A/N: Hey guys. Had exams. Just a heads up, I saw the error about ghosts, but I honestly don't care. I'm basically using both worlds as a basis for a story. So a bunch of events and timeline stuff is gonna conflict with the real story and as a result probably only mentioned in passing. However, this story will be consistent with itself. And, I'm also saying this because I've read one too many stories that implement this recently, but things like rape will probably never occur in my stories. It's not that I'm against dark stories, I just find it poetically lacking and morally disgusting as character motivation. The worst I will ever delve into topics like that is implied torture and edging close to the boundaries. I'm sorry if anyone feels differently, but I just can't write or read that crap even if it's implied. Makes me sick. Now that the dark stuff and serious stuff is out of the way, on with the adventures of Shepard and the Lawful good aligned Saren. (You can now skip the rest of the note which is a rant)

I'm still super butthurt you can't redeem Saren. If it weren't for his racism, he's a super cool character and villain. I'm also super butthurt about Thorn, but not in the sense you'd think. I finally got the bounty after denying it last time, and finished everything but Xyor in 5 hours. The day after I went on my vacation, and now I'm in China for 6 weeks without an xbone and go back to school the day I get back. I'm butthurt that I can't make other people super butthurt about the thorn. Bungie pls. Oh, I still can't decide on a pairing, but for now I'm probably going to do femshep and Liara, or femshep and Saren. One has a sort of basis in story already, but the other is the only other one that could reasonably work given how guardians work. Maybe even Garrus. Cause who doesn't love Garrus?

/rant

Nihlus slowly came to. And then passed out again. Once more he came to, only to see the stars passing by in a FTL stream. Then he passed out again. Being Nihlus right now sucked Elcor genitals.

'Do Elcor even have proper genitals?' Nihlus thought to himself. It was quite safe to say, Nihlus, being an alien being, was not handling his exposure to a Titan's Ward of Dawn very well. Nihlus once more fell into the grips of unconsciousness. When he did eventually, properly reawaken, he was greeted with the white glare of a medical bay room, and the strict face of his young commander. Nihlus in a panic scanned the area, looking for any signs of the strange four-limb monstrosities that he was fighting. Saren, quickly grasped Nihlus by the soldiers, and forced the older Turian back into bed.

"Don't worry, Nihlus. The battle's over. But...there were certain complications. Nothing disastrous, but something major is about to occur, and I request that you simply keep an open mind and a hefty resolve." Saren patiently explained to his subordinate, trying to calm him over the recent near-death experience. Nihlus simply nodded, and let himself lay down to rest longer. Putting his hand on Nihlus's shoulder, Saren gripped it tightly, reaffirming him before continuing.

"We have made first contact. They're friendly, to be succinct. But, given what I had seen, they're at war, and it's hard to describe the confusion I have about it. So for now, we've agreed to be in effect, political prisoners, in exchange for your medical treatment, and a conference with the Turian Hierarchy." Nihlus nearly shot out of his bed once more, his pride not allowing him to take such information easily.

"Prisoners? A turian does not surrender Saren, you know this better than any of us. Especially not for something as trivial as a single soldier's life." Nihlus argued. Saren's reaction was mute, his face still set in a grim facet.

"True. A normal commander would never risk the Hierarchy for something as trivial as a single soldier. But...you, Nihlus, and the rest of my squad, even Garrus, are comrades and friends. I would be remiss in my duties as your friend if I did not take that risk." In the few years of serving under Saren, Nihlus has never seen his commander express such a raw amount of emotion. It simply did not fit the man's scarily efficient modus operandi.

'Even with all his bravado and accolades, he's still just a kid trying to do right by his comrades' Nihlus thought to himself, smiling just a little bit to assure Saren in his decision. Of course, this lovely moment of camaraderie had to be ruined.

"Oi, I know the code preaches about brotherly love, but I don't want to see any brotherly love, if you get what I'm saying?" Garrus teased from the open doorway. Taking his rude comment as a reasonable entrance, Garrus strode in to the room, grabbing one of the seats nearby, and slinging it next to Nihlus's bed before plopping down onto it. He turned to Saren before continuing.

"So? Did you find any information? My tour guide didn't say a single word. He just kept on looking at me with this blank stare that he displayed on his helmet. I do believe he thought I was an idiot." Nihlus and Saren shared a look when Garrus mentioned that, and shared in some good natured snickering at Garrus's expense. Garrus could always be trusted to lighten the mood with his jabbering.

"What, what's so funny guys?" Garrus asked.

"Nothing" They both said simultaneously, straightening out their expressions. Garrus looked between both Saren and Nihlus, inspecting their stern faces for some sort of response.

"Anyways," Garrus continued, "Saren, we need to go. I know you want to babysit Nihlus some more, but that funny guy...Joker, said their head honcho wants to talk to us." Saren immediately felt any good cheer leave his body. Now was not the time for goofing off, but a time for action. Once more, he looked at Nihlus, who simply nodded in response. Saren stood up out of his own seat, motioned for Garrus to follow, and strolled out of the room to meet their escort. Garrus simply slapped Nihlus on the shoulder before giving him a thumbs up and leaving himself. They strode out into the hallway, only to be met with the now purple, gold, and dark blue warlock.

