Chapter 51: The Lost
The night before the teams split for their individual missions:
Shepard had Mordin brief the team on his STG work that brought his assistant to Tuchanka. His admission was rather more than disturbing.
Rather reluctant as he would have preferred to speak of this 'lie of omission' with Shepard alone but she was rather insistent.
The old salarian looked at each face before he began and took a deep breath. "Work on genophage was more than just study. I uncovered surprising data Krogan population was increasing at a faster rate than expected. Krogan were adapting to the genophage. Overcoming disease."
"GOOD! You people have done enough to us." Grunt snarled.
"Did the krogan evolve or did some of their scientist develop a treatment? Shepard asked curiously
"Krogan scientist?" Mordin scoffingly laughed. "Never met krogan scientist worthy of term. No. Natural evolution."
Grunt rose up ready to smash the salarian into the ground but was held back by Jack, surprisingly. "Ya might wanna keep that snide shit to your self, doc." the ex-con warned.
"Krogan physicality remarkable." Mordin said perhaps as a clinical observation or as a half-assed attempt of an apology for the perceived slight against the young krogan's people. After all was Grunt's father not a scientist? A warlord to be sure but Okeer was brilliant man of science.
Either way Grunt returned to his seat, more out of respect for the look Shepard gave him than any effort on Jack's part.
Mordin simply continued his narrative. "Organ redundancy, backup systems, incredible tissue regeneration. Genophage like any other natural hazard krogan evolved past it."
"This I believe is a good thing." Samara spoke softly. "Nature will always find away to restore that which has been perverted. And the genophage was and remains a clear perversion. And to be clear Mordin that abomination the salarians developed is in no way natural."
Shepard was nodding in agreement.
"Maybe they were just having a lucky year?" Tali offered optimistically.
"Or fewer mercs left, meaning more krogan were left to repopulate." The Spectre added the distinct possibility. Both of which Mordin discarded.
"Please everyone. Social environmental concerns accounted for. Not an undergraduate." He sniffed as if affronted by their speculations. "Population spike due to adaptation to genophage. No other possibility."
"The genophage was a terrible mistake bordering upon a war crime. It nearly destroyed the krogan and their culture. Now they have a chance to recover." Shepard said with an almost pleased tone in her voice that this was so.
Grunt looked at her and smiled. Proud once more that he had imprinted upon this woman, as Mother.
"Naive viewpoint. Krogan too dangerous to allow unchecked birth-rate. Look at Krogan Rebellions." the professor said as if those last words justified any and all action he took with the genophage.
To this Grunt snarled. "That's just an excuse to keep us down, you pyjack-mother-humper. Wrex is right; your liver should be eaten raw. Only he will have to fight me for it."
Mordin ignored the outburst. "Personally lead a science team, geneticists, chemists, sociologists, mathematicians. Created new version of genophage. Released on Tuchanka. Other krogan centric areas. Restabilized krogan population."
"How was this modification distributed?" Samara demanded.
"Covert drops. Hospitals. Clan canteens Water supplies. Very difficult. Few salarians on Tuchanka. Team got caught a few times."
"Good." Grunt snarled.
"Had to fight free." Mordin took a sniff of air. "Messy. Better when things went as planned."
"Un-fucking-believable. Makes you no fucking better than Cerberus! Screwing around with people's lives with no care how it affects them, just so long as they don't make too many turtle-babies. Fucking asshole!" Jack rose up, pure rage on her face; she kicked dirt at Mordin, before stalking off to one of the krogan bars within the camp. Before she got too far she tossed over her shoulder "Hey Grunt you wanna tear this fucktard apart, I say go for it. Won't stop you this time"
"You live only because Shepard allows it." Grunt rumbled as he rose up and followed Jack to the bar. He couldn't hear any more of the filth spilling out of the little turd's mouth. He was having a difficult time as it was not tearing him in half.
"Was this sanctioned by the Citadel Council?" Samara pressed.
Mordin shook his head. "Purely an STG operation, sanctioned by the Dalatrass."
"So that means the salarian Councilor knew about it. And he will simply whitewash this crime of attrition with fancy numbers." Shepard said disgusted. "Mordin...to you the krogan are only numbers. But look around you! Look at what Wrex is trying to do for his people. He wants to give them hope, a future to reclaim not their glorious past of war but their histories, stories, language, music something meaningful. Instead not only have the salarians helped bring their numbers to near extinction you made their culture obsolete! The genophage and what you did is unethical, immoral and just plain wrong. How can anyone justify the slaughter of innocents?
"Trust me, I know. My mother's ancestors—my ancestors were nearly destroyed by European settlers. By the Christians who claimed they were doing their God's work by destroying the native people, our culture, language, music all of it. And they damned well nearly succeeded. The white settlers said the 'savages were too dangerous to allow to practice their heathen ways, too dangerous to allowed near good God-fearing people. And so they were removed, and removed and removed. Slaughtered by the thousands. All because of mathematics and fear mongers. I see no difference in what those settlers did back then on Earth and what the STG and the salarian government are doing here."
Mordin didn't seem to be phased by the distress his beliefs created in his team mates or if he was, he covered it well.
Shepard schooled her face into an expression of cold distain, a look she held solely for the majority of the Citadel Council when they constantly denounced her warnings of the Reapers.
Tali behind her visor was looking decidedly uncomfortable as well, this was the man she and her beloved Garrus were trusting to help them have a child. And he was so casually dismissing the harm to the krogan people... She knew what it was like to be ostracised for her ancestors. Three hundred years ago her people made a mistake with the geth, one they were still paying for.
