Chakwas tended to Elaine's broken hand whilst the Warden began to explain everything to Shepard. From start to finish, she told him exactly what she'd told Garrus, perhaps more. She needed to be certain he understood her predicament fully. Through it all, the man stayed unreadable and silent, not even stopping her to make comments or ask questions. In all truth, this only made Elaine more nervous as she had no way to know whether to switch tactics. She was there for perhaps twenty minutes talking everything out. And by the time Chakwas had turned off her machine to help fuse her bones back together, she was finished.

"There. It wasn't a serious break," said the doctor. "But I would still give it a week before you decide to hit anyone again – least of all a Krogan."

Elaine thanked the good doctor, who seemed to know the other two humans needed privacy, and so walked out of the room. The Warden waited patiently as Shepard seemed to think long and hard in silence. His hard steel gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. Time passed, and just when Elaine was starting to fidget, Shepard looked up.

"So let me see if I understand this…" he said slowly. "You're saying you're from a… different world? As in a time and space separate from this one? A world with thousands of years of history, filled with swords and magic and dragons?"

"Yes."

It was as if he couldn't help himself when he snorted under his breath. "Just like that, a fantasy land? What is this, Middle-Earth?"

"I don't know what that is, Shepard." Elaine frowned. When Shepard threw her look, she realised he'd been joking. "And no. My world is called Thedas."

He sighed. "And you have no proof of this?"

"The only thing I could is the taint. The corruption we found in the Collectors is the same in me, it comes from the Darkspawn."

"Which are evil monsters from your planet that follow something called an Archdemon in order to destroy the world. Am I right?"

"I did tell you I am familiar with the apocalypse."

Shepard rubbed his face as if tired. Leaning forward on his seat, his elbows rested on his knees. "Look, Elaine… apart from the fact that this taint is the only link you have to back up your story, you have to admit: It's a bit much…"

"I do not expect you to believe me," standing from where she'd sat on one of the beds, she studied the light bandages that covered her hand, flexing her fingers to test the pain and ability to move them. "However, I needed to tell you. I could not go on pretending and tiptoeing around you on what I should reveal about myself. I want to find a way home, Shepard, more than anything. But so long as I am here for the time being, I want to live honestly."

"But it sounds crazy–!"

"I know it does. I do not require your belief. I only want you to accept it. Is that enough?"

Shepard stared at her, eyes searching hers. Perhaps he needed to see that she was not playing him for a fool, perhaps he needed to confirm her conviction. When Shepard stared into one such as he did now, Elaine was reminded of the stare of a High-Dragon. A hypnosis came over the subject with a heavy silence that seemed to trick the mind into being filled. It made one want to fall under its spell, to reveal all. And it seemed that when Elaine had nothing more to give him, Shepard finally relented. "Fine, yeah." His omni-tool gave a loud bleep. Summoning the golden ghost that surrounded his arm, Shepard seemed to read a text that appeared. "That's Mordin. Says he wants you up in his lab for tests."

"Very well," Elaine nodded and briskly walked towards the door. She only paused mid-step briefly in order to cast the Commander one last look. "And thank you, Shepard."

She made her way up to the CIC deck. She passed Kelly and they exchanged brief greetings before the Warden carried on her way towards the labs where Professor Mordin studied. She had rarely been up here, and even rarer still interacted with the large-eyed doctor. He was courteous enough, and Elaine showed him respect that seemed to be owed someone of his age and experience. Though she didn't know how old he was, by the lines surrounding his eyes, one horn missing, and the aura that surrounded him of an old soul, she guessed he was getting on in life. Yet the Salarian was a contradiction to her. For all his worldliness, the man spoke so fast and with such excitability he reminded her of a child. Perhaps this was common amongst his people? She didn't know, she would need to have more interactions with them when next they docked.

The lab was like the rest of the ship, made entirely of metal, where every floor, wall and ceiling shone like silver. This room in particular seemed especially bright, as if Mordin polished it every day to keep it as immaculate as possible. Every table, shelf and bench seemed to be filled with contraptions, vials and pieces of equipment that Elaine didn't recognise. Each one looked intricate and complicated in its design and behaviours, she was afraid to touch anything for fear of breaking something accidentally. Despite having the best education a noble could have, Elaine had been almost a hopeless student. Aside from swordplay and silver-tongued politics, the only thing she'd excelled at was history. Maths, science, art, it had all been lost on her, much to her tutor's woe. But history had fascinated her unendingly, there was always something to discover. It had even taken hold of her during her travels amidst the Blight. Her journal had been filled with pieces of scrap paper, notes, letters and anything she could jot down or stuff in it pertaining to any piece of history, culture or juicy little story.

