Hey everyone and welcome to my newest story. So I always wondered what it would be like if there was an agency like The Division in Mass Effect. That being said I didn't want it to be exclusively humans so there will be alien agents as well. To involve you all in the story more, I will be taking submissions for agents to appear in the story. Just send me what race, name, personality, a bit of background, what role they have in the agency (analyst, tactical team, logistics,etc), what they did before the virus showed up, and if you have any celebrity or person you want them to sound or look like. I'll try to work them in and some may even have recurring roles. As of right now there won't be any characters from the original game present but they may be mentioned in the story, sorry. Hope you guys like it and don't forget to submit those characters:D
Cast
Ezekiel "Zeke" Acevedo- Lincoln Clay (Mafia III) voice and likeness
Tikka T'Oreala- voiced by Alyson Hannigan
Faridah Nunez- Jamie Gray Hyder voice and likeness
Ventus Jaroclaw- voiced by Forest Whitaker
Dekkari "Dek" Ful- voiced by Steve Buscemi
Shokar Mio- voiced by Nolan North
Lorenzo Rottascotti- voice and likeness by Benicio Del Toro
Ni'Shara- voiced by Chloe Grace Moretz
Dr. Vandorya S'Basti- voiced by Claudia Black
Del Salen- voiced by Cory Michael Smith
Celeste Marena- voice and likeness by Morena Baccarin
Kandiri Malgus- voiced by Jessica Lucas
Pandyssia. An impressive planet founded 20 years ago by a multispecies team. Slightly resembling Earth, the planet was atleast 5 times bigger with a 34 hour day and orbit lasting 2.8 Earth years. A wide assortment of ecosystems and brand new flora and fauna quickly garnered the attention of Salarian, Asari and Human would-be settlers. For five years, each side argued vehemently over which race should get colonization rights and even tried hiring merc groups to occupy the more appealing landscapes to try and gain a foothold. This gave way to an unprecedented event that would spell the true beginning of galactic cooperation and integration. The Council proposed a sort of social experiment, The combined efforts of all races, Citadel race or not, to colonize and occupy the planet while promoting cohabitation amongst other races. A government similar to the Citadel Council would maintain control over planet while maintaining a state of fairness for all races. No race would have exclusive control over the planet. Jobs, schools, law enforcement and militia would be a multilateral mission it seemed.
Ezekiel "Zeke" Acevedo leaned back in his chair and yawned obnoxiously. The annoyed and disapproving looks thrown his way were met with a lazy smile and lackadaisical wave. One thing the other teachers did not like was the reminder of sleep that they were not getting currently. Waking up at 5 am everyday to deal with a plethora of moody, hormonal teenagers tends to have that effect. Welcome to Degrasse-Tyson High School, the largest school on Pandyssia having over 5,000 students.
In front of him was a cluttered yet unoccupied desk. It belonged to a fellow teacher but that person had been absent for a week.
"Tanae sick again?" He asked out loud. He didn't know the salarian teacher well but it still was crappy for the poor guy to be sick this long.
"Yes, apparently people all over the region have been getting sick." Another teacher spoke up.
"Damn, I hope they get better soon." Zeke commented.
The city of Silario was roughly the size of the former Earth state Rhode Island and had 3 more slightly smaller schools to compliment the vast number of students across the board. Human, Asari, Turian, Salarian, Quarian, Drell, Krogan, and other races were all present over the entire planet. This presented a particular good opportunity for teachers as the demand for insight into each other's cultures, particularly history and sports. Fortunately for Zeke, that is where his skills presented themselves.
Terran physical education. Basketball, baseball, football, soccer, wrestling. These five sports became instant classics in the galactic community and news of it spreading across to the other races soon followed.
"Zeke, what's up buddy?" A feminine voice singsonged. Two purple hands clapped onto his shoulders from behind causing him to arch his head to see who it was. "Wow, your eyes are really bloodshot."
The purple Asari smiled down at him her, face was a little too close for comfort. "Tikka, remember our conversation about personal space?" He quipped, lightheartedly. Tikka let out a obnoxious groan and fell back letting her hands fall back to her sides. He couldn't help but chuckle as he rose from his desk and stretched, pushing in his seat with a leg.
"You humans and your personal space, I'll never get used to it." She smirked. Tikka, like most Asari maidens, had a fit and slender form that curved in all the right places. From her long, athletic legs to the toned stomach beneath her shirt to sinewy arms that were formed into muscle through decades of physical training. Her bust, though smaller than the average asari, and firm apple bottom posterior complimented her figure just fine. Her facial markings were a deep red with two thin horizontal lines under each almond-shaped eye with a single curved line on top that connected at the middle of the forehead like a arrow. A single red strip went straight down from the point down her nose and lips and spread to from a triangle at her chin.
