Chapter 8 - Of Councils and Spectres

A/N - Nothing significant. Other than another shout out to every reviewer, follower, favoriter, and my beta. Also a reminder, drop a review, they help me stay motivated.

'For Tau.' - Tau battle cry.

The small group didn't take long to get to the far end of the Council Chamber, moving far faster to it than Shepard had away from it. Arlas didn't speculate, instead putting his mind into a passive trance, letting history happen. He had learned it during his stint as a Warlock, though he had used it more to observe everything all at once, than for meditation and clearing his thoughts. Now, he just took the scene in. Three individuals, clearly impressed with themselves, stood at the far end, the asari in the center, the turian on the right, and a hooded salarian took up the last spot on the left, on an elevated platform letting them look down upon the people they were deigning to acknowledge. Three humans were on the lower platform in front of them, separated by a small hole in the floor, and Arlas snorted in amusement at the symbolism in it. Separate and above the person on the podium, out of reach and passing sentence like some tribal divine. It was enough to instantly make him dislike all three of these… Councilors.

He turned his attention to the lower platform, and recognized two of the humans there, the other Shepard and the Captain, but made no attempt to learn anything about the third human after briefly tasting his emotions; greed, ambition, avarice, a plotter and schemer, and unworthy of any more attention than Arlas deigned to give him unless it was to eliminate or manipulate him. The human twins at least had interesting minds and abilities, and the captain at least tried his best during the meeting he had had with Arlas. This human felt like the worst of his own race, while attempting the power plays and coups that Arlas' fallen kin would but without the redeeming feature of being successful.

To the side were the other two humans that had fought beside him against the machines and were as interesting as they had been before, not at all. But the most… unusual feature was the unnecessarily large light construct of a turian. He had little idea how big the turian it was portraying actually was, but the need to made his image that large spoke of… overcompensation. All and all, it was nothing like what he expected, something more subtle, elegant, and refined, while still maintaining a disciplined and minimalist lifestyle. This was more like the decadent and hedonistic culture that Arlas' people had devolved into right before the Fall.

Rather than wait for someone to direct him to a position, he moved over to the two humans, and stood near them, but clearly apart, while he simply observed.

The human and two turians moved up to the lower platform, causing the three leaders to look past the humans on the platform. The human who had been speaking, the third one that Arlas didn't care to learn anything else about, huffed angrily but a few quick words caused him to relax and turn back to the leaders. "Council, Executor Pallin has new evidence, and has brought it for your review. I will allow him to present it."

Even Arlas was capable of reading the glare every other human gave the one he was ignoring, complete and utter contempt. The asari shifted, glancing surreptitiously at the other two, before nodding. "Very well, Executor Pallin, you may present your newest evidence."

The turian nodded. "Thank you, Councilor Tevos. The first is a listing of all the times Spectre Arterius used his Spectre authorization codes in the last two months."

Another light construct sprang into existence in the gap between the two platforms, showing a map of the universe, before zooming in on a specific portion of it. Arlas didn't know anything about this part of the investigation, and listened intently, if only to relieve his boredom. "They are propagating in chronological order, and have time stamps."

The turian light construct huffed in annoyance through some form of communicator also worked into the display. When he finally spoke, Arlas suddenly understood why Shepard had been so gleeful about earlier about thwarting him. "Starts in the Shrike Abyssal system, where I was finishing an investigation into mercenaries potentially stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Then moves over to the other edge of Citadel Space, where I was tracking pirates that were smuggling large numbers of Prothean relics, presumably to the Batarians, through the Hawking Eta system. What of it, Executor?"

The turian present simply continued as if the Spectre, whatever that was, hadn't spoken. "While the timeline does match the claims, it was what he was doing WITH the codes that was of more interest. Further investigation found that, among other things, he authorized at least four listening posts, two jointly manned by all the citadel species, one by the turians and another by the salarian STG, to cease monitoring for an hour's time. Two in the Hawking Eta system, and two more in the Horse Head nebula."

This time the systems were shown, and all four of the listening posts blinked red, including time stamps. It was narrow, but there was an overlap of about a third an hour between each system going down and the previous going up. Arlas frowned, noting it was more than enough time for a tight cluster of ships to pass through without being detected. Saren simply scoffed. "Of course I took them down. I set up a false flag operation, and demonstrated that I could disable the listening stations to get a large number of ships through. They sent a single smuggler through to test it, and I forwarded the ship information to the STG. I have already set up the clean up operation with Blackwatch and STG, I don't even have to show up. They just send the coded message to my dupe, they rush a large number of ships through, and the smugglers run right into a blockade waiting for them."

