Biotic Walks Into an Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect.

A/N: This story is for thebluninja's June FPS Contest on Aria's Afterlife. It will once again be following one Joseph Ford, this time in a rather sticky situation.

For the curious, Joseph (and for that matter his recurring co-characters Major Xerina Felgael and Halas'Kelt nar Tonbay,) started off as characters in an RP, which is currently on hiatus.

These one-shots pull double-duty as relieving the boredom.

Now, onto the story:

'…By a gully in flood, let me linger, when the summery sunshine has flow-'

Something hard and metallic hit me in the gut at the halfway point of the alley I'd ducked down to shave a good ten minutes off my walk home.

The breath wooshed out of me as I fell to my knees, sucking in a breath on reflex. I lurched to the side, only to take the expected second hit on the shoulder, pitching me forward onto my front.

Fuck. That was going to bruise.

The sound of a shotgun cocking was the last thing I wanted to hear, but as things stood, I really should've expected it.

I quietly wrapped myself in a Barrier, hoping that my assailant would be kind enough to identify themselves and not notice the Barrier beneath my coat.

'Hand over your credit chit and I might let you live.' The voice was the dual-tone of a Turian and as I watched two sets of Turian boots stepped into my field of view as well.

Surrounded, my shoulder was throbbing a tattoo and I had a shotgun up my arse.

And this day had been going so well.

With slow, deliberate motions I took the little plastic card from a pocket on my belt and threw it out in front of me.

'That's a good little pyjak. Now, on your knees.' The Turian behind me poked me none too gently in the back with his shotgun.

If I kept doing as this guy wanted, things probably wouldn't end well for me.
Getting executed by Turian gangers in an alley wasn't high on my priorities list.
On the other hand, if I wasn't careful, that would happen any way. Catch Twenty-Two:

Damned if I do, likely pissed on and shot if I don't.

Of course, there was always more than two options.

'Really? Shooting some random human who never did anything to anyone in some alley in a ward?' I asked, sounding disappointed. 'I thought you Turians were better than this.' My hand twitched as I said this, but as I was making a placating gesture at the time and I mirrored it with my other hand, I hoped that it didn't warrant overt notice.

Hopefully, these idiots didn't know much about human body-language or I was probably going to die; I turned slightly to place a wall at my back and check what sort of weapon the first Turian had.

How had he gotten an M-22 Lieberschaft?

I decided not to point out the thug's hypocritical choice of weaponry as one of Shotgun's friends started talking.

'You're bad news. Your kind killed the Council. You destroyed the defence fleet. And now you've taken over!' He shouted.
'Hey now-!' I began, indignantly. Shotgun or no, I was not going to be blamed for the actions of The Alliance's Pet Sociopath.

Especially not when at the time I'd been throwing Geth and Husks around with my biotics and providing covering fire for an off-duty Turian soldier with a borrowed Lancer.

I didn't get any further before Shotgun clubbed me in the face with his weapon.

I was smashed backward into the wall behind me and slumped down stunned, my Barrier flickering for a moment.

'Biotic!'

Seems like the third Turian had noticed my Barrier when it flickered. I was now officially fucked if I did not get my arse moving.

This in mind, I did the one thing I could do from a crumpled, prone position between three Turian Gangers, who were likely armed:

Suddenly, I was wreathed in blue corposant as I launched myself up. This wasn't a Charge. I'm no Vanguard. I'm an Adept.

This was my best approximation of a Charge.

Below, I heard the distinct sound of the M-22 digging divots out of the Citadel's alloy pavement.

My next move must've looked like something out of an old Anime to an onlooker:

I activated my omni tool again and deployed an omni blade, before launching myself back down.

The shockwave of my landing staggered the three Turians, the corona of biotic energy washing over kinetic barriers.

Okay.

I was hoping they didn't have shields and that one attack would put them out of action. I should be so lucky, I guess.

