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"Fuckin'- Fuck me!" The old man grunted as he eased onto the ground just inside the tunnel leading to the Rite-Grounds, cradling his broken arm against his chest and hissing through his teeth as Grunt knelt, laying his sleeping Battlemaster beside him and tucking her weapons against her side. Zaeed flicked her a look and grunted, "She alright?"

"She's alive." He growled, leaning back away from her and grunting. "And killed the Maw. With her mind."

"Yeah, saw that, I was there." The old man snapped, "The fuck even was that?"

"Power."

"Yeah, that's a real fuckin' useful answer…"

"Hmph." He cocked his head as a scent - several, actually - reached him and growled more deeply as he stood and turned. The Shaman was returning, but several other Krogan were trailing along behind him, weapons out and eyes locked on their group. Snarling, he stepped forward and eyed one as he stepped forward. "What do you want, Uvenk?"

"To speak to you, whelp." The Krogan snapped before taking a deep breath as the Shaman stepped to the side, watched by one of the three guards with the Krogan leader. Shaking his head, he chuckled, "No, you're no whelp. You're a Krogan, in spite of your… Failings of birth."

"What?"

"You're strong." Uvenk admitted, "Strong enough to be called Krogan, at least. Strong enough to kill a Thresher Maw, at that. Something not done in the Rite for generations."

"Not since Urdnot Wrex himself." The Shaman added lowly, "Something beyond you, Uvenk."

"Silence." He snapped, waving a hand and ordering the guard watching the Shaman to strike him, hurling the unarmored Krogan back into the wall with a loud, wet 'crack'. Grunt snarled and took a step before the other two guards stepped further out to the side, guns coming up warningly. Uvenk chuckled and waved them back, smiling thinly. "Come now, Grunt, was it? I'm not here for a fight. I'm here to make an offer."

"Mhm." An offer? He eyed the guards and scowled - not one he felt safe to make, it seemed. And judging from how he was treating the Urdnot Shaman, not one he'd take kindly to having rejected. He didn't expect anyone not Gatatog would leave here. But he had to know, "And my krantt?"

"Gatatog do not have non-Krogan krantt." Uvenk shook his head, "They have servants, and fight with others, yes. But krantt? No."

"Not much of an offer…"

"I haven't even gotten to the offer." Uvenk scoffed, "The Humans' fates are predetermined. But yours isn't."

"Speak, then." Grunt growled, pacing to the side a step to better cover his wounded friends and turning a bit to make a charge easier - he may not be able to win here, but he'd take Uvenk down at least. Little comfort to their deaths, he was sure, but better than nothing.

And good enough for him.

"You will be Gatatog." He answered simply, pacing from one side to the other as he spoke."You will have the right to fight. But you will be required to remain on Tuchanka, and may not breed until after your claim to genetic worth is verified. Even then, only as you are bid to. You will also serve as my guard, where you will be watched consistently."

"You want a fuckin' trophy." The old man snapped, laughing, "Hell kind of life is that?"

"One where his heart keeps beating." Uvenk snarled, adding as if in after-thought, "You will kill these Humans as well. Call it a test of loyalty."

"I will not." Grunt snarled, "Leave us be, Uvenk."

"I don't think you understand." The Krogan chuckled, "This isn't the kind of offer I let you-"

He charged before Uvenk could finish, catching the Krogan by surprise but not one of his guards, whose shotgun barked loudly, spraying shrapnel-rounds across his armor. Blood and metal sprayed from where it hit, but he didn't slow for the pain, drawing on it instead. Letting it fuel him. A second guard shot forward, to get between his target and Grunt, but Grunt reached him before he could bring his gun up. Grunt grabbed it by the barrel and shoved it into the crook of the Krogan's arm hard enough to break the fingers in its trigger-guard and shove the arm away, and turned, swinging the gun around like a club to batter the second guard's head as he charged for them.

The Krogan took the hits with a snarl until Grunt scored a lucky blow with the twisted metal and gouged out an , it staggered back and Grunt pivoted, shoving the gnarled metal into the other's eye in spurt of blood and eye-water. He shrieked in pain and tried to back away, but Grunt grabbed him by the neck of his armor and slammed a fist into the gun once, twice, and then a third time, driving it in until it finally bit home and the Krogan fell silent. Grinning, Grunt let the corpse drop and turned back to the first guard-

Who slammed shoulder first into him, bellowing in a Blood Rage as Grunt was driven into the wall. The Krogan pummeled his stomach with wild, frantic blows that cracked Grunt's armored hide and armored suit both. But they were inaccurate, stupid and unaimed, and missed his vitals. And, maddened, the Krogan didn't even try and stop Grunt from grabbing the wide, blocky knife sheathed on one of his shoulders. He yanked it free and brought it round, into the side of the Krogan's head just behind his crest. It punched deep and the berserking Krogan shuddered, then shuddered again and again as Grunt yanked the weapon free and buried it again and again, until the Krogan finally fell limp and Grunt could tossed him aside.

