Chapter 40
Hanshan Hotel - Port Hanshan - Noveria
When she stepped out of the elevator, Shepard spotted the turian almost immediately. There were other turians around the bar of the hotel lobby, but this one looked particularly upset about something as he nursed a glass of nolto, well known for its distinct green color. As she looked him over, she noted his disheveled clothing and his dark carapace painted with the white Aephus colony clan markings, which meant he came from the capital city.
Turning to the others, she smiled softly and nodded her head towards the tables. "Have a seat. Drinks are on me, but no alcohol. I don't want your senses dulled," she said, eyeing Wrex.
"Oh please, like any of these delicate little drinks could affect me. Humans, asari, turians, all your alcohol is weak," he said with a snort.
"Keep up the trash talk, and I'll start spiking your drink with Carolina Reapers," she said, almost laughing as his smile vanished.
"Like hell you will. Those damn Earth peppers had me dizzy for days after that damn wedding," he growled at her.
"No alcohol. Just sit around and look casual," she said as she finally turned from them and headed in Lorik's direction. The others did as they were told, but despite trying to look casual, still stuck out like a sore thumb. Even Liara, who was the most normal looking out of all of them, sat uncomfortably at a table in nearly full armor.
As soon as Lorik turned and saw Shepard coming for him, he sat back in his chair and raised his hands. "Look, Anoleis is already destroying my office. I don't know what you expect to get out of me now," he said angrily.
Shepard sat next to him and waved a hand to the bartender. "Get my friend here another nolto," she said before turning to look into his eyes. "You're Lorik Qui'in, correct?"
His mandibles twitched for a moment before his stance eased. "And the fact that you're asking me that means you aren't one of Anoleis's goons," he said as he reached for his glass again. "So, who are you? Synthetic Insights won't be getting word of this until tomorrow at the latest."
"Call me someone who solves problems," she said as she accepted the drink and slid it over to him. "A friend of a friend told me you have a problem I can solve."
He stared at her for a long moment, taking another drink from the turian style cup before setting it down and swishing the liquid contents in circles. "Perhaps. And what would this service of problem-solving cost?"
"Nothing from you. My payment is coming from somewhere else," she said as her peripheral scanned for anyone who may be listening in.
He gave her another hard stare before responding. "You humans have a fitting phrase for this situation. Too good to be true, was it?"
She sighed and nodded. "It may sound like that, but I'm here because they want me to help you."
He looked her up and down and hummed in amusement. "You're certainly dressed for the part. Alright then, what have I got to lose," he said as he finished his drink off before grabbing the one she ordered for him. "I'm the manager of the Synthetic Insights branch here in Hanshan. I manage the day-to-day comings and goings of the labs they use."
"Until recently?" asked Shepard curiously as she rested her chin in her hand. As the bartender came back, she slid a credit chit to him and pointed at the other end of the bar. "Disappear for a while," she said to the human. He simply took the chit and nodded, then made himself busy elsewhere.
"Very perceptive. Recently I noticed a few of the numbers were off on the outgoing reports to Synthetic Insights. Don't know why I even checked; I just had this weird feeling. Anyway, I checked the reports after they were approved by the administrator and found that he had added on costs that I had not put on the reports for things we barely had a use for," he said casually as he stared down into the murky green liquid.
"Ah, fraud then," commented Shepard knowingly.
He simply nodded and continued. "After noticing the first occurrence, I started checking the reports every cycle. It wasn't an accident. It turns out that Anoleis had been adding these costs to the reports so that Synthetic Insights would send more money, and then when the funding came, he would skim the extra costs off the top. So, anyone not double checking his numbers would never know."
"I take it he found out about your discovery," she said casually as she took accepted a cup of tea from an asari barmaid. Inhaling the hot steam deeply, she took a long sip as he proceeded with his story.
"Not until I got Genex Chemical involved. I wanted to know if he was just doing this to Synthetic Insights, or if he was involved in a bigger scheme. As it turns out, he had a contact in Genex that flagged me the day after I inquired to their manager. So, he sent his ERCS thugs to "get information" from me," he said as he used his talons to make air quotes, an unusual act for the three digit species. "I denied everything, of course, so he stripped me of my credentials under some espionage excuse, saying that I was selling financial secrets. When they were done with me, they threw me out of the office and are currently still ransacking it."
"Does Synthetic Insights allow the Administrator to remove their managers?" she asked as she noticed Liara speaking to another asari at a table some distance away.
