A/N:...To be honest, I wasn't expecting such a massive rise in followers for this story in only 24 hours. But given the popularity of this story back in the day I shouldn't be too surprised. I certainly got pretty damn big shoes to fill don't I?
Under a good amount of deliberation, and with a few comments from readers, I've decided to keep the codename Maverick for my OC. Both to honor the previous author of this fic, and for the fact that it's still pretty awesome in its own right.
I will also take this time to let you all know, DemonFireX sent me the whole folder for this story. All 78 documents from both Crysis Effect 1 and 2 including the prologues, chapters, trailers and the unfinished update he had been working on before he fell off the grid are now in my possession and ready for rewrite and posting. Granted, I'll wait a certain number of days between postings so that everyone can get into it again. But they all will be coming back soon enough.
For now, here's the next installment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Jason Harlow
Location - Unknown
Date: Unknown - Time: Unknown
Jason's vision swam into focus slowly, a low groan emitting from the base of his throat as he tried to bring himself back to full awareness.
"System Rebooting." SECOND stated, the HUD shimmering a bit as everything came back online. "Status: All Systems Functioning Normally."
"Where are we, SECOND?" Jason asked the AI as he sat up and looked around. The room he had awoken in was nearly pitch black save for the glowing red lights illuminating the metal walls and a handful of crates scattered around.
"Location Unknown." SECOND reported bluntly.
This caught the nano soldier by surprise. "What about New York? Did we stop the Ceph?"
"Ceph Forces within New York City limits were terminated after the central spire became active. Mission Objectives Completed." Jason breathed out in relief, at the very least they managed to stop the Earth from being invaded. The non-stop fighting through the city to help the military retake everything had been beyond what he could have expected.
Granted, he wasn't expecting to be dropped into the Crysis-Universe, and on top of that being the new wearer of the nano suit. But in the end, he managed to use his new prowess, his training, and a good amount of luck to get through it all in the end.
"Now if I can just figure out where the hell I am." he muttered to himself as he got up to his feet and checked what supplies that he had on hand.
The final push to the spire had exhausted a lot of his equipment. Other than his combat knife, the nano soldier only had a Hammer pistol with spare ammo and a couple frag and EMP grenades. It wasn't much, but he had faired well with less before.
The sound of a door opening had Jason instinctually dropping into cover behind one of the crates. Pistol in one hand and knife in the other as he peered out to see what had entered the room.
To his immense surprise, he found himself looking at a Krogan in rust colored armor holding a large shotgun being flanked by two Vorcha wearing the same colors.
The shock of seeing aliens from a completely different world wore off quickly as they started to skulk around the room, his battle instincts kicking in when he recognized the symbol on their armor marking them as part of the BloodPack mercenary group. And if Jason remembered right, they weren't to be taken lightly.
"Cloak Engaged." without a sound and small shimmer, the nano soldier vanished from sight. Creeping out from behind cover and circling around the room to the trio's rear flank, none of them aware of his presence as he came up behind the closest Vorcha and sprung.
Knife slashing the creature's throat, blood spraying into the air, the other Vorcha and the Krogan barely had a moment to register their comrade falling when Jason charged the the bigger of the two. Raising his weapon, round drilled through the smaller alien's forehead and spraying out the back just as he speared the Krogan in the middle and sending them both to the floor.
Before the alien could get up, the nano soldier quickly pinned him with his knife at his throat and pistol pressed to the side of his head just under his crest. "I have two questions, and you're going to answer them." Jason said sharply.
"You'll regret this Human!" The Krogan bellowed, "No one messes with the Blo-" he was cut off when the knife dug deeper, causing a line of orange colored blood to leak out down to the floor.
"Two questions." the nano soldier stated again, "You answer. Or I'll cut out this crest of yours and shove it down your throat." The Krogan's eyes widened when the removal of his crest was mentioned and Jason knew he had his full attention. "Our location and the date."
The Krogan swallowed thickly, "O-Omega. 2180."
Nodding, Jason fired two shots into the alien's head before standing. "SECOND, hack into and monitor all radio traffic in and around us and report anything important." he said before heading to the door the mercs had come through. Activating his suit's cloaking along the way as he slipped into the shadows.
