Chapter 12

Aftermath and decisions

Sooo...this chapter will be a bit shorter than usual. Just the aftermath of the mission, some discussions between some members of the crew and stuff like that.

A bit annoying for some maybe, but necessary for the good prosecution of the story.

Anyway, let's us begin.

Edit: i read the comment about me writing IA instead of AI. My mistake. In my language (Italian) artificial intelligence is translated as "intelligenza artificiale" or IA and i am so used to this name that most of the time my brain does not even registrate this mistake. I will try to correct all of them.

Normandy's bridge. 10 minutes after the Haestrom's mission.

"Shepard. Why is there a sword inside the armory? I though your people stopped using them centuries ago!"

It was Tali's voice and, for the first time in Shepard had no idea how much, the commander felt a touch of genuine, utter surprise lacing the young engineer's words.

A surprise that Shepard understood perfectly. A sword? Inside a modern armory? Utterly ridiculous, until you see the person using it in action.

-I wonder what would admiral Mikhailovich says this time, in case of an inspection.- mused Shepard

-Last time he almost had a stroke because I let Wrex wander freely inside the ship. If only he could be here right now!-

Shepard and his squad had reached the Normandy after a short and, thankfully, lackluster travel. For some reasons the Geths refused to pursue them after the battle, a small blessing that Shepard immediately accepted, and in less than five minutes the Normandy escaped from the Haestrom's system, moving toward more secure space. All of Shepard's squad members simply moved back toward their posts once the mission was over and only Jacob sticked around the bridge for some time, trying to make Tali feels at least a bit at home.

It didn't work out, especially when Tali told Jacob flat on his face that he was here only because of Shepard, all while accusing Jacob of not knowing about Cerberus's attacks against the migrant's fleet. Thankfully Shepard was ready to defuse this explosive situation and quickly offered Tali to have a long, accurate tour along the ship.

From the main deck to the hangar, from the smallest quarters to the most important offices, Shepard showed to Tali everything but the engineering room (with the intention to leave that place as the icing on the cake) and in doing so, Tali discovered that Shepard was right: compared to this, the Normandy's old crew appeared normal, almost mundane in comparison: a tattooed biotic with one hell of a temper, a thief, a mercenary, Cerberus operative, a Salarian doctor, a teenager Krogan and much, much more! But nothing surprised Tali more, during this little tour, than seeing a giant, double edged black sword quietly resting inside the armory!

"That is Lena's sword, more known in the galaxy as the Ripper. Do Quarians know something about her?" answered Shepard with half a smile

"You have the Ripper inside your ship? As an operative!?" Tali almost screamed inside her helmet. A reaction that left Shepard mildly surprised. Apparently Lena's fame was far more widespread that he had previously imaginated.

"So, you know about her?" commented Shepard. Tali scoffed at this

"Know about her? Shepard, that woman destroyed every theory about biological and genetic engineering ever created in the galaxy in less than two years! Many Quarian scientists inside the Migrant's fleet are ready to sell their soul in exchange of a piece of her flesh, claiming that inside her hyper-regenerative abilities lies the cure for our people. The admiralty even considered the option of blitskrieging Omega for some time."

Now that was one hell of a piece of information! And one that Shepard did not liked in the absolute slightest.

"You and your people should forget about this: apart from the danger of trying to capture and detain a force of nature like Lena, her mutations are not as stable and beneficial as you might think. Some days ago Lena almost died during a battle, and both doctor Chackwas and Mordin tried to save her by improving her already insane healing abilities."

