The Candidate – 3

Disclaimer:I don't own Mass Effect. All that belongs to Bioware and Drew Karpyshyn. I am just playing in their world.

First Inquiries

Shepard's first inquiry from the secure channel in the human embassy was to Captain Maeko Matsuo in Noveria. Noveria, Shepard knew from experience, was the one place in the Traverse, where nearly every corporate crime of any significance originated. It was the paradise of plotters and schemers of the highest calibre, where, shielded by the reluctance of the corporate friendly planetary administration to cooperate with law enforcement agencies of any stamp, they could sit in peace and meditate their crimes. Consequently, Shepard had built his up his own network in the planet and his network, particularly in the law enforcement agencies, was sound and reliable. Even in the hub of villainy that was Noveria, there were honest law enforcement officers, and they had a habit of communicating to their counterparts outside the planet through one corner of their mouths. While the information they conveyed was rarely admissible as evidence in a court of law, it gave investigators vital leads and breakthroughs. Therefore, it was to the formidable captain of security of Port Hanshan that Shepard appealed to for aid.

"Matsuo san, it is a pleasure to speak to you once more," breathed Shepard as his holo greeted the chief of security of Port Hanshan.

"Shepard san", returned the captain of security warmly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"A matter of an alibi," returned Shepard coming quickly to the point of the discussion. "A spectre Saren and an asari matriarch, Benezia, were supposed to have been in Noveria at the time of the attack on Eden Prime. This asari matriarch has vouched for Saren. I need you to verify it."

"We verified it for C-Sec. Both of them came on a vessel, ASL Ithaki, that docked here eight hours before the attack on Eden Prime."

As a highly capable intelligence officer, Shepard was very familiar with the immigration procedures of the most infamous planet in the Attican Traverse. He was also intimately familiar with the most usual methods to falsify the time of arrival. Consequently, he questioned, "What all did you verify?"

"We checked the name of the ship, and the time of arrival here at Port Hanshan. They match, and their entries in the immigration list have the corresponding correct timestamp."

Immediately Shepard requested, "Can you please verify if the signature of the immigration officer on the counterfoil of their immigration entries matches that of an immigration officer on duty at that time? Even if they both went through a diplomatic channel, there should be an immigration entry counterfoil, duly countersigned by a Port Hanshan official."

"Excuse me?"

Shepard explained patiently, "Matsuo san – if I wanted to falsify my time of arrival, I would change the name of the vessel I arrived in, along with the time of my entry in the immigration lists. Given Saren's spectre status, it would be easy for him to change, and that is all he would be likely to bother to change. After all, the official immigration entry is the only legally admissible evidence. However, what is rarely changed, what is indeed much more difficult to change is, the signature of the immigration officer who signs on the counterfoil. As there is no timestamp on the counterfoil, it is not admissible evidence. Nevertheless, it is something that has often given us important indications whether the immigration entry is faked, because, even if the time of entry has been faked, it is hard to alter the signature on the counterfoil to the signature of an immigration official on duty at the time of the supposed entry. More often than not, it is the signature of an official who was on duty later!"

Maeko Matsuo digested what the intelligence officer had noticed. "Very well, Shepard san. I will check this for you."

"Thank you," returned Shepard. "That will be very helpful."

-(Scene Break)-

Three hours later, Captain Matsuo called him at the human embassy. Shepard answered her call immediately and the security chief of Port Hanshan greeted him warmly, "Shepard san, I have some news about your inquiry."

Shepard waved to her to continue, and she proceeded, "As you know, official records state that both Matriarch Benezia and Spectre Saren arrived in Noveria eight hours before the attack on Eden Prime and did not leave the planet since then. We checked the timestamps and the name of the ship on the entries and they match the time they are supposed to have entered. However, your suspicion was correct, Shepard san; the signatures on the counterfoils of their immigration entries don't match with the signature of the immigration clerks who were on duty at the time they are supposed to have entered."

"Whose signature do they match?"

"That of a woman who was on duty starting from twelve hours after the attack."

Shepard nodded. "Thanks, Matsuo san. Has this woman been questioned?"

