Rebirth The Mass Effect is old

I didn't dig any deeper, just hooked the edge of the last victim, Lorik Ki"In. So he will help us, especially since I theoretically know how to get his location.

Hacking into consciousness took barely a second, and meanwhile the conversation went on as usual:

"A personal escort?" Nihlus asked lazily, ostentatiously stroking my hand.

Anoleis blinked. A memory flashed through his mind: ten Asari in full armor, well armed, standing in the garage by the shuttle.

"Bodyguards to ensure her personal safety. Mostly the Asari marines."

""Bad."" came a worried thought from Nihlus. ""The paratroopers are serious opponents.""

""Ten. At least he's seen so much."" I replied, throwing a mental weight on him.

""Are you reading it?""

""Yes. Ask this popeye around. Maybe he'll tell you something else or remember.""

"You said the Lady brought a load. Something specific?"

"Big, heavy, sealed." The Salarian spread his hands. "The weapon detectors did not react. Everything else does not concern us."

"Unsatisfied curiosity and caustic fear. Our precious administrator, Lady Benezia, is afraid. VERY afraid..."

"We would like to meet Lady Benezia." Nihlus murmured. "Immediately."

Fear concentrated, and the instinct of self-preservation kicked in.

"I'm afraid it's impossible!" Anoleis folded his paws on his chest. "Peak 15 is a private property in the Skadi Mountains. Besides, there's a snowstorm right now and the shuttles aren't flying."

It's clear. He won't move without an order. He's too scared.

"What business brought the mother to Noveria?" Liara spoke up.

"Even if I knew, Lady Liara, I wouldn't be able to tell. Your mother has arrived as Saren's agent's attorney."

Flashback: a Turian in white armor, terrifying Analeis beyond measure. Saren impressed the Salarian to the depths of his cowardly soul: tall, very strong, looking frankly creepy because of his prosthetic arm, disfigured face with undisguised implants and pins, icy light blue eyes looking with outright disgust and absolute ruthlessness...

Yes... Anoleis would NEVER go against Saren. He's too scared. To the point of trembling, animal, literally primal horror. He understands that the Spectr will strangle him as easily and indifferently as a worm on the road.

Arterius knows how to impress without really doing anything... It's simple, without hiding its essence...

"Do you do business with Saren?" Asari squeaked.

"With Spectr Saren?" the Salarian asked with a certain amount of patronage in his voice, even though he was literally petrified with fear. "He is a major investor in the Bayneri Helix Corporation, one of the leading organizations on Noveria."

"I believe Bayneri Helix is developing weapons for my mentor." Nihlus remarked lazily, slightly squeezing his thin blue fingers.

The panic that broke out at the word "mentor" hit my brain like a hammer. The image of Nihlus in Anoleis' mind was quickly being reinterpreted, being associated with the Turian who was so frightening to him. Associative chains appeared in the blink of an eye: Saren-teacher-mentor-Nihlus-student-danger-influence-Saren-dissatisfaction with rejection-personal intervention-horror... An amazing cocktail of emotions and imaginative chains. The Salarian turned out to have a very vivid imagination, and he could quite clearly imagine the results of the discontent of the only student of the frightening Spectrum.

"Considering his interests, it is quite possible." Anoleis responded a little more kindly. Distrust and caution. "Are you familiar with Spectr Saren?"

"Undoubtedly." Nihlus bared his teeth condescendingly, making the nervous Salarian flinch. "Saren Spectr is my teacher and mentor. Of course, I know him. Still, how can I meet Matriarch Benezia?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at my partner's face full of love and understanding. Nihlus looked a lot like Saren in the Council Chamber at that moment. The same ruthless green eyes, the same snarl showing sharp wedge-shaped teeth, the same light plasticity of movements, the same arrogant contempt of a higher being evident in every gesture. And the same brutality. Anoleis saw exactly what Nihlus wanted him to see: a Turian standing in front of a terrified Salarian is a true disciple of his ruthless teacher. The associative circuits in the brains of the Hanshan administrator were completely closed and the image was comprehended and fixed in the subconscious.

Anoleis won't go up against Arterius' apprentice.

"You will have to wait for the storm to end. When it's over, I'll give you a pass to the garage. Yes. There are shuttles in the garage." Nihlus nodded contentedly, and Anoleis almost fell to the floor in a limp puddle of relief.

