Chapter 8: Mad Scientists
"Promise me that you'll keep in touch and let me know how things go?" Shepard asked Tali as she pulled her in for a hug.
They had made it back to Farlas as quickly as they could and Shepard now stood on the asteroid once more telling her friend goodbye. Kal had taken up position behind Tali and watched as the two women embraced. Garrus stood off to Shepard's side, giving them the room they needed.
"Of course, Shepard. I'll message you as soon as something happens. Thank you," Tali said taking a step back. "Take care of yourself. And Garrus, too. Let me know where Lia decides to go. I'm so glad to see her back on her feet again."
"Will do," Shepard said.
Tali moved to stand in front of Garrus before throwing her arms around the startled turian. Garrus chuckled at patted Tali on the back. Kal stepped forward and extended his hand to Shepard.
"Commander Shepard, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality. I hope we get the chance to meet again," he said.
"I'm sure we will. Take care of Tali for me, Kal. And remember what I said," Shepard said shaking his hand.
"Yes ma'am, always," Kal said stepping back to wait his turn to say goodbye to Garrus.
When all of the goodbyes had been said, all the hands shaken, and all of the hugs given, Shepard watched as Tali and Kal disappeared into the crowd of armed quarians. She and Garrus turned back and climbed into the shuttle.
"Where are we headed next?" Garrus asked on the way back to the Normandy.
"Korlus. It's in the Eagle Nebula. We have a krogan to pick up," Shepard said.
"One you already know?" Garrus asked.
"Mmm. Grunt. Though I technically haven't met him yet. He's a genetically engineered, tank-bred krogan. We're supposed to be going to pick up the krogan who made him, Warlord Okeer, but things get dicey and we end up with Grunt instead. Far better option, if you ask me," Shepard said.
"Get dicey how?" Garrus asked.
"Okeer has entered into an agreement with a Blue Suns merc named Jedore. She wants him to build her a krogan army; he wants her money to fund his research. He gives her the rejects for target practice, I guess. I don't know, he says that he gives her what she asked for but she lacks the ability to command. When we've spoken to one of the 'rejects', he said that he was ordered by Okeer to not follow," Shepard said.
"Another krogan breeding facility? That can't be good," Garrus said.
"It's not like Saren's facility. Okeer isn't just pumping them out left and right. He takes his time on each one, trying to make the perfect krogan. When he realizes that they aren't right, he stops the process and releases them. We'll have to fight through some of them, but it's mostly mercs that we'll be facing," Shepard said.
"This Okeer sounds like a real ass," Garrus said.
"Indeed. In the end, he lets himself die so that he can save Grunt. He'd been giving his krogans over to the collectors, trading them for technology. I'm not sure of the specifics, but he used that technology to create Grunt," Shepard said.
"So this Grunt has collector tech in him? Are you sure he's safe? That he isn't you know, answering to them or indoctrinated?" Garrus asked.
"I'm sure. He's a little odd, at least at first, but what else can really be expected from a krogan that came out of a tank full grown and ready to tear things apart? No real understanding of the world around him, just the information that Okeer implanted in his mind. We'll take him to Wrex. Wrex will put him through the krogan rite of passage and take him as one of Clan Urdnot. He remains loyal and is there to help in the final battle on Earth," Shepard said.
They flew the shuttle into the Normandy's hangar and waited for the door to close and the pressure to equalize before stepping out of the shuttle. They parted ways on the third deck where Shepard gave Garrus a kiss before he stepped off the elevator. She took the elevator up to the CIC and set the coordinates for Korlus before going to remove her armor and stow her guns in her cabin.
Shepard settled into her desk to check her messages since Kelly informed her she had new ones waiting. The first message was from Miranda requesting that Shepard come to see her in her office at Shepard's earliest convenience. Of course, Shepard really new that what Miranda meant was something more along the lines of 'get your ass down here right away or I'll come storming into your cabin throwing a fit.' Shepard sighed before typing out a quick response of 'I'll be there soon.' Shepard had been spending a significant amount of time in Miranda's office as they negotiated what Miranda would tell the Illusive Man and how she would tell him. So far, it hadn't been very productive.
The next message was from Mordin likewise requesting that she come see him at her earliest convenience. Shepard didn't bother to reply to that message; she knew Mordin would find a simple acknowledgement of the request to be unnecessary and a waste of his time. A final message was from Kirrahe letting her know that his team was in place on Fehl Prime. He said he would keep her updated. Shepard responded thanking him and asking him, as a personal favor, to watch James Vega's back. She told him Vega could be a hot head, and she needed him alive and in one piece.
Shepard closed her laptop and stood, stretching her arms above her head to relieve some of her tension. She left her cabin and made her way down to Miranda's office. She tapped on the door and waited for Miranda to tell her to enter before opening the door and stepping inside.
"Commander, thank you for coming. We still have a lot we need to discuss," Miranda said gesturing back towards her couch.
Shepard nodded and followed Miranda back. She sat down and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees.
"I understand why you don't wish to reveal details about the crew, and honestly it's irrelevant. What about the genophage, though? Why is it necessary to withhold that information?" Miranda asked.
"Think about that, Miranda. For starters, what would you even tell him? And would the Illusive Man – the man who thinks he has nothing but humanity's best interest at heart – be conducive to allowing the krogan population to grow unchecked? Miranda, you know as well as I do that he would find a way to interfere and trust me, any interference could cost us the war," Shepard said.
Miranda leaned back against her chair and settled her hands in between her stomach and her crossed legs.
"And what about his presence on this Crucible you spoke of? What is this Crucible and why can't he know?" Miranda asked.
"This isn't good, you shouldn't be telling her anything else," Jane said.
"The Crucible is a weapon, a weapon we don't even have yet and again, he would interfere. Besides for that, how would you explain to him that you knew he was going to be at a particular place in the future?" Shepard said.
"Maybe we can wipe her computer? Get rid of the videos and be done with this," Jane said.
"What are the chances she doesn't have them backed up somewhere?" Shepard thought.
"Of course, you're probably right," Jane said.
Miranda rose to her feet and began pacing the area around the couch and her bed. She threw a hand out in the air before letting it slap against her thigh.
"I don't know, Commander! But clearly these are important details and you could be wrong. The Illusive Man is not as bad as you think. He might be willing, and he is certainly able, to help with these things. What then, Shepard? What potential benefits are you ignoring because of your fear of Cerberus?" Miranda asked.
"Is she blind?" Jane asked.
"Miranda, are you blind? I mean really? How do you not see what Cerberus really is?" Shepard asked.
"Commander, I know that Cerberus has used some extreme tactics on occasion but we get results. You are living, breathing proof of those results!" Miranda said.
"Do you really even know what all Cerberus has done?" Shepard asked.
"Enlighten me, Commander?" Miranda said stopping with her hip cocked and crossed her arms.
Shepard sat back and draped an arm across the back of the couch.
"Are you really going to do this? Will it matter?" Jane asked.
"Let's start with Akuze. My team died there Miranda, because of Cerberus. Cerberus scientists stood back and watched while my team was attacked by a thresher maw that they set on to them so that they could observe and take notes. Then I find out, years later, that one of my men didn't die right away," Shepard said her voice rising. "He was taken by the scientists who then kept him alive in a lab so they could run tests on him. They fucking injected him with thresher maw venom! That's not even all of it, I'm sure there were more things that Toombs never got the chance to tell me about because the poor man was so damaged psychologically that he slit his own wrist on the Normandy!"
