Noveria: Port Hanshan
The mission to save Terra Nova was a success. The colony was safe but the Batarians who had decided to attack the colony had gotten away as they threaten to destroy the Asteroid. After Shepard and her team had returned to the Normandy, Shepard made her way to the comm room when she asked the Normandy's communication officer Doka Phasa to contact Arcturus Station so she could speak with Colonel Yularen and give him the report.
Shepard stood in front of the hologram where she could speak to Yularen "Commander Shepard" Yularen greeted through the hologram "So I take it the mission was a success?"
"It was Colonel" Shepard replied "Terra Nova is safe, but I'm afraid I was forced to let the Batarian leader go. He had explosives ready to blow the Asteroid which would have once again put Terra Nova in danger."
Yularen sighed "Even though the Batarian leader got away, the mission was a success." He stated "Now that we know this Batarian's identity, my agents will be on the lookout for him. He will be one of our top targets for elimination as we now know how dangerous he is."
"What about the political consequences of this incident?" Shepard questioned
Yularen sighed "I won't lie to you Shepard, but this incident will have consequences in the Senate. The Batarians attacking one of our major colonies will have the Senators going against Chancellor Mothma. There will be demands for stronger defences for our colonies to prevent an incident like this again and even though the Batarian Commonwealth informed us of this, Republic views on the Senate and the people will start going against the Batarians. We will do our best to keep the peace but if the Senators get what they want then we will be on the road to war again. And the military men and I agree that the Republic is in no position for a war, not with Saren and the Geth still a threat."
"Well I'll start my hunt for him again." Shepard stated "My next mission target is towards Noveria and I'll need Bau for this one since Noveria is a Citadel world."
"Good luck Commander" Yularen replied "Yularen out." Then the hologram faded and Shepard left the room.
...
Shepard decided that she would speak with their newest member of the team. She went down to the barracks where their new friends, Bakira Safolka. She had her own room in the barracks with the other soldiers but they were all keeping a close eye on her. That was expected, many of these marines had fought the Batarians during the Verge War and many of them had seen them commit atrocities. Even though the Batarian Hegemony had split and Bakira was a member of the Batarian Commonwealth, many Republic citizens still distrusted the Batarians. Campbell and Westmoreland, the top men of Verbro were known to have fought in the Verge War and the two of them were keeping a close eye on Bakira.
Shepard entered the room and found Bakira sitting on a table. She turned around when she heard someone enter the room and stood up when she saw Shepard "Commander" she greeted and saluted "Is there anything you want to speak to me about?"
Shepard smirked "You don't have to salute me Bakira." She stated
"I apologize Commander" Bakira replied "It's just that I don't like the stares that I relieve from most of your crew. I've decided that I'm remaining here unless I'm needed. You don't need to say anything to your crew; I did expect this from them. My people have committed crimes which make people view us in a negative manner. It will be years before the Commonwealth can improve relations."
"Tell me more about your people" Shepard requested "I've heard very little about the Batarians."
Bakira sighed "That doesn't surprise me. The Hegemony government was also very restrictive on what is known about us. Well a brief view of our history is that our home planet is Khar'shan which is located on the edges of the galaxy in the Harsa system located in the Kite's Nest Cluster. I don't know when we first achieved spaceflight but I do know that when we did, we discovered Prothean ruins located on the moon of Bria, one of the moons of Verush which allowed us to colonize the rest of the Kite's Nest and expand to other systems. We did take part in the Krogan Rebellions and the Rachni Wars as there are records that say we were granted an Embassy on the Citadel shortly after the Volus."
"So the Batarians have been a member of the Citadel for many years then." Shepard stated
"We were." Bakira replied "We never got a seat on the council and there were reasons why. It was a known fact that the Batarians were involved in slavery even before the Republic was found and that led to clashes between the Batarians and the Citadel. There are three well known examples of this; the first one happened 1785 CE when the Batarians bombarded the Salarian colony world of Mannovai. Then in 1913 an even worse political problem was caused when the independent Asari world of Esan was annexed by the Batarians, that incident nearly started a war. The final incident was very recent in 2115 when the Batarians and Citadel forces had a skirmish above the planet Enael. The leadership hated the Citadel and didn't like them getting involved but even they knew that we couldn't face the might of the Turians so they made our forces look bigger than they really were and formed friendships with the Terminus Warlords. That is what prevented a war between the Batarians and the Citadel but when the Republic, the situation changed as the Republic were willing and had the strength to take on the Terminus Warlords. So when the Verge War broke out, we were unable to take on the full strength of the Republic."