"Where we can... To rest?" Nihlus purred, brazenly stroking my forearm.

I blinked in embarrassment and snuggled up to the powerful Turian. For a moment, a strong arm wrapped around my shoulders. Anoleis half-blinked, and then gave out:

"Go to the hotel. Straight through the hall and to the right. I'll let you know. Yes." The relief increased. The old bastard interpreted Nihlus pleased face in her own way. That's wonderful. And here are the pictures generated by his vivid imagination... yeah.. The old lecher... I've even lost my fear, damn it. But he's got a lot of imagination, I won't say anything. If she could have been embarrassed, she would have been embarrassed and blushed. As it is, nothing... I'll keep it as a keepsake. I was even curious how the old toad knew the anatomy of our races so well...

"Thank you." Nihlus purred happily. "Have a nice day."

"Yes. Yes."Anoleis quickly rolled his eyes: Liara smiled charmingly at him, hugging Nihlus by the waist.

I broke off the mental contact, leaving the old bastard with a mental bookmark as a keepsake: at any contact with Saren, Benezia or their people, he will completely forget about Nihlus and our conversation. Short-term memory lapse... What a sad thing... Well, who doesn't?

And we slowly left the office, leaving the deeply shocked Salarian to move away from the attentions of the beautiful Asari and communication with the student of his personal nightmare named Saren Arterius. Well, as in the canon, visiting An Anoleis did not give quick results, although we did not receive a refusal. But go find out when this snowstorm will subside? In an hour, in a day, or in a week. And we need to get to the Top of 15 right now.

The secretary stared at us with completely round eyes, and didn't say a word about Lorik Ki"in. Well, we'll meet with him anyway. In the meantime... It's time to take a look at the local hotel and the accompanying bar. As far as I remember, you can meet a lot of extremely curious creatures there. And at the same time solve the problem with access to the hangar.

Chapter 17: The Pass

After leaving Anoleis' office, Nihlus abruptly slowed down his pace, glanced at me, and activated the mental channel on his OWN:

""What did you find out?""

""Anoleis won't go against Saren. Your mentor inspires the old bribe taker with animal horror. You're practically terrifying him now.""

""Because I mentioned a mentor?"" The Turian was genuinely surprised.

""You have very similar habits when you want to impress someone... It's a frightening experience. Associative connections appeared instantly, connecting you and Saren in the brains of this toad. Did you notice that he didn't dare refuse you?""

""It's no use anyway.""

""Shuttles really won't fly in this weather. We need ground transportation.""

""Go back?""

""There's no point. Let's just alert him.""

""Won't he pass?""

""The bookmark won't allow it. He'll forget about you if the conversation turns to Saren, Benezia, or their people.""

Nihlus looked at me in surprise.

""What did you expect? I'm a mentalist, and I don't have much respect for other people's brains. To me, only the intelligent ones from the inner circle are untouchable.""

""I'm even embarrassed to ask..."" Nihlus drawled somewhat uncertainly.

Too bad for me. She's shy... Rather, he is afraid to hear the answer.

""yeah. I could have guessed it myself.""

""Guessing and finding out for sure are somewhat different... things."" a storm of emotions swept through the communication channel.

Sending him a sense of irony, I ended the connection, but I was in no hurry to end it. What for? He'll get used to the mental connection and, lo and behold, the mentalism will come through. It's quite possible. Or at least empathy.

The hotel we were looking for was located directly opposite Anoleis's office at the other end of the huge lobby: after skirting a stone wall that stood in the middle of the lobby for some reason, we turned right, where we found the entrance to this establishment under a glowing holographic sign. The elevator quickly took us up a couple of floors and released us into a short rectangular hall leading to the hotel bar and, in fact, to the hotel itself for the guests of the planet. Behind the reception desk, a smiling Asari stood in a tight black dress and radiated outright boredom and fatigue in her mind. Our armed company was followed by interested glances, but there was not a single attempt to approach and ask who we were. Apparently, everyone already knew everything.

""Nihlus, let's go to the bar."" I barely moved his elbow, turning him toward the right door.

The Turian reacted instantly, immediately turning the whole company around. Liara did not interfere with what was happening at all, quite naturally playing the curious Asari maiden and moving her slightly snub-nosed nose around. Garrus and Rex played the role of living furniture and did not shine at all, but I clearly felt their wariness and muffled discontent directed at others. Their port was annoying too.

