***Author's Notes***

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Chapter 6 - The Med Bay

Thane watched silently as Marie attempted to come to terms with the news that her siblings were dead. She watched Shepard as he spoke about the galaxy they lived in, the people it consisted of and the problems it faced. Every now and then Dr. Chakwas would elbow him lightly to signal that he was saying too much.

Marie sipped at her water, her eyes big in her tear-stained face. When Shepard spoke of the technological advances of her species she leant forward in interest. Technology, it seems, calms her. A thin hand reached out and touched Shepard's face, tracing the fine red lines there. He explained he had been...upgraded. Wise, I don't think she would be able to handle the dead coming to life.

"Shepard, I wish for Marie to get properly evaluated." Chakwas stood with Mordin who nodded enthusiastically.

"Right." He stood and helped the frail girl to stand, her legs however had other ideas and gave out beneath her. "Thane, could you help her please?" He then left the room with his medical professionals and his first officer.

Her eyes widened slightly as he approached her. He tried to be relaxed and appear friendly but it was hard when faced with a girl who had only his name to go on. Thane squatted before Marie and held his arms out too her.

"What are you?" The question was small and quiet. It caught him completely off guard. Never before had he been asked what he was. He looked into her eyes, pupils dilated with fear.

"I'm a Drell." She nodded at his answer and gripped his hands. She was warm, he small hands grabbing his as he helped her stand. She suddenly lifted a hand to her eyes, tracing the fused middle and ring fingers with her gaze. Her mouth formed a small O.

"What do Drell do?" He furrowed his brow as he looked down at her, his hand still held up to her eyes. How much should I tell her?

"All Drell are different. I, for instance, am a mercenary of sorts." She looked up at him. "Shepard hired me to help with his current job." Another nod and they began to walk. They had only taken two steps however when a small whimper left her. She was holding the wall with one hands whilst the other threatened to break his, her eyes were screwed shut in pain. "It hurts to walk?" A nod.

Thane took a second to think about his options. I could call for Shepard. But, Shepard wants her to be comfortable with me. A familiar face...a friend. He turned to her. "I will carry you." He didn't give her time to protest before he cupped her legs and cradled her back, holding her against him. He felt her grip at the leather of his jacket as they strolled out of Life Support and into the Mess.

Shepard stood by the kitchen area in the Mess with Garrus. Both were tall enough to see over the crew as they waited for Thane and Marie to appear.

Miranda was sat nearby, cold calculation on her face as she scanned data pads in front of her. Data pads with a substantial amount of information on them.

"What are you reading Miranda?"

She jumped slightly and quickly switched the pads off. "Nothing, commander." Garrus hummed beside him, obviously not believing her either.

Shepard pulled up him Omni-tool and sent Tali a quick message. Hack into Miranda's information cache. Let me know if anything particularly interesting pops up.

He watched as Tali opened her Omni-tool and nod gently toward him. She then wandered of toward the elevator, heading to engineering.

Just then, the door to Life Support slid open and gasps could be heard around the crew. Thane stepped around the partition of the mess and crew corridor holding Marie in his arms. She was holding onto him as her eyes scanned the people and aliens around her. Her mouth opened in a mix between surprise and apprehension as she caught sight of Grunt who stood by Zaeed.

Yeoman Kelly Chambers bounced up to the pair smiling in her customary greeting. "Hey! I'm Kelly! If you need to talk to anyone you come straight to me!" The crew grinned as Marie merely nodded.

As a few more began to crowd around the new member of their ship, Shepard began to find his view obstructed. He put his fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle. Garrus covered his sensitive ears as the crew spun to look at their commander, he gestured with his head and the crew dispersed immediately. Thane looked at him with relief and he nodded to him. Marie simply observed the crew as they went about their business.

Kasumi appeared beside them, a sly grin visible beneath her hood. Marie jumped and gripped onto Thane even tighter as he pulled her to him protectively. I knew I picked the right person for this job.

"I'm Kasumi Goto, welcome aboard."

"Kasumi! Let them by." Kasumi nodded and cloaked herself and Thane and Marie entered the med bay to be greeted by Mordin and Chakwas. Miranda stood to follow. "Where are you going?"

"I thought they could use my expertise." She held her head high as she met Shepard's eyes.

