To Survive: Terminus Coalition
Chapter 20 : Daro's Impact
Finding Dr. Hardon had been difficult. The address was recorded in Mordin's omni-tool, and the only thing problematic about that was hacking through his passwords. Mordin, like anyone else who had intellectual property to protect, did what was necessary to keep it away from prying eyes.
After several fruitless hacking attempts, with the help of Kasumi's gadgets, it seemed obvious that the salarian doctor had taken every precaution against such attempts. Perhaps Dr. Hardon would have better luck, but in order to find the physicist, he had to find out where he was the old fashioned way: he used an operator.
Dr. Hardon wasn't a target, or a man in hiding, and it turned out that finding regular civilians wasn't a very difficult task, if you had some manners. Thane had those manners, but it took him some time to realize that he didn't have to hire out spies, or crack codes, to get this task accomplished.
He had found the address and approached the door of the apartment. He already understood that Dr. Hardon was well off. The apartment complex was standard for most civilians that lived in the upper wards, though it was towards the heart of the Citadel, and quite high in a tower. Thane knew that scientists often didn't roll in a lot of credits, but working on the Council's specific scientific ventures would certainly earn a large haul.
He knocked on the door firmly and waited with his hands folded behind his back. He didn't hear anyone scrambling to reach the door and waited patiently, expecting a busy salarian man to come rushing towards him.
Instead, the beat of a large and light-footed stride could be heard, and the door opened smoothly. He was greeted with the face of a salarian with deep wrinkles under his eyes, and green/grey tones permeating his skin. It was darker on the upper portion of his face, but around his mouth it was a light green.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, mister...?" The salarian asked, waiting for Thane to fill in the rest.
"Krios. I am a friend of Dr. Solus, and have come on his behalf, Doctor." Thane answered politely.
"What a pleasant interruption. I don't suppose that Mordin would be able to stop by for a visit at some point. Of course not, Mordin always did rush about his work, never stopping to soak in the wonder of it all." The doctor responded, throwing Thane for a loop. Maybe being around Mordin had skewed his perception of what salarians were like, but this particular salarian felt even weirder than Mordin, but in a completely opposite way. He spoke slowly, and seemed to take his time, where Mordin seemed like a high hamster, in comparison. He found it odd, to say the least. Salarians processed everything at rapid rates, from emotions to data, and this sort of behaviour was unique, as far as Thane knew. The doctor motioned for him to follow, and they made their way deeper into the apartment.
"The pleasure is mine, Doctor. I'm afraid that Dr. Solus has been held up. He has been working with the Spectre, Captain Shepard. The same who is known for saving the Citadel a few years back." Thane answered, unsure of how much the doctor should be allowed to know. Saying that Mordin was with a Spectre should help ease any worry if Thane ends up telling him about Mordin's incarceration. They reached a small table surrounded by two chairs that overlooked the Presidium's pristine lake. The fountain jets shot high, in the distance, and the whole view looked like an astounding work of art.
"Ah, yes. The Presidium Lake. Have you ever been to the Citadel, Mr. Krios?" The doctor enquired, keeping the mood casual.
"Only for business. I'm afraid I've never had time to 'take in the wonder of it all', as you would say." Thane replied.
"Well, you simply must. The architecture is a marvel, beyond anything that any species has proven capable of." He paused for a moment as they both looked through the window and took in the view of the Presidium below them.
"Spectre Captain Shepard, you say? I believe he used to go by the Commander Shepard. It is quite interesting that Mordin would find himself in his employ, especially since many believe he is dead, but I suppose your word is proof enough to me. It surely is an interesting galaxy we live in." He said ponderously, looking out the window again for a few seconds before bringing his attention back. "So, what is it that Mordin liked to deliver?" He inquired.
"I don't know very much about the subject, since Dr. Solus was unexpectedly delayed. However, in essence, the engineering team on the Normandy has made a discovery that surpasses their capabilities. It relates to the ship's drive core, and Dr. Solus thought that you might be able to shed light on the subject. All of the information collected on the anomaly, including the logs captured by the chief engineer, is kept on the doctor's personal omni-tool." Thane answered, retrieving the omni-tool from a pocket in his jacket. Unopened, it was small and concealable. He placed it in the middle of the table between them, open for the doctor to retrieve.
