They headed back to Wrex's 'throne room' to collect Tali. She was perched on the arm of Wrex's concrete throne, animatedly filling Wrex in on everything that had happened recently. A dozen or so other krogan were gathered around, listening intently.

"Extracting her..." Garrus surveyed the situation. "Might be problematic."

"Awwww..." Shepard shook his head. "Tali's making friends."

"She should be working on the shuttle, not spending time telling stories." Garrus clicked his mandibles and glared when Wrex patted Tali on the back while the krogan around them laughed. Shepard suddenly turned and started staring at him, eyes wide. "What?" Garrus blinked.

"Garrus Vakarian..." Shepard tilted his head. "You're jealous of..." He inhaled and exhaled before continuing. "Wrex."

"I..." Garrus started shaking his head. "No, that's..." He clicked his mandibles. "Don't be ridiculous."

"If turians could blush, you'd look like a cooked lobster right now." Shepard's face twitched, and it took Garrus a moment to realize the man was doing everything he could not to start laughing.

"I'm just looking out for her, alright."

"Oh, you're looking at her alright." Shepard nodded. Then he narrowed his eyes. "You do realize if you get stupid and break her heart, Wrex is going to eat whatever is left after I'm done killing you."

"It's not like..." Garrus glared. "I'm not..." He shook his head. "This conversation is over."

#

"What do you want, human? Wrex told me to be polite. He didn't say you were going to talk to me." The chief scout glared at him.

Ah, krogan hospitality. What did it say about him that he was actually starting to like this planet? "I'm looking for a salarian. The Blood Pack captured him, and he was last seen around here."

The scout shrugged and turned back to his display. "I heard about that salarian, poor bastard. If it's Blood Pack, then Clan Weyrloc has him. Sent one of my scouts to check it out, but he never reported back. Guess they got him, too." He shifted to face Michael again. "Chief told me to give you one of the trucks. Just follow the highway to Weyrloc's base, if you've got the quads to deal with him and the Blood Pack."

Michael rolled his eyes as he started to walk away. Garrus clicked his mandibles. "If you've got the quads?" He shook his head as he followed Michael. "It's almost like they've never heard of you before."

"They are krogan." Samara took a look around. "Perhaps when this mission is completed, I will return here to teach the krogan compassion." She looked around again. "I will need many bullets."

"Can you imagine what it would be like if she teamed up with Wrex?" Tali tilted her head.

Garrus and Michael both stopped and looked back at her with horrified expressions.

#

He braced himself as the truck went over another bump, sending them careening around the cargo area. Jack landed in his lap. He was about to make a smart remark when there was another jolt and both of them ended up in Samara's lap. "Tali!"

"When we get back..." Tali's voice was tight. "I am going to find the mechanic responsible for this transmission..." The quarian girl shook her head. "And make him explode."

"I will assist." Thane shook his head as he attempted to get out from under Mordin and Garrus.

"Perhaps if we traveled at less speed we could..." The next jolt sent Miranda flying into Zaeed, who immediately grinned. Kasumi flew into Jacob. Considering the angles, he was pretty sure it was deliberate on her part.

"I'm just going to stay down here..." Grunt shook his head. "On the floor."

#

"Stay out here, make sure none of the Blood Pack come up behind us." Michael glanced at Miranda. She was supposed to be his XO, he might as well see how she did in that role in a situation where she could do minimal harm. And if she started shit he was pretty sure Grunt would eat her. The krogan was still riding a little high from the victory over the thresher maw.

"Of course, Shepard." She nodded, her tone still coolly arrogant. Behind her back, Jack rolled her eyes.

Alright, maybe leaving Jack here with Miranda would end in disaster. "Jack, Garrus, Mordin, Tali, with me."

#

"Repurposed krogan hospital. Sturdy." Mordin nodded sharply. "Built to withstand punishment."

"That's unfortunate." Garrus clicked his mandibles. "Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."

Shepard glanced over his shoulder. "What is fun to fight through?"

Garrus shrugged. "Gardens, electronic shops. Antique stores, but only if they're classy."

"And they still let you two onto the Citadel?" Jack smirked.

Tali tilted her head. "When did we fight through an antique store?"

