Sur'Kesh
With the teams once again embarked upon the two stealth ships, Normandy and Tibmius, we set a course for Sur'Kesh. During our journey, I placed a call to Major Kirrihe and informed him about the hidden facility on Sur'Kesh. According to the coordinates pulled from the Blades' computers, the facility was located in the middle of a large island off of the West coast of the planet's most Southern continent.
As with most parts of Sur'Kesh that had not been settled, we would have to navigate thick rainforest and swamps if we were to approach on foot. I cringed at the thought. Training in similar climates had been my least favourite back when I was going through the various stages of the N7 program. The claustrophobic atmosphere, the stifling, humid heat, vines and roots and a thousand more things snagging and tripping me.
Diseases ran rampant in such conditions, and I had a few bouts of severe diahorrea back then. My squad being ambushed while I was squatting with my bare arse on show behind a fallen tree was not my fondest memory. Not one ever brought up in conversation anyway.
However, we did not know if we would even have to attack the base yet. Our two stealth vessels would stay in geosynchronous orbit and monitor the base. If we were lucky, then we could finally solve the mystery surrounding the slippery Salarian. What was Tolan planning? Why did he need Human test subjects? Was he operating alone? Or did he have high-society backers providing financial and material aid?
One way or another, we were finishing Tolan.
I was in the War Room with Wrex, Ashley, Ludwig and Liara. Garrus was with us via comms. We were reading through the multiple reports from all the military actions against the rest of the Blades of Retribution. Tali was speaking with Admiral Gerrel on the QEC. All operations had been successful with minimal casualties on our side. Data drawn from all sites were cross-referenced to confirm that there were no bases remaining. They also obtained information relating to Tolan's hidden facility on Sur'Kesh, further narrowing down its exact coordinates.
"How did the Quarians do, Tali?" I asked when she joined us.
"Three wounded, alongside several suit punctures. But they'll be alright, given time. Geth troopers launched the frontal attack while our marines moved around the sides. Drones disabled automated security systems and sabotaged enemy weapons. All said and done, a successful operation."
"Good to hear."
It was actually entertaining to read through the reports. The different militaries had employed their own brands of tactics to destroy our enemy. The Turians, as usual, used overwhelming firepower to completely annihilate the Blades.
Meanwhile, Asari commandos infiltrated their allocated target, posing as members of the organisation. They made their way to that cell's leader, killed her and shut down the base's security systems. The rest of the Asari forces then launched their attack and blindsided the Blades, securing victory with minimal resistance.
Similarly to the Quarians and Geth, the Salarians employed a large number of drones to do much of the preparatory work. They overloaded critical systems, took down security and generally caused havoc for the Blades. While the enemies were distracted, the Salarian troops had swooped in and landed on the roof of the base, creating multiple entry points via breaching charges. They cleared the base from top to bottom.
The Krogan fired a lot of bullets and blew up a lot of shit!
"Glad we're done with those bastards," Garrus stated. Hopefully, this meant an end to the terrorist attacks and the deaths of Asari politicians, which usually included innocent civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"What's the plan once we reach Sur'Kesh?" Ludwig asked.
"We do what the Normandy was originally designed for. We watch," I said. "Tolan's a tricky little cunt. If he gets a single sniff that we're close by, he's gone again. And who knows how long before we could find a lead."
"He might already suspect we will be closing in on him, given that the Blades have just been destroyed," Liara added. She made a good point. Whether Tolan considered the Blades "allies" or merely a source of Human test subjects, he would no doubt react to their violent demise. Speed was of the utmost necessity.
There was one other issue to be addressed. I knew I could trust everyone in the room with me, but I thought I had better follow some protocol, for once. For the moment, this was Spectre business, so I ordered everyone except for Ashley out of the room, and told Garrus to stay on the comm.
"We need to talk about the possibility of some of the Councillors being involved in all this," I said.
"What? What makes you think that?" Ashley asked. I rubbed my chin in thought.
"There was the message that played when we hit that space station above Apo. The one that said "You almost succeeded, Commander Gardner". One of the only people who knew we were heading there was Councillor Irissa."
"Who may have told the other Councillors," Garrus stated thoughtfully.
"And now there's this facility on Sur'Kesh," Ashley said. "You think Councillor Valern might have something to do with it?"
"No proof. But it's something to keep in mind. I hope my gut is wrong, but we have to be open to the possibility."
