Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare

This chapter is the longest one yet and has a healthy does of action. Let me know what you think of it :)

Chapter 8: Bloodshed and Consequences

Four days passed before Kat and Thane spoke to each other again. In those four days Kat had purposefully been avoiding Thane, skipping class and eating away from the living area as to minimize the chance of an awkward run in. Kat hated not seeing her friend and ironically it was always Thane that cheered her up, but she couldn't face talking to him, not yet anyway. Her plan was to lay low and hide for a while before attempting to patch up the relationship that in her mind she had torn apart almost beyond repair. Her plan wasn't great, but to her it seemed far easier and safer than attempting an awkward meet up. Safe was what she liked, safe was what she wanted.

Thane didn't want safe. He despised not talking to Kat so much that he had started actively seeking her out. Since Kat left his room he had hated they way they had left it and wanted nothing more than to go back to normal. He didn't care if it was awkward, he was used to awkward, awkward was his style and he rocked it. All he wanted was to have his friend back, even if it was only in that way, a friend.

After making another lap of the academy, through the corridors of the dorms and the beautifully coloured gardens, through the high ceilinged entrance way and past the dedication to UBA's founder Timothy Kore, Thane decided to call it a day and headed back to the living area of the five hundred building. As he walked Thane wondered whether trying to find Kat was the right idea. Maybe this was another time she wanted to be left alone? Thane dismissed the idea reminding himself that Kat had left his room that room with a smile, if she wanted to be left alone she wouldn't have bothered to say goodbye to him at all. He blocked memories of that morning from his mind, the wounds still fresh and raw, they didn't need to be poked with a stick. Thane passed many faces as he walked the stairs to the living area of his building, few of which he recognised and none of which acknowledged him. Thane was surrounded yet alone. He felt like a star viewed from the surfaces of a planet. To someone staring up at space, the night sky is packed with light, each star a fraction away from its neighbor, yet in reality that star they look at is light years away from anything else. Thane was that star. He looked forward as he was passed by, not really paying attention to the people passing. He wondered if they could tell something was wrong with him. Probably not, but in his heart he hoped for a stranger to question him, just to feel close to someone again. Thane reached the top of the stairs and glanced around the room, something caught his eye immediately, a pink so light and fine it stood out like a Volus on a nudist beach. Thane's pulse quickened and he could hear his heart in his ears as his nerves rose. He had found her at last.

Thane felt a rush of emotions at once: joy, anxiety, fear, but mostly relief; relief that he could finally talk to the person that brought him more happiness than anyone else in his life. He practically flew across the room, pushing people out of his way and swerving in between groups. Thane ignored the complaints and insults he received as he swam through the sea towards Kat, her short pink hair bobbing and dipping as she walked. He tried to reach out for her but was buffeted and cut off as a large group passed between the couple. He glared angrily at the intruders as if by walking in front of him they had somehow committed a crime. The group merely scoffed at Thane and continued on their journey, bring forth a quiet curse word from Thanes lips. He turned back to were Kat's pink beacon had been and was horrified to not see it. There was no light leading him on through the crowd anymore and his heart dropped. He scanned the area quickly, desperation taking control of his mind and urging him to keep searching, he wasn't going to wait another four days to speak to Kat. After glancing from left to right he caught sight of her again, ascending the stairs to the dorm rooms. It was only a brief glimpse before she disappeared again but Thane felt warmth flood back into his body. Without a second thought he sprinted to the stairs, eager to find his lost friend.

Thane reached the stairs and rushed up to the floor above, caring not about the protests from other students. He saw Kat in the distance and yelled after her, jogging after he to catch up.

"Kat!"

"Hmm?" Kat was surprised to hear her name and turned around with an eyebrow raised. He eyes widened as she saw Thane approaching and her mid went span up like a mass relay.

"Fuck I'm not ready to talk to him yet, I haven't prepared. What if I make a fool of myself? I bet I'll cry again, jesus I'm a loser. Shit here he comes, what do I say? God his eyes are nice. NO! Damn it Kat focus, say something."

"Umm heylo." Kat grimaced slightly, that wasn't even a real word. Her checks flushed slightly but her face remained calm, smiling at Thane as he approached in spite of the embarrassment knotting up her stomach.

