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Chapter Text

Jaal POV

The crew of the Tempest were gathered in the gallery; finishing off one of Drack’s stews. Jaal however was eating his usual diet of paste; he couldn’t comprehend why the others wasted precious resources on food – especially since their resources were more limited than the angara. But, Jaal realised it did raise morale.

The Pathfinder had ducked out to run some errands which included vidcalls, so the rest of the crew were chatting while consuming their stew – Scott’s still sitting full on the table. Eventually, and Jaal wasn’t sure how it happened, the conversation ended up at Scott’s sister, Sara Ryder.

“You’re the only one here that’s met her,” Liam said to Cora, “what’s she like?”

“She’s…” Cora paused as if in thought, “she’s Scott’s better half.”

Jaal looked up from his paste in interest and sat up a little straighter.

Cora continued, “She’s very personable. Sara brings out the best in everyone, especially Scott.”

“Wait…Scott has a good side?” Liam joked, and Jaal caught Vetra’s quick glare.

Cora laughed along with Liam, “Sara brings out a very jokey side to him. For instance, I caught them wrestling like kids once because they both wanted a particular gun for target practice.”

“Wrestling?” Kallo asked in disbelief, “the Pathfinder? Wrestling?”

“Yes. They were on the ground. The gun was laying a few feet away, forgotten.”

“Who was winning?” Peebee asked eagerly.

“Sara, naturally.”

Vetra snorted with laughter and the rest of the crew followed suit just as Scott entered the gallery. He looked up from his datapad in confusion as Vetra handed him a bowl of stew.

“What did I miss?” he asked, placing the datapad down and attacking his stew hungrily.

“Oh nothing lovely,” Vetra chuckled and wiped a tear from her eye. Scott looked up with a mouthful of food in anticipation of an explanation.

“Just hearing all about you and Sara,” Suvi answered and Scott swallowed audibly.

“How did…? SAM?”

“I did not say anything Pathfinder,” the AI replied innocently.

“Ohhh,” Scott put it all together, and rounded on Cora, “it was that time wasn’t it?”

“The time Sara had you in a headlock and was holding your amp? Yes.”

The crew was silent for a few beats but then roared with laughter. Liam was pounding his fist on the table and Gil had tears streaming down his face. Scott remained straight-faced, only the corner of his mouth twitching upward.    

“Sara sounds great at parties; I can’t wait to meet her!” Liam said,

“I agree,” Jaal nodded along.  

“She has to have a quad to be able to disable your biotics,” Drack declared.  

“She’s a lot of fun, I think you’ll all love her,” Scott agreed, “her interests include archaeology and technology so I think you’ll get along great with her Peebee.”

“Oh, really? Exciting!” Peebee looked up from her omni-tool.  

“When she’s awake and if she’s okay with it; you can all visit. I’m sure she will be fine with it. Sara’s a people-person, she’d love the company,” Scott explained, placing down his now empty bowl of stew.

Jaal never thought he’d be so excited to meet Scott’s sister. To meet a Ryder that wasn’t like the logical and often cold man in front of him sounded almost too good to be true.

The crew dispersed, leaving Gil and Suvi on dishwashing duty. Jaal got to his feet and made his way back to the tech lab, settling in to once again pulling his rifle apart. Jaal couldn’t wait to meet Sara. He hoped her interest in technology extended to weapon modifications. But, he also wanted new company to change the dynamics of the very small crew.

She had been in a coma for months; it was only a matter of time before she woke up.

Chapter Text

Sara Ryder woke with a gasp to blinding white light.

I must be dead.

But death shouldn’t burn holes in her retinas; it was supposed to be painless. She sent the signal to her arm to shield her eyes, but nothing happened. She was aware her arm existed, she could feel it; it just wouldn’t obey her, and hung uselessly at her side. A strange moan was coming from somewhere and she wished it would stop.

“Ryder! Hey! She’s awake!”

The words were distinguishable but felt as though she was hearing them from far away in a very long tunnel. The strange moan continued.

“Ryder can you hear me?” the same voice, although slightly more in focus. The room also had begun to change from piercing white into recognizable shapes and colours. White on grey on white.

“Shh, Sara, you’re okay!” another voice called, and with a jolt she realised the horrible noise was coming from her. Once she was aware of it, it stopped but still bounced around her skull.  

A dark skinned man stood over her, shining a light into her eyes with another woman standing at her side. Sara squinted in response, she sent the signal and her hand snapped to attention, “yikes!” she croaked.

Using her left arm, she pushed herself into a sitting position, and felt the man’s hands rest on her shoulders, as if to steady her. She saw the rows of beds on the other side of the giant med-bay, and the nameless and slightly blurred people looking in her general direction.

“Where am I?” her voice crackled from disuse.

The man smiled reassuringly, “you’re in the medical bay of ark Hyperion. We’re in Andromeda. My name is Dr Harry Carlyle.”

“Okay, okay,” Sara shook her head slightly as if trying to rid her ears of water; everything was still a bit fuzzy, “what’s going on?”

Harry eyed someone that Sara couldn’t see before looking to her, “I don’t know how much you remember of what your brother told you but your revival procedure was interrupted, you’ve been in a coma ever since.”

The mention of Scott bought pressing matters into her head, “where’s Scott? Where’s my Dad?”

She had anticipated that Scott would be at her bedside. In fact her current fantasy was him sobbing over her lifeless body but she knew that was wishful thinking. Scott was nowhere near that outwardly emotional or ridiculous. Alec was obviously out doing something important, he was the pathfinder after all, and Scott was likely with him.

“Sara…” Harry replied in a gentle tone.

“I’m honestly surprised Dad hasn’t come to speak to me, he has SAM implants too,” Sara said, looking around expectantly as if Alec was going to jump out from behind a corner.

“Sara,” Harry said more firmly this time. She knew something was wrong, Harry couldn’t meet her eyes.

“…where are they?” panic set into her voice.

“Alec is…”

“Oh god,” Sara realised before Harry could mutter the words, “that’s why he didn’t…he’s…”

“Alec Ryder is dead,” Harry mumbled, “I’m so sorry.”  

Hearing the words aloud make it final, absolute.

“But…but,” Sara replied, still completely aware of people looking at her, “but Scott said…”

“He lied,” Harry said simply, still not meeting her eyes.  

Sara stared at her lap, unable to fathom why Scott would lie to her, “right…” she tried to ease her sudden pain with her first line of defence, humour, “maybe I’ll ask him while we sit, have drinks and take the view in on Habitat 7.”

“Yeah…that was a lie too,” Harry rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“What?” Sara couldn’t hide the venom from her voice.

“Habitat 7 was a bust.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sara spat out.

“Whoa,” the doctor snapped at her, and she glared at him.

“So he lies about my father AND the planet! Great work Scott, real great,” her voice cracked, and she folded her arms.

“I’m sure he has a reason.”

“It better be a good one.”

Harry flinched at her statement and continued with his medical mumbo-jumbo of checking Sara’s vitals. She batted him away and swung her legs over the bed. Her aching muscles felt as though she hadn’t moved in a very, very long time.

“How long have I been out?”

“Six months, plus the 634 years in stasis,” Harry commented.

“Well, shit,” Sara responded, astounded she had been unconscious for so long. Six months…six months she had believed her father to be alive when he wasn’t. Six months she had believed they had found a home.

And that’s when he walked in.

Scott Ryder.

He was exactly as she remembered him; his sleek brown hair, his pathetic stubble, and his piercing blue eyes that were the same as hers. He was donned in the Initiative gear but it was dyed black with a black and purple jacket. Scott looked slightly red in the face as though he had run here.

Don’t be ridiculous Sara, he wouldn’t have run here to see you.  

His eyes met hers, and what looked like the weight of a galaxy left his shoulders.

“Sara,” he said, and stepped forward holding out his arms. Her anger bubbled over, and she folded her arms and looked away from him. She saw him lower his arms in defeat, and then she couldn’t contain it. Her lip trembled, and her tear ducts decided that right now was a great time to release, and fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

She gritted her teeth against her grief, “why did you lie to me?” she tried to sound angry, but her voice sounded breathless instead. Scott hovered for a moment, as if trying to decide on what to do.

“I’m so sorry Sara,” he sat down next to her on the bed, “I couldn’t tell you…not like that. You looked so peaceful, and I was so worried.”

“For so long I really believed Dad was alive, and now it makes sense why I have no memory of him coming to speak to me,” Sara’s shoulders were shaking, and her throat was catching with sobs. Scott’s arm curled around her shoulders, and she accepted his embrace, placing her head on his chest.

“It’s been a mess,” Scott hummed, “I’ve been worried sick about you. I wanted to try to talk to you again, but SAM was worried that it would be too dangerous. And…”

“And you’d already lied,” Sara finished for him, “you’ve would’ve had to explain where Alec was. I know you’re looking out for me, but I’m a big girl Scott, I can take care of myself.”

“Noted,” Scott replied.

“I bet Cora’s enjoying her promotion,” Sara snorted as she removed herself from Scott’s embrace, and they settled somewhat more formally. Sara wiped her nose with her sleeve, hoping no one noticed.

“Well, about that. I ended up being pathfinder.”

“What the-?” Sara replied in shock.

“Yeah, I was pretty gobsmacked about it too.”

They sat in silence for a few beats.

“How did Dad die?”

Scott looked around, and lowered his voice slightly, “On Habitat 7. Long story short, Dad had activated this freaky alien technology and he and I were standing and looking at his handiwork, then the tech sort of…exploded. Dad and I were flung from the platform. My helmet smashed, and I was suffocating and well…he gave his life for me.”

Sara was silent for a moment, trying to rationalise Alec’s decision, “I didn’t think he was capable of something like that.”

“Me either.”

Sara felt the tears bubble to the surface again, “I never got to see him here. I never got to say goodbye to him.”

“He was proud of you,” Scott replied, “and he was so worried about you.”

“Bullshit he was,” Sara retorted bitterly.

“I heard his audio logs from before we set out to Habitat 7, he was worried about you,” Scott confirmed sternly.

“Did he come and visit me before you went out?” Sara snapped and Scott opened his mouth to speak, but fell silent, “that’s what I thought.”

They sat in silence for a while again.

“Also…alien tech?” Sara asked curiously.

“Yeah!” Scott sounded relieved for a different conversation avenue, “We’ve been running around the entire cluster activating it, could’ve used you.”

“I need to see this! Let’s go!” Sara stood in one fluid moment, but her knees buckled. Scott grabbed her to support her frame.

“Whoa whoa,” Harry entered here, “you’re not fit for duty ma’am, I can’t let you go anywhere.”

“You can’t just wave alien tech in my face and not expect me to go!”  

“All in good time,” Harry tried to be gentle as he helped Scott lower her to the bed. She pouted as she sat back down, with Scott taking his place next to her.

“You can chat for a while, but no arm wrestling!” Harry called as he walked off to attend other patients. Sara rolled her eyes at him, and Scott chuckled under his breath.

“So, what else do you do beside activate freaky alien tech?” Sara asked, curious as to exactly what Scott had gotten up to. Now that she was taking a closer look at him he looked noticeably older with bags under his eyes and a muted expression on his face.

“Sort through diplomatic nonsense, try to play peacekeeper, organise colonies,” Scott explained, “the usual bullshit. I like it though, and I think I’m going okay.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Sara agreed, “you’ve got good people yeah?”

“The team is amazing; you’re going to meet every single one of them in good time,” Scott said, “I think you’ll like my crazy asari ground team member.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Scott confirmed, “she’s feisty and independent and absolutely loves the tech we’ve been finding, she comes with me to every vault.”  

“Speaking of the freaky alien tech – did you find any freaky aliens?”

“Which ones? The remnant are part of the tech we keep finding but we don’t think they’re the creators of it. The kett are an explanation for another day and there’s also the angara. We’ve got one on our crew.”

“They nice?”

“Very…outwardly emotional. I thought you were bad, you’ve got nothing on these guys.”

Sara thwacked him softly on the arm, “I’m only awake ten minutes and you’re already giving your sister a hard time.”

“That’s what I’m for,” Scott gave a lopsided smile and Sara chuckled, but they then fell into an uneasy silence once more, “I missed you Sara,” Scott said quietly.

“Me too,” she replied.

“We’re here for a week as we organise supplies, and I have to speak to the Initiative director and go to a few meetings. I really would prefer to be facing down an architect over speaking to Tann.”

“Garson not director?”

“She’s dead,” Scott confirmed, “never woke up.”

“Well, shit,” Sara said, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say.

“Tann’s…I prefer the people under him; Kesh and Kandros are fantastic and you should say hello to them when you’re feeling better. Speaking of, I’ll try to come round here as much as I can.”

“Aw, don’t worry Scott,” Sara dismissed casually but inside she wanted her brother to be around as much as possible, “I know you’ve got more important stuff to do.”

“You’re important,” Scott argued, settling the matter, “I’ll send some of my crew around to visit if they get a chance. I’m sure Liam and Cora would love to say hello and see how you’re doing.”

“Send them my way, I definitely would appreciate some company,” Sara replied.

“I’ll visit soon,” Scott confirmed. After a short time, he stood and giving Sara a clap on the shoulder exited the medbay. Sara watched him go, and sighed. This was going to be a lonely experience until she was allowed to actually do something.   

But, thankfully she didn’t have to be lonely too long; soon after Scott left two other humans wearing Andromeda Initiative gear approached her. One of them she recognised, Cora Harper, but the other she did not but through process of elimination concluded this was Liam.

Cora was just as she remembered; short blonde hair and a serious expression while Liam had a bubbly look to him with dark brown hair and dark eyes. He was the very definition of tall, dark and handsome.

“Hello Sara, I don’t know if you remember me but I’m Cora Harper,” Cora greeted her formally, and shook her hand carefully as though Sara was a fragile vase that was about to break.

“I’m Liam Kosta,” Liam was a lot rougher and grasped her hand tightly, which she reciprocated. Sara loved his accent; there was something about different human accents that was pleasing to her ear and Liam’s reminded her of her mother.

“How are you?” Cora asked.

“So, so,” Sara shrugged, “I was very confused when I woke up, but I feel better now.”

“Good to hear,” Cora nodded in satisfaction.

“What’s it like working for Scott?” Sara asked as they both took a seat by her bed, she really wasn’t interested in talking about herself.

“He’s fine,” Liam answered.

“Very capable, I don’t think I would’ve done as good of a job,” Cora added.

“Really?” Sara asked, genuinely intrigued.

“He’s incredibly logical and diplomatic; he’s very like Alec,” Cora remarked.

Sara laughed, “Don’t let him hear that.”

“Although, he drives the Nomad like an absolute maniac,” Liam laughed. “I’ve had the pleasure of travelling with Peebee who threw up all over the backseats; and then on the other side you get Jaal who’s fast asleep!”

“Who are Peebee and Jaal?” Sara asked, looking between them.

“Jaal is an angara, not sure of if you know what-,” Cora began but Sara interrupted.

“Scott mentioned in passing - and Peebee?”

“Peebee is our resident asari, if you don’t count the ship’s doctor. She’s an asari too,” Liam said.

“Ohhh that’s her name, I think Scott mentioned her too,” Sara recalled, “she into remnant ruins?”

“Shit yes; she has two remnant bots on the ship,” Liam stated.

“Oh that’s cool! I think I’ll get along with Peebee! I’ve been dying to see all this stuff you’ve been discovering!” Sara said excitedly.

“Has Scott linked you to everything yet?” Cora asked.

“Not yet,” Sara replied, “I can’t wait to start learning, but I don’t want to learn everything from a datapad. I want to see all this stuff for myself.”

“I understand,” Cora nodded.

They spent the rest of the time talking about what they’d been up to in Heleus. Sara liked to listen – she was mesmerised about how much she had to catch up on. After an hour, Harry shooed Cora and Liam away saying that Sara had over-exerted herself.

“You need to sleep,” Harry said as he fiddled with the machines around her bed.

“I don’t want to sleep…” Sara trailed off, a sudden fear prickling over her skin.  

“You need-,” Harry began.

“What if I don’t wake up?”

She could see the lump in Harry’s throat as he struggled to formulate an answer, “Sara,” a distinctly artificial voice started, SAM, “I have calculated that you have a 98.6% chance of regaining consciousness within a standard eight hour timeframe. Your body needs to rest properly to gather strength once more.”  

Sara merely nodded, not having the energy to fight with the AI or with Harry; she just hoped the entirety of her time in Andromeda wasn’t going to be sleeping.

xXx

The next day, Sara was sitting up in bed eating breakfast while cruising through her omni-tool. Her neural link to SAM had been established as well as her extranet account, and Scott had been sending her updates and information about what he had discovered about Andromeda.

The plethora of information almost caused her brain to break. While she didn’t want to read too much about angara since she’d rather learn from a real one, she decided that kett would be suitable reading material. However, after several minutes, she promptly discovered kett were not light morning reading.

She looked up from her bowl of what was supposed to be porridge but instead resembled lard to lock eyes with the most unique looking alien she had ever seen. He…or she…was clearly from Andromeda as she had never seen a Milky Way species quite like this; and likely an angara based on the fact no one seemed to be terrified in the presence of them.

The alien had purple-pink skin, with weird ‘flaps’ running alongside their head. Their legs were bent into a familiar shape that resembled a turian or quarian, but the feet were much smaller than what she was expecting to hold such a large frame. Their hands were covered by what looked like mittens, and they had a large blue poncho on that billowed around their large frame.

Their eyes were a brilliant shade of piercing blue with flecks of greens and browns, and instantly transported Sara’s thoughts to Earth.

The alien came closer to her bed and she looked up, not sure of what to do. She hadn’t read about angara yet and was regretting that decision. Hell, she had no idea if the angara could even understand her.

‘Your translator is fully equipped Sara, and he will be able to understand you,’ SAM said over their private channel. Sara jumped, not used to the AI’s presence in her head.  

Well, he was a he then.

“Can I help you?” Sara asked, placing her barely touched bowl on the side table before turning to face him.

“Are you Sara Ryder?” he asked cautiously, his tongue seemingly to glide over the words carefully, as if not wanting to screw them up.

“Yes,” Sara said cautiously, still not knowing what was happening.

“I’m Jaal Ama Darav, I’m part of your brother’s crew.”

“Oh! Oh right of course!” Sara slapped a hand to her forehead, “sorry! I haven’t done much reading about your species yet! Scott mentioned you but there’s been so much to take in and…” she shut up, suddenly aware she was babbling. Jaal was merely smiling at her, and took a seat at her bedside looking even bigger in the tiny chair that was not built for his large size.   

“This is…wow,” Sara said awkwardly, trying to make conversation.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jaal replied.

“You too,” Sara tried to smile, but she felt the awkwardness on her face.

He seemed better at this then she did, but Sara reminded herself that she was not the first human he had ever met.

As he sat before her she took in more of his appearance. His skin was striking; the peculiar colour and tone had her intrigued. Without even knowing why, Sara had an urge to touch it, along with the neck flaps.

Why do I want to touch this angara?

Sara shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts.

“Why did you decide to come and see me?” Sara asked, keeping her tone light as to not to confuse Jaal of her intentions, she didn’t want to sound accusatory.

“Scott sent out a message on the Tempest that we were all allowed to visit. I thought you might need someone to speak to, hospitals can be very boring.”

“That’s…that’s very kind,” Sara replied.

“Plus…” Jaal’s eyes darted around the room, “Cora said you were ‘Scott’s better half’”

Sara burst out laughing, “She really said that?”

“She did,” Jaal confirmed, “you don’t believe it?”

“Not…really? I mean, Scott’s always been a natural leader and he’s excellent in a crisis. Not sure what Cora sees in me to be called Scott’s better half.”

“You’re a lot easier to talk to,” Jaal explained.

“I’m not surprised,” Sara chuckled. She was already taken with the angara whom she known for approximately two minutes.

‘Four minutes and thirty-two seconds’ SAM said on their private channel.

Thanks SAM.  

Jaal gave her a goofy smile, and she felt the awkwardness leave her body. She wasn’t so bad at this after all.

“Speaking of him - how’s my brother treating you? He can be a real hardass at times,” Sara explained.

“Hard-ass?” Jaal repeated; his translator appeared to be glitching.

“Oh,” Sara laughed, “it means he’s tough and doesn’t compromise, which he can be – it’s our Dad coming out in him.”

“He can be yes, but, he’s very capable,” Jaal said and Sara nodded, but noticed that his words didn’t quite touch his eyes. She couldn’t figure out whether that was just the way angara spoke or whether there was doubt in his words.

“Glad to hear he’s going okay,” Sara commented, and then an awkward silence fell again.

“So…” Sara started, desperately fishing for a conversation starter, “do all of you have the-?” Sara gestured to the sides of her head, and Jaal tilted his head in confusion before recognising what Sara meant.

“Yes, it’s a trait of angara,” Jaal replied in a matter-of-fact tone as he ran his fingers down his neck flaps, “rather like your hair.”

“Touché,” Sara retorted and Jaal chuckled.

“I want to ask a question,” Jaal said.

“Yeah, sure?” Sara urged him.

“You and your brother – you are twins yes, born on the same day?” Jaal asked, and Sara cocked an eyebrow at the sudden change of direction.  

“Funny story actually,” Sara began, “we aren’t.”

“But – but Scott said you were twins and my readings suggest...” Jaal couldn’t keep the confusion from his voice; and the sudden shift in body language panicked Sara slightly.

“We are twins. Scott wasn’t lying,” Sara said quickly to quell Jaal’s fear “-but I was born a minute ahead of him on the last minute of the previous day, Scott was born on the first minute of the next day.”

“That’s…,” Jaal took a deep breath, “incredible. I’ve read that twins are rare in humans, but twins born on different days?”

“It always annoyed the shit out of Scott,” Sara laughed, memories of birthdays flooding though her head, “he’d always have to wait an extra day to do anything, but the tables turned when we turned 18. I had to wait an entire day before we could go out drinking because I’m a good sister and wouldn’t go without him,” Sara took a breath and mumbled, “and partly because I was scared of the clubs and may have wanted my brother with me.”

Jaal’s eye ridges rose and Sara hastily explained, “Drinking age of alcoholic beverages for humans is 18 standard Earth years.”

Jaal nodded, seemingly satisfied, “I am guessing you and Scott are close?”

“Very,” Sara confirmed, “he’s my little brother by a minute but he’s always been like an older sibling. If anyone hurts me, he will hunt them down. For example, we were in this dodgy bar back in the Milky Way once and he punched a batarian in the face who was trying to flirt with me.”

Jaal’s eye ridges rose, “he loses control?”

“No. Every action, no matter how impulsive, is carefully thought out and he always has an explanation.”

Jaal nodded, and Sara pulled another question from thin air, “Anyway, are multiple births common for angara?”

“Yes, very,” Jaal replied, “it is very rare for an angaran woman to give birth to just one child.”

“That’s quite a difference,” Sara remarked. Jaal shifted and the chair creaked; he still looked very awkward despite having more experience with humans. “What’s your opinion of the other species with the Initiative?” Sara asked.

“The only real experiences I’ve had with the species are the Tempest, and I’m not sure if they are the best examples. Most of the crew is human, but each one is so different so I gather that most of the other species are unique individuals too.”

“Very,” Sara nodded.

“As for the others; there’s a krogan. His name is Drack, and he’s 1400 years old. I’ve discovered he likes killing things.”

“And that’s the exception to the uniqueness rule, all krogan like to kill. Well, I’ve never met one that doesn’t. It’s a krogan thing.”

“Krogans and turians appear to have natural armour; Vetra is a turian and she’s made of what looks like bone. Salarians, asari and humans are far too squishy. But, turians frighten me; they remind me of kett…”

“How?” Sara asked, her voice rising slightly in surprise.

“Have you seen a picture of a kett?”

“Yes,” Sara nodded, shuddering when the image was bought to the forefront of her mind.  

“The plates remind me of the calcium deposits on kett,” Jaal explained, “I was very cautious around Vetra at first, but I have learnt that she is nothing like them.”

“Turians’ don’t actually have natural armour; the hard outer layer is because their home-world had a very low magnetic field and made life of the planet very susceptible to sunburn and damage so the life there developed a protective layer against it. The plates however don’t provide natural armour.”

Jaal was quiet for a few moments, “show off,” he muttered, a smile tugging at his lip and Sara laughed.  

“Do you have a salarian crew-mate?” Sara asked.

“The pilot is a salarian; Kallo Jath,” Jaal said.

“Like him?”

“I can barely keep up with him, my translator doesn’t catch half of the words,” Jaal replied and Sara laughed.

“That sounds like a typical salarian to me,” Sara was grinning, “they’re all very fast – they only sleep for an hour a day, tops. Have you met a female salarian yet?”

“Not personally; but I heard the pathfinder over the comms. She was tragically left behind,” Jaal explained, and Sara’s gut churned, another original pathfinder lost.

“What about a male asari?” Sara asked, hiding her smile.

“No, they-,” but Jaal caught on very quickly, and frowned at her causing a grin to spread over her face.

“I got you,” Sara teased.

“No, you didn’t.”

“Admit it,” Sara poked her tongue at him, and he chuckled and his stance eased. She couldn’t understand how she was getting along so easily with a species she had only met not ten minutes ago, but yet, here she was. Jaal had a different energy to Cora and Liam, one that Sara felt matched her own.

Jaal sighed as he looked down at his arm where it looked like he had an angaran version of an omni-tool, “I am wanted for a resistance meeting,” he stood up, but his face betrayed his thoughts – if Sara was reading him correctly he didn’t want to go anywhere, “but I will visit you again.”  

“I wait eagerly,” she held out her hand for Jaal to shake, and he stared down at it before placing his outer forearm on hers. She cocked an eyebrow, and tried to move her arm back into position for a handshake. He grabbed her wrist, and put her arm in a 90 degree angle.

Sara followed his lead, he closed his fist so she copied and he slapped his outer forearm to hers, which she tried to reciprocate.

“This is different,” Sara remarked casually.

“This is how angara greet,” Jaal explained as they withdrew their arms. Sara nodded at him.

“I like it,” Sara replied.

“Stay strong, and clear!” Jaal said with a steady voice, and Sara figured this was an angaran greeting as well.

“See you later!” Sara replied, giving him a human greeting back and he smiled warmly before turning away. Sara looked around the med-bay and saw a few humans staring open-mouthed at Jaal as he left.

‘They have never seen an angara before,’ SAM explained over her private channel, and Sara jumped. She really wasn’t used to SAM in her head. The humans in question must’ve been fresh out of cryostasis.

“Neither had I till just then,” Sara muttered out-loud.

‘You did much better than Scott did,’ SAM mused.

‘Oh?’ Sara thought, not wanting to get any weird looks.

‘The Pathfinder arrived on Aya on fire, and emerged from the ship at gunpoint. He was, to use a human phrase, ‘sweating bullets.’’

Sara paused for a second, ‘was…was that a joke?’

SAM answered aloud, “the last part, yes. Your father installed humour algorithms and I have been practicing.”

Sara burst out laughing, “keep trying SAM.”

She stared at the doorway, hoping that more visitors would walk through to cheer her up. However, it looked like the only visitor she was about to get was Harry and a dozen angry looking needles.

This is going to be a long few weeks Sara sighed.

Chapter Text

Sara spent her first days in Andromeda starting her physical therapy or in bed being poked and prodded. She had to admit, it wasn’t how she foresaw things happening; but in downtime she had her nose buried in a datapad, trying to learn as much as possible about the place she now called home. The only info she didn’t browse over was about the angara, for fear her knowledge would be too ‘clinical’ if it came from impersonal information. Scott had been able to live and walk with an angara, and she wanted the same – except for her she didn’t have the convenience of having one living next door.

But since the information about the kett couldn’t come from an actual kett, she read up and learnt all about their biology from Dr Lexi’s notes and the process of exaltation. She read about the little amount on the Scourge, and the Remnant. She let out a moan of longing at the pictures of the vaults Scott and Peebee had taken, she was itching to enter one and explore with other archaeologists – or even Peebee if teams couldn’t enter. She read about the uprising, and the terraforming, and the colonies.

Scott came around as much as he could, sitting with Sara while she attended physical therapy and taking her for short walks in the Hyperion to near Alec’s quarters which would be hers once she recovered enough to be trusted on her own. However, most of the time he was by her beside – even lolling back and falling asleep on Sara’s second night.

On the fourth day, Sara sat on the side of the bed while Harry ran tests for the umpteenth time.

“Seriously Harry? You need to let me get out of here,” she was almost begging with the doctor as he finished off collecting her blood and wiped medi-gel over the collection site.

Aside from Liam, Cora, Jaal and Scott no one else had come to visit Sara, and she wanted to get out of the med-bay as soon as possible. While she usually enjoyed being around people, she hated hospitals and hated the people coming out of cryo even more.

“We made it?” someone across from her ask as a doctor was going through the usual process. Sara rolled her eyes so hard they hurt, she hated that question. Everyone thought they were being original and it was very tedious.

“When are we?”

Sara grit her teeth, fuck she hated that question. People trying to be funny and they all thought they were original. She was over it.

“You’re doing very well Sara, a lot better than SAM had calculated!” Harry replied as he ran her bloodwork, “I’ll just check that your final bloodwork is within normal parameters and then I’ll let you stay in your father’s quarters, which have been reassigned as yours.”

“Really?” Sara couldn’t hide the excitement from her voice.

“Hang on yet!” Harry replied as he read over the readings, “hmm, everything checks out.”

“I’m free to go?” Sara asked, holding her breath.

“Yes,” Harry said and Sara leapt off of the bed as though she was in an animated cartoon.

“Take it easy or I’ll bring you back here!” Harry called after her but Sara couldn’t help it, anything to be free of the med-bay. She almost ran through the building to reach the tram and turned back to view it not quite believing she was free before smacking into something solid.  

“Yikes!” Sara grabbed at the side of her head, but felt a strong arm holding her up to prevent her falling. Once she was steady on her feet, she followed the mitten-wearing hand to the face of Jaal who was watching her curiously.

“Hello there,” Jaal smiled warmly at her.

“Hi!” Sara replied, not quite expecting to run into Jaal.

“Are you sneaking out?” Jaal asked.

Sara laughed, “No! Actually, I’ve been allowed to stay in my father’s quarters.”

“Wonderful!”

“What are you doing here?” Sara asked.

Jaal shifted uncomfortably and a faint blue tinge appeared on his cheeks, “I thought I would visit you again.”

Sara felt a smile creep on her face, “I appreciate it,” the two of them walked into the corridor toward the tram, “would you like to join me?”

“Sure,” Jaal answered as they stepped into the crowded tram. Jaal gathered a few curious looks and Sara weaved around people to hit the button that would take her to the main atrium. The ride was thankfully short, and the two made their way over to Alec’s – no – Sara’s room.

The door swished open when she approached, and a studio apartment greeted her, a small bag of her belongings sitting by the door. Sara had not been in here yet, but many emotions flooded her system at once. She felt as if her father was really here as she looked at the assortment of guns in the shelves, the coffee machine that her mother had bought for her father and datapads scattered over the floor.

“Oh cool! A Normandy model!” Sara remarked trying to distance herself from her emotions and picked up the small spacecraft that sat above the bed.

“It looks like the Tempest,” Jaal remarked, staring at the tiny spaceship.

“This is a model of Commander Shepard’s ship,” Sara explained to him “she was the first human spectre. Spectres were elite operative forces that worked for the galactic council.”

“Like an N7?”

“Oh you’ve heard of that?”

“Scott wears armour with an ‘N7’ on the front,” Jaal said, indicating his chest.

“Ah, Scott’s not an N7 – he always wanted to be though, but I have no idea why he’s wearing the armour. Dad was one, and Shepard was one. N7’s are elite forces within the human military which we called the Systems Alliance. Spectres work for the galactic council, which is headed by the council races – asari, salarians and turians. Humans were added much later.”

Jaal didn’t speak, but nodded as though satisfied with Sara’s explanation while she made her way over to the coffee machine.

“I’ve seen the crew drink this,” Jaal spoke up.

“I’m sure you have! This is my first in what? 635 years or something?” Sara chortled as she turned on the machine and hunted through the cupboards to find two cups. She turned to see Jaal sitting at the table, watching her intently.

“How do you like your coffee?” Sara asked absent-mindedly as she spotted the honey. Strange, she didn’t think her father knew that she liked honey in her coffee, but there it was sitting right by the machine. She shrugged and drizzled a little in; the small familiarity did wonders for her mood.

“The same as you,” Jaal replied. Sara didn’t believe that he even liked coffee but did as he asked, adding honey and then placing the mug in-front of him and sitting opposite.

“Tell me something about you,” Sara said as she took a delicate sip, sighing gratefully as the warm drink filled her.

“What would you like to know?”

“Hmm, what about your family?”

And he was off explaining every member of his family. He was very enthusiastic, waving his arms in the air as he spoke of each of them, and the love in his eyes could compete with any human she had met.

“So are large families common for angara?”

“Yes!” Jaal chirped happily, almost spilling his untouched coffee. Sara grinned; he was such a gentleman by taking the coffee, “as you know we have multiple births, and we have many mothers and many fathers. I have five mothers, but only one true mother.”

“Wow! I think I’d feel claustrophobic with so many people,” Sara laughed, but seeing Jaal’s smile dip she hastily continued, “But that’s because I’m not used to it. My mother didn’t speak to her side, and we saw dad’s side once every few years.”

“So it was just you, your brother and your true mother and true father?” Jaal asked curiously.

“Yep,” Sara confirmed, taking another sip, “but you could say it was just me and my brother really.”

“How so?”

“My parents were…complicated. They were probably the type of people that should’ve never had kids,” Sara sighed, looking around the room and feeling a sudden wave of sadness come over her. Jaal reached out and covered one of her hands with his.

“I’m sorry Sara,” Jaal murmured sincerely.

“Thank you Jaal,” she smiled at him, “Scott and I have always been close. I can imagine it must’ve been difficult when I was unconscious.”

“It was,” Jaal agreed.

There was a knock on the door and Sara flinched slightly, she was not expecting guests. Jaal withdrew his hand as the door opened, to reveal Scott and a very tall female turian with very pretty purple markings on her face.

“Jaal! I didn’t realise you were over here! What’re you guys doing?” Scott exclaimed in shock.

“We’re having coffee,” Sara grinned up at her brother.

“Is this a bad time?” Scott asked as his eyes darted between Jaal and Sara.

“No, no,” Jaal smiled as he hastily stood, Sara couldn’t help noticing the smile did not reach his eyes, “I was just leaving.”

“Oh, oh okay,” Sara pouted slightly, she had been enjoying her chat with Jaal. The angara smiled sadly and held out his arm, and Sara slapped hers against his in the typical angaran fashion.

“Stay strong, and clear!”

“See you,” Sara waved after him. He smacked his arm against the turian’s as he passed, but ignored Scott completely as he left the quarters, the doors snapping shut behind him.

“What’s the occasion?” Scott asked as he indicated the coffee cups on the table.

“Nothing of the sort, Jaal just wanted to chat to me,” Sara replied as she gathered her empty cup and Jaal’s full one and placed them in the sink, “so, are you going to introduce me?”

“Oh!” Scott jumped; it looked as if he had forgotten that the turian was in the room. She had remained very quiet, her visor was glowing in the semi-darkness and she rested on one leg with her arms crossed.  

“Sara, this is Vetra Nyx. She’s our resident smuggler and a valuable part of my team – and Vetra this is my sister, Sara Ryder.”

Sara stepped forward and shook Vetra’s hand, noting just how tall she was. She even towered over Scott, which was not a common occurrence.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Vetra’s mandibles flicked out, which Sara believed to be the turian equivalent of a smile.

“Oh have you now? All good things I hope?” Sara asked playfully.

“Of course,” Vetra laughed, and smiled down at Scott who seemed to be a little redder in the face than usual.

Sara cocked an eyebrow and her eyes now darted between them, curious as to what was going on, “so Scott, Vetra’s the only member of your crew you’ve formally introduced me to...”

“Weren’t you just with Jaal?” Scott retorted.

“Jaal introduced himself to me the other day, as did Cora and Liam,” Sara waved off his comment, “you didn’t introduce me to them.”

“Huh? Oh…right,” Scott replied, seeming genuinely confused. Vetra meanwhile had nudged Scott in the ribs and whether it was a trick of the light or not Sara could’ve sworn that Vetra’s face had tinged blue even through the facial plates.

“Um, well, Vetra…” Scott began, rubbing the back of his neck and not meeting Sara’s eyes. Sara slapped a hand to her face trying and failing to contain her sudden laughter.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Sara asked, folding her arms and taking in the pair of them.

Even through her visor, Sara could see Vetra’s eyes were staring at Scott. Scott gulped noisily and looked his sister dead in the face, “Vetra and I are…together.”

Sara made an inhuman sound as her excitement escaped her and enveloped her brother in her arms, “congratulations!”

“Someone’s excited!” Scott laughed as he gently patted Sara on the back.

“It’s just…gah I’ve always wanted you to find someone! And you have! And it’s exciting! Best news I’ve heard since waking up!”

“Wait-,” Vetra interjected as the twins broke apart, “you’re not the super stud you’ve been telling me about?”

Sara snorted, “pfft no. You had what – two girlfriends? The longest being for what – three months?”

“Six actually,” Scott replied as he grinned despite the obvious annoyance.

“So how long have you guys been a thing?” Sara asked cheekily and Scott rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“Couple of months now? I’m not sure,” Scott replied and Vetra looked accosted and Sara joined in.

“You don’t even know? You are so unromantic,” Sara criticised and Vetra let out a bark of a laugh.

“Can you two please stop ganging up on me?” Scott begged playfully.

“Hmm, nah,” Vetra said and Sara laughed with her, “you just wait until you formally meet my sister Scott.”

The blood drained from Scott’s face, “…shit.”

Vetra and Sara roared with laughter at Scott’s discomfort and he gently punched Sara and Vetra in the arm. Sara punched him back and the two of them were soon messing around like they used to do in the Milky Way. Out of the corner of her eye, Sara noticed Vetra smirking at the two of them, as though pleased about something.

“We should go on a double date!” Sara said without thinking and then Scott and Vetra glanced at each other before glancing back at her. Sara realised exactly what she had said and her face fell, “oh…oh yeah. Right.”

Scott grimaced, and placed a gentle hand on Sara’s shoulder, “you’ll find someone – wait till I introduce you to Peebee!”

Sara rolled her eyes, “your asari squadmate I keep hearing about? Okay matchmaker.”

Vetra merely chuckled, “This’ll be interesting.”  

Scott’s omni-tool pinged and Sara frowned as he went to look at it, “Shit. Tann wants to have a meeting,” he rolled his eyes in exasperation; “I told him I was busy today.” Scott grumbled and typed out a reply.

“Go, it’s okay,” Sara urged him. Scott looked conflicted as his omni-tool pinged again, “it’s obviously important.”

“But you’re important to me Sara,” Scott whined.

“Kill the Archon, then we’ll have coffee,” Sara replied and Scott gave her a quick hug.

“It was nice meeting you Sara, you’ll have to tell me all about Scott’s stud years,” Vetra winked at her.

“Oh yes, or lack thereof!” Sara laughed and watched as the two of them departed. Once they were gone Sara’s smile disappeared. She had forgotten how much she hated loneliness. All she saw were doctors and physical therapists – people who poked and prodded her, with a job to do and not interested in having a conversation, she longed to have a real conversation with someone that wasn’t cut short.

‘Would you prefer to be in the medical bay to be around other people?’ a disembodied voice asked her. She still wasn’t used to SAM’s presence in her head. The neural link between her and SAM wasn’t quite the same as the one SAM shared with her brother, but it was enough to be slightly unnerving.

“No, no,” Sara replied quickly, “I’m just…I don’t know. Scott’s out being useful with a crew and has a woman now and I’m just…in a room, grieving for an asari that has long moved on and being utterly useless.”

“Scott has accomplished a lot, but you will also accomplish things of your own.”

“I hope so,” Sara sighed. Her omni-tool pinged and thinking it was Scott, she looked down only to be greeted from a message from Jaal.

“Jaal’s writing to me?” Sara questioned, and opened the message.

From: Ama Darav, J.
To: Ryder, S. 

Dear Sara,

I hope you don’t find it strange that I am writing to you, I asked Scott for your extranet address and he obliged thinking it may be good for you to have someone to talk to.

We’re here for another day or two and I was wondering if you would like to meet again? I thoroughly enjoyed our ‘coffee’ and would love to do it again.

Yours,
Jaal

Sara read through the letter a few more times, “he actually wants to hang out with me?”

‘I have noted that your blood pressure drops and your stress levels decrease when you are present in Jaal’s company.’

“That would make sense…” Sara replied as she typed her response to Jaal, “he’s probably the only friend I have in Andromeda, aside from Scott.”

‘Noted,’ SAM replied. Sara rolled her eyes at the AI as she hit send. She only had to wait a few minutes before Jaal replied, saying he wanted to meet tomorrow in the docking bay of the Nexus.

xXx

The grind to the next day was almost too much for Sara. She spent a listless night in her bed, tossing and turning, her stomach churning with nerves. Finally, she felt into an uneasy slumber before waking and feeling thoroughly under-rested.

She had never left the Hyperion, and truthfully she wasn’t fully sure she was supposed to. She made her way into the main atrium of the Hyperion and looked around uneasily; no one seemed to be interested in her. They were merely going about their business.

Sara followed the signs to the tram, only to spy an asari openly staring at her. She had a roguish look; it reminded Sara of video games she had played as a child. She had a purple jacket on that showed her bare midriff, with tight pants and high boots. Her face was mesmerising, she had a black stripe over her green eyes.

The asari caught her eye, and Sara looked away hurriedly, not sure what to make of her – and also wondering why an asari was on the human ark. The last she’d heard the asari ark was docked to the Nexus.

Shaking her head, Sara stepped into the tram and pressed the button that read ‘docking bay’. She sat, as her brief walk had tired her more than she would’ve liked, and the butterflies rose in her stomach. She didn’t know why she was so nervous to meet with Jaal. Maybe it was the fact she was going to the Nexus for the first time.

Before she could change her mind, the tram doors opened and several people filed in and gave her a curious glance. She hurried out of the tram and walked up a short hallway to a huge open area that instantly reminded her of the Citadel.

Huge lush trees with smaller flora, opaline white walls and floor and as she approached the edge she could see the Nexus sloped upward, like the Presidium of the Citadel. The only thing it was missing was the frequent hum of the cars that whizzed by consistently on the Citadel. The Nexus, in comparison, was whisper quiet.

Aliens of varying degrees rushed around her. There were groups of people passing through immigration to be able to settle colonies and others merely going about their business. She spied several angara standing near the hologram of Avina and eyeing everyone curiously.

Sara didn’t know quite what to do, so she settled for leaning against the railing and staring at a beautiful spaceship that was docked nearby. Walking along the railing line, she spotted the word ‘Tempest’ on the side of the ship, and sighed in recognition.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice from beside her said, and she turned to see a familiar purple angara.

“Hey,” Sara breathed in a sigh of relief that he was finally here. She stepped toward him, unsure of what to do. She wanted to hug him, as she normally did when she met with friends – but he didn’t feel familiar enough to do that yet. She didn’t even know how Jaal would react to that. Scott had said that they were open with their emotions, but Sara didn’t want to make it awkward.

Jaal chuckled at her obvious awkwardness, he held up his arm and Sara slapped hers against his, feeling better now that she wasn’t hovering awkwardly.

“That’s Scott’s isn’t it?” Sara asked, indicating the Tempest.

“It is,” Jaal confirmed, “would you like a tour of it?”

Sara breathed in excitedly, but her brother’s face flickered in her mind, “No it’s okay, I’d like to see it with my brother.”

Jaal made a noise in his throat, “I understand. What would you like to do today?”

“Show me around the Nexus?” Sara asked, and Jaal smiled in response. The two of them then began to walk and to finally talk properly without interruptions. Sara learnt about angaran culture, their ways of life and Jaal’s extensive family – although she was having trouble keeping up with the names.

“What’s Havarl like?” Sara asked as they came to rest on one of the chairs in Operations. Sara had a stitch in her side, and grasped at it as she sat.

Jaal eyed her curiously, but didn’t mention it before continuing, “It’s beautiful. Havarl is the planet that I was born and raised on. My true mother lives there, as do most of my family. It is the ancestral world of the angara. It is full of hidden dangers like poisonous plants and dangerous animals, but it also very beautiful.”

“Sounds like some of the rainforests on Earth,” Sara laughed, “I would love to visit! Studying some of those poisonous plants sounds interesting.”

“You study plants?” Jaal asked curiously.

“I like to study a lot of things, but back home I was an archaeologist. I studied Prothean ruins.”

“What’s a Prothean?”

Sara couldn’t control the giggle that fell from her lips, “they’re an ancient alien species in the Milky Way. They left all this cool technology behind so we’d been studying it and trying to figure them out. They disappeared 50,000 years ago without a trace. There were rumours about what had happened but no definitive proof,” Sara looked up to see Jaal staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Oh – sorry, I tend to carry on when I’m talking about protheans.”

Jaal tilted his head, “no, no. I find it interesting.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” he smiled, “I clearly do not know much about the Milkee Whey if I do not know of these protheans.”

Sara smiled shyly back at him, “most people get bored with it.”

“Trust me Sara, I am not bored.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded, a little mystified that an alien who would never see her home would be so interested in it, “what else can you tell me about the Heleus cluster?”

So they talked like this, in the middle of Operations. For how long Sara had no idea, but time finally felt irrelevant to her. She had missed this, having an in-depth conversation with someone she considered a friend.

Jaal was so unexpected, and so interesting. She couldn’t help but be drawn to his soulful eyes that reminded her of Earth whenever she looked at them. She wasn’t particularly attached to Earth as other humans were – but she had plenty of happy memories there. A memory flashed in her mind of leaving Earth for the last time, and taking one last look at the Blue Marble out the window as they docked on the Hyperion.

Her omni tool pinged, and pulled her out of her own mind. She looked down and groaned loudly.

“What is it?” Jaal asked; a slight edge of anxiety in his voice.

“Ergh, it’s Harry. He wants me back in the med bay. I may have skipped my morning health check,” Sara admitted guiltily.

Jaal smirked, a simple upturn of one of the corners of his mouth and cocked an eyeridge, “do you often defy authority?”

At this Sara laughed, “Oh you have no idea.”

Jaal stood and extended his hand, which Sara took and he helped her get to her feet, “You? A rebel?” he asked.

“Trust me; I’m the exact opposite of my brother. He’s the righteous good one; I was always the rebellious one.”

“I can’t picture that,” Jaal chuckled.

“When we meet up again, I’ll tell you a few stories. Plus, I can tell you a few good ones about Scott.”

“I’d like that,” Jaal said, “also – are you aware that we leave tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Sara stopped dead and Jaal almost tripped over his own feet in a haste to stop, “I can’t believe it’s so soon.”

“Scott wants to continue to hunt the Archon, we’re going to Elaaden,” Jaal explained.

Sara gulped, “I understand. I hope I’ll get to see you soon.”

“You will,” Jaal gave her an apologetic smile.

All too soon the two of them had made their back to the Hyperion and into the section that contained the med bay. Sara noted that Jaal looked slightly out of place; the only notable exception was a turian sitting across from her usual bed being tended to by one of the doctors.

A surly looking Harry came into view then, “Sara Leia Ryder,” he called out to her, and Sara flinched at the use of her full name.

“Hi Harry,” Sara tried to smile innocently as he approached her.

“You, my dear, missed your daily check-up and went gallivanting around the Nexus without telling me or any other medical staff where you’d gone off too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sara dismissed, “it’s fine!” she tried to discreetly hide the pain in her side that was now throbbing as she moved forward.

Harry poked her in the side, causing a hiss to escape from her lips, “geez man!” Sara whimpered, narrowing her eyes against the surge of pain.

“Yes, you’re absolutely fine,” Harry rolled his eyes at her, “c’mon, I need to take a look at that pain.”

“It’s just a stitch, we did some walking today,” Sara defended. Harry wheeled around staring at Jaal, as if only just noticing that he was in the room.

“That’s my fault doctor,” Jaal added, “we should’ve stayed in her quarters.”

“No Jaal, it was my idea – you aren’t to blame. Plus, I’m sick of being stuck in here. I’ve always hated hospitals.”

“Hate hospitals or no it’s time for your check-up,” Harry tapped his foot impatiently. Sara pouted at him and turned back to Jaal who continued to look extremely out of place.

“Thank you for today, and good luck on Elaaden.”

“You’re welcome,” Jaal replied. She looked into the angara’s eyes for a few moments, before deciding to swallow her fear and wrapped her arms around his waist. He hesitated, but she felt his huge arms come up to hug her back, his hands being gentle around her tender ribs.

Wow, angara gave good hugs. Or maybe it was just Jaal.

She waved goodbye to him after that, and watched him go. His poncho flowed like a cape behind him as he walked through the med-bay. Sara’s legs felt an itch to run after him and smuggle her way onto the Tempest, but she knew her broken body would be unable to maintain it.  

Sara sighed and turned back; lying on the bed she had spent so many months on. Harry hovered over her and collected blood samples and went over his usual routine.

“So,” Harry always tried to engage in conversation, Sara wondered if SAM had told him about her low moods, “that angara seems to like you.”

“Jaal? Yeah, he’s really interesting,” Sara replied, “I’d rather learn about angara from one rather than a book.”

Harry nodded, “I’m sure you will be assigned to the pathfinder’s team when you are well enough.”

“I hope so anyway,” Sara said as Harry read through the results of the tests.

“Nothing amiss here, it seems you’ve just over-exerted yourself. No more massive turn arounds on the Nexus!” Harry waggled his finger which caused Sara to roll her eyes in frustration.

“Okay, okay,” Sara held up her hands in defeat. She was dismissed, and gratefully made her way back into her room where she pulled up a datapad and one of her novels from the Milky Way, but had a million thoughts swimming around her head – some of them hoped that the Tempest’s crew would return soon.

Chapter Text

Smack, smack, smack.

Sara’s feet were pounding the treadmill as she pushed her body through its paces. She looked down at her legs, watching the muscles ripple under the skin; they were finally returning to form after her six-month coma. Her whole body’s condition was vastly improving and Sara couldn’t wait to try shooting again.

Her music was blasting around the room as she ran; her head bobbing to the ancient 21^st century tunes as she slowed and went through her cool-down routine.

‘You are doing very well, your results are staggering and higher than Dr Carlyle or I had anticipated’ SAM vocalised.

Thank you Sara thought as she stretched her aching thigh and calf muscles.  The sweat beaded on her forehead, and rolled from her hair down the back of her neck. She wiped her brow and drank half of her water bottle’s contents in two gulps. She switched her music off and threw her towel over her shoulder.

 “Looking sharp!”

She jumped at the voice, and turned to see her brother lounging easily against the doorframe, arms crossed and a smirk on his face.  

“Hey!”

“Hey,” Scott smiled as Sara approached, and he went in for the hug but Sara stepped back.

“Dude…I smell horrid.”

“Eh,” Scott shrugged and hugged her anyway; Sara smirked and reciprocated.

“Since when were you due back here?” Sara asked casually as they broke apart, Scott’s nose wrinkling slightly.

Scott shrugged, “the krogan were a lot easier to deal with than I expected – thank god. As it turns out having a well-respected member of Clan Nakmor as part of your team does wonders.”

“How long are you here for this time?”

“Sadly, one night,” Scott replied, “we need to beat the Archon to Meridian.”

“I understand,” Sara said, “how did you find me anyway?”

“I asked Harry where you were,” Scott answered, “he told me you were doing cardio – I was expecting you to be taking a leisurely stroll or something, I can’t believe you were running.”

Sara winced at Scott saying ‘leisurely stroll’, it had taken a month of hard work and determination to get herself to this point; and her earlier sessions had been slower than this. But, she couldn’t be bothered arguing, “yeah, me either,” Sara agreed without enthusiasm.

They walked back into the Hyperion and Sara made for her room when Scott grabbed her arm, “wait – there’s something I’d like to show you.”

 “Okay?” Sara asked, cocking an eyebrow, “but I need a shower first. Can it wait ten minutes?”

A short while later in a fresh set of clothes Sara followed her brother into the med-bay. Sara groaned, “You’re going to show me something in the room I’ve spent all of my time in?”

“No, you dolt – come this way,” Scott rolled his eyes and led Sara into the cryo-bay, which truthfully was a room Sara had never been in.

“Why are we in here?” Sara asked, looking around as she and Scott stopped in front of one of the pod retrieval devices.  

“Who’s the one person you’d like to see again?” Scott asked as he inputted numbers into the device, and it fetched a pod for them.  

Sara thought for a second as she watched the pod be bought down, “mum,” she said quietly, stepping forward and reading the name ‘Elizabeth Reilly’ on the pod.   

Scott didn’t speak and Sara stared at him, he stared back as if willing her to catch up with his thoughts.  

“Wait…” Sara turned back to the pod with a sudden ridiculous realisation, “no way.”

“Yes!” Scott could barely contain his excitement, he was practically bouncing on his heels, “Elizabeth Reilly is actually Ellen Ryder!”

“You’re pulling my leg,” Sara accused.

“I’m not,” Scott argued.

“How is this possible?” Sara breathed, placing a hand on the pod with tears spilling thick and fast down her face. Good memories of her mother flashed in her mind: roasting marshmallows on a camping trip, enjoying family movie nights, being nosy and watching her mother design and build biotic implants.

She would be able to experience it all again, here, in Andromeda.

“Dad put her in stasis before she died-,” Scott started to explain.

