Chapter Eleven: Legacy
The Citadel, Chora's Den
The bar was filled with krogan that day, more than usual. The bar tender didn't quite know what to make of it, he had never seen so many krogan in one place without a single fight breaking out, yet the krogan that day were all smiles and fighting was the last thing on their minds.
He noticed one krogan who sat alone at the bar, while his kinsmen ordered more rounds and enjoyed the dancers, and every other drink looking on in bewilderment and in expectation of a fight, the old krogan sat staring at his drink.
"Hey, old man," the bar tender called. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
The krogan turned to him, the typical hard krogan glare on his face that made the batarian regret his decision to speak up. The krogan took a swig of his ryncol and looked back at the party.
"You mean why are there so many krogan on the Citadel today?" he asked.
"Uh... yeah," the bar tender said. "There are always krogan on the Citadel, but... there's just so many here today."
"You didn't hear?" the krogan said. "Our leaders are going to argue their way back into the list of Citadel races."
"What? Really?" he gasped. "But how did they get an audience with the Councillors so soon? Is it because you helped in the Invasion? We helped too and no one's returning the favour!"
"We started rebuilding Tuchanka on our own and everyone else offered," the krogan said. "We didn't ask for help, we started on our own and now we're finishing on our own. If you batarians stopped feeling sorry for yourselves and actually did something then maybe you'd make some progress."
The batarian looked like he wanted to argue, but there was logic in what the old krogan said, and he left it at that. He turned away and focused his attention on some other drinker, leaving Raik Skoll to wonder if he truly had become an 'old man'.
He had never thought of himself as old, but here he was sitting in a bar filled with attractive asari, and he sat in the corner away from all the fun and just drunk. Shay'kera and Grunt were exploring the Citadel, enjoying their free time as Wrex and other leaders spoke with the Councillors.
Grunt was keen on seeing Shepard while he had the time, introducing Shay at the same time felt oddly like some kind of ploy to get mommy's approval. But what did he know? He was just eight hundred years ago, he fought the Reapers on Earth, what did he know?
He looked down on his drink. He had suddenly lost all desire to finish his ryncol.
While Grunt and Shay'kera had been brought along as additional security along with Skoll, none of them had much of a job to do, not when Commander Shepard was still on the Citadel and not when she was in full control of security. The Councillors wanted her opinion on the subject, and she was put in charge of the security.
It was nice to know they finally trusted her.
Skoll played with his glass, turning it in circles, and he thought of Shay'kera. She resembled her mother in more than a few ways, she had the same coloured crests and the same fighting style, and she didn't like rude males or weak females.
But she had his eyes.
That was one the only thing Skoll had ever done that had made an impact on her life, besides helping to conceive her. Skoll was not a stupid krogan; he had lived long enough and had fought in too many battles and wars to know that any stranger could have the potential to affect anyone's life.
And Hündin Königin was just one of those people, she affected his life as much as he touched hers.
...
Shay'kera silently followed Grunt through the Citadel. She had never been to the Citadel before; life in the Lotta-Signorina Clan was restricted at the best of times, in fact up until she was assigned to serve in Aralakh Company she had never actually left Tuchanka.
"Are there fish in the ponds?" she asked him.
"No," he smirked in memory of a similar question he had once heard. "You can buy some, there's a shop here that sells exotic breeds of fish. Even a space hamster."
"What's a hamster?" she asked.
"It's a furry thing from Earth," he explained.
"Can you eat it?"
"No."
"Then what's the point in having a small creature if you're not going to eat it?"
She couldn't see, but Grunt's smile was growing even bigger by the second. He was starting to like her more and more. He wondered, what would Shepard make of this female companion he was so fond of? She was aware of his feelings, but what would she think of Shay'kera?
Grunt knew Shepard had been put charge in of security, she may not even have time to speak to them, but he was hoping for the chance. They came to where Shepard and the rest of her security detail were holed up, after a moment of background checks security waved them through.
Many guards knew Grunt from his previous career as a member of the Normandy SR-2 and of his efforts during the Reaper Invasion on Tuchanka, so few were willing to get in his way and argue. They passed through to a long chamber where they were scanned, weapons taken, and then taken into another room.
This one was plain, with many guards and surveillance. The door at the other end of the room opened and Shepard emerged. She no longer resembled that pale and thin creature he had seemed on Equality, the one who had stared sadly at her weakened body. She was starting to look a little bit more like her old self.
Her new prosthetics were shiny and smooth, reminding him almost of a augment implant, while a thin - but strong - brace had been constructed around the weaker leg. Her armour was not like her old, beloved and dented purple armour, in fact Grunt was very much reminded of Liara's own armour as it appeared tight-fighting and very light despite being so carefully armoured. He also noticed a set of stars on her shoulder, had she been promoted already?
