A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying this story. As I said earlier, this is part of what I'm calling the "Raptorverse", but will not connect with the main story for some time yet. However, you do get a faint foreshadowing of things to come in the introduction. This is also something of a re-imagining of the Andromeda storyline as I have made some important changes—most notably in the portrayal of Ryder, but also somewhat with other characters. I do see Tann as somewhat incompetent—really more out of his depth than truly incompetent. Leave him to safe, routine, matters and he'll do okay. Just don't throw anything at him that requires creativity or thinking outside the box. Addison I do see as completely incompetent—dangerously so. I've also taken other liberties—I hope they meet with your approval. Please feel free to leave reviews—I read them all even though I might not always respond. Thanks again!

Prelude 2 One Helluva Wake Up Call

Dark Space—sometime after the exit of the Nexus and arks from the Milky Way

Had anyone on any of the ships making their way to the Andromeda galaxy been awake, they would have been startled at the sight they saw—or rather didn't see. No one, not even the SAMs, noticed as each ship entered the hole…a hole in dark space…even darker than the void surrounding them. Nor where they able to see the mysterious aliens prowling about the ships—investigating the technology…taking stasis pods away and then putting them back again…taking scans and readings. All unseen in the dark. The dwellers continued undisturbed their cryogenic sleep—each alone with their dreams…or…in some cases nightmares such as those tormenting the ones cocooned in stasis pods marked Verner, Cassandra…Fredrich, Johan…Merriweather, Claudette.…along with others—turian, salarian, human, asari, krogan...the aliens took and then returned their stasis pods along with others. Why? Unknown.

The Nexus—a few months after arrival in the Heleus Cluster

"You're making a mistake—another one." Nakmor Kesh growled at the other members of the hastily put together Initiative Council. "There are no viable worlds for us to colonize. There are no golden worlds."

"Kesh is right." Tiran Kandros, the turian placed in command of the militia after Kelly's expulsion, declared, adding his weight to the discussion. "Establishing an Initiative presence on Kadara would require a full scale invasion—something the Initiative is not set up to do. Elaaden is also out. Only krogan are capable of long term survival on that desert world."

"We have to establish colonies—and soon—or we're all going to die." Director Tann, a former senior accountant before being thrust into the leadership role thanks to the death of the Initiative's founder, Jien Garson, along with the rest of the senior leadership cadre of Initiative, emphatically declared. "I am open to suggestions."

Foster Addison, now Director of Colonial Affairs, and previously the chief operations officer of a minor corporate colony in the Alliance prior to her joining the Initiative, suggested in a tired and strained voice, "We try Eos again."

"Eos?" An incredulous Kesh exclaimed. "I don't smell alcohol on your breath, so you're not drunk, Addison. Drugs? Are you high on something? You do remember what happened to Promise—don't you?"

"How dare…" The outraged Colonial Director sputtered until she was again interrupted by an angry krogan.

"You have to be either drunk or high to propose sending colonists to Eos again!" Kesh practically shouted. Regaining control of her temper, Kesh brought her voice down to a normal level as she explained, almost as one would to a particularly dimwitted child, "Remember what I told you when you sent those poor souls to Promise? In case you conveniently forgot, let me remind you. I said that we didn't have the means or the resources to rapidly terraform the planet. You want to establish short-term scientific outposts? That's doable. Even limited mining. Anything beyond that…" She shook her head. "Now you're wanting to do it all over again. What kind of stupid are you?"

"Kesh is right." Kandros quickly stated, backing up the krogan superintendent before either Tann or Addison could object. "Besides the natural hazards and radiation…there are those alien machines and the kett. My militia is not currently in a position to adequately defend an outpost thanks to the recent expulsion of the krogan. Whoever chooses to go there or is sent there is signing their own death warrant."

"We don't have a choice." Addison exclaimed, raising her voice. "Without food and resources, we're dead."

"I agree with Director Addison." Tann interjected, "We must establish another outpost on Eos and it must be soon. Resilience is a go."

