Post by Urdnot Thrak on Mar 26, 2017 7:22:41 GMT -6
Thrak placed another fist-sized rock on the little makeshift stand he had created. It was rare that he indulged in the alien hobby, but it was as good a thing as any for him to do; Clan Weyrlok had been quiet of late. Still, his eyes carefully surveyed the field where he stood guard before drawing his war hammer. He took a couple steps back before taking a quick charge, slamming his hammer into the rock.
His eyes left the course of the ballistic piece of Tuchanka as he heard a familiar, half-crazed laugh. "Those are Clan Urdnot rocks, you know. Go easy on them!"
He grunted out a curt, "Wrex."
"What are you doing out here? People will think you're crazy if they find you out here beating rocks."
Thrak shrugged. "It's a human game. 'Golf' they call it."
"Golf, huh?"
"Yeah. I took this bodyguard position for a human once. He took me to a place called a 'driving range,' where a bunch of people were hitting these tiny white balls as far as they could. They use these tiny metal rods they call 'clubs,' though I don't know why. Don't think even a krogan could kill much but a human or salarian with one," Thrak explained.
"Anyway, the client was one of the top few players at the range. He thought it would be funny to have me hit the ball, show his friends and other bodyguards that brute strength wasn't everything.
"So, I walked up, took my hammer off my back, and swung. A bunch of people got really quiet, then they got really excited. Someone asked me to do it again, and I did. Apparently, I broke some kind of record or something, because the club gave me a big, free steak dinner and tons of this stuff called 'beer.' I didn't realize the beer was alcohol until I had drank a gallon or so.
"People kept asking me to hit the ball, though, and I did. Some people wanted to train me. Others wanted me to play on some kind of tournament. I wasn't interested.
"One of the best days of my life. The human I was guarding wasn't having so much fun, though." Thrak cackled.
"How far can you hit it?" Wrex asked.
Thrak found another roundish rock and grabbed a can of neon orange spray paint. After marking the stone, he hit the rock. It went hundreds of meters before hitting the ground.
Wrex grunted a minor acknowledgement of the feat.
"Want to see something REALLY impressive?"
Wrex raised an eyebrow.
Thrak took out a custom grenade, one he designed for this exact purpose. It was heavily armored and equipped with a unique dual-impact kinetic detonator. He painted the grenade, set it down, and charged his hammer with biotic force. The air cracked with the impact of the hammer with the grenade.
Wrex stared off at the horizon. Several long seconds passed. His brow furrowed, and he looked back to Thrak. "I think you shattered it."
Thrak only nodded back towards Weyrlok's territory before them. A few more moments later, there was an extremely distant but significant explosion.
Wrex broke into deep laughter.
"Can't aim worth a damn, though," Thrak laughed. It took a long time for the laughter to die, but when it did, he asked, "What do you want, Wrex?"
Getting serious, his battlemaster said, "Shadow Broker contacted me. Needs someone strong, smart, and trustworthy."
Thrak thought about it. "Grunt."
Wrex shook his head. "I have plans for the whelp. No, it's you."
"Wrex, we just got home," he argued. True, it had been around a year, but that was after years and years of what was essentially exile.
"I know, and I've tried giving you time. I made you my personal guard, and you said it was too boring. Not sure how that many assassination attempts is boring... wasn't for me. Then I tried to make you my chief lieutenant, but you said there were others better suited. I tried to put you in command of my best company, and you said you weren't looking to command. Now, I have one of my best battlemasters guarding a no-man's-land that not even a crazy thresher maw would cross. I thought you needed time, but here I find you playing golf. I'm done with it. I need everyone behind me doing their best for the future of the krogan. Right now, you're not."
"What are you saying?" Thrak asked.
"I'm saying 'Get the hell off this rock and earn us some money so I can use it to save our people."
Thrak sighed, his posture slackened. "As you command, battle master."
His eyes left the course of the ballistic piece of Tuchanka as he heard a familiar, half-crazed laugh. "Those are Clan Urdnot rocks, you know. Go easy on them!"
He grunted out a curt, "Wrex."
"What are you doing out here? People will think you're crazy if they find you out here beating rocks."
Thrak shrugged. "It's a human game. 'Golf' they call it."
"Golf, huh?"
"Yeah. I took this bodyguard position for a human once. He took me to a place called a 'driving range,' where a bunch of people were hitting these tiny white balls as far as they could. They use these tiny metal rods they call 'clubs,' though I don't know why. Don't think even a krogan could kill much but a human or salarian with one," Thrak explained.
"Anyway, the client was one of the top few players at the range. He thought it would be funny to have me hit the ball, show his friends and other bodyguards that brute strength wasn't everything.
"So, I walked up, took my hammer off my back, and swung. A bunch of people got really quiet, then they got really excited. Someone asked me to do it again, and I did. Apparently, I broke some kind of record or something, because the club gave me a big, free steak dinner and tons of this stuff called 'beer.' I didn't realize the beer was alcohol until I had drank a gallon or so.
"People kept asking me to hit the ball, though, and I did. Some people wanted to train me. Others wanted me to play on some kind of tournament. I wasn't interested.
"One of the best days of my life. The human I was guarding wasn't having so much fun, though." Thrak cackled.
"How far can you hit it?" Wrex asked.
Thrak found another roundish rock and grabbed a can of neon orange spray paint. After marking the stone, he hit the rock. It went hundreds of meters before hitting the ground.
Wrex grunted a minor acknowledgement of the feat.
"Want to see something REALLY impressive?"
Wrex raised an eyebrow.
Thrak took out a custom grenade, one he designed for this exact purpose. It was heavily armored and equipped with a unique dual-impact kinetic detonator. He painted the grenade, set it down, and charged his hammer with biotic force. The air cracked with the impact of the hammer with the grenade.
Wrex stared off at the horizon. Several long seconds passed. His brow furrowed, and he looked back to Thrak. "I think you shattered it."
Thrak only nodded back towards Weyrlok's territory before them. A few more moments later, there was an extremely distant but significant explosion.
Wrex broke into deep laughter.
"Can't aim worth a damn, though," Thrak laughed. It took a long time for the laughter to die, but when it did, he asked, "What do you want, Wrex?"
Getting serious, his battlemaster said, "Shadow Broker contacted me. Needs someone strong, smart, and trustworthy."
Thrak thought about it. "Grunt."
Wrex shook his head. "I have plans for the whelp. No, it's you."
"Wrex, we just got home," he argued. True, it had been around a year, but that was after years and years of what was essentially exile.
"I know, and I've tried giving you time. I made you my personal guard, and you said it was too boring. Not sure how that many assassination attempts is boring... wasn't for me. Then I tried to make you my chief lieutenant, but you said there were others better suited. I tried to put you in command of my best company, and you said you weren't looking to command. Now, I have one of my best battlemasters guarding a no-man's-land that not even a crazy thresher maw would cross. I thought you needed time, but here I find you playing golf. I'm done with it. I need everyone behind me doing their best for the future of the krogan. Right now, you're not."
"What are you saying?" Thrak asked.
"I'm saying 'Get the hell off this rock and earn us some money so I can use it to save our people."
Thrak sighed, his posture slackened. "As you command, battle master."