Daniels POV
Ashley didn't say much. She gave me an endearing kiss on the lips with a huge smile and left my room. I was left with my thoughts...and turned on as hell. That was cold...and she knew it. In a ay, that was her solidifying her trust in me and staking her claim. But why before the mission? That was uncharacteristic. Luckily, I had time to meditate. It wasn't as long as I would have liked but it refocused my energy on the mission. Given the feels this one will bring, it was right on time.
Shepard had been quiet since Onatorom. Occasionally, I caught that far off look in her eye...like she isn't completely at peace with what happened. I can understand. We will talk. I can't leave my homie out in the cold like that. "Looks like we have a welcoming party", said Wrex breaking me out of my reverie. Captain Matsuo and that other woman with a pole up her ass were waiting for us. "Who are you and what is your business here?", asked Captain Matsuo. "You first", responded Shepard with an icy tone. She told us who she was and then tried to take our weapons. Not happening.
"I'm a Council Spectre and I'm not giving up my weapons", said Shepard. "Yeah you can cancel that like Christmas", I said. "We're authorized to use force. You have until the count of three to relinquish your weapons", stated Captain Matsuo. "Haha! Time for some real action!", exclaimed Wrex gleefully. Liara's biotics flared. My Carnifex trained on the sour bitty on their squad. Shepard stepped forward with a defiant stance. "One...two...thr-", said Captain Matsuo as she was interrupted. "Captain Matsuo stand down! We have verified their identities. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here", stated a voice on the PA. "You mayproceed. Parisini-san will see you through", said Captain Matsuo with a slight bow of her head. "Stay out of trouble", said pole lady. I can't remember her name. "Lady, chill. You'll have your chance to die", I said with a knowing smirk. She sneered at me and took her place elsewhere.
"I really wanted them to try us", said Wrex. He actually sounded disappointed. "You'll get your chance to shoot things. I promise", said Shepard. "Well...okay. They still hurt my feelings", said Wrex, smiling. "Can we move this conversation inside? It is insane that a place could be this cold", said Liara with disdain. Yes...let's move. We spoke with Parasini briefly and she directed us to Anoleis. Hate that salarian. Oh I am prepared for him trashing Earth too. She also informed us that Benezia passed through. Here we go. "Benezia...she is here?", remarked Liara with surprise. "Was? Where is she now? I need to speak with her", said Shepard. Parasini told us she was at Peak 15 and said we could go inside to see if Anoleis would clear us to leave. Shepard nodded. "I imagine you have questions for me, Commander", said Liara. "No, we're good. You may not be military but you are part of my crew. I trust you, Liara", said Shepard, reassuring her. "Thank you, Shepard. That means a lot to me", said Liara with a wide grin. Get a room you two!
Shepard didn't stop to talk to anyone. We approached Anoleis office and Parasini greeted us again. Does she have a Double-Mint twin?! Who moves that fast? She let Anoleis know we were there and he, clearly annoyed, stated we could enter. "You'll understand if I don't get up. This meeting is a courtesy. I am here to preserve the interests of the Board. You Earth born humans are always causing a ruckus", said Anoleis. "Funny thing about Earth...we are pretty loyal to our homeworld", said Shepard coolly. "If you want to take pride in that trash infested sewer world, go ahead. My people have a clean homeworld with no poverty", said Anoleis. "I know you better chill on talking about Earth. I know THAT. Three-fingered douche nugget. If your planet is so superior, why'd you need the Krogan to handle your problem? Coward!", I said. Wrex laughed. Liara stood with arms crossed. Shepard snickered. Anoleis frowned and was pissed but knew better than to say anything. I wager Wrex had more to do with that than myself or Shepard. "I'll be leaving now", said Shepard. Glad she didn't waste more time with this asshole. "I trust you can show your way out", said Anoleis.
Parasini stopped us to say that she could help us get to Peak 15. She directed us to Lorik Quin. A simple exchange...scratch her back and she'll purr...or something. We headed to the hotel lounge via elevator. Liara did this stretch...running her hand across her chest. I caught that from time to time in the game but I say damn it's sexier in person. Focus, Sercy! Once out of the elevator, we found Lorik Quin nursing a drink. "Ahh the Spectre. What can a little ole me do for you?, said Quin. Of course I checked out of the conversation. I kinda liked this guy in the game. He's the guy that is too smart for his own good but smart enough to stay under the radar."There is one more...oh what is that attractive human saying? Fly in the lotion? Anoleis hired ERC to ransack my office. You may have to kill them", said Quin. "I'll try to grab your data. If I'm lucky I won't have to kill anyone", said Shepard, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. Quin gave us an OSD and asked that we keep the blood off the carpet. Great. Time to kill pole lady.
Shepard's POV
That was a little too easy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we're being setup but Quin seemed like a straight up guy...for a turian. We exit the elevator to Quin's office and are confronted with ERC security. "Hey what are you doing here?", screamed the female officer. "Lorik Quin gave said I could come in", said Shepard. "Quin is under investigation. I suggest you leave", said the female officer. "I don't think so. What are YOU doing here? Does Captain Matsuo know you are here?", quizzed Shepard. "Look Anoleis has a varren up his ass about this guy. Tell you what...you didn't see me...I didn't see you", said the female officer and left. "Contact!", yelled Daniels.