Shepard had another question "What was normal life for the Batarians. Not their politicians, you might have a better idea on that since the Hegemony forbids anyone speaking about that."
Bakira looked at Shepard "In truth, most Batarians are little more than Slaves. The Hegemony has a strict caste system and you can never rise above it. The situation is even worse for woman, we have almost no rights at all and we're not even allowed in the military or politics or be involved in law. Only the highest ranking caste members are allowed an education and even then, girls are only taught how to be obedient to their husbands. That's why I left, I hated it and I wanted to be someone better than just somebody's property."
Shepard nodded at this "I'm sure that if you work hard and prove yourself then the crew will come to accept you. I won't be able to take you on this mission on Noveria as this is a Citadel controlled world."
"I understand Commander" Bakira stated "I'll just stay in my room for now."
...
Later Shepard made her way down to the storage area where she saw Ashley Williams inspecting her gun at a workbench. Shepard still didn't know much about Ashley so she decided she would have a quick chat with her. Ashley turned around and looked at her "Commander, do you have a few moments to talk?" she asked
"I do" Shepard replied "What is it you wanted to speak to me about?"
"Well, I know that you're our Commanding Officer and you make the choices, but I'm just concerned about something." Ashley stated "This is the most advanced ship in the Republic Navy, I'm just unsure if we should be allowing Citadel races to have access to it. I meant we have to have the Spectre on board because we're working for them. But I don't like having the Citadel races near our technology."
"You seem distrustful of the Citadel." Shepard commented
"I guess you can call it over the fact that my family has a history of serving in the military." Ashley replied "My father, my grandfather and my great grandmother all served in the military. Some of my relatives served in the SDF War and in other wars when we established the Republic. I'm proud to be serving the Republic but I don't like the idea of the Citadel being allowed to tell us what to do."
"Well the Council don't" Shepard replied "We're under orders from the Senate to hunt down this rogue Spectre as well as the council as he is a danger to everyone."
"I understand that but do we really need the Turian, Krogan and Quarian on this mission?" Ashley questioned "I've served with the races of the Republic but never with the Citadel races. They just make me uneasy."
"I understand how you feel." Shepard stated "Back when I served in the Verge War, I saw atrocities committed and was also angry that the Citadel didn't bring the Batarians into line sooner since they've been doing this for hundreds of years. But I realised that you can't hold grudges against the Batarian people as not everyone agrees with the government just like our new Batarian friend. But to move on, you've got to make sure that the mistakes of the past are remembered and be sure never to forget them."
"I understand Commander." Ashley stated "I will work alongside our allies."
Then Joker called over the radio "Hey Commander, we're approaching Noveria, you better come up here with Bau so we can prepare for landing."
"I guess you better prepare for the next mission." Ashley stated.
"I'll see you later Ashley." Shepard replied and then she went back to the elevator to head up to the bridge.
...
The Normandy soon left Hyperspace in the Horsehead Nebula. This Nebula had a number of uninhabited systems and barely surveyed planets and was located at the border regions of the Republic and the Citadel Council. Both governments had claims to the region, but no one had set up a proper colony. There was only one colony in the system which was the planet the Normandy was heading towards, Noveria. Noveria was located in the Pax system and the colony was very small. It was a mixture of different races but the colony was not a colony for settlement as Noveria was a very cold planet that had frequent snowstorms that make travelling difficult. Instead, Noveria was used as a place for researching ideas that was barely legal and was home to research companies both from the Citadel and the Republic. The only type of authority that the Citadel had on Noveria were the Spectres and they were not always welcomed which is why Bau would have to come with them. The Republic did have RSB Agents to make sure that Noveria didn't do anything to threaten the Republic.
As well as Noveria, the Pax system had three other planets in the system. The first one Svarog which was the Pax system's only Hydrogen-Helium Gas Giant but die to the hot temperatures and high winds, the planet was unsuitable for Helium-3 mining and so Noveria had to import their fuel. Noveria was the second planet and the third planet in the system was a tiny ice planet called Morana. Morana was smaller than Earth's Moon with a crust of frozen ice water and the planet was tightly locked to Pax as the same side always faced the sun. The final planet in the system was known as Velus; this planet had a thin atmosphere of xenon and krypton and had a surface of potassium with deposits of magnesium. But this planet once served as a Krogan base during the Krogan Rebellions as when the planet was explored by researches from the joined Citadel-Republic Company Binary Helix, they discovered a base of artefacts from the Krogan Rebellions from the Krogan Warlord Moro which were sold at auction. There was one thing of interest on Velus for Shepard as scans revealed a small abandoned vessel which was brought on board by the salvage team where it was dismantled and a piece of Asari writing was found. Eventually, the Normandy went to land on Noveria in order to investigate since Benezia had been seen here.
