- Repercussions -
"Shepard! The citadel is under attack by Cerberus"
"That's probably why we can't dock.. Can you do anything from your side?"
"No. I've been helping c-sec here, holding off the attack on Huerta, setting up a safe point for the wounded. To unlock a dock for you.. I wouldn't even know how to without going through alliance control station. It's been swarmed by Cerberus soldiers, no chance of getting there. Get Kasumi. She can hack the terminals directly at the docks without having to involve the headquarters"
"Garrus! Contact Kasumi!"
Thane allowed himself to breath for a moment. The attack had been sudden and they struck hard. He had pushed through the pain and let his muscle memory take control, pushing off the advance on Huerta. Now the staff had their hands full, running around to try to size up every wounded person coming in as fast as possible. Most people weren't severely hurt, but they were all in shock.
He listened in on the conversation between Shepard and Kasumi. His strength gave out, hearing her voice. He had already talked about the situation with Sarah during her last visit and he could hear how she avoided mentioning him being the source of information. He found himself thinking that she sounded happy, back to her old self. The moment he heard of where she was heading, he left Huerta and started tracing her steps. She was too busy taking out several guards in her path to notice him watching her. She looked better. Great, in fact. After taking out the last set of guards, she stood up and brushed off some imaginary dust off of herself. Thane smiled at the gesture. He knew very well that was something she'd picked up from him, one of his unbreakable habbits.
He signaled Shepard for a privat conversation.
"I need to head towards C-sec headquarters"
"Why there?"
"If we don't take it back, we've already lost. I'm suspecting it might be locked down and overrun, however. Making my way over there now. I'll try to clear it a bit but have Kasumi head over there and open up a safe path"
"I'm on it"
Thane could hear the annoyance in her voice. He couldn't blame her. In any other situation, he would simply contact Kasumi himself. But how could he? He could no longer convince himself that what he was doing was right. He had told himself he'd been saving her from pain but maybe he was causing her more pain this way. He looked over at Kasumi one last time before heading out. He could hear her tease Joker and couldn't help but to smile. Maybe not. Maybe he had chosen correctly. She really did look a lot better.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment before making his way towards c-sec headquarters. He managed to find a sidedoor but like all other doors into the headquarters, this one was under lockdown. He contacted Kolyat.
"Kolyat, have you made it out?"
"Yes. I'm helping to set up safe transport paths for the wounded to Huerta. Have you gotten to the headquarters?"
"I'm in position but it's under lockdown. I'll have to wait for Kasumi to open it before I can enter"
He found a better advantage point and watched Kasumi arrive at the scene. It was overun by soldiers. He took out his sniper and helped Bailey and the c-sec offiers unnoticed. It wasn't long until Bailey was hit, however. Thane curse under his breath. He could hear Kasumi over the com, asking for backup. He knew Shepard would be there soon but he had to fight himself not to simply jump down to her and help. He looked at the pinned down group through his scope. Both him and Kasumi had never been much for stationary combat and here she was, forced into it. Suddenly, he noticed Bailey glance up in his direction, giving him a quick nod before turning back to Kasumi, saying something. Moments later, she jumps out from cover, cloaked and runs into the middle of a large group soldiers. Thanes heart skipped a beat in pure fright. What was she thinking? He could see a couple of soldiers fall around her as she suddenly reappeared, grenades in both hands. It was all he could do to stop himself from jumping down there when he suddenly realised what she was doing, seeing Shepard and Garrus arrive at the scene. He took aim and shot down a couple of soldiers. He sighed in relief.
"Serious balls" he heard Shepard compliment Kasumi over the com and Thane couldn't argue with that compliment, shaking his head.
"Bailey just informed me about the salarian councilor meeting with the executor and the danger she's in! She's most likely in the executors office. I know another way for you to get there faster than Shepard can. The councilors needs to be protected, father"
Thane followed Kolyats directions, finding another entrance into the executors office. He was instantly greeted by Kai Leng, about to attack. On pure instincts, without really thinking, he intervened. His whole body hurt, he could barely breath normally but he parried each blow Leng had to offer. It wasn't long until he heard someone trying to break down a duct grid high above him. He knew who it must be, watching him. He knew how she must be feeling, wanting to jump down to help him. He had to finish it fast and get out. Suddenly, his body stopped reacting. It didn't listen to him, telling it to jump to the side, telling it to avoide the blade. No, his body stiffened, his mind got blurry. The blade pulled out, covered in his blood.
"THANE! NO!"
He could hear her above him as the grid suddenly gave out. He glanced up, seeing Garrus throwing his arms around Kasumi to stop her from throwing herself heads first down the opening.
"Kasumi! You'll fall!"
