The Final Ark
Sara Ryder's bright blue eyes widened in shock as Specialist Gee said "The Keelah Si'yah wasn't destroyed." The rest of their conversation was a blur, Sara's mind only focusing on the slight glimmer of hope that the fourth ark could be found and saved from whatever situation it was in. Specialist Gee's reiteration from the Nexus to leave the ship be only excited her more, but she knew Addison and the others wouldn't let her go to the ark.
"After everything I've done for this galaxy, do I really still need to report to them?" she asked herself, tired the Nexus leaders looking down on her as though she didn't deserve the title of Pathfinder. She had told Addison off once before and was willing to do it again if she had to. There were people that needed help and as a Ryder, Sara sure as hell wasn't going to just sit here and do nothing about it. Sara continued walking around Port Meridian, the thrill of perceived victory fresh in everyone else's mind. A few technicians and media reporters had stopped to chat briefly with her, congratulating her for a job well done or thanking her for saving their families. She smiled back at them but really wanted to say that her job wasn't over; in fact, she was beginning to wonder if it ever would be.
"SAM, can you tell the others to return to the Tempest and gather in the Comm Room in… five minutes?" she asked her AI, who was more of her friend than a computer system.
"Right away" he responded before adding his own input, "are you sure you would like to go against the Nexus leaders' wishes? Failures carry more weight than successes."
"You sound like Dad" Sara began, laughing. "They'll find out eventually. So we might as well get a head start!" Sara continued, walking over to where the Tempest was docked. Jaal was standing there, waiting for her.
"I hear you have news, Sara" he stated, looking at her curiously with his galaxy-like eyes.
"I do. There was a… transmission from the Quarian ark" she said, sighing and letting her thoughts out. She enjoyed that she didn't have to put on a façade with Jaal and if she did, he could see through her like she was a polished piece of glass. "I was hoping to spend at least some time relaxing here, with you, but I guess that's not part of the job description" she continued, trying to make light of the situation. He looked at her, frowning while he thought how to best console her. He knew she was right.
"I was hoping that as well. But we will find time during our duty to be with one another" he spoke, his words eloquent and deliberate. "Afterwards, I would not be opposed to making another stop on Aya. I think you may feel the same way, judging by how last time-" he continued, his voice lowering but still loud enough to draw attention. Sara hushed him, clearly embarrassed at how open he was being with the topic.
"Okay yes Aya. Shush" Sara stammered, feeling as though the workers passing by now had too much of a glimpse into her personal affairs. She grabbed Jaal's hand and led him into the Tempest, ready to get back into space and away from the public eye. As the two of them reached the Comm Room, the familiar faces of the rest of the crew greeted them.
"So much for a vacation, huh?" Sara began, earning a laugh from her crew before getting serious. "Here's the deal. On Port Meridian, I heard a transmission from the Quarian Ark. They weren't asking for help; they were telling people to stay away but also said the situation wasn't under control. So, we're going to figure shit out because nobody else will" she stated, earning a few gasps, whoops, and claps. She smiled and dismissed everyone, however Cora remained.
"Ryder, I just want to say that you've really become a great leader. This team will follow you to the ends of the galaxy and… I think Alec would be proud of his choice" she said genuinely, sticking her hand out for a handshake. Sara grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug, grateful that the quarrelling and tension between them was over. With that, Cora left and Sara headed towards the bridge.
"SAM do we have coordinates on the Quarian ark?" she asked while she made sure her gear was in order for the upcoming mission. Her favorite pistol was at her side, as it always was, while her sniper rifle and assault rifle were laid out on the table next to her helmet.
"The transmission from the ark could be traced to an unmarked region on the edge of the Heleus Cluster. I have sent the location to the bridge" SAM replied over the intercoms.
"Kallo and I've got it 'ere, Ryder" Suvi's voice chipped in afterwards, confirming that she had received the coordinates. After checking her weapons and armor, Sara went out to the bridge, where she looked at the galaxy map. The cluster they were heading to was in the south western part of the galaxy, far past Civki and Sephesa. Even with the FTL drive installed on the Tempest it would take the whole night to get there from Port Meridian.
"Let's hope the Quarian ark can hold on for a while longer" Sara said, unable to even formulate a plan about how they would solve the issues the ark was facing. Sara wandered down to her quarters and flopped down on her bed. All she could do now is just wait and hope luck was on her side. As she lay there, her body reveled in the comforts of her bed after the excruciating battle at Meridian and she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up again, SAM was playing a lighthearted tune.
