Recap: "Well goodbye Sha'ira." Shepard said as he pocketed the necklace and exited. He quickly radioed Joker and told him of where they were going to next, Noveria. Also to order a new set of female Colossus heavy armor and have the cargo in the private dock brought onto the ship. Couldn't leave his favorite mech here could he?
Now
The Normandy was flying towards the frozen planet of Noveria. After a long amount of time, Shepard had finally caught a break where he could continue his hunt for Saren. Sadly, Noveria had one thing that made Shepard more cautious then usual because of the corporations stationed on the planet. From what he knew about Noveria it was all straight business and from what he had heard, the government on Noveria only respected Spectre authority. Chances were they going to go against Shepard and the team probably. His suspicions were starting to be confirmed when the transmition opened between Noveria's port Hanshan and Joker.
"Approach control. This is SSV Normandy. Requesting vector and a berth." Joker stated into the mic as the Normandy approached.
"Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grid is armed and tracking you. State your business." was the response. Shepard became annoyed at the tone of the person's voice and from what he could see, Joker was too.
"Citadel business. We've got a Council Spectre aboard." Joker responded in an even tone. Shepard watched as the Normandy approached the snow covered port at a moderate pace.
"Landing access granted, Normandy." Joker grinned at the change of tone. Shepard smirked at it since it sounded like the guy had been put down. Joker looked at him and fist-bumped him as the Normandy docked.
"Nice work." Shepard said.
"I always do." Joker responded. That was when the voice came back.
"Be advised, you will need to confirm idetification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded." With that final warning, the comm cut out. Joker snorted at it.
"What a fun bunch. I'll think I'll take my next leave here." Shepard scoffed before turning to go to his room to change for the departure. He didn't trust things would go smoothly, not with that frigid welcome.
Everyone got out of the Normandy, including Ashley who was in her new set of Colossus heavy armor. She was very happy that she could now go back on missions with everyone. It was maddening being cooped up in the ship for that long to her. Especially when everyone else got to go out.
"How's the armor Ash?" Shepard asked as they walked toward the entrance.
"It's fine. I managed to readjust both mine and Liara's armor sets before landing here so we should have no problem." Ashley said.
"Excellent." Shepard replied with a smirk.
"Thank you for readjusting my armor Ashley." Liara said with an appreciative expression.
"No problem Liara." Ashley said nodding a your welcome. The whole group eventually came to entrance and were welcomed by a greeting party consisting of Elanus Risk Control security guards. Shepard could already see how this might go down. Already coming to the conclusion that the Noveria Development Corporation most likely won't respect the Ghost, they might respect Spectre Shepard. He looked toward the welcoming party. One turian and 2 human women. On top of that, there were 2 other human guards with 2 automated turrent drones above them. Challenging. The 2 females caught his eye the most though. The one who looked to be leader of the group seemed to be the kind of person who had a good sense of justice and responsibility by her confident stance. The other one looked like a total bitch. She seemed to be a hard ass who would most likely take part in backroom dealings if the glare she was sending him and his squad was any indication. He stepped forward to speak only to be cut-off by the leader.
"That's far enough." She said. Shepard and everyone stopped.
"We're not here to cause problems." Shepard said as he watched her reaction. To her credit she kept a decent poker face.
"This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials." Shepard smirked.
"You first." He said. The other woman's expression turned into a near growl.
"We're the law here. Show some respect." Shepard just stared at her before brushing her off and looking at the leader expectantly. The woman sighed before talking.
"I'm Captain Maeko Matsuo. Elanus Risk Control Services." She said in a respective tone. Shepard smiled.
"A pleasure to meet you Captain. I am John Shepard, the first human Spectre." Shepard said calmly. The bitch's expression turned skeptical.
"Load of hourse crap ma'am. Everyone knows there is no human spectre." She said looking at her captain before glaring at Shepard. Shepard ignored the glare and just settled on watching Matsuo's reaction. He could tell while she did take her underling's opinions, she wouldn't let them cloud her judgement.
"We... will need to confirm that." Matsuo said making Shepard smile at her while Ashley looked at the bitch with a victorious expression.
