[He tenses at her statement. It's true–his notes are jumbled. A mixture of theories with very little evidence. It's something that's frustrated him for months. Millions of possibilities but no conclusion. His mandibles flicker in annoyance. He turns away from her.]
Reading into my actions seems to be a common trait amongst you and your crew.
[ One raised eyebrow turns into two. Luckily Shepard has enough restraint to resist the urge to roll her eyes. His body language and defensive reply made the Spectre all the more transparent. ]
Am I wrong? [ Her voice shifts into a different pitch; an expectation he will be honest and straight with her instead of giving the run around. She was no better and she knew that. Her eyes move, staring at him. ] You didn't exactly have this reaction when Liara left.
No more than everything else the city has accomplished. People die here every month and are brought back within two weeks time. The city could have done it after dragging the body here.
[ So it is about him. She paces back to the desk and sits on the edge. ]
It very well might be random luck in its choosing.
[ Shepard returns his stare with narrowed eyes, the look provoking a side of her that made her name infamous in their universe. She clenches her lower jaw and bites, a gesture only reserved for her superiors (but never for the Councilors) while she silently considers her words. ]
Unless you've got something better, I'll take that as a compliment. [ Her eyes make a quick sweep around the area, identifying the nonsense that has become of Nihlus' workspace. ] We've got talking cats and children who defy the very physics of reality. To add logic to Abax is to be illogical. You can't deny the possibility.
[ Her expression eases into something less combative. ] What is it about Saren's departure that has you so bothered?
Edited (EDITING MY PHONE'S TYPO) 2012-09-04 17:34 (UTC)
And you can't deny the possibility that there's a reason.
[He pushes off the table and crosses his arms, meeting her eyes and staring her down.] We can't do anything against luck, Shepard. Reason can be taken down.
[And once again, he sidelines the actual question.]
[ Shepard would actually have to be stupid to not see what Nihlus is trying to do. ]
All right then. [ She crosses her arms in a fashion that highlights a sarcastic presentation. ] Lay it on me. What have you linked with his disappearance so far?
[ Shepard's fake act to study the paper in her hand is interrupted when Nihlus yanks it free from her grip. Her attention seemingly tracks back to him. ]
I was only given a run down about Saren while I was tracking him. I don't know much except what was shown to me during his indoctrination. [ She's trying her damnest to be delicate with her approach. It cannot be easy an topic for Nihlus, especially after all of the backlash. ] The missing piece could be within his history. You know him better than any intel I have received.
We're both pretty terrible at it. [ Facade dropped, she does not flinch away from the sharp glare as she strikes back with her retort. Getting anything out of Nihlus is a lot like trying to fit an elcor through a human-sized door. ]
I want to know about the turian I didn't get the chance to see. [ She then offers a faint, disarming smile when he looks up; a brief flash to indicate that she's not here to judge anything he might say. ] I want to know what it is you saw.
[His hand slides across the surface of the desk as he walks around it, perching on the edge of it when he's made his way to the front.]
The stories I have would take days to tell in their entirety.
[He crosses his arms and shifts, eyes saddening as he thinks.]
... But I can tell you he was a different man. More admirable than he was, though likely just as cold. [At that a small smile tugs at his mouth and he ducks his face to hide it.] It was... difficult to get him to warm up.
[ Fourteen years; Shepard didn't read or hear about Nihlus knowing Saren for fourteen years until now. Any thought concerning her crew members becoming indoctrinated by the Reapers and used against her was similar to the gut-wrenching feeling she'd get whenever she remembered her final moments after being spaced in the endless void.
What Nihlus actually experienced, she can never imagine the full blow of it and having to deal with the impact. ]
Any story that sticks out the most? [ Her gaze traces Nihlus' steps while her voice dips into a softer volume, choosing to remain seated and grant the turian his distance. ]
[There's a thoughtful pause as he scratches his nose. His mandibles twitch back a smile.]
After I escaped your Justicar... I managed to haul myself to my ship. I was beaten–close to death, most likely, but I managed to get the ship off the ground and send out a message.
[He shifts, crossing his arms as he smiles. His voice almost becomes casual.]