Shepard rose to her feet and advanced on Miranda until she was standing an arm's length away yelling in the other woman's face.
"Or, I know! How about the woman living down under engineering? She was taken away from her family and placed in a secluded facility where she was tortured and experimented on until she was finally strong enough to break free! Just so they could make the ultimate human biotic." Shepard yelled and gestured wildly. "Oh and let's not forget about turning colonies into husks so that they could better understand the process. And of course there's the experiments on other species as well, not that those matter because, hey, they're not human!"
"Tell her about David Archer. We can show her David in person," Jane said.
"Did you know that right now, right this very moment there is a poor man in The Phoenix Massing who has been rigged up to a machine so that he can interface with the geth better? I'm talking stripped naked, suspended by wires this thick," Shepard said making a circle out of her fingers to show Miranda the diameter of the wires, "shoved straight through his wrists and arms. Two more several times bigger rammed down his throat! He's got this – this metal brace around his neck with little metal claws digging into his chest, anchoring it to his body and forcing his head back. Little metal claws forcing his eyelids open. You want to know why him? What makes him so special? He's fucking autistic, Miranda! Autistic! That's the kind of shit Cerberus does so don't you stand here and fucking tell me that the ends justify the means. They don't. Not even remotely."
Miranda held her ground unflinching under Shepard's tirade. When Shepard finally wound down enough for Miranda to speak, Miranda pursed her lips.
"Are you done, Commander?" Miranda asked.
"Not even a little, Miranda. Because Cerberus isn't done. That's only a handful of things out of hundreds of others," Shepard said throwing a hand up in the air before turning and sitting back down on the couch.
"She doesn't even care," Jane said.
Miranda crossed the floor to take her seat in the chair and watched Shepard quietly. Shepard scrubbed her hands across her face before using them to push her hair back. She looked down at the floor between her feet with her fingers still threaded through her hair. She looked up when she saw Miranda's legs shift.
"I'll need to verify what you're saying… Cerberus is designed in cells so that one cell doesn't know what the other cells are doing. There have been instances where people operating in those cells took matters into their own hands and broke away from the Illusive Man's orders and –," Miranda said.
"Bullshit," Shepard said.
"Excuse me?" Miranda asked.
"You're going to tell me that they did things he didn't know about. That he didn't give the OK to do. It's bullshit. He knows. He always knows. Yeah, maybe sometimes they take things beyond what he told them to do but he knew it was happening and he didn't stop it," Shepard said.
Shepard leaned back against the couch again; her hands clasped in her lap and looked at Miranda with cold eyes.
"Dawn, I can see what you're going to say. Are you sure that's wise? I mean really, we don't know yet if this Miranda is going to take the same stance as the other Miranda's. Things have changed, people are different. This could be incredibly bad for us if she doesn't respond the way you're thinking," Jane said.
"I have to try," Shepard thought.
"He's going to start working with your father again," Shepard said quietly, pausing until she knew she had the other woman's undivided attention. "In a facility they'll call Sanctuary on Horizon. Your father and the Illusive Man are going to lure people there when the reapers attack; promising them safety. They're going to turn them into husks to see if they can figure out how to control them. Your sister and her family go there, to Sanctuary. We make it in time to save her, but just think about that."
Shepard stood up and crossed the room. Miranda didn't follow her or call out to her to wait. Shepard left Miranda's office and made her way to the elevator, taking it up to see Mordin. She ran her hands through her hair and leaned her head against the elevator wall. Shepard let out a big sigh followed by a groan. When the elevator was nearing the second deck, she stood up straight and smoothed her hair down before slapping her commander face back into place.
Shepard walked into Mordin's lab and smiled when she saw that Garrus was in there, too.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Shepard asked.
Her smile started to fall when she saw the serious look on Garrus' face.
"Something's not right," Jane warned.
"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.
Mordin walked around the table towards Shepard opening his omni-tool as he went. He stopped in front of Shepard and waved the omni-tool in front of her but her eyes were on Garrus. Shepard felt a sudden sharp sting in her neck. She hissed and flinched, her hand moved automatically to her neck and then suddenly a gold light flashed around her and she was frozen. Completely paralyzed as black tendrils of energy licked out around her body. Her eyes darted around, the only thing that could still move, trying to comprehend what had happened. Soon her eyes couldn't move either but she could still see and hear everything that was going on around her.
"Oh gods, it's seeker swarm venom. This is what happened to the people on Horizon! What are they doing?! Why are they doing this?" Jane demanded.
"I don't know! Shut up, I need to listen. Try to find a way to fight this," Shepard thought.
"Is that really necessary? Couldn't you just explain it to her first?" Garrus asked.
"Completely necessary. Control chips in her skull. Could be activated any moment. Might be activated just by knowledge of chips. Don't know. Too risky to explain first," Mordin said moving into Shepard's range of sight.
"Control chips? Miranda never implanted the control chips. She always told us that she had wanted to, but the Illusive Man wouldn't allow it!" Jane said.
"Apparently she did this time. That bitch," Shepard thought.
"Should have killed her. Should have… should never have trusted her. What's he doing? What are they going to do to us?" Jane said.
Shepard ignored Jane's rising panic and questions and instead tried to focus on getting her hands to move, her feet to move, anything to move. Mordin scanned her again and looked at his omni-tool before nodding his head.
"Shepard, listen carefully. Very important. Used venom extracted from seeker Cerberus brought to me on Citadel. Used small amount. Effects probably won't last long," Mordin said.
"Probably?!" Jane screamed.
"Probably? I thought you said this was safe?" Garrus growled at Mordin stalking into Shepard's view.
"Is safe. No collectors here to take her. Worse case she stays like this until I find antidote," Mordin said.
"No. No, no, no. We can't stay like this. Make it stop. Oh gods, what are they going to do? Why is he doing this?" Jane said.
"You son-of-a-bitch, I should rip your throat out," Garrus snarled.
"Oh, I see. You already have an antidote?" Mordin asked.
Garrus growled and started pacing.
"Garrus! Garrus oh gods, please help us!" Jane yelled.
"Shepard, anomalies found on scans, understand what they are now. Control chips implanted in your skull. If activated Cerberus will control actions, words, possibly even thoughts. Don't know. Need to remove them right away. Spoke to Garrus about chips first, seems to know you best. Agreed to your surgery. Told me interesting story first. Understand I must use extra anesthesia," Mordin said.
"He what? Surgery?! No, no, no. We can't have another surgery. We can't. We can't. It will hurt, oh gods it will hurt. I'll feel it all, please don't do this. Please, please," Jane said.
"Garrus lock the doors. Temporarily deactivated EDI's access to labs. Don't know how long it will last. Must hurry," Mordin said.
Garrus moved to lock the doors before returning to Shepard's side. She could feel him rub a hand gently across her back. Mordin moved to the other side of the room where she couldn't see him, but she could hear him moving things around. Her heart was hammering in her chest.
"Please, Garrus, please don't let this happen," Jane begged.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Shepard. I hope I made the right call here. I didn't think you knew, and Mordin said it would be harmful if you found out before he was ready to remove them. I only learned last night… I had to tell him about Jane. After watching those videos… I'm sorry," Garrus whispered to Shepard. "Spirits, I hope this is the right thing. Jane, if you can still hear me in there, we're going to do everything we can to make this hurt as little as possible for you but please, don't fight this."
"How could you do this to me?" Jane whimpered.
