Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 10

Book 1, Chapter 10 -- Cold Heat (Noveria)

A/N -- With so much content regarding the Noveria mission, I might stretch this to two chapters. See how it goes.

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After dropping Helena off on the Citadel, writing her a letter supporting whatever she wanted to do, suggesting she approach the Alliance. She thanked me for believing in her, sharing a last kiss on the docks, before she disappeared into the crowd. She was one of those women that I knew I'd see again in the future. We were like moths to a flame.

We were now on our way to Noveria after all the delays we'd experienced. Still no idea what had become of Saren. The fact all had gone quiet should have been a concern, but I was left thinking if he'd managed to find the Conduit and achieve what he wanted, the galaxy would know about it. So I still lived in hope that, once we sorted out the issues on Noveria, we'd find evidence of where Saren was.

On route, I sat down with Liara to discuss her relationship with Benezia, and also just to reassure her that her place in my team wasn't in dispute, and I would trust her to make the right choice if we did meet her mother, whether on Noveria or if we met her at a later date. I think my reassurance certainly helped make her feel a little better about things, though she did ask, "What will you do if we were to find her?"

"I haven't made that choice yet. If she forces my hand, I have no orders to bring her in alive. If she proves to be co-operative, then I'll admit I don't particularly want to kill her if we don't need to." She sighed with relief. "I'm not a complete bastard, Liara."

Her face fell. "Oh no, Shepard, I didn't mean..." She noticed the smirk on my face, now recognising I was joking.

"Look, I know I've probably done one or two things that would concern a few people, but I'll put it like this. If I think someone deserves to die, they're going to die. Haliat definitely deserved to die. I don't particularly believe in summary justice, playing the role of judge, jury and executioner, but I will admit that being a Spectre has given me a certain freedom. So Haliat was always going to die, and one or two others we've met so far, putting a bullet in them was the easiest way to deal with it."

"You've also done many good things from what I've seen," she stated with a small smile.

"Well, as I said, I'm not a complete bastard."

That made her giggle. "Can I ask... a favour?" I knew what she was going to ask, but I nodded for her to continue. "When we finally confront my mother... If I can't save her, I want to be the one to do it." That definitely made my eyes widen in surprise. "She is my mother, Shepard. And if she must die, I want it to be at my hand."

"If that's the case, you cannot hesitate, Liara. If I give the order, it must be done immediately."

"I understand, Shepard."

"But we don't know where she is, so for now, just keep it in the back of your mind. Let's just focus on Noveria and whatever is going on there."

"Of course, Shepard."

Entering orbit around Noveria, everyone had the specs of the planet. Home to numerous research stations. Completely snowbound and practically frozen. Completely uninhabitable, a good reason to do some rather interesting research. Given the secretive nature of what occurred on the planet, visitors were rarely if ever allowed. However, being a Spectre granted certain privileges. I could go where I wanted, though only within reason.

On approach, Joker was hailed by Noveria traffic control, warning us our ship was being tracked by defence systems and to immediately state the reason of our business. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I replied. "This is Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy and Council Spectre. My presence has been authorised as per the agreement between the local authority and the Citadel Council. However, I will add, should you not permit my docking on your planet, I will return with an entire Alliance fleet, and that will only lead to further complications for yourself."

There was silence for at least a minute as I ordered Joker to keep on our approach. If they dared fire...

"Your docking has been authorised, Commander Shepard. Standard docking procedures apply, proceed to bay five. Security will process you on arrival to check your credentials."

"Understood."

My team was already standing by the door to leave, so once Joker had the ship in position, the docking bay arm attaching itself, I didn't have to give any orders now. My team know what was required and expected of them. I just figured the mission was going to be a complete pain in the arse, considering our arrival.

Stepping off the Normandy, even with our armour, you could feel the cold seep through. Taking the lead, no-one was armed just yet, not wanting to get into a fight straight away. I was expecting a welcoming committee, not surprised we found one waiting for us only a few metres away from the ship. There was at least half a dozen, two human females, couple of turians, even a couple of salarians. The one in charge, an Asian woman I assumed from appearance, asked us to stop. "This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials."

"You first."

