So I won't bore everyone with the reasons for my absence, I'm just going to skip straight to the chapter. It's a bit shorter because of various reasons, but I hope you won't mind it too much. Next chapter will have a lot more content while also ending the Tuchanka missions.
The engineering deck was quiet for once, and the humming of the ship's engines had been toned down for a bit. The Normandy was orbiting around Tuchanka, waiting for its commander to choose a next destination for them to depart to, but that did not mean its engineers had no work to do. Maintenance was a daily task. Engineers had to keep the machinery in top shape even when the ship wasn't on the move. Something could break down at any moment, regardless of the odds of such a thing happening. The only difference was that the engines weren't rumbling this time around; not that the Normandy made much noise anyway.
For Tali, that rumbling sound was something she had grown accustomed to. Back on the Flotilla it was a constant noise that meant that the ship was still in good order. She remembered just how uncomfortable her first days had been on the first Normandy due to the lack of noise, which had caused more than one restless night for the young Quarian. The SR-2 made more noise due to its increased size, but it was still considerably quieter than a simple Quarian freighter.
Tali sighed audibly, her helmet's vocalizer picking up on the sound, as she corrected a few mistakes with the heatsinks of the drive core. It baffled her how she had even missed this mistake.
"Adams would be so disappointed…" She muttered to herself, fingers already fixing the problem on the screen.
No one else was on the engineering deck. Zaeed, Grunt and Jack were still upstairs in the mess hall. They had come back only a short while ago, announcing that the Rite was a success and Grunt was now part of clan Urdnot. The large Krogan was much happier than he had been the past week. Everyone could see that. It was also a relief for them as well, since a moody Grunt had a lot of pent-up aggression that had to be dealt with, lest they wanted to pay the bills for more wrecked furniture.
Not that Tali cared. If Cerberus had to pay for more expenses, then she wouldn't complain. Stupid bosh'tets…
Neither Gabby or Ken were here to help her fixing the problem with the heatsinks. However, Tali couldn't blame them. Their shift was long done and both of them were having dinner at the moment. It wasn't as if Tali actually needed help, being fully capable of correcting the minor fault herself. Besides, she could do without their constant bickering for a few minutes. She liked having them around, plus they were very competent engineers themselves, but her patience wasn't endless.
It were moments like these that gave Tali time to reflect on recent events. She still had difficulty believing that so much had changed, for the better or worse, in such a short time. It felt like yesterday that she had stood aboard the SR-1 and worked under Adam's tutelage, yet now she was the chief engineer of the SR-2. She'd been a young girl back then on a dangerous pilgrimage, but she had turned into a fully capable woman. And Shepard had died, only for him to return from the afterlife and turn her world upside down.
But she wasn't sorry that she had left the fleet. His death had caused her incredible pain, more than she had expected it to. The young Quarian had cursed her ignorance. For far too long, she'd been oblivious to her feelings for the commander. However, even though she was more than aware now, she still lacked the courage to admit them to Shepard. Tali shook her head of those thoughts. She could think about that later.
Tali smiled as the readings showed that her job here was done. The heatsinks would now work properly and without any incidents. The Quarian engineer stretched her arms, hearing the loud pops that her bones made, and felt the tension drain away from her limbs. It was time for her own break and dinner.
She turned off her terminal before walking away from engineering, confident that she wouldn't be returning here for a while. It was then that she realized just how hungry she truly was. There was still some of her favorite nutrient paste left, if she wasn't mistaken. The main ingredient was a bird native to Palaven and was the Turian equivalent of a human-owned chicken. A smile blossomed on her masked face as she felt her mouth water at the thought of her favorite paste; almost impatient to feast on her meal. She hurried off towards the elevator in pursuit of her dinner.
However, Tali halted momentarily as she walked along the windows that lined the hallway, allowing her to peek into the cargo bay. She could hear angry shouting, but she was sure that everyone was still upstairs. No one was supposed to be down here anymore. Tali looked through the glass in curiosity as she searched for the source of the noise. The droids were still inactive, bar for the two bodyguards and a single battle droid. Her visor helped her enhance her vision, allowing her to identify the droid as RF-4472; the one that had talked to her before. It was clutching some sort of tool in its metal hands, while slowly backing away.
"Useless scrap metal!"
