First chapter, well prologue, of first story ever! It's just a taste of an idea I had when reading some Mass Effect X Fallout crossovers. Also Fallout 4! Yeah, just really excited for that. Anyway I guess I should put in some sort of disclaimer here... So here you go.
I own nothing that seems even vaguely recognizable from the Mass Effect series or Fallout. They belong to whoever it is they belong to, and it's definitely not me. I'm also making no money off of this, and really what are the chances of that ever happening?
There, hopefully that's good enough to prevent my story's immediate termination. If not, well, enjoy it while it lasts. Onward!
"In other news, celebrations are being planned for the anniversary of the end of the Rachni Wars. Many council worlds, particularly Asari and Salarian colonies, will hold victory parades to commemorate the defeat of the invading Rachni. In a rare admission of debt, several Asari colonies have invited Krogan to be honored for the victories the uplifted people made possible. According to some sources..."
Tela Vasir, veteran Asari commando and Spectre, tuned the rest of the exposé out as she leaned against the inside of the annoyingly slow elevator. "Thousands of years' worth of technological progress and we still can't make these damn things go any faster." She sighed and crossed her arms. She'd just left central booking in C-Sec headquarters and she wasn't in the best mood.
As the news station signed off, a litany of irritating sounds masquerading as music began to stream out of the speakers and Tela had to stop herself from tossing a Warp field at the ceiling. Beside her fellow Spectre, Nihlus Kryik, stood placidly his mandibles parted in amusement at her obvious vexation. "Come now Tela, you can't still be brooding over that smuggler's little... surprise, can you?"
The temperamental Asari turned a withering glare onto the innocent looking Turian at her side, wishing that biotics really could skin people alive with just a glance.
As Nihlus continued to meet her gaze with insufferable patience Tela huffed and covertly scratched at her scalp crests. "I still can't believe that greasy little bastard booby trapped his stock with itching powder. I mean really, who does that!?" She gave her head one last rub to banish the lingering sense of humiliation. She'd thought the mysterious powder was some kind of biological weapon at first. Which had led her to scrambling into the nearest de-con station, like some green maiden just out of basic. When her armor's sensors had reported the powder's actual composition she'd been both relieved and mortified.
Nihlus shrugged and activated his Omni-tool. "Well according to the follow up investigation that freighter contained enough red sand to get half of the wards as high as a colonial cloud seeder." He swiped a talon across the screen and continued reading. "There were also a few hundred units worth of expired meds repackaged to look like new. If those had hit the station, we'd probably be seeing a health crisis as bad as the time that Hanar dumped toxic waste into Zakera's water filters." He deactivated his tool and gave Tela a small Turian smile "Unorthodox defense systems aside, I'd say the operation was quite a success."
Tela closed her eyes and forced herself to relax her muscles. Nihlus was right. C-Sec had been trying to track down the source of 'discount' medical supplies for months with no success. That, along with an alarming rise in red sand circulation, had been enough to make the Council assign agents to the case personally. She still thought two Spectres was a bit overkill, but things had been quiet on the galactic stage lately, so it's not like she had anything better to do. "Fine you win. Now wipe that smug look off your face before I show you just how powerful a Throw I can sling!"
Nihlus nodded once before turning away just in time to step through the elevator's open door. Tela would have sworn to a Matriarchal review board that she heard him mutter something like "Turian discipline one, Asari diplomacy zero."
Tela stalked after her comrade grumbling under her breath all the way "You cheeky, puffed up, shiny-assed, little-" Tela cut herself off with a deep breath before she could further tarnish her dignity as an experienced and highly decorated member of the Asari military. "Just you wait Nihlus. Next time I get you alone you'll see just how 'diplomatic' I can be."
The two of them stopped at a rapid transit station and Nihlus hailed a shuttle. While they waited Tela's tool chimed and an ID screen popped up. Nihlus glanced at it before asking "Barla Von? Isn't that the Volus banker that doubles as an agent for the Shadow Broker?"
Tela read the short message as she answered "Yeah, I've worked with him a few times in the past. He forwards me Intel when he thinks it would catch my interest." She furrowed her brow as she spotted the short vid-file that Barla had attached. It wasn't so much the video itself as its label that caused her to frown. "Pseudo-Asari? By the goddess, what does that even mean?"
Just then a shuttle hovered into place and Nihlus opened up the driver's side door. "Well you still want to grab a bite to eat or..." he gestured at the still active tool.
Tela considered her options carefully. On one hand she was getting pretty hungry, on the other Barla had never wasted her time with a bad tip. His office was also within walking distance of C-Sec. She heaved one final sigh before waving Nihlus off. "You go ahead. I'd better get this out of the way."
He nodded once more before moving into the driver's seat "Alright I guess I'll see if Saren's free. Last time we talked he said he wanted to meet up and," Nihlus held his hands up and made air quotes while dropping his voice a few octaves "talk about the future" he shrugged a resumed talking normally "whatever that means."