"You can not face me!" He bellowed, charging the snarling Uvenk with the knife in hand. "I. Am. True. Krogan!"

Uvenk met him with a fist wreathed in Biotic fury and a challenging bellow. The blow caught Grunt on the shoulder with enough force to break it, but he ignored the pain and turned, driving the knife into the inner thigh of the enemy Battlemaster. Uvennk laughed, though, and ignored the blood that flew from the wound as he grabbed the younger Krogan and turned, hurling him back up the hall with Biotic power. So much that Grunt slammed into the sealed vault-hatch hard enough for ribs and a segment on his spine to crack even through his Barriers and his armor. He struck the ground and had only just staggered upright when Uvenk careened into him in a Biotic Charge that blackened the front of his armor.

Taking him by the throat, he lifted the Krogan up and chuckled, "Not bad. Not bad at all. Maybe you are a true Krogan. Maybe I was wrong… My offer still stands, you know."

Grunt spat in his face and chuckled when Uvenk snarled, "Good enough for you?"

"I will kill you." Uvenk growled, "But only after I rip the Human's head from his shoulders, and make my Vorcha have their way with the woman! Then, when they're done, I'll-

"Grah!" Uvenk turned as his Guard was hurled aside by Biotic fire, slamming into the wall so hard his body erupted inside his armor, spraying bright blood across the wall.

"Chieftain." The Shaman nodded as the red-armored Krogan lumbered forward, Biotic blue rolling off of him in waves. "You came quickly."

"I was in the area." He chuckled, eyeing the mess Grunt had made and then turning to Uvenk as the Krogan bared his teeth, eyes narrowing. Raising his voice, he snapped out, "What the hell do you think you're doing with my guests, Uvenk?"

"They are not Urdnot, Urdnot Wrex. They are not!" He said back, "They are no one! And insulted Clan Gatatog. I am within my rights, here."

"Fair, fair… But the Shaman is." The Urdnot Chieftain, Wrex, countered smoothly, "And they're my guests, too. But you're right, so… You, whelp."

"What?" Grunt choked out.

"You want to be clan Urdnot?" Grunt's eyes widened as Uvenk's did and, choking as the fingers dug in, he raised a hand and offered a single thumb. Laughing, Wrex said, "See? Now he is. So, you let him go and walk away, or I smear the walls with you and wipe your entire damn Clan out."

Growling, Uvenk eyed the dead guards, the Shaman, the Chieftain and even Grunt himself before growling and turning to toss Grunt forward onto the ground. Growling, Uvenk said, "You dare to- What is this?"

A single loud bark of gunfire cut him off and Grunt turned to watch the headless Krogan topple against the door and slide down, slumping across the ground. Finally, slowly, he turned back to the Shaman and blinked as he lowered the sleek looking shotgun. Its thermal clip ejected with a quiet hiss and he replaced it, turning to his Chieftain and paying him a curt nod.

"That damn Asari shotgun…" Chieftain Wrex grumbled, plodding forward as Grunt forced himself up and shook himself, already healing the least of the damage he'd taken. Looking him up and down, Wrex grunted, "I trust you meant what you said as more than a way to get out of this mess."

"You mean about joining you?"

"Mhm."

"I did." He nodded, "I do not lie."

"Good." Wrex nodded, "Then I name you Urdnot… Grunt, was it?"

"It was." The Shaman nodded, "With your joining, you may not apply to mate, apply for apprenticeship, and challenge for position. You may also name a Battlemaster to serve off-world or on, as you prefer, if the Chieftain agrees."

"Pyrrha Nikos is my Battlemaster." He grunted, gesturing with a hand to the still unconscious woman. "She has no equal - on any world in this galaxy."

"A bold claim…"

"A fair one." The Shaman answered, turning to the Chieftain and holding up a blocky little machine. "I watched the Rite, Chieftain. The recording is here, and one I suggest we keep secret. She slew the Thresher Maw."

"She did?" Wrex's brows furrowed, "On her own?"

"On her own." He nodded, "You will… Want to watch it yourself. All I can say is that it is as if Tuchanka itself rose up to answer her call."

"Tuchanka itself…" Wrex rumbled, taking the blocky machine and humming as he turned to leave. "Fine. Bring them, we'll take care of them for a while. Long enough to watch this and think shit over, at least."

Turning, Grunt knelt to gently pick up the sleeping woman while the Shaman took her weapons and Zaeed forced himself up and staggered alongside Grunt. After a few steps he sighed.