"How does the modification work?" The young engineer asked partly out of her own curiosity partly for the benefit of the others.
"Krogan evolution. Attached garbage genetic code to genophage attack sites. Modification created other areas for garbage code to connect. Less sites clean. Capable. Running smoothly."
"If the STG thinks the krogan are so dangerous why not sterilize them outright?" Tali played what the humans called 'devil's advocate' in the way she had seen Shepard do a hundred times. "The name genophage literally comes from genocide."
Now Mordin responded. His face pulled into the same disgusted expression the others held only moments ago. "Not a war criminal! Not a murderer!" he shook his head frantically. "Genocide unnecessary. Krogan as a whole violent, but saveable. Still have outlines. Work safe. Genophage modification to protect galaxy from krogan uprising. Everyone safe. Good for us. Good for them."
"Good for them?" Shepard shook her head. "I heard that before too. When my ancestors were placed on reservations, when their numbers were cut down to a few hundred. It was supposed to be good for us. In Australia when the children of the half-bloods were stolen away from home, family and their mothers it was supposed to be good for them. Apartheid was supposed to be good for Africa. Good for the natives. All of that crap was wrong and unjustifiable.
"You salarians are doing the same to the krogan. Only you're making it worse. You say you're not a murderer? Go to a krogan obstetrician office and tell that to all those mothers whose babies are stillborn, their hopes lay bloody in their arms and you are not a murderer. That the death of their baby is good for them!"
Her body began to vibrate. All she saw was tiny Secura in her arms, dead. The grief that swallowed Liara that tore at their souls. In her mind's eye, Shepard saw herself replaced with krogan mothers, in their arms were tiny lives cut down because of salarian propaganda.
"Didn't you even think of other options?" Samara said placing a hand against Shepard's back, tempering the anger welling within. Her own anger raged. She thought of her own people. About the stigma of pureblood breeding. Some held that the pure-blooded should not be allowed to breed so that ardat-yakshi could never be created.
Mordin realized he was losing not only the support of his fellow shipmates but the Spectre as well. She might very well call off the search for Maelon if he didn't some how pull this back. "Hundreds, thousands. Modified genophage offered best option. Stabilized population. Avoided publicity that could incite krogan anger. Avoided potential genocide. Or devastating war. Solution for whole galaxy." Mordin exclaimed then looked in the direction Grunt had gone off, "Krogan included." the words were clearly an afterthought.
"I said it before. The genophage was a mistake bordering on a war crime. Recreating it is unforgivable!" Shepard snapped, her voice drooping several octaves not unlike a varren's growl. The hand on her back, the energy rippling though the contact to Samara oh so subtle presence acted as reins to check the anger before the N7 Spectre did something regrettably reactive. Was it any wonder both Jack and especially Grunt stormed off?
Affronted, Mordin shook his head. "Don't want me on team? Don't bring me. Can stay on ship. Work on Collector research."
"That might be the best solution for the whole team." Samara said then added. "Including you."
"I make no apologies." Mordin sniffed. "Did what was right. Hope you do the same if necessary." This was clearly for Shepard.
"And what if for the cohesion of the full team it's necessary to leave your man where he is? " Shepard asked. "What if I think is right is to arrest him and you for acts of attrition against an independent nation?"
The salarian professor hadn't thought of that.
"And before you say it is STG sanctioned, this act of genetic sabotaging was not agreed by the Citadel Council. And I will remind you such an act takes a Council ruling not the decision of a sole government official or its Special Ops division of a military. If word of this modification leaks out, and believe me it very well could, there will be public outcry from krogan sympathizers and genophage apologists, and people with a moral conscience, not to mention, the embarrassment the salarian government would be stained with.
"Imagine the scandal. You yourself said the STG wanted to avoid publicity. You make no apologies? Fair enough. I won't either. I will do what is necessary, and what is right. By the law. And I'm not the only one here who is in law enforcement."
The Spectre gave a knowing look to Samara. "It is well known Justicars suffer no acts of corruption when it crosses their paths in or out of Asari Space. The Krogan DMZ is not a part of Council Space but salarians sure the hell are. And there will be no asylum here for an STG member. You don't think for one moment Wrex won't extradite Maelon? That is of course if the Blood Pack haven't already executed him.
"Tali leads your team tomorrow her words are as my own, but I will trust Justicar Samara to act as legal proxy if she deems Maelon a genocidal criminal and takes necessary action. Don't like it. Return to the ship. Work on Collector research."
Shepard rose from the ground and went inside the shuttle, needing to get away from a man she once respected for his genius, for what he did for Omega, what he was doing for them in their battle against the Collectors. Now hearing how callously he was describing the near dissolution of her friends' people-she couldn't bear to look at the professor. Jack was right he was no better than Cerberus.
"Way to make friends and influence people, Mordin." Tali shook her head sadly. "You know hearing what you did to the krogan, I don't think I want you anywhere near my ovaries, or womb and nowhere near my husband's manly bits. We'll find a way to have a baby on our own."
With a single admission within the briefing Shepard had ordered him to give, Mordin had lost all respect and trust of the team. His dismissive words that he could simply remain on the Normandy had back-bitten him hard.
The young quarian woman who had placed so much trust in him, so much hope that she could carry a hybrid baby by her husband had completely vanished. Shepard was almost ready to throw him in the brig and was this close to calling off the hunt and rescue for Maelon. Grunt and Jack out-right wanted to shoot him. And Samara was with the Spectre, but whereas Shepard would place him under arrest and bring him in shackles before the Council and a court trial, the Justicar would just as easily put a bullet in his head and that of his assistant and call it justice. Assuming of course if she didn't just simply leave them both to Urdnot Wrex to take care of and still call it justice.
