Thane lets himself into Shepard's cabin, a limp body thrown carelessly over his shoulder. The body lands on the floor with a loud thud, drawing the Commander's attention. Red skin addled with black speckles greets her gaze, evoking a deep sigh of defeat from the woman. I guess I was wrong. Thane would hurt Red.
"Thane, what happened?" She wants to feel betrayed, wants to blow up on him for hurting an innocent person. But the intense grin the young drell graced her with before he walked out of the room haunts her. It had screamed many things, but 'innocence' was not one of them.
"I got the feeling that he shouldn't be trusted. I was right." He throws an easily concealable pouch into her ready grasp, which she unzips to reveal more test tubes. Confusion laces her features, tugging on her shapely eyebrows. Thane marvels to himself about how easy she is to read, every emotion laid out plainly on her face. At least, when they're alone. She trusts him enough to let him see this, and he couldn't even bear to let her see it when he was in pain. I'm going to... trust her more. She deserves that much.
"Did he steal these from Mordin?" She runs her thumb along the glass, cautiously counting the tubes.
"No, he did not. There are 20 in that pouch, and 22 in the lab. You seem to have interrupted him. I stopped by the lab before coming up here." Remembering his silent vow earlier, he drops his assassin mask and lets his concerns show in his eyes. She notices the change, fighting off the urge to pull his face into her hands and kiss the uneasiness away. But now is hardly the time.
"It almost sounds like he was going to replace our samples with his..."
"But didn't anticipate my contribution." Thane finishes the thought for her, the possibilities taking his mind to a dark place. "Siha, this... worries me. A drell, knowingly sabotaging what could be a cure for Kepral's Syndrome?" The betrayal seems to radiate off of him, becoming increasingly evident in his features. Shepard can't resist this time, she closes the distance between them until her arms are full of a very uneasy drell.
"Not anymore. He didn't succeed, and I don't think he's going to get another chance." She glances down at the red drell, before closing her eyes when the conscious one winds his fingers in her hair.
"He's still alive. I couldn't bring myself to kill him. Even if he is betraying our people." Shepard smiles in response, thinking back to their conversations about the drell mindset. He may be an assassin, but his soul is kind. Merciful.
"You're a good person, Thane." He chuckles at this, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm an assassin."
"Your body is. Your soul isn't." Thane touches his textured forehead to her smooth one, both seeming to forget that they have an unconscious audience.
"I love it when you say things like that," he purrs, voice barely above a whisper. "However, you caused my becoming a better person. You are a horrible influence on me."
"Alright, smooth talker," she places a hand on his cheek, and playfully pushes him away. "Let's get these samples down to Mordin before you talk my clothes off of me. More stuff to test- I'm sure he'll be thrilled."
Thane carries the body to the exit of the ship, roughly dropping him on the docking area of Omega. With one last deadly glare, he disappears back onto the Normandy.
"This is why I hate Omega." Shepard grumbles, resting against the doorway separating the helm from the rest of the ship.
"He's gone." Thane calls from right behind his siha, wrapping strong arms around her soft but firm waist. The same arms that drain life out of select unlucky people, are a place of warmth and love for a certain lucky human Commander.
"Let's head back to Earth, Joker."
"Aye aye, Commander." He quips from his chair, hands masterly piloting the ship forward.
"I'm going to check on Mordin." Shepard spares a glance towards the doors leading to the lab, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Maybe he's done running tests?
"I'll be relaxing on the most comfortable bed on the Normandy." Thane replies, ducking into the elevator and sending her a cheeky smile until the doors close.
Once inside the lab, she finds Mordin rushing all over the room. The open pouch full of suspicious test tubes lays open on one side of his desk, his samples on the other. Two of the tubes have a piece of tawny-colored tape on them, a sloppy T written over it. She picks one up, observing the slightly cloudy substance at the bottom of the tube.
"Don't touch those. Fragile." His equipment beeps, bringing his hurried movement to a stop. His eyes dance over the results, and he's facing Shepard again in no time. "Strange drell brought different samples. Not pure disease. Added something to it... Could run more tests, but I suggest I work on pure samples. Thoughts?"
"I agree, work on the cure. We'll save the other mystery for later." With a nod, the salarian places the sabotaged tubes into a small cooling unit. She absentmindedly starts toying with the glass, rolling it between her hands.
"Recommend you stop doing that." The sentence barely makes it out of his mouth before the glass shatters in her grasp, the cloudy disease seeping into her bloody wounds.
"Shepard..." His salarian features twist in horror as his gaze lands on the bloody, glass-splintered mess. He tries to form a response, but his quick mind is at a loss for words. "You... Big mistake. Big, big mistake."
Author's Note: Ok guys, toning the drama down from now on! Now that things have been set in motion, they can enjoy their vacation again. Review! Thank you, all of my regular reviewers. You guys keep me writing.