Author's Note: This is my first attempt at FanFiction, so any constructive criticism will be appreciated! Mass Effect is owned by Bioware and EA, I claim ownership over neither. This FanFiction is just going to be a series of short stories involving (occasionally recurring) original characters, please do not steal any of them.
Chapter 1: Schemers
"Keelah se'lai; what am I doing?"
It was a question Kari'Meizh had asked himself again, and again, and again, and again. He just wanted to earn a few credits and get himself off the cesspit that was Omega. Instead he was slowly making enemies of every single crime syndicate he came across, and the dark blue fabric of his environmental suit was slowly being stained black thanks to all the filthy alleys he was sleeping in at night.
"Yo' Kerry!"
Kari'Meizh sighed. The current group of unsavory cons that he now found himself associating with were absolutely intolerable, but the worst would have to be Jack Colt. The human was short by the standards of his species; he was only five feet and three inches tall. The man was Caucasian, with a shaved head, a full black goatee, and the letter "C" tattooed on the side of his head, which he claimed stood for "Colt" yet bore the amateur style of a prison tattoo forced upon someone.
"My name is Kari, Jack. K-A-R-I. Pronounce it like 'Car' and the letter 'E', is that so hard to understand?"
Jack adjusted his sunglasses, that stupid grin was still on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, okay Kerry. Anyways, do you remember the plan?"
Kari sighed, he doubted other Quarians had to deal with this kind of stress on their pilgrimages. His pilgrimage was turning out to be anything but ordinary, and if he kept associating with cons like the group he was currently with, he would be perpetuating the stereotype that all Quarians were thieves, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Oh, I remember alright. You want Creedo Volak, a Volus to distract Aria by seducing her. Then, while Aria is distracted Ardon, our Salarian friend, is to knock out one of Aria's guards, steal his datapad, and bring it to me so I can 'hack' her bank account, despite telling you repeatedly that not all Quarians are masters of technology."
Jack waved him off dismissively. The man seemed to put more faith in stereotypes than in facts, though it made Kari wonder just what stereotypes the man was hearing if he thought the Volus were masters of seduction or Salarians were excellent at wrestling Turians to the ground.
"It'll be fine! Aria is cocky, she doesn't think anyone is crazy enough to steal from her. We'll pull the scheme off, and walk away rich! So rich that you can buy a fancy new suit, without one of those stupid helmets!" If Kari could, he would be massaging his temple right about now.
…
Things did not go as planned. Things definitely did not go as planned. Kari, Jack, Creedo, and Ardon were sprinting towards the docking bay, running from a mob of angry Vorcha, Batarians, and even Aria herself.
"It's not… My fault!" Creedo called between pants. "How was I supposed to know… That Aria would not want a sensual massage?"
Jack growled, briefly turning around to fire a few shots in the mob's general direction before retreating once more. "Well Creedo in most cases you ask before you start massaging people's chest!" For every shot Jack fired at the horde of criminals and mercenaries, about thirty more were fired in his direction.
"I KILLED SOMEONE! OH SWEET GOODNESS I KILLED SOMEONE!" Ardon practically squealed the words as he ran, leaving a literal trail of tears behind him. It appeared the Salarian was feeling guilt over the fact he accidently strangled Aria's poor guard to death.
The cons picked up the pace, they could practically feel the rage of the mob behind them. Kari lead them through a complex series of corridors, the chase lasted for about five horrifying minutes, until eventually they came across a set of blast doors blocking their path.
"Kerry, bypass those blast doors!" Jack ordered, taking cover behind the corner.
Kari growled, he wasn't sure whether the continued mispronunciation of his name annoyed him the most or Jack's continued stereotyping of his people… Regardless, he did as asked and actually managed to open the doors. The obstacle had given the mob time to catch up unfortunately, and as they entered the private hangar they turned behind them to find Aria leading the mob. She was unarmed, but the look of sheer hatred on her face was more intimidating than any gun the mob was carrying.
"Hey… There's a ship right there! Its doors are wide open!"
Kari looked where Creedo was pointing; there was a ship in this hangar! It looked like a gift from the Gods. It was of an Asari make and model, with a sort of vanity paint that gave it an absolutely beautiful appearance. The ship looked advanced, expensive, and altogether valuable. It appeared big enough to house a small crew, but small enough to pass unseen by larger ships. The cons rushed to the doors of the ship, closing it behind them. Without a single spoken words, they each took to different parts of the ship, working quickly and efficiently, and prepping it for an emergency launch. Outside the ship they could hear a scream of rage from Aria, and felt the quake of attempting to punch her way into the ship using biotics.
"Jesus Christ, how can she get even MORE angry?!" Jack asked, the Asari's rage terrifying even him. Kari looked at one of the consoles, and his heart sunk.
"I think I know why…"
On the console, were the words "PROPERTY OF ARIA T'LOAK"
There was a long pause, the booming sound of Aria pounding on the doors was getting progressively louder.
"Son of a bitch..." Was all Jack muttered as the ship edged it's way out of the docking bay.