"Yes, under certain circumstances. If a Synthetic Insights representative appears to be an inconvenience to the board of directors, he can take authoritative action against them. He apparently justifies this by saying I was trying to get to Genex's finances as well," he said with a snort of anger as he looked away. "Synthetic Insights will hear my report regardless. But without the information I logged, it won't matter. They'd take his word over mine any day without proof."
"So, you need someone to go to your office in the Synthetic Insights building and retrieve the data for you," she said with a smirk.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as he looked at his drink and began swishing it again. "But, if someone did happen to stumble upon the data, I might be able to find some way to pay them back," he said with a cheeky twitch of his mandibles.
"And, hypothetically, what would you do with this information?" she asked with a smirk on her face.
"Oh, not much. Just store it on an extranet server with a hair trigger that would automatically send it to every board member if something were to happen to me, or if he were to be uncooperative in future ventures," he said casually before he sipped at his drink again.
"Embezzlement for blackmail. This place really is as bad as I've heard," she said, almost amused as she shrugged. "Well, that's not my problem. So, Manager Qui'in, if you wouldn't mind giving me directions to the Synthetic Insights office, I'd… like to take a tour."
"As you wish… ahh..." he said as if realizing that she hadn't introduced herself.
"Just call me Spectre," she said as she stood. His eyes widened slightly before nodding.
"Alright… Spectre. Communications going out are filtered through a server to make sure no company secrets get loose. But they're open from one device to another. If you happen to find anything interesting on your tour, send it to me," he said as he sent her his data. "Oh, and should you make it wherever you're going, check the safe. Unfortunately, it's DNA locked, so you'll have to break it open."
Nodding, she turned and signaled to the others. Liara rose from her seat, a mask of irritation on her face as the asari she was talking to looked angered at her dismissal and joined her. Wrex and Tali did as well, and they all entered the elevator together.
Once the door closed, Liara let out a sigh of frustration. "This place is unbelievable! Not five minutes sitting alone, and I'm already being asked to help someone hack into another company's server," she said with a snort.
Shepard smiled and shook her head. "The Citadel has grown too soft on the cut throats out here. I'm going to see if they can't place more Spectre oversight here when we leave. They're getting a bit too big for themselves."
"They aren't even in the Traverse anymore. Ever since humans joined as a Council species, Noveria became an official Council world. But they're still treating it as if they're not in Council Space," said Tali as she crossed her arms.
"Heh," grunted Wrex. "There's no problem here that can't be solved at the end of a smoking barrel," he said as he patted the shotgun at his side.
"Wrex, I think you need to watch less action and gangster movies," said Shepard as she eyed him.
His eyes narrowed at her. "You talking to me?" he asked as he got in her face.
"Oh my god, you did not…" groaned Shepard at his imitation, causing Liara to snicker and Tali to look at them in confusion.
Synthetic Insights Liaison Headquarters - Port Hanshan - Noveria
The walk to the headquarters hadn't taken long. Unfortunately, the trip inside wasn't going to be as simple as she had hoped. As they approached, they were confronted by two guards at the entrance of the wing.
"Hold it right there! This office is under investigation!" said one of them as the other raised their weapons.
"I'd aim those elsewhere unless you went them shoved into a very uncomfortable place," growled Shepard as she tapped the ID on her omni-tool. "I'm a Spectre."
"You? You're the Spectre they've been talking about?" she asked as she looked over at the turian who had taken Shepard's advice and lowered his weapon. He stared back at her just as confused. Turning back to the spectre, she shook her head. "Sorry, Spectre. But Lorik Qui'in is under investigation. Even you aren't allowed in until the investigation is over."
Shepard's eyes narrowed at the woman impatiently. "Alright, I'm tired of this crap," she said as she pointed at the officer. "This is going to go one of two ways. Either you stop pretending you weren't here without the board's knowledge and let me into that office. Or I explain to the board afterwards why the bodies of you and the rest of your outfit here were working behind their backs to support an embezzling criminal," she snapped.
The woman went wide-eyed for a moment before she spied the massive krogan, the armored quarian, and the deadly asari behind her. "Y-You're bluffing. If you killed anyone here, the board would have you sent to a lab and purged. You wouldn't even make it back to report to the Council!"
"Perhaps," spoke up Liara as she stepped forward. "But she didn't become a Spectre by being scared of white-collar cowards hiding in their offices," said the asari as she glared daggers at the officer. "Are you sure you want to test her? Because whether she's punished or not, you're dead either way."