"Fine by me. Where do I go?" Shepard asked. The Captain just pointed to a scanning station further in. Shepard made to walk over before the Captain said, "Also I must advise you that firearms are not permitted on Noveria. Sergeant Stirling, secure their weapons." Stirling smirked and walked over to the squad but before she could get any closer, a biotic field lifted her up and placed her back where she was standing earlier. The squad took out there weapons and aimed them at the guards while the Captain and Stirling aimed their weapons at him.
"What the hell was that for?!" Stirling demanded form Shepard who had been the one to place her back. When he didn't answer she almost had her shotgun right at Shepard's face. Shepard however didn't look concerned in the least.
"It would not be wise to search for the geth unarmed." Liara responded as a biotic field manifested around her. She and Ashley both had their sights on Stirling too since she was threatening Shepard. Shepard silently took note of who was using what. Ashley and Garrus both had their assault rifles out. Kaidan was using his pistol while Wrex and Tali both had their shotguns out. He knew they all could fight their way through here easily, but he knew the resulting fight would not be pretty and whatsmore, it would leave everyone fatigued which could affect their fight with the geth. Shepard sighed knowing they weren't going to like what he had to say.
"Stand down. Their house, their rules." Shepard said making everyone look at him strangely. Wrex looked very anoyed at the fact he was going to have to give up his weapon, but he trusted Shepard's judgement just like everyone else who lowered their weapons.
"I'll be behind you. That armor's in good condition right?" Tali said slowly. Shepard grinned at her question.
"Last I checked, yea." Shepard said. Captain Matsuo as well as the other guards lowered their own weapons. All except for Stirling that is.
"You going to put your weapon away or at least out of my face?" Shepard asked in a annoyed tone.
"No." She said in an arrogant tone.
"It would be smart if you do." Shepard said in a slightly colder tone. Matsuo was about to say something when she noticed that none of the team were actually concerned.
"Oh and why is that?" Stirling asked. Shepard then did something that actually scared everyone. He put on a face splitting grin and somehow managed to speak in his cold tone at the same time, "Because if you don't, I'll use my biotics to break both your arms and legs in one move."
"Y-Y-You j-just t-t-threatened a-a c-cop! Y-Your u-under arrest!" Stirling tried say with authority, but it was obvious that Shepard's little act had frightened her badly. Before anything else could happen, a voice went over the dock's intercom.
"Captain Matsuo, Sergeant Stirling stand down! We've confirmed their identity. Spectre's are authorized to carry weapons here Captain." Everyon heard it and immediately relaxed. Stirling got away from Shepard and not too slowly either. It didn't stop her from glaring at him though. Shepard brushed it off knowing she wasn't a real threat. Granted he could sense her biotics were... mildly impressive for a cop but that was it.
"You may proceed spectre. I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational." Matsuo said. Shepard smirked at her remark.
"That's wishful thinking, Captain. But thank you all the same." Shepard said.
"Parisini-san will meet you up the stairs at the desk." Matsuo said before going back to her station. Stirling gave one last glare at Shepard before leaving as well. Shepard turned to see his team looking at him with nervous looks.
"What?" He asked.
"You know, I sometimes forget how sary you can be." Kaidan said with everyone else agreeing. Shepard just shrugged at them before going inside. With everyone following him, Shepard walked to the desk where some scanners came around him and the team. One second later, alarms were blaring. Everyone was looking like they were getting ready for a fight until a woman where a pink dress walked out.
"Weapon detectors. Don't mind the alarms." The woman explained Suddenly the alarms went out.
"There we go. I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. My apologies for the incident for the docking bay." Parasini said. Shepard looked at the woman for a second and felt that something was off about the woman. His instincts were telling him that this woman was more than what she claimed to be. He played it off for later though.
"Hey it's fine. I appreciate the help." Shepard replied with a smile.
"You're welcome. You understand that our security chief was only doing her job. One of my duties is orientation with new arrivals. Do you have any questions?" Parasini asked.
"You have some pretty heavy security for such a small port." Shepard said as his eyes roamed around the area.
"The executive board does everything in it's power to protect the privacy of our client corporations." Parasini said in a business like tone. Shepard heard the answer, noticing it sounded rehearsed. He narrowed his eyes at the woman for moment before stopping.