X
Elsewhere within the lawless station, Aria T'Loak, the renouned 'Queen of Omega', sat within her private lounge in her club with a datapad in hand.
One of her subordinates had reported a strange energy reading within one of the lower wards and went to investigate. The video feed she bore witness too was something worthy of her interest, to say the least as she watched an unknown dispatch three BloodPack mercenaries with relative ease
"I want him found, and brought to me." the powerful Asari said, getting confirmations from her men in the field before turning her attention back to the frozen image of the one in black and silve armor.
X
From his position ontop of one of the many buildings within the outlaw space station. Jason looked through his visor while on nano-vision to ensure that he wasn't followed after taking out the Bloodpack mercs he killed half an hour ago.
The shock of being where he was didn't have the same effect like it did when he woke up in New York City in 2023. It must have been that the soldier had gotten used to the strange and unexplainable since his 'death' in his own world.
But the question that plagued his mind was of the utmost importance; why the hell was he here? The Librarian said that he had to assist one of the 'chosen' to ensure that their universe was safe. He thought that the Crysis universe was it, yet considering the current situation he knew now that he had been wrong.
Jason knew all about the Mass Effect universe. He had beaten all three games and their DLC content before he was shipped out again. He knew what was coming, he had knowledge of who he could trust and that might be able to help him make sure that Shepard saved the galaxy.
His situation however was a rough one. He was an unknown in this universe. No identity. No money. And he was packing technology that he was pretty sure everyone in the traverse would be more than happy to kill him for.
"Good thing I woke up on Omega then." he muttered switching off his nano-vision. "SECOND, you got something for me?"
"Intel Acquired. Subject: 'Shepard' located from extranet tap. Data being displayed." A window popped up on the HUD showing a dossier on Commander Shepard. The picture with the information revealed a woman with pale skin and bright red hair that reached her chin. Two emerald green eyes drew attention to her heart shaped face where a scar was visible on her right cheek.
"Commander Jane Shepard. Born and raised on Mindoir. Survived Batarian slaver attack which had killed her family and friends. Joined the Alliance at 18. Fought against a slaver raid at Elysium which awarded her the Star of Terra. Known to be quick minded on the battlefield, but also to have a 'golden heart' for those who need help." Jason said reading the information.
It appeared he was dealing with a Colonist-War Hero, Paragon Shepard. "Not bad. She's beautiful too, hope I get to meet her." Jason muttered to himself as he headed to the edge of the rooftop. "Warning. Proximity Alert."
Jason spun around and activated his suit's cloak just as the door to the rooftop opened and five people with guns stormed out. Two Human, a Batarian, a Turian and a Krogan all stood looking around the 'empty' space for something.
"Shit! I tracked him here!" shouted the Turian checking his omni-tool.
"Bah! Leave it to you to lose a target Grizz." mocked the Krogan as he swept the rooftop with his claymore shotgun.
"I'm telling you I tracked him coming up here. And there's only one way in or off the roof." said Grizz as he deactivated the omni-tool.
"Maybe he jumped." said one of the Humans looking over the side to see an easy 40-story drop. "He took out four BloodPack mercs in seconds, a drop like this probably wouldn't bother him."
The Batarian's four eyes looked left and right, having been on Omega for as long as he had gave him the sixth sense to know when he was being watched. The question was where the hell was he?
There was a dull thud forcing them to turn around and see that one of their Human partners was laying prone on the ground. "Shit, what happened to him?" asked Grizz as he and the other Human ran over to check on him.
"He's out cold. Something hit him on the back of the head pretty hard." said the other Human when he was hit with an unseen force and sent crashing into the wall and slumping to the ground unconsious.
The three remaining gunmen stood back to back when their comrades fell. "He's up here." said the Batarian.
"How the fuck is he hidden so well?" asked Grizz keeping his assault rifle up.
"Gotta be cloaked. Heh, coward can't even stand and fight like a man." rumbled the Krogan.
The large alien suddently had his shotgun yanked from his hands before it was smashed hard against his head plate, staggering him just as something slammed hard into his armored gut sending him skidding across the rooftop.
