*Author's Note*
Hello everyone, I just wanted to clear a few things up before we get started. I've been a member for a little while but this is the first ever story that I've written. In no way shape or form, do I consider myself a professional writer or storyteller. This is simply something I've created out of my obsession and love for the Mass Effect Universe. Most of the characters in my story will be original characters that I created, and there may be a few cameos from actual canon ME characters. I don't own any aspect of the ME series what so ever. All of those rights belong to the creators of this awesome series. Just as a fair warning, I will be going into detail in my story. This may mean that there will be lots of violence or "gore". My goal is not to push the limits or disgust anyone. I feel that since we're not focusing on the bad-ass and heroic Commander Shepard, the galaxy should be seen as a much more dangerous and seedy place. So my story will hopefully be a little more human and gritty. There will eventually be a romance in this story as well, just so I'm clear why this has the romance tag. This story is rated M for a reason!
Since this is my first ever story, I'm welcoming any criticism and or ideas for my story. Please tell me what you'd like to see, or what you think I should've done or what I can do to make this story more enjoyable for you. I'm not a pro-writer but this story has been been going through my head for a long time, so it's time to get it out. Thank you for reading my rant, I hope I'm on my way to creating something, some of you will enjoy!
Very quickly, I would also like to thank LanieB for encouraging me to get my story out there, you've been an absolute angel!
To be Hunted
Matthew grunted in pain as he sat down on the grating, back against the Maintenance Wall, sitting directly above the above the engines. He clutched his side, feeling the crack in the armor and the blood seeping from his wound. His visor was on the fritz due to interference from the boarding ship's signal jammer. He grabbed his M-6 Carnifex and pulled the slide back, letting the spent heat cartridge fly out. He grabbed another from the side of his handgun. It was his last one..this was it... a final stand. Only six shots were all that was left to keep those bastards away from him; there was no way it was going to be enough. God only knew how many more of the attackers were left, but Matthew knew that they were frantically tearing this ship apart to get to him. An explosion violently rocked the ship, sending Matthew rolling across the floor down the corridor. The shaking stopped and all that was left was the eerie sound of the metal whining and creaking in agony.
"What the hell just happened!" Matthew stated to himself as he did his best to regain his composure.
Whatever had happened, Matthew knew it was big.
Sweat began to run down his forehead and his eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head, his hands were shakey and his breath was frantic. These were the side effects of his L3 implants, as an Adept he had to learn to deal with these things. The over exertion of his biotic abilities from the earlier fighting increased the impact of the side effects ten-fold. His side was beginning to cramp up from the warp round that was still in his body. The attackers came prepared to fight fire with fire. The warp rounds tore through biotic shields, so efficiently in fact, that they were blacklisted from military use across the galaxy...that didn't stop the attackers.
Matthew tried to stand up and gather his bearings. The task proved to be more difficult than it seemed. He was hurting...badly. Matthew doubled over with pain and coughed up blood all over the grating below him. The blood hissed and fizzled as it went through the grating and fell onto the engines down below him. The attackers had shut off the climate drive on the ship, causing the Engine Bay to heat up at an alarming rate. The attackers were trying to flush Matthew out of his hiding spot with the heat...and it was working. The red emergency lights began to turn on, as the whole bay powered down in the ship's attempt to cool itself. Matthew knew that if didn't leave the Engine Bay he would die a slow and miserable death. He had to chance it and get back to the front of the ship, despite not knowing where his attackers were. If he could get to the front of the the ship, he could activate the ship's flush doors, set the self destruct key, and launch himself away in the escape pod below the pilot's seat.
Matthew activated the HUD on his helmet and got his omni-tool ready. The HUD was scrambled and offered nothing more than garbled feedback and interference, he was going to have to rely on his own instincts. Luckily, his omni-tool booted up immediately, showing no signs of damage from the fight. This would make his escape much easier if he could make it to the front of the ship. He activated the first aid package and checked to see if he had any medi-gel left, that would at least give him some temporary relief. Even though there was very little left it would have to do. After all, it was better than nothing.
"Okay" Matthew said raggedly, "I've just got to make it to the front half of the ship...that's it Matthew, that's it; I've been through worse...right?" he questioned himself.