Ever the tactician Mordin knew he had to get back the ground he had lost with them. But how? He wasn't wrong with what he and his team had done. The logic of the decision of the genophage was absolute. Infallible. He stood firm, he made no apologies for what was absolutely necessary. The krogan had to be controlled. All strategic numbers could not be ignored. Mathematics never lied.
A scientist could never afford to become involved on a personal level with the test subjects, things had to remain professional. Contained. Autonomous. Detached. Mordin was very good at such things. No true scientist could be effective without them. But he knew the value of trust of a team. The necessity of cooperation and cohesiveness
The puzzler to the salarian was that Shepard absolutely knew this too. She knew the briefing would alienate him from the others. It was almost a deliberate act upon her part. Mordin couldn't fathom why. Shepard was adamant that this multi-cultural, multi lateral crew work as one yet she had singled out one member.
Was this the peer-punishment? There was a conversation shared by the team-sometime back: one the Professor now recalled.
"…if you didn't pick that up you failed, and he'd make you start the day trials all over again. Sometimes just you, sometimes the whole team minus you. He was very big on peer punishment…. The more physically tired you got the more he made you think. If you didn't answer correctly the whole team suffered for the incompetence of the one being grilled."
"Like a krant." Grunt concluded. "The strength of one is not equal to the strength of the krant. But if the individual warrior is too weak he should be left to the wilderness to die and not drag the others down with him."
"Right on that one, you cut out an infection you don't coddle it." Zaeed agreed and Jack was right there with him as was Miranda.
"I believe that was the point of the peer-punishment." Samara interjected. "If they cannot be uplifted they are forced by their peers to ring the bell."
Shepard nodded. "Yes. However if you allow to teammate to falter that has potential because of a personal grudge or dislike than the fault is not with the individual but with the peers. There is a very fine and delicate balance that must be found. And we did find it."
So...who was lesson for? Was it for those who held a grudge for Mordin's work with the STG on the modified genophage, or for the professor himself? That night Mordin slept with that thought in his mind. He didn't have an answer come morning.
ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME
The same hour Shepard and her team travelled to the ritual site:
Tali could scarcely sleep the night before, much of it was on the discussion they had with Mordin. Much of it was for her own excitement. This was going to be her first true command experience (outside Engineering) She couldn't wait to prove herself as surely as Grunt was doing. And paradoxically she was positively terrified she'd somehow let Shepard down. It was like night before she took off for her Pilgrimage. She hadn't slept then either. Of course then her biggest concern was not to let down her father.
At the time she wanted to find something worthy of a daughter of a man of his station. To maybe once just once to see him smile. To have him proud, to hear him say it. It was different with Shepard. She smiled even at the smallest of successes. She was proud of you even if you failed at something because you tried, because you gave everything absolute everything you had. It was impossible to even conceive of the idea of giving anything less than your all for the Commander.
Tali had to succeed. Had to bring something extraordinary back to the Flotilla, she was after all an Admiral's daughter. Rael'Zorah would brook no failure, no half measures. Neither would Shepard. It was why the young engineer adopted the philosophy of WWSD (What Would Shepard Do) despite going on her gut instinct of what she would personally do or even say. Tali felt a flutter within her if something happened where she had to rely on Shepard's silver-tongue they were shit out of luck. Tali didn't have the gift. Add to that most people weren't willing to listen to a 'suit-rat'. The krogan probably even less so. Well except for Wrex but he wasn't like a typical krogan all bravado and guns and a bad-ass attitude. He actually thought about the future of his people of his world.
Shepard trusted Tali; the endorsement of the Spectre was enough to embolden the young engineer to carry out the task assigned to her with more confidence than she held in a long while. She'd lead her group to find Mordin's lost assistant. More than that she would find this Maelon dead or alive, she'd find closure for Mordin because that was what Shepard would do even if she now despised the man or rather his affirmation that his actions were the right ones.
At the same time Shepard, Grunt and Jack climbed into their tomkah, Tali's group piled into theirs. Unlike Shepard whose team were driven there by the shaman, Tali and her group were left to their own devices. Armed with a GPS marker on their navcomputer, Tali drove the heavily armed tank deep into Weyrloc territories.
Like most of Tuchanka the Weyrloc territory was a mass ruin. Highways and bridges, whole cities were nothing but skeletons of their former existence. She could almost hear Mordin's inner thoughts as he looked at the rubble: This is why the genophage is necessary. Krogan would have all worlds thus. Krogan population must be checked.
Out of the rubble it was difficult to make out where exactly the main body of the hospital was. There were several annex buildings; some were administration or other non medical functionaries. None of them seemed to be the main building, that housed not only surgical theatres but wards which could conceivably been converted either into barracks for warriors and guards or prisons cells or more likely both.
Tali could not help but make a comparison to what she was now seeing to the old fashioned vid-games both Shepard and surprisingly enough her husband played: something to do with the Fallout of an alternative Earth. Tali didn't see the appeal. She liked Galaxy of Fantasy. Not that um...she'd ever admit to it...
"I believe this is the area we need." Acting-navigator Samara announced.
Tali nodded. "Okay. Guess we go on foot from here. No way the tomkah will get through all that rubble anyway." she pulled the tank to a halt so they might all pile out.