...
The Normandy soon began approaching Noveria and headed towards Noveria's main port of Port Hanshan. "Noveria approach control, this is RSV Normandy requesting a vector and a berth." Joker called over the radio
A voice called over the radio from Noveria "RSV Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled; our defence grid is tracking you. State your business."
"We're on joint Republic-Citadel Business." Joker replied "We have a council Spectre on board."
"Landing approved Normandy" Noveria Control called back "Although we find it odd that a Spectre is travelling on a Republic vessel. Be advised, we will be confirming identification on your arrival. If confirmation cannot be established then your vessel will be impounded."
When the radio called off, Joker smirked "What a fun bunch" he said sarcastically, "I might take my next leave here."
Bau looked at Shepard "So who else will be coming with us on this mission?" he asked
Shepard looked at Bau "I can only take a small group with me on this mission." He stated "You have to come along and I think we'll need Liara since her mother is involved. Tali, Wrex and Bakira are no goes as they'll draw too much attention, same with any Republic soldiers so Ashley is out. I guess I'll take Garrus and Kaidan with us as well."
"I'll radio them and tell them to meet you at the Air Lock." Luke stated and then Shepard and Bau left the Bridge and went over to the air lock.
...
A short while later, Shepard along with Bau, Garrus, Liara and Kaidan left the Normandy and walked along the port and were soon met with a small group of security from Noveria.
The leader was a woman who stepped forward "Hold it!" she ordered "I was briefed that you have a Citadel Spectre and I need to know who it is."
"That would be me" Bau stated as he stepped forward "It's been a while Maeko."
The leader known as Maeko looked at him "Spectre Bau" she greeted "I didn't know you were working with the Republic."
"You may be a Spectre but we need to know your business here." A female guard standing next to the captain demanded.
"Kaira!" Maeko snapped "You know that the Citadel Spectres have full authority to do what they want. I may not like it but we have to let them through." She looked at them again "I'm sorry about that, it's just we have business groups who don't like their researching being disrupted."
"This is about the safety of the Galaxy." Bau stated "A Spectre known as Saren has gone rogue and is threatening the Galaxy with an army of Geth. One of his allies, Matriarch Benezia reportedly came here recently."
Maeko thought for a moment "I think I heard about an Asari Matriarch coming here but you'll have to speak with Gianna Parasini, she's the secretary for Administrator Anoleis and she handles the guests we have here. She'll know where this Asari Matriarch has gone."
"Where can we find her?" Bau asked
"She'll be just over at the entrance." Maeko stated "She normally greets guests."
"We'll head over there right away." Bau stated and they walked off with Bau leading since he was the Spectre here. Shepard decided that she would let Bau do the talking here.
...
Shortly after leaving the docks, Shepard and her team arrived at a small office where they saw a dark skinned human who was wearing a bright red dress with a short skirt. She looked like she was waiting for them "Spectre Bau." She greeted "It's good to see you again."
"Gianna Parasini." Bau greeted "I guess you should know why I have come here?" Gianna nodded in response "Well one of the Spectres known as Saren has gone rogue and she has a companion who was reported to have come here, Matriarch Benezia."
"Yes." Gianna replied "Matriarch Benezia arrived here days ago. She said that she was checking on some research that had been funded and she was checking the investment. She's not here right now; she left a few days ago to go to our Peak 15 research complex where her research was taking place. As far as I know, she's still there."
"Then that is where we need to be going." Liara stated
Gianna sighed "I'm afraid that will not be possible." She stated "Administrator Anoleis has closed the roads due to a storm and the fact that the roads are currently dangerous. Some of our transports sending supplies to our other research complexes have been stopped and so Anoleis has closed everything until it is sorted. Even as a Spectre, you cannot travel up there."
"Then how do we get to Peak 15?" Bau asked "We cannot afford to wait around."
Gianna thought for a moment "There is someone who has clearance to enter the garage." She stated "Turian manager Lorik Qui'in has a garage pass but he is having a few problems right now. You could talk to him and he might give you his pass. He's probably over in the Mezzanine."
"Thank you for your help Gianna" Bau stated and then he left to go and find Lorik.
...
Bau led the team to the main part of the port by using the elevator and then he took them into the Mezzanine which was some kind of a bar. They quickly found Lorik sitting at a table and when Bau and the group approached him, he looked up at Bau. "Are you Lorik Qui'in?" Bau asked "I hear that you might be able to help me."
"You're the Spectre who just arrived here at Noveria." Lorik stated "What could an old Turian like me possibly help you with?"
