Author's note: After much struggle, I present to you the first installment of the sequel to Not of Either World.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based piece of fiction. Mass Effect is owned by BioWare and Final Fantasy by Square Enix.
Chapter 1: Return to the Galaxy part 1: Hope's hunt
A year ago, one probably wouldn't believe the story of Hope Estheim, survivor of Eden Prime, technological prodigy, explorer of the hidden worlds of Gran Pulse and Cocoon. It was by pure accident that he and the geth Legion ended up on the broken, hollow world of Cocoon, and it seemed like such an ironic twist of fate that they were able to aid people who were 'cursed' into servitude to prevent the return of the Reapers through a Mass Relay hidden inside.
Now, one year onward from that, Legion and Hope were continuing to assist the geth collective. Hope, with the help of the geth, managed to greatly improve his tech-scan program to not only use the comm. buoys to extend the range, but also refine it to detect Reaper technology. With this, and a lot of persistence, the geth had managed to weed out many groups of heretics posing a threat among them. One such incidence of Reaper technology was found in the Omega space station in the Terminus Systems.
Legion had to attend to other matters for the geth, so once their home-made shuttle arrived at Omega, Hope disembarked, wheeling a large crate off the ship
"A kid, disembarking off a vessel in Omega?" a batarian in the vicinity scoffed. "…and a rich-looking one at that. Hand over everything you have."
"This is the only thing valuable that I have," Hope spoke, indicating the crate that he was wheeling behind him.
"Interesting. I think Aria will like this. Now scram!"
Hope instead waited until the batarian was out of sight, then quietly followed him. It looked like he was taking his package to a club called Afterlife. Suspecting that the thug was part of a larger underworld, he did a quick scan to intercept any communications, and it immediately bore fruit.
"Be more specific, Migol. You say you got it off a kid?" a female voice, most likely this 'Aria', spoke
"Yes, he was carrying it by himself. It's rather strange to have to wheel it along the ground," the batarian replied
"Check it. See if there's anything valuable inside. If it came from a kid, it's most likely just a case of toys, and I don't like my men bringing me children's mini Kodiak shuttles and asari dolls and calling it 'swag'."
"Fine."
Hope pressed another button on his omni-tool, while still hiding in the pathway to the shuttle, and his stolen crate exploded violently in an expanding fireball, blasting through the open entrance and reducing the numerous criminal scum around the entrance to little more than ash. He had little time: he couldn't afford to get bogged down by the criminals of Afterlife. He had to find the Reaper technology and get off the station as soon as possible.
"Attention, people of Omega," a PA announcement sounded. "We have someone who is attempting to fuck with Aria. If you see a rich brat leaving the main docking area, bring him to Afterlife for 're-education'. Oh, and take guns with you."
So it was coming to this? A scan from the omni-tool of Omega revealed the Reaper agents in the area known as the Gozu district. He could maybe raise an alarm there, but he needed to see what was happening. Some more frantic tapping on his omni-tool showed a salarian registered as a scientist of the Special Tasks Group, a major amount of mercenaries registered with the Blue Suns gang, a group of vorcha that was triggering a reading on his Tech-scanner… wait, vorcha? Since when were they technologically capable enough to produce something other than guns?
Refining his remote scan, he found that the technology of that group of vorcha was actually of Reaper origin, along with the fact that it was some form of airborne virus… that had just been released. Hope battered at the keys on his omni-tool, taking the only course of action left, and a few seconds later, a quarantine alarm was triggered for the Gozu District, with many entrances sealing and advanced air-vent filters activating. Maker willing, that salarian Special Tasks Grunt would take the warning and work with it before it was too late. With that done, Hope ran back to his shuttle just as batarians, turians and humans caught sight of him, and before they could catch up, the shuttle doors were closed and the airlock releasing. Those unfortunate enough to have just made it to the shuttle's hull were blasted into space and left to die, the words of "Open up, you little brat!" being the last ones they ever spoke.
As he retreated to the Mass Relay, Hope took a note: one of several that he had taken since he left Cocoon a year ago. Since those five other l'Cie accepted him for who he was, he began thinking that maybe his views of the organic races should be revised. However:
"Organics are oppressive" he typed into the omni-tool. "Those at a higher position on the hierarchy command their underlings for their own gain. Relevant Data Point: Omega space station; leader, 'Aria', with effective use of thugs to enforce morally illegitimate rule."
A few minutes after he was done taking his note, a data stream registered on his ship mentioning that a human colony had disappeared, the latest in a long line of many. The colony was a Terminus Systems colony on the planet Rozzaria, in a semi-secluded area of space. This was happening far too many times to be coincidence, and with too disturbing a modus operandi to ignore, so he redirected his shuttle to link to the correct destination Mass Relay.
A second note he typed in just before he traveled through the Relay: "Bomb Surprise effective in eliciting response from criminal gangs."