"Plus with how big you are, you take up a lot of space." She added looking him up and down. It wasn't a lie though. Zeke was something of a mountain of a man standing at five feet and 11 inches and weighing a solid 225lbs of almost all muscle. He was by no means cut or had very good definition like the majority of people nowadays but his strength was clearly apparent. His forest green eyes contrasted with his toffee colored skin and told of his mixed heritage that came from multiple continents on Earth. Zeke took pride in the fact that other than the standard vaccinations for the myriad diseases that plagued the galaxy he was not a product of gene mods. All of his muscle through pure determination and lots of hours at the gym. Add in the skin bald head and the massive beard on his maw and you have one terrifying individual. On contrary though he was Known throughout the school as the Gentle Brown Giant.
"So are you saying I'm fat?" He asked feigning disappointment. Tikka rolled her eyes and motioned for him to follow her. The two teachers filed out of the lounge and made their way to the gym building. Inside were six basketball courts side by side, a weight-lifting room, a wrestling area with five mats, and a Olympic-sized swimming pool. Decent sized sauna and the athletic trainer's office was also inside. Outside the building was the football field, soccer field, as well as a biotic-ball field.
The school colors of red and white decorated the fields and banners that were strung about. Some depicting when championships or playoffs were one, others having names of notable players instead. The given that this school was named after a human, it was agreed upon that the mascot would also be of Terran culture. Said mascot was a depiction of a human standing at the bow of a small wooden boat hefting a large wooden stick attached to a thick rope with a pointed metal tip angling downwards.
The Neil Degrasse-Tyson Whalers. It didn't make a lick of sense to Zeke since Degrasse-Tyson was an astrophysicist, not a whaler.
"So what's the plan for today?" Zeke asked as he followed Tikka to the bleachers.
"I believe it's basketball today. Tomorrow we'll have biotic-ball and football. Friday is wrestling." Tikka listed off the activities for the rest of the week. Zeke groaned at the last part, Tikka gave him an amused smirk. "I thought you liked wrestling?"
"I do but I'm tired of all the Krogans challenging me to wrestle them everytime we have it." He exasperated with a tired look. "One of them almost broke my arm the other day."
"Awww, is my poor partner scared of the scary Krogans." Tikka teased in a baby voice as she pinched his cheek.
The sound of the bell ringing through out the school cut off Zeke before he could make comeback. Homeroom was done and now the first period was on their way. Zeke shedded his tracksuit jacket and pants in favor for the shorts and T-Shirt underneath while Tikka only removed her jacket.
"You going to be all right in pants? It's going to get in the way." The hulking teacher gave the smaller one a questioning look.
"Personally, I'm tired of the boys staring at my ass in shorts everyday." She said mildly annoyed.
"A conservative Asari maiden. Who'd a thunk?"
'That and lost my shorts so there's nothing on underneath." She smirked devilishly and gave him a lustful look.
Zeke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Good Lord."
Tikka giggled and playfully nudged him. "Let's hit the bar tonight. I found this new drink you absolutely have to try."
"Nope, no way." Zeke replied shaking his head. "Not after last time."
"Come on. How was it supposed to know a Illium swirl would make humans hallucinate?" Tikka whined. The Asari tugged on his arm and put on her best pout with pleading eyes.
The gentle giant looked into the violet eyes with a disinterested look. The longer she pouted the more his defenses wore down.
"God damn it. Fine!" He groaned, Tikka beamed at him before wrapping her around his neck in a hug.
"I promise it'll be a quiet night this time."
Later that night
Zeke stared outside his car window at the Thirsty Camel, his and Tikka's usual dive. Ironically, there were no camels on Pandyssia and the city was based near the Traktor Sea. Sometimes he wondered if everything in this city was a giant contradiction. The light pit pat of rain only made him more reluctant to leave his car and he contemplated going home. Then again, if he did that he wouldn't hear the end of it from Tikka. 'Screw it' he thought as he stepped out of the car and headed towards the entrance.
The inside of the bar was a pretty modest setting. Unlike most clubs nowadays it didn't play that synth-pop all the kids instead settling for music from the early 21st century. Red lights highlighted the inside of the building though the intensity of the lights was lessened on the dance floor. The lounge area was set with seven 6ft short tables with pillow seats of various colors surrounding each table. Lastly of course, you had the bar with various assortments of Human, Asari, and Salarian alcohol with Krogan and dextro alcohol sprinkled in somewhere. Those were interested could also get their hands on some hookahs as well.
Zeke was atleast thankful that both he and Tikka's interest in bars were aligned. While he was for the most part done with the party life, Tikka was still getting started as she put it. She was significantly more animated than most Asari with her temperament and just how she moved. That made spotting her at one of the tables easy as she was the only weirdo waving both hands wildly trying to get his attention. He entertained pretending not to see her and head to the bar instead but decided against it. Partly because a drunk and pissed off Asari that knows where you live is not very good for your health. That and the woman sitting next to Tikka was making him do a double take. Then again between the lights and dark shadows cast all over the place he could be oogling a Batarian for all he knows. Oh, well time to head over.
"Zeke. Glad you *hiccup* finally decided to show up." Tikka giggled as she raised a half empty glass.
"Bad traffic." He lied, taking a seat across fr9m the two ladies. "I see you started without me though." He gestured to the drink in her hand.
"You were taking too long." Tikka whined. "But I had this lovely lady to keep me company."
