#ferusaurelius

Setting one foot after the other, Chiho trudged on, until Quintus’ hand shot out to grab her arm and tug her into an alley. Giuliani stumbled after them, his breathing loud and harried in her ears.

The place was run-down, from first glance, with gutted engines, machines and a couple dust-covered skycars all over the compound. Not the most inviting place, but it was as good as any right now.

“Lemme bypass the door.”

Quintus didn’t waste any time. His fingers were already flying over the controls of his omni-tool, working all of his hacking skills acquired. He was good, Chiho had to admit. Quintus liked to brag, liked to show exactly how proficient he was. It had annoyed Chiho at first, all those bigmouthed mannerisms, the insufferable catcalls, the quips. It had taken her quite a while to get behind it, to realize that, same as her, Quintus was insecure, and longed for belonging somewhere. His fear only manifested completely differently than hers did.

Pressed against the cool wall, Chiho listened with one ear to Quintus’ concentrated purring, while the other strained to pick up any irregular sound from the street. But apart from the automated voice booming through the streets declaring their bullshit message of ‘Stay Calm and You Won’t Be Harmed’, nothing happened.

-

They’re docked at the Citadel between assignments and Saren is nowhere to be found, which means Nihlus has the ship’s workbench all to himself. He’s been waiting for some uninterrupted time to give his rifle the care it deserves. 

His tools are scattered in a haphazard and useful array within easy reach, there’s dance music playing on his omni-tool, and he’s got a selection of mods that would make a Terminus arms dealer jealous. Just the way he likes it.

The one thing he misses most about his old unit is serving as the de facto armorer.

Looking back, his stint in Basic would have been even more difficult without getting instantly picked up by the Fleet’s competitive shooting team. A few interservice citations for expert marksmanship went a long way toward redeeming his mercenary background in the eyes of his superiors.

When he first saw Saren follow up with a biotic throw to compensate for a wide shot, he thought it was on purpose. A Spectre tactic to startle an enemy into revealing their position. Risky, but permissible if deliberate.

He’s seen it happen too often over the last few months for it to be anything other than a sign of deeper issues.

Nihlus knows with all the certainty of experience that Saren’s pistol technique is terrible, but he also likes his mandibles where they are. Attached to his face.

Inviting Saren to practice at the range might still come off as too obvious a criticism, but if not him, then who? 

The rest of ST&R appears inclined to overlook a modicum of sloppy handling from a fellow Spectre. In truth, Nihlus wants to avoid a high-speed introduction to the business end of a bulkhead as much as the next person.

Still, none of them are being forced to listen to Saren’s kinetic barriers crackle under fire. 

Not that his biotic strength isn’t astounding, but that kind of force can’t be sustainable in the long term. Being the youngest turian Spectre in the history of the Hierarchy has to come with a few downsides, some no doubt including the physical costs of the job.

Where and how he’s feeling the strain is still a mystery. 

Saren is far from old. His times on the ST&R obstacle course don’t lie, and Nihlus has gotten destroyed in the sparring ring often enough to know that it’s not a matter of strength. Saren hits like a krogan, even with his amps out.

Nihlus is still musing at his workbench and so engrossed in tuning his rifle that he doesn’t notice Alleia’s message at first.

-

Part 1 & Part 2 are on AO3:

The Singular Trait: Personal conflict and contradictions.

We all have them! We’re human. I don’t think about ‘what kind’ of person I’m writing or ‘what traits’ they have. Traits are relative and established only through actions on screen. 

What they’re called, good or bad or brave or cowardly, is also more or less irrelevant to how I think about character. While the concept of traits may be useful in a general outlining sense, the most challenging thing for me is writing into a POV perspective or character voice.

I know a character is ready to be written when they have a crystallized voice and viewpoint in my mind, and that they’re capable of carrying on conversations and debating options with other characters. When they’re able to argue their case.

Another thing I do to help myself develop and discover who I’m writing is to consider their role in the story, or what kinds of character roles might be needed for the kind of story I’m telling:

For ‘Air Needing Light,’ this approach was critical to developing the side characters in Saren’s turian Blackwatch squad. I looked at what sort of supporting functions might need to be performed on a team, and then I considered who might have been selected for those duties, their histories (including with each other), and their personal motivations and goals apart from the primary situation. This story is about being part of a team.

For ‘the fate of poets in a republic,’ this approach gave me a turian translator and a human linguist on similar footing who begin by distrusting and misinterpreting each other, but by the end of the story recognize and genuinely respect the other’s differing needs and viewpoints. This story is about recognition and translation.

For ‘This will have no bearing on your evaluation.’ this approach gave me Nihlus’s OC friend Alleia, who shows up again in ‘Above center of mass in all respects.’ as necessary ride-or-die backup AND a witness to the madness. No one would believe Nihlus if she weren’t there to confirm his version of events. These stories are about trust and vulnerability (professional and personal).

For ‘The husbandry of victory is blood,’ this approach gave me Nihlus’s entire OC family, a pair of batarian grandparents who love him very much, and an OC Blackwatch trainer who recognizes the value in what he brings to the Hierarchy (and helps him see it in himself). This story is about identity.

They spend enough time in the Verge that Citadel security protocols haven’t come up during their status checks. 

Like the bit where his secure Hierarchy credentials have expired. Typical bureaucratic process, right? Or it would be if he hadn’t been expecting those credentials to work.

Turns out ST&R trainees don’t get full Spectre status privileges in the database. That would be too easy. 

Saren’s lucky that Nihlus finds an armed escort entertaining.

And because they’re taking a side trip during another assignment, he’s now mixed in with the civilians while Saren takes his usual route through the priority channels. 

Nihlus can hear the faint, regular pinging of the ident-scan system from his place in the back of the queue at the arrivals terminal. 

A human child is staring at the batarian in front of him. She’s blinking her eyes at the volus on her omni-tool in a way that means she’s been on the call about ten minutes longer than she wants. He and the child watch her try to hang up for another half hour while the line moves forward step by agonizing step.