The sun stretched down on Eos' horizon. The Tempest resting on Prodromos for the night cycle, they'll be heading to the Nexus in the morning.
Shuttles glided in and out of Ryder's window view, light music beating in the background. A sleepy sigh left Ryder's lips as she tucked herself in between Vetra and the corner of the couch. Things were finally becoming peaceful.
Until Mimzy, the ever hungry pyjak that he is, leaped to the coffee table, tackling a forgotten protein bar. Discarded omni-tools, half-finished ship models, and a tower of datapads went scattering as he searched.
"Shit." Vetra shot up and grabbed for Mimzy. He jumped and pranced away with the protein bar across the room.
"Evil little vermin." Vetra spat at him as she relaxed back down to the couch.
"Bad Mimulus." Ryder mumbled at the noise, still tucked away in the corner of the couch.
"You have a problem," Vetra stated, looking at the onward destruction of tech and countless datapads with useless protocols.
"He is a little Gremlin, isn't he? Aren't you Mimzy?" The pyjak ignored Ryder's cooing and continued eating.
"No, well yes he is, but that not what I meant."
"What? You still haven't forgiven him about the chocolate, have you?"
"It was half of our supply! But I'm talking about all this." Vetra gestured at the littered ground.
Ryder yawned, tucking herself deeper into the couch. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Vetra laughed and lazily picked up the nearest datapad and examined the title. "Oh really? So what was the purpose of this 'Spot & Seek 9000XX'? How did that go? You know the extra numbers and letters doesn't mean it's better."
Ryder kept mumbling, that protocol put her turret out for a week until she figured out how to reprogram it.
"Lily's tracking needed updating, she'd been getting slopping. And the XX series is so much better than the X. Well, it is when is Lily actually working."
"Right, how about the 'Multi-colored Nightclub Strobe Light Protocol' then?" Vetra asked, reading from another datapad.
"Just think of Bluebell as a both a combat and a dazzler drone!" Ryder rolled from the corner of the couch, scrabbling into Vetra's lap and continued talking. "You know, you never hear this kind of criticism from me with the crates you bring back from shopping."
"I don't go shopping." Vetra corrected. "I get and retrieve. I have a narrow focus, unlike some people," Vetra said, playfully fluttering her left mandible into the curve of Ryder's neck.
Ryder giggled in response. "Oh, like the crate full of Blast-Ohs you have hidden away in the armory?"
"I brought those to Andromeda. They're necessary and vital to the Initiative. I can't lose those like the chocolate." Vetra narrowed her eyes at Mimzy who began pawing at Spruce's hamster cage.
Her glance relaxed back on Ryder before she spoke. "I could have gotten you better protocols for at least a third of the price, half if you give me some time. You just have to ask."
Ryder's giggles soften into a smile at the offer. "You don't have to worry about that. If I really needed it, I could write the code myself."
"I'm allowed to worry about you a bit." Vetra's voice lowered as she spoke.
Ryder met Vetra's eyes, a bit more serious and shy then she was before. To ease her, Ryder gave her a little smirk and moved her hands down her carapace. Fingers drummed along Vetra's back, with light kisses pressed into her mouth plate.
"You spoil me enough, burnt steaks and all."
Vetra cackled a laugh as Ryder's finger worked their way under her fringe. "I knew you weren't going to let that go."
"Never."
Ryder straddled Vetra's hips and placed her hands along her mandibles. "Listen, the outposts are doing great, we have Meridian, we have the resources to spend a little here and there, you don't need to keep worrying."
Ryder continued on talking and pecking small kisses on Vetra's brow. "But if it makes you feel any better, next time I go shopping on Kadara or wherever, I'll make sure not throw my credits at the first thing I see."
Vetra relaxed, lightly pressing her mandibles into Ryder's palms. "Thanks, are you sure there's nothing I can get you?"
"Well, I have been wanting to get my hands on an M-90 Cain for Ivy. Just strap that on her back and think of the potential, the other Remnant will quake with fear!"
Ryder's eyes went wide with excitement at the thought, causing Vetra to laugh and returned her affection. She pushed Ryder down onto the couch, talons working their way up Ryder's shirt. Vetra nuzzled her brow into Ryder's forehead.
"I'll see what I can do."
Ryder smiled and leaned up for a kiss, until another crash came from Mimzy, with Spruce running free from his now toppled over cage.
Ryder sighed, Vetra was right, evil little vermin.