Chapter 25 : Off Duty Chat

Rise and shine, my dear Kithara, rise and shine.

(Kithara : Oh please, my dear master. I hardly rest if ever. I'm the family's manager, remember?)

And for that, I truly am proud of you. Your strength of character in battle and your vigilant management of your brethren, those are what I congratulate you for, to be exact. It is because of you that we are in complete control over the Eos' Kett command center. Every time a squadron of offsite Kett enters this place to investigate, they would be exposed and fall into indoctrination, bolstering our manpower.

However, I do have some updates to keep count of, that's why I'm turning the camera on. This morning, some twelve to fifteen minutes before sunrise, I received news from our pathfinder. From what we've gathered, Ryder was kind of alarmed that we vanished without his consent... well, that was his reaction before he found that note I left on the Tempest. Still, Ryder was unhappy to know that we didn't share his enthusiasm on the Meridian Quest thing. As far as I know, it was Ryder who fervently craved to hunt for the thing. But to the pathfinder, it was me who supplied him with all the information I had translated from the Aya vault, so naturally he thought I shared the same interest.

The second update is that he's now heading for Kadara, planning to set up a suitable place for a new outpost, no doubt. Once it's done, he'll pursue leads on the missing Initiative arks.

(Kithara : Ah, but remember, there has yet to be any genuine proof that the Remnant builders were intentionally leaving Meridian's information in the vault. Who said that the Remnant were good-hearted aliens? No one, I bet.)

What do you suggest?

(Kithara : The Prothean archives on Sol system were not rightly planted there by the Protheans themselves; the four-eyes bloodlust aliens were simply looking for young sapient species to uplift, then have those young ones enslaved or boiled or fried. They just happened to find the Sol system already having a garden planet, with a primitive version of humans included.)

(Sharcov : The only proven instance where Protheans were really generous, or so it seems, was when they bestowed biotic powers to the ancient asari by the use of genetic engineering, added with a special beacon purposely left behind on Thessia.)

(Kithara : Hmm? You're eavesdropping on our little chat?)

(Sharcov : It can't be called a little chat, especially if it includes a thoughtful topic like the Remnant tech. Unlike the asari's case, the angara aren't particularly sure if the Remnant creators did left their constructions for them to use, or simply leaving them here unattended to retake later. Despite the apparent straightforwardness in operating the mass relays and Mass Effect tech in general, there was no proof that the Protheans were leaving them for the ones who'll come later. Of course, we could relate it with our 'leave-no-evidence-behind' policy. The Remnant here left no beacons, no alphabetical translators for their tongue, no digital archives or written literature, and most importantly, no dead bodies to preserve or bury. Is it possible that Andromeda has its own version of us?)

That does explain several plot holes, but here's another thing worth debating; If the builders were gone because of being invaded, then why are their structures still standing? There are no signs of a huge warfare or anything, and no signs of orbital bombardment like your older comrades did to planets like Joab, Etamis, and Aphras back in the Milky Way. The Scourge doesn't seem to do anything other than ruining Remnant tech and churning planets, not enough to actively triggering species-wide extinction. Well... that's as far as we can find out for the time being.

Remember, we have that one procedure; leave no evidence behind. Surely if the builders went extinct because of invasion, they won't just let the lingering buildings stand unscathed.

(Kithara : So many if and but questions. How about the Meridian? What do you think of it?)

Moshae Sjefa said Meridian functions as the central hub of the vaults' network. By translating Remnant glyphs in the Aya vault, I noted that Meridian is a kind of a command center, but inactive for the moment. Think of it like a switched-off Citadel.

We don't know what the Meridian looks like. Even the Archon spent his time feverishly researching what Meridian is, how it works, where it is now, that sort of thing. Torturing the Moshae didn't help his situation, as she was in the dark about Meridian as well. All that she knows is that Meridian was lost.

(Lyrio : Maybe this Meridian thing was hidden deliberately?)

(Kithara : Another one listening? Just how many of you are keeping an ear to us right now?!)

(Lyrio : Just me. My job is done until an hour later. I can do my spare time to do whatever I want.)

(Sharcov : And you wish to contribute your piece of mind here? Sure, we need more perspective in our chat after all.)

Getting back on the issue, I can already sense that something is not right. In our galaxy, each time we finished a harvest, the relays would usually be realigned to new positions, ensuring that whatever species found and utilize them, they'll always arrive on the Citadel. Essentially, the Citadel is a trap opened for everyone. Meridian is different; the vault did not say anything about Meridian, other than there is a thing named Meridian, but not its exact location. I'll bet everything that Meridian houses a weapon so dangerous it could destroy an entire galaxy, or an army so vicious which rivals the Reaper armada I used to have.

The Archon appears to be treating Meridian as a device to bring Andromeda galaxy under his might, while Ryder and whoever shares his mindset believe Meridian to be a treasure chest full of marvel. Kind of like the Pandora's Box from human mythology, if I'm not mistaken.

I believe I remember that the intention of the Andromeda Initiative is to create pioneering colonies, not to perform Indiana Jones escapades in real life.

(Sharcov : Why don't we search through the network here? Maybe there's an entry which says 'Archon' and 'Meridian' in the same spot.)

...Perhaps we can do it tomorrow. I think we should be getting a new shipment of minerals from our Kett scouts anytime soon. So, for the closing, I think we may or must talk about this subject once we find something new. Until then, I'm logging off.

(Lyrio : ...Indiana Jones escapades?)

Oh, please just ignore that.