CHAPTER 2: Cold, Cold Heart
2183 CE
Things have been pretty quiet on the Normandy, actually. My Kodiak had a bit of a scare a few missions back when Shepard decided to land it on the Earth's moon in the middle of a VI attack. Better my Kodiak risk getting blown up on the Moon than the entire Normandy though, so I actually can't complain about that too much.
I haven't actually gotten to go out much. Shepard called me out on this big biotic cult thing led by her former CO. Felt like Alenko and I were walking into Jonestown. Honestly I'm shocked it didn't end in a shootout. I said as much to Shepard when she came around to do our normal debrief. Which is what she called her habit of walking from one end of the ship to the other and talking to every single person in the crew after a mission. She asked me if I had any opinions why it was we hadn't had to shoot our way out. My answer was that Shepard took the time to empathize with Major Kyle and respected his motives and needs. That she was honest, and trustworthy, and that regardless of the state of the galaxy those virtues and the reputation you incur from having them will always serve you better than a reputation for chicanery and vice. Used those exact words too. Or at least close enough to 'em.
Hope Shepard took that to heart. She's gonna need it if she wants to keep the Krogan on her side when the Reapers get here.
I think Liara's beginning to suspect something since she's started trying to work Shepard through the beacon visions. Archeologists aren't like Biologists. We can't just make evidence appear where it isn't. I've been touting a consistent narrative for the Prothean extinction with no ability to cite my sources for so long that Liara basically associates me with academic dishonesty (even if no one else does because they haven't see the papers I only send to the movers and shakers of the galaxy, unlike Liara). She thinks I just make up nonsense out of whole cloth and challenge people to disprove me. Which absolutely sounds like something I would do. I did it in class sometimes when I guest lectured. But that's not what's happening here. In the papers to Liara, the matriarchs, and the Councilors, I'm actually outlining my beacon knowledge as interpreted through the cipher given to me by Jaavik. I don't cite my sources in the papers because they all know where the information is coming from. All of them but Liara.
That opinion of me as a trickster prone to fanciful tests who regularly lies to the most respected Asari in the universe is incompatible with the fact that I'm telling the truth. And as Liara is learning, I am.
She does this kind of adorable little scrunching thing with her face when she's thinking. Makes me wanna pat her on the head. She's been making it a lot lately while staring at me. Makes me wonder how deep down the rabbit hole she'll realize this goes.
After all, if I know all the information in the beacon, it might be because I've seen the beacon before. Liara knows I worked a Prothean dig on Krelltopia. I mentioned it several times in my papers. She might not realize that Krelltopia is Eden Prime though.
Still, there are an awful lot of places where I might have been exposed to a beacon, and if I have, then the fact that I'm not citing my work to that beacon means the people I'm writing to probably knew about that exposure. It means that the Council of Matriarchs knew about the Reapers from a credible source for almost two decades, and did nothing.
Quarian separatists were blamed for the loss of the Prothean artifacts on Krelltopia. Never by me, of course; but by the Council. I wonder if Liara will figure out what really happened to the artifacts. I'll tell her if she asks. Might keep my mouth shut about the live Protheans though. She'd never believe a word I said again if I admitted it.
On second thought... That could be fun too.
2183 CE
I think this Shepard's on the right track. She's doing right by her comrades, helped Tali with her Pilgrimage, helped Garrus with Dr. Saleon, and even helped Wrex get his armor back.
Then there was my request. I wanted Shepard's help getting Clan Nakmor into the Andromeda Initiative. And to do that I needed to get in touch with my son, Nakmor Drack.
It had started simply enough. I'd lined up permission on the Alliance side already for Clan Nakmor to head to Andromeda. All I needed Shepard to do was drop by Drack's last known location, deliver the letter, and buzz off. Simple, clean, no need to concern me at all. No need to even mention me!
That jerk ends up insisting I be on the ground team with her, and she wouldn't take 'I've been out of contact with my son for over a thousand years and so I don't want to talk to him now because it would really be super awkward' as an excuse not to come with her. Stupid Humans. Always headbutting their way into places they're not needed.