"And they succeeded?" asked Tali curious

"In a way yes, but..." answered Shepard "You know what, I will simply show you." With some quick commands Shepard activate his omni-tool and opened a specific file, one simply called -disaster averted.-

It was a registration of Lena's rampage inside the infirmary, a registration of the day the Claymore almost killed doctor Chackwas and mutated in some kind of hellish beast. Tali looked at the registration with rapt eyes; she shuddered at Lena's distorted, mutated voice calling for flesh and blood. Her mind struggled to accept that the strange, spiked creature ready to tear the doctor apart with her fangs could truly be a human being. She almost shouted when she saw that...thing ripping Chackwas's shirt and moving its fangs toward her stomach, her mouth salivating like a rabid Varren. In the end no one died, for the joy of Tali: the Rip- no, Lena, she somehow managed to block the beast inside her, forcing it to go back inside whatever hellhole had generated her, just a second before Shepard managed to enter inside the infirmary, weapons already hot.

Still, the girl's sight of relief could be easily heard inside the entire ship.

"Keelah! That was terrifying! And you say that all of this happened because the doctor tampered a bit with her genetic matrix?"

"Pretty much." Confirmed Shepard "Still, Lena proved to me that she is more than capable to keep in check her inner beast, as long as no one poke it with a needle. Combine this with her amazing kill count and acceptable behavior, and I assure you that you cannot hope for a better soldier to watch your back. Besides, a girl with such a cute and lovable daughter cannot be that bad."

"Wait" said Tali stopping Shepard "The Ripper has a daughter?"

"Yep" smiled Shepard "And now that I think of it, I believe you should meet them, both of them. Lena because she will fight with you during our mission and Raina well….it is better if they explain this to you."

If masks could show emotions, Tali's visor would have been a giant question mark by now

"What do you mean with the last part, Shepard?" asked Tali intrigued. Shepard simply smiled

"Oh, you shall see."

"So, this is the engineering room." stated Shepard. The tour was finally over and, as expected by the commander, Shepard finally had the pleasure to see her dear friend Tali transforming from a serious combat engineer to an overly excited teenager in less than a second.

The giant, trumping energy core of the ship purred like a newborn cat in the Quarian's ears, calling for her touch and expertise, and Tali almost jumped on the nearest consoles after hearing its call.

"So, what do you think about it?" asked Shepard smiling. Tali refused to answer for some time. Her hands explored every nook and cranny of the ship's plating, feeling the energy of the ship, its lifeblood, coursing through pipes and circuits. Her mask's sensor went into overload, the person inside it capturing the ship's internal melody.

"It is" stuttered Tali in awe "Amazing! Even stronger than the old Normandy; so advanced and somehow...feral. This ship has so much potential! It just need the proper guidance."

"Glad that you like it. Now, the crew inside the engineering team is composed by thirteen members, but the most important ones are about to arrive, together with their little pet project. They shall be your main helpers." stated Shepard and, as if recalled, both Kenneth and Gabby appeared inside the engineering bay, with Raina and Lena tailing moving behind them.

"Tali" Introduced Shepard "Let me introduce you our best engineers, Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly." both saluted her in a military way "And the agent Lena, more known as the Ripper, alongside her daughter Raina." Lena's face remained stone cold, barely greeting Tali's arrival with a small gesture of her head. Raina, on the other hand, looked at Tali with an excited face.

"Well...easy soldiers" said Tali to the two engineers, surprised by their military salute "No need for that."

"If you says so" answered Kenneth. The boy quickly lost his military composure and greeted Tali with a handshake

"Welcome on board, chief. If only half of what Shepard said about you is true then it will be a pleasure working with you!"

"Everything I said about her is true." commented Shepard abruptly, touched by the comment. Kenneth simply waved both his hands in mock defeat.

Tali looked first at both Kenneth and Gabriella, then at Lena and Raina. The young Quarian did not fully trusted the two Cerberus engineers, that was quite obvious, but their mirth looked sincere. Were they worthy of her trust, were these people not like your average Cerberus goon? Tali decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, for now.

"Pleasure to know you." said finally Tali. She offered them her hand and greeted them.

"Miss Lena." then said Tali

"Only Lena please" murmured Lena quietly

"Lena" continued Tali "What brings you here? No offense but you do not look like an engineer and I hope Shepard did not dragged you away from your cabin only to greet me."

