Moral Crisis
For the approach to Tuchanka I stood in the bridge with Joker. We were unsure how we would get clearance to land on the Krogan homeworld, they were not big on following a strict set of procedures.
"Maybe we can find a comm channel to Wrex directly," Joker suggested, "EDI?"
"Scanning… Unsuccessful. However, I have found the main landing area in Urdnot territory, the clan leader's throne is located nearby," EDI told us.
"Throne huh? I hope Wrex has made himself a crown as well. That would be something to see. Good work EDI," I told her, "we'll go in the shuttles and hopefully we'll be granted an audience. I'm not worried about Wrex denying us, just his guards."
"You taking everyone?" Joker asked.
"Well, Wrex'll be happy to see Garrus and Tali again, and I think it'll do Grunt some good to see his homeworld. Mordin's the reason we're coming here in the first place and I want everyone there just in case we find ourselves in a fight… which on a planet full of Krogan is very likely."
"Good call," Joker agreed.
Everyone was loaded up and I kept an eye on the monitors as both of the shuttles descended to ground level and headed towards the access shafts to their underground landing area. The surface of Tuchanka was a post-apocalyptic hell-scape. The underground was not much better, but it provided a little more shelter from the devilishly powerful radiation of the system's sun.
"I'm still not sure this is a good idea Commander," Miranda said, "Krogan generally don't like any of the other species, especially not on their own soil. It is the only planet they have left, remember."
"Clan Urdnot is the most powerful clan on Tuchanka and under Wrex's rule they have to think differently. Wrex knows how every species has to work together from our fight against Saren. Don't underestimate his intelligence," I responded, partly trying to convince myself.
"Maybe, but is bringing the Geth…"
"Legion," I told her.
"… Is bringing Legion along a good idea?"
"He's a part of our squad now…"
""It"," Tali corrected me, ""It" is a part of our squad."
"Legion is a part of our squad now and "it" should come along with us. Legion wanted to cooperate with us so we have to place some faith in it. I don't imagine lying is a concept the Geth would quite be able to grasp," I said.
"It's your choice," Miranda said, "but I'm just telling you that I'll be keeping an eye on it."
"Duly noted," I said.
Both of our shuttles hit the ground and the side doors opened and we were welcomed by a full platoon of armed Krogan with their assault rifles and shotguns raised at us.
"Well… this is just bloody fantastic," I heard Zaeed mutter.
"I'm Commander Gardner," I told the Krogan, "I'm a friend of your leader Urdnot Wrex, I'm just here to talk to him."
"We don't want your kind here off-worlders!" came a shout from the crowd. In defiance I stepped off of the shuttle and walked into plain view of all of them,
"I'm here on important business and it would be a good idea for you to let me through."
There were angry growls and grumbles from the Krogan and the captain of them came forward so that his face was right at mine. My entire squad and I had come armed and armoured, but even so our chances of success if a fight broke out were slim.
"My fight is not with you," I told them, "I want to see Urdnot Wrex."
The Krogan captain scowled at me,
"It sounds to me like all you want to die! You brought a Salarian here, and a Turian. I am going to stomp you into…"
He was cut short by another big Krogan's head smashing into him, bowling the captain right over onto his ass.
"Ignore this idiot, Gardner," the big Krogan said to me, "I know you'd crush his head in anyway."
The big Krogan held a hand out and I shook it gladly,
"Great to see you Wrex!"
"You look good for dead, my friend," Wrex said as we walked through the Urdnot camp. Tuchanka's reputation among the rest of the galaxy was of a toxic, deadly, perilous wreck of a planet. A ruinous example to every other species of why they should never start a nuclear war, or several. It was certainly living up to that reputation. Even the very air felt heavy to breathe in and I felt my mind become a little slower and sluggish. I gave the Krogan credit for even wanting to remain here, but then again, there was no other race in the galaxy who could thrive in such a place. There were no buildings that I could see, only empty shells of what used to be a proud and powerful society. Nothing remained of the ancient Krogan days. All had crumbled into the radioactive dust and now the Krogan clans battled over territory from their partially subterranean dwellings.
"I should've known the void couldn't hold you."
"I got better," I said back, "with a lot of strings attached."
"What happened when the Normandy went down?" my Krogan friend asked.
"I ended up spaced."
"Ooh that would have hurt," Wrex chuckled, "the benefits of a redundant nervous system huh?"
"Yeah… Humans don't have those," I said with a grin.
"Then that must have been terrible for you," Wrex laughed, "but here you are again. What trouble you getting up to these days?"
"Oh you know… chasing after Reaper servants again."
"Never boring," Wrex gave me a sideways look, "so what brings you to my humble abode?"