There was no mistaking that particular voice. Tali raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw Grievous sitting on a crate, flailing one limb angrily at the terrified RF-4472, if it was even possible to say that a machine could be terrified, while his other arm hung limply on another crate. She wondered why he was so angry all of a sudden. It was her understanding that the general liked fighting, so there had to be some sort of reason as to why he was mad.
Her hunger partially forgotten, Tali's curiosity spurred her on to take a look at what was wrong. Maybe she could help him somehow. Not because she felt like she owed him or something, but rather because it was in her nature to help. That, and the probability that Grievous could destroy something nearby. She did not want to be the one to repair any damages he did to the ventilation system in the cargo bay.
Tali sighed as she went down, using the elevator to get to the cargo bay. It moved way too slow for her taste. The doors opened up and allowed her to step outside, announcing her arrival to the Normandy's resident cyborg. Grievous immediately turned to look at her with a scowl.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned her, his tone almost accusative.
"Great, it's going to be one of those conversations." Tali rolled her eyes, keeping her thoughts to herself. "I heard you shouting from up the fourth deck. Is there a problem?"
Grievous scoffed, "Nothing that you have to concern yourself with."
Well, that wasn't very forthcoming. Tali felt her patience being thinned out by his blunt response, annoyed that he was still acting that way. Not that she hadn't expected him to be like that. While Tali knew there were rare instances of him being mildly polite, which was actually him not looking down on someone, Grievous was still very much anti-social.
"The repairs of his arm aren't coming along very well."
"Silence, droid!"
Tali raised an eyebrow as Grievous swung his still functioning arm at RF-4472, missing it by a few inches. RF wisely shut up and stood at a respectable distance away from the angered general. At least she knew the problem now. However, how were they going to fix it?
The Quarian engineer frowned as she inspected the mentioned limb more closely. Come to think of it, Grievous' body was quite dirty. There was still some resident soot on his chest along with some dried up blood. She knew that the ground team had fought multiple vicious animals, such as varren, but the signs didn't stop there. The limp limb that was in need for repairs had some acid stains on it. The outer casing was opened up, revealing some of the cybernetics inside to the public eye. As an engineer, she was fascinated by the machinery of Grievous' body.
"What happened down there?" Tali asked. "I heard you guys took on a thresher maw?"
Grievous puffed out his chest, "And defeated it! That beast stood no chance against us. I personally climbed on top of it and pierced my lightsabers through its hide, wounding it enough so your Krogan pet could take it down."
"You did what?!" Tali exclaimed, her glowing eyes widening in disbelief.
She would have expected something like that from Grunt, but she had believed Grievous to have a bit more common sense. What had the general been thinking?! Now she understood why he was injured, though in her mind someone who actually thought climbing a thresher maw was a good idea would have had more than just a damaged arm.
Grievous didn't seem to be of the same mind as her. He was holding his head up high, radiating pride like an accomplished warrior.
"You heard me correctly, Quarian. That thresher maw suffered at my hands." Grievous stated boastfully.
Tali shook her head, "Suddenly your injury makes a lot more sense."
That caused Grievous to stop his moment of glory, and instead turn his head so he could glare at her. However, his attempt at intimidation was useless on Tali. She had been through much worse, had faced many dangerous people, and didn't feel particularly threatened by Grievous. Sure, it was quite unnerving to have those yellow eyes burn holes into her mask. Yet she didn't even flinch.
"It is none of your concern." Grievous reaffirmed. "Leave me alone."
"Look, obviously you're having trouble repairing your injury. You've stated yourself that your droids aren't competent, so how about you let me take a look? I'm pretty sure that if you just tell me what's wrong and how everything works, I can fix it without any further problems." The Quarian engineer proposed, trying her best to sound as amicable as possible.
It didn't take a genius to understand that Grievous was less than happy with her offer of help. The general almost recoiled, his entire posture screaming clear distrust and paranoia, as the glare intensified. He was staring at her with such a ferocity that it confused Tali, making her wonder why he was suddenly quiet. Was he against people helping him? Her previous experiences with the separatist leader had told her that he always held his distance, unless it was to stab somebody with his swords.
"I don't think so, Quarian." Grievous growled distrustfully. "No one gets to poke around my body. I will not give anyone the opportunity to sabotage me, nor will I let anyone gain intelligence on how my cybernetics work. Your pitiful attempt at gathering information is downright insulting!"