"Would you mind if I took a look at the tool now, Mr. Krios?" Dr. Hardon asked, extending an arm in expectation to hover over the tool.
"I do not." Thane replied, and Dr. Hardon took off his own tool to switch it with Mordin's, activating the microframe. "I am sorry to inform you that I have been unable to break the password, since Mordin forgot to unlock it, and he is unreachable at the current time."
It didn't take a full moment for Hardon to make a keen observation, "Mordin would never forget something like that. What is Mordin busy with, Mr. Krios? Your intentions do not seem hostile to me, but the retrieval of his data wouldn't." Hardon asked, wanting an answer to his suspicions.
Thane realized that no matter how much slower in speech and mannerisms Dr. Hardon was, it seemed his mind was as quick as any. "Dr. Solus was imprisoned by C-Sec. It seems that the Council may have some issue with Captain Shepard, but I can't confirm why he was incarcerated." Thane explained, hoping the green salarian would understand.
"Hm." The salarian responded, taking more time to think than was usual for him. He quickly calculated the chance that Thane was completely truthful, and also the chance that Thane had some ulterior motive for breaking into Mordin's omni-tool. Perhaps everything the drell had told him was false, but he ultimately decided that the risk was worth it. He was former STG, after all. He did have a reason for bringing Thane to this table, and it was directly related to the pistol strapped to the bottom of the table.
It really only took him a few seconds to answer. "I'm sure that Mordin has his reasons for supporting a Spectre that the Council is out for." He said, and picked up the tool. He broke through the lock in moments. Seeing the baffled face of Thane, he explained, "It's an old STG lock tradition. Each generation of STG initiates makes a unique algorithm so that the no other cell is compromised. I'm not surprised you couldn't open it." He answered, with a smile stretching across his face.
Thane was satisfied, though. With the tool open, Dr. Hardon would see that he was telling the truth. "Well, it seems that you are all set. I'm afraid I am not much help, and have other objectives here on the Citadel. Let me give you contact information for Captain Shepard and myself. The captain would greatly appreciate any information you gather, and I will be here if you need any help." Thane informed, and opened up his omni-tool. They synced signals and he transferred the contact information.
"I hope Mordin's situation comes to a peaceful solution. I'd love to help him, and his captain, out as best I can. You can be assured this information is in good hands, Mr. Krios."
"I can't thank you enough." Thane responded, standing up. He headed to the door, and left with a simple farewell. Finally he could work towards accomplishing what he had come for.
He left towards the Wards at a swift walking pace while Dr. Hardon shut the door behind him.
"How could this happen! The entire flotilla was under military enforced restriction regarding this! No one was to experiment on the geth!" Han'Gerrel yelled at Daro'Xen with blistering fury. All five of the Admirals stood around a circular table.
Daro responded with her common snide tone, "You let the geth get the better of you Han. They are obviously trying to disrupt our leadership, since their accusations are baseless."
Admiral Koris threw in his piece of mind, "Whether you did or not doesn't matter. What we need to do is appease the geth, or there won't be any peace."
"Whether she did or not should be the only reason for this meeting, Admiral. If she was in direct breach of the rules, she's up for exile or execution, by our own laws. Not to mention going against a growing majority of the fleet. Every ship that has returned from Rannoch is now siding to have peace with the geth, no matter how skeptical they were." Admiral Meru'Ilistruv answered sensibly, with her terribly high pitched voice.
"Indeed. No matter the extremity of the current situation, we must act according to our laws or we will not be able to control our own people." Shala reinforced.
Gerrel wanted to speed the process towards an immediate trial. "Meanwhile, the people on Aeia panic. As long as the geth remain locked in the water treatment facility, the civilians will be in a state of alarm! We must resolve this now."
"It's not as if the geth have any weapons, and the marines already have a stable perimeter. I see this as another chance to take back Rannoch for ourselves. I will say again, they're making an attempt to undermine our military leadership, and we shouldn't fall into their scheme. I say, take these geth, and we'll experiment on them for our own advancement. We could take Rannoch free of any doubts that a shaky peace would arouse, if we could experiment on these working platforms." Xen said, hoping to switch away from peace at all. It was a difficult fight, but if they believed the geth were lying than it was her only real hope.
