This chapter sticks pretty close to the game except for some of the combat. The next few chapters are going to be all on Noveria to give a little more detailed account of what happened there. As always comments and reviews are welcome feel free to pm me if you have questions or you have some constructive criticism. Enjoy!
The elevator doors opened and Luke moved forward with his pistol drawn. He could see some of the hired goons that were searching the office. They wore security uniforms. There was no way that their captain had authorized them to interfere in an issue like this between two executives. They were dirty for sure, there was no doubt in Luke's mind anymore. Claire moved up and knelt next to him.
"I want to avoid bloodshed if that's at all possible." She whispered as she nodded toward his pistol.
"I want to avoid being the one that looses the blood." He said keeping a firm hold on his weapon. Garrus moved up behind Luke and tapped him on the shoulder. He made a few hand gestures that Claire did not understand and Luke nodded. Clire watched as the two former officers moved forward in complete silence until they were right behind the two sentries guarding the door.
Luke nodded to Garrus and they both nudged the back of the guards' helmets with the barrels of their pistols.
"No noise and turn around slowly." Garrus said softly. The guards started to turn and the two officers moved with them making sure to stay out of the line of fire. Claire and Liara moved forward.
"This area is off limits." One of the guards said as Claire and Liara came into view.
"You're here off duty and being paid under the table. Does Captain Matsuo know you're here?" Claire asked.
"Hey, we don't make the calls. Anoleis has a verin up his ass about this guy." The guard responded.
"Then you are going to pretend you never saw us and leave. You know nothing about what is about to happen. Are we clear?" Luke said as he moved into the guards view. He exaggerated the movement of placing his finger on the trigger to make sure the guard could see it.
"Get out of here." Claire ordered. The guards nodded and jogged to the elevator without looking back.
"I don't know who they were more scared of. The spectre who had guns on them, or the captain who might find out what they were up to." Garrus whispered. Luke chuckled and looked over at his sister.
"Definitely the spectre." He whispered back.
The squad moved forward slowly making sure to not make much noise, but it was apparent that the searchers upstairs had noticed their entry. All the rustling and movement upstairs had stopped and there was an eerie silence through the office that only ever seemed to happen right before a fight.
"Luke, you and Liara search down here and clear out anyone that is not suppose to be here. If they fight, you have authorization to shoot. Garrus, you're with me. We go up and see if we can find the data there." The group nodded to each other and started moving. No sooner had Claire and Garrus made their way up the stairs and out of sight of Luke, when shots rang out from the second level. Immediately, guards started to emerge from rooms on the lower level as well. Luke raised his pistol and took aim.
"Drop your guns!" His shout startled a few of the crooked security guards but they immediately lifted their weapons and opened fire. Luke ducked behind one of the dividing walls and signaled for Liara to cover the other side to make sure that their opponents would not flank them. Luke looked back and fired three times. The first two shots hit one of the guards in the chest breaking their shields and the third ripped through the chest plate of the armor and released a spray of blood. The images of Mindoir started to rip into his mind, but Luke took aim at another guard and fired again. The memories were buried again under his focus on the task at hand.
Liara launched a singularity that caught a guard who she then shot in the head. Luke saw her face as the body fell from the biotic field and flopped lifelessly on the ground. He knew that Liara had not done much fighting. In fact, this was her first conflict with an organic being. The only enemy she had fought while on the Normandy was geth.
Luke took aim around the corner of the wall again and fired again killing the last guard. He knelt in front of Liara and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"The first kill is always the hardest. It's not some lifeless machine you destroyed. It was a living being. I know that it hurts to have done that, but you had no choice." Luke said. Liara put her arms around Luke's neck and hugged him tightly.
"I don't…I don't' know…" Luke nodded and embraced her. He knew how she felt. It would take a truly cold person to not feel anything after they took another life. Fighting geth was easy, they were machines without a soul, without the spark that made organic life what it was. Fighting other organic beings could feel like a waste if one didn't know what they were fighting for.
"You did the right thing. That guard was going to kill you and me if you hadn't killed him. Focus on protecting the people that fight at your side and you'll be okay. Try to see the enemy not as another person but as a threat." Liara nodded and wiped her eyes. Luke smiled softly and nodded back before heading into one of the offices with Liara in tow.
For the next could minutes, Luke searched each office but did not find anything that help him find Qui'in's evidence. He found a few credit chits but he refused to take them. They belonged to the employees that worked there and taking them would be stealing from them.
"Luke, we've got the data. Heading your way now." Claire said over the radio. Luke was ready to respond but as he turned around to meet them at the stairs, he spotted another group of guards entering the offices and making a B-line for the upstairs.
"Claire, you have a large group of incoming guards and they look hostile. Try and meet them close to the stairs while Liara and I close in behind." Luke said softly.
"Got it. Good luck." Luke motioned for Liara to follow him as he advanced on the stairs. His pistol steady and his aim true, Luke turned the corner on the stair way and made his way up.