"No, Shepard san. That would raise too many suspicions, and I have no authority to bring in the woman for questioning." Shepard nodded in understanding. There were limits to cooperation in the old boy network.

"Where are Saren and Benezia now?" inquired Shepard.

"Saren left Noveria thirty six hours after the attack on his private ship to an unknown destination. Benezia is still in Noveria, at the Binary Helix facilities at Peak 15 in the Skadi mountains."

Shepard nodded, "Thank you, Matsuo san. You have been a great help." With that, the duo parted, wishing each other goodbye.

Shepard sat down to consider what that meant to his investigation. He had been suspicious of the cast-iron, dyed-in-the-wool alibi produced by Saren. To Shepard, who was well aware of the nuances of criminal investigation, an ironclad alibi signalled one of the two things – a genuine coincidence that had managed to give the suspect a clear alibi, or else, as was usually the case, a fake one prepared before hand. Shepard usually preferred to see a more nebulous alibi – to him, it signalled, more often than not, the alibi of a person who did not know he would be called upon to establish one. Now Shepard had established, in his own mind, that Saren had lied, and was most probably tied to the attack on Eden Prime. But what frightened him far more was the involvement of Benezia in helping Saren falsifying his alibi.

Shepard could even understand Saren's motives and actions to an extent – Saren was known to despise humans. He saw them as a threat, their pushy, grasping natures as dangerous to the stability of the galaxy that he had conceived in his mind. He might well attack a human colony and try to destroy it after extracting the knowledge contained in the Prothean beacon. But Benezia? His mind went back to the fabulous receptions hosted by the most eminent diplomat of Armali to persuade humanity of the pacific intentions of the Council, a known friend of humans, and one of the few asari who had strongly spoken on integrating humanity into the wider galactic community in the wake of the First Contact War. Benezia had even touched Shepard's own life indirectly – when it had become known to the eminent Armali diplomat that William Shepard was looking for an asari to tutor his son in the use of his biotics, she had helped him find one who would teach a human. Was her peaceful intent a lie? Was she truly conspiring against humans? What could possibly motivate this woman to invade, or aid in invading Eden Prime? The Prothean beacon? Shepard shook his head – humanity was willing to hand it over to the Council as proof of its goodwill. Matriarch Benezia could have had access to that beacon merely by asking for it. It did not make sense. There was more, Shepard decided, to this matter than appeared on surface. It was time to make more inquiries.

-(Scene Break)-

Matron Irissa had received a courtesy call from her old student, Johann Shepard, and was very happy to see him again, after several years. Matron Irissa had a great deal of respect for the human, who had absorbed everything she had to teach, and hungered for more. At first, when Matriarch Benezia had asked her to teach a human, she had been very hesitant. But the matriarch had prevailed upon her to go to earth and teach the human, who, Benezia had assured her, likely held much potential. The human had justified the matriarch's judgement, and from the first, Irissa had got along well with her student. It had been a challenge to teach a human student, precisely because human biotics were very different from asari biotics. Humans were markedly weaker biotically, and it had taxed matron Irissa's skills and knowledge to come up with a regimen of exercises that challenged her student's powers and conditioned his mind, without burning out his implants. And her student had responded superbly to her teaching, developing, with her guidance, a strategy and framework for using his biotics. Recognising his weakness in power, Shepard, with the asari matron's guidance, had built up speed and endurance to make up for the lack of power. And by the end of the training, Matron Irissa had been pleased and proud of how her student had turned out.

Now, the hologram of her old student had appeared on her vid-comm. After exchanging some general courtesies, Shepard casually inquired her. "Matron Irissa, how is Matriarch Benezia?"

"No idea," returned Irissa. "She left Armali several months ago, with several of her students. No one knows where she's gone."

"I would have thought that Armali wouldn't let the matriarch go away so easily," returned Shepard in apparent surprise. "I mean – she is the best diplomat that Armali has had. She's probably won more contracts and trade agreements for Armali with her diplomacy, than anyone else."

