Jane quickly determined a way to increase her rations. Plenty of small crawl spaces were in desperate need of cleaning, particularly the chimney. It was a task she was well acquainted with, given her days on the old resistance base, and her ticket to being well-fed. She continued running on the wheels as well, storing kinetic energy in reusable battery packs. But it was mainly to improve her endurance.
As for the krogan, she learned a few interesting tidbits about their society that couldn't be ferreted out on the extranet. While it was customary for females to form their own clans, this rag-tag group wasn't one. This wasn't Urdnot. That much she discerned, even before Amata did her a solid and installed a Rishini data-packet in everyone's subdermals. Most of the women spoke different dialects from one another, meaning that communication from clan to clan was stymied without the use of translators. Something that was baffling to her – on Kar'Shan it was the opposite. Translators were items of the aristocracy and off-worlders, not the common man.
It was their facial tattoos that suggested differing backgrounds however. Far more subtle than the turian colony markings, yet equally as elegant. Fine brush strokes along the scales, usually about the eye, blended beautifully with their ridges and illustrated where each was from. Their clan origin was represented by color. The design was invented by the individual. It was one thing she hadn't expected from krogan – artwork and beautiful artwork at that.
She questioned Kiash about their melting-pot camp once to no avail. The old bat merely mumbled a few creative curses and went on her way. But Amata overheard, and enthusiastically told the tale of how Wrex liberated them from various warlords. Apparently, talking with a 'bald pyjack' was quite the novelty.
A lizard with a turquoise series of lamellas and striking yellow eyes, Amata's hulking form commanded respect. She would not be an easy foe, that was for certain. And Jane was careful to toe the line in her presence. Yet, one always knew where they stood with her. And unlike Kiash, she was much easier to understand. Their lives even held a thread of similarity. Amata had been ripped away from her clan and sold into a form of sexual slavery, if the tales she overheard were anything to go on. In fact, it seemed like many of the women had similar stories. They lived underground in an effort to hide from the nomadic warlords that roved across the countryside. Whenever these warloards managed to locate a female encampment, they killed or kidnapped the young and took the women as unwilling wives. It was how many clans spread their seed. It was how their lineage survived.
These facts weren't conveyed in hushed, shameful tones. But spoken freely, their voices carrying across the bunker and echoing off the walls. It was reminiscent of her time in the brothel. Most of the humans had been born to it, and that was simply life. They had known no other. And the few batarian girls had grown up in such desperate poverty that brothel life was a step up. Well, so long as sex wasn't their sole marketable skill. Even to this day, Jane shuddered at the memory of what happened to those girls.
Whether weeks or months had passed, she couldn't say. Time moved differently without the sun to guide it. And living underground changed her natural sleep cycle to twenty hour days followed by sixteen hour nights, skewing things further. But right when Jane began wondering if she was doomed to live out her days in the bunker, Wrex returned.
She woke one morn to find him sprawled out on a table, drunkenly finishing off a jar of pickle juice, not a care in the world. He was having a grand time, regaling the women with his exploits while they rushed to and fro practically shoving one another out of the way, hoping to be the first to serve him. And boy, did he lap up the attention. Even Amata was enamored, presenting him with her latest concoction, a pyjack-varren stew served with a side of rice.
Initially she intended to skulk in the shadows mulling over how one confronts a half-ton lizard, but he spotted her almost immediately. A reminder of krogan evolution and their uncanny 360 degree vision.
"Hey kid!" Wrex roared, tilting the table as his massive paws spread out towards her.
She crossed her arms. "Someone's drunk."
"Y'know hic mos' hic women are happy to see me."
"I'm not most women."
"What-hic-ever. Go pack your crap. We leave in the hic morning."
She was never so happy to acquiesce.
They spent nearly an hour by the hatch leading back out into the Wastes. Wrex was glued to something called an infrasound sensor, ensuring they didn't reveal the location of the women to any passing warlords. The moment he was satisfied it was safe, he scooped her up and tossed her out the hatch. However, this time she was ready. She tucked her head to her knees, and rolled with the momentum, landing softly on the sand. Once they were a safe distance from the hatch, Wrex shocked her by initiating conversation. "So, what'dya learn girl?"
"That your planet sucks… for everyone on it."
A grunt. "You can say that again."
It was almost enough for her to believe that things would be different this time. That he'd finally get around to teaching her some gods-forsaken biotics so she could get the hell off this rock. Almost.
Wrex was running out of time with the girl. One would think that an iceberg would melt under the desert's rays, but she maintained a cold, austere demeanor even under the worst of circumstances. Never reflecting the inner turmoil that he knew was present. There were few options left to him. If they were doing this, it'd have to be soon. Otherwise, she was as good as dead.