Tali's anger spiked at the accusation, "What?! I wasn't trying anything of the sort! The only reason why I was even offering to help you is because Shepard needs you for the team, plus I was simply trying to be nice. Of course, a senseless brute like you doesn't seem to even comprehend what that word means!"
The droids suddenly backed off as they recognized the dangerous glint in Grievous' eyes. Even with his arm still disabled, he stood up and towered over the smaller Quarian woman in front of him. His still functioning hand was clenched into a tight fist, the metal almost creaking from the barely held back anger, while he scowled heavily at her. However, Tali stood her ground.
"Careful, little girl," He spoke coldly, "or you will learn what it means to face my wrath."
Tali boldly took a step forward, "I'm not afraid of you, you bosh'tet. I'll have Chatika zap you before you can even reach for your swords."
The tension that hung in the air managed to even affect the droids. RF-4472 clutched the repair tool in its hands and held it as if to shield itself, trying to stay away from the argument between the two organics. Grievous' magnaguards had their staffs in their hands, but didn't move a single inch. Their blood-red optics simply kept on watching the two. If anyone entered the cargo bay at this exact moment, they would see a Quarian engineer and cyborg general seizing each other up, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
But in the end, Grievous backed off, albeit reluctantly. Tali did the same thing. The general frowned as he turned around and sat back down on the crate. His actions confused Tali, especially when he suddenly reached out into a hidden pocket in his waist. A small compartment opened up, revealing a small datachip that looked miniscule. Grievous grunted as he retrieved it and grabbed a nearby datapad. Tali remained silent while he placed the chip into the small tablet, the device humming as it was powered on.
"Come." Grievous said, though it sounded more like a gruff noise.
The purple-clad engineer hesitantly walked over and accepted the datapad that he held out in his claws. She raised an eyebrow at his reluctance, as well as the fact that he didn't look her in the eye as if he was very uncomfortable, but focused on the contents of the device in her hands. For a moment she just stared at it. Tali couldn't understand the strange symbols that were being shown to her, but she quickly recognized the images of Grievous' body parts. It appeared that these were some sort of blueprints for his artificial body. There were pages dedicated to his mask, arms, legs and many more distinct features of his body.
"This is…" She trailed off, staring wide-eyed at the general.
Grievous hmphed, "You will need it if you're going to fix my arm for me."
He gestured towards the mentioned limb, its inner circuitry still visible. Tali nodded slowly and wondered why he was cooperating all of a sudden, but she wasn't going to anger him by refusing to do the job now. It was actually quite the surprise for her that he had agreed. Moments ago he was ready to fight her, but now he was giving her permission to work on his cybernetics. It baffled her.
"I, ah, right." She mumbled awkwardly.
Tali sat down on another crate as she prepared herself for the work ahead. The datapad's contents would help, even though much of it was written in an unknown language. She carefully placed it down and reached for her omni-tool, only to be very surprised as Grievous' hand grabbed her arm. His eyes bore into her visor.
"Listen to me, Quarian. I am only allowing you to repair me because I have no other choice. Neither my droids or I have the capacity to properly perform the repairs, and I cannot take the risk of walking around with a limp arm. The Jedi would be able to take advantage of this. Either they will do it, or maybe your commander. Do not think this is a sign of trust or friendship." He stated seriously, using the tone that only a military leader could.
Tali, to her credit, remained impassive as he spoke. She gave no signs of fear and listened to him. Of course, she was annoyed by the physical touch, but she made sure not to do anything that could set the general's temper off.
"Trust me, I never imagined the possibility." Tali said sarcastically, her own annoyance seeping through. "And why are you always acting as if we're going to stab you in the back? Shepard would never do such a thing."
Grievous scoffed as he leaned back, "Then you're more naïve than I believed you to be, little Quarian. One must always be on the lookout for backstabbers and traitors. Do not think that I am unaware of your organization's attempts at gaining my aid, as well as how they've been observing me. I've found more than three cameras already, and I have crushed each one of them."
"First off, I'm not part of Cerberus. I'd rather die from a suit rupture than join those bosh'tets. The only reason I'm here is because of Shepard, nothing else." Tali argued vehemently. "Secondly, I'm not as naïve as you think. Maybe if you actually tried to get to know Shepard and the others, you might find out that we're not so bad after all."