"Do you know what we did to cop killers where I'm from?" One of the guards said. Luke recognized her as Captain Matsuo's sergeant. He shook his head as he leaned out far enough for Claire to be able to see him through the group of guards.
"I'll tell you what sergeant. You take all your people out of here right now and we will forget this ever happened. We have you surrounded." Claire said calmly. Luke made sure that his gun and part of him could be seen around the corner and waited for the guards to react.
"Who do you think we are Shepard? Some backwater security team you can push around? You don't get to kill whoever you want around here just because you're a spectre."
Luke snarled. "Are you serious? You realize that you are out matched in every way that matters. The commander over there is the Hero of the Skillian Blitz and Eden Prime. Not only that but she is an N7. You don't even have enough men to deal with her alone. Not to mention a biotic asari, a military trained turian sniper, and a former C-Sec agent, that all have guns trained on you and your men. As one cop to another, withdraw. There has been enough killing here today."
"Damn straight there has. Take them!" The sergeant yelled. As soon as she did, the Normandy team opened fire. The Sergeant was the first to go down from a spray of bullets from Claire's assault rifle. Garrus sniped two of the guards within half a second of each other. Luke took down two other guards very quickly and Liara launched a biotic attack that hurled one of the guards into the ceiling and over the guard rail. The man screamed until he hit the floor below and all became silent.
"So, I'm trying to figure out why people willingly attack us…" Luke said holstering his pistol on his belt.
"Come on. Let's get this evidence to Qui'in and get to Peak 15." The group piled into the elevator.
The doors opened at the bottom and Luke stepped out seeing Parsini waiting there. He held up a hand to keep Claire and the rest of the team from showing themselves as he advanced to meet the woman.
"Agent, there have been some complaints about noise in the Synthetics Insights office. You would not know anything about that would you?" Parsini asked. She trying to seem innocent but Luke could tell she was trying to steer the conversation.
"It's probably Anoleis' thugs tearing the place apart. You probably want to send a custodian crew up there. I'll bet it's a big mess." Luke smarted off.
"Smart ass huh? That's fine I can work with that. Look, just meet me at the hotel bar before you talk to Qui'in." She immediately turned around and walked away. It peeked his curiosity a little and Luke suddenly realized what seemed off about her.
"I can't believe I didn't see this before." Luke said as Claire and the others stepped out. Garrus looked over at Luke as he rubbed his chin.
"Didn't see what?" Claire asked.
"Well, it's just a hunch but she is acting like I did during this case that I had to be an embassy assistant for three weeks. I'll bet that Parsini is an undercover cop. She probably wants the evidence to bust Anoleis." Luke replied looking over at Claire. Claire nodded and waved him on as they headed for the hotel bar.
When they entered, Claire spotted Parsini across the room. The tight pink dress made her stand out a bit. They made their way over to her but before anyone could say anything, Parsini spoke up.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself commander. Giana Parsini, Noveria Internal Affairs." Luke smiled and glanced over at Garrus. He rolled his eyes knowing his old partner would gloat about his prediction for hours once they got back to the Normandy.
"Commander Claire Shepard, Special Tactics and Recon. This is Luke Shepard and Garrus Vakarian, former C-Sec, and Dr. Liara T'soni. What can we do for you?"
"Look, the executive board knows about Anoleis' corruption. That's why they assigned me here. I want you to get Qui'in to testify in front of the board. With his evidence and testimony, Anoleis will never talk his way out of it." Parsini said.
Luke looked over at Claire. She didn't answer right away so Luke pulled her gently to the side.
"This is the right thing to do. We are not only busting a corrupt business man but we are aiding local law enforcement. It looks good for the specters, alliance, and you personally." Claire smiled at her brother and patted him on the shoulder.
"Look Shepard, I don't like dealing with outsiders and you specters play fast and loose with the law, but I'm desperate. Qui'in is the best hope I have for a conviction but I can't approach him and risk blowing my cover."
"We understand. We'll talk to Qui'in for you." Claire said extending her hand. The officer smiled and shook her hand appreciatively.
"Come find me after you talk to Qui'in and let me know what he says."
"We need his garage pass to finish our mission." Claire added.
"Qui'in testifies, I'll get you whatever you need."
Luke made his way over to Qui'in's table and sat down. Claire took the seat next to him while Garrus and Liara stood behind them.
"I heard of some excitement in the Synthetic Insights office. I suppose this means you have my evidence?" Qui'in said. Luke could almost see the smile on the turian's face hidden behind the mandibles.
"Yes, but we were approached by an internal affairs agent who wants you to testify." Claire stated. The turian looked over at her and narrowed his eyes.
"Now that you have me property, you want to dictate how I use it?" Qui'in snapped.
"Qui'in, the executive board is already investigating Anoleis." Luke chimed in. "You could come out of this as a hero."
"Fine, I'll testify. Tell your IA officer to make whatever arrangements need to be made. I'll wait here for them." Qui'in responded.
Luke smiled over at Claire. He never thought that he would feel good about helping an internal affairs agent but helping take down a corrupt administrator was just as satisfying as doing it himself.