“Alec hoped that new discoveries in Andromeda would aid in curing Ellen, this is why Scott was made the pathfinder – to see through this work and make sure his plan succeeded,” SAM finished for him.

“I simultaneously want to hug and scream at dad right now,” Sara finally spoke up, wiping the tears off of her face but it only made way for new ones, “I can’t believe it.”

“I couldn’t either,” Scott added. Silence fell between them and Scott pulled Sara into a side hug, Sara’s hand never leaving the pod. For how they long they stood Sara had no idea, but her tears had dried when they wordlessly decided to leave.

“There’s something else I need to show you as well,” Scott added. Sara followed without complaint to SAM node, which was conveniently located just outside her room. She had never been in here, and was greeted to a large room with a glowing blue orb.

“SAM,” Scott said as they approached, “can you please replay the last memory you showed me for Sara?”

“Certainly,” SAM replied aloud. Sara stepped forward and waited, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Suddenly SAM node was gone, and Sara was in a dark room staring down at a datapad. She startled when she heard Alec’s voice as if she was speaking the words – it took a second to realise she was her father in this memory.

Dad…

She watched as Alec spoke with a turian, Castis Vakarian, his name and voice felt very familiar to Sara.

The memory ended, and the room shimmered back to the present. Sara’s knuckles were white from holding the bar in front of her as the words replayed over and over in her mind.

Reapers…galactic extinction cycle…once every fifty-thousand years…

“Goya…” Sara whispered, unable to think of anything else to say. Goya; her beloved asari whom she left behind in the Milky Way. Goya, whom she had thought would’ve lived out her life and found happiness, was possibly killed by these reapers. The thought was unbearable.

“Oh my god,” Scott replied, he had clearly not thought of this, “Sara I…” he trailed off.

“This whole time I thought…” she shook her head to clear her thoughts, “do we know anything? Were they real?”

“There are precious few audio recordings of the Milky Way after we left; and from what I’ve heard it sounds like it…” Scott said; the regret in his eyes evident, “that’s why the initiative was hurried, so we could avoid it.”

“I should’ve…” Sara started, desperately trying to control the fresh onslaught of tears, “I should’ve…I’ll never know. The woman I loved, love, I don’t know her fate.”

“Well, she doesn’t know yours either.”

Sara winced at the blunt honesty, “I need to go.”

“It was a mistake showing you Sara, I’m so sorry,” Scott panicked, stepping into stride when Sara turned on her heel and fled the AI node as fast as possible.

“No, I needed to know. I’m a big girl, remember?” Sara snapped, she had no idea where this emotion had come from but she needed to get away, “I’ll see you later,” she called out to Scott without turning to him before the doors of her cabin snapped shut.

She let out a shaky breath as she strode into the cabin, “fuck…”

Numbness flowed through her very being, unable to process what was going on. Her home could be gone. They may be the last surviving humans in the entire universe. The Hyperion contained 20,000 humans plus the ones that arrived on the Nexus; every life was sacred since the fate of their species was unknown.

“Why did I come here?” she buried her face in her hands.

Because deep down you knew you couldn’t bear to part with your father and brother her inner voice answered her.

“If I had stayed I would’ve been killed by reapers, but, this just feels like a mistake, it’s all going wrong. Maybe I was just never meant to wake up.”

No one answered her, obviously. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

“I need to do something,” Sara whispered. She eyed the guns on the wall and ran to her belongings, rummaging through and finding a small tool-kit. It was basic, but it would do. She walked up and down the rows of her father’s guns and picked the shittiest one.  

She laid it all on the table, and pulled the massive armchair closer and began to work, flexing her tech muscles, “what can I do with the shittiest pistol in the galaxy?” Sara asked aloud, eyeing the predator M-3 in her hands, “I could improve recoil, or increase damage…man…this is gonna be so shit.”

It was almost like being at home in her room…if she imagined hard enough she could picture it. Her father, down in his workshop tinkering on his super-secret stuff that she now knew to be SAM, her mother pottering around with her nose in a book, Scott in the lounge room with the television volume on high as he watched the latest biotiball tournament and Goya lounging on Sara’s bed, heavily researching archaeology.

Thinking of Goya bought a wave of sadness over her again, but a knock startled Sara back to the present. She sighed internally, let them in, thinking it would be Scott to bring her more bad news. Instead, she saw a familiar angara stride in.

“Sara!” Jaal cried happily, a lopsided grin of pure joy on his face.  

“Jaal,” Sara breathed with relief, grateful that it wasn’t her brother.

“I just – stars,” Jaal pointed down at the assortment of parts she had laid out on the table. Sara flushed with embarrassment and started to collect the parts up.

“Sorry about that,” Sara apologized quickly.

Jaal sat down in the chair next to her, “no no, this is one of my favourite things to do!” he crowed happily.

“Really?” Sara asked incredulously.

“Yes! I love pulling things apart and figuring them out,” Jaal explained, “I’ll have to show you one day but I have a kett sniper rifle that I’ve modded myself.”

“I’d love to see it,” Sara said and Jaal smiled in response, she had to suppress a giggle as Jaal puffed his chest out.

“What are you doing?” Jaal asked.

“I pulled out the shittiest gun and was trying to do something to make it better,” Sara explained, “I needed the distraction.”

“Is everything alright?”

Sara fitted the dampeners back in place, “hm? Oh yeah, just a lot of adjustment…” she didn’t feel like getting into the gritty details of the reapers, plus she didn’t want to scare Jaal, “I used to do this a lot back home, I love my tech.”

Jaal looked positively thrilled at her words, and went into a detailed description of tech and gun parts that he had taken apart and put together, not sometimes in the right way either.

“Wait a second – you destroyed the hot water system in your family home?”

“I did,” Jaal laughed, “my true mother then decided she needed to get me parts I could fiddle with so I wouldn’t destroy anything else.”

“Did that work?”

“Hm, no,” Jaal answered.

Sara chortled; as much as she loved touring the Nexus with Jaal – she enjoyed the relative simplicity of working on tech with him. She loved that she and Jaal had a mutual hobby; and was enjoying working alongside him.

“Scott doesn’t realise how lucky he is,” Sara mumbled absent-mindedly.  

“Hm?” Jaal asked, eyeing her curiously.

Sara blushed, “oh…I just mean he’s so lucky to have such a good crew. I was just thinking about it…I feel lonely at times here.”

Jaal put the parts back on the table and lay a hand on Sara’s shoulder, “You’re already a part of our crew Sara; you’re never alone. If you ever feel alone, we are always here for you.”

Sara smiled at him, “thank you Jaal. That means a lot.”

They continued to work and swap stories, but the lack of natural light made it hard for Sara to tell time.  Eventually she looked at her watch and realised they were nearing the evening cycle, “shit – Jaal, do you want to grab something to eat?” she paused, “do you actually consume human food?”

“Lexi has run a full scan of what I can and cannot consume; it is just that I am not a fan of it.”

“What do you normally eat?”

“Paste.”

“Paste?”

“It’s easy to make and economical; your galaxy’s obsession with food is bizarre to me.”

“Huh, interesting,” Sara nodded in satisfaction.

“I didn’t realise it was so late, I’m not even tired,” Jaal replied, getting to his feet and he and Sara exited the room.

“You’ve probably got jet-lag,” Sara laughed.

“What is ‘jet-lag’?” Jaal asked curiously, “Is this another idiom?”

Sara paused, “Uh…kind of?”

“All of you humans speak in idioms, it’s irritating,” Jaal said seriously, but his smirk gave him away that he wasn’t truly irritated.

“It’s an old human term,” Sara explained, “before space flight we would travel by jets that were very slow; and when you’d go to another timezone your body clock would still be adjusting, we’d call it ‘jet-lag’.”

“Ohhhh,” Jaal said in recognition, “yes; the Tempest’s cycle was in the middle of the day.”

“There you go,” Sara confirmed.

Jaal grinned at her – his familiar lopsided smile, and she grinned back. It was so easy with Jaal, so natural. She couldn’t get over how it could be so effortless with a being that was separated from her species by 2.5 million light years.

Maybe you were supposed to come here after all the little voice in the back of her head told her, and as she looked at Jaal whom was deciding what human cuisine he was going to give a try, that idea wasn’t hard to disagree with.

xXx

“Sara!”

Sara turned to see her brother hurrying out of the tram to catch up with her as she made her way back to her room.

“What’s up?” she asked, “I thought you’d left.”

“Just about to, but I have a final meeting with Tann before we leave. I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?”

“I’m allowed in on your super-secret Pathfinder business?” Sara cocked an eyebrow, but she was excited – her first real glimpse into Scott’s life as pathfinder.

“Well, technically, you’re my successor if I die or I’m unfit for duty,” Scott rubbed the back of his neck, his confidence waning.

“Since when?”

“Since a few days ago,” Scott replied carefully, and frowned at Sara’s expression, “shit I should’ve asked.”

“A heads up would’ve been nice,” Sara scowled. What was with everyone in this galaxy wanting to make crucial decisions for her, or lying to her because they felt she couldn’t handle it? “I don’t know about pathfinder…” Sara trailed off.

“Don’t worry sis, I’ll be fine – Tann just wanted to have a successor named.”

“Shouldn’t that be Cora?”

“Due to the nature of my implants, it would be easier to transfer to someone who is related to me,” Scott explained, “it’ll be fine, I doubt you’ll be called upon. Plus, no one knows about mum yet…and I’d rather keep it that way for now.”

“Right,” Sara muttered as they boarded the tram and arrived in Operations. Sara followed Scott up the ramp and through the building to step into a huge office.  

Scott nodded to a salarian who chirped back with a high-pitched “good morning”, and they ascended into a very spacious room with a view down one of the arms of the station.

“Oh wow,” Sara felt her breath catch in her chest at the sight, instant nostalgia overwhelming her as she thought of the Citadel. She stared in wonder around the room at the different tribute monuments and pictures of the colonies: the desert worlds of Eos and Elaaden, the ice world of Voeld and the shithole that was Kadara. Scott had a right to be smug; he had done a good job.

Sara eyed a salarian, asari and turian deep in conversation at a round table and suspected they must be the other pathfinders. The salarian struck her as very old, and must’ve had a wealth of experience especially to be considered a worthy successor to Raeka, the turian on the other hand looked young and fresh, while the asari had a rather unusual expression of smugness mixed with surliness.

“Ah, Pathfinder!” a nasally voice called out, and Sara snapped up to see a blue salarian descend from the highest desk in the room, inferiority complex, Sara thought immediately.

“Tann, this is my sister Sara,” Scott introduced her, and Sara took his hand – his grip was pathetic.

Sara was correct about the group that they were the pathfinders. She formally met Hayjer, Avitus and Sarissa – none of them original pathfinders. Sara couldn’t help but wonder what Raeka, Macen and Matriarch Ishara were like.

“What’s she doing here?” a cold voice drawled, and Sara’s head snapped to a grumpy human woman entering the room, trailed by a turian and krogan.

“Addison, this is my sister – and Sara this is Foster Addison, Tiran Kandros and Nakmor Kesh,” Scott indicated the human woman, turian and krogan respectively.

Addison eyed her suspiciously, “that still doesn’t answer my question, Ryder.”

“As I’m sure Tann has informed you, Sara is my successor should I be unable to serve as pathfinder.”

At this Addison let out a humourless laugh, “your successor? Sara has been in a coma for six months and is unfit for active duty, let alone has absolutely no training.”

“I approved it,” Tann jumped in, and Addison’s cold gaze lightened considerably when her eyes fell on Tann. I wonder if they’ve fucked in here Sara thought to herself.

‘Addison has been known to frequent this office on regular occasions: three times as often as any other Nexus employee’ SAM replied on her private channel. At this Sara slapped a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle.

“You okay?” Scott hissed in her ear.

“Oh yeah,” Sara replied, attempting to control her laughter.

“Both Scott and SAM have informed me that it would be easier if the pathfinder were to be related to Scott because of the nature of his implants,” Tann explained.

“Hmph,” Addison folded her arms tight against her chest, “we don’t have nepotism in the Initiative, although apparently that was waved for the Ryder clan.”

Sara winced as Kandros spoke up, “Sara could be trained with my APEX teams once she has recovered.”

“It’s not exactly a binding contract anyway,” Sara shrugged.

“We’ll discuss this when we know more on Sara’s condition from Dr Carlyle,” Tann said in a tone that meant it was final.

“Anyway, can we please talk about the mission at hand?” Scott asked the group, and they nodded attentively.

Thankfully the meeting passed quickly, and Sara and Scott left together.

“I would’ve told Addison and Tann to fuck off a long time ago,” Sara commented as they re-entered the tram, “especially Tann. Christ how did he ever end up in charge of this whole thing?”

“The eighth in line,” Scott replied simply.

“No doubt,” Sara snorted, “and Addison is an absolute bitch. Yeah, I’d admit I wouldn’t have chosen me either but she didn’t have to be so awful about it.”

“Oh you should’ve seen her when I turned up. Instead of being grateful after their 14 month isolation it was accusation after accusation. Sorry I’m not my father, yeesh,” Scott explained, “boy was I happy to prove her wrong.”

“In many ways, I’m glad the situation wasn’t reversed,” Sara started, “I don’t think I would’ve coped.”

Scott made a noise in the back of his throat, “me either.”  

Sara cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t press further as they made it back to the Docking Bay of the Nexus.

“I can’t believe you’re really leaving,” Sara said, eyeing the Tempest out of the corner of her eye.

“I know,” Scott replied; his voice trembled slightly, “I…shit.” They had always been bad at goodbyes.

“Finish the Archon,” Sara smiled, “we didn’t flee from reapers to get taken out by kett.”

Scott laughed as he held out his hand, “damn right.” Sara took it and they did their dorky ‘bro-fist-handshake’ the very first in Andromeda Sara noted.

“Oh stars!” a voice called out and Sara and Scott turned to see Jaal running from the cultural centre toward them.

“Jaal? I told everyone to be at the ship hours ago,” Scott said sternly, and Jaal recoiled slightly.

“Sorry,” Jaal replied, not meeting Scott’s eye while Scott folded his arms in exasperation. Jaal was flicking his eyes between Sara and Scott as if debating on doing something.

Seeming to make up his mind, he turned to Sara and before she could say anything Jaal enveloped her in his arms, desperation of sorts evident in his body language. Sara didn’t know what to do, but patted his back awkwardly. In the background, Scott’s eyes were wide in shock, and he turned sharply and hit his leg on the half-wall that viewed the Tempest.

Jaal let her go, and she sighed internally that the awkwardness was over.   

“Stay safe,” Sara told him, and he nodded, “and when you come back we’ll check out the cultural centre?”

“You haven’t been?”

“No,” Sara laughed, “thought you could show me your favourite stuff in there.”

“Sure,” Jaal’s face lightened and his stance seemed to ease slightly.

Sara smiled, “go give the Archon hell for me! Both of you!”

“Sure will,” Scott saluted. Sara watched them retreat into the port that would take them to the Tempest, Jaal’s large frame dwarfing Scott’s in comparison. She smiled after them, and watched the Tempest fly off, a longing in her heart telling her to follow.

xXx

“That was damn fine,” a young recruit commented as Sara took the head off of a kett from 100 metres.

“Thanks,” Sara smiled at him, swapping her sniper rifle for a pistol and taking aim at a closer simulation kett’s head. It was her first shooting session, and only she and the young recruit, whom she remembered was named Dean, were the only two ‘alive’.

Having real armour and holding a real gun – albeit with blank rounds – felt like a massive improvement. She didn’t feel useless anymore as she dodged in and out of cover firing her pistol. She cloaked and crept up behind the final sim, sticking a grenade to the back of his head and using her jet pack to boost out of the way.

“Still got it!” she shouted as the grenade exploded, and the simulation withered away.

A bell signalled to end the session, and Sara wiped the sweat from her brow as she handed her weapon back to the drilling instructor.

“Nice work Ryder,” he nodded stiffly, and Sara took that as the best compliment she was going to get.

“What have you got planned?” Dean asked as they left the facility together.

“A hot shower and a good book,” Sara laughed, “I’ll see you next time!”

“Later,” he called out as he left. Sara hummed as she approached the tram that would take her back to the Hyperion. It was business as usual from what she observed; the artificial lighting was bright as ever and everyone seemed relaxed.

She had heard no word from Scott since he had left about two days ago, but Sara wasn’t worried. She was excited and nervous for him and his crew. In one way or another, they were going to end this thing. All she could do was train hard, and based on her last session she knew she had.

That shower calls my name Sara thought.

The doors whizzed open to darkness with faint lighting scattered throughout. Sara squinted, noting the emergency lighting was on. As she stepped off the tram it shut off behind her. Around her, panicking people were running back and forth screaming instructions to each other. Sharp gunfire sounded nearby, and Sara ducked instinctively.

“What the fuck is going on?” Sara said aloud, people oblivious to her.

“Sara,” SAM called to her, “the pathfinder is in trouble. The Archon has disabled my access to him; I need you to provide it.”

“SAM node?” Sara asked.

“The Archon has boarded and is currently at SAM node, proceed to these co-ordinates – and arm yourself.”

Sara halted; what if the Archon had control of SAM and was leading her into a trap?

“Once you do this is unlikely that you will avoid capture, they will be alerted to your presence,” SAM explained and Sara rolled her eyes, but SAM added, “but it will save your brother’s life.”

“Show me where to go,” Sara said.

SAM guided her through the building; and a few dead kett later she was at the access point. She had done it; she had secured SAM back to her brother. She smiled at her victory, but turned to see an abundance of kett had surrounded her armed to the teeth and pointing their guns directly at her heart. These weren’t the simulations that she just battled – these were the real thing.

Sara dropped her weapon, and raised her arms – she did not have biotics and there was no foreseeable way out of this. Even if she was well decked and in top shape she knew it would be a tough battle.

Fuck this isn’t good.

A huge kett entered the room, and Sara felt the blood run from her face as she stared up at it. It was big, with a horrifyingly adorable face and a basketball hoop coming out from the back of its head. This had to be the Archon.

Oh fuck, this really isn’t good.

“Sara Ryder,” its mouth twisted into a smile and Sara shuddered. The next thing she knew was the kett was dragging her through the Hyperion toward the bridge.  

Having revival interrupted and being put into a coma: check.

Getting kidnapped by the worst alien in the cluster: check.

Well, shit.

Chapter Text

The Archon smiled at her as she writhed in pain in front of him, her implants the target of his desires. He paced in front of her, taunting Scott while torturing her.

Make it stop. Make it stop.

A shadow was there; she could see her brother’s N7 armour even in the darkness.

“SCOTT!” Sara called out, trying to get his attention. The shadow of her brother stepped forward to reveal it wasn’t her brother at all. Inside his armour was a kett, but the kett didn’t look like the others – it was softer and had his bright blue eyes which were piercing her very soul.

“NO,” Sara screamed out and sat bolt upright in bed. She gripped the sheets and eased her breathing as her surroundings materialised. The sensor lights flicked on with her movement, and revealed her room looking as normal as ever.

“Fuck,” Sara breathed heavily, trembling slightly as the sweat rolled down her neck.

It had been many weeks since she had been kidnapped by the Archon. She knew she was safe and sound on Meridian, and that he was dead but it still didn’t ease her anxiety. However, nothing could take the hatred that she felt for this place out of her. Meridian was her torture chamber, where she had nearly died and nearly watched her brother die.

She hated it more than anything here.

Yet, no one wanted to move her. Harry was here, all of her therapists were here, it was considered impractical to move her and none of her medical team wanted to leave. She knew she was improving, but she felt she could improve faster on somewhere like the Nexus where she didn’t feel the constant reminder of the torture she had endured.   

But, despite it all she was improving. She was running again, usually she would jog around Meridian. She was also undertaking weight training; which had bought her muscles to the surface again.

She stretched and got out of bed, there was no way she could sleep now. Her clock told her that Meridian was mostly through its night-cycle and nearing dawn. She shuffled over to the coffee maker and poured a cup to ease into the morning routine.

Her head pounded, and she grasped at it. Not again.

“I wish these would go away,” Sara grumbled out-loud. Ever since being tortured Sara had a constant headache. Some days were worse than others, and the pain ranged from a mild ache to a serious migraine she had experienced the other day. For her, most of the time it was a dull ache that just never went away.  

‘Should I flag for Dr Carlyle that you’re continuing to experience headaches?’ SAM asked her.

Sara sighed, “I suppose so.” She didn’t want to worry anyone, but she had a feeling SAM would tell the doctor anyway.

‘That is a correct assumption’

Sara rolled her eyes as she flicked through her omni-tool, noting that today was her free day. She was glad; therapy was exhausting after a while. No news was good news in terms of cluster-wide info, and Sara finally checked the ship roster for the day to see what ships would be flying out and returning.

Tempest – Docking approx. midday local time.

Captain: Ryder, S.

“Yes!” Sara said as she took a delicate sip of her coffee. Scott had left a few days after they had secured Meridian, and had been gone for several weeks. Emails were nice, but nothing beat the real thing.

Speaking of emails, her omni-tool blipped and opening the folder saw a new email from Jaal waiting for her.

From: Ama Darav, J.
To: Ryder, S. Ryder, S.

Sara,

Great news! We have finished up our newest round of work at Aya and will be returning to Meridian for a few days. I can’t wait to see you!

Jaal.

She smiled; Sara had been communicating with Jaal a lot lately. Her hard work on Meridian was made all the more easier with frequent messages from the angara waiting in her inbox.

Her omni-tool blipped again.

From: Ama Darav, J.
To: Ryder, S.

I may have accidentally sent this to your brother as well. I am still learning how to work Milky Way technology.

Jaal.

Why do you and your brother have the same initial?

Sara chuckled softly; this was not an uncommon mistake and it didn’t help that she and Scott also had the same middle name initial. Albeit she did not receive top secret emails about the Initiative or about pathfinder business, but several personal emails meant for Scott had somehow made it to her inbox including one from an asari reporter, two from an angaran curator and a very detailed descriptive one from Vetra which included details from an intimate night the two spent together. Sara had learnt a lot about turian anatomy from that email.

From: Ryder, S.
To: Ama Darav, J.

Hey Jaal,

Don’t worry, happens all the time. The other day Vetra sent me a very – personal – email about Scott and her, it was awkward to say the least.

Look forward to seeing you soon, I’m getting so bored!

Sara.

PS: Blame my parents for us having the same initial!

She made her way to the dining hall, an extra spring in her step as she thought about the coming day ahead. She couldn’t wait to see Scott again, and Jaal, and hopefully she’d get to see everyone else too.

xXx

Midday took a long time. Sara spent her morning eating breakfast extra slowly, carefully chewing each bite. After that she did several turns around the Hyperion. Finally she got so bored she made her way to the docking bay and loitered creepily. Every now and then someone would need a box moved or a hand to process a ship and she’d hover to lend a hand. The sun beat down on her, perfectly pleasant as always but she noted the heat triggered her headache. It was tolerable, it would be tolerable; nothing was stopping her seeing Scott today.

Ships were landing left and right, but soon enough, a sleek familiar shaped ship landed on a bay that was closest to her. She approached, and noted the ‘Tempest’ written on the side. She bounded to it eagerly, waiting with excitement for the first glimpse of her brother.

After several minutes, Scott Ryder stepped out of the ship and greeted some of the docking crew.

She stayed silent, wanting him to notice her. Sure enough, he looked around expectantly and his face lit up when he spotted her.

“Sara!” he cried in an undignified way, almost running to her and pulling her into a tight hug.

“Scotty!” Sara’s replied, her voice muffled as she was squashed against his chest.

They broke apart and merely smiled at one another. She and Scott weren’t the same without each other – Sara felt like half of her was missing when he left, but the half always found its way back when he was next to her once more.

“So,” Scott began, “I think it’s time I introduced you to my crew! What do you think?”

“Definitely!” Sara piped up; meeting the fabled crew that had made Scott’s first few months in Andromeda bearable had been at the top of her list since waking up.

The oddest group made their way down the ramp of the Tempest and Scott gathered them together. It wasn’t what Sara would’ve expected in a crew, but she noted they all looked content.

Sara smiled shyly when she and Scott approached, it felt strange to greet a bunch of people that Scott knew but she didn’t; the exceptions being Cora, Liam, Vetra and Jaal. Jaal stood in the back, and had his familiar lopsided grin on his face. He waved at her, and she waved back.

“So, going from left to right – this is Drack, our veteran krogan,” Scott unnecessarily indicated the very large intimidating krogan who was wearing bones on his armour.

“Nice to meet you kid,” he shook her arm rather gently for such a large being. He had a very old, almost cracked look to his features, but there was something Sara liked about him.  

“My other ground team member whom you haven’t met is Peebee,” Scott pointed to a flighty looking asari standing toward the back. She stepped forward, looking merely bored with the proceedings. Sara recognised her instantly as the asari she had seen that day on the Hyperion when she had visited the Nexus for the first time.  

“Nice to meet ya!” Peebee greeted her happily, but Sara noticed an air of impatience as if she had more important things to do, which she probably did. Sara shook her hand nonetheless; she couldn’t help but note that Peebee was attractive, she did have a soft spot for asari after all.

“I hear you’re the one to talk to about remtech,” Sara tried her best to make conversation, and Peebee lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yes! We so need to talk!” She was practically bouncing with excitement, and Sara turned to Scott who looked rather pleased with himself.

“Okay, so, this is our other asari and doctor on board; Dr Lexi T’Perro,” Scott indicated a much more conservative asari on the other side decked out in standard issue medical gear. She had a straight-backed straight laced look that reminded Sara of Goya; for sure this asari had to have a turian father.

“Nice to meet you,” Lexi held out her hand which Sara took, and she was far more polite and gentle with her movements over sporadic Peebee.

“I’m Gil Brodie,” a red-headed man stepped forward, “engineer of the Tempest.” Sara took his hand, he had warm eyes and a soothing expression, Sara already liked him.

“He also cleans everyone else out in poker,” Scott added, “everyone.”

“You cannot win,” Liam warned her.

“Rightio,” Sara laughed and Gil winked.

“Anywho, this is Suvi Anwar, our science officer. She lives on our bridge,” Scott continued.

“I don’t think I live on yer bridge,” a red-headed woman with aqua eyes stepped forward, “but it’s nice to meet yeh Sara,” her thick Scottish accent was soothing to Sara’s ear, and Sara couldn’t quite believe how adorable Suvi was; it’s the accent her brain told her. She had always had a soft spot for accents from the United Kingdom.

“And lucky last is Kallo Jath!” Scott indicated a tan coloured salarian, “our pilot.”

“Pleasure!” he said warmly in a very typical sounding salarian voice, and Sara shook his hand. He was very tall and gangly with big black eyes. Kallo struck Sara as very friendly and welcoming.

“And you’ve met the others, yes?” Scott asked.

“We’re ‘the others’ now?” Vetra teased, placing her hands on her hips. The crew burst into laughter at her words.

“Oh my darling Vetra,” Scott teased right back, “You know you are my number one.”

“Sure,” Vetra chuckled, but made her way over to Scott, bumping her fist against Sara’s as she did so, and threw her arm around Scott’s shoulders.

Sara chuckled, “yes, I’ve met the others as you say,” Sara replied, “it’s nice to see you all again,” she said to Cora, Liam, Vetra and Jaal who smiled back at her.  Liam and Cora shook her hand, but when she got to Jaal he hugged her with so much enthusiasm that her feet left the ground.

Several members of the crew chuckled as he placed her back on the ground, “geez Jaal!” Peebee called out, “don’t crush her!”

“Wouldn’t be an angara if you didn’t almost crush someone every week, eh Jaal?” Gil elbowed Jaal in the ribs, and Jaal rolled his eyes.

“Fuck over,” Jaal said to Gil. The crew were silent for a few beats, before breaking into laughter. Sara was confused, but still smiling from the infectious laughter. Gil had curled over himself while Peebee was hanging off his shoulder.

“It’s ‘fuck off’ Jaal,” Liam corrected through his laughter, a hand over his stomach.

“Right…” Jaal replied, a blue blush tinging his cheeks.

“Ohhhhh,” Sara clued in, and a new fit of laughter sounded from her obvious confusion.

“Welcome to the Tempest,” Suvi told her as they all made their way into the Hyperion. Sara grinned; she had a feeling she was going to fit in well with this bunch of misfits.

xXx

Days were passing quickly now that Scott and the crew were here, and Sara hadn’t felt this happy since the Milky Way. When she wasn’t with her brother, one of the crew had taken her under their wing to do or talk about something.

Her physical therapy continued, and one morning Cora decided to join her for her run around Meridian. They met up with a group of eager runners and jogged forth, Sara enjoying having a familiar face by her side while she exercised.

Sara stopped to catch her breath, pressing her fingers to her neck to check her pulse, “120 – not bad,” Sara panted as she looked ahead of her at the others.

“Come on Sara!” Cora called out as she ran past, “there’s only a few hundred metres left.”

“Okay, okay,” Sara laughed, taking a huge gulp from her wattle bottle as she hurried to catch up with Cora. The two women jogged together. It was pleasant, Meridian buzzed around them and Sara concentrated on their footfalls squelching in the dirt underneath.

It did feel nice to be active on a planet again, even if it was the planet that felt like a prison. They made it back to the Hyperion; Cora looking no worse for wear while Sara panted slightly, “Damn Cora,” Sara got her words out through breaths, “you’re so fit.”

“So are you! You’ll get there, you’re doing so well,” Cora patted her on the back and Sara smiled, grateful that someone thought so. Sara couldn’t wait for a shower and some pain meds for her headache which hummed in the background.

“I’ll catch you later,” Sara called out to Cora as she entered the atrium of the Hyperion, taking another swig from her water bottle. Scott was standing idly with Harry and Sara raised her eyebrow, wondering what they were speaking about.

“Sara! C’mere sec!” Scott called out.

“What’s up?”

“So, I’ve been speaking with Scott and SAM, and today I’m going to approve your reassignment,” Harry explained.  

“Wait – what?” Sara rounded on her brother, “why didn’t you keep me in the loop?”

“I kinda wanted to surprise you?” Scott said awkwardly, but hesitated under his sister’s glare, “I should’ve told you. But, I’ve been organising for weeks with Tann and Harry. Tann wanted you on Prodromos – something about a Ryder on a colony providing morale.”

“Yeah…no thanks,” Sara wrinkled her nose, “that sounds boring.”

He and Harry laughed and Scott continued, “Exactly what I said you were going to say. So, Harry and I argued for you to come with me – having two Ryders side-by-side will be much better in our opinion and definitely help morale."

Sara let out an inhuman high-pitched noise, “I’m finally going to actually see this galaxy!”

“Hell yeah you are,” Scott smiled, “I can’t wait to have you by my side again.”

“What’s the go with my health plan…stuff,” Sara waved her arm to try and find the words.

“Dr T’Perro will be monitoring your current physical and psychological health while you’re aboard the Tempest and will be sending regular updates to me. If issues arise we will organise an alternative or take you off of the ground crew,” Harry began.

“You’ll be on ground crew on a rotating roster part-time at first,” Scott explained, “but when your health improves you’ll be there more often.”

“Okay, cool, that’s fine,” Sara nodded.

“You told her yet?” a voice chirped out of nowhere, and Sara turned to see Peebee and Jaal approaching.

“Sure have,” Scott smiled and Peebee cheered.

“Great! I finally have someone to discuss remtech with! You studied protheans right?” Peebee asked excitedly.

“Sure did,” Sara smiled and Peebee rubbed her hands together with enthusiasm.

“You’re going to love remtech!”

Sara noticed Peebee and Jaal both run their eyes down her torso, and looking down Sara noticed she wasn’t leaving much to the imagination. She was in a sports bra, exercise leggings that ended at her knees and sneakers – nothing else. She blushed and very non-subtly folded her arms across her torso.

“When are we heading out?” Jaal asked, his eyes snapping away from Sara to Scott.

“It should be tomorrow I believe,” Scott replied and Jaal nodded in satisfaction.

“Wouldn’t want to miss the party!” Sara said and Scott eyed her with suspicion, “they’ve been going on about it for weeks, the massive party to say thank you to the Tempest!”

“Oh please no,” the blood ran from Scott’s face, “really?”

“It’ll be fine!” Sara dismissed casually.

“I hate parties,” Scott muttered.

Peebee nudged him in the ribs, “it’ll be fun!”

The day passed quickly and when night fell the party began. Many of the Hyperion’s residents had gathered, along with the crew of the Tempest. Sara even noticed some familiar faces in the crowd; Kandros and Kesh had made it, as well as the female angara she had seen after being rescued.

After some boring speeches in which thankfully no one called on Sara to speak but left her brother stammering for a good ten minutes the party began. Sara sat in the corner sipping serrice ice brandy which she had swiped against doctors’ orders and watching everyone.

The Tempest crew were easily visible in the crowd; Peebee was tearing up the dancefloor with Suvi and Cora. Drack and Vetra were at a table, having what looked like a light-hearted conversation while Scott, Gil and Liam were sitting at a table in the corner enjoying a poker game – although she used “enjoying” loosely, only Gil looked to be actually enjoying it. Jaal was over at another table, having a conversation with several other angara. Lexi and Kallo were entirely absent, but since they were married to their work she was hardly surprised.

While enjoying the occasional party, this one wasn’t doing well for her. Her brain was aching due to the pounding music, and the alcohol churned in her stomach. She pushed it away, and made her way to an exit, hoping she could clear her thoughts and ease the humming headache.

Sara slipped out into the cool air of Meridian’s night, at once her brain felt better. She breathed in, letting the air filled with the scent of dirt and flora fill her lungs and the night air tickled her skin.

“It’s my first night outside since the Milky Way,” Sara remarked. She hadn’t experienced a real night outside since she and Scott watched the aurora on Earth.  She stepped closer to the cliff, and sat down, legs dangling over the edge.

Well, ‘real’, being figurative given Meridian’s bizarre nature – but angara were real even though they were created by the Jardaan.

Speaking of angara, she heard footsteps approaching, and turned to see Jaal making his way toward her.

“Are you alright?” Jaal asked; worry evident in his tone.

“Yeah,” Sara replied, patting the spot next to her and Jaal took a seat, “just not feeling the party vibe tonight.”

Jaal chuckled, “I understand.”

They sat in silence for a while, Sara enjoying the friendly company. The thrum of the music and babble of conversation could be heard, but it was quiet enough for Sara to consider the night peaceful.  

“Are you looking forward to joining the Tempest?” Jaal asked.

“Yes, very much so,” Sara replied, “I can’t wait to leave this rock and explore some real planets and have some adventures.”

“It’ll be an honour to have you aboard,” Jaal said.

“Any funny stories of late?”

“Hmmm…oh! One! So, I taught Liam what he thought to be an angaran folk song. The other day I caught him singing it to Kallo and Suvi on the bridge,” Jaal’s tone was mischievous.

“I take it it’s not an ordinary folk song?”

“No,” Jaal replied, “Suvi and Kallo are still married by angaran custom.”

Sara choked on her laughter, with Jaal joining in.

“I’m not letting Liam sing to me when someone else is still in the room,” Sara wiped a tear from her eye.

“Good idea,” Jaal agreed, “I still need to find out what the reverse song is.”

Sara chortled, and they fell into an easy silence once more. The night was dark and cool around them, but Sara noted that the sky had lightened ever so slightly.

“Sunrise should be close,” Jaal stated.

“Ooh I haven’t seen one of those yet,” Sara commented idly.

Jaal did a double take, “Wait – ever?”

“No, no,” Sara laughed, “in Andromeda.”

“That…that makes a lot more sense,” Jaal said and Sara giggled, “are you alright if I share this moment with you?”

“Of course Jaal!” Sara replied, giving him a warm smile, “that would be lovely.” The only light came from the distant ones from the Hyperion, but even in the low light she didn’t miss Jaal’s lopsided grin.  

“How does sunrise even work on Meridian?” Sara asked idly.

Jaal shrugged, “no idea.”

Sara yawned widely, the lateness of the hour plus her headache taking its toll. Her eyes drooped, and her head came to rest on Jaal’s shoulder. Her eyes widened in shock at what she had done, but before she could move Jaal’s arm came up and curled around her shoulders.

“Don’t let me fall asleep,” Sara mumbled, stifling another yawn but her eyes closed against her will.

“Look,” Jaal whispered, his voice sounding close. Sara opened her eyes, and a faint orange glow on the horizon greeted them. She sat up a little straighter, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, but Jaal’s arm didn’t move.

Together they watched the sky change colour – from deep purples to oranges to yellows to the brilliance of the sun as it broke the horizon. Sara snapped some photos from her omni-tool, though photos never looked as good as the real thing.

The sunrise cast warm rays and shadows over Meridian, and the sight pulled the memory of Australia to the forefront of her mind. One morning, she and Scott had gotten up early to sit on the beach to watch the sunrise on the water; it had been one of the most breathtaking sights she could remember.

But this? This beat any Earth sunrise.

“This is-” Jaal took a sharp intake of breath.

“-special,” Sara finished for him, and sighed happily.

The two of them waited until the sun had well and truly cleared the horizon, with the sky now a homely blue before Sara moved enough for Jaal to move his arm. Once it was gone Sara missed the warmth. She stood, and brushed off the back of her pants.

The Hyperion was unusually quiet for this time of day as they moved through. Sara spotted a few familiar faces; Kallo had made an appearance and was sitting at a table looking utterly miserable and holding what looked like tea while Drack sat nearby staring off into the distance.

She finally made it to her quarters after a slow walk through, Jaal shadowing her every step of the way. With her recent health issues, he had every right to be. They were in front of the door to her room.

“Thank you Jaal, that was a lovely first sunrise,” Sara said.

“You are most welcome,” Jaal replied.

They hovered awkwardly once more, Sara still not having the greetings and farewells down pat just yet; Jaal hesitated for a brief moment, and then leant in toward her. For one wild second, Sara thought he was about to kiss her. However, he didn’t. Instead he placed his forehead on hers – their noses bumping together and one of his hands rested gently on the back of her neck.

Sara closed her eyes, breathing in his scent and trying to cement the memory in her mind. Jaal pulled away, and she couldn’t help but smile at him – a faint blush tinging her cheeks. He smiled his lopsided grin back, and without a word turned on his heel and left her standing stupidly in front of her quarters. Shaking back to reality, Sara entered.  

A loud snore greeted her ears, and she startled only to see Scott, Liam, Gil and Vetra passed out on couches. Vetra and Scott were cuddled on once couch, while Gil had claimed the other one leaving a pants-less Liam to lie on the floor. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but was very grateful they had left the bed for her even in their drunken state. She snuggled into the covers and for the first time in nearly a month managed to drift away rather quickly: whether it was the familiarity of people she cared about in her space, or her sunrise with Jaal, she wasn’t sure.

Maybe it was both.

“WHERE’S MY PANTS?”

Sara startled to see Liam stumbling around her cabin looking for his pants, and Gil roaring with laughter in the background. Scott and Vetra had been woken too; Scott had rolled off of the couch in surprise leaving Vetra half-asleep fumbling around. This fiasco left Gil laughing even harder.

Her clock told her it was almost the night cycle. She had slept the entire day.

It was the first time she hadn’t awoken screaming.

Chapter Text

The room she had called home for many months was so bare, and Sara couldn’t help the twinge of sadness she got as she gazed around it. All of her belongings were piled haphazardly in the corner, she was holding the model Normandy in her hands, debating whether to take it or not. Her father’s room on the Hyperion had been her home in Andromeda. While she was excited to leave and begin adventuring, she was sad too. In many ways, the Hyperion was all she knew.

What if they don’t like me?

“Don’t be stupid,” Sara shook her head. She had just spent the last week with various members of the crew – she was going to be fine.

What if I’m too incompetent for them?

This thought rang true for her – while she knew had to wield a weapon she was vastly out of practice. Shooting simulations was not quite the same as a real life being, and the thought of not being good enough haunted her.

The door whizzed open, pulling Sara out of her thoughts and Scott stuck his head in, “you ready?”

Sara sighed and pushed herself off of the bed, “sure am.”

“Meet you there,” he said before the door snapped shut behind him. Sara took one fleeting look before stuffing the model Normandy into her bag, grabbing her belongings and shutting the door on the room forever.

It was relatively quiet on Meridian as she passed through; she felt like a ghost as she made her way to the much busier port outside.  

“What’s going to happen to Dad’s room?” Sara asked as she approached Scott who was waiting for her.

“I’m not sure,” Scott answered, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

She nodded non-committedly but smiled, happiness filling her like a warm drink as she and Scott stepped onto the Tempest. She shrugged her bag over her shoulder and grasped her box of trinkets tightly in her hands: I’m finally going to see this galaxy. My adventure finally begins!

“Welcome to the tempest!” Scott opened his arms wide to gesture the ship around them. Where they had entered was a rather big area, in the middle sat a Nomad all-terrain vehicle, along with an assortment of boxes and gadgets scattered around.

Jaal emerged from one set of doors on the other side of the spacious room, flicking through his omni-tool.

“Jaal!”

Jaal startled to attention at the sound of his name, and Scott continued “Would you mind showing Sara around the Tempest?”

Sara pouted, “but-,” she had wanted Scott to give her the tour of the ship.

Jaal grimaced as he made his way over, “are you sure?”

Sara sighed, “It’s fine,” she said without enthusiasm.

“I’m so sorry, I have so much work to catch up on – I’ll see you soon,” Scott lightly play-punched Sara on the shoulder, which she didn’t respond to, and he made his way through the door that Jaal had just entered from.

Jaal and Sara locked eyes for several moments before Jaal grinned his usual lopsided smile, “This is exciting! I haven’t shown anyone around because I was the last one on!”

Sara laughed, his good mood was infectious, “okay then, lead the way,” Sara indicated with her hand. The ship was small and sleek, and Jaal showed her through the lower floor. Sara had to admit she was paying more attention to Jaal’s form over his words. She couldn’t get her eyes off the way he moved, and the way his poncho flowed as he walked.

“Sara?”

“Sorry?” Sara zoned back into reality.

“You seem…distracted,” Jaal replied, looking at her curiously.

“Just…” Sara couldn’t find the words, “yeah, distracted. Sorry. Big day and all.”  

“I understand,” Jaal nodded, “as I was saying – this is the crew’s quarters. There’s a message board here, and the bathroom is through here,” he pointed to the door which flicked open to reveal a separate toilet and two communal showers.

Great.

“There are four beds and…” Sara counted the crew on her fingers, “twelve of us.”

“We have to spoon – we’re a close crew,” Liam snorted as he entered the room, and approached a notice board between the two sets of bunks.

“Seriously?” Sara asked, not sure whether he was being sarcastic.

“Pfft, no,” Liam laughed and Jaal joined in, his booming laugh echoing in the room.

“Scott sleeps in his quarters. Most of the time he’s joined by a certain turian but even she prefers her room rather than this one. I sleep on my couch, can’t beat my couch.”

“Your couch is disgusting,” Jaal wrinkled his flat nose.

“You’re just jealous,” Liam replied before continuing, “Kallo just…doesn’t sleep? I have no idea where or if he sleeps. Lexi tends to stick to the medical bay and Peebee stays in the escape pod. Drack is way too big to fit in here; he’s normally passed out on the floor of the gallery.”

“And I sleep in the tech bay,” Jaal added.

“So that’s…” Sara went over the numbers in her head again, “oh there’s a free bunk.”

“Top right,” Liam winked at her. Sara placed her bag on the bunk Liam had indicated and turned back to Jaal, “did you say there’s a tech bay?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good!”

“I’ll show you the rest of the ship first,” Jaal said.

The rest of the ship consisted of the bridge, the escape pod and some boring meeting rooms that did have a pretty nice view.

“Here’s the tech bay,” Jaal said as they entered. It was a rather large room, and it was covered in bits of metal and other gadgets. At the end of the room was what looked like a mattress on the floor that was made haphazardly, overall the room felt lived in.

 “So this is your quarters?”

“Yes, at least – no one has kicked me out.”  

“Oh damn,” Sara said, “I really need a place where I can work on my tech.”

“Well, you’re free to work in here,” Jaal said very quickly.

“I wouldn’t be intruding?”

“Not at all!” Jaal said a little too enthusiastically, nevertheless Sara smiled at him and placed her box of trinkets and gadgets she had taken from the Hyperion.

“Scott doesn’t mod stuff?” Sara asked absent-mindedly, but turned to Jaal when he offered no response, he merely cocked an eye-ridge at her.

“Oh right…” Sara trailed off, slapping a hand to her forehead, “he’s biotic!”

“I didn’t know for months.”

“Wait, really?”

“Mmm,” Jaal murmured, suddenly not making eye-contact.

“That’s odd - Scott always made a show of flaunting his biotics, especially to piss me off.”

“You’re not biotic?”

“Nope,” Sara laughed, “not a shred of it. My father forced me to get biotic implants when I was 15 when Scott got his but I’ve never been able to do anything. I don’t even wear an amp.”

“Humans have amps?”

“Yeah?” Sara replied, she turned and held up her ponytail, parting her hair at the bottom of her head to reveal the empty amp port.

“I didn’t realise…I’m only familiar with asari biotics.”

“Are there no other biotic humans on the ship?”

“Cora is…but since I had asked Peebee I just assumed it was all the same,” Jaal shrugged.

“Oh gosh no,” Sara laughed, “asari are way more powerful than humans. Even an L2 biotic has nowhere near the power of an asari.”

“From what I’ve heard, Cora has trained with asari commandos,” Jaal started.

“I think I’ve heard that too,” Sara agreed, “she must have incredible spikes. Damn. Still though, Scott normally brags about his biotics to anyone who will listen – I’m rather stunned.”

“We don’t talk a lot,” Jaal turned away from Sara and pulled a pistol down from the shelf and began to tinker with it.

“Why?”

“It’s…” Jaal started, continuing to fiddle with the gun, “he and I don’t agree most of the time.”

“About?” Sara pressed on, wondering if Jaal would shy away. The impression she had gathered from the Hyperion was that Scott was well-liked and well-respected. But, like anything, there were always cracks below the surface.

“A lot of things,” Jaal said, “mainly to do with my people.”

“Seriously?” Sara asked, sceptical that Scott would be unsympathetic to the angara.

Jaal merely nodded, continuing to fiddle with the gun while Sara leant against the bench, deep in thought, “Scott’s…” Sara struggled to find the words to describe her brother, “I love him, but he can be difficult to get along with at times.”

“Yes!” Jaal said, looking up, “that’s exactly it. He’s a very capable leader from what I’ve seen, I just don’t agree with a lot of his decisions.”

“That’s fair,” Sara nodded, “everyone is not going to like everyone. Just remember, if you ever want to chat about something just come and find me, okay?”

“I will,” Jaal agreed, “thank you Sara; you are kind.”

“No problem,” Sara smiled back, a feeling rising in her gut that she couldn’t describe when her eyes met his. The soothing blue bought memories of the Pacific Ocean back to her, and her body was washed with nostalgia, of longing for a place she could never return to.

She clicked on to the feeling, Jaal feels like home.

Her stomach sunk.

Well, this is terrifying.

xXx

The journey to the first planet that Sara would be seeing in Andromeda, Eos, only took a few days but the time seemed to fly on the ship. She was always doing something; whether it was sitting with Suvi and Kallo on the bridge every morning, coffee in hand, to talk about something morally grey to spending time with Peebee in the escape pod meeting Poc and Zap (and getting to adopt Zap for her own personal use) or getting combat tips from Cora and Vetra (with Cora trying to demonstrate how an asari holds a weapon and Vetra adamantly correcting her saying that wouldn’t help Sara as she wasn’t biotic) – in many ways she felt a pang of sadness as the ship landed knowing that the very first part of her Andromeda journey was over.

The crew gathered in the cargo bay and Scott called them all into order. Sara looked her brother up and down, he was decked in full N7 armour but instead of the usual grey and red colour scheme he had coloured it green with a camo pattern. She rolled her eyes, trust her brother to look so pretentious.

She fiddled with the clasps of her standard Initiative armour, noting that she really needed to mod some of her own, and jealously looked at Scott’s again.

“Right, crew!” Scott clapped his hands together as the crew came to attention, “we’re in Prodromos for two nights. I’m taking Drack and Vetra with me on a small scout mission nearby, there’s some disturbance with Advent since we cut their water supply. Sara,” Sara snapped up when Scott said her name, “you’ll be going with Peebee and Jaal to that remnant vault nearby to see if we can dig up anything useful on the Jardaan or angara. Take Poc with you.”

“Sounds good,” Sara nodded; Peebee stared back at her with a huge grin on her face.

“Who’s taking the Nomad?” Liam asked, eagerly bouncing on his heels.

“Sara, Peebee and Jaal are,” Scott replied stiffly, and Liam stopped bouncing, “The rest of you are on shore leave. Any questions?”

No-one said anything, “dismissed,” Scott called out, signalling for Drack and Vetra to follow him. Sara looked around, unsure of what she was supposed to do. A hand clapped onto her shoulder and Gil smiled at her.

“I got you,” Gil said, “I’ll ready the Nomad – you go ready your guns with Peebee and Jaal.” Sara nodded, leaving Gil to prepare the vehicle while she grabbed her carnifex pistol and widow, strapping it to her back.

“You’re a sniper?” Peebee asked, and Jaal looked up in interest as he folded up his huge kett sniper rifle.

“Sure am,” Sara replied, finalising the settings on her omni tool to turn into a blade when readied, and nodded in approval.

Sara stepped into the sudden heat and dryness that no space station or fake planet could re-create. She breathed in the dry air, and kicked the red dust under her feet as Peebee and Jaal followed her.

“Welcome to Eos!” Liam cried happily as he came up next to her, holding a football with a cheeky grin on his face, “what do you think?”

“Looks like shit,” Sara replied honestly taking in the capital city Prodromos and its inhabitants.

Liam nudged her jokingly, “shhh don’t let the locals hear that!”

“It’s honestly a compliment; being on a real planet for the first time is the most refreshing experience,” Sara explained, “the red dust and tall rock formations reminds me of Mars. Believe me, this is great.”

“Huh,” Liam responded, “well, see ya!” he darted off toward some waiting people who he greeted. Sara watched with interest before stepping out of the way as the Nomad was removed from the Tempest.

“Have fun, don’t destroy it…blah blah,” Gil winked at her, and she pulled open the door and got inside.

“Can you drive a Nomad?” Jaal asked sceptically while Peebee climbed into the back and strapped herself in.

“I did on Mars,” Sara shrugged as she put it into gear, “well, that was a Mako but same difference.” The vehicle jolted forward when she tapped on the accelerator and Jaal’s head hit the dash, “okay…maybe not quite the same.”

The drive was relatively quick albeit jerky, and SAM kept them on the right path so that they didn’t get lost, which with Sara at the helm was very likely. Eventually after a stretch of desert a huge metal structure was very evident.

“Wow…” Sara remarked, suddenly feeling her heart rate increase as she eyed the vault, “we’re actually going in there?”

“Yup!” Peebee replied excitedly, climbing over Sara to get out of the Nomad. Sara was a little more hesitant, but followed her out and pulled the carnifex out to hold it close in case of any nearby threats.

But the closer that Sara got to the vault, the more her heart rate began to climb until it was noticeably throbbing in her chest. She tried to swallow a lump in her throat as they drew ever nearer, and Sara fell out of step with her crewmates.

“I….can’t,” Sara said suddenly, coming to a grinding halt well behind Peebee and Jaal.

“Hm?” Peebee asked as the both of them turned.

Sara felt her feet take her another step back, “I can’t go in there,” her headache started again and her head was pounding.

Jaal approached and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, “I don’t understand…the remnant are gone.”

“It’s not that,” Peebee shook her head at Jaal as she stood on Sara’s other side – the serious expression on her face made Sara realise she knew what was happening; “maybe we should head back?”

“No,” Sara snapped a little too aggressively, “I can do this,” she put one foot in front of the other, pushing her trembling body toward the vault. Her toes touched the metal surface and her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest.

She fell to her knees, her legs unable to support her weight. Her breaths caught in her chest and before she knew it she was sobbing into her gloved hands. The pain ripping through her body was unbearable; her head felt like it was going to explode.

“Sara?” Jaal asked, he knelt beside her and had a gentle arm around her shoulder. Sara could barely think about what was happening except that there was no way she was going into that vault. Flashes of pain ripped through her head, and along her nerves through her entire body.

“We’re gonna go back now,” Peebee said, her tone pure seriousness as she looked around unsure of what the hell to do.

“I’ll go get the Nomad,” Jaal said but Peebee shook her head, instead taking off back toward where the vehicle was parked. Jaal didn’t move; he kept his arm curled around her shoulders. Sara could barely contain her emotion – the tears were pouring thick and fast down her face and her muscles were shaking like a leaf.

The vehicle screeched to a halt beside them, and Peebee hopped out. Before Sara could even try to move, Jaal scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the Nomad. By this point, Sara’s spitting head pain and panic overtook her embarrassment. She was not going to live this down.

xXx

“What the hell happened?”

Scott marched toward them as they sat just outside the Tempest. Sara wasn’t shaking anymore but her heart was still throbbing in her chest, although it was at least going at a normal rate.

Sara opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t make the words come out. She could barely remember what had happened.

“Sara just…” Peebee trailed off, unable to think of an explanation for what happened.

“Sara had a panic attack,” Lexi said as she descended from the Tempest, “according to SAM as Sara approached the vault she fell and was unable to proceed.”   

“You’re kidding me?” Scott rubbed his face in his hands, “were there any enemies? I know you don’t have the most combat experience…”

“No enemies,” Sara spoke over her brother, “my combat experience is fine.”

“Then why?” Scott retorted.

“If I fucking knew, I’d tell you wouldn’t I?” Sara leapt to her feet, unable to contain the sudden rage fuelling inside her.

