Chapter 9

Diplomacy

"So let me get this straight, the Asari aren't going to participate in one of the most important meetings in history?" Shepard asked incredulously

"My government does not want to participate in the assembly yes; we feel that there is too much hatred on both sides for anything to be accomplished." Talna answered calmly, the hologram fizzling slightly.

"Councilor we can't afford to fight amongst each other, you should know that better than anyone!" Shepard's tone wasfrustrated; Garrus knew that if that much was showing, the man must be fuming inside.

"Commander, I understand how you feel and I sympathize; but the Asari will not be at the summit, you should consider yourself lucky that the Salarians sent someone, the Delatrass was livid when she heard about the Krogan." Talna was looking upwards, away from Shepard.

So we've lost the Asari. That complicates things. Garrus shifted uncomfortably, despite their best efforts, his father and the Commander had never quite managed to banish his disdain for politicians. It's their fault that the Reapers achieved such surprise! If they hadn't been too afraid to admit what was in front of them we'd be far better off. He thought bitterly.

"Councilor, the Krogan want to help, and their support will make any Coalition drastically stronger." Shepard reasoned.

"Commander I am sorry that I cannot offer you more support, but you are a Spectre; this will at least allow you to speak for humanity and the Council. With how much things have changed; I am not sure how much that means in the scheme of things. However whatever decision you make will have the backing of the Council." Outwardly she was very calm, but her eyes belied the anxiety she felt.

Her pledge was surprising, though she wasn't disobeying what her government wanted; she was giving peripheral support through her position as a Councilor. It didn't aid them too awfully much, but it showed that the Council was realizing the hard truth that their position was mattering less and less as individual species focused on protecting themselves, and not doing as the Council willed.

Thinking about it Garrus realized that the Council had been losing power ever since Saren had betrayed them and joined the Reapers. Sovereign and the Gethhad nearly broken the Council, and they had been severely shaken by the rapid unfolding of events that had led to their current situation.

"Thank you Councilor, I appreciate it." Shepard sighed.

Talna nodded "Goodbye Commander."

The hologram winked out of existence, Shepard stepped back from the terminal, rubbing his eyes.

"Are you alright Shepard?"

"I'm fine" Shepard said gruffly. "EDI; how long until we get to the Rendezvous site?"

"We should be there shortly, the Salarians and the Krogan are there already, and both have refused to board each other's ships." EDI reported

After a moment EDI spoke again "They are both willing to use the Normandy as a neutral meeting ground."

"Let's get them onboard. EDI tell the Primarch to prepare for the meeting."

"Yes, Shepard."

Shepard stood in silence for a moment; Garrus felt the need to say something but couldn't think of anything appropriate to say, so he busied himself with examining the walls, which were painted in the dark grey that humans seemed to prefer.

"Wrex is the Krogan leader now. That should at least that will give us an advantage in negotiations" Shepard said aloud.

"Well having an old friend in a high place will be pretty damn helpful, even if it's an old angry Krogan like Wrex." Garrus joked.

Shepard laughed "Let's hope that he's more talkative than he used to be."

"You'd better get dressed then Shepard, as nice as Alliance fatigues look, I don't think they'll cut it here." Garrus said brightly, patting his friend on the back. "You know how Salarians are."

"Well, I do look good in my dress blues" Shepard said with a smile, already walking.

"Liara won't be able to resist you in those" Garrus remained behind, Shepard had given him the okay to make a couple of calls after he had finished with the councilor.

"She already can't Garrus,"

(**)

It took him a few minutes to get ready, EDI informed him of each of the attending parties' arrival. Once he was in his Dress Uniform he made his way to the Conference room. The first thing that Shepard heard as he drew close was the sounds of furious voices raging against each other.

"The Krogan has no business being here!" the Salarian Delatross said angrily.

"The Krogan has a name; Urdnot Wrex." Wrex growled, his hands tightening around the table. "And I'm not just some Junkyard Varren that you unshackle every time you need a problem solved!"

Wrex nodded to Shepard as he walked in, and then turned his gaze back to the Delatross.

"Wrex has every right to be here, especially if Palaven wants even the hope of having Krogan relief." Shepard said firmly.

"I've got my own problems" Wrex snapped. "Reaper's have been spotted on Tuchanka, so why should I care if a few billion Turians go extinct?"

"What is it that you want Wrex?" Victus asked.

"I'll tell you what I need." Wrex stared across the table at the Turian. "A cure…for the Genophage."

The Salarian Delatross was shocked into silence for a moment. "Absolutely not; the Genophage is non-negotiable."

