Shepard folded his arms. "So what can you tell me about this 'Chemist'?"
"Not much. All I know is he puts his skills to great use on the battlefield, and that he's fairly elusive; I've had a difficult time attempting to track him down." The Illusive Man took a long drag from his cigarette.
Shepard's brow crinkled. "So where is he?"
The Illusive Man stood up. "I've transmitted his last known co-ordinates to your pilot. You should find out soon enough."
The hologram faded. Shepard sighed; it was never easy dealing with him.
A black Kodiak shuttle zoomed along the shores of Virmire; it's windows splashed with seawater.
Inside sat a man; fair-skinned, rusty brown hair with large bangs brushed slightly to his right side, and a similar colored beard, trimmed as to have no sideburns. His burnt orange eyes glowed with responsibility.
"So, what am I doing again? Your superior was a bit vague" He sat back in his seat, folding his arms behind his neck.
Adjacent from him sat a man in a formal black suit. "We're dropping you off in an overrun factory of ours; you are familiar with the Blood Pack?"
He cringed at the thought. Vorcha, varren, krogan.
"Yeah, I've run into them once or twice." He cracked his shoulder. "Never mentioned them in the job description."
The suited man pulled out a cigarette, offering one to him. "No thanks."
"They were irrelevant. Assuming you're as good as you say, you might not even have to deal with them."
He sighed, rubbing his temples, his black glove picking up sweat from his forehead.
'We're nearing the drop point. Get ready." The man pocketed his cigarettes.
He pulled a shotgun off the back of his waist; a Storm V. It's formerly white metal was coated with tarnish and bits of rust; it was severely outdated.
The shuttle door slid open. "Radio us once you're done. Good luck!"
He jumped out of the shuttle, landing on the soft, white sand bordering the factory. He cocked his shotgun, sighing at his situation.
What have you got yourself into, Zeke?
He kicked open the door, shotgun raised. Two vorcha turned around, spitting startled hisses at the loud noise. They pulled their rifles, but were quickly shot down, each of them a wide, gaping hole in their torsos.
Simple enough. Zeke thought. No krogan yet.
He continued on, the lights flickering on and off. He shuddered.
Of course I sign up to skulk through vorcha infested spook houses.
He popped a new thermal clip into his shotgun. Better safe than sorry.
He stepped along slowly, his footsteps lightly echoing throughout the corridor. Two shadows appeared at the corner.
Shit!
He almost threw himself against the wall, hugging it closely. The shadows turned suddenly.
"What was that?" It's voice was deep and booming.
Krogan.
The other one growled in simple confusion.
Vorcha.
Zeke inhaled, holding his shotgun close to his heart. He rolled to the left, blasting two shots at the krogan's knees, sending the hulking mass stumbling. The vorcha drew it's pistol, firing off a few shots at Zeke. One grazed his calf, tearing his olive-colored cargo pants and causing him to momentarily wince. He raised his shotgun parallel to the vorcha's neck, his teeth clenched in anger. He pulled the trigger and the vorcha flew back; it's head hanging off by a thread of what was formerly it's jugular. The krogan had regained his balance.
Not good.
It drew it's own shotgun; an M300 Claymore. It blasted a shot in Zeke's direction, just barely missing him. Zeke charged up, blasting the krogan three more times before his weapon overheated. The krogan grinned wickedly, reloading his own weapon while slowly walking towards Zeke.
Zeke face also spread into a malicious smirk. Big mistake.
He drew his knife he had attached to his right leg; a sturdy carbon-steel blade. He flipped it through his fingers so the point faced downwards, gripping the handle tightly in his palm. He charged at the huge lumbering creature before him, not holding anything back. He leaped on to the krogan, digging his knife into it's thick armor. He clambered over on to it's back, using the knife for leverage. The krogan roared angrily, attempting to shake him off; an effort in vain. Zeke withdrew his knife from the plate of armor and began stabbing it into the krogan's thick neck.
Please hit something important, please his something important, please please please please please!
The krogan thundered out in pain, attempting to pull Zeke off his hump, but he could not reach him; he was at the mercy of somebody much smaller and weaker than him.
Zeke kept thrashing away at the krogan's neck but he was making no progress. He groaned in annoyance, pulling out his M-4 Shuriken. With two quick pulls of the trigger, six bullets lodged themselves into the krogan's head, causing it to fall over in a state of was he assumed was death.
He caught his breath.
Why didn't I do that first?
He shook his head at his stupidity, then proceeded to pick up his shotgun, replacing the empty thermal clip with a fresh new one. He gazed down at his knife, which was covered in thick orange blood.
"Ugh..." he gagged, pulling out a rag from his back pocket to begin cleaning his knife. This was going to be a messy mission.
Garrus loaded his Mantis. "How do we even know this guy's here? I mean, it doesn't look like there's an army of mercenaries to keep him here." He smirked sarcastically.
