Necessary Evil
Mordin surveys the medical bay. State of the art. Perhaps lacking in laboratory equipment. Space taken by beds. Like Mordin's lab, equipped with quarantine protocols. Can isolate all functions within seven point five seconds. Doctor Helen Chakwas. Chief Medical Officer, Normandy SR-2. Former CMO of SSV Normandy SR-1. Logical choice for post. Few humans with as much practical experience treating alien physiologies. Superior bedside manner. Patience... not a trait common to salarians. Daniel often criticized lack of patience.
Speed saves lives.
The human doctor speaks of medical cases on board. Sharing of information. Visit to, and swift egress from, Collector ship has rattled crew. Many revelations. Fate of Protheans. Specific pursuit of Shepard. Illusive Man's idea of... bait. Much talk, speculation.
Humans active talkers, many hand gestures, like salarians. Hands fascinating. Human doctors much sought after for manual surgery techniques. Uncommonly high digit count among sapient bipeds. Striking similarity to asari. Superior dexterity.
"Grunt seems to be settling down since his return from Tuchanka," Doctor Chakwas remarks. Looking over datapad of reports. "As much as one could expect, anyway. The injuries he sustained on the Collector ship have already healed."
"Advanced regenerative capabilities," Mordin says. New equipment since his last visit to medbay. Deep tissue scanner armature. Sirta manufacture. Model unknown, possible new prototype.
"His regenerative abilities outstrip the previous cases I've seen, even Urdnot Wrex."
The krogan 'Grunt'... worrisome. Made using Collector technology. Effects on genophage modifications unknown. Okeer not precise about intentions. Many declarations, few quantifiable facts. Dead now. Pity. Was obviously skilled. Dedication to scientific process, unusual for krogan. Extreme views, though. Believed that genophage did damage not by lessening numbers, but by forcing krogan to be tolerant of weakness. All living krogan valued now, not just strongest. Effect of cultural shift on long-term krogan evolution unknown. Need more data.
"Old traditions. Uncommon now. Ritualistic slaying of local fauna." Must be considered secondary priority. Still, would like to study krogan tissue samples. Must ask Shepard. Later.
"People find meaning in strange places," the human says. "Grunt's education is unique. Very thorough in some ways, completely lacking in others. A teenager raised on picture books and expected to function like a normal adult."
"Competent fighter. Krogan battle prowess much celebrated. Genetic, or learned?"
"It does beg the question." She sighs. "Ever since Shepard acquired the parts to make those krogan shotguns, she insists on using one herself."
"Effective. Twenty percent higher impact speed than conventional human shotgun."
Chakwas looks annoyed. "That's well and good, but there's a reason they're for krogan and not humans. The recoil on them is excessive."
"Shepard augmented beyond conventional human strength."
"The problem is one of unequal capabilities. Cerberus augmented her muscular strength and bone density, but didn't alter her connective tissues. Her bones are handling the punishment, but she's destroying the cartilage in her shoulder and elbow."
"Hm, not all tissues augmented equally. Natural structures evolved in tandem, operate within certain mutual limits. Not so with cybernetics."
"Exactly. But try convincing her of that! Put a bigger gun in her hand, and she'll use it. She won't even entertain the notion of downgrading now. She just asks for more regenerator compound and painkillers."
"Marines. Stubborn. Shepard not inclined toward... subtlety."
The human doctor shrugs. Irritated. Case affects her. "She's not doing anyone any favors by going on like this, least of all-"
"Medical alert."
Mordin spins to see the ship's AI by the door. Bright. "Medical alert," it repeats, "Commander Shepard is in extreme respiratory distress."
"What?" Doctor Chakwas demands. "Where is she? What happened?"
"Shepard is in her quarters. I am unable to speculate about the cause, however I recommend haste."
The human doctor is already crossing the room in two quick steps, where she picks up an emergency case sitting against the wall. "EDI, override elevator and door functions," she says without breaking stride. "Emergency authorization."
"Chief Medical Officer override accepted," EDI replies.
Mordin keeps up easily as Doctor Chakwas hastens to the elevator, which stands open and waiting. The human does not comment on his presence. Tolerance of alien... welcome.
