A New Pathfinder and the Nexus
The past several hours were nothing but a blur for me. So much so that it was hard for me to properly recollect on what happened.
All I know is that now Alec Ryder is dead, trying to save Sara and he ended up transferring SAM into her, which would effectively make her the Pathfinder now!
I have no idea how to feel about this. On the one hand, it was possibly the only way to save Sara's life but on the other hand, why is she the Pathfinder now?! It was supposed to be Cora if he died. Sara hasn't been trained in the slightest! And what ticks me off is that Alec did it for a reason other than to save her and he wouldn't make it clear and obvious.
I remember carrying her to the shuttle, needing to tell the ark to prep the med-bay and when mom saw Sara's body and had been told of what happened, she instantly helped in any way she could. I even remember how we had to take Sara to SAM Node to make the connection she had with SAM properly connected through a hardwire connection, which now changes how A.I is integrated with a being.
And that all led to now.
I was sitting in SAM Node, keeping an eye on Sara's unconscious body while mom and Cora were waiting outside.
I looked down at my hands as I was fiddling around when I saw movement in the corner of my eye.
"What happened? Did the rest of the team make it?" I heard Sara's voice. I looked and Sara was wide awake!
"Hey! You're alright!" I cheered, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
"Guys, Sara's awake!" I then said through comms on my omni-tool.
"Who were you talking to, by the way?" I then asked as Sara sat on the edge of the berth she's on.
"SAM." She answered. It must be the private channel for Pathfinders.
"You're up." Cora said, jogging up to Sara as mom walked up to her.
"Look here." She instructed with her hand up.
"And here." Mom then moved her hand for Sara to follow, which she did. But then Sara noticed Alec's helmet. She doesn't know yet.
"My father… where…?" She asked, looking at all of us.
Mom and Cora looked at each other and then at me. Looks like I have to be the bringer of bad news.
"I'm sorry, Sara. He gave his own life to save yours. I know this must be hard." I gave her the news, sitting next to her and wrapping my arm around her as she started to cry.
"I… I can't believe he's gone. One minute everything was fine, and then… he…" Sara struggled to say through her tears. I stroked her arm to try and calm her down a bit.
"I know he could be distant. But he once said that when his time came, he wanted to go out among stars no one had seen before." Cora tried to comfort Sara with her words. After a short while, Sara calmed down and wiped her tears away before looking around and noticed where we were.
"What are we doing in SAM Node?" She asked.
"SAM is now part of you… in a way we don't entirely understand. It played havoc with your brain." Mom explained as carefully as she could.
"SAM?" Sara asked.
"Your father authorized the transfer of Pathfinder authority to you." He told her the big news. She of course was shocked so much that her face looked distant.
"Shouldn't that be Cora?" She questioned.
"In theory. In reality…. You're the new Pathfinder, Sara." Cora said with her hands clasped behind her back. I heard the signs of bitterness in her voice. I am going to have a word with her about this.
"You can't be serious." Sara immediately was in denial.
"Sara…." I tried to calm her but I didn't even get the chance.
"You saw my dad in action. It takes years to become a Pathfinder." Sara told me.
"I know. I know. At least you won't be alone on this. And he most likely had a reason other than to save your life." I told her.
"It's all academic, anyway. SAM's linked to your mind on a deeper level now. Trying to untangle it could kill you." Mom stated, looking away on the last point.
"I know this is tough, but… we need to start thinking about the next step. A lot of people are counting on us." Cora then pointed out.
"Is the ark still drifting?" Sara asked as I stood up.
"That's the thing. Whatever Alec did, it did good. It was some kind of atmosphere scrubber." I started.
"The energy cloud thinned out. We're on our way to the rally point now. Should be at the Nexus soon." Cora then continued.
"She needs to rest first." Mom reminded her. Of course, looking out for her patients. Very maternal.
"She has two hours. We'll need our Pathfinder for this." Cora coldly said before storming out. Mom followed her.
"I managed to check on Scott. No change yet. But he'll pull through." I informed Sara, who nodded and then I walked out of SAM Node, where Cora was waiting for me in the hallway.
"Is there gonna be a problem between you and Sara, Cora?" I asked instantly, rather harsh.
"How could you ask that?" She instantly got defensive.
"Because you were trained to be Pathfinder if Alec died. And now it's Sara. So I ask again, is there going to be a problem between you two?" I pushed since Sara is like a sister and I don't want her to be in any form of harm, abuse or trouble.
