Daring to Dream

by Tatanka4Life

Vetra Nyx had experienced much on the journey to settle Heleus. She had witnessed an uprising split the Nexus, had watched as hope dwindled with their food, experienced the hopes of thousands rekindled and found love with someone worth crossing galaxies for. Join the drifter as she recollects on the events and the person that gave her a reason to dream of something wonderful.

Daring to Dream

A/N: Mass Effect: Andromeda story spoilers ahead so if you haven't beaten the game I suggest you do that first. I do not own the Mass Effect series nor do I make any profit off of the writing of this fanfiction, outside of personal enjoyment. The copyrights, the series itself and everything Mass Effect belongs to EA and Bioware. Enjoy!

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Vetra Nyx sat in the well-lit room of the Pathfinders Quarters as her eyes scanned over a data-pad she was holding up in her right hand. The Turian was quite relaxed at the moment despite having words of work in front of her. Her back was resting against a pillow propped up against the top of the bed and her left arm laid across her lap as she tapped her fingers against her leg to a non-existent tune. There have been too few moments of relaxation like this, and most of them have been with the Pathfinder. Of course that woman also had brought her into some dangerous shit, but the drifter was used to tense situations. It came with the territory. Still, it's nice to kick back and relax, even if I have to read equipment requests alone as I do.

The information she was reading through now wasn't anything too urgent, just some equipment Kesh was looking to get ahold of for the Nexus next time she was on Kadara. With the Archon defeated, Meridian found and outposts on a handful of planets, the Initiative was actually able to start moving forward with their promises, meaning more work for everyone.

Not that the drifter mercenary was complaining. Work was good. Work meant they weren't dead or at risk of running out of supplies any time soon. Those reasons alone gave them all a nice change of pace from watching the days disappear alongside their food reserves with silent prayers for a Pathfinder to arrive and save them. Almost easy to forget we were all nearly starving a short while ago. Another month or two with no change and things would have started spiraling out of control again like they did during the uprising. Only difference would be Tann wouldn't have a clan of Krogan to squash anyone questioning the Initiative, or him.

Luckily for all involved, a saving grace had arrived before things got even worse. Vetra still remembered hearing the news of Ark Hyperion arriving and the fast paced hustle that overtook the entire station as if it was yesterday. Those memories were where her mind had migrated to as her eyes glided over the words without really reading them. So much has happened since Ark Hyperion arrived, so many things changed…A small glance around to her current surroundings was enough to prove that, both because she was on the Tempest and lounging in the Pathfinders quarters. Vetra had seen the changes and taken stock of them as they came, but only now in this moment of relaxation and peace did she feel like she could let it all sink in.

Technically the first person to tell her about the arrival of the Ark was her sister Sid, who was practically bouncing with joy through the e-mail she sent, but the drifter had already been on the move to get things ready by that time. Others had dismissed the Arks arrival as just another Nexus malfunction, not her though. Her instincts were telling her that this was it, the opportunity they had all been waiting for to finally get on the right track.

It would be the end of many terrible things that had come about. No longer would she have to fear another uprising or fear the ability to keep her sister safe and well-nourished. People would be able to actually live without the worry of what next catastrophic issue was awaiting them in the morning…At least that was what she was allowing herself to hold the hope weighted by a thousand Krogan for. All they needed was one real shot with someone other than Tann or Addison firing the gun. This was their first and undoubtedly final lucky break and she was going to do everything in her power to make the very best of it.

Sure enough, her instincts were right. Ark Hyperion had arrived with a Pathfinder who was ready to try what Tann and Addison failed to do, twice. And then I met her, the Turian thought as she smiled inwardly. She made crossing galaxies on hope alone totally worth it. To be fair, though, their meeting wasn't instantaneous. Although she had managed to keep the Tempest ready to mobilize the moment a Pathfinder arrived, there was still a lot of bustling around to actually get the ship stocked with all the equipment and food necessary for their mission as well as ensuring they could get out without having to deal with extra red tape.

The Pathfinder arriving had been the first light of hope any of us had since waking up to the hectic mess of a failing Initiative. Having her and our hope smothered in red tape because Addison was being exceptionally uptight would have been counterproductive. Things needed to get done. They had all been sitting around waiting for a Pathfinder to arrive and find them a path forward, and one had arrived. Maybe she wasn't the original, maybe she wasn't a former N7, that didn't matter to Vetra.

The Pathfinder they had gotten was ready, willing and able to do what her job title entailed. If that wasn't enough, what she had heard about the new Pathfinder was. Apparently after the human was done talking to the Nexus leadership she went around talking to workers and bystanders who were in need of aid. Whoever she is, she definitely has the right mindset, she had thought back then. There had been too few people in the Milky Way galaxy that actually went out of their way to make a difference or help others, and that number hadn't increased in Andromeda. Not then, at least.

Times had changed since those days and continued as the days went by. But at that time Vetra was just happy to know the new Pathfinder wasn't an uptight asshole. She had run into too many of those in her life and wouldn't have looked forward to being around another after dealing with the variety the Nexus gave her, specifically Tann every day and Addison on most days. It also helped that she was unknowingly buying me enough time to get everything prepared.

Another star for the new Pathfinder.

The Tempest made its arrival at the same time as the Pathfinder and her second-in-command, and that's when I actually met her. Vetra hadn't heard any physical descriptions of the woman so she had no idea what to expect, except that she was human. When she made her way down to the Tempest, the drifter mercenary had easily picked her out between the two women.

Reading people based on body language, appearance and facial expressions was a skill she had picked up through her years as a drifter mercenary. The stiff back and at attention stance of the taller, blonde-haired woman was too military, too expected of someone in the role of leadership. Her air of professionalism was similar to the comm calls she had shared with the second-in-command and made her stick out like an Alliance Admiral on Omega. That left the shorter woman of the pair, though not much shorter, who stuck out like a Salarian on Tuchanka compared to other human women she had met in the past.

Her hair was scarlet red and had a similar part down the right side of her head to Suvi's but it's length went a bit further down her back. Due to the length and the way her hair was parted she had a few long bangs that covered up a three lined scar on her left cheekbone that led to her left ear. It almost looks like a Turian used their talons to carve three parallel lines on her face, she recalled thinking. The scar, she would learn, was old, but on her lightly sun kissed skin it was still tinted a light pinkish-red. A few freckles, as humans called them, marked singular specific points on her cheeks like forward stations on planets, only less useful and much better looking. There was also a black tribal band tattoo, as humans called it, on the left side of her neck. Later the Turian would find out that the Pathfinder's twin brother had a mirror image of on the right side of his neck.

That left her eyes and lip paint. Her eyes were, in a word, beautiful. Vetra frowned, no, that's not the right word. It's too…bland, like that paste they fed us when we woke up. Her eyes were more than beautiful, they were magnificent, striking. The drifter's frown remained. Still not right. She once teased me about examining her eye color. What was it she said then? Vetra shut her eyes in an attempt to remember the Pathfinder's words.

"Getting lost in the crystal clear Caribbean sea or the Atlantic ocean surrounding it?" the woman asked as innocently as she could with a teasing smirk firm on her face.

Honestly, Vetra had no idea what she meant by that when she had said it. She still wouldn't if the Pathfinder hadn't showed her the images she saved on her omni-tool of a place on Earth where the two bodies of water had met. The drifter's intelligent response at the time was a slightly flustered, "What?" which had led to the woman laughing at her expense for getting caught off guard while staring.

The description matched it perfectly, though. Her irises were a crystal clear blue like the Caribbean Sea surrounded by a deep, ocean dark blue outer ring, and in the center of it all was her pupil creating a piece of land within the body of water surrounding it. There was a black eyeliner "wing" that wasn't thick but wasn't unnoticeable either that served to intensify her eye color, or at least that was what Vetra thought it was meant for.

Other than that was her lip paint. It covered the entire length of her upper lip in a shade matching her hair color, but her bottom was not done the same way. There was only a small space in the middle of her bottom lip that was covered and then below it, between her lip and the point of her chin, was another small rectangular shape of the same color.

She definitely stands out, had been Vetra's thought. She still felt the same way now although it was for more reasons than physical appearance. Counter to Cora's straight posture was the relaxed state of the new Pathfinder. The scarlet-haired woman seemed fairly at ease despite everything thrown at her on Habitat 7 and then finding out the whole Initiative was struggling to stay afloat.

There were definitely signs of small wear and tear from recent events in her eyes, but it was also clear she wanted to jump right into the problems so she could help make Andromeda just like the brochures. The drifter chuckled lightly to herself I bet if someone would have told her everything that would happen along the way as soon as she walked on board the Tempest, she still would have jumped right into it all. Vetra smiled and shook her head. Damn woman is crazy, but she's the good kind of crazy.

Although, when I think about it, if someone would have told me everything that would happen to her, me and the crew the moment I walked on board, I still would have joined in. Guess that makes me crazy too.

"So you're the one whose making everything happen," Vetra started introductions as she made her way down the ramp of the Tempest and met the eyes of the scarlet-haired woman. "Vetra. Vetra Nyx. Initiative wrangler, provisioner, gunner, and everything in-between."

The new Pathfinder smiled a soft and genuine smile, her ocean eyes never once leaving her own. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Sara Ryder," she looked away to motion to her comrade, "and this is Cora Harper." Her eyes returned again, giving the Turian her full undivided attention. Vetra liked that. It was a sign of respect most people, especially those in power, usually didn't give either because her confidence made them shrink away or for a different reason altogether. This Ryder human wasn't staring at her as a tool to use or as someone who was far beneath her; she was staring at her as a person.

