Dossier: The Professor

Dr. Mordin Solus is a salarian biological weapons expert whose technology may hold the key to countering Collector attacks. He is currently operating a medical clinic in the slums of Omega.

Acquisition
This recruitment mission is acquired automatically after the completion of Freedom's Progress.

Walkthrough
As stated above, because of the value of the Normandy’s tech lab on the CIC Deck, it is highly recommended that you undertake this recruitment mission first, and at latest, second. Do not leave it until the end of the first round of recruitment missions.

Arrival on Omega
When Shepard arrives on Omega, EDI cautions that the section housing Mordin's clinic is quarantined due to a plague outbreak, and that gaining access may be difficult. She advises visiting Afterlife to get more information. You need not proceed there immediately if you wish to explore, since there are several minor assignments available in the area, as well as a few merchants.

At Afterlife, the bouncers wave you through immediately, while a human is fruitlessly antagonizing the elcor bouncer about the long wait. In the entrance hall you can earn some morality points depending on your dealing with some batarian thugs. Once inside the main bar, you can head to the back and up the stairs to the platform where Aria T'Loak, the unofficial queen of Omega, sits watching over her domain. You can ask her about anything to do with Omega, but be sure to eventually ask about Mordin and Archangel. Once you get the information, you can excuse yourself from the club. Eventually make your way to the turian guarding the shuttle dock to the quarantine sector.

Into The Plague
Before speaking with the turian, you may wish to save in case you do not have enough morality points to get past him without having to shoot up the place. As you approach, a human woman is incensed at the turian, as she is not being allowed back into the slums to protect her possessions from looters. Asking about the plague reveals that it affects everyone but humans and the vorcha. You can use the morality options to get the guard to call ahead and tell his friends to stand down. Alternatively, if you want a firefight, then use the right dialogue options. If you get past the turian using diplomacy, the human woman will exasperatedly ask why she can't also be let in, and the turian will point out she is distinctly lacking a grenade launcher.

The Slums of Omega
Upon entering the slums and depending on your options with the turian guard, either you will be shot at or the guards will stand down. Either way, first move straight across to retrieve the crate of 250 refined eezo. Then go back a little, turn toward and go around the barrier; be sure to pick up the Medi-gel on your way. Open the only door and go down the stairs where you'll confront a couple of Blue Suns mercs, and be prepared for some grizzly conversation from your squadmates. From where you enter run across to get access to a terminal with credits; there are power cells in the nearby room, in which you can bypass a door to get access to 4 audio logs describing how some turians were sealed in by the local Blue Suns mercs to prevent the spread of the plague. The logs describe their final, tragic days.

Go back out and to the batarian victim on the ground. He is not happy to see humans since humans are not affected by the plague, from which fact he has convinced himself that humans are the cause of the plague. Ask him some questions and eventually he will go into a coughing fit, whereupon a Paragon interrupt will use one of your Medi-gels to help him (+5 Paragon points). An additional 2 Paragon points can be earned after the Paragon interrupt by saying, "I'm here to help," or 2 Renegade points can be earned by saying, "I need information." He does indeed have a lot more information he can give you. So if you save him you can ask about the professor, particularly his rather unorthodox methods and skill with weapons. Apparently the Blue Suns pressed him for protection money, and he popped them all before they could even respond. Either way you move on. It is highly recommended that you use the Paragon interrupt to save his life. Then when you get to the clinic, ask Mordin to send someone to escort him back to the clinic as this will net you some experience points. There is no journal entry associated with this however.

Moving past the now healthier or dead batarian, bypass the nearby door and go down to discover another batarian; unfortunately there is nothing you can do for this one. Access his logs to find out what happened to him, and you can loot his wall safe for a sum of credits. Go back upstairs through the door, head to the right, and you enter the beginning of what is apparently called Kokomo Plaza, where you will soon come under fire from several Blue Suns mercs. You can fight them from the first floor, or you can run up the stairs (on the left) and take them out from the height of the second floor. After taking them out, if you did not go to the second floor, retrieve the Medi-gel and spare parts located there.

On the opposite side of the plaza from where you entered, to the right of the barricade, bypass a door and enter the apartment of two human refugees. They tell you about how the Blue Suns, even though corrupt, still ran a tight ship and had reasonable rates, at least for Omega. You can persuade them by using moral speech that staying in their apartment is not the best idea, but they will not come with you. They say if you can clear a way to Mordin’s clinic, then they may take their chances and go to the clinic. Any way you decide to take the conversation don’t forget to access the safe for more credits; there is also a medical kit on their kitchen table. After that turn around and head back out.

Go behind the main barricade of the plaza (where you destroyed the Blue Suns) and scan the dead merc for an assault rifle upgrade. It is recommended that you save the game at this point: the next area is hard, especially on higher difficulty levels. Go down the stairs and through a door, entering the remainder of Kokomo Plaza, and you start hearing gunfire. Apparently the Blood Pack is moving in on Blue Suns territory. Use the ongoing battle as cover, back track, and go up the stairs. Position your squad because the Blue Sun mercs won’t last very long, and then the pack will turn on you (note that the Blue Suns can also attack you). Use your elevated position for an advantage, and have someone guarding the stairs. The vorcha will stay at a distance, but the Blood Pack's varren and krogan will not stay away but rather will charge up the stairs. Destroy the Blood Pack, watch for the pyro members, and then move down the stairs.

