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Chapter 3.1: Eden Prime: Nihlus
"Nihlus!"
The Spectr, to my great relief, was still alive. His hoarse, wheezing breath churned up bloody bubbles, and his chest was torn open by a gunshot and resembled a mess of flesh, blood, and black armor. And the blood flowing out of the wound was RED, rapidly changing its color to dark blue.
Don't this understand?
Okay, red blood is fine. The physiology of humans and Turians is very similar. The amino acid body on the right or on the left doesn't matter, both are based on hemoglobin, which gives blood color gem. A pigment group containing IRON. The blue color has nowhere to come from. There is simply no copper in the blood in such an amount, otherwise Turians would be banally poisonous, and this is not the case. But right before my eyes, the crimson blood was rapidly changing color to a dark blue! And I couldn't explain THIS phenomenon clearly.
A barely audible wheeze brought me out of my stupor: Nihlus was trying to say something, but couldn't. It's amazing that he's still alive, but if you don't take immediate action, the Turian will die.
The flaps of the armor gave way, and I carefully removed the cuirass, revealing an ugly wound and a blood-soaked coverall under the armor. I tore the first-aid kit off my belt and opened it... and I realized that there was NOTHING inside that could help the rapidly dying Turian right now. Panacelin is not a panacea. This is a first aid tool, but not a cure for all diseases! I didn't know where Nihlus' personal first aid kit was.
"Shepard is calling Normandy!" I turned on the transmitter and yelled.
The answer came quickly:
"Shepard, this is Moro."
"The Joker! I don't care HOW you do it, but Nihlus SHOULD be in the Normandy Infirmary in five minutes! Do you understand me?"
Jeff got into my tone and the essence of the claim, as the answer, spoken in a hoarse voice, expressed all shades of deep amazement:
"Roger that, Shepard."
"Five minutes, Moro! And not a second longer!"
The pilot turned off, and I had the thought that the infirmary of Normandy, which had hurriedly flown out on its first mission, might also not have medicines intended for creatures with dextro-organisms.
There was a clatter of footsteps. I picked up Kraik's assault rifle lying on the stove next to me. Ashley and Alenko appeared from behind the container.
"Inspect the train station and destroy the Geth."
The fighters ran away. I hope they can handle the Geth without my help. Or what is it, really? Kayden's help is zero on the way out, just problems. It's like being with a child... then he sticks his nose where it shouldn't be, then he catches a shot and stands there, looking at the guilty face of the shitting cat.
"Shep-par-rd..."
The Turian's low, croaking voice was barely audible over the roar of gunfire. How can he even talk with a split chest and damaged lungs?!
"This... this..." The Spectre choked on blood and coughed heavily.
"Tell the Council about it. They won't believe me anyway. And then you'll explain HOW you caught that shot from your beloved mentor."
Nihlus did not answer, convulsively pressed his mandibles to his cheeks, and I went over the possibilities available to me, trying to figure out how not to let him die here and now. The Nihlus armor's resources have already been exhausted, and there's nothing in my first-aid kit that could be used by dextro organisms. If I had access to all my capabilities, there would be no problem, but right now I was barely different from an ordinary person!
Although...
There is one option. Inconvenient, energy-consuming, but perhaps the only one available now that I can use in almost any condition and in any world. It doesn't require any special abilities or rituals, my desire is enough.
Energy recharge.
Of course, this is an unfortunate moment, and I need to be conscious in order for the recharge to work, but... With such a wound, if Nihlus survives, it will be a great miracle.
I took off my gloves and carefully dipped my finger in the warm blue blood. Nihlus was watching my actions in surprise.
"Blood is the moisture of life. The quintessence of it. Blood carries the life force and energy of an intelligent being. It doesn't matter what its composition is or what the body's biochemistry is. It will work anyway and give you a chance to survive."
A heavy drop formed on the tip of my finger. I touched my skin, tracing a sharp angular mark on the back of my hand under the gaze of bright green eyes. My desire is clearly formed, and the blue blood is instantly absorbed into the skin, leaving behind a barely noticeable blue trail. And one last thing. I licked the blood off my finger. The mark on my hand slowly turned a dull purple glow, and I staggered from the sudden outflow of energy, barely keeping my balance, but Nihlus, on the contrary, began to breathe more calmly, the convulsive wheezing subsided. His regeneration accelerated dramatically, and his body, having received unexpected support, began to recover rapidly. This will give him a chance of survival.
"Imrir..." He croaked, barely audibly, calling me by name for the first time.
"Keep quiet." I replied just as quietly. "This is neither the time nor the place."
He slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. There will be questions later, when he is not standing with two feet in the grave. And I will most likely give honest answers to these questions. Gunshots and the buzzing pops of biotics could be heard at the train station as the fighters destroyed the Geth. As far as I remember, there aren't many of them, so we should be able to handle it. Soon the gunshots died down and Ashley reported:
"Clear!"
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, Commander."
Well, that's great. I put on gloves and restored the integrity of the armor.
"Take up defense on the platform." I don't know exactly what the Joker did or what he said to Captain Anderson, but just three minutes later, the graceful silhouette of Normandy appeared in the sky, and a rumpled, unshaven man crawled out from behind the boxes.