Admittedly, it was strange. Most people knew her skills and capabilities and sought her out for those particular reasons. She's different than the rest, she thought with restrained excitement. Luck seemed to be back on their side and a small bundle of hope was forming in her heart once more.

"I can't say my resume is as impressive as yours, but I guess 'new Pathfinder' will have to suffice for now," she jested with her smile in place. "Maybe I'll become a wrangling Pathfinder, oh!" Her eyes widened in surprise and her smile turned into a grin. "What about a dragon riding Pathfinder! No!" she shook her head, "Even better, a lasso wielding, Kakliosaur taming, dragon riding wrangler Pathfinder who can spit fire! Do you think that'll win me any points with the Nexus Leadership?" she asked as she looked between her companion and the Turian.

A laugh escaped her and even Cora could not maintain her professionalism as she snorted humorously and failed at hiding her smirk while shaking her head. "I wouldn't count on it, Ryder," Cora replied.

"Damn it. I was really hoping to find the soft fuzzy core underneath them both, because it totally exists…along with that Nexus sized pole stuck right between their dimpled butt cheeks. I had to dodge it every time they turned around so I didn't get knocked all the way back to the Milky Way. If I did, poor Kesh would have to listen to them complain about my arrival and departure."

"Dimpled butt cheeks?" Vetra questioned humorously.

"What? You didn't notice? It almost creates an Elcor face on the back of their pants," Ryder returned with mirth gleaming in her eyes.

Yep, best Pathfinder ever. Oh yes, they were going to get along marvelously.

"…no amount of decontamination will ever remove that image from my mind," Cora muttered.

"I'll have to tell Kesh that one. She'll love it," Vetra said, laughing lightly as she did. She then motioned to the top of the ramp with backwards nod. "Come on, I'll show you around the Tempest so we can get out of here."

Their initial meeting had been memorable, but that hadn't been the end, not by a long shot. Vetra paused in her reminiscing to scroll her way down the list on the data-pad and then reach over to the nightstand on her left side to grab her non-alcoholic drink. After taking a sip, she placed the drink back on the stand and continued reading and remembering.

The drifter mercenary had dialed in on the goal of their mission with "laser focus" as Ryder had called it. They had been floundering with their asses hanging in the wind for so long as they tried to find some stable ground that didn't fall from beneath them or have hostile aliens shooting them on sight. To actually have the ability to change that course for the sake of her sister and everyone else in the Initiative made her ready for anything…well, almost anything.

While she had managed to gauge Ryder's personality as compassionate and light-hearted, she hadn't been ready for the depth of her kindheartedness. The scarlet-haired woman always made an effort to stop in and check on everyone in the crew when they weren't on mission, and when they were down on the ground she always went the extra mile to pull her weight or help someone out they only just met. It started small like reuniting two halves of a family necklace at a resting place and tracking down all the people who died at the two failed outpost to honor their sacrifice and give peace to loved ones. Regardless of how mundane it seemed to leadership or anyone else, Ryder would gladly take care of it, not because she felt obligated by duty, but because she wanted to do everything in her power to aid those who couldn't aid themselves.

Vetra admired her for that. There were too many Tann's and Addison's who cared about appearances and bottom lines more than anything else. Ryder cared little for either and she didn't try to hide it. She cracked wise at the Nexus leadership to show how few damns she gave about their opinion all the while taking the time out of her busy schedule to place beacons of a dead father's beloved daughter's motivational recordings she recorded back in the Milky Way before dying of a terminal illness.

She really is unique.

By the time Ryder was done with Eos, not only had they activated a Remnant vault that was cleansing the radiation from the planet and recruited Peebee and Drack to help, but they had a successful outpost as a result of all of their hard work. The work didn't stop there, but it was a victory that had taken the drifters small bundle of rekindled hopes and ignited them into a small campfire to get warm by. Sure they weren't anywhere near to everything being exactly as the brochures had advertised the cluster, but it was a lot more than they had gotten done in the fourteen months prior to the Pathfinder's arrival.

Sara kept the momentum going, but she never once lost sight of herself or her crew. She still swung by to check in on everyone and never lost her genuine smile, gentle words or her quips. Even if there was nothing new to talk about or anything important on her mind, Ryder would stop in just to be friendly or get to know them better. There was something different about how Ryder treated her, however, that Vetra was beginning to pick up on as time passed. The ocean eyed woman was sincerely kind and friendly with everyone and usually never without a quip to back her up if the moment called for it. It was the same with Vetra, yet unlike her interactions with everyone else, she passed minor flirts her way now and then and offered compliments.

Her flirts weren't appalling or ridiculous like ones the Turian had heard back in the Milky Way. They were usually snuck in with a quip or were the quip itself depending on the exchange between them. Vetra typically managed to play them off cooly or fire back a jest that made the woman who was becoming a good friend laugh heartily or giggle cutely. After that they would move on, but she always wondered if there was more to her flirts or if Ryder was just a flirtatious woman. That conclusion was easily filled with Thanix Cannon sized holes by paying close attention to her interactions with everyone else. So why does she flirt with me? She had asked herself the question during lulls of work or before falling asleep at "night", but the obvious conclusion of attraction didn't seem possible. So why me?

The conundrum she was left with only continued to become a further frazzled and tangled mess of questions due in no small part to the ocean eyed woman's compliments. They were…nice. Knowing someone appreciated her work ethic and who she was felt good. Yet, at the same time, the compliments knocked her footing off like she was trying to do any dance that wasn't a tango. It wasn't caused by the words themselves or by Ryder randomly saying them and running away blushing and giggling. That would have been even stranger. She was just so…sincere in what she said. Sara wasn't polishing gizzard to later use her talents for her own means nor was she angling for anything. She meant what she said and it wasn't something the Turian was used to.

It never made her feel uncomfortable, or at least not in a bad way. Vetra just wasn't sure how to deal with it all. All of her life her main focus was Sid and taking care of her by whatever means necessary. I've only ever had a handful of emotional attachments to others, and they were either close friends or Sid. Nothing ever romantic or beyond a physical release. There wasn't time for anything else. She had definitely had her share of fun as a drifter mercenary, but it wasn't all sunshine and witty one liners. Her work life and personal life had to remain as separate entities; if they weren't then things would get messy. Besides, romantic entanglements weren't anywhere in her priorities. Sid came first, always. Not many people could handle that and those people weren't worth her time.

To have someone who appreciated not just her talents, but also understood and appreciated who she was as an individual was different. But that was Sara in a nutshell: different from the rest in all the best ways.

So when they first ran into the Archon, the leader of the Heleus hostile alien species known as the Kett, and they were forced to escape him through the Scourge, setting their ship on fire along the way before being forced to land on an unknown alien species planet, she was a bit nervous about Sara going out for first contact alone. She was the Pathfinder and a friend, and out beyond their ship were armed guards who could react in any number of ways, most of them bad.

"Please. You're not really going out there on your own," she argued with her arms crossed as she took a firm stance. For all they knew, the new aliens would gun the Pathfinder down or take her prisoner and submit her to torture. She couldn't just go out there armed with nothing but her rapid quip firing mouth and nothing else. They needed her, and she needed them to have her back.

Sara had easily disarmed her argument by reminding her that they couldn't have a repeat of their last first contact in Andromeda. And then, in classic Ryder fashion, she lightened the mood with a wiseass remark. "If this goes badly—like if I end up getting eaten alive—even if it's hilarious and makes millions of creds, please destroy all the vids. It'd just be embarrassing."

Looking back now, it was funny. Back then, though, Vetra had only felt a small wave of relief from the comment. Too many unknowns awaited them, and their ship wasn't in any shape to get them out of trouble after escaping the Archon. From the moment the Pathfinder left to the time she was back on board, the drifter had paced up a storm and threw herself into other work related issues just to keep her mind off any impending doom type thoughts. Things were tense for what felt like another six hundred years of waiting, yet in the end luck was on their side again.

The Angara, the alien race occupying the planet named Aya, were willing to give them a chance at proving themselves as better than the Kett. They had to rescue their Moshae on the planet Voeld and help the Angara people on the planet Havarl with their new recruit, a resistance fighter by the name of Jaal. Everything sort of started blurring together at that point. Constant missions, constant exploring and flying between the Nexus and the new Angaran planets for multiple reasons and at the center of it all was Sara, guiding them forward and taking all the weight on herself since no one else was able to do anything.

That wasn't meant as an insult to all the hard workers on Prodromos, the outpost they had set up on Eos, or the people on the Nexus or the Angara. It was just a simple fact. Sara was the only person who could use the Remnant tech thanks to SAM, her AI partner, and that tech was the only way to turn an inhospitable planet into one they could eventually colonize. There was no other way because of the damage the Scourge caused and everyone knew it. Ryder never let it get her down though. She was full of energy and dedicated to helping everyone, even the Angara.

They rescued the Moshae, learned about the horrid Exhalation the Kett were doing to other species, and turned the frozen tundra of Voeld into a slightly less frozen tundra with a beautiful sky and a new outpost to boot. On Havarl they found Turian Ark survivors, helped the Angara tame the wild growing forest and managed to get a joint science team formed with the Angara. It sounded simple now, but raising the viability of a planet was a lot of hard work and outrunning a purification field in Remnant vaults never became less frightening.

