There was a power in secrets. Sara felt the thrill of them as one more mystery was uncovered. As she watched Director Tann's face falter in surprise, starring at her with a mixture of anger and resentment. His brain no doubt trying to come up with ways to work around the truth of the matter, the truth she knew of him. "This is why you didn't want me investigating Jien Garson's death." Sara held firm.
Silence followed thick and palpable. Jorun Tann didn't look frightened, or a cornered beast like she had expected. He just looked sad. "Pathfinder," He cleared his voice. "This is a conversation I wish we had in person."
"So you could kill me." She crossed her arms defiantly.
"No," He sat down at his desk and evaluated her. "What do you intend to do with this information? I doubt anyone out here even cares who the Noveria Corporation is."
"That's not the problem…" Sara smiled. "Allowing the deaths of your superiors might be. Just putting that out there."
"That was not me." Tann spat.
That caught her attention. "Then who was it number eight? Someone has been working with the Benefactor, that same someone who ordered the assassination of Jien Garson and Tiran Kandros."
"When this is over, Pathfinder… we will have a conversation." Tann dodged. "I know I'm not liked, and for the most part not even respected. I was a Deputy Assistant for Revenue Management. I look at to what is essential and predict consumer behavior at a micro level. I raise a gun when I have to. I exile people when it is what required. This conversation might even be monitored. What is to say that I won't be next?"
"I want this to stop." Sara offered. "I want to bring the Quarians home and find out why this all had to happen."
"The Noveria Corporation bankrolled the Andromeda Initiative. I helped manage and distribute funds. Kandros came on board investigating something. The Benefactor Board knew about it. The derelict Geth on board the Nexus was meant to keep him occupied but he kept digging. By the time word got to me about what was going to happen… it had already occurred."
"So you punished me… to keep me away from all this?" Sara tilted her head.
"I should have just assumed you would never listen and do this anyway. I'll get you reinstated with help from Kesh. Addision will be your problem when you return. I'm even lower level in the Benefactor organization." Tann offered sadly, "but when you find them look for Maeko Matsuo."
"Thank you." Sara smiled at him.
"You are in over your head, but that is not my decision anymore." The line went dead.
"Guess whose officially your human pathfinder again?" Sara nearly jumped on Kallo once she made it to the bridge. Suvi gave her a bright smile as she took the helm. "We're going to Meridian and then we're going to boldly go where no Milky Way species have gone before." She punched the information from her omni tool into the computer.
"That is at the edge of the Antiope Cluster." Kallo examined. "I would say about a month and a half journey in FTL."
"How did you manage to get reinstated, Sara?"
"I am just that fantastic," She gave her a grin, "and I had a little information on him thanks to our resident Charlatan."
"I am voicing my concerns one more time about him being on board." Kallo told her. "I don't trust him."
"You don't have to. I do. He also needs to understand that if he pulls any shit I'm like… 90% sure Scott would accidently space him." Sara shrugged. "I would really prefer nobody gave him any bodily injury as we wouldn't even have any of this without him."
"Don't tell me you still got the hots for him?" Peebee giggled out of her room in the escape pod with her remnant machine hanging out with her.
"One, him being a lying bastard does not take away the fact that he is a handsome one." Sara tried to hide her blush, "and second this is strictly business."
It was then that she noticed Gil hanging back at the entrance to the ship's head. "Ryder," He grinned at her and titled his head.
"I'm needed." Sara grinned and rushed over to the engineer wrapping him in a giant hug. He held her with such ferocity.
"I heard you blew up an Outcast base." He whispered into her hair. "Your brother was pissed. Had to get him drunk to calm down."
"Thank god I got all the biotic genes, right?" She pulled away to smile at him.
"Holding up?" He asked.
"I've had more sleep than you." Her eyes accused. "And I got shot."
"I'll walk you to our medical overlord as long as you don't snitch." Gil laughed.
"Reyes did a nice job of cleaning the wound." She rolled her shoulder wincing slightly.
"I bet that isn't all he did." Gil waggled his eyebrows.
"What is with all of you? We're amicable and I'm doing this for strictly professional reasons-" Sara sighed.
"Enough with the company line and you know Lexi is probably going to drill you for all the details." Gil grinned. "Speaking of people who will drill you… HI Cora."
Cora Harper came out of the crew quarters as they walked towards Lexi's office. "Hold on a second," She walked over to Sara, "I have a question what are we going to do with Sarissa? She's currently locked up with Liam's couch."
"Oh god, the horror." Gil mocked.
"Look, I know you didn't get along with her Gil… but-" Cora tried.
"She wanted to bring in an Asari engineer to tamper with my baby." Gil crossed his arms as he turned to Sara. "KALLO ended up refusing to let her in."
"Woah, your bromance is now serious." Sara grinned, missing this. "Cora, I promise we're not going to dump her on a moon while we leave to Antiope. We're refueling at Meridian for the journey and we'll leave her at the port for her new assignment."
"What if she wants to come with us?" Cora asked hesitantly.
"No," Gil interrupted. "She was horrible to work with. I won't do it."