Shepard ran after Leng. Thane needed to get out of there. He had to move. He followed Shepard as fast as he could, leaving the rest of the crew to tend to a very shocked councilor. He walked down the stairs, limping, missing a couple of steps every now and then. His body was screaming in pain. Shepard ran back to him as Leng fled. After a short exchange of words, Shepard ran up the stairs, past a cloaked Kasumi, to get the crew on Lengs tail.
Kasumi squirmed out of Garrus's grip and started making her way down to the room below. Her vision blurry, she kept loosing her footing. She landed on the floor below, breaking her fall clumsily, giving the crew a shock.
"Kasumi, wait!"
Garrus tried to catch up with her as she ran out after Thane. She cloaked as Shepard ran past her, afraid she'd try and stop her. It didn't take long to find him, leaned up against the wall below the stairs. She stopped in her tracks. A hard knot grew large in her stomach. She watched him from a distance, gasping for air, a small pool of blood forming around him. She could hear her own heartbeats as her legs grew weak and she stumbled up towards him, keeping her distance, almost afraid he'd run if she'd got to close.
He looked straight at her.
Tears forced their way to her eyes, rolling down her face. She was trembling, letting the strength leave her legs completely, falling to her knees. She uncloaked and carefully crawled closer. He watched her with half open eyes, breathing unevenly. When she was close enough, she reached out and carefully touched the swords entery point. Thane hissed at the pain. She looked up at him, him looking down straight into her eyes. She didn't hesitate and caught his lips in a demanding kiss. She got no respons. She cupped his face and kissed him again, planting kisses on his eyes and forehead. His hand fell to his side and she leaned back. He was unconscious.
Garrus came running down the stairs joined by a few doctors.
"Kasumi!"
He pulled her away from Thane.
"No.. no, I.." she tried to protest but had no strength left in her to fend him off. She watched the doctors perform quick first help before removing him. She felt a pressure across her chest and she couldn't breathing.
"Kasumi.. breath, try and breath. You can't follow and we need to talk"
She shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Garrus. I can't lose him again"
Garrus held her tight, unwilling to let her go but she knew she couldn't let Thane dissapear again. She cloaked and squirmed out of Garrus's grip, chasing after Thane and the doctors to Huerta hospital.
She remained cloaked as she observed the entire operation through a window. She heard Kolyat arriving, running up to one the doctors coming out from the OR. As things were calming down in the operating room, she dared breath again and snuck over to listen in on the converstaion between Kolyat and the doctor.
"You know what will happen next, Kolyat. We're keeping high hopes that he'll wake up from surgery so we can quickly inform him and let him make his final preparations" He paused for a moment, placing his hand on Kolyats shoulder. "He's badly wounded. There are no guarantees but we can atleast try and help him prepare"
Kolyat simply nodded, his features tensed. He took out a prayer book and sat down to read it. Kasumi wanted to sit down next to him so badly but how could she? He had pushed her away and refused talking to her. She felt convinced he did not want her near to begin with. Her mind was scattered, her head hurting but she had a brief moment of clarity, extending her cloak to her AI who followed the doctors into a small archive room. She had him download everything he could find on Thane before heading back to the OR. She took a quick look inside and sat down on the floor, trying her best to focus her hearing. It all seemed to go smoothly and it wasn't long until they rolled him out of the OR and into a privat room full of strange machines. Kolyat followed close by and Kasumi didn't waste a second joining them. She hid in the corner of the room as the nurses booted up the machines and fixed things up a bit up a bit before they carefully lifted Thane over to the fresh bed. Another doctor entered the room, holding a pad.
"Kolyat, I'm glad you're here. He should be out of it for a little while longer so we got some time. After the surgery, I'm afraid we might be short on drell blood again so I'd need you to donate some more, if possible. This whole plan was.. difficult to begin with but counting in that wound?" The doctor sighed and browsed something on the pad. "We're gonna need to roll with the punshes here"
"Of course, doctor. Lead the way"
The two left the room. She dared sneak closer and took Thanes hand in hers. She hugged it tenderly, savoring the sensation of his soft scales under her touch. She had stopped taking the vaccin Mordin had made and she suspected Thane had done the same. She could feel his venom tingle slightly on her lips from kissing him earlier. She closed her eyes and lifted his hand, kissing his fingers. She carefully crawled into bed to lay down next to him, placing his arm around her. She put her arm around him, snuggling up close. She felt as if she could have died right there and then with him, just slipping away to distant shores together, leaving all the pain and sorrow behind. He suddenly moaned, muscles tensing slightly. Kasumi slipped off of the bed, carefully making her way back into the corner of the room, watching him wake up. He inhaled sharply and let his fingers land on his newly operated wound. He squeezed his eyes closed, giving away the pain and tension he must be feeling. She didn't dare breath, feeling a mixture of happiness and fright that he'd sense her. He probably did not want her there. She tried focusing on breathing calmly, watching him slowly take in his surroundings. A nurse came in, helping him correct the bed to a comfortable, slightly more seated position. He thanked him.