"No, Shepard did nothing of that sort." said Lena with neutral voice "But, you see, Shepard declaimed your expertise for days, and when yesterday someone" the Claymore emphasized this word while looking at Raina "discovered that you were the next person to recruit, said someone begged me to ask the commander if you are willing to become a teacher for her."

This was the last thing Tali could expect to hear from the tall warrior. Behind her the small human child moved forward with unsure steps, waiting.

"W-well...i" finally stuttered Tali after some seconds, the light of her mask beeping over and over. "Me? A teacher?"

"It would not be that bad, considering that the lass is quite good." intervened Kenneth all of a sudden "I mean, she still has a lot to learn, but yesterday me and Gabby tested her knowledge and she proved to be quite adept at all this! Equations, calculus. You ask it, she know it, or will soon learn it."

"And she is so quick and nimble with her movements." continued Gabby "Biggest problem for new bloods is knowing how to place the right pieces together, but she already know how to move them, probably thanks to that Quarian boy he frequented on Omega."

"Quarian boy?" asked Tali

"Master Keen" this time it was Raina's little voice that intervened "He told me so much and I learned everything. I-i am good, master Tali, I swear! I just want to learn, I can help you."

"Do not stutter dearie, Tali will not eat you!" cooed Gabby softly. The young engineer then turned toward Lena "You know, you can really be proud about Raina: she is an amazing student, and so respectful to booth! She is really more mature than any girl of her age I have ever met."

A compliment that Lena accepted with a bitter smile

-Tend to happen when your teacher use the whip during lessons.-

commented to herself Lena. Many people of the island always wondered why all Claymores proved to be more cultured by merchants, gentry and even some nobles, but the answer in truth was quite simple: you learn at the first try, or you suffer. The Organization's masters wanted their weapons capable to read, write, count and behave so that they could impersonate any necessary role in case of a covert operation and, when stubbornness and ignorance bring you a daily doses of lashes, even the stupidest student learn to focus and quickly master every skill. Raina now simply used that focus for her advantage.

"Anyway, Tali, what are your thoughs?" asked Lena bringing back herself to reality

"Uhh?" asked Tali "Oh sorry, I was lost in thought. Your proposal reminded me of my apprenticeship."

"Apprenticeship?" asked Shepard

"Yes. You see Shepard, we Quarians do not possess any universities." explained Tali "Our nomad's way of life make this impossible to have a ship solely dedicated to such a task and so, when it comes to learning something really long and difficult, we have only two choices: we find a non-Quarian patron that let us enter inside a university or someone else from our people take the youngling as an apprentice. In the latter case the two families, both of the youngling and the possible master, meet and draft a contract depicting the time said youngling will spend with his/her new teacher, possible expenses and so on and so on. That way our elders can directly teach our children and all their knowledge will not disappear. It usually happen one or two years before the pilgrimage."

Tali's voice lowered a little bit for a second, as if lost in thought

"I still remember my apprenticeship: my father wanted the best for her little girl and literally stalked the combat-engineer of a Marine squadron for a month, until he finally accepted me as an apprentice. His parents were not amused by all of this but, in the end, his teachings are what allowed me to survive during my pilgrimage. That and meeting you, Shepard."

"An interesting story." commented Lena "And you desire to draft a contract with me for my daughter? In that case I think we could reach an agreement."

The young Quarian quickly turned her head toward Lena, surprised "What?! No! Your daughter is too little for that kind of things!" Raina's face assumed a truly wretched expression after hearing this "But I am willing to test her from time to time, and to let her stay here with us as long as she does not hinder our work in any way, or obey our orders."

All the gloom on Raina's face suddenly disappeared, replaced with joy. The child launched herself at Tali's legs, almost making her trip, and grabbed them firmly while small tears left her silver eyes

"YES! O thanks teacher Tali! I promise that I shall be the best student." half shouted the child. Tali almost tripped, not having the faintest idea about how to deal with such a reaction. Shepard simply laughed at this.

