The shuttle ride back to the landing pad was an awkward one. Baranji was clearly undecided over whether he'd made the correct choice in leaving with them and guilt was giving Teviint a restless twitch. Only Jaal managed to sit serenely and stare out of the transport's window.

Sara wanted to punch him.

Teviint calmed only to work herself up anew when they reached the Tempest. It wasn't until she saw Lathoul alive and well with Dr. T'Perro in the med bay instead of on a morgue slab that her jaw unclenched. After that, and a few words to her crew, Sara was back on the shuttle for a final, tense ride to the home that Jaal grew up in.

"I'm so sorry, Lathoul," Teviint blurted once they'd taken flight. "I never-"

"Couldn't even kill me at short range," he snorted.

"What is she doing here?" Baranji demanded, nodding at Sara.

"You know exactly what she's doing here," Jaal replied. "Now behave."

It got a chuckle out of Lathoul. "Ooo..."

"The only reason I'm here is because you all decided to leave." Baranji crossed his arms. "Just because Akksul wasn't fit to lead, it doesn't mean he was entirely wrong, either."

"Was he wrong when he shot Jaal in the face?" Teviint exclaimed.

"I don't know," Baranji snapped. "Were you wrong when you shot Lathoul?"

"Enough!" Jaal shouted over them.

"Yeah," Lathoul laughed. "We're both still alive. And everyone knows the only reason Akksul shot Jaal in the face is because he's always been the better looking one."

"I still am!" Jaal frowned. "Do you think I am not?"

"I still don't want the human in my home," Baranji grumbled as the shuttle touched ground.

"It's fortunate then, that it's not just your home," Jaal told him.

Sara would have liked to pretend that she said something in the moment. Something profound to change Baranji's mind or at least, thorny enough to put him in his place. But families were hard. She was still on the shuttle, she was still technically invited and Jaal was doing a pretty decent juggling act of defending her while not alienating his siblings. Sara just wished it didn't make her feel so tired.

With the gang plank deployed, Baranji was the first to depart, (and possibly bar the doors to the house before they could enter.) Teviint insisted on following Lathoul, to watch how well he moved and to fret about the extent of any injuries. As Sara unclasped her safety harness and stood, Jaal stopped her from exiting with a hand on her wrist.

"Thank you for trusting me," he said. "Killing Akksul would have made the Roekaar stronger."

At least he granted her the conceit of being capable of murder, she supposed. "He shot you."

Jaal nodded. "I'm glad he did- it exposed how far he'd fallen."

"It could have gone badly." Sara shook her head and reclaimed her wrist. "It did go badly!"

"I knew what I was doing-"

"I'm glad someone did!" Sara raked a hand through her hair and hopped down the gang plank in search of more air. "You tell me to trust you and to follow you when you know that means standing there and doing nothing while someone shoots you?"

"You're upset."

"Yes, I'm upset! Of course I'm upset- how could I not be upset?" There was the simultaneous urge to both run away and chew him out. It meant her feet were pointed away and toward the house while she flailed her hands senselessly at him. "Jaal. You asked me to stand by and watch while you got killed. Why did you ask me to do that? You had no right to do that! It's not fair."

He followed her down the gang plank. "Yes."

"Yes? Yes!" Her throat made an angry guttural sound. "I'll give you yes!"

"Yes I asked you," Jaal said. "For all the reasons you listed. Because you acted the way that you did in the moment, and because you're acting the way that you are right now. The Roekaar needed to be convinced. They needed to see a human behaving in a way that was alien to the kett and you are an exemplary example of humanity-"

"Oh, fuck you, Jaal! There's nothing special about not wanting to have your friend murdered in front of your very eyes."

"I hope I can still be your friend." With a smile like that, he was wise to keep his distance. "You've proven yourself a very good one."

"You asshole. You stupid, stupid-"

"Jaal! Jaal!" The door to Jaal's house flung open and an older angaran woman rushed out. It was only then that Sara grew a little chastened at how loud she had been shouting. The woman looked from Jaal to Sara and her red-rimmed eyes, and frowned. "Wait... is there bad news?"

"No, no." Jaal cleared his throat and straightened up. "The Pathfinder and I were just discussing what happened during our last run in with the Roekaar. I'm trying to assure her it was all under control."

"You goaded Akksul into shooting you in the face," Sara ground out. "And he did!"

"It was a graze." Jaal pointed to the gash on his cheek. "With how close we were, he could have easily killed me if he really wanted."

Sara threw her hands up with an exasperated yelp, "This is what I'm dealing with."

"Jaal Ama Darav!" The older woman's tone was fierce enough to make him flinch. "You should listen to your friend."

"Mother..."

"Mother?" Sara raised an eyebrow at him.

Jaal only shrugged.

"The purpose of sending you was so that you would bring back your siblings alive- not because you were expendable," his mother scolded.

"They're back," Jaal told her. "All three of them. And I'm alive, as you can see."

"Yes, I can also see you behaving like a gosavara," she sniffed before turning to Sara. "Who is your friend?"