"Did you just say heylo?" Thane asked in an amused tone, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah well you caught me off guard and I wasn't expecting anyone to talk to me and I was surprised to hear your voice…" Kat's babbling trailed off. "It's been a while since I've heard your voice." She said softly before even thinking about it.

"I liked it." Thane said smiling. "It has been a while, sorry. I've been trying to find you but I guess we just kept slipping by each other. I missed you Kat, how have you been? Did you sort out whatever was wrong?"

Kat's mind sparked into life at his words.

"He… he missed me? And he was searching for me this whole time, but why?" Kat felt a small rush of happiness at her thoughts and she brushed her pink fringe behind her ear, letting it fall back in her face as she looked down to the floor slightly and smiled.

"Yeah I have been ok." Kat answered, out loud this time, not letting on that she had secretly missed him as well. "No more crying at least." She ended with a shy smile.

Her attempt at a joke made Thane laugh heartily, which lightened the mood of the conversation slightly.

"It was just a fight between Mark and I again, we've been fighting a lot and it has been getting to me a bit. But it's good now. What about you? Why have you been searching for me?"

"Well-" Thane began to speak before realizing he didn't have an answer, not one he wished to share with Kat at least. "Well we're… friends Kat and surprising though it might seem I like talking to my friends. Plus class is like torture without you there to make me laugh."

Kat blushed for the second time, his compliment making her insides flutter. Her eyes met his deep brown ones for a second before she looked away, embarrassed again.

"Thanks, likewise. I've been pretty bored since… the party."

Thane felt the flow of the conversation slipping back into awkwardness and thought he should say what was on his mind before it got any worse.

"Uhh yeah so… I'm sorry for how I left things that morning. I just wanted to clear the air between us and apologize." Thane swallowed, hoping Kat would accept his apology.

"What? Why are you saying sorry?" Kat asked with a warm laugh.

"I'm the one that burst into you're room and spewed all that crazy everywhere. I should be the one apologizing to you." She smiled up at Thane and was rewarded with a laugh and smile from him as well. Kat paused slightly and looked down to the ground again, speaking far more somber than before.

"I'm sorry I was hiding from you." Kat was sheepish and quiet.

"Hiding? You were hiding from me? Why?" Thane asked softly, matching Kat's voice.

"I was scared that you would hate me and it would be awkward if we talked." Kat was even quieter than before, her eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Hate you? Kat I could never hate you." Thane sounded distressed at her assumption. "I- you're my best friend Kat, I've wanted nothing more than to talk to you since then." Thane couldn't tell if she had noticed his slip up so quickly continued talking to cover it up.

"And don't worry about the other thing, if you're as awkward as me you practically thrive off the stuff."

Kat laughed happily, Surprised by her own actions. It was the first time she had properly laughed in four days and Thane looked ecstatic at her reaction.

"There we go, that's the Kat I know" Thane smiled at the pink pixie haired girl standing in front of him. Her ice blue eyes sparkled with the familiar light that had been sadly absent from them recently. They stood smiling at each other for a few seconds before Kat broke the silence.

"Come on then halo" She strolled past him and turned around, walking backwards with graceful ease and smiled at Thane. "I've hardly been in the living area at all recently, I need a real meal instead of snacks and junk food."

"Halo?" Thane asked, amused. "Is that because I said I liked your dreadful greeting?" Thane mocked in a friendly manner and turned on the spot, following her as she walked past him.

"Yep, you dug your own grave with that one. Now come on, food! Chop chop."

Thane dutifully followed in her wake smiling, proud that he had reestablished their friendship. His mind wandered back to his slip up earlier, he began wondering if Kat had noticed it or guessed what he was going to say. Either way it didn't matter because he wouldn't say it and ruin their friendship even if he really did lo-

"Hey! Your legs don't work or something? Hurry up, I'm starving over here!"

Thane didn't realize he had lagged behind and quickly sped up so that he was walking along beside her.

"Yes your highness."

His sarcastic swipe at her was followed by a real swipe at Thane as Kat lightly punched him in the arm as they walked down to the living area.

Five days later.

