thisavrou | [video]

[ the feed flickers once, twice, before it settles on Thisavrou's latest Turian resident. ]

I have heard of machine-gods that could harvest entire civilizations and render them into nothingness in nanoseconds, or even create a symbiotic relationship between machines and organics...but I have never heard of the likes of machinery that could resuscitate the dead.

Yet, I am led to believe the technology here is so highly advanced that it is as common as any other glitch in a program. Is that right?

[ here, Saren pauses, clearly disbelieving. ]

I seek more credible answers, which surely someone must have uncovered by now. Is there more to how we arrived here? What is known about our gracious hosts, is there information regarding them or their government?

Humans are known for their arrogance and non-compliance. I cannot imagine that all of you have been content to act as no better than cogs in a machine, submitting so that our gracious hosts could reap the benefits of your contribution.

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[ Nihlus automatically flicks out his TAB at the cheery little 'PING' of notification. He looks at the message, then looks up at Saren before offering him a blase shrug.

Don't look at him, guy. You killed him before he became her mentor and took any sort of authority Nihlus might have had along with it. ]

She probably won't shoot you.

[ Probably.

He sobers a little after that though, eying Saren critically for a few wordless seconds. ]

... Saren. We have a lot to talk about- so much to talk about.

[ A falter here. Another stop to sort out what to say. ]

But the information you'll gain isn't something I want in the hands of a potential Indoctrinated. If at all possible, I'd like to do an assessment on your cybernetics.

[ So there. A check-up in return for information. Not an ultimatum Nihlus wanted to push on a man who'd just been pulled through the Ingress. Not an ultimatum he ever wanted to put on Saren, and especially not with the reaction he'd just had to the news of what the Reapers had done.

But Nihlus is not risking it. Especially not with how cagey the old bastard was being about what he remembered before his arrival.

How did you die, Arterius? he wonders quietly, mandibles tight against his jaw. Which death did you choose? ]

[ Shepard's decision to remain hidden didn't bother Saren. He just wanted the confirmation that she was the source Nihlus had, and now he had it, among other info. He assumed Shepard and Nihlus must have been here for around the same duration of time. Nihlus trusted Shepard, clearly, and Shepard trusted Nihlus enough to let him make this call. Not only that, but Shepard's trust in Nihlus was evident in the way she stayed out of the way.

Maybe what he said wouldn't sound so unbelievable. ]

Possibly the most sensible thing I've heard you say so far.

[ Saren scoffed, but he didn't sound like he objected, strangely enough. ]

If you're expecting resistance to such an ultimatum, you'll find none. I would have done my own assessments eventually.

[ Yes, Saren's casually suggesting he would have started to run experiments on his own body. So it's probably better that he had supervision. ]

But I imagine you won't be satisfied until I give you answers.

[ Saren paused. There's really no point dragging it out since he could guess time passed differently for Shepard, as well. ]

The last thing I remember is thanking Shepard. For...showing me the errors of my ways, and that I still had a will of my own.

[Ah.

That was something. Whether this was her timeline's Saren or not (doubtful – there was bound to be minuscule discrepancies here and there), he had chosen the same path – his final, finest act as a Spectre, to an audience of three. Adjusting her earpiece, she leans in to the scope, watching the older Turian's face intently.

That he mentioned thanking her was worthy of note – rather than claim the suicide as his own personal success. A will of his own, indeed. They had never seen eye to eye—likely never would—but there was something there worthy of respect. One-handed, she taps out a quick message to the two.]

Glad you don’t remember what happened next.

[ The first iteration of the story Nihlus had heard came from the clone. She'd told him that Saren was killed trying to take over the Citadel, that Sovereign had controlled him completely.

The second iteration of the story had come when Shepard had dropped off the head wrap. It'd been mistakenly delivered to her, thanks to the strange nature of their on-ship mail system. He'd learned about Saren's sacrifice then. Her reports and the codex filled in a lot of the gaps.

He hadn't known Saren's last words.

Despite his best efforts to suppress his reactions, Nihlus' claws still dig into the sleeves of his jacket, hard enough to cut through the leather. ]

I'm... relieved that you agree, then. [ The quaver creeps back into his voice before Nihlus can stop it. He swallows the dissonance before carefully continuing. ] I have the tools needed for everything in my workshop, including a fabricator if we need anything else. We'll have to find some way to translate Reaper programming into a language the rest of the equipment can work with- but that should be feasible.

[ Shepard's ping gets a glance- and Nihlus draws in a another slow breath. ]

Right. Like I said, [ he shrugs quietly. ] There's a lot we need to talk about.

I overestimated the control I had over the situation. I won't make the same mistake twice.

[ He thought his facility in Virmire was enough to protect him from full indoctrination. But Sovereign's indoctrination was there the whole time, slowly eating away at his ideals and values, corrupting them. He was so used to Sovereign's influence that he wasn't sure he knew what to do with his freedom or if even trusted his new state of self. ]

I confess I'm intrigued by what you have in mind. Is the tech here that advanced?

[ Saren seemed to become still again over Shepard's message. He could guess what she was referring to but he didn't think it'd happen to him. Then again, he was so sure that Sovereign saw him as useful, didn't he? ]

But first, we must assess the risk. I want the same answers you want, Nihlus. Perhaps even more. I need to know if there's any remnants of the indoctrination.

[ What would happen if he died here, he wondered. The same thing that Shepard implied? The idea of that disturbed Saren. ]

Nobody could have anticipated that. We could only prepare for the worst.

[Coming from Saren, it was practically an apology.]

Agreed on risk assessment. I've got some code fragments that might ease the translation process.

If things come up clean, maybe I'll even tell you what happened to the Reapers.

[Reaper disagreement had practically been Shepard and Saren's bread and butter — time to discuss the final results.]

Tech here's a bit of a mishmash, really. You've really advanced technology interspersed with some pretty antiquated oddities, interspersed with what's- essentially- magic as far as I can make out.

[ Considering the fact that Saren was chatting it up with Dorian, he'll probably find out more about that last bit in greater detail pretty soon.

Gingerly peeling his claws out of his sleeves, Nihlus lets his hands drop back to his sides. Saren can probably see the odd flash of pink under the leather on his right arm before it resettles.

To Shepard, Nihlus asks, ]

Think you could send those to me on my omni-tool?

[ And then to Saren, expression carefully neutral now, ]

Everything's pretty much ready to go. When do you want to start?

You've my permission to begin whenever you like. Why delay?

[ The sooner he had answers, the sooner he could start to trust his own state of mind. Maybe then, he could work toward some sort of reconciliation with Nihlus. ]

[ Well, that went a lot smoother than Nihlus thought it would. No one had been shot, no obvious signs of lasting Indoctrination and they didn't have to knock Saren out and put him into the trunk.

Speaking of... ]

I've got a rental nearby, [ he says, jerking his head in the vague direction of said ride. ] Let's head out.

[video]

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And Wrap!