Chapter Text
sīdus (Latin, noun): constellation, a star, the night sky.
Nominative plural: sidera
Vetra exhales.
She’s done a lot of hard things in her life. She’s stolen; she’s killed; she’s had to run for her life. She’s grown nerves of steel and learned to keep a steady hand, even as her world burns around her.
So why , dammit, are those steely nerves and steady hands failing her now?
Vetra paces anxiously through the armory, flexing and unflexing her talons. Get it together , she tells herself furiously. You can do this .
It feels stupid to be so anxious about just telling her sister that she’s in a relationship. But . . . it’s Sid . Sid, who has the energy levels of an infant pyjak and a tendency to try to pry her way into every facet of Vetra’s life.
Again, Vetra exhales. She’s just got to get this over with. Stop worrying about it; just do it.
She leans up against one of the many boxes in the armory, switches on her omni-tool, and pulls up Sid’s contact information. Breathe. She hits ‘call’.
It takes Sid a few moments longer than usual to pick up, which is fair, because they didn’t schedule this call.
“Hey?” Sid’s voice comes over the omni-tool, searching and curious.
“Hey,” Vetra replies. “Uh, can I talk to you?”
“Whaaat?” Sid says, tone sharpening. “I haven’t done anything wrong! I haven’t broken curfew or left the Nexus or anything! I’ve been following alllll your rules, okay?”
“I -- Uh, it’s not about that. Crap.” Vetra rubs at her face with one talon. “I guess I need to call you to tell you I love you more often, huh? So. I love you. But I’m just calling because I wanted to tell you something.”
“That you love me?”
“No, not that. But that’s true.”
“Okay, thanks. Love you too,” Sid says slowly. “So . . . what is it?”
Vetra breathes. Time to come clean. Her heartbeat ticks up, but she forces herself to keep her voice steady. “So. You know the human Pathfinder?”
“What am I, five? Yeah, I know the human Pathfinder.”
“Right. Yeah. Of course you know her,” Vetra mutters.
All those years of practice at negotiating and wheedling information, and she goes with you know the human Pathfinder ? She is not on her game today.
“So, what about her?” Sid prompts.
“Right. Well. Sara and I--”
Vetra cuts off as Sid lets out a sudden gasp.
“What?” she demands.
“Nothing!” Sid says quickly. “Go on! I’m listening!”
“Okay,” Vetra continues slowly. “Well. Sara and I are . . . seeing each other.” She rattles through the second part of the sentence and then cuts off, waiting with baited breath for Sid’s response.
For a moment, there’s silence. Vetra tries very hard not to focus on the tightness in her chest or the anxious energy in her claws.
“Like, romantically? Like, dating ?” Sid asks finally.
“Um. Yes. Exactly like dating.”
And now, Vetra winces as a high-pitched shriek pierces the air from her omni-tool.
“Oh my Spirits! ” Sid squeals. “Oh my goodness! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it !”
“Wait, you ‘knew it’?” Vetra echoes, perplexed. “What do you mean? You know that Sara and I were . . . together?”
“Well, not exactly, but I totally knew you had a thing for her. It was so obvious!”
“It . . . was?”
“Um, yeah . It’s not like you spent like eighty percent of our calls gushing to me about how cool Ryder is or anything. Oh, wait, you totally did!”
“I did not!” Vetra protests. “I definitely did not ‘gush’.”
“ Sure, you didn’t. ‘You know what Ryder did today? She fixed an entire planet, all by herself, when no one thought it could be done, and wow, maybe she really is going to save all of us, and oh on the side she went and saved a settler’s lost puppy. Ryder’s so cool, she does so much. She’s so cute and tiny and wow I think she’s sooo sexy the way she stops kett and tells people what to do’.”
“I definitely did not say anything like that. What even is a puppy?”
“They’re adorable baby Earth animals. You should totally ask Ryder. And that was pretty much exactly what you said. Either you’re telling me off for something, or you’re telling me the play-by-play of every achievement Ryder has ever made. Pretty much no in between.”