Tela hummed noncommittally. She had nothing against the aforementioned Turian, but a few years ago something about him had changed. Rumor among the senior agents said it had something to do with his brother. "See you later Nihlus, don't do anything stupid" She smirked mischievously before continuing "you know, like pissing off an Asari Justicar."
The Turian paused abruptly, only half closing the shuttle's door, before turning a suspiciously blank face her way. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tela shrugged and turned back to the Presidium's main concourse "Sure you don't Nihlus, but just in case you were wondering, I hear she was very impressed with your creativity and... stamina. But she was a little peeved when you ditched her."
Nihlus eye's widened "I- but... look I don't know who you've been talking to but she!"
She raised a hand cutting him off as she looked him up and down. Before he could say anything else she shook her head and gave him her best 'I'm judging you' face "Two. Hot. Sweaty. Weeks." Nihlus sputtered as she sauntered away "Well drive safe, traffic gets crazy around this time of day." Mood considerably improved, Tela melted into the chaos of bustling Citadel society.
A few minutes later she stepped off onto a less crowded path that would lead her right to Barla's door. She decided to watch the video as she walked. So, looking around to see if she had some privacy, she muted the audio and hit play.
After only a few seconds in she recognized the scene and grimaced in disgust. The video showed a Batarian slave auction in a dimply lit showroom. A few poor souls who looked drugged to the gills were paraded out in front of a shouting crowd before being yanked off to their unfortunate destiny. When the Hegemony got you there was virtually no way to track you down, even with the help of the Shadow Broker. This video's very existence was a small miracle.
After the third slave was sold off, a young looking Drell this time, the auctioneer began making dramatic gestures to a cloth covered box that was rolled onto the stage. Tela refocused, sensing that this was the real reason Barla Von had contacted her. With a final flourish the Batarian on stage pulled the cloth away, revealing something that nearly made Tela trip in shock. There, in a cage no bigger than a mid-sized shipping crate, was a small unfamiliar alien.
Well unfamiliar really wasn't the correct term. In fact it might be better to say the alien was too familiar. There, on the screen, was what looked like a pink skinned Asari with black fur growing where her crests should be. She was dressed in drab looking rags and was obviously panicking as she shrank away from the crowd. She began speaking to her captors, perhaps trying to convince them to let her go. In response the auctioneer pulled up his Omni-tool and activated some kind of program.
Tela flinched as the not-Asari started to spasm violently, knocking her head on the unyielding metal bars of her cage. The audience seemed to enjoy her suffering, as they began waving their arms toward the smiling salesman. Finally the Batarian seemed to feel that he made his point and deactivated his tool to begin the first round of bidding. Whoever was recording the video ignored this, zooming in on the still shaking alien. The last thing Tela saw before the video ended was a thin line of crimson blood running down a tear-stained face.
For the next minute or so Tela had to breathe deeply just to keep her rising bile from making her gag. The alien was so similar to an Asari in the early years of her maidenhood that she couldn't help but feel utter loathing for that Batarian and all those like him. She shook off the last of her shock before straitening her spine and striding to Barla's office with a new sense of purpose.
When she arrived she punched the manual door release without even glancing at the intercom. She stomped up to a surprised looking Salarian, seated across from a calm seeming Barla. The Volus held up a hand to Tela before entering something on his terminal, then swiftly ushering the Salarian out the door with a quiet apology. When he was settled at his desk once more, Barla began to speak in that halting fashion common amongst his people "Ah, Spectre Vasir- I wasn't expecting you to- arrive so quickly-"
Tela eyed him a bit before squaring her shoulders and simply saying "Tell me everything you can."
Well there it is. I hope you liked it.
Obviously characters are going to be presented differently than they are in cannon. I wanted to give people more, for lack of a better term, human personalities. No one is a complete paragon of good or a psychotic renegade (see what I did there), and as such they can have completely normal reactions and interactions. Also this universe has never seen humans and as a result is substantially different. A long way down the line you'll see just how different, but first we must look to more pressing concerns.
Humans and Asari: In the games their obviously similarities are always just sort of ignored or glossed over. Well I thought it would be a good way of catching the attention of those long-lived blue-skinned space babes. Tela has such a strong reaction to the human girl's suffering because she subconsciously sympathizes with her. To the Spectre it's like seeing an Asari child being treated like trash.
Batarians: If it wasn't clear enough, Batarians are assholes and they were the ones to find Earth this time around. In my head their collective ego has always sort of chafed under the Asari's position of power, and their insistence that all sapient life is equal in the grand scheme of things. So the auctioneer and his audience enjoy seeing an Asari-esque slave in pain as it helps them indulge their latent hostility. According to the Mass Effect codex Batarians have a highly stratified society with a strict caste system. Slaves are at the bottom of the system and viewed as little more than animals (which means they could be prized family pets, or just something to take out your anger and frustrations on). Not all Batarians are inherently cruel, but their society doesn't exactly foster amiable inter-species relations.
Nihlus and Samara: ... ;-)
Til next time.