The Maverick dropped them at Port Hanshan, where the soiree would be hosted. The Corporate Council had spared no expense in displaying their wealth and power, with lush carpets, ice sculptures, open bars with every manner of consumable. Impeccably dressed servers, mostly human and turian, stood in the corners, easily noticeable and eminently polite. Also conveniently placed to watch the flow of the room, Shepard noted with some distaste. He'd have to be careful about entrances and exits. Elegantly dressed businesspeople floated from table to table, exchanging pleasantries, hidden threats, offers of alliance, and everything between. Yet despite the elegance and extravagance, Noveria's Corporate Council couldn't quite lose the weary feel of the sad concrete and cold that Shepard had caught a glimpse of as he and his team had walked in.
"I'm Security Chief Matsuo. Please come to me if you have any questions on security, or you see anyone breaching Corporate Council directives." The Asiatic security chief bowed to Shepard and his team, noting their mocked up visas and the small Alliance "A" that was prominently displayed on them.
"Please leave all sidearms and weaponry with the clerk." A surly looking blonde agent motioned to a bag check on the opposite side of the corridor. "This includes those with government permits." She said, giving a pointed look to Shepard. Shepard huffed, playing his role, and went over to the bag check, giving the gruff turian a frown as he passed it over.
"I don't make the rules sir." The turian said, unimpressed. Shepard patted himself down, checking. He still had his knives – bits of metal that would pass because they were so ancient. He had an omni-blade program on his omni-tool as well, but Kaidan had split and sequestered the more suspicious of their omni-tool data, and such things would have to be reconstructed past security. Shepard turned his head sharply when he heard a racket from the security booth.
"Trying to steal corporate secrets?" the irritable blond woman said, grabbing Tali by the shoulders and shaking her, her companion holding a crude wire-tap in his hand.
"No! no! I swear!" Tali said, her voice about an octave higher than normal, playing up the uncertainty and vulnerability.
"What would your boss say if he saw this, eh?" The blond lady said, shaking Tali again. She looked about.
"Who's in charge of this vagrant?" She said. Shepard put on an oily face and walked over.
"That would be me. Is she causing trouble?" He asked, doing his best to look down his nose at everyone.
"Are you aware she was carrying an unauthorized recording device, sir?" The blond security agent had her own oily, polite mask on.
"Trying to steal human secrets to send back to the Migrant Fleet, are we?" Shepard asked Tali. He'd apologize later.
"No! We had an agreement!" She said, her voice getting strident. She was good at this, Shepard noticed. "I can represent myself to whoever would hire me, and in return give the Alliance's offer to the Fleet when I return! The recording device is just so I have a copy of any oral contracts!" Tali started wringing her hands. A nice touch, and one that would help with her real nervousness.
"You should have cleared it with me first." He said, sounding haughtily disappointed. "These things have rules, you know."
"I… I-" Tali looked heartbroken. "I know. I'm sorry."
"I think she's learned her lesson." Shepard said to the security. The security did not seem amused.
"If you say so sir."
"Check her and then send her in. I require her presence on the other side." He said, then strolled through the security barrier. The blonde agent was too busy grinding her teeth at his attitude and the struggling Quarian to pay too much attention to his security scans, which might have otherwise been worthy of a second glance.
Kaidan went next, apologizing for his compatriots to the security staff, who brushed him off. Then Liara, who said nothing, but looked fantastic in a dress she'd managed to pull from somewhere in her scant belongings. She merely raised a – Shepard looked closer. Had she painted on eyebrows with viayun* paint? Curious. He filed that away for later inspection as the asari gracefully made her way through the checkpoint. She gave him a nervous nod, betraying her cover slightly, but took Kaidan's arm without an ounce of hesitation. The Lieutenant then betrayed his cover by blushing slightly. Shepard fought hard not to put his head in his hands.
Once they had all been ushered through the security cordon, they made for one of the open tables, as per the plan. Kaidan would station himself at the table, coordinating and compiling all the intel they gathered. Tali would circle the wait staff, and all the underlings, see who she could get to talk, while Shepard would play the interested investor, see who would be interested in Alliance patronage, and see who would be a valuable contact down the road. Liara would work on an opposite tack as Shepard, representing alien interests.
Halfway to the table, A salarian and a tall human woman cut them off. Shepard smiled graciously, motioning them past as they almost collided.
"Our apologies. Noveria values its investors." The woman said, half bowing to Shepard as she went by.
"I should hope so." The salarian said snidely.
"You have me at a disadvantage." Shepard said, smiling and letting the sentence hang.
"Parasini. Gianna Parasini." The lady said, offering her hand. Shepard leaned down and kissed it lightly. He was getting better at concealing the rush of information he received every time he touched someone.
"Charmed."
"Oh! This is Administrator Anoleis, who is the Corporate Council's representative in Port Hanshan." Parasini said, motioning to the salarian, who sniffed.