The turian on the upper platform spoke. "Primarch Fedorian has already cleared the operation, Pallin, and is liaising with STG as we speak for it. While disabling the listening posts, for any reason, is concerning, the chance to shut down this ring, as well as determine where these smugglers are operating is too good to pass up."

Executor Pallin simply nodded before pulling out his omni tool and tapping it several times, nodding along as the turian Spectre and then councilor spoke. "Council Sparatus, esteemed Councilors, ...Saren, the following evidence has already been checked for both its authenticity, and accuracy. The VIs and techs that did the checks say the matches are extremely close, though some data fragmentation and degradation has made establishing perfect matches impossible."

Pallin pushed the button, and Saren's voice boomed from his omnitool. "Loyal g-geth followers. The Sovereign has revealed the nex-ext step of our grand endeavor. And it *static*he mos-ssssss-t important mission yet. The humans have recovered a working Pr*static* Beacon on Eden Prime. We can not allow it to fall into their hands, or *screech*cil's, without jeopardizing our ultimate design."

The sultry voice joined his, extolling the unseen audience further. "This mission can *static*ill not, must not fail. For if you do, we fail *static* discover the location of the Con-Conduit, and fail to aid the Reapers in their return."

Saren's expression had frozen, shocked and unable to think of a retort or excuse as his own voice continued to condemn him. "But the Sovereign has foreseen their pathetic *static* at resistance, and with my assistance, has divined an assault to rip them apart. Assault plan-plan-plans, ti-ti-ti-ti-timers, and maps ha-ha-ha*static* uploaded to your servers, and they must be followed to the smallest detail. While the Sovereign can not aid our attack directly, indirectly it will *static* victory. Do not fail me, and do not fail the Reapers."

The light construct between the two platforms switched from the galaxy map to show two versions of the same map. One was labeled evidence, the other Alliance After Action Report. Both maps showed the same basic fight, though the Alliance map had several large holes in it where the geth had simply overrun and killed everyone. In the quiet of the hall, Arlas couldn't resist his impish sense of amusement, as he glanced at the turian light construct. "I suspect you did not expect someone to rescue the witness and her data from your slaver and criminal friends."

He spoke in flawless turian, though he lacked the flanged voice, causing everyone else's attention to shift to him. The turian councilor, Arlas recalled the executor calling him Sparatus, stared at him for a moment. "And who is that?"

The real and light construct turian were both staring at him, the former in confusion and suspicion, the other in rage and contempt. He simply bowed slightly to the towering construct of light, holding it for a mocking length of time, or so he hoped. "Pathfinder Arlas, of the Eldar. And I hope to meet you as quickly as possible, Mr. Arterius."

He turned back to the Council, ignoring the towering construct of light as he spoke in flawless human. "I am present as an observer of my species, not a representative. I have a lack of inclination in remaining on this facility. I am simply to observe and report my impressions to my species when I encounter my assembly once more. Please, continue your proceedings."

He watched the three leaders on their platform exchange a look, before the other two looked to the turian. Sparatus looked up at the figure, his talons gripping the podium. "Very well, Saren, your Spectre status is hereby suspended until we complete a full investigation into…"

The turian trailed off, as Saren reached out of the projector's field of view, and a second later he vanished, the sneer on his face the last thing to vanish. The turian at the podium had tensed up completely, clearly enraged, before he got his voice back. "Saren Arterius has refused to submit to the authority of the Council. I move that we immediately strip him of his Spectre status. I will notify Turian Hierarchy forces about him being wanted for suspicion of assault of allied colonies."

The asari nodded but the salarian spoke first. "Agreed, will also inform STG of his status. Begin freezing his assets. Already starting."

The human that Arlas had already decided that he didn't like stepped forward, wildly waving one arm. "That isn't good enough! You saw his ship, and his pet geth. Send in your fleets. Scour the Attican Traverse for him."

The turian council stared down at the human. "You do not get to make demands here, Ambassador Udina."

The asari quickly raised her hand, silencing both sides. "A fleet can not find one person, Ambassador, nor can we send the fleet in, without igniting a much worse war that would only make it even easier for him to move around in."

Udina huffed. "Then send your Spectres after him. Surely a handful could easily apprehend him."

This time the salarian shook his head. "Spectres, in general, work alone, Ambassador, you should already know that. And the ones that would have the best skills for a chance of catching him, alone or in groups, are the very Spectres Saren himself mentored. No, a different solution is required."