"I won't stand in the way. I just want answers." Cora said, looking away, seemingly ashamed.
"Well, they won't come easy. Alec wasn't the most straightforward of people." I told her. She sighed.
"It's done. All I can do now is be her second and keep Alec's mission alive." Cora said. I knew I came at her a bit more harsh than I needed to be, so I hugged her in comfort. She seemed surprised but she hugged back.
"Well, you'll have me and Sara to help you out. Plus, wouldn't want Scott to wake up and find you and Sara in a catfight." I decided to make a joke to lighten the mood and it worked as Cora chuckled as we parted.
"Yeah. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" She quipped. I would've replied but I didn't because the door to SAM Node opened and Sara walked out.
"Is everything okay?" She asked us.
"Yeah, just clearing things up. That's all." I told her. Cora nodded.
"Come on, let's get to the bridge." Cora then said and all three of us walked out of the hallway and into a common area to the door that led to the bridge.
Once we entered, we walked up to Dunn, who was by the railing.
"Ryder, good you see you on your feet. We're at the Nexus." Dunn said, looking out. We did too and there was some structure floating in orbit over what must be a gas cloud or something.
"It's the forward hub for the entire Andromeda Initiative. The Asari, Salarian and Turian arks should be there too." She then told us.
"Let's hope they've had better luck." Sara replied.
"Starting our approach now." Someone named Lani informed as we got closer to it.
"And to think, it's nearly as big as the Citadel in the Milky Way." I said.
Once we were close enough, I noticed something off. It looked incomplete with its construction and looked like it was abandoned. Something's wrong.
"Nexus control, this is Ark Hyperion requesting docking clearance." Lani said over comms.
"Captain, I'm only getting their automated approach channel, not a live person." She then said. Yeah, something's definitely wrong.
"Well like it or not, we're here. Take us in." Dunn told her and so, the ark flew up to the Nexus.
"Construction should've finished by now." Cora pointed out what I've noticed.
"And it looks like it's been empty for a long time. This ain't good." I added.
"I know. Habitat 7 being a bust, probably starting a war with the first aliens we've met and our Pathfinder dead was bad enough. This had better be rock bottom." Sara stated, sounding distressed.
"Green across the board. Docking initiated." Lani said as the ark docked onto the Nexus.
"Alright. I got us here. Good luck, Pathfinder." Dunn told Sara, who looked taken aback by being called that before she, Cora and I walked out of the bridge.
"You okay, Sara?" I asked her when we walked past the seats.
"The captain just called me Pathfinder. This is really happening." She recollected.
"Just keep calm and you'll be fine." I assured her.
"I still can't believe dad's dead. This should've been his moment." She then said as we continued walking.
"But now it's yours. You just need to decide what you're going to do with it." Cora told her.
"Where do I start? I'm just not sure I'm ready." Sara said with hesitance.
"If we survived falling in the sky on Habitat 7, we can be ready for this." I said as we reached the stairs leading to the tram.
"Right. So, always keep a jump jet handy." She quipped as we walked up to the tram and when we'd all entered, I used the controls to get us on the Nexus. The tram then started moving.
"It'll be nice to see some friendly faces this time." Sara said.
"The Nexus runs a support crew. Just enough to finish building the station and provide safe harbor for the arks." Cora explained.
"Means we can start waking our people up." Sara pointed out.
"And we can provide for our people and more once we expand and explore." I added, feeling more hopeful.
The tram eventually came to a stop and the door opened.
"Here we are." Cora said as we walked out. The hall was only lit by the lights by the door and there was a panel sparking. That ain't a good sign.
When we got close enough, the door opened and we entered the common area. But it was dark and there were crates and boxes were piled up.
"Umm…. What's wrong with this picture?" I asked with concern.
"Where is everybody?" Sara asked.
"This place should be full of people. It's more like a ghost town." I stated.
"It's like everything's on standby." Cora noticed. There seemed to be a VI that was still operational.
"Hey, maybe this could help." I told Sara and Cora, who walked up to it as I did.
"Welcome to the Nexus, gateway to Andromeda. I'm Avina, a virtual intelligence designed to assist you with immigration." It said, looking like an Asari.
"Why is there nobody here to greet us?" I asked it.
"I'm sorry. My code is limited to information and simple interaction simulations. Please select from the following pre programmed responses." It then said. Great.
