I'm still writing! It's just a little slower than before. I had trouble with this chapter. Writing dreams is hard, because it has to make sense to the reader, but most dreams make about as much sense as riding a quesadilla. Anyhow, I hope that this chapter is acceptable, sorry for the long wait, and there's more to come!
Whatever Doctor Chakwas had given James had him out like a light, and Thane could see the lieutenant's eyes moving rapidly beneath his closed eyelids.
"I've induced REM sleep," she explained, "I believe that will make it easier to interact with him. As a test, he has a code phrase I've given him. Your job, Thane, will be to extract said code phrase once you're inside his head. Are you ready, EDI?" EDI nodded. "And you, Thane?" He nodded as well, and Chakwas turned her attention to the equipment monitoring the two men. "Whenever you like, EDI," she said.
EDI stood next to Thane's table, and looked at him with eyes that he still found impossible to read. "I'm going to connect with you, and then act as a router with James," she explained. Thane knew this already, but supposed that it was best to confirm everything each step of the way.
"I'm ready," he said.
"I would suggest you close your eyes, to avoid overstimulating your brain," she added, and Thane followed the suggestion. His eyes closed, he felt more aware of the presence of each person in the room. He had always been very aware of his surroundings, it was a job requirement, but since the change, now that he focused on it, this was different. He could feel each person, as a distinct mind working separately from his own. Miranda was a blazingly intelligent spark somewhere to his left. Doctor Chakwas was a warmer, more wise presence closer by, and James was softer, dormant, obviously asleep. EDI was entirely different, her mind felt more synthetic. He had no other way to describe it. It felt like he was trying to explain the colour blue after having been blind his whole life. This synthetic mind reached towards him, a signal across the space separating them, and he suddenly was connected with it.
Thane, can you hear me? came EDI's voice, similar to a comm message in his brain.
"Yes, I can," he spoke. He heard Miranda murmur "Fascinating".
It will be faster if you simply think your replies. Your mind works significantly faster than your mouth. EDI said, and Thane thought his affirmative. I'm going to increase the signal strength. You may lose focus on the physical room. He was grateful for the warning, as it was shock enough when he suddenly felt nothing to ground himself. It was similar to how he stopped noticing his clothing against his skin after a few moments wearing them, but with the entire room around him. It was as though the table and sensors and light had disappeared, and it was very dark. EDI spoke again, and this time it almost felt like his own thought.
I'm going to connect with James now. He signalled his affirmative again, and felt a new presence in the interface. It was somewhat muddled, not as crisp and clear as EDI's. I'm increasing the band again. I'll try to filter out the background noise. Organic minds are less organized than synthetic. He could suddenly see where he was, and it was nothing like the medical room where he had been.
James was crouched behind a low wall, an assault rifle clutched tightly against his chest, and he was shouting orders into his comm.
"No, damn it, we've got to get on that ship!" A burst of gunfire sounded from somewhere to Thane's right, and he dove behind the wall to share Vega's cover.
Is everything all right, Thane? EDI's voice sounded in his mind.
Vega is having... an unpleasant dream, Thane explained, Any idea what might happen to me if I die in here? He knew that many cultures held the superstition that a person killed in a dream would die in reality, and while he knew better than to believe it, he couldn't help but be cautious in this unfamiliar scenario, especially when James was popping up over his cover to return fire.
You would simply lose the connection to Lieutenant Vega's mind, EDI explained, An inconvenience, but nothing life threatening. Thane thanked her, and turned his attention back to what was going on around him.
"What is happening, lieutenant?" he asked. Vega turned to him, unsurprised by his presence in the way that dreamers were always unconcerned by breaks of logic within a dream.
"It's the Collectors. They've got our intel and our people! We need to find a way onto their ship," James said, then he cursed as a loud whirring noise started above their heads. Thane looked up, and was faced with the sight of a Collector vessel, its engines starting to pull it up from the atmosphere of whatever planet James was dreaming about.
"Do you have a code-phrase for me, Vega?" Thane asked. Perhaps he could simply get this over with quickly and avoid putting James through what was probably an unpleasant memory.
"Not now, Thane!" James yelled, "You've gotta help me get them back!" Vega started running towards the ship, and Thane was forced to follow.
Any suggestions, EDI? he asked as he followed James across an open field.
We could start over, she answered, End the connection, wake him up, and then hope his next dream is less... conflict-ridden. Thane shook his head,
No, we're going to finish this. Who knows what obstacles I'll encounter in Shepard's mind. I need to get used to dealing with this. EDI voiced her confirmation,
I would suggest following Vega, then. From what I know of organic dreams, logic is not a large component of what happens. It's entirely possible that you will simply appear in the next area without any actual transition. Her words were perfectly punctuated by a sudden shift. James had, apparently, run so fast that he had broken the barriers of space and time and teleported into the Collector ship, pulling Thane along with him. The lieutenant spun to face Thane, and handed him a sniper rifle,
"Follow me, Thane. We've got to get our intel back. The mission depends on it," Vega said, before taking off in a brisk walk down the wide hallway. "I'll give you the code phrase once the package is secure!" he called back over his shoulder. Thane was left with no choice but to continue following he lieutenant, and he quickly fell back into the familiar posture that had become ingrained in his very being, rifle held at the ready, mind alert and prepared for what they might face in this world within James's mind.
