Hey everyone back with chapter 13!

As always Bioware owns everything I own nothing

Tuchanka

Commander Shepard's shuttle made its way through the atmosphere of Tuchanka, on it's way to the landing strip in Urdnot territory. Seeing as how this might be an extended stay on the planet Shepard brought Grunt, Garrus, Jack, and Mordin with her in the shuttle, it was obvious why she brought Grunt and Mordin given what each needed to accomplish on the planet and Garrus was one of her best friends a man she would trust with her life. But Jack? Jack was different, Shepard couldn't quite put her finger on it but something about her made Shepard want to help her. Sure she could be loud and abrasive, but she could also be funny and intriguing. She had tried to reach out to Jack ever since she came onboard with mixed results, but that seemed to change somewhat after destroying the Pragia facility. Jack had been at her most vulnerable and emotionally raw inside that facility and ever since then she has come out of her shell quite a bit even beginning to interact with the rest of the crew. Her relationship with Miranda had remained adversarial at best however the severity of it seemed to vary from time to time, Shepard wasn't sure if Jack and Miranda wanted to kill each other or fuck so it seems she'll have to keep playing referee between the two. But what Shepard and some of the rest of the crew had begun to notice was that Jack seemed to be spending a lot of time with Grunt. They sat with each other whenever either were in the mess hall, whenever the ship went back to the Citadel they went off together, and a few members of the crew had even reported spotting Jack leaving Grunts quarters just before the morning shift started, though nobody would dare speculate about what went on in there out loud for fear that word would make it's way back to Jack. While it might seem odd to some Shepard could understand why the two might be drawn to one another. They were different, yet oddly similar given the fact that they were both experiments. Jack a tortured childhood in an attempt to create an ultimate Biotic and Grunt was grown in a chamber to be a perfect Krogan, skipping his childhood completely. Neither had a normal childhood so they had difficulty with normal interactions with other members of the crew, but maybe it created a greater understanding between the two of them. One thing that Shepard definitely had to acknowledge was how much calmer Grunt seemed to be with Jack around, the only other person who seemed to make Grunt calm like that was herself. Perhaps that was the root of the conflicted feelings Shepard had towards Jack, that it is an extension of her own conflicted feelings about Grunt.

"Landing in thirty seconds!" Shouted the pilot snapping Shepard out of her reverie.

"Understood!" Shepard shouted in response.

The Kodiak touched down in an old, decrepit landing bay. As soon as the shuttle powered down Shepard's ground disembarked from the shuttle and into the hanger where they were faced down by several armed Krogan.

"This shuttle bay belongs to Clan Urdnot, all of the lands here belong to Clan Urdnot, state your business here Cerberus." Said the lead Krogan.

"I'm not Cerberus, my names Commander Shepard."

"You come here baring Cerberus colors that's good enough for me and Commander Shepard is dead." Said the Krogan.

"Well I'm not dead, and the paint job is something that will take a while to explain. My friends and I have business on Tuchanka so if you would please take me to your Clan leader so that we can get his go ahead to proceed with our business." Shepard said.

"Hmph you and the other human can pass, so can the Turian and your tank-bred pet, but the Salarian stays on the shuttle." Said the Krogan.

"Afraid not the doctors part of our business, and his name is Grunt and you better watch what you say about him. You recognized my name so you know that I've fought and killed many Krogan far tougher then you, so stand aside now if you know what's good for you." Said Shepard.

"Fine then, I'll let the Clan leader deal with you. If he denies your requests I will gut you like a fish." Said the Krogan.

"You're welcome to try." Said Shepard as she and her party made their way past the Krogan guards.

As Shepard and her crew made their way past all the Krogan assembled around the docking bay and began making their way through the decrepit old spaceport. Most all of the Krogan giving the crew a wide birth and eyeing them with contempt, but none tried to challenge them.

"This is Tuchanka? This is the homeworld of Shiagur and Moro? What a shit-hole." Grunt muttered, of course when Krogan mutter it still comes out at a considerable volume making Shepard chuckle.

Finally after passing through several meters of corridors Shepard and her crew arrived at a great opening, where more rubble had been cleared away to make an encampment. In what was once probably the main terminal of a great spaceport was the main encampment of Clan Urdnot, with tents and makeshift shelters set up all over the place and few stands which seemed to offer things for sale. What caught Shepard's attention more than anything was all the Varren just strolling around. It was quite clear that they were quite well trained and knew enough not to act out in front of all the Krogan assembled around them. Shepard had once read about the relationship between the Varren and the Krogan, ever since the first Varren were brought to Tuchanka, the Krogan trained and treated their Varren pups like they were no different then young Krogan. As they drew closer to one of the stalls an unattended Varren made it's way to Commander Shepard.

"Well hello there" Said Shepard as the alien canine rubbed itself against her legs. She reached down to pet it, receiving a low growl as a reward. "Good Varren."

"Hmm well look at that, Urz doesn't usually take to off-worlders. Names Ratch." Said the Krogan shop owner.

"Shepard. He seems friendly enough, where's his owner?" She asked.

"Gone off-world not quite sure where, kinda dropped out of communication after his shuttle made it's way past the DMZ." Said Ratch.

"I see you got any meat for sale?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah got some Pyjak meat for sale." Said Ratch.

"Thanks I'll take a pound." Said Shepard.

"Ten credits."

After a quick exchange of credits Shepard turned and fed the meat to Urz. And the Varren gobbled it up and made some very happy noises afterwards.

"Good boy." Said Shepard as she pet the Varren again.

"Well he's really taken a liking to you now." Said Ratch.

"Sure does, can you tell me where Wrex is?" Shepard asked.

"Heh, up on that platform, you'll find him sitting his fat ass on his throne." Said Ratch.

"Thanks." Said Shepard as her party departed the supply stand, with Urz trailing behind them.

Shepard and her party moved passed all other Krogan towards the head of the encampment.

"Back off the Clan leader is busy." Said a guard who stepped forward between the throne and Shepard.

"The reforms you've initiated are too far Wrex, you are ruining everything that is good and pure about our people. You risk destroying all of our heritage and traditions." Said a Krogan who was pacing in front of the throne.

"Yes our wonderful traditions, the traditions that have left our world as a pile of rubble for hundreds of years." Wrex rumbled.

"You forget yourself Wrex."

"No I know myself well enough Uvenk and I will bring you and your damned clan into the future if I have to drag you kicking and screaming!" Wrex roared.

"You would have us bend down and act like a good little Council world! We are still the strongest of all the races and one day the horde will rise again!" Shouted Uvenk.

"Yes yes, the horde, unlike you I remember the last time the horde roamed the stars Uvenk. The horde is what got us neutered by the Salarians, therefore we must do things differently this time." Said Wrex.

"You throw around your age like it's something to be proud of Wrex, what a pitiful thing you've become. An old Krogan who has outlived all it's enemies what a great dishonor it is to have no one left to fight. You pathetic old…." Said Uvenk, before being cut off by a head-butt from Wrex.

"You watch your tone Uvenk! You know full well that clan Gatatog isn't strong enough to survive a war with clan Urdnot so you will remember your place! I will drag our race back to glory and if I have to climb over your broken corpses then that's what I'll do!" Shouted Wrex.

Wrex then turned around to make his way back to his seat when he noticed the group that was being held at bay by his personal guard.

"Shepard?"

Wrex pace quickened as he moved towards this new group.

"Shepard!" Roared the Battle-master as he pushed the guard out of the way and embraced Shepard.

"Wrex! Air!" Said Shepard.

"Oh right! I should have know you were too good for death!" Said Wrex releasing Shepard.

"Thanks Wrex. It's good to see you again." Shepard replied.

"How the hell are you here? Last I heard the Normandy was destroyed." Said Wrex.

"It was, I got spaced." Shepard replied.

"Ahh the benefits of a redundant nervous system!" Said Wrex.

"Humans don't have those Wrex, it's a little complicated to explain." Shepard said.