"How does the immigration process work?" Sara asked it.
"We ask that you submit to a brief medical exam to ensure your health and well being after making such a long journey. Once you've been cleared, our colonization experts will assist you in finding your new home. Please be mindful of the queue: thousands of eager colonists like you are waiting to begin their new life in Andromeda." The VI answered.
"And yet this place looks deserted." I retorted.
"What year is it?" Sara then asked it.
"The current year is 2819. After spending over 600 years in stasis, it's normal to feel disoriented or confused upon arrival. Our helpful medical staff can assist with any physical or psychological aftereffects you may be experiencing." It replied.
"Well, she's got the date right, at least." Cora noted.
"So where is everyone?" Sara questioned.
"Where do colonists live?" She then asked.
"Once you've cleared immigration, our helpful staff will assist you in choosing the homeworld of your dreams. Will it be the tropical paradise of Habitat 7? The gentle rolling hills of Habitat 3? Or perhaps the mysterious twilight world of Habitat 5? Whichever you choose, rest assured our Pathfinders have carefully vetted all colony worlds to ensure your security and prosperity." It answered.
"Oh boy." Sara groaned. Yeah….
"And yet, Habitat 7 was a bust. She's way out of date." I told the girls.
"That's all." Sara said to part ways with the VI.
"It has been my pleasure. Please see one of our helpful immigration staff for further assistance. And welcome to your new home in Andromeda, where the brightest star is you. Current wait time for immigration processing is: UNKNOWN ERROR."
"Right. That was helpful." Cora said and then we walked away from it and went further ahead to notice that there were plants.
"Plants are still alive." Sara said. I saw lights on some crates and I heard some sounds ahead of us, so I went ahead and I turned around the crates to see someone working on a panel.
"There's someone here, Maybe he can provide answers." I told Sara and Cora as we then walked up to the construction worker.
"Hi there." Sara greeted him. He stood up and faced us.
"We're from Ark Hyperion. And wondering where everybody went…?" Sara told him. When she mentioned Hyperion, the man seemed so shocked that he didn't answer and just looked at us with wide eyes.
"Did you say an ark?" He asked.
"This is the Nexus, right? Pretty sure we parked in the right place." Sara stated.
"And for what it's worth, your VI over there could use an update." Cora added.
"Of course, I'm sorry. It's just… we thought you were all dead." The man explained. Huh?
"What?!" Cora asked, just as surprised as me.
"Or captured. Or lost in dark space, or…. But you're here. You have no idea how much this means." He elaborated.
"I don't believe it…" A deeper voice said. We all turned to see a male Turian walking up to us. He was pale and had blue markings on his face underneath his eyes. We walked up to him.
"I'm Tiran Kandros. I lead our militia on the Nexus." He introduced himself. Hold on, Kandros? I met someone in the Milky Way with that name.
"I'm Sara Ryder. This is Cora Harper and Alan Ripley, part of the Pathfinder team." Sara introduced us to him.
"I'm sorry for the confusion. Our sensors told us an ark had arrived, but Heleus is notorious for scrambling equipment. We thought you were just another malfunction." Tiran said.
"Well, I've got a shipload of people that says we're here." Sara replied.
"Of course, it's just…. You're the first ark we've seen. After a year of waiting and no sign of the others, we shuttered this area and stopped looking." He further explained.
"You're telling us that you've been stranded for at least a whole year?" I asked in confusion.
"Longer. I'll fill you in on the way to Ops Centre." Tiran told us and led us back to the tram.
"Everything that could go wrong with our plan, has. We arrived fourteen months ago. Right away we hit a band of dark energy that knocked us off course." He said as we reached the doors.
"We're familiar with it." Sara told him, recollecting when we first woke up.
"Then you'll know why we call it the 'Scourge'. We lost whole sections of the station. A lot of people died. No power, no food… the chaos went on for months. It finally led to armed rebellion. When order was restored, the insurgents were banished. 'Exiles' we call them." He then said as we entered the tram.
"Are things back to normal?" Cora asked as Sara started the tram up.
"Not even close. But you're here now, so maybe the worst is over." Tiran replied as the tram moved to our next destination.
"No word from other Pathfinders at all?" I asked.
"No word from anyone, period." He told me.
"And what about the locals?" I then asked.
"So far, we've stayed hidden. We're in no shape to deal with an attack." He said.