"Listen I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I can't have my investigation hampered." Shepard as easily as he could. Parasini eyes grew a touch colder for a split second before losing it.
"Understandable, but tread lightly. The board can bury you in litigation. You'd need an asari lawyer to see the case through." She warned. Shepard nodded before asking, "Just out of curiousity, has anyone unusual passed through here recently?"
"Unusual? An asari matriarch passed through a few days ago." That had Shepard's alarm bells going off and from what he could see of Liara from the corner of his eye, she seemed to think the same thing too. But it probably wasn't-
"Lady Benezia." Damn.
"Benezia? She is here?" She asked silently with a stoic expression. Shepard could see through her stoic persona that it did bother her, a lot.
"Could I perhaps speak with her?" He asked politely. Parasini shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. Lady Benezia left for the Peak 15 research complex days ago. To the best of my knowledge, she's still there." Shepard mentally cursed. Things were never simple.
"I see then could you tell me how to get there?" He asked.
"You'd need to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave this port." Parisini informed him. Great.
"Where can I find the administrator?" He asked.
"His office is on the main level, left at the top of the elevator." She said.
"Understood. Can we go in now?" Shepard asked as he pointed his thumb to where the elevator was.
"Of course. If you need any help, you can ask me at te administrator's office. Parasini then left towards the elevator.
"She's here. I can't believe it." Liara said after Parasini was gone. Everyone looked at her now, knowing what was going on. Liara looked at him with sad eyes.
"I imagine you want to talk to me Shepard. About my mother." Liara said as she looked down in sadness. Does she still think they don't trust her?
"Liara..." Liara closed her eyes waiting for the questions and distrustful looks to happen. "after all the crap we've been through together since you joined up, I've learned to trust you with my life. So no... I don't. I still trust you as well as everyone here does I'm sure. You may not be a fighter, but you're part of my crew." Shepard said with a small smile. Liara looked up to see everyone else had their own reassuring smiles on with nods of agreement.
"Thank you Shepard. That means a great deal to me." She said blushing a bit. Shepard nodded before walking towards the elevator with everyone following. They then made their first mistake: getting into the elevator all together. If it were in a group of 3 it wouldn't be so bad, but since they were 7 people it became very cramped.
"Can anyone hit the button?" Shepard said as he tried to wiggle around to see who was near it.
"Wait hold up I got it." Garrus said as he struggled to move his talon to the button. He managed to press it causing the elevator to lurch upward.
*Groans*
"Who was that?" Wrex asked.
"M-Me." Shepard said in a strained voice.
"What happened?" Kaidan asked.
"When the elevator lurched, someone kneed me in the crotch." Shepard said as he struggled to get his hand to the offending appendage since it seemed to not leave.
"*Winces* Oh man that's gotta hurt." Kaidan said in sympathy.
"It does." Shepard said when his hand grabbed the leg that was connected to the offending knee.
"Yah!" Shepard realized who he grabbed and quickly let go, but not before pushing the leg away.
"Whew. Sorry Ash, but it was uncomfortable." Shepard said. When Shepard had grabbed her leg, he realized that it had gone a little too far up since he actually grabbed her thigh. In the back of his mind, his primal side was thinking about how soft it felt in his hand.
"I-It's fine Shepard. Sorry I accidently kneed you." She said with a burning blush. 'I didn't think he was that big.' She thought before she brutally beat the thought down.
"It's fine. We'll need to be careful with these elevators though." Shepard said as the elevator finished it's ascent. Everyone got out without tumbling by some miracle. Afterwards Shepard and Ashley didn't look at one another in the eye, feeling awkward about it. They silently walked toward where Anoleis' office was. While walking over there he heard someone talking about Peak 15, saying it lost contact. They sped up to where Anoleis was and were met by Parasini.
"How can I help you?" She asked.
"I'd like to speak to Anoleis." Shepard said.
"One moment please. Mr. Anoleis?" Parasini said as she hit the comm on her desk.
"Yes, what what?" An irritated salarian voice said rapidly. Shepard could have sworn he saw Parasini's eye twitch for a minute, but brushed off as a trick of the light.
