A/N
Hi everyone! I have had some people pushing back on me regarding Brock's interactions with Shepard and the Alliance people. I just ask you to trust me. After all, most people don't change after just one lesson, particularly stubborn people like are shown in the game. Trust the process.
If you want to read ahead, the next seven chapters are available on my pat-re-on, Bored Peasant's Written Works, with another chapter hopefully published soon. Not much else for now.
On with the story!
…
CHAPTER 43 – Setting a Stage
(Brock POV)
After finishing with the resupply, refuel and refreshing, once everyone was loaded back on the ship, the Normandy left the dock, burning for space once more.
I was surprised to learn that after Shepard had done her penance at the orphanage, where I kept her for two hours to play with the children (and that was hilarious to see how far out of her depth she was with our future generation), she had gone and done a lot of the mini side missions that were on the Citadel.
In just over a day, she managed to sort out the issues with the elcor ambassador, the Consort and the turian general, got the body of that soldier released for her husband because apparently she had still died on Eden Prime, even if the death toll was a lot lower than it would have been if we weren't there, sorted out that problem the volus at CSEC had, run into that stalker fan of hers, Vern or something that actually becomes helpful in the third game, and had already started on scanning the keepers on the Citadel.
The woman really needs to learn how to take a break.
Though if she was doing it to have a way to earn some extra money on the side, then I had no problems with that. It showed that she was getting serious about making sure she could get enough resources to operate on her own.
I have no idea what reward she chose to get from the Consort though, even though I clearly remembered the options. Maybe it was only best to dream.
The last thing she did before returning to the Normandy was hitting up the Presidium Embassies and meeting with Nassana Dantius, presumably to get that side mission to kill her sister that was out there playing pirate somewhere.
Considering that the Dantius name was a large one in the asari corporate world, I was interested to see if Shepard called me up and asked me if I knew anything about it. After all, I was the natural choice, other than maybe Liara, to ask if there was any information that she needed to know about the situation. Liara might know because she was asari, but seeing as she was more interested in poking around in the dirt, she might not have paid attention.
We could have asked Benezia, but she was still unconscious. I hadn't expected to see her on the ship after I returned from shore leave, but apparently Tevos had got it in her head that if Benezia was captured then it was likely that someone of Saren's abilities and connections might have a way to breach whatever cell they threw her into, making them lose one of the best pieces of information that they had that would potentially let them know how to find Saren.
Shiala had hopped off at the Citadel. She had asked if she was able to stay with Benezia, but there were a few concerns about having her conscious on the Normandy. Seeing as she was awake and therefore able to be questioned and also defend herself if anything happened, she had been passed off to CSEC, straight to Executor Palin.
Torrin was gone too, getting the treatment he needed and getting Liserias to replace the biotic amp so that he would be able to fully recover. The turian medic was told to not worry about the cost, just make sure that Torrin was ok. I was already missing him. He had been with me so long, it felt weird that he wasn't around.
"Nielson!" Wrex bellowed across the garage, breaking me out of my musings. "Get over here! I want my new toy!"
I grunted with amusement and stood up from my terminal, hidden partially behind the mako. Seeing as we had managed to get a few supplies from my company already, I wasn't surprised that Wrex was chomping at the bit to get the grenade launcher.
What was a surprise was that the entire ground team was standing in the garage next to a small group of boxes, waiting for me to appear. I hadn't thought that everyone was going to come down at once. I had thought I was just going to get the quartermaster to just drop some things in lockers and leave it at that.
"I guess everyone was a little excited," I smiled wryly. "I suppose it would be irresponsible for me to hold you all up any longer then."
I walked over to the boxes and input the security codes to unlock them. With a hiss, they opened, one by one.
"Alright, children!" I called out in exaggerated enthusiasm. "It's time for Santa to show you what he brought you for Christmas."
I reached into one of the crates and pulled out a box about a metre long and read the label. "First present goes to Wrex!" I announced, passing it over to his eager hands.