Drack was on a kidnapping mission. Well, maybe an 'Unkidnapping' is a better name for it. Clan Gatatog had kidnapped some of our females. Not fertile ones; but we still couldn't let the kidnapping stand. It was all Garrus and I could do to back Shepard up as she took down Krogan after Krogan with that shotgun she'd picked up, all in the name of getting to the females before my son did so that we'd be able to talk to him face to face.
It was lunacy! Pure Krogan sentimental lunacy! It also worked.
We'd barely waited 30 seconds when Drack burst into the room.
We had a heartfelt confrontation, full of wordless recrimination and pathos. It went something like this.:
'Old man?'
'Son.'
'What are you doing here?'
'I'm helping Commander Shepard deliver a message to you.'
'A message, who is it from?'
'It's from me.'
Drack nodded and picked up the message, opening it and reading it before refolding it and tucking it away into one of his belt pouches.
'I'll have to bring this to Morda.'
'I expected as much. Give Kesh my love.'
'Of course.'
Then Drack started freeing the females and directing them to his Tomkah, which was fairly easy since it was parked more than halfway inside the room.
I gave my son a heartfelt nod and we left.
Shepard was incredulous when we got back onto the Normandy.
'What was that?' she asked.
I told her that it was a heartfelt reunion with the son I hadn't seen in more than a thousand years; and that I thought it had gone well.
I think that actually made her more upset.
It took a while, but I think I eventually managed to get her to understand that we Krogan are not ones for dramatic displays of emotion. Anger tends to get acted on, but poetry? Acting? Most Krogan just aren't that interested.
Of course, then Liara had to go and ruin it by mentioning that I'm the most famous living Krogan poet in the universe.
That had Shepard back twice as mad. She wouldn't even believe that I'm not famous for my poetry because that's actually what I am in fact famous for. My poetry and philosophy are basically the entirety of the Krogan studies unit in most Asari educational facilities. Teachers get poetry, philosophy, history, and military tactics all in one place. They don't have to take the time and learn other Krogan authors, which is probably a relief for them because most of our literature got blown up in one war or another so I'm actually the main source of a lot of ancient Krogan myth stories too. Pulled an Ovid and switched the stories around a bit to fit my own personal goals too!
If you want to start a bar fight in a room full of Asari studying the Krogan? Mention my name.
Aside from my own prolific additions to the Krogan literary canon, Asari don't seem to know whether to love me for preserving so many traditional Krogan myths from before the Rachni Wars, or hate me for my historical revisionism of those same myths. I'm absolutely open about changing the myths to suit my political goals. You don't want to be seen as anything but forthright with Krogans. A reputation for honesty is extremely important, and mine is very robust.
We'll tolerate all sorts of atrocities as long as you're open about committing them and don't try to hide either that you did it or why you did it, after all.
So, I'm absolutely open about changing the myths for my political goals. What I'm not open about is what the original myths were. After all, my political goals aren't accomplished yet, are they?
I've had a dozen Asari Krogan researchers try to interview me about the original myths and I have told every last one that yes, I know the myths, but no I won't share them.
So like I said, you wanna start a bar fight? Mention my name at an Asari convention on Krogan research.
So yeah, Shepard was pretty pissed at me for my joke. And I don't think laughing at her made it any better. It took me a minute or two to stop laughing too hard to get enough air to speak.
I had to explain to her that my relationship with my son has always been like that. He was born before the Genophage and he had hundreds of brothers and sisters. We were never close, not like Krogans were with their kids after the Genophage. Well, some Krogan. Some Clans kept the dad's identity a secret so that all the men in the clan raise the kids communally. I never liked that strategy. I argued for communal raising, sure, but not through deception. My argument was that as the mind of a Krogan is his greatest weapon, teaching is a way to lend your weapons to Krogan in the future. Honestly the philosophy hasn't really been picked up by clans as much as it has by Merc companies. You can actually graph the improvement in employee life expectancy before and after publishing my 'Thoughts on War' in most Merc companies. You end up with a lot of Krogan battlemasters leading training programs after reading that book. And that makes sense, doesn't it? These aren't the guys aiming for fertile females on Tuchanka. These are the guys who gave up that dream, the guys who don't think they can get it without money, or some battle scars, or any other form of nonsense. They have that fear, the fear that they won't ever get to lay with a fertile female. The fear of death.
