Ilos
For several minutes, neither April nor Liara could say anything. All they could do was clasped each other tightly, glad the other was safe. Reaction began to set in as adrenaline drained away. Tried as she might, Liara control not her trembling. The sudden attack and what could have happened was so shocking that she kept playing it over and over in her mind. That moment when time was suspended as she hung in the air after the biotic push and the sickening plummet before her hands reached out to grab the railing. April's plunge to grab her before she fell. Death was a fingertip away. For her and the unborn child.
April was shaking as badly. She grasped Liara tightly to reassure both herself and her bondmate. Module ran a quick scan on them for injuries but found nothing. It turned away to where Kedar bent over an unconscious Peliar.
"TI, unlikely," the Salarian muttered, his omni-tool flashing over Peliar's head. "Physical functions, neural pathways, normal." He looked up when the Geth Prime stood beside him. "Reaction, fast."
Module scrutinised Peliar. "Her behaviour is curious."
"Unexpected, her response," Kedar nodded in agreement. "Quiet, conscientious, speak when necessary, discussions, meaningful contribution. Withdrawn. Last several months. Stress likely."
Flexing her left arm and rolling her shoulder to ease the ache, April stepped up to them. "What happened to her?" she asked as she looked down at Peliar. There was little anger in her gaze.
"She was moving when you reached for Dr T'Soni. I had to stun her," said Module.
"But you have no idea what she was going to do," Liara said, finding it interesting that the Geth Prime had chosen to act precipitately. She hesitated a moment before bending down to check Peliar for injuries and found none.
"No but probability of murder is high."
Liara winced at that observation as she stared down at her colleague. She wondered what April was going to do with Peliar. "She will be out for a few hours at least," she said.
You feeling all right?
Yes. It was a terrible shock but I am better now.
Assured, April considered her options. There was no point running all the way back to the base to clap a prisoner into the brig. Not that there was a brig. Peliar would have to be transferred to the Glasgow after they returned.
"We'll continue the discussion with Vigil. Module, if you please?" She waved at Peliar's unconscious body.
The Geth Prime gathered up Peliar easily and followed the rest back to the platform to where Vigil remained online. Time to get things moving, April decided, before Kedar suddenly take it into his head to go wild as well.
"Vigil, how is the scrambler deploy?" she asked.
"It is a device that has to be attached to the indoctrination mechanism." A holographic image sprang up; a component that was shaped vaguely like a teardrop. "The program will automatically weave into the signal once activated. The effect of the change would take place over a number of days or weeks. A more precise duration has not been determined."
A number of days. A week? Two weeks? A month? There were plenty of testing grounds and subjects. The only thing to do was to duplicate the device, decide where and on whom it would be carried out. Would the result be the same for every species? What manner of self-destruction did Vigil mean? Would they all kill themselves? Would they attack one another? Or would they go mad and continue to attack cities in endless wave after wave until they were all dead? Was there no other way besides inciting them to more violence?
Liara frowned as she considered the possibilities. "Is it possible to change the programming?" she asked. When Vigil did not answer, she explained further. "Instead of self-destruction, can it be rewritten to perhaps, induce the subjects to passiveness?"
April followed the train of her bondmate's thoughts easily and nodded approvingly. If there was another way, they should look into it.
"There are possibilities," said Vigil. "The scientists only had time to pursue a single course, eradication."
Kedar found it a fine suggestion. If more application means could be formed with the scrambler, the fewer criticisms would arise from those who did not agree with destroying the TI. If such an approach was favourable, allowing the TI to stay passive or die peacefully, there would be less resistance to using the device. So he said, "Explore possibility, is worthwhile." when Liara looked at him to see if he supported the idea.
"Can you give us the schematics for the scrambler?" April asked, pleased there were other alternatives.
"Data transfer is complete, the datadisc is at the central terminal."
April walked to the terminal to retrieve it, a small stub of a datastick. She handed it to Kedar who tucked it away carefully in his coat pocket, almost shaking in excitement. At long last. A solution to the TI. So many problems it would solve! There would be no more destruction of hatcheries, lost of kin. Sur'Kesh would flourish once more. The galaxy would finally rebuild peacefully.