I called Saren–we had planned to meet two weeks earlier but your justicar... delayed me. [He laughs softly, shaking his head.] He was furious when he saw me. Said he couldn't believe I had made such an amateur mistake, that I was lucky to be alive. I was too tired to argue so I hung up. I figured he didn't want to talk to me after that but... when I returned to the Citadel for medical attention he was the first person to greet me.
[Nihlus straightens, a roguish smile on his face that makes him look younger.] I all but fainted in his arms.
[He scratches his nose again, glancing off to the side.] He paid for the care I needed. Bought me the best room and the best service, visited me almost every day.
[A small pause. He tilts his head to the left, smirking.] Though he never brought me the alcohol I asked for.
Wouldn't have guessed it after the story I heard from Anderson. [ She leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees, folding her hands together. ] Sort of a shame I didn't get to know him before everything went south. [ She didn't believe that, herself, naturally. If she had gotten to know Saren on a personal level of camaraderie, it might have made it all the more difficult to do what she had to do in the end.
First impressions, so they say. It was increasingly difficult for the Commander to envision the corrupted turian in any other light than the monster that Sovereign had turned him into. Still, half of her is growing interested in the side of her once-nemesis that was eclipsed. ]
I take it you two ran some missions together? Had the family over for a barbecue? [ She offers a half smirk to illustrate the joke in her second question, though insinuating that she wants to learn more but simply didn't know what to ask. ]
[Despite the joke, his smile saddens at the mention of family, though he says nothing on the subject. Instead he shifts, scratches an arm, thinks for a moment.]
We would run missions every couple months. Either he'd ask for help or I would–He was more efficient and I was better with diplomacy and manipulation. We called each other anytime we needed those skills. I did it more than him. It was an easy way to draw him out.
[He smiles again, huffing out some air in a soft chuckle.] Those missions almost always ended in arguments.
[ His miniscule shift that was contrary to the reaction she expected, and perhaps hoped, from her joke didn't go unnoticed. She felt momentarily apologetic for accidentally touching on a subject that appears sensitive, however instead of pushing the issue, she elects to ride the topic that it might keep his focus away from her trip.
She thinks back, linking what he just said to the first mission that she ran with him, and an expression of mild confusion etches over her face. ]
Back on the Normandy, when we put boots on the ground on Eden Prime, you told me you moved faster alone. [ Her hands unwind, fingers tapping along her knees. ] Sounds to me like you're no stranger to the concept of teamwork. So...? [ She doesn't finish the question with words, but that she left the monosyllabic word hanging is detail enough to highlight her curiosity. ]
You've got a better memory than I hoped you would, Shepard. [He pauses, sighs and shifts.] I'd always have to reign him back. Convince him we needed some people alive, that there was no need to be so drastic. It took time. We argued. In the end, I would have been better off doing the missions myself.
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no subject
Reading into my actions seems to be a common trait amongst you and your crew.
no subject
Am I wrong? [ Her voice shifts into a different pitch; an expectation he will be honest and straight with her instead of giving the run around. She was no better and she knew that. Her eyes move, staring at him. ] You didn't exactly have this reaction when Liara left.
no subject
[Why was Saren sent back instead of him? What had he done that had gotten him sent back?]
I imagine it's a far more arduous task to both resurrect someone and drag them across dimensions. There has to be a reason why.
no subject
[ So it is about him. She paces back to the desk and sits on the edge. ]
It very well might be random luck in its choosing.
no subject
If I believed in "random luck", I would have closed my eyes to pick a good Spectre candidate.
[He looks up sharply, almost scolding her with his eyes.]
Stupidity doesn't become you, Shepard.
no subject
Unless you've got something better, I'll take that as a compliment. [ Her eyes make a quick sweep around the area, identifying the nonsense that has become of Nihlus' workspace. ] We've got talking cats and children who defy the very physics of reality. To add logic to Abax is to be illogical. You can't deny the possibility.
[ Her expression eases into something less combative. ] What is it about Saren's departure that has you so bothered?
no subject
[He pushes off the table and crosses his arms, meeting her eyes and staring her down.] We can't do anything against luck, Shepard. Reason can be taken down.
