Chapter two.
Don't Eat the Quads.
A soft chime woke Thane who immediately checked his omni-tool to see he had no messages and it was the early hours of the morning.
"A moment please," he said, pulling on a black tunic and trousers as quickly as his hammering heart. He forced himself not to hope too much his Siha had finally returned as he padded barefoot to the door.
"Well fuck me!" exclaimed the woman loud enough to wake the ward. "That C-Sec officer really wasn't pulling my chain. Hell, you're alive!" Jack came into the room to deliver her customary punch to the arm in greeting, lighter than Thane remembered. "I just got through C-Sec; heard about the transplant. Nice one!"
She had hair now, in a ponytail and more clothing than the last time he had seen her. He immediately suspected the changes to this human went beyond her physical appearance.
"Thank you," Thane smiled, his demeanour calm in contrast with the human's fidgeting and his own inner turmoil. He was truly delighted to see another of his ex-crewmates had outlived the war.
Jack had mostly kept to herself in the bowels of the Normandy's engineering deck. Jack had been difficult to get to know. Not that Thane had tried after their second encounter once the Normandy had left Ilium. Curious he had explored the ship alone and ascended the stairs in engineering to find Jack sitting on her bunk surrounded by pads.
"Hey!" Snarling, feral. "What the fuck do you want? This is my place and I don't like visitors so fuck off!" I leave. I don't think I want to know this wild creature. Volatile and likely to be violent. I don't believe snapping that small neck is quite what the Commander had in mind when she suggested I get to know the crew.
Of course that had been before they had gone to Pragia, so Jack could blow up the Teltin Facility, her Cerberus prison where she had been psychologically and physically tortured throughout much of her formative years. Thane had left that place feeling physically sick and was glad to see the largely abandoned facility blown sky high.
"I'm pleased to see you Jack," he told her sincerely.
"Cool. So any news on anyone else?"
The question came as a blow to Thane, clearly Jack wouldn't be leading him to his Siha. But he told her about Kasumi and Mordin.
"Oh, right, yeah," she said, "I knew the tea-leaf and the nutty professor were working on something big."
Thane didn't know why Jack compared Kasumi to a tea leaf but recalled hearing Zaeed use the same phrase a couple of times back on the Normandy. The drell would have asked her, if he hadn't suddenly realised how exhausted his visitor looked. "Gods, have you just returned from Earth?"
Jack looked at him like he was stupid so he explained, "I thought perhaps the Normandy had returned."
She shrugged, scowling and though Jack bounded to the chair he offered, when she sat her body sagged into it, all the energy she had left seemed to flow out of her heavily inked pours. She asked about Shepard and Thane told her of the speculation over their ex Commanders whereabouts. Aside from a couple of expletives Jack said nothing and after a pause he asked about her.
Jack told him about meeting Shepard again at Grissom Academy where she was teaching biotics for the System Alliance.
"It was great, 'til Cerberus showed up," she glowered, but the shadow over her face swiftly passed and she laughed, "Course I reckon they didn't figure on Shepard showing up to pull our asses out of the shit. Station gets overrun with those fuckers and who shows up but Shepard, Garrus and this big tank of a bloke. We fought together, got all my kids out. Not that it matters much now, most of 'em are dead back on Earth. Stupid bastards," she shrugged but was clearly upset. "Shepard fixed it so they could stay back as support, but the front line came to us before it was all over. I think Samara's dead to. She's listed as MIA but I saw her pushing a barrier, like we did on that Collector base remember? Oh, yeah, course. Anyway, she was pushing against a load of them Asari freaks, Banshees, or whatever they were called. Oh you didn't see them, big ugly fuckers, nasty, and that was just the damn screaming racket they made. Fuck, they made you want to kill them just to shut them up! Anyway Samara got a bunch of troops through but went down. By the time I got closer the place was swarming with the screamers and Brutes, too. Oh man, it was fucked up!"
Thane's scales had grown icy cold at Jacks description of what they battled on Earth. She seemed a little shell-shocked and spoke more words to him now than what she had said collectively during all those months they served together on the Normandy, clearly in need of talking about her experiences. For the first time Thane saw in Jack what Shepard must have seen all along, a vulnerable, young woman. What he wouldn't give for a chance to tell Siha she had been right all along about this noisy, angry, criminal.
Thane sat on his bed, legs crossed, his back against the wall, as conversation quickly turned back to Shepard. Jack told him she had only seen her ex- Commander a couple of times during the war.
"I tell you what," she grinned, "that woman can do almost anything, but hell if she isn't a lousy dancer. There was this asari next to us, nice mover, takes one look at Shepard and leaves to dance with some people right on the other side of the floor." Jack laughed slapping her leg. "Last time I hit the dance floor with her, that's for sure!"
"She… danced?" Thane smiled. If his death had taken her heart, it hadn't taken her spirit. That was a great comfort.
Tears stream from hollow eyes. Her heart a rapid beat next to mine, misery radiates from her body. She tries to be strong for both of us, but finally confesses she doesn't want to lose me. It was to be the last time we could lay together. Gods, how my heart hurts for her.
At some point, over the hours they spoke, Jack had joined him on the bed, back against the wall, legs crossed, mirroring the drell.
"She talked about you, y'know? Jack said in a tone softer than Thane would have believed she possessed. But her voice hardened again when she said, "Shepard told me how much she loved sticking it to that Kai Lang Cerberus bastard!" She spat. "Shit, where is she, Thane?"
"Believe me Jack, I wish I knew," he confessed sadly.
They fell into a relaxed silence for a while until Thane turned to suggest they join forces to resolve this mystery. But Jack had fallen asleep, arms folded, chin on her chest. Thane covered her with his blanket. Shepard's blanket. The one he had rescued from her cabin along with a few other trinkets which meant something to her, while the Commander was being arrested. After finding him at the hospital months later she had told him to keep the items safe for the time being and obviously didn't, or couldn't, return for them after his death.
Leaving Jack to rest, Thane slipped on his boots and left his room just as the rest of the ward was beginning to wake up. It occurred to him the young biotic hadn't sought him out just because of their connection through Shepard, but because she had nowhere else to go and was perhaps no longer quite the loner Thane remembered from their time together on the Normandy. Plus, with parts of the Citadel in chaos, many soldiers returning from Earth had to fend for themselves. What a terrible demoralisation it must be, to return from war only to find more destruction and chaos.
Jack, of all people, to find himself reminiscing with. Is this what the end of war brings, the unlikeliest of people together? No, Thane dismissed with a small smile, that's what his Siha had done and she would not have wanted them to come together in despair and melancholy memories. The war is over, yet none of those who saved us all are rejoicing. Thane realised the quiet pain of surviving he carried was no different than the pain of victory so many now shared.
Surrounded by silence she would have thought herself deaf if it wasn't for the sound of her own reedy breathing. Her only company were the corpses piled around her in small knots against the bulkheads. She couldn't see any keepers in the dim light.
Her stiff neck didn't work much better than the rest of her but as long as she turned her pounding head very slowly she could still marvel at that view!
'God, feels like years since I just sat down.'
"Anderson?" She tried to shout but it came out a barely audible whisper and the effort made her breathless.
There was something different from the last time she had gazed out upon that planet, apart from the fact only debris floated around it, where once she had witnessed a raging battle. Was the war over? Was there anyone left? Had all those years spent fighting the damn Reapers proved futile? All those sacrifices, young Jenkins, Wrex, Ash, Thane, Garrus, Anderson. Her heart felt like the only part of her which had suffered no physical trauma, but it hurt like hell none the less.
She had wanted to go to Garrus but they were so close to the conduit. Vega had yelled her name, "Lola!" His name for her, anyway. Her ears rang over the dull voices from her earpiece, she had blood in her eyes. It felt like she had been dropped onto a high gravity planet. A marauder shot her, there was a white hot pain in her side as she fought to squeeze the trigger of her gun. Everything moving frustratingly slowly. Hot blood oozed down her torso as she moved, single minded, towards the conduit.
She tried to sigh but the air bubbled painfully in her chest.
Garrus must be with Thane now.
Oh Thane! That contained, tragic drell who had somehow managed to take her heart with him to the grave.
'I will await you across the sea.'
Probably not much longer to wait, now. Oh if nothing else, please let me see him again.
