Their vacation has been peaceful so far; everyone has left the two cautious lovers alone. So, when Shepard hears the beep telling her that someone wants in, she can't help but feel a little surprised. Thane hesitates to unwind his arms from her warm body, not wanting their evening to be interrupted. Someone must not have gotten the memo; separating an assassin from his siha is a regrettable action. The petty anger stays secured under his stoic mask, fine-tuned by the hanar. If it's anyone other than Mordin at the door, they may get a bullet through the skull. But they won't expect it, and that's all that matters.
"Shepard. Batarians have samples." Damn. Mordin's voice reaches the disappointed assassin's ears.
"That's great news! What now?" His dark eyes examine the woman at the door, excitement radiating off of her. No signs of negativity, telling Thane that he's alone in his recent mindset.
"Need to meet them on Omega. Suggest we get there soon." While he wishes more than anything that Mordin had gotten trapped on the ship, Thane's intrigued by the news that the hyper salarian brought with him.
"Give me a minute to prepare, then I'll meet you on the Normandy." The door pieces itself back together, shielding Mordin from the glares he's unaware that he was receiving. "I'm sorry, Thane. I'm going to help Mordin with this, then we can continue our evening, alright?" Her voice is low, and thick with the sincerity behind her words. Thane momentarily muses to himself that he's never heard the Commander lie. Her words are always full of truth, something he's never heard before. Never believed in, before.
"I'll hold you to that, siha." An uncommon sensation twists in his gut. Fear. It's starting to get annoying, the amount of things this woman is capable of making him feel. All the training he's received in order to feel nothing, but all she has to do is look at him and he's overcome by emotion.
She plants an unsatisfyingly short kiss on his lips, then begins her trek out of the room and onto the Normandy. Leaving the drell alone in her suite, thoughts warring in his head. Where is the fear coming from?
Simple. From down here, you can't see for sure that she's alright.
Thane rests on the couch, trying his damnedest to talk himself out of following her onto the Normandy. Minutes have already passed, seemingly flying by for the conflicted assassin. On one hand, he really shouldn't submit to these feelings. But, on the other hand, what if she does get herself into trouble and he isn't there to help? His assassin training led to Irikah being taken from him, and it could take Shepard too.
No, I won't let it. Swallowing his pride, he jumps off of the sofa and rushes to his siha, hoping he's fast enough.
"Shepard, Thane is asking for permission to enter." EDI's voice calls from her post near the entrance of Shepard's cabin.
"Thane? Let him in." Maybe I left something at the hotel? His expression when he enters tells her otherwise. It reminds her of the night they attacked the Collector base. She's seen his face as fear plagued his mind back then, and it's no less heartbreaking to see it now.
"I want to come with you." He comes to a stop in front of her, glancing at the armor pieces littering her bed.
"But this is your vacation." Her eyebrows furrow together, not quite understanding what's going on inside his head.
"I'm not going to be able to relax, knowing you're surrounded by criminals." It sounds worse coming from his lips than it did in his mind, which just makes him feel more ashamed of himself. She flashes him a perceptive smile, easing his burden.
"I understand. I thought you might want to come, but didn't want to take you away from your relaxation." He takes her hands into his, the sight of alien skin against his grabbing his attention. No matter how many times they touch, he's always in awe of how different their skin looks. It's not unpleasant, just interesting.
"Thanks for listening, siha." Shepard removes her slender fingers from his and picks up her chestplate.
"I keep my promises. I told you I'd give you anything you need, and I meant it. But, what I need now is to put my armor on." She ushers the drell out of her quarters and continues preparing for the trip to Omega.
Afterlife's music fills the already tension-thick air as the three make their way to the rendezvous point. The pulsing rhythms bring back memories of recruiting 'Archangel,' making Shepard slightly nostalgic. The apartments come into view, bringing flashes of Samara's loyalty mission- and meeting Mordin for the first time- to her mind. Plague long gone, they meet no resistance as they advance to the designated apartment. They're met by three fierce batarians, examining their every move.
"Creds first, salarian." The one in the center demands, glancing at the batarian to his left who nods in return. Mordin grips a generous amount of credits between his three fingers, handing them over without hesitation. Has he done this before? Shepard steps into place in front of the left trader, Thane in front of the right. The package of samples barely touches her hands before Mordin plucks it from her grasp, making sure it isn't empty.