"We had a first contact situation on Habitat 7. Whole thing went south. They tried to kill us." Sara brought up.
"That wasn't first contact, we know about them. Those aliens are going to be a real problem." Tiran said.
"This day just keeps getting better." Cora sarcastically said as we came to a stop.
"We're here." He told us as the door opened. He then walked us out.
"You should know our command structure has been fractured. Some of us are filling in for leaders who died." Tiran pointed out as he walked us up a ramp. Two people were running past us.
"Is it true?" One of them asked.
"They said drop everything and report for duty." The other replied.
"And no one was expecting an ark to finally show up." He continued as we continued walking up some stairs and saw a whole bunch of people in front of a long panel of controls and whatnot. They all stopped and looked at us. I noticed a Salarian and a Krogan there as well. I just hope Nakmor Kesh is alright. Heck, I hope Drack, Vetra and her sister Sid are alright too.
Now I know you're wondering how I know them. Well, when the Initiative was developing, I came across Kesh, who was helping construction and she was unlike other Krogan I've met as she was more civil and polite than others. She and I got along and she eventually introduced me to her grandfather Drack, who I nicknamed Dino Man and he thought that was funny. She even introduced me to Vetra Nyx and her sister, Sidera. They're Turians who helped Kesh out with getting things needed.
"The crew of the Hyperion…." The Salarian said, walking up to us, followed by a woman, who seemed to be a higher up.
"Good luck." Tiran wished on us as he patted me and Sara on our shoulders before walking away.
"I'm Jarun Tann, Director of the Initiative. You have no idea how much your arrival means to us." The Salarian introduced himself. I thought Jien Garson was the Director.
"Not as much as it means to us. We had one hell of a time getting here. Nice to see some friendly faces." Sara told him.
"Hungry faces. Any supplies you can spare would be appreciated." The woman said.
"This is Foster Addison. She oversees Colonial Affairs." Tann introduced the woman. He then looked at me, Sara and Cora as though he was looking for someone.
"Where's the Pathfinder?" He asked. Of course, they think Alec is still alive.
"You're looking at her." Sara told him, which made him and Addison taken aback.
"You're not Alec Ryder." Tann reminded her.
"Well, he died saving Sara from death. She's now his successor." I told them and they, especially Addison were saddened to hear the news.
"Alec… is dead?" Addison asked for confirmation. I nodded.
"Please understand: the entire Initiative is at risk." She said, leading us to a screen with readings on it.
"None of the golden worlds panned out. They're a bust. And there's been no word from the other arks." She explained.
"What happened to them?" Cora asked.
"Unknown. Our supplies are nearly depleted. Rationing bought us some time, but even that's running out." Tann answered.
"We need to find more resources. But that takes people, and we can't wake them up-"
"-until they have somewhere to live. A golden world." Sara finished.
"Now more than ever, we need a Pathfinder." Addison pointed out.
"It now falls to you, Ryder. Are you up to the task?" Tann asked Sara.
"You're in trouble here. I'd say you need any help you can get." Sara said with professionalism.
"We need qualified help." Addison had the guts to say. Seriously, what a bitch! At least she's trying!
"That's no way to treat a guest." A deep pitched voice said. My eyes widened because I know that voice. I turned and the Krogan walked up to us. It's Kesh! I know those markings on her head plates anywhere. I had to contain my happiness in seeing her. She noticed me and she too had to contain her happiness, I know.
"I'm Nakmor Kesh, superintendent of this station. I hope they haven't scared you off already." She said to Sara.
"It's nothing personal. But now isn't the time for on the job training." Addison stated her rather stupid opinion.
"At least the Pathfinder here seems willing to try. We could use a fresh perspective." Kesh said, expressing my thoughts perfectly. I'm glad to see Kesh is willing to accept Sara's help.
"You've heard my concerns. I'll leave you to it." Addison told the Krogan before walking away.
"We're all feeling the pressure. Let's have a private word in my office, Ryder. We'll discuss giving you a scout ship. I'm happy to work out the details with your associate?" Tann said, gesturing to Cora as he walked away and Cora followed him.
"Welcome to the Nexus." Kesh said to Sara.
"Thank you for standing up for me there." Sara thanked her.
"Hope's in short supply here. What little we can find should have a chance to bloom." Kesh explained before a woman with yellow hair walked up behind her.