"Spectre Shepard is asking to see you sir." She said in a professional tone. Shepard raised an eyebrow at her while smirking in amusment.
"Right fine. Come in." The voice said knowing he was there. Shepard just gave her a look a sympathy before walking in the office. His team stayed behind since there were so many of them. As Shepard walked in he saw a grey skinned salarian who looked at him as if he wasn't worth his time.
"You will excuse me if I don't stand up. I have no time to entertain colonial rubes." Anoleis said. That earned a cold look from Shepard.
"I see you looked me up." Shepard replied neutrally as he crossed his arms.
"Only a fool enters negotiation without knowledge of the other party's tendencies." Shepard gave a look of agreement before Anoleis continued, "This greeting is a curteosy. I will only cooperate as required by the executive board. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law."
Shepard now understood why Gianna Parasini seemed to twitch her eye back then.
"Are you telling me you have no safety precautions?" Shepard asked in an even voice. Anoleis looked irritated by the question.
"Don't be ridiculous. Do you think a for-profit company would take no precautions against loss of life and material? Project leads have the final say around here. Not meddlesome politicians." Anoleis said as if he was talking to a child.
"I've heard an asari matriarch is here. Benezia?" Shepard asked.
"She arrived a few days ago, accompanied by a personal escort and some cargo. she is up at Peak 15." Anoleis said.
"What do you mean by 'personal escort'?" Shepard asked wondering what could pass for a security detail for someone who works with geth.
"The phrase is self-explanatory. Bodyguards attending to the safety of her person. Mainly asari commandoes." Anoleis said with a snarky tone.
"Commandoes? Strange that you wouldn't mind their presence." Shepard said with one of his eyebrow's raised up
"They followed all our regulations. I had no reason to forbid Lady Benezia from taking them." Anoleis replied irritated. Shepard then remembered her cargo.
"What can you tell me about her cargo?" He asked.
"Large, heavy, and sealed. It passed weapon screening. Beyond that it is not our concern." Large and heavy as well as sealed? That could be troublesome.
"What brought her out here?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be at liberty to say. She came here as Agent Saren's executor." Anoleis said with a sweep of his hand as if it was common knowledge. Wait a minute.
"His what?"
"Executor. She is here for Binary Helix. There were issues at Peak 15 that required Saren's attention." Peak 15 eh?
"I'll need to see her immediately."
"I'm afraid you cannot. Peak 15 is a private facility in the Skadi mountains. Regardless, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttles are grounded, and surface access has been cut off." Anoleis said in a weird tone.
"Surface access you say?" Shepard asked with a smirk. Anoleis frowned.
"Cut off, I said. The roads are not suitable for travel. Don't make an issue of this Shepard." Anoleis finished. Shepard was curious about Peak 15 with its recent troubles.
"Is there some problem at Peak 15?" He asked.
"Like I said an area of severe weather has cut off contact. Things will return to normal in a few days." Anoleis assured. He doesn't have a few days dammit! Then he thought about Saren. Anoleis mentioned that Benezia was here acting as Saren's executor.
"Do you do business with Saren?" Shepard asked with an accusing glare.
"I believe I explained this already did I not? He is a major investor in Binary Helix corporation, which is one of Noveria's backers." Anoleis said in frustration.
"Is Binary Helix developing weapons for him?" Shepard asked.
"It's possible, given his interests. What clients do in their labs is their business. I would think you would know that Spectre or are you just as stupid as every other member of your species?" Anoleis said as he chuckled at the end. Shepard uncrossed his arms and put his hands on the desk as he leaned over it. Anoleis looked confused and annoyed at the human in front of him. How could someone like this ever become a Spectre? This nobody?
"What are you-" Anoleis began to question before a biotic aura manifested itself on Shepard.
"Shut that cloaca you call a mouth!" Shepard hissed causing Anoleis to gulp and shut up.
"I'm sick of hearing you insult me at every sentence. And don't think I won't smack you around just cause of those turrents you got here. I'll use your body to block the gunfire before destroying them. Do you know who I really am?" Anoleis just shook his head know, to scared to speak.