"Gil," Sara gave him a look. "That will be up to Sarissa and Director Tann on if this mission needs two Pathfinders. What is your recommendation Lieutant Harper?"
"I would rather she were left behind, ma'am." Cora said hesitantly.
"I agree with your assessment." Sara offered. "But why?"
"I disagree with yours about Reyes Vidal." Cora said clearly. "She is… not what I expected."
"Noted." Sara responded. "Now, I have a date with a doctor before mission prep. Will that be all?" She looked at the two of them.
"Nope, Angry younger Ryder is all yours to deal with." Gil shrugged and walked towards the engine room.
"I wish you were here to have seen them," Cora said softly so that Gil couldn't hear. "They are still walking around each other like idiots. PeeBee wants to trip one of them so their mouths fall on each other to just get it over with."
Sara snorted. "I thought you might turn on me," She looked over at her second in command. "When Sarissa held a gun to me and Reyes. I am sorry for doubting you."
"I hate the way you do things. They drive me crazy." Cora sighed, "but I've never known you to not try to do the right thing so when they said you were wanted for Kandros assassination I wouldn't believe them. You may make allies of enemies… but you are like a bull in a china shop. Sometimes I wonder how much you would have driven your father crazy."
"Drove him crazy all the time on the field and off. You should have seen when Scott and I would team up," Sara smiled fondly. "He was good at what he did, and he loved my mom… but he wasn't much of a father to us. More like a drill sergeant we were related to. I sometimes wish he was still here so I could hit him, but he was much better at calling the hard shots."
"He was good at making the practical shots, I wouldn't go as far to say they would have been the correct one. God, I worry about what he would have done to Kadara." Cora looked over at her.
"He would have killed both of them and help install an Initiative post if he helped him get my mother's cure." Sara said resigned. "I saw what happened to the Collective outposts."
"The Collective was just as bad as the Outcasts you saw some of their labs." Cora reminded her. "Be careful with Vidal, that's all I ask."
"I will. If anything the last few weeks have been eye opening." She sighed. "You ever wonder if we made the right choice coming out here… even knowing what we know now?"
She saw Lexi peer out of her door at the two of them with a look that would even make her father quake in his knees. "Nope. I should have stayed here than deal with the interrogation I'm about to." Cora's gazed followed hers and she almost heard a giggle come out of her second in commands mouth.
"Good luck," Cora laughed as Sara walked towards what was certainly her doom.
Inside the Pathfinder's quarters she found her brother sitting on the couch petting the small pyjack that had been given to her as a gift. "Did you name this thing yet?"
"Its super annoying, I wanted to name him Scott." She grinned sitting opposite her brother.
"Does this mean I have to listen to you?" He grumbled. "Pathfinder Ryder?"
"I think that means you have to listen to me for more official reasons more than just I said so."
"On our way to Meridian, huh?" He asked.
"Yep."
"Gonna delete any more files this time?"
"Nope." She said starring out at the stars. "I'll transfer over the Cipher and files I have soon enough."
"So why did you delete dad's audios?" He asked.
"Because I know us. If I get involved, you follow, and despite how much shit I give you I like you more than a lot of the other colonists, and if there was anything linking us to the Benefactor… I was worried we'd get killed. More importantly… I was worried they would go after you." Sara shrugged.
"So why give us everything now?"
"It's bigger than I thought it was." She sighed. "It's like the scourge, they are everywhere. Remnants of it in everything… This dream, the idea it was all Jien Garson, but she was just a charismatic rich girl who ran out of money before the Benefactor stepped in."
"And dragged us all in when she shelled out…" Scott began looking through the files she sent him.
"Not really," Sara sighed, "I don't think she understood all the strings that came with accepting their help. Part of the funds came from the Noveria Corporation. I'm promised another lead when we take Reyes with us."
"The unknown revealed upon delivery?" Scott asked. "What if he is delivering us to the Benefactor for investigating?"
"He'd be killed too. He worked for them." She shrugged looking at the pyjack. "How he bought his way on board was smuggling information from the Shadow Broker. It's how they had all the data from the Reapers that the Council kept hidden from us. The deal was he find a quiet corner of the world to be someone who was of no consequence to them."
"And then Kadara happened." Scott searched her face.
"I guess he couldn't watch a monster and in the end became one himself," She looked at the drink he handed her, "and I think it was because he wanted to be someone else.. maybe.. I don't know."
"You love him don't you?"
"No. That would be stupid. But he is useful," she offered.
"Where do we go form here?" Scott leaned back in his chair, looking out into the vastness of space.
"We find the Quarians, we bring them home, and then we prepare for whatever happens next." Sara said. "Members of the Benefactor hierarchy are on that ship. I think Reyes wants to negotiate the terms of his agreement with them. I just want to find answers."
"Or we're fall." Scott said quietly. "I don't think Dad could do this."
"Most of the time I don't think I can." She turned to him.
"You won't have to do this alone." He stood up and moved to sit next to her, with the Pyjak making disgruntled noises.
"You have to promise me one thing," Sara demanded.
"Yeah, what's that big sister?"
"Go make the moves on that engineer already we all may die soon." She said perturbed.
"Ugh, stop it." Scott cackled against her as he pulled her into a hug.