Shepard snorted. "Our guy's a professional; he wouldn't let himself get caught in that kind of situation."
"Very funny, Commander." Garrus retorted.
"Virmire. Interesting choice of location. Visited here once, correct Shepard?" Mordin asked.
Shepard's head lowered. "Yeah. Before I died."
"Something happened?" Mordin sat composed.
Shepard shook his head, his eyes half closed.
Garrus mumbled under his breath. "He had to leave someone to die. A friend."
Mordin inhaled. "Ah."
Memories ran through Shepard's mind; Ashley's white and pink armor, her sassy attitude, the way she called him 'Skipper'. He never enjoyed nicknames, but he saw it made her happy; he always wanted to keep his crews best interests at heart.
His memories were broken when his omni-tool pinged.
"Looks like this is the place." He drew his Carnifex. "Let's hope he's still here."
Garrus readied his Vindicator. "With you, Shepard."
The shuttle door slid open, and the three of them stepped on to the sandy terrain.
No time to think about that now.
Shepard loaded a fresh thermal clip into the hand cannon.
"Move out!"
"Good lord, when's the last time you brushed your teeth?" Zeke groaned. The vorcha inches from his face hissed, desperately trying to rip out his eyes.
"Let me help."
He raised his shotgun in his left hand, resting the barrel just underneath the vorcha's jaw. It glanced downward, then back up in disbelief; Zeke's sarcastic grin being the last thing it saw.
He pulled the trigger, creating an eruption of red mist and brain matter where the vorcha's head formerly resided. Zeke grunted in disgust, wiping the sleeves of his brown leather jacket.
Add a shower to my to do list,
He checked his shotgun.
Empty.
He pumped the gun, locking in a fresh thermal clip.
He looked down at the decapitated body. "If I never see another vorcha it'll be too soon..." He kicked the limp corpse as he walked down through door-frame. "Whatever data these guys need better be worth fighting through three floors of Blood Pack."
He approached a console, typing in various commands; each resulted in an error.
"Piece of-" He brought his fist down on the board, causing it to short out momentarily before rebooting and giving him access. He snorted. "Of course."
He rested his weapon on his shoulder armor, watching the bridge extend over the factory.
He sighed.
Two more floors.
Shepard and his team had infiltrated the factory; no major threats, just a few varren and some vorcha.
"Why are the Blood Pack here? This factory is abandoned." Garrus hunched over his rifle.
"Could be any number of reasons. Tactically superior location? Abundance of resources?" Mordin was cut short.
"Up there on the catwalk!" Garrus aimed his rifle.
The figure heard him shout, causing him to draw his gun and open fire on the 3 of them.
A bullet grazed Garrus' shoulder-pad. "Well, he's got some aim, at least."
"Silhouette; unable to clarify appearance. Too small to be krogan, too broad to be vorcha, varren obviously not an option." Mordin inhaled deeply. "Must be the chemist."
Shepard poke his head out of his cover to find the figure still aiming at the group.
"He's still got a bead on us- stay in cover." Shepard activated his Tech Armor. "And whatever you do, don't return fire; we don't need this guy perceiving us as a threat."
Shepard heard metallic clanks approaching. The three looked down to see a primed fusion grenade.
Too late.
The three jumped out of their cover, narrowly avoiding the explosive chemical blast.
"Chemical grenades? Yep, this is definitely our guy." Garrus cracked his neck.
"Come on, we've got to catch him before he escapes!" Shepard readied his Carnifex.
As if I didn't have enough to worry about.
Zeke panted as he charged through the corridors; Blood Pack were bad enough, but now three commandos?
I better be getting a bonus for this,
Vorcha popped out of the abandoned offices, each batted away with either a shotgun stock to the head, or from a point blank shotgun blast. He stopped to catch his breath.
If this is science then the krogan I'm gunning down are fucking Einstein's.
He heard fast metallic thumping approaching from behind.
You've got to be kidding.
The three commandos had caught up almost immediately. He steadied himself and continued charging forward.
"You're fast, I'll give you that!" He taunted. "But do you have the skills?"
God I hope they're the careless angry types.
Shepard groaned in annoyance at his target.
"Taunting 3 heavily armed strangers?" Garrus chuckled. "At least he's brave."
"Come on, he's got enough of a head start." Shepard hands glowed with Mass Effect fields. "Charge through anything that gets in your way."
The three began their full-on sprint, the only obstacles being the dead or wounded Blood Pack soldiers the chemist left behind.
"Impressive- all possible hostiles incapacitated in short time frame. Should be an excellent addition to team." Mordin remarked.
"Assuming we actually catch him." Garrus snorted. "This guy's fast."
"One way or another, he's coming with us." Shepard panted. "Keep moving."
