"I don't know how you were raised, lover boy, but we don't kiss and tell here in Andromeda."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"
"Back off, Nyx."
Scott should have expected problems when a member of his crew started dating the sister of a member of his crew. There was an unhealthy amount of firearms aboard the Tempest – one or two were occasionally left laying about, in the middle of being cleaned or put together. In Liam's case, he'd just finished modifying the barrel of his carnifex.
There were reasons why he both understood and absolutely deplored why he'd walked into the Tempest's cargo hold to find Liam pulling a gun and aiming at Vetra. The turian had clearly been advancing on him, intending to harm, but at the same time, she wasn't armed. For a crisis specialist, he was doing a piss-poor job of managing his own crisis. Scott could hardly believe his eyes.
He may not have had the biotic skill of someone like Cora, per se, but he'd been practising enough that he could pull that pistol from Liam from his position on the second level. "That's enough!"
Good. He'd gained the attention of both human and turian, Vetra having already taken a step back from Liam.
"Vetra, take a walk."
"Ryder-"
"Take. A. Walk." He forced. "I'll talk to you when you've cooled down."
Her eyes pierced his, before throwing a glance at the other man, snorting her unhappiness and stomping to the room she'd claimed off the cargo hold. Liam, though he shouldn't have, looked rather relieved.
"Thanks, Ryder."
"Oh no. You don't get to thank me," Scott shook his head. "You've just made me your worst nightmare."
The Pathfinder made his way down the ladder, striding over to where Liam was no less confident of himself. He wasn't prepared to have any back-talk, wasn't intending on listening to whatever excuse the other man had intended on making. "I don't care what you and Vetra were arguing about. But I shouldn't have to tell you that you do not point a gun at another member of this team. No matter what has happened."
"She was-"
"No, Liam. There's no excuse. I just watched you pull weapon and you fully intended on using it." He shoved the pistol into Liam's hands. "I honestly would have preferred walking into a fist-fight. If I'd have come in thirty seconds later, there would have either been a bullet in the hull, or a bullet in Vetra. I can't stop bullets with biotics, Liam. I'm not Cora or Peebee – and I honestly doubt their bullet-stopping capabilities. So the next time I see you, you and Vetra better have sorted whatever the hell that was out, because until then, you're grounded and forbidden weapons privileges."
Liam gaped at him, blinking as if the Pathfinder had just slapped him across the face. "She would have attacked me!"
"So you're saying that if it had of been Cora, or Drack, or God forbid, me, you'd have done the same thing?" Scott snapped, moving away from Liam and starting towards Vetra's room. "Until such time Vetra's told me that you've sorted this out, you're done til we get back to the Nexus. I'll have Cora grab your gear."
With Liam sufficiently handled for now, his next victim was the turian sister. Which, admittedly, would be slightly more difficult to handle. Scott had an inkling suspicion as to what this was about.
Scott hated this, acting like the asshole CO, putting his foot down. His team was a unit - with the title of "Pathfinder", he was considered the leader, but ultimately, there were very few times where he actually lead. He spoke for the team, pointed them in the direction, but ultimately, it was all in or none at all. He could count the amount of times he'd had to be the tie-breaker or forced the others into something on both hands. So stepping between two of his team, laying down the law they already knew . . . it was unpleasant. Though had it been Cora or Drack that caught the two of them in that position, likely they'd have been marginally less merciful, given their backgrounds.
He didn't start speaking until the doors had shut, awarding Vetra a little more privacy then he had Liam. "Start talking."
"He broke up with Sid."
Scott frowned, crossing his arms. "And this is relevant to you, how?"
The turian stood, a distinctive kind of fury in her eyes as she stood toe to toe with Scott Ryder. "He was spreading lies about her. I am her sister – I protect her. You'd have done the same thing if it was Sara!"
That was mildly debatable. Sara honestly would have just kicked Liam's ass. "No. Sara can handle herself – as can Sid, as she's proven to you time and time again. Liam's not a mercenary going after her, Vetra. He's a newly-ex-boyfriend."
"He's being an asshole!"
"You've spent two years working with him – since when is Liam capable of spreading unpleasant rumors? He's a gossip at best. Sid or her sources may have misinterpreted what was said."
"Are you calling my sister a liar?"
"Not everything she hears is truth. Liam might not be the one with malicious intent here. And until you two have worked out this issue you've got with each other, you're both done until we get back to the Nexus. That should be enough time for you to both think about why attacking each other was a bad idea."
Scott turned on his heel, stopping only when Vetra called out after him.
"We're stopping at Meridian, not the Nexus."
He glanced over his shoulder, making it perfectly clear. "Grounded. Until. Nexus."
