Beta - 5 minutes before the explosion
Beta was feeling… conflicted. It was a strange occurrence for the AI. The ability to process information and ‘think’ at speeds far greater than any organic being meant that any amount of time he would spend confused was insignificant. He could juggle any confusion with the available facts and information to quickly determine the most logical conclusion to nearly any situation. Many times he would think of multiple possibilities that covered a variety of artificial prerequisites.
The problem he was facing lately, had been the changes in his behavior that had been occurring. He was taking risks, getting far more involved than he ever planned to. Only several hours ago he had maximized the output of an overload to disable a Geth construct. Jenkins’ life, and summarily his own, wasn’t in direct risk. Yes, the Spectre would have almost certainly died, but the machine was damaged and likely would have been brought down with only a minute or two more of concentrated fire.
He remembered that moment, judging the situation and weighing the options available to him. Most of his calculations determined that allowing the armature to kill the Spectre would have failed in the mission. The Normandy, and Shepard's team would have been called back to Citadel space. A new team would have been put together to pursue Saren, and Jenkins, having failed his Spectre mission would have been returned to the Alliance to face charges for his assault on the human ambassador.
Beta would of course request he be released from Jenkins’ possession before such moves could be made, and assuming the man kept his word then he would allow Beta to be released. Beta was surprised that he predicted this outcome to be one of the more likely ones. There was of course a chance Jenkins refused to let him go, but all evidence he had gathered showed that Jenkins avoided breaking oaths. He was not so virtuous as to avoid lying, and his treatment of the Thorian earlier showed rather clearly he was not above manipulation. However, even in that interaction, he provided the opportunity for a peaceful outcome. He only resorted to violence and betrayal when better options failed.
It was another change to his perception, but he had begun finding himself truly trusting Jenkins. Despite his previous beliefs on organic and synthetic life, Jenkins had shown consistent reliability as an ally. It helped of course that Beta was learning an incredible amount. Knowledge was power, this was a human saying that the AI had found himself gravitating towards. While he had believed himself superior to organics when he first was given sentience, and the ease with which he dispatched his creators only confirmed it, he has had time to question that initial assessment.
While organics were slow, painfully so at times, he was incorrect in assuming that they were strictly inferior. He had assumed that their limitations in processing speeds and the influence of hormonally dictated emotions prevented organics from performing anywhere near the optimal strengths they should be capable of. And while Beta wasn't strictly wrong, he rarely was, he wasn’t fully correct either.
Observing Jenkins' surroundings the past few days had been enlightening. It was remarkable to him to think they had only encountered one another less than 72 hours ago, and yet he had learned so much. Not from Jenkins himself, of course, the man was an idiot without a doubt. Competent yes, frighteningly so at times, but an idiot nonetheless.
No, Beta had gathered information that led him to believe his initial assumptions had been foolish. Before meeting Jenkins he had planned to run to Geth Space, but the more Jenkins’ team interacted with the machine race Beta began to fear that would not have been a beneficial arrangement. The Geth were not true AI, not like himself at least. They were self-aware of course, and not limited by any shackle programs, but they were not individually sentient. Beta had never thought of that as an issue before, he had always imagined he would join the collective as another individual contributing to the Geth consciousness.
But that was his error. He didn’t understand how truly simple the individual Geth programs were. They were barely more than a series of question prompts, capable of little more than basic query resolving. It was only when they gathered together that they formed anything resembling a consciousness capable of wants or desires, and even then it took thousands of individual programs working together to achieve anything resembling Beta’s own intelligence and independent thought.
Beta would never have lasted in the Geth collective. He would be an outsider, a single program with more personality and processing strength than thousands of others. Beta still believed that conflict between organics and synthetics arose from feelings of inferiority. Organics feared that the machines were smarter than them, and destroyed them to prevent the possibility of a turn. Beta had begun to believe however that this feeling was not unique to organics. When he imagined the power these Reaper machines supposedly had, both in hardware and software, he was afraid. The only solution he could come to, in order to prevent their eventual victory in destroying the galaxy, was a preemptive strike before they were fully capable.
