Sorry for the longer-than-usual break between chapters! It's essay season here in University Land. I hope that you like this next chapter, let me know in a review!

Procuring a shuttle from the Hanar ship was easy enough. Most of the crew were aware of who he was, and of his role in saving the Salarian councillor from assassination prior to his own death. Leaving the ship's shuttle bay, he was stunned by the sheer number of ships that were present in the Sol system. Hundreds of vessels filled the space around Earth, and there seemed to be representatives from every species in the galaxy, even the Geth.

"You did it, Siha," he whispered to himself, "You united them all."

"Pardon, Sere Krios?" asked the young Drell piloting the shuttle he was on.

"Nothing," said Thane, "Just speaking to myself." The young woman nodded,

"We'll be at the SSV Hong Kong in a few minutes. How are you feeling?" She was aware that he had, until very recently, been dead.

"I feel fine," he answered, "Better than I have in over a year. I am a bit puzzled by the apparent nonchalance my resurrection has been met with." The young Drell woman nodded. She was pretty by his species' standards, covered in blue-tinted scales and possessing a lovely shade of red on her throat frills. Her body was shaped like all Drell women, larger hips, with a slim, straight chest. In years previous, he would have appreciated her appearance, but now all he could think of was Shepard.

"I'd be confused too, I guess, if I'd just come back from the dead," she said, "You're not the only one, though, or the first." He wasn't sure if he had heard her properly,

"There are others like me? Others who returned to life after the change?" She nodded,

"Yes. Nobody who died from being wounded, but a couple of the other ships had bodies of deceased who had succumbed to illness or genetic diseases. You have to understand, some of these ships were civilian until very recently, and didn't have time to deal with proper rituals for the dead before coming to Sol.

When the… change happened, the synthetic materials started repairing what damage had been done. Not just the genetic issues, but actual tissue damage, though it took longer depending on how long the person had been… dead. I know of at least three others who have come back. The first man was Salarian. I believe that he scared his crew rather badly when their dead comrade was suddenly up and walking around. I guess your Kepral's syndrome was fixed, and your body just… repaired itself." She smiled at him, and he returned it with one of his own, mostly out of politeness. At least now he knew why he was alive, but until he knew what had really happened, he would feel tense and uneasy. Nobody had mentioned Shepard yet.

The SSV Hong Kong appeared not to have been too badly damaged in the battle against the Reapers. Thane was ushered onboard by a human woman, who led him to a conference room and said that Admiral Hackett would be along shortly. Thane sat and tried to centre himself, to calm the tide of questions swirling in his mind. He was still sitting at the table, hands folded together and eyes closed, when Admiral Steven Hackett entered the room.

Thane had never formally met the man before, though he had performed a variety of missions with Shepard at the Admiral's request. The admiral was not a large man, but he was imposing nonetheless. He had a long scar on one side of his face, and carried himself like a man possessing great confidence. Thane stood to greet him, and returned the handshake the human had offered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Thane. Shepard spoke very highly of your abilities. I heard you died after defending the Salarian councillor from Kai Leng. This change has had some unusual side effects, but bringing back the dead is certainly one of the better ones." Thane nodded,

"Thank you, Admiral. I'm honored by your words. I was surprised when you answered and not the Normandy." Hackett's eyes moved from his, and a lump formed in Thane's throat. What had happened?

"The Normandy's out of comm range at the moment, save via quantum entanglement. Extranet's also down. Whatever happened with the Crucible took down every mass relay in the galaxy, as far as we can tell. The Normandy crash landed on a planet about a system away. They've been working on repairing her for the past two weeks. The crew is fine." The Admiral's answer explained one thing, but left Thane with even more questions.

"I'm sorry, Admiral," he said, "I am at a disadvantage here. What's happened? How did the Crucible stop the Reapers? What happened to the relays?" Hackett placed a hand on Thane's shoulder.

"It's complicated, son," he said, "That's why I've got Host here." At the Admiral's word, a Geth mobile platform entered the conference room, and addressed Thane. The Drell was not completely unfamiliar with the concept of Geth as allies instead of hostiles, but he was surprised at its presence on an Alliance vessel. Whatever Shepard had done had obviously changed a lot. The Geth nodded its head at Thane, then spoke,

"I am unit 428, called Host. With your permission, I would interface with you for the expedient relay of information." Thane was wary. He had not heard a mobile platform refer to itself in first person before, and the fact that it had taken a name was also odd. The Geth noticed his hesitation and continued, "Shepard-Commander aided the unit called Legion in transferring the ability for true intelligence to all mobile platforms. I am now an individual. The change caused by the Crucible has merged synthetic and organic life, enabling us to communicate via information transfer. If I may?" Thane nodded slowly, he might as well, and took the hand offered by Host.

It was unlike everything he had ever experienced. Had he been asked to describe it, he would have likened it to how a computer must receive information through downloading, but it was very different to experience as a sentient being. The acquisition of knowledge was almost instantaneous, and Thane suddenly knew about everything that had happened since his death; Shepard uniting the Geth and Quarians, bringing down Cerberus, arriving on Earth, massive army in tow, and activating the Crucible. The Citadel, once the seat of galactic power, now even more badly broken than it had been following Saren's attack three years previous. The remarkable change in the DNA of all life, obliterating the divide between synthetic and organic, giving the galaxy a chance for true peace. Even the Reapers, once the beings who threatened their entire existence, now helping to mend the broken mass relays, decimated cities, and put the Citadel back together. What Host didn't show him, however, was anything to do with Shepard. Stepping back once the transfer was done, Thane turned to the admiral with his question.

"What about Shepard? Where is she?" He knew the answer before Hackett even spoke, it was obvious in the pained silence, and it felt like being punched in the chest.

"We've been combing through the Citadel, piece by piece," Hackett said, "I'm sorry, Thane, but there's been no sign of her. She's MIA. It's been over two weeks. There… isn't much hope left of finding her." Thane couldn't breathe. His Siha was gone. The edges of his vision went black. It had been bad when he learned of the invasion of Earth, and hadn't been able to get in contact with her then, but at least there had been some hope. Now, though, he felt like his whole world had been ripped out from under him. He had been brought back to life for a world without Shepard? How was this fair? He should be with her, across the sea, holding her in his arms in the land where no one ever got sick and lovers never leave.