On the left side of the large room is another room that links to an apartment. In the other room grab the container of eezo, then head inside the apartment proper. The apartment has some unwanted tenants: human looters. You can let them go, or shoot them. Either way ask them questions first. They will fill you in on what happened and how the plague spread. Once done asking your questions, make your decision on the looters, and then leave. Head back out and down the stairs, following the signs to the clinic.

Mordin’s Clinic
Outside the clinic there is a detachment of human and mech guards. The guards if questioned tell you not to make any trouble unless you want to deal with the mechs and the Professor himself. Head in and question as many people as you can; although there is no actual conversation, they tell stories of how the Professor seems to be helping them and how he defended the clinic from a few attacks, and so forth. Head down the back hall and head to the left first, pick up two crates and access a computer for a research item: the crates contain palladium and platinum, the research increases your medi-gel capacity after the mission. Once done in here go into the other room and before talking to Mordin pick up the Medi-gel, power cells, and more resources: this time the other two, iridium and eezo. Once the items are acquired, talk to Mordin.

Aria was right, Mordin likes to talk, and fast, very fast - he reasons quickly and out loud. This fact enables Shepard to perform the occasional interrupt (once here, and once on the Normandy). Mordin is friendly, however, which is a change of pace for this district. He states that he has found a cure for the plague and needs a way to distribute it. You can ask Mordin to come with you but he declines for the moment because he wants to cure the plague first. So ask for his plan for distributing the cure; he says via the air system, but there is a catch, as there always is. The air-control facility is guarded by Blood Pack vorcha. Just as Mordin finishes, the air system shuts down; now a new set of problems on top of those you already had. Mordin will tell you that once the plague is cured he will join you. You can ask a few more questions, particularly that Mordin send someone for the sick batarian you met (if you didn't allow him to die), then choose to end the conversation. At this point Mordin will do two things: he will give you a new gun, the M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon, and he will ask you to keep an eye out for his assistant Daniel. He would appreciate it if you could find him alive; Daniel went into vorcha territory to find some batarians and give them the cure.

Although there is no journal entry for this issue, if you had let live and then mention the batarian victim to Mordin, you receive the typical experience reward for a minor hub-world assignment (40 points on your first playthrough or 50 on subsequent ones.)

To Environmental Control
Good Save Point

Once you're ready (there are some medical kits in the clinic if you're short on Medi-gel), go out of the clinic, up the stairs, and be ready for a fight. Get into cover and use it to take out the attacking Blood Pack. If Shepard goes in first then you have a chance to catch them off guard and take out one of them. Pick a vorcha because the krogan in this area have armor. Some vorcha will have it too, but theirs is weaker. Do not let the vorcha get in cover, because their regeneration will allow them to completely regenerate their health. Move around and use the cover to take out the Blood Pack. Be careful because some of them will charge you and others will stay put. In addition, this area sometimes has a little "glitch" (one might call it a tactic) insofar as Pack members will sometimes not move and stay out of your line of sight, requiring you to go hunting for the Pack. Once they are all down look around for a gambling terminal, which can be hacked for a few thousand credits, and a medical station for another Medi-gel.

After stocking up, move and go up the nearby and long set of stairs; hack the terminal for some more credits. Go up the next flights of stairs where you find a short hallway with two doors. The door on the right advances the mission, but the door on the left has some upset batarians and Daniel. Save before you enter because one wrong move will result in Daniel’s death. Enter the room and the situation immediately turns into a standoff. You can persuade the batarians that Daniel is there to help, earning Paragon points. Alternatively, once they've let Daniel go, refuse to let them leave, earning Renegade points. If Daniel survives this encounter he will return to the clinic, and you will get an email at your personal terminal thanking you.

Once the decision is made, leave the room and open the other door at the end of the hall. The next room has Blood Pack. Apparently the Pack has moved closer to the clinic than Mordin realized, and they have taken a lot more territory than originally thought. In any case, fight through the Blood Pack as you come across them, head down some stairs, and move on until you reach a very large room where there is no ceiling.

This room - apparently the entrance to the Environmental Control facility - has three interior staircases, all leading to the lower level. Stay on the upper level for now, it’s safer for your squad's health and life-expectancy. Where those large fans are across the way from you, Blood Pack Heavies will appear. Up to 6 of them will show up, depending on how long it takes you to take out the vorcha and krogan on the lower level. A safe bet is to stay on the upper level until all the Heavies are taken out; then you can either head down or stay up top, as you choose.