Said lady gave a small wave and a smile. Thankfully she was not Batarian, human in fact. A really attractive human. Like wow.
"Faridah Nunez. Nice to meet you." She extended a hand with a smile. "You can close your mouth now."
Zeke realized he had been staring and stammered as he shook her hand. "Ah, r-right. I'm Ezekiel Acevedo, everyone calls me Zeke though."
"Pleasure to meet you, Zeke." Faridah chuckled.
"FAAAAAARRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIII!" Tikka, now highly inebriated, leaned onto Faridah nearly spilling her drink on her in the process. "Didn't I tell you he was so hot."
Zeke smiled sheepishly and could see Faridah laughing and Tikka continued on. "I been trying to sleep with him for the last 6 years but he always shoots me down. Oh, maybe he likes human girls instead? You're single aren't you, Fari?"
"Okay, that's enough to drink." Zeke commented snatching the drink out of the drunken asari's hand. Tikka groaned and leaned further into Faridah who gently laid her down over the table.
"So…six years?" The woman asked.
"Ah yea. I started working at the school around that time and our hedonistic friend here just had to have me." He responded nervously.
"Seems like you've held fast though." She took swig of her drink. "No easy task I must admit. Many have found it difficult to resist her…charms."
"You sound you're speaking from personal experience." Zeke observed incredulously. A wild glint was in the woman's eye and she winked.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Umm. So…uh…w-where do you you work? W-what do you do for a living." He stammered flabbergasted.
"Are you normally this bashful or is it just me?"
"Waah? No, no, I mean, maybe. How-"
"Relax, I'm just busting your balls." Faridah laughed, amused by at the nervous giant. "To answer your question, I'm a pilot. Did a couple of years in the Alliance Navy as a fighter pilot, saw a couple of fights. Now I work as a Mantis pilot for the police." The smile on her face lost it's shine for a little bit before returning.
"Been around, huh?" Zeke's bashfulness was replaced by interest.
"You could say that. What about you though? I'm sure you was up to something else before you started working at the school." Fari's curiosity piqued.
"Tried enlisting in the Alliance when I was younger but since I wouldn't budge on any of the gene mods they told me no." He commented with a little bit of bitterness. "I was instead able to find some work with planetary customs. Gene mods were optional."
"Seen some action yourself?" She asked.
"Not as much as you, no doubt. But I been around the block." Zeke smirked. "Before you ask, no I don't want to talk about why I quit."
"Fine by me. We all have our secrets." Faridah nodded.
"Thanks." He gave an appreciative smile.
"Just fuck already you two." Tikka suddenly sprung up from the table only to collapse back on it. Zeke and Faridah shared a laugh before a silence descended on them.
"I should probably get her home before she starts throwing things with her biotics." Faridah nodded to the mumbling asari.
"Yeah, yeah." He stepped to the other side hooking one of Tikka's arms around his neck. "Here let me help you out."
Faridah did the same with Tikka's other arm and the three made their way for the door. "Thanks."
The rain hadn't let up from the time he went in and in fact it seemed like it picked a bit. Zeke grimaced as he thought about walking through it.
"Mmmm, the sky is crying." Tikka lazily looked up at the sky. "Why is the sky crying?"
"No idea, Tiktok." Faridah chuckled. Three marched through the rain and pulled up next to Faridah's car.
"It's so wet." Tikka whined, Zeke sliding her into the passenger seat. "Hey, Fari. This reminds me of how wet you were when we-"
Zeke jumped back surprised as Faridah slammed the car door shut and held it there like it would fall off. An awkward silence fell between the two as Faridah faced Zeke who was trying very hard not to laugh or smirk.
"Well, that was-"
"Awkward?" Zeke finished.
"Yeah." Faridah smiled nervously and looked up to him.
Now that he could actually see Faridah in decent lighting, he was blown away. The small oval face with creamy brown color skin. Her eyes were a soft brown color and her hair was the same color. Her lips were full and soft-looking. Above those were a full, not too wide nose. Her frame was slender but he attributed that to the strict workout regimen she no doubt followed.
"Well it was nice meeting you. Should probably get her home before she gets hit with indecent exposure." Zeke coughed gesturing to the stripping Asari in her car.
Zeke couldn't help but laugh as he watched the two ladies drive off and he could only wish Faridah luck in getting her to actually sleep.
"I think I'll let Tikka conduct class tomorrow."
The next day
Zeke winced as Tikka took a biotic-ball to the face and crash onto her back. It had been a long day for the Asari and a hilarious one for Zeke. Granted he had to practically babysit Tikka the entire time but watching her get demolished by the kids every class was too good to pass up.
"You know, maybe you should go out drinking more often." He strolled up to the flattened asari with a grin. "I could use some more entertainment."
Tikka let out a groan a sent a biotic push knocking the massive man on his back. His groan was drowned out by the ringing of the bell and the snickering of the students.
"I hate you." Tikka sat up rubbing her nose. Zeke sat up and rubbed his chest still feeling the tingling sensation from the push. A tense staredown was initiated with neither parties backing off. The duo erupted in to laughter not even 5 seconds into their staredown.
"So how was Faridah last night?" Zeke smirked knowingly at the asari, the two getting to their feet.
