A message about intel concerning the Charlatan tempts Ryder out of the Tempest while the others are out enjoying their shore leave. Ryder is hot, sweaty and irritable when she is inevitably kidnapped. But being in danger didn't mean she stops mouthing off and teasing her captors and fellow kidnappee, Reyes Vidal.
"Vetra, you're sure about this information?" Ryder asked.
"Are you asking me if I've done a good job?" Amusement was clear in her voice.
"Dumb question, I guess."
"Yes, very much so."
Her finger swiped through the document Vetra had sent her. She grinned as she skimmed through the information. "Berto huh?" she muttered under her breath. "Let's just say this is credits well spent."
Vetra's chuckles came through her omni-tool. "I live to serve, my dear Pathfinder. All right, I've got to go my contact is here."
The waveform that undulated with Vetra's voice winked out as the connection terminated. Ryder's music still played in the background. She bobbed her head to the beat.
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-i-ife
Ryder couldn't hide the glee as she played the video that came with the document. There was no mistaking it. The well coiffed hair, the dark olive skin and that oh-so-fucking irritating smirk on his lips. Even though he was dressed in Initiative white and blue, making a point to hunch a little, and tried to effect a different walk, there was no mistaking Reyes Vidal, Sheena and whatever else he might be called.
I howled at the moon with friends
And then the sun came crashing in
Ryder tapped her finger against the obviously fake name he had used to entered the Nexus. "Rigoberto Vásquez, huh?" she chuckled. "Dear old Berto, I've got you now."
But all the possibilities
No limits, just epiphanies
She wasn't sure why she wanted to know, well beyond a professional curiosity. After all, bypassing Nexus security was no mean feat despite their diminished circumstances. The information sent a thrill of excitement down her spine. After what happened the last time, she sometimes would laugh at the memory, she wanted to thank him for the way he made her forget her troubles. The thought of the video SAM showed her made her chuckle again.
Ryder's omni-tool chimed again. She frowned. She had declared shore leave. Everyone was away barring herself and Kallo. She had let the rest stretch their legs a little while she hung back for ship watch. The peace and quiet was welcomed after days upon days of being cooped up in their little flying tin can, not that Kallo would be happy to hear her refer to the flying marvel that way. She snorted at the thought of Kallo's reaction.
Ryder wasn't expecting mail. Mail meant work, trouble or a combination of both. The crease across her brow deepened when she realised it had a series of random numbers and alphabets for an address. "SAM, please scan it for any viruses," she ordered.
"Scanning," SAM replied. "No viruses detected."
Ryder hummed as she tapped her finger against the icon. It launched and there was nothing but a few lines and an attached nav-point.
"Pathfinder, I have information on the Charlatan. If you're interested, meet me here in an hour. Come alone"
"So fucking fishy," Ryder muttered, she was inexperienced but she wasn't completely stupid. But curiosity niggled at her. She double checked the nav-point. It was somewhere on Spirit's Ledge.
She hummed. It wasn't exactly near the Port but then again she understood the need for secrecy, especially when dealing with information about the hidden power of Kadara Port. With the Nomad, she would be able to get there in an hour or so.
Whoever sent her the message had given her no chance to come up with an alternative plan if she wanted to meet the rendezvous time. Annoyed but oh so intrigued at the same time, the chance to figure out the warring sides of Kadara Port was too good to pass up.
It didn't take her long to gear up. "Fucking hair," she cursed as she shoved her self curling hair into the skin tight swim cap of her compression bodysuit. The hardest part done, she buckled on her armour. She was already sweating by the time she was done.
"Kallo," she buckled the seat belt. "Watch the ship, I'll be back soon."
"And where are you going exactly?" his voice came through the comms channel.
"To meet a contact, I've sent Cora a message. No need to ruin their shore leave."
"Acknowledged. I'll make sure nobody steals the Tempest."
She chuckled. "That will be great."
Her right hand kept a firm grip on her pistol as her eyes darted about, scanning the room for hostiles. There was none, it was simply empty.
"What the fuck," she muttered as she holstered her pistol, "I didn't get out into the Kadara heat just to be stood up."
"You are not being stood up Pathfinder," a voice rang out.
Ryder whirled, her hands groping for her pistol but failing to find it, her heart pounded hard and fast against her chest. "Fuck, you could do me the courtesy of not scaring me half to death."
Then, her eyes rested on the shotgun levelled at her chest. "What is the meaning of this?"
The woman grinned, it was all sharp and feral through her helmet. She jerked her shotgun upwards. Ryder took the hint and held her hands up. "This is an ambush."
"So information on the Charlatan is a lie?"
"Yup," the woman shrugged.
"And which faction do you belong to? Why am I held at gun point? I came here to fix this fucking planet, what the hell did I do to deserve this?" she sighed, a sound drawn out and long suffering. "And more importantly who the hell are you?"
"Boys, please relieve the Pathfinder of her weapons and comms."
A pair of mercs armed to the teeth piled into the empty warehouse. They promptly took her pistol and rifle. And they were none too gentle as they yanked her helmet from her head. If they thought that was all it took to render her harmless, they had another thing coming. Ryder prayed SAM had pinged Cora about the situation. She couldn't risk speaking to SAM right then.