Wrex, my squad and I reached a large military camp where Wrex took his seat on his throne, which was little more than a heap of rubble piled together into an uncomfortable looking seat. However, when Wrex sat in his place he appeared like Krogan royalty sitting high above his subjects. Mordin was standing next to me when I told Wrex what was going on,
"There was a Salarian that went missing here, he was last seen in your territory."
"I heard about that poor bastard," Wrex mused, "but we don't have him. I sent scouts out to get him but the Weyrloc got him first. The scouts went after him but they haven't returned, which means that the Weyrloc got them too."
"Right… so how do we get to Weyrloc territory?" I asked.
"What's important about one damn Salarian?" Wrex said.
"He's a friend of my colleague here," I motioned towards Mordin.
"Thought he may have run into trouble," Mordin said quickly, "now know he has, want to help him."
"Did someone inject him with something?" Wrex laughed, "I'll have one of my scout teams drive you to the edge of Weyrloc territory, you can make your way to their base from there. But now…" his eyes came to rest on Grunt, "who's this whelp?"
Grunt stepped forward and stood beneath Wrex as the Krogan Battlemaster looked down on him as if about to pass judgement on a convict,
"Where did you come from? Was your clan destroyed before you learned what was expected of you?"
"I have no clan," Grunt said, "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer." Wrex sat back in his seat,
"Okeer is an old name, a very old, hated name."
"Okeer's dead."
"Of course he is," Wrex said, "you're with Gardner. The clanless are not welcome on any part of Tuchanka. But…" he came down from his throne and took a good long sniff of Grunt, "there's something about you. You said you were tank bred? What was Okeer trying to do?"
"My line is distilled from the mightiest Krogan warlords; Shiagur, Kreddack, Vol… Okeer created me to be the perfect Krogan," Grunt explained with confidence.
Wrex stared at my newer Krogan friend and then to me,
"You've fought with him Gardner. Is he what he claims to be?"
"Grunt's the toughest bastard I've ever seen," I answered. I was having a joke with Wrex but also deadly serious. In all the fights I had gotten into with Grunt at my side, he always seemed to simply shrug off wounds that would put the rest of us down for good.
"Replaced me, have you?" Wrex laughed before turning back to Grunt, "the clanless are left to die on our planet, but since you were not born here into a clan, I will allow you to undergo the Urdnot rite of passage if you want it. You understand that I only offer you this because you're in the company of Commander Gardner."
"I would be honoured," Grunt said, a fierce passion building up in him.
"Then it's settled. Grunt, if you return from Weyrloc territory you shall undergo the rite of passage for clan status."
"Wait," I said, "I want this for Grunt and this is his choice, but if he passes this rite will he have to stay on Tuchanka?"
"He will have the right to choose to serve under a Battlemaster. If he chooses you then he goes where you go, simple as that," Wrex said.
"I will take the rite, and I will succeed," Grunt said.
"Good boy," Wrex stated before sitting back down again.
Up to this point he had regarded the rest of my squad with little interest. But now that he had spotted Grunt, he now checked the rest of my elite unit. He pointed to Tali and Garrus,
"It's good to see you two again! Gardner dragging you along like last time?" he laughed.
"Well he spent two years lying on an operating table doing nothing so we had to come along to make sure he could still shoot straight," Garrus joked, "might need to do the same to you if you've been sitting on that throne too long."
Wrex laughed loudly and happily,
"Great, I had to make friends with the one Turian who thinks he's funny. And what about you Tali? Shacking up with Scott again?" he winked at the young Quarian. Tali looked at me as if to say "if only he knew", but turned back to Wrex,
"I'm glad you're well Wrex. Maybe this time I'll be the one showing you how to use a shotgun."
"Ah I missed you guys!" the clan leader said, "and what about the Geth? Don't we kill these things on sight?"
"We are cooperating with Gardner-Commander to defeat the Old Machines. We will assist the crew of Normandy SR2," Legion responded.
"They can talk?" Wrex was confused, "the Normandy's just one big travelling freak-show, you know that?"
"Legion's on our side," I told my friend, "things are pretty different this time around."
"Well as long as it's with you it's safe," Wrex assured me, "if I catch it on its own though… I rip its chest open and tear every circuit out. You're the one alien in the galaxy who I trust more than anybody else. Anyone that's with you is fine by me. Now, if you want to find that Salarian before he's torn apart or burned alive, or whatever, you'd better join my scouts at the transport. Good hunting Gardner."
The Tomkas that the Urdnot scouts drove were a more like a battle tank than a recon vehicle. Its huge wheels bounced and trundled along the "roads" of Tuchanka, no more than flattened ground pitted with craters and covered in chunks of debris. Looking out the windows, my team and I could see the decayed remains of cities. I could imagine that back in their heyday they would have been some of the most wondrous sights in the galaxy. I could not help but see similarities between the architecture of the ancient Krogan and the ancient Egyptians of Earth, especially when I noticed a pyramid-like-building in the far distance.
