Despite her fatigue, sleep does not come easily even though her dreams are the normal type when she manages to stop tossing and turning. Eventually she gives up on the whole venture and slips into training gear before heading down to the recreational area of Haven. It is busier than she thought it would be and she pauses a few minutes to watch the interesting collection of people using the court space for basketball.

Deshanna went to great lengths to have their expedition properly staffed and funded, made sure every order was stamped and signed and multiple copies made. Yet she hired a company called Chargers: Demolition and Excavation run by an exiled Qunari named Iron Bull. It apparently took some effort to convince their benefactors, but they are considered the best in the field despite appearances. She of all people should know better than to judge.

Some of Bull's people square off against Ferelden's finest while the boss watches from the sidelines. Keela is surprised to see Templar Hawke mixed in with navy soldiers, sweat dripping down a very determined brow. The expansive rooms fills with the squeak of shoes on polished floor, shouts and loud breaths, and even the occasional bout of laughter. It's all a very strange sight, civilian clothes in different shapes and pressed uniforms mingling together, but so is shooting through space for a missing planet and the memories of dead people as the guide.

She stays close to the far wall and slips into one of the running sim rooms before she has to suffer a court full of salutes. A few quick keystrokes and the small, square space lights up with a favorite program. The white walls and floors disappear and drop her into Antiva City on a clear, bright day. Cracked streets move beneath her and wind blows against her skin, filled with the smell of spices and ripe with conversation.

It is familiar in a way- the narrow streets resemble a ship's corridors, the open squares like the mingling spaces of her clan filled with endless talk, but there were walls and ceilings closing her in for most of her life. Here, there is endless blue sky above. Here there is freedom and comfort mixing together and she tilts her head back to soak it all in.

A nagging thought interrupts her revelry and makes steps stutter - will she live long enough to see the city in person?

Thirty minutes later Keela steps out of the room and grabs a towel to wipe away the excursion. The game seems to have ended as well as some of the players rest on raised bleachers near the exit. It's impossible for her to escape it this time, but at least there are only a few cadets left to jump up and address her.

"At ease."

"Care to join us for another game, Commander?" Carver asks as he joins her, the bright ball passing between his hands. She's not sure how their ranks match up, but she knows it's probably not procedure for senior officers to shoots some hoops in their off hours.

"Not this time. Everybody seems to be getting along. What do you make of the Chargers?"

He gives a shrug. "They take some getting used to, but they seem to be good people. I was wondering-"

His words taper off just as his eyes wander away from her all of sudden. Keela turns to find the reason for the distraction and has to stop herself from smiling too wildly. Officer Sabrae walks through the sliding doors, gaze taking in the room before brightening when she sees her.

"Aneth ara, Commander!"

"Good morning, or afternoon. I'm not really sure."

"Afternoon I think. It's hard to say. I've been spending all my time with the eluvians until the captain threatened to throw me in the brig if I refused to take a break. I wonder where the brig is? Any matter, I thought I'd go for a swim."

"Hello, Officer Sabrae," Carver speaks up at last.

"Hello! Call me Merrill, please. Officer Sabrae sounds so…important."

"But you are important. I mean, uh, to the mission, of course."

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Hey Hawke, you coming?" someone shouts from the court. Keela watches him struggle with indecision, fingers digging into the ball between his hands, and thankfully for him the decision gets taken away as Shale's voice echoes around them.

"All senior officers and Chantry liaisons report to the forward conference room."

"Oh, it's a good thing I didn't change beforehand. I'm sure there's no time. Can you imagine the looks I'd get in a bathing suit?"

One quick glance at Carver's reddening face and she knows at least someone is imagining it. This time she does laugh. Keela motions towards the doors. "Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

"Good, you're all here," Deshanna says as the three of them enter the conference room. Keela takes her seat close to the captain's side and meets Harel's eyes across the table. He looks more reserved than normal and it takes her a moment to understand why - And what if you wanted to ask someone, hypothetically of course, if they wanted to sleep together? She tries to fight the heat rising up her cheeks, wonders how futile the effort is and just how far the nearest escape pod might be.

"We've heard back from headquarters. They have approved our flight plan and given permission for further investigation," Captain Istimaethoriel announces and Keela feels relief wash away her own embarrassment. "It will take approximately fifty-four days to reach the new coordinates so it's the cryo-tubes for us. This is a completely uncharted part of space so we don't know what the ship might run into on the way there. It's a good thing we have the fleet's most advanced A.I."