"My name," the woman pulled her helmet off, pulling back a similar cap as hers, "is Zia Cordier."
Ryder stiffened, her eyes narrowed as she focused on Cordier's hair. It was red, parted at the side, short and bouncy but more importantly it held its perfect shape in a smooth little bob. She frowned. How the fuck does she maintain that under the compression suit and helmet?
Cordier smirked. "Pathfinder, you really shouldn't be hanging with the wrong crowd."
Ryder's ice blue eyes flickered to meet brown ones. "What in Kadara's acid pools are you talking about?"
"Reyes Vidal, he is a bad influence."
"Really? You think I haven't gathered that?"
"Did you know he frequently uses a false name to sneak onto the Nexus?"
Ryder folded her arms across her chest and rested her weight on one leg. A pair of rifle muzzles tracked her movements. She flinched. Yes, her armour still generated kinetic shields, but her head was feeling extremely vulnerable without her helmet. She cleared her throat, "Oh really?"
"Yes," Cordier approached, a self-satisfied smirk plastered across her face. "Did you know Vidal goes by an alias?"
Ryder hummed, neither interested nor bored. Play for time, Cora and the rest is bound to come.
"The angaras call him Sheena, I'm sure you can get good information with that codename whispered around the Port," she went on, seemingly not requiring her audience's participation. "His old Nexus call sign is Anubis, I bet you didn't know that. And, the kicker he goes by Rigoberto Vásquez when he sneaks onto the Nexus."
Ryder fought to keep herself from yawning. "And what's the point of telling me all this?"
Cordier's head jerked up as if slapped, she frowned. "It's to tell you've been associating yourself with a liar and cheat. He collects women like credits, to be used and spent frivolously."
Ryder's eyebrows rose. Now that had the bite of honesty in it and it positively stank of jealousy. She bit her lip so she didn't actually smile. Smiling would be highly dangerous at this point. Silence did the job for her. Some people just like the sound of their voice.
"Like me, like you, used and fucking abused," Cordier growled, her rifle swung wildly in agitation as she paced. The red hair woman stiffened as if she realised who she was speaking to. "And this is where this ends."
Ryder's jaw tightened. Ok, ex-lovers for sure, probably dumped too. But… where the fuck do I come into this? Does she think that I'm with Vidal? Before she could open her mouth to disabuse Cordier of that highly erroneous idea, the door hissed open again. This time another pair of mercs entered with a man between them.
"Boss, got him," one of them reported. "He was lurking around the dunes like you said."
Cordier grinned, this time her smile was all bite. "Glad you could join us, Reyes."
For once, the well coiffed hair was a mess, his left eye spotted a reddish mark that was surely going to turn into an awesome bruise, if they survived. Ryder sighed, rolling her eyes. She was beyond annoyed. There she was happily enjoying some peace and quiet on the Tempest, she was tempted out into the fucking heat and sand by information she already have. Now she was threatened over some stupid lovers' tiff, she had no part of. This was unacceptable.
Ryder levelled a glower at Vidal. "So glad you could join us, Berto."
Reyes flinched. He could't help it, it was a name he had not heard since he left home. Where did Ryder learn that? Is it from Zia? I fucking knew it is a mistake to tell her. One moment's mistake I'm never going to hear the end of this.
"Zia, what the fuck?" he spat, straightening but the mercs on either side of him rammed the butts of their rifle against the back of his knees. Twin burst of pain exploded as he fell to his knees.
Zia's eyes were dark, against her red hair, they almost have a demonic glow to them. "Vidal you're destroying the market. I'm just trying to rectify that."
She turned to her mercs and barked. "Cuff the Pathfinder and let's go. One of you take the Nomad along. I don't want to leave it here."
He glanced at Ryder and found her less than pleased stare. She provided the mercs no resistance as they roughly pulled her hands behind her back and slapped on a pair of omni-cuffs. She scowled but otherwise kept quiet. That was more unnerving for him than she realised.
The mercs shoved them into their vehicles. Zia took shotgun while one of her mercs drove. Ryder was shoved into the back with him, a merc sitting between them. She glanced at him. The glint in her eyes worried him. And he didn't like being nervous. She grinned, not unlike Zia. Oh fuck.
"Are you guys like lovers?" she asked sweetly.
"No," both Zia and himself blurted out instantly.
"So that's a yes." Her grin grew wider.
Miraculously, Zia didn't say anything.
"So how do I figure into the picture?" Ryder pressed. "I mean I understand a lovers' tiff. What I'm confused is why am I here?"
"You are here because Reyes decided to get involved with you and the Initiative is disrupting my smuggling business especially when everything goes legit."
Reyes pulled at his cuffs again, hoping that it was looser this time. It wasn't. He growled, "Zia, leave Ryder out of this. Kadara needs her, the whole cluster needs her."
Ryder glanced at him. The look was softer now but no less mischievous. "Yeah, I have a cluster fuck to clean up. You can have Berto I don't care what you do to him. Just let me go, I'll forgot this ever happen."