Respiratory distress. Strange. Attack? EDI did not cite any other crew present, would have done so. Very thorough. Allergic reaction? Something from Collector ship? Unlikely, significant time passage since return. Delayed reaction inconsistent with acute onset. Decontamination process should have alerted to foreign contaminants. Shepard's medical file did not list severe allergies. Only one common allergen on board; dextro-amino acid-based foods. Mess Sergeant Gardner does not prepare dextro-protein food. No reason for cross-contamination. Unless deliberate.
The elevator starts up, faster than normal speed. Elevated G-forces.
Deliberate. Poison? Assassination attempt? Unpleasant notion. All Cerberus members carefully vetted. But all have break points. New crew? Possible. Shepard has made... many enemies. The doors open. Beyond the small anteroom, the portal to Shepard's room is already open. EDI again. The room is dark. Mordin has never been to the Commander's quarters before.
"Fish tanks," he notes absently, "odd choice." Perhaps there to capitalize on the calming effect of aquatic pets. Doesn't quite understand the appeal, himself.
Shepard is lying on the floor next to the bed. Tangled sheets trail from the bed down to the floor, half wrapped around her lower body. Doctor Chakwas puts down her case, kneels beside the commander. As soon as Chakwas touches her, Shepard moves, eyes half-opening.
"Shepard?" the human doctor says.
"What... Doc? What's goin' on..." The commander's voice is slurred, sleep or something else. Humans spend so much time asleep. Slow metabolism.
"Looks like you fell out of bed," Chakwas explains, adopting a motherly tone. "Stay put for a moment and let me have a look at you."
A click as the doctor opens her emergency case and withdraws a hand-held tissue scanner. Commander in good hands. Breathing returning to normal. Interference likely unwelcome. Chakwas will request aid if needed. Mordin goes back up the short stairs toward the door, where he had noted the presence of one of EDI's ubiquitous terminals.
"EDI," he says. "Would like to see security footage for last few minutes."
AI's avatar appears, filling the alcove with blue light. "I'm sorry, Doctor Solus, you are not authorized to view internal monitoring data."
Irritating, but not surprising. Learning the limits of the AI's willingness to divulge information. Creators went to considerable lengths to place blocks at just about every turn. EDI very helpful in the lab, less so on topics outside the business of Mordin's various experiments. But... mistake assuming decision is final. Mordin glances back toward where Chakwas is still performing a test on the recumbent commander.
Hero of the Citadel considerably less impressive in smallclothes on the floor. Comforting, in a way. Normalizing.
He types a quick message into his omni-tool, then waits, eying the fish tank. A battered helmet sits at the bottom of one. Looks burned, far past usable. Shattered visor over the hostile environment seal stares back at him, trailing a thin stream of bubbles. No obvious inhabitants in the tank.
Curious.
"The Chief Medical Officer has authorized you to view security footage for a time index between 21:47 and 00:47," the AI announces.
Mordin turns back with a nod of satisfaction. The images appear. Two camera angles, time index in the corner. He scans through them, backwards, forwards. Noting details. Shepard takes care of her equipment. Reads. Sleeps. Incident occurs later, just before time index end. He watches it several times. Backwards, forwards.
Doctor Chakwas approaches him, motioning them back out into the small anteroom between Shepard's quarters and the elevator. The door closes behind them.
"Diagnosis?" Mordin asks.
The human shakes her head. "It's all very strange. Nothing serious that I could find- a bump on the head and some disorientation, but not unexpected for having been woken up in the middle of REM sleep. Blood toxicity was zero, no swelling or histamine reaction, but high residual adrenaline. I gave her a mild analgesic and an anti-inflammatory and put her back to bed, and I'll come back in an hour to check in on her. EDI said she was choking, but her breathing was back to normal when I found her. You watched the security footage? What did you see?"
Mordin taps his face in thought. "Everything normal. Shepard sleeping. Restless, but normal sleep observed. Then, sudden violent movement. Inconsistent with involuntary seizure. Deliberate, not spastic action."
"I didn't find the kind of residual electrical activity in my scan that would suggest a seizure."