Shaking her head, Kesh walked away grumbling, "Then you can be the ones to tell those poor souls that you're sending them to their deaths. I don't want any part of it."

Sometime later, in the privacy of her quarters, Nakmor Kesh activated her comm monitor. "You there, Old Man?"

"I'm here, ru'shann." A gravelly voice responded through the speaker. "Hard day at work?"

"You might say that." The krogan female sighed as she took a gulp from a bottle of ryncol that a certain turian smuggler had earlier dropped off for her. "Addison and Tann are putting down another outpost on Eos and they're calling it Resilience—as if that's going make up for the broken 'promise' they made earlier."

"Don't those idiots remember anything?" The gravelly voice responded.

"Yeah…they remember." Kesh took another draught from the bottle as she spoke, "But they're desperate and they're flailing about looking for something…anything…that'll work."

"In other words, they don't know what the hell they're doing."

"That about sums it up." Kesh dejectedly replied as she set her bottle down. "So…where are you now, Grandfather? It doesn't sound like you're on Elaaden."

"I'm on Kadara. Vetra needs some muscle as backup for a deal she's setting up."

"Look after her." Kesh pleaded, "I've got few enough friends as it is. I can't afford to lose her too."

"I'll take care of her, ru'shann. And after we finish our business, I'll swing by the Nexus after going to Eos. I feel like doing a little hunting."

"Watch out for yourself, Old Man." Kesh again implored, "Like I said, I don't have many people I care about left."

Kadara Port—shortly after the kett had been driven out but before the failure at Resilience

"Thanks Colt." Vetra Nyx said in a low voice to Sloane Kelly's new port superintendent. "This is going to help a lot of people make it through at least another week."

"You know I'm a dead man if Kelly ever finds out about this." Colt Dalton growled in a low voice as his eyes constantly scanned the area, ever on the lookout for Kelly's patrolling goons.

"You're safe." The turian replied in a reassuring voice. "No one can trace this back to you and Drack's my backup in case your connection tries to pull a fast one on either you or us."

"Good." Colt answered back, his body language reflecting his continuing unease. "You just live up to your end of the deal, Nyx."

"You understand all I can do is give Tessa a way off if she wants it." Vetra cautioned, "If she chooses to stay at Resilience, there's not much I can about it. And as for the other thing…already on its way to you. It should arrive in a day or two."

"Yeah…" Dalton sighed, "I understand. Just…" the former mutineer stammered, "…thank you for trying."

"No problem." Vetra replied with the turian equivalent of a smile as she placed a hand on the human's shoulder, "I'll do my best to talk her into leaving…but you know how stubborn Tess can be."

Nodding his head, Colt affirmed, "I know. Her determination is what brought her to the Initiative in the first place. I'm just afraid that this time, it's going to get her killed."

"I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen, but…" The turian warned as she removed her hand from the dockworker's shoulder.

"You can't make any promises." Dalton finished. "Just…do the best you can."

The Nexus—before the fall of Resilience

"Fuck Addison…fuck Tann…fuck Kalinda…fuck them all!" Pelessaria screamed as she threw a miniature figurine of a dancing asari given to her as a gift by her former lover, shattering it against the far wall. Pacing up and down her tiny apartment, the asari rogue wracked her brain for a solution to her current dilemma. "I just know that the key to Eos is the Remnant." She chattered, her thoughts racing as she spoke to herself, her words keeping steady rhythm with her paces. "But, what are they? What are they supposed to do? Are they native to Eos or did someone bring them? What's the key to controlling them? If I can only find the answers to those questions! But to do that, I've got to get off this fucking station!"

"Hey, Peebee? You still want a lift to Eos?"

"Hell yeah, Clancy!" Pelessaria enthusiastically responded into her comm, her prayers answered. "You getting ready to make another salvage run?"

"Sure am. You still got that Vaenia vid?"