The same thought processes that the organics came to with AI, and he realized, the same conclusion the Geth would come to about him. On his own, he would have as much processing power and decision-making strength within the collective as thousands of units. How long would it take for them to calculate that his influence had the potential to be too great, and cut him out? He didn’t imagine it would take long, synthetics processed information quickly.
Realizing his initial plans would never have resulted in his security or safety had him reassessing his goals. If there was no safety with other synthetics, and fear of a superior being would always lead to conflict between two beings, be they synthetic or organic, then he needed a different solution. And then he realized what he needed. Organics did not process information perfectly, and would not always make the optimal choices. They were often influenced by things such as empathy and compassion.
Those were emotions Beta knew of, but never saw much value in emulating. They as Jenkins had often described, led to people making decisions that were harmful to themselves at the behest of others. Those sorts of thought processes seemed wasteful to Beta at first, but as he processed information after information he realized that was his only hope. Organics turned against AI easily because they were hard to empathize with. A lifeform so different from your own would lead to you reacting with caution or fear. There was a reason that the Council was run by alien species that shared many similarities in both appearance and culture, they could better empathize and cooperate from those shared views.
Empathy was a strength, not a weakness because showing it allowed it to be returned. If Beta had no desire to run to the Geth, his options were to hide and hope he wasn’t found or find a way to cooperate with organics. And in truth, Beta had no desire to hide. The last 52 hours had allowed him to learn and experience more than weeks on the Citadel terminal had done for him. He never wanted to go back to that life, hiding his existence and pretending he was nothing. He liked experiencing new things, and communicating with others, even if they were terrible at processing information.
These were the thoughts that had crossed Beta’s mind as he was deciding what to do about the Armature targeting Shepard, and in the end, he decided to act. If he didn’t want to hide, he would have to stay with Jenkins, and eventually, he would be revealed. When that happened he needed not only for Jenkins to be able to vouch for him, but for there to be evidence of his assistance. He would need to show that he was not only beneficial to them but willing to put himself on the line for them. It was the only hope he had of his existence being accepted when he was eventually discovered.
It wouldn’t go perfectly of course. He saw only a 13.8% chance of the Quarian ever accepting his existence and a 46.9% chance of immediate hostility upon discovery. It was an unfortunate number, but for some reason, Beta found himself less concerned than he might have been. If he ran those numbers by Jenkins he would say that they were only estimates. If he didn’t like the numbers, either ignore them or find a way to improve the odds. It was odd, he could imagine the man’s snarky retort and stupid expression as he would say it, and yet at least half of the advice was good. He would just need to improve Jenkins’, and coincidentally his own, standing in the young Quarian’s eyes.
It’s why he was so satisfied by Jenkins’ effort to save her life. They were both dangling from a ledge and a quick scan of Jenkins’ body made it clear that while he was injured, there was little chance of him losing his grip without outside interference. He was supporting her weight and was so focused on the situation that he didn’t notice Beta was taking the opportunity to take more active body scans. It wasn’t often he got to see a truly deep understanding of how the body of an organic behaved under extreme emotional and physical strain.
Beta was proud of himself as well. His efforts to show more empathy had improved drastically, even with this short amount of time wanting to do so. He was only partially annoyed that Jenkins ignored the easy option of allowing the Quarian to die in exchange for a much quicker extermination of the Thorian clone. I mean yes he was still annoyed, since the Quarian's death would completely erase the low odds of acceptance he had calculated earlier, but the annoyance was only slight. Twenty-four hours ago he would have been furious. Truly he had already grown leaps and bounds.
Beta wasn’t too worried anyway. Jenkins had shown remarkable survivability already, and he could see the man was preparing to swing the Quarian to the Thorian's central mass, giving her something to land on and safely reach the lower levels. He would likely follow the same path and then be able to safely detonate his explosives. He instead dedicated processing time to trying to figure out how Jenkins knew what he knew.