"I meant theoretically, of course." Garrus glanced at her. "We haven't exactly fought through an antique store."

"Well..." Shepard adjusted his rifle. "Maybe you haven't."

"I..." Garrus shook his head. "Wait, what?"

"There are few pleasures in life that beat biotically tossing an asshole into a shelf full of priceless valuables." Jack leaned her head back.

"Watching the arresting officer trip and bring a shelf full of pottery down on himself." Shepard shrugged. "I was laughing so hard I almost forgot to make a break for it."

"I'm so glad I'm not with C-Sec anymore." Garrus sighed.

#

"That body. Human. Need to take a look."

Michael stepped out of the way to let Mordin pass, then scanned the hallway. Krogan and vorcha weren't exactly known for subtle, but it never hurt to keep an eye out.

Mordin begin examining the corpse with his omnitool. "Sores, tumors, ligatures showing restraint at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites." He gave a jerky nod. "Test subject. Victim of experimentation."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't suppose there's a way to tell who this poor bastard was?"

"No tattoos or ID. Maybe slave or prisoner. Maybe merc or pirate. Irrelevant now. Clearly part of krogan tests to cure genophage. Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities."

Well, that didn't exactly sound comforting. "Experimenting on humans? That kind of crap is what makes Cerberus start to seem like a good idea." Idiots on both sides.

"Never used humans myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy." Mordin shook his head. "Used by brute force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science. Krogan use of humans unsurprising."

"I imagine you had to do some live subject testing while developing the new genophage."

"No. Unnecessary. Limited tests to simulations, corpses, cloned tissue samples. High level tests on varren." Mordin stood. "No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it."

Good to know. "Come on. We still need to find Maelon."

#

"I am the speaker for Clan Weyrloc, offworlders. You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already." The krogan ham and cheese gestured. "But Weyrloc Guld, the Chief of Chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming."

Oh. How sweet. "If I flee, I might trip over the dozen krogan I killed to get here. I think I'll take my chances."

"You killed our youngest and weakest, human. They were not worthy of remaining near our glorious work. Inside you will find only hardened Blood Pack veterans, tempered by savagery and war and dedicated to one goal. The salarian will cure the genophage and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood."

"Appears they discovered Maelon's work. Unfortunate."

Mordin had quite a gift for understatement. Michael sighed. "If you care about the future of Clan Weyrloc, you'll hand over Maelon. Now."

"When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all krogan. The Krogan Rebellions will become the Krogan Empire." The krogan spread his hands.

Oh for the love of... the guy was monologuing. He was actually monologuing. It was tempting to stand there and see just how long the guy could rant. Actually, no. It wasn't. "You talk too much." He fired a shot into the pipe beneath the krogan's feet.

"See?" The krogan smirked. "The human cannot hit a simple target."

The next shot ignited the gas.

#

"Labs likely through there. Can smell antiseptic, hint of dead flesh."

"Oh, is that what that is?" Michael wrinkled his nose. "Remind me to send a thank you to The Insidious Meathead for the olfactory upgrades."

"By thank you, do you mean bullet?" Tali glanced over her shoulder at them.

"Usually, yeah." Michael nodded. "But in his case I'm thinking grenade."

#

"Active console. May contain useful data. One moment." Mordin began typing at a console. "Genetic sequences. Hormone mutagens still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue. Very thorough. Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched-earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."

Kaidan could probably explain just how fucked all that made them. "Most people wouldn't be so casual about developing a sterility plague, Mordin."

"Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of existing genophage. A hundred times the complexity. Errors unacceptable. Could cause total sterility, malignant tumors. Could even reduce effectiveness. Worse than doing nothing. Had to keep krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target. Optimal growth. Like gardening."

Medical stuff he was weak on. Math he could handle. Nine hundred and ninety-nine dead krogan infants. On Virmire, Wrex had stood down. Had his back. He hadn't realized just how much he owed that man. "We're not going to find Maelon staring at consoles. Come on."

#

"Dead krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer." Mordin set the datapad down. "Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life."

Willing to die for the chance to protect her children. Michael unclenched his fists. "I didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead krogan."