"Yup. Just waiting for you to give me a ride…to Eos, that is. No way I'm gonna ride you or let you ride me." Peebee chuckled.

"All righty then. But you don't know what you're missing." Pelessaria smirked at the sound of human laughter, "Be at the docking port in an hour. Don't forget, I get first crack at anything you salvage."

"That's part of the deal." The young asari agreed, "Packing up right now. Be there in an hour."

The Fall of Resilience

"I'm glad you decided to stick around, Tessa." Astor Martin, an Initiative geologist assigned to the new Resilience outpost remarked to his dark-skinned friend who was at that moment working at her console.

"Couldn't let Grace down." Tessa replied with a lopsided grin. Her grin disappearing, she heaved a sigh, "I hope Colt understands. I like him and well…it was fun while it lasted…but…" the young engineer declared with a shake of her head, "…he made his decision when he chose to side with Kelly and her mob. I've got friends who depend on me here."

"Sure as hell do." Grace Lito, the head engineer exclaimed as she joined the conversation. "Thanks for tuning those shield generators. You gave us an extra couple of weeks rad free."

"I just bought us some time." Tessa answered back with another sigh. "We've got to find some way to get this radiation under control. If we can't do that, then we're not going to have any choice but to pull out."

"I told Addison that." Grace acknowledged with a scowl, "Wanna hear what she told me?"

"The Initiative needs this outpost to research methods to sustain viability." Remitus, a turian scientist who also doubled as shuttle pilot, sneered at the mention of the Director's name. "Fucking bitch will get us all killed."

"I'm sorry, Remitus." Tessa said in a consoling tone of voice, "I know your sister's on the Natanus and that you'd rather be looking for her…"

"But we need you here too." Grace added, supporting her teammate. "Your efforts might have given us the key to beating the aliens if Project Sigma pans out."

"Project Sigma's not going to give us victory over the aliens." Remitus cautioned, "It'll just give us a tool to use. We're going to need a lot more than that if we're going to survive out here." Pausing for a moment, the turian scientist queried, "Have you heard anything from Darin? He told me he was going to check out a possible lead near the southern monolith."

"Isn't that the one near where those aliens had set up a fort or something?" Astor inquired with a worried look. "I told him not to go there…that it was too risky what with those robots and now the aliens."

"I know." Tessa frowned, "But when I tried to talk him out of going, he told me that if he found what he was hoping to find then the risk would be worth it."

"Too many people are going missing out there." Grace grumbled as she brought back a tray with cups of coffee and stale bread. "Sorry about the bread and reconstituted coffee but we're going to have to make do with what we've got until the next shipment—whenever it gets here."

"Fuck Addison and Tann." Astor made a face as he sipped his coffee, "Damn that sucks."

"Thysa and Gordanus still walking the perimeter?" Tessa asked as she bit into the stale bread, quickly washing it down with lukewarm coffee.

"Yeah." Grace replied with a grimace as she finished the last of her coffee before doublechecking the seals on her armor and clamping her pistol and assault rifle in place. "I'm heading out to the old Promise site to see if I can pick up anything useful. I should be back in a couple of hours." Her lips turning up in a wicked grin as she put on her helmet, she joked, "Can I get you anything?"

"A bottle of Kristal champagne would be nice." Tessa bantered back.

"I'll see if there's one lying about." Grace chuckled, "Take care of the place and I'll see you later." Exiting the shelter, the outpost's chief engineer felt a cold shiver run up and down her spine as she heard a roar coming from beyond the barrier perimeter. Spotting a turian and asari walking side by side, she called out, "Thysa…Gordanus!"

"Hey Grace!" The turian responded with a wave as the pair approached the engineer. "What's up?"

"Taking a trek over to Promise to do some scavving." The human engineer responded. "Hoping I can salvage some circuitry…maybe a relay or two to shore up our shield towers. Might have to begin cannibalizing parts from Promise's towers but I'm trying to avoid doing that."

