Chapter 7

Shepard took point with her assault rifle and immediately saw collectors running rampant all over the base. Looks like they had figured out what Exogeni had been working on too.

Adra observed her team mates as they progressed towards the main doors, one overturned crate at a time. it was a dog fight, with so many collector bodies advancing on them down the runway, it was hard to see how they had enough bullets to dispense of them. Shepard definitely preferred the 'spray and pray' approach with her riffle. Her use of bullets wasn't efficient, but what she shot stayed down. As she watched Thane, he tended to wait until he could take the perfect or near perfect shot and killed the target with one bullet. Usually to the head or torso. His duel heavy duty pistols were very efficient, but the capacity wasn't as high as the assault rifle the commander wielded.

Adra would upgrade it for him later.

Adra herself provided barrier cover for her unit. She had analysed the situation, the enemies numbers and tactics, and determined that she could best improve their chances of survival by taking on a support role. she relayed this to Sheppard first, who shouted her approval as a plasma bolt was deflected from her face by said shielding. After what seemed like a mass duck and roll routine through a myriad of bullets and plasma bolts, they reached the far door and no more outer resistance. The bodies of husks (in their respective pieces) littered the runway and their last obstacle was the door. The facility was in total shut down and refused their entry when Sheppard pressed the door panel.

"Alright Adra. You're up. Get us inside asap."

"Yes commander." This was her moment. Adra whipped out her omni-tool and her fingers moved furiously over the display. "And...in."

The door opened, as did Shepard's mouth.

"But that...took you seconds?!"

"Yes." Adra simply acknowledged. "I'm sorry for the delay commander. There were 72 fail safes for me to override. I will be faster in future."

"Wha...? You really can hack anything, can't you?"

"I told you I wasn't lying." A small smile tugged at Adra's lips as they carefully walked into the building.

"Well done." Thane spoke softly by her side, still looking around the room down the sight of his pistols. Adra looked to him and blushed. She then shook it off and advanced into the main hall.

"I have the schematics of the facility downloaded to my omni-tool. The most effective route to the data drives in the basement is...ah."

"What's wrong Adra?" Shepard watched their six as they made it to the other side of the hall without incident. "Is it blocked off?"

"No. But I will need your assistance." Adra pushed her long raven hair behind her hair and smoothed her hands down the front of her cat suit nervously. "There is only one route left to the basement that is accessible to me." She pointed to her left. All eyes moved to rest on an air vent... "I can slide down there and navigate to the basement. However, neither of you can come with me." She didn't notice her hands trembling. "Thane is too large for the vent, and so are you commander. In your armour I mean."

"Then I'll take my armour off and-"

"No commander." Adra shook her head and sheathed her weapons in readiness. "I will need you and Thane to guard this access port for my escape route." The sound of husks screeching through the doors of the hall was an eerie back drop. They were inside and would definitely be in the basement too... "It will not be long before more of the collectors and their minions break into the hall now I have overridden the lock down. I need you to protect me from here."

"That's the only way to the data?" Shepard looked from the air vent to the young woman. "You really want to go down there? alone? To face god knows what, get the data, and get back before we're over run?"

"Yes. Which is why I shouldn't waste any more time." Adra nodded to the commander, who didn't look happy with this plan, but agreed with it.

"Alright Adra. I trust you. Be careful, and be quick. No heroics. Get in, get the data, get back. we'll make sure this level stays safe for your escape." Even as Shepard and Thane reloaded and turned to protect the air vent, Adra caught Thane's fathomless black eyes. he put his hands together briefly as he had her gaze.

"Amonkira, lord of hunters, may our aim be true and our enemies ended quickly. Bless Adra's body to be swift in her mission, and if the worst comes to happen, forgive us."

"Thank you." Adra whispered and turned to crawl into the exposed air vent.

The air vent was so narrow she had to lay on her stomach and wriggle her hips and shoulders so her hands and knees could push her body forward. She only stopped to check her route when a junction came up before her. Her ears could feel her heart beat in her head, her chest, and it echoed with anticipation and dread in her soul. Fear and adrenaline coursed through her veins in equal measure as she got closer and closer to the basement. Nausea crept up on her in waves as her trembling hands brought her to the final exit port to the basement. Carefully she pulled the mesh away from the exit and crawled out behind a consol. Steadying her breathing she looked around the edge of the consol to examine the room.

