Shepard was standing at the galaxy map, looking down at but unaware of the stars and planets that projected the splendour of the milky way. Her thoughts were instead occupied with the puzzle of diplomacy, specifically how to undo the Gordian Knot that was the complicated state of foreign relations between krogan, salarian and turian governments.

The krogans had been uplifted because the salarians and turians had been desperate to defeat the once-growing and once-very-real threat of the rachni. They had defeated the threat admirably, venturing into the most inhospitable places in the galaxy where the rachni queens lay to strike. After the rachni were exterminated, the newfound freedoms conceded by the council races gave way to a runaway train of increasingly pronounced territorial aggression and explosive birth rates that threatened to overwhelm all. As a deterrent, the genophage was created by the salarians - but turians war doctrine stressed total annihilation of an enemy, and they immediately distributed it. Since then, only one in every thousand krogan births has been viable. The bad blood still ran in rivers.

"Commander, the salarian dalatrass and krogan clan chief are ready to come aboard," Specialist Traynor notified her, standing to the right of the galaxy map.

Shepard sighed and began walking down the short ramp toward the elevator. "Have them brought to the conference room." Then under her breath added, "And hope this doesn't start another war."

.

By the time Shepard arrived at the conference room, the energy was explosive, and the shouting had already begun. Dalatrass and clan leader Wrex were squaring off across from each other while the primarch stood off to one side, arms crossed in frustration.

The salarian dalatrass shook her head. "The krogan is in no position to make demands!"

"The 'krogan' has a name. Urdnot Wrex. And I'm not just one junkyard warren you unleash whenever you're in trouble." When Shepard took her place at the head of the table, Wrex nodded respectively in her direction and continued his argument. "I've got my own problems. Reaper scouts have arrived on Tuchanka. So why should I care if a few turians go extinct?"

The primarch unfolded his arms and straightened his back. "Trying to draw out negotiations will get you nowhere, Wrex. I have no time for it. Just tell us what you want."

Wrex leaned forward onto the conference table, his deeply scarred mug glaring at the dalatrass across from him. "I'll tell you what I need…" he said, grinning. "A cure for the genophage."

There was a marked surprise in the amphibian eyes of the salarian matriarch. "Absolutely not! The genophage is non-negotiable!"

"Why are you so opposed to the idea, Dalatrass?" Shepard asked.

"Because my people uplifted the krogan," she explained. "We know them best."

Wrex's face contorted with anger. "You mean you used us! To fight a war, you couldn't win! It wasn't the salarians or the asari or even the turians that stopped the rachni! It was krogan blood that turned the tide!"

Dalatrass shook her head, dismissing the point. "And after that, you ceased to be useful! The genophage was the only way to keep your… 'urges' in check."

Shepard's skin prickled, intensely aware of the tension in the room. She knew krogan decently well, and when she saw Wrex grow quiet and narrow his eyes in barely reserved fury, she knew he was a hair-trigger away from smashing the conference table between them into pieces, reaching across, and wringing the life out of the dalatrass with his bare hands. She needed to remain a neutral party, but it was difficult in her position; Wrex had been a loyal and trusted crew member of the Normandy SR-1, and she considered him a good friend and admirable leader. On a fateful day in Virmire, she had promised him they could find another way to cure the genophage, one outside the influence of Saren and the Reapers, and Shepard was not one to break promises.

Thankfully, she hadn't need to intervene, as Primarch Victus stepped in. "Dalatrass, you may not like him, but Wrex is right. Insulting him won't change that."

"I won't apologize for speaking the truth! We uplifted the krogan to do one thing: wage war. It's all they know because it's all we wanted them to know."

Victus turned his head from the exchange, exasperated.

"Your people should have thought the matter through, then," Shepard asked, "Was it really a surprise the krogan revolted?"

"That's precisely my point, Commander. We made a rash decision. We turned to the krogan in desperation. It's the same mistake you're about to make today. No good can come from curing the genophage."

"The krogan have paid for their mistakes. The genophage has gone on long enough."

"One thousand, four hundred, and seventy-six years, if you're keeping track," chimed in Wrex.

Although the krogan lifespan was many times that of a human, the length of time seemed incredible to Shepard. Two thousand years ago on Earth, ancient Rome had burned.

"It was a thousand years of peace, free from these… brutes!"

"Enough!" protested the primarch. "Whether or not they deserve a cure is academic. It would take years to formulate one."

