Prolog – Sara
Message from Captain Dunn: Attention Hyperion personnel: …, Sara read, After a 600-year voyage, the good news is we're exactly where we're supposed to be: We have arrived in the Heleus Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy, year 2819. All stasis medical personnel should report for duty immediately. Give the Pathfinder Mission team revival priority, and prep its members for field reconnaissance, she took a sip of her coffee, Reports of an unusual celestial phenomenon in the cluster are being investigated. Updates to follow – Captain Dunn.
Sara put the pad down. She took another sip, before looking to the big screen in the Cryo Bay, where a woman was displaced in the middle. Like the real crew she was wearing the typical Initiative-uniform, which looked like a mix of military and civil clothes, with the dominant colors white, blue and black – like the Logo of the Initiative. She had short black hair, a firm look and had put her arms on her hips, while two further members of the Initiative, wearing armor suits, flanked her. From the screen her voice could being heard: "Hi, there. I'm Jien Garson, founder of the Andromeda Initiative.", she said not for the first time since Sara has woken up, "I'm here to welcome you to a whole new galaxy. The good news is, the hard part's over. We're here! If you have any questions now, just ask.", before disappearing and leaving a small menu behind. It gave Sara few choices: information about the other Arks beside the Hyperion – in total four others – their destination, information about Pathfinders, the current mission status and information about the Andromeda Initiative.
She chose not one of them.
The hard part is over, eh?, she thought and shook her head, Doesn't look like this…before taking another sip.
"Sis.", she heard from behind and turned around to see her brother Scott entering the Cyro Bay. He wore a similar uniform to her, with white and blue as dominant colors, while the woman coming along with him, wore more black than white – Lieutenant Harper, I think?, she tried to remember the team's list of personnel, which she read before starting this whole journey.
"Scott, what's going on?", she asked right ahead, before he could even start talking.
He started to scratch his cheek, while Harper stepped forward. "We don't have much time for longer explanations.", she answered and turned around halfway already, "Follow me, we have a mission. We'll explain on the way to the locker room."
And with that Cora started moving out of the Bay, while Scott followed. Sara reached him quickly, asking casually: "So? What's this celestial phenomenon I read about?"
He smirked. "Even after sleeping longer than me, you stay the the know-all, what?", he asked, "In short: just before reaching our destination, we crashed into it. We have no idea what it is, but it brought the Hyperion almost to its knees."
"Are you kidding me?", she asked astonished, "What could threaten a ship as big as the Hyperion?"
"Something bigger.", he answered simply, "Much bigger. Although it doesn't look much like a ship. The best guess of the bridge crew is that it looks like a big cloud moving through space."
"But dust clouds can't damage a ship.", she answered, looking curious.
"This one obviously can.", Cora replied leading the two, without looking back, "But finding out what this is, isn't priority right now."
"Then what is?", Sara asked confused.
"We reached Habitat 7.", Scott explained, "But it doesn't look like the new Earth all of us expected."
"The Pathfinder team should find out if it is a safe harbor or not.", Cora added, while they entered the tram, "All the people's lives onboard this ship are at stake."
"No pressure, hm?", Sara asked, while the tram doors closed. She took a moment to think, before looking towards her brother, adding with a smirk: "But you'll be second this time, Scott."
"Try me.", he answered grinning.
Sara picked up her ammo from the locker. She was wearing her armor suit already: like the uniforms of the Initiative a combination of blue, black and white, but still high-grade and really tight around the body – after all nobody wants to suffocate in the dangerous environment of space or unhabitable planets, right?
"Okay, I'll go ahead.", Scott said looking quite excited. He didn't even wait for an answer, while Sara looked at him leaving.
"Are all the Ryders adrenaline junkies?", Cora asked, still putting on her suit.
"I guess it's in our blood.", Sara replied thinking about this question, before starting to smirk and adding, "I was born a minute ahead of him. I never let him forget it."
"Ah that it was all about.", Cora replied grinning, "Always competing, hm?"
"But whoever wins, the other one always gets a good story afterwards.", Sara explained, remembering these times in the Milky Way, "Hope I get a good story down there…"
"I hope everyone of us does.", Cora answered a little bit more serious, "Bet the 'Good luck'-rock will help with that."
"The what?", Sara asked confused.
"It's an old superstition of your dad's.", Cora explained, "Still it never hurts thinking that luck is on our side."
"Right.", Sara agreed, before adding, "Then better touch it."
It was found right in the corner of the room: a simple, grey rock, as big as a dog, edged and found inside a box. While Sara approached it, Cora explained: "Your dad was mountain climbing back on Earth. It caught him from falling.", before adding a little bit more serious, "Way things are going today, we'll need any luck we can get."
"Yeah.", Sara agreed, before touching it. It feels…she thought….like a rock.
