KAYA:	This episode contains discussion of pregnancy, miscarriage, and postpartum depression. Listener discretion is advised.
VI:	A podcast by the Intergalactic Improv Initiative.
KAYA:	Dangerous Dangers, Minisode Five: A Tuchankan Letter of Resignation, featuring the voices of Tiff Compton and creator Kaya Renwick. 

We either win it all or we lose it all. There isn't any in-between this time. I Should Roll.
VI:	Day 46 of Atamakh’s Slumber, Year 0 Post-Genophage; October 14th, 2187, Terran Universal Coordinated Calendar. Tuchanka, Aralakh System, Krogan DMZ.
KAYA:	Late 2187 in the Terran calendar finds Tuchanka in its normal state of dusty chaos. The war ended, [elongated] eh, most of a year ago. A whole bunch of the active krogan warriors were on Earth or elsewhere in the galaxy when the relays went down, and no one knows why, because with the relays going down, so did all of the extranet. There has been no word from anything outside of the Aralakh system for quite some time now. 

Urdnot Bakara has been keeping order through a judicious combination of yelling at people, talking to people, and knocking people's heads together… and sometimes knocking people in the head, in good krogan fashion. And, you know, all-out chaos hasn't quite broken out in that there are still people living on Tuchanka. The situation is—has gotten pretty grim, despite the genophage being cured: there are new babies being born, but there is a general lack of resources and things are starting to get a little dicey by the time we roll around… 

Except that about twelve hours ago, give or take, a commandeered turian fighter swooped into orbit, and the very excitable young krogan that landed a little awkwardly—the wing might need a little work, but that’s fine—ran up to Bakara and said the relay is back online. 