Missions continued to pile up as they moved across the system in the form of Kadara, Elladan and personal missions of the crew coming up. Sara was always at the ready with her shining enthusiasm and profound kindness locked and loaded. As time continued forward, their bond continued to grow into what was a very close friendship. Ryder was someone Vetra knew she could count on no matter what kind of fight or struggle was ahead of them. It went both ways though; Vetra had her back no matter where she brought them or who they were fighting.

Their friendship felt like it was delving deeper, though, like a gravity well bringing them deep into a Remnant vault. The Turian hadn't been sure, not really. Sara doesn't make herself hard to read, she's really an open book for everyone…I wasn't sure because deep down I was afraid. Afraid that I was reading the wrong signals, afraid of it all being a ruse of some kind even though I knew she wasn't one to play with emotions. I didn't want to take a chance, not when I couldn't see what I was jumping into. Those fears hadn't stopped new feelings she wasn't ready to name from beginning to form in her heart. While every flirt up to the Exaltation facility had been something playful worked into a jest, that ended after rescuing the Moshae.

Vetra set the data-pad in her hand down on the bed next to her leg and rested her head back against the headboard. She inhaled deeply as the memory of their conversation played through her mind, feeling the sensations of the moment come to life as she did. She had been in her room downstairs in the Cargo Bay researching anything she could to get an edge on the Kett. Her mind was clouded by fears of what would happen if the Kett managed to get her sister and bring her to one of their Exaltation facilities. Even now, months after the event, the thought of it made her plates itch unpleasantly.

Ryder had stopped by to check in per the usual and they had discussed in short what she was doing, her fears about Sid, Sara's of losing Scott and their lack of living parents. The scarlet-haired woman had lost both of her parents, her father in Andromeda and her mother in the Milky Way while Vetra's family now only consisted of Sid. Her mother and father had parted on unfriendly terms and he had taken her and Sid from Palaven, her mother, and whatever kind of uptight upbringing she might have had if she had stayed…then one day never came home.

"He was involved in some bad things, bad people," she explained to Ryder. "Eventually it caught up to him. There was nowhere to run. Not like a whole new galaxy."

"Is that the reason you came to Andromeda?" she asked. For all their conversations, they hadn't shared too much of their past with one another. They were all so focused on the present day and the future that the past got buried in an Elladan sized sinkhole.

"When you're young and stupid you make bad decisions. Piss off the wrong people. That sort of thing never goes away, not for you, not for the ones you care about. I don't want to not come home one day." Sid needed her and she needed to ensure her sister never had to live anything close to the life she lived. She wanted Sid to be able to live a normal, peaceful life without having to glance over her shoulder out of fear of someone seeking out revenge. Vetra had long given up on that for herself, but to make that a reality for her sister was a goal she would not fail.

Ryder didn't seem to think it would be a hard challenge. "Come on, you're strong, smart. It would take a lot to keep you from coming home."

"Strong, smart, but maybe just lucky. Luck runs out on you."

"I won't," Sara promised meaningfully.

The way the words hit her left the drifter speechless for a moment. The usual playfulness she had gotten used to when Ryder flirted was swallowed up by a black hole of heartfelt promise. No longer could Vetra deny that there was something more to her friend's flirts and feelings. It was clear the Pathfinder cared about her. But how much? It was another question she had to answer. There was still too much darkness in the unknown of what these feelings that had begun settling in her heart were as well as the depth of her friend's.

There had been no way to play cool that time though. Her facial features had shown her stunned and humbled reaction. If she were honest with herself, which she usually was, she didn't want to play it cool anyways. Heartfelt words weren't ones to dismiss lightly, especially when coming from a friend who did truly care. "I've got a good feeling about you, Ryder," was her response. Was it the best response? Probably not. She could have said more, should have said more, but she wasn't sure which words were the right ones to use. She did have a good feeling about her though, she just wasn't sure what to do with it or if she should do anything with it.

She had needed time to think about it, time to take stock of her own feelings and what Sara's could be. It was almost similar to what she was doing now in the present day, only she hadn't found the downtime to really absorb everything before the next mission came up, that mission being Sid's attempt to help others turned rescue mission of those she tried to help turned rescue mission to save her.

Falling right into the trap set by the mercenary behind it all had not been the best start for a mission, but they made it out of the cage meant to hold them thanks to her sister's help. Everything from then on was a lot of running, a lot of shooting and a lot scolding her sister for getting involved in the mess. Introducing Sid to the less glamorous part of her lifestyle, killing people, had never been a part of her plans. The drifter had hoped she never would have to witness her gunning down mercenaries or anyone else for that matter, but that decision was no longer in her hands.

Because of her sister helping them along the way, Merriweather—the mercenary Sid had pissed off when she rescued her workers while pretending to be her older sister—managed to find her shuttle and take her hostage. Vetra had never felt her heart pumping so fast in pure fear before outside of the first purification field they outran and a few other moments in her life. Merriweather had her sister in front of her as a shield and a grenade in her hand that would kill her sister if they weren't careful.

I'm not sure how that situation would have turned out if Sara wasn't there. While the scarlet-haired woman was someone who acted with her heart most of the time, she also knew when to use her head. They pretended to surrender, even going so far as to start to set their weapons down on the ground, but once they were down in their crouch Sara reacted with lightning fast reflexes. From the angle they were at, she had a perfect shot at Merriweather that would disarm her and free Sid. She quickly aimed her N7 Valkyrie and fired off a burst, nailing the mercenary right in her right shoulder.

With the grenade dropped like a hot potato, and armed from the fall, Vetra dashed forward, grabbed the explosive and tossed it right into the group of mercenaries who had shown up. Drack and Ryder opened up with covering fire as she hastily escorted her sister behind cover and ordered her to stay down. Her fears faded away in a metaphorical wind that brought forth a new emotion: anger.

Vetra was pissed.

Those mercenaries never stood a chance with their combined assault. Once the field was clear, and after a small argument with her sister, they boarded Sid's shuttle and went back to the Tempest. Sara had given her some time alone after their initial arrival out of respect. Vetra appreciated that, it had given her time to sort through her feelings and start the process of understanding that her younger sister was growing up on her.

It was always just a matter of time, Vetra thought. My life was always protecting her and making sure she was okay. I wanted to be prepared for whatever troubles life could deal her so I could blast those barriers away before she got there…but I was never prepared for her to grow up. Vetra shut her eyes and released a breath. I just never wanted Sid to get hurt. She was protective over her because they were all they had left of their family. Their bond, it was something she couldn't imagine losing. Without Sid…She shook the thought off. Her sister was alive and their bond remained strong, that was all that mattered in the end. The alternative wasn't anything she ever wanted to think about.

She was still a bit peeved at her sister's actions when Ryder finally stopped to check on her, but the woman was there to help her through it all. That conversation…she managed to make me speechless again.

"But what if she gets herself into another mess? What if she gets hurt?" Vetra posed the question with her worry evident in her voice.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you both. I care about Sid, because I care about you."

"Ryder I-...I don't know what to say." The truthfulness of her declaration and the gravity of what those words meant to the drifter took any coherent response she could have made away from her. The sincere care in her voice, body language and eyes was at a level the Turian had never experienced before from another person. People had always cared about her skills, not about her personally or her sister…yet Sara did. Sara had just admitted it to her and all she could say was that she didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to say anything," Sara soothed. She made to step forward and reach for the Turian's hand, but she paused in her motions and let her hand fall back to her side. "I'll…let you get back to work," she said reluctantly as she started stepping away.

Vetra wanted to say something, anything really to convey what Ryder's words meant to her. She wanted her to come back and reach forward to take her hand in hers and do whatever she planned to do or say. She wanted to tell her that she didn't have to leave and there wasn't really any work that was important enough to stop them from talking. All the Turian managed to do was watch her retreat away until her doors closed. Smooth, Vetra. Real smooth talker you are. She stared down at the hand that Sara had initially moved to hold and released a disappointed sigh before finding something to do to occupy her mind from the feelings her heart was currently pulsating against her chest like some sort of secret code.

Things went back to normal after that between them and on the Tempest. They interacted as they used to, but there was always a gnawing feeling in Vetra's heart that was asking, no, begging her to confront Sara and find out if this was real or not. She needed to know before she got more attached than she already was…but every chance she had came and went without her saying anything. There are other problems to deal with, she would tell herself.

There were other problems, like settling Kadara and fixing its environment, but her question would only take a few minutes to ask and get answered. She was stalling out of the fear that she was trying to look for something that didn't exist. Maybe Sara only means care as a friend. I don't want things to get awkward between us because I thought she meant something else. It would quell her desire all the while ignoring that she was using her first name fondly instead of "Pathfinder" or "Ryder".

During her internal struggle and the missions that ensued, they had managed to find the Asari Ark and its Pathfinder. Sarissa had been ousted for her actions coming to light and the next in line took on the role. With the Ark retrieved, more hope continued to spread. Andromeda was starting to seem less like a black hole stretching them thin and more like home, and that was because of Sara.

As her admiration for the woman grew, her heart was already attaching strings of care of a level beyond friendship to her. Or perhaps those strings had been there longer and she was only now realizing it. It was hard to say even now, but it had become painfully clear when they infiltrated the Archon's flagship. They had found it tethered to the Salarian Ark and used those tethers to board it in search of Meridian's location.

