Out of the Twilight | Mass Effect

33

Garrus knocked on the open office door, then stood at attention.

"It's open for a reason, whelp," Saren called, subvocals vibrating with barely restrained amusement.

"Sorry, sehr. It's just- I-"

Saren decided to take pity on the younger turian. "You thought you'd ask to tag along on this mission, right?"

Garrus nodded, relieved. "I mean, if it's alright with you, sehr."

"Sit down, whelp," Saren said, kindly.

Garrus sat, tensing as Saren rose to shut the door. "Both Andra and Nihlus told me that you'd make a decent Spectre. From what I've seen, I agree." Garrus's head whipped around as he gaped at Saren. "I've read your records. You were almost tapped, but you refused when your mother got sick, right?"

"Yes, sehr."

"I know your father. He's a good officer, and was a great asset to CSEC. Knowing him, he expects you to follow his footsteps." Saren leaned a hip on the edge of his desk, studying Garrus intently. "Are you asking because you want it, or because you think it's expected of you?"

Garrus opened his mouth to answer, then closed it, mandibles working as he thought. "I don't-" he sighed. "I never got the chance to try, and when I could have, Bormah forbade it. I'd like to see if it is what I want."

Saren beamed at him. "Right answer. Grab your gear, we're heading out in an hour."

Garrus rose and saluted, hurrying out of the office. Saren shook his head, amused. The kid needed a bit of work, but he had the potential to be a force to be reckoned with. That was good. Andra and Nihlus both needed a cooler head to keep them from running off half cocked. Garrus had his own hot headed tendencies, but those read more as a desire to act without having all the information. With a bit of patience....

He snorted at himself. Andra was more than capable of running her own life, she didn't need him running interference in the background anymore. Admittedly, that wasn't going to actually stop him, but he could at least take a moment to recognize what he was doing. He settled at his desk to send a quick message.

Extranet message

To: Castis Vakarian

From: Saren Arterius

Subject: Garrus

Castis-

I'm bring your son with me on a simple run. He's a good soldier, and a good kid. If he decides to try for Spectre status, I'll help him. If you want to yell about it, call me. He's still figuring out how to stand on his own, and not under your shadow.

I found a new clinic that has had some success with treating Corpalis. If you're willing, I'll pull some strings to get Novitana a place.

Now, snarl and rage and insult me, then let me know when I need to call. We were good friends once, I'd like to try and get that back.

-SA

Saren rose and headed to the docks, accepting a datapad from a nervous human runner and scanning it. He was allowed to keep Joker, Dr Chakwas, Jenkins, and some of the crew, but the rest were being sent to other assignments. He nodded, accepting the decision. He decided to check the status of the proposed SR2, wanting to see how that project was going. He slipped in a few small changes, more comfortable seat for the pilot, a bit more headroom in the elevator, a redundant food storage system to accommodate a crew of levo and dextro diets, into the plans, making official recommendations for using the loft as an officer's quarters. He idly wondered if his changes would be noticed as he watched the crew ready the Normandy for her new mission.

"And right on time," he muttered as his omnitool pinged a call from the Council.

"Saren," he barked, once the call connected.

"What do you think you're doing, Arterius?" Councilor Valern snapped.

He cocked a browplate. "I had reports of a minor scuffle. Shepard is better suited to a diplomatic mission than I am, so I sent her. I plan on covering her busywork, as I would like to assess the functionality of the Normandy on my own."

"You do still answer to the Council, Saren," Councilor Tevos said. Saren could hear the rage behind her words, but he doubted anyone else could.

He caught Sparatus's eye, and caught his slight nod.

He turned his attention to Tevos. "Look, Shepard is out of the way, chasing impossible leads. I've suggested that this might be a bit out of her depth, and she agreed. I have known her for years, I know how to play her without raising her suspicion. Trust me. You know where my loyalty lies."

There was a pause, then Tevos sighed. "Very well. See to it you inform us next time."

The transmission ended, without the courtesy of a farewell. Saren rolled his neck, then caught Garrus's glare.

"Not here, whelp. Too many ears."

Garrus glared for a while longer, then hefted his bag and boarded the ship. Saren sighed. I hate breaking idealists. He checked that the loading and boarding was progressing without incident, then made his way to the captain's quarters.

Garrus was already inside, standing at furious attention before the desk.

"Sehr," he snapped, saluting as the door hissed closed behind Saren.

"At ease, whelp. I was lying to the council, not Andra." He sat in the chair, steepling his fingers as he studied Garrus. "The Council is corrupt. Has been for decades, at least. Roughly a quarter of CSEC and half of Special Tactics do what we can to keep them from doing too much damage to the galaxy. Sparatus isn't, he was one of us before he was promoted. He's working on Valern. Tevos is beyond redemption."

Garrus gaped at Saren, weakly dropping into the visitor's chair. "But... how? Why?"

"As to how, they run most everything, in case you hadn't noticed. As far as why..." he sighed. "Who knows? I think it started as a way to keep the asari on top and just... grew."

"But this was supposed to be Andra's mission. You don't-"

Saren waved that off. "The council is very good at sending the more obviously intelligent agents out on missions where they wind up dead. They want a loyal pack of attack varren. Andra won't bend to them if she sees something off, and they know it."

Garrus reared back. "You think they sent her on this to kill her?"

"It was likely, but considering how upset they were when they found out I'd taken it, absolutely." Saren said, shrugging.

Garrus sat for a while, mandibles fluttering as he thought. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, we set the tracker the council stuck on the ship on a drone, and set that tooling around the Traverse. We, on the other hand, will be tracking down red sand dealers in the Terminus system."

Saren's omnitool pinged an incoming message. Garrus nodded and rose, saluting Saren on his way out. Saren opened the message, mildly surprised to see it was from Castis. He wasn't expecting a reply for a week, at the earliest.

Extranet message

From: Castis Vakarian

To: Saren Arterius

Subject: Re: Garrus

Saren.

Do what you can for Novitana. It's not too bad yet, but... Please.

Garrus could use a strong hand to guide him. Spirits know I could never get through him.

CV

Saren snorted. Shows how little he paid attention. I've only known the whelp less than a year and I know him better. He sighed and sent a message to a few doctors he knew, promising extravagant bribes if they would focus on a new patient. He considered telling Garrus, but decided to wait until he heard back.