71 – Priority: Thessia (5)

WITH SAMAEL

For others, the ones who never entered contact with a Prothean Beacon, for you to have full access to the knowledge/content inside it, you have to have used The Cipher, something that makes it possible to read the confusing knowledge inside the Beacon.

Essentially, it allowed non-Protheans to have the mental comprehension of a Prothean.

As Samael had already interacted with the Cipher in past cycles, he could use this Beacon just fine. After all, only his physical body returned to the beginning when the time loop happened. His memories, his mind, and his soul, all went back with no problem.

So, under the watchful gaze of hundreds of Asari, Samael started to use the Prothean technology. Seconds turned, into minutes, and he continued doing his 'best' to unlock the contest inside the Beacon.

Finally, after 10 or 20 minutes, Samael said while wiping the sweat from his forehead, '' Done. More than 1 TB of that has been extracted. I must say, you guys hit the jackpot with this one. The Prothean technology is one of a kind.''

Samael wasn't joking. The Protheans were a very advanced race, so the Asari as a whole would benefit thanks to the content of the Beacon. But, he would not say the part where LD also used some Prothean technology in their product, so the Asari still has a long way to go to reach LD level.

Also, even though he didn't need it, as he had Javik + 100 or so Protheans on his planet and his own knowledge, he used RR, EDI, and his Omni tool and transferred the data to LD servers.

Tevos, the Matriarchs, and all the other Asari present were surprised by how fast Samael did the job. They thought it would require hours, maybe even days. Not even in their wildest dreams would they've believed that the knowledge they sought for centuries was just minutes away.

Just to be sure, Tevos, who was the closest to Samael in all terms, came closer to him and asked, '' Are you sure?''

Samael smiled at Tevos,'' I told you before, and I'll tell you again. I'm a man of my word, and we had a deal. Why would I screw you over? You know LD and mine stance when it comes to sharing technology.'' He whispered this last part, '' We need all the upgrades we possibly can get to stop the Reapers.''

Tevos had nothing more to say. She knew Samael's stance when it came to Reapers. The man would not stop at anything when it came to that. Besides, she trusts him.

So, after a moment of silence, she said, '' Thank you.''

''You're welcome.''

Just as Samael's voice faded, a commotion started among the Asari present.

'' By the Godess!''

'' This is revolutionary!''

At first, only the 100 Asari reacted with such passion, but after a few moments, even the usual stone-faced Matriarchs had an astonishing look on their faces. They also knew the gain they would have if they researched all this in depth.

Samael used that opportunity to ask Tevos something, '' Can I ask you a favor?''

Tevos wanted to join the Asari who were checking on the data, but she knew that staying on Samael's good grace was good too, so she said, '' Ask away.''

Samael would now ask for something he needed. This was, after all, one of the reasons he came to Thessia, '' I know you have a temple that houses the Ardat-Yakshi close to here. I want permission to go there.''

Tevos was surprised, as while the temple isn't exactly hidden, very few people knew about it. But, it also made sense for Samael to know about it, as he was the owner of LD. '' Can I ask you why?''

Still, even though she trusted him, she had to ask again.

'' I just have to ask a few questions directly to them. I will go alone, if you want me to.'' Samael wasn't exactly lying. He would ask for their help.

'' Hmmm.'' Tevos had no reason to say no. '' You can go, I'll send the headmaster of the temple a message about you. You will have free access to all the facilities there. Bring anyone you like.''

'' Thank you for that.''

'' Now, if that's all, I'll go join my sisters and see the data if you don't mind.''

'' Please, go ahead. See you later.''

Tevos then left Samael alone and joined the Asari. All of them were so focused that they didn't even pay attention to Samael anymore.

The contents inside the Beacon were that good. By their initial calculations, they could upgrade their technology in a few weeks.

Samael had nothing more to do there, so he started to get away when suddenly, a Matriarch approached him. He sighed, but expected that.

'' Can I talk with you for a moment?'' The Matriarch was none other than Benezia.

'' Sure. Do you want to go somewhere private?'' Samael knew exactly what she wanted to talk about and knew it was somewhat of a private topic, so he offered.

Benezia nodded and said,'' Follow me.'' She led the way, with Samael following.

After both left the temple where the Beacon was, Benezia stopped and said, '' What are your intentions with my daughter?''

Samael had had this conversation in past cycles, so he was prepared, '' The best possible.''

Benezia tried to see any falsehood in Samael's face, but nothing so far. She then said in a misterous tone, '' You know, I heard a lot about you, your feats, etc. I must say, you don't really look like you live up to the tale.''

At that, Samael raised his eyebrows. Look, he was the first one to admit he wasn't THAT handsome, but for the rest, he was perfect. Tall, muscular but not too much, intelligent, among many other good things.

' She is trying to get under my skin... unlucky for her, but I know how to deal with this.'