He stared at her, bewildered and confused. She can't be serious. The grin on her face grew wider. Can she?
"No deal, Pathfinder. Even if I spare your life, you're worth something to me. I'm sure you have no shortage of enemies who would love to take you off my hands."
Ryder stilled for a moment before laughing. It sounded forced to his ears. He watched as her right foot bounced agitatedly. She wasn't as calm as her demeanour led him to believe. Ryder who usually defied his ability to read people was broadcasting her anxiety loudly. It was making him nervous.
"Ahh, that's a shame. I figure you could ransom me to the Nexus. Squeeze some credits from Tann and we can split it 50/50."
Zia chuckled, shifted to level her eyes on them. "No deal, Pathfinder. I'm not stupid."
Ryder sighed and leaned back against the seat, her leg continued to bounce. Reyes took advantage of the lull to take note of the merc that was squeezed between them. Rifle and pistol, standard fare for Kadara mercs. Zia had the shotgun she favoured. There was another pair of mercs in Ryder's Nomad trailing behind their vehicle. This was no place to enact an escape. Their best bet was wherever Zia was taking them. As long as Ryder could keep her mouth shut.
"How does she maintain her hair?" Ryder mused.
Oh fuck. He shot her a look, but she kept her eyes locked on the back of Zia's head, particularly her hair.
"She has such good hair, let's skin her later."
"What?" Reyes frowned. He couldn't keep up with the way Ryder's mind jumped from one thought to another like a grasshopper. "Ryd-"
"Just her scalp that's all, not everything. Just some light skinning," she went on oblivious to the distress she was causing.
"Ryder, no. Why?" he blurted. Reyes winced inwardly, he should have cut her off and not ask her more questions, prompting her to continue this line of conversation.
She turned and jerked her chin in Zia's direction in lieu of pointing with her finger. "Her hair," she declared as if he was too stupid to see. "It's too fucking perfect. I need it!"
Reyes couldn't frown harder if he tried. "What the fuck do you need her hair for?" Her fixation on Zia's hair was bewildering. Ryder was perfect the way she was. Fuck, did I think that? Oh fuck. Play it cool. Nobody need to know. There will be time to sort this out when we are not actively being transported to our deaths.
"I don't know," Ryder went on, unaware of his inner turmoil, rolling her eyes at him. "To wear it as a wig, to pray to it for perfect hair, to burn and mix it with water. Then, drink it. Something!"
"Ahhh…" Ryder had done it again, rendering him speechless. It was impressive the frequency she managed to do it.
"Do I sound crazy?"
"Yes!" Reyes almost shouted while Zia growled at the same time.
"Listen, settle down and I'll make it quick and painless for you Pathfinder," Zia said, levelling a finger in her direction.
"That's no incentive at all," Ryder protested.
Zia unholstered her pistol and pointed it at her. Reyes fought the urge to shift his body to block the pistol. It would do nobody any good. He was wearing the jacket Ryder had given him. Though it had ceramic plates sewed into the insides it wouldn't do anything to stop a bullet at point blank range.
"Oh," Ryder said, "if you're going to be like that. Fine."
Seconds ticked by and the vehicle hummed along. Ryder's leg continued to bounce and now he could see the muscle along her jaw twitching. Her eyes darted from the view outside and back towards Zia's hair. He could feel his stomach dropping as she opened her mouth again.
"Maybe just a lock?"
Ryder groaned, long and loud, maybe a little exaggeratedly. Blood dribbled down her face, pooling at her chin before falling onto her armour. She glared at Vidal. "You could have stopped me," she accused.
He snorted. "Really? Could I?"
"Touché."
She stumbled along as the merc behind her jammed the butt of his rifle against her back. Whirling around she growled a noise of supreme irritation, but she trudged on before the merc should smash her forehead again with his rifle. Once was more than enough. She was still feeling a little dizzy. I better not have a fucking concussion thanks to this. She glared balefully at Vidal as a consolation prize. The man just shrugged, it was eloquent in his nonchalance. And it was most annoying.
Now that she was on her feet, literally walking to her death, her agitation grew. The stone in her gut had turned into a million butterflies that had nowhere to go. She felt like throwing up. But she was the Pathfinder, she had a certain demeanour to maintain. Keeping her face fixed in a scowl of frustration wasn't hard, she was fucking pissed. But she saw no way out. As fun as it was to needle Cordier and watch Vidal's face go from mildly curious to oh-my-fucking-god-what-is-she-doing horrified, it wasn't going to get her-, she shook her head and amended, them out of this mess. She shot Vidal another glare. He didn't catch her look this time.
A slight smile tugged at her lips when she saw he was wearing the replacement jacket she got him. Eyes roved over the way it fitted his chest and abs. There's nothing like imminent death to appreciate the finer things in life. The butterflies beat their wings harder.
Then music burst from her omni-tool.
Come on, baby, and rescue me
Come on, baby, and rescue me
It was a catchy tune. If their situation wasn't dire, Ryder would be inclined to dance along. Everyone else had stilled. Eyes and rifles all trained on her.
