AN: So...this is awkward. Heh. I had a nice note set up here on the top...and once I tried to resubit this doc, it was all gone. In any case, hello and welcome to my story! I do hope you enjoy reading this down the line. Don't have much to say as of this moment...so let's get onto it! Enjoy!
You know, I never knew what I was going to do with my life. Never thought it'd lead to this anyways. The names Mercer. Richard Mercer. Figured I'd give a little info about myself. I was born in 2148 and raised on Earth by a military family. Simple stuff really.
Not really much to say about my childhood. Dad was hardly around, mainly due to both the First Contact War and the 'call of the Alliance'. Mom thankfully had the time to teach me some basic stuff, like how to fight and to shoot. Really helped out to tell you the truth.
I went through high school pretty easily, and before I knew it I was given a chance to serve the Alliance. Much to my dad's annoyance, I declined. Not really a fan of following orders, so I decided to go solo. Besides, it usually paid better.
That's when tragedy struck. When I was 22, my parents were killed. They died trying to take back Mindoir, a human colony that Batarians attacked. I went to their funerals, accepted the medals they gained, and left. After that? I wandered.
For years I just drifted from planet to planet, taking jobs were I could. More often than not those jobs included hunting down criminals. I really didn't know what to do. Then one day I got a letter from someone, a letter that changed everything.
Location: Illium
Date: 6/12/2176
I downed another shot, the whiskey giving me a much needed burn. I just finished another odd job. Unfortunately that left me with little to do. I opened my omni tool, searching for... anything to do really. Nothing. Well guess that means I'm getting off this planet. Illium was a nice place and all, but it didn't have anything else for me. I scowled slightly. This always happened. Moving from place to place. It got boring to be honest. When was something solid going to come up? Ah whatever.
Just as soon as I paid my tab, a salarian walked up to me.
"Excuse me? Are you Richard Mercer?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow. Wonder what this one's deal was. I nodded. "Who's asking?" I shot back.
The salarian just handed me a datapad. "I was told to give you this. Good day." He said, walking off. Well shit, this ought to be good. I glanced down at the datapad.
Well haven't you been busy? Freelance pays good eh? Look, you may not know me, but I know you Richard. I know that you're trying to find your place in the galaxy, and I'm going to help you do it. I understand this may seem odd and completely random, and you're free to forget this. If not, would you kindly come to the building listed below? I'd like to give you something. An investment of sorts.
Come by Turos. Ask for room 20.
From a friend.
A friend? What the hell? I checked my omni tool for the time. Ah fuck it. My ship wasn't leaving for another day, so I might as well indulge whoever this is. I quickly left the bar. Let's see what they have to say. Cause whoever this was...they knew who I was. And that alone was ringing alarm bells in my head now.
I stared at the building the message mentioned. It had a big neon sign, which had 'Turos.' This was the place alright. I walked in, noticing an Asari at the front desk. I walked over when she noticed me. "Yes? Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yeah. I'm here for room 20." I said. Her eyes lit up as she checked her terminal. "So you're the client. Alright, this way please." She said, gesturing for me to follow. I did, and before I knew it we were in front of a… rather armored door. The asari waved her omni tool, and the door opened.
"Take all the time you need. They're waiting for you." She told me, before walking back to her desk. I shook my head, before walking in.
When I walked in, the door shut behind me. Oh boy. The room was dimly lit. I could barely see anything really.
"So what now?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"That's a great question. Hello Richard." A distorted voice said. I looked around for the source. Where the hell did...? That's when I saw a flicker of light, before a projection lit up. I saw... a figure sitting down. I couldn't tell anything about them, because they were shrouded in darkness. Great.
"So what's all this about then? Who the hell are you?" I asked, not beating around the bush. I wanted answers.
"Straight to the point then. Very well. For now, who I am is not important. Why you're here however is. You're here because you show potential for something greater than you are right now." They said. Well isn't that vague?
"What exactly are you talking about? I'm just a regular guy." I shot back
They chuckled. "I know that. Like I said, I want to help you. You have two choices here. You can turn around, walk away and pretend like this never happened. Or you can stay, and your life changes forever." They told me. I thought it over. Ah fuck it, freelance was starting to get a bit boring anyways.
I smirked. "I'm in. Where do we start?" I asked. Was this diving head into something that might just get me killed? I mean...probably. But what else did I have to lose right now?
The figure clapped their hands. "Excellent! We start here. First of all, you're going to need some gear." They said. I nodded. "Sounds fair. Oh and since we're working together now, what do I call you anyways?" I asked.
The figure chuckled. "You can call me... Azrael." They said. Azrael. The angel of death if I remember correctly. Or I could be wrong...been a while since I've heard any religious talk. Huh... interesting. "Okay then, what happens now Azrael?" I asked.
Azrael waved to a box next to me. Huh, wonder how I didn't notice that. "This contains armor I acquired some time ago. I'll give you time to put it on. It's rather simple, I assure you. Just press the blue button to let me know when you're ready." They said, their image fading to give me privacy.
I walked over to the box, opening it. Whoa... this is badass. The helmet was interesting... it didn't look like anything I had ever seen before. It was surprisingly armored, covering my entire face, along with a t-shaped visor. When I put the helmet on, it felt way different than the average one. It seemed that the helmet had given me a heads up display. Nice.
I looked down, picking up what looked to be a chest piece. It was slightly armored and painted black. Beneath that was gauntlets and greaves to match. I put it all on, over the clothes I was wearing. Hah, knew spending all that time with Mom was good for something...considering this felt like that one time I tried on some armor she had gotten me. Once it was all in place, I took a look at myself. The armor I was wearing was sleek, and let me move really smoothly. I like it. Suddenly I felt a slight jolt. Huh, weird.