Arlas couldn't help but notice the emotions of the three leaders, despite the tone of their voices, seemed almost… bored and unfocused. Like they were not surprised, and were merely waiting on something, like actors in a play. Then the Shepard twin on the lower platform glanced at her twin sister, and Arlas felt a spike of amusement from the asari, quickly suppressed, as Joannis turned back to the Council and stepped forward. "Then send myself and my twin after him. We were already being evaluated for the Spectres, giving the ambassador what he wants, and you don't have to send in your fleets to get Saren, giving you what you want. Everyone wins."

The turian started to make an angry rebuttal, but a soft word from the asari pulled him and the salarian away from the podiums. A soft conversation, too soft for even Arlas to hear, followed, before eventually all three returned to their podiums. All three pushed a button, and looked to the asari. "Lieutenant Commander Joannis Shepard, Lieutenant Commander Jaclyn Shepard; step forward."

Udina and the captain quickly vacated the platform as Jaclyn stepped forward, leaving the twin humans on it, side by side. Arlas looked around as the murmur of conversation swelled and then subsided, like the water just before a great tidal wave. The balconies were packed with members nearly two dozen different races, not just the dozen he had already encountered. He turned back as the Councilors began speaking again.

The asari started, her voicing ringing through the room without actually raising her voice, good acoustics and hidden voice casters helping significantly. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the rights and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the Citadel."

The salarian councillor was next. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions lift them above the rank and file."

The asari councillor gave the human twins a benevolent smile, before continuing. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

The turian was short, gruff and to the point, clearly not pleased with the outcome. "Spectres bear a great burden. Both our first and last line of defence, the safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Both of the human females stood tall and proud, before both nodding at the exact same time. Joannis chose to talk for the both of them. "Thank you Councilors, for your trust. From both of us."

The councilors barely twitched in acknowledgement of the human, the salarian giving them their orders. "We are sending you into the Attican Traverse, after Saren. Intelligence will be forwarded to you as it becomes available."

This time Jaclyn spoke. "He is as good as caught."

The turian simply flicked his mandibles. "You will be assigned an observer, since your mentor was hospitalized before he could conclude his assignment. Try to keep this one intact. They will simply be to observe, not do your job for you."

The councilors left by a side door, letting the humans gather together. Before he could leave, however, the Executor came over and cleared his throat. Or at least, Arlas hoped that was what he was doing. It sounded like someone dragging a metal plate through gravel. He sighed inside his helmet, before turning his head slightly to the turian behind him now, and spoke in turian. "What can I do for you, executor?"

The executor's mandibles fluttered, causing Arlas' hand under the cloak to twitch toward the flamer pistol. Those mandibles reminded him too much of the larger combat bioforms of the tyranids. "The Councilors have extended an invitation, and wish to meet with you."

The eldar refrained from repeating his earlier action, and simply considered the situation. "I recall that I claimed I had neither orders nor desire to meet with them."

After a moment, with the executor simply waiting for an answer, and the four nearby guards getting twitchy, he gave in. "As long as they understand I can not, and will not, be separated from my weapons. This is for the safety of the protection detail. If this is not allowed, I will not meet with them."

The executor stared, before shaking his head. "The request is most irregular. I give you my word that they will be returned in the same condition you leave them in."

"That is not the core issue. The crux of the issue is that the weapons are very sensitive to tampering, and if your people get too close, I lose a weapon, and you will have a large number of severely injured, burned, perforated, or dead individuals. If I am nearby, that will not happen."

He was not lying, not really, but he was exaggerating, slightly. The power field that kept the psychoreactive wraithbone intact would collapse if a life form without training or sufficient talent tried to grab it, resulting in it returning to its natural state, also known as pure warp energy. This tended to be unhealthy for anyone nearby. Of course, he could maintain the field from a distance, but best to not let anyone else know that. The eldar's best defense lay in not needing one, then not being the focus of ire, and only as a last resort did they fall to force of arms.

The executor was clearly not impressed, but also clearly not sure on what he was allowed to do. The turian stepped away after a moment, and started talking into his omnitool. Atlas took a quick glance around at several of the guards from earlier nearby at various distances, clearly keeping an eye on the armed outsider. Though they were also keeping others from bothering him, as they intercepted several asari as they moved toward him, asking them to go around. Movement showed the executor coming back towards him, though he didn't speak until close enough to keep the slowly gathering crowd from hearing too much. "They have agreed to your request to keep your weapons, but will be meeting you in a partitioned off chamber. If you will follow me, sir?"