"We'll see about that." Was the only response she received.
They fell silent once more. Tali sighed quietly as she got to work, omni-tool scanning for any damage while she studied the schematics. While it was coming along very slowly, she was starting to understand the schematics more and more. Grievous' body was advanced yet simple in design at the same time. She focused her attention on the outline of his arms in specific, seeing as that was where he had been injured by the thresher maw.
However, Tali was only partially focused on the repairs. Questions about Grievous were popping up left and right, and her curious nature was demanding answers for them. Tali peeked at Grievous and saw that the general was staring at the bulkhead with a blank gaze. Perhaps some conversation would help?
"You never explained why you hate the Jedi so much." She began cautiously. Grievous turned to look at her. "I mean, I understand that you're enemies, but it's different. The clones are also soldiers of the republic, yet you ignore them and focus on the Jedi. Why?"
A low growl escaped Grievous' vocalizer, "Careful, Quarian. I might be just inclined to throw you out after all."
"Good luck with that." She rolled her eyes in response. "Is it that hard to answer a simple question?"
Keelah, this stubborn bosh'tet was really getting on her nerves. How Shepard managed to keep him in line during missions was nothing short of a miracle. Even now he was giving her that glare that he always gave her, one of anger and distrust. Did he really think she was going to take her chances against a tall, cybernetically enhanced cyborg without even holding her shotgun?
Grievous eventually broke the silence, "Because the Jedi are responsible for my suffering." His golden eyes narrowed and his voice became as cold as ice, "A long time ago, before our war even started, I was a proud Kaleesh warlord. My people lived in prosperity for many generations. We kept to our own, following our own lifestyle of war without affecting other worlds. However, the Huk invaded and began slaughtering my people. Those who did not die were sold into slavery and suffered at the hands of the hated Huk."
"Keelah, that's horrible." Tali gasped, pausing momentarily to watch his hateful gaze being aimed at nothing in particular.
She knew that slavery was still a practice even today. Batarians were known for being slavers, which disgusted Tali. To hear that Grievous' people had to suffer such a tragedy caused her to find some sympathy for the cyborg general. While he was still an asshole as Shepard would put it, it was difficult not to have some pity for the man. No one should have to live through something like that. However, Tali figured that there was more to the story than just the Huk invasion. He hadn't mentioned the Jedi yet.
"I took up arms and led my people in the war against the Huk." Grievous continued passionately. "We fought hard, losing many warriors in the process, before eventually driving them off Kalee. But it wasn't enough. The Huk were still a threat and they had killed too many, littering our soil with Kaleesh blood. We lost so many men, women and even children to the Huk slavers. They had to pay for that. I led my people's finest warriors as we assaulted their colonies, slaughtering the Huk and avenging our fallen." He then clenched his hand and slammed it on a nearby create, putting a dent in it. "And then those cowards turned to the republic! They lied, stating that it was us who had instigated this war, and the republic fools in their worthless senate believed them. The Jedi, the lapdogs that they truly are, helped the Huk to win against my people. They placed sanctions on our planet, creating an economic crisis that plunged my people into poverty. Most of our farmlands had been destroyed during the war and many hunters had been killed. Without crops or food, the only option left was buying it on the galactic market. But because of the sanctions that the republic created, we couldn't afford it and began to starve!"
Grievous was yelling at this point. He was reliving the agony of his people, remembering how they had suffered at the hands of both the Huk and the republic. Tali watched him with empathy. Now she understood his hatred for the Jedi, as well as the republic. It reminded her of how the Council had forbidden her own people from settling on new worlds, forcing them to wander the stars and be reduced to beggars. It didn't make things right, but she could understand where he was coming from.
But Grievous wasn't done, "I watched children die from starvation. Their bellies underfed, ribcages visible as their parents couldn't save them. My people were dying. So I struck a deal with the Intergalactic Banking Clan, promising to be their enforcer as long as they saved my people. Day after day I would serve those corporate thugs to aid Kalee. But then the Huk decided to humiliate us by desecrating our sacred burial grounds! They not only crushed our future, but also spat on our ancestors! I couldn't stand by and let that happen, so I took a shuttle and returned to Kalee. However, my shuttle was sabotaged by those Jedi scum! I survived the crash, but most of my body was destroyed during the landing. Later on, the chairman of the IBC retrieved me, placing me in this artificial body, so I would be able to lead the confederate army into battle against the republic and the Jedi. Now you know why I will hate the Jedi even to my last dying breath!"
