Band of Bosh'tets

by gedoens

Tali'Zorah was just looking for a worthy pilgrimage gift, but is sucked into the adventure of her liftime instead. At the helm: Commander Shepard, greatest hero of the Alliance. But with a life of violence and loss behind him and the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders, Tali soon finds that perhaps John Shepard needs her just as much as she needs him... Mostly Tali/Shepard POV

9. Chapter 9

„Take us out, Joker. To the Citadel. It's time for that shore leave at last."

„Understood, Commander."

Not even half a day had passed since the events on Ontarom; with both the system that planet was in and the Arcturus system having a relay, they had made it to Arcturus in a matter of hours. Handing over Wayne to the AIA and getting Toombs' affairs in order had taken considerably longer, but now the Cerberus scientist was in a cell, and his victim turned would-be killer in a hospital bed. The surviving mercenaries were currently under guard in the cargo bay; they would drop them off on the Citadel and let them go. All in a day's work. Perhaps, Shepard should have been content with the day's events; however, he was all but. Any illusions he had sometimes maintained about how hunting down the ones responsible for Akuze would finally allow him to make his peace with the whole affair seemed shattered; instead, he had added to his sorrow. Not enough that Wayne was just a cog in a larger machine, he himself had failed today. His revenge on Wayne had felt good in the moment, but as soon as Tali had burst through that door and looked at him, clearly horrified by his violence, it had come crashing down on him, and he had been dwelling on it ever since. Not even so much because Tali in particular had been the one to look at him that way, though it had stung at the time; but because quite frankly, now that he had snapped out of it, he was looking at himself much in the same way. Power corrupts, he thought to himself as he made his way down the stairs. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Now, I don't have absolute power, thank god. But can I even handle that which I already have? He didn't flinch from the truth about what had transpired today. He had let himself go, lashed out like a wounded animal, and disgraced himself in the process. He was the Commander of this team, the Captain of this ship, a bloody Council spectre; it did not do for him to let himself get carried away by emotions in front of his subordinates, especially not when it related to the mission. More importantly, while he had long understood that violence seemed to be a natural talent of his, he had always vowed that he would only use it for a cause greater than himself. Today, he had failed that; he had beat Wayne for one reason only, to sate his own hunger for revenge. He didn't care much for 'an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind' here; he hadn't killed the man after all, so it was more like a kick in the nuts for an eye. Something else was dominating his conscious, to his surprise; It is mine to avenge; I will repay. He had not lied to Ashley when he had said that his religiosity was tenuous at best; but that didn't change the fact of where the roots of his moral compass lay. Though he knew full well that one didn't even need to abstract morality to get to this conclusion – after all, if everyone took it upon themselves to enact justice, the result would be chaos. A well known fact. In theory. In practice...in the heat of the moment, it turned out to be quite difficult to remember.

Thus reminiscing, he reached the bottom of the stairs, and entered into the mess. The dealings with Arcturus had gone on until late into the ships 'evening', and so the mess was mostly empty, only Garrus sitting leaned back in a chair, making love to some Turian brandy. Upon seeing Shepard entering, he pushed the chair in front of him away from the table with his left foot. Getting the message, John quickly produced a beer from the fridge – both the fridge and the beer within were things he had gotten added to the mess very soon after being made a Spectre, making it so that each crew member was entitled to one beer a day, turns out being somewhat above the law, and Alliance regulations, had its advantages – and walked over to his Turian friend. Stretching out his legs past the chair Garrus was sitting on, ending up somewhat diagonally to him, Shepard cracked it open and took a deep sip. Almost a minute passed in quiet before Garrus finally spoke. "Bloody mess of a day, huh?"

"Hmmm."

Another couple of sips.

"Something bothering you, Shepard?"

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm...?"

Shepard frowned. "What do you want to hear? Wasn't my proudest day today."

Garrus gave him a skeptical look. "I doubt anyone thinks less of you for this. That bastard had it coming."

