#thank you krogan name generator lo

[ramblinganthropologist]

N7 24 22 - Krogans

Summary: Urdnot Wrex has a special mission for Alistair Shepard. He needs backup - so he brings in his sister. Krogans love Bo Peep Shepard after all.

---

He hadn't expected to be back on Tuchanka so soon, but... well, things worked out that way.

"Shepard, you made it."

For once, Wrex was talking to him and not Bo. It wasn't a slight - Alistair had long since come to understand that Urdnot Wrex got along better with his sister than him. It made sense - krogans liked to headbutt, Bo liked to headbutt. She had gotten a name for wrestling krogans on Omega between 2183 and 2185 too, so she was something of a local celebrity. It was no big surprise that they would prefer his hard hitting, fast shooting sister over him. When it came down to it, he was a boy scout and he bored them.

Fine by him; as long as they were ok on Tuchanka, they could call him boring all they wanted.

"Nice to see you, Wrex." He glanced around. "How are things settling in?"

The krogan nodded at him. "Fine. No real difference yet but believe there's plenty of attempts. Time will tell."

He gestured to the side. "And thanks. Eve said you would help."

Yeah; him and Eve had become friends since she had been on the Normandy with Mordin. He wouldn't say they were friends, per se, but he wore the crystal she had given him around his neck with his dog tags. There had definitely been a connection there, and he was glad she was doing well.

Obviously, she was busy now, but maybe when everything was done he could go see her.

"Not a problem, Wrex. Let me go just get Bo and we'll head over."

The krogan smirked a little. "Shepard's here?"

"I'm bringing her as backup on this one." He chuckled. "You can understand why."

"You always were to bring the best for the job."

He was. Which is why Alistair left the leader of the krogan behind as he headed to where his sister was waiting for him. Well, waiting was being a bit mild. It was more like the Angry Pink Monster was getting a meeting with her beloved fans. She was surrounded by krogans, some of them with posters or vids of her fights on Omega. At least she had remembered to bring a pen this time, judging by the fact her fans were leaving happy.

She spotted him as he approached. "Finished up with Wrex?"

"Yep, just let me know when you finish up the fan meeting." He checked his omni-tool, reading over Wrex's message. It seemed simple enough, but nothing with the krogan was ever easy. It at least gave him something to do while he waited for Bo to finish signing merch for her fans.

He had to wonder if any of the three who had put in breeding requests for her were among them. Maybe they were hoping to ask her on a date? If they were, they were sorely mistaken; she preferred the ladies. Besides, if she had been straight, she would've gone straight for Wrex himself.

 She had taste after all.

The mob died down after a few more moments, and Bo sighed in relief as she capped her pen and stored it wherever she was keeping it. Soon, she joined him and the two took off in the direction of his mission marker. It was on the other side of the base, but it wasn't a long walk. Honestly, he needed a chance to stretch his legs after being in space for so long.

"I swear you set me up for that, they're not normally that bad." Bo shot him a look as they walked. He whistled out an innocent note, hooking his arms behind his head. "Alistair Michael Shepard, I swear-"

Oh, middle name. Now he was in trouble.

"Don't worry, I didn't say anything. They must've just seen the Normandy and put the pieces together that you would probably be touching down." He flashed her a grin. "Scout's honor on that one."

It didn't soften her look in the slightest, but he hadn't expected it to do anything. Instead, it gave him the chance to look around. Things certainly looked the same on Tuchanka since the genophage cure had been dispersed. Part of him wasn't sure what he had expected honestly; even if the krogan had been nonstop fucking, it wasn't like they just immediately made babies. There was still a gestation period - maybe by next year there would be a difference if they all managed to survive.

Hopefully, Wrex would send him baby pictures of his kids if they all lived. He had never seen a newborn krogan before, and no doubt they were absolutely adorable little toads.

"Whatever." Bo rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what's this mission you just had to have me on? Did the mother of all thresher maws fuck something up when she was killing that Reaper?"

Alistair shook his head as they entered the building. There was a krogan standing by the door, and they stiffened as he approached. It was only natural, considering what he was watching over.

"No humans past this point."

He held up his omni-tool to display the message. "Urdnot Wrex has given us express permission to pass."

The guard squinted his eyes as he read the message over. While he did, Alistair tried to listen in. The walls were too thick for that, however, so he didn't get anything out of it other than a vague sense of curiosity. At least it kept him occupied while his credentials were checked.

"Looks legit." He stepped to the side. "Don't do anything stupid, Shepard."

