II
After Elena informed Ashley and Garrus, she geared up into her Colossus armor. Once fully dressed, she held up her hands that were covered up with the red fabric of the Colossus armor and looked at them. Then, slowly, her thoughts drifted to Garrus. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that compelled her to know more about him. He was just...so interesting to her. He was different than other turians she had met in the past. A laugh escaped her lips when she remembered Harkin calling him a hot-head.
She admitted that after talking to Garrus a few times, he was a bit of a hot-head, but she liked that in a man. Plus, he was smart and...
When the door slid open, Elena heard a woman's voice. It sounded like the woman was terrified by something. Elena saw the woman was surrounded by thugs. The woman had an hour glass figure and short red hair. Elena assumed the frightened woman was Dr. Michel. She also saw Garrus crouching under a counter with a gun clapped in his talons.
"I didn't tell anyone. I swear!" Dr. Michel cried.
"That was smart, Doc," the lead thug said. "Now, if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-" He suddenly grabbed Michel when he spotted Shepard glaring at him with a gun in her hand. "Who are you!"
"Let her go," Elena commanded.
While the thug holding the doctor was distracted, Garrus sprung into action. He came out of his hiding spot and shot the thug that held the doctor. Michel moved as far away from the other thugs as possible while Garrus kept his sights on the others. Elena and the rest of her team-Kaiden and Wrex- eagerly joined the fight.
Elena hid behind the counter and awaited for one thug to stop firing. As soon as he came out of hiding, Kaiden used his biotics to throw the thug into the air. Wrex finished him on with a few shotgun rounds. Elena crouched to the other side of the counter until she was at the end where Garrus had sprung out. She then stood up and shot a fire containment system that two thugs foolishly stood by. The device exploded, killing the last remaining thugs.
"All clear," Wrex said.
"Perfect timing, Shepard," Garrus said when she, Kaiden, and Wrex joined them. "Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."
"What were you thinking?" she asked urgently. "You could've hit the hostage!"
He lowered his head, suddenly thinking about the consequences of not thinking before acting. "There wasn't time to think! I just reacted. I didn't mean to--Dr. Michel? Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm okay. Thanks to you. All of you."
She shook her head.
He is such a sweetie too, she thought. She giggled when she whispered the phrase out loud. She felt like a young school girl in love. After a moment of silence to compose herself and get her game face on, she closed her hands into fists and headed up to the cockpit.
"Approach Control, this is the SSV Normandy. Requesting a vector and berth," Joker said.
"Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grid is armed and tracking you. State your business," Approach Control said.
Joker rolled his eyes. "Citadel business. We've got a Council Spectre aboard."
"Landing access granted, Normandy."
To Elena, the voice on the other side of the comm. seem annoyed. She snickered quietly. Oh this is going to be a fun place, she thought sarcastically.
"Be advised. We will be confirming identification on arrival. If conformation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded."
"What a fun bunch. I think I'll take my next leave here," Joker said to the Commander who simply smiled at him while shaking her head.
As she walked to the Normandy's airlock, she saw her team walking up to her. Ashley was in her Phoenix armor that she had recently upgraded to a heavy set of Phoenix armor the last time they had visited the Citadel. But Elena was surprised to see Garrus in a turian version of her Colossus armor. When she saw him, she simply smiled and chuckled quietly. She let Ashley walk into the airlock first.
She playfully hit Garrus' arm as he walked by her. The hit caught him by surprise.
"What did I do, Commander?" he asked worried, trying to think of what he did wrong.
"You copy cat," she said.
"Huh?"
She presented her figure to him in order to show him the type of armor she was wearing.
A laugh escaped him. "So it would seem. Do you want me to change?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm just messing with you."
And with that, she walked into the airlock with Garrus trailing behind her.
When the airlock's door shut, the internal air pressure was stabilized with the outside environment. Once completed, the door opened with a hiss, which let in a cold stream of wind and snow.
"I'm not usually a big fan of the cold," Ashley said.
"Neither are turians," Garrus said. "The sooner we get off this frozen planet the better."
Freezing cold with a bunch of snobby business individuals...oh yeah this is going to enjoyable, Elena thought.
The 'fun' began when they were stopped by three officers that stood a few feet from the door into the docking building. One was a turian with no markings on his brown-goldish face. The other two were women. Both of them had a thin petite build. The first woman officer had black hair that was put up into a bun. The other had short blonde hair that went down past her ears.
"That's close enough," the lead woman officer said.
"Is there a problem, Officer?" Elena asked.
The blonde officer glared at her. "You better hope there isn't."
