2185 CE - Tuchanka
Shepard licked her lips, the dry desert air was hell – she scoffed, kicking the dirt lightly to adjust her boot, she'd never doubt Wrex again. She didn't quite believe him back on the SR-1 when he said Therum was nothing compared to Tuchanka and hell, they were on damned lava when they rescued Liara.
She eyed Mordrin, who had been relatively quiet since discovering his student hadn't been missing at all but was working to cure the genophage. The whole thing had been disturbing, the females were dead all over the old decrepit hospital, bodies of humans used as a base material for the experiment had disturbed her the most.
What had impressed her the most was hearing Mordin's thoughts on the whole thing. She didn't agree with him that the genophage was a solution needed now a day. It had destroyed the krogan, their culture and history decimated by war and despair. Mordin had been disturbed to see the females accepting such suffering to be able to give birth.
Shepard had been disgusted at his ignorance. For a scientist, he didn't seem to understand the need to continue your bloodline, to leave a little piece of yourself behind.
She couldn't imagine the pain of these females, couldn't imagine what it was like to go through the full pregnancy only to birth a stillborn every single time. It would destroy their very existence, their own self-worth. After freeing his student, they'd decided to keep the data, maybe someday it would be something worth to look at to help the krogan, lift them from the oppression the turians and salarians had put them under.
Mordin had only held the disk, his strange eyes blinking rapidly in thought. It was the first time she'd seen the doctor speechless. Hopefully, she'd given him a new purpose past this mission, a reason to maybe make it. She wasn't sure.
She looked up to Grunt, his large toothy grin was infectious - Wrex had finally revealed to her that her little baby krogan was experiencing puberty. Hence all the head smashing, insults and fight-mongering on the ship. Damned Mother Nature, she could handle a little puberty but the trial to become part of a clan was little much.
Wrex had boasted in front of Grunt that he was the last to kill the Thresher Maw at his initiation, claiming that made him the most aggressive and respected krogan on Tuchanka. She'd snorted, getting his attention.
"I've killed six; does that mean I have the biggest set of quads on the planet?"
"Mako kills don't count, Shepard." He'd waved her off, shaking his head at her claim. She'd just have to show his arrogant ass how a human killed a Thresher on foot.
Smug bastard . She pulled out the Cain M-920 from its holster, warming it up. The first three rounds had been far too simple, varrens and some sort of giant bug. She looked over to her krogan. Yes. Hers. She was his krantt, his battle master.
"You ready to do this, Grunt? Show these assholes what tank perfection and a puny human can do to a maw?"
"The blood of my enemies will spill on the sands of Tuchanka, Battlemaster, with you at my side."
They both smirked - his own battle cry echoing in the ruins while she felt the bloodlust build in her own system, the anticipation of battle singing in her blood. Mordin only groaned, positive the jarhead attitude was going to get them injured, his omni tool beeping as she slammed her fist down on the button to call the final round of this initiation.
"Brace yourselves, Commander, incoming Maw."
She flipped the Cain in her hands, her fingers flexing against the trigger, hearing the hell in a bullet warm up but not discharge. She could see the bright red light turn yellow as the percentage rose up. The ground shook, memories of Akuze threatening to come to the surface but she chose to pull on the thrill of killing the other maws with Kaidan in the Mako. Her eyes set on the dust that rose from the ground, the maw's screeches deafening but it only thrilled her.
The light turned green, the beep heard across her helmet.
She grinned.