"Tuchanka was like this before Salarians uplifted the Krogan to fight Rachni," Mordin told me, "destructive nature main reason for their selection."
"That and their ability to survive in atmospheres too toxic for other species," Jacob said, "I remember the stories I heard about the Krogan chasing the Rachni Queens into their lairs and annihilating 'em. And looking at this place, I can believe it."
"You aliens are all soft," one of the scouts jibed, "don't know how you're gonna get into Weyrloc territory and survive, but this is where we drop you off. The main hub of the Weyrloc is an old hospital a couple of miles East of here. Good luck not dying."
As we made our way through the toxic muck of the landscape, I sent Thane and Kasumi ahead as pathfinders and to keep an eye out for any enemy recon units that might spot us. Following their chosen route, we eventually happened upon the hospital that the scout had mentioned.
"That's a hospital?" Garrus said when we all set our eyes upon what looked like a fortress. I was reminded of pictures I had seen in history vids about the Battle of Verdun in World War 1 and the hill-top fortresses that the French and Germans slaughtered each other for.
"Krogan hospitals places of great importance to society. Built to withstand blood-rage of patients," Mordin said.
I wondered if even the Normandy's impressive array of weaponry would be able to make a dent in the indomitable fortifications. However, as we approached, I was glad to see that getting in would not be too difficult. Kasumi had already found a ventilation shaft which we could all sneak through.
"If every place on Tuchanka is as easy to break into as this, I need to come here more often," the thief laughed.
"Think there's anything here worth stealing?" Garrus said dryly.
"Watch your mouth, Turian," Grunt grumbled.
"To the untrained eye everything here might look worthless," Kasumi said as she led us inside, "but look carefully enough and there are priceless relics from a forgotten time all over the place. People would pay millions for stuff like this."
"If only they weren't just relics," Grunt said, squeezing as best he could through the tight confines of the vent, "my people would be even stronger."
My team dropped into a hallway and I sent Thane ahead to scout the path ahead and he disappeared like a ghost before I had even finished giving the order. Stealthily tip-toeing around the hospital was tense but we managed a fair way deeper into the facility.
"If this is the Weyrloc base, where are the Weyrloc?" Jack asked, "shouldn't they have appeared to try and kick our asses already?"
Just then we rounded a corner and saw the body of a Krogan guard lying in the middle of the hallway,
"Krogan's neck broken," Mordin examined the dead body, "likely our assassin friend clearing path."
"Thank the spirits he's on our side," Garrus said approvingly.
"What's up Garrus? Scared he would be able to get the better of Archangel?" Jack teased, "get you in the dark and make you shit yourself?"
There was a moment of silence and I thought that Garrus was taking it badly, but then he replied,
"Pretty much, Jack. Pretty much."
"Quiet," I stopped them, "we're trying to be sneaky here. But Jack has a point, where are the Weyrloc?"
"These are patient wards, obviously not in use," Mordin deduced, "likely more Krogan deeper underground in centre of hospital. We should perhaps avoid contact with them."
When we had travelled a bit further, Thane contacted me on the radio,
"Commander, I've found the Urdnot scouts that went missing. They're being held in a ward not far ahead of you and there are only two guards. Do you want to help them? Any noise may blow our cover."
"If they try to fight us then we have to fight them without guns. Are you in a position to take them out?"
"Yes."
"Do it, we'll get these scouts back to Wrex."
I received no answer over my radio but we soon caught up with Thane at the ward he had spoken of. Two Weyrloc guards were crumpled in heaps on either side of him. Opening the door to the ward released a horrible stench of death and Krogan excrement. Half of us almost threw up and I swiftly attached my breather to my helmet to block out the putrid stink. When I looked inside, I saw four dead Urdnot Krogan and a fifth one sitting on his backside rocking back and forwards. The pitiful looking Krogan saw us and looked at us through pained eyes,
"You killed the guards?" he said weakly.
"Yeah," I said, "you can get back to Urdnot, the way back is clear."
"I… I can't."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Careful Commander," Mordin said in my ear, "patient may be unstable, looks to have been tortured."
"I have to stay," the scout said, "they're curing the Genophage, said they needed me to try their drugs on."
"How are they curing the Genophage?" I asked.
"They got the Salarian, they're making him do it," the scout told me.
"Weyrloc may have discovered Maelon's work. Kidnapped him. Forcing him to work on cure," Mordin sounded worried.
"You sound like you want them to keep doing their experiments on you," I said as I knelt down in front of the weakened scout, "why?"