Time to call Azrael. I pressed the blue button, and their image appeared once more.
"Ah you're done. What do you think of the armor?" They asked. I chuckled. "Not bad. Where did you find this?" I asked.
Azrael chuckled. "Oh this? It's experimental Alliance Spec Ops gear. I added a few modifications to it however." They said. I just gaped. Hell, I was half tempted to rip this thing off right now...I didn't plan on being arrested after all. Even if this offer was a good one at that! "You... stole this from The Alliance!?" I asked. They chuckled again. That was gonna get old...I just know it.
"Stole is such a harsh word. I simply acquired a non essential prototype. Trust me, the Alliance had plans to scrap this suit. Do you want me to explain its functions?" Azrael asked. I just nodded, still a bit speechless. Cause...honestly, prototype or not, this was still some heavy duty shit I was holding onto. Alliance took pride in their R&D for a reason...it worked.
They clapped their hands. "Excellent. So first of all, the suit has a tactical cloak built into it. It's a bit more advanced than your average tactical cloak. This one won't dissipate after you attack someone, allowing you to make multiple sneak attacks. Despite it's slender look, the armor is actually very sturdy, capable of taking gunfire for a while. It's also pressurized, so you'll be able to survive in the vacuum." Azrael said. Well shit, I made the right decision didn't I? I mean granted, I'm pretty sure that I was a literal walking arrest warrant...but at the same time this just felt so damn good. Starting to make me think that whatever was gonna happen after this...well it was gonna hurt probably. They continued.
"It also has a function that helps with hacking. The armor also increases your speed, strength and reflexes. Long story, but suffice to say that jolt you felt earlier? It essentially connected the suit to your body. Call it a form of synthesis. Don't worry, you can still take it off when you want to." They assured me. Hacking? Hoo boy...I got a feeling I was brought in for more than just muscle. Maybe I should have thought this through more...but now that I'm here, wearing the armor given as incentive...shit. I don't think I have a choice here.
In any case...damn. What else can this thing do? Azrael continued. "Now, onto the helmet. Besides the HUD, the helmet is equipped to deal with hazardous and toxic areas, mainly with a rebreather. The helmet also has various vision modes, including thermal and night. Let's see... I believe that's all for now. Considering that this armor isn't exactly... legal, I have something else for you." They said, gesturing to their right. Yeah, called it. Given the specs, and how I heard the Council run things...it was probably a nice idea to have something to cover up. Couldn't exactly just strut around in this thing if I'm not fighting, ya know?
I looked over to see... a duster? I walked over to inspect it further. The duster was definitely old school, which was already a plus in my book. The new stuff just couldn't work for me. It was ebony black, looked to be made of leather. Nice. I threw the duster on, tugging at the sides as I adjusted it. Brushing myself off, I nodded. This suit was nice...and the rest just made it better.
Azrael looked at me. "Good, now you'll be able to blend in. Now, I hope you're ready for a trip, because you're going to be leaving." They said. Uh what? Well...not like I had anything left on this planet. Hell, this was just a stop for me. Come to think of it...I don't think I'm heading back to Earth at this rate. Eh...fuck it. I'll bite.
I nodded. "Where to?" I asked. Hopefully it was somewhere new...Cause honestly some places got dull after a while. And from what I was seeing...this gig was anything but normal.
Some time later
Location: Elysium
Elysium was a nice place, not going to lie. Never been to the place before this, but I had heard the tales of it. I walked off the shuttle, wearing my duster and some clothes. Thankfully before I left Azrael mentioned that the helmet and suit were collapsible, but could be activated using my omni tool. Talk about handy am I right? I walked through port, making my way into the colony. Let's see... I checked my omni tool. Azrael told me that the store was... ah there we go!
I moved to the coordinates that Azrael had sent me, noticing the sights. Man...this was a hell of a place. Looks like it was the location of a pretty decent weapons store. I activated the helmet, for privacy and all that. Walking in, I noticed the walls were lined to the brim with guns. Oh joy. Honestly...that's something on the bucket list. Get a place that could look like that down the line...but I'm digressing here. I walked up to the counter, clearing my throat.
"Excuse me? I'm here to pick up an order." I told the man behind it, filtering my voice. Yeah, neat thing. It could do that. How did I know? Well...I took a moment to fiddle with the functions a bit. Sue me. I showed him the receipt, and the man nodded, going to the back of the shop. While I waited, I looked around. That's when something caught my eye. It looked like a... Bowie knife? Yes that definitely was a Bowie knife. The man came back with two cases. He set them on the counter, and I opened them.
Inside were the first case was a Raptor V assault rifle. It was a good model, able to shoot about fifty rounds before overheating. The other case held two Stinger V pistols. Excellent. I paid the man for the guns. "Oh, and how much for that?" I asked, pointing to the knife.
After a bit of bargaining, I walked out of the store with my guns and a new knife strapped to my side. Awesome. I think it's time for a drink.
I managed to find a bar rather quickly. When I entered, I noticed there were a lot of Alliance troops off duty. Fair enough. I had just sat down, when I heard an alarm blaring. What the...? I ran out of the bar, followed by the Alliance troops. The skies of Elysium were filled with dozens of ships. Ah shit. Pirates.
AN: Yep, this is one way to start off a story I guess. Now for the new readers, I hope you enjoy the story from here on out, and to the old readers, I hope you like the changes I made. The next chapter's up, and in any case, please don't hesitate to read, review, and enjoy! See ya next time!