Shepard sighed. "Of course he did, but that's not the point, Garrus. The point is that we are soldiers, or I am, at least. I exercise violence for a reason, for a cause, that's greater than myself. When I do it just to get back at someone who hurt me, what separates me from some goddamn thug on the street?"

The Turian mulled that over a while; Shepard had little trouble imagining why. Garrus had shown a certain tendency towards taking justice into his own hands before. "So you wouldn't be willing to use violence to punish someone who wronged you? Within reason , of course."

Shepard huffed. "Depends, I guess. I dunno, let's say I had a wife and someone killed her, and the police won't get it done, so it's either that or the guy goes unpunished...in that case, kill the fucker, sure. Hell, maybe just kill him anyway, wouldn't blame the man who did that. But this thing with Wayne...I was literally sent to apprehend him so he could be questioned and punished the proper way. Instead I took it upon myself. Who the hell am I to do that!?"

Now Garrus was getting irritated. "Who you are!? Someone with a damn good reason to hate that guy! A Spectre! It's your right to punish scum like him! Sprits, it's your duty!"

"No, Garrus." His voice was determined now. "Not like that. Sure, when we're out there in the field, sometimes, you can't bag em all and bring em with, so you just shoot them on the spot. I've done it. But this? Wayne was done, literally under the boot, justice was coming for him. There was no reason to do this besides my own selfish need to hurt this man, because I hoped it would make me feel better. And that's fucking wrong! That's not what a Spectre should be! Do you really not get what I mean!?"

His turian friend took a long while to answer him this time around. "I...guess I understand. I didn't look at it this way. So what you're saying is...you're not sorry for Wayne, you're worried on behalf of yourself."

"Yes. I don't wanna go down that road."

"Hm. Alright, I get it." They drank in silence some more, until both their bottles were almost empty. "So, did it at least make you feel better?"

The commander laughed mirthlessly. "That's it, it didn't. It just got me even more worked up. And having Tali nearly crap her suit from looking at me certainly didn't feel very nice either."

Garrus put his elbows on the table now and leaned forward. "Don't worry Shepard, she understands."

"Yeah, probably. She is like that."

He emptied the bottle, and Garrus asked : "So, where to now? Finally gonna get that shore leave we meant to take?"

"Yes. We're on route to the Citadel right now. Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours, depending on how travel is at the relay."

"Hmm. Nice. How long are we staying?"

"I was thinking...three full days. We've been at it for two and a half months now. Most of the crew has only left the ship for an hour or two, if at all. They deserve some time with solid ground under their feet."

"Sounds good. I wanted to go shopping. I have my eye on some mods for my sniper rif-" Shepard's omnitool chimed. Priority summon to the CIC from Pressly. The human and the Turian locked eyes shortly, and then moved as one. The empty bottles and their talk of rest and recuperation forgotten, the two of them bolted up the stairs and over to the executive officer already waiting for them at his station.

"Pressly?"

Not bothering to salute, a surefire sign that something exciting was going on, his XO simply handed him a datapad while already talking. "Commander. We just got a transmission from that program Mrs. Zorah installed in Port Hanshan's security network."

"Saren?", Shepard asked, his eyes already flying over the letters, but not having gotten to that part yet.

"Almost. It's Matriarch Benezia. She just arrived there with a guard detail of Asari commandos and a lot of sealed cargo."

The commander and his twenty years older second in command exchanged a glance; a grim smile on Shepard's face. "I take it you already plotted a course?"

Pressly allowed himself a rare cheeky grin. "Please, commander."

Shepard just laughed. "Give orders to Joker. I'll break the news to the crew." He walked over to his personal work station and activated the PA system. "Crew, this is Commander Shepard. Bad news first: Shore leave is postponed again." He let it sink in for a second, imagining the frowns and moans spreading through the ship right now. "The good news: We have a lead on Saren's second. As of now, we are on route to Noveria, where we will capture or kill Benezia T'Soni...and get ourselves some answers in the process."