“Scott…” Lexi began but Scott cut across her.

“I send you on the easiest mission and you can’t even get inside the fucking vault?”

Sara’s vision went red, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning on her heel and storming off, unsure of where she was headed but all she knew was that she wanted to get away from Scott and everyone’s judgemental eyes.

“Let her go,” she heard Scott’s voice say behind her, but persistent footsteps followed.

“Kid…” a voice called from behind her. Drack was a few paces behind her, a concerned look on his face – an expression she had never seen on a krogan before.  

“What?” Sara snapped, a little more harshly than she would’ve liked.

“You good with a gun?”

“Yeah?”

“Good. Come with me.”

Sara stopped suddenly and eyed him sceptically, but Drack continued to look at her with the same genuine expression. She couldn’t see the harm, so she followed the huge krogan. The two of them walked in silence for a little while, before coming to a clearing filled with a small stronghold of kett.

Real kett.

“You’re not panicking?”

Sara held her breath for a few seconds, almost trying to will a panic attack…but nothing happened.

“Good,” Drack continued.

Sara looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and then toward the kett. She pulled the widow off of her back and stretched it out, placing an eye on the scope. At once her breathing synced into a familiar rhythm that she felt when shooting with a sniper rifle.

She took aim, eyeing the closest kett’s head through the scope. She inhaled, and on the exhale squeezed the trigger. The loud crack sounded through the clearing, and the kett she had aimed at fell over dead.

Sara smiled as she reloaded her weapon.

“Get that pistol of yours!” Drack called out, roaring at the kett as he vaulted over cover and charged at them. Sara couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips as she followed, partly using him as cover as she swapped to her pistol.

Rushing forward, she activated her jet pack and taking aim at a kett she propelled herself, readying her omni blade, and with the momentum of the landing sliced into its throat, killing it instantly. She held up her pistol firing a shot into the head of another.

She rolled into cover and the crunch of Drack head-butting one pulled her attention for a split second before a bullet whizzed past her uncovered head. She ducked again and fiddled with the settings on her omni tool, setting them to flamethrower.

Sara cloaked, feeling the familiar tingle of being ‘invisible’ and pushed out of cover, holding up her omni-tool and using her flamethrower to incinerate the last two kett left in the little holding. They screamed and withered under the pain of the fire, and Sara smiled as she holstered her pistol.

“Feel better?” Drack asked as he looted the enemies.

“I do,” Sara replied, “how did you know they’d be here?”

“They’re always here,” Drack explained, “every time we’re on Eos I come here and sure enough there’s at least six kett standing in here. I don’t get it.”

“Me either but I know where to come when I need to calm down.”

Drack gave a belly laugh, “you sure do kid.”

They walked back through the city of Prodromos, Sara dreading going back to the ship and facing Scott.

“You’re a good shot, and you’re smart,” Drack started, and Sara paused to look up at the krogan, “everyone is facing their own demons – it just might take a while for Scott to realise that.”

“Thanks, Drack,” Sara said in a small voice, and he smiled at her.

They reached the Tempest and Drack made his way inside while Sara’s eyes were drawn to several of the crew carrying chairs, blankets and baskets away from the ship and walking to what looked like a cliff overlooking the town.

Cora emerged from the ship holding three chairs of her own, the blue around her hands indicating biotics were aiding her.

“What’s going on?” Sara asked, walking next to Cora and taking a chair from her grasp.

“Campfire night,” Cora replied, “it’s just a night where we slow down and spend time with each other.”

“Slow down? You mean drink and do dumb shit,” Liam added coming up on Sara’s other side.

Sara perked up, “does Scott normally join you?”

“He does,” Cora replied, raising an eyebrow at Sara who quickly looked away. They reached the clifftop and Suvi, Gil and Kallo were already setting chairs up while Scott was trying to light a fire with Vetra shadowing over him.

The day began to turn into night – the sun setting on the horizon was a sight to behold and Sara couldn’t help stare at it as she sat around the campfire with the Tempest crew. Drack had prepared stereotypical campfire food from a number of species and everyone feasted. She breathed it all in, everyone was talking, laughing, eating and drinking together.

After the food the crew began to sprawl out. Somehow, Scott had ended up in the same chair as Vetra and was smooshed in beside her. He looked squished but the happiest she had seen him in a while.

Jaal moved his chair closer to Sara, “are you feeling okay?”

Sara nodded, wanting to put the memories of today behind her, “I’m fine.”

Jaal took the hint and didn’t reply, instead placing a hand over Sara’s and staring at the fire. Sara couldn’t help the small smile that crossed her face at Jaal’s touch.  

“We should play some party games!” Liam spoke up suddenly.

“Got anything in mind?” Suvi asked.

Sara looked around before sitting up, she didn’t know the crew very well and this was her first chance to get to know them properly.

“How about ‘Never Have I Ever?’” Sara asked the group at large. The human crewmates were nodding in agreement while the alien members were looking around in confusion.

“I don’t know what this is, but I’m down,” Peebee said.

“It’s a drinking game. Someone will say ‘never have I ever’ followed by something they’ve never done. Whoever has done that thing takes a drink,” Sara explained.

“I knew this would be fun!” Peebee almost growled in excitement.

“You should start Sara!” Gil said.

“Oh shit, okay,” Sara replied, “hmm…never have I ever…shaved my head.”

“Seriously?” Kallo piped up while Scott, Liam and Cora took a drink. The alien crew rolled their eyes.

“You haven’t shaved your head Gil?” Cora asked.

Gil scoffed, “and get rid of this?” he asked pointing to his head, “Who do you think I am?”

“Your turn Cora!” Liam cried.

The game continued around the circle with various people taking drinks. Peebee was clearly winning, taking a drink every time someone had said something and by the time it got to Kallo she was swaying slightly. Her sips had been significantly larger than most.  

“Alrightly, never have I ever tried to sleep with Jien Garson,” Kallo smiled across the campfire at Suvi who took a drink, along with Peebee.

“Peebee, seriously?” Vetra asked.

“Hey it’s not my fault I’m adventurous.”

“I hate you Kallo,” Suvi muttered.

“You tried to sleep with Jien Garson?” Cora asked incredulously.

“’Tried’ is a word,” Suvi explained, “I attempted to while very drunk and it didn’t go down well. Tried to invent some excuse to cover my tracks, I think she saw right through it.”

“I’ve come to the conclusion from this game that humans are very fun when intoxicated,” Jaal said.

“Mate, we’re fun all the time!” Liam said, “It’s your turn anyway!”

“Never have I ever been to the Milky Way,” Jaal said with a smug expression on his face.

“You’re an asshole Jaal,” Sara laughed as she took a swig of her drink.

“Bellend!” Liam laughed. The rest of the crew laughed and the silliness yet legitness of Jaal’s answer.

“Shit, I don’t know if I have one…” Sara hiccoughed. Aside from Peebee, Sara had taken the most drinks and her headache had returned – at least this time it wasn’t from crippling anxiety, “how about…” she looked over at Scott who had had the least drinks of anyone, “never have I ever kissed a turian.”

Scott rolled his eyes, “dammit Sara,” he said and took a drink; along with Vetra, Peebee, Lexi and Suvi.

“You Lexi?”

“She didn’t specify where and I have kissed my father on the cheek.”

“KNEW IT!” Sara cried, “Knew you had a turian dad!”

“I can one-up this,” Cora answered, “Never have I ever kissed a batarian!”

Sara looked around guiltily before taking a swig, with Peebee joining her enthusiastically.

“Okay,” Scott piped up, “Peebee I totally understand – but you Sara? What?!”

Sara shrugged, “I was eighteen and very, very drunk.”

“Eighteen!? You were with Goya then!”

“Who’s Goya?” Vetra asked.

“She was my asari partner in the Milky Way,” Sara answered, “a few friends and I went to Omega on our shore leave – it was not my idea, I wanted to go to the Citadel – I got stupidly drunk and this batarian was there and I don’t know what happened or how but the next thing I knew I was making out with him on the dancefloor.”

The crew roared with laughter, “same story here,” Peebee said.

“I never told Goya,” Sara continued, “technically we were on a break but that’s a long story. I didn’t actually know if I did it or dreamt it up until I saw the shallow cuts on my lips.”

“He hurt you?” Jaal sounded horrified.

“No, no,” Sara replied, squeezing Jaal’s hand to give him some reassurance, “batarian teeth are very sharp, so the cuts weren’t intentional. I think I can even remember him apologizing.”

“How have we never played this game before?” Peebee asked.

Sara smiled, sinking into her chair just a little and resting her head on Jaal’s shoulder. Night had well and truly fallen and Sara felt at peace staring at the stars that were very unfamiliar to her.

“Enjoying yourself?” Jaal whispered.

“I am, yes,” Sara replied quietly. Jaal chuckled under his breath and Sara closed her eyes, enjoying the peace.

CRACK

The Tempest crew leapt to their feet, scrambling for weapons and cover as the gunshot sounded. Sara pulled her carnifex out and sought shelter behind a rock. She cursed herself for not having her helmet or her chest and arm amour, she couldn’t activate night-vision and had no protection for the top half of her body.  

The shots from the distance kicked up dirt on the ground. Gil, Kallo and Suvi ducked for cover behind everyone else as they had no combat experience. Drack charged forward into the darkness, his roars echoing around the landscape. Vetra was shooting wildly, her visor providing her with the necessary night-vision. Scott, Peebee and Cora rushed forward, biotics flaring with Lexi a little behind them.  

“Enemies cleared,” SAM’s voice called out a little while later and Sara pulled out of cover, along with everyone else. Half of the crew had not been armed and some like Sara had been unable to see anything.

“What the fuck was that?” Liam asked as everyone made their way to where the shots had come from.

“Kett?” Gil asked.

“Those weren’t kett weapons,” Jaal grunted, “and they didn’t sound like angaran weapons either.”

“Or remnant,” Peebee added.

The crew approached the bodies, and Sara bent forward to examine one. From the darkness it was hard to distinguish but she recognised familiar shapes – the bent legs, the three fingered hand and the bio-suit.

“This is a quarian.”

Chapter Text

“This is no quarian,” Scott declared as he used his omni-tool like a torch and illuminated the body in front of them, “this is a kett.”

“Is it?” Liam asked.

Sara looked closer; at closer inspection it wasn’t exactly a quarian – but it wasn’t exactly a kett either. What Sara thought was a quarian’s suit was actually bony armour configured into what looked like a tangle of wires. If anything, it looked over-armoured to be a quarian but the backward legs and three fingered hands along with the humanoid figure were dead giveaways. The quarian-kett had dark eyes and was very pale compared to an angara-kett.

“There’s more than just quarians here,” Vetra called out as she examined another body. Sara rushed over to see Vetra staring at a pair of what looked like drell spliced with kett. She winced internally; the idea that the kett were mutating such a rare species was nauseating.

They had the same facial structure, but it was covered in the same bony structure of all kett. The five fingers on their hands had the fused middle fingers like drell have, but they were much thinner compared to angara-kett, and were covered in a fine sheen like they had just come out of a shower.

“But those were not kett weapons!” Jaal argued.

“Because they’re not,” Vetra replied. She pulled the gun out of the kett-quarian’s grasp and held it into the light being illuminated from flashlights. Jaal snatched the weapon from her grasp and examined it carefully.

“It looks like a kett weapon?” Peebee questioned.

“It’s…strange. I will need to study this,” Jaal replied, holding the gun firmly in his grasp.

 “There’s more drell than quarians here,” Scott announced, looking over the bodies.  

“That’s horrifying – it’s not like there’s a lot of drell in the first place,” Sara trailed off.

“Drell would be more advantageous to the kett compared to quarians,” Lexi explained, “I can’t think of a reason why they’d use quarians in the first place.”

“Engineers?” Gil asked, “I’d kill to have a quarian as my co-worker, although they might end up replacing me.”

“Perhaps,” Lexi bemused, “but why bring them into combat?”

Sara shook her head because she didn’t have answer.

“How?” Cora muttered, bending down and placing a hand on the deceased quarian-kett, “how did this happen? No one knows where the quarian ark is…”

“Clearly the kett do,” Sara replied, a lump rising in her throat.

“Maybe this isn’t a quarian?” Liam asked hopefully, but everyone shook their head.

“There’s no mistaking either of these species,” Scott grimaced.

“But how did they find out?” Vetra asked; a slight edge of anxiety present in her voice.

“Maybe they just stumbled across it in darkspace?” Peebee suggested, but no one answered. Like Sara they were probably too horrified with what was going on. Sara shuddered to think the torture everyone on the quarian ark was being subjected to.   

“We need to return to the Nexus as soon as possible,” Scott ordered after a period of silence, “grab some of these bodies, let’s take them with us.”

“I would advise not to touch the drell-kett hybrids without protection,” SAM explained, “They are coated in a thin layer of drell venom that the kett have exemplified to cause severe hallucinogenic effects in every known species, including angara.”

“Well, shit,” Peebee scratched her head. Cora stepped forward, and using her biotics picked the larger of the two drell-kett hybrids and hovered it slightly in front of her. Drack picked up the quarian-kett none too gently and threw it over his shoulders.

Prodromos was quiet as they made their way down the hill, Sara taking one final look over the planet before stepping into the Tempest. She shook out her nerves before retreating into the crew quarters to strip out of her armour and into her blasto tank top and trackpants. She felt twitchy, and her previous drunken stupor had been replaced by a pressing anxiety.

She didn’t know who to turn to. Her first choice would’ve been her brother, but for the first time in a long time she didn’t feel like talking to him. She hadn’t properly spoken to him since their argument, and Sara did not feel like delving into that again. Her next choice would be Jaal, but since this was a reality the angara faced daily she didn’t feel venting all of her problems would help, she felt it would make Jaal’s pain worse.

As if summoned, Suvi Anwar entered the crew quarters and started slightly when she saw Sara pacing up and down the small space with no clear purpose.

“Sara…” Suvi’s eyes were following Sara, “yeh okay?”

“Just a little anxious…” Sara replied, stopping mid-way through her pace to stare at Suvi. The woman looked concerned, and placed the datapads she had been holding on a nearby table.  

“Would yeh like a cuppa?” Suvi asked. Sara shrugged, following Suvi into the gallery. She thumped down into her usual seat at the table and watched Suvi put the kettle on while fetching mugs and tea leaves.

“Is it always like this?” Sara asked bitterly, folding her arms onto the table and resting her head on them.

“Like?” Suvi repeated.

“This!” Sara said with more venom in her voice than she had intended, she toned it back as she continued, “the constant horror. I knew this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, but…I don’t know. This is hard.”

“Not always,” Suvi replied, pouring out two cups of tea and placing one in front of Sara, “there are good moments too.”

“So far this has just gone from bad to worse,” Sara sighed, taking a sip of her tea and trying not to flinch as she remembered that she hated tea. She smiled at what she hoped was gratefully at Suvi.

“Are yeh feeling better after what happened this afternoon?” Suvi asked gently, also taking a sip of her tea.

“News travels fast,” Sara scoffed as she took another sip of tea and resisted the urge to gag.

“Sorry,” Suvi replied, “I was just worried about yeh. Yeh’ve been through a lot.”

Sara stared at Suvi and instantly felt remorse for how she was behaving. Her problems were not Suvi’s fault, and Sara knew she shouldn’t be taking her suppressed anger out on Suvi, especially when she was trying to help.

“Better, but still embarrassed,” Sara replied, swirling the tea in her cup.

“It happens to everyone,” Suvi replied.

“I just…” Sara struggled to find the words, “I don’t know what happened.”

“Do you not remember what happened?”

“Oh I remember,” Sara stated before pressing on, “it’s more…the one thing I wanted to do before I left for Andromeda was explore ancient cultures I knew nothing about. When I woke up and heard about the vaults, all I wanted to do was explore them but for some reason I panicked on Eos.”

Sara felt tears come to her eyes and she blinked, trying to push them away as she continued, “it’s not what I envisioned when I closed my eyes in my stasis pod.”

“I don’t think any of us were expecting this,” Suvi replied, and placed her hand on Sara’s arm.

“Scott was angry,” Sara said quietly.

“Have yeh spoken to him?”

“No, not after the fight we had,” Sara stared at the door of the gallery but wasn’t really seeing it. They were silent for a few beats.

“Do you mind if I go to bed?” Sara asked abruptly.

“Not at all,” Suvi replied, gathering Sara’s almost untouched mug, “I hope you feel better soon.” Sara watched as the woman’s smile fell off of her face.

She placed a hand on Suvi’s shoulder, and her turquoise eyes met Sara’s, “Thank you for listening.”

Suvi merely gave a melancholy smile before washing the mugs, and Sara left without a backward glance. She climbed into bed, making sure not to wake Cora and Gil, the latter was actually sleeping for once.

She stared at the low ceiling of her bunk and wished for sleep.

xXx

Sara was trapped in the torture chair once more. Physical barriers weren’t necessary when her very mind was being controlled to the point where escape was not a feasible option. She tried to make out her surroundings, but only recognised the grey metal of a vault.

“HELP!” Sara cried out, willing someone to come to her aid. Where was the Tempest crew?

“Resistance is pointless,” The Archon stepped out of the shadows, looming over her as she quivered under his frightening gaze.

“No…you’re dead.”

He smiled; his pointed teeth evident as he lowered his head so he and Sara were practically nose to nose.

“Perfection never dies.”

The Archon transformed, in his place stood another kett. Sara met its eyes, and her own were staring back at her.

She screamed.

“Sara? SARA!”

Her name was being used, but by whom she had no idea – the babble of voices sounded very far away. Slowly, her body began to come under her control once more. She was on a hard surface. It wasn’t the chair at least, but it still hurt.  

Her eyelids opened to reveal that she was lying on the floor of the Tempest and she was surrounded by people. The voices began to come into focus, “are you okay?”

“What happened?” Sara asked groggily, trying to sit up.

Cora was bent over her, eyes scanning for injury and a face full of concern. Gil and Suvi loomed in the background watching with identical worried expressions.

 “You screamed,” Cora answered, “and fell out of bed.”

“It took a good few minutes to wake you up,” Gil added as Lexi bustled into the room, followed by a concerned looking Kallo. Sara groaned, just what I need she thought to herself, more people.

“I just had a nightmare,” Sara replied quietly, rubbing at her aching head. The ever present hum of her normal headache was there along with a throbbing superficial pain on the left side of her head – probably where it had hit the cold floor. She looked down, and noticed she was not supporting her weight using her left arm.

Lexi pushed past Cora and opened her omni-tool, running the scanning program over Sara before grimacing, “can you come with me?”

“Why?” Sara groaned, wanting more than anything to just go back to bed.

“Because you have a fracture in your arm and I need to treat it,” Lexi replied in a matter of fact tone. Sara’s next groan was a mixture of annoyance and pain as she got to her feet. Great, of course she had to be the one to fracture her arm in her sleep.

Sara followed Lexi into the med-bay and took a seat on the one of the cots as Lexi began making notes on a datapad.

“This is a fucking joke,” Sara muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“Just wait until Scott finds out about this. He lost his shit when I had a panic attack in the field, he’s going to pop a blood vessel when he finds out I broke my arm in my sleep.”

Lexi’s face twisted into what Sara thought was a smile but it looked like she was in pain instead, “they said you screamed in your sleep…do you remember why?”

“I had a nightmare,” Sara rubbed the back of her neck with her good hand.

“About?”

“I don’t know…it’s not important anyway. It’s just a nightmare.”

Lexi raised an eye ridge and folded her arms while Sara rolled her eyes and refused to answer further.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I said I forgot, would you?”

“No,” Lexi confirmed, “I wouldn’t.”

“Dammit,” Sara muttered, she didn’t feel like talking about something she enjoyed, much less the nightmares that plagued her every night, “you’re not going to relent, are you?”

“Probably not,” Lexi said as she went through the procedure of trying to repair Sara’s arm.

Sara sighed, “It’s always the same thing.” Lexi didn’t speak so Sara continued, “it’s always me…being tortured by the Archon…” Sara winced at the words, she hated saying that aloud, “and then someone I love is turned into a kett.”

“Ah,” Lexi said.

“It’s been Scott most of the time,” Sara continued to explain, “but in that last dream I don’t know whether it was me or Scott.”

“Have these happened since Meridian?”

“Since I left? They were happening before I left.”

“They weren’t mentioned in your psychological evaluation,” Lexi frowned slightly as she went through a datapad. Sara could see her own face and a huge document attached with notes on it.

“I’ve never thought to bring it up,” Sara rubbed the back of her neck with her good hand again, her mind drifting.

“I think we need to start your cognitive therapy sooner rather than later, I’m booking you in for a session when we reach the Nexus.”

Sara pouted, “fine.”

“This is not a game Sara; I don’t want to have to send you back to Meridian.”

Sara turned away from Lexi, and her eyes fell onto the cots behind her where she screamed in fright at the sight of the dead bodies of the two kett hybrids they had taken from Eos.

“Are you alright?” Lexi put a steady hand on Sara’s shoulder as her legs threatened to give way and her heart felt ready to evacuate her chest.

“Just…uh…wasn’t expecting our…guests…to be right here,” Sara felt her heart rate steadying as she took in the dead bodies. The drell hybrid was oozing the poison as well as a sickly looking blood, but Sara wasn’t sure which was which.

“Sorry about that, I should’ve warned you,” Lexi replied.

“How did I not notice this?” Sara asked herself as she sat back down and Lexi resumed examining her. After several minutes, Lexi stood back up, “okay, you’re all patched up – just keep your arm in a sling for about a week ship time,” Lexi explained, and Sara nodded and made to leave but the door open to reveal a very dishevelled Scott.

“SAM woke me; he said something was wrong with Sara?” Scott asked, looking between the asari and his sister, his eyes narrowing in on Sara’s arm in a sling.

“I uh…” Sara looked away, unable to meet Scott’s eyes. She still had not spoken to Scott properly since the fight, and she did not want to start now.

“Sara fell out of bed and fractured her arm,” Lexi explained, “she’s fine, I’ve patched her up and she should be fine in a few days.”

“Right,” Scott put a hand on his hip and ran his fingers through his hair, and from the looks of things Scott wasn’t about to discuss the fight or anything else either. He simply nodded at the both of them and departed, the doors snapping shut behind him.

Sara half-smiled at Lexi before leaving as well, returning to the crew quarters to find Cora standing idly.

Sara raised an eyebrow, “uh…?”

“I’ve swapped bunks with you,” Cora said and climbed into the top bunk, “just as a precaution.”

“Right,” Sara said stiffly, annoyed that she had no say in the matter, but climbed into the lower bunk which was now covered with her sheets and snuggling in gratefully. It looked as though someone had left one of the stuffed toys on the bed too, and Sara grabbed it – wanting something to hold.

Sleep could not come fast enough.

xXx

“Sara, it is now time to wake up.”

The world was blurry and it took Sara’s eyes several minutes to adjust. For a wild second she thought the night before had been a dream, but as she tried to stretch out her arm, it caught against the sling and she sighed.

Great, so last night had happened.

“I don’t wanna wake up SAM,” Sara rolled over in bed and slammed her eyes shut, hoping that sleep would reclaim her.

“We have reached the Nexus,” SAM simply stated, which caused Sara to smack her head against the bunk.

“Shit,” she mumbled, grasping her head with her good arm before scrambling out of bed. Everyone else had starting working, and from the looks of things the ship was well and truly in the day cycle. Sara bustled around the room looking for clothing and quickly through her usual Initiative attire on before frowning in the mirror at her hair.

“I can’t tie my hair up,” Sara complained, before unslinging her arm and performing the usual motions to put her hair in a ponytail, sending a stinging sensation through her arm. She squinted against the pain, secured her locks and made her way into the kitchen for her usual coffee.

The ship was quiet, and Sara was enjoying the relative peace as she sipped her coffee in the empty space, “SAM, where is everyone?”

“The majority of the crew are on the Nexus, while the Pathfinder is still on the ship greeting Nexus crew.”

“Oh shit that’s right,” Sara tossed the rest of her coffee into the sink, “our guests!”

Making sure her pants and shoes were on, Sara made her way to the bridge but frowned when Scott was nowhere to be seen – then proceeded to check what felt like every room before spotting him in the cargo bay.

Several individuals of various races had already boarded, and Sara shuffled awkwardly past them giving what she thought was a smile before reaching her brother.

“Scott!” Sara called out, and Scott jumped as though she had shocked him. His eyes widened as Sara approached.

“Sara,” Scott replied awkwardly, his eyes darting to the open door where the last of the people had entered, “how’s your arm?”

“It’s fine,” Sara said, “…am I joining you on the valuation of those kett we found?”

“Ah – no. Not today.”

“Why?” Sara demanded, placing her good hand on her hip and glaring at Scott suspiciously.

“Tann’s orders,” Scott stated, but Sara knew he was lying through his teeth.

“What? Seriously?”

Scott sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, “yes. Leave now, please,” he added the pleasantry to seem polite.

He darted off after the group of people who had come aboard the Tempest before Sara could even form a response, leaving her standing stupidly in the cargo bay with no goal for her day.

“Fucking-,” she muttered under her breath before vacating the Tempest. She turned to look at the Tempest as she walked out and bumped into something very solid.

She rubbed at her aching head and looked up to see a very bewildered Jaal staring at her.

“Jaal!”

“Sara! Are you al-did I do that?” Jaal’s voice went up an octave as he glanced at her arm.

“No, no,” Sara reassured him, “I fell out of bed last night, it’s all fine. Trust me, you did not cause this.”

“You ‘fell out of bed’? Is that an idiom?”

She couldn’t contain her laughter, “no, I literally fell out of bed.”

“Oh…” Jaal seemed confused, but his laughter rumbled in his chest.  

“Anyway, where are you off to?”

“The cultural centre…would you like to-?”

“Come? Yes.”

Jaal’s face lit up, “great!”

“Great!” Sara repeated excitedly; the two of them walking along the platform together and Sara marvelling in the beauty of the station.

“You look at the Nexus like it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen,” Jaal commented.

“Hm? Oh, well, it reminds me of home.”

“Home?”

“I was born and grew up on the Citadel, which was a massive space station back in the Milky Way – much bigger than this. But, it still reminds me of home.”

Aliens of various species, including humans, were staring at her. Whether it was the arm in the sling, or the fact she was Scott’s sister she didn’t know. Sara looked down at her arm to see that her good arm had secured itself around Jaal’s.

Well, that could explain the staring Sara thought to herself.

She looked at their linked arms, but shrugged it off. Angara were affectionate, she was stressed and needing the companionship – it would all be fine.

That’s what she kept thinking anyway.

They entered the cultural centre, and Sara was greeted to a long room that sloped upward with several VI’s of various Milky Way races. A few angara stared at her and Jaal curiously, but Sara shrugged it off again.  

“Oh god, I’m already embarrassed,” Sara laughed, “where should we start?”

“The top and work our way down?” Jaal suggested. Sara nodded in agreement and moved to the top of the room, starting at the asari VI. They worked their way through each species and Sara couldn’t decide what was worse. Whether it be flushing with embarrassment at the cringe-worthy human or laughing hysterically at the rest of them.

“I wonder how many credits they paid this krogan,” Sara chuckled, “I’ve never heard something so terrible in my life.” She noted a few nasty looks from angara as she spoke, and looked away awkwardly, “let’s check out what the pathfinder has to say.”

As they approached Sara noticed the visual image looked eerily familiar to her; and when they came face to face she knew it instantly.

It was Alec Ryder.  

“Holy shit,” Sara whispered, reaching out to touch the VI of her father but instead her fingers fell through the projection. She grimaced slightly.

“Dad…” Sara said to the VI, as if she were willing it to respond. It did nothing; the orange outline of Alec continued to stare through her vacantly, sending chills down her spine. It was so similar to him it was scary, the projection stood at Alec’s actual height – which was the same as Scott’s. It felt like he was really here.  

“Why did they choose you?” Sara wondered aloud.

“We alternate between the original pathfinders daily,” the asari who managed the place replied as she walked by them.

Sara felt Jaal’s steady arm wrap around her waist, and she rested her head gently against his shoulder, “I’ll show you something,” Jaal said to her and stood tall facing the VI, “tell me about you.”

The VI reset itself as it entered a pre-recorded speech, “My name is Alec Ryder, and I am the first human pathfinder. I was born in the Sierra Nevada region of North America, a country on Earth – humanity’s home world. In the Milky Way I was an N7, an elite operative within humanity’s military. I joined the Andromeda Initiative with my two adult children: Scott and Sara Ryder. In time, I am certain that like me they will achieve many great things in the Andromeda galaxy.”

“Wow…” Sara said, her feelings swirling into confusion. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She wanted to laugh at the thought of Alec having to say the lines and cringing with every word, but she wanted to cry because these lines were some of the last material he had spoken about.  

It hit her in the chest that she hadn’t gotten to see or speak to her father in Andromeda. The only living memories she had were in the Milky Way. But, seeing the hologram made her feel like she had a memory of him in Andromeda.

“Thank you Jaal,” Sara whispered as she felt her good arm come up and wrap around Jaal’s waist.

“You’re welcome,” Jaal hummed, they were silent as they made their way out of the Cultural Centre and stood outside, gazing at the Tempest.

“Do you reckon we should head back?” Jaal asked.

“Naah,” Sara replied and Jaal laughed, his deep voice vibrating in his chest and his poncho flowing effortlessly with the motion.  

“What is this thing called?” Sara asked, letting go of Jaal’s waist and grabbing the material in her fingertips. 

“It is a rofjinn,” Jaal explained.

Sara stared at him and raised an eyebrow quizzically, Jaal pressed on, “a garment angara wear.”

“No, really?” Sara asked sarcastically, and Jaal sniggered in response, slapping her shoulder lightly.

“They’re often considered special or important, I can make you one if you’d like?”

Sara inhaled sharply, “really? I’d love that!”

Jaal smiled, “then I will, although I did promise Liam one as well.”

Sara chuckled, “you better give him one first, he might get angry if you don’t.”

They chuckled, and stared at the ship together, “also…that weapon you took from the quarian, did you find out anything useful?”

Jaal hummed, “It was…bizarre. It wasn’t a normal kett weapon; it has the shape and overall feel of one, it handles like one but the bullets were modified to fire like Milkee Whey weapons.”

“That’s…weird,” Sara said, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

“I agree, and so did the pathfinder – he took the gun after I told him to show the Nexus leadership.”

“Of course he did,” Sara rolled her eyes while staring back at the Tempest, zeroing in on a blue figure running from the ship, no not running – skipping.

“Is that…Lexi?” Jaal asked curiously.

“It can’t be,” Sara replied. Their questions were answered however when Peebee came skipping through the terminal and skidded to a halt beside them.

“Guess what Jaal? I have great news for you!”

“Every time you say that it’s never great news,” Jaal pouted, “it’s usually awful news.”

“We’re going to Kadara!” Peebee said in a sing-song voice before skipping off, and Jaal groaned audibly.

“I hate Kadara,” Jaal grumbled, stomping toward the ship with Sara hurrying to catch up, and she caught his wrist to bring him to a stop.

“Hey – it can’t be that bad, right?”

Jaal’s homely eyes met hers, all good humour gone, “Just wait and see.”

Chapter Text

SCOTT

Scott Ryder glanced over his shoulder at Sara’s retreating form, and sighed.

He wanted to include her in the top secret need-to-know pathfinder business, but he couldn’t seem to shake the idea that something was off about her, he just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Drack had reported to him that her military finesse was up to scratch when they had taken out kett on Eos and Cora had added that her fitness program was well-followed with Sara fitting in routine fitness sessions and combat practice.

He moved Sara out of his mind as he made his way to the cargo bay where Lexi was waiting with several members of the Nexus team. The Nexus scientists – Adriana, Herik and Lucan he believed they were called – looked at him intently with a restless Harry Carlyle standing in the back with his arms folded. Tann, Addison, Kesh and Kandros were also present. Scott had to admit he was surprised to see the turian with them.  

‘Kandros is interested in potential battle strategies’ SAM answered on the private channel and Scott nodded.

“Pathfinder, can you explain, in detail, exactly what happened?” Addison asked while he noted the others were staring intently. Lexi eyed him from the back as she ran what looked like the umpteenth scans over the corpses.

“It was late on Eos, and the crew and I were having down-time,” Scott explained, and he didn’t miss the annoyed glare on Addison’s face. He knew she didn’t approve of the amount of shore leave Scott gave his crew, but he didn’t care, “we heard gunfire, these kett hybrids came out of the dark and did not speak, they simply attacked. My crew and I thought they were quarians at first.”

“How many?” Kesh asked curiously.

“Six,” Scott answered, “four of what we believe to be kett/drell hybrids and two of what we believe are kett/quarian hybrids. We only salvaged two, one of each.”

“Your report mentioned that the weapons were not kett in design?” Herik asked as he and Lucan examined them closely.

“Somewhat. My angaran crewmate informed me that while the weapons mimic kett design, they are like our weapons when they fire, and take our ammunition.”

“He’s right,” Lucan said as Kesh made her way over to help pull the weapon apart.  

“We’ll need to run some tests, and with your permission we will examine the reports that Dr T’Perro has written,” Harry said and Scott nodded at him, they needed this mystery solved, “it should only take a few hours pathfinder, we’ll need all the space you can give us.”

“Duly noted,” Scott replied, backing out of the med-bay. The advisors followed and Scott found himself standing in the hallway with no current plan.

“We will return when the scientists finish their work,” Tann said and Scott nodded, watching as they departed. He made his way to the cargo bay to make sure everything was in order when he noticed a pair of legs poking out from underneath the Nomad.

“Gil?”

“Right here,” came Gil’s familiar tones as he wheeled himself out from underneath the vehicle, “what can I do for you?”

“Have you been on the ship the entire time?”

“Came back a bit ago; just checking over the Nomad and making sure she’s fit for duty. Kosta’s on the other side helping with the tyres.”

“I thought I sent you guys out on shore leave?”

“We came back, you didn’t exactly bar us from the ship,” Liam explained. As per usual, he wasn’t wearing a shirt and had a smear of what looked like oil on his face and his chest, “anyways, we thought you’d be up for a game?”

“Poker?”

“Of course poker,” Gil said, “you free?”

Scott had emails to do and more reports to write, but he shrugged, “yeah sure.”

“Great!” Gil chirped, jumping up from the Nomad and wiping his hands on a cloth before Scott followed them into Liam’s room. He cringed when he took a seat on Liam’s couch, hating every second he spent on his disgusting seat. Liam handed he and Gil a beer, maybe the alcohol would take his mind off of the couch.

Liam dealed the first game; and it went terribly – even by Scott’s miserable standards.

“I fold!” Liam slammed his cards down on the table while Gil greedily flicked his gaze between Scott and the chips on the table.

“Come on Ryder…you know I’m gonna win this.”

Scott sighed, “Fine, I fold as well.”

“Come to papa!” Gil laughed as he grabbed all of the chips and greedily pulled them toward himself.

Scott rolled his eyes, “why do I agree to these games?”

“Admit it, you like losing all of your hard earned credits to me!” Gil said as he was counting out his chips.

“One of these days…” Liam warned, but Gil merely burst out laughing.

“How’s your sister finding everything?” Gil asked conversationally as Liam shuffled the cards to play another round.

Scott didn’t know how to answer that question – Sara had been unusually distant as of late, and they hadn’t spoken properly since their fight.

“I think she’s fine, I haven’t spoken to her very much,” Scott trailed off, not feeling like going into that particular conversation with Liam or Gil. Not that he didn’t like them, but he struggled with this sort of stuff with Vetra let alone anyone else.

“She’s a bit of a looker I will admit,” Liam commented idly as he looked at his cards. 

“Liam, seriously?” Gil questioned. 

“Don’t even go there Liam,” Scott said darkly, immediately coming to the defence.

“What?” Liam shrugged, his voice rising.

“I may be your ‘mate’, but Sara is my sister. Plus, she’s not into you anyway – she only likes women.”

“Has she said that?” Gil asked.

Scott opened his mouth to speak but closed it again, thinking about his response carefully, “not…directly. Every time I’ve asked she’s said she just picks a person for who they are, not what they are. But, she’s only ever shown interest in women.”

“Hm, okay,” Gil said, taking a sip of his beer.

“I’m already betting she’ll hook up with Peebee,” Scott commented idly, as he fiddled with a chip, “she had an asari partner in the Milky Way – no doubt it’ll happen here too.”

Liam roared with laughter, “Peebee? Yeah right! From what I’ve seen every morning Sara wakes up, gets her coffee and sits by Suvi’s side on the bridge. Unless she’s into salarians – she’s going to be dating Suvi. Suvi’s always flustered around her!” 

“Yeah but we’re not betting on Suvi, we’re betting on Sara,” Scott argued, “once you go blue you never go back. She’s with Peebee all the time; it’s going to be Peebee.”

“Are you willing to bet on it?” Liam asked, “Real money bet?”

Scott arched an eyebrow, “yeah, sure.  I bet 500 credits that Sara will be dating Peebee within the next three months.”

“500 on Suvi,” Liam replied, “Gil – do you want to add a bet?”

Scott turned to the engineer, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist the idea of betting money. He sat in thought for a while before finally piping up “1000 on Jaal.”

“What?” Scott and Liam asked together.

“Care to explain?” Liam asked.

“Nope,” Gil said.

“Jaal makes no sense at all! I mean, the big oaf seems to be friendly with her but there’s just no way that they’ll be a couple,” Scott explained, “Jaal’s a soppy marshmallow with everyone except…”

“You,” Gil finished for him.

“Yeah, well,” Scott rubbed at the back of his neck, “he and I just don’t see eye to eye. But, I’m sure that they’re never going to date.”

“If you’re so sure this should be an easy bet,” Gil replied.

“Deal then?” Scott asked arching an eyebrow, and both Liam and Gil nodded shaking hands on it. Scott’s omnitool bleeped, and he looked to see that the scientists and medical professionals had finished their analysis.  

“I best be off gentlemen,” Scott stretched, his joints cracking and exited Liam’s room and moved toward the med-bay, wondering what the scientists had found with the kett.

As he crossed the cargo bay, he spotted Sara, Jaal and Peebee entering the ship. The three of them were laughing together, and Scott noted that Peebee was in the middle of them and had her arm wrapped around Sara’s waist, with Sara’s arm over Peebee’s shoulders.

Yup, he was going to be earning himself a few hundred credits for sure.

xXx

The stress that had mounted from the discoveries was enormous, pushing the bet well and truly out of his mind.

Scott ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he sat looking through emails, wanting to instead slam his head on the desk. He had to deal with Tann and Addison who had insisted on coming to look for an hour pulling him away from his work. Now he had another report to write and it was messing with his head.

‘Everyone is currently aboard the Tempest, Pathfinder,’ SAM reminded him.

Thank you SAM Scott thought, inform Kallo that I want the Tempest off of the ground and heading toward Kadara within the hour.

‘Understood’

The door opened, startling Scott from his conversation with SAM to reveal one of his favourite people in the universe. Vetra stood easily, arms folded and her mandibles flicking out. 

“Hey,” Scott smiled at her. 

“Hey,” Vetra smiled back, “are you busy?”

“When am I not busy?” Scott asked jokingly, but continued with, “but, what did you have in mind?”

“Would you like to go out for dinner somewhere?” Vetra asked as she leant up against the wall and pulled the space hamster from his cage. The little rodent cooed in her hand and she stroked it affectionately, “I just…we haven’t been out in a while. Would you like to go, just the two of us?”

Scott sighed and stared out of his huge windows, kicking himself for playing a game of poker with Gil and Liam when he knew he had work to do. The Nexus looked bright and inviting, and Scott wanted nothing more than to break all of his datapads in half and run off with Vetra, even for just a few hours.

“I’d love to, but I can’t,” Scott replied, “I have reports to write about those kett and a debriefing with the crew…” he trailed off, watching the sparkle wither in Vetra’s eyes. He felt guilty, but kept his face like a mask.  

“We’ll find time for it,” Scott added, getting to his feet and pulling his girlfriend into his arms, despite the fact she dwarfed him in size.

“I know,” Vetra replied, her flanging effect sounding deeper than normal, a sign Scott knew to be disappointment or sadness, “just need to train Sara up.”

“Yeah,” Scott chuckled half-heartily even though he knew Vetra was joking.

“I’ll see you later,” Vetra pulled back from his embrace, and Scott struggled with the words he wanted to say, but she exited without a backward glance.

“Vetra, I…” Scott called after her, but she had gone. He stared at the door long after she had gone, knowing that she wasn’t happy but not feeling sure what he could do about it.

‘The last time you and Vetra went somewhere together was over 100 days ago’ SAM said.  

“Thanks, SAM,” Scott grumbled before returning to his work only to find that his inbox was empty. He hit the refresh button, but nothing happened.

“SAM…” Scott folded his arms and waited, but SAM did not relent, “seriously?”

“Pathfinder,” Kallo said over the comms, “I have been informed that the Tempest is grounded under SAM’s orders.”

“SAM…” Scott shouted, standing up and staring at the ceiling.

‘I am not letting you work until you and Vetra do something together; my readings suggest it would improve your mental health considerably.’

 “SAM…” Scott crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for SAM to open his inbox but nothing happened.

“Fine!” Scott relented and got to his feet, “you win SAM!” he stormed out of the room and through the ship, earning a few surprised looks from Gil and Suvi, to find himself in Vetra’s room where she was eating a box of Blast Oh’s.

“Are you okay?” Vetra asked, mouthful of Blast-Oh’s.

“Would you like to go for dinner?”

“Change of heart?”

Scott sighed, “SAM changed it for me.”

Vetra laughed, “SAM, I’m quite okay not going if Scott’s too busy.”

“I have calculated that Scott’s mental health will improve if he goes out to dinner with you,” SAM stated matter-of-factly.

“AI’s order then?” Vetra chuckled as she stood and walked with Scott to the cargo bay doors.

“I’ll just say that a rogue AI blocked my work so I could have a date with my girlfriend if anyone asks,” Scott hummed.

xXx

Scott stepped foot on the ship several hours later; belly full, mind cleared with an infinitely happier Vetra by his side. 

“That was lovely,” Vetra bemused, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Scott smiled, standing on his tip toes to peck Vetra on the cheek. She smiled as she made her way back to her room.

A wolf whistle echoed through the cargo bay, and Scott whipped round to see Peebee and Sara lounging idly on spare Nomad tyres, both looking very pleased with themselves.

Scott cocked an eyebrow, “which-?” he started, but they pointed at each and he sighed, “right.”

“Were you and Vetra on a date?” Sara asked playfully.

“Yes,” Scott replied.

“Details?” Peebee asked eagerly, sitting forward and resting her head on her hands.

“So the place we went had just opened and was super fancy, Vetra had this amazing looking dextro roast and I -.”

“Okay, okay,” Sara laughed, raising her arms in defeat, “we get it.”

“Hey! What if I wanted to hear about the extravagant detail of their food choices?” Peebee pouted.

“So, what are you two talking about then?” Scott asked.

“Nothing…” Sara said in a jokey-suspicious way, a small smirk on her face.

“We were talking about sex! So, Sara, when you embraced eternity with Goya-,” Peebee began enthusiastically.

“Right! I’m going now!” Scott called over his shoulder and retreated to the safety of his quarters where he would not be able to hear the details of his sister’s sex life.

He sighed at his return to normality and flicked through his pile of datapads. ‘Just a reminder Pathfinder-,’ SAM said on the private channel and Scott rolled his eyes. The debrief he had to conduct plus all the files he had to read loomed over him like a bad smell, and he couldn’t seem to shake it.

He gathered up the datapads and even scribbled notes he had drawn and made his way to the meeting room but was stopped in the hall by Lexi, “Scott, may I speak to you for a moment?”

“Sure,” he followed Lexi into the medbay, dumping the datapads unceremoniously onto one of the empty cots, “what do I owe the pleasure?”

“It’s about Sara,” Lexi twisted her lip.

“Ah,” Scott replied, why did everything have to be about Sara?

“She and I had our first therapy session, and I want you to pull her from the ground team for Kadara.”

“Is there anything you’re particularly worried about?” Scott asked curiously.

“Not at the moment, but after Eos I think Sara needs time away from the battlefield. My session with her almost confirmed this. I can’t go into detail, obviously, but that is what I request.”

“She’s going to be incredibly angry if I pull her, are you sure this is necessary?”

“It is in my professional opinion that the short term anger she is going to feel will be better than the long term emotional trauma she is likely to suffer if in combat too early in her recovery.” 

Scott sighed, “If you’re asking me to, I will. Is there anything else?”

“Yes. You’re late for a health checkup,” Lexi grimaced, “after this meeting you’re about to hold I want you in here.”

“Fine,” Scott rolled his eyes good-naturedly and picked up the datapads, using his biotics to aid him, “thank you for letting me know.”

“Anytime,” Lexi replied, the medbay doors snapping shut behind Scott as he ventured back into the hallway. SAM I want everyone gathered for the debriefing in the next few minutes.

‘Yes, pathfinder,’ SAM responded and sent out the ship wide message. Scott reached the table and dumped all of the datapads, attempting to arrange them into some sort of order before the meeting started.

One of Scott’s favourite things was to observe what order the crew arrived at meetings at. It was usually always the same, and the fact it had stayed the same for many months continued to amuse him. Cora, as usual, was first. She marched up the ramp with confidence and stood to attention opposite of Scott, giving a smile and curt nod as she did so.

Suvi and Kallo were always next, and Scott was sure they had a game going. Suvi arrived slightly before Kallo did, and both of them were flushed, Suvi even doubled over with her cheeks tinged pink. The rest of the crew followed: Gil, then Drack, Lexi after. Vetra was always somewhere in the middle. Old habits die hard, she and Scott had arranged for Vetra to arrive in the middle when they had started dating as to not arouse suspicion when they had not told the crew.

Jaal and Liam usually arrived at the same time and today was no different; with Peebee and Sara trailing at the back of the group which caused Scott to raise an eyebrow. He glanced over at Gil, who rolled his eyes back at him.

“Sorry for the lateness of this meeting; but I’m sure you’d all want to be updated as to what is going on with the kett. So, as for the guests which are now thankfully off of our ship they have been confirmed as a quarian kett hybrid and drell kett hybrid.”

The crew looked around at each other, no one was surprised. Suvi piped up, “they have the ark…”

“They do,” Scott nodded gravely, “while it’s not confirmed I think it is safe to assume that they do but the issue is we don’t know where the ark is. The communication we received has been jammed so we cannot track the ark’s location.”

“Is it in the cluster?” Cora asked.

“At this stage, we think so. But, no one is really sure,” Scott replied.

“Is there a chance that the kett have taken the ark to their home-world?” Liam asked the group, “There’s five unique species on that ark. Maybe with the defeat of the archon that Primus has grown suspicious and cautious.”

“If they are there’s no way we can follow them. The angara have tried to follow the kett to the home-world with no luck for nearly a century, there’s no way we’d have any luck. No, I think they’re in the cluster or nearby.”

“What about the weapons?” Jaal asked suddenly.

“I’ve given them the weapons to examine, but they are in agreement that the kett were trying to surprise and unsettle us,” Scott explained. The crew murmured in agreement, and Scott couldn’t help but notice that Sara had turned a pale shade of green.

“I know we’ve been dedicated into solving the mystery of the Jardaan, but I want all energy refocused into the ark. Jaal, are you okay with this?”

Jaal jumped at the mention of his name, “why wouldn’t I be? The survival of your companions means more than the origins of my species.”

Scott nodded slowly; he had truthfully not been expecting that answer. He picked up a datapad, “I want each of you to read the notes on these new enemies. Stick to these datapads, the notes are restricted files,” Scott handed the datapads around to everyone, who immediately opened them and began to read, “Kandros made these; they have combat tips and fighting strategies for biotics and tech alike.”

Scott continued, “we’ll be reaching Kadara in a few days as the scientists have found trace elements of soils from Kadara on the corpses, along with Eos.”

An audible groan was heard throughout the group and Scott grimaced, “I’ll be contacting Sloane regarding arrival, but I’ll fill you in with the plan once we arrive. Dismissed.”

Lexi’s words circled around his head, and Scott yelled at Sara’s ponytail, “Sara!” she turned abruptly, her body language changing as she turned, “can I speak with you?”

She nodded stiffly as she approached, and Peebee gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Scott waited until the rest of the crew had dispersed before turning to Sara, “how are you?” he asked sympathetically.

Sara jolted as though Scott had shocked her, “I’m…okay? Arm is healing well.”

“That’s good.”

There was an awkward pause before Scott continued, “Sara, I’m pulling you from the ground team on Kadara.”

Sara raised an eyebrow, “Lexi says my arm will be fine, and I will ready for active duty once we reach Kadara,” she countered.

“That’s not what I – it’s my orders.”

Sara opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again. She did this several times before giving what sounded like a very controlled answer, “fine.”

“Sara…you can talk to me.”

“I am talking to you,” Sara immediately went on the defence. She had her arms crossed in the best way she could, and was chewing her bottom lip, “it’s fine, Scott.”

Scott raised his arms in a submissive manner, “alright, I’ll keep you updated.”

“Good, I’m glad you will this time,” and before he could even do anything Sara stormed out of the meeting room and down the ramp. Scott resisted the urge to kick something. He hoped that Lexi was right and this would help in the long run, because right now he felt like he was making their already fragile relationship worse.   

He sighed, “oh Sara…”

Chapter Text

“Well, this is shit.”

Sara felt a wave of sulphur gas lash across her face, and a nasty sweat was already developing in places that sweat should never develop in. She stretched her newly freed and fully healed arm out to shield her face from the wind.

 “As in ‘this is authentic and actually rad’ kind of shit?” Liam asked playfully in a terrible imitation of her voice.

“No, this is actually shit,” Sara grumbled.

“Aw come on, you haven’t even made it off of the ramp yet!” Peebee laughed and Sara looked down to notice she was standing at the bottom of the Tempest’s ramp and completely unwilling to leave it.

Sara turned to see Jaal standing comfortably in the cargo bay with a very stubborn expression on his face.

“You coming Jaal?” Peebee teased.

“No,” he stated stiffly and returned to the comfort of the ship. Sara knew Jaal hated Kadara, but she didn’t realise she hated it that much. She rolled her eyes and stepped off of the ramp and into the docking bay; curious eyes were on them as they made their way through.

It was late into Kadara’s night, and there wasn’t much that the crew could do at this hour, so several of them including Cora, Peebee, Liam and Sara were headed to Tartarus. Sara didn’t know much about it except Peebee told her to wear something other than Initiative sweats, so Sara was decked in the nicest shirt she owned and a pair of skin-tight black pants.

 “So what is Tartarus exactly?” Sara asked the group.

“A club down in the slums,” Liam answered.

“You mean the absolute dive in the slums,” Cora corrected him, “which you like frequenting I might add because of the asari dancers?”

“What?” Liam’s voice rose, “that’s not the reason at all!”

Cora cocked an eyebrow at him and Peebee was snorting with laughter, “well I mean, that’s why I go there!” she admitted.

Sara and Liam looked at each other before bursting into laughter while Cora facepalmed. They descended into the elevator and walked over to the doors of the club. Sara could already hear the loud music blasting against the doors, and it had already begun to vibrate on her chest. The doors opened with a whoosh and the dark club was absolutely packed with people – Andromeda and Milky Way natives alike – the sulphur mixed with alcohol and sweat, and Sara wrinkled her nose in response.

The crew found seats by the bar, and Cora ordered four shots of what looked like a very mean drink. Sara eyed it appreciatively, “what is this?” she shouted over the music.

“Asari hard liquor,” Cora answered and the four of them swallowed their drinks in one gulp, the sensation immediate as the alcohol overwhelmed Sara’s senses giving her a pleasant tingling and buzzing sensation.

After another shot, and then a third Peebee and Cora shimmied their way onto the dancefloor, the two women attracting immediate attention – and in many ways Sara couldn’t blame them but she wasn’t worried, if anyone could handle themselves it was those two. She and Liam remained at the edge of the bar; simply staring into the crowd and taking in the dancers who Sara realised were behind bars for their own protection.

It wasn’t just asari like it had been in the Milky Way; there were humans, turians and even salarians dancing behind the bars – both male and female. Sara also noted that clubbing wasn’t something that was hated by angara, she admired both male and female angara letting loose on the dancefloor.

Liam shouted something in her ear, but Sara missed what he said as he stood up and disappeared into the crowd. Sara shrugged, and turned back to the bar debating if she should get any more drinks.

As soon as Liam had vacated his seat another human male sat down, most of him in shadow due to the darkness of the club combined with outside being dark. He tapped his fingers impatiently onto the bar and the bartender poured him two drinks, one of which he slid to her.

“Rough day?” he asked, his voice betraying an accent. From what Sara could gather in the darkness he had dark, sharp features and dark hair with a lean frame.

“Rough week,” Sara replied, holding up her drink before swallowing it in a gulp and wincing against the alcohol slicing down her throat. The shot, her fourth, hit her like a ton of bricks.

She swayed from the alcohol, holding her forehead. In the Milky Way her alcohol tolerance had been exceptional but with the already three shots of asari hard liquor in her system she was feeling the effects.

“What brings you to Kadara?” he asked, delicately sipping his alcohol.

“Business,” Sara replied, feeling ill from the shot of alcohol and too overwhelmed to be talking to someone. She could hear Cora’s words echoing in her head.

This is Kadara and it is not a typical Initiative world, Cora had explained, even after all of the work your brother has done the people here are exiles – they don’t like the Nexus and they’re dangerous.

A hand came onto her shoulder and Sara jumped in fright, turning to reveal a tired-looking Cora with a thoroughly danced out Peebee by her shoulder.

