A Second Chance

Chapter 5

Normandy SR-2

Primarch Victus, the highest authority of the Turian Hierarchy, was already aboard the Normandy. Dalatrass Linron, the leader of the Salarian Union, and Urdnot Wrex were present as well. The atmosphere was heavy in the ship's war room. The centuries-old grudge between the three species prevented them from even turning their backs to each other without the fear of being stabbed by the others.

Centuries ago, the turians and salarians had implemented the genophage against the krogans. The biological sterilizing weapon had been created by the salarians specifically to control the krogan population after their rebellion. At present, the krogan people had not yet recovered from the impact of such manipulation of their development. Only one in a thousand pregnancies was viable, while the rest resulted in miscarriages or didn't survive infancy. The social impact, after centuries of not being able to recover their civilization, was felt in every exchange the krogans had with the rest of the species of the galaxy. Their men turned to mercenary activity, as they could do little else at home without a family to raise, while their women silently endured the shame and helplessness of not being able to harbor life in their wombs. Every krogan Shepard had met was a cynical nihilist ready to kill at the slightest provocation – including her comrade in the battle against Saren, Wrex.

While Shepard was trying her best to bring about a dialogue between the three leaders, the Reapers were annihilating the turians' home planet, Palaven, just as they were relentlessly attacking Earth. To enlist the support of the formidable turian Space Force to confront the Reaper nightmare at home, they in turn urgently required a force capable of dealing with the Reaper acolytes on Palaven. And there was no race in the galaxy stronger or more courageous on the battlefield than the krogan.

Shepard was not cut out for the painstaking work of diplomacy that such collaboration required. She was a soldier, not a politician. She was a woman of action, not mere words. That notwithstanding, she saw no other choice but to apply herself to the task.

The price of krogan collaboration? The cure for the genophage. Dalatrass Linron immediately objected, claiming to be making the same mistake born of desperation when the galaxy had begged for krogan help against the rachni a millennium ago. How was she, a mere human, going to resolve the centuries-old krogan-turian-salarian conflict in a matter of days?

Her former teammate revealed the answer. Wrex was in contact with an anonymous informant who claimed to have confirmed the existence of genophage-resistant krogan women in the possession of the Special Tasks Group on Sur'Kesh, the salarian home planet. The women had volunteered for experiments by salarian geneticist Maelon Heplorn, a former student of Professor Mordin Solus. It didn't take much pressure from Shepard, the Primarch, and Wrex to get the Dalatrass to give in. She reluctantly gave her permission to land on her planet and retrieve the women to take them to the krogan planet, Tuchanka.

***

The operation had not been without its difficulties. Cerberus had made their presence known, which didn't surprise Shepard, much to her distress. Of all the krogan women they planned to retrieve, only one was still alive. Their former teammate in the fight against the Collectors, Mordin Solus, had met them and explained that the experiments had weakened the krogans' immune system to the point of killing them. The sole survivor, whom he had named Eve, was now the only hope of the entire krogan people. Mordin, as it turned out, was Wrex's anonymous informant.

When they finally returned to the Normandy and retraced the route to Tuchanka, Shepard had the chance to meet a krogan woman for the first time. She was a shaman. Shepard was surprised by her wisdom, which challenged her preconceived idea of Eve's race, having had only Wrex and Grunt as a reference. Eve was aware of the pain of her people. She knew well the impotence and resentment of the krogan men, who pursued retribution for the damage done centuries ago, driven by a blind thirst for vengeance that they could never quench. She knew the trauma the krogan women carried on their shoulders, in her eyes lived the choked cry for every miscarriage she and her peers had suffered, plus the scars of the many sisters who hadn't survived Maelon's experiments. Resolutely she accepted Mordin's examinations and tests, going against centuries of hatred for the salarians.