“I thought you kept telling me you wanted to be kept in the loop.”
“And you never did keep me ‘in the loop’ before, so something changed,” Sid says smugly. “Wow, Ryder’s been busy, Pathfinding her way through Heleus . . . while also Pathfinding her way to your heart . . . and past your lower plates . . .”
“ Sid!” Vetra cuts her off, just barely managing not to splutter. “What?!”
“What?” Sid says. “Come on, that was so tame. I’m old enough for boot camp! You know I’d hear way worse jokes there!”
“You’re not at boot camp! I’m not listening to my baby sister joke about--” Vetra breaks off and shakes her head. “Fine. I’m not going to tell you anything about how we got together, then.”
“What? No! No, tell me! I’m sorry! I won’t make any more jokes about how sexy you think Ryder is, I promise!”
Vetra snorts. “Oh alright . . .” She pauses for dramatic effect, as if gathering up her courage. “Well, I asked her out. She showed up. We’re together now.”
“. . . You’re the worst .”
Vetra laughs.
“Fine, keep your secrets. I’ll just ask Ryder when I see her next. Speaking of which, when am I going to meet her?”
“Meet her?” Vetra echoes. “You already met her, remember?”
“Not as your girlfriend , I didn’t! Come on, you gotta bring her home so I can see if I approve of her or not.”
Vetra’s mandibles twitch. “‘Approve of her’?”
“Well, okay, it’s Ryder , of course I’m going to approve of her. But it’s the principle of the thing, you know? My duty as your sister. So, when are you bringing her home?”
Vetra rolls her eyes, glad that Sid can’t see her. “I don’t know. I guess, the next time we stop by the Nexus?”
“That’s specific.”
“Hey, I don’t captain the ship.”
“No, you’re just canoodling with the captain of the ship.”
“ Bye , Sid,” Vetra says meaningfully, and makes to end the connection.
“Wait, no, I’m sorry! Just -- one more thing!”
She pauses. “What?”
“You . . . you really like her, right?” Sid says, her tone unexpectedly gentle.
“I wouldn’t have asked her out if I didn’t like her,” Vetra points out, amused.
“Yeah, I know, but like . . . she means something to you. I know you’ve seen other people before, but they weren’t serious, were they? Is Sara -- is she more than that?”
Vetra is quiet a moment. Her talon still hovers over the ‘end call’ command, but she doesn’t press it.
“Vetra? You still there?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” She exhales. “Yeah. I like Sara. I like her a lot. It’s still early, so I don’t know where everything is going, but she means a whole lot more to me than I ever expected she would.”
“ Aww .”
“Sid--”
“No, I mean it! I’m really happy for you. Do you think she feels the same way?”
There’s a swell of something uncomfortable and insecure inside Vetra, but she inhales deeply and pushes it aside. “I don’t know,” she says. “I think . . . yeah, she does. She told me that she, um, cares about us. That she cares about me, and she cares about you because she cares about me.”
“Aw, she really has it bad,” Sid coos. “That’s so cute! Oh, my Spirits, you two are going to be so cute together! I mean, she’s sooooo tiny. Oh my goodness, you’re going to have to be careful not to smother her when you hug her. Can you imagine?”
“I think Sara’s a bit too tough to be taken out by a hug ,” Vetra comments, amused. Inwardly, though, she’s glad that Sid has dropped the line of questioning and that the conversation has steered out of vulnerable, dangerous waters. She’s not used to wearing her emotions on her sleeve, especially not around Sid. “Look, I gotta go. We’re going to be landing soon, and I need to prep some supply lists.”
“Okaaay,” Sid replies, clearly disappointed.
“I’ll call you later, okay? I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Sid replies. “Come by the Nexus as soon as you can!”
“I’ll see what I can do. And Sid?”
“Yeah?”
“Just . . . don’t go spreading this around, okay? Sara and I haven’t really told anyone yet. Other than SAM, but we don’t have a choice there.”
“I promise,” Sid says earnestly. “My lips are sealed.”
“Thanks. Talk to you later.”
“Okay. See you.”
The line clicks out.