Hello to anyone who's still reading, and Happy New Year! I'd like to start off with an apology for the long pause between chapters. I don't have any excuse, I just wasn't writing. I hope you can forgive me, and I thank everyone for the wonderful reviews and their patience. That said, let's get on with the story! I hope that you like it! Expect more Vega, because I think he's adorable and hilarious! Onwards!
As Thane had expected, organizing a mind-to-mind interface with Shepard did not turn out to be easy. First off, they had to clear it with the cavalcade of doctors overseeing her recovery. Thane, EDI and Liara were joined by Tali, due to her extensive knowledge of synthetics, and Miranda, who had come after being appraised of the situation by Admiral Hackett. Apparently, Ms. Lawson had become quite important in the efforts against Cerberus during the tail end of the war, and had earned herself a place of trust and respect in the Alliance, despite her lack of military rank.
Fortunately, because of Thane's own successful experience interacting with Host, he was able to speak from personal knowledge, and EDI assisted in explaining the more technical aspects of the proposed procedure. Still, the conversation with Doctor Penadon was a difficult one.
"It is a novel proposal," the Salarian doctor said after hearing their initial idea, "Though completely untested. Transfer of information from one mind to another is one thing, complete interfacing is unprecedented. We have no way to know the risks."
"The risks, Doctor Penadon, are that Shepard will never regain consciousness," Miranda said. Thane had always found her forcefulness a little off-putting, but there was no one else that he would rather have had in his corner in this case. "I've read the medical reports. You have no idea what's wrong, why she's not reacting to any stimuli, or even dreaming. This is our best hope."
"Well, be that as it may," the doctor said, looking very flustered, "There's no way we can know if it would even work, if Sere Krios could even navigate such an operation."
"Actually," Tali piped up, "We do. Shepard did something exactly like this, with Legion and the Geth." Thane's brow rose slightly. This, he had not heard about. Tali continued, "Legion linked her into the Geth consensus, to eliminate Reaper code and take down a dreadnought. This is the same idea, just on a smaller scale."
"Well, not exactly the same," Liara said quietly, "She had Legion to help guide her." Tali nodded reluctantly, but EDI looked thoughtful.
"Perhaps Thane could have a guide, as well," She said, earning four pairs of eyes looking at her questioningly. Miranda, however, seemed to understand instantly.
"Of course," she said, "It's unlikely that Thane would be able to manage the interface himself. EDI could serve as a bridge of sorts, managing the connection on both ends. She wouldn't be able to see what Thane was seeing, so to speak, but she could act as a voice to point him in the right direction." It was a good idea. Thane hadn't been sure how he would maintain a link with Shepard. It was one thing to open a lock or send a comm message, but he had no idea how to go about connecting with another's mind. Given enough investigation, the synthesis change would be able to open an entirely new avenue of communication, but it would take time and research. For now, it would be far safer to allow EDI, who would be able to navigate a synthetic connection, to manage the mission.
"I should also be able to direct Thane towards problem areas, and have enough knowledge of human physiology that I can decipher what is happening in Shepard's brain," EDI added. The doctor was looking less than enthusiastic, but seemed to be giving their proposal some serious thought.
"I'm not thrilled about the idea of someone walking around in my patient's brain," he started, "But we're low on ideas right now. Considering that you all seem to be at least somewhat familiar with this… unorthodox concept, I'll talk to the other doctors."
"Well, I think it's the best idea we've heard all day," came a woman's voice from the doorway. The group turned, and Doctor Chakwas strolled in, a calm smile on her face. Thane had spent a great deal of time with the Normandy's doctor, due to his condition. She was a strong, intelligent woman, and was more loyal to her crew than some gave her credit for, even following Shepard to Cerberus after the destruction of the original Normandy. "If there's anyone who can bring Shepard back, it's Thane," Chakwas continued, "And I, for one, think she deserves all that we have to give her." A warm smile was directed towards him, and Thane felt the corner of his mouth quirk up. It was nice to know someone had such confidence in him since his return.
"Doctor Chakwas!" The Salarian doctor exclaimed, "I hadn't expected... er, that is..." It was the first time the man had been speechless since the meeting had started.
"Hadn't expected me to find out you weren't including me in this conversation?" She finished. Doctor Penadon looked contrite.
"Yes, well, this is highly sensitive information, your history with Cerberus..."