"There you go again with thoughts on experimentation. We already have Xen's assistant, whose testimony is in alignment with the geth's report. Overhearing Daro speak to a 's'geth' is more than incriminating. She shouldn't even be here!" Gerrel snapped.
"She has been here since we gathered to listen to the geth allegation. I do agree that she needs to be detained as is customary with suspects of crimes of this magnitude." Shala responded. "All who vote in favour?"
"Aye," was the response of all but Zaal and Xen. Daro's vote wouldn't be counted, so Zaal was outnumbered three to one.
"Guards!" Han called out towards the entrance of the chamber. "Please escort Admiral Daro'Xen to the brig."
The sentinels marched forward to cuff and escort Xen out of the room. They were currently on the Neema, as it was common to meet on an Admiral's home-ship. It so happened that Han'Gerrel made sure the Neema's brig was top notch. The room fell silent for a minute after the admiral had gone. With Xen taken away, they could speak freely about less comfortable matters.
"We need to reassure the geth that this sort of practice will not be tolerated. To do that, the public must believe it, but it will be easier to convince them than the geth. If we simply exile her, their synthetic minds won't see her as an eliminated threat. I propose we execute her, and the public will know never to do it again." Han said, getting a feigned gasp from Zaal. It seemed Admiral Korris still believed the geth were naïve, and might desire peace at any cost. In truth, they were reasonable, but reason did not entail illogical mercy. "It's the only way they would truly believe that we will continue to honour the pact. We must wipe her name from the records, and destroy every trace of her research, including the newly built satellite." Han continued.
Meru spoke up, "Are we truly prepared to kill one of our own for the sake of an agreement with the geth? I am not debating that it seems to be the only way to keep this agreement intact, but it is rather different than our standard mindset over the last several centuries."
Shala answered but her tone was hardly motivating, "It's the chance to get Rannoch back. It's so close to us despite how far away it seems, at times. With this alliance, we could have a home again. Han and I were there, and I can say that Daro has absolutely no idea what she has put at stake. We would perform this duty even if this were a pact with a different species. Death or exile, but it seems the most politically appropriate would be death."
"How could it have come to this? What fool of an admiral goes against the will of the people without the support of the other admirals? Surely none before." Zaal rhetorically asked, bringing a fist to his visor. He didn't know that, ironically, Admiral Zorah had done exactly that with his experiments.
"The experiments on geth platforms has been discussed many times before, and the temptation has existed for other admirals to break regulations we have in place. Luckily, nothing has ever come of it." Han said half-heartedly, having his suspicions of Rael'Zorah, he was never too sure how true what he had said was..
"I'm sure." Meru responded suspiciously, picking up on Han's tone.
"Does anyone object to arranging for a trial set around executing Xen, if found guilty?" Shala asked. The room was silent, and no one objected. The trial would likely be rushed considering the scale of the security intrusion. Everyone knew that Xen had little chance of surviving.
There were other matters they needed to discuss, and continued to talk about them. The looming problem kept there minds wandering, but they did an commendable job at staying on topic.
"EDI told me you needed to speak with me, Legion?" Shepard asked, slightly confused that Legion would ever go through EDI to get his attention. Most of the time Shepard would talk to Legion on his own time, or Legion would simply relay a message through EDI, since it's basically the same thing as speaking directly for him. The last time Legion specifically asked for him was before they went to overwrite the geth heretics.
"Affirmative, Shepard-Captain. An incoming transmission from the geth collective stationed on Aiea was requested to be transferred to you. There has been a halt in all peaceful efforts in achieving the formerly recognized contract." Legion informed, not mincing words.
"What!?" Shepard responded, nearly choking in surprise. His astonishment soon turned to anger as he prepared for what Legion's answer would be to his next question. "What happened that would cause the geth to back out of the deal?"
"Creator Daro'Xen-Admiral was caught by geth collective attempting to gather information on current geth civil-integration platforms. The threat was handled appropriately, and the geth are now locked down in a water-purification facility. There was no physical harm done to organics in this process." Legion answered.
