Tablet died. Took this one out at about half-done. I am more than a little angry about this. Apologies if quality suffered. I just want to get on with the story, not have to deal with pages of writing vanishing into the ether.

"Approach control, this is the SSV Normandy, requesting a vector and a berth."

It amused her, sometimes, how corporations would try to emulate the military. They'd give their security forces military ranks, they'd wear uniforms styled after the military, they'd use equipment styled to look like the tools that the armed forces used. In some cases, they even adopted the same procedures that the military used... or the ones they thought the military used.

The problems arose when people assumed that the military was strong and effective because of their trappings, rather than the trappings following the function that was needed. The guns were not boxy and durable because they wanted to look that way, they were boxy and durable because surviving the abuse of some poorly-trained grunt required a certain integrity of construction.

So when a private company doing something entirely unrelated to shooting people for political reasons behaved like the military, it always made her wonder who they were pandering to, because the procedures that made sense when you were teaching an eighteen year old kid how to lock down the building pointedly did not make sense when securing a large, tech-heavy company.

"Normandy, this is Port Hanshan Approach Control. Your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grid is armed and tracking you. State your business."

She rolled her eyes. It wasn't like this was a distant system off the galactic trade route. There was an active relay in the system, for crying out loud!

"Bring the stealth systems up but leave them offline," she ordered Joker from the doorway to the cockpit. "I don't want to flash the capability if we don't have to, but if they're compromised I don't want them being able to see what they're shooting at."

"Aye aye, stealth systems on standby," he acknowledged, then tapped the comm toggle. "Approach Control, we're on Citadel business. We have a Council Spectre on board."

The voice on the comm at least had the decency to sound a little chagrined. "Landing access granted, Normandy. Be advised, we will be confirming identification upon arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded. Approach Control clear."

Joker shook his head. "What a fun bunch. Think I'll take my next leave here."

Shepard smirked at him. "I don't know, it might be fun if they tried."

"Yeah, but the Alliance yells at me when I scratch the paint job," he said. "We'll be down in ten."

"This will be a little different than our previous missions," Shepard said to Kaidan and Liara while they waited in the decontamination chamber.

"Pardon me for saying, ma'am, but I should hope so," Kaidan said with a smile. "Your last two outings weren't, ah... particularly peaceful."

"Fair point, Alenko, but not quite what I meant," Shepard said, then straightened up. "Unlike the previous missions, we're not dropping into a situation where I am the undisputed expert. Politics are not my forte, and corporate politics even less so."

"You seemed to achieve your goals with ExoGeni," Liara offered. "Surely this cannot be more difficult than that?"

Shepard and Kaidan glanced at each other. "Yes and no," Shepard said after a moment's pause. "It will be easier, in that for the most part the companies here want to help me get what I want and leave. On the other hand, it will also be much harder, because there are far more of them and they're far enough removed from Citadel space that they might think they can push things more than ExoGeni could."

"I see," Liara said, then frowned. "Will we be using the tale from earlier, then?"

Shepard pursed her lips while Kaidan cocked his head at the two of them. "No, I don't think that will work to our advantage," she said to Liara, then turned to Kaidan to explain. "When we went to see Liara's family law firm, we pretended that she had been the one to contact and engage me, rather than the other way around, so as to encourage them to lower their guard."

Kaidan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Makes sense."

"But I doubt we could sell it here, and none of the people here are inclined to trust us," Shepard said. "So we'll play it straight: I'm the Spectre, tracking down Benezia. Liara is my subject expert, and Kaidan is my political adviser. If someone more familiar with the Spectre modus operandi questions that, then we can say Liara is leverage to avoid a fight with a powerful matriarch."

"That should work," Liara agreed. "Although I doubt it will be necessary. The Council has not emphasized the ruthlessness of their agents in some time – at least, not that I have seen. Few, save perhaps the asari and the krogan, will remember when they were more upfront about the Spectres being their enforcers."

"Good," Shepard said. "Now, as for my original point – I'm not trained as a politician or a spy. I can improvise reasonably well, but I simply don't have the depth of experience that I should for this kind of mission. So if you see me botching something important, please say so, and we can discuss my approach. We're aiming for 'polite but firm,' for tone. Not mean, not trying to make waves, but not compromising either."