"Is inconsequential," Miranda interjected. Thane felt a small chuckle in the back of his throat. Miranda's position afforded her a completely new history, and so she wasn't treated the way that many former Cerberus operatives had been following the war – like a criminal. It was obvious that, although Doctor Chakwas had been cleared of any charges before the Reapers had even invaded, not everyone was comfortable with her. "Doctor Chakwas followed Shepard, and there's no medical professional here more loyal to her," Miranda turned to address the older human, "You like the idea?"
"At this point, I like any idea," Chakwas said sardonically, "And I think having EDI there will be very beneficial. We all trusted her with our lives on the Normandy, so I see no reason not to trust her again." EDI spoke up,
"Thank you, Doctor Chakwas. If I had a circulatory system and translucent skin I would be blushing."
"You're welcome, EDI," Chakwas said, "Now, how soon can we get all of this figured out?" With that, what had started as a meeting to convince Shepard's medical team to consider the procedure turned into a planning session, leaving poor Doctor Penadon to sputter on the sidelines.
The first step in preparing was for Thane to practice interfacing with another mind, one that was healthy and aware of what was being done, just to get a feel for how it would work. Liara had volunteered as the test subject, citing the Asari's familiarity with mind-to-mind interaction, but it had ultimately been decided that she was not the ideal candidate. They needed a human, to get as close to Shepard's brain as possible, so that the procedure would be as familiar as it could be with Thane's limited experience in practice. Thane had first asked Kasumi, owing to their mutual respect, but hadn't been surprised by her response.
"Nuh-uh," she had said over comm, "Nobody's getting into my brain besides Keiji. A girl's gotta have some mystery." Thane had smiled at that,
"Everything you have is mystery, Kasumi," Thane had said, to which Kasumi had laughed,
"Yes, and I'd like to keep it that way! I've given myself enough trouble working on the Crucible. I don't want it to let out that someone else knows what's in my memory. Next thing you know there'll be pictures of me on holo ads, and every two-bit thief in the galaxy will be knocking on my door, asking for lessons. I wish you all the luck in the world, Thane, but find a different guinea pig." They had parted amicably, with Thane wondering what a pig from Guinea had to do with anything.
The next most logical choice had been Miranda, but she, too, had refused, though on very different grounds.
"I would love to help Shepard by doing this," she'd said when Thane and EDI had spoken with her, "but we have no way of knowing if my brain is similar enough to Shepard's, given my genetic modification."
"Did Shepard not go through some modification during the Lazarus project?" EDI had asked.
"She did," Miranda answered, "But only a very small amount, and nothing with regards to her brain's composition. We wanted the real Shepard, exactly as she was. Too much messing around in her head could have ruined that. No, you'll want a basic, every day human. Someone like Traynor, or Donnelly, or Westmoreland. I would suggest Joker, but I'm not sure if he's actually human at all."
"I can assure you," EDI said, "Jeff is definitely human." The sly smile on her face made Thane decide that he was better off not knowing.
In the end, it was James Vega who volunteered.
"Aw, what the hell?" he'd said, "If it helps the commander, I'll let Thane into my head. Just, uh, try not to poke around in any... personal areas, you know what I mean?"
"Fear not, lieutenant," Thane had replied, "I won't hold any thoughts that I stumble upon against you, and I am extremely adept at keeping secrets." James hadn't seemed completely reassured, but nevertheless, the following day was met with he, Thane, EDI, Miranda and Doctor Chakwas in a medical lab, preparing for the procedure.
It had been decided that Vega should be unconscious, so as to best mimic the situation with Shepard. The doctor was there to ensure everything went smoothly, medically, and Miranda was present mostly out of her own personal interest. James had protested, at first, to having "a girl" present while someone "rooted around inside his skull", but an indignant snort from Doctor Chakwas and an icy glare from Ms. Lawson put a swift end to that.
"Are you comfortable, lieutenant Vega?" Chakwas asked.
"About as comfortable as I can get, I think, considering I'm lying on a medical table with more sensors attached to me than a Salarian test subject," he answered, indicating himself with one hand, "That and, y'know..." he trailed off and pointed towards Miranda.
"I promise, lieutenant," Thane offered from his own medical table, "Any embarrassing thoughts that I find shall go with me to my death." James smiled at him, saying,
"I'll hold you to that, Shadow," then gave a thumbs-up to Chakwas, who pushed a syringe into the nutrient bag dripping into Vega's forearm. It was several seconds before his eyes started to droop, and his final words before falling unconscious were, "Just don't tell my abuela..." Three pairs of eyes turned to Thane.
"Well then," said Doctor Chakwas, "Shall we begin?"