"Ma'am, the Hyperion's core is now online." She said.
"Let me show you something." Kesh told me and Sara, leading us to the panel.
"An hour ago, that was all dark. But with the power from your ship, you're keeping the lights on. You have my vote." She said as the windscreen opened up to reveal the outside of the Nexus.
"And when the power runs out?" Sara asked.
"You best go talk to Director Tann. Make sure that doesn't happen. And don't be shy, come see me when you have a chance." Kesh replied, walking away. After a short while, Sara walked off, more than likely to talk with Addison, and so I now decided to go and find Kesh.
I saw her walking into a room connected to the Ops Centre and I followed her in.
"Kesh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you are alright." I greeted her and she turned around so fast that I thought she would've fallen. She then made the biggest smile she could make and opened her arms out for a hug, which I accepted the invitation.
"I'm so happy to see you alive and well, Alan. I thought for the longest time you were gone." She said as we embraced each other. We stayed like this until we parted after a few minutes. I had to ask her this.
"Kesh, I hope you can answer this: Are Drack, Vetra and Sid alive?" I asked her.
"Relax, they're alright. Vetra and Sid are on the Nexus right now. Drack, however, is out there, fighting the Kett." Kesh answered.
"Are those the aliens that Tiran told us about?" I asked for clarification.
"Yes." She replied as she got behind a desk. Heck, I realised that she's the only Krogan I've seen so far.
"What happened to the Krogan? I thought that there would be more here." I pointed out.
"You haven't spoken to Number Eight yet, have you?" She replied.
"Who?" I asked in confusion.
"Tann. Ask him why most of my people left. He'll have opinions. I can tell you this much. When the mutiny happened, a deal was made. My clan were supposed to settle matters and, in return, get more say in the Initiative." She explained. Of course, Tann is a Salarian, they will always view Krogan as beasts and not as beings with feelings and emotions.
"So why is Mr. Biased named 'Eight'?" I asked.
"Because he was eighth in line to take over the Andromeda Initiative. I like to remind him of that now and then. Keep him… humble." Kesh said.
"I have the feeling the deal went wrong, right?"
"You're correct. Even though the clan held up their part, Tann had a meltdown when he found out we wanted more say around here. Then Addison's assistant, Spender, pretended he never made the deal in the first place. It was a mess, but I don't blame my people for walking out. We're done being used." She said. Yeah, the whole thing with the Genophage was bad enough.
"And why did you stay?"
"It's… complicated. The station and my clan both need me here." Kesh said.
"I feel like I need to ask this: How are you and your people dealing with the Genophage out here?" I asked her.
"Right. The Genophage. A little 'gift' to our people from the Salarians thousands of years ago. That sterility virus they infected us with left most of our children stillborn. Only one in a thousand survive." She reminded me of the rather despicable act.
"I just hope we can move past that here in Andromeda. Though I feel like it would if a Salarian wasn't Director of the Initiative." I stated.
"Tell me about it. Though, you should know my clan are starting to show a mutation against the virus. A natural defense. During the trip to get here, Krogan underwent gene therapies to enhance the mutation while we were in stasis." Kesh revealed a glimmer of hope.
"Giving the adaptation time to develop in those 600 years." I said, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Yeah, it's still early, but I think we made a dent. Our scientists say we've improved viability to almost 4%, which is a lot better than what we had. Beyond all the statistics, it means more Krogan children will live. It's the only way my people have a future out here." Kesh explained. That's great.
"Now, on a lighter note, do you still pester Drack about his wellbeing?" I questioned and Kesh chuckled.
"Of course, need to remind him of how much of a fossil he is." She joked and I laughed.
"Well, see you later, Kesh." I then said, hugging her and she hugged back.
"Don't be a stranger out there." She warned me as I walked out. I smiled. I decided to see if Tiran was indeed related to Nyreen, so I walked around to try and find him until I found him at what must be Militia HQ.
"Hey, Tiran." I greeted him.
"Hello, Alan. What brings you here?" He asked.
"Are you related to a Nyreen Kandros?" I immediately asked him.
"You've met her?" He asked me.
"Yeah. I went to Omega one time in the Milky Way, she worked closely with Aria." I told him.
"Yes, I am. She's my cousin actually." He revealed. Hmm.
"By the way, what can you tell me about the Kett?" I then asked.