Arlas simply dipped his head, and followed beside the executor, and decided to learn a bit more about his guide. The guards moved with them, keeping the area clear. "Forgive my curiosity if it becomes impertinent, but what are the duties of an executor?"

Pallin glanced at him, as if surprised to hear someone speaking turian without any expressed vocal emotions, but answered anyways. "There is only one executor, the head of Citadel Security Services, or C-Sec for short. As an outsider, we are aware that you don't know anything about our organization, but the next time you assault one of my officers, they will respond with appropriate force. They typically are in grey armor with dark blue stripes. If someone yells for you to stop, please comply."

"Was that what they were demanding? I was incapable of communicating and understanding them when I came into physical contact with them. I do wish to apologize for the pain I caused, however. I needed the languages. But if you are in charge of this Citadel Security Services, that would mean you are approximately equivalent to an exarch then. Interesting. How many follow the path of C-Sec?"

Pallin's emotions indicated pure disbelief that someone speaking fluent turian hadn't known the language two hours earlier, but didn't show any signs of it other than a tightening of the muscles that controlled his mandibles. "A little more than two hundred thousand officers at last count."

That actually got a smile from Arlas. It was a small shrine then, or a major shrine on one of the smallest craftworlds. Even the smallest warrior path on his craftworld, with a 'mere' fifty million eldar, the Fire Dragons, still had a one hundred and fifty thousand active followers. And with eleven active paths, twelve if the path of the outcasts counted, they could put a war host of nearly four million on the ground to deter hostilities immediately, and another eight if given time to respond. They used to have one more shrine, and could have had another, but the shining spear path never really caught on, and the entire path of the Shadow Spectres had left with the Lost Host. "A respectable path, then. Though that results, technically, in my rank being equivalent yours."

Amongst the eldar, it was poor form to point out that the path of the outcast had their own exarchs, and a pathfinder, or outcast exarch, pointing it out usually got a very brief, instructive, and painful lesson in humility. Mostly due to the outcasts being among the least trained in close combat, while all the other paths at least got some sort of training in it. Though the outcasts were also the only exarchs that weren't consumed by their paths. Or at least, not all of them were. He wasn't, or at least he kept telling himself that. *Next decade, he would return to the Craftworld and try another path, next decade.*

He was probably stuck in it, but it was a nice delusion, pretending he wasn't addicted to the thrill of exploration. Pallin, however, wasn't as amused at the remark as Arlas was, and simply made a noise. He had no idea what it meant, but he suspected the executor was surprised. Before they could resume the conversation, however, the doors opened, indicating they had arrived. "This way, sir."

The turian was being a bit more deliberate now, though why Arlas wasn't sure. They didn't travel far, only past a couple doors before the executor opened one for him. "This is your entrance, the Council will be meeting you in a moment."

Arlas was tempted to ask how long that was, but Pallin stepped away, letting the door shut before he could ask. He shrugged, and looked around, not concerned about being in a relatively small and enclosed space like most outcasts would. Being a sniper for any length of time tended to make one edgy in small spaces. A fair sized table was set in the center of the room, a handful of chairs around one side of it. One wall was different from the others, noticeably so, while another, directly opposite that one, was only slightly different, and barely noticeable at that. Remembering the displays that had been nearly everywhere on the station, he smirked, and moved one of the chairs to put it on the side that let him sit facing the door.

Done with getting comfortable, he pulled his flamer pistol off his hip, and carefully started cleaning the outside of the weapon, though he wouldn't take it apart to finish the cleaning until back on his Raider.

On the other side of the tower, watching through the various cameras and sensors set in the room, the three Councilors observed the supposed member of a new alien race. They were not the only ones, as at least two rooms full of salarian STG, one room of turian Blackwatch, and a room of asari commandos also watched the video and sensor feeds, and those were just the teams the councilors officially acknowledged. All the groups also had various security footage of the alien as they moved through the Citadel, and of the unknown's rampage through Chora's Den, which was being reviewed quite intensely at the same time.

So far, the Councilor's reactions to the newcomer were… mixed.

Sparatus was the first to voice his opinion, and it didn't surprise Tevos in the least. Completely uninterested in diplomacy, the turian was the blunt instrument of the Council, and didn't even try to hide it. "Are we even sure it is a new species? For all I have seen, it could just be an unusually tall human actor with gene mods in a fake suit of armor."