"We're the law here. Show some respect," the blonde next to her spat.

I smirked as I met her eyes. She was an angry young thing. "Respect is earned, not given."

The one who asked for our credentials ignored her colleague, returning a brief nod. "Very well. I am Captain Maeko Matsuo, Elanus Risk Control Services."

"What do you reckon, LT? I outrank her?" I asked.

"Well, it would depend on which rank you chose to use, Commander. Using your Alliance rank, I'm not sure. But considering you're a Spectre, you pretty much outrank everyone on this planet."

"Thanks, LT." Looking back at the captain, I said, "That suffice?"

She smirked, realising the game I was playing. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow your entry without confirming your identity. Sergeant Starling, secure their weapons."

"You're not seriously that stupid, are you?" I asked, obviously rhetorical, as the six of them soon had more weapons aimed at them before they'd managed to do anything. "Look, I don't care who you are or what rules you have. I'm not giving you my gun. Or guns."

"They'll only be prying them from my cold, dead hands," Wrex muttered.

"Looks like we have a stand-off," Matsuo stated, "As I cannot let you proceed."

Before it descended into a firefight... In fact, it would have been murder, since only the two turians had managed to draw their weapons, a frantic voice soon echoed over the comm. "Captain Matsuo, stand down! We have confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorised to carry their weapons here, Captain."

I noticed the deep breath Matsuo took. "You may proceed, Spectre," she said, a small bow of her head, "I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

"Best behave yourself," her blonde colleague warned. I just gave her another smile, laced with no end of sarcasm, which caused her face to fall further.

"Okay, the blonde is a mega bitch," Ashley muttered, to the amusement of the others.

We wandered inside and could see the wealth and technology on display. I would have called some of the design and features on display brash, even ostentatious, and this was just the reception area. God knows what the rest of the place would look like.

Walking through the security area, alarms starting to ring and I wasn't the only one to groan. Thankfully they stopped blaring within a couple of seconds, as a very attractive brunette appeared from a back room on the opposite side of the desk. "Apologies for the introduction, Commander. Welcome to Port Hanshan. I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. I hope you won't judge us in regards to your... introduction at the docking bay."

Italian, definitely Italian blood was flowing through her veins. Her skin colour alone spoke volumes. She had dark hair, dark eyes and... She was definitely of Italian heritage; her accent didn't particularly give any indication of where she was from, so heritage, not actually from the Mediterranean. And I knew I was staring, as she started to... not look uncomfortable, I'd never made a woman feel that, but I was probably staring. "Um, no problem, Miss Parasini," I finally managed to get out of my mouth.

"One of my roles is to generally meet any arrivals, Commander. What brings you to Noveria?"

"What's with the friendly welcome?" I wondered, "I mean, I'm used to being shot at, but this was something else."

"The Executive Board does everything in its power to protect the privacy of our client corporations."

Stepping forward to lean across the desk, leaning forward as she did the same. "Gianna, though I appreciate that, considering what I'm here to investigate, I may ruffle some feathers."

"Just... Be careful, Shepard..." I noticed the immediate use of my name. I managed to hide the smile. "Our lawyers are... Well, you'll need a team of asari lawyers just to deal with the paperwork."

"Only one other question, then I'll move on." She nodded, so I asked, "Anyone unusual pass through recently?"

"Hmmm. Depends on what you mean by unusual. We were visited by an asari matriarch a few days ago. Introduced herself as Lady Benezia."

"Benezia?" Liara asked, immediately stepping next to me, "She's here?"

"We need to speak with her, Miss..."

"Please, call me Gianna, Shepard."

I heard Wrex start to laugh behind me at the tone. I ignored him and her tone for now. "Gianna, has Lady Benezia departed Noveria?"

"As far as I'm aware, no. Lady Benezia left for Peak 15 research complex quite a while ago now and, to the best of my knowledge, she is still there."

"How do I get to Peak 15?"

She looked around before leaning forward again, gesturing for me to lean closer. "You will need the administrator's approval to gain clearance, Shepard. And, trust me on this one, he's an arsehole. He won't co-operate. That's all I can tell you for now. If you need anything else, I'll be outside his office. Take my warning. Be careful. It's the wild west out here." Then she leaned back, gave me a smile, before turning and walked away. I definitely watched her. That arse was on fire, the dress highlighting all those Italian curves.