The atmosphere quickly becomes chaotic, as the clang of metal hitting the floor resonates through the small room. The dropped gun fires a bullet into the foot of the batarian on the right, the other two pulling their guns out with lightning speed. Mordin retaliates with his own gun, eyes scrutinizing the dangerous metal aimed at his crew members.
"Thane!" Shepard drops her Commander mask and rushes to her drell lover, concern taking priority. His legs collapse under him as he falls into her supportive arms, dark eyes open wide and lips parted as he drags in breath after breath.
"Having... trouble breathing." Shepard's body trembles with the strain of holding his body up, before giving up and helping him slide to the floor. His back finds a hard wall to rest against, and he momentarily thanks the gods that they picked such a small room to do this in.
"He's going to pay for that." The injured batarian growls, bloody foot hovering over Omega's grimy floor.
Shepard turns to face the trader, body glowing with biotics. She doesn't care about being 'nice' or staying respectful. If one of them dares to hurt Thane, there will be hell to pay.
"This meeting was going so well. I suggest you leave before the universe is short 3 batarians." If Thane wasn't already having issues breathing, the sight would've knocked the wind out of him. No one has ever protected him so passionately before.
"Like you could kill us. It's two against thr-" The lead batarian is cut off by a sharp shock wave of blue energy, sending him and his buddies into the air. Their screaming brings an amused smile to Mordin's face. Moments like these, he's truly glad he agreed to help Shepard.
Salarian and human arms wrap around the drell's muscular back, helping him to his feet. The batarians send icy glares at the three, but make no effort to attack.
"Don't think they're stupid enough to attack again. Safe to move, Shepard." She nods at the salarian, and they escort the ill assassin back to the Normandy.
Tingly limbs stretch to their limits, taking up the whole bed. He may not be able to feel much at the moment, but Thane certainly knows which bed is the most comfortable. Dr. Chakwas joins them in Shepard's cabin, omni-tool scanning him in no time. She's not one to waste time, has always gotten down to business quickly. But there's a certain urgency behind her actions now.
"You've deteriorated significantly since I last checked. That explains the sudden onset of tingling..." She fiddles with the omni-tool a little, knowing Shepard will want more information.
"What?" Shepard's jade eyes dance between her lover and the doctor. She's known his time is limited, but didn't expect this. If anything, she had hoped taking him to a desert would help his disease.
"I'm sorry Shepard. I can only offer you theories." The doctor stops hiding behind the orange-colored technology, and meets the Commander's gaze briefly before focusing on the drell. "Have you been exercising regularly?"
His eidetic memory perfectly recalls every lazy moment on vacation, every minute that he remained solitary while talking with his son after he left the Normandy a month ago.
"No- not exactly."
"That's probably what caused it. I highly recommend exercising daily again. Starting once your current episode ends might be the best idea." She smiles at the two, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
"Episode? So this will end?" Shepard leans forward from her spot on the couch, feeling a hint of hope.
"Yes. He still has a ways to go until the tingling becomes consistent. And even then, he shouldn't have as much trouble standing as you said he did earlier." Shepard falls back against the cushions, relief washing over her.
"Thank you, Dr. Chakwas."
Mordin hurries back to his lab, package of samples in hand. He can't wait to see what path the hanar were taking for the cure. The salarian works quickly, excitement radiating off of his alien body. He places numerous test tubes in a wooden holder, marking the bacteria samples from Thane so he can test it against the others. Testing for consistency is his least favorite part, but certainly important. Have to make sure no one tampered with the samples, of course. He loses himself in his work, not noticing the odd noises coming from the nearest air duct.
A soft thud sounds from behind Mordin, finally pulling his attention away from his samples. His hand twitches towards his gun, slowly turning his head to inspect the source of the noise. A hand gun clicking into place brings his motion to a stop, eyes glaring dangerously but intelligence keeping him from moving.
"I'm going to need those back, Professor."
Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long, I had a lot of trouble getting this chapter out. Something exciting, and slightly far fetched, is going to happen in chapter 10! This whole chapter is preparing the plot for it, I can't wait to write it. That being said, it's probably going to take me a while to write the next chapter. Review! Let's see if we can break the current record of 5 reviews on one chapter.
Has everyone ever had a leg fall asleep so severely that you've fallen upon trying to stand up? That's what I was going for with the episode Thane has in this chapter. His arms and legs are so tingly that he can barely stand, let alone hold a gun.