Valern, the salarian Councilor, was far more cautious in his tone, but she could detect his interest in just how hard he was watching the feeds, and how his own dual omnitools were replaying the fight in Chora's Den for the tenth time since they had arrived. He was the scalpel of the Council, and a former STG scientist. "Tall for human, but too light for size if male. Wait, assuming mammal base, might not be, hmm, need more data. Either way, armor and weapons do not match any known configurations of known human weapons, or any species for that matter. Also, despite several cameras, including two hidden C-Sec ones, inside Chora's Den, still didn't actually capture on video what he used to kill guards with. No signs of mass accelerator slugs, no explosive residue, and yet bodies still erupted in fountain of gore. Suspect the large weapon on back is laser based."

That got Sparatus' attention faster than almost any other comment would have. A weapon system able to completely ignore the standard defenses his people relied on, fast as light, single person portable, and not in his people's hands? Tevos smothered the thought before it got any further, but weapon research and development were still very much a dead end when it came to actual laser weapons. "An actual, functioning laser weapon? Well, nevermind, I suggest-"

Tevos cut that comment off with as much decorum as she could. She was the face, wisdom and elegance of the Council, and wasn't going to stand for his normal blundering today. "Sparatus, if the next phrase out of your mouth is a suggestion to confiscate her weapon, desist immediately. We are not going to start a war with a species we know nothing about."

Sparatus paused, and then opened his mouth again, though she cut him off with a glare, letting her decorum slip slightly to show she was deadly serious. "If that is a suggestion to 'accidentally' kill her and then claim she never arrived when her people arrive, I will bar you from talking to her at all."

Valern saved Sparatus from digging his sinkhole any deeper. "According to report from humans, subject is male, rank pathfinder, and not ambassador, but forward scout. Executor Pallin reported that subject claimed to have rank roughly similar to his own. And the humans also shared video that showed him having blasted a hole through a spaceport retaining wall, with the weapon on his back. Judging from video, that weapon is plasma based. Fighting such an individual, on the Citadel, in the Presidium Tower, would be… catastrophic. Also capable of teleporting, as shown several times by our own security cameras."

That speech made Sparatus snort, his bravado quickly returning. "Please, our techs can't detect any element zero on him or his tech, and the humans reported the same. And if we can't do any of that, I doubt a primitive without eezo could have figured it. It is just the humans trying to improve the situation further."

Tevos sighed, and gave the turian a disapproving look, which he ignored as he usually did. "We don't know enough to pass any sort of judgement. Or at least, not one based on facts instead of ego. And until we actually meet with him, it will remain that way."

Sparatus gave that shrug and clicking noise that she had come to detest in her decade of working with him, which meant he had heard her, but was not going to follow her lead. She understood why he thought the way he did, even if she thought it was, at best, a mistake, especially in situations like this one, where caution and delicate diplomacy would easily win, not charging in like a bull to stand above this eldar with a gun to his head. She had seen what he had done to one of their guards in the Tower, and the video from Eden Prime painted a similar picture. This person was clearly one of their better operatives, likely doing exactly what he claimed, looking around to see what was out in the galaxy before reporting back to his people.

What she did not believe was that he was alone. No one was that good, operating alone and significant sections of the galaxy away from assistance with the 'hope' of finding something friendly. Still, they had to talk to find out if any of their suspicions were correct. Though beyond finding out everything, she had no idea what Valern was plotting. So instead, she took her seat, center in the large, open, minimally but stylishly furnished room, with the sensor screens and aides that would be monitoring them and assisting off to one side, where the cameras wouldn't see them.

The eldar was sitting to one side, so they got a view of his cloak covered side, and the armor that covered his head. Smooth, with three glowing red optics, one larger and set to one side of the helm, and the darker colors used made him seem very imposing. In a flash of insight, she realized the armor was as much for defense as it was a weapon against the mind. However, she was the among the most skilled and was definitely the most powerful diplomat in the galaxy, and took a second to remind herself, before smiling at the cameras. "Greetings, Pathfinder Arlas. I thank you for agreeing to meet with us, despite your protests of not being a diplomat. I am Councilor Tevos, and to my left is Councilor Valern, and my right is Councilor Sparatus. We wish to officially welcome you and your people to the greater galactic community, and hope to have many years of peaceful and productive exchanges."

Arlas simply looked at the camera, his helmet preventing her from seeing his expression, but after a moment he glanced at Valern and then Sparatus, before looking at the wall behind him, to his right, before turning back to the camera. "You already have my identity, as well as my purpose for wandering through your civilization, such as it is. Why am I present here, at this meeting?"

