AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, sorry about the late upload but I wasn't home until 2AM, so, dead tired. On the plus side, I haven't slept that well in three weeks! So, here you guys are, the chapter that is owed. And I guess you could call that 'Additional Author's Note' I had to put at the beginning of last chapter a kind of disclaimer for people with a pole up their ass. So, yeah. Hope you enjoy!
The crew and I stepped out into the commons area of the docking bay, Avitus and his people packing up before leaving. I was at the front with Jaal beside me. There were civvies talking and walking and going about their business, but a few were watching to see the crew and I step out, knowing that the Tempest is mine. Their eyes widened in surprise as they noticed Jaal, staring at him. This led to a chain reaction of people who weren't watching wondering what everyone was staring at until seemingly everyone in the docking bay had their eyes on the Newcomer.
"I think they've noticed you," I loudly and sarcastically whispered to him. It drew a few chuckles from the crew but I could tell that Jaal was feeling a bit nervous, better get this under control, make it easier for him. "Alright everyone, listen up," I called out. They shifted their eyes to me but I could still see them glancing back to Jaal every now and then. "This is my new crewmate, and his name is Jaal. He is of the Angara, no doubt you've heard of them by now as I made first contact yesterday. I'm sure you're all very curious about his people, but please, Jaal is a soldier, and he's still getting used to just being on my crew. Please, save your questions, and your stares, for the Angara delegates if we ever get them. Let's try to make his visit a pleasant one. Please, return to your business," I requested. Slowly but surely, the crowd started to disperse, and to force their eyes off Jaal.
"Thank you, Scott. I'm a bit surprised at how well you handled that," Jaal remarked.
"I could hardly yell at them for being curious, could I? And I could hardly just let them make you uncomfortable like that. Now, the Cultural center is just ahead, in that building there. I've already messaged the Liaison working there. She won't disturb you, and will help you find whatever you want to know about our races. You don't have to go there, but it's an option," I explained.
"I believe I shall do that. I'm intrigued about your peoples, and I wouldn't mind a quiet place," he stated.
"Then go sate your curiosity. Any problems, just call or send a message, I'll come sort it out." Jaal nodded and made his way there. Peebee had ran off, saying she was going to her apartment to do some work as the rest of us made our way to the trams. But we stopped when we heard disgruntled chanting. Like a slogan for a protest. I looked to see where the noises were coming from, and sure enough, there was a large crowd of people being kept at bay by Militia. No violence, and the Militia were merely standing watch, but it was a protest. Given the authority I wield, I should probably investigate.
"Make them hear! Make them know! Make them lead! Or make them go!" an Asari woman cried out. I heard the Militia troops muttering to themselves. This isn't something they wanted to be doing. I started to brush past them and stood in front of the crowd. They continued chanting their slogans as I took my place in front of them.
"Scuse me, everyone. Mind quieting down for just a moment? I want to know what this is all about. You want something, tell me what it is," I yelled out. To my surprise and pleasure, they did in fact quiet down. It also occurred to me that this protest was in a wing of Nexus hydroponics, oxygen farms essentially. No doubt that's making leadership nervous. The Asari woman stepped forward to speak with me, but a Krogan male behind her spoke up first.
"That's your 'new galaxy!' Making speeches about some fresh start while your kids stay frozen!"
"Alright, never mind, I think I know what this is about. You want your families woken up, correct?"
"We've waited months for our families to come out of stasis. They should have gone to your outpost," the Asari woman spoke up as she had intended.
"And because you thought research was so important, military personnel got bumped down the list! Like my clan brothers!" the Krogan accused.
"Alright, hold on a moment. Please, I ask that you hear me out FULLY, before you speak. So, first off, yes, I did dedicate Prodromos to science and discovery, sends a message about our intentions here. With first contact with the Angara, a scientific outpost is a prettier picture than military. Second, I did still order the wake up of a block of Military personnel to support Prodromos and the Militia. I apologize that your clan brothers weren't among them, but I only ordered the kind of personnel I wanted awake. Third, it's a hard truth but we simply can't wake everyone up from stasis, we just can't support that," I explained. But I wasn't done yet. Still that drew some growls and angered murmurs from the crowd. "HOWEVER, I do believe that there is something we can work out. I won't explain the whole process, but suffice it to know that odds are I'd be able to wake up a block or even two of specialists by now. I'll speak with leadership about making one of those blocks a civilian block. We'll work out a process, I promise you," I finished.
