MISFIRE

Nihlus Kryik was a Spectre. One of the best of the Council's elite agents. He'd joined the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance in his early years, after being reassigned from his third squad for disobedience, he'd met Saren Arterius on a mission against a pirate warlord. He'd watched the veteran turian spin and fire and slam his way through a veritable army. Then, the sniper. An asari commando, hidden high up in the rafters of the warlord's base, took a shot that pierced through Saren's shoulder. She was about to take the killing shot when Nihlus leapt out of cover and slid across the floor. He unloaded an entire ammo block into that asari, and kept on charging. Within minutes, he and Saren had taken down every criminal in the base. That was the day he decided to become a Spectre, and that was the day Saren Arterius, the pride of the Citadel Council, took him under his wing.

"You're a good shot." Saren had said. If only Saren could see him now, Nihlus grinned. He focused back onto his scope, and fired a round into the head of a towering Geth Destroyer. The synthetic shrieked and fell to the ground as the other units began running for cover. None of them made it that far, as Nihlus took shot after shot. Once he was sure it was clear, he kept moving. He'd checked in with the human squad supporting him, and was moving to the spaceport to meet Shepard, humanity's best chance at getting into the Spectres, was their commander. She was a strong woman, Nihlus knew that much from her file. But what he wasn't prepared for was her determination. The second he'd boarded the human ship, the SSV Normandy, Shepard had greeted him with respect and formality. Yet every question he had and every remark he'd made had been met with a calm rebuttal about human adaptability. The human woman was proud of her species, and of her government. Nihlus liked that, and he could respect it more.

"Shepard, this is Nihlus." He spoke into his communicator. "I'm nearing the tram system to the spaceport, going radio silent. Meet you there." He didn't wait for a response and jumped down from the raised ledge he had been standing on.

"Go go go go go." Nihlus grunted under his breath as he sprinted for the nearest bit of cover. He found it in a fallen pillar that lay across an open field. Nihlus slid into it and drew his rifle. He could hear footsteps on the other side, a balanced pace going back and forth. Nihlus stilled himself for a moment, let out a slow breath, and spun to his feet. He twisted his rifle around and took aim, before dropping it down again. His jaw dropping, Nihlus stared at the turian standing in front of him.

"Saren?" Nihlus asked. His old friend and mentor turned slowly to face him, a grim smile covering his face.

"Nihlus." Saren said quietly, barely speaking over the wind of Eden Prime. Nihlus grinned as he looked at his friend, then frowned as he remembered the situation at hand.

"This isn't your mission Saren." Nihlus stated. There was a question in the statement, and Nihlus knew his old friend would pick it up.

"The council thought you could use some help on this one. Having another Spectre around can't hurt." Saren said reassuringly. Nihlus stalked past Saren and looked towards the tram. He quickly spotted some approaching figures and squinted.

"I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The council won't be pleased." Nihlus grunted. Of all things to happen on this mission, he definitely did not expect the mysterious synthetics from beyond the Perseus Veil to appear after three whole centuries.

"Don't worry." Saren chuckled. Nihlus could hear him drawing his weapon and prepared his own. If Saren thought the incoming figures were hostile, they would be ready.

"I've got it under control." Saren continued. Then there was an audible click and a low turian growl.

"What was th-" Nihlus started to ask as he turned around. Then Saren's glowing blue fist smashed into his face. Nihlus flew backwards, propelled by Saren's biotic force. He barely had time to gasp before he slammed into a bulkhead wall, denting the metal and cracking his armour.

"Graaaaagh" Nihlus moaned as he slid to the ground. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry as he tried to see what was happening. The only thing he could make out was a tall shape he assumed was Saren, wreathed in the glowing blue energy of his biotic power. Saren was growling and muttering to himself, but Nihlus could barely make out any words.

"Blasted stu-p weapon! That bata-ay!" Saren was now shrieking as Nihlus slowly crawled to his dropped rifle. If he could just reach it, maybe he could take Saren down. Then a heavy foot crunched down on his back and slammed Nihlus into the ground.

"Not this time old friend." The other turian drawled, reaching down and grabbing Nihlus by his throat. Saren heaved him up and held him there, dangling above the ground.

"You are beyond lucky Nihlus." Saren growled. He held up the pistol Nihlus had last seen attached to his waist. It was steaming, and Nihlus could easily see the jammed ammo block. Nihlus couldn't help but laugh at Saren's misfortune; he was about to die, and it was all he had. Saren tossed the ruined pistol away and drew a long, sharp turian combat knife from his belt.

"I want you to know that this brings me no pleasure." Saren muttered, tapping the knife against Nihlus' chest with each word. Saren slowly pulled his arm back angling the knife to slide between Nihlus' mandibles. Nihlus closed his eyes and prepared for oblivion. Then there was a deafening crack, and Nihlus fell to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Saren screaming viciously, holding the stump of his arm. On the ground next to him lay Saren's severed hand and the knife that would have killed Nihlus.

"GET UP!" A female voice roared. Nihlus took action immediately, rolling away from Saren and racing towards the voice. He had never been more relieved to see a human. Caren Shepard stood there in all her glory, barking orders to Alenko, a lieutenant from the Normandy, and another female human in white and pink armour. Nihlus launched himself over the barriers they had erected and took aim at Saren. His former comrade was rallying a group of Geth, the figures Nihlus had seen earlier. They quickly opened fire on the humans, but fell even quicker under the human's superior firepower. Saren threw biotic warps out of his remaining hand and turned to run. The humans swiftly turned their attention to the retreating turian. Bit by bit, Saren's shields were torn down. Using his last trick, Saren threw a wide field of biotic power, lowering the gravitational constant on the three humans. But all of Saren's training had made Nihlus much, much faster. He took aim, exhaled slowly and fired a single round. He watched as the round, as though it were in slow motion, spiralled through the air. He watched as it passed by Shepard and Alenko, and he watched as it pierced through the back of Saren's neck. Saren had but a moment to open his mouth to scream before a fountain of blue blood erupted from it, showering the wall in front of him.

"I'm sorry." Nihlus whispered as he fired again, and again, and again. Saren's bullet-ridden body fell to the ground, twitching slightly. The turian Spectre walked to the body of his former friend and kicked it once to make sure. Saren Arterius, the greatest agent in Citadel Space, was dead. And a traitor, Nihlus added as an afterthought. He was roused from his own mind by a female voice.

"Nihlus?" He heard Shepard ask. "Are you . . . alright?"

Nihlus slowly stretched his arms and neck, wincing at how painful the action was. "I'll be fine for now Commander." He grunted. "Now, I want to find out what this was all about."

"Agreed."