Chapter 7: When the past comes knocking

Notes:

A big thank you to natsora for betaing. You've been a huge help, especially with this chapter.

Sneaking out was something that Ryder hadn't done in a while. More accurately, the last time she did was more than 600 years ago.

No matter what her reasons were back then, it was much more important now. Ryder knew one thing, she was never this close to going mad ever. It was like an itch that needed to be scratch. And tonight she'll scratch that itch. Nothing would get in her way.

She had to make sure everyone was fast asleep. That meant she needed to wait till past midnight. She kept herself busy with reports. But the time to escape couldn't come fast enough.

She couldn't believe how much she was looking forward to training again.

It felt like years since she held a gun. Her index finger already pulling an imaginary trigger, her body buzzing with biotics and adrenaline, giving her a warm feeling inside.

When it was time, she made her way out, checking each corner. Walking past the crew quarters, she heard some loud snoring. It was probably Liam. Did he always snore that loudly? She couldn't imagine it was Jaal's snoring she heard.

"Where are you going so late?" a deep voice asked. That could only have come from Drack.

Dammit, clearly Ryder wasn't as quiet as she thought.

"Drack," she sighed. "Can't sleep old man?"

"Nah, I can't sleep."

"Well, anyway good night."

"The Pathfinder's quarters is the other way," Drack said as Ryder tried to sneak away.

"Yeah I know, I just-"

"Don't lie to me kid," Drack said. "If you don't want to tell me that's fine. You can keep your secrets."

"Thanks," Ryder hesitated. "There's just something I need to do." She owed Drack an explanation even if it was a vague one. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Drack gave her a deep and thoughtful look, "Sure."

As soon as her feet stepped off the Tempest, Kadara's cool wind hit her. Kadara was different at night. She enjoyed the feeling of the wind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The wind smelled like the freedom she has been yearning for so long.

The streets buzzed with people. It wasn't empty like she thought it would be. She had an oversized hoodie on, with the hood pulled up. It was best that nobody recognized her.

During her time in Kadara she had seen its ugly parts. Sloane helped defeat the kett, but the more Ryder spent time on this planet the more she realized how bad things really were. Sloane might've have good intentions taking over Kadara, but the Sloane before the Nexus Uprising wasn't the same person she was now.

Something changed her. She might not be the best ruler for Kadara.

The Charlatan might be good for Kadara. But…Ryder had her doubts about them too. She didn't like the fact that they didn't reveal themselves. Even the Collective didn't know who they were working for. And that's saying something.

Before she knew it, she was standing at the nav-point provided by Reyes. Everything about this place was so secretive and Ryder couldn't help but love it. She input the codes he provided and the door slid open.

Inside, the room was dark. She could barely see. At first, she thought she was alone until she spotted a figure at her right. He was leaning against a wall, his arms across his chest, eyes on his feet.

"How did you get in here?" the man asked without looking up from his feet. She wasn't sure which faction he belonged to.

"Reyes Vidal sent me," Ryder said as she pulled her hood down. The man looked up and as soon as he recognized her, a smile crept up the corner of his lips.

"Pathfinder, come in."

He led her into a larger room. It was as big as a stadium. Which was strange. She never would've thought there was such a big arena in Kadara. It was round and most importantly it was more than enough to do what she wanted.

"I have something for you," he said as he walked around a corner. When he came back, he handed her a duffle bag.

Inside were some clothes she could train in. "Reyes thought of everything," she murmured "And they are all the right size too." She was impressed as she pulled the clothes out.

"He made sure you have everything you need," he said, "I'll be at the back if you need me." He signalled to his right. "There's a room you can change in."

She nodded, but he had already left.

Not only were the clothes the right size but they were loose where they needed to be. But she couldn't change as fast as she used to. It took her twice as long to change and when she emerged, she was panting, trying hard to catch her breath.

"Pathfinder," SAM's voice echoed in her head, "I advise against what you intend to do."

"Shut up SAM I know what I'm doing." She closed her eyes as she realized it wasn't the best way to respond. "I'm sorry SAM. I just really need this right now okay? Just please don't tell Lexi."

Ryder told Lexi and SAM she'll take things slow. But no matter how hard she'd tried, after sitting still for weeks she just couldn't do it anymore.

"Yes Pathfinder."

She started slow, playing with her biotics, forming a small blue ball. Then she went on, forming bigger ones and throwing them against a wall. They weren't big enough to do any real damage. This was muscle memory. She performed it as easily as she did before.

She wanted to try something harder.

There were dummies lining the room, perfect targets for her biotics. She used a Throw on one of them. The dummy slammed against a wall, making a loud bang, denting the wall. It felt amazing using her biotics again. She had missed this.

She threw a Shockwave at the next dummy. It hid the wall as well, this time with more force.

But Charging the following one was another story. Just as she wanted to punch the dummy, both of her hands found their way to her stomach. The pain tore through her abs after she used her biotics. She lost her balance and fell.

Ryder tried her best to keep the groan in but it escaped without her permission. She clenched her teeth trying to look at her wound. Her new shirt were soaked red.

That's just great!

Ryder heard footsteps and the man she greeted earlier appeared.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she growled.

"Do you need help getting up?" he eyed her bloodied shirt.

"No, I can do it myself." It took Ryder a few attempts before she succeeded. But when she was up, her abs screamed louder. She wished she had stayed on the ground. "Can I see myself out?" she asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yeah, if you think that is best."