He offered the guard a smile as they passed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

They were soon in a hallway leading to a door. Their footsteps echoed down as they walked, creating a strange acoustic that scratched an itch in his brain. All the while, Bo fidgeted next to him, starting to bridge the area between bored and annoyed. It wasn't quite her danger zone, but she was running short on patience.

"Alright, are you going to tell me why I'm here yet or what?"

"You'll see." He approached the door. "I needed you for backup."

He then opened the door and stepped through. Immediately, there was a wall of sound that nearly knocked him into Bo. Once he adjusted, then he got the full scope of the mission. It was a large room, filled with overturned furniture that had seen better days. There was paint smeared on the walls, and dents from heads going into it, but there was no blood. More importantly, the focus of his mission was staring up at them with wide eyes, waiting to figure out what was going on.

"Who are you?"

As it turned out, children had squeaky voices regardless of the species. That was no different for krogan. If he had to guess, the small group of five assembled in front of them were between the ages of 6 and 8. They didn't have the telltale battle marks, and their scales reminded him of Grunt when he had been fresh from the tank. The smallest came up to his waist, while the biggest was a half head taller. All of them had the same confused, eager look on their faces.

Bo shot him a look as he closed the door. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Wrex wanted me to check their vitals and see if they were affected by the cure." He smiled at her. "And so I brought you along to distract them from medical procedures."

He then turned to the assembled children. "Hi, kids. My name's Al, and this is my sister Bo. We're here to hang out with you guys today."

One of the children - the record said his name was Vorak, age 7 - pointed an adorably chubby finger in Bo's direction. "It's the Angry Pink Monster!"

And then, the kids were on Bo, all wide eyes and high pitched voices. Alistair chuckled as he went off to the side in order to set up his equipment for the medical checks. Truly, her fame among the krogan was why he had brought her along. Kids tended to hate medical checkups regardless of their species, so needed something to counteract that. If their beloved Angry Pink Monster was enough to distract them from the displeasure, then things would be just fine.

"I heard you fought Drank the Crusher at Omega!" A squeaky voiced krogan by the name of Khurd -age 6-  was practically bouncing. "You smashed him into the stands and sent three people to the hospital!"

Bo nodded as she settled in to a nearby chair, the krogan... lings? gathering around her. "He bounced like a super ball. How did you see that one, though?"

"Krayas showed us the vids if we promised to clean up one day!" A pause, then, "He's the guard at the front door. He said if we don't try to escape for a week, we'll get to watch another one."

Talk about one hell of a motivational factor - he had to hand it to Krayas for figuring out how to motivate the little ones. Alistair filed that one away as he finished setting things up, checking his omni-tool to make sure everything was running properly. He then opened a new file.

"Vorak? Could you come over here please?"

Unsurprisingly, his patient didn't want to leave Bo's side. Given he was one of the bigger children, he knew he didn't have the strength to get him over there. Luckily for him, he wasn't alone. His sister nudged the little krogan in his direction, much to his displeasure as he groaned.

"I don't wanna see him, he's boring!"

Bo shook her head. "It'll be quick. Wrex wants to make sure you little terrors grow up big and strong so you can shoot straight. If you don't get your medical checks, you wind up like Al and have to use mods to shoot."

Judging by the gasp of horror that filled the room, it had the needed effect. Vorak was soon all but running over to his side, standing ramrod straight with pinprick pupils. Alistair had to resist the urge to chuckle as he got his scanner ready, marking down his patient's name.

"Thank you for being so cooperative. Now, I'm just going to check your height and weight against last year's records..."

---

Forty minutes later, and he had gotten through all the children. Their records were now safely stored on his omni-tool for handing over to Wrex once they were finished. Apart from some grumbling, they had been pretty cooperative with the process, better than he would've expected honestly.

Grunt hadn't been nearly as good when Dr. Chakwas checked him on the Normandy after he had come out of the tank. Maybe he needed to learn patience from his age group.

"Alright, so I promised you guys I'd tell you about my last match. Well, it was me verses Rekmar Hinak for the title. Hinak the Headsplitter was pretty cocky off his last win, so he thought he could take me..."

Bo's voice carried over the quiet room as Alistair packed up his equipment. He knew the match she was speaking of well - he had been there after all. Hinak the Headsplitter's fanbase had been particularly rowdy that night, and the spotlights glinted off the blood still glistening in the arena. All around him, krogan cheered and jeered as the opponents faced down in the ring.

"Hinak thought he could take me because he had gotten a hit in with the thresher maw during his ritual." Bo scoffed. "So he tries to get me with a frontal attack. Problem is, he telegraphs his moves like he's a complete newbie. I bet you guys could've taken him on if you wanted to do it."