Thankfully Lena quickly intervened and gently ripped her daughter away from Tali

"Ok Raina, enough harassing your new teacher." she chastised "Remember Galatea's lessons: always be polite and respectful with your elders, as long as they are polite with you in return."

The scolding hit the child like a hammer. Raina quickly left Tali's legs while mumbling some apologies and immediately assumed a more composed position: legs still and body slightly inclined, she bowed toward Tali and simply said

"Thanks for accepting me, Master Tali. I promise that I shall be good."

This time neither Shepard nor Kenneth could suppress a small laughter. Tali on the other hand simply sat on her place, stunned and speechless.

"Ehm...yes. I am sure of it. Welcome aboard." managed to stutter Tali in the end.

"Wonderful!" smiled Shepard "Then let me present you the last member of this strange crew. EDI?"

EDI's usual blue ball appeared inside on of the engineering bay's terminal in less than a flash

"Welcome aboard, chief engineer Tali Zorah Vas Neema. My name is EDI and I am the ship's AI." quipped the artificial voice. Tali literally jumped from her place in response, a reaction expected by everyone but Lena and Raina.

"An AI?!" screamed the girl, this time in pure rage "Shepard, how could you even consider the idea of letting this thing worming its way inside your ship, let alone allow it!"

"Now now, Tali" answered Shepard trying to soothe her "Let's not be hasty." Tali refused to have any of it.

"Hasty? HASTY!?" roared Tali in return "Have you already forgotten the cruelty and malice that reside inside these things!?" the shy, timid girl disappeared under a barrage of truly astonishing fury that left everyone but Shepard speechless "The Geths with Saren, the AI on the Citadel or the insane computer that nearly killed us all on the Moon, Shepard!? Artificial creature cannot be trusted! They are cruel, misshapen and always dangerous. You should simply dispose of that thing before it decide to kill us all."

"Does that mean" answered a small, childish voice "That I am also a monster to dispose off?" It was Raina's voice. The child was now looking directly at Tali's face mask. There was no rage, or anger, inside the child's eye. Only fear.

"Me and mom are like strange EDI." continued Raina. Lena raised an eyebrow at this but refused to comment "We are artificial. Some bad people captured us and placed something inside our bodies. Back at home people always gave us mean names because of this. Monsters, soulless, just like you did now with strange EDI; does this mean that you see both me and mom as monsters, master Tali?"

Tali opened her mouth, then closed it and opened it again. How the hell was she supposed to say against this?! And what was the story behind both Lena and Raina being artificial? They looked quite human in the Quarian's eyes. She tried to look at Shepard for some help but the commander merely smirked and stayed quiet.

-Nope. I am having too much fun right now.- though Shepard while looking at her friend

"Well...the fact is...see" began Tali, but she was unsure about how to respond and remained silent for some long seconds. In the end another creature spoke in her place.

"If I may intervene" EDI's ballon popped back once again "I merely wish to inform chief engineer Tali Zorah that I am unable to harm the crew of the ship in any way. The only way I could actually harm the member of the crew is by poisoning the recycled oxygen and this goes against any philosophical barrier erected by my creators, and I have also been equipped with computer protocols that prevent me for harming any sentient life in any way. Furthermore, chief engineer Tali Zorah can quickly shut down my energy core in case of danger thanks to her security codes."

Finally Tali surrendered

"Keelah, at this point it almost look like I am the bosh'tet inside the ship and not EDI. Fine Shepard, I will forget about the AI inside the ship for now, and no Raina, you and Lena are not some kind of monsters in my eyes. I let my people's past take a hold of me and you proved me wrong." said the girl

"Do not come crying on my shoulder the day this thing tries to kill us all." muttered a second later with hushed voice, but someone still managed to hear this

"What did you just said?" asked Shepard. Lena simply sighted

"Nothing! Nothing." shouted Tali in self-defense.

