Beacon

He was the unseen, the silent blade. She was the protector, the shining lance.
Together, they will fight.
Right and wrong are more often shades of gray than black and white.
Can they change the fate of the galaxy?
Can they save each other?

"EDI, please inform Mordin we're incoming with an artifact," Shepard called over the comm as they entered the Normandy's airlock.

Thane, Shepard, and Miranda had just returned from the search for Doctors O'Loy and Cayce. They had found the Prothean artifact that the team had been studying, and characteristically, Shepard had touched it. It had undergone some sort of transformation at her touch, shrinking to the size of a child's ball, and Shepard insisted on bringing it back to the Normandy with her. For safety's sake, it was held in a large vacuum tube with thick shielding to prevent any radiation problems. The container was heavy, the three of them struggled to get it to the tech lab.

"Commander, are you sure you want this thing aboard?" Miranda asked worriedly.

"It looks safe enough, Miranda," replied Shepard. "If it were going to blast us, I think it would have done it by now. Besides, we're taking it up to Mordin's lab to take a look first, right? It's the first decent relic we've seen since Sovereign."

"I still can't believe you touched it."

"Let it go, Miranda," Shepard lilted cheerfully. "It's not the first time I've dealt with Prothean tech, and I'm still here." They staggered into the lab, where Mordin was waiting for them. "Mordin, we've got something for you. Looks like it's inert, but I'd like you to check it over for anything useful or dangerous," Shepard gestured for them to place the container next to Mordin's workstation.

Mordin hmmm'd over the artifact for some time. Shepard instructed Thane and Miranda to stay and see the results of proximity to the artifact.

"Interesting. Artifact now mostly inert. Some low EM emissions, shouldn't cause problems. Could be sentient. No, can't be, no chemical or reproductive activity. Still, wouldn't recommend experimentation. No need for containment otherwise. Will upload data for later technical analyses." Mordin clearly dismissed the object from his mind, turning back to his work on the Collector DNA samples they had obtained.

Shepard asked, "So there's no danger from, uh, normal exposure?"

"None at all."

"See, Miranda, I told you it would be fine." With a mischievous grin, Shepard popped open the top of the containment box and picked up the orb, juggling it from hand to hand.

"Are you mad?" Miranda gasped.

"Shepard, I don't think..." Thane started.

"Relax, both of you," Shepard held the orb up, examining its dimpled surface. "Is there any problem with taking this with me, Mordin?"

"Prefer it. Reflections distracting. Anything else?"

"Not right now. This is still pretty heavy, who wants to help me carry it to my cabin?"

"Don't look at me, Shepard. I wash my hands of this," Miranda held her arms up in denial.

"Thane?" Shepard dared.

"Of course, Shepard" He sighed silently, "I am yours to command."

"Excellent." And she heaved the orb at him.

"Shepard!" Miranda yelped.

Thane was expecting the move, however, and calmly sidestepped the projectile, reaching out to catch it as it flew past. He remarked mildly, "I may be ill, Shepard, but I am not yet incapacitated. You are most transparent in your intentions."

Her expression was a study in innocence. "Who, me? Come on."

They took the short elevator ride up to the loft. Shepard occasionally poking at the chromed sphere he held, watching the ripples form across the surface. When they arrived in her cabin, she hefted the ball and approached her center table. Thane watched Shepard finish positioning the orb, making minute adjustments until it was stationed to her liking. The relic seemed to have its own miniature mass effect field that kept it suspended a few inches above any flat surface.

Thane peered at the silvery surface, waved his hand over the globe. He could see the blurred reflections of her fish tank and miniature ship models, but one important feature seemed to be missing. "Shepard, doesn't it worry you that this item is reflecting everything but us?"

"It's not active, and it doesn't recognize us," she shrugged, pulling him down to sit next to her on the couch.

"How can you tell?"

"Prothean artifacts only activate under specific circumstances. I don't know how Saren activated the Beacon on Eden Prime, but once it finished with my brain, it went dead. No one else has ever made it even flicker. I suspect Cayce or O'Loy activated it, but Cayce killed the other doctor and himself before anything could come of it. Being on the receiving end of these things can be pretty traumatic."

"I read about Eden Prime. What happened when you were trapped in the Beacon?"

"It was...pure chaos." Her voice grew distant for a moment. "I saw war, destruction, creatures beyond imagining. Wild flashes that didn't make any sense. And all of it engraved on my mind in unending detail. Come to think of it," she sat up, focusing, "Having this thing in my head must be a little like your eidetic memory. You never forget. How do you deal with it?"

"Perfect memory can be a burden. Many disappear into...hmmm...let's call it solipsism; when a memory feels as real as life, it's as valid as life. It can be difficult to separate memory from reality. Most are able to. Some, it consumes. As in life, there is no perfect answer for every person. I have found that meditation allows me to better separate past from present."

"But they're still just memories, aren't they?" She propped her chin on a fist thoughtfully. "I have these...these Prothean memories in my head, but they're not me. They're not who I am. I remember them, more clearly than my own thoughts at times, but I know that they aren't now. Isn't it better to remember the past, but live in the moment and for the future?"

"Better, perhaps. We can learn from our mistakes, Shepard, but it's not always possible to reconcile them completely. Memories of pain or despair are particularly difficult to escape."

"Despair? Don't you see a single hope for the future, Thane?"

He looked at her for a long moment before replying. "I see one...siha."

A soft pause stretched between them before she tilted her head to one side, broke the silence. "I think my translator just glitched. What did you call me?"

"Siha. Someday, I'll tell you what it means." Borrowing a chapter from her book, he smiled, and left before she could respond.

A/N: Ahhhh the siha line. Who could resist such romance?

Thanks again to kiwibliss for her unending assistance in getting these chapters up. Everyone here should go read her Fornax for wonderful wonderful kicks. And bonus points to anyone who can name all of the quotes that I mangled from other games and movies :D