"Thane! Thane, snap out of it!" Shepard grabbed the drell by the shoulders, shaking him firmly.
He jerked, blinking sadly, "I…I am sorry, Shepard…I cannot control solipsism…Sometimes I wish…"
"I know, Thane, I'm sorry." She felt awful, having to witness him relive his most painful moments. Solipsism would keep the darkest memories, scenes best forgotten, as fresh and as vivid as if they were real-time events. Her friend had always been more prone to the distinctive drell trait than any she'd met in her travels and the frequency of his lapses into memory had increased exponentially after the completion of the suicide mission.
He corrected his deflated posture, proudly turning to regard the window to the AI core behind her. "I do not mean to be impolite, but perhaps it would be best if you left me for now."
"Of course," she got up from her seat across from him, unable to meet his eyes, "I'll see you later, Thane."
He nodded courteously but did not speak. She didn't blame him—he had just relived the discovery of his wife's body. And she had heard it all. She exited Life Support, a blush of shame burning across her cheeks.
She hated that he had been forced to recount every emotion, every minute movement and detail of the traumatic experience and she hated that she had witnessed his private anguish without invitation. What was worse was that the few positive memories he had were often linked to a wealth of painful ones. If there was any way she could spare her friend this constant…
Shepard stopped walking. What if…? She turned to the Observation Deck and gently roused Samara from her meditations. A quick conversation later, and she and the asari were headed for medbay and Dr. Chakwas.
