Chapter 18

Blending In

It was a throne room. There was no better way to describe it. Yes, the throne was merely roughly cut stone blocks, and the room clearly hadn't seen any sort of custodian service for a considerable amount of time, but the layout combined with the retinue of krogan standing guard made it clear that this was the throne room of the Primarch Jorgal … at least until his dreams of a palace befitting him in the old krogan ruins was realized.

"Seventeen, eighteen …" Glen shook her head. "Twenty krogan guards visible."

"Visible?"

"Yeah. About ten more probably watching. Damn; and here I thought it was gonna be easy pickings."

Finn stopped himself from letting out a chuckle. Glen's voice was coming through his internal comm. While convenient, he still didn't understand how everyone was able to tune in to his implanted receiver; it was supposed to only work for him and Jake.

"I know. Hackers, am I right?" Glen grinned at Finn, her pearly white teeth practically gleaming in the darkness.

They stared at the room for a few more moments before Glen tapped Finn on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. Once a few corridors away, she let out her breath.

"Okay," She said, rubbing her hands together, "Brainstorming session; go."

"Uh … well, a frontal assault is out of the question." Finn said, rubbing the back of his head. "Even if we could somehow drop thirty krogan, we'd never do it before backup arrived."

"Check." Glen said, drawing a curious look from Finn. "What?"

"Nothing." He told her. "You just reminded me of Jake, that's all."

"This would be Jake the Dog? Say, is he in the loop right now?"

"No, it's just us. Want me to contact him?"

"Nah, it sounds like they have their hands full over there already." Glen tapped her thumb against her bottom lip. "Where were we? Right; frontal assault is out. Can't see the sneaky approach working either; they've got every angle covered, and I'm pretty sure the Primarch would notice us messing with his crown."

"Check. Maybe he'll take it off at some point?"

Glen let out a laugh. "He's preening on a throne, Finn. He probably wears that thing to bed at this point."

With a sigh, Finn said, "Check. I suppose just grabbing it and running is still the best option, but we need to at least get rid of some of his entourage."

"Check." Glen let out a sigh. "Hallucinogens? Smoke Bombs? Sleeping gas?"

"Do you have any of those?" Finn asked curiously.

Glen patted her pockets for a few moments before producing a small corked vial of pink dust. "Pollen from sleep dusters. It's worked on everything I've ever used it on. Mind you, that was a galaxy away."

Finn looked at the tiny bottle. "Is there enough for this group?"

"It only takes a little. The problem is getting it to them all." She straightened, her eyes on the far side of the corridor. "Someone's coming!"

Finn stopped her before she could hurry down an adjoining corridor. "Hang on; listen. Do you hear that?"

She stopped and listened until she picked it up too; it was the sound of alarmingly familiar singing.

"I'd recognize that noise anywhere. It's that krogan again." Glen said, "Tuck, wasn't it?"

They watched from the shadows of the side corridor as the krogan cook pushed a trolley with a massive pot of what smelled to Finn like the krogan's stew, along with a large stack of metal bowls. It smelled quite good, reminding Finn of just how long it had been since he had eaten.

As he passed, Glen grabbed Finn's arm. "That's it!"

"That's what?"

"He's heading toward the throne room. Quick, distract him!"

"What?!"

Glen shoved him forward. The sound of his clumsy steps hitting the stone made Tuck turn his head.

"Wha … Oh! It's you!" Tuck clamped a hand on Finn's shoulder and gave him a grin that was far from reassuring. "And just what are you doing here?"

"I … er, was hungry."

"What?" The krogan stared at Finn for a few moments before letting out a booming laugh. "Ha! Escaped my kitchen, but couldn't escape the flavor, eh?"

Finn forced a chuckle and shrugged. "What can I say? It was good."

"Damn right it's good!" He chuckled a few moments more before turning his eyes back on me. "Y'know, this is a bad place for you to be wandering around. If the Primarch's men catch you snooping here, they're likely snap your neck like a twig."

He let out another laugh and clapped Finn on the shoulder again. Finn chuckled along with the krogan uneasily.

"Well, tell you what; you came back, so no harm done, eh? Here!" He stepped aside and motioned for me to push the cart. "You can be the assistant who was supposed to meet me outside. Wheel this along, and I'll make sure you get a bowl too, eh?"

Chest puffed out with pride, Tuck continued walking toward the throne room. Finn followed, his legs straining to push the heavy trolley fast enough to keep up. He glanced around for Glen, but saw no sign of his mysterious companion.

Eventually, they reached the throne room. The krogan guards moved to block their way immediately, only for Tuck to push his way through them. "Ease off; I'm bringing dinner."

This announcement was well received by the rest of the throne room … well, most of it. The eager looks on the faces of the krogan guards could've served as an indicator of just how far the tantalizing scent of the stew was traveling through the throne room, but Primarch Jorgal regarded him with a grim expression that didn't so much as flicker. Tuck motioned for Finn to follow before striding forward. Muscles feeling like they were about to snap like rubber bands, Finn pushed the trolley until they reached the throne.

"Who is this?" Primarch Jorgal asked, gesturing at Finn.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean my assistant, Eggars?" Tuck slapped Finn on the back again, nearly making Finn fall over. "Every chef needs a reliable assistant."

