"I just don't get it," Liam sighed, shaking his head morosely.

Gil raised an eyebrow, smirking in his usual wry way, "Really?"

Liam frowned back at him, "Really."

The other man was framed by the muted lighting of the Vortex, the violet shade tinting patches of his ginger hair fuchsia. Although the bar never really closed, with citizens of the station waking and working at all hours, there were fewer people than usual, caught as they were between the night and day shift of Nexus personnel.

"Well, some women are attracted to dangerous men… So are some men," Gil pointed out, shrugging casually and glancing over at the bar.

Although the heavy beat of the music continued no matter the hour, there was no one dancing and the club looked strangely desolate with an empty dance floor. This only added to the feeling Liam already had that they shouldn't be here, a reminder that this was only a fleeting pause before they faced perhaps their greatest ordeal - finding Meridian.

Liam snorted in response, "So daring and dangerous he paid someone to shoot his enemy in the back."

"What are we talking about?" Jaal asked loudly over the music as he arrived at their booth, carefully setting down the three drinks he was balancing before sitting next to Gil diagonally from Liam on the L-shaped seats.

Gil leant forward to grab his bottle eagerly, "I'll give you one guess."

"Sara?" Jaal asked, but it wasn't really a question.

Liam laughed, "Hey, I'm not that predictable!"

"You forget I was with you earlier when we bumped into Vidal leaving Ryder's quarters," Jaal reminded him, propping his feet on the coffee table between them.

"I knew there was something wrong, you've had that look on your face all afternoon. Like a puppy chewing on a wasp," Gil added facetiously.

Liam flashed Gil a sardonic look before shaking his head, "Don't remind me."

Even the memory was enough to bring an acrid taste to his mouth; rounding the corner to see Vidal with his deceitful lips on hers, his arms twisted around her waist. Then the Charlatan had turned to leave, flashing Liam a grin he took to be malicious, intended to remind him of the last words Vidal had spoken to him. I'm not going anywhere. Worse still was the way Ryder responded to Vidal's presence, seemingly lit up as she looked at him, the way she always did. The vivid blue of her eyes glimmered like the surface of the sea as the all too familiar worry lines on her face retracted temporarily, replaced instead by a smile so bright she practically shone. He missed being on the receiving end of that smile. Liam took a deep gulp of alcohol.

"There's that look again," Gil commented, casting Liam a slightly disbelieving look. "You might not like the man, but Ryder obviously does. And not completely without reason."

Liam regretted the question even as he asked it, "And what possible reason would that be?"

"We're really going there?" Gil glanced sideways at Jaal perhaps hoping for support.

Jaal looked just as sceptical as Liam, "No, I don't get it either. He's a vehshaanan." He thought for a moment, "… Ah, he's a… dick."

Liam nodded approvingly at Jaal's choice of expletive, "Nice, you're getting better at this."

Gil shook his head and took a swig of his bottle, "Well, I can only go on a very brief meeting and what I've been told. But he's charming and easy on the eyes, those are two fairly convincing reasons to like someone, generally speaking."

"Yeah, but he's also a mob boss and a glorified murderer," Liam retorted, indignantly.

"No one's perfect," Gil shrugged, then laughed at the disbelieving expression on his face, "no I know, but I mean, you lot kill people all the time but I don't hold it against you. I still play poker with you… or try to."

Gil glanced at the poker set on the coffee table pointedly.

"That's completely different, we're the good guys, we do it for the right reasons. The Outcasts, the Collective, the Charlatan, they're all out for themselves," Liam countered.

Jaal nodded enthusiastically in agreement, so enthusiastically Liam wondered whether angaran alcohol thresholds were lower than that of Milky Way species. It was only their third drink.

"Everyone thinks their own reasons are right, the end result is still the same – lots of corpses. And is he really that much worse than some of the company you keep? Just look at Drack, he's done some serious shit over the years. Would it bother you so much if she started dating him?" Gil grinned, clearly enjoying his role as devil's advocate.

Jaal sniggered into his drink.

"Aside from the fact that he's over 1,000 years old, making banging him the krogan equivalent of having sex with an extremely muscular great grandad?" Liam raised an eyebrow, "No, I wouldn't have a problem with it."

"Pleeease. Face it Kosta, you'd have a problem with anyone dating Ryder," Gil said, shrewdly.

"This isn't about jealousy, Gil. Vidal's corrupt, a con artist…" Liam sighed.

Gil's grin faltered, giving his face a rare sombre look, "I know you worry but you shouldn't. Ryder is smart, and she can look after herself. She'll be alright."

Jaal leant forward conspiratorially, "Liam does a point though. I was with Ryder when she visited Draulir, there were Collective agents torturing captives there."

Liam swiftly flicked his gaze from Gil's brown eyes to Jaal's blue ones, "What? What did Sara say?"

"Well… She questioned it. Said she didn't think torture was the Charlatan's style-"

"That's funny considering the state Sloane's turian is in," Liam interjected.

"- but the agent just shrugged it off saying he didn't know," Jaal continued, "Sara pushed it and the agent called it off."

"Well then, if he was ignorant of it you can hardly blame Reyes," Gil shrugged.