Sounded like a covert mission, it hadn't been. The Kett had known they were there the moment they stepped on the ship, sounding off alarms everywhere and forcing them to fight through every inch of the ship with help from the Salarian Pathfinder and a small team she formed. Everything almost went off without a hitch, if you didn't include the entire ship knowing they were there and their attempts to try to kill them. Other than that, though, everything went well. Their team had proceeded at a good pace despite having to change their path with SAM's guidance. And then that all came crashing down.

The Archon had used an immobilizing field to catch and suspend them in a darkened experiment room, or torture room depending on your perspective. He was an ugly bastard, that's for sure. Sara wasted no time telling him that.

"Is that what sad looks like? I'd be too if I was as ugly as you. Mirrors must cry and crack every time you walk by. I'd give you a hug, but…" Vetra could sense the smirk on her friend's face and would have had to stifle a chuckle if they weren't sitting ducks at the mercy of the ugly bastard Ryder insulted.

His response to Sara being a wiseass was to grab her by her throat prompting the drifter's heart to surge into her own throat and her mouth to start forming a threat. "I'm going to kill you, you bony freak." He then proceeded to stab a needle into the back of her neck and inform them that he would find out her secrets. The Salarian Pathfinder managed to get his attention with an explosion on another part of the ship, causing him to leave them suspended in the darkened room to go deal with it.

With his departure, it was time to figure out how to get free…and the only way to get free, according to SAM, was to kill Sara. "Whoa whoa whoa! I kind of don't want to die today SAM!" The field only reacted to living organics, if she were to die and be revived, they'd be home free. SAM had the ability to do just that.

"After stopping your heart, I will attempt to resuscitate, of course."

"Are there any other options?" Sara asked through a sigh.

"…None that I can determine."

The Pathfinder paused in silence and lowered her head as far as she could in the stasis field. She can't seriously be considering this.

"All right. Let's do this."

Aw man, she really is going to do this."You're crazy, Ryder," was all she could think of to say.

"You better come back," Drack told her. Thinking back on it now, she should have said something similar. It was how she felt at that exact moment, but the Old Man seemed to be far more in touch with his sensitive side than she was. Ha! I'll have to use that one against the cranky old man when I get the chance. He'll be speechless and it'll give whoever is around a good laugh.

"Stopping your heart…now."

A brief second passed and then the scarlet-haired woman fell out of the stasis and onto her back with a dull thud. As her heartbeat faded, Vetra's heartbeat quickened. Sara was dead, literally dead right in front of her. Her body was urging her to move so she could resuscitate the woman since she doubted Ryder would ever forgive her for letting Drack do it no matter how funny it would be later. But she couldn't. She was stuck in the damn stasis field, helpless to helping the person who turned Heleus around and gave them all hope.

"SAM!" Vetra cried out to the AI, her fear clear in her voice.

"Stimulating the cardiovascular core." He went silent leaving both the Turian and the Krogan in silent worry. "Zero activity."

No, no, no. Come on, Sara. Don't you dare run out on me. You promised you wouldn't. Vetra could feel every fiber of her being trying in futility to break free of the stasis field as she stared at the dead body of the Pathfinder. Don't leave. Please.

"Stimulating cardiovascular core."

Ryder's ocean eyes bulged with life as she inhaled a deep breath of air and forced herself up into a sitting position. Yes!

"That's twice now I've come back from the dead," Sara said through deep breaths, "I can't say the experience is improving."

"I believe it is preferable to the alternative," SAM reasoned.

On that we agree, SAM. The Pathfinder made it back onto her feet and turned back to look at the pair floating. A small smile made its way onto her face. "You two look comfortable."

"Down. Now," ordered Drack.

Vetra followed the scarlet-haired woman all the way to the deactivation button and kept her eyes on her even after they were released. All of her feelings from her fears of losing her to her excitement of her revival were prevalent in her mind. The drifter didn't know if Ryder cared for her as more than friend, but her heart had made something clear: she did. The tug of heartstrings she had felt at watching Sara die weren't pulling on friendship, they were pulling on something far more.

She could have said something then, but they were on the middle of a Kett ship on a mission. This time it really could wait. They pushed on, found Meridian's location, found out Drack's scouts were on the ship, lost the original Salarian Pathfinder but were able to convince Hayjer to become the next and saved the Salarian Ark. They still had Elladan and the Krogan colony to deal with along with the missing Turian Ark and earning Sloane Kelly's trust so they could build another outpost, but it was yet another win.

With everything they pulled off, the Archon had to be nursing his wounds. At every turn they were putting down his minions and foiling his plans. For the people coming out of cryo, they were waking up to a beatable Kett unlike everyone prior to them. Her small bundle of hope had once turned into a small campfire to get warm by. This latest victory had turned it into a giant sea of hope, one that met an ocean and became even larger and full of life. Just like her eyes, she had thought then and in the present day. Before that mission, little things seemed frivolous in the grand scheme of Andromeda. They needed their focus on other larger, important matters…but Sara made it possible for small things to matter just as much again. Things that reminded us of where we came from.

That thought had led her to seeking out something she had lost during the uprising after that mission. It was a small ugly lamp with a butt-naked Asari holding up a moon as a stand, but it was a reminder of when she got her start as a kid working jobs others wouldn't to support herself and Sid. It was sentimental really, but she wasn't alone in her sentimentality. Others on board the Tempest had something tied to the Milky Way that reminded them of where they had come from. Cora had an Asari prayer book, Suvi had her father's antique instruments, and Kallo had the entire Tempest. Even Ryder had something in the form of two silver necklaces, one with a heart pendent and the other with an eagle pendent. The eagle pendent necklace actually belonged to her twin brother, "But he slept in so it's mine until he decides to get up," was her joke about it. Her real reason was to keep her brother close to her heart while she waited for him to wake up. Both necklaces were given to them by their mother and she wore them both everywhere, even into battle under her armor.

Sara had found her as she was finishing a call with a friend she had keeping an eye out for the ugly lamp of hers. They spoke about the lamp and why those pieces of sentimentality were important to them, even as they were looking forward towards the future.

"Most of my life has been taking shit from assholes or…being one," she explained. The reality of her life wasn't a pretty picture. She had dealt with some real bad people, done some things she wished she hadn't had to do and had been an asshole when she needed to be, but she didn't regret it. It was the cards she was dealt and what had to be done so Sid could live a better life. Now that she was here in Andromeda and they were making real progress, she was beginning to realize that the life she had lived could eventually be put behind her for something fresh, something new that didn't involve shady deals or assholes. "I don't have to do that anymore. I can start over and do something honest."

"I'm having a hard time picturing you in overalls and a straw hat with farming equipment for tools instead of guns," Ryder made light of the statement.

"You don't think it would look good on me?" she retorted.

"Honestly? I think you'd make it look badass if you really wanted to."

A chuckle left her but she decided to return to the point she was trying to make. "The point is I could be anything I want." She turned around to look through the glass window at the drive core of the Tempest. "For a while I didn't even care that I lost the lamp. Everything was such a mess and it…just didn't matter." The scarlet-haired woman moved to stand at her side and their eyes met again. "But we've made progress, Ryder. You've helped to make little things matter. People are daring to dream again because of you."

Vetra turned her gaze back to the drive core and went silent. It was as close as she could get to saying, "I'm daring to dream again because of you" without actually saying it. She wanted to leave the ball in Ryder's court to see what she said and if it would lead to her understanding what she wanted to say but didn't have the guts to.

"Dreams, huh?" Ryder said softly. "I haven't really considered anything like settling down since coming to Andromeda. Been too busy trying to be a Pathfinder." Her voice had no sign of jesting like when she decided she'd be a Kakliosaur taming, dragon riding wrangler Pathfinder who could spit fire. Instead it was filled with the familiar honest sincerity Vetra had gotten used to from the woman when she spoke from her heart. It was always soft and soothing, like moisturized human skin, and carried the weight of her feelings. Like when she told me she cared about Sid and me.

"I…honestly don't know what my dreams are out here. I never expected to lose dad or for Scott to be like he is right now, let alone having to be a Pathfinder. Any plan I had went right out the shuttle the day I fell onto Habitat 7."

"You haven't considered retiring and living somewhere remote?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'm still needed as a Pathfinder because of my abilities to use Remnant technology. Retirement isn't in my immediate future and I wouldn't want to anyways. I still have a lot of people counting on me."

"That's not the only reason we need you," Vetra stated firmly. Ryder thinking of herself as only a tool to get things done for the Initiative wasn't a way the Turian wanted her friend to think of herself. Vetra knew what it was like to be only seen as a means to an end, as a tool to use to get something done. It was just what she did to get by so it didn't fully bother her. She used titles like "wrangler, provisioner, gunner, and everything in-between" to describe herself to others so part of it was her own fault. But Sara had reminded her of something important: there was more to an individual than a job title. She was more than what she was capable of acquiring just as her friend was more than a means to make Andromeda habitable. She's not just a tool. Sara is more than that, so much more.

Sara stared at her thoughtfully for a moment then turned her eyes back to the drive core. "Maybe not you or the others, but that's all Addison and Tann see."

"And since when have you given a damn about what they think?"

"Hmm," Sara brought her hand to her chin and stared up at the ceiling as she mocked deep thought. "There was…wait no, that wasn't it…But…nope, not then either." She turned her eyes back to the Turian with a smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah, I don't think I have ever given a damn about their opinion."