“You alright?” Cora asked, face full of concern.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sara replied, nursing her forehead.

“We better head back,” Cora said as Liam returned to the group, Sara noticing a worry line between her eyebrows as a flash of the club’s lights flashed over her face. She helped Sara to her feet and put a gentle arm around her shoulder, guiding her through the sweaty bodies and back to the warm bed that the Tempest promised.

Sara creased her eyebrows; she had decided she was never coming back here.

xXx

“We’ve got a busy day ahead of us,” Scott said to the gathered crew in the cargo bay as he paced up and down, hands on his armoured hips. Sara resisted the urge to shove his busy day up his ass as she sat at the back of the group with her arms crossed.

“I’m going to split the team into two groups. Drack and Vetra – you’ll be coming with me as we’ll be exploring one of the areas that the scientists have determined the kett came from. Cora, you’ll be leading team two with Liam and Peebee.”

Cora saluted at his words, and Sara had to resist the urge to mime vomiting behind Cora’s back. She couldn’t understand why she was being so petty, considering how nice Cora was being to her. Scott made eye contact with Sara and she stared her brother down.

“No rem-tech?” Peebee asked.

“Not today,” Scott answered, his eyes breaking contact with Sara’s to acknowledge Peebee.

“Who gets the Nomad?” Liam asked eagerly, bouncing on his heels.

“I do,” Scott stated, “I requested that you will go with Kaetus and will take a shuttle to your drop point.”

“Oh, okay,” Liam replied, slightly crestfallen and Sara hid her snort behind her hand.

“Kallo, Suvi, Gil – I’m entrusting you three to do our supply run through Kadara and pick up the necessary items we need. Lexi you’re on medical supplies.”

“We can handle that,” Suvi spoke up while Kallo nodded.

“Wonderful, we leave in 10,” Scott dismissed. Sara raised an eyebrow, had she been really given nothing to do? She jumped off of the crate she had been sitting on as Scott called out, “Jaal, Sara, over here please!”

 Sara resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she and Jaal made their way over to Scott who was rubbing his temples with his armoured hand. She noticed up close that Scott’s personalised armour had buffs and scratches all over it, and the N7 on the chestplate looked worn.

“You two will be cleaning all of our weapons for us.”

“Won’t – won’t you need those?” Sara asked as if her brother had forgotten his brain.

“We’re taking back-ups. Lately we just haven’t had the time for weapons to be cleaned and I saw the perfect chance for you and Jaal to do something today since you’re not coming on the mission.”

“Rightio,” Sara replied, resisting the urge to give a mock salute. Scott nodded and turned on his heel, sauntering off.

Sara turned to Jaal who looked just as dumbfounded as she felt, “well, best get to the armoury then.”

“Mmm,” Jaal commented, the two of them making their way to the top of the ship while members of the crew dashed around them. Well, Kallo was mainly doing the dashing – Drack was grimacing in the corner and cocking his gun which Sara could tell he wasn’t used to.

The ship grew quiet as Jaal and Sara sat easily on the floor of the armoury, “I wonder who’s is who’s?” Sara asked herself as she looked at all of the guns piled haphazardly on top of one another.

“Hmm,” Jaal questioned, “maybe we should make a game of it?”

“Okay,” Sara agreed, “do I get something for getting them all right?”

“The sastisfaction of knowing your crew?”

Sara laughed, “sounds good to me.”

“Okay – easy one first,” Jaal smiled, Sara noticed he seemed to be enjoying having a one-up on her, “which one is mine?”

“Easy peasy,” Sara laughed, pulling the huge kett sniper rifle out from under the pile. She handed it to him and he smiled at her.

“How about something a little more challenging? Find Vetra’s.”

Sara looked over all of the weapons – some of them were easy to pinpoint – the little sidewinder would definitely be Peebee’s weapon of choice. Sara also saw a bunch of kett weapons she had never seen before, pulling out what she thought to be an assault rifle.

“Hm, Vetra seems resourceful – would she be using this?”

Jaal chuckled, “nope – that is your brother’s weapon.”

“Scott uses kett weaponry?”

“Yes,” Jaal answered, “the one you’re looking for is this one,” Jaal pulled out a cyclone assault rifle – medium class but it looked heavily modified.

“This is not the weapon I would’ve guessed for Vetra,” Sara wrinkled her nose, “it’s such a mediocre gun - it bounces all over the place.”

“I fixed that for her,” Jaal explained, pointing out the additions he had made to the gun, “I changed the recoil on it so it ‘bounces’ less as you say, and fixed rate of fire and thermal clip capacity.”

“I wish Scott would let me have a look at his stuff,” Sara said, pulling out the other kett weapon which looked to be a shotgun, and Jaal sighed enviously.

“The Dhan is an extremely powerful gun and I wish Scott would let me tinker with it. I could make so many modifications and change aspects that he complains about,” Jaal explained.

The two of them continued to guess weapons with Sara only mixing up Cora’s and Liam’s. Jaal and Sara continued to bond over speaking about weaponry and how they would fix everyone’s guns if given free reign.

“SAM, who is currently onboard?” Sara asked when the two of them finishing cleaning everyone’s guns. Sara stood and stretched her cramped muscles, sighing in satisfaction at her joints popping.

“Just you and Jaal,” SAM replied in his emotionless voice.

“What would you like to do?” Jaal asked. Sara shrugged her shoulders as they made their way back into the bowels of the ship. Sara stood looking over the cargo bay – which looked very bare without the Nomad sitting in the middle.

“I wonder what’s in those boxes…” Sara pondered, stepping onto the elevator and then rummaging through a pile of boxes in the corner.

“What are you looking for?” Jaal asked.

“Nothing in particular,” Sara pondered, until she felt the familiarity of something she hadn’t felt in a very, very long time, “oh my god.”

“What is it?” Jaal asked, stepping forward. Sara pulled a dusty guitar from amongst the boxes and sighed to herself. Memories flashed through her of sitting on her bed as a teenager strumming tunes on her acoustic guitar.

“It’s a guitar,” Sara explained, wiping the dust from the strings, “a musical instrument,” she added and Jaal nodded.

“You can play?”

“Not well,” Sara admitted, plucking the different strings and wincing as they weren’t in tune and tuned them accordingly by ear. Once they all sounded correct she pulled her fingers down the strings, the sounds filling her like a warm drink.

“I would like to hear you play,” Jaal’s voice cut into her thoughts and she spotted him sitting eagerly on a pile of boxes that looked ready to give under his frame.

“Okay,” Sara smiled at Jaal’s enthusiasm and thought over all of the songs she knew – none of them would strike a chord with Jaal but she picked one from one of her favourite artists, “my music taste is regarded as…terrible by any human I know.”

“Why?”

“According to everyone I like the worst period for music – and that’s because my father hated what I liked as he used to say he liked the ‘best period for music’.”

“Which was?”

“1970’s and 1980’s,” Sara explained, strumming the chords absent-mindedly, “I liked 2000’s and 2010’s personally. To reiterate how old that all is I was born in 2163.”

“Wow,” Jaal mused, “but old music can remain very important for many people. Music is incredibly important to angara as we pass teachings and knowledge through it.”

Sara nodded, feeling the strings and beginning to play one of her favourite songs from one of her favourite artists – now over 800 years dead – but the memory of him alive as she sung his words. Her singing voice was not spectacular, Sara often remarked Scott had the better voice, but she still sung anyway. The tune needed the words.

When she had finished Jaal’s blue eyes were wide and filled with what Sara thought were tears, “oh gosh Jaal, did I upset you?”

“Upset me? No no,” Jaal gave his infectious deep laugh, “that was beautiful, you play and sing beautifully Sara.”

Sara felt the familiar pleasurable feeling in her stomach she always felt when Jaal said her name aloud. It was the way the sounds rolled over his tongue.

“Thank you,” Sara smiled, her eyes lost in Jaal’s, “would you like to have a go?”

“Yes,” Jaal replied, and Sara handed him the guitar which he grasped awkwardly in his hands.

“No, like this,” Sara corrected his grip, with his right hand over the strings and his left on the neck, “so when you want to play a certain note you hold down specific strings here-,” she held down his left hand over the strings on the neck, “and play here,” demonstrating the movement required with his right hand.

“But uh…” Sara motioned to his fused fingers, “those might be a problem.”

Jaal looked at his hands, “maybe the gee-tar is not on my list of talents,” he laughed and Sara joined him.

“Whatcha doing?” a shrill voice asked and both Sara and Jaal looked up to see Peebee’s face poking over the side of the upper level. Jaal startled and nearly dropped the guitar, Sara took it off of his hands and placed it back where she had found it, maybe another of the crew used it.

“Peebee! Where did you come from?” Sara asked.

“Ran ahead and came through the armoury looking for you two! But here I found you! What were you doing then hmm?”

“Showing Jaal how to play the guitar,” Sara replied honestly and motioned to the guitar which was now back where they had found it, “how was the mission?”

“Bloody awful,” Liam commented as he entered the cargo-bay. Both he and Peebee looked dreadful, their faces were covered with bruises and dirt and their underclothing and, in Liam’s case, hair was singed.

The rest followed, Vetra supporting a semi-conscious Cora, who had sustained a cut on her forehead and was dragging her feet along the ground. Drack followed, carrying his prosthetic arm in his good hand leaving nothing where his arm normally was – the sight was horrifying and the skin on the back of Sara’s neck crawled. Sara couldn’t help but notice that part of the arm had been blasted off.

“What the hell happened?” Sara asked as Drack, Cora and Vetra made their way to the med-bay.

“There were hundreds,” Drack grunted, “and not just what we think,” and he disappeared into the med-bay where Lexi jumped up and wore a pained expression on her face. Sara stared at the now closed doors, not really wanting to know what had gone wrong.

xXx

Once a replacement prosthetic limb had been attached Drack had spoiled them with one of his famous stews that Sara had heard all about. She enjoyed all of the flavours dancing on her palate. The crew however were downright miserable, to the point that Scott was not with them. Sara was smushed into the corner with Drack on one side and Peebee on the other.

“Anyone got any amusing stories?” Suvi asked; wanting to deflect the crew from the terrible day they’d had. Most of them grunted in response, not wanting to speak.

“I’ve got one!” Sara piped up.

Several of the crew looked at her half-heartily before returning to their food.

“I jumped into the presidium lake naked.”

Gil spat out his drink while Vetra dropped her fork, the entire crew stopped eating to stare at her.

“Hang on…what?” Cora asked, open-mouthed.

“Okay,” Liam butted in, “we need to hear this from the beginning.”

“Unlike my brother, I was a bit of a…well, bad girl.”

“I think we can gather that after you told everyone you made out with a batarian on Omega,” Gil commented and Peebee snorted with laughter.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sara shrugged it off, “anyway, I was with two krogan friends and my human mate. We were doing stupid shit kids do, we’d had ryncol and were stumbling around the presidium – no one questioned my presence because I was Alec Ryder’s kid so they naturally accepted the company I was with. Anyway, we came across the lake and they bet 1000 credits I wouldn’t do it.”

“Do what?”

“They specifically asked me to climb the krogan monument naked and then jump into the lake. And, because I was young, drunk and incredibly stupid of course I did it.”

The crew erupted into laughter, Liam wiping a tear from his eye and Drack’s deep tones vibrating the whole room, Sara joined in. Even Cora who was usually pretty serious had a small smirk across her face that she not-so-subtly hid with her hand.

“What happened then?” Gil asked through his tears.  

“One of the krogan pulled me out because a drunken woman should not swim, especially naked, and then a keeper found us in one of the bushes.”

The second round of laughter chorused around the room.

“Did…did yeh get the money?” Suvi could barely contain her laughter as she tried to speak.

“I did. However, I didn’t get to keep it. Obviously my father found out and he confiscated it. He was not too happy.”

“Worth it,” Liam nodded in approval, and took a swig of beer.

“How old were you when you did this?” Jaal asked.

“Fifteen.”

“Damn girl,” Drack slapped her on the back with so much force it nearly sent Sara headfirst into her nearly empty plate. The crew began to speak freely with a much lighter tone.

That is until they fell into an uneasy silence.

“Sara?”

Sara looked up to see her brother standing in the doorway. His eyes betrayed his tiredness as he signalled her out of the room. She followed him into the crew quarters where he paced in front of her.

“Is everything…okay?” Sara asked, unsure of what to say to Scott. He was still in his under armour and had dirt smeared over him and his hair was completely haphazard and out of place. He looked into her eyes, dark circles surrounded them and the sclera was bloodshot.

“Are you ready for combat?”

Sara arched an eyebrow as Scott’s sudden change of heart, “I think so?”

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

She was shocked at his rather harsh tone, “...yes?”

“Good. Tomorrow you’re coming with me – Vetra is leading team two.”

“What about Cora?”

“I’m rotating Drack and Cora – I have no choice in the matter. As you have probably seen Drack had his prosthetic arm blown off and Cora has sustained a concussion and multiple fractured ribs.”

“Are you sure you want me coming out? I thought Lexi said-”

“To hell with what Lexi said,” Scott stated matter of factly, “we got decimated because I left my two best snipers in the Tempest. You and Jaal will be coming with me tomorrow, Peebee and Liam will be with Vetra.”

“Okay,” Sara said, really unsure of what else she could add and Scott left the room without a backward glance. Sara’s breathing picked up and she slid to the floor, leaning against her bunk and staring at the terminal screen.  

Jaal entered the crew quarters and noticed her on the floor, “Sara! Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Sara said in a tone that sounded quite unlike her own, “I am…Scott just said that I’m accompanying him tomorrow. As are you.”

Jaal grunted, “Did he say why?”

“Nope.”

Jaal sat down awkwardly beside her, his legs always looking a little odd when straight out in front of him, “maybe they did so terribly without their usual weapons?”

“I’ll say,” Sara replied.  

“Well, this’ll be interesting,” Jaal replied, and placed his hand over hers. Sara’s tension released at the small touch. Maybe being in real combat wouldn’t be so bad. After all, what else could go wrong?

Chapter Text

“Sara?”

Her eyes opened to the bottom of the bunk and she looked over to see Cora standing in the doorframe. The biotic looked, and there was no way Sara could put it nicely, terrible. She had a black eye and multiple bruises dotted over her skin.

“Cora,” Sara said, pulling herself out of bed and fumbling around to find her under-armour.

“You’ve overslept,” Cora stated; which Sara already knew as no one else was in the crew quarters, “you’ve got 30.”

“Rightio,” Sara stifled a yawn and made her way to the gallery, Cora stepped out of the way and Sara didn’t miss her hand grabbing her side – she knew the broken ribs were bothering Cora more than she let on.

All too soon after shoving several protein bars in her mouth and a swig of espresso Sara was standing in the cargo bay with the rest of the crew, her legs visibly shaking under the armour. She pulled at her glove and when looking up and seeing her brother, kicked herself internally for not bothering to make her own armour.

I just need some good schematics – mental note to ask Peebee later.

Jaal stood easily next to her, resting on one leg with his arms crossed and watching Scott pace up and down the crew. Even on a sick day, Cora and Drack stood at attention. Unlike Cora, Drack looked perfectly fine and was seemingly itching to get back on the battlefield but Lexi had forbidden it – the 1400 year old krogan was running on an exoskeleton at this point and Sara quietly agreed him being pulled for now was for the best.

Scott looked comfortable as he fiddled with his Thokin, “I’m sure everyone is familiar with the plans? Sara and Jaal will be coming with me – and Vetra you will be leading the other team with Liam and Peebee. I’ll fill you in as we go – Cora and Drack I want you two resting and the others are free to continue with jobs around the ship. Dismissed.”

Scott motioned for them to follow, and Sara followed the others out of the ship and into Kadara Port. She noticed that people around them looked at them differently when they were fully armoured – a hint of nervousness or aggression was present but Sara couldn’t tell which. Sara fiddled with her helmet’s settings and bought up Scott’s and Jaal’s vitals.

“Nervous?” Peebee asked quietly falling back to talk to her.

“A bit,” Sara replied as they walked through the port to a huge door that Sara had never seen before. Two krogans nodded at them and opened the door, leading them into a dark building that reminded Sara of shabby alleyways around the Citadel.  

“Kaetus,” Scott nodded at a white-faced turian with blue markings and a glowing grey-and-blue suit.

“Ryder,” the turian nodded back, “Sloane is expecting you,” he stepped out of the way and allowed them to walk into a dimly lit room with orange light streaming through the blinds. The whole feel of the room was dark and creepy and Sara felt herself standing closely to Jaal as they approached who Sara guessed was Sloane.

Sloane was a dark-skinned very serious woman who had a multitude of what Sara described as bizarre looking tattoos including a smudge-like one on her face and blue dots under her beautifully coloured eyes – Sara had never met a human with heterochromia iridum - and wondered if Sloane’s eye colour was natural or artificial. Either way, the one blue and one brown eye was visually striking.

“Ryder – what can I do for you?” Sloane drawled.

“I’m here as I’d like you to help me,” Scott replied, “You know the situation.”

“I do, yes, but why should I send my people out to help you?”

“This just doesn’t affect the Initiative, it affects Kadara Port too,” Scott explained, “the very presence of new species of kett is something that we do not take lightly and-”

“Don’t give me the military speech,” Sloane cut him off. Sara was taken aback, hadn’t her brother saved Sloane’s life? Why on Earth was she being so rude? “I will send Kaetus and a team with you, if and only if you help me track down the Charlatan?”

Scott groaned, “He still bothering you?”

“I’ve heard reports that he still lurks around the port, but I’m unable to find the slippery bastard.”

“Deal,” Scott said, “I will assist in tracking him down.”

“Good,” Sloane replied before lounging back easily in what Sara could only describe as a throne. They made their exit back through the doors and met with Kaetus. Scott turned to face them all, “right – so Vetra, Liam and Peebee you’ll be going with Kaetus and the team to provide the heavier distraction force. Jaal, Sara, you’ll be coming with me and infiltrating ‘round the back’, hence why I’d like snipers on my side.”

The crew moved with Kaetus to a ship in which they all clambered into and made their way over the barren landscape of Kadara. Sara hadn’t been outside the port before and was taken aback at how desolate Kadara looked despite it being a number of months since Meridian was activated.

Jaal was moaning beside her, “are you alright?” Sara asked him.

He groaned, “I hate it here.”

Sara looked over the land, she could feel the sulphur tang through the armour and remembered the shittiness of the bar, “me too,” she finally decided.

Even through the armour Sara felt a small arm wrap gently around her waist and noticed Peebee had come up beside her, “you got this girlfriend!” she said in a low voice.

“Thanks girl,” Sara gave a weak smile.

“Remember you’ve got Zap!”

Sara slapped a hand to her forehead but it hit the helmet, “shit! That’s what I forgot!”

Peebee chuckled and pushed on Sara’s helmet causing a giggle to come from her too, and Peebee’s arm tightened around her waist. Sara cast her eyes over everyone in the ship, no one was really paying attention but at the last moment she caught Scott staring at her and Peebee. She blushed and looked away from him, not wanting him to think she was immature.  

The ship landed and Scott climbed out with Sara and Jaal following. The ship rose behind them and sped off, Sara squinting into the sky after it. The ground was gritty and she gave it a kick for good measure sending grit and what looked like mushrooms flying.  

“Wow…” Sara bent down, pulling at what resembled grass but happened to be mushroom-like into her gloved palm.

“Sara…focus,” Scott called out, and Sara snapped to attention to find her brother gazing over her.

“Right – sorry,” Sara replied, pulling the Widow sniper rifle from her back and walking through the landscape which was both sharply hilly and flat at the same time. Sara had no idea what Scott was looking for, but she and Jaal followed.

Scott held up his fist which caused Sara to halt in her tracks, something about the air had changed. The wind bought uneasiness and before she could take another breath Scott screamed out, “MOVE!”

Jaal grabbed her by the suit and using his jet-pack propelled them to the side and the safety of a rather large rocky overhang. A huge explosion went off where they had been standing earlier causing the sound to reverberate through Sara’s head.

“Right, jet-pack,” Sara mumbled quietly to herself as gunshots whizzed past their hiding spot. Sara took a chance to peek out and saw a handful of what looked like Milky Way species in red suits shooting at them. She felt a bullet graze her arm, causing her shield to take the brunt of the hit.

“Shit!” Scott muttered, peering his head out before pulling it back, “fuck – no one was supposed to be here!”

“We’ll do what we do best,” Sara replied, extending her rifle before positioning the gun from around the rock and peering into the scope. She put the target over one of the enemies’ helmeted heads and steadied her breathing, squeezing the trigger. The gun sounded and the enemy fell over dead.

The enemies paused for a second and then began shooting with more ferocity.

“Right, good,” Scott replied and a blue field generated around him – and he rushed into the thicket of the enemies and sent them flying in a torrent of gunshots and biotics. Jaal smiled at Sara before pulling out his own sniper rifle.

Sara had her target in the scope but the enemy’s head popped off before she could pull the trigger – she glared over at Jaal who had a coy smile playing on his lips.

“You-,” Sara went to curse but got cut off by a bullet whizzing past her head. She activated her tactical cloak and went in for another shot, and smirked at Jaal’s befuddled look. She and Jaal continued their game with the two of them shooting as fast as possible to take enemies out. Sara groaned as she missed a shot on a turian whom she had drained the shields of.

“Fuck,” she muttered, hating the fact she had to reload after only one shot while Jaal smirked as he had several bullets to empty before a reload.

The krogan on the battlefield took a good shot or two from Sara’s widow along with Scott flinging biotics at it combined with Jaal emptying his gun before it went down.

“Clear,” SAM told them. Sara stretched her cramping muscles, and secured the Widow into place on her back. All of the enemies lay in crumpled heaps on the ground, and Sara swallowed a lump in her throat as she moved between them to reach Scott. It had been a long time since she had been in active combat.  

“Nice work,” Scott panted, securing his shotgun to his back before bending down and examining one of the enemies.

“Who are these guys?” Sara asked, bending down beside her brother to have a look at a helmeted human.

“Raiders,” Scott replied, “usually Milky Way races although the odd angara will join the ranks – they’re pirates – usually exiles.”

“Uh huh,” Sara commented, cringing at a dead turian. His mandibles had been ripped off, the blue blood was pouring from the wounds.  

“I think I took out more enemies,” Jaal said as he came up beside her, causing Sara to thwack him on the arm.

“Only ‘cause your gun has more bullets in a clip!”

“I could modify-,”

“There’s already a modified version called the Black Widow – if I could just find one.”

“Focus!” Scott growled.

“Sorry,” Sara mumbled, staring at her shoes and looking at Jaal from the corner of her eye, the angara however was grinning.

They continued to move, now being extra vigilant since the surprise attack from the raiders. Eventually the three of them were headed to what looked like a cave. Scott directed them behind a rock formation and Sara heard the gunshots in the distance.

“That’s the other team,” Scott muttered, “how is everyone doing over there?” he asked over the comms.

Vetra’s voice sounded hazy as the background was filled with gunfire, “Held down over here but advancing slowly.”

“Good – we’ve made it to the side – keep them busy.”

“Will do,” Vetra’s sharp reply played through Sara’s helmet.

“And…” Scott seemed to hesitate before hurriedly saying, “Good luck.”

“Love you too,” Vetra said diplomatically and Sara could almost imagine her mandibles flicking out in a turian smile, the image caused her to smile too. She, Scott and Jaal eased their way to the side of the ‘cave’ as Sara was calling it to sit by the entrance and make sure they weren’t followed.

“You go, I’ll cover you,” Scott said to the pair of them. Sara nodded and eased her way into the cave with Jaal following so closely behind her she could hear his ragged breathing.

Sara stood upright as they reached a small room like area through the thin cavern; there was nothing in the cave that Sara could pick up via her scanner but thankfully they had enough natural light coming through to illuminate the room including the stalactites and stalagmites dripping, much to Sara’s relief as cold cramped places were not exactly to her liking.

“There’s nothing here Scott, we were duped,” she turned to her brother who she just realised was not with them.  

“Scott?” Sara asked cautiously, taking a step toward the entry.

Without warning a loud crack sounded above them and the sound of crumbling rock plummeting to the ground screamed through the cave. Sara felt herself being pulled sharply as far away as possible from the tumbling rocks.

“Scott?” Sara called through the cavern once the rocks had held still, but no response was heard. She felt the room shake slightly, but it held steady.

“SCOTT?!”

Silence.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sara held her hand over her mouth as she paced up and down the small area of cave she had. The little amount of light they had had while walking in here was completely cut off by the cave-in.

“Shit!” Sara whisper-yelled, terrified a shout would cause another cave-in, potentially crushing her and Jaal. The only sounds to be heard was her ragged breathing combined with the dripping.

“Have you got access to your comms?” Sara asked Jaal. The only source of light was Jaal’s blue visor which illuminated the top half of his face.

“No.”

“SAM?” Sara asked hesitantly in a last-ditch attempt.

“Sara.”

Sara exhaled with relief, “SAM – what’s going on?”

“Your comms have been cut off by the cave-in. I am able to contact the Pathfinder – he is uninjured and on the outside of the cave you are currently located in. If you will allow it I can establish a neural link between you.”

“Please, do it.”

“One moment.”

The room was still as Sara waited and then she heard Scott’s voice sound through her head.

Sara? Sara? Are you okay?

“We’re fine Scott,” Sara said aloud, hoping her brother could hear her and Jaal didn’t think she was a crazy person.

SAM has said the cave is steady – I tried moving the rocks with my biotics but he warned me that moving something could go badly.

“Please send help,” Sara said, “I would really like to not be crushed today please.”

She could hear Scott repress a laugh, will do – I’ll go for help and assist the others, I’ll let you know if anything happens.

“Thank you,” Sara whispered and the neural link went dead. She stood silently for a moment before reaching for her helmet’s night vision.

“How were you talking just now?”

“SAM linked us through our implants,” Sara replied, frustrated that she couldn’t find the toggle for her night vision in her helmet.

“Strange,” Jaal audibly shuddered.

“Why can’t I-?” Sara gritted her teeth and the helmet was jiggling in Sara’s furious attempt to turn on her night vision, “there’s no-.”

“I remember Liam complaining about that,” Jaal said idly, “there’s no night vision in standard armour.”

“Fuck!” Sara cried, but thankfully the cavern didn’t move. She pulled the helmet off in frustration and activated the light in her armour via her omni-tool.

Remaining power: 22% (1hr 01mins)

“FUCK!” Sara roared, throwing her helmet across the ‘room’ and smiling in satisfaction as it made a snap against a rock but her grin was replaced with a grimace as she wanted to kick every single rock out of Kadara’s orbit.

The reality of their situation was dawning on her. The two of them were trapped in an unsteady cave in the side of a hill on Kadara – one of the most uninhabitable planets in the galaxy. They had no natural resources to keep them afloat.

Sara pulled her chest plate and arm armour off leaving just her under-armour exposed and went digging for the protein bars she kept for when she needed the extra boost on missions – and she only had three. A bar was not a meal replacement. Her water level was low, as she assumed they were only going to be headed out for a short period of time.

And she was stuck with the worst possible companion in a food-sense as Jaal only carried his nutrient paste which not only tasted revolting to humans but wouldn’t be nutritious anyway.

The realisation of being in a dark space with a failing light frightened Sara – she could almost feel the walls closing in around her.  She felt short, shallow breaths in her chest, and her heart began to pound.

She needed to get out. But she couldn’t. There was no way out of the cave – Scott had tried but failed. What if they never got out? What if she and Jaal were stuck in here until they died of dehydration, or hunger, or suffocated from lack of oxygen?

That was not going to happen, but the thoughts crept in what if it does?  

“Shit,” Sara whispered, wrapping her arms around her torso. The air kept getting caught in her chest and her heart was pounding in her eardrums. Tears poured thick and fast down her cheeks. Her brain felt out of control, she couldn’t pull herself in and just think.

‘You are suffering a panic attack, Sara,’ SAM alerted, and she rolled her eyes.

“No shit,” she spat out through gritted teeth as tears continued to flow. Her heart felt as though it was being crushed by an anvil and her body began to shake uncontrollably. She stepped backward and felt her legs give from under her, but before she could hit the rocks huge arms caught her and held her steadfast.

“Sara?” Jaal asked tentatively. Her legs gave way and Jaal was supporting her entire weight, he lowered her to the ground and sat firmly beside her, a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her.

“Sara?” he asked again when she did not respond. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Her teeth were chattering from the shaking and a sob racked her chest. She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them in an almost upright foetal position.

“Is this like last time – on Eos?” Jaal asked and Sara nodded; another sob surfacing. She could feel embarrassment in the back of her mind which was making her panic attack worse. She couldn’t believe she was having a meltdown in front of Jaal again. Having panic attacks in front of people was one thing…but Jaal was another.

She stole a chance to look into Jaal’s eyes and was horrified to spot fresh tears on his face. She felt disgust rise in her chest, that her own stupidity was hurting Jaal too. She tried desperately to pull herself back together but the more she tried the more the panic continued to grab her.

Without thinking about what she was doing she wrapped her arms tightly around Jaal’s waist and all but crawled into his lap. She buried her face into his chest and continued to cry. Maybe the tears were the best way to release the stress so her body would calm the fuck down.

Jaal started to hum a tune that was unfamiliar to Sara, and began to rub his hand gently up and down Sara’s back in what she assumed as an attempt to calm her down. The gentle touch bought Sara’s thoughts back to reality for a brief moment for her to remember to breathe – which was the strategy that she was supposed to do.

“Deep breaths,” she mumbled into Jaal’s chest as she deliberately focused on slowing and regulating her breathing. One breath in through the nose – hold for several seconds – release through the mouth – repeat. Sara did this over and over until she could slowly feel her heart slowing down. Jaal’s hand continued to run up and down her back along with sending out soft bioelectricity every so often, forcing Sara’s muscles to relax in response.

“Sara?” Jaal asked gently after what felt like a long time. For how long Sara had been sitting in Jaal’s lap with her arms around him and face in his chest she had no idea.

“Mmm?” Sara mumbled in response. The tears had finally stopped.

“Are you feeling better?”

Sara took a deep breath in and released it, her head didn’t feel like it was out of control anymore and nor was her heart racing – it still throbbed in her chest, the last remnants of the anxiety attack, “yes,” she replied weakly.

“Are you still anxious?” Jaal asked with a sense of gentleness and curiosity.

Sara shook her head, “just tired. It tends to happen after an anxiety attack.”

“What exactly is an anxiety attack?” Jaal asked.

“It’s…” Sara began, “it’s like a manifestation of anxiety I guess? It mimics the human body’s fight or flight response as in what happens when we are under threat but it triggers from being extremely anxious or stressed. Do angara not have something similar?”

“Hmm,” Jaal pondered, “not…quite. We definitely feel anxiety, but we do not experience the same thing. We generally are able to talk it out before it ever reaches a point like it did with you. Do they happen often?”

“Yes,” Sara admitted, shame flooding through her; “I’ve had quite a few in my life. I usually hide when I have them, aside from you and Peebee the only other person who’s ever found me was Scott. He found me in my room, and he sat with me much like you did.”

“You almost fell over…” Jaal trailed off, his arm not on her back getting tighter around her waist.

“A panic attack paralyses me, and I just fall over. It doesn’t happen to everyone, it’s something I do. I hate it,” Sara tried to explain, closing her eyes to more darkness.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” Sara apologized, “it’s not a part of me I like people seeing…”

“Sara,” Jaal began, “never feel ashamed for how you feel. Angara share our emotion very openly, it is not something shameful.”

“Thank you,” Sara tried to smile, “I just…humans are not as good as expressing how we feel. Normally I can bring myself back to reality but…” she trailed off.

Although now calmed down, Sara did not want to let go of Jaal and the angara seemed to have the same idea. He made no move away from her and if anything, it felt as though his grip on her waist tightened and his fingers continued to trail gently down her spine.

“I feel like shit,” Sara mumbled, wiping at her what she assumed to be red and puffy eyes.

“Your eyes are very inflamed,” Jaal commented.

“You can see-?” Sara began.

“My visor has night vision,” he stated and Sara slapped herself on the forehead.

“Well, that’s embarrassing,” Sara sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, “I had this friend when I was in school – no matter how hard she cried her eyes never went red. She referred to it as her ‘superpower’. I remember once she was sobbing, but afterward, she just looked a bit tired.”

“’Superpower’?” Jaal asked quizzically.

Sara chortled, “It came in handy. As for me, I resemble a tomato. Everyone knew I had been crying.”

“You still look beautiful to me,” Jaal replied simply, and Sara felt the blush creep to her cheeks despite the awkward timing of the comment.

“Sara,” SAM cut into her thoughts, ‘the Pathfinder is requesting another neural link with you. May I proceed?”

“Yes, SAM. Please connect me to Scott.”

“Establishing connection.”

Sara? Can you hear me?

“Yes Scott, I can hear you,” Sara replied, rolling her eyes much to Jaal’s amusement.

Team’s here – SAM’s figured out a way to cut a path through the rocks. Hang tight – we’ll be there soon.

“Sounds good to me!” Sara perked up at the thought of a rescue. The neural link disconnected and Sara shook her head at the sudden emptiness.

“What’s happening?” Jaal asked curiously.

“They’re cutting through – not sure how long they’ll be,” Sara replied. As much as Sara couldn’t wait to get out of their tomb, she wasn’t ready to let go of Jaal just yet.

“Thank you for...y’know,” Sara rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“I am more than happy to support you in times of need Sara,” Jaal explained, “that is what friends are for, is it not?”

“You consider me a friend?” Sara asked.

“Yes, of course I do.”

Sara’s heart lifted, and as she picked up and secured the pieces of her armour and picking up her now broken helmet, the team broke through – natural light illuminated the cavern and Sara rushed toward it coming face to face with her brother.

“Sara…” Scott said, and before she gave him time to do anything else Sara had flung her arms around her brother’s neck. He staggered from her enthusiasm but she felt him give her an awkward pat on the back.

“How long were we in there?” Sara asked as she released her brother and squeezed through, breathing in the natural light and the vast openness of Kadara. She couldn’t help but fall to her knees and touch the earth and weird mushrooms beneath her.

“About four hours,” Vetra answered for her. Sara looked up to see Peebee smiling down at her, and with surprising strength for such a thin wiry frame, pulled Sara to her feet by the upper arm.

“Four…hours?” Jaal replied in shock. He was standing with his head in the air as if taking in as much sunlight as physically possible.

“What did you get up to in there?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow and causing Jaal to give him a playful punch on the shoulder.

Sara and Jaal made eye contact, “not much really,” Sara said and Jaal nodded in agreement. The group began to move, and Sara sighed in relief when she spotted the drop ship nearby and a tired Kaetus standing by it.

“It was all for naught,” Scott explained as they all clambered into the ship, “we found absolutely nothing.”

“Well, fuck,” Sara replied.

“Also-,” Scott began, “what happened to your helmet?”

Sara held up the helmet and now in the light could take a proper look. The glass was cracked and the helmet had a rather large dent in it.

“It held up its end of the bargain,” Jaal cut in, “nobly saving Sara’s head from a rock.”

“Yes, that’s right!” Sara joined onto Jaal’s lie. Scott cocked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“Better get you two seen to by Lexi then,” Scott said and moved away from them to go and speak to Kaetus while Peebee took Scott’s spot.

“Thanks for covering me,” Sara smiled at the angara and he smiled back.

“That’s what friends are for,” he replied and winked at her.

Friends, yes that’ll do nicely.

For now anyway.

Chapter Text

Sara’s fantasies of a hot shower and a long sleep in a nice warm inviting bed were dashed when they stepped onto the Tempest.

Lexi stood in the middle of the cargo bay with her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, one foot tapping impatiently. Sara stepped back slightly from Lexi’s threatening stare – which was directed at Scott rather than her.

“Scott Luke Ryder,” Lexi carefully enunciated every syllable.

“Lexi T’Perro,” Scott replied without missing a beat.

“Come with me,” Lexi beckoned and Scott followed without argument, leaving the crew standing awkwardly in the cargo bay. Sara thought she had gotten out of it until Lexi looked past her brother, “Sara Ryder and Jaal Ama Darav – this way please!”

“Oh boy,” Sara mumbled as she and Jaal made their way to the med-bay, the door snapping shut behind them.

Lexi’s glare could’ve melted steel, her eyes were narrowed in fury as she glared at Scott who was sitting awkwardly on the cot, refusing to look at anyone and seemingly fascinated with his feet.

“What in the hell, Scott Ryder?” Lexi began, “I explicitly told you not to put your sister in an active combat situation! And what exactly did you do? You put your sister in an active combat situation!”

“I’m…right here,” Sara said aloud.

“She went fine;” Scott remained calm, “her shooting and agility are up to scratch. She’s just as good as Jaal is and he’s been in active combat for many months now.”

Lexi didn’t budge from her stance, “you clear it with me first, got it?”

“Got it,” Scott repeated.

“Again, I’m right here,” Sara raised her hand, “am I cleared for active combat now?”

Lexi rubbed her face and groaned, “As much as I detest Scott Ryder for putting you into combat – you’ve clearly proven me wrong. At this stage you are cleared for combat.”

“Great,” Sara smiled, trying to resist the urge to shout ‘yes’ and fist-pump. Scott gave a hint of a smile at her and she winked back at him.

Lexi did her usual post-mission check-up of all of them, and dismissed Scott and Jaal quickly, Sara however was not so lucky, “actually Sara, may I have a word?” Lexi asked as she tried to escape.

Sara sighed, “yeah, sure,” the windows of the med-bay dimmed and Sara took a seat on one of the cots.

“Your arm seems to be fine; you’re not feeling any strain or pain I should know about?”

“No,” Sara replied truthfully, stretching out her arm subconsciously.

Lexi nodded in approval, “excellent. Now, SAM has informed me that you and Jaal were trapped in a dark cave for over four hours. I wanted to know how you fared up. You’ve mentioned to me in our therapy sessions that you don’t like vaults as they remind you of…well,” Lexi trailed off, “I was wondering if the same fear would apply in a cave.”

Sara rubbed the back of her neck, “it was um, well, it wasn’t…good?”

“Would you like to elaborate?”

“I mean, my panic…took over…for a time,” Sara explained awkwardly, “but I managed to calm down. Jaal was really helpful in that, he’s such a sweetheart. He just sat with me as I got it all out.”

“So you fared ‘okayish’ from your recollection of the incident?”

“Eventually yeah, once the panic had subsided,” Sara replied, itching to get out of the room. Lexi nodded and made a few notes on her datapad.

“We’ll talk about this another time, I would like you to have some rest and eat two servings of protein and a serving of carbohydrates.”

“I will,” Sara replied.

“You may go,” Lexi held her hand to the door and the windows lightened back to normal. Sara leapt off of the bed and made her way into the hallway of the lower deck. Yawning and stretching Sara walked to the gallery and combed through the fridge, looking for something that would fill her food quota for the day.

After munching down on bread rolls and protein bars, she turned and leant on the sink blowing out a big breath she didn’t know she had been holding. The day’s events swam through her mind: the combat, the cave, the panic attack.

It was a day she was glad to see the end of, but also she had felt…safe in Jaal’s arms. There was no other way she could describe it. She could tell the angara cared for her, as she couldn’t imagine the others doing that. She snorted at the mental image of Drack holding her in his arms as she cried.

The doors of the gallery whizzed open to reveal the other asari on the ship. Peebee’s green eyes were shining with excitement.

“You!” Peebee pointed at her.

Sara looked behind her before turning back to Peebee and pointing to herself, “Me?”

“Yes! You! Me! Escape pod!”

“You know how that sounds right?” a deep voice asked.

Sara peered around Peebee to see Liam and Cora emerging from the crew quarters. They stole glances at each other before turning back to them. Peebee took Sara by the hand much to the amusement of Liam and slight surprise of Cora, and led her up the ladder and then into the escape pod. Poc was in the corner as normal, floating idly.

“I have something for you!” Peebee said excitedly, rummaging through her belongings and throwing random objects over her shoulder including what looked like a mechanical ball, several pairs of pants and countless datapads. 

“Eureka!” Peebee cried, holding out a datapad and handing it to Sara who took it with great interest.

“What is it?” she asked.

Peebee rolled her eyes, “open it silly!”

Sara opened the files on the datapad and her eyes widened; schematics for a full armour set were before her – and not just an Initiative armour set.

“It’s called remnant armour,” Peebee explained, flicking through the pictures to show Sara the plans on how to craft it, “aside from looking totally awesome – it also offers a huge boost to your health and shields while in combat, along with damage resistance. Whaddya think?”

“Oh wow,” Sara said, running her fingers over the picture of the armour.

“Don’t get too excited, you still have to build the armour, but I figured you’d want to give Scott something to be jealous over.”

“Hell yes, you read me like a book – thank you Peebee!” Sara said and without thinking gave Peebee a tight hug, which to her relief the asari reciprocated.

“No worries!” Peebee replied chirpily, “now go – make armour!”

“I know exactly who to ask,” Sara smiled.

“Hey! HEY! Speaking of, tell me everything!”

Sara was already halfway out the door of the escape pod before she rounded on Peebee, “sorry, gotta go. You said it yourself! Bye!” and she bolted from the bridge and down the hallway.

“Oi! OI! I’ll get you!” she heard Peebee calling after her and she chuckled as she made it to the other side, grateful she had avoided Peebee’s probing – for now.

xXx

After discovering that the bits and bobs she needed for her armour were indeed present on the ship, Sara was satisfied. The day had finally caught up with her, and it was well and truly into the night cycle when she made her way to bed.

However, her mind decided it had other ideas and refused to let her sleep.

Usually when she couldn’t sleep she would take a walk outside, but as there was no outside for her to walk through (well there was Kadara but, nope), Sara decided to pace around the small ship to distract her mind.

The ship felt eerie as she made her way through it. For once, she noticed Kallo was not at attention in his chair, and on further inspection Sara caught him sprawled out in the chair fast asleep, his mouth lolling open. Sara had to suppress a giggle as she continued her walkthrough - peering through the windows of the crew quarters as she went and catching Gil asleep on a bunk.  

“Wow, it’s rare for those two to be asleep…let alone at the same time,” Sara mumbled as she walked by. She made her way into the cargo bay and stared around it aimlessly, there wasn’t a single sound aside from the gentle hum of the engine.

As her eyes scanned the cargo bay she spotted the guitar she had played.

“Is anyone awake SAM?” Sara whispered.

“Jaal is speaking to his family in the tech bay, Vetra is going through her emails in the Pathfinder’s quarters and Drack is eating in the gallery.”

“Okay, good,” Sara replied, “thank you.”

Sara pulled the guitar from its little cranny in the ship and strummed the strings gently, humming in satisfaction that it was still in tune. With the song in her mind, she began to sing:

“Ain’t nobody hurt you like I hurt you,
But ain’t nobody love you like I do
Promise that I will not take it personal, baaa-by
If you’re moving on with someone new-”

“I remember that,” a voice carried through the empty space and Sara jumped, the guitar making an awful sound as it nearly hit the ground, she caught it just in time by the neck.

Sara looked up to see Jaal standing on the upper level, resting his arms over the railing, “oh – it’s you,” she said, her breathing slowing.

“Did I frighten you?” Jaal asked; his face full of concern as he stepped on the elevator.

“A bit,” Sara chuckled, “it’s okay,” she smiled at him.

“What is that song called?” Jaal asked, taking a seat next to Sara on the boxes. He was very close, his leg just not quite touching hers. Sara could feel the electricity and pull to him.

 “‘Happier’,” Sara answered.

“Happier,” Jaal repeated, and made a hum in the back of his throat, “is it normal for humans to mix up their emotions-?”

“All the time,” Sara joked, “that’s what we’re best at.”

Jaal laughed, “But, the song sounds sad to me – why is it called ‘Happier’?”

“It’s a sad song, it’s supposed to be. It’s about a girl he loved that has now moved on with another man. He’s singing about that someday he’ll be happier, just as she is…” Sara trailed off, blinking against her suddenly watery eyes.

Do NOT cry Sara Ryder!

“It…reminds you of someone,” Jaal stated.

“Of me,” Sara replied honestly, “I always thought of it like me looking at Goya, who has inevitably moved on.”

“Are you happier?”

Sara gazed into Jaal’s eyes, and at once felt comfortable. She wasn’t sure why Jaal’s eyes were soothing, but it had something to do with how familiar they felt, how she saw the oceans and islands of Earth in them.

“I think so,” Sara admitted, “I miss home. But-,” she stopped, thinking of the reapers that had ravaged the Milky Way, “but I have a lot to be thankful for, and be happy for here. Like you for instance,” at this admission Jaal’s eyes widened, “you’ve taken such good care of me here and I really don’t deserve it. I just, wanted to thank you.”

Jaal beamed at her and gently placed a hand on her leg. She didn’t know whether it was Jaal’s bioelectricity or the natural chemistry between them, but the charge she felt from the gentle touch was strong, “Sara…I have told you that you do not need to thank me. You deserve it.”

“I don’t need to thank you,” Sara replied, “but I want to.”

The pair of them gazed into each other’s eyes – Sara’s heart was thumping so loudly that Jaal could probably hear it. It ached in her chest.

In that moment, it was just the two of them. Sara’s breathing quickened as she leant closer to Jaal’s face, the purple mottling on his skin becoming very distinct.

Her eyes closed.  

“What are you kids up to?”

WHACK

“Ouch,” Jaal complained, rubbing the back of his head. In his haste to jump backward, he had collided with something heavy and metal.

“If people could stop appearing outta nowhere that’d be nice,” Sara vocalised, clutching at her chest, “I was playing guitar,” she held up the guitar for Drack to see.

“Uh huh,” Drack nodded, and Sara swore she saw a smirk on the old krogan’s face.

“Sara plays beautifully,” Jaal explained, and then turned toward Sara, “I was going to suggest you play for the crew.”

Sara’s heart quickened, “no no, my anxiety would get the best of me I’m afraid. I don’t play for groups – usually just individuals.”

Drack coughed, “I’ll leave you two to it then,” he made his way out of the cargo bay, but not before turning back and giving Sara a small wink. She rolled her eyes at him before he left.

“That was awkward,” Sara chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. She stifled a huge yawn; it seemed her body was really ready for sleep now, “I should probably head to bed.”

“Me too,” Jaal replied, standing up and extending a mitten-hand. Sara smiled gratefully and placed her hand in his, and he pulled her to her feet using a little too much force as she nearly collided with him.

“I adore spending time with you,” Jaal said simply.

“Same here,” Sara replied, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face to his chest, “I think you’re my favourite person on this ship,” the words tumbled out of her mouth and she felt her face redden as they replayed in her mind.  

“Mine as well,” Jaal replied, his head resting on hers and his large arms around her shoulders, “but now, I will let you sleep.”

They walked to the crew quarters together, “night,” Sara smiled as she approached the door.

“Sleep dreams!”

“Don’t you mean ‘sweet dreams’?” Sara couldn’t resist a smile from creeping onto her face.

“Yes,” Jaal said, sounding embarrassed, “that.”

“Sleep dreams to you too,” Sara giggled and the doors of the crew quarters snapped shut, leaving her in the quiet room filled with soft snores.

xXx

Sara was busy in the tech bay crafting her armour. She had the schematic sitting propped up against one of Jaal’s belongings and a bunch of raw materials scattered around the room. She was working on the helmet, as that was the piece she needed desperately.

She wished Jaal was with her to help as he was excellent at this sort of thing, but Scott had stolen him away along with Liam and Vetra to go and look for the illusive ‘Charlatan’ character everyone spoke of.

As she fiddled with a delicate piece of the armour that would get the light working, the doors whizzed open to reveal a surly looking Drack.

“Kid – you’re coming with me.”

“Guessing it’s not a request?” Sara asked, placing the helmet down gently.

“Nope. I need to kill something and you need to come,” Drack replied and stormed off, making his way to the armoury. Curious, Sara followed and saw Drack gearing up and grabbing his shotgun.

“There are always a few raiders hanging about the port. Gear up,” Drack ordered, throwing her the Widow Sniper rifle.

“Yes…sir?”

Sara pulled her armour on; sans helmet due to the damage and the fact her new helmet was nowhere near done. Before she and Drack could leave a breathless Peebee stormed into the armoury, “there you are! Hey wait – where are you going?”

“None of your business,” Drack grumbled.

“I’m coming,” Peebee declared, pulling out her sidewinder and rushing up to stand beside Sara eagerly.

Drack sighed, “Fine. Come on.”

The three of them left the ship in an orderly fashion through the airlock door in the armoury rather than the larger exit through the cargo bay and Sara smiled to herself, clearly the krogan hadn’t gotten permission to do this.

“Why me Drack?” Sara asked curiously, checking the clips of her armour.

“Felt like company, plus…”

“Sara’s the least likely to report you to Lexi, right?” Peebee answered for him.

“That too,” Drack nodded.

“Oooh I do enjoy being bad,” Peebee rubbed her hands together as the three of them made their way through the slums and using their jet-packs to propel themselves over the fence rather than having to talk to the surly krogan guard of the Badlands.

It didn’t take long to find a group of raiders standing around with seemingly no objective, Sara pulled her Widow out and using tactical cloak took aim of a raider, blowing his head off in one easy shot. Drack roared, his blood rage activating before storming into the thicket with Peebee following using a combination of tech and biotics to mow enemies down.

“Sara! Behind you!” Peebee called out, and Sara turned as if in slow motion to see an asari raider smiling behind her. Sara propelled back using the jet-pack and then quickly adjusting the setting on her omni-tool, held out her hand where a torrent of flames burst directly at the asari. Sara moved forward with the flames as the asari tried desperately to get out of the line of fire.

The flames flickered and died leaving the asari writhing on the ground. Sara flicked another switch and pulled her arm back, allowing the omni-blade to emerge and with one swift movement it pierced the asari’s throat.

“Well done,” Drack complimented, “I see why Scott wanted you in active combat.”

“Thanks,” Sara replied, smiling at the krogan’s approval.

“Reckon it’ll be long before we see a dropship?” Peebee asked, staring at the sky as if trying to summon one. The three of them continued to walk, trying to find some more enemies to shoot – whether it be remnant, kett or raiders.

“So…the kid?” Drack asked absent-mindedly as they moved.

“Which kid? You call everyone kid?” Sara asked, feeling her heartbeat quicken in her chest. She knew exactly what kid he was talking about.

“Jaal,” Drack stated. Oh boy. Definitely that kid.

“Ooooh that’s EXACTLY what I wanted to ask you about!” Peebee bounced excitedly.

“What about Jaal?” Sara asked in a very unconvincing act of nonchalance.

“Don’t think we don’t notice,” Drack snorted, “he’s just as bad as a love struck krogan. I should know, been watching Vorn with Kesh.”

“A lot less violent than a love struck krogan though,” Peebee commented idly.

“Vorn is not violent – if he was he wouldn’t be breathing right now,” Drack countered, then turned back to Sara, “Plus, I saw you two in the cargo bay.”

Peebee spluttered, “Wait, WHAT?”

“We weren’t doing anything in the cargo bay! He caught me playing guitar and then we talked for a bit.”

“’Talked?’ Hmph, so ‘talking’ for humans is ‘about to kiss’? I’ll have to remember that one.”

This time it was Sara’s turn to splutter while Peebee was so excited she activated her jet-pack and launched 5 metres into the air.

“WHAT?” Peebee shouted as she came crashing down, “YOU HID THIS FROM ME OLD MAN!”

“I’m not here to repeat the kid’s business,” Drack stated simply.

“But, but,” Peebee replied, “aww man!”

“Earth to everyone we didn’t actually kiss! Yikes!” Sara added to the conversation, feeling suddenly grumpy.

“But you like him, right?” Peebee asked eagerly, she was bouncing with excitement.

“And why exactly is it anyone’s business about how I feel about anyone?” Sara snapped directing it to Drack, but had been a lot blunter then she had intended.

A gunshot whizzed past Sara’s left ear.

“Not here to turn you off of it by any means,” Drack said, cocking his gun and pointing it at an incoming new group of enemies. Sara pulled the carnifex from her thigh that she kept for emergencies and switched her omni-tool to activate her snap-freeze while Peebee grabbed the enemies in a pull.

“I’m here to make sure you don’t get hurt,” Drack continued as he punched enemies’ skulls in and bashed them with his enormous head.

“Exactly! I support you in whatever decision you make…naturally,” Peebee added, darting forward and landing shots from her gun before switching back to biotics. 

“Right,” Sara replied, letting her flamethrower do the work to take out the last few enemies, “any reason we’re having this conversation in active combat?”

“Because I needed to kill things,” Drack answered, “and it’s distracting. Think of it as…krogan therapy.”

“Your therapy involves you killing things?”

Drack gave her a look as he stepped on an angara’s head, “obviously,” he grumbled, “I’m a krogan.”

“You like him, right?” Peebee repeated, stowing her gun away once the last enemy in the immediate vicinity had fallen, “I mean surely you wouldn’t be about to kiss him if you didn’t.”

Sara didn’t speak for a moment, running it all through her mind, “I…” she struggled to say the words aloud. Talks like this in the Milky Way had always been with Scott. In fact, Scott had been the first person to know about Goya before she had had the courage to tell their parents.

They always knew everything that was happening in each other’s lives. But not anymore.

Sara frowned when she remembered Scott not including her in important briefings despite being the successor to his job, losing his temper with her panic and ordering her around without taking anything into consideration. Andromeda had changed him. No, it was time for Sara to have an upper hand, to have something Scott didn’t know about.

“Yeah,” Sara gulped, “I like him.”

