“So we're not going to pretend you like me, so why am I here?”
	The front of the helmet is transparent, providing a clear view of Gendo Ikari's face.  Either the glass is sturdy, they're not expecting a fight, or they're not too concerned with his safety.  He can lay even odds on all three.
	He'll say this much for Wrex- he leads from the front.  Which is why Gendo is walking alongside the turtle alien, in front of the squad of Quarians and Vorcha they've taken with them to Mars.
	“Honestly?  It was Fai's suggestion.”  Wrex snorts.  “Also, you can make an AT Field and that's useful if we run into a Prothean Evangelion down here.”
	“There's no records of the Protheans having Evangelion technology.”  Her face hidden by a more concealing helmet, dressed in white and pink armor, Amira practically skips next to them.  “Although, if the Prothean Evangelions did perform an Impact event, they may have retroactively erased evidence of their existence, which would explain it.”
	Gendo looks up, drowning out the Asari's lecture on Prothean history.  Above them, the pale blue and orange sky has not a cloud in it, and Gendo Ikari marvels in the fact that he's the first human to step on Mars.
	The outpost itself is partially embedded in a mountain.  Cyberwarfare systems scramble external cameras, leaving the naked eye to verify that this is, indeed, an alien structure.  Which explains why none of the probes or rovers found it.
	As they approach, Gendo appreciates the size of it, the obvious mechanical nature of it.  Plate metal and glowing green lines, edged and etched and carved into a red mountain.  An alien structure, so different from the Seeds they found in Antarctica and Hakone.
	He spends time admiring it, taking in the shapes, the markings on this extraterrestrial structure, that he doesn't notice that the others have been sent into the structure.  Leaving him alone with Wrex.
	Wrex has his shotgun out, but they are in front of a possibly dangerous alien structure.  “So why am I not dead?” Gendo asks.
	Wrex shrugs.  “Yui told me about you,” Wrex says with a snort, “Leave it at that.  I figured we should talk.”
	Gendo nods.  Inwardly, he wonders what Yui told him about.  Folding his hands behind him, he looks past the admiral, at the structure.  At the martian sky.  “Very well.  Let's talk.”  He turns back to Wrex, face passive.  “So why did you adopt Shinji?”
	“Well, he passed the Rite.”  Wrex grins, eyes closed, face nostalgic.  “Brings me back.  After the whole thing with the Angel on the Citadel I decided to adopt the kid, so we had to go through the Rite of Passage.  Problem was that you have to fight a Thresher Maw to pass the Rite, and the first three times it showed up, Yui'd charge in and kill it.”
	He chuckles, low and scratchy.  “Third time, two Maws showed up, and she killed one by beating it to death with the other.  Still, the Shaman called bullshit on it and after that even the Maws were too scared to show up, until...”


	Tuchanka.
	Three years ago.
	Shinji's iron grip relaxes on the turret propped up on the half wall.  The arena is silent- for an expectant, tense hour have the four of them stood in the old and honored holy ground, and finally Shinji's knees give way.   Next to him, Kenn'Reegar check the batteries of his hastily assembled turret and gives the kid a nod.  Lia walks over, her barriers flickering flickering from the sheer volume of toxins in the air, and she pulls Shinji to his feet.
	“Well.”  They turn to Wrex, the massive krogan trotting over and flipping up the mask of his red helmet.  “Looks like it's a wash.  C'mon, let's get some grub and-”
	The ground rumbles.  Something moves beneath.  Something that twists and grinds the stones and makes the earth liquify.  At the edges of the arena, the krogans watching, clans from throughout the ancient and barren world, begin to chant.  Louder, and louder.  More and more.  Thousands assembled to watch the heir of Urdnot and his ward, rumors spread of the immense machine of war and the acts of inspired heroism.
	Four three days, have they anticipated the coming of a Maw.  For three days, have the Maws been silent, for never has something slain four of them so easily.
	Today, the Krogan can sense it in their bones, in their souls.  Thousands of Krogans chant a word of ancient tongue.  A sound guttural and simple.  A prayer to one who earns their worship.
	“Hey, Wrex,” Kenn yells, “What does Kalros mean?”
	The answer comes in the form of the far wall shattering, and a worm to end all worms rising from the rubble.  Dwarfing them, dwarfing the arena, dwarfing even the thresher maws who had previously wandered into their sights, the beast bares its pincers and roars.  Almost as loudly as their screams.


	“...and after we drove her off, the Shaman declared the Rite complete, Shinji was a member of Clan Urdnot, and my adopted son.”
	Gendo blinks.  “That's 'how.'  I was asking 'why.'”
	Wrex shrugs.  “I have a soft spot for kids with shitty parents.  Speaking of which.”
	He walks over, placing a hand on Gendo's shoulder.  “Shinji, despite all the shit you put him through, still loves you.  You're his father.  On the other hand, I'm his Dad.”  The Krogan grins, and it is not warm.  It is similar, in fact, to smiles he has seen on Katsuragi.  “If you do anything to hurt Shinji, emotionally, I will hurt you physically.  He can walk away.”
	Wrex narrows his eyes, and Gendo understands.  He understands well.
	“I, on the other hand, wouldn't be able to.”
	Wrex hums an acknowledgment.  Then their omnitools light up.  “Admiral,” the quarian says, “We've found something.”