Mordin came back into her field of vision carrying a syringe which he promptly and expertly drove into her vein after wiping the skin with an alcohol swab. Within seconds Shepard felt consciousness slipping away from her.
"Don't…," Jane's words faded with Shepard's awareness.
Shepard awoke to the sounds of her own groans. Her eyes blinked trying to clear the blurry haze. Mordin appeared over her, his omni-tool moving up and down her body.
"She awake?" Garrus asked.
Shepard turned her head towards the sound of his voice and blinked her eyes some more. Jane was unusually quiet, the only indication of her presence a sense of disconnected unease.
"Yes, regaining consciousness," Mordin said.
Garrus crossed the labs and stood above Shepard. She reached a hand out towards him but couldn't quite seem to make it go where she wanted it to. Garrus grabbed her wavering hand and held it gently in his own. Her vision slowly started to clear. Mordin tugged at her chin and shone a light in her eyes, Shepard instinctively flinched away from the bright intrusion and felt pain lance through the back of her skull and neck. She groaned in response.
"Shepard, need to check pupillary response. Please be still," Mordin said.
Shepard tried to steel herself for the painful intrusion of light. When the light vanished again, she tried to speak but found her throat too dry to form the words. Mordin handed Garrus a glass of water with a straw before adjusting the bed she was laying on so that she was laying at an incline. Garrus held the straw to her mouth and she took small sips, letting the water sit in her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it down her parched throat.
"What the hell did you do?" Shepard asked Mordin.
Mordin held a small metal dish out to Shepard, in the bottom sat two small computer chips the size of peas. Shepard reached a hand into the dish and picked one up, bringing it closer to her face to examine. She could just barely make out the small metallic circuitry patterns on the chip but nothing else. She set the chip back in the dish and turned her eyes to Mordin.
"Can put them back if you'd prefer," Mordin said with a grin.
Garrus let out a low growl and Shepard squeezed his hand in response.
"I didn't think it needed to be said, but allow me to make it clear to you: No experimenting on the people aboard the Normandy without their explicit informed consent. You didn't need to use the seeker swarm venom to paralyze me, Mordin," Shepard said. "If it happens again, I'll throw you out of the airlock and find another scientist to deal with the collectors. Clear?"
Mordin smiled and blinked his eyes before saying, "Perfectly."
"Control chips?" Shepard asked.
"Yes," Mordin said.
"Thanks," Shepard said.
"Happy to help. Will save them for further analysis. Provide you with full report when complete," Mordin said.
Shepard carefully turned her head to look at Garrus. He pulled his mandibles in tight and clenched his jaw resolutely, but Shepard could see the worry in his eyes. She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand.
"It's alright, Garrus. You made the right call," Shepard said.
She could see the tension pour out of him as his mandibles flared wide before coming to rest next to his face once more.
"Is, uh, is Jane alright?" Garrus asked.
"I think so, she's quiet. I think she just wants to be left alone for now, so I'm not going to bother her," Shepard said.
Garrus nodded and said, "You didn't… there wasn't any…"
"Screaming?" Shepard finished for him and he nodded. "Good. How long was I out?"
"Two hours and thirty-five minutes," Mordin supplied.
"No one tried to enter. EDI came back online three times, and I had to shut her off again the way Mordin showed me how. I don't think she's too happy with me right now," Garrus said. "Miranda did this to you?"
"She must have. Although this is the first time as far as I know. She's talked about it before, but always swore that the Illusive Man forbade her from doing it when she suggested the chip. I guess this time… with everything that happened… she decided to take matters into her own hands," Shepard said.
"So the Illusive Man probably doesn't even know?" Garrus asked.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I'd be willing to bet money that he knows but didn't stop her. He wanted the chips, but wanted deniability. That's how he operates," Shepard said.
"What are you going to do?" Garrus asked.
"I don't know yet," Shepard said.
"Where's Dr. Chakwas? Why wasn't she involved?" Shepard asked turning slowly to look at Mordin examining one of the chips under a microscope.
"Would have complicated things. Would have insisted on 'informed consent,'" Mordin said making air quotes. "Could have been problematic."
"Alright. No one else needs to know about this for now," Shepard said. "When did you get the seeker?"
"While on Citadel. Cerberus operative delivered it to the labs," Mordin said.
"That was two days ago, why didn't you say anything?" Shepard asked.
"Wanted to run tests first. Confirm authenticity. Extract venom," Mordin said.
"What have you found so far?" Shepard asked.
"Synthetic life form. Tracks victims through electromagnetic field. Venom uses dark energy and electromagnetics to paralyze victims. Need to study scans taken after you were injected," Mordin said.
Mordin crossed back over to Shepard and checked her pupillary response again before performing another scan. He applied medi-gel to the already partially healed incision at the base of her skull. Shepard sighed as the medi-gel numbed the area.
"Had to shave small area. Unnoticeable with hair down. Might increase itching as it heals. Should be fine to stand now," Mordin said.
Shepard slid her legs over the side of the bed next to Garrus. He stepped to the side and out of her way, keeping her hand in his to help steady her and catch her if she started to fall. Shepard pushed off the bed and waited a moment to make sure her head wasn't going to spin before she took a few steps. Other than the dull ache, she felt fine.
"Turn EDI back on. Tell her you were running delicate experiments or something. Be convincing," Shepard said. "I'm going to my cabin, I need to think."
"Shepard?" Mordin called after her.
Shepard stopped and turned slowly to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Would love to hear more about Jane. No experiments, just talk. When you're feeling better," Mordin said.
Shepard bit her lower lip for a second before saying, "Yeah, maybe. Thanks again, Mordin."
"Here, take these with you. Will help with pain. Apply medi-gel as needed," Mordin said.
Shepard accepted a small bottle of pills with directions written on them in Mordin's impressively and surprisingly neat handwriting. Shepard tucked them away into a pocket as Garrus stepped up beside her. She did her best to smile at him but she wasn't feeling it just then. He walked with her out of the tech labs and took the elevator up to her cabin with her.
"I should stay with you, for a while at least," Garrus said.
Shepard responded by bringing his hand to her mouth to kiss the top of his knuckles and led him into her cabin. Shepard locked the door behind her before moving down the steps to settle in on the couch. She pulled off her boots and socks while Garrus got her a glass of water. She swallowed a couple of the pills Mordin had given her before standing back up to pull her shirt off. Garrus' hands caught hold of hers and took over, easing the shirt up slowly and carefully before helping her out of the rest of her clothes.
"I'm pretty sure I can manage that on my own," Shepard said with a chuckle.
"Hmmm. I'm pretty sure you could, too but let me do it anyway," Garrus said sliding her pants down her hips.
Shepard smiled and caressed the back of his head beneath his crest. He purred contentedly as she stepped out of her pants.
"Do you want it all off?" Garrus asked.
"Yeah, I'll put my robe on, it'll be more comfortable. I'm staying in here for the night unless there's an emergency," Shepard said. "Damn, I wish he had let me take a shower first."
Garrus chuffed before reaching up to pull her panties down to the floor.
"You took one this morning," Garrus said.
"Yeah, but that was hours ago. Armor makes me sweaty. I probably stink," she said.
"You don't stink," said Garrus with a chuckle.
"You're just trying to be extra nice since you served me up to the mad scientist on a silver platter," Shepard said.
Garrus' head shot up to look at her face.
"I'm kidding. Too soon?" Shepard asked with a grin.
Garrus stood and pulled Shepard in close to him as he reached around behind her to undo her bra. He pulled her scent in deep and groaned next to her ear.