"Why can't any-fuckin'-thing be simple with any o' you fucks?"

Grunt actually chuckled at that and shrugged. "Dunno. More fun this way, though."

"I fuckin' hate you…"

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Pyrrha woke up with a groan, pressing a hand against her throbbing head as her Aura went to work on some sort of… Hangover. That was the only way she could describe it, and the throbbing soreness in the rest of her that rung familiar to the few times she'd been pressed beyond what her Aura and body could handle. Aura-drain, muscle strain, a dizzying hangover only now starting to fade away - it seemed using so much power, having so much of it rush through her, wasn't very good for her after all.

Still better than being eaten by a giant… Thing, though, she supposed.

But, oddly, she hadn't woken up on the ship, as she'd sort of expected. Or in the shuttle, at least. Instead, she was in a small, almost empty room made of four solid, windowless walls. And she'd been laid out on a rough stone slab that had left her back and legs stiff and aching in an annoying sort of way. The way that Aura couldn't really do much for, leaving her to simply sit up and stretch with a grimace. Across from her, beside the heavy, metal door, were Milo and Akouo, leaning against the wall in a way that made her feel so much better, and pushed away the little bit of paranoia that tried to grow at waking up in what elsewise would have passed well for a cell.

Arming herself, she stepped out into the hall-

And was almost immediately scooped up in powerful arms as Grunt shot up from a crate and threw his arms around her. "Nikos!"

"Hello Grunt." She chuckled, patting him on the side with a hand and smiling as he set her down. Shaking the crushing hug off, she asked, "All is well, then?"

"It is, yes, but…" Grunt sighed, "Chieftain Wrex wants to meet with you."

"He… Does?"

"The Rite was recorded." Grunt explained, "So the Shamans can show their Chieftains."

"Oh." She blinked, then grimaced, "Oh…"

"Yeah." Grunt murmured, turning and waving for her to follow him. As they walked, he went on, "Uvenk also made a play, after the Rite. I killed his guards, but the Chieftain killed Uvenk himself. So… He won't be a problem."

"I see…" She frowned. Uvenk had seemed like an eventual problem, but… She wasn't happy he was dead. Regardless of anything else, she hadn't wished him dead. And she could tell Grunt knew that, head hanging just a bit lower, as though she expected her to be angry. So she smiled and said, "What is done is done, Grunt. I'm just glad you're alright."

"Yeah." He seemed to perk up, scratching at the side of his head. "Yeah. Ah and, uh, ignore the Krogan, eh?"

"What do you mean?"

"They're… Excited to meet you." He said as they passed down a rubble-strewn stairway and stepped out into the wider, more open avenue they'd met the Shaman looking down on. Grunt lead her to the far end, past Krogan who muttered to each other, pointing their way in a manner uncomfortably familiar to her, and up a ramp of piled up ruins to a sort of throne, flanked by heavily armored guards and with a Krogan in dark red armor resting on a seat at the top of it. Gesturing at him, Grunt said, "Battlemaster, Chieftain of Urdnot, Urdnot Wrex."

"A pleasure." She dipped her head, "You saved my friend, so thank you."

"Thank me by explaining something." He said, turning an old, blocky machine around towards her. On it, a bit fuzzy but legible, was a video of massive spears of metal shooting up from the ground, slaughtering the Thresher Maw. She grimaced and met the smiling Krogan's gaze as he asked, "What the hell is this?"

Frowning, she said, "A… Long, private story."

"Urdnot Grunt has applied to serve under you as his Battlemaster." Wrex countered, handing the machine off to one of his guards and leaning back. "If you want me to approve it, then you'll tell me what I want to know."

Another person forcing what they wanted out of her? She frowned deeply for it, scowling, and said, "And if I decide we're leaving anyways? You saw what I can do. You think you can stop me?"

"No." He shook his head, "I think you'd kill a lot of us, and get away. And I don't want you dead anyways. Shepard's an old friend of mine."

"Then why threaten me like this?"

"It's not a threat." He shrugged, "I'm offering Grunt a place here. A good one, too. Kid's smart as hell. Also took care of you and the old man, Massani, while you were out. I need to know how you did what you did, and I'm prepared to offer you an alliance for it. Grunt as my representative, if you'll offer it up to me."

"Then you'll agree to help us?" Pyrrha asked, "Officially?"

"Against…?"

"An alliance is an alliance." She shrugged, seeing a chance at the long game and leaning into it. "I'll trust you, if you agree to stand by me in turn. Come what may."

"Fine." He nodded, "You give me that power and you'll have my clan at your side. At least, assuming we can get where we're needed."

"I…" She grimaced, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"That wasn't me." She answered simply, "At least not… Wholly."