"So what do you guys think of the new color scheme? I call it Jester Apogee!" Joker explained excitedly. Not seeing any reaction out of either of the two aliens, the grown man simply pouted, and kicked the floor while mumbling about a "tough crowd". Joker was barely allowed to continue his comedy routine before E.D.I. interrupted him once more.

"Mr. Monroe..." came the monotone voice from the floating mechanism. Joker simply sighed, and nodded, leading the two aliens to the elevator before all three of them clambered in.

"Man, this elevator is so slow. You guys wanna hear some jokes?" Joker asked. Once more he was met with the ruthless glare of a decidedly unamused Saren Arterius. Sensing the hostility, Joker simply turned forward, and whistled a short sharp tune to pass the time. Through the glass, Garrus could see why Saren was so confused about the war. With access to the absurd technology this race was gifted with, how in the world was their city left in such shambles? Even more questions were raised as he thought about the medical facility he just left. Even though the Turians had a completely different anatomy, hell, even their food intake was based on a different protein design, how in the world were they able to effectively heal Nihlus? Beyond his exhaustion, the soldier looked as though he had never taken a bullet in his life, let alone being run through with a sword a day and a half ago. Wisely, Garrus kept his questions to himself, waiting out the ride, trying not to cause an incident.

"Well here we are, top floor of the Guardian Tower and home to the Speaker! Now, let's just step out here, and go and meet up with my fire team and commander. We'll be escorting and act as guards during your interview with the Speaker, to ease any nervousness you guys have." Joker told the two. Slightly perturbed by how willing the alien was to sharing sensitive information, Saren simply nodded in response. Garrus thought to himself. Even simple maneuvering such as familiar faces can hold a lot of sway when it comes to politics. Especially since the man seemed unable to tell a lie. Garrus then reasoned that the only guards there would be Joker, the two others, and any other member of this fire team. Garrus shot a look at Saren who simply nodded in response, having come to the same conclusion. They walked through what could only be best described as a soldier's bazaar held on the roof of the tower. Multiple vendors were seen, selling various high end and low end body armor and weaponry. A few were even selling what appeared to be single personnel land speeders and full on assault ships. As they made their way through the strange "mall", they were met up with 5 other figures. The two from earlier and three new ones.

"Okay guys, let me introduce you to the gang! First up, we have Jenkins, a Striker titan, he doesn't talk much." Joker then motioned to the massive being who stood head and shoulders above the Turians. The humongous being simply waved.

"Then we have James Vega, our Defender. Less intimidating than Jenkins, but way more talkative." Joker pointed out the other large man in the pack, while he didn't compare in stature to the other, they could easily spot his muscles through the material weave between his armor. He nodded at them before speaking.

"Sup amigos?" Both Saren and Garrus nodded back, not understanding the second word in his statement.

"Next is our Voidwalker, Kaidan Alenko. He's part of a cult. " Here, the lean male between the two giants stepped forward and greeted them, dismissing any mention of the cult in his introduction.

"You've guys already met me, I'm a Sunsinger by the way, and proud of it!" Joker exclaimed while pointing to himself.

"This here is Ashley, our resident Gunslinger, best shooter this side of the Milky Way." The last member the two aliens hadn't met yet waved, and Garrus was certainly intrigued about the title that Joker had given her.

"And finally, here's our Commander, Shepard. She's a blade dancer. Which is super intimidating." Leveling a glare at Joker for his introduction, Shepard stepped up and greeted the two aliens, before taking charge of the escort.

"All right, that's enough for introductions everyone, we have to move these guys to the Speaker and act as guard detail. Chop Chop!" She said while clapping her hands together. With that, the group quickly moved through the Bazaar, with other guardians simply dispersing in the presence of the two outsiders. Saren took this time to inspect the armor and gear of his escorts. They certainly seemed...interesting to say the least. The most notable was the piece of flair that each of the soldiers wore, and their interesting choice in armor. Jenkins was wearing the same helmet as yesterday, with it's different flashing lights and such. The piece of cloth attached to his hip was distinctly golden, and carried a coat of arms denoted by multiple triangles. Vega was wearing much different attire, especially his helmet. A giant, purple, fluorescent piece of metal stuck out of his helmet, while his cloth was an interesting white and black lined pattern. Possibly for intimidation factor Saren thought to himself. Alenko was wearing an interesting silver band, with a black strip running down one side. His helmet was composed of a black material that no light escaped. Moving on Saren looked over the two females of the little group. They both wore cloaks. Shepard wore one that was torn at the ends and was composed of a red and white scheme, while Ashley wore a blue cloak that had three interesting symbols. On Shepard's helmet, were three green eyeholes, perhaps denoting a race similar to batarians. Ashley instead carried a set of bones set into the side of her thigh armor. And finally, Joker's entire outfit was centered around his white robes. Taking all of this in, Saren had no idea of what to make of their strange display in armor. However, his thought were quickly interrupted.

"And here we are now, The tower of The Speaker." Shepard said calmly. If Saren was not baffled by the alien architecture before, he was certainly baffled now. The entire miniature tower, similar to the Presidium he noted, was suspended in the air by the single bridge they were walking along. However, he pushed these thoughts aside, quickly trying to ready himself for the upcoming political confrontation.

A/N: slight cliffhanger and a bit short. I just didn't feel like writing too much and this seemed like the best place to end. Sorry guys.