Khurd's eyes were wide. "Did he try to split your head?"

"Of course he did, that's his specialty." Bo's voice dropped. "But the thing is, he's weak on his left side. You always gotta train on both sides so they don't catch you on the bad one, got it?"

A squeaky chorus of 'got it!' rang out through the room. Alistair chuckled softly as he righted overturned furniture throughout the room. Kid-krogan sized furniture was still big enough for him to sit in, but it wouldn't be the most comfortable choice. He was a little disappointed it wasn't brightly colored, but maybe they didn't have the same requirements as humans for eye development. Honestly, he was a little unsure when it came to little krogan. Maybe later he could ask Wrex about it...

"Anyway, he tries to ram me." Bo smacked her fist into her palm. "But I caught him on his bad side and threw him into the wall. He bounced like a ping pong ball. You should've seen the crack he left, it looked like what happens after an earthquake."

Another krogan - this one was named Danak with a twin named Canak sitting next to him - practically jumped up at her words. "And then what?"

"And then he tried to kick my feet out from under me when he's on his side." Bo grumbled. "But his leg didn't quite make it so I got out of the way. He gets back on his feet, crowd's calling for his blood. I can see what he's planning on doing next because like I said, he telegraphs his moves."

Canak's squeaky voice filled the room. "What's telegraph mean, Bo?"

"Basically you can see him coming a mile away. When you get older, always try to keep a little variety in your moves. Keeps your opponent guessing and you're not predictable." Bo nodded. "Maybe that would've saved him, but he wasn't exactly the smartest guy around."

No, he wasn't. Alistair remembered thinking the same thing as Bo from when he was in the stands. The good part was coming, however - she was just about to get into using her biotics to hammer Hinak into the next solar system. It had been brutal, even from where he was sitting.

"Anyway, he gets up close and we're grappling in the center. Crowd's screaming for his head, my head, they couldn't decide if they hated him or me more." Bo smirked. "And since he got handsy, I figured I could let loose. I power up in the hand he's got me with and I shove him into the wall."

The kids all let out gasps of excitement, but it was then that Alistair noticed there was only four sitting in front of his sister. Vorak, Khurd, Danak and Canak were all accounted for, but he didn't see the youngest of the group. Little Cosk  - just turned 6- wasn't sitting with his friends, drinking in the tale.

Instead... he was picking up toys.

Alistair cocked his eyebrow as he approached, stooping down to pick up a block. "Don't you want to listen to the story too?"

Cosk shook his head as he gathered up blocks in his little arms. "Vorak is stinky and Canak likes to wipe his boogers on you after he picks his nose. I can hear from here just fine."

"Can't blame you there, I wouldn't like boogers wiped on me either." Alistair followed him over to the box the toys were stored in, placing the blocks inside. On the other side of the room, Bo was just about to headbutt Hirak into submission. "You did a good job with your check in, by the way. You grew a couple inches from last year."

The little krogan's chest puffed slightly as he neatened the blocks. "Danak says I'm too small, but if I grew that means he's wrong, right?"

Alistair nodded in response. "From what I studied on krogan development before I got here, you're doing just fine. Besides, I'm small for my age and I do just fine."

No doubt the other krogan children would have given him the stink eye for saying that - even at their ages, they weren't impressed by barriers and tech expertise. But little Cosk nodded along as he went back for more blocks, taking his words as gospel. Suddenly, he was pretty sure he had a favorite kid.

"And then BAM. He goes down so hard his armor cracks!"

Bo's voice, amplified by the cheers of her child audience, filled the room. Alistair watched as his charge stiffened, little hands going to where his ears should be. Once the noise quieted down, he slowly pulled his hands away. Then he went back to finding blocks to pick up and tidy.

He made his way over to the little krogan, stooping down to help him. "Don't like loud noises, huh?"

"They say I'm a big baby." Cosk sounded like he was sulking. "But I can't help it. It makes my head go all funny."

Alistair nodded. "No, I understand. I don't like a lot of noise either. When I was your age, I avoided being around kids my own age a lot too."

It was why he had learned to read so fast - other kids were loud and made his head hurt. Now that he was older, he understood his noise sensitivity was due in part to how his biotics affected his brain. But before then, it had just been one of the many things that set him apart from other kids his age.

"I'm not a bad krogan..." He trailed off. "When I'm big, I'm gonna be a battlemaster one day. Urdnot Wrex says I'm special."

And then he held out his free hand. At first the block sitting there did nothing, but after a few seconds it wobbled and slowly rose into the air. The space hummed with energy, and Alistair's nose tickled with the familiar scent he had no name for. It was one all biotics knew, but never named.