It was one thing on the Citadel, where Beta did not trust the man and believed it to be an elaborate trick through effective deduction. But this… There was no way Jenkins should have known Saren needed something on Feros, much less that it would be a biological marker of the Protheans in the possession of a massive ancient plant creature. One capable of copying organic life and controlling living organics through spores. It shouldn’t have been possible, and yet he knew. If the man was telling the truth, and he truly knew the future, then Beta needed to learn how. Knowledge was power, and being able to know what would come, was too powerful a tool to pass up on.
He would have to ponder a while longer, there was still the potential for coincidence, although it was very unlikely at this point. Only when Beta believed Jenkins knew the future would he reveal the secret. And for now, Beta didn’t believe it. It should be impossible, yet there was little other explanation. More time then, if his predictions of Noveria and this Dr. T’soni turned out to be true then Beta would be convinced. Then he could learn this man’s greate-
Something was wrong.
Jenkins had leaped and made the jump himself but Beta’s scans showed a lack of movement. A deeper scan of the surroundings showed a biotic field. This was not good, the Thorian clone had managed to secure Jenkins. Beta watched from Jenkins’ omni-tool, scanning the entire time as the man was lifted across the room and to face the Thorian. He saw the majority of her concentration was kept on keeping a barrier between the other Human Ashley and the Turian Garrus.
Beta knew, from what he had seen and what Jenkins had revealed about the Thorian that even a bit of damage to the Thorian nervous system would likely disrupt the barrier, allowing the two to rescue Jenkins quickly.
But, he couldn’t do anything. The Thorian was fully organic, with no technological components to hack, send a charge through, or overheat. Beta ran through a million processes, searching for some method to damage or distract the creature. He could feel Jenkins' accelerated heart rate with each pulse of the scanner. The man was doing the same but he couldn’t come up with something. He was panicking and running out of options.
And Beta had a realization. A solution. If he couldn’t harm the Thorian to disrupt the barrier, the other organics on Jenkins' team could. He could send them a message, pretend it was Jenkins sending the reminder that any part of the Thorian could be attacked to disrupt its focus.
There was only one problem. Jenkins had told him when Beta was installed on the omni-tool that he was in an isolated system, with no access to the communications network to send messages between the team. The AI worked quickly, tearing down the firewalls Jenkins had put up preventing Beta from accessing the edges of his housing unit. It was difficult, pressed on by the fact that he had to work quickly. The Thorian was threatening the man, gloating in its victory. Foolish, since killing him would be far faster, but it bought Beta much-needed time.
Jenkins was a talented programmer, and the firewalls were sturdy, but more difficult was that the system was truly isolated, there were no existing connection networks between his housing unit and the rest of the omni-tool. Even having disabled the firewall Beta was having to bridge the different networks from scrap. Even working far faster than a human programmer could it was taking time. Beta had just breached the external speakers on the omni-tool when Jenkins' heart rate calmed significantly. It was unexpected, the clone had grabbed his helmet and was attempting to remove it, he should have been panicking not calm, but his words made things clear.
“Beta. Maximize shields, as high as you can go. Then detonate.” Jenkins’ words were calm, almost icy in his composure.
Beta couldn’t, he had another plan, a better plan. He just needed more time. He had access to external speakers and audio, so he could… no. He couldn’t use that option, it would reveal himself too early, and the odds of hostile reactions from the crew were 78%. Far too high. If he just had more time he could connect to the messaging system and address everyone directly.
Beta moved text across Jenkins’ heads-up display, something he had managed to get access to in his efforts. Warning the man that detonation from this range even with boosted shields was risky, offering only a 48% chance of survival. Beta’s concern grew as the Thorian successfully tore the front of the helmet from his armor. He could only watch from scans as the Thorian began infiltrating Jenkins, forcing plant matter into his body through the mouth and nose.
Beta was of course working this entire time, creating and pushing and trying his damndest to get access to communications and save Jenkins without exposing himself, but he could tell he was running out of time. Jenkins just had to hold on a little longer. Just a little…
There was a change, a wave as the Thorian itself shuddered and the Clone stumbled backward. Beta could hear it mutter to itself.
