* Landing Day + 6 months - Nexus *
"Lookin' good, Ryder!" called out Vetra, the turian smuggler-now quartermaster of the Tempest as Scott walked past her towards the cargo bay ramp. He was dressed far more formally than his usual daily outfit. He also had to admit, the constant training with Cora had improved him even beyond the fit shape he'd be in during his battles with the kett and establishment of the new outposts in the Heleus Cluster of Andromeda Galaxy.
'Then again, when you're on the run, trying to stay alive and find homes for people, you don't eat much and you stay in combat shape.' Scott thought to himself.
He waved to Vetra and continued on out of the starship and towards the transit hub of the Nexus. As usual, there were a great many individuals up and about on the Nexus. With the human ark Hyperion no longer docked to the station, there were far more of other species than humans, although there were still a fair number of humans still present. He was happy to see that over the past six months, more and more angara were coming to the Nexus. The native species to the Heleus Cluster had been wary of the newcomers at first, but time, friendship and acts of trust had brought the angara into friendship with the Initiative. That thought warmed Scott's mood a bit, but then he found himself lapsing back to his gloomy state as he walked toward his destination.
Today was going to be a hard day. For almost seven months, Scott had held a secret that promised to bring hurt and sadness to the various immigrants from the Milky Way galaxy. It had been a secret that had driven a secret benefactor and the top leaders of the Initiative to push hard to launch early in 2185 for their six hundred plus years journey. A secret that now Scott and the Initiative leadership were about to reveal to everyone across the Heleus Cluster.
As the tram car whisked Scott along the ring from the docking bays to the Operations center of the Nexus, he listened to the excited chatter of angara children as they pressed their faces against the windows and ooo'd/ahhh'd over the sight of the Nexus arms stretching out into space.
He smiled as he listened to the children, but then his thoughts went back to that sound… that damned sound from the Milky Way messages that he believed was the sound of something called "Reapers". It was a flat, mechanical bass horn that had drowned out the panicked cries of a turian who'd been broadcasting an SOS during an attack in the Milky Way. A sound that seemed to roll and echo in his mind. A sound that haunted his nightmares of an unseen enemy killing his father, his mother, Sara, Cora…
He took a deep breath and tried to turn his thoughts away from the memory of that sound. Like a skipping stone, he then remembered the words from an asari archaeologist, Doctor Liara T'Soni, who'd been in contact with his Dad. She'd left an ominous recording around the same time as the Milky Way SOS messages.
'You may be all that's left. Please, don't forget us. Keep us alive in your hearts, and tell your children of the wonders that once were.' the asari had said.
Scott looked at the angara children and thought of the clutch of eggs that the Krogan Kesh had proudly shown him six months ago. He thought of David Kennedy, the first human child born in the Heleus Cluster and of his friend Gil Brodie and Jill, who'd entered into a civil union and gotten pregnant, reversing the contraception that had been a part of entering stasis to come to Andromeda. Life was finding a way and more children were planned.
'I hope I can do more than just tell their children of past wonders. I hope those wonders are still there,' he thought. 'I hope we can someday show them to the kids, even if just in images and vids.'
He'd not mentioned any intentions of children to Cora as their relationship deepened. He knew that it had been hard enough for her to agree to explore sharing living spaces with him. The bond they had formed since they'd arrived in Andromeda was strong, but Cora had gone through a lot over the past year. Scott was letting her find her way to where she needed to be, there to support her as she needed.
'Beware the determination of a patient man.' was his mantra while he courted the former huntress commando. He knew that she saw his love, and he could see her love for him. That was good enough to keep him going.
The tram slowed down as it neared the Operations Center and Scott stood. Two angara children immediately plopped themselves in his seat, grinning mischievously at him. He grinned back and called out "Isharay" as he stepped out of the tram. Their mouths fell into open Os of surprise at a human speaking angara to them. Scott laughed warmly as the doors closed.
Then the purpose of his errand hit him again and the gloom returned, replacing the good thoughts he'd just been having.