"Let's go.", Cora said, not only talking to Sara, but also to the other remaining members of the Pathfinder-Team within the locker room: David Fisher, Lucas Greer and Dusty Kirkland. Together they went through the door, moving inside another quite empty corridor. When passing the door at the end of it, they entered a huge room, which ceiling was quite much above them – nothing unusual for a Hangar. This part of the Bay was empty in the first place with except the two Interceptors at the side and twos Shuttles waiting for takeoff – right into the emptiness of space, which could be seen to the right of the approaching crew members, beyond a barrier.
The other guys went ahead of the two women, so Cora found time for a little bit private talk: "So, just another boring day at the office, huh?", she said chuckling a little bit.
Sara looked at her, before answering in the same way: "Well, you know, I run into giant space cloud nebulas all the time. It'll be fine.", whereby the last sentence was spoken with exaggerated confidence.
"Keeps us on our toes.", Cora replied, sound a little bit absent, as if she was thinking about something, "I always wondered what it was like when explorers crossed the ocean. Nothing but stars and dead reckoning to guide them."
"And a map that said 'Here be dragons'", Sara added without much thinking.
"Well, if they made it, we can too.", Cora replied more confident than before, "And maybe see a dragon along the way."
"I'd prefer to eat lunch, not be lunch.", Sara replied with real concern in her voice, although she smirked as well.
"You're not a real explorer till you've got some scars.", Cora replied more serious than Sara would have expected, "Or bite marks.", she added.
"On that note…", Sara replied trying to loosen up the situation, "…I'd better get my gear in order."
Cora answered only with a smirk to that. But before the conversation could go on, she saw a dark-skinned, human man crouching down, while his hands held a box open. "Doctor Carlyle.", she said, stopping by him and at the same time letting Sara remember the doctor from the cryo bay, "With everything going on, I'd think the Ark needs you more than we do?", although the last part didn't sound as convinced as the first part.
"Pathfinder wants a medic on hand.", the doctor replied, closing the box and getting up slowly, before adding, sounding more emotional, "And if that is home down there, I'm happy to knock on the door."
"Yeah.", Sara replied instead of the other woman, while all of them moved closer to the shuttle, "We're just not sure what's on the other side of the door."
"No problem.", Carlyle answered immediately with a certain confidence and amusement, "If it has teeth, I brought the pliers. Yank'em out myself.", before getting down to lift the box from earlier and carrying it to the shuttle.
"Good luck with that.", Sara replied more to herself than to everyone else, while catching a look at Scott who stood beside a man with Rastas. Before she could go to these two, the Pathfinder appeared from inside the shuttle, announcing: "All right, team, button it up. We leave in five."
He stepped towards the two women, addressing Sara: "Heard what happened in the Cryo Bay. Everything alright?"
"Couldn't feel any better.", Sara announced, although she wouldn't say no to a little bit more acclimatization time.
"Sure?", Alec Ryder asked sounding skeptical, as if he would know what she was thinking, "We don't know what is down there – everyone needs to be as ready as possible."
"You don't need to worry about me.", Sara replied, a little bit sharper than wished. Both Ryders started to stare at each other, like being in a contest.
Cora stepped forward. "Sir.", she replied, stopping the contest, "We broke out the weapons as requested. Anything we should know about?"
Alec looked at her first, then back to Sara and finally all around himself, but only for a moment, before he answered: "Seemed prudent, given the situation.", he stepped back, towards the shuttle, before starting to look at the whole assembled team, "Okay team, listen up.", and when he got everyone's attention, he continued, "I chose each of you for the Pathfinder team, not just because you're talented and passionate. But because you're dreamers, like me.", whereby the last part was spoken with a certain emotion in his voice, "We dream of exploring the unknown, of finding the edge of the map – and then discovering what lies beyond.", he started to smile satisfied, "When people look back on this – and they will – they'll remember we didn't – give – up. We kept on dreaming.", his voice became more confident, "That our first, few faltering steps in Andromeda were the beginning of everything they know. We only get one chance to be first.", he started to sound a little bit more cautious in the end, before adding again more confident than before, "So let's make history."
That's an inspirational speech…Sara thought, while her father turned around and went back inside the shuttle. "Been waiting 600 years for this.", the man beside Scott murmured loud enough to hear, before going inside the shuttle as well, while punching Scott's shoulder lightly. The others didn't need to think about this for a long time, before going along. Cora entered the first shuttle as well, while some others went to the second shuttle. Sara followed her, before stopping few steps away from it to look at her brother entering the second shuttle. The Twins started grinning at each other at the same time, before stepping inside their corresponding shuttles – as well like stepping inside their new adventure.
"Mass Effect Andromeda", all copyrights reserved for Bioware and Electronic Arts
But the changes are mine.
Author's comment:
So this was the first Sara chapter. A little bit short, but in the end it will not be the last one. She will be, as Scott is, a regular POV-character I'll be using for this story. But this doesn't mean the Ryders are the only POV-characters – the others you will meet later on in the story. ^^ I hope you will like them.
As well like I hope that you liked this chapter and want to review it.