This news has spread like wildfire on Tuchanka would, if there was any foliage left to burn. And that news has reached the ears of one Ravanor Vraga. What is she up to right now?
TIFF:	Hearing about it just in passing, she's, you know, the—just a couple shaman sisters talking about it as she's walking by, obviously makes her stop, and everything… All of her plans kind of come to fruition in her head at once. It's like, 
“This is the time. It's happening.” So she was on her way to do some such task, but that is no longer her priority. She is now making a beeline for where she can find Bakara, wherever that would be.
KAYA:	Okay. So let's nail down a couple of things here. Vraga—is she still functioning as a shaman at the moment, or did she hang up that mantle when she became a mother?
TIFF:	So…that’s actually a… I never thought about that, but that's a good question, because, I mean, you can—I guess you can be both at the same time, but I feel like after she became a mother, it would have been more just staying with the female clan for the sake of her son. 
KAYA:	Mm hmm.
TIFF:	So, I feel like it had been known for a while that her heart wasn't in it, when it comes to being a shaman. 
KAYA:	Mm. Sure.
TIFF:	So once she became a mother, she just sort of did what she had to do to save face, I guess.
KAYA:	Sure. How long has she been a shaman?
TIFF:	Geez, I'm going to say the better part of a century, I would say, because her being—what did I say? Four hundred and fifty-nine years old, I think is what I said.
KAYA:	[overlapping] Yeah, four hundred and fifty-something, yeah.
TIFF:	Yeah, I would say a better part of a century and most of it was on the—she was kind of pressured to follow in family footsteps. 
KAYA:	Okay. Okay.
TIFF:	So.
KAYA:	One more question: how old is her son?
TIFF:	I was going with between one and two. Very, very young. 
KAYA:	Yeah. Okay.
TIFF:	Yeah. Like, just like, born just after the genophage was cured.
KAYA:	[overlapping] Okay. So yeah, he would be, he would—well, the genophage was cured in November of 2186. It's now October of 2187. So…
TIFF:	Okay. Yeah. So then just under a year, yeah.
KAYA:	Okay, okay, okay. So she got it over with pretty quick. 
TIFF: 	Yes, she did! 
KAYA: 	Okay.
TIFF:	She's—I have, I made a couple notes about that, actually. The fact that as soon as it happened, she went up to Clan Ravanor's leader and was like, “Alright, [snaps fingers] let's just get this done. I'm out afterwards.” [laughs]
KAYA:	Oh, I love that. Okay, okay, that makes me laugh.
TIFF:	[overlapping] So yeah.
KAYA:	I believe it's canon that most—that clans all have their own territory, and so, Ravanor territory is some distance away from Urdnot territory. However, I also believe it's canon that up until the genophage was cured, all of the females lived in the female clan.
TIFF:	Yeah. 
KAYA: 	And so… Would Ravanor—so, did Vraga go back to her birth clan, do you think?
TIFF:	What I—So, what I had thought was she was definitely living with in the female clan before the genophage, and then once the genophage was cured, she went back to the Ravanor clan lands to do her ‘feminine duty,’ and then once she became pregnant, she went back to the female clan.
KAYA:	[overlapping] Okay, okay. So then I think the… I think the name I picked for that was the Kelpha, I think it was the Kelpha clan. 
TIFF:	Okay.
KAYA:	Okay. So you were going from the female—former female clan territory, which is currently populated with all the ladies who did not want to go back to their birth clans or to whatever clan they wanted to, because really, who's going to argue?
TIFF:	Exactly.
KAYA:	And you? Do you—how are you getting there? Are you commandeering a tomkah? Are you humpin’ it? What's your plan?
TIFF:	So where is—where would Bakara be right now?
KAYA:	Bakara would be in Urdnot territory. 
TIFF:	In Urdnot territory, okay. So—
KAYA:	Yeah, yeah, that big-ass stone throne that we go and see Wrex at all the time [chuckles] in ME2? She's right there.
TIFF:	[elongated] Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So yeah, she would definitely hoof it towards… because there are definitely, I know that there are vehicles that allow male krogan to come to and from to do their, you know, duty. 
KAYA:	Mm-hmm. [chuckles]
TIFF:	So she would definitely be looking to grab one of those. 
KAYA:	[overlapping] The tomkahs.
TIFF:	There's a name for that—one of those vehicles. I can't remember it.
KAYA: 	Tomkahs.
TIFF: 	That's what it is. Thank you. She would grab one, definitely. And I guess, I don't know, would I have to roll something—
KAYA:	[overlapping] No, that’s fine. I—no I don’t—no.
TIFF:	[overlapping] to do that without being seen? Okay. Cool. Yeah.
KAYA:	I don’t think anybody argues. It’s like, “You taking a tomkah? Yeah. All right, whatever. Try not to die, if you want.” 
TIFF:	[overlapping] Yeah, I feel like at this point, [chuckles] at this point, she's, someone sees her doing something. They're not really going argue—
KAYA:	Yeah.
TIFF:	—because she's seen her in the training room, yeah. She would grab one of the vehicles for sure and immediately make a beeline towards Urdnot territory.
KAYA:	Okay. What's she thinking about on her way there? We'll say it's, like, a couple of hours and it's—I mean, the Reapers did hit Tuchanka. And also Tuchanka was kind of a wasteland to begin with. And so it's it's, it's a mess, right? Nothing's growing. Everything is, everything is destroyed. You know, people are trying to eke out whatever existence they can, but it's not a great place to live right now. So what's on—what’s on her mind as she drives to Urdnot territory?
TIFF:	So, the reason she has wanted to get off Tuchanka for so long is because she wants the future to be better for Tuchanka and for everyone on there. So I guess what she's thinking as she's driving is, “Bakara is not going to be able to refute my logic. There's no way she's going to see me leaving as a bad thing. I only want to make the future better for my child and for every other new krogan child, and to raise the krogan up to where they should be in galactic society.”
KAYA:	Awesome. Okay. Alright. Vraga and her tomkah trundle into Urdnot territory. There is obviously a checkpoint, because of course, there’s a checkpoint. You think krogan border security isn't a thing? Krogan border security is definitely a thing. [TIFF giggles] And so, you come up to the—come up to said checkpoint, where a grumpy looking krogan is manning it with a shotgun that has definitely seen better days… and I don't imagine tomkahs have windows that roll down, so you probably, like, crank the door open and lean out, and he looks up at you and he's… He's on the younger side because, you know, all of the, like, the real good warriors, they went off to fight.
TIFF:	Mm hmm.
KAYA:	And so a lot of them were on Palaven when the relays went down, a lot of them were on Earth, or, like, all over the place—the krogan were being accepted as part of the galaxy, you know…provisionally. [chuckles]
TIFF:	[chuckles] Yeah. 
KAYA:	And so this guy, you know, he's—so, fun fact: one Tuchankan year is equal to approximately seventeen Terran years. 
TIFF: 	Oh, wow, okay. 
KAYA: 	Yeah. And so he's— this kid is like maybe half a Tuchankan year out of his Rite of Passage, so he's like, he's like twenty-five. The equivalent. Like he's young. He's an adult…
TIFF:	Sure. 
KAYA:	And he's, you know, he's already got a few scars because you can't not have them on Tuchanka. 
TIFF:	Yeah.
KAYA:	And he obviously knows how to use his shotgun, but to you? Li’l baby. Cute li’l baby. Stupid little baby, you know.
TIFF:	Barely not, you know, barely out of the egg.
KAYA:	Yeah. Pretty much. And so he looks—he looks up at you and… Does Vraga wear the veils? Or no?
TIFF:	Not anymore. 
KAYA:	Okay.
TIFF:	She used to—
KAYA: 	Okay.
TIFF:	—at the beginning, but not anymore. She is in her regular purple and gold.
KAYA:	Alright, she's in her hardsuit, her armor. Okay, alright. He looks up at you—immediately, obviously clocks that Vraga is female and is appropriately respectful; his mama taught him right—and he says,
GUARD:	State your business, ma'am.
VRAGA:	I'm here to see Urdnot Bakara. It’s urgent.
KAYA:	Roll me an Intimidate with advantage.
TIFF:	[excited] Okay. Sixteen.
KAYA:	So the DC on this was very low. I wanted to see how much you would beat it by. [chuckles]
TIFF:	Fair enough.
KAYA:	And you beat it handily. And he goes:
GUARD:	Of course, drive ahead.
KAYA:	And backs off and lets you through.
TIFF:	Nice. Yeah. She just nods and closes the door real shut, real fast and then keeps on going.
KAYA:	[overlapping] Yeah. Thunk! [chuckles]