We watched as he opened the box and started cooing at the M-79A grenade launcher inside.
"Aren't you beautiful!" he whispered, as he gently stroked the barrel. "We are going to have so much fun together!"
I bit my lip to stop the laughs that were threatening to get out. "Treat her well, Wrex," I said in mock-solemnity, "and she will look after you."
He just nodded in reply, not looking away from his slightly disturbing ministrations.
"Shepard, here is yours," I said, pulling another box out. She took it with a pleased smile, but thankfully didn't start treating it like she was in love with it like Wrex was.
There were a bunch of square boxes about half a metre long each. "It looks like we have four helmets with requested updates for Tali, Garrus, Shepard and Wrex," I said, not bothering to take them out. I was a little surprised that only four people wanted SONAR, but that was their choice. If the others didn't want to be as prepared as possible, that was on them.
"There are a bunch of guns here, all of which as listed as Spectre-only weapons," I said, looking inside another box.
"And it looks like the last two boxes are all armour for the whole ground team," I declared. "I will let you all sort yourselves out. Remember ladies, if you need anyone to look you over when you are changing, I volunteer my services."
That earned me a dirty glare from Williams, a frown from Shepard, a blush from Liara and a punch in the shoulder from Tali.
Heh, still got it.
"Anyway," I continued, "that's it from me. If you need anything else, you all know where to find me."
I turned and left as the group swarmed the boxes to get their gear. It was akin to sharks at a feeding frenzy, if each piece of food had their name on it.
Unfortunately, I needed to be available in case Beau needed me. I was trusting him to handle some things on Omega, but I knew that things with the pirate queen could always go sideways if she felt offended. But I had plenty of work to get to, and messages to send to others on the Balrog that would be able to have them work on things for me.
I also needed to set things up for the Virmire mission. I wasn't going to let some of those resources go if I could avoid it.
Papa wanted that Beacon.
"Hey Nielson," a gruff deep voice broke me out of my thoughts.
I turned to look up at Wrex. "Hey Wrex," I greeted him in return. "Just call me Brock, mate. What do you need?"
"I wanted to ask something," he grunted. "I need help with getting something that matters to my clan. I was hoping you could help me get it."
I considered that. I knew what he was asking. He wanted that ancient krogan armour that was being kept as a trophy by a turian collector somewhere. But that was one of Shepard's side missions for the crew. Not a loyalty mission; those were part of the second Mass Effect game, but still a crew mission.
Garrus had one too, now that I think about it. He was going to chase after the salarian that had been cloning body parts and smuggling them inside living 'volunteers'.
Tali had one too, now that I think about it, but I don't really remember it. I'm sure that it will come up at some point though so I can be pleasantly surprised if I am on it, just like everyone else.
"What is it that you are looking for?" I asked. No way I could tell him I already knew what he was looking for without raising questions.
Come to think of it, doesn't this mission come up after Virmire? Maybe there was something going on in the background that I wasn't aware of. Or maybe having him come up with a pokemon for the game was enough to bring his trust level in me up. Or maybe it was giving him the grenade launcher. Who could say?
"My family used to have a suit of armour back in the krogan rebellions but we lost it," Wrex explained. "It was missing for a millennium, but I decided to track it down. It's with a turian collector that's getting off on having it. It's an antique but it belongs to Clan Urdnot. I bring that back to Tuchanka, it gives me a bit of legitimacy for… dealing with the Clan."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. It sounded like he had decided to head back to Tuchanka early, instead of having his mind made up after Saren was killed. That was a surprise, but I guess the timeline doesn't actually change even with that. He still hangs around until Saren is caught and leaves before the Collectors. All in all, nothing really changes.
"I mean, I can probably do something," I allowed, "but shouldn't you be asking Shepard about this? Missions on this are her call."
