Encounters with the Enemy

Pt 1

He was the unseen, the silent blade. She was the protector, the shining lance.
Together, they will fight.
Right and wrong are more often shades of gray than black and white.
Can they change the fate of the galaxy?
Can they save each other?

Thud.

There was sound.

Thud thud.

With sound came thought.

Thud.

Where was he?

Thud thud.

Pressure; a light, cottony presence everywhere except his left hand, from which emanated both a living warmth and a crushing grip.

Thud.

He had hands. He had feet and skin. Eyes.

"...I think I saw his eyelids move!" Familiarity rushed through him but specifics were just beyond his grasp.

"You should get some rest, Commander Shepard."

Shepard. That was a name he knew. But it wasn't quite right.

"I'm not leaving him alone."

Siha. The word came to him from out of the void. Siha.It brought with it the memory of a strong square face framed by disheveled dark hair. The piercing blue eyes drilled through the blankness in his mind and brought with them clarity.

He'd been injured. Badly injured. He'd been with Shepard...siha...and another...Liara. They had been fighting. He remembered and gasped in a long deep breath as if it were the first of his life.

"Hold him down! He's still in a dangerous condition!"

"Thane, can you hear me?"

Blazing light blinded him momentarily as he squinted his eyelids open. He reflexively blinked the inner set, dimming the brilliance to bearable levels.

"Thane?"

"...Siha?"

"I'm here, Thane! Doctor, he's waking up!"

"Are you..well...siha? What happened?"

"I'm fine. So is Liara. You were the only one that was seriously injured. We got you back to the Normandy in record time and managed to stabilize you for surgery. You've been out for days."

"...Surgery?" He was able to open his inner lids now, and Shepard's face swam into blurry focus. He felt the burning of several lacerations and a deep ache in his chest. But he realized that he was breathing with very little difficulty. The congestion and pain in his lungs that had been steadily increasing seemed to have vanished.

"When the table hit you, it crushed several of your ribs. Some of the shards punctured and lodged in your lungs. We had to act fast to keep you from slipping away; the artificial respirator was barely able to keep you going."

"Then how..."

He saw Shepard bite her lip before opening her mouth to answer, but at the same moment, Dr. Chakwas interrupted them. "I'm sorry, but that will have to be enough for today. Thane, you're still very weak and I won't have you tiring yourself. Commander Shepard, you've been sitting here since he came out of surgery. Get some rest before I have Jacob and Miranda carry you to your cabin and lock you in."

"Doctor," Thane managed to whisper, "I'm sure I would rest better if Shepard were allowed to remain."

"Absolutely not. She needs rest, as do you. You may say your goodbyes. I'll return in a few minutes to give you your next treatment." With that, Dr. Chakwas stepped away from his bedside. She was replaced immediately by Shepard's worry-creased face.

"Thane, it'll be okay. We'll talk when you're better, okay?" She rested her hand on his cheek folds for a moment, before bending down to brush her lips over his.

He reached up and shakily covered her hand with his. "I trust you, siha. Rest and return to me when you are refreshed."

She turned her hand so that she could press her palm against his. "Take care of yourself, Thane. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He had time to watch her exit the medbay and make her way to the elevator before Dr. Chakwas returned with a breath mask and a small canister.

"Thane, I'd like you to breathe through this mask for a few minutes. This tank contains a new type of medi-gel that can be inhaled and help heal lung injuries. I'm going to fit the mask over your face, then you just need to inhale and exhale as deeply as you can without pain." She suited actions to her words and he was soon breathing in a cool astringent mist. He could feel it flowing down his windpipe and into his chest. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed to lessen the mild burning that he felt in that region.

There must have been a sedative mixed in with the medigel because he had only been breathing into the mask for a few minutes before he fell asleep again.

When he woke again, the room was empty. The sterile whiteness was strangely comforting in its clean straight lines. All he could hear was the hissing of oxygen into his mask and the faint beep of the monitors attached to his head and chest. He felt better than a single night's rest could account for; there were strips of pain on either side of his sternum, but his ribs were merely tender. And his lungs...

He didn't feel any pain from them at all.

His ribs ached, his back felt like he'd been disassembled and put back together, and moving brought stabs of pain from every joint. But his breaths came in smoothly, without the hitching, jagged pain, or the feel of breathing through a sponge. Clearly, something had happened to him beyond a serious chest injury.