Kaidan nodded. "Makes sense, ma'am. I'll pipe up if I think there's a problem."

"As will I," Liara added.

Shepard turned up the heater on her suit and began cycling the outer airlock. "Then let's be about it."

"Looks like we have a welcoming committee," Kaidan muttered as they approached the end of the gangway to Port Hanshan. "How do you want to play this, ma'am?"

Shepard resisted the urge to sigh wearily. "Back me up, but if we fight aim to incapacitate only," she ordered. "They're private security, and while I'm sure they're well equipped I doubt it's military grade."

Kaidan and Liara both nodded.

"That's far enough," the woman in front ordered, holding up a hand to stop their advance.

Shepard canted her head to the side. "Something wrong, officer?" she asked, voice level.

The blond woman on the right sniffed. "You'd better hope there isn't," she half-snarled.

What is it about private security that always draws in the people with a fetish for authority, Shepard thought while the lead figure shushed her partner.

"This is an unscheduled arrival," she said. "I need your credentials."

Shepard gave a half shrug. "I'm Commander Elle Shepard, Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. And you are...?"

"Captain Maeko Matsuo," the woman replied. "Head of security for Port Hanshan."

The blond woman on the right – Kaira Stirling, according to the name tag on her breast – spat on the ground. "Load of horse crap, ma'am," she drawled, not taking her eyes off of Shepard.

Either she doesn't read the news, or she's an even bigger idiot than I guessed, Shepard thought. I suspect the latter. Or both, I suppose.

"We will need to confirm that," Matsuo said. "Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria. Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons."

Shepard drew her pistol, leveling it smoothly at Sergeant Stirling's forehead. "I think not," she said, tone mild.

Behind her, she heard the distinctive ripple of a flaring biotic as Liara and Kaidan both readied for action.

"I am a Council Spectre on a capture or kill mission," she explained to the trio in front of her. "If you doubt that, then you are welcome to risk my ire by making me wait in the cold or on board my vessel while you confirm my identity. You are not welcome to disarm me or those in my service. Attempting to do so may prove..." she let her voice go flat, "hazardous."

Captain Matsuo did not move, instead folding her hands behind her back. "We are authorized to use lethal force. You have until the count of three to lower your weapons. One... t-"

Shepard snarled, lowering her pistol while snapping her left hand up in a grabbing motion. A wave of blue coalesced into existence in front of the security forces, slamming them upward and back against the wall behind them with an audible thwack.

"CAPTAIN MATSUO, STAND DOWN!"

The voice, coming from the public address system designed to be heard by pilots in their vessels, was loud enough to set their ears ringing.

Shepard smiled and released her grip on the trio, allowing them to slump to the floor of the dock.

"We've confirmed their identity," the voice continued. "Spectres are allowed to carry weapons here, Captain."

Shepard walked up to the captain, who was struggling to her feet, and extended a hand. "Apologies," she said. "Are you injured?"

Matsuo eyed the extended limb for a moment, then accepted it with a thin smile. "I am not," she answered, slightly ruefully.

Beside her, Kaira was swearing at Liara under her breath, and Matsuo sighed. "Clearly, Spectre, you may proceed. I hope the rest of your visit is... less confrontational."

"If that was likely, they wouldn't be sending me," Shepard said while the captain dusted herself off.

"I was afraid of that," she said. "Please do your best. Parasini-san will speak to you upstairs."

Gianna Parasini, as it turned out, was exactly what somebody in her position was supposed to be: Polite, pretty, inoffensive, apologetic, and nearly sickly sweet.

The position where everyone knows the mask is there, and judges you for how well you wear it, Shepard thought while the woman explained who she was. It's a pity we're not all so honest.

"-and we apologize for the incident in the docking bay," she finished saying. "Clearly there was a miscomunication and we will do everything our power to ensure it does not happen again."

Translation: You called our bluff and clearly are willing to make a mess here. Please do what you need to do quietly and quickly to avoid affecting business.

"Apology accepted," Shepard said with a smile cold enough to make Parasini's expression falter momentarily. "I will say that it's rather heavy security for such a small port, isn't it?"

"The executive board does everything in its power to ensure the security and privacy of its client corporations," the secretary replied.

"I cannot have my investigation hampered," Shepard warned.

