"I could almost believe him," Athixa said.
She and Lantar were in the surveillance room watching Garrus. It was empty; the rest of the team were on break. Lantar had suggested that Athixa watch a couple of sessions to see just how effective Garrus, and his methods, were. Garrus had agreed to the idea, so Lantar invited her to observe the impromptu "session".
They were taught that although it was much more difficult, trust was the best way to get information out of prisoners. To do that required a lot of creative lying, and the best lies were always the ones that had kernels of truth.
Lantar watched Garrus intently and frowned. He would have thought the same as Athixa, but he knew better. The conversation that Garrus was having with Shepard was not quite what they were taught. Instead of lies laced with truths, Garrus was sharing truths sprinkled with lies. Lantar knew what his friend felt about the war—he too thought similarly.
However, it was another thing entirely to be voicing it out to the enemy.
"That's why he's the best," Lantar said instead of what he was thinking.
"I see how your methods work better." Athixa admitted, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Each word seemed like it was being forced out. "It may take longer, but the information is given freely, and therefore more reliable."
"Glad you understand now," Lantar said, switching the monitor off and leaning back against his chair. Since it was not officially a session, the feed wasn't being recorded. Lantar was grateful for that; Garrus was starting to look a bit too comfortable with the human.
Lantar glanced back at Athixa. She stood behind him, arms crossed, looking a bit annoyed that the monitor was switched off. Damn. He had to think of something, and fast. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Hey, what do you say about a round of sparring?" Spirits, what am I doing?
Athixa snapped her attention to Lantar and raised a brow. "With you?" It was not an unusual request, and he did need some exercise. Now for the finishing move.
"Ouch. I may not have Garrus' reach, but I can hold my own." Athixa's eyes widened and her mandibles flapped in shock. Perfect. Hopefully that got her mind off the video feed. However, he didn't know whether to be offended or not.
Before he could decide and react, Athixa's open palm smacked him upside the head. "Oww," he mumbled, rubbing his head. He looked up at her, a grin spreading across his face. "Hmph, looks like I might lose—you also have reach."
She sputtered before muttering an expletive as she turned to leave.
"Hey."
Lantar turned to Athixa's voice. She was standing by the doorway with her back to the room. Without turning, she said: "You coming?"
He blinked in surprise and cautiously followed her out the door. Together, they made their way to the exercise area.