"I'm not just the first human Spectre. I'm the Ghost of the Terminus to." Anoleis actually went pale. "And believe me, I've learned a lot of ways to kill people. On the battle field and in heavily fortified office too. No matter the profit lost, no matter the papaerwork or the lawsuits, insult me again and I'll break both your legs. Am I clear?" Shepard said in cold voice. Anoleis just nodded. Shepard got up and walked out of the room. As soon as he walked out, his team greeted him.
"So when do we go?" Wrex asked.
"When we can somehow gain clearance to the garage." Shepard replied trying to figure things out.
"So we need to figure a way catch a ride?" Ashley asked. Shepard nodded. Everyone tried to think of a way but came up blank.
"I got nothing." Shepard said he and his team were about to walk out when they heard, "Mr. Anoleis isn't the only one who has a pass to leave Hanshan."
Everyone stopped and looked to who said it and found it to be none other than Gianna Parasini.
"Excuse me?" Shepard asked. Parasini smiled.
"You've never worked in the corporate world, have you Shepard? You can't bludgeon through bureaucracy." She said.
"All right, what would you do?" He asked. Parasini looked around before leaning in. Shepard leaned in too to hear what she had to say.
"Talk to Lorik Qui'in. You should be able to find him at the hotel bar." She looked around again before going, "Can't say anymore. Not within earshot of Mr. Anoleis." Shepard nodded and walked to the bar with his team following.
"What was that about?" Tali asked.
"It would appear that we have someone who can help us. I'll look into this, you guys go have some fun." Shepard said as he walked to the bar with everyone going in different directions. Shepard made it to the bar with no problems. He immediately noticed Lorik Qui'in and walked over. The turian saw Shepard approach him.
"Afternoon. Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?" Lorik asked. Shepard took a seat across from the turian before asking, "Are you Lorik Qui'in? I've heard you may 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?" Lorik asked. Shepard knew the turian was playing around with him.
"I'm trying to find a way to the garage. I've got places to go." Shepard explained.
"You need a pass. How fortuitous. I'm the manager of the local Synthetic 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." Lorik said. Shepard instantly connected the dots.
"By rents you rent you mean bribes Anoleis receives." Shepard said.
"Indeed. I acquired evidence of Anoleis' actions. His hired goons are ransacking my office to find it. I suspect your goal lies outside this port. Mr. Anoleis would be disinclined to let you wander. If you recover the evidence from my office, I will give you my garage pass, as well as a sum of credits." Lorik said. Shepard nodded and accepted the trade.
An hour later
Shepard was slipping Lorik Qui'in's OSD into the computer in the Synthetic Insights Office. He had run into some small trouble with Anoleis' goons who had been bribed cops. Shepard had actually managed to persuade some of them to leave, but more didn't, thinking they could take them. There was no blood spilt from the fight. Only bullet holes and broken necks. It was sad at how weak they were compared to him. He didn't use biotics, tech or his guns for that matter, only adrenaline.
"You know that Stirling chick is right outside don't you?" Isaac asked.
"I noticed it the second she was coming up the stairs." Shepard said smirking.
"Hmph. You know, I actually looked through some of the data in here and actually found something that could help me." Isaac said having gone through the database.
"Oh what?" Shepard asked curiously.
"Increased hacking for one thing. Now I can hack into people's omni-tools during a fight." Isaac said.
"That'll be fun to test." Shepard said as the OSD finished downloading. Shepard walked out of the office to see 3 cops including Stirling.
"Looks like I'll get my chance." Isaac said before going quiet.
"Yep." Shepard said softly before approaching the group.
"I don't think your suppose to be in hear Shepard." Stirling said with a glare. Shepard looked at her eyes. He could see she had no real respect for authority. She was too self-rightous about herself and her position. He had heard some of the guards call her their secret weapon because of her biotics.
"No I'm not. Are you?" Shepard asked.
"I'm Sergeant Kaira Stirling, Elanus Risk Control Services. Anoleis would throw you off-world for what you did here, I won't. Do you know what we did to cop killers on my world?" She asked. Shepard began to chuckle at her causing her and the 2 other guards to look confused until it broke into a full blown laughing. Shepard suddenly stopped laughing at them before his face twisted into a snarl.