Knowing he would want to begin work on it, April toyed with the notion of returning to the base first and making another trip back down. She did not relish the idea of running to and fro when there were questions she wanted to ask Vigil. Was the walkway the only access point?
"Vigil, is there a lift to the monorail?" she asked.
"Yes. The lift is at the end of the walkway entrance."
"Request access for present members of the team."
"Access granted."
April turned to check the other end of the walkway and saw an open aperture. She turned to Kedar and Module. "Why don't you and Module return to base and start working on the scrambler? Find out if there's any way to rewrite the original program," she said.
Kedar gaped at her in surprise. He thought they would all be hanging around the platform while the human satisfied herself with more questions.
"Idea excellent," he enthused. It was difficult to restrain himself from demanding that they returned at once to the base to begin work when the datadisc was in his hand. If he could, he would have teleported himself back. "Now, returning!" He trotted away quickly.
"Module, please inform the marines to isolate her. Too-," she added as the Geth Prime turned to go, "Tell them to have all Asari researchers cease their work and confine them to their quarters till I get back."
"Will do, Shepard." Module nodded and lengthened its stride to catch up with Kedar, who was already far down the walkway. With Liara, April followed along to ensure that they ascended safely. Kedar waved to them from the top and disappeared.
April took hold of Liara's hand. "Come on."
Do you know my heart nearly stopped?
I was fortunate. I would have been propelled a further distance were Peliar a fully trained biotic. I am trained but nothing could have prepared me for such a sudden assault.
You could have used your biotic lift, come to think of it.
Yes but I was too panicked to think clearly.
No one could in those circumstances, love. I'm glad you're safe. {relief} Do you mind if I have the first dip?
You are going to ask about the Cypher.{matter-of-factly}
Yeah, time to figure out what's going on in my head! {impatience}
I think we should start at the beginning.
What do you mean? {puzzle}
I have a feeling it would be better to understand what happened to the settlement.
Hey now, trying to jump the queue? {teasing}
Prioritising?
Alright, we'll do it your way. Mind, there's a price to pay.
Oh? {coyly} What do you have in mind?
Ha!
What exactly April meant by that, Liara had no idea. She had no opportunity to find out for her bondmate nudged her in the side and released her hand too quickly for her to get a clearer grasp of her intentions. The nudge was to let her know she should kick-start the questions session, she realised. Before she began, she enabled the recorder on her omni-tool.
"Vigil, can you give us the history of Ilos? We know there were Prothean cities on the surface but something happened to destroy every living thing on the planet."
"Ilos was discovered in the 11th cycle after we began to venture into space to explore the closest systems and find habitable planets. A colony was established. In the course of developing a new city in the southern region, the subterranean research facilities of the Inusannon was discovered."
"Wait-," Liara pointed excitedly to the obelisks behind the columns, "are those obelisks Inusannon archives?"
"Yes. Every effort was made to understand this new race. A research bunker was built to protect the facilities. The first breakthrough was made after decades of research."
"Which breakthrough was that?" asked April.
"The discovery of mass effect fields."
"I have to ask." She rolled her eyes. It was exactly the same initial advancement as everyone else who discovered Prothean archives and beacons. "Continue, please," she said when Vigil remained silent.
"Ships that could harness the new technology were built. The mass relay in this system was found. Scientists were able to make a comprehensive grasp of the mass relay and the first ship was sent through. Communications with homeworld was re-established. More colonies were set up as more of the mass relay network was discovered. The new knowledge was disseminated. Travel, communications and trade became effortless. Contact was established with other races, alliances were formed. The Citadel was found and became the central administrative hub of the galactic community."
"Did you say alliances?" That did not sound right to April. Weren't they an empire? The only empire encompassing the races in that era?
Liara nodded. It made perfect sense to her. "That is most likely the path they took initially," she said, "but something must have happened to change their ethos. Vigil?"
