Captain Etwin was definitely feeling every one of his twenty seven years as his knees painfully protested his trip up the lengthy mountain path to his destination. It was a tiny Siarist monastery, tucked into the side of a cliff in a mountain region of a remote colony in the Attican Traverse. An older asari nun served as the sole caretaker of the small facility, maintaining it and offering its hospitality to what few pilgrims from the wider galaxy happened to find their way into its halls. Of course, that was only the public-facing layer of the nun's identity. In reality, she was a secret spectre, serving as a handler for dozens of covert agents (Etwin being among them) who used the monastery as a base from which to launch missions into the Terminus. It was an effective disguise. There were, after all, many non-asari converts to Siari, so agents of every species could disguise themselves as pilgrims and make their way to the monastery without drawing an attention.
Etwin reached the top of the trail, and knocked on the antiquated wooden door of the monastery. The asari nun answered.
"Greetings traveler, do you come seeking our hospitality?"
Etwin nodded solemnly, and the nun let him into the building. She led him down a narrow hallway, and then through a trapdoor leading to a "cellar" that was actually the hiding place for all of the technology and equipment one needed to run part of a significant interstellar intelligence network. She turned to face Etwin and smiled.
"I heard of your work with the Councilor, nicely done."
Etwin nodded. "Was only executing plans already put in place by others, but complement is appreciated nonetheless."
There was a third layer to the nun's identity: She was the primary contact between the leadership of the Organization and its most senior field agents, such as Etwin.
"Well, a talent for carrying out the plans of others is exactly what we need from our agents, so my praise stands. Now..."
She sat cross-legged on the floor and gestured for him to do the same.
"...Shall we begin?"
He went to sit across from her.
"Now...what do you think of the recent happenings with the batarians?"
It was one of many rituals the pair practiced whenever they made contact. She would ask him about recent events (particularly those related to Organization operations) and fish for his opinions on them. Etwin suspected it was a loyalty test of sorts, more than anything. He took a moment to think before answering.
"Human victory is a major upset, but ultimately it only accelerates Hegemony's fate. Even had they won, could not have hoped to simultaneously occupy one third of explored galaxy while also simultaneously maintaining control in home territory. With their fleet in shambles, political upheaval all but certain, now."
The nun nodded. "Yes, I agree. While I can't say we're particularly happy about the humans forming a new powerbase outside of our direct influence, their victory still suits our purposes for the moment. The leadership considers this to have been the best possible outcome, given the circumstances. We were lucky. We overplayed our hand with the Hegemony when we fed them information. We only wanted them to disrupt the Council by leaving, we didn't anticipate them tripping over a brand new species and starting a war. We are very fortunate that Yinari was such an imbecile. Had she played her cards right, it could have been a rallying moment for the Citadel. Our plans could have been set back by decades."
"Human-elcor alliance may prove troublesome in the future. Can it be destroyed?"
The nun sighed. "Regrettably, no. Not anytime soon, at least. The embarrassing truth is that we had few resources invested in the elcor. They weren't exactly a keystone of galactic power, and, frankly, we did not anticipate the single most conservative species on the Citadel doing something so radical. We've been taking measures to correct that, but that damnable Primarch from Maenus has been spreading his paranoia to everyone. We've already lost almost all of our infiltration software in that cluster, and they've begun the same exact process in elcor space now, too. The fact that they're aware of some kind of infiltration - even if they don't know by whom - would have just been an annoyance, but the humans are proving an effective foil. We obviously have absolutely no assets cultivated within their government or counterintelligence agencies. Having them as a reliable third party has made rooting out our influence far easier for Maenus and the elcor. Dekunna is practically a dead zone now, what few assets we had have been run off or captured. Nothing has happened that could reveal our presence, obviously, but they are on their guard. We're still going to try to drive a wedge in the new alliance, but it's an uphill battle."
Etwin cleared his throat.
"Reminds me: Wanted to ask about turian infiltration."
She cocked her head slightly. "What about it?"
"Was...extensive. Impossibly so. Almost complete decapitation of leadership, total compromise of defense network security, and somehow, not a trace of evidence left. No intelligence agency in existence could accomplish this..."
"...So, how did we?"
"Yes."
The nun was thoughtful for a moment, but then began speaking again. "The actual details are classified. The best answer I can give is that we have access to resources that are, how should I put this...beyond the context of galactic politics."
Etwin shook his head. "Not making sense."
The nun became impatient at his comment. "The 'how' is not important to you. You know our cause. Our purpose. We are tearing down the decrepit power structures of this galaxy, and ushering in a new age. If you believe in that cause then you have nothing to fear. Now, leaving that behind us...leadership has another assignment for you. Tell me, what is the general state of the STG these days?"
