Nihlus Kryik

Nihlus Kryik was a turian and one of the most decorated agents of the Spectres, the operatives who answered directly to the Citadel Council. Trained and inducted by Saren Arterius, Nihlus stepped out of his mentor's shadow to become one of the Council's top agents, and it was he who personally nominated Commander Shepard as the first human candidate for the order. He died on the human colony of Eden Prime, killed by Saren at the outset of the campaign against the Reapers.

An outsider's path#

Nihlus was born in a small mercenary outpost outside the space of the Turian Hierarchy, and from an early age he learned to fight for what he wanted. His father died when Nihlus was sixteen, and his mother pushed him into the turian military. His outsider origins made service difficult; though he consistently stood at the top of his class, his superiors and peers never truly accepted him.

As a soldier his skills were beyond question, but his attitude repeatedly landed him in trouble. He disobeyed direct orders on several occasions to do what he judged best, and although his instincts usually proved correct, his reputation suffered. Even after he single-handedly routed an enemy patrol and saved his squad from ambush, his commanders berated him for recklessness, and his career seemed to stall before it had properly begun.

Recruitment by Saren#

After a third reassignment to a new squad, Nihlus was introduced to Saren Arterius, a fellow turian and a Spectre. Saren was impressed by the young soldier, befriended him, and offered to mentor him. Within a year of their meeting, Nihlus was invited to join the Spectres.

Freed from the constraints of military procedure, Nihlus excelled. He stepped quickly out of his mentor's shadow and established himself as one of the Council's top agents, completing many difficult and dangerous missions. Cool under pressure, he had a talent for finding and exploiting an enemy's weakness. His methods were not as brutal as Saren's, and he did not share Saren's grudge against humanity, instead regarding the young species as one of potential.

Eden Prime#

As a representative of the Council, Nihlus accompanied the Normandy on its shakedown run. The crew regarded him with suspicion, doubting the Council would send a Spectre merely to inspect the ship's stealth systems, and they were correct: Nihlus was aboard to recover a Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime and to assess Commander Shepard as a candidate for the Spectres. He had personally nominated Shepard, and his reasons varied with what he most admired in the Commander, whether a strong will to live, a drive to protect the innocent, or sheer commitment to completing a mission. He intended to accompany Shepard on several assignments and would likely have become the Commander's mentor.

On Eden Prime, Nihlus went ahead of Shepard's team to scout and instead ran into Saren. Surprised but grateful to see his old mentor amid the fighting against the geth, he lowered his guard, and Saren shot him in the back of the head. A human dockworker named Powell, hidden nearby, witnessed the killing, overheard Saren's name, and later relayed everything to Shepard. By Saren's own account, Nihlus's personal files passed to him upon his death, which may have given Saren valuable insight from Shepard's record and helped him evade capture.