MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA HOLLOW WORLDS

CHAPTER 28

The atmosphere aboard the Tempest's engineering deck was filled with rare laughter and competitive banter among her crew. A feeling contradictory to the majority of somber moods following missions. Torvi Ryder accomplished so much since Habitat 7's fallout and yet the finish line was not in view yet. She, Vetra, Liam and Gil sat on top of cargo crates approximately two feet away from one another, orbiting a smaller crate in the center. That crate was their makeshift table that housed their cards. Torvi scrunched her face as she spread out her cards in her hands to see what Vetra dealt her. Nothing of significant value except for one low pair. She cautiously eyed the others who had stronger poker faces than she did obviously. She couldn't tell by their expressions if they had anything either. Odds were that someone did and had a hand much higher than hers. Gil smirked as he took notice of her grimace. "I'll bet first." He winked teasingly her way.

"Count me in," Vetra tossed in her chips.

"I fold," Liam grumbled as he discarded his hand.

The focus was back on her. "Ryder?" Vetra coaxed her.

"I'm game," Ryder challengingly grinned at Gil as she tossed in her chips to meet theirs.

"She's bluffing." Gil proclaimed.

Nyx chuckled. "Ryder." She tossed in a few more. "Raising."

Torvi frowned as the turian was calling her obvious bluff. "I'm out."

"Nailed it," Gil teased. "Hard when the AI isn't doing the calling for you."

Torvi stuck out her tongue at him. "You still not going to let up about that, are you?"

Vetra poked the man next to her, "Alright, Gil. Show me what you have."

Gil lowered his hands to reveal one pair that would have scored much lower than what Torvi had. "I was bluffing."

A smirk spread across the turian's thin lips as she displayed her three pair. "This is too easy."

Ryder's jaw dropped when she saw Gil's hand. "You were bluffing?!" The engineer busted out with laughter.

Cora shook her head as she and the others watched in amusement. "That wasn't nice, Gil. You still lost."

Gil shrugged nonchalantly. "I just like to see her squirm."

"You're disappointing me, Ryder." Drack proclaimed as he tossed a cred chit over to Liam. "I had money on you."

Liam smiled happily with the reward. "Thank you."

Torvi gaped at the two. "You were betting on me?"

"Why not?" The krogan stated.

Vetra glanced around at her crewmates. "Another round?"

Torvi shook her head and stood up from the crate. "I'm out."

"The madam Pathfinder is bucking?" Gil grinned.

"Drack, you ready to hit Elaaden?" Cora switched topics briefly as she stood next to the towering reptilian being. "I bet it will be nice to see some friends you haven't seen in a while."

"It will be good to see a few familiar faces. Truth is that the tension on the colony is increasing. It won't be a picnic like on Tuchanka."

"Tension among the krogan?" Peebee chimed in sarcastically. "You don't say."

"Did Morda give any intel yet about the batarian?" Cora asked. Torvi flinched since she didn't reveal the issue with anyone else besides Cora and Drack who she confided in.

"No word yet," The krogan replied. "Should have showed up by now. Probably dead."

"Wait…what?" Liam blinked with wide eyes.

"Run that by me again." Peebee had the same frantic look on her face. "There's a batarian roaming around down there with angry krogan?"

"That's not comforting," Vetra commented.

Torvi sighed with realization that she needed to fill them in. "Supposedly, the brother of Ka'hairal Balak and two other batarians were in cryo pods under different identification species and names. Only the brother was revived in error."

"How did he get on Elaaden?" Liam's question dripped with concern.

"Fuck's sake. Did you say Ka'hairal Balak?" Gil groaned.

"Who is that guy?" Peebee blinked over at Gil not picking up on the name.

The room began to erupt with questions and a multitude of theories and discussions. "Hold it!" Torvi raised her voice to regain control. "Nexus leaders had no idea where the other two batarians were located unless they did the daunting task of cross-referencing every single pod onboard. Tann and Kandros agreed for his exile in exchange for the location of the remaining two."

"And they just let him leave?" The ship's engineer asked in disbelief. "Do they have any idea who this guy is?"

"They had no choice in order to quash the situation." Ryder gently explained.

"Lying would have been a great option. Shoot him in the back as he walks to his freedom," Drack pointed out. "Those assholes didn't even bother to let Kesh know about this."

The atmosphere of the ship quickly flipped over to alarm and dismay. "Someone please just tell me who this guy is! It's killing me!" Peebee nearly screamed to get her inquiry addressed.

"His brother was a terrorist. Tried to ram an asteroid on a human colony in the Milky Way. High ranking official of the Hegemony." Liam finally answered his question. His brown eyes diverted back to Ryder for insight.

"We have no idea if this guy is exactly like his brother." Ryder tried to ease the fear.

"Great. Angry krogan and now a batarian." Vetra scoffed at the admittance. "Plus, even more kett?"

"I still say he's dead." Drack interjected certainly.

"How do you know that?" The turian looked his way.

"Supplies are limited outside New Tuchanka. The heat is unforgiving. So is Morda. If he has neared the colony, he's dead." The old krogan snapped his head to look at Torvi. "I need to go with you when you enter the colony, Ryder. Morda has no love for the Initiative."

"I thought it would be a walk in a park," Torvi teased.

The krogan didn't catch onto the joke. "It will be like a salarian walking around on Tuchanka since the genophage."

"Please don't let Kallo hear that." Nyx muttered.

Stunned that the krogan was serious. Torvi decided to move past the point she was making. "We need any evidence we can find down there also about the turian ark. Resources are going to get thin without their pathfinder's aid." The time for relaxation was gone. "Any volunteers to go with me and Drack?"

Peebee shot her hand up quickly. "Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!" She waved her blue arm frantically, tossing a playful smirk Cora's way. She beat her. "I want a good fight."

"Trust me. Morda may give it to you if we are not careful." The krogan's warning was laced with gravity.

"Let's try not to fight the krogan." Ryder held up her hands to stop the team. "This is about all of us working together, remember?"

Vetra crossed her arms with an approving nod. "Working together would be useful. It's all on you, Drack."

"Yeah, you're like their friend, right?" Peebee asked.

"Maybe." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Torvi asked.

"Before I left the Nexus, Morda was not deemed 'overlord.' Looks like she has moved up since then. I wouldn't trust her."

"Fantastic."