Javik hadn't really believed that Shepard had killed a Reaper until he actually saw her do it. Then, he revised his impressions. Still, seeing this thing's corpse gave him an uncomfortable feeling. Not the least because it didn't look as Reapers usually did. Reapers usually were patterned off their Leviathan creators—at least, that was what the evidence suggested. However, this one looked distinctly human, two discernable eyes, a grinning currently lipless mouth with steely teeth, two hands with five flexible fingers. He wondered, having listened to varied accounts of how Harbinger, the oldest of the Reapers, seemed to have fixated on Shepard personally meant that it would have been given a face and artificial epidermis. If so, he wondered if that face would have resembled Shepard's, one more weird veneration of a victim.
He didn't like the sound of it, didn't like the idea one little bit. But it made sense, and the Reapers were nothing if not expert in demoralizing their victims. Not for the first time, he sensed the strained undercurrents between Shepard and Alenko, 'old shit' as they would describe it dredged up and aired out as if to see whether it still caused problems. Clearly it didn't, because during the several incidents in which 'the old shit' was dredge up, it was addressed then promptly put back down.
He was glad for them, although he still rejected the foolishness of being so attached to anyone. Especially in times like these. It was better not to get involved, save oneself the inevitable pain that came from loss. Unfortunately, he was the only one with that kind of good sense. He wasn't going to waste his breath trying to convince anyone he was right.
"You said Cerberus is using this as a power core?" Shepard asked from up ahead.
"Yes," EDI answered promptly. "The portion analogous to the heart."
"Can we disconnect it?"
EDI processed for a moment. "It might be possible, but may I recommend doing so at a later date? I think it would be time consuming."
"Later date," Shepard agreed promptly.
Javik smiled grimly, recognizing a fellow hunter on the track of something. He glanced around, keeping his eyes peeled as he had from the start for anyone slinking around pretending to be invisible.
He's smart enough not to come at me head-on, which means he's going to sneak up on me. If you can see through that, all I'm asking is that you keep your eyes peeled. All four of them.
He had agreed, preferring to be taken along than to be left behind with the ship or the team guarding their extraction point. His plummet to drunken rock bottom had exposed for him in a way he had to accept how much he did not want to be left behind. Not for trips like this, not ever. It was a piece of knowledge he could have lived comfortably without, but now that he had it he wasn't sure what to make of it or do with it.
"I hate dead Reapers almost as much as I hate live ones," Shepard grunted in response to something Alenko must have said. "I've seen bits and pieces of, what, four now? Five, if we count the one Kalros tried to eat."
"It is more than most ever accomplish," Javik observed. "Your kill count is most impressive."
"Thanks. I don't like them dead; I don't like that they still dream," Shepard admitted, her tone uneasy.
"Dream?" Alenko asked.
Shepard shook herself, her eyes squinting the way they did when she had a headache. "There was a dead Reaper, it's where we met Legion. One of the scientists said something about it being dead, but dead gods still dream. Gave me that feeling, you know? Four-eyed uglies, back of my neck." Then, with a jolt, "Batarians, sorry, Javik."
"No offense taken," Javik answered. He didn't say so, but he found most of the species in this Cycle ugly or just plain weird. Despite the pretense of acceptance and galactic friendship, he doubted he was the only person in this Cycle to entertain that viewpoint: anyone outside his own species was ugly or weird.
Except maybe the asari, and the fact that they were considered to be universally attractive to the rest of the galaxy made him suspicious. That, and their longevity; plenty of time to learn how to manipulate others with those delicate fingers and 'polite requests.'
"Good." Shepard shivered again.
Alenko didn't say anything, but he flared, the strange bluish light rippling around him like fire. It must have been reassuring, because Shepard exhaled deeply, then nodded as if in thanks.
"I keep waiting for it to wake up and not be dead," Shepard admitted under her breath.
"So do I, and I never saw it alive," Alenko returned, also under his breath.
Javik wished they wouldn't worry like that aloud. He had never seen it alive, and now that they'd gone and said what they'd said, he kept waiting for it to explode into violent action and squash them all like so many bugs. "You are certain it is inert…EDI."
EDI would give him the silent treatment if he called her 'Machine.'
"I am quite certain, Javik. It is limited to power production, and that is all."
"So, do you think the Illusive Man got his Indoctrination off this thing?" Alenko asked in an undertone.
"Could be. Pretty sure he'd have the room shielded thought, like in Bryson's lab."
"How's Ann?" Alenko asked.
"Fine. I've spoken to her a few times, she's recovering. Working on a book about the Leviathans. It's a pity I can't help much."
It was proof of Leviathan fallibility, Javik thought with bitter approval. They had tried to manipulate Shepard's mind, tried to make her forget, but the cloud of hazy confusion they left her with only went to prove their existence. She still maintained they didn't exist, but knew she knew too much about them for that to be true.