"How close are we, SAM?" Sara said, yawning and pulling on her Andromeda Initiative issued t-shirt and pants.
"We will arrive in less than twenty minutes" he responded.
"Shit shit shit. Get everyone to the bridge, please?" Sara replied, slipping on her shoes. "So much for breakfast" she muttered to herself as she climbed up the ladder to the bridge.
"I'm taking Jaal and Cora with me today" Sara began, when everyone had arrived. Noticing that everyone was looking at her for direction, she shifted uncomfortably. Even after all this time she still wasn't used to being a leader. "Speech time, again?" she asked, looking at her crew members as they nodded and chuckled. Sara thought for a moment and took a deep breath.
"With as little information as we have, it's hard to tell what, or who, we're going to be facing. It could be more kett or it could be something else entirely. If we fail, we not only lose the entire colony, we let entire species slip through our fingers. We were brought to Andromeda to save humanity, but humanity isn't a race. Humanity is a virtue. Let's bring this ark home" Sara said, confidently. Some of the crew members nodded while others clapped. Those that were not coming on the mission spread out throughout the ship, taking post and staying in touch through radios.
"Entering the atmosphere" Kallo stated as the ship began descending. "Preparing to dock and… docked. Stay safe, Ryder" he added before unlocking the doors to the decontamination zone.
"Ready, guys?" Sara asked Jaal and Cora before closing her helmet visor in the decontamination room.
"You bet" Cora said as Jaal responded with a thumbs up. As the three of them stepped off the Tempest onto the Keelah Si'yah, Sara gasped. The lights on the ark flickered and there were dead quarians, drell, volus, elcor, and hanar in piles that felt almost as tall as Sara was. A stench worse than the sulfur pits of Kadara floated in the air causing Cora to cup her hands over her face.
"SAM can you analyze anything?" Sara asked, hoping he could tap into the SAM in this ship to gain some information.
"There seems… vir… -tion" SAM responded brokenly after a few minutes.
"Oh, that's not good. We're on our own for this one, guys" she said to Cora and Jaal through her omni-tool. As she spoke, she recognized the feeling of SAM struggling to stay connected to her. It was as if he was a dim street light flickering in the night. He had saved her life multiple times before, so she sure as hell wasn't going to let him go that easily.
"Let's try to find someone still living" Cora suggested, "maybe we'll find the Pathfinder if we get lucky."
"Us? Lucky? Never," Sara responded sarcastically. As they travelled deeper into the ark, blood and other bodily fluids stained the walls. Sara removed her glove, reached down and touched the blood with her fingers. She took out her omni-tool to scan the blood, but couldn't make much sense of the results. If she had SAM, she might be able to analyze it but without him she felt useless. As she tried to decipher the results, Sara winced in pain. A sting from her finger ran through the nerves in her hand and traveled up her arm. She quickly wiped the blood away, revealing that it had burned her skin like it was acid.
"This is… unexpected" Jaal stated as they continued to check their surroundings.
"What is it?" Sara asked, quickly putting her glove back on so Jaal would not be worried.
"The number of bodies is decreasing so-" he noted, pausing to look at Sara. "Are you ill?" he asked her, crouching down slightly to look at her face. His eyes filled with worry and he called Cora over. From what he could see, she looked slightly ill too. Sara knew something in the blood had poisoned her, but she kept that from Jaal; she thought if he worried too much about her, he wouldn't focus on the mission. Sara quickly looked over Cora and noticed a gash in her pant leg with a slight burn underneath. Cora must have rubbed against the blood on a wall, Sara thought.
"It's just the effects of SAM's disconnection..." Sara responded, "it happened before, remember? What were you saying, Jaal?"
"The number of bodies is decreasing, almost as if they are being kept away" he finished, clearly distracted by Sara's well-being now. He crouched down and examined the small pool of blood that Sara was attempting to identify. Curiously, like Sara, he removed his glove and gathered a small amount of the blood on his finger and lifted it closer to his face.
"No!" Sara shouted, but he had already touched it. His eyes widened and he looked at her with confusion.
"What is it?" he asked, casually wiping the blood off on the pant of his armor. Sara grabbed his hand, and quickly looked at it; there was no burn. She mumbled a quick nevermind before Cora chipped in.