'Cause I need you by my side
Can't you see that I'm lonely
"Cora and her team are on their way," SAM spoke via their private channel.
Oh she was going to have words with SAM when this was over. There was a right time to play music and this wasn't one of them. Ryder forced a laugh. "It's just my ringtone," she explained. "There, it stopped."
Of course, nobody was convinced. It was paper thin of an excuse. Cordier chuckled, "You're cute Pathfinder, but I wasn't born yesterday." She turned to the men and barked, "Let's get them inside and finish this. It doesn't matter. We will be long gone before her people get here."
Ryder glanced at Vidal. "She called me cute, should I be offended? Or flattered? I can't decide."
He rolled his eyes. "I think offended is the appropriate reaction here." After a couple of steps he studied the gash across her brow. "Does it hurt?"
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "What do you think?" she retorted. "This is your fault you know that? If I die, I'm going to haunt your ghost."
"That will be fun. I can see you everyday then." Then he blushed. Ryder was sure it was a blush because his skin darkened oh so deliciously.
She stopped walking, just shy of the open door leading into the warehouse in the middle of no-fucking-where. "Fun? It's not supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be scary and it's supposed to make you regret causing my death."
"But I'll be dead with you. We'll get into no end of trouble. Haunting Tann will be fun."
Ryder hummed her agreement. The merc jammed his rifle into her back again. She inhaled sharply against the pain. Eyes narrowing at the merc but deciding that mouthing off wasn't worth it.
She rolled her shoulders and sighed. As they entered the warehouse, the door slid shut behind them. It had a note of finality. The butterflies had all coalesced into a stone again. And it weighed heavy.
Cora, hurry.
Reyes' gut was coiled tight. His eyes scanned for an opening, anything. He hadn't travelled across dark space, spent 600 years in cryo just to bite the dust here on Kadara. He was to rule Kadara. He was a king, not a pawn. To die at the hands of Zia Cordier was such an insult. It would be so galling he would probably rise from the grave if it happened.
But more importantly Ryder was an innocent. She was here only because of him. Seeing the drying blood that coated her forehead made his heart clenched in a way that scared him. It was a familiar feeling one that was happening the first time here in this new galaxy. The last time this happened was back in the Milky Way and it led to nowhere good. He gritted his teeth, there was no time for navel gazing.
Zia stood with her arms on her hips, confidence radiating from every line. It was what attracted Reyes to her, that and she was just another person to satisfy his carnal pleasures. Well, look how that turned out.
"Reyes, you will rue the day you fucked with me."
"You mean more like the day he fucked you?" Ryder chimed in.
"Shut up, please," he begged.
Zia had her hand out as she started to list all the ways he wronged her. Ryder seemed to be listening with rapt attention as she rotated both her shoulders, first the left, then the right.
Reyes made a show of being extremely bored as he frantically searched for an opening. "Hey, does your back itch?" pitching his voice low for Ryder's ears.
She stared at him sullenly, still rotating her shoulders. "Yeah, it does."
He took a chance and glanced behind him. The muzzle of four rifles were trained on their backs, of course his back itched. His eyes looked at the door longingly but with rifles between them and freedom, that wasn't the direction of salvation. And as much as Zia could talk, she'd run out of things to say eventually. If they wanted to act, it had to be soon.
"Hey, you trust me right?" Ryder whispered.
One of his eyebrow rose as he caught the familiar glint in her eyes. Oh fuck no. "What are you going to do?"
"That doesn't sound like trust at all. I'm hurt, Berto," she grinned. "Just lay down and die."
"What?" Fear ran down his spine. She wasn't really serious is she? I mean…
"Trust me." Their eyes met, her blue eyes shining with an earnestness he had never seen before.
"You die in that direction later," she said, jerking her chin towards Zia's left. "I'll go there."
Reyes nodded, a little afraid, a little curious. She smirked, "It's going to work, just follow my lead."
He had never been in battle with her before. All their previous encounters had been conducted from the relative safety of the Port or the Nexus. He knew all about her prowess in speech but this was different. This was the battlefield, it was do or die. But she was the Pathfinder, he had sent her into danger with his intel. She had been trained and at least a little skilled.
She was still rotating her shoulders as if prepping to do something extremely ill-advised. When it happened, Reyes flinched. He had never seen shoulders move the way hers was did. It looked like it hurt, a lot. It sounded like it was probably sending spikes of agony by the way her face scrunched up, the grunts she made and worse of all was the sharp grinding screeches her armour made.
Ryder gave no signal, she twisted her arms over her shoulder, then her neck. Before he could blink her hands that were cuffed behind her back were now in front. All he caught was the flicker of satisfaction before she launched herself at Zia while she was mid-rant. Ryder's weight pushed Zia onto her back.
Here we fucking go!
"It worked," she gasped, levering herself off Cordier's unconscious form. Her shoulders were slightly sore, it had been a long time since she did that. As she pressed her back against cover, working quickly to divest Cordier of her weapons. "SAM, a little help with the cuffs?"