Nothing overly exciting had happened in Thane's life since he and Kat had smoothed things over. His days at the academy had gone back to there usually mundane ways as he plodded through practices, doing the same exercises over and over again, striving for any improvement in his biotic abilities. Of course now he had Kat's serene voice as a soundtrack to his exercises, spurring him on to do better and surprisingly it worked. Now Kat and Thane were on speaking terms again they had both excelled in their separate skills. With Thane as a sparring partner, Kat was able to perfect her biotic sphere and block all of Thanes attempts to get through it, that is until Thane had shown her a new move he had been working on. Thane had called his new move a "divide" but Kat had dubbed it the "biotic scythe" which caught on a lot quicker. It involved focusing biotic power into a sideways swipe, like a shockwave, but condensing the height to a few centimeters. This resulted in a horizontal arc of power that was so condensed and thin that it acted as a razor and slice through objects in its wake. Clearly Thane hadn't used the full power of the move on Kat but it still shattered her barrier and drew a curious look from the other students around.

With Kat and Thane as friends again it seemed like everything was going right in Thane's life for once so, much like before, he decided against complicated their relationship by getting feelings involved. Not speaking with Kat for four days had been hell; he didn't want to know what not speaking to her for any longer would be like. Although he could muffle his feelings, he could never truly silence them and each morning he would wake up alone in his bed, wishing more than he ever had that Kat would be sleeping next to him, but she never was. This morning was no different.

Thane sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing his face with his hands to try and wake himself up. He didn't mind mornings but still hated getting up as much as the next teenager. After a quick trip to the bathroom for a shower Thane put on his usually attire of simple jeans and a t-shirt and headed out. He had been going without a hoodie for over a week now and was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Kat still had his hoodie from the morning after the party and Thane couldn't bear to take it away from her. He told himself that because he had lent her the hoodie, it would be rude to ask for it back without any need for it. In reality though he didn't ask for it back because he loved the thought of Kat wearing his hoodie. The thought of a girl walking around wearing his hoodie made his stomach flutter, and the fact that the girl in question was Kat made it do back flips. Thinking on it Thane realized it was pathetic, but he loved the fact she chose to wear his hoodie over her own clothes, it made him feel wanted.

Thane continued his walk to breakfast, slightly chilled by the temperature of the academy and soon found himself in the living area. He wasn't really hungry so chose to simply grab an apple and a drink instead of queuing for the full breakfast platter. He looked around the room for Kat but she was nowhere to be seen, but it was before eleven so she was probably still asleep. Thane saw Rick, Steve and Lindsey sitting down around a table laughing and headed over, smiling at his friends. The group looked up as Thane approached and Steve pulled out a chair beside him for the newcomer.

"What was all the laughing for?" Thane asked as a greeting.

"Well actually we were just talking about that Mark guy, don't know if you've met him, he has a girlfriend called Kitten or something?" The sarcasm in Lindsey's voice was thick and clear, a proud grin crept onto her face as she teased Thane.

"Ha ha very clever, I think I know of the man-tank." Thane mocked in return. "What about him?"

Steve answered for Lindsey who was sat on his lap, gnawing her way through a bread roll, her mouth full.

"Rick was wondering if he has any tops that actually fit him properly or if they are all meant for teenage girls."

Thane was drinking at the time and the comment took him by surprise. He laughed and immediately choked on his mouthful of juice prompting Rick to reach over and pat Thane hard on the back. Steve had a fair amount of force behind his hands and quickly freed up Thanes breathing, but not before knocking all the wind out of him. The others round the table simply laughed as Thane gasped for breath though a smile and regained his composure, still laughing slightly at Rick's joke.

"Speak of the devil, here comes the mountain himself." Lindsey had spotted Mark approaching from her vantage point atop Steve's knee.

Like a shark swimming through a school of fish, the crowd of people in the living area shuffled backwards as Mark and his friends walked through. The grouped masses didn't need to be told to move, it was written al over Marks face, he wore an expression that you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy, He was out for blood and new exactly where to find it. His burning eyes were fixed on Thane and his steps seemed to speed up as he approached the table his pray resided.

"YOU FUCKING ARSEHOLE!"

Mark smashed his fists onto the table as if to draw attention to himself but he needed no such thing. All eyes in the living area were on him; his hulking form was bent over the table and he was staring directly into Thane's eyes, now wide from surprise.

"Wh- What?" Thane tentatively asked nonplused by what had just happened.

"You heard me you little shit, you're an arsehole!" Mark's voice was quieter than before but his tone remained just as fiery.

