ME2 - Breeding

Déjà vu.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

Meriel's Personal Log, Entry Eleven
Location: Korlus

The next leg in our extended recruitment mission found Garrus, Jack, and I on the planet of Korlus.  Since we sought a reportedly "brilliant and brutal" Krogan warload, Jack seemed a logical addition to the planet-side team.  Not only would her control of biotics prove useful (and it did), but I could not think of a better place to observe her ability to operate as part of a team.  If anything went wrong, I would have Garrus to help put it back to rights.  It truly is reassuring to have him back once more.

The Normandy's galaxy map notes that Korlus ranks second in murder per capita in the Terminus systems, and first in offworld murder.  Considering that most of Korlus proved to be largley populated by Blue Sun mercenaries and tank-grown Krogans, this does not seem too be much of a shock in hindsight.  If the stability of Saran's brood on Krogan warriors back on Virmire was anything to go by, warriors of this race (when manufactured en masse) are not exactly the most stable of individuals. When combined with the trigger ready nature of the Blue Suns, the two groups could only result in an explosive combination.  The one young Kroan warrior on Korlus who did deign to speak with us, instead of shooting on sight, only reinforced the perception of "mental instability".  Lab bred and fully grown after only a week's time, he spoke of a disembodied voice which gave him directions.  Among most species, the hearing of voices is generally regarded to be both abnormal and a negative thing.  While I cannot speak completely for the Krogans on this matter, nothing Wrex told me about his people, two years ago, ever led me to believe that disembodied voices or telepathic communication was considered "normal" for his kind.  With this knowledge, Garrus and I could only assume that the voice, the "he" this warrior heard, was one of two things.  It was fully possible that it was a mark of true insanity, by the young Krogan appeared to be both mostly coherent and generally capable of clear thought.  If ruled out, that left one other option - the voice was coming directly from the "father" of this manufactured army.  At the time, I desperately hoped that the latter was the case.  A tank-bred Krogan army was problem enough without the army also being completely off its rocker.

If I had my druthers, we would have never even sought out Warlord Okeer in the first place.  I did not need to fight through waves of mercs or his children to know that he was not what we needed.  The Illusive Man originally directed me to Korlus because Okeer potentially possessed knowledge of the Collectors - information which might save humanity.  Information regarding our new enemy would indeed prove valuable,  but I am baffled as to why Cerberus would not just choose to pay for said information.  Certainly that seems far more logical than enlisting an unpredictable narcissistic, militaristic warlord.  Yes he would have been good with a gun, but you could not pay me to take him out in the field.  I am well aware that this sounds contradictory considering the open arms with which I welcomed both Zaeed and Jack.  There is, however, a difference here.  Zaeed, while seasoned and individualistic, can be bought with currency.  His loyalty is given to the highest bidder, and nobody is paying more than Cerberus.  There is also that personal matter we promised to help him solve.  Both of these things tie the hardened mercenary to our team.  Jack also proves to be a different situation.  Dangerous and unstable, with a penchant for violence, I would certainly not ask for more than one of her.  More than she appears, Jack keeps to herself.  She has not threatened the Normandy's crew, she has not threatened me, and (most importantly) she has not been a liability in the field. She both obeys orders and pulls her weight.  Okeer, on the other hand, would not.  He has the muscle, but is far to personally driven to function under another's command.  Working with him would require the constant butting of heads - a friction which would waste energy better spent on the Collectors.  He would do everything in his power to undermine my leadership, and in doing so would upset the tenuous relationship I have started to construct with Cerberus.  No matter how you cut it, his addition to the Normandy could have only ended badly. Thankfully, the decision of recruitment was taken from my hands.  Only time will tell, however, if the alternative was any better.

Warlord Okeer's breeding program, his quest for a "legacy of perfection, with each pure Krogan reaching higher by standing on [their] dead", resulted in a host of tank-bred specimens.  Of the bred warriors, only one was the perfect soldier that Okeer sought.  Created and indoctrinated by a madman, it was this soldier's survival that became Okeer's price for information.  Blue Sun conflict with the warlord reached a peak as he and I butted heads.  In the end, after the Blue Suns were dealt with, the warlord sacrificed himself to save his progeny.  That was most likely the only selfless act the bastard had ever performed.

Anyone in their right mind would have left the Krogan-in-a-tank behind.  Fortunately (or "unfortunately" as the case may be), I am not anyone.  Jack was eager to "crack it open" and "see what a pure Krogan's got."  Miranda, unsurprisingly, completely disagreed.  She warned that opening the tank was madness, and advised that I destroy the soldier.  The Illusive Man, it seems, is content to leave the decision up to me.  I cannot believe I am saying this, but Miranda does actually have a point here.  Yet, I can not help but share Jack's curiosity. After all, if the soldier ends up being too much of a risk, we can always kill him and toss his body out the trash compactor's airlock. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.