"Working on it, Pathfinder."
"What the fuck was that?" Vidal hissed from behind cover. He was sheltering behind cover in the direction she had indicated earlier.
Awww, he trusted me. I'm touched.
She glanced to find his face half way between confusion and admiration. At least she thought that was what it meant, he seemed perpetually horrified the entire day. "What?" she fired back, enjoying the flicker of annoyance across his face despite the pings of rifle fire against their cover.
"That! That arm thing you did. Did you dislocate your shoulders?"
She pulled the rifle from Cordier's back and tossed it at Vidal. "Oh that, I was considering a career in the Citadel Circus troupe before joining the Alliance with my brother."
Their omni-cuffs died with a whine and they fell harmlessly onto the ground. The cuffs deactivated just in time to prevent Vidal getting a faceful of rifle. His mouth couldn't hang any lower.
Ryder checked Cordier's pistol, it was dirty and probably have never beencleaned or maintained. Her lips curled. There was being lazy, and there was being stupid. This was the latter. You should always take care of your equipment, always. Especially when your life depends on it.
"Berto, you ready?"
That caught his attention, his mouth snapped shut and his gaze sharpened. "Shouldn't I have the pistol? You can do greater damage with the rifle."
"Yes but you can't go in close like I can. I am wearing the pants, in this case the armour, here after all."
His smile perked up in a smirk. Did he trademarked it? If he hadn't, he really should. "I didn't know you cared, Ryder."
She rolled her eyes at him reflexively. "Try and keep up."
Without another word, she stood and fired. Confidence rose when Vidal's rifle was barking happily beside her, the stone and butterflies were all gone.
He panted as he stood. Four mercs lay dead at their feet. Ryder's face pulled in a rough grimace as she stared at their faces, frozen in the moment of their deaths. His chest did that thing again, it prompted him to approach her.
"Are you hurt?"
She looked up and shook her head. "Such a fucking waste," she muttered under her breath before shoving the grimace aside. "Hey SAM, let Cora know the mop up is complete. Maybe inform the Mayor of this location? I'm sure there are some useful materials they can salvage from this place."
"Acknowledged, Pathfinder. Project Rescue Me cancelled."
She snorted, pushing a hand through her damp hair, wincing as she brushed her gauntlet against the gash across her forehead. Jabbing a finger towards the rousing Zia, she asked, "So what are we going to do about her?"
It was his turn to twist his face. Reyes had wished Zia was killed in the firefight, it would have made things so much simpler. His logical side dictated he killed her. Zia would be a problem if she lived. She had proven how much she was gunning for him, it didn't matter if she felt hurt when he ended things or were threatened by his activities. But… he glanced up to meet Ryder's eyes. They held a glint of cheekiness and some lingering annoyance from before but more importantly, they were clear, honest and open. That look warmed his heart, reminding him why he was doing what he was doing. It wasn't completely for the power. Well, Reyes was honest enough that he knew it appealed to his ego. But more importantly it was so he could lift the oppression at the Port. He could make sure people thrived and not slave under Sloane's boot.
"Oh, she's waking up," Ryder interjected before he could answer. She levelled her pistol on Zia.
Zia blinked owlishly to clear her vision. Blood was flowing freely from her broken nose. She groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position before flinching as her gaze caught Ryder's pistol. "Ahhh," her eyes flickered between Ryder and himself. "I surrender."
"Of course you do," Ryder sighed. "So what the hell do we do? Arrest you?"
"Maybe?" Zia replied nasally, it was whistling disconcertingly as she breathed through it and her mouth at the same time.
"And bring you back to the Nexus so that you can be re-exiled to Kadara?" Ryder went on. "I think not. It'll be a waste of time for all involved, especially me."
"You can't just kill me!" Zia shouted, alarmed. "You're the Pathfinder!"
"Oh so I'm the all mighty Pathfinder now. Not some stupid girl associating herself with some horrible people?" Ryder glanced at him. "What do you think?"
"It will be easier to kill her," he spat. The words tasted bitter on his tongue, but he wasn't going to mince words. He was the Charlatan, he was logical, he was in control. He had to rid himself of all opposition.
Ryder threw him a glance but before he could read anything into it, Zia growled as she scrambled unsteadily to her feet. "You can't let him do that!"
"Why not? You did try to kill him," Ryder pointed out, her head cocked to one side. "And me."
Zia's nostrils flared, but she made no sudden moves. Reyes was disappointed. If only she had left him alone, if only she had conveniently died, if only she was stupid enough to force Ryder's hand now. No. Zia Cordier was nothing if not inconvenient and an utter pain in his ass. Well, theirs now, since Ryder was here with him.
"Anyway I'm not in a habit of executing people," Ryder declared. She pointed her finger at him. "You." Then at Zia. "And you are having some kind of post-breakup shit. I am not involved in this. It's a simple fix. Just talk, ok. We have enough waste here today. Just talk it out." She stretched an open palm out at him, four fingers beckoning in his direction.
"What?"
"Rifle."