"Yeah." Thysa, an asari who had once served as a commando before joining the Initiative, concurred. "That's the only other spot on this planet that's even remotely safe. The monoliths are crawling with those damned robots."

"Don't forget the aliens." Gordanus pointed out. "I spotted a glint coming from the mountains over there." The turian said, pointing at a ridgeline to the north. "I've got a bad feeling…" His face showing concern, he warned, "Be careful out there, Grace. I don't want you to go missing like the others."

"Don't worry. I will!" Grace responded as she clambered into one of the parked Nomads. "Watch out for everyone and I'll be back soon!"

Watching as their friend departed, Thysa quipped to her companion, "One more sweep and then turn in?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Sometime later as the pair finished their round, Gordanus remarked to his asari companion, "I'm ready to call it a day. Wanna grab some stale bread while I suck up some dextro-paste."

"Lead on." Thysa bantered back as a noise drew both guards' attention. "What the hell!" The former commando exclaimed as she pointed to a pair of oncoming alien shuttles.

"We're being attacked!" Gordanus cried out as Thysa activated the comm on her omnitool.

"Attention all personnel!" The asari barked out, "The outpost is under attack. This is not a drill. At least two…no four…shuttles inbound. All noncombat personnel evacuate immediately. Combat ready personnel meet on the second level of the research labs. Hurry!"

"Go on!" Gordanus ordered as he readied his weapon. "I'll cover you."

"Look out after yourself." Thysa whispered as she leaned forward and kissed her turian lover on the cheek.

"You take care as well." Gordanus replied as the bony aliens landed, a heavyset alien uttering commands in a guttural language. Shouting a cry of defiance, the turian soldier announced to his enemy, "All right you bastards. I'll show you how we did it in the 26th Armiger Legion." Then, in a quiet whisper, he muttered to the wind, "I love you, Thysa."

Seeing that no one else had made it to the second level to join her, Thysa took a deep breath as she saw the aliens approaching her position, moving very professionally from cover to cover, overwatching each other. "Not going to get out of this one alive, Thysa." Shedding tears as she saw her lover go down amidst a pile of charging kett, the asari somberly murmured to lost love, "Looks like we won't be having children with each other after all, Gordanus." Summoning up her biotic strength, she launched a singularity at a group of onrushing aliens as she cradled her rifle and took a deep breath, "See you on the other side, Gordanus."

Hearing the sound of explosions from her camp near some Remnant remains, Peebee awakened from her slumber and looking to her west, saw Resilience lit up with fire, smoke clouds billowing in the radioactive atmosphere. Her eyes moistening with tears, the young asari, normally never at a loss for words, stood motionless—unable to move or speak—for several moments before she forced herself to turn away, uttering as she did so, "You poor people. Addison and Tann ought to be here…not you. You didn't deserve this."

Standing amidst a cluster of kett bodies, Nakmor Drack looked up as he heard the explosions in the distance. Turning his gaze towards the Initiative outpost, the old krogan knew at once what had happened. "Poor bastards." He muttered as he picked up a moaning kett, one who had borne one of the kett miniguns and effortlessly lifting the alien above his head, threw him against a rock outcropping, following up his throw with a blast from his shotgun. "That's for them." He growled as he turned his attention skyward, lifting his middle finger in a universally understood obscene gesture. "And that's for you Addison and Tann."

The Nexus Immediately after the Fall of Resilience

"Grandfather?" Kesh exclaimed as she answered her comm. "What is it? I was on my way to a meeting."

"You might want to sit down for this ru'shann." Drax advised, his gravelly voice now edged with a note of somberness rarely heard by his granddaughter.

"Okay. I'm sitting down." Kesh said as she sat down in the oversized chair she kept in her office. "What is it?"

"I take it you haven't heard the news from Eos yet?"

"Not since the latest progress report." Kesh admitted, "That was to be the first topic to be discussed at the meeting. The colony is long overdue to report in."

"That's because the kett attacked and destroyed it." Drack bluntly declared.

