73 – Priority : Thessia (7)

Leaving their respective teams behind, Samael and Shepard still had some catching up to do. Although it had been less than two weeks since they had parted on Earth, little and a lot had happened in the meantime.

"I feel like I haven't thanked you enough.'' Shepard said that as she followed Samael, who, in turn, was guiding her through the futuristic city, among countless Asaris, to where Tevos was.

''For what?'' Samael asked. He was cautious today, because of a feeling he had when waking up, and Shepard noticed but said nothing.

"For Normandy.'' Shepard would be the last to admit it, but she wasn't very well-versed when it came to ships. But even she recognized the brilliance of the new Normandy that Samael/LD had given her.

Best of all, the design was pretty much everything Shepard wanted in a ship. Sure, the old ship was good, the best the Alliance had to offer, but it still didn't compare to the one she had received as a gift.

'' You're welcome.'' Samael really didn't take that to the heart, because this was something normal for him to do across all cycles. Making the ultimate Normandy so early was also a way to protect Shepard and the rest of his family better.

Also, the design of the Normandy was something that Samael personally did, since he knew exactly what Shepard and the rest of the crew liked. Furthermore, in terms of performance, the new Normandy was second only to the SSV Phoenix.

You have to remember that Samael sold the other ships with 50% of the Phoenix's power, but since it was Shepard, he went one step further and made it equal to 90%, minus the upgrades he personally put on the Phoenix. That made the new Normandy the second-best ship in the galaxy.

'' How do even begin to think of the design and the output of the ship?''Shepard really could not figure out the man in front of her. Not only was he one of the richest people in the galaxy, but he was also smart enough to put him at least in the top 10 in the galaxy in that regard. The new Normandy was made by him after all.

Samael turned around to face her and had a flashy grin, '' That is a secret.''

Shepard rolled her eyes, '' Cheapsteak.''

Samael ignored that, continued walking vigilantly and abruptly stopped soon after. Shepard paused and asked, '' What's wrong?''

'' We have arrived.''

'' So soon?'' Shepard looked around and was surprised to see that they really were at the location Tevos sent previously.

'' Tevos chose this place because she was already close by, so it was easy.'' Samael wasn't lying. Tevos, along with the rest of the Matriarchs + the chosen Asari, studied the Beacon since yesterday, not resting for a single minute. And, Shepard had landed close to the temple, so they met halfway there.

By the way, as mentioned before, the place where they would meet was a building close to the Temple where the Beacon was located. It was a small one, with only 3 floors, but it was a place where meetings took place.

'' Are you ready?'' Samael asked Shpeard before entering the place.

Shepard took a deep breath and nodded,'' Yes.''

'' Good. Let's go.'' Samael then pushed the door to the building. The layout was simple, a desk with an Asari to reception the guests, and only that. '' We are here to speak with Tevos.''

The Asari nodded, '' She is already waiting for you. Please go to the second floor.'' 

It was clear from the Asari attitude that Tevos clearly showed her Samael and Shepard's faces beforehand. It wasn't normal to just let people enter the building.

'' Thanks.'' Samael and Shepard thanked the Asari and went to the second floor using the stars.

Arriving on the second floor, both could see only one door. So, they rightly assumed it was the place and knocked on it.

'' Enter.'' Tevos voice passed through the door.

Samael looked at Shepard, nodded, and opened the door. Inside, the place looked like the Council chamber in the Citadel, only downsised.

'' Councilour.'' Samael was more respectful today. After all, this was Council business.

Shepard also said with respect, '' Councilour.''

Tevos looked tired, but she had a nice facade, '' First things first, sorry if I inconvenience you in any way. I'm sleep-deprived, thanks to someone.'' She said that last part looking at Samael, who looked at the clouds (?).

'' Anyway, let's get down to business.'' Tevos touched her omni tool a few times and said, '' Jane Shepard come forward.''

Shepard did just that and Tevos initiated the process of putting her into the Spectre position. It was a relatively straightforward process.

Tevos basically asked if Shepard would uphold the Council laws, respect others, and would not use her status for her own gain.

Shepard of course said everything Tevos wanted to hear.

