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They kept moving on through the dilapidated, rubble-strewn hallways of the base for another quiet twenty minutes or so. Most of which was spent checking pathways, stairs and rooms for traps, hostels, information about what they were doing here, or even just the way forward. It was genuinely difficult, by now, to tell heaped up rubble meant for cover, or piles blocking off hallways to control directions of approach, from simple wear and tear. So often, the rubble let in light from outside, or a wall gave way to a shallow space beyond, or didn't block a hallway enough to actually stop them if they tried to pass. Ruin or rampart, she couldn't tell.

Which was the nature of the sad state of affairs to hand…

Finally, they reached a more modern door. Heavy metal, round and sealed with a glowing red 'lock' light on it. A console had been set against the wall, wires running to the door, and all of it was sleek back and silver. A far cry from the dull orange, rusted vault doors of a similar shape and make they'd passed so far. And the wires, black cable well maintained and fed properly and neatly to the door, were a far cry, too, from the exposed, sparking wires and cable segments she'd seen.

"What is this…?"

"A door." Wrex grunted, waving her off when Pyrrha turned to him, entirely unamused. "A new one, yeah, but a door. Same old model, looks like, but… Someone ripped out just about all of it, replaced it. Custom job, looks like."

"I suppose?"

"It is." Grunt agreed, laying a hand on the metal and humming. "Doesn't give in but flexes… Means it can take an impact, hold up to it easy. Ideal for a door like this. The plates are curved, too, a bit, rather than straight. Asari work? Silaris, maybe?"

"How would the Pack source Asari armor?" Pyrrha asked, turning to Wrex, "That doesn't feel normal, to me."

"It isn't." Wrex nodded, "It isn't at all. Damn, Biotics won't work on this…"

"It'd be loud at any rate, as would my Semblance's overcharge." Pyrrha pointed out, "And my Semblance overcharge wears me down. I wouldn't be as good for the fight we'd need to expect after that much noise-"

Suddenly, the light blinked green and slid open, and she and Wrex pivoted towards it, her shield snapping up alongside his heavy shotgun. But, beyond the threshold, there… Wasn't anything, apart from a sterile sort of smell. Like a hospital. Even when she leaned forward, it was quiet and dark, the lights off and the hallway through it devoid of anyone lurking behind the frame of the door. Instead, all she could see were little vents all along the tops of the walls, and another door further back.

Stepping back, she turned to the door-

Grunt straightened, setting the panel he'd removed from the side of the console aside, and huffed, "What?"

"Did you just… Hack that door?" Wrex rumbled quietly.

"Yeah?" Grunt shrugged, brow furrowed confusedly, "It was a simple security system. Twenty eight digit input. I ran an Omni-Gel link to my 'Tool and used a system reader to check common inputs, then ran the common digits imputed through through the system through an auto-dialer directly into the system's internal matrix, to… What?"

"You," Wrex growled, "are going to make a damn, damn fine member of Clan Urdnot."

"Thank you…?"

"Welcome." Wrex grunted, shaking his head and turning to step through the door. "Now c;mon. This smells wrong…"

"Yeah." Pyrrha nodded, "I agree."

Down the hallway they found a second door that Grunt bypassed for them just as easily. Instead of opening, though, its light flashed orange and the other door closed quickly. Before they could react, though, the vents along the roof hissed, spraying an odd, sterile smelling water over them for several seconds before it stopped. A small light above the door lit up, red light scanning over them all for several seconds before it chimed quietly. And, finally, the door opened with a quiet hiss.

"Sterilization." Wrex murmured, "What were they doing here…?"

The laboratory they stepped into answered that question very quickly.

The room was wide and square, with the same rubbley walls and cracked stone as elsewhere. Terminals lined the walls on every side, even blocking some of the open, circular space that served as the door into the next room. And cables ran from each one to a large generator in the center of it, which stretched up to touch the ceiling, its mechanism spinning and a display lighting up orange beside it. Glass vials rested in measuring systems, words and symbols displayed on terminals crammed in wherever space could be made that she couldn't read.

And all of it in the same sleek, new style as the doors - albeit lacking the shiny, layered, curving plate armor they had.

"A laboratory." Pyrrha surmised, pacing over to one of the closer consoles and frowning."Grunt, can you-"

"Salarian." Grunt answered for her, gently nudging her aside so he could touch the screen, scrolling up a bit and reading aloud, "Patient fourteen shows typical cellular degeneration as thirteen and fifteen. Subject vitals crashing. However, patient reproductive system registering four point two percent more fertile than either thirteen or fifteen. Cross-Clan genetic interpolation potentially valid course. All subjects deceased."