"That is correct. As with the warning we left for the next cycle, the Inusannon did the same. The message was clear and specific. As such, the return of the Reapers was all but inevitable. The decision was made to unite and prepare all sentient races to fight in the coming war. However, there was dissension to the proposal. Several races would not accept or believe there was any need to assemble such a force under one banner."
"Let me guess," April interrupted. "The Protheans decided that since they would not join voluntarily, they would force them to."
"For the survival of organics, it was necessary. Our allies made every effort to build the resistance force to the potential threat. Those who would not join were defeated in battle and their people integrated. Potential species that had yet to attain technological advancement were assessed and guided."
"And the Prothean Empire was born," Liara put in, comprehending fully why every archaeological ruin all pointed to one singular ruling entity 50 000 years ago. "How long did it take before the empire came into being? What changes occurred?"
"The Prothean Dominion was amended to Empire in the 80th cycle of conquest after the assimilation of the 35th species. To control expanding territory and the multitude of different races, military and social infrastructures were revised."
"No prizes for guessing who's on top of the pecking order," April said, shifting from one foot to the other. "I don't know about you love, but my feet are killing me." She dropped to sit on the floor. "I'm all for bedside stories on my own terms."
"That is a good idea," Liara said heartily, following her example. "What happened on Ilos?"
"Ilos became a research hub," Vigil said, no expression on its countenance to their flippancy. Afterall, it was only a VI. "Weapon developments took precedence in order to equip the forces with the capability to fight in the conflicts in the cycles that followed and to resist the Reapers."
"Shit." Realisation struck April. "Don't tell me one of those experiments went astray."
"In the intensity of advancement, safety protocols were overlooked. The result was planetary wide devastation."
Liara clapped a hand to her mouth in horror but ended up slapping her helmet instead. "A weapon that devastated an entire planet? I do not think I want to know how many died."
"What kind of weapon was it?" April queried anxiously. "Are there any samples in this settlement?" If there was any currently in existence, they had to dismantle it to prevent a similar occurrence.
"All data of the weapon was destroyed. It was determined such knowledge was dangerous."
In the wrong hands. It was not stated but it was obvious that was what the Protheans thought. April could not fault their prudence. She hoped that knowledge stayed lost. It was a vain hope at best. Some day, some genius would come up with the same idea. If that happened, she'd rather not be around to see it.
"What happened then?" she prompted.
"Ilos was abandoned. It was deemed too dangerous to approach until the after effects of the weapon had abated. 60 cycles after the disaster, an expedition was sent to verify the condition of the Inusannon archives. When it was found intact, the research bunker was repaired and the project was restarted. Due to the surface devastation, a subterranean settlement was built with infrastructures to support the research outpost sufficiently. In the sixth cycle after restoration, the Reapers invaded."
"Why was the settlement not mentioned when we passed through eight years ago?" April demanded.
"It was irrelevant. Time was of essence. Saren was already ahead of you."
"True, but you had the time to talk about other stuff," she pointed out.
"To help you understand what we knew of the enemy. You also asked questions which were pertinent to the mission."
"Score one for the VI."
April was disgruntled but Vigil was right. Her focus was on Saren and the need to gather data that would help her to stop him. It would never occur to her to dig further about the extent of the archives because then she thought the facility housed a few hundred inhabitants, not thousands.
"What happened to the settlement after the Reapers invaded?" Liara asked gravely, braced for unpleasantness. Beside her, she could feel her bondmate as similarly prepared.
"Before all mass relays were shut down, a research staff on the Citadel discovered that all data was systematically siphoned off. The Reapers' intentions were clear. He destroyed all records on Ilos and advised the colonists not to try to leave the system or make any contact with anyone. The scientific body of the outpost decided to launch probes to nearby systems to observe and record the Reaper invasion. With the mass relays shut down, colonies had already fallen by the time the probes reached their destination. When the first recording was analysed, it was found that the Reapers were exceedingly thorough with every system, every planet, every organic. They were meticulous and relentless. The invasion would not take years or decades. By calculation, the size of the Empire, it would take them a century or more. The outpost depended heavily on supplies from the homeworld and the colonies, it would not survive the centuries the war would take without discovery. The decision was made to put most of the personnel in cryogenic storage."