Well isn't she charming, Elena thought sarcastically.
"This is an unscheduled arrival," the lead officer said. "I need your credentials."
"You first," Elena said in the most respectful way she could.
"We're the law here," the blonde officer said. "Show some respect."
Elena simply gave her a get-on-your-nerve look.
"I'm Captain Maeko Matuso, Elanus Risk Control services."
"I'm a Spectre. My name is Shepard."
The blonde looked at her superior officer with a look of total disbelief. "Load of horse crap, ma'am."
"We will need to confirm that. Also, I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria. Sgt. Stirling, secure their weapons."
When Stirling took a step forward, Elena, Ashley, and Garrus all took their weapons out and aimed. Stirling and the turian also aimed their weapons. Everything went quiet and at a standstill. Tension was thick and if an individual were to be near the them, he or she could probably feel the vibe between the officers and the soldiers.
"Back away," Ashley hissed. "Nice and slow."
If their arrival was going to be as welcoming as this, then Elena couldn't image what awaited her and her team inside...or on this planet.
"Nobody takes my weapon," Elena declared in a firm voice.
"Charge and lock!" Stirling commanded.
"We're authorized to use lethal force," Matuso said. "You have 'till the count of three to surrender your weapons."
Oh, this should be interesting, Ashley thought.
They were foolish to cross the Commander, Garrus thought.
All of their blood raced in their veins, pumping adrenaline into their bodies when Matuso began counting.
"One...Two...Thr-"
"Cpt. Matuso! Stand down," a voice over the speaker said. When Matuso relaxed, Elena put her gun down as well as her team and the other two officers. "We confirmed their identities. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here, Captain."
"You may proceed, Spectre," Matuso said. "I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."
As Elena and her team were walking into the building, Sgt. Stirling added, "Behave yourself."
"She just had to say that, didn't she?" Elena said while heading up a small flight of stairs.
"Just ignore her, Commander," Garrus said.
"You don't have to worry about me," she said, smiling back at him. "But thanks for your concern."
Garrus could feel blood rushing to his cheeks when he saw her beautiful smile. He look around in order to distract himself. Elena simply laughed. Ashley switched her gaze from Shepard to Garrus. She noticed him suddenly acting strange.
I wonder what's gotten into him, she thought.
If Elena wasn't so self-controlled then she would've hit Administrator Anoleis. He was rude to her the moment she walked into his office. He was only useful when he told her where Matriarch Benezia was. By the time she was done talking to him, she left the office empty-handed. She had to reach Peak 15 somehow, but without a garage pass, it was impossible. Garrus offered his support by telling her to forget about Anoleis. He told her that she could find someone else who was more than willing to help. And he was right. As they were leaving, Gianna Parasini came through for them, telling Shepard to talk to a man named Lorik Qui'in.
So here she was with her team, taking an elevator ride up to the hotel bar to talk to Lorik Qui'in.
She had to admit that the people on Noveria had too much time on their hands. They had built a bunch of tall windows, which Ashley pondered the use of because all there was to see outside was snow. Fountains and huge black rocks were placed at certain areas in the room. The elevator seemed too fancy. It was pretty much a pattern of elaborate glass and carved stone. However, Elena was grateful that there wasn't any elevator music.
They headed out once the doors opened. Elena stopped in the doorway and scanned the room. She cursed for not asking Parasini what Lorik looked like. She shrugged and walked over to a turian that was sitting alone at a table. She saw him look up at her with a smile.
"Afternoon," he greeted. "Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?"
She kindly declined with a hand gesture and a shake of her head. "Are you Lorik Qui'in?"
The turian nodded.
"I heard you might be able to help me."
"You are the Spectre that just arrived, are you not? What could an old turian like me possibly help you with?"
Damn, word travels fast here, she thought. "I'm trying to find a way into the garage. I have places to go."
"You need a pass. How fortuitous."
Elena couldn't help but smile at his use of big and unique words. Garrus saw this. A feeling, one he wasn't familiar with, slowly began to emerge inside him.
"I'm the manager of the local Synthetics Insights office. For the moment, at least. Mr. Anoleis closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption. The administrator is an interesting man. He has become quite wealthy since he took control of rents."
"By 'rents,' you mean bribes for Anoleis."
"Indeed."
Elena thought she saw a twinkle in his eyes when he said, "Indeed." She held back a small giggle.
Garrus shook with agitation as he tried to figure out why he was feeling this way. He felt fine until he saw the smile on Shepard's face after Qui'in greeted them. Slowly, it began to hit him. He's heard of the emotion before-a feeling a resentment. He'd seen it on the vids too. Was he...jealous? He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard Shepard chuckle.