"Shepard?" Alenko asked.

"Huh?" Even he chuckled to himself as I turned around. "Oh, right... Ummm...." I glanced at Liara, who looked like her entire world had fallen apart. "Liara?"

"I can't believe she's here, Shepard." Meeting my eyes, she was pleading with me to do... something. I'm not sure what, but...

For once, I couldn't find the words, but I knew what to do. Stepping forward, I gave her a hug, feeling her hug me back straight away. "I trust you," I whispered, feeling her squeeze me tight upon those words.

"I just want to speak with her, Shepard," she said quietly, "See if I can reach her. I know in her heart she still loves me."

"I certainly won't leave you behind, Liara. Your place is alongside the rest of us."

She leaned back to smile at me, before leaning up to give me a soft kiss on the lips. She'd never kissed me before. "Thank you for believing." We looked at each other in silence before Garrus cleared his throat.

"This is nice and all, but we have places to investigate, people to kill..."

"Oh, look at Captain Awkward get all smart now," I retorted.

"Hey, that's not..." The turian trailed off. "Damn it, Shepard. Captain Awkward now?"

"I love you really, Garrus. As for the rest of you, we'll do what we normally do, but I have a feeling we will be watched like hawks."

"What's a hawk?" Tali asked, to the amusement of the humans.

"Are they tasty?" Wrex wondered. That caused further chuckles as we moved ahead.

As we moved on, the team talked amongst themselves as usual, and I heard plenty of teasing about me and Gianna. No surprise as it was obvious I found her attractive. Very attractive. Wrex was blunt as usual, while even the women who'd made it clear they wanted to be intimate with me joked about me wanting to be with another woman. That's when I turned around and said, "Well, I've run up a few numbers already."

"Good things STDs are mostly a thing of the past, Shepard," Ashley said.

Wandering around the port, it was obvious there was plenty of money. Crowds of businessmen were hanging around making deals, the three Council races along with plenty of humans in groups, apparently making deals or organising whatever they did on this planet. That's when I stopped and had the team split up into groups, simply to get the lie of the land and figure out if there was a geth presence, and how we got out of Port Hanshan.

I asked my two asari colleagues to remain with me as the rest disappeared, making a beeline straight for Anoleis, agreeing to meet up in the waiting room outside his office. Gianna was sitting at her desk outside his office, and I noticed the small smile that appeared as I walked towards her. I seemed to have that effect at times. I would use that my advantage if I could.

"Any chance I could speak with Anoleis?" She immediately asked the question, the administrator proving to be somewhat co-operative, allowing me through without question.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was the pair of gun turrets, one to the left, one to the right. I should have expected a salarian, walking slowly ahead, keeping my hands away from my weapons. Didn't want to give him an excuse. I stood in front of him, Shiala one step behind to the left, Liara to the right.

"Your reputation precedes you, Commander, but I don't care who you are or where you are from." I simply smirked as he added, "Only a fool enters negotiation without knowledge of the other party's tendencies."

"Negotiation? What are we negotiating?"

He ignored my question. "My greeting is a courtesy only, Commander. I would only co-operate as required by the Executive Board."

"Friendly bunch, aren't you?"

He snorted. "We're not here to make friends, Commander. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law."

Now I took a seat opposite him, making sure he looked me in the eyes. I didn't want to ask about Benezia straight away. I wasn't sure he would know I knew she was planet side. So I thought I'd throw a curveball. "Do you do business with the disgraced Spectre Saren Arterius?"

"What? Disgraced?"

"Yes, exactly that."

"He is a major investor in Binary Helix corporation, which is one of Noveria's backers."

"Remember that name, Liara."

"I'm taking down any relevant information as you converse, Shepard."

"Good. So, Administrator, I believe Lady Benezia is currently planet side. She is a person of interest regarding a current Spectre investigation. Do you know where she is?"

"She arrived a few days ago, accompanied by a personal escort and some cargo. She is up at Peak 15."