The Krogan's eyes looked distant and his face was the picture of misery,
"I'm not big enough to have a real chance with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I help cure the Genophage, then I mattered!"
"You think that Weyrloc will share this cure with the other clans?" I said to him, "you do this, you're only helping them and betraying Urdnot, betraying your people."
"What? No… they said I was helping Urdnot," he sounded so helpless.
"Of course they did," I told him, "but if this cure is created then lots of children will be born, Weyrloc children. All the other clans will be wiped out. Is that what you want?"
"No"
"Good," I smacked the Krogan on the shoulder, "then get on your feet and get back to Urdnot."
"I can't," the scout replied, miserable again, "I'm too weak."
"Too weak?" I said firmly, "I thought you were a Krogan? Toughest bastards in the galaxy, or so I thought."
"Watch it Human," the scout said.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe you should stay here and rot, 'cus you're not badass enough to get back to Urdnot."
Pissing off a Krogan was dangerous, but it certainly got them moving,
"I can do it," he said with a bit of life returning to his voice.
"You? I said a badass! Not a little pussy like you, sitting around whining like a Quarian with a tummy-ache."
"I'm standing right here," Tali said incredulously. The Krogan was on his feet in a shot and he began marching towards the door out of the ward,
"I can do it!" he told himself as he kept going and turned back away the way we had come, stepping with renewed purpose. My team were both amused and confused, but all were glad that we had been able to rescue Wrex's man.
"I can't believe that worked," Tali said before jabbing a finger into my chest plate, "but I'll remember that, Commander."
"Someone's sleeping on the couch tonight," Jack chuckled.
Just then I heard from Thane again,
"Commander. I believe that the Weyrloc know you're here. There are a few of them gathered just ahead of where you are. They're outside a make-shift lab of some sort."
"They know we're here, but not you?" I said to the stealthy Drell.
"No," Thane confirmed.
"Good. If they're preparing an ambush, you can turn it against them when we're ready."
"There are six Krogan hidden at different firing locations, but there are three on the upper walkway standing in plain sight. I think they're waiting for you to talk."
I thought about what was waiting for us. It sounded like an obvious ambush to me but Krogan were not always the most subtle of creatures. If some were waiting to talk to us then there must have been something they wanted to say.
"Let's go see what they have to say," I told the team, "guns ready."
Thane's information was dead accurate and when we walked into a chamber with a set of stairs leading to an upper walkway, we were hailed by a big brute of a Krogan,
"Halt off-worlders!" He bellowed, "you have broken into our home, but we know what you're here for. The Salarian will cure the Genophage and clan Weyrloc will exterminate all the other pitiful clans, especially those pathetic Urdnot."
"We are here for the Salarian," I retorted, "not to fight Weyrloc. Give Maelon to us and we'll leave without a fight."
"I am not here to barter with you, Human," the Weyrloc speaker growled at me, "I have been instructed by Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs, to give you one chance to run away and spread a message to the Urdnot, that the Weyrloc are coming! The Krogan were wronged, and when Maelon delivers the cure, clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood."
"Half the galaxy already sees the Krogan as victims," I told the speaker, "you attack and you'll lose their support."
"We will not need their "support" when our clan numbers in the hundreds of millions!"
"I understand you want the Genophage cured…" I started before being drowned out by the angered Krogan,
"No Human! You understand nothing! You have not seen the piles of children that never lived. But we will have our revenge, I swear it!"
My comm crackled as Thane warned us,
"Commander, the other Krogan are getting ready to spring their trap."
I looked back up at the speaker and spoke defiantly,
"We're not leaving without the Salarian. Now step aside or die."
The speaker began to raise his rifle when a shadow dropped down from above and landed on him. In less than a heartbeat the speaker was dead with a broken neck and one of his guards had received a point-blank shot through the eye as the Drell assassin sprung our ambush all in one fluid motion. The other Krogan began firing from their positions and I immediately holed the head-plate of one of them with my Widow rifle. The echo from my incredibly powerful sniper rifle resounded along every hall and passageway and no doubt alerted the entire base.
Garrus picked off the other Krogan that had been standing with the speaker, while Jack smashed another against the wall with her biotics so hard that she actually crushed him to death. The last of the Krogan ambushers were taken out by the sheer weight of firepower that my squad had with them and we rushed on ahead into the labs that were just beyond.
"Can smell antiseptic ahead," Mordin said, "hint of dead flesh also. Must have been performing experiments here."
"I'm really glad I can turn off my mask's olfactory filters," Tali muttered. The door opened and I was presented with the dismal sight of a dozen operating tables along each side of the room. Each of them with a corpse on it covered with a tarpaulin. A computer was flickering away nearby and Mordin approached it to take a look at the information while the rest of the team tried not to show how horrified and sick they were at what we had found.