"Fourteen months of promises. It's time for results," the Krogan growled.
"We tried petitioning Addison. She ignored us. Screw her," a Turian woman shouted.
"And I'm not surprised in the slightest. Don't mistake that for approval though. She needed to at least speak with you about it," I stated.
"I… I just want my mother back. That's all any of us want. Please," a young man with orange hair muttered. His voice was full of both sadness and fear, his face in a perpetual frown. I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I know exactly how you feel. You will see her again, soon. Maybe even today," I tried to reassure. His face lit up and he looked at me, bright eyed.
"You… you really mean that?"
"I do. I'll go to ops and speak with leadership right away. You," I pointed at the Asari woman. "You seem to be one of the ringleaders here. Why don't you come with me? Plead your case directly to them?"
"I would like that very much. Name's Teresh, by the way," she answered.
"Good. Now," I turned back to face the young man with orange hair. "Why don't you come with us too? Not sure about involving you but why don't you come to see the results?" I suggested.
"Y-Yes! Of course! Name's Rhys!" he practically cheered.
"In the meantime, would you all disperse? Wait to hear the results? I'm sure people are nervous about a protest near Hydroponics. Leadership may even be a bit more receptive now if they see you're reasonable and backed off to await results," I suggested to the crowd. The crowd didn't budge, but Teresh turned to face them.
"For now, I agree. But if leadership doesn't listen yet again, we come back, right away. And we don't leave." At that, the crowd began to disperse. The militia looked surprised, but also grateful.
"Call ahead to Kandros. Ask him to set up a meeting with the rest of the leadership," I ordered. A Turian man, likely the sergeant of the group nodded and keyed his comms to make the call. I walked with Rhys and Teresh towards the tram, passing by my squad.
"Gotta admit Scott, I'm a bit impressed," Cora remarked.
"Kid's got a way with words and guns. I don't often see that combination," Drack chuckled. Vetra dramatically fake coughed to get his attention, as if he was ignoring her, he just turned to look and continued chuckling.
"While I appreciate the compliments, unless you have business in ops I'd rather you just wait for the next one. This is urgent," I asked the crew. They understood and Drack was the only one to join us, though he understood he wouldn't get to talk with Kesh just yet. When we arrived, Kandros was waiting just outside of the tram.
"Meeting's been set up in Tann's office. Come on. Will they be joining us?" Kandros asked.
"Only Teresh for the meeting itself. Rhys will be waiting and Drack will just be waiting to see Kesh afterwards," I answered.
"Hey, maybe I'm here to have a friendly chat with Tann," Drack joked.
"It hurt you to say that," I remarked.
"It did. It really did," Drack laughed. Kandros led us towards Tann's office in the Pathfinder lounge, Rhys waiting outside, and Drack waiting in Kesh's office. The others turned to look at us as we joined them.
"Ryder, Kandros. So, I hear protesters have seized Hydroponics?" Tann asked.
"Cut it with the dramatics Tann, a siege implies a riot, they weren't rioting. This is Teresh, she's one of the leaders, and I brought her along to plead her case. But before we begin. Addison, I heard that these protestors petitioned you, yet you ignored them. Is this true?" I asked.
"I did receive a petition, yes. And I immediately discarded it because we simply don't have the resources," she answered. I let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Addison, allow me to put this very clearly. The fuck were you thinking?! You have a petition, signed by who knows how many people, and you just fucking throw it in the goddamn trash bin? Not even a goddamn statement? No wonder there was a fucking mutiny! And you didn't learn from that?!" I yelled. She glared in me as she began to argue:
"Ryder-" I cut her off.
"No. To everyone I've met out here I've asked them to call me Scott, not Pathfinder. But you? No, to you it's Pathfinder. For fucks sake, Tann, Addison, you're the fucking leadership! LEAD THEM! Kesh, I know you've had your hands full keeping the station intact, and this isn't exactly your department anyway. Kandros, you've got your hands full with the Militia. But dammit you all need to speak with the people, talk with them, LISTEN TO THEM! If you keep pissing these people off, there will be another mutiny, and I'm not quite sure they'll fail again. It's not like you have Krogan to make a deal with anymore." I let out another sigh. "Alright, enough of that. Let's all LISTEN, to what Teresh has to say, shall we?" Teresh looked at me in surprise, not expecting an outburst like that, but she recovered and stepped forward.
