Havarl, the ancestral home of the angara, was never truly dark, despite the thick jungle canopies creating a leafy green ceiling that blocked out most, if not all of the sky. Everything shone with an ethereal starburst of light, each broad leaf gleaming with a beautiful bio-luminescence. The planet's lush ecology had been spiralling out of control, but with the vault stable once more it was rapidly recovering.

There was still much to do on the planet despite having no outpost there, such as investigating remnant ruins that had been giving off bizarre readings. Sara, Liam and Jaal had dug through the rubble and discovered some sort of data core. Unfortunately, the remnant hadn't been too keen on the idea of relinquishing it and had attacked.

Sara sat down heavily on a rock as the final observer bot dropped to the ground with a metallic crunch, shrapnel spraying across the dirt. She winced as she returned her rifle to its shoulder holster, feeling the wound that slashed horizontally across her bicep flare hot with pain.

"Tempest, this is ground team," Liam started, looking at her worriedly.

Sara's head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare," she growled, and he stared at her with wide eyes as Kallo answered the call.

"Go ahead, ground team," the salarian said mildly.

"Uh…We…Got a…magic gadget…" Liam finished lamely, looking down at the metallic orb he held, the glyphs glowing deep blue across its polished black surface.

Kallo paused uncertainly, "…Would you like me to patch you through to Peebee?" He offered.

"Not necessary. Ground team out!" Liam hurriedly swiped his omni-tool off.

"You need medical attention," Jaal told her without looking as he scanned their surroundings for more enemies.

"I'm fine," Sara said. "I'll see Lexi when we get back. I'm not calling it in and giving her the satisfaction of forming a full-blown rant before I turn up." She glanced down at her right arm. She had lost her shields to an observer laser that had cut through her armour deep into the skin below before she could find cover. She could feel the wound grow numb as her armour began to auto-apply medigel to the affected area. She rolled her shoulder experimentally, barely feeling the pain now, then climbed to her feet. "Come on, let's go."

"If Lexi's busy, or disembarked to speak to someone, what then?" Liam asked, following Sara as she lead the way back through the jungle towards their ship.

"Then I'll have to wait."

"Sara…" Liam sighed.

"I'm fine, it's just a flesh wound!" Sara insisted. "I've had worse, you know?"

"I know, and that's why I worry," Liam replied.

"You are fighting a losing battle," Jaal told him, chuckling.

Lexi pursed her lips as Sara entered the medbay, smiling brightly at the asari. She put down the datapad she had been perusing, leaving it on her desk, and crossed the room to the cheerful Pathfinder. Sara had stripped off her armour and showered, made herself a coffee and a snack and generally faffed about in her quarters before coming to see the doctor. And Lexi knew. Of course she knew.

"Liam was comming us to have me on stand-by, wasn't he?" She asked, guiding Sara over to one of the beds. Jaal had stopped by the medbay as Sara showered to give the asari a heads up, most likely in case Sara opted out of her visit. And, while the Pathfinder had obviously avoided the asari doctor, here she finally was. Lexi had to give her kudos for that at least.

"He was," Sara nodded, hopping up onto the bed and shuffling to get comfortable. She brought her legs up onto the bed, crossed them and rested her forearms on her thighs. She wore a loose white tank top that left her arms bare, long hair still damp from her shower but pulled up into its usual high ponytail nevertheless.

Lexi dialled up her omni-tool while leaning in close to the medigel-sealed wound on Sara's bicep, giving it a once-over with her eyes first.

"But I didn't want you on stand-by for a tiny flesh wound," Sara added, watching Lexi work.

"You mean, you didn't want me prepping a lecture," Lexi corrected her, tapping at something on her omni-tool.

Sara snorted, as Lexi scanned her arm. "That too."

"Your honesty is commendable," Lexi commented drily.

"Yup," Sara grinned at her. "So, who betrayed me? Was it Liam? I bet it was Liam, it's always Liam…"

Lexi looked over the readouts from her medical scan, answering without taking her eyes from the display, "my lips are sealed."