''Congratulations on being the first human Spectre. I pray for your success.'' Tevos had done this process a few times, but it was the first time she ever did alone. The Council, as of now, had just her in real power.

'' Thanks for the opportunity.''

Tevos nodded then said, '' Now if you excuse me, I have to leave.'' She was tired as fuck, but the content in the Beacon was too strong to pass. She would leave here and go directly to the temple.

'' See you later.'' 

Tevos then left the place, leaving Shepard and Samael behind.

''Congratulations.'' Samael said once more to Shepard.

'' Thanks. Now, how about you say what is putting you on edge so much today?'' Shepard didn't realize when they met hours ago, but as time passed, she noticed Samael looking around a little bit anxiously, as if searching for something.

Samael sighed, '' I guess I have to train my poker face, huh.'' This was one of his flaws. His personality got fucked up along cycles and he normally had his feelings splattered across his face without regard. Sometimes it was nice to have that, but other times, like today, not so much.

'' Come on, spill it.''

'' ... It's probably nothing much, but I woke up today with a strange feeling, that something is very wrong. You saw on the way here that I was waiting for something to happen, but for now, nothing. It's keeping me on edge.''

'' How accurately are your instincts?'' While Shepard didn't really believe in something like knowing the future, she believed in the sixth sense and foreboding. So, it was somewhat unsettling seeing Samael act like that, different from what he normally was.

'' They were right most of the time.''

That information made Shepard sigh. Now she too was alert.

Samael noticed that and tried to reason with her, '' Don't worry too much. I doubt something really bad would happen in Thessia, the heart of the Asari people and of the galaxy. It's probably nothing anyway.''

While Samael said that, he wasn't going to let his guard down at any moment.

But, it seemed to convince Shepard, '' ... Ok. So, how about we go back to our crew, to celebrate. After all, this was only possible thanks to you and them.'' Shepard knew her Spectre position was thanks to connections and her team. She wasn't one to let people who helped her not get recognition.

'' Let's.''

Samael and Shepard left the building and were going to where their crew was when he noticed someone he recognized nearby.

The man was smiling at both. Samael paused, sighed and said, '' Go first, I have something to do;''

'' Oh, ok.'' Shepard didn't want to pry and went ahead.

Samael watched as Shepard left, then turned to face the Stargazer who was seated nearby. He got close, sat down, and asked, '' What now?''

The stargazer was always smiling, today was no different. '' I'm just happy I got to witness history today.''

'' Is that about the reason you are here? To watch my and Shepard's story?'' Samael inquired but knew it was most likely this. After all, Shepard became Spectre today, a huge point in her story.

As expected, the Stargazer nodded, '' While we can't see the future, we can predict what will happen with scary precision when we know all the facts. And it just happened that today, one chapter of both stories will be made.''

Samael had a lot on his mind now. The Stargazers were a mysterious race with unknown motivations and goals, that somehow knew about his story. It was a little bit maddening that he didn't somehow predict something along those lines.

Also, the Stargazer being here made Samael relax a bit, as he woke up today feeling weird.

FLASHBACK

' ... Something is wrong.'

It was the dawn of the day when Shepard would arrive at Thessia. Samael had just woken up with his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong.

The same instinct that kept him alive a lot of time taught a countless cycle. He knew he had to trust it.

But, today was different. Normally, Samael had an idea of where things were wrong, but today he had no clue.

After all, the major event today would be welcoming Shepard, making her a Spectre, and then going to the Ardat-Yakshi temple.

Samael kissed Tali's forehead, got out of bed, and went to take a shower, to gather his thoughts.

 Ever since he had the Asari DNA fused with his, it was easy to enter a meditative state, and it was good most of the times. But today, not even that was helping.

The foreboding feeling didn't go away, and he could not think about what was wrong. After he got out of the shower, Samael checked all his chat logs, to see if he missed something.

' ... No, nothing.'

Nothing was wrong. Earth was okay, Cerberus was still being led by Miranda, the Citadel was okay, Javik was okay, and Wrex was too.

Only one thing was out of the ordinary, and that was that Saren was MIA. Samael knew he was already working with the Reapers, but for him to go missing for so long without any saying anything.