She couldn’t believe she had admitted it, and to the two most unlikely crew members – a 1400 year old battle-hardened krogan and an independent asari who took absolutely no shit.

Not the people she had imagined telling anyway.

Drack grunted in response while Peebee let out a gleeful squeal.

“Now what though?” Sara shrugged, “I like him, doesn’t mean he likes me.”

At this statement Peebee cackled, “c’mon Ryder! You can’t be that stupid! It’s clear Jaal lurrrves you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sara casually dismissed. 

“It’s up to you kid on what you want,” Drack explained, ripping the teeth out of a dead Adhi and attaching it to his armour while Sara watched with a disgusted look on her face, “want one?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sara shrugged and he threw her one of the Adhi’s canine teeth. She put it in a compartment on her armour for now while she figured out what to do with it.

“We’re here for ya,” Peebee smiled, wrapping an arm around Sara’s waist.

“Can you guys promise me one thing?” Sara asked hesitantly, “please don’t tell Scott or Jaal…or anyone else.”

“Sure kid,” Drack nodded and then stared at Peebee, “that includes you Peebee, no spreading info.”

“Awww,” Peebee groaned, “fiiiine.”

The three of them headed back to the Tempest, and Sara once again had a hot shower in mind after the active combat. Thankfully Scott had not returned as of yet, much to Sara’s pleasure. She didn’t want to hear the lecture she’d get about she and Drack being in active combat – especially since it had been Drack’s idea. They snuck through the airlock anyway and thankfully Lexi wasn’t waiting for them on the other side either.

After showering, Sara found herself in the cargo bay twirling the Adhi tooth through her hands, still figuring out what to do with it when Scott, Liam, Vetra and Jaal entered the cargo bay looking thoroughly worn-out, especially Jaal who looked ready to punch something.

“Welcome back,” Sara called out to them, and Jaal’s sour expression considerably lightened when his eyes found hers, “find anything?”

“Nope,” Liam groaned.

“Better luck next time then?” Cora asked.

“Hopefully, but not in the near future anyway. I have my orders – the next planet we’re headed to is Havarl. I’ll fill you all in once we’re there. We leave in 30,” Scott stated.

“I must inform my true mother right away!” Jaal called out, his eyes were filled with excitement.

“Whoa, whoa,” Scott replied, “hold your horses!”

“What is a horse?” Jaal asked.

“Not sure how long we’ll be there for; there may not be time for personal endeavours. I’ll find out more when we get there.”

“Right,” Jaal said, his tone shifting dramatically. Scott nodded at the crew and left the cargo bay without a backward glance. Sara looked around awkwardly, the rest of the crew seemed restless at Jaal and Scott’s quick exchange but eventually they all went their separate ways for the night. 

Sara found herself excited at the prospect of visiting a world that wasn’t a barren desert. As much as she liked desert because it reminded her of Mars, the idea of a jungle world was very pleasing at the present moment.

Plus she was eager to see Jaal’s homeworld.

She couldn’t even lie to herself upon realising that was 90% of the reason she wanted to go there.

Chapter Text

SCOTT

Scott retreated to the safety of his room where he flopped onto his bed, still fully armoured.

“SAM? Can you lock my door to everyone?”

“Yes, Pathfinder.”

“Thank you.”

Scott sighed, running his fingers through his hair and sitting up, frowning when he noticed he had left a huge dirty imprint on his bed. Growling under his breath he pulled the armour pieces off and lobbed them into the corner.

He pulled the email up from Tann that he had received while looking for Reyes on Kadara and read through it again.

From: Tann, J.
To: Ryder, S.
Cc: Addison, F. Kandros, T. Kesh, N.

Pathfinder,

We’ve received reports that there have been sightings of those strange kett hybrids on Havarl. We would like you to investigate this. Please divert from your task as soon as possible and report to Havarl immediately.

After that I’d like you to report to the Nexus for an important meeting with the other advisors.

Sincerely,

Director Jarun Tann
Andromeda Initiative Director
The Nexus, Heleus Cluster
Andromeda Galaxy

He sighed bitterly. He pulled up the latest report from Havarl and gave it a quick scan-over.

‘Business as usual’ reported on Havarl. Flora and fauna are reporting rapid return to normal state since Meridian’s activation. Remnant numbers remain steady, Roekaar numbers increasing as was predicted from the death of their leader, Akksul.

Scott grit his teeth. As much as Jaal had berated him for shooting Akksul, Scott knew he had made the correct decision. He could still remember the argument in perfect detail.

Jaal had stormed into his quarters while Scott had been going over finances of the Tempest, in particular why the food bill was so high – even with a krogan on board it shouldn’t be costing 10,000 credits a week.

“Why did you do it?” Jaal had snapped at him.

“What else did you expect me to do?” Scott demanded.

“To trust me!” Jaal snapped. The huge angara paced in front of him, his hands curled into fists and his teeth bared.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t exactly trust your judgement when he had a ushior in your face. A ushior Jaal!” Scott stated; if anything the statement seemed to make Jaal angrier.

“I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you just disregarding my feelings on important matters like this! To my people! To me!” Jaal breathed heavily as if he had run a marathon.

“Jaal, I don’t have time for people’s emotions. I’m the human Pathfinder. I have 20,000 human lives on my shoulders, plus the other 80,000 members of the Initiative. I have to take the most logical approach to things. In that moment, Akksul had a loaded weapon pointed at your face, I had absolutely no choice. What would you have done?”

“I would’ve trusted,” the last word was a snarl.

“You would’ve let your superior officer be shot in the face?”

“Yes…no…I don’t know!”

“Could you imagine me going to Evfra and having to explain how his best lieutenant died? Evfra would mount my head on the wall right next to the remains of yours.”

Jaal had then snarled at him and stormed out of his room, and hadn’t been in it since. In truth, Scott couldn’t remember the last time he had had a conversation with the angara one-on-one.

Regardless, the planet was fine. The kett reports had been troubling however – the most sightings were on Kadara with a handful on Eos and Voeld as well. Havarl had never had a particularly strong kett presence, so he was intrigued and annoyed. There had also been none sighted on Elaaden which surprised him – but the planet seemed like a cesspool even to the kett.

And that meeting! Scott racked his brains trying to think of what he had done but came up with nothing. Aside from Sara and Jaal getting stuck inside of a cave, nothing disastrous had happened. He sighed bitterly and opened the email from Tann on his terminal and hit ‘reply’.

The empty screen taunted him.

‘Pathfinder’ SAM said in his head, pulling him from his thoughts, ‘Vetra is requesting entry into your cabin’

“Access denied,” Scott replied, chewing on his lip as he tried to respond to Tann’s email. He began to type.

‘She is insistent’

“Access denied,” Scott repeated sternly. His typing became a little more fierce and exaggerated.

‘Pathfinder – I fear she may break down the door’

“Fine,” Scott stated.

Vetra barged her way into the cabin, opening the doors by force rather than waiting for them to open automatically. Scott swivelled in his chair to look at her. She had taken her visor off and her overall demeanour seemed off, “yes?” Scott asked.

“Yes?” Vetra repeated incredulously.

“What do you want, exactly?” Scott asked, his anger getting the better of him.

“What’s with you today?” Vetra asked, her stance softening ever so slightly, but her arms remained crossed tightly over her chest.

“What do you think?” Scott snapped, unable to contain it and leaping to his feet, “everyone wants a fucking favour! You can’t listen to SAM when he says you’re not welcome in here right now? Really? Just…,” he grabbed fistfuls of his hair and turned away from her.  

He heard the whoosh of the door, and turned to see that Vetra had gone. The room was very still, and the only sound Scott could hear was the gentle hum of the engine and his space-hamster running on its wheel.

He immediately regretted his outburst with Vetra, and felt the guilt settling in his gut. He shrugged it off and sat back down in his swivel chair. This whole mess wasn’t Vetra’s fault. None of it was.

Scott finished the email, and read it over again.

From: Ryder, S.
To: Tann, J.
Cc: Addison, F. Kandros, T. Kesh, N.

Director Tann,

Directive is noted and the Tempest is on course for Havarl now.

Regarding your second point – is it possible to have the meeting over vid-con?

Regards,

Scott Ryder
Human Pathfinder

He hummed in approval and hit the send button, only a few minutes had passed before Tann had sent an email back.

From: Tann, J.
To: Ryder, S.

Pathfinder,

I would prefer that you were present for the meeting. It would be inconvenient over com – report to the Nexus as soon as your latest assignment on Havarl has concluded.

Director Tann
Andromeda Initiative Director
The Nexus, Heleus Cluster
Andromeda Galaxy

Scott sighed and stood up, he needed to hit something.

xXx

“Are you okay?”

Scott turned to see Gil leaning easily against the Nomad.

“Nope,” Scott replied, punching the bag again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” even Gil sounded awkward as he said it.

“Fuck no,” Scott stated, taking another swing.

“Do you want to play poker with Liam and I?”

Scott stopped hitting the bag and rubbed his bleeding knuckles, “sure.” He followed Gil to Liam’s room where Liam handed him a beer and the three of them gathered around the small table.

“Trouble?” Liam asked.

“You know it,” Scott ran his fingers through his hair, “but thinking about it won’t help me. Let’s poker this shit up.”

After a few rounds of non-competitive play (Gil however was still wiping the floor with them), Scott felt some of the tension leave his body.

“Have you seen Peebee lately?” Liam asked conversationally as he picked up a card.

“Yes, I have,” Scott replied and folded, “that bet is coming along well, eh?” he cocked an eyebrow.

At this Liam sighed, “I won’t concede defeat just yet! But, I will admit, I think you’re right. Peebee and Sara seemed joined at the hip lately.”

“Was I right, or was I right?” Scott grinned.

“I wouldn’t get comfortable yet,” Gil inputted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Gil replied smugly.

“Surely you can’t think that Sara would date Jaal,” Scott made a disgusted face, “ergh.”

“Just because you think he’s ergh doesn’t mean we all do,” Gil snapped.

“Wait, Brodie, you’re not telling me you have the hots for Jaal?” Liam asked. Scott nearly dropped his hand of cards and looked at Gil curiously.

“I mean…” Gil’s face went a little pink, “he’s not bad y’know.”

“Oh my god,” Scott rubbed his face in his free hand.

“Damn!” Liam laughed, “you should go for it.”

“No! Firstly I have no idea if he bats for the other team and secondly, why would I self-sabotage like that?”

“You’re still on Brodie,” Scott replied, “it’s going to be Peebee.”  

“Hey – I still think Suvi’s a shoo-in for sure.”

“Keep dreaming Kosta,” Liam and Gil said together.

Scott couldn’t muster competitive play today, so the three parted will full pockets. He really didn’t understand how Gil was so good at poker – maybe he was using some sort of cheating software.

‘He is not’ SAM stated.

Scott rolled his eyes, and then looked back on Vetra’s door and noted the lock was engaged, and sighed. He needed to make things right with her.

How do I find something for Vetra, when she’s the one that finds everything? Scott asked himself.

‘I recommend checking in with Peebee, Pathfinder,’ SAM explained, ‘she may have something that interests you’.

“Okay?” Scott asked aloud before climbing the stairs and heading toward the escape pod and knocking on the door.

“Come innnn!” a sing-song voice called to him and Scott stepped into the messy area. He wondered how on earth he was going to get the crew in here to escape if they so needed, but neither Kallo or SAM had bought this to his attention.

“Scotty! What brings you to my quarters this fine evening?”

Scott repressed a scowl, between Drack calling him ‘kid’ and Peebee’s new nickname of ‘Scotty’ he was never going to cop a break.

“Peebee – I uh…have a favour to ask,” Scott stated, running his fingers through his hair and pacing.

“Trouble in paradise hmm? What can I do to help ya?”

Scott was taken aback, who knew how Peebee knew, “Yeah. I was wondering if you’d have anything that’d interest Vetra?”

“I dooooo actually,” Peebee winked, “but!”

“But?” Scott cocked an eyebrow.

“I’d like to go exploring on Havarl.”

“A favour for a favour?” Scott sighed irritably and rubbed his temples in frustration, “sure…fine.”

“Yes!” Peebee chirped excitedly, she rummaged through her belongings and retrieved a bottle of wine and handed it to him.

“Dextro?” Scott asked before SAM translated the foreign symbols that were printed onto the bottle, “ah yes! Thank you Peebee.”

“My pleasure!” Peebee smiled at him and he left wondering what had just happened.

xXx

Scott had showered, changed into his best casual clothes and even shaved his facial hair. He rubbed at his clean shaven face and grimaced, he hated having the clean shaven look because it took him so long to regrow even the 5 o’clock shadow. But, he wanted to impress her and she’d joked she would like to see him clean shaven.

He grabbed the wine bottle and set off for Vetra’s quarters, where the lock was still engaged. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

Nothing.

“Vetra?” Scott called gently, “I know you’re in there.”

There was no response. The door remained engaged. Scott knew he could get SAM to override it and he could barge in – but doing that wouldn’t do him any favours.

“Vetra,” he called again, “I…” he trailed off. 

Still nothing.

“Fine!” he shouted, storming off from her door and barging into his cabin. He grit his teeth and before he could stop himself the blue light engulfed his arm and he threw the wine at his wall with as much force as he could muster.

He regretted it when the wine bottle was halfway to the wall, flinching as the bottle made a sickening smash and wine and glass sprayed everywhere.

“Fucking hell!” Scott cried as he kicked the desk and groaned when his toe stung in response. He hated feeling like this. He didn’t want to think about it – it was enough to drive him insane.

He needed rest; he would sleep the rest of the journey to Havarl.

xXx

‘Pathfinder.’

Scott snapped to attention at once, immediately sitting up in bed and rubbing at his face, “yes, SAM?”

“We have landed on Havarl.”

“Excellent – please alert Jaal that he will be joining me on the ground team today.”

“Error – unable to process request. Jaal is currently uncontactable.”

“What?” Scott asked, “where is he?”

“Unknown,” SAM replied, “he disconnected his comms before disappearing an hour ago.”

Scott groaned, “He could be anywhere. Has anyone else mysteriously vanished?”

“Peebee has gone to explore vaults; her comms are still engaged.”

“It’s fine,” Scott replied, getting out of bed and rubbing at his clean-shaven face, “I allowed her that. I didn’t want to go on Havarl without an angara, shit.”

“I recall you on Havarl on numerous occasions without Jaal’s presence,” SAM countered.

“That was when the Roekaar weren’t as active,” Scott argued, “I feel like I need an angaran presence to help with even local non-Roekaar to stop seeing me as a threat. Ergh, this is a disaster.”

“Orders?”

“Business as usual,” Scott answered, “I need a coffee.”

Once he had a coffee in hand, Scott didn’t know what to do. He was standing awkwardly in the gallery with Lexi and didn’t feel like a consult, so decided to go to the place that had comforted him in the days of the Archon.

He felt his feet carrying him to the Galaxy Map.

He heard Suvi’s accent and Sara’s voice flowing through the doors once they opened. The pair were discussing religion. He noted Kallo was steering the ship as usual, “Ryder” he said automatically, and Scott replied with a stiff “Kallo”.

“But…I mean, I respect your belief I just don’t share it,” Sara explained, and Scott turned to look at her. She was sitting easily over near Suvi, coffee in hand and her legs dangling awkwardly on the half-wall that separated Suvi’s workspace from the rest of the bridge.

“Yeh don’t have to Sara,” Suvi replied, “I’m just glad yeh respect it is all. So many have told me my beliefs aren’t worth respecting, which is unfair as I respect theirs.”

“It’s interesting how you blend science and religion and make it work for you,” Sara admitted, “I like it.”

“I’m not alone with it, yeh brother and I used to have a once-a-week read-through of religious texts, didn’t we Sc-?” but she stopped when she looked at him, and the pause caused Sara to turn too.

“WHOA!” Sara said excitedly, “you shaved your face! Holy shit Peebee is going to die!”

“Is it that noticeable?” Scott asked nonchalantly.

“Wow!” Sara said, getting up and touching his face, “I haven’t seen it that smooth since you were twenty.”

“Shut up, Sara!” Scott joked.

“Hey, it’s true!” she argued and sat back down next to Suvi.

“It really suits yeh,” Suvi claimed.

“Thanks,” Scott replied, feeling his face with a bit less loathing, “and I do remember our read-throughs of religious texts.”

“Yes! I miss them,” Suvi sighed.

“Remember we used to drink your tea?”

“I ran out!” Suvi sighed, the light in her eyes faltering, “the other day.”

Scott gasped, “no! What! That was the best tea. Here’s to one less thing from Earth.” Silence fell between them, and he stared back at the map with the holographic planets.

“Does ‘once-a-week read-through of religious texts’ mean what I think it does?” Sara asked curiously.

Scott and Suvi locked eyes before Suvi burst into laughter and Scott cracked a grin, “no, no,” she laughed, “he’s not my type anyway.”

“Can’t forgive me for trying that one time,” Scott grinned despite himself.

“It was pretty pathetic,” Suvi laughed, “firstly, yeh had googly eyes for Vetra anyway. Secondly, yeh’re not womanly enough for me!”

“Oh,” Sara started, and then the realisation hit her, “ohhhhhh.”

“Do we have to have this conversation on the bridge?” Kallo almost begged, “really?”

“Yes. Kallo, it’s essential we discuss our love lives on the bridge,” Sara declared sarcastically and Suvi laughed along, much to Kallo’s disgust.  

Scott continued to grin, he was glad he had come up to the bridge. Seeing Sara act normally with Suvi and Kallo, almost playfully, lightened him. He knew that she would never be the same, hell, he’d never be the same either – but any semblance of normal eased him, much more than the Galaxy Map was at the present moment.

“Alright, duty calls,” Scott stated, draining his coffee cup and smiling at his sister and Suvi.

“Have fun,” Sara replied, smiling back at him.

For a brief moment, he considered it.  

Chapter Text

“Thanks for the chat Suv,” Sara said, swallowing the dregs of coffee and wincing against the bitterness, “let’s do this again sometime.”

“Sure,” Suvi replied, smiling. Sara stood from her awkward position and stretched her legs. She rubbed at her aching head and hoped that the headache was just from a lack of caffeine.

She had more armour to configure but wasn’t really in the mood to do so without Jaal. He had given her a hurried goodbye as he had practically run from the ship earlier, saying something along the lines of ‘visiting loved ones’.

Sara assumed he had told everyone about this, so she hadn’t bothered to mention it to anyone else. She slid easily down the ladder before nearly dropping her mug in shock from the sudden yells coming through from the cargo bay.

Cora poked her head out from the bathroom, one towel wrapped around her torso and another around her hair, “what is going on?”

“I’ll find out,” Sara said, and half jogged to the cargo bay.

Once the doors opened the sound amplified and the voices were unmistakable.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?”

Scott’s face was inches from Jaal’s. He was shouting himself hoarse, his face as red as a tomato. Jaal looked down at Scott in what looked like genuine disbelief, but Sara could see the lines of displeasure on his face.

“Visiting my true mother and family,” Jaal replied stiffly.

“YOU DON’T TURN OFF YOUR COMMS!”

“I didn’t want to be disturbed,” Jaal stated.

“REGARDLESS, YOU DON’T EVER TURN OFF YOUR COMMS! I NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, SO YOU’RE SAFE UNDER MY COMMAND!”

Sara couldn’t recall ever seeing Scott lose control like this before, and was proud of Jaal for keeping it together considering he was usually the more emotional of the two. But, just as Sara thought it, Jaal’s emotions were starting to get the better of him.

“You said I couldn’t visit my family!” Jaal snapped, pulling himself higher, “I had to see them before you banned me from doing so.”

“Jaal, the mission - ,” Scott started, but Jaal cut across him.

“Fuck off,” Jaal growled, the words caught Sara off-guard and even Scott faltered, “The mission was never a priority when we were at the Nexus. Every time we boarded, the mission waited while you visited Sara!”

Scott opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Both he and Jaal turned to Sara, who could feel the colour rise to her cheeks.

“Is that true?” Sara asked her brother, this time it was she that was feeling the genuine disbelief.

“Yes, it’s true,” Scott said in a small voice, and immediately a rush of gratitude filled Sara’s chest. She had no idea Scott would put everything on hold for her. In that moment, she felt very loved.

“Don’t tell me the mission is more important than family,” Jaal pulled Sara from her thoughts as he spoke, “because I know it’s a lie.”

Scott’s temple pulsed and he paced in front of Jaal, seemingly unable to form a thought. Sara noted that Vetra’s door was open and the turian had emerged, she looked from Jaal to Scott uncomfortably.

“Scott?”

He turned so fast to face her that Sara was sure he was going to fall over.

“You shaved your face?”

Scott sighed, “Not a good time.”

“It’s a bit hard not to notice – can we have a word?”

“Now?”

“Now.”

Scott sighed and to Sara’s amazement, followed Vetra into her quarters without another word and they shut the door behind them. Sara stood blankly in the cargo bay for a moment before Jaal stormed out without acknowledging anyone and the crowd that had gathered eyed each other in confusion.

“What on earth happened?” Cora asked as she made her way into the cargo bay, now fully dressed but still with a towel on her head.

“Jaal and my brother decided to have a massive fight for us all to see,” Sara explained.

“What about?”

“Apparently Jaal snuck away to visit his family against Scott’s wishes, didn’t tell anyone and switched off his comms,” Liam explained from the landing above. Sara’s insides squirmed uncomfortably, she knew he had gone.

But, her inner voice argued, no one asked.

“What?” Cora asked incredulously, “I understand why he’s so angry.”

“But I get the family thing too,” Gil explained, “I mean…if I were a Milky Way alien on a spaceship with a bunch of guys from Andromeda and they didn’t let me see family I hadn’t seen in months…well. I can imagine he’s probably missing other angara. They aren’t used to multicultural society like we are.”

“But he disobeyed an order, and switched off his comms! What if something had happened to him?” Lexi argued, lounging awkwardly against the doorframe.

“To be fair -,” Drack joined the conversation, “it was never an order.”

“That’s…true,” Lexi replied. The crew fell into an uneasy silence.

It was that moment that Peebee trudged up the ramp, her face damp and muddy and with a bundle of remnant machinery under her arm. She looked around expectantly, “hey guys – what did I miss?”

xXx

Sara was in the crew quarters flipping through the pages of a tattered book and trying to occupy her time when Scott came in, he had his under-armour on and was putting his hair back into its usual swept style.

“Hey, what’s up?” Sara asked, closing the book. She hadn’t seen her brother in about a day. Scott had emerged from Vetra’s room red-eyed and ashen faced and had kept mostly to himself since.

“Mission – need you to come along, covering all my bases. I need a sniper and…well.”

“Understood, I’ll be in the cargo bay in 10,” Sara said to him and made her way up the ladder and into the armoury where she met Peebee and Liam gearing up. Sara nodded to the pair of them and pulled the standard initiative armour on, frowning when she realised she hadn’t been able to work on hers. Jaal had locked himself in the tech bay and was refusing to talk to anybody. Sara had tried numerous times to go in, but he had denied her entry.

She groaned under her breath as she adjusted the clips, placed her Widow on her back and walked with Peebee and Liam to the cargo bay where Scott was waiting and they followed him onto the planet. Sara’s armoured boots squelched in the mud as she took her first step onto Havarl and breathed in the air before placing her helmet on.

“Whoa,” Sara whispered as they ventured forward and she held one of the leaves in her hands, the gentle blue hum soothed her very soul, “I’ve never seen bioluminescence before…”

“The planet is looking great!” Liam said as he came up next to Sara and looked at the same plant she was staring at.

“I like that we can walk through and not be attacked by some mutated animal,” Peebee added.

“I concur,” Scott nodded in agreement.

“So Havarl had issues didn’t it? It was different to other worlds, right?” Sara asked.

“It did,” Scott explained, “one of Havarl’s vaults was inactive while the other two were working normally resulting in extreme growth patterns in both flora and fauna. It was almost as if they were rabid.”

“And they were huge!” Peebee continued, “much bigger than the normal wildlife.”

They fell silent, the only steps the gentle sounds of nature and their footsteps. Sara let out a big breath of air and scratched at her armour, she had underestimated the humidity of the planet and felt sweat gathering already.

“Ergh,” Sara whispered, holding a hand to her head. She had forgotten to take pain medication to prevent a headache, and much to her displeasure one had formed.

“All good?” Liam asked, turning back to look at her. She couldn’t see his expression through his helmet.

“Yeah,” Sara replied softly, shaking her head slightly to try and will the headache away.

“Ah. Here’s our contact,” Scott interrupted. They approached a moss-green coloured angara with the most striking green eyes which perfectly matched his environment. Sara couldn’t take her eyes off of his.

“Pathfinder, I’m Divril De Shof. I’m one of the head biologists of this region monitoring the growth and steady incline of flora and fauna,” he said in a deep, soothing voice.

Sara noted that he looked slightly uncomfortable at the sight of aliens. Sara knew that the Initiative had a presence on Havarl but she thought how uncomfortable she would’ve been facing four armed aliens with nothing more than a datapad.

“Pleasure. My bosses tell me you were the one to report sightings of the kett?”

“Yes, two klicks west from here. I was studying some of the flora when I was spotted by two…kett…creatures I’d guess I’d call them. One of them was very reptilian in appearance and looked as though it was covered in slime and the other was very pale and looked mechanical at first.”

Sara caught Peebee’s eye and felt the bile rise in her throat at the news that there was more of them.

“I see,” Scott said simply. It was only because she knew her brother so well that Sara picked up on the apprehension in his voice “was there anything else you noticed?”

“No…” Divril replied.

“How did you get away?” Liam asked suddenly.

“I ducked down below the foliage,” Divril explained, “and slowly moved away from them. I remember one of them hurrying forward for me and I broke into a run – but thankfully most of their shots missed. One got me here,” he showed them a spot on his arm that looked as though his clothing had been singed, “it helps I’m the same colour as the plants.”

“Definitely,” Scott replied seriously, “right well, we’re going to check it out. Thank you.”

Divril nodded at them before they left him behind. Sara turned back and noted the angara had what looked like a sour expression crossed with fear. She pulled her Widow from her back and got the gun ready in case of an ambush.

“Sara,” Scott said, “I want you to go with Peebee and follow on the higher ground – up there,” he pointed to a set of rocks poking out of the elevated earth, “use your jetpacks. Liam and I will take the lower route as we’re the close range fighters.”

“Understood,” Sara replied and she and Peebee made their way to higher ground. When out of earshot, Peebee muted her comm to communicate only with Sara.

“How’s Jaal after the fight?” Peebee asked in a low voice.

Sara took a few seconds to reply, “I don’t know. He hasn’t spoken to me.”

“He hasn’t?”

“No.”

“Hmm, worrying,” Peebee continued, “I would’ve thought you’d be the first person he would’ve spoken to.”

“I thought that too…I guess that was arrogant of me.”

They continued in silence for a while, Sara having a firm grip on the Widow while scanning the surrounding environment for any signs of movement. So far it had just been animals including a group of adhi below that were lumbering past.  

“Maybe he’s fed up with me,” Sara wondered aloud.

“Who, Jaal or Scott?”

“Probably both – but in this context, Jaal. After all, I am Scott’s sister. We share DNA.”

“You’re his twin technically, isn’t that like more meaningful in humans?” Peebee asked.

“It is, yeah. Maybe some part of Jaal thinks my brother and I are one in the same. Maybe his obvious hatred of Scott influences how he feels about me.”

“Or maybe he just needs space? He is an angara after all – who knows how they do anything,” Peebee snorted.

“That’s my point! I-,” but Sara stopped dead as they reached the edge of the outcrop and were overlooking a field. Sara held up a fist and Peebee stopped immediately. Pulling out her Widow, Sara jammed her eye to the scope and looked on the scene below her.

True to Divril’s word, there were quarian-kett and drell-kett here. She couldn’t count how many there were from this distance especially since the helmet had no night vison, but it was more than a dozen. Sara scanned through the valley in which Scott was making his way through, and noted behind him that several more kett were tailing him.

“There’s Chosen too,” Sara whispered, “garden variety kett. Scott!” she called into the comm.

“Sara? Do you have our position?”

“There’s Chosen behind you, it’s an ambush! Watch your back!” Sara took aim at one of the Chosen tailing her brother and Liam, and steadied her breathing squeezing the trigger while exhaling. The shot snapped through the jungle but she missed.

“Damn this helmet!” Sara roared, taking it off and breathing in relief that she had an easier line of sight into her scope with her unhindered eye.

Chaos reigned as the bunch of kett snapped to attention and started wildly firing into the valley.

“Take cover!” Peebee cried as she jumped down from where she and Sara were hidden and sent out a powerful shockwave knocking several of them to their feet.

Sara meanwhile was popping the heads of the kett that were behind, her lip twitching upward as she knocked them off one by one, quickly reloading the Widow after each shot and lining them up with her breathing. She found it hard to concentrate with the gunfire and biotics and her headache had a firm grip on her head.

“At my 12 o’clock!” Scott called into the comm and Sara turned her gun and began to take out the ones that were in the thick of fire, careful to avoid the blue and orange blurs that were Scott and Liam respectively.

“Shurid hesh!” a crackly voice came from behind her and Sara turned rapidly, coming face to face with a Chosen which was pointing a gun at her heart.

Sara’s insides froze, the breath leaving her body. She stared into its soulless eyes as it advanced on her, gun raised.

Stupid stupid I got ambushed!

She also eyed her helmet lying just over a metre away from her.

Extra stupid Sara!

“Sara? Come in! Sara?” Scott was calling over the comms.

“Shurid hesh!” it repeated, louder this time and Sara was still frozen, not understanding it and not knowing what to do. In a split second decision, she raised her hand and shot a barrage of flames at it, which turned out to be the exact wrong thing to do.

In those precious seconds, a shot from far away hit Sara in the back. She staggered, and the alarm in her suit told her that her shields were down.

It was this moment that the Chosen fired its gun directly into her chest.

“SARA!”

She didn’t know who had shouted, she didn’t know what had happened. All she knew was that she was falling down, down, down until ear-splitting agony crossed her skull.

Her bladder released as the world became dark.

Chapter Text

“Why on Thessia did she take her helmet off?”

“I have no idea! Why weren’t you with her?”

“I’m not long range! Why are you blaming me?”

“I don’t know! I just want someone to blame for this mess!”  

“Stop arguing – you’re going to wake her up!”

Muddy voices caused Sara to open her eyes to the familiar shape of the med-bay.

“Where-?” she felt her voice slice through her throat.

Havarl. Kett. Scott.

“Sara!” a voice called out softly and a blue shape came into her blurry vision. She recognised it as an asari but couldn’t tell if it was Peebee or Lexi.

“What-?” Sara asked to the air as she tried to sit up, grasping at her head which felt as though it had shrapnel stuck in it. She felt the thick bandage around her skull. Her chest ached as though a krogan had headbutted her. Sara’s vision began to swim back into focus and the black marking over the asari’s eyes betrayed her as Peebee. Her face was full of concern and she had a gentle hand on Sara’s arm.

“Shh, take it easy,” Lexi’s soft voice sounded around the room followed by the asari herself who came up on her other side and pushed Sara back onto the mattress, but fiddling with the settings of the cot to allow Sara to sit up, “can you tell me your full name and date of birth please?”

“Sara Leia Ryder,” Sara croaked, “October 12, 2163.” Lexi nodded and inputted information into a datapad. Sara spied Scott standing in the corner of the room, arms folded and his hair completely out of his usual style and spiky. She had to admit, it suited him. He had enormous black bags under his eyes and abrasions over his face.

“What happened?” Sara asked, looking down at the blue and purple bruises tattooing her pale arms. Her armour had been removed and she was naked underneath her hospital gown. A drip was attached to the crook of her arm.

“You were shot at close range in the chest by a Chosen,” Peebee said, her voice shaking slightly, “I thought you had died.”

“You fell about ten metres down a sharp cliff-face,” Lexi added.

“How long was I out?” Sara asked, squinting at the light in the room.  

“About twenty hours,” Lexi replied, “I kept you in an induced coma for most of that time. The shot and subsequent fall was not all that happened.”

“Not all?” Sara asked timidly, the look on Lexi’s face was not comforting.

“You had a seizure.”

“Okay?” Sara asked timidly, not sure where Lexi was going with this.

“When you fell you sustained a head injury because your head went down hard on a rock which halted your fall and knocked you out cold – you also weren’t wearing your helmet. We think this is what caused the seizure.”

Sara stayed silent, waiting for Lexi to continue.

“SAM and I have done some brain scans, and compared them to the ones we did when you first woke up in Andromeda,” Lexi explained, bringing the images up on her omni-tool, “and while you’ve got no brain damage from the fall or subsequent seizure much to my relief, we noted your implants have moved.”

“Which implants?” Sara asked, but she already knew the answer.

“Your biotic ones,” Lexi replied, “your SAM implants are intact.” 

“Great,” Sara mumbled. She noticed the windows into the med-bay were tinted, probably to give her some privacy.

“How did this happen?” Sara asked.

“Dr T’Perro, Dr Carlyle and I have theorised that the prolonged exposure to the Archon has caused the shift in your implants,” SAM popped up, “you have been experiencing rapid mood shifts and headaches along with slightly reduced performance for quite some time.”

“I don’t agree with reduced performance,” Peebee argued, “she’s fantastic!”

“Compared to readings before her encounter with the Archon while training in the combat simulator, Sara was performing with 4% better accuracy and 5.5%-,” SAM began.

“Enough!” Sara interrupted, “I don’t need to hear how shit I am from a machine thanks.”

“Apologies, Sara,” SAM replied.

“So, you guys think the headaches were to do with…” she couldn’t finish the sentence, the torture, she thought. 

“Yes,” Lexi explained, “while they seem to have been out of place for a while, it was only when you hit your head on the rock after the fall that the seizure occurred.”

“Can you remove them?” Peebee asked, piping up.

Lexi and Sara made eye contact with one another.

“No,” Sara answered, looking into the asari’s earnest eyes, “once we receive biotic implants they stay within the brain. After all, why would L2 users keep their shitty implants?”

“Good point,” Peebee’s brows creased.

“The only thing I know of is that some L2 users have their implants upgraded, but that wouldn’t work for me because I already have L3 implants,” Sara sighed.

“Unfortunately, you are correct. I know you’re not a biotic, but I would recommend not attempting to use them whatsoever,” Lexi began.

“I don’t even wear an amp-,” Sara interrupted.

“However,” Lexi took the conversation back, “SAM and I believe that you’ll now experience similar side effects to L2 users – given you’ve reported headaches for quite some time now.”

“L2 users can experience migraines and insanity if I remember correctly,” Sara frowned, “it’s not going to get that bad, right?”

Lexi grimaced, “we’re…unsure at this stage.”

Sara groaned, “Great – just great. My stupid father forces me to get these fucking implants when I’m not a biotic and never showed biotic potential, and now they cause me to have all the side effects but none of the power of an L2!”

“Sara-,”Scott began, speaking for the first time.

“My fucking life, I tell you – it all keeps going wrong. Fuck this galaxy. Fuck Andromeda,” Sara ranted, throwing her legs to the side of the bed.

“Whoa, whoa,” Lexi held out an arm, “I can’t let you leave just yet.”

“Why not?” Sara snapped, glaring at Lexi.

“We are still assessing the effect on your brain, and you will need to be kept under observation,” SAM interjected.

“That’s right,” Lexi agreed, “we can’t place someone who has seizures alone. You’ll need to have someone with you at all times.”

“It’s not like I’m alone on this ship, it’s tiny.”

“I was thinking you may need to return to Meridian for monitoring…” Lexi began.

“NO!” Sara interrupted, the shout surprising even her, “no,” she said again more reasonably, “I refuse to go back to that prison.”

“Well, for now you need to stay here so I can monitor you.”

“Fine,” Sara said through gritted teeth, “sorry,” she added feeling embarrassed by her outburst.

“It’s quite alright,” Lexi replied.

“Where are we headed?” Sara asked timidly as Scott vacated the room. Peebee however set herself up in the cot next to Sara’s.

“The Nexus,” Lexi announced, “Scott has urgent business to attend, and you can also be assessed while you’re there.”

“Right.”

Lexi gave her a searching look before exiting the med-bay and Peebee stared after her, “hey…would you like some space?” she asked politely.

“Actually…yes please,” Sara mumbled and Peebee nodded, giving Sara’s shoulder a quick squeeze before following Lexi out of the med-bay. The only sound that greeted Sara’s ears was the gentle hum of the ship.

She grabbed at her head with its stupid implants that had completely affected the way her brain now worked. She hated everything, the very thought of everything going wrong just when it seemed to be going right stung her hard.

God only knew when she’d have another seizure.  

“Hang on – I thought I wasn’t supposed to be alone?” Sara wondered aloud and as if summoned, Scott re-entered the med-bay.

“Hey,” Scott muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

“Hey,” Sara replied dully. She watched him for a while as he paced up and down the med-bay, every now and then he’d stop, open his mouth as if he was going to speak and then continue to pace. Sara knew she had to wait him out.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he finally said.

“Do what?” Sara snapped with more force than she’d intended. She rubbed at her head; the headache was ever present again.  

“This,” Scott indicated her, waving his arms dramatically, “you…your whatever-the-fuck is going on with you.”

Sara cocked an eyebrow, “right; my ‘whatever-the-fuck’” she made air quotations, “sorry I’m such a failure for you Scott, really.”

Scott sucked in a breath, but opened and closed his mouth a few times and propped himself on the cot next to hers. Sara stared at her brother, wondering where all of this resentment seemed to be coming from – it’s not like she was doing this intentionally.

“You’re not…it’s just…” Scott paused and looked away, “I shouldn’t have pulled you from Meridian as soon as I did.”  

“What? Why? What?”

Scott didn’t answer, and Sara abandoned her rule of waiting him out as the anger pooled in her gut.

“Am I such a loser that I’m making you look bad in front of your cool friends?”

“No!” Scott snapped staring straight into her eyes.

“I’m just so not cool in front your awesome squad with your awesome advisors and everyone worshipping you? Don’t want your seizing, anxiety ridden sister tampering your spotlight?”

“That’s not it at all!” Scott’s voice rose to a shout, “I just…I don’t know” he buried his face in his hands.

“Scott,” Sara said simply, every nerve ending going numb, “when I went into that stasis pod…this was not what I imagined was waiting on the other side. Have you actually thought about how I feel?”

Scott opened his mouth to argue but Sara spoke over him, “I woke up in a hospital bed being poked and prodded by doctors, unable to be trusted on my own. Unable to do anything. I found out my only family lied to me about everything. Just as I make progress, I’m kidnapped and tortured by this horrid fucking alien. This has been hard; I don’t think you understand that.”  

“You think you’ve had it hard?” Scott asked shrilly, “While you were sleeping I was running around doing all of the hard work fighting kett and other disgusting creatures, and dealing with utter fucking nonsense!” Scott snapped back, “I died three times! One of those times SAM killed me! This hasn’t been easy for me either!”

Sara glared at her brother, her brows furrowing, “what did you just say to me?”

“Huh?”

“Sleeping?” Sara’s voice raised an octave.

Scott’s eyes widened in horror at the realisation of what he had just said, he opened his mouth but again Sara cut across him, “get out.”

“This is my ship!” Scott ordered, getting to his feet.

“GET OUT,” Sara screamed at him, and Scott flinched at her words. Without a word, he backed out of the med bay, the doors snapping shut behind him. When he was gone from the room Sara lost her nerve, and sobbed. The tears spilt down her cheeks.

It was times like this that she needed someone; but the two people whom she’d turn to were no longer options. Scott was usually her first choice, but that was not an option right now.

I miss Goya.

And again, she wasn’t a choice either. She was either dead because of reapers or some other cause, or had long moved on.

She curled into a ball as much as her injuries allowed, and cried. She felt like a small child, but she couldn’t help it.

She just wanted comfort.

xXx

Sara tested the weight of the sniper rifle in her hands after being given one. She turned it over, examining every angle and noting it wasn’t in the best condition.

“It’s a second hand Viper,” Alec Ryder explained. Her father looked as intimidating as ever, even dressed in casual gear. Sara couldn’t help but note that he wore black slacks and an N7 T-Shirt, “I want you to hit that.”

Her father was pointing to a very distant target which Sara could only spot by holding the scope to her eye and gazing at the bullseye.

“Do I shoot?”

“Yep,” Alec replied. Sara raised an eyebrow at her father’s apparent nonchalant energy but shrugged and while looking through the scope, pulled the trigger. The gun jumped back in her hands and butted into her shoulder.

Alec pulled out a pair of binoculars and stared at the target, “not bad. Want me to show you a pointer?”

“Sure,” Sara said, handing him the gun. He took it from her and pointed it at the target.

“Right – when I shoot with a sniper rifle, I time it to my breathing.”

“That sounds…very inefficient,” Sara remarked.

“You won’t miss,” Alec replied curtly and Sara fell silent. She took the binoculars from her father but before looking for the bullseye stared at his technique. He had perfect posture as he stood with the rifle, and Sara watched his chest rise and fall and as it fell he gently squeezed the trigger. Sara looked to the target and sure enough, he had a perfect bullseye.

“Take the time to steady your shot, and time it to your breaths. As you get more confident, you’ll be faster.”

“Thank you sir,” Sara said, taking the sniper rifle off of him and giving it another try. She held the scope to her eye and had the crosshairs over the bullseye. She took a deep, shuddering breath and then blew it out through her mouth, noting how her body stilled before the next breath. Holding her finger over the trigger, she took a few deep breaths before on the fifth exhale she squeezed the trigger as she had seen her father do.

“Not bad,” Alec admitted and Sara stared through the scope to see she was a fraction of a centimetre off of her father’s shot. She looked at him through the corner of her eye, and could’ve sworn a hint of a smile had crossed his face – but when she looked his usual frown was present.

“Keep practising,” Alec told her, and Sara nodded bringing the scope to her eye again. As she concentrated on her breathing again, a firm hand came onto her shoulder and gave it a squeeze and Sara looked to see her father then walk away.

“Sara?”

Sara shook her head, pulling herself from the memory. She wasn’t on the Citadel with her father learning how to shoot – she was in the med-bay on the Tempest in Andromeda and an asari was standing in the doorway.

“Oh, Lexi…” Sara fell back into her pillow and stared at the ceiling.

“Bad dream?” Lexi asked, beginning a medical examination – taking in Sara’s pulse and blood pressure.

“No, no,” Sara replied, “I was just…lost in a memory.”

“Ah, I understand,” Lexi said softly before turning to one of her terminals and typing information. The med-bay doors opened to reveal Peebee and Drack standing in the doorway. Peebee had a big grin on her face at the sight of her while Drack looked as surly as ever.

“Sara! Ya feeling better?” Peebee asked, immediately plonking herself onto Sara’s cot and patting her forearm.

“Yeah, now,” Sara smiled, “I…don’t think I’ve had another seizure either.”

“No, you haven’t - much to my relief,” Lexi explained. Drack leaned against the wall casually; maybe he was worried if he sat on the cot it would give way.

“Scott gave us an update on what happened kid,” Drack started, his eyes softening as he spoke, “you scared me that’s for sure.”

“Drack c’mon you’re not scared of anything surely!” Sara joked, but Drack did not join in on the laughter.

“Even when you’re my age some things still scare you. Losing any of my kids – that scares me…” Drack trailed off and Sara felt her eyes sting for the briefest of seconds.

“Oh…well…thanks Drack,” Sara said in a voice unlike her own, before snapping her attention back to Peebee.

Everyone’s omni-tools blipped and Sara looked at hers.

Crew – shore leave for three hours – Pathfinder.

“’Scuse me, I have to go visit my granddaughter,” Drack nodded at them all before departing from the med-bay.

“Well, that’s nice,” Sara commented, “but I guess I’ll be seeing the doctor.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Lexi said, “wait here a moment,” and she departed the med-bay, leaving Sara and Peebee alone.

“How are the crew?” Sara asked casually, unsure of if she should be getting ready to leave or not.

“What do you mean?” Peebee asked with a confused look on her face, “haven’t they visited?”

“Aside from my brother who I’m not speaking to right now, you and Drack just now…nope no one else.”

“Okay?” Peebee asked, her eye-ridge rising in confusion, “I thought for sure Jaal-,”

“Yeah, well we both thought wrong,” Sara snapped, instantly regretting taking the defensive with Peebee, “sorry, it’s not your fault. Guess he’s still not interested after his stupid row with Scott.”

“Maybe I could try and have a word?”

“No! It’s just - Jaal and I are both adults, when he comes around then we can talk about it. It’s probably some stupid angaran custom but still, he should be familiar enough with humans by now to know what the heck is going on.”

“Agreed,” Peebee nodded, “and also you’re not speaking to Scott?” but before Sara could answer Lexi returned and handed Sara a pile of clothes and dimmed the windows.

“Thanks Lexi,” Sara said in a quiet voice while she pulled her clothing on, careful not to show Peebee all of her private bits. When at last she was respectably covered she pushed out of the bed, a little worried as she hadn’t actually gotten up since her seizure.

“It’s okay you don’t have to hang around me,” Sara said to Peebee as the asari was on one side of her, lifting an arm around her shoulders.

“Nexus Schmexus,” Peebee shrugged, “I’d rather help a friend out.”

“Oh, thank you,” Sara smiled at her and the three of them made their way out of the ship. Sara felt comfortable enough to walk without assistance but wished the pair of them would stop hovering around her like she was going to fall down at any second.

Peebee waited in the waiting room while Sara and Lexi went in with the Nexus doctor. There were a bunch of lovely aliens of various species, and it included two humans – one of which was treating Sara.

“Do you mind if I bring a student in with me?” she asked.

“That’s fine,” Sara replied without thinking, and the doctor beckoned an angara into the room. It took Sara by surprise that the angara looked very much like Jaal – but he was more of a bluish purple, but he had the same striking blue eyes that most angara had, it unnerved her slightly.

“This is one of our angaran doctors who is training with us to get a handle on the various species,” she explained.

“Bit different when you go from one species to several I can imagine,” Lexi laughed and the angara laughed too.

They went through the usual check-up procedure before Lexi showed the human and angara Sara’s scans. Sara sat back, this sort of stuff didn’t faze her as much as it used to.

“I don’t want to!” Sara snapped, folding her arms over her chest and glaring into her father’s face.

“You have to,” Alec replied, copying Sara and staring at her with his arms folded, “you don’t have a choice.”

“Ow!”

Sara turned to see Scott receiving his injections, clutching a teddy in both arms with his eyes tight shut as the salarian nurse administered the needles. Sara winced; she didn’t want anything like that near her.

“Your brother is being brave,” Alec tried to be helpful, “see how well he’s doing?”

But to Sara, Scott didn’t seem brave at all. Even as her dad said it, she could see the tears rolling down Scott’s cheeks and his body tensing as the next injection went in. Sara winced as Scott did and turned away, “I’m not!”

“You’re not what?”

“I’m not brave! If being brave involves needles…NO!”

Alec placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and guided her toward the large windows in the waiting room which overlooked the Citadel. Sara loved seeing The Presidium and the many passing skycars go by and the gentle hum of it all.

Alec bent to her level, his eyes meeting hers, “one day…one day you’ll be wishing that this was the worst thing in the world.”

“But it is…” Sara went to interrupt, but Alec cut over her.

“Trust me. You’re six years old. Right now, your biggest problems are needles and homework and friends. It seems hard now, because it is. Your problems are valid for your age. But when you’re twenty-six,” Alec stared out of the window before speaking, “you’ll look back and wish this was the biggest problem in the world.”

“Do you promise?”

He looked at her, his eyes open and earnest, “yes Sara, I promise.”

“Plus you get candy!” Scott came bounding into the waiting room, his eyes red and puffy but happily sucking a lollipop and showing off his blasto-themed band-aid.

“I guess I gotta be brave,” Sara muttered to herself.

She wasn’t sure she heard it, but she could’ve sworn she heard her father whisper, “that’s my girl.”

“Sara?”

The human doctor was waving a hand in front of her face and Sara snapped back to reality, “hmm sorry?”

“Are you alright?” the doctor asked, a quiver of worry in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m good. I was just remembering something from my childhood…anyway.”

“Well, based on your brain scans and what has happened I have cleared you to return to the Tempest and remain with the crew,” the doctor began.

“So no hospitals or Meridian?” Sara asked hopefully, not daring to get her hopes up.

“No,” the doctor smiled and Sara sighed in relief, “however you’ll need constant monitoring with Lexi and I’m taking you off of the combat team until we can be sure your seizures are under control.”

“We’ll be doing simulation trials,” Lexi explained, “putting you in a combat simulator at first and seeing how you perform. The long-term goal is to have you back in combat but not right now.”

“Right,” Sara nodded. While it wasn’t ideal, she was relieved she didn’t have to go back to Meridian and be shackled to a hospital bed again. When they returned to the waiting room they found Peebee playing a game of cards with symbols and pictures that Sara did not recognise, before turning, “news?”

“No Meridian!” Sara chirped happily without thinking, causing several people to turn with puzzled expressions on their faces. Sara blushed and the three of them exited onto the sunny Nexus.

“Well in light of this glorious news I’m going to go and get a drink!” Peebee said, rubbing her hands together, “toodles!” and before Sara could say anything she skipped off to the bar. Sara bade Lexi a goodbye and stood awkwardly in the atrium, unsure of what to do.

A tap on her shoulder made her wheel around so fast she almost pulled her leg out.

A very familiar pair of eyes met hers.

“We need to talk.”  

Chapter Text

Jaal’s blue-green Earth like eyes were inches from her own. Sara noted that he was not wearing his usual visor however his familiar Rofjinn billowed out behind him, “we do?” he asked.

“Yes, we do,” Sara bit back at him. She shook her head slightly and bought her thoughts back together, “can we?”

“Of course,” Jaal held his hand out in a motion for her to lead the way, and Sara walked ahead of him toward the Tempest. She felt safe in the ship, and didn’t want to have a conversation this heavy on the Nexus. She waved at Vetra who was standing idly in the Docking Bay and the turian only returned her wave half-heartily before she and Jaal returned to the ship.

“Is anyone on board SAM?” Sara asked casually as they entered through the airlock at the front of the ship.

“Gil Brodie is in the engineering room and Dr T’Perro is in the med-bay,” SAM replied and Sara nodded.

“We can go to the tech bay,” Jaal said quickly, taking over the lead and Sara followed him into his room. It looked exactly the same, except there were boxes of Sara’s belongings stacked in the corner, “I moved them into one place,” Jaal explained, correctly assuming what had been on her mind. He was standing at the end of the room, twisting his fingers together. Sara watched him for a little while before remembering they were supposed to be having a conversation.  

“Okay,” Sara said, leaning against the bench. She was trying not to look at Jaal but she could feel his eyes burning into her skull.

The silence was deafening, and Sara bit her lip. At the same time she blurted out, “why didn’t-?” Jaal also spoke over the top of her with, “I’m sorry!”

Sara met Jaal’s eyes, and he spoke again, “I’m sorry, Sara,” he said very quietly.

“You should be!” Sara snapped before she could stop herself, “I thought you were my friend?”

“I am?” Jaal asked in a confused manner.

“Then why,” Sara threw her hands in the air in exasperation, “didn’t you come and see me? You had that stupid fight with my brother and then didn’t speak to me at all after that! What was I supposed to think?”

“I’m sorry!” Jaal raised his voice slightly, and Sara stopped dead to look at him, “I really am. It’s…complicated, but I shouldn’t have…”

“What’s complicated?”

“For angara,” Jaal began, “we are very free and open with our emotions. But, when we are unwell – we don’t talk about our illness. We avoid one another, we just don’t speak about it. I’ve discovered with humans you are the other way around.”

“So?” Sara demanded.

“So…you know how uncomfortable you are about your feelings. We are the same about illness.”

Sara opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She knew exactly how difficult it was for her to open herself to being vulnerable, to letting people see her emotions. She knew exactly how Jaal felt, but she was still hurt despite it all.

“But I’m trying!” Sara whispered, “I’ve been trying so hard to be open with you. I just…why couldn’t you do the same for me?”

“It’s difficult,” Jaal explained, “I didn’t know what to do. We are ashamed of our illness, how was I to know what you needed?”

“Company!” Sara snapped, “I just wanted to know people were there for me when I need them, and you weren’t!”

Jaal hung his head, “I’m sorry. I just-,” he took a shaking breath, “it’s not all of it. Scott told us what happened. He told us to leave you be.”

“I- what?” Sara said distractedly, “he what?”

“He told us what had happened on the mission,” Jaal explained, “that you fell down the cliff and struck your head. That you were unconscious. We watched as he carried you back to the ship and then he told all of us not to visit you, to leave you alone to recover.”

“No wonder Drack look so awkward,” Sara said, remembering only this morning when Drack had come into the med-bay and refused to sit down, taking the first excuse to vacate, “whereas I don’t think Peebee cared. Was Lexi present at this?”

“No, I don’t believe so,” Jaal replied.

“I thought as much,” Sara folded her arms. Sara would’ve loved to voice her opinion of her brother in that moment, but bit her tongue. Despite loathing him, Scott was still their captain and leader. They still had a job to do.

“I didn’t want to anger Scott any more than I had,” Jaal continued, “so I accepted his order. I didn’t know what to do…I’m sorry. I should’ve contacted you.”

“You should’ve…” Sara replied meekly. “When you had that fight, I didn’t think you liked me anymore because of it.”

“Sara,” he said and Sara looked up into his eyes. He was within arm’s reach of her now, and he seemed to be fighting with himself on whether to make contact with her, “please don’t ever think I don’t like you.”

“It’s hard to think that when you won’t make contact with me,” Sara replied, staring at her shoes.

“But I am now, and I’m truly sorry. I never want to lose you.”

