Wrex

Wrex shifted uncomfortably on his throne of stone. He brought his fist under his chin so he could rest as he absently watched the two squabbling krogan before him. What they were arguing about, Wrex no longer had a clue.

Initially, it was about some petty territory dispute. The representative from clan Ganar argued that clan Quash had set up relay outpost in ground they clearly claimed. The Quash responded with the assertion that the area in question had always been in contestation, and they had records stating it once belonged to them before the nuclear war.

Wrex was amused at that last statement. Few of the clans kept records of the lands that they held before the nuclear holocaust their ancestors caused. Even fewer cared to respect those records.

The entire display reminded Wrex of chained varren. They barked and barred their fangs at each other, protecting their stick in the ground. He even knew of the land they were barking about. It was a fine piece of land for a settlement, but nearly useless to the two clans. They had plenty of space, and the soil there was not adequate for food production.

Now, however, the debate had devolved into some spat that dealt with the Blood Pack. Both clans had some involvement with the notorious krogan-ran gang. Wrex caught portions from the Ganar representative about how the Pack had strayed from the principles that made them once great and how they were little more than brutes now. That riled the representative from Quash as one of their clan was the current leader of the group. They started stomping around each other, throwing verbal assaults back and forth.

The entire idea was ridiculous, yet he seemed to be the only one that realized it. Well, besides the krogan responsible for guarding him. They had given him many withering looks after standing in their place through countless hours of bickering.

"Enough!" Wrex roared, silencing both males. He grinned wickedly as a new idea came to him. "If the land is so important to you both, then the two of you should battle for it. No weapons, no armor. Just brute strength and cunning. First to yield loses, and the winner gets the territory. I'll even honor you by moderating."

Both of the so called krogan stepped back from Wrex and each other, full of nervous energy. Their reaction to his suggestion made his smile falter. His former allusion seemed to be fitting. Once let off their chain, the varren-krogan before him didn't know what to do with themselves.

"I – I am not authorized to perform such a task," the Ganar representative stammered.

"Nor am I," the Quash quickly agreed.

He had to suppress a growl. "Then return to your clans. Tell them to send krogan worthy of my time."

Both representatives started to protest but were quickly silenced by the armed guards approaching them. They were escorted off the dais.

Wrex leaned back on the collection the concrete slabs that constituted as his unwanted throne. In the lull between the previous dispute and the next, he tried to find the exact moment where his return to Tuchanka turned horribly wrong.

His return to his home caused quite a bit of a stir. After all, it wasn't every day that the krogan who killed one of the few warlords left after the Krogan Rebellion came back. Even after three centuries, the death of his father, Jarrod, was not forgotten, and it earned him both instant respect and instant notoriety in the clan.

So, it came to no surprise to anyone when he challenged the leader of clan Urdnot for the right to lead within days of his arrival. Juvek, the clan head, readily accepted. He couldn't afford to look weak in front his clan simply because of the appearance of its prodigal son.

There was a large crowd waiting for the challenge between the two krogan. Wrex wasn't shocked. There wasn't much to occupy their time on the wasteland that was Tuchanka, and any distraction from that harsh reality was welcome. The fact that the battle could very well decide the fate of clan Urdnot only marginally motivated them to attend.

Wrex was ushered into the small circle. Juvek was already there, waiting for his challenger. The clan's shaman went over the agreed upon rules: no armor, no weapons beyond the knife given to them, no biotics, and the match ended with a yield or death. Wrex had agreed to the no biotics because Juvek wasn't one, and he didn't want his claim to leadership be marred with having an unfair advantage. Besides, he doubted he needed those abilities to defeat the krogan in front of him.

The shaman's yell to start was quickly drowned about by thunderous roars of the crowd. They slowly circled each other, occasionally probing the other's range and defenses. Finally, to the crowd's excitement, they charged each other.

Wrex had fought tougher people that his current opponent but not many. Juvek was a full member of clan Urdnot even before the Krogan Rebellion, and it showed. The older krogan may not have been as quick or as strong as he once was, but he was deceptive and calculating. He almost caught Wrex with many parries and feints.

But Wrex wasn't a naïve whelp either. He handled everything Juvek threw at him and countered in kind. He caught the clan head with his knife numerous times. Each cut was superficial, but they were enough to start Juvek down the path into a blood rage.