"Commander" Kelly's voice echoed inside the engineering room "Mordin asked for your presence inside the laboratory. He says it is urgent."

"Message received." answered Shepard "I must go Tali. See you later."

"Later Shepard."

With nothing else to say, both Shepard and Lena left the room.

"Until next time, master Tali." said Raina with a small bow, just before going out.

For some second no one dared to speak inside the engineering room

"That child" said finally Tali to her new colleagues "Is she really that good?

"Two years top, and she is ready to actually work." answered Kenneth quickly "You need to tell her something only once and she will remember it, and her training with this Quarian she keep mumbling about gave her a lot of practical knowledge. If I were in her mother's shoes I would enroll her in the best university of the galaxy the moment she is old enough, previous past be damned."


Laboratory of the Normandy Sr 2. Five minutes later

"You wanted to see me, Mordin?"

The old scientist's face lit the moment he saw Shepard's arrival. The commander noticed the Mordin was FAR more excited than the usual, and that was saying something: the old doctor was moving even faster than usual and research notes flied alongside him wherever he moved. The laboratory itself was packed with instruments, all busy working and beeping once in a while.

"Yes yes! Made interesting discoveries. Symbiotic creature inside agent Lena surpassed every possible hypothesis. So much potential, so many new leads! Not even the Collectors so surprising! One thing before beginning; received some messages from old friends inside the STG: discovered that my old apprentice, Maelon, was sent to Tuchanka for a mission. Disappeared after two weeks, maybe caught. Wanted to ask if possible to go to Tuchanka and look out for him."

"Well...we need to go to Tuchanka in any case so, I do not see any problem." Answered Shepard

"Wonderful, wonderful! Back to the Yoki researches."

The hyper excited doctor quickly typed something on his omni tool and started to work

"EDI, activate my custom made holographic projector inside the laboratory."

"Yes doctor." answered the AI. A second later the light inside the laboratory dimmed and a lot of screens appeared inside the room. All of them depicted Lena's internal body and her various functions, and all of them proved to be totally intelligible for Shepard.

"Ok Mordin, what am i seeing?" asked Shepard

"This" said Mordin with patient voice "Is the normal, double helix structure found inside human genome and this." the old doctor showed another panel "Is agent Lena's current genome. As you can see another helix, one completely alien, merged with the human's ones. Lena is a human possessing a trice-pattern helix. Astonishing discovery all on itself, but this is only the beginning! Look at this."

Another image appeared

"Human possess only forty-six chromosomes, but Lena now possess one hundred and thirty two of them. That is how Lena manage to regenerate wounds and regrow flesh: these new chromosomes not only open up new possibilities, but also re-awaken old knowledge hidden inside the human's ones."

"Wait Mordin, what do you mean with re-awakening? And what about these new possibilities?"

"All creature begin as simple cellular mass until we grow limbs and bodies inside the mother's womb, or the egg!" answered Mordin merrily "Turian, Asari, Human, Salarian, it is a constance in the biology, but we lose that capability properly born. Not in Lena's case: the creature inside Lena can somehow force her brain to remember that time of her life, and use it to regrow lost limbs and organs. Think about the possibilities of this discovery Shepard: no more need of prosthesis, no more need of organ donors; a small use of this substance and the patient shall have a new, fully compatible organ, assuming we can overcome the collateral effects."

"Collateral effects?" asked Shepard

"Procedure not normal for any kind of sentient brain. Great pressure suffered during regeneration. Made tests with Lena and noticed that when regenerating small sized wound Lena's cerebral activity increased of the 123% for ten seconds. Very taxing for young and strong specimens, too dangerous for anyone else. Scans showed also that symbiotic creature tries to overcome original cells every time agent Lena tried to use this yoki substance and must be kept in check by the host otherwise disaster will happen. That is why agent Lena mutated when we tried to save her during Korlus's aftermath: her brain was silent, nothing prevented the creature from overpowering her host for a time."