"I- I'm sorry but I haven't done anything to you. I've literally no idea why you're so angry with me" Thane was genuinely perplexed by Mark's rage but spoke as calmly as possible as to try and avoid a beating.

"Don't play dumb with me you wanker. Me and Kat had a talk last night and she reveled an interesting little fact to me, any idea what it could have been?" Mark's face was now mere inches from Thanes and his voice had gotten, if possible, even angrier.

"…shit" Thane whispered as he finally cottoned on to what Mark was grasping at. Thane gulped as his stomach hit the floor and the colour drained out of him, Kat couldn't have told him about the night of the party, could she?

"Oh yeah, shit is right fucker. And now this is happening" Mark spat his words at Thane like poison and lunged across the table at him, grabbing Thane by the neckline of his T-shirt and pulling him too his feet. Lindsey leapt off of Steve's lap as he jumped up to accompany Rick who had gotten up a second early. The three of them moved to Thanes aid but were grabbed by the group Mark had brought with him. Each one was held back by two of Mark's goons, each one built like Mark himself, large, strong and not to be fucked with. Rick, Steve and Lindsey could barely struggle against their captures as they looked on helplessly at their friend, now held aloft by Mark's brute strength alone.

Thane was dangling feebly in the air, grasping at Marks wrists to support his own body weight. His assailant glared down at him, a wicked smile crawling across his face. Mark was like a Varren toying with his pray, completely in control. Mark now addressed the crowd, showboating like a pro athlete with a prize.

"Do you want to know what this shit eater did? This, pathetic excuse for a human got off with MY GIRL!" The crowd drew breath and whispered amongst themselves; hushed rumors and theories were already beginning circulation. Mark continued.

"This prick right here thinks that he can just go around and make out with my property. Do you not know who I am? Are you a fucking moron? She is MINE and no one else's!"

Thane was able to get out four words whilst trying to keep himself from being chocked.

"She's not your property."

There was a brief pause after Thane spoke, neither Mark nor anyone else though he would speak up.

"What did you say?" Mark's voice was now almost a whisper, stern and chilling in Thanes ear.

"She isn't yours." Thane chocked. "You don't own her."

"Actually she is mine." Mark was triumphant now; the same wicked smile adorned his face as he reassured his position as the apex predator. His next sentence was hushed so that only Thane could hear. His smile grew crueler.

"And I will never. Ever. Let you have her."

Thane closed his eyes and the room seemed to freeze in time. Mark's words slithered their way through Thane's ears and into his mind. Those foul words burnt every aspect of Thanes being and the overwhelming feeling to throw up hit him again. His stomach was knotted and his brain was reeling. From deep within his body Thane felt an emotion he had never truly felt before. His palms started to sweat and his teeth clenched together. This new emotion cleaned out Thanes mind of any loose thoughts and focused all his energy towards its own goals. Thane was no longer shocked by what Mark had done and he was no longer scarred of what might happen to him. All that was left was anger. Thane was going to make this bastard pay for how he treated Kat, or he was going to go down trying.

Thane opened his eyes and the room spun back up to speed. Even with his newfound anger he couldn't stop the hurtling fist aimed at his gut. Mark's punch connected with Thanes abdomen and sent him flying to the floor a few feet away from his attacker. The power and strength Mark was known for was not an illusion and Thane felt deflated and winded from a single punch. Thane staged to his feet, his legs shaking slightly from the impact he had received but he stood firm. Thane looked up at Mark's face as the juggernaut walked slowly towards him.

"You should have stayed down dipshit."

Mark brought his right fist in for another punch and this time found Thane's chin. The smaller student was still shaken by the initial assault and so unable to block in time. The sheer ferocity of Mark's swing staggered Thane and he fell backwards on to a near by table, clutching at his jaw, a large gash had appeared where mark had hit him.

The Krogan sized biotic smiled at the sight of his opponents blood, Mark relished the thought of injuring Thane, putting the son of famous war hero Commander Shepard in hospital would be the greatest pick-up line in history.

Thane blinked a few times quickly. He was dazed and his face was throbbing from the abuse it had received. He groans to himself, questioning why he had gone against all reason and logic to try and fight the monster before him. The anger within him bubbled up again. It was because of this monster that he wanted to fight. He was fighting on behalf of Kat; fighting for all the times this dick had treated her as anything less than perfect. Thane's eyes narrowed and he was filled with a rush of adrenaline. His arm reached out and sparked with blue flames, his biotics coming into play instantly. He grabbed a glass with his mind and it was engulfed in a blue aura that threatened to burn anyone near it. Thane looked towards Mark and saw that realization in his eyes.

