A/N: Today I had a twitter conversation with Katy Townsend (Suvi) so that's it. My life is complete. XD
As is usually the case, the majority of this was done during the wee hours of the morning courtesy of insomnia so blame any weird ramblings on that. The choices in conversations in Andromeda allow for different interpretations of the characters, so here is Sara acting cool while bricking it ;P
The Scourge reached its blazing fingers out towards them as Kallo expertly dodged and wove the Tempest through the scorching threads at incredible speeds, attempting to stay well away from the grasping anomaly while simultaneously avoiding the sights of the kett fighter following behind them.
"Kallo..." Vetra urged nervously, gripping the console beside her to stay upright as their salarian pilot deftly guided them through a rapidly narrowing corridor of danger. The Scourge burned ever closer, destructive energy seeking out the Tempest as though it had a mind of its own, and the enemy fighter stubbornly kept pace with them, matching their movements as it sought to lock on and open fire. Sara glanced back over one shoulder, balanced at the Pathfinder controls with her feet spread wide. The whole crew had rushed onto the bridge to find out what was going on when the Tempest was hastily dropped out of FTL and came face to face with a kett dreadnought blocking their path. They had been addressed by the kett leader, or who she assumed was the leader, demanding to speak with the one who activated the Remnant. He could sense them on board. It was her he could sense. Sara. She realized, with a chill, this being could sense her shared DNA with her father. And the kett hadn't seemed pleased. They had escaped, but kett fighters had followed them into the maze created by the lethal Scourge. Several had made fatal mistakes and crashed in the pursuit.
Her heart pounded in her chest, blood thrummed in her ears. If Kallo made one tiny mistake it was all over…
Sara faced front again, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind as she stared out the window, and saw the Scourge was thinning out. She could see stars in the blackness beyond, and something else, something she couldn't quite make it out. Some looming shape in the dark.
The kett fighter slammed into a tendril of the Scourge behind them and exploded as the Tempest burst free, streaking out into the wide expanse of space. A planet hung before them in the distance, clouds swirling across its surface. It was a welcome sight after the chase. Potential safety.
Sara slowly released the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.
"Yes!" Kallo punched the air triumphantly.
"Nice flying!" Sara congratulated him, holding out her fist for the salarian to bump. Kallo merely looked down at her knuckles, then up at her face, not understanding. "It's... Customary to bump fists when you do something cool," she explained, fist still hovering in mid-air.
"Oh..." Kallo didn't seem entirely sure but curled his fingers and carefully tapped his knuckles against Sara's.
She laughed at his caution, hand dropping to her side. "We'll work on it."
"Yeah, nice work, kid," Drack told Kallo, flashing him a toothy grin. Kallo gave him a nervous smile in return and twisted round to face forwards again. Suvi glanced sideways at the salarian, looking more than a little stunned that they had made it through the Scourge safely. She slumped back into her seat and tried to get her breathing under control. This was turning out to be quite different to working in the lab on the Nexus.
"What now?" Cora asked, appearing at Sara's shoulder. She was looking at the planet ahead of them as the Tempest drifted ever closer to it.
Gil answered that question for them. "Ryder!" His voice came over the ship intercom, tinny through the speakers, but unmistakably worried. "We've got trouble down here, you need to find us a port now!"
"Right, okay," Sara muttered, eyeing up the planet with Cora. "And, where are we?"
Suvi gave a faint agitated sigh, fingers flying over the screens and buttons of her console as she attempted to coax answers out of broken systems. She gave a tight shake of her head. "Sensors are damaged, but I think we're at the vault's coordinates," she replied, looking up at Sara.
Cora's hazel eyes flicked to Sara's, asking a question. It was all up to the Pathfinder now.
Sara paused, meeting her gaze, then turned away from her. They knew nothing about the planet ahead of them, whether it was safe or hostile, or even held a port, but they had no choice…
"We need to make repairs," she replied, swiping a palm across the controls in front of her. "Gil, give it what you can. Kallo, get us down there."
"Right away, Pathfinder," Kallo answered, guiding them in.
As they broke the cloud cover and the planet surface finally became visible Sara felt her stomach sink. The ground was dark rock, craggy and sharp, rising into tall mountains and vast plains of harsh black, veined with glowing red in places that spilt out into pools and lakes of bubbling lava. Would they really find help here?
"Uh, multiple fighters inbound," Suvi informed them suddenly as a light blinking on her console grabbed her attention. "They're requesting a comm channel."
Outside Sara could see several strange looking ships, boxy and small, surrounding Tempest. They had come from somewhere, perhaps there was help to be found here after all. Providing they weren't blasted out of the sky first.