The guard looked from Liara, then back to Shepard. "Ah to hell with this. He ain't paying me enough to take on spectres," she said as she put her weapon away. "You ain't gonna convince the rest of them though. Good luck with that," she said as she walked away. The turian that stood guard with her watched her go, then looked at Shepard for a moment before following her.
"Thank you, Liara," said Shepard with a grin as she opened the office door.
"Yeah, thanks, Liara, for spoiling a potential fight," grumbled Wrex as he stepped through the door. But as soon as they entered the branch office, gunfire erupted. Wrex's shields took the brunt of the fire before his face split into a huge grin, and he howled a battle cry. "Now we're talking!" he shouted as his biotics flared and he went charging for the nearest assaulter.
"Damn, she wasn't kidding! Looks like they were tipped off," said Shepard as she slammed her helmet on her head behind cover. Once the seals were secure, she opened her omni-tool.
"Shepard, these are ERCS officers! Should we be fighting them?" asked Liara curiously as her own biotics lit as well.
"They're here being paid under the table by Anoleis. That means they're mercenaries. And if the captain has anything to say about it, then she can kiss my pale, freckled ass!" shouted Shepard as she activated her cloaking. As soon as she was unseen, she spun out of cover and moved quickly towards the stairs. "Liara, help Wrex down there. Tali, you're up here with me. I'll open the way!"
"Affirmative, Shepard!" shouted the quarian through the comm as she rose from cover and bolted towards the stairs as well. One of the officers who had taken overwatch of the stairs saw Tali and aimed his weapon at her. But Shepard activated one of her grenades and launched it. The small disk connected to the face shield on their helmet and adhered itself, startling them into stumbling backward. Then she lowered the explosive power before detonating it.
While it wasn't nearly as powerful as a normal grenade, it still had enough force to either snap their neck or concuss them into unconsciousness. She wasn't sure which, but she didn't care at the moment as she turned at the top of the steps and saw another soldier firing down from the mezzanine balcony at Wrex and Liara. She dashed forward and slammed her knee directly into the side of their helmet. The impact of their head hitting the safety barrier stunned them and she took her chance to grab them by the groin and lift, sending them hurtling over the edge and to the ground below with a sickening thud.
As Shepard sent the officer flying, Tali dashed past her towards another small squad of three troops. One of them turned to fire at her, but she raised her own omni-tool and sent a teeth-shattering shock through their nervous system. According to their reaction, they did not have the upgrades she did, as they immediately began firing the weapon into the air as the muscles in their hands clenched tight.
Leaping forward, the quarian kicked the first soldier in the head, sending them over the edge of the barricade as well and caused them to crash face first into a shallow decorative fountain below. Swinging her shotgun up to the next one, she used her omni-tool to overload the heat sink in her weapon before placing it directly against their shoulder and past their kinetic barriers. The blast was so catastrophic that it threw her backwards and tore the soldier's arm clean off, armor and all, sending it flailing down below and causing the man to scream in agony.
Shepard brought up Tali's rear and quickly moved past her to take care of the last one on the balcony of the mezzanine, who was currently staring in shock at the gruesome fate of their partner. As she stepped up to them, her cloaking wore off, getting a surprised look from the ERCS guard before she grabbed their head and yanked it down, her knee rising to meet their helmet. Once again, she didn't know if the blow had snapped their neck, but she knew from the angle that their head bent that they had a very bad case of whiplash at the very least. Seconds later, they collapsed.
Shepard looked over the balcony and shook her head as Liara dangled all of the remaining targets in the air with her biotics, leaving Wrex to shoot them as if it were some kind of carnival game. Once all of the guards were finished, she waved for them to follow her.
"Heh, that golden-haired bitch is gonna be pretty upset," said Wrex with a smirk on his face.
"Her reaction is the least of my concerns right now," said Shepard as she looked at the office schematics that Qui'in had sent her. Once she tracked down the right room, she hacked the door open and found a computer terminal on the desk and a safe built into the wall. "Tali, take the terminal. I've got the safe," she said as she opened her omni-tool and began cracking it.
Tali did as she was ordered and immediately set about collecting the information from the computer. "So, what do I do?"
"Stand guard and tell me if our little scrap out there got anyone's attention," she ordered as she worked furiously. Fortunately, the safe was relatively well known which meant she had plenty of practice on it.
Wrex trundled over to the door and looked out over the plaza below before looking back at her. "Uh, Shepard. It looks like our little scrap out there got someone's attention," he said, almost excited as soldiers began filing up the stairs.
