Garrus' voice crackled over the intercom. "Arius, are you free at the moment? I've just wrapped up with the Hierarchy meetings and have been sifting through the backlog of messages from our internal channels. There are... a lot."

A slight grin appeared on Arius' face as he activated his end of the comm. "Of course, Garrus. What's on your mind?"

"The Crucible. Liara's been pacing around with that intense look in her eyes. You know, the one she gets when she's on the brink of a breakthrough. Any updates?"

"We've made significant progress. A substantial portion of the Crucible is now assembled. Based on the data we extracted from the Conduit files from Ilos, our scientists believe that the Crucible was built to interface with the mass relays' command systems. This has led to our first tangible advancement: the interferometric array."

"Having real-time locations of the Reapers has already proven invaluable."

Arius nodded, forgetting for a moment that Garrus couldn't see him. "There's more. The sheer size of the Crucible was a giveaway of which relay it was designed for. The end portion? It's designed as a massive connector. Care to guess which relay it's meant to attach to?"

"The Citadel."

"Exactly. But we've hit a snag. The Crucible is missing its runtime. The schematics we have only cover the hardware. Without the proper software, it can't execute its intended purpose."

"Perfect," Garrus muttered sarcastically. "So it's just a giant paperweight at the moment? Do you think Protheans got to finishing it?"

"Call it an educated hunch, but I think they did. In the Crucible plans, there are absolutely no references to any related components to run it, which indicates that they deliberately kept it separated, probably as a security measure. Having just the Crucible plans doesn't reveal the Reaper vulnerability it was designed to exploit. If the Reapers found both the Crucible and its instructions, they could easily patch the hole we're trying to exploit and undid cycles of work."

"Where do you think the runtime is?"

"That's the big question. However, if we consider the initial discovery site on Mars, it's likely on a planet significant to the Protheans. This narrows it down to home systems of the races they deemed important; let's consider the asari, turian, human, krogan, hanar and salarian. Excluding the Sol system, since we already found the hardware schematics there, we only need to focus on a handful of key planets, preferably ones still somewhat hospitable."

"That's a reasonably sized list," Garrus mused, then he hummed with thought. "Humans are the newcomers to the galactic scene, yet none of the older spacefaring races have found the second half of the Crucible plans. Curious."

"Precisely. It means either someone's been hiding it, or we've genuinely overlooked it. Both reasons are fatal for us… especially the latter, as we're running out of time."

"We'll keep looking," Garrus said resolutely. "We've faced worse odds."

"Not a dice roll I would have wished for at the eleventh hour," Arius affirmed. "How's Palaven holding up?"

Garrus' tone darkened. "Struggling. The krogan reinforcements have helped, but we're still on the back foot. We need a real game-changer. Got any thresher maw-launching guns up your sleeve?"

Arius chuckled. "Not yet."

Switching to a more serious tone, Garrus continued, "Seriously speaking, I read your report on the Illium counteroffensive. Not that we had any reason to doubt that strategy, but some of the higher-ups have been reluctant to turn their attention away from the Reaper capital ships. At the very least, it shows that we can reliably buy time by eliminating their smaller processing craft."

"It was a convenient opportunity to provide proof of effectiveness though means I could influence. If galactic leadership is considering a similar strategy based on exemplified outcomes, then I've accomplished what I intended."

"I've been trying to work it. The only way we're getting close to the Reaper processing ships is by drawing the capital ships away from the surface. We need to distract them collectively somehow, long enough to have inbound krogan commandos sneak in payloads."

"We can do it," Arius stated confidently. "They're not infallible. Tempt them with the appearance of weakened, easy kill to draw them out. Go through the motions of old strategies, seemingly to make the same mistakes and make them complacent. We can exploit their underestimation, but it requires tight coordination."

"Leave the coordination to me."

"As you probably already know from my briefing, the interiors of their ships, including the capital ships, are incredibly vulnerable." Arius looked at his casualty board. "Once an area is cleared of major fighting, destroyers and capital ships often open their structures to indoctrinate local leaders. It is a unique opportunity to apply counter-deception. Destroy them from within."

"Reminds me of an ancient human story – the Trojan Horse," Garrus mused.

"Impressive, Garrus. Didn't expect you to know that one."

"Turians like war stories from all races." Garrus sighed. "Speaking of deceptions... Have you heard the latest rumours about Udina?"

"That he might have been indoctrinated?"

"Yeah. They're suggesting he might have been a high-functioning victim of the Reapers."

"It's in the realm of possibility but unlikely. As far as I know, there's been no direct evidence nor obvious opportunity."

"In either case, his actions did play perfectly into the Reapers' hands. Whether the coup had failed or succeeded, the outcome was disastrous for us. The chaos it instigated..."