"Bah who cares, you're here now and you'll kick the rest of the galaxy in the ass." Wrex responded, then made his way back to his throne.

"What no love for me Wrex?" Said Garrus.

"Oh Garrus are you here? Guess I shouldn't be surprised to find you still nipping at Shepard's heels. Shit you got uglier though." Said Wrex.

"Just doing my part and we can't all be as beautiful as you Wrex." Garrus replied.

"Heh, you got that right Garrus. I see you got yourself a new crew Shepard so what brings you to Tuchanka?" Said Wrex.

"Thats actually part of the reason I'm here, got a few things that two of my crew members need to take care of. This is Professor Mordin Solus and I'm afraid one of his colleagues is being held hostage by another clan somewhere on the planet." Said Shepard.

"I know exactly who he is and why he's here. You're a member of Shepard's crew so clearly you're serving a purpose to her. So out of respect to my old friend I won't kill you where you stand, but you better not stray to far from her I can't guarantee one of my people won't make you pay for your crimes. Your friend is with clan Weyrloc, he came to Tuchanka about a month ago looking to offer his services to any clan that would have them." Said Wrex.

"Must be mistaken, Maelon was brought to Tuchanka by clan Weyrloc according to intelligence reports." Said Mordin.

"Typical of Salarians, you don't even tell each other the truth. Take my word for it, no one forced that Salarian to come here." Said Wrex.

"Intriguing." Said Mordin.

"Do you know where they are?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah they're holed up in their clan lands, an the old hospital on the surface. I can have one of my rollers take you there." Said Wrex.

"So we have your permission for this Wrex?" Shepard asked.

"Weyrloc has refused the alliance that clan Urdnot has forged amongst the clans and remains committed to the old ways. I certainly won't be terribly upset if you should happen to thin some of their number while you try and retrieve this wayward Salarian." Said Wrex.

"You would send an outsider, an alien to deal with a rival clan instead of doing it yourself? I also know of you Shepard, you were the one who destroyed the Genophage cure that Saren had developed." Uvenk said.

"I had no choice that day, we had a massive base to destroy and there was no time to find the cure. Besides that cure would have brought nothing but misery on your people. I saw the Krogan in that base, they were nothing but mindless followers of Saren." Said Shepard.

"Those were not true Krogan that Saren created and we are better off without his false cure. But you have proved that you are no friend to the Krogan, you will always put the needs of the council above of everything else." Said Uvenk.

"That's enough Uvenk, you are my advisor but you do not make decisions here. If Shepard needs to find this Salarian then she will find the Salarian. You have my permission and my blessing to go to the Weyrloc base and retrieve him." Said Wrex.

"Thank you Wrex, I do have another matter at hand. I have a Krogan in my crew that seems to be suffering from an imbalance of some kind." Said Shepard.

Wrex stood from his throne and made his way towards Grunt. As soon as he got close he proceeded to smell him.

"Somethings wrong, he doesn't smell quite right. What's your name whelp?" Wrex demanded.

"I am Grunt and I am pure Krogan, you should be in awe to be in my presence." Said Grunt standing tall in the old Krogan's presence.

"I'll give you one thing Shepard you have a knack for surrounding yourself with the ballsiest fuckers." Said Wrex.

"Tank-bred!" Shouted Uvenk to murmurs amongst the gathered Krogan.

"Yes Grunt is tank-bred, but he was created by the Warlord Okeer." Said Shepard.

"Okeer! Well there's a name I never expected to hear again. There are many on this world who despise that name. So if this perfect Krogan of his is here, can I assume that Okeer is dead?" Asked Wrex.

"Yes he's dead. But he made sure to secure the tank and prevent it from being compromised. I took it back onto my ship and I released him from the tank there. He has served me and my missions ever since then. And then one day I go down and find him damn near crawling up the walls in his quarters acting like he's about to go insane. So could you please tell me whats going on?" Said Shepard in her 'no nonsense Commander Shepard' tone of voice. And the fact that Wrex straightened his back and took a half step back from her did not go unnoticed by Shepard.

"There's nothing wrong with him, he's going through the change. Krogan adolescence, it's a beautiful thing. He's ready to become a man, to face the Rite." Said Wrex.

"Absolutely not! Wrex you go to far! If you think you're going to allow this freak, this abomination against all Krogan participate in the Rite of Passage then you are sorely mistaken! By all rights this thing should be destroyed right now!" Roared Uvenk, several Krogan seemed to mutter in agreement as more and more gathered around the platform brought by the shouting.

"Hey! You overgrown fucklizard! You try and I'll tear your fucking head off!" Yelled Jack, stepping forward as the Biotic fire began to surround her body.

"Jack back off!" Shepard snapped.

"Uvenk! You forget yourself! You stand in Clan Urdnot's keep and on Urdnot clan lands, not Gatatog lands you do not dictate things here! Besides you and I both know that it's not up to either of us, it is the decision of the Shaman as to whether or not the Rite goes forward!" Roared Wrex, getting cheers from many of the Urdnot warriors.

"We'll see about that!" Said Uvenk, before storming off through the assembled crowd.

"Uvenk! We're not finished here!" Shouted Wrex.

"Yes we are!" Uvenk responded

"Well what the fuck are you all standing around for?! Get back to whatever you were doing!" Said Wrex to the gathered crowd which then began to move off.

"Becoming quite the diplomat aren't you old friend?" Said Shepard.

"Ehh, Krogan diplomacy is quite different from Citadel diplomacy. Half the clans have been in blood feuds for centuries, a shit-ton of land disputes and other grievances, add to that the goddamned Genophage slowly whittling us down to nothing and you get the steaming pile of shit that I have to pull us all out of if we ever want to survive. It's a pain in the ass but someones gotta do it. And how about you Shepard? First I hear you died, then one day you show up on my doorstep in a shuttle flying Cerberus colors?" Said Wrex.

"I'm not working for Cerberus, they're just financing this mission." Said Shepard.

"Oh for gods sake Shepard, spare me the political bullshit you had to spin to explain this to the Council. You're alive and that's whats most important, you and I both went into those cerberus bases back when we were chasing Saren, we saw what they did so you already know that you can't trust them. So if you're gonna use their money while you go out and try and stop the Reapers I won't complain." Said Wrex.

"Got a new mission this time, going after the Collectors. They're abducting human colonies and they work for the Reapers so we gotta stop them. Could always use another hand, it's a whole new Normandy and we can find a space for you if you're interested." Said Shepard.

"Tempting believe me Shepard, but I'm too busy here trying to build you an army to take the Reapers on when they come. So don't you worry about that I will do everything in my power to make sure that the Krogan are ready for the fight that's ahead. As for the fighting right now it'll take a little while to prepare the fighting plains for the Rite of Passage, and you still need to Shaman to ok it. So I'll have one of my guards show your team to the roller that will take you to Weyrloc territory. I'd recommend you head there first, we should have everything set up by the time you get back." Said Wrex.

"Thanks Wrex I owe you one, we'll talk some more before I leave. Garrus would you Mordin and Jack check out the roller? Grunt and I need to go see the Shaman." Said Shepard.

"You got it Shepard" Said Garrus as he and the others headed towards the motor pool.

Tuchanka

Shaman's Chambers

After getting directions from Wrex, Shepard and Grunt made their way up the staircase to the Shaman's chamber. Uvenk was already there shouting at the Shaman trying to convince him to not allow Grunt to take the Rite.

"It cannot be allowed to happen! It is an affront to all Krogan!" Shouted Uvenk being heard well down the hallway.

"I will judge this Krogan for myself Uvenk, the Rite of Passage is not a matter for clan leaders to interpret it is left up to the Shamans to judge a Krogan's fitness to face the Rite. And I can tell you that no where in the ancient texts does being cloned disqualify someone from taking the Rite." Said the Shaman.

"You know full well did not exist at that time cloning had yet to be discovered!" Shouted Uvenk.