She sighed heavily, her fingers working even quicker than before. Within seconds, the safe popped and the display went dark. Closing her omni-tool, she reached up and opened the small container to find an OSD sitting inside by itself. Snatching it, she tucked it away before heading for the door. "You two…" she started, pointing to Tali and Liara, "Stay put. Wrex, don't do anything until she attacks."
"Oh trust me, I won't," he said with a smirk.
When she reached the door, she quickly realized what he was so amused about. The icy stare of Stirling was locked onto her as she exited the office, causing her to groan in annoyance. "I don't think you're supposed to be in here, Shepard," said the woman, who sneered as she said the spectre's name.
"And what? Are you going to make me leave?" she asked with a smirk, knowing her authority was pissing the woman off. "Does ERCS know that you're here covering up for Anoleis stealing money? Does the board?" she asked, then she leaned forward slightly. "Does the Captain?"
"No," said the blonde firmly. "No leaving. Anoleis would throw you off world for what you did here. But not me," she said as she kept her hated glare firmly on Shepard. "You know what we do to cop killers on my world?"
"Hah!" came Wrex's booming laughter from behind Shepard. She kept her eyes forward as the krogan stepped out from behind her. Despite her face showing nothing, Shepard knew that Stirling now realized she may have bitten off more than she could chew. "You're breaking Noveria's misappropriation and fraud laws for bribe money."
"Yeah, she is," said Shepard as she stepped up next to the krogan. Stirling's men took a step back as Wrex stared them down. "Wanna see what I do to dirty cops on my world?" she asked threateningly.
"Men!" shouted Stirling as she tried to get the jump on them. But Wrex was prepared. He charged forward before she could get another word out and smashed through her soldiers like a bowling ball knocking down pins. Stirling had just barely dodged the attack before throwing her hand out towards Shepard.
The spectre gasped in pain as she felt the woman's biotic warp trying to rend through her armor. It felt as if needles were stabbing at her chest a thousand times a minute, causing her to flinch in agony before raising her pistol. The blonde woman ducked behind a planter as her men were quickly being dealt with by the krogan. Thinking she had a clear shot, popped up to throw another biotic attack, but was startled when she saw nobody standing at the office door. "Did she run into the office? Coward!" shouted Stirling as she turned to help with the rampaging brute.
But she gasped in surprise and searing pain as she felt something kick her in the back of the knee hard enough to dislocate it. Her good knee folded to try and stop her from hitting the ground. But her knees were completely forgotten as she felt some unseen force grab her by the chin. Reaching up, her face twisted in a mix of pain and anger as she attempted to loosen the grip, but it held her like a vice. "I know you work for a corporation, but you're still the law. And when the law gets corrupted, you have to fix it somehow," came Shepard's voice. Suddenly, the woman's body went stiff as her head twisted at an angle that was clearly a death sentence to normal humans.
Liara cringed as she watched from the door and Tali typed on her omni-tool. The rest of Stirling's squad was little bother to the large, heavily armored krogan. He returned to Shepard with a large smile on his face. "Aaah, finally. Needed that itch scratched since we got off the Normandy," he rumbled in his deep tone.
"Well, so much for no eliminating," said Tali as she looked down at the blonde woman who lay limp on the ground now, her head looking unnatural on her shoulders.
"Damn fucking biotics!" snapped Shepard as she rubbed her chest plate sorely. Looking up at Wrex and Liara, she shook her head. "Not you guys."
"We know, Shepard. Biotics are painful," said Liara soothingly as she patted Shepard's shoulder.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't been hit with one of those since I got on the Normandy. We've faced quite a few biotics and so far, you've seemed to dodge effectively enough," said Wrex as he eyed her.
"Call it good luck," she said as she pushed past the pain and opened her omni-tool. "Captain Matsuo, I need to see you immediately in the Synthetic Insights main office," she said as the call went through.
"Spectre? How did you get this number, and why do you need me to meet you? I'm very busy," said the dark-haired woman in annoyance.
"Maeko, a dozen or so of your ERCS officers are currently either grievously injured or dead because they attacked me. I'd recommend you put whatever you're doing on hold, and meet me here," said Shepard as she ended the call. Stumbling over, she sat at a table and undid her chest armor with a series of hidden button presses on its surface. As soon as the plate was free, Liara gasped as the suit she wore underneath was torn and bloodied. "Tali, would you pass the external medigel if you don't mind?"