She had never envied, so much, the drell ability to lose themselves in memory as she did now. Closing her eyes to the view of space she tried to focus on the first time she had ever seen the mysterious assassin who silently slid into view, killing those mercs and Nassana before anyone could react. He moved like a dancer, fluid and precise. He told Jacob, "My arm is Shepard's," and, truth be told, hadn't she wanted Thane to become more than that all the way back then? She had been very eager to sit down and get to know the drell as soon as he was settled on the Normandy.
"Friend, huh?" She smiled, "that's a start."
"That's…" Thane placed his elbows on the table to clasp his hands together, "intriguing."
Shepard's smile froze. "Yes, uh, well I'd better get back to my duties," she stammered, walking backwards, offering a silent thanks to EDI when the door opened, otherwise she would have backed straight into it.
Thane merely watched her impassively as the Commander tripped over her tongue and nearly her feet.
Was that a smile on his face?
She spun around, shot out the door of Life Support and only just missed mowing Kasumi down as the little oriental appeared, literally, in front of her.
"Dammit Kasumi, I wish you wouldn't cloak around the ship!"
"Sorry Shep. You ok?" Kasumi eyed the door of Life Support. "You came out of there pretty fast," she smirked.
Why did I say that to Krios?
She hadn't meant…that. She meant more than friends as in the Marine way. As in buddies you could tell anything to and banter with during down time. Someone you knew would always have your back, whom you would kill and die for without hesitation. That's what she had meant, obviously! Of course Thane wasn't military and she knew this. He was an assassin, a loner, lonely too, it seemed. Shepard needed to find a way to help him integrate into the team without further misunderstandings.
Kasumi's eyes shined playfully from the shadows of her hood. Shepard didn't know her that well yet, but the little kleptomaniac seemed to have her finger on the pulse when it came to ship's gossip.
"I'm fine," Shepard smiled. "Sorry I snapped. I seem to be opening my mouth just to change feet at the moment."
"Oh?" Kasumi waited for details Shepard didn't want to give and an idea popped into her head.
"You haven't met our newest crew member have you Kasumi?"
"The drell assassin? No."
"In that case, do me a favour, show him around the Normandy would you? Give him the tour?"
"Oh, of course I will." Kasumi beamed before looking thoughtful, "I think I might avoid Jack's lair though. Last time I went down there she told me to…"
"Er yeah, I can imagine exactly what she said," the Commander laughed. "No problem, just introduce him to the crew members who don't bite."
"Will do Shep," Kasumi grinned.
Shepard left the enigmatic thief, smug with her deft handling of killing two birds with one stone, avoiding any gossip with Kasumi and getting out of having to give Thane the tour so soon after sticking her foot in it.
She was on her way to see Garrus when the lift doors opened on Jacob Taylor. "Commander, can I have a word?"
Entering the lift with a smile she let Jacob hit the button for the CIC.
Shepard liked the armoury. It was obsessively maintained, clinical even, and the lights were a bit harsh, but the sight of well maintained arms and the smell of fresh gun oil was always a comfort to a soldier. Before battle it gave them trust their weapons wouldn't let them down. After battle the ritual of returning the arms was a joy, a reminder of another fight survived, another day lived.
Though, why Cerberus had stuck the armoury two floors up from the shuttle bay was beyond Shepard. It was a pain in the ass carting all your gear up and down in the damn lift all the time. Still, Jacob was a fine Armoury Chief, the place was always spotless. Not surprising, though, considering how anally retentive the guy was. At first the intense Chief had reminded her a little of Kaidan, though Alenko had never been this tightly wound. Not before she had died anyway. After Horizon, well, Kaidan had said she had changed and even if that was true, so had he.
Pushing her thoughts away Shepard crossed her arms and leaned casually against a work table.
"What's on your mind, Jacob?"
"It's the assassin," he spat.
Shepard stiffened, "We've discussed this already."
"I know, but you also said we could approach you…"
"Yes, and I also welcome debate when it's appropriate. But not after I've already given my orders."
Taylor's defiant glare hardly wavered as he said, "Orders I intend to carry out Commander. You know that! It's just… Oh," he spun away from her to lean his palms on his workbench, "I just don't trust him! I don't like guns-for-hire."
"Noted, Mr. Taylor," Shepard said mildly, "but what about me? Do you trust me?"
"Good point," he conceded with a sigh and turned towards the Commander again, arms folded he rested back on one foot. "I'm not sure how the assassin will adapt to working with a team though. You could have your work cut out for you, Shepard."
"Well, that's for me to worry about, Jacob. We need Krios, so we will all do our best to show him how a good team works together. Are we clear?" She said pointedly.
"Commander," was all he said before turning to do some work.
"Carry on," Shepard muttered, stalking away from him towards the tech lab.
First Jack and Miranda, now Jacob and Thane. Maybe Garrus could organise a tag team wrestling match so they could get it out of their systems or something.
After a brief pause to check the latest upgrades to the Normandy and its weapons systems Shepard approached Mordin.
"Shepard, how can I help?"
"Just doing my rounds. You busy?"
"Yes, small experiment. Slight misunderstanding with EDI when she thought I intended to release toxin into ship. No, no, kill everyone, in seconds! Not good." The professor shrugged. "Perhaps talk later. Would like that."
She debated over asking Mordin what he was up to, but decided she would probably sleep better not knowing.
Shepard was about to leave the lab when Mordin said, "Oh, may want to avoid Grunt. Bad mood. Says I took too long over last biopsy. Didn't but, he's a bit sore."
"Do I wanna know where he's sore?"
Mordin took a deep breath while he considered the question, "No."
"Right," she smirked, "thanks for the heads up."
"Pleasure." The salarian turned back to his work humming one of his patter songs.
It might be better to avoid the engineering deck altogether for now. Jack will probably say she was done talking and would no doubt seek the Commander out when she was ready. Shepard wasn't in the mood for one of Zaeed's stories and she had already caught up with Tali, Ken and Gabby this morning while they tended the ship's Drive Core. Not to mention the fact Kasumi might be down there showing Thane around.
As soon as Shepard entered the CIC Kelly Chambers said, "Commander, there's a new message on your private terminal."
Shepard simply gave her Yeoman a nod, smiling on her way past, adding the information to her mental list of things to do as she made her way to the cockpit.
"Hey, Commander." Joker swivelled his chair around, grinning as usual.
"I assume everything is going well up here?"
"Were just having an argument over personalisation of my workspace," said the pilot, giving the AI interface a sideways glance.
"Cerberus regulations are clear Mr. Moreau," EDI stated. "Personalisation does not include grease on my bridge cameras."
Joker giggled, "It's just mad that all this footage of me looks like a dream sequence."
Shepard just shook her head, amused by her pilots continuing war of attrition with the Normandy's AI. "So, what do you think of our latest team mate?"
"Well Thane seems like the strong, sensitive, murdering type. You know those are always great to have around. A real cuddler. It's just my opinion though, there's really no need to go spreading it around."
"That's it for now," she grinned, heading out of the cockpit.
"See ya, Commander."
Shepard approached Kelly to get her thoughts on Thane. The Yeoman and psychologist told her his psyche profile had very little information on a surprisingly spiritual side to the assassin, going on to say, "He carries himself with such cold confidence. I'm not sure if I find him scary, or sexy."
Shepard teased, "A lot of women like bad boys."
Kelly shot back, "A lot of women? Like you?"
"I live a dangerous life," said Shepard playing along, "dangerous men fit right in."
The Yeoman grinned her approval and once again Shepard cringed inwardly wondering why on earth she had given Kelly the impression she was attracted to the drell. Swiftly she bolted to the lift to seek Garrus out.
Though it wasn't quite mess time there were a few crew members in the mess hall and Shepard noted Dr. Chakwas talking with Thane and Kasumi. For some reason seeing Thane made her blush. It couldn't be that silly faux pas she made earlier, could it?
Get over it!
She threw them a smile and dived into Miranda's quarters.
"Hello Commander," the Cerberus woman looked up from her terminal.
"Got time to talk Miranda?"
"There's a lot to do Shepard," she said, then sat back in her chair thoughtfully, "Although, Sere Krios is an interesting one."
Shepard hoped the dark haired woman might expand on her comment but when it was clear this wasn't going to happen she offered, "Interesting, yes. Hopefully he'll be a good asset to the team."
"Time will tell. Though the Illusive Man wouldn't have recommended him if he wasn't an asset." At that Miranda got back to work.
Shepard scowled inwardly. "I'll see you later," she muttered and left. She hated the way Miranda appeared to dismiss her. Plus any mention of the Illusive Man, ridiculous alias, always made her hackles rise.