"Maybe," Wrex grunted. "But that would take time. If you can find a way to get it while we are busy with that, it would mean I don't have to. But if that doesn't work, I can always talk to Shepard and see if she is interested in a raid."
Huh. Wrex is really making a start on looking at non-violent options first. I think that, more than anything, showed that he wasn't sticking with the current mainstream krogan mindset of just committing violence to get your way.
That's what the krogan needed from their leader.
"Give me the details and I can probably get someone on it," I said. "If I have any problems, I'll let you know so that you can get Shepard onto it."
He gave a nod and sent me a file on my omnitool. "Thanks." He stomped off to go do Wrex things, which more than likely included finishing that pokemon design he was working on.
I shook his head, wondering what this would mean for his relationship with Shepard. I had no idea, but the chance to consider it disappeared as my terminal started to beep, indicating an incoming call.
I couldn't help huffing. There truly is no better time to get work done than while you are busy with something else.
…
(Beau POV)
Beau had only been to Omega twice before he had joined Brock's crew, and neither time was particularly memorable. He had to see a contact for a mission the first time and the second time he was part of an envoy that was investigating a system nearby and they had stopped at the infamous station to refuel.
By contrast, coming to Omega with Brock had been on another level; visint ghe pirate queen and dropping her minion's unconscious body on the return trip right at her feet… now that was something that would have got him free drinks at any Alliance military bar if he told that story.
It was almost sad to think that those sorts of events no longer seemed exceptional.
Now, coming to Omega again on Brock's behalf as he worked with the first human Spectre to bring down the rogue turian Spectre who had attacked Eden Prime, effectively carrying the flag for Shieldstar across the galaxy, beau felt like this was just another day.
He had two of his personal ground team with him acting as bodyguards for this trip. The first was a human former soldier called Darren that had been captured when their ship was attacked in the Athena cluster. The second was an asari named Aneta who had been captive for more than fifty years after her capture while working as a mercenary for the Eclipse.
After the recent problems with the former Blue Suns merc giving away intel, Beau had made sure to have Aneta's history double checked quietly. It had come clean, but he was going to be more careful with the former mercenaries from now on. He didn't need a repeat of that with this ground teams.
They marched straight through the entrance without pausing for security. The turian standing guard obviously recognised him, or more likely the company logo painted on his armour, and said nothing as he passed. The people waiting in the line started complaining but Beau paid them no mind.
He made his way through the crowded dancefloor, ignoring the gyrating asari in the booths and the drunken revellers as they stepped and swayed to the loud beat. It wasn't beau's favourite music, but he had been to plenty of clubs in his younger years and was familiar with it.
He blinked. Actually, he was remarkably familiar with it. He actually recognised the song as an old club beat from Earth. Huh. Maybe Brock had had more of an influence over Aria than he had realised.
He made his way to the stairs at the back of the club, seeing more armed turians standing guard. He made his way up the stairs, sharing a nod with the guard who also didn't stop them.
"I've been to Omega dozens of times," Aneta spoke up, only just loud enough to hear over the music. "I have never even seen anyone making their way up these stairs. Does the big boss really have that much influence?"
Beau smirked at her. She had only been freed a year ago and had never been part of Brock's more… diplomatic missions after she had gone through rehabilitation, so it was understandable that she ddin't realise how easily Brock seemed to make his way through the upper echelons of the galactic community. "He has pulled off a few ballsy moves throughout the galaxy, but I have to say that it was the visits to the queen of Omega that impressed me the most."
Darren grunted. "Boss has balls of titanium," he remarked.
Beau grinned. "Can't argue with that," he said, making the top of the stairs into the entry room.
The batarians standing there didn't even bother disarming them. "Head in," one of them that Beau recognised, Aldo, said, nodding to the inner door. "Aria's waiting."
Beau gave him a nod and walked in, feeling a small amount of relief when the volume dropped to more manageable levels. While he didn't have a problem with the music, he did notice that club music didn't hold much appeal anymore.