"Nah. She doesn't need rebuilding Miranda," She glared at him. "Besides, Mordin and Chakwas are two of the greatest medical minds in the Galaxy. I think they can handle it."

She huffed and walked to her room, followed closely by Jacob, whom Shepard simply flipped off. "Gods, I really dislike those two..."

Garrus laughed beside him. "That much is pretty obvious, Shepard." Shepard nudged him with his hip as he continued to watch the goings on in the med bay. It seemed Chakwas was killing two birds with one stone as she attached a few lines to Thane. Might as well get them both healthy.

Jack came and stood beside him, crossing her arms over her barely clad chest. Need to get her some clothes, too. "So, what's so special about her then?"

"You were there, Jack. We found her floating around in space! In a pod from Earth!" The rest of his ground crew came to join in the conversation about the new girl. "Also, it seems she was some sort of technical genius back in her time."

"She'll need training if she's going to stay."

"Oh, Jack! I didn't know you cared!"

"Fuck you, Shepard." The crew laughed and made a few comment on what she should be trained in.

Just then his Omni-tool beeped and he pulled up a message. You need to come see this, T.

"So, what did you think of the crew?" The doctor was talking to her but Marie couldn't find the mental capabilities to answer her. She looked at her as her mouth moved but nothing registered. I just saw a dinosaur...

"Marie, dear?" Her, Thane and Mordin were looking at her, varying expressions of concern evident on their faces. Mordin looked more excited than anything else.

"Umm, sorry." She looked out the window to see the crew milling about. A woman in white was standing as the commander talked to her. "I'm just a little overwhelmed I guess."

"Yes. It is a lot to take in, isn't it?" Marie nodded. "Well, no matter. You're awake and, other than being drastically under weight, you seem healthy. A bit of feeding up and you'll be fine." The doctor began taking wires with sticky bits on the end and applied them to Thane. What's up with him? She was about to ask before Mordin came over with her own lines.

"Must take measurements. Take blood." An orange translucent screen appeared, seemingly out of his arm.

"What is that?"

"An Omni-tool. You have one here." He gestured to a small bracelet on the table beside him.

"I need one of those?"

Thane nodded. "Yes. They are standard issue." He gestured to his own on his wrist. "They have multiple functions; applying upgrades to tech, using tech on the field, melee fighting, hacking, dispensing medi-gel," He watched her eyes widen in awe and smiled a little "repairs, communication, and of course..." He twitched his wrist and a beam of light came from the orange hologram. "Flashlight."

"Whoa." Their conversation ended when Mordin pricked her arm with a needle, drawing blood from her. "Ouch." The salarian smiled apologetically.

Movement beyond the window caught everyone's eyes. They turned to watch the commander leave for the elevator along with the ground crew. Impressive people. Marie particularly watched a bald woman covered in tattoos. "Who are they all?"

Thane was about to answer but the doctor put a breather mask on his face. Marie cocked her brow at him, he turned away awaiting Dr. Chakwas to answer the question.

"Well you've met Commander Shepard and First Officer Vakarian." She pointed them out. "The two in white who aren't there anymore are Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, They work for Cerberus," Cerberus. "I believe Kasumi has already said hello. The blue woman is Samara, an Asari, the hulking being beside her is Grunt, a Krogan." The dinosaur. "The two at the back are Zaeed Massani and Jack." She bent her head as she read some readings from her Omni-tool. "Well, Thane. There is no significant change, I'm pleased to say. The Life Support room must be doing you some good." She took the mask and lines from him. He nodded and clasped his hands in front of him, eyes shut.

"What's wrong with him?" Chakwas looked at thane who simply nodded.

"Thane suffers from a disease call Kepral's syndrome," She applied Marie's Omni-tool as she spoke. "It erodes the ability for Drell to take in oxygen, and eventually spreads out to their other organs." Marie bit her lip, looking at Thane from the corner of her eye.

Just then a beeping sound came from him and he opened his Omni-tool, quickly reading whatever was written there.

"It appears Shepard requires out presence." He stood and held his arms out to her.

Again please review, it gives me motivation :)

Also, last month I got the most view I have ever gotten since I started writing my stories in September of last year! I would just like to thank everyone who is reading this and my Dragon Age FanFic, it means a lot :)

Another thank you to Gamer072196, for making this just that little bit easier ^-^