As Cora's gaze slid the Pathfinders way, Sara adopted an air of quiet calm, hiding the butterflies fluttering about her chest with a sloped smile that seemed merely curious. Her crew was nervous, scared even. They had escaped the metaphorical frying pan only to be seemingly cast into the fire. She was the Pathfinder, she had to bolster their resolve.
"It's all right," she told them confidently, turning towards the Pathfinder console to open the comms channel between Tempest and the unknown pilots. Her tone was light and playful, nothing like how she really felt. "They haven't shot us down yet."
"Comforting…" Peebee remarked drily.
"Tove jagalesh do." Unknown voices in a strange accent and unheard language.
The crew exchanged anxious glances, mirroring each other's fears. The ship's computer, their omni-tools, nothing had this language stored, ready to translate. The disastrous first contact with the kett was fresh in their minds. Would this go the same way?
"Oh jeez..." Sara muttered, reaching up to rub the back of her neck.
"Tove jagalesh do!" The voice repeated forcefully.
Sara cleared her throat. "Um, hi," she started awkwardly. Would the pilot's translator work for basic? Did they even have a translator? It didn't matter, she had to at least try. "Sorry to drop in like this, but I swear we're the galactic good guys." She could feel the entire crew staring at her in incredulous silence. Cora, in particular, was burning a hole into the back of her skull with the weight of her glare. Sara carefully didn't look back. She had never seen a script to advise on how to proceed should first contact be convincing alien fighter pilots to not blow up her ship. Being chased by one alien race into the airspace of another hadn't been covered in the manual.
"Efanola fahen an gasad regala." She wasn't sure if that was a reply to her words, or just a comment to fellow pilots.
They heard laughter over the comms and a second pilot spoke, "Efanola..."
Sara shifted her weight, trying to work out whether or not she needed to be any more worried than she currently was. The pilots didn't sound like they were being threatening, but that meant nothing.
"They're forcing us to land," Kallo said nervously, as the ships edged closer to the Tempest and he was forced to adjust course to avoid a collision.
"Then we land," Sara decided. It wasn't like they had a choice.
As the unknown ships guided them through unfamiliar skies Sara saw a splash of colour in the distance, an island of life amongst the inhospitable scenery. It was deep green and growing ever closer as they were corralled towards it, steep slopes emerald with vegetation rising up out of black rock.
"Would you look at that," she murmured. As they neared, she could make out flowing waterfalls and luscious green trees and bushes, and then individual structures, white buildings with blue canopies and wide windows. A paradise nestled amongst rocky crags.
They were led towards what appeared to be a busy port and Kallo brought them in to land as the crew clustered around the window, staring outside in wonder. Word had spread fast and a crowd was gathering just beyond the landing platform, watching the Tempest as the alien ships hovered in formation around it. Sara could just make out the details of this new people. They stood like humans, with two arms and two legs that were bowed like a quarian's, and their features seemed cat-like with slanted eyes arcing into a flattened nose. Their skin was tinted in shades of blue and purple. They appeared fairly non-threatening. She suspected they had gathered merely out of curiosity.
Sara took a deep breath as the Tempest engines powered down, tapping her fingers against her console, and lifted her eyes from the crowd to look out at what she could see of the incredibly beautiful planet. "We need in that vault…" This was exactly what they had come to Andromeda for, a planet like this. She just hoped its current inhabitants would be willing to share.
She turned on her heel and started across the bridge, "let's hope this first contact goes better than the last…"
Cora spluttered in alarm and Sara would have found it amusing had she not suddenly begun to feel incredibly sick with nerves. "You're not seriously going out there?!"
"Yes, I am," she replied. "And I'm going alone. First contact with the kett went atrociously-"
"That's because they're murdering bastards," Liam interrupted from his position across the bridge, leaning his shoulder against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Sara shot him a look and he lifted his eyebrow in response, daring her to object.
"Okay, yes," she agreed. "So far these guys have shown a little more diplomacy. I don't want us all charging out the ship and freaking them out by making them think we're giving a show of force."
Cora sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly and finally nodded her head. It was a good point. "Okay, I trust you," she said. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Of course I do," Sara scoffed, and hoped the lie wasn't as incredibly obvious as it seemed. No one in this damn galaxy knew what they were doing, they were all winging it. She turned to walk backwards so she could face her crew. "If this goes badly," she said before Cora could gather her thoughts and question her further, "and I get eaten alive, even if it's hilarious, please destroy the vids," she looked pointedly at Liam who gave his most angelic smile.
"That wouldn't be hilarious!" Suvi protested. She was visibly nervous about the situation. Sara shot her a playful wink, projecting a false bravado, and finally backed out the doors into the corridor outside.