Sara rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course, they are," she muttered.

"Right, I'm happy to leave the gel on you for now, but I want to check you again tonight." Lexi swiped her omni tool off and finally met Sara's gaze. "You should be ready for the gel to come off in the morning. Unless you want me to break the seal on it and patch you up now?"

"I'm good." Sara adamantly shook her head.

"That's what I thought," Lexi sighed, folding her arms. Sara was far too impatient to agree to sit around waiting for Lexi to patch her up when she could just let the medigel speed up the healing process overnight.

"I can go?" Sara asked hopefully.

Lexi nodded. "You can go."

"Thanks, doc!" Sara hopped off the bed and hurried out of the medbay. She turned right in the corridor outside, making her way towards her quarters. Next stop was the bridge. She could hear voices in the galley as she neared; the rough growl of Drack and the soft murmur of Cora, Jaal chuckling at whatever was being said. She passed by the doors and clambered up the ladder outside her quarters. The medigel pulled at her skin as she climbed, gripping tightly to the edges of her wound. She hauled herself up onto the upper deck, picking absently at the medigel as she walked through the doors and onto the bridge.

Kallo and Suvi stopped their conversation to glance over and see who had entered their domain. Suvi's face lit up on seeing the Pathfinder, before she hurriedly turned to her work station to hide her expression.

Sara nodded a greeting at Kallo, then crossed to stand beside Suvi's chair, looking down at the redhead.

"Ryder," Suvi greeted her softly without looking.

"Hey, did you get those scans I sent you?" Sara asked.

"Yes!" Suvi looked up at her, gesturing to the display in front of herself. "I'm going through them now. Thank you so much! And yes, I'd love to see them first hand!" She replied to the second part of Sara's message from the field before Sara could press.

Sara laughed at the enthusiasm, turning to lean against the console in front of Suvi, crossing her arms over her chest. "Good. I'll take you tomorrow morning?" She offered.

Suvi smiled and nodded excitedly. "I'd like that."

"You be careful with my co-pilot," Kallo called over sternly.

"Hey, I'm always careful!" Sara protested, sending a pout his way.

"Uh..." Sara glanced back at Suvi as she spoke, to see the redhead looking pointedly at the wound on her arm.

Sara cleared her throat. "Usually..." She amended, rubbing a finger over the hardened medigel.

"Stop that," Suvi scolded.

Sara raised her eyebrows, and Suvi ducked her head bashfully. "Well, I should go. Got some stuff to do if we're going out tomorrow." She smiled down at Suvi, pushing off from the console. "See you guys!"

"Bye!" They chorused.

Kallo twisted round in his seat to watch the Pathfinder go, then looked at Suvi, trying to stifle a grin.

"Shut up," Suvi said before he could even open his mouth to speak.

Kallo was unperturbed. "It's a-"

Suvi cut him off, "no."

"Hmm, suit yourself," Kallo faced front again, watching the strangely glowing jungle visible through the windows.

Suvi let the silence draw out for a moment, then, "It's not a date!"

"I didn't say that," Kallo replied with a chuckle.

Suvi continued as if he hadn't even spoken, "she doesn't even know how I feel. And she certainly doesn't reciprocate. And if she knew how I felt she'd probably make Cora take me instead."

Kallo shook his head. "You don't know that."

"I do. I'm a scientist. We deal in facts," Suvi told him.

Kallo gave a small smirk. "We'll see."

"Kallo, you're the worst," Suvi grumbled.

"Thank you, Doctor Anwar."

"You made it?" Suvi asked in surprise.

"Well, Jaal helped," Sara rubbed the back of her neck, growing awkward at the appreciative look Suvi had fixed her with. "A lot," she added. "But…Yeah!"

Suvi brushed her fingers against the smooth armour plates, looking down at the suit again. Sara had readjusted some of her spare armour, repurposed it to fit Suvi's slight frame. "What if you need it?"

Sara shrugged. "I won't."

