Chapter Sixty Seven: For the Greater Good
"I contacted you to offer a deal," the salarian dalatrass shimmered blue in the holographic projector.
"I'm listening," Colt crossed his arms. He thought the dalatrass was a judgmental, half-assed politician. She thought he was the biggest douche bag to walk the galaxy. Neither of them were necessarily wrong.
"Full salarian support in exchange for not curing the genophage," the dalatrass said. Shepard's breathe caught in his throat. He had not expected their support from the get-go; this was huge. An entire Citadel species devoting resources, giving their best and brightest, and collaborating on the Crucible. This was a game changer.
"I'll consider your offer, dalatrass. If I carry through with it, I'll let you know. I expect you to hold up your end if that's what I decide," Shepard knew she would.
"We will," the dalatrass said before her image shimmered out. He had woken up this morning knowing he would cure the genophage, but now... Things were confused, hazy. Commander Shepard was unsure.
...
"Ready?" Liara asked. Wrex, Liara, Eve, and Mordin were gathered around the elevator. Shepard didn't know what to do.
"Sit down," Shepard told them. They stared at him for a second, before they all started chuckling.
"I hope you're ready to cure the genophage, Shep," Wrex gave a backbreaking slap to Colt's back.
"I said sit down," Colt growled the words. This time his tone caught their attention and turned them silent. Each did as they were ordered and walked to the tables in the mess hall section. Liara hung back, trying to catch his eye but he was ignoring her for the moment. This wasn't supposed to be so complicated.
"What's happening?" Someone asked. "Shepard, why aren't you leaving?" Another asked. "Problem?" Questions and rising voices distracted Colt from the real issue. "Shepard, is there something wrong with the cure?" A voice nearby asked. They sounded like the disembodied voices in his dreams. "Shepard, are you feeling okay?" Colt just wanted silence to think. That's all he wanted. He just wanted to hear himself.
"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Colt didn't mean to scream it, but he was desperate. He needed to think. So many things hung in the balance; he needed a place to consider every option.
The awkward silence immediately following his outburst would usually drive Colt insane, but it's exactly what he wanted. "Are we going to cure thing or not?" Wrex asked after a few seconds of complete silence.
"What the fuck did I just say?" Colt turned his head to glare at Wrex. The Krogan shut his mouth with an audible snap. Shepard didn't mean to be an ass, but this was too important a decision to get distracted. Should he cure the genophage or sabotage it?
The greater good. Saving the majority instead of the minority. That's what Shepard uses as a guideline for tough decisions. Such a simple idea to remember, such an easy concept to grasp. He had used it on Elysium. Would saving Alex or letting him be taken affect more people positively? The answer was simple, so Colt had watched Alex scream and plead for help without moving an inch. The hundreds of thousands of people on Elysium were more important than his brother, at least that's what he thought at the time.
Why were things always back to Elysium? Shepard had no idea... Actually, he knew exactly why it always came back to that dreadful colony. That was the one place in his career that he could point to and say was the single event that made Commander Shepard. If not for the Skyllian Blitz he would be just another nameless Lieutenant. If not for luck he would be another name on some memorial wall. If he had died on Elysium or had stopped to catch Alex, then maybe he wouldn't be in the position he was in.
Shepard knew, he knew what he had to do for the greater good. Salarian support would make the Crucible construction go faster, which would save more lives. Sabotaging the genophage cure would be for the greater good. Gaining Krogan and Salarian support in one foul swoop would help the galaxy so much, it was unbelievable. Sabotaging the cure meant eliminating anyone who could potentially know it was sabotaged. That meant killing Wrex, Mordin, and Eve.
"Well, I'm going with or without you," Wrex muttered before standing up. He started towards the elevator. Shepard had not made his decision yet.
"EDI, lock down the Normandy," Colt told the ceiling. Seconds later the locks turned from green to red. Red emergency lights swept across his crew's faces. The elevator could not be used until he gave the word.
"Commander, Cortez and Vega are currently on the elevator. Should I let them continue to this deck?" EDI said. Her voice held no surprise, maybe she knew what he was thinking.
"Redirect them to any deck, but this one," Colt said. Shock radiated from his crew. They had no idea about the turmoil currently inside of him.
"What the hell Shepard?" Wrex approached aggressively. Colt felt biotics flicker over his body for a moment.
"Sit down and let me think," Shepard stood up slowly, letting the words fall out of his mouth with deliberate heaviness. Wrex's beady eyes stared at him coldly, but he did what he was told. Out of the corner of his eye, Colt saw Chakwas pull Liara away from the tables. Garrus, Chakwas, Liara, and three Ensigns hung back towards the end of the kitchen, their eyes flittering nervously between Shepard and the three in question. Colt sat down again once Wrex was settled.
If he didn't continue with his whole greater good moral code, then he was a hypocrite. It was like saying that Alex was could be sacrificed for the majority, but Wrex, Eve, and Mordin couldn't. How fucked up was that? His own brother, his own kin, was worth less than his friends. The three weren't just friends, though. They were family. Why did the dalatrass have to go and make things so unclear?
Wrex, Mordin, and Eve were smart enough to find out the cure really wasn't the cure. They would reveal his plan and support would fall apart on both sides. The Krogan would refuse help knowing the genophage wasn't really cured and the salarians would say that they didn't offer him any sort of deal. If he wanted to accept the dalatrass's offer, then it would mean killing three close friends. If he rejected it, then it would mean less support against the Reapers. Always help the majority. Always. The Krogans affected with the genophage were the minority. The entire galaxy would benefit from salarian and Krogan support, they were the majority. Wrex, Eve, and Mordin were the minority.