Nodding, the quarian reached down into one of her many suit pockets and tossed the capsule over to Liara. The doctor knelt down, then looked over at Wrex who was staring at the wound curiously. "Wrex, could we have some privacy for a moment?"
"Privacy? Why, are you putting it on her-" he started to ask but was cut off.
"I'm going to have to lift her shirt temporarily. Privacy, now," the asari ordered, giving him a glare.
"Kalros's cock you races and your stupid modesty," he growled as he turned and wandered across the mezzanine.
Shepard smirked, despite the pain. "Just don't attack Matsuo when she gets here Wrex," said the woman as Liara gently lifted her shirt and began dressing the wounds that the biotic attack had caused her. "Fuck why does that hurt so much?"
"The biotic warp is an attack unlike most biotics. They usually just pull or push things using dark energy to alter the gravity in a certain area. Instead, warp sends a series of pulsing, microscopic singularities directly at the target. When they hit, each one begins to pull against whatever is hit separately, resulting in stress or tearing," said the asari as she gently spread the gel over the multiple tiny gashes on her chest.
"Ah, so like drawing and quartering, but on a microscopic level," said the spectre before she hissed, the pain from the medigel working causing her to flinch.
"I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds horrific," said Tali as she tried to keep her eyes away from the commander out of respect. Suddenly, she spotted the captain entering the facility with two armed guards. "Looks like she's arrived. And it doesn't look like she's happy." The quarian raised her hand and waved to the woman, who spotted her and began making her way up the stairs.
Liara finished the application and tossed the empty tube aside in time to pull Shepard's shirt down before the captain arrived. "Take a few minutes to rest before putting your armor back on," she advised as she stepped back.
When Maeko finally made it to where Shepard was sitting, her face was as angry as the spectre had ever seen it. "What the hell did I say, Spectre!? I said no eliminations! What the hell were you even doing here!?"
Shepard, despite liking the woman, wasn't in the mood to deal with bullshit at the moment. "You should be asking what the hell your men were doing here, not me," she snapped as she sat up in the chair. "I came here to retrieve something of vital importance and your men fired on me without provocation!"
Matsuo's face softened as she glared at the body of the blonde woman. "Goddammit, Stirling," she said angrily as she reached up and rubbed her temples. "She always was trouble."
"Looks like it didn't do her any favors," said Shepard as she stood from the seat. "Captain, I'm running out of patience with this place. I know you're a good soldier, so I'm going to be open with you," she said as she took a step closer. "I don't like it here. I don't like the fact that I've been hindered since I got here. And I sure as hell don't like the fact that security authority here was so lax that you nearly had a Citadel diplomatic crisis on your hands from your men killing a spectre."
"What do you want me to do about it? It's not like I can fire them," said the captain as she waved at their bodies littering the area.
"You're going to give me your full cooperation until I can get to Peak 15. You and the rest of ERCS are going to help me to get there. Because if you don't, when I leave here the next time, I'll bring Citadel law enforcement in here so fast that the board members aren't going to be able to unlodge their fat asses from their chairs fast enough to even react," she said with an icy glare.
Maeko let out a loud sigh before shrugging. "I understand, Spectre. I'm here to help if you need it," she said, somewhat begrudgingly.
"Good. You, follow me," she said as she pointed to Maeko. Then she looked at the other two guards surrounding the captain. "You two, do something about these bodies." The spectre reached down and grabbed her chest plate before sealing it back into place. Once ready again, she reached up and removed her helmet. "Now, let's go to the hotel."
Hanshan Hotel - Port Hanshan - Noveria
Shepard was about to step off of the elevator again, but the device in her ear popped suddenly, making her stop. Reaching up, she pressed to her ear. "Hello?" she asked quietly.
"I just got a noise report from the Synthetic Insights office. Know anything about that?" came Gianna's pleasant voice.
Snorting, the commander kept a neutral face as she looked around the area casually, dismissing her squad into the bar once more. "Some kids playing loud music. Don't worry, I had a word with them."
Parasini snickered for a moment. "Anyway, the whole reason I needed you to help Lorik was so that we could get that data," she said quickly.
"Why do you want it?" she asked curiously as she lounged at the bar. Lorik looked over at her, his mandibles twitching in surprise. But she held up a finger to keep him where he was.
"I'm with NIA, Shepard. What Lorik found was exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Unfortunately, Anoleis found out about Qui'in before I did," responded the woman dutifully.