I'm sure the three of us realised that Peak 15 was central to any plans she was involved in, and we definitely had to get there sooner rather than later. But I had a feeling it wasn't going to be easy as I hoped it would be. The salarian was being co-operative for now but I knew that wasn't going to last long. As soon as I asked the wrong question, he was going to shut up before telling me to piss off.

I asked a few questions about Benezia and her entourage, but the more questions I asked, the shorter his responses, and I knew his patience was running thin. So was mine, but I needed their co-operation, otherwise I'd just have to start shooting up the place, and I didn't particularly want to do that just yet. Any request to visit Peak 15 was denied immediately, claiming not only was there a blizzard that would stop us getting there, but that it was private and therefore off-limits. I felt like invoking Spectre authorisation, but I figured if I did that, he'd definitely tell me to piss off.

The one thing he did admit to, which I think he immediately regretted, was that she was here as Saren's executor and in regards to Binary Helix business. Apparently there were issues at Peak 15 which needed their guidance. No idea what that meant, but it was something to investigate. I wasn't getting anywhere, so after begrudgingly thanking the administrator, I headed out.

Walking past Gianna, I heard her chuckle to herself. "You've never worked in the corporate world, have you, Commander?" Stopping and turning towards her, she was sat at her workstation, though looked up as I approached. "Shepard, you cannot bludgeon your way through bureaucracy."

"Can't I just shoot him and be done with it?"

"While you could, it won't end well for you, Spectre or not." She leaned forward, gesturing for me to do the same. "Shepard, I have a name. Lorik Qui'in. You'll find him in the hotel bar."

"Why?" I asked, a simple question.

"Anoleis isn't the only one with a pass out of Port Hanshan."

So I needed a pass to leave? Excellent, and I could have kissed her for the good news. Instead, I thanked her and we headed out, meeting everyone else in the main foyer. Letting me know what they'd discovered, apparently there had been an accident at Peak 15 that was being covered up, and no-one had missed the fact Lady Benezia had arrived, flanked by a near army of asari commandos.

We found Lorik Qui'in in the hotel bar, hearing plenty of comments when we'd entered the reception about spending a night or two in the hotel once we were done on Noveria. I could understand why as just the reception area was gorgeous, another sign of the money on the planet. The bar itself seemed to stock every spirit that could be found across the galaxy, though the beer was standard. Couple of human, turian and asari brands, though some of the most expensive possible.

Lorik was sitting by himself in a corner table, keeping an eye on the patrons but obviously bored and quite clearly on his way to being drunk. He looked up as we approached, and he stared to chuckle. "Well, well, well, the human Spectre decides to come talk to me. What have I done to deserve this?"

Not wanting to waste time, I replied, "I need a garage pass to get out of here towards Peak 15. I've been told you could help."

Lorik gestured for me to take a seat and explained his predicament. He worked for Synthetic Insights but had been accused of corruption by Anoleis. Funnily enough, the administrator had become rather rich himself since he took control of the rents. I wasn't the only one to think that was one hell of a marvellous coincidence. The good news is that Lorik had evidence of his corruption. The bad news is that the evidence was in his old office, currently under lock and guarded by some of the guards we'd already run into. What he needed was for us to retrieve the evidence and he would then give us a garage pass so we could move on.

"You have a deal," I stated.

"A word of warning, Commander. Anoleis is paying some of the ERCS guards under the table to help him. Captain Matsuo is not aware. If, or when, it becomes violent, you will need to explain for her to understand what has transpired. I, of course, will help where I can."

I split the team up again. "Alenko, take Tali and Ashley, keep watch near the office of Anoleis. If he makes a move, let me know. The rest of you are with me. I know something is going to go tits up and would like numbers on my side for now."

There was an immediate agreement, the rest of us heading upstairs towards Lorik's office. Inside, we found ERCS guards basically ransacking the place. We were already armed, so when I cleared my throat and turned around, I made a subtle gesture for no-one to fire. Yet.

"Want to explain what you're doing here?" The four of them shared a glance. "Look, I know you're here under the orders of Anoleis, so I'll make this easy for you. If you piss off now, dropping your weapons as you go, I'll forget I ever saw you here. Don't do that, and you'll be leaving in body bags."