"They're researching something…"

"The Cure." Wrex growled, standing beside her and behind Grunt, eyes hard and narrow. "Keep reading."

"Chieftain…" He scrolled down to another entry and read, "Patients sixteen through twenty deceased - all show similar signs as fourteen. Vector variation has successful fertility increase potential, but lethality rate too high for too low a return. Twenty one and twenty two informed of this - request I go ahead with testing regardless. I will do so, per their request. Then, will start from scratch wit new test batch including males. Designated M or F accordingly."

"Wait, they requested he continue it?" Pyrrha asked, "Even though he told them it was lethal?"

"They aren't prisoners." Grunt said, scrolling down and pressing a small button.

This time, a voice spoke, sounding tired, weary beyond even that, but distinctly Salarian, "More volunteers came in today… Per our agreement, I interviewed each one privately. No Blood Pack were allowed in the facility, and we came back afterwards. Interviews to be archived in servers forty eight and sixty three. No signs of prisoners, or hesitancy. Anxiety, yes, but all were committed. Even other Clans. Had an Urdnot scout in, only exception - captured scouting our facility. Explained our purpose, and he volunteered. 'For his clan too' he said."

The Salarian sighed and continued, "I don't think the Pack will be particularly kind to Urdnot, but… Well, I can't know. Beyond predictive models. And, well, if I cared about those… Regardless, the next twenty four - five, actually, with the Scout - will begin trials tomorrow. All have been thoroughly informed of the procedures they will undergo, the expectations, and what will come if they should… Fail. Log end."

"Go to the most recent." Pyrrha suggested, "Maybe it'll confirm Mordin's alive, maybe even where he is."

Grunt nodded and flicked to the bottom of the list of what she supposed were the audio-logs and pressed it, "They captured Doctor Solus. Brought him to me. Suggested I interrogate him for data regarding our work on the Genophage. I refused, of course, but… Well, Wyrloc Guld is patient, but that has its limits. I managed to convince the doctor to help by saying he could prevent more dead patients. He agreed, albeit reluctantly, so Guld didn't kill him. I'm glad, I don't want any more blood on my hands than I need to have. And maybe once we get some progress made, he'll change his mind. Realize we were wrong. I can only hope… Log end.

"The Scout was telling the truth then." Grunt murmured, "He did volunteer for Urdnot's sake."

"Genophage research…" Wrex growled, "What did he mean by that? The Genophage was deployed centuries ago- More than that. Why would they be researching it?"

"Hmph." Wrex rumbled, turning and eyeing the door. He inhaled deeply, scowled, and moved towards it. Pyrrha didn't follow until he peered through it… And froze, dead on his feet, eyes wide and shotgun hanging by his side. Limp.

Then she turned, jogging over anxiously, and looked through as well. And froze herself, staring into the cold room. Shelves lined its walls, but each one was occupied not with tools, but instead with a bagged body. A Krogan body. One had been pulled out, and had a small, wheeled console beside it with a tray attached to its side. Fresh, bright blood was splashed across it, along with duller, dried blood beneath that, and a data-pad that Grunt quietly brushed past them to pick up.

"Subject M-Eight." He read, "Died of multi-cardiac failures, brought on by Human-genetic based influenza vectored cure attempt. No noticeable improvement in fertility. Path unlikely to yield-"

"Raaaagh!" Wrex bellowed, turning and slamming a fist into and through the wall beside the door so hard that it shattered, spraying the dull colored concrete back into the lab and shattering the mounting on one of the terminals, which clattered to the ground. Turning, heaving for breath, he snarled, "The Salarian is butchering my people! For what?! Why would he even want to do any of this?!"

"We'll find out." She assured him, frowning deeply as she turned to Grunt, "Can you check the terminals back there? Maybe run some kind of… Search? Find out his motive?"

"I can." Grunt nodded, "But one at a time. He has them hardened against more than one or two connections at a time. Security, probably. But it means I have to bypass and access each one that's code-locked, which there ought to be a few of, or just connect to and read them normally from the terminals."

"Or," Wrex growled, "we find the Salarian bastard and squeeze the answers out of him."

Pyrrha grimaced, but follow the Krogan through the other, once again armored, ancient and rusted vault-like door and into a wider, more open room. It had an open, if thin, skylight down its middle and bridges from one end of the room to the other, with a huge, crate-filled lower level under them and stairs that lead down to another floor just above the apparent-warehouse. A few Vorcha lazed about across from and below them, and Pyrrha slid into cover, laying her spear aside and frowning as she eyed them.