"I'm sure you'll want to beg me for a favor or whatever other indirect manner of advancement you humans prefer. As a representative of the Corporate Council I'm neither allowed, nor interested. Now, if you'll excuse us, you're wasting my time." The salarian took off toward a grouping of humans with peculiar badges on their suits. Parasini looked apologetic.
"You'll have to excuse the Administrator –"
"Will I now?" Shepard said lightly, and Parasini laughed wryly and tilted her head toward him.
"As you like. He is a figure of some importance around here, however." She tapped her nose, and said in a stage whisper, "Might want to get into his good books." She turned gracefully, so her dress flared a bit, and stalked off after the irate salarian.
"How do you do that?" Tali complained as they completed their journey toward the empty table.
"Do what?" Shepard said mildly, smiling slightly.
"Charm the pants off of people within 5 minutes of meeting them." Kaidan said wryly, sliding into his chair – the one with its back to the wall and a good view of the room.
"I don't know if you were paying attention, Mr. Kravchenko, but she wasn't wearing pants." Shepard said. Kaidan rolled his eyes, and Liara stifled a gasp.
"Is a dress a sign of human promiscuity? I didn't-"
"Relax, Liara." Shepard had decided to change only the last names for their covers, so that there wouldn't be as many slip-ups. "It was a joke, and no, that is definitely not a human norm."
"Well that really depends on the dress." Kaidan said, smirking slightly. Liara, panicked, looked down at her dress. Kaidan laughed, "I'm teasing you, Doctor."
"Oh. OH!" Liara blushed slightly, her cheeks becoming a darker shade of blue.
"Right, let's go people. I have some contracts to win." Shepard said, activating his omni-tool. Kaidan activated his own, and sent the requisite file to Shepard, which gave him access to his suite of omni-tool programs. He'd had a few SpecTRe programs on there as well, but they were specifically designed to be undetectable by scan. He was curious to see if the private sector would be able to detect this, but they'd passed through without comment.
Shepard nodded to his team, and strode off toward the cocktail bar. Always have something in your hands, it makes you seem like a part of things. His lessons in blending, disguise, intelligence - drilled into him as he grew up, and when he trained with the alliance – came back to him easily, the lie becoming like breathing, charm like blinking. He stepped up, accepted a glass of some Elysian champagne, smiled to himself slightly at a joke no one else would get, and then walked over to a huddle of people.
Over the next half hour, he found 5 different corporate contacts that he could eventually develop into valuable assets, stole about 15 schematics that were corporate secrets via a SpecTRe program he tried out, and charmed everyone he came across. But of Saren and Benezia he'd heard nothing. He wasn't sure if it was the frustration, the lack of adrenaline, or some sick game of dominance played with the lights in the Port Hanshan Convention Center, but he had a pounding headache felt like it had reached down and grabbed his optic nerve and started pulling. He traded in his empty champagne glass for a water, and sat down next to Kaidan.
"Any news?" He asked to his Lieutenant. He looked up, but didn't say anything, listening to another crewmate report in.
"Liara has had some luck with the researchers." He said, grinning and pointing to a corner where the engineers required for accurate presentations had all gathered to gawk and sit stiffly. Liara had engaged them in conversation, and had quite the audience. Shepard grinned, watching her unconsciously work the crowd. She was a natural, her shyness giving her a bond on which to work and her natural curiosity keeping the company men telling far more than they were cleared to discuss. It helped that she could at least keep up with their tech talk (with a few helpful pointers from Kaidan), which was far more than their now tipsy bosses could claim.
"I haven't heard a thing from Tali though." Kaidan said. "Haven't seen her around, either."
"Tali?" Shepard sat down, pretending to talk to Kaidan while engaging his comm. The Lieutenant looked slightly discomfited as he fought to keep up the image of conversation.
"Report?" Shepard said only static replied. Shepard was about to open his omni-tool and ping her environmental suit, despite what it might do to give away her allegiances, when she replied, slightly breathless.
"Shepard, she's coming. Here. Tonight." Tali said. "I'm sending you everything I collected." There was a slight pause, while Shepard worked to process the bombshell Tali had unearthed, she worked up the courage to say something. "You were right. The cover you gave me is useful."
Shepard shook his head, clearing it from the tunnel-vision of adrenaline. "Should have asked first anyway. Give me the details. Where will the matriarch be arriving? With how many? What's her purpose here?"
There came a sudden hush from the gallery, as the live band stopped playing their sparkling jazz. A tall asari in a slim dress that whispered of wealth and power strode in, her lightly-clad feet making no sound against the thick carpeting. A detachment of commandos arrayed behind her, resplendent in their dress uniforms, all displaying the symbol of House T'Soni – a stylized vathek (A fishing hawk only found near the areas around Serrice) holding a flaming branch.
Administrator Anoleis and the Corporate Council Chairman Allen Thomas were there to greet Benezia T'Soni as she entered the ballroom.
"Never mind Tali. She's just arrived."