"Our request is simple. We want our families back. Eos disrupted that schedule. Dozens of people have been scattered across colony blocks, and we're tired of waiting, we want this fixed now," she stated.
"The realities of our position are-" Tann began his political bullshit.
"We can't wake up those families. We don't have the resources, or the space," Kesh argued, cutting Tann off.
"Then here comes a little thing called compromise. Addison, what's the latest AVP status? Are there more pod blocks I can wake up?" I asked.
"Yes, we've been awaiting your input for two total blocks to wake up," Addison answered.
"Then we have our solution. Right there, plain as day. I suggest we take one of those blocks, and instead of specialists, we wake up a number of family members to those already awake equal to the number of specialists that would have been woken up. It's not like they'll be useless, they can work with Addison or Tann for logistics, maybe help Kesh's engineers," I suggested.
"Or volunteer to help in the Militia…" Kandros continued, seeing the benefits.
"And it keeps the people happy. Push comes to shove and they can go to Eos, be farmers for a small while. I suggest we keep a bit of a pattern with this as well. For every two blocks of specialists I wake up, the next must be a block's worth of family," I stated.
"Hm. I'll admit, at first I expected to hate this meeting and that either way we'd regret the decision. But now? I think this can work Pathfinder," Kandros remarked.
"Kandros, Kesh, no, to you it's Scott," I told them, ignoring Addison's glare.
"Yes, I believe we can make this work. I'll support it," Kesh stated.
"Well it's not like I have much choice is it…" Addison muttered.
"Fine, wake them up. But when they keep asking for more and more family members, and we all starve, you will only have yourself to blame," Tann warned.
"Teresh, does this work for you?" I turned to ask her.
"Y-Why yes it does Pathfinder. The fact alone that we can expect to see our families so soon, even from those who won't get that lucky today, will help tremendously. Thank you," she answered.
"Then I suppose I won't be burdened with the guilt of everyone starving because we kept just bending over backwards to every little thing someone on the station wants regardless of the consequences hmm? Ah, and what I said to Kandros and Kesh goes to you too, just Scott," I remarked. Mocking Tann and poking Addison with a stick.
"I highly doubt that Scott," she chuckled. I noticed a grin from Kesh and Kandros' mandibles flaring oh so slightly, as if he was suppressing laughter himself.
"Then let's go wake those people up, shall we?" I turned to leave, leading her behind me as the leadership glanced among themselves. As we opened the door to go to the stasis override terminal in Addison's "office," Rhys stepped in front of us:
"That didn't take long. So? What happened?" he asked.
"Follow me Rhys," I smiled, leading him and Teresh up. I walked up to the console, nodding to Brecka as I approached. I keyed the console to send the override command. "What's your mother's name Rhys?"
"Last name Kozlov, first name Samantha. Does-does this mean…" he began. I keyed her name to be included amongst many of the re-arranged civilians.
"That it does Rhys," I smiled.
"I-I thought we'd just get more excuses. Before going into stasis, she was so afraid she'd wake up and be stuck, frozen inside. I know that's not how it works, but I just wanted her out. So, I could know," he explained.
"I know how you feel Rhys. My family has suffered too," I remarked.
"Thank you, Scott. You might be just the thing the Nexus needed. Maybe you will be able to bring the exiles back, Goddess knows many of us had family members exiled too," Teresh stated.
"Then I hope I don't disappoint. Now, Rhys, don't you have a mother to go see? Teresh, I assume you have someone to see too," I suggested. Rhys immediately raced off and Teresh checked the list of who was waking up, sighing in relief and immediately following him. I just stood there, smiling. That one felt good. I told Brecka to wake up a block of Merchants/economists, gotta prepare for the upcoming trade, but I had business still. I had a Sister to see.