Until Wrex thumped up and let loose a Biotic bolt that sent one into the wall with a loud, wet smack and a spray of blood and bone.

The other Vorcha stood, shocked, before turning and bellowing as the door they were guarding opened and a full fireteam of them - literally - came storming through. Grunt didn't say anything, just taking a position and raising his shotgun, splashes of death cracking across the room to dismember and butcher the Vorcha with every thunderous 'crack' of his weapon. Within moments, the last Vorcha lay dead, and Pyrrha stood, turning to the clearly enraged Chieftain with a frown.

"Chieftain, that-"

"Felt good." Wrex growled, turning to eye her. "Another lesson. Krogan need to let out their anger when they get pissed off. They don't, they lash out. Got it?"

"I suppose that-"

Her eyes widened as another door further down opened suddenly, and a white-armored Krogan stepped in, Biotic fire rolling across him as he hunched forward and rocketed toward them.

Wrex heard the blow coming an turned, but only managed to make it halfway before the heavily-armored Krogan slammed into him with the force of a rocket, hurling Pyrrha back into Grunt and even sending him staggering. Wrex, though, managed to hold his ground, Biotic fire meeting the other Krogan's as he bore through the attack, one foot cracking the concrete under him. But before he could respond, the other Biotic planted his feet, grabbed him by the lip of his armor, and pivoted sharply, Biotics cracking through the air as he hurled the Chieftain into the wall so hard the concrete shattered and rubble rained down around the Urdnot warrior.

Even then, Wrex shot up, but a Biotic fist met his rage-fuelled charge with enough force to shatter bone, spraying Wrex's blood across the floor and sending him reeling, clutching at the burnt, ripped open spot on his head. Yet again, though, Wrex answered, turning and pelting a Biotic fist into the other Krogan's leg that nearly staggered him until he took Wrex's head in two hands and cracked their skulls together, his armor and Biotics easily making the exchange a good one for him.

Even so, he followed it up with another vicious hook to the same side of his head, backing away as Wrex was sent reeling.

"Urdnot Wrex." The other Krogan chuckled, turning and eyeing Pyrrha as she stood, Grunt beside her. "And a Human with another Krogan I do not recognize- Ah, wait. The fake. That is right."

"Says the pathetic whelp that attacks from the rear." Wrex rumbled, forcing himself up and turning, pacing a step to the Krogan's side, blood flowing down his side as he braced himself against the wall. "Weyrloc Guld."

"You do not get to remark on attacks in the rear." The Weyrloc Krogan boomed, "Cowards deserve to suffer the fate they try to paint unto others. But rest easy. Soon, your Krogan will join you. Whether as casualties of battle… Or in pursuit of something greater."

"The Cure…"

"The correction of your little pet's sins, yes. And Clan Weyrloc's ascendance." Guld laughed, drawing a monstrous looking maul from behind his waist that extended in his hand, knobby base resting against the ground. "Born on the backs of dead, weak excuses of Krogan. Like oh so many of your females, come to me for a mere chance to be part of my glory."

"No…" Wrex murmured, rage gone in place of a sudden sorrow, "No, they would never submit to you."

"A dozen or so have." He rumbled, "And once we are through, I will see they all do. Or die where they stand."

"Raaagh!" Wrex shot forward, Biotics rolling off him, but Guld had expected it and propelled himself backwards in a sort of reverse Charge. Wrex missed, careening into a wall that crumbled under his force, and then Guld lunged in as rubble came crashing down on the Warlord, his hammer coming around and slamming home against Wrex's leg and crushing up into his hip.

The force sent him flying, up and into the ceiling where he bounced off the roof and came down in a rain of concrete, bouncing a few yards away and laying still on the ground.

"No…" Pyrrha murmured, turning to watch Wrex, hoping he would rise.

"So much skill and age and power." Weyrloc Guld rumbled as she and Grunt turned to face him, the young Krogan snarling ferally. Guld brandished his hammer and rolled his shoulders, "A pity it all amounts to little in the face of merely a broken shoulder and a concussion. Quite the equalizing factor, is it not?"

"I'll rip you apart!"

"No." Pyrrha cut him off, stepping in front of Grunt before he could advance. He growled and she could feel his hot breath on her head, but he didn't force her aside. So she said, "Stabilize your Chieftain. I will handle… Guld, was it?"