Parasini glanced around, then lowered her voice. "Be careful," she said. "The board can bury you in litigation. You'd need an asari lawyer to see the case through."

Interesting, Shepard thought. That almost sounded like she meant it.

"I am hunting the traitor responsible for the destruction of Eden Prime," Shepard said. "While I don't doubt they have excellent legal representation, it is the court of public opinion that would deliver the meaningful verdict... and I doubt it would be in their favor."

Parasini started to smile, before quickly covering her mouth and coughing. "Ah. Well, it really isn't my place to comment on that," she said, her mask back in place. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Hm. Well, it's worth a shot...

"Actually, yes," Shepard said. "As I mentioned before, I'm searching for the people responsible for the destruction of Eden Prime, and the Matriarch Benezia is a person of interest in the case. Do you know where I might find her?"

The woman in pink blinked in surprise. "Lady Benezia? She arrived a week and a half ago and was bound for the Peak 15 research facility. According to her schedule, she was supposed to depart a few days ago, but there was a problem with her planned flight, so I assume she's still there."

"Could you tell me how to get there? I assume it's shuttle or ground transport."

Parasini nodded. "Both, but you'll need to talk to Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave the facility."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Will I?"

The woman nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. It's an automated system and I don't have the ability to grant you clearance."

"Very well," Shepard sighed. "I suppose we'll just have to go speak with him."

Parasini put her hands on her thighs and bowed slightly. "If you have any questions, feel free to speak with me. My office is outside the administrator's."

"Anyone else want to bet that we're going to have to bend over backwards to get a pass to leave this place?" Kaidan asked when Parasini had walked out of earshot.

"No bet," Shepard said. "Liara? Are you alright?"

Liara had turned an unusual shade of light blue, one that Shepard had come to recognize as the asari equivalent of shocked pale. "I... it is one thing, to plan to find your mother here, and another to have it confirmed," she said, shaking her head. "A part of me wishes she was not."

"Perfectly understandable," Kaidan said. "I know I wouldn't want to find my parents here, I mean. Uh..."

"Do not worry, Kaidan," Liara said with a gentle smile. "I understood what you meant."

Shepard shook her head. "You two..." she chuckled softly. "Kaidan, give us a moment?"

He nodded, wandering over to read one of the advertising signs.

Liara bit her lip and faced her. "Shepard, if you do not trust me, I will understan-"

Shepard put a finger to the asari's lips, eliciting a faint gasp from her. "Liara. I said I trusted you. That stands, but I feel I should clarify that I trust your motivations, your honesty, and your will. That trust does not mean you should feel obliged to attempt to handle something you aren't sure you can take."

"I-"

"Sshh. If you think you can't cope with what we're doing, no matter where we are, just tap me on the shoulder and let me know. The Normandy has shuttles, and even if we're in the bowels of some research facility, I'm reasonably confident in my ability to wreck geth by myself these days," she said with a faint smile. "Kaidan's a good man and won't judge you for it, and you know I don't judge."

Liara blinked rapidly, then gave a choppy nod.

"Good."

The administrator's office was the same as the rest of the facility: A sparsely-furnished space done in classic brutalist style, with overly heavy exposed structural elements and few creature comforts. It reminded Shepard a great deal of home, as much of her youth had been spent in the broken-down wreckage of quickly assembled spaceport infrastructure.

"I do not like this place," Liara remarked as they strolled into the lobby of the office. "It looks open, but hides secrets and lies."

"It's also not very comfortable," Kaidan said, wincing as he leaned against the wall. "All hard edges and rough surfaces."

Shepard shrugged. "I don't think it's supposed to be comfortable, it's supposed to make a statement. Although I wonder if it's maybe a step too far toward 'look on my works, ye mighty, and despair?"

Kaidan chuckled while Liara stared on in confusion. "It's a human poem," Shepard explained. "Titled Ozymandius, but I'm blanking on the author at the moment."

"Percy Shelly," Kaidan supplied.

Shepard snapped her fingers. "Right, right. Poetry was not my strong suit, I'm afraid."

"Don't take this the wrong way, ma'am, but I'm surprised you knew it at all," he said. "Or do they teach it special for the N training program?"

"No, I read a lot as a kid," Shepard said, somewhat evasively. "Ah, Parasini."