"Elaine, welcome! Excellent timing." Came Mordin's voice. Elaine's eyes found the salarian as he approached her. He hurriedly gestured her towards the main table in the centre of the room, of which he seemed to have cleared a small space for her. "Wanted to go over a few tests, procedures, genetic analysis. Nothing too strenuous."

She nodded, though didn't quite understand. Obediently, she sat herself on the edge of the table and watched cautiously as Mordin pottered about around her. "Professor Solus, it is a pleasure to see you again. I don't see you much on the rest of the ship,"

"Prefer to stay focused on work, much more efficient to stay whilst I eat, sleep and… other functions…" he trailed off, and seemed to come back to himself with a snap and a smile. "Have to leave from time to time, of course. Always good to socialise, gain new inspiration, new perspectives."

"Well, then I shall have to come to see you more often."

"Yes, yes, more on that later. Needed to see you to run tests!" he fiddled about with several vials and approached her with what looked to be a tube with a long needle attached at the end. "Data gathered from Collector vessel very intriguing. Also interested in ability to remain undetected by Seeker Swarms."

Before Elaine could sharply ask what he intended to do with that thing, the Proffesor had taken hold of her left arm and pierced the skin in her elbow with it. Elaine yelped loudly at the sharp stab of pain. Her skin crawled when she watched the vial in Mordin's hand slowly fill with her blood. Rather quickly, Mordin retracted the needle and placed a small square of wool over the wound. He encouraged Elaine to apply pressure as he withdrew his hands and she did so. The salarian turned his back on her as he placed a few drops of her blood from the vial onto a piece of glass and placed it in the belly of a machine. The Warden tried to get a better look at what he was doing, her spine going cold. Was Mordin a blood-mage? She didn't think so, but what need was there to draw blood otherwise?

Mordin spoke, but it wasn't entirely clear whether he was speaking to her or himself. "EDI's analysis suggests a toxin, possible virus, similar in you to Collectors. Already studying Collector tissue samples. Hope for interesting results."

Elaine's brow quirked upwards. "Interesting?"

"If current hypothesis is correct, could replicate toxin – non-lethal, of course. Could find fool-proof way to avoid Seeker Swarms. Also possible bio-weapon against Collectors. Worked on Krogan… Something to consider."

It took a moment for Elaine to process the incredible speed with which he talked before her brain began to pick apart what she did understand. "I take it that you've been very busy studying what Shepard found?"

His grin was the most enthusiastic thing she'd ever seen. "Yes! Discovery. Based on Prothean-Collector connection, can examine technology, chart Reaper species modification. Fall of Protheans."

"Oh? What happened then?"

"Early stages similar to Indoctrination. Can guess captured Protheans lost intelligence over several cloned generations. Cybernetic augmentation widespread afterward. As Protheans failed, Reapers added tech to compensate. Mental capacity almost gone, replaced by overworked sensory input, transfers. Transmitting data to masters."

"I'm not sure I understood all those… big words, Mordin." Her brain honestly felt as if it was melting trying to keep up. "Do you mean to say the Collectors are under some form of slavery? They have no choice in what they do?"

"No, not slaves. Not even alive. Not really. No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No soul… replaced by tech. Whatever they were, gone forever. Understand now?" he tilted his head at her, as if imploring her to see why the outraged passion was slowly seeping into his voice. "No art, no culture. Closer to husks than slaves. Tools for Reapers. Protheans dead, Collectors just final insult. Must be destroyed."

"You say that as if you are insulted. Did you not want them destroyed before?"

"Enjoyed challenge. Saw necessity of attack on Collectors after plague on Omega. Their work, my people." Before she could ask what he meant by that reference, he was already talking ahead. "Hard to care about two armies. One wins, one loses. Always work to be done after. Now have more context, see what Collectors are."

Though, being a soldier herself, Elaine had something to argue on the matter to that particular point, she decided to leave it aside for now and press the current objective of the conversation. "So then why does this bother you?"

"Disrupts socio-technological balance! All scientific advancement due to intelligence overcoming, compensating for limitations. Can't carry a load, so invent wheel. Can't catch food, so invent spear. Limitations! No limitations, no advancement. No advancement, culture stagnates!" he exclaimed as if this were the most awful thing that could happen. And then he became quiet, introspective. "Works other way, too. Advancement before culture is ready, disastrous. Saw it with Krogan. Uplifted by Salarians. Disastrous. Our fault."