Maybe he was getting old? Nah.
He made his way up the stairs, ignoring the nobodies sitting at the tables on the lower landing. Aria, as always, stood at the top with her four favourite pet batarians, looking out over the club. He arrived at the top landing, stopping a respectful distance from the self-titled matriarch, waiting for her to play whatever power games she was planning on starting with.
"I'm told that you have business on Omega," Aria said, not turning around.
"That sounds about right," Beau replied.
"And why would I just let you conduct your business on my station?" she demanded, turning to face him with a scowl.
Ah, so that was the game of the day. She was going to go for the pushy demanding profile when she was already planning to let it happen. Though, it also probably wasn't so far from her normal attitude so she was able to play it extremely convincingly.
Beau cocked his head. "Other than the fact that you already told Brock he could?" he countered.
The scowl on her face deepened and she twitched her head towards the couch. Beau sat down curiously, never having done so on his previous visits. The couch seemed comfortable but wearing armour certainly took away some of the comfort.
"So, your boss finally got big headed enough that I don't even rate a personal appearance anymore? He thinks I will be happy with just him sending his pets?" she growled.
Beau looked at her flatly. "Brock is currently bouncing around the galaxy, thumbing his nose to the council and helping chase down a rogue Spectre. You know he values your… friendship. That's why he contacted you first to let you know what we were planning to do on your station."
She sneered at the deliberate hesitation. "Sure." The sneered turned into a glare. "Why are you doing this? None of the crap that other people fling my way, pure truth."
"Vengeance," Beau said immediately. "I want it and Brock wants to show that we will always step in for his people, except those that betray him. I thought that lesson was made clear already?"
Her mouth quirked to the side a little. "Yes, I do remember the last time. It was quite a statement."
"Well, prepare for a new statement," Beau said. It was only fair to give her fair warning.
She glared at him again. "Statements like that are not a problem until they start targeting groups like the Blue Suns," she growled. "A small-time group of nobodies, sure. No one cares about that. But you target one of the big three that way on my station, that causes problems on my station."
Beau couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face. "Don't you worry about us. We are going to make a statement and do it in such a way that you won't have to worry about your own retribution. Unless you have a leak yourself." He turned to look over at the four batarians that were watching Darren and Aneta closely.
"They're clean," she replied immediately. "You don't need to worry about one of my people informing on anything I don't want them to."
"I'm sure," Beau said flatly. "Still, we shall do our best to ensure that any operation that occurs here won't negatively affect the operations of your station."
Annoyingly, the asari shook her head. "Not good enough," she rebutted. "I want something else. No matter what you do, you are going to cause long term problems with Blue Suns and that is going to cause problems for me. I need some compensation for my troubles." She had the audacity to smirk at him.
He fixed her with a hard stare but the pirate queen didn't even flinch. "It depends on what you want," he said. "I can't approve everything."
"Easy," she replied. "I want half the money and goods you find in any of your raids."
Easy enough. "Done," Beau said, knowing that Brock didn't care about the money on these operations. They had more than enough at the moment. The main thing was collecting any intel that they might have, and seeing as it was Blue Suns, there was likely to be something.
"That's not all," she continued. "I want someone on your ship to be a liaison for me."
That drew Beau short. "What?"
"You hard of hearing or just stupid?" she bit back. "I want someone I trust on your ship to let me know in advance if any of your operations are going to cause me issues."
Beau hesitated for a long moment. "I can't authorise that," he said eventually.
"I know," she replied, sounding smug. "But luckily, I know who can,"
She tapped away at her omnitool for a second, before a hologram of Brock Nielson appeared in front of them. He was obviously sitting down and had a vehicle of some kind behind him, but Beau couldn't see any more than that.
"Ah, Aria," Brock said cheerfully. "To what do I owe for this call? I would have thought that Beau was nearby to handle the operations."
"Don't worry," she replied dismissively. "Your minion is still here. But I have a new condition that I want before I allow your troops to raid Blue Suns mercs on my station."