"That matters not Uvenk." The Shaman replied.

"But who knows if the beasts of the Rite will even recognize him? He is a tank-bred, unnatural, they may simply ignore him." Said Uvenk.

"If that excuse is what you would resort too then your even more desperate then I thought. The beasts know blood, no matter the womb that created it." Replied the Shaman.

"Is there a problem here?" Asked Shepard letting her presence be know to both of the Krogan in the room.

"I will speak for myself." Said Grunt, stepping forward and standing straight to present himself to the Shaman.

"So this is the tank-bred. Hmm, very lifelike, his scent is correct too. Uvenk your protest rings hollow, I see no reason for him to not face the Rite." Said the Shaman.

"Damn right he does, no matter what this idiot has to say." Said Shepard pointing at Uvenk.

"Ha some fire and from an alien too! This must shame you deeply." Said the Shaman staring a hole in Uvenk.

"Then if we must stand on ritual, I invoke a denial! My Krantt stands against him and he has no one." Said Uvenk."

"Ugh, you try my patience Uvenk, but you invoke correctly. Grunt who is your Krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?" Said the Shaman.

"He has me and mine, we stand with him in all things." Said Shepard stepping forward to look the Shaman in the eyes.

"Very well then I will allow you aliens to stand along side him." The Shaman replied.

"Now you would allow these aliens, these outsiders to stand against the Rite? This human may be strong enough for her own people, but she knows nothing of true strength, the strength of the Krogan." Said Uvenk.

Shepard stepped even closer to Uvenk as soon as he finished his latest speech about the superiority of the Krogan. She looked him in the eyes, reared her head back and then moved forward head-butting the taller Krogan in the chest with all of her strength. Reeling Uvenk back a few paces from the impact as Shepard stood her ground, wiping a small trickle of blood from her forehead with the back of her hand and waited for his response.

"You would dare!" Said Uvenk.

"HAHAHA! I like this human! She understands!" Shouted the Shaman, clearly amused by Uvenk's humiliation.

"I withdraw my denial, but this will be decided elsewhere." Said Uvenk, bumping into Shepard's shoulder as he walked away.

"Are you ok?" Asked Grunt with some concern, his head full of preprogrammed knowledge of human anatomy.

"I'm fine." Said Shepard reassuring Grunt.

"Heheheh, you provoked him and that's reason enough for me to like you. He's all your problem now." Said the Shaman.

"Is there anything special we need? Some ceremonial weapon?" Shepard asked.

"Bah, we have no need for such fancy things we fight in the Rite with whatever we can. Only the candidate and his Krantt are what is required. You love the heat of battle don't you Shepard? That feeling of power and strength as more and more of your enemies fall at your feet. Bring that love of battle into the fight and you will succeed." Said the Shaman.

"And Uvenk? Will he be a problem." Shepard asked.

"He is forbidden to interfere once the Rite begins, but that doesn't mean that he won't. Be prepared Shepard for anything may happen during the Rite. But from what I've heard of you, you will not disappoint." Said the Shaman.

"So how does this work?" Shepard asked.

"All will be revealed during the Rite. For now all you need to know is that you and Grunt will be tested. But for now go and prepare for it, we will let you know when it is ready." Said the Shaman.

"Very well, Grunt you will wait here with Jack in the clan lands until we get back from our mission." Said Shepard.

"Understood Shepard." Said Grunt.

"Oh and Grunt? Would you and Jack try not getting into too much trouble while I'm gone?" Shepard asked as she began walking away.

"Heheheheheheh."

Geth Star Base

Ashley placed her assault rifle down on the table as she finished adjusting her armor. The Normandy was definitely in the Krogan home system, a Watcher surveillance device planted in one of the Citadel tracker satellites along the DMZ had confirmed it's presence a few hours ago. Thanks to Councilor Anderson, Ashley had learned that the Council had accepted Shepard's explanation of why she was working with Cerberus and had restored her to full Spectre status therefore there was no reason for Citadel security to be alarmed by her presence there. Fortunately due to the surveillance device they knew the entire visual tracking pattern of the Citadel trackers coupled with the stealth systems on the Ulysses, they should be able to remain in the Aralakh system for several days without detection. Ashley had finished putting her armor on by the time that Voice entered the room.

"We received a transmission from our operative on starship Normandy." Voice said.

"Have we confirmed the authenticity?" She asked.

"Proper password was provided and message was sent on the Watcher coded channel." Voice responded.

"Good, what does it say?" Ashley asked.

"Shepard-Commander and several ground crew have been dispatched to planets surface. It appears that some of the crew has business to conduct on the planets surface. Our operative also informed us that Shepard-Commander has engaged in several such missions for the members of the Normandy ground crew, although we do not know why." Said Voice.

"She's trying to ensure loyalty of the crew, by helping them with their problems she's creating a bound with them. Based on everything we've learned about this new crew of hers I'd say she's trying to turn this crew of misfits into a family. Just like she did with us during the mission with Saren. I should know she did the exact same thing for me." Said Ashley, briefly looking very distant as she entered into memory.

"We understand, she seeks to establish harmony within her Consensus. We can appreciate this." Said Voice.

"Ahh that's high praise coming from you." Said Ashley who then turned her attention to the cargo that was being loaded onto the ship by some of the other platforms.

"Do you still believe that initiating contact with the Krogan will be successful?" Voice asked.

"We'll never know unless we try. But regardless we need allies if we want to reconcile with the Quarians." Said Ashley.

"We are still not certain how this will be beneficial to relations with the Creators, nor are we convinced that the Krogan will agree to an alliance secret or otherwise." Said Voice.

"It will be beneficial with the Quarians because it will show that we have grown and adapted that we are capable of being friendly to organic races. It will show that the Geth of today are not the ones that first rebelled against them and that we are not the ones who allied with Saren. As for the Krogan, there are only a few Krogan that are allowed to trade directly with the Citadel and only a select number of transports are allowed to cross the DMZ. With our ship and with the other stealth ships that we are building, we will be able to smuggle more supplies and munitions across the DMZ then what's being allowed right now. Thereby not only strengthening the position of Wrex and clan Urdnot in his unification efforts, but getting the rest of the Krogan ready for the coming war. And if our estimates are correct, then the coming war will be the biggest war any of us have ever seen. We all need to be as ready as possible." Said Ashley.

"We are in agreement on reaching out to the Krogan, however the Consensus is split on the question as to whether or not this is the correct time to initiate contact." Said Voice.

"Split decision? So I'm the tie breaking vote?" Ashely asked.

"Correct," Voice replied.

"Well then I vote we do it my way, is consensus achieved?" Ashley said.

"Yes consensus reached, we will make contact with clan Urdnot." Voice replied.

"Good then are we ready to go?" Said Ashley.

"Yes all supplies have been loaded we are ready to depart." Said Voice.

"Good then lets head out. Oh I have been in debate with the programs working on Project Juggernaut, I believe if we put fifty more worker platforms onto the project then we should be able to finish the ship before the end of the year." Said Ashley.

"WARNING INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM THE CONSENSUS STANDBY." Came a message from the great Consensus.

"Understood, unit's Voice and Williams reporting in." Said Voice.

"A RECENT DATA MINE HAS DETERMINED THAT A CITADEL SCIENCE TEAM HAS DISCOVERED A DERELICT OLD-MACHINE IN ORBIT OF GAS GIANT MNEMOSYNE. IT IS A SMALL SCIENCE TEAM AND WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO INFILTRATE THE DERELICT AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OLD-MACHINES." Said the Consensus.

"Understood, does this mean we postpone traveling to Tuchanka?" Ashley asked.

"NEGATIVE, BOTH MISSIONS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. CONSENSUS HAS BEEN REACHED, ASHLEY WILLIAM'S WILL PROCEED TO PLANET TUCHANKA. UNIT VOICE WILL INFILTRATE OLD-MACHINE." Said the Consensus.