'' It must be because we just met. In the future, when we are properly acquainted, you will see that all rumors about me were true.''

'' Oh? All of them?'' Benezia said with a strange gaze.

''... almost all of them.'' Samael said that while sighing, ' She is somehow difficult to deal with. I can't say much but can't say nothing.'

It was a weird situation all around.

Benezia seemed to come to a conclusion in her head, '' I'll continue to monitor you in the remaining time you stay here. If I find any suggestion that my daughter is being treated unfairly, you will face my wrath.''

'' I promise that my goal is to treat your daughter the best way possible.''

Benezia nodded at that. What she wanted to convey was conveyed, and she would return to her sister now.

With all things Liara related out of the way, Samael decides to ask something, '' Are you, by any chance, in contact with Saren?''

After what he learned at the Shadow Brooker base, that Saren talked with the old figure before he killed it, he was keeping an eye on the Turian, just for precaution. According to what he knew, he was MIA for at least 2 weeks, and Benezia was one of the contacts he had, so he asked just to make sure.

Beniza found the question weird but answered nonetheless, '' No. I haven't talked to him for a long time now. Can I ask why you asked that?''

''Nothing much, but I fear Saren is up to no good.'' Samael told the truth, but knew nothing much would come out of it, '' I would appreciate it if he contacted you, you tell me or LD.''

'' Oh?'' Benezia realized the situation was not nice, '' How bad is the situation?''

'' Nothing much, for now, just speculation.'' Samael continued, '' If it was that bad, I would tell you.''

'' ... I will keep an eye out for him.''

'' Thanks. Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be. See you later.'' Samael said goodbye to Benezia and left.

The Matriarch liked the conversation. She still had a few doubts, but for now, she knew her daughter was in good hands.

' That's the maximum we can ask.'

She then returned to the temple, to study the contents of the Beacon.

WITH SAMAEL

With that out of the way, Samael now has some free time. He was debating internally if he wanted to go to the Ardat Yakshi temple today, but after some deliberation, he decided to go tomorrow.

' They won't be going away anytime soon. I want to spend some time with the girl on a date.'

Making up his mind, Samael sent a message to Liara and Tali, asking where they were. A few moments later, they sent their location, and Samael started to make his way towards them.

As this was the Asari homeworld, it was basically only Asaris whenever Samael passed. As he made his way toward them, he also enjoyed the scene.

Most of the time, when he visited the planet in past cycles, it was already destroyed by the Reapers or other threats. So, seeing the place so peaceful was nice.

Samael smiled, seeing the families walking around, in peace. He visited a few places, bought some nice gifts for his crew, and continued making his way toward his girls.

But, then he stopped in his tracks. He had noticed a man, a human, looking at him from a distance. The man was weird, to say the least. He had been following Samael for some time now, mimicking his movements.

Samael had noticed the man ever since the beginning. He thought the man would stop following him after he stopped, but no.

After he had stopped on his track, the man did the same. Then, when he started to walk again, the man walked too.

So, after a bit more of that, Samael sighed and went to face the man. He didn't recognize him from any other cycle, ' It must be a crazy man.'

But, he pushed that aside, because he knew how rare it was for a human to be among the Asari. Both men now faced each other. 

For some reason, Samael didn't feel any ill will toward the man, on the contrary, he thought the man had a somewhat calming effect, ' Weird... In all past cycles, I never felt something like this.'

For someone who lived for more than 200 years, feeling something new like this was nice, even more so for Samael, who liked to experience things.

' ... I need to know what his deal is.' The situation was too weird to begin with, and Samael wasn't one to let things go, so he would try to get to the bottom of this... whatever this is.

So, for starters, Samael said, '' Have we met before?''

The man clearly didn't mind that he was caught following someone. He smiled at Samael, '' First time.''

'' Why do I feel like I know you?'' Samael said with an inquisitive tone, clearly trying to get a rinse from the guy.

But the man continued to smile at him as if he didn't notice his tone, '' I get that a lot. Seeing as you came to me, you should've had some questions, no? Ask away.''

Shivers went down Samael's spine as he realized this man was dangerous. Not in the sense that he could kill him, but that he somehow could read Samael's intentions.

Samael had pride in the fact that he was too unstable for people to read him... And now, the man did that easily.

As if to prove a point, the man waved his hand and said, '' Don't be like that, I mean no harm to you.''

Samael sighed. ' So this is the feeling of having someone control the conversion.'

It wasn't the first time Samael experienced this, but it had been a long time since it happened.

'' Do you mind going for a walk then?'' Samael offered, and the man smiled.

'' Gladly.''

The duo then started to wander around the city, with Samael trying to figure out the mysterious man, while the man was just smiling and following, not starting a conversation.

They walked some more until they arrived at some kind of public park. It had a few places to sit, and Samael went there and sat down, with the man doing the same.