Stomping past Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardener she headed off to the Main Battery.
"Hi, Shepard." Garrus said over his shoulder, then turned to face her.
The Commander smiled at her old friend, "You got a minute?"
The turian paused, looking briefly to one side so Shepard got an eyeful of the livid scars on his face. Permanent trophies of his 'Archangel' days. Now there was a cool alias.
"Can it wait? I've got some calibrations…"
Shepard snorted out a laugh, making Garrus frown.
"What?"
"Nothing." She shook her head. Obviously, the latest ship's joke hadn't reached his ears yet. "It's not important Garrus, I'll see you later."
Before she could leave he said mildly, "Oh, actually, one thing Shepard, about this drell assassin…"
She cut him off with a snapped, "Oh, not you as well, Garrus!" But seeing the turian taken aback she sighed, "Sorry, Garrus, didn't mean to snap. Jacob's got a stick up his ass about Krios being aboard."
"Oh? Then I'll be sure to tell Joker it's not just me." Garrus grinned. "Look, if it's any consolation, I just wanted to say I think you made a good choice bringing him into the team."
"Oh, well, thanks Garrus, I appreciate that."
"So, what do you think of Thane so far?"
Shepard crossed her arms, looking around the various bulkheads of this small space. "Er, well, he seems quite complex, pretty deep, kind 'a fascinating…"
The turian held up his hand. "Er, no, I meant, last night, in the towers. Don't think I've seen anyone move that fast before. That was some pretty amazing stuff in there don't you think?"
"Oh, er, yes," she shook her head as if to clear it then smiled, "He took out those guards and Nassana in the time I could blink. They didn't stand a chance."
"Hmm, still, he could have actually saved us all that trouble fighting through those mercs," Garrus, shook his head disapprovingly before adding with a sly smile, "not that it wasn't fun of course."
"Agreed. But, kind 'a worth the show, huh?" She grinned at the memory of watching the drell move.
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something, Shepard," the turian shuffled his feet a little. "Last night, after the mission, when I was in your cabin, I noticed something. Not that it's any of my business but," he looked at the Commander to see if it was ok to continue and at her nod said, "I noticed the picture of Kaidan on your desk was turned face down? I, uh…" he trailed off, mandibles twitching.
"Actually, that's what I popped in to tell you." Shepard flopped down on the only available seat as Garrus leaned his back against his work station.
"I replied to his mail last night, finally."
"Oh, you did? And..?"
Shepard settled back against the bulkhead. "Well, I pretty much told him what I said I was going to. Y'know, that I wasn't working for Cerberus, but I respected his feelings, was sorry for hurting him what with the whole dying thing. I let him know I'd like to be friends, and wished him well with this doctor he'd been dating."
"That's it?"
"Pretty much."
"So...? Garrus eyed her.
"So," she smiled, "that's it! I'm done Garrus. Sure Horizon hurt, you were there. He'd had two years to get over it but It was all still fresh to me. I'm still a little pissed he shut me down like he did, but I understand my death was hard on him."
Garrus scoffed, "Well he wasn't the only one. It was hard on all of us, including you for that matter!"
She nodded, trying not to feel bad about something she'd had no control over and trying not to think too hard about the fact she was dead, once. It wasn't an easy thing to get her head around, especially the nagging worry over her inability to remember an afterlife. She wasn't a big believer in anything per say, but even so, it was a bit depressing to discover there may be nothing to return to when she died, again.
"Even so, I get where he was coming from. Even when he sent that mail, all those mixed messages. I dunno," she shrugged, "I got the impression there was still something there, but at the same time he was ready to move on. I don't begrudge him that at all. I really hope he's happy but I was kind 'a, pissed off when he wrote that message. It's like he wanted to have the last word on Horizon, then the final word after that and at the same time tell me there was a maybe, perhaps, one day, possible chance we might…" Shepard shook her head, "I don't need that Garrus. It's like Jacob said, distractions aren't good for the mission and I, well, I just, got over Kaidan."
"You did? You're sure?"
"I am," she smiled, appreciating her friends concern. "I don't regret the time I spent with Kaidan, but I'm ready to move on. It's history. Frankly, he's not the man I once knew."
"And, you're happy?"
"Yes. At least as happy as a person can be looking down the barrel of a Collector base anyway."
"Well, then, good." Garrus relaxed and turned back to his workstation. "Now I've got to…"
"Go calibrate, Garrus." Shepard interrupted with a grin as she stood.
"How did you know I was going to say that?"
She snorted, gave his arm a squeeze and left the Main Battery.
It was strangely disappointing to see Kasumi and Thane were gone. Now Chakwas was chatting to Zaeed and Jack while Grunt listened to them quietly as he ate.
"What'll it be Commander?" Gardener asked.
Grunt turned in his seat to grumble, "Don't eat the quads!"
Shepard shot a questioning look between the krogan and the Mess Sergeant. The latter rolled his eyes with a sigh, "They're just meatballs Commander."
Grunt lived up to his name, scowling, "They look like quads!"
"Seriously Grunt?" Shepard instantly regretted the question as the krogan nodded. She muttered, "ok I didn't want to know that and further more I choose not to believe it!" Maybe she could ask Mordin later. "So, uh, what else is on the menu?"
"Sorry Commander, I had to use up the last of that varren mince so it's all there is tonight." Gardener grinned. At Shepard's look he added, "You know I'm kidding right Commander?"
With a shake of her head, Shepard went for a plate of quads.
The meatballs tasted good, though she found herself trying not to look at them too closely. By the time she finished her meal Jacob had joined her opposite the table, Tali and Miranda were talking to Grunt, and Garrus was making his way towards Gardener.
The mess was quiet this evening and Shepard had been left to ponder her conversation with the turian. In some ways, she still felt a little sad things hadn't worked out for her and Kaidan. But those what-could-have-been thoughts had begun to grow more and more irrelevant over the days and weeks since Kaidan had sent his message. Now she was satisfied to note a weight had been lifted and she could face the tasks ahead free of that small but significant black cloud which had followed her back from Horizon.
Talking of black clouds, Shepard noted Jacob began brooding again the second Thane appeared, trailing behind Kasumi. Leaning across the table slightly she told Jacob softly, "At ease, before you sprain something."
But he was in no mood for mirth so she sat back to sip her tea. She watched the drell cross the mess hall to stand beside Garrus, who appeared to be hovering while he drank that awful turian tea of his. What the wink Kasumi gave her meant Shepard didn't know, but assumed the tour went well.
Suddenly noticing the drell beside him, Garrus sprang back in surprise, gasping and choking on his tea, much to everyone's amusement. He tried to yell at Thane but could only manage a glower as he coughed.
Eventually, wiping the back of his hand across his mandibles, Garrus complained, "If you're going to insist on sneaking up on people like that, I'm having you fitted with a proximity alarm."
"Just put a bell around his neck, Garrus," Jack smirked.
Shepard didn't know what was funnier, the turian's threat or the drell's contained shock.
Before Thane could offer the apology he was clearly about to make, Kasumi jumped up with, "Ooh, I know! Stay there everyone."
She ran back to her room, leaving the team to wonder what she was up to for a few moments. The only sound was Garrus clearing his sore throat of the tea he had nearly breathed in.
Kasumi returned with a grin, holding up a string of delicate looking bells in various brightly opaque colours. They made pleasant light chimes as she moved towards Thane, practically pouncing on him to wrap the bells around his neck before he could fully comprehend what was happening.
"How's that, Garrus?" asked the oriental with a light giggle.
The turian looked horrified on the drells behalf, but the rest of the team laughed as Thane stood stiffly, hands behind his back. He looked like he had been decorated in tiny lights and it made Shepard think of an old Earth custom celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another. She wanted to tell the team to leave Thane alone, at least until he had become accustomed to the boisterous group. But she was having trouble containing her own laughter, both at the image of the drell in front of her, and the image he conjured up in her head. She bit her tongue and took a deep breath, intent on restoring order in the mess hall.
Joker walked in, looking around to see where the fun was. He took one look at the drell, pointed and said, "Shit, Thane, you look just like a Christmas tree!"
The humans fell about giggling.
Shepard had to practically cling to the corner of the table to stop herself from hitting the floor, gasping with laughter.
Jokers timing had been brilliant. But it only got worse when Grunt asked, "What's a Christmas tree?"
Joker rolled his eyes, flapped both hands at Thane and sarcastically said, "Hello!"
