Jack met one black look after another stepping out of her ship. Dropping Grunt's name got her an escort, though, and she made her way through the largest group of Krogan she imagined anyone had seen together since the Rebellions. There were distinct camps here, arranged around the rough dias of the Keystone where it lay beneath the brightsun shadow of the ancient city that birthed it. She remembered this place, remembered bringing Grunt here to join Urdnot all those years ago. It'd grown since then, a massive row of newly constructed buildings giving shelter to some of the groups with the largest reserved for Urdnot in the center. Smoke rose chaotically from cookfires and gruff voices rose and fell from thousands of mouths. A symbol on long canvas flapped in the strong Tuchanka wind around the plaza, a stylized but blocky shape that was clearly a Reaper gripped in the embrace of a Thresher Maw.
She remembered being disgusted with the whole place last time, and she hadn't been a shining example of hygiene herself. The places that weren't pulverized had been occupied by filthy ragtag groups who struggled to remember to shit in a hole instead of a corner; and her nose remembered the smell of decaying meat no matter where she went. Now the Krogans' clothing and armor was whole, if not clean, while females walked among them. She even saw a child at one point, crawling over what must have been its seated father as they pushed their way through the chattering throng, and she had to be nudged forward when she stopped to check she wasn't hallucinating.
Not that any of them looked proud of their collective crawling out of the cesspool just now. Someone else might've gotten a complex from the hate she found in all those beady eyes, mostly sharp stares at Krogan standing in other groups, with the rest for her; but nobody got in her way or raised any sharp objects as she walked, so she just put on her best sour expression and leered right back until she started climbing large ancient steps that provided a view of the dias rather than bobbing reptilian heads. From there she could see a house-sized pyre constructed in the middle of the giant concrete slab that doubled as an arena to weed out the weak in their rites of passage. She could only guess how high the flames would rise when it was finally lit. It would be an epic tribute to a legendary leader.
The Krogan framing her path took her straight to Grunt, who was speaking in a low voice to a small group of warriors in Urdnot colors. He turned to look at her, then spoke over his shoulder. "You see?" he said gruffly, "She's here. Finish your preparations. We leave after the Rite is done."
Unlike the hundreds who laid eyes on her up to this point, this group grunted and nodded while sizing her up with a challenging look that in this place was called respect. She eyed 'em all like she was looking for the best place to slip a blade and they wandered off to do whatever it was they did to pass some ticks.
"Grunt," she greeted in a low voice, careful to keep a neutral expression in the middle of the tension filling the air.
"Jack," he returned with gravity, then gestured to a shaded corner. "Let's talk."
She waited, counting two steps before letting the question slip. "So, where we going?" she asked, remembering Liara's words like they were written on her brain.
Grunt stopped to lean against a stone pillar, the contact making dust fall from him to float in the slanted sun. He folded his arms and looked at her directly before answering. "Tyr," he said simply.
"Yeah? What's on Tyr?"
"Clan Dulak."
Jack huffed, "To talk, I assume."
"Yeah," he said, the word rumbling in his chest and coming out as a tired sigh. "There's a lot you need to know, going in, but I don't have time to lay it out. For now, drop your gear in my room, then come back and stay close. There's people you need to meet." He pointed through the roughly hewn concrete doorway to his right. "Last door on the left. Everyone knows you're coming."
She nodded, then eyed the number of Krogan milling inside before shoving herself a path between them. Other than a surprised look or two she made it, her hand pulling aside a brightly decorated animal hide to reveal Grunt's quarters. It was quiet and dim there, even a bit cooler which Jack appreciated. Her nose wrinkled at the smell, though; it was musky like old shoes. She looked around at the sparse furniture and eyeballed a likely spot to drop her pack when another hide parted near the back corner.
Out walked a female as big around as a house. She paused and fixed Jack with a squint before waddling slowly in her direction. "You are the human. The one Grunt asked for."
"Yeah, that's me," Jack said, her eyes wandering over her dimensions.
The Krogan's wide lips curled in a grimace that Jack figured was either amusement or an impending attack. Turned out it was legit fucking joy.
"You are welcome!" she exclaimed in a unique, gravelly voice while folding her scaly hands. "Leave your things with me. You will shelter with us." One of her hands smoothed over her distended belly as she continued, "I am Griksar, mother of Grunt's brood."
Well that makes sense, Jack thought as she put on a smile. "Congrats," she said carefully while holding up her satchel. "Will be good to talk to you but I think Grunt's got work on his mind. Where you want it?"
In answer she walked forward and held out a clawed hand. Jack looked at it, wondering if she should act, you know, considerate of her condition or some shit; but when the Krogan tilted her head and pitched a brow she handed the bag over without a fuss. Before she could let go of it, the woman's other hand grabbed hers, quick as a snake, and pulled her close enough to realize female Krogan breath was just as bad as their male counterparts.