'It's time to tell the truth.' Scott held onto that thought as he trudged his way towards the Pathfinder HQ.
The three Pathfinders were there in the HQ, dressed formally as well. The asari Venderia, the turian Avitus and the salarian Hayjer were present and waiting for him. His twin sister, Sara Ryder, was off on a deep space expedition back to the edge of the Andromeda galaxy in an attempt to re-establish communications with the Milky Way. She had learned of the secrets that their father had hidden at the same time Scott did. Sara had supported Scott in persuading the Initiative leadership to tell the truth. She still feared that the news, despite being six hundred years in the past, would cause great harm and distress.
The directors stepped into the headquarters at the same time. Alongside the salarian Director Tann was the human Director Addison, the krogan Director Kesh and the turian militia leader Kandros. Their somber faces told the story of how they felt about what was about to happen. Tann nodded to everyone.
"Thank you, all, for being here. I'm grateful to Pathfinder Hayjer for having done a lot of hard work and organization in preparing for this announcement. We've organized counseling and crisis teams at all outposts and they are standing by. We will be recording this broadcast, which will be made local to the Nexus and then taken by special courier shuttles to be shared elsewhere."
The Director looked at Scott. "Are you still willing to do this, Pathfinder? You realize that once you allow this information to come out, you will be the subject of a great deal of negative attitudes and blame. People may not trust you like they once did."
"C'mon Tann, you make it sound like he's going in front of a firing squad!" grumbled Kesh. "Anyone who knows Ryder knows that the kid leads from his heart and he cares about us all. Yea, so people are going to be pissed about something that happened six hundred years ago, but it's not like he's announcing the kett are coming tomorrow."
Addison and Kandros didn't respond, but looked thoughtful. Scott, on the other hand, stood at parade rest, with his hands behind him, squeezing his fingers together.
'God, I'm as nervous as a greenie on their first day of Alliance Basic Military Training,' he thought. He nodded to Tann and took a deep breath.
"I know this won't be easy. As Pathfinder Hayjer has recommended, we stick to what we know. Something terrible happened after we left, but we only know fragments of the story. We stick to what we can show and say, which are the three messages. We focus on the fact that the Scourge is a huge unknown and could be affecting our communications, and that we're working with the angara to do something about it. Finally, we will release information as soon as we know it."
"Understand that a lot of crazy theories are going to get tossed around." Kandros interjected. He waved to his omni-tool. "We might not have the extranet, but people still have data caches and what's available at the Nexus. They may find the vids from the Battle of the Citadel and the reports about Shepard talking about the Reapers. There will be people who want to fill in the gaps. Hopefully, Sara and the team will be successful in their mission and we'll regain some news of the Milky Way so we can put the false stories to rest."
'Or confirm our worst fears…' the depressing thought bubbled up in Scott's mind.
"So, if we're all ready, let's call in Davis Qar from Heleus News Service and get this started." Director Addison suggested. The rest nodded and Scott walked over to the door to the Headquarters and opened it. The human man walked into the room, a vid-drone following him. Tann looked sourly at the editor, but said nothing. Davis looked around in surprise at the gathering of Pathfinders and Directors.
"Well, when I was told I'd be making a recording of a statement from the Initiative on recent developments, I didn't realize it would be a full party." Davis said. "And given that you're sending the message out via special shuttles to reach our broadcast antennas, this is clearly something important. Anything you want to go over before we begin?"
Scott nodded his head. "Thanks for doing this, Davis. I'll be doing the talking. Everyone else is here because we all stand together, and that's important with what I'm about to share."
"OK, no worries about that, Pathfinder. Give me a moment…" and Davis tapped on his omni-tool while Scott moved forward to stand in front of the Directors and Pathfinders. The vid-drone's lighting brightened and a red light gleamed above it's camera eye, showing that recording had begun.