"You're here off-duty, breaking the law for bribe money. You expect me to feel bad for stopping? Sorry but I don't. And another thing, if you think you're a real cop, I got knews for you. A real cop doesn't take bribes. You're nothing more than a hired thug. You want a fight? I'll give you a slaughter." Shepard coldly spoke as his biotics glowed.
"You talk the talk. Let's see if you can walk after I break your legs." She said as she to glowed with biotics. Isaac immediately used his new ability and caused the other 2 ERC security guards' omni-tools to self-destruct. They were instantly killed by it. Shepard grabbed Stirling with a lift and focused on her arms and legs. Stirling knew what he was upto and before she could shout or use her biotics...
*CRACK x4*
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" She screamed out as her arms went limp. There weren't misshappened at all until you saw that they were moving with the biotic energy like rope. Yes Shepard went further than what he promised. Instead of just breaking her arms and legs, he fractured them severly.
"Hah, hah, hah. YOU BASTARD!" Stirling screamed. Shepard looked at her stoically before saying, "You shouldn't have taken that bribe." Then he used his biotics to grab her head and he twisted, breaking her neck. Shepard gently let her body down. One final thing he could do out of remorse. Shepard had found a dark way to use his biotics. A way to break the bodies of his enemies without even touching them. In some ways it was worse than using any of the other biotic abilities. By simply using the theory behind lift, pull and throw and making it more compact, he was able to break bones quite easily without even being near someone. He quickly left, not wanting to be found. As soon as he got to next floor however he was met by Gianna Parasini of all people.
"Shepard. There've been reports of noise from the Synthetic Insights office. Would you know anything about it?" She asked with faux innocence. Shepard could see it.
"Speak plain, what's your interest?" He asked.
"Not here Spectre. If you want to talk, meet me at the hotel for a drink before you talk to Qui'in. I'll be waiting." Parasini said before leaving. Shepard waited a few minutes to leave to make sure no one saw them in the same place before making his way to the hotel and bar. He walked until he was back at the bar. The music boomed around as he looked for Parasini. It didn't long at all. He just needed to find the pink dress she wore and bam! He found her. He approached her and sat at the table she was sitting at.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs." She said once he had sat down. Shepard smirked at her.
"I'm not surprised really." He said causing her to look at him seriously.
"What tipped you off?" She asked. While her performance wasn't exactly perfect, it was able to fool mostly everyone.
"It was the small things. In my line of work, you need to be a good judge of character. The second we met my instincts were telling me that you weren't what you claimed to be and then there was that time at the office. When Anoleis dismissed you like that, I noticed your eye twitch. That led me to believe in 2 outcomes: 1) You were recently knew or 2) You were used to being in a respectful position of sorts. Then finally you tipped me off about someone who just happened to have damning evidence about your boss which led me to getting a clearer picture. This in turn made think of who you exactly were. I came to 2 more conclusions: 1) You were a spy for Anoleis. Crazy as it may be. And 2) You were a spy for someone else." Shepard explained. Parasini was somewhat shocked at his perception skills. Very impressive to figure all of that in only a few hours.
"That's impressive." She said with a hint of respect.
"I may not have worked in the corporate world, but I do know how cynical things get." Shepard replied before turning serious.
"So what do you want?" He asked. Parasini's expression became more business like.
"The Board has known about Anoleis' corruption for some time now. I've been undercover for six months. What I want is for you to convince Qui'in to testify before the Board. With his evidence, this planet can run profitably again." Parasini explained.
"I thought corruption was the rule on Noveria?" Shepard asked curiously.
"The rule is 'don't rock the boat.' Self-interest is tolerated if it doesn't interfere with business. Anoleis is driving customers away." Parasini said in annoyance.
"Why don't you ask Qui'in directly?" Parasini gave him a are-you-stupid look before answering, "I'm Anoleis' secretary. You think he'd believe me? That he'd meet me in some dark alley with his evidence?"
"Okay, okay calm down. You work for Anoleis. Can't you just take his records?" Shepard asked. The are-you-stupid look didn't go away.
"He's a crook, not a moron. He doesn't keep a logs on his computer saying 'This month I stole 3 million credits.' Qui'in's testimony and records are everything I need to prove Anoleis' guilt in one package." Parasini explained. Shepard nodded at the logic and could tell this woman was an expert in this field.