"I don't know, Scott," Garrus said, "the Council knows that many Spectres were investigating the Blades of Retribution. Therefore, if one of them is involved, they'd have to know that someone would pick up on Tolan eventually and they'd risk being exposed."
The three of us deliberated the controversial subject for a while longer. The only definitive conclusion we came to was to let our friendly neighbourhood Shadow Broker in on the conversation. She had the means to find out. When I emerged in the CIC, I saw Jacob chatting with Tali and Alec Ryder. Upon noticing me, Jacob smiled,
"Felt good to be back in action! I see age hasn't slowed you down, Scott."
"Same back to you," I laughed. "I see being a father hasn't made you all soft and cuddly."
"Only Mia and Brynn get to see that side of me," Jacob grinned. He was still in pristine physical form. A man as dedicated as he was would never let himself get fat and lazy.
One of the Spartans, Dexter, walked past us on his way to the elevator. He saluted me and, out of respect, I returned it. Jacob's eyes followed the super-soldier and gave me a sideways look,
"Although it looks like we're both outclassed now."
"Yeah," I chuckled, "doesn't feel nice becoming obsolete. But they've been bloody impressive so far. Miranda's achieved a hell of a thing."
"I wonder if Quarians could make super-soldiers," Tali mused. I tried to picture what that would look like, but it probably would not be too dissimilar from the Human Spartans. Taller, broader, stronger, faster, smarter. Most likely better immune systems.
"The Quarians have Geth Primes as heavy infantry now anyway," Alec said.
"Good point," Tali agreed.
I now turned to Alec Ryder,
"Speaking of augmented Humans… what's your story? I saw you pull off some impressive biotics, yet you said you're not a biotic?"
Alec had a smug grin on his face.
"Yeah, about that. SAM, why don't you introduce yourself?"
I heard a synthesised voice come from Alec's omni tool. It was very well spoken and polite,
"Greetings, Commander Gardner. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Um…" I replied, slightly confused, "good to meet you too. Who are you, SAM?"
"My name, as you know, is SAM. This is an abbreviation of Simulated Adaptive Matrix. I am an AI that co-exists with Alec Ryder, sharing and learning through his experiences. He greatly admires you and your achievements."
Alec laughed at this,
"Careful you don't make me sound like a fanboy, SAM. This is the AI that got me kicked off the Citadel and out of the Alliance. I became a pariah, of sorts. But it didn't stop me."
"When you say co-exist…" Tali started, watching Alec intently.
"By co-exist, I mean that, in essence, I share this body with Alec Ryder through various implants. During combat, I can provide analysis, intelligence and optimise Alec's physiology for optimum performance and durability," SAM responded clearly.
"Helps compensate for growing old," Alec joked.
There was a short pause before SAM continued,
"I hope my presence does not disturb you, Tali'Zorah."
"No… it doesn't," Tali replied sincerely. "If I had learned about you before the Reaper War… I would've felt differently. But after working with EDI and the Geth, I'm fine with artificial life."
"Thank you, Tali. The Reaper War has had an effect on the races of this galaxy in ways even they could not have anticipated. The spirit of cooperation for the mutual benefit of all is, perhaps, the greatest result of the war."
"It cost us a lot," Jacob added, "but I get what you're saying."
"Well, SAM," I said, "it's great to meet you. Can't help but wonder how much more effective the Spartans would be with similar implants and SAMs of their own."
"C'mon, Scott. Give us other races a chance to catch up first," Tali laughed at my boyish fantasy.
It was an interesting conversation. Definitely one I had to relay to Miranda. Augmented super-soldiers with state-of-the-art AI to improve them even more, combined with the best weapons and gear money could buy! Each Spartan would be worth a thousand regular marines. There were, of course, political factors to take into account. How would the other races react to the Alliance creating super-soldiers? When all the races were meant to be working together peacefully, what need was there for such projects?
Then again, there was always the possibility that the other species had their own ideas for super-soldiers. Warlord Okeer had created Grunt, after all. And Grunt had proven Okeer's work to be tremendously successful. Regardless, it was all above my pay-grade, so I turned my mind back to current affairs.
The Normandy and the Tibmius came to a halt over Sur'Kesh, directly above the coordinates of the hidden base. We were now referring to it as "Site Zeta". EDI and the Tibmius were performing passive scans only, standard procedure to greatly reduce the chances of being detected. Site Zeta was built into a steep, almost vertical, cliff-face. A series of retractable landing pads were present on the middle level, with the structure tapering smaller towards the top and bottom levels. High-tech detection and anti-air batteries were present on and around the facility in a grid pattern. This left no safe approach vector for an air-insertion. Advancing on foot to the top of the cliff then rappelling down to the base was a viable option, though definitely one that Tolan would have accounted for. All that would be needed to compromise us would be a small, well placed motion sensor.