There was a shimmer in the air, Jason stood before them with a Hammer aimed at the Batarian's head with the Krogan's shotgun aimed at the Turian. The two aliens looked at the sudden appearence wide eyed before realizing their situation. "Fuck." muttered the Batarian.
"Why are you looking for me?" Jason asked keeping his eyes focused on the two before him, while at the same time watching the Krogan who was now getting back to his feet in his peripheral vision.
"Our boss sent us out because of a energy fluxuation in the lower slums. When we arrived I saw you kill three Bloodpack mercs like they were nothing before disappearing." said Grizz trying to remain calm.
"Naturally, our boss would like to speak to someone who just 'appeared' out of nowhere and is able to kill with such precision before just vanishing into thin air." said the Batarian not at all bothered by the gun in his face.
A loud roar ripped through the air. Jason lept back before slamming his fist hard into the Krogan's face in mid-charge, snapping his head back and making him stagger back several steps.
Putting the pistol away and dropping the shotgun, the nano soldier maximized his armor's strength as the Krogan shook out the cobwebs and made another attempt. He caught the large alien's fists, only sliding back a step or two before coming to a complete stop.
The Krogan pushed with all his strength but couldn't budge the armored Human. "Heh! You got some strength to you. Do you think you can defeat a Krogan?" he barked as he put more strength into his arms.
Jason pushed back, eyes glancing down and seeing his energy meter steadily dropping with each second.
Thinking fast, he released one of the arms before spinning under the one still in his grasp. Using the momentum to flip the now unbalanced Krogan in the air and slamming him down onto his back. He then planted his foot on the large alien's shoulder before twisting hard to the right hearing a resounding 'Crack!' and a loud bellow of pain that signified a dislocated shoulder.
The Krogan attempted to get to his feet when a heavy boot forced him back down. "I didn't come to Omega to start a fight. Yet your doing a damn good job of that all by yourself." said Jason looking at the two others who had their weapons trained on him.
"Don't make this any harder than it already is." said Grizz sharply. Jason removed his foot from the Krogan's chest and stood staight a moment before sprinting at the two armed men who opened fire. "Maximum Armor.".
The mass propelled rounds bounced off of the strengthened weave of the armor as the soldier reached the shooters. Grabbing the assault rifle and pistol from the two aliens, he crushed them with his nanite infused strength before grabbing the two by the throats and lifting them off the ground.
"Now, who's your boss and why are they after me?" Jason asked making sure not to squeeze their necks too hard.
"Aria T'Loak, she runs Omega. Anything out of the ordinary on the station and she knows about it. That's why we were sent here and to track the one responsible...it lead us to you." said the Batarian struggling in Jason's grasp.
Jason tilted his head, knowing full well about the self appointed Queen of Omega. "Then we better not leave her highness waiting, now should we." he said setting both men down.
X
If he didn't feel out of place before, Jason sure as hell did now.
Walking through the station with his once armed escort. The two Humans looked uneasy as they stood on either side of him. The Krogan walked with a pistol in his right hand while his left hung limply at his side, red slitted eyes burning holes in the back of Jason's head given the result of their scuffle
Grizz and the Batarian, whose name was Anto, lead them to the club Afterlife that was nearly in the heart of the station. And the site of Aria's leadership.
Walking past the long line of folks waiting to get in, the group went through the main door and down the small corridor before entering the large club. Music pounded around them, the atmosphere reeking of sweat and alcohol as patrons danced all around them.
Jason had SECOND scan the room and tagged several mercs the moment they entered. Through his HUD, a dozen men from both the Blue Suns and Eclipse were highlighted red with an orange triangle above their heads, marking them incase something should happen.
With the conflicts he had been in, it wouldn't do him very well to not be at least a little cautious.
The patrons of Afterlife parted like the red sea. Many attempting to get a better look of the black and silver armored man being led to the stairs leading to Aria's balcony.
The guard stationed motioned for them to go up and they did without a word. In moments they stood in the small VIP section where one of the most powerful Asari in the Terminus Systems stood with her back facing them.
"You know, it's not often something surprises me." she said with her back still them. "Yet finding out that someone simply 'appeared' on my station with out being detected leaves me thinking the worst." Aria turned and glared at Jason. "Something very dangerous for anyone."
