As The Hearse Goes By

Present time,Normandy SR-2, Mess Hall



John watched through the large glass window as Chakwas and Mordin spoke and poked Thistle. For someone whose life was torn to pieces by doctors,she seemed calm enough. Well, she wasn't glaring or trying to get away, so he figured she was calm.

"Shepard,that the new girl?"

John turned as Jack plopped into the seat across from him,boots kicked up onto the table as she leaned back to get a good view of Thistle.

"Yeah that her. You planning on talking to her?"

"Why? Because we were both raised and tortured by Cerberus? Get real Shepard, whatever happened to her is nothing like what they did to me"

"It might not be, but it'll help her adjust, knowing that someone else knows firsthand what Cerberus is willing to do. As of now,she hasn't spoken a word beyond telling me that they mutated some blood disorder in her."

Jack twitched slightly,crossing her feet at the ankles,her left foot jerking to some tune in her head. She closed her eyes briefly,seeming to think over what he had said. John turned his gaze back to the med bay,just in time to see Mordin draw blood from Thistle's arm. The blood looked...wrong for the lack of a proper term. Darkened nearly black,as if it had been exposed to open air. It shouldn't look like that.


Introducing her to the team was going to be a hassle,he could just feel it. Mordin and Garrus had already met her,so that was two down. Jack and Tali would be slightly easier,both distrusted Cerberus and made it clear. Thane and Samara...well they might be easier. With Thane's detached mindset and Samara's generally meditated personality they could be a grounding influence for her. There was no way she was going to trust Miranda or Jacob,and Grunt was not in touch with his feelings,he might mistake her mistrust of people as xenophobia and that would not end pretty. Joker might help, he was laid back enough to not care if she suddenly freaked, but smart enough to not broach certain topics unless asked.

Same time,Normandy SR-2,Med Bay


Chakwas paced in front of her latest patient, blood work in her hands. Though Thistle was unwilling to give much information,mostly due to a lack of it, she was quick to point out certain 'need-to-know' details about her condition.

"Well, blood work is clean,always a good thing. Now,anything you'd like to add to our discussion? We have that you're allergic to whole milk,your condition requires an unusually medication that Mordin is more than happy to create for you, and that your heart rate is slightly lower than normal."

"That's about it Doctor"

Chakwas nodded,making a note in her pad. Moving to her terminal she inputted the latest data, watching Thistle out of the corner of her eye. She had picked up on some things that Thistle didn't mention. Like the fact she walked solely on the balls of her feet, or that her blood didn't match the blood type listed in Cerberus files.

"Very well, if you give me a brief moment I'll have someone escort you to the crew's sleeping quarters."

"Um...would it be a bother if I slept here tonight?"

"Of course not dear."

10 years ago,New York,Factory Warehouse


I shake me head, crying and closing my eyes. The man in front of me echos my cries, begging to be free again. A rough hand jerks my head up,forcing me to look into it's owners eyes. A rough voice demands I pay attention, so I can do this myself.

I blanch at the thought, but my eyes follow as a nameless face tears open the man's arm, my ears ring as he howls in pain,but I hear nothing. My own pain,my own hunger is to pressing for me to notice anything else. The nameless face has a cup, which is being filled with a bright red liquid, like the walls of my old home.

The rough voice grabs the cup and shoves it into my hands, demanding with his eyes. I turn my own to the man in front of me, pleading with him to understand.

I don't want to die

I drink from the cup.

After hours,Normandy SR-2,Med Bay


Thistle jerks upright in bed,panting harshly in the empty room. Her eyes close slowly as she starts to breath normally.

Just a dream,just a horrible memory. She thinks,pushing her covers away and leaving the Med Bay in search of the restrooms. Splashing water onto her face she takes in the quiet.

"I can wake Doctor Chakwas or Commander Shepard if needed"EDI's voice rings through the restroom,reminding her that she wasn't truly alone this night.

"No...no thank you EDI. I'm...going to be fine"