"Heh, good. That would be a drastic change I don't think any of us are ready for. I think I'd have to hand you over to Lexi for an exam if that happened." The ocean eyed woman giggled at her jest then, once again, turned her attention back to the drive core. Vetra decided to take the initiative before Ryder decided to leave her to her work again and before the courage she had been summoning up waned. "You once told me that 'anywhere would seem empty if you had no one to share it with.'"

"I did, and you called me a romantic."

"It was poetic, but it also sounds like a dream of yours."

"I guess it is. I just…didn't think it mattered."

"But it does," she asserted. Sara turned to meet her eyes with surprise written within her orbs and on her face at how earnest the drifter sounded. "Those kinds of dreams are possible for not just us, but for you as well. Don't give up on it." She couldn't help how earnest she was being. For the scarlet-haired woman to think her dreams didn't matter made her heart ache, especially if she was beginning to believe the Turian was out of reach for her. I have to get her to believe her dreams matter…that there is a chance for something more than what we have now. "So tell me, what is your dream for the future? Are you looking to share a place with a special someone?"

"I…" A smile started to tug back onto her face as understanding began to pool in her blue orbs. "Yes. My dream is to find someone special to explore the galaxy with."

"Oh?" Vetra posed the question innocently as she clasped her hands behind her back. She was cool on the outside, but inside her heart was beginning to beat faster at the next words she would try for. To avoid revealing her nervousness, she pointed her eyes back at the drive core. "And have you found that person?"

"Heh," the woman next to her breathed out a nervous laugh as Vetra watched her closely in the reflection of the glass. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the drive core as well, meeting her eyes in the reflection for a brief moment before both averted their eyes. "Pretty sure I have. You'll love her. She's tall, great with guns and getting people to do what she wants. She also has these really pretty eyes and this beautiful personality that makes me want to hold her and be held by her."

Vetra allowed a pleased laugh to leave her. That was sweet of her, and it gave me a nice image of us together. Her hopes were rising and a giddy excitement similar to her sister's personality began to build in her body. "She sounds pretty amazing. Maybe you'll introduce me?"

"Only if you're willing."

"I am."

They turned their heads to meet one another's eyes again only this time the jesting was gone from Sara's. "Vetra I—"

"Pathfinder, we have arrived at Kadara. Also, an important message has arrived at your terminal from Sloane Kelly. You should read it immediately," SAM interrupted her.

Ryder heaved a sigh and nodded to herself. "Thanks for the update, SAM. I'll head to my room now."

Although the interruption was untimely and left the Turian wondering what she was about to say, it also gave her time to prepare a surprise for Sara. They both had hinted around their feelings, but only the Pathfinder had gotten really close to actually saying what they both felt. What they needed was a place away from the Tempest and their missions, a place where it was just them and a scenic environment to savor in, even if it was just as friends.

And yes, the drifter was still worried about the possibility of reading too far into Ryder's words. Had it all been a playful flirt caused by her bringing up an old conversation or was she being serious about her dream to explore the galaxy with her? Was there someone else who fit the same bill as she did or was she really referring to her? It also didn't help that her down time allowed her to think of a thousand different statements that could finish her interrupted sentence as they earned Sloane's approval for an outpost. She had considered both confessions of stronger feelings and denials, but the latter didn't prevent her from preparing her surprise. If it ended up being a confession then great, if it didn't then they could spend time together as the good friends they were.

When the time finally came that they were practically done on Kadara and ready to move onto the next mission, the pair of women went out to the spot Vetra had scouted. The view of Kadara from the spot was killer; all they had to do was climb a cliff face to get there. For the drifter, the climb was easier than beating a Hanar in a footrace. Her first few jobs consisted of climbing up unsteady construction equipment to dangerously high areas without safety harnesses or anything of that sort. Back then it had just been a job, nowadays she found enjoyment in it the seldom times she was able to.

Sara, on the other hand, didn't have her experience in climbing. She could traverse uneven land and climb boulders just fine without jump-jets and biotic's. Mountains though? That was not her element. She offered no argument to the request; in fact she was excited to try it. Whether it was because they were spending time together or because she liked the idea of the challenge was unknown. It was probably a bit of both.

There was a peace to be found when climbing up the side of a mountain. Nothing but the sound of the wind blowing and the mountains of Kadara reaching up towards the orange sky as far as their eyes could see embraced their senses in a soothing hug. A little higher up above them was a cloud of mist surrounding the mountain giving it a majestic look while the cleansed lakes and springs far below them dotted the land with shades of blue almost as breathtaking as Sara's eyes.

Vetra was, of course, a little further up the mountain above Ryder the whole way. "I was lagging behind to take in all the great views around me," were the words of the scarlet-haired woman afterwards. Jokes aside, she did take in the scenic view the Turian intended for her as they climbed, knowing she was checking her out as well was an added bonus later.

"You were right. The view from up here is amazing."

The drifter looked out at the orange mountain littered horizon to take it all in with her left hand firmly gripping their mountain as she let her right arm hang at her side and kept her feet planted on two natural bumps protruding out of the wall. It was beautiful. A tranquil sigh left her as memories of everything leading up this moment flashed through her mind. All the struggles, the triumphs, the good, the bad, the fun, the frightening, all of it passed through her thoughts as she looked out at the golden horizon. For the first time in her life she could see a pleasant horizon in the distance waiting for her to reach out and embrace it. With a glance down at the ocean eyed woman below her, she found herself staring at the very sun shining its beautifully warm rays of bright light on that horizon. Damn, I really am falling hard for her. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing would depend on what happened when they reached the top.

"We're not even at the top yet," she pointed out. "Come on! I'll race you! And no jump-jets! We're doing this the old fashioned way."

She turned her attention back to the top of the mountain and prepared to reach up to continue on her way. What stopped her was the voice of her friend who could hopefully be more. "What do I get if I win?"

Vetra paused and turned her attention back down to Sara. "What would you like?" she asked in return with a hint of flirtation in her voice.

The Pathfinder shrugged as much as she could without ruining her grip before reaching up to pull herself further up the mountain. "The bad guy defeated, a magic sword…and the girl?"

The Turian moved to start climbing again as she decided to play it cool for now despite her heart beating a little harder at hearing the question in her "the girl" statement. It was close to asking if they could be more and it made Vetra want to answer "yes" as fast as she could, but she didn't. Not because she didn't want to or wasn't sure about it, she did and was sure of it, but this wasn't the exact time to do it. She knew how she wanted to approach that conversation and it wasn't on while they were on the side of a mountain. As long as she doesn't cheat to win it should work out. "Well it's a good thing you're losing then. I don't have a magic sword," she responded.

"But maybe you know how to get one?"

"Nope. No magic sword for you, Sara."

"Aw, but think of what I could do with one! I could defeat the bad guy and do an awesome pose with the girl!"

"Well even if I could get one, you still wouldn't get it from all the way down there!"

"Not all of us have really nice long legs! It's cheating!"

Vetra chuckled and paused in her climb to stare down at the scarlet-haired woman who was lagging behind. "I do have nice legs, don't I?" she teased. "I never understood how you humans could deal with a lack of reach."

"What I lack in reach is easily made up for with flexibility."

"Heh, I guess I lucked out. I have both."

"Rub it in why don't you."

She laughed again and shook her head. "For what it's worth, I like you just the way you are." Sara looked up at her with a warm smile on her face. "Even if you are really really tiny down there," she teased again.

"Hey! That was low!"

"Not as low as you are to the ground!" she retorted, laughing as she did.

"Not cool Vetra!"

The Turian reached the top long before her friend, who arrived huffing and puffing from the energy she exerted. That wasn't completely part of the plan. While she had wanted her to be tired enough to sit down, she didn't want her friend too tired to talk. Sara used the lasts of her energy to scoot herself backwards on her butt before lying flat out on her back, still breathing heavily as she stared up at the sky. Vetra, who wasn't even close to being out of breath, sauntered over to her downed form and teasingly asked, "Having fun?" Sara nodded tiredly but made no sound. "You look like you're having fun."

It was time to finally confront all the playful flirts and serious shows of care. Vetra gazed out at the orange sky and stellar view of the planet, soaking it all in as she summoned up her courage to go through with her plan. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves before moving to lay down right next to the tired Pathfinder. "Sara," the drifter banished all the previous teasing from her voice for a softer, serious voice. "Is this real?" she questioned.

She had been thinking of how to phrase the question all the way up to today, and even up the mountain, but Vetra didn't want to beat around the bush. It wasn't her style. So she decided to tackle this, whatever this was, head-on. She needed answers, needed to know if any of it was real before…well, it was honestly too late now for her not to get hurt by a "no", but if it wasn't meant to be then at least they'd say it before it got really messy.

"Yeah. I think the sky is real," she responded through pants.

Normally the answer would have made her laugh or chuckle because of how exhausted the Pathfinder was. But this was serious and Sara didn't understand exactly what she was asking. I need to ask this…I need to know if this is possible. Steeling herself further, Vetra finally took her jump. "No, this. How you act towards me. It's like you care…more than a friend." Bravely, or foolishly, she moved her hand closer to Ryder's and nudged it with the back of her own. Sara turned her head to look at her, but the drifter couldn't bring herself to look back. She feared what she might see or that staring into her eyes would make her start to back out of this despite usually gaining courage from staring into her clear blue orbs. "I don't mind if it's 'no'." A half-truth. While she knew she could deal with it, she didn't want it to happen that way. "I just want to be sure. It gets messy otherwise."