They want to mean something in the future, so they train others.
Anyway, I think Shepard got the point after that. She's started calling me 'Old Man' too, though.
Not a fan of that.
We're headed to Noveria next. I've got to convince Shepard to take Liara and me. Liara should see her mother's last moments, to have that closure. And my plans to steal the Genophage cure aside, I'm not going to leave her alone during all that. Here's hoping the stupid bitch Benezia doesn't ruin my fun the same way she ruined my daughter's happiness. I'm probably safe. She wouldn't want Liara to know I'm her grandfather, so why would she reveal that fact? Wouldn't make sense.
2183 CE.
Well, Noveria was a shitshow. I got my ass bit by a Rachni! A fucking Rachni! I thought we'd wiped those fuckers out! I mean, I knew we didn't, but it's been the better part of 2,000 years since I've had to fight one and I'm very much not pleased by it.
So, lets take it from the top. As we're headed down to Noveria I take Shepard aside and tell her about Binary Helix and Benezia and Liara's entanglements with it. I also ask her not to use my name, and to use a fake one instead, if she wanted too (She did. It's Old man. I hate it). When she asks why, I tell her that I'm the main shareholder on Noveria, and while that can help in some ways it restricts what i can do in other ways. If she wants this mission done fast it's best to start secret. 'You can always reveal who you are, you can't unreveal it.'
She actually agreed with me for once, which was nice, and argued that I'd need to come with her which of course I was fine with, and I suggested Liara as a potential third. Shepard was fine with that too since Liara might be able to get us in by trying to find her mother. Not actually likely to work, but I suppose there's always a chance if you play on sentiment that you'll succeed.
Shepard of course immediately got me embroiled in a smuggling operation. Peak 15, the facility where Benezia, my ex-daughter in law, had gone was cut off from contact and the ways closed. We'd need a garage pass to get there.
I could get one of course. We could even use mine, but stealth was the name of the game here.
Thus began the saga of Opold the angry Hanar smuggler, and Commander Shepard. In which Shepard smuggled in some polonium rounds, suddenly discovered that smuggling was morally wrong and... decided to keep the rounds for herself.
I told you Opold was angry.
Shepard also agreed to help Armali Council spy on Binary Helix. I'm not sure if that's just because Binary Helix is associated with Benezia, or if it's some of the shit Binary Helix has done over the years, or if it's just because Shepard wanted to make a little extra money on the side. Anyway, she bugged the Binary Helix sales rep's phone and gave the Asari that asked her to the codes to access the tap. All for about 750 credits. There's gotta be more to that than I'm seeing.
We finally ended up getting a garage pass from Lorik Qui'in. Somehow this ended up involving a running gunfight through Synthetic Insights, a confrontation with a dirty cop, brunch with internal affairs (who didn't recognize me in my cunning disguise of a n American football helmet), convincing Lorik to testify, blackmailing Anoleis with the evidence in our possession, and then giving the evidence to internal affairs, all so that we could get a garage pass. To investigate the Geth interest in Noveria.
Of course the helpful human in internal affairs told us that Benezia was at peak 15 on Saren's behalf, which was nice to know ahead of time for everyone else, I suppose.
We were of course immediately ambushed by Geth as soon as we used the pass, but after a few minutes we had the garage completely cleared.
I have to admit, the humans make a pretty good tomkah. The Mako isn't as sturdy as Krogan engineering of course. Almost nothing is nowadays. We Krogan build the consumer ideal; rugged, simple to learn devices that anyone can learn to repair.
There are some issues with weight, obviously. Other species usually aren't the paragons of physical fitness we Krogan are. I've made a small fortune endorsing human products as 'Krogan Tough' as a result. Of course, the product actually does have to be 'Krogan Tough' first before I endorse it. Companies pay me for stress testing products and then they pay me extra if their products pass the test for me to endorse them.
It lets me endorse all kinds of products, even by direct competitors! I got the idea from Shepard actually, though Shepard hasn't actually done it yet in this timeline. Why endorse one product when you can endorse every product! Of course, I did it a lot more ethically. I have a reputation for honesty to uphold.