I can hear them. The doctors, moving about, treating their patients, sometimes running a check-up on me. I can feel the cushions of the bed I lay on. I can feel when they prick me for a blood test, when they stab my arm with another needle. I can feel it all, I can hear it all. But my eyes are shut, I can't move anything. I can't speak, I can't hear, I'm practically frozen here. Sometimes I'm able to 'sleep' blackout, and 'wake up' later with a whole new set of patients and doctors as they change shifts. Before Scott came to see me yesterday, before linking with my implant, I was in some kind of… trance. Delirious, no real understanding of what was going on, but most of the time just blacked out. Back then I couldn't feel or hear anything. I just thought it was a dream. But my brother came, used SAM to link us, and that brought me back. Didn't wake me up, but I have a hard time thinking that this is anything less than a big step. I may be bored as all hell, while he's out there adventuring, but I'll always be thankful that he found me and brought me back.
Even when he told me about dad. One of the last ways you'd ever want to hear that your dad died is being in a coma and told he died while you were on a bed, while he was worried sick about you. But at least I know that he died to save Scott. Not some stray bullet, not from a fall. This… confirmed what we always knew about him. I just wish I could have said goodbye. It wasn't great to hear that the golden worlds weren't working out, but I can't believe what Scott told me, about that terraforming network, him being Pathfinder now. I'm proud of my brother. Though I'll never tell him that, not that he's gloated about being the big brother now. That's over twenty years of payback coming my way and I'm not looking forward to it.
"Hey Harry, we good for another session?" That's Scott's voice, guess he's back from his mission.
"Sure, I'll get SAM keyed in and prepare for the link. Just a moment," the doc answered.
"This… is going to be weird, isn't it?" I heard an unfamiliar voice ask. Female, the harmonics being distinctly Turian. Must be that Vetra he mentioned. A moment later, I felt a small jolt in the back of my head and I felt… a presence. SAM. I felt the same thing last time, but it's still just weird.
"Connection established. You may speak," SAM stated.
"Hey Sara, how ya doing in there?" Scott asked.
"Could be better. Could be awake and walking around for one. Ever since you came to see me the other day I've been… awake in here. I can hear and feel everything, even smell. But I just… can't move or speak or see anything. Is that a good sign Doc?" I asked.
"I… can't be sure. This, talking with someone in a coma, is a whole new treatment. While it certainly isn't a bad sign, I have no idea if it will have an impact on when you wake up," he answered.
"Well, it sure helps me a lot," Scott remarked.
"You know I heard you crying and felt you grab my hand after our first talk, right? I was trying to get to sleep but there you were, just bawling your eyes out," I teased. I heard the Turian woman chuckle a bit.
"Oh ha ha ha, very funny Sara. For what it's worth, those were happy tears because I was concerned about you. But if you're going to be like that, well maybe I'll just stop visiting," he threatened playfully.
"I'd say 'all right you win,' but I know you Scott. You'd never be able to stop the visits. So, how did your mission go? With the terraforming network?" I asked. Still felt weird having these conversations just by thinking. Whatever I thought was voiced through SAM's speakers. I should choose my thoughts carefully.
"It took quite an unexpected turn. After being ambushed by the Kett on our way to the coordinates, hostile aliens native to Andromeda, but not Heleus, we escaped and had to make an emergency landing, fortunately the same planet the coordinates were leading us to. To our surprise, we got flanked by shuttles, not Kett, and not Initiative. They led us to a landing pad and I spoke with some of their leaders. We've made first contact with the Angara. Natives to Heleus, and they've been fighting the Kett for eighty years. We have allies, Sara!" he explained.
"Wow… that's… something else. So, you mean to tell me, that they didn't shoot you on sight with a face like yours?" I joked. The Turian woman snorted and Scott laughed.
"On the contrary, they were oh so enamored by my godly looks and physique, my facial hair in particular. It was as if I was out of this world to them."
"That was a shit pun and you know it. You should feel bad. And god that facial hair, shave it for fucks sake!" I laughed.
"I never will and you know it. So, anyways, understandably the Angara are a bit… cautious with aliens now thanks to the Kett. So I needed to earn their trust so I could get to that active vault. And damn was that Vault working well. Aya, the name of the planet, is one of the most beautiful things I've seen. Waterfalls, tropical plants, reminded me of Hawaii or back home. So, we picked up an Angara named Jaal for our crew and went to their home world, Havarl to help, try to gain their trust. Long story short, we activated the vault on their planet and saved it from dying. Made friends with the Angara there, and now Initiative scientists were invited to stay alongside them at their research outpost. You should have seen Havarl too. So many bioluminescent plants, and the place was like a rainforest, it was beautiful like Aya. Wait wait wait, I think I know a way for you to see it, actually," Scott stated. "SAM, can you send images into Sara's implant? Allow her to see those images?"
