Ellen stretched, her back curving and toes curling as she let out a low thrum of sleepy contentment. She hadn't slept so well in a LONG time. She felt warm and comfortable, with-
-an arm around her waist. She blinked, eyes flying open. A low rumble vibrated through her back, the source of warmth behind her shifting slightly. She turned bright red as she took assessment of her situation.
She and Nihlus were both on their sides, his arm draped over her waist as he spooned her, one leg between hers. His face was pressed into her hair, his breath warm-almost hot- on her skin. He was rumbling in his sleep, his mandibles quivering and tickling the nape of her neck. His hand was splayed over her belly, claws resting gently against the skin bared by her tank top riding up in her sleep.
Ellen soaked in his warmth- were all Turians this warm?- and nestled closer, her back pressing against his chest, his belly incredibly hot against her hips. She closed her eyes again, risking waking him up by sliding a hand over the one resting on her belly. He stirred slightly, the rumble in his chest increasing in volume, but didn't wake. He pressed closer, his keel plate pushing between her shoulder blades, but not painfully.
It wasn't until his hand moved and his leg pressed harder against her did things start to get dangerous.
His hand- searching for warmth, maybe?- slid up her stomach and under her shirt, the long warm fingers resting on her rib cage. At the same time, his thigh pressed closer, pressing against her groin and rump. Her eyes opened again, going wide as the heat of his leg radiated against her. She squirmed a bit- turians had long, lean legs and Nihlus was a very lean and athletic specimen of Turian. The feel of his leg tightly pressed between her thighs was making her heart slowly accelerate its pace.
You can ignore this, Ellen. Just snuggle back on him and go back to sleep. It's just his leg, she thought. A few repetitions of this calmed her down enough to snuggle on him some more. She wanted to enjoy his closeness while he was sleeping- there was no doubt in her mind she liked him. She was becoming infatuated with him. However, the thought of sex scared her- but thrilled her at the same time if she thought about it with Nihlus.
She'd never been with a man. She'd been assaulted as a younger teenager- one of the older boys in the Reds tried cornering her. She'd responded with a biotically charged fist to his face. The broken nose had killed him due to lack of medical care. A few years later, while walking with a younger girl she'd been teaching the Reds' territory boundaries to, an older man propositioned them both from a passing by car. Even in boot camp, she'd had men leer at her, or make gestures. She'd never been curvy, not with her A cup breasts, but she had naturally wide hip bones, and had what she'd overheard as "a helluva curve" in her back and a neck that "You just wanna leave bruises on."
With the exposure she'd had to males of her own species, she naturally shied away from them. Even Anderson, a father figure to her, had to earn her trust over a period of nearly five years. She never really felt comfortable around human men. Saren she was uncomfortable around because well, he was Saren. Nihlus, however, she trusted. She liked him. She was even feeling a painful tightness in her chest, accompanied by a lightheaded giddiness whenever he was around. She wanted to stay close to him. She just had no idea how to deal with the other sensation of tightness she was feeling- the tight coil of fire in her loins as he pressed his firm thigh between hers.
This is crazy. Can Turians and humans even have sex with each other? Oh fuck. No. Ellen, don't have this train of thought when you have a Turian's thigh between your legs...a firm, lean, long thigh...oh fuck.
Her heart was racing, and she silently willed it to slow down, lest she woke Nihlus up. She pressed against him again, trying to calm herself when she felt his plates shift against her hips, and something prodded her tailbone. She froze and her heart stopped before resuming its pace in triple time. Is that- I can't believe this. Is that...Turians get morning wood, too? A bark of laughter- nervous panicked laughter- escaped her throat. Nihlus mumbled, stirring- definitely waking up. Ellen wasn't going to embarrass the both of them. As soon as his claws drew back over her side, she bolted from the couch. The air outside the blankets and away from Nihlus' warm body was cold in comparison, and she let out a small shriek as her feet hit the frigid floor, fleeing the room.
Nihlus sat up, blinking, mandibles flared crookedly in his sleep clouded haze. It wasn't until he looked down and saw that his shaft was partially exposed, protruding from between the plates of his groin and tenting his pants, did he realize why Ellen had fled. He sighed as he wrapped the blanket around his waist and headed for his bathroom for a shower.
Well. Guess now I know she's not interested in me that way, he groused to himself as he started his shower, shedding his clothes and stepping into the hot water.