His sudden change in feelings was strange, but it woke him up from his daily routine. Shepard's heart beat with hate for the accursed admiral. Daro had been nothing but a pure villain since he died two years ago. What she had done to Tali was unspeakable, and risking the hope of her entire people, and an alliance that could prove vital in saving the galaxy from the Reapers, she was as good as dead. Shepard would kill her himself if he could, but the quarians were too far away at the moment. The mission at hand was becoming more and more of a hindrance for other possible alliances. With the Council requesting his attention, and now the quarians also needing him, he was spread too thin.
Realizing his face had become stiff and red, Shepard turned his attention back to Legion. "What are the quarians doing about it?" he asked hoping for the best.
"The Creators have not acted on this new information. They have called a summit of the admirals, but their conversation is not being recorded, thus we can not analyze it. We will keep you informed Shepard-Captain."
"Thank you, Legion. What is it going to take for the alliance to be remade?" Shepard asked, expecting that it wasn't going to be easy. It never was.
"All threats to our informational integrity must be eliminated. This includes the purging of all data caches that the geth have already requested purged. What must change is that the geth must perform, or inspect the full purging of all data, on all ships." Legion responded, fulfilling Shepard's attraction for difficult objectives.
He knew this was going to be far more difficult than it should be. The geth wanted to put geth platforms on all ships to make sure all data pertaining to them was wiped completely. This, in itself, would be difficult, considering the entrenched distrust within the quarian race. Giving them access to all data caches would include military and governmental files, which would be more than any race would likely be willing to impart. Hopefully, the quarians felt Rannoch was worth this sacrifice, but if Shepard knew anything from his time with the quarians, this was not going to be fast, or easy. Reforming this treaty would be one of the most difficult tasks he had ever faced.
Shepard was looking at the floor, with his arms crossing his chest. He answered in a soft voice. "We'll see what we can do about that."
"Affirmative, Shepard-Captain. The geth have calculated that you and Creator Shepard are the only viable option for preserving this peace."
Shepard nodded, and turned to face EDI's console. "EDI? Could you tell Tali to meet me in our quarters as soon as she can?"
"She has been informed, Shepard. Is there anything else you need?" The blue orb on the wall asked politely.
"That's all." Shepard replied, opening the door to walk through the med bay and towards the elevator. The sound of EDI logging him out seemed distant since he left out so hurried a pace.
Tali walked in to the room after the decontamination sequence, and removed her visor to set it down on the desk. She was feeling tired from working on the QEC specs for most of the day. Reaching around cramped bends, on her hands and knees, had done terrible things for her back. She walked forward, and Shepard opened up his arms to let her waltz straight into a hug. He supported her as she sighed. The day had been long and hard, and Shepard knew that the news would be even harder on her. Holding her made him feel how small she was, and he was saddened that her hopes and dreams would be challenged again in a few moments. She had told him of too many things that she feared she would never have. Some seemed closer than ever before, some she had achieved and others she had lost. Among these were Rannoch, John, and her father's love, respectively. It seemed that life liked to be hard on Tali, but John could only try and think of ways to shield her from it.
Tali reluctantly backed out of the hug, realizing that John's muscles were slightly more tense than normal. He wasn't simply calling her up for some... time off. Tali looked into John's eyes with a tilted head. "John... what's wrong?" She asked.
"Saera... I... have some bad news." John began.
Tali's could feel her heart beating in her chest a little harder, seeing the look of sadness in John's eyes. She didn't understand why he could be sad. Did something happen to Garrus? Or Miranda, perhaps? She thought mistakenly. Bad news didn't often evoke that look in John, so it seemed that she was in for some terrible news.
"The peace effort with the geth has been suspended." John said, answering any question she had for why he was sad.
The news hit her deep in her gut, and her head sight became fuzzy with panic. She nearly stumbled over, dizzy and unstable. Shepard put an arm under hers to steady her, and she leaned on it heavily. She was speechless, with a throat so tight that she could hardly breathe, let alone speak. Taking her by the hand, John led her down to where she could sit on the couch beside him.