Krogan were tough opponents, particularly to one who'd never seen the species before. And even if Tali's ire wasn't a concern, he really didn't relish the thought of Shepard reaching from the void and prying off his head plate should he get her killed.
Jane was a survivor, always rolling with the punches. Always alert. But he remained uncertain as to whether she had what it takes to thrive on Tuchanka, and it wasn't her diminutive stature that concerned him. It was the attitude. He'd seen her flinch in his shadow. Watched as fear crept in during the night, and the predictable viciousness it produced. The woman had been brought low but was she merely bent, or did the batarians break her? How far would she let him push before she finally pushed back?
So far all he'd seen was a tool to be used. A butcher on command. Not a warrior. A warrior was someone who wouldn't fracture in a storm but twist with the winds, once more standing erect when the clouds cleared.
They were almost to the base. And he was running out of time.
If there was a warrior in her, it was time for it to come out and play.
They were, once again, marching through the Wastes with no discernible destination. Day after day, it was the same damn thing and baking inside her hardsuit did nothing to improve her mood. Her patience was wearing thin. "Where are we going?"
"North."
"But why? And where North?"
"Ugh. I'm hungover and we don't got time..."
"For talking. Yeah. You've said that. A lot. But you haven't told me shit about shit and I'm not even sure how long I've been on this planet."
"Three months."
Jane stopped dead in her tracks. Had so much time passed? Three months and not a single lesson? Just marching, marching, marching followed by more marching, then being dropped like a sack of potatoes into some dump with a bunch of wayward krogan. It was enough to drive one batty.
She stomped forward, cutting Wrex off in his tracks. He grinned at her with those glinting red eyes, humor rolling off his scales as he chortled. But she was done. Done with Tuchanka. Done with this stupid lizard. And Okanna's ass she was getting some answers. "Why were you gone so long? Are you ever gonna teach me biotics? For fuck's sake, you haven't taught me shit in THREE MONTHS?!"
"Those women wanna join Urdnot. If they can't follow a simple order not to eat ya, then their bid would be denied."
"Are you joking?" Her voice grew low, deadly. "You left me there for gods knows how long so you could… test them?"
"Time gets funny underground. Months feel like weeks, just how it is. Though we hiked for nearly the same time as ya were there."
"That's not the point! I said I'd kill what needing killing in exchange for your help. And all we've done is march across this shit-hole planet day after day after day. You wanna march! FINE! At least teach me something in the meantime."
Little did she know, her entire form glowed blue. And he had her exactly where he wanted her. Charged and ready to fire.
She felt the energy crackle a second too late, caught up in her rant, sluggish in the unrelenting heat. A full biotic toss hit her square in the chest and she throttled backwards, breathlessly tumbling down the dunes. But she cushioned the fall with biotics, and pulsated forward, feeling the prickling of energy dance across her skin. Quick as lightning, she flanked him, a rush of blue on red smacking him in the face. Barriers up, he skidded backwards, landing on his hump. She closed. Fast. Jumping atop his chest, a sea of fury, his energy mingling with hers. Her biotics ripped through his barrier like paper, and in that second an iron clinch fastened around her arm. She pushed her biotics into the ground, propelling them further down the ditch. He allowed her to slam biotic pulses for awhile, tossing them to and fro. But she couldn't shake him.
He stood, dangling her over his towering form while she snarled, swaying to and fro. A tiny speck struggling against raw strength.
A manic grin. It spread back past his head plate, splitting his face in two. She could count every tooth in his massive mouth and true to his bizarre nature, he laughed. "There you are. Been wonderin' how long it'd take ya to show."
She stared at him. Bewildered. But he said nothing. Opting to let her dangle helplessly, infernally boisterous, waiting for what she couldn't say. Eventually, he dropped her. And she immediately righted herself, not knowing that this too was a test. One she passed.
"You… wanted this? You goaded me into attacking you? Are you mad old lizard?"
"Probably. But if you can keep your tongue behind your teeth for a couple'a hours more, we're almost there. Then you'll see what I mean."
Hours later Wrex called for a halt. She sheltered in his massive shadow, waiting for nightfall. Then he brought her to the top of the dunes and they hunkered down in the dead and dying grass, desiccated life peeking out from the sands. Below them a valley complete with a river, shreds of green dotting the shoreline. A hidden gem. A diamond in the rough. And more importantly, the source of a bath.
Wrex's low, grating voice brought her back to the present. "See that cave down there? It leads to an old bunker, where a bunch of Weryloc goons are holed up, dunno what they're doin' but it can't be good. We're gonna clear it out and claim it for Urdnot. That place is nice and defensible so I can put it to good use. But the cannons, see 'em right by the entrance? Those are gonna be ours by this time tomorrow. Before that, they'll be a damn problem though. Hope your barrier's good. You're gonna need it."