Husks.

Everywhere.

And the main data drive was at the other side of the room to her.

She snapped back behind the consol and felt her heart hammering against her chest. She'd faced damning odds before, but always with her mother and auntie. Never alone.

I need to take out the ones closest to me first, then throw some grenades to take out as many of the rest that I can. Then dig down behind the beam to my right and take the rest out. I can't extract the research data until I've eliminated all the husks in the room. I also can't take too long in doing this, as the collector presence will only increase and cause Shepard and Thane more difficulty in protecting the air vent.

But she was afraid. She should have moved already, but her body trembled behind that consol. Move! You are endangering the mission and Shepard and Thane! Move! It is irrational to be paralysed by fear! Move!

She turned her head to look around the consol again. There were just so many of them...at least two dozen. She hid again and brought her fist down on her thigh. Thane prayed for me to be swift. I can't let him down. Be swift be swift be swift be swift.

"Lord Amonkira. Give me strength. Help me face this. If you're real, and you care for more than Drell, give me strength." She whimpered under her breath and finally rolled to her side. "AAAAAAAA!" she released a loud battle cry and sent a powerful shockwave forward and into the first group of husks. The scary thing was, one of the husks was seconds away from finding her. she'd been practically nose to nose with it when she moved out of cover. The alarm of this fact tore through her body like lighting and she ran forward.

Her plan forgotten. Her mind numb with fear and rage, her feet moved with purpose towards the throng of husks. Her body shimmered with her biotics at full strength and she warped her enemy. She tore them to pieces and hustled storage crates at them. Then she pulled her pistols out and blasted the heads of three before one of them grabbed her right arm. Adra screamed and brought her head into its before it could pull her limp from the socket. It staggered backwards and gave her enough time to shoot it to the ground. She sent out another desperate wave, pulsing out from her body and sending husks flying into the walls.

Shot after shot, punch after kick, scream after cry she kept going. A husk caught her vision as it charged towards her. She put up her barriers in time to protect herself from its exploding body. She then realised in horror that she was out of bullets. A handful of husks were left, so she resorted to her mother's style of fighting. She fought tooth and nail. She twisted the heads of her enemy to snap their necks, pulled two machete off her back and hacked them open. Adra span round to decapitate one husk and carve the chest of another one open at the same time. finally the last husk fell to the floor in three pieces and she looked around for the next enemy. It took a few adrenaline filled seconds of snapping her head from side to side to realise she'd got them all. Adra was still panting as she sheathed her machete and ran over to the main data drive. It only took her a few moments to get all the relevant data on the collector swarms onto her omni-tool. It only took that long before her fingers were trembling as she worked. She was slick with dark husk blood, and felt deep bruises blossoming in pain over her ribs and back, as well as a throbbing bite wound on her shin, but she'd address her injuries later. she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she ran to the air vent and crawled inside, smearing dark husk blood there. As quickly as her body would move she dragged herself back to the main hall and tentatively looked out of the exit port. Thane and Shepard were in cover behind a large fountain display and shooting the hell out of a unit of collectors. They were stuck there however, as the enemy was swarming through the only door out of the facility.

Adra slid out of the air vent with a harsh thud and held her middle in pain for only a second as she scrambled over to her team.

"Adra did you-shit! You ok?"

"I am fine commander. My injuries are minor and will not hinder my performance in the mission. Please take cover." Adra pulled two energy grenades from her belt and waited for Thane and Shepard to duck. She used her teeth to pull the pins out, stood and threw them both at the same time. She dropped to cover and braced herself.

The explosion made the ground tremble and the tell tale sound of the structural integrity of the building becoming compromised surrounded them. The walls creaked and bits of marble and plaster crashed in the ground like a fire strike.

"Normandy this is Shepard. Send the shuttle to my location. We need an immediate evac! Now!"