"I'd dismiss the guards but for security reasons they have to stay," she said apologetically.
"It's okay," Grunt said, "I'm just glad I got a chance to see you before you went on duty."
"Yeah, the meeting doesn't start for another ten minutes," she replied. "So I have about five before I have to move out."
"I'll be sure to make them count," he smirked. "So how are things? It looks like they promoted you."
"For now they've put me in charge of security, all of it," she answered. "C-Sec, Alliance forces, outside asari, salarian and even turian forces are under my command. I've got to keep them all in order and keep this place running until the meetings over. But... to be honest... these stars don't represent any head of security that I know."
"You think they're setting you up for another job?" he asked.
"I do," she said, "I think this is a test. They want to make sure I'm still fit to give orders and keep order."
"But what can you do?" he asked. "You stopped Saren and Sovereign, defeated Cerberus, destroyed the Reapers... what's left?"
She smiled at him, a devious little smile as she took a step forwards as to avoid the guard's gaze.
"The positioner of Human Councillor is still open," she reminded him.
"You really think they'd...?" he gasped.
"It was hinted at me by Sparatus," she replied. "He believes I would be a good candidate and suggested if it ever comes up I will be his first choice. So who knows? We'll see."
Shepard turned to Shay'kera, who had stood their silently the whole time and simply watched the exchange between the human and krogan. She had not often seen humans, nor knew much about them, but Shepard she knew. Of all the humans Shepard was the one Shay'kera felt any sort of feeling towards.
Shepard was everything a woman could hope to be; strong, compassionate, brave and loyal. Who wouldn't look up to her? And now Shay was standing no more than a few inches away, just within reach of her idol. Did Grunt know how much Shay admired her and brought her here for that purpose?
No, she thought. Don't be ridiculous. How could he possibly know? I only mentioned it once.
"One more thing, before we go," Grunt said. "I'd like you to meet Shay'kera."
She immediately snapped to attention, standing straight like a good soldier and even saluting. Shepard laughed and lowered the female krogan's arm, still smiling all the while. Shay wasn't sure how to respond, she had never expected Shepard to be so... so...
"She's a strange one, isn't she?" Grunt teased.
"Watch it, boy," Shepard grinned. "Or I'll have to ground you. I'll even take away your Captain Cosmic Action Figure 'Garr the Krogan Battlemaster'!"
"Wha... how did you..."
"I found a few interesting things in the Shadow Broker lair, boy," she threated. "Things I'm not afraid to use against you."
He wasn't the kind to take threats likely, especially ones from Shepard. He decided to be wary. Shepard saw she had won and now focused her attention on Shay'kera, she smiled awkwardly at the Commander.
"I'm sorry I didn't have any more time to talk with you," she said. "But Grunt has all my contact details, if you ever want to talk about anything feel free to call me."
"O-oh, yes!" Shay stuttered. "Thank you... I-I will."
Grunt smiled, he had never seen Shay so flustered before. Shepard tapped her ear comm as an incoming transmission came through and nodded once.
"I've got to go," she said, "but if you're still around after all this we should have dinner."
"Yes!" Shay said quickly. "We'd love too!"
"We?" Shepard smirked.
Shay may have blushed, but it was hard to tell with krogan. The security team led Grunt and Shay'kera out, and Shepard waved them goodbye. Their weapons were returned, though they were warned to be safe, and they headed to the Presidium.
Shay was silent for a minute and Grunt wondered what could possibly be running through her head. He had brought Shay to meet Shepard, not only because he knew she greatly admired the human, but he also wanted Shepard to meet the female who had affected him greatly.
He wondered what she thought of Shay.
"Thanks," she said quietly. "Meeting Shepard... it means a lot."
"I thought it would," he said.
They stopped by a large, square window and they looked out at the beautiful stars in the distance and the shuttles. To the far right Grunt recognized Emily Wong as she gave a report on the Krogan's Return - as it had been called - and people passed on by. Life continued on as if the Reapers never existed.
"I... never knew my mother," Shay admitted. "She died shortly after I was born, defending our clan from Blood Pack. Lotta led our clan, hence our name, but she was never my mother. I looked up to her, but it was Shepard I truly admired. When I heard of what she had done... despite destroying that base on Virmire..."
"We wouldn't want a cure made by Saren," Grunt said. "It could have been filled with all sorts of toxins or whatever."
"No krogan would have accepted it either," she replied. "If they knew how it was made and by who, their children would have been tainted with the knowledge Saren made them by making others suffer."