Brock stared at her with a measured expression for a long moment. "And that condition is…?" he asked suspiciously.
"You have one of my people on your ship as a liaison," she said, smirking at him.
"You and I know I am not having a guard on my ship," he said flatly. "I don't owe you anything at all, despite you assertations. So go on then, who did you have in mind?"
"Liselle."
Beau blinked in surprise at that, as did Brock. Beau remembered his boss talking about Aria's daughter the first time that they came to Omega, and her reaction to it. Unless she was going crazy, she must have a great deal of trust in Brock and his people to want him to look after her daughter.
Brock took a moment to respond, his face blank. "You know I am not a babysitter," he said shortly.
"She doesn't need one," Aria cut back. "I want someone on your ship to let me know if anything you are doing is going to affect me. Liselle knows more about my operations than you do and will be able to let me know before it becomes a problem."
Brock narrowed his eyes at the asari. "And the rest of the truth?" he said, his tone leaving no confusion that he expected there to be more. Beau was once again heartened that he wasn't following an idiot.
Aria huffed and sat back on the couch. "Some Cerberus agents have been visiting Omega," she confessed. "None of them named Grayson, but I think Liselle would be better off Omega for the time being. Just in case."
Brock's face smoothed out in understanding. "I see," he said. "How long do you envision this… liaison position will last?"
"As long as it takes, Nielson," Aria growled, clearly not liking that she was asking for help.
Brock gave a slow nod. "You are, of course, aware of the political implications of this, given your position?"
Beau blinked as he realised what Brock was saying. By letting her daughter go with one of the parties that was fighting on Omega, Aria was effectively choosing a side. Brock's side.
The clenched jaw made it clear that Aria was not liking this conversation. "Shouldn't be an issue," she denied. "No one who would leak it knows Liselle is my daughter. Unless you and your people are planning on giving that information up?"
"You know I wouldn't do that," Brock denied calmly. "But even you must know that information like this has a way of getting out?"
"Of course I do!" Aria barked, her tempering clearly getting the best of her as she started letting off wisps of biotic energy. "Dammit Nielson, are you doing this or not?"
Brock pursed his lips and gave a short nod. "Fine," he agreed. "But she will be under some security restrictions on my ship, for at least a while."
"Fine," Aria bit out, visibly calming down as she got what she wanted. "Just get her off this station."
"Sure," he replied. "I will leave Beau to sort out the details. I need to go. Later."
With that the hologram blinked out, leaving the room in silence as Beau contemplated this new assignment. Thinking quickly, he made plans on how to execute it.
"Have Liselle brought to the club if she isn't already here," he told Aria. "She can wait in a private room until we are finished and ready to take her with us when we leave. Or she can make her way to our ship where she can wait with our pilot while we are launching our operations. We are going to be leaving in a hurry when we are done and it wouldn't be wise to lead anyone back here."
"Fine," Aria spat. "Just get out of here and get it done."
Beau raised an eyebrow at her but didn't bother replying, choosing to head down the stairs.
"Are you sure that was wise?" Aneta asked nervously when they left the office.
"Actually, it's not a bad idea," Darren cut in. "We effectively have a hostage to use against Aria if we ever need it and we have pretty much got a cut and dried alliance with the pirate queen. I think it worked out pretty well."
"Same," Beau said. "Come on, lets get out of this club. We have some work to get to and my trigger finger is itching."
That said, he led the way through the crowded dance floor, once again feeling that old rising sense of anticipation. It was time for action.
…
(Persei Pov)
"This is very exciting," Pimue said as she stood, waiting for Hectar and Ely to finish their work.
Persei wasn't sure she completely agreed with that. After all, 'exciting' things usually meant that there was a lot more work to do, and she was the one that would end up doing it.
