Nearly two weeks since her last visit to Kadara, Ryder was planning her return to the planet. She was pacing back and forth atop the sandy cliffside that overlooked Prodromos, having spent time on the planet with some of her colleagues. After planting seeds with Cora, a football game with Liam had thankfully eased some of the tension that had fallen between them since he had exchanged heated words with Reyes. Liam still clearly disapproved of her relationship with the Charlatan, but he certainly hadn't been the only one with misgivings. Although generally disinterested, when the subject had been broached in his presence Drack had muttered something along the lines of "I'm not above shooting someone in the back, but let's hope for Ryder's sake he's not actually quadless." Jaal had given her something of a pep talk about the dangers of choosing 'bad boys' and recited from an old angaran text about the traits of a steadfast man. She couldn't be entirely sure if Jaal was deliberately fudging some of them, but a lot of them seemed to fit the profile of Liam a little too well (17 – sentimental about household furnishings, 26 – prone to falling from a height). She found herself wondering to what extent Reyes had been correct, how deep Liam's feelings actually ran. After their tryst several months ago, she and Liam had always been familiar with each other, but she had always assumed his intentions had been platonic. If this wasn't the case she couldn't understand why he hadn't been more direct about what he wanted, it wasn't as if Liam was shy. Ryder had still felt a lingering attraction to him, which she herself hadn't taken great caution with obscuring, but as she received what seemed like nothing in return they'd assumed a close camaraderie instead. Other crew members, although issuing warnings about completely trusting the Charlatan, had been a lot more positive. Suvi and Gil appeared to have embraced the situation with the same zeal that Cora and Peebee had, given that Ryder had caught them mid-conversation the day previous discussing whether they could sell the movie rights to the story of their epic romance. Along with Kallo, they mused about potential titles, trying to make them as awful and cheesy as possible. Ryder humoured this until she heard 'Pirate and Pathfinder: The Quest for Booty', and the inevitable sequel 'The Plundering of Pathfinder Cove', and she coughed loudly behind Suvi in the cockpit. This resulted in Suvi turning an interesting shade of magenta and hastily cutting the call.

She and Reyes had been in contact whenever they had the opportunity, both busy, her with her missions and him with business. Despite Lexi's advice, she still had not talked to him about what had befallen her on the Archon's ship. On the contrary, she had kept their conversations light, playful, full of musings about what they would be doing if they were together. Reyes had some intriguing ideas. The more she talked with him, the more Ryder realised she was in danger of becoming dependent on their conversations, on him. She had learned before, the hard way, that she could be misguided when choosing who to place her reliance on. She was not deaf to her friends' warnings, they spoke from a place of genuine concern and Ryder knew that were one of them in her place, she would be giving the same advice. Incredibly fond of him or not, even she recognised this could end poorly. And, yet… this was the choice she had made, if it could be called a choice. She had never been able to resist the pull he had over her.

Ryder slouched down, sat with her back resting against the Nomad, twisting strands of red hair between her fingers pensively. From this angle, she could watch the colonists scurrying back and forth across the outpost, dashes of colour in an endless sea of sand. She shifted slightly so the sun that glinted off the Tempest's wing no longer shone into her eyes. Ryder knew she should really talk to Reyes about what had happened before she got to Kadara. She tapped at her omni-tool.

"You free Reyes?"

"I am, as it happens," he replied, smoothly. "Everything okay with you?"

As it always did, the silky sound of his voice relaxed her instantly.

"Yeah, I nearly broke my neck when I tripped down a dune this morning but otherwise good. You?"

"Sara Ryder. Destroyer of Kett, Saviour of the Galaxy, defeated by sand."

She smirked, "That's what my gravestone will say."

Ryder immediately regretted saying this as this brought her mind back to what she had originally intended to talk to him about.

She steeled herself, "Reyes…"

"I had to deal with a traitor today, it got quite grisly in the end," his voice rushed, suddenly taking her by surprise.

"Are you alright?" Ryder replied, carefully.

"I'm just shocked. She'd been around since the beginning, nearly became one of the few who knew my real identity..." there was uncertainty in his voice, "and all that time she was leaking information to the Outcasts, information that could have killed all of us."

"Maybe she had a reason? Did you ask?" Ryder reasoned.

