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ichorous april has a time in mass effect
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"We do try!"

The vorcha are not endless. Miranda pokes one with the tip of her boot. "If you wanted a snack, Shepard?"

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"Maybe on the way out. Wouldn't wanna get indigestion."

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"Yeah, you'd be hawking up pellets like an owl for days," Zanna snorts. "Full of carcinogens."

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They continue on towards Mordin's clinic. When they get close, they're greeted by a vorcha, carrying a submachine gun, and wearing... a nurse's coat?

     "State your business," it hisses.

"That's new," Miranda says thoughtfully.

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"I want to talk to Dr. Solus. See if he needs any help with the plague situation, maybe recruit him to my crew of galaxy-saving weirdos."

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The vorcha squints at her. "Will you agree to conduct yourself peaceably if we let you in?" it asks, nodding to her weapon. "We will kill you if you do not, but you might hurt other patients."

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"I make a general habit of not shooting up infirmaries. It just seems like a bad idea. Yeah, I'll be nice."

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"Yeah, we'll leave your patients alone."

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"Agreed. You know, I'd heard the doctor had vorcha henchmen, but I wasn't really expecting this, ah, level of service."

     The vorcha leads them into the clinic. "Doctor Solus is a great man. He raised us from the primordial sludge. We would follow him into any hell you care to name."

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"You know, I don't doubt it." If they're aware of the difference between them and ordinary vorcha, and it looks like they should be, that would be one hell of a foundation for personal loyalty.

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     The vorcha leads them through a decontamination grid into a somewhat cluttered surgical theater. "Doctor Solus?" it asks.

The salarian inside, currently performing some kind of operation on a turian's throat, clicks his tongue a few times. "Please, not right now - very fiddly operation - hmm - hmmmmm - done." He seals the incision and spreads on a layer of med-gel, then goes to sanitize his surgical gauntlets. "Good good. Chorshel, please take patient to recovery area? Have guests."

As another vorcha removes the patient, the doctor turns to June. "Greetings," he says. "Presumably not here to assassinate me or Tazrun would have shot you. All members of shore party human - usually bad sign, but since humans immune to plague, could just be good planning. Here to help? Here to extract me? Here to gather plague samples for Cerberus use?"

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"Note to self, tell Timmy that if he tries to collect this plague for use as a bioweapon I will eat him. I'm here to help and also to ask if you'd like to join my motley crew of charming rascals and help us figure out why a bunch of human colonies have been creepily disappearing lately. I'd claim we pay well but I don't think they've actually offered to pay me."

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"We definitely offered to pay you. Or - well, I suppose we said 'anything you need' - we did not offer a direct stipend but let me assure you that if you want cash you can have it."

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"Here to help? Excellent. Investigate disappearing human colonies? Also excellent, interesting problem, considered investigating myself until plague began. Help first, though. Distribute plague counteragent into district ventilation system. Sent Kallo and Tolan to do it but were intercepted by Blood Pack and dismembered." He inhales sharply. "Unfortunate. Liked Kallo and Tolan." He shakes his head vigorously. "Irrelevant. Questions?"

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His style of speaking takes some getting used to, but he's an elderly salarian, of course he's abrupt.

"Just tell me where to go and what to do when I get there."

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He flares his omni-tool and sends her a map, then picks up a doohickey with a small canister attached and hands it over. "Ventilation system has large tanks containing air for district. Device will attach to tank, bore small hole, disperse cure throughout district. Simple design, child could do it. Should really tell Aria to make slightly more difficult to spread biological agents through air supply."

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Snicker. "Yeah, seems like one of those things where the good part is it's convenient when you're trying to stop a plague and the bad part is it's also convenient for all kinds of other things. All right, I got you. Let's go, guys."

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He hums something as she leaves, in a surprisingly sonorous tenor. The Major-General's Song, if she recognizes it correctly.

Then, klaxons start blaring. Lights flash. The nearest vorcha draws their handgun but keeps it pointed at the floor, looking around to find the threat.

Dr. Solus runs out of his office and shouts over the din. "Suspected this might happen! Not major emergency! Well - major emergency, certainly, but already being handled. By you. Ventilation system being deactivated. Please go reactivate, disperse cure, if possible murder those responsible."

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"Can do! See you soon!"

She heads out.

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Miranda and Zanna keep up with June's very rapid pace. They're harried by a couple more Blood Pack units, some more looters (most of whom turn tail and run, but some of whom have to be thrown into walls first), and, as they approach the location Dr. Solus dropped into their omni-tools...

Hostiles ahead, Miranda handsigns. Heavy weapons.

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That sounds like the sort of situation that should be addressed with cautious peeking and a sniper rifle. Followed, perhaps, by setting a whole lot of shit on fire.

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The heavy weapons are carried by batarian shock troopers, surrounding a batarian without heavy weapons but with the staticky blue glow of a biotic with a very good barrier.

Hitting him with a sniper round elicits the eye-hurting visual effect of a barrier going down; setting him and his cronies on fire elicits the desired reaction of "lots of screaming". None from the biotic, though. He just flashes forward and, his fist glowing orange, punches June in the torso with a frankly implausible amount of force, sending her crashing into a bulkhead.

"Shepard!" Zanna shouts, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat.

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"Ow! Motherfucker! —I'm fine, I'm fine—" She wrenches herself free of the slightly dented bulkhead, ducks behind a conveniently located crate, and finds somebody to shoot.

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There's plenty of batarians. It looks like an entire small gang, led by the biotic Zanna is currently pummeling.

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Miranda, of course, is throwing around the grunts like bowling pins.

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