"He must know about Kaetus though, he's black and blue, well, he would be if turians bruised black and blue," Liam shook his head.

"And if he does then there's every chance Ryder already knows. And if she does then it's her choice." Where he had been sat back easily, languidly in his chair before, Gil sat forward. "Liam, I've been down this road before myself so believe me when I say you need to just accept this is happening. I know you want the best for her but if you continue down this path, you'll just put more distance between you. She's made her choice."

Liam stared at him, tripping over his words in his haste to respond, "It isn't like that…"

"You Milky Way species all make things so complicated," Jaal mused, "if an angaran falls in love they don't waste all this time talking about it. You should just tell her how you feel."

"Tell her how I..?" Liam looked at him blankly.

"Make a grand gesture," Jaal nodded.

"That's… Look no one said anything about anyone being in love alright? Don't go spreading that around the Tempest, it's already bad enough that everyone knows I fancy the boss," Liam replied, hurriedly.

"Also, I'm not sure I could think of advice worse than that, no offence Jaal. Next you'll be telling him to duel Reyes to the death for her hand," Gil chuckled.

Jaal's laughter joined Gil's, "Could you imagine her face?"

"She'd kill us both," Liam grinned despite the cold feeling in his gut. The same cold feeling he always got whenever the topic of the Pathfinder and the Charlatan came up. The same cold feeling that crept upwards and into his lungs late at night when he was trying to sleep.

Draining his glass, Jaal looked at him closely, "What exactly happened-"

"Excuse me?"

All three men's heads turned towards the origin of the voice. A woman was staring at them from the other side of the coffee table, fringed by flashing lights, her large eyes round and apprehensive, "Oh, I interrupted you, I'm so sorry."

She was young for an asari, Liam noted, not likely much over 100 and obviously still in her maiden stage. It was clear in the slightly self-conscious way she held herself, the way she fiddled nervously with the datapad in her hands, how her violet eyes flitted between them.

"That's alright, can we help you?" Liam ventured, whilst Gil muttered that they were talking a load of shit anyway and Jaal nodded affably.

"Y-you're the Pathfinder team, right?" the asari continued, her soft voice steadier now. "Well, the human Pathfinder, Ryder's?"

"What gave us away?" Gil asked, playfully. "The stench of death?"

"Your faces are literally everywhere?" she pointed out, a small wry smile forming on her lips.

"Oh," Gil sounded disappointed.

Liam shook his head and grinned, "Ignore him."

Her eyes rose tentatively to his and she returned his smile, "It wasn't really a question anyway, everyone knows who you are; Jaal Ama Darav, Gil Brodie," she nodded to each of them in turn before she lingered on his name, "Liam Kosta."

"You've done your homework, if you even know who I am," Gil muttered approvingly.

"Yes but, who are you?" Jaal asked curiously.

"Oh right," she coughed lightly, "I am Sanese Pyxiris, but non-asari usually just call me Pixie. And to answer your other question… I have been scouted as a potential member of Pathfinder Damali's team because of my technical abilities…" she caught the slight look of incredulity on Gil's face and continued in a sharper tone, much sharper than Liam would have expected from the seemingly shy asari, "and my ability to crush every bone in a target's body using my biotics."

Although diminutive in stature (she stood only a few feet taller than the backs of the chairs) and anxious upon first meeting, she clearly was not afraid to stand up for herself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. Drinking makes me a bit of an ass," Gil shrugged apologetically.

"Try always an ass," Jaal muttered.

"What is it we can do for you, Miss Pyxiris?" Liam asked quickly, folding his arms, keen to get to the point.

"I wondered if I could discuss with you what it's like being selected for the Pathfinder team, what the role entails… Your contact details are public, but I thought it would be rude to contact you without introducing myself first," she placed the datapad in the crook in her arm as she tapped at her omni-tool. "There's my email, in case my messages go straight to your junk folder, I appreciate you must be extremely busy, but really, any advice you can provide that might help me reach a decision would be so helpful… And call me Pixie."

Liam nodded as his omni-tool vibrated as her message reached him, "Uh, ok. It might not be immediately but I'm sure I, we, could help."

Pixie beamed, "Excellent! I'll be in touch!"

Without stopping to say goodbye, Pixie scurried across the bar and towards a human girl in a matching Nexus personnel uniform who was waiting for her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that was interesting," Gil ventured, his eyes brimming with a devilish knowing.

Liam sighed, "What now?"

Pulling an expression that made him look ridiculous, Gil leant across the table. Pouting and doe-eyed, he looked up into Liam's eyes beseechingly, "Mr Kosta, here's my email, for strictly professional reasons."

Liam rolled his eyes, "She was talking to all of us?"

"She was flirting rather obviously, Liam," Jaal agreed.

"I'd keep an eye on your inbox, might get a bit steamy," Gil wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"What's getting steamy?" a female voice spoke, causing all three men to start. Cora was leaning against the end of the high-backed booth next to Jaal, who had nearly fallen out of his seat in his surprise. Not one of them had seen her approach, they were so engrossed in their conversation.