Krogan would have accepted any cure, they were that desperate for it once, but to simply dismiss Shay's argument would be ignorant and prove that people truly underestimated the krogan. After these children would be born and they learnt who they owed their existence too, would they appreciate knowing a man like Saren was responsible?
Perhaps it was a good thing Shepard destroyed the base on Virmire. It was just another thing Grunt would have to thank her for.
...
The batarian bar tender had grown silent, now he stood with his back to Skoll and he cleaned the same old glass over and over again as the cogs in his head turned. Skoll could understand why he was annoyed, the batarians had been hit worse with an entire colony wiped out when Shepard tried to stop a Reaper Invasion that would have hit sooner if Shepard had not stopped Doctor Kenson.
Now most batarians were homeless and living on the Citadel, added to the fact few very species actually liked them and it was understandable the batarians felt like the world was against them. But that was no excuse to lie down and take it.
If they wanted to change they needed to take it, reach out into the darkness and find some source of hope and then rebuild their empire. The batarians could be great, as they had been, all it needed was the right amount of will and a few good leaders who could shoulder the burden and treat their kind well.
The krogans present in the bar had gathered around a terminal, keenly watching the report. No reporters were allowed inside, only until the announcement was made could the reporters do anything. For now they had to stand beyond the safe point and wait, just like everyone else.
Skoll should have been excited with this new incredible change, but he kept thinking back to Shay'kera and Königin. In the old days, when krogan could still breed freely, krogan had only one life mate. Generally most followed this tradition, many didn't, but Skoll did.
He had met Königin when he was two hundred, she had a different name then - but he couldn't remember what it is, she changed it so often before sticking to Königin. They met when they joined the same mercenary group. Many didn't know Königin was a female, like Shay she didn't cover her face or wear robes, and Skoll took advantage of it.
Being the only one who knew the truth he had more time with her, the other mercs thought he was gay, and he was happy to keep up the pretence until Königin told them, but by then it was too late. A century later they grew tired of being mercs and moved back to Tuchanka, forming their own clan under the name Hündin.
Skoll thought back to that day, standing on the dry and cracked ground with the sun high in the sky, he looked around and saw no one. No varren or krogan, it was nothing but the sun and death.
"Why here?" he asked her. "Of all the places, Konigin, why this damned place?"
She pointed behind him and he saw a large jagged gap in the ground, almost like it was opening up to reveal so many secrets. He ducked down and entered the cool shade, as his eyes adjusted he made out symbols and carvings on the smooth walls, and he realized where they were.
She joined him, going deeper inside.
"Wait!" he called. "You'll get lost! No one knows how to navigate the old temples!"
"I grew up here, my love," she called back. "This was once where my clan resided, until they were destroyed in a foolish argument over land. I know this place well. And it has everything, with an underground stream of clean water and there are plenty of things to eat."
"Is this really what you want?" he asked her.
She stopped, just before the precipice of darkness that seemed to swallow her up. She had such unusual eye colour, not red like his, but more of a strange eerie moss colour. In the dark they seemed to be two hovering orbs. She seemed to consider his question for a long, hard moment, and then she smiled.
"Of course," she replied. "Most krogan don't care about our future, they think we'll just die out and fade from existence and everyone wll forget us. But I refuse to allow that to happen. I refuse to have my children - or anyone's - grow up to be mercs when they could be a politician or a teacher or an artist."
"And this is the start?" he asked her. "This one clan will help how?"
"We'll get like-minded krogan to join us," she explained. "Those who want their children to be greater than we ever were, and then they will raise their children to be greater than them! Great things have small beginnings, like a seed into a tree, but someone needs to plant that seed."
"It could just carry itself there on a breeze or on an animal," he retorted.
"And then it would land anywhere," she replied. "In a pit or a canyon, somewhere dark or cold where it wouldn't survive for long. That's why it needs a guiding hand."
He took a step into the temple, glancing back once at the cruel light of the world, and he joined her in the darkness.
"I'll help however I can," he promised. "No matter how small, your legacy shall live, I promise you."
"Then if we have a child..." she said, "if we are granted that much in this wretched world, please take care of it if I can't."
He frowned, "What does that mean?" he said. "You can't predict your demise so early in life."
"I am out of touch with my kind," she replied. "I think for a future others think will not come. I'm going to make enemies. That's why I chose my old clan. It's dark, and cold, but no one knows about it, and that should keep us safe for a time being."
"Okay," he sighed and took her hand. "I'll take care of your legacy..."
"Our legacy," she corrected with a smile.
Konigin died some centuries later during an attack on the clan by the Blood Pack. Skoll had been away when it happened, meeting with Urdnot Wrex who had some interesting ideas on the future but was yet unprepared to do anything about it. Skoll had promised to assist Wrex in anyway possible when the day would come when Wrex would be ready.