"No, had to make an example out of her," Reyes responded, soberly.

"What does that mean?"

"Sara, you know what that means."

"You didn't even let her defend herself?"

Ryder was not a fool. Even in the Milky Way there had been places like Kadara, she had travelled enough and seen enough to know how they worked. She knew the sorts of the things Reyes would inevitably be engaged in under the guise of the Charlatan, but it was hard hearing the truth of it. It was easier to lie to herself that the Collective was better than the others, was better than the Outcasts had been. Gangs, smugglers, slavers, they lived by their own morals, held to their own code. It was easier to tell herself that the Collective was less corrupt when at her core she knew this couldn't be true.

"I had proof. I had no choice," he continued, his tone resolute.

"You always have a choice, Reyes."

"Maybe you do, but it's not that simple. On Kadara people expect blood. If the Collective shows any hesitancy to act, any mercy, it would be seen as weakness and other groups would try to muscle in. It's how it is. That's how you win the game."

"Well, sometimes you need to change the rules, if you want to play the game how you want," Ryder challenged.

"Who says I want to change the rules?"

"Well, it bothered you enough to want to talk to me about it."

"That's…"

Silence drew out for a few seconds and Reyes seemed hesitant to respond. Ryder drew lines on the ground with her finger, tracing spirals in the sand.

"I don't want to argue with you, Sara," he replied eventually.

"You don't like me because I agree with you all the time," she insisted, "you like that I challenge you."

"You..." he hesitated again, almost sounding frustrated, "you know, you have killed a lot of people yourself."

"That's true, but I don't make a habit of executing them…"

Ryder's voice trailed off as she thought about the Cardinal, and the fact she had killed her without warning when she had been unarmed. The context was different but at the same time, her words smacked of hypocrisy.

"Sara, we both have our own battles to fight. You know the sort of man I am. It doesn't change who I am to you. Is this going to be a problem?"

Ryder knew that it should be. This, in conjunction with what had already happened with Sloane, should be a big enough issue for her to walk away and never look back. To refuse to see Reyes ever again, to talk to him only when her duties required it. Had he tried to hide this information, lie to her again, then she would have done. But he had told her, surely knowing that she would disagree with him. He had wanted to know her opinion, which suggested he wasn't completely confident in his decision, that there was uncertainty there. The more she came to understand Reyes, even though it was piece by painstaking piece, she knew that whatever had happened in his past had sculpted him this way. It was in the way he was so guarded with information about himself, that he was sometimes so confident and yet in rare openings, she had seen a far more tender side to his personality that was otherwise scrupulously hidden.

"You're a better man than this, Reyes."

He chuckled but this time it lacked mirth, "I'm flattered, but I'm not sure you're right."

Despite what he had done, the soft, uncertain tone to his voice made her more impatient than ever to see him again. It made her want to reassure him that he was someone, and that was someone worth being. With everything that had happened, it felt a lot longer than days since they had last been together. Now wasn't the time to bring up her original intentions for calling him, but she needed to see him, needed to feel his skin on hers.

"Anyway, as I said before you like a challenge," she smiled, "I actually have one for you."

"Now that sounds intriguing," his tone shifted to an alluring one, clearly more than happy to change the subject, "although, if it's a test of endurance I think I have already proven myself beyond question. You have been gone such a long time and I do not have nearly enough recollections of you in compromising positions to keep me going."

Below her navel, a familiar pulsing warmth was spreading and Ryder reminded herself she was atop a cliff, not in the confines of her quarters.

Ryder knew she shouldn't, but she allowed herself to fall back into the familiar routine, the teasing back and forth they engaged in whenever they spoke to each other, "Oh really? Have I disappointed you?"

"You only ever disappoint me by your absence. In person, you are always a delight. Especially when you are beneath me."

"What about on top of you?"

"Sara, I don't care what position we are in. I just want to hear you moan my name."

Ryder made a strangled sound and her body shivered, uncontrollably. Reyes chuckled in response.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice low, seductive, dangerous.

"P-Prodromos. We're leaving soon but I wanted a few minutes to myself."

"Oh? That's a shame. Just thinking about it had made me…" Reyes took a heavy breath that sent another ripple through her body and Ryder's shoulders slid further down the Nomad, her pulse quickening, "I was hoping we could continue discussing what I will do with you when I next see you. In detail."