Zeke checked over his left shoulder; he was well ahead of his pursuers. He let out a breathless chuckle, only to be ambushed by a varren. It tackled him, knocking him on his back and causing his shotgun to fly from his grasp and plummet off the edge of the catwalk.
Bastard!
The varren lunged for his neck, but he raised his left arm to block it. The varren's long teeth clamped down hard on his forearm, sending a sharp pains with every little movement. He drew his knife to stab it: first in it's jaw, next through it's eyes. It fell dead, it's mouth leaking blood; both it's own and his. Zeke examined his wounds; nothing too deep, but it still hurt like hell.
For science?
He snorted, sheathing his knife. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps approaching rapidly.
Time to suck it up.
He quickly rose to his feet, drawing his Shuriken. The three strangers ran through the doorway and were greeted with a storm of slugs.
"Problematic!" One shouted.
A salarian?
Zeke pushed his thoughts aside and began running into the corridor ahead, his chasers right behind him. Why haven't they fired on me yet? They could have taken me out-
"Krogan charging!" A flanged voice shouted.
Zeke turned his head, finding a hard impact on his ribs and a throaty roar in his ear.
"Wait until you have a clear shot!" A human shouted.
Shit. So they weren't trying to kill me.
Zeke felt embarrassed above all else, but turned his attention to the hulking mass rushing him into the wall. He went for his Shuriken, but was slammed hard into the metal before he could draw it.
"Agh!" He groaned out in pain. He felt his body being lifted up again, only to be slammed down hard on the floor grates.
"This is what happens to those that challenge the Blood Pack!" The krogan lifted his arm, turning it into a fist. Zeke rolled to the left, dodging the incoming fist; he felt the impact shake the ground.
He drew his Shuriken, firing 3 bursts into the krogan's torso, but it barely slowed him. He felt the heavy impact of a kick enter his stomach and was sent rolling down the hallway.
He stumbled to his feet.
"You want to dance?" He asked sarcastically, drawing his knife. "Let's dance."
The krogan roared again in rage, colliding his fists together. He charged at Zeke, his voice bellowing throughout the factory. He swung his head down with bone-shattering force, but failed to connect. Zeke used this moment to dig his knife deep into the krogan's hump. The krogan reeled back, tossing Zeke with it; still he managed to hold on to his knife and was hanging off the krogan's back.
"Fight like a warrior!" It called.
Zeke drew his knife from the thick hump and sank his knife deep into the jaw of the krogan, causing it to bellow out in anger. Zeke knew his Shuriken wasn't going to do much, and those outsiders didn't want to risk shooting him. He drew a grenade from his bandoleer and stuck it in the open wound of the krogan's jaw.
"Clear out!" He called to the three strangers.
He kicked himself off the krogan's back, and a wicked grin spread across his face. The krogan's jaw had exploded into a mist of green, causing the giant to collapse lifelessly to the ground.
"Impressive." The turian remarked.
"Thanks. Considering you haven't opened fire yet, I assume you're not here to kill me?" Zeke asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"You're Zeke Lynch, right?" The human spoke up.
"Yeah," Zeke answered hesitantly. "Why?"
"I'm Commander Shepard. I'm outfitting a team for a dangerous mission. I'll spare you the details right now, but I can assure it's you important."
Zeke was taken aback.
"Shepard? Like, Guardian of Elysium, Savior of the Citadel Shepard? Pardon me for asking but, I thought you died?"
Shepard rubbed his neck. "Yeah, I kind of did. Would you believe me if I said I got better?"
Zeke folded his arms, blood still trickling down his left arm. A grin spanned his face. "Why not? I've seen weirder things."
"So, you'll join us?" Shepard asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but I have to get something done first. I am here on a job, you know." Zeke examined his bleeding arm, applying medi-gel to his wounds. "Might need your help, actually. Up for a little shooting?"
Shepard smirked. "What's the opposition?"
"Typical Blood Pack; Vorcha, varren, and krogan. All you need to do is keep them off me while I extract some data." Zeke loaded his Shuriken.
"This sounds more like mercenary work than science, Zeke." Shepard drew his Carnifex.
"You're telling me. I walked into this thinking I was going to be doing something like rebuilding sensitive data or whatever." Zeke snorted. "Knew this was too good to be true."
Zeke approached a console, tapping commands into it.
"Looks like we've caught a break. I can access the data from here, but the connection's weak. I'll have to monitor it while you guy's hold of the mercs."
Shepard's body enveloped itself in Mass Effect fields. "We'll handle them."
"Commencing download!" Zeke rapidly tapped commands into the console. "Any Blood Pack yet?"
"Only a few; they probably heard you rushing through earlier." Shepard threw a vorcha off the railing.
Zeke laughed. "Give me some credit Shepard; it was probably my little tussle with that krogan."