You trundle into the camp, which does not look any better or worse than any other clan’s territory on Tuchanka, really. Urdnot doesn't really, doesn't get anything special for being the current lead clan of the planet. And Bakara has made a point of that over the last most of the year. She's leading and she's leading by example. Okay, so you find a spot where you feel like leaving your tomkah. I don't imagine krogan have any concept of parking lots. [chuckles] It’s just wherever.
TIFF:	Probably not. “This spot is now mine.”
KAYA:	Yeah, exactly. “I'm, I'm stopping here. This is good for me.” And you jump out and thud to the dusty ground. And head over to the quote-unquote ‘throne area’ where you can see Bakara is engaged in an almost-heated discussion with someone or other. You guess from the color of the armor he might be one of the semi-disenfranchised Weyrloc clan buddies who kind of got screwed over after the whole deal with Maelon and everything. And they're—they're not coming to blows, voices aren't quite raised yet, but you can tell she's starting to run out of patience with this guy. What do you do?
TIFF:	So as she walks past the varren pits, she just kind of grabs a chunk of pyjak meat that was sitting there and throws it at one of the varren. 
[KAYA makes cartoonish eating sounds]
TIFF:	She finally finds her way to the ruined throne, and she kind of gives them enough space to continue talking until someone notices her. But she's definitely watching with, like, arms crossed, leaning against a pillar like, “Who is going to come out on this?” And she knows who's going to come out winning on this, it’s gonna be Bakara because she knows her, [chuckles] but it's fun to see the Weyrloc struggle, so.
KAYA:	Yeah. So from the sounds of it, you're there—and so, yeah, you, you walk up and Bakara clocks you immediately because this is her job and it's—there's not really any place to hide it around that thing, right? So she sees you walk up and she acknowledges you with this—you know, she meets your eyes and gives you a little nod, and then she goes back to listening to this blowhard who is just rambling about, you know, his clan is starving, and they're all wasting away and their humps are caving in from lack of food, and what kind of a leader is she to not, you know, help them in their time of need… And she's looking at this and she glances at you. 

