Casimir's Effect: The Hunt for Jack

Chapter 1 – Starting Anew

Casimir jolted upright, sheets tangled around his waist. He grasped the small, cruiser-shaped medallion that hung from a leather thong around his neck and took a deep breath to steady himself. As usual the nightmare faded quickly, already only vague recollections of explosions, shrapnel, and behind it all the flow of an unending stream of data that teased him like a tune that plucked at a memory buried beneath the weight of years. After a second steadying breath he rolled out of bed while carefully tucking the sheets around Dia's shoulder. The asari mumbled and buried herself further into her mound of pillows. The human chuckled at the picture: a plump, blue-skinned alien enveloped by white sheets and pillows that puffed around her like she was riding on a cloud. He preferred a single thin coverlet and pillow but hadn't stopped her when she had hurried out the day before. She deserved some luxury after their last week.

It had started with the destruction of the massive, self-aware dreadnought and its servant, Saren, during their attack on Citadel Station. The destruction had scarred the station and the staggering death toll had included their asari partner Artume. While they believed that their role in the battle was unknown, Casimir was still wanted by the authorities for a variety of charges and they were both hunted by a secret organization called Cerberus. This apartment was their third safehouse in five days and the first that the third member of their group, Merrek, had declared safe enough to remain in. So Dia had bought pillows and Casimir hadn't objected.

Casimir pulled on a pair of loose-fitting pants and settled his sinewy frame into a chair against the far wall. His eyes ran up and down the scarring on his left arm, skin mottled red and black, and tried to figure out why Dia liked him. The asari was a powerful biotic and trained commando, whereas the human was ... what? Casimir's forehead creased in a thick frown as he encountered the same argument that had dogged him his entire life. He'd been called a thief, murderer, traitor, hacker, and a hundred other things in numerous languages, but at the moment he was happy to be alive and with Dia. She stirred and he shot a glance at the asari's curvy shape under the sheets. A smile slipped across his face and he returned his eyes to the damaged left arm. With a twitch of his fingers the forearm and hand were encased within the amber display of his omni-tool, projected from the tiny device that fitted to his left palm. He activated his work display to review progress on the four projects he had started during the week. Two were new identities for Dia and himself. The third was a continuing search for a fugitive named Jack, whose bounty could guarantee future luxury. The fourth project was a secret, a set of data that was lodged in his mind and haunted his dreams, a symptom of the encounter with the Reaper AI a week ago. He told himself he was trying to continue the work of Silinar, the salarian tech specialist who had created the hacking algorithim that Casimir had used to attack the Reaper, but it was a weak lie. Casimir was too scared to admit the truth to himself and too scared to stop.


Two knocks on the door announced Merrek's arrival.

"Come in." Casimir glanced up at the turian whose sharp, plate-like features bore quickly healing scars, which drew lines through the white tattoes that slashed across cheeks and over his forehead.

"Have you found any clues on Jack's location?" Merrek halted beside Casimir's chair. Dia was perched on the edge of the bed, eyes lidded in meditation.

"Just a trail of destruction. She occasionally teams up with others but they rarely survive. I'm trying to find someone who did; maybe they can give us information."

"I spoke with some old friends and double-checked with the warden of that prison ship. He laughed at me when I said we were hunting Jack but will have a space ready for her if we succeed."

"What about other targets? We could go for a smaller bounty."

"Do you and Dia have working identities yet?"

"Almost. Another couple of days."

Merrek nodded. "Keep searching. If you don't have a lead on Jack when we're ready, we'll go after another target." The turian stretched his arms over his head and walked to the door. "I'm going to check around the neighborhood for signs of Cerberus."

"Again?"

"They are hunting us, Casimir. Never forget that."

The human nodded and turned his attention back to his glowing omni-tool. "Fair enough."


Casimir moved a data packet to a small hand-held display and stared at the image of a wide-jawed human with a crooked nose. The mug-shot was set beside a long list of offences.

"Who's that?" Dia leaned over his shoulder, the edges of a sheet brushing against his neck.

"Demetri Skorloff. Wanted for slave trading, smuggling, and as of two hours ago, murder."

Dia pinched her face into a frown. "Who was killed?"

"A turian bounty hunter on Illium. Looks like he cornered Skorloff in a club and took a round through the throat for his trouble. Skorloff fled the scene."

The asari flopped back onto the bed. "I thought you were looking for info on Jack?"