"Weyrloc Guld. Chieftain of Clan Weyrloc, Human." He answered, cocking his head. "Or… Nikos, was it not?"

"You know me?" She smiled, "Let me guess - the fight on Omega?"

"Oh yes." He answered, "T'Loak made more than a fistful of credits off the videos. I know you. You stand no chance."

"Battlemaster." Grunt growled, "He's right. Let me help you."

"No." As much as she would have preferred the back-up, Wrex was too important. To Shepard and the Krogan as a whole. "I've seen what Wrex is doing. He's… Trying to rebuild. I won't risk that. Stabilize him, and if you think I can't handle Guld, get him out of here."

"But-:"

"I gave you a damn order!" She snapped harshly, not daring to take her eyes off Guld as he chuckled and rolled his shoulders, readying himself for the fight. "Follow it or challenge me, but do one of them! Am I understood?"

"...Yes, Battlemaster." He rumbled, voice low and resigned, almost sad. "I understand."

"Good." She grunted, "Go."

He trundled off and she squared up against the Krogan who laughed lowly and rumbled, "I heard his leg break, Human. Urdnot Wrex will not be able to limp away from here. I ensured it. He dies here, or I die here."

"So you claim." She shrugged, lowering her stance and flicking her gaze between his hips, his hammer and his head quickly and routinely. "This will not be the first time I leave a Krogan beaten and in the dust."

"I know of what you did to that disgraced excuse for a Krogan, Garm." He rumbled, tapping his helmet and chuckling deeply, "I am well aware of your weakness, Nikos. Before I came out here, I ordered my people to enter in fifteen minutes if I do not order them away."

"And…?"

"If I am alive and contact them," he said, "I will order them to butcher the Salarian we captured, punishment for his crimes, and dedicate the next week to the extermination of Urdnot and all of its allies. From orbit, if necessary."

"You're… A monster." Pyrrha murmured, shocked to her very core. "Do you want me to kill you?!"

"No, I want you to despair." He laughed, leaning forward, "And I want you to die!"

He lunged forward, Biotic force cracking the concrete under her, and Pyrrha frowned.

Using her Semblance, she threw herself to the ground and let him pass over her, then propelled herself back up to her feet just as he did. Turning, she thrust her spear into the back of his knee to force him down as he tried to turn. He resisted, but he was off-balance from his missed charge, and she backed the thrust with Aura flushing through her body, reinforcing her, and her Semblance driving the spear into him with all the force of a missile.

He snarled as his knee came down and Pyrrha stepped to the side, slamming her heel into his side and then his helmet marking him before he could shoot back up and round on her.

Flicking her hand just as he turned and took a long step, she surprised him, Semblance yanking him to the side right as his balance shifted. He recovered quickly, but Pyrrha kept the pressure on, turning and hurling her shield with all the momentum she could, right into where his crest would be. His head snapped back and he growled as she called her shield back, continuing her spin and hurling it into his head with mounting force, letting the speed of her shield build her momentum up with every throw.

Finally, she caught it and planted a heel as she turned, glaring at the Krogan and snapping, "Why?! Why must every insufferable b-bastard in this messed up galaxy push me!"

"Wh-"

"Why?!" She snapped, thrusting her spear into his face as she stepped forward, extending it to 'thwack' him in the throat. He chocked and she ducked, hurling her shield into his throat in the same spot to hurt his breathing as he backed away. "Why?! All I do, I try and do justly! I try to help! So why do you all feel the need to stab. Me. In. The. Back!"

She punctuated each word with a thirst, biting into the scant gaps in Guld's armor and yanking Milo out with minute spurts of vibrant blood.

Guld bellowed in anger at her onslaught and Charged, shoulder slamming into hers with Biotic fury. She staggered back and he pivoted, hammer coming around towards her side, but Akouo met it just in time, spreading the blow out enough to save her arm and ribs, even if she was still hurled to the side and into the wall. She found metal there and focused, Aura flaring brightly as she turned, a long, thin length of metal she couldn't identify spearing out of the seam between the floor and the wall to meet the warlord as he charged. His own momentum buried it in his thigh, but he ignored it, using his hammer to crush it in half in the same motion she plunged it in.

Then, the floor shuddered and came apart under them, a long, square section from just where they stood to several feet to their side coming down and shattering below, throwing them both off their feet.

