Chapter Eight: Weathered Concerns
With the weather outside still the same belligerent blizzard, pounding away at the reinforced windows, shore leave on Noveria was looking less and less promising.
The crew had more or less agreed, with their race against time still looming, that time spent getting to the Citadel would be time they could otherwise use how they wanted while still on Noveria. Despite the snow and shifty company, the crew made the most of their break. Shepard made sure no one left the dock without a quick word on keeping their eyes peeled for trouble, even after the Rachni were dealt with.
Or technically, after the queen was released. Contemplating the mission, Ryder couldn't help but agree with Kaidan on the matter. It was difficult to make a judgement call on the Rachni Queen without having been in either war at the time. The two got along better than he expected though, Scott thought to himself as they shared a drink by the hotel bar.
"Look, Kaidan." Scott continued. "I'm not saying you couldn't wipe the floor with me. But one bad headache and suddenly, the L3 has the advantage."
"That's if you stay conscious long enough for me to have one in the first place." Kaidan took a long sip. "Which seem like bad odds anyway you slice it to me, Scott."
Scott swallowed the drink, close to doing a spit take from the smile that cracked his face. "Alright, fair enough... Biotics or not though, I really hope this Rachni business doesn't come back to bite us."
"I don't see how it won't." Kaidan stated firmly. "Whether its the Council, Krogan, or the Rachni... someone's going to have a bone to pick."
"You don't believe the queen's promise?" Scott inquired.
"No more than I'd believe the Thorian if it made the same promise." Kaidan admitted. "But I want to believe she meant it. And Shepard's always been a good judge of character, aliens included."
Scott held his glass with one hand over the top and spun the contents with a light gesture. Examining the blue and orange mixture, he probed Kaidan further, "I'm more worried about that Cerberus group. Using Rachni, Thorian creepers... I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of them."
"After what they did to Kahoku... The Alliance has its work cut out for them." Kaidan lamented.
Scott placed his drink down after another swallow. "That's if they're not busy fighting for that Council seat."
"You don't think they should?" Kaidan wondered out loud.
"There's not a lot of sense in getting a promotion if your desk is on fire." Scott pointed out. "Sure, you'd get a new desk. But that leaves a lot to be desired."
Kaidan spoke into his glass as he prepared to take another drink. "That's definitely going to be grounds for 'unsatisfactory performance' under humanity's quarterly evaluation."
His drink emptied, Scott slid the glass away. "Can't tell you how many times I've seen that in my file."
"You ask me, Scott. Those files don't paint a full picture." Kaidan told him. "Shepard saw something worth bringing onto the Normandy. File or not, I've see you in action long enough to know any of the crew would be lucky to have you covering them; present company included."
Ryder raised his hand for the bartender to refill Kaidan's glass. "Next one's on me, Alenko." Scott left his stool after checking the time on his omni-tool.
"Not sticking around, Ryder?" Kaidan asked as the Asari bartender poured.
"I promised I'd meet someone." Scott mentioned as he paid for the drink. "Don't wait up."
Making his way to the elevator, it wasn't long before Ryder was meandering around the mezzanine below the docks. He was early, content to admire the tenacious weather blasting away at the corporate windows. Hands in his pockets, he thought to back to his earliest memories of a white Christmas. Strange to say waiting in the mezzanine felt similar.
Snapping out of his nostalgic haze, he noticed Liara sitting off and down to the side by herself.
Ryder approached her, leaning into her line of sight as a courtesy. "Hey Liara... you doing okay?"
"Ryder." Liara seemed to be in her own stupor by her surprised tone. "I'm sorry... I was distracted. I'm doing fine... as far as I can tell."
"I'm sorry." Ryder repeated. "I didn't mean to bother you. I'm just surprised to see you off the ship; the good kind of surprised, though."
"I thought it would help to get some air..." Liara stared out into the blustering tundra. "Though it's been difficult to come by."