"I need a garage pass to help complete my mission." Shepard explained. He left out Qui'in specifically thinking she might catch on to what he was asking.
"You help my investigation and I'll provide whatever you need. Favor for a favor." Parasini said. Shepard closed his eyes as he thought it over. In the long run, it is better to remove Anoleis. He could become a big problem if he ever came back to Noveria. Parasini decided to add something else.
"Look, Shepard. I don;t like this either. You Spectres play fast and loose with the law. That's bad for business." Parasini said. Shepard looked at her.
"Before I do anything, I need some information." He said. Parasini nodded after thinking it over.
"Do you know why the Matriarch is here?"
"Something to do with Peak 15. She arrived after we received their Code Omega: automated warning of a containment breach. She came with an escort of asari commandoes. They took the last shuttle up to Peak 15 with a load of crates." Parasini informed. Shepard's eyes narrowed at that. Those crates again.
"Do you know what she had in the crates?" He asked. Something didn't feel right.
"No idea. The commandoes wouldn't let anyone near them. They seemed heavy, though." Parasini said after thinking about it.
"Do you know what was happening on Peak 15?" He asked wondering about the location itself.
"Before the weather closed in, Hanshan received the Code Omega like I said. Code Omega actually means a terminal breach of safety protocols. No one goes up until the crew sends an all-clear." Parasini said.
"And if there is no all-clear?" He asked in trepidation.
"The Executive Board votes on whether or not to destroy the facility. One antimatter warhead from the battlestations vaporizes all contaminants." Parasini explained. That could be bad.
"That doesn't really tell me a lot." He grumbled out.
"That's all I've got. No one knows what's really going on up there." Parasini replied even though Shepard wasn't talking to her then.
"How can I get to Peak 15?" He asked wondering if there were any possible ways.
"The shuttles are down, so you'd have to drive up. If you get Qui'in to testify, I'll get you into the garage." Parasini said. Shepard sighed.
"All right I'll talk to Qui'in and see if I can convince him." Shepard said tiredly. Parasini smiled at him.
"Thank you. You know where I work. Come talk to me once you know if he'll play." Parasini said before leaving. Shepard got up and walked to where Qui'in was.
"Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I asked you to look into?" Qui'in aksed once Shepard sat down.
"I finished the job, but an Internal Affairs Investigator contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis." Shepard said. Qui'in's face turned into a turian scowl.
"Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle." Qui'in said as he took another sip from his drink.
"Everyone in this station is obviously chaffing under Anoleis' extortion. You testify, you may end up becoming a hero." Shepard said. Qui'in sighed.
"My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here." Qui'in said. Shepard smirked.
"Ah but get this. The Board was already investigating into Anoleis. They're more concerned about the guy who is driving customers away." Shepard said. Qui'in froze before going, "All right! it is obvious that I cannot persuade you. Very well. I will testify, make whatever arrangements you need to make with your contact. I'll wait here."
"You made the right choice. I promise you." Shepard said as he got up and left. He quickly took the elevator down and went straight to Parasini. Once in front of her, she began talking.
"Spectre. Have you given any more consideration to my offer?" Se asked expectantly.
"It took some persuasion, but Qui'in has agrred to testify." Shepard responded with a grin. Parasini released a held breath and smiled back.
"That's a world of stress off my back. I'll take the evidence for safe transport." Shepard handed her the OSD. "You know, I didn;t think you'd help me. Being a Spectre and all. I guess some of you can be all right."
"And here I thought you'd be happier." Shepard said still grinning. Parasini laughed at his joke.
"I'm ecstatic, but right now I just feel like a long day at work is ending. While you were working on Qui'in, I got you a garage pass. Be careful out there. Now if you don't mind, I have an arrest to make. Wish I had time to change into something easy to move in. I hate skirts." Parasini walked around the corner and Shepard listened for the moment. There was not even the old 'you're under arrest for..'
"This is an outrage! I'll see that you never work in this sector again!" Anoleis said.