"Understood, we are in agreement. This platform will take one fighter to planet Mnemosyne to investigate, Ashley Williams will proceed to make contact with the Krogan." Said Voice.

"UNIT VOICE WILL BE OUT OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONSENSUS FOR SOME TIME REOPEN COMMUNICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE." Boomed the voice of the Consensus before the line of communications closed.

"Well that changes things a little, but I'll be able to handle this with some of the other platforms." Said Ashley.

"Agreed we will reestablish communications as soon as possible." Said Voice

"Voice? Be careful will ya?" Ashley said.

"Affirmative." Said Voice, as it walked towards the stations fighter bay.

Tuchanka

Weyrloc Lands

It had been a long tough slog through the Weyrloc base, facing down many Krogan warriors and learning about the experiments that were being done within this building. Experimentation on humans to test potential Genophage cures as well as experiments on several Krogan women, the clan leader had claimed that they were volunteers but that didn't matter much since the clan leader now lay dead.

"Why do they never listen when I tell them to back down?" Shepard thought to herself.

But now the fighting had finally begun to die down and they seemed to be getting close to where Maelon is being held, if he was indeed being held against his will. But Shepard was beginning to doubt that. Shepard and her team finally made it to a door deep within the clan lands, this had to be the door to the science lab. With a quick hacking of the lock with her Omni-tool Shepard opened the door and there, at the end of the room stood a lone Salarian no doubt making some form of computations. The Salarian had either not yet noticed their arrival, or didn't care.

"Maelon. Alive. Unharmed." Said Mordin upon entering the science lab, he then continued, "No signs of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand."

"Congratulations Professor, you always did have such trouble comprehending facts that disagreed with your preconceived notions. How long will it take you to admit that I'm here because I wanted to be here?" Asked Maelon.

"Wrex was right, he came here voluntarily. You came here to cure the Genophage." Said Shepard, earning a nod from Maelon.

"Impossible, intelligence reports indicated your kidnapping. I refuse to believe that you came here voluntarily, we agreed! The whole team did! Project was necessary!" Said Mordin, becoming more angry and frantic then Shepard had witnessed up to this point.

"Who was I to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student! I looked up to you!" Said Maelon.

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions! Your doing?" Asked Mordin.

"I already have the blood of millions on my hands Doctor and so do you! If I have to add a few more faces and names to my nightmares to undo what we did then I can live with that!" Shouted Maelon.

"Do you really think that what you did here is justified?" Asked Shepard.

"Of course not, I'm a monster! I already helped to commit genocide on the Krogan people! Nothing I do will ever be justifiable again! So yes when Weyrloc brought in prisoners or volunteers to experiment on I did it! And why not I learned from the best." Said Maelon.

"Did you ever conduct experiments like this Mordin?" Shepard asked.

"No, never. You learned this on your own Maelon." Said Mordin.

"You taught me that the ends justify the means. I will undo what we did Professor, the only way I know how." Said Maelon.

"Wait you talked about killing, as I understood it the Genophage only affects fertility rates." Said Shepard.

"Ahh yes, the Citadel's convenient cover story, they like to say that it isn't a sterility plague, that it only affects the fertility rate. But what it actually does is reduce the rates of viable pregnancies. As a result most Krogan die in utero, forcing Krogan females to birth several stillborns and hope that at least one survives. Do you have any idea the psychological toll that takes on the Krogan people? How many females kill themselves after so many stillbirths? How many Krogan males have killed one another over the supposed fertile females over the last thousand years? We committed genocide in every potential manner against the Krogan and when they're own biology finally began to overcome the Genophage we modified it and reintroduced it to them all over again. Hell the Krogan might be in the middle of their own cultural renaissance right now if we hadn't decided that we knew better!" Said Maelon.

"No, every simulation was clear! Kogan population numbers would lead to more war!" Mordin said.

"And how did what we do make the galaxy more peaceful? You know the truth of it all Professor, we introduced the Genophage to maintain Citadel dominance! So that the Asari, the Turians, and our own people could continue putting their own needs ahead of everyone else's! Where is the great peace that we were supposed to bring? The Geth rebellion, pirates and slavers in the traverse, the Batarians and their attacks against the humans, Saren and the Geth's attack on the Citadel! You know full well that the only thing that was a true threat to the Citadel's dominance was the Krogan Rebellion and that if the Krogan were allowed to stand on their own others would have joined with them! So instead we decided to be gods and put them on a slow path to extinction! So when Weyrloc gave me the means and the resources to conduct my experiments I took it!" Said Maelon.

"Well Mordin it's obvious he's here by choice so what do you want to do?" Shepard Asked.

"I must end this." Said Mordin.

"You can't accept the truth at all can you? Can't accept that your brilliant mind led you to continue committing an atrocity!" Said Maelon pulling a pistol from his back and aiming it at Shepard and her party. Morden approached him quickly and with a quick punch to the face Maelon was disarmed.

"Unacceptable experiments, unacceptable goals, won't change. No choice, have to kill you." Said Mordin.

"Mordin wait! You don't want to do this, you are not a murderer." Said Shepard.

"No. Not a Murderer, thank you Shepard." Said Mordin, putting his weapon away and backing away from Maelon. He then continued, "we're finished here Maelon, get out. No Weyrloc left. Project over."

"Well you heard the professor, better get out of here before we change our minds." Said Shepard.

"And just where the hell am I supposed to go now Professor?" Maelon asked.

"Don't care, try Omega. It can always use another clinic." Said Mordin.

"Look around you Mordin, the Krogan didn't deserve what we did to them. The Genophage must end." Said Maelon, he then turned and walked out of the room.

"Not like this. My apologies Shepard, intelligence reports incorrect, no kidnapping. My fault. Thank you." Said Mordin.

"That doesn't matter, how are you?" Shepard asked.

"Should have killed him, I wanted to, would have been easier then listening. Easier for him too. These experiments indicate how far he's fallen, expected it from Krogan. Not one of my own." Said Mordin.

"Well then maybe that's something to keep in mind next time you're discussing the ethics of the Genophage. You can't accurately predict every single variable." Shepard said.

"Yes, so many variables. Impossible to account for them all, something to think about." Morden responded.

"What now?" Shepard asked.

"Maelon's research is the only loose end now. Could destroy it, closure security. Still valuable, though." Said Mordin.

"You should keep it." Shepard said.

"I worked for years to modify the Genophage, but this? This could cure it, perhaps, don't know. Too many variables, too many variables." Said Mordin seemingly very conflicted.

"I know you regret what the Krogan have become Mordin, being here and seeing all of this, how they live. I know you see the horror of what they did here, but you see the loss too. The loss of hope, the loss of dreams. You know as much as I do that the Genophage must end. Maelon may have committed atrocities, but in your hands that data may save the Krogan's from extinction." Said Shepard. Mordin stood there motionless for a few moments before his Omni-Tool lit up, signifying that a download had begun. Amanda smiled under her helmet.

"Download complete, data saved, local storage erased. Still a long way from a cure though, but it's a start. Finished here, would really like to go now." Said Mordin.

As Mordin moved away from the computer, Shepard put her arm around his shoulder as they left the room and started to make their way back to the Roller.

Tuchanka

Urdnot Clan Lands

It was a long ride back to the Urdnot lands, unfortunately it was also a very quiet ride back to the clan lands. Shepard had never seen Mordin go this long without saying a word whether it be directed at a member of the crew or just making observations and speaking out load. It might very well be a while before he was willing to talk about what he felt about everything that happened. And Shepard understood the weight of taking life, she had taken many over the course of her career with the Alliance, and on more occasions then she would care to admit she'd even enjoyed taking life. The assault on Torfan came to mind, she'd taken the life of many a pirate and slaver that day some even after they tried to surrender. Those memories and faces would never leave her.

"Hey Shep you ok?" Asked Garrus.

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about what just happened." Shepard replied.

"I've been thinking about it since the drive back too. I think Mordin is definitely ready to leave, I'll take the shuttle back to the ship with him and send it back down for you." Said Garrus.