But, even with the LD network, the Turian could not be found. It was weird, no matter how you think about it.

So, Samael said to RR while he watched Tali sleep, '' RR, keep an eye out on Saren. If he appears anywhere, tell me immediately.''

'' Got it.''

After that, Tali woke up, hours passed and they went to meet Shepard. But, even then the feeling didn't disappear.

END OF FLASHBACK

'' Is that about Shepard becoming a Spectre?'' Samael asked for confirmation.

'' Who knows?'' The Starzaer was mysterious as always.

'' Then, if you are so well known, why I'm feeling restless, that there's something wrong?'' Samael decided to ask. He knew the Stargazer probably didn't know, but asking didn't hurt anyone.

'' I do know what is wrong, but I can't say. As I said before, we don't intervene, only observe.''

That made Samael pause, as it gave confirmation something was wrong. '' No even a clue?''

'' No can do.'' The Stargazer then made a pensive face and said, '' You know what, let me help you.'' He searched around his things for a while, took something out of his pocket, and said, '' This will help you.''

Before Saamael could see what it was, the Stargazer dropped it inside a cup. Samael tried really hard to see what it was, but with no success.

'' What is this?''

'' Something that will help you.'' The Stargazer's face clearly showed he would stay quiet about this.

Samael sighed and looked at the cup. He knew it was a crazy thing to do, drink something another person gave you, but he somehow had a gut feeling that he could trust the Stargazer.

So, he drank the contents of the cup and waited... and waited. After five minutes, nothing happened. Puzzled, Samael looked at the Stargazer with an inquisitive gaze.

The Stargazer chuckled, '' Who said it was instantaneous?''

That also made Samael chuckle a bit. '' You never did... Now what?''

'' Now you go on about your day, while I continue on mine. After all, observing is quite tiring, don't you think?''

'' Also, do you really have no idea who put me in a time loop?'' Samael said that and waited. After all, the Stargazers were misterous and Anjo never said what he knew about Samael.

'' No, we don't. We aren't strong, you see. We are gifted with visions, but that is the extent of what we can do. If the Reapers find out about us, we are kind of doomed too.'' Anjo said with a sad smile.

' So, it seems they don't know about this universe being a game or that I'm from another universe... that seems fine to me.'

'' So, how do you guys even know about me?''

'' I just said, we have visions and we had one of you. We decided to keep an eye out for you, because of what you went through. And, a few days ago, we received another vision, that a part of your and Shepard's story would happen here. So, they sent me.''

'' Also, we knew about Shepard because of those visions too.''

' The Stargazer seemed... useless in a second thought. Yes, they know more about things than others but it doesn't seem they can fight for control or anything along those lines.'

But Samale wasn't going to let his guard down with them. They knew about the time loops, and a little bit of the future. That made them dangerous.

Still, there wasn't much ore to say to Anjo. '' Say, can you help with my mind?''

Anjo smiled, '' I don't need to do anything. You will resolve it on your own.''

Samael got up from his seat, '' I'll leave you to it then. Will we meet again?''

'' Who knows?''

Samael nodded at the Stargazer and left the scene.

The Stargazer followed him with his eyes until he could no longer see him. A rare melancholic look appeared on his face, '' I wish you strength. You will need it.''

After that, the Stargazer disappeared from the place, to where no one knew.

--

After the second but brief conversation with the Stargazer, Samael finally decided to go to the Ardat-Yakshi temple, to deal with his mind and the Illusive Man.

So, he tapped his Omni tool a few times and made a call to Grunt.

'' Captain? What's wrong?'' The Krogan, as always, sounded eager to fight. Even though Okker tried to change that a little, it seems that violence is linked to being a Krogan.

'' Grunt, I have a mission for you.''

'' Say it.''

'' Grab the cryo pod located in the infirmary of the Phoenix and tell Veronica to drop you at this location.'' Samael passed the location of the temple to Grunt.

Grunt received the location and said after a brief silence,'' Should I expect trouble?''

'' ... You can come armed, but don't be too hostile.''

'' I never am.''

'' ...''

The call then ended and Samael started to head to the temple.