"I'm really glad to see you made it through surgery, sere Krios. The doctors can tell you more about how it all went, if you want, and talk you through the next step. They should be here shortly. Also, Commander Shepard have been informed, just like you asked. She should be here soon too, but we have things to prepare before her arrival. Kolyat is outside, donating some more blood. I'll let him know you're awake"
Thane gave a quick nod and the nurse left. What was going on? What were they all talking about? Thane closed his eyes, seemingly trying to focus or meditate. She suddenly felt so happy, just seeing him again that her heart started beating so hard, she had to sit to calm herself down. He suddenly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. His jaw tensed. Had he sensed her? She could see him clench his fist, pressing his lips together, seemingly building up anger. He started breathing heavier and Kasumi could feel the hair on her neck standing.
The tension was broken when the doctors and Kolyat came in. Kasumis eyes darted between them and Thane, trying to quickly judge if she should run or not. Maybe leaving would result in him thinking that he was just imagining her being there. She looked over at Thane just as he blinked hard, pushing tears through that rolled down his face. He was quick to wipe them away with the back of his hand, smiling up at his son, clearing his throat.
Kasumi felt stunned. Had he been trying to hold back tears? She found herself staring at him, loosing focus of everything else around. She snapped back into reality when the door to the room closed and she was once again trapped.
"Krios. Do you have any questions about the next step we are about to take?"
"Hm.. yes, a few. Could you.. open the window first?"
The window was right behind Kasumi. Kolyat walked over, almost brushing up against her. Once he walked back to Thane, she could relax slightly again, standing infront of the open window, feeling the light breeze passing her.
"Is that better, father?"
"Thank you, Kolyat"
He broke out in a horrible cough. Kasumi fought the urge to walk up to him to try and ease his pain. Kolyat helped him drink some sort of liquid that seemed to help a bit.
"So. The questions?"
"Yes. For how long.. no.. what can we expect.. wh- what are the risks?"
The doctor gave him a strange look.
"Well, we've talked a lot about that but.. I could repeat the general procedure, if you'd like" He brought up his pad and browsed it a bit before continuing. "So. Doctor Solus will be here momentarily. He just have a few more things to prepare for. Basically, we're putting you in a barb coma. A sort of induced coma. This will slow down your metabolizm and your cerbral circulation. That, in turn, will let your body heal on a different level than when your brain is fully functional. You've already noticed how Kepral's effected your brain. Your memories, movements.. During your coma, the brain will shrink and this will lower the need for oxygen.."
"When fully awake, organ tissue keeps breaking down. Under coma, slows down and gives your already damaged organs a chance to respond to treatment. Will force healthy blood through your organs. Sword wound tricky. Hopefully no repercussions. Best scenario, no repercussions. Wakes up and all will be well. Worst scenario, death"
Mordin made his entrance and quickly took over. He walked up to Thane and shook his hand respectfully.
"Thane. Assuming you're ready, no time to loose. Will need to administrate first dose before inducing coma. See how your white blood cells react. Will find a way to tackle them if problematic when in coma"
Kasumi held her hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from breathing too loud. Induced coma? Mordin placed an oxygen mask over Thanes nose and mouth, allowing him time to breath in a slow pace until he felt satesfied the vaccin had been properly breathed it.
"Will be back after Shepards visit. Need to take blood sample by then"
Mordin gave them all a quick bow before leaving the same moment Shepard arrived. They gave each other a quick nod before she entered.
"Shepard. Thank you for coming" Kolyat began. Shepard gave him a quick nod.
"Thane. Are you ready for this?"
"It's not the best of times to do this but.. I seem to be running short on options. I.. I need to do something first, incase this does not go according to Doctor Solus best scenario.."
He bowed his head and closed his eyes. Kolyat bowed his head, putting his hands together.
"Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgviness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand.."
Kolyat joined in the prayer, Thane smiling up at him. Kasumi felt herself mouthing the words along with them, not taking his eyes off of Thane. Sarah was soon asked to join in prayer.
".. guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me"
Kasumis heartrate slowed down, feeling able to focus again. Thane slowly turned his head to the side, looking straight at Kasumi. He inhaled as deep as he dared without risking coughing and smiled. He was looking straight at her. She felt the wind from the window, blowing past her in his direction.
Mordin came back into the room to draw some blood and administrated the barbiturate drug to induce the coma. Nurses helped set things up around him and left the room. Thane slowly drifted off, his eyes closing.
".. lavender.."
The atmosphere grew thick, everyone stood in silence until Sarah dared break it.
"Kolyat.. Why did the last verse say 'she'?"