"Let's keep moving" Cora said. As the three of them continued exploring the ark, screams and gasps for air bounced off the walls. Quickly, Sara ducked behind cover and pulled out her pistol. The others did the same and they moved quietly towards the source, running from cover to cover. When they reached the source, Sara raised her pistol and opened the door, expecting to see kett inside. However, they only found the ark's occupants strapped to tables, thrashing around as a few volus and one elcor nurse attempted to tend to them. The nurses looked frightfully at Sara and she immediately put her hands up as a sign on peace.
"My name is Sara Ryder, I'm Ark Hyperion's Pathfinder" she stated before the nurses lowered their guard, however the volus kept glancing at Jaal. "What's going on here?" Sara asked.
"Dejectedly: An unknown virus is spreading through the ship. Everyone's dying" the elcor said in a deep monotone voice as it watched over a drell, writhing in agony.
"Where did it come from? Is the Pathfinder still alive? Where is everyone?" Cora asked, firing questions off in an effort to get some bit of useful information.
"Proudly: Pathfinder Telem'Yered vas Keelah Si'yah is working on a cure. Can't figure out where virus came from. Others are down the hall away from infected" the elcor stated, trying to be as helpful as possible while calming the drell patient. Sara thanked them and wished them luck, deciding that her presence was probably only stressing out the patient even more. As they headed down the hall, light chatter could be heard. Sara drew her pistol again, unsure if these perple would be as peaceful as the nurses she had just encountered, especially if they already had run-ins with the kett. When she opened the door, she could see a group of quarians in the lab, some sitting at a computer while others were tinkering with various machines. Ryder awkwardly cleared her throat to get one of them to notice her; when the quarians did notice her, they didn't even bother to draw their weapons. They simply looked at one quarian, who Ryder presumed to be the Pathfinder. Upon entering the room, a chill went through Jaal's body and he whispered to Sara.
"Something is not right here." he said, his increased bioelectric field allowing him to pick up on the tension within the room.
"You look ill, Pathfinder" he spoke to Sara, immediately recognizing her due to her gear. "We heard you dock quite some time ago. Have you come into contact with bodily fluids from the deceased?" he continued.
"I…" afraid to answer, Ryder looked at Jaal. "Yeah. Can you tell me what is going on here? How did this happen?" Instead of answering her questions, the quarian looked quizzically at Jaal.
"What are you?" he asked, no compassion in his voice at all. Sara was beginning to wonder how this quarian qualified to become a Pathfinder at all. One rude quarian to represent the entire species doesn't really send out a good image, she thought.
"I am Angaran" Jaal responded, trying his best to brush off the rudeness that this quarian was showing. However, not one to hide his emotions, Jaal spoke up for Sara. "I suggest you answer Sara's questions. We have travelled quite some way to rescue you, against the wills of our leaders, simply because Sara believed you exhibited humanity. Instead we have only heard cruelness from your lips." In response to this, the quarian sighed and nodded.
"I… am sorry. My name is Pathfinder Telem'Yered vas Keelah Si'yah. Telem will do. A viral illness affecting all known biological species has spread throughout our ship. On top of that, our ship's systems are shutting down. Without them we will soon be forced to take more passengers out of cryo to help with research efforts" he stated, his face now buried in a microscope, analyzing a slide of bubbling blood. His companions however, were whispering and staring at Jaal.
"Has your SAM been able to diagnose the issues with the ark?" Cora asked.
"SAM… is disconnected from this ark" Pathfinder Telem stated hesitantly, looking at Sara before continuing, "surely you would understand why. We've deduced that the systemic issues with the ark were likely due to collision with this foreign object." Cora informed them that they called it The Scourge and that their engineers should be able to repair the ark enough so it could make it to the Nexus.
"Disconnected? How?" Sara asked, amazed that the Pathfinder was able to sever his ties from SAM without injuring himself; Sara felt saddened by the news as well, since SAM did grow on her quite a bit since she was thrust into her position.