"Understood." Shepard looked at the scans once again, pondering at Mordin's words "In that case, any luck in controlling this substance with some external means?"

"None for now, Shepard." Said Mordin with regret "Substance is more advanced that expected. Too complex and aggressive; destroyed every agent created to tame it. Another thing."

Another image, this time depicting Lena's whole body, appeared

"Every single part of Lena's body has been changed and improved by the yoki substance: the stomach is four time more efficient than a standard one. Her heart constantly beat at an accelerate rate: standard heartbeat for an average human is 75 per minute, my analysis counted 116 heartbeats per minutes and the subject was in a quiet state; lungs and veins have being modified by the substance with the purpose of enduring this new state without collapsing. Her liver can purify poisons and toxins at an astonishing rate, and an interesting valve regulate the amount of toxins purified by the body."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that agent Lena can overcome some of the deadliest toxins in the galaxy but can still drink alcoholic beverages and get drunk if she wish it. I suspect that some toxins can still harm Lena's body, maybe something that entirely discard the liver like Hanar's toxins, but I need more research before being sure. Another thing I discovered: her cells naturally regenerate at a velocity that I found only while analyzing malignant tumors. At the same time the thyroid glands secrete an unknown hormone that regulate this abnormal process and prevent it from getting out of control. All of this mean that unless there is some other process still unknown to me then agent Lena cannot die of old age."

"What?" this time Shepard almost jumped through the roof of the room "Are you seriously telling me that Lena is immortal?"

"It is a possibility." conceded Mordin "Still need more data."

This time Shepard found a seat and collapsed on it, digesting the informations. Super strong, agile, resilient and potentially immortal?! Was this some kind of joke?! No wonder the old scientist was so giddy.

"Something else you discovered?" asked Shepard after some seconds.

"Yes yes! One more thing: discovered the main body of Lena's symbiotic creature." Replied Mordin. With one gesture he opened another image, one depicting Lena's full body. Shepard looked at the image with attention, expecting to see the main body of...whatever was inside Lena in the middle section. That it was the main body of Lena's scar was situated after all. Instead the screen's video camera in front of him moved upward; it surpassed the heart, the lungs, the entire chest, the neck, the upper brain and finally….

Shepard took a long breath, he steadied himself and finally, after trying to not shout, he simply pointed the finger at the screen and said

"Mordin, in name of everything that is holy, what the fuck is that thing?"

The screen showed….well, Shepard was not sure how to call it: it appeared as some kind of purplish-red tentacled thing. It was quite small to be honest, but it had somehow managed to latch itself on Lena's cerebellum. The thing was clearly alive, Shepard saw it moving its small tentacles with purpose inside Lena's brain.

"This is the main body of the yoma creature. Scans show that from here the inputs necessary to create the yoki substance inside Lena's cells are sent." answered Mordin quickly, as if all of this was quite obvious

"But Lena's scar is on her chest!" shouted Shepard this time "Not on her head. Are you really imply that this...thing crawled its way toward Lena's head from the inside? It must have been atrociously painful!"

"Correct, and many died during this process. Spoke a bit with agent Lena, she told me that many subjects like her were kidnapped because of high mortality rate. Not surprised by this. This made me think about one last thing: whoever did this operation on agent Lena had no interest in the subject's survival."

A surprised frown marred Shepard's face

"What? Why?" he asked. Mordin opened another screen, one showing Lena's scar.

"Look at the scar Shepard: iron stitches, coarse thread. A competent surgeon would never use such makeshift objects for his experiments. Quite easy to find quality medical tool in the black market and any secret organization capable of creating such a hybrid and remain hidden for so long surely know about this. Also the matter of the roughness used to cure agent Lena's wound; found many loose threads and rusted stitches. Called doctor Chackwas and asked for a medical advice and she quickly backed up my hypotheses. Last but not least, why opening agent Lena's chest when a simple, selective operation in the brain could be much more safe and effective? Only answer I could find is that the researchers responsible for this not only refuse to follow the basic ethics of medicine but also are working on something far more important than mere human manipulation, and so decide to simply open up their test subjects and install the creature in the chest. Survival rate is drastically lower but the time needed for such an operation is far briefer, freeing them from wasting hours in doing what is for them a common occurrence. This or agent Lena come from a planet that still possess medieval-type technology and is completely cut off from the galaxy at large."