"I see. So, you want the data to put Anoleis in prison?" she asked as she smirked slightly at Lorik, who ordered a drink for them both happily.
"Jail? No. I'm not the police, after all. But it will get him stripped of any and all power here, and he'll be on the next shuttle off of Noveria without a severance. Plus, with this on his record, he'll be due for a change of careers," said Parasini with that smiling voice again. "But I need more than just the data. I'd like to get Lorik's testimony as well. While it's not needed per se, it'll almost certainly put a nail in Anoleis' coffin."
"I'll see what I can do," said Shepard as she finally stepped over towards the turian.
"Perhaps I might be celebrating early, but with the news of the incident in the Synthetic Insights office, mixed with the fact that you're standing before me alive, I presumed that your tour was a success," he said happily as he stood up to meet her. Lifting one of the glasses, he offered it to her.
She took it and smelled it gently, noting that it was the same tea from before. "You would be correct," she said with a smirk as she sat down next to him, causing him to take a seat as well. "I've got the data," she said, getting a sigh of relief from him. "But, as it turns out, that friend I mentioned before is an Internal Affairs agent who needs it in order to take down Anoleis."
He sat up straight in his seat as he looked at her with his eyes narrowing. "What?"
"The data you've collected was the evidence they need to take him out. And they want you to testify against him to the board," she said as she took as sip of her tea.
"Why would I do that? No no no, I'm sorry but I'm not interested," he said as he held his hand out to her.
"Not interested in taking down the man who had you beaten and stripped of your responsibilities? Come on…" she said, almost amused.
His mandibles twitched at her as he closed his fist. "So, what? Because you have my data you think you can order me around?"
She cocked an eyebrow at the snap in his tone. "You think I'm ordering you?" she asked curiously as she held up the data. "Lorik, she's internal affairs. She'll have this data within the hour whether I hand it to you or not. And she doesn't need your testimony, she wants it because it will finally stick it to that bastard," she said as she saw him sulk in his chair. "Look…" she said as she set the OSD on the table between them. "I know we're a long way from Hierarchy space and all, but your spirit seems sick."
His gaze snapped up to her as if seeing her in a new light. "You... what do you mean?"
"You don't seem like the kind of person who wants to work in the mud with the rest of us. Sneaking around in the shadows, working in secret, that kind of thing. That's where I thrive, but even when you mentioned using this to pressure Anoleis, you had an almost disinterested tone in your voice," she said as she tapped the OSD.
He let out a sigh of frustration as he looked down at the table. "There is little honor in corporate business. You can't have any if you want to survive."
"You can now," she said as she pushed the data towards him. "You have a chance to take down a corrupt official with honestly gotten data. Padal vilosc. So, do it."
He reached over and grabbed the data before finally nodding. "Alright."
She smiled gently. "Maybe take a vacation afterwards. You look like you've been here for way too long," she said, getting a chuckle out of him.
"Four galactic years and three months," he said as he poured some of the drink into his mouth.
"Yikes. Go get you some rest. Have some fun. Reconnect with yourself," she said as she finally stood up. "In the meantime, I'm sure NIA will be contacting you soon.
"I'll keep in touch with them," he said as he looked up to her. "Thank you again, Spectre."
"Any time, Lorik. And call me Shepard," she said as she finally turned and nodded to Maeko at the door. The others followed her out without needing to be rallied and moved into the now rather cramped elevator.
Administrative Assistant's Office - Port Hanshan - Noveria
"Well well, Shepard. You're a girl's dream come true," said the woman as she looked across the desk at the redhead.
"Glad I could help and all, but we also had a deal," said the spectre with a smirk. "Although it might be worth forgoing the garage pass to watch him squeal as he gets arrested."
"Here, you can have both," said Gianna as she reached into her desk and tossed over a small key card. Reaching up, the woman untied her dark hair from its tight bun allowing it to flow down her back. "Care to help me out?"
"With pleasure," said Shepard as she stood from the chair and marched with Parasini into the back office.
Anoleis looked up at them both as his door slid open. "What's this about? No meetings have been scheduled today and I have-" he said drolly before Shepard shut down his computer again. He hissed angrily, but she didn't give him a chance to respond. His face was against the desk within seconds as she secured his hands behind his back.
"Don't worry Anoleis, you'll have plenty of time to complete reports for whatever company you end up working for after we have removed you from Noveria," said Gianna with a smile.