Almost as soon as their feet touched ground they were set upon by klixen. Tali darted behind a fallen cement ledge and activated her drones. "Go get them Chikkitika! Good girl!" The orb of orange energy shot up from the engineer's omni-tool into the air and between the arthropods.
For a split second the crawlers spun to face this new distraction allowing Tali to free her M-27 Scimitar assault shotgun and fire onto the back of the chitin plating. Fortunately she had some of Jack's warp ammo slammed in. Incendiary rounds wouldn't even touch the 'spiders.' Keelah she hated spiders. At close range the Scimitar was deadly. The warp-ammo spun through the natural armour plating cutting it down. Tali fired twice more in rapid succession killing the creature.
The explosion was a surprise to her. She didn't think she had hit it that hard. Scimitars were sorta crap against armour, though great against shields and biotic barriers. It's why she had installed tech in Chikkitika to take down armaments. The little drone had played its part but not even her chain-lighting could make something go kablamm...not like that.
Until the engineer recalled that klixen's blood was explosive once it had contact with the air.
Samara used a lift-throw with the remaining klixen. Taking the offered opening Mordin took aim with his Carnifax hand cannon. It was like shooting a clay pigeon; Mordin's shot shattered the arthropod. A small cloud of orange mist flowered in air when the creature exploded.
The incident past, the three moved forward. They got maybe three yards when a trio of explosions erupted around them that did not belong to dead or dying crawlers. Fortunately they had plenty of rubble in which to take cover. The three companions dove behind concrete and ancient-rusted transport crates.
"Blood Pack!" Tali announced. "Vorcha!"
Vorcha were armed with rocket and missile launchers.
"Deploying tech-overload." Mordin called out.
Tali nodded and conjoined the attacks of Chikkitika's turrets with his. Fortunately her team was not without their own heavy weapons. The M-100 Grenade launcher gave them a boost. The rapid-fire launcher was effective against armor, shields, and biotic barriers. Perfect against vorcha and krogan abilities to regen. She let loose a volley at the feet of her enemy knowing it was more effective. Death by munitions fire, or shrapnel and flack almost all agree the latter is by far the worst. The vorcha conscripts didn't get a vote: they were dead.
The crossfire of the drone-turret, Mordin's tech assault and the grenade launcher made short work of the Blood Pack's fire line. Unfortunately they were not the only ones barring the way to the door of the hospital. Three more squads comprised of vorcha armed not only with rocket launchers but with flame throwers and varren stood between the companions and their objective.
The play was simple enough: advance, take cover and lay down a heavy barrage of tech and biotic attacks that ended explosions of both powers. The schism of the previous night's revelations had no place within the minds of the companions. They could not afford the luxury of contention with one another, not during battle. The three of them engaged the enemy as a single organism.
Samara used lifts against their targets; Tali hit them with shotgun fire infused with Mordin's incendiary rounds, decimated the enemy. Mordin's neural shock attacks coupled with Samara's reaves and Tali's tech-overloads destroyed their defensive lines. Mordin switched out to cryo rounds, freezing the opposition which had been weakened by Tali's energy drains allowing Samara to shatter them with slams and shockwaves. It did not take long before the path was open to them.
"Repurposed krogan hospital. Sturdy. Built to withstand punishment." Mordin said as the three entered the main structure.
"This is the last place I thought the krogan would take as a stronghold. I'm surprised there are even any hospitals left standing on Tuchanka. But I guess they needed the labs for this cure of theirs. And hospitals have a lot of labs." Tali whispered as they entered the side entrance of the hospital.
"Hospitals are well fortified. More defensible. Must be given krogan temperaments. Wards easily converted into cells for prisoners. Wards also perfect for dormitories for soldiers." Mordin explained as they descended down a flight of stairs.
The companions paused when they came to a body on a landing. It was a human male in his late thirties or early forties. He wore the garb of a typical dock worker or deck hand on a cargo ship. Though it could be explained easily enough, one might suppose. Aliens on planet of a quasi-xenophobic people or within Weyrloc territories weren't as atypical as one might have thought. Krogan were known to take prisoners and hold them, sometimes for years (in the case of two asari—centuries).
"That body. Human. Need to take a look." Mordin moved to kneel before the corpse to scan it with his omni tool. The holographic projection of a human skeleton "Sores. Tumours. Ligatures show restraints at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation.
"I don't suppose there s no way to tell who this poor bosh'tet was?
"No tattoos or ID. Maybe slave or prisoner. Maybe merc or pirate. Irrelevant
now. Clearly part of krogan tests to cure genophage. Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modifications.
"Ugh " Tali made a disgusted noise.
"Would not something more native to Tuchanka and its environment be more conducive?" Asked Samara. "Perhaps Varren, as an alternative to someone sentient?"
"Yes. Human experiments strictly high level, concept testing. Native Tuchanka fauna likely used later, in developmental stages. Wise to restrict use of varren until necessary. Powerful bite."
"Experimenting on humans is a wise thing? Save our poor puppies until later just use the talking pyjack? This is sorta crap is why Cerberus rose up, you know. And a hell of a lot of humans would agree, just ask perfect tits Miranda!" Tali hurumphed.
"If I recall correctly humans were the control group on Omega were they not. The plague set to kill all other species because of human diversity." Samara said.
"Never used humans myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy. Used by brute force researchers, not tinkerers. No proper place in science." Mordin condemned his voice filled with contempt and anger. He sniffed in a breath of air. "Krogan use of humans unsurprising"
"Pft! I imagine you had to do some live testing while developing the genophage." Tali retorted. "How many krogan did you butcher in your experiments?"
