Time
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?
"You wished to see me, Dr. Chakwas?"
"Yes, Thane. You are late."
"My apologies, Jacob requested my presence in the armory and the discussion ran long."
"I must emphasize the importance of regular visits. The progress of your illness should be closely monitored."
I shake my head in reply, "I do not believe that my illness can be remedied by the ship's med-bay."
Her brow arches. "Perhaps you underestimate us. Regardless, it is my responsibility to ensure the well-being of every member of this crew. In addition, any information we gather here may be of use to others of your race that are afflicted by this syndrome." She presses a cold monitor to my chest, checks my pulse and temperature. "Hmmm..."
"Is there a problem?"
"No. As a matter of fact, I believe the arid environment here has agreed with you. Your lungs sound slightly better than during our last checkup. You may have more time than you thought."
Chill plastic digs into my palms. I realize I am gripping the edge of the cot. I carefully unclench my fingers. "More..How much more time?"
"I would need to do further examinations over time to make an accurate prediction." Buttons beep as she consults her datapad. "Depending on the progression, anywhere from days to months. Probably not more, considering the damage already done."
"I...see."
"Consider it encouragement to come in for regular checkups."
"Thank you, Doctor. I will be more attentive in the future."
He mused on this news the next day as they rode toward Grunt's Rite of Passage. Shepard was in front, making sure Okeer's imprinting of truck driving was enough to keep Grunt from running them off the road, so his silence went unremarked. His body was dying. He had accepted this fact for some time. The idea that his journey's end might be delayed was too new, too strange to immediately grasp. Hope was something he could not afford.
The harsh sun of Tuchanka burned down on his head as they exited the tomkah. The air was dry but not clear, no comfort to his lungs. Fine particulate matter--smoke, smog, dust--made a faint haze that obscured the horizon. The area centered around a raised platform in the middle of a ruined amphitheatre, stairs ran down the front and sides and more walkways ascended into rubble filled passages. At the heart of the theater of battle was the keystone, blinking balefully.
Shepard found a position to the left of the keystone, covered in the back and sides by rubble and rusting metal. "This looks like the best defensive position. Grunt, you're up front. Try not to bite their heads off until we're done."
"Hah, these creatures aren't worthy of my gullet, Shepard," Grunt boasted, crouching at the top of the cracked stairway. "I'll grind them to dust!"
"Thane, stay near me." Her fingers ghosted past the leather on his shoulders as she guided him into position. "You'll need to take care of any that get past Grunt. I'll reinforce with my biotics. We'll do our best to slow them down, but I think this is Grunt's battle."
"I will watch over you, siha," he replied quietly.
The smile she gave no one else flashed at him for an instant. "I know you will. You always do." She pressed the keystone.
The world came into sharper focus as the first loping beasts came into range.
Amonkira, Lord of Hunters. Let my feet be swift, my hands be steady and my aim be true. Arashu, guard Your warrior. Keep her safe.
They came slowly, warily at first. Their hesitation cost them their lives as Grunt shattered them into smears. The next wave of varren closed in more quickly from Thane's side of the arena. His rifle took down a string of targets, but the vermin kept coming. The one in the lead took his last round in between the eyes, hitting the ground and slowing the others for a moment. He pulled his pistol, and doubletapped the next varren in the back of the head as it struggled to get up from the tangle. Another had recovered by this time, and was nearly on him. He blurred forward, rolled under the creature as it leaped at his throat, planted both feet on the varren's belly as it jumped, using its own momentum to send it crashing headfirst into the sharp rubble behind him. Another shot from his Locust made sure the creature was down.
A bright flash streamed past him and exploded in the midst of the remaining varren, knocking them into a tumble of char. Thane nodded his thanks to Shepard, checked the perimeter for any remaining enemies. "Clear on this side."
"Hit the keystone, Shepard. I'm ready!"
"Alright. Here we go again."
Shadows crossed the sun, slithering undulations that dropped dark shapes through the rubble. The insectoid creatures looked like rachni at first, but as they closed in, the broader chitinous plates identified them as something else.