"Must address, eliminate possibilities." Mordin nods. "Movement suggests at least partial control. Must ask- has Shepard spoken of death?"
"You mean her own? Not really. She doesn't seem to remember the event itself, which is hardly unusual- Wait." The human focuses on him, eyes intent. "Are you suggesting that she just dreamed about her own death?"
"Visual evidence consistent with traumatic flashback. Brain still in slow-wave sleep pattern. Unable to differentiate reality from dream. Partial failure of normal sleep-induced motor-neuron supression. Similar to dreamwalking. Body enters panic state, recreates asphyxia suffered during decompression. Phantom pain from memory of ebulliance of aqueous tissues."
"It's... certainly possible. How awful." Her voice is soft. "We're lucky, humans can't asphyxiate themselves without mechanical aid."
"Fortunate. Muscular relaxation follows unconsciousness, normal breathing resumes. No memory of the incident?"
"She doesn't seem to remember, no. She seemed more embarrassed that I was there at all."
The elevator doors open. They step inside, Chakwas selects deck three.
Mordin raises a hand. "Suggestion. Do not inform Shepard of flashback hypothesis."
The human frowns. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with keeping something from a patient."
"Commendable, but must consider gravity of present mission. Possibly an isolated incident. Knowledge of cause poses significant probability of increased stress, possibly trigger repeat occurrence. Knowledge will not prevent further occurrences. Ignorance perhaps safest, for now."
Chakwas sighs, rubs her forehead. "I just can't imagine... how she's dealing with all of this. Soldiers run the gamut. Some of them want me to be their mother in abstentia, some of them grin and bear it, some of them hate the sight of me. Shepard, well, she's always been reticent about staying in the medbay any longer than necessary, but it seems to be getting worse. She's perfectly friendly with me, but when anything medical comes up, I can tell she'd rather be in the thick of a firefight than on my table."
Shepard... fascinating. Displays behavior consistent with compartmentalization. Friends, enemies, others. Solid boundaries. In normal individual, pathological defense mechanism. In Shepard, successful coping strategy for extreme circumstances. Attempted simplification of complex problems. Learned behavior, possibly acquired at early age. Strategy not without problems. Difficulty dealing with individuals who cross boundaries. Friend-enemy dichotomy.
Cerberus. As individuals, normal. Deserving of compassion. As group, enemy. Dissonance.
"Difficult subject." Mordin says as the door opens. "Shepard represents confluence of... extreme factors. How to predict impact on human neurological and psychological function? Difficult to separate correlation, causation. Impossible to control for each factor on individual basis. No known precedent, no control case."
"No one has ever been resurrected before." Doctor Chakwas speaks in a low voice. Crewmembers can be heard in the mess hall.
Mordin waves a hand. "One factor among many. Multiple untested cybernetic implants, functions of which not fully disclosed. Regrowth procedure interrupted before completion. Persistent, obvious physical scarring. Ongoing pain and sleep disruption. Possible neurological irregularities, interference by Prothean beacon message."
"And those are just physical factors. What about the constant surveillance, or the antagonistic team members, or being forced to work with someone who may have sanctioned the death of your friends? And all of it piled on top of old issues."
Mordin steps out of the elevator and the two doctors cross back into the medical bay. Better place to talk than common area. Cerberus probably listening anyway, but not crew. Crew have their own issues.
"Cerberus spent undisclosed resources attempting to recreate circumstances surrounding defeat of Reaper Sovereign," he muses. "Similar ship, similar human crew-"
"And the recruiting of alien team members."
Mordin nods. "Was surprised that Cerberus would sanction alien team. But, realization. Circumstances carefully controlled, like petri dish. All team members pre-selected by Illusive Man. All monitored."
"The first time, Shepard grew her team almost by chance."
"Resemblance to circumstances of mission against Saren- appearances only. Underlying forces, all different. Funding, accountability, public perception-"
"The sum of parts aren't adding up to the same whole."
"Lazarus Project early awakening possibly... calculated move. Illusive Man."
"What makes you say that?"