"But not all of them." April tried not to bark at Vigil, it was afterall, not a living Prothean.
"There were not enough cryogenic pods. This information was dispensed to the lower echelons."
"Who were they?" Liara asked.
"Traders and artisans. The outpost was to be shut down to conserve power and to elude any scans from approaching Reaper forces. They were given the honourable choice."
"To commit suicide?!" April rasped in disbelief.
"Their sacrifice would ensure the survival of the empire."
"Except that it didn't," Liara said sadly. A heavy feeling came to settle over her. All those deaths because of trust and faith of their own durability and power. Yet, if she were asked to do so to ensure her people survive, she didn't think she would choose any differently. "What about those who were not asked? Who were they?" She was not going to like the answer, she knew.
"Labour vassals. They were the lowest of the hierarchy, formed from those races whose technological level were subpar. Were they informed, there would have been chaos within the settlement. It was decided to leave them un-informed. On the day of the shutdown, all exits were sealed and atmosphere vented..."
"You could have vented a sleeping gas. They could have died in peace," April snapped.
What the Protheans did was hard to swallow. They had no choice, she recognised that. Even if there were enough cryo pods, they would still have died. What she didn't like was how they arbitrarily executed the rest of the populace, causing panic, terror and despair in their last moments when they realised what was going on. It was a terrible way to die.
"Analyses, why did the empire fall?" she said shortly when Vigil made no reply.
"To maintain total control over vast military forces, an uncompromising doctrine was introduced. The Reapers perceived and exploited this weakness."
"You guys sure knew how to kill creativity and got stamped out for it," April snorted before looking over at Liara. "Do I get my turn now?"
Mind roiling from what she heard, Liara shrugged. "I have no questions at the moment."
"Alright." Taking a deep breath and exhaling nosily, April sat up straighter. "Vigil, what is a Zardiene?"
Local Cluster
Earth, Citadel
Reports and more reports. The desk was stacked with hard copies and datasticks. Days old, hours old and more coming in to accumulate. Langdon sat staring into the air, ignoring the file in front of him. It was difficult to concentrate for every fibre of his being was waiting for one report that was due soon. As per his expectations, the 71st flotilla despatched to the Dirada System found evidence of a battle in the asteroid field. They had also located the data beacon in the far ring of the field, emanating a time delayed signal. It confirmed the destruction of the missing SSV Kolin.
There were no lifepods. There was no clue as to who the attackers were for there was no transponder beacon in the sensor and video records. He didn't need one to know who they were. The images confirmed their identity. None of the allies would have oculus in their navy. He closed his eyes, glad that the onus of writing letters of condolences was not his but that didn't make him feel any better. He wished he was captain of a ship again, out there searching and gunning for the killers. Instead, he was stuck in an office. Flying a desk. Damn it, he was not suitable for a cushy butt job.
The intercom on his desk beeped. Hitting the key, he glared at his assistant who looked cowed. "Yes?"
"Admiral Hackett on the line, sir," he said and his pale visage vanished to be replaced by a grim-faced Hackett.
Cursing silently at his assistant, Langdon quickly dropped his scowl. "Sir?"
"Did Aria give a date line regards that help she was asking for?" asked Hackett.
"No, sir."
Hackett's farrowed brows relaxed slightly. "It's not looking good Langdon, we're going to need whatever she's holding."
"Shall I tell the recon flotillas to proceed as we discussed, sir?" he said.
Hackett nodded. "Do so. I don't think they'll turn up anything however. Those dogs would be smart enough to run off and lie low for a while but we might be able to pick up some trace where they have gone to ground. Perhaps turn up more staging areas in other sectors. As soon as Shepard has updated on the progress at Ilos, I'll let you know when to get back to Aria. Hackett out."
Langdon sat back in his chair gloomily. The pirate queen would be ecstatic in getting her way. No doubt he would see her display her triumph and he would have to smile and accept whatever she threw his way. Damn this job.