That caught her attention with a deep feeling in her gut that this was important. "What are you taking about? I'm not sure I quite understand."

"Rachni Wars. Galaxy on brink of destruction. My people found Krogan. Saw their aggression, durability, able to fight on toxic worlds Rachni inhabited – worlds other soldiers couldn't go. We uplifted them. Brought them into spaceflight era before their time. Unwise. Rash. Disastrous."

"You don't agree with what your people did?"

"No. Like giving nuclear weapons to cavemen. Krogan unprepared for spaceflight, technological advance. Krogan could have evolved alone. Worked out aggression. Been ready to use new tech responsibly. Instead, Salarians came. Disrupted Krogan culture. Used Krogan as blunt instruments of war against Rachni. Short sighted. Foolish."

Elaine thought hard on that one. She could easily agree that the Krogan people were very aggressive and dangerous, if Grunt was the standard for their behaviour. To think that they had been a people chosen as warriors to defeat an unmatched enemy, it guaranteed respect in her eyes. Yet there was apparently something so wrong with them that Mordin felt they needed treatment afterwards? Whatever it was, it surely didn't work, for Grunt was still a rather aggressive individual. Or had they been more dangerous to begin with? So many questions this new world and peoples and cultures provided her, and all she wanted to do was sit down and absorb it all, just to not feel so behind.

Mordin went to one of his other machines and fiddled around with his omni-tool. Elaine almost didn't hear the snide comment that was murmured under his breath. "Almost as foolish as saying you come from another world…"

Her head shot up in alarm that he knew, but she quickly rationalised a conclusion. "Ah. Shepard told you, did he?"

"Messaged me before you arrived. Thought my 'scientific brain' could offer insight." He held up two fingers in air-quotations. "Ridiculous. Practical impossibility. Humans only colonise within last century. Impossible to have separate older colony. Take language, culture again! Speak earth English. Customs, mannerisms reminiscent of medieval – possibly renaissance. Impossible to have even those similarities if separated from main culture for hundreds of years, as you claim. Language, dialect, could've evolved in any number of ways depending on societal or environmental factors."

"Mordin, I can't tell you anything other than what I know–"

"Claims to have just 'woken up' on Horizon, yes?" he pressed. Elaine nodded. "Again, highly improbable. Go from one planet to another. Unable to make that distance without spaceflight. Can't even do that so quickly without Mass Relay."

"Alright, then… What if I'm from the past?"

"Please. Dealing with reality, not science-fiction." He snorted derisively. "No science can bend the flow of time. Highly unlikely you did with 'a bang'. Even if possible, would need to reach unmatched speed in order to skip along time-space-continuum to reach goal ahead in time. Body not that durable. Would explode from heat if you tried."

With the way he spoke to her as if she were a silly-child, Elaine's temper began to ignite. "I don't claim to have the answers to this question, Mordin. I only know that I'm here."

"Likely delusions brought on by mental instability."

"Excuse me?" she scowled.

"Can't discredit Chakwas's finds though." The professor spoke with a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "Great doctor. Good woman. Always brilliant work. Couldn't find any record of prior existence. Couldn't have gotten to Horizon without medical trace. Big mystery. Look forward to working on results!"

As if on cue, the machine that had been fed Elaine's blood gave a loud noise. Mordin hurried over towards it and began to pull up the findings on his omni-tool. Elaine watched him, innards broiling with her anger.

"I have the impression, Professor, that you seem to think I'm crazy." She growled out. Mordin's silence seemed rather telling. "I am not crazy!"

"All minds believe they're sane. Even unstable ones."

"Perhaps you're right, it was all a dream. Maybe it is some delusion that has taken over my mind." She snapped, and used an old trick she'd used on her tutor whenever they'd reached an argument. "However, my perceived reality is what I interpret it to be. You cannot convince me otherwise because your reality is based on personal experienced completely different to mine. With that logic, how could you convince me the sky was blue when I've always seen it as purple?"

Yet instead of getting frustrated and arguing back with logic, Mordin looked delighted. "Ah! Now get into philosophies! Most enjoyable."

He turned back to his work, and Elaine saw his brows knit together as he read the text that came up. Though she knew it to be pointless, it was now a point of pride to convince him of her truth. But then she began to grow sober as she realised what exactly it was he was looking for amongst his results.

"I already know what's in there." She said. "You're going to find something that doesn't belong. A splotch, a toxin, a poison: corruption. It's probably trying to destroy my body, even if I am already adapted to it."