Once she was outside, she leaned against the wall, panting, trying to catch her breath. Training wasn't exactly the best idea she had. Of course SAM was right and she knew it at the time but she needed to try. She couldn't just do nothing. She stood there hunched over, hands trembling, feeling dizzy, wincing as waves of pain came over her. She groaned through the first few waves but stopped after either getting used to it or the pain lessened. She couldn't tell which.

Ryder was walking through a dark alley, trying to get back to the Tempest. Her abs hurt a little less now, having stopped bleeding.

She was getting an uneasy feeling. A few laughs echoed through the alley, probably from drunks. Two people exchanging something. Maybe drugs? She ignored them and turned into another street.

If anything else it was darker and quieter there. Lights flickered on before flickering out again. A shadow zipped by the corner of her eyes, the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Her breath quickened as her pulse picked up, suspicions nestled against her chest with every step.

"SAM," Ryder spoke through their private channel to avoid suspicion, "is someone following me?"

There was silence. It went on for so long, Ryder's breath hitched as her mouth went dry. Something was wrong

"I detect one heat signature near you. It seems someone is following you, yes."

Relief warred with her anxiety over the stranger following her.

"Crap, that's not good."

She regretted not having a weapon with her. She tried to slip into a corner and get the upper hand, but it was too late for that.

"Hello Sara. Nice to see you again," A voice came from behind.

She frowned, confusion settling in. She recognised the voice, a voice from her past. The name was on the tip of her tongue. But who the hell was this?

She turned around slowly, "I'm sorry. Do I know you from somewhere?"

There was a weak light at his right, she could barely see his face. He was human, with sandy blonde hair. She wasn't close enough to guess at his eye colour, but it was hard to miss the angry red scar that ran downwards his cheekbone.

"Ouch Sara I'm hurt," he mocked, his hand touching his chest.

She narrowed her eyes. Something about this didn't feel right. And that gruff voice sounded so familiar. She frowned, trying to search her memories where she might've met him, but nothing came to mind.

Where have I heard it before?

"After all," he continued, "You're the one who gave me this scar." His index finger ran along it.

She connected the dots. His scar. It was from an omni-blade, more specifically hers.

Blood drained from her face. Her heartbeat going faster. She had a sickening feeling in her stomach, and it had nothing to do with her injuries from before.

Memories of growing up with someone she trusted, someone she built a friendship with. She could've trusted him with anything. That is what he's actions at first showed. But she was wrong. And his treachery had cut her to the core. No betrayal would even come close like his did.

"What's wrong Sara? You looked like you've seen a ghost," he chuckled. This was a joke to him.

"No," she whispered. "This is not possible!" she stammered. "I… you died…there is no way…" She looked, really studied him, she could see it now. It was him. "I killed you! How are you even alive?"

"Next time you should make sure I'm dead," he said. "How's your brother doing? I heard he's out of his coma."

"How the hell do you know about that?" Ryder asked, balling her hands into fists, clenching her jaw, "If you-"

His skew smile interrupted her, "Just stop. You don't have to worry." He paused longer than necessary and the silence was deafening. She could hear her own heartbeat. He just stood there. It seemed like he was attempting to read her thoughts. Ryder unclenched and clenched her fists as the air filled with tension. "At least for now. I do have some friends in high places."

"Yeah," she looked at him skeptically, "you always had friends in the most unexpected places."

He shrugged, "You know me, Ryder. You can trust me."

Ryder chuckled and it sounded nervous even to her, "Is this a joke? After everything that you've done?!" Memories forced their way to her mind but she shook them off, "My biggest mistake was to trust you." She shuddered at the thought. "I won't make that mistake again"

"What if it wasn't a mistake?"

She couldn't believe her ears. "What do you want Morris?" she hated saying his name, but she needed to know why he was here. And most importantly she needed to know why now? Why was he in Andromeda?

"I wanted to see you, Pathfinder."

"I feel so honoured," she said sarcastically.

Ryder gritted her teeth and activated her barrier. With no armor, her biotics and omni-blade were the only weapons at her disposal. She needed every advantage she got if she wanted to get out of this alive.

"You're going to lose Sara," Morris warned.

"I'm not going down without a fight," she yelled, throwing a shockwave in his direction.

"You're bleeding Pathfinder," SAM spoke.

"Am I?" Ryder breathed heavily, "I should've brought medi-gel with me." She panted, sweat poured from her brow as her hands shook, her amp horribly hot against her head. She was outclassed and fear was clawing up her throat. She wasn't a match for him before, and she was less of one now. Loathe as she was to run, she knew it'd be suicide to stay. "Can you do something about the pain?"

"One moment." Immediately, she felt pain wash away.

Her tongue flicked over her dry lips, she growled low in her throat. She refused to lay down and die.

"SAM, is that the only way out?"

"Unfortunately so, Ryder."

"Fine," she muttered darkly. "Me and my stupid ideas."

She shifted, head peeking out from the edge of the cover. Morris was grinning at her. One hand holding his pistol loosely, confident she was as toothless as she was before. She'd show him, she practically killed him before didn't she?

"SAM, have you informed Cora?"

'Yes, Pathfinder."

"Tell her, I'm sorry for being stupid. And tell Lexi, she can scold me if I survive."

"What do you intend to do, Pathfinder?"

"Something very stupid."