"Loyalty. Bias. Shepard's history with Cerberus. Violence allows no time allowed to process new information. Additional stress factors hinder proper function of pre-frontal cortex, hinder clear decision-making processes. Regeneration still incomplete. Still suffering physical side-effects, pain. Force subject to deal with Collector problem immediately. Make alternatives unreachable. Take advantage of distancing factors, force away old allies."
"But keep a few..." Chakwas says. "Just enough to keep her emotionally invested."
"Make Cerberus ally by default. Necessary evil." Mordin spreads his hands. "Stockholm Syndrome almost inevitable."
She seems taken aback. "I never even considered it like that. I want to say they wouldn't do that, but I think I know better. She's pushing herself too hard. I can't get her to slow down and take care of herself. Those scars aren't even healing like they should. Horrible, all of it. Using people like this."
"Necessary."
Necessary. Word comes up too often, lately. The human scowls at him. Hair structures above eyes lend gravity to expression.
"Success against Collectors unprecedented," Mordin goes on. "Many lives saved. Human Alliance, Citadel Council incapable of action. Too big, unable to focus efforts. Illusive Man willing to invest resources. Take risks. Face threat."
She seems unconvinced. "Doctor Solus, does the Salarian Union recognize the Reaper threat? The Special Tasks Group?"
Unexpected question, but pertinent.
"Internal politics... problematic. Have been absent from core worlds for some time. Current Dalatrass Solus aware of Reapers? Cannot say. Fourth Circle clan members not kept informed. STG members sworn by oath, forgo involvement in clan affairs. Service to Union first."
"But the Union itself, surely."
"Union not unified front. STG preoccupied by imminent problems. Collector threat deemed human issue. Relevance to Reapers unproven."
"Perhaps before now, but you've seen it yourself. Do you believe it?"
Truth... uncomfortable. Truth is he didn't believe it, not when Shepard first put forward this notion of a machine race bent on wiping out all sentient life in the galaxy. No evidence. Until they'd entered the Collector ship itself.
"Evidence supports Reaper theory," Mordin admits. "Data from Collector ship shows that Collectors heavily modified from base species. Collectors no longer species in their own right- no culture, no higher consciousness. Empty vessels for greater intelligence. So-called 'Harbinger'."
Must question own reticence to accept evidence. Reapers seem outlandish. Scale of destruction impossible to relate. Almost comical. Perhaps... fear?
"'Harbinger'... like Sovereign," she says.
"Collector servitude similar to observed effects of indoctrination. Have been reading reports. Matriarch Benezia. Saren. Sovereign was modifying Saren, like Collectors. Eliminating individual. Curious. Sovereign not aware of Shepard as individual. But signature matching suggests Collectors targeted Shepard. Harbinger Collector 'avatar' continues to target Shepard specifically."
"She got their attention."
"More than that. Not simple revenge. Harbinger seeks capture, seeks corpse even. Shepard somehow important. Humans important. Not sure how."
"I suppose that's what we're trying to find out."
Fascinating, all of it. Complex problem, many layers. Much to discover yet. "Must return to work. Would... appreciate being kept informed of Shepard's condition."
Chakwas regards him, as if trying to discern motivations. "I will," she says.
"Hm." He pauses in the doorway. "Suggestion for cartiledge issue. Solution perhaps mechanical rather than medical. Re-purpose power assist rig for recoil absorption."
Elcor joint structures support massive weights. Tissue incompatible. Pity.
She ponders for a moment. "Not the ideal solution, but better I suppose than trying to argue with a marine about her choice of weapon. I'll talk to Jacob about it."
"Good evening, Doctor."
"Good night. Thank you for your input."
Elevator is quiet, good for thinking. Lengths, distances, depths of necessity. Work on genophage always driven by necessity. Pruning. Control of growth. He checks the progress of the Collector data compile. Much information from Collector ship, but all in pieces. Giant puzzle. Translation just beginning. Looking at big picture, searching for initial patterns. Must re-check assumptions. Cannot start with incorrect foundation.
Collector data distracts from Maelon's data. Now stored away for future use. Present mission must take precedence for now. After... time to consider. Happy that Maelon lives. Good student. Will learn. Hopefully.
Too much to do.