The medi-gel's pain relief began to kick in, allowing Matthew easier mobility and a clearer head. He readied his pistol and sprinted from his corner all the way down the red-lit corridor. His boots clanged against the grating below him as he sprinted and his breathing was loud and heavy. Matthew was running for his life, everything around him was blurred and he could hear every piece of equipment on his armor rattle as it was jostled around. He took a quick left at the end of the corridor and quickly but quietly ran up the stairs to the main floor of the ship.
He quickly examined his surroundings and crouched down behind a wall at the top of the stair-case. He tried to catch his breath as he peeked around the corner to look down the main floor's hallway to make sure the coast was clear. Everything was dark and all of the ship had been shut down, save for the doors and the engines. He could make out voices in the hallway. There were two of his attackers, both were male humans from what he could tell. Only one was wearing a helmet. Matthew knew what he need to do, he had to fight his way through the back half of the ship if he wanted to escape. He stood up against he wall and pulled his gun close to his chest, as he psyched himself up. Taking a few quick breaths, he rounded the corner and popped off a shot from his Carnifex. The sound was heavy and loud as the bullet escaped the chamber, the shot nailed the attacker without a helmet, blowing a good portion of his head wide open...he dropped dead immediately.
"What the Fuck?" the other shouted as he readied his rifle.
Out of sheer terror and being caught off guard, the attacker unleashed a fury of shots down the hallway in the dark. The sound of the rifles rounds pinging and screeching down the hallway was almost deafening. Matthew could feel his heart begin to race again as the bullets screeched past him, and sheered off some of the wall he was hiding behind. The glow of the rounds lit up the walls of the hallway. Matthew peeked around again and fired up his biotics.
"Looking for me you son of a bitch?" Matthew screamed as he unleashed a biotic freight train of energy.
It carried on down the hallway like a blue streak "thump thump thump THUMP THUMP", getting louder as it gained momentum. The attacker desperately tried to reload his rifle but fumbled and dropped the heat clip, seeing the shockwave coming towards him, he dove to the side of the hallway but it was too late. The shockwave slammed him with such force that it sent him flying towards the wall, face-first in mid dive. He screamed as he hit the wall but only for a second as the rest of his body flew above him on impact, folding him in half and making a sickening snap as his spine broke in two.
Matthew chuckled to himself. For now it seemed that he was the one that had the drop on his attackers. He would try and use this to his advantage. He moved further down the hallway, where he passed the Med Bay and the Kit Locker of the ship. Both rooms had been ransacked and all the supplies were gone. The doors had been blown open with charges and the electrical wires were popping and crackling above him; shooting sparks bounced of his armor like lively sprites. The glass from the doors crunched and snapped beneath his boots as he continued down the hallway. He eventually reached a door where the hallway narrowed and seemed to finally end. Matthew activated his omni-tool and waved it in front of the green lock, opening the heavy metal door before him. He was entering the Mid-ship area. This was where the Mess Hall was located along with bathrooms on either side of him and a Briefing Room further down, on his right. If he continued to go straight through the mess hall area, he would reach the door that lead to the front of the ship.
As he continued to walk through the mess hall, the lights suddenly shot on. The lights below his feet lit up, the side wall lights and the top lights as well. Everything was so illuminated it almost blinded Matthew. He put his hands up and grunted as he tried to squint to see.
"So, you finally decided to come out of your hiding spot, eh?" Matthew quickly glanced to his right where the voice was coming from.
A heavily armed Vanguard along with four other men stepped out of the briefing room. They were all wearing similar armor with the same colors, white, black and orange.
The Vanguard's gravelly voice began again "What's the matter Matty? You didn't think the boss was going to find out what you were planning?"
"I don't know what the hell you're trying to accomplish but you're making a big mistake." Matthew said in a low voice.
"No, no we aren't making the mistake here, we're doing the cleaning up, you fucked up Matty, the boss is pissed and now he's sent some mean bastards after you. There's quite a bounty on your head"
"You have any idea who you're messing with right now?" Matt tried to say with as much confidence as he could muster.
The Vanguard quickly motioned with a fist and his men readied their weapons and fired up their HUDs, lighting up their helmets' glowing eyes in the process. It was a scary sight to see, especially when they all seemed to do it at the same time; that just showed the discipline of his enemies.
"I don't care how much bullshit you spew from your deceivin' mouth Matty, you betrayed us. Did you really think the boss wasn't gonna notice what you're trying to do?" the Vanguard started to get angry.
