“The vids don’t do this place justice!” Marla exclaimed, gawking at the bustling Citadel like a kid in a toystore.
It’s easy to forget the sheer scale of the Citadel when it’s a grocery run or a refueling station two or three times a week. But Marla had never been off Tuchanka, and even with the rebuilding efforts, Tuchanka was a far cry from the enormous spaceport.
“These are just the wards. If we have time, perhaps we could visit the Citadel,” Nyanna suggested.
“That’d be great! See the krogan statue, eat at a real cafe, take a dip in the pond-”
“Absolutely not.”
“Alright, alright, no pond. But I seriously gotta see that statue.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that.”
Nyanna led the way through the wards using her omni-tool’s navigation software, half-listening to Marla as she raved about everything they passed.
“This is the place.” Nyanna stopped in front of a door to an apartment. “Hopefully Roah will be able to help figure out why her son was attacked.”
“I got this,” Marla stated, knocking heavily on the door, rattling the metal with the forceful gesture.
After a few moments, the door slid open, and a very confused krogan stood in front of them.
“Marla?” she asked, a smirk appearing. “The hell are you doin’ here? That bar finally fire ya’?”
“Heh- came here on official business.” She gestures hastily towards Nyanna. “She’s a Justicar.”
“Justicar?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What’s this about, Marla?”
“Listen, Roah, I dunno a good way to tell ya so I’ll just say it. Grontt is dead. He was murdered. Justicar Nyanna is investigating it.”
“Don’t tell me that shit, Marla!” Roah snapped, suddenly up in the other krogan’s face. “You know Grontt! He doesn’t get into any trouble, doesn’t have an enemy in the galaxy. Can’t believe you, tryin’ to feed me this bullshit-”
“Listen, Ro! He’s fucking dead. Get it through your thick skull. Grontt. Is. Dead.”
Roah was shaking, though it was hard for Nyanna to tell if it was from grief or anger.
It was anger, she decided, when Roah reeled back and headbutted Marla without a lick of restraint. Marla just barely remained standing.
“Does that make you feel better, Ro? Deny the truth, get mad at me, I don’t care. But none of that will help us find who killed him.”
The other krogan tensed, and Nyana was worried she would hit Marla again.
“Damn it! Marla, how?” The krogan broke down, shaking, suddenly looking small as she stood in the doorway. “Thanks for comin’ to tell me, Mar. It’s... probably better that I heard it from you.”
Marla rested her hand gently on her friend’s shoulder and slowly led the way inside.
Nyanna was still somewhat confused- but she was impressed with how well Marla handled the situation. She was glad that she didn’t come on her own.
“Now, I know it’s tough, Ro- but please. If there’s anything you can tell Nyanna that might help...”
“Yeah, yeah okay... I dunno if I’ll be much help, but what’ya want to know?”
“Do you know why someone would want to hurt your son?”
“There’s no reason. He never got into any trouble, not even as a kid. No C-sec record, no merc ties, nothin’. That planet was supposed to be safer than the wards! I promise, if there was anything at all, I’d tell ya, but he was clean.”
“And his work at the museum- nobody would target him for that?”
“He was just a security guard. Unless something was stolen, there was no reason to go after him. He wasn’t important or nothin’, not in that sense.
“Last e called me, he was raving about some new exhibit. He got tosee the behind-the-scenes, since he was on duty while they were settin’ it up. Nothing was stolen?”
“No, nothing at all, the museum staff is positive. That’s why we believe he was specifically targeted.”
“All I can tell ya is that he loved bein’ in that museum. He loved learning new things about all the different cultures of the galaxy. If you want more leads, I think you gotta go back there.”
“Thank you, Roah. I appreciate your help. And I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Just catch the bastards.”
“You know it,” Marla assured her. “I’ll find ‘em, Ro.”
“You better.”
They left the mother to grieve, both of them quiet as they tried to think of anything she said that could lead to any clues.
“Sorry she couldn’t give you much,” Marla lamented. “But it was good to tell her, I think.”
“I still can’t believe she hit you!”
“You haven’t been around many krogans, have you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Heh. I knew she’d lash out. Didn’t want her to lash out at you and get herself killed. What with the Code and all.”
“Surely I could’ve handled it without resorting to that.”
“She took it pretty well when it was comin’ from me.”
“That was taking it well?”
“You really haven’t been around krogans much.”
“No, I suppose not.” The Justicar laughed. “Let’s go see the Presidium.”
shokerr
