Mission Update: The Matriarch on Noveria.My next mission after dealing with Chorban and Jahleed was a big one. There was possible sightings of Geth on the planet of Noveria. A frigid world where powerful corporations go to avoid The Council's laws. Basically a hub of powerful men and women avoiding the law. Oh how happy they are going to be to see a Spectre.
So, we flew in, allowed to land in port and as soon as my team(Garrus, Liara) left the Normandy we were greeted by three guards. All with weapons out asking for identification.
I asked for they're names first, which was responded to by a snarky response to one of the female guards. A true bitch that one. Then the leader responded, explaining that her name is Captain Maeko Matsuo and the bitch was Sargeant Kaira Stirling. After introducing myself as a Council Spectre Miss Bitch replied with suspicion. Then the Captain asked for us to give our weapons to them, even having Kaira move in to grab them from us. Which we responded by pulling our weapons out and having a little standoff.
Before any triggers were pulled however, over a speaker we heard a woman respond and confirm that I am a Spectre and am allowed to carry weapons. Captain had her group stand down and let us through straight after.
After entering the building, an alarm goes off and the woman who confirmed my identity appeared. Explaining that the alarm was a weapon detector.
She introduced herself as Gianna Parasini. Who explained that we landed in the small port of the Noveria Development Corportation. A company that leases off labs and other workspaces on the normally uninhabitable planet. Basically they help people avoid the law. I honestly didn't care though, so I got straight to the point and asked Parasini if she saw any strange activity in the port at all. Right away she gave me exactly what I needed, Matriarch Benezia passed through the port, carrying heavy crates that passed inspection and had a group of Asari Commandos with her.
For anyone who doesn't know, Matriarch Benezia was confirmed to be working with Saren, a former Spectre working to resurrect the Reapers and find the "Conduit". Also Benezia is Liara's mother, which she goes ahead and explains that she is worried to meet her mother here. The little info I got from Liara on Benezia was that she was a bad parent. So she'll be trustworthy either way. There was ONE problem though, and that was that to get to where Benezia went, the Binary Helix lab called Peak 15. I had to get a pass from Administrator Anoleis, no exceptions. She gave me directions and I went to go find him.
Apparently word travels faster than an elevator in this game, as by the time I was finished going up one I entered a room full of business men and women, all trying their best to avoid me at all costs. Probably because they are doing some shady shit. However I honestly didn't care and moved straight to Anoleis.
Also, somehow Gianna Parasini can move to the assistant desk of Administrator Anoleis' office before I got up an elevator. When I got there she greeted me and helped give me access to Anoleis's office. As soon as I greeted to Anoleis he already wanted to be done with me.
A salarian, not even standing up. Said straight up that he will only help with what he has to, and other than that he would not help me. So when I requested access to Peak 15 he denied and I could not do anything. Asshole.
Nothing I could do though, so I left. In which Parasini greeted me once more. This time she didn't have the formal corporate voice, she was more than willing to help get me out of this Port Hanshan and to Peak 15. So she sent me in the direction of a Turian by the name of Lorik Qui'in. In the Hotel lounge. Other than that no details were given other than that he can help me get to the garage.
So I went to the lounge and met with Lorik Qui'in, a manager of Synthetic Insights on Noveria. Who was recently kicked out of his own offices and explains how Synthetic Insight's offices are being ransacked right now. He also tells me how Anoleis, the leading member on the Port. Was corrupt, disrupting the companies on Noveria for personal gain. Also how some of the security force on Port Hanshan was being bribed under Captain Maeko's nose to do his dirty work. All the evidence of this was on Lorik's computer. All he needed was help getting that information.
I agreed to get that evidence and clear his offices, in return for a garage pass. He agreed and made sure to point out not to get his carpet bloody.
Heading up to the Synthetic Insight's offices, I was right away greeted by a security force, saying how Lorik was "under investigation" for breaking NDC rules, I convinced them to move out of the way. But the rest of the corrupt security force there didn't feel like moving. So I shot em all up and got to Lorik's office. Easy enough. Got the evidence, and left...at least we got close to leaving.
Remember Sargeant Bitch? Well apparently she was corrupt as well, and with a small group of thugs behind her she wanted to get rid of us. That did not work out so well and now the cleanup crew has more to clean up. NOW I left. The first thing I saw when I left the offices was a particular woman who gave us the lead in the first place. Asking what the "commotion" was about upstairs. Right after that she explains to meet her for a drink at the lounge before meeting Lorik.
As soon as I met her Parasini's attitude completely changed, turning from a formal corporate girl to a blunt tomboy. I liked it. Now that we were in a spot where we could talk she told me how she was undercover for 6 months for Noveria Internal Affairs. Investigating Anoleis' corruption. We just got her the evidence she needed, but she needed one more thing. For Lorik to testify against Anoleis in front of the NDC board. Me being a Paragon at this point was all for it. As soon as I met Lorik I got him to change his mind on blackmailing him and instead testify.
As soon as I come back to Parasini, she has the salarian in handcuffs giving him his rights. Thanking me for the help and giving me the garage pass I needed. So I headed on out.
Remember those heavy crates that Benezia was carrying around with her Commandos? Apparently all those crates were stuffed with Geth. As that is the first thing I see when I enter the garage. Trying to make sure I can't leave. As soon as my team dispatches the Geth Captain Maeko appears surprised about it all, having her team clear the area. However I had to get somewhere.