Wrex chuckled ominously under his breath. "My information says otherwise." He lumbered to the head of the table and glanced pointedly at the turian, who moved out of his way before opening a feed on the projector. "A salarian scientist, Maelon, grew a conscience. He was on my planet testing a cure on our females," the clan leader began.

"I remember," Shepard recalled, "His methods were barbaric."

"But what you didn't know is that other females survived his experiments. So the dalatrass here sent in a team to clean up the whole mess – and to take them prisoner."

The feed thrown up on the wall was from a shaky body cam, and the focal point of the video advanced down a lab-like gangway till a lineup of salarian testing cells appeared. The bodies within them were unmistakably krogan.

"Where did you get this? It could be a fabrication!" insisted Dalatrass with barely hidden desperation.

"Don't insult me. Those are my people!" Wrex spat, pointing at her. "They're immune to the genophage, and you're going to give them back!"

Things just got a lot spicier, and Shepard saw the gleam in the primarch's turian eyes turn cold. "Dalatrass, is this true?"

"How will curing the genophage benefit my people?"

"How long do you think you'll last against the Reapers? Because if you don't help, that's how you'll end up."

"And I'll be the last friendly turian you ever see," added Victus.

Shepard pushed. "What's it going to be?"

Dalatrass looked at them, eyes wide, her bargaining position suddenly gone. The salarians may have been masters of intelligence, but she had just been outmaneuvered. Her head fell into her hands. "... The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'Kesh."

Shepard's feet had already moved her halfway down the room before the dalatrass' warning arrived on her heels. "But I warn you, Commander! The consequences of this will be felt for centuries to come!"

Wrex, now appeased with a plan rapidly coming together, ignored the admonition and nodded to Shepard. "Let's go get them."

"You're not setting foot on Sur'Kesh!" Dalatrass insisted. "This will take time to–"

It seemed like the primarch had even less patience than her, and he decisively interrupted. "It happens now. As a Council Spectre, Shepard can oversee the exchange." It was turian and human lives burning while the salarians hid in the shadows. He was a soldier, and he wanted action.

"Then we're going," Shepard stated, then turned on her heels to leave, not wasting another second.

"I won't forget this, Commander!" she heard the dalatrass shout after her. "A bully has few friends when he needs them most!" before the door closed behind her.

.

Arius returned to his quarters after filling his stomach in the mess, holding a datapad in one hand and his refilled canteen in the other. On the datapad was a report forwarded from the Alliance: The construction of the Crucible had begun. They didn't even know what it did, only that it was the best thing they theoretically had, so construction had begun post-haste.

Walking over the starboard windows, he put down the items and gazed out. Far below the Normandy, enrobed in clouds, was Sur'Kesh, the homeworld of the salarians. It was a planet-sized jungle, wet and teeming with life. Due to its location, it had yet to be invaded by the Reapers, yet Arius knew that it would fare worse than the others. Salarian doctrine stressed striking the first blow in all conflicts, and while it had long worked for them, the Reapers were not a foe where such tactics were possible.

He unscrewed the top of the canteen and drank from its sloshing contents. Inside was a grainy smoothie made from Burngrass, a weed native to Sur'Kesh. A major export due to its value in terraforming, it was a soil-enriching and adaptable plant. Mixed with some berries native to the world, the concoction packed high protein and energy. Despite its strange texture, the taste was acceptable.

While taking another gulp of the mixture, the door slid open behind him. He turned to see Shepard stride in, a scowl on her face and a gun in her hand. "Knock knock. Guess who decided to join us on Sur'Kesh? Goddamn Cerberus."

His eyes narrowed, troubled. "Really? Hmm. That's concerning… but nothing you haven't handled before."

"Oh - I'm more annoyed than anything else. We came straight to Sur'Kesh based on a real-time decision, yet they still swooped in after us. We have enough to worry about as is." Shepard raised her right arm to rub her forehead out of a stress habit, but the weapon's weight reminded her that she was still holding it. "Oh, I picked this up for you while we were down there. It's an STG-issued Scorpion heavy pistol. I heard they're hard to find."

Surprised by the gift, he took the stark white pistol with its gentle sloping curves from her and examined it in his hands. He had read about it: As with most STG tech, it was deceptively powerful for its size. The weapon fired projectiles with a high-explosive filler that adhered to surfaces, turning them into proximity mines. Until recently, due to the STG's secrecy, the only way to get your hands on one was to take it from a dead operative or be one.

