It only took a few minutes for the Illithid to arrive at the cargo bay, equipped with sturdy environmental suits over the top of their usual protective mechanical bodies. They didn't pick the ones that Terminus had on board, instead preferring the ones that they had brought with them on their own vessel.
They seemed to be sturdy enough, and their race was so much more advanced than humanity that Max had little doubt that they were fully protected from any potential threat of the virus.
"Thank you for the opportunity to let us examine you. Our species takes the threat of mind-controlling viruses, and bioweapons very seriously. As you are likely aware, we have rather powerful mind-affecting abilities ourselves, so in our distant past, that was a great threat to the very existence of our species, with many others insisting that we could never be safe as a group and that we should be either excluded or eliminated.
It took centuries before we managed to convince the collective that we weren't a menace to civilized society, and now we work mostly in the mental health field, and other medical professions since our analytic skills make diagnostics so much easier.
It seems that your AI-based System might do the same for humanity, at least those of you who awaken a suitable Function, so it is good that we have the chance to make you aware of the potential issues in advance." The Illithid leader announced as he came into the cargo bay.
The other two with him began to laugh, and Max gave them a look of confusion.
"The first thought through your partner's head was eight out of ten, slightly long-winded." The Illithid explained.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, I'm so used to her thoughts that I don't even notice the rampant sarcasm anymore." Max explained.
"Understandable. There are a large number of inside jokes among our species that I wouldn't expect others to understand. Though, since you can read minds, I suppose you will get used to it in time." The Illithid told Max.
"I don't read them all the time, though. I often let the ability rest so that I don't have to deal with intrusive thoughts from others. It can be an issue when surprises happen, but on a daily basis, it is a net positive only to read essential and surface thoughts of others."
The Illithid's thoughts almost felt like a collective to Max. They were all individuals, but they could all read each others' minds, so they delegated topics between them, spreading out their mental powers as if they were a computer delegating tasks to save processor space.
The process was incredible, even when he began to feel the probing of their abilities against his own mind as they searched for traces of the virus or any other potential threats.
"It seems that your System is not a big fan of us. It does a very respectable job of blocking us out, and that's not a feat that the technology of many species can claim. Commander Keres, or Max, if you prefer, you are clean. None of the virus spores penetrated your suit, and the sanitization protocols scrubbed the filtration system clean of all potential threats, according to our medical scanners.
Tarith Rage, or Miss Nico. I'm sorry, the double names thing is strange to us. Illithid can't lie to or deceive each other, so nicknames aren't really a thing in our species. It looks like your body has mostly handled the virus, but we found a mutated version of it still lingering on your surface despite the cleansing, and we need a few minutes for our medical scans to examine you to ensure the safety of your mind."
"I've got all day or all month since exposure to a virus of this nature would normally call for a thirty-day quarantine to ensure that none of it had been missed and allowed to proliferate." Nico agreed.
"That is perfect. Please stand right where you are. We will erect a barrier and attempt to remove all foreign material from your body. We scanned you on our first meeting, so we should have a fairly reliable baseline for what belongs within your body and what does not." The Illithid leader informed her.
"While he does that, I will do a quick mental health examination of your thoughts, ensuring that they haven't been compromised or left vulnerable to control by outside forces. It is a standard procedure for Illithid, and we perfected it over fifty millennia ago. There is nothing to fear." One of the Illithid in the back informed her, and Max began to get nervous about what they might find.
"Rest assured, Commander, we are well aware of her particular oddities. She can't hide them from us any better than she does from you, and we can read thoughts from a much longer distance than you can." The Illithid reassured Max in a way that wasn't reassuring at all.
"You wouldn't happen to know where those events in her previous memories happened, do you?" Max asked, wondering if the Illithid, with their long history, could help him out.
"We don't have any records of similar cultures or technologies. It is possible that they might not have happened yet, due to some form of Temporal Fluctuations, or they might simply be from a much more distant region of the Universe, beyond what we have been in contact with." The Ilithid informed him with a hint of sadness.
They didn't like not knowing the answer to things. They loved knowledge of every sort. There was no such thing as forbidden knowledge to them, only forbidden actions, so finding out that these two people had memories of culture and events that their species was unaware of was disconcerting but exciting at the same time.
A small cloud of material floated up from Nico's body, including what Max suspected was the contents of her lunch, and then was vaporized by the Illithid's technology.
"I can certify that her body is clear of the virus, in all its permutations, as well as the modified version that her own system created to negate the effects." The leader of the group informed Max, accompanied by a mental chittering noise that he assumed was their mental expression of pleasure at a job well done.
"I wish I could say that the mental damage she has suffered between this life and her last has been repaired, but it is stubbornly persistent. What I can assure you is that between her mental fortitude and her System Functions, your second in Command was never in danger of being mentally controlled by such a crude biomechanical weapon.
In fact, I would assume that as it is with our presence, only the members of your species with the weakest system Compatibility were vulnerable, to begin with." The Illithid explained.
"So, the civilian population could be controlled, but the higher-ranking Nobles and Military Officers with higher System Compatibility would be left unaffected by the original virus?" Max asked.
"That is correct. But the modified version that Nico sent to the surface has no such restriction, as it does not control the conscious mind and only implants a Moral Imperative into their subconscious. Only those with a healing or repair function would be immune to that, or possibly those like yourself with mind-related abilities."
The Illithid didn't seem upset at her actions, so Max also decided to let it slide. But he would send out a message to warn the Reavers and any Kepler forces that he could guarantee were Loyal about the situation.
The Reavers would take the quarantine notice that was already sent seriously for at least a while, but if they didn't fully understand, they might just do as he had and institute basic quarantine protocol, which wouldn't save most ships from having their interior contaminated.