"You won't get away with this! I'll have you both blacklisted from Council Space so fast your eyes will pop!" he shouted as Shepard stood him upright again.
"Ugh, you have the right to remain silent. I pray you use it," said Parasini as she walked to the door and opened it again for Shepard.
As the spectre dragged the struggling salarian into the administrative assistant's office, he saw Matsuo standing at the door. "Captain! Captain, arrest these two immediately! They have invaded my office and are taking me hostage!" he shouted as he struggled against Shepard's tight grip again.
But Maeko was having none of his nonsense. She stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, getting a surprised look from the salarian. "Because of your greed, I have a dozen officers now lying face down in their own blood. Shut your mouth before I send you there to join them!" she snapped as she released him.
As his last chance slipped away, the salarian suddenly became more cooperative. Shepard smiled at Maeko, who returned a weak one before she began following them as well, leading Anoleis on a march of shame through the compound.
Garage - Port Hanshan - Noveria
"That was satisfying," said the spectre as she flexed her back, her chest now feeling much better after the medigel did its work.
"Perhaps for you. But this means a ton of new paperwork for me. Not to mention replacements for my lost officers, and the fiasco that is going to come from all this when I report to ERCS what happened," said Maeko as she followed Shepard through the door of the garage.
"Well, if you ever need anyone to do background checks for potential recruits, you can contact me. It's a… specialty of mine," said the spectre with a grin.
Maeko couldn't help but smile at the offer. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Shepard-sama." As the five entered the main bay of the garage, the spectre looked around at the vehicles. "It is like Parasini-san said. Only a ground vehicle will get you to Peak 15 in these conditions. Taking a shuttle would be suicide. So, you can choose from over… what was that?" asked the captain curiously as she heard an odd clicking noise.
"Geth! Get down!" shouted Tali as she tackled the captain. The quarian slammed her out of the way just as a shot went off directly where she was standing.
Shepard immediately took cover behind an armored car as gunfire rained down on their position. "Son of a bitch! I knew her having cargo wasn't a good sign!" shouted the spectre as she opened her omni-tool.
Maeko was on her feet in seconds. "Thank you," she said to Tali before she turned to Shepard. "What the hell are the geth doing here?" she asked over the sound of gunfire hitting their cover.
"Benezia brought them with her in the cargo crates!" shouted Shepard as she pulled her pistol free.
The captain drew her assault rifle. "Is this why you're after her?"
"Something like that," said Shepard as she aimed her omni-tool at the nearby electrical panel. Suddenly, the emergency flood lights activated, showering the area in so much light that none of the geth could hide much. Popping out of cover, Shepard aimed her weapon at the nearest of the machine units and fired, her rounds killing it immediately rather than hitting a shield. As she ducked back into cover, she looked at Tali who smiled at her with her omni-tool open.
"Hey, human. I need you to distract those ones for me for a second. Think you can do that?" asked Wrex as he tapped Maeko on the shoulder.
"Probably," she said as she stood up and fired at the three geth, who turned to her and fired back. She ducked down just in time to watch Wrex charge out of cover with his biotics lit before slamming into the shuttle they were taking cover behind. The power behind the krogan's charge with his added biotics slammed the shuttle against the wall behind them, crushing all three instantly.
"We've got a juggernaut!" shouted Tali as she threw one of her Chatika beads out onto the floor. It rolled behind the massive automaton before finally forming its hard-light cover, then sent a jolt directly into its back. The geth let out a mechanical wail before turning around and slamming its foot down on the drone, causing it to explode.
But the explosion did little to harm it. "How the hell are we gonna bring that thing down!?" shouted Shepard as she took down a nearby stalker that she had detected due to light distortions.
"Humans are new to biotics. So, a human biotic's warp wouldn't be nearly as effective," said Liara as she patted Shepard on the shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" asked Shepard as she looked at the asari in confusion.
Liara merely stood up just as Wrex charged towards the geth that was even taller than he was. As he slammed into it, however, it didn't budge. "Oh… damn. You're a lot heavier than you look," said Wrex right as the machine turned its weapon on him and fired, blasting the krogan backwards with a point-blank shot of plasma.
"Wrex!" shouted Shepard as her eyes widened, watching his armor fragment around the entry wound. Suddenly he slammed into a nearby aircar, crushing its trunk before falling to the ground with his chest smoking.
"Full power!" shouted Liara as her eyes darkened. Suddenly, her biotic aura stretched out even past their cover as she floated off the ground again and aimed a hand at the machine. "Die!"