He should have been relieved, as getting involved with his prot g would have caused problems, but his mind kept drifting back to the thought of her rump pressed against his belly, the warmth of her groin on his thigh, the softness of her hair against his face, the supple skin of her side under his hand. A low groan escaped his throat and his cock slid out further. No help for it now. He grasped his ridged shaft in his hand and began working it with desperate strokes, pressing his forehead against the wall of the shower, hot water pouring over his body.
Nihlus wasn't a heartbreaker, he didn't like to think, but he enjoyed the company of females. He'd had his flings- mostly turian and Asari, but they were nothing more than that. Flings. Only a handful had led to more- and that something more was friendships and colleagues he trusted. The women he slept with knew he was a Spectre and that if they wanted his commitment, they'd be waiting for him in a lonely bed for very long periods of time. Most of them were happy with a fling with the decorated Spectre, but a few had tried clinging. They gave up after a time, accepting that he spent too much time on classified missions for him to see them as much as they wanted.
Nihlus avoided sleeping with Matrons for this very reason- they lived a lot longer than he did, and some would be willing to wait.
Still- he and Ellen had been training together for six months now. Long enough to where his own libido had been ignored far longer than he was used to, and Ellen was far too tempting to keep his sex drive at bay. He felt dirty, but as he wrapped his fingers around the swelling knot at the base of his shaft, he was imagining he was pounding into her, her soft legs wrapped around his waist, her voice crying out his name, her hands with their odd number of digits clinging to his cowl, her soft neck just within nibbling reach, or a good long stroke with his tongue, her tight warm body wrapped around him...
"Spirits!" He hissed as his belly tightened, and he came violently against the shower stall wall. He let go of his throbbing shaft, resting his hands against the wall, leaning forward as he tried to catch his breath.
Nihlus was never ashamed to admit he masturbated in the morning- sometimes he woke up alone and it was all he had- it was better than keeping it pent up and distracting himself during a mission. He normally felt better afterward, though. This didn't make him feel better. His libido was appeased, calmed, but not sated. This felt empty and unsatisfying. A woman that he respected and wanted was a few corridors down. Possibly taking a shower of her own...
His thoughts drifted, thinking of her soft alien body soaked in hot water and lathered in soap. His belly tightened again slightly, but with a small twinge of protest from his sensitive cock that was slowly retracting into his body. He shook his head and started washing up.
I need to stop thinking about her like that. Once she's a Spectre I won't even see her again save for the occasional meeting on the Citadel, like I do now with Saren. ...she probably is just like most humans in that even though she can snuggle with me, the thought of being involved with a Turian sickens her.
He paused, water dripping from his mandibles.
Spirits, I hope not. I like her too much. I hope she's not still holding a grudge against my race for a war she didn't even fight in. Even if she doesn't find me attractive, I still like her a great deal as a friend. ...I don't want to lose that, especially not with Saren being as distant as he has been lately.
He exited the shower and got dressed silently, hoping his feelings hadn't ruined a good thing.
Ellen bit her lip, teeth cutting into the soft flesh so roughly that she drew blood. She tilted her head back against the wall of the shower, sprawled on the floor as her fingers worked furiously over her clit, a low moan rising in her throat. Her legs shook, her belly tightening as her climax drew closer.
Fuck, Nihlus. I never have any feelings for a male of my own species that have always shown interest in some form or another, but you come around and all you do is be nice to me and hug me, and I want nothing more than to have you mount me like a damned animal.
She hated herself right then as she bit her lip harder, sanguine fluid running down her chin from her biting back her sounds of pleasure. Her fingers flicked over her clit, her other hand cupping her modest breast as she rolled the pad of her thumb over her nipple. She was imagining him pounding into her, her imagination going wild on what a turian cock might look like. What was pushing her towards climax the most, however, was the thought of his teeth in her neck and his claws in her back, the thought of him growling her name as he bent her over the edge of a bed, a counter- anything- and claimed his dominance over her.
"N-Nihlus..." she groaned. "Fuck!"
Her back arched, toes curling as she moved her hand from her slit, cramming her fingers into her mouth to bite back her cries as she came, teeth clamping down on her knuckles. The soft earthy tang of her fluids flooded her mouth, mixing with the coppery salt sweet of her blood. As her orgasm slowed and faded, she licked her fingers clean in a haze.
"I can't keep doing this," she murmured, tongue flicking out and cleaning the red off her lips.
Not even bothering to get up from the floor of the shower, she reached over and grabbed her soap, hoping the fragrance would cover the scent of her lust.
