Dead Batarians

Thane stalked his prey from the shadows down below while his wife hunted from a perch two floors above. As important as their mission was against Cerberus—and indeed, it'd come to mean a great deal to him—he felt a certain relief returning to the sort of battlefield he understood. A battlefield in which there was no battle. He was in control, not chaos. Silence might mean the difference between success and failure. His adversaries never needed to know the imminence of death.

They'd agreed he'd enter the building from the north on the ground floor, and she from the west on the third floor. After four days observing the condemned clinic, they felt certain the only people inside were Ibariaan and his men. Ibariaan himself never left, his followers only leaving under cover of darkness to fetch food and supplies. In addition to Ibariaan, Theodus identified seven other batarians known to be his most trusted, lesser-ranking members of Na'hesit, and thus, potential targets.

Thane and Jasmine were only able to locate six of them. It was unclear what became of the seventh member, Bahark Gostagar, and not even Theodus was able to turn up any new information. Thane didn't like the uncertainty, not with Jasmine taking part of the contract with him. They'd agreed to move forward, however. He didn't wish for her to think he lacked faith in her skills, and if it were him alone, he wouldn't have hesitated to continue with the contract. It was a struggle for him; losing track of her on Benning, finding her so battered, continued to haunt his dreams and waking moments. Nearly as much as the events of Thessia.

Drawing a dagger—the heftier one gifted to him by his wife, forged of German steel—he brushed his thumb over the jasmine engraved in the metal before pulling his battle sleep more securely around himself. The hum of a generator muffled the sounds of Khath Vegdar moving about the small kitchen area just around the corner. Thane pressed his back to the wall next to the doorframe, the darkness providing him cover, and waited.

He watched and listened until Vegdar crossed into his line of sight, back turned. Stepping into the room, he moved swiftly to Vegdar. He grabbed the batarian's chin with one hand, tipping his target's head back before driving his blade between Vegdar's ribs and into his heart before twisting. The batarian gasped and sputtered, coughing up blood as Thane pulled his blade free. Vegdar collapsed to the floor, dead seconds later. Thane wiped his dagger clean on the man's shirt before moving on in search of his next target.

Jasmine adjusted the scope on her Titan VII sniper rifle and sighed. It was one of the weapons they'd found on Akuze, something Cerberus made special. She'd had it scrubbed clean, making sure it was no longer traceable back to the terrorist organization and modded it to decrease its weight, suppress sound, and increase heat sink capacity. It was a good weapon, better than her last, but it wasn't her rifle.

When she'd resigned, she'd turned her weapons over to Isaac. Other sectors of the Alliance often allowed those with honorable discharges to keep their weapons, but given the nature of the Phantoms, she was required to turn over all Alliance issued equipment. It left her with nothing but her throwing knives, a pistol silencer, and her tactical cloak to work with. Even her Logic Arrest Tool VII omni-tool, the one the Phantoms issued to her after her release, needed to be returned. Thankfully, she still had the Nexus X Thane bought for her on Illium after Leon wrecked her Logic Arrest Tool V.

She'd used other weapons before, of course, but she'd carried that damn Python V with her all over the galaxy. It felt right in her hands. She supposed, given enough time, the Titan VII would, too. At least the switch from the Cobra VII to the Harpy VI pistol didn't phase her in the slightest. And the Nexus X omni-tool was better for her particular needs than either of the Logic Arrest Tool series the Phantoms made her use. Especially since Mordin taught her how to use Incinerate.

Focus, Jasmine!

She turned her full attention back to the job at hand. It was her first time working with Thane on one of his contracts where she wasn't just a party crasher. She needed to get it right. Needed him to see their partnership as a professional asset and not a burden.

Urdek Nacoran paced back and forth in front of the boarded over window, assault rifle held at low-ready. Ersamia Radathi stood across the room from him, looking at her omni-tool, pistol holstered at her hip. Taking a steadying breath, Jasmine adjusted her scope one last time and waited for Nacoran to cross back into her crosshairs. The batarian turned and began his slow march back, and Jasmine settled her finger over her trigger. She counted the steady beat of his footsteps in the back of her head and squeezed her trigger just as the batarian's head entered her crosshairs. Before his body hit the floor, she swung her rifle around.