He stepped away from the terminal to the sight of Garrus nodding approvingly. "Good speech, Shepard."

"Hmm. Guess I'll have to have a talk with Liara at some point before we get there though..."

The turian's face fell. "Oh."

….

Cold air rushed into Shepard's face underneath the half opened visor of his helmet as the airlock opened to release them into the Normandy's designated docking bay at Port Hanshan. Knowing that his team was behind him, he took his first step onto the solid ground of Noveria, surveying his surroundings. The bay was positively spartan, just naked steel and concrete wherever the eye went. After the tense words Port Hanshan's flight control had exchanged with Joker and Pressly during their approach, John had expected an exceptionally frosty welcome; instead he found that there was no welcome at all, nobody having come out to meet them. At the checkpoint, probably. Throwing a quick glance behind him, he confirmed that all of his team had made it off the Normandy; letting his gaze linger on Liara perhaps half a moment longer than on the others. She had seemed collected enough when he had taken her to the side prior to their descent to the planet; she had explained to him that she had to be there, had to try and talk sense to her mother, had to at least understand why, and if all failed, had to help put a stop to it. That this would be the only way she'd ever make any peace with this whole ordeal. He believed her; he didn't feel like the two of them had terribly much in common, and so, while the talks they had had had been interesting and enjoyable enough, they did not spend a whole lot of time together, but he trusted Liara – she had never given him any reason to the contrary. If she said she wanted to do this, he wouldn't deny her. What he wasn't so sure if he could trust was her actual ability to see it through. Not because he thought of her as weak willed; the shy archaeologist had proven her mettle in the last two months. But facing, most likely in combat, and potentially having to help kill your own mother? Shepard wasn't sure if he could do it, he wasn't keen to find out, and he certainly didn't expect anyone else to.

Rounding the large form of their ship, they found themselves confronted by a welcoming party after all, a trio of guards in dark grey armor with some corporate symbol on it, probably the Noveria executive board, or perhaps something related to Port Hanshan in specific, John didn't know and honestly didn't care. There were two human women and a Turian man , who, in an unusual display for a member of that stereotypically stoic race, seemed to be the only uneasy one among them, the woman in front, of asian decent judging by her looks, approaching Shepard with the calm confidence of experience, and the woman in the back with a contemptuous scowl on her face. The hell is your problem? Didn't get taken by the real police, so now you're here and pissed every time you see someone who's under arms for an actual proper government? He almost chuckled at the aggression behind his inner monologue. It was rare for him to dislike someone just from looking at them for one moment, well, except Batarians, but this was one such a case.

The asian spoke. "That's far enough. Captain Matsuo, Port Hanshan security." Although he felt some measure of irritation at the standoffish way he was being addressed, he decided to try and play it cool. These upjumped mall cops might be an annoyance, but there was nothing to gain from antagonizing them needlessly.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance navy. Also a Council spectre, which means I am allowed to carry weapons here, as is my team by association."

Matsuo's face remained professionally neutral as she opened her mouth, but was beaten to it by the other woman. "A human spectre? Fat chance." He forced himself to not display his irritation; the woman was exactly the kind of dumb ass he had expected her to be. Matsuo shot her a reprimanding look before turning back to Shepard, still calm and professional. Perhaps at least one of these three was actually something close to an actual police officer; she better be, for tension was rising in the bay. He could feel his team shifting their weight around, and see further officers in the back pick up on the confrontation hanging in the air, discreetly lowering their hands to their guns and inching towards cover.

"Your identity has not been confirmed. This is an unscheduled arrival. Therefore, you are not allowed to carry weapons in our port. Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons."