"My team and I need to get to Peak 15 and I heard that you have a garage pass." Bau stated
"So you need my pass." Lorik stated "How fortuitous. I'm the manager of the local Synthetics Insights office. For the moment at least. Administrator Anoleis has closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption. He is an interesting man; ever since he took control of rents he has become very wealthy."
"I sense a connection here." Shepard stated
"You are right." Lorik stated "I gathered evidence of Anoleis' corruption but Anoleis has bribed the guards and has accused me of being corrupt. Now he has his hired goons ransacking my office looking for the evidence. I can see that your group needs to get out of to head towards Peak 15 and Mr Anoleis would never grant you a pass. But how about a favour for a favour. If you get my evidence back then I can grant you my garage pass. As a Spectre you should be able to get away with this."
"We can do it" Garrus stated "And afterwards, that evidence can help bring down a corrupt administrator."
"You should hurry." Lorik stated "It won't be long before Anoleis' hired goons find that evidence and destroy it."
...
Bau and Shepard's team left the Mezzanine and then they took another elevator which would take them towards Lorik's office. They soon arrived and they found two guards standing in front and they pulled their pistols when they saw them "Freeze!" he shouted "Hanshan Security, this office is off limits!"
Bau spoke up "Lorik gave me his pass, he let us in."
"Lorik?" one guard questioned "Are you working with him, he's under investigation."
Shepard then spoke up "Anoleis is paying you to shake this place down. Does Captain Matsuo know that you're even here?"
The human guard snorted "Hey, I'm not the one who wants Qui'in. Anoleis has a Varren up his ass about this guy. How about this, you pretend that you never saw us and we pretend that we never saw you." She and a Turian guard walked away but others did not and Bau and the others ended up in a fight with the other Hired Goons but they were trained to rough people us, not fight against professional shooters like Shepard and Bau and not against a skilled Biotic like Liara.
Shepard and Bau soon made it into Lorik's office where they found his terminal. Garrus looked through it and was able to download Lorik's investigation files onto a data disk. With the data downloaded, now it was time to head back to Lorik and get the garage pass. But as they went back to the Elevator, they found their path blocked by more Hired Goons and one of them Shepard recognised as Kaira Stirling, the guard from the docks.
"I don't think you are supposed to be here Bau." Stirling sneered
"Neither are you Stirling!" Bau snapped "I knew that you were corrupt from the last time that you were here!"
"Administrator Anoleis would kick you off of this station." Kaira sneered "I won't, you know what they do to Cop killers back on my world."
"You're just a corrupt cop!" Garrus snapped "You're the type of people that I hate. You take bribe money and they you do what you want and harass people. You're a disgrace to all cops."
"Enough!" Kaira snapped "I'm going to put you all down now."
She didn't even get a chance to fire her weapon before Bau pulled her pistol and shot one of her two guards while Liara threw the other back. "Did you really think that you would beat a well trained Spectre Kaira?" Bau mocked. Kaira just screamed and pulled her Assault Rifle only to be shot multiply times by Shepard.
"Well that could have gone better" Shepard stated
"No one of even going to know that we're here" Bau stated and he activated his own Omi tool and pointed it at the camera which then sparkled "I just hacked their security and deleted all their footage. As far as they're concerned, the Thugs here started fighting each other during an argument." Then they all went back towards the elevator.
...
As Bau led the team back towards the Mezzanine, they found Gianna Parasini waiting for you "Spectre Bau." She greeted "There have been reports of noises from the Synthetic Insights offices. Would you know anything about it?"
"It was probably Anoleis' Thugs ripping the place apart." Bau replied
"I see that you're the same as before" Parasini smirked "I can work with that, listen, before you give that evidence to Lorik, I must speak with you."
"Wait, how did you know about this evidence?" Shepard questioned
"Allow me to introduce myself" Parasini stated "I'm not only just Anoleis Secretary. I am an also part of Noveria's internal affairs."
Liara looked at her "Why is a member of Internal Affairs here?" she questioned
"The executive board knows of Anoleis' corruption." Gianna stated "I've been working here undercover for months. I'm hoping that you might be able to convince Qui'in to testify against Anoleis before the Board. If that happens then we can arrest Anoleis and have this planet run profitably again."
"Anoleis is dirty" Garrus stated "It might be best to help her."
"Also, Anoleis could even start selling technology to the criminal gangs of the Terminus Systems just to get more credits." Liara added
Bau made his decision "Alright, I'll convince Lorik to testify. He might not like it though."
"Well this might help convince him." Gianna added "Tell him that the board might consider making him as the new Administrator since he has a lot of experience in this field."