"Everytime we cross paths, there's a fight or they take prisoners. They're also on worlds with those alien structures. They don't take kindly to anyone studying them. Don't know why." Tiran answered. I noticed Cora was walking up to me, looking like she needed to talk.
"We'll talk later, Tiran." I parted ways with him.
"Understood." He replied as I walked up to Cora.
"What is it?" I asked.
"We just got our ship, now we just need to go to the docking bay and head to a planet named Eos to establish an outpost and bring more colonists out of stasis." She explained.
"Got it." I said as we made our way to the tram. And this time, it arrived to us and there was Sara on the controls.
"Ready to see what Tann gave us?" Sara asked.
"I hear it's something special." Cora replied as she had her omni-tool out.
"Pathfinder en route. How's the ship?" Cora asked over a voice link.
"In final checks and looking great." A female voice replied. Wait… Vetra….
"We won't be long." Cora said and turned off her omni-tool.
"The way things are going, we'll be on our own out there." Cora then told Sara.
"In other words, we're making this up as we go." Sara noted.
"We used to call that 'tactical improvisation'. But… at least we'll be doing it in style." Cora replied.
"By the way, Alan, where were you?" Sara then asked me.
"Was catching up with Kesh." I answered.
"You know her?" She asked.
"Yeah. Met her when the Initiative was being developed. We became good friends. Same for her grandfather, Drack." I told her.
As I finished, the tram stopped and we exited to the area we entered when we first got here. The difference was that there was light and people were walking around. But there was a ship flying above us. It reminded me of photos of the Normandy, the ship Commander Shepard used when she tracked down Saren.
"They call her the Tempest." Cora said as we walked up to the railing. The ship was black, white and red with a sleek and cool pattern. It then landed on the docking bay and people started packing stuff up.
"Let's go take a closer look." Sara said with a grin and we made our way through to the landing pad the ship was on. We approached the ramp onto the ship as people finished off loading supplies.
"So you're the one who's making everything happen." We heard that voice again and I saw her. Vetra Nyx. Who else had purple face markings on her face that came over her eyes.
"Vetra. Vetra Nyx. Initiative wrangler, provisioner, gunner and everything in between." She bragged. I shook my head in amusement.
"I see you still brag about yourself after all this time." I told her and she looked at me with shock.
"Alan? Now I see what the surprise Kesh told me I'd encounter was." She greeted me with joy as we hugged.
"Are you coming with us?" I asked her as we parted.
"Of course. Otherwise, there's no way they're letting this ship off the station." She replied as she looked over to Sara.
"Yeah, let's go see the rest of Heleus." Sara agreed and all four of us walked up the ramp until….
"Hold it, hold it. You're not going anywhere." Some worker had the balls to stop us.
"Damnit." Vetra cursed.
"What the hell do you want?" I asked coolly.
"Director Addison wants to see a complete report of the Tempest's supplies, munitions and crew." He explained. Are you kidding me? That bloody bitch again?!
"Tann overrules Addison." I told him.
"The ship's loaded out with equipment for outpost discovery, squarely under Director Addison's purview." He stated. I just wanted to punch that woman so hard in the face.
"Seen you around. Ben, right?" Vetra asked the man and walked with him. She was talking to him and brought up his family, in particular his son and how she could get him out of cryo sooner and caved in to finish the report. Phew.
"Thank goodness. For a sec I thought I was going to have to deal with Addison again." Sara expressed our thoughts as Vetra walked back.
"And no one wants that." Vetra chuckled.
"All things considered, it was an easy ask. And right now, you need people tearing down obstacles, not putting up more." She then reasoned as we continued up the ramp.
"Finally. Someone who cares about doing stuff, and not just talking about it." Cora whispered to me and Sara.
We entered into what must be the cargo hold. There was a railing above us for the next level on the ship.
"Everything's state of the art. Labs, sensors, exploration gear. Plus her crew, of course. The best in their field." Vetra said as we walked up to a lift, that lowered and there was mom walking past us. Wait, she's part of the crew?! YES!
"Good to see you're looking so well, Sara." She greeted our Pathfinder. I noticed Cora separated from us as we walked to the lift and it took us to the railing, in front of what must be the engine.
"The engine core's based on the ark's ODSY drive." Vetra said as we walked.
"But runs a hell of a lot quieter." A man added, walking past us.