Normally, a blood rage was the last state anyone would want their opponent in. It brought increased power and speed as well as an almost complete intolerance to pain. Many krogan relied on it during especially hard battles. Few things were worse than watching a rampaging mountain of armor and muscle charging.

The only downside to the krogan blood rage was it made them stupid. Once in the state, tactics, strategy, and maneuvers were no longer important. All the rage cared about was destroying the enemy in front of them, never pausing to consider new wounds or a change in their foe's plans.

Wrex was counting on making Juvek stupid. He could handle the older man's increase in strength and speed, even using it against him. It would be the older krogan's predictability that would be his downfall.

He could see that his strategy was succeeding. Juvek was growing more and more impatient, and his eyes started to take on the sheen that signaled the start of a blood rage. His movements became sloppy and haphazard as he continued to try and find an opening in his opponent's defenses. Wrex finally drove him over the edge when he slid his knife in between the plates on the side of his torso.

Juvek quickly broke away and tested the wound. It was deep, deeper than Wrex realized. It might have even clipped one of his lungs. The injury wasn't debilitating like it would be on less hardy races, but it got the desired effect.

Juvek tossed away his blade and roared viciously at Wrex. Wrex had just enough time to slide his weapon into its sheath before the older krogan charged. They slammed into each other. Wrex grunted at the renewed vigor that Juvek displayed.

Before he could be overpowered, Wrex reared back his head and slammed it into Juvek's. The krogan staggered backward but quickly regained his composure and charged again. Just as he reached him, Wrex twisted his hips, used Juvek's momentum against him, and threw him to the ground.

The older krogan was stunned at his rapid change of position but got up to charge again. Wrex did the move again and again and again. After each time he landed on his back, Juvek was slower to get up. It wasn't until the sixth charge that he finally changed his attack and dove for Wrex's waist.

Wrex was ready for the move, however. He braced himself and was able to stay on his feet with free access to Juvek's back. He drew his knife and started to work it between the protective plates. Juvek howled once Wrex's knife found purchase and started to slice into his internal organs.

Wrex worked the knife until Juvek lost his grip and slid to the ground. He was pulled up by his hump to look his victorious opponent in the face.

"Yield," Wrex had said. He was only going to offer the chance once.

"Never."

Juvek's refusal didn't surprise Wrex. He was from an older generation that believed you battled to the death. Wrex admired his tenacity and unwillingness to admit defeat, but that mentality was what led the krogan to the situation they found themselves. He needed to end that mindset if they were going to survive the genophage. And that started with Juvek.

With one hand on the other krogan's hump, Wrex took his knife and drove it through the boney plate on his head and into his brain. Juvek went slack, and Wrex let him fall. Finally able to focus on the crowd, he realized they were silent.

The shaman stepped out and checked Juvek's corpse. Once satisfied that he was not going to stand back up, the shaman stood and address the crowd.

"Urdnot Wrex has defeated Urdnot Juvek and has won the right to lead clan Urdnot," the shaman had said. "Hail to Urdnot Wrex!"

The crowd roared again, this time repeating what the shaman said. Wrex didn't revel in the praise, however. He knew that only the easiest part of his plan was complete.

The next few months were filled by Crushes with the other tribes of Urdnot and eventually other clans left on Tuchanka. Wrex declared that the krogan were killing themselves by not dealing with the genophage. He proposed that they stopped fighting each other and worked together.

Many of the clans, including almost all of his old allies, agreed with him. Others were too small or not respected enough to put up anything more than a token resistance, so they reluctantly agreed as well. At the end, Wrex had a sizable force on his side.

A smaller portion did not agree with Wrex's sentiments, stating how unkrogan-like the entire idea was. Some said they would stay out of his way as long as he stayed out of theirs, and Wrex was obliged to do so. Eventually, they would see their error and join. Others were downright hostile. Wrex and his allies dealt with them accordingly.

It wasn't until a representative from the Republic of Ghurst, the largest nation-state left after the rebellion, came to their headquarters asking to speak with their leader that Wrex finally realized he made a grave miscalculation. Each of the clan leaders turned toward him expectantly, and he was forced to deal with the new arrival. While each clan took care of their individual problems, if there was any situation that effects the movement as a whole, Wrex was the one expected to handle it. He was their de facto leader.