"Hello, I'm Davis Qar of Heleus News Service and this is a breaking report. I am here at the Pathfinder Headquarters on the Nexus. Scott Ryder, human Pathfinder, has indicated that he would like to make a statement - and he is joined by the asari, salarian and turian Pathfinders, as well as Directors Tann, Addison, Kesh and Kandros, the current leadership team of the Initiative. With that, we will listen to Pathfinder Ryder."
Davis finished speaking and held out his omni-tool in the direction of Scott, the microphone tool extended and active.
Scott took a deep breath and stepped towards Davis. He tried to project confidence and calmness, none of which he felt inside.
"Hello everyone of Heleus, both Initiative and angara. I am here today to share something important with you all, something that you might find upsetting. Pathfinders and the Initiative leadership all agree that you deserve the right to know the truth of all things. So with that said, let me get to the facts of what we know..."
"... so I just spoke to the facts, what we knew for sure, when we received the messages, how we'd support those those who were upset or had questions. Then I played the messages. After that, there wasn't much else." Scott was speaking to the air, and SAM was transmitting his words to Sara, who was aboard the angara scout ship heading to the edge of the galaxy. SAM was connected to both the QEC relay built into Sam's implants, and to the salarian SAM QEC that Sara had borrowed for the trip. Scott had kept in touch with Sara on a daily basis since the expedition had left.
"Davis stopped the recording and left to send it out. He was shocked, I could see it on his face." Scott continued. "We all stayed in the HQ for awhile, but walking through the Nexus, it was nearly as quiet as it was when I first boarded her when the Hyperion arrived. I saw a large group near the Vortex, probably to gather and drink. Nobody wanted to talk to me, at least not yet. I haven't checked my email. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about what I might find."
"Wow, Scott, that was pretty intense. Thanks for sharing the recording with me. I think that you did as best as you could. I'm still not sure it's a good idea to share, but what's done is done. Hopefully we'll get a connection out here and we'll be able to know the truth of what happened."
"We'll see. This is going to be another rough patch. I kinda wish we'd get done with rough patches. It'd be nice to have six months of peace and quiet." Scott responded ruefully.
"Not in the job description." Sara laughed. "We're settlers. We're the ones who suffer so that generations from now, they'll have comfy lives and be able to do nothing but sing and dance and eat and relax."
Scott just shook his head.
"So, how was it today?" he asked, in an attempt to change the subject. "Weren't you coming out of FTL for a while to take readings and drop off another comm buoy?"
"Yep, and that went without a hitch." Sara confirmed. "And some good news too, Suvi thinks she's seeing a trend in what she calls 'changing readings' from the Scourge. Her plan is to travel until the changes stop, then travel a bit more to see if they start up, and if not, try to reach out to the Milky Way from there. At some point, we may just have to leave the QEC relay where we stop and head back, but we won't have to make that decision for… maybe another four months."
"That's a long, long trip to be cooped up in a scout ship." Scott said.
"Oh, it's not too bad." Sara reassured Scott. "I'm learning the angara language and teaching them English. Defra's been teaching me some of the aboard-ship fighting skills that the Heskaarl use against the kett when they board kett vessels. I've even been learning how to pilot the Vesoan Jarevaon - that means galaxy explorer in angara, it's what they call the ship."
"Speaking of which..." Scott could hear a smile grow in Sara's voice. "While we were putting out the buoy, Avfid was scanning the system we were in. Nothing unusual, just a red dwarf with four gas planets and a rocky planet. The Scourge is twisted up all through the system like a wild vine. He couldn't get any readings, because of that, but he saw an odd mark on one of the moons of the second gas planet, so we flew by. Scott, we found what used to be an agara settlement! Remains of buildings and many artifacts and even some data modules that Avfid thinks are intact. He can't wait to get them back to Aya!" Sara voice rose higher and louder until she was practically shouting for joy at the end.
"We came in for a landing, and it's not a happy ending, but it's proof that there might be other hidden places." Sara continued. "It looks like the Scourge came on them quickly and they were in the middle of evacuating. We found wrecks of ships, like the one you found on Havarl. Very angular, almost Remnant-like, compared to what agara ships look like today. "
"Still, it was sad, though." Sara paused and her voice lowered in sympathy. "You could see the panic and chaos in the remains. There were containers spread out, like they were in the middle of moving equipment, and then stuff just tossed aside near what may have been landing pads. That's where we found most of the ships. A few were further out, as if they'd been starting to leave but the Scourge brought them down."
"I can't imagine," Scott sighed. "It was bad when the Hyperion hit, but that was after. To see it coming, like a storm or wave, that would be terrifying." He shivered in sympathy.
"Yea, the agara have been pretty down since we left. They brought back a lot of artifacts, although we didn't have much room." Sara said. "Afvid says that this is enough to convince the Moshae to allow another team to come visit again in the future. I think they all want to come back. And maybe see if there's any clues left here of other colonies. Those ships had to be heading somewhere! I just wish I could do more for them. "
"Just by being part of this, you're doing good, Sara." Scott reassured her.
"Thanks. I'm trying. Just thought you'd like to know. And… to change the subject to something a bit more cheery... " she dropped her voice low. "Suvi and Rynn are officially a thing. They're so adorable and perfectly made for each other!"
Scott smiled at the news. "Good for them!" he said. "Tell them I said to get a room!" He tried to stifle a yawn couldn't and he heard Sara chuckle.
"Speaking of get a room, Cora still training you hard?" she asked.
"You bet, she's such a… hardass about it! I think she's enjoying running me through commando training." Scott replied, rolling his left shoulder that STILL hurt from the last sparring he did with Cora.
"I know I've said it before, but you two are good together. You've given her something she needed… and well, I know nobody else better suited to keep my younger brother in line!"
"Younger by one minute!" Scott grumbled over Sara's laughter.
"It still counts. Go get some sleep, we'll talk tomorrow. OK, SAM, done!" Sara said and the connection closed.
Scott sighed and sat, waiting for Cora to return from a late night 'training exercise' with the Pathfinders.
'A hard day, but a good one in the end.' he thought. 'I just hope the nightmares go away…'
* Landing Day + 10 months - Port Meridian *
Scott panted as he dashed up the hill and took cover behind a rock.
"Vanguard profile - go!" he barked and a light shimmer glowed over his armor for a brief moment. He focused his concentration and took a peek at what was beyond the rock.
Four moving targets - three to the left, one to the right, but the one to the right would flank him if he didn't stop it He felt his concentration peak and a familiar tingle in his gut and arms. No choice. Take out the flanker and then hit the mass. He twisted to the opposite direction and rolled out of cover. Facing the target, he flexed his inner energy that activated the biotic implants and let out a hard "huh" grunt, just as his old martial arts and biotic instructors had taught him. A burst of energy leaped from his outstretched hand and sail towards the target, which began floating. Almost immediately, he flexed again and a different energy leaped from his hand, exploding into the target and smashing it to pieces mid-air.
Bolts of energy sailed over his head, with a few impacting him as he stood out in the open. His kinetic shields glowed blue from the impact and he immediately dashed towards cover, rolling into position behind it as he gripped his Valkyrie assault rifle. He blindly fired a few shots in that general direction to force the enemy to seek cover as he took a deep breath, centering to use his biotics again.
A figure rose from the cover to take some shots of opportunity and Scott grinned, firing off several bursts into the 'head' of the enemy. The target fell, pieces flying and sparks shooting everywhere. Scott ducked back behind the cover. There were two figures left and time was almost out.
"Vanguard Two profile - go!" he barked and he felt his biotic implants shift.
His legs and torso began to tingle with energy as he collapsed his assault rifle and grabbed his asari sword. While he preferred to use his krogan hammer, he'd picked the sword out of impulse this time. He flexed, let out a hai-ya! as energy surged around him and moved-at-a-blink-of-eye in an explosive burst towards the group of opponents he had caught sight of. Both enemies stumbled backwards from the impact of the biotic charge, giving Scott the opportunity to slash once, twice into his opponents, ending their functionality.
"TIME!" he heard call out behind him as he panted, hunched over to catch his breath. The pieces of the combat practice drones littered the ground around him.
"Impressive, Ryder." came the jovial voice of Andraknor, an angaran warrior. Andraknor had previously invited Scott to participate in challenges that were used to train the agaran version of special forces known as the Heskaarl. Once Scott had completed the challenges, Andraknor had expressed interest in learning about the N7 training that Scott's father had gone through. While Scott was not an N7 graduate, he had some of the old files available to set up various exercises and challenges that N-school trainees went through. Today was one of those exercises: defeat an unknown force within a very short amount of time.
"I believe that you would have made a fine Heskaarl or could have even followed in your father's footsteps as one of your N7 soldiers." Andraknor commented. "You finished within the time… I thought you might challenge my time at the beginning."
Andraknor had finished the exercise a full thirty seconds quicker. Cora had been just a few seconds quicker than Andraknor, but then the human biotic warrior had trained and fought with asari commandos for years.
Scott clapped the angaran's shoulder in a friendly gesture and grinned.
"Believe it or not, that was my best time ever. Being around you two, I have to pick up the pace." he admitted. Andraknor laughed.
"Ryder, your modesty is as bad as your humor." the angara chuckled. "You took the fight to the kett Archon. An exercise like this is hardly a measure of your prowess."
"I had good squadmates and a lot of help with that." Scott said, smiling as Cora came up to join the two. "We fight well together and we live to the end of the day together."
The three warriors walked out of the training grounds that the human militia had set up several kilometers away from Port Meridian. It was a rough, open, rocky area in the oddly mixed collection of biospheres and different terrains that were spread out across the inner surface of the Dyson Sphere. Several collections of prefab buildings could be seen rising from the terrain in a circle around the massive Hyperion - the intergalactic ark that had brought humans to the Andromeda galaxy and crash-landed in Meridian.
"I will see you in two days, then, Ryder and Cora?" Andraknor asked. "Will we be proceeding to small unit exercises?"
"That's the plan." Cora said. "We have both human and angara soldiers who will be joining us, and we'll see how it goes."
"Good, good!" the angara warrior smiled as he turned to walk away. "I look forward to the challenge. Isharay!"
"Isharay!" Scott and Cora responded and they linked an arm to each other, walking back towards a small ground vehicle to take them back to the ark. Once back at the small building that they'd claimed as their own, Scott relaxed into a good long soaking shower that quieted some of the aches and bruises from the training.
"SAM, any updates?" Scott called out as he began dinner preparations for the evening. Cora was busy in the front room on training rosters and updates for the militia exercises beginning in a few days.
"Hello, Pathfinder. No, there are no updates. It has been eight days since I lost full contact with Sara and twenty three days since signal degradation began. You know I will update you immediately should that change." responded the AI.
"Yea, I know… sorry, just worry." Scott sighed. "It's part of the attachment and feelings of separation, it results in worry and stress."
"Understood, Pathfinder. Your anxiousness has increased steadily over the past month and even Dr. T'Perro has noted that your vitals are showing increased stress and lack of sleep, similar to the period of time you were working through the Milky Way message reveals, and similar to the time you were in active combat against the Archon, and similar…"
"OK, OK, SAM, I get it… I'm stressed and Lexi wants me to do something to relax, to not allow the stress to get too much. I'll… think of something." Scott grumbled and then he yelped as he spilled a hot pan of food over the counter, distracted by his conversation.
"So, no news yet?" Cora simply asked as she helped Scott clean up the mess. He shook his head.
"We're getting close to that time when they should have already turned around and headed back." Scott fretted. "Four months, she said, and that was right when we did the Milky Way reveal. I know they have supplies for a year, but between the silence and not knowing and worrying about the kett. Hell, what if some of those conspiracy crazies end up being right and the Reapers followed the arks? Ugh… the not knowing is frustrating!"
Cora stopped her cleaning and took Scott's hand into hers. She rarely saw her beloved this rattled, not since the Archon had kidnapped Sara and looked to be on the verge of conquering the Heleus Cluster.
"Scott, I'm sure it will be OK. Sara said that the signal degradation was actually a good sign that Suvi's theory of the Scourge affecting quantum communications was right. You know that if that's the case, then that's why we stopped hearing from them. I'm sure they're sticking to the plan and that they'll reverse course and head back as soon as they set up the QEC and tie it into the buoys that will connect back to the Nexus."
She touched the side of his face with her other hand. She hated to see him in pain and worry. 'So much like your father, Scott. So willing to worry about others, even if it means hurting yourself.'
Scott smiled a wan smile at her. He could feel the concern and love from Cora and he hated seeing her worry about him.
"You're right, and I wish I could just turn off the worry alarm, but … " Scott left the thought unsaid. With his father dead, his mother still in stasis with a devastating terminal condition, his sister was the last of the family that he had. He didn't even want to think of what he'd feel if he lost Sara.
Taking a deep breath, Scott shook his head sadly at the ruined evening meal.
"Well, guess we're seeing what they've got cooking at the kitchen," he said.
Communities were springing up all around the downed ark. The majority of them had formed cooperatives and shared spaces where everyone pitched in and helped each other, whether it was with maintenance, setting up new structures and infrastructure, or just taking care of the daily needs like food preparation and medical attention. Scott especially enjoyed helping out around the kitchen in his neighborhood, as well as with the more mundane of activities, preferring to allow others to take the lead. He'd promised Cora a private dinner tonight, however, and he was sad that he wouldn't be able to make that happen. Cora didn't seem to mind as they walked into the community center's dining room, her smile genuine and happy. Scott's mood lifted a bit, perhaps it would be an OK evening after all.
Later, as they slowly walked back to their space, Cora seemed deep in thought.
"A chit for your thoughts?" Scott whispered into her ear. Cora jerked back to the present, then laughed.
"Didn't I say that to you a few months ago? You know, I haven't seen an actual credit chit in what… over six hundred years?" she asked with a smile. "I don't know, I was just thinking. We talked about the adventure, the exploration, what was it.. A tent, a rover and the stars above? And yet here we are, organizing soldiers, spending time with friends who are having kids, sharing a roof together, working at a community kitchen..."
Scott listened quietly, giving Cora space to talk. She paused for a bit as they walked further.
"I don't know, I never saw myself as the slow-down, settle-down type and yet here we are." she said in a more quiet voice. "I… just never thought I'd be happy doing that. It's … not bad."
"Cora, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, especially if you think it's what I want." Scott said. "You know that what's important to me is that we be together, that we share in what life brings to us, and that we both find fulfillment and purpose in what we do."
"I know, and that's what I'm trying to tell you… that I'm finding a bit of peace and happiness in this moment, in this stillness." Cora replied, putting her other hand on Scott's arm. She stopped walking and looked him in the eyes. "Scott Ryder, I love you more than I ever thought I would love anyone. You're someone that I can trust without hesitation, that I can love without conditions or qualifications."
"When we came to Heleus and you were the Pathfinder, I had to let go of my idea of what life was going to be like. I had to let go of my anger, hurt and even jealousy of you taking the position. Every step of the way since then, I've had to learn to let go of things that ended up changing. My hero worship of Sarissa and the asari way of the huntress. And now, of my preconception of what peace-time and post-arrival time would be like."
She pulled Scott close and kissed him. "Trust me, this is a good thing. I'm not complaining. So enjoy it now, mister… things can change around here!"
Scott's return smile was warm and he was pretty sure he was walking a few inches off the ground the rest of the way home.
Thanks for reading!
So now the news is out. Heleus knows that the Reapers attacked the Milky Way, 634 years ago, but still... How do you think they responded? And do you think Sara, Suvi and Rynn will make a connection with the Milky Way?
Next chapter is coming soon… and most likely one more after that!
I should mention that I've written all of these at once, in a burst of creativity over a period of a week. I'm just releasing these at a slower pace, you know... like a TV show :)