"Commander you're location is crawling with collectors." Joker barked over the com link to them. Thane threw Adra some spare clips and they provided covering fire as they started to advance towards the door. Both Shepard and Thane noticed how Adra was limping and holding her side as she ran. But she still ran.

"Damn it Joker, we need an evac." She ground out and emptied a clip into another collector. They hid at either side of the doorway and took shots out as they gauged an escape route. More collector ships could be seen in the distance. If they didn't move now...

"Damn it! The ship disengaged!" Joker hissed over the com link. "Commander, our 'guests' just amscrayed and they seem to be heading for your location. I have no idea how they even know where you are, but it looks like they're going to be your evac. The Normandy shuttle just doesn't have the fire power to pick you up with that many bogies Mam."

"Understood Joker." Shepard threw another grenade and looked across the doorway at Adra. "Seems Ralkar and Janira are eager to disobey your orders and come and save our asses. We need to hold on until they get here, and take out as many collectors as we can."

"Understood." Thane threw shockwave out at a group of collectors that were far too close for their liking. They toppled backwards and Adra leaned out to make sure they stayed down. Bullets to the head. Yup, that would do it. "Commander, over there!"

An Asari medium class planet jumper thundered over the horizon and didn't seem to be getting ready to land, despite how low it was flying. It swung round over the throng of collectors and the bay door opened. Like a scene from an action movie two Krogan jumped out at full speed. Eyes and grins wide, shotguns firing before their bodies hit the ground came Grunt and Ralkar. They charged through the flank of the horde and were gaining ground quickly.

"Come on! Keep firing! Attack on two fronts!"

"Yes commander!" Adra felt her body aching but forced it to keep moving. She cried out in rage and pain as she saw husks pilling on top of their Krogan reinforcements. It was short lived, as a biotic field pulsed out and warped every husk it touched. Standing with his hands out holding up a barrier was Ralkar. Adra couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, before Thane yanked her back.

"Stay focused Adra. That is the best way to survive, and to help them to do the same."

"Yes sir." She shook herself back into the game.

"We need to push forward!" Shepard barked at the two.

"Yes commander!" Adra dug deep and released a roar her mother would have been proud of. She ran out of cover with her arms out and a shimmering dome covering her. Thane and Shepard bolted out behind her and blasted their way forward. Her shield was enough to keep gunfire out, but not the collectors and husks themselves. Despite her pain and the heavy burden of keeping up the shield as they advanced through the collectors, it warmed her chest to see that Ralkar was mimicking her movements. He kept up a barrier and walked towards them as Grunt blasted buck shots through the enemy. It seemed like an eternity, but their shields met and melded together.

"Adra!" Ralkar ground through the strain of keeping up with the firepower of the collectors, and nodded to her. "Come to me and we'll be stronger."

"Right." She staggered over to him and they pressed their hands together. Another pulse of dark energy bubbled from them and their barrier became stronger and bigger. "We-we're amplifying each other."

"Pooling energy." He ground out. "Need to focus."

"Yes."

That was their sole purpose now. keep the barrier up until Janira could swing back round with the ship.

"Janira this is Sheppard. We've pushed the collectors back but it won't last long, and we'll be sitting ducks out in the open if Adra and Ralkar's barrier goes down."

"Understood commander." She brought the ship round again and lowered the ramp to the hanger bay. The ship's shields held their own as Adra and Ralkar walked the group up the ramp as quickly as they dare. They were still under constant bombardment from plasma bolts. The barrier was getting thin in places and small gaps started to appear.

"Can't, can't-"

"You must Alpha!" the Krogan pressed his forehead down onto hers and exhaled in choppy breaths. "We are nearly safe Alpha."

"Hang on!" Shepard called out to them, ducking as a plasma bolt zipped through a gap and nearly took her head off. "I promise we're nearly safe."

"Be strong Adra." Thane had run out of bullets and ran over to the two holding up their only layer of protection. "Can I contribute to this shield?"

"Yes!" Adra turned to look at him. "Pour your biotic energy through me." He nodded and put his hands on her shoulders. He acted quickly and put as much energy as he dared into her, for fear of hurting her. "More! I need more."