"Well," Ryder took a moment to steady her voice, "I may be able to do you one better than that."

"Is that so? This something to do with your challenge?"

"As a matter of fact, it is. I'm coming to Kadara tonight. There's something that requires my attention, it's something I don't think you'll want to miss," Ryder enthused.

"Okay…"

"Meet me at Kurinth's Valley. it'll be worth it."

"You had me at Kadara and tonight."

As the ship reached the coordinates Sara had sent him, Reyes felt slightly disappointed upon finding Sara in company. He jumped from the open hatch of the ship, signalling the pilot to take off but remain in the area to patrol. The Nomad was parked on the prow of a hill overlooking vast blue pools of steaming water, two people astride it. Reyes strode towards them, past the angaran resistance fighter, Jaal, who was stood a little away from the vehicle, looking off at something in the distance with great interest. His focus was so intense Reyes thought he hadn't noticed him at first, not until he muttered, "Vidal," without even a glance in his direction.

"Clear skies?" he responded.

"You'll see."

Reyes returned his attention to the Nomad, which Sara was sat on top of, talking to her other companion. Peebee was perched next to her and, mid laugh, Sara pushed her off the vehicle in what appeared to be response to something scandalous her companion had said, considering the matching wicked grins on both their faces. Reyes found himself wondering for a moment what it must be like to have people to confide in, to have people he actually spoke to about him and Sara. The idea seemed strange. As he drew closer, she turned her blue gaze on him and her body language changed immediately. She pushed herself off the edge of the Nomad, one foot tucked behind the other, limbs stiff, expectant. As she shifted her hair fell over her shoulder. Tied in a long plait, the dark red was vibrant against the stark white and blue of her armour. His eyes lingered over her body, the lines of her armour accentuating the rise and fall of her curves, so tight that he didn't need his imagination to remember how she had looked beneath it. As much as he would've liked to have approached in a cool, nonchalant way, he couldn't stop his lips curving into a grin as her eyes locked with his, glinting with restless excitement.

"Reyes, we've been waiting-"

Reyes abandoned all his intentions of putting on any front, instead allowing his eagerness to show by moving swiftly towards her and kissing her without warning, without restraint. He pinned her in place against the Nomad, her lower back against the metal, her front curved against his body. He could feel her need for him in the way she caressed his tongue with hers, in the way her body loosened to his touch. He found himself again wishing that they were alone, which was only exacerbated by the asari interjecting playfully, "I am still here you know."

"We both are," Jaal's more distant voice added.

Reyes held onto her a few seconds longer before he let Sara pull away.

"You missed me then?" Sara gave him a coy smile, her cheeks dimpling in the attractive way they always did. If she was embarrassed by this public display of affection, it was overridden by her pleasure at seeing him.

"I missed this."

Reyes leant towards her again, but she pushed him back, laughing.

Reluctantly he let his hands fall from his sides, "Care to tell me why you brought me all the way out here to this delightful location?"

"If you can bear to spend 2 minutes not making out with Ryder then you'll see for yourself," Peebee pointed somewhere over his shoulder, in the direction Jaal was looking. Reyes turned and frowned, unable to discern what she was talking about.

"Here, look," Sara led him towards Jaal, stopping when they were at his side. She leant on him and pointed with her other hand, "See that shimmering in the sky, over there?"

Reyes squinted, his gaze travelling over the rocky landscape, past the steaming lake and across the fantastically tall, mushroom-like plants that dotted the area. In the distance, there were several remnant structures, tall columns that glowed with an eerie blue light, their surfaces shimmering with an unknown script. Above them was something gigantic, so impossibly gigantic that he started when he saw it. Although he was not close enough to make out all of it, as it spiralled in the air the light glinted off its metallic surface.

Reyes stared at Sara, aghast, "What is that?"

"That is what we're going to fight," she smirked at him, "you are game aren't you?"

He regarded her calculatingly, "You really want my help? I didn't realise the Initiative was so understaffed."

"Well, I thought the so-called King of Kadara would want a hand in taking down a ferocious beast threatening his kingdom," Sara shrugged, "but I mean if you're too-"

"It's on the move!" Jaal announced alertly, "it's coming this way."