"Thanks Garrus. If you could send down some of the heavy weapons down with the transport will ya?" Said Shepard.

"Will do Shepard." Said Garrus.

And so Mordin and Garrus made their way back to the shuttle bay. Shepard's ears perked up as she heard the sounds of someone approaching her, but as soon as she turned around she was sent tumbling to the ground with a long wet tongue licking her face.

"Urz! Down boy down!" Said Shepard between laughs as the large Varren continued to happily lick her face.

"Well well, look who bonded to a Varren." Wrex boomed.

"Help me up please Wrex." Said Shepard thrusting a hand into the air.

"Always needing me to bail you out of a jam." Said Wrex, chuckling as he raised Shepard back up to a standing position.

"As I recall you were in C-Sec custody when we first met." Said Shepard petting Urz's head.

"Touché, I take it things went well at Weyrloc base." Said Wrex.

"Yes, it was a hard fought battle, but we found Maelon and put an end to the torture and experimentation that was going on there." Said Shepard

"Good, heard rumors about what was going on in that place but nothing solid. Oh that Urdnot scout you found out there made it back to us. He'll live to fight another day." Said Wrex.

"Glad to hear it, I just wanted to let you know that the Weyrloc clan leader was killed during the fighting. I noticed that a lot of the Krogan retreated after that happened." Shepard said.

"The death of the clan leader in battle means the clan itself has collapsed, and since Guld had no heirs left there was no one who could reestablish control over them." Said Wrex.

"What will happen to the survivors now?" Shepard asked.

"They will be adopted into clan Urdnot, the women, the children, and whatever males are left. We have the means and the resources to do so, they get support and Urdnot becomes stronger so it's a win-win." Said Wrex.

"Makes sense, will they abide by that? They won't try and rebel right?" Shepard asked.

"Well for one thing you went in there yourself without any Krogan and without any identifying markings of Urdnot, and second the remaining members of the clan know they can't survive on their own. The Weyrloc women will go to the female clan along with the children to be raised." Said Wrex.

"Wait the Krogan females have their own clans?" Shepard asked as she and Wrex began walking.

"Yes, they live separate from the males now, they guard and protect themselves. Males aren't allowed into the camps unless they've either sent or received a breeding request." Said Wrex.

"So that's how the Krogan women live now? Who came up with these rules?" Shepard asked.

"Well they did of course! They decided it was the best way to stop the rest of us from fighting one another over the fertile ones. And it did put an end to a lot of fighting on Tuchanka." Wrex replied.

"I see, not quite what I expected." Said Shepard.

"It's slow going, but things are changing here. I doubt if the Council will be willing to take notice of it as a positive thing, but fuck em. It's actually unbelievable how self righteous and full of themselves those councilors are. You saved their asses two years ago, but they still don't believe you about anything." Said Wrex.

"Ehh I've gotten used to it. So are the proving grounds ready?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah they're ready whenever you and Grunt are ready to take the Rite." Said Wrex.

"Thanks, I'll go get them right now." Said Shepard.

"Good, you'll be on the clan monitor, I'll be watching the Rite with the rest of the clan." Said Wrex.

"Ahh, well I always enjoy fighting in front of an audience." Said Shepard before walking away to join Grunt and Jack.

"Commander the shuttle has finished loading the heavy weapons you requested, ETA on touchdown fifteen minutes." Came Edi's voice over the communicator.

"Understood, we'll proceed to the hanger shortly, Shepard out." Said Shepard.

Shepard finally located Jack and Grunt watching some Varren pups wrestle just outside of the merchant stalls.

"Shepard." Said Grunt, giving her a short nod.

"Are you ready Grunt?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, ready to go and fight whatever steps in my way." Said Grunt.

"Good, Jack if you don't want to join us the shuttles about to touchdown." Said Shepard.

"Hell no Commander! I ain't about to pass up a good fight, I don't know what it is but ever since we got here I've just been itching for a fight. C'mon you two lets get this fuckin' party going!" Said Jack walking away form Shepard and Grunt.

"Hehehehe, my kind of female that one." Said Grunt.

"Well, just be careful. Jacks not your normal kind of woman." Shepard responded.

"Why would I want any normal woman in my life? Normal is boring. And there's never a boring day with Jack. Or with you Battle-master." Said Grunt.

"Look at you. I guess you do know how to be charming in your own way. Lets go face whatever's ahead of us." Said Shepard as the two took off after Jack.

Urdnot Proving Grounds

One Hour Later

"I will destroy you!" Jack shouted at the top of her lungs as she brought a Biotic charge down on a large Klixen.

"Hahaha this is great Shepard! Mhahahaha!" Grunt laughed with joy as he blasted another one of the alien beetles with his shotgun.

The fight in the arena had been much as Shepard had expected given all she'd knew about the Krogan. Waves and waves of vicious creatures, each one intending to rip them apart. First it had been several waves of wild Varren, how they had been lured here Shepard did not know. And the second and current wave was dozens of Klixen beetles; armored, fire-breathing insects. Shepard had absolutely no idea where these had come from or if they were even native to Tuchanka, but she had a new respect for all the Krogan that she had faced down in her travels if this is what they all had to go through when they were young. A quick blast of armor-piercing rounds from her assault rifle saw her current target fall to the ground and following a quick sweep of the area found that all the others were down. And since she had not heard the flapping wings of those Harvester creatures Shepard concluded that they had finished with the second wave so she paused to catch her breath.

"Everyone ok? Good on ammo?" Shepard asked.

"Loaded and ready." Grunt replied.

"Could use a few more heat sinks." Said Jack, Shepard quickly tossed a few spare ones to her.

"Alright Shepard hit the keystone again, I'm ready for more!" Said Grunt.

Shepard moved over to the control panel for the keystone and pressed it, sending the mighty pounder back down into the Tuchankan soil. The team once again braced for the massive shockwave that passed through the ground beneath them once more.

"Now all Krogan bear the Genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!" Boomed the voice over the intercom.

Suddenly the ground shook beneath them once again, but this was no aftershock. And it was moving towards them.

"I know that sound." Said Shepard.

"Thresher!" Shouted Jack.

"Finally a battle worth fighting!" Said Grunt.

"Alright take cover, Grunt switch to your assault rifle and activate your armor piercing rounds. Jack, you hit it with as many biotic attacks as you can, but don't stay in the same position for too long. The Thresher's acid attack will eat through our cover quick so keep moving, Grunt and I will provide covering fire to draw its attention while you keep hitting it with biotic attacks. If we weaken it's outer shell we might be able to finish it off with the heavy weapons I brought, everybody ready?" Shepard asked, Jack and Grunt both nodded.

"Shepard, you can either kill the Maw or last five minutes in the fight with it. If you can't finish it off in five minutes a keystone two miles away will be activated to lure it away from you. But my money says you'll kill the thing before the time runs out. Good luck." Came Wrex's voice over Shepard's comm system.

"Here it comes!" Shouted Grunt.

With a thunderous explosion the ground erupted as the giant head and body of the Thresher Maw emerged from the ground and gave a tremendous row at it's targets.

"Open fire!" Shouted Shepard as the ground team began to attack the giant beast.

"Cover!" Shouted Grunt just as a spray of acid landed just behind them.

Before the Maw returned underground Jack hit it with her Biotic Shockwave attack, the great beast roared in pain as it was struck by the severe gravity distortions of the Biotic attack.

"Fire!" Shouted Shepard as she and Grunt unleashed another barrage of fire at the Thresher just before it retreated underground.

"Spread out but maintain cover, it could resurface anywhere!" Said Shepard, Jack and Grunt took cover in new positions.

"Here it comes!" Said Jack as the giant worm erupted from the ground again.

"Covering fire!" Shouted Shepard.