Tikka looked at him confused. "Fari? She went home after she dropped me off."
"The lion's meal slips out it's grasp, eh?" He nudged her only to get an elbow in side.
"It's your fault." Tikka pouted and started lifting the balls back to their rack. The blueish glow giving her an ethereal and creepy appearance.
"My fault?" He exclaimed surprised.
"She wouldn't stop asking about you." She spat, clearly annoyed. "Totally killed the mood."
Zeke could feel a warm feeling settling in his core. What could Faridah possibly want to ask about him? More importantly, what did Tikka tell her? He squirmed at the lies Tikka would make up just to mess with him.
"What did she ask?" He wondered nervously.
Tikka stayed silent, walking away mumbling something about a meathead of a human. "I'm not telling."
Rolling his eyes and sighing, he caught up with his upset friend. Was whatever Faridah asked her that upsetting? Sure, Tikka missed out on sexy fun time with a really attractive woman. A woman with nice hips and a bubble butt. A medium sized bust that looked so soft to touch and those full lips. To think that Tikka, a woman who's promiscuity was only matched by her ability to ingest copius amonts of alcohol, had her to herself at one point or another. Zeke shook his head in frustration, banishing the lewd thoughts from his mind. He just met the girl, no need to immediately start fantasizing about her. Yet.
Stopping in the teachers lounge Zeke noticed that Tanae's desk was still untouched. That didn't bode well, Tanae had near perfect attendance but if he was out this long then it must be a pretty serious virus. Add in the rapidly growing number of cases popping up across the city and things were looking bad.
"Still hasn't shown up yet, huh?" Tikka observed, looking at the vacant desk. True to Salarian nature it was neatly organized. Zeke shook his head solemnly.
"Hey everyone, come check out the news."
Zeke and Tikka both turned towards the holo-display screen and could see the rest of the faculty members gathering around to listen.
"Hey, turn it up." Another woman hollered.
"-are more reports of citizens coming down with some type of illness. Today alone there was over 200 people admitted into Desanea Memorial Hospital and there more as we speak."
Tikka and Zeke shared a scared look before looking back to the screen.
"More shockingly, the illness is able, it seems, to cross the species barriers but retains the same symptoms. Cold sweats, coughing, vomiting, confusion, and in extreme cases severe psychosis."
"Tanae was coughing alot and he was throwing up, wasn't he?" One short Turian teacher asked nervously.
"That's right. He was." A volus shouted, panicked.
"The Department of Health and safety is urging all citizens to diligently practice good hygiene and take extra care when preparing meals. Anyone experiencing symptoms should go seek medical attention as soon as possible. We'll have more details as the story develops and we have access to more information. Until next time, this is Mackey Gainer of Silario News Network."
While chaos may have been to strong of a word, not everything was what Zeke would call calm either. Most of the faculties had already began filing back to their desks, calling family or significant others. Zeke was atleast thankful that everyone was keeping relatively calm considering the news report. It wasn't long before the bell sounded off with an announcement accompanying it. School was released for the rest of the day and the students parents had already been notified. The students were also instructed to go straight home but Zeke knew that last part fell on mostly deaf ears.
As he gathered his belongings he couldn't help but notice a terrified look on Tikka's face. Zeke felt a pang of worry struck his chest as he walked over to the distraught asari. He had never seen her like this in all his six years of knowing her.
"Hey, Tikka? Are you okay? You don't look so hot." He rested a hand on her shoulder making her whip her head up towards him. He could feel her shaking under his hand and the scared look in her purple eyes only saddened him. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, Tikka. Everything's going to be all right." He pulled the distraught Asari into a hug.
"My neighbor." She spoke up between shaky breaths. "He was coughing for the past two days and I think I heard him throwing up last night."
The shaking became stronger and Zeke could feel his chest dampen from Tikka's sobbing. "What if he's infected? What if I catch something from him? I'm scared, Zeke."
Dark and worried thoughts filled his mind as his chest tightened. Tikka was a dear friend to him. If she got sick he wouldn't know what to do with himself. No. He wouldn't let that happen. He'll be damned before he let's his friends get sick.
"Stay at my place."
Tikka looked up at the gentle giant shocked. His face was the most serious she's ever seen but so reassuring at the same time.
"What? Really?" She asked unsure.
"Yes, I'm serious. If you got sick and there was something I could do about it I would never forgive myself." Zeke stated firmly. "My house is open to you for however long it takes for this thing to blow over."
Zeke nearly lost his breath thanks to how hard Tikka was squeezing him. He smiled softly as he heard her mumble words of thanks repeatedly between sobs.