He handed it over cautiously, keeping an eye on Zia. What the hell was Ryder planning? His gut churned. She didn't have that telltale glint in her eyes. She was serious and being all Pathfinder-y on him. He had only seen her this way when she first approached him for intel. After a couple of teasing remarks, she gave it as good as she had got. Was this her Pathfinder face?
"Ok, now I'm going to leave you two to talk."
"Ryder-" he called out.
"Don't kill each other. I'll be pissed if one of you do that. You're all adults. Just sort this out."
"Hey!" Zia protested.
The door slid shut behind her and the holo-lock flickered to red. Reyes looked at Zia and she him.
"What the fuck?" Zia said. "Now what?"
That was what he wanted to know too.
Ryder paced, her fingers gently touching the gash on her forehead. It was tender and it stung. She could hear Lexi's voice admonishing her for touching it. "You're just pushing dirt and bacteria into the wound."
She was tired. The day was more adventure than she wanted. Her armour splattered with blood, human red, turian blue and salarian green. Her grimace was back. It galled her to kill the mercs. But there was no reasoning with them, not after she tackled Cordier to the ground. Their loyalty to Cordier was surprisingly strong. Why can't they be like normal people and think of their own hide?
"Fucking waste," she muttered. "Just like Dad, yeah I'd be dead without his helmet but he is dead now. How does that help? Why must he be a fucking hero? Isn't there something else he could have done that ended with both of us alive? I don't want this fucking job, I didn't come to Andromeda to be the fucking saviour of the cluster. I came here to explore, to see new things, for a new start."
Her jaw tightened as the lump in her throat grew. She forced herself to breathe, it came out ragged and raw. But she managed to keep the tears at bay. She didn't think she was capable of stopping if she had started crying.
"Correction, Pathfinder. You have been exploring and seeing new things, except you got the Kett trying to kill you at the same time. Technically you have accomplished all those goals," SAM chimed up.
His words shocked her into silence. Then the tears started in earnest but it was accompanied by laughter. "SAM, this isn't exactly what I meant…"
SAM was silent as she pressed a hand against her gut, laughing. Her omni-tool pinged, jerking her from her thoughts. She stared at it, stomach sore from her bout of laughter. It was Vidal. "Yeah? You guys done?" she asked.
"Yeah," Vidal said.
"Both of you are still alive?"
"Yeah," he replied, this time a little more irritably. "Just open the door, Ryder."
"Put Cordider on."
"You don't trust me?" Vidal protested. "I'm hurt."
Cordier shouted over him. "Yes, here, alive. Open up, damnit!"
"Fine, fine." She triggered the holo-lock from her omni-tool, keeping her pistol ready.
Vidal and Cordier stepped out, one stumbling unsteadily, the other a little annoyed and amused. I might have given her a concussion. Cordier scowled at her. But she gave me one too, that's only fair.
"Berto," she called out.
Vidal managed not to flinch this time but he glared at her. His heart wasn't in it cause there was no heat in his gaze. She grinned. "Let's go."
He wasted no time getting into the Nomad's driver seat. She frowned but refrained from chiding him. Instead she kept her attention on Cordier.
"What about me?" she demanded.
"You kindly brought me here. You can kindly bring yourself back to the Port. I'm not killing you, I'm not arresting you either. That doesn't mean I'll giving you a lift," Ryder replied easily, her grin carried a sharp edge. "Figure it out."
Cordier grumbled as she trudged towards the second vehicle while Ryder headed towards the Nomad. "Oh, you might be stuck here for a while cause I took your steering wheel."
"What?" Cordier's reaction was instant. "You can't do this to me!"
"I can and I will. I am petty as fuck. You tried to kill me, this is minor compared to what you have planned." With that Ryder hoped into the Nomad and slammed the door shut. She was tired and had no further wish to exchange barbs with Cordier.
"Let's go, Berto," she said. "Hey it rhymes."
"Am I your chauffeur now?" he asked, rolling his eyes, even as he stepped on the accelerator.
"No, this is the only time you get to drive my Nomad. Take me home, Berto."
"Can you stop calling me that?"
"Ask me nicely, I'll consider it," she chuckled. Exhaustion was tugging her eyelids shut as the hum of the mini mass effect drive lulled her into a state of lassitude.
"Please?" he pitched his voice high and made it particularly whiny.
The chuckle turned into a stomach hugging laugh again. Vidal joined in. His laugh deep, smooth and it buzzed in her head.
One moment Ryder was laughing, the next she was asleep, lightly snoring away. He smiled and shook his head. His eyes lingered on the gash. His chest did that thing again and he pressed a hand against it, trying to pretend it didn't happen. Her brown hair sticking out every which way but her fringe had fallen across her face.
He reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear but the panel on the dashboard flickered to life and a voice spoke. "Mr. Rigoberto Vásquez please keep your eyes on the road. It would be unwise to wreck the Nomad now that you have survived the ordeal."
"Yes, ahhh… SAM." Reyes felt oddly admonished.