"No. Unnecessary. Limited test to simulations, concepts, cloned tissue samples. High-level tests on varren. No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule never broke it."
Samara took the conversation back to a less confrontational place. "What can you tell about these experiments from looking at the body, Professor?"
"Position of tumours suggests deliberate mutation of adrenal, pineal glands. Modifying hormonal levels. Counterattack on glands hit by genophage. Clever." He was clearly impressed.
"Do you think they are close to curing the genophage?" asked Tali.
"Can't say. Need more data. Conceptually sound though. Genophage alters hormone levels. Could repair damage with hormonal counterattack. "
"So what makes humans more genetically diverse?" the quarian continued her line of thought.
"More variable. Peaks and valleys, mutations, adaptations. Far beyond other life. Makes humans useful tests subjects. Larger reactions to smaller stimuli."
"Okay...I have to ask and sorry Samara but sure humans and asari can look much different from each other, but I've seen asari with a wide range of skin tones. You have your typical common blues, some purple and the rare greens like that bosh'tet bitch on Novaria. Can't count the Thorian plant clones of Shiala, because you know chloroform and all that. Though she was turning green during her pregnancy..."
"No. Ignore superficial appearance. Down to genetic code. Biotic abilities, intelligence levels. Can look at random asari, krogan, make reasonable guess. Humans too variable to judge. Outliers in all species, of course. Geniuses, idiots. But human probability curve offers greater overall variety."
"Now we have two reasons to shut this place down." Samara said. "Humans are the newcomers and often thought of people with tenacious appetites for domination, command with a reputation for being a bit of a bully. Imagine what they would do if they believed that experimentation upon their kind was preferable because of this diversity?"
"Yeah and more of them will flock to join Cerberus." Tali shook her head. "People like Ash may even turn; she was never a fan of anyone not human as it is.
"It is why this must be held with care so that does not occur. Cerberus is a far greater threat than any imagined resurgence of krogan aggressions." Samara agreed.
"What humans may do irrelevant. Focus on Maelon. Too late to help the dead." Mordin drew attention back to him. He didn't wait for the others to follow his continued path down the flight of stairs which ended in an open area blocked off by a very large bay door.
It opened to a vast chamber that was once a main entry point for the hospital admissions. Now it served a wholly other purpose. Before the companions ventured further, they felt the presence of others come upon them. Three krogan, the centre one clearly a battle master, the other two hardy war-veteran warriors of the Blood Pack.
"I am the Speaker for clan Weyrloc, offworlders. You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already." The red crested krogan proclaimed. His white and black armour gleamed palely in the dim broken light of the hospital's atrium. He was flanked by equally hulking specimens of Weyrloc warriors. Their weapons were drawn but not pointed, fingers flagging triggers. A message in its own right.
"But Weyrloc Guld, the Chief of Chiefs, has order that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming." The Clanspeaker continued.
"Krogan do not generally allow such actions." Samara responded. "What does Clan Weyrloc have planned?"
"If you walk away now," the Clanspeaker pointed at the Justicar as he spoke "you can tell your children you saw Clan Weyrloc before our Blood Pack conquered the stars."
Was there was certain smugness within Mordin's features that declaimed 'I told you so.'? Tali could have sworn she saw it on the old salarian's face.
"You think the Urdnot impressive? They are pitiful. Weyrloc Guld will destroy them!" Now the Clanspeaker was looking directly at Mordin "The salarian will cure the genophage and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood."
Mordin whispered to the others. "Appears they discovered Maelon's work. Unfortunate."
Tali nodded. "It doesn't have to happen like this." She said pulling as much 'Shepardness' as she could out of the whole WWSD philosophy she had started the mission with. Shepard was so good at 'headology' Now it was Tali's turn to play such mental games. She only hoped to prove as successful. "I can understand wanting to cure the genophage..."
"No, quarian! You understand nothing!" the male growled. Insulted. "You have never seen the piles of children that never lived! The krogan were wronged! We will make it right, and then we will have our revenge!"
"No. I don't know that pain But I know longing. I know loss. The volus call us clanless for we have no planet of our own, anymore. I know the legacy of hopeless loss. Half the galaxy sees the krogan as victims! If you start a war, you will lose their support!" Tali was desperately wishing Shepard was here' The Spectre would know what to say to pacify the outraged Clanspeaker.
The male scoffed. "We have the Blood Pack and we have the salarian! When our clan numbers in the millions, we will not need support." Now he began pacing back and forth on the mezzanine level that now became an orator's stage.
Centuries of battle and countless violent encounters with flaunted overseers of the criminal underbelly during her hunt for daughter gave Samara the insight and instinct to know this stand off was going to end only one way. Her experienced eye caught sight of a gas-main just under the platform on which the Weyrloc warriors were standing. Slowly slipping her pistol from its holster. It may not kill the Clanspeaker directly but it would take away their advantage of higher ground.
"When we cure the genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all krogan! The Krogan Rebellions will become the Krogan Empire! The surviving races will frighten their children with tales of what the Blood Pack did to the turians! The asari will scream as their Citadel plunges into the sun! We will keep the salarians as slaves and eat their eggs as a delicacy!" His ranting only became more manifest of self-import. More declarative of krogan undaunted domination. "If you lack the wisdom to flee, then you will be the first of billions to be crushed under our...
"No. I do not think so." The Justicar delivered in a cold detached voice. She took aim and fired. And hit target.
Over his ranting the persistent hiss of gas leaking from the pipes filled the air.