As for personnel present at the base, it was hard to tell with passive scans only. They could not penetrate inside the base without setting off alarms, so our Intel was extremely limited.
"We might just need to forget stealth," Wrex said as we all stood in the War Room.
"That would be unwise given our objective," SAM stated clearly. "Given ample warning, all information on Tolan's operation could be erased and we would gain nothing."
"Who's that?" Wrex asked as he looked at Alec, the source of the new voice.
"That's SAM," I replied. In the short time I had known him, I noticed that SAM tended to explain things in a rather long-winded fashion. I preferred to cut down on explanation time. "He's an AI that Ryder made."
"First EDI, then Geth, and now another AI? We'll be getting replaced soon," Wrex grumbled.
"That is not my intention," SAM defended himself. "I co-exist with Alec. Were Alec to perish, I would as well."
"Until synthetic life's day of reckoning," EDI chimed in. Those of us who knew of her penchant for telling terrible jokes laughed, while those less familiar with her looked on in wide-eyed horror.
"That was a joke," EDI finally said with an innocent smile.
In the end, we decided to sit tight and monitor the base. EDI and SAM worked hard to intercept any and all transmissions leaving and arriving at the facility. All arrivals and departures were noted and personnel were identified. Garrus and the Tibmius backed off to make contact with Major Kirrihe and his STG force to bring them fully into the fold. A reconnaissance on foot was discussed, with Ludwig and his men taking the lead. However, the risk of being compromised would be dramatically increased and we decided it was not worth it.
While the enemy's communications were being monitored, things came to a head when EDI was able to decipher the word "Genophage" in one of the messages. Naturally, we all bristled at the mention of the word. Wrex and Grunt were almost lost to rage as they immediately demanded that we destroy the base outright.
"To hell with Intel! My people are not going through that again!" Wrex roared. "We have to destroy that base and everyone in it now."
"Wrex! We don't know if that's even what they're after," I responded, doing my best to placate my friend. "If we go for them now, we could make things worse."
"Bullshit. Who else could be the target other than the Krogan?" Grunt growled.
"But why are they taking so many Humans for testing then?" Tali said. Unfortunately, I already knew, and it would only convince Wrex further that he was right.
"Mordin once said that Humans are useful test subjects because of our greater genetic diversity. Perfect for a control group," I sighed.
"And with the number of Humans they've gone through, they must be working hard and fast on bringing the Genophage back," Wrex said with conviction.
I felt helpless as I nearly wilted under the intense gaze of the two huge Krogan. Their fears were justified. The Genophage had brought the Krogan to the brink of extinction. If it were not for the actions of the Normandy, namely Mordin Solus, the Krogan would still be drifting closer and closer to disappearing forever. Wrex had given everything he had to bring his historically divided people together, then put together the effort to bring about a cure for their affliction. He would die a thousand times over to stop that curse from coming back.
"Commander," EDI's voice came to the rescue, "there is something else that may be worth mentioning. While there is discussion of the Genophage, I have deciphered nothing relating to Tuchanka. Rather, it is Earth and the Citadel that are being discussed."
We all stood silent for a while, and the two Krogan had some of the wind taken out of their enraged sails.
"Is it possible they've made a Genophage adapted to work on Humans?" Ashley asked aloud.
"A Human Genophage?" I said thoughtfully. "What would be the point? If Humanity is their target, why go to all this trouble? Why not just plant a big bomb or something?"
"EDI, is there any indication that the Salarian government or the Council are involved?" Tali asked.
"Nothing as of yet," EDI said.
I hated feeling blind. We were grasping at straws with nothing but speculations to go on. It reminded me of when Kai Leng had stolen the Prothean AI from under our noses on Thessia during the Reaper War. Before we decided to take the risk of going to Horizon, we had felt so lost. We had no idea what direction we should go. Then again, we had flown to Horizon on nothing more than a hunch, and a shred of evidence provided by Traynor. What hunches did we have now? Tolan had to be receiving aid from a source higher up in society. The Blades had paid him for their weapons and explosives in Human subjects, not funds.