"They weren't happy," agreed Matron Irissa. "Many begged her to remain, but the matriarch wouldn't agree. She resigned her position as Councillor, and left."

"Why in the goddess' name did she resign?" Shepard did not have to feign his surprise for this. Asari matriarchs did not disarrange their lives over trifles. Asari were blessed with infinite patience, and even if there had been disagreements with other Councillors, Benezia would not quit Armali altogether, unless it was something pressing.

"Again, I have no idea at all Johann. It was all so sudden, you know. One fine day, she just left Armali with many of her students." The asari matron continued, "It's so sad, you know. Her manor is empty, now that Benezia is gone, and her daughter Liara never comes home."

Shepard had done some research on the matriarch and her family, and knew that the daughter, Liara T'Soni was a Prothean archaeologist. Shepard nodded in sympathy, "Is Liara still off studying Protheans?"

"Yes," nodded Matron Irissa. "She got a grant from the University of Serrice, and went off to some Prothean dig site."

After that, the two spoke of some inconsequential things, and then Shepard signed off.

-(Scene Break)-

Shepard checked his watch, and a bit of checking on the extranet convinced him that it was impossible for him to reach anyone in the university of Serrice for the day as it would be late in the evening in Serrice. Rising from his terminal, Shepard strolled leisurely through the docks. He bought some basic necessities, and booked himself in a small hotel. Twice during his shopping expedition, he stopped and looked intently in the shopping windows. However, he gave no other sign of discomfiture or alarm and he hired a skycar, and drove to his hotel, late in the evening, having dined at a restaurant on the way.

Having returned to his hotel, Shepard went up to his room. He had been followed the entire day, after leaving the human embassy – he was perfectly certain about that, even if more than one shadow had been used. Knowing he was being followed, he, consequently, had used very secure channels, routing his transmissions through secure Alliance protocols, to communicate with both Captain Matsuo and Matron Irissa, to avoid compromising either of them. He considered who could be interested in him. Could it be one of the Alliance? It was unlikely – his plans were unknown to anyone in the Alliance and the brass knew that he was innocent in the destruction of the Prothean beacon business. Could it be one of the C-Sec people, who had been investigating into Saren? That too was unlikely considering that the investigation was over, and everything had been swept under the carpet. Could it be the Council trying to find out what he knew? This was more possible as a motive, but his tails had not been professionals. In fact, the trained officer in Shepard had been repulsed by the crassness of his shadows. If someone sent by the Council had been trying to shadow him, they would not have been so obvious to a trained intelligence officer. After all, the Council's spies were also trained agents themselves, and there were many ways of keeping tabs on him, without being so obvious about it for the Council. Finally, if the Council wanted to know what he knew about the attack or the beacon, they would only have to summon him. Shepard had an excellent record of cooperating with other species. No – there remained only one possibility, and that possibility was Saren. And that was something that intrigued Shepard.

Shepard had been surprised by some of Saren's actions in Eden Prime. The turian spectre had not bothered to take the Prothean beacon with him. Instead, after reaching the beacon and presumably using it, he had tried to destroy the colony, along with the beacon. What was the reason for trying to destroy the beacon? The only reason that Shepard could think was that the turian had come in contact with it and secured all the knowledge that he needed from it, and the beacon was of no more use to him. In such a case, the spectre would be anxious that no one else share the knowledge contained in the beacon. But Shepard had come in contact with the beacon, and Saren would be worried what he had learnt from it. That opened a less than pleasing field of speculation for the intelligence officer, since Saren's interest in him boded ill for him. He grimly nodded to himself. He would have to remain on his guard, and would have to watch his own back all the time from that moment.

It was fortunate for Shepard that he was on his guard that night. One of Shepard's favourite ways of throwing his enemies plans off gear was to vary his own routine, so that they would be forced to cope with his irregularities. Consequently, that night, he had switched off the lights, but had yet gone to bed although it was well past midnight. He was sitting on the floor cross legged, meditating to bring his nerves some relief. More importantly, as a biotic, it was necessary for him to keep his nerves calm, if he was to avoid splitting headaches.