"Yeah, yeah. Get a move on." Parasini said. That was when they both came from around the corner and saw that Shepard was there with a smirk on his face. Anoleis seeing him, and not realizing it was him found everything out, ordered him.
"You! Shepard, I demand that you place this bitch under arrest!" Anoleis ordered. Parasini butted in.
"You have the right to remain silent. I wish to God you'd exercise it. See you around the galaxy Spectre. I owe you a beer." PArasini said as she led Anoleis out. Noticing the cameras, Shepard didn't tell Isaac anything. He sent a message to the team to meet at the garage. He found a way out.
A few minutes later
Everyone was back at the door to the garage. As Shepard walked toward it one of the ERCS Guards stopped him.
"Access to the garage is restricted." She said. Shepard showed her the pass.
"I have authorization. Excuse me." He said as she scanned it. Her omni-tool beeped in recognition. She nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, that's genuine. Drive safely, the weather is supposed to be very bad out in the Valley." She said as the door opened.
"Of course. Thank you." Shepard said before walking into the garage along with everyone else. Upon entering however Shepard felt 6 electricity signatures.
"6 geth!" Shepard yelled as he got out his assault rifle. Everyone got out their preferred weapon. What they came up against were two Geth Destroyers, a Geth Ghost, a Geth Stalker, a Geth Rocket Trooper, and a Geth Shock Trooper. Shepard and Wrex immediately took on the Destroyers while Ashley and Garrus took on the Rocket and Shock Trooper. Tali attacked the Geth Ghost while Kaidan and Liara double-teamed the geth stalker.
Shepard immediately used a power strike on the destroyer. Its shields held up for a few seconds until the power strike tore through and completely destroyed its main body. The explosion sent the body flying back like a rag doll.
Wrex used carnage on his destroyer before using lift on it. As it floated helplessly in the air, Wrex fired multiple rounds into it until it stopped working.
Ashley was able to overwhelm the rocket trooper easily with a mix of adrenaline and overkill. The rocket trooper's shields fell quickly to the onslaught.
Garrus immediately broke through the Shock Trooper's shields with a combination of overload and overkill. He finished it off by shooting its head.
Tali hacked the Geth Ghost and caused it to self-destruct. It was very simple for her.
Kaidan and Liara just demolished the Geth Stalker by trapping it in a stasis field, following up with a warp and shooting it dead with their pistols.
After the geth were dead, Captain Maeko Matsuo came running in. She immediately stopped once she saw the geth bodies.
"Well that explains what was in those crates." Shepard said. Hearing this Matsuo turned to him.
"Crates?" Shepard looked at her not having noticed her.
"Yea, when Benezia came through here, she brought a lot of crates. They must have been filled with geth. Damn and she brought a lot of crates too." Shepard said. Matsuo looked at him wondering how he was so calm. She then looked at everyone else and noticed that they too were calm. That was when a hidden geth stalker activated itself and jumped at the Captain. Before it could reach her, it was covered in a biotic aura and stopped in mid-air. Everyone looked and noticed Shepard had caught it. Liara paid extra attention considering Shepard wasn't even moving his arms around or nothing.
'He's mastered his biotics to this level?! Only experianced asari who train for decades achieve this! How can he, a human who is just turning in his third decade, be able to pull this type of mastery!?' She thought in awe. Wrex was also on same line of thought. Then everyone was shocked at how the geth was immediately crushed by the biotic field. Shepard then tossed the hunk of metal aside before looking at Matsuo.
"Captain Matsuo, are you all right?" He asked. She just nodded in shock as she stared at him.
'What is he?!' She thought frantically. Shepard let it go and walked towards M35 Mako they had in the garage. Before entering he looked at his team.
"You guys coming or what?" He asked before getting. His team quickly scrambled in as he started the engine. Shepard quickly popped his head out and looked toward Matsuo.
"Hey can you open the door please? We're heading to Peak 15." He asked before the mako's door closed. Matsuo quickly went towards the garage door opener and hit the button. The mako quickly flew out of the garage door and straight for Peak 15.
Okay so this came early. Awesome! Only 4 more weeks till the Naruto manga ends. Sword art online 2 is looking good and we got some good story development. Sorry if I made Shepard a little more darker than usual. If not then okay.
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