Later that night
Zeke's apartment was pretty to look at compared to some other apartments he had seen. The walls were a deep red color with black ceilings. The living room was arranged with a black suede couch with a dark rosewood coffee table in front two black suede comfy chairs on both sides of the coffee table making a horseshoe shape. On the all opposite of the couch and coffee table was a 90 inch TV. The walls were decorated with various paintings from a variety of species. The kitchen was done with a black marble countertop and rosewood cabinets. A double door fridge stood next to a waist high freezer flush against the walls. The center of the room was a oval table with a red flowery drape over it a series of plates glasses and utensils were arranged around the table in four spots but it was clear that these were just for show, not eating. The bathroom was pretty spartan compared to the rest of the house excluding the shower with nozzles in the ceiling, the three walls at chest level and another three at knee level. Lastly was the bedroom, a Thessian queen sized memory foam bed and a dresser for clothes. Pictures of family and friends from a long time past and new were on his head board and his dresser. A large wall sized window looked out to the city of Silario from the 16th floor and on the opposite wall was a pair of samurai swords as well as a New England Patriots Tom Brady jersey. Inside the closet was a few suits and dress shirts as well as his old Customs uniform.
Zeke checked his watch for the eighth time in the span of five minutes. Tikka had gone home to grab some clothes and hygiene supplies but they agreed on meeting up at his place at 6pm. It was now 6:05. He couldn't help but worry about her. What if something happened? Did she get lost? Did she suddenly get sick?
Those thoughts were laid to rest as he heard a knock on his door. He signaled the door open and there Tikka was with two large roller bags and a backpack on. She also changed out of her school gym clothes in favor for dark green baggy cargo pants, a black V-neck, and a white leather jacket.
"Thank goodness. I thought something had happened to you." Zeke rushed over and took two of the bags.
"Sorry. Traffic is insane right now. I guess I wasn't the only one scared by the news." She apologized with a solemn look. A smirk quickly popped onto her face as they moved further into his apartment. "Was you gonna come dashing to my rescue if I was any later?"
"I might have." He smirked back at her. Tikka stopped by the couch ready to lay down her bag but was surprised to see her new roommate bringing her bags into his room. She felt a huge smile spread across her face as she commended his boldness. Maybe this wouldn't so bad after all. "So me being a gracious host and all, you can have the bedroom and I'll take the couch."
The smirk instantly turned into a frustrated frown.
Zeke walked back out of the room and plopped down on to the couch. "Well, make yourself at home. Mi casa es su casa."
Tikka admired the apartment before tossing her bag in the room. Taking a seat on the couch on the opposite side of Zeke the two sat in an awkward silence.
"Fancy a movie?" Zeke asked calmly.
"Only if I can pick it." Tikka perked up a bit.
Zeke gestured towards the TV nonchalantly. Tikka used her omni-tool to scroll through the different movies but couldn't find anything all that good. Apparently Zeke was a big fan of action movies and comedies but not much else.
"Let's watch this one." She highlighted her pick with an amused grin.
"Let's not." Zeke groaned, dejected.
"Why? What's wrong with… Sausage Party?" She wondered.
"Just trust me on this."
"Too bad." Tikka pressed play and leaned back on her seat. The defeated sigh to her right made her giggle.
One cringe worthy movie and a pizza later
Zeke stretched his tired body as he laid down on the couch reading a news article on his omni-tool. Tikka had retired for the night about an hour ago and was even nice enough to turn off all the lights. Unfortunately his mood was soured when he elected to read the article. There was an extremely sharp increase in patients being admitted into the hospital. Additionally, supermarkets and convenience stores were being sold out by people buying out supplies to try and wait out the illness.
"Shit." He breathed out as he closed his omni-tool. This was going to get a whole lot worse before it got better.
"Hey."
Zeke looked up from the couch and saw Tikka standing in his bedroom doorway. The moonlight illuminated her slightly and he could see that she was wearing boy shorts and tank top. Zeke gulped as he felt a warmth in his stomach that grew hotter the longer he looked.
"Can't sleep?" He asked trying to take his attention off of his wandering mind.
The purple asari nodded slowly and held one arm with other. "I just found out that my neighbor and his family were infected. A couple of my other neighbors were infected too." Zeke sat up at that but Tikka motioned for him to stay. "I couldn't help but think I would be in the same boat. I'm actually happy that I got when I could." She laughed bitterly. Zeke stood up and walked over to his friend and gave sympathetic smile.
"I'm so scared and I hate it." She yelled as she balled her fist, her whole body tensing up in anger. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be alone tonight." Her posture visibly relaxed and she looked up to him with pleading eyes.
"Can I sleep with you? Just for tonight, I need to know that I'm not alone."
Zeke could feel his cheeks heat up but quickly purged any indecent thoughts. Here was his friends looking for an anchor in a slowly slipping reality and couldn't keep it in his pants for a second.
"It's okay if you don't feel comfortable." She said, a little ashamed. "I'm sorry for suddenly springing this on you."
"No, no. It's fine." Quickly stopping her from turning away. "If you think that'll help then I'll do it."
Tikka smiled gratefully and led him to the bed room. The light from Pandyssia's moon illuminated the bedroom painting it a cool blue color. Zeke awkwardly laid in bed and Tikka followed lying down on her back next to him. The atmosphere was awkward as the two adults layed in the bed stiff as a piece of wood, neither sure of how to proceed. A few more awkward minutes passed until Zeke felt the covers shifting near him. A slender arm snaked around his waist and a head relaxed on his chest. The cool muscular legs intertwined with his and cooled his body temperature considerably. Chancing a glance, he looked down and was pleased to see Tikka molding to his form like a puzzle piece. He could feel her heart race and and hear the relaxed breaths she was taking. It was such a soothing sound and he soon found himself drifting off to dreamland.