Pyrrha and Guld stood at the same time, but the latter had Biotics, and Charged her, turning as he came to meet her. Akouo took the blow but Pyrrha was sent staggering, and then fell when her feet found no stable footing in the rubble. Kneeling, she braced her shield as the hammer came down, backed by Biotic power, and send vibrations through her body. Once, twice- Three, for, five, and six times it came down, Guld roaring as his rage took hold, blood spilling out across the floor from his leg wound and voice ragged from his damaged windpipe.

Akouo groaned and shuddered under the abuse, until she watched a corner finally cave, just a bit.

And then, under the next, watched it give out, shearing apart finally as the hammer came down on her directly, flattening her into the ground. She laid on her back as he raised the hammer in both hands, aiming for a finishing blow. Her hand snapped up and she forced it aside with her Semblance, the contact from it striking her into the ground enough to mark it, but the electrostatic 'whump' sent her rolling off to the side regardless.

Standing, she looked at the broken, blackened half of Akouo still on her arm, and felt her heart shatter…

And then, her blood boiled.

"You monster." She rasped as he charged her, eyes hard and stinging with tears. Shifting from spear to sword, she ducked into and under his swing, sliding on a knee, propelled by her Semblance, and drove her sword into the back of his knee. He bellow in pain as she wrenched it up, feeling it carve against and into the bone of his joint, and then snarled, "That was all I had!"

Yanking the blade free, she backed up a bit as he pivoted, limping but bringing his hammer up and down on the spot she'd stood on. Anchored in place by her Semblance, she didn't move even as the electrostatic discharge seared at her skin. Instead, she thrust her sword in, taking him in the throat. His armor and Barrier resisted, but she poured every bit of her Aura into it, forcing it through and into the flesh under his armor with a wet 'schlick' sound.

His fist snapped up as his blood splashed across her hand, hot and fresh. The blow caught her in the face, and she felt her jaw crack from it, tasted her own blood, but ignored it. Wrenching her sword free, she brought Milo up and down, into his neck again, just behind the first blow. It sank into his flesh through his ruined armor in another splash of hot blood, and Pyrrha used the very last of her Aura to push him away from her as hard as she could, yanking back at the same time.

The sword ripped through his face entirely, only stopped by the armored front of his helmet.

"Dark one," she growled, spitting blood, "give me strength!"

She felt the barest bit of power pour into her as she slid around to his other side and reached out, calling Milo to her-

It ground through bone, meat and teeth with a loud 'scrunch' before punching out the other side and into her waiting hand, coated in blood and viscera. Turning, she met the Krogan's gaze as he turned, weakly, to look up at her. She turned as he fell, one hand cradling the side of his head, and sighed a quiet, weak, "I'm done being pushed…"

Then Milo came down once more, into the back of his head and further, into his brain. She wrenched it back and forth, side to side, and then did it again before she let him go. And, finally, he tumbled to the ground in front of her, still. Dead.

Staggering back, she let herself slump against the concrete barrier that served as the railing above the warehouse area and groaned. Her mouth was full of blood, so she spat, watching a canine bounce away from her when she did. Grimacing, she let her head lean back against the col stone and coughed. Her hand pressed against her ribs and she winced - cracked, probably.

But, more than anything, she focused on the piece of Akouo, broken a foot away from her.

All she had now was Milo, and her armor… All that was 'her' from her previous life. It hurt, deep inside, and now that the range was gone all she felt was that hollow ache. And, worse, the guilt of murder. Because he'd been beaten, but alive. Alive and a threat in his own way - but not to her, not then and there, and yet she had killed him not for his threat. But for her rage and pain.

For revenge…

"I'm sorry…" She murmured, voice quiet, "But you gave me no choice. You would have…"

"Battlemaster!" She turned as Grunt dropped down to her level, turning and grunting as Wrex followed. He was limping, still hurt, but Krogan healed quickly, and she could see it at work here.

That and stubbornness.

"Grunt." She groaned, pulling herself up and leaning on the barrier. "Wrex."

"Impressive work." The injured Chieftain grunted, leaning on Grunt's shoulder but standing as straight as he could manage anyway. "You have my gratitude, Nikos. And Clan Urdnot's besides."

"He'd never have stopped, Battlemaster." Grunt offered gently, more gently than she'd ever heard him speak. Enough that both of them turned to regard him. "He would have come for all Urdnot in revenge if you had shamed him and left him here as you did Garm."

"I know, but…" She sighed, "I didn't do it for that."

"The result remains." Grunt pressed, "And you're not perfect. You're allowed a mistake."