The quarian gave a put-out sound, then replied. "I'm coming back into the ballroom." Shepard's omni-tool indicating it now had the fruits of Tali's snooping.
The Administrator and Chairman exchange a few words with the matriarch, unfortunately too far away to be heard, and then bow and dismiss themselves. Benezia motions to her escort, who then file out, leaving only two – presumably her personal bodyguards. The imposing figure of the asari drew the eyes of most in the room, and it isn't long before the elder T'Soni has a crowd of adorers and sycophants. In a moment, she makes a graceful gesture, and speaks some indistinct words, and half the crowd disperses.
"That's some serious charisma." Kaidan said, leaning back.
"When you've got 1000 years to practice, you can get pretty good at things." Shepard said dryly. "But it does seem to come naturally to her." He conceded after a second.
"Liara, stay with us!" Tali's voice echoed over the comms, and Shepard looked, spotting the quarian making her way along the side of the room, behind the tables. Shepard looked to where Liara was standing, staring at Benezia's tall form. Shepard tensed, expecting to have to intervene, when one of Liara's fan club touched her arm hesitantly. The asari shook her head, and apologized to the man, seeming to re-engage with the conversation, turning away from the matriarch. Benezia looked to where she was standing and froze for a second, studying Liara's scalp crests.
Before he knew quite what he was doing, Shepard was up and heading over to the small gaggle of people still surrounding Benezia. Working his way through effortlessly, he tapped the asari matriarch on the shoulder. An action of unspeakable rudeness in asari culture, but perfectly aligned with what his cover identity would do. As his finger made contact with Benezia's shoulder, his eyes and head gave a particularly harsh throb, and he stumbled into her, the powerful rush of information from a being so old and wise combining with the sudden blackness as his eyes burned with pain.
And then it was over. Shepard shook his head, winced when that added to the pain, and stumbled backwards a step.
"My…" Shepard closed his eyes, focusing on ignoring the pain. "My sincerest apologies Matriarch T'Soni." The asari matriarch held his gaze with a coolness that rivalled the temperatures outside. Her body language was screaming harsh reproach, but Shepard managed to keep his studied obliviousness, even when his head was beginning to feel like someone was pounding nails into his brain. "I'm afraid the wine got the better of me there for a moment. Is there anything I can do to express the depth of my shame?"
Benezia's body language remained reproachful, but her gaze softened ever so slightly. "Courtesy's place is to lead, not follow." The barest hint of a smile formed on her lips – something that would have been invisible to most of those present. "There are fewer messes for it to clean up, that way."
Shepard bowed, purposely aping the Thessian style. "I'm afraid the atmosphere and company lead me to run rather faster than my wits." Shepard grinned. "It doesn't help that they have such short legs."
That earned a genuine smile from Benezia, who began to study him closer. She stuck out her hand for him to shake, and he took it and kissed it, barely brushing his lips against the back of her hand.
"Alexander Pastoris, Lady T'Soni."
"I suspect you had another motive for crossing my path, Mr. Pastoris." The asari matriarch said, slyly smiling at Shepard, her tone rude but her body language suggesting she was enjoying the subterfuge.
"It would be remiss of me to demand formality when I have already so inescapably breached it. Alexander, if you would, Matriarch T'Soni." Shepard inclined his head at the asari. "And while you are correct, it would seem foolhardy to propose something that demands finesse and discretion when the initial impression conveys anything but."
The Matriarch was saved from having to reply when her omni-tool beeped, a small, urgent sound cut through the conversation. Benezia read the message quickly, her face giving nothing away, then looked back up to Shepard.
"I have sent my contact details to your address, Mr. Pastoris. I'm afraid something has come up."
"Of course, Matriarch T'Soni. We'll be in touch." The matriarch turned to go, throwing one last glance toward the corner were Liara had been, only to find that she had left. She and her bodyguards walked quickly out the side door, which led into Port Hanshan proper. Shepard clutched his head and stumbled, his head and eyes throbbing anew.
"Tell me you got something on her." Shepard said as he made his way back to the table where Kaidan was watching with concern.
"Tali's a genius." Was all he said, motioning to the quarian, who had finally joined them. Shepard looked up and smiled weakly,
"Ah, but we already knew that."
Tali bobbed her head at the compliment, nerves and excitement blending her body language. "I managed to get a trace on her omni-tool. Would have been a long shot, especially working through your omni-tool"
"-you were working through my omni-tool?"
Shepard couldn't see her face, but he would have sworn Tali had a sly smile on it. "If my work was discovered, you would have had both motive and opportunity. It would keep security from asking too many questions"
"…. When did you get so devious?" Shepard asked, still cradling his head.
"I do recall you giving several training sessions on stuff like this, Commander." Liara said, joining them at the table. "We have confirmation Benezia is here." Through the pain in his head, Shepard noticed a certain coldness to Liara's voice. The use of her mother's first name was interesting as well. "What's our next move?"
"Give me a minute." Shepard said.