[And once again, he sidelines the actual question.]
no subject
All right then. [ She crosses her arms in a fashion that highlights a sarcastic presentation. ] Lay it on me. What have you linked with his disappearance so far?
no subject
What did you come here for, Shepard?
no subject
[ Such feigned innocence. ] I'm dead in the water without details.
no subject
You'll be disappointed.
[And then he grabs it out of her hand anyway, placing both his hands on the desk and looking down.]
I have nothing conclusive regarding his leave.
[He's reluctant to say it, that much is obvious. In a way, it's like he's admitting defeat at the hands of the city.]
no subject
I was only given a run down about Saren while I was tracking him. I don't know much except what was shown to me during his indoctrination. [ She's trying her damnest to be delicate with her approach. It cannot be easy an topic for Nihlus, especially after all of the backlash. ] The missing piece could be within his history. You know him better than any intel I have received.
no subject
[His words are as sharp as his gaze which he holds, if only for a moment. Then he shifts, sighing as he looks back and sits in his chair.]
Though I suppose I owe you that information. [Curling his hands around the arms of his chair he lifts up his head, meeting Shepard proudly, if sadly.]
What specifically do you wish to know?
no subject
I want to know about the turian I didn't get the chance to see. [ She then offers a faint, disarming smile when he looks up; a brief flash to indicate that she's not here to judge anything he might say. ] I want to know what it is you saw.
no subject
[His hand slides across the surface of the desk as he walks around it, perching on the edge of it when he's made his way to the front.]
The stories I have would take days to tell in their entirety.
[He crosses his arms and shifts, eyes saddening as he thinks.]
... But I can tell you he was a different man. More admirable than he was, though likely just as cold. [At that a small smile tugs at his mouth and he ducks his face to hide it.] It was... difficult to get him to warm up.
no subject
What Nihlus actually experienced, she can never imagine the full blow of it and having to deal with the impact. ]
Any story that sticks out the most? [ Her gaze traces Nihlus' steps while her voice dips into a softer volume, choosing to remain seated and grant the turian his distance. ]
no subject
After I escaped your Justicar... I managed to haul myself to my ship. I was beaten–close to death, most likely, but I managed to get the ship off the ground and send out a message.
[He shifts, crossing his arms as he smiles. His voice almost becomes casual.]
I called Saren–we had planned to meet two weeks earlier but your justicar... delayed me. [He laughs softly, shaking his head.] He was furious when he saw me. Said he couldn't believe I had made such an amateur mistake, that I was lucky to be alive. I was too tired to argue so I hung up. I figured he didn't want to talk to me after that but... when I returned to the Citadel for medical attention he was the first person to greet me.
[Nihlus straightens, a roguish smile on his face that makes him look younger.] I all but fainted in his arms.
[He scratches his nose again, glancing off to the side.] He paid for the care I needed. Bought me the best room and the best service, visited me almost every day.
[A small pause. He tilts his head to the left, smirking.] Though he never brought me the alcohol I asked for.
no subject
First impressions, so they say. It was increasingly difficult for the Commander to envision the corrupted turian in any other light than the monster that Sovereign had turned him into. Still, half of her is growing interested in the side of her once-nemesis that was eclipsed. ]
I take it you two ran some missions together? Had the family over for a barbecue? [ She offers a half smirk to illustrate the joke in her second question, though insinuating that she wants to learn more but simply didn't know what to ask. ]
no subject
We would run missions every couple months. Either he'd ask for help or I would–He was more efficient and I was better with diplomacy and manipulation. We called each other anytime we needed those skills. I did it more than him. It was an easy way to draw him out.
[He smiles again, huffing out some air in a soft chuckle.] Those missions almost always ended in arguments.
no subject
She thinks back, linking what he just said to the first mission that she ran with him, and an expression of mild confusion etches over her face. ]
Back on the Normandy, when we put boots on the ground on Eden Prime, you told me you moved faster alone. [ Her hands unwind, fingers tapping along her knees. ] Sounds to me like you're no stranger to the concept of teamwork. So...? [ She doesn't finish the question with words, but that she left the monosyllabic word hanging is detail enough to highlight her curiosity. ]
no subject
[He pauses, smiles sadly and shrugs.]
But otherwise he would've cut off contact.