"I'll talk to him about it." Bau stated
"I'll be waiting at Anoleis' office for you." Gianna stated and then she left.
...
Bau led the team back into the Mezzanine and they found Lorik waiting for them "Spectre." He greeted "Were you able to get the evidence."
Bau held out the data disk "I got you the data but there is something that I want to talk to you about." He stated "I ran into Anoleis' Secretary and she works with the Executive Board. They want you to testify against Anoleis."
Lorik wasn't happy "Now that you have my evidence, you want to tell me how I use it!" he snapped "I've no interest in a Public Spectacle."
"Everyone on this Station is under Anoleis' extortion" Shepard stated "If you help Anoleis fall then you'll be seen as a Hero to them. And how much longer will it be before Anoleis decides to get rid of you by sending his thugs after you."
"Gianna also stated that the Executive Board might consider making you the new Administrator." Garrus added
Lorik sighed "I'm not really interested in the title but you do bring up a good point. Alright, tell Gianna then I'll testify against Anoleis."
"Good to know." Bau stated "We'll go and speak to Gianna and tell her the news." He along with Shepard and the others left.
...
After leaving the Mexxanie, Bau led them towards Administrator Anoleis' office and saw Gianna waiting for them at the front desk. "Well Spectre Bau, did Qui'in agree to testify?"
"Qui'in has agreed to testify against Anoleis." Bau stated.
Gianna sighed "That's a relief, that takes a world of stress off my back." She stated "I'll take the evidence for safe transport. I knew you would help us Bau, it makes me glad that you were the Spectre to come here. Not all the Spectres would be willing to help us. And I managed to get you a garage pass that will help you get towards Peak 15. Now I have an arrest to make, though I wish I could change into something that was easier for me to move around in. I hate skirts."
Gianna left and moments later, Bau and the group heard angry yells coming from Anoleis' office "This is an outrage!" Anoleis yelled and Shepard saw that Anoleis was a Salarian "I'll see to it that you never work in this Sector Again!"
"Yeah, Yeah" Gianna groaned "Get moving. You have a right to remain silent; I only wished that you would use it."
Bau and the team watched as Gianna along with several loyal guards placed Anoleis in cuffs and forced him to move as he kept resistance.
"Well that's another corrupt official fallen." Garrus stated
"We should get moving to the Garage now and get to Peak 15." Liara stated "We've wasted enough time here.
...
Bau led the team towards the garage and the guard allowed them in but warned them of bad weather over in the Aleutsk Valley. But everything was very quiet in the garage, too quiet and that was always a bad sign. They were right as shortly after they entered the Garage, some supply creates burst open and several Geth units came out. There were only three Geth units that attacked them which were two large Geth Destroyers and a Geth Stalker which was a Stealth unit and Shepard was able to fire her Assault Rifle and destroy one of the Destroyers while Garrus took out the other one. Liara managed to throw the Stalker aside with her biotic powers and a shot from Bau's sniper finished it off.
The Gunfire drew Captain Maeko into the garage with several soldiers, she gasped when she saw the Geth "What, what are these thing? Fan out and secure the area, no one gets in or out." The soldiers did as they were told and Maeko looked at Bau "What did you do here Spectre Bau?"
Bau looked at them "We were defending ourselves from the Geth. It seems Benezia smuggled them in the shipping containers."
"That can't be true." Maeko stated "We ran thorough scans of them. There were no power sources and no element zero masses. If Benezia's containers were packed with those things then there are many more out there."
"How many containers did Benezia bring?" Shepard asked "A dozen, a hundred?"
"Dozens at least." Maeko replied "They are machines so you can pack them tightly." She then sighed "I must report to the Executive Board. If word gets out about loose Geth, they'll be an investor panic." She then walked away leaving Bau and the team to prepare their drive up to Peak 15.
The Garage had several methods of transport including a few 74-Z Speeder Bikes that had been adapted to work in Noveria's cold weather but due to the storm, they would not be a good idea. But there was something that they could use, an M35 Mako tank. That would be ideal to travel through the Mountain pass to Peak 15 but they needed someone to drive it so Shepard activated her comm.
"Joker, this is Shepard here, I need you to contact Pekue and tell her to come to the Garage at Port Hanshan. We need her to drive us to the Peak 15 research complex."
"Aye Commander." Joker called "I'm sending her over to you right away."
Chapter End:
Notes: Well another chapter has been completed. I was intending to do all of Noveria in one chapter but the mission is too long. Also, I had Bau take over as leader for the port section since he is a Spectre. Next chapter will be one Peak 15 but it may take a while because I have a few chapters in other stories under work and I have a few University pieces that need to be completed in a few weeks.