"STG is paranoid. More so than usual. Asari once considered the Union's most reliable ally: revelation of conspiracy and secret of the Athame beacon destroyed that relationship. Not one, but two massive galactic conspiracies, and STG is somehow kept in dark. Paranoia was already great, but with turian crisis added to it, it means hostilities at all time high."
The nun smiled. "Exactly what we were hoping for, then. The turians were the muscle, but the strength of the asari-salarian alliance is the glue holding the entirety of the Citadel power structure together. Breaking that bond was always going to be the biggest hurdle. It is gratifying to see our plans finally bear fruit. However, merely destroying their trust is not enough. There is always a chance for reconciliation later. We must push them from a mere former friends to true enemies."
Etwin felt a small pang of unease within him. "Enemies?"
The nun nodded. "Yes. Your mission will forward that goal. In roughly two weeks time, an asari commando black ops team - all of whom will be agents of our cause - will seize a small STG observation outpost, with the intent of extracting intel from its computes. A response team of STG agents under the command of a certain Captain by the name of Etwin will retake the outpost and capture several of the commandos for interrogation. After a lengthy interrogation, the commandos will break, and reveal that their mission had been intended to gauge the STG's awareness of the asari involvement in the turian bombings. You will pass this up the chain of command, and our assets will ensure that the right information makes its way to the right ears. The STG will, naturally, launch a covert mission to verify the commandos claims. Their target will, naturally, be the secret facility we quietly tipped them off to several months ago. They will storm it and seize its data. Data which will contain conclusive evidence of asari involvement in the bombings, with the apparent purpose of establishing a new, more asari-friendly government under Frenarian."
Etwin narrowed his eyes. He had a pretty good idea of where this was going, and he didn't like it.
The nun's grin was unpleasantly wide. "Of course, the beauty of it is that it's merely one half of the equation. You see, the reason the asari will dispatch our commando team not long from now is because our assets within the more prominent matriarch shadow governments have spent the past several months gathering and presenting "evidence" conclusively proving that the bombings were a salarian coup with the intent to have Admiral Cran establish a more salarian-aligned government."
Etwin's jaw actually dropped. "You...you intend to incite war!"
The nun shrugged. "That's obviously the ideal outcome, but it's something of a long shot. We'll settle for turning the turian situation into a proxy conflict. Even if the worst happens and they fail to swallow the bait altogether, the mistrust and paranoia the incidents will spark can still be used to our advantage. That's the true strength of our Organization: flexibility. Regardless of the outcome, it will advance our goals."
Etwin had done many things he wasn't exactly proud of for the cause, but this was beyond the pale. "War is 'ideal' outcome? War between Council races would mean millions...no, billions dead. War of that scale would tear apart civilization as we know it. Would be decades...centuries, until galaxy can truly recover."
She frowned at him. "We're tearing down a power structure that has been in place, ruling over trillions of beings, for thousands of years. How did you think it would end? With a song? Frankly, Etwin, when you have...incorrect thoughts such as these, it makes me wonder if your devotion to our cause is what you make it out to be."
Etwin shook his head emphatically. "Devotion to cause strong, strong as ever! Just...hard to understand."
Despite his mind pushing him to accept it, his instincts told him that it just didn't add up. He ran through it again and again, and it just didn't make any sense. Had the stated goal been to sow confusion and distrust - as had been the case up to now - then it would have made sense. Yet, she had said a war was the ideal outcome. A war like that would be...apocalyptic. It would rip the galaxy apart, worse even than the rachni or krogan rebellions, as their would be no Citadel Council to pick up the pieces afterwards. The point of their cause was to change galactic civilization, not destroy it entirely.
Right?
The nun leaned forward, staring at him with an unsettlingly sudden intensity. "Have you been keeping up with your meditations, Etwin?"
His spine went rigid, before he slumped with shame.
"...No. Have been so busy, lately it...has not been priority."
She nodded slowly, leaning back slightly, though her gaze did not lose any of its intensity. "I understand the problem, now. Come with me. We must clear your mind. Once you've re-centered yourself, we can discuss the details of your mission."
He wordlessly followed her. Unconsciously, he reached into his shirt, tugging at the traditional salarian prayer wheel pendant on a chain around his neck. He'd always been about as far from religious as a sapient could get, and thus had been somewhat appalled to discover the Organization's love of meditation. For such an otherwise rational entity to stoop to such idiotic pseudoscience was baffling to him. Yet, he could not deny the results. He never felt more alive or more certain of his cause than after a long mediation session. He still held to no religion, but the prayer wheel pendant the Organization had given him was a wonderful tool for centering himself when he meditated on the road.