"You need to stop with that shit, it's creepy," Liam chided her, clutching his heart dramatically. "Do they train huntresses to sneak up on people or do you just enjoy it?"

"Both," she smirked. "And don't shirk the question."

"What's steamy is yours and Jaal's future sex tape. When are you getting on with that again?" Gil snickered.

Jaal turned a brilliant shade between mauve and plum, Cora threw back her head and laughed.

"Any time, stud," she winked jokily at Jaal.

Jaal blinked rapidly in response.

"Anyway, it's time to get moving. Ryder's on her way back to the ship," Cora's voice was suddenly commanding again. As abruptly as she had arrived, she made towards the doorway of the club.

"Liam… What's a stud?" Jaal stood up, staring at him searchingly.

"Ha! You can work that one out on your own mate," Liam chuckled.

Gil looked forlornly at the poker set before packing it away, "I'm bringing Drack and Peebee next time, might actually get a game out of them."

A reticence that was endearing with a curious tenacity hidden beneath. A small, slim frame, fetching in the Nexus uniform she was wearing. Flecks of deep purple that curved along high cheekbones, vivid against the periwinkle shade of her skin. Liam listed these attributes matter-of-factly in his mind, took no joy in recollecting them, no interest in turning them over again.

Eyes the exact hue of lavender that focused on his…

Well, not without any interest but certainly far less than he would have had before Andromeda. Before Ryder. Surely though, he would have noticed all the signs of an attractive woman flirting with him?

Liam Kosta, she stretched out his name, her accent giving it a musical quality.

At one time he would have noticed Sanese Pyxiris.

Liam exhaled heavily as his feet automatically carried him towards his usual spot, the storage room at the back of the cargo bay. He gave Drack a passing wave as he walked by the medical bay but didn't stop. As he reached the storage room, the regular sound of the door hissing open was strangely comforting, eager as he was for a moment's respite to think. He strode through it just as someone was exiting from the other side. All too quickly her fingers were encircling his triceps to steady him, the sweet scent that always lingered about her hitting the back of his throat, provoking forth a flurry of images that had been hidden carefully in the recesses of his mind.

Full lips parting as they murmured his name, a flash of white teeth as they nibbled playfully at his skin.

Liam forced his mind back into the present.

Piercing, her eyes shifted awkwardly away from his, "I was just leaving…"

Despite her words, Ryder didn't move other than to let go of him. Even this motion sent a hot, prickling sensation over Liam's skin.

"Did you need me for something?" he asked, voice a little rough.

"I know I shouldn't be here, but the others wouldn't understand. You know me better…" Ryder looked visibly rattled, paler than usual, words racing, linking together in her haste to speak. Her long hair was loose and she was twisting a thick curl distractedly in her fingers.

"Is this about Meridian?"

She nodded but didn't say anything else. This was the first time she had visited him here since… Since she had kissed him on that couch and he'd responded keenly, hands pulling her closer to him, her shoulders arcing back as he eased forward until he was on top of her. Their hands desperately exploring each other's bodies, tongues clashing against each other, eager for something to help them forget, forget, forget everything. He could never have known then how such an evening could affect him, how what had seemed like nothing more than finding solace in another could have ignited… something. How a small feeling could intensify, become far more, could become something uncomfortably close to obsession.

He knew it wasn't fair her coming here. She did too. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't.

A soft expression crossed over her face that he thought for a moment contained pity, "I'll go…"

The very idea she might feel sorry for him was repugnant, so repugnant he nearly physically grimaced before he caught himself.

"It's fine. What did you want?"

"I'm... afraid," as she voiced the last word he saw her face twist with pain at relinquishing it, as though vocalising it was painful, "about what comes next. If we fail… If I fail…"

He knew how much it had taken her to admit she was frightened. He doubted there were many others she would admit it to.

Liam placed a hand on each of her shoulders warmly, eyes fixed on hers, their intensity commanding hers to remain in place on his, "Ryder. Sara. You have never failed us before."

Ryder squirmed beneath his gaze, "I have… I died… I…"

He did not loosen his hold.

"We can do this. You can do this. I know it."

Like cut sapphires in firelight, her eyes flashed as they analysed his features, penetrating deeper than SAM's scans ever could. After a few seconds she relented, had found what she wanted in the look he gave her, in that and the unwavering loyalty and conviction of his words.

"Thank you." It was as though she had shaken herself, shaken off the fearful spectre of the Pathfinder and fully relinquished herself again. "I shouldn't have lost faith in us."

"It's natural to have doubts, we all do. But we can do this."

Ryder nodded vigorously, "We can do this."

After she left, Liam sank back into the battered sofa. As he sat, the leather squeaked, the sound evoking further memories of the evening he had spent with Ryder. He covered his eyes as though to block them out, block out memories of that smile, the smile he still kept seeing but that she was wearing for someone else, but the image was playing inside his head and could not be so easily obstructed. His chest felt as though the air was being pressed from it, the weight of his regret and envy and suspicion, that which he carried with him but avoided, physically forcing him down into the chair now he had given it chance to take hold.

Of course he had not noticed Sanese Pyxiris. All he ever noticed, all he ever saw, was Sara Ryder.