Mordin scrolled through the data on the computer and muttered to himself as he read through it,
"Genetic sequencing. Hormone mutagens still steady. Protein chains. Live tissue. Cloned tissue. Very thorough."
He turned to me to explain what this all meant,
"Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels," he suddenly looked very pleased, "good… hate to see that."
"I don't get it Mordin," I said, confused by the pride he was taking in all this, "most people wouldn't be so casual about developing a sterility plague."
"Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of original Genophage. A hundred times the complexity. Errors unacceptable. Could cause total sterility, malignant tumours. Could even reduce effectiveness. Worse than doing nothing. Had to keep Krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target, optimal growth. Like gardening."
I was starting to feel rather alienated by the doctor's complete indifference to what he and his team had committed,
"This isn't gardening! You're talking about murdering millions," I said.
"No," Mordin refused to accept the truth, "murdered no one. Altered fertility, prevented foetal development of nervous system. Have killed many, Gardner. Many methods. Gunfire, knives, drugs, tech attacks, once with farming equipment! But not with medicine."
"So you were working just as hard to keep their population from falling?"
"Yes. Could have eradicated Krogan. Not difficult. Increased mutagen to degrade genetic structure further. Chose not to. Rachni extinction tragic. Didn't want to repeat. All life is precious. Universe demands diversity."
"This was a huge Salarian undertaking, wasn't it? What was it like working on the project?" I asked him. I needed to get to the bottom of how he could see no cause to believe that the Genophage was wrong.
My Salarian friend closed his eyes as he relived fond memories,
"Best years of my life! Wake up with ideas, talk over breakfast. Run experiments all morning. Statistical analyses in afternoon. Run new simulations over dinner, set data runs to cook overnight. Laughter. Ego. Argument. Passion. Galaxy's biggest problem, massive resources thrown at us. Got anything we wanted."
"So how did you go from being so important to running a clinic on Omega?"
Mordin's face became a little more sombre and his speech slowed,
"Wanted to heal people. Good use of last decade. Something easy. No ethical concerns. Understand rationale for modified Genophage. Right choice, but…" he paused, "still hard to sleep some nights."
"Do you keep in touch with your old team members?" I asked him, I was getting through to him.
"No. Everything changed with deployment. Made test drop on isolated clan. Hit rest of Tuchanka when results were positive. End of project. Separate ways. Watching it end, watching birth rates drop. Personal. Private. Not appropriate for team."
Mordin was clearly waging a private war inside his incredible mind, but I kept going. I had to make him see how unethical all of his work was,
"How can you agree with using the Genophage Mordin? Look at what's happened to Tuchanka as a result."
"State of Tuchanka not due to Genophage. Nuclear Winter caused by Krogan before Salarians made first contact. Krogan choices. Refuse truce during Krogan Rebellions. Expand after Rachni War. Splinter after Genophage. Genophage medical, not nuclear," he became very defensive, "no craters from virus. Damage caused by Krogan, not Salarians. Not me."
"The effects on Tuchanka are still your responsibility!" I said, "you upgraded the virus that kept them in barbarism!"
"Krogan committed war crimes. Refused to negotiate. Turian defeat not complete. Krogan could have recovered, attacked again. Conventional war too risky. Krogan forces too strong. Genophage only option. Krogan forced Genophage. Us or them. No apologies for winning. Wouldn't have minded peaceful solution."
"So if Wrex managed to unite the Krogan under a single government, you'd welcome that?" I asked him. Mordin nodded enthusiastically,
"Yes. United Krogan saved galaxy. Defeated Rachni. Genophage not a punishment. Simply alters fertility to correct for removal from hostile environment."
I brought Mordin's attention to the room full of corpses, all of them Krogan females,
"And what about all this? They died because they're trying to help with the cure."
Mordin walked over to one of the females and stared at her for a while,
"Tumours indicate experimentation," his voice was flat, "no restraint marks. Volunteer."
"You ok? I thought you'd have seen enough dead Krogan," I said coldly.
"Foolish waste of life. Never experimented on live Krogan. Goal was to stabilise population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically… but still, hate to see it. Such unnecessary waste of life."
"Did you ever come to Tuchanka after you dropped your plague?"
Mordin sighed, and now the rest of the team were beginning to listen,
"Yearly recon missions. Check progress. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person," his eyes wandered back to the dead female in front of us, "need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary. See small picture. Remind myself why I run clinic on Omega."
I did not want to make a personal attack at Mordin, he was my friend and team-member. However, Mordin now looked absolutely terrible as the horror of what he had done began to sink in,
"Mordin, I'm sorry. But if you need this much soul-searching to find meaning to what you've done, maybe the Genophage was wrong."