"I'll try my best," she said to Qui'in before heading on her way. She turned to her team. "Let's go."
Garrus picked up the pace so that he was close to Shepard. She took notice of the space closing in between them. Since the mission started Garrus had kept a good distance from her, but now he was making her a bit uncomfortable.
"Um...Garrus, is everything all right?"
He shook his head, noticing-with a start-that he was shoulder-to-shoulder with Shepard. He moved away from her a bit to give her some space, but he still remained near her. "I'm sorry, Commander. I-"
She giggled. "It's okay."
Garrus had to smile at how easy and laid back she was.
Through the glass door, Elena could she two guards-one human and one turian.
Oh we're going to have some fun with these guys, she thought.
"Freeze! Hanshen security. This office is sealed," the woman officer said.
Elena was getting annoyed with all these obstacles that were getting in that way of her mission. No more Mrs. Nice Woman...for now. "What are you going to do about it?"
"You're the Spectre, right? Lorik Qui'in is under investigation."
"Anoleis is paying you to shake this place this down. That's makes you a criminal. I can kill criminals."
The officer raised an eyebrow at her. "You're bluffing."
"Everything the Commander says is true," Garrus warned. "I would step aside if I were you."
"He ain't paying me enough to take on Spectres, Alliance troops, or whatever. Look you pretend you didn't see us, we'll pretend we didn't see you."
The officer walked in the other direction with the turian following. Elena glared. Secretly, the officer smiled maliciously and slowly took out a pistol. She jerked around to shoot Shepard when, suddenly, she was shot in the head. The turian looked to see that Garrus had a pistol in his talons. The barrel of the pistol seemed to glower at the turian ERC officer. Garrus pulled the trigger and shot the turian in the head.
"Nice shot," Shepard said, looking back at him.
"Sometimes you get lucky," he said with a wink.
Elena and Ashley got their weapons and started to flush out and kill any remaining ERC officers. Once the room was clear, they headed up to Qui'in's office to retrieve the evidence. While grabbing the data, she heard Ashley whisper to her.
"Commander, we've got company," she said.
Elena looked up to see Sgt. Stirling standing a few yards away with two ERC guards flanking her sides. "I hope I get to shut her up once and for all," she muttered. She grabbed the data and headed out of the room, but not before telling Garrus and Ashley to keep their guard up and fingers on their triggers.
"I don't think you're supposed to be in here, Shepard," Stirling hissed.
"Do you plan on making me leave?" Elena asked.
"Leave? You think I'm going to let you walk out of here. Uh-uh. Anoleis would throw you off world for what you did here, I won't. Do you know what we do to cop killers on my world?"
"You're men are dirty, Sergeant," Garrus snapped back at her. "You're here off-duty, breaking the law for bribe money."
"You want to fight, I'll give you one." She took her shotgun out, aiming it with a grin on her face. "It'll be a real pleasure to shut your ass up."
Stirling snickered while the guards scattered. "You talk the talk. Let's see if you can walk after I break your legs."
"Bring it, bitch."
Ashley and Garrus charged to take on the ERCs, leaving Shepard and Stirling to battle it out. Stirling started the battle by firing her shotgun at Elena who ducked behind a plant. Elena took out a grenade and waited. When the firing stopped, she threw it out. Stirling rolled out of the way when she saw the grenade land a few inches from her. Elena came out from behind the plant, pulling the shotgun's trigger vigorously. Stirling fired back, getting a few direct hits, but none that were fatal. Elena's armor protected her.
Elena backed up and threw another grenade. Stirling evaded it again. When she turned around, Elena hit her with the butt of her shotgun. Stirling lost her grip on her shotgun while falling to the ground. While on the ground, she tried to grab it, but a heavy boot pressed down on her hand. Elena pointed the shotgun's barrel at Stirling's head.
"Surrender?" Elena asked.
"Screw y-" The shotgun round went straight through her head, killing her instantly.
"I offered life," Elena muttered to the dead body. "And you wasted it." She left to join her comrades. By the time she stepped down on the final stair, her team was finished.
"Good work," she said.
They both nodded a thanks. Then they left the office to give Qui'in his evidence and the garage pass they needed to reach Peak 15.
Things never seem to go as planned. Elena was originally planning to go to Qui'in, make the exchange, and be on her way. But things got complicated when she ran into Gianna Parasini. She had told her to meet her in the hotel bar before talking to Qui'in.
"It's never easy, is it?" Elena muttered while they were in the elevator.
"Something tells me it won't get any easier once we reach Peak 15," Ashley said.
