Gains and Losses
"Man, it's like you have the opposite of a horseshoe up your ass."
James Vega's words ran through Shepard's mind as she watched the group of krogan soldiers approach them. She was having a run of roller coaster luck lately. Discover the rachni are back and being used by the reapers; help them escape and gain their support. Find the Primarch's missing platoon; learn they are seeking to disarm an incredibly powerful bomb they planted hundreds of years earlier and watch as the Primarch's son dies diffusing it. Land on Tuchanka to save the day; have the entire plan slid slightly south and wind up in a room full of angry krogan.
"What's a salarian doing here? Nobody said anything about this."
Mordin shifted behind her. "Multiple krogan. Problematic."
Shepard stood her ground, demanding, "Who are you?"
"Urdnot Wreav, brood brother to our...illustrious leader." Numerous krogan grumbled; Shepard could feel it in her bones.
"Wreav and I share a mother," Wrex acknowledged. "And that's all."
"For which I'm thankful. I still remember what it's like to be a real krogan. We flay our enemies alive and drown them in a geyser of their own blood. We don't invite them into our home."
"This salarian is not your enemy," Shepard countered, trying not to imagine what drowning in a geyser of her own blood might be like. "He's here to cure the genophage."
"His kind gave us the genophage! Why should we trust him?" Wreav stomped closer to Shepard and Mordin, earning himself a sharp head butt from Wrex.
"Because I do, and so will you," Wrex replied, his voice low and commanding.
The grumbling and growling of unhappy krogan rumbled through the large chamber they were in, and Shepard envisioned her career ending with a vicious head butt, or worse. Wreav unholstered his gun and her own fingers flexed around the butt of the pistol she kept at her hip. A female voice cut through the noise.
"Enough!" All heads turned to the stairs, where Eve stood. "You can stay here and allow old wounds to fester as the krogan have always done, or you can fight the enemy you were born to destroy and win a new future for our children."
As Eve came down the stairs and moved through the crowd, the other krogan stepped aside. On the upper levels, more krogan gathered to watch and listen.
Eve paused and turned to face the assembled troops. "I choose to fight. Who will join me?"
Shepard stepped forward, hoping she didn't look as relieved as she felt. "I will."
"And so will I," Wrex confirmed. "Now hold your heads high like true krogan. There's a reaper that needs killing!"
Wrex's supporters howled and thumped their chests. Wrex looked to his brother. After a pause, Wreav nodded slightly to his own men, and they, too, erupted into a cacophony of battle cries.
Mordin, still standing close behind Shepard, let out a sigh of relief. She smiled at him. "I think that went well, don't you?" Winking, she tipped her head toward the stairs. "Let's go."
x ~ X ~ x
Shepard's squad was huddled out of sight of the reaper, preparing to execute what was arguably the most insane plan Shepard had ever agreed to. They were going to lure Kalros, the Mother of all Thresher Maws, according to legend, to the reaper. If they were lucky, the maw would kill the reaper. The fight so far had been brutal, with the reapers throwing everything they had at Shepard and her team, from cannibals, ravagers, and husks, to brutes. Exhausted, they were taking a moment to regroup before pressing forward.
It hasn't been all bad, she thought to herself. I told Wrex and Mordin about the Dalatrass's offer of support in exchange for sabotaging the cure and Mordin will adapt, we survived the tunnels below Tuchanka, saw some ancient wall paintings few have ever seen, and lived to tell about it. Dare I hope my luck's on an upswing? She was feeling a little wild; if the thresher maw plan didn't work, this was likely the last thing she'd ever do. Shepard had never been one to hang onto regrets, but for a brief instant she regretted not tracking down her parents, checking in with Anderson, or calling Kaidan before landing. You need a clear head, Kate. Focus.
She muttered, "This is fucking crazy," even as she checked to make sure she was ready
"Oh come on, Shepard," Garrus teased, reloading his rifle. "You killed a thresher maw here last year. Should be a piece of cake, as you humans say. Set the hammers and let Kalros handle the rest."
Shepard snorted. "And the way things are going for me, that was Kalros's favorite child. You know, it would be nice if the galaxy could help me save it, instead of trying to thwart my efforts at every turn." She choked back the string of curses that danced on the tip of her tongue and forced a smile instead.
It'll be a goddamned miracle if we pull this off and survive, but it's now or never, Kate. She raised her hand and motioned forward. Garrus and Liara nodded and the three of them ran to the next point of cover.
Her heart pounding, Shepard raced from cover to cover, dodging bullets, the reaper's laser, and falling debris. When she finally arrived at the first hammer, a sense of exhilaration swept over her. We can do this. She activated the hammer and felt a familiar tremor beneath her feet. Wasting no time, she rolled away, used her tactical cloak, and ran back toward the other hammer.