"It had to be done," he said, though less assuredly, "Rachni Wars. Krogan Rebellions. All pointed to Krogan aggression. So many simulations. Effects of Krogan population increase. All pointed to war. Extinction. Genophage or Genocide. Save galaxy from Krogan. Save Krogan from galaxy."
"You could have cured them," I said again, "brought hope to the Krogan. They'd have rejoiced."
Mordin shook his head and looked away from me,
"Assumes Human reaction. Krogan stimulus response different. Harsh environment, take chance to fight, flee. Would have caused chaos on Tuchanka. Victor would have war economy. Blood-thirsty army. Expansion only logical choice. More war. Genophage saved lives that war would have ended.
Mordin continued pacing at a frenzied rate, thinking aloud for everyone to hear.
"Council races respond by scaling up to state of total war. Add to this new galactic power of Humanity. Only other species ever to use nuclear weapons on themselves! Willing to commit atrocities worse than Genophage. Would result in Krogan being exterminated. Genophage prevented that! Saved lives."
I stood beside the Krogan female who had sacrificed her own life in the pursuit of helping to cure the Genophage,
"Look at the dead woman Mordin. It doesn't look like you saved her."
"No, it doesn't," Mordin sounded like he was in pain, "worked with available data. Only option. No other possible… doesn't matter."
I looked at my friend,
"Despite everything, I believe you're a good person, Mordin. But you're misguided on this."
Mordin was silent for a while before he looked back at me,
"We should continue. Need to find Maelon."
"Let's go," I told everyone.
We left the misery of the lab behind and came into the centre of the hospital. Stairwells to the other levels criss-crossed the chamber and we had no idea where to go next.
"EDI," I raised our helpful AI, "can you get any readings from the Weyrloc base which could indicate where Maelon's being held?"
"There is a ward on level 1 that is using a considerable amount of the base's power supply. If the Weyrloc are forcing him to work on the Genophage cure he will need to be well supplied and equipped. Sending you the location now."
"Good job, EDI."
"Beware Commander," the AI said, "I have intercepted Weyrloc communications. The clan leader has his own personal Krantt with him and is hunting for you."
"Sounds fun," Grunt chuckled.
"If we hurry then we can maybe reach Maelon before Weyrloc Guld can find us," I said, "everyone let's move!"
We raced down four flights of stairs and along the walkway towards where EDI had told us Maelon was located. Just as we were about to reach the door an explosion went off right above it and forced us back.
"Cover!" I ordered everyone down as the Krogan of Weyrloc leapt out from half a dozen of the wards that we had passed on our way. One of the Krogan stood about a foot higher than the rest around him and wore heavy, powered armour with lighting on the chest plate in the form of his clan's emblem.
"Weyrloc Guld," Grunt said, "I'll tear him apart myself!"
The battle was explosive and nerve-racking. My Mattock could put down some heavy fire power. But in the end, I resorted to using my Widow, even at close range, to blast apart the armour of any Krogan guards that were unlucky enough to be caught in my crosshairs. My squad was formed by the most tenacious, skilful and deadly fighters and experts that the galaxy had to offer and they certainly showed it. In a matter of minutes, over a dozen of Weyrloc's best warriors lay slain on the floor and the rest were faltering. Now Guld screamed at his men to attack us in waves, and he led them from the front.
Tali and Sophie were right in the path of their banzai charge, but both were suddenly dragged out of the way by a pair of metallic hands as Legion saved their lives. The Geth then shrank down as his body allowed him to fold down and let the Krogan pass, and when he was behind them, he stood right back up and let rip with his phase rifle. The bodies of three Krogan were burned and scorched by Legion's rifle as a few more of them were cut down by the rest of us. However, Weyrloc Guld was now in our midst with a shotgun in one hand and an enormous, electrically charged hammer in the other which he swung about madly. Zaeed was caught right across his back and was sent flailing across the ground. Garrus would have easily been killed by a blow to the head if he had not raised his rifle just in time to take the worst of the impact.
For all of the carnage that Guld was causing for my group, he was taking a serious amount of fire and eventually I nailed him through the gut with my Widow and the big Krogan sank to his knees. Legion shot the shotgun out of his hand before Grunt simply leapt on him and started beating the Weyrloc leader without mercy.
"Gardner-Commander," Legion said, "there are more Krogan approaching."
I looked back up the way that Guld and his personal guard had come and saw to my horror that there were at least forty more members of the clan stomping towards us, each of them spoiling for a fight.
"I want everyone that's free to hold them back, Grunt needs help with Guld," I said.