Two officers appeared shooting first. Liara used Lift to catch them and Wrex shot them with his Armageddon shotgun. Another officer rounded the corner and I used Throw to take her down quickly. "Damn it Shepard!", screamed Daniels. "What?", I asked. "That was my kill!", said Daniels. "Study long...study wrong", I said with a smirk. "And no more retro BET for you during downtime", said Daniels. "We should be careful. I think I heard movement upstairs", said Liara. She seemed slightly unnerved. Maybe the revelation of Benezia being here shook her up a bit. We quietly approach the staircase though that is impossible with a krogan in your group. I took point and Daniels crouched with her Carnifex leading the way. We reached the top of the stairs and before I could blink, Daniels shot a Throw near a stack of crates and another officer's body twitched to his last breath. "How the hell did you see him?!", I asked incredulously. "He was breathing too hard. I heard him before we reached the top of the stairs", said Daniels calmly. "You are enjoying this?", asked Liara. "A woman after my heart", said Wrex. "Okay let's get to Quin's office before backup arrives", I said.
We quickly collected Quin's data on the OSD drive and headed out. The officer we met earlier was waiting for us with a few other guests. "Do you know what we do to cop killers where I'm from?", she asked. "About the same that we'd do to corrupt cops on mine...if we had cops", said Wrex. "What are you even doing here? I doubt Captain Matsuo even knows you're here", I said. "And she'll never find out. Weapons free", yelled the cop. "I told you'd get your turn", said Daniels, shooting out a Singularity. The cops stood no chance and we took them down with little resistance. "Clear", said Liara. "I hear movement downstairs", whispered Daniels. "Careful, Commander. I saw a sniper laser", said Wrex. "Time for Jean Grae to make an appearance", said Daniels, equipping her sniper rifle. Daniels crouched near the edge of the balcony and sighted down on a target. The next thing I heard was "gotcha!" followed by a shot. Another cop ran out of cover and Liara caught him with Lift. I finished him off with a few shots from my assault rifle. "All clear", said Wrex. "Let's get this information back to Quin", I said and we headed in the elevator.
Exiting, we were met by Parasini who questioned us about gunfire. "Speak plain. What's your interest?", I asked hastily. She requested that we meet her at the bar before talking to Quin and left. "Everyone has an angle", said Daniels as we headed back to the hotel bar. Parasini wanted us to convince Quin to testify against Anoleis, thus revealing her true identity as an Internal Affairs agent. "Two birds, one stone. Very well. As long as you can get the garage pass we need", I said. "That won't be a problem. Find me in Anoleis office once you've convinced Quin", she said. Convincing Quin wasn't an easy task. "Now that you have my data, you want to dictate how I use it?", said Quin incredulously. "Anoleis is dirty. If your board doesn't agree with that, you should eat them!", exclaimed Wrex. "That's...one way of looking at it", said Daniels. Quin finally agreed to testify and we headed back to Parasini.
When we handed her the data, she seemed more irritated than relieved. "Doesn't this help you?", I asked. "Yes it does. I just feel like I'm coming to the end of a LONG work day", said Parasini and added "I wish I had something comfortable to change into". She handed us the pass and headed to Anoleis office to finish the job. "Ahh the ticket!", screamed Daniels. "This literally was the most taxing process. It's like we were kids begging our parents to go outside and play", I said while shaking my head. "It does have a bit of an infantile twist to it", said Liara nodding her head. "We should have just shot through the salarian. He's a dead man anyway", said Wrex. "Wrex...we'll have a conversation about finesse and subtlety one day", said Daniels. We finally made it to the garage.
"You need a pass to get access to the garage", said a security guard, stopping us. "I have authorization. Excuse me", I said, showing her the pass. "Yes that's genuine. Be careful out there. I hear there is a nasty storm up the mountains", said the guard. We headed inside when Daniels suddenly grabbed me again. "Daniels if you do that one more time I will shoot you!", I barked. "Shepard you hear that?", Daniels asked, ignoring my warning. "Geth! Grab cover!", I yelled. We all took cover behind two large crates as two Juggarnauts fell to the ground. Further back, I could see two troopers and a hopper. Daniels changed to her sniper rifle and brought the hopper down quickly. Wrex shot Carnage at one of the Juggarnauts which was enough for Liara to catch them both in a Singularity. I shot a Throw knocking one of the troopers down. The last trooper shot Carnage toward me but missed. Daniels finished it off with a Throw of her own. "Easy!", she screamed out as it fell and sputtered on the ground. "Area secure", said Liara.
"What's going on here? What did you do? Did you discharge your weapons?", asked a very angry Captain Matsuo. "Me? I was just defending myself. Those Geth attacked us", I replied coolly. "You expect me to believe...where did they come from?", she asked. "That asari bitch packed them in those containers", replied Wrex. "That asari is someone's mother. Watch yourself, Wrex", said Daniels. Wrex simply shrugged it off. "If Benezia-sam brought these with her, there could be more out there", said Captain Matsuo. "How many more are we talking about? I need numbers", I said. "At least 20 more. I need to tell the board and step up security. If this gets out, there will be an investor panic", she said and turned to leave. "Good lord. Can we just get in the Mako and get the hell out of here?", asked Daniels. "Sounds good to me. I've had enough of this place to last a lifetime", I said. "On your orders, Shepard", said Liara. I wonder what lovely surprises await us at Peak 15.
End Chapter 36
A/N: Somebody said you was looking for me? Here I go! This chapter was retyped so many times. Y'all have no idea. Anyway, the Noveria arc will be three parts...or one really long second part. I'm skipping the drive up the mountain because it will be too repetitive. This story ain't over. So if you're still here, patiently waiting for updates, you are appreciated. Truly. What up, UK.
Obligatory disclaimer: BioWare owns Mass Effect. I own Sercy, Chagoya, and everything else that you've never saw anywhere else. You could probably borrow it if you ask nicely but you definitely can't have them. This is the remix. The internets bump this remix.