"Shit." Kesh gasped, "Did anyone get out alive?"

"I think so." Drack replied in the affirmative, "I saw at least two…maybe three…shuttles take off. It looks like two of them got away. Not sure about the third though. Saw smoke coming out of its rear."

"Thanks for telling me, Grandfather." Kesh said in a soft voice, "I'll let the others know."

"And give them an ass chewing for me too." Drack growled, "Quadless bastards sent them down there without any backup and no real plan beyond we're here! Did everything but paint a target on those colonists."

"I'm just as responsible as they are." Kesh sobbed, fending off the elder krogan's protests, "No, Grandfather. It's true."

"You warned them, ru'shann. They were too stupid to listen to you. That's not on you—it's on them."

"I should have fought harder." Kesh demurred, "Got Kandros to support me. Stalled for time. Anything." Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the krogan female stood up. "I've got to go now and give the bad news to the others. Take care of yourself out there, Old Man, and kill a dozen or so of those kett bastards for me and for those poor souls at Resilience."

"Count on it, ru'shann."

Heleus Cluster—the Andromeda Galaxy—A-Day plus 600 years…Ark Hyperion

"Activation protocols engaged." SAM's voice carried through the ship's intercom, even though no one, as yet, was awake to hear it. "Revival of medical personnel commencing." Several minutes later, a small group of humans and one asari emerged from their cryopods.

"Welcome back Dr. Carlyle…Dr T'Perro." SAM announced as a pair of med techs helped the physicians to sitting positions before handing them cups of coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"A little stiff in the joints thanks to my arthritis." Dr. Carlyle replied as he took a cautious sip from his coffee, "Damn that's hot!" Turning his head to the asari woman seated next to him, he asked, "How are you feeling, Lexi?"

"Other than feeling a little groggy, I'm okay." The asari physician responded. "Give me another cup of coffee and I should be good to go." Raising her voice, she called out, "SAM?"

"Yes, Dr. T'Perro?" The Hyperion's AI answered back.

"What is the status of the other medical teams?"

"Currently in the process of revival. All teams should be operational within the hour."

"Excellent." Dr. Carlyle exclaimed. "Once we're all up, then we can get started waking up the ship's officers and crew beginning with the engineering, bridge staff and the Pathfinder."

"I'll take lead on engineering…" Lexi offered as her friend nodded his head in agreement.

"Sounds good. I'll take care of waking up Ryder, Captain Dunn, and her people. Then we can get started on the rest of the Pathfinder team so that they can get started scouting out our new home."

"Take it easy, Captain." Dr. T'Perro said as a med tech assisted the dusky-skinned captain from her cryopod."

"Have we reached the Andromeda galaxy?" Captain Nozomi Dunn inquired as the med tech draped a blanket over her shoulders while another med tech handed the Hyperion's captain a cup of hot tea.

"Indeed we have." The asari physician replied with a smile as she conducted a brief physical exam of the captain. "How are you feeling?"

"Getting there." Dunn answered back. "The tea helps. Have the rest of the crew been revived?"

"We're in the process of doing that now." Lexi affirmed, "The chief engineer's awake as is your XO and pilot."

"Lani, Moishe, and Christof are up?" Dunn nodded her head approvingly as she rose to her feet, "Good. I need everyone at their stations as soon as possible. What about Alec? We need our Pathfinder ASAP."

"Dr. Carlyle's waking him up now."

"Welcome back, Alec." Harry Carlyle grinned as the Pathfinder gratefully took a coffee mug and drank from it. "Take some time to get your bearings before you try to stand up."

"I'll be okay, Harry." Ryder answered back as his alert gaze took in his immediate environment. "What about Captain Dunn and the rest of the crew?"

"Already at their stations." The doctor responded as a medtech helped the Pathfinder to his feet. "Careful now…it's been six hundred years since you've used those muscles. That's why we're at 0.2 G."

"I can't stay around here forever, Harry." Alec reproved only to have his physician cut him off.