Oops, who showed up! A homegrown sleep-loving smuggler. Wow, the Geth didn't really kill him!
When he saw the weapon pointed at him, he recoiled slightly, raised his hands and shouted:
"Wait! Don't shoot! I'm just like you! I am a human being!"
I squinted a little, not lowering the massive Nihlus rifle. I wonder if this idiot with his paws in the air really thinks that his belonging to the human race will help him in any way? What a great argument! Funnily enough, Nihlus closed his eyes and went a little limp, and his hand jerked to grab on his hip, but there was no gun on him. The weapon disappeared without a trace in an unknown direction.
"What are you doing there?"
"I'm... sorry... I was hiding! From these creatures!"
"Who are you?"
The man lowered his arms, squinting at the rifle, which was obviously too big and heavy for my hand.
"My name is Powell. I... I saw what happened to that... What's his name, a Turian."
He's what?
"Have you seen it?" I asked softly.
Powell hesitated, slightly embarrassed, lowered his face.
Well, well... And what did you manage to see, are you a victim of circumstances?
"Well... Rather, I heard it."
Did you hear that? That's better. I also didn't want this petty criminal to see my manipulations.
Normandy landed on the pad next to us. The conversation had to be curtailed for a while. I held a nervous man at gunpoint, Nihlus pretended to be a corpse, although I knew that his condition had stabilized, and immediate death was no longer in danger. At least for now, the recharge is working.
Finally, the ship's ramp came down, and Dylan and Darg ran up to me in full gear. A couple of minutes later, Anderson and Karin came down with two more fighters carrying a stretcher. Okay, Karin's out, she's a doctor. But what the hell was the captain doing out in the fresh air?
"And what did you hear?" I asked, watching the approaching captain and the doctor with half an eye: it's time to start the canon story.
I'm sorry, Saren. But I NEED these revelations and the stain of a traitor on your reputation, which Anderson and Udina will actively ruin.
"He was killed by another Turian!" The worker exclaimed, looking at the approaching captain.
Nihlus opened his eyes slightly, blinked in surprise. Yes, yes, dear Specter, you are, in fact, already a corpse. So lie down, don't twitch and have fun.
"I need to know how Nihlus died." I said softly. The Turian understood me perfectly, closed his eyes and relaxed completely, as much as it was possible for him.
The doctor ran up. When she saw the state of the Spectr, her face changed and in the blink of an eye she built others. Nihlus was carefully lifted, placed on a stretcher and carried to the ship under her strict guidance.
Captain Anderson stopped behind me, frowning at the crumpled man, who was cautiously squinting at me and the weapon in my hand. And he squints correctly. He would have seen something superfluous, and a valuable witness would have been lying on the ground with a hole in his head. Well, the reflex worked, who doesn't? Pure chance!
"Who killed this Turian again?"
Derg, hearing my gentle voice, raised an eyebrow in surprise. Captain Anderson pursed his lips slightly. I got to my feet, not taking my rifle away from the nervous man.
"He was killed by another Turian." The smuggler repeated obediently. "He came here earlier. With these creatures. Your... friend called him Saren. I think they knew each other."
On behalf of the rebellious Spectr, our brave captain shuddered. Wow, I haven't forgotten the events of eighteen years ago! Although, what am I talking about? How can you forget such a failure? He had a real chance to become the FIRST human Spectre, and as a result, he received a negative, contemptuous characterization from the legend of the Special Corps. And Saren went through David Anderson's pride from the bottom of his heart. The captain will never forget or forgive this.
"Your friend relaxed, lost his guard, and Saren killed him. I shot him when he was talking to someone on the comm. I'm lucky he didn't notice me."
Did you talk on the comm? Damn, that was unfortunate. Or was it successful? Kraik still survived, even though he was actually mortally wounded.
Anderson joined the conversation. While he was chatting with this novice smuggler, I motioned for Darg and Dylan and moved away with two fighters a little to the side.
"Where is the band?"
They were dropped off somewhere near the settlement. We were left on board and we don't know the essence of the order.
"Who's in charge?"
"Max."
I nodded slowly.
"Sergeant Ashley Williams and Alenko are currently on the platform."
"A survivor?"
"The only one from her unit. Lucky." I glanced at Captain Anderson. "Dylan, Darg, they PROBABLY need support."
The hint was understood instantly, and both my fighters disappeared, and I went to Captain Anderson.
"Sir, the lighthouse was moved, Saren went to get it on the monorail."
Anderson looked up from the conversation, looked at me, and frowned.
"Saren must be intercepted!"
"Yes, sir. Captain, the situation has become more complicated, Darg and Dylan have been sent to reinforce the landing group." a short pause. "Sir, Corporal Jenkins is dead. I'm going back to completing the task. May I go?" I rammed away, blinking my eyes in devotion.
"Permission granted, Commander."
Having received the authority "approval", I immediately rushed to the fighters of the landing group before Anderson took them away.
If my sclerosis doesn't let me down, bombs, a bunch of Geth, and a lighthouse are waiting for me on the other side. Well, and future nightmares, where without them.
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