She was blindsided by a brute who came through a smoke screen and slammed into her, sending her flying into a pillar. Groaning, she rolled to her side, scrambled to her feet and leapt out of the way as it charged her a second time. Spinning to one side, she found herself staring at the second maw hammer. It was several meters away, but the path was clear and she sprinted for it. The reaper slammed one of its appendages into the ground to her left, she stumbled to the right, found her footing and kept going. Garrus and Liara joined her, providing covering fire as she activated the second hammer. It was difficult to tell with the reaper moving, but she thought she could feel the tremors getting stronger.
"Get back to the trucks!" She shouted to Liara and Garrus. "I'll take care of the cure. Go!"
Shepard was barely aware of them wishing her luck and running away; the tremors were getting stronger and the reaper's attention seemed to be divided between the turian fighters and something no one else could yet see. An unholy screeching sound pierced the air, the ground to her left heaved, and the reaper's laser sliced through rock and dirt. Shepard realized she'd get killed if she didn't move. She sprinted away, leaping off a slab of stone that jutted out over a chasm, falling nearly two meters to the ground below. She rolled forward, got to her feet, and looked over her shoulder just as Kalros burst out of the ground to grab the reaper. The reaper reared and twisted around, slamming Kalros into the shroud tower. Shepard didn't have time to contemplate the damage that might cause; Kalros was sinking back into the ground and it looked as though the plan was failing.
The reaper was scanning the battlefield when Kalros shot out of the earth a second time, throwing itself at the reaper's back. The thresher maw's momentum carried the two creatures forward, enabling it to wrap itself around the reaper as it tunneled into the ground. A cloud of dirt rose into the air, the earth heaved, and with a final twist of its body, the thresher maw disappeared with its prey.
The following silence was eerie compared to the sound of battle seconds earlier, and Shepard held her breath for a moment. Nothing happened. It worked. I can't believe it fucking worked! She wanted to shout out with joy, but knew victory against the reaper didn't change the fact that Mordin still had to disperse the genophage cure. At that moment, a piece of metal fell to the ground and her eyes were drawn to the tower before her. Sections of the tower were on fire.
x ~ X ~ x
Mordin was running to a computer terminal in the main entrance to the facility when she found him. A steady stream of debris fell from the upper levels of the tower and small fires burned around the room.
"Mordin, is the cure ready?" she asked as she reached his side.
"Loaded for dispersal in two minutes. Procedure was traumatic for Eve, but not lethal. Maelon's research invaluable."
"She's okay?"
"Headed to safety now. Her survival fortunate. Will stabilize new government should Wrex get any ideas. Good match. Promising future for krogan."
A large sheet of metal plummeted to the ground, startling Shepard. Mordin remained calm, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Control room on top of shroud tower. Must take elevator up."
"You're going up there?" Her voice cracked with disbelief.
He made one final entry on the computer and turned to face her. "Yes. Manual access required. Must counteract STG sabotage, must ensure cure is dispersed properly."
The impact of he was proposing was slowly dawning on her and she shook her head. "Mordin, this whole thing is coming apart! There has to be another way."
He turned to look up at the top of the tower. "Remote access impossible. STG countermeasures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variance." He lowered his head, lost in thought for a brief moment. "No. No other option. Not coming back. Suggest you get clear. Explosion likely to be problematic."
With a decisive nod, he turned and walked with determination to the elevator. Shepard's vision blurred and she ran after him.
"Mordin, no!"
"Shepard, please. Have to do this. My project, my work, my cure, my responsibility." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I would have liked to run tests on seashells."
Commander Shepard knew Mordin wouldn't propose such drastic measures if they weren't required, that the losses they'd suffered so far were just the beginning. Kathryn Shepard, however, knew that this was truly the last time she would see her friend, and her heart was breaking. Hackett's directive ran through her mind. By any means necessary.
"Mordin, I'm so sorry."
"I'm not." He stepped into the elevator and pushed a button on the control panel. "It had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong." The doors closed and the car started to ascend.
She watched the elevator for several seconds before she finally forced herself to turn and leave. Her steps were tentative at first, shock and disbelief slowing her down, but she soon broke into a run. Finally a safe distance well away from the base of the tower, she stopped and looked up, hoping Mordin's assessment of the situation was wrong. An explosion near the top of the tower was her response. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she turned away to see several tomkahs approaching.
During the Skyllian Blitz, she managed to find the strength to keep on fighting, to hold her position until backup arrived, putting her grief aside. With a great deal of effort, she did so again and joined her squad, Wrex, and Eve, as they climbed out of the lead tomkah. Grief would have to wait.
A/N: Whew! This one took a while, what with RL ramping up for the fall. Updates will slow down for the next little while. It's also quite hard to kill a character you really like, and wrapping this up was damned hard. My thanks to all who read/list/favorite me, and to Zute and Zevgirl for their continued friendship. Enjoy the rest of your week! Cheers, Biff