She stared into his eyes, and they were swimming with tears. Before Sara could stop herself she wrapped her arms around Jaal and buried her face into his chest, he reciprocated the hug and placed his chin on her head.

“Can I ask?” Sara started.

“Anything.”

“When I had the anxiety attacks…you didn’t seem to mind with those, despite that being an illness?”

Jaal hummed at this question, “it’s not that it’s not an illness…to me it reads as overwhelming emotion, which as you know is not uncomfortable for an angara.”

“I understand. Now that I know the full story, I see you didn’t want to anger Scott,” Sara mumbled and pulled back from Jaal’s embrace, “I get it. I do. You did the right thing,” Sara wiped at her eyes, only just realising that she was crying.

“I shouldn’t have,” Jaal replied, “by obeying him I hurt you.”

“But he’s still the captain of this ship,” Sara indicated the room around them, “and you had gone against his orders just recently.”

“I’m glad I did,” Jaal replied, an almost bitter tone in his voice, “it was good to see my family again.”

“Y’know what? I’d do the same,” Sara smiled and Jaal grinned back.

“I’m still mad at you,” Sara continued, stepping away from Jaal and rummaging through the boxes with her belongings in them, “but, right now, I forgive you.”

“Thank you,” Jaal replied, standing next to her and watching as she pulled out the pieces of her armour.

“Do you mind if I keep working?” Sara asked, “I’ve been grounded, but, now I have more time to actually work on my armour!”

“Of course,” Jaal said, Sara heard the relief in his voice, “stay in here for as long as you need.”

“Crew, the Pathfinder wishes you to know that we are to leave in two hours and return to Havarl,” SAM’s voice rung over the speakers in the ship, and Sara caught a grin on Jaal’s face.

“Oh good,” Sara said, “maybe this time I can get you to take me to Havarl? I mean, I wouldn’t mind a local actually showing me around?”

Jaal’s face lit up like Christmas had come early, “absolutely,” and he put an arm easily over her shoulders. Sara shrugged and leant into his embrace. She hated being angry at Jaal, and was glad they’d sorted it all out now.

Despite being so alien to her, it was very hard not to trust Jaal. He did not seem to carry the same deceit that followed a human and for that Sara was very relieved.

xXx

Sara was busy in the tech bay working on the chest piece of her armour. The now completed helmet was on the highest shelf in the room, looking imposing and Sara didn’t want to think it but couldn’t help herself…cool.

The doors snapped open and assuming it was Jaal, Sara said without looking up, “hey – can you grab me the wrench from the other side of the room?”

“No,” a woman’s voice greeted her ears and Sara snapped up to see Cora silhouetted in the doorway.

“Er-hi?” Sara asked timidly, wondering what she wanted.

“Lexi explained your situation,” Cora said without stopping for pleasantries, “was wondering if you wanted to do a combat session. Get your strength back up?”

Cora framed it like a question, but Sara knew it was an order. She stood up and rolled her stiff shoulders, “sure, I guess.” She didn’t know whether it was wise for her to be practicing so soon after her seizure but she didn’t want to argue.

Before she knew it, she was in her exercise gear with her fists raised, feeling exceedingly stupid as she faced the biotic. The Nomad had been lifted out of the way for them to practice.

“You really need to improve your stance,” Cora noted. Sara looked down, and couldn’t see anything wrong with how she was standing.

“My stance is fine,” Sara complained, placing her hands on her hips, “I’m long range anyway and not a biotic and not an asari – why does this matter?”

“So you weren’t shot by a kett at close range?”

Sara flinched back from the insult, but ploughed on, “With unarmed hand to hand I’m fine, I can disarm my brother in about three seconds flat – and he’s a biotic!”

“Oh?” Cora lifted an eyebrow.

“Uh huh,” Sara replied, “I mean his biotics give him an edge – but it’s just about knowing the weaknesses.”

“So you’re confident enough to take on a biotic hm? How about me?”

Sara looked her up and down; sure Cora had well defined muscles that were extremely evident in her current attire, and she was probably the best human biotic that Sara knew, but right now she wanted to just shut her up and go back to working on her tech.

“You’re on,” Sara smacked her fists together. Without warning, Cora sent a shockwave at her – causing Sara to jump out of the way. Sara was expecting a second cooldown that a normal human biotic took – but not Cora.  Milliseconds later she sent out another shockwave, followed by another causing Sara to dance around the biotics. Cora, unlike Scott, didn’t have the normal recharge time of a human. Sara had never fought an asari which was the only equivalent that she could think of, and was put very off balance. 

Cora sent out a Lift at her, and Sara just avoided it – rolling out of the way as Cora sent repeated Lift’s toward her followed by a Stasis.

“Fuck,” Sara muttered under her breath, wiping at her sweaty brow.

“Not so easy eh?” Cora laughed.

It was at this moment that a disgruntled Lexi entered the cargo bay, “How many times do I have to say it – no biotics on the Tempest!”

Cora turned to look at Lexi, and Sara seized her chance – she jumped forward and with one fluid movement pulled the amp out of Cora’s port. Cora whipped around, feeling the base of her skull with an angry look on her face.

Sara held the amp up triumphantly, “got you.”

“You sneaky, sneaky devil,” Cora let out a laugh but at the same time still had a mutinous look on her face.

“Gotta be smart to survive,” Sara replied smugly, tapping her temple. She turned to see half of the crew watching them with interest, including Jaal.

“Okay, hand it back,” Cora held out an outstretched hand.

“As long as you promise that we’re done for this afternoon! There’s only so much energy I have and it tends to disappear when I’m dodging biotics.”

“Fine,” Cora said, and Sara handed back her amp without complaint and Cora placed it back into her skull.

“Light training Cora!” Lexi snapped, “I don’t want to see Sara rolling around dodging biotics again!”

“Yes doctor,” Cora gave a slight nod and Lexi departed the cargo bay, muttering under her breath. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly before she too left the cargo bay and made her way back up to the tech bay to continue to work on her armour.

Her brother emerged from his room and stared straight at her before shouting, “Jaal!”

“Yes, Pathfinder?” a voice behind her replied, and Sara turned not realising he had been following her.

“We land on Havarl in 20. Suit up, you’re coming with me.”

Jaal nodded at him and Scott disappeared into the med-bay, leaving Jaal and Sara quite alone in the hallway.

“That’s good you’re needed,” Sara said to him, “stay safe.”

“I will,” Jaal replied, grabbing Sara’s hand for a split second before letting go, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Good,” Sara smiled.

xXx

Scott, Jaal, Drack and Vetra left as soon as they had landed – and did not return for dinner. Sara was in the gallery with the others playing with her stew while they spoke and laughed around her. After dinner, Sara left quickly without finishing and made her way to the crew quarters and lay on her bed, hoping no one would bother her.

Ding!

Sara awoke with a start, still feeling groggy and bleary eyed. She noted the ship was in the night cycle and didn’t even realise she had drifted off. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up, careful not to smack her head on the top bunk. She heard soft snores around her.

She fiddled with her omni-tool, wondering who on Earth would be messaging at this time. The only person she could think of would be Lexi, and even then it’d be one of those automated messages stating the time for her next appointment.

‘Dearest,

In your culture, is “dearest” too strong a word to use when two people are fond of each other? And is “fond” too strong a word to use when two people enjoy flirting with each other?

I enjoy you. Even now, I smile picturing your face.

Angara are free with our emotions, and it feels normal for me to lay mine at my feet. I hope this is not too strange for your species and that you can comfortably accept them.

I enjoy you – but more than that, I adore your strength and courage and beauty.

Your dearest,
Jaal.’

Sara re-read the message several times; rubbing at her tired eyes to make sure she was reading it correctly.

Holy fucking shit.

She couldn’t believe the words on the screen. She scanned it again, noting that it had indeed come from Jaal and wasn’t some hacker trying to mess with her mind. But sure enough, the sender read as ‘Jaal Ama Darav’.

It was the real deal. She slowed down, trying to take the words all in, ‘when two people enjoy flirting with each other’ – assuming this wasn’t a translator glitch; he was actually flirting with her. He likes me too she thought.

She couldn’t wait, she couldn’t write a reply.

‘Is Jaal on the ship?’ Sara asked in her mind to SAM.

“Yes, he and the others returned a little while ago.”

‘Tech bay?’

“Yes, Sara,” SAM said.

She leapt out of bed and scurried to the higher level of the ship. To her great relief the door showed a green light. She almost fell through the door in excitement. Jaal was standing with his back to her, oblivious that anyone had entered his sanctuary.  

“Jaal,” Sara said softly.

Clang! Jaal dropped what looked like several heavy tools before he turned to face her, a smile on his face.

“Sara!” he cried.

“When did you get back in?”

“About ten minutes ago,” he replied, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh!” Sara jumped as though she had received a shock, “Would you like to go for a walk?”

She noted how stiff and professional she sounded, but Jaal raised an eye ridge but didn’t protest or argue, “yes.”

“Where’s Scott?” Sara asked timidly.

“He’s in his room,” Jaal replied as the two of them exited the ship. She breathed in the air as her boots hit the mud. The darkness caressed the planet gently, and the plant life’s bioluminescence gave the world a warm blue glow.

“You grew up here?” Sara breathed it all in.

“I did,” Jaal replied, “Sara – why are we out here exactly?”

Sara stared, her heart racing in her chest, “well…there is a reason.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“About your email…” Sara trailed off awkwardly, unable to stop the lump rising in her throat.

“What about it?” Jaal asked quickly.

She met his eyes, “did you mean it?”

Jaal looked taken aback, and Sara startled when Jaal let out a booming laugh, “of course I meant it! Why would I write something I don’t mean?”

“Humans have a habit of it…” Sara muttered darkly. Jaal placed a gentle hand under her chin, and turned her face to meet his.

“Sara,” he said softly, “I meant everything I said.”

His homely eyes met hers and the world seemed to pause. Before she could stop herself, she planted her lips straight on his mouth. Eventually, her senses caught up to her and she realised that Jaal wasn’t responding. She pulled back in a panic.

“Oh god! I’m so sorry-!” she began, but was interrupted by Jaal’s lips trapping hers. One of his massive hands cupped her face, and the other fell to her waist. Sara had no idea where hers were, all she could focus on was Jaal’s sweet, soft lips heavy on her own.

It was better than she had imagined.

Rain started to fall, pattering through the foliage and dampening them. She could feel goosebumps erupting over her skin, but whether from cold or pleasure she didn’t know and didn’t care. Jaal’s hands tightened around her as he deepened the kiss, and Sara cupped his face hungrily for more.

They finally split apart, Sara panting slightly and Jaal smiled at her with his familiar lopsided grin. He was practically glowing; his eyes were brighter than she had ever seen them. A small giggle escaped her lips.

“I know the answer to my email,” Jaal stated and Sara rolled her eyes playfully.   

“That you do,” she smiled. She couldn’t resist staring into his eyes, the familiarity, the love, the playfulness, the genuineness she could feel in them.

“Am I dreaming?”

“I don’t think so? Why do you think that?”

Sara eyed him, “kissing the handsome alien I’ve had a crush on since forever in the middle of a jungle world while it rains? This was my fantasy when I was thirteen.”

“The alien you imagined when you were thirteen wasn’t a batarian, was it?” Jaal asked playfully, and Sara thwacked him on the arm.

“Oh my god! No! That was one time!”

Jaal’s laugh rumbled in his chest and he placed his hand back on Sara’s cheek. For a second, she thought he was leaning in to kiss her again but instead he placed his forehead gently on hers and she reciprocated. As much as she would’ve loved to kiss Jaal again, there was something pleasurable in the simple intimate touch.

The gentle sounds of the planet and Jaal’s breathing filled her thoughts and very being. Sara gazed into his familiar eyes and without being invited fell into Jaal’s embrace, and he wrapped his huge arms around her. Her head fell into an easy crevice between his head and his bony protrusions on his chest.

For how long the two of them stood in an embrace she had no idea. But, she knew time had passed as the sun was rising, casting an orangey glow over the planet.

“What if we don’t go back?” Sara mumbled into him, “what if we just run away?”

Jaal chuckled, and Sara could feel the vibration coming from his chest, “I wish we could, darling one.”

“Alright then,” Sara said, “we should go.”

“Okay,” Jaal replied, a smile creeping onto his face. For the first time since coming here, Sara felt safe as she made her way back to the Tempest with Jaal by her side. But, the doubt ate at her – she didn’t know what she and Jaal were.

Well the other voice said, there’s plenty of time to figure it out.

All the time in the universe.

Chapter Text

Sara re-awoke the same day and it took her brain a few seconds to process why she was feeling so…happy.

That’s right…I kissed Jaal last night.

Happiness…it was such an unnatural yet wonderful feeling. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had felt this giddy.

The two of them had snuck back into the ship after their kiss on Havarl. Sara had gotten into bed mere seconds before Cora had risen for the day.  

She had fallen asleep, only to re-awaken well into the day cycle. Thankfully, the other crew members had taken her lateness sleeping as “jet-lag” and her new cocktail of medication that Lexi had prescribed, and didn’t pursue further.

Sara was in the gallery for her usual morning coffee and smiled to herself, remembering the night’s events in her mind. She couldn’t believe it had really happened.  As her mind swam with thoughts of Jaal, the gallery doors opened.

Peebee bustled in and rummaged through the fridge, doing a double take on Sara’s face, “you look happy.”

Sara decided it was best not to lie, “yeah…I am.”

Peebee raised an eyebrow sceptically and shut the fridge, “yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sara couldn’t wipe the grin from her face, and when she tried it just made itself bigger.

“Does this ‘happiness’ involve a certain angara?”

“It does…maybe…yeah,” Sara stumbled over her words. She couldn’t believe she was telling someone this early, she didn’t even know what was going on between her and Jaal yet, let alone trying to explain it to someone else.

Before Peebee could say anything else the doors opened again and Sara leapt away from Peebee in a panic.  Scott entered looking a little worse for wear with several cuts and a black eye, but he gave Sara a confused glance before he nodded carefully at the two of them, opening the fridge and grabbing a protein bar.

Scott’s arrival seemed to break the conversation they’d been having and Sara left the gallery without another word. She didn’t know what to do. She knew she had to talk to Jaal; it was the only way to sort out what was going on between them. But, she didn’t want to be the one to ruin what was going on. She felt so wonderful, so happy, and she didn’t want real life getting in the way.

But, it had to. She begrudgingly made her way to the tech bay and entered. Jaal was busy fiddling with his gun, which it seemed he had dismantled once more. It lay in pieces over the bench.

“Darling one,” he crooned, giving a large smile. Sara made sure the door was locked before stepping toward him. She thought it would be awkward, strange even after the kiss they shared but Jaal didn’t seem to think so. He looked happy and content.

“Jaal,” she whispered, reaching forward to grab his hand. Before she could even stop it, she was kissing him again. His lips were exactly as she had remembered, and he was soft and gentle with her as a hand caressed her waist and the other cupped her face.

They broke apart after some time, and Sara couldn’t resist the smile that came to her, and she stared into his eyes once more.

“Sara,” he said softly, “I want us to be together.”

“I’m sorry?” Sara replied, not sure if she had heard correctly.

“I want us to be together,” Jaal repeated simply.

“I think I’d like that…” Sara said slowly.

 “Yes!” he cried happily before kissing Sara again.

“Just…” Sara felt the doubt hit her very suddenly. She turned away from him and looked around the room as she struggled to find the words, “I’m not ready for the crew to know about us yet.”

“Oh…” Jaal sunk slightly, and Sara felt the guilt bubble up inside of her. 

“It’s not you – it’s just…this is all so new to me and I don’t want…”

“You don’t want Scott to know, do you?”

Sara sighed, angry at herself for wanting to hide from her brother. In another life, Sara would’ve run to her brother’s room and vomited all of her feelings and doubts onto Scott whom would sit and listen, followed by normally pretty good advice and gentle teasing. If she was dating anyone else she could do just that, but not with Jaal.

But then she realised, she and Scott weren’t in a good place anyway. She still hadn’t spoken to him since their big fight in the med-bay.

“No,” Sara admitted in a quiet voice.

“It’s alright,” Jaal replied, “interspecies relationships were never possible before your Initiative turned up – this is going to be a shock for my family too.”

“But you’re important to me Jaal. I haven’t been this happy in a very long time.”

“Not even in the Milkee Whey?” Jaal asked curiously.

“Why do you think I left?”

“Huh,” Jaal commented, his brain mulling it all over.

 “I just…can you do it for me? Not tell the others just yet.”

“I can,” Jaal replied, cupping Sara’s face with his enormous hand, “it’ll be hard, but I can do it.”

“Thank you,” Sara mumbled softly, leaning into his touch, “what did I do to deserve you?”

“I could ask the same,” Jaal replied and Sara felt the blush tinge her cheeks. She wrapped a hand over his wrist and he invited her to sit on him, which she did very enthusiastically. Now that she was here, now that they were finally together she wondered how it had taken so long for them to do so. It felt so very natural.

“Sara,” SAM said in her ear, “the pathfinder is five seconds out from entering the tech bay.”

Sara jumped back from Jaal as though she had received an electric shock. Jaal looked accosted but his expression changed as the door opened and true to SAM’s word, Scott stood in the doorway.

“Emergency meeting,” he said to them, “meeting room – five minutes,” and the door slammed shut.

She and Jaal shrugged, Sara very grateful that SAM had warned her. The two of them made their way to the meeting room where Scott was shuffling datapads, Sara could see the premature lines on his young face and the whiteness of his knuckles. Aside from the black eye, the other eye had a dark circle of fatigue under it.

She and Jaal stood a respectable distance apart while the others filed in, all looking as confused as Sara felt.

“Sorry to call this on you so unexpectedly,” Scott announced once the group had gathered, “but we’ve had an update.”

“Oh?” Liam said aloud.

“Oh,” Scott repeated, nodding his head gravely, “when we returned to Havarl on our last expedition we managed to see that their weren’t just drell and quarian hybrids anymore. Our team discovered a volus as well.”

Sara gasped in outrage, as did many others. She feared that this was inevitable given that the kett seemed to have the ark but to know for certain cut deeper than any blade could have.

“You’re sure?” Suvi asked.

“Quite,” Scott replied, he fiddled on the datapad and in the middle of the table bought up an image of one of the volus-hybrids. While hard to see in the darkness, Sara could make out it was very short but not as round as a real volus but rather had a floppy shape.

“Not knowing quite how they’ve done it, they’ve managed to make them carbon-faring and adaptable to pressure,” SAM explained, “but they can do something others can’t. Like drell hybrids, these volus can poison their enemies.”

“On the skin, right?” Gil asked.

“No,” Scott answered, “they spit pure ammonia.”

“How did yeh find out?” Suvi asked uneasily.

“I’ve got a nasty burn in my armour,” Vetra replied.

“You found this on Havarl?” Sara asked, pulling a disgusted expression.

“Yes,” Scott replied simply, “and there have been sightings on other words. Huge reports on Kadara, scattered on Eos and scarily – new ones on Elaaden and Voeld. We need to follow the new leads – so our next stop is either of these two worlds. I want to know what we’re up against before we go charging to Kadara at this stage.”

“My reports indicate Kadara is going into civil unrest once more. As we know, the Charlatan survived the hit made on his life and we think is regrouping his followers,” Vetra explained.

“It’s not good, and we think the kett are using Kadara as a stronghold or warehouse for lack of a better term – the civil unrest makes the planet unstable which is perfect for the kett to regroup and build their army. While this volus was indeed unusual we think it was an experiment. It’s the only volus that’s been reported thus far. Also, quarian and drell numbers have dropped considerably, particularly the latter,” Scott told them all, “we theorise it’s because drell as a species are incredibly rare, and the kett want to preserve them.”

“They don’t uplift every member in these means either,” Jaal explained, “only the genetically pure. For instance, many angara are used as slaves – like Evfra was.”

“That’s right,” Scott agreed, “which is why we need a plan. I think, overall, Elaaden is the planet we need to reach first. Having Morda on our side will be a huge benefit – and she does seem to favour the Initiative after we, I, made her an ambassador.”

“I can make forward contact,” Drack piped up, pulling up his omni-tool.

“Excellent Drack,” Scott nodded before turning to Kallo, “set course to Elaaden please.”

“Yes sir,” Kallo replied before taking it as his signal to exit the meeting to make his way to the bridge of the ship.

“I want the rest of you training hard for extreme weather conditions, as you all know Elaaden and Voeld have extreme temperature variation and I want you all conditioned for it – Lexi can advise on the best training for this. That is all. Dismissed.”

Scott gathered his datapads and turned on his heel, departing the meeting room before anyone had clicked as to what was going on. Sara pushed back up from her awkward leaning position on the table and gave Jaal an uneasy glance; the news that the kett were converting more aliens did not ease her worries.

Lexi spoke over the top of everyone, “I’ve divided the ground crew into pairs for training sessions for extreme weather conditions. Jaal and Vetra, you’ll be training first followed by Peebee and Cora and then Liam and Drack.”

“When are we doing this?” Vetra asked.

“Right now,” Lexi replied.

Jaal rolled his eyes but gave Sara a small smile when he turned to her, “I’ll see you soon.”

“I can’t wait,” Sara replied back and watched him follow Vetra down the stairs and toward the cargo bay. Sara sighed but then was greeted to a small asari bouncing on her heels eagerly in front of her.

“Peebee?” Sara asked.

“Sara,” Peebee smiled, “can we talk?”

Sara sighed, “sure.” The asari grabbed her by the hand and half-dragged half-guided her through the ship toward the escape pod. She waited until the door was locked and engaged behind them before rounding on Sara, “you’re going to tell me everything!”

“About?” Sara tried to play dumb, but Peebee saw right through it.

“About Jaal you big dork,” Peebee smirked, “you didn’t think I’d not notice? You two were standing awfully close in that meeting. And hmm, it seems you came together.”

“Because I was in the tech bay,” Sara replied automatically, “I’ve come to meetings and to dinner and to other places with Jaal loads of times.”

“Yeah, but this time was different,” Peebee waggled her finger at Sara, “you were grinning like a massive idiot this morning in the gallery, I know something’s up!”

“Fine, fine,” Sara held up her hands in defeat, “yes – something happened.”

Peebee didn’t speak but bounced up and down excitedly and Sara couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“We kissed.”

Peebee gave an involuntary squeal, “I knew it!”

“Shhh,” Sara said frantically, “I don’t want everyone knowing just yet. I don’t even know what’s really going on myself, let alone telling other people!”

“What’s it like kissing an angara?” Peebee asked curiously.

“I-I thought you would’ve by now?”

“Alas, I have not,” Peebee frowned at this, “you have beaten me to it!”

“It was,” Sara struggled to put into the words the exact feeling she felt while kissing Jaal, because it was so indescribable to her, “beautiful.”

“Ranked next to your others?” Peebee asked.

“Species or individual?” Sara replied.

“Wait…how many people have you kissed?”

“Fifteen or so?”

“Wait, WHAT?” Peebee’s voice rose, “you’ve kissed….fifteen…wow chicky – for someone who’s only twenty two or twenty three – wait, how old are you?”

“I have no idea,” Sara replied, “have we figured out a calendar system yet for Andromeda?”

“Pfft who cares,” Peebee shrugged, “okay – you need to take me through all of these people! Fifteen! Heck, when I was twenty two I hadn’t kissed anyone.”

“I thought asari weren’t sexually mature til they were like fifty or something?” Sara asked.

“Oh yeah,” Peebee frowned.

So Sara explained each person, from the randoms she had kissed during her wild carefree days, to Goya, to the batarian on Omega when she and Goya had been on a break, to Jaal.

“So, you’ve kissed humans, a batarian, an asari and an angara?” Peebee asked, counting them off on her fingers, “that’s not bad at all actually.”

“Would’ve had a salarian on there but unfortunately he didn’t seem too interested,” Sara laughed, “oh and there was a drell!”

“Damn girl you get around!” Peebee laughed, “Who was this drell?”

“He was this really nice shade of blue with a crackly voice,” Sara said, trying to dig around her memories, “I think it was a couple of weeks before I met Goya actually…I don’t remember exactly how it happened, I was pretty drunk at the time but we were dancing and then we weren’t.”

“And then you were in a different way, hm?”

“No, we didn’t go all the way. Goya was my first.”

“I love you,” Peebee laughed, “I really wish you had woken up instead of your brother! You’re much more fun.”

“I don’t know if I would’ve been very good at this pathfinder thing,” Sara explained, “I was never a very good leader. I wonder what choices I would’ve made…”

“Probably very different ones,” Peebee’s tone went very serious which was a very sharp in comparison to her usual lightness, “you know he was responsible for the death of a friend of mine?”

“Scott killed your friend?” Sara asked shrilly.

“No, no,” Peebee hastily tried to explain, “he didn’t kill her directly; he just…chose a remnant object I was holding rather than saving her. I asked him to save her, he didn’t do it.”

“Who was she?”

“Her name was Kalinda,” Peebee explained, seeming hesitant as she continued, “she and I were…close. I’m not supposed to be awake. She got around the red tape and got me out early. But then, we didn’t go so well- long story short we were all in a pretty dangerous situation and Kalinda was being stupid but shit, I didn’t want her to die!”

“My brother does have a funny habit of telling people what he thinks they should want,” Sara replied, “people skills – he’s very like my dad.”

“Good ol’ Alec Ryder. Y’know part of me wonders what would’ve happened if your pops hadn’t of died.”

“Me too,” Sara agreed, “I feel like Scott and I would be getting on a lot better and probably resenting our father behind his back – as we always did.”

“Yeesh, your family really does have a lot of shit going on, doesn’t it?”

“It does, yeah,” Sara replied, “but so do many families.”

“I would’ve thought the sun shone outta your dad’s ass by the way Cora speaks about him. She hero-worships the guy.”

Sara rolled her eyes, “she didn’t know him. I still miss him, but god, he was a hard man to impress and get along with. To be honest, Cora was probably the biotic daughter he always wanted. I think he always resented that I wasn’t a biotic.”

“Tech’s better anyway. Yeah sure, I’m a biotic – but I’m born a biotic, tech is something you train in to get good at.”

“Humans train too,” Sara argued, “it’s not like asari – humans get implants and go through intense training to get good.”

“It’s still something you are born with,” Peebee argued, “you are either biotic – or you’re not. With tech, you have to practice and refine your skill. But, with tech, anyone can do it. It’s not something you’re born into. Anyone can do it – it just depends on how dedicated you are.”

“Oh, well, that’s true.”

The door opened and Jaal stood in the doorway, “I came here to inform you that you’re up next Peebee,” he explained.

“Thank you Jaal,” Peebee winked at Sara before departing, and Sara stood and stretched her aching muscles that were protesting being on the cold hard floor for so long. Jaal helped her up, and the two of them made their way back to the tech bay.

“So – what did you and Peebee talk about?” Jaal asked casually.

“Girl stuff,” Sara shrugged, “how was training?”

“Horrid,” Jaal replied, and only now did Sara notice the flush in his cheeks and just how exhausted he looked, “I hate the heat. Would much rather go to Voeld.”

“Havarl was pretty warm…” Sara remarked.

“Havarl is humid; Elaaden is a very dry heat. It bothers me a lot.”

“Mmm, yeah I’m with you – I prefer the cold but I’d take humidity over dry.”

Jaal smiled slightly as the pair entered the tech bay once more; once the door snapped shut Sara was by Jaal’s side, gripping his hand and leaning into his embrace.

“I feel so childlike with all of the sneaking around,” Sara admitted, “reminds me of…well,” she cut off awkwardly. She had been thinking of the beginnings of her relationship with Goya and how when she was too scared to tell her parents she and Goya would try to act normal around one another, with disastrous results, especially with Scott around.

“When you’re ready, we’ll tell them,” Jaal murmured, running a hand up Sara’s waist and pulling her closer to him.

“Thank you for being so understanding,” Sara replied, leaning her forehead against Jaal’s and breathing in his very essence, “I feel like I was meant to wake up now.”

She felt Jaal’s breath falter, “I’m so very glad you did.”

“I’m glad you waited for me.”

“Me too, darling one,” Jaal cooed and Sara knew where she wanted to be for the rest of her life, enveloped in Jaal’s embrace and feeling safe from the world. The blissness of the occasion consumed her, and the finer details became fuzzy, her vision blurring.

“Sara?” Jaal asked in a worried tone.

Before Sara could even open her mouth to respond the world became dark.

xXx

“Can you hear me?”

“I can…ergh.”

Sara opened her eyes to the blurry world around her and clutched at her head. She felt as though she’d had a big night drinking and was reaping the reward. She looked down and noted she was once again naked under a hospital gown, and frowned.

“Seizure?” Sara asked casually as if they were discussing the weather.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Lexi explained, “can you remember what happened?”

“I was in the tech bay…with Jaal,” Sara squinted with the effort of trying to remember.

“What were you doing?”

“I uh,” Sara frowned, not wanting to give away that she and Jaal had been embracing, “we were talking. I don’t remember doing anything out of the ordinary.”

“Okay,” Lexi replied before turning away to her terminal.

“Uh…why do my clothes keep getting removed?” Sara asked, and the asari turned with a glum expression on her face.

“Your bladder releases whenever you have a seizure,” Lexi explained, “I’m sorry.”

Well, fuck, “great,” Sara mumbled, rubbing at her still slightly blurry eyes. The two of them sat in silence for a while, Sara staring at the dark tinted window while Lexi typed on her terminal and examined medical scans.

“Dr T’Perro,” SAM piped up, “Sara failed to take her anti-seizure medication this morning.”

“Ah fuck, I did,” Sara slapped a hand to her forehead and instantly regretted it as it stung. With all of her excitement in kissing Jaal and sleeping in, she had forgotten all about it.

Lexi spun in her chair, “that explains quite a lot. Excuse me,” Lexi said and without a further word she departed the med bay leaving Sara quite alone with her broken brain for company. As soon as the doors had shut Sara couldn’t contain the tears and they spilt down her face.

“Fuck I’m such an idiot,” Sara grumbled, wiping them away angrily while curling into a ball. She was so tired of feeling like a small child. She resented the idea of having to set reminders to take her medication like she was twelve, or worse, having Lexi give her her medication so she wouldn’t forget.

She just wanted this to be over. She didn’t want to be sick anymore.

The door whizzed open and Jaal stood in the doorway, his blue eyes wide with worry. Sara felt the guilt at once and desperately wiped at her face.  

“Oh!” the poor thing looked like a deer in headlights, “I can come back…”

“It’s okay Jaal,” Sara sniffled, “you can come in.”

Jaal stepped into the room, looking as awkward as she felt. They had just agreed to begin dating and Sara had all but pissed on him. She just fucked everything up.

“What’s wrong?” the pissing incident seemed to be the last thing on Jaal’s mind as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and taking Sara’s hands in both of his own. Sara felt a comfort at the small gesture, and the words got caught in her throat.  

“Darling one…” Jaal said in a low voice, “what do you need?”

Sara knew she was about to say something very stupid, and fought with herself before the words tumbled out of her mouth, “can you just, hold me?”

Jaal nodded and with no hesitation, climbed onto the cot. Sara moved to the side to give him some room, which was a difficult feat considering his huge size. Nevertheless, he managed to fit and wrapped a huge arm around Sara’s torso, pulling her close.

She laid her head on his chest and soaked up the warmth he was providing. Sara closed her eyes.

She hadn’t even realised she had fallen asleep until she was roused by the quiet voices of Jaal and Lexi.

“Sara?” Lexi asked gently, and Sara rolled off of Jaal’s chest and looked up blearily, “how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Sara replied, Jaal allowing her to sit up. He was still lounging easily on the bed and his arm was still around her torso, “how long was I out?”

“About four hours,” Lexi answered her.

Sara just clicked that Lexi was with them, in the same room, and had caught her lying basically on top of Jaal.

Fuck.

“You can’t hide it from me,” Lexi smiled at them as though she could read her mind, “Jaal told me everything while you were out.”

“Oi!” Sara rounded on Jaal.

“She asked me to recount what happened and she’s a doctor! You shouldn’t lie to a doctor! I didn’t know what would be important.”

“Okay fine,” Sara admitted in defeat, “I mean, Lexi was going to find out anyway at somepoint.”

“I would’ve, yes,” Lexi answered, “I already had my suspicions.”  

Jaal chuckled, and he returned to seriousness, “Do you want me to get off the bed?” Jaal asked tenderly, his face full of what Sara could only describe as adoration.

“Do you want the polite answer or the honest one?”

“Hmm, both.”

“The polite one is ‘only if you want to’, the honest one is ‘no.’”

“You’re the boss,” Jaal replied, his grip tightening around Sara’s waist.

“Lexi…we’re not going to have someone walk in, right?” Sara asked, turning to look at the asari doctor who was busy typing on a datapad.

“No. The door lock is engaged and I’ve tinted the windows. Don’t worry, no one else needs to know until you’re ready,” Lexi said, and Sara sighed gratefully. The last thing she needed was Scott storming in here and finding her in a compromising position with Jaal.

“I’m tired of being sick,” Sara complained, laying her head on Jaal’s shoulder, “I’m tired of feeling this way. I hate the fact you had to carry me in here after I’d had a seizure and pissed myself.”

“You’re going to get better,” Jaal replied, rubbing her arm affectionately, “and I’ll be right here beside you.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” Sara said, sealing it with a kiss, “thank you.”

The fact that Jaal had gotten past the custom of his species and visited her while she was unwell, it warmed her very heart. He had listened to her, something very few people had done in a very long time.

Maybe things were finally starting to look up.

Chapter Text

“One…more.”

Scott was grunting with the effort of doing another pull up.

“No biotics!”

“Aw what?” Scott replied, glaring at Liam before summoning all of his non-biotic energy to his arms and with an almighty heave pulled his body up.

“Good work!” Liam handed him a water bottle and a towel as he leapt down from the bar and drank half of the bottle in one gulp.

“Show offs,” Gil rolled his eyes as he looked up from the Nomad. Scott knew that Gil liked to be around while he and Liam worked out; to ‘appreciate the show’ had been his words. Scott snorted at the thought, but he didn’t mind at all.

Scott towelled off some of the sweat that had coated his bare chest and rubbed at his damp hair. He was looking forward to a long cold shower, especially before reaching Elaaden. Sixty degree average temperatures were not his idea of a picnic.

“Growing out your facial hair I see?” a voice called, and Scott turned to see Peebee lounging easily on a pile of boxes.

“Haven’t been bothered…” Scott trailed off, “I see you and my sister aren’t being gal pals today.”

Peebee flinched and Scott raised an eyebrow sceptically before it dawned on him, “she had another seizure, didn’t she?”

She shrugged and opened a program on her omni tool. Scott shook his head and throwing the towel over his shoulder he made his way to the med-bay. The windows were tinted, and the door lock was engaged.

“SAM?” Scott asked.

“One moment Pathfinder,” SAM replied, “I am requesting Dr T’Perro’s approval.”

Scott raised his eyebrows, “oh,” he said awkwardly, not wanting to catch his sister through a physical, “I’m happy to wait.”

The door light changed from red to green and Scott entered. Lexi was running her omni tool over Sara who was sitting up on her cot. Jaal was standing easily, leaning on the other cot. His eyes flicked to Scott, and Scott didn’t miss the once-over they gave him.

“Peebee let slip about what happened,” Scott announced before anyone could speak, “is everything alright?”

“Yes, Pathfinder,” Lexi said, “Sara told me to ‘not worry you’ - her words.”

“I forgot to take my meds this morning,” Sara added, her eyes staring at a point several centimetres to the left of Scott’s face, “I’m fine.”  

“Ah,” Scott nodded.

“Pathfinder, by my calculations I am 99.6% sure that Sara would not have had the seizure if she had taken her medication,” SAM said.

“See? I’m fine!”

“What do you think?” Scott turned to Lexi.

“Her scans check out – and she has passed all mental evaluation I have given. I also believe she is fine,” Lexi said hesitantly.

“Excellent,” Scott nodded at everyone before leaving without another word. The air felt tense, and Scott had a weird sense that he had encroached on something important. Dismissing the feeling, he entered his quarters to tackle his last mission report from Havarl.

Instead, he found a turian sitting in his desk chair.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Scott asked Vetra as he threw the towel on his bed and turned to the turian, who had a facial plate raised as she took him in.

“You look…” her mandibles flicked, “good.”

“Just ‘good’?” Scott teased, placing his hands on his hips. Vetra got to her feet and made her way over to him, taking in his figure.

“Well,” she began, placing a talon on his chest, “I’m still getting used to how squishy you humans are,” she ran a finger down his abdomen.

“Pfft, you do know your plates aren’t natural armour, right?” Scott retorted, although he found it difficult to focus on his snarkiness with Vetra so close and touching his bare skin.  

“Oh but they’re not as vulnerable as you are,” Vetra teased, bending her head and planting a kiss on his lips. Kissing was strange between a turian and human as turians did not really have lips, but Scott didn’t care.

She splayed her talon on his abdominal muscles and he raised an eyebrow at her, “are you about to show me how vulnerable I really am?”

“If you want to,” Vetra purred, her eyes darting down, “and apparently you do want to.”

Scott felt the blush tinge his cheeks. Damn his human appendage for giving him away! Her talon fingered the waistband of his sweatpants and Scott couldn’t help himself anymore and almost lunged at her in desperation, planting his lips firmly on hers.

She grabbed him, and he felt the electricity of pleasure erupt over his skin and all throughout his body. He pulled her backwards with him to the bed, unable to give a coherent thought to anything else.

xXx

Scott woke abruptly, his arm was still curled around Vetra’s waist as they lay entwined naked together on the bed. Vetra was taking deep slow breaths and her arm was still wrapped gently around his body.

“SAM?” Scott whispered into the still air.

“ETA to Elaaden is less than two hours,” SAM replied and Scott rubbed at his eyes with his free hand, he didn’t want to get out of his warm bed or leave his naked turian girlfriend.

“Hey,” Scott whispered, gently shaking Vetra awake. She lifted her head and stared at him blearily-eyed.

“Duty?”

“Duty,” Scott replied, placing a gentle kiss on her mouth before sitting up and stretching his stiff muscles.

“Am I coming with you today?” Vetra asked.

“Not today, I thought you could use a rest from combat,” Scott replied as he stood and fumbled around looking for his pair of underpants.

“You weren’t wearing any underwear, remember?” Vetra teased him, and Scott rolled his eyes at her before pulling a fresh pair out of the cupboard and pulling them on along with the usual underarmour attire.

Vetra was sitting up in bed and making to grab for her armour when Scott went to her and grabbed her wrist, “you don’t have to get up on my account,” he said, “feel free to have a sleep.”

She smiled sheepishly at him, “it’s okay – I have work to do,” she gave him a peck before getting out of the bed. Even now, Scott couldn’t help but admire her body with its mixture of plates and grey skin poking through, his eyes travelling to between her legs where he knew her opening lie.

“Hey,” Vetra snapped him out of his trance, “eyes up here mister.”

“You love it,” Scott winked at her and Vetra gave him a playful shove. He composed himself and making sure Vetra was out of view of his door he exited his room and entered the gallery, hoping to grab some protein bars to prepare for the mission ahead.

“Having a lie-in?” Liam asked as he looked up from his enormous plate of food. Drack was also seated, fiddling with the gun that seemed to now be a permanent fixture in the gallery.

“A guy’s gotta rest,” Scott replied simply, taking a large bite out of his bar and gulping down water.

“Was Vetra resting with you?” Liam was almost shaking with laughter and Scott rolled his eyes.

“Digest that quickly Kosta,” Scott retorted, “you’re coming. Gear up.”

“Aw fuck,” Liam mumbled, hurriedly shoving the food in his mouth.

“I’m coming as well Ryder,” Drack added.

Scott turned his back on the two of them before leaving and heading for the showers. After the last mission and what he got up to in his quarters, a cold shower was definitely needed.  

xXx

Forty minutes later Scott was standing on the bridge fully geared aside from his helmet, his fingers drumming idly on the bar near the galaxy map. He stared into the abyss of swirling stars as the Tempest shot past at faster than light speed.

“ETA is now 30, Pathfinder,” Kallo chimed pulling Scott from his thoughts.

“Excellent work,” he replied, nodding at the both of them before heading into the armoury again to check on his crew. Both Liam and Drack were present, gearing up for the proceeding trip. Liam looked uncomfortable as he pulled armour on, whereas Drack merely looked bored.

“30 minutes,” Scott relayed to them and they both nodded at the information, not saying a word. Jaal burst in at that moment, panting slightly as though he had run.

“You’re late,” Scott grunted at him, suddenly feeling irritated. Jaal’s eyes darted away from him in response. Jaal took his gear from his locker and began to suit up, fiddling with the pieces of his armour.

Scott frowned; he had expected the angara to bite back at him, almost hoped for it. Jaal stayed quiet, and had been much calmer lately. He shrugged it off and briefed the crew.  

“Now that we’re all here - we’re meeting with a few contacts today so it’s going to be a long day. I want triple rations for all of you, particularly water. Even though Meridian has made the planet more bearable, it still has an average surface temp of sixty degrees.”

“Noted,” Liam saluted.

“Is Morda one of the contacts?” Jaal asked curiously as he loaded up on nutrient paste.

“Yes,” Scott replied, “I know she needs us to run a few errands for her but krogan support will be absolutely critical in the coming time.”

“I’m on it,” Drack spoke up, “I’ll head over and initiate if needed.”

“We’ll be coming with you,” Scott confirmed, “let’s go.”

The four of them moved into the cargo bay to ready the Nomad for deployment and were greeted to Gil giving the vehicle a last check over. Scott also saw that Sara was helping; she had a rag and was getting the last of Kadara’s dirt out of the crevices.

“It’s good to see you keeping busy kid,” Drack said to Sara, who merely looked awkwardly between the four of them.

“I’m just grateful to be away from the med-bay really,” Sara shrugged.

“She’s been great,” Gil added as he finally stood up and brushed off his hands, “it’s nice that the Nomad finally got a decent clean.”

“And you’re about to get sand all over it...” Sara sighed. Scott nodded at her as the ship ramp opened and at once the wafts of heat greeted them. Sara, who had never felt Elaaden’s temperature before, stood back and cringed.

“Yikes,” she whispered.

“C’mon team, better not fry our air conditioning,” Scott said, “Liam – would you like to take the reins?”

Liam’s face lit up, “YES!”

“As long as you bring it back in one piece Kosta!” Gil called out to them as they entered the Nomad, the doors sealing it shut and the air-conditioning blasted in their faces. Scott rested easily in the passenger seat while Drack and Jaal were smushed into the back.

They soon arrived at the krogan base, and climbed out – at once the heat hit Scott like a wave almost knocking him over. He signalled for the others to follow, leading them into the compound. Once in the shade, the heat seemed to dissipate slightly – but it still left them all feeling very uncomfortable.

Drack led the way, and Scott was only too happy to do so. He did not fancy being around angry krogan, especially in the heat. Thankfully the krogans seemed to have warmed to him, with a few sending non-terrifying glances his way.

Morda was standing by her throne, and looked around curiously when they arrived.

“Nexus,” she said simply in her harsh voice.

“Ambassador,” Scott replied without missing a beat. For a fraction of a second Morda gave him a look of surprise, followed by the return of her usual mask of indifference.

“Yes, I forgot you appointed me ambassador of the Nexus,” Morda said slowly, “I am grateful for it. Why are you here today?”

Scott cleared his throat, “we have been told of increased kett activity on Elaaden. We came to ask for assistance.”

“Yes, I am aware,” Morda answered sharply, “my soldiers have been trying to squash them out. Funny looking kett some of them are. Absolute vermin.”

“Agreed,” Drack grumbled, cocking his gun.

“Do you know whereabouts they’re coming from?” Scott asked.

“Everywhere,” Morda gave him a deadpan look, “But specifics – due north of here. Not sure how far – if you ask some of my lieutenants they may be able to help you.”

“Thank you,” Scott inclined his head slightly before going to leave, until Morda spoke again.

“Oh, and Nexus – I’d prefer you kept Nakmor Drack here. I have some issues I’d like to discuss with him.”

Scott looked to Drack who merely shrugged as though he was bored, and turned back to Morda, “fine with me.”

“Good, you may go,” Morda dismissed and Scott didn’t need telling twice. He signalled to Liam and Jaal that they should remove themselves from her company and they seemed more than willing. For the next half hour, Scott questioned some of the krogan around about the kett, but many did not have much to say about it. Whether it was because they didn’t trust him or didn’t want to talk about it Scott didn’t know.

But, it was Vorn that answered his questions.

“Yeah, I heard a few guys talking about it,” Vorn explained as he tended to his plants, “they come out of the desert, but they reckon there’s a cave they’re coming from. Morda won’t let them in or near the area.”

“Why?” Scott asked.

“Heavy resistance,” Vorn shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Right – thanks,” Scott smiled at him before meeting up with Jaal and Liam.

“Anything?” Liam asked.

“Vorn told me – said they’re coming from the desert.”

“Great – that’s, that’s everywhere,” Liam countered and Scott saw a flicker of a smile on Jaal’s lips.

“We’ll start there,” Scott replied.

xXx

They weren’t starting everywhere, but north as Scott drove the Nomad in a direction SAM deemed was safe and that Vorn had suggested.

Jaal and Liam were in the back, the two of them speaking in low voices. Scott however, wasn’t listening. He occasionally checked his rear-view mirror and noted that while Liam looked as relaxed as he could be given everything, Jaal seemed more on edge than usual.

“I haven’t, Kosta,” Jaal said, his voice cutting through Scott’s thoughts.

“You have certainly kissed one of us by now, not us but surely another species other than angara!”

“No,” Jaal replied stiffly, folding his arms and looking out one of the virtual windows.

“Aw really?” Liam pouted.

“Have you kissed an angara?” Jaal piped up, and Scott had to give him credit for his impeccable timing.

“No,” Liam replied, “Unless you’re offering?”

“If you’d like?” Jaal’s voice quivered with laughter.

Liam laughed too, “on second thought – I’m good. Ryder – what about you, any angara smooches for you yet?”

Scott took the question in for a second before looking out the corner of his eye, “I don’t know if you know this, but I have a partner-,”

“Ohh right,” Liam smacked his head, “none before her?”

“None,” Scott replied.

“We’re all so boring!” Liam complained, “I need to get out more.”

“But Scott has kissed a turian?” Jaal countered.

“Turians are normal for us though,” Liam argued, “we’ve been in contact for-,”

But Scott held up his hand and Liam fell silent at once, “repeat please, SAM.”

“My readings are indicating enemy presence about a kilometre ahead,” SAM announced, “prepare for enemy fire.”

“Something’s here,” Scott whispered as they continued to drive.

“Are you sure?” Liam asked, “there’s nothing but desert for miles?”

“No…” Scott trailed off as they climbed over a sand dune, and his mouth dropped open at the sight of dozens of Chosen.

“Well, shit,” Liam whispered.

The kett had begun to fire at the Nomad, and they could feel the scraping on metal as the shield took the hits. Scott looked through the windows and frowned – there was very little cover and they were in direct sun.

“It has to be easily seventy degrees out there,” Liam sounded uneasy.

Scott was about to do something very, very stupid and he was sure would earn him a verbal beating from Gil, “strap in!”

“Wait, what?” Liam replied.

Scott’s left hand thrust the gearstick roughly into place and he planted his foot firmly on the accelerator, the Nomad hesitated slightly before shooting forward faster than he had ever felt it go.

“Holy fu-!” Liam’s curse was cut off by Chosen bodies being slammed into the front of the vehicle and crunching underneath from the wheels. Gunshots still pinged into the side and Scott struggled to turn the Nomad in the soft sand, and the wheels turned over on themselves.

“Fuck,” he muttered quietly, before giving up and bashing the door open, gun ready and leaping from the Nomad. The blue aura encased his frame and he felt a body snap as he slammed into it with a biotic charge, before shooting it between the eyes with his shotgun.

“Allow for cooldown,” SAM reminded him as he charged up a lance in his hand.

“I KNOW SAM!” Scott roared as he turned and held backlash up with his left hand before slamming the lance into the kett, detonating a combo. He felt his head twinge slightly at the biotic use and wiped a trickle of blood from his nose.

Liam was an orange blur, cutting and gutting kett in his path with blades, while Jaal was tucked into the shade of the Nomad, picking them off one by one with his rifle. Eventually the three of them managed to clear the kett out of the area, and Scott’s attention could refocus on the Nomad.

“Houston, we have a problem,” Liam said scratching at his head while he took in the Nomad. Scott came up to his side and groaned inwardly, the Nomad had taken a beating from the gunfire, and the wheels were well and truly bogged in the sand.

“Who’s Houston?” Jaal asked, but no one responded. Scott mentally kicked himself for doing something so stupid. He climbed back into the driver’s seat and attempted to move the vehicle to no avail, even with Jaal and Liam pushing.

“We’re going to have to leave it and continue on foot,” Scott replied, rubbing at his sweaty face. He could feel his skin burning and he pulled his helmet out of the Tempest and placed it on, feeling relief on the sun not burning out his retinas.

“How many klicks are we out?”

“According to my best estimates, there is a location of interest two klicks north-west of here.”

“Shit,” Jaal whispered, wiping at his face and consuming some of his water ration.

“Lucky we packed extra rations?” Scott attempted humour but neither Jaal or Liam seemed to appreciate any of it. Scott walked forward in the direction SAM had given him.

“How do we know where we’re going?” Liam asked.

As if summoned, several kett had clambered over the sand dunes and had begun firing.

“Follow the kett,” Scott shrugged, his blue aura once again surrounding his form. It was going to be a long day.

xXx

Scott wasn’t sure how long they had been moving, but it felt like twelve hours at the very least. He didn’t know where his body ended and the sweat began. He resented himself with every step for getting the Nomad stuck, and was especially not looking forward to the tongue lashing he would receive both from Gil and Vetra.

He was never going to live it down.

“There’s gotta be something,” Liam muttered for the hundredth time, while Jaal trudged along silently. The angara’s mind seemed to be a million miles away, and was oblivious to most of Liam’s chatter.

“I’m detecting high frequency chatter three hundred metres from your location,” SAM relayed to him and Scott quickened his pace, using his biotics to aid him. He had reached the distance SAM had told him about and was annoyed to realise that there was nothing.

“Well,” Liam said; a few metres to his left and Scott realised that there was an opening into the ground. It didn’t look man-made, but it didn’t look exactly natural either.

“This is where the high frequency chatter is coming from?” Scott asked, switching on his night vision and realising there was an intricate rock-like ladder system in place to go up and down.

“The cavern is 11.2 metres deep Pathfinder.”

“Cheers,” Scott replied, slowing lowering himself toward the entrance.

“Surely?” Liam replied, his voice rising, “This surely isn’t the wisest thing to do?”

“Well- we aren’t going to find anything out here, and I can almost guarantee it’s going to be cooler.”

“I’m in,” Jaal said immediately, following Scott into the cavern. The rocks were slippery and Scott had to use his biotics to stable himself a few times, wondering how Jaal and Liam were managing and landed with a soft thump in ankle-deep water.

“Night vision on,” Scott replied, and the others obliged – the three of them walking through the darkness in silence. It was eerie, and Scott’s eyes wandered easily, trying to figure out what was going on. It looked like a natural reservoir or tunnel, but Scott couldn’t shake the feeling that it was unnatural too – given how random the location was.

He dodged a rock sticking out and had about a second before he realised several kett were standing in the next part of the tunnel. His brain clicked over just as the kett rose their guns, ready for battle.

“DOWN!” Scott called out, ducking for cover as gunshots rang around the cavern.

“Alright…” he gritted his teeth as he prepared his body for a charge but before he could activate he felt SAM stop him. The sensation was bizarre and Scott nearly slammed into the ground from being put off balance.

“I would advise against biotics in such a tight space,” SAM warned.

“And, what, the gunshots aren’t going to cause a cave-in?” Scott muttered angrily.

He felt the gunshots sting his armour and alarms sound in his ears, he turned and held out his hand – holding up his backlash against the enemy before firing several rounds from his Thokin.  

Liam propelled forward, severing one with his blades, and the final one succumbed to a single shot in the head from a sniper rifle and fell over beside him in a sickening crunch. 

“Thanks, Jaal,” Scott muttered.

“All clear, no other hostile lifeforms detected,” SAM told him and Scott nodded before stowing his gun and finally getting the chance to climb deeper into the cavern to look around, he noted that his feet had reached dry rock. As he rounded the corner, his mouth fell open in horror.

“Holy hell,” Liam whispered.

“It’s…horrid,” Jaal replied on Scott’s other side.

They had emerged into a large section that felt very artificial in design. Dozens of pods lined the walls of the cavern with differing species of aliens lying dead and in various states of decomposition around them. Scott bent down to the closest, a quarian male and noted his pale skin stuck out through the remains of his biohazard suit. In the middle of it all were several medical tables and equipment.

Scott had absolutely no words as he scanned the various bodies, disgust rising in his gut. There was a mixture of quarians, drell, angara and to his horror krogan and asari.

“There’s asari here?” Liam stepped forward to the table where a half-dissected asari lay. Scott couldn’t stop the vomit rise in his throat.

Jaal made his way from pod to pod while Liam kept his gun at the ready, as if more kett were going to jump from behind rocks and start shooting.  

“What do you think they’re using it for?” Liam asked.

“Research,” Scott replied, “they’ve clearly gotten species onto the planet. Why though? Why here?”

“Training? A bit like Lexi did with us? Seeing how they fare against the heat…” Liam offered.

“They’d have the technology for that on a ship,” Scott argued feebly, “surely.”

Jaal’s voice rang out through the cavern.  