"Migraine?" Kaidan asked, sounding sympathetic.
Shepard shook his head. "Never had them before. Just-" A fresh wave of pain roared through his head, then stilled to a dull throb. Shepard shook his head, and looked at his team.
"Alright. We need to figure out where Matriarch Benezia went, and have a private chat with her about some of her more unsavory associations."
"Tali and I can trace her omni-tool, and find out the where. You and Liara will have to work out how to get there, however." Kaidan pulled up his own omni-tool. He and Tali conferred for a bit, the tech-talk going straight over Shepard's head. Liara seemed to be keeping up, however, nodding and even throwing in her own suggestions. Where the shy archaeologist had learned about the backdoors in Serrice Council omni-tools nobody knew, and Shepard made a note to ask her about it later. One of many, it would seem.
In the end, Tali and Kaidan, working in sync, managed to rig a program that would release a tracking pulse that could be picked up by their omni-tools. However, once it had, it would be detected and shut down. They would get one pulse of a general location, then they would lose both the information on place and the element of surprise. Which meant they'd need to verify the locator pulse another way. Shepard sighed, his head still pounding. Back to schmoozing, it would seem.
"Tali, I'm going to need to you get a fix on the mark's location."
"Oh, just ask Lilihierax. He's chatty, for a turian."
"Well, he'd be happy to talk to the inquisitive quarian then?"
"He's a turian on a majority human world, Shepard. On a corporate human world. He's happy to talk to anyone who will "talk straight" and isn't racist."
"Point." Shepard said. "Ask him."
Tali huffed, but did as Shepard asked, she carried on a nice conversation with the affable turian, before closing the link on her omni-tool, and turning to the group.
"Our target is going to Peak 15." She said shortly. Shepard pulled up what he knew of the holdings on Noveria that were connected to Saren and Benezia, searching for what connected the two.
"Looks like Peak 15 is an R&D lab for Binary Helix." Shepard said. Kaidan pulled up his own omni-tool and ran his own research.
"They've got a hand in most everything, Alexander." He said Shepard's name with a note of unfamiliarity and discomfort. Shepard made a note to work on that with him. "Genetics research is their forte, but they've gone to great lengths to keep everyone out."
Shepard looked out the window, which graciously provided a view of the mountains that were totally obscured by the near white-out conditions. "Including shipping a board member to their facility in a blizzard." He said quietly. He looked back at his squad, who were looking to him eagerly, expecting him to pull something to get them closer to their target. "Right, we need a way onto Peak 15. How do we get there?"
"The weather conditions make it too difficult to fly in." Liara said, nodding to the window.
"And I doubt they'll just let us borrow a vehicle." Tali nodded sourly to Administrator Anoleis, who was now berating a human in a server's uniform. He was shaking and nearly in tears by the time the Administrator was done. The salarian gave a dismissive motion and stomped over to another table, where he then played gracious host for the Corporate Council's bigger backers.
Shepard looked around, searching for the Administrator's aide – Parasini, as he recalled. Seeing the olive-skinned woman speaking authoritatively to a group of bored-looking businessmen, Shepard motioned for his table to resume positions, then wandered over.
"Mr. Pastoris! How are you enjoying the party?" The secretary asked, bowing slightly, an unidentifiable glint in her eyes.
"I'm afraid myself and my fellow representatives are ready to retire. Rest assured we have been marvelously entertained."
"That's a shame." Parasini said, a small smile playing about her face. "The party will certainly be more predictable without you."
Shepard smiled and bowed his head to Parasini, the semantics not lost on him. 'you' was at once singular and plural, meaning him and the Alliance, who he purported to represent. It was a warning disguised as flirting, or flirting disguised as a warning, depending.
"There is one thing you can do for me."
"Just one?" The secretary's smile was wide.
"For now, anyway." Shepard smiled. "My clients and I were looking to rent one of the Peaks for research and development, and would like to view one while we're here. How would we go about getting access?"
Parasini seemed disappointed at the mundane question. "Well, you'd need a garage pass, or have someone who has one accompany you. You would rent one of our Overland vehicles, as the local climate makes flying inadvisable most days."
"Ah, but what would it take to get one tonight." Shepard said, leaning forward and giving a conspiratorial edge to his words.
Ms. Parasini did not seem impressed. "You'd need to know someone with a pass. Usually they're in senior positions, like the Administrator, or Lorik Qui'in, or the Lady Benezia."
Shepard noticed that Parasini had leaned in slightly on that last name, a curious glint in her eyes. He smiled easily. "Since the administrator is far from impressed with me, and the Matriarch has left the party, it would seem I should meet this Mr. Qui'in." Shepard inclined his head. "Thank you, Ms. Parasini"
"Please, just Gianna." The woman smiled enigmatically.
"Well, thank you, Gianna." Shepard half-bowed, wincing as his head gave another vicious throb. "Where might I find the illustrious Mr. Qui'in?"