"That's Gil Brodie. Engineer, mechanic, all round wrench jockey." Vetra told us when we walked up some stairs to a door that opened to a huge room with a table in the middle with a hologram of the Nexus.
"We call this the Research Room. There's space for upgrading equipment, gathering intel…."
"Router engaged. Securing connection to Tempest." SAM said as we approached a ramp, with a woman walking past us.
"Welcome aboard, SAM. And Ryder, of course." The woman said.
"All run by Suvi Anwar, our science officer." Vetra introduced her as we reached what must be a meeting table since it was large and circular with monitors on it.
"Your quarters are below. Plenty of space up here to get everyone together. It's all yours. She's light, stealthy and the fastest ship of her class." Vetra explained to Sara, who looked out the glass.
"It's really going to be something, isn't it?" Sara asked.
"I haven't even shown you the best part. When you're ready to fly, head over to the bridge. Our pilot should have everything good to go." Vetra replied, walking off. I did too so that I could walk around the ship and see where's where.
There was the Bio Lab, the Tech Lab, the crew's quarters, bathroom, kitchen and Med Bay, where I met mom, who was sitting at a desk.
"So, you're joining us, I see." I greeted her. She turned around and had a grin on her face.
"Looks like it. Let's just say Habitat 7 was too much action for Harry. I'm more steady." She replied.
"I feel better and safer already." I said before walking away and I managed to find a wardrobe where I can change the colour of my clothing. FINALLY! I grabbed a jacket, a long sleeve shirt and trousers to change them into a beige and brown colour scheme. Then there was an armour locker and I changed my armour to fit the same colour scheme.
After that, I walked out and saw Sara coming out of the Pathfinder's Quarters with a jacket and trousers in a purple and blue scheme. Already, she's expressing herself. More than likely did the same with her armour.
"Still trying to get as close as possible to be an Asari, huh?" I teased with a smirk.
"Oh, shut up." She groaned lightly, smacking my arm before we climbed the ladder next to her quarters and entered the bridge.
"Departure trajectory locked, Nexus Control." A voice said in one of the seats. The person revealed themselves to be a Salarian. He must be the pilot.
"Ah, time for introductions. You must be Ryder. Kallo Jath. Pleasure to be here, and to meet you, of course." He got up and shook hands with Sara.
"And you must be Alan Ripley. Nice to meet you." He then greeted me and we shook hands as well.
"I'll be piloting the Tempest at your word. Quite the ship. But it'll take a Pathfinder's guidance to see us through Heleus." He then said.
"Plenty of dangers out there, but I'll do my best to avoid them." Sara said to Kallo.
"That's reassuring. Wouldn't want to lose my finest work to that angry cloud." He stated. He helped make this ship, interesting.
"I was test pilot for the Tempest's early prototypes. I admit, I'm itching to see how she performs out here." He then said to Sara, leading her to a railing that formed in between the seats for the pilots.
"So how do I…?" She asked upon seeing the controls on it.
"The console syncs with your implant. Just swipe, touch a destination here, and the nav system calculates everything. Very efficient." Kallo explained. I noticed Vetra, Cora and Suvi entered, with Suvi sitting on the seat to the left of the console.
"It was optimized for a Pathfinder." Cora said as she and Vetra stood on either side of me.
"Everything's secure. If you're ready…." Vetra added.
"Is anyone really ready for something this big?" I questioned.
"We signed on for the big stuff when we came to Andromeda." Sara said.
"Alright…." Kallo said before walking past to the pilot seat. Me and Cora stood next to Sara.
"Command access is transferring successfully." Cora noted, looking at her omni-tool.
"Um… science and monitoring stations look fine. Lexi is reporting in…." Suvi brought up.
"Helm is green. Gil reports the drive core is online." Kallo added.
"Well… the Tempest is yours, Sara. Do you have anything to say, for the log?" I asked.
"We were all expecting a golden world. Now there's just a long road ahead. But hold onto that dream. It might just see us through." She stated.
"Nexus Control, this is the Tempest, ident two five two seven, prepping to depart." Kallo spoke over the comms and then we flew off of the landing pad and flew out of the Nexus.
"Departure vector verified, Tempest. Godspeed, Pathfinder." Nexus Control replied as we just exited the Nexus and we gained speed to our next mission.
I forgot to mention in the last chapter how Alan will fill in Liam Kosta's role in the crew because I hate him as a character, a lot of his actions, like in his loyalty mission either annoy me or piss me off.