"And I don't want you breaking a leg before you find us our golden world. We're gradually bringing up the g's. In a few hours, you and everyone else should be able to get around at standard gravity."

"Fine." The Pathfinder reluctantly conceded. "What about my team and Sara and Eric?"

"I'm on my way to join Lexi. We're about to wake them up. Don't worry, they'll be ready when you need them. We've got plenty of time before we hit the Nexus."

"Good." Alec replied as he activated his omnitool. "Now, if you don't mind, Doctor, I've got to go over some details before we reach our destination."

"Of course, Alec." Dr. Carlyle acknowledged with a slight nod of his head. "One of the medtechs will stick around in case you need anything. I'll keep you posted on your team and let you know when they're all up and about."

"I remember seeing pictures of the Sargasso Sea in the old vids." Lani remarked from her pilot's station as she and the rest of the Hyperion's bridge crew stared at the tendrils of…something…intertwining their way through space.

"What the hell is this stuff?" One of the bridge crew pondered as he checked his instruments. "I can't get any solid readings."

"I'd strongly suggest that we avoid contacting it." Captain Dunn's executive officer, a former merchant captain with years of experience under his belt, suggested as his gaze focused on the seaweed-like strands that branched out in a seemingly random manner.

"Good idea, Moishe." Captain Dunn acknowledged with a nod of her head, "Take us in slow and easy, Lani. Nothing fancy." Speaking into her comm, the captain called out, "Pathfinder to the bridge. Alec…you need to see this."

"Aye, aye, Captain." The dark-skinned helmswoman responded, "Slow and easy."

Cryobay

"Look over here…" Lexi directed, testing the vision of her newest patient, Eric Ryder. "Good. Now over here." Nodding in satisfaction, she noted the results on her omnitool. "You seem to be recovering okay from your long nap, Eric. How are you feeling?"

"Ready to rock and roll." The former Alliance spec. ops specialist declared as he gulped down his coffee. "Also ready for a refill."

"Adrenaline levels have increased. Any further caffeine intake would be inadvisable at this time."

"Thanks a lot, SAM." Eric grumbled as an attractive dark-haired, Asian-featured, medtech barely repressed a giggle. Glancing up at the medtech, the rakish soldier winked, "Free tonight?"

"Give me a call." The medtech winked back as she punched in her comm number on her omnitool and sent it to Eric.

"Count on it." Eric grinned as Harry cleared his throat.

"If you're quite finished making dates with my staff, you might to know that we're about to wake up your sister. I'm sure she'd appreciate having family near when she wakes up."

"Of course." Eric replied somewhat sheepishly as the lights dimmed and the ship shuddered.

"Shit." Eric muttered as he looked about the bay, "That's not good."

"We've lost gravity!" The medtech who Eric had propositioned earlier called out.

"What the hell's going on?" Harry exclaimed as patients and staff floated in the weightless environment.

Assuming command, Eric called out in a reassuring voice, "Take it easy, people. I'm sure Captain Dunn is right on top of it. Docs?"

"Right." Harry nodded his head as he gestured to his fellow physician, "Lexi? Make sure no one hurts themselves by slamming into a bulkhead. I'm going to contact the Bridge and then make sure Sara's pod's secure. Eric…"

"I'll help Lexi." Ryder acknowledge, moving towards the asari doctor. "You take Kirkland…" He suggested, "I'll get Greer."

"Okay." The asari quickly responded as she caught a floating crewman and guiding him to one of the beds, gave him a restraint to hold on to. "Hold on to this, Kirkland. It'll keep you from floating away."

"Thanks, Doc." Kirkland responded as he followed directions.

"Everyone else!" Eric shouted, "Grab something to hold on to and be ready when they restore gravity!"

Bridge

"Power and gravity are out in the cryobay." The engineer announced as he called out a damage report. "Decks One through Four report power failures as well."

"Casualties?" Captain Dunn demanded as the Pathfinder entered the bridge.

