Complications
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?
Night brought forth both secrecy and vision. The light-loving hanar decorated in all the wavelengths of their visible spectrum, and so the darkness glowed in rainbows that cascaded from barely-perceptible red to the blue-white of ultraviolet. Luminous algae and night blooming flowers colored and perfumed the air in a humid tropical paradise. For some.
In the places where the light didn't reach, however, shadows reigned in their depthless glory.
He was one of them.
Most civilians didn't think that someone dressed in black and crimson could blend in to the shadows, but he knew that red faded to black faster than any other color. That was why those of his race that had genetically altered eyes had trouble seeing dark reds. His armor was not quite that dark a hue, but it was sufficiently toned for him to disappear into the obscurity cast by a series of decorative statuary.
He had been stationed here for nearly an hour, timing the patrol of the single drell night guard on the research center. His goal was a small side door, likely meant to allow employees a chance to step outside and enjoy the nearby parkland without having to go through the main atrium. According to his count, the guard took approximately ten minutes to make his circuit of the building. That meant that once Tali and Shepard, watching from the groundcar parked half a block away with a good view of the main entrance, signaled that the guard had passed, he would have a two minute wait before he dared to try the door.
His plan was to be first at the door to try Irikah's keycard. If it didn't work, he would need to wait for Tali to reach him and bypass the lock. If she couldn't do it in the remaining time, they would withdraw until the guard passed again. The final contingency would be for him to distract the guard by making a commotion at the front entrance until Tali could open the door. She and Shepard would get inside and open one of the second story windows for him to gain his access.
Complications. He preferred simple plans. The more elaborate a plan was, the more chance for failure. He trusted Shepard with his life, and Tali nearly as much, but he couldn't help but speculate how different this mission would be if he were alone.
In through one of the channels that fed the interior pools-he would have worn a breather mask. Once inside, the keycard or a small explosive wire to unseal any doors in his way until he reached the lab. That was where his plan was stymied. He had little ability for breaking into computers. His skills were in stealth and assassination, and one could not assassinate-or threaten-a computer program.
Complications.
"He just passed us," Shepard buzzed into his ear.
"Understood. Thank you, Shepard." He clasped his hands together to send up a brief prayer to honor the gods and his hunt while he waited.
Amonkira, grant us luck. We hunt tonight for information, rather than blood. Let our feet be silent, our minds be swift and no harm come to those under my care.
Even while asking for Amonkira's blessing, Thane continued to count down the seconds in his head until he reached the two minute mark. He waited an extra few beats to ensure that the guard had passed the checkpoint before radioing Shepard and Tali.
"I'm starting down. Meet me at the door. Move quickly."
"Gotcha, on our way. Shepard out."
He sped through the night, silent as one of the scurrying shadows cast on the ground by the rain swept sky; silent except for the huffing of his breathing. He reached the door in under a minute and swiped the key along the code slot. His heartbeat thudded through his mind, a triple beat of anticipation.
When the lock blinked to green, he allowed himself the luxury of resting against the metal door in sheer relief. The entire procedure had taken less than ninety seconds but he was as out of breath as if he had run several kilometers. He would need to pace himself better if he wanted to get through the night with everyone intact. He pulled the handle of the door and it clicked open quietly, revealing the yawning hallway beyond.
"Shepard, I'm in. Where are you?" he whispered into his commlink.
"Give us a second. Unlike some fashionistos, I happen to be in full body armor. It's not built for speed."
"I'm sure that, were I to check, we would at this very moment be equal in the weaponry that we carry. However, perhaps you should consider quality over quantity, siha."
"I'll run you a race next time we have a minute. Some of us weren't born with grace, speed and sexy green scales, so we have to compensate somehow." Those last words were delivered as she came into sight around the cement corner of the building, Tali panting close beside her.
"Good, you got the door open," Tali said, pulling a small handheld device out of one of the numerous leather pouches that hung from her belt. A tracery of geometric lines was barely visible on the dim, plain LCD screen. "I downloaded a map onto this PDA. We can use this instead of our omnitools so that we can keep the light level down."
Thane examined the map for a few seconds. The complex was laid out very simply, as expected for a building dedicated to scientists, and he quickly picked out the best route to the glowing dot that marked their destination.
"Follow me as well as you can," he whispered to them. "We should go comm silent. If you lose me, tap lightly on the wall in a two-beat pattern until I find you again."
"Don't worry, we won't lose you," Shepard muttered quietly. "Full body armor's for more than just slowing me down you know." She hit a button on her control pad and grinned at him. "Night vision built into the helmet. I see every...inch...of you."
"We shall test the efficacy of your device, then, siha. Tali'Zorah, do you have a similar device?"