"I've… got… this… Gardner!" Grunt screamed and shouted as he piled his fists into Guld's face and chest. Guld was giving as good as he was getting, but eventually my genetically perfect Krogan friend landed one hell of an uppercut and sent the Weyrloc clan leader toppling over again onto the ground. Grunt calmly picked up his shotgun and placed the muzzle at Guld's throat. The resulting blast of blood and flesh signalled the end of Weyrloc Guld and the incoming Krogan company halted only a few metres away.
Every one of Guld's troops stood stunned at the sudden loss of their leader whom they had taken to be their guide, their strength.
"Your clan leader lies dead under my feet!" Grunt yelled at them, "run away before we find a better way to kill you!"
The Krogan stood and looked at each member of my multi-racial team, each of them ready to fight and stand their ground, and most turned away. Becoming clanless was a tremendous insult to Krogan and they could not suffer it.
"We're here for the Salarian," I told the few that remained near us and looked as if they were about to charge, regardless of their own chances, "we have no quarrel with you."
The Krogan gave up. My team and I relished in our victory over what had been a full platoon of Krogan warriors. We stepped over the bodies of the fallen enemies and passed through the door we had originally been heading for. The stench of the place was even more potent that the other lab that we had been in. Power cables twisted and coiled all over the floor as they powered several computers and a wealth of medical equipment. More operating tables with more bodies were spread around a central hub where there was a large monitor that lit up the rest of the chamber in a dull orange colour. The atmosphere in the room was heavy with malice and foreboding.
A Salarian stood with his back to us and was working away furiously on the computer, not even aware of our presence.
"Maelon… unrestrained. Unharmed," Mordin said, "don't understand."
Maelon shook his head angrily and turned round to all of us with fury in his eyes,
"For such a smart man you always did have trouble seeing evidence that went against your preconceptions!"
"I think he came here of his own free will Mordin," I said to the distressed doctor.
"No," Mordin said, "whole team agreed. Project was necessary!"
"How was I supposed to argue with the great Mordin Solus?" Maelon said, "I was your student, I looked up to you!"
"Torture. Executions," Mordin exploded, "testing on live patients. Your doing?"
"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands Doctor," Maelon said, "if the blood of a few more will help to cure that plague we created then I can live with that!"
Mordin was shocked to silence and I said to him,
"It doesn't look like he needs rescuing. What do you want to do?"
"Have to end this," Mordin said coldly.
Maelon pulled a pistol out and waved it in our faces, aiming from one squad member to another,
"You can't see it can you? Can't see that your brilliant mind caused you to commit an atrocity!" he yelled at Mordin. Mordin's fist collided hard with the young Salarian's face and knocked Maelon back into his computer. Before he could recover, Mordin had him pinned up against the hub with a gun in his face,
"Cannot let this continue. You won't change… Have to kill you."
"Wait," I stepped in, "you don't have to do this, you're not a murderer Mordin! You told me that yourself."
Mordin took a sharp breath as he came back to his senses. The gun remained pointed squarely at Maelon's head for a moment before it slowly dropped,
"Not a murderer," Mordin repeated, "thank you, Gardner. Finished here Maelon. Get out."
Maelon was shaking,
"Where am I supposed to go Doctor?"
"Don't care," my Salarian friend said without looking at him, "go to Omega. Could always use another clinic. Hurry before I change my mind."
Maelon looked around at the fourteen faces that now glared at him and he began to slowly walk away, completely unsure what to do with himself. However, just before he left, he turned to say one final thing,
"The Krogan did not deserve what we did to them Doctor. The Genophage has to end!"
When I turned to look for Maelon he was already gone and my squad and I were left alone in this terrible place. Mordin was sifting through Maelon's research data,
"Has made a lot of progress," he said quietly to himself. I stood next to him and he looked at me,
"Terrible experiments. Unethical procedures. But… data still useful."
"You think we should keep it?" I said to him.
"I think he should," Grunt growled from behind.
""The Genophage has to end"," Mordin repeated Maelon's parting words, "not like this. Apologies, Commander. Misunderstood mission parameters. Research tainted…"
I could sense the turmoil and pain in Mordin as he looked back over Maelon's work. I placed a hand on his shoulder,
"I know what he did here was terrible. But if Maelon made progress towards a cure for the Genophage we have to save it. It's the right thing to do."
"Would take years to create one from scratch. Krogan turning to desperate measures. My fault" Mordin agreed solemnly as he tapped commands into the computer, "saving data. Wiping local copy."
"Commander, I'm not sure this is a good idea," Miranda said, "Mordin's projections about a resurgent Krogan are well supported by Cerberus. Curing the Genophage will lead to another war."
"We have to give them that chance," I defended my decision and Mordin's new frame of mind, "what if it was Humanity that had been infected, Miranda? Wouldn't you give anything to set it right? Would you squander a second chance?"
