Disclaimer: Any property herein constituted from Bioware does not belong to me. If it did, I'd probably pay someone to type for me and come up with good ideas already =D Although MOST things that are original are from my crazy mind.
This fic represents my first major step into story telling in a writing aspect. I've written many one shots before and have had all these seemingly great ideas, but now im hoping to combine them together, into one seamless linear piece. I can only ask for your patience as I continue to learn and grow from this experience.
Why Mass Effect? Simply because I like the game. The story is very dynamic and the characters are portrayed to be very real and engaging. Besides, saving the universe from certain doom always has a soft spot in my heart.
Any and all reviews are encouraged, well, except the negative ones that are only a sentence long, then you can go screw yourself.
A couple years before Eden Prime…..
The setting sun proved to be a beautiful backdrop for Prech. Shades of purple, orange, and red reached across the sky and combined into a beautiful palette. The planet consisted mainly of wild vegetation. The main city, Remit, was built on the northern continent as a means to connect the planet with the orbiting space station above. Two reasons anyone would even stop here is for a good deal on titanium ore and it served as a rest stop between local star systems. Other than that, people tended to avoid Prech all together. The remote planet along the fringes of Alliance space was one of many new colonies being developed as man kept reaching out to the stars and leaving their mark.
The atmosphere outside the bar felt dank. Aside from being very unwelcoming on the outside, it was just as much walking into the place. Of course, the two Krogan bouncers didn't seem to make any place friendly where ever they were posted. The dimly lit bar only helped embellish the mood and the type of people that came to this establishment. It was loud inside, with all the random shouting and people talking over the jukebox. The U-shaped bar glowed in a red hue, bodies filled most of the booths, tables, and at the centrally located bar.
As the hangout for local gangs and street thugs did not help the bar's reputation, it proved to be a place where a fight would erupt frequently, be taken outside, and resolved with brutal quickness. Anyone that forgot to follow this simple rule would be reminded by the over-zealous krogan bouncers. Tonight seemed to be a bit busier than usual. The usual riff raff sat along the bar amusing themselves with their daily bullshit, while others lazily watched the vid monitors hearing about the day's events.
In a corner of the bar, a couple humans stood guard around a booth where a human and a turian sat. Sitting across from each other, the spoke in quiet hushes and kept nervously glancing out from their booth and into the bar. "This whole shipment is screwed up! Shepard is here and is going to eventually find us!" exclaimed the human. The turian hit a few commands on his omni-tool. "Not before it leaves to Verdos and us offworld with our accounts padded with credits." He leaned forward. "It's already bad as it is, but if you dare screw this up for me, Shepard will be the last of your damn worries." The human fidgeted. "These guards really necessary? We might as well wave a flag and let him know where here!"
The turian returned his attention to the omni-tool, speaking as he kept typing on it. "Yes, obviously. If anything, we'll need a diversion to make a run for it. We're not taking any more chances."
Earlier that day, their apartments were raided by police. Little by little, their careful planning and weeks spent investing to get ready for this big pay off, was slowly going down the drain and so were their dreams of getting away with it. It was as if someone knew exactly what they were going to do next. It was becoming very frustrating for them.
"If only you'd kept your fat mouth shut and your hormones in check, we could've avoided this situation." He continued. "Might as well have given her a checklist of our activities as a gift!"
"How the hell was I supposed to she--!" He was smacked by the turian. "See! That's my damn point! I told you to lay low!" growled the turian. The human leaned back into the booth, head lowered and looking defeated. "I told you specifically not to talk to anyone, much less about anything. Apparently it was too difficult for your thick skull to comprehend."
The guards standing by let the waitress in after checking the drinks. She wordlessly set them on the table and left just as quickly as she appeared. Closing his omni-tool and taking a drink, the turian relaxed a little. Soon, they would be gone and all these worries would be a thing of the past.
"You know…..if it wasn't for you actually getting this big break, you would've ended up face down in a gutter or thrown off somewhere. You humans are so complacent and always ambitious about the wrong things." Of course, this was only half the truth. He would get rid of him as soon as he got the code to the lock on the shipment and all that profit on red sand would be all his. He was a bit annoyed he couldn't get rid of him sooner, although in the long run, it wouldn't affect the outcome. So he allowed him to think the life of grandeur was still coming.
