Decontaminating Esone was always a fun process to watch. No matter how much they scrubbed, there was alway just enough background radiation to send the dials spinning. His recent trip into Hell had soaked him in the stuff, and raised more than a few eyebrows. Javik was the Scourge's only real concern though; the Prothean alone knew the nature of the Exaltations, and the fact that there<span style="font-style: italic">were</span>no prototypes. He'd done his damnedest to avoid the ancient, and for now Prothean superiority complex had kept the Dawn away.<br/><br/>Full Specrte status was a surprise. Esone had assumed that the Commander was the only one up for the position; the conversation the Lieutenant had had with Shepard and Hackett so long ago should have underlined that giving him too much liberty was a bad idea. It changed little in the end though. Esone would still defer to Del Pilar as a superior, and official unrestricted access wasn't that different from the face-dancing he normally did.<br/><br/>Well, best to just smile and wave then. Show some gratitude.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>The shuttle ride was mostly uneventful. Javik managed on at least three opportunities to brazenly mention how his species had prepared Salarians and Humans for consumption, but otherwise the trip was smooth and amicable.<br/><br/>The Admiralty Board was less pleasant.<br/><br/>Abyssals were the main topic of discussion, the Black Exaltation a significant matter for concern. Prothean texts made no mention of the Deathknights, and even Javik seemed at a loss as to their origin. They appeared to be the inverse of the Solars - where a Solar used Essence to grow stronger, an Abyssal seemed to use Essence to make their enemies weaker. Where Solars had Sorcery, the Abyssals used Necromancy.<br/><br/>The main concern seemed to be simple; if the Void had human-form Exalted servants, how likely was infiltration? For that matter, what did Necromancy bode for the graveyards of the world? Was a Zombie Apocalypse immanent, atop the potential "Reaper" invasion?<br/><br/>The other problem was more a matter of logistics than anything else. Very few in the Alliance military believed that the Reapers existed. To them, these exalts were rogues, little different from Cerberus or Terra Firma. The fact that Cerberus agents were actively serving Deathknights was doing little to make the Reaper case. Esone ground his teeth as yet another armchair general derailed the conversation, objecting to someone citing the Reapers.<br/><br/>"We don't know who these Exalts are serving - it is, in all likelihood, the so-called 'Illusive Man'. Reapers are a myth, Cerberus is a known element. They're getting bolder, and they're getting stronger. We need to put more resources into hunting that organization down; if we cut off the head of the snake, then the body will die." The Admiral somehow managed to fill every movie stereotype; petulant, grey-haired, fat and balding.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">It must be depressing, knowing that you could just order them to obey. To <span style="font-style: italic">beleive.</span> But if you use the power of Crowned With Fury, then Javik will know what you are, and the Board will be quarantined.</span>