Tevos blinked at this outsider, privately incensed at his insult, 'such as it was' indeed. His monotone did nothing to reduce the insult he had just delivered, and she found herself agreeing with Sparatus for a change. "We were hoping to learn about your people, your culture, your civilization. Such as it is, to use your turn of phrase. After all, if we are to open diplomatic talks with actual diplomats,we should know enough to avoid giving offenses or going to war."

The eldar didn't move, simply staring at her on the screen. "That will be for the Farseers to decide. My purpose out here, among you, is to observe the status of the local situation, and report back to the Farseer Council. If I survive. That is all I am here to do, and exceeding my orders was strongly discouraged."

Tevos heard Sparatus softly growling under his breath, and quickly realized that the meeting was likely to get unpleasant, especially if the 'guest' didn't wish to share. Sparatus was trying to learn what he could of the newcomers so they could be properly dealt with should they try anything. And after nearly a decade on the Council, he had become used to, and even expected, to be obeyed.

Yes, this meeting was likely to get very unpleasant before it ended.

Arlas stepped out of the C-Sec elevator, and glared at the six guards and the human waiting for him. The talks with the council had been dragging on, all three blatantly transparent in their attempts to pry information to use against his people out of him. So he had gotten bored and simply left, ignoring the blustering threats of the turian. When the guards had tried to stop him, he had simply used his jump generator to warp jump out of the tower and then freely fall, or float depending on one's perspective, out of the tower, jumping to correct his fall so he didn't miss the slowly rotating station.

He stepped off the elevator, and looked over the guards. Two of each of the races he had met in the tower, though the human was projecting enough arrogance to match the station in size if it was a physical thing. Arlas paused, and examined the human, wondering where he had seen him before. White and pale brown robes, black hair in a stupid style, and a permanent sneer on his cragged face, Arlas suddenly remembered him, the human at the hearing, ambassador… someone or other. After a second of consideration, he simply jumped past the arrogant sycophant, landing in the passage behind the pilot. Ignoring the cries of shock from the mon-keigh, he stalked down the passage, heading for the stairs that would lead to the elevator. He wanted to rest in his vessel for a bit, the mon-keighs' thoughts were loud, and he was exhausted from dealing with the juveniles that pretended to be their leaders. He refused to think they were the actual leaders, their machinations were too transparent for them to be truly in charge.

Sadly for him, he only made it down the stairs before literally running into the Shepard twins. He mentally cursed himself for not paying attention, and took a half step back, opening up distance. He didn't speak; they had been looking for him, so they could start the conversation.

They stared at him for a few seconds, before the second, slimmer, smaller one spoke. Jaclyn by her emotions, that one's emotions seemed to roil more than the others. "You are the last one. Took you long enough."

The other Shepard rolled her eyes, before taking over. "We are guessing that, since you are here, you have finished with the Council, and will stand by your statement that you wish to stay aboard?"

The eldar simply nodded, wondering what they were playing at, before expanding his mind a bit. He could feel several crew nearby, but there were two in the room he didn't recognize, both rigid and highly structured. Turians if he had to guess, but one was lightning fast and flexible despite their rigidity, while the other was slow and cautious, but capable of sudden, startling leaps. He paused, considering his thoughts, and realized that translating mental tastes to actual words didn't really work well.

He gave himself a mental shake, as he realized his thoughts were wandering, and decided to get some actual sleep instead of just meditating. "Correct. The sooner we leave, the better. There was someone waiting for myself when I was returning to the vessel, all ego and arrogance. Human male, wearing brown and white. Same one from the proceedings chamber. I decided resting was more important, and went around."

That got a burst of amusement from the second Shepard, before Joannis nodded. "Alright. You said you were tired, are you up to putting it off for a half hour or so? The specialists we recruited are meeting each other in the communication room."

Arlas allowed himself an audible sigh, before speaking. "I will be there. I assume you would prefer if I did not attend in full battle armor if possible?"

He smirked as the simple question made both women start and turn, clearly not expecting it. He continued. "After all, if the others are to rely upon myself in battle, being familiar with the person under the armor will facilitate the trust required."

The twins quickly got over their shock, and Joannis nodded. "Yes please. Though also please wear something over your body suit. Apparently you were quite distracting the last time you paraded through the ship."

A/N - the usual author requests go here. Read, review, favorite, follow, poll on profile, enjoy, and stuff.