“And how is my patient doing today?” Dr. Than asked, stepping into the sealed sterile room that had enough creature comforts to keep an elcor such as patient EC-07 placated while the study was concluded. Dr. Than was adamant that his staff keep their dispositions friendly and sociable with the elcor to maintain the illusion that it was a temporary trial and once cleared, the elcor would be taken home. And EC-07 was a chatty one; Dr. Than knew far more about his subject’s family, work, and social life than he thought was professional. But he needed to keep the elcor happy and active, providing invaluable variables from the numerous activities he was asked to participate in. And the results truly were astounding; EC-07 moved and reacted far faster than his brethren, almost reaching a pace that would be comfortable for most other races. It still surprised the volus to see how fluidly and gracefully the elcor moved. It was nothing short of a revelation, and best of all, the tests and studies had all come back positive; there were no drawbacks to the treatment other than the costs. 

It was almost a shame that Subject EC-07 was scheduled to be terminated today. Almost.

“Gratefully; I am well, Doctor. I have never felt so alive. Anxiously; have the results come in? I would like to speak to my family.” The elcor said, his voice still monotonous. There was nothing that could be done with that other than completely restructuring his anatomy. That was the sort of work that was reserved for madmen, and Dr. Than was decidedly sane.

“Everything is perfect. I came down here to personally let you know that your results are clear and you have just opened a whole new world of possibilities for your people. We have contacted your family and they are going to be cleared to take you home after administration clears you.” He said, walking to an end table to prepare a comically large syringe, the needle needing to be large enough to not only puncture an elcor’s hide but go far enough to reach a vein and provide enough solution to have a noticeable effect. Many of Dr. Than’s medical staff refused to believe the special order of syringes were anything other than a prank when they first encountered them. The joke became less funny when they were all subjected to a three month training course on elcor anatomy and medical profiling. 

“Relieved; I have missed them. Without offense; I feel like I have been kept here too long. Concerned; what is the needle for, doctor?” EC-17 asked. Dr. Than turned to his subject. “A routine sedative to monitor your condition for 25 hours to make sure there’s nothing left in your system we should be concerned about and need to address. When you wake up, you will be in a recovery ward with your family ideally waiting there for you to come to. You’ve been an ideal patient, the very model of a gentleman. I shouldn’t be saying this, but you really deserve the compensation you are entitled to for this trial.” The volus said, squeezing the syringe until fluid ejected from the tip to ensure there was no air pockets. Not that it would have mattered, anyways. Dr. Than was just keeping appearances at this point.

The elcor nodded and laid down on the bed dutifully, presenting an over-sized arm so the doctor could access the peripheral venous catheter. The volus gingerly lined up the needle with the PVC’s injection port and began to depress the plunger. The effects were almost immediate and the elcor started to lose consciousness. “Gratefully… thank… you.” He said, the words would be his last. The doctor did not stop until the entire dose was administered and he looked at the display nearby that displayed his vitals. They began to steadily drop. Within five minutes, all signs of life of Subject EC-07 had ceased. Leaving the elcor’s side and tossing the syringe into a medical waste bin, Dr. Than checked the clock on his suit and recorded the time of death. In fifteen minutes, he would call for the disposal unit who would remove the Subject for an autopsy and preserve his vital organs and take tissue samples before wheeling the large alien to acidic vats to be dissolved. In a single working day, nothing would remain of Subject EC-07 other than a few preserved samples. He couldn’t have known it, but in death he had given more to society than most people would in their entire lives. If his family was capable of understanding, they would have been proud.

He made a quick note to cancel an impending shipment of elcor test subjects. EC-07 was the last one required for the time being.

---

“You did [I]what?[/I]” Vartarus Halios demanded at the terminal, his mandibles rigid, a sure sign of his anger. Hakim was unfazed and repeated himself.

“I made a deal with Khel Zhar. He keeps us informed about this whole artifact and what anyone of importance is doing about it, and in exchange if we obtain it, we let his agents have access to it for an agreed upon time.” Hakim said.

“You were not authorized to do anything beyond the mandates of your job, Kalif. You were sent to Illium to assess the readiness and status of our security systems and forces in our facilities, nothing more. Nowhere did I give you permission to seek out information brokers, let alone make deals on my behalf.” Halios’ jaw set, his fists clenching. “I put far too much trust in you.”

“Relax, it will be fine. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, sir. We can find out who gets the artifact and where it is and where it’s going and knock it off mid-travel and take it for ourselves. We can cover our asses and make sure that nobody finds out where we’re going since we’ll use enough diversions to make people uncertain which trail to follow. I wouldn’t have acted if I didn’t think it was in our best interests, sir. I am sorry for betraying your trust, but it would have taken too long to run this by you. It was a bad call, I admit, but there’s a better chance for us this way.” Hakim said across the screen, his face placid and calm, but Halios knew him well enough to know that the smug bastard was feeling like he was in the throes of victory. The human expression “It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission” infuriated Halios and he would let this human know exactly how severe turian retaliation could be.

“Very well. I am not one to attempt to save face and look indecisive in front of others, but this arrangement is unacceptable, even if I intend to honour it. From now on, every time you leave Noveria you will have an agent of my choosing shadowing my every move, and if you deviate from anything you are authorized to do, I will make you disappear.” He held up a hand to prevent further protests. “Furthermore, I am not fronting the entirety of the costs of this severe fuck up you have dealt Halios Consortium. One quarter of the intelligence expenses to Zhar incurred will be coming out of your salary. You are fortunate I provide you with accommodation, free of charge here on Noveria. If you wish to be able to afford living a comfortable life, you best be right about this Prothean artifact or so help me, I will see to it you regret ever going behind my back. Do [I]not[/I] allow that happen again.” The turian said, cutting off communication on the Extranet. The five minute call had just cost him 120 credits due to its High Priority status. The chime that indicated someone was waiting outside of his office doors filled the air and Halios thumbed a key on his terminal to see who it was. Dr. Than was holding a datapad up to the camera. The CEO of Halios Consortium opened the door remotely and allowed the volus access.

Dr. Than did not wait to be addressed to take his seat, handing the file over to his boss. “Complete success with Subject EC-07.” The volus breathed as Halios looked through the reports. “There are no complications with the Elcor Mobility Treatment Procedure we have ready to patent. With your permission, Legal will get started on obtaining those, and Research will start releasing the findings to Citadel Science Authority Journal and the other two accredited ones of our choosing… are you alright?” The volus asked, his tone implying he was being polite instead of actively interested. 

“Hm? Yes, just dealing with the aftermath of human stupidity.” Halios waved a dismissive hand, as if the thought itself were a troublesome fly instead of something that invited untold amounts of trouble that came with being forced into a deal with the devil. “Excellent work, Dr. Than. I always thought the EMTP was a promising lead, you’ve outdone yourself… and in an excellent time. You have my authorization to begin taking steps to get it out to market.” The volus simply nodded. “Good work, doctor. And as always, if you require any additional resources for the other projects, relay the information to me and I’ll see to it you get them. If you’ll excuse me, I have make another call.”

“Of course.” Dr. Than said, sliding off of the chair that was slightly too high for him, despite Halios’ best attempts at finding something that matched his office that suited a volus frame. The volus wordlessly headed to the black acid-eched door. When the entryway sealed behind him, Halios wasted no time in going through his directory to locate one of his more dangerous, but effective assets. He would need his services in the days to come, of that he was certain.