"Mind if I join you?" When she nodded, he joined her on the bench, releasing a sigh. "Do they have weather like this where you're from?"
"In some places, yes." Liara conveyed. "My mother being who she was, there was little time for exotic trips."
"Same goes for me." Ryder echoed. "Both of my parents always had work that kept us in once place or another. Sometimes, I'd wonder if it would've been better to have a normal childhood."
Liara kept her hands locked together on her lap. "As did I... Although, in time, I came to understand the choices she had made. Were it any other way, I do not think I would be who I am now. And I am thankful for that."
Ryder leaned back, absorbing her words, "I guess anyway you look at it, we're the products of their efforts."
"The product... but not the conclusion." Liara managed to express. "Like a thesis, for example. There can be dozens of implications of conclusive research. But what it's ultimately used towards... that lies in the hands of those who take up the work."
"And here we are..." Ryder motioned to the bench below them, "You know Liara, I think Benezia would be proud of what you're accomplishing. Maybe she couldn't stop Saren the way she meant to. But we can."
"Thank you, Ryder... I should return to the Normandy." Liara stood facing the direction towards the docks. "I'm sure your family is proud of you as well, Scott."
Left alone once more, Ryder retained his seat, thinking on Liara's belief in his family. Sara had always been at his heels, despite being older. As much as it had annoyed him, he understood her previous words were said out of a longing to be closer to her only sibling. His father, for all his faults, wanted to keep the family together. Scott was mad at Alec for many reasons, but never for not caring enough.
"Sorry I'm late." Shepard spoke from behind the bench. Her deep red hair hung down as she leaned over the back of the bench. Scott hadn't seen her dressed casually before. She was almost always in her military fatigues. The civilian look flattered her. "Didn't miss me too much, I hope." She added.
"I managed, somehow." Scott teased. "So, what's on the agenda?"
"If I'm being honest, I have no idea." She confessed. "Noveria's not exactly a great tourist spot."
"Lucky for you then, I'm easy to please." He said while turning back to the blizzard. "Views like this were my favorite place to hang out back on the outpost. Whenever I needed to clear my head, I'd just stare out into space."
Shepard vaulted over the bench and sat a mere few inches away. "Back on Mindoir, there was this big hill away from town... you could see the sunset clear over the whole colony. With barely any light pollution, the stars were always out."
"Do you ever think about trying it again?" Ryder asked her before clarifying. "Colony life, I mean."
Samantha folder her arms, keeping her fingers close to her skin. She gave a light shrug, "Sometimes, but... I'm not much of a farmer. And I'm not sure I'd want to retire from service just to pick up a gun as security."
"Fair enough," Scott relented. "What would you want to do? If you had the choice."
Samantha felt her body get warmer from the spotlight she felt envelope her. "You don't really want me to bore you with that, do you?"
"Boring is not something I associate with the first human Spectre." Scott declared. "Try me."
Samantha released a long breath, "Before I took my first assignment, I studied for a psychology degree... counseling."
Scott put a hand on her shoulder. "I can't think of anyone more qualified to be a colonial counselor." Shepard seemed disconnected from the conversation. "Really, I think it suits you. You're the first person the crew goes to when there's a problem. Or anyone goes to, for that matter."
"Scott, that's sweet but..." She exhaled another sigh, "You remember what happened when I helped that girl from Mindoir... I was a mess afterwards."
"It's okay to not be okay sometimes, Sam. It doesn't mean you're not good enough to chase a dream." Scott explained as he walked over to the railing. "If it did, I'd be stuck with Alliance forever."
Sam joined his they leaned over the side, admiring the view. "Let's say I believe you... what kind of dreams are you holding onto, Ryder?"
"You're gonna laugh..." He warned.
Preemptively containing her mirth, Shepard allayed his fears. "I promise not to laugh." She finished saying with a raised hand.
Looking away for a moment, Scott gave up on his hesitant stance. "I wanted to be a super hero." He said, muttering the last part.