"I believe I can. A moment…" a flash of white appeared in my vision.
"I just saw a flash of white! It worked!" I exclaimed through my thoughts.
"Excellent! Give her a slide show of Aya, Havarl, and the Angara," Scott ordered. Sure enough, that was exactly what I saw, just as Scott described it. The worlds were beautiful, and the Angara looked odd, but interesting.
"This… this is amazing! It works! So, who's the woman here? I know you said you'd bring some of your crew, and I've heard her laugh, even ask if this whole thing was going to be weird."
"Name's Vetra. Vetra Nyx. Good to meet you Sara," she introduced.
"Vetra huh? So you're the one who not only got Scott a Valkyrie, but the vintage heat sink too? I know that won you a lot of points in his book," I chuckled. SAM flashed an image of Vetra through my implant. If the name and voice didn't give it away, the image confirmed it. Turian. Pretty, too, especially with those Emerald green eyes.
"Heh, yeah that was me. Scott's certainly been enjoying his new toys and putting them to good use. Cost me a few favors but with what we're doing out here it's just earning me more and more," she remarked.
"Scott? Would you leave us be for a moment? Girl talk," I asked. Granted like this it's more like telling.
"You do know I could just say I left but not move an inch, right?" he teased.
"Scott, listen to your sister, go," Vetra told him.
"Alright alright, fine. But don't think I don't know exactly what it is you two will be talking about. You're giving her ammo," he chuckled.
"Shoo!" I told him. I heard him walk away, muttering to himself.
"Let's make this quick before he comes back. You two must be friends, so if I know my brother that means you two are joking around, teasing each other, right?" I asked.
"Seems both of you got it in one. Yeah, we're joking around, giving each other shit, that kind of thing. But I'm doing fine with the ammo I got," Vetra answered.
"Nyx, listen. Help me out here. I was the oldest twin of the two of us. Beat him by a minute. Thing is, the damn docs got him out of the pod first and I wasn't out of mine until well after a minute. When he talked to me the other day, he ensured I knew exactly that. I have over twenty years of me reminding him that I was the older sibling coming back to bite me in the ass, and I can't fight back like this. Help me out here," I explained.
"Ouch, alright, I'll help. Spirits know what I'd do if my sister suddenly became the older one," she muttered.
"Then you understand how this is for me. So, first off, little does he know but my dad and I brought a long a fuck ton of his baby pictures and other pics of all kinds of embarrassing stuff. Thing is, I can't get to those like this, but also, I kind of want to be there when those come back to haunt him. So let's get to the stuff you can use. Let's see… YES! PERFECT! Ok, so, when we were teenagers living on the citadel, going through puberty and everything. Scott, being overwhelmed with hormones, tried to sneak in to the Asari Consort's chambers. Somehow, he crawled into some vents, and was getting ready to have a bit of a wank as the consort did her thing, when some kind of rodent turned the corner of the vents and jumped on him! Somehow, he didn't scream but did bang around the vents a bit as he tried to get it off him, dick out and everything, got scratches and bits on his face and arms! He got out of the vents, tried to sneak back home without anyone noticing the scratches. Dad caught him, and did not buy the bullshit excuse he gave. Dad gave him the look and made him tell the whole story. In front of mom, while I just overheard it from the other room, eavesdropping. He regrets and hates thinking about it with every fiber of his being. This kind of ammo I wouldn't normally give away, but desperate times call for desperate measures," I remarked. Vetra broke out in laughter.
"You're telling me, that Scott snuck into the Persidium vents, and tried to jerk off to that Asari prostitute, and got jumped by a damn rodent!?" she exclaimed through her laughter. "That may be one of the greatest stories I've ever heard!"
"The only mercy I want you to give him is to not tell the rest of the crew, regardless of what he tries to retaliate with. I do feel bad for him, but just enough for that mercy," I chuckled.
"I promise Sara. Should we bring him back?" Vetra suggested.