"Any more and I'll-"

"DO IT!" Ralkar snarled, his body starting to sway under the strain. Thane released a push into her and she screamed with the pain. But it worked. She used the energy to fill the gaps long enough for the ramp to close and the ship to pull away so quickly they all fell over. The barrier crackled into nothingness and it took a few moments for the hanger to stop spinning around her field of vision.

"Adra!" Thane turned her onto her back and pressed his fingers to her neck. He sighed with relief when he felt a strong pulse there. "She's unconscious."

"And injured." Ralkar barked and pushed Thane hard in the chest. He fell onto his ass and raised a hand, ready to send a push his way, when he saw what he was doing. the Krogan had Adra cradled in his arms and ran to the other side of the small hanger. The rest of the party staggered after him and soon found themselves in a medical bay. It looked a lot like Mordin's lab...very high tech...

Where did they get the money to have such a high tech medical bay? There are machines in here I don't think Mordin even has. For that matter...those shields were pretty strong for a medium class ship...it got here pretty fast too...Shepard watched as Ralkar swore at a tube of medi-gel. The cap was being uncooperative.

"Here." Thane offered and uncapped it for him.

"Thanks. Now hands off Drell." He barked and carefully pulled off Adra's boots. Then he cut up her injured leg to expose the heavily bleeding and swollen bite mark. "Fuck, it looks infected. Drell!" he barked. "Janira is better at this medical shit than I am. I'll relieve her of the cockpit. Keep her alive." He shoved the medi-gel back at Thane and stormed off to wherever the cockpit was.

Thane, used to patching up injuries like this (normally on his own body), got to work with the trauma kit Ralkar had opened. He injected her with antibiotics, cleaned the wound with an alcohol wipe and stitched the gaping bite closed before Janira even got there.

"Oh by the goddess, Adra!" She looked her body over quickly before ushering for Thane to step aside. "Thank you, but I'll take over now. I'm a doctor."

"Oh?" Shepard put her hands on her hips and walked around the other side of the medical table Adra was laid on. "You never mentioned that?"

"Adra never asked." The Asari mumbled under her breath, focusing her lilac eyes on the task at hand. "Good work Drell. You've done this before."

"I have."

"And his name is Thane." Shepard shook her head and looked to Grunt. "So, you're here...why?"

"Why do you think Shepard?" Grunt was now sat on one of the other medical tables, not a scratch on him. he was however very amused with himself. "You refused to take me on this mission."

"Yeah, I remember telling you that I was taking Thane and Adra. And that was that."

"But I wanted to come." He shrugged. "So when I heard you call for an evac I headed to the shuttle bay." Thane stood back against a wall and merged with the shadows, his home. Shepard rubbed the back of her neck, the aches and exhaustion from battle making themselves known.

"And that goes to you turning up in this ship with our guests, how?"

"When Grunt came to the hanger to leave he was told you couldn't attempt an evac because there was nowhere to land." Janira shrugged and started scanning Adra for her other injuries. She hovered over her ribs and sighed.

"I couldn't steal the shuttle and fight the enemy." Grunt chuckled. "So I saw another ship through the docking port and remembered that Ralkar has a blood debt to protect Adra. It didn't take much persuading to disengage from the Normandy and come and save your asses."

"Well...thanks for that." Shepard laughed with exhaustion. "I mean it, thank you for coming for us." She put a hand on Janira's shoulder, and received a flash of a smile from the woman.

"We are bound to Adra. She is bound to you. everybody wins. I just hope she isn't too mad at us for disobeying her command to stay put..." Janira chewed her bottom lip as she looked over the woman.

"...not...mad." Adra groaned from the table and turned her head to look up at them.

"Oh! Adra! Stay still! You're injured and-"

"I'll be fine." She winced and pushed herself to sit up, despite her 'doctors' protests. "You've stitched my leg up?"

"Well, no." Janira looked over her shoulder at the shadowed Drell. "Thane did. I just applied the medi-gel afterwards. Once we are alone I'll help you put medi-gel on your sides to heal your bruised ribs. Your back is looking sore too."