"HAW! The famous Justicar misses! No pathetic asari huntress can match the streng..."
A cacophonous explosion ripped apart the upper floor of the great chamber. The Clanspeaker's rage melted into screams of pain, terror as his body became engulfed in flames. He fled-running from the fire, the more he ran the greater the flames rose.
Samara ended him with a shotgun blast to his forehead.
His two bodyguards managed to escape most of the pyrotechnic burst but their armours' integrity was seriously crippled—easily exploited by Tali and her drone's tech-attacks.
Mordin spun and fired at Blood Pack vorcha flanking them, but they seemed to be ready for the manoeuvre. Unsurprised by the attack they launched a volley of their own. However their attacks never touched the salarian because he wasn't real. It was his holographic decoy. It was difficult to discern whether or not the vorcha mercs were more engaged they had been duped or because the cloaked salarian had out flanked them. His inflammatory rounds shattered their armor shields. Two fell. Five more remained.
Then came the baying. Varren. All slavering maws of teeth, unbreakable jaw-locks and septic bites. Heads turned. No voice. Only looks. Hand signals. Tali and Samara would take out the remaining vorcha and krogan. Mordin was to concentrate all fire-power on the varren pack.
The quarian's drones danced and bobbed. Weaved and wove between the enemy. A distraction. A defence. An assault. Amongst the drones the ingenious engineer set up a turret warring off the charge of a Weyrloc warrior. A barrage of shotgun fire did the rest. The krogan fell. His death was inevitable.
The vorcha didn't fall so easily as a krogan whose shields were already compromised and dripping his life's blood.
The battle though harrowing was so fast paced it was over before it seemed to have begun. The Blood Pack lay dead and the companions of the Normandy moved on. Deeper and down they went. Maelon would be in the safest part of the hospital. The most secure. That meant the surgical theatres.
Their path lead them to a rather open area that must have been a collective of exame alcoves. Amazingly some of the power was still active in the area.
"Active console. May have useful date. One moment." Mordin typed in accessing the data base. No one had to ask what he found as he relayed it as he did so. "Genetic sequences. Hormonal mutagens. Still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue. Very thorough." he sniffed. "Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched-earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."
"Most people wouldn't be so casual about developing a sterility plague, Mordin." Tali admonished.
"Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of existing genophage. A hundred times more complex. 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." He was actually smiling.
"Pretty it up however you like. You're talking about murdering millions!" The quarian snarled.
"No. Murdered no one. Altered fertility, prevented fetal development of nervous systems. Have killed many, Tali. Many methods. Gunfire, knives, drugs, tech attacks, once with farming equipment. But not with medicine."
"Oh really? Like Shepard would say ...bullshit. Your medicine kills!"
"You were saying you were working just as hard to keep their population from falling?" Samara took over the inquiry.
"Yes. Could have eradicated krogan. Not difficult. Increased mutation to degrade genetic structure further. Chose not to."
"Oh please. If you had you wouldn't lose any sleep over it if you had. No salarian would. you fucking bosh'tet. Keelah you sound proud of yourself for not taking that final step. What you want a gold star or something!"
"Rachni extinction tragic. Didn't want to repeat. All life precious. Universe demands diversity."
"As long as they obey your set numbers. So what was it like working on the modification project? Knowing you were slaughtering thousands of babies, knowing you were going to make hundreds of krogan women wail at the dead in their arms? Must have felt pretty fracking good huh? Or didn't you think of all those shattered lives? Just that screwed up perfect number of yours. One in one thousand."
Mordin looked up and inhaled deeply. "Best years of my life. Wake up with ideas. Talk over breakfast. Experiments all morning. Statistical analysis in afternoon. Run new simulations during dinner. Set data runs to cook overnight. Laughter. Ego. Argument. Passion. Galaxy's biggest problem, massive resources thrown at us. Got anything we wanted."
The more he spoke the angrier the young engineer became. "Oh Yeah I can just see all the laughter. 'How many parents lives can we destroy today? Remember only 999, not one shell-back more. We have to allow that 1,000 krogan baby live. HAHa ha. Ancestors I'm horny just thinking abound all those dead turtle babies. Hungry for turtle soup? HAHAHAHa. Sure why not? Hahahaha."
"It was not like that Tali." Mordin became defensive.
"Pft."
"Do you keep in touch with your fellow team mates?" Samara questioned. Her voice neutral yet cold. It was almost was if she were waging her own inner war whether or not to hunt down these scientists for their crimes. While she had no jurisdiction to speak of within Salarian space, a certain Spectre did. If Shepard chose to act, Samara would most definitely be at the young human's side.
"No. All changed with deployment. Made test drop on isolated krogan clan. Hit rest of Tuchanka when results were positive. End of project. Watching it end, watching birth rates drop. Personal. Not appropriate for team."
"Why the hell not? Didn't they want to bask in their glory? Couldn't stand the screams of lamenting mothers? The anguish of fathers? You should have made them all listen. Of course it was probably the best possible symphony any of you eye-licking bosh'tets ever heard. Didn't want them dancing in the streets did you?"
"No rejoicing. No great celebrations."
"That you will admit to. So how'd you end up in Omega running a clinic? Bet your government would have given you the best cushy job there was after you carried out their dirty work."
"Wanted to heal people. Good use of last decade. Something easy. No ethical concerns." Mordin looked away from the accusatory look Tali was throwing in his direction. "Understand rational for modifying genophage. Right choice. Still hard to sleep some nights."