The blonde took one step towards John, and in one fluid movement, his entire team had their guns out and pointed towards the security troopers, who reacted by pulling out their own and pointing them right back. John himself had twitched at first, but then decided to leave his gun in it's place for now. For one, he still hoped for a peaceful solution to this; he was here to apprehend Benezia, not start a war with some wannabe cops. And the other thing was: He was simply completely baffled. Had these people lost their minds? He decided to be as straight with this woman as possible, perhaps that would help.

"Have you lost your mind, captain? You see my ship. That's an alliance frigate. Here on my armor, that's alliance insignia and rank. You know I couldn't relinquish my weapons if I wanted to. And you try to send some goon to take my gun? You see the people standing behind me here. You can figure out on your own how this will end if you really decide to go down this road. So answer me this: Do you have a death wish, Captain Matsuo!?"

Matsuo didn't even flinch. He had to admit, she had balls. Though it'd be better for her if she had a brain instead. "Drop your weapons by the count of three. One..." Shepard scoffed in exasperation. "Two..." He brought out his assault rifle and extended it, tossing a glance to the side while he was at it, identifying the closest cover. Matsuo opened her mouth, no doubt to say "Three" , and John was just about to snap his gun on target and mow her down, when all loudspeakers in the bay sprang to life simultaneously.

"Captain Matsuo, stand down! We confirmed their identities. Spectres are allowed to carry weapons here." Everyone, even Matsuo, visibly sagged in relief, some closing their eyes and letting out the breath they'd been holding. To his left and just behind, John could hear Tali mutter her trademark "Keelah..." under her breath, while Wrex's huff sounded downright disappointed.

"Well then, Spectre. Welcome to Port Hanshan", Matsuo, who had brought her face back under control remarkably quickly, said. "I hope the rest of your stay will be less confrontational."

He scoffed. "That might just depend on you, Captain. Do you always point guns at guests from foreign militaries?"

The woman appeared completely unfazed, leaving Shepard wondering if she was just that thick, or pulling his leg. "We have our protocol, Spectre."

He scoffed and brushed past her, only to find Sterling sneering at him. "Behave yourself."

Alright, that's it. "Listen, you decrepit police academy dropout. You fuck with me or my people, I will end you." He shoulder checked her and barreled past, shaking his head. What the hell was wrong with this planet. A smaller voice in the back of his mind warned him to not let himself go again, but these amateurs were just too much. Stomping through the security checkpoint, a cacophony of noise and red lights flared up and died after a couple seconds, one turian security officer having scrambled to deactivate it. John turned around and scanned his team once more, making sure none of them were getting hassled by anyone over some nonsense, he wouldn't put it past the locals at this point. Turning back around and climbing the stairs to the elevator, he found himself approached by a woman in a red dress.

"Commander Shepard, my name is Gianna Parasini. I am the assistant to administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the incident in the docking bay. There was a delay in the confirmation of your identity, and Captain Matsuo takes her duties very seriously."

John snorted, failing to prevent a tired smirk from spreading across his lips. "I've noticed."

With the practised neutral expression of someone who was used to smiling around those one would rather slap in the face, Parasini droned on. "One of my duties is welcoming new arrivals and assisting them in finding their exact destination. Is there something I might help you with?"

John decided to try the blunt approach. "I'm here for Matriarch Benezia. I know she came through here yesterday."

If Parasini was taken aback by this rather specific inquiry, she did not show it at all. "The Matriarch did indeed arrive here yesterday, together with an honor guard of Asari commandos and a large shipment of sealed cargo." Hm. A straight answer. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

At the mention of her mother, he cast a glance back towards Liara, who had been looking at her feet when he turned his head, but brought her eyes back up shortly and gave him a curt nod, which he returned, trying to put as much reassurance into it as possible. He turned back towards Parasini and took a step towards her, deciding that with how this visit had been going so far, it couldn't hurt to make it crystal clear that he would not be denied. "Where is she now?"