"What about her stomach?" Shepard added. "She was shot a little while back and is probably still bruised there."

"Oh, yes." Janira lied. "She is, but recovering nicely."

"I'm sore. Everywhere." Adra exhaled deeply and looked up into the worried lilac eyes of Janira. "I...wasn't pleasant to you before. I will try harder to be a good leader and interact you better. Thank you for the evac." Janira beamed a smile and hugged the patient eagerly.

"We couldn't leave you down here in danger Adra! I look forward to being the closest of close! Don't worry about-"

"You're hurting me."

"Oh!" She jumped back and put her hands behind her back. "Sorry Adra."

"..." she just nodded and looked to the commander. "Shepard. I have successfully retrieved the data."

"I never doubted you would." The redhead chuckled and put her hands on her hips. "You look like you faced hell in that basement."

"A few dozen husks. I terminated them as quickly as I could."

"Well done!" Grunt jumped down from his table and grabbed her shoulder, also causing the poor girl to wince with pain. "A basement full of husks by yourself! And you tried to keep me away from all the fun!"

"Erm, Grunt?" Janira tentatively put her hand on his wrist. "You're hurting Adra."

"Hn." He took his hand back and shrugged. "So, you got anything to eat?" the Asari blinked at him and smiled.

"I do. Do you like space cow meat?"

"What?! You have space cow meat onboard and didn't share?! Grunt turned his icy blue glare onto Adra. "You've been holding out on me."

"I didn't know Grunt. This is the first time I have been aboard their ship." She gulped. "It will not be the last." Janira looked like she was contemplating hugging her again, but shook it off with a smile.

"We'll be docking with the Normandy again soon. But you can come and eat space cow meat on our ship as often as you like. Until we run out of course." She giggled and Grunt looked about ready to drool.

The two walked off towards the kitchen and left Thane and Shepard to walk up to Adra, who still sat in pain on the table.

"How you doing?" the commander didn't try to touch her, to her great relief.

"I will heal commander. A lot has happened today. I will analyse my performance and increase my efficiency for the next mission you take me on."

"Glad to hear it. although, you were pretty awesome today." Shepard chuckled and looked to Thane who nodded.

"Very impressive." Adra became captivated by his eyes and slowly smiled through her pain.

"Do you think...will the crew perhaps..." she looked down. "No, one mission isn't enough to-"

"You risked your life today for the mission." Shepard chided her. "You went into danger, alone, and held up a barrier with everything you had to get us to safety. We wouldn't even be having this conversation if your people didn't have a ship strong enough to come and get us under enemy fire. They didn't hesitate. And neither did you. of course you're part of the crew now, and they will respect you for it."

"I..." Adra looked so sad. She felt her eyes water and she looked down into her lap; her long raven hair falling forward. It was slick in places with Husk blood. "I...did hesitate." Adra sniffled. "When I got into the basement and saw so many husks. I...froze...with fear.."

Shepard sighed and reached out to rub her arm as gently as she could.

"I'm scared all the time." Adra caught her eyes with confusion dancing in their depths. "Every moment in the field could be my last. But the difference that defines us, is that we act anyway. And you did act today. You completed your mission and got us out of there. thanks to our amazing skills too of course." The commander chuckled and took her hand back. "It's normal to be afraid."

"Really? I really want to be normal."

"You are better than normal Adra. A normal person couldn't have done what you did today. You should be proud. Because I am."

"Commander..." silent tears fell down her cheeks. The last person to tell her she was proud of her was her mother. "Thank you." she sniffled and turned to look at Thane. "And thank you."

"You did all the hard work Adra. I just gave you some extra dark energy. The honour today is yours."

"Well, yeah that, but that's not what I'm thanking you for." Her hands trembled on her lap and her cheeks flushed. "It is irrational I know, as I'm not religious, and words have no bearing on my body. But when I was scared and temporally lost function in my limbs, I...prayed." She looked deep into his eyes for an answer he couldn't give her. a soul searching answer. "I prayed to Amonkira to help me move."

"And you did." He nodded, his lips curving serenely. "He clearly deemed you worthy and helped your soul become one with your body to act."