"Not this kind!" She snapped, shaking her head to clear the anger and sighing, "I'm… Sorry, Grunt, I-"

"Am upset." He nodded, eyes firm and voice soft. Comforting, somehow. "Breathe, let it sit, then breathe out and let it go with you. Accept your failure, your mistake, and accept that the outcome is a good one."

She did as he told her, and to her surprise, it worked. It didn't wash away her anger - at herself or Guld - or the hurt she felt for losing Akouo, but it steadied her. Enough to focus, at least. To bring her thoughts away from her emotions and more to reality - which made her press a hand to her jaw and grimace.

"Ow…"

"Here." Grunt stepped forward and raised a little orange capsule. It burst in a little gout of reddish gel that Grunt reached out, dobbing along her jaw and lip gingerly, numbing her injuries. He stepped back and rumbled, "Better?"

"Yes." She nodded, turning to look down at the broken remains of Akouo on the ground. "At least, what can be better is…"

"You said your weapons were important." Wrex grumbled, "Right?"

"Our weapons are as much a part of ourselves as our hearts." She answered quietly, "Precious. Very nearly irreplaceable. But… Akouo did his duty until the end." And beyond, really, "And deserves his rest, now. This place is hardly fitting, but… It is where he found his rest."

"I owe you for this, then." Wrex grunted, "Saved my life, and lost somethin' important to you. You need somethin', you name it."

"Thank you." She sighed, taking a deep breath and turning. "Come. We should get moving, before more come. We're not in a great shape for fighting, now."

"Heh." Wrex rumbled, "True enough."

XxX-XxX-XxX

Kai Leng waited until the three vanished through the far door before allowing his cloak to drop and pacing forward, out of the open crate. Using his Biotics to boost himself, he leapt up onto the rubble-strewn landing and knelt amid the mess, right beside the dead Weyrloc. Smirking widely, he muttered to himself, "Not so prideful now, are you? All that Krogan power, wiped away by one Human."

Weyrloc Guld didn't respond, of course.

After a moment, he turned, pressing an ear to his comm-piece, "Handler."

"Asset." His Handler answered, "Report."

"Asset WG-1 is dead." He reported simply, "Terminated by Potential-Asset PN. Files related to C have been cleansed, per protocol. Awaiting orders."

"Status of PA-PN?"

"Injured, but mildly." He said, "Lost a tooth, suffered bruising, nothing serious to report. One of her weapons was broken, however."

"Which?"

"The shield."

"Acknowledged." Handler answered, "Hold." He did so, waiting patiently while the woman reported to her own handler, and then they to their own, and on and on, as far as the chain needed. Finally, after just over a minute, she returned, "Recover whatever remains of the weapon can be, as well as any blood or tissue samples you are able to. Ensure termination of all CW contacts, then withdraw to RV-42 for extract and debrief. How copy?"

"Clear." He answered, turning and padding over to the burnt section of metal. Stooping, he picked it up and turned, smiling. "Oh, what's this…?"

Standing with the bloodied tooth in his gloved hands, he smiled more widely and reported, "Genetic sample obtained - class A sample."

"Repeat, Asset." Handler snapped, "Did you say Class A?"

"Affirmative." He responded, "A dislodged tooth. Human, and she's the only Human present for the altercation. It's hers."

"Affirmative." Handler answered, "Your orders are revised - proceed immediately to evac site. Contacts will be compensated for silence at a later time. This is your priority."

"Understood." He grunted, pocketing the tooth in a specialized, sterile compartment of his armor and turning, cloak rolling over him as he finished, "Cloaking - comms will drop."

"Affirm-" Handler's voice died in static, but he got the message.

More importantly - what would the egg heads make of this?

XxX-XxX-XxX

Through the final door was another laboratory, this one a bit smaller. More intimate. Only a few tables were here, spaced out evenly and surrounded by medical equipment. Only one of which had been used - still occupied by a dead Krogan. Across from the door, at the base of a massive terminal crawling with data, icons and words she couldn't read, were two Salarians. One in dirty, cracked armor, and one in simple clothes. And both of them were working.

Mordin, though, turned at their entrance, and smiled widely on seeing them, "Nikos. Grunt. Urdnot Clan Chieftain. Happy to-"

"Will you be once I tell them, Doctor?" The other Salarian asked, still working at the terminal. "Or will you be scared?"

"I…" He flicked Pyrrha a look first, oddly, and then the Krogan before turning to the other Salarian and frowning. "Our work was important. Saved lives."