"The Krogan deserve a cure Delatross, now more than ever." Shepard was the only one here that Wrex respected; he hoped that was enough to keep the Krogan in line. "How many years has the Genophage existed."

"One thousand four hundred and seventy-six years. If you're keeping track." Wrex said bitterly.

"It was a thousand years of peace, free from these…brutes." The Delatross threw up her hands in disgust.

"Enough!" Primarch Victus bellowed, slamming his hands on the table. "Whether or not he Krogan deserve a cure is academic, it would take years to formulate one."

Wrex crossed his arms. "My sources say otherwise." Tapping on his Omni-tool, the lights dimmed, one of the windows, serving a double purpose as both a viewport and a vid screen, suddenly displayed the image of some sort of a dark facility, one that Shepard recognized as a science facility.

There were Salarians everywhere, and from the dim shadow on the ground, Shepard guessed that the one taking the recording was a Salarian as well. The man recording it ran forward, giving a closer look at some containment cells.

"Last year a Salarian scientist named Maelon was on my planet, trying to cure the Genophage." Wrex informed.

Thinking back to when he and Mordin had raided the facility that Maelon had been using Shepard shuddered. "I remember him, his methods were barbaric."

"But what you didn't know was that some of the females survived the experiments, and escaped into the wilds."

The vid zoomed in again, focusing on one of the cells. Inside were the silhouettes of several female Krogan.

The Delatross jerked back as if struck. "How can you be sure that this is true? It-it could be a fabrication!"

"Don't you lie to me!" Wrex snarled. "Those are my people, they're immune to the Genophage and I want them back!"

"And how would curing the Genophage benefit my people?" the Delatross scoffed.

"Unless you cure the Genophage your people won't survive this war." Shepard said, venom in his voice.

"And I'll be the last friendly Turian you'll ever see." Victus said darkly.

The Delatross held her face in her palm for a moment, letting out a long breath before answering. "The females are being held in one of our STG bases on Sur'kesh."

"Let's go get them!" Wrex said, excitedly, already walking towards the door.

"You can't just go and get them, this will take time!" The Delatross snapped, holding out a hand as if to stop the Krogan.

"It happens now, as a Council Spectre Shepard can oversee the process." Victus said with a tone of finality.

Shepard, Victus, and Wrex walked out of the room, but the Delatross did not let them leave without one final remark.

"I will not forget this Commander! A bully has few friends when he needs them most"

(**)

"We're almost there Commander, should be a quick in and out mission for once." Cortez reported, eyes focused on the display in front of him.

Shepard nodded and looked back at his squad; no one was talking at the moment, the hum of the shuttle's engines being the only sound.

Wrex was fighting, pacing back and forth agitatedly, muttering something Shepard couldn't hear.

"I'm glad that the Salarians were willing to let the females go so easily, we can't afford division right now." The human said, almost to himself.

"I still don't trust a word they say." Wrex looked like he was bracing himself for a fight. To him; the Salarians were an enemy, it would take a great deal to change that outlook.

"We'll get them back Wrex" Liara said, smiling warmly at her old companion.

"Thanks Liara, I wouldn't want anyone else along for the ride." The old Krogan grinned down at the Asari.

"The Salarians cooperation does signify a change in mindset considering the Genophage, however; in the past Salarians have performed actions, with the full intention to not honor their promise to the other party. I would suggest caution." EDI was sitting down still, and had donned a dark blue uniform with a yellow trim.

Shepard had tried to convince her to wear some armor but she had deflected his efforts stating "that her body was more than adequate to weather small to medium arms, and armor would protect it from heavy arms anyway"

"Who's the synthetic?" Wrex eyed the AI warily.

"I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence; my friends prefer to call me EDI"

Shepard smiled to himself; she was gaining emotions even if no one had recognized it yet.

Wrex grunted. "As long as you don't start blabbering on about being the vanguard of our destruction, I don't care."

The sound of Cortez swearing broke their . "Commander, we've got a problem"

Wrex and Shepard both looked up when the man had spoken, walking over to the cockpit Shepard looked to his pilot. "What's going on Lieutenant?"

"The base isn't letting us land; they're claiming we don't have the clearance."

"I knew they'd try something!" Wrex snarled.

"Take us down Lieutenant, we're landing, whether they like it or not." Shepard's hands balled into fists. Dammit, why do they have to make things difficult?

"Yes sir"

"They are not keeping my people down there!" Wrex stomped over to the shuttle doors, slamming his fist into the controls. The doors opened and a rush of air nearly drowned out the next thing he said. "Let's see if they can stop a Krogan airdrop."

"Wrex, what are you-" Shepard stopped midsentence and watched in disbelief as Wrex leapt from the shuttle with a roar.