"What? Why?" Mordin actually looked insulted. "Because of genophage work? Irrelevant." He took a step forward. "No, causative. Never experimented on live krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, only reaction to it. Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically..." Mordin shook his head. "But still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it."

To see it. To be see what he'd done. Of course he'd hate it. "I didn't think you'd have much direct contact with things like this. Did you come to Tuchanka after dropping your plague?"

"Yearly recon missions. Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person." Mordin looked back at the corpse. "Need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary. See small picture. Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega." He made a gesture over the body bag. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin."

"Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe. Explored religions after work completed. Different races. No answers. Many questions."

Michael shook his head. "Sounds like you were trying to deal with your guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions."

"Modified genophage project great in scope. Scientifically brilliant. But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic. Not guilty, but responsible. Trained as doctor. Genophage affects fertility. Doesn't kill. Still caused this. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses."

"Can you really just rationalize it all away? How do you justify it?"

"Wheel of life. Popular salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation. Appealing to see life as endless. Fix mistakes in next life. Learn, adapt, improve. Refuse to believe life ends here. Too wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Cannot end here. Could do so much more."

"Why bother to get it right the first time? Why expend the effort to fix the things you broke?" Michael shrugged. "Can always do it in your next life." He shook his head again. "We need to find Maelon and shut this place down."

#

The krogan scout was uninclined to seek freedom. "I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I help undo the genophage, then I mattered."

Michael glanced over his shoulder at Mordin again before turning back to the krogan. "You've got a bruised ego. You got caught and beaten, so you tell yourself it was for something important." He walked toward the krogan.

"That's not true. I need to stay. They're going to cure us all."

No wonder Wrex kept headbutting people. "You're not a real krogan. When a real krogan gets knocked down, he gets back up." Which is why it was important to double-tap.

"I did. I got back up every time they hit me. So many times..."

"You're lying there right now like a vorcha grubbing in the mud. You going to just lie there, vorcha?"

"Screw you, human. Nobody says that to me. Nobody keeps me down."

"Damn right they don't. Now get back to Clan Urdnot and report in. Go, go." He stepped aside to let the little guy go charging past him.

Garrus chuckled. "There's no pep talk like a military pep talk."

Tali nodded and put a hand over her breast. "I missed your heartwarming speeches."

"Well..." Michael shrugged. "I was going to call him a whiny quarian with a belly ache..." Tali started to tilt her head. "But you were standing right there."

Jack snickered.

#

"Shepard." EDI's voice came over the communicator. "I'm detecting crates ahead that are holding unstable materials. A misplaced shot could cause a significant explosion."

They all looked at each other and started smiling.

#

"We have a problem." Jack folded her arms.

"We do?" Michael turned toward her.

"There are two of those explosive crates left..." She waved a hand in their direction.

"And we are out of vorcha." Tali nodded.

Michael glanced over at Garrus. "You know..." He shrugged. "I'm starting to think they are a bad influence on us."

Garrus pulled out his sniper rifle. "Ten credits says I get a bigger boom than you do."

"Bring it, Vakarian." Michael shouldered his own rifle.

#

They walked into a lab to find a salarian. An unguarded salarian. An unguarded salarian who looked to be in excellent, untortured health. An unguarded salarian who looked to be in excellent, untortured health and was hard at work. "Maelon. Alive. Unharmed." Mordin stared at the scene and started walking forward. "No signs of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand."

So the smart guy was an idiot. That was less than comforting. Maelon shook his head. "For such a smart man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions." He turned toward them. "How long will it take you to admit that I'm here because I wish to be here?"

"He wasn't kidnapped." Michael gave Mordin a look. "He came here voluntarily to cure the genophage." Because apparently, personal responsibility wasn't completely bred out of salarian scientists.

"Impossible. Whole team agreed. Project necessary."

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student. I looked up to you." Maelon glared.

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects. Prisoners. Torture and executions." Mordin gestured. "Your doing?"

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor. If it takes a bit more to put things right, I can deal with that."

Moments like these, he had to ask himself, what would Kirrahe do? There had to be something around that would make a really big boom. Maybe he should ask Tali. "We're shutting your lab down, Maelon."

