feel my other senses dulling as my biotic essence wrapped around me in a dark blue cacoon of raw energy. My mind and body feeling further apart from each other the long I stayed in suspension. I took myself back to the time where I met the nuisnace who later became my savior, then I traveled further back. I went back to my time on Omega..the dark, extacy induced party trip. I was at the bar of afterlife when.....

Hello Yureka..

My mind quickly snapped back to my body fast then I could fire a throw at a target. I quickly surveyed the room only to find a blank emptiness that surrounded me. Something triggered in my mind, I knew something I had locked away was arriving...but when. I had not like what my feelings were triggering. Time would be ticking.

After some short time from my relapse I had gained my composure. My surrounding were clear again and my legs were now standing me up straight. I felt this shiver up my spine as the lights turned off. I started to hear gunfire througt the walls that held me prisoner. I braced myself for what was bound to come through that door. So I turned around and sat on the bed and waited. I closed my eyes and followed the soft footstep that were marching around the base where I currently resided. A blinding light shone through as the metal doors opened.

Well it was simple to find you. Security...not elite. Infiltration...easy.

A tall night shaded character walked into the room and stood before me. I looked up into her eyes as they peered at me.

Why are you here.

It seemed obvious to me...Liberation.

My soul wanted to rip that face apart and paint the room in her blood...but she did get me out of this pathetic place. I stood up and stared at her. She quickly turned around and marched out the room.

Seriously..of all known sentient life in the galaxy..she would be the one to rescue me.

I followed her down the bloody mess they left in the halls. It seemed that they had handled almost everyone in the building. I soon found myself in the musky feeling of the night wind as it flew past my, the damp smell of veggitation surrounded me. I followed the person to a neaby tranport and hopped in. A nearby soldier handed me a bottle of water. I greedily drank it. The cool wispy liquid slid down my throat as I gppled it down. Before I could realise it we were in the air heading to a unkown destination. The figure turned to me with her winter like eyes.

How have you been...sister


[Eight hours and thirty-seven minutes later]

I had woken up a short while ago, and had begun my daily routine. I did nine-hundred abdominal crunches, nine-hundred and fifty-seven push-ups, and five-hundred and sixty squats. It was a relatively easy exercise. I had had an operation not long back. A lengthy operation. I had scraped money together from doing odd jobs and mercenary work, and a little thieving on the side, to pay for it. The operation was one that I regretted and was grateful for. I had had my muscular system augmented, as well as the respective bones and tendons so that I wasn't injuring myself every time I moved. I proceeded to stretch my muscles. All of them, atrophy was a terrible thing.

Today was a free day. My friend, Xanalia, would be continuing the case from here on out. She would keep me informed of any progress she made. So today was a today I had to myself, for the most part, other than eating and working out, I had no plans. Not a single one. Gah, where had my social life gone? Never-mind, I worked too much. Even in school, friends were minimal, I always focused on getting a better quality education. Always focused on my Ph.D. I must be a work-oholic.

The sun hadn't even risen yet, It was still dark on Ilium. The morning still young. I left my apartment. I had finished stretching and my workout. I had no books to read, no computer to do whatever it is people with computers do. I had an Omni-tool and my armour and my weapons. That was all the technology I needed. I Had my armour on. I had a feeling I wasn't going to return to my apartment. I looked around. My apartment was one room, a bed in one corner, a small fridge next to it, a table, and a chair. Nothing in the room said anything about me, other than I wasn't home all that often. Not that the apartment was my home. I have yet to find a place to call home.

I sighed. Things would always be tough. Especially with this life style. I left the building my apartment was in. The building wasn't much to look at. Though it was dwarfed by the buildings around it. I paid and tipped the Salarian who owned the place. God knows the man deserved it. He was old, for a Salarian, he was also one of the most respectable Salarians I've ever met. Next to some crazy scientist Salarian who lives on Omega. I've read some of his research findings. Fascinating reads, if you understand them. I tried showing them to some Alliance crewmen and they had no idea what he was saying. I think explaining it made them even more confused. I guess some people didn't have the mind for science.

I walked toward a place I knew would be open. It wasn't the best place, but the place served good food for cheap. I need to eat more than four-thousand K-calories a day. Yes, k-calories. I'm a biology major, so when I see "Calories" on the back of a can, I think kilo-calories. Why? Because I nutritionists "calories" is a biologists "Kilo-Calorie". I sat down at one of the table and an Asari waitress approached me asking me what I wanted, my response made her look at me strangely. I had to eat more than four thousand kilo-calories a day, I ordered a lot food, mostly fruits and vegetables. I didn't trust where the meat came from, unless I killed the beast myself, I wouldn't eat it.