"They are a very rare find. STG is very strict with their tech exposure, though that's been changing gradually with the war. Thank you." He set the weapon down next to the others he examined on one of the desks. "How did the rest of the mission go?"

"Bit of a mixed bag. Unfortunately, only one of the females survived Maelon's experiments. She's immune to the genophage, but she's now a high-value target, hence Cerberus. Fortunately, she's been in good hands - one particular 'scientist salarian' has been helping her."

"'Scientist salarian'...no…. Mordin?" he asked, face lighting up with elation. "He was on base?"

"He was. Didn't even seem surprised to see me. Classic Mordin." Shepard grinned slyly as she leaned forward on the armrest. 'He's the insider who tipped Wrex off about the females."

A cascade of interconnected truths unlocked before Arius, bringing another hidden facet into the light. He shut his eyes and tilted his head slightly back, savouring the fact; They were on the right path. "Excellent. A very timely advantage." When he opened his eyes again, Shepard noted that they had lightened slightly, though she wasn't sure why that news would have had any emotional significance to him. "I take it all parties are aboard?"

"They are. Chakwas has vacated the med bay to allow Mordin access to the medical equipment and to keep Eve in the best spot for treatment. Wrex stays for the moment as Mordin needs some tissue samples from him."

"Eve?" Arius asked, not following.

"The female krogan. She's also a shaman."

Arius tilted his head to one side, puzzled. "That's… not a krogan name."

"Mordin gave it to her. He thought it would be fitting, given we're on a human ship and what she represents."

"Oh, interesting. It's infrequent to see a female krogan outside of Tuchanka, a female shaman moreso. I'll pop in once they've had some time to settle."

With newfound knowledge, Arius walked over to his sprawling board and updated it. He moved the notes marked for the krogan females out of the salarian resource pool and added them along with one marked as Mordin Solus to the krogan one containing Wrex and the genophage. He then connected the pin for the krogan to the turian pool and then from the turian pool to the human one. The rest of them: asari, quarian, geth, still lay unconnected. There was a small group labelled Cerberus, which he placed close by with a question mark.

Shepard, watching him work, lingered on the Cerberus pin. "I still don't understand how they could have known we were there. Did they intercept Mordin's message somehow?"

"Unlikely…" Arius placed a hand on his chin, and his eyes lowered, darting to and fro in thought. After a minute of frenzied contemplation, he calmed and settled into a chair across from her. "Do you believe Wrex to be a good leader for the krogan?"

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Potentially everything."

It was without pause that Shepard answered, "Yes, I do. Wrex is the leader they need. Do I need to go into specifics?"

"No. Your word is enough." Arius leaned back in his chair. "I don't know for certain, but I strongly suspect the mole was Dalatrass."

"What? No. I mean…." It seemed ludicrous, yet the more she turned the idea in her head, the more it made sense. "Hmm. Go on."

"I suspect her for two reasons. One, even if someone intercepted Mordin's message, they still would not have the base's location. STG bases are highly secretive, especially ones holding top secret resources like krogan females immune to the genophage. Dalatrass would be one of the few to have that information. Two, she and many others are terrified of what the krogan can do. She does not want to see the genophage cured under any circumstances. To prevent the fertile females from falling into your hands, she needed outside help to assert plausible deniability."

"The krogan have suffered long enough."

"I don't disagree, yet it's important to remember why the genophage was created in the first place. I have read accounts written during the krogan rebellions. The genophage was created because there was no other way to stop them. That fact cannot be stressed further: The council races combined could not stop the krogan with force. They hadn't taken over the galaxy previous to their uplifting because their home planet was so hostile that it naturally thinned numbers, and they nuked themselves back into the stone age once they discovered how to split the atom. Free from their home planet and without those constraints, they explode in number. A fertile krogan can lay up to one thousand eggs yearly. There are an estimated one billion females on Tuchanka. Even if just one percent of those females become fertile, that is ten billion infants in a year. We both know the bad blood between the races - if krogan leadership seeks vengeance, I fear a second war."

Shepard grew silent, uneasy with the information. She, of course, knew all of this, but to have it delivered out of Arius' mouth twisted it somehow.

"I can see the unease on your brow. This is only advice, Shepard. The choice rests with you. If you believe Wrex to be a good leader for the krogan, then I have faith they will choose a different path than their ancestors. Of course, given our precarious situation with the Reapers, we may not have a choice either way."

Shepard leaned back, calmly rethinking her decision, recalling a conversation she, just moments before, had with Wrex in the war room.

