Book 3, Chapter 10 - Summit
*****
The fun times were over, though only temporarily. But as we waited for the salarian and krogan representatives to arrive, I had prepared the crew for what was basically a diplomatic mission. My girls were back in trousers for the time being, though Miranda was still plugged. To my amusement, so was Kelly, who suggested it since she couldn't wear her short skirt and go without panties. As the idea both amused and turned me on, I agreed immediately.
"Odds of this working?" Miranda asked as we stood near the cockpit, waiting for the salarian ship to hail us.
"It will work, Miranda. Don't care if we have to butt heads together to get an agreement. But we're not leaving without getting what we need."
"Read the file on this dalatrass. She won't be a pushover. And as for Wrex, you know what he's going to want."
"I know exactly what he's going to ask for."
"Victus?"
"He'll consider it worth the price to defend his homeworld."
Kelly and Samantha waited nearby, ready to escort our guests towards the meeting room. Victus was already there with Garrus, going over some finer details of the agreement he'd already written. I'd gone over it and, despite one or two minor reservations, given the green light.
Linron was the first to arrive. I was no expert in salarian body language, but from the off, I knew that she didn't particularly want to be present, and I knew she was going to be difficult. But I was still friendly and respectful upon her appearance, Samantha escorting her through to the conference room.
"Well, I expect this to go as well as we thought," Miranda muttered, "That was a salarian who clearly doesn't want to be here."
Wrex stepped onto the ship a few minutes later. We shook hands and chatted for a couple of minutes. He then glanced at Miranda to one side, Kelly to the other, and he was soon rumbling with laughter. "What?" I asked innocently.
"Shepard, I remember what things were like on the old ship. Is the situation the same?"
"Shall I, sir?" Miranda asked. I looked at her and nodded. "Kelly and I are both plugged, Wrex."
"I'll be honest, I don't know what that means," he replied.
"Kelly and I both currently have a toy up our back passage, Wrex."
He looked between the two women again, then at me. A toothy grin formed before he roared with laughter again. "I do miss serving on this ship sometimes, Shepard. The fucking hijinks you get up to." He stopped laughing long enough to ask who was escorting him to the conference room. Kelly meekly held up a hand, I think a little intimidated at the sheer size of my old krogan friend, and she led Wrex away.
"Well, at least he's in a good mood," Miranda said once we were alone.
"Guess we'd better go join them. I have a feeling Linron will be poking and prodding within minutes, trying to provoke the sort of reaction that'll have her saying 'Told you so' very quickly."
Walking through the CIC, we received a few glances, I assume people wondering what Wrex had been laughing about. If they'd noticed Linron walk by, she might have stared them down as she had. What greeted us in the conference room was pretty much what I expected. Garrus and Victus stood in the middle, almost as peacemakers. Wrex stood to one end of the long table, his eyes only glaring across the table at the lone salarian. Credit to Linron, she stared right back, arms folded across her chest, non-existent chin raised, defiance in body language.
The argument had already begun, of course. Victus looked at me, I think with sympathy. Garrus simply rolled his eyes. I let the pair get whatever they wanted off their chest first. Then Wrex did drop the bombshell Liara had already made me aware of. "Reaper scouts have arrived in Tuchanka," Wrex stated. That even caught Garrus and Victus by surprise. He glared around the table. "So tell me why I should care if a few turians go extinct?"
"Wrex," I muttered.
Victus didn't rise to the bait. "Wrex, I don't have time for any games. Just tell us what you want."
I don't think Wrex expected that. I was sure he wanted to have the salarians and turians over a barrel. No doubt having Victus trying to cooperate did catch him a little by surprise. He leaned forward, and I saw the toothy grin form. Though it wasn't a grin, as he glared at Linron over the table. "There is one price for our cooperation. A cure for the genophage."
Linron reacted as if she'd been slapped. "Absolutely not! The genophage is non-negotiable."
"Everything is negotiable, dalatrass. We are at war," Victus retorted.
"The genophage was the only way to keep their 'urges' in check."
"And that was our thanks after we helped defeat the rachni!" Wrex roared. "It was krogan blood that helped turn the tide."
"Yes, and after you'd helped turn the tide, you decided to launch a war against the rest of the galaxy. The genophage is the only thing keeping you from breeding like crazy and doing the same thing again. You are weapons of war, nothing else. After that, you are best kept on a very short leash."
I think if Victus hadn't cleared his throat and said something, Linron was on the verge of finding herself crumpled in a corner. "Dalatrass, you may not like Wrex or the krogan, but insulting him isn't going to get us anywhere."
"I won't apologise 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."
"We're at war now. If there is a species out there we need in our battle against the Reapers, it's the krogan," I said.
"Incorrect, Commodore." Well, at least she knew of my new rank. "We made a rash decision in uplifting the krogan. Turning to them was made in desperation, and it was a mistake. A mistake you are going to make again. Absolutely no good can come from curing the genophage."
"Hasn't it gone on long enough?" I asked.
"One thousand, four hundred and seventy-six years, if you're keeping track."
"It's been a thousand years of peace from these... brutes!" Linron exclaimed.
"Enough!" Victus cried, slamming a fist on the table. It was enough that we all looked at him in surprise. "We are at war, dalatrass. This will be total war. Everything we have will be thrown at the Reapers. The Commodore has seen what they have done to his homeworld already. I have seen what the Reapers have done to my homeworld. But whether they deserve a cure or not is moot. A cure would take years to formulate."
Wrex then surprised even me. "My information says otherwise," he stated, and I knew he had an ace up his sleeve somehow. "Shepard, can I patch into your system. I have information to share."
"EDI, can you help Wrex?"
What he had to show us shocked everyone except the dalatrass. Wrex knew all about Maelon and what he'd been doing on Tuchanka. But it was the video evidence of krogan females being kept in some sort of facility that had him glaring daggers at Linron. She tried to fob us off by suggesting it was a fabrication, but none of us was buying it.
"They're immune to the genophage," he roared, "And I want my people back."
"Is this true, dalatrass?" Victus asked. Even Garrus looked flabbergasted by the discovery, and he'd seen the worst the galaxy had to offer more times than I could count.
"How will curing the genophage benefit my people?"
"Jesus Christ, how are you so blind?" I finally asked, "Okay, let me put this bluntly. Earth and Palaven are currently under attack. Humanity and the Hierarchy will come together, pooling our resources to defeat the Reapers. With krogan assistance, that might just help us turn the tide. In the end, the other species of the galaxy will join our crusade.
As for your people, dalatrass, you will be left to fend for yourselves. Think we'll come to assist you when your worlds are burning and you're being turned into goo? I won't speak for the Primarch here, but I certainly will be suggesting to the leadership of humanity that we don't send you a single ship."
"And I'll be the last friendly turian you'll ever see," Victus added.
"You've got a choice, dalatrass, But are you going to make the right one?" I asked.
She looked around the table and realised she was very much alone. With a sigh, she nodded. "The females are being kept at one of our STG bases on Sur'Kesh." Wrex and Victus turned to the war room. EDI would figure out where the base was. "But I warn you, Commodore. The consequences f this will be felt for centuries to come!"
I turned back and made sure I loomed over her. "Linron, let's get one thing straight. Without our help, your homeworld, your people, will burn. And if you refuse to cooperate here on out, I will give the Reapers directions to where you call home, flying my ship into low orbit, and I will sit back with a bowl of popcorn and watch everything you know and love destroyed. Do not fuck with me on this."
"Shit, Shepard..." Garrus said with a chuckle.
"You won't be allowed access onto Sur'Kesh. You don't have the authority."