Apparently, the noise sensitivity might just be a biotic thing.

"That's really impressive, Cosk. You have great control over your biotics."

The little krogan brightened, eyes sparkling. "Really?"

"Really. It takes a lot of focus to keep things steady like that. You're going to be a real pro when you're older."

That was if he got the chance to be older. A weight settled into Alistair's stomach as he glanced around the room, taking in Cosk and his age group. There was no guarantee any of them were going to grow up or even reach their next birthday if the Reapers got their way. All their work to cure the genophage, and it might just amount to nothing.

It left him cold just thinking about it.

"Al?" A little hand tugged at his shirt, bringing him back to reality. "Do you need a juice box? They keep them in here for me. I get hy...hypo..."

He smiled. "Your blood sugar goes low sometimes when you use your biotics?"

"Yeah, that!" Cosk nodded his head, holding out his little hand. "They're over here!"

Alistair allowed himself to be led back to the center of the room, where Bo's story was just wrapping up. The assembled krogan were starting to get rowdy again, no doubt needing to work off their excited energy with play. No doubt by the end of it, the work they had done to right the room would be left in ruins.

Oh well. He could pick it up later. He was being offered a juice box by a baby biotic. That was more precious than the medal of honor if you asked him.

---

"Bye, Bo!"

"Remember, keep your opponent guessing!"

An hour later, the assembled krogan children were waving them goodbye as they left to return to the Normandy. Bo had told them all a number of tales of her wrestling days, even giving them an abridged version of their fight with the thresher maw. Now an entire generation of krogan was her fanbase - she was going to have to do a reunion tour by the time they were old enough to purchase tickets.

"Bye, Al!"

Cosk's little voice made him turn his head. The little biotic was waving too, a juice box in hand from when his blood sugar had suddenly dropped. Al smiled and waved back, glad to see he was taking his health seriously. If he kept that head on his shoulders by the time he was an adult, he might just be a battlemaster after all.

Bo snickered as they left the children behind, nudging him in the side. "I see I'm not the only one with a fanboy."

"He's a sweet kid, they all are." He paused. "Well, as sweet as krogan kids get."

Compared to human children, that was about as sweet as the citric acid in his pixie stick mix. But it was all relative - they were good kids, if a little chaotic. With any luck, once the galaxy was saved they would all grow up into decent adults who would go off and help make the krogan a better people. 

It was all he could hope for in that moment.

"I promised I'd give them updates if I fight anything cool." She nudged him again. "Which means-"

Alistair chuckled. "I know, I'll email their caretaker about it. I can't keep your fans waiting, now can I?"

"You're the best press secretary a girl could ask for." They headed towards the heart of the base. "Are you emailing Wrex the records or do you gotta give them to him directly?"

He was already on his omni-tool as she spoke. "I'm emailing them now. He said he would be busy by the time we finished, so I didn't expect to see him again. Hopefully, he's happy with the results. I did my best with a quick study of krogan developmental phases on the way over, but he'll have someone who can interpret the data later."

The Normandy gleamed in the distance, calling them back to space as he sent the results off to the planet's leader. All the while, he thought back on the children. If they got this right, and the galaxy kept spinning, those kids would grow up to be a hope for their people. What would they become, and what would it mean for their people?

"Your kid wants to be a battlemaster I heard." There was a note of excitement in Bo's voice. "I hope to see him tearing it up one day."

Alistair nodded. "He'll be a strong contender if he keeps his focus in check through puberty."

"I'm gonna have to watch him gunning for my title. Hell, any of them might be coming for me once their humps get big." She cracked her knuckles, then her neck. "Can't wait for some fresh blood in the ring."

It was probably best he left off she'd essentially be fighting teenagers; that would spoil the fun. But still, there was hope in Alistair's chest as he approached the Normandy in order to leave Tuchanka behind. Off in the distance, far beyond the settlement, rose the Shroud. It still glowed, even after the cure had been dispersed.

"Al? Do you need more juice or something?"

Bo's voice snapped him back in reality, causing him to shake his head. "No, I'm fine. I guess they just wore me out is all. Come on, let's get going. It's a long ride back to the Citadel."

And so he climbed into the Normandy's airlock, hearing the familiar tones that the CO and XO were back and their cover stood relieved. Soon, they were leaving the planet behind, blasting off into space with the hope of finding more help against the Reapers. As he watched Tuchanka disappear from view, Alistair could only hope there would still be a planet there when everything was over.

All he could do was keep going and hope it made a difference. That was enough for the moment.