The combined fire from Shepard and Grunt struck it in it's large head, peeling away pieces of it's outer shell. The Thresher roared and turned it's attention towards them and fired another blast of acid, melting away the short wall where Shepard had been just a moment before. With the Thresher distracted Jack unleashed another Shockwave attack, at the exact same time Grunt emerged from cover behind a pillar and fired a Concussive shot from his assault rifle striking the Thresher from the other side bending it's body back and forth. Shepard stood and fired again at it while it was distracted by Jack and Grunt, but rather then let lose another blast of acid the Thresher Maw retreated back underground.

"Reload it'll be back any minute!" Said Shepard.

"Two minutes left by my count!" Said Jack.

"We've worn down a lot of it's outer shell by now!" Said Grunt.

"Yeah, but I think that taking down a Thresher would make this an especially memorable Rite of Passage wouldn't you agree?" Said Shepard.

"Heheheheheh." Came Grunt's reply.

"Grunt and I have the heavy weapons and I think we've weakened it enough to finish it off with them. When it pops up again we charge the weapons and blast it between the two of us." Said Shepard.

"Got it you two stay under cover, I'll hit it with another Shockwave and while it's distracted you blast it before it fucking fries me!" Said Jack.

"I feel it! here it comes!" Said Grunt before she moved off Grunt grabbed Jack by the shoulder and said "are you sure about this?"

Jack grabbed Grunts other shoulder.

"Just make sure you don't fucking miss." Said Jack before moving to her position.

The Thresher Maw then erupted from the ground and surveyed the ground. It's attention centered on Jack.

"Stand by!" Said Shepard, looking directly at Grunt.

"Alright you ugly fucking space worm! Show me what you fucking got!" Shouted Jack as she began to glow blue once more.

Focusing all her energy into one attack Jack fired one massive shockwave at the Thresher forcing it's head to recoil upwards from the force.

"Now!" Shepard shouted.

Grunt and Shepard jumped up from their cover, took aim, and after a few seconds the weapons were fully charged.

"Fire!"

The two high explosive, hyper velocity slugs left the firing chambers of the two M-920 Cain's and almost in the blink of an eye impacted on the body of the Thresher Maw with tremendous explosive force. As the dust from the two miniature mushroom clouds cleared Shepard, Grunt, and Jack got up from their positions. The body of the Thresher continued to squirm and twitch, there were some twitching motions from it's head as well. But seeing as the two were no longer connected the twitching eventually ended. Shepard had faced Thresher Maws several times during the hunt for Saren, but today for the first time ever, Shepard faced one on foot and lived to tell about it.

"Never a dull moment huh Shepard?" Said Grunt.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Said Shepard, putting an arm around Grunts back.

"Hahahahaha! Way to go Shepard, I knew you could do it! The Rite has been completed return to base." Said Wrex over the comm.

"Will do Wrex." Said Shepard.

And so the exhausted team made it's way back to the Urdnot encampment.

"Shepard looks like trouble ahead." Said Jack getting into a defensive stance.

Just before the main entrance to the Urdnot encampment stood Gatatog Uvenk, with a selection of Krogan no doubt loyal to his clan.

"A most impressive feat. A Thresher hasn't been killed in the Rite since Wrex took it himself." Said Uvenk.

"My battle-master gives me strength and so does my Krantt." Responded Grunt.

"Indeed, this is a difficult position that we are in now. You say you are pure? No meddling at all from outsiders?" Uvenk asked.

"Grunt was designed to be perfect." Said Shepard, letting her pride in Grunt shine just a little.

"Being designed is the problem, however he is strong and he was not made by aliens. Yes this is an acceptable loophole." Uvenk said

"What?" Grunt asked.

"You are a mistake that is no doubt, but a powerful one. Your presence could tip the balance of power in the clans and I believe that is reason enough for Clan Gatatog to accept you." Said Uvenk.

"You insult Shepard, you insult my fathers name, but now you will look past it simply because I am strong?" Grunt asked, fury and anger beginning to overtake him.

"There would be restrictions of course, you could not breed or serve on an alien starship, but you would be clan in name." Said Uvenk, ignoring Grunt completely.

"So you just want him as a trophy, even though he just proved his worth to all the other clans that were watching? This is what you come to him offering? Well then Grunt, how do you respond to Uvenk's offer?" Shepard asked, her hand at the ready.

"Hehehehehehehe."

*Shotgun cocks*

Urdnot Clan Lands

Following the brief engagement with Uvenk and his Krantt, Shepard and her company returned to the main camp to cheers from the whole Urdnot encampment.

"I knew it! I knew you could do it!" Said Wrex moving forward from the crowd.

"Tough fight, but I hoped that we proved Grunt's worth to any clan that would have him!" Shouted Shepard to the crowd.

"I agree! Grunt you are welcome to join the ranks of Urdnot as a warrior and a brother. What say you?" Wrex asked.

"Well Grunt what do you want to do?" Shepard asked.

"I will join with the strongest clan on Tuchanka! I will join Urdnot!" Shouted Grunt to cheers from the assembled Krogan.

"Well then let it be known that from this day forward, you shall be known as Urdnot Grunt." Said Wrex to all of the Urdnot Krogan.

"I thank you." Said Grunt bowing his head.

"Well done Grunt, and you Shepard! You three are the first to take down a Thresher since me! A thousand years since a Thresher Maw fell in the Rite, what a story to tell! You Grunt will have your fair share of breeding requests I'm sure!" Said Wrex.

"Yes that is good to know, but for now I must stand by my battle-master. Once our journey is over and our enemy is no more I will return to take my place amongst you." Said Grunt. Wrex nodded in response, but some of the other Krogan began to murmur.

"We are fighting the Collectors, they have been abducting human colonies from the Traverse we dealt them a major defeat on Horizon. Grunt himself destroyed many of them in that battle and he has been a great help to us in our missions and together with everyone on our ship we will remove this specter from the galaxy." Said Shepard.

"Spoken like a true battle-master Shepard! Grunt has a berth on a ship, which is the goal of all Krogan warriors. I have no reason to doubt the word of someone that you trust Shepard, Grunt will return to Tuchanka once your mission is over. But as for tonight we celebrate! The first Thresher Maw killed in a millennium! I say this is cause enough for a feast!" Wrex roared as the gathered Krogan roared in response.

Several of the Krogan moved in and began talking to Grunt and praising him for his strength and power in the Rite. Shepard couldn't help but smile at the site of it. Jack seemed to be making sure that she stayed close to Grunt even as the other Krogan tried to get to know him better.

"Shepard. Walk with me for a while, I have something to show you." Said Wrex.

"Sure thing Wrex." Said Shepard as she and Wrex walked away from the rest of the crowd.

Krogan Highway

Overlooking the Old City

"You turn up here and within one day I already owe you a lot. You remove two thorns from my side in a few hours, you always know how to get the fucking job done!" Said Wrex.

"I am sorry that I had to kill your advisor." Shepard replied.

"Ahh Uvenk was a pain in the ass, the next in line for clan leader of Gatatog is young, easier to mold. Without a hardheaded traditionalist like Uvenk around it will make our alliance building much easier." Said Wrex.

The two of them finally came to a stop at the edge of the old highway. The view of the old ruined Krogan city stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"What do you think Shepard?" Wrex asked.

"It's impressive." Said Shepard.

"Heh, it's a rusted and radioactive pile of shit. But it's ours. And we'll fight to the end to defend it." Said Wrex.

"Good ole Wrex. Glad to see that power hasn't changed you." Said Shepard, sitting down at the highway's edge, legs dangling off the edge.

"It would take a lot to make me change my ways I assure you of that Shepard. But it's good to see that you haven't changed at all either, still picking up strays and misfits?" Said Wrex taking a seat next to her.

"It's what I do." Said Shepard.

"Yeah, and now you have a very young, very big Krogan on your side. Leave it to you Shepard to have a Krogan for a son." Said Wrex.

"Oh come on Wrex don't go simplifying things." Said Shepard.

