Second Chances(A Mass Effect Fan fiction)

The First Step

"Wreav isn't the only Krogan who wants revenge for the genophage Wrex. You'll have to placate them somehow." Eve notified him on their way to the shroud.

"I'll demand that the council return some of our old territories. We'll need room to expand - recapture the glory of the ancients."

""Glory of ancients" led to Krogan Rebellions. Countless deaths. Creation of genophage. Expansion plan... problematic." Mordin pointed out.

"What were the ancient Krogan like?" Shelby curiously asked.

"Tuchanka wasn't always a wasteland. In the old times, the Krogan were a proud people. We had dreams... a future to look forward to." Eve started.

"Until Salarian interference." Mordin implied.

Eve shook her head. "No. We destroyed Tuchanka ourselves. Technology changed us. It made life too easy. So we looked for new challenges -- and found them in each other. Nuclear war was inevitable."

"And now our planet is rubble. We'll need a better place to live."

"I'd say helping to defeat the Reapers would be worth a new planet." Shelby agreed with Wrex.

"Or ten. You haven't seen how fast we can pop them out."

"Wrex..." Eve said to him in a "mind your manners" tone.

Shelby bit her lips together in amusement for a moment, reminding herself that this was not the time to laugh at Wrex's usual vulgar humor.

"What? With the genophage cured, we'll have a lot of catching up to do." He pointed out.

"Commander, back on the shuttle, was there something you were going to say?" Eve changed subjects as she remembered asking Shelby if something was bothering her, and then never getting an answer due to coming in hot on reaper forces.

"The Dalatrass tried to cut a secret deal with me."

"What kind of deal?" Wrex asked as he turned his full attention to Shelby.

"She said they sabotaged the Shroud years ago. The cure won't work unless we fix it." She said and brought up an audio recording on her Omni tool of the Dalatrass spilling the beans about the shroud facility.

Wrex's brow plates furrowed. "And she thought we wouldn't know better?" Wrex almost sounded offended at the implication.

"Correctly. Would have likely fooled tests. But familiar with STG work. Can adjust. Did not come this far for nothing." Mordin assured them.

"You just spared our race another genocide, Commander." Eve thanked her.

"I told you we could count on her." Wrex proudly stated like a kid at show and tell right before the trucks slowed to a stop. "Why are we stopping?" He asked as he stood up.

Shelby got out with Garrus and Liara to investigate what was going on. They were close enough to the shroud to clearly see it, but they still had quite a bit of ground to cover. Shelby walked over to the lead truck where the driver was investing the road. "What's the hold-up?"

"Road's out, the convoy can't make it through." The Krogan driver updated, and sure enough, there was a giant hole that had swallowed the road, bigger than any Krogan offroad vehicle, sitting right in front of them, blocking their path.

Shelby immediately went to her radio earpiece. "Turian wing Artimec. This is Shepard. We've been delayed - hold off your attack."

"Negative, Commander. Our approach is locked. The reaper already knows we're here!" Artimec updated as they flew overhead, the ship engines roaring in the sky.