And so you—I'm going to give you an opportunity here to basically do a quick-time event of your choosing, if you so desire. So this is like, you know, the Paragon or Renegade interrupt on screen if you want it, go for it—
TIFF:	[overlapping] Yeah, sure, sure. 
KAYA:	—if you don’t, you can just let it pass. 
TIFF:	[considers] Vraga is going to push off the pillar and walk up to the Clan Weyrloc leader…and headbutt him.
KAYA:	Okay. Roll me…roll me an attack.
TIFF:	Let's do it.
KAYA:	I want to say that's probably, depending on how many levels of, I think, Fitness or Mastery, it’ll start at 4d6…because all krogan are proficient in head butting. So.
TIFF:	Yeah, my Fitness makes it—my Fitness makes it be 6d4 melee damage roll so 6d4.
KAYA:	Love. It. So, no, you do 6d6 because that's the attack and then it's—
VI:	Right.
KAYA:	—what your weight class is, yeah.
TIFF:	Hey, not bad.
KAYA:	Okay, so that is a critical success, plus two mixed successes. 
TIFF:	Hell yes.
KAYA:	And so, with a—a krogan headbutt is, I believe, heavy or major damage. And so that's—it's a decent amount of —you've headbutted a few people in your time. You know how to make it hurt. 
TIFF:	Yeah. 
KAYA:	And so you get in his face and you lean back, and he is like between words when he clocks you. And you see in his eyes the progression from, “Get out of my face, you—oh shit, you're a female,” to, “Oh, I'm fuckin’ dead!” [TIFF chuckles] And then it is crest to crest, thunk, and he stumbles back, clutching his head. 

And I mean, you haven't done him any major damage. He's an old guy, like, he's got regeneration in spades. But you have seriously bruised his ego. No joke. And like there are other people around, like, there are other krogan hanging around waiting to talk to Bakara or just, like, whatever, right? Nobody's like right up there with you, but they're around and they see this and he knows they see this. 

And he, clutching his—clutching his head, or, hand to his head. looks up at her to see if she's—whose side she's on in this. And I mean, you know, whose side she's on. You know, whose side she's on for sure. 
TIFF:	[chuckles] Yeah.
KAYA:	But she looks at him…and she spits at his feet.
TIFF:	Damn. Cold-blooded.
KAYA:	And she says, [chuckles] she says,
BAKARA:	If Clan Weyrloc cannot provide for its own, then Clan Weyrloc is not worthy of calling themselves krogan. Get out of my camp and do not come back until you grow a quad.
KAYA:	And—
TIFF:	Fuck yeah.
KAYA:	Right? Oh, I love her. And he says,
WEYRLOC:	[emotionally burned] Yes, viaha.
KAYA:	And stumbles away. And you see a few other krogan in the crowd kinda hide a, “Serves him right, the fucker,” [TIFF chuckles] sort of thing. And of course, you know, there's a few people who are like [grumbles] because, you know, this is how krogan politics works. 
TIFF:	Yeah, exactly.
KAYA:	But nobody raises a fuss because nobody else wants to get headbutted. Not that day, anyway.
	And there. Yeah. And. And so he stumbles away grumbling and Bakara watches him go, then turns to you.
BAKARA:	[chuckles] That was beautiful. Vraga! How are you?
VRAGA:	Well, I can't say that I lack in timing.
BAKARA:	[another chuckle] You never have.
VRAGA:	It's good to see you again, Bakara.
BAKARA:	And you.
VRAGA:	Do you have a moment? I know you're busy.
BAKARA:	Always.
TIFF:	She kind of pauses, because she knows what she wants to say, and it's not in her character to not just say what she wants to say, but at the same time, this is serious… 
KAYA:	Sure.
TIFF:	And Bakara would know her as someone who relies heavily on comedy. She's very like, you know, she's that kind of jokey person. She uses comedy to hide pain and sadness and all that stuff, right? 
KAYA:	Oh, yeah! Oh yeah. 
TIFF:	Her expression kind of changes from happy to see her to more serious… She looks down at the ground for a second and then looks directly into her eyes and says.
VRAGA:	With all due respect, I'm leaving.
KAYA:	Bakara meets Vraga’s eyes steadily…does not flinch at this pronouncement…gives it a heartbeat or two and then says,
BAKARA:	Where to?
VRAGA:	Heh. Well… Wherever the credits are flowing.
KAYA:	Her brow ridge sort of arches a little bit. And she says,
BAKARA:	Of all the things I could see you doing, being a merc was not high on the list. I'm missing something here.
VRAGA:	I'm not in it to get rich, Bakara. We need resources. Tuchanka is not going to rebuild itself—and while we may have the manpower to make it happen, we do not have the credits. I heard that the Aralakh relay is now up and running.
BAKARA:	It is. 
VRAGA:	It seems the appropriate time.
KAYA:	She listens. She nods. She says,
BAKARA:	Very logical of you. I can respect that. Hell, some days I wish I could follow you, but no!
KAYA:	She kind of looks out at the crowd.
BAKARA:	I'm stuck here making sure these idiots don't kill themselves.
KAYA:	And a few of them kind of, like, awkwardly turn and avoid her gaze. She turns back to you and says.
BAKARA:	You're absolutely right. And your foresight is something I wish more of our people had. 