"You little fu-"

Mark was cut off as he raised his arms to block his face from the flying object. The glass hit his forearm and shattered around him, sending glass shards and orange juice cascading around him. Mark recoiled as a shard cut through his T-shirt and dug into his shoulder causing him mild irritation. He grunted as he pulled the glass from his arm leaving a slowly growing red patch as a reminder of Thanes attack.

"Well well, the pussy's got some claws." Mark sounded surprised as he gazed upon the wound in his shoulder but remained cool and authoritative.

"You're gonna regret that you scrawny little shit. Why are you even fighting back? Do you actually think you can win? Just lie down on the floor like a dog."

Thane whipped some of the blood off his chin and locked eyes with Mark.

"Why Kat agreed to go out with you I'll never understand." Thane's voice was soft and calm despite the circumstances.

"What? I'm kicking the shit out of you and that's what you're thinking?"

"Yeah I am." Thane replied, smiling ever so slightly as he saw Mark caught of guard for the first time.

"You're such a wanker Mark and she…" Thane didn't see the point in hiding his feelings now seeing as his teeth might be scattered across the floor in a matter of minutes. "Kat is perfect. She is the best person I have ever met and you have never deserved her. You never will. I know your kind Mark; I've dealt with them my whole life. People hang around with you because they don't want to be your enemy, not because they like you. Being the wonderful person she is Kat saw through you're macho exterior and wanted to know the real you, she believed there was good on the inside because she refuses to give up on people. But you know what? She was wrong. On the inside you're just as putrid and foul as the outside. You're an egotistical, unintelligent, prick Mark and no one likes you."

Mark stood in silence, his wicked grin had faltered and faded from his face at the unexpected outburst. Thane's eyes twinkled as his anger saw a chance to twist the knife in Mark's mind. Thane smile grew wicked looking at the frozen powerhouse and he lowered his voice so only Mark could hear.

"You know I'm right Mark. Why else would Kat have kissed a scrawny little fuck like me instead of you?"

Thane instantly knew he had overstepped the line with that last comment because almost as soon as the words had left his mouth, Mark's expression changed from shock and confusion to pure rage. His eyes seemed to close over, blinded by a primal anger from deep within him. Mark's breathing intensified and he yelled in a deep guttural voice, overflowing with his despise for Thane.

"I'M GOING TO RIP YOU LIMB FROM FUCKING LIMB!"

Mark's body exploded into a blue hue of flames that spat and licked around him, threatening to reach out and attack anyone close. With an almighty grunt Mark forced his arms towards Thane, palms facing his enemy and sent a surge of biotic energy at him. Thane was quick on his feet and dived out of the way but he was still caught on his hip by the blast. The force threw him backwards into the crowd still surrounding the sparring pair. Strangers tried to help the battered biotic up but withdrew themselves when Thane too erupted into a field of blue power.

Without thinking Thane fired a shockwave back at Mark, his powers fuelled by anger, pain and adrenaline. The edges of his sight blurred and a dark blue haze hung over his peripheral vision but his aim was true. Mark was not nearly as nimble as Thane so could only brace himself against the blast coming towards him. It connected with his barriers with a thump and staggered the man mountain onto his knees. Before Mark could recover a tray full of breakfast supplies crashed into his face with a toe-curling crunch. Mark's nose was broken and blood dripped down his lips, an occasional drop splattering on the cold floor of the living area.

Thane and Mark now stood facing each other in a ring of students. If any teachers knew what was going on they wouldn't be able to get through to them, and Thane didn't want them too. He wanted Mark to pay for making Kat cry, she shouldn't be crying because of anyone, let alone this arsehole.

Thane was rudely jerked back to the real world by what sounded like a table being dragged across the floor. To his dismay it was. Mark had grabbed onto the nearest table with his biotic powers and, fueled by rage, wrenched it from the floor and sent it siding across the room towards Thane. He acted out of instinct. Without thinking Thane slammed a biotic fist into the closest edge of the table as it scrapped towards him at a lightning pace. The force of his punch slowed the advancing furniture and flipped it onto its side, blocking the biotic throw Mark had sent following his attack.