"Tell that to the mountain of Krogan bodies, Doctor." The Salarian sneered, turning to the three of them, pursing his lips and bracing himself. "We worked for the Special Tasks Group here on Tuchanka to-"

"Update the Genophage." Mordin cut the other Salarian off, voice firm and flat. Pyrrha's eyes widened and he turned, one hand curled into a fist in the small of his back. The screen scrolled for a moment before settling on a simple genetic readout, segments of clearly non-Human DNA lighting up. "Krogan evolutionary ability advanced. Were developing natural immunity to original Genophage strain. STG deployed to… Counter this."

"You…" Wrex growled, pushing off Grunt and stomping forward a step, Biotic fire rolling off of him in waves. "You updated it?!"

"Yes." Mordin nodded, turning to them. "Had no choice."

"The hell you didn't!" Wrex snarled, Biotic fire rolling off of his shoulders ever more intensely as he strode forward, only stopped when Grunt slid around him and pressed his hands against his chest, slowing him to stop. "What? A thousand years of genocide weren't enough? You wanted more?!"

"Not about want!" Mordin snapped, "About need!"

"Who's?!"

"The Krogan's!" Mordin shouted back, eyes tight and teeth bared. Turning, he pressed another input, this time showcasing a display of the galaxy, one small segment - where Tuchanka was - lit up in red. "Observe, model of Krogan over course of twenty years without intervention."

Quickly, that splash of red expanded, washing across sections of the map quickly until most of the Galactic South had been swallowed up. Then, thirty years in, it ground to a halt. Mordin tapped it and turned to them, snarling, "See? Rapid Krogan expansion. Violence. Death on scales unknown. Reprisal for Genophage."

"A deserved one apparently!"

"Keep. Watching." Mordin snapped, tapping it again. "Simulation continues."

And it did, another ten years passing on the scale with no change - and then, after another ten, a huge swathe of red was suddenly cut away. And then another, and another, over the course of sixty years. Until even Tuchanka's red was cut away.

"Simulation of two centuries." Mordin explained, "Presumes Krogan reprisal at population of eighty percent - to account for Krogan infighting and loss until that point. Krogan expansion inevitable. Billions dead by midway. Then, organized resistance. New biological weapon as ineitable as Genophage. This time, Council unlikely to stop at containment. Arguments already for extermination - doubled after the expansion. This is conservative simulated estimate."

"Genophage adaptation problematic." Mordin finished, "Because Genophage adaptation leads to genocide. Ten times out of ten. Only variable, who is genocided. And when."

"This again…" The other Salarian sighed, shaking his head and turning to point a long, thin finger at the older doctor. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but your precious models aren't reality. You can model my behavior all you want, but until I point a gun at someone, I'm no murderer. You are if you kill me!"

"Inaccurate." Mordin snarled, shaking his head and sighing. "Irrelevant… Had to act. Better for Krogan. Better for galaxy."

"Who gave you the right?" Grunt growled, voice low as he turned, glaring at him even as he kept a hand on Wrex, silently warning him against trying to charge again. "Who, Doctor?"

When Mordin didn't answer, Pyrrha spoke, voice quiet and frail as she fought down her emotions, "Answer his question, Mordin."

"No one." He finally answered, bowing his head. "Had to act. STG made it clear. Someone would do it. Had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong."

"Seems wrong enough already…"

"Does it, Chieftain?" Mordin snapped, voice hot as he turned, pressing a few more inputs and bringing up lines of genetic sequence models. One by one, they had something introduced and blackened, "Models. Simulations. Bare tweaks, smaller than microscopic, to my Genophage modification. Each causes death. If not me, your species could have died. In weeks. Not centuries."

"So you… What, saved us?" Wrex snarled, gesturing at the dead Krogan on the table. "Does she look saved, Salarian?"

Mordin eyed the dead Krogan for a long moment before, slowly, stiffly, he crossed the room. Until he reached her, ignoring the Krogan glaring at him as he passed them. Leaning on the table, he reached out with a gentle hand and laid it on her shoulder, eyes and face softening as his head drooped.

"No. No, she does not..." He whispered, straightening and bowing his head more deeply. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find your home. Find… Some place better. Forgive my failure."

In the silence that followed, the other Salarian sneered, "Pray all you like, Doctor. Our souls are beyond redeeming!"

"Yes. Yes we are." Mordin agreed, turning and flicking his hand. The knife he threw buried itself in the Salarian's throat and, choking, he staggered forward and Mordin surged to meet him, catching him and carrying down, cradling his head as he laid him down. Holding his hand, he murmured, "Peace. Over quickly. Over quickly…"

"D-Doctor…" As the Salarian stilled, Mordin let him fall, finally, and bowed his head.