She brought me my 5 plates of spiced fruits and vegetables of an assorted nature. I ordered a dark human beer to go with it. She didn't know if they had any, so she went back to ask the manager. While she did that I consumed the fruits and vegetables. She came back to five empty plates stacked on the table and me wiping my face of any food that got on me. She blinked a few times before bringing me my requested beer. I sat a the table for a while, sipping at my beer.

Mulling over my thoughts and actions over a beer was typical of me. I must've adopted the habit from somewhere, or it was from one of those old books I used to read and I subconsciously added them to my queue of mannerisms. It's pretty interesting what you can do all by yourself, when you just sit and think. I thought of where I'd get my next contract. I could always head to Omega. It had a reputation for violence, and violence creates jobs for men like me. Or I could contact someone I knew about any assassination contracts, those were always interesting. Or I could contact my guy who works for the Shadow-Broker, he's bound to have some work for me. Or I could go to the public forum, see if anyone has any standing contracts out for any mercenary to take. That seemed like my first choice.

I crawled into cover next to Tara.
"I'm fine... We need to work together to kill this thing. Shoot it until it's shields go down, then I'll warp its armour, Use any kind of biotic power on it and the explosion should either destroy it or damage it enough for us to kill it with guns."
I took a deep breath and aimed at it,shouting "Shoot it now!" before opening fire myself.
My ribs hurt, But I could ignore that for now, there was a bigger problem staring at us, and it had a flashlight head.

She giggles slightly. She was amused by the sentiment


I'll chalk that up to a compliment for now, friend.

Which leads me to my next sentiment. You need backup for something, contact me. Leave a note on my apartment door with the time and place. If I'm not killing anything, I'll help. For a price, obviously.

=i watched the Quarian carefully, judging her reaction=

I wasn't trained to shoot, so I kinda ended up just holding the trigger. It wasn't hard to miss... It was a giant synthetic. Who was probably very angry. I knew how to change a thermal clip, I was pretty slow at it however... But I still could.

She chuckles a bit, and nods. She turns to face him again.

I'll keep that in mind, friend. I'll be sure to stop by one of these days. Who knows, I might just come for a visit.

Eventually my thermal clip was spent. I reloaded without missing a beat, and continued to fire, damn these pulse rifles were accurate. I saw the things shield fall, and threw my biotics against its armour.
"Tara, NOW!"

=i chuckle=
What was your name again? I think yours is the...fifth name I care to remember.

I heard 'NOW!', and did the one thing that seemed to come naturally, throw. I let a ball of biotic energy out towards the Geth Prime, before ducking to avoid getting shot.

The resulting explosion was... loud to say the least. And likely powerful, judging by what was left of the Geth Prime, which was not much. I looked at Tara.
"You should've been a commando, not some doctor. That was pretty impressive." I meant it. I hadn't seen a Biotic explosion take down something as heavily armoured as that thing before.

she holds out her hand firmly

Ineesha. Ineesha vas Yaska.

She stays in a relaxed position, happy with her new apparent friendship

"Hmm..." I mumbled, standing up, slightly tired from the biotic throw.

"You sure you're okay? You took quite a bash."

=i look at her hand, then back to her=
Really?

=Cpt. Tucker frowned at me, though I could tell that his disapproval was not directed at me=

*Cpt. Tucker*
"Command believes that if we can gain intact Geth technology, including an intact unit, we may be better prepared to combat them in the future, should they ever attack again. I won't lie and say I approve of bringing one of those things back here, but frankly, after seeing what happened at the Citadel, I'm hard pressed to disagree with their reasons.

(Scott)
"Just to be clear, what types of technology are they expecting us to bring back?"

*Cpt. Tucker*
At the least, weapons and shield tech. At the most however, they'll be wanting you to obtain a full Geth unit, one of their troops.

*Kate*
"And how are we to do that, exactly? Capturing the unit itself should be no problem, but the Geth themselves can move out of those units, and into other pieces of technology. Restraining something like that, with the gear we'll be carrying, not to mention the ship we'll be on, will be close to impossible."

Oh, come on. When in Rome, my Krogan friend.

She continues holding out her hand, giggling.

I winced as I took a step.
"I'll live. At worst its a broken rib, nothing to worry about right now." I tried to keep walking, but fell to one knee. "Okay... Maybe it is a slight problem."