Jason rolled his shoulders, "I'm not here to cause trouble for you or your kingdom. But your boys here had the shoot first ask questions later kind of attitude and that didn't sit right with me." he said glancing at his escort.
Her eyes scanned over her battered and shamed guards that stood around the armored soldier. "One man beat all five of you? Pathetic." she said shaking her head.
"Whelp got lucky." grunted the Krogan. Jason looked over his shoulder at him,
"You want me to break your other arm?"
The Krogan raised his pistol, Jason lashed out knocking the weapon from the Krogan's hand with his arm before delivering a powerful kick to his chest sending him flying off the small set of stairs and rolling hard to the ground below.
It was then Jason heard the sound of a dozen weapons powering up. Every guard in the room had a gun trained on him. Aria kept her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes trained on the soldier with interest. "You could have killed them at anytime from what I can see. Why hesitate?" she asked.
Jason shrugged, "They meant no harm to me. And besides you sent them, and like I said before I'm not here to cause trouble. Especially since that it would break the golden rule of Omega."
Aria raised an eye-ridge, "And that rule being?"
Crossing his arms over his chest in a similar fashion, Jason kept his pose relaxed. "Don't fuck with Aria." he said casually.
Aria smirked, "It's good to see your well informed stranger. Although no one gets on or off my station without my knowing." she motioned to her guards to lower their weapons before motioning to the couch next to her. Jason walked up and sat down while the pirate queen sat on the center couch. "So why are you here?" she asked leaning back in her seat.
"Long story, so I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that I've been through hell and fell ass-backwards here." said Jason leaning back in his own seat, his vision glancing around the room more than once to make sure he wasn't being set up.
"Hmm, I've heard that once or twice." Aria said taking a sip from her drink. "You gotta name stranger?" she asked looking at him over the rim of her glass.
Jason thought on that only a moment. His real name would set off too many red flags even though he didn't have an identity here, so he decided on a name he had used on one of his Mass Effect playthroughs years ago.
"Maverick."
Aria raised her eye-ridge again, "Interesting name." her eyes roved over his suit, taking in the details up close. "Even more interesting armor. Now why would someone like you come here unless they intended to start something?"
"Wasn't my intention to wind up here. And I'll only use my weapons and skills if the situation calls for it." Jason leaned forward, "Though I do find myself in a tight situation." he looked at Aria through his visor. "What would it take for me to get passage to the Citadel from here?"
The Asari picked up her drink, "Book passage on the next shuttle." said uninterested, raising the drink to her lips.
"Without being seen or detected." said Jason causing her to pause. Aria glanced at him, unable to read his expression and eyes because of the suit. She hated not being able to read those before her.
"That is a challenge, but not an impossible one." she said putting her drink down. "However, such a favor will regard compensation."
Jason narrowed his eyes slightly, "And that being?" Aria waved to one of her guards who brought over a datapad.
"A favor, for a favor. Nothing on Omega is done for free, and you look as though you can handle yourself in most situations." she said as the tablet was handed over to the nano soldier. "There is an illegal shipment of weapons being brought in three hours from now. Whoever they are, they've been getting their supplies into my station and arming the local merc branches without much detection. If you deal with the smugglers, I'll get you what you need."
Not seeing much of a choice, Jason took the datapad and had SECOND scan all the relavent data for the operation contained on it before standing. "I'll get it done. But don't expect this to be a regular thing." he said heading out of the VIP lounge and out of the club.
As cold as he was being, Jason knew that Aria was very manipulative. She was the leader of the station for a reason, and her reputation was one to be both respected and feared. That was why he had to make sure the Asari was at arms length. She was using him as a means to an end, he would do the same to make sure he had what he needed.
X
The docking area that was listed in the datapad was a small one, out of the way of the major docking ports and not crowded at all. The perfect place for a smuggler to do their work undetected.
Jason was crouched ontop of a warehouse that overlooked the docking area, his eyes scanning over the area as he planned his attack. With the small size of the port he'd be relying mostly on close quarters combat. And depending on the number of hostiles, this could make an easy or slightly difficult task.