Kolyat bowed his head, eyes closed.
"The prayer wasn't for him. He prayed for you and.."
Sarah nodded.
"Thank you, Kolyat. Let me know if something changes"
Mordin and Sarah left the room. Kolyat stood watching his father breath evenly with the help of the machines. He stared down at his feet.
"The prayer was for Shepard.." He suddenly looked straight up at Kasumi. ".. and for you"
Kasumi eye grew large in surprise. She uncloaked, keeping her gaze at Kolyat as she walked up to Thanes side. She started snivelling, unable to control her emotions when looking down at Thane. She gave Kolyat a quick glance, asking his approval. He just nodded and she leaned down, planting a kiss on Thanes forehead. He kept on sleeping, none the wiser. She tried to stop her sobbing, wiping her nose on the back of her hand over and over. Kolyat walked over to her side and respectfully placed his arm around her, allowing her to crawl into his embrace as she let go of all restraints, crying uninhibited.
"How.. how did you know I was here?" she finally dared ask.
Kolyat pressed his lips together.
".. lavender.. He mentioned it once before, when talking about you. I thought I had imagined it, hearing your voice when we prayed. But then.. I suddenly understood why he wanted to open the window. He knew you were there"
"I.. I don't understand what's going on..
"There were.. a lot of things he chose not to tell you. His disease was in its final stages.."
".. Is that why he left? Because of Kepral's?"
Kolyat stood silent, watching his father.
"Kolyat, please tell me that was the reason. Please tell me he didn't hate me or wanted to get me out of his life.. that he actually loved me.."
"He still does. He didn't leave because of Kepral's. He left because he knew the pain you've already lived through in your life. He wanted to save you that sorrow. He thought he was saving you pain by leaving rather than forcing you to watch him die. I.. have to admit.. I supported and agreed with him.. atleast at the time"
Kasumis mind had already begun finding places for all the puzzle pieces. Kolyat gestured for them to leave the room.
"Kasumi!"
Garrus's voice hit her face like cold water. She spun around in shock, trying to hide her surprise. He walked straight up to her and threw his arms around her.
"You had me worried! I knew you'd come here. I would have arrived sooner but.."
Garrus and Kolyat greeted each other, exchanging a few words before they all walked into a small room nearby, finding Mordin deep in something on his terminal.
"Ah, Kasumi! Was expecting you a long time ago. Was hoping we would. I have perfected the vaccin, will be permanent but understand you and Thane are no longer together. Sad to hear. Will still be avaliable for administration if required. Emotions are.. fleeting but can always return"
Kasumi had missed Mordin, she realised, and gave him a quick hug, very cleary against his own wishes.
"Always forgets how freely hugs are administered on your account. Happy to see you too. Garrus, always a pleasure"
"What are you doing here, Mordin?"
The group sat down across from Mordin who started pacing around the room.
"Keijis research. Amazing man. Managed to link humans increased ability for genetic adaptation to drell physiology. Batarians research on biological weapons had unexpected side effects. Indirectly discovered the opposite of weakening the drells sensitive organ tissue but was missing a key factor. Keiji put the pieces together. Was easy to test when human control groups could be involved in hanars research. Works wonders on Kepral's early stages and are currently being administered to the entire drell race on Kahje"
Kasumi shook her head in disbelief.
"How.. wh.. what?"
"The files you sent me. They were the key"
She shot up a brow, blinking away her own surprise.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"
"Was told not to involve you. Was I wrong to listen?"
Kasumi sunk back into her chair. Keiji. She should have known. Kolyat could see her confusion and offered his support by placing his hand ontop hers.
"Doctor, go on" Garrus asked.
"Quite. Thane was too.. far gone. Last stages of Kepral's, vaccin would not have time to take effect. Could not even get properly distributed through his vascular systems. Vaccin needs to be inhaled, go through oxygen in the bloodstream. Basically.. a sort of blood transfusion. Induced coma make brain shrink, oxygen travels slower. Degradation of organ tissue slower, vaccin will have a better chance working if administrated through healthy drell blood directly to the organs. Two stages, really. Repair broken tissue and cure disease. Genius"
Kasumi grabbed Kolyats hand with both her hands, her heart in her throat.
"Does that mean he will be cured?"
"Cured, yes. Quite certain outcome. If he wakes up without any damage from the coma? Only time will tell"
"D.. damage? Such as?"
Kolyat glanced down at their joined hands. Her knuckles were white under the pressure and he found himself feeling a little surprised at her physical strength, almost wanting to ask her not to squeeze his hand so hard. He wised up before asking, letting her hold on to him as hard as she needed to, knowing it was all that kept the floor from spinning out of control under her.
"Can't predict yet. Nothing he shouldn't be able to recover from. But will take time. Six months, at the most"