68

The frigate Normandie-SR2.

Two weeks after the Corlus operation.

- So, I guess it's time to open it up after all," Shepard said. We studied him inside for 24 hours, then thought long and hard about whether or not to open him. Of course, he's a good fighter, but Garrus, Samara, Mordin and Liara had concerns.

Still, a genetically modified krogan is tough. And there were other problems before that. Mordin and Susie locked themselves in the lab with Thayne, and let's treat him for Kepral Syndrome. Then, at the end of the work, they made a detailed report on the poor Collector, whom he'd finished dissecting after all. Honestly, I felt sorry for him, I mean the Collector. The doctor had gutted, dismembered, decapitated, boiled, literally, and used him as an electrical conductor, and even made him an incubator for the new bacteria and viruses I had brought in water from Corlus. And to our great regret, having just given the doctor a sample of the water with this life in it, he disappeared for a week.

Susie only occasionally spoke to me on the light link, but it all boiled down to "It's okay. No distractions." It was impossible to talk to the doctor at all. And so, after a week, he did send 150 gigabytes of dissertation on the topic "Instability of genes of microorganisms of the planet Corlus to mutations due to a combination of radioactive, chemical and biological factors as mutagens, and the stability of the resulting mutations of the genes of these microorganisms". I am still awaiting a response, but I now have to ensure this thesis isn't stolen and sawed up to pass off as my own. The Azari have already tried. Although after they failed, they immediately started an expedition to Korlus because they could read something in the thesis. And only after two weeks of flying in orbit of this dump planet, waving goodbye to the Kovarian cruiser (well, at least they didn't find out that Tali was here, or they would have had to leave, we're as bad as a motherfucker, and Tali might be offended for the killed cruiser), and then looking from orbit at how the poor Azari tried to dig in the shit and swam in the groundwater, trying to find the poor bacteria. That was a lot of fun. But now we were all finally getting down to the business at hand, namely Grant. My name choice was accepted; it was quickly settled in case Okir didn't give it to him.

- Why don't we find out what he is first? - Liara suggested.

- Susie. The report," Shepard said, and then a hologram of my girl appeared.

- Well, this is like nothing I've ever seen before. Krogan. Two metres and fifty centimetres tall, weighing five hundred and fifty kilograms. Fully developed primary, secondary and tertiary organs. Has seven hearts, three stomachs, three livers, seven metres of intestines, four lungs, six kidneys, two bladders, and three circulatory systems.

- Wait, three? - I didn't get it since I had yet to check it. I thought I already knew everything, and here comes the surprise.

- Yeah, and that's the weirdest part. Three of his hearts are responsible for the normal circulatory system, two more for the nervous, circulatory system, and two more are not his.

- Explain," Susie ordered.

- I meant that these hearts are not krogan. They're Azarian.

- What?!" Mordin marvelled. - Impossible. DNA incompatibility. Insufficient heart muscle strength for such a torso. Excessive blood volume. Overload on both heart muscles.

- Yes, that's how it should be, yet these two hearts are oversized. That's why this krogan, or Grant as his dad calls him, has a third circulatory system with Azarian blood, which makes him abiotic. What's even weirder is that this blood is artificially synthesised to be compatible with the krogan but is based on Azari DNA. I just need to find out how Okir did it.

- P-Please continue Jesus Christ, Mordin, calm down. You're scaring me. Why did you just lick yourself looking at him? I'm not gonna let you open him up. I won't.

- We also found an Azarian appendage of the cecum that secretes meltogen. It has three such appendages, each thirty centimetres long. So his biotics are comparable to Tali, Liara and Samara. There are also many other features. He has a special metabolism during sleep, so he only needs two hours of sleep a night. His regeneration is enhanced to the level of work, and due to his enhanced stomach and intestinal mucosa, he can regenerate exactly as much as he can eat. Hence, we need a new fridge, a new Kok, and the procurement of large quantities of protein and fatty foods. Boiled meat will do just fine, by the way.

- Thank you, Susie. Is there anything else?

- Yes. It has an enlarged hyoid drella bone, so it can't be strangled. Oquirr must have done that, just in case. Also, the muscles are strengthened to the same level as the Yagi. Believe me, they have much stronger muscles than Krogan. However... There's also something else very, very, very, very strange. Everything I've listed is written in his genetic code. In short, all his descendants will be just like him. And then his children's children and so on ad infinitum. But that's not all. All his children will be biotic. Because according to my calculations, if you let him into the Krogan population, in twenty to twenty-three generations, the entire Krogan race, if they are cured of the genophage, will become biotic with all the modifications he has.

- That's... Unthinkable," Mordin said. Everyone else was stunned. Even me. What a monster Okir had raised! Even I was scared, but there was no way out; we needed a warrior like that.

- Susie, what about the genophage? - I asked him the question he was worried about.

- We can see attempts to fight it, but they were only partially successful. I can't say how much success we've had, but it's significant progress.

- I see. So, shall we open it? - I suggested, to which everyone looked at me askew.

- Come on," and then at the Captain, who agreed. Susie immediately started pumping fluid out of the capsule, and ten seconds later, it opened. The carcass of a krogan immediately fell out of it, and he reflexively rested his hands on the floor, sagging. Coughing, he stood up and looked at us. Such a strange look I'd never seen before. Like furious, like hungry. A fountain of emotion, but it was empty. I'm becoming a philosopher.

And then everything happened fast, even for me. Grant ran at us, or Shepard, with all his speed. And after running four metres, Shepard punched him in the face. He immediately fell down, and Shepard clutched her fist and couldn't even scream. She was just bent over, mouth open, gulping for air and exuding a storm of emotion with just her eyes. And although they were ready, Liara, Tali, and Samara didn't even have time to react so much for the perfect krogan.

This silent theatre with the dumbfounded Captain and the naked krogan, who was also dumbfounded, went on for another ten seconds. After that, Shepard, with three fractures, could calm down, and Grant stood up, and then the unexpected happened. Krogan just took his hand, put it in his mouth, and started picking at it. Right at the point of impact. After another three seconds, there was a quiet cracking sound. Grant pulled his hand out, holding his tooth in it.

- Good shot," he said in a low, dull, slightly hoarse voice. - What's my name?

- Grant," Shepard said. It was a name we'd come up with quickly, though, and everyone quickly agreed to my version.

- Grant," the krogan repeated, trying out the word. - The word doesn't mean anything. But you can always carve a bas-relief on clean stone," woah, it looked like Okir had made him a bit of sense while we were gone. That's fine. - Well. Are you my enemies?

- No, - I talked to Shepard beforehand so she'd know how to communicate with him. - But if you come with us, you'll face some tough opponents. So you can either become a legend or die in battle like a krogan," and then he reached for a handshake. Grant squeezed it after a second, the benefit of Shepard's shattered left hand.

- I agree, er...

- Shepard. Captain Shepard," the Captain muttered, realising he didn't know how to address her.

- Shepard," Grant repeated. Now they had to feed him. No, he had to find his clothes, which was more important.