"She left for the Peak 15 research facility shortly after arriving. By all accounts, she is still there." the assistant replied, very much unimpressed, but Shepard wasn't bothered, he didn't truly care about swinging his weight around, he just wanted answers, and as long as he was getting them, he was happy. He decided that Parasini seemed like a reasonable person and that therefore, he'd tone down the confrontational undertone. "Then that is where I'm going. Can you tell me how I get there?"

Parasini bowed her head apologetically. "I am afraid that will not be easy. Commander. Due to a snowstorm outside, the administrator has restricted access to the garage, which is the only way to deploy any sort of ground vehicle to the approach to Peak 15. The facility is about three kilometers away, which in this weather, is an impossible distance on foot."

Shepard furrowed his brow. "And what does that have to do with the vehicles? You would think the groundcars here would be equipped to handle the kind of temperatures that are to be expected on Noveria."

She shrugged. "They are. However, the administrator deemed it unsafe nevertheless. If you want to get to Peak 15, you will have to take it up with him."

John nodded, hiding his frustration with the boulders this place seemed to be insistent on throwing in his way. "Well, if you would be so kind to point me in his direction?"

Parasini nodded. "It's not far. Just take the elevator up to the main hall and stick to the left, the entrance to his office is in the corner just at the base of the large windows."

Nodding in thanks, he turned around and gathered his team around himself as Parasini left. "So, for anyone who didn't hear it: The bureaucratic nonsense continues for now. It appears I'll have to talk to some administrator first before we can finally get on with it. However, the assistant confirmed that Benezia is indeed here. She's holed up in a research facility not far from here, and she has, at the very least, a guard detail of Asari commandos with her. And who knows what other forces that facility has. So strap in for a tough one, people." He looked around the group, taking in their nods and determined faces. "Anyone got something to add?" No-one spoke up, and so he turned towards the elevator, entering it with Kaidan, Liara and Tali while the rest waited for the second round.

Once inside, Kaidan turned towards him and let his face slip into a frown. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

He sighed. "Always, Kaidan."

"Tread careful, Sir. That was pure insanity down in the docking bay. I have no idea what is wrong with these people, but I think we should watch our backs very closely."

Liara nodded and chimed in. "I agree. Their behavior was highly irrational. At least judging by what we know."

He furrowed his brow. "What are you two saying?"

Kaidan swayed his head, weighing his words, an uncomfortable look on his face. "I'm not necessarily saying anything, Sir. It's just...this is a corporate world. They barely recognize even your authority, and they're used to shady dealings. And Saren does apparently have quite the wallet , and they let him do business undisturbed even though he was marked a traitor by the council.."

John's eyes lit up with understanding. "You think this administrator might have gotten a nudge towards stalling us if we showed up."

Kaidan nodded. "I believe it's a distinct possibility."

"Liara, Tali?"

"I agree with Kaidan, commander.", the Asari answered.

Tali didn't say anything at first, but he could read her body and see her mulling it over despite the helmet. "My people have done business with the corporations here in the past...they were always reliable. But my father warned me about this place anyway. He said the people here have no principles." She broke her pondering stance and looked him in the eye. "Let's not trust anyone but ourselves."

He nodded. "I wasn't about to." He looked back to Kaidan. "I'll keep it in mind when I go to feel the administrator out."

…...

"Right, right, come in!"

John snorted, the annoyed voice calling out was about as friendly as he had anticipated this administrator to be. Leaving his team behind in the foyer, he made his way around the wall behind Parasini's desk and through the door to the office. Behind a large desk sat a Salarian, looking up only for the shortest of moments before continuing to type furiously on his workstation and addressing Shepard, talking even faster than was usual for his kind. "You will excuse me if I do not stand up. I have little time for rubes from backwater colonies."

He raised an eyebrow. He had been prepared for Anoleis to be less than cooperative, but this level of hostility was something else. This is ridiculous, just like that woman in the docking bay. What the hell is it with this planet!? Even if Kaidan is right, this is just juvenile. He decided to stay professional for now. "I don't care about your personal feelings, Anoleis. I am a Council Spectre and I am here on a mission. Give me what I need and we never have to see each other again."

