The Nexus was an absolute circus.

Spender, to no one's surprise, denied the accusations and Addison was quick to believe him on account of it being easier for her. Kandros perked up at the charges, but demanded proof so that he'd be free to arrest the other man. Bluster and posturing for the sake of not doing anything. Cora attempted to soothe her way to a compromise, but her tried and true "mom" voice kept getting trampled on by Kesh and Drack who were having none of it.

Sara took that opportunity to responsibly slip out and help herself to a drink at the dockside bar, Vortex. With so many people not being listened to in Pathfinder Hall, there was no reason for her to be one more voice buried in the angry cacophony of shouting.

"Excuse me, Ryder, I don't mean to intrude, but I could use some company even if you do not."

Sara's face may have reacted before her brain could catch up at the sight of Jarun Tann standing next to her table and awkwardly holding a glass of seltzer water. Did she want to drink with Tann? No, absolutely not. But what the hell else was she expected to do? She directed an open palm to the empty seat across from her and returned to her whiskey.

Tann heaved the sigh of relief of someone who appeared used to routinely being told to go away, before quickly sitting down. "I would have brought you a drink, but I see you already have one and I wasn't sure of your preference."

"Whiskey. Neat." Sara lifted her tumbler in a mock toast. "Dad took us out when we turned eighteen and it was what he insisted on. Some N7 custom from back when he was on Rio or something. Scott deliberately drank nothing but frozen cocktails for the rest of the night out of spite, but the flavor's kind of grown on me."

The salarian just blinked his large, glossy eyes at her. "That is... quite a lot of information," he said finally.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I would have thought you'd be back there, ensuring no decision was made without your stamp of approval."

"I would think you'd be in there too, given it was you that brought all these accusations to light and are sowing dissent in my office." Tann sipped his seltzer.

Sara wasn't drunk enough to tell him to fuck off. Not yet. "You want me to go back there?"

"No."

"Then why are you rubbing it in my face?"

Tann set his drink down so that he could steeple his fingers. "I think you're smart. And rather intuitive. But I also think you inherited a role that you are perhaps not fit for."

"That's rich, coming from someone previously eighth in command." Maybe she was drunk enough, after all.

"I meant to say that you and I are similar in that regard," he said quickly. "I like to think that I'm rather smart and capable. I've spent the majority of my fifteen years rolling my eyes at the bungling of my superiors while quietly fixing their paperwork. It was a strongly held conceit that if I was in charge, things would be different."

Sara downed her whiskey and gestured at the bartender. "And?"

"No one listens," Tann told her. "No one. I'm undecided as to whether it's due to them feeling my position is undeserved or if it's a failing of my personality, but I could unlock the secrets of the cosmos and it would not matter."

"Well, you do hate the krogans, so..."

"I do not hate them, but I recognize the threat they are capable of if left unchecked-"

"So you'd be for destroying a seed vault of krogan eggs resistant to the genophage?"

"That was done without my knowledge or authorization!" Tann bumped his glass of seltzer and overcorrected as he set it back upright, spilling the liquid down his front. He fumbled for the stack of cocktail napkins in the center of the table. "I understand the Rachni Wars were over prior to your first contact with the turians, but for the older Alliance races there have been longstanding ramifications. Now, while I don't envy those that made the call to utilize the genophage, suffice it to say I am relieved to have been born into a world that is a direct consequence of such an action."

"Wow." The bartender had yet to refill her, so Sara shot a wistful look to her empty tumbler. "That's pretty shitty, Tann."

"Then you can imagine how much worse it would be to live in a colony world and watch the krogan literally outgrow a planet." He dropped a wad of damp napkins back on the table before politely clearing his throat. "I'm not here to argue krogan expansion with you. I'm here because I want to talk about you as a Pathfinder."

"What did I do, now?"