=i sigh=
Only cuz I like you...

=i shake her hand. I had no idea what Rome was, but I'm guessing it was a human thing=

She shakes his hand, and laughs a bit.

Oh, look at that! The big bad Krogan likes me! Be careful, friend...Wouldn't want anyone to hear you!

She playfully punches his arm

I walked over to Alaya, and crouched down. "Well, I can't do much right now for you, but have some medi-gel, it should help with the pain," I said, applying the medi-gel, "Come on, want me to help you into the comms room? I can send off for help hopefully, then see what I can do to help you, okay?"

=Kessle neared the Shooting Range, and saw something peculiar. A figure moving slightly in the shadows of an alley nearby, just down the street from the Shooting Range. He went closer, and heard a faint moaning. As he entered the Alley, he saw a Quarian lying in a small pool of filthwater, cut and slashed in multiple places, with two Stab wounds on her stomach. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the woulds were badly infected. She must've been laying there for an hour or two at least. She picked her head up slightly to face him=

"H- .. help..."

=Kessle quickly searched for any Medigel he had on him, but found nothing. He sighed deeply and opened a Map with his Omni-tool, and sighed again=

Listen, I dont have any medigel on me, and the Hospital is over an hour from here... I cant do anything for you...

=Slowly, he drew his pistol from its holster on his waist. He placed it against the dying Quarian's helmet, his hand shaking a bit=

I- ... I'm sorry...

=He squeezed the trigger=

=i chuckle=
Guess not. So, how much do you patrol or whatever you call it. One block, three blocks, the whole station.

*Cpt. Tucker*
"Yes, that was an initial concern. However, the tech boys here at Command believe they've found a solution.
=He pressed another switch, this time on his omni-tool. A new hologram appeared, this time in the form of random, jumbled bits of data=

"This is, from what I've been told, the equivalent of a cyber smoke screen. From what they were able to describe, the way it works is that it overflows the Geth's network with a constant stream of random bits. Garbage data, they called it. While it won't work on a group of Geth though, as they gain complexity and intelligence the closer they are together. However, against a single, isolated Geth unit, it should work. Long story short, this will form a cage for the Geth units AI program. it will be unable to access any other piece of tech while it constantly tries to claw its way out."

Well, I usually patrol everywhere I c-

She hears the gunshot outside of the firing range, and instantly whips out her Claymore

KEELAH! What the hell??

She rushes out of the firing range, motioning for the Krogan to follow. She sees The Turian holding his weapon next to the dead Quarian, and points her weapon at him.

Explain yourself!

"Yeah... Call for help. Tell them... about the geth." I gasped, I was beginning to struggle for breath now. "Warn the nearest... ship or Station, There might be more Geth ships." I put my arm around Tara's shoulders, Sheathed my rifle and drew my Phalanx in one hand. "Let's go." I coughed

=i grab my helmet, put it on, and grab my Saber before following Ineesha out to the alleyway. I saw a Turian, a dead Quarian, and Ineesha pointing her ridiculously over-sized shotgun at the Turian. I crossed my arms and leaned on a nearby wall=

=Startled, Kessle quickly turned towards the Quarian with the Shotgun, aiming his Pistol vaguely at her head=

Who the hell are you?!

=His hand still shook a bit from what he had just done, and the lack of an eye made his aim slightly off. He did his best to compensate, but he wasnt exactly confident. He had only lost the eye a month or so ago, and this was the first time he had aimed his gun at any living target since then. He tried to steady his hand=

I'm the woman who's going to end you if you don't explain yourself in the next 30 seconds, bosh'tet!

She was especially enraged while the victim was a fellow Quarian, something she didn't see much of anymore. She kept her finger on the trigger finger of her claymore, prepared to decimate the Turian for his apparent crime. Her hesitation, however, was born from her doubt. The helpless position of the corpse was unnatural, and the nervous state of the Turian didn't fit the profile of a killer.

She really isn't looking good... You can do this Tara.

I started helping Alaya into the comm room, and sat her down, so she was leaning against the wall. "Okay, I'll do a quick auto scan whil I send the message, okay?" I said, starting up the auto scan on my omni-tool. It wasn't great, but it could provide some info. "Okay, try and not move." I started broadcasring the message, as the Geth interference was stopping me from pin pointing anything. The message went like "This is Doctor Z'Lura of the Moon Shade, the ship has been attacked by Geth. I am requesting assisstance for me and an Asari Commando, as well as possible other survivors. I repeat, I am asking for evacuation ot any form of assistance." I just hoped it got out... Otherwise...