"Yes, my environment suit includes a full spectrum feed. I can even see your omnitool. Let's go."
They crept down empty hallways, their boots tapping softly against the smooth echoing floors. Tali followed directly behind him while Shepard took the rear position. They followed the faintest of guidelines on their map down two hallways and up one floor. They saw no stray scientists coming in to check on experiments, and did not encounter the nighttime security guard during their stealthcraft.
"In here," Thane beckoned when they finally reached the door that their map indicated was Irikah's former lab. He pressed the key against the security detector, and like the door outside, there was a green blink as the lock disengaged.
"Very good, Thane. I didn't realize sneaking into a building would be so easy," Tali commented as she pushed the lab door open.
"Normally, it is much more difficult, Tali'Zorah. Having an access key bypasses many of the possible complexities. However, I would be a poor assassin if I couldn't access a target in a locked room. There are more ways into a room than through the front door."
"I understand. Ah, thank you Shepard."
Shepard had closed the door behind them to keep stray light from giving them away, and had started up one of the workstations situated near the middle of the room.. Tali brought up her omnitool and leaned in closer to the console, her fingers flicking rapidly back and forth between the desk console and her tool.
"This database has impressive defenses, but there isn't anything here I can't handle. I just need to-do you hear that?"
Tali had barely started her decryption program when they heard sounds, shuffling footsteps, approaching from the other side of the door. Thane motioned for Shepard and Tali to duck behind the largest desk to prevent them from being exposed. As for him, he simply faded into the shadow that he knew would be cast by the opening door. The light from the hallway glared into the room, framing a figure obscured by its voluminous labcoat. The spot where the two women had stood was now clearly illuminated but darkness still shrouded his position.
"Who's in here?" came a nervous, high-pitched male voice. "I know someone's in here. Show yourself!"
It was the researcher that had avoided them earlier. From where he hid, Thane could see Shepard turn her head toward his last position. He read the intention in her eyes and smiled to himself. Although she could not see him, so well synced were their thoughts that they moved together even without the benefit of direct sight.
Two heartbeats after he began his maneuver, she straightened, standing fully framed in the revealing light. The man in the doorway gasped and faltered backward, directly into Thane, who had moved around behind him during his distraction. The other drell struggled sharply and tried to cry out but was no match for Thane's grip around his throat or the hand muffling his mouth.
After a moment of futile struggle, the man slumped, exhausted. Thane pushed him over to the nearest station chair and forced the researched to sit.
"Be silent and you won't be harmed," Thane hissed in a low voice. The frightened scientist jerked shaky trembling nods and Thane released him, stepping back to meet Shepard's eyes over the back of the chair. He nodded at her. It would be interrogation again, although since he'd held the man's thready pulse beneath his hands, he doubted that sympathy would be effective as his role. Very well, he would be the silent threat that encouraged the man to speak.
"Listen," Shepard said, stepping forward, "Just tell us what you know and we'll leave you alone. You're Setir, aren't you? Setir Parchon?"
"I-Yes, I am. Yes," Setir stuttered.
"Great. Look how well you're doing! Ten years ago, a woman named Irikah worked here, and she found something. What was it?"
"It was-She had-Why do you need to know?" the scared drell answered.
"We are the ones doing the questioning, Sere Parchon. Please answer the lady," Thane murmured from the shadows behind Setir.
Setir gulped and half turned his head to glance behind him. He straightened before he could make eye contact with Thane and addressed Shepard instead.
"I..I had her looking into the reason why K-Kepral's Syndrome didn't respond to any antibiotics or immune boosters that we develo-p-ped."
"What did she find?"
"I don't know. I only saw her proposal. She was killed before she could give me any more."
"There must have been logs, experimental data, results. She would have needed to have that before she could make the proposals. We received a message from her saying what she'd found could cure your entire race. Don't you care about that? Give us the files and you'll save everyone." Shepard paused and flicked a glance at Thane, who moved forward to place a threatening hand on Setir's shoulder.
"Including yourself."
"It doesn't matter now, don't you understand? They're gone. The files are all gone!"
A/N: Da-dum. Thank heavens for the announcement of the DLC today. I'm so very excited to see what happens, and it will have a rather large impact on where this little plot twist goes. Sorry, Thane, no magical cure just yet, but where there is life, there is hope, and it springs eternal!
Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. It originally started out with a conclusion to Ryssur's little black market, and Shep teasing Thane about the lack of chestage with his new armor ;) but I decided I liked this beginning better.
Thank you to the usual suspects, kiwibliss, LunaMax1418, and NSAS for help, inspiration and input.
Feedback is always appreciated and responded to, and all characters Copyright Bioware. Bioware, give us that Thane DLC!