"I don't believe you." The young woman shook her head. "How can you agree with using the genophage, Mordin? Look what has happened to Tuchanka as a result."
"State of Tuchanka not due to genophage. Nuclear winter caused by krogans before salarians made first contact. Krogan choices. Refuse truce during Krogan Rebellions. Expand after Rachni Wars. Splinter after genophage. Genophage medical, not nuclear. No craters from virus. Damage caused by krogan not salarians. Not me."
"You cannot see it or will not. The effects on Tuchanka are still your responsibility! You upgraded the virus that kept them in barbarism!" it was not Tali that spoke with such passion but an asari.
"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."
Tali folded her arms and rocked her weight back on one foot in a very Shepard like stance. "So if the krogan banded together and formed a united government, you'd welcome that?"
"Yes. United krogan saved galaxy, destroyed rachni. Genophage not punishment. Simply alters fertility to correct for removal of hostile environment"
"Right. Whatever you have to tell yourself so you can sleep at night, Mordin." Tali turned away from the professor ever more convinced she didn't want his help to have a child with her husband. She was several paces ahead of the other two when she stopped dead in her tracks. There in the next room was a krogan female. She looked young, perhaps as young as Tali.
She continued to stare even as Mordin and Samara came up behind her. The former picked up a data pad near the corpse. "Dead krogan. Female. Tumours indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer." he walked around to look at the dead woman's face. "Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life."
"I didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead krogan." Tali sniped.
"What? Why? Because of genophage work? Irrelevant. No causative." he pointed his index finger at the quarian. "Never experimented on live krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, only reaction to it." he walked back to the body. "Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically...but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it." His voice became softer, almost remorseful.
Tali was seething and again it was Samara that spoke candidly for the young woman, "Your statements indicated you did not have much direct contact with things of this nature. You never had to deal with the fallout of your actions. You rip away the hope of a mother and she will become very desperate. Have you never come to Tuchanka after dropping your plague?"
"Yearly recon missions. Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person. Need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary. See small picture. Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega." he sniffed and then ran his hand over the corpse. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."
"Spiritually from you?" Tali scoffed. "I'm surprised you care enough to even utter the words."
"Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe. Explored religions after work completed. Different races. No answers. Many questions."
"Sounds to me you were trying to deal with your guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions. "
"Modified genophage great in scope. Scientifically brilliant. But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic." He pointed to her as if to make a point. "Not guilty, but responsible. Trained as doctor. Genophage affects fertility. Doesn't kill." he looked at the dead body and closed his eyes. "Still caused this. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses."
"How can you just rationalize it all way? How can you justify it?" Tali demanded.
"Wheel of life. Popular salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation." he paces back and forth. "Appealing to see life as endless. Fix mistakes in next life. Learn, adapt, improve. Refuse to believe life ends here. Too wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Can not end here. Could do so much more."
"To who? Didn't kill enough already? If you need this much soul-searching to get over, maybe its time to admit the genophage was wrong."
Mordin refused to back down, even now. "Had to be done. Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellions it all pointed to krogan aggression. So many simulations. Effects of krogan population increase. All pointed to war. Extinction." he held his hand up like a pair of scales. "Genophage or genocide. Save galaxy from krogan. Save krogan from galaxy."
"You could have cured the genophage instead. Brought hope to the krogan. They would have rejoiced."
"Assumes quarian or human reaction. Krogan stimulus response different. Harsh environment., take chance to fight, flee. Would have caused chaos on Tuchanka. Victor would have war economy, bloodthirsty army. Galactic expansion only logical outcome. More war. Genophage saved lives war would have ended."
"So you are willing to sterilize a species based on the evidence of a few simulations?"
Mordin turned his back on her. "Yes. Millions of data points. Years of arguments. Countless scenarios. All noted krogan fragmentation as dangerous. No unified culture to support repopulation. Would have been war. Turians and humans destroying krogan utterly. Genophage was better. Saved lives."
"It is difficult to have a unified culture when you have no hope of a future, Professor." Samara said. "You and your team and the Salarian Government willingly robbed them of any such chance. Given your own testimony and what I know of the Delatrosses ways you prefer the krogan in a barbarous state.
"Look at that dead woman, Mordin! Your precious genophage murdered all her hopes, her dreams. Everything she ever wanted taken by your medicine. Including her life. But she means nothing to you. Her pain, her torment, her shattered soul. Mean nothing to you. Because your simulations tell you she deserved her fate because she was krogan. Her baby deserved to die because it wasn't one of the one in a thousand. But hell you're not responsible for what she did in her desperation to have a baby are you? Your genophage did not save her."
Mordin stated at the corpse. His voice growing softer. "No it didn't. Worked with available data. Only option. No other possible...Doesn't matter." He turned away unable to look at the causative reaction to his modification project. 'Can do nothing for the dead.' he kept telling himself. The maths did not lie. But ...but perhaps there was truth to what the others were saying. If there is no room for the growth of hope, for dreams how can there be unity in a people? How can there be cultural growth?
The words cultivated in Mordin's heart. He knew that Tali spoke with Shepard's voice. He could hear the Spectre utter the same words, use the same arguments. But the maths never lied. But the math never had to contend with the ethical. Under the sheet dead eyes of a hopeless woman stared out at him accusing him of robbing her of her hope.
For some reason he gave a fleeting thought to his nephew. In that tiny moment he imagined his sister wailing at the death of her son. One in one thousand. The perfect number to keep the species alive. One in one thousand to keep the krogan from extinction. They were simple numbers. The numbers...One in one thousand Until now Mordin never truly thought of the 999 that died a still birth. Never truly countered their lives, because they never truly existed.