With SAM's guidance he had no problems navigating his way back to the Port. As the gates loomed into sight he felt a little disappointed. Returning back to the Port meant he had to pull his mask back on, he had work to do, an overlord to over throw and a Pathfinder to manipulate. Though if he was honest, Ryder had him around her pinky. She wasn't even trying.
Oh fuck, I'm in trouble, aren't I.
The Nomad rolled to a stop. Ryder was still asleep. This time there was nothing stopping him from brushing her hair away from her face. Her lips slightly parted, a hint of white teeth behind and probably a tongue that tasted sweet behind that. His thought screeched to a halt at that point.
Shit, shit, shit. No, this can't be happening.
His jaw tightened as he clenched and unclenched his fist. "I should wake her up," he muttered under his breath.
But before Reyes could do anything, music blared from the Nomad's panel.
Oh, kiss the girl, kiss the girl
He froze. His brain tried to reconcile his thoughts and the song that was playing. He couldn't decide if this was a coincidence or deliberate on SAM's part.
La la la la, la la la la
Go on and kiss the girl
Ryder groaned, her eyes squeezed resolutely shut. "Fuck, SAM. It's too early for this." The song went on playing.
La la la la, la la la la
Go on and kiss the girl
"SAM, please stop," he begged, burying his face in his hands. When he looked up, Ryder was staring at him. Her eyes blinking sleep away but it was already shining with that glint.
Oh fuck no.
He hopped out of the Nomad before she could say a word. "We're here."
Ryder stumbled a little as she got out. "SAM, let Cora know the location of the Nomad and lock the doors. I don't want this stolen."
"Acknowledged, Pathfinder."
She was studying him with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine. "Why was SAM playing that song?"
"How would I know? I didn't know he could play songs." The answer was true only in the way it skirted around the real reason. He was considering kissing her, but she was asleep. There was no consent. He wouldn't do that, he was not a monster.
Ryder grunted, unsatisfied with the answer, but she didn't press him. He swallowed his sigh of relief. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Ryder are you all right?" Lexi rushed up to them as they boarded the Tempest. "You should have let us meet you."
"I'm fine, Lexi. It's just a bump on the head. Look, it has already stopped bleeding," she pointed out.
"You could have a concussion."
"Oh." Well, apparently it was a real possibility.
Lexi narrowed her eyes at her. "Yeah, oh. Med-bay now!"
"Yes, mom," Ryder whined, she whirled around to face the rest. "Don't worry, I'm ok. Everything is fine. Shore leave isn't cancelled. Go back and enjoy what's left of it."
"Only you can be that blasé about being kidnapped," Cora chuckled, levelling a finger at him. "What's Vidal doing here?"
"Oh him? That's not Vidal. That's…"
Vidal glared at her, his eyes wild and wide. His plea hovering on his lips, but she knew there was no way he was going to give voice to it. She grinned. "This is payback," she whispered.
"Let me introduce Mr. Rigoberto Vásquez."
Everyone just blinked at her. It took a long second before Peebee started laughing and it set everyone else off. Vidal groaned, his face buried in his hands again. Ryder could see the tips of his ears and neck darkening. Though she chuckled along with the other, she regretted doing so. The noise was intensifying her headache. "Come on, Berto. Lexi can take a look at that bruise of yours too."
Lexi pressed a hand against her mouth as she tried to school her face back to normal. She failed miserably. "Right, yes. You could have an orbital fracture for all I know."
Vidal didn't move, he just groaned louder. Ryder chuckled and took pity on him. She took his hand and tugged. "Come on."
His hand was rough but warm, calluses worn in parts similar to hers. Hands of a fighter, soldier and pilot. His fingers tightened over hers as he trailed behind her. "Your hands are cold," he remarked.
"I hadn't realised," she said dismissively.
"Are you feeling ok?"
She just hummed in reply.
Inside the med-bay, Lexi pointed at the beds. Ryder hopped on one and gestured for him to sit on the other. Instead, he joined her on hers. "There is another one there you know," she pointed out.
"I prefer this one."
"Are you asking me to move?"
"No, I just meant I prefer whichever one you're sitting on," he grinned.
"I see your confidence is back, Berto."
He made a noise of frustration. "Please, just stop calling me that."
Ryder sighed, rubbing at her temple. The pain was intensifying. "Fine, what do you want me to call you then? Vidal?"
"After this?" he said, an eyebrow rising, "Vidal would be an insult. Just call me Reyes."
She snorted. "All right, Reyes."
He seemed to freeze for a second when the name left her lips as if taken by surprise. She checked his face, not blushing. Maybe he was becoming immune to her teasing.
Lexi came bustling back with her supplies. She frowned when she realised they were seated on the same bed.
"Mr. Vásquez, there is another bed right there."
"Please call me Reyes. Or Vidal if you have to."
Lexi cleared her throat. "Bed, go, now."
Ryder scoffed as Reyes meekly obeyed. "I'll start with him first. You just hang tight," Lexi said.
Reyes lay down as the bed's scanner swept over him twice. Lexi pressed her lips together as she studied the results. Ryder slipped off the bed and looked over the doctor's shoulder. "Clean bill of health, maybe a minor deficiency of vitamin D," she declared before whirling around to Ryder. "You, back to your bed."