"Worthy? What does it mean to be worthy?"

Shepard stepped away from the pair with a secret smile on her lips. she patched through to the Normandy to confirm that the ship had her onboard and had her authorisation to re-dock.

"There is no answer to that question, as it takes a lifetime to find the answer." He tentatively put his hand on her shoulder, and she didn't flinch with pain, nor remove her intense gaze from his. "We can only live our lives with honour and atone for our sins. We can only choose to live and move when it counts."

"Like did today." She reasoned, and he nodded. "So...my mother and auntie...are proud of me? From across the sea? In your religion I mean?"

"That is what I believe. And I know they are proud of you." He took his hand back and leaned with one hip against the table. "I am sure of it."

"Thank you Thane." She whispered and held her middle. "It seems words...do make a difference. To me." He nodded and they shared a comfortable silence. Until the ship docked with the Normandy. Then Janira and Ralkar were bickering over the fact that Janira had broken her word not to hug Adra anymore, which actually made Adra smile.

Then they transferred into the hanger bay of the Normandy and the games kept going. The rest of the crew had gathered to see if they were ok, as things had gotten touch and go for a while, and wanted to see if everyone was alright.

Mordin ran forward and started scanning and poking Adra all over, much to her dislike. "I need medi-gel, which I have, and rest, which I will get. I have been treated already."

"I will be the judge of that. Told Chakwas I would treat you, and I will. This way Adra."

"I desire rest, privacy and silence." She tried to walk past him, but the Salarian was having none of it.

Janira bound up to the doctor and made him stagger backwards at the sudden towering presence of the tall Asari.

"You heard her Doctor! I'm Dr Janira K'pani of Thessia. I'm a trauma surgical specialist and I have treated Adra and prescribed painkillers and medi-gel. And rest."

"No offence to your credentials Dr K'pani. But Adra is part of my crew. Dr Chakwas and I are responsible for this crew, so-"

"Janira and Ralkar are part of this crew too." Shepard added, drawing all their attention to her. "After what they did today, they deserve no less. You have permission to come and go on my ship as you please, but you're not allowed on the engine deck, the main battery or the cockpit. Understood?" Janira and Ralkar turned to look at Adra. In their eyes, she had that authority, not Shepard.

"Thank you commander. They will respect your boundaries." They then thanked the commander and Adra didn't wait to see what they would do with their new found freedom.

She was in pain.

She was tired.

And she needed the comfort of silence.

"Come." Thane whispred in her ear and helped her navigate through the commotion of the crew getting up to date with what happened on the mission, and the immediate sparing match that went on between Grunt and Ralkar. To see who was the better Krogan, apparently. Ralkar started sulking when Janira cheered for Grunt...

And they were in the elevator.

"Thank you. I thought Dr Solus was going to insist on treating me again."

"It is because he cares." Thane lead them over to the life support control room and turned on the lights. "I will get you a bed."

"A bed?" she quizzed him as he U-turned out of the room. "Why?"

"You can't recover comfortably on the floor. You've been sleeping there for the last 3 weeks anyway. Since you're practically sharing my accommodation, you can at least make it official with a bed of your own."

"...you don't mind?" he blinked at her then in the doorway and shook his head slowly.

"I do not mind your presence Adra."

"...thank you." she stood there and waited patiently for him to return with a mattress slung over his shoulder from the crew cabin. He had a pillow and blanket shoved under his other arm. He put it in 'her corner' and made the bed carefully. He then locked the door and walked over to the window. It was a few seconds before he registered the sound of zips and pained groaning. Despite the conclusion his mind came up with he turned to investigate the noises. She was peeling out of her suit and struggling to shrug it off her shoulders. The zip from her bust to her groin was undone, but it was sticking to her shoulders with the husk blood. It was actually causing her pain.

"Can I assist you?"

"Yes please." She turned to face him and her face was as calm as it usually was. Only hesitating for a moment Thane traversed the distance and took a hold of the leather on her shoulders. He started pulling it down as gently as he could, when he realised she wasn't wearing a bra underneath the suit. It must have built in support... "Thane?" she inquired looking up at him, then over her shoulders. "Is it caught? Don't worry about hurting me Thane. I may be human but I am not fragile."

