I think chapter eighteen is pretty complete now.
* * *
For the umpteenth time, Nerisse Ganthus wondered why she'd gone corporate. So she reminded herself. Like a good little turian, she'd joined the military and served her mandatory term as a recon scout, but after that... well, serving one's people was all well and good, but it didn't pay the bills nearly as well as working for Elanus Risk Control Services did. Even if that meant being assigned to some frozen world in the middle of nowhere.
Still, she missed the closeness she'd had with her comrades in the service.
"Captain Ganthus, this is Noveria Flight Control," the voice blared over her comm. "We've got an unauthorized ship coming in hot, and they're refusing to wave off!"
"Spirits," she cursed as she bolted to her feet. Within seconds, she was charging out, donning the last pieces of her armor, as she caught up with the on-duty dock security team.
"Sit rep," she barked, checking her M-15 Vindicator's thermal clip. The select-fire battle rifle was a company weapon, built by ERCS, and so, here on Noveria, where ERCS handled security, they got them by the crate load. Fortunately, it was actually a quality weapon, deadly accurate and capable of bringing down personal shields and punching through body armor with frightening ease.
"Not sure, Captain," the watch commander, Antoc Valerus, replied. "Flight Control IDed the ship; it's registered as an Alliance frigate, but it looks turian in design."
She nodded in silent acknowledgement. Every species had their own aesthetic in ship design. Salarian ships, for example, tended to have rounded designs that made them look like they'd be as much at home in an ocean as in space, while the asari... Nerisse couldn't find the words to describe asari ships; suffice it to say that they were... very distinctive. Turian ships, on the other hand, favored a sleek, dagger-like design, all speed and power, but human ships tended to be big and boxy, with all the style and subtlety of a brick in the face.
"I hate mysteries," Valerus grumped.
"Shut up and deal with it," she snapped, bringing her rifle up, not quite pointing it at the approaching figures. A trio of humans clad in Cyclone armor led the group, flanked by a krogan and a turian in a heavy set of armor she didn't recognize but had the hallmarks of an Armax design.
"Hold it right there," she ordered. The group stopped. "Identify yourselves."
"Lieutenant Commander John Shepard," the lead human said. "Citadel Spectre. I'm here on Council business."
Nerisse suppressed a derisive snort. A human Spectre? They really expect me to buy this crap? Sighting down her rifle at him, she said, "Nice try, but this is a restricted compound. Leave or surrender your weapons."
"Nerisse, is that you?" the turian spoke, the flangeing in his voice quickly identifying who was speaking, despite the face-concealing helmet he wore.
She frowned. She recognized that voice. "Garrus? Garrus Vakarian? You're a long way from the Citadel. What's the matter? C-Sec not paying you enough?"
"Are you kidding?" Garrus snorted. "That's one of the first things you learn at C-Sec. Besides, you're hardly one to talk, Nerisse. You went corporate."
"And now you've gone freelance," she countered. "Alliance, Garrus? Really?"
"I'm not working for the Alliance," Garrus corrected, gesturing to Shepard. "I'm working for a Spectre."
"You expect me to believe that nonsense?" she snorted. "You can turn around and leave if you like, but if you try to go any further without relinquishing your weapons, we will open fire."
Shepard snapped his arm up and replied coldly, "Lady, I'm not the one here staring down the wrong end of a missile launcher."
Nerisse was a little concerned, but up close, the Vindicator was powerful enough to bring down even a Cyclone's shields and punch through his faceplate with two bursts. She could easily pulse the trigger fast enough, and at this range, she wouldn't miss. It was just a matter of getting her shots off before the human fired his missiles, which, admittedly, would be no easy task.
"Don't you people get any news out here, Nerisse?" Garrus asked plaintively.
"Captain Ganthus," a feminine voice sounded over the PA, interrupting the stand off. "Stand down. We've confirmed Spectre Shepard's identity and authority. He and his team are welcome here at Port Hanshan, with or without weapons."
Nerisse felt her mandibles twitch.
"I said 'stand down.'"
She growled. "You heard her," she said grudgingly, lowering the Vindicator. "Stand down." She glowered at the Spectre and waved them past. You'd better be right about this, T'Lani, she thought grimly.
* * *
"So," John mused aloud as they walked past the blaring weapon scanners, "your friend there doesn't seem to like me very much, Garrus."