0428 am
Zeke awoke to his left arm vibrating uncontrollably. He groggily raised the offending member to his face and his eyes widened as the orange ring flashed on his watch. Letting his arm fall back to his side he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"So it begins." He whispered sadly.
Tikka shifted slightly on him and nuzzled his chest gripping his shirt tightly. He couldn't help but smile at the peaceful and happy expression on her face. Carefully and reluctantly, he slipped out of the woman's embrace and watched as she frowned at the removal of her personal heater and gripped at the sheets around her until she was bundled up.
Looking out window he could multiple sirens dotting the city. Probably ambulances and police. The sun still had yet to rise thanks to the longer night cycle. That meant he'd be working the dark for the next couple of hours. After a quick shower and shave and slipping into some cargo pants, a red T-shirt, a black ball cap with a spartan helnet on the front, and a grey bomber jacket, he was ready to go. Walking out of his apartment towards the elevator, he pressed his thumb down onto the face of his watch which light up a bright orange color before beeping twice.
[INTELLIGENT SYSTEM ANALYTIC COMPUTER COMING ONLINE…AGENT STATUS: ACTIVATED AND READY FOR TASKING]
The voice in his ear startled him slightly. It had been years since he had the cochlear implant and to be honest he forgot about it. The synthetic voice would be a regular and frequent sound from now on so he might as well get used to it. With the elevator doors closing Zeke took a deep breath and sighed.
[VOICE TRANSMISSION INCOMING]
"Agent. This is Senior Division Commander Ventus Jaroclaw. Glad to have you with us." His implant hummed with a deep raspy voice, the slight warble gave away that he was Turian.
"Happy to be of service, sir." Zeke spoke proudly shaking whatever jitters he may have been feeling before. "Just got the call and I'm now moving towards Point Delta 87. ETA is 10 minutes."
"Excellent another agent should be on their way there now as well. Rendezvous with them and await further orders."
"Understood. Out." He confirmed almost robotically as the elevator doors opened into the first floor. Zeke marched out of the building but not before telling the security guard that Tikka had the proper key to be able to enter and exit his home whenever she wanted.
Traffic in the streets had been pretty so Zeke opted for the skywalk instead. Even in the early morning people were outside gathering supplies or trying to get to the hospital. It was mess and from what he could see the police were out in force trying to keep order.
The safe house was for all intents and purposes a bakery, Dels' Delectable Delights to be exact. And it was a pretty successful bakery to boot. Zeke remembered it being featured on an episode of Hometown Heroes. It had humble beginnings starting off as a family owned business and quickly gained popularity for using all natural ingredients and none of that processed crap that was in just about damn near everything. Despite it's popularity it was still a perfect hideout for Division agents when the need arised. It helped that it was owned by an agent as well.
The door ringed as Zeke stepped inside and it didn't surprise him that it was empty. The food did look delicious though he was not there to eat sadly. A lone Salarian dressed in a green chef's out fit with a intricate floral pattern embroidered on the sleeves stood behind the counter fiddling with his omni-tool seemingly oblivious to his presence. The salarian did perk up though when Zeke walked over and stopped in front of him. Must be Del he thought.
"What can I interest you in, sir?" Del asked in a chipper voice. "Perhaps a cake or maybe some pastries."
"I was actually hoping you had some cannoli's." He answered neutrally.
The salarian smirked and nodded to the room behind him. Zeke nodded back and walked past the counter and into the back room which appeared to be the kitchen. Following the room to it's end, Zeke stopped in front of a cabinet. A few seconds passed until a orange beam shot out and ran up and down his body. As the beam went out, the cabinet doors opened and revealed small room. Stepping inside, the doors closed immediately and Zeke could feel the room shift as if it was moving down only to open again and reveal an entirely new room.
Said room was about the size of his living room but each side was lined with lockers with a few benches in front of the lockers. The walls were a gray metallic color with the floor being black and having a giant Division insignia in the middle of the floor. A large phoenix on top off a orange circular outline with the letters SHD written right above the head. Below the insignia written in Latin was 'Extremis Malis Extremis Remedia'. At the far side of the room was a massive holo-screen that also had the Division logo on it.
It seemed he was the first to arrive which he didn't mind at all. That just meant more time for him to get geared up. Walking over to the locker his name he held his watch and felt his arm vibrate again.
[PERSONAL LOCKER IDENTIFIED. RELEASING LOCK.]
A small hiss and the doors popped open, slowly revealing the contents. Most noticeable was the Nomad Skin, a titanium dipped tri-weave mesh over a layer of MR fluid-based liquid body armor that hardens when anything impacts it. In addition it came with a Titan shield generator that could last nearly three times longer than Alliance Atlas shields while using only half as much power. That much protection with a heavy exosuit was unheard, to the general public atleast. As for where the energy came from; it was a combination of solar energy, kinetic energy drawn from the user's movement, and heat absorption. The suit was loose-fitting when it was being put on but once zipped up the suit tightened to the wearers body making an airtight seal. In the event that the suit is breached, clamps around the joints will clamp down effectively preventing any air getting out or any infected limbs contaminating the rest of the body. The suit is meant to be worn as an underlayer with civilian clothes on top or armor.