"You will be exposed if I continue." He stated as calmly as he could. The last woman he saw naked was Irikah.

"I do not mind. I don't have any issue with my body like human women do. I can understand the reluctance in public as that is inappropriate. I can also understand the social taboo of nudity in a male dominated place as it could incite unwanted sexual advances. But changing in front of another has no stigma to me. I am not affected by it." she shrugged. "I am sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. I can manage on my own if you wish." He looked at her hard for a moment with a straight face, then shook his head.

"Women are usually very self conscious."

"Normal women." She added.

"Very well. I shall assist you." she was just a comrade. He wouldn't have thought about her being nude as an issue if this was Garrus or Jacob. He was just helping her out of a piece of clothing because she was in pain. That was all. He nodded and continued peeling the leather down her body. Once it was around her hips he released the leather. She was covered in bruises across her ribs and collar bone. As she turned to the side to shove the suit down her legs he saw the same purple coloured bruises down her back in ugly blotches on her pale skin. once the suit was removed he examined the expanse of her thighs and shins to her bite mark. It was mostly gone already. Thankfully she wore panties.

Well, she did.

They came off too!

Thane turned his back to her a second too late. He saw...everything. she'd been facing him when she stood back up from 'exposing herself' and he...hated having a perfect memory at that moment. He just needed to focus on never falling into that memory in public or it would be humiliation all around. If only he could forget the roundness of her breasts, their dusky perks and the deep pink colour of her folds beneath her black wiry tresses...damn.

Despite all the bruising, she was divine. She was petite and her figure sinuous, but her breasts were ample and her legs long and supple. Her neck was also elegant and her spine dipped into her waist with two dimples just above her curved backside.

"Forgive me for making you uncomfortable. Thank you for assisting me this far. I will go and clean the blood off and go to sleep."

For a horrible moment he thought she'd intended to just walk out of the room naked. To his relief she grabbed two towels. One she wrapped around herself, getting husk blood on it, and the other she held to use after her shower.

Thane sat at his table and calmed his breathing, so he returned to his normal levels of peace when she returned wearing the clean towel. Her hair was towel dried and stuck to her back. she had already dried in the washroom it seemed, as she dumped both towels in the wash bin by the door. She then sat on the bed with her back to him and her legs crossed as she opened the tube of medi-gel.

He tried not to. He told himself he was disrespecting her by watching, but damn his eyes for being stuck on her back. her hands worked swiftly applying the medi-gel to her nearly faded bite would and outer thighs. He felt his hands clench on the desk as she made the motions of rubbing the gel over her ribs and chest...

She then pulled her hair over her shoulder and tried to reach over her shoulder. "AAaah-fuck." She hissed with pain. From the way her back spasmed it was obvious that she was in a lot of pain. She tried again, and again trembled in agony.

"Would you like assistance?" he spoke before he realised he sent the thought to his lips.

"I would not like to burden your company any more. As soon as I have applied medi-gel to my back I will clothe myself and sleep."

"Then I shall help you." he approached her slowly and knelt behind her on the floor.

"Thank you Thane. I appreciate it." he nodded, though she couldn't see it, and handed him the tube. She busied her hands with holding her hair over her front as he applied a good layer of gel to his hands. He focused on his task and smoothed his hands over her bruises. She twitched and inhaled sharply at times, but never complained at the discomfort he was causing her. as soon as he was satisfied that she was sufficiently treated and the bruises started to fade he nodded and removed himself to his bed.

"It is late Adra. It is time to rest."

"Thank you Thane." He stopped unzipping his jacket mid way and looked to her. She'd already shuffled under the blanket up to her chin and looked at him through the darkness. When did she turn the light off? "Sleep well." Her eyes closed and she seemed to go straight into a deep sleep. Thane felt sinfully guilty for it, but he watched her for a good five minutes before he finished stripping down to his boxers and got under his own blanket.

The memory of her bruised but beautiful body plagued him for hours before he finally stopped seeing her every arch and dip before his eyes, and slept.