Gianna smiled. "He's drinking by himself at the bar." She waved over to the table nearest the bar. Lorik Qui'in was leaned back in his chair, pensively holding a glass of some green liquid Shepard assumed was alcoholic. "Be warned, though. He knows how Noveria works. He'll probably ask a favor for a favor." Gianna said, that unidentifiable glint in her eye again.
Shepard sighed, but smiled wryly. "Nobody takes IOUs anymore." Parasini laughed, and turned to resume her duties as Shepard made his way over to the lounging turian.
"Good evening. Sit down, have a drink." The turian waved graciously toward the empty seats, one of which Shepard pulled out and sat down in.
"I'm Alexander Pastoris, Mr. Qui'in. I hear you can help me out."
"And what could an old turian like me help you out with?" Lorik gently set his glass down on the table, staring at Shepard with renewed interest.
"I'm hoping to get a look at one of the research Peaks out there." Shepard gestured toward the window behind the bar. "I hear you need a garage pass for that."
"Ah, but you don't need me for that. The Alliance just needs to put in an application for a tour." Quiin held his ground, staring evenly at Shepard.
"I was hoping to get a tour tonight." Shepard said, his voice slightly lower than normal.
"So the rumors are true. The Alliance is, oh, what is the word? Spooking?" the turian said mildly, taking his glass back in his talons again.
"Snooping." Shepard corrected.
"Yes, that too." Qui'in waved his hand. "Hmm. If that is the case, we might be able to help each other out." He took a sip of his drink. "Provided you do some spooking for me."
"I might be able to help. Did you have something in mind?"
"I am the manager of the local Synthetic Insights office. For the moment, at least." Qui'in put his drink down and leaned forward. "Mr. Anoleis closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption." The turian's mandibles widened and lowered in what Shepard had learned was an expression of disgust. "The administrator is an interesting man. He has become quite wealthy since he took direct control of the rents."
"Has he now." Shepard murmured, distaste for the salarian rising.
"Quite." Qui'in sighed. "I acquired evidence of Anoleis' actions. His hired goons are ransacking my office to find it. If you recover the evidence from my office, I will give you the garage pass, as well as a sum of credits."
"You sound like you've got a plan?" Shepard asked, leaning forward himself.
"I do. However, there is one other – what's that charming human expression? 'fly in the lotion?" Qui'in leaned back.
"Violence against Mr. Anoleis' thugs may be necessary. He has members of Port Hanshan's security team searching my offices. He is paying them under the table. Ms. Matsuo is unaware of their outside employment." Qui'in leaned backwards, his dark eyes searching Shepard.
It was a test, a probe, trying to figure out just how badly Shepard wanted to get out of Port Hanshan.
"Then I will have to be extremely discreet. And try to nab their name-tags on the way out." Shepard said confidently, not breaking eye contact with the turian.
"Good luck." Lorik Qui'in nodded to Shepard, and handed him an OSD. Shepard nodded his thanks and then got up and walked back to the table where Kaidan was waiting.
"I need you guys to confirm a story for me." He said as he sat down. He gave them the details of Lorik Qui'in's accusations and request. They searched what they could, finding no hard evidence, of course. But there were enough flags in the published accounting data and flags in other areas – Anoleis had an extremely expensive long-range aircar, which was mystifying, as most days it would be impossible to fly on Noveria. The move to take over the rents was a matter of public record. There were also several patrol vehicles outside the Synthetic Insights office at the moment, though comm traffic on the security channels gave no indications of this.
Shepard sighed, and rubbed his head, which was still pounding. "Right. Kaidan, you're with me. Tali, Liara, stay on comms and watch the door for us. We may be in a hurry on the way out. Find a place with a good overlook to the office. Be creative if you have to, but don't draw attention." He and his team opened their omni-tools, syncing their chronometers. "Begin exit protocols."
Kaidan got up and stretched, making boredom the chief emotion on his face. He wandered off, pretending to stare at the bar menu, before making a bee-line for the exit by the bathrooms. As he was staring at the bar menu, Tali got up and walked straight out, pretending to talk to someone on her omni-tool, while surreptitiously doing scans for any bugs or tracking devices. Shepard and Liara had some inane banter, and as Liara was getting up to leave, Shepard reached out and grabbed her arm. That spark of contact, the information from the touch made both of them stiffen for a second. Shepard knew she was scared. She was sad, and she was furious.
"Liara - when I stumbled into the Matriarch…" Liara's face twisted slightly, and she gave Shepard a direct, intense stare. "She didn't feel right. Like she wasn't all there."