Second is the Automatic Tactical Assault Turret or ATAC. This briefcase sized portable turret is capable of independently engaging hostiles at a rate of 950 rounds per minute. It can also be set to three modes: assault, flamethrower, and shock turret. Set on top of a tripod with adhesive tipped legs the ATAC can be deployed nearly anywhere.
Up next was the Seeker mine. The most notable difference someone would notice first is that the mine is a perfect sphere instead of being disc-shaped. Next was that it is capable of moving on its own. Once it locks on to a target, a tiny motor inside rolls it towards it's intended target and is even capable of bounding over barriers or ledges. The different modes for the seeker mine is airburst which launches itself above its target and releases small incendaries in a wide area, second is the ability to release tear gas, and lastly is cluster which allows it to break apart into multiple smaller bombs that can track multiple targets. Unlike the ATAC, it's other mods aren't all in one mine as it would take up too much space.
Lastly was the Multipurpose Assault Pack or MPAP. Despite looking like a simple single strap backpack, the MPAP was actually pretty incredible. First and foremost was that it held a 60 ounce bladder for watering addition to the space for any supplies and agent may need. However sewn into the fabric of the MPAP is syringes that penetrate into the suit and are linked to a suite of stimulants, medi gel, and cocktails to counteract any type of nerve agent or chemicals the agent may come in contact with.
Zeke stripped out of his clothes and began donning the Nomad. The grey and black suit was cool to the touch and almost felt like a second skin. Well technically it was he supposed since he would be wearing it constantly from now on.
"Bringing up the news on the holo. Thought you may want to know what you walking into." Del's voice boomed through the rooms loudspeakers.
"Appreciate it, Del." Zeke said as he pulled his pants back on.
"Riots have continued to break out throughout the city causing millions of dollars worth of damage. The Pandyssian military has deployed troops in an effort to quell the riots and restore order after multiple pharmacies and clinics have been looted in a desperate effort to cure the illness affecting the city."
Images of riots and trashed strokes and clinics began popping up all over the feed. It was pretty incredible how fast the city had descended into chaos. But that begged the question: why was The Division being activated? Sure things were bad right now but not enough where regular authorities and the military couldn't handle things. It was strange to say the least.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am receiving breaking news. It appears that the illness hasn't only struck our beloved city. Reports from all over the world are coming with cases of the illness. So far reports about the virus itself are scarce but authorities are telling us to remain calm as details about the illness should be released soon. This is Mackey Gainer and I will see you next time on Silario News Network." The news cut out and switched to numerous camera feeds around the city displaying the chaos.
"You know, I understand things are bad but I don't think it's bad enough for us to be activated. What do you think?" Zeke asked as he put his jacket back on.
"Hence why only four of us were activated for right now, you and myself included." Del said through the intercom.
"Jaroclaw being the third so that leaves one missing person." He deduced, strapping his Talon pistol to his hip having inspected it for any defects. "So who's our fourth person?"
"I'll let them introduce themselves." Zeke could hear the smarmy tone through the speakers. "Let you have atleast one decent surprise before you go out. Nobody you know by the way, this one is fresh blood."
"Alright, alright. I can't wait to meet them." Zeke put on the backpack and grabbed his Harrier Rifle.
"Don't forget your Augmented Reality Contacts." Del added a bit hurriedly.
"ARCs are already on, Del." Zeke dismissed. "So you moving out with us?"
"Oh no no no. I'll leave the physical work to you." Del chuckled. "My skills are better suited to working at a computer. Every organization such as ours needs analyst after all. I'll be coordinating with you and the other agents through ISAC. By the way your partner should be arriving shortly."
Sure enough the elevator doors behind him opened up. Light footfalls reverberated through the room before stopping. A hiss followed by a lock disengaging told him his guest was at their locker.
"Nifty toys. We never got tech like this back in ASOC." A somewhat deep female voice admired. "Then again they did say that we would be getting experimental tech to support us."
Zeke could have sworn he heard that voice before. It was definitely familiar but he couldn't place it.
"Is this suit really all we need to protect us? Doesn't seem like it'll stop a blade never mind a bullet."
"It's a lot tougher than it looks." Zeke commented turning to the voice. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Faridah Nunez standing at the locker. "Holy Shit. You're the new recruit?"
Faridah eyed him curiously before answering. "Yeah. Do I know you from somewhere? You seem vaguely familiar."
"It's Zeke." He laughed, stepping over to her. He ran his hand over his clean shaven face. "Probably hard to tell with out the beard, huh?"
"I'll say." Her eyes widened in realization. "I had no idea you were part of this." She gestured around the room.
"Kinda the point but now you know." He laughed, shrugging. "Hurry up and get suited up. We'll be getting a call from Jaroclaw shortly most likely."