"Thank you, Captain. I will be able to make alterations to our trajectory and monitor all ship's systems with a proven 98.78% success rate."

"Well that's rather specific," Anders remarks. "The crew should be fine. People have been in cryo for much longer than that. I'll prepare the inoculations right away."

"Shale will drop communication buoys at regular intervals so we can hopefully keep contact with HQ upon arrival. I want all stations prepared for re-emergence. Skiff fueled, the Chargers ready to disembark with their equipment, scanners set to take readings as soon as we enter range of the planet. Let's see if we can get everything done by eighteen hundred tomorrow. Shale, start prepping the cryo-tubes."

"Yes, Captain."

"I have no idea what we might find once we get there, so let's try and prepare for as much as we can. Harel, I'd like you and Sulenera to spend some extra time in the flight sim. We still have no idea what conditions we'll be flying into. Now, I want to go over the mission folder again before I send you out to assign your tasks."

It takes them some time to review their plans and adapt them based on new information since leaving Thedas behind. Once they stream out the doors and begin, Haven is a rush of activity as they all prepare for what is to come. Keela flits from station to station, level to level, to monitor the progress and offer assistance when she can. She helps Sten store their reserves in cold storage, hiding her smile at his Sad Face when he discovers that Taco Tuesday may not be happening for some time now.

She's not quite sure if the Chargers are ready for the task. Their methods are a little unorthodox, so there seems little she can do but trust Iron Bull's word and hope something doesn't fall apart when they land on the planet. Varric Tethras wavers between excited and distressed and she understands - the concept of cryo sleep is not exactly her favorite thing either.

She avoids checking up on their navigators as much as she can, even going so far as to volunteer for her inoculation instead of making Anders chase her down for once. It is foolish, this avoidance, like she is some da'len playing chase with skinny kneed Casanovas. A casual dalliance she could manage, but there seemed to be something more in the deep warmth of Solas' eyes. A complication when she doesn't need anymore.

At nineteen hundred the next day the crew of Haven steps into their cryopods to skip the long journey to Arlathan ahead. After careful monitoring and final systems' checks, the senior staff are the last ones to climb inside.

Deshanna glances around the empty command center and lets out a sigh. "Shale, take good care of my ship."

"Of course, Captain Istimaethoriel."

Keela helps her inside the pod, keeping her gaze for a few moments, before Deshanna gives a nod. "I'll see you on the other side then. Sweet dreams, Lavellan."

"You too, Captain," Keela says and watches the door seal with a hiss. Getting into her own capsule proves a bit more challenging. She stares at the small space, imagines the door shutting and locking her within, and the thought stirs her stomach into a whirlpool.

"Commander, do you require assistance?"

"No Shale, I just-" Harel approaches her side and Keela gives a weak laugh. "Flex flight makes me sick, I get nervous about cryo sleep…who would ever believe I was born and raised on a star ship?"

"Have you much experience?"

"No, actually. None. Just the process is gone over in training."

Harel holds out his hand and she finds it cool but not unpleasantly so as she takes his silent offer. It's a gentle difference to her always warm skin and she clings to the thought of his soft skin as he helps her into the chamber. "I will wait outside until your cycle has begun."

"Really, you don't have-"

"It is no bother and standard protocol for those new to the procedure, if I recall." Together they connect sensors to her skin and slip the mask over her face. When she is ready, the lieutenant steps back outside but pauses, hand upon the heavy door. He says something, a phrase of Elvhen that adds a deep timber to his voice, and she can't be sure if it's the ice of cryo in her veins or the sound of it that makes her shiver.

"What?"

Harel grins and the storm inside shifts to something lighter. "The answer to your last inquiry, albeit something a bit more suggestive when converted. I will be happy to dissect it properly for you when we awaken. Rest well, Commander."

Her mouth hangs open as he closes the door soundly. Keela is quick to snap it shut when his face appears beyond the small window. The cryo-tube begins to cycle through its stages and she momentarily panics, fingers gripping tight. But he keeps his word by standing vigil outside as frost begins to cost the glass and numb her limbs, and the calm in his expression eases her away into the cold void. Her last thought is hoping that if there are dreams at all they will be filled with him instead of someone else.

A complication indeed.