Anyway, I've tested quite a few of these kinds of human tomkahs, both for military and civilian use. They're all to a one built 'Krogan Tough.'
Liara asks me why I recommended her once we're out of the garage. I told her that my information placed Benezia at the Peak 15 facility.
Of course, from there Liara wanted to know just how I knew where her mother was. I had to tell her that I've known Benezia for a long time, in both a personal and professional fashion. Longer than Liara's been alive. I mentioned that we were on opposite sides of the treaty table at Shanxi, and that we were on opposite sides of this fight too. 'I keep track of her for my own reasons,' I told her. 'One day you'll figure out why.'
I don't think Shepard suspects yet. Liara definitely doesn't; I hope.
The trip itself is actually pretty fun. I got to man the cannon and blow up Geth pretty much the entire time.
I did try to brace Liara for what was coming. I mentioned indoctrination theory to Shepard, but Liara hates that theory. She immediately argued against it as fanciful and unsupported nonsense. Arguing about it with Liara wouldn't fix anything. Benezia was indoctrinated. She had to die.
I pulled the old 'its quiet, too quiet' act once we actually arrived. We ended up fighting some Krogans with the Geth this time. Something that I pointed out was extremely odd since apart from the Quarians the Geth have never had any friendly relationships with any other organics, much less military alliances.
I insisted on unmasking the Krogan and getting some genetic samples... In the interest of figuring out who the Krogan was and what clan the Geth convinced to fight for them, of course.
The reality is that I already know what clan the Krogan's from. He's a tank-bred clone; one immune to the Genophage.
I know that Mordin had an issue with replicating and fixing Maelon's work using dead tissue. But having more samples is probably a good thing. Especially if I can't find the cure myself.
I haven't had a kid in over a thousand years. And my last kid was Aye-Aye. An Asari.
People underestimate the horror of the Genophage. We don't talk about it much with outsiders.
I'll need to start.
2183 CE
I don't think Liara expected me to blast Renegade by Styx when we entered the Elevator. She assumed it was a Krogan band at first! So did Shepard actually, which made me very sad. Styx is firmly in what the Humans now call 'Classical Rock' a category which contains everything from the Beatles and Queen to Jimi Hendrix and Justin Bieber. Basically if it was at all related to Rock, Pop, or Metal and came out in the period from 1950 to 2050 it's 'Classical Rock' now. Electronic music gets a lot more focus in Human music history classes, to the point where it was actually hard to find what I wanted.
I actually did a paper on early 21st and late 20th century music trends. It's all about how the evidence from music sales shows that classical rock was actually the much more common, appreciated, and profitable genre compared to Early Electronic. Never sent it to Liara or the Matriarchs, it's well sourced and not actually about the Protheans so they can find it on their own.
Anyway. Shepard not realizing that Styx was a Human band horrified me a lot more than thought of the upcoming atrocities we were about to encounter. I ended up missing the rest of my classic rock playlist to lecture Shepard and Liara on Human music history, and the admirable convergence of Human and Krogan tastes in music.
I'm not surprised that neither know about classical rock. It's closer to 200 years old than 100, and there's no one left alive today who was a fan of this sort of music when it came out. If Humans are lucky, one of their grandparents might have gone to an Adele concert. But it's much more likely that it was one of their great grandparents instead. Liara herself was born in 2077, so this music is even before her time. I told her this stuff is what her grandpa probably would have listened to if he were human; which I guess is true on a number of levels, isn't it?
Early and modern electronic music is a lot more similar to Asari tastes than classical rock. The Asari don't really like songs with lyrics these days. Hell if I know why. So when Asari are exposed to Human stuff it tends to be the Human stuff Asari tend to like. All of this is new to Liara and she actually seems to like it. I'll have to be sure to stop playing it once the Elevator reaches its destination of course. I don't want Liara associating this kind of music with her mom's death after all.
2183 CE
Rachni. I recognized them immediately. Liara and Shepard both had the gall to question me about it.