"Sure, give it a test run." Vetra chuckled as I heard her walk away to bring Scott back. A moment later I heard the two approach again.
"So, just what kind of ammo did you give her?" Scott asked. He didn't sound nervous at all. Boy is that about to change.
"Oh nothing, she just told me this story about some guy jacking off to a rat in some vents. And that those vents just happened to be over the chambers of the Asari consort," Vetra remarked off handedly.
"Wha-. Oh. Oh no. You- You didn't. Sara, you didn't. Not that, anything but that," he pleaded.
"You wanted to be the big brother," I teased. Vetra just burst into laughter again.
"Alright. I see how it is. Sara, Vetra. This is fucking war. You want to play rough? I'll play rough," he threatened, but not angrily. He wasn't pleased that I told someone about that story, but he wouldn't get pissy at me about it. He let out a sigh. "Alright sis, even though you just reminded me and told someone of one of my deepest and darkest regrets, I wish I could stay and talk more, but we need to get ready to head off to Eos, take care of a few things. Love you Sara, and I miss you," he stated warmly, grabbing my shoulder.
"It was good meeting you Sara, good talking with you too. Anything you want for your wake-up party, anything to make you more comfortable while you're here, just find a way to let me know," Vetra remarked.
"Good to meet you too Vetra, and thanks. Love you too bro, have fun out there."
"I plan on it. Alright SAM, cut the connection," Scott ordered and the AI's presence withdrew from my head. I suddenly felt very tired.
"Get well soon sis. You little shit," he muttered.
I fell asleep chuckling.
I walked into SAM node, knowing that another memory had been unlocked from SAM's memory array. Not sure what had triggered it, maybe first contact, maybe success on Havarl, maybe even taking charge with the leadership. Hard to know with Dad.
"Play it SAM," I ordered.
"This memory is from when your parents returned to Earth, after the diagnosis," SAM informed. My vision faded to black, replaced with Dad's workshop back home, and Mom standing in front of him, arms crossed. There were crates, lights, and monitors strewn across the workshop, he spent more time working than organizing, and it certainly showed.
"It's simple! We take SAM…" Dad began.
"Who?" Mom asked. Dad looked down at his desk to reveal a small stand with a hologram of the ball like shape SAM uses.
"I named the AI. Simulated Adaptive Matrix. SAM. We use your research and interface SAM with an implant," Dad explained.
"Alec, my work on biotic implants was yielding results, but this? This is something else, I don't know," she muttered.
"What did the doctor say?" Dad questioned. Mom let out a sigh, she knew Dad knew the answer.
"Alec…"
"What did he say?" he pushed.
"He said… it's getting worse."
"There's your answer. This will work. SAM can fix you."
"Alec I'm not some war you have to win… you're not an N7 anymore," she argued. She was trying to prepare him. She stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes.
"That doesn't mean-" Dad began.
"They kicked you out of the Alliance for this!"
"We're talking about your life!" Dad argued. She looked down for a moment, then put on a gentler look for Dad.
"Alec, did you ever consider that maybe it's my time to go? I'm human… we die. It happens," she tried to comfort. Dad was looking around the room as she said that, refusing to face it. Literally and figuratively.
"Ellen…" Dad began, looking down at her other hand and taking it within his. "Losing you is not an option. I won't let the kids lose their mother. God knows they never had a father," he muttered.
"Then give them one," Mom told him. Dad let out a sigh:
"They'd just ask for a refund." I saw the look in mom's eyes, she didn't believe that, but she knew dad did, and that hurt her a bit. That dad felt that way about himself with us.
"So, can this SAM talk yet?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Hello Ellen. Why did the tree go to the dentist?" SAM asked. "To get a root canal." So, the puns reach back that far eh? Good to know. Mom let out a chuckle and Dad looked back up at her.
"Humor algorithms. Can't seem to get the hang of it," Dad shrugged.
"Or maybe it's the guy teaching him?" Mom teased. The memory faded to black and my vision returned to normal, SAM node. I didn't want it to end yet. It was as if Mom was right there in front of me. I wanted more time.
"That felt so real. Mom was right there, alive…" I muttered.
"It was the first time I met Ellen. My education on Human mortality began that day. Your mother seemed prepared to die," SAM remarked.
"Dad wasn't. Hell, none of us ever were. How could anyone? Mom was just trying to prepare him."