"It was a process performed by our best engineers. Surely you have noticed that is why your SAM struggled to stay connected within the ark" he responded. Sara was speechless and angry, but she knew the quarians had their reasons. Suddenly, Jaal let out a slight grunt and a quarian retreated away from him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ryder yelled, now infuriated that the quarians had the guts to mess with her squad members. As she yelled, she heard her heart pounding in her ears and braced herself against a nearby table. Her nerves felt as though they were on fire and her vision was becoming blurry and dark. The quarians ignored Ryder's question and instead analyzed the syringe of blood that they had just taken from Jaal. His increased bioelectric field had already healed the wound that they had inflicted on him, and he rushed over to Sara's side to make sure she was alright. The quarians, occupied with their experiment, had dropped a small amount of the infected blood they were analyzing before in a dish with Jaal's blood and marveled as Jaal's blood seemed to neutralize the infection.
"Of course!" Telem said. "The infection targets biological species but cannot infect a species of unknown DNA upon creation. This is the antidote!" With the remaining blood in the syringe, they began mixing chemicals unknown to Sara together before pouring some in a small class. Telem slid it towards her and encouraged her to drink the amber concoction. Sara looked at Jaal and Cora and they nodded. Sara shakily took the glass in her hand and drank from it, figuring that although the quarians were assholes, they were her best chance at not ending up like the drell in the other room. The concoction burned her throat on the way down as if it were a strong drink and she felt a wave of relief course through her veins.
"You mentioned that the virus was created," Cora began, taking a small dosage of the drink for herself, "but who made it?"
Telem seemed hesitant to answer, and one of the other quarians spoke up. "We located and killed a number batarian stowaways on the ship and have yet to find more. It was likely them, angered that they were excluded from the ark." Sara and Cora looked at one another; they had seen no sign of a fight anywhere in the Ark and hadn't run into any batarians themselves.
"We will use this blood to heal the remainder of those infected, and then we will continue to repair the ship. You may inform the Nexus leaders that the situation is under control" Telem said.
"No, you won't" Sara stated, drawing her gun. Jaal and Cora followed her lead. Much to her surprise, the other quarians ducked beneath a table and Telem drew his own weapon. Jaal ran over to the table the quarians were under, and stood in front of them, using his body as extra protection in case Telem turned on them.
"You're outnumbered, Telem" Sara began, hoping to use her words instead of her weapon. "There were no batarians on this ship. Here's what really happened. When the ark collided with the Scourge, the ark's systems began to fail. As the Pathfinder, you had to make a choice to wake more people up to repair the ship or cut people from cryo while your team worked on the repairs alone. You decided to wake people from cryo, but when they couldn't fix it, you got angry. Food was running low and they weren't contributing to the efforts, so you engineered what you thought was a simple virus to kill them. The virus morphed and the situation quickly got out of control while you struggled to fix your mistake." In response, Telem was speechless.
"I have underestimated you, Pathfinder" Telem said to Sara.
"You wouldn't be the first" Sara replied, snarkily. "A Pathfinder makes hard decisions, believe me I know, but this was murder. Come back to the Nexus and face trial. Maybe you can convince them that you used to be a good man." Telem thought for a minute before firing his pistol at Sara. The bullet hit her in the arm and she grunted in pain. Cora created a barrier with her biotics as he continued to shoot at them, the bullets reflecting off as though they were made of rubber. Sara shot him back and he fell to the floor in pain.
"Last chance to change your mind" Sara said, clutching her arm as she walked over to him. Defiant to the end, he looked at her and raised his own gun to his head. This shot seemed louder than the others and Sara's ears rang. After a few minutes, a quarian crawled out from beneath the table and introduced herself to Sara.
"I'm Elandi vas Keelah Si'yah. Second in command. First now, I suppose" she said. She explained the whole situation to Sara, prefacing that Telem was threatening them and forcing them to spread the virus, saying that he had even killed a quarian who spoke out against him. Sara could clearly see that Elandi knew that Telem was not an example of what a Pathfinder should be; Elandi hoped to save those who remained and was determined to restore the quarian image by fixing the wrongdoings of her superior. She thanked Sara and informed her that they would be in touch with the Nexus once everyone was cured, requesting engineers familiar with the Scourge to help them repair the ship. Sara trusted Elandi and left he situation in her hands, giving her the chance to prove her worth to the remaining species on the ark.
As Sara, Jaal, and Cora walked back past the guts and gore within the ark, Cora spoke, breaking the silence. "Where to next?" Cora asked as the three of them stood within the decontamination zone.
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see" Sara responded. Maybe tomorrow they would finally get a day off.