Suddenly, the juggernaut stopped walking towards them as a biotic wave enveloped it. Rather than floating, it just stood there. It went to move its weapon again to aim at Liara, but its arm splintered into fragments of metal. It looked down at the limb, then its light went out and its head practically dissolved into shards. But it still tried to continue and step forward, only resulting in its leg ripping to shreds as well, causing it to fall to the ground and practically explode into nothing but parts.
Liara sighed and landed on the ground again, her eyes slowly shifting back to normal as Shepard ran to Wrex's side. "Wrex! Wrex! Are you alright!?"
"Do I fucking look alright, Shepard!?" shouted the krogan as he pounded his fist against the aircar next to him. His breathing was filled with wheezes as his skin burned away from the blast wound.
"Joker! Get Chakwas and out here immediately!" shouted the spectre into her comm.
"Tell Joker to piss off!" shouted the krogan as he pushed Shepard away. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily, Shepard," he growled as he got to his feet again.
"Tough son of a bitch," said Maeko as she watched from their former cover. Suddenly, the garage door to the port opened and a squad of soldiers ran inside with their weapons drawn. Maeko waved them over. "What took you so long?"
"Ah… sorry ma'am. The turian mechanic outside locked the door when he heard gunfire. We… couldn't get inside," said one of the soldiers, causing her to sigh.
"Alright. Get engineering out here. We have to clean this up," she ordered as she turned to Shepard. "Spectre, I'm going to get back to work. Take the Grizzly, it has more traction and has weapons in case there are… more."
"Understood, thanks again, Captain," said Shepard as she somewhat saluted the woman. Maeko smirked at her before turning around and hurling orders at everyone in the garage to help with cleanup. Shepard turned to Wrex again as he stood, tenderly poking the edges of the large wound.
"Damn, went through like a damn laser," he said as he cringed.
"Because it practically was. Geth use plasma weapons, which means that they burn through armor pretty quick," said the spectre as she glared at him.
"Either way, I'm still going with," he said sternly as he stared at her.
"Like hell you are. That thing nearly killed you," snapped Shepard.
"And that golden bitch Stirling nearly killed you, but I don't see you taking a break, do I?" he said as her look soured.
"Well, she didn't put a damn crater in my chest. Unlike you who decided you were going to run up and headbutt a machine strong enough to lift the Mako!" she retorted as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm not going anywhere, Shepard. Just give me some medigel and let my regeneration take care of the rest," he growled at her.
Shepard sighed to herself and waved him away dismissively. "Fine, Wrex. But if I see you slowing us down, I'll ground your ass on the Normandy for the next month."
"Fine with me," he said as he stretched. "Let me run back and change my armor out."
"Go and get Chakwas to apply medigel to you while you're there!" she ordered as she turned to Liara who was standing nearby. "What is it?"
"Could I… maybe… go get a snack?" she asked with a pleading look, causing Shepard to sigh.
CODEX ENTRIES
Nolto | Food | Palaven
Nolto is an alcoholic beverage with the potency of human wine. It's made from brewing the bark of the rocca trees native to Palaven once it has been infested by the nol insect. It's brewing gives it a cloudy green appearance that makes it relatively easy to distinguish from other turian drinks. The word nolto is translated as the turian word for 'ghost town,' referring to the hollowed out look of the trees once the insects burrow inside.
Aephus | Location | Hierarchy Space
Aephus is well known as the home to the turian Hierarchy's second largest ship construction facility, next to the Palaven moon, Nanus. It's a garden world where turians can walk freely in open air. Other species too are able to freely roam, as the atmosphere is protected by a similar magnetosphere to Earth's, blocking the majority of all solar radiation, unlike Palaven. Its surface area is 82% ocean water with the land areas covered with exotic jungles and rainforests.
NIA | Corporation | Noveria
Standing for Noveria Internal Affairs, it's a small wing of the Noveria Development Company that was created with the purpose of making sure all companies on Noveria and dealing with Noveria were working together fairly. Often deployed when criminal activity against the board is suspected, they investigate, sometimes for weeks or even years, until a criminal is either found, or the investigation brings up no evidence.
Padal vilosc | Translation | Turian Common
A phrase common in Palaven Common that translates to 'spirit healed through honor.' It's commonly associated with turians who either dishonored themselves or felt that their honor had somehow been compromised by their work redeeming themselves through an undisputable act of honor. Padal vilosc can never be claimed by the one performing the act but must be given by a witness.