"You think it was what Shiala talked about?" Liara took a shuddering breath. "Can we-"
Shepard shook his head. "I don't know. I will do what I can, but…"
"She's a matriarch with 500 years of combat experience." Liara said quietly. "I – Thank you, Alexander." With that, she left, gliding serenely out of the room, nodding politely to anyone who made eye contact with her. Shepard leaned back in his chair, watching the room. The party was just past the half-way point, where the interesting things started to happen. The businessmen were now thoroughly drunk, and the engineers were too. The Administrator was irascibly telling off someone else, while swaying slightly on his feet. Shepard stood slowly, making his way across the ballroom. The band had put up a lively tune, and there were people out dancing on the floor, including one rather drunk turian, who was dancing rather impressively. Shepard almost stopped and stared, but managed to avert his gaze.
He made it out of the ballroom without attracting attention, and met with Kaidan around the corner from the Synthetic Insights office. Motioning for Kaidan to follow his lead, Shepard slunk around the corner, staying to the shadows that the blizzard and warm interior lighting produced. As the office door came into sight, Shepard noted the two patrol cars on the avenue outside and the two human guards in ERCS armor idly leaned up against the columns that supported the awnings over the walk. Relieved that they were facing outward, Shepard quietly opened his omni-tool, using one of his SpecTRe programs to open the lock. The program blazed through the lock in a scant 5 seconds, and he and Alenko rounded the corner into the office before the guards outside had time to process the noise of the door opening.
The interior was much more spacious than the exterior suggested. A large window lined one wall, a balcony and railing indicating the office extended downward as well as upward, where Lorik Qui'in's office lay. Rummaging noises could be heard up and down the premises, as corrupt security forces ransacked the offices to find the evidence of Anoleis' corruption. Since the window was the only true light source at the moment, Shepard surmised the corrupt cops had cut the power to avoid the security VI logging their entrance.
Shepard and Kaidan darted into a nearby alcove as an irritated human in armor wandered by, omni-tool open and scanning. Shepard motioned as the guard sighed in frustration and started back up the balcony. As soon as he had wandered away, the Alliance marines darted around the corner, running up the ramp as fast as discretion would allow. They ducked and went low as they approached the top opening, visually scanning for more of the corrupt forces. Once they saw the coast was clear, they moved quickly into a nearby office. As they ducked behind a desk, avoiding the flashlight of one of the cops as he wandered by. Out of curiosity, and seeing the terminal they were hiding behind had an independent power source, Shepard opened his omni-tool and hacked in. What he founds were records from Synthetic Insights accounting division. He copied all he could to his omni-tool, then had Kaidan erase his cyber-trail. Having something on Qui'in might be useful later.
Shepard and Kaidan moved carefully around the desk they were hiding behind, making their way to the next alcove, sticking to the shadows, and synthetic plants that lined the walls of this upper level.
"Huh?"
Shepard swore to himself. One of the security forces must've seen the light from the hacked computer.
"Kaira, come here."
"If this is another joke I'm going to pound your spine into sand." An irate female voice echoed from Qui'in's office.
"Come one, Kaira, would I do that to you now of all places?"
"Yes." Three voices echoed from around the balconies. Shepard could hear the unapologetic grin in the observant guard's voice.
"Well I'm not pulling your leg this time."
Shepard frowned. He hadn't heard that expression before.
"Fine." There was the sound of armored boots on the stone floor, and a blonde woman in ERCS armor strode past, muttering profanities as she did so. Kaidan and Shepard took the opportunity, leaving their little alcove and going as fast as they could into the office before the doors automatically closed.
Shepard motioned for Kaidan to lock the door as he put Qui'in's OSD into his terminal. The screen popped up, and a loading bar indicated the progress made. Shepard noted that the drive was copying the entire contents of the computer, not just the files necessary to implicate Anoleis. Curiouser and curiouser. Shepard frowned, and then opened his omni-tool and plugged it into the other side of the OSD, making a copy for himself as well. A message popped up on the files, and Shepard read it quickly and dismissed it.
Kaidan looked up at him, a worried expression on his face, as Kaira started speaking over comms, her voice deadly calm. Shepard smiled. Kaidan had hacked their comms while he'd been concerned with the terminal.
"All squads, we've got an uninvited visitor. Make sure they feel welcome."
The sound of armored boots came quickly down the hallway from outside. Thinking quickly, Shepard motioned for Kaidan to unlock the door.
He did it, but he looked at Shepard like he questioned his sanity.
Shepards' omni-tool gave notice that it had completed its operation, and the Commander stifled a sigh of relief. Ducking behind the door, they waited, tense, as Kaira's booted feet stopped outside the door. The door slid back smoothly, and the irate woman stepped through, scowling. She glanced around, eyes widening as she saw Kaidan crouching beside the door, she opened her mouth to yell profanity, or for backup, when Shepard came around the desk, a massive right hook slamming into her right cheek. She stumbled back, dazed, but furious. Shepard felt as the corrupt cop began to call on her biotics, his own nerves resonating. Kaira stopped and tripped, suddenly unable to move as she wanted. Shepard saw Kaidan close his omni-tool, and then give a swift punch to the back of the cop's head, knocking her out cold.