The back of Sara's hand left her own then flipped it onto its back so she could intertwine her five fingers with Vetra's three. "I do care about you as more than a friend, Vetra. I have for a while."

Through the swarm of good feelings that filled the drifter at hearing those words, her stupid mouth decided the best response would be, "Really? I didn't want to assume. It seemed so unlikely. Me. You."

Before she could even begin to scold herself for saying something so stupid when she had gotten the best answer, the ocean eyed woman sat up, turned to her and leaned down to place a kiss right on her lips. Ryder's left hand braced her weight next to her hip as her incredibly soft, velvety lips pressed against her own and made all the ridiculous insecurities leave her. Any of the previous tranquility couldn't even come close to matching this new feeling she had. Sara parted away slowly and locked eyes with her, sending the drifter swimming in her soothing sea of serenity. "How's that for proving it?"

"I'm convinced." Vetra reached up to cup her cheek with her three fingers, gliding them across her scar and tucking a few strands of her hair back behind her ear before gently guiding her back down so she could feel those lips she longed for again. There was no need for any other words in that moment. Clumsy words could wait until later when they weren't sharing in this marvelous moment together. Here with Sara, she was at peace.

They spent a few long hours up on that mountain, kissing, cuddling and later sparing words of both the intimate and playful teasing variety as they laid there. That day went way better than I could have planned, Vetra thought as she smiled fondly at the memory. Since then the pair were practically inseparable. Neither tried to hide their relationship from the crew or anyone else for that matter, but they also didn't try to give everyone on the ship an aneurysm or a bloody nose…most of the time. Sara can be a mischievous woman when she wants to be, and I love that about her.

Their new intimacy was…comfortable. Cozy. Tender. Even when the ocean eyed woman was being mischievous, the feelings they shared with one another filled the drifter with an amount of warmth she had never expected to find in another person. No one in her past had ever made her feel so warm and fuzzy with a smile, a stare or an affectionate hand squeeze in passing.

She loved everything about the feeling, loved everything about her. She adored how playful Sara was with her and the others with her easy going attitude and quip firing mouth. She adored how heartfelt she was with everyone when things were serious and how willing she was to jump into the thick of any mess without wanting anything in return. She loved how cuddly Sara could be whether she was nuzzling against her as they sat next to one another or times when she would sneak up behind her and wrap her in a hug just to say hello. In the words of her sister, "She's sooo adorable! And the fact that you tower over her makes it even cuter! I guess she's pathfound her way to your heart…and probably other places soon enough!"

Vetra shook her head. Telling her about our relationship is possibly the worst decision I've ever made. I still haven't heard the end of it, and Sara's no help at all since she does that kind of stuff in front of Sid. She sighed and let her smile return. But she makes all the teasing Sid does worth it.

Truthfully, the Turian had never felt what she felt with the scarlet-haired woman before. The depth of emotions they shared with one another went deeper than any trench and made her heart swell larger than the tallest of mountains. It made her want to be done with the Archon as soon as possible so they could follow this new path to whatever destination it was leading them to. I wonder if Sara felt the same way back then. It would definitely explain why she seemed to double her efforts in finishing up on Elladan. Or maybe she was starting to see the finish line so she was kicking herself into a higher gear.

It was hard to say. Either way, their log of missions began dwindling down at an accelerated rate. They even managed to find the Turian Ark, albeit destroyed and without a Pathfinder, but the next in line took up the mantle just like the others before him. Perhaps it was the help of the three other Pathfinders and the outposts they set up that made progress feel faster. No longer was it just the Tempest crew busting their asses to raise viability on planets and fight the Kett. The entire Initiative and the Angara were pooling all of their resources together to make Heleus a home for everyone. Well, everyone except the Kett. Those bastards were getting a cluster sized boot.

Soon enough Elladan had an outpost, the Krogan were friendly with the Initiative and they were making their move on Meridian. Of course it wasn't exactly easy or as cut and dry as that sounded. None of the Nexus leadership approved of the mission, not even Kandros and Kesh were up for it. "Too risky," they told the human Pathfinder. Unfortunately for them, the Pathfinders weren't going to take that as an answer. They knew that Meridian was the key, knew it was the only way to make Heleus the home they all came here for, so they did things their way.

Tann and Addison must have puckered their dimpled butt-cheeks when they found out their Pathfinders went behind their backs to search for Meridian. Vetra hadn't been able to look at either of them without stifling a laugh since Ryder gave her an image of Elcor faced butts. Worst of all, anytime the two leaders walked by when they were together, Ryder would whisper in a monotone voice something like, "Incompetently: I really have no idea what I'm doing. Why did I come here? This was a terrible decision. Did I do something really terrible in a past life to deserve this? Please, help me," or "With heartfelt cynicism: I really don't expect anything great from you, but if you bail my ass out of this clusterfuck, I'll still not be impressed. Now, help me. I'm up to my neck in shit that I can't shovel and I think I saw Tann staring at my ass the other day."

And every time the drifter imagined an Elcor face on their asses saying those things. She tried her hardest never to laugh in front of them, sometimes she succeeded, other times she just couldn't hold it together no matter how hard she tried. One time they had been in Operations when Sara had done that and she had to make a quick exit into Kesh's office just so she could laugh without getting unwanted attention. Drack and Kesh had stared at her like she was a mad woman until Ryder walked in grinning from ear to ear to explain what had happened, giving them the image as well.

Needless to say, Ryder officially made it impossible to look at Tann and Addison the same for them as well.

Regardless, all of the Nexus leadership had stonewalled her while the Pathfinders offered a way to get to Meridian. Before they could take that plunge, however, Scott Ryder woke up. Everything halted so the twins could reunite and Vetra was glad for everyone understanding the importance of Sara seeing her brother alive and well again. Scott was all she had left from her family and she had feared losing him or handicapping him because of his reaction to her telling him the truth about their father and the golden worlds.

"Vetra…I screwed up…" Sara's haunted voice entered her mind. That conversation had happened long before they became an item. She had found the Pathfinder sitting on a couch in the meeting room with her head resting in her hands, emotionally drained by what she had experienced. Vetra had sat with her and offered what words of comfort she could. She wasn't sure if it had helped at all, but Sara had thanked her for sitting with her so maybe her words or presence helped. Had it happened after they embraced their feelings she would have definitely wrapped her up in a hug in hopes of that easing the pain she felt.

For him to come out of his coma unharmed and not angry at her meant everything to Sara. "I hugged him so hard, Vetra. I think I might have popped something in his back." The Turian chuckled as she had her arm wrapped around the woman who was sitting next to her with her head resting on her shoulder and her arms hugging her upper body. "To have him back…it's like regaining a part of myself I lost, you know?"

"Yeah. I get that." And she did. If Sid had been in Scott's position for the same amount of time, she would have felt like a part of her was missing too and probably would have hugged her hard enough to break her carapace. "I'm happy everything worked out. For both of your sakes."

"Thank you, Vetra. I just wanted to hold him forever, but I didn't want to embarrass my little brother in front of everyone. He has a fragile ego."

"Must be a Ryder trait," she teased good-naturedly.

"Hey!" Sara mocked a whine.

"Sorry babe. You're the best. Your ego isn't fragile at all," she quipped.

The scarlet-haired woman huffed playfully causing the drifter to hum humorously. "You may want to prepare for the 'if you break my sister's heart' kind of talk whenever you meet him. He's really protective over his big sister. You have no idea how hard it has been to find a date with him as a younger brother."

"Good to know," she responded with a laugh in her voice.

After their reunion and meeting with the other Pathfinders, they used a new tech to trick the Archon fleet guarding Meridian so they could get in and activate it. At least that was the plan, turned out that what they thought was Meridian wasn't actually Meridian at all. It was a complicated mess, but the mission hadn't been a complete bust. With a little help from Suvi, SAM, and the Scourge they were able to come up with a way to actually track down the location of the real Meridian. Granted that hadn't happened all at once, they had to leave their initial location, probe the scourge and compile all the data before being able to do that.

While all of that was going on, though, Vetra had decided she wanted to do something for Sara to show her appreciation and to show her how much she cared. It had taken some doing, but she managed to get a steak—cow—a table, flowers, two normally expensive wines—one she could drink and one Sara could drink—and a few oils and ointments for after the dinner if things went well.

She waited until Ryder was off the ship to get the table all set up in her room and to cook the steak on her own—a decision she would later come to regret. As soon as everything was ready, she messaged the ocean eyed woman asking her to return from the Nexus for her surprise. As soon as she was back on board, she met the Turian outside of her room with confusion flooding her.

"Close your eyes. I've got a surprise for you," Vetra told her.

"What kind of surprise?"

"I'll bring you to it as soon as you close your eyes."

Sara obeyed her and shut her eyes, allowing the drifter to guide her into her room. "Vetra?" she asked as she tried not to lose her footing in her personal darkness.

"Sorry. This way. Watch your—"

Thud. "Ow!" Ryder exclaimed as she accidently slammed her shin into the chair meant for her to sit in.

"…Shins," Vetra finished lamely.

She guided the scarlet-haired woman down into her seat then moved around the chair to grab the steak she had under a plate cover. Ryder let out a worried sigh and said, "Can I please open my eyes now."