"Shutting down more than that." Mordin took a step forward.

And Maelon pulled a pistol. A magnus. Now, that was just insulting. "You can't face the truth, can you? Can't admit that your brilliant mind led you to commit an atrocity." He swung the gun wildly, even pointing it at an annoyed looking Garrus.

Then Mordin demonstrated that he actually had a halfway decent right hook. And now Mordin had the pistol. "Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't change. No choice. Have to kill you." Salarian blood splattered over the displays. It almost seemed fitting, considering how much krogan blood those displays represented. "Apologies, Commander. Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake. Thank you."

There were a few awkward words. Diplomacy wasn't really his strong point. Kaidan would have known what to say. Mordin looked again at the display. "Maelon's research. Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable, though."

He had no way to know how close Maelon had gotten. If he'd even been going in the right direction. But there was Wrex to consider. "If it could be useful, we should hang onto it."

"Worked for years to create modified genophage. Should destroy that." Mordin stared at the screen. "Maelon's work could cure genophage. Don't know. Effects on krogan. Effects on galaxy. Too many variables. Too many variables."

"You regret what the krogan have become. You see the horror of what they did here, but you see the loss, too."

"Wasted potential."

"They don't deserve this, Mordin. Save the data."

"Point taken, Shepard. Capturing data, wiping local copy." Mordin took a deep breath. "Still years away from cure. But closer than starting from scratch." He turned back toward Michael. "Done. Ready to go. Ready to be off Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny."

#

He headed into the lab to check on Mordin, abet a tad reluctantly. Mordin looked when he entered. "Still hard to believe Maelon betrayed me. Betrayed my work." Mordin shrugged. "Disgusted by his actions. Proud of his nerve, though. Always thought he lacked backbone. Shame I had to kill him. Might have made a good member of the team. Willing to get his hands dirty."

Yeah... no. There was a very strict limit on the number of salarians he could handle at any given time.

#

Grunt was putting together a new shotgun when Michael headed into the hold. He didn't miss that it had the Urdnot sigil on it. "Urdnot Grunt." Grunt nodded. "I like it. I have a clan. That makes me..." He stood. "It makes me want to fight - not just able to. And Uvenk." Grunt gestured. "I wanted to disembowel him. To tear out his spine like a trophy."

Now krogan? Krogan he liked. "Can you focus that on our real enemy or do I have to lock you up for the ship's safety?" He raised an amused eyebrow.

"I get it now..." Grunt spread his hands. "It's part of what I a. It was just delayed because of being tank-bred. Now that I know it's not an outside thing, and I have a place as a krogan, I like it." He grinned. "Our enemies are in trouble, Shepard. And we better not run out of targets."

Oh what he wouldn't give to have that problem. "There's no danger of that. They're practically lining up."

"Everyone gets a turn." Grunt punched a fist into his palm. "Ha. Wouldn't want it any other way."

#

"Shepard. Eclipse mercs are up to something on Helyme, and you're in the area. Go check it out."

"Sir..." Michael looked at the screen. "You are aware this is a Cerberus vessel, yes?"

Hackett raised an eyebrow. "You telling me you can't handle a bunch of mercs?"

"I just killed a thresher maw." Michael folded his arms. "On foot."

Hackett shrugged. "That reminds me. You're two years overdue for your annual ass-kicking."

"I was dead." Michael shook his head.

"Son, I don't recall asking for excuses." Hackett narrowed his eyes. "I gave you a mission."

"Yes, sir, I'll take care of it." He nodded.

#

Kaidan couldn't quite suppress a smile as he stood in the doorway. Hearing Michael's voice over the comm was good, even if the man hadn't been talking to him. Hackett looked up at him. "Report."

"Objective retrieved, sir." Kaidan nodded.

"Good work." Hackett slid him another datapad. "Take your team and get on this."

He looked over the datapad as he started to leave the room, then blinked and turned back to Hackett. "Sir..."

"Yes?" Hackett raised an eyebrow.

"Sir, I'm not certain we are authorized by the Council to -"

"Son, I don't recall asking for excuses." Hackett narrowed his eyes. "I gave you a mission."

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it." Kaidan nodded.