"Commander Shepard," the woman in pink offered the same fake not-a-smile. "How can I help you?"

You know exactly why I'm here. "I'd like to speak to Administrator Anoleis, please, at his earliest convenience."

"Of course. One moment, please," she said, then toggled the commlink on her desk. "Mister Anoleis?" she asked, laying on the obsequious tone even more than she did with her.

"Yes, what, what?" the distinctive synthesized tone of a salarian translator snapped back.

"Commander Shepard is asking to see you, sir," she said.

A moment's pause – an eternity for a salarian, Shepard thought – and his voice buzzed through the commlink again. "Right. Fine. Come in," it snapped, and Parasini waved her around the pillar behind her.

"You will excuse me if I don't stand up," the salarian said, not even bothering to stop typing as she approached his desk. "I have no time to entertain refugees from that urban blight called Earth."

Now this, Shepard thought, was not a tack I expected.

The administrator of a facility like Port Hanshan would not have gotten to that place by giving up the first time a whiff of authority or official investigation drifted by. If she was being honest, she'd expected somebody that would promise a great deal and deliver very little, or perhaps somebody that would bog her down in paperwork or other 'official' forms to drag out the process. Another option might have been somebody shifting blame off to underlings, like saying the computer system was down, or sending her on a wild goose chase for some IT worker that could actually grant her the clearance she needed.

She had not expected someone to be directly hostile, although in retrospect, it was an effective tactic – if the people looking around were too angry to think carefully, they'd be easy to misdirect or be more prone to making mistakes. The downside was, of course, if he came across somebody who was literally empowered to shoot him in the face.

Not that I plan on doing that... yet, at least.

"This meeting is a courtesy," he continued. "I will only cooperate as required by the executive board. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law."

"Which is fine," Shepard interrupted. "Corporate law enforcement is not my area of expertise nor my purpose here. I am here for Matriarch Benezia."

"She was scheduled to leave several days ago," the salarian said.

Shepard sighed. "You and I both know that her schedule... slipped," she said. "I am not asking for corporate secrets, Administrator. I simply require a garage pass to depart this facility to visit her."

Anoleis shook his head. "I'm afraid that's impossible. Peak 15 is a private facility in the Skadi mountains. Regardless, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttles are grounded and surface access is cut off."

Shepard stared at the salarian for a long time, then nodded slowly. "Are you sure that's how you want to play this, Administrator?" she asked.

"Please. I cannot control the weather. Don't make an issue of this, Shepard," Anoleis snapped.

"Very well. I won't take any more of your time," Shepard said, turning on her heel and leaving the room while the salarian complained about wasted time while she left.

"Um. Shepard?" Liara asked once they were clear of the office. "I'm sure we can wait out the blizzard..."

Kaidan chuckled quietly. "I don't doubt that there's a blizzard there, but if I had to guess, I'd wager there's always a blizzard there."

"Always?" Liara scowled.

"Imagine you're renting out lab space to a corporate client," Kaidan said. "In the long run, what costs more money: Spending extra on insulating and transporting supplies to a lab, or having your entire company sued into the ground for making a brazen mockery of Citadel law? No, the lab was built there for a reason – to keep whatever was in it contained, and to keep prying eyes away."

"I see," Liara said. "So he was never going to give us a pass, then."

Shepard shrugged. "Well, it's always possible," she said, "although there'd be hell to pay if he rolled over too easily. Still, I'm surprised he had the guts to say no to a Spectre to her face."

"Commander!" Parasini called from behind them as they were leaving the office. "Commander Shepard!"

Shepard half-turned and raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"You dropped this," she said, holding up a small lip balm container.

Shepard glanced down at the tube, then smiled. "So I did," she said. "Thank you. I'm not used to the air around here."

Parasini smiled and gave another half-bow. "I'm happy to help," she said, before walking back to her desk.

"You did not drop that," Liara said firmly, once they were well out of earshot of the office. "I was watching. A message, then?"

Shepard nodded, twisting the top off of the lip balm tube. There, pressed into the surface of the balm, was a tiny data chip. "It seems we're returning to the Normandy to evaluate our options," she said. "I, for one, am curious as to what Mr. Anoleis' secretary has to say."

Like I said, short and fast for updates. We'll see how long I can keep this up.