Nihlus stared at the missive Sparatus had forwarded him, mandibles twitching. Sparatus observed him quietly, green eyes flicking over the Spectre, waiting for a reaction.
"A test of loyalty," Nihlus finally murmured.
Their mission had been reassigned to another Spectre. The missive stated their new objective, and the threats involved. Escorting the daughter of the Turian Primarch back to Palaven. Easy enough- withholding the fact that Fedorian's daughter was a spoiled young woman that didn't like humans or other females- but the other information made things tricky.
"Tenth Street Reds?" Nihlus asked, looking up, mandibles twitching. Sparatus narrowed his eyes.
"The gang that Shepard was a member of for a decade," he disclosed. "They're targeting Narisia. Your job is to make sure she's unharmed."
His green eyes, so similar to Nihlus', scrutinized the Spectre as he met his gaze.
"A simple enough task-" He paused. "If you went straight to Palaven."
Nihlus flared his mandibles.
"What are you saying, Councilor?"
"What he means, is that you'll be taking a pit stop. And a decoy."
Both turians turned to see Saren striding up to them, a female turian flanking his heels. Nihlus eyed the female, who met his gaze with calm, collected puce green eyes. Periwinkle markings, touched with a pastel blue, graced her dark grey, almost black plating. Nihlus looked at Saren curiously.
"Who is this?"
"I am Akilina Svecova," the female replied coolly, her mandibles flaring in the smallest of irritated snarls at being talked over as though she weren't there. "Spectre."
Nihlus studied her carefully.
"I've never met you, Akilina," he countered, receiving a smooth smile from her.
"Was only made a Spectre last year, Kryik," she replied calmly. "I've been in the Terminus Systems, handling Red Sand dealers trying to smuggle their goods into Council Space. That would be why."
"She will be your decoy," Saren continued, as though he hadn't been interrupted. "The Reds have a hit out on the Primarch's daughter. Akilina will be posing as Narisia to lure them out."
Nihlus gave Akilina another cursory once over- something the female noticed, but tolerated. She was the same height as Narisia, but her plates and skin were almost two shades darker than that of the Primarch's daughter. Not to mention-
"Her markings are not of the Primarch's clan," Nihlus protested, frowning. "The humans may not be able to tell the difference between two similarly colored Turian females, but they will notice her markings are not the same white ones."
"The Reds are actually covering this as expertly as a human terrorist group can," Saren sneered. "We let it slip which ship Narisia is leaving on- yours. Narisia will be wearing a hooded garment- enough for them to see the white on her mandibles and chin."
"Which I will paint on mine," Akilina finished. "Temporarily, of course, and I will accompany you on the pit stop, wearing the same garments."
Nihlus glanced at Saren, who stared back at him placidly. Only his cold blue eyes said anything, and it was nothing but amused contempt. Nihlus looked back at the datapad and pointed at a name.
"Who is this?"
Sparatus flicked a mandible.
"That's the name of the gang member assigned to take out Narisia," he retorted calmly, but his gaze was almost coy, teasing, mocking. "Your prot g knows him. Personally."
Nihlus flattened his mandibles, aware of the other three Turians gauging his reactions. When he looked back up, his expression was neutral.
"So you're wanting to know if she'll put aside her past for her job. Stand up for an alien and prove she can be unbiased," he stated.
"If she hesitates, we know where her loyalty lies," Saren hissed. "This isn't some random acquaintance of hers- that target is Eric Rogers, the brother of a woman known as Jesse Rogers. The woman who essentially raised Shepard during her time on Earth."
"A test of loyalty," Nihlus repeated with a sigh. Saren nodded, and Sparatus cleared his throat.
"This is why we are having Spectre Svecova going with you. If Shepard hesitates, Akilina can go into cover in an instant and finish the job for her."
Akilina practically preened under the Councilor's words, and Nihlus glanced at her.
"What combat role do you usually take?" He questioned.
"Infiltration," came her lilting reply. "I prefer subtlety and shots to the kidneys or headshots from a sniper rifle. Aside from my stunning good looks that I can dull down enough to look like Narisia, I'm best suited combat abilities-wise for this job."
Nihlus wasn't sure how to respond to that- Saren snorted softly, but his face showed little contempt for Akilina's vanity. If anything, he seemed amused by it. Nihlus simply nodded, going back over the datapad, trying not to smirk as he saw Saren flick his eyes in Akilina's direction- something the female noticed, but didn't react negatively to- in fact, much to Nihlus' surprise, she twitched a mandible in an unmistakable gesture of flirtation. Familiar flirtation.