Lifting her eyebrows in surprise, Sam started her follow up questions. "Like with a cape? And your underwear on the outside?"
Scott shook his head, immediately regretting his admission of a childhood fancy. "No, not like that. As a kid, all I knew were that heroes always did the right thing and were surrounded by people that cared about them. I guess I wanted a piece of that."
"Looks like your dream came true." Sam said with a jab of her elbow.
"Oh yeah." He agreed sarcastically. "Between being blacklisted and my stellar service record, I'm right out of a comic book."
"Scott, there's not a moment that goes by when you aren't at least trying to do the right thing." Samantha told him as she turned his body to face her, inches apart. "And I can't speak for everyone but... I care about you."
Air caught in Ryder's lungs while his heart pumped against his rib cage. He wanted to respond, to say that he felt the same. Instead, he froze underneath the gaze of her emerald eyes.
"Sam..." Scott started to say. "If you hadn't taken a chance on me-"
"I don't gamble, Scott." She interrupted. "I knew I had someone worth my time when I asked you on." A smile appeared on her face as she lowered her gaze. "Well, maybe I didn't know it'd turn out like this... but I'm not complaining."
"Neither am I but... I'm not looking to complicate things for you, Shepard."
"Little late for that." The Commander pointed out. "Besides, what's wrong with a little complication? It keeps things interesting." Despite her attempts at humor, he still seemed stiff. "What's holding you back, Scott?"
"It's just that I've been here before." He explained. "There was someone back at the outpost... Andy. We got close and when the Ryder blacklist came down... things got tense."
"Scott, you know me." Sam assured him. "I wouldn't let what your father did change how I see you."
"That's the thing," Scott started to elaborate further. "I told you my dad wasn't around enough for me to hold a grudge. But trying to save our mother, even by breaking the law... I would've done the same thing if it was someone I cared about."
Scott ran a hand through his hair, the admission finally escaping his mind. His voice faltered as he continued, "Andy called me an idiot. She said I spent too much time following how I feel without thinking it through. And until I realized that, she refused to keep me in a position where I might choose her over what's right."
"So, she ended it, just like that?" Sam asked with disbelief.
"Like I said, things got tense." Scott shrugged. "I haven't thought about being with anyone since then. Maybe she was right."
Nodding her head along with his story, Shepard stood patiently in front of him. Letting a brief pause pass after he spoke, she took his hand in hers.
"Scott..." Sam said she ran her thumb over the top of his fingers. She moved his hand to her cheek, letting him feel the warmth behind her freckles. "You've helped keep me together when I had my doubts. You don't need me or anyone to tell you what's right; you already know."
Ryder eyes darted from his hand on her cheek, and the narrowing space between them. "And if I said I cared about you enough to break a few Alliance regulations..." He admitted while his thoughts trailed away.
"I'd trust you'd have a very tempting reason for doing so." She responded while biting softly on her lip. "I know I do."
Inching closer to his Commander's lips, Scott's hand brushed away her hair falling between them. "I thought I was supposed to be your reality check."
"I don't mind letting this dream take its course a while longer." Sam confessed as her arms went around his neck.
"I think I'm on the end of that Shepard charm you warned me about."
Sam shrugged, mockingly offering a wicked smirk. "Took you long enough... but I don't kiss on a first date."
Without a second thought, Scott stole a kiss on the cheek his hand had been covering. Backing up like a thief in broad daylight, Ryder grinned from ear to ear. "Then we should finish this date so we can start planning the next one."
More impressed than she was caught off guard, Shepard pursued him with a sway in her hips. "Wouldn't miss it."
Hello! Me again. Sorry for the delay between this entry and the last. I tend to try and pad out enough content in advance so that I can still update the story even when I haven't gotten a chance to write in a while. Life and other projects kept me busy. Thanks in advance for any reviews and for taking the time to read!
Still not sure what I'm working on after this but I definitely intend to do another banter exercise at some point (probably Mass Effect 2 with Ryder meeting all the companions after the events of this story).