"In due time." Sara grinned, feeling at home for the first time since she arrived. Home wasn't a place, or an unreachable concept. She felt it inside her bones as he wrapped her in an embrace and mussed her hair.
Later that evening…
"I'm going to let you out now." Sara knocked on the door to where Sarissa was tucked away. She heard some muffled swearing coming through the door. "No attacking anyone."
The door whished open, "you are working with the Charlatan." Sarissa growled.
"Yup." Sara shrugged "But that isn't your concern. I'm reinstated as the head of this vessel and we're going to be stopping at Meridian to restock and then head to the next Galaxy over."
"Antiope."
"As long as you don't decide to shoot me I'll escort you to the communications room where you can contact Director Tann for your next assignment." Sara gave her a shiteating grin.
"What if I don't want to give up the ship?" Sarissa said defiantly.
"Then I tell Tann what you did to your Pathfinder."
"Ugh, you can work with the Charlatan and I get punished for past mistakes?" Sarissa scowled and Sara swore that withering glare may have sucked a few years out of her life.
"Do you really want to come with us?" She said hesitantly. Sara swallowed and remembered she was the one who gave people second chances. It was what this entire thing was about.
"No. I've seen enough of this galaxy to know going into uncharted territory may be a death sentence. I'll find a home for my people." Sarissa said defiantly. "This side of the galaxy."
"And I'll bring others home to it. We're on the same side." Sara reached out her hand to shake, hoping she took her up on it.
"Why are you doing this?" Sarissa eyed the stretched hand in front of her cautiously.
"To build a better world than the one we left behind." Sara offered.
"Naïve." Sarissa took her hand and shook.
"Maybe once." She shrugged, "but I'd rather have hope than nothing at all."
Arriving in Meridian was a beautiful thing. It seemed like the sky opened up as the Tempest reached for its descent. Her crew was gathered in the front of the ship watching the stars pass them by as they prepared to go out into the unnamable. The Hyperion glittering into existence in front of them as they all took stock of what was around it. There were tiny settlements popping up around the ship. Units filled with people and families beginning their daily routine.
The beginning of civilization in a new world was all Sara could think as Scott elbowed her in the side. "I wish Dad were here." And for a brief moment, she wished it too.
"Mom might be one day." She looked over at him as his hand slipped in hers.
"I hope she loves it." He looked out at the new settlement.
"Me too." Was all that Sara had left to say as Kallo brought them safely to port.
Outside Sarissa found her easily enough. The blue Asari stood out amongst all the human dockworkers. She had been waiting for her ever since she had disembarked the ship. "I take it you contacted the Krogan?" She crossed her arms.
"Vetra brought me up to speed in the last hour you had no right to kick him off," She growled at the Asari.
"He wouldn't listen to my authority." Sarissa turned up her chin.
"You have to earn it," Sara hissed between her teeth.
"You run a very lax ship then… I'm surprised Director Tann was so wiling to let you go on this adventure with all this equipment. Would be a shame if you all died out there." The old Asari looked at her as if she were even less than the dust on her boot.
"We won't." Sara's voice filled with hope. "We'll bring out people home. Where are you going now?"
"Kadara." Sarissa was less than enthused. "Apparently they want me to clean up the mess YOU left."
"Have fun with Sloane," She winked and walked away. She did not have time anymore to deal with the wounded ego of an Asari Matriarch.
Although the thought of Sloane and Sarissa at odds may have brought her a little too much joy.
Reyes Vidal was just outside the docks looking at his omni tool. He was leaning against the wall, blending into the crowd of people coming and going. He was wearing his old flight suit as he leaned against the wall.
"You look like your waiting for someone," she couldn't resist saying as she walked up to him.
He looked up at her, eyes cautious. "That is my line."
"How is Cynopolis doing?" Sara made small talk.
"Trade with New Tuchanka is going well. One of my representatives will be overseeing trade negotiations in my stead." Reyes offered.
"You sure this is what you want? I mean I could get mad at you and throw you out of the airlock." Sara asked.
He grinned that dimpled grin that made her either want to throw him against a bulkhead and kiss him silly, or slap him.. "I highly doubt that Pathfinder."
"The Initiative is stepping in with Sloane." She offered. "Sarissa Therin is going to be handling the all further negotiations with Sloane."
"She won't work with you. Not like I would have." Reyes looked out to the horizon.
"It doesn't matter anymore," She said tired. "I suppose you still talk to Evfra?"
"Perhaps."
"Walk with me," She motioned and he followed. "Here is my olive branch outside of getting shot… Sarissa is working with Evfra and Keema to oust Sloane."
"They would never deal with her," He growled.
"Turns out with the Outpost location and the treatment of the Angara someone made a good case that it was time to step in."
"Why Ryder, I think I've become a bad influence on you."
"Don't get your hopes up." She ignored him.
"With you? Never." His retort was playful if on the side of flirty.
"So whose the second corporation?" Sara interjected trying to stay the course.
"When we approach the Quarian Ark." Reyes was firm in his rules, "and not before."
"Fine, but don't get your hopes up about the air locking." She gave him a wink as she turned back to the Tempest.