The Turian got the plate in her hands then set it on the table and began positioning it to be presentable. "Okay, just a little more." She removed the plate cover to reveal what she hoped was a masterpiece and put it off to the side. "Good. Open," she coaxed. Sara dipped her head down and pretended to fall asleep in turn making the drifter slap her in the shoulder. "Very funny."

"I thought so."

Sara opened her eyes and stared down at the steak with a look Vetra couldn't read. "Surprise!"

Her love interest stared for a brief moment longer before smiling up at her. "This is wonderful!"

Vetra wasn't sure about that, but she was happy if Sara was. "I…I tried. It wasn't easy to get all of this together," she motioned to everything then met Sara's eyes with a fond smile on her face, "but you're worth it. I made it for you myself. It's steak. Cow."

"Earth cow?" she questioned.

"It just said 'cow' on the packet," the drifter informed feeling a knot of unease form in her gut. Something wasn't right. She could sense it in Ryder's body language and in the stare she still hadn't quite figured out yet. "Does it matter?"

Again Sara smiled her soft smile at her. "Mmm. Delicious. I love cow." Her eyes returned to the plate but she made no move to eat it. Apprehension covered her body and it was becoming painfully clear to Vetra that she had screwed something up. "I…think I'm going to take time to savor this."

…Damn it. She really had screwed this up despite her best efforts and intentions. Romance was clearly not her forte, especially when it came to cooking human meals. "You don't have to be nice about it," she informed as her mood fell and she moved to sit in the seat opposite of her love interest. "I know I probably made it wrong." Vetra kept her eyes on the floor as a disappointed frown formed on her face at messing up what was meant to be something special for this amazing woman sitting across from her.

"Vetra," Ryder pleaded her name so she would meet her eyes again. She glanced over and found herself locked in the tractor beam of comfort Sara's eyes created. "This is great, but you didn't have to do all this."

She knew she didn't have to, she just wanted to. But of course she messed it up the one time she really wanted to get it right. She felt awful about it, but Sara wasn't to blame. This was on her. She had known she should have asked someone for help, but she was stubborn in her decision to do this all on her own for Sara. To show just how much she cared. "I just wanted to do something special for you. As thanks," she attempted to explain. "This journey has taken centuries, but we see the destination clearly now. Because of you…but this was for more than that."

All of her feelings were bubbling up through her heart and out of her as she tried to express what her failed steak and dinner was meant to. Clumsy words were all she could rely on now and she wasn't sure if these words were even the right ones to use. What if I screw this up too?Regardless, she tried. That's all she could do now. "Ever since we've met you've been there for me. At first it was as a good friend I knew I could count on no matter what, but you always showed a level of care, understanding and appreciation I never experienced before." Were these words the right ones or was she rambling on pointlessly? Damn it, Vetra. Get it together. Say what you feel. "You care about my sister, you care about me…For me. Not because you can get something out of me. That's all most people have ever cared about when it came to who I was…but you have always been different in the most beautiful way."

Say what you feel! "I love you!" she stated with all her heart behind it. Sara's eyes had been watching her carefully, clearly humbled by what she was saying, but at those words her eyes bulged in shock. Vetra wasn't sure what it meant but with the way everything else was working out she was sure it was probably another screw up on her part. Damn it…damn it all! Why can't I get this right? "I just don't want to ruin it. I thought—"

Sara got out of her seat silently and walked directly over to the Turian with haste filled steps. "Vetra, it's okay." She grabbed her hands and pulled her up out of the chair into a warm embrace. "Nothing is ruined. It would take a lot to ruin this."

"Really?" she questioned quietly. She wanted to believe that and Ryder was about the only person who could succeed in doing that.

"Yes. Everything you've done has been perfect. Perfectly Vetra in all the best ways. You poured your heart into this surprise the same as you have with raising Sid all to show me you cared. Your dedication to your sister, to me…there are no words that can describe how heartwarming it is to see and feel." Soft lips pressed against the bottom of her chin. "I love you too, Vetra. With all my heart. Please don't be sad."

And just like that she was able to believe.

"I think I know how to make it up to you," she said as she was regaining her confidence.

Vetra glided her hands down to Sara's hips and leaned back so she could stare into those clear blue sea eyes overflowing with life. The woman she loved smiled her beautiful smile and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Please, no more food unless we're cooking it together," she pleaded.

The drifter shook her head as she smiled and began guiding her back towards the bed. "No. I think you'll like this." She leaned down to meet her lips in a slow, tender kiss. What sense was there in just saying the words "I love you" without backing it up with actions? Maybe the dinner and embrace counted as that, but Vetra wanted to show Sara the true depth of her love. She seemed to be of the same mind by the way she was smiling into the kiss and allowing the Turian to take the lead. Romantic dinners are overrated anyways.

Vetra left her lips and lifted her up, earning a surprised yelp and giggle from the woman in her arms in turn keeping her heart warm and a smile on her face. She made her way across the bed on her knees then laid the scarlet-haired woman down on her back and found her lips again in a deeper, more passionate kiss. Passion and love was really all the drifter wanted to share with Sara right now. Once they embarked on finding the real location of Meridian they were bound to run into the Archon and his fleet again. Those thoughts only fueled her desire to make this moment incredible. She believed in them getting through this alive, but she couldn't deny that there was a small possibility of failure she feared.

At the same time, she didn't want Sara to feel obligated or forced into going any further than this if she wasn't ready. If that was the case then Vetra would be fine with simply kissing and cuddling with this remarkable woman she adored. With great reluctance, the Turian broke off their kiss earning a small playful, and somewhat breathless, pout from the woman she loved. "I was enjoying that."

"As was I, but…Are you okay with this, Sara? We don't have to do this if you don't want to or if you're uncomfortable with it…or me."

They were treading in unknown waters with one another right now. Inter-species intimacy wasn't exactly as easy as it sounded, definitely when one had soft skin and the other didn't—hence the oils and ointments she had procured. If she was nervous or wanted more time to get used to their relationship then they could take this slow. Vetra wasn't in any hurry whatsoever. Sara was worth crossing galaxies for, waiting for her to be comfortable and ready for what they were moving towards wouldn't be an issue.

Sara's hand found its way to her cheek, cupping it as she stared lovingly at her. "Vetra, I love you. You don't make me uncomfortable and you never will. I want this. I want you." Those words stoked the fire burning in her heart and eased her rising nerves about what they were doing. "Are you okay with this?"

She nodded. "I am. I just wanted to make sure you were. I didn't want you to feel obligated because I messed up dinner."

Ryder's other hand glided across her opposite cheek until both hands reached her visor. She removed the piece of tech and began sitting up, forcing the Turian to move up as well before placing a short kiss on the drifter's lips. Sara backed away and laid the tech in her lap as they stared deeply into one another's eyes. "I want to be here with you, Vetra." Sara brought her hands back to her cheeks and caressed her plated skin. "Your spirit, your charm," her soft fingers began tracing her purple markings, "Your markings," Vetra shut her eyes briefly as she took in the soothing sensation her touch and soft voice was giving her. "Your eyes." She opened her eyes again to get lost in the sea of blue staring lovingly into her eyes. Ryder's hands moved down her cheeks, her shoulders and down her arms as she continued to speak, "More beautiful than any sunset, any ocean, any planet and any galaxy." They intertwined their fingers and rested their foreheads against one another, both equally getting lost in the eyes of the other and the comfort of being close. "Let's forget about the galaxy tonight, Vetra. No Archon, no Meridian, no Initiative. Just you, me and our love."

"Okay."

That was something Vetra could give her and something she desired to share in with Sara. Tonight there would be no outside galaxy, no duties, no fears, no insecurities. Tonight it would just be her, Sara, and all the love they could give one another. Here, together, they had nothing to fear, nothing to doubt because what they felt was real. There were no judgments, no expectations, just us and our love.

Vetra loved the sound of that. She detangled their hands, took the visor from her lover's lap and reached over to the nightstand to place it out of the way. Before she could move back over to the woman she loved, Sara shifted her weight and flipped the drifter onto her back so she was straddling her waist. A lovely teasing smile was firm on Ryder's face as she stared down at the slightly disoriented Turian. Her hands moved back to Vetra's gloved ones again, holding them tenderly and lifting them up off the bed as she leaned down to envelop her lips in another kiss.

The drifter intertwined their fingers and found her bearings within the slow kiss as it sent all of her worries and fears out the nearest airlock and into the vacuum of space. Sara wanted to be here, wanted to share in a deeper intimacy with her despite their difference of species because she loved her, just as Vetra loved her. The past no longer mattered nor did the future, not when they were in this incredible present together.

Sara's hands left hers and glided up the Turian's armored torso while Vetra's moved to her hips, sliding under her sweater and shirt to her bare back. She briefly wondered how soft her skin would feel under her ungloved hands, but resigned to finding out later. They broke off their kiss only for Ryder to nudge her nose with her own and say tenderly, "You're so beautiful."

"So are you. I could stay here with you forever and I'd be the most content Turian in Andromeda."

Her lover smiled softly and brought her left hand up to her cheek, caressing it with a feather touch that made Vetra lean into her hand. "I love you, Vetra Nyx."

Vetra smiled. "And I love you, Sara Ryder."

The sound of the Pathfinder's doors sliding open awoke Vetra from the damn good memory that had been flooding her senses to see the woman she had been thinking about sauntering into the room. Her scarlet hair laid as it always did, brushing against her black and white hoodie with a sky blue trim around the bottom. For bottoms she had on a pair of black shorts Vetra had gotten her after overhearing her talk to Lexi about wishing she had brought along a tank top and shorts for yoga.