The inside of the Collector vessel was exactly as Thane remembered. Organic and inorganic stretched and melded together, the hexagon-like constructions reminiscent of an insect hive. Whereas the Asari aesthetic has always struck Thane as being an elegant meld of organic and synthetic design elements, soothing and peaceful to look at, the Collectors' architecture had a very different effect. It was disconcerting, and put him on edge. Just as the Collectors themselves were an abomination, a twisted perversion of life created by the Reapers, so were their vessels. James and Thane ducked down behind an outcropping as they heard the telltale buzz of the approach of wings. Falling back into old habits, Thane popped up momentarily, using his rifle's sights to get a feel for their opponents, before crouching back down and signalling to James.
Two fingers, pointing at his own eyes, then a whole hand held up for a moment, before indicating towards their left. The message was clear. "I see four targets, on our 11 o'clock position." Vega nodded, then pointed towards Thane's gun with his chin before signalling in the direction Thane had pointed, a questioning look on his face. "Can you take any out from here?" Thane nodded the affirmative, then rolled out to the side of the cover, being careful not to come up in the same place as before. There was nothing more stupid than coming out of cover in the same place twice. It made one a very easy target.
The Collectors hadn't spotted them yet, and Thane was able to get a shot out before being seen. A sharp bang ricocheted around the corridor, and one opponent was down, a large hole through its head. Thane rolled back into cover, and the real fire-fight began. James was an excellent soldier – it was no wonder that Shepard had valued him – and although the Collectors were reinforced several times, between the two men they made short work of their enemies. Thane was about to request the code-phrase once more when James vaulted over their cover and moved silently towards where the ground was littered with the bodies of fallen Collectors.
He is giving you trouble, isn't he? EDI asked, and Thane gave a mental sigh.
If I had thought this would be easy, I would be a fool. he thought back, and he crept out to follow the lieutenant. James stopped short, and Thane crouched again, ready for another wave, but Vega let out a shout, and ran forward.
"I found her, Thane!" he yelled, and he darted through an open door that had definitely not been there moments ago. Thane hurried to keep up, not wanting to be left behind should the ever-shifting architecture of James's dream decided to make another drastic change. He rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, his heart dropping sharply into his stomach. Whatever or whoever he had been expecting, this wasn't it.
Shepard stood in the centre of the room, some sort of medical lab if the operating table and medical instruments were any indication. She looked whole and well. In fact, she seemed to be... posing. Her hands were on her hips, her red hair longer than Thane remembered it and blowing behind her as if moving in some personal breeze. At her feet were a dozen fallen opponents, ranging in species from Collectors to the Turian-Reaper bastardizations called Marauders. The look on her face was one of fierce determination, and it took Thane a moment to fully comprehend what was going on.
Of course, he though, this must be how Vega imagines Shepard. Now that the initial shock of seeing his Siha so vibrant and alive had faded, he was able to once again grip hold of reality. This was Vega's dream, nothing more, and the women standing in front of him was not Shepard. She was simply another construct of the sleeping lieutenant's mind. Besides, Shepard would never pose over a mountain of dead like that, and... what was she wearing? It was some sort of skin-tight jumpsuit, with a zipper up the front that was pulled down nearly to her navel. Perhaps this was what James had been so concerned about Thane seeing in his mind. At the moment, however, the lieutenant was standing at attention in front of the commander, his rifle at his side, and his eyes fixed on the middle distance.
"At ease, Vega," Shepard said. Even her voice sounded different. Thane knew every nuance, every inflection, of his Siha, having spent countless hours doing nothing but pouring over every memory he had of her. This was not really Shepard.
That still didn't stop him from feeling as though he'd been punched in the stomach.
Are you all right, Thane? EDI asked, concerned.
I... I will be, he answered, I just need to get the code-phrase and then I'll disconnect.
"Lieutenant?" Thane said, being careful not to look at the dream-Shepard, "May I have the code-phrase now?" Vega looked up at Shepard, as if waiting for confirmation. She nodded, and James turned back to face the Drell.
"Kilo Charlie 357," Vega said. Thane repeated it back, making sure that it was correct, and when James nodded, he turned his back to the lieutenant and his image of Shepard.
EDI, he thought, Get me out of here.
Affirmative, came her reply, and Thane felt his mind separating from Vega's. Slowly, his knowledge of his own body returned, and with it the sensation of lying on a medical bed. James once again became a dormant mind somewhere off to the right. And then even that awareness faded as EDI withdrew herself, leaving Thane alone with his own thoughts. He opened his eyes to find Doctor Chakwas hovering over him, and she quickly went through a perfunctory examination before moving over to begin rousing James.
"Are you okay, Thane?" Miranda asked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"I am fine," He replied, "It was merely... disconcerting, being present in someone else's dream." Miranda nodded.
"Let's hope lieutenant Vega is also no worse for wear," she said, and Thane was reminded that, while it may have been unpleasant for him to experience the apparition of Shepard within the dream, for the man whose mind he had been invading, it had been indistinguishable from reality. Thane knew little of James's military history, having been preoccupied since meeting the young man, but from the small amount that he'd gleaned from conversations with others on the crew, Vega had lost friends to the Collectors, and had been forced to make an impossible decision. This was obviously what the dream had been about, and Thane could only hope that it was no more traumatic upon awakening than any other unpleasant nighttime visitations. He watched carefully, therefore, as Vega was given a stimulant to counteract the effects of the drug Chakwas had given him earlier.
The room was very quiet as they waited for James to wake up, and so it was doubly startling when the young man opened his eyes and yelled out,
"Shit!"