Finishing his drink in a couple gulps, he pointed to another human at a table "See that failure there? I bet he spends whatever credits he has drowning his problems away instead of taking control of his meager life." The human leaned over and looked. He was able to see who he was talking about. Dark, short hair, semi long black dirty trenchcoat, and dirty black boots. His gazed wandered around the room. Beyond this, he really couldn't make out what else he was had, and it started to worry him.
"All you humans can think about is just yourselves. Not uncommon really, considering your short time in Citadel space. Unlike any of the other races that share bonds of clan or brotherhood, humans always seem to implicitly self destruct. Money and power always seem to absolutely corrupt your species." He looked off into the distance.
"Y-Y-you talk big, Roderus. Then why this job?" He continued, "Doesn't make us any different, the way I see it." The turian known as Roderus waved his right hand, dismissively. "When your opinion actually matters, I'll take it into account." He straightened himself out and sat upright in the booth. "Now, tell me more of this man named Shepard." Finishing his drink, the human looked a little more settled, his nerves not so rattled.
"I've only heard stories. I've never seen him. He's been called the Demon of Atarkis. He's rumored to have potent biotic ability but it's never been confirmed, or at least, no one's lived long enough to confirm it. Anyone's that come across him recently that didn't surrender or fired back has yet to make it out alive." Roderus snorted to which he replied, "After all, he's only human, and if anything, a biotic. He probably has some sort of trick to it. You humans tend to be exceptionally weak, save for in large numbers, then you just get stupid."
"I wouldn't doubt the information, Roderus. If he's been spotted on station, then its just that. I don't know what he'd want with us, but we need to leave as soon as we can." Not really paying much attention to his last comment, he simply signaled the waitress back over.
Somewhere not too far away….
Natalie was visibly agitated and pacing around with her arms crossed. She was in her early 20s, and already seen her share of battles and encounters. Being a busty, red headed beauty helped advance her cause, but her real dream was being on the front line. She always disliked coming down after the adrenaline high, and always looked forward to the next one. Already a veteran of the Alliance after a 4 year stint, her real trouble began when she returned to her parents and realized that living normally again bored the living crap out of her.
Daniel was the opposite. Late teens, medium height and weight. A darker shade of skin combined with brown eyes and hair, he really wasn't anything spectacular. He lived on the streets as far as he could remember. Tinkering with electronics came easy to him, even at a young age and found his niche disabling security systems and mechs. The little jobs came trickling in at first, slowly, and as he gained more experience, bigger fish were to be fried. It actually wasn't until working for Mark on a few jobs that he decided that staying in one locale perhaps wasn't in his best interests.
He sat on a metal crate stacked on another one with his left arm up paying mind to his omni-tool. They were waiting for Mark, said he had to take care of a little business and would be back shortly. He specifically told them to wait behind, and Natalie did not like this one bit. They were standing along one of the main walkways in the city, more or less the outskirts of the entertainment district.
"This is just one big crock of shit!" Natalie whined as she kicked a metal crate. "Why do we have to sit behind while he gets to do his thing?" Without looking up, Daniel sighed. Of course, he knew but she preferred to take her boredom out by whining. She continued, "Why did we have to stop on this backwater planet anyway? He said we would stop somewhere nice! Not this damn bucket." Rolling her eyes, she knew Daniel wasn't paying much attention.
She turned and leaned against the railing, crossing her arms. Her long red curls draped over her shoulders. She adjusted her hair and leaned on her right leg. Inspecting a small lock of her hair, she frowned. "I mean, really? My hair cannot take much more of this. I gladly welcome a warm shower and some much needed 'me' time." Inspecting her nails next, she held out her hands and spread her fingers apart. "All these missions, it should be a crime that a woman get dirt and grime underneath her nails. I think I'm going to make Mark take me to get my nails done as well. " Her fading frown turned into a devilish smile. "Oh yes, I will get mine."