The tiny bark of laughter rang loud in the chamber and sent fireworks of white hot pain from her chest. But the wince on her face quickly returned to a Thane, why he didn't just run for the nearest airlock there and then, she didn't know. What was it Garrus said? She searched her sluggish brain but it wouldn't come. The memory was fading as quickly as she was and she gave up trying to hang on to it.
She focused again on the view outside. The planet looked beautiful despite the millions of ragged satellites now orbiting it. She wondered if Thane really would be waiting for her. Or would she be returning to that nothingness the Lazarus Project had dragged her from? No one was coming to find her, that was clear. She didn't know how long she had been here but it was easily more than just a few hours. It could even have been days. It was hard to tell; her sense of time had been lost back on Earth.
Maybe everyone was dead and there was no one left to notice she was MIA. No one left on the Citadel to come and find her.
Silence. Not even the sound of machinery, no movement at all.
And why am I just laying here?
Passing out while trying to move had got to be preferable to just laying here. Plus her thirst was now starting to drive her crazy and she wanted to see what was left of her water pouch, assuming she still had it on her. The thought of a drink galvanised her and with a slow careful tilt of her head she spied a bulkhead just a few feet behind. Ignoring the glassy, grinding ball of fire her body seemed to be engulfed in, she dug in an elbow and a foot in an attempt to haul her broken body backwards and join the other corpses in the deep shadows.
Walking into the patient waiting area turned overflow ward for the walking wounded, Thane was surprised to see Kasumi had been true to her word and was already waiting for him. He was even more surprised to note her companion and would have retreated if Kasumi hadn't spotted him.
"Look who I found!" She purred as Thane approached.
"Well, Thane Krios." The human stood, smiling, offering his hand to shake.
"Jacob Taylor," Thane said as he returned the handshake. He noted the human no longer appeared the tightly wound man who had so disliked the assassin's presence back on the Normandy. In fact the ex-Armoury Chief warmly congratulated Thane on his return to health.
But when Jacob revealed his reason for being at Huerta it was Thane's turn to return the warm handshake.
"I'm a dad!" Jacob sparkled in a toothy grin.
"Jacob, that's wonderful news, congratulations," Thane told him sincerely, pleased to hear the good news of the man's hours-old, healthy baby girl and happy wife. Although Thane had to ask, "Little Shep?"
"Isn't it cute?" Kasumi giggled, touching Jacobs arm.
"Yeah, it's kind of a nickname. Long story. Shepard is probably going to kill me."
"Oh no, I'm sure she'll be delighted," fawned Kasumi, another touch on his arm, to which Jacob seemed oblivious. With some effort she took her eyes off the married man and looked at Thane, her smile falling away. "I have some news, shall we sit?"
Thane stiffened and declined, grateful when Kasumi got straight to the point. "It's Admiral Anderson. They found his body. Bailey sent word to Admiral Hackett who is on his way to the Citadel for a formal ID."
"Gods!" Thane whispered.
Jacob sighed, "I didn't know the man personally, but he was a good friend of Shepard's and a good soldier."
"He was also with Shepard as far as we know," Thane rumbled darkly. "Jacob, Kasumi, forgive me but I must go and speak with Commander Bailey."
Jacob was still taking in the news of his ex-Commander's location and it took him a moment to answer. "Oh, sure. Uh, would you let me know what you find out?"
"Of course. Kasumi, would you like to meet me outside C-Sec?"
"Good idea," she nodded, "I'll let Mordin know where we'll be."
"There is one other thing," Thane said, "Jack is asleep in my room. Could you message her as well please?"
"Jack is here? Oh! Well, I think I'll go and meet her." She put a hand on Jacobs arm again, this time to escort him away. "We can walk in together, Jacob." Though she grinned, Thane saw the same concern in her hooded eyes as he felt and he moved swiftly to the lift.
He was pacing quickly towards the temporary offices of C-Sec when he noticed an even swifter motion in his peripherals, coming straight at him. Thane whirled to his right, just in time to catch the furious turian's fist. Instead of hurting his attacker he simply pushed the fist away and grabbed Vakarian by his shoulders, as he held Thane tightly by both elbows. They locked eyes, leaning on each other for a moment.
Eventually the turian's mandibles relaxed enough so he could speak and Garrus hissed icily, "What gives, drell? She thinks you're dead! She went through hell…"
Perhaps because he smelled and looked like he hadn't showered or slept in days, or because he could see the pain on Thane's face, Garrus trailed off and sagged against Thane. The two men seemed to hold each other up.
Though Thane wanted to see Bailey, urgently, he led the turian outside and sat him on a bench to tell his story, again.
Where once they would have been able to enjoy the garden waterfalls, now their view was dominated a large tent, under which a body, or bodies, were being recovered. The blue police line around the perimeter winked red every time someone crossed it.
A mixture of emotions passed over Garrus' face as he listened to Thane without interruption. When Thane finished, Garrus remained silent for a moment as he contemplated Thane's words. When he finally spoke it was with a quiet approval. "So, Koylat actually forged your electronic signature, eh?"
This always caused Thane a mixture of shame and pride when he considered the illegal manipulations his son had been involved in.
"Well, good old Bailey." Garrus grinned.
Thane was about to invite his companion to accompany him to see the Commander of C-Sec, but first he had to ask, "Have you just returned from Earth?"
With a weary sigh Garrus nodded. "It's hell down there. Less so now we pulled the plug on the Reapers, but, even so… Sorry about the smell, I've not had any chance to wipe the crud from my armour yet. Most of its husk juice, at least that's probably one of the more pleasant things I'm covered in anyway." He poked at a crusty bit of goo on the front of his armour.
Gently, Thane Said, "You know Shepard is…"
"Missing, yes," Garrus jumped in, looking around, unhappily. "I'm sorry, for back there. I thought, actually I'm not sure what I thought, really. I was just registering my arrival at the Citadel and Kolyat told me you were better and, I don't know… I," he shook his head slowly, "I just remembered how things were for Shepard, after your death."
At Thane's questioning frown Garrus explained, "Let's just say, Shepard wasn't as prepared for your death as much as she thought."
Thane looked at his feet, his voice tight, "She… suffered."
"To be honest, Thane, she was heartbroken. Oh, she was fine commanding the ship, on the battlefield, that kind of thing. But the between times… I don't think she spent much time in her quarters after... you know," with a sharp look Garrus said, "Oh, now look, don't go beating yourself up. It's her own fault. I warned her not to go and fall for a dying man. Uh, no offence. But she did and, well, I know she didn't regret, er, knowing you."
"I knew it might not be easy for her, but I had hoped…"
"What?" Garrus snapped, "she would have just shrugged you off?"
"No. Not at all I…"
"Oh, look, I'm sorry. I'm tired and, ah, I just got some bad news last night. It's good to have you back, old friend." Garrus slapped Thane on the shoulder lightly.
"Thank you, and you too Garrus," said Thane, genuinely touched. "What was your bad news?"
Garrus sighed. "Tali… she's dead." His mandibles tightened against his mouth, eyes shining as if he might cry. "You don't know but, she and I, well
let's just say we were, ah, beginning to get close."
Thane hadn't really known Tali very well when they served on the Normandy together. She spent most of her time in engineering and he rarely went down there. At first he thought the little quarian had a chip on her shoulder, but quickly came to realise her acerbic and often humorous sarcasm was her way of coping in a galaxy which largely treated quarians like second-class citizens. Thane's own species was sometimes viewed in the same way because the drell now lived on the hanar home world, though it was rare. Certainly rarer than the problems the quarians faced. Thane had a lot of respect for Tali. She was intelligent, tenacious and pretty gentle for someone who could cut down armies of geth and stand up to the Migrant Fleet Admiralty. Most of all she was loyal to her people, be it those in the Migrant Fleet or Shepard and her crew. Thane offered a brief prayer to Kalahira for her.
"Garrus, I am sorry. You knew her a long time, I..."
Garrus waved him off and changed the subject. "Liara will be pleased. I know you only met her a couple of times but she liked you."
"Ah, Liara has outlived the war. That is good news." Thane didn't know the asari very well, but had liked the soft-spoken, formidable warrior the first time they met on Illium. He had understood immediately why Shepard valued her friendship with the doctor of archaeology, turned information broker, so much.
"Yes, she's still on Earth trying to locate James and some of the others. Oh, you didn't know James Vega, did you? He and I were with Shepard right up until the conduit. Well, right up until I got blown off my ass."
"What happened?" Thane asked, wanting to know as much as he could about Shepard as he did Garrus.