Casimir smiled and tapped the interface on his omni-tool. A block of text slid onto the left side of the hand display, hiding the criminal's face. "I've been monitoring up-to-date bounties and when I saw Skorloff's name I recognized it. One of Jack's known associates is a man named Kalek Stromson. I had checked into Kalek earlier and couldn't find a clue to his present whereabouts but did find that one of his last contacts was with Demetri Skorloff." Casimir's smile widened as he passed the display with the bios on Stromson and Skorloff to Dia.

"You're hoping that this killer can lead us to Stromson."

"And Stromson to Jack."

Dia sighed and returned the display to Casimir. "I wish we could just stay here."

The human nodded and moved to sit beside Dia. "Me too. But it's not safe."

She leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I miss Artume."

Casimir nodded, unsure how to respond. Artume had been bossy, violent, and single-minded in her pursuit of the human Spectre Shepard, but she had also saved Casimir's life. "I wonder what she would have us do now."

Dia shrugged. "Probably make a suicide run at Shepard and get us all killed."

Casimir suppressed a chuckle. "Probably."

"I still miss her, though. She was like family. Artume, Arma, Beneziah ..." Dia wiped a hand across her eyes and burrowed further into Casimir's embrace. "All dead. You're all I've got, Casimir."

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, Dia. We're going to be together a long time."

"I hope so." Dia's voice faded to a whisper. "If anyone does try to keep us apart, they'll regret it."

Casimir nodded and let his eyes wander to the active display on his desk. Their list of enemies was already long and promised to get longer with each passing day, but he would do everything in his power to keep Dia safe.

"One day at a time," he muttered.


"The IDs are ready." Casimir hit a sequence on his omni-tool and waited as Merrek and Dia examined the information on their own devices.

Merrek quirked an eyebrow plate. "They look good. You're sure they'll pass inspection?"

"I think so. It's the best I can do, regardless."

"Good enough, then." Merrek switched off his tool and moved to the door. "Pack up your stuff. I'll book us on a transport to Illium tonight. Have you found any more information on Skorloff?"

"Only that he hasn't tried to leave the planet via any of the official or more obvious means."

"I'll send you a message once I find a ship." The turian stepped out, leaving Casimir and Dia to prepare.

"I don't think we can bring the pillows."

Dia flashed a quick smile. "I know."

Casimir scooped up a small pile of clothes and put them into a bag with their armor. They didn't have any weapons beyond a pistol that Merrek kept with his gear. The turian had reactivated an old security clearance that allowed him to keep a weapon, and Dia and Casimir were always armed with biotics and tech abilities, respectively. Once the bag was closed the human sank onto the mattress.

"What should we do until Merrek calls?"

Dia shrugged and slipped onto the bed, lips widening into a grin as her fingers tugged at Casimir's shirt. "We can think of something."


"We'll be on Illium in five hours." Merrek closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat to Casimir's left. "Have you found Skorloff?"

"Not yet. But it looks like he's still on Illium. At least two other people are after him, both turians."

"Got their names?"

"Ivren and Suvin Ikaran. The turian killed by Skorloff was their brother."

Merrek closed his eyes and nodded. "We have to find Skorloff first. They'll kill him on sight."

"Can't blame them."

Dia, seated on Casimir's right, leaned closer. "If we catch Skorloff we should give him to the brothers. After we get our information."

Casimir frowned. "That won't earn us the bounty." Merrek raised a hand to halt further objections.

"I agree with Dia. But we must find the murderer quickly. You're positive that Skorloff didn't leave the surface?"

"Not on public transport. I even wrote a program to scan security footage for the guy's face. Nothing."

"How did you get access to the footage?" Merrek cracked an eye at Casimir.

"I'm getting better." The human stared at his scarred hand, the one that held the deactivated omni-tool, and visualized the hacking algorithms stored within. He still had programs written by Silinar, as well as a multitude of new types obtained from sources on the net. He had even started writing a few of his own. "I guess Silinar was right about me. Since the battle on the Citadel I've been much more focused and pick up on things faster than ever before." Casimir frowned as the data from his dreams flashed in front of his eyes. Gritting his teeth against the unwanted vision he forced himself to meet Merrek's gaze. "I'll be able to hack into more systems once we're on the planet. If he can be found, I'll do it."

Merrek nodded and suppressed a scowl. Casimir was too absorbed in his own thoughts to notice the turian's disapproval. Dia settled her head on Casimir's shoulder and the human relaxed, frustration melting away at her touch. "Focus," he whispered to himself. "There's a job to do."