Shepard was filled with bitter rage to mask the sorrow that risked bringing tears to his eyes. Tali was shaking her head, softly saying 'no' repeatedly, in disbelief. She seemed so helpless and vulnerable right then, and her pain was all the fault of Daro'Xen. In his mind he vowed that she wouldn't live the next encounter they had.
Trying to calm Tali down, while trying to calm down himself, Shepard lightly rubbed Tali's back in a circular motion. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the top of her realk. Tali shuddered when he made contact, and it hurt Shepard even more to see her do so at his touch.
"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry, Tali. I know this is hard for you, but we'll fix it. We'll find a way. I promise you." Shepard said to console her, but she continued to tremble.
"What happened?" She asked with a voice as shaky as her body.
"Daro'Xen was caught trying to gather more information on the geth." Shepard answered softly, and Tali turned her head the other way as soon as he said Daro's name. He could hear her begin to cry lightly, and his regretful suspicion was confirmed when a tear visibly fell to her lap. Shepard bit his lip to hold back the tide of emotions that surged forth. There was never a point in his life where he felt this sort of pain. Kaiden's death evoked sorrow, but he knew there was nothing he could have done about it. He made the best call he could. What bothered him so much was the fact that he couldn't comfort Tali, and the only possible solution to the problem was light-years out of his reach. It seemed worth abandoning the current mission to pursue, but he knew that it wouldn't be the best course of action for stopping the Reapers. He had never seen her cry. He had held her when her father was confirmed dead, and just hearing her then was heart wrenching enough, but this, the sight of his beloved shedding tears of agony, was too much to grasp.
Turning away, he wiped some wetness that filled the corner of his eye. "I... I'm so sorry, Tali. I'm sorry I couldn't stop her."
Tali's face scrunched up as more tears streamed down her face, one by one. Her voice was strained and it quivered when she spoke, with the essence of a clenched mouth. She cursed Xen with all of her strength. "That det kazuat fu fre'eg ora muna'limzi. Fucking hagrr'hizs! Usl'sa yze tabb! I hope the bosh'tet is barren from her inflamed biea of a head! Curse clan Xen, Modl'sa yze ruat!" She said mixing words that her translator recognized, and ones that it didn't. She was pounding her small tight fists against her thighs as she cursed everything about Daro'Xen. The amount of torment the woman had put her through for her agenda was broad. Even now, when she wasn't intending to hurt Tali, she caused agony to her already wounded heart.
"What are we going to do, John? are you going to come to my rescue again? Just like every other time?" She asked bitterly, speaking while she cried. She sounded so vulnerable to Shepard right then. This was someone he needed to protect, despite all the strength she had. She was a person who needed defended, before any of her hopes were stripped further.
"Tali, listen to me, we will live on Rannoch one day, Tali. I will get you there, and your race will follow us."
"But what if we can't? What if we never see it again, and we must live in the Flotilla, with nothing more than those wretched mating chambers? What if the Reapers come, and the geth have aband–" She broke into more tears.
Shepard removed the realk from her head, kneeled down in front of her, and placed a palm on her cheek. Caressing it with his thumb, and moving his mouth up close to her ear, he said gently, "I'll be with you until it all ends. No matter which way this goes, I've got you."
Tali hiccupped and let a weak smile spread onto her lips, "And I got you, John." She answered, now looking straight into his eyes. For several minutes that's all they needed to do. They comforted each other with their eyes, and with the caress of each other's fingers along with the occasional soft kiss.
Finally, Tali was calm enough to take a breath and take the issue head on. "Are we going to be able to go to the fleet soon? We can't leave this for long, because we don't know what the admirals could do to jeopardize the alliance further." She asked, wanting to go now to minimize the damage caused.
Shepard had taken his seat beside her, and recollected his plan. He had an idea of what needed to be done before Tali had come up, but it was newly formed, and easily forgotten. "How much longer will you need to work on the QEC?"
"It shouldn't be more than a day. I'll have it done early tomorrow if I get to work on it soon, and work until late." Tali answered, determined to get away as soon as possible.
"That's good considering Blue Suns Command won't arrive on Uma until a day after at the earliest." Shepard continued, but stopped when he saw that Tali tilted her head with a confused look.
"There's no way we could get to the flotilla and back, not to mention resolve the conflict with the geth, in a couple of days."