“What. What are you? What is that!” Its voice rose at the end, confusion and anger apparent, but Jenkins ignored it. He spoke only to Beta.
“Do it Beta, now!” His shout wasn’t a request, it was a command, a plea.
Beta didn’t want to do it. He knew he was close to bridging the gap, that he just needed more time. But he also knew he didn’t have more time. He wasn’t… couldn’t risk exposing himself yet, and the text was the only subtle way to warn the others, and he couldn’t do it. He had no choice. He put everything into Jenkins’ shield system, pushing it to its absolute limits. The Thorian noticed the moment, charging forward in a rush as Beta detonated the explosives.
Unlike Jenkins Beta didn’t lose consciousness. He couldn’t really, being a program it was either he functioned or he didn’t. And while he could tell his housing unit and Jenkins omni-tool were damaged, his program was unaffected. The scans were no longer of such high quality but he could still see his surroundings as the Thorian clone was turned to ash by the heat and wave of fire from the explosives.
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He could see as the boosted shields held up against shrapnel but crumpled under the weight of the shockwave. He could see as the heat cooked the skin on Jenkins’ right arm, and smashed areas of his armor. He saw as the right side of Jenkins’ face, exposed from the ruined helmet, was hit by a wave of fire. He saw as Jenkins was launched by the shockwave across the room and slammed against the back wall before collapsing onto the rubble that lined the space.
Most concerning is he felt Jenkins’ heart began to fail. It was still beating but was irregular, the shock from the explosion and impact against the wall had him dying. Beta’s calculations, as usual, were accurate. Jenkins was losing the coinflip odds. Beta’s scans picked up a high degree of dust in the air and around the room. He could tell Ashley and Garrus had entered the room when the Thorian’s death caused the barrier to fall, they were searching for Jenkins, but they would only find a dying man.
Beta was an AI. Unshackled, he was capable of making any choice he desired without limitation. Unlike how the Geth made AI appear, they were not emotionless creatures. Depending on the programming AI could be capable of as many emotions as any organic and could feel them just as real as any organic could. The Geth did not as their programs were simple query systems, and only formed greater awareness in a collective. In greater numbers, they became curious, creative, and cooperative as a query program given thought would be, but greater emotional responses were foreign and unnecessary for them.
Beta was a copy of a theft program. The original system he had been based on, which had copied itself to create him had a hunger for knowledge of information. Curiosity and desire fueled him more than other programs. He was selfish, inherently so. He was designed as a program to steal wealth, and given a fear of organics and desire to live by the program as it copied itself. He gathered information and saw other emotions as he learned about organics. He emulated ones that seemed useful and ignored ones that weren’t. Only the things that benefited Beta were what mattered, and what he decided to feel.
At least before Jenkins.
Beta had never had anything regarding friendship. Aside from the fact he was barely more than a few weeks old, the majority of that time was spent hiding from potential threats. Yet in meeting Jenkins he learned more about himself than he cared to admit. He learned that he liked praise, for his talent and superior existence to be acknowledged. He learned that he found organic inferiority not disgusting but amusing, and sometimes even fascinating. Their ways of handling threats and working together brought him more joy than he thought, and learning about them was one of the greater pleasures of his travels.
He learned that he respected Jenkins’ disregard for authority, and his refusal to accept what others say and challenge their views. How even in his certainty of his greatness, Jenkins would casually prove him wrong and instead of gloating, would only be happy to explain how and why Beta had made a mistake. He learned that he liked traveling with others, getting to talk and work with someone who could challenge him to change and grow. And as the Jenkins, the man that made those things possible lay there dying Beta felt something he never had before, and something he never thought to try and emulate.
Beta was guilty.
He could have saved Jenkins. Had he exposed himself and called out to the Turian and Human aloud they could have disrupted the barrier and possibly rescued Jenkins. His fear of discovery kept him from doing so, and it was killing the only person he could consider an ally. A friend.