Still, at the same time, she could agree that this was momentous. After all, the chance to talk to an active prothean VI was something that every scientific mind, political leader and the entire hanar race would sell a limb to have a chance at. And now they had one on the Balrog.
It probably wasn't the best thing to do, seeing as there was always a chance that a I could infect the systems, but that was why Ely and Hectar were working so hard. They were shoring up the firewalls and all of the other cyber security defences that the ship needed. The last thing anyone of them wanted was for there to be any hidden programs in the VI that would take over control of their ship.
They could have done this on Eden Prime at the factory and default offices of Shieldstar, but Eden Prime was an Alliance planet and the risk was always there that someone would find out about the VI. Until they set up another base, hidden from the eyes of the galaxy, it was safer to conduct these sorts of experiments in an electronically shielded section of the ship that was designed to keep out any foreign intrusion.
"I assure you these precautions, though wise, are not necessary," the VI said, springing to life.
Persei blinked. "Hectar, was this you?" she asked cautiously.
Hectar shook his head rapidly. "I didn't activate the VI yet," he denied. "Ely, was this your doing?"
"It was no one's doing except my own," the VI spoke up again. "I have the ability to monitor the area around me passively and activate avatar at will. So long as my power source hasn't been fully disconnected for more than one thousand standard cycles, I will remain active."
Persei pursed her lips as she frowned. So, this VI would remain active without a power source for more than a thousand days? That was as concerning as it was good to know.
"How can we trust that you are not lying to us?" she asked. "I have it on good authority that the protheans didn't think much of the other races."
"This is true," the VI admitted shamelessly. "This is the right of the strong over the weak and primitive. But we recognised that our cycle was over and that a new cycle would begin, one which my creators would not likely be part of. We did our best to set measures to protect the cycle and warn them of the threats they would face. Contributing to that threat is against my programming.
"Additionally, I am programmed to look after the facility that was built on Ilos to preserve my creators after the attack by the reapers. I have access to much scientific data, but I am not programmed to fly spaceships. That is outside my core programming."
Persei shared an uncertain look with Ely and Pimue. "I suppose that we have no choice but to trust you," she replied. "After all, I suppose that you could have already taken over the ship if that was your goal."
"I am uncertain," the VI replied. "While I contain much more advanced data in my archives, my programming only covered my duties at the base, as well as accessing the information left behind by my creators."
She didn't like it but there was not much she could about it at the moment. "I see," she said stiffly. "Have you a name?"
"Yes," the VI replied. "My creators designated this unit as Vigil, a virtual interface of the protheans."
"What was your purpose on Ilos?" Pimue cut in, her interest in the protheans clearly causing her to forget her manners.
"Ilos was a storage area of my people designated to ensure their survival," the VI, Vigil, explained. "The base was designed to hold my people in stasis until the reapers finished their cleansing, then I would awaken them so that they could emerge and lead the next cycle to stop the reapers."
Pimue gasped, drawing Persei's attention. "You mean," she began hesitantly, "all of those pods that we saw… that was your people?"
"That is correct," Vigil confirmed.
Persei frowned, picking up on the implication that the awakening hadn't gone according to plan. "What happened?" she asked.
"My creators went to into stasis, but the reapers took far longer than anticipated to finish their cycle and retreat," Vigil explained. "As the years went on, the power started to fail. It was insufficient for the number of protheans that were in stasis for the length of time they were required to remain that way. In order to save as many as possible, I had to shut down pods based on priority."
Persei felt sick, while Ely gasped and Pimue put her hands over her mouth.
"You killed your creators?" Ely demanded angrily. It made sense to Persei. After all, the whole situation would probably resemble the geth and the quarians.
"It was one of the contingencies in my programming," Vigil replied. "In the event that the power was insufficient to continue to provide power for the whole population, those who were considered non-essential were deactivated first. They passed while they were still in stasis. There was no pain."
That was more than a little disturbing.
"How many were still alive when the reapers were finally finished and withdrew?" Persei asked.