"Probably not," the former C-Sec officer replied. "Nerisse likes to play fast and loose with the rules -- kind of a given for a recon scout -- but she doesn't like surprises, and Spectres are unpredictable. Spirits, you've already thrown her for a loop just by being a human Spectre."
"Any advice?"
"Just make sure you're far away if you piss her off."
"Don't think I think I can handle myself, Garrus?" John asked, mock hurt in his voice. "You wound me."
"Nerisse and I used to spar, Shepard," Garrus warned. "She's good."
"Better than you?" John prodded. He and Garrus had had a few friendly sparring matches, and so far, Garrus was ahead one fall out of seventeen.
"Our longest match went nine rounds before the judge called it a draw," Garrus said with a shrug. "I have reach, but... she has flexibility."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Commander Shepard? I'm Enyra T'Lani, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. Welcome to Noveria."
John turned his attention to the asari who had spoken, the same one who had gotten Garrus's friend to stand down, judging by her voice. "Bit of a cold welcome," he commented.
The asari nodded. "Please understand, Commander, the facilities here on Noveria were developed with the express intention of avoiding Council scrutiny. There are lot of company secrets on this planet, some worth millions of credits, and they are guarded quite jealously."
"Fair enough," John acknowledged, "but we're here on Council business. We need access to Binary Helix's Peak Fifteen facility."
"I see," she said pensively. "You'll need to speak to the administrator." She turned and started walking. "Please, follow me."
* * *
John hated politics. He really, really hated corporate politics. And especially obstructive bureaucrats. Like, say, Administrator Anoleis.
"So, let me get this straight," he said. "You're denying me access, despite my Spectre status?"
"Correct, Commander," Anoleis replied. "All ground traffic is suspended due to the blizzard, and I will not overrule it. Additionally, Noveria is not technically a Citadel world. NDC laws apply here. Numerous non-disclosure agreements, confidential data, and security concerns apply. Spectre authority is... limited."
Damn, John thought. Just when I was beginning to think this whole Spectre thing was actually going to be useful.
"So, Administrator," he said, "just out of -- let's call it curiosity -- what exactly would stop me from killing you and anyone who gets in my way, blowing open the garage door with a plasma missile, and commandeering a vehicle to get to Peak Fifteen, regardless of whether or not I have a garage pass?"
"Politics."
John had to admit. Anoleis was one cool customer. He didn't even bat an eye at the threat.
"I'm a Spectre," he pointed out, trying again. "I leave politics to politicians."
"Spectre authority only extends so far," Anoleis replied coolly. "Such blatant violence against civilians would most likely result in your Spectre status being revoked. Possibly even war between the Alliance and the Citadel. It wouldn't be in anyone's best interest."
"All right, next question," John said. "How is it in anyone's best interest to deny me access to Peak Fifteen?"
"Proprietary information, Commander. I'm not at liberty to discuss. Additionally, there are liability issues with the weather."
"You know, it's answers like that that take me back to the 'plasma missile' idea," John muttered. He turned on his heel and left, rejoining his squad outside the administrator's office.
* * *
John was in the conference room on deck two again. With him was the group that was quickly becoming known aboard ship as "Shepard's Irregulars," the mix of specialists, consultants, and liaisons he had gathered together, along with the Marines of his ground team and his XO.
"So," he said, looking across the gathered group, "anyone have any ideas how we can get to Peak Fifteen? Anoleis can cite the weather issue until that damn blizzard blows over, but that storm's going to last a good while."
"I say we go with your plan and shoot our way through," Wrex offered.
Garrus shrugged. "This place is corrupt as it gets, Shepard. Grease a few palms, do a few favors, I'm sure we'll be able to convince someone to let us use their garage pass."
"I have an idea," Jane said, her expression thoughtful. "Alenko, think you can fly your Thor in this weather?"
"The Mako's going to be out of commission for another week," John reminded her.
"I remember," she said, nodding, a small smile on her face.
* * *
Tali muttered something, but although the three of them were pressed up against each other in the Cyclone compartment of Kaidan's veritech, Jane couldn't quite hear her over the wind.
"What?!" she called, shifting slightly to look at the quarian. It was a tight fit, even though she had selected the smallest members of the ground team to go with her. The bomb bay had more room in theory, but the various loading mechanisms made it impossible to convert it to carry passengers in a reasonable amount of time.
"I said, " Tali shouted back, "'I don't think this was a very good idea'!"
"If you had a better idea, you should have said something when Shepard was taking suggestions!"