The three fought in awe-inspiring unison; Garrus picked off major threats with his rifle, Mordin was burning through the crowd with incineration attacks, and Shepard was sending bodies flying with his biotics.
"How's that upload coming Zeke?" Shepard called as he activated a warp field.
"Twenty-five percent left! Just need a bit more time!" Zeke's fingers worked rapidly, entering commands. "Here, let me help you guys out a bit."
He pulled another grenade from his bandoleer, chucking it over his shoulder.
"Enjoy the fireworks!" He laughed.
The grenade exploded, coating the crowd in a green caustic liquid. The vorcha hissed and screamed in pain.
"A part of me thinks you enjoy this." Garrus remarked, a bit of worry in his voice.
"I'm playing to my strengths!" Zeke tapped away furiously at the console. "Besides, I just neutralized their regeneration factor. You should thank me!"
Garrus shook his head, pulling out his Vindicator.
"Last five percent! We're almost done here!" Zeke armed his omni-tool.
"Get it done! They're pushing!" Shepard remarked; his biotics were draining his energy.
The console pinged.
"Done!" Zeke drew his knife, slamming it down in the control board and causing it to spark.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Shepard fired a few shots from his Carnifex.
"These guys think this data is so important? They'll agree to pay my bonus; they aren't weaseling out of this." Zeke drew his Shuriken, firing into the crowd of oncoming vorcha and krogan. "Any ideas for an escape plan?"
"I was hoping you had one!" Shepard pumped a new thermal clip into his pistol. "This was your job after all!"
"Well I wasn't counting on you three crashing the party!" He raised his omni-tool, sending a glowing green orb flying from his hand.
Mordin cocked his head slightly, confused at the tech.
"Custom programming." Zeke closed his omni-tool. "I say we bludgeon our way out; sitting here, they're more likely to reinforce themselves and overwhelm us."
"You sure it'll work?" Shepard lobbed another orb of biotic energy.
"No, but it's better than sitting around and running out of ammo. You've got tech armor, so you lead the charge." He cracked his neck. "I'll handle any stragglers behind us."
"I hope for your sake it works." Shepard holstered his weapon. "Ready?"
His signature grin spanned his face. "Lead the way."
Shepard charged from behind his cover, using biotics to chuck vorcha out of his path. Garrus followed close behind, tackling krogan that stepped in his way, Mordin tailing him, deploying tech attacks to ensure the mercenaries stayed down. In the rear was Zeke, shooting down any Blood Pack that got too close to the three of them.
"Prep the shuttle for evac! West side of the factory, middle window!" Shepard shouted into his comm.
He isn't.
Shepard fired his pistol, shattering the window as the shuttle arrived, it's door sliding open.
He is.
Shepard jumped through the shattered frame, followed closely by Mordin and Garrus.
"You're a crazy bastard, Shepard!" Zeke was panting.
"Come on, let's go!" Shepard extended his hand.
Zeke broke into a full on sprint, blood pumping through his head. He leaped, grabbing Shepard's hand before he fell.
"Get us out of here!" He shouted, bullets zooming by the shuttle. Shepard hoisted him in, sliding the door closed.
"Too close," Garrus panted.
Zeke laughed. "Not used to action, Turian?"
"It's Garrus to you. You ever heard the name 'Archangel'?" A sly grin formed across his face.
Zeke folded his arms. "Once or twice. Last I remember, he had gotten himself cornered somewhere on Omega."
"At least I didn't shoot at the people trying to assist me." Garrus chuckled.
"Touche'." Zeke turned his head to Shepard. "So, care to tell me about this mission? Or is it one of those 'need to know' type of things?"
Shepard brushed his forehead. "You've heard of the Collectors, right?"
"Once or twice; mostly ghost tales and extranet conspiracies." Zeke adjusted himself. "Why?"
"They're abducting entire human colonies, maybe even working with the Reapers. I'm planning on stopping them." Shepard's tone turned solemn. "We'll need to pass through the Omega 4 relay to do so."
Zeke breathed out. "Most ships that enter that relay never return."
"It's long since been called a suicide mission." Shepard began rubbing his hands together.
He lowered his head, his eyes closed in deep though. After a minute, he raised it again.
"You know what?" There was a tone of confidence in his voice. "Screw the odds. I"d be glad to join you, Commander."
Shepard grinned. "Glad to have you aboard, Zeke."
The two men shook hands.
This was going to be a hell of a ride.
A/N: Hey guys! This here is my first fanfic. I plan on expanding it every once in a while, so it may get progressively better. For those who haven't figured it out, Zeke Lynch is my Original Character; if you want to see what he actually looks like, I've drawn (in my opinion) a very crappy picture and uploaded it to deviantART.
Here it is for those who want to see it: .com/#/d4w5pa3
I'll be working on and off on the next chapter whenever I have time; expect some banter and a recruitment mission!