"Oh, it was hell, as you can imagine. By the time we reached the conduit to get us onto the Citadel, like the one on Ilos… oh, you weren't there. Well anyway, by the time we got there, Hammer forces were depleted to just a few soldiers and Harbinger was shooting its damn laser at us, carving everything up in its path. To be honest, I don't even know how I got as far as I did before an explosion threw me into the air. Last thing I remember, the ground was punching me in the face." Garrus rubbed at the latest scars on his cheek. "Anyway, next thing I know a medic is telling me to wake up and there was this Reaper, just lying there, right in front of me. Took me a few minutes to figure it out. Couldn't believe the war was over. All that and I miss the very end!" He shook his head. "I caught up with James, damn good soldier, as he was being stretchered into the field hospital. Oh, he was in a bad way, Thane. His legs…" Garrus grimaced at the memory, "I don't know if he made it. Liara is trying to find out where they transferred him. Comms are so bad right now. He was pretty out of it on Medi-gel but he told me Shepard made it to the conduit."
"With Anderson?"
"Er, I'm not sure. He made it too?"
Thane quickly briefed him on what Mordin had implied, then gently told him, "Garrus, Admiral Anderson is dead. His body was found here on the Citadel."
"Oh hell." Garrus bowed his head for long seconds. "Oh hell!" He repeated, looking at Thane, "Shepard..?"
"I was on my way to see Bailey when you…"
"Let's go!" Garrus said, already up and moving back the way they had come.
A fellow expert sniper, Garrus Vakarian had welcomed Thane to the Normandy and from the beginning had furnished him with stories involving Shepard. At first Thane thought the turian probably exaggerated, but when he saw Garrus and the Commander in action the drell soon realised there was little exaggeration. He discovered much about Shepard from Garrus whose friendship and loyalty towards her ran deep. The turian loved his Commander as if she were kin.
Despite his perfect memory Thane wasn't sure when his curiosity over this intriguing human woman had unexpectedly began to grow into deeper feelings. Even now it came as a surprise to him that this warrior-angel had reciprocated. Garrus had been supportive of their relationship as much as he was protective of his Commander.
He paces up and down in front of me. Points a talon at my face. He speaks sincerely, "I am glad for you both," then with menace, "but you hurt her and I swear I'll break your neck, Krios!"
Thane had to push the memory away as he followed Garrus into C-Sec and towards Commander Armando-Owen Bailey's small office.
"Well, as I live and breathe!" Bailey greeted them in his low easy voice, "and as you do too, Thane," he chuckled. "Good to see you back in one piece, Garrus. I heard it was rough down there."
Thane sat opposite Bailey's desk wondering how many more ways his continuing existence would be remarked upon. Another human trait, stating the obvious in so many colourful ways.
"Looks like you've had it pretty rough up here," Garrus commented, "What happened?"
"Well," Bailey sat back with a sigh, "from the looks of things when the Crucible fired it took out part of the central ring. Not enough to do much structural damage up there, though some of the space ports are gone. Shook us up pretty good, that's for sure. A few places got messed up by the debris flying around," he waved a hand as he talked, "including C-Sec. We lost a few damn good officers." Bailey sighed.
"That's why we're here," Thane told the Commander. "Is it true Admiral Anderson's body was recovered?"
Bailey sighed again, "Yeah, I'm afraid so. Looks like he got caught in the explosion. Repair crews found the body a few hours ago."
Thanes fists were balled against his thighs, an anxious knot writhing in his stomach. "I have been told Shepard was with him."
"Yeah, and another unidentified man. All I know is we have been asked to look for Shepard and a human male. But I can tell you now, there's no one else up there. We've widened the search of course, but I can't see Shepard just wandering off into the keeper tunnels."
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Thane. "Perhaps join the search?"
"I don't see why not. Hackett will be here soon. When I've found out what he wants us to do I'll contact you and if I find out anything, I'll let you know. Sorry I can't do more than that right now."
"Uh," Garrus glanced sideways at Thane before asking Bailey, "this explosion, is it possible there, ah, may not be anything left?"
Thane looked down at the floor, grateful Garrus asked the question he couldn't and let out a small breath of relief when Bailey told them, "No. We'll get a forensic team up there of course, but no it wasn't that kind of blast. I can tell you we believe we have recovered all of the remains of everyone caught up in the falling debris. I'm happy to say Shepard isn't among them."
"I see," was all Thane could offer, unsure if this was good news or not. It was, of course, yet it told him nothing about the fate of his Siha.
Bailey stood, clearly needing to get back to work and neither Thane, nor Garrus, wanted to get in his way. The turian thanked Bailey with a handshake and an apology for the smell before leaving his office. Thane paused after shaking the humans hand.
"I wanted to thank you, Commander. Not just for myself, but for everything you have done for Koylat."
"Ah well, he's a good kid. I'm real pleased with him and he's become a good officer. You should be proud."
"I am, believe me. We both now have you to thank for our lives."
Bailey waved a dismissive hand before folding his arms and looking away from the drell, "I suppose, I just hope I did the right thing there really."
Thane smiled. "It can't have been easy. The legal perspective aside, it must have been difficult from a moral point of view."
"Huh, well, yeah I guess and it sure wasn't easy keeping that one to myself every time you and Shepard came by C-Sec."
"I, hadn't thought of that," Thane admitted.
"Well, as long as we're ok, Thane, then it's all worked out."
"Commander Bailey you will always have my gratitude and I am in your debt. I hope one day I can repay your kindness in some small way."
Bailey chuckled, "Careful, I may hold you to that. It's good to see you back on your feet, Thane. Soon as I hear anything I'll be in touch." As he settled back behind his desk the Commander added softly, "I hope we find her."
Thane nodded. The two men looked at each other for a moment and he left, none the wiser over what had happened to Siha but a little more comforted to know many shared his concerns and were doing what they could to locate her.
Garrus had already greeted Jack and Kasumi outside C-sec and was filling them in when Thane approached.
"Hey, you left me!" Jack complained.
"I did not wish to disturb you. It looked like you needed to rest."
"Yeah, whatever. Thanks."
"I have to go shower," Garrus sighed, "I think the rain washed some of this crap off me, but even so. You know, it sure rains a lot in London, and that's their summer season?" He rolled his eyes.
"You have accommodation?" enquired Thane. Garrus simply nodded so he turned to the little biotic.
"Yeah got a bunk," said Jack. "Gotta go see Kelly whatserface, Shepard's secretary from the Normandy."
"Yeoman." Garrus corrected.
"Whatever."
"Sorry, late," Morden arrived, "had to wait for test results."
No one asked for details as they all greeted the professor, Jack with a quick wave, Garrus a handshake. It was strange to see a turian and a salarian using the typical human greeting without even thinking about it.
"Hmm," Mordin pondered after they told him the news, offering no more.
Garrus offered, "Well find her, Thane. Or, more likely, she'll find us. It's early days yet."
The turian's expression was determined but for reasons Thane couldn't explain, he felt less hopeful. "The most famous woman in the Galaxy still unaccounted for?" He challenged gently.
"You haven't seen what it's like down there," Garrus told him. "It's possible she's still back on Earth, or returned back there, maybe. Either way, I'm sure she'll be fine."
With that Garrus bid them a farewell for now, muttering, "It's going to take me days to get that damn planet's dirt out from under my talons."
The group split up and Thane returned to the bench he had shared with Garrus earlier. Looking up at the central ring he noticed a jagged hole exposing its inner workings, though it was too far away to see any details. He shuddered and looked away, noticing Garrus glance over his shoulder to offer a quick wave as he plodded wearily away. It left Thane feeling grateful to have found so many familiar faces still alive after the war. Or rather they found him. Especially Garrus, the battle scarred turian and formidable soldier whose desire to protect Shepard matched his own. Of all the team, Garrus was probably the one he most preferred to fight alongside. Although the turian did have his own unique way of showing he cared sometimes.
The Shuttle dropped from the Normandy and Shepard yawned, shaking her head before leaning forward in her seat to address Thane and Garrus opposite.
"It's simple enough, the usual really. Just a merc base, red sand dealers and," her face darkened, "slavers."