Griksar's eyes took on a weird gleam as she spoke. "You're bigger than you look in the pictures," she murmured, followed by a short harsh laugh and a guttural, "Good." Then she just let go, turning to waddle to the back room with Jack's gear slung over her forearm.
Jack's brow wrinkled in confusion but after a moment she shook it off and went back outside, where Grunt waved her over to begin a circuit around the site. He didn't say much, though, and as far as Grunt went that meant he was depressed.
Of the options before her, Jack considered some kinda humor as a distraction for him; but walking through the first clanmeet circle and seeing tense expressions on the Krogan faces there persuaded her to choose intimidating quiet instead. Seemed the least likely way to lose your teeth.
One by one she met the clan leaders who'd gathered. Jorgal, Thax, Drau….too many names to remember, but mostly there to pay respects. Others seemed hell bent to test limits and during one argument that came to an end with a stupendous Grunt headbutt Jack noticed that the clans for and against Urdnot seemed to be in alternating groups around the central section so neither side could congregate. Someone had planned the gathering carefully and Jack'd put her money on Bakara for that bit. As far as how they read Jack being there, well, most of 'em didn't seem to recognize her. They looked, of course, her being the turd in the punchbowl, but the focus was zeroed on Grunt and Grunt liked that just fine.
The talk was boring for the most part with lots of "He was a strong leader!" and "Clan whatever stands with Urdnot!" though some of it seemed sketchy. Then there were the ones who gave absolute zero fucks; the ones who just watched without saying much of anything. Of all the reactions to Grunt's attempts to talk, these gave her the most jeebs and the next Krogan in line fit the part perfectly.
She'd seen this guy before, on Omega. Clan Ganar had ties with Blood Pack going way back and Jugas loved reminding people about it, especially when things weren't going his way; which made this suddenly silent loudmouth an extra dose of worry. He didn't even look at them when they approached, though his krantt kept advantageous positions around them both. The clan leader's vision was locked on a passing female instead.
"Jugas," Grunt growled as he came to a stop before him. He was ignored. Then Grunt slid to the right, directly in front of him and blocking that view.
"Whaddaya want, whelp?" Jugas asked, still not acknowledging he was even there with his eyes.
"Heheheh," Grunt laughed, "Oh I'm just taking people's temperature. Can do it rectally if you want." The last was said with a smile, which finally got his attention.
After a squint of the eyes and a moment of them staring back and forth intensely Jugas also laughed. "You think I'm scared of you and your pet mouse here?" He turned to look at her now. "Yeah, I remember you, squeaker. You might frighten the vorcha in their dark corners but you got another thing comin' with me."
Jack's lips curled in amused derision and she tilted her head in curiosity while staring a hole in him.
Jugas looked back to Grunt but snapped back to Jack when she shifted her weight back on her right foot. Seems he was plenty concerned about her after all. "Look at the pair o' you, stepping up to get knocked down. You got somethin' to say to me, runt?"
"Nah," Jack huffed with the same expression. "Just wondering if your brains are the same color as the shit coming out of your mouth."
When he reached for her throat she took a quick step back and reached out to grab his leg with a Lash. Krogan for the most part were too heavy to sling around but that weight played against them, too. A leg she could yank pretty easy…and down on his back he went like a sack of potatoes, cursing all the while.
Weapons trained on her and she snickered while Grunt stepped in front of her. "Aww...what, all that hardware for little old me?" She taunted while they growled. "Whatta buncha bitches."
Grunt stood over him and added, "Jack is one of my krantt. You wanna start a fight just let me know what you want done with your corpse."
Jugas chuckled and picked himself up. "How many humans you got in your krannt, Grunt? You keep screaming, 'I'm Krogan! I'm Krogan' to everyone who'll listen but when it comes down to it you're just a dancing varren on a leash. Now that Wrex is dead who holds it, huh?" He waved a thick arm around the crowd. "Nothing but females around you now, boy, and I've got lots of hungry brothers."
Grunt leaned forward angrily, one ugly mug next to the other ugly mug. "You comin' at me, Jugas? I'm standin' right here, egg spooge."
"I don't hafta come at you, pup," Jugas said in a voice so festeringly sweet the hair on Jack's neck stood up and took notice. "By the time Dulak finishes with you, there'll be plenty of pieces to chew on."
"Welp," Jack interrupted before looking at Grunt, "Guess we know this asshole's temperature, huh?"
"Yeah," Grunt agreed, relaxing into a normal stance, "That's one steaming pile. Let's go."
"Good luck on your visit!" Jugas laughed with the rest of his kin as Jack fell into step behind her friend. "Hahahahah!"
They'd gotten under his skin, which was the point; but Jack couldn't help but feel some unpleasant tingles about this trip to Tyr. Urdnot's enemies clearly knew their next move and for all she knew were helping set up an ambush. She bit off any comments while they met the last few clan leaders, though, staying frosty until they'd meandered back up to the platform where a few Krogan dressed in strange garb gathered.