=i watched, curious. The Turian's aim was off, and I'm not sure if he knew it or not, as he, or she, kept adjusting it. I contemplated drawing a weapon, but decided against it. If Ineesha needed me, she'd say something=

=He shouted back, his voice trembling a bit. He didnt take any particular pleasure in killing, but when it was something like this, he typically could expect a nightmare. Kessle could be a very paranoid person. After seeing his entire family be cut down with shotgun and assault-rifle fire at the age of 14, he wasnt exactly stable about taking innocent lives. Even rationalizing that this was a mercy killing didnt help his mental state=

Says the crazy bitch who comes running out of a Shooting Range waving a Shotgun around! You explain yourself!

=He held the gun tightly, and his finger was over the trigger. Yet inside he knew he would not fire first. He had morals about killing people. Although he treated Men and Women precisely equally, even on the battlefield, he would never shoot first. He promised himself that a long time ago=

"This has got to be the worst way to die... Taken down by a damn Geth during my first fight... Doesn't say much about the commandos, does it?" I smiled. Joking helped take my mind off the pain. It didn't even matter what the joke was, even about me possibly dying here. "Killed in a hospital too. I doubt I'll have songs sung about me."

(Scott)
"Okay, so we have our means of restraining one of the Geth. I assume we also have a means to get to our destination?"

*Cpt. Tucker*
"Yes. The new Normandy class Frigate, the SSV Ain Jalut."

*Kate*
Huh, a Normandy class frigate?
=She wasn't the only one surprised. The first Normandy, captained by the famous Commander Shepard, a legend within the N7 community, was the first (and believed to be, only) ship of her kind. She was also highly expensive to make, the new Tantalus drive core alone costing upwards of 100 billion credits. Whats more.....the last Normandy was destroyed in an ambush, and Shepard was killed aboard her. We still had no idea who did the attack=

Ineesha inspected him for quite some time. She noticed his breaking voice, and his faulty aim. He wasn't a threat. But he would be if she kept that gun out.

She lowered her weapon, and spoke softly.

I'm Ineesha. I'm the law aroud here. And if this wasn't a senseless killing, I'm open to talking about it. Just put the gun down.

=He scoffed aloud=

You must think i was born yesterday, Quarian. Im not about to drop my gun for anyone, especially one of you!

=Oh, and he may be slightly racist=

"Being shot in a hospital, the most unexpecting place." I smiled, as the auto-scan finished. "Well... From what I can see is you have some broken ribs... Bruising and some plasma burns... Not that bad really. But that was- It doesn't matter, okay? If the pain starts to build up, tell me and I'll give you some more Medi-gel, okay?"

She walks up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

There aren't many people you can trust on Omega, Turian. At least trust the one who payed attention to a murder. Anyone else on this station would walk by without a second thought.

"I just hope someone gets that signal before its too late, There were a lot of people on this ship. And all the council races have a reason to help, we have their people on board. Why wouldn't they help?" I sighed and shifted my position a little.
"So Tara, Tell me about yourself, if it isn't too personal that is."

=He shook himself away from the Quarian. He still did not like them, no matter how much he tried to. He holstered his Pistol and walked a few feet back over towards the body=

You know her?

I know she's dead, and she wasn't a few minutes ago.

She walks up to the corpse, and lowers herself to it. She nodded to it.

Keelah'Selai, sister.

=i watched still, curious=
I don't think I'll ever understand Quarian customs.

=He walks past the Quarians back towards the shooting range, his right hand twitching as he walked, and his thoughts weighing heavily on him He thought briefly about just going home after all, but decided against it=

Not your fault... Not your fault... Wouldve died anyway...

She puts a hand on his shoulder

"I still want to know what happened here, friend."

She was curious about the Turian, yet a bit annoyed by his bigotry

=Brushes off the Quarian and keeps walking=

I'm not your friend, Quarian. Probably never will be. Im not that kind of person.

=As he approached the entrance to the Shooting Range building, he checked to see that his knife was still in its proper spot on his belt. He didnt like to go many places without it, even if he was carrying his gun. It was almost like a symbol of luck to him=

=i chuckle and head off towards my apartment, intending to clean my weapons and maybe change out some mods=

What do you mean, that kind of person? You have a problem with Quarians?

She sighed

Of course he does. Just like everyone in the Citadel.