There were dark circles under the Commander's eyes and Thane wondered if she was getting enough sleep. In the last few days she had gone through a fierce fire-fight with Jack and Miranda to help the Cerberus woman's sister, rescued the sole-survivor of a crashed ship, returning the quarian to the Migrant Fleet and been to the Citadel twice. Once to help Garrus track down Sidonis, who had betrayed him, so Garrus could avenge the death of his team by killing the turian mole. Shepard had reminded Thane of Irika by the way she had stood between the traitor and the turian's line of site, talking to Sidonis until Garrus had realised killing him would simply end the man's misery and his life wasn't worth taking. They found out later Sidonis had confessed his crimes to C-Sec.
Their second visit was to help Thane after he had received a tip-off from one of his contacts about his estranged son. It was to become a reunion of sorts and Thane's world had been changed that day. He was still trying to find the words to thank the Commander properly. Thane had first trusted her to get the information of Koylat's intentions from the man who hired him. He was sickeningly worried Elias Kelham would clam up, but Shepard had said, "I'm a Spectre, start talking," and Thane witnessed the shortest interrogation in Galactic history. After that he'd had to entrust Shepard to shadow Joram Talid in the hope they could prevent his death by Koylat's hand. Not for the sake of the anti-human turian politician, but in the hope Thane's son would be prevented from making the same mistakes he had. It was difficult entrusting someone else to watch Talid while Thane moved positions, but it proved successful and Shepard had risen even higher in his estimations. She could be trusted and trust was a rare commodity in this galaxy.
"So we're going to go in, take out the trash, then blow the place," she told them.
"Sounds good to me." Garrus nodded enthusiastically. They all hated slavers and any opportunity to take gangs like this out was welcomed.
Shepard stood as she felt the shuttle land. "Good, let's get in and get out. Then we're off to Omega for a layover and some shore leave."
"Not the Citadel?" Garrus asked.
The Commander scoffed, "No, I need a good party!" She was out the shuttle before the hatch fully opened and the two men had to scramble out of their seats to catch up.
Most of the mercs had run into the building as soon as they saw the shuttle coming into land, locking the door behind them. So the team quickly dispatched the handful stranded outside. Shepard was at the door hacking her way in before the last body hit the floor.
Thane jumped a barrier and was at the Commanders side just before Garrus caught up, complaining, "Are we trying for some kind of galactic record or something?"
Shepard just smiled as she stepped back, at the turian's words or the satisfaction of hacking this door quickly the two men didn't find out. Shepard readied her gun, hit the door and shot into the room, crouching behind the first barrier she saw.
Garrus barely had time to throw Thane an annoyed look before they had to move in behind her. He wasn't sure exactly what that look was trying to convey. He was really only just beginning to spend time with Garrus off the battlefield and he found the turian hard to read sometimes.
No mercs waited for them in this small room and Thane figured they were more than likely waiting for them behind the door at the top of the ramp to their right. They moved up and as Garrus reached out to get Shepard's attention she swung around the edge of the door and moved in without so much as a look to make sure her team was behind her. It pleased Thane to see she was able to place her trust in him as much as she did her old friend. Garrus however didn't seem to feel this way and Thane made a note of the disapproving surprise on the turian's face as they went in after her.
The next two rooms had maybe a dozen mercs each and again the team worked through them quickly. Shepard was pushing forward very aggressively. The only time he had seen her fight like this was after finding Liara's drell friend Feron in the clutches of the Shadow Broker. Unfortunately, Thane had been knocked out and missed Shepard and Liara take down the powerful broker. The Commanders desire to get Feron out of his sickening torture chamber had seen her fight through the brokers mercs hardly stopping for cover. Thane wondered if there might be more to their current mission than she had told them. Perhaps that was why she had aggressively refused his idea of going in covertly to plant the explosive when he had suggested it last night.
They reached a wide cave entrance which would lead them into the mercs main lair. She crouched low to take a quick peek around the corner then turned to them whispering, "Central chamber. I count fifteen, we can double that. Plus they've got one of those damn mechs."
Thane didn't need to ask what type of mech, she only called the YMIR heavy mechs 'damn' mechs. Shepard had already snapped her M-12 Locust machine gun home and was reaching for her favourite weapon, the 'fun gun' she called it, an ML-77 missile launcher. "Garrus, you take left flank."
Both men nodded, understanding their positions. Before the Commander could take a step forwards Garrus wrapped his talons around her arm and pulled her back a few feet.
"Shepard," he whispered, one eye on her, the other on the entrance, "take a breath will you? Slow the pace down a little."
"Getting to old for this Garrus?" She teased with a grin.
"If you mean too old to be reckless, then yes, I certainly am!" He hissed.
This both sobered and angered the Commander. "I am not reckless!" She hissed back through gritted teeth.
Garrus shuffled his feet. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean… Shepard you seem a bit tightly wound. What's eating you?"
"Eating me?" She shook her head with a shrug. "Nothing, I just want to get this mission over and back to the Normandy. That ok with you, Garrus? Or shall we keep chatting until they send that damn mech out after us? Move out, dammit!" Shepard huffed, throwing Garrus a black look before returning to the cave entrance with her missile launcher at the ready.
The mech was on Shepard as soon as she was inside, firing its mass accelerator cannons as she slid for cover, throwing a biotic blast against its shields. Her shields were down quickly and she paused in cover to regenerate and apply some Medi-gel as the mech advanced slowly.
Thane and Garrus fanned out and the drell was able to watch the Commander in his peripherals as she worked on the mech, while he dealt with mercs ahead.
Shepard popped up, rapidly fired three missiles and ducked in time for the mech's rocket to fly just inches over her head. Then she leaned out to one side to fire another rapid volley, but had to roll away as a rocket obliterated her cover. She was trapped in a corner, exposed, emptying her missile launcher on the still advancing mech. She used the empty weapon to cover her face when the mech wobbled and exploded. Shepard pushed forward, ignoring the bits of mech bouncing off her shields the empty ML-77 was slapped back in place and she reached for her Locust while diving for cover.
She forged ahead, zigzagging down the middle of the chamber. Biotics flying, lifting the enemy, slamming them down, shooting the ones closest. She gave Garrus and Thane a hard time covering her as they tried to work their way down each side of the room.
When Shepard paused behind some crates to let her shields regenerate again she didn't see the merc coming up on her right flank. Thane couldn't get a clear shot from his position but Garrus saw the enemy and shot before the drell could shout a warning. With a quick nod to Garrus she stayed in position, picking off the few mercs left while waiting for her team to close the gap. When she saw her team had two of the remaining enemy in their sights she suddenly shot forward, lifting the last merc from his hiding place and leaving him suspended for Garrus or Thane to finish off.
Two steps and she was at the central terminal. Shepard glanced over her shoulder, quickly sweeping the room and checking on her team. Satisfied, she turned to rig the small but extremely powerful explosive.
Thane saw the movement just seconds before Garrus. Raising his gun Thane barked, "Shepard!" It was too late.
The krogan's biotic lift came so swiftly it yanked Shepard off her feet, knocking her weapon out of her hand. His shotgun ate away at her shields while Garrus and Thane could only chip away at his.
Shepard's shields came down while the krogan stood his ground, blasting away at her armour. She cried out in pain and fury, squirming against the biotic grip, trying to reach for a weapon. Thane managed to stagger the krogan with a biotic throw, bringing his shields down. There wouldn't be much time before they regenerated.
Shepard's opaque blue prison winked out, but before she could drop to the floor, the krogan hit her with a powerful throw. It launched her down the length of the chamber to a sudden, bone crunching slam against the far wall.
Unleashing everything they could at the powerful enemy, Garrus inched forward, risking a dangerous charge from the krogan while Thane inched back, partly to watch for any more hidden mercs as he covered Garrus and partly because his desire to check on Shepard was almost overwhelming. He even risked a quick look over his shoulder, horrified to see she wasn't moving.
The enemy roared, but before he could charge the sticky mines Garrus had thrown towards him exploded. Much of the krogan splattered against the terminal and pieces of his armour pebble-dashed the wall.
Without a word both men took precious few moments to sweep the room, gave each other a nod and ran to where Shepard lay. To Thane's utter relief she was already pushing herself up on one elbow, rubbing the back of her head. Her glove came away bloody but she didn't notice. Thane hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath until the release of air from his damaged lungs nearly made him cough. He thanked the Gods he was somehow able to suppress the urge and didn't have to suffer the indignity of having a coughing fit in front of his team. But most of all he thanked the Gods his Commander was moving.
"I'm all right," she told them, noticing the blood on her glove and absently wiping her hand on the dirt floor as she slowly sat up.
"You stay put!" Garrus ordered, shaking on his omni-tool to scan her and administer a small dose of Medi-gel into her system.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Are you guys ok?"