Still, not like I hadn't prepared for that eventuality.
I'd sent the shockwave that had cushioned my descent out with my right hand, my left having my omni-tool active on it. With a flick of biotic power, I suddenly had four slivers of monomolecular silicon carbide to work with, which I'd used my omni-tool to forge when I'd flicked my wrist before. A pre-programmed gesture to turn the omni-tool's tracer light off.

Shotgun recovered first and raised his weapon.

I tried to dart to the side, but trying to dodge a shotgun blast is like trying hold back the tide:

Someone else could probably do it, but not me.

I managed to get out of the way for the most part, but I still took some spikes, a couple of which my Barrier didn't stop and which embedded themselves in my right side.

I sent my four make-shift throwing knives at him with another flicker of biotic power, the first two shattering his barrier, the third and fourth impacting him in his arms as I closed the distance and punched my omni-blade into his shoulder. He'd flinched and dropped his shotgun from the slivers, so my follow-up caught him bunched up and in no position to offer a counter.
Instead, he howled in pain and I took the opportunity to knee him in the groin as well.

Not as effective on Turians, but I wasn't in much position to try anything fancy.

Just to be on the safe side, I put a biotic palm-strike into his chest and sent him sailing back into the wall behind him.

This had taken the span of four seconds.

Unfortunately, that was all the time Shotgun's mates had needed to recover and draw their own weapons:
One had a Kessler Mk. I and he was hanging back.

The third had drawn a combat knife and had chosen that moment to dart in.

Now, I was no martial arts master by any stretch of the imagination, but I could deal with this situation a lot better than I had Shotgun.
How to disarm a knife-fighter while unarmed had been on the Grissom Academy Self-Defense curriculum.

Knife-fighter stabbed at my centre of mass, a move that I side stepped, keeping him between me and Kessler, before I grabbed his wrist with my left hand and his opposite shoulder with my right.

This wasn't how you were supposed to do it, but if I did it the right way, I'd wind up getting shot.

Again.

I needed to get out of here ASAP, preferably to C-Sec or a hospital or a clinic. The adrenaline was dulling the shot-wounds for now, but this needed to end really shortly.

Knife-fighter tried to brute strength me, but I'd already wrapped him in a mass-reducing field and he was essentially floating. He had no traction, which meant I had all the leverage.
I noted in a detached sort of way he looked younger than most Turians I'd seen previously.
I didn't ponder further though as I noted this a split second before I released him and kicked him as hard as I could at Kessler, before laying down a Singularity between them and me as Knife-fighter clipped Kessler as he tried to side step and they both went down.

I turned and ran, only to find Shotgun had picked himself up reclaimed his weapon and was glaring bloody murder at me down his Lieberschaft's barrel-

Bang!

Shotgun went to one knee as someone shot him in the calf from behind.

I took my opportunity and sprinted towards the newcomer, who bellowed out:

'C-Sec! On your knees!' Another Turian. Wonderful.

Well, I still had three Gangers at my back, two of whom were in a position to kill me without great difficulty, so I did just that, going down on my knees like a guitarist from a rock-band and using my biotics to slide right past him and behind a convenient crate.

'I'll let you tidy up, I think.' I said from my newly acquired piece of cover.

I noted dazedly three other C-Sec officers running into the alley, weapons drawn.

Two of them joined the first one as they advanced on the three Gangers out of my field of view, while the fourth,-a human woman went to one knee beside me.

'Dammit, stay with me, look at me! Look at me!' She shouted as she frantically pulled at my clothes. I looked down curiously and light-headed and saw my side coated in scarlet.

Okay, so maybe the shotgun hit was worse than I'd thought.

I'd been wearing my favourite coat as well…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Dimly, I heard voices talking:

The dual-tones of a Turian, a strong Scottish accent and another human accent I couldn't place.

'Hey, he's waking up.' That was the voice I couldn't identify. Female, human. Sounded vaguely European.

I blinked my eyes open and was in time to blurrily witness as an unfamiliar Turian in a C-Sec uniform shouldered past a burly red-headed man in a doctor's white coat, before looming over me.