"Nothing! And everything." Tann sipped at his water as he considered his words. "The Nexus was meant to join with the arks and use them as a power source. Before Hyperion arrived, we were desperate. I was drafting the necessary orders to put the majority of the station back into cryostasis and considered going over our personnel to see who might be deemed less essential than others. My compatriots may be loath to admit it, but morality and the value of singular lives would mean nothing if we could not insure basic survival."

"And you think I can?" Sara asked. "You think I just toss away stasis pods or kill exiles because survival as a whole is more important?"

He laughed uncomfortably into his straw. "That came out wrong. What I'm trying to say is that a lot of those used to being in charge are used to traditional bodies of power with their typical safety nets. They would prefer to prattle on all day for fear of offending one group or another, instead of identifying what is necessary and then doing it."

"And I do?" It was getting difficult to tell if this was flattery or criticism; if he was trying to lead her down a path or ride on her coattails.

"You're in a unique position where you are both on the front line and physically doing what is necessary while also possessing the clout to weigh in on or even make key decisions," Tann explained. "Your knowledge is a working one not born of textbooks and hypotheticals. As such, I may not like some of your choices, but I certainly trust the intent behind them more than some of my other colleagues."

"Uh huh." Finally, the bartender made his way over with a refill. Sara was going to need it. "So you'll trust me when I say that I will never be part of whatever committee is dictating which personnel is not essential enough. I can't."

"I never meant to suggest you would be-!"

"Right." She took a pause long enough to down her whiskey. "You want to talk survival as a whole? As in generational survival? Right now, we have Hyperion, and we have the Nexus. That gives us the numbers for a viable human and krogan population in Heleus. If Avitus succeeds with the wreck of the Natanus, congratulations, we have turians, too.

"Without the Leusinia or Paarchero, there's no future for the asari or salarians, period. And between the Roekaar and kett, our numbers are getting picked down further. You want survivability? We need to play nice with the krogan, the exiles, all the in betweens on top of the angara so that once we're done killing and being killed by the kett, there's enough of a pause for baby-making before we decide to start killing each other again."

Tann waited a moment, to ensure she was finished before he spoke. "I see you've thought about this," he said finally.

"Yes." So much so that she deliberately left Aroane in the hands of the krogan while Spender's fate was being decided. Whatever rumors Addison or Kandros chose to believe about Sara being too soft or trusting, it was collateral when they inevitably let her down and let Spender keep his position with a stern reprimand or something. There was a lot that Sara could say, mostly about punching her father in his stupid, dead head for not having the foresight to consider another species beating them to Heleus in the six hundred years it took them to arrive, but she stopped herself. Tann didn't strike her as a reliable confidant. Instead, she slumped back in her chair. "There's a lot riding on everyone whether we want to admit it or not."

"Yes," Tann agreed. "Which is why I wanted you to know I will continue to support your success. Even if I lose sleep over some of your decisions."

"Right," Sara muttered. "Thanks."

As it turned out, Addison surprised Sara. Kesh and Drack were able to squeeze information about a power scrambler in Spender's possession from Aroane. While it wasn't clear what the man was doing with that tech, it was enough for Addison to remove him from his post and sit him in a holding cell until Kandros could decrypt its data. It wasn't as clear cut as, say exile or execution, but it was a nice step to prove that some form of law and process existed in this new world.

Speaking of law, the krogan were busy flexing theirs at Aroane. Enough so that he continued to offer up all kinds of things in exchange for his life, such as information on multiple payments of goods for services on Kadara from one William Spender. Sara grinned. Kadara. She knew they'd have to inevitably return on account of the vaults, but this bit of political intrigue certainly was fortuitous. It was a good thing she knew exactly who to call.

"Reyes," Sara said to his private line as soon as she'd locked the door to her cabin. "It looks like I'm headed back to Kadara."

"Oh?"

"More business, never pleasure," she replied.

"There's your problem," Reyes sighed. "I struggle to differentiate the two."

Sara snorted. "I like that. I think I'm going to have to steal that sometime." She draped herself across the foot of her bed.

"I take it you're going to have to see me?" he asked. "For business, of course."

"Exactly. For business."