"You don't stink. You smell… incredible. If you weren't wounded, I'd have you on that bed by now screaming my name. Spirits I love when you scream my name," Garrus said with a purr.
Shepard groaned as his voice tugged at her. It was something that no other man had ever been able to accomplish with something so simple. He slid the straps of her bra down off of her shoulders and stepped back from her, stooping to gather up the rest of her clothes and take them to the laundry chute.
"Empty the pockets first. The drive is in there," Shepard said.
Garrus stopped at her desk to rifle through her pockets and lay the contents down next to her laptop before dropping the clothes in the chute. He stepped inside the bathroom and grabbed her robe off of the hook just inside the door before returning to her. He held the robe open for her while she slid her arms inside before tying it at her waist. Garrus moved about the room dimming the lights and pulling back the covers on her bed. He set her stereo to play some soft music, and brought her laptop to the bedside table along with her glass of water and bottle of pills.
Garrus stripped out of his armor, setting it down on the couch next to Shepard before he led her to the bed. He settled the extra pillows she requisitioned after their first night together on the SR-2 around himself to provide the support he needed before opening his arms up to her. Shepard crawled into the bed beside him, dragging the laptop along with her and snuggled into the crook of his arm.
"How are you feeling?" Garrus asked.
"Not as bad as you might imagine. All the upgrades Cerberus added do a lot to speed my healing time and curb my pain sensors. They got to keep me on my feet and fighting, after all," Shepard said.
"I don't know anyone else who would take this as calmly as you are," he said.
"Trust me; I very much want to go knock Miranda's teeth down her throat right now. It wouldn't solve anything though and right now the cards are in my hands. I need to choose the right time to play them," Shepard said.
"Humans have too many metaphors," Garrus mused.
"Maybe turians just don't have enough," Shepard said.
"Hmmm. Maybe. So, we're not killing Miranda and you aren't knocking her teeth down her throat. What are you thinking?" Garrus asked.
"Use the chips against her. Convince her to back off on pressing for the release of information to the Illusive Man, if I haven't already convinced her. I was in her office before I came to see what Mordin wanted," Shepard said.
"How'd that go?" he asked.
"I yelled at her a lot, told her some things she didn't really want to hear. Gave her something to think about and walked out," Shepard said. "She's probably down there in her cabin now cracking into Cerberus records trying to find a way to prove me wrong. If she is, then I pity her because she is in for a rude awakening."
"And if she has this 'rude awakening'?" Garrus asked.
"Miranda isn't stupid, not by a long shot. When she has the evidence staring her in her face, she'll accept reality. I suspect that she'll be ready to hunt the Illusive Man down herself by morning," Shepard said.
"Really? You think she'll go after him?" Garrus asked.
"Maybe. But I'll discourage her from doing it alone. I know where he's at, if she's really intent on it, I'll take her there myself. Gods only know what all that will change, but I don't see anything but good coming from removing that man from this galaxy permanently," Shepard said. "Maybe that's too optimistic of me. If anything I should know by now that the universe seems to love fucking with me more than anything else. Maybe he's right, if I take him out of the equation someone new will just step in to fill the slot. Maybe someone far worse."
"Unless you choose who that person is," Garrus said.
Shepard shifted to look up at him and then winced when it put pressure on her incision.
"Ow! Damn it. I hadn't thought of that before. You're right. You are absolutely right. That's brilliant. Just like with the Shadow Broker, take him out and replace him with one of my own. Someone I trust and who will use that power to help in the war instead of trying to fuck everything up," Shepard said.
"What do you mean 'just like with the Shadow Broker'?" Garrus asked.
Shepard stared at the wall for a moment before answering, "Liara. She would have replaced the Shadow Broker. I would have gone with her to take him down and she… she would have slid right into the roll effortlessly. Like magic, one asshole Shadow Broker gone and a miracle worker in his place."
"You miss her a lot. I'm sorry, Dawn," Garrus said rubbing her arm.
"Yeah. I really do. I miss all of them. I tried so hard to change things, to keep everyone alive but instead I fucked things up and lost even more… thought I'd lost you, even though you were still standing in front of me. That hurt the most. When I woke up, you were all I could think about. Then when I found you and you just… put me aside… I'm sorry, I think the pills are getting to me," Shepard said.
"Get some sleep, Shepard. I'm not going anywhere," Garrus said putting her laptop on the table next to him and pulling her in closer.
Shepard let out a sigh and let her eyes close. Within seconds she was drifting away into a drug hazed sleep. Shepard awoke two hours later, she had rolled over in her sleep and tried to lie on her back but it made her healing incision throb. Garrus was still there with her, checking his messages on her laptop. He helped her apply more medi-gel to the cut and she went back to sleep.
The next morning, between the medi-gel and her implants, the wound was nothing more than a tender scar. Garrus was still sleeping next to her so she lay there quietly and watched him. Eventually she gave into the demands of her bladder and tiptoed to the bathroom to relieve herself before turning on the shower. She didn't let the water get as hot as she normally liked it because she knew from experience that scalding water on a still healing wound did not feel nice.
"Jane?" Shepard whispered aloud.
"I'm still here," Jane said quietly.
"Are you OK?" Shepard thought.
"I'm… I'm confused," Jane said.
Shepard stepped into the shower stall and leaned forward, crossing her arms against the wall to rest her head on them. The water poured down her back without hitting her head too much.
"Did it hurt?" Shepard thought.
"No… just pressure and sounds," Jane said.
"Well that's good, right?" Shepard thought.
"Yeah… good. Why did I feel so much with Miranda and Wilson? What did Mordin do differently? Why did Miranda put the chips in this time? Where did she even get them, before she always made it sound like a vague idea she had pitched to the Illusive Man. It wasn't something she had readily available to use. I don't understand. Is this my fault? Did she do this because I was talking? Were the other times a lie and they were always really there? If so, why weren't they noticed? Were they used? Were our actions our own? Could this be why we keep coming back?" Jane's words came out in a flood, one idea spurring on the next.
Shepard shook her head gently and said, "I don't know, Jane. I'm sorry. They're out now, though."
"Yeah…," Jane said before fading into the background once more.
Two minutes later she heard Garrus enter the bathroom and after using the toilet himself, he stepped into the shower behind her. She smiled as his hands wrapped around her and his chest pressed against her back.
"You're stealing all my water," Shepard said.
"Hmmm. Needs to be hotter," Garrus said.
"Don't think my head would like that much right now," Shepard said.
Garrus pulled away from her enough to gently push her hair out of the way and look at the area that Mordin had sliced into.
"Looks good. Does it still hurt?" he asked sliding his arm back around her waist.
"It's a little tender," Shepard said.
Garrus nipped at her neck and ran his hands along her waist and thighs before he said, "Hmmm. That's too bad."
"Did I say tender? I meant it doesn't hurt at all," Shepard said arching her back.
"Is that right?" Garrus asked moving his hands to explore her more sensitive areas.
Shepard gasped and turned around to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth to his.
An hour later and they were dressed and headed towards the mess hall. Shepard had slept through eating dinner and her stomach was viciously tearing itself apart as a reminder. Miranda was sitting at one of the tables drinking a cup of tea. A demolished muffin sat on a plate in front of her as she stared at it with a frown. She glanced up when Shepard and Garrus slid into the bench across from her.
"Commander. Good morning," Miranda said forcing away whatever thoughts were troubling her moments ago and plastering a smile on her face.