Without further ado, he beckoned her back down the dune setting camp on the far-side of its mutable edges, well out of sight from his prey. Jane froze, staring as he tended the fire. Between the exhaustion and lingering nausea that came with trekking across a 120 degree desert, she could scarcely think. Immediately her mind jumped to the worst possible scenario – a translator fuck up. She'd never depended on them before, certainly they must have pitfalls, and now she crossed the galaxy, not to mention this wretched planet, for nothing. She needed training, while this stupid lizard thought her powers were fine. "Umm…You.. you realize that I can't fight well … not yet anyhow. I'm not at my full strength. There's something very wrong with my biotics. Look how easily you beat me."
"Nothin's wrong with 'em."
Jane blinked, dazed.
"Ahhh fuck it," Wrex groaned. "Some shit talkin' has to solve I guess. What's wrong is up here." He tapped the side of his head. "And somethin' tells me you know that. Let me guess, weren't sleepin' on Omega? Some perverted fuck stuck in your head?"
She shifted, shocked by his bluntness, before slowly nodding.
"Ehhh. Don't worry about it. We'll get it sorted. Same crap happened to me after I hadda kill my father. Ran my dagger through all three of his hearts. Goes against nature, butchering one's parent, 'specially when he drags more'a your kin into it. Took everything I had to work that blade through my own flesh and blood, even more to repeat it. Shooting 'em woulda been easier, but he left me no choice. You can try to keep on, ignore it, but it'll catch up one way or another. So, this is how it'll work. You go back to livin' the only way you know how – surviving. Day in and day out, that's life here anyhow, don't have to do nothin' special there. Bet that soft-ass turian didn't keep ya busy enough, eh girl? Lots of down time?"
Another nod.
"Yup. That's what I thought. None of that luxury crap is here. You'll go through trials that will push you to the very edge, make you wonder if your body'll just give out and die. Maybe even hope for it. But that's life on Tuchanka and it'll give you even more of a beatin' with your bald little pyjack body. I'm also bettin' that's the life you've known for so long that it's the only way you know how to live. So, you're gonna help me unite the clans. Gotta plan, but I could use some more firepower, and since you swore yourself to my service, well, seems like the natural course of things. And when all's said and done, I'll take you to the female shaman. She'll know what to do. Then you'll be able to leave and get to know something more than survival." He stood and activated his omni-tool. "Now, I'm gonna prove it to ya. We've been traveling on foot for twelve days – no breaks except to sleep, eat, and hydrate. Summon a barrier while pulling that boulder over this-a-way."
She obeyed and her jaw nearly dropped when he played the vid back. Her barrier was perfect, not a single drip. And she didn't even struggle with the massive rock. Back on Omega, everything was an effort – as if she were forcing a rod through the eye of a needle.
"Ehh. I'll show you how to condense that even further, it'll protect ya more. But see? No blue crap" flying off ya. Didn't happen when you attacked neither, and damn if you didn't knock me off my feet. Your biotics are fine. It's just your fucked up head. As for not beating me, did you really think you could face off with a krogan who's been fightin' for damn near seven centuries? You're good kid, but I'm better."
He had a point, Krapo had scarcely haunted her since setting foot on Tuchanka, even without sleeping pills. Her body was so spent from trekking across the wastes or earning her keep that there wasn't any room for thought. Just survival, and the exhaustion that seemed to permeate every inch of her being, right down to the bone.
"Why… why didn't you just tell me?"
"You never woulda believed it. There's tellin' and there's showin'. Nothin' works as good as that last one. Nothin'."
They warmed the last of their rations over the fire and ate in silence. Jane stole a few glances at the lizard as he swallowed a creature more than half her size. He was a lot smarter than he looked, that much was certain.
Night came and with no welcoming cavern or sheltering rocks, she took refuge next to Wrex. His tremendous bulk blocking the worst of the wind. Stretched out on her bedroll, curled against the lizard, she mumbled in the air, not really expecting a response. "Wait… where are the other krogan? Your clan? I know those others weren't Urdnot. And I thought I'd have to prove myself to them or fight with them or something."
"I have about half the Urdnot males in my pocket, provided I win. Krogan aren't friendly like the turians. Most of us fight alone, or in very small packs. And if you want to rule, it's a solitary endeavor. When the smoke clears, those loyal to me will pledge themselves. Then..." A weary sigh. "Then, I'll deal with the rest of Urdnot. This is the easy part kid. The clan won't be too cheery about accepting a bald pyjack into the ranks, and you'll have to earn some measure of respect in order to see the shaman. But I've got a plan. Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a big fight."