"Listen to me goddamn it! We are on the same side here, I haven't done anything more than what I was told, this is a-" Matt tried to reason but was interrupted.
"I've heard enough from the briefings and the dossiers Matty...the boss says goodbye. Alright boys, lets put this two timin' fish-dog down!"
It took all but one second for one of the men to throw a concussive grenade in front of Matthew, while the rest of the men opened fire. In a desperate attempt, Matthew used a biotic throw to send the grenade back at the squad. An extremely loud bang and screeching noise followed, buckling the whole squad to their knees and, leaving some of them grasping their helmets' sound cups in pain. The Vanguard's barrier protected him from the concussive blast but the sound still rang in his ears. He yelled in pain as he unleashed a biotic shockwave that sent chairs and tables flying across the mess hall. Matthew quickly avoided the shockwave, simultaneously using a biotic pull on one of the men, putting a pistol to his head.
Without regard for their fellow teammate's well being some of the men that had recovered, opened fire on Matthew. Matthew's meat shield was instantly shredded by the tungsten rounds that ripped past him with high velocity. Blood sprayed all over his helmet's visor as he tossed the dead man on to the ground. He fired three shot at the squad while taking cover under one of the scattered metal tables. Two of the shots impacted another attacker as he slumped over against the wall bleeding out, finger still on the trigger, unleashing an uncontrolled hell-fury of rounds around the Mess Hall. It looked like the gun was controlling the dead man's arm as it screamed spewing round after round of highly lethal tungsten rounds, jumping and flailing about. A few rounds snagged two of the attackers, hitting one in the neck, spraying blood everywhere as he choked on blood with his hand covering his wound, he collapsed. The other was hit in his right arm, rendering him helpless as he hit the floor howling in pain. The dead man's rifle finally emptied itself, and started making rapid bursts of clicking noises, a sign of overheating.
Matthew quickly scanned the area from behind the dented table, the room was a mess and there were blood smears and bullet marks everywhere, along with a black streak where the grenade exploded. A smokiness still lingered in the air, along with a smell of rubber and metallic tinge wafting the area.
"Four down, one prick to go, I gotta make these last few shots count" Matthew whispered to himself.
The Vanguard yelled around the corner of the briefing room "Goddamn it...Matty you are a pain in my ass! You're gonna be begging for a bullet in the head after I get done mashing you into Volus jelly!"
"I gave you a chance for us to be reasonable but you were too trigger happy, you've killed yourself and your men, how do you feel now?" Matthew goaded.
The Vanguard let out a furious yell and turned himself into a biotic missile as he launched himself across the room blowing everything near him away and warping the walls and dead or already useless bodies around him. The man with the arm injury screamed as he was dissolved into a blue paste.
Before the Vanguard hit him, Matthew was able to throw up small biotic shield in front of his body. The impact was titanic, disintegrating everything around the two fighters that wasn't metal. Matthew had the wind knocked out of him as he was sent hurdling across the mess Mall Hall into the kitchen area, impacting the dry freezer. Matthew was barely conscious and struggled to get back up, he was pretty sure that he had a few broken ribs at the very least from his impact. If it wasn't for the shield, the Vanguard would've torn through him like a Krogan through an Asari mistress.
Before Matthew could get up the Vanguard leaped down on him, pummeling him with his biotically charged fists. The impacts were brutal as blood sprayed from Matthew's face. Matthew quickly tried to regain control as he kicked the Vanguard in the face, then attempted to put the Vanguard in a triangle choke, but the Vanguard was much stronger and picked Matthew up in a fit of rage and slammed him back down on the ground, knocking the wind out of him again.
"Not so smart now are you, you slippery little bastard, I'm gonna make you beg as I choke the life out of you!"
In a fit of desperation, Matthew's biotics responded to his situation. His eyes began to glow a vivid blue color along with the outline of his body. The sweat and blood on his armor and body began to steam off and his left hand began to glow as he balled it into a fist with such force that popping noises were heard. With what momentum he could get with the Vanguard trying to choke the life out of him, Matthew shifted his body enough to pull his fist back and throw as hard of a punch as he could muster to the Vanguard's face. Matthew screamed as he threw the punch as hard as he could.
The Vanguard's made a grunt before a meaty popping noise was heard as his face had imploded upon impact. There wasn't even any blood...the death was instant. Sore and battered, Matthew grunted as he lifted the dead body off of him.
"Fuck me..." Matthew gasped.