The nun opened the door to a dark, windowless room, lit only by the fading embers of a fire in its hearth. It was unfurnished, except for some rugs and a small table, upon which a familiar sight awaited him. It was an ancient minimalistic sculpture, a piece of prothean artwork, a simple set of smooth, arching spikes that shot up and then forward from the sculptures base. It was made of the same strange, unfamiliar metal the protheans seemed to use for their relays, giving it a deep, rich, mesmerizing bluish-purple color.
The same color as his pendant.
"I'll leave you to it. When you've centered yourself again, come find me." With that, the nun left him.
He pulled a rug up to the table, and kneeled before the sculpture. He stared at its shape, studying every curve and angle, every thought and worry swirling within his mind drifting away. He was open. Receptive. As he stared at the sculpture, that certainty that he needed, that he craved, filled him once again. He couldn't help but smile in amusement at his own ridiculous notions. His stupidity. His idiocy. How could he have even been so very, very, very blind? How could he have so easily lost sight of the path laid before him, of the truth that he served? His concerns were the meaningless mewling of a hatchling, he need only trust The Plan, as he always had. Trust The Plan.
But still, to start a war-
Trust The Plan.
He wanted to, desperately, but it just-...it made no sense! He couldn't let it go-
Trust the Plan.
He did, he did he did he did he did he did but, but-... it was so hard to remember, but he knew that there was something wrong-
TRUST THE PLAN.
What was he worried about again?
TrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlanTrustthePlan
Etwin blinked several times, the sculpture blurred back into his vision. He smiled widely. He had a terrible thirst and was very hungry, but he still felt light and easy. Meditation always helped to clear his mind. He checked the time on his omnitool.
1600? No wonder I'm so thirsty. He got up from his kneeling position, ignoring his creaking knees, and went to seek out a drink, some food, and the nun. In that order.
The fact that he had knelt, motionless, before the sculpture and stared at it almost unblinkingly for over ten hours straight did not really register within his mind.
Man, I haven't messed with formatting to display a fragile mental state since the Prison Break chapter. That was certainly interesting to write, albeit significantly briefer.
Just in case not everyone understood: What the majority of the audience have probably guessed by now has officially been confirmed in this chapter. The reapers are active within this story, and they have their fingers very deep in the pie. What we saw with Etwin was my personal interpretation of indoctrination, based primarily off of what we see of Matriarch Benezia and Saren from the first game. It exists primarily in a more subtle state, manifesting only as quiet but pervasive mental suggestions and false intuition. When the subject is confused or questions the 'narrative' of the reapers, it manifests as those aching, gnawing 'whispers' that indoctrinated characters frequently speak of. When indoctrinated characters in the games begin to outright resist their own indoctrination, it seems to cause a genuine pain or physical strain inside them. I interpret this as the 'whisper' becoming a scream, that relentlessly beats down the indoctrinated subject's own will until it submits. The more they resist, the louder the scream gets.
Since we don't really get inside the head of indoctrinated characters in the games, there's not really an 'official' way to portray the inner thoughts of someone who is indocrinated. As such, the internal POV of indoctrinated characters gets portrayed a lot of different ways in mass effect fiction, this is just my own personal attempt at portraying it.
As for the implications brought up in this chapter, allow me to try and pre-emptively address some questions:
1.) This doesn't mean that everything wrong in the galaxy can now be explained as "A reaper did it." I think of it less being that the reapers caused problems to happen, and more like they looked at prominent problems that already existed, and then tried their best to make it vastly worse. So, as an example, the corrupt 300 year old political machine of the previous asari councilor was not created by the reapers, but they did use their Organization to slowly but steadily hijack it for their own purposes.
2.) Is the Organization a collection of reaper puppets using a facade of anti-establishment ideology to recruit new slaves? Or was it a legitimate secret band of dissidents that got corrupted by the reapers? I'll leave that one up to the reader's imagination, but I will explain a little more on how I imagine them working. The use of reaper artifacts to indoctrinate their members was already show in the story, and I imagine it being pretty pervasive to varying degrees of strength throughout their ranks. Some may be sleeper agents, entirely unaware of the Organization until their latent indoctrination is activated. Others (like the leadership, probably) might be at least to some degree aware of the true nature of the Organization, but they don't fully comprehend it.
3.) If you're thinking this is a pretty elaborate degree of infiltration and pre-emptive sabotage compared to canon, you're correct. I didn't just get carried away, it has been written that way because of plot reasons that probably won't be revealed for quite a while. There are one or two clues for it here and there, but they're so subtle that calling them "clues" is being a bit generous to myself. The only hint I'll give is a reminder that this story is an AU, so the reapers are not necessarily beholden to taking the same path they did in canon.
Ok, that's all the points I can think of off of the top of my head. As always, thank you for reading!