"Once we deal with the Reapers, most krogan will want to settle a score with the turians and salarians." The old krogan had told her. "I won't let them. This isn't our path forward. This time will be different… War has never brought us anything except misery. It's time to focus on rebuilding."

She arrived at the same place. "I think curing the genophage, given the current krogan leadership, is the right thing to do."

"Then we have our answer." Arius rose from the chair. "I'll work with EDI on planning logistics for the krogan once the cure is formulated. Since they're demilitarized, they'll need transportation off Tuchanka and provisions once they reach Palaven… and sedatives are probably needed during transit, given their territorial proclivities."

She nodded to him in agreement, and he returned to his workstation. "Commander."

After Shepard had left, Arius pulled up his gathered notes on the genophage. Studying the krogan and being close to such drastic, species-wide change was the closest he had to his work during the early days of the Prothean era as a xenoarchaeologist before his work as an Imperator became primary. He found the krogan fascinating due to the extreme highs and lows they had weathered. Their story was characterized by a brutal life rife with struggles against the environment and themselves at every turn. They had ventured into pits where others dared not tread during the rachni wars and afterwards had tasted paradise - the pristine, empty garden worlds granted by the council for the burden they had lifted for all. But as things tend to happen… one taste was not enough. Greed consumed them, and they were cast out. As they fell, they burned. They still smouldered fifteen hundred years later.

The effects of their fall were not just physical. Krogan can live for a long time - longer than the asari; the extinction of the krogan race was a slow death. After living with the genophage for so long, the knowledge of their imminent demise created a kind of fatalism amongst them - most are indifferent to who they attack or kill or what risks they take, as their species is doomed. The secondary psychological impacts of the genophage were even more devastating - the krogan have had to endure the disposal of endless, massive piles of dead children. Such a fate for many is worse than Reaper annihilation. For some, it is a welcome alternative to their bleak reality.

In a pivotal turn of events, the fate of the krogan now rested on just one ship, the Normandy. It had brought them together, those leaders, those agents of change, and those seeking atonement. It was rare for one to be acutely aware of being on the very edge of an enduring, profound change such as what was transpiring, and Arius could almost feel the wind rushing up from the figurative precipice they stood on.

There was only one thing to do now: leap.

He called EDI, and the two of them began working.

.

Mordin was swiping some information across a medical screen when Shepard walked into the med bay. The salarian geneticist was facing 'Eve', the female krogan shaman seated upright atop one of the medical beds, knees up, arms wrapped around her legs. The krogan was still fully garbed in her traditional shamanic clothing, an ornate and beautiful outfit of multilayered dark blue fabrics accented with silver lines of varying thickness and designs, only revealing her eyes. Shepard had never seen such a striking example of traditional krogan clothing, and she struggled to recall any noteworthy proof of krogan cultural expression before this encounter. She supposed the krogan men cared less for such things.

"...Aware krogan females find scars attractive. Garrus loyal, reasonably intelligent. Bit aggressive. Almost like krogan," Mordin suggested.

"For the third time, Doctor, I'm not interested."

"Ah, Shepard. We were just–" the professor began to remark when Wrex walked into the med bay.

"Are you okay?" the clan leader asked Eve with concern, distrustfully eyeing Mordin.

Eve gave a sigh. "I'm fine, Wrex. You can relax."

"You can't be too careful… or put any faith in salarian doctors."

"This one is different."

"Is he?" he asked with thinly veiled contempt before nearly jumping as he watched the doctor jab her with something. "What's that?!"

"Simple blood test," Mordin replied.

Wrex moved in closer to assert his substantial bulk over the doctor. "What kind?"

"The kind that ends the genophage. Shepard, please. Distractions counterproductive. Also affecting comfort of patient."

Shepard understood the protectiveness Wrex had over Eve - she was priceless to them, but his nitpicking over medical matters he had no understanding of was not doing anyone any favours. "He was your inside source, Wrex. You can trust him."

"Salarians have minds like a maze." the old krogran said, pointing to his head. "You never know when they're leading you into a trap."

"Trap?" Mordin whipped back around, appalled by the suggestion. "Eve's release my doing. Would never have known about her if not for me."

"That was then, but she's out now. And if she gets hurt, I'll feel it."

"Understand. But my patient. My responsibility. Her welfare a priority. I will not allow her to be compromised by anyone."