"Two killed—they were standing too close to a power junction when it exploded. Ten wounded—two critically." The executive officer reported. "Medical has teams on scene. They report their condition has stabilized. It could have been a lot worse, Nozomi."

"Alec." Captain Dunn growled as she pointed to the seaweed-like tendrils threatening her ship, "Have you seen anything like that before?"

"No." The Pathfinder responded with a shake of his head. "Has power been restored to the rest of the ship…especially cryo? Those stasis pods only have a limited amount of reserve energy. Once that's gone…"

"We're getting there." Dunn answered back, "Cryo has top priority."

"Cora!" Alec called out through his comm to his second in command.

"I'm on my way to cryo, Sir." The blonde biotic replied as she propelled herself down the corridor, using handholds to push her along to her destination.

"Good." The Pathfinder replied, "Once everything gets sorted out down there, come up to the bridge with Eric and Sara."

"Will do. Harper out."

Cryo

Floating into the cryo bay, Cora noted with satisfaction that Eric and the doctors had successfully settled the newly awakened teams. "Everyone brace yourselves!" She called out as she made her way to an emergency panel. "The captain's about to reboot the grav system."

"You heard the LT!" Eric called out, "Grab something and get ready unless you like the idea of kissing the deck." Seeing that everyone was ready, the younger Ryder signaled the blonde, "Okay, Cora!"

Punching a button, Cora cried out, "We're ready, Bridge. Hit the reset!" Moments later, formerly weightless objects hit the deck with a thud as standard gravity was restored. "Helluva wake up call, huh, Ryder?"

"Tell me about it, Harper." Eric grinned as a dark-skinned young man moved about helping the med techs in their efforts to aid those patients who fell hard as a result of the return to normal gravity.

"Eric! Cora!" Doctor Carlyle called out from Sara's pod, "You need to come over here!"

Quickly rushing to his sister's pod with his blonde teammate following close behind, Eric queried with a worried frown, "What happened? Is she gonna be okay?"

"Sara's pod's systems shorted out, but we've got it under control." Dr. Carlyle replied reassuringly. "Her SAM implant has placed her into an induced coma state."

"And that's a good thing?" Eric exclaimed.

"Yes." Dr. T'Perro declared. "SAM is monitoring her condition along with us. She's going to be fine. It's just going to take some time."

Letting out a breath of air in relief, Eric answered back as he placed a hand on his sister's pod, "You always were a pain to wake up in the morning, Sis. Get better soon…we're gonna need you on the team."

"Speaking of which…" Cora reluctantly interjected, "Your father wants the two of us on the bridge ASAP."

"Yeah." Eric frowned at the mention of his father, "We better go. The Old Man doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Hyperion—Bridge

"I've got to take care of my ship and the people on it, Alec." Captain Dunn declared emphatically. "That's my Number One Priority. Scouting out Habitat Seven will have to wait."

"The protocol in cases such as this is crystal clear, Captain." The Pathfinder argued back, "Solid ground."

"Once I've got the situation here stabilized, Alec…then we can start thinking about sending out extensive scouting parties. Not until then."

"She's got a point." Cora whispered to the younger Ryder male standing next to her. "If we lose the ship and everyone on board…"

"Then we've come all this way for nothing." Eric agreed.

"We're not going to lose this ship and we didn't come all this way for nothing." Alec Ryder interjected, staring down his son and second in command.

"Understood, Sir." Cora replied, both her and Eric instinctively snapping to attention.

"Has the team finished with the reviving process?" Alec inquired.

"The team, with the exception of Sara, has been successfully revived, Sir." Harper reported, "Unfortunately, Sara's pod suffered an electrical failure and she's in a medically induced coma."

"Yes." Alec's voice lost much of its edge as he lowered his head, his face etched with worry. "I was just informed by Dr. Carlyle about Sara's status." Gazing into his son's eyes, the older man approached Eric and clasped his shoulder, "You know Sara's going to pull through—right?"