"Miranda. Not fond of the muffins, I see," Shepard said.
Garrus watched Miranda with a cold stare. Shepard could tell that he wanted nothing more than to lunge across the table and rip the woman's throat out but he restrained himself. Shepard retuned her gaze to Miranda who was looking at the muffin as if it might provide her with some insight.
"No, the muffin is fine. I'm just… tired. I was up late last night and had trouble sleeping," Miranda said.
"Something to do with our talk yesterday?" Shepard asked raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed. We should talk later, when you're free," Miranda said standing up and taking her breakfast with her she returned to her office.
With Miranda gone, Shepard turned her attention to Garrus.
"So, what did you guys find out about the names on that list?" Shepard asked.
"So far we've been unable to trace two of them, Braden Ross and Terlus Cantis. We think that they must be aliases. I'm still working on it. There was another that linked to Binary Helix, Sarah Fairfield. The last, Bathele Namri, is one that has been known to make trades with the collectors in the past," Garrus said.
"Binary Helix? What the hell would they want with me? You know, I don't think I really want to know," Shepard said. "Do you know the location of Fairfield or Namri?"
"I do, Fairfield is on Noveria. She took over the facilities after you killed Benezia and destroyed the hot labs. Namri is on Omega," Garrus said.
"Alright, we'll work them in when we can," Shepard said.
"I'll let you know when I find something on the others. The Shadow Broker is still the most alarming. If he's after you, Shepard, he isn't going to give up. He has agents everywhere," Garrus said.
"I know. We'll deal with him, too," Shepard said.
Garrus watched her quietly for a minute before nodding his head and turning back to his breakfast. When they were finished, Garrus made his way to the main battery while Shepard went to suit up. She had EDI inform Mordin and Jack that they would be going with her groundside and to send a driver for the shuttle for this one. Twenty minutes later she went to the shuttle to find Garrus waiting with the others. She smirked but didn't comment. They piled in the shuttle and waited for the hangar door to open.
They hangar opened and the driver, a Cerberus member of the crew named Robert Dickens, maneuvered the shuttle out of the hangar and down towards Korlus. Dickens was one of many of the Cerberus crew who had dodged Shepard's attempts to get to know him and truth be told, she was fine with that. She did however know that his family had been taken by the collectors in one of the earlier attacks on a human colony. It seemed like a lot of those chosen to serve on the Normandy had lost people to the collectors. It made sense that they would be chosen, or volunteer to serve on the ship that was tasked with taking the collectors down.
The shuttle landed amidst the wreckage of what was once a city. Skeletal frames from destroyed buildings dotted the landscape. Hills of crumbled concrete and jagged pieces of metal littered the ground. Shepard and her team emptied out of the shuttle and took cover behind a fallen metal pillar while the shuttle took off back into the air to return to the Normandy.
Jedore's voice could be heard over the loudspeaker saying, "There is only one measure of success: Kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal."
"I already want to kill this person," Jack said.
"Well, if you're lucky you'll get your chance," Shepard said. "Weapons out, people."
She moved her team forward through the debris. As they were approaching a flight of stairs, Shepard gave orders to stay low and seek cover. She moved up the stairs and ducked behind a metal barricade while firing on the handful of Blue Suns mercs ahead. Mordin used his incinerate to light one of them on fire and the man's screams echoed off the metal sheeting along the path. Jack used her biotics to pull one of the mercs out into the open and Garrus finished him off. His body fell back to the ground with a soft thud on the other side of Shepard's cover.
They moved forward up the metal ramp and Shepard paused where Jane's memories said she should find a wounded merc to pump for information. Instead she found a very dead merc taken down with a clean headshot. Probably Garrus' kill, Shepard decided. She moved on, it didn't matter she already knew everything the man would have told her though it was something she had wanted Mordin to hear.
They rounded a corner past a dead krogan and Shepard dove for cover, her team doing the same. Blue Suns fired on them from a balcony across the way, ducking behind the safeguard in between shots. It didn't do them a lot of good facing biotics able to pull them off of the balcony to float around helplessly while being shot at. Moving down and around the corner more mercs showed themselves on catwalks. Shepard growled in frustration as she ducked down behind cover and used her reave to suck the life right out of one of the mercs. It seemed so foolish to her, the way they kept lining themselves up to be shot down.
Shepard kept her team moving forward, from cover to cover taking down mercs as they threw themselves at her. She had to stop once to get Jack back on her feet. Sometimes Shepard was amazed that Jack managed to stay alive without armor but then she would catch the powerful displays of biotic destruction that Jack was capable of and realized that she stayed alive by making sure her enemies died before she did. It was that simple.
They rounded a corner and Shepard spotted a krogan firing at mercs on a balcony. She motioned to her team to provide the krogan with support, sending Mordin and Garrus towards the krogan while she and Jack provided covering fire. Once the last Blue Suns fell from the balcony, Shepard moved over to talk to the tank-bred krogan. The krogan turned towards Shepard and walked slowly over to her. Her team raised their weapons and Shepard raised a hand to halt their fire. The krogan leaned in close to Shepard, smelling her through his breather helmet.
"You are… different. New. You don't smell like this world. Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you… something makes me speak," the krogan said backing away from Shepard.
While Jack and Mordin discussed the krogan's declaration that he was only a week old, Garrus moved up next to Shepard.
"Can you show us to Okeer?" Garrus asked the krogan.
"The voice, "Father". Yes, he is in the lab past more of you weak, fleshy things," the krogan answered Garrus question, but directed it at Shepard.
"Listen, I know that you've been told to stay here but Okeer isn't going to be here much longer and you're going to be left on your own. Just you and whatever others like you that have survived. What will you do?" Shepard asked as concern for the unstable krogan settled in around her.
Mordin opened his scanner and waved it in front of the krogan. He muttered to himself while he reviewed the results.
"I will stay here until released. This is my purpose," the krogan said as he turned away.
Shepard followed after him and watched as the krogan picked up a thick metal sheet that acted as part of a wall and threw it aside, opening the path for her and her team.
"But how will you know when you are released if Okeer isn't here to tell you?" Shepard asked.
"I don't know. I know that I must stay here and fight until then. I failed; I was not perfect and so removed from glass-mother. I must stay here and survive, resist, ignore. That is my purpose now," the krogan said.
Shepard heaved a sigh and shook her head. Garrus put a hand on her shoulder.
"Alright. Thank you," Shepard said before leading her team through the opening.
"Physically fit, mentally unstable. What is Okeer attempting to accomplish? Genophage still present in krogan. Krogan numbers not a concern. Wouldn't send them out here to die," Mordin said.
Shepard glanced back at Mordin over her shoulder and said, "He's trying to create the perfect krogan. The ones out here weren't perfect, so he cast them aside. They're being used as target practice. Just one of the many desperate ways that the krogans have sought to reclaim the heritage the genophage stole from them."
"Genophage was necessary. Krogan population out of control. Threat to entire galactic stability. Krogan uplifted, given technology and knowledge before their time. Genophage correction of that mistake," Mordin said.
"Action was necessary, but I don't agree that the genophage was the only or even the best course of action. The krogan have suffered greatly because of the genophage, Mordin. Something could have been done to help them rectify the situation since the Krogan Rebellions," Shepard said.
"You need to talk to him about his work on the genophage. It's important. I think out conversations help him to see the damage done. Of course, Eve really drives the point home just by being there but I think our talks are important," Jane said.