"Those are klixen, watch out, they spit fire at close range and explode when they die. We saw that on Korlus."
"They can roast in their own juices!" Grunt snarled excitedly.
Thane pushed Shepard out of the line of fire-jets, using the force to tumble in the other direction. He spun in midair, touched down briefly and leaped again, driving his body over the jets of streaming fire, aiming for the center of the creature's mass. As he crossed above the klixen's head, he emptied the remainder of his clip into the back of its head and chest. He landed on his feet behind the monster, and sidestepped behind a metal tower to avoid the combustive death blast.
Shepard picked herself up from where she had fallen, quickly pointing out additional incoming klixen. "They're going to overwhelm us, we can't keep up with these numbers!"
"I'm not afraid, let them come!"
Thane jerked his head at the square metal columns scattered through the testing ground. "Up there. We'll have the best view and the clearest shot. Quickly, they're close." He scaled the crumbling metal, his muscles carrying him smoothly to the top.
"I am krogan, not lizard, I'm staying here," muttered Grunt.
"The towers wouldn't support Grunt anyway," replied Shepard. "I'm not sure if I could...Thane? Thane?"
"Above you, Shepard," he answered over the comm channel. The sun glinted off the barrel of his sniper rifle, signaling his position.
"Sneaky, good job. How many are there?"
"Enough to cause problems. I'll do what I can from here. There's a ledge behind you that should put you out of reach of their flame. You can make it if you hurry."
Thane crouched tensely at his perch. He had to admit, the exertions of the day so far had not tired him as much as they had been. Perhaps if he continued on these drier worlds--
The klixen neared. He started firing into the crowd as rapidly as he could, trying to avoid Grunt. Grunt had charged the latest group, actually headbutting one into a stone wall. The fiery explosions didn't seem to bother the krogan and he ripped and shredded his way through the center of the cluster. Several of the creatures tried to close with Shepard, spitting fire at her legs, trying to cripple her, force her off the ledge. She met their fire with her specialized Singularity, sucking the creatures into its vortex. She picked off the last of the helpless screeching creatures with her biotics.
She wiped dirt from her face with a look of relief. "Okay, I think we're cl--"
Three more harvesters passed overhead, dropping their loads of klixen warriors. One of them landed almost on top of their small group.
"--clearly in trouble!" Shepard shouted, backpedaling as far as she could to evade the burning saliva. She gestured frantically from the back of the small crevice, managed to levitate the insect long enough for Grunt to kick it in the head, breaking its spined neck with a loud snap.
"Left. Five of them incoming. More on the right," Thane called. He Threw a blast at the nearer group, pushing them back. His gun crackled quietly. The leading klixen ruptured, setting off a chain explosion that mowed down its nearest neighbors. A low concussion sounded to his right, he turned to see Grunt lowering his Claymore and smirking.
"Any more of them?" Shepard's voice came tiredly over the channel.
He scanned the arena again, checked for movement on the ground or in the sky. "No. It appears that was the last."
"The keystone, Shepard, we need to finish the Rite."
"Once more into the fray," Shepard sighed, trying to wipe dirt and gore off her visor. "I wonder what Wrex has in store for us this time." Again she pressed the keystone.
The earth shook wildly as something approached. The rusted metal around him shattered, dropped him into space. The rippling ground rushed up to meet him. He struck, rolled, felt the razor sharp metal slice through the muscles of his arm and shoulder. A towering sinuous shape rose out of the tortured earth.
He lay stunned for a moment from the impact. Grunt and Shepard's voices came to him in a jumbled pile.
"A thresher maw! Finally, something worth fighting!"
"That tower just came down! Where's Thane?"
"Where the hell is the maw?"
"There!"
"You're wasting ammo. And you're missing it!"
"Damn, I told you I can't hit the wide end of a shuttle. And where is Thane?"