“Pathfinder-”

“Yes, Jaal?”

“There’s a live one.”

“What?” Scott and Liam asked in unison, guns rising and rushed to where Jaal was kneeling. Scott bent down next to him and ran his scanner over the body.

Quarian, female. Suit breach detected. Several broken bones, 12% blood loss, severe dehydration and malnourishment detected. Damaged translator.

“Christ,” Liam said in awe.

“Her translator is damaged,” Scott said, “go easy.”

The quarian seemed to stir and her face mask met Jaal’s face and she panicked, emitting a high pitched garble in her native tongue.

“Whoa, whoa,” Scott held up his hands and roughly shoved Jaal out of the way, he unfortunately did not know Khelish due to his very limited exposure to quarians, and ability to snooze off in Alliance language classes. He kicked himself for thinking he’d ‘never need to know about quarians as there were so few’. Immediately when she sighted him and Liam, the quarian calmed slightly and began to speak to him.

“I can’t understand you,” Scott said in a slow voice, knowing that she couldn’t understand him either, “I’m going to call for extraction, we’ll fix your translator.”

She merely stared at Scott before nodding her head slightly, “Liam, can you link into the Tempest comms for extraction?”

“Sure,” Liam replied, “Tempest this is the ground team requesting immediate extraction at the following co-ordinates.”

Silence.

“SAM?” Scott asked.

“I am searching Pathfinder.”

Jaal copied Liam, “this is the Pathfinder’s team requesting pick-up,” he almost shouted into his comm, but his call had the same response as Liam’s.

“Tempest! We need immediate extraction – we have an injured quarian who requires urgent medical care.”

The only sound was the steady dripping in the cavern, and the quarian’s uneasy breathing.

“Fuck.”

Scott feared the worst.

Chapter Text

SARA

Sara’s tongue was poking out of her mouth as she fiddled with the component that would make the lights work. It’s the part she hated the most. She gently inserted it into the slot, and the completed chest piece shone at her.

“Yes,” she whispered to herself, switching off the lights and placing the chest with the helmet on the shelf. She pulled the plans up on her omni-tool once more and analysed the arm pieces which would be the next for her to create.

They had been on Elaaden for several days now, and Sara was completely over it. Not only was the moon tidally locked and did not have a traditional day/night cycle, it was also extremely hot. While inside the ship was temperature controlled, she was sure that it was much hotter compared to normal.

“SAM, are you sure it’s not hotter in here?” Sara asked for the fiftieth time, pulling at the collar of her shirt.

“I am affirmative Sara; the current temperature reading is 22.2 degrees Celsius for the Tempest.”

“I still don’t believe you,” Sara snapped back in response, fanning herself with a piece of metal. She pulled herself off of the floor and cracked her aching back. Even though the floor was where she worked best, she needed to invest in a cushion.

“Sara! Are you in here?” a panicked voice called as the doors opened and a dishevelled Suvi appeared in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?” Sara asked, getting up immediately and frowning at Suvi’s panic.

“We’ve got a problem!” Suvi replied, rushing from the room. Curious, Sara followed down the hallway onto the bridge. Peebee was in there too, looking down at Kallo’s empty chair in worry.

“What the hell is going on?” Sara asked, especially noting Peebee was not her cheery self.

“We’ve got a distress call 10 klicks from here,” Suvi answered, “it’s from Scott.”

Sara looked around, “where’s the rest of our crew?”

“I don’t know!” Suvi pulled at her hair, “I woke up, and no one was here! SAM assured me that they were out and safe, but neither he nor I can contact them or track their location. We’re it!”

“SAM?”

“I am searching,” came the response.

Scott’s strangled tones came out from the comms, and Sara felt they had no choice – they had to answer.

“We have to answer,” Sara echoed her own thoughts, she pressed down on the button, “affirmative – Tempest can hear you,” she spoke to her brother.

“Sara! Thank god! What the hell is going on? We’ve been trying to make contact for over half an hour. We need immediate evac, we have an injured quarian!”

“Fuck – what do we do?” Suvi looked extremely distressed; her face was flushed with worry. Sara frowned, Suvi never swore.

“We fly without our crew,” Sara answered automatically.

“Can you fly this?” Peebee asked, speaking up for the first time. She had a worry line between her eyes as she pondered the situation.

“No,” Sara said, “but SAM can,” she tapped the side of her head.

“Don’t tell me that you have that weird shit with SAM too?” Peebee asked.

“It does come in handy! Strap in!”

Peebee and Suvi bawked before Suvi got into position in her seat and Peebee held on to the railing near the galaxy map.

“Pathfinder – immediate evac requested and acknowledged. We’re on our way,” Sara said into the comm, “SAM, can you fly this thing?”

“I cannot hack into the ship’s systems directly,” SAM answered out loud.

“Wait…what?” Suvi’s voice rose.

“It’s to prevent a rogue AI taking over or some nonsense,” Sara answered without really thinking about it, “alright, if he’s agreeable, SAM is going to tell me exactly what to do.”

“Fucking hell,” Peebee whispered, gripping the rail with her biotics.

Sara felt the sweat beading on her head as she placed shaky hands on the controls. All she had to do was get the ship in the air, fly it to Scott’s co-ordinates and land it.

Simple, right?

“Peebee – are you able to organise some rations for a quarian?” Sara asked, “Grab anything of Vetra’s that you can get a hold of.”

“Understood,” Peebee nodded and took off into the ship.

Here went nothing.

xXx

SCOTT

“Alright – they’re on their way,” Scott answered, “finally.”

“Pathfinder,” SAM said in his head, “I am able to assist in speaking Khelish.”

Now you tell me Scott thought, do it

“Guys – SAM is going to help me speak to her.”

The quarian was still on the ground, reluctant to move when Scott or Liam tried to pick her up. She was absolutely terrified of Jaal and wouldn’t let him go near her. Scott bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder, letting SAM take control of his mind.

“We are here to help you,” the words left Scott’s mouth and while he was speaking English in his mind, the words that came out were definitely not English. She stared at him for several beats.

“Who are you?” she replied. Hearing her speak to him was one of the weirdest experiences he had had. His auditory processes heard Khelish, but as it entered his brain and processed, SAM translated the words into English.

“I’m Scott Ryder, the human pathfinder,” Scott replied.

“Alec is dead?”

He winced, still wasn’t used to that.

“Yes. My team is coming for us. I am going to get you immediate medical attention and your translator fixed.”

She paused for a moment, “okay,” and finally, allowed him to pick her up. He pulled her into his arms and stood at full height, using his biotics to aid with her weight – not that she was very heavy but it did assist with helping his aching muscles.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” he whispered, although in English or Khelish he didn’t know.

xXx

SARA

She landed the ship with a thud, the internal dampeners not quite cushioning the impact and stood up as fast as possible.

“Holy shit that was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” Sara said, her knees knocking together in fear and her hands shaking. She raced through the ship, Suvi close behind, to the cargo bay so she could greet Scott as he came in.

Even though they didn’t have Lexi with them; Sara, Suvi and Peebee put their combined training together along with any information SAM could give them. They had prepared the med-bay as best they could.

The cargo bay doors opened and Sara braced against the heat as she saw three figures walking toward her.

Scott was in the lead cradling something in his arms, followed by Liam and Jaal on either side. On closer inspection, Sara noted it was the quarian he was cradling with blue biotics encircling his arms to allow him to lift her without expending himself.  

Suvi and Peebee stood beside Sara; she was reluctant to leave the shade and cool air of the ship but braced the heat and approached the squad. Immediately, Jaal broke rank and made his way toward Sara, but caught himself just before a display of affection.

Sara patted him gently on the arm before turning to her brother, “sorry for the delay.”

“Where is everyone?” Scott asked, trudging up the ramp and into the cool air. Immediately, Sara could see the relief in the four bodies. Liam removed his helmet and raked his fingers through his sweaty hair, Jaal’s face was flushed a dark purple.

“We don’t know,” Sara answered, “We were the only three aboard when your stress signal came through.”

“Hang on – who flew the ship?” Liam asked.

“You’re looking at her,” Sara replied, “with a little help from SAM of course.”

Liam raised his eyebrow, “you can do that shit too? Ergh.”  

“How is she?” Sara asked, indicating the quarian still curled in Scott’s arms.

“Stable,” Scott replied, and Sara followed him to the med bay where he placed the quarian onto the cot. She looked confused, although she was hard to read because of her helmet. Peebee joined them in the med bay.

Liam came in, followed by Jaal. The effect was instantaneous. Immediately, the quarian’s demeanour changed and she showed true fear, curling as best as she could into a ball and trying to shy away from the angara.

“Jaal,” Scott rounded on him. Liam turned and pulled Jaal out with him, the doors shutting with a snap.

“What the-?” Sara started.

“She’s terrified of Jaal,” Scott replied, looking back at her. Sara looked around in confusion before pushing the thought away.

“Do we know anything?” Sara asked, changing the subject.  

“Not much,” Scott answered, “SAM’s been translating my speech into Khelish for me. I’ve merely told her I’m trying to help her, and she understood that. My scans indicate she has broken bones and is suffering from blood loss and malnutrition.”

“I can try to help,” Peebee jumped forward, placing a hand on the quarian’s arm. The quarian panicked, but the two of them shared a non-verbal communication before she relented and allowed Peebee to access her omni-tool.

“Alright,” Scott started, “are you able to stay with her while I get the ship back to New Tuchanka?”

“Of course,” Sara replied, taking a seat next to the quarian – just grateful that she wasn’t in the cot for once and also grateful she didn’t have to fly the ship back. Scott nodded once, and held out his hand as though he was going to grab Sara’s shoulder, but stopped himself before doing so and left without a word.

“Almost got it,” Peebee whispered as she continued to fiddle, “it’s not broken – it’s been disabled, but very clumsily.”

“Disabled?” Sara was confused for a moment before nodding in recognition, “those bastards.”

“Hm?” Peebee asked without looking around.

“Disabling their translators means the different species can’t communicate. They can’t strategize or do anything,” Sara explained, “how incredibly isolating.”

“That’s exactly it,” a new voice joined the conversation and Sara nearly jumped out of her skin. Peebee was smiling as she sat back up; the quarian’s translator was fixed.

“Thank you,” the quarian said, and then turned back to Sara, “can you understand me?”

“I can, yes,” Sara sighed in relief, “my name is Sara Ryder – I’m the pathfinder’s twin sister, this is Peebee, one of the ground team.”

“Nice to meet ya,” Peebee added.

“I’m Zira’Tador vas Keelah Si’yah,” she told them, “but everyone calls me Zira,” she stopped suddenly, and Sara followed her gaze to outside the medbay where Suvi, Liam and Jaal were huddled together.

“Who is he?” Zira asked; a worried tone in her voice.

“Who?” Sara asked.

“The big purple one,” Zira responded.

“Oh! That’s Jaal,” Sara replied, “He’s an angara. A native species of the Andromeda galaxy. He’s completely harmless.”

“I saw…his species…turned into those monsters,” Zira whispered, curling one of her hands into a fist.  

Sara met Jaal’s eyes before turning back to the quarian, she couldn’t think of an appropriate response. She had personally never seen any species be changed into a kett, but she had read about it.

That was enough for her.

“Are you comfortable?” Sara asked, and picked a tray up off of one of the benches, “Peebee here prepared some food and nutrients for you – we have a turian crewmember so we have dextro rations aboard.”

“Thank you,” Zira responded, and fell silent. Peebee winked at Sara before leaving the room. Sara wasn’t sure what to do, so she settled on the cot next to Zira’s, just to keep an eye on her until Lexi returned. She did not speak, which Sara did not mind. The poor thing had been through a dreadful experience, one which Sara had some familiarity, she knew the pain well.

Eventually she felt the ship land; Scott’s landing was much gentler than hers was. After a few minutes her brother re-entered the med-bay. Sara minimised the application on her omni-tool and stood. The quarian placed down her nutrients.

“Are you feeling better?” Sara asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Zira replied.

“Peebee fixed her translator,” Sara interjected as Scott opened his mouth in obvious confusion, “she said it hadn’t been destroyed, but disabled.”

Scott nodded in the same recognition Sara had, frown and all before pacing backwards and forwards, “As I mentioned before, my name is Scott Ryder and I’m the human pathfinder. We’ll try to make your stay as comfortable as possible aboard the Tempest.”

“I’m Zira’Tador vas Keelah Si’yah,” Zira replied, “Zira is fine however.” They fell into an uneasily silence, Scott was clearly antsy about something.

“Any word on the rest of the crew?” Sara asked.

“ETA 10 minutes,” Scott replied, “you may go, I’m happy to stay with Zira until Lexi returns.”

“You’ve been gone for over 14 hours Scott, you need rest.”

“I’m fine,” Scott replied curtly, and Sara didn’t want to push her luck. She nodded politely and vacated the med-bay, leaving her brother and Zira alone. She came nose-to-nose with Jaal who was waiting just outside the door.

“Are you alright?” Sara asked gently, placing a hand on his arm, “you look dead on your feet.”

“I could use some rest,” Jaal replied, stifling a yawn. Sara spied Liam fast asleep, mouth lolling open on one of the bunks in the crew quarters. 

“Come on,” Sara said, guiding Jaal to the elevator in the cargo bay so that he didn’t have to climb the ladder while very exhausted. Jaal was surprisingly alert given the very long mission he had just endured.

“How is she?” Jaal asked tenderly.

“She’s okay,” Sara replied as they walked, “not sure yet given Lexi isn’t aboard, but she seems okay.”

“She doesn’t like me very much,” Jaal said, the thought clearly bothering him.

“It’s not you darling,” Sara said, eyeing him when she said the affectionate word and could’ve sworn a small smile played on his lips, but Sara continued, “the only angara she’s seen spoke a foreign language and have been turned into kett in front of her.”

“Ah,” Jaal mumbled, looking slightly crestfallen.

“It’s nothing personal,” Sara placed a hand on his back as the two of them entered the tech bay, “maybe you can show her angara are nothing to be afraid of?”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Jaal agreed, his eyelids drooping slightly as he leant against the bench. Sara reached on her tiptoes and pecked him gently on the lips.

“Get some rest, I’ll talk to you soon,” she smiled before leaving Jaal alone in the tech bay. The doors slid shut in front of her.

Today had been the strangest day, she was just very grateful everyone was unharmed and looking forward to never flying the ship again.

xXx

SCOTT

“Everyone is now on-board, Pathfinder,” SAM told him.

“Good,” Scott replied out-loud even though it was unnecessary, “please tell them I’d like to meet in the meeting room in 15 minutes. Exclude Jaal and Liam, and Lexi if she’s treating the quarian.”

“Yes, Pathfinder,” SAM answered.

Scott shook his head underneath the spray of the shower and let the hot water run over his body. He could feel the sweat and muck washing off of him.

What a day.

The Nomad was still stuck somewhere on the planet, he found some horrid kett laboratory and he probably owed Morda a few favours.

Oh, and the quarian on board. There was that.

He was exhausted, and the hot shower was lulling him into a sleepy state. He shook his mind from it and in one fluid movement put the water on cold. He jumped from the suddenness of it, but it had the effect he wanted – his mind was now alert.

He stopped the water and stepped out, towel-drying and changing into his usual ship gear before heading up to the meeting room. Along with the crew meeting he needed to speak with Tann and he really wasn’t looking forward to it.

He felt SAM push more chemicals into his brain to keep him upright and alert, but knew once this wore off he was going to feel worse for wear.

“Drack,” Scott said as he found the krogan lounging in the meeting room.

“Shit, Ryder, mission fell apart without me?” Drack laughed as he got to his feet and stood at the table as the others filed in.

“Apparently,” Scott replied, his small smirk disappearing as the last of the crew (Sara and Peebee) entered.

“Right,” Scott began, looking over them all, “I’m just going to cut right to the chase - can someone explain to me what the hell happened?”

No one spoke.

“Anyone? Anyone at all?” Scott continued, “fortune favours the brave…”  

“There’s a series of circumstances that occurred that led to this outcome,” Cora explained in the most Cora way possible, “most of us were still here monitoring  when it was bought to our attention that water and fuel rations were lower than expected.”

Vetra piped up, “A few of us – Kallo, Cora, Gil and myself headed out to buy fuel. As we’re running our cooling systems because of the high temperature we’re burning through more fuel than normal. We needed our pilot and engineer to make sure we were purchasing the correct fuel.”

“I went for water,” Cora answered.

“So, why did Lexi leave?”

“Medical supplies,” Kallo answered.

“Right, okay,” Scott ran a hand over his face again, “just to clarify, there were eight people on board and five of you left to get supplies leaving only one person trained in armed combat, and no one with flight experience?”

“Hey!” Sara piped up, “I’m not medically signed off but I’m still trained!”

“One and a half,” Peebee smirked.

“The point is-,” Scott cut over them, “Sara does not have medical clearance, so the only person on-board who did was Peebee?”

Most of the crew nodded, albeit half-heartedly.

“I mean usually I’m fine with a skeleton crew, but that was pretty poor timing on your part. We were out in desolate country with no way back to you.”

“But, you guys had the Nomad?” Gil questioned.

“About that…” Scott rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “we need to go and retrieve it.”

“Really?” Gil face palmed.

“Look – Nomad aside, it’s the same shit with Jaal on Havarl all over again isn’t it? How many times do I have to drill it in - you never turn your comms off!”

The crew nodded as Scott continued to speak, “I want two people with medical clearance in armed combat and someone with flight experience on the ship at all times while the team is on a mission! Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Vetra replied lazily.

Scott had to resist smirking at her; she had a knack for the human sayings already.

Scott however continued, “I had an injured quarian with no translator with me, what was I going to do without an evac? As it was we were calling for nearly half an hour. You all are very, very lucky she was not as injured as she could’ve been…” Scott trailed off, thinking of the possibility of him or his team being injured to, “or one of us wasn’t.”

“We’re sorry sir,” Cora piped up.

“Right. Good. Dismissed,” Scott said, and the crew began to disperse. At least that was out of the way, now came the meeting with Tann.

However the sight of Lexi pushed meetings completely from his mind.

“How is she?” he asked automatically. Lexi looked up at him, her expression unreadable.

“She’s fine,” Lexi replied before chewing on her lip, “her physical health checks out. I’m…not as familiar with quarian anatomy as I’d like, but I’ve done my best to apply aid to her broken ribs. I’ve also given her a transfusion. Thank the goddess our synthetic equivalent applies to quarians.”

Scott felt relief wash over him, “that’s great,” he said, and he genuinely meant it, “when will I be able to speak to her?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Lexi answered, but looked sternly at him, “but not until you’ve rested.”

“Right – I still need to meet with Tann…” Scott began but Lexi cut across him.

“No, you will meet with Tann after you rest.”

“But-,” Scott argued.

“No exceptions,” Lexi fired back, “doctor’s orders. You will rest, and then you may contact the Nexus. I will look after Zira in the mean-time.”

“Okay, okay,” Scott gave in, knowing this argument would be pointless. He waved Lexi off before heading down to his quarters. He thought about sneaking in some paperwork and a few emails but knew the attempt would be futile when he saw Vetra standing right in front of the doors.

“You read my mind, didn’t you?” Scott asked.

Vetra’s eyes widened slightly and her mandibles flicked out, “sure did.”

“Fine,” Scott gave in, “I’ll go to bed.”

“Good,” Vetra bent down and pecked him on the lips, “goodnight.”

“’Night.”

Chapter Text

With a quarian aboard and a crew of eager people wanting to uncover exactly what was going on – Sara expected that the Tempest would be bound for the Nexus immediately.

But, she had been wrong.

They were stuck groundside for a few more days, much to her disgust. Elaaden, she had decided, was worse than Kadara. At least the latter had an active social life where you could go out; Elaaden was just far too hot to even think about doing something let alone actually doing it. She had no idea how Scott and the crew were out actively doing missions. 

Usually, Sara kept occupied by helping Gil with the Nomad. After they had retrieved it from the middle of nowhere, Sara had been working on getting the wheel mechanisms back in order after Scott had gotten it stuck.

When she wasn’t helping Gil she was trying desperately to seek out Zira, to bond with her. However, the quarian was flying well under the radar. While Lexi had cleared her to be allowed around the ship, she was very rarely seen. She spent most of her time in the med-bay and refused the company of most. Whenever she and Jaal were in the same room, like the other night at dinner, Jaal would usually have to leave as Zira would begin to hyperventilate.

It caused tension for Sara, as she wanted to sit and speak with Zira but also wanted to be with Jaal.

Jaal was trying to not let it get to him, but Sara knew it was. With the combination of Scott, and now Zira, it was hitting him hard. He had fretted to her about it a few times, but Sara felt powerless to do anything about it.

“Only time can show her,” she repeatedly said to him, unsure of how else to comfort.  

But other than that, Sara was quite content with working on her armour – even if she was grounded. On one afternoon Sara found herself holed up in the tech bay tweaking the first of her arm armour. She flexed out the fingers, making sure it allowed for movement equivalent to her own hand. The last thing she needed was for the fingers to jam in combat.

The worst part about creating the limbs was that they needed to be replicated, and the second one was always better than the first, even ever so slightly. Often she felt she was stuck in a loop, correcting one limb piece to be better than the other – the two were never the same.

“I have an idea!”

Jaal’s voice cut into the silence, and Sara looked over to him. He seemed happy, and had a goofy grin plastered on his face.

“Uh…and what would this be?” Sara asked timidly, not quite sure what Jaal was getting at since the outburst had been so random. After a good-morning kiss and quick chatter, the two of them had been working in relative silence for the better part of an hour.

It’s what she liked about Jaal, even though he was very affectionate and social, he didn’t need to fill the space with unnecessary conversation.

“Peebee has informed me about a place on the planet that ‘might interest us’,” Jaal explained, going through his omni-tool.

“’Might interest us?’” Sara repeated.

Jaal looked back at her and a crease appeared between his eyes, “I’m not sure why…but she said it would.”

Sara however was intrigued, “what is it?” she left the floor and stood next to Jaal easily, reading his omni-tool.

Hey Jaal,

I know Elaaden is soooo boring – but I found something that might interest you, and Sara too if she’s up for it. It’s worth the walk, and will ‘cool you off’ if you catch my drift!

>view link<

Peebee

Jaal tapped the hyperlink, and it produced a set of co-ordinates that linked with his omni tool and projected the location relative to the Tempest.

“It’s not far,” Sara remarked, frowning slightly as she read over the distance. It would take them about ten minutes on foot.

“SAM…?” Sara asked hesitantly, “what is the current temperature outside?”

“39.2 degrees Celsius,” SAM replied automatically.

Jaal wrinkled his nose.

“That’s perfectly liveable though! I experienced that a few times on Earth!”

 “Where exactly on Earth?” Jaal asked.

“Australia and Brazil to name two countries,” Sara replied, “it’s not pleasant but it won’t kill us.”

“Cool off?” Jaal asked as he read over the email.

Sara hummed quietly, “I have a funny feeling about that. Bring swimwear, and a towel is my inkling.”

xXx

Sara wasn’t sure if the pair of them were supposed to actually leave the ship, especially after Scott’s lecture to the crew about leaving a skeleton crew aboard. So, she and Jaal waited until well into the night cycle before setting off for their destination.

“The only great thing about Elaaden,” Sara said as she squinted into the sunlight, “is it’s still nice and bright when you’re sneaking off in the night.” The heat was like a tidal wave over her and Jaal, but the two of them persisted through it out of sheer curiosity. Sara adjusted the bag over her shoulder which contained two towels, and a change of underwear. She hoped her hunch was correct.

They nodded to a few krogan and other species as they walked, while their ship was on a ‘night-cycle’ she wasn’t sure how the actual planet worked with a tidally locked system. Regardless, she and Jaal continued to walk – jumping from shade to shade.

“It should be right…here,” Sara said as they stopped near an outcrop of rocks in the middle of a deserted area, Sara looked around, “surely Peebee isn’t fucking with us, right?”

Jaal however was looking around the rocks, “over here!” he called and Sara carefully made her way to him, noting quite a large opening in one of the rocks. She turned on her flashlight from her omni-tool and peered around. It appeared to be an opening to a cave-like structure.

“Surely this isn’t a sick joke?” Sara felt the bile rise in her throat, and the anxiety clench at her chest. Combined with her fear of vaults, along with being stuck in the cave of Kadara, she did not feel like being trapped in another cave.  

“I’ll go in, and see how far it goes,” Jaal said. Sara eyed him carefully, and bit back her anxious reply and nodded.

It extends back only five metres, and is two and a half metres below the surface. You will still be able to observe natural light SAM said in her head, but Sara waited anxiously for Jaal.

“It’s okay,” he smiled, popping his head back out from in the cave.

“You’re sure?”

“Do you trust me?” Jaal asked, holding out his hand. Sara stared into his homely eyes and nodded once. She took his hand and let him guide her in. SAM had been correct. As soon as she had stepped into the cave she felt water squelch under her.

“What is this?” Sara breathed. The very small cave was nothing but a very small water hole. The water was perfectly still, and Sara bent down to touch it with a bare hand, sighing in relief at how perfectly cool it felt.

“It is safe for both humans and angara,” SAM specified allowed, and Sara breathed easy.

“Peebee was right hey,” Sara stated, noting a faint warm blue glow in the cave, she looked to Jaal who was still surveying the water, “shall we?”

“Yes, darling one.”

So quickly Sara could not quite believe it, Jaal had ripped his clothes off. For a moment Sara thought he was completely naked, but thankfully he had enough sense to leave clothing on around his private areas – much to her relief. As much as she liked him, seeing him naked might be a bit soon.

Sara pulled her shirt off easily, followed by her pants. Blush touched across her cheeks, and she realised why Peebee had given them this location.

She was in a string bikini, blue in colour with the Andromeda Initiative logo on the left breast. She had not thought to bring swimwear, even though they were supposedly going to a tropical paradise, but the Initiative it had seemed, had stocked up. While she had been on the Nexus she had raided the supplies, and come across boxes of nothing but bikinis and board shorts. She regretted not taking a pair of board shorts too.

“Sara?”

Her eyes met Jaal’s, and the angara was waiting for her. She took his hand and the two of them entered the water. It was refreshing – it took the edge off of the heat of Elaaden, but was not cool enough to cause a chill.

It was perfect.

She did not know how deep it would be, but was pleasantly surprised when the water reached up to her diaphragm.

She stole a glance at Jaal, noting she had not seen an angara without clothing before. He was remarkably thin in the body for having such muscular arms, but Sara noted it was his very large collar-bones that seemed to give the appearance of a muscular chest. If she had seen him like this before developing her feelings, she may have ran – but this was Jaal now, and every bit of him was attractive to her now.

Sara noted that Jaal’s eyes also seemed to be wondering, and the blush caught her cheeks again, “viewing the merchandise?” she joked.

“Merchandise?” Jaal asked; confusion evident.

Sara laughed, the blush more evident than ever, “do you like what you see?”

Jaal laughed too, and Sara swore she saw the skin darken on his face, “I could say the same for you.”

Sara smiled, and linked her fingers through his as best she could, breathing in deeply at the peace she felt at this very moment.

“There is a place like this on Aya,” Jaal commented, his thoughts suddenly light years away.

“Yeah?” Sara asked.

“It has a waterfall, and is out in the sun. But, the sun is not like Elaaden’s…it’s…gentle.”

“It’s home?”

“Havarl will always be my home,” Jaal replied, meeting Sara’s eyes, “but, this spot on Aya is my favourite place in the universe.”

“You’ll have to take me someday,” Sara teased gently. Jaal smiled at her, before using his free hand to cradle her face, and ran a thumb over her cheekbone.

“I plan to,” he whispered, before bringing his lips to hers.

All thought was forgotten, and Sara embraced the kiss. Her free hand found the curvature of his neck and collarbone, while Jaal’s hand drifted gently down her bare skin to rest on her waist. It was lovely to be somewhere with Jaal, just them and no fear of being caught out by the others on the ship.

It was a very small ship for twelve people.

She and Jaal broke apart, and Sara pressed her nose to his and breathed deeply. Her arms flowed through the water and around his waist, as Jaal’s curled around her shoulders and he pulled her in close. A sigh escaped her lips as she pressed up against his body, craving the skin-on-skin contact. Her head fell easily into the crevice between his collar bones.

“Remind me to thank Peebee later,” Sara mumbled, and Jaal chuckled.

“Does she know?” Jaal asked, pulling away from Sara to look into her eyes. Sara gazed back at him, and sighed deeply.

It was best not to lie, “she knows,” Sara admitted, “but it’s just her and Lexi. She figured it out.”

Jaal however did not seem to be upset, “what it is about asari? I thought Lexi figured it out because she’s a doctor…now I see it seems to be an asari trait. Can they…control minds with their biotics?”

Jaal’s tongue curled uncomfortably over the word ‘biotics’, much like ‘Milky Way’, it was not a familiar sound in his language.

Sara laughed, “no…but it is a popular myth.”

She felt the tension leave his body, “good.”

They didn’t say much, but stayed as close as possible to one another to make up for the contact time they lost on the crowded Tempest. They alternated between cuddling and kissing. Sara even plucked up the courage to playfully splash Jaal which resulted in a splashing game – which Sara lost spectacularly.  

Sara was soaked, her hair dripping down her back when they finally stepped out of the pool and back into their clothing. Sara didn’t know how to thank Jaal for their date, so she placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

Jaal gave her a gracious you’re welcome.  

xXx

Sara twirled her cutlery in her fingers as she sat at the gallery table. She had a lot to do today, Gil needed an extra hand to help recalibrate the Nomad but yet, here she was, unable to finish her breakfast as her mind skimmed back to her and Jaal’s date.

“Elaaden to Sara? You there?”

A hand flashed in front of her face and Sara snapped back to reality, noting Peebee sitting down next to her, “you seem distracted. Rough sleep?”

“Long night,” Sara said, and yawned.

Peebee gave her a side-eye, “yeah?”

“Jaal and I went to the place you sent to him,” Sara said nonchalantly.

She could feel Peebee vibrating with excitement, “what did you think?”

“The cave freaked me out,” Sara said, “I thought you were fucking with me at first.”

Peebee slammed a hand to her head, “I didn’t even think of that.”

“Jaal coaxed me in, and I’m glad he did. It was extremely relaxing, and what we needed. Thank you Peebee.”

“You’re very welcome dear Sara,” Peebee replied, “I found it on one of my wanderings of Elaaden back in the Archon days, and it needed to be shared.”

The gallery doors opened to reveal Scott, and Sara blearily looked up at him before taking a swig of her coffee and finally starting breakfast. He stood for a moment as if considering something, before he rummaged through the cupboards to grab a bag which Sara knew contained muesli and a banana.

“When you’re done,” Scott began and Sara looked up at him before he continued, “Are you able to meet me in the med-bay?”

“Sure,” Sara replied, “can I ask what for?”

“Zira would like a word, to the both of us,” Scott stated.

Chapter Text

Sara and Peebee exchanged glances as Scott left the gallery. 

“What was that about?” Peebee asked. Sara shrugged and hurriedly finished her eggs and toast, with the coffee burning her throat as she sculled it down.

“I’m not sure,” she got out through the last mouthful of food, standing to rinse her dishes. Once she was done she gave Peebee another glance before leaving the gallery and making her way to the med-bay. Her curiosity was peaked – why did Zira want to talk to her as well as her brother?

She entered the med-bay to find her brother leaning idly against the bench. Zira was sitting on her cot, her legs hanging over the side and Lexi was noticeably absent. Sara felt the door snap behind her, and Zira looked up at her.

The quarian twiddled her fingers, seeming to take a very polite interest in them before lifting her head to face Sara.

“She wanted to speak about what happened,” Scott said, “but, wanted you with us.”

Sara nodded, unsure of what to say.

“Thank you for joining,” Zira said, “I’m…not sure where to begin.”

Scott sat down on Lexi’s vacant chair and opened his hand, “the beginning?”

“Tell us about you,” Sara added, trying to make Zira more comfortable, “why did you come to Andromeda?”

“How could I not?” Zira replied, and Sara could almost see Zira’s thoughts drifting into memories, “I’m a trained engineer by trade. While all quarians have a degree of engineering knowledge – I was trained specifically for it. Fixing engines, working on the ships even repairing tears in the suits.”

“I’m very young, barely an adult by quarian standards. I was on my Pilgrimage – you’re aware of that?”

“Yes,” Sara replied, nodding at Zira to continue.

“My mother and family did not want me to go – but the captain insisted. It is tradition, and tradition must be followed. So, I set off on my Pilgrimage; eager to find something to bring to a new ship. I did not have a ship in mind that I wanted to join.”

“However, I was not really aware of the prejudice most of us face,” Zira explained, “I went to the Citadel – what better than to be in the hub of galatic society? But, I faced severe scepticism from nearly every species there. I lived in the homeless shelter, eating nutrient paste when I could. Not exactly the life I had been expecting.”

“Anyway – I overheard some batarians talking about the Initiative, and I just eavesdropped. They were talking about heading to Andromeda to start over, and I longed to do something especially…unique. So, I joined up.”

“Just like that?” Scott asked.

“Initially, I thought they would want me to complete my Pilgrimage, but they did not care. I was a very skilled engineer, and that’s what they needed. So, I was signed on.”

Sara and Scott both nodded, not wanting to interrupt.

“Leaving was very difficult – I’m my mother’s only daughter. She was distraught, but she could not see the situation improving for quarians anytime soon and was panicked at how I had been living. So, she reluctantly let me go.”

“What happened to your ark?” Sara asked, fully engrossed.

“We were delayed because of technical difficulties. Providing stasis for one species is complicated enough, let alone six on one ark.”

“Six?” Scott remarked.

“Quarian, drell, elcor, hanar, volus and batarian,” Zira explained.

“There’s batarians on your ark?” Sara asked incredulously; she and Scott shared a confused glance.  

“Yes,” Zira replied, “not many – a few hundred at most.”

“Two were also granted asylum on the salarian ark,” Scott explained, and Sara did a double take. She had no idea that any batarians were in Andromeda.

“My first memory of Andromeda is being pulled very roughly out of my pod by this enormous lumpy alien – which I now know to be called a ‘kett’,” Zira visibly shuddered, “I wasn’t sure what they wanted or what was happening. My translator suddenly didn’t work…I could still communicate with other quarians however. Unfortunately though, they figured out that all quarians spoke the one language and that was that. I saw them, but couldn’t talk to them.”

“Our numbers had been decimated – I learnt through speaking to quarians before we were all separated of the virus that had spread and almost wiped our entire ship out.”

“What?” Sara’s voice raised an octave.

“I’m not contagious,” Zira explained hurriedly, “I never caught the virus, and was never awake while this all happened.”

“So…let me get this straight,” Scott started, “your numbers are already low because of some sort of…virus that nearly wiped you all out. Was it TH-314?”

Zira shook her head, “No.”

“Well, fuck. TH-314 would’ve been preferable – at least we know angara are immune.”

“TH-314? That airborne virus?” Sara asked curiously.

“We had a woman who was infected, who got off of the Hyperion and onto Kadara. We were panicking that she was going to infect the angara – but as I said before, angara are immune. I killed both the woman and the Roekaar agent to stop the spread of the virus. While angara are immune, I was not letting a potential bioweapon into the hands of terrorists.”

“Holy shit,” Sara whispered.

“If the kett have access to this virus, this could be catastrophic,” Scott remarked.

“But – Scott – think about it,” Sara said slowly, thinking everything through in her head, “if the kett are interested in harvesting us, why would they deploy this virus that would put us and themselves at risk?”

Scott opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again.

“That’s a good argument,” Zira agreed.

“It could be population control…” Scott trailed off but seemed unsure of his answer, but turned back to Zira, “you’re sure it’s not TH-314?”

“I’m sure,” Zira said, “but, I believe it was cured from what I heard. I’m not sure if it will present as a problem.”

“Angara may be immune to TH-314, but there’s no guarantee about this other virus,” Sara thought aloud.

“It puts us in an even worse situation,” Scott explained, “firstly, if the virus is still active, we’re fucked. But, virus aside - we thought human numbers were low. We didn’t realise yours were that low.”

“What else do you remember?” Sara asked.

“I remember people shouting to me, but I couldn’t understand a word because we didn’t have our translators. It was…terrifying. A few of us were moved onto one of their ships. That’s where I saw others; asari, krogan and the – what did you call them?”

“Angara?”

“Yes, angara. I’ll never forget the first one I saw. I could not understand a word it spoke, but I felt the fear. And…it turned. It turned into one of those things. It was the most repulsive thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Exaltation,” Scott explained, “we’ve learnt that only the most genetically pure, or advantageous individuals suffer such a fate.”

“That…makes it so much worse,” Sara felt ill.

“I remember them trying to…exalt krogan, but krogan are uncontrollable once they are turned. One krogan – tough woman – took out a dozen after they had turned her,” Zira explained.  

Sara swallowed the vomit in her throat, and even Scott looked uncomfortable. Sara remembered that Scott had seen this first hand, and he and Vetra had to console Jaal when he had witnessed it for the first time.

It was something she never wanted to see for as long as she lived.

“They’d make the recently turned kett work on us. Either them, or some other funny looking small ones.”

“The scientists,” Scott said quietly, “they’d always run when we boarded their ships.”

“I saw quarians being pulled from suits, but those quarians would die quickly from infection. So, they learnt that our survival meant staying in our suits. We were moved to Elaaden in that cave you found us in only recently – although I’m unsure of time.”

“Were you fed…?” Sara hesitated.

“Not well. It took them quite a while to figure out that we run on dextro amino acids. I was eating levo food I was offered because I was so hungry. Eventually, they figured it out – although, we weren’t exactly indulged.”

They were silent for a long time. Sara was lost for words; she often felt she had had the raw end of the deal.

But, when she thought back, she considered that she was very lucky. While she had been left weak from the interrupted revival procedure, and disabled from the Archon it was nothing to what Zira had experienced. Sara at least had had constant medical attention, and a supportive network.

“I’m so sorry,” Sara whimpered, fighting back the sudden tears that stung the corners of her eyes.

“Do you know what happened to your pathfinder?” Scott asked.

Zira shook her head, “I’m not sure if they survived the hit from the virus – or the kett. I wish I knew more.”

“Zira…” Sara got out, but trailed off. 

“You…you couldn’t understand them, could you?” Scott asked.

“Who?” Zira replied.

“The kett…”

“No,” Zira answered, “not without my translator.”

“Shame,” Scott mumbled.

“But…” Zira started, “my suit has recording procedures in place.”

Scott did a double take, “sorry?”

“I was able to record some of their dialogue,” Zira explained, “It’s not translated or very good quality.”

Scott was up in a flash, his hand out as if expecting Zira to hand it to him.

“The recording?” Scott asked.

Zira hesitated, “I’d…I’d rather wait until we are on the Nexus.”

Scott’s eyebrows pulled together and he took a step forward, but Sara stepped forward between the two of them.

“Leave her – she’s been through a terrible experience. She wants to see the head of the Initiative, just…”

“Don’t...” Scott began, but sighed and rubbed at his temples, “Fine - we need to get to the Nexus immediately,” and he hurried out of the door.

Sara stood in stunned silence for several beats before turning back to Zira, who had not moved, “sorry,” Sara started, “he can get that way sometimes.”

“That’s fine; I get it…but…” Zira trailed off.

Sara nodded before they fell into silence once more, she turned back to Zira, “thank you for telling us.”

Zira merely nodded, “I needed to help in any way I could.”

“You have, hugely,” Sara replied, standing, “If you’d like…I’ll leave you to your thoughts.”

Zira nodded, and Sara left the med-bay – her head still buzzing with all of the information.  

xXx

Scott wasted no time in bringing the rest of the crew up to speed with what Zira had said. Sara stayed quiet in the meeting watching the whirl of space behind them. They had departed Elaaden very quickly and were now heading back to the Nexus.

In truth, she was stunned into silence. The revelation of the virus plus the kett having the quarian ark terrified her.

As they stood and had this meeting in the comfort of their own ship, hundreds of quarians, drell, elcor, hanar, volus and batarians were possibly being tortured or experimented on, or had become kett. And, unlike the 20,000 humans on ark Hyperion – the Keelah Si’yah did not have the numbers to support a virus plus kett invasion.

Sara knew it was critical they found the quarian ark as fast as possible.

She turned to Zira, who was watching Scott with what looked like polite interest, although she could tell Zira was eyeing Jaal cautiously.

She couldn’t imagine how Zira must feel; living with the fact she could possibly be the only living quarian if they did not find the ark. And combined with the reaper invasion in the Milky Way, Zira could be the only quarian left in the entire universe.

Sara’s stomach knotted uncomfortably at that thought.

“Crew dismissed,” Scott stated, bringing Sara back to the present. She looked to her watch, noting it was around the time that they had dinner.

“My stew should be about done,” Drack commented, and Sara perked up – eager to indulge in one of Drack’s delicious stews. Sara wished Drack would cook permanently, but knew it would drive him insane if he tried.

Dinner was a strangely sombre affair, but at least Zira could now be in the same room as Jaal without freaking out, although she sat as far away from him as possible.

“Once again, a delicious meal Drack,” Gil bowed slightly in Drack’s direction before leaving the gallery.

The others began to leave in twos and threes. Zira thanked Vetra for allowing her to consume her dextro rations. Sara got up and stretched, it was her and Jaal’s turn to do the dishes – not that she minded.

The large angara stood by the sink while Sara grabbed a tea-towel, and Sara noted they were the only ones left in the gallery.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to do that?” Sara asked, watching as Jaal dunked a plate in the suds, having a bit of trouble holding onto it with his unusual digits.

“It is fine,” Jaal replied, placing a plate onto the drying rack for Sara to dry and put away. Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“Besides…” Jaal began, and Sara knew him well enough to see the sneaky grin on his face and the way his eyes glinted with mischief, “I can do this…” and without warning he splashed Sara with the suds from the sink.

“Oi!” Sara giggled, thwacking Jaal on the backside with the tea-towel. Jaal’s chest rumbled with deep laughter as he picked up a handful of water and threw it. Sara turned in time to avoid her face and chest being covered, but the water ran down her back.

She aimed with the tea-towel again, but Jaal was too quick for her. He dodged out of the way, and pinned her against the wall – his big hands either side of her head. One side of Jaal’s mouth was pulled up in a grin and his eyes were still twinkling.

“You got water all over the floor!” Sara complained, but she still had a smile on her face.

“Oh? Did I now?” Jaal teased, looking down at the ground and then meeting Sara’s eyes once more.

“I hope you’re cleaning that up,” Sara lectured, and Jaal’s eye ridge raised in response before his lips met hers. She kissed back, despite knowing they were in the middle of the gallery and anyone could walk in at any moment.

And then Sara heard the door.

Both she and Jaal panicked; in his haste to move away from her as quickly as possible he stepped backward and slipped on the water. Sara saw what was going to happen before it did, and reached out to grab Jaal’s clothing to keep him up – forgetting that he was over double her weight. Not having biotics or her old strength to aid, she went with him. He hit the ground, and Sara fell on top of him.

“Are you alright?” Sara asked, pushing herself off of her Jaal, but to her relief he was laughing.

“Remind me to never do that again,” Jaal replied, smiling but the smile faltered as his eyes found the person who had triggered the door.

Oh god, it’s Scott. Fuck, it’s Scott.

Sara turned, and almost collapsed back onto Jaal in relief that it wasn’t Scott. Zira was standing in the doorway.

“Uh – what’s up?” Sara asked as if Zira didn’t just catch the two of them kissing and then falling over. She stood easily, and held a hand out to help Jaal up.

“Uhhh,” Zira responded. She stepped into the gallery and the door snapped shut behind her, making the whole situation even more awkward. Sara noted she and Jaal were covered in soapy water, her more so, and the puddle on the floor was obnoxiously large.  

It seemed the quarian had forgotten why she had come in here. She didn’t speak as she surveyed the two of them, and picked at the arm of her suit awkwardly.

“How long-?” Zira began, pointing to Sara and then pointing to Jaal. Sara sighed, there was no use trying to deny it, Zira was not a fool.

“How long have we been…?” Sara began, giving Jaal a side glance and then looking back to Zira, who nodded.

“Oh god – not too long, right?” Sara asked Jaal.

“I don’t believe so,” Jaal hummed in agreement.

“The crew doesn’t know,” Sara explained as she handed Jaal the tea-towel, who understood and began to mop up the water off of the floor.

“I…gathered,” Zira said, “will you tell them?”

At this Sara sighed very deeply, “perhaps one day. When my brother knows, that’s when I’ll tell the crew.”

Zira looked very nervous as she took a tiny step forward, “are most angara like you Jaal?”

It was the first time she had said his name, or spoken directly to him.

Even Jaal seemed surprised as he looked up, “depends on the angara,” he began, but continued, “But yes, most are free and open with their emotions.”

“Do you often…do that so openly?”

“Kiss?” Jaal asked, and Zira nodded once again. Sara cringed at Jaal saying the word.

“Angara normally do,” Jaal explained, “but, not so much with Sara. I’m still…learning.”

“To our knowledge we’re the first angara/human interspecies…relationship,” Sara explained, “So we’re both new to this.”

Sara could’ve cut the tension with a knife, but it was progress. She could take progress.

“I…know nothing of angaran culture, or homeworld,” Zira began nervously, continuing into the gallery and taking a seat on the edge of the L-chair.

Sara opened her mouth to crack a joke, but caught herself. She didn’t want to make it awkward. But, as she and Jaal continued the dishes in a civilised manner he spoke and spoke and spoke – relaying to Zira about his people and homeworld, and about his culture and family. Sara listened politely as she dried the plates and placed them into cupboards.

“I should leave you for the night,” Zira stood awkwardly, “thank you.”

“Stay strong, and clear,” Jaal replied, and Zira left the gallery quickly. Sara hoped she was returning to the med-bay to lie down.

Once the doors had shut Sara slapped Jaal lightly on the arm, “See? Told you she’d come around.”

“I’m glad,” Jaal commented, staring at the now closed gallery door, “she still is very nervous.”

“Small steps my dear,” Sara said idly, drying up the last of the cutlery before placing it in one of the draws.

“Small steps,” Jaal repeated in agreement.

xXx

Sara thought she would feel suffocated by the Nexus, but felt relief as she breathed in the artificial air. It was nice to be somewhere that was climate controlled.

The crew walked through the doors of the docking bay, Sara and Zira in the lead with Jaal trailing very closely with the rest behind them. A few curious eyes glanced in their direction, but Sara noted that not many seemed to be too interested in a quarian, which surprised her.

However, the more she thought about it the more she realised that Zira probably appreciated the lack of attention.

“Thank you for everything,” Zira said to her, placing a hand on her arm, which Sara copied.

“Anytime,” Sara smiled at her, “I’m sure we’ll keep in touch, right?”

“We will,” she turned to Jaal, “and I enjoyed getting to know you better.”

“As did I,” Jaal replied to her. It was wonderful to see her not cowering in fear from Jaal.

“Keelah se’lai,” Zira said to them, before Lexi took over to guide her to the Nexus medical team.

“And there goes our quarian,” Gil sighed, “would’ve loved to keep her around – nothing beats a quarian’s expertise with engineering.”

Sara rolled her eyes and smiled at Gil’s comment – but her curiosity peaked when she realised no one was paying much attention to Zira.

“Why-?” Sara began to vocalise her concern, but a particularly tall krogan moved, and she understood why immediately.

“Wait – what?” Peebee asked, coming up next to Sara and staring dumbfounded.

“How did-?” Gil added.

“What is that?” Jaal asked rather loudly drawing several curious stares.

“That’s a batarian,” Sara replied. Sure enough, a tall and very broad batarian was chatting with Hayjer and Kandros. The three of them however looked relatively at ease.

“That’s a batarian?” Jaal repeated, his voice going up an octave.

Sara cringed as people turned and actively looked at her and Jaal, including the batarian, Hayjer and Kandros.

“Ah!” Hayjer cried, “Pathfinder! Drathor, this is the human Pathfinder – Scott Ryder.”

Sara whipped around to see her brother standing at attention behind her, and he extended his hand for the batarian to take, while tilting his head which the batarian reciprocated.

“Pleasure,” Scott had a strained smile on his face as he let go of the batarian’s hand, “are you one of the two batarians granted asylum?”

“That’s me,” Drathor replied.  

“Drathor and his brother Aresh reported their pirate gang leader to the authorities,” Kandros explained, “they’ve both proven to be real assets to the Initiative. They are working with our ground teams on securing sites.”

Drathor’s two bottom eyes were focused on the conversation happening, but Sara noted that his top eyes were focused on her. She blushed a deeper red but continued to stare into them, she knew they liked to intimidate with their eyes. But as she looked, the more familiar he looked.

It can’t be…

“Well, thank you for the introductions – it was lovely to meet you,” Scott replied before marching off to chase after Zira. The small group continued to be gathered awkwardly, and Sara just wanted to leave.

But Drathor approached her, “may I have a word?”

Sara looked behind her before maintaining eye contact, “me?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

Sara looked at him before replying, “yeah, sure.”

Jaal gave her an uneasy look and went to grab her hand, but thought better of it. Most of the crew looked concern, even Peebee. Sara shrugged them off before walking out of earshot with Drathor.

“I remember you...” Drathor said quietly once he deemed they were far enough away.

Oh god, please no.

Sara didn’t say anything, but she had a funny feeling Drathor was going to say something she was dreading.

“Omega?” he asked, a slight grin on his face.

Crap.

“I remember,” Sara said, “it’s going to get out isn’t it? That I kissed one of the two batarians in Andromeda. What were the odds?”

Drathor rolled his eyes (all four of them) but Sara had a feeling it was in good humour.

“I mean, I’d rather rumours about that then…y’know…being tortured,” Sara winced.

“Maybe it’ll stop angaran kids running from me,” Drathor replied, “or any kids running from me really. I mean, we’re not that scary.”

“No, uh…” Sara rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“They’re tough – the angara,” Drathor changed the subject, much to Sara’s relief, “I’ve fought with them on the front lines. Tough men and women. That one - ,” Drathor indicated, “he’s with you isn’t he?”

Sara turned to look at Jaal who was still staring uneasily at the pair of them, “he is. He’s part of my brother’s crew.”

“No, you misunderstand – he’s with you isn’t he?”

“How did you-?”

“They’re the easiest species to read,” Drathor commented.

Sara sighed, “yeah – he is. None of my crew know just yet.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” he winked at her, before regaining his composure, “anyway – it was uh, nice to see you again. Don’t be too scared of us.”

“I’m sure I can get use to the idea of two batarians before more turn up.”

Drathor frowned, “Find the Keelah Si’yah soon; my sister is on board.”

“I’ll pass the message along for you,” Sara said, “take care.”

 “You too.”

Sara walked back to the group, who looked confused and concerned – none more than Jaal. As soon as she was within arm’s reach he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest.

“Jesus Christ! Jaal – it’s okay!”

He had her in a rib-crushing embrace, and Sara could tell he was still staring daggers at the batarian.

“Jaal,” Sara said sternly, but the angara didn’t budge.

“JAAL!” she shouted, pushing as hard on her chest as she could, and at once he let go of her. He eyed her curiously, before looking away.

“What did he want?” Peebee asked, drawing Sara’s attention back.

“Honestly – I think he was just happy to see someone he knew,” Sara replied honestly, but regretted it immediately.

Peebee and Gil exchanged glances while Suvi raised an eyebrow.

“Oh god,” Cora caught on, “that was the one you kissed wasn’t it?”

“WHAT?” Jaal shouted, he was so loud Sara noted Drathor turned back to look in interest.

“It’s fine, really! Look everyone, I’m fine!” Sara tried to distract them all, “let’s go and enjoy some of what the Nexus has to offer.”

“You mean a hot piece of batarian arse?” Liam winked at her.

“I swear to god,” Sara slapped her forehead, “guys! It was one time.”

Liam chuckled as he walked off, and Sara began to walk into the Nexus with Peebee, Jaal, Suvi and Gil by her side.

“First a quarian, then a batarian,” Peebee commented, “who’s next?”

Sara turned to her, “hopefully, all of them.”

Chapter Text

“What would you like to do Sara?” Jaal asked.

“I’m- not sure,” Sara replied honestly, making her way into the Nexus for their shore-leave while Scott sat in meetings with the advisors about Zira, and what to make of her recording. Gil and Suvi had gone off their separate ways – no doubt Gil was off to win some credits.

Sara looked around, her eyes drawn to the combat simulator she had practiced in what felt like a lifetime ago. The last time she had come out of it, she had been kidnapped by the Archon. She wanted to see how she would go now, after everything that had happened.

“I want to give the combat simulator a try,” the words fell out of Sara’s mouth before she had thought about them.  

Peebee did a double take and tripped over her own feet, while Cora looked at her in shock. Jaal’s expression did not change.

“You’re allowed?” Cora asked.

“I’m…not sure,” Sara looked up at the sign; “It can’t hurt to try. But, I’ve taken my medication this morning and I have SAM,” she tapped the side of her head.

The others did not so convinced as Sara walked through to the door to the man who ran the place, he was also the drilling instructor who put them all through their paces. Sara recognised him; he also ran the whole training program. However, she had forgotten his name. “Sara Ryder? What can I do for you?”

“Hello there,” Sara replied, leaning against the desk, “would I be able to go in?”

“Solo, or with a team?” he asked, typing at the terminal. Sara eyed Peebee and the asari nodded eagerly.

“Duo?” Sara asked, gesturing to Peebee, “I’ll have Pelessaria B’Sayle join me.”

She saw Peebee cringe at the mention of her full name, and Sara had to admit to herself it felt awkward to say.

“Alright,” the man finished typing up everything he needed, “you will need armour I assume?”