You know as well as I do that we have nothing to offer you to support you. I can send you with my goodwill and a promise that, once the galaxy gets its shit together, I'm behind you. 
[long beat]
BAKARA: 	What of your son?
TIFF:	The moment that she brings up her son, she kind of stiffens a little bit. Her posture becomes a little more straightened, and almost uncomfortable. If there was ever a moment where Bakara had known her, like…Bakara knew her before she was a mother. She changed. 
KAYA:	I mean, they would have lived in the female clan for—
TIFF:	[overlapping] Exactly. Yeah. 
KAYA:	[overlapping]—hundreds of years now.
TIFF:	Yeah, she changed when she became a mother. She got, weirdly enough, it seemed more distant? Like she wasn't sure how to be a nurturing person. It's almost…I kind of in my mind likened it to some sort of krogan postpartum depression. You know what I mean?
KAYA:	Sure. Absolutely. 
TIFF:	Yeah.
KAYA:	A species— so, here: [rhetorically] how many miscarriages has Vraga had? How many stillborns?
TIFF:	Yeah. And that's the thing like—that's the thing… I've thought of a lot. 
KAYA:	[overlapping] Yeah. 
TIFF:	And another thing that kind of led to all of this, like, along with the miscarriages: all of the, you know, not trysts, but, like, arranged pairings— 
KAYA:	[overlapping] Yup. Yup.
TIFF:	—with these males has really made her jaded when it comes to traditional relationships. 
KAYA:	Totally.
TIFF:	So her interest in krogan males is nonexistent now. 
KAYA:	Fair enough, man.
TIFF:	So yeah. So yeah, that's just kind of one, I guess one factor in what her—what makes her the way she is, you know?
KAYA:	Sure, yeah. So you said she stiffens up, she gets uncomfortable. 
TIFF:	Yes.
KAYA:	Does she say anything? Do you? You can also Insight check Bakara to ask, like, figure out why she's saying this.
TIFF:	I will do that after I—yeah. But I do have something. 
KAYA:	[overlapping] Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Okay. Putting that, putting that pin in there. Go.
TIFF:	[overlapping] Yeah, yeah, for sure.
VRAGA:	While Brek is still young and will not understand why I'm leaving—hell, he may not even remember me when I come back—Tusk will tell him why I left and that it was for the betterment of him and all other krogan children that were born after the genophage.
KAYA:	Bakara nods.
BAKARA:	So you're leaving him with Clan Ravanor, then.
VRAGA:	I have spoken to Tusk regarding this, and he is well aware of my intentions. I, ah, just need to tell him what time—when I'm leaving. He knows that Brek will stay with the females to be raised. Apart from that, I see no reason to doubt the females. They will raise Brek right—and I'm hoping you will also intercede in that. He needs a strong hand.
BAKARA:	Of course. Anything for a sister. When will you go?
VRAGA:	As soon as I can find a ship that is space-worthy.
[BAKARA chuckles]
KAYA:	Her eyes shift off to the horizon, and she says,
BAKARA:	Well, there's the turian fighter that came in today. If you can fix it up, you're welcome to it. [more chuckling]
VRAGA:	Didn't that come down and smolder?
BAKARA:	[elongated] Ah, it's no worse than some of the tomkahs around here.
KAYA:	You can tell she's joking, like… [both laugh] Okay—she sobers after you two share this moment of sisterly friendship. You've—you guys have been through hell together, right? As—both as shamans, members of the female clan… You might have even been there with her when she decided to volunteer for Maelon’s trials.
TIFF:	Very against that, I think, honestly?
KAYA:	Oh, I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah. You may have even been there when she was—when she was taken to Sur’Kesh. You guys have been through a lot. And so yeah, you share this moment, and then she sobers and she leans forward, and she grips your arm—she grabs and grips your arm in the traditional krogan soldiers’ salute… Not the shamans’ way of greeting each other, but the soldiers’ way. 