With them was a female Jack immediately recognized as Bakara, who sized her up with a grim look while waiting. "You came," She said without preamble when they approached. "Foolish. And brave."
The chieftess was wearing similar garb to the first time Jack met her, though in the red and yellow of Clan Urdnot now rather than inky blue. She looked a bit wider than Jack remembered, which made her wonder if every single female of the species wasn't pregnant at this point. She guessed she couldn't blame them, what with being nearly extinct just a few years ago.
"You don't know me well," Jack began. "If you did you'd know I'd never miss a chance to show up Grunt's puny ass."
Grunt chuckled beside her despite himself and it made Bakara's red-rimmed eyes soften a bit, too. "Your fierceness will serve you well," she said while nodding. "How is Shepard?"
She couldn't help but feel like the poor replacement she was with the question but she straightened her back and adulted anyway. "She's good," Jack replied with a twitch of her lips. "Says she'll be out here as soon as she can and is sorry for the wait."
Bakara looked at Grunt then. "We can't wait for her."
"I know," he returned, then looked sideways at Jack. "But we're good."
Not for the first time in her life she felt like she was being talked over. "Hey, how about you tell me what's coming? Feel like my head is up my ass, here."
Bakara looked to the other Krogan within a few feet, who nodded and made themselves scarce. Once they moved away she began. "With Wrex's death there must be a new leader for the Krogan people." Jack nodded and Bakara continued, "When the rite of the Void is concluded, those that would vie for the title will make themselves known. Many are from within Urdnot because we have absorbed so many other clans. We expect that to proceed without incident. There is another, however, who will undoubtedly lay claim but is currently Krassus to us. A traitor who kills their leader in order to take power."
"Um.." Jack interjected, "Pretty sure that's been done before. A lot."
"If they'd just killed Wrex it would be one thing," Grunt explained. "They killed many of our best on the Crakador; important people from dozens of clans. It's not just Urdnot calling for blood."
"Okay?" Jack shrugged, "So why does he even get a say? Why don't you just mount up and take their heads off their shoulders?"
"Because the son of the traitor is claiming innocence," Bakara added solemnly. "With his father dead, Dulak looks to him and he says he knew nothing about the plot."
"And he won't come here because he's afraid you'll just kill him," Jack said with both of them nodding in agreement. "So this kid takes over his clan what, a week ago, and he's gonna throw his hat in the ring to lead the whole shebang?"
Grunt chuckled, "He's no kid, Jack. He's over 600 years old."
"And now in control of one of the mightiest clans in the alliance," Bakara added. "We must determine his guilt. If he is innocent as he claims, he is a real candidate to lead. If not…"
Jack sighed, "If not, you gotta make 'em pay. Hard to do without a leader." She chewed her lip for a moment, then squinted her eyes and leaned closer to them both, lowering her voice. "But what about Urdnot? Don't you guys wanna stay in charge?" Her eyes shifted over to Bakara, "You got a favorite?"
The Krogran dropped her gaze sadly. "That is a hard topic," she began, looking over to Grunt. "We had plans once."
Grunt met her gaze and grunted softly before turning to Jack. "Wrex had a vision for the Krogan. Almost nobody agreed with him but they couldn't argue with success. He was making something bigger, making us bigger. Bakara saw it. I saw it. If anyone else takes the reins it's gonna be a shot in the damn dark."
Jack looked back and forth between them thoughtfully. She didn't need her hand held to know they could never come out on top. Bakara was a woman and Grunt was 6 years old, no matter how much knowledge of the past had been passed to him through a fucking tank. The Krogan had made progress under Wrex's rule but that was a bit like saying a stick worked better at beating someone to death than your bare hands. There weren't going to be any concessions given for them in this place.
Speaking of concessions, Jack watched Grunt put a comforting hand on Bakara's shoulder and only then did it occur to her to have a bit of respect for the fact that Wrex was fucking dead . God damn she had a bad case of tone deaf.
"Listen," Jack said in as bright a voice she could muster that didn't stick in her throat, "Let's eat this shit sandwich one bite at a time, yeah?" What the hell, she thought to herself. When did she start saying 'yeah' after her fucking sentences? That was a Miri thing. "We figure out this thing with Dulak and you two'll have a lot more cred when it comes to picking out a new king."
"Heh," Grunt chortled, "That or things'll go to shit so fast we won't have time to worry about it."
Jack grinned grimly and met Bakara's gaze once again. "Great. So this is me shutting up and letting you guys have your grief."
Bakara dipped her chin, clearly struggling with emotion, and as she called her attendants back over, Jack's little shriveled black heart surprised her with the thought that she should've said something nice about the guy. He was decent to her, after all. Honor among bastards or something.
Or maybe she just needed a drink.