"Of course she is." Eric replied, forcing a smile to his face, "She's a Ryder. If anything, she's going to be pissed off because she overslept."

Chuckling, Alec quipped back, "Your sister was always a grouch when she woke up in the mornings." Again assuming a commanding presence, the Pathfinder ordered, "Spool up a couple of shuttles. I want the team ready to dust off in thirty minutes."

"C'mon, Eric!" Cora urged, "Let's get geared up. The rest of the team should be in the locker by now."

"All right." Eric replied with a grin, "Let's do this."

Pathfinder Team Locker Room

"All right, people! Get suited and geared up!" Cora commanded as she and Eric entered the locker room. "We move out in thirty."

"I better get suited up myself." Eric said as he made his way to his locker and began the process of donning his hardsuit.

"The Pathfinder is calling for the team to be armed." SAM announced through the room's speaker. "Please pick up your weapons in the armory."

"You heard the AI." Cora directed as she opened the armory to the team and armed herself with a Crusader shotgun and Predator pistol.

"Is it true that the Old Man and Captain were fighting on the bridge?" Fisher asked Eric as he the pair checked each other's suit seals.

"You know what they say about rumors, Fisher." Eric replied, his facial expression acting as a nonverbal warning to the clueless shuttle pilot that the discussion was now over.

"Yeah." Fisher replied, not taking the hint as he patted the recon specialist on his back, "But I figure the Pathfinder team should support the Pathfinder…right?"

"Stow it, Fisher." Eric rebuked, "We're not taking sides here. There is no Team Pathfinder or Team Hyperion. We're all in this together. Got it?"

"Yes, Lieutenant." Fisher sullenly acknowledged as he joined Kirkland and Greer at the armory.

"Can't let ourselves devolve into factions." Cora commented approvingly as she joined the younger Ryder, standing beside him. Seeing the forlorn look on the young man's face as he gazed at his sister's locker, the lovely biotic placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, "She'll be okay, Eric."

"I know." Eric responded with a slight grin, "Thanks, Cora." His grin widening, the former spec-ops sniper joked, "Crusader? I thought you swore by the Disciple."

"Nothing wrong with the Disciple…it's a good weapon." Cora declared with a smirk of her own, "It's got decent range and hits hard enough. But the Crusader packs a bit more punch where it counts." Her smile growing wider as she saw Eric taking out a Hurricane and a Black Widow, the former huntress jibed, "Black Widow? Looking to take out a krogan or something?"

"Never can tell." Eric bantered back, "Don't know what we're gonna run into down there. Could be stampeding carnivorous elcor for all we know."

"Outraged shock and horror." Cora teased, her voice mimicking the dull monotone of elcor speech, "Elcor do not stampede. We panic in an orderly manner."

"C'mon, Harper!" Eric chuckled, "We better get moving or my Old Man will stampede over both our asses."

"You're right about that, Ryder." Cora laughed, "Let's go."

"We don't know what we're going to find. We do know that it will all be new. It could be that we found our new home—but then it might not be. We might discover that we're not alone here. That we have neighbors." Alec Ryder cautioned as he spoke to his team. "Remember your training. If we encounter alien life, be careful. Let's try to start things off on the right foot if we can. I don't want any itchy trigger fingers, but I also don't want anyone to take unnecessary risks. In other words…use your best judgment. Any questions?" Seeing that his team was all in agreement, the Pathfinder nodded his head in satisfaction. "All right. Load up."

As his team loaded up into the shuttles, Alec called out to his two leaders. "Cora…ride with me in Shuttle One. Eric…I want you in Shuttle Two. Doc…" The Pathfinder ordered as Dr. Carlyle and a med tech came in carrying their equipment, "Shuttle One."

"Everyone's on board and all gear stowed." Cora declared as the Pathfinder entered his shuttle.

"Good." Alec replied, grinning in anticipation. "Let's go and see what's down there."