Blue eyes, slim face, long curly red hair slipped back into a tightly drawn pony-tail, eyes scanning, pupils small from the bright lights that lit the room, burning. His eyes burned to more he stared, squinting back shut after only a few seconds of being open, but he had still been able to see her face. His ears rang, everything felt loud and cacophonous, his head throbbed, as if about to explode under the pressure of his own blood, and he felt something missing. What could it be? Nothing was missing. But where was he, who was he. Perhaps that was what he was missing, the knowledge of himself. She was speaking to him, he could feel it pass the buzzing, but he couldn't make it out, not yet.

"It's no use, he can't hear me. Who calibrated his ears? They fucked up." She spoke, he could feel the vibrations on his metal bed. Was it metal? It was cold like metal. Perhaps a wood. "Someone ask Krios if his father was always deaf."

"Negative professor."

"Shit, well then call the otolaryngologist. I don't think he can hear me, perhaps his systems are adjusting, but that should have been accounted for when we put him in the chemical coma. Don't let Krios in yet, I don't want him to panic and go all nutso again." She paced the room, placing her thumb into her mouth, biting down ever so slightly on it, thinking. "Nobody touch him either, we can't let him go into shock."

"Ma'am, we did it, we one up'd Cerberus."

"Not yet, he's still… this. He's useless right now. And we got him in much better condition than the Lazarus project did theirs, but… we were more effective. I suppose this warrants celebrations. But we didn't do this to prove our superiority, we don't need to, it's obvious we're better than they were." She turned to face a salarian, standing tall and proud in the doorway, a smile barely tugging at his lips. "Too bad the geth turned out to be useless. But, it was a blessing we were able to restore him without cybernetics. I suppose this will do well in your research."

"It will, thank you professor."

"Ma'am, Krios is waiting for you. It would seem he hacked into the local area wireless, he wants to know why his father was awoken without his consent or knowledge."

She groaned, tossing her head back to look at the lights she had spent so long under in the past few weeks, carefully monitoring the Drell's life signs in preparation to wake him. "Tell him I'll be there in a moment, also upgrade our closed systems, I don't want him hacking in again. That's the second time this week. Heaven forbid his father hears his voice and panics for some reason. You know how dead people are- wait… that's backwards… it's the living that freak when they hear the dead. Whatever." She stepped out of the airlock, heeled boots echoing on the linoleum as she headed towards where young Krios always was, right outside the lab's doors. Just as she knew he would be there, there Kolyat was, sitting on the blue leather backless stools, legs crossed at his ankles.

"You said I could be there when you woke him up. You lied, yet again." He stood up, towering over her by at least half a foot, jaw tight with anger.

"Yes, however more recent data suggests that hearing your voice could have triggered memories too early and sent him into shock, we couldn't overload his mind too quickly, unless you would like your father to have a stroke and leave this lab a useless vegetable. Don't forget that handy little contract you signed, clause 4A, we could do whatever we wanted to the body in exchange for bringing him back to life, as long as we cured his Kepral's syndrome, which we have." She smiled up at him triumphantly, her gaze almost condescending, eyes narrowing as she placed her hands on her hips. "You also broke segment 16B… six times this month? The one that specifically stated you could not access any of our information or communication systems without the Project Head's permission, which is me, by the way."

"I wouldn't need to hack your systems if you just told me what you were doing to him!-"

"Section 23C, we don't need to tell you anything as long as the primary clauses are met. We covered all of this when you signed the contract, people really should pay attention to those before they sell their father's body."

"I am going to snap those glasses of yours-"

"I will shoot you if you so touch them. Do you know how hard it is to get lenses these days? Everyone is all about corrective surgery. I don't trust damn doctors."

"You're a doctor!"

"Technically I am a professor. See you at dinner." She turned around, her white lab coat trailing behind her as she swung the lab doors open, pausing mid-step, "And dinner will be in here tonight, I imagine you would want to dine with your father. I presume he will have regained most cognitive functions by then, until then we'll be running tests. And Kolyat, do try to knock this time, instead of hacking in. It's much easier on all of us."

He crossed his arms, looking at her pale face, "Fine. You want that Asari stuff as usual?"

"I would like him to try and eat solid foods… So get something your people eat often. Something that you ate while on Rakhana, not the stuff you adapted to on Kahje. I liked that cactus dish you made that one time, the sweet one with the nuts on it." She leaned on the door, "Does he like that?"

"I don't know Ivy, I didn't know him much as a kid. I would imagine so, I haven't met a Drell that didn't like it." He smiled as she folded her arms, looking angry, "Sorry, I know how much you hate when I address you so casually, Professor Koi."

"You do it on purpose you little brat." She smirked as she finished her revolution back into the lab, back onto the white linoleum. How sick of it she was. Everything had to be white, to be pure, so the slightest imperfection could easily be seen and scrubbed off. But nothing was perfect, so why try to make it that way. In the end, every surface had blemishes, and as much as we tried to sand them down, the smallest slip of the hand would only make even deeper craters. Imperfections are what separate individuals.

The redhead opened the door to her patient's room after everyone was gone. She was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. She couldn't risk anyone messing with her precious data, or even murdering the patient. "Thane Krios, can you hear me now? You may try and sit up as well."

