Not for the first time in her life, Aria T'Loak was running through the streets of Nos Astra with a dozen mercenaries chasing after her. Unlike all the other times however, she was in way over her head. She rounded a corner, scattering a pile of crates as she did so in an attempt to delay her pursuers. She had been so stupid to accept that contract – of course, Aria knew it was bad from the start – but she needed the credits, and she wasn't going to sink to dancing in sleazy bars to get them.
The people in the streets flattened themselves against the walls when they saw the asari running past, although this being Illium it wasn't a rare occurrence to see a situation like Aria's. Corporations were always trying to gain an edge over their rivals, and since most of them provided manpower and tech for Illium's law enforcement, any corporate espionage that spilled onto the streets was largely ignored. Local police units would be alerted to clean up after things had calmed down, after which an enquiry would be launched and the local officers reprimanded for not responding sooner. Usually this was done so the officers higher up the chain, most of whom were being paid off by Illium's corporations, could keep their jobs without fear of reprisals from their backers.
Aria knew all of this, and right now she was cursing it. Couldn't one decent officer help her out for a change? Making her way past a group of salarians in deep conversation, Aria spied the signs for the docks and began to push through the crowds towards it. There was only one way she was going to get out of this without getting tangled up even further with her employers, and that was to start again somewhere else.
A gunshot echoed behind her, and Aria felt the air around her head ripple. Too close, she thought, sprinting around another corner. She needed to get off Illium. Her former employers had contacts everywhere, but they were chasing a fake identity. Still, Aria reasoned as she snapped off a couple of rounds at her pursuers, she needed to get as far away as possible. Disappear completely.
The entire job had been a set-up from start to finish. The details had been hazy at best – her employers seemingly only wanted her to execute an official that wouldn't play ball with them – but things took a turn for the worse after Aria had found her target already dead, and a squad of mercenaries waiting for her instead. She guessed it was someone that had wanted revenge for performing a hit on their family or friends. People always got irritatingly emotional when she killed somebody in front of them. Although admittedly she had lacked finesse on some occasions, it had still been funny to send that salarian flying out of his penthouse with a flick of her biotics on her last job.
Aria was brought out of this reverie by another gunshot - this one shattering a pane of glass in front of her. She berated herself for losing focus again, and dived into the cover of the crowds. Forcing her way through the hustle and bustle of the central streets, she made her way over to the fringes to quickly examine her situation. The mercs were closer than ever now. Aria could see the perspiration on the commander's face as the batarian forged a path towards her, bellowing at his men to find her. It was time for drastic measures. Ducking through a doorway, the asari pushed aside the complaining shopkeeper and ran up the steps to the balcony, taking them three at a time.
Aria emerged back into the bright sunlight of Nos Astra, and was greeted with a hail of bullets from below followed by the screams of the crowd as they ran in all directions to get away from the mercenaries. Chips of the wall spat up at Aria and she took off across the gardens and balconies, vaulting walls and throwing any occupants aside. After several minutes of running, a row of plant pots shattered, and a turian was struck in the arm moments later. Aria leapt over the nearest wall and huddled down against it, bullets flew all around her - drilling into the wall behind her or else flying overhead. Pulling her pistol from its holster, she rose to her feet and fired off a full thermal clip at the mercenaries behind her. Two were struck in the head, and another was thrown to the floor with a bullet in his chest. Aria took her opportunity to carry on with her escape, but she knew she didn't have long before they would continue the pursuit.
She was approaching the docks, and Aria found a sudden spurt of energy when she saw the signs. Although her commando training had bolstered her endurance, she was beginning to tire. The mercs had been chasing her for miles since their ambush failed, and it was starting to tell. Her breathing was growing ragged – each breath more painful than the last – and each step sent scorching pain down her legs. Aria dropped back down into the streets, slowing her fall with her biotics and landing easily amongst the crowds. The mercenaries would pick up the trail soon though.
Her eyes darting around wildly for an escape route, Aria spotted a freighter being loaded around half a mile away. She darted forwards, pushing her way through the crowd of merchants and their bodyguards and dockworkers and officials, hoping to lose her pursuers in the crowd. The freighter was close now. Aria could see the owner – a volus – arguing with the dockworker operating the crane. A crate was suspended halfway between the ship and the docks, and it was just high enough for her to reach it.
A burst of gunfire rang out behind her, and the crowd scattered. Her cover blown, Aria leapt onto the side of the crate, scrambling out of sight just as the volus turned to see where the sound of the bullets came from. Aria lay on top of the crate, her lungs on fire and her legs cramped and sore. She felt blood dripping from her face, and found that a bullet had grazed her cheek and cut a thin line across it. All she had now was the pistol at her waist and the clothes on her back.
But, Aria thought as she watched the mercenaries set off in the opposite direction to the freighter, she had survived. She was still breathing. She was still alive.