"Proximity Alert. Arial Craft Approaching." said SECOND. Jason crouched a little lower as a ship came into view and approached the port. Touching down on the small docking area and allowing a ramp to extend from it's underbelly after it was secured.
A group of armed gunmen walked down the ramp and scanned the port for a few minutes before half of them went back onto the ship. "Accessing Avaliable Data...Four identifiyed as Human. Three identifyed as Turian. All lightly armed. Tactical Options Avaliable."
After looking over his options for the situation a few moments. The soldier slipped down the rooftop and landed lightly on his feet, his back to the warehouse as he leaned around the corner and observed as the mercs unloaded several crates from the small ship. Activating his cloak, he slipped past the few guards they had and got onto the ship.
The vessel was small, big enough to fit 20 people at the most. It only possessed a crews quarters, small mess hall, and only a few stations for navigation leading up to the cockpit where the Human pilot was lounging in his seat.
Given that they were doing their business under the radar, it reasonable that they would go with a smaller vessel to avoid detection. But the small number of crew would be their undoing.
Jason deactivated his cloak, allowing his suit's energy to replenish as he crept up behind the pilot. "Hey, you guys done already?" asked the man as he kept reading the datapad infront of him. The nano soldier approached silently until he was behind the pilot's seat. "Hey where are-" he was cut off when the soldier wrapped his arm around his neck and placed a hand over his mouth.
The pilot struggled a moment before Jason twisted and snapped his neck. Setting the limp body back in the seat, he went to one of the terminal's nearby and touched it lightly. "SECOND, rip what you can from these terminals." he said as the AI quickly got to work.
The data mine only took 30 seconds as the sentient program went through all of the files avaliable and only copied what was important. "Data Mine Complete."
Several windows of data appeared on Jason's HUD, one was a small list of coordinates that showed several colony worlds he never heard of from the games. However, the Citadel was also listed.
Another window was a crew list, and next to that was a shipping manifest. The smugglers were delivering several crates of armor, biotic implants and prototype omni-tools the'd stolen from an Alliance outpost on the edge of the Terminus Systems to the Blue Suns stationed on Omega.
"Proximity Alert." Jason stored the data, clearing his HUD and activated his cloak as one of the Turians from outside walked onto the bridge. "Hey Carter, we could use your help out here." he said looking at the pilot's chair.
Jason pressed himself against the terminal as the Turian smuggler walked past him. "Carter get your lazy ass up or-" he turned the seat and gasped seeing the dead pilot with his neck at an odd angle. "Spirits." he spun around only to run into something solid.
A shimmer rippled through the air as Jason reappeared. Before the smuggler knew what was going on the soldier rammed his combat knife into the man's throat splashing blue blood across the terminals nearby.
The body hit the floor just as another smuggler walked onto the bridge. "Shit." muttered the Human about to make a run for it. Jason whipped out his Hammer and shot him in the back of the head before he made two steps.
The gunshot alerted the five remaining smugglers who all drew their weapons and headed for the ship.
Jason knew that a firefight was coming and grabbed the dead Turian's assault rifle while crouching down behind a nearby terminal. The first smuggler came in with his own rifle ready and saw the three dead men and paused, the nano soldier stood up and fired a short controlled burst into the smuggler's chest. The smuggler's kinetic shields and light armor plating both collapsing as he fell to the deck.
The four remaining smugglers all stormed the ship with guns blazing, rounds tearing into the bridge.
"Maximum Armor" With the rounds bouncing off of his now strengthened armor, Jason fired his pilfered rifle into their ranks. Two of the smugglers went down before they could get into cover while their friends had just gotten lucky.
Dropping to cover, Jason found a latch on the side of the weapon and pulled it, allowing the rifle to vent out the build up of heat before stashing the weapon and switching to his Hammer pistol. He waited a moment before leaping up. One of the smugglers did the same but the soldier's reflexes were far superior thanks to the nanites in his system.
The pistol registered once and the Turian fell to the floor with a hole between his eyes. The remaining smuggler began shaking when he realized he was all that was left. In an act of stupidity he lept to his feet and charged the armored soldier, firing his shotgun wildly as he went.