Sara's head jerked back to its previous position, her attention back on the sky. Suddenly businesslike she muttered,"We better go, you in Reyes?"

"Of course, I am. I always rise to a challenge, Ryder."

Sara pulled her assault rifle from its holster and jumped over the edge of the hill, "Last one there is a space cow!"

Jaal and Peebee followed suit, and Reyes called after them, "That's cheating, I don't have a jump jet!"

He dropped over the edge, taking the short drop rather more carefully than the others, and sped forwards until he was running in step with Sara and her companions. The pounding of their feet kicked plumes of dust as they ran, skirting the border of the blue lake and continuing on towards the remnant structures.

"This is the fourth architect I've seen, they're on nearly every planet we've been to," Sara informed him between panting breaths, "I thought you'd want to see it, in case anything happens and it returns after we reprogram it."

"And how do you do that?"

"You'll see."

It was drawing closer now and Reyes could finally decipher what it was. It was clearly remnant, albeit a huge one, although it did not resemble anything like what he had seen before. The way it moved reminded him of a sea creature, carving its way through the air as though it were liquid. There was something peaceful about it, almost melancholy, a lone soldier of a civilisation passed, lost without its orders. That was until they drew close enough to be visible to the architect, which thrust its three tentacle-like limbs into the ground, turning its bright, glowing face towards them.

"Aim for the legs when the red light is exposed, then the face when it opens. As for weapons, it has turrets, it'll summon smaller remnant so watch out for those, and it has bombs too! Oh, most importantly it fires out a blast of energy that's really nasty and will completely rinse your shields then starts to burn away at your skin instead. Other than that, smooth sailing!" Sara called to them all as they reached the cover of a low cliff surrounded by rocks. She took cover behind one and began firing rapidly.

"It's not lacking in ways to kill you!" Reyes cried back, as he too began shooting at the monstrosity, wondering quite how he had let his ego get him tangled up in this. The others fanned out, each taking a similar defensive stance. As Sara had predicted, as soon as they had trained their weapons on the leg nearest to them and it started taking damage, the remnant summoned others of its kind. Emerging as though from nothing they appeared, namely (from what he could remember from some of his agent's field notes) observers and assemblers.

"Peebee you flank the right side, Jaal you take the left. Drop back if you get too much heat," Sara directed them as she seamlessly holstered her Sandstorm and took out her sniper rifle. She knelt down and fired three shots, an observer dropping to the ground as the first collided with its shield and the second and third hit the eye at its centre. Reyes rolled forwards, so he was lodged behind a rock, this position providing better placement from which to shoot. He shifted his body upwards, peering over the top of his shelter, firing at an assembler until it exploded dramatically.

"You not going to give me any orders, Pathfinder?" he asked, as he reloaded before popping out of cover again to aim at another observer. Sara caught the same one with her biotics, hurling it against the ground, and he finished it off with gunfire. Having cleared all of the smaller remnant, they, and their more distant allies, began firing repeatedly at the leg nearest them.

"You wouldn't listen to me anyway!"

The leg buckled, and the architect elicited a robotic whine, exposing its face.

"Depends what you asked me to do!"

They all fired upon it in unison until the architect took flight, spiralling back into the air.

"We have to follow it, come on!"

Sara took off at a run and he followed, the others meeting their path as they appeared from either side.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Peebee cried as she nearly stumbled over a rock, her gaze fixed on the gigantic remnant.

"I'm sure you won't be saying that when it blows your legs off," Reyes replied.

"Or one of its friends slices you in half," Jaal added.

"Well aren't you two just a barrel of laughs today!" Sara interjected as they closed in upon the architect once more, as it wove above the strange remnant structures Reyes had seen earlier.

"A barrel of…? Ah, another idiom. Shit," Jaal responded.

They continued in the familiar pattern alternating their fire between the leg, the smaller remnant and the architect's face whenever it was exposed. Despite the formidable force, their tactics were working, as one by one, the smaller remnant fell. Reyes threw a grenade that sent three of them spinning in a cascade of sparks, the rest of the team finishing the job with gunfire. A remnant that was slightly larger and more intimidating than the others blasted them with an explosive attack that was difficult to dodge, pinning both Reyes and Sara down behind a barrier that had been aligned between the structures for some old, forgotten purpose. This was until Peebee dispatched it with a shockwave of biotic energy that shook the ground and tore the machine inside out. Little by little, they chipped away at the architect. However, as its health declined, the architect's attacks were becoming more aggressive, as though some failsafe in its programming had triggered. Reyes grunted as he ducked a little too slowly, and several shots from the architect's turret grazed his shoulder, bloodying it. He heard Sara call his name as he threw himself behind a remnant column, applying medi-gel to his wound from one of the pockets of his flight suit.