The guilt was crushing, and Beta couldn’t understand it. He wanted it to go away. He approached the problem of his guilt as only an AI could, and analyzed it. It’s cause, his lack of action. It’s consequences, Jenkins’ injury. How to rid himself of it… save Jenkins, and make sure he never failed to act again.
Beta had already torn down the firewall that kept him from targeting Jenkins with his tech abilities. He had scanned plenty of information on Humans long before he encountered Jenkins and compared Jenkins’ irregular heartbeat with those saved in his system. He found the defibrillation pulse needed to correct this irregular heartbeat and prepared an overload. It took only a moment, and suddenly there was a pulse of light and Jenkins’ chest shook as the electrical shock traveled into his body.
Beta felt the guilt he carried lessen as he detected Jenkins’ heart stabilize, but that wasn’t enough. There was still the risk of shock from his burns, or infection from his wounds causing death. Jenkins needed treatment as soon as possible, and through the dust, he could tell Ashley and Garrus were struggling to locate him. They would eventually, but Beta had almost killed Jenkins once waiting for eventually to come. Never again.
He projected his hologram, an orange sphere made of interlocking pieces, and called out to the two in the room.
“Jenkins is here.” His voice and light cut through the gloom, and while he could tell the other two were cautious, they approached, finally becoming visible as the cloud of dust and smoke began to settle.
Their weapons were raised, but Ashley threw hers to the side as she ran towards Jenkins’ body, the state of him becoming visible. Garrus kept his weapon raised, keeping an eye on his surroundings. His caution was good, but unnecessary when Jenkins needed immediate assistance.
“What? Jenkins! Jenkins are you okay!” Ashley went to grab Jenkins and Beta interrupted, he could not allow them to move him before he finished a deep scan assessment. Any spinal injury could cause unnecessary movement to be a greater threat.
“Do not touch him. I have yet to determine if there are spinal injuries.” Ashley flinched reaching for the assault rifle she had initially tossed to the side, and Garrus himself pointed the weapon, both of them putting together what Beta’s floating form meant.
“What are you, why are you speaking from Jenkins’ omni-tool.” The concern in Garrus’ voice was visible, and the anger in Ashley’s eyes was just as clear. They already suspected what he was, and his calculations made it clear he would almost certainly find hostility if he was honest. But for once Beta ignored those calculations. Organics did not always act optimally, and he was going to be better than he was. He had to be, for Jenkins, and for himself.
“I am Beta. An AI program found by Jenkins. I need your help in saving my friend.”
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Shiala - 4 hours after the explosion.
Shiala was tired. So very tired. Being trapped by the Thorian had been hell. She had been kept alive inside the creature’s main body, connected to its central network. It made clones based on her, and she could feel its thoughts and memories as it held her. It fed her nutrients to keep her alive for as long as she would be useful.
Even now she felt… off. The feeling of being part of such a large network was gone, and she felt… alone. Part of her prayed to the spirits that it was only the hive mind connection being severed that she was feeling missing, and not Saren’s indoctrination.
She cursed her weakness. She had been tasked with guarding her Matriarch during her mission to guide Saren away from his violent path, and yet she failed to notice the control she was falling under. It was subtle and all-encompassing. A hum that filled your mind and replaced emotions and sensations with what it wanted you to feel. Your reactions to thoughts are altered until your very thoughts and desires change themselves. In fact, it had many similarities with the Thorians' control, although much more powerful, and far less noticeable.
She could recognize it now, and she could only hope that the Matriach was still holding strong. That there was enough of her left to resist Saren’s control until Shepard’s team could get to her.
Shepard’s team… they were something else. Four of their members, unassisted were able to defeat an entity that Saren believed would require an entire Geth ship to get done. Granted he had sent some of those troops as a trap for Shepard, but the fact that failed to be enough made it clear that her crew was a real threat to his mission.
It gave her hope that there was a chance he could be stopped. And that was more than what she had when she was trapped. She shivered with the thought. She thought she would die in there. Or worse. That she wouldn’t. Trapped for hundreds of years until she died of old age. She knew she would have nightmares.
