Once again Kahlee and her companions were led through the ship by three quarians. This time, however, their escort consisted of Isli, Lemm, and the captain.
They took them back down to the lower levels and over to the docking bays. Instead of going back to Grayson's shuttle, however, they made their way to one of the other occupied bays, where the Lestiak, along with its crew of VIPs, was already waiting for them.
Considering the political status of those on board, Kahlee was surprised to see the captain didn't request permission before opening the airlock and entering the vessel.
"I guess the captain gets to go wherever he wants on his own ship," Hendel whispered to her, making note of the strange behavior as well.
Inside the shuttle they were brought into a large conference room that appeared to be set up for what looked to be some type of official inquiry. Or a court-martial, Kahlee thought. There was a long, semicircular table with six chairs behind it. Five of the chairs were occupied by quarians, though one on the end was empty. Several armed guards stood at the back of the room, behind the seated dignitaries.
Mai led them to the center of the room, where they stood while he made a full round of introductions. Kahlee didn't bother trying to remember all the names as they were tossed out. She did, however, make a point of noting which three of the quarians in attendance were elected representatives from the civilian Conclave, and which two were members of the military's Admiralty board.
She also noticed that when Mai introduced Lemm, he referred to him as "Lemm'Shal vas Idenna"; apparently the young quarian's Pilgrimage was officially over, and he had been accepted into Mai's crew.
When the introductions were finished, Mai went over and sat down in the lone unoccupied seat at the table. Isli went and stood behind him, joining the other honor guards watching over the scene from the back wall. Lemm didn't move, but stayed with the humans who remained standing in front of the table.
"Kahlee Sanders," one of the Admiralty representatives asked, beginning the proceedings, "do you understand why we have brought you here?"
"You think I might know something about Saren Arterius and how he was able to control the geth," she replied.
"Could you describe your relationship with Saren?" another representative asked, this one from the civilian Conclave.
"There was no relationship," Kahlee insisted. "I only met him briefly two or three times. As far as I knew, he was just the Spectre assigned to investigate the activities of my mentor, Dr. Shu Qian."
"And what were those activities, exactly?"
"Qian had discovered some kind of alien artifact," she said, choosing her words carefully. "It might have been Prothean. Maybe it even predated them. None of us really knew.
"He thought it was the key to creating a new kind of artificial intelligence. But he kept the rest of us in the dark; we were just lab monkeys for him, running data he gathered from his tests and experiments. Qian was the only one who knew any of the details about the artifact: where it was, what it was, what it did.
"But Qian went missing, and he was never found. Neither were his files."
"Is it possible Saren found his files?" one of the Conclave asked. "Is it possible he found this artifact, and used it to gain control of the geth?"
"It's possible," Kahlee answered, somewhat reluctantly. The idea had occurred to her before, but she didn't like speculating that she had played some role, however small, in the devastation wrought by the geth.
"Have you ever heard of a species called the Reapers?" the first quarian wanted to know.
Kahlee shook her head.
"There is word coming from the Citadel that Saren's flagship, Sovereign, was actually an advanced AI. It was alive; just one of an entire race of enormous, sentient ships called the Reapers."
"Those are just rumors," Hendel interjected. "There's no proof to support those theories."
"But it could explain why the geth followed Saren," the quarian countered. "An advanced AI might have been able to override the geth's rudimentary intelligence systems."
"I can't really say," Kahlee answered. "I don't know anything about the geth, other than what I've seen on the vids. And I have no idea why they followed Saren."
"But if Sovereign was a Reaper," one of the Admiralty members pressed, "then there could be more of its kind. They could be lying dormant in unexplored regions of space, just waiting for someone to accidentally discover and awaken them."
"Maybe," Kahlee said with an indecisive shrug.
"It seems obvious to me that this is something we would want to avoid at all possible costs," one of the Conclave representatives chimed in. "One Reaper nearly destroyed the Citadel. Another could finish the job. The galaxy already blames us for the geth. We don't need to give them another reason to hate us."
"Or maybe if we found one of these Reapers," Mai countered, joining the conversation for the first time, "we could use it as Saren did — to take control of the geth! We could return to our homeworlds and reclaim what is rightfully ours!"
There was a long silence, then one of the Admiralty asked Kahlee, "Is Captain Mai correct? Do you believe it might be possible to discover a dormant Reaper and use it to gain control of the geth?"
Kahlee shook her head, bewildered. "I can't say. There are too many unknown variables."
"Please," the quarian urged, though his request seemed more like a command, "speculate. You are one of the galaxy's foremost experts in synthetic intelligence. We are eager to hear what you think.'*
Kahlee took a deep breath and considered the problem carefully before answering. "Given what I knew of Dr. Qian's research, if Saren's flagship was the alien artifact we were studying, it might have been possible to use it to control the geth. And if there are more ships out there like Sovereign, then yes, it is logical to assume they could also be used to control or influence the geth. . assuming that's what Saren did."
It was difficult to read the body language of the quarians at the table while their expressions were obscured by their masks. But Kahlee thought she detected anger or frustration in several of their postures. Mai, however, seemed to be sitting taller than before.
"Is there anything else you can tell us, Kahlee Sanders?" one of the Admiralty asked. "Anything about Saren, or the geth, or Dr. Qian's research?"
"There's really nothing to tell," Kahlee said apologetically. "I wish I could be more helpful."
"I believe we have everything we need," Mai said, standing up. "Thank you, Kahlee."
Realizing they weren't going to get anything more out of their guest, the rest of the participants deferred to his decision and similarly rose from their seats.