"You suck at explanations…"

"That was my Semblance, a power granted to me by my Aura." She frowned, "Which is in turn granted to me by my soul. But it was… Overcharged by my Dark God."

"Okay, now you're just fucking with me." Wrex sighed, shaking his head, "If you really don't want to tell me-"

Pyrrha turned and pitched her spear away, letting it clatter to the ground a few feet away while the Chieftain watched. Then she turned and asked, "Which hand shall I use to call it back? Or shall I call it to my back? Perhaps as a hat upon my damn head?"

"Mind your-"

"No." Wrex chuckled, silencing his guard with a word and a wave and nothing else. "A hat will do."

Sighing, she did as she was told, calling it back to her and letting it rest on top of her head for a moment, shading her like a sunhat before she reached up and let it slide onto her arm. Flexing her Semblance now, she hummed, realizing she could… Feel a lot more, around her. Like when she'd touched something, though she was certain she hadn't. While the Chieftain muttered something she turned and reached out towards a rubble pile, curious, and tried to call on something she felt, hidden under the rocks.

A second passed and, suddenly, a rod of metal shot out of it and sailed into her hand and she blinked, confused, "Huh… That's new."

"Is it?"

"Normally I have to touch things first." She answered, "But this was… Just close enough for me to call. Odd."

"So you can do what you did to the Maw again?"

"No." She shook her head, "I can only feel things a few yards away. And calling this was… Harder than normal. It's not unheard of for Semblances to evolve over time, so perhaps this is just that. Regardless, I've at least proven that part?"

"You have." He nodded, palming his face. "And now I'm supposed to believe gods exist? Joy… Just fucking wonderful."

"If it helps," she tried, "mine is rather passive. He isn't one to intrude in things often enough. So you shouldn't worry about it."

"Yeah, well, worrying won't help regardless." He sighed, then blinked, "Does Shepard-"

"She knows as much as you do." At least about Pyrrha herself - but Penny's secrets were her own. "I've… Had to inform her about such things, whether I wanted to or not. She's a good person, I think, but more than a little pushy when she wants to know something."

"Yeah, she can be." Wrex huffed, "I'll ask Shepard about it, then. To be honest, I think I'll believe the details more coming from her. No offense."

"None taken." She chuckled, "So you'll fight when the Reapers come, then?"

"Already would have." He smirked, "Shepard asked me already."

"Then why did you just-"

"You got what you asked for." He chuckled, "Didn't ask if you already had it, though. Did you?"

"I-I didn't- But why would I-"

"Next time," the Krogan smirked, "maybe check and see if you actually need to negotiate for something before you do it, huh?"

"She frowned deeply and sighed, "You're not funny."

"I'm adorable." He turned as a Krogan approached quickly, dressed in lighter armor, as much cloth as plate, and came over to offer him a data-pad. Wrex read it quickly then sighed and stood, "Scratch that. Looks like you were smart to haggle a bit."

"Why?"

"Your Salarian's been captured by the Blood Pack." The Krogan answered, sending terror coursing through her. Wrex waved her down, sighing, "We know where, and that he's alive. I and some of my warriors will help you and Urdnot Grunt take him back."

"So you'll… Actually help us?"

"Didn't think I was sellin' much I hadn't already handed over when you asked," he chuckled, "but you asked for an alliance, and I gave it to you. And Grunt is Urdnot besides. He has a right to our help. Didn't think I'd need to do much for a while, we don't have a lot of ships, but, well… Fuck me I guess."

"Thank you, Chieftain." Grunt rumbled, dipping his head. "I am grateful."

"Don't stress it kid." He sighed, stepping off his throne and rolling his shoulders. "Was gonna have to clear 'em out anyways, sooner or later. Good chance to get it done with some actual justification to smooth it all over just a bit easier. Ha, and I get to see you and your Battlemaster in action up close, right in the splash zone."

Smiling, Pyrrha nodded, "Alright. When do we leave then?"

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Guest W :

You're ludicrous, lol.

Saif Omar :

Everyone? No. Clan Urdnot? Yes. Tuchanka doesn't have great 'Net service canonically lol.

Suroto Fall :

I have next to no ship plans for this, since ships aren't the focus. Stories like this I let it evolve more naturally.

Happy you like the story so much!

Captain Dick Scratcher :

In order-

He pushed her to evolving her Semblance, like we know can happen.

AND he gave her a power boost past what she could do - that isn't a normal thing for her. As shown here.

I won't comment on the Salarians, obviously, but there are plenty of people more dangerous than Matriarchs out there. The Asari would be curious and cautious, but why would they care?

Death Trooper :

Nah, nah, the Krogan totally aren't into any of that, lol. Completely uninterested in the woman that fed a Maw to Tuchanka itself, lol.