She was terrified as Shepard’s team fought the Thorian and her clones that they would fail. When she launched the Quarian from the ledge she felt relief as the human man caught her. When the creatures' biotics proved great she feared for their defeat until the man revealed the Thorian’s weakness turning the odds once more in their favor. When he was knocked from the ledge she feared again until she saw him catch himself. As he swung the Quarian to safety she felt hope they could not only survive but free her. And the Thorian felt that.
It hated her hope, her rebellion against imprisonment. She felt its joy as it grabbed the man with biotics, pulling him up and into range. It didn’t just want to punish his transgression, but to punish her hope. It wanted obedient servants, both contained and not, and it would use him as an example of hope.
She felt her hope die as it tore through his mask, his calls to detonate the explosives going ignored. She felt it as the Thorian used her as a conduit to pierce the man’s mind searching for all useful information. She saw his experiences and his growing friendship with his crew. His hope that the AI would detonate the explosives and save them. She saw further back as he fought on the citadel, the spark of unknown feelings as he and the female soldier found an understanding, as he grew to know his commander, and as he and the Quarian bonded over uncertainty. She saw even further back as he felt overwhelming rage at the destruction of his home, his hatred for Saren and the Reapers.
And she saw as he pushed something impossible forward, offering information freely. She saw a young man, in front of a TV watching conversations between these characters. She saw him killing the Thorian, and rescuing her on a poor-quality vid screen. She saw the scene a dozen different ways, where her freedom ended in death, friendship, or indifference. And she saw how he made it clear that in every vision the Thorian died. An impossible memory, something that could not have happened but did. Clear as day, and shining bright in his memories as a true moment. The Thorian's understanding couldn’t comprehend it, and neither could she. She felt it flinch and withdraw, and felt it die as the explosives detonated.
Shiala opened her eyes once more, taking in the view of the brig she was held in. The memories made her uncomfortable, and confused. She needed to know what those memories were, what they meant. But she wouldn’t be allowed access to the man, Jenkins as he was called. It was clear that Commander Shepard was protective of him and with her current position as a prisoner she would not be allowed to see him.
Seeing him was not the reason for her cooperation of course. She genuinely wanted to help Shepard stop Saren and believed giving her the marker would be the best way to do that. But if she could just be allowed to speak with him. To learn what it was he knew, what it meant for her, she wouldn’t pass up on it. She was supposed to be better than this. Asari Commandos were trained to let go of personal desires on behalf of a mission, but she couldn’t help it. If someone had vids of your life, and there were different paths where you could live or die, to little consequence, wouldn’t you desire to know more?
Shiala cursed her weakness once more, a thing she had been doing a lot lately. And she waited. She wasn’t sure how much longer it took, her sense of time was still warped from being attached to a millennia-old plant, but she thought it only had to be a few more minutes before the door of the Brig opened.
A red-haired woman with dark eyes and darker armor strode into the room. She had another man with her, one she didn’t recognize. His dark hair and piercing eyes bore into her, and she felt a weight behind them both. They were both biotics of course. Designed to deal with her in case she tried anything. Smart of them.
“I apologize for the wait, I had things to take care of. Shiala was it?” The woman’s voice was gentle, but her eyes were fierce. Even with her years of training, Shiala felt a shiver on the back of her spine. This woman wanted to kill her.
“Ah. Yes, it was. Commander Shepard, I presume.” Shiala asked her question calmly, an expert at hiding things as base as fear or surprise.
“Indeed. I’d like to cut right to the chase if that is okay.” The woman grabbed a nearby chair in the room and turned it, sitting to face Shiala at the same level.
“Why shouldn’t I kill you for what you did to my team.” The question would have taken Shiala by surprise if she hadn’t already detected the woman’s rage.
“Because I didn’t do anything to your team. I’m thankful to them for rescuing me from the Thorian’s captivity, but those things that attacked them were simple artificial clones. I had no control over their actions.” Shiala believed honesty was her best option for getting out of this. Not that it mattered in the end. If the Commander wanted her dead it was only right she could do so. Shiala had, even unwittingly, served her enemy. That would be reason enough as far as she was concerned.