From behind Thane's makeshift cover he launched a cascade of throws, pulls, reaves; anything to try and cause damage to Mark. This was no longer a simply sparring session; they were both out for blood. While the volley Thane sent looked impressive and had convinced some of the braver onlookers to take a step back, Mark was not fazed. The wild assault barley touched him and his barriers absorbed any that came close. He could sense Thane was panicked and took the opportunity to look around for something larger to hurl in his direction.

Mark's eyes rested on the breakfast counter, a long steel bench with a Perspex guard covered in all manner of food. Mark pulse with biotic energy and closed his eyes, focusing his anger on the counter. He slowly brought his arms up and strained against the sheer weight of the object he was trying to move. The sounds of metal rending and tearing alerted any students near it of what was happening and they quickly dived for cover, trying to get as far away as possible from the creaking bench. With one last almighty heave Mark tore the Bench from the floor and suspended it in mid air. Wires snapped and sparked, whipping back and forth as the electrics were torn away from their bases. The steel construction swung around in the air causing even more students to dive to the floor to avoid injury as Mark brought the counter in line with Thane.

"Thane look out!"

It was Lindsey's voice that called out to Thane; he looked over to her to see a large hand roughly placed over her mouth to silence her warning but it had served its purpose. Thane's eyes widened at the destruction he saw. Sparks were cascading to the floor from the counter, which matched the fountain of yellow light coming from hole in the living area floor. Thane gawked at the counter hovering in mid air, astonished that Mark had the ability to hold something so big. His astonishment however turned to fear as the counter flew towards him at break neck speed. Thane thought fast and leapt out the side of his cover, rolling and skidding across the floor as the counter splintered through the table and carried on into the wall on the far side of the room with a resounding thud. The impact left an enormous dent and sent sparks and shrapnel into the air like a deadly rain.

Thane regained his composure in time to see another table flying towards him with deadly intent. Instead of stopping it this time though Thane countered with a table of his own, colliding the two in mid air in a crumpled mess. Prepared for another assault, Thane reached out with his mind for something large and remembered a vending machine standing by the door. He whirled around and clasped onto the metal box, hoisting it upwards with a waterfall of sparks in its wake. The lights inside flickered on and off before the object was cast across the room in Marks direction.

Slow he might have been, but Mark still managed to un-gracefully collapse to the floor as the vending machine flew at his head. Mark looked up at Thane, he could see the exhaustion is his eyes and the physical strain the biotic battle had been on him. Mark picked his moment and ran at Thane, yelling obscenities and cursing as he did.

"I WARNED YOU!"

Mark bridged the gap between them quicker than a normal man of his size would be able to but with the help of his biotics he practically flew at Thane, fist raised above his head, ready to finish the fight once and for all. Mark's right arm arc across his body with his full weight behind it, It was a biotically enhanced punch that could down a Krogan. But all the power came at a cost, his attack was easy to predict and Thane was just able to duck under his feral attack, Mark's fist brushing past Thanes hair as he dropped out of danger.

"It ends now." Thane thought to himself.

Thane closed his eyes once more, his mind suddenly free of the anger he had felt. There was only one thing on his mind now, Kat. The girl he was fighting for who wasn't even aware this was going on.

Thane opened his eyes again and his focused his remaining biotic energy into his clenched fist. He brought it upwards, impacting squarely into Marks midriff with the satisfying crack of broken ribs. The force of the punch pushed Mark off his feet and into the air, flying backwards a few feet and colliding with the floor. He lay unconscious and panting in a crumpled heap. The room was completely silent.

"Move."

Thane only needed to say one word and an isle immediately opened up for him in the remaining crowd that hadn't run or ducked for cover. Thane couldn't tell if it was the hundreds of people staring at him or the injuries he had received that made his head pound but he didn't care. All he wanted was to get away from them.

Thane just about managed to stagger out of the living area and ascend the stairs back to his room. His jaw throbbed and ached due to the large cut across it, his eye was swollen and purple, his right hand was bloody and badly bruised from breaking Mark's ribs and his whole left side hurt from the impact force of Mark's biotic attacks. Thane's vision was blurry as he approached his room, stumbling against his injuries. He clasped the door handle and stepped through the doorway and collapsed onto his bed. His head flew and the room span. Thane's eyes flickered shut and he passed out.