"I have to agree with Tali," Liara said, her voice somehow carrying despite her not apparently yelling. "This is very... awkward."
"At least we're all friendly!" Jane offered cheerfully. "Or else this would be a lot more awkward!"
"Just how friendly do you want to get?" Liara asked, eyebrow cocked curiously.
"I'd need a nerve-stim program to get any friendlier," Tali grumbled.
"What?!"
"I said... oh, nevermind!"
* * *
The door to the captain's cabin chimed.
"Enter," John responded automatically. The door slid open to reveal a familiar turian.
"Hey, Commander, you busy?" Garrus asked.
"Not really," he replied. "Just submitting a request to get us a shuttle."
"Yeah, about that," Garrus said, "why don't we have one already anyway?"
John shrugged. "The Normandy's fully transatmospheric, and we've got the Mako -- well, had the Mako -- for combat drops, so we shouldn't have needed one."
"I see."
"Something I can help you with, Garrus?"
The former C-Sec officer looked away. "Maybe. It's Nerisse. Or Captain Ganthus, I should say. There's been an increase in smuggling lately, and since I'm here, she wants my help shutting it down, thinks a new perspective is just what they need."
"And you think I can help," John said flatly.
"You do have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, Commander."
John nodded thoughtfully. "So, what's being smuggled?"
"Lots of things, really," Garrus replied, "but she's mostly worried about restricted weapon mods. Noveria isn't like the Citadel. Security here depends heavily on limiting access to weapons tech."
"Hence the warm welcome we received," John said dryly.
"Yeah." Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a frown. "What is it, Shepard? You haven't argued one bit yet."
"Wellll..." John said, reaching under his desk and picked up a package, placing it on his desk. "As it happens, while I was shopping for supplies, a certain storekeeper in there asked me to use my Spectre status to bring this in past customs."
"Really, now?" Garrus said, his mandibles twitching in amusement. "Just like that, you have it all wrapped up?"
"I think there's more going on here than we know about," John said, nudging the package, "more than just some smuggling ring looking to make a quick buck."
"What do you mean?" Garrus asked. "What is it, exactly?"
"High explosive ammo," John answered. "This is some serious firepower we're talking about here, Garrus. Can your girlfriend handle this?"
"High explosive ammo?" Garrus repeated. "Nerisse wouldn't have the armor or firepower to deal with that. And she's not my girlfriend."
* * *
Jane led the team into the garage at Peak 15. The chamber was positively cavernous, and the lights were flickering. Catwalks were suspended across the room, accessible by ladders and stairs.
"This place is huge," Kaidan muttered. "If the doors weren't jammed, I could bring my Thor in here with room to spare. Wonder why they built the garage so big?"
He got his answer in the form of something slamming into the ground at his feet, the shockwave shattering his kinetic barriers and knocking him off his feet.
"Take cover!" Jane ordered, matching actions to words as she and Liara dove left, taking refuge behind a heavy-duty cargo hauler. Tali dove right, crouching behind the questionable cover of a forklift, and Liara stretched out a hand, then clenched her fist and yanked it back. Biotic energy swirled and pulled Kaidan toward the relative safety behind the cargo hauler.
"That's one hell of a big gun," Jane muttered. "More krogan mercenaries?"
Liara peered around their cover. A flash of light briefly lit the far end of the garage as the air itself seemed to ignite from friction. Another shell tore down toward them, smashing into the cargo hauler, lifting it off two of its wheels before gravity reasserted itself.
Liara ducked her head back.
"That's... not a krogan," she declared, her eyes wide.
* * *
Codex: Noveria
Noveria is a small, frozen terrestrial world, barely habitable by conventional definitions. It is privately chartered by the Noveria Development Corporation, a holding company founded and funded by two dozen major high-technology companies in Citadel space, including Elanus Risk Control Services and Synthetic Insights. The NDC leases out labs to perform research too dangerous or controversial to be performed elsewhere.
Since Noveria is not technically a Citadel world, the NDC is free and willing to issue such leases to Alliance-based corporations as well, much as the Alliance and Citadel alike would prefer otherwise. There still remains, however, prejudice between Alliance and Citadel species; for example, although a human corporation like Binary Helix may lease a lab on Noveria and secure it with their own human security, ERCS, which NDC contracts to provide security for the planet, is no more likely to hire humans on Noveria than anywhere else.
Given Noveria's unique situation, it is the source of many wild conspiracy theories throughout both Alliance and Citadel space.