"I'm here. Shepard, you must calm yourself," Thane picked himself out of the pile of rubble, covered in scrapes and bruises. One long gash bled freely down his arm.
"There you are, are you okay? Have you seen that thing?"
"Listen to me." He appeared beside her, ignoring the blood dripping off his fingers, modeled her posture against his, guided her arm into steady aim. "Feel your heart beat. The weight of the weapon in your hands. See the target. There is nothing but your body and your target. Look into its eyes. Let your instincts free."
Her body stilled under his words. He heard her exhale once. Her finger trembled on the trigger, shifted slightly, pulled back. The missile landed directly between the thresher maw's eyes. Once. Twice. A third time and the creature shrieked, its scream ripping through the air, before it thrashed one last time and lay still.
They sat in the back of the tomkah, returning triumphant from Grunt's Rite of Passage, a full circle from the morning's journey. As appropriate for such times, he thought back to his conversation with Chakwas once again. He had come close to death that day, in the rubble of the fallen tower. Odd, that the memory brought a tremble to his chest. He had faced his possible end many times in the past, today should have been no different. Yet, there was a difference that he couldn't yet name.
The thoughts were a welcome distraction from the discomfort of his body. Shepard apparently decided that his wound needed bandaging, despite the fact that it had stopped bleeding and was well on its way to mending. He winced as she slathered disinfectant over his arm.
"Siha, you needn't do this. The medi-gel has taken care of the injury."
"Your body has enough to deal with. Medi-gel or not, I won't risk losing you to a simple infection that basic precautions can prevent."
He hesitated, but there wouldn't be a better time, and he wanted her to hear the news from him. "Shepard, I should tell you. I spoke to Dr. Chakwas yesterday. She said that my illness has slowed, perhaps due to the drier air on the Normandy."
The bandage she was wrapping around his arm tightened momentarily before easing off, becoming careful again. Her voice was steady as she asked, "How long?"
"She is not yet sure what the results will be, it may not be very much time at all. She wishes to do further tests."
"It would be a favor to me if you kept me updated. Don't be throwing your life away just because you might...might...be dying," she said, sounding angry as she tied off the bandage.
"All things must pass, siha. How else would we know the value of life?"
"There are other ways," she murmured, turning away, not meeting his eyes.
"Shepard, look at me." He took her chin in his hand, turning her to face him once again. "When my time comes, you must let me go."
Her eyes bored into him, full of defiance. "No."
The direct intimacy of her scrutiny shivered through his senses, the truck, or his stomach lurched inside of him, a sudden shifting of perception. Her face glided toward his, slowly, never breaking eye contact. A slow pressure against his mouth, salty with the sweat and grime of battle. He lost himself to the moment, let his lips part under her probing, slipped his tongue into her mouth. A fierce excitement kicked through his bones, her kiss hinted and teased with promise. He crushed her body to him, twisting to press her against the metal grating. Siha.
Sharp pain in his wounded arm stabbed through him, brought him back to himself. He remembered who he was once again. He drew back, a whisper's distance from her, an impossible gulf that he dared not bridge. "Siha..."
"Sshh." She pressed a finger briefly against his lips, stilling his words. "It's okay. When it's time."
"Eternity would not be enough," he said softly.
He surprised a laugh out of her as she leaned back against the side of the truck. She folded her arms and quirked an eyebrow at him. "That's rather cryptic."
"It was meant to be, siha."
"Are you ever going to tell me what that means?"
He smiled in return, back on solid ground now, and copied her pose, careful of his bandaged shoulder. A touch of humor returned to him as he responded, "Perhaps. In time."
A/N: As promised, a much longer chapter. I think this is the longest one I've ever written! I'd really love some feedback on the doctor, battle, and kissing scenes, I can't tell if it's awkward or too soon any more. And if my Thane voice slipped at all. *sigh* Come on Shep, Thane, get your acts together!
Kiwibliss, I love you. You are a review machine, and the model of a scientific salarian--er I mean reader. And thank you NSAS for your support and lols.