Ryder grinned. "How do you get a vitamin D deficiency on Kadara of all places?"
Reyes sat up and glowered. "Have you been outside? Have you not felt the heat? Who would willingly subject themselves to that?"
"Touché."
"All right, you are free to go," Lexi said as she pressed a bottle into his hand. "Take these once a day and do get out into the sun more often."
"All right Ryder. Please get on the bed and lie back."
"Fine, mom." Ryder whined as she lay down.
"Do you mind if I stuck around? At least till we know if she is ok?" Reyes asked, the question directed at Lexi.
"Shouldn't you ask me? Seeing that I am the Pathfinder here?" Ryder pointed out.
He ignored her. She rolled her eyes and winced. She was really tired. The nap on the way back didn't nothing at all. The scanner hummed and ran.
"Sure." Lexi replied. It was Reyes' turn to look over her shoulder. The doctor shot him a look before turning back to the results. She hummed.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"Ryder, did you lose consciousness when you hit your head?"
She sat up and frowned. "I didn't hit my head. I was hit in the head. There is a difference."
Lexi stared at her. Ryder held up her hands. "Fine, fine. No I didn't lose consciousness. I felt every single second of it."
Reyes winced. She glanced at him. "Your fault."
"I'll make it up to you."
"Are you experiencing any pain?" Lexi interjected, shooting him a look. Reyes clamped his mouth shut.
"Yes. Of course it hurts. I bled."
"I meant now. Does it hurt more now?" Lexi pressed.
"Ugh, yeah. After the rest laughed," she confessed a little sheepishly.
Reyes chuckled. She glowered at him. Lexi sighed. "I'm going to give you something for the pain after I wash out your wound, but you are experiencing mild concussion. I want you to rest. No more getting kidnapped."
"Hear that Berto? No more getting kidnapped," she said. "Ahh shit sorry. Reyes I mean."
"And that is one of the signs of your concussion," Lexi said as she retreated to the cabinets for her supply.
Reyes looked at her, his eyes worried and concerned. "Sorry. I didn't mean for you to get embroiled in this."
Ryder laughed and winced, holding her head in her hands. "Come on, I was joking. I'm sure you can tell."
He sighed as he leaned against the bed next to her. Ryder shifted. It looked wrong on his face, that glum expression. This wasn't the smooth operator she knew. "Hey," she said, poking him in his ribs.
He flinched. "Are you ticklish?""
"No." The answer came quick and curt.
Ryder snorted, filing the information away for a later time. "Anyway, you're going to make it up to me. How?"
"Well there is this party happening soon."
An eyebrow raised, she cocked her head at him. "Here on Kadara?"
"Sloane's throwing it. You can be my plus one."
Ryder hummed. "How's that making up to me? That's like Sloane making up to me. And she hadn't gotten me kidnapped and saddled with a concussion."
"A mild one," he reminded.
"Yeah, yeah. Excuses, Reyes."
He scratched the back of his neck and looked at her. His brown eyes soft and warm like his hands on hers. His hands on mine? Ryder looked down and found them there. When did that happened? She shrugged internally. It was nice and she'd rather her hands be warm not cold.
"There will be intel to be had," he pointed out.
"True. When is this party?"
"In two weeks."
"Lexi can I go to the party?"
"Why are you asking me" Lexi asked as she returned with medi-gel, antiseptic, gauze and bandages.
"Cause you're the Tempest Mom."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you can go Ryder. Your concussion will have cleared up by then provided you listen to me and rest well for the next couple of days. We will evaluate again after."
"Yes mom."
"Dr. T'Perro is technically not your mother, or the mother of the Tempest. Your mother is-"
"Everyone's a critic. I get it, SAM," she interjected. She really did need to let SAM know when and what kind of information was permissible to be freely shared. She had a hard enough time to get the Nexus Leadership to respect her and her role without Reyes to look at her with pity, like the orphan she was.
"All right, Reyes. I'll be there."
"Good," he grinned.
She smiled back. Good that he isn't being sour anymore.
"I'll meet you outside Sloane's headquarters. I'll comm you the details."
"All right, Mr. Vás-"
"Vidal," he interrupted.
"Vidal," Lexi continued. "I need the space and now that you know that Ryder is in good hands, maybe you can get out of my hair."
"You have no hair," Ryder pointed out.
Reyes laughed. "All right. I'm taking my leave. See you around, Ryder."
"Kate."
"What?"
"If I'm calling you Reyes, you can call me Kate."
For a moment, her words hung in the air like an offering, like an opening to something more, to what Ryder couldn't say. But she enjoyed Vidal's company, his quick wit to match hers and even his fucking infuriating smirk. Before he could recover to say something, music blared, this time from the comms system and Ryder could tell it was playing from all the speakers.
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My li-i-i-i-i-i-ife
She winced. "Shut up, SAM."
Lyrics taken from Best Day of My Life by American Authors
Lyrics taken from Rescue Me by Fontella Bass
Lyrics taken from The Little Mermaid - Kiss the Girl