"Do what you believe right, Chieftain. Grunt." He murmured, "Will not fight. Can not fight any more…"

Wrex's fist came up but, when Grunt didn't move, Pyrrha did, blocking him. Choking back her overwhelming emotions, she asked, quietly, "Doctor… The models, they're for the Krogan now. Right?"

"Yes." He answered, not even looking up at them. "Models as Krogan are."

"So… What if they were better?" Pyrrha asked, "More… Stable? Less focused on vengeance?"

"Population growth still… Problematic." Mordin murmured, suddenly standing and turning, striding over to the console and working at it. "Political solutions possible. Stable politics, ambassadorial efforts, aid… Possible variables shift. No desire for vengeance, no systemic push outward- Possible!"

The new simulation that played showed the same expansion as before, but slower - spread out over hundreds of years, and with new green zones blooming at their edges. Finally, a thousand years out, it settled, with strips and speckles of orange and bright splashes of green that covered so much more of the galaxy. Mordin backed away from it, shaking his head.

"Possible… Only seven in ten times, without knowing other variables." Mordin murmured, "But possible."

"Can you cure the Genophage, Doctor?"

"What?" Mordin turned, "Yes. Capable. Safely altering Genophage harder than curing it."

"Can anyone else can?"

"Few." He answered, "None who would."

"And would you?" Pyrrha pressed on, turning to face him fully and backing away so she could watch Wrex, too, whose face had turned more… Pensive, now, than rageful. "If the Krogan were stable, would you cure the Genophage? Come what may, anger who you might, would you be willing to do it?"

"If I believed the Krogan would not be genocided nor genocide the rest of the galaxy…" Mordin nodded, "Yes. Proudly."

She turned to Wrex, now, her point clear and, after a second, he huffed and let out a long, deep growl. Turning to Grunt, he snapped, "You say nothing to anyone outside this place. Not even Shepard. Are we clear?"

"Yes." Grunt nodded, "Chieftain?"

"I will drag Tuchanka back to glory." Wrex growled, turning to leave, "When I do, you will undo what you did. And I'll decide whether to kill you or not."

"Very well…" Mordin nodded, watching the Chieftain leave. Once they were alone he let his gaze fall and then, slowly, turned to her.

Her heart ached, and her eyes stung with fresh tears, and…

Pyrrha turned away from him, and murmured, "Come on. We-We need to get back to Shepard…"

XxX-XxX-XxX

And so, everyone had absolutely the worst fucking time. Just, the worst. Everyone lost a little, some lost a lot, and uneasy promises and alliances have been forged. As usual, no one came out unscathed. Just hope no one expects plot armor here, because sorry, but as bad a fucker as Wrex is ANOTHER Warlord beaning him in the back full tilt isn't going to work out for him. Keep up that pressure and he's done, like any warrior.

Guld did feel the need to hit him from behind, though, so make of that what you will.

Oh and Kai fucking Leng! Only good things come from this, surely.

XxX-XxX-XxX

RC Jackson :

Fragging auto-correct….

M1stymix :

As she is, certainly not.

Sebine :

FRAGGING AUTO CORRECT. My eternal nemesis…

Keenan Grauberger :

You are fine, no worries, friendo.

Captain Dick Scratcher :

That's part of the themes of this show. The idea that we shouldn't judge others based on WHAT they are, but rather who. Shepard shouldn't judge Penny or Legion for being synthetic. Uvenk should not had judged Grunt for being vat-grown. On the merry go round goes.

The other theme is wisdom of the older generations, being carefully strained through the understanding that a lot of the 'old ways' are fucked. Wrex exemplifies this. The old ways of the Krogan are bad for everyone - especially the Krogan.

Kishinokurobi :

No stress! Lol

As explained prior, she CAN do these things but a lot aren't in her nature. Pyrrha has progressed to be willing to kill if forced, but ussually she requires forcing - as shown above - to be willing to simply do a murder. Ripping open someone's suit so they can be pulped out into space is a bit more brutal than that. Ripping apart weapons is a tactic she could use - but also as covered, her Semblance's upgrade takes more focus and Aura to use, which a lot of the time would risk her more than just fighting would.

The flying disk, however, is not a bad idea, lol.

Javik would have whole other issues, though. Pyrrha would inherently rebel against his brand of imperialist fascism, for one. Garrus also has baggage. And Penny does, too, regardless of the concept of an android's sexuality and how complicated THAT would be, lol. That said, the pairings will evolve naturally.