But they did. In the hearts of the mothers that bore them. In the hearts of the fathers that sired them. The genophage did not kill. But it did. It murdered all hope. It gave birth to dire desperation and desperate acts.
The dead mother on the table was a testament to that.
Mordin pushed the thought to the back of his mind. The genophage had been the right answer when it was conceived of; it was the right answer then the turians deployed it. It was right when his team modified it, the krogan were bestial, and they had to be controlled, contained. The genophage saved lives. But ...the woman dead on that table had not been saved.
He pushed those thoughts aside; the rescue of Maelon was his priority. He followed the leader of their small group as she led them towards yet another door, smaller than the first. The sign on the left, what was legibly left of it read: storage.
Tali easily hacked the locking mechanism. For her it was nothing more than child's play.
Inside they found two krogan. One dead, the other in very poor health, garbed in only a jump suit favoured by krogan when not in armour. He looked barely older than Grunt. Perhaps a year or two passed his Rites but no more than that.
He looked up and saw the three that entered. Surprise registered first upon the young face then realization that if three aliens were present it meant his jailers were not. "You killed the Blood Pack guards!" the young male exclaimed in astonishment.
Mordin came up behind Samara, whispering. "Not Blood Pack, not member of Clan Weyrloc. Wrong clan markings."
"I'm an Urdnot scout. Weyrloc guards got me. Brought me here."
"Are we not looking for such a man?" Samara asked the others rhetorically. "The chief scout told us to watch for you. As you noted we have indeed neutralized the guards. Return to Urdnot."
Instead of rising to his feet however the male shook his head. "I can't. The Weyrloc did things to me. Drugs. Injections. Said I was sacrificing for the good of all krogan. Experiments to cure the genophage. Everything's blurry. Have to stay."
Tali shot Mordin a baleful look and demanded. "You caused this now do something to help him. Stims maybe. Something to bolster his immune system."
Again the young male shook his great head. "You don't understand. I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay." He was more defiant now. "They're curing the genophage. They're going to make it all better! They have to keep doing the tests!"
"Caution, Tali. Patient unstable, susceptible. Brainwashed."
"Why do you want them to keep doing the tests?" The engineer asked. Perhaps the more simple direct approach was best. Like talking to a literal minded V.I.
"This is my fault. I got caught. Wasn't strong enough, not good enough. This is the best I can do. This is all I can do. I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I help undo the genophage, then I mattered!"
Another look from Tali to Mordin as if to say: 'See what you have wrought?'
Samara stepped forward. She had another tactic in mind in how to reach the lost young male... "Millions of children will be born.-Weyrloc children. They are going to destroy the other clans." Samara knelt before the young lad.
"But...no...No, they said I was helping Urdnot!"
"If you desire to help Urdnot, you need to return. But it would take a real...'dumbass'..." She stopped speaking as Tali bent over and very quickly whispered into the asari's ear.
"Are you certain?"
The engineer nodded vigorously.
"Yet I have heard Jack say...ah...yes. I see." Samara turned back to the puzzled krogan. "It would take a real 'bad ass' to make it back to camp while injured."
"I can do it!" the krogan vowed.
"You?" Samara scoffed. "I said a bad ass, not some scout whining like a quarian with a tummy-ache."
"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Tali placed her hands upon her hips.
"Indeed you are, Tali, indeed you are. A quarian engineer more at home with making the engines of the Normandy purr rather than being on a war torn battle field. And yet here you are fighting like a true huntress. While this maiden sulks in the dark"
"I can do it!" The scout hoisted himself up onto his feet. "I'm up! And I'm going to the female camp!"
"Of course you are. Now get back there and show them what you are worth! Go! Go!" Samara urged.
The male bellowed out a whoop of triumph and slammed his fists together and charged out of the room with new vigour, new resolve and a new purpose.
"Nicely done. Fortunately subject is unlikely to be contagious." Mordin paid a true compliment.
"I can't believe that worked!" Tali snickered watching the lumbering brute hobble as swiftly as his body was able.
"During my time with the merc guilds I have had my share of running with krogan as well as fighting them. Once you understand the mentality and what drives them it is not difficult to motivate them." Samara smiled slightly. "And you are not the only one to channel Shepard today Tali. I thought perhaps our leader's influence might do better in convincing the young scout to return home. It seems to have been most successful."
Behind her faceplate Tali smirked, thinking that Shepard would have gotten a kick out of how Samara had solved the dilemma with the missing scout. Proud as well for how infectious her influence over her team had become. Then she snickered. "You know I think 'badass' is actually one word not two."
"You have more experience with human idioms than I do. I defer to your superior knowledge on the matter." The asari smiled. Her expression became solemn once more as she turned back to Mordin. "Come professor let us find your missing protégée and be done with this place of horrors."
ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME~ ME
Author's Note / reminder: as I did on Horizon I gave most notably Tali and Mordin some of the perks from their M3 on-line - gaming counterparts: such as the salarian's duplication we see only with EDI in-storyline. Tali has the quarian turret (love that thing) as well as the fact Tali has both her offensive 'Chiktikka' and her defensive drones as she does in M3. Samara has annihilation field as well as a few of the things we see in the on-line Justicar counterparts. As a matron who is almost as powerful as a matriarch and besides it's my belief the only reason they don't have full range of biotic powers is they would be too powerful god-mode should they be used in game-play. However in storyline it's a whole different kettle of fish.