More mercs rounded the corner at the bottom of the ramp and started firing, ending the conversation for the time being. The only cover was at the bottom of the ramp so they worked together to take the mercs out swiftly before charging down the ramp. More tank-bred krogans were in this area, they did not discriminate between the mercs and Shepard's team as the last one had. Shepard switched to her shotgun and loaded it with her incendiary ammo. Jack used a shockwave to push the krogans back, it didn't topple them the way it would a human but it helped keep them from charging. Garrus used his concussive shots to take out the shields on as many krogan as he could before Shepard hit them with a couple of shotgun blasts. When a wounded krogan got a little too close to the edge of the platforms, Shepard used her biotic charge and knocked them off to fall the several stories to the ground below.
Fighting through berserk krogans was grueling work but luckily they weren't organized and her team was. They slowly pushed their way forward over the maze-like platform bridges laid over the looming chasms, connecting the scattered pieces of solid ground. Jedore's voice boomed orders over the loudspeaker warning Shepard of the next wave of mercs before they arrived.
They pushed forward up a ramp where Garrus hacked through the security on a closed door. Sounds of gunfire and mercs yelling through their mics could be heard as Shepard led them up two more ramps. Jack and Mordin cleared the room at the top of the ramps of anything valuable before moving to cover. Shepard pressed her back to the door frame and hit the door controls. As soon as the door slid open, her team started firing on the mercs just on the other side. Shepard checked to see that their side was clear before moving forward to duck down behind the metal railing of the balcony outside the door.
More mercs fired at them from the balcony across the way. Garrus took one down with a headshot before moving out to follow Shepard. Jack pulled one from the balcony and Mordin set him on fire while he floated in the air. A few more shots and the mercs were all down. Shepard moved her team down the walkway to the next door. Diving in the room she drew enemy fire to her position while her team took cover. She used her charge to close the distance, slamming into one of the mercs and knocking him back before ending his life with her shotgun. Shepard pressed her back to the wall and continued to fire from cover. Mordin used his cryoblast tech to snap-freeze a merc. Garrus shot the frozen merc, shattering him into pieces. More mercs filed out of the door, firing rocket launchers as Shepard pushed forward, claiming ground and taking cover.
When the last merc was dead, Shepard moved to the door and up more ramps to other merc filled rooms. Turian, batarian, human; it didn't matter. They all fell just the same under the punishment that Shepard's team dealt. Shepard kept them moving forward, taking out every Blue Suns merc that stood in their way. Shepard hit that area of battle haze where she stopped thinking and was moving on instinct alone. Her instinct, Jane's memories, they blended together becoming one as she moved from room to room, ramp to ramp, platform to platform. Shepard only stopped to check her team, making sure that injuries were slathered with medi-gel when required and to let them scour rooms for tech and supplies.
When finally they reached Okeer in his labs, Shepard put her gun away. She ignored Okeer's greeting and send her team to secure the door and gather what they could from the room. Shepard walked up to the large tank next to Okeer and put her hand on the glass. Fully grown, and fully armored, Grunt slept in the tank surrounded by some liquid acting as amniotic fluid for the krogan. Okeer watched Shepard with confusion before approaching the tank next to her.
"My legacy. Perfect in every way. Not that you can appreciate that, Shepard," Okeer said.
Shepard glanced at Okeer and said, "Here's where you tell me all about how every krogan knows me because of my actions on Virmire, right?"
Okeer chuckled, a deep, gravely sound completely void of humor.
"Indeed, we do. But you did the right thing on Virmire," said Okeer. "Those whelps Saren was creating were not true krogan. They would have stained the krogan, spreading their inferiority though numbers. My work here will renew the krogan, not just restoring us to our glory of days of old but raising our entire species beyond what we ever could have hoped to be with the Council's 'uplifting'. My legacy will purify the krogan; the genophage will be obsolete, ignored."
Mordin approached the tank and opened his omni-tool, preparing to scan Grunt. Okeer moved over and shoved Mordin back.
"And you bring a salarian turian with you? Do you think to insult me with their presence, Shepard?" Okeer said staring Mordin down.
Jack and Garrus raised their weapons, leveling them at the pissed off old krogan. Mordin stood his ground, blinking in boredom.
"I quite honestly don't give a damn if you're insulted or not, Okeer. I'm not here to stroke your ego but to recruit you. The collectors are abducting human colonies, but soon enough they'll move to other species. We're going to stop them, and we could use your help," Shepard said. "Though your help is secondary to the safety of my team, I suggest you not put your hands on one of mine again unless you want to lose them."
Okeer swung his giant head in Shepard's direction, weighing her with his golden eyes. A smirk spread across the warlord's mouth and he chuckled.
"Perhaps you do understand krogan, Shepard," Okeer said turning his back on Mordin.
Mordin stepped back towards the tank and completed his scan, utterly ignoring Okeer's glare.
"I've heard of these abductions. My attention, of course, was turned elsewhere. I might have information for you on the collectors. I've traded with them, many krogans for technology that was used to create my legacy; my template of krogan perfection. First, you must get me and my prototype out of here. Jedore has grown impatient and frustrated by her own inability to take charge of the krogan I have given her," Okeer said.
Jedore's voice came over the intercom and said, "Attention! I have traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course. I'm calling 'blank-slate' on this project. Gas these commandos and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"
Gas began venting into the room and Okeer scrambled to secure Grunt's tank. Shepard was already moving her team towards the far door, already knowing what needed to be done when Okeer spoke.
"Weak-willed human! Shepard, you want my help then stop her! She'll be in the storage bay with the rejected tanks," Okeer barked.
"I'm on it," Shepard said leaving Okeer to scramble at his console.
She ushered her team down the ramps and into the storage bay. She rushed in and took cover behind an incubation tank, signaling her team to do the same. Jedore stood across the room next to an inactive YMIR mech. Tanks started to open and one by one the tank-bred berserkers rushed Shepard's team. The YMIR rose to its full height and started firing rockets across the room, slowly making its way towards Shepard. She switched to her ML-77 Missile Launcher and focused on the YMIR mech, relying on her team to keep the krogan off of her.
When the YMIR exploded, she quickly switched back to her shotgun and charged at the nearest closing krogan knocking him back before firing her shotgun into his chest. Shepard moved past him, dodging another krogan to get into a position of cover where she could fire on Jedore. Her team worked together to take care of the krogan before vying for positions to help Shepard finish off Jedore. Shepard didn't make it easy for them, though, because she used her charge to close in on Jedore and stayed in the woman's face, keeping her off balance and removing her ability to use her rocket launcher. The Blue Suns commander was not nearly the match she thought she would be for Shepard and her crew.
Alarms started to blare from upstairs where Okeer's lab was. EDI's voice came through Shepard's mic telling her that the alarms were due to a systems failure. Okeer's life signs were fading and the room was filled with toxins. Shepard moved her team back up the ramps to Okeer's labs, already knowing what she would find when she got there. The door opened up to reveal Okeer's body slumped on the floor and a video recording playing on his console.
"You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the collectors wanted humans I would tell you," the video image of Okeer said.
"Damn," Jack said.
"Loss of warlord unexpected. Still, his prototype could be useful. Contains collector tech, could retrieve some of the tech with simple procedures," Mordin began.
"No. That's not happening. He's coming with us and we're letting him out of that tank once we get him back on the Normandy," Shepard said.
Shepard went over to Okeer's console and turned to the others before saying, "See what data you can find. Take anything that even remotely looks useful."
"But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This… one soldier, this grunt. Perfect," Okeer said on the video.