"Eggars." Primarch Jorgal repeated, his eyes boring into Finn.

Feeling it best to play respectful, Finn gave the Primarch a deep bow and said, "Yes sir! Eggars Crumb, if it please your majesty."

"Your Majesty?" Primarch Jorgal said, as though tasting the title. "Yes, I could deal with that. Now what swill have you brought me today."

"Not swill; stew." Tuck slapped a hand on the rim of the pot. "The Tuck Special! Sirloin thresher spiced to perfection."

"I see." The Primarch rose and approached the pot. He lifted out the ladle and stared at the contents for a moment. "What are these white things?"

"Potatoes." Tuck supplied. "A rare and difficult to obtain vegetable that originated on Earth."

"I see. And what are the little green specs?"

"Cilantro. Gives it a nice fresh taste."

The Primarch gave a disgusted snort. "So this is what Wrex spent thousands of credits on you for, huh? Meaty water and plants?"

Tuck's smile seemed to freeze. "Huh. No appreciation for fine dining, huh? Come on, Eggars! His Majesty would obviously prefer the carcasses of a few varren to my masterpiece."

The Primarch's eyes narrowed at the way Tuck said 'His majesty'. He waved at one of his guards, who shoved Finn away from the trolley.

Leaning forward, Primarch Jorgal said, "You'd better hope I like your stew more than your attitude, cook."

The guard swirled the ladle around in the pot before pouring some into one of the metal bowls. He handed it over to the Primarch, who looked into the bowl for a few moments. Without warning, he stood up and approached Finn.

"Here, Crumb!" he shoved the bowl against Finn's chest, splashing a considerable portion onto Finn's shirt. "You try it first!"

Finn had rather suspected something like this would happen. After all, ego and paranoia often went hand in hand. Still, he wasn't worried; he had already eaten some of the stew. Heck, he actually liked the idea of having some more; he was hungry.

Shrugging, Finn grabbed a crude spoon from the trolley and ate a bite of Tuck's stew. It was delicious; the meat was tender, the vegetables perfectly cooked, and the cilantro did indeed give it a sort of fresh finish.

Realizing that all eyes in the room were on here, he said, "It's quite good."

"We'll see." Primarch Jorgal said, eyes narrowed to slits. "I've heard of delayed poisons, you know."

Shrugging, Finn continued to eat the stew. When he was done, he raised the emptied bowl for everyone to see. "All done."

The Primarch's eyes widened in legitimate surprise. Still looking suspicious, he motioned for the guard to get him a bowl. After sniffing it for a bit, Primarch Jorgal grabbed the bowl with both hands and poured the contents down his throat. What didn't make it down his gaping maw splashed on the krogan's lap.

Lowering the bowl, Primarch Jorgal let out a massive belch that echoed through the room. Tuck wrung his hands nervously for a few moments, waiting for the verdict.

"Not bad." The Primarch admitted, the bits of stew dripping down his face belaying the mildness of the response.

From the satisfied look on Tuck's face, this was even more than he expected. Producing another ladle, he said, "Well, in that case, everyone dig in!"

Finn and Tuck proceeded to ladle out the stew into bowls that were passed around the room with only a few arguments (which Finn suspected was the norm anyway). The Primarch had reached his fourth bowl by the time the last of the guards had been served. With a final bow (and a quick glance at the Blood of the Krogan), Finn and Tuck moved toward the entrance.

"Here you go." Tuck whispered to Finn, handing him one of the last two bowls. "Might as well help me finish this batch before we head back."

"Thanks." Finn said, trying to ignore the slurping of the rest of the krogan. "Guess table manners will come later, huh?"

"Baby steps, Finn." Tuck said with a chuckle.

As Tuck ate his own bowl with a spoon (a sight Finn would later describe as noteworthy), Finn wondered as to the whereabouts of Glen. He half-expected the Blood of the Krogan to suddenly be missing, taken in an act of incredible stealth while the guards were focused on food.

Shaking his head, Finn took a bite of his stew. As one of the last bowls, it was very spicy, and was mostly a slurry of vegetables and meat with a few bits large enough to need chewing. As Finn chewed, however, his teeth found one such lump that was strangely resistant. He swallowed the rest of the stew and moved the offending object to his lips. He stared at the object uncomprehendingly for a few moments before Primarch Jorgel hit the ground, several of the other guards following suite.

Confusion showed on the faces of the rest of the guards as they all gradually fell to the ground, unconscious. Tuck looked around in horror before his eyes fell on Finn. "Wait …" He said, staggering forward. "You … you really drugged … the …"

Tuck hit the ground snoring, his bowl clattering to the floor beside his head as Finn finally recognized the object he was holding; it was a cork. Looking down into his bowl, he spotted the small vial almost immediately. Drowsiness began to sweep over him almost as fast as the realization of what had occurred.

Realizing he didn't have much time, he moved with increasingly erratic steps to the fallen Primarch. He could hear someone calling him, but it sounded distant, as though through a tunnel.

He tugged at the Blood of the Krogan for a few moments, but it was set fast in the crown. He managed to get it off Primarch Jorgel, but the weight of the crown coupled with his ever-increasing lethargy made it impossible to hold. He collapsed to the floor a moment later.

"Ugh … Finn!" Said Glen, her face appearing in Finn's view. "You just had to go back for seconds?"