"Yes, I know. The Reapers would have an easier path. It's more plausible he acted out of sheer desperation. And, in that desperation, he cost humanity its councillor." Arius groaned, rubbing his forehead. "The stresses of the war play on us all. Even I find myself acting in ways I do not welcome."

Garrus chuckled softly, "You and me both. Before this war, the most stress I had was calibrating that damned main battery. But now... everything feels heavier." The turian gave a weak laugh. "Maybe I've been spending too much time with Javik. Listening to him, it feels like we've been fighting this war forever."

"We have," Arius replied somberly, "just not in this form. Different players, different choices, but the Reapers have always been our constant. The cycle of destruction is something we need to break."

"You ever think what you'd do if this war ended?" Garrus asked after a moment of contemplation.

Arius hesitated, seemingly lost in thought. "Hmm. I've been doing this for so long that I can barely remember a time when the threat of the Reapers wasn't hanging over my head; it seems hard to imagine. Assuming we survive, Shepard suggested I write my memoirs. How about you?"

"Retire to a quiet planet, maybe? Spend my time shooting bottles instead of Reapers," Garrus said wistfully.

"On that vein, I know the locations of several yet-discovered paradisiacal sandy beaches out there. The prospect of laying on one right now in the full light of a star seems like a paradise."

"Spirits, you're going to make me homesick." The turian audibly sighed. "You've done most of your living planetside, right? Do you miss that environment?"

Arius closed his eyes, and after a quiet moment reminiscing, he breathed deeply from some imagined air - but when he opened his eyes, he beheld only the sterile, perfectly manicured environment they lived in, and he sighed.

"In ways I didn't imagine I ever would. Aside from the ground and sky, I miss the little things that I used to never think about. The smells of ozone and petrichor after a storm. A cool breeze. The warmth of sunlight. The sounds of crashing waves. Gosh, this sounds inane, but I miss talking about the weather."

The turian chuckled. "They have sims for that, you know."

"I know. And they're very convincing." Arius leaned back into his chair. "Maybe I've just become crotchety in my old age. You youths and all your techno-gizmos," he proclaimed in mock derision, manipulating his voice to sound comically like a wizened old man. "I'm no stranger to starship living. It is convenient. But I do miss the natural world sometimes."

"Ah, the pleasures of the digital age. But there's a lot to be said for the real thing."

There was a long pause as both of them mulled over the sentiment.

"From the accounts I've read, the quarians used to say the same thing," Arius mentioned, "after their exile, back when they first started living aboard the Migrant Fleet. That they missed Rannoch's open skies and the feeling of sand beneath their feet. Now, they might just get it back."

"Let's hope they do. They've certainly paid for their mistakes. Maybe it's a sign. If the quarians can reclaim their home after centuries, perhaps there's hope for the rest of us."

"That would be quite the thing. Speaking of quarians, it was good seeing Tali aboard again. She brings a certain brightness to these halls that I found myself missing."

Garrus chuckled, "I've noticed. She's always had that spark, even back in the early days with Shepard. It's comforting to know that even amidst all of this, some things don't change."

"You seem quite fond of her," Arius observed.

Garrus hesitated for a fraction of a second, then replied, "Tali's... special. We've been through a lot together, shared battles and losses. It's hard not to become close when you've got each other's backs."

Arius smiled slightly. "Sounds like more than just camaraderie."

Garrus grumbled a bit, "Maybe. It's complicated. This war, it... changes relationships. One moment you're chatting with someone in the mess hall, the next they're gone. Makes you appreciate what you have."

"Understandable," Arius nodded, though Garrus couldn't see it. "The bonds we forge in the fires of adversity are the strongest. It's a lesson from the old cycles, too. Those who stood by one another tended to last longer against the Reapers."

Silence settled between them, each lost in their thoughts. After a moment, Garrus broke it, "Arius, I've always wanted to ask. You've been around for a long time, seen so much. Do you ever... regret, knowing what you know?"

There was a weighty pause. "Every single day. But…my regrets don't overshadow my obligations. The weight of what I know compels me to act. Otherwise, all those memories, all that knowledge, all that time... it would be wasted. And I refuse to let that happen."

Garrus hummed in agreement. "That's a perspective I can respect. Here's to the hope that our efforts will be worth it."

"To hope," Arius affirmed.

There was a brief silence, interrupted by a beep on Garrus' end. "Looks like I've got another call coming in. Duty never rests, does it?"

"Not in this galaxy," Arius replied with a grin. "Take care, Garrus. We'll talk soon."

"Will do. And, Arius, if you ever need to talk about the weather, you know where to find me."

Arius chuckled, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Until next time."