Skoll returned to find Lotta-Signorina had been put in charge of the clan in his absence, and his daughter, who had been born while he was away, had been put in Signorina's care. Skoll wanted to stay, to raise his daughter, but he also wanted revenge.
He made a mistake. Getting each of the men responsible for Konigin's death took years, and since krogan age fast he had missed out on so much more than any father should. She was a woman, practically, what would happen if he just barged in and announced who he was?
He wasn't ready, neither was she, but maybe now...
The krogan cheered suddenly, the batarian jumped in shock and turned to find the group jumping up and down and even giving one another a high-five. One ordered a free round for everyone in the bar, even the salarian's. He had never seen krogan act so... pleased. Thinking on it, he had never seen a happy krogan.
He looked at the terminal, barely making out the words 'KROGAN REJOIN LIST OF CITADEL RACES'. He snorted, so arguing really worked, huh?
"I guess you were right, old man," he said. "If you want something you have to stand up and fight for it."
He turned to where the old krogan sat, and found the seat empty. He had just missed the announcement all krogan had been waiting for, what could be so important he purposefully missed it?
...
Grunt watched Emily Wong as she hurriedly reported the news, a happy crowd of krogan just noticeably behind her as they chanted 'A future finally' over and over. She went around, asking random civilians what they thought. Shay seemed unconcerned with them, though he did see a faint smile on her face.
"I assume it's good news?" she joked.
"I can only imagine what Tuchanka must be like," he said. "Wrex promised them a national holiday if we succeeded, but it may go on longer... we may not look like it but we krogan can dance as well as we can drink."
"You'll have to show me sometime," she smiled.
She smiled, but she sounded dead serious. She turned to him and he actually felt quite nervous. She took a step towards him, leaning forwards on her tip-toes just to look him in the eye.
"The Citadel has a bar called Purgatory, right?" she said.
"Yeah..." he replied, knowing where this is going.
"So take me there and show me these dance moves," she said.
He grimaced, fearful of denying her such a simple thing, but he had never danced once in his life and Okeer had never programmed him to learn. She saw his reluctance and took his hand, leading him away and towards the nearest elevator.
"If it helps I'll show you my moves first," she assured him.
Krogan can't purr seductively like humans or asari, but when they felt aroused or were attracted to someone the tone of their eyes darken or lighten, most of the time they weren't aware of the change and had no control over it, when it came to hiding arousal krogan struggled greatly.
And at that moment Grunt's eyes were bluer than an even the brightest asari's hide.
He said nothing, just nodded dumbly.
As they approached the elevator the doors opened and they found Skoll. He seemed surprised to have found them so quickly, yet he was pleased. He noticed Shay's fingers entangled around Grunt, but said nothing.
"Skoll!" Shay smiled. "Did you hear the good news?"
He looked at her, as if hesitating to answer. "Yes, I actually came to ask you if you had heard," he quickly lied. "It's good news, isn't it? Wrex has finally achieved what he so long hoped for."
"I didn't know his ambitions were so old," Grunt said.
"He, like most, wanted change for many years," Skoll answered. "But what can a krogan do when his whole species accepts its fate? Shepard helped - something about her changed Wrex, it made him ready for this responsibility."
"... Was there something else?" Shay asked. "You look like you want to say something important?"
"It's... nothing," Skoll replied. "Go celebrate and have fun. I'm returning to Tuchanka."
He stepped out of the elevator, allowing them to step inside.
"I know someone who will want to hear the news," he added. "She'll be glad we've finally changed our ways."
"She'll appreciate being told," Shay told him. "Especially if it comes from you."
The elevator doors closed, Shay smiled at him and like that she was gone. He was eerily reminded of the last time he saw Konigin, but he decided not to dwell on the past any longer than he had. He needed to return to Tuchanka and tell her the good news.
She may not have been involved as much as she would have been, but Konigin left behind a little girl, and now she was doing her part to keep Tuchanka safe. If the Void was a kind place, Skoll just hoped Konigin could see Shay'kera and all that she had done.
To Be Continued...
Sorry about the delay, but I was so busy writing up the plots of future chapter's that I forgot I hadn't submitted anything yet! Sorry!
I also want to hold a little competition. I have enough ideas for at least eight more chapters, I'll eventually get more ideas but I don't want to hit a delay after my eight are done, so I was wondering if anyone is interested in entering a contest - whoever comes up with the best idea will get it turned into a chapter.
If anyone is interested I'll put the information in the next chapter, but I'm going to need more than two people if I am to hold any kind of contest.