Radathi looked up and started to turn as Jasmine adjusted her scope. Shock crossed the batarian's face, and her arm dropped to her side, omni-tool still open as her other hand sought her pistol. Jasmine exhaled and brushed her finger over the trigger, and the woman's head jerked back, blood splashing over the room behind her as she stumbled and then slumped against the wall, sliding to the floor.

Pushing up from a crouch, Jasmine slung the strap of her sniper rifle over her shoulder and high-tailed it along the wooden crossbeam. She reached up and tapped her mic, sending a signal to her husband to let him know she was changing positions. She used to hate the damn things, and she still didn't exactly like them, but she did like it let them keep better track of one another in the field.

Thane let his third target drop to the floor, the man's neck broken, and touched the device next to his ear. Acknowledging his wife's signal, he also sent his own. Only two remained, Drafatt and Ibariaan, himself. Thane moved to the staircase and glanced around the wall, ensuring his path to the second level was clear before he began climbing.

Voices carried down to him, volume low but heated, discussing what to do with Bahark Gostagar—the missing, seventh follower of Ibariaan. Thane cocked his head to the side, listening intently for a moment. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he eased back down the stairs and activated his mic.

"Siha," he whispered, knowing she'd hear him even if she couldn't respond, "Gostagar is here, somewhere. They're holding him prisoner." He fell silent and waited, watching the stairs.

A moment later, his wife responded, voice low and soft, "I've got Ibariaan in my sights. Drafatt is right at the top of the stairs to your right. I don't see Gostagar. What do you want to do?"

"I'll take care of Drafatt," he said. "Wait until you see me, then take your shot on Ibariaan. We'll decide what to do about Gostagar once the area is secure."

"On your signal," she agreed before her mic fell silent.

Thane crept back up the stairs, using his wife's intel to prepare himself for the encounter even before he spotted Drafatt. He waited a second longer, glancing beyond the wall to where Ibariaan stood, arms crossed over his chest, gaze on Drafatt. He resisted the urge to scan the room for Jasmine, knowing she'd do as they'd planned. Rushing up three more steps, Thane placed his palm on the edge of the low wall and vaulted over, landing behind Drafatt. Out of his peripherals, he saw Ibariaan's eyes widen just before he jerked to the side, and Thane reached out, checking Drafatt's shoulder to prevent his turning before snapping the batarian's neck.

A moment later, Jasmine stepped out of the shadows, sliding her sniper rifle around to her back. She met his gaze, and her eyes began to thaw. His own battle sleep started to slip away, and he let it go. He could afford to feel like himself for a moment, but just a moment. They still had work to do.

Crossing the floor, she came to a stop in front of him, scanning his face before her gaze drifted down over his chest and shoulders. She frowned. "You have blood on your jacket."

"Indeed." He smiled and reached out, pulling a cobweb from her hair and letting it drop to the floor. "I'll take care of it before we leave. We should locate Gostagar."

She glanced down at the cobweb before meeting his gaze again. "Do you want to see if we can figure out why they're keeping him before we go looking for him?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

He thought about it briefly. It didn't much matter to him why they kept one of their own captive. The only thought to cross his mind was what might happen if they left the man alive. Still, if having answers made things easier for Jasmine …. "If you wish, but siha," he said, and took her hand in his own, "we must make sure none remain to seek vengeance against us."

Jaws fluttering, she squeezed his fingers and gave him a decisive nod as her eyes froze over once again. "Agreed."

He knew there was once a time when she wouldn't have agreed so easily. She always did her best to avoid collateral damage, even against those who'd take her life if given the chance. Tugging his battle sleep back around him, he let go of her hand and wondered if the change in her behavior came from learning of his past or from their war against Cerberus. "Let's see what we can find on their omni-tools."