She grips your arm and looks you in the eye, and says,
[VRAGA’s theme starts]
BAKARA:	I know Mother Atamakh will be with you always. You are one of the wisest krogan I have ever met. For this journey, I… I pray that Father Aralakh will give you every ounce of kick-ass strength and take no shit that he has given any krogan… and you go take that galaxy by storm.
KAYA:	She grips your arm one more time and pulls you in for a—like a, head to—a forehead to forehead. Sort of like a, you know, one step back from the headbutt like the head clunk sort of thing.
TIFF:	[overlapping] Sure. Yeah.
KAYA:	And what—what do you—what does Vraga do?
TIFF:	It doesn't go unnoticed, the fact that she gave her the soldiers’ welcome and sort of like what passes for a krogan hug. It gives her that one extra push that tells her that Bakara, like, she's got her back, Bakara completely understands and supports her. And…whatever passes for emotion for—like a happy, you know, cry sort of emotion with krogan, kind of…her eyes sort of glaze over slightly. She says,
VRAGA:	I intend to bring glory to Tuchanka once more. And that glory will not go squandered, because you are in leadership of one of the strongest clans on our planet. I would do this for you, for my son, and for my clan, and for all krogan.
KAYA:	She listens to this, keeps a good grip on your— on your arm and does a [enthusiastic grunt] and lets you go.
TIFF:	Vraga turns back towards Bakara and she kind of smirks and says, 
VRAGA:	By the way, don't let the males name our children anymore. Brek is simply an utteration that Tusk made after drinking way too much sovak juice.
KAYA:	Bakara laughs; says,
BAKARA:	A lot of things are going to change around here. Now get the hell off my planet!
[TIFF laughs]
VI:	You have been listening to I Should Roll: Dangerous Dangers, Minisode Five: A Tuchankan Letter of Resignation, featuring the voices of Tiff Compton as Ravanor Vraga and Kaya Renwick as everyone and everything else. 

Music and sound effects are used under Creative Commons or royalty-free licenses. For the extended credits, please see the show notes, and for more information, please visit ishouldroll.com. Find us everywhere on social media at I Should Roll and don't forget to leave us a review. 

I Should Roll is an Intergalactic Improv Initiative production. This fan podcast is a transformative work and is not affiliated with Electronic Arts or BioWare. 

Thank you for listening, and have a pleasant day.
KAYA:	Hi, Kaya here. Thanks for listening to I Should Roll. We love having the opportunity to explore an entire galaxy's worth of stories, whether they're funny, serious, or anything in between. If something in an episode resonates with you, we want to hear about it. Comment on our Instagram, or find us anywhere else on social media at I Should Roll. We can't wait to say hello.