Thessia
Nyrine watched the krasil at work. Wavering silvery tendrils, it searched the surface of the water and gently looped them around bobbing morsels. With great delicacy, it nibbled the food, keeping itself stationary with its numerous fins. She looked on with half-lidded eyes, flicking another crumb, the last, from the small cup she held once the fish had finished the current piece. Turning, she tossed the empty cup into the waste disposal bin and sat back on the bench. A human male walked past, a sandwich in his hand. He glanced at her briefly as he tore out a small piece of bread from his sandwich and tossed it into the water. She had a glimpse of twinkling brown eyes before he looked away.
She wondered idly how long he had been on Thessia. Suspended from her post, she found she had too much time on her hands. Unbearably so after the attack on the spaceport. She ached to return to the academy where she would be most useful but circumstances dictated that she stayed on the sidelines. Her choice led to this point. A necessary one. She wished things wasn't so complicated.
If only the Assembly had done what it was meant to do, Aethyta wouldn't have asked her to take up the role. It was hard to act as she did when all she wanted was to jump in wholeheartedly to work with Shepard. If the human thought she was conceited, an idiot, she could console herself that she carried out a first class act. She tensed when muffled footsteps approached the bench and someone sat down.
"I hope you have not been waiting too long," Jieull said as she arranged her clothing with finicky movements.
"You could have told me," Nyrine said frostily, pushing down the anger, keeping her gaze on the fish which swept the water with its tendrils before sinking into the water when it found there was no more food. "What if it went wrong?"
Jieull chuckled and crossed her legs, seemingly amused. "What would have been the point? You are not to be implicated in any way with the human's death."
"I've been suspended."
"Don't worry, there is no evidence. You'll be reinstated soon," Jieull assured confidently.
"And then what? More babysitting jobs?" Nyrine returned sarcastically. "If that's all I am good for, perhaps another peon would have been the better choice."
"Patience. The elders' wisdom will guide you to another greater task."
Nyrine was heartily tired of that venerating verbiage, having heard it extolled in every meeting they had. In her book, the elders' wisdom were identical to the daily garbage; unwanted, unusable. She was careful to keep a dispassionate mien and grimaced when cigarette smoke drifted to her in the breeze. It had to be deliberate. Jieull knew she detested cigarettes. For an Asari to acquire such a habit, it spoke volumes of the manner of proclivities she could have picked up in her maiden cycle. Considering that cigarettes were hardly manufactured nowadays or on sale anywhere else, she wondered where Jieull got her stash. Did she buy it off the blackmarket or did she make them herself?
"Is that all you have to say?" she demanded. "A message will do as well."
"Once you return to the academy," Jieull said softly, ignoring her irascibility, "keep an eye on your assistant."
"What about her?" Nyrine injected as much puzzlement as she dared.
"She's not for our cause and is becoming a problem." Jieull exhaled heavily, sending strong fumes into the air.
"Sanar?" Nyrine laughed. "She's harmless. She's a fine soldier and fully dedicated to training the greenies."
"I'm surprised you have such an overly simplified opinion of her." Another puff of smoke. "You don't happen to be keen on her, are you?"
"I'm hardly a swinger in first flush," Nyrine snorted. She wondered what Sanar was up to. That the lieutenant was taking steps of her own was hardly surprising. She was an able and perceptive officer and wouldn't stand still, watching her world ruined by incompetents.
"That's good. I would hate to see you disappointed since she seems to have found a partner." Jieull flicked the cigarette butt into the waste disposal bin. "But I meant what I said, don't depend too much on her. Till next time." She got up languidly and left.
What did she mean by that last statement? Nyrine stared across the water at the city and fretted inwardly. She hoped Jieull wasn't making an oblique threat but if she wasn't, Sanar could be in trouble. It would be at least three days before she could try to make contact with Aethyta but there was an alternate way to drop a message. A delay of a day was better than three. Rubbing her neck as if she was tired, she got up from the bench and left.