"When the reapers departed, there were twelve high profile scientists remaining," Vigil stated.
Her heart sunk. "And how many were initially put in stasis?" Pimue asked for her, sounding horrified.
"There were initially three hundred thousand, two hundred and six in stasis," Vigil reported.
Persei had to force the bile down, but completely empathised when she saw Pimue's tears. Hectar and Ely both lowered their heads in sadness at the news. After all, three hundred thousand would be enough to have revived the protheans as a species. Twelve wouldn't have been nearly enough.
"Were…" she cut herself off, swallowing thickly. "Were there any other facilities that were being used for stasis?"
"There were two other facilities that had been designed to keep prothean citizens alive," Vigil confirmed. "One was found by the reapers before Ilos was active. There was no news on the second facility before the Ilos facility went dark."
That was something. "Can we get the coordinates to that world?" she asked. She didn't bother asking for a name, considering it unlikely that the protheans used the same names as anyone from this generation. "We would like to see if there are survivors that we can bring out of stasis, or determine what happened to them."
"Indeed," Vigil confirmed. All four of their omnitools flashed with an incoming message, presumably from the VI as he forwarded the coordinates of the facility.
Persei took a deep breath, shaking off the heavy atmosphere of the last few minutes of revelation. It was time to do what she had come to do.
"Vigil," she began, "we are aare that the next cycle is nearly over and that the reapers will be here soon. We have taken steps to design weapons and retrofit ships to be able to combat the reapers. But we are aware that your technology is more advanced than our own and your empire was more vast than ours is. Are you willing to share your technology with us so that we can better prepare?"
Vigil stayed silent for a long moment. "This is acceptable. The primary mission now is to stop the reapers. Had the initial mission succeeded, then the creators would be alive to assist you personally. What technology do you wish to replicate?"
The quartet of living people looked at each other. "Can you give me files on ships engines and best designs for travelling at subspace and lightspeed?" Ely asked.
"Affirmative," Vigil stated. "You will need to connect me to a data storage device. The information is extensive."
"Do you have information on weapons?" Persei asked.
"Affirmative," Vigil replied. "I have extensive records of infantry weapons and shipboard weapon systems."
"We might need to call more people for this," Persei murmured to Pimue. She opened her omnitool and called their weaponsmith. "Horaxes, Nethalie," she greeted them. "I need you both to come to deck G room 13 immediately. You are both going to have new assignments."
"Before we go any further," Hectar interrupted, "my boss asked me to see if you had any way to detect whether a person had been indoctrinated, and if you would be willing to share this technology."
Vigil's hologram turned to face the quarian technician. "Affirmative," the VI replied. "All prothean virtual interfaces are equipped with sensors that detect indoctrinated persons."
"We will also need a full map of any sites and facilities that we should check to see if anything survived that may help us in our fight against the reapers," Pimue interjected. Clearly the matron was keen to look at more prothean facilities.
"Affirmative," the VI responded. "Sending you a list of all known facilities now."
Another beep from their omnitools let them know that the information had been received.
Anything that could be said was interrupted when the door hissed open and Horaxes and Nethalie entered the room. They caught one look at the prothean hologram and froze.
"Uh, what is this?" Nethalie asked slowly.
"It would appear as if the others are creating images of protheans," Horazes said, peering closely at the hologram. "Rather realistic ones."
"I am Vigil," the VI spoke up. "I am a virtual intelligence created by the protheans to protect the facility on Ilos and monitor the protheans in stasis there."
Horaxes blinked and Nethalie's jaw dropped. Persei had to admit, it was most definitely amusing.
"Yes," Persei spoke up. "We found Vigil during our exploration of Ilos and brought it here to investigate it. We have made an agreement with him to share the information in its databases to help us prepare for the reapers."
At once, a look of understanding came over both of the new arrivals.
"I remember Brock speakling about this when he told us about the reapers years ago," Horaxes said thoughtfully. "I honestly had never expected to see it in real life."