As he fell silent, Grievous seemed to realize just how riled up he was. The crate next to him had been partially crushed by his iron grip, the anger that had been flooding through his system ebbing away, though the agony of having being reminded of his failure to protect his people began to wear him down. How long had it been since he'd been so open about this? Tali was silent as she regarded him. It was strange to hear a tale like that. She didn't see a vicious cyborg who wanted to kill anything on sight, but an emotionally-scarred man who had lost so much.
She still didn't approve of his behavior and actions. He was rude, arrogant and a prick. However, she could relate to him. Their people had suffered so much at the hands of others, leaving them with scars that would most likely never heal. Yet unlike him, she herself hadn't been there when her people were slaughtered by the Geth. Grievous on the other hand had lived through all of it. His cynical state of mind suddenly made sense.
"Grievous, I-" She tried to say something to him, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"Don't. Just… fix my arm and leave." He rasped, his voice having lost all of the anger that it once had held.
Tali did just that. However, the silence was more than uncomfortable, and left both of them with ample enough time to think.
Fives was grinning in pure satisfaction. The ARC trooper's face held a smug smile, one that was starting to annoy Shepard. There was nothing more that he wanted than to wipe that smile off of his face. However, he knew that it was not within his own power to do so. The clone was holding all the cards in his hands; literally.
"Well, commander? Anything that could help you out of this nasty situation?" He heard Fives speak up, a victorious grin gracing his lips.
Shepard grumbled, "I've got nothing."
And with that, he threw his cards on the table. The mess hall wasn't being used solely for dinner for once. Instead, Shepard and the others had decided to use one of the tables for a game of Skyllian-Five poker. He knew for a fact that serving aboard a ship could get quite dull at times, plus it was a good exercise to bring everyone closer together. However, Shepard was slowly being convinced that this had been a mistake, considering he had the sudden urge to throw Fives out of an airlock.
"Unbelievable." Jesse grumbled, the 501st engineer's eyes locked onto his own cards. The poor trooper hadn't won any games so far, "How is he winning again?"
"Through cheating, if you ask me." Jacob added grumpily as he folded as well.
Murmurs of agreement passed alongside their table, the others seemingly thinking the same thing. There was no way that Fives could be winning that much, especially if he was winning three times in a row. Shepard grimaced as Garrus folded as well, the Turian vigilante placing down his cards with a resigned sigh. Another one bit the dust it seemed.
"I've brought in quite a few swindlers when it comes to poker," Garrus spoke up dryly, "but even I can't seem to find out what he's doing. Unless he's somehow pulling cards right out of his gauntlets – or where the sun doesn't shine – he appears to be playing fair and square. Doesn't make me feel better though."
Fives smirked pridefully, "No tricks. Just pure skill, which isn't much of a surprise."
That got a mocking laugh out of Rex. The clone officer shook his head, placing his own cards on the table as well. Unfortunately for him, he had betted a bit too much after believing that he would win, which was now coming back to bite him in the ass. Rex crossed his arms over his chest as gave Fives a pointed look.
"Just admit you're having a lot of luck, Fives." He said, a wry smile on his face.
"Who? Me?" Fives replied almost innocently, placing a hand on his own chestplate in mock hurt. The gesture was as silly as it could get, "Captain, you wound me with your lack of faith in me!"
Everyone chuckled at Fives' dramatic response, finding some amusement in the ARC trooper's antics. At least they were having fun with it. Shepard remembered some of the poker games back in the Alliance that had gotten out of hand. He hadn't really played a lot during his time as an Alliance marine, but he knew how the game worked and didn't mind doing it now. Besides, the company made it all the more fun. Bonding with the people under his command was something that Shepard loved doing.
"Be that as it may, I'm with Rex on this one. Not even the Force would grant you this much luck." Anakin joked from his side of the table.
The Jedi had folded almost immediately after the game had started. It was quite frustrating for the man, considering he seemed to be ridiculously bad at the game of poker that they were playing. He hadn't won even one single round. Luckily Anakin didn't mind losing that much, though he probably wished he could score at least one win.