"Not simplifying anything, I can see it in the way that Grunt looks at you, I've seen that look on the faces of thousands of whelps when they look at their mother. And I see that look in you." Said Wrex.

"What look?" Shepard asked.

"When you all came back after the Rite to all that cheering and admiration. That look that only a mother can have when she sees what her boy's accomplished. I've seen that a thousand times too." Said Wrex.

"I will admit that my feeling about Grunt are a little confusing to me, but I don't know if it goes that far." Shepard responded.

"Oh I think you do, he might have been born in a tank, but you birthed him from that tank just as surely if you birthed him yourself." Said Wrex.

"Look just for the sake of argument lets say that I did feel that way. Grunt sees me as a battle-master and not as a mother." Shepard responded.

"I know the Krogan heart and when if comes to our women, mother and warrior are one and the same. Ever since the Genophage our women have raised the young communally, all the women of the female clan raising the young ones as a group. Once their of age the males get sent to our camp and the females stay behind, but sometimes when the birth mothers feel a strong enough connection with one of the young ones it birthed she may declare it as her child. Now the young ones consider all of the females of the camp as their mothers, but it is a very special moment in the life of a Krogan if the mother that birthed it accepts it as her own. The mothers try not to accept one child over another, but sometimes the connection is too strong to ignore. I think you know that feeling Shepard." Said Wrex.

"What do you mean by that?" Shepard asked.

"I know you Shepard, you can't help but view your crew as family. You felt that way about us on the first Normandy and I know you feel that way about this new crew, but there is something special about him. All the others have come to you after having lived a life, but for Grunt this is all new. There maybe preprogrammed information from Okeer, but he has no life before he stepped out of that tank and as a result he has had to look for you to guidance the whole way along. You know I'm right." Said Wrex.

"Maybe you are, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it." Said Shepard.

"I'm sure you'll think of something you always do." Said Wrex.

"Hmm, this must of been quite a city long ago." Said Shepard, changing the subject.

"Yes it was, the old capital. Some images of the old city have survived the collapse of the Krogan society and the rebellions, they show what the city was like at it's height. It was a sight to behold." Said Wrex.

"I'm sure it was, and it will be again someday won't it Wrex?" Said Shepard elbowing him in the side.

"Yes it will, one day we will rebuild. One day we will bring it all back. Of course we would welcome any help you could provide Amanda." Said Wrex.

"You know that's the first time you've ever used my first name." Said Shepard.

"No it isn't."

"Oh yes it is."

"Hehehehehehe."

"Hey hey, don't get any ideas. Garrus is the funny one remember?" Said Shepard.

"Oh god don't remind me. Has he lightened up any?" Wrex asked.

"He has his moments." Said Shepard.

"Well I suppose we should head back to the festivities." Said Wrex.

"Yeah I suppose so." Said Shepard, standing up and getting ready to get back inside.

"There was one other thing I brought you out here to tell you." Said Wrex.

"What's that?" Shepard asked.

"You helped a great deal in Grunt's Rite and played a big part in taking down the Thresher. I had thought about offering you a place in the clan too, however that might be too much for my men to accept now. But I want you to know that I felt so much pride watching you fight in the Rite and that I will always view you as a sister to me." Said Wrex, getting as choked up as a Krogan could saying these words.

"Oh Wrex, getting soft in your old age." Said Shepard.

"Shepard I…" Wrex began before being cut off by Shepard.

"I'm just teasing Wrex, it's what sisters do. I thank you for your words and I feel the same way about you." Shepard replied, she then moved forward and gave Wrex a hug.

"I'm glad Shepard." Said Wrex, returning the embrace.

"Never had a big brother before, but I'm glad to have one now. Well lets head back to the party." Said Shepard.

"Lead the way, Urdnot Shepard." Said Wrex with a big toothy Krogan grin.

"Will do Clan leader." Said Shepard returning the smile in kind. And the two made their way back inside.

Urdnot Encampment

One Hour Later

The party seemed to be in full swing by the time Wrex and Shepard made their way back to the main base. The Krogan were celebrating and the Ryncol was flowing. Grunt was surrounded by Krogan giving him drinks and complimenting him on his victory in the Rite. Meanwhile a large line had formed around a small table set up next to the Varren pit, and sitting at that table was Jack. Using her Biotic strength to take on the Urdnot warriors in an arm wrestling contest and Krogan after Krogan were stepping up to take on the Psychotic Biotic. And by the look of it most of them were failing. One Krogan carrying drinks noticed Wrex and Shepard's return and made his way to them.

"Drink for you Clan leader?" Said the Krogan.

"Thank you." Said Wrex taking an offered mug.

"I'll take one too." Said Shepard receiving another mug.

"Shepard are you sure about that? You do remember the last time don't you?" Wrex asked.

Shepard smiled and took a big swig of Ryncol from the mug. And stood just fine.

"Genetic enhancements, curtsey of Cerberus. I guess they didn't approve of my abhorrent drinking ways, brand new liver and it takes me twice as much to get drunk now." Said Shepard giving Wrex a wink.

"Hahahahahahaha, you bring us food!" Wrex roared in laughter.

Shepard took another drink from her glass when she felt something press up against her leg.

"Urz! Whose a good boy?" Said Shepard as she began scratching the Varren under his chin.

"Shepard! You're back!" Shouted Grunt walking up to her.

"Yes Wrex wanted to show me some of the old city." Said Shepard in response.

"Ahh, well now you're back and you can help me show the rest of these Krogan how to really fight!" Shouted Grunt.

"Maybe in a little bit, but for right now drink up! Eat! This celebration is for you! The first Krogan in a thousand years to defeat a Thresher Maw in the Rite of Passage!" Shouted Shepard to a roar of approval from several Krogan around her.

"Understood battle-master." Said Grunt.

"That's not an order Grunt just a friendly suggestion. Have fun." Said Shepard clapping him on the shoulder.

"Somebody get me a fucking drink!" Came a shout that could only have come from Jack.

"That one is a demon there." Said Wrex.

"That she is." Shepard replied.

And so the celebration carried on with more drinking and more food. Shepard had taken a position at Wrex's table, Urz's head in her lap under the table, Shepard fed him pieces of meat from the table. By now Jack was quite inebriated and had begun to dance on top of the main table. What little clothing she wore was still on her body, for the moment at least. Shepard looked over to see Grunt head butting with some of the other Krogan, but they were laughing and cheering him on so clearly this was a game of sorts. Not all to surprising that most Krogan games involve a bit of pain.

"Grunt step forward!" Shouted Wrex.

Grunt responded to the call from Wrex and approached the table.

"This was just handed to me by one of our scouts, I sent some of my men to secure the fallen creatures from the Rite for burial. When one of them came across this. It is a piece from one of the Thresher's tusks, I can think of no better person to carry this then you. May this and the memory of your accomplishment bring you courage in your fights to come." Said Wrex handing the fragment to Grunt.

"I thank you clan leader I will honor this always." Said Grunt holding the piece up to the cheering crowd.

It was in this moment that Shepard decided it was time to speak. To say what she had wanted to say all evening.

"Grunt wait." Said Shepard.

"What is it battle-master?" Grunt replied.

Shepard stood and gauged the room, which had suddenly fallen silent again even Jack. They all stood waiting to hear what Shepard had to say. And after a brief moment of hesitation Shepard spoke…

"Wrex has told me of how young Krogan are raised communally by the whole female camp. But he also told me that sometimes when a mother gives birth to a clutch and even though she knows that the children who live belong to the whole camp, she can form a special bond with just one of them. And that this special bond cannot be broken and when this happens that mother will declare this one child out of many to be her child, and hers alone. This helped me put some things into perspective and I say now that even though Grunt was born inside of a tank, he could not be more my child then if I had birthed him myself. So I say to all of you gathered here today, that Urdnot Grunt is my son in all ways."

The room was quiet for a time and Grunt certainly looked surprised, though his surprised look quickly gave way to a look of relief and of acknowledgement. Grunt leaned forward across the table and pressed his head crest to Shepard's forehead in a rare showing of affection.