Suvi looked up at her. "But, what if-"

"It's fine, Suvi," Sara brushed off her concern, gestured to the armour. "Now come on, gear up."

Sara had already put on her own set of armour, heavy plates in blue and white. Her sniper and assault rifles were locked in position over her shoulders.

Suvi looked down at the armour laid out on the work bench before her. She was already wearing the first layer of protective fabric. It reminded her of a wetsuit for diving, though the material was thicker, rougher. "I don't know how..." She admitted quietly, embarrassed.

"I'm sure you know how to put on boots and gauntlets," Sara teased her. "I can help with the rest."

Sara chatted to her while buckling Suvi into her armour, and Suvi wondered why she so often became flustered around the Pathfinder. Sara's attitude was pretty easy going and soothed the nerves the science officer felt at heading out into the unknown, potentially hostile, jungle. Recently Sara had been stopping to chat more with her, pausing in the corridors or galley, coming to the bridge more when Suvi was on duty. They had spoken about everything from science to family, even Suvi's faith- Sara had disagreed, wasn't a believer, but had been curious and courteous which was refreshing- and through it all Suvi had always felt an edge of nerves. A worry about making a fool of herself in front of someone she wanted to impress, she supposed.

She looked down at herself, at the plates of armour that had taken the place of her usual red-and-white fabric uniform. She had never worn armour and it felt strange.

"I feel like an idiot..." she mumbled, laying her palm flat against the scuffed metal that covered her abdomen. Sara had a good eye. The armour fit near perfectly.

"But you look adorable!" Sara insisted, and Suvi could hear the laughter in her voice. She grinned at Sara's words. "Besides, you only get to come with me if you gear up, so..."

Sara had warned her that while the area they were headed to was safe enough, most things on Havarl seemed intent on killing them.

Plus, alone time with Sara, how could Suvi say no? Really unromantic alone time, but still. Progress was progress.

"This is me, gearing up..." Suvi sighed, letting her hands drop to her sides.

"Okay, how's that feel?" Sara asked, adjusting the straps of the chest plate from behind her.

Suvi could feel Sara's deft fingers against her shoulder blades and swallowed hard before answering, "fine. Thank you." This was getting ridiculous. Sara was buckling armour on for the awkward science officer and here she was, getting hot and bothered about it.

"Good." Sara rapped her knuckles against Suvi's newly fitted armour and moved around to stand in front of her, grinning broadly as she looked her up and down. "Cute," she teased. "Okay, now, stick close by and do whatever I say. I tell you to run, you run."

Suvi's eyes widened. "Will there be a lot of running...?" She asked.

Sara shook her head, hands on hips. "There should be no running. But just in case."

"Okay," Suvi answered uncertainly.

"And don't lick anything." Sara held up a finger in warning.

Suvi blushed, realizing Sara must have heard about her mishap licking Andromedan rocks. "You know about that?"

Sara snorted. "You share quarters with Cora. She brought it up. Seriously though."

Suvi looked down at her feet, suddenly shy. Beneath the teasing and the playful grin, she could see genuine concern. "No licking," she promised.

"Unless I ask."

Suvi's head snapped back up in surprise and she blushed furiously as Sara winked at her before striding over to the ramp controls. Suvi gaped after her. Was that- was Sara flirting with her? She tried to smother the flash of excitement she felt. Sara played and flirted and mercilessly teased everyone she came across. Suvi wasn't special.

Sara glanced back at her as the ramp lowered and flashed the sloped smile that always seemed to fill Suvi's stomach with butterflies. Hot, damp jungle air swirled up into the cargo bay and Suvi could hear the trill of birds outside. "You ready?"

"Oh yes," Suvi said and eagerly darted forwards. The armour wasn't nearly as heavy as she had thought it would be. The weight distributed evenly across her body so that she barely felt it.

"It's not far," Sara told her, leading the way down the ramp and onto soft jungle soil. "You've got all your stuff?"

"Yes, Ryder, I've packed for excursions before, you know?" Suvi responded with a playful smile.