His movements must have set off a monitor, for Dr. Chakwas strode in a few moments later.

"I see you're awake, Thane. Lie still for another moment, please." She applied a few monitoring pads to his chest and listened to both his lungs and heart for a few minutes.

"Yes, you seem much more alert today. Are you feeling well enough for visitors?"

"I'd very much like to see the Commander if she has time to spare."

"I believe she's waiting outside the doors. I will permit her to visit you for a short time, but you are not allowed to sit up or even think about setting a foot on the floor. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Dr. Chakwas."

"Good. I'll go tell Commander Shepard she can see you."

As soon as the medbay opened, Shepard hurried in to his bedside and bent over to press her lips against him while her fingers closed over his. Her smile was radiant and a line of moisture decorated her eyeline.

He managed a smile at her joyful face, and carefully wiped the moisture from her cheeks. "Siha, you have been crying."

"Stop getting hurt, and I won't have to. I was worried about you, Thane."

"No need for worry, siha. As you can see, I am much better." He looked at her expectantly. "In fact, I believe that I may be better now than before my injury. Is there something you wish to tell me, siha?"

She averted her gaze even as she held tightly to his hands. "Yeah, there is, and you probably won't like it a whole lot. You were injured badly. If we hadn't done something, you would have died. And I couldn't let that happen." Shepard took a deep breath, finally bringing her eyes up to meet his. "There were...flash-freeze containers full of...parts. The Shadow Broker had been harvesting parts from drell that he had captured, and selling them back to the buyers for an obscene profit. So...we took one set that was a blood match for you...and gave you the lungs."

Thane blinked. Surely he had misheard her.

"Forgive me, siha, I believe my hearing may still be affected. I thought you said that you had transplanted another drell's lungs into me while I was unconscious."

She bit her lip, and lowered her eyes again, appearing to speak to a spot on his sheet, rather than look him in the eye. "The Shadow Broker had files on you. They said that you were eligible for a transplant but that you'd declined. Your injuries compounded your condition and we had to do emergency surgery to save your life. If we hadn't, you would have died, and I'm not about to let you do that. Not when I can prevent it!"

He tried to shake his head, although it resulted in a bare sideways twitch. "I have taken enough life. I didn't want to take life from another simply so that I might survive for a short time longer. If you saw my medical file, then you knew what my wishes were."

"If the drell had been alive, we would never have harmed them. The containers still had their donor stickers on them. All were taken from drell that died from accidents and similar causes."

"You mistake me, Shepard. I meant that the organ could have gone to another drell, to extend another's life, rather than my own. I didn't want to take that chance away from another of my own people." He felt ill now, his stomach beginning to churn. The thought that he had part of a once-living person inside of him, that he was breathing another soul's air...

Some of this must have shown on his face, for she answered his guilt as if she had heard it. "Thane, I was in command at the time, and you were under my orders. It was my decision to give you the transplant, and you are guiltless of it by your own philosophy. You can hate me for it if you want, but I will never regret saving your life." Now she looked into his eyes, peered into them as if she really could read his thoughts. "I can't lose you, Thane. You're too important to me; if there is a way for me to save you, I will always take it."

"I don't know what to say, Shepard. The thought of having a living person's parts inside of me..." He couldn't finish the thought, couldn't express the tension that roiled his stomach and sped his heart.

His internal agitation had alerted Dr. Chakwas; she strode toward them with storm clouds riding on her face.

"That is enough. Commander Shepard, you must leave now. Thane absolutely cannot be stressed at this point in his recovery. This conversation is over." She grabbed Shepard's arm and started dragging her out of the medbay.

Shepard called to him as the doors closed on her, "Think about what I said, Thane. Think about it with your head and your heart, and don't let your guilt and your fear get in the way."

"Siha..." With Shepard's voice still ringing in his ears, Dr. Chakwas' hypodermic took the world away.

When he woke again, the memory of his last conversation with Shepard flooded through his mind. How could she? Conflicting emotions chased themselves through him; Guilt at surviving where others hadn't; Relief that death would be put off for a while longer; Guilt at his feelings of relief; anger at Shepard for choosing this for him without his consent; Fear at the unknown future ahead of him, at the hope growing newfound in his chest. He heard the machines gradually increase their beeping as his perturbation was reflected in his physical body. His mind spun.

He opened a single eye enough to see Dr. Chakwas sitting by his bedside, a knowing look on her kind face.