"Yes… Antibodies look stronger, able to resist effects of virus. Working to keep it at bay, though. Unable to destroy it. Blood-cells and virus appear to work together, almost in symbiosis – No! Parasitic! Virus uses cells, then devours them!" he seemed to lose momentum as it dawned on him. Slowly, he turned to study her most intently. "How? Knows what to expect. Extensive research into subject? Unlikely. Accepted this as norm. Voluntary?!"

"This is the Blight." Elaine murmured, her voice becoming emotionless as she recited simple facts. "It is similar to that which we found in the Collector Ship, what is also present in the Collectors, yes?"

"Yes. 98% similarities. Same between humans and chimpanzees. Difference able distinguish, yet so similar as to be uncanny. This more organic in structure. Collector version appears modified, industrialised. Made for longer inhabitation before cellular destruction."

"On my world – which you may or may not believe in – there is a plague we call the Blight. It runs rampant in the Darkspawn, and they infect everything around them with it. In order to combat them, the Grey Wardens were formed. And we battle the Darkspawn by taking their taint into us."

"How? To what effect?"

"We enter a ritual called the joining. We drink a potion concocted of Darkspawn blood, Lyrium, a single drop of blood from an Archdemon, and other magical ingredients I couldn't tell you at this time." It did occur to Elaine that she was revealing too much. Her order was known for its secrecy, and to spill so many secrets to an outsider would be a cardinal sin. But then she figured, she was the last of the Grey Wardens here in this place, and no one believed her anyway. What was the point in carrying on the bullshit when it benefited no one? "Some complete the joining, others do not. It is the test we must pass to be a Grey Warden."

"No test! Genetic lottery!" Mordin spluttered in outrage. "Corruption bonds with certain factors in DNA. Unknown at this time, but is no test. Some have it, some don't. Flip of a coin, chance if this would work at all!"

"Through this ceremony, we become one with the Blight. Wardens are able to sense the Darkspawn, some can even… can even hear the Archdemon." She couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine, the nightmare still fresh in her mind. "It is not a cure to the Blight's effects, just a delay."

"What? How so?"

"Wardens are tied to the Blight. That doesn't mean we are invulnerable to it forever. Any other person who has not partaken in the Joining, if exposed to the taint will begin to be poisoned, corrupted, their minds and bodies succumb. Wardens suffer this too, just at a slower pace. After the joining, we have around twenty to thirty years to live, give or take."

"What happens after?"

"The corruption is like a hive-mind, it connects all the Darkspawn together in a song we named 'The Calling'. It is music, terrible and wonderful and deadly. When a Warden's time has come, they begin to hear the music… like a song you can't get out of your head. When that comes, the Warden makes a journey into the Deep Roads to face the Darkspawn one last time, to go out in glorious battle. If they don't… eventually our minds and bodies surrender until we become like the Darkspawn ourselves."

"Process like indoctrination. Prefer to die than submit. Commendable. But not acceptable. Infect terminal illness inside otherwise healthy individual."

"It is the only way."

"Not solution, more problems! Apply 'medicine' to help combat virus, but pollutes host anyway. Slow death. Unacceptable." Mordin ranted, the most upset Elaine had ever seen him. Yet in his anger, he brought his fist up to his chin, brows furrowing in sudden thought. "Can only wonder how Collectors came in contact with it. During exploration? Unknown planet, unknown bio-weapon. Possible. Could've infected Collectors. No cure available. Possible Reaper interference? Change corruption in the DNA strand so as to behave differently? Will need time to theorise. Implications… problematic."

After his little tirade was done, Elaine sat there, as if awaiting something. When all there was, was silence, she tentatively spoke up. "So… does that mean you believe me?"

"What? No!" He quickly snapped to ward of such an implication. Elaine couldn't help the way she flinched, and Mordin's eyes softened. He drew in a long breath. "But, understand now. Mystery too deep to answer straight away. Too many variables to consider. Appreciate new challenge. Will need to form tests and analysis to find answers."

"You like working on things like this, don't you?"

"Reminds me of best years of my life." A wistful smile graced his wide mouth. "Worked on genophage modification project. Whole team in STG working on it. Ego. Argument. Passion. Galaxy's biggest problem, endless resources thrown at us. Good work."

Elaine narrowed her eyes as if she were a hawk zeroing in on her prey. "You've mentioned the genophage before… what is it exactly?"

"After Rachni wars was only answer to Krogan aggression." Mordin murmured, and dare Elaine think it, but something close to regret sounded in his voice. "Worked with others. Assistant mainly… Good you convinced Shepard to head to Tuchanka. Have mission of my own to complete there."