Sara rolled her eyes. "All right, I just don't want to get all the way there and have to come back because you left your tools behind."

Suvi raised an eyebrow. "I thought it wasn't far?"

Sara frowned and looked down at Suvi, as though seeing her for the first time, a crooked smile forming on her lips. "You're a smartass."

"I'm a doctor."

Sara laughed and nudged her shoulder. Suvi looked down at the ground to hide the joy she felt at being able to cause Sara to laugh at a joke. The ground was spongy beneath her boots, choked with weeds and twisting tree roots. She cast her gaze upwards, to the jungle canopies that blocked out the sky. Everything had an ethereal glow, all of the plants and trees. Havarl was beautiful. Suvi had only ever seen it through windows of the Tempest, but being there, amongst the softly glowing plants, feeling the heavy air on her skin, breathing in the scent of soil and pollen, and listening to the chirps and cries of animals, it was truly breath taking.

Sara watched with a fond smile as Suvi's ocean eyes turned wide with wonder, and the science officer stared around herself with a childlike glee. She decided then that, even if Suvi's studies of the area revealed nothing useful, the trip was still worth it for the look on her face. She turned away from the redhead, frowning at herself. Was Andromeda turning her sentimental?

Suvi suddenly squeaked and all but threw herself into Sara's arms. She seized the Pathfinder's upper arm and pressed close to her body, staring at something in the distance and breathing, "eiroch…"

Sara followed her gaze and could just see the behemoth through a tangle of vines that created a web between two trees. It was hunched down, utterly motionless and too far away to be any cause for concern. She patted one of Suvi's hands and grinned down at her.

"It'll ignore us providing we stay away and don't draw its attention," she assured the redhead. Perhaps she had made too big a point about the dangers of Havarl, she hadn't intended to have the scientist on edge for the duration of their walk.

Suvi let out a quick breath and looked up at her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" She challenged.

Sara smirked. "Yup," she replied, and glanced down at Suvi's hands, still wrapped around her bicep. "Are you?" She met the redhead's gaze again and lifted one eyebrow. Suvi blushed and let her go, taking a step away.

"Havarl is…beautiful," she said, looking above them once more. It was so colourful and bright, the glowing plants like something straight out of a fantasy vid.

"It is," Sara agreed, eyes darting around their incredible surroundings, however, where Suvi looked for beauty, Sara was searching for predators. Her senses were on high alert though she projected an aura of calm.

"I've studied all the scans, and I looked around our landing zone though I didn't venture far. Drack said everything here tries to kill you..." Suvi said.

Sara laughed. "Not everything! Don't listen to Drack, he's such a cynic." She shook her head though continued to smile.

"True…Anyway, my point is that none of that prepared me for this," Suvi gestured to their surroundings.

Sara smiled at her. "I get you. This way." She pointed between two trees, ducking under draping vines that wrapped the lower boughs and hung like coiled serpants.

Suvi realized they had been following a sort of pathway that had been carved through the thick foliage. Now, though, they were headed through dense undergrowth, winding between massive trees that hid the sky from view. All manner of creatures chattered and squawked and growled unseen.

She looked back the way they had come to see it had already been swallowed by the jungle. It would be easy to get lost here.

Suvi quickly turned back to face Sara, shifting closer to the Pathfinder. "I hope you know where you're going."

"I'm a Pathfinder, of course I know where I'm going!" Sara said, looking over her shoulder and grinning. "And if I didn't, SAM would direct us," she added, seeing Suvi glancing nervously around them.

Suvi smiled gratefully at her, understanding that Sara was trying to make her feel more comfortable with being out of her element in a potentially hostile environment. "Good old SAM," she commented. SAM had been immensely helpful in their trials in Andromeda so far, and, no doubt, he would be just as much of a life saver for the foreseeable future.

"Yup. I don't know what I'd do without him," Sara nodded. The AI was with her always, a constant voice within her mind. She had found an affection for it that she hadn't been expecting.

