Jaal was determined that whatever else he did during this stop at the Nexus, he would not think about his soulmate connection. If Ryder was his soulmate, paying attention to whichever of her emotions came across the bond would not only be causing himself needless pain, it would be unbelievably rude. He would keep his own emotions steady, and ignore anything else. He had plenty of practice in this area, at least.

Fortunately, Jaal found his way to the Nexus' Cultural Center, where even his inquisitive mind was fully occupied by a wealth of information.

He was so absorbed in what he was learning, in fact, that he did not notice how much time had passed; so it was with considerable surprise that he noticed Ryder standing at his side, waiting patiently for the VI to finish its answer to his latest question. She looked impeccably neat, refreshed, and happy. Jaal wondered bitterly if this was all due to the time she had spent "seeing" that turian.

Whatever the cause, she seemed pleased to be speaking with him, asking about what he had learned and offering to answer any questions if he couldn't get the answers from the VI's. As Jaal spoke to her about the Citadel space station, a new idea presented itself. Perhaps she was his soulmate, and this new pleasure in his conversation was because he had been sparing her his own tangled emotions for the past few hours.

Guilt followed this thought. What would she have been picking up from him during their trip on the Tempest? Hope, certainly, and longing. But also distrust, anger, and unhappiness. He had been so focused on his own concerns that he hadn't given any thought to what she might be picking up from him. His own constantly unsettled emotions must have spilled over the connection; he was used to ignoring the gaping wound of the connection, used to nothing coming to him from it but the echo of his own emotions, but what would she have felt with all those alien emotions suddenly washing over her?

The guilt, and the attendant hope, was enough that he almost asked her whether her people had soulmates - whether she had a soulmate - but before he could decide on how to approach the subject, her attention was called by the asari who was in charge of the cultural center. With a wave to Jaal, she was gone.

Jaal turned back to his studies, cursing his bad timing. His concentration was broken; he had lost the chance to get an answer to the only question he was currently interested in. He turned toward the next VI in the line, scowling when he saw it was a turian. He couldn't ask her; he couldn't risk destroying whatever happiness she had found without being sure it was the right path.

He had waited this long to find his soulmate, surely he could wait until he was certain he had found her.

Sara was determined to plan more stops at the Nexus in the future. Spending time with Kandros lifted her spirits, made her feel better prepared for whatever Andromeda might throw at her next. Seeing him set aside the weight of his responsibilities when they were together made her happy; despite his desire to avoid "strenuous expectations" she found herself thinking of him more often when they were apart, imagining the things she would tell him about her experiences out in this new galaxy.

As soon as everyone had reported that they were back aboard the Tempest, Sara gave Kallo instructions to set course for Havarl. She had told Jaal where they were headed, and knew he would be making a report to Evfra. Curious, she loitered near the ramp to the conference room, eavesdropping shamelessly.

"Evfra. We have left the aliens' Nexus station, and are on course for Havarl."

Not surprisingly, Evfra didn't sound pleased. "Why are you going there first? Do you trust these aliens so easily that you would show them our home? Take them to Voeld, let them prove themselves - or not - against the kett."

"I did not make this decision, Evfra. The Pathfinder is the one who chose our destination."

Sara started up the ramp as Evfra answered, her presence interrupting his angry words.

"Hello, Evfra. I'm sorry to stick my nose in, but I heard you had some questions about my choice of destination?"

He scowled, but didn't answer. Jaal noted with a certain glee that it seemed Evfra's professional courtesy extended far enough to make him uncomfortable about directly questioning the Pathfinder's decisions on her own ship.

"Unless you have more information than I do, I determined the mission on Havarl was the most time sensitive. Your Resistance troops are trained fighters, and volunteers. I will go help them, but your scientists need assistance first. If they are in danger, or already captured, their chances are much worse than your soldiers would be in the same situation. Was there any additional information you can share that would affect this assessment?"

Evfra grumbled, but shook his head. "No, Pathfinder, your assessment is accurate. Just be cautious that you do not infringe on our hospitality." Without another word, he cut the connection.

Sara turned toward Jaal, prepared to apologize for interrupting, only to find him wearing a broad smile.

"That was well done, Pathfinder! I have only ever seen the moshae set Evfra so firmly in his place! Well done indeed! I will have to see if your SAM happened to be recording that conversation - I could become quite rich offering it for sale." His delighted laughter rang around the room as he headed back toward the Tech Lab.

Sara stared after him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, wondering why his approval filled her with such warmth.

Stepping onto Havarl for the first time felt shockingly like coming home. She couldn't figure out why - it was completely foreign, like nothing she'd ever seen before - but for some reason, she took a deep breath and felt a small amount of ever-present tension draining out of her.

She glanced at her teammates. Jaal was taking an identical deep breath, smiling absently at their surroundings. Liam's eyes were wide with wonder, his shoulders tight with the same tension she usually felt on a new planet.

The odd feelings continued as they traveled.

When a flicker of motion caught her eye, she spun and sent a singularity at it without pause. A challyrion flickered into view as it was lifted briefly into the air before dropping to the ground, dead. Sara felt a rush of satisfaction, she smiled when Liam exclaimed about what a good kill it was. Jaal had been a second behind her motion, his rifle ready but unfired when she killed the beast. She grinned at him, her competitive streak afire at the challenge. They all watched for the creatures after that, and they all spotted them, but she stayed ahead in the tally Liam had readily offered to keep. Before long, it felt natural to detect the camouflaged beasts by the movement of the plants around them; the rush of satisfaction was easily explained by the competition and the rare pleasure of exercising her skills without guilt for killing sentient beings.

Navigating the twisting, hidden path to reach Mithrava was harder to explain away. Few angara knew how to reach the place, but Sara moved with assurance, relying on an instinct that almost felt like memory. She was mildly surprised to find that the angara believed in reincarnation, that they had proof to support this belief was more interesting. Watching Taavos remember his past life was amazing but she had more pressing concerns; angaran beliefs - however verifiably - were quickly eclipsed by other matters.

They had succeeded in saving the scientists and in activating Havarl's vault. Sara was feeling pretty pleased with herself, until she found the survivors of the turian ark.

Speaking with Avitus gave Sara chills, she couldn't imagine having to break out of her own stasis pod. The fact that the turians' SAM hadn't transferred to Avitus was promising; as they headed back to the Tempest, Sara was busy wondering how to break this news to Kandros. At least some of the turian ark had survived, there was hope.

By the time the Tempest lifted off and Sara finished her reports to Nexus leadership, the odd feelings from Havarl had faded, easily attributed to nerves and her growing understanding of Remnant structures.