Zeke turned away and let the new agent get into something decent as he studied the numerous camera feeds. It didn't look good and things were only going to get worse. But he still couldn't understand why they were activated just yet.
[INCOMING TRANSMISSION: SENIOR DIVISION COMMANDER VENTUS JAROCLAW. BRINGING UP VISUAL ON HOLO-SCREEN]
The screen blinked to life and showed the commander in a office, atleast he thought it was an office. The Turian had an almost black looking carapace and plating with dark brown skin from where Zeke could see. His fringe, most noticeable, was broken apart with neither parts being untouched and actually looked like they were broken off or blasted off. The small predatory eyes were a yellowish tint as well as his colony markings which were arranged to look like a scowling monster face. His clothes were pretty typical for a man of his rank with him just wearing slacks and a dress shirt though he did have a pistol clipped to his hip.
"Good morning, agents." The raspy and Depp voiced Turian began. "I apologize for springing this on you from out of the blue but such is the nature of our mission."
"Of course, sir." Faridah had just finished getting dressed. On addition to the Nomad, she had on jeans, a long sleeve green shirt, a red hiking jacket, along with a with green and black shemagh. "We knew what we were getting into when we agreed to take on this job."
"I like your enthusiasm, Agent Nunez. I hope you keep it through what's to come." Ventus dipped his head, almost like he was hesitating. "One of teams in another city was able to get a sample of the virus which is being referred to as the Pandyssian Plague for now. Sending images over now."
The holo switched to various photos of victims of all species afflicted by the disease. Large lesions and flesh hanging off the body was a very common sight. Zeke even noticed that some of the flesh looked like it was rotting.
"Oh my God." Faridah gasped, forcing herself to keep her breakfast down in her stomach.
"How is this possible? A cross-species disease like this can't possibly be feasible." Zeke shuddered at the images.
"The disease is somehow able to combat all types of medicine we've administered for treatment. Our boys say that the virus attacks the victims immune system at an astonishing rate effectively destroying any defenses the body has. Victims are then fair game for any other disease that they're unfortunate enough to contract. Additionally, the skin and flesh take on a sort of necrosis state as you see from the pictures. Most people die by this stage."
"Jeez, nasty stuff." Zeke added in, disgusted by the images.
"Indeed but it gets worst." Ventus continued. "Those who survive up to this point have displayed extreme fits of anger and insanity. Many have already lashed out at orderlies including one fatality. Many others were injured and have been placed quarantine. We're still working on the who, why, and how but for now we do have a possible lead."
"Question, sir." Zeke interrupted. Ventus motioned for Zeke to continue who nodded in appreciation.
"Not that I'm opposed to doing my job but why are we doing this and not the Tary's. We're only supposed to be activated as a last resort when all else fails but the military hasn't even had a chance to restore order before we got turned on." Zeke argued. One thing Zeke admittedly hated was the nigh-unreadable faces of turians. The fact that Ventus had paused before answering as if he was contemplating but Zeke couldn't tell was a little irritating.
"First let me say that the Planetary Security Council has been working diligently to fix the situation and that most of our intel is from them. I also do understand your concern about us activating too early which is why I only activated four, myself included." Ventus explained, stepping around his desk and taking a seat. "That being said I do have the utmost confidence that PSC and the military will do their best to maintain order but I believe the truth of the matter is that they will lose."
"How could you say that?" Faridah yelled out angrily.
"Let's face facts here, agents. The moment a disease likes this shows up it's already game over. Once it gets out what this thing does to people fear will be rampant. Fear of infection, fear of the infected, and fear of telling anyone you're infected. That will allow the spread of chaos and anarchy and with disease in play you're looking at a total loss of control." The Turian stated in a firm growl, rising from his desk. With a tired sigh the commander sat back down. "I want to believe in the military and the PSC, truly I do. But at the same time I want us to have a head start incase the worst comes to pass."
Satisfied with his reasoning, Zeke nodded and conceded. He did have some reservations but he would put them aside for the greater good.
"So what do we got? Any leads?" Faridah asked, apparently also satisfied with the commanders decision.
"Just one. Autopsies on a few victims revealed that contaminated meat was in the stomach; still digesting it would seem." Ventus revealed, happy to have everyone's support.
"They were ingesting the stuff. Damn."
"Forensics used 'Big Brother' to monitor their eating habits within the last week. And all victims, at one point, had eaten at a restaurant called Astoria. Asari/human style cuisine with some dextro style foods as well. PSC took in the owner, manager, and chef for questioning earlier today and closed down the restaurant indefinitely. I believe that there may be a sample still in the restaurant."
"So we go in, snatch the sample, and we figure out what exactly it is." Faridah deduced with a smile.
"Place has to be locked down though. How are we getting past security." Zeke added in.
"Leave that to me." Del spoke up. "I'll forge credentials saying you two are PSC. That should be enough to get you in."
"Excellent. Now then I'll leave you to it. There's a bird on the roof waiting to take you where you need to go. Good luck out there, Agents." Ventus nodded at the pair before the feed was cut.
"Well then, shall we?" Faridah asked with a grin on her face.
Zeke smirked at his new companion. "Let's do it."