Ah, Nihlus thought to himself. So the female he mentioned a while back exists. Good. Maybe if he gets a good lay before we leave, he'll be in a better mood. Old man probably hasn't had a good fuck in a while Would explain his pissy mood.
"If that's all, Councilor?" He inquired. Sparatus nodded.
"Narisia will be ready for departure tomorrow morning, and you will be making your pit stop on Illium."
"Thank you, Councilor."
With that, Nihlus turned on his toes and left the office, feeling Sparatus' eyes on his back. As he turned to shut the door behind him, Saren tore his eyes from Akilina long enough to look at him.
Later, his eyes seemed to say, even as Akilina trailed claws down his forearm in a very blatant invitation that had Saren's left mandible twitching in suppressed eagerness. Nihlus sighed and shot him a look back to say Sure, before heading back to the commons. He'd asked Ellen to meet him there for lunch. He still wanted to talk to her, to make sure things were okay between them. He hoped she wasn't upset with him for this morning.
Spirits, I hope she isn't, he thought as he encrypted the information regarding Shepard's former comrade, leaving only the information about Narisia viewable by anyone who looked at it. He felt a twinge of guilt hiding this from her, but he couldn't be biased or show favor towards her. Not yet. She wasn't a Spectre.
Yet, he thought as he stepped out of the elevator and headed for the "outdoor" tables. She's doing great so far, and I believe in her. She'll do fine.
He saw her sitting at the tables- impossible to miss that bright red hair shining in the simulated sunlight. He smiled and quickened his pace.
"Shepard!" He called.
Ellen turned her head, sun glinting on her fiery tresses, and her eyes lit up as she smiled at him, lifting a five fingered hand and waving at him. He trotted over to the table and sat in the chair closest to her instead of sitting across from her. To his relief, she didn't scoot her chair away from his closeness. He pulled the datapad out of his pocket and held it up.
"Got our new mission," he said, setting it on the table.
Ellen leaned close, not picking the datapad up, electing to simply run a finger over it, opening the missive. Nihlus bit back a small rumble as her arm pressed against his, his mandibles flaring as he caught her scent- warm musk, with a hint of a delicate floral, but edged with the ozone-rich scent of her biotics, and spiced with what he could only place as clove, a spice from Earth that he liked the smell of. Ellen didn't notice his eyes glazing over as he took in her fragrance, her sharp eyes reading over the mission. Her eyes narrowed, and Nihlus shook his head, coming alert again.
"Seems too simple," she said, glancing up at him, a frown knitting on her eyebrows. Nihlus swallowed. He knew she'd smell something off. She was raised on suspicion and learned from a young age to smell trouble from a mile away.
"That's because it isn't," churred a now familiar voice, Akilina approaching their table.
Nihlus would have complained, or hissed that he wanted time alone with his prot g , but Akilina was alone. Saren wasn't with her to agitate him or Ellen. He flattened his mandibles, protest dying in his throat.
"Ellen, this is Akilina Svecova."
Ellen lifted a brow, then held out her hand. Akilina didn't hesitate, taking the human's hand and shaking it warmly. She gestured to an empty chair.
"Might I sit?" She inquired.
Ellen shrugged- a gesture that Nihlus had known as confusion, but with humans- Ellen especially- he had learned that the shrug of her left shoulder was a gesture of apathy. Akilina looked at Nihlus, who motioned for her to sit. Ellen held up her hands.
"Sorry, used to Nihlus getting my body language. I meant I didn't care," she explained. Akilina churred again and sat down.
"I see," she replied. "I am still unused to human body language, but I am always glad to learn more cues. Better understanding helps with diplomacy."
Ellen lifted a crimson brow at her, looking her over. She'd never seen a female turian before, and Akilina was, to put it simply, beautiful. She was leaner, much more lithe than Nihlus, but of the same height. Her skin was a dark charcoal grey, and her plates were a few shades short of black. Her hooded eyes were a bright puce green, and her face was adorned with periwinkle markings that had touches of pastel blue. The tip of each prong of her graceful fringe was banded in the two colors, and her graceful, sweeping mandibles were adorned with the same. She wore a black outfit similar to the black suit she'd seen Saren wear, but with no patterns or adornments, save for the Spectre badge pinned to her cloak like a brooch. The female Spectre drummed her claws idly, and Ellen couldn't help but notice her ungloved claws glittered with a razor sharp edge, and that they were much longer than Nihlus'- they were almost as long as Saren's, and he had terrifyingly long talons.