"The human Pathfinder," he said. "She is interested in where I grew up. Ryder, this is my true mother, Sahuna Ama Darav."

Sara wiped at her face and coughed. "Nice to meet you."

His mother stared at him a long moment before she went to Sara and swept her up in a hug. "Jaal's told me how much he admires you."

"Really?" Sara blinked.

"He's my favorite," Sahuna said, pressing her forehead against Sara's. "Smart. Loyal. Kind. A great shot, writes poetry... sews-"

"Mother..."

His mother laughed and patted him on his good cheek. "I'm late for a Resistance meeting. Stay clear."

Sara watched her go. "Your mother's in the Resistance?"

"Yes." Jaal sighed. "And every child is her favorite."

"Wait. Does that mean you don't really write poetry?"

"Come on." He turned toward the house.

From the outside, it looked like a modestly sized ranch. From the inside, Jaal's home instantly became claustrophobic. Warm, dim lights had Sara squinting as she shuffled after him and tried to quickly make sense of the smells, the sounds and all of the people- there were so many people!

Jaal's booming voice carried over the din of music and conversations. "Everyone, this is Ryder."

"Hi."

"Look who the kaerkyn dragged in!"

"Welcome back!"

Most of them seemed friendlier than Baranji, at least. Sara held up a hand and wiggled her fingertips at them. One feigned disinterest by sticking his nose in a datapad, but some waved back.

"This is where I spent most of my days growing up," Jaal told her as he began to nod at all the nearby angara on couches, against the wall and peeking around corners in kind. "My sister, Koana, our cousin Etta and brother, Finn. Then Bavsil..."

They all took it as an opportunity for a first impression, some of the more eager relatives weaving through the traffic to physically greet them, while others were content with a nod or shouting across the room.

"So wonderful to have you back!"

"Jaal! You bringing someone special to meet us?"

"Wow," Sara murmured. "Cozy." Her own home on the Citadel had been just about this size and she only had four family members. She tried to count his siblings and cousins, but with so many moving in and out between the den and what she assumed was the kitchen, she couldn't keep track.

SAM could differentiate fourteen unique signatures, herself and Jaal not included.

"We like to live like this." Jaal gave a polite cough. He started to wade further into the home and mass of people as Sara clung to his heels.

"Good to see you!"

"Going to give your friend some real food?" The aroma drifting from the kitchen was intensely flavorful, despite SAM reminding her about capsaicin and Scoville units. Jaal directed her toward an open door.

"And here's my room. My tiny sanctuary." He wasn't kidding. It was roughly the size of a closet with not much space for anything beyond his bed. Still, when the door slid shut, it dampened the sounds from the rest of the house and Sara could take a moment to breathe.

She sat at the foot of the bed, because it was either that, or wedge herself into the corner. "I can see you've missed this place," Sara said. "We have a saying on Earth. 'Home is where the heart is.'"

"I like that." Jaal's smile faltered as he snatched a box from atop his pillow. "Oh no. Who put this here?"

Sara squinted and hazarded a guess. "Schematics? Of..?"

He brushed it off with brisk strokes of his hand. "When I was seven, my aunt stole a kett weapon for me. So I took it apart." He shrugged. "To learn."

"Right." There were so many rows of shelving nailed into the wall. Weapons, datapads, keepsakes... Sara pointed at what at first seemed to be an unwieldy stuffed animal, until SAM confirmed it contained organic materials like leather and bone. "And that is- was- a kaerkyn."

"Pet kaerkyn." Jaal coughed. "Alfit. He died, so I also took him apart."

"To... learn?"

"Why not?" Maybe she stared at him a little too long. Jaal quieted and looked at his hands. "I don't show people these things. But I feel like we're... family."

Family. Ironic, when she could identify at least one of his siblings by name who hated her.

"That's a loaded statement," Sara chuckled. "But, yeah. It's been good getting to know you... sholaon?"

"No," Jaal scoffed. "You are sholaon. I am taoshay-"

"Gosavara?" Sara suggested. "Your mother liked calling you that."

His nose rankled. "You are not my mother."

"Vehshaanan, then?" She tried to keep a straight face.

"Who have you been talking to?" His outrage disappeared as soon as realization dawned. "You've been studying Shelesh. For me."

Sara shrugged. "A little."

"Your accent's terrible," he chuckled. "Thank you. Hey- there's one more thing you might like. Sit there."

"Okay." She curled her feet under her as Jaal began digging beneath his bed.

It was a projector of sorts that he set on his lap. He turned the lights off and they sat in the pitch black for a brief moment before he activated it. The tiny room seemed to open up and become vast as light danced across the dark. Against the ceiling, Sara could see the dots of stars and planets form along the swirl of a galaxy.

"Nice," she breathed. "You made that?"

Jaal snorted, "Long ago." With a sigh, he reclined back against his bed and held a hand up against what might have been the Faroang System. "It's not accurate. More of a dream, really. Just one more thing I want to take apart and figure out."

Sara leaned back. "Me too, Jaal. Me too."