Making your choice, take out the remaining Blood Pack. If you wish to save here, make sure to go in past the doors and inside. If you don’t, then when you reload you will have to fight all over again. Moving inside you will soon confront a few more Blood Pack in a small room; take cover and put them down (beware the krogan). On the right you can find some spare parts and some Medi-gel. The gel is valuable because the upcoming fight is a hard one. Go up the stairs and before opening the door save the game (some PC users have found that this is the last place in the mission that the player can save the game). Once saved, open the door.

Environmental Control
When you enter you encounter an unusually talkative vorcha. This one makes clear that they are in league with the Collectors. Now you have another reason to eliminate them, if you didn’t have enough already. Once the vorcha are down, EDI will come over your comm and tell you where to start the ventilation process by inserting the cure, if it wasn’t obvious already, but you need to start the main system and inject the cure before continuing.

Before inserting the cure, save and put your squad into cover (as noted above, some have reported being unable to save here and for the remainder of the mission [PC version]). As soon as you activate the main system by inserting the cure, vorcha and krogan will stream in from the general direction whence you entered. Vorcha Heavies will also appear on the catwalk across from your position (above your original entrance). Usually you can take out the Heavies across the way first and let your squad deal with the Pack members streaming in. After you've taken out the Heavies and other threats, pick the ventilation-control room to attack first. Each of two ventilation-control rooms, where the fans are activated, flank the main system on either side, but on a slightly lower level. Note that if you clear both sides before turning on either fan array, resistance is much lighter as no further enemies seem to spawn when you activate each fan.

No matter which way you choose the process is the same. Move downstairs toward a control room and quickly put your squad in cover; the control-room door will open on its own as several Blood Pack members will pour out. Once you put them down, move into the control room and activate the fans for that side (know that there's a medical kit in each control room). Once the fan is activated, run back out - more enemies usually confront you here - and up the stairs. The other side will already be teaming with Blood Pack and multiple Heavies will have mounted the upper catwalks, so take cover. Watch out for krogan charging and vorcha moving up the stairs to take out your squad. Note that the first fans clearly cause strong winds; with well-used powers (such as pull, throw, or shockwave), the squad can knock enemies off their feet, who will then catch the wind and be blown around. This tactic is particularly useful for getting rid of the Heavies on the catwalks, who can literally be blown away. In any event, once you can head down to the remaining control room, the door opens again revealing even more enemies. Once they are all down move in and activate the fans. Your squad will say some things but you are quickly transported back to the clinic.

Mordin’s Clinic Round 2
Once back in the clinic Mordin tells you that the plague levels are dropping throughout the district. He says that he is satisfied and ready to join your team; he mentions working with Cerberus and how unexpected it is that they are working with aliens. You can now head back to the Normandy or stay in the clinic. Stay if you want to get any of the things mentioned earlier, but you can also see and talk to several of the people you encountered earlier, if you saved them (the sick batarian and Daniel) or convinced them to go to the clinic (the human refugees). You can talk to many patients and employees for their new perspectives. When you are done, return to the Normandy.

Normandy
Mordin arrives ready to work. Jacob is there with the two of you and he brings the professor up to speed on the Collector situation; Mordin needs only a well-equipped lab, at which point EDI chimes in. After these interactions, you have access to the tech lab where you are able to research upgrades for the Normandy, for your squad, and for yourself.

Now is a good time to start going around and asking about upgrades. Start with Miranda because her upgrade makes planet scanning a whole lot easier, and much faster.

Email
If he survived, Daniel (from the Omega clinic) sent Commander Shepard an email with the header Things are quiet again, regarding the state of the clinic since Mordin joined Shepard.

Enemies

 * Blood Pack Boom-Squad
 * Blood Pack Pyro
 * Blood Pack Trooper
 * Blood Pack Warrior
 * Blue Suns Trooper
 * District Guard (Optional)
 * Human Looter (Optional)
 * Varren

Mission Summary
Recruited Dr. Mordin Solus for the team.

Examination of Omega plague cure confirms Dr. Solus's expertise.

Can also use work on Omega as leverage against Aria if necessary.


 * Experience: 1,000 (1250)
 * Credits: 50,000
 * Cerberus Funding: 25,000
 * Credits found: 23,000 (+2000 by getting the datapad if you let the first plagued batarian die)
 * Weapons:
 * M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon
 * Resources
 * Element Zero: 1,000
 * Palladium: 2,000
 * Platinum: 2,000
 * Iridium: 2,000
 * Upgrades
 * Medi-Gel Capacity (Microscanner)
 * Assault Rifle Damage (Kinetic Pulsar)

Trivia

 * Bringing Garrus or Grunt into the area (although it's not recommended to delay Mordin's recruitment) has no lasting impact on their health, although it does give extra dialogue and an extra scene when you first meet Mordin.
 * When rescuing Daniel, the batarian holding him at gunpoint is wearing a Purgatory prisoner jumpsuit.
 * In a conversation with looters in a turian's apartment, Shepard can say, "Stealing from the dead, that's pretty low." This might be Bioware's staff making fun of themselves. As a prominent maker of RPG games, Bioware most certainly opens ample opportunities for the Player Characters to loot from the dead. In fact, looting is one of the biggest attractions for RPG fans.