"Suggest leaving it, if not going to use it for research. Could be unstable, dangerous," Mordin said.
"He's not, we're taking him with us," Shepard said.
"How do you know?" Jack asked.
Shepard looked at Jack and said, "I just do."
"Right. Whatever. Makes fuck of a difference to me," said Jack.
"Why not let him out now?" Garrus asked.
Shepard considered it for a moment and shrugged before tapping a few buttons on the console. The hydraulic lifts supporting the tank began to move, lowering it to the ground and setting it upright. The liquid supporting Grunt began to flush from the tank into the slots in the floor beneath him. Grunt opened his big blue eyes and they locked on Shepard.
"Move back, and stay out of it. I've got this," Shepard said to the others.
Garrus hesitated only for a heartbeat before stepping back with the others. The tank opened and Grunt stumbled out, landing on his knees as he coughed the fluid from his lungs. He rose to his feet with speed and slammed Shepard against the wall. She expected the action, and braced herself for the impact, making sure her still healing head didn't slam into the wall as well. She had her helmet on and it would have absorbed some of the impact, but she didn't want to push it and give herself a headache if not a concussion. Shepard's pistol was wedged between her and the krogan. Grunts forearm pushed against her collarbone, pinning her to the wall. His eyes slid away from her to take in the other three in the room before turning his penetrating gaze back to Shepard.
"Human females. Turian male. Salarian male. Before I kill you all, I need a name," he said.
Garrus and Jack raised their guns, Mordin ran fingers over his omni-tool preparing combat tech to use against the krogan. Shepard raised her free hand towards her crew. Hesitantly they lowered their weapons but kept them out.
"Grunt. Your name is Grunt," Shepard said.
"Grunt. Yes, it has no meaning. Okeer's words were hollow, his imprint meaningless without a connection to me, he failed. Many words he spoke, warlord, legacy, grunt. Grunt will do. You command these others. Prove yourself worthy of that command and try to destroy me," Grunt said.
"No. Fight with me instead, Grunt. Not against me. I fight worthy enemies, enemies you will be proud to destroy," Shepard said.
"If you prove yourself weak, if your enemies are weak, I'll have to kill you," Grunt said.
"If you decide I'm weak, you're welcome to try," Shepard said tapping the pistol against his armor.
Grunt looked down at the gun and started laughing before he told Shepard, "Ha! Wise of you. Offer one hand but arm the other. I will fight for you for now. Perhaps someday I will have a clan of my own and I will be honored to pit them against you, human."
Grunt released Shepard and she put her pistol away.
"I am Commander Shepard, this is Garrus, Mordin, and Jack," Shepard said.
"I can smell the turian on you. You are his mate," Grunt said.
Shepard offered him a lopsided smile as Jack laughed raucously. She touched her mic and let Joker know they were ready for pickup. She turned back to Grunt and indicated Okeer's body.
"He died making sure he could save you. Do you want to bury him or anything?" Shepard asked.
Grunt walked over to Okeer and rolled his corpse over to look at the old krogan's face.
"He was weak. Leave him for the scavengers," Grunt said.
"Alright," Shepard said stepping over Okeer's corpse.
Shepard downloaded Okeer's files before turning back to the group.
"Shuttle should be here shortly, let's get down there," Shepard said.
She led them back down to the nearest area the shuttle could land and waited for it to drop out of the sky. It was a little tight with the four of them plus Grunt, so Shepard climbed in the passenger seat for the ride. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Grunt engaged in a staring contest with the Mordin and Garrus. Jack sat with her head leaning against the shuttle wall and her eyes closed like she really couldn't care less about the big krogan sitting across from her.
The shuttle flew inside of the Normandy and the hangar door closed behind them. Once the air pressure was normalized, Shepard hopped out of the passenger seat and opened the doors for those in the back. Grunt lumbered out of the shuttle and looked around the hangar before turning to watch the others climb out behind him.
"EDI, please ask the rest of the crew to meet in the comm room in five," Shepard said.
"Right away, Shepard," EDI replied.
"Come on, Grunt. I've got to introduce you to everyone and then I'll take you somewhere to set up, alright?" Shepard asked.
Grunt shrugged his massive shoulders and rolled his head around on his neck before saying, "OK. Got anything to eat around here?"
"Yeah, we'll get you something right after the meeting. It'll be brief," Shepard said.
They crossed the hangar and made their way up to the comm room. Miranda and Jacob were already waiting, Zaeed and Grundan Krul walked in right after Shepard with Legion not far behind. Shepard glanced around the room.
"Where's Kasumi?" she asked.
"I'm right here!" Kasumi said dropping her tactical cloak and appearing right behind Jacob.
"My apologies, Dr. Okeer, but we expected someone much… older," Jacob said in confusion.
"He's not Okeer," Shepard said.
"Oh. Well, where's Okeer?" Jacob asked.
"Dead," Grunt said.
Jacob raised an eyebrow.
"Okeer was growing krogans in tanks; he was attempting to create a pure, perfect krogan. Grunt here is the accumulation of his experiments. Okeer gave his life to make sure Grunt lived. Grunt agreed to join us," Shepard said simplifying the story.
Miranda crossed her arms, "What can he offer us? We wanted Okeer because of the knowledge he possessed."
"Okeer's dead, Miranda. There was nothing we could do. He was working with a Blue Suns commander, a Jedore, and she decided he wasn't worth her time anymore. Grunt here will prove to be an asset, I assure you," Shepard said.
Miranda pursed her lips and nodded her head in understanding.
"OK, the krogan's hungry so unless one of you wants to be his first meal I suggest we make introductions quick and get him something to eat," Shepard said.
Grunt's chuckle brought a smile to Shepard's face. She pointed to Miranda first.
"Miranda Lawson. Commander Shepard's second in command," Miranda said.
"Jacob Taylor," Jacob said offering his hand and then dropping it when Grunt stared at it in confusion.
"Kasumi Goto," Kasumi said with a flourish and a light bow.
"Grundan Krul," the batarian said with a nod.
"Zaeed. You don't need to know my goddamn last name," Zaeed said.
Shepard sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Good, I don't want to know your goddamn last name," Grunt replied.
"You've met Mordin, Jack, and Garrus. This is Legion," Shepard said stepping to the side to indicate the geth half hidden behind her.
The plating around Legion's optics fluttered and he said, "Greetings."
"EDI?" Shepard said.
EDI's blue hologram popped up in the middle of the table.
"Yes, Shepard?" EDI asked.
"Introduce yourself, EDI," Shepard said.
"Hello, Grunt. I am EDI, it is short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence. You may access any of my nodes spread throughout the ship if you are in need of assistance or have any questions," EDI said.
Grunt eyed everyone in the room, clearly unsure of how to look intimidating to EDI's hologram and nodded.
"Can we eat now?" Grunt asked.
Shepard chuckled and led him to the mess hall. Mess Sergeant Gardner's eyes bulged in his head when Shepard presented him with Grunt.
"Gardner, meet Grunt. He's hungry, get him something, please. He's going to eat about three to four times as much as even Kasumi does," Shepard said.
"Hey! You can't blame a girl for liking to eat. Being a thief is hard work, you know," Kasumi said appearing beside Grunt.
Grunt turned his head to look at the petite human woman before saying, "She's so tiny. She can't eat that much."