"Akilina is going to be going with us," Nihlus muttered, avoiding being overheard by a passing waiter. "She's going to be a decoy for Narisia."
Ellen felt her heart drop in her chest, and she looked back at the missive, trying to look absorbed by it. Surely Nihlus would be far more interested in spending his time with a female of his own race, especially as rare as they were- Ellen had never seen one til now, and Chellick had made many comments about how he wished there were more single females on the Citadel. She kept her face deadpan and looked at Nihlus.
"So we're purposely stopping somewhere to provoke an attack and see how I can handle it?" She asked, her eyebrow still lifted, but it was lifted more in a mix of exasperation and curiosity now.
"More or less," Nihlus agreed. Ellen suddenly had another panicked thought.
"...Saren's not coming, is he?"
Akilina laughed, a pleasant throaty sound.
"No. He's actually not allowed. He has little patience for uppity young females, and Narisia is a picture perfect example of an uppity, privileged young female. The two would be at each other's throats the entire way."
Ellen felt a surge of relief, both at the fact that Saren wasn't coming, and at the fact that Akilina was getting up. She bowed her head at the both of them.
"Just wanted to stop by and get a glance of your cute prot g , Nihlus. I'll board The Serenata shortly. For now I have... something to see to," she rumbled, winking at Ellen and striding off. Ellen blinked, suddenly confused.
"Wait. Is she...?"
Nihlus laughed.
"Akilina prefers turian men, but she has a taste for non-turian females. Asari, especially, but she's never tried a human. So I guess it's safe to say she's heterosexual with her own race, but homosexual when it comes to her tastes in aliens," he chuckled.
"So you've known her a while, I take it?" Ellen asked, pushing the datapad back at him. Nihlus shook his head.
"She's ah... well. I never knew her name, but... Saren mentioned her before. He mentioned an on-again off-again lover of his that liked indulging in xenophiliac trysts with females. She and Saren exchanged a look, and I thought that she might be the same person, but her scent was a dead give-away. She reeks of the old man. He most likely jumped her today at one point. It's undoubtedly where she's going now."
Ellen turned red, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away.
"Ah," she finally managed. Nihlus chuckled.
"So. Lunch?"
Ellen smiled, looking relieved at the change of subject.
"Yes. Please," she replied. Nihlus smiled at her, and decided things were okay for now- he'd talk to her later this evening.
"So. Want to watch another vid tonight? Might be the last chance we get before the brat comes on board," he quipped, mandibles flaring as he handed his order to the waiter. Ellen smiled at him again.
"That sounds good. Can I pick this time?"
"What'd you have in mind?" Nihlus asked, taking a sip of his water. Ellen grinned.
"Really old vid. Really cheesy, but a classic. Back from 1979," she answered. "Really kick ass protagonist."
"1979? Really? That's old!" Nihlus exclaimed. "What vid is this?"
"Alien," Ellen chuckled. "Mankind's thoughts on what might be out there. Thankfully, we were very wrong."
"Who's the protagonist?" Nihlus inquired, leaning back so the waiter could set their plates down.
As the waiter left, he picked up a strip of meat off his plate and put it in his mouth, barely chewing before tilting his had back and letting it slide down his throat. Ellen made no comment on how he ate, digging into her own lunch- a BLT. She was used to seeing him eat, and knew that his gizzard would do most of the work for him. Ellen wiped her mouth and set her sandwich down. Nihlus eyed it. Despite being levo, and having the possibility of making him very sick, it looked very good, and smelled even better. One thing he hated about being dextro-based was the fact that bacon was one thing he could never try, and it was the best smelling thing humans ate.
"Ellen Ripley," came the reply, green eyes glittering at him in mirth. He laughed, then picked up another strip of meat and swallowing it.
"Sounds good. I'll watch it with you, sure."
Ellen made a happy sound and began devouring her lunch. Nihlus eyed her sandwich enviously again, and the two of them ate their lunch in companionable silence. Once they were done, Nihlus paid the bill and got up.
"I have to see Saren, but take the rest of the day off," he offered. "Go take care of anything you need, see friends, whatever, and I'll see you back on the ship."
Ellen nodded, then after giving his shoulder a playful smack, she made her way to the wards. Nihlus watched her go fondly, then sighed and headed for the Presidium apartments to see Saren.
-
Nihlus paused outside Saren's apartment. He was unsure if Akilina was in there with him or not- the last thing he wanted was to interrupt one last tryst before Akilina went out of reach. He didn't hear anything outside. It didn't necessarily mean that nothing was going on- he'd walked in on Saren before. Saren was not a vocal lover.