"I am melded completely with your nervous system. Without me you would die," SAM helpfully informed them via Sara's omni-tool. Suvi stared at her in alarm with that revelation, at the casual way SAM spoke it, but Sara merely rolled her eyes.

"SAM, you are such a bundle of joy," she replied drily.

"Thank you, Pathfinder."

Sara shook her head and grinned. "That was sarcasm."

"Apologies. I have no algorithm in place to detect use of sarcasm."

Sara made no reply as she ducked under a branch. Her shoulder brushed the dull green moss that clung to the wood and immediately the area she touched began to glow soft blue.

"Oh," Suvi reached out to brush her fingers against the moss, entranced. Light blazed after her touch, a trail of blue amongst the spongy green plant.

Sara halted and waited patiently for her. Suvi peered beneath the branch at Sara and grinned.

"Touching it introduces oxygen to the underlying areas, makes it glow," she explained.

"Intriguing," Sara said, eyes alight with mischief. She just liked the look of the light, she didn't need to know the details behind it.

Suvi raised an eyebrow and ducked beneath the branch, falling into step beside the Pathfinder. Sensing she had perhaps insulted the science officer, Sara said, "you can explain? I just like the pretty lights."

Suvi laughed. "That's kind, but no. I won't bore you."

Sara grinned down at her, glad Suvi wasn't annoyed. "I'd do the same if we found protheans. Anyway, we're here." She nodded her head towards the sheer cliff face of dark rock that loomed suddenly through the trees. A shadowy cave mouth yawned wide, black save for several metres inside where a soft blue glow hinted at something hidden away.

"How did you even find this place?" Suvi asked as Sara took her elbow and lead her into the gloom.

"I was chased by a bunch of challyrion," Sara replied casually.

Suvi balked, "what?"

"They're gone now, don't worry," Sara chuckled, guiding Suvi towards the back of the cave where it curved out of sight of the entrance and became a warren of tough roots and vines. "They won't be bothering us any time soon."

Suvi followed her near blindly, glad Sara had a strong grip on her arm. She stumbled against a rock that jutted on the cave floor and felt Sara pull back, keeping Suvi on her feet.

"Careful," Sara said softly, voice echoing faintly. Water dripped somewhere near the back of the cave, an ever-present sound that accompanied the scuffing of their boots. The air was cooler inside the cave, smelled earthy and wet. The calling of the jungle creatures receded to nothing as they pushed further inside. As the soft glow grew brighter the closer they came to it Sara released Suvi, hanging back as the science officer made for the carpet of moss she could see that marked the start of whatever Sara had brought her to see.

Rock floor became dirt floor that turned soft with moss, shining with blue and purple light as Suvi walked across it. She rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks, blinking in surprise. It was like stepping through a door into another universe. She had left the shadows of the cave behind and found a narrow corridor that widened out into a cavern that shone with its own light. Giant mushrooms, huge ferns and climbing vines, all glowing softly blue or purple or green. A hole in the roof of the cavern let faint light in like a natural occulus, daylight filtering through in a shaft of pale yellow. Water trickled through a crack in the wall across the cavern, filling a small pool bordered by huge leafy bushes. The water was crystal clear, reflecting the light that surrounded them like a tiny galaxy.

"Well?" Sara asked from behind Suvi, smiling crookedly. Suvi turned to face her, looking stunned.

"I- it's…better than I imagined," she said, and beamed at Sara. "Thank you!" She turned back to the scene before her, starting forwards and reaching for the utility belt around her waist. "I need soil samples, and more scans, and I should get some of these back to Tempest…" She crouched in front of a cluster of flowers and Sara knew she had lost Suvi for the next few hours. She chuckled to herself and moved towards a smooth boulder to sit down, pulling her rifle over her shoulder and sitting with it unfolded across her legs. While she was certain the area was safe enough, she should still be cautious. Especially with Suvi so distracted.

They stayed until the daylight slanting into the cavern had all but disappeared. Then Sara lead the way back to the Tempest by the light of the jungles bio-luminescence, with Suvi hyping the whole way.