Mordin was not nearly as physically imposing as the krogan leader, but he had scars to prove his time in the STG, and his convictions ran ironclad. Apparently, it was the right thing to say, and Wrex backed off.

"Heh. You've got a quad, Doctor, I'll give you that. Keep her safe…. Our females have endured enough." Placated with the state of things, he began walking away.

"Don't forget," Mordin reminded him. "Still need your tissue sample."

Wrex grumbled. "Errr, I'll be back."

"Common phobia, fear of needles," the professor whispered to Shepard once he had left. "Now have work to do.…. Prefer females of the species." Mordin walked down to the lab bench and began running tests in earnest.

Now free from interruption, Shepard approached the krogan shaman to talk.

"Thank you for saving my life, Commander. I didn't think the krogan had any allies left in the galaxy." Eve unclasped her legs and jumped down from the medical bed, standing straight before her. Shepard internally remarked that the females of their species were just as large as the males - Eve stood a full head higher than her. She was also softer-spoken, something Shepard had not expected.

"We owe a lot to you, even if most people have forgotten that."

"They can be forgiven. Our actions have hardly inspired friendship."

Eve's single statement contradicted nearly every general attitude Shepard had encountered from the krogan, which nearly took her off guard. "Part of being friends is knowing each other's name. I feel bad that I don't know yours."

"I surrendered it the day I became a shaman of the female clan. I belong to my sisters now. But perhaps one day when this is over, you can know it."

"I didn't realize the krogan had female shamans."

"Wisdom comes from pain – and the genophage has made us very wise. Rather than surrender to despair, a few of us chose to preserve the ancient ways. We safeguard our culture, our knowledge, our secrets– so when our children live again, the krogan will flourish."

That explained the clothing and why she had never seen it before. "How did you become a shaman? How were you initiated?"

"You're locked in a cave for seven days with just enough food to last. On the eighth, you'll starve."

"What does that prove?"

"Your resolve. Every acolyte is given a chance: you either claw your way out through the rock with your bare hands, or you die."

"How did you make it out alive?"

"I started digging the wrong way. I was in complete darkness. Nothing other than my own heartbeat to sustain me, but then I found this." Eve opened one of her hands, and in her palm rested a semi-transparent crystal. "A simple crystal. But it became my chisel. Take it as a reminder, Commander. In the darkest hour, there is always a way out."

"That's a brutal initiation."

"But an illuminating one. You learn to appreciate the light by living in the dark."

Eve inexplicably reminded Shepard of Arius in certain ways - the feeling of calm, sturdy wisdom that leaked from their interactions. She supposed both had been through harrowing events in their respective lives and had grown from them.

"To shift gears slightly, what do you think of Wrex? As a leader for the krogan."

"When he's not trying to sire half of Tuchanka, he's the best thing that's happened to the krogan–but I won't tell him that. His head's big enough already. Literally."

She chuckled. "He's turned into a strong leader."

"I know in his heart Wrex wants what's best for us. Though not all the other clans see it that way."

"Why would the other clans give Wrex trouble? You think they'd want a better future."

"It's not in the nature of our males to cooperate. They've evolved to be selfish. Their only concern is survival. Wrex is different. He's a mutant. And that, you can tell him."

"I realize this is very personal, but If you don't mind me asking, what's it been like living with the genophage?"

There was a slight inflection of pain in the female krogan's voice, but she continued anyways. "I knew sisters who couldn't bear the shame of being infertile. They would wander off into the wastelands, hoping a thresher maw would kill them and end their torment."

"Did the thought ever cross your mind?"

Eve looked down. "Yes. After my first stillborn."

"What stopped you from ending your own life?"

"When my child didn't draw breath, that's when my life truly began. The genophage forces us to live on hope alone. There's nothing else. There is no reason to exist other than the hope that the next day would bring change. And if it doesn't, there is always the next."

"How do you think things will change after the genophage is cured?"

"Our species will find its balance again. Females will help shape the future, like in the ancient days, before we were just pawns of the power-hungry males."

It was certainly something Shepard had witnessed. "Most seem hell-bent on shooting anything that looks at them wrong."

"What else is there for them to do? Because of the genophage, they've become wandering killers, seeking targets to justify their existence, excuses to earn them 'honor'."

This conversation was not at all what Shepard had been expecting. There was a very real understanding from Eve of the state of krogan affairs, one completely different from the men. It was like speaking to a whole other species.

"How's Mordin been treating you?"