Sara nodded while Peebee shook her head, and the man typed some more, “and weapon choices?”

“A sidewinder pistol,” Peebee said immediately.

Sara took a little longer to think through her decision, “can I try an Isharay and Ushior?”

“Unfortunately, we only have Milky Way weapons technology integrated into the system at the moment.”

Sara could feel Jaal roll his eyes.

“Hm; a Black Widow and N7 eagle?”

“Done,” the instructor smiled, “how many rounds?”

“Five?” Peebee asked, and Sara nodded in approval. He entered this into the terminal.  

Cora placed her hand on Sara’s arm, “are you sure you want to do this?”

“Cora, relax, it’s a simulator.”

She and Jaal did not look happy as the instructor led Sara and Peebee to another door which looked like a locker room. At once Sara retrieved the standard Initiative armour from her assigned locker and pulled it on, and checked over her guns. It had been a while since she had held a Black Widow, and she had to adjust her omni tool and armour to be sure it would support it.

“Ready?” Peebee asked.

“Ready,” Sara replied. The two of them entered the combat arena. It all felt familiar to Sara, and she took a deep breath before finding cover and getting behind it. She pulled the Black Widow out and looked around using the scope.

“Round one!” an ominous voice called over the arena, and Sara gripped the gun tighter.

Sure enough, gunshots fired around her ears. She got down, and lay low while peering through the scope. The kett were a reasonable distance away, and frightfully realistic. Sara was impressed that they were only a simulation.

“They look so real!” Peebee cried, firing her sidewinder at them. Sara lined up the shot and timed it to her breathing, and the Chosen went down in one shot.

She reloaded hurriedly to take the second shot. An Anointed bustled into view, machine gun at the ready. Sara squinted slightly, and cast energy drain over him – absorbing his shield into her own. He stumbled back for a brief second, which was enough time for Sara to line up her shot and take off his head.

“Holy shit!” Peebee cried, thwacking Sara on the back before running past taking most of the kett fire.

“Wait – I have three shots in this thing!” Sara replied, aiming carefully and taking off three of the Chosen’s heads in quick succession.

“Nice nice!” Peebee sent out a shockwave knocking the rest of them off of their feet. Sara vaulted over the cover swapping her sniper rifle for the Eagle and slamming as many rounds into them as possible.

“Round two!” the ominous voice called.

“Oh fuck!” Peebee called, sliding into cover and prepping her gun. Sara felt a real smile come on her face.

It continued like this, the two of them would work together and take down the enemies, and the rounds would continue on. There was something extremely sastisfying about this – from Sara taking heads off, to Peebee using her shockwave to trip them while Sara caught them off guard, nothing could squash this feeling.

“Round five!”

Sara turned to see a huge kett with a big, floating bubble around it swarming toward them. She used her jet-pack to propel herself out of the way before firing as many rounds from her Eagle as she could, but the shield was taking no damage.

“Holy shit!” Sara cried, “what is this thing?”

“An Ascendant, she’s a mean bitch this one!”

Sara had to dive out of the way as it teleported closer to her. It felt like a game of cat and mouse, and she was the mouse.

“See that!” Peebee pointed to a small device on the bubble as she took out kett who were trying to push her out of cover, “shoot that!”

Sara eyed it, and saw it floating around and around the shield, “got it!”

The rest of the enemies went down easily, but the Ascedant was proving difficult. Sara’s frustration was building as she would be euphoric when she got her shield down, but could only put a few bullets into her before it was back up and fully charged.

“Jesus Christ, you’ve had to fight this thing?” Sara asked, wiping sweat from her brow as she poked her head over cover, only to duck as bullets sailed over her head.

“A few actually,” Peebee replied.

“Fuck that!”

“You should’ve seen this one bitch on Voeld,” Peebee snorted, “Scott blew her whole head off!”

“HA!” Sara replied, taking aim at the bubble and destroying it.

“Go go!” Peebee cried, darting forward to use her biotics. Sara vaulted over cover and ran as fast as she could, equipping her flamer and coating her in flame. It was enough to stun her as she shook from the flames. Sara held her pistol and fired an entire thermal clip into the Ascendant’s head and chest, but the damn thing still wouldn’t go down.

Without warning, the Ascendant teleported next to her, and the grotesque hand reached down and grabbed her armour by the collar, and hoisted Sara into the air. Sara felt the bile rise in her gut as she stared into its very real looking eyes.

A bullet hit it right between the eyes.

The simulation vanished and Sara felt back to the ground with a thump, and pulled her helmet and chest armour off to rid herself of that thing being near her.

“Not bad,” Peebee smiled, holding her gun and smirking.

“Thanks,” Sara replied.

“Nice job out there, we make a hell of a team,” Peebee said, holding out a hand for Sara to take. She helped Sara up, and the two of them left the arena at the door that was now visible.

Sara was feeling pretty good about herself as she put her armour back into the locker and she and Peebee were all smiles until they walked into the reception area. An annoyed looking Scott was standing, arms folded, in the middle of the room. Cora and Jaal were off to the side looking smug and scared respectively.

“It’s a simulation,” Sara raised her arms protectively in front of her face.

“I know,” Scott replied, his deadpan expression still etched on his face, “you did well.”

Sara followed his gaze to a scoreboard where it had S.L.Ryder (F) with a score of 9699.

“What’s it out of?”

“9999,” the man replied who was now standing behind the desk.  

“Huh,” Sara had a small grin on her face as she turned back to it, Peebee’s name flashed with a ‘9055’ and then the scoreboards reset to the highest scores. Sara was surprised to see she was resting in 8^th place within the highest top 10.

“Okay, I’m coming back here,” Peebee said.

“I will once they have angaran weapons,” Jaal added defiantly.

Sara felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned fully expecting it to be Jaal, but to her surprise it was Scott, “good job. I might send these through to Lexi if able.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s fine,” Sara said dismissively.

Scott gave her a small smile and her shoulder a gentle squeeze before he left, with Cora following him. Peebee, Jaal and Sara watched after him.

“How much?” Sara asked.

“If you make the top 10, no payment,” he replied and Sara grinned.

“Excellent!” Peebee rubbed her hands together.

“Um..Miss B’Sayle,” he called out, “you still have to pay!”

“Aww, what?” Peebee groaned, but pulled out her credit chit to pay for her share. Sara chuckled as Jaal’s fingers ghosted around her hand. Before she could do much more, Peebee jumped onto Sara’s back.

“Wha-?” Sara pulled Peebee’s legs up around her waist to support her weight as the three of them left the combat simulator.

“What’s the plan now?” Jaal asked.

Peebee happened to say “drinks!” at the same time Sara said “a shower?”

“Actually, yeah, a shower would be good,” Peebee agreed, “onward!”

“I’m not your pack mule!” Sara joked before getting into the spirit of it all. She let her best neigh out, “giddy up!”

“Mule? Giddy-up? Are these euphemisms?” Jaal asked.

“He still has so much to learn,” Sara chuckled as the three of them made their way back to the ship. A promise of a hot shower and some creature comforts were too much of a lure for Sara, along with spending time with some of her favourite people.

She was having so much of a good time that she hadn’t even noticed she didn’t have her headache.

xXx

After being showered and having some rations; Sara, Peebee and Jaal were lounging easily in the crew quarters. Sara had one chair, Jaal in the other and Peebee was sitting on the armrest of Sara’s chair.

“-So he woke up really late in the morning right? He looks at me, I’m trying to leave and he goes, and you won’t believe this, he goes, ‘oh wait…you’re an asari?’”

Sara burst out in laughter, “what the heck did he think you were?”

“Apparently, a drell,” Peebee replied.

Sara roared with laughter. Jaal chuckled slightly, but Sara was sure he didn’t really understand what was going on which made Sara laugh even harder. Peebee wrapped an arm around Sara’s shoulders and Sara reciprocated by wrapping an arm around Peebee’s waist. She enjoyed gestures of affection between friends and unlike with Jaal, she didn’t feel the awkwardness or risk of being caught by anyone, because there was nothing to catch.

Scott stepped into the crew quarters, “oh – hey guys, team meeting in five minutes.” He eyed Sara and Peebee curiously before stepping out of the crew quarters.

“I wonder what the quarian recorded,” Sara said as they made their way to the meeting room. Sara noticed Drack had taken to sitting on one of the comfortable leather couches, and Sara had a half a mind to join him.

“Comfy?” Sara asked.

“Very,” Drack replied.

It was unusual for them to be first, and even Scott had a look of surprise as Cora followed them up the ramp, panting ever so slightly. Once the crew had gathered Scott looked over them all before starting the meeting.

“Zira had a recording of kett dialogue she had captured, and while I was with her, SAM was able to translate it for us. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep a version of the recording, but SAM made a transcript.”

“And?” Liam pressed. Sara watched her brother closely.

“And,” Scott surveyed them all, “it’s what we thought. They’re testing heat effects on viable species – as well as cold.”

“Ah fuck me,” Peebee whispered, and Sara caught Scott’s glare at her before he returned to normal composure.

“Tann has organised for us to head to Voeld, while Pathfinder Rix will be taking over management on Elaaden.”

“I thought the other pathfinders were attending to other business?” Gil asked.

“They were, until we found Zira. Tann, with a bit of a push from Addison, wanted all hands on deck for this. Hayjer will be overseeing Havarl while Sarissa and her team are stationed on Aya.”

“How come the asari get Aya?” Peebee grumbled, folding her arms.

“I don’t make the decisions here,” Scott argued, “our other objective is to track down the quarian pathfinder. We feel he is our best shot at getting to the bottom of this whole mess.”

“They have a SAM right?” Sara piped up, “shouldn’t they be able to help with everything? Or our SAM could link to them?”

“Keelah Si’yah’s SAM is different to ours – because of the quarians’ history with the geth, their SAM is shackled,” Scott explained, “and they are simply too far away to get contact. In fact, we can’t even track them. We figured out the distress signal we got was sent 30 years ago – and we think it’s something to do with that virus.”

“Can you tell us more about the virus?” Vetra asked.

“Unfortunately, no. I’ve told you everything I know and the recordings did not pick up any chatter about any sort of virus between the kett. Zira believes it’s been cured, I’m not so sure. Regardless, quarantine measures are to be taken when encountering one of the races from the Keelah Si’yah. This includes filtration systems and helmets on in combat.”

“What a mess,” Jaal mumbled.

“I want my ground team training for Voeld’s harsh conditions, and for everyone to do some digging. Obtaining as much information as possible, chasing up leads, monitoring radio chatter when relevant.”

“Yes sir,” Cora saluted, and Sara resisted rolling her eyes.

“Dismissed,” Scott ordered and gathered his usual supply of datapads before heading off.

“Whatever this virus is,” Peebee came over to Sara, “I don’t want it.”

“Would anyone?” Sara replied, and then sighed, “I just wish Zira knew more about it…”

“Me too,” Lexi added, she had been seemingly eavesdropping on their conversation, “I want to know what we’re up against.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and the virus will kill all of the kett?” Liam suggested.

“Unlikely,” Lexi shook her head.

As Sara made her way back down to the main ship, her head was spinning with all of the new information – and her headache had resurfaced. Everything suddenly felt so surreal. She wondered if this was how Scott felt the entire time he was fighting the Archon. For the first time, she felt guilt.

Guilt she hadn’t been there for her brother when he had been at his lowest.  

But you couldn’t help it her brain argued.

That was true. It wasn’t like her revival interruption and kidnapping were her fault. Still, she needed to make up for lost ground.

xXx

As they travelled to Voeld, Sara began to train – hard. While her medication had provided relief for her in normal function, she had no idea if it would hold in combat. She spent time sparring in the cargo bay and exercising, trying to restore her old strength.

She knew she would never be what she was back in the Milky Way; she would try to come close.

Despite it all, it did not help with Sara’s sleep. It was an evening about halfway through their journey to Voeld that she couldn’t rest. So, she nestled into the corner of the L-shaped chair in the gallery, tapping her fingers on the table as she read over notes on the Keelah Si’yah.

She huffed and put her bare feet on the table. She hesitated before doing so, as it was seen as rude and unhygienic – but she shrugged it off. It was very late, it was worth the risk. 

She blew gently on her steaming mug of tea, frowning slightly in annoyance that she had used up the last of her Earth tea the other day. This stuff had been grown in the bio-lab, but it wasn’t the same.

“SAM, is anyone else awake?” Sara asked casually, scrolling through the datapad.  

“Kallo is currently on the bridge, Gil is in the engine room, Jaal is in the tech bay and the pathfinder is also awake in his cabin,” SAM informed her and she nodded curtly into the empty space. Kallo and Gil didn’t surprise her; Gil slept as little as a salarian.

Sara pondered for a moment on Jaal on whether or not she could sneak up to see him, but thought better of it. She did not know if he was attempting to sleep or actively doing something, and she didn’t want to annoy him.

She read on and then without warning the door whooshed open, and Sara panicked for a moment trying to get her feet off of the table before realising it was Jaal. He stood in the doorway, sans Rofjinn, eyepiece and gloves, and looking as tired as she felt.

“Hey Jaal,” she smiled at him, placing the datapad on the table and putting her legs back where they had been.

“Darling One,” Jaal replied, and his tired eyes lit up. The door snapped shut behind him as he moved into the room.  

“What are you doing in here?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Jaal admitted, as he took a seat next to her, “why are you up?”

“Made some tea, and then since it was deserted in here I thought I’d stay. I couldn’t sleep either. I didn’t want to disturb the others with the light of the datapad.”

Jaal hummed and nodded his head in acknowledgement, but his eyes raked over her form. Sara felt the blush rise to her cheeks – she wasn’t exactly dressed in her usual hoodie and cargo pants. She had swapped her jumper for a tank top, and shorts that ended well above the knee.

Her pyjamas didn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, and that very thought seemed to be on Jaal’s mind based on his expression. He had seen her with less on before, but that had been in a dark cave – being in the full light of the gallery was very different.

“What are these?” Jaal said, playfully poking her big toe. Sara felt a giggle escape her lips and her leg flinched at the sudden contact.

“They’re toes Jaal, don’t tell me you don’t know,” Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“Hmph. They’re strange,” Jaal replied; his eyes still glued to her feet. He picked up one of her feet in his huge hands, and looked over it as if he was trying to memorize it for an exam. She wiggled her toes and his eye ridges shot up, “they’re so squishy,” Jaal remarked, and his eyes met hers, “not unlike the rest of you…”

Sara poked her tongue out at him and Jaal chuckled quietly, “your legs are also bent in a strange way,” Jaal commented, running his hands up and down Sara’s leg, examining the way it bent at her joints.

“Speak for yourself dog legs,” Sara joked.

“Dog legs?”

“I’ll explain to you someday,” Sara stuck her tongue out again and Jaal chuckled.

“I have to wonder…” Jaal began, almost hesitantly before he ploughed on, “what else is different between our species?”

Sara cocked an eyebrow, an expression that wasn’t missed by Jaal, “like those,” he remarked, leaning in closer and gently tracing her eyebrow with his finger. Sara’s eyes closed instinctively at his touch, and she felt his finger gently trace over her eyelid, “and these, what are these?” he asked, his finger carefully fluttering over her eyelashes.

“They’re eyelashes,” Sara explained, “they keep foreign material out of the eyes…and you probably didn’t want to hear me explain biology to you.”

“Sara,” his voice was unusually soft and very close, “it’s why I asked.” He pressed his lips to hers, and she couldn’t stop the noise that left her mouth – a mixture of a sigh and a moan. He pulled away, and Sara opened her eyes, only to find him ghosting a caress over her ear. The mere thought of it send a shiver down her spine.

“Ears?” Jaal guessed.

“Yes,” Sara breathed, “The external part is called the pinna” and Jaal tested the waters by gently stroking his finger along the upper ridge of said pinna, causing another shiver to trail down her spine. The motion wasn’t missed by Jaal, who removed his hand, “have I hurt you?”

“No, no,” Sara said a little too quickly, and hastily explained, “pinna have a lot of nerve endings…a touch like that does not cause pain. The opposite, actually.”

Jaal let out what sounded like a purr, and the corner of one side of his mouth lifted, “so, if I did this…” Jaal moved his head to the side of Sara’s, and felt his lips make contact with her ear. Her body quivered at the touch, and goosebumps erupted over her skin. Jaal pulled back, looking smug at his handiwork, “I see…”

“And your hair,” Jaal continued, running his fingers through what he could when Sara had it up in her usual style. She gently tugged at her ponytail, and her hair felt out of its confinement and billowed around her shoulders. Jaal picked it up and ran the locks through his fingers, seemingly mesmerised by it.

“Even your nose is different,” Jaal remarked, sliding a finger along it. While it didn’t invoke the same response as her ears, Sara still hummed in approval, “it’s not flat like angaran noses are.”

“We have cartilage in ours,” Sara explained, but struggling to find the words as one of Jaal’s hands was stroking her scalp, still playing with the locks while the other cupped her cheek; she leant into his touch.

“Cartilage?”

“Like bone, but isn’t. Our noses still break,” Sara said and Jaal nodded, kissing the tip of her nose softly as if worried he was going to break it.

“Hm, I wonder what other differences I can find?” Jaal questioned, and gave gentle kisses from her lips slowly down her cheek and along her neck. Sara quivered in response, and arched her neck upward to give Jaal more room.

He stopped once he reached her collarbone, and played with the hem of Sara’s tank top. Sara knew that where they were was probably the most inappropriate place of the Tempest, but she pushed her rational thoughts away and obliged Jaal, pulling her tank top over her head. Jaal’s eyes travelled over her torso, fully exposed except for the bra covering her breasts.

Jaal continued his trail of kisses from her neck, past her collarbone and down to her stomach. Sara couldn’t stop the noises coming from deep within her throat as Jaal kissed her, she hadn’t felt touch like this in a very long time.

“These are muscles, yes?” Jaal asked, running his fingers down her defined abdominal muscles, bioelectricity humming from his fingertips and causing Sara to receive jolts of pleasure from the touch.

“Yes,” she replied in a breathless voice, barely able to form a coherent thought.

“Looks like me except…we don’t have one of these,” he poked her in the navel, causing Sara to flinch and giggle softly.

“Oh yeah, you have these muscles too then?” Sara tried to tease him, but internally cringed at words. God I’m terrible at this.

“Mmm hmm,” Jaal purred softly, nuzzling into her neck. His fingers were continuing to trail over her skin, sending pulses of bioelectricity causing another wave of goosebumps to erupt. She kissed the top of his head, and her fingers curled around his back as she tried to hold him closer to her.

“Hey Sara, this is a - holy shit!”

Scott’s voice entered the gallery, and Jaal fell off of Sara onto the floor in surprise, leaving Sara staring like a deer in headlights directly at her brother who was standing wide-eyed in the doorway.

Oh fuck me. Fuuuuuuuu-

From there proceeded to be one of the most awkward moments of Sara’s life, as Jaal sat up on the floor and looked between Scott and Sara. None of them spoke and Sara was praying that no one else was going to walk in.

“I…uh,” Jaal rubbed the back of his head, “I’m going to…” he vacated the gallery immediately, squeezing past Scott who was still standing motionless in the doorway. Sara felt around where she was sitting, searching for her tank top.

“Um…” Scott swallowed audibly, moving forward a step allowing the gallery door to shut behind him.

“What did you need?” Sara asked, trying to pull Scott away from what he had just seen as she finally located her tank top and pulled it back over her head.

“I don’t remember,” Scott said, blinking rapidly as he regained his composure, “I didn’t realise…”

Sara cocked an eyebrow, her insides squirming uncomfortably. She had not wanted Scott to find out this way, or ever. Why had she not just gone up to the tech bay with Jaal?

Fuck.

“You and Jaal…?”

It was so quiet Sara was sure Scott could hear her throbbing heart, “yeah,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck and desperately not wanting to have this conversation. 

“How long have you…?”

“No idea,” Sara replied, “a bit?” she just wanted this conversation to be over.  

“Right,” Scott nodded, “right.”

Sara didn’t speak; her brain was still in shock at being caught in the act. Scott appeared to be processing, Sara could almost hear his brain working.

Scott coughed, “right, er, okay. Goodnight.”

He left, leaving Sara alone in the gallery with her thoughts. She rubbed at her head, and took a sip of her tea only to cringe upon realising it was cold.

Excluding Zira and Drathor, the only two people who knew on the ship were Lexi and Peebee. Sara wasn’t sure how she wanted to tell the crew, but she had wanted Scott to be left in the dark for as long as possible. She and her brother were not in the best of circumstances, and he had it in for Jaal.

 What the fuck was going to happen now?

“He can’t get me for fraternization. One, this isn’t the military and two – he’s dating Vetra. He’s told me that, it’s common knowledge. So I can’t be dismissed,” Sara mumbled to herself, trying to comfort her unpleasant thoughts.

Doesn’t mean he can’t make my life hell Sara thought.

“Well, fuck.”

She sighed bitterly, and dumped her undrunk tea in the sink. She switched the datapad off and made her way to bed, hoping that this was all a horrid nightmare and that she would wake up with her dignity intact.

Chapter Text

SCOTT

Scott stepped out of the gallery, and the doors shut in front of him. He simply stared at it for several minutes, still processing what he had just seen. He stepped back into his cabin, and sat on the edge of his bed. Vetra was, thankfully for tonight, in her own cabin.

He wasn’t ready to admit to himself what he saw, yet alone anyone else.

“How long?” Scott asked SAM.

‘Three weeks, four days and-,’ SAM began in his mind, but Scott cut over the top of him.

“They’ve been dating that long, correct?” Scott asked.

‘Yes’.

“Shit,” Scott replied. Three weeks his sister and Jaal had been dating under his nose.  It also met that Sara had probably spent longer than that liking the guy, along with all the usual pre-dating flirting.

In truth, he had not seen it coming at all. Every time he saw Sara around, she was usually with Peebee. He had thought Gil was off his rocker, and that Liam had more of a shot. The bastard was going to be so smug about it all.

Scott had also thought his sister was gay. But, Gil had been right again. This time he felt waves of anger over him. The fact that, Gil, a guy that had only known Sara for a few months at most knew his own sister better than he did.

How had he missed this?

Scott had always prided himself on being able to read his sister like a book, and to be the number one person she could turn to. Hell, when she had started dating Goya, Scott was the first person she had told.

Scott knew the truth now - she just didn’t want him to know.

“Why didn’t she come to me?” Scott said, feeling the shock of the situation hit him.

“I am not allowed to answer that,” SAM replied aloud from his terminal in the corner.

“I’m such an asshole,” Scott whispered to himself, and holding his head in his hands, “it’s the way I treated her – and Jaal. God, what the hell has he told her? What’s she told him?”

Scott couldn’t deal with this feeling now, and decided to log back into his emails. Paperwork right now was a better distraction than processing thoughts about Sara, and how she was keeping secrets from him.

It’s not so nice, is it? A voice said in his head.

He shook his head, and started to type.

xXx

SARA

Sara awoke the next morning filling very under-rested, and wondering for a brief second why she felt so nervous and tense, and then memories of last night came flooding back to her. She would never forget the look on Scott’s face as he caught her and Jaal in the gallery.

Not knowing who to turn to, she pondered for a brief moment, ‘SAM?’ she asked in her mind.

‘Yes, Sara’ the AI replied internally.

‘Is Lexi currently available?’

‘Yes’ SAM confirmed, ‘she is currently alone in the med-bay.’

“Great,” Sara mumbled. She climbed out of bed and noticing that no-one was left in the crew quartes she made the very quick journey into the med-bay. Lexi was typing at her terminal, and looked up in surprise when she saw Sara enter.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Lexi asked, switching off her terminal and turning her chair to face Sara.

“It’s about…shit. It’s bad Lexi,” Sara replied, sitting on one of the cots. Lexi wheeled her chair closer, bringing a datapad with her.

“What happened?” she asked politely.

Sara rubbed at the back of her neck, unsure of how to proceed but she did notice the room dim and the door lock behind her. She twiddled with her fingers before summoning the courage, “it’s about Jaal…and me?”

“Are you having problems with Jaal?” Lexi asked after a small pause.

“No, no,” Sara replied, “nothing like that. It’s…” she sighed, “we were being stupid while in the gallery. I know, dumb place to do it. Well, we didn’t do it but we were pretty heavily flirting. Then, Scott walked in.”

Lexi sat for a moment, expression neutral before typing a few notes in her datapad, “what did Scott see?”

Sara sighed again, her voice raising slightly, “me – without my shirt on and Jaal kinda on top of me?”

“What happened then?”

“Jaal fell on the floor,” Sara chuckled, “but then he ran away. Not much really happened; Scott asked how long we’ve been together and then sort of…left. I haven’t spoken to either of them, if that helps with anything.”

“It certainly doesn’t help,” Lexi chastised.

“I don’t know what to do!” Sara stood up and began pacing, running her fingers through her hair, “I don’t want the crew to know yet! Heck, I wanted Scott to be the last person to know! It’s just…ergh!”

“You’re not going to like this, but I’m going to tell you what you should do,” Lexi said.

Sara gestured at Lexi for her to continue.

“You need to talk to your brother, soon,” Lexi announced, “sit him down and explain that you’re not ready for the rest of the crew to know just yet.”

She sighed, “god, I just…”

“I know it’s hard,” Lexi sympathised, “but you have to if you want to handle this like adults.”

“Should Jaal be there?”

“Just have Scott there for now.”

“Okay,” Sara said, her brain processing the information, “what do I say?”

Lexi sat in thought for a moment, “I would be frank with him, but I would also not tell him more than he needs to know.”

Sara looked puzzled, “which is?”

“Tell him that you and Jaal are seeing each other, and that you do not wish the crew to know just yet.”

“Easier said than done,” Sara replied, folding her arms.

“Okay, how about I mediate for you? That way you have a neutral presence,” Lexi suggested. Sara nodded slowly, processing the idea of it over in her mind.

“I like that,” Sara agreed, “this afternoon?”

“1600 hours it is then,” Lexi nodded.

xXx

Sara felt better after her chat with Lexi, but she was still tense. She didn’t know what to do with herself in the time she had to wait for her talk with Scott. Deciding it would be best to be as normal as possible; Sara grabbed her usual morning coffee and headed to the bridge.

Kallo and Suvi were in position, and Sara nodded to the both of them as she sat in her usual place.

“How are you two going?” Sara asked politely, sipping at her still hot coffee.

“Fine,” Kallo replied and continued to focus. He wasn’t rude, but merely distracted and wanting to concentrate. Suvi, however, took her eyes off of her work and smiled gently at Sara, “I’m good – how are yeh?”

“Also good,” Sara replied, staring into the abyss, “how far are we from Voeld?”

“About 6 more hours,” Kallo replied immediately.

“How is everything with Jaal?” Suvi asked.

Sara did a double take, it was an unusual question, “he’s…fine. Why wouldn’t he be?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Wh-why are you asking?”

“Aren’t yeh…y’know…together?”

Sara chuckled nervously, “what?”

“We were told this morning,” Suvi explained, and Kallo nodded in agreement, still not paying them any attention.

“What?”

“We thought yeh knew,” Suvi’s voice shook ever so slightly.

“Who told you this exactly?”

“Vetra,” Kallo answered, and Sara didn’t miss the sideways glance from Suvi.

“Excuse me,” Sara stood up, she was shaking so violently that the coffee was spilling over the sides of the cup, “I have to go kill someone.”

Without a backward glance, Sara made her way to Scott’s quarters the very long way as she was still holding coffee.

‘Sara, you will find it more helpful to know that Scott is in Vetra’s room. I would advise against killing him,’

“Noted.”

xXx

SCOTT

Scott made his way back from Liam’s room, after giving him a quick run-down of the latest mission that he had received. Liam, Jaal and Vetra would be going out in his place. It was a scout mission, and Scott had a lot of work to catch up on so he figured he wouldn’t be needed.

“Scott!”

He turned to see Vetra looking at him, beckoning him to her room. Intrigued, he followed her and the door shut, but the symbol still stayed green.

“What do I owe the pleasure, dear?” Scott asked.

Vetra chuffed, “I thought…we haven’t had a date night in a while,” she rubbed at the back of her neck awkwardly, “I was wondering if I would be able to cook for you again?”

Scott smiled, the memories of the steak coming to his mind.

“How about this time, we cook together?” he suggested, and Vetra’s eyes lit up and Scott had a sudden idea, “wait here – I want to get something!”

He hurried to his room, and rummaging through his wardrobe he pulled out one of his treasured possessions. It was a very old recipe book, a real book that his mother had given him.

He raced back to Vetra’s room, a small spring in his step and waved the book around, “I have this!”

“What is it, exactly?”

“It’s a book,” Scott said seriously.

Vetra glared at him before Scott chuckled.

“You dick,” Vetra smiled, “what’s in the book?”

“Let me show you!”

Vetra sat, and Scott sat on her lap. It was so much easier as she was so much taller than he was. He opened the book at random, and while reading Scott noticed that all of the words were in Portuguese.

“Ah fuck,” Scott whispered, fiddling with his omni-tool.

“What’s wrong?” Vetra asked.

“My translator isn’t equipped for human languages,” Scott fiddled with the settings to turn on Earth languages.

Vetra turned back and stared at the words on the page, “huh. I should’ve assumed that humans would have different languages, but I always thought you spoke only one language. I mean, that’s an idiotic thought but, I don’t know, call it prejudice.”

Scott laughed, “Most humans tend to know English, which is what I speak. This book is in Portuguese.”

“Por-tu-guese?” Vetra sounded out the word.

“Yes,” Scott replied, “my grandmother was from Brazil, a country on Earth. She spoke fluent Portuguese. My mother gave me this book.”

“Wow,” Vetra said, running her talon over the pages.

“Figured I could pull something from the old family recipes! I’m not as good as my grandmother, well I mean, no one is. But, I figured it’d be worth a shot? I’m sure I can source some dextro ingredients for an equivalent-,” but his words were cut off by Sara barging into the room.

“Sara?” Scott asked in a confused manner, and stood up from Vetra’s lap. Vetra stood behind him, confused and curious.

“Should I-?” Vetra began but the words died in her throat as Sara shouted over them.

“You-!”

Scott raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond.

Sara continued, “you bastard! You told everyone?!”

“Told everyone what?”  Scott replied. He knew immediately what Sara was talking about, but wanted her to say it.

“You told everyone about…about Jaal and I, didn’t you? Suvi and Kallo – they said they heard from Vetra!”

“I didn’t tell anyone, anything,” Scott replied, completely truthfully. Unless you counted SAM of course, but he already knew.

He turned to Vetra, and her green eyes widened in shock, “Sara,” she spoke softly, “I didn’t hear it from Scott.”

“I don’t believe you,” she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

“It’s true!” Scott replied, his voice rising slightly.

“Jaal told me,” Vetra cut in before Sara could speak over the top of her.  

Scott could tell her brain was whirring on how to take this situation. Thankfully, SAM decided to step in; “Sara – the pathfinder and Vetra are telling the truth. Early this morning, Jaal told several members of the crew; including but not limited to Vetra, Gil, Cora and-,”

“Okay, SAM, thank you,” Sara said, holding up her hand. The AI stopped immediately.

Sara opened her mouth, and closed it again, “I’m sorry,” she mumbled before vacating the room.

Scott and Vetra looked at each other, and Scott sighed.

“What happened? Why would she think you said anything?” Vetra asked.

“I caught them, in the gallery, last night,” Scott replied, placing the recipe book on the table. Vetra wrinkled her nose but Scott continued, “no no, not like that. They were just kissing.”

“That’s…kinda cute actually,” Vetra hummed.

Now it was Scott’s turn to wrinkle his nose, “yeah, but Jaal?”

“Why not Jaal? He’s a big softie. They’re perfect for one another,” Vetra argued, “I know you don’t like him, but…he’s not a bad person. It could be worse.”

“Worse?” Scott raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly what Vetra was going to say, “name worse!”

“Liam, obviously,” Vetra muttered.

“You’ve got the same problem as me! Liam’s not a bad person!”

Vetra sighed, “I guess. But, all I’m saying is, you have to trust Sara’s judgement here. She obviously cares about him, and he cares about her.”

“I just thought…I just thought it would be Peebee. You’ve seen the two of them together, right?”

“I have,” Vetra replied, “but have you considered that they’re so openly affectionate because they have nothing to hide?”

Scott opened his mouth and then closed it again, unable to come up with an argument to her. Vetra’s mandibles flicked out, “alright, I have work to do. I love you,” Vetra said, pecking Scott on the lips and sitting at her terminal.

“Pick a good recipe,” Scott said, and Vetra eyed him again – her mandibles flicking out.

As he made his way back to his room, Scott felt bad for hoping it would be Peebee.

Why wasn’t it Peebee?

xXx

SARA

She stood idly in the cargo bay, unsure of what to do. She couldn’t believe that Jaal had betrayed her trust like that, telling the entire crew.

She didn’t know how to feel. She wasn’t ready just yet. The thought of her brother finding out was daunting enough, let alone everyone at once. She hadn’t had time to speak to Scott about anything, and now she had ruined everything by shouting at him.

Sara could feel her breath catching in her chest. The coffee in her hand started to shake, but before a proper panic attack could set in, a small blue hand wrapped over her shaking wrist. Sara met Peebee’s eyes, which were full of concern.

“Hey,” Peebee smiled, but her eyes still stayed wide with concern. Her other hand reached up to Sara’s face, and wiped away a tear she didn’t know she had shed, “come with me?”

It was a request, and Sara nodded and followed Peebee to her escape pod. She was eternally grateful that she had not met anyone on the way. The door shut behind them, and Sara sunk to the floor, the coffee spilling over herself.

Poc floated idly in the corner, and Peebee sat gently down next to Sara.

“Are you alright?” Peebee asked, grasping Sara’s coffee free hand with her own.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Start from the top?” Peebee suggested.

Sara didn’t want to speak, but she needed to let it out, “Jaal and I, we were being stupid in the gallery. I wasn’t wearing a shirt. Anyway, Scott walked in. Was pretty surprised, and then left awkwardly. Jaal left before that. This morning, I spoke to Lexi about it all, and she gave me some advice and told me to talk to Scott about it – she was actually going to mediate our conversation. But, before I could – I found out that Suvi and Kallo knew, and that Vetra had told them. I raced to Scott, and called him a bastard. He and Vetra told me, and SAM confirmed, that Jaal had told them.”

Peebee was silent for several moments, but did give Sara’s hand a squeeze, “have you spoken to Jaal yet?”

“No…” Sara trailed off.

“There has to be a reason, like it doesn’t seem like him,” Peebee thought aloud, “he can’t have just randomly done this. He knew how frightened you are.”

“Yeah,” Sara felt tears sting her eyes and Peebee wiped them away for her. Normally, Sara wouldn’t tolerate someone being so doting over her, but she couldn’t help but let Peebee. It was like having an overbearing sister taking care of her.

“It’s not the worst thing though, right? He knows now. You don’t have to hide anymore.”

“I know,” Sara replied, “but I wanted it to be on my terms.”

Peebee nodded, but didn’t speak. The two of them merely sat side by side, tears occasionally slipping out of Sara’s eyes. She knew she had to find Jaal, to hear his side of the story and sort it all out, but the fear gripped her.

“It’ll be okay,” Peebee smiled reassuringly.

“How did I live without you?” Sara asked.

Peebee grinned in her mischievous way, the glint in her eye, “you didn’t silly!”

Sara smiled and a laugh escaped her lips and Peebee smiled, “see – I got a smile out of you! When you’re ready, go find your man and sort it out.”

“Okay, okay. I will.”

“Good.”

Chapter Text

“I need to tell you something.”

“Um, okay?”

Sara grabbed her brother, Scott, by the arm and dragged him into her room. She could see his eyes wander around the elaborately decorated room as he took it in. Sara thought it wasn’t too bad.

“Are half of these new?” Scott motioned to the posters around the room.

“Yes,” Sara replied, “I have to cover these disgusting pink walls.”

“Right,” Scott laughed, “because at 16, pink walls are just too childlish.”

“Your walls are blue which is a way better colour, so screw you,” Sara replied jokingly.

They both sat on her king single bed, and Sara could see Scott try to arrange himself comfortably on it. Unlike hers, Scott’s room was always spotless. He seemed to have their father’s military discipline. Sara’s bed was covered in datapads, clothes and other collectibles.

“What do you need to tell me?” Scott asked, his eyes drawn to the window at the back of the room. Sara turned to it; she had to admit she had a great view of the ward. In the distance she could see skycars whizzing by.

“So…it’s uh…it’s…” Sara felt suddenly awkward, and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Are you blushing?” Scott asked; a shit-eating grin on his face.

“No!” Sara argued, “okay…maybe a little.”

“Are you seeing someone?”

“How did you-?” Sara spluttered, “and, yes.”

Scott laughed and slapped Sara happily on the arm, “I knew it! Who is the lucky guy?”

Sara felt herself blush even deeper, “her name is Goya.”

Scott’s puzzled expression was on his face for only a brief moment before it was replaced without another smile, “an asari?”

“Yeah,” Sara held her breath waiting for her brother’s reaction, but she was immensely pleased to see his grin did not falter.

“That’s so great! I’m happy for you!” he play-punched her arm, “my big sister settling down.”

“Thanks Scotty,” Sara reached forward to hug him, and he accepted.

“Think of the fun you’ll have with her biotics,” Scott said to her. Sara laughed and pushed him playfully, and he got her in a headlock and ruffled her hair.

“You’re so gross Scott Ryder!”

She freed herself from the headlock and the two of them settled back on the bed, “so…” Scott began, “when do I get to meet her?”

“Soon,” Sara replied, “I haven’t told mum and dad, I want you to be the first person in our family to meet her.”

Scott nodded, “I think I can handle that responsibility.”

“Good,” Sara smiled, grateful that in her hectic family she could rely on her twin brother to support her through the tough times.

“Voeld to Sara! Hello!”

A hand was waving in front of her face, and Sara turned to see Peebee staring down at her.

“Huh?” Sara shook her head slightly and drew her eyes away from the windows. Sara had made herself a hot chocolate and sat herself in the meeting room on the couch. Outside, Sara could see the snow fluttering down onto the Tempest, and the large green aurora floating through the sky.

They had landed on Voeld a few hours ago, and Sara had avoided having contact with Scott or Jaal thus far. Jaal had gone out on a mission with Liam and Vetra, while everyone else was aboard – Scott included. He had shut himself up in his room and Sara assumed he was busy with ‘super-secret Pathfinder business’.

Sara had not had her chat with Scott, once she had found out that Jaal had told everyone, Sara had cancelled it with Lexi. She wasn’t ready to face her brother after shouting at him and falsely accusing him of telling the crew.

“Your mind was in another galaxy there,” Peebee sat on the couch beside Sara, facing her, “what were you thinking about?”

“Oh…just a memory from the Citadel. Nothing exciting.”

“Wow, I meant the other galaxy thing as an expression,” Peebee laughed, “you spoken to Jaal yet?”

“Nope. The three of them went off before I could,” Sara explained, looking back out the window. She had calmed down since her initial chat with Peebee, but she was still hurt and upset. Thankfully, no one else had really questioned her about it or mentioned anything, but she knew it would come up eventually.

She just couldn’t wrap her head around the whole thing, and circling it through in her mind was making her headache worse.

“I might go work on my armour, distract myself,” Sara said, standing up and heading down to the tech bay.

“Want company?”

“Sure.”

Sara set up her work and began tinkering with the legs this time, wanting to start manufacturing them. Peebee sat on the bench, chatting about random topics and holding up a datapad with the schematics for Sara to read.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or how late it was but Sara was done with half of one of the legs when the doors opened and a very cold looking Jaal stepped in. His eyes met Sara’s, and she felt all of her nerves bubble back up to the surface.

“I’ll leave you to it, catch ya,” Peebee placed the datapad down and left quickly, but not before winking at Jaal on the way out. Sara placed her armour half-leg on the floor and stood as Jaal came further into the room, shrugging out of his Rofjinn, mittens and eye-piece.

The air was awkward, and Sara wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t actually seen Jaal since they were caught in the gallery.

“Darling one, what is the matter?” he asked politely.

“I…Jaal,” she started, and wanting to cut to the chase got out, “why did you tell everyone about us?”

Jaal opened his mouth and closed it again, “I thought you were ready.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Sara demanded.

“I remember you saying to Zira ‘When my brother knows, that’s when I’ll tell the crew’,” Jaal quoted.

Sara opened her mouth to argue to say she could remember no such conversation, but SAM flooded her head with the memory. Her stomach dropped; of course the big dope had taken her literally.

Fuuuuuck.

Sara didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t exactly be angry at Jaal for it, after all he was alien to her, and his lack of understanding of euphemisms was foreign to her.

“Shit, I meant that in the context of when I tell my brother specifically, not when he knows. Fuck…fuck,” Sara said, more to herself than Jaal.

“I’m sorry Sara,” Jaal said immediately, putting a hand on Sara’s shoulder to comfort her, but she stepped away from the touch.

“Alien dating problems,” Sara laughed uneasily, “but I actually said ‘I’ll tell the crew’, Jaal that decision should’ve been both of ours to make.”

Jaal hung his head in shame, and Sara felt a twinge in her gut. She hated seeing Jaal upset, but she was still angry and hurt for what he had done. Sara moved forward, and placed one of her hands on Jaal’s. He did not push her away.

“I wanted to share our love to everyone,” Jaal said in a small voice, “we angara are very open with ourselves, and it was killing me inside to have to hide this very important part of me. I wanted people to know, and you said specifically once he knew, it could be open.”

Sara sighed, she hadn’t even thought of how Jaal could be hurting about all of this as well. She couldn’t imagine being so open, and then having to keep it all a secret. She realised humans were a far too secretive species. But, this did not help her anxiety. She wanted the crew to know when they were both ready, not just Jaal.

“I know this is new, for both of us. But, I have experience in dating another species,” Sara began, the memory of Goya flooding her mind again, “she wasn’t an angara, but I understand the complications that come with all of this.”

“This is new to me, and it’s so scary,” Jaal admitted.

“I’m so sorry this hasn’t been easy for you,” Sara replied, pressing her forehead to Jaal’s. He lowered his head to make this easier, “I haven’t been helping.”

“I haven’t either,” Jaal said, “I’m sorry, Sara.”

Sara closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around Jaal’s waist, which he reciprocated around her shoulders. She wanted to reverse the last few days, and make different choices to what she had.

There was a lot she wanted to reverse.

She shook it from her mind.

“What do we do?” Jaal asked.

“About?”

“The crew?”

Sara sighed, “We tell them ourselves, together.”

“You’re ready?”

“I am,” Sara replied, “I’m still angry and upset with you, but I forgive you.”

“Thank you,” Jaal stated and pressed his lips to Sara’s.

xXx

Sara had asked Lexi to gather the crew, including Scott. It was up to anyone if they actually wanted to come, but it seemed that most of them were interested enough to show up in the meeting room at the requested time.

All except Scott.

It didn’t surprise Sara that he wasn’t there, she was just…sad. Disappointed was probably the better word for it.

“He’s not here?” Jaal whispered in her ear.

Sara tried to shrug it off, “he probably has more important stuff to do.”

“What’s the go Sara?” Liam asked, and the others interest piped up at the callout. Every eye fell on Sara and she felt her palms getting clammy at the attention.

“So I just wanted to clear the air about everything…” Sara started, looking each person in the eye. Peebee seemed to be bouncing with excitement.

Jaal rubbed her back and she continued, “I know you may have heard it from Jaal or y’know ‘through the grapevine’ so to speak, but, Jaal and I are…together.”

Everyone was silent for several moments.

“See? I called it!” Gil shouted, “you owe me creds Kosta!”

“Dammit,” Liam shook his head, “how did you know Brodie?”

Drack chortled, “you’re kidding right? No one else saw this from lightyears away?”

“Wait…you had a bet?” Jaal asked.

Gil and Liam eyed each other, “yep,” they both said at the same time.

“Yeh’re a fool Liam,” Suvi started, “why would yeh bet against Gil?”

“My money was on you! Bollocks.”

Sara cocked an eyebrow and looked around, “so, well I mean, you all knew…but no one is surprised?”

“Aside from Liam over there, no,” Gil confirmed.

“Well I mean, salarians usually reproduce through ‘non-romantic’ means, so I didn’t notice until I was told.”

“Well, thanks,” Sara laughed.

“I want to congratulate the pair of you!” Cora called out in a surprising show of happiness, “it’s wonderful you’ve found each other.”

Sara had a genuine smile this time, “I appreciate it Cora.”

The crew began to banter among one another before dissipating. Peebee bounded over to Sara and Jaal, and trailing her was Drack. Peebee had a shit-eating grin plastered across her face while Drack looked as surly as ever.

“There ya go! Wasn’t that bad was it?” Peebee asked.

“Uh…no, not really,” Sara rubbed the back of her awkwardly; “maybe Jaal telling everyone was a good thing, in a way. Forced me to come forward.”

“And now, I can do this!” Jaal cried, and in one fluid moment scooped Sara into his arms and span her around in circles. Sara laughed and felt herself getting dizzy as Jaal placed her back down. He kept a hand on her back to keep her steady, and she looked at him with her still spinning eyes, and leant forward to place her lips on his.

She had to admit; not having to hide anymore was great.

“Oh god, now we have to see you like this,” Drack motioned, then bent in closer, “keep it up.”

“Will do Drack Attack,” Sara smiled.

“Drack Attack?” the old krogan questioned, “never heard that one before…I like it, thanks kid.”

“It’s better than ‘Drack the Nak’,” Peebee rolled her eyes, “who came up with that one?”

“Kesh…” Drack stated.

Peebee looked like a deer caught in headlights, “right…well…see ya!”

Sara watched her go, followed by Drack. It was only the two of them left in the meeting room now. Sara turned to Jaal, and he had a massive grin on his face.

“What are you smiling at?” Sara asked playfully.

“You,” Jaal replied.

Sara couldn’t help it, she grinned too. She was still annoyed, but the overall anger had gone. She stroked Jaal’s face, and he closed his eyes at her touch, a sound coming from the back of his throat.

xXx

It looked as though they would be on Voeld for the foreseeable future, or at least that’s what Sara had heard from the crew. She couldn’t imagine a worse planet to be stuck on – maybe except Elaaden.

“Why couldn’t we be ‘stuck’ on Havarl?” Jaal asked in a huff as he fiddled with his nutrient paste one afternoon.

She, Peebee and Jaal had just completed a training session together. Lexi had allowed Sara to train with the others so that she could improve her health as well as get a feel for what the missions would be like.

“Havarl?” Peebee asked incredulously, “I mean…Aya’s just sitting there ripe for the taking. Damn asari.”

“I’d take Kadara over this frozen wasteland,” Sara mumbled, “what’s so special about Aya anyway?” It was one of the only planets she had not visited yet, along with Habitat 7, or Ryder-1 as it was now known.

Jaal gave her a look while Peebee sighed, “Aya is like, the best angaran world? It’s got this awesome as waterfall and serene oasis feel and all around it is magma and lava.”

“Paradise,” Jaal hummed.

“Oh right…I remember you mentioning it to me,” Sara hummed idly before turning to Peebee, “you’ve been then?” Sara asked.

“A few times,” Peebee replied, “I miss it. It was our last stop before we came to visit you on Meridian.”

“Figures,” Sara muttered.

“Aya has a lottery based system to live on,” Jaal explained, “it’s hard to find through the Scourge, and due to its limited resources we take it in turns to live there. Going is wonderful, leaving is very hard. Only a few high ranking angara like Evfra remain on Aya permanently.”

Sara sighed dreamily, “why am I not surprised the asari got Aya? Beautiful planet, beautiful women. It all makes sense.”

Peebee mimed vomiting and Sara chuckled, Jaal seemed to miss the joke. Instead he had a concerned expression on his face before looking like his usual self again. Sara was curious about it.

The next moment Liam burst into the crew quarters looking excited, “it’s vid night!”

“Oh shit, really? We’re doing another one?”

“Scott said something about boosting morale? I don’t know…”

Sara looked at Peebee and Jaal who both looked excited.

“It’s actually because the weather has gone to complete shit,” a voice called and Gil stood in the doorway, “tried to take the Nomad out for a test run but the blizzard nearly blew it into the air. Scott sent a memo about it.”

Sure enough, Sara looked to her omni-tool to see that her brother had indeed messaged the crew.

“1900 hours?” Sara asked, even though it was written in front of her, “where at?”  

“Scott’s quarters,” Liam replied, vanishing from sight with Gil following. Sara stared after them, she had not been in Scott’s room yet, and her interest peaked.

“We haven’t had one of these since we’d just killed the Archon,” Jaal hummed, “wonder if Scott will impress us with his acting skills again,” and Sara couldn’t help but notice the slightly bitter tone.

“Huh?”

“It was something about how he could act better than the vid we were watching, and I have to admit he and Kallo put on quite a performance,” Peebee added.

“Well I can’t wait to watch a vid,” Sara smiled.

xXx

At 1900 hours Sara made her way to Scott’s room, hand-in-hand with Jaal, along with Peebee bouncing beside them. The doors opened and Sara pouted in annoyance, the room was too dark to make much out but she couldn’t help but see the floor-to-ceiling glass wall that looked out onto the snowy stretches of Voeld, and the very large bed off to the side.

Sara wondered whether Scott had it like that normally, or it was usually in the centre of the room. Speaking of the centre of the room, two couches had been moved into here. A couch that Sara assumed was Scott’s, and Liam’s disgusting one.

Scott and Vetra had made themselves at home on the nicer couch, while Liam and Drack took seats on Liam’s one. Sara had to admit, she still found it odd to see Scott and Vetra sharing any affection at all, especially in a public setting like this.

Spaces were filling fast on the couches, so Sara shrugged and plonked herself on the floor between the two couches, leaning against the arms of them.

“Comfy there?” Liam asked; a smirk on his face.

“Hey – nothing wrong with the floor!” Sara bemused. She saw Jaal chuckle and lower himself to the floor beside her, opening his arms like an invitation. Sara didn’t need to be asked twice, she climbed gratefully into them and Jaal pulled her onto his lap.

Peebee plonked herself right on the floor with them, although sat off to one side. She was grateful the young asari knew how to keep things from being awkward. Sara smiled at her, and Peebee grinned back.

Asari always found a way into her inner circle, and she couldn’t be happier for that.

The rest of the crew made themselves comfortable, and Sara noted that Scott was eyeing her with interest.

“I still can’t believe I lost the bet!” Liam complained.  

“Seriously, a pair of eyes was all you needed,” Gil heckled at him from across the room.

“Hey look, Suvi and Sara seemed to make sense at the time, okay?” Liam argued.

“If you had a pair of eyes Liam, you would’ve noticed that Sara spends most of her time with Peebee and Jaal,” Cora explained.

“I had the pair of eyes!” Scott added in, “I…I just had eyes for the wrong one!”

Sara whipped around to him, “you were in this too?”

Scott had the faintish tinge of pink on his cheeks before he answered, “yeah...” he said slowly, “my creds were on Peebee.”

At this both Drack and Peebee snorted in disbelief, even Sara couldn’t help her skeptical expression.

“You seriously thought it was me?” Peebee was trying not to giggle into her hand.

“How could I not? You totally fit Sara’s type! Asari, into remtech, young and free spirited…” Scott trailed off.

“She’s not-,” Sara replied, but she couldn’t finish. Peebee was not Goya, but she didn’t want to get into that discussion in front of the entire crew. She looked to Jaal, who looked confused and turned back to Scott, who was still blushing.

“What’s our next vid?” Suvi asked, clearly trying to move the conversation into easier waters.

“Either the original Blasto, or an old Earth vid that won several comedy awards; it’s called ‘The Martian’,” Liam explained.

“Earth pre-spaceflight,” Kallo muttered, “I like it.”

“I’d be interested in a sci-fi comedy,” Sara said, “especially something so old.”

 “I like the stories of the Milkee Whey, the more the better!” Jaal interjected, and Sara pecked him on the cheek which caused a pulse of comfortable electricity to ripple over her.

“Do it!” Lexi crowed, and Liam nodded, fiddling with his omni-tool. The movie began to play, and Sara snuggled further into Jaal’s lap, he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, but not so tight that she struggled to breathe.

It felt so…normal, for the first time in a long time. Sara laughed with the rest at the jokes, and had to explain some of the stuff to Jaal who didn’t quite get it. But, it struck a chord that it wasn’t really a comedy. In fact, Sara had found some of it quite confronting. 

The vid was soon over, and Sara sighed. Back to reality.

“That was weird,” Suvi said, “are yeh sure that was a comedy?”

“I agree,” Kallo added, “while I enjoyed it, and it did have some humorous moments it did not strike me as a comedy.”

Liam frowned, browsing through his omni-tool, “it won numerous awards, but won a ‘golden globe’ in best comedy.”

“Why do I feel like that the people who made the movie were fucking with the award ceremony?” Gil asked the group at random.

“If that’s true, I like this vid even more now,” Sara replied, a grin plastered on her face.

“Shit potatoes,” Scott snorted as he stood and stretched, “that was great.”

Sara was feeling that warm and sleepy feeling, which usually meant she would have a good night’s rest after such a lovely evening. She gazed at Jaal, who grinned sleepily back at her.

She was reminded of the night that they had had the bonfire on Eos - the gentle air, the good atmosphere, the bonding of the crew. Tonight had been reminiscent of that, just without the kett assault.

“Sleep well cr-,” Scott started to say before he was interrupted by a loud BANG. It shook the entire ship and Sara tumbled into Jaal’s arms as he too braced on the couch for support.  

They looked at each other in surprise, wondering the exact same thing.