Fives chuckled as he held up his hands, "You're all just jealous of my superior skills."
"Wow, he really does have good cards." Kasumi surprised them, dropping her cloak behind Fives.
The ARC trooper almost jumped from the sudden voice behind him. He glared at the master thief, though this only rewarded him with a sly grin before she disappeared again. Fives sighed and returned to his game. This had been the fourth time she'd gotten the jump on him. He was probably embarrassed by the fact that he seemed to be incapable of detecting her, but luckily the others didn't tease him for it. Everyone was an equal target for the hooded infiltrator after all.
"Perhaps you should all admit defeat then." Obi-Wan quipped from where he sat.
The Jedi master calmly sipped his tea, relishing the soothing liquid that went down his throat. He had taken a liking to the tea in this galaxy. Especially the brand that had mint flavor, which he couldn't get enough of. Thane and Samara sat together at his table, the three of them conversing in peace, while the others had their game. The trio had quickly earned the reputation of being the calmest people aboard the ship, as well as the wisest. This wasn't the first time that the three were enjoying some tea and small talk.
Jacob chuckled confidently, "No way. I'm going to win this round, no matter how good his cards are according to Kasumi."
"Suit yourself." Fives shrugged, completely relaxed.
Shepard was content with how everyone got along. Aside from his friends who were playing the game and Kenobi's group, the mess hall was actually packed with team members and crew. He had spotted doctor Chakwas, Kix and Ahsoka inside the doctor's medbay. Anakin had asked her what she was up to, to which she had replied that she wanted to learn more about treating wounds. That actually gave Shepard some pause. Everyone was used to treating injuries with medi-gel. Hell, most of the time he used it as well. There was hardly any time during a firefight to treat wounds, especially when you didn't have a medic with you. Back on the old Normandy it had been primarily Liara and Kaidan who had both taken up that role. But his new team didn't have many, except for Mordin and Kix. He himself had only basic training, which was the same as for Garrus he supposed, since Turians had a conscription policy.
Further away in the corner were Miranda, Cody, Hawk, Waxer and Boil. Shepard wondered what the five of them could be talking about. He didn't figure Miranda to be a very sociable person, certainly not with her reputation as the ice queen of the Normandy, but she seemed to be getting out of her shell as of late. Not that he had anything against that. Contrary to popular belief, he and Miranda didn't hate each other. They simply disagreed when it came to personal beliefs, with Cerberus being the main factor.
The others were eating, which was evident by Grunt's noise. The Krogan super soldier had a habit of eating loudly and as messy as possible. Jack and Zaeed were better in that regard, though Hardcase knew how to make a mess himself. The four troublemakers were starved after Grunt's Rite, and Shepard himself had only finished a short while ago. It was a miracle that they hadn't eaten all of the rations yet, considering how energy-consuming the fight with Tresher Maw had been.
Speaking of said battle, Grievous had immediately left for the cargo bay. He wondered if something was up with the general, but he had decided not to intervene. Something told him that Grievous wasn't exactly in the mood for conversation at the moment, and Shepard couldn't say that he was honestly looking forward to making small talk with the cyborg either.
Shepard's attention returned to the table as Jacob placed down his cards, grinning widely at Fives' scowl. Everyone was surprised at the sudden confidence that the dark-skinned man showed. Sure, he had boasted earlier, but they hadn't expected him to actually back it up; Fives was just unbeatable. The ARC trooper had yet to reveal his own cards, but the glare he was giving to Jacob inspired hope in the table's occupants.
"Sorry, Fives, but I think I'll be taking the spoils now." The Cerberus operative chuckled, not even bothering to hide his smug grin.
"A real shame indeed." Fives nodded slowly, but his scowl quickly melted away. The clone placed down his own cards, causing everyone to groan in despair; he had won again. Fives took the prize from Jacob, "Looks like you lose – again if I may add. Don't worry though, I'll make sure to spend this hard earned money wisely."
"Dammit." Jacob cursed, shaking his head.
Shepard laughed as more groans erupted alongside the table, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for them. He didn't mind losing at all, but the other clones seemed to take their losses personally. They shot their brother nasty glares as they were forced to give away their credits. As for Fives, he didn't seem to be sorry at all; he was relishing in their defeat and his own victory.
