There were bags under Sara Ryder's eyes, lines of stress in the way she held her shoulders. They'd won, but it wasn't over, not yet. There were leaders to negotiate with, left over Kett to kill, arguments to resolve. And everyone came to the Pathfinder.

Vetra watched Ryder from the doorway to her bedroom in the Hyperion as her girlfriend bent over a datapad, frowning. At least Scott was awake and putting a certain sparkle in her eye. He's my twin, Sara had said, he's the other half of me.

"Hey you."

Sara looked up as Vetra came up behind her, resting her hands gently on tensed shoulders. Ryder smiled and let the back of her head rest against the front of her carapace. Meridian was peaceful, so they were unarmoured, unarmed and it still made the turian a little uncomfortable.

"You look stressed." Vetra murmured against Ryder's dark hair.

Ryder grumbled but leaned into the touch. "There's the rest of the Kett empire to worry about and everyone can't stop bickering."

For all Sara's SAMC career had been cut very short, she was still a military woman, with a military woman's preference for decisive action. She hated sitting around talking about something when you could be doing it. Maybe that was why they'd gotten along, for all their differences.

"I want to show you something." Vetra said, kneading gently with her talons, careful to keep the sharp points about from her lover's skin.

Sara sighed, eyes fluttering. "I have a lot of work to do."

"Humour me, babe. It won't take too long, and you need a break."

Twenty minutes later they were away from the bustle of the starship metamorphosing into a city and alone in wilderness. Sara stared up at the cliff rising above them and shot Vetra an amused look. "You really like rock climbing, huh?"

Vetra flickered her mandibles. "...Yes. You should see this."

"Lead on." Ryder waved a hand. "Just spare some pity for us short people."

It took them a good half an hour to reach the top, with Vetra slowing down for Ryder ('I'm short! You have reach!). Sara took a moment to get her breath back, dramatically flinging herself to the ground, before she got to her feet and stared at Vetra with soft eyes, head tilted slightly.

"...Damn tall people."

Vetra felt a warmth in her chest. "Sorry. I'd try to get shorter but I don't think you'd like that."

Sara considered that. "Yeah, probably not. C'mere."

She stepped forward, dipping her head to press the plates of her mouth to Ryder's soft lips. Turians, as a rule, didn't do the kissing thing, but since that moment on Kadara, Vetra had come to enjoy it - the way Sara pressed her whole body closer, the way she wrapped her arms around her waist, the way she sighed soft and contently against her.

After a moment Vetra took a reluctant step back and pointed. "Have a look."

Sara turned and gasped quietly. Below them spread the tangled greenery, flashes of metal, sharp cliffs and gently hills as far as the eye could see. And in the distance, the hulk of the Hyperion and an army of workers scurrying around it, small as ants.

"Holy shit."

"I found this place on one of my walks. I thought you'd like it."

"It's beautiful, babe."

Vetra watched the awe on Sara's face, mandibles flaring with emotion she'd never been good at expressing. "Sit with me for a bit?"

Sara nodded and they settled in the lush, emerald grass, the Pathfinder in her arms, back against her front, hand slowly tracing over the angular planes of Vetra's face; and they didn't need to say a word.