'I fought in the rachni wars as a kid, you punks. I killed a Rachni Queen single handedly! Landed on this world in the ass end of nowhere, full of poison air. None of my squad mates survived the landing. The only weapon I had that worked was my own trusty NK-47. I had to fight a goddamn army of Rachni by my self just to get to the queen so that I could stomp her giant head into the muck. They're bigger than you think, you know, when fully grown they're taller than the Normandy. Baby queens are small enough to wrestle with, but I had to climb, in total silence, free soloing an entire rock wall just to get on top of her so I could Krogan Airdrop my ass onto her head and shoot her eyes in while we plummeted towards the muck below where I could stomp her head into it. You don't forget something like that, so yes. I am absolutely sure that these are Rachni.'
They seemed appropriately chastened. Kids these days. No respect for their elders.
I made sure to pack plenty of data storage, so I've basically just been stealing all the data that's not locked down with no respect for any kind of rhyme or reason. I haven't noticed any Genophage work yet, but I'm still hopeful. I'm probably gonna give the data to Wrex if he survives Virmire. I think he will. Shepard seems to understand the value of making and keeping allies.
The whole thing was a wild ride. I have no idea why these idiots disconnected their administrative VI. Probably a move by Benezia to keep people from following her, come to think of it.
With Mira fixed we were on our way to the tram to the rift station. I got to show Shepard and Liara a few Rachni-killing tricks I picked up during the war. Even got to talking about how strange their behavior was, saying that it was like they weren't being directed properly by their queen. Which was true. If you killed a queen and not her kids, this is how the kids would behave.
This really does feel like killing Rachni on easy mode though. When I was a kid the Rachni would act with uncanny coordination. If one of them sensed you with their mass effect fields or their psychic song, they all knew you were there. There was no surprising a Rachni. You could outmaneuver them, though you'd have to outmaneuver an entire army to do so. But surprise a Rachni? Never.
Anyway, with the tram back up and the way to the tram clear of the Rachni, we headed towards Rift station.
We ran into the little enclave of Binary Helix employees. I'd taken the time on the trip over to warn Shepard and Liara that in my experience as the Main Corporate shareholder on Noveria they should try not to believe everything the employees say.
'They'll lie to protect their employer even if it hurts our chances of solving the issue.' I told them.
Shepard then proceeds to completely without any incredulity whatsoever, get us sealed in an isolated lab so that we can be attacked by Geth and Asari commandos.
Liara didn't take Iallis' confession that she was killing us on Benezia's orders that well. She shot Iallis and ordered her to admit she was lying. Iallis died laughing at her. Really shook Liara up.
Poor kid.
We did heal those sick scientists though, so that was something at least!
Of course, that meant that there was nothing left but head into the secure lab to confront that heartless bitch Benezia.
2183 CE
'You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair. Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies. I won't be moved by sympathy no matter who you bring into the confrontation.'
'You're a shitty mother.' I replied almost instantly.
'Indeed? What has my family told him about me, I wonder?'
'What could I say, mother? That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?' Liara asked, clearly distraught.
'Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few Humans have.' Benezia sneered.
"I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter.' Shepard stated, calmly calling Benezia's bluff.
Benezia's eyes narrowed. 'I now realize I should have been stricter with her.'
That of course was the moment when we had to fight a dozen Asari commandos. Have you ever had to face an Asari commando unit before? It sucks. All Asari are biotics, which means that in the hands of a skilled Asari, the entire room you are in can be a weapon. Even you can be a weapon. And the only way to stop that is either with Biotic barriers, or shields. Your shield drops even for a second, and suddenly you're being slammed against the ceiling.
Of course, that trick works fine for Humans and other Asari, but us Krogan? Well, I'm a bit on the heavy side, but I weigh in at half a ton. Not so easy to toss about even if you do have biotics.
All this goes to say that if you put a crack squad of Asari commandos up against a Krogan with an Assault rifle? The Krogan with the assault rifle is going to win.
The odds only got worse for the Asari when Liara and Shepard were added into the equation.
Defeated and cornered, Benezia went into a full scale villainous monologue.
'This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear.'
There was a dramatic pause. I've never liked Benezia. She's always been a drama queen. Every last moment always needs to be about her. If she's not the star, then there might as well not be a show at all. That kind of attitude.