He groaned in pain once more as he held his wounded side, he was hurting worse than before. He took a look around the Mess Hall only to see a sight of pure vulgarity and destruction before him...he did his best not to breath from his nose as much as possible.
"Hel...o ...Foxtro... y...read...we are on...ay".
"You...py...Fo...?"
A garbled message was coming from the suit of the Vanguard, backup was calling...there were more of the bastards on their way. The lights flickered on and off as the ship's AI sounded off overhead, in an eerily broken manner.
-Incooo/?$oooooo**ming...s/_+mall cru#issss****ssee$err-
-Now?www*** Boa!#rding, pleeee**ase welc";;09ome guestss*ssss**sss**ss-
"Oh god no" Matthew's eyes widened.
His armor was beaten, his body was bruised and battered, he was running out of energy, out of ammo, and most importantly he was only one man. And If he didn't leave, he was a dead man. Gathering himself as best he could, fighting through the pain, he sprinted like never before towards the door in front of him. This was the door leading to the front of the ship, this was it, if he could make it there, he could escape.
He continued sprinting towards the door with everything he had, gasping and clenching his side. He opened the door with a wave of his omni-tool. Nothing could prepare him for the sheer terror that lie ahead. As the door opened everything that was loose around the room was quickly sucked out, as the vacuum of space pulled out everything it could get its hands on, including Matthew.
He screamed as he was being pulled out of the ship in mid sprint. The force was overwhelming as he tried to claw on the side of the door and hold on for dear life. The force immediately overpowered him as he was forced to let go. Still screaming out of fear for his life, he desperately grasped for a carbon pipe that was jutting out of the seam where the explosion took place. He told himself not to look down but it was too late...he looked. A whole planet was waiting below him, like a hungry Blue giant waiting for its prey to fall into its grasp. Matthew couldn't see anything other than blue below him. He could even see the storm cells that were active on the planet's atmosphere that would soon be his demise.
Matthew closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he held on for dear life. He managed to pull himself onto the metal ledge that he was suddenly taken off of outside the door. He turned on his suit's Space Stabilizing package on his omni-tool. Immediately, extra oxygen kicked in and mini-thrusters were now available, along with the magnetic boot field. Thankfully, the emergency oxygen was activated as soon as the suit detected the pressure change from being in space, regardless if the Stabilizing package was enabled or not.
Matthew pulled himself up onto the ledge as he gasped and rolled onto his back staring at the moon that watched patiently above the explosion-torn ship. Matthew then stood up and shook himself out as he looked across the way from mid ship,
"So that's what all the commotion was about!" Matthew said, looking in disbelief.
Luckily, the front of the ship was still within jumping distance, thanks to the absence of gravity, even still, he had his mini-thrusters just in case.
"Okay Matthew you can do this, one leap of faith, one little leap and you're home free" he quickly reassured himself.
Matthew closed his eyes, balled his fists, gritted his teeth and took a fast sprint on the little surface area the makeshift ledge offered, then took a giant leap.
"Yaaahhhhhhhh!" Matthew couldn't help but yell from the pure adrenaline rush he was experiencing, it felt like he was cheating death.
His arms flailed in front of him as he was coming closer to wrecked edge of the ship's front section.
"AHHHRGH!" Matthew screamed as he felt an extremely painful impact...but realized it wasn't from the impact with the ship. He was still a few meters away.
He screamed out as he felt a sickening pop and tearing in his lower torso. He felt and immediate freezing feeling and every breath felt like his lungs were being stabbed with fiery knives as the oxygen was being sucked out of them. Matthew choked helplessly on his own blood as he tried to gasp for oxygen that was quickly fading.
He looked in front of him only to see some scattered tungsten rounds just begin to impact the ship's front section entrance door. He had no idea what had happened...until he saw the lower half of his body float in front of him, the oozing blood was instantly frozen into sickles.
Matthew's painful death quickly followed...he no longer felt anything, there was no light, there was no voice, there was no flashback of his life; just the cold, excruciating, but brief embrace of death.
In a sick and ironic twist of fate, Matthew had still reached the front section of the ship. His severed and frozen, upper torso made a muffled thud against the door; his lifeless, frozen eyes looked to the ledge he had leaped from just a few seconds ago, towards his killer. And even though Matthew's lifeless corpse gazed upon the figure, the killer still remained unseen by Matthew.
The hunt was over.
