Mass Effect: Faustian Bargain/Prolouge

April 13, 2167 16:27 Earth Time

Aldrin City, Terra Nova

Lamar Tarleton quickly pulled out his Hahne-Kedar Lancer assault rifle as he rushed after a fleeing batarian militant through the torrential rainfall. Terra Nova was one of the biggest Alliance targets for terrorist attacks and Lamar had fought against four of these attacks already after being transfered to the planet six months ago. Lamar had a general discontent with most aliens, but he despised Turians and Batarians, which allowed him to feel little remorse over the twenty-some batarians he killed today and the several he killed over the last few months.

Lamar then raised up his gun and pulled the trigger thrice at half-second intervals. The near microscopic rounds zipped through the air and shredded the batarian's left leg. The alien bellowed in anguish as he fell to the ground, tumbling a few feet before crashing against a wall. Lamar then came to a screeching halt, nearly slipping on the rain drenched street, a yard and a half in front of the wounded alien. There he could be seen sporting a face that could only be described as one of sheer satisfaction.

Lamar casually walked up to the batarian who was gripping at his leg and rolling in pain. Lamar placed his rifle on the magnetic strip on his back as it folded into a compact rectangle and he then kicked away the batarian's pistol. He then got down on one knee next to the bloodied alien, still sporting a satisfied grin. "Your government never does know when to throw in the towel eh four-eyes?" Lamar mocked the batarian. The alien looked up at him in utter comtempt, "You humans... and your cursed Alliance... why... do you insist upon aiding your... kind in tainting the galaxy with your blighted footsteps?" The alien struggled to utter out, hacking up blood and what Lamar believed to be mucus.

Lamar tilted his head to the left in thought, which was also an expression of comtempt in batarian culture, which caused alien's facial expression to go from one of agony, to one of boiling anger. "Me? Oh you know; I wanted to see the galaxy, represent humanity, slaughter a couple batarians... you know, that sorta thing." By the time Lamar finished talking, the batarian jumped right up and tackled Lamar, roaring in frustration, seeming to be completely oblivious to his mangled and bloodied leg. He then pulled out a serrated blade and began thrusting it at the young human who was pinned down. Lamar managed to dodge the first few swipes but then one of the swipes hit home, leaving a check-mark shaped gash on his right cheek, the rain immediately causing the blood to dilute and run down his face. He then head butted the enraged alien, causing him to stumple back, allowing Lamar to get back up and deliver a turn kick right into his chest.

The batarian grabbed onto to a street light to keep his footing on the slippery street. He then activated his omni-tool and pointed it right at Lamar. Lamar heard a low beeping noise come from it and then saw a clumpy projectile come out of it. He rolled out of its way and saw the projectile begin to untangle into a net, which ensnared a trash can right where Lamar was standing, the net then released an electric discharge, causing the trash can to explode. Lamar had not noticed his wounded nemesis was slowly limping towards him with a shotgun in his hand. Lamar felt the cold metal of the barrel being pressed against his forehead. "For the glory of Khar'Shan-" before the batarian could finish, Lamar did a sweep kick on his bad leg, causing him to crumple to the ground. Lamar then quickly darted towards the pistol he had kicked away earlier. He scooped it up and fired multiple shots into the alien, before finally placing a shot right in the crown of his skull. Lamar dropped the pistol and leaned up against a wall, then he removed his upper body armor and saw his white t-shirt was soaked with sweat, blood and rainwater. He then slouched to the ground, finally beginning to feel the aches from ever cut, bruise, scrape and sore muscle in his body.

Before he completely let his guard down; he heard a distinct clacking noise and quickly dived behind a crate. He looked towards the prefab he was previously leaning against and saw a harpoon lodged in it, right were his heart would've been. Lamar knew only of one weapon that used such ammunition; the Batarian State Arms Kishock Harpoon Gun. "The Khar'Shan Kebab", "The Slaver's Skewer" and the "Hegemony Heatmaker" were just a few nicknames given to the gun by Alliance grunts, but what the gun so notorious for was the fact that it was designed to do more pain than actual damage; a single well placed shot could send an armored krogan into shock.

Despite this, Lamar knew the gun had its drawbacks: The gun used compressed air to propel the harpoon, which meant the user had to hold the trigger for at least 5 to 7 seconds to achieve maximum range and it also caused the projectile to leave a vapor trail. In addition, the gun had to be reloaded after each shot, unlike modern day sniper rifles which used shavings from an ammo block. Lamar squinted, wiping the rain water out of his eyes and was able to trace faint vapors back to the third window on the second floor of the opposing building. He then noticed the batarian he had killed earlier had the exact same gun in his backpack! Lamar knew if he could get it; he could take down the sniper, provided he didn't get shot before retrieving it. Lamar thought for a moment then remembered that he still had some smoke flares to mark his location! All he needed to do was toss them in the right place to mask his movements from the sniper.

Lamar primed two smoke flares and counted to three in his head before tossing them out. The gray sticks tumbled out and immediately created thick veil of crimson smoke, rising above the prefab buildings. Lamar then rolled out next to the dead alien and drug it back to the crate. He tugged the rifle out of its backpack and the first thing he noticed about the gun was its weight, the gun did not have the basic streamlined design shared by most 22nd century sniper rifles, and the other thing was its firing mechanism; the gun used a rail shaft propelled by compressed air to fire each round. Before Lamar could shoulder up the rifle, he saw an F-61 Tengu Fighter flying straight towards him. The fighter let off a salvo of rockets which hit the building where the sniper was hiding at. The prefab collapsed into a flaming pile of rubble, quickly extinguished by the unrelenting downpour.

Lamar came out from behind the crate and saw the fighter doing a few fly overs while three UT-15 Pack Mule shuttles lumbered through the air, very clumsily. The shuttles finally landed, though to Lamar it seemed to look like more of a crash. The side doors opened and Alliance grunts, all armed to the teeth scrambled out, assault rifles at the ready. Lamar walked to the shuttles when an aged man in an Alliance Officer's uniform slowly stepped out and approached Lamar. Lamar quickly flashed a crisp salute, the Officer held his hand up, relieving the young soldier. He then looked at the corpses of the dead aliens behind Lamar then right to the young Lamar. "You kill 'dem bastards by yerself boy?" the old officer inquired. "They killed my squad sir! I was merely returning the favor!" Lamar quickly cursed himself in his mind, 'why the hell did i just say that?' He thought as the old man continued to analyze Lamar's bloodied and bruised body. "I think I know of a few people that could have use for your... abilities"