"We thank you for your time," one of them said. "Captain Mai, we would like to continue this discussion with the rest of the Conclave. We hope you will accompany us."
Mai nodded. "I am eager to speak with them."
"We should leave as soon as possible," one of the other quarians noted. "Perhaps you could have your security chief escort the humans back to their shuttle?"
"Kahlee and the others are honored guests of the Idenna," Mai said pointedly. "They do not need a security escort. They are free to come and go as they please."
There was an awkward silence that was finally broken by one of the Admiralty. "Understood, Captain."
Having won his point, Mai turned to Kahlee and the others. "As long as you are careful not to interfere in the operations of the ship, I am granting you free run of my vessel. Should you wish to have a guide, Lemm would be honored to show you around."
"Thank you, Captain," Kahlee said, eager to get off the Lestiak and leave the increasingly tense situation behind.
"Perhaps when I return from the Conclave, we can speak again," he said.
"Of course," she replied. "You are always welcome on our shuttle."
Unsure if there was some kind of formal protocol still required before they were dismissed, Kahlee simply stood there until Lemm gave her elbow a gentle tug.
"Come on," he whispered, "let's go."
Mai and Isli stayed behind as he led them away. Once they were beyond the airlock and back on the Idenna, Hendel turned to Lemm.
"What the hell was that all about?"
"Politics" was the short, and uninformative, answer.
"You can't be a little more detailed?" Kahlee pressed.
"I'm sure the captain will make everything clear when he returns from the Conclave," Lemm assured her. "Please, just be patient for a few more days."
"It's not like we have any other choice," Hendel said with a grunt. "But my patience is growing awful thin lately."
Grayson didn't like Golo.
The Illusive Man had arranged a meeting between Grayson and the quarian on Omega to plan their assault on the Migrant Fleet. The meeting was taking place in a small rented apartment in the Talon district, not two blocks away from the warehouse where he had killed Pel. The room was empty except for two chairs, one table, and the two of them.
"You might as well give up," Golo declared to start off the conversation. "Infiltrating the quarian fleet is impossible."
"They have my daughter," Grayson replied, keeping his voice neutral despite the bile in his throat. "I want her back. I was told you could help us."
Golo may have been an ally of Cerberus, but he was a traitor to his own people. Grayson couldn't respect anyone who would turn on his own kind simply to make a profit. It went against everything he believed in.
"There are fifty thousand ships in the Migrant Fleet," Golo reminded him. "Even if they do have her, how are you going to figure out which vessel she's on?"
"The pilot of the scout ship, the one Pel tortured for information, said his name was Hilo'Jaa vas Idenna. I think the Cyniad was a scout ship for the Idenna. Whoever came looking for him was part of the same crew. They're the ones who took Gillian."
"That makes sense," Golo admitted. Something about the way he said it made Grayson feel as if he were being played, as if Golo already knew all this. "But it hardly matters. You won't get anywhere near the Idenna. Even if you're in the Cyniad9 the patrols will shoot the vessel down if you don't use the proper codes and hailing frequencies."
"I have the frequency and the code," Grayson assured him. "The pilot gave them to me before he died."
Golo laughed. "How do you know they're real? What if he gave you a false code?"
Grayson thought back to the quarian he had discovered in the cellar. Pel had possessed a sixth sense for knowing when his victims were lying under torture; interrogation had always been one of his strong suits.
"The information's good," he said. "It'll get us past the patrols."
"Your confidence is inspiring," the quarian replied, and Grayson could hear the smirk in his voice. He knew Golo had been Pel's contact on Omega. He'd been instrumental in acquiring the Cyniad, and Grayson couldn't help but wonder what else the quarian and Pel had been involved in together.
"We're offering ten times what you were paid for the last mission," Grayson said, struggling to keep his rising anger in check.
He needed Golo. Having the codes wasn't enough; if the mission had any hope of succeeding they had to have someone familiar with the protocols of the Migrant Fleet on the ship to keep them from making a mistake that would expose them. And they needed someone fluent in the quarian tongue on the radio to relay the codes back and forth with the patrols; an automated translator wasn't going to cut it.
"Ten times?" Golo said, considering the offer. "Generous. But is it worth risking my life for?"
"This is also a chance for revenge," Grayson reminded him, sweetening the pot. He'd read Golo's profile in Pel's mission reports. He knew the quarian harbored a deep hatred for the society that had exiled him, and he wasn't above exploiting that hatred. Not if it helped him get Gillian back.
"The Fleet banished you. They cast you out. This is your chance to strike back at them in a way they will never forget. Help us and you can make them pay."
"A man after my own heart," Golo said with a cruel laugh, and Grayson felt his stomach turn.
"Does this mean you're in?" Grayson demanded.
"We still have several problems to consider," Golo said by way of confirmation. "The Cyniad and the codes will get us past the patrols. But we'll need some way to disrupt the Idennays communications after we dock so they don't alert the rest of the flotilla once the assault begins."
"We can take care of that," Grayson said, knowing Cerberus had that technology readily available. "What else?"
"We'll need blueprints of the ship's interior layout."
"It was originally a decommissioned batarian Hensa class cruiser," Grayson replied, relaying information the Illusive Man's agents had already gathered in preparation for the mission. "We have the layout."
"Impressive," Golo replied. "There is a chance this could work, after all. Provided you and your team do exactly as I say."
"Of course," Grayson said through gritted teeth, offering his hand to symbolically seal the deal. "I wouldn't have it any other way."