Her sea blue eyes scanned the room, finding Vetra immediately and offering her an affectionate smile. "Hey you," she greeted.

Vetra smiled back and fought the urge to get up and pull her into a kiss. She'll be over here in no time. "Hey you. How'd it go?"

"Pretty well. After we're done stocking up on supplies we'll be heading to Eos and then Kadara and then," she shrugged, "I'm not sure. Lots to do though. Tann's voice kind of started going in one ear and out the other after a while. He's still pretty mad about me picking Moshae Sjefa to be the ambassador."

The Turian chuckled. "I believe it. Are you back for the day?"

"Yep," she answered with a nod. "I just have to check my mail and then I'm officially going to cuddle the crap out of you."

"Officially?" Vetra asked, laughing slightly as she did.

Sara nodded with her smile growing. "Oh yes. I made it an official mission and everything so Tann would have to read my in-depth report about it. I think he'll love it, don't you?"

"I think you're just trying to shorten his life expectancy." She lifted her chin in the direction of her terminal on the table, "The sooner you check your mail, the sooner you can proceed with your important mission. I'll be waiting."

Ryder gave a short nod then made her way over to her terminal. I should really read Kesh's requests before I forget about it. Vetra picked up the data-pad lying next to her leg and actually started reading the words within, mentally jotting down everything within and figuring out who to talk to for it when they reached Kadara. Getting through it all didn't take her long, even with the distraction of Sara leaving her terminal and stripping off her sweater and shirt so she could switch into her tank top. Her eyes lingered on her bare back for a few long moments, tracing the form of her body several times before forcing herself to get back to work. Damn she's gorgeous. How did I ever get so lucky?

Sara wasted no time in climbing across the bed to wrap her arms around her slender body and rest her head against her armored chest once she was in her light blue tank top. "I missed you."

"Really? It was only a few hours," Vetra replied as she wrapped her arm around the scarlet-haired woman.

"I know, but I love your company."

"And cuddling with me," she added.

Sara giggled and nodded. "And cuddling with you." She looked up at the Turian who was finishing up the last of the data-pad. "What's that for?"

"Just some equipment Kesh wants me to get. Nothing too big."

"Ah…hey, isn't that the same data-pad you said you were going to go over when I left earlier?" Sara queried curiously.

"Yeah…I kind of got distracted."

"By?"

Vetra turned away as she set the data-pad on the nightstand. "Thoughts and memories of everything from before you showed up to when we made love for the first time." She moved back to her previous position to find Sara staring at her inquisitively, silently asking why all of that was on her mind. The Turian shrugged slightly. "I never really let everything that happened sink in. We put a lot of work and living into a few months."

"That we did…so, what were your thoughts on us making love?"

There was nervousness creeping into Sara's voice and it surprised Vetra. That first time, and each time since, had been incredible and both had let the other know it. The amount of passion and love they shared was on a level neither had experienced before. Sure they had made non-life threatening mistakes, they had laughed as they accidently rolled themselves right off the bed, but that was all okay. They learned, they guided, and they loved with all the love they held in their hearts.

"We made mistakes, but that was okay because we learned from them, laughed them off, and tried again." Vetra placed a kiss on the top of her head, "And in the end, the love we shared outweighed all the mistakes because of how extraordinary it was."

Sara hummed pleasantly. "I like that."

"It sounded pretty corny if you ask me."

"I think it was romantic." Sara nuzzled into her chest and shut her eyes. "You can still think if you like. I'm perfectly fine here."

While there had been the whole final stretch of finding Meridian left to think about, Vetra let the thoughts on the past go to soak in the present. "I'd rather spend time cuddling with you or…anything really."

"Is that a proposition, Vetra?" Sara probed teasingly.

"Only if you want it to be, Sara."

"Hmm," she hummed. "I think I might take you up on that soon. For now, I just want to cuddle."

Vetra placed another kiss on the top of her head and laid her head back. "Just let me know. As long as you're here, I don't care what we do." She was perfectly content here holding her lover in the peace in quiet of her room. If she decided she wanted to do more, then they could do more. If not they'd remain here in the comfort of each other until they had to get out of bed or they fell asleep.

For some time they sat there in the cozy cuddle with only their breathing as a source of sound in the silent room. Vetra's hand unconsciously glided up and down Sara's arm as she shut her eyes and let her thoughts drift from the past to the future. She wasn't sure what was ahead of her, only that she wanted Sara there with her. They hadn't really talked about it or planned for it, but that was mostly because they had only defeated the Archon and made Meridian a home a couple of months ago.

Maybe it's better that way, Vetra thought. If we focus too much on the future or the past, we'll miss moments like these. The drifter didn't want to miss out on any of these experiences…but something she had said to Ryder in the past stuck with her. "People are daring to dream again because of you." She had let herself dream a few times in years past about what her ideal future would be like. All she had ever really wanted was a quiet, peaceful life for herself and Sid, but most of the time she was stuck with her laser focus in the present that she didn't see outside of her tunnel vision.

Now, though, she could dream those dreams and possibly make them a reality. It's not just my dreams now, she glanced down at Sara who had her eyes closed, it's ours. What comes after exploring this galaxy together? What does the future hold for us? Guessing wouldn't do her any good, but she did still like the idea of finding a quiet place to share with her after they did all the adventuring they could handle. I wonder what she wants, though. It can't just be me making these decisions.

"Sara?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something serious?"

Sara opened her eyes and looked up to her, giving the drifter her full attention as she always did when they spoke seriously. "Of course."

"I'm…probably just overthinking this all, but I was wondering what you…" the Turian trailed off and her eyes diverted to a random space on the wall. She wanted to ask, but she also didn't want to make Sara uncomfortable with her question. I know she loves me…but talking about the future can be awkward, and she's spent the last few hours with Tann. Maybe now isn't the best time. "Forget it. We can talk about it another time."

"We can talk now."

Vetra shook her head. "It's nothing we need to discuss right now. You were almost asleep before I started talking."

Ryder sighed and removed herself from the Turian before straddling her lower half. Clearly she wasn't going to let this drop. "I wasn't almost asleep and it's okay for us to talk now." She moved her soft right hand to cup Vetra's cheek, caressing her thumb across it as she did. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"You'll think it's stupid," the drifter responded quietly as she shifted her eyes away.

"No, I won't. Look at me, Vetra. Please?" She couldn't ignore her. It would cut Sara deeply if she refused to look her in the eyes and speak honestly. But she also knew if their eyes met that she'd fall into those oceans and have no chance of escaping. Better to drown in her eyes than hurt her. Vetra let her eyes return to her lover's and was swallowed whole by the soothing waves. "Your question, whatever it may be, is important to you. That makes it important to me too." She leaned forward and placed a butterfly light kiss on her lips and then rested her forehead on hers. "Ask," she whispered.

"Do you…ever think about what our future might be after we've explored the galaxy and sought out all the adventures we could?"

"I do."

"What do you see?"

Sara shut her eyes and said, "Close your eyes with me." Vetra shut her eyes without a second thought. "I see us, together. We're happily retired and I'm still cuddling the crap out of you every chance I get." The Turian breathed out a chuckle despite the serious nature of her lover's voice as the images were being created for her. "Sometimes we're not even out of bed until the afternoon because we're so at peace in each other's arms. We live in a nice house, one that isn't too big and isn't too small. It has a guest bedroom for people we care about visiting like Sid, Scott, and our friends here. Our siblings visit or call often, but they also find love like we did with someone they cherish and who cherish them. They bring them over to visit once they meet them and we tease them both like responsible older siblings."

Another chuckle left Vetra, but her hand slowly moved to Sara's left and rested on top of it. She could see the house, see them cuddling in a comfortable bed as the sun of whatever planet they were on reached its perch high in the middle of the sky. "If they can't take teasing, they're not fit for Sid or Scott," she said quietly.

"Exactly," Sara agreed. "We're happy though. Always. We never go a day without telling each other we love one another or without kissing or touching. We go for walks and sometimes you throw me over your shoulder on our way back just for laughs because of how adorably small I am compared to you. There are times when we just lay out and watch the sunset from on top of a mountain we climbed. We have conversations about everything and nothing."

"Mmm." The images were so vivid, it almost felt as if they were real memories she had.

"Love is what I see in our future…what do you think?"

"Had you told me that when I arrived in Andromeda or back in the Milky Way, I would have laughed the red out of your hair."

"What about now?"

"I'm going to chase that dream to the ends of this galaxy." She squeezed her lover's hand tightly. "I can see it, Sara," she said in an emotion filled voice. "The house, us, our siblings finding their own love…that dream is something I never would have been able to have in the Milky Way or without you. To dream of something that wonderful…I would have never had dared it."

"I wouldn't have either." Vetra opened her eyes to see Sara staring back at her as her thumb continued to caress her cheek. "But together we can dare to dream of something that wonderful and turn it into reality."

"I'd love nothing more than to share that dream with you."

"As would I." Sara met her lips with her own leading to the pair sharing in a long, deep kiss filled with all of their emotions. "I love you, Vetra," Ryder said lovingly when they finally parted.

"And I love you, Sara."

In a galaxy still filled with mysterious they had yet to uncover, Vetra found solace in the one thing she knew with absolute certainty: Falling in love with Sara Ryder was worth crossing galaxies for.