"Thank you so much for that, Ryder," the redhead gushed again as Sara took them towards one of the workbenches that lined the edges of the Tempest cargo bay.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she said, as Suvi held her arms out to the sides so Sara could start stripping the armour off her.

"I'm going to review my findings and write it up immediately!" Suvi continued excitedly.

"Send it to me when you're done. I've been struggling to sleep lately," Sara teased, blue eyes flicking up to meet Suvi's.

Suvi raised her eyebrows. "Ryder, you're cruel," she said, though found herself unable to be annoyed by that cheeky grin.

Sara looked at her a moment, pausing in unfastening the plates against Suvi's stomach. She was used to the banter between herself and the others in her crew that often formed the ground team, playful jibes and traded insults. But Suvi was different. The science officer was softly spoken and gentle, Sara forgot to guard her tongue sometimes. Their excursion was the first time they had spent any time alone together at length that wasn't strictly Initiative related. "I am," she agreed seriously. "But I'm playing. Tell me to stop if I go too far."

"I will," Suvi promised her with a bright smile.

"If my crew feel they can't approach me then I'm doing a terrible job," Sara tossed the armour onto the bench, moved to the shoulder guards.

"You're doing a great job," Suvi replied, starting to remove her gauntlets as Sara moved off to the side. She was surprised at just how easy it had been to talk to Sara when any other time the Pathfinder had caught her Suvi had spent the duration of the conversation mentally kicking herself. Though she supposed those were times where Sara had appeared unannounced while their excursion into Havarl had been planned and she had had the opportunity to prepare herself.

"Thanks!" Sara said happily, moving behind Suvi to remove her chest plate.

"I mean it," Suvi addressed the Nomad as Sara was out of view. "Despite the odds you've already done so much for the Initiative. You've restored the hope we lost since the Nexus arrived in Heleus. Sooner or later you will realize your achievements. You have to."

"Is that an order?" Sara asked, laying another armour piece on the bench and moving back into Suvi's field of vision. She raised an eyebrow at the redhead, trying to fight a smile.

"Yes?" Suvi replied, sounding so uncertain that Sara started laughing.

"Okay, ma'am!"

Suvi grinned at Sara's reaction. "Really though, I'm serious."

She saw Sara start to close off, as the Pathfinder leaned her butt against the workbench and folded her arms.

"I'm sure you are," Sara said. She didn't want another conversation about her achievements versus her perceived inadequacies. She knew Suvi would never speak about their late night talk on the bridge with anyone else, but still, the morning after Sara had felt nervous and skittish after revealing so much to someone she had only known a short while. Even if that someone did seem to invite confidence.

Suvi looked down, fiddling with the utility belt that held her samples. "I should... Go clean up." Her clothes felt damp beneath the protective fabric she had been wearing under the armour, hot and sweaty and uncomfortable.

Sara reached out and took the belt from her. Suvi looked up at her to find the cloud had lifted and her eyes were bright and playful again. "I'll tidy up and get your samples to the bio lab." Sara slung the belt over one shoulder and began gathering the armour up. "Go take a shower."

Suvi smiled at her, reaching out to squeeze Sara's upper arm appreciatively. "Thank you. For everything," she said and turned away, heading for the elevator platform across the cargo bay with a definite spring in her step.

Sara watched her go, feeling an inexplicable warmth spreading through her chest. She pushed it aside and scooped up the discarded armour, carrying it towards her locker. She was stripping off her own armour when she heard footsteps approach from behind her.

Liam's voice accompanied the feet, "that's a nice thing you did for Suvi."

Sara looked over her shoulder at him and smiled and shrugged. "I guess…"

Liam leaned against the locker beside her and grinned at his friend. She recognized the mischief in his dark eyes, and had just began to narrow her own in response when he asked, "So, when do the rest of us get to go on a date with you?"

Sara rolled her eyes and slammed her locker shut. "Shut up, Liam."