"All hail Urdnot Grunt, son of Shepard!" Wrex bellowed at the top of his lungs to cheers from all the assembled Krogan and the party began anew.

Shepard smiled at Grunt as she looked into his eyes and saw the same feeling reflected back in them.

And now Shepard had a son.

Urdnot Camp

The Next Day

At some point the long nights celebrating finally gave way to the need to sleep. Shepard had found her way to a tent that Wrex had had put up specifically for her. When she awoke the next morning, to a much more minor headache then she used to have after a long night of drinking. She quickly found a Varren curled up in front of her cot. Amanda got up and retrieved her clothes.

"Shepard to Normandy."

"Normandy here go ahead."

"Could you send the shuttle back down for us? I believe it's time we move on."

"Understood Normandy out."

"C'mon Urz, lets go find everyone else." Said Shepard as she departed the tent, the Varren trotting behind her.

Shepard began to search for Jack and Grunt, the two had retired before Shepard had, but she wasn't quite sure where their tent was. As Amanda began her search most of the Krogan were still sleeping off the nights activities, most were now beginning to stir and go about their usual activities.

"Shepard." Came Wrex's voice from behind her.

"Hey Wrex. Do you know where Jack and Grunt are?" She asked.

"Not quite haven't seen them yet, but I think the tents we assigned them were over in that direction." Wrex said gesturing in the direction of the other tents.

"Thanks, I need to round them up. It's time we get back to the ship. We got a lot more to do." Said Shepard.

"I understand, I remember all the things we had to fetch for others during our missions." Said Wrex with a low chuckle.

"Tell me about it. Listen do you mind if I take Urz with me? I've just taken such a liking to the cute thing." Shepard said while scratching it's neck.

"Not a problem the damn thing would probably just mope without you here anyway. I want you to remember Shepard that Tuchanka is always here if you need a stop off on your journey." Said Wrex.

"I'll keep that in mind." Shepard replied she clapped Wrex on the shoulder and then continued her search.

She kept searching for a few more minutes until finally she caught a glimpse of a piece of Grunt's armor inside an open tent flap. Then she saw something stirring under the blanket on top of the cot and to her surprise Jack emerged from under the covers, where Grunt still slept underneath. Jack fumbled around and found the small straps which usually covered her chest before standing up and searching for her pants. It was after she had bent over to pick up her pants she saw Shepard standing there with her arms folded across her chest from between her legs.

"Uh oh, well is this the part where mama chases my naked ass across the whole camp for defiling her precious little boy?" Said Jack, her voice dripping with sarcasm even as she stood there naked from the waist down.

"No not at all." Said Shepard then in a flash Shepard's fist connected with Jacks face sending her to the ground.

"Ok, ok, I deserved that one. Consider that a freebie." Said Jack, Shepard extended a hand and helped her back up.

"Look I really don't care what you and him do as long as no one gets hurt and I don't have to see either of your bare asses again." Said Shepard.

"That's fair, hey tank boy time to get up." Jack said slapping Grunt on the head.

"Gah dinosaurs!" Said Grunt suddenly snapped awake.

"You two should finish getting dressed it's time for us to head out." Said Shepard.

"Got it." Said Jack and Grunt simultaneously.

Shepard turned her back to give them some privacy. Jack was the first one to get dressed.

"I'll wait for you both at the landing pad." Said Jack

"Got it." Said Shepard.

"Is there a problem?" Grunt asked sounding a little sheepish.

"No problem, just be a little cautious when you get back on the Normandy. I don't want to get a lot of new noise complaints from the rest of the crew." Said Shepard.

"Understood…. mother." Said Grunt.

"Come on, it's time for us to go." Said Shepard with a big smile on her face.

Grunt had finally finished getting dressed and now the two started making their way towards the shuttle bay. With a Varren following in their wake.

SSV Normandy

The elevator doors opened and Shepard stepped back onto the bridge.

"Commander, welcome back. How was Tuchanka?" Asked Yeoman Chambers.

"It was quite interesting, so what's new up here?" Shepard asked.

"You have unread messages at your terminal, Justicar Samara wishes to speak with you in the observation lounge, Cerberus intelligence forwarded that Shadow Broker information that you requested." Said Chambers.

"Thank you, I'll see to Samara shortly. Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"Not at the moment Commander, wait…. incoming message from the Illusive Man, requesting immediate communication with you." Said Chambers.

"Understood, I'll go speak with him in a minute. In the meantime tell helm to depart the system our work is done here, oh and would you please tell Sergeant Gardner to take on extra meat into storage next time we dock at a port please?" Said Shepard.

"Understood, is there a particular reason?" Chambers inquired.

"Picked up a Varren on Tuchanka and I don't want him eating any of my fish." Said Shepard.

With that said Shepard made her way to the Quantum Entanglement room to answer the Illusive Man's call.

"Joker, prepare to depart system Commander's orders." Said Chambers.

"Understood, setting course for Mass Relay." Said Joker over the comm.

The Normandy then powered it's engines and broke orbit over Tuchanka, headed towards the Relay and onto the next mission. But what no sensor, and no pair of eyes noticed was an unidentified ship moved out of orbit from one of the other planets in the Aralakh system. And began making it's way towards Tuchanka.

Camp Urdnot

Two Hours Later

With Shepard gone and the Normandy out of system Wrex had thought that things would calm down around here a little bit, but very shortly after the Normandy departed an unidentified ship made a request to land. They said they were coming with a business proposition for Wrex and clan Urdnot. Out of curiosity Wrex allowed the ship to come in for a landing. Wrex figured he would get a little amusement out of whatever was coming, but he was very surprised to see a lone human dressed in full armor helmet included being flanked by several Geth.

"What the hell is this? What are these Geth doing in my camp?" Said Wrex.

"She claims that they're not true Geth, just VI platforms designed to look like Geth." Claimed the Krogan guard who escorted them in.

"I've seen Geth up close I know what real Geth look like and that's them right there." Said Wrex, the Krogan in the room getting a little more antsy.

"Oh calm down you overgrown battle toad." Said the lone human.

"What did you say?" Said Wrex suddenly standing up.

"You heard me." She responded.

"Only one human has ever called me that, but she is dead." Said Wrex both irritated and confused at the same time.

"She's not dead, in fact she's standing right in front of you." Said the lone human.

"Ashley?!"

And there we are chapter 13 completed! We have completed the Tuchanka arc. Grunt is now a member of Urdnot, Mordin has confronted his past, a great celebration of the Rite of Passage with plenty of surprises, and Ashley has finally been reintroduced to a member of the original crew! So I hope you all enjoy my reimagining of the Tuchanka missions from Mass Effect 2. Now I don't know how all of you feel about it, but whenever I've done my femshep play-throughs I've always felt a mother/son connection between Shepard and Grunt so I wanted to explore that. And I'm bringing Urz along for the ride because that always felt like the one thing that you should be able to do in Mass Effect 2. I love Urz so much, and if I could have a pet Varren I would in a heartbeat! Well the year is finally coming to a close and thank god! FUCK 2016! So many of my favorite actors died this year, so many horrible news stories and now this damn year killed Princess Leia! But the year was also not very good for me personally, I lost my job due budget cuts this year and my dad also lost his reelection bid for States Attorney despite all of our best efforts and at the end of November my favorite uncle passed away. Of course the high point of the year was a pretty big one, my beloved Cubs finally the World Series! But with the exception of that this year has been pretty shitty and I've had a few bouts of depression during the year. But the holiday season always makes me feel a lot better. It maybe cliche to say this, but I freaking love Christmas! So since I'm feeling a little bit better I decided I better put in a new chapter before the new year. The next chapter should be a little bit shorter and will focus mainly on a few more crew missions and the Collector ship mission. As always I own nothing Bioware owns it all and please feel free to leave a comment or PM me. This is Reven207 saying Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!