As soon as I leave the garage in the Mako I am greeted by a huge friggin Blizzard. Making it difficult to step out of the Mako at any time. However luckily the Mako had a big friggin gun on it which is what I needed for the heavy Geth forces blocking my way. Moving up the Blizzard all the way to Peak 15 came with it's challenges, but luckily the Mako is a fucking beast that nobody can defeat. However just like everything in video games I was forced out of my Mako as soon as I made it to Peak 15.
Unsurprisingly, Geth filled the labs, and while they took awhile to take care of they never truly were any threat. However as soon as we cleared an area we found something quite...surprising. Instead of Geth attacking us next, it was these wierd...bug things. Which for some reason my mind didn't connect the dots yet, however they were enough to make me check my body for bugs. And want to kill them VERY quickly.
Apparently I wasn't the only one who had no clue on what they were, both Liara AND Garrus told of there surprise to see those things. And as we move forward we find a LOT more of them. We also find a power conduit that looked shut down. I turned it on and was immediately given the response of a speaker, a Virtual Intelligence by the name of Mira turns on explaining that the state of the facility is critical and that she has been shut down by protocol. Luckily the way to turn her back on was right in front of me.
Heading down into her core alone, I was told I can repair her memory core manually or use 100 OmniGel. I decided to do it manually and I was given this puzzle.
At first I had no friggin clue what I was doing, and just moved around those blocks trying to hopefully get it right. Soon it clicked in my head. How it worked was that all of the blocks HAD to be in one column that wasn't column 1. However, a block can only be moved to a spot that has nothing above it, and you can only move the highest block in a column at a time, so after shuffling some things around I finally got it onto column 3. Turning her back on.
Once she was on I was given the info I needed. The comms and main reactor were damaged and without them on the tram could not be activated. However Benezia was already past the tram and that's where I needed to be. Next up was the Comms and main reactor.
The reactor was being protected by Geth, which made me think that Benezia had them stationed there to keep from anyone getting to her. A lot of those creepy stalker drone things were there too, so this was actually a pretty interesting fight. With 2 juggernauts there to take on too.
The comms on the roof were infested by the bugs, assuming Benezia was okay with the fact that the bugs kept comms from contacting anyone. Repairing that gave full access to the station, which meant access to the tram. Which I sprinted for. I was sick of the bugs.
However going to the tram meant more bugs, because I first had to get through the decontamination chamber...and all the decontamination chamber was is a cage of bugs....luckily there was a way to burn them all at once...I did so.
I made it to the tram right after and got to Rift Station. Which as soon as I enter I am greeted to guns and men standing down as they see me. The person in charge, Captain Ventralis, greeting me and explaining that the bugs have overrun the entire place and they had a small holdout here in Rift Station. He asks for help in clearing the Hot Labs, a lower area of Rift Station. Which has been overrun by the bugs, oh wait, he didn't say bugs.
HE SAID RACHNI.
Again, for anyone who doesn't know. Rachni are an alien race of buglike creatures who helped killing millions in the Rachni wars. Until finally they were thought to be eradicated. As far as I knew anyways.
So now I know that the researchers here were messing with RACHNI. That didn't mean anything good, and at this point I basically said fuck you to the guards. Heading into their little holdout, ignoring everyone there and finding an EXTREMELY secure doorway, which I opened to find guards and turrets trying to kill me.
If my trust in these fellows was already small, it now went subotomically small. They were hiding something and didn't want anybody to find it, even fighting a Spectre to protect it. So time to explore!
It didn't take long for me to snoop around long enough to find what I was looking for, Matriarch Benezia, hidden by the guards.
Benezia, even with Liara there. Did not care for our lives, watching over what she says is a Rachni Queen, there was no peaceful way to decide this. She was the right hand woman of Saren. She needed to die.
However Benezia was too much of a bitch to fight herself. Instead she brings in her Geth and Commandos to fight. So now instead of Benezia I am stuck going from cover to cover in a square room with a Rachni Queen in the middle, fighting off Asari Commandos and Geth Juggernauts. Fun.
However, each time she brought in a new wave Benezia got weaker. And soon she was out of Asari and Geth, with us still standing.
As she stood on her knees she plead to let herself be heard. Claiming she is free from Saren's grasp long enough to speak. Explaining that she was capable of holding a part of her mind free from Saren's mind control. Probably the most disturbing part of her story worth mentioning is Saren's ship, the Sovereign, was capable of controlling the people aboard. The longer you stay on the ship, the more Saren's will seems true. She stayed on that ship too long.
With the little bit of freedom she had, she gave us the info we needed to get an idea of where Saren is, and told her daughter Liara how proud she was of her. Until finally the control took hold once more and we were forced to kill her.
I would end this here, since this is a long ass post, but I have one more thing to mention. Before we left my Shepard took a little bit too long staring at the Rachni Queen left in a cage, and a tentacle came lunging at me. Making me move out of the way, and a dead Asari Commando going up against the window instead. Speaking right after...
The Rachni Queen was using the Asari as a way to speak. Telling me how her kind was being made an army without her, and how she wishes to be free so that she can "sing to her kind once more" or some shit like that.
Honestly, I had outside knowledge of the Rachni and knew what they do. So I knew they kinda weren't a threat. The Council wasn't happy with my decision, but I had to do it. I freed the queen. Allowing her to go someplace new to live. I wasn't gonna kill them.
This, took too damn long to make.... God damn.
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