Shepard simply sighted: after everything he had just witnessed this last part proved to be only the last piece of one hell of a puzzle.

"So Mordin, consider me deeply impressed. What do you suggest now?"

"Need bigger laboratory, need to hire more scientists. Cannot do much from here: ship's laboratory is impressive but too small and cramped for this kind of research. Also ask for a favor: could you try to convince agent Lena to let me and a highly trained team of specialists analyze her inside a cutting edge laboratory complex? Now, understand agent Lena's distrust, but there is too much potential at stake. I can assure you I do not wish to behave like the people that turned her in what she is today. Can give her written assurances, personal connections, many safe havens, a luxurious treatment and a peaceful life for both her and Raina. Saved many favors and wealth during my life, more than gladly to spend it all for uncovering this one last, incredible secret."

It was a good offer, and Shepard knew that the old scientist really meant it. Still, Shepard remembered how Lena looked at him and his crew the first time they met each other: her distrust, her absolute fear and rage, like burning knives aimed at his throat. Sure she was a little more trusting now, mostly thanks to Kelly and, in a minor part, Kasumi, but this was still one hell of a step to take.

"I will tell her about this offer, but I cannot make any promises, and I will not force her if she will say no, Mordin." answered Shepard with caution

"Of course, of course!" said Mordin with understanding "Mental damage very high, do not wish to increase it. Also the matter that I refuse to be like the scientists that treated her in such a way. In case of refusal I will accept this."

There was conviction in the Salarian's voice, and his eyes looked sincere. Shepard decided to trust him in this

"Good to know. Next stop is Illium, Mordin. We need to refit the ship and deal with some recruitments. Then we go to Tuchanka. If you need something for your researches just put an order and the quartermaster will take it. Anything else I need to know?"

"No Shepard. Will still try to uncover more of agent Lena's case, and I shall also use my contacts in the STG this time. Maybe they shall find some leads."

"Very well Mordin, until next time."

And so the conversation ended. Mordin simply went back to his job while Shepard left the laboratory and moved right inside his room.

"EDI, I am unavailable for at least one hour." said Shepard, and the IA quickly acknowledged this

He then quickly grabbed the most difficult model inside his drawer and started building it. After all he had just survived one hell of a mission, re encountered her desired lover and received from his top scientist one report so insane that compared to this the Collectors were a minor nuisance.

No wonder he needed to clear his head!


And done! As I said, smaller than the others, but necessary. Now, before you lynch me, two things

1) I found nothing in the mass effect wiki about Tali's past. Something about her old ship's name, what happened JUST before meeting Shepard, stuff like that.

But how she learned to be an engineer? Who helped her become the young girl we meet at mass effect 1?, there is nothing about all of this in the wiki. Adding this to the fact that the Quarians are a nomad race and I think that postulating something like the old (like medieval old) apprenticeship system (where the masters accepted one, two pupils tops and said pupils lived and learned with the masters inside the shop) is not that far-fetched.

If there is something inside the Mass effect books about Tali's past, then sorry but I do not possess those, and I hope you still find this idea endearing.

2) Norihiro Yagi never explain in the Manga how to properly create a Claymore. It says only that Claymore possess "flesh and blood of a yoma inside them" and that the elements used to created them come from these Dragon descendants found inside the main continent. Stop. No actual description of the operation, no drawings, nothing. And so I used imaginations.

Medically speaking I am fairly sure that what I just wrote is plain impossible in the real life (I am no biologist), but the idea of Claymore is also impossible in the real life so….is ok?

Next chapter Illium and boy, this will be a long and fruitful one.

Stay tuned