Nodding his thanks, Shepard unhooked the unconscious cop's Omni-tool from its port on her armor, wondering what else he might find. The pair then darted out the door, into the next nearest office, waiting for the prankster who'd spotted the computer to turn around, before shooting across the corridor, sliding to a stop near the top of the ramp down.
"Who's there?"
The guard turned the flashlight from his omni-tool toward where they were hiding, the wall they were crouched behind obscuring them. Mostly.
Footsteps approached them, and as they neared the edge of the wall where they were, Shepard leaped out, and slammed the cop's head against the balcony railing, hearing a crack as the guy's nose snapped. Why they weren't wearing helmets was beyond Shepard, but he was intensely thankful for it. The corrupt cop cried out in pain, and reached for his sidearm, dazed. Shepard grabbed his arm, and stole the pistol at his side, unshipping it and smacking the butt into the man's temple, then throwing him down the ramp.
"Man down!"
Blast. Shepard motioned to Kaidan, who took off after him as he sprinted down the ramp. The marines went into a slide as two corrupt cops rounded the corner, firing their pistols at the intruders. Hyperaccelerated rounds bit into the stonework around them, the shrapnel spraying into their faces, leaving fine cuts. As they ended their slide, Kaidan took the cop on the right, Shepard the one on the left. Kaidan swung low, coming up inside the man's firing stance, and slamming an elbow into the man's face. As the man reacted, Kaidan grabbed his gun and did a repeat of Shepard's earlier move, giving his opponent a concussion. When the Lieutenant looked over, Shepard had already taken off running.
As they reached the doors, Shepard opened his omni-tool, shouting.
"Tali, Liara, we need a distraction, now!"
"What kind?" Liara asked.
"Something big!"
"You know, the thing with these big corporate holdings is-" Tali began, as Shepard and Kaidan reached the doors.
The doors slid open with a slight pneumatic hiss, revealing the two cops on guard pointing their sidearms at the door. There was a split second silence as the marines and the corrupt guards looked at each other in surprise. Then the two patrol cars behind them exploded. Ears ringing, the guards stumbled forward, more than enough time for Shepard and Kaidan to quickly incapacitate them.
"- They're always cutting safety regulations." Tali finished, sounding smug.
Shepard laughed as he and Kaidan took off around the corner, fleeing the scene.
Shepard and his squad approached the doors to the Gala, Shepard and Kaidan having dusted their suit-jackets off, and used medi-gel to close the wounds the shrapnel had caused on their faces. As Kaidan went to open the door, Gianna Parasini stepped out of the shadows in the alcove, causing Tali and Liara to jump.
"You've certainly been busy tonight, Mr. Pastoris." The secretary said, smiling enigmatically.
"When the Alliance decides to change a stance, they want everything done by yesterday." Shepard gave a wan smile. "Have to work quickly to appease my superiors."
"And the garage pass Mr. Qui'in offered?" She said, smiling innocently. Shepard frowned.
"He offered to give us a tour of Synthetic Insight's –" Parasini sighed and opened her omni-tool, generating a miniature EMP flash that would wipe out any bugs within a 30 meter range. And most other computers too. The squad's omni-tools had been specially hardened for combat, so they were resistant, however.
"Drop the act." Parasini pulled a badge from somewhere, the piece of metal glinting slightly from the light inside the ballroom.
"Agent Parasini, Internal Affairs." Agent Parasini put the badge away. "You have some evidence I need."
"You're working to bring down Anoleis?" Kaidan asked.
"He violated the golden rule of Corporate politics: Don't rock the boat. Self-interest is… tolerated, but Anoleis is driving customers away."
"What do you want from us then, Ms. Parasini?" Liara asked.
"You have Qui'in's evidence on Anoleis' corruption. I want the OSD and you to convince him to testify."
"And we need the garage pass he's offered in trade." Shepard said evenly.
The internal affairs agent smiled. "Then don't let me stop you. It will be interesting to see how you convince the security system you're turian, however."
Kaidan swore to himself.
"I'd hate to see all that work you did at Synthetic Insights wasted. I'll get you the pass, if you give me the data and get Qui'in to testify against Anoleis."
Shepard sighed. "I'll copy the data over to you, but I need to keep the OSD to give to Mr. Qui'in." Gianna opened her mouth to object, but Shepard continued. "In return, I'll give this" he handed over Kaira Stirling's omni-tool "Which should implicate all the security forces that Anoleis used to cover his tracks."
Agent Parasini's eyebrows went skyward. "The case is pretty much bulletproof with this…" She said, activating the tool and reading briefly.
"You made us and coerced our cooperation rather neatly, Ms. Parasini." Shepard said. "Stay in touch. We might be able to help each other in the future." So saying, he sent an address to Parasini's omni-tool, along with the relevant OSD data, (which had been quickly parsed by Tali as they had walked to the ballroom) and strode in the large double doors.