Daniel simply looked up from behind is omni-tool and slightly nodded. He knew she got this way from being on the road for a while. He couldn't quite recall the last time they spent good time back home on…well, the closest thing they could call home was their apartment back on Eden Prime. Constantly going from place to place made it difficult to be around home, although no matter where they went, they always stuck together. Mark took the burden for their place and had all expenses from it taken out from his account. It wasn't well furnished or taken care of but it offered them a place to go back to. It was the best semblance of a home that they shared.
Natalie spun on her heels around leaning against the railing with her fore arms. The now faded sunset suddenly brought back memories of younger years, much happier times. Tilting her head and enjoying the thoughts, she didn't hear Daniel had put away his omni-tool and was standing on his feet. He observed his surroundings as he walked over around to her. He spoke in a soft tone.
"A wise man once said, 'You can clutch onto the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.'" She snapped out of her trance and returned to reality.
"Shut it, Danny." She replied abruptly. "You're smart and all, but sometimes I think you read into things too much. What makes you think I was reminiscing?" He kept looking out into the horizon, replying casually, "Well, when you think of Mark, you tend to blush and get all dreamy eyed." Natalie tensed up and her breath caught in her throat. Her hair was slow in turning with her as she stood, the back of her left hand along with it. A loud 'smack' could be heard as her hand struck the meaty part of Daniel's right cheek. He had it coming, and he knew that talking about that subject always got a volatile reaction out of her. Instantly, she realized what she did. Already committed, her face did not betray any emotion.
"Pretty sure I said I didn't want you to talk about that again." Natalie's face was more stern, embarrassment still present, but hiding it. Daniel rubbed his cheek. With a tone of sadness and pain, she continued. "Besides, we both know that he just sees right over me. He is still faithful to Yordana, even after so many years." She turned and leaned against the railing, looking towards the crowd. Sighing and feeling dejected, she shuffled on her feet. Daniel reached over and gave her a reassuring rub on her shoulder.
Back in the bar…..
One human in particular, was hunched over his drink at a table. Littered with empty bottles and seemingly buzzed, he put his left elbow on the table and rested his chin on his left flat palm. His gazed lifted off the table and around the room. 'Could this not be anymore retardedly boring?', he thought to himself. He sighed and looked over to his left. He noticed the armed guards over in the corner and raised an eyebrow. 'Someone thinks they're important enough'. He noticed the turian in the booth pointing in his direction and giving him what can only be considered a turian stink eye. He scoffed. 'Yeah buddy, lets dance and see who'll come out on top. You'll have your chance soon enough.'
The last beer the waitress had brought to him was still on his table. Getting slightly warm, he continued to nurse it. He kept glancing over to the booth where the human and turian were sitting at. He noticed the human being a little jumpy, and the turian talking behind his omni-tool.
'Yup, those are definitely them.' He thought to himself. 'Not really inconspicuous with those guards around them, and not well armed either.' Was this a joke? 'I guess you get what you pay for.' He didn't even have to give them a second glance to realize they were as worthless as the weapons they carried. The guards looked haggard and untrained. Probably picked up with the illusion of some compensation, they wouldn't make it past their first fight.
He had noticed the human and turian arguing a little, probably because their plan wasn't going as smoothly as they had planned out. Of course, being the one that kept interrupting their plans, he would know this. He had called in his little favor with Layla, she was his informant here on Prech, and it paid off marvelously. A drunk man couldn't ever resist a beautiful woman, he sang like a jailbird. She had passed along the info to him and here he was sitting in this bar waiting for them to make their move.
He saw the waitress go to their table once again and sighed. He sat back in his chair and slouched a bit. Looking up at the vid monitors, he watched the daily news. 'These guys need to leave soon, I'm starting to get a buzz and very impatient.'
Not another 10 minutes passed when he noticed out of the corner of his eye, the turian received an alert on his communicator. They began to hastily get themselves together out of the booth and out the bar. Taking his cue, he took his lukewarm beer and finished the rest. He set the empty bottle next to the rest and checked his watch. 'About damn time.' He quickly checked his pistol at his side and paid for the drinks. Just as quickly and quietly he had arrived, he left out the door before anyone noticed him missing.
Well, that's the first one. My premise being that I wanted to setup the beginnings of interaction and how I will continue to write further chapters. Of course, I'd like to make them longer and the more I write, I think I'll get a better feel of where I envision the fic going, instead of watching it go down in flames.