Thank you for reading!

Shepard stepped into medbay, feeling an obscure comfort in Mordin's muttered renditions of Gilbert and Sullivan. It felt familiar to stand here watching him move from station to station, more a blur than anything else, and hear those strains. When he had been aboard before, they had won. He was aboard now; maybe they would win again. She liked to think so, anyway.

On one of the beds, the female krogan perched. She looked larger here than she had on Sur'Kesh, more formidable.

"Eve, how are you?" Shepard asked, approaching the bed.

"Commander." Eve got down, standing at her full height in front of Shepard, who rarely felt diminutive, even in front of Wrex, but did so now. "I am glad you came. Before … I wasn't feeling myself, but now that I am, I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I didn't think the krogan had any allies left in the galaxy."

"We owe a lot to your people, even if most have forgotten that."

Eve nodded. "They can be forgiven. Our actions have hardly inspired friendship."

"Part of being friends is knowing each other's name. I feel bad that I don't know yours."

"And how many know yours, Commander Shepard?"

It felt as though Eve was staring deep inside her, and Shepard blushed a little. "Only a few," she admitted. "Very well, I won't pry."

"Someday perhaps I will tell you."

"And I will tell you mine."

"Very well, then." Eve inclined her head in a solemn nod. "I surrendered my name the day I became a shaman of the female clan. I belong to my sisters now."

"Can you tell me how you got involved in Maelon's experiment?" Shepard asked.

"We volunteered. We heard Maelon was trying to cure the genophage for Clan Weyrloc."

"Aren't they a rival clan?"

Eve huffed a laugh. "Rivalries are the invention of the males. Under their rule, Tuchanka has lain in ruins for over a thousand years." She shook her head. "No, the females know no clan—other than our own. And it is time we took back our place in society, and resurrected our future. Maelon was the first hope we had of that happening in a very long time."

"Knowing what you know now, would you go to Maelon again if you had it to do over?"

"Absolutely. It only takes one candle to light a fire—and then the darkness is no more."

"I'm sorry none of the others survived," Shepard said softly.

"Thank you. They entered the Void free of this curse, which was something. They will smile one day when they look down on the children of Tuchanka. Their spirits will be the midwives to my firstborn."

"How did you end up on Sur'kesh?"

"Maelon's experiments grew more barbaric as he went along, as he became increasingly desperate to find the answers. Eventually we escaped into the rubble, and a salarian team found us. They saved our lives."

"Living with the genophage—it must have been horrific if Maelon's experiments were worth it."

"You have no idea, Commander." Eve looked over Shepard's head, seeing horrors. "I knew sisters who could not bear the shame of being infertile. They would wander off into the wastelands, hoping a thresher maw would kill them and end their torment."

"You didn't choose that fate."

"No. But I came close. After my first stillborn."

Shepard could feel Eve's pain in those whispered words. "What stopped you?"

"When my child didn't draw breath, that's when my life truly began. I knew I could not rest until I saw the end of that pain. The genophage leaves us with nothing but hope to live on, and hope grows thin."

"How do you think things will change if we can cure the genophage?"

"Our species will have to find its balance again. Females can begin to help shape the future once more, like in the ancient days. No longer will we be nothing but pawns for power-hungry males."

"No more being hell-bent on shooting anything that looks at them wrong?"

Eve shrugged. "What else is there for them to do now? With a future, a life to look forward to, our males can come home and build something instead of focusing on destruction."

"And Wrex? How does he fit in?"

"When he's not trying to sire half of Tuchanka, he's the best thing that's happened to the krogan in a very long time. But I won't tell him that. His ego's big enough already."

"He's turned into a strong leader. I would never have predicted that when I first met him."

"I don't think anyone would have. He wants what's best for us. But not all clans see it that way. He has a difficult struggle ahead bringing together those who have learned to hate and distrust one another. Our males have evolved to value only survival. Wrex is … different. He's a mutant." She gave a rusty chuckle of real amusement. "And that, you can tell him."

"Will he want payback, for the genophage?"

Eve shook her head. "I hope he won't. Some clans will expect nothing less … but that will lead only to more fighting and potentially something worse than the genophage."

Shepard thought of the bomb Victus's son had defused. "If he can restrain that impulse, the krogan could take a real place in galactic politics, have a voice."

"Yes. Something to look forward to. Assuming Wrex can hold firm against the demands of the other clans."

"He'll need help. Maybe from a female shaman."

Eve nodded. "Perhaps."

"You're a strong woman, Eve. I'm glad to know you."

"Thank you, Commander." Eve bowed again and returned to her cot, clearly wearied with the effort of such a long conversation.