"Yet all organic life one day expires."
"True, but when it's someone you love, someone you care for more than anything else, it just isn't that simple," I explained.
"I'm beginning to understand where your father's resolve came from. There are more private audio logs available," SAM informed.
"Can you send them to the Tempest? I may go over them in my quarters on our way to Eos."
"Of course, they will be waiting." I left SAM node and began making my way towards the docking bay. We'd be done here soon, but the scientists there wanted to see me as well. As I entered the tram, my omni-tool was pinged by a message.
Ryder,
Thanks for the help on Havarl and for getting my people and I off world. We've all packed up our things and left the Tempest, the others getting checked in for residence, work, and everything else they'd need. I spoke with Kandros and he gave me a shuttle I can use to follow the leads we have on Natanus. I'll contact you if I find anything, and don't forget to do the same. I want to be there when we find Macen, I am his second after all. Thanks again, and good luck.
Avitus Rix.
I was pleased to hear that everything seemed to be going smoothly for the Turians we found, and I'll admit I wasn't that surprised to learn that Avitus was wasting no time at all searching for Natanus and Macen. A few minutes later the Tram stopped and I got off, heading up to the science lab.
"Herik, Aridana, Lucan, I hear you guys have something for me?" I asked, getting their attention.
"Ah, yes, of course. Follow me," Herik requested, he and Lucan led me out of the room while Aridana continued her work. We crossed the hall into an adjacent room, perhaps a storage or testing room. They took what appeared to be an oddly shaped block made with Rem-tech from a table, and then it unfolded, forming the shape of a gun, a rifle.
"This here is what we call the Sweeper. It's a triple burst rifle made from a mix of Rem-tech and Initiative tech. It fires energy rounds like the Remnant do, and, here's the best part, it runs just like the old heat sinks, but unlike our guns, there isn't an ammo block inside to eventually run out. This here is pure energy, and it recharges itself from the heat it generates," Lucan explained. I stood there in awe staring at this thing of beauty.
"So, you're telling me, you've made an energy weapon. And not only that, you made it in the style that is, by far, my absolute favorite? How the hell did you know?!" I asked incredulously.
"Nyx helped us along in that field. We always planned to make you some new toys with the data and materials you've been handing us, just didn't know how we should make them. We're still in the process of making other weapons of other classes, but we worked on this first. Should even have some armor out soon," Lucan answered.
"Where can I test this out?" I asked, as happy as a kid on Christmas.
"In here, why we kept it in here for you. See those targets on the wall? We've made it so that it's safe to shoot there. Might leave some scorch marks, but that's what this place is for," Herik answered. I took aim, using the gun's iron style sights to line up the shot, and pulled the trigger. The rounds left with a satisfying sound, a kind of rapid thuk-thuk-thuk. The rounds went exactly where I hoped, and being a more energy based weapon, the recoil was minor.
"Got a scope?" I asked.
"That we do. Unfortunately given the style of the weapon it's incompatible with almost every mod we have, but we made some special. Not that complicated, and if you want we'll keep working on making mods that should boost the charge capacity before it over-heats," Lucan explained as he handed me a scope and showed me how to fit it properly.
"Would never turn that down," I started, testing the weapon once more with the scope.
"There is one more thing. So, the rounds are energy, that means they're hot as hell, hotter than an incendiary mod on our weapons would be. But we did manage to develop a shield disruptor that was compatible from more of that Rem-tech you've gotten us. Essentially, it acts just like our disruptor ammo. A kind of phasic envelope that screws with kinetic shields and biotic barriers. It won't bring them down instantly, but it will weaken them, just not as much as a dedicated tech attack," Lucan explained.
"I think I just found my new favorite toy! You guys need anything from me? Well just say the word," I exclaimed.
"More outposts and the materials we get from them is enough Ryder, thanks," Herik answered. "Oh, and if I may, how is the Pyjak?"
"Oh, Shit-head? He's doing just fine. Making himself right at home," I answered. Lucan broke out in laughter as Herik just stared at me, confused.
"You named the Pyjak… Shit-head?"
"Couldn't come up with a name and his mouth looks like an asshole. So, shit-head. It just came to me," I shrugged.
"As good a reason as any if you ask me," Lucan chuckled.