He blinked his eyes clear and spoke just a single word.

"Why...?"

"Because I could save your life, and because Commander Shepard needs you. I'm a doctor, I couldn't let you die when I had the tools and the ability to save you. I took an Oath to preserve life above all other concerns. I've lost enough friends over the years that I know I can't save them all. But you, I could save, and I did. I won't apologize for that, and neither should the Commander."

Dr. Chakwas leaned forward, her gray hair swinging around her jawline. "Survivor's Guilt is completely normal for someone in your position, Thane. But it can be as consuming as what you've told me about your solipsism. Don't get lost in it."

He had wondered if she would understand the question behind his brief word but he had forgotten that she was a combat doctor, who had undoubtedly seen and handled untold numbers of battlefield injuries. Above all else, she would desire to keep another life from slipping away under her hands. He couldn't fault her. But that didn't make him any happier with the result.

He needed to talk to Shepard. He needed to hear herreasons, before he could make sense of it all. But the doctor apparently had other plans for him first.

"Speaking of survivors, Thane, there is one other thing that you should be aware of. Shepard wanted to tell you, but I think it would help your recovery if you found out now."

Dr. Chakwas stepped over to her desk and picked up a datapad.

"As it turned out, Feron wasn't the only drell that the ex-Shadow Broker had captured. When we searched through the facility, we found two dozen other drell that had been taken from Rakhana. I have them in stable condition, but several are severely malnourished. We've made them as comfortable as we can, but it would be helpful for them to see you among them soon."

Thane tried to sit upright at that news, but a sharp jab from his ribs reminded him that abrupt movements were a poor idea. He settled for easing himself higher along his backrest. "Other drell? What did the Shadow Broker want with my people?"

Dr Chakwas answered as she dialed his backrest so that he could sit up properly. "From his records, the Broker intended to use them for experimentation. He wanted 'pure' specimens that hadn't been changed by interaction with foreign bodies. As soon as you are up and around again, we'd like for you to speak with them. Apparently, your original language isn't programmed into our translators, so we've had a hard time communicating with them."

Pure specimens... Why did that term sound familiar? He felt an almost physical click of a key fitting into a lock when he remembered. "Dr. Chakwas...Irikah's journal. I had it in my jacket. Did it survive my injury?"

"I believe that Shepard took charge of everything that had been on you when you were injured. Why? Is it important?"

He lay back, closing his eyes against the implications if what he suspected was true. He tried to keep his breaths from quickening but he could hear his pulse increasing despite his efforts. Was the cure for his people just within reach? Could the universe be so forgiving?

"I...believe that it could be. Do you recall the reason why we started on this extended journey, Dr. Chakwas?"

Dr. Chakwas tilted her head and tapped her finger against her lips in thought. "Because we found hints to a cure in...ah, I understand now. Yes, I will speak to Shepard immediately after I'm done here with you. We will need you back on your feet in order to explain what we want to accomplish. I believe you might be able to take some solid food today. Shall we try?" She left the room and he watched her through the medbay windows as she walked over to Rupert and obtained a small bowl, then returned to his bedside. But when she would have handed him the bowl and a spoon, he held up a hand to stop her.

"Doctor, I'd prefer to speak with Shepard right away."

"If you don't eat, you don't get better. And you're not setting a single foot on the ground until I consider you fit for duty. So you will eat before we try anything else."

He thought about protesting again, but one look at the set of her jaw and the steely cast to her eyes and he decided to accept defeat gracefully instead.

He managed to keep down a small portion of tasteless sludge, which was nonetheless more satisfying than the IV drip of nutrients that he'd been on for the last few days. Doing so, however, exhausted him to the point that, without any intervention from the doctor, he slipped into sleep once again.

This is just part one of this chapter. It was getting lengthy so I decided to cut it in two, since the extremely difficult part is coming up. I don't know how well this chapter is turning out, I've just looked at it too long to be at all objective...lol! I hope it makes at least a little bit of sense...

But obviously, Thane is NOT dead, and we're getting closer to the conclusion. I really hope to get most things wrapped up in the next part of this chapter, and perhaps an epilogue. I hope it won't be TOO anticlimactic!

Thanks are owed to the usual suspects: Kiwibliss for putting up with my kibitzing and PirateThirteen likewise. Love ya both!

All reviews are welcome-let me know how crazy I'm doing!