"I'm out." Anakin said, standing up from the poker table. "As much as I like to play, I don't think losing all my credits is worth it. That, and I'm sure Obi-Wan will give me another lecture."
"Well, if you insist."
The whole room broke down in laughter as the elder Jedi smirked from his own table. Anakin looked away with flushed cheeks, and tried to hide his embarrassment. Leave it up to Kenobi to throw in a comment like that. Shepard wondered where the man had gotten that sharp wit of his. While Obi-Wan could be very serious at times, giving wise counsel or calming hot heads, the Jedi certainly had a sense of humor and a wit that was as sharp as a Vorcha's teeth.
Anakin rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Very funny."
"I'm up for another game." Garrus spoke up. He looked slyly at Fives, "You might want to see this one out, Fives. Us Turians can be very competitive when challenged like this, and I wouldn't wan to see you completely humiliated."
"In your dreams, Vakarian." The ARC trooper retorted with similar look. He cracked his knuckles as he grinned maliciously, "Don't think us clones are going to let others roll right over us. If you think you've seen competition before, then you're in for a big surprise."
Shepard was about to join in, but halted as he spotted Mordin walking into the mess hall; which was surprising. Their resident Salarian doctor hardly came down to the lower deck. In fact, seeing Mordin anywhere else but his lab was a feat in itself. Shepard became confused as he saw Mordin walk over to him, stepping with an urgency that hinted at something bad that could have happened. He hadn't seen such an expression on Mordin's worn face before.
"Shepard, have to speak with you." The Salarian doctor spoke up, speaking in that rapid-fire tone that he usually spoke with. However, there was that same urgency that managed to seep through, "Was contacted by contacts in STG. Issue brought to my attention; have to act now or will be too late."
Shepard rose from his seat and held up his hands placatingly, "Calm down, Mordin. Just tell me what's going, but from the beginning please."
There were some curious onlookers, with most of them being from the poker table. However, they quickly returned to their own businesses. Stranger things happened on the ship than Mordin visiting the mess hall instead of remaining in his laboratory.
"Ah, right." The doctor said, as if he had caught himself rambling again. Then again, Mordin did have a habit of rambling about something without keeping his audience in mind. He still remembered their first interaction, "First off, maybe some privacy first? Issue very important, but also very sensitive."
Alarm bells went off inside Shepard's head. This was becoming a bit too serious for his liking, and he was rather curious about what the Salarian doctor had to say. He glanced at Miranda, who was still engrossed in her own conversations with the clones, before nodding towards his XO's room. Mordin quickly caught on, and they both entered the private room. The doors shut behind them, effectively quieting the sounds of the mess hall.
Shepard walked over to Miranda's desk and leaned against it as he faced Mordin, "So what is so important? I have never seen you so alarmed before, Mordin."
"Have told you about previous work for STG, yes? Modifying Genophage?" The old Salarian asked, to which he received a mute nod of confirmation from the commander. Mordin sighed anxiously and looked out of the viewport, "Just received data, still processing, analyzing likely scenarios. Not sure how to begin. Too much intel!"
"Mordin." Shepard cut in, making sure to be as forceful as possible to avert another rant. Mordin never took offense to this, since they both knew this was a good thing to do, "Calm down. Just start from the beginning."
Mordin nodded a bit more slowly than before, "You remember our talks? My work on Genophage. Was part of a team. Scientists, all different types. Blood Pack mercenaries working for Krogan clan captured former team member. Maelon. Last seen on Tuchanka. Might torture him. Make an example, or worse. Recovering Maelon would be a… personal favor to me."
That wasn't good. Shepard was well aware of the animosity between Krogan and Salarians, having spent enough time with Wrex to know how deep the hatred went; he couldn't say if Maelon would be lucky or not to be still alive.
"Do you think they found out your team updated the Genophage?" He asked curiously, the gears in his head already turning.
"Unclear. No way to determine until we save him." Came the worried response.
"Don't worry, Mordin. We'll leave immediately and ask Wrex for help. He'll have all the information we need, and maybe he'll even help us out. We'll get Maelon back." Shepard promised as he nodded confidently.
A relieved sigh escaped Mordin's mouth, "Appreciate it, Shepard. Maelon was my assistant. My student. Want to see him safe."
Looks like they weren't going to leave Tuchanka just yet.