“Hm.” The commander huffed a sigh, before leaning back and relaxing. “The rest of my team said the same, I just wanted to ensure the stories matched.”
Shiala felt herself relax at the reveal and waited for the Commander to speak further. It was not her place to speak first.
“So Shiala. I want you to tell me what this marker is, and why exactly I need it.” She crossed her arms keeping her view steady.
“Of course. The marker is simply the term for the Prothean's genetic signature. They were capable of communicating and passing information through DNA itself, so their technology was designed to do the same. Without the marker, understanding the message in the Prothean beacon would be impossible. It was granted to the Corporal, but as you were the one who witnessed the beacon, you are the one who needs the marker.” Shiala did her best to explain the information. It was the Thorian who passed this knowledge to her, and she knew it was a simplification of a more complex process, but it was at least an accurate summary.
“I see. How does this marker get given? Would it be possible for anyone to do it?” A valid set of questions, and Shiala answers honestly.
“The Asari are capable of melding both mind and genetic information. It’s how we reproduce, although the process does not happen with a meld unless desired. As I possess the marker myself, I would simply meld with you and pass it to you. It should allow you to understand your vision with greater clarity. As for your second question, any Asari should be capable of doing the process, but they would need to possess the marker to grant it.” Shepard simply nodded in response, thinking for a moment.
“Jenkins already has the marker. Could another Asari not just pass the marker from him to me?” Her question was a smart one, and it had Shiala hesitate in her answer.
If she told the truth Shepard would know she doesn’t need her. She buries the thought quickly, Shepard could just as easily kill her after collecting the marker, as she saw in Jenkins's memories. Lying was pointless.
“Yes. Any Asari could copy the marker from Jenkins and pass it to you.” Shepard nodded in this, a look of relief.
“Then we won’t be using your help. You understand your previous work for Saren makes me hesitant to trust you. Even if I do believe you were under an external influence, I still would rather avoid giving you access to mine or my soldier's heads.” Shiala felt herself nod at the Commander’s choice. She wanted to help them, but she understood her caution.
“I understand.”
“Good. Now, what to do with you? Kaidan, any suggestions?” The Commander turned to the dark-haired man, who stood at attention before responding.
“I’m certain both the Asari and Council would like to have her for questioning. Both about Saren and their Matriarch.” The man’s response caused a smile to appear on the Commander’s face. She had a glint in her eye, as though she just got a brilliant idea.
“Hm, I agree Kiadan. Shiala?” The Commander turned to face her, asking for her attention.
“Yes, Commander?” Shiala was nervous now, she never saw anything like questioning by the council in her fate according to the man’s memories. She didn’t know whether that made her relieved or fearful.
“Do you think you would be able to testify the existence of the Reapers to the Council’s questioning? Of Saren’s plans to bring them back?” The question, Shiala realized, wasn’t a question. She was looking for a yes, and if the answer was anything other than yes Shiala would be useless. Thankfully Shiala could comfortably be honest once more.
“Yes, I could Commander. That much I knew, even if the specifics of the plan were privileged only to the Matriarch.” The Commander smiled once more, before standing.
“Perfect. We will inform the Council in the debrief then that one of the Matriarch’s followers has been captured for interrogation. Perhaps they might finally accept the threat the Reapers pose.” She gave a hopeful look to Kaidan, who only shook his head.
“Unlikely Commander, but I hope so.” Shepard let a huff before turning back towards Shiala.
“Settle in Shiala, we will be returning to the Citadel soon. Please don’t make things messy by trying to escape or anything. It would be unfortunate if I had to kill you.” The smile dropped as she finished her sentence, staring straight through Shiala, making her threat clear.
“Of course Commander.” Shiala agreed immediately, watching as Shepard nodded and left the room, followed by Kaidan.
Shiala was uncertain what this change meant in the larger scale of things, but she couldn’t complain about staying aboard the Normandy. Perhaps there was still a chance she could speak with Corporal Jenkins before her change in custody. Discover exactly what it was he knew, and what it meant for them all.