Wrex found this new information unsettling. He was a warrior, a man of action. He was not a politician. Politicians had to sit through incessant meetings, listen to petty squabbles, and make inconsequential decisions. He could barely stand the quarian, turian, and asari long enough to eat a meal.

The thought of the people he spent time with on the Normandy brought a small smile to the weathered krogan before it made him realize something. If those three could see him now, wishing to skirt his new responsibilities, they would be relentless with their snarky comments.

That reason alone was enough to convince Wrex. If he saw any of them again, he was going to make them recognize his genius and not give them ammunition to use against him.

Now, Wrex was thinking how wrong he was. Aralakh wasn't even at the highest point in its cycle, and he was already weary from the constant stream of complaints he was forced to endure. He never knew the krogan had the capacity to bicker like the salarian or asari. It was disconcerting.

"Sir," one of his guards said, breaking his train of the thought. "Are you ready for the next issue?"

"Who is it?"

"Urdnot Kilak."

Wrex grumbled. Kilak was the leader of the female camp within clan Urdnot. She had a penchant for talking. So much so, Wrex played with the idea of putting her on the throne. Unfortunately, he didn't believe the other clans would stand for a female to lead them. Wrex was having enough trouble bucking many of the krogan's long standing traditions and didn't want to add another to the list.

"Send her up," he said simply.

Kilak was ushered up the dais and stood before Wrex. She met his eyes, and he noticed the spark of intelligence there. Wrex was no idiot, and he knew it. But he felt quite outmatched at the moment.

"Wrex."

"Kilak."

"I passed a Ganar and a Quash on the way here. They seemed fairly upset. I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"

"They were fighting over a piece of dirt of little importance," Wrex answered. "When I gave my decision, neither one would accept it."

"Oh, and what was your decision?" Kilak asked.

"A duel. Pretty simple really."

"That seems like a typical krogan response. I thought you wanted us to change."

Wrex stood. "I want the krogan to deal with the genophage. While that does mean we must sacrifice some of our old ways, it doesn't mean we have to act like the Council. We are krogan. We fight, and we challenge."

They regarded each other for a moment before Kilak nodded at him. Wrex retook his seat. He didn't need her approval for the way he ran things, but it was reassuring to have it. He had enough to deal with without adding a souring relationship with the females of his clan.

"I know you didn't come here simply to question my leadership abilities, Kilak. So what do you wish of me?"

She laughed. "I didn't come to ask you for anything. In fact, I have an offer for you," she said with a smile.

That made Wrex feel uneasy. "And what is that?"

"Me and the other female leaders wish to establish an all-female camp. It will be neutral ground and governed by females that will answer to you as long as you do not overstep your authority."

"Hmmm. It sounds to me like this is a power grab. You hold all the females while the males are left with nothing."

"Please, Wrex," she said, amused. "I wish to see the krogan survive just as much as you. We will allow males from every clan into the camp under strict rules. There are to be no confrontations, no fights, and no taking females."

He mulled over the idea in his head. It was sound. Any clan willing to send hostages to the camp would be welcome there. To silence those that would say this was clan Urdnot's way to gain more control, anyone who broke the rules could be punished by their clan while the clan would have to pay a fine to female camp. If they did not, they would no longer be invited there. Wrex could only imagine what his allies would do to the clan then.

The idea couldn't have come at a better time. While it wasn't apparent, he felt his hold on the movement he started to slip. There were too many dissident opinions that were beginning to gain traction in the older and larger clans. This idea could become a form of control that would silence those voices if he could survive its initiation. The control may not be firmly in his hands, but that was of little consequence.

"Interesting," Wrex said. "And where would you set up this camp?"

The question made Kilak wince. "I haven't been able to find a suitable place for it yet."

Wrex remembered the two representatives he had sent away just before. He grinned at her.

"I know just the spot."

Author's Note:

Would you look at that! I'm ahead of my deadline! In case you couldn't guess, everyone's favorite quarian is next. Then I will write short pieces on the new crew before hitting Shepard's revival. That's the plan anyway. Who knows where the characters might take me.

Thanks for reading, and please review!