A Second Chance

Chapter 11

Normandy SR-2

Shepard called Liara to her cabin and they established a video call with Feron and Khira, who were still on Kahje with their investigations on the field.

"We have every available agent scouting the planet," Feron reported, "but as you can imagine, it's a herculean task."

"Fortunately, several agents have returned from their missions and have not hesitated to join us," added Khira, "but still it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"We know," said Shepard, sympathetic to the effort they were making. "You didn't get the Cerberus agent to confess?"

"No, but at least she didn't attempt suicide like her boss."

"And did the omni-tool give any information?" Liara asked.

There was a pause, in which the two drell looked at each other before answering.

"We've lost some files because we underestimated Cerberus' cryptographic technology," Feron confessed. "This is slowing us down, we have to be very careful."

"That's fine. Let's try not to lose any more data." Shepard sounded calm without losing an ounce of authority, but it was obvious that she wasn't happy about this setback. "Now we're going to deal with another subject that may be equally important."

The Commander related the result of her investigation of the hanar ambassador and his more than possible participation in a larger network of hanar leaders driven by religious fanaticism.

"I know you are short-handed," Liara said as Shepard concluded her story, "but we must redouble our efforts. To expose the plot to the hanar government, we must have conclusive evidence against any administrators involved. I would not be surprised if our friends in Cerberus were also involved."

"It's not going to be easy, Liara," Feron interjected. "The administrative quarters are all underwater, and only hanar work there. The drell, even the closest and most trusted, work in land-based facilities."

"There will be no choice but to make small incursions to try to gather as much information as we can from the names the Commander has passed on to us," Khira said.

"And since when has that ever been a problem for a drell agent?" Commander Shepard asked defiantly.

***

Shepard found no better time to invoke the help promised by Mordin. With the unfortunate passing of the salarian professor on Tuchanka, they needed experts at his level to deconstruct the biological bombs dropped on Kahje, and Dr. Chakwas wasn't up to the task, regardless of her long career and scientific knowledge. Shepard ordered EDI to establish a communication link with Sur'Kesh. It was time to talk to Major Kirrahe.

The former captain, whom she had met on Virmire, was not surprised by her call. Quite to the contrary, he seemed to have been expecting it. Shepard briefed him on her investigation. She told him of the Cerberus presence on Kahje, of the biological bomb attack on a drell dome city, of drell agents working on the field, and the discovery of a hanar diplomat indoctrinated on the Citadel. The seriousness of the report was enough to get the Major's attention.

"I know I'm asking you to part from some of your scientists for a cause that, as of today, doesn't yet affect the salarians. But I fear it is only a matter of time before Cerberus develops weapons tailored to each species. For once, we must make sure that we stay one step ahead of them, and give them a taste of their own medicine."

The Major nodded silently. If she had learned anything from her many conversations with Mordin, it was that the salarian mind worked at the speed of light. She didn't even want to venture to speculate what the major was thinking at the moment, but at least his alien features made his concern clear to her.

"The Kanala System is not far from ours, Commander. If the Reapers reach Kahje, it will be a matter of days before they reach Sur'Kesh. That's reason enough to make this a priority."

Shepard nodded. The Milky Way was a galaxy of immeasurable dimensions, yet the Reapers were capable of traveling at over ten thousand times the speed of light. If this race was to be won, the only way was to get ahead of the events, and therefore intelligence work was as important, if not more so, than warfare on the battlefield.

Shepard mentioned the salarian Spectre Bau, and when she started to mention Mordin, the Major interrupted her.

"You need not invoke his name. Doctor Solus always spoke of you in the highest terms. Also, since our cooperation on Virmire, your leadership and position in this war have been clear to me, Commander Shepard."

"I'm glad, Major. The admiration is mutual," she said with a hint of relief. "We need the best salarian scientists you can spare. Before he died, Doctor Solus was only able to analyze the evidence taken from the injured and deceased drell victims of the Cerberus bomb superficially. What we are now urged to do is an in-depth analysis of its composition in order to synthesize an antidote. The Normandy has a state-of-the-art medical deck. Your scientists can work closely with our Dr. Chakwas."

"Send me your coordinates and I will send a team of scientists immediately."

***

A couple of days after her conversation with Major Kirrahe, a salarian frigate jumped to the Normandy's coordinates and asked for permission to dock. Joker was informed of their arrival, but he voiced the query to the Commander as a mere formality anyway. With permission granted, the crew on the second floor saw a group of four salarians board the Normandy. Shepard was waiting for them on the bridge to give them an official welcome. In their usual pragmatic and efficient manner, the four scientists introduced themselves: doctors Toulus Garr, Eitos Cozot, Meidan Juht, and Sutner Vepni. All were high-ranking members of the salarian STG and, to Shepard's surprise, former colleagues of Mordin's from the genophage modification team that he had led. Beside them, a group of salarians were carrying a pair of chrome-finished containers, and asked where to drop them off. Shepard ordered Specialist Traynor to escort them to the medical deck on the third floor of the ship.

It didn't take them more than a couple of hours to familiarize themselves with the study of the evidence of the drell affected by the Cerberus bombs that their former colleague and the human doctor had conducted. Shepard watched them through the windows from the mess hall. They looked like a single entity as Dr. Chakwas struggled to keep up with their frantic pace. Now that she thought about it, Shepard couldn't remember ever seeing Mordin sleep or take a break. It seemed like he was always working. The accelerated salarian metabolism was surely responsible for such hyperactivity.

For the first time since the arrival of the Reapers and Cerberus' attack on Kahje, she felt a small glimmer of hope. Perhaps all was not lost. Maybe it was indeed possible to synthesize an antidote. A cure for Kepral's Syndrome. A cure for all the drell victims of Cerberus' attack. A cure for Thane.