"I don't doubt it."
Once they arrived, Elena saw Gianna standing by a tall table on the other side of the room. They made their way over to her.
"You wanted me to come talk to you first," Elena said to get her attention.
Gianna nodded. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs."
"Why is an Internal Affairs agent here?"
"The Executive Board knows about Anoleis' corruption. I've been undercover for sixth months. I want you to convince Qui'in to testify before the Board. With his evidence, this planet can run profitably again."
"I thought corruption was the rule on Noveria."
"The rule is 'don't rock the boat.' Self-interest is tolerated if it doesn't interfere with business. Anoleis is driving costumers away."
"But can't you just take his records since you work for him?"
Parasini chuckled which-to Elena-sounded like one that replaced the words, 'Are you stupid?' "He's a crook, not a moron. He doesn't keep logs on his computer saying, 'This month I stole three million credits.' Qui'in's testimony and records are everything I need to prove Anoleis's guilt in one package."
Elena lowered her head with a smirk on her face. Then she began to laugh.
Parasini scowled at her. "What is so funny?"
Elena stopped laughing while looking up at her, the smirk turned into a fierce stare. She stabbed her finger at her Parasini. "Look, if you want my help, let's get one thing straight here. If I'm going to do this for you then don't be a smartass and use that kind of sarcasm with me. I could've easily walked up to Qui'in and did our little exchange, not even considering your request to talk to you. But I didn't, did I? I did as you requested and came to you first. Now if we're going to have a problem then I'll walk away right now. Get rid of that smartass tone of yours now!"
For a long minute, the tension was think. The only noise that filled the space between Elena and Parasini was the music. Elena broke the ice that 'formed' when she took a deep breath and said, "I need Qui'in's garage pass to complete my mission."
Still considering Elena's warning, Parasini said, "You help with my investigation, I'll provide whatever you need. Favor for a favor."
"Anoleis is dirty," Garrus said. "It might be best to help her."
"Look, Shepard. I don't like this either. You Spectres play fast and loose with the law. That's bad for business."
Elena examined every piece of information before answering her. "All right," she groaned. "I'll talk to Qui'in and see if I can convince him."
"Thank you," Parasini said with a hopeful smile on her light brown colored face. "You know where I work. Come talk to me once you know if he'll play ball."
Elena sighed. Garrus noticed a bit of despair in her sigh. He suspected she was worried about talking to Qui'in regarding his evidence and the Internal Affairs agent. He was suddenly struck with a mixture of emotions that he didn't want to be feeling right now.
Elena, along with her team, walked over to Qui'in's table. She saw that same smile on his face when he looked up at her.
"Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I asked you to look into?"
"I finished the job, but an Internal Affairs agent contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis."
The smile on Qui'in's face disappeared. "Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle."
Garrus was about to say something, despite the emotions of unnecessary anger and resentment toward Qui'in, when he noticed Shepard. He thought she would cringe away or something, but her beautiful figure stood straight and tall. Her shoulders were back proudly. And with a calm, study voice she said, "Everyone on this station is chafing under Anoleis' extortion. You might end up a hero."
Qui'in sighed. "My employers relay on the good will of the Executive Board to work here."
Elena was cut off by Garrus. "The Executive Board is already investigating Anoleis. They'll be more angry at him than at you."
"All right. It is obvious I cannot persuade you. Very well. I will testify. Make whatever arrangements with your contact, I will wait here."
Without another word, Elena smiled and bowed her head. Then she turned around to head to the elevator. When they were all in, she peeked back at Garrus. He saw her gaze as well as the smile he always loved to see on her face.
"Thanks," she said.
He bowed his head.
After convincing Qui'in to testify, Elena returned to the administrator's office to inform Parasini who took the evidence, gave Elena a garage pass, and then arrested Anoleis. For Elena and Parasini, it was gratifying to see the corrupted rude bastard being taken away to a prison somewhere. Elena felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders once they reached the garage. She showed the pass to the officer that was guarding the entrance. Unfortunately, when they entered, they were ambushed by a group of geth.
"I'd say these are what the Matriarch had in the crates," Garrus said while shooting at a geth destroyer.
"Bring it on!" Ashley shouted, firing at the other geth destroyer.
Elena killed a geth stalker when it foolishly landed in front of her. It only took them about a minute to take care of the other geth destroyer and stalker. Once finished, they walked toward the Mako that was parked at the other end of the garage. When they got in: Garrus took the wheel, Ashley took the turret, and Shepard took control of the cannon. He pushed on the gas pedal and there were off to Peak 15.