Ilos
"The Zardiene are the hiero cadre of the Prothean hierarchy..."
"Are they priests?" Liara interrupted.
"They are avatars of memories..."
Memories? That reminded April of something. "Wait, are they something like the echo shard?" She turned to Liara. "Like the one Javik had with him when he came onboard the Normandy."
"You mean the memory shard he gave to you?"
Liara remembered April showing it to her a few months after they arrived on Thessia. Javik had told her to store new stories but April hadn't had the least idea how to do that and put it away in her wardrobe. It was odd the Prothean would think her bondmate could use it. Why?
"Echo shards are material storage," Vigil interjected. "It is different with the Zardiene."
"How so?" April leaned forward, eager to learn every connection there is to the the Cypher.
"The ability to transfer memories into echo shards had to be taught. Through the echo shards, the knowledge of governance, military, science and personal memories were passed from one generation to another. The clarity of transference depended on the skill of the imprinter. Some records were not concise, due to imperfect imprint. Knowledge was lost. It was decided the best way to preserve perfect memories was to pass that information from one living being to the next..."
"Is that possible?" Liara said in amazement.
"The Asari have the ability to share and store memories if they so choose."
"Yes, but you implied the Zardiene's method was cumulative."
"That is so. Initial attempts were not satisfactory. Through trial and error, it was determined for complete success, potential candidates must go through a training process to enhance mental and physical capabilities. A Zardiene candidate was granted immense freedom. Their duty was to experience all forms of trials before formerly inducted. These duties were varied and far-reaching. Once they had attained enough proficiency and maturity, they were recalled for assessment. If they passed the examination, advance training would prepare them for memory depository. When that happened, depending on the memory depository they were given, they would be posted to suitable positions within the governing infrastructure; military, civilian or scientific."
"You're saying such a Prothean, a Zardiene, could be holding-," April tried to form a coherent picture, "generations of memories?!"
"Yes. The knowledge they held span Prothean evolution. Within were the keys with which they could use to guide the empire."
"Wait." April bounced a fist against her helmet, wishing her thoughts weren't jumping about. "If those memories were of individuals, how did a Zardiene remain sane?"
"That is a misconception. The memories are not personalities. Advance training comprised of preparation and meditation to access the data. Zardiene were taught to maintain control and erect a barrier to prevent themselves from being overwhelmed by the amount of memories. In time, a way was found to encapsulate the memories. It was called the Siri Construct. Transference and recall became effortless."
"Meaning what?" April wished her thoughts would settle, she was finding it very hard to grasp the whole concept. "If say, a Zardiene wanted to access a very very old terminal that required a code, he called up a memory? Like a computer?"
"Yes. It is similar."
"Can Prothean scans identify a Zardiene?"
"Yes."
"Great," April muttered. "So part of my brain's hardwired as storage." She was finding it hard to understand and figured she never would. A thought struck her. "Didn't Shiala say the Cypher is the cultural viewpoint of a Prothean? Vigil is saying it's more than one memory? Is Shiala wrong?"
"Perhaps she did not fully understand what it is," said Liara. "Only that it will help us as it did Saren."
'We'll have to ask her."
"Vigil, were Zardiene taught self-preservation?" Liara asked suddenly. "If they suffered an accident or brain trauma, wouldn't those memories be lost should they die?"
"Another purpose of the Siri Construct is to preserve the memories and the mind of the avatar intact at all costs until the brain finally atrophied."
April realised what Liara was asking. The question how her brain could possibly had survived for so long after the destruction of the Normandy was only partially explained by the Cerberus recording on Cronos Station. The Cerberus scientist mentioned some parts of her brain were still functioning, possibly because her head was protected by her helmet but he had sounded doubtful.
"That was how I-," she was at a lost for words.
"Amazing," Liara laughed, throwing her arms around her, pleased that April had found a rational explanation behind the cause of her intact memories. It lifted the lurking cloud over the issue.
"I totally agree," April grinned, squeezing her hard. "I still have a few more questions though." She turned back to Vigil. "Who was Irzik Pythan?"