"Hmm," muttered Garrus from behind his mandibles, "shaken, not stirred." Shepard grinned at his humanism, a term the turian had learned from one of the Cerberus crew.
But Garrus shot her a livid glare, "You'll live," he declared. "Might want to have that shoulder looked at though."
Shepard rolled her arm, "Yeah I banged it pretty hard."
"No," Garrus said, mildly, "the other one, where you've been shot."
The colour drained from Shepard's face as she looked down at the blood.
"Indeed," Garrus muttered. Standing up he added, "I'll go wipe the krogan off the explosive and set the charge then, shall I?"
Thane frowned at the turian but turned to Shepard offering his hand, "Can you stand?"
As soon as she was on her feet she yelped and Thane threw an arm around her waist to support her.
"Oh yeah," Garrus threw over his shoulder as he sauntered away, "you might want to get that looked at as well. Probably just a sprain, but…" he shrugged.
Thane glowered after the turian but spoke gently to Shepard, "I'll take you back to the shuttle," he informed her, lifting the Commander off her feet to carry her like a bride.
"Hey!" She protested, eyes wide. "I can walk dammit!"
Thane considered this as he made his way out of the chamber, "You can hop, but my way is quicker and less problematic."
Frowning, Shepard opened her mouth to argue but Thane said, "You are unused to being helped aren't you, Shepard?"
She scoffed, "Now that's a stupid thing to say considering the team I've put together, despite the enormity of what I'm asking from all of you."
"You misunderstand. I mean, on a more personal level."
Shepard looked at him like he was insane to suggest personal levels even mattered. He explained, "In the brief time I have known you, I have watched you help others. Miranda's sister is safe because of you. Garrus has resolved his issues with Sidonis. Liara is now the Shadow Broker. All thanks to you. You even put yourself in great danger to help Samara and Kasumi and you have helped me in ways I can't begin to describe. You have helped so many people, in very personal ways, yet when you need aid you seem to prefer to be left alone, to struggle. Despite the harsh…"
Her unexpected laughter cut him off. "Sorry," she giggled. "Look, put me down. I would have thought a loner like you would be able to work it out."
"I have." Thane continued weaving a steady pace around intact and broken crates, stepping over the odd dead merc, easily carrying her surprisingly slight weight in his arms. "I do recognise the solitary person in you."
She frowned, looking down at her lap.
"But as you have told me, Shepard, we are part of a team, we... have each other's backs," Thane repeated the same words she had said to him during his first days on the Normandy. "Surely this includes not just during battle but its aftermath, also?"
"Well yes, obviously, but… um..."
Thane waited as she groped for an argument, amused when, because she couldn't find one, she gave his shoulder a slap, demanding, "Oh, just put me down already!"
"In a moment," he told her gently as he made his way down the small ramp.
Shepard's eyes scanned the room as she spoke, "Look Thane, I do really appreciate what you're saying but… Ooh shiny!"
"Where?" Thane followed her gaze.
"That box on the table," she pointed.
He carried her over to a small open crate and she reached in to scoop up the credits.
"Nice find," he smiled. Shepard's ability to find credits amazed Thane. She liked to look around a place before they left but even when it wasn't possible she would often manage to leave an area with her pockets lighter on heat sinks but heavier with credits.
She grinned, "Cool. Now, what was I saying?"
"You were telling me to put you down."
"Oh yeah, put me down, damn it!"
Her laugh turned to surprise when Thane agreed, "Certainly."
She realised they were back at the shuttle drop. Shepard tensed her arm around his shoulders and Thane reassured, "I will be gentle with you."
He carefully place her on a reinforced crate as she muttered, "I wouldn't blame you if you dropped me on my ass."
Mindful of Shepard's swelling ankle he lowered her legs slowly, insisting, "I would never do that." Crouching beside her, he asked, "Ok?"
She nodded, "Thank you. Y'know, you're an amazingly gentle man for an assassin."
Her arm remained across his shoulders as he called the shuttle pilot for pick up. "Are all assassins supposed to be brutish?"
"No, I'm not trying to stereotype or anything, it's just, er, look forget I tried to pay you a compliment," she huffed, her cheeks burning.
"I'm sorry," he smiled, "thank you for the compliment."
Shepard's cheeks burned even brighter.
When she moved her arm Thane was left feeling a strange absence. He realised, despite the circumstances, he had enjoyed carrying her. Not just because he wanted to help this human in any way he could, but because he had enjoyed the closeness between them. It had been a very long time since Thane had been in such close contact with anyone. Those many brief intimate kills he had performed hardly counted. But this closeness had been with a warrior-angel and it stirred emotions in him Thane didn't even know he was still capable of feeling.
He spent the fortunately short shuttle ride back to the Normandy sitting between a glowering turian and a Commander who managed to look defiant and sheepish at the same time. No one spoke. As soon as the shuttle docked Shepard was up, using the door frame as support. Beyond the open hatch was an empty shuttle bay with little she could use to help her traverse the area and she hesitated.
As soon as Thane was by her side she hissed, "Don't you dare!" But she put an arm across his back and allowed him to take some of her weight. It was a compromise and Thane understood the Commander's desire to keep her dignity among the crew as well as reassure them by walking, however awkwardly, back from battle. He allowed her to set the pace as she semi-hopped across the large room.
"For once I'm glad the armoury isn't down here," she muttered, wincing slightly.
Thane didn't have a chance to comment as the lift doors opened to a rumbling cry of, "Shepard!"
Grunt's quarters overlooked the shuttle bay and he must have seen their arrival. Despite the heavy down turned brow, the young krogan seemed delighted to see his Commander, welcoming her by slapping a heavy paw down onto her wounded shoulder. It had to hurt but Shepard grimaced only slightly, eyes closing a moment before she smiled at Grunt. Once again Thane was impressed by this small human.
"Are you ok, Shepard?" Grunt asked in a vicious looking wide toothy grin.
"Yes, thanks Grunt, I just twisted my ankle, is all."
"Oh." The krogan sounded disappointed as he stepped back into the lift to give them room.
"And got herself shot," Garrus growled. He had been quietly following, mandibles tight against his mouth. "Properly, I mean. Clean through her shields, her armour and straight into her flesh."
"Oh!" Grunt repeated, much more brightly. "Battlemaster, you will have a new scar to remind you of a good fight. Hur hur hur," he laughed.
"It was a disaster!" Garrus drawled.
Silence.
"Thanks, Grunt."
The lift doors opened onto the crew deck and they made a strange looking, slow parade. A concerned drell supporting a hopping human followed by a grinning krogan and a turian who looked like he might reach out and throttle the next person who spoke to him.
"Well," said Doctor Karin Chakwas brightly, "what do we have here, Commander? Looks like someone got the better of you today." Her omni-tool flicked on as she stood and waited until Thane had gently helped Shepard up onto a bed.
But first she had to remove her weapons, snapping off each one from its holster as she stood on one foot, Thane at her elbow to steady her. Once she had laid all the weapons on the vacant bed next to hers it looked like a veritable armoury. The ML-77 missile launcher, an M-27 Scimitar shot gun, her M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon, the favoured M-12 Locust, which Garrus had retrieved from where it had fallen and an M-96 Mattock assault rifle. Finally, the M-97 Viper sniper rifle Thane had yet to see her use. She told him she liked to snipe, but had admitted to being pretty useless with a scope on the run so didn't get much of a chance to use it. She carried it, "'Cos you never know."
It was an excessive amount of weaponry to carry, thought Thane, who rarely carried more than his rifle and maybe a couple of small arms. His hands were his best weapons.
"Always best to have a back up." Shepard had told him when he had asked why she carried so much.
Garrus once commented, "If she was the kind of woman who carried a handbag it would be the size of a large locker."
Thane noticed the doctor's eyes visually assessing her patient as she smiled, waiting for Shepard to get settled. The moment Chakwas started working, Garrus, who had been brooding next to the happy krogan, couldn't contain himself any longer. Pushing past Grunt he exploded.
"Shepard, what the hell were you playing at down there? We could have all been killed. You nearly were! You pushed it too hard, too fast, and you left us behind!"
As Garrus paced back and forth Thane grew ever more annoyed. Garrus may have a point, but his delivery left a lot to be desired, his timing too. Thane placed a protective hand between Shepard's shoulder blades without thinking about it and found himself gratified when she rested against him a little, though this could have been due to an unconscious desire to cringe away from her friend's fury. Yet, she allowed Garrus to continue.