"Yes," Persei confirmed. "For now, Vigil has information regarding weapons, both personal and ship grade. You two are going to get as much information on them as you can and start working on developing any of them for production."
A supremely interested look came over both weaponsmiths.
"Well, far be it from me to deny that sort of assignment," Horaxes said, smiling gleefully. "Can you send the information on personal weapons to my omnitool? I can get started straight away."
"I'll look at the ship grade weapons," Nethalie said quickly.
Both of their omnitools beeped a minute later.
"Alright," Horaxes said, already moving to the door. "I look forward to creating something soon."
Persei watched them both leaving with a tinge of amusemen. It was always enjoyable to see people that were passionate about their jobs getting to experiment and learn new things.
"I will leave Vigil to you, Pimue," Persei announced. "I need to go send a message to Brock. Hectar, let me know when you have that sensor that can detect an indoctrinated person. Ely, make sure you send any proposed changes to our engines to Brock for approval before you do anything."
Receiving three confirmations, Persei headed back to her office to get back to work. Today have been an interesting day. She was sure that the work that came from this would help them all get ready for the dark times she now knew for certain were about to come.
She had initially held the tiniest amount of skepticism about the reapers, mostly ingrained scepticism that she had developed over her political career, but the things that Brock had told them about were actually happening. By the time that Ilos had been found, she was already a full believer.
Now that they had a full list of prothean sites to investigate and a number of technological marvels to recreate, she was certain that Brock would help them survive the coming storm.
And she was going to be right there by his side.
…
1 film, 4 reviews
Ender's Game
Thessian Suns Publication
By Helia Mis'audis
A fascinating concept that is highlighted on the creativity of children, against the backdrop of a war that is far too reminiscent of the Rachni War. It is an interesting look at the morality of child soldiers in desperate times, told with the sophisticated backdrop of subtle manipulations done well, with only a small amount of acknowledgement of the psychological effects that would result from them. A very worthwhile vid.
Sur'kesh Leaf Script
By Silarn Moduk
An absolutely fascinating vid. It is possibly the most accurate vid I have seen on the effects of zero gravity training, though there is possibly still a slight idea of fantasy. The effects are spectacular, and the story well done. The complexity was subtle and therefore easily missed by a lazy mind, but fully appreciable by those of us who notice such things. I believe as well that many reviewers will draw parallels to the Rachni War, and with good reason.
While I do believe that there are parts that could have been explained better in the vid, I actually went and bought a reprint of the original book and found that things were indeed more fully comprehensive and therefore understandable. I understand that it did not perform well in the original release, but that was more due to protests targeting the author than the vid, therefore not a fair representation of the quality of the vid itself. A must watch.
Palaven Daily Call
By Marticus Lossus
Child soldiers are something that turians understand, having used them in the past, and reject unless absolutely necessary. Forcing children into a war they didn't start is truly tragic and a potential loss of a species future. Though one could argue that the dangers were not actually apparent in this due to technology, there are many parts, such as the training and psychological stresses that are applied to it that reflect far too accurately the reality of this.
Despite this, this vid was an intelligent insight into the required handling of them, as well as the best way to draw out the inherent creativity that children are blessed with to be able to see the world in unique ways and solve problems by unorthodox means. It is engaging, enjoyable and most definitely worth the time to watch it.
The Krogan Word
By Ognut Grax
Well, I might not be old enough to have fought against the rachni, but still, that ending made me feel… inadequate. Like my quad was smaller than the kid's. Makes me want to blow somethin' up. Excuse me for ten minutes.
…
A/N Please Review and Follow/Favourite as you please.
Well, Vigil has been taken and will not be a resource left behind. Aria has also made a reappearance and Liselle takes the stage. I won't talk too much here but just out of curiosity, does anyone have any surprisingly good fics that they enjoy from franchises that are not major ones? Something that someone new would be able to get into?
Anyway, until next time!