Jasmine glanced up, trapping her lip between her teeth while wading through conflicting emotions. "Thane?"

He pivoted enough to look at her from over his shoulder. Holding Drafatt's limp wrist in one hand, the dead batarian's active omni-tool cast an orange glow on Thane's face. Raising his brow ridge, he asked, "What have you found?"

"Gostagar's an alias." She sighed and glanced back at Ibariaan's omni-tool.

"Indeed?" Thane asked.

"His real name is Gemak Pintwar, and he's one of the abolitionists." She glanced up again, seeking out his gaze. "He infiltrated Na'hesit during the rebellions, and Ibariaan thought he'd sabotaged Na'hesit's efforts during the war."

"I see." Thane unceremoniously dropped Drafatt's arm and stood. He walked over to her and crouched down, turning his gaze to Ibariaan's omni-tool.

"Theodus said he couldn't find anything else on him in the time we gave him." She watched Thane's face as he read the correspondences between Ibariaan and his followers. "Maybe this is why."

Thane looked at her, expressionless as he studied her face. "You wish to rescue him," he said, but it wasn't a question, so she didn't answer. After a moment, he said, "Contact Theodus, see if he can verify this intel right away. I'll find … Pintwar, and if we can be certain he can't identify either of us, and what Ibariaan believed is true, we'll leave him alive."

She swallowed her relief and nodded. He stood and held his hand out to her, and she smiled softly despite the situation as she let him help her to her feet. She moved to lean against the wall and opened her omni-tool, dialing up Theodus. Thane disappeared down the hall while the call connected.

"Hey," she said the moment Theodus' face appeared on her screen, "I need you to confirm some info for me. Now, if possible."

"I always have time," he said, smirking as he tipped his head, "for you, Cousin."

She smiled and jumped right in. "We're still on site. The seventh batarian, Gostagar?" She paused just long enough for him to nod. "We think he's being held captive here, somewhere. I found correspondences on Ibariaan's omni-tool saying Gostagar is actually an abolitionist who infiltrated Na'hesit's ranks and sabotaged their efforts during the rebellion. The name's Gemak Pintwar."

Fingers already flying over his keyboard, Theodus hummed as he skimmed whatever he saw on his screen. "How much time do I have?"

"Minutes." She gave him an apologetic head shake even though he wasn't looking at her. "Thane's looking for Pintwar now. He wants to make sure Pintwar can't identify us, and what we found is true, before we decide to leave him alive. The rest of our targets are down, so we can't stay here much longer."

"Well, I can tell you right now there's a significantly longer trail of information for Gemak Pintwar than I found for Bahark Gostagar, and the pictures associated are a match." His gaze flicked to hers before moving back to his screens. "Let me know when Thane's found him, and I'll keep reading until then."

"Okay," she said with a nod. "Thanks, Theo."

"Anytime, Jasmine." He turned to the camera and winked before cutting the call.

Thane watched the monitor showing a batarian—Gostagar or Pintwar, whoever he was—sitting on the floor in the corner of a room. Legs bent up to his chest, the man rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands, gaze angled downward. Dents in the metal walls, furniture strewn about, and dried blood on the batarian's hands told a story of rage and desperation. Thinner than in his photographs, skin dry and sunken, it appeared no one had given him food or drink in some time. Weakened and likely in need of medical attention, he certainly was no threat to anyone in his current condition.

Comm clicking in Thane's ear, he turned his gaze to the doorway as he acknowledged the signal. A moment later, Jasmine appeared, pausing to glance around the security room before moving to his side. She turned her gaze to the monitor and studied the batarian on the screen in silence.

After a moment, she said, "Theo said to call him back when you found him," she said, gesturing toward the monitor with a jerk of her head. "He said he'd keep reading until then, but right away he was able to find a lot more info on the new name and the pictures matched." She quieted, leaning closer to Thane just enough for her shoulder to gently press against his. A few seconds passed before she licked her lips and said, "He looks terrible."