After meeting up with the Urdnot team that had brought us to the Weyrloc base, we were taken back to Wrex's dwelling. The tunnels and military camp were buzzing with activity as we found the Urdnot leader directing a unit of soldiers on their objective. The soldiers dispersed and embarked on their Tomkas and took off out into the wilderness in the direction we had come from.
"What's going on Wrex?" Garrus asked. The big Krogan opened his arms and laughed loudly,
"Thanks to you, Clan Weyrloc has disintegrated! I'm sending my men out to round up the survivors, especially the women and children, to bring them here for safe-keeping."
"You're… welcoming them into your clan?" I said in surprise.
"I'm working to bring about a new age for the Krogan, Gardner. Cooperation is part of that future. I'll absorb the clan members into my ranks. Any that want to resist will either be killed there and then, or left to rot in the wastes."
"Intelligent move," Mordin said next to me, "promising future for Krogan under Wrex's leadership."
"You should be thanking Grunt," I told Wrex, "he's the one who killed Weyrloc Guld."
Wrex came down and stood over Grunt,
"Really?" he stared at him in wonder, "you're already making a name for yourself, Grunt. But it changes nothing! If you still want to be one of us you must still undertake the rite. Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready!" Grunt said beating his fists together. Wrex kept looking at Grunt with interest, like an old expert discovering a new protégé to take under his wing.
I checked in with EDI to see if any further progress had been made with that infernal IFF, but received the usual explanation about the complexity of Reaper technology. I knew EDI was working on it as best as it could, but the thought that with every passing day the Collectors could be closing in on another unsuspecting colony was ever present in mind. Grunt's Rite of Passage was due to begin the next day, and when he was asked to choose a Krantt of his own to fight alongside him, the mighty Krogan had chosen me to stand by him.
Wrex had joked that I should give Grunt a chance to get some kills. That night, my entire squad was invited to feast with the Urdnot leader and Varren meat was on the menu. Tali and Garrus could not eat any of the food provided, but there was some drink that they could have and Garrus had the lion's share. Legion sat in the place he was given and simply observed us all eating and laughing and conversing about all the mental things that my crew and I had been getting up to.
Wrex enjoyed the story about our fight on the derelict Reapers, fast and heart-pumping fighting where the Husks were getting right up close.
"I wish I could've been there!" he said after wolfing down half a Varren leg in one big mouthful, "sounds like a good fight. Too busy stuck here trying to get our people to get their heads out of their asses and start thinking smart."
"So what are these big plans you've made?" I asked.
"I created a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Any who want to enter are welcomed, and any fights break out then every clan takes care of their own criminals. We share fertile females between clans and all clans work together to protect the women and children. This way, an attack on clan Urdnot endangers the women and children, our future."
"That's quite a harsh way to treat your women, Wrex," Tali said from her seat next to me.
"It was the females' idea. We have to make a lot of hard choices to survive, the women most of all. What they have to endure…" he had a faraway look in his eyes, "is not right."
"I know," I agreed with my friend.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about Virmire and how we destroyed Saren's cure," Wrex said, "don't get me wrong, Saren needed to die! But did the base have to get wiped out like that? Couldn't we have secured it and had some brainiacs come in to try and make a true cure out of what was already there? And you never know… your buddy Kaidan might still be here."
Wrex's words stung. Remembering the brave soldier who I had taken to calling my brother had me unable to talk. How would Kaidan have taken the news that I was alive? And with Cerberus? Ashley had been seconds away from slapping me for even hinting at the notion that they were right to be fighting the Collectors. Would Kaidan have seen reason and believed in what I was trying to do? In my mind, I pictured that horrible moment that I watched the nuke go off on Virmire and Kaidan disappeared forever. Tali gave my leg a gentle squeeze under the table to make sure I was ok and Wrex mercifully changed the subject to how my squad literally just about represented the entire galaxy, and he did not even know what Thane was.
On my way back from a bathroom break, which on Tuchanka simply meant finding a large chunk of rubble to piss behind, I had a few words with Legion,
"Enjoying the party?" I said with a laugh.
"We are collating data on organic bonding processes. These activities are dramatically reducing stress levels of the crew of the Normandy."
"We organics can't just work and work and work all the time. We need what we call down-time to vent our pent-up frustration or get some feelings out in the open. Though I suppose given our mission, I wouldn't mind just being able to fight on and on like you'll be able to."
"It is giving us a new perspective on organics," the synthetic voice said, "we now understand why they require the activity of "fun" to live. Chemical balances are restored. In a happier and improved mental state, organics function better. Creator-Zorah and Gardner-Commander are most at ease in each other's presence."
I chuckled at Legion's perception of an organic relationship and re-joined the feast for a while until I decided it was time to sleep. After all, I was facing a Krogan Rite of Passage in the morning.