Cheerful music rang out unexpectedly, as soon as the airlock doors opened in our faces. Irritation flared behind his back and subsided, bubbling dully on the verge of sensitivity: Garrus was annoyed by the loud sound.

""Who are we looking for here?"" a thought came to me-a question from my partner.

""We need the Turian Lorik Ki"In. He is a representative of Synthetic Insights on Noveria and he has some problems with Anoleis. It can help with the pass.""

What can I say about the bar? The feeling is a damp two-story stone sack with dim greenish lighting, rhythmic music in the style of the unforgettable "Drum and Bass", full of diverse people huddled at low round tables. It was also quite cool and humid, so I didn't turn off the shields.

""Send Tali and Rex to the second floor.""

In response, there is agreement and no surprise or questions.

At the entrance to the bar, we had an easy castling: I walked around Liara and grabbed her elbow, Nihlus put his arm around Azari's shoulders, Garrus stood next to me.

"Rex, Tali. You can rest for now." After taking a critical look at the bar, Nihlus added: "There are still tables available on the second floor."

Rex met Nihlus gaze. Literally a second of staring was enough for the Krogan to appreciate the essence of what was said. With a grunt, he grabbed the thin hand of the Quarian and went up the wide stairs, and we slowly crawled into this nest of intriguers and sharks of local business.

"Lady Liara, may I have your attention for a few minutes?"

A soft deep voice announced the beginning of a chain of events. Nihlus turned abruptly, frowning at the tall Asari in a gold formal dress sitting at a small table in a shaded corner. Liara blinked in surprise, but I squeezed my fingers on her forearm twice, and the girl nodded graciously to her compatriot.

"Why not?"

"Can I talk to you in private?" The Asari asked cautiously, cautiously squinting at the armed and angry Turians.

I squeezed my fingers again.

"Sure." Liara sat down lightly on a chair. "Nihlus, if you don't mind..."

Nihlus nodded coldly and walked away, politely pulling me along with him. The bar turned out to be filled with people, and there were no completely empty tables, but we found a fairly large table near the water wall, at which a lonely, upset Turian sadly nested. Lorik? Maybe.

Suddenly, a signal came from Tali and the Quarian's voice was heard in the miniature headphones:

"There's something interesting. I'm turning it on from the recording."

There was a click of the broadcast switch and the Salarian's voice sounded in our ears:

"An older brother? It's me. I'm on Noveria right now. I can't take long. The call is ten credits per minute. A straight line from the Traverse. Do you think it's cheap? I need information. About Synthetic Insights."

Nihlus, Garrus, and I exchanged glances, and the voice continued to rattle off the information we needed:

"The manager, Lorik Ki'In. He was caught by the arm. The Hanshan administrator has closed the office. I need you to take a look. What can I find out about... writing down a name?" pause. "Rannadril Ghan Shwa Fulsooom Karaten Narr Eadi Bel Anoleis."

The length of the Salarian's name made me a little skewed. Even the high elves with their sick ego didn't come to this! And the unknown Salarian continued to mumble:

"No. This is the administrator. The administrator of Hanshan. Well, think about it. A Turian will not risk closing the office. He won't let his "team" down. They teach them this in the army, so be healthy. I think the administrator is using this Ki'In to keep the flies away from his nest." a pause, indignation in his voice. "Of course I can find out everything myself! But how do you think I'll get this information through Noveria's networks? And the search results from other systems will go here for a hundred years!" a pause, and relief. "Thank you, big brother. It's time for me to go. Yes. I'll call you back soon."

The message beeped off, and Tali asked:

"Is it important?"

"Yes," I replied softly.

The connection was lost, and as if on cue, we stared at the sadly hunched Turian.

""Shall we check?""

Instead of answering, Nihlus silently pulled us along. Lorik, and it was him, noticed our company only when Nihlus literally loomed over him. The Turian blinked in surprise, shifting his puzzled gaze from his kin to me and back again. Something purred softly... He perked up.

"Good afternoon. Have a seat. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"You've already helped us." I smiled at Loric, who was visibly relaxed. "There are practically no places."

"O!", Lorik looked around the room intently and nodded in agreement. "Will you join me? He cocked his head questioningly and tapped the clinking bottle with his claw."

Nihlus nodded benevolently. We sat down, and Kraik tapped the order on the menu bar built into the table.