The Salarian governmental structure was extremely complex. The heads of Salarian society were mostly the females, Dalatrasses. Each Dalatrass had an inner circle around them that were totally separate from that of the other Dalatrasses. However, there were also familial ties to be taken into consideration, and played a huge part in negotiating breeding contracts between Salarian genealogical legacies. Alliances existed between some Dalatrasses, while others were bitter rivals and were constantly trying to outmanoeuvre each other. It was even more cloak and dagger than the Asari Matriarchal system, which was saying a lot. Screw politics.
I searched my mind for anyone in a position of power who would have something against either the Krogan or Humanity. There were obviously still a decent number of Salarians who were wary of the renewed Krogan. The conniving Dalatrass Linron had tried to persuade me to sabotage the Genophage cure during the war. She feared that, if the Krogan helped stopped the Reapers, they would not stop there.
With billions more Krogan in the galaxy, they would reproduce and expand beyond control. Linron felt that another Krogan Rebellions was inevitable. Many shared her concern. But would they go so far as to try and take down the Krogan again? It just seemed wrong. To me, at least. I had fought so hard to try and preserve as much life as I possibly could over my career. I even spared the Rachni, when I could have prevented their return with the simple push of a button back on Noveria. I could not rationalise the intentional extermination of a species.
Suddenly, my head jerked up as I had an epiphany. The others obviously noticed as they looked at me curiously.
"You have something, Scott?" Tali asked. I nodded and turned to EDI,
"EDI, SAM, I need you to monitor a new target: Dalatrass Linron. Track her down, if you can, and see if there are any possible links between her and Tolan." I turned on my comm, "Liara?"
"Yes, Scott?"
"I have a person of interest for you to check out. It's just a hunch, but I think I'm onto something: Dalatrass Linron. She wanted me to sabotage the Genophage cure during the Reaper War. I wouldn't put it past her to stoop low enough to try and bring it back."
"I'll begin investigating straight away," Liara replied. I begged whatever force governed the universe that this would lead us to something. However, if it turned out to be nothing, at least it was a name to cross off the list of suspects.
Barely an hour had passed when Liara arrived in Ashley's cabin where Tali and I were seated at the coffee table, going over reports from the operations against the Blades.
"Scott," she announced herself, "it would seem your hunch was right. Dalatrass Linron has been moving large amounts of money, through various off-world accounts belonging to her supporters. It all ends up going to proxy accounts under different names, but all actually filter back to a Doctor Zelan Tenz."
"And he is?" Tali urged Liara to finish.
"And he is the head virologist working at an undisclosed facility. The same facility that we have been watching over the last day."
Liara sat down with Tali and I, bringing up a holo of Zelan Tenz to show us. He was elderly, by Salarians standards, with a pale face. The skin darkened as it moved further towards the back of his head and down his neck. Below the image was some of his more noteworthy work, that Liara had helpfully listed. To no surprise of either me or my wife, he had been a member of the team that modified the Genophage.
"He must have worked with Mordin," I said to myself.
"But doesn't share Mordin's opinions," Tali said sadly. "But we have what we were looking for, now we stop their operation."
We moved quickly. Major Kirrihe was given all our latest Intel and he told us he would move immediately to Linron's villa on the other side of the planet. They would surround and observe the Dalatrass, infiltrating and arresting her at the soonest opportunity. Knowing that Kirrihe had things in his capable, trustworthy hands, we returned our attention to Site Zeta.
I was starting to get bored and frustrated waiting around and was starting to come around to Wrex's idea of just blowing the place. We would not even need to land. A few shots from the Normandy and Tibmius would do the job, probably taking out most of the personnel as well. Just as I was considering recalling everyone to the War Room to discuss the idea, EDI's voice came over the comm,
"Commander, a Salarian freighter, the Entorro, has been registered by Sur'Kesh traffic control. I am running voice recognition programs across mid to high priority channels planet-wide. During routine communications, I matched the speaker's voice to Zelan Tenz. It departed from the spaceport at Na'Atona approximately ten minutes ago. Its registered destination is the Citadel."
"The Citadel? That puts it right over Earth. What's the cargo?" I asked.
"Cargo is listed as food, medical supplies and basic construction materials and tools. However, the inventory documents have been falsified."
"Fuck," I groaned, "something's definitely going down. Get us on the Entorro's tail. Now! Is Tolan aboard?"
"I have no information to confirm his presence," EDI said.
Thinking quickly, I made a decision and got on the comm to Garrus on his ship, bringing him up to speed on the situation. I told him that the Tibmius would remain in geosynchronous orbit over Site Zeta, while the Normandy, as the faster ship, chased down the freighter.