During the meditations, he was alarmed when there was a soft buzz as a key card was pressed against the card reader on his door, and the door unlocked with a small click. Shepard moved with alacrity, his bare feet making no noise at all on the soft carpeted floor as he slid into a defensive position two feet from the hinged end of the door, picking up his pistol from his dressing table as he did so. For half a minute, there was no noise as the person outside listened intently to see if the person inside had been awakened. The door handle depressed with almost millimetric stealth, then slowly returned to position as the door, very very smoothly and gently, began to open. The gap between the door and jamb widened until it was about ten inches. Momentarily, the door ceased to move. A head began to poke its way cautiously through the gap. The intruder was a turian, as was evidenced from the features. When the intruder had thrust his head sufficiently forward, Shepard leaned back on his left leg, raised his right leg and smashed the heel of his right foot against the door, just below the door handle with every atom of strength that he could muster. There was a muffled half-cough, half-scream of agony as the edge of the door smashed into the turian's face with the full force of Shepard's kick. Shepard grabbed the man by his horns, and flanges, and brutally dragged him into the room, slamming the door shut behind with his foot, even as the turian tumbled into the room. Both hands, the right still clutching a shotgun with a silencer at the end, were clasped to the blood-masked shattered middle of his face. The nose was certainly broken; what had happened to mandibles, cheekbones and teeth were, at the moment, a matter for the most idle conjecture.

It certainly didn't concern Shepard. His face was entirely without pity. He swung his pistol, none too lightly, and brought it down above the intruder s right ear, just below the horns. Moaning, the man sank to his knees. Shepard took the shotgun from an unresisting hand and ran his free band over the turian's body. At his belt he discovered a sheath knife, which he withdrew. It was six inches long, double-edged, needle-pointed and razor-sharp. Shepard grabbed the moaning turian by his mandibles and horns, and pulled him ruthlessly to his feet. Equally ruthlessly, he smashed his pistol once more against the turian's other side of the face. Moaning, the turian went down, held up only the painful grip the human held on his mandibles and horn. Shepard let go of the turian, and he collapsed on the floor. "Face down, and hands where I can see them!" commanded Shepard. The turian complied with alacrity, terrified by this human who seemed to have no problems with putting a bullet in him if need be.

-(Scene Break)-

Fifteen minutes later, Inspector Chellick had driven to the hotel from where Shepard had called C-Sec, along with a turian sergeant in tow.

Shepard was standing over his prisoner, pistol in hand. When the C-Sec men entered, he spoke calmly, "I wish to lodge a complaint against this man."

Chellick saw the broken turian in a state of complete collapse, lying bleeding on the carpet, and the pistol holding Shepard, with his cold mien, and mildly remarked, "It seems more to me that he should be lodging a complaint against you."

Shepard quietly produced his own identification, apart from the trespassing turian's false door card, and shotgun and knife, "He came calling on me in the middle watches of the night."

But the turian sergeant touched his superior on the arm, "Sir, it's our old friend, Tarsus. Difficult to recognise him though, under all the blood."

Shepard returned mildly, "I am sorry to say that there was some violence."

Chellick answered, "Apologies are quite out of order. Tarsus should be beaten up regularly, preferably once a week. But this one should last him a couple of months. You will press charges against him, of course?"

"Certainly," answered Shepard. "By the way, his paraphernalia is that of an assassin. I don't think he came of his own accord. I should like to find out who sent him."

Chellick nodded with a grim faced thoughtfulness that boded ill for Tarsus. "I think that can be arranged, Commander Shepard."

-(Scene Break)-

With the attempt on his life the previous night, Shepard had no more illusions. He was operating in deep waters, and would have to watch his every step. However, the attempt on his life had demonstrated one important factor – his enemies were desperate to silence him, and consequently, the longer he survived, the more desperate his enemies would become. And desperation was often the harbinger of mistakes, mistakes that he could exploit.