The Salarian blinked once before finally bothering to stop typing and sit up straight. "This meeting is nothing but a courtesy towards your status, Spectre. I will cooperate only as far as the executive board demands."

We'll see. "I am here for Matriarch Benezia. I know she arrived here yesterday and set out for Peak 15."

The administrator nodded. "Yes. Lady Benezia is indeed here, she arrived as agent Saren's executor."

"Her what?"

The alien somehow managed to look even more irritated. "His executor." he said, stretching the word out as if he was speaking to a child. "Agent Saren is a major shareholder in Binary Helix, as such, he is entitled to send associate of his choice to oversee his investments. If we could get to the point now?"

John controlled his anger over the Salarian's attitude and decided to give the nice way one more try. "I need to get to Peak 15 immediately. I am aware of the weather, but I have an armored vehicle on my ship that can handle the temperatures. All I need from you is a garage pass."

The alien shook his head decidedly. "No. Peak 15 is a private facility. I will not allow you to harass our clients." Son of a ... John lifted both his eyebrows for a second before taking a deep breath, and a step forward. "I am a Spectre, Anoleis. I am here on order of the council. Don't make an issue out of this."

The Salarian was unperturbed. "We are not in Council space here. My obligation is to my clients and the executive board, not to you. I suggest that you don't make an issue out of this. Now, please leave my office."

John sighed. Fine, you asked for it. Sitting down in the chair in front of Anoleis' desk, he took out his hand cannon and deliberately placed it on the tabletop. That got the alien's attention, who suddenly sat very still. "Listen here, administrator. I don't think you understand the situation. So let me explain it to you." He picked up his gun and flicked off the safety, pointing it towards the ceiling. "Saren, as I am sure you know, has been declared a traitor to the Council, as has been, by extension, Benezia. By preventing me from leaving for Peak 15, you are therefore sheltering an enemy of the Council and obstructing not just justice, but a Spectre operation. I wonder what your executive board would have to say about that. I doubt that they would appreciate the fallout with the Council if I were to report this back. So I think if I went back to my ship and did a short trip over to the capital, I would be able to come to an agreement with the board very quickly." This much was true, and he would do just that if he had to; but first, he would see if some bluffing couldn't get him there sooner, and so he adjusted his guns aim right between Anoleis' large amphibian eyes. "However, I am short on time. And by aiding those traitors, you make a traitor out of yourself, Anoleis. So I think I'll just shoot you and take the garage pass from your corpse, and if any of those wannabe cops out there have something to say about it, they will make themselves traitors by association to you. So I will shoot them too. And thanks to the fact that your executive board recognizes Spectre authority, I will be perfectly within my legal rights to do so." His finger slid from the side of the gun and came to rest on the trigger. "Unless, of course, you see reason, and we can simply forget about all that nasty business right now."

The Salarian gulped, but did not yet back down. "You're bluffing."

A predatory smile spread across John's lips. "Perhaps. Wanna bet your life on it?"

Leaving the office with the pass in his hands moments later, he couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation. This goddamned planet. Tali was the first to approach him. She noticed his anger, cocking her head at him skeptically. "That upjumped clerk tried to get smart with me.", he said in way of an explanation. "But it doesn't matter now. We already wasted enough time. Kaidan, Ashley, if you'd be so kind to go and get the Mako, there's supposed to be an access to the garage from the docking bay. We'll meet you there." The two soldiers nodded and hurried off. Stretching and popping his back, Shepard let out a groan. "Alright, I think I'll grab a beer while we wait. Bullshit like this makes me thirsty." Garrus snickered at that, but before he could comment, Parasini chimed in, looking at Shepard with an expression of grudging respect. "I am surprised you got Anoleis to cooperate. Usually, it's hopeless to try and bludgeon through the corporate bureaucracy here."

He allowed himself a wry grin. "I can bludgeon pretty hard."

….