'What part of 'On your knees,' did you not understand?' He asked in an oddly angry sounding voice.
'What?' Then I remembered the alley. 'Oh, right. I didn't put those three down, I just wanted an opening to make a run for it.' I explained blearily.

The Turian's look didn't soften, as the human woman from before stepped forward and pulled the big Turian back, talking indistinctly as things went black again.

The next time I awoke, there weren't any angry C-Sec officers around, just doctors, running check-ups.

'How bad?' I managed to ask the burly red-headed man as I took a glass of water from beside my bed with shaking hands.
'That shotgun blast ya took to ya side, damned near killed ya.' The man replied. 'Punctured kidney, that we had to replace with a cloned one, perforated lung, broken ribs…' He shook his head. 'If yea hadn't ta had that Barrier up, we wouldn't be talkin' right now.'
'Shit, I didn't think it was that bad at the time.' I replied, realising with a chill that if I had've tried to take the brunt of the shot on my Barrier I would've been mulched.

'How ya feelin' anyway?' The doc asked curiously.
'Mouth tastes like death.' I replied. 'How long do you think I'll be here for?'
'Two weeks, then you'll likely be sent home, even with health insurance.' The doctor replied. 'That said, that's only because your friends out there,'-he gestured out the glass door to where I could see a welcome face and a familiar enviro-suit waiting patiently,-'volunteered to make sure you didn't get into any more excitement like you did last week.'

Well bugger me. I'd been out for a week?

'Can I speak with them?' I asked tentatively.
'If you're feelin' up to it.' The doctor replied. 'Lunch'll be here shortly as well, though no solids for another week at least.' He added.

When he was done, he exited my room and ushered my visitors in.

'Ford.' Xerina Felgael said, relief evident in her voice, about the biggest show of emotion I'd ever seen from her.

'We heard you'd been involved in an attempted robbery, but we didn't hear you'd been shot until C-Sec came asking questions.' Halas'Kelt added, her own anxiety evident, even through her suit's voice filter.

'Yeah, sorry about that.' I said apologetically. 'I guess C-Sec tried informing next of kin and didn't have much luck. You two are kind of the only numbers in my contact list that really see much use.' I explained.
'Never mind that, tell us what happened.' Xerina replied, waving aside my apology as she leaned against the wall.

I briefly recounted my misadventure, by which time Halas'Kelt was looking at me with eyes wide behind her mask and still as stone.

No telling what Xerina was thinking, but that was par for the course.

'I think it might be time to invest in a gun.' She said, her sub harmonics adding an arch tone to her statement that I wasn't inclined to argue with.

Halas nodded her agreement.

That said, I'd gotten on well enough without one so far.

'Not that I'm debating the wisdom of the thought, but do you really think C-Sec would give me a carry permit?' I asked, sounding skeptical.
'I'm actually passing on a recommendation made by the officer who arrested the three who attacked you.' Xerina replied mildly. 'Besides, I can't babysit you and Halas has her own problems to deal with.' She added. 'As soon as the doctors clear you, we're paying a visit to C-Sec and you're going for your licence and permit to carry.'

I'd known Xerina long enough at this point to not argue, so I just gave a weary sigh.

'Alright, you win.' I said in reply. 'So, what's this I hear about you two volunteering to take care of me while I'm enforced bed rest when they throw me out?' I asked with a trace of humour. I could tell I had the most shit-eating grin on my face when I said it as well.

Xerina rolled her eyes.

'I guess getting shot hasn't done anything for your impudence.' She replied, though I couldn't detect any malice in the statement.
'You'd do the same for us.' Halas replied, sounding suddenly coy.
''Course I would. What are friends for?' I asked rhetorically.

We talked some more, me asking most of the questions and passing comment, but before too long, Xerina and Halas were shooed out by a nurse when lunch came in.

The food was as bad as one might expect from a busy hospital, but I forced myself to eat anyway. Biotics' gotta eat, after all.

Then, presented with nothing much to do as I hadn't been given a room with a window, I closed my eyes and within about ten minutes I was back off to sleep.