"You didn't listen to your team, well, to me anyway," he glowered at Thane, "and hell, Shepard, you didn't even bother to sweep the area properly before rushing off to plant the damn bomb! What the hell were you thinking?"
All the while Grunt watched hungrily, thoroughly entertained by the tension.
Dr Chakwas didn't even seem to notice. "Well Commander, that head wound is just a scrape, I'll have it glued up in a jiffy. You shoulder has some tissue damage is all and your ankle is just a small sprain. I don't suppose there's much chance of you staying off it for a few days is there?"
"What? Bed rest?" Shepard looked horrified at the idea.
"Oh, heavens no," Chakwas laughed, "I've long since given up trying to keep you properly immobile. But I wouldn't recommend you trying to chase any of your bad guys on it for a couple of days."
"I can do that, Doc," Shepard smiled, "We're due for some shore leave anyway."
Garrus had stopped pacing, if not seething, "Look, what's going on, Shepard? I think you owe us an explanation at the very least. I mean, first you…"
"All right, that's enough Vakarian." Shepard said mildly, fixing Garrus with her 'shut up' look.
"Indeed," agreed the doctor, "come on, out you go, boys…"
"Wait!" Shepard sighed. "Garrus, you're right. I'm not really sure what I was doing. I'm a bit tired, obviously I've become maybe a little complacent. I just wanted to get the mission over and done with and get back to the Normandy. But, I guess I put both your lives in danger. Garrus, Thane," she looked at them in turn before looking down at her hands, "I'm sorry, I screwed up."
"Well good," chimed the doctor, brightly. "It's rather nice to know even the great Commander Shepard gets things wrong from time to time. Makes us lesser mortals feel better." Before Garrus could argue the flaws in Chakwas' comments she told the three of them, "Now shoo. Let me work on the Commander. She'll be fine."
Garrus stalked away past Grunt who reluctantly followed. Thane hesitated, but when the doctor eyeballed him he reluctantly pulled his hand away.
Shepard caught it, squeezing lightly, her touch quickening his pulse.
"Thanks Thane," she offered gently, looking up at him. She held his gaze as he slowly tilted his head to one side in acknowledgement.
Reluctantly, he took a couple of steps backwards and their hands slid apart.
It felt like she didn't want him to leave, or maybe that was just his desire to stay by her side. Either way she didn't take her eyes off him until he turned away. As he made his way to the door he heard the two humans talking.
"Well it looks like you have another scar to add to your collection, Commander."
"Hah, yeah that's pretty much what Grunt said."
"Seriously though, it's not like you to need patching up like this."
"Hmm, it's been a while hasn't it?"
"Since before you died I believe!"
The door closed on the doctors dark chuckle and Thane paused only long enough in Life Support to stow his weapons before returning to the mess hall. As he did so he passed Grunt waiting by the lift.
"Grunt." Thane nodded.
"Drell." The krogan grinned.
Thane had long given up hoping Grunt would learn his name.
In the mess Garrus was reassuring Miranda all was well before she ducked back into her quarters. Word travelled around the ship faster than the Normandy's FTL drive took them across the galaxy and some of the team were already hovering around a table, apart from Kasumi who was in hiding right behind Garrus. At Thane's pointed stare she de-cloaked, huffed and joined Jack, Zaeed and Tali. The drell always made a mental note to keep watch for that barely perceptible tell tale shimmer of a cloaked Kasumi wherever he went on the Normandy. Jacob had left with a scowl as soon as Thane arrived.
He couldn't understand this crew sometimes. He understood the Commander ran a relaxed regime and welcomed the crew's input, but to allow Garrus to berate her like that seemed extreme. Then again, the turian clearly needed to let off steam, better with her than the rest of the ship. She had done the same for Zaeed after his mission on Zorya hadn't quite gone to plan. Zaeed had waited twenty years to get his revenge on Vido Santiago. The man had betrayed Zaeed and shot him in the face after they co-founded the Blue Suns together many years ago. The mission on Zorya had come to an end when Shepard had insisted Zaeed let Vido go in order to save the innocent civilian workers at the Eldfell-Ashland Energy Refinery. But rather than liberate the refinery from the Blue Suns, Zaeed blew it up after the civilians were all safe. Grunt and Jack had also let off plenty of steam at the Commander for various reasons and Shepard accepted it all.
Even so Garrus was a turian, part of a military race renowned for respecting the hierarchy of a command structure without question, and here he was actually yelling at his Commander. Having said that Garrus wasn't a typical turian. A natural renegade to begin with, he had spent many years working alongside humans. But what really galled Thane was the lack of sympathy Garrus and Grunt showed over the pain their Commander was clearly in. Ok, the krogans attitude was cultural and they didn't feel pain in the same way other species did. But the turian was Shepard's friend. He cared about her, usually, anyway. Yet he had berated her like she was nothing more than a cadet. Thane did agree Shepard had been careless, thoughtless, even, but though he had not known the Commander long, he suspected this was out of character for her. Yes, you could describe her as swift and certainly loud on the battlefield, but never careless.
The team at the table appeared absorbed in their drinks, the floor, the bulkheads as Thane approached Garrus, who stood by the steps leading to the Main Battery, his arms folded as he watched Shepard and Chakwas through the med bay window.
He sighed as Thane joined him. "You must think me an awful turian. I suppose I shouldn't have shouted."
"No." Thane agreed, mildly.
Garrus rounded on him, "Oh come on, you were there, she…" he looked around, dropping his voice to a hiss, "messed up!"
"This… disappoints you?"
"No. Well, yes. Maybe. Oh, I don't know. Scared the hell out of me more like. When that damn krogan appeared, then seeing her get slammed into the wall like that…" Garrus trailed off with a shake of his head.
"Yes," Thane nodded, "it was frightening." Garrus eyed him and Thane asked, "Has this happened before? Has Shepard…"
"No, never," Garrus said quickly. "Not even after Horizon."
"One of the human colonies hit by the Collectors?"
"Hmm," was all Garrus offered, mandibles tightening against his mouth briefly.
"Did she seem ok to you last night? I've, uh, noticed Shepard has been spending a lot of time with you recently."
"Has she?" Thane knew this to be true of course but hadn't considered it to be noteworthy. She spent time with many aboard the Normandy. He briefly reviewed his evening with the Commander and wondered if he may somehow be partly responsible for Shepard's poor performance today. "Hmm, perhaps I upset Shepard more than I realised."
"Upset her?" Garrus looked at him suspiciously.
"She informed me this morning I had, annoyed her last night. More specifically I had, to use her words, pissed her off a little. But she assured me everything was still fine between us."
"Go on," Garrus said darkly.
"She had mentioned today's mission and we spoke a little about tactics. I suggested a subtle infiltration to plant the explosive would suffice."
At that Garrus chuckled. "Oh I bet she liked that. Shepard is not known for battlefield subtlety. She likes to go in hard and, as she puts it, make sure all the trash is taken out, especially when it comes to slavers."
"Hmm… then do you think she was perhaps trying to make a point?"
"And fell on her ass doing it!" Garrus laughed. "Honestly, no actually, she's not that stupid. I think she's been pushing herself a bit too hard recently and needs a break. She's hardly stood still this past week," he turned to Thane, "and don't worry, drell, I'm pretty sure your still her favourite person on the Normandy." He grinned, turning back to watch what little was going on in the med bay as Shepard and the doctor spoke silently.
"I am?" This pleased Thane far more than he was willing to admit even to himself. "I don't like to think she would take risks just because of something I have said."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry. She was probably just in a hurry to get the first round in when we hit Omega. If not, she sure will be now!" Garrus grinned. "She owes us, and anyway, I've never seen her make the same mistake twice. I don't think it will happen again. I'd say this was a lesson learned."
"Then I take it you have calmed down somewhat now, Garrus?"
The turian chuckled, sighed, then nodded.
Gardener appeared with a mug of tea for each of them. Thane nodded his gratitude for the popular asari blend. For Garrus, it was a turian tea only he enjoyed. The rest of the crew described it in many colourful ways, most popularly 'muck' and 'revolting.'
"Oh thanks, Gardener." Garrus smiled, taking his mug.
No one spoke for a while but when the Mess Seargent began to say something Garrus cut him off with an absent, "Not now."
Gardener shrugged and ambled away as Garrus leaned towards Thane, asking, "What do you think they're talking about in there?"
Behind them Gardener settled back into his usual spot, leaning against the kitchen cupboards, arms folded, muttering, "Back to work."