Jason let the round bounce harmlessly off of the suit before close-lining the smuggler. The man did a flip in the air before landing on his head with a sickening crunch. Everything fell silent after that.
"Mission Accomplished." said the nano soldier holstering his pistol. "Now let's see if they have anything we can use."
Leaving the ship, Jason approached one of the crates the smugglers had been unloading. After a quick scan of the serial number he ripped open the lid. Inside were several boxes filled with small chips. Each one a prototype omni-tool that the Alliance military had been working on for the last two years.
"Well, I think I can call this a bonus." he said reaching in and taking one of the chips. "SECOND, can you adapt this to the nano suit's systems?"
"Affermative. Nano suit's adaptability will merg the device into it's systems." said the AI. Jason placed the chip onto the left forearm of the suit and watched as it seemed to absorb into it. The HUD flickered for just a moment before stabilizing.
With a flick of the wrist, the bright orange omni-tool sprang to life. "Initializing...Compete. Device Designation: Omni-Tool, has been merged into nano suit's systems. Connecting to hardware." The omni-tool flickered a few times before it changed from bright orange to dull red. "Connection Established. Omni-tool can only function within nano suits proximity. Overall effectiveness in the field increased by 18%"
Jason looked back into the crate and pulled out a second chip. "If that's the case, then I'll keep a spare on me for when I'm out of the suit." he said slipping the device into a pouch on his waist.
Using his new omni-tool, and the upgrades that the nano suit had given it. Jason hacked into the omni-tools of the dead smugglers and cleaned out all of the credits that they had on them, as well as what was stored onto the ship. Overall, the soldier walked away with 220,000 credits. Along with 10 grenades and a sniper rifle that he found in the ship's small armory.
Having done what he could, Jason turned to leave but paused as he looked at the open crates he'd gone through. "I can't just let this shit fall into the wrong hands." he muttered taking out some of the grenades he took from the ship.
Priming the explosives, he dropped one into each crate before walking away. The following explosions destroyed the crates and all of the weapons and devices contained within them.
With the job done, the soldier left the dockling area and headed back to Afterlife.
X
Aria read over the report before looking up at Jason who stood calmly with his arms crossed over his chest. "And the cargo was unsalvagable?" she asked skeptically.
"Destroyed in the firefight. Sorry, figured a few lost guns and armor would be worth it to have the smugglers six feet under." said Jason without hesitation.
The Asari wasn't pleased, she would have loved to have known what the smugglers were getting onto her station. She sighed, regardless...he got the job done like she asked. "Very well. You completed your obligation and I'll complete mine."
Jason mentally sighed, though a part of him knew that Aria was pissed off about the lost cargo he destroyed. She tapped a few keys on her omni-tool and his chimed a second later. "There's a cargo ship leaving Omega in four hours heading to the Citadel. The crew has been informed not to mention your presense while your onboard. The ship's located on Dock-51."
Nodding, Jason turned to leave when she called out to him. "Hey, Maverick." he turned back to see her smirking. "Pick something from the bar, on the house. Consider it a thank you."
He left the VIP balcony and walked through the club, glancing at a nearby bar a moment before changing direction. He definately could use a drink after everything that's happened so far.
Sitting at the bar, the Turian running it looked up from the glass he was cleaning. "Aria's waved your tab. What'll it be?" he asked. Jason looked through the selection, being sure to look for those that were Human friendly.
Ordering a bottle of whisky, Jason removed his helmet and set it on the bar. Running a hand over his shaved scalp before pouring a decent shot into the glass provided and knocking it back. The light burn down his throat was a welcoming sensation.
"Shit, you look like you've seen a lot of fucked up stuff." said the bartender.
Jason's cobalt colored eyes regarded him a moment as he knocked back another shot before pouring another. "You have no idea." he muttered as the techno-beat of Afterlife pounded around him.
A/N: I was tempted to skip things ahead to ME2 when I was rewriting this, then I realized a lot of the elements that brought this story to life would be lost in the process. My main objective was to bring this fic back to life while making a series of changes of my own design, but I intend on keeping what DFX did somewhat intact.
Although, I'm still up for any more tips from folks with ideas. Keep the reviews coming, and I'll have the next chapter up within the next couple of days.