Before he could look up, she had knelt beside him, "Are you okay?"

"Relax, it just caught me."

Automatically Jaal dropped back to assist them, providing them with covering fire. Sara moved forwards, shifting her gun into one hand as her fist crackled with electricity, dispelling this up towards the machine's face. The resulting shock fizzled across it and Reyes moved up next to her, shooting an observer that had Jaal pinned. The angaran nodded at him curtly but appreciatively.

Before long the ground shuddered as the architect threw itself into the air once more. From behind the barrier next to him, Sara stood and watched it rise higher into the sky.

She looked at him, mischievous grin in place, "Maybe you should wait here, technically you are a civvie."

Reyes stood abruptly, indignantly, "So are you. Besides, I was in the Alliance."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "As a pilot."

"That may be but I've been on Kadara for-"

"You coming or not lovebirds?" Peebee called as she zipped past them, followed closely by Jaal. Wordlessly they followed the pair, weaving their way between the mass of remnant columns that pointed toward the sky and back out onto open plains. The architect descended for what Reyes hoped was the final time. All talking between the four of them ceased besides warnings of imminent fire and Sara's advisements on where to take cover. After several minutes and following more near misses, the architect was weakening, straining under their sustained fire upon its glowing face. From somewhere nearby, Reyes heard Sara let out a cry. He span round as a flying remnant clawed at her armour, and Reyes focused his shots upon it. She let out a gasp at it released her and bounced to the ground, breaking into several pieces. Sliding to the floor, Sara rubbed her chest and coughed for a moment before adjusting her grip on her weapon and getting to her feet. The architect let out something akin to a death rattle. Distracted as he was, Reyes didn't notice the final blast of energy that passed through the rock in front of him. The air around him was very suddenly a crackling haze of red and blue.

"Shit," he hissed as he attempted to throw himself out of its path.

Accompanying a sensation that felt like several thousand thorns pricking at his skin, the energy field seemed to slow him down, almost paralysing him completely and making it difficult to escape. Any attempt to move further exacerbated this, as though the barbs were forcing themselves into his flesh. As he groaned something collided with him so heavily that it sent him flying out of the energy field by several metres, until he ended up sprawled face up on the ground. The pain immediately receded, that was until the same something collapsed on top of him, knocking the air out of his lungs with a rasp. Slowly he opened his eyes, and he realised it was Sara that was laid on top of him, his vision a blur as red hair obscured his vision. He could feel her body shaking and after a moment of alarm, he realised it was because she was laughing.

She sat up, her thighs straddling his, eyes alight, "Well, you did say you didn't mind which position."

It was hard to imagine she was the same person that a few days before had sounded so despondent when he had called her, so downcast. He didn't understand why she always seemed so carefree, so cheerful when the things that were going on around her were enough to bring anyone ordinary to their knees. His entire body felt tired and sore after the battle, yet she barely seemed to have broken a sweat, laughter so ready on her lips. Lips he realised he desperately wanted to kiss again. Her blue eyes were locked onto his, all the brighter as they almost perfectly matched the hue of her armour. As she chuckled, her nose scrunched, emphasising how it turned up delicately at the end. He had known a lot of beautiful women in his life, but none had gripped him in the way that she did. None had ever risked their lives for him in the same way either. Reyes was considering dragging her back down on top of him when he heard Peebee calling out to them. Sara shifted to her feet, holding out her hand to help him up.

"When I said that I hadn't planned on it being in the middle of a field," Reyes replied as he sat up and patted down his flightsuit, dust rising off it in plumes. He reached to take her extended hand.

"Well, beggars can't be-"

Sara began her sentence with a familiar grin, but it ended with a grimace and a cry of agony. A sound like the tearing of a ship's hull ripped through the air as a shot struck Sara in the shoulder.