"Indeed." Despite the detachment of his battle sleep, he knew he loved her, and so he ought to offer her comfort. He wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her hip and pulling her in a little closer. "Let's see what Theodus has found."

She relaxed under his touch and nodded. Bringing her arm up, she opened her omni-tool and placed the call.

It only took a moment for Theodus to answer. "I can confirm, with relative certainty, that the batarian in question is Gemak Pintwar, and he fought on the side of the abolitionists," Theodus said right away. "Shall I compile a report?"

"I don't believe that will be necessary," Thane said, turning his gaze back to the security monitor. "I'm going to give you control over the security system. Once we're away from here, use the access to unlock and open his door."

Jasmine settled into the passenger seat and opened her omni-tool while she waited for Thane to get in on the driver's side. She entered Isaac's contact information from memory and leaned against the headrest. Thane opened his door and climbed inside the cab before pulling the door closed behind him.

"Hey, Sunshine," Isaac said as the call connected, a grin on his face.

She smiled, tired but happy to see him. "Hey, Bossman. We've finished our job. We'll be on a ship midday tomorrow headed back to New Canton. You want to call in the others, let them know it's time to get back to work?"

He bobbed his head. "Sounds good. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," she agreed, giving him another smile before cutting the call and closing her omni-tool.

Thane pressed his hips against his wife, using his body to pin her to the wall as he slid a hand into her hair. She'd turned on him the moment he'd closed the door to their motel room, her kiss hungry and demanding. He hadn't questioned her passion or urgency, instead, he'd picked her up and returned it full force.

She moaned as his fist tightened around her hair, and she tipped her head back, exposing her throat to him. Threading her fingers through his crest, she pulled down, guiding his mouth to her neck. He trailed his tongue over her skin before nipping her earlobe. He rubbed his frills against her jaw and used his free hand to open the buttons of her blouse, pushing it aside. Her skin felt like fire beneath his fingers and lips as he traced her clavicle and gently bit her shoulder. She shuddered and rocked her hips, pressing against his growing erection.

"That was good, right?" she muttered, rubbing her face over the side of his head. "We worked well together."

"We did," he said, cupping her breast and lifting, rolling the flesh in his palm as she hummed her pleasure. "And I'm thrilled to be able to work with you, siha."

"Me, too," she said, using her grip on his crest to tip his head back and claim his lips again. Her tongue tasted sweet as it dove into his mouth and engaged his with a caress before retreating. She nipped his lip and met his gaze with feverish eyes. "I love you."

"And I you." Releasing her hair, he slid his hand around to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb over her lips. "With all that I am, and I always will."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. One of her legs abandoned his waist and slid downward, her foot seeking the floor. He eased back enough to allow her to stand and slipped his arms around her waist, splaying his hands out over the bare skin of her back. A moment later, she nudged him, and he allowed her to guide him to the bed.

When his calves bumped against the mattress, he broke the kiss and pushed her blouse over her shoulders. Her arms slid away from him, and she shrugged out of the shirt before reaching behind herself to open her bra. She let it fall to the floor between them before tugging at the buckles and zipper keeping his jacket and vest in place.

He leaned in, trapping her lower lip between his before reaching down and opening her pants. Slipping his hand inside, he trailed his fingers over the lace of her panties. She moaned into his mouth as he cupped her, pressing his palm against her mound and rocking his hand. Her wetness began seeping through the fabric as he used the tips of his fingers to tease her through the lace, and she whimpered. She shoved his vest open, running her hands along the planes of his chest and shoulders. Her touch sent electricity arching over his body, driving his need to be inside of his wife.

He slipped his hand from her pants and grabbed her hips, turning until they'd changed positions. Easing her down, he sat her on the edge of bed before breaking the kiss and standing upright. He slid his vest and jacket off, and she tugged his pants open, pulling them down over his hips. Before he could kick off his boots, she took him in hand, and her warm, wet mouth surrounded his erection. All thoughts fled his mind.