"Yes, well, do keep me informed on the status of… Shit-head," Herik requested. The uneasy way he asked just left Lucan and I giggling.
"And good luck out there Ryder. Sorry but we have work to do for more of your toys," Lucan explained.
"Thanks Lucan, and I'll keep you informed Herik, see you around," I ended, typing a quick message to Vetra to ask if she could get someone to bring it and its mods over to the ship while I finished up business. Sure enough, I quickly got a reply that it would be taken care of. I made way towards the Vortex to uphold an agreement I had with the bartenders.
"Hey Anan, Dutch, you get those hops I sent your way?" I asked. On Havarl I had scanned some plant life, some for the benefit of Doc Camden, some searching for Hops. Just so happened, I found some for both. Once Jaal gave an all clear, I took a few, they could clone for more of them.
"We did, they looked horrifying," Anan stated.
"I love them!" Dutch exclaimed.
"Just as I knew you would," Anan chuckled.
"I'm surprised you're back," Dutch remarked.
"People tend to come around when you work at a bar," I teased.
"He's right, you know," Anan laughed.
"I'll have to get used to you too, I guess," he snorted, looking at Anan. "Fine! You can be a regular. What's your name?" he asked. Guess he isn't great with names, I had told him and Anan last time I met them.
"Scott," I stated. If I was right about him being on a certain spectrum, which I'm damn sure I am right about, I wouldn't want to prod about that.
"I'm Dutch. That's Anan, over there," he introduced. He whispered a warning: "Be careful. The snark is strong with that one." Did he just paraphrase what I think he did? And was that intentional or accidental? Anan smirked and so did I:
"Snark is good! I can work with snark," I remarked.
"Ugh, you're one of those," Dutch groaned, and Anan just laughed
"I think you're outnumbered Dutch," she teased.
"You'd think people would reconsider picking on the guy making drinks, but noooooo," he muttered. "Speaking of, wanna try this one?" he asked, mixing together a drink and pouring it into a glass. "I think I'll call it, the Tall Moose."
"Where do you come up with these names?" I asked, chuckling as I took a sip. Not my favorite, but not horrible either.
"That, is my secret," he stated.
"He makes a list of words and rolls a die to decide," Anan laughed.
"Hey!" he accused.
"If it works, it works," I remarked laughing.
"See? It's alright Dutch, besides, you're cute when you're flustered," she teased. Dutch blushed slightly and calmed down. Yep, there's something going on there. Maybe not yet, but it's developing. And hey, it's cute. I left the bar to see how Jaal was doing in the cultural exchange, let him know we'd be leaving soon. My Omni-tool was pinged with a message from Liam. He had checked through the list of movies I got from Ops. He had picked out a few but wanted my input and asked if I had anything I could contribute. I just let him know I'd take a look on our way to Eos and that he should start getting back to the ship. Entering the cultural center, I almost laughed as I saw that Jaal had sat himself down in a corner with several Data pads, reading them as the workers moved boxes and got other stands set up. He looked up, noticing me enter and smiled.
"Hello Scott, thank you for arranging my access here. I have learned much, and enjoyed learning. And yet I have barely scratched the surface! It would take a lifetime to learn it all," he remarked.
"It's not hard to see you've been enjoying yourself. Settled into a corner and reading about the history and cultures of species you only met yesterday, all you need now are some snacks."
"Good idea, I'll bring some the next time we are here. No offense, but I've started with the Asari," he stated.
"Starting at the beginning I see. The first race to reach the citadel, start making our galactic community. Just let me know when you get to Elcor Hamlet. An old and famous Human made play meets the monotone of the Elcor. Fourteen hours of your life you will never forget," I joked.
"And who thought of that?" Jaal chuckled.
"Some guy named Francis Kitt. Fortunately for us, he stayed in the Milky way. Anyways, sorry to cut your little adventure through time short, but we need to get going to Eos. Go ahead, pack up, maybe get copies of some of these data pads, just be on the ship in thirty minutes, alright?" I requested, and Jaal confirmed he'd do so. As I began heading back to the Tempest, I sent out a message to the crew telling them what I told Jaal. It may be early, but today has been a good day.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just want to know what you guys think of that little story I made up, with the Asari consort and all. It was a fun brainstorm putting that together.