Qui'in looked gratified as Shepard approached the table where he was lounging, making his way across the dance floor full of stumbling businessmen and women. As Shepard sat down, and slid the OSD over, Qui'in opened his omni-tool to transfer the credits, commenting,
"You did well, though I admit it was louder than I anticipated."
"I want you to testify in front of the Corporate courts." Shepard was getting tired of circuitous language, courtesy of his still-throbbing head.
"What? Returning my property is one thing, but dictating how I use it-"
"You might have guessed I represent more than just Alliance business interests. Well, I was made by an Internal Affairs agent on the way in." Shepard tapped the OSD. "I gave her a copy of the data relevant to Anoleis. Just the data relevant."
Qui'ins body language gave no indication he was surprised, but Shepard knew it all the same.
"You owe me one. Especially for not telling me I'd need to pass a biometric scan when presenting the garage pass." Shepard leaned forward, and his squad materialized from the crowd. Kaidan sat next to him, while Liara and Tali remained standing.
Shepard had to admire how the old turian didn't give anything away even now.
"But I like you, Mr. Qui'in. You're polite. Your English is excellent." Kaidan raised his eyebrows, and looked at the turian closer. "And you're devious when you need to be, but abhor dishonor." Shepard gestured to where the corrupt Administrator was talking low and fast with a harried and disheveled looking member of one of Port Hanshan's security teams.
"So, you'll testify, accept whatever honor or strain the corporate court decides to put on you for your trouble. You'll also keep the reward money you offered me, as well as your garage pass. Instead, you'll take this." Shepard opened his omni-tool and sent Qui'in an address to keep in touch. "And we can discuss a future partnership – without the backroom dealing and one-upsmanship Noveria so adores." Shepard leaned back. "After all, it's not every day I meet a member of the Blackwatch."
Lorik Qui'in let out a long, low laugh. He leaned forward, his eyes now glinting with something more predatory, belying the image of a gentlemanly old turian. "Well played, human." He chuckled once more. "It's been a long time since I've seen the game so well played. We will be in touch."
Shepard nodded affably, and got up. "It's been a pleasure, Mr. Qui'in."
"Likewise."
Shepard and his squad got up and made their way to an empty table, as he sent a quick message to Gianna Parasini. Then, they sat back and watched the show.
Shortly after Shepard sent the message, Gianna strode across the ballroom, grabbing the Administrator's attention. As they were discussing something seemingly mundane, Anoleis got increasingly worked up, nearly shouting at his secretary. While he was doing that, plainclothes members of Internal Affairs began surrounding them.
"So, how did you know he was with Blackwatch?" Kaidan asked as the drama unfolded.
"They had sent a message requesting information from Qui'in while he was out of his office. Since the OSD had all the passwords for that terminal, it unlocked the shadow drive and the message system, where that was waiting."
"huh." Kaidan said, watching as the businessmen and women started forming a circle around the nearly incoherent Anoleis.
"How'd you get Kaira Stirling all tied up?" Shepard asked out of curiosity.
The Administrator had gone beyond incandescent rage and was cooling off, though his stance seemed to indicate violence was imminent.
"It's like Tali said. Corporate cutting corners." The lieutenant nodded to the quarian, who looked pleased. "That line of ERCS armor has some… idiosyncrasies." Kaidan leaned back. "If you hack the omni-tool plugged into it, you can send a command to lock all the joints on the armor."
"Neat." Shepard said.
Parasini, now sure all the Internal Affairs support had arrived, made her move, announcing the Administrator's arrest, which hit a brick wall of denial.
"Quite the diversion by the way, Tali." Shepard nudged the quarian with his elbow.
"It was nothing." She said nervously.
"She's being modest." Liara said. "Like the Lieutenant, she noticed that particular brand of skycar was discontinued for its own idiosyncrasies." She smiled, though the gesture was not as full as it might have otherwise been. "One of which how was how easy it was to remotely trigger a cored dump. Without its safety protocols."
"Impressive." Shepard said.
Anoleis was now resisting arrest, much to Parasini's visible glee. He moved to pass her, and bounced off a rather hefty turian in the process. He leaped back, the look of dawning realization of just how much he'd been played inspiring laughter among the Normandy's representatives.
As the administrator was being hauled away, to the belated gasps of the gala's guests, Parasini dropped by the table where Shepard and his crew sat.
"Thanks." She said, throwing a digital pass at Shepard, who caught it. "I owe you a beer." She winked, and walked out of the doors, humming to herself.
Shepard sighed and rubbed his temples, his headache reminding him of its presence rather insistently.
"Alright. Kaidan, contact the Normandy. We shouldn't keep Benezia waiting."
"Aye sir. I'm on it."
A/N:
Sorry that one took so long. I'd say life jumped me in a back-alley, but it's more like I wandered into its traffic and was surprised when I got flattened.
Convoluted excuse/metaphor aside, I hope you enjoyed my alternative take on Port Hanshan!
Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm not at a place right now where I can promise regular updates, but I am committed to getting to the end of Mass Effect at the very least.
As always, thanks for reading!