I'm surprised it didn't change even after indoctrination.
'I will not betray him. You will-- You... You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind, I can fight his compulsions, briefly, but the indoctrination is strong.'
'You're Indoctrinated.' I observed, probably a little too smugly from the look Liara shot me.
Benezia nodded her agreement.
'People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign. His flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary.'
'Thoughts echo strangely within Sovereign. Its rooms are built at unsettling angles. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. It's position was lost thousands of years ago.'
With my pet theory confirmed, I sort of tuned out. Benezia gave us an OSD with the Mu relay location and confirmed that Saren was searching for the conduit beyond it. I actually knew that the Conduit was on Ilos, but since I didn't know where Ilos was, and since planets don't have giant neon billboards with their names on them, it wasn't actually all that useful mentioning that I knew where he was going.
Things were actually going unreasonably well until...
'You have to stop-- me. I can't-- His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should-- Uh, you should--'
'Mother, I-- Don't leave! Fight him!'
'You've always made me proud, Liara.'
Benezia glowed with Biotic power and attacked us.
'-- Die!'
2183 CE
After a relatively short fight with Benezia and even more commandoes-- Where is she even getting these girls anyway? Benezia gave up.
'I cannot go on, you will have to stop him, Shepard.
'Hold on, we've got medigel! Maybe we can--'
'No. He is still in my mind. I am not entirely myself. I never will be again.'
'Mother...'
'Good night, Little Wing. I will see you again with the dawn.'
Benezia's collapse was the most ridiculously over-dramatic thing I have ever seen. She could at least have a little more dignity in death so as not to scar her daughter.
'No light? They always said there would be-- Ah...
And with that she died. Good riddance. I mean, Liara probably loved the bitch, but to me she'll always be the woman who broke my daughter's heart and cut her out of her daughter's life completely. Fuck her.
Shepard talked a bit to the Rachni queen, but when she asked me for advice all I could say was 'You probably shouldn't resort to genocide unless you don't mind being subjected to the same rules.'
Shepard decided to save the Rachni Queen. I smiled. Things were suddenly looking up.
2183 CE
Apparently I was a bit premature, but after neutron purging the hot labs, things were finally looking up. Of course, I now have a Rachni infestation on Noveria which... I'm going to have to deal with that eventually, won't I?
Maybe if I just ignore it it'll go away?
Yeah. That sounds like a great plan.
We got to the ship pretty much without issue after that. Well, a Krogan decided to attack us for whatever reason. Kept insisting we stole something from him. Not sure what that was about.
But after that everything was fine.
Well, relatively fine.
Liara was inconsolable. Tali, Wrex, Garrus, Kaidan, and I all tried. Even Ashley tried. Liara just locked herself in her quarters and wept. Only let Shepard in to see her. I may have made a mistake taking her with us.
As for me, I knew someone else involved with Benezia that needed informing.
'Benezia is dead.' I sent the email from my Alliance account so she'd know where I was.
I'm pretty sure Aye-Aye figured out I wasn't dead a few centuries ago. Hopefully hearing from me won't be a surprise.
There really isn't a good way to break it to your daughter that you teamed up with her estranged daughter that she's never been able to spend any time with and killed her brainwashed and crazy ex-wife.
Luckily, I don't have to tell her any of that. She'll learn on her own. Probably. Honestly that really should be a face to face conversation. If she's interested in one she can probably figure out where I am. She has my email now, after all.
It'll be fine.
Maybe.
Anyway, Shepard got an urgent message. We're going to Virmire.
Now, I've never actually been to Virmire before, and I don't actually want to be on the ground team for this one. There are two major inflection points where I need to gauge Shepard's measure. Her argument with Wrex, and who she's willing to sacrifice.
If Wrex lives, that's definitely something I want to know about. Apart from that I don't want to be anywhere near reaper tech.
I'm worried about Liara though. I should probably try and see her again. Maybe she'll let me in this time.
Author's Note: So, I'm up to 64k words written now, and most of ME2 completed (including all the Loyalty missions save for one or two), which means I guess it's gonna be daily drops? We'll see how it goes.