"Better than krogan males do. He's not like a typical salarian." The two of them turned to watch Mordin work at the lab, who was mumbling to himself out loud as he formulated tests.

"No, no, no – organ redundancy results in new period before metaphase. Can't alter that. Damage to telomeres, premature aging…"

"Oh, yeah," Shepard was reminded, "he does that."

"But I sense pain in him, too. He told me about his work on the genophage. I should consider him an enemy. Yet I think seeing my sisters and I changed something in him."

"Asari-vorcha offspring have an allergy to dairy, and …da-di-di-dee-di-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-di-di-di-..."

Truth be told, hearing Mordin sing to himself was comforting. "Well, it wasn't his ear. Anyways, thanks for talking to me." Shepard extended a hand to Eve, and the krogan shook it.

"It's my pleasure, Commander. I'm glad to see humans treat their women with respect. Your people have placed a lot of responsibility on you."

Shepard could only smile. "No more than your people have put on you."

"Heh, then maybe we can show the men how it's done."

"Deal."

Shepard walked the short distance to Mordin, who was busying himself at the lab bench.

"Shepard, blood work complete. Indicates significant stress on Eve's system. Maelon's data thorough. Fortunately detailed as well. Have used notes to improve her condition."

"Have you determined why she's immune?"

The salarian nodded. "Genophage targeted hormone production during pregnancy. Modification project used sam modality. Her 'immunity' totally different. Targeted glands now obsolete, like human appendix. Other glands mutated to produce proper hormones, enable viable birth. Also explains her weakness. Gland substitution imperfect. Health trouble."

"So do you think you can make this work for all krogan?"

"Yes. Will use Eve's tissue to produce mutagen, alter gland function across entire species. Must improve mutagen as well, tune hormone production. Long-term illness for all krogan otherwise."

Shepard was reminded of conversations they had while chasing down the Collectors. He had explained his work on the genophage modification to her, citing that it was the right thing to do then. She wondered what had changed. "You always defended your genophage work. What changed your mind?"

"Never changed mind. Genophage proper decision at time. New circumstances necessitate correction."

"Those circumstances being…?"

"Reaper invasion. Turians doomed without krogan support. Krogan need unified threat, outlet for aggression. Cooperative symbiosis."

"Nothing else? No personal stake here?"

The aging scientist turned slightly, glancing at Eve, curled up on the bed. The deep scars on his face from his time in STG shimmered with the changing light as he turned, and she could see all his years pulling at him. "Getting old, Shepard. Not many years left. But still best candidate for project. Few salarian scientists interested in genophage. None with my expertise. Had to be me."

"Someone else might have gotten it wrong?"

"Possibly." He turned back to her. "Stakes too high for inexperience. But not about them. My work. My job to put it right. To prove I can."

Shepard nodded, grateful to have his support. "Nice talking with you, Mordin."

"Thank you, Shepard. Glad to be back."

"You planning on sticking around when this is over?"

"Until Reapers dealt with, at least. Then… not sure." He brought a hand to his chin, devoting to the thought his entire mental capacity. "Have made impact on galaxy. Genophage modification, genophage cure, work against Collectors… Decisions, mistakes… Might go somewhere sunny. Sit on beach, look at ocean, collect seashells."

"You'd go crazy inside an hour."

He paused. "...Mighty run tests on the seashells."

.

Shepard was in a sober mood after talking with Eve and Mordin. The female shaman was a side to the krogan Shepard had never anticipated to hear: softly spoken, compassionate words filled with understanding and hope, and her words had undeniably moved her. She moved through the ship in deep thought, further solidifying in her mind that Wrex and Eve were perhaps the best the krogan had to offer, and if any time had been the right time to cure the genophage, it was now while their leadership could properly steer their people into a better future.

When Shepard found herself back at the door to her quarters at the end of her day, she found a small nondescript box waiting for her. It was unmarked except for her name affixed to the top, and she found it heavier than expected when she picked it up. Intrigued, she brought it in and set it on her desk to open. The top of the box opened easily, and she reached in to retrieve the enclosed object. Her hand grasped at something whose shape was undecipherable to the touch, which only fueled her curiosity further. After a slight tussle, the hidden object broke free from its container - and when she saw what she held, she laughed out loud to herself, delighted by the unexpected gift.

In her hand was a small, somewhat cheap-looking trophy, the colour of rust, with a square base surmounted by a miniature globe and zooming sportscraft. Engraved on the base in a brass plaque were the words: 'Reigning Champion of the Ilos Trench Run'.