His deep voice answered, echoing against all of the room's flat surfaces, the walls, tables, endless shelves that were empty other than the equipment monitoring his vital signs. "I can hear you, I have been collecting my thoughts. I feel as if I have awoken from a terrible dream, perhaps you could explain to me why I am here." He forced himself to sit up, muscles surprisingly at ease with the movement. "The last thing I remember, I was in a hospital on the Citadel saying my final prayers. I am supposed to be dead. My lungs no longer ache with every breath. Was it all a dream?"

She scanned the heart rate monitor, keeping her eyes on it, if there were any signs of cardiac arrest from shock, she would have to knock him out. She couldn't risk him dying after everything. Then the data would be ruined. "Why don't we discuss that over dinner, Kolyat should be here any minute."

"Kolyat is here?" His heart rate spiked from a brief moment at the mention of his son's name, it made him nervous, the subtle spike was just enough to make the Professor curious.

"Yes, he's getting dinner. He was the one who brought you to us… See, we have needs of your talents. He gave you to us to bring you back, in exchange for your service. Though you did get a great deal in the bargain, which I'm sure you're feeling in your lungs. Your whole race will benefit from what we were able to do here. Congratulations." She sat down on the opposite end of the room, pushing her silver rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. "You are living proof that we can now cure Kepral's syndrome. Sure, the treatment is quite expensive, not to mention extensive, but it can be done with genetherapy and several doses of medicines you wouldn't recognise the name of. Working on a corpse sure was beneficial, it's going to be quite painful for living patients, something we'll have to work on of course-"

"Ivy, are you trying to bore my father back to death?" Kolyat stepped into the room, a small metal box of warm food in his arms, "Please don't."

"How about you please don't joke about killing my patient. As if I would ever. This is a career breaking achievement after all."

Thane stared at his son for a moment, eyes beginning to tear up, "You brought me back, Kolyat."

The young Drell couldn't help but smile, "Actually, Professor Koi did, I just had to deal with her insanity for a few months, and her endless quotations of a contract she made me sign when I turned your body over to them, as well as having to get her dinner every night."

"Technically that was in the contract as well, see, I don't have time to cook much, and I hate eating out. There's far too many people, germs, and children, the worst of it all." She reached for the box in Kolyat's hands, which he gave to her without hesitation, and she stood up to head over to the table to cut it into small pieces for the once-dead man, rolling her neck as she did. "It sure has been a long day. Well days, actually."

"Because you don't sleep." Kolyat went to stand beside his father, taking his hands, "I am very thankful to have you back, thank Kalahua for returning you to us." He sat down after pulling a chair closer, "I suppose you have many questions."

"I do. Where are we? What happened to the reapers? Is the war still going on? What about Siha- I mean, Commander Shepard? Why did you bring me back? I appreciate the sentiment, as well as being cured, but I don't think any company would commit these resources unless there was something behind it, a meaning. The professor said she brought me back in exchange for my services." Ivy handed the food to him, gently placing a fork in his free hand, and he nodded to her in thanks.

Kolyat watch his father take a shaky bite, "Don't eat too quickly, your stomach has shrunk considerably."

"Kolyat did you hack into the research notes again?"

"Nope, just picked up some pointers from you."

Thane watched the two curiously, a bit confused at their banter. It reminded him of a few couples he had met on the Normandy. That seemed like so long ago, but he wanted answers on what had happened since he succumbed to his disease. He chewed the cacti carefully, enjoying the flavour, it reminding him of the home he never got to know.

Ivy sat down on the opposite side of the bed after handing Koylat his portion. "To answer your first question, we are on Aro, a moon of Rakhala." She looked at his face to give him time to process the answer, but he didn't seem too surprised. "The Reapers were destroyed, thanks to your team's efforts during the war. Everyone knows that it's because of their efforts that we were able to defeat the impossible, and your efforts as well."

"And Commander Shepard? DId she survive?" Kolyat smirked at how worried he was for her, he was well aware that his father was in love with the woman, but then his smile faded.

"Commander Shepard is soon to be Commander Vakarian, Garrus not too long ago, only last week I believe." Koi answered without any further hesitation, "It's all over the extranet actually, the first human and turian marriage actually. I personally do not think it's going to work out. They can't even eat the same food, can't have kids, have to deal with two different militaries every day. Their DNA isn't even made of the same amino acids."

"Chemistry isn't everything in a relationship, Ivy."

"Trust me, when a pair can kill the other just by contaminating their food, it'll blow up pretty quickly. And when the human reaches her nesting stage, and can't have a baby of her own, if they make it that long, then it'll blow up even more." She took a bite of the cactus, smiling, "You really can cook."

"Don't flatter me. Could humans and Drell reproduce? Turians and Quarians?"

"Yes and yes, they have the same number of chromosomes. Their children may be quite messed up, and most likely sterile… H'm… That should be my next experiment. Kolyat, perhaps you'll lend me some genetic material for that? Drell are so hard to come by." She giggled when she saw the young man blush, the giggle gradually becoming a hearty laugh. "I'm just kidding, that would be far too awkward."

Thane just sat and observed the conversation, a bit baffled by the conversation. Clearly neither of them had any tact. "Anyway, what do you need me for?"

"Ah, to the main point. Council Spectres are being targeted, and killed, and we need you to find out who, and get rid of them." She set her food down on the small table beside her. "Someone that isn't a spectre, but knows how they operate. Someone who has worked with them, someone just as capable. Someone they would never expect, because they've been dead for several months. You're the perfect candidate, Thane."