'' ... Who are you?'' Samael went directly to the point. It was clear the man wanted something from him, as he was the one who was following him.

'' A friend.''

'' Sorry, let me phrase that better. WHAT are you?'' Samael had a feeling the man in front of him was more than human. This was something his instincts were telling him.

The man maintained his smile, '' My species has had many names across the ages, but our most known name is Stargazers.''

Samael stopped thinking. He was aware of that name. Not in the sense that he knew a Stargazer personally, but he knew briefly who they were. Hell, even in the past cycle, he never met one.

The species had a very small part in the ME franchise, appearing in the last 2 minutes of Mass Effect 3. An old man was telling Shepard's story to a kid, and that was the first and last apparition of a Stargazer.

Not very much is known about them. They were even more obscure than the Reapers.

'' Why were you, a Stargazer, following me?'' Samael had no reason not to believe the man in front of him.

'' You see, my species lives for a very long time, so much so that we get bored quite easily. So, to not be bored, we travel across the galaxy, in search of stories to tell others. And it just happens that the story we are most interested in is yours.''

Samael asked in a surprised tone, '' Do you know-''

'' About your full story? Yes.'' The man dropped that bombshell like it was nothing.

Now, Samael was REALLY surprised. No one, in past cycles, had found out about his time loops. And the Stargazer in front of him just said he knew.

' Do they know about me being a being of another universe, that this universe came from a game, or only about the time loop?'

Samael had more question than anserws, but he still wanted to talk. So, he would assume they knew only about the time loops.

'' ... Do you know who did that to me?'' Samael was talking about the time loops.

'' We are ancient and know a lot of things. But, even our species doesn't know everything. We don't know who caused that to you, sorry.''

'' No problem.'' Samael expected that. After all, something capable of trapping someone in a time loop could only be a deity or something along those lines.

It was then that something clicked in Samael's mind, '' Why come for me now and not before?''

Again, this was the first time in all his cycles that Samael met a Stargazer. And, he just received confirmation that they knew about him, but had never had contact with him. So, that begs the question: why now?

The Stargazer finally showed emotion other than a smile. He looked genuinely happy, '' It's because your story is close to an end.''

Samael asked after a brief silence, '' Will I die soon?''

The Stargaze chuckled, '' An end doesn't always mean death. Besides, we don't know the future, we just observe, never interact or intervene, and then tell others about what happened.''

Samael sighed. This trip to Thessia just got more complicated than he expected. He just wanted to honor his deal, check his mind, and wipe out the Illusive Man's mind. But now, he got involved with an ancient species out of nowhere, who knew about his story.

The Stargazer noticed Samael's inner turmoil and said, '' Don't worry too much. We have no reason to tell your full story to others, besides, your story is too crazy for others to believe.''

'' Thanks ...?'' Samael was doing his best to recover from what he learned. It was a lot to take in in so little time.

'' You're welcome. Now, do you have any other questions for me?'' The Stargazer asked.

'' Why tell my story and not Shepard's?''

'' Who said we weren't doing the same with her? But, I'll admit, you were the first one we had contact with. We usually just watch, but this was a ... bonus.''

'' Will we meet again?''

'' Who knows? The possibility is high, though.''

'' Then I'll ask more in that next meeting.''

The Stargazer smiled, nodded, and got up from the bench, '' It was a pleasure to meet you personally. Our species is very fond of you, and I was granted the privilege of talking to you.''

'' It was also my pleasure. I learned a lot from our conversation.'' Samael really did. He was reminded that there existed ancient species, who might be even worse than the Leviathan, scattered across the galaxy.

The Stargazer, from what he heard, doesn't intervene in the galaxy. But, what about other species? Will they do the same?

The Stargazer nodded with a smile and started to get away. Just as he made a distance, he stopped and, as if he remembered something, said to Samael, '' Also, don't worry. Trust in your crew and in yourself, and you will survive.''

Samael found that comment weird but had nothing to say about it. He then remembered something, '' I never asked your name.''

A crowd was passing through, and the Stargazer smiled, '' You finally asked, Samael. My name is Anjo.''

The crowd passed in front of Anjo, and when Samael tried to find him, he was nowhere to be seen.

' That was cool.'

Samael continued to sit on the bench for a few more minutes, digesting the information he had received.

' The Stargazers were real, know my full story, but don't know who put me in a time loop. There's one thing that is bugging me pretty hard, and Anjo just brushed it off. Why now? Why...'

That was the burning question that was plaguing Samael's mind. The Stargazers had a lot of time to talk and decided to do that now.

' ... I don't know, and I doubt I will. Fuck me.'

It was a lot to take in, so after a few minutes of doing nothing, he got up. After all, he had a date. He would not forget the conversation with the StarGazer, but he would put it on the backburner of his mind for now.