A sudden screech made Nihlus draw back from the door. Apparently, Akilina was the vocal lover of the two. He paced a bit, then sent a message to Saren's omnitool.
'Whenever you're done, I'm in the hallway.'
It didn't take long. Another keen sounded and five minutes later, Saren came to the door, wearing only a pair of pants, fresh scratches welling with blue blood on his chest, shoulders and neck. Nihlus made no comment on Saren's state of undress or the new wounds. He was surprised Saren had allowed Akilina to bite and claw at him, though- Saren wasn't usually the type to allow himself to be marked, especially on his neck. Nihlus raised a brow plate, but he knew better than to comment on his friend and mentor's love life.
"You wanted to see me?" He asked, saying nothing as Akilina trailed across the hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom, winking at him before disappearing from view. She was much worse for wear than Saren, with scars on her sides that were undoubtedly from previous trysts- good infiltrators never got scars like that in combat. Saren didn't so much as flick a mandible as he watched Nihlus take in the scene before finally moving from the door, inviting him in.
"I had a concern, Nihlus," he finally confided to the younger turian as he led the way to the living room and lounging on the couch. Nihlus politely sat down on the far end, giving Saren his space, despite wanting nothing more than to keep standing.
"What is it?" Nihlus asked, trying not to look at the bite marks on Saren's neck.
Saren leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he tilted his head slightly, his eyes locking with Nihlus'. Nihlus was silent, letting Saren come out with it on his own- Saren Arterius was not a turian to be rushed when he was calculating his words. As Saren weighed his options, mulled over his possible replies, Nihlus subtly studied the older male's face. He wasn't sure what Saren was up to lately, but his appearance lately was... disconcerting. Bits of metal were affixed to his mandibles, and the left of which was attached by metal tubing- and lacked the mobility of the right. Nihlus wasn't sure what to make of it. Had it been torn off in an accident, or combat, and was reattached? Not a question to ask- Saren was vain, like most turians, but exceedingly so. Asking about his mandible would undoubtedly earn a rage fueled smack to the face.
Saren finally made a soft sound.
"You. Reek," he stated simply. Nihlus blinked.
"I had a shower this morning. I don't know what you're on about," he retorted. Saren snorted, folding his hands under his chin, his long claws glinting cruelly.
"You reek because you smell of that human. Shepard," he sneered. "Are you getting close, Nihlus? I know you like Asari- is the human a new exotic treat in your varied sexual diet?"
Nihlus said nothing, refusing to rise to Saren's bait, because it wasn't true. He and Ellen were close, but her reaction that morning had put a stop to any ideas of getting closer. Saren's eyes glittered coldly, studying his face closely.
"You know getting involved voids your professional relationship and disqualifies you as a fitting mentor to evaluate her skills," he admonished. "You know if that happens, she falls to me."
Nihlus growled, despite the attempt to stop it.
"You'd get her killed or make sure she failed- even get her in trouble by pinning something you'd do on her," he snapped, getting to his feet as his anger rose in his chest. Saren didn't get up, smug triumph practically radiating from him as Nihlus rose to his goading.
"Awfully defensive, Nihlus," he hissed softly, tapping a claw on the back of the opposite hand under his chin before leaning back, still affixing him with a scrutinizing stare.
"She's competent, experienced. She may not always think in a level headed manner, but she gets the job done, and cares about her objectives, regardless of race. She stayed up all night with an Asari ambassador's daughter, making sure she didn't have nightmares. She thinks on her feet and is good with a weapon and in melee. She's resilient and knows when to back down, or make a final push," Nihlus ranted, making fists at his sides in an attempt to keep from snarling at Saren.
"You don't like humans. That's fine. But I believe she can do this. I won't let your false accusations put doubts in my mind, Saren."
Saren chuckled, a low, dark sound in his chest.
"Such frustration. Perhaps you aren't involved after all. If you've gone that long without, Nihlus, I wouldn't mind if you had a go at Akilina," he snickered. "I can be generous."
Nihlus hissed.
"I'm leaving. I don't need your charity, and I won't treat a female like property," he growled. Saren got up, narrowing his eyes.
"Fine. Go back to your ship, but I'm warning you, Nihlus. If you get involved, you will regret it. Now get out."
Nihlus didn't need to be asked twice, already turning and leaving before the last three words left Saren's augmented mouth.