Shepard's first call that day was to the university of Serrice from a public extranet terminal. He spoke to the head of the department of archaeology, Prof. Aelia Amun, indicating his interest in speaking with Dr. Liara T'Soni. The asari was little impressed with Liara. When Prof. Amun asked him why he wished to speak to Liara, he frankly told her, "I wish, ma'am, to speak to her about the beacon that was destroyed on Eden Prime."

"Commander Shepard, we could help you far more if you were to tell us what you experienced. Better still, if you came here ...", began the asari professor eagerly, when she learnt that Shepard had used the beacon before it exploded. Her professional interest was piqued, and she wanted to examine Shepard carefully.

Shepard gently interrupted, "Thank you, ma'am. Perhaps I shall avail myself of your gracious offer some other time. But for now, I would be grateful to you if you could tell me where to find Dr. T'Soni, for I believe what I saw is connected to some of the theories she propounded a few years ago." The latter part of Shepard's statement was a blatant lie. Shepard did not have the slightest clue about Liara's theories, or any other Prothean theories, for that matter. But his lie was a plausible one, and one which the asari professor could not easily refute at least.

Giving up the matter as a lost case, the asari professor huffed angrily, "What is it with Liara and her theories? Not an hour ago, another person wanted to speak with Liara about her theories. And now you wish to discuss the Prothean beacon with her?"

Shepard returned with apparent indifference, although underneath he was deeply unsettled. Who was interested in Liara and for what reason? He would need to find out fast. He spoke outwardly, "I am afraid I cannot speak for any others who may be interested in Dr. T'Soni's theories or whereabouts. My interest, I have explained. I would be grateful if you could provide me with a means to contact her."

"She is on Therum," the asari professor all but growled. "She is working all alone on a dig in Caleston. No one was silly enough to accept her theories, so she is alone in that out of the way place!" added the professor spitefully. "You'll find her there!"

"Thank you, ma'am," returned Shepard politely as he cut the connection.

-(Scene Break)-

Shepard emerged from the extranet terminal with one strong conviction. He had to get to this Liara fast, or he would never get his hands on her. Someone was already looking for her, and given her links to Benezia, would soon make her unavailable to him, one way or another. A cold smile played on his lips, as he considered the possibility of killing two birds with one stone. That would work perfectly. As he stepped out of the terminal, he nearly ran into a quarian woman. She hailed him, "Commander Shepard, can I speak with you, please?"

Shepard was nothing if not unfailingly polite. He invited the quarian to a restaurant with him, and pressed refreshments on her. She explained her interest in him. Her name was Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and she was on her pilgrimage. When she had heard that geth had attacked Eden Prime, and Commander Shepard had been on the team that had repelled the geth attack, she was naturally intrigued.

Shepard nodded, "Aye, there were dozens of geth, Ms. Rayya. Unfortunately, we couldn't learn much from them. Geth don't surrender, and they fry their memory cores when they die."

"Please call me Tali," returned the quarian girl. "But yes, it's hard to recover geth memories." She sighed, "I wish I had been there!"

"Most people would wish to be as far away from the geth as possible, Tali," smiled Shepard.

"No – I wish I had been there when the geth were killed. It is possible to recover caches of memory if you are fast and lucky. I could have recovered some data at least."

An idea struck Shepard. Given that Saren had employed geth in the past, it might be useful to keep someone who could recover geth data from their memories. Therefore, he handed her his real identification – the one which showed him as an Alliance Naval Intelligence officer, and suggested quietly, "Well, Tali, I am going up against an enemy who has some kind of understanding with the geth. Would you like to come with me? I won't lie to you. It will be very dangerous. But I would be grateful to you for any geth data you can recover – the Alliance requires it desperately. You are welcome to any and all other geth technology we recover in the bargain!"

Tali nodded eagerly, "That would be great, Shepard!"

-(Author's Notes)-

Okay, now you are beginning to see the difference my Shepard has with the canon/most fanon Shepards. My Shepard is a character who, having worked in the intelligence for long enough, knows how the system works, and consequently, also knows how to beat it, and most importantly, spot it when the system has been broken by others.

Also, he is himself a schemer and planner of no small merit. It is going to come out more strongly in the next few chapters.