"Well actually Tali, I'm going to need you to go with some of the ground team until a time when I can join you. I need to be here." Shepard answered carefully.
"No, John! My people need you! I need you!" Tali yelled, standing up from her seat, and leaning slightly forward.
Shepard never intended to anger her, so he tried to persuade her, "You can do this Tali. It won't be for long, and I'll be there as soon as you need me. If anything happens, you tell me and I'll come."
Tali was shaking her head in refusal the entire time he spoke. "Please! How could anything be more important than this?" She asked, in a more upset and accusing tone.
"I believe you can do this, Tali. You're strong enough, and you care enough that you can see this through. Don't you believe we are one? Don't you believe that your passion for your people, partnered with everything we've accomplished together gives you the ability to see this through? I believe it does." John answered, trying to encourage her, but it only made her angrier.
She raised her voice, "That's just it, John! We accomplished those things together! Together! I can't do this without you…" She trailed off, letting a few more tears escape. "I'm scared of what I could lose, saera. I need you." She answered, bursting into another set of tears.
"I'll be there when you do. But this is what the galaxy needs of us." He replied clenching his teeth in the pain of his sadness. "I'm sorry I can't be in two places at once." He responded, tears pooling in his own eyes as he moved forward to hug her.
Tali backed away from him, and turned to make a quick stride to grab her visor and leave. Shepard stood behind her, with a sharp pain in his chest. Tali's outright refusal of his embrace cut him deep.
The air-locked door opened, and Tali stepped back into the decontamination chamber to leave, with the door shutting firmly behind her. Shepard stood staring at the closed door. He brought his hand up to his face and stroked it in frustration. He cursed in his mind, Damn you, Daro! Damn you for doing this to Tali and the quarian people. You are going to bleed and die for this.
He went to take a seat, and gnaw over his conversation with Tali. What could he say that would help her accept his decision?
Glossary:
Biea: Calinstel never told me, so use your own imagination :S
Bosh'tet: Animal, native to Rannoch. With no insect life, other species of life had to fill the niches that on earth fell to the insects. One such niche was the dung beetle. A bosh'tet falls into the category of roller on earth as it moves the dung found to a central location. Though differing in colors, from the green/yellow of the cooler climates to the blue/white in the more tropical areas, they are the same species. Known for their apparent inability to distinguish between dung and small rocks, it is considered extremely stupid. Many have been found dead, surrounded by small rocks, as it tried to feed on them.
Det kazuat: Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dry's the sack out.
Fre'eg: Curse word. Literal translation: Clinging waste. In old earth English, a dingleberry.
Hagrr'hizs: Term used to refer to the intellectually challenged. Literal translation: Forever Children. Mentally retarded or damaged people of the quarian race. Though infrequent, more of these special needs children have been born lately.
Kaeli'steiz: Name used in the ancient text of the Ancestors. Literal meaning: Warmth's Herald. The home star of the quarian race.
Modl'sa yze ruat: Term of insult to an entire clan. Literal translation: Clan of in-breeders, infested with disabilities. Originally used to refer to clans found that were secluded from the rest of the quarian people. Quarians that inbred were especially weak physically and mentally, and with even weaker immune systems. Most died off without ways to mend the genes of their clan. Intermingling with other clans wouldn't work without weakening the other clans.
Muna'limzi: Literal translation: Spoiled from the Kaeli'steiz. Usually conveys a sense of bad smell and wasted resources, despite being showered with good fortune. This was a common threat to ancient quarians that lived in the heat of savannahs. In the phrase: det kazuat fu fre'eg ora muna'limzi, the sentence is translated to something like: Living sack of excrement, refusing to be removed; yet rotting in the benevolence of others.
Saera: Term used when speaking to one's lifemate. Literal translation: My soul's soul. Other meanings include, but are not limited to: Keeper of my soul and My soul's protector. Most commonly used word throughout the fleet by a quarian when speaking privately to their lifemate. Though unconfirmed by any quarian, there are implications that this word holds extreme intimacy as well as absolute trust. No single human word or phrase encompassed all that this one short word implies as it appears to contain both dominance and submissive traits.
Usl'sa yze tabb: Term of insult. Literal translation: Slow children of an inbred family.