Shepard and Gardner both laughed. Kasumi pretended to pout. Gardner turned towards the refrigerated stasis chamber and began pulling food out. Shepard waited for Grunt to be settled down at a table filling his stomach before heading to her cabin to change. She came back down a few minutes later and Grunt was still shoveling food into his mouth so she stepped over and knocked on Miranda's cabin door.
Shepard walked in when invited and settled into a chair across from Miranda's desk. She steepled her fingers and waited for Miranda to gather her thoughts.
"I did some research. I… wasn't able to verify everything you said, and of course there was no way to verify the things that haven't happened yet…," Miranda said.
"And what did you find?" Shepard asked.
"Shepard, I owe you an apology," Miranda said.
Shepard raised an eyebrow.
"You were right. About Cerberus, about the Illusive Man. I found far more than I bargained for and I can't believe that I never even thought to look that closely before. I should have been more willing to listen to you, I should have taken your warnings seriously. I'm sorry," Miranda said.
"Now that you have this information, the question is, what are you going to do with it, Miranda?" Shepard asked.
She wanted to demand that she admit to the damn control chips and apologize for those, but she kept that to herself for now. Miranda got up from her chair and started pacing the room. Her fingertips worried at her hairline as she thought.
"I don't know. What can I do? We're talking about a secret organization here with a reach even further than either of us is likely to know… and right now, we need Cerberus to stop the collectors," Miranda said.
"So we use what we can for now, and when we come across something that we can stop, we do," Shepard offered.
"That's it? I thought you wanted to go kill the Illusive Man?" Jane asked.
"I do, but I don't want to rush this. If I push her too much, I could lose her," Shepard thought.
Miranda turned towards Shepard and nodded her head before saying, "I... I don't know, Shepard. I need to think about this. I wanted to tell you though; you don't need to worry about the videos. I'm not sending anything to the Illusive Man and your secrets are safe."
"That's unexpected. I didn't think she'd cooperate. Ask her about the chips," Jane said.
"Not yet," Shepard thought.
"Thank you, Miranda," Shepard said.
"Yes, of course. Before you leave… I need to ask you for something," Miranda said.
"About your sister?" Shepard asked rising to her feet.
"Yes," Miranda said.
"Contact's on Illium?" Shepard asked.
"Right. It shouldn't take a lot of time, I just want to make sure –," Miranda said.
Shepard held up a hand to halt her before saying, "It's alright Miranda. We'll help Oriana. We've got to go to Illium soon anyway. The Illusive Man should be forwarding me more dossiers soon, two of which are located on Illium. We've got time. For now, just report to the Illusive Man as usual. Let him know about Grunt, and Okeer's death."
"Yes, of course. Thank you, Shepard," Miranda said.
Shepard nodded her head and left Miranda's office to grab something to eat herself. Gardner had a tray ready for her, piled high with thick slices of fried ham and eggs. Shepard thanked him and carried the tray over to sit across from Grunt. She used her fork to cut off a piece of ham and put it in her mouth while watching the krogan rip into a hunk of ham with hands and teeth alone. He studied her while he barely chewed his food, swallowing most of it whole.
"Do you have any questions?" Shepard asked in between bites.
"When do we start killing things?" Grunt asked around the food in his mouth.
"Quite likely at our next destination," Shepard said.
"Good," Grunt said and that was that.
Shepard cleaned her plate and waited for Grunt to finally finish his before walking with him back over to Gardner to deliver their used dishes to the Mess Sergeant. She then led Grunt to the elevator and down to the engineering deck to the port cargo. EDI unlocked the door for them and Shepard hit the controls to open the door before leading Grunt inside.
"This will be your area. We'll get you a cot set up if you like, and you can store your belongings in here. This room is normally cargo, so from time to time you may need to allow others to enter to store or retrieve something but it shouldn't be a common occurrence. Otherwise, you're free to check out the rest of the ship and the meet everyone onboard," Shepard said.
Grunt looked around the room for a minute before asking, "Can I move things around?"
"Sure, as long as it isn't bolted down or going to break anything. If you aren't sure, EDI can tell you what's safe to move," Shepard said.
"EDI, the blue thing," Grunt said.
"Yeah, she's an AI," Shepard said.
"Like the geth you called Legion," Grunt said.
"Yeah. That a problem for you?" Shepard asked.
"Not unless they make themselves problems for me," Grunt said.
"Good, glad to hear it. I'll leave you to get settled in. I'm going back up to the CIC to set course for our next destination," Shepard said turning to leave.
"What's Cerberus?" Grunt asked.
Shepard halted in her tracks and turned back to face the young krogan. She leaned a hip against the wall and crossed her arms.
"Cerberus is a secretive human organization. They claim to only want to look after humanity's interests, but many of their methods are deplorable. I am not a fan of Cerberus. Unfortunately, right now, they're the only ones who can give me what I need to take down the collectors. Consider it a temporary alliance," Shepard said.
Grunt nodded his head thoughtfully but didn't say anything else. Shepard waited a couple of minutes before heading towards the door once more.
"If you have anything else you want to ask me, come find me or ask EDI to notify me and I'll come see you when I'm free," Shepard said as she left the port cargo.
Back at the galaxy map, Shepard entered the coordinates for Gellix. She needed to know that Talitha was alright and having the chance this life, she was going to see if she could put a dent in Cerberus' indoctrination efforts. Shepard closed the map and made her way to the elevator, taking it up to her cabin.
Shepard had barely settled into her desk chair when EDI's hologram activated.
"Ms. Vael has entered your cabin as her destination on the elevator. Shall I allow her in?" EDI asked.
"Yes, EDI. Thanks," Shepard said.
A minute later the cabin door slid open and the young quarian stepped hesitantly inside. Shepard stood up from her desk and gestured towards the stairs that led to her couch.
"Hey, Lia. Come on in, have a seat," Shepard said.
"Oh, uh, OK. Thanks," Lia said moving down into the private areas of the cabin.
Shepard settled down on the couch across from Lia.
"Did you figure out where you wanted to go?" Shepard asked.
"Well, about that… I was wondering if… that is if it wouldn't be too much trouble… I'd really like to stay on the Normandy for a while," Lia said.
Shepard leaned back against the cushions and studied the nervous quarian.
"Oh don't act like you didn't see that coming," Jane said.
"What about your Pilgrimage?" Shepard asked.
"I don't know, honestly. I just… I like it here and I really like being able to talk to Legion. Everyone has been so nice to me and… maybe I could help out somehow. Legion is teaching me about code and hacking, and Dr. Chakwas is teaching me about medicine so maybe I can even go on a mission sometime," Lia said hopefully.
Shepard smiled and said, "Tali's going to kill me for this. Alright, Lia. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. Who knows, maybe we'll find something for your Pilgrimage. You need to know though, and I mean really, really know that this is going to be dangerous. You could be hurt or killed."
Lia perked up and nodded her head rapidly saying, "Oh, thank you! I know, I mean, I understand the dangers involved and I promise that I will do whatever you say and… oh, thank you!"
Shepard laughed at her enthusiasm and waved her off.
"Go on, go tell everyone you're staying," Shepard said.
Lia all but raced from the cabin and Shepard settled back in at her desk. She opened the laptop and reviewed her messages. There was already one from the Illusive Man commenting on Shepard's decision to bring Grunt along in Okeer's place but stating that it was her call. New dossiers for Thane and Samara were attached to a second message from the Illusive Man. Shepard nibbled at her lip. Normally she would receive a dossier for Tali at the same time. She knew where Tali was through, and she knew Tali was doing what she needed to do. She would see her friend again soon enough.