Suvi shot Cora a terrified look, as though Cora could change the Pathfinder's mind. Cora simply shook her head. "Even Drack couldn't stop her," she said bitterly.
"Heh, I could," he growled with a grin. "Want me to get her back?"
"No, Drack," Peebee rolled her eyes.
Sara hurried through the ship feeling suddenly cold. She stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her hoody and shuddered. This was such a ridiculously stupid idea. She was safe on the ship, out there was an entire world of unknown aliens. What if they were worse than the kett? She hesitated in the cargo bay, shifting from foot to foot in front of the button that would open the doors. No, she had to go out there, had to try. They needed the vault. She pulled one hand free of her pocket and slapped the button before she could change her mind. The doors slid open, revealing a view of rough scuffed metal sloping downwards to new soil. Warm air flooded around her ankles; she could feel the temperature change even through the fabric of her trousers. She took a careful breath. SAM had assured her the air wasn't toxic but…It was always alarming testing that theory for the first time. When she didn't keel over backwards, she walked down onto the ramp and hesitated again halfway down, watching the gathered crowd of aliens stare up at her warily. No, that wasn't right. She was the alien here. They were watching her with what appeared to be the same nervous anticipation that she felt herself, no hostility, no threat. Maybe everything would be all right.
She flashed a warm smile and immediately stopped. What if they saw that as an act of aggression? She instead schooled her features into a carefully neutral mask. But what if that was seen as an aggressive expression too?!
I'm going to die...
She took a deep breath, and tried to ignore the tremor in her hands, the way her heart raged against her ribs, and stepped forward.
Sara was going to get herself killed. No. Cora trusted her friend. Sara would do her best.
Or die trying.
That was the scary part.
She pushed her fingers back through her hair and huffed a breath out through her nose, pacing a trench in the bridge. There was nothing they could do now but wait for the outcome, whatever that may be.
She heard Suvi suck in a sharp breath and whipped around to look at the science officer, to find her stood staring out through the window at the platform below.
"Ohmygoodness," Suvi breathed in a rush, turquoise eyes glued on something outside as she brought her hands up to her mouth. "She's being escorted by armed guard!"
"A precaution, I'm sure," Cora replied, only just suppressing the urge to lunge across the bridge and look outside. She joined Suvi at the Pathfinder console at a much calmer pace than she wanted to and looked down. Liam, Vetra, Peebee and Drack had disappeared back into the depths of the Tempest now, to occupy themselves while they awaited Sara's return. It was just Kallo, Suvi and herself on the bridge thankfully, she dreaded to think how Drack would react to seeing Sara marched forward at gunpoint. Probably smash through the window to land outside and start a fight.
Cora could understand that; despite her cool appearance she wanted to do the same. She saw Sara walking amongst armed and armoured guards, her hands held in the air, and felt her heart clench. She should be down there with her friend.
"She'll be all right," Kallo told them, watching from his chair. Cora heard his throat click audibly as he swallowed hard, not even believing his own words. "She's Sara Ryder, human Pathfinder. She knows what she's doing."
Cora grit her teeth and held still. No, she doesn't, she thought to herself. And it was the hardest thing she had ever done, staying up there in the safety of the Tempest while watching her best friend walk naively into the dragon's den.
Sara did not die. She did, however, seem to make an enemy of the fiercely proud and endlessly suspicious Efvra de Tershaav, leader of the angaran resistance against the kett. Or maybe frenemy? Either way, he seemed to seriously dislike her no matter how politely she spoke to him and answered his questions. In fact, she suspected the only reason she left Aya in one piece was because of the angaran Jaal ama Darav intervening. He stood beside her now at the base of the landing ramp beneath the Tempest, quietly staring up at the ship hanging over his head. Deep blue eyes studied the gleaming hull plating, expression unreadable. He had volunteered to be Efvra's eyes on board the Tempest as Sara travelled to Havarl and Voeld in search of the beloved Moshae Sjefa, the only one who knew of the Ayan vaults location.
"You're sure about this?" Sara asked him as the bay doors opened. Neither of them made any move to climb the ramp. Jaal said nothing as he carefully scrutinized his surroundings and Sara wondered if he had understood, or if he had even heard. She was about to ask again when he finally answered.
"I am sure," he spoke in soft measured tones, as though carefully selecting his words before saying them. His voice was deep, almost a purr, which was